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Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 26, 2015 shows top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong-un making a congratulatory speech at the 4th National Conference of War Veterans on July 25, 2015. [Photo/KCNA]

WASHINGTON - The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Kim Jong Un, the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and other top officials over alleged human rights abuses.

Kim was designated "for having engaged in, facilitated, or been responsible for an abuse or violation of human rights by the Government of North Korea or the Workers' Party of Korea," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The designated top DPRK officials include Choe Pu Il, Minister of People's Security, Ri Song Chol, Counselor in the Ministry of People's Security, and Kang Song Nam, a Bureau Director with the Ministry of State Security, according to the statement.

In addition, the Treasury also slapped sanctions on 10 other individuals and five entities for their ties to DPRK's alleged abuses of human rights.

As a result of the move, any property or interest in property of those designated within US jurisdiction is frozen. Transactions by US persons involving the designated persons are also generally prohibited.

The department has previously sanctioned four individuals and three entities of the DPRK over alleged human rights abuses.
Reading, math scores down in 1st test since COVID. How Indiana did.
Germany has arrested a Pakistani man suspected of spying for Iran.

The federal prosecutor's office said on July 7 that the man, identified as 31-year-old Syed Mustufa H., was arrested two days before in the northern city of Bremen.

It said in a statement that he was "in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran," without elaborating.

He is accused of spying on the former head of the German-Israeli Society -- a group that promotes relations between the two countries -- and people close to him, among others, and handing over information to Iran in October 2015.

On July 6, a Federal Court judge ordered the man held in custody pending formal espionage charges.

With reporting by AP
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Welcome to Club News, a weekly roundup of the latest news in the Big Country. To be included: in 75 words or less, send meeting highlights, guest speakers, officers elected, donations made or received, etc. We don't need the full minutes  just the decisions made or the fun things that happened. Information needed: when and where (with a full street address) the club meets and daytime contact information for questions. Only typed submissions can be accepted. To e-mail the information, please put "club news" in the subject line and send to PublishMe@reporternews.com by 2 p.m. each Monday.

Rotary Club of Abilene

Danny Sims will present, "The Kurds Have a Plan to Save the World." Glenn Dromgoole will present next week's program. During our changeover meeting a couple of weeks ago, Myra Dean, a 13-year club member, was named 2016 Rotarian of the Year for her commitment to Rotary and the local community. Congratulations, Myra.

Regular meeting: noon Fridays, Beehive Restaurant, 442 Cedar St.

Contact: Mary Beth Kilgore, 518-5288.
An attorney for a former Abilene police officer appealing his termination on allegations of tampering with evidence and violating departmental policy argued Wednesday that the city lacked convincing, accurate proof that his client took marijuana from the evidence room and never returned it.

Arthur Jefferson, who was fired March 21, is asking to be reinstated with back pay and seniority. The hearing on Jefferson's appeal began Wednesday morning at City Hall with William Basedow, an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, overseeing the proceedings.

The hearing will continue at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Officials with the Abilene Police Department allege that Jefferson, a former police academy instructor, checked out an unknown amount of marijuana from the evidence room in September 2009 and never returned it. They also allege that Jefferson took the marijuana home, based on photos of an evidence envelope and clear plastic bags containing what appears to be marijuana that his ex-girlfriend recently showed police officials.

Jefferson, a 12-year veteran of the department, said he returned the marijuana to the evidence room one to two weeks later, during which time it was stored in a desk drawer. He said he removed it from evidence to show to a cadet who had never seen or smelled marijuana before.

Police also claim that Jefferson violated the law and departmental policy by running the license plate number of his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend through his mobile computer unit while on duty.

But John Snider, Jefferson's attorney from the Texas Municipal Police Association, said police do not have evidence that Jefferson never returned the marijuana or took it to his house, which he shared for a time with his former girlfriend Alexa Torrez.

The only proof police have are the photos taken by a disgruntled former partner with whom Jefferson has a son, Snider said.

Jefferson testified that he and Torrez had had a 'recent custody dispute' over their 4-year-old son, and Torrez was harassing Jefferson by sending him numerous text messages, including one that said she hoped God would remove Jefferson from his child's life.

In one night, he said, she sent him 167 text messages. He asked her to stop, warning her that he could press charges.

Snider argued that Torrez only showed the photos to Police Chief Stan Standridge as a 'pre-emptive strike,' while also claiming that Jefferson harassed her and had drugs in his home.

'All they've got is the word of a woman who wanted to hurt Arthur Jefferson,' Snider said, adding that the photos do not prove marijuana was in his client's house.

Torrez took the photos of the substance resembling marijuana in 2013, said Sgt. Thomas Bryant, who was called as a witness by Steven Levesque, assistant city attorney.

Snider argued that Torrez could have altered the date on the photos, which were on an inactive iPhone. Snider demonstrated how to change the date to reflect a different month, day and year with his own iPhone.

Levesque said the forensic technology the Police Department used to analyze the photos is more complex than that. He also said that the evidence envelope in the photo is proof that Jefferson had the marijuana in his possession.

Jefferson said he lost the evidence envelope the marijuana had been contained in during the hubbub of teaching class. He said he returned the marijuana to evidence in another envelope and never took it home.

Bryant, who led the internal affairs investigation into the allegations, said no one he interviewed, including records supervisors, could recall Jefferson returning the marijuana. He said several training officers told him that checking out drugs from evidence to show cadets at the academy is not a common practice.

Bryant also said he interviewed Torrez multiple times, taking her statement and asking her if the department could download her phone data.

When asked by Snider if it appeared that Torrez wanted to get Jefferson in trouble, Bryant said: 'With the information she gave me, it appeared that she did.'

The items in the photos provided by Torrez, including the evidence envelope, 'steered' Bryant away from the conclusion that she fabricated the photos.

The attorneys also disputed whether the marijuana constituted evidence, as it was slated to be destroyed.
Citing a lack of evidence, the Brown County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that no arrests have been made in the homicide investigation into the death of Chantay Blankinship.

The investigation into the slaying of Blankinship, 25, continues, officials with the Sheriff's Office said in an update on the case, adding that several suspects have been cleared, while others are being developed.

Blankinship was reported missing from her residence in the Lake Brownwood area after last being seen May 13. She was found dead two days later.

Investigators said anyone with information regarding Blankinship's death can contact the Heart of Texas Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or the Brown County Sheriff's Office at 325-646-5510.

A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information in the case.
Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan announced Thursday Provost Lawrence Schovanec has officially been appointed the 17th president of Texas Tech University.

The announcement followed a special called board of regents meeting and vote to affirm Schovanec as president. He will officially begin the role Aug. 1.

'I am excited to welcome Dr. Schovanec as the next president of Texas Tech University,' Duncan said. 'He has served Texas Tech tremendously for more than three decades and has a bold vision for our future. I have no doubt he will elevate our university to an even greater level of success.'

Before his appointment, Schovanec served the university as provost since December 2013 and was interim president from July 2012 through March 2013. He has been with Tech since 1982 when he became a faculty member in mathematics.

Regent Tim Lancaster, CEO of Hendrick Health System in Abilene, led a committee that conducted a nationwide search to identify presidential candidates.

Schovanec succeeds M. Duane Nellis, who resigned in January.
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Texas' top elected officials practice the claim, "We're from the government, and we're here to help you."

Under that guise, they want to regulate behavior, not actually provide adequate education, health insurance, foster care, Medicaid expansion and so on.

The most recent example  the U.S. Supreme Court's slap-down of a Texas anti-abortion law, claimed to protect women's health.

A 5-3 majority, in announcing its decision June 27, essentially said "We don't believe you."

At issue was HB 2, passed by the Texas Legislature in a 2013 special legislative session called by then-Gov. Rick Perry. It made it much more difficult for any Texas women to obtain abortions.

Abortion providers challenged two parts of the law.

One was that abortion clinics had to meet the same standards as accredited surgical centers  an expensive undertaking.

The second, that doctors performing abortions had to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin in October of 2013 upheld the objection to the admitting requirement, just before the law was to take effect.

Gov. Greg Abbott, then attorney general, appealed to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed the decision.

So the provisions of the new law went into effect, complicating woman's obtaining of an abortion.

In 2014, Yeakel ruled the surgical center requirement unnecessary. Again, Abbott appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which again, in June of 2015, ruled against Yeakel.

Abbott, by then governor, said in a press statement, "This unanimous decision is a vindication of the careful deliberation by the Texas Legislature to craft a law to protect the health and safety of Texas women." Abbott proclaimed in a press statement.

Abbott's successor, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, who had voted for HB 2 as a senator in 2013, took over its defense.

"The common-sense measures Texas has put in place elevate the standard of care and protect the health of Texas women, (by protecting against) "substandard conditions at abortion facilities," Paxton argued.

The five Supreme Court justices did not agree.

Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said the state had no backup facts to support the claim that the new law was a necessary addition to protect the health of women getting abortions.

"(W)hen directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case," Breyer wrote.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who as a state senator had also supported HB 2, called the Supreme Court's decision "shocking," overturning "simple common sense."

"I am unapologetically pro life, but I believe that if a woman is going to have an abortion, she deserves a safe and sterile environment," Patrick, the Senate's presiding officer, said in his weekly newsletter.

"With the Court's decision, abortion doctors can now take innocent life in below-standard, unsterile and unsafe conditions," Patrick declared. "The Senate will revisit this issue again next session."

Meanwhile, some Texans wish Patrick and Abbott and Paxton could focus more on issues that affect children already here, than spend time, energy and taxpayer dollars worrying about blocking women's right to obtain an abortion  not to mention such distractions like trying to control which bathrooms transgender students can use.

"Texas is doing a shameful job of parenting many of its foster children," wrote Darlene Byrne, the principal Travis County district judge dealing with foster care placement, in a recent newspaper column.

"The situation is worse than I have seen during almost 13 years as a judge hearing Child Protective Services (CPS) cases. Children are sleeping on air mattresses on the floors in (Child Protective Services) office buildings because workers can't find appropriate foster homes," Byrne wrote.

Byrne agrees with U.S. District Judge Janis Jack's December finding of an atrocious foster care system. But she'd rather see money spent directly on services, rather than an expensive study ordered by Judge Jack.

"There's no mystery here  to do better, we just need to spend more money for the right things," Byrne wrote. "Not on highly paid consultants, but on key areas"  like hiring many more caseworkers, "paid at a rate that recognizes the harrowing nature of the work they do; and paying foster homes appropriate and sustainable reimbursement rates."

And that's just one area of real need. How about it, guys?

Email Dave McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com.
Once again, the world has been reminded of the global threat of Islamic extremism, as news came last week of yet another terrorist attack. Suicide bombers attacked the Istanbul Ataturk Airport, leaving at least 41 dead and over 200 wounded. Our thoughts are with all those affected by such a senseless act of violence.

In recent years these scenes are becoming all too common. In just the past eight months, the cities of Brussels, Orlando, Paris and San Bernardino have been shaken by vicious acts of terrorism motivated by a distinct ideology and carried out by those claiming allegiance to the Islamic State. Though it is not confirmed at this time that the attack in Istanbul follows this directly, it is clearly driven by the same level of disregard for human life and the desire to terrorize innocent people.

Regrettably, the recurrence of such incidents has done little to spark coherent, focused national discussion about what to do about these acts of terror. The attacks here at home only spurred a predictably partisan agenda and the attacks in Europe have done little to push policymakers into developing an actual set of objectives.

The inability of our political leaders to move beyond poll-tested, knee-jerk reactions and to thoughtfully engage on what is a matter of life and death for people around the world comes to the detriment of national and international security. Contrary to the wishes of Donald Trump, who wants to 'fight fire with fire,' banning groups of people from entering the United States or relying on the use of torture does not constitute serious contributions to what is an extremely serious matter.

In the 15 years since the 9/11 attacks, we have learned that the wholesale sacrificing of civil liberties does little to make us safer and even less to undermine the threat of Islamic extremism. If anything, our push for regime change in nations like Libya, Iraq and Syria, without a clear strategy or vision of what comes next, has only made us less safe.

What is desperately needed is a clear set of objectives for combating those who pose a threat to our national security. To this end, Congress has abdicated its responsibility to hold substantive discussions about how to deal with the threat of Islamic terrorism. Instead, Congress has been content to allow President Barack Obama to rely on the 2001 authorization for use of military force against those responsible for the 9/11 attacks to justify seemingly any and all military commitments, without clearly delineated aims or limits.

'If this Congress is serious about winning this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, authorize the use of military force against ISIL,' directed President Obama of the Congress during his last State of the Union Address. 'Take a vote.'

Today, that request seems more reasonable than ever. Congress must fulfill its constitutional obligations and vote to authorize the use of force against the Islamic State. In so doing, a strategy for defeating this terrorist nation must be mindful of American values and place American national security first. But the time is now. Let's not wait for things to get worse.

The Orange County Register
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This just in...
There may have been an increase in conflicts and disputes between China and the United States in recent years as China grows more powerful, but there are also valuable areas of cooperation related to commitments on climate change.



Both countries issued a joint statement on Nov. 11, 2014. The United States pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 26-28 percent in 2015, levels last seen in 2005.



China, for its part, estimated that its carbon emissions would peak in 2030, and hoped to make that earlier still. It also pledged to boost its use of nonfossil fuels to 20 percent of total energy consumption.



These promises sounded very exciting, and they prompted 146 other countries ... to reach an unprecedented agreement on climate change at the Paris summit at the end of 2015. It was a very positive example of China's involvement in international cooperation and of developments in Sino-U.S. relations.



But were these promises made by China really credible?



Pledges hard to keep



I have no doubt that the Chinese leadership takes environmental issues very seriously. After all, they have to breathe the air too, and they have no reason to deliberately undermine progress.



But when it comes to actually implementing its pledges on the ground, the check is still very much in the mail.



In 2009, the Dalian Fujia PX plant began operation, the brainchild of the State Development and Reform Commission. However, damage caused by seawater led to an emergency situation at the plant, which in turn led to an uprising of local residents in protest.



The Dalian municipal government promised to shut the plant down and demolish it. But what actually happened was that it just started up again a while later. And when another accident occurred at the plant in January 2013, it didn't halt production at all.



A similar thing happened in Kunming in May 2013. Following huge local protests against a planned PX plant in the city, the authorities once more promised to respect the will of the people. But the authorities actually increased the planned production output [by more than tenfold].



The project is now close to completion, and no environmental impact assessment has yet been carried out.



Local governments are quick to promise to delay construction, halt construction, or cancel construction, when faced with a wave of popular anger. But then they just quietly carry on with a product when the wave has passed.



Problems getting worse



China has been focusing on environmental issues for a very long time, and yet the problems seem to get worse and worse.



There are many reasons for this, not least of which is the duplicitous attitudes of local governments.



What credibility do China's promises to the rest of the world have, if Beijing can't even rein in its local governments?



The real problem doesn't lie with the political will in Beijing. Of course they want to deliver on their promises. They just can't.



Economic growth at the local level doesn't just mean jobs; it also contributes to social stability and boosts tax revenues, all of which lines the pockets of local officials.



So local governments will always find a way to subtly resist central government directives about stricter observation of environmental regulations, while nodding along with them in public.



Until these structural problems in China's political system are resolved, there can be no confidence in any of China's environmental commitments.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.



Wang Dan, a former leader of the 1989 pro-democracy movement at Tiananmen Square, lectures on the history of the People's Republic of China at Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University.




Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen (C), his wife Bun Rany (R) and Cambodian president of the National Assembly Heng Samrin (L), greet people during a ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in Phnom Penh, Jan. 7, 2016.

Prime Minister Hun Sens family and loyal government officials lashed out Thursday at the anti-corruption group Global Witness for its report that revealed the strongman and his family have amassed at least $200 million in wealth since he took control of the Cambodian government more than three daces ago.

Government spokesperson Phay Siphan told RFAs Khmer Service the report titled "Hostile Takeover" was no surprise, saying that it is routine for Global Witness and its alliance system to attack Hun Sen.

It is Global Witness routine to attack Prime Minister Hun Sen from year to year, he told RFA. And Global Witness is among the allies of the opposition party, including RFA and certain media outlets. It is their so-called alliance system.

CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan, in an interview with RFA, accused Global Witness of holding a grudge against Prime Minister Hun Sens family. Hun Sens children are citizens and they have full rights to do any business or investment in accordance with the countrys laws, he said.

Why cant Samdechs family do business just like any other family? What is wrong with that? he said using a Khmer honorific for Hun Sen. Cambodias law does not ban that.

Sok Eysan attacked Global Witness for sticking its nose where it does not belong.

There is an inspecting institution. There is the Anti-Corruption Unit, he said. It is not up to Global Witness to come and look us over. This is an independent and sovereign state.

Call for an investigation

Opposition party members took a different tack, urging the Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate the allegations raised in the report. CNRP senior official and member-of-parliament Eng Chhay Iang told RFA that this and other cases have an impact on the national interest.

In short, it is the ACUs duty to investigate, he said. We urge all state institutions to fully implement their duty to make everything transparent.

Executive Director of the Cambodian Human Rights Center (CCHR) Chak Sopheap told RFA that the Cambodian people deserve an explanation.

For public civil servants to protect their name and legitimacy, I think if they can prove they are right they should give an explanation to the public, rather than just rejecting this as an attempt to mislead or defame the government, she said.

Hun Sens family took to Facebook to criticize Global Witness and the local news outlets that published stories on the report. Hun Sen didnt write a post himself, other than to thank his family for its defense and to say: I would like to post [their] comments on my page.

One of his sons, Hun Manith, called the report an attack against the Hun family that was very well organized and coordinated among Global Witness, Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post, showing clearly their goal.

As usual, this news is full of error and inaccuracy, and its sole attempt is to humiliate and defame the Hun clan, he added.

While the Hun family accused media outlets of being in cahoots with Global Witness, their Facebook posts had remarkably similar themes.

'An attempt to destroy my father'

One of his daughters, Hun Mana, accused news outlets of playing favorites at election time.

Every time when the election is approaching, you always do this kind of thing in an attempt to destroy my father, she wrote.

While Hun Sen and the CPP have ruled the country for more than three decades, Cambodias ruling party suffered a dramatic drop in support during the countrys last election in 2013. It could see even more erosion in the 2017 commune elections and 2018 general election.

In her post Hun Mana sarcastically wrote that she admired the Phnom Penh Post and the Cambodia Daily for disseminating this news at the same time and date. That shows there was good cooperation between the two media outlets and Global Witness to destroy the distinguished name of the Hun family. Please do continue doing such work if you have nothing else to do.

Global Witnesss report was distributed in advance to the media, including RFA, under an embargo to publication until a set time  a common media practice of which the Hun family appears to be unaware.

Hun Manet, who appears to be his fathers designated successor, sang a similar tune, saying Global Witness creates strange stories to attack the government at election time only: This time not attacking only against my father, but the whole family, no exception. Wait and see what will come next.

Global Witness is not alone in pointing out corruption in Cambodia.

Corruption watchdog Transparency International gave Cambodia a low score of 21 out of 100 in its 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), released in January. That placed Hun Sens country at 150th out of 168 countries ranked.

Reported by RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Yanny Hin. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
The defense attorney for jailed rights lawyer Li Heping discovered he was relieved of duty when he visited his client in detention, Feb. 18, 2016.

Chinese authorities in the northern port city of Tianjin said on Thursday they have released a legal assistant detained in last year's nationwide crackdown on rights lawyers, after unconfirmed reports that she was sexually assaulted in custody.

Zhao Wei, 24, who is also known by her online nickname Kaola, was working as an assistant to top Beijing rights lawyer Li Heping at the time of her detention that started when several employees of the Fengrui law firm were detained on the night of July 9, 2015.

"After an application made by Zhao Wei herself, the public security authorities have agreed to allow her release on bail," the Tianjin municipal police department said in a post to its official account on the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo on Thursday.

"This is due to Zhao Wei's good attitude and to her confessing to the fact that she had broken the law," it said.

Zhao was held for nearly a year in the police-run Tianjin No. 1 Detention Center, where she was being held on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power."

She apparently sent a message via social media confirming her release, and thanking her friends, family and supporters.

"Feels great to breathe free air and feel the afternoon sunshine," Zhao tweeted to her account on Sina Weibo following her release on bail, which in China usually carries a slew of police restrictions.

"I am just fine. The same old Kaola you remember," she wrote.

No comment on abuse reports

Her release follows widespread concern after unconfirmed reports that she was sexually abused in detention.

However, Zhao made no comment on those reports, instead thanking her relatives, supporters, and the many regular police officers who worked on her case.

"I would like to thank countless helpful and sincere uniformed police officers who worked on my case," she wrote, omitting any mention of detention center guards or plainclothes state security police.

"Right now, I just want peace and quiet, and to enjoy quality time with my elderly parents," Zhao wrote.

But her tweet immediately aroused suspicions that it was dictated, or even directly sent, by police.

"Do we thank people like the state security police?" rights lawyer Wang Fu commented on social media. "Did they write this tweet themselves?"

Beijing-based rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan said Zhao is very likely to remain under restrictions agreed as a precondition of her release.

"It's quite common for them to let some people out, but to force them to keep quiet," he said.

"I think people also maybe suspect that the Tianjin police only [let her out] because she had been abused in detention," Liu said.

Incommunicado

Zhao's defense lawyer Ren Quanping, who hasn't been allowed to meet with her since her detention, said she hasn't committed any crime.

"I suspect that only her mother is being allowed to see her right now; she went to Tianjin a few days ago, and was incommunicado," Ren said.

"My guess is that she has been released, but it's not really freedom if they won't allow her to have any contact with the outside world," he said.

Zhao's husband You Minglei has said he believes she has been sexually abused or mistreated to some degree while in detention, but he doesn't know the exact circumstances.

He told The Guardian newspaper on Thursday: "I am quite happy with the news but releasing her on bail doesnt mean the case has been closed."

Rights groups hit out at the crackdown on China's embattled legal profession, which comes amid a broader clampdown on rights activists and non-government organizations (NGOs) campaigning for social justice.

"The crackdown against human rights lawyers is part of a calculated operation by the Chinese government to suppress civil society," London-based Amnesty International said in a statement on Thursday.

"New or proposed laws give the authorities unchecked powers to target individuals and organizations that are seen to criticize the government and its policies," the group said.

Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
North Korean infrastructure authorities are permitting drivers to use a new tunnel that passes through a mountainous area which has been problematic for motorists for years, even though they have temporarily suspended construction because of a lack of building materials, sources inside the country said.

Numerous traffic accidents have occurred over the years in Machonryong, a huge mountain pass and canyon located along the border between Kimchaek in North Hamgyong province and Tanchon in South Hamgyong province, where several fatal accidents have occurred, they said.

North Korean authorities opened the tunnel in April to prevent further accidents, said a source from North Hamgyong province.

Because traffic accidents at the Machonryong pass constantly occur, shock troops from North and South Hamgyong provinces began to dig a tunnel through the mountain and put some finishing touches on the construction project in April, he told RFAs Korean Service.

Even though the construction has not been fully completed, authorities have started to charge the cars that pass through the tunnel a fee, he said.

The countrys Construction Command has set the toll price at 15,000 North Korean won (U.S. $1.90 on the black market) for each car that passes through the three-kilometer (1.9-mile) Machonryong tunnel, he said.

The command is illegally letting drivers who can afford the toll to use the tunnel, even though the facility has not been completed and officially opened yet, the source said.



Not enough building material

A deadly bus accident occurred along the Machonryong pass in mid-May when the driver attempted to cross over the mountain in rainy weather to avoid paying the tunnel toll, and the vehicle plunged to the valley below, killing 26 passengers and seriously injuring seven others, the source said.

The accident occurred because the bus detoured around the tunnel and went over a high and dangerous hill to avoid paying the toll, he said.

The new tunnel is built of rock, so that the possibility of collapse and accidents caused by falling rocks is not high, another North Korean source told RFA.

But the inside of the tunnel requires a coat of cement to waterproof it and prevent rain from entering, he said.

The internal construction of the tunnel is not fully complete and has been temporarily discontinued because there is not enough cement and rebar to finish it, he said. Meanwhile, the Construction Command is illegally allowing cars to pay the toll and pass through the tunnel.

This consequently caused the bus accident tragedy, he said.

Traffic accidents are frequent in North Korea in general because long-distance buses are old and poorly maintained, and many people travel in car trunks due to the lack of sufficient public transportation, said the source from North Hamgyong province.

Several years ago, a bus transporting dozens of North Hamgyong provincial government officials returning from a conference in the capital Pyongyang fell off Machonryong Hill, he said.

Drivers have referred to Machonryong as a fine line between life and death for a long time, the source said.



Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Dohyun Gwon. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Sombath Somphones shadow continues to hang over Laos, with the rural development experts disappearance in 2012 still haunting the country as it prepares to host the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Sombaths abduction remains unsolved even though there is video footage of Sombaths Jeep being stopped at a police checkpoint that also shows Sombath being herded into a white truck and taken away. In the video, a man dressed in white returns and drives off in his Jeep.

Though police promised to investigate, Lao authorities soon backtracked saying they could no longer confirm whether the man in the video footage was actually Sombath.

And thats the way the case has remained despite international calls to solve it.

Sombath is well known in Laos for his decades of work on behalf of farmers and sustainable agricultural practices. He also pioneered the use of participatory rural appraisal techniques in Laos.The approach aims to incorporate the knowledge and opinions of rural people in the planning and management of development projects.

While Sombath was generally apolitical, just before his abduction he challenged the massive land deals the government negotiated that left thousands of rural Laotians homeless with little compensation. The deals sparked rare popular protests in Laos where political speech is tightly controlled.

Human rights record

Sombaths case highlights the countrys poor human rights record at a particularly delicate time as it prepares to host the ASEAN meeting later this year.

While the ASEAN meeting is set for Vientiane, the Lao government has refused to host a meeting of civil society organizations that has traditionally occurred at the same time and in the same city as the associations annual meeting.

In October, Lao authorities decided against hosting the ASEAN Peoples Forum over fears of criticism by the participants and concerns that authorities cannot guarantee the safety of Lao participants. For the first time the forum will be held in another country.

While the government claims that it fears for their safety, Lao civil society activists say that they fear the government as the authorities have made it more difficult for them to do their work since Sombaths disappearance.

The government keeps close eyes on the campaigns of the civil societies, and it is hard to work on development activities with people in the target areas, a civil society official told RFAs Lao Service.

The official told RFA that even though the ASEAN peoples forum will be held in Timor Leste, also called East Timor, the Lao government is exercising an unprecedented amount of control by having veto power over the representatives and censoring their remarks.

Five representatives of Lao civil societies will be selected to join the forum, but they must be followed and monitored by officials of ministries of foreign affairs and home affairs, the official said.

Everything they share at the forum must be censored by the officials, but they are not allowed to talk about human rights issues at the forum, especially Sombath Somphones case.

Fear of being forgotten

In a speech before the Asia-Europe Peoples Forum this month, Sombath's wife Shui Meng said she still has hope that her husband is alive, but fears that hope is not enough.

I get up every day in the hope that Sombath will come home; I draw each breath in the hope that Sombath will come back! I must have hope, for what is there left for me if that hope is taken away? she said.

But I do have a major fear. My greatest fear is that with the passing of time, his disappearance will be forgotten.

International NGOs and foreign ambassadors have been calling for answers since Sombath disappeared. More than 80 NGOs in 2014 condemned the "the Lao government's ongoing refusal to provide any information regarding Sombath's fate or whereabouts."

To Shui Meng, Laos constitution and its acceptance of international human rights treaties including the U.N. Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearances makes it even more imperative to solve the case.

For these reasons, it is all the more important that the Lao government act with integrity and honesty and resolve Sombaths case with immediate urgency, she said.



Reported by RFA's Lao Service. Translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Supporters and monks belonging to the ultranationalist Buddhist group Ma Ba Tha rally outside the U.S. embassy in Yangon, April 28, 2016.

Myanmars ultranationalist Buddhist organization Ma Ba Tha issued a statement Thursday asking the chief minister of Yangon region to apologize for criticizing the group and demanding that the national government take action against him within a week.

Yangon chief Phyo Min Thein said the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion, known as Ma Ba Tha, is not necessary because the country has the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Mahana), a government-appointed council that oversees and regulates the Buddhist clergy.

He made the comment on July 2 during a meeting with Myanmar nationals living in Singapore and again on Wednesday when a small group of Ma Ba Tha supporters confronted him upon his arrival at the airport in Yangon.

Ashin Wirathu, one of Ma Ba Thas outspoken monks, denounced Phyo Min Theins comment and said the religious association was formed in accordance with the constitution.

We mentioned in the statement that the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee is an administrative organization for sanghas [Buddhist monks], and Ma Ba Tha was formed as a nongovernmental organization by monks and others to protect the Buddhist religion, Wirathu said.

Ma Ba Tha, which has long opposed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD)now the countrys ruling partyheld an emergency meeting on the issue at its headquarters in Yangon. It told the news media afterwards that it will stage nationwide protests and conduct signature campaigns if Phyo Min Thein does not apologize.

Wirathu said his organization will send a letter to Aung San Suu Kyi, President Htin Kyaw, and NLD chairman Tin Oo calling on them to address the matter by July 14.

Ma Ba Tha opposed the NLD in the run-up to national elections last November, but Wirathu later congratulated the party on its victory.

Ma Ba Tha has frequently lashed out against Myanmars Muslim minority, and last year pushed for the passage of legislation known collectively as the Race and Religion Protection Laws, which restrict religious conversions, polygamy, interfaith marriages, and childbirth.

Rights advocates have criticized the laws, saying they discriminate against women and Muslims in the conservative, predominantly Buddhist country.

Other critics have argued that the legislation does not apply the law equally to all people and flies in the face of domestic and international human rights standards.

Reported by Myo Zaw Ko for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Officials in an eastern county of Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region are confiscating land at a low price from local Tibetans for re-sale at a profit to Chinese developers, meanwhile threatening to jail all those who refuse to sell, according to a local source.



The move by authorities in Riwoche (in Chinese, Leiwuqi) county in the TARs Chamdo (Changdu) prefecture is being made with the excuse that the land belongs to local government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party, a resident of the area told RFAs Tibetan Service.



They offer compensation at a nominal rate of 25 yuan [$ U.S. 3.74] per square meter of land, with anyone refusing to sign on these terms threatened with jail time, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The same piece of land could easily bring from 1,500 to 2,000 yuan [$ U.S. 224.57 to 299.42] in the current market, the source said.



Land taken from Tibetans at the low rate is then sold to Chinese developers at a profit, the source said, adding that newly built apartments are being sold back at high prices to the Tibetans from whom the land was first taken.



These officials are secretly colluding with the builders to make profits at the common peoples expense, he said.



Few were told



Word of the development project was first given two months ago at a time when few members of the public would hear of the scheme and object to it, the source said.



Riwoche county officials called a meeting of local Tibetans at the end of May and announced their intention to take over the land for development, he said.



But they held the meeting at a time when most of the areas Tibetan residents were away in the hills collecting cordyceps, a valuable medicinal fungus, he said.



Officials told Tibetans that anyone refusing to accept the offered compensation would be jailed, warning further that anyone going to Beijing to plead their case with central government authorities would also be jailed on their return.



Calls seeking comment from Riwoche county offices rang unanswered on Thursday.



Chinese development projects in Tibetan areas have led to frequent standoffs with Tibetans who accuse Chinese firms and local officials of improperly seizing land and disrupting the lives of local people.



Many result in violent suppression, the detention of protest organizers, and intense pressure on the local population to comply with the governments wishes.



Reported by RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Thousands of Vietnamese took to the street in the central coastal province of Quang Binh on Thursday to press the government and a Taiwanese conglomerate to help fisherman who lost their livelihoods in a mass fish die-off in April.

The protest by Catholic parishioners in the town of Ba Don came a week after Taiwans Formosa Ha Tin steel mill admitted that toxic chemicals discharged from their massive industrial plant in the Vung Ang Economic Zone caused one of largest environmental disasters in Vietnams history.

The purpose of the protest is  after the pollution disaster, most of the fishermen face many difficulties in life, a witness to the protest told RFAs Vietnamese Service on Thursday afternoon as the rally was still unfolding.

Their lives depend on the sea [and] they are very upset, especially after the government announced that the culprit is Formosa and the government agreed to the compensation of U.S. $500 million, added the witness.

The witness said police quickly intervened in the march, detaining one protestor and injuring two others as scuffles ensued.

Hoang Anh Ngoi, the parish priest of the demonstrators, told RFA that he joined the protest because he supported the plea for help for the affected fishermen, who he said needed both short-term assistance and long-term government help to rebuild their lives.

A Vietnamese government investigation into the April spill determined that the release of toxic chemicals including cyanide from the plant caused the fish kill, and the companya subsidiary of the Formosa Plastics Groupapologized for the spill and offered $500 million in compensation.

The spill caused an estimated 70 tons of dead fish to wash up on the shores of Vietnams central coast starting in early April. An untold number of people were sickened when they ate the fish, and the disaster sparked rare protests across Vietnam, drawing a harsh crackdown from the communist government.

Civil society groups, however, say that both Formosa and the government failed to address the question of how the disaster happened, and whether Vietnamese officials abetted the Taiwan companys skirting of environmental rules and standards. Some say the $500 million compensation package is too little, while others fear it will be pocketed by corrupt officials.

Earlier this week more than twenty civil society groups, political activists, and religious organizations issued a signed statement condemning the governments handling of the environmental disaster, accusing Hanoi of being lenient with Formosa Ha Tinh Steel and too quick to accept the $500 million without a deeper investigation.

According to the website Vietnam Right Now, the signatories want the offending steel plant to be shut and demand that government officials be held accountable for their bungled response to the disaster and the suppression of demonstrations by people hit hardest by the disaster.

We severely condemn the communist government for allowing Formosa to continue its existence and operation to cause environmental disasters, instead of taking it to court and closing it permanently, said the statement, according to Vietnam Right Now, a web portal founded in 2014 that focuses on human rights issues.

Signatories included the Civil Society Forum, members of the Hoa Hao Buddhist church, and Bauxite Vietnam, an environmental group, it said.

Changing jobs not easy

For the estimated 1.4 people in four central coastal provinces who have suffered the destruction of their livelihoods, the Vietnamese government has proposed a plan to provide training for new jobs.

On July 4, Vietnams state media quoted Vo Van Tam, vice minister of agriculture and rural development, as saying the ministry will cooperate with the ministry of labor, invalids and social affairs on a vocational training program to help fishermen transfer to other jobs, including overseas work for deep-sea fishermen.

The plan entails loans for fishermen to find work abroad and stipends to support vocational training for fishermen who want to transition to other work, the state media report said.

State media said government officials had not finalized the training plans yet.

Fishermen idled since the disaster expressed strong reluctance to change jobs in interviews with RFA.

We dont know what job to do. The best way is for the government to clean up the environment so we can do our [old] job, said fisherman Nguyen Xuan Canh of Ha Tinh province.

It is not feasible to transfer to other jobs. They said that, but it is a big deal to make a change. Where will we go? We cant work in the forest. We cant do farming, he added.

Another Ha Tinh fisherman, Tran Dinh Danh, agreed.

It is very difficult to change a persons job when he has been doing it for many years, he told RFA. We have only known the sea since we were born. If they want us to change, then they need to come here and talk to us. Everything needs to be transparent.

Ho Huu Sia, a fisherman in Quang Binh province, told RFA the province does not have land for farming.

Most of our land is sand, so it is almost impossible to plant anything, he said.

Reported by Gia Minh and Hoang Dung for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Amnesty International has accused Belarus authorities of using phone networks run by some of the worlds biggest telecoms companies to stifle free speech and dissent.

In a report, published on July 7, the rights watchdog documents what it describes as the authorities potentially limitless, round-the-clock, unchecked surveillance that has a debilitating effect on activists and journalists.

It makes basic work, such as arranging a meeting over the phone, a risk for activists, says the report, titled "Its enough for people to feel it exists: Civil society, secrecy and surveillance in Belarus."

In a country where holding a protest or criticizing the president can get you arrested, even the threat that the authorities are spying on you can make the work of activists next to impossible, said Joshua Franco, technology and human rights researcher at Amnesty International.

The report says companies, including ones owned by Telekom Austria Group and Turkcell, allow this to happen by granting the government nearly unlimited access to their customers communications and data.

It points out that operating in Belarus requires giving the government access to all their users phone and internet communications.

So if the KGB, for example, wants to spy on them, they dont need to show a warrant, they dont need to ask the company to give them access, said Franco.

Amnesty International called on telecoms companies to challenge such laws to protect their customers privacy.

Franco said the future of online freedom in Belarus depends on whether telecoms companies challenge governments who overstep the bounds of privacy and free speech, or meekly comply with them to protect their profit margins.

The report also urged the companies to inform their customers in Belarus that their data will be available to the authorities at any time.

It also called on the Belarusian government to create checks and balances for surveillance practices to bring them in line with international human rights standards.

Amnesty International says the report is based on interviews with more than 50 human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, political opposition members, technology experts and others, either in Belarus or in exile.
Geekologie has shut down.

Thank you to everybody.

Now go be happy.
On July 5, the Abkhaz opposition party Amtsakhara (Keep the Home Fires Burning) formally demanded the postponement until the fall of the referendum scheduled for July 10 on whether to hold an early presidential election. Raul Khajimba, the breakaway region's de facto president, rejected that demand point-blank, arguing that it would be illegal for him to do so.

Khajimba did, however, agree wholly or partially to three of six other demands adopted by Amtsakhara at an emergency congress earlier the same day, including the suspension from office of de facto Interior Minister Leonid Dzapshba, who had openly declared that "the current authorities are against the referendum" and threatened to fire any ministry personnel who either personally cast ballots or whose family members do so. Dzapshba, 55, began his career in the Interior Ministry during the final decade of the U.S.S.R.

But Khajimba made those concessions only after irate oppositionists had tried three times, without success, to storm the ministry building in Sukhumi, ignoring an appeal by Amtsakhara Chairman Alkhas Kvitsinia not to engage in any illegal action. Some 16 police officers were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the fracas.

Khajimba was elected president in August 2014, two months after the ouster of incumbent Aleksandr Ankvab, which Amtsakhara members claim was illegal and unconstitutional.

Within months, Amtsakhara, whose core membership consists of veterans of the 1992-93 war that ended with Abkhazia's de facto independence from Georgia, began criticizing Khajimba for failing to deliver on his campaign pledges to unify a polarized society, form a government of national unity, launch constitutional and judicial reform, and use the substantial subsidies Abkhazia receives from Russia (7.7 billion rubles, or $113.94 million in 2016) to kick-start economic growth and thereby reduce unemployment, which is estimated at 70 percent. Russia recognized Abkhazia as an independent sovereign state in August 2008; only a handful of other countries have followed suit.

In the summer of 2015, Amtsakhara aligned in a so-called Bloc of Opposition Forces (BOS) with three other political movements, including the APRA Fund for socioeconomic and political research headed by Aslan Bzhania, whom Khajimba narrowly defeated in the 2014 presidential ballot. (Dzapshba placed fourth and last with just 3.4 percent of the vote.)

It was, however, a separate 46-person initiative group that in early March 2016 set about collecting signatures in support of its demand for an early presidential ballot as the only legitimate and constitutional way of replacing Khajimba.

Initially, Khajimba and other senior officials questioned whether such a referendum was constitutional. But after the group succeeded in garnering almost double the minimum 10,000 signatures needed in support, he agreed to green-light the referendum in the interest of "consolidating society and preserving stability."

Representatives of various opposition groups, however, including Leonid Lakerbaya, who served as prime minister under Ankvab, claim that the authorities have systematically done all in their power to sabotage the initiative -- even though the law on referendums has been amended to permit political parties and organizations to monitor the vote, and state radio and TV belatedly agreed to devote two hours' programming per week to the issue. Among the last-minute concessions to which Khajimba agreed on July 5 was to allow people to vote using as identification passports that have expired.

Anri Jergenia, a former Abkhaz prosecutor-general and a leading Amtsakhara member, argued on July 5 that "a referendum can take place only in a state governed by the rule of law. But the current authorities have created an authoritarian regime which refuses to give the people the opportunity to express their opinion." He proposed that the opposition should therefore call for a boycott of the referendum -- although doing so would play into Khajimba's hands.

By contrast, Izida Chania, editor of Nuzhnaya Gazeta, opined that the opposition deliberately set about "destabilizing the situation" and demanded a postponement of the referendum once it became clear that the public at large would not turn out to vote.

It could be argued that by demanding Dzapshba's resignation, Amtsakhara did Khajimba a favor by providing a pretext for sidelining him. Khajimba recently criticized the work of the Interior Ministry, noting underreporting of criminal offenses and the chronic harassment of motorists (including Russian tourists) by the traffic police.

But while Khajimba claimed that the crime rate is falling, other opposition figures argue the opposite. On July 4, one day before the Amtsakhara congress and subsequent standoff in Sukhumi, the Bloc of Opposition Forces addressed an open letter to Khajimba pegged to the abduction two days earlier of a female member of the One Abkhazia party whose whereabouts remain unknown. The Bloc of Opposition Forces claimed crime has reached "terrifying dimensions," and that Dzapshba has transformed the police into "a punitive organ directed against the opposition," while doing nothing to protect the population at large from organize crime.

Last month, three of Dzapshba's predecessors as minister, Otar Khetsiya, Raul Lolua, and Abessalom Beyya, similarly appealed publicly to Khajimba to dismiss Dzapshba, both for his threats with regard to police participation in the referendum and in light of the ministry's lackluster performance in combating crime. They warned that any official attempt to thwart or sabotage the referendum "will only deepen the split within society."
The European Union will not make any changes in its association agreement with Ukraine to address Dutch voters' concerns, but may issue a declaration clarifying that the agreement brings Ukraine no closer to membership, EU diplomats said.

A majority in the Netherlands voted against the Ukraine trade and association agreement in a nonbinding referendum in April, making the Netherlands the only EU member not to ratify the agreement.

Jan Tombinski, head of the EU delegation to Ukraine, told reporters in Kyiv on July 6 that European leaders at a summit late last month told Dutch leaders that they should not propose any change in the association agreement's text that would force other EU members to have to ratify the agreement again.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at the time he was seeking "legally binding" assurances that the EU would address Dutch voters' concerns.

Rather than change the agreement itself, EU leaders offered to issue a declaration clarifying that the agreement does not bring Ukraine any closer to EU membership, diplomats said.

Rutte was asked to come up with language for such a declaration, and bring it back for consideration at future EU summits, Tombinski and other EU diplomats said.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and Interfax
Ukrainians have increasingly woken up to the sound of suicide drones as Russia turns to Iranian-made imports to destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Now they may have another deadly Iranian weapon to worry about -- ballistic missiles.

Cheap but effective, Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 "kamikaze" drones have already made a deadly impact in Ukraine.



If U.S. intelligence assessments pan out, Russia will soon be able to supplement its use of Iranian suicide drones and its own cruise and ballistic missiles with powerful short-range Iranian Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles.



Coming as the Kremlin is reportedly struggling to maintain its depleted stockpile of aerial weapons as it ramps up strikes, the missiles would potentially boost Russia's ability to continue its costly air campaign.



Jeremy Binnie, a Middle East defense specialist at the global intelligence company Janes, said having more missiles gives Russia the ability to sustain the bombardment against Ukraine."



Going Ballistic



The Fateh-110, which was unveiled in 2001 and has a stated range of 300 to 500 kilometers, was developed from a heavy artillery rocket dating from the 1980s. To increase the weapon's accuracy, the Fateh-110 was given a guidance system and movable fins that allow it to be steered as it approaches its target.



The Zolfaghar, which debuted in 2016 and also has guidance capabilities, comes from the same family as the Fateh-110 but boasts a much longer range due to its use of a lighter carbon-fiber airframe and a smaller warhead.



Binnie said the Zolfaghar's use against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in eastern Syria confirmed that the missile was capable of reaching at least 650 kilometers, which he said is "a statement of how much the Iranian tactical missile program has really advanced over the years."



Iran's claim that the Zolfaghar can travel even farther -- up to 700 kilometers -- would put the western Ukrainian city of Lviv within range of strikes launched from Russian territory, while the more powerful Fateh-110 could potentially hit the city from Belarus, which has served as a staging ground for Russian attacks.



While there has been no indication that Russia plans to purchase launching systems from Iran, Binnie suggests that the Russian military could pair the missiles with existing equipment because the Iranian launchers were adapted from a Soviet-era system.



"It might be possible for the Russians to quickly adapt some old equipment they have lying around into launch systems," Binnie said.



The Iranian military, he added, fitted the Soviet system to trucks, allowing for mobility and concealment.



"Those civilian trucks can be covered over to make it hard to spot that they're actually missile launchers," Binnie said.



'Lawnmowers' And 'Mopeds'



Iranian military drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have been homing in on targets across Ukraine since late August, according to the United States.



The buzzing sound of the Iranian Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 drones, built with off-the-shelf components, have earned them derisive monikers such as "lawnmowers" and "mopeds." But the slow-moving, low-flying drones, which are maneuvered to crash into their target, have proven themselves capable of hitting their mark both in terms of military effectiveness and cost.

It is capable of extracting or delivering attrition and damage when launched, but it costs little compared to other UAVs that Russia has in its own arsenal," said Samuel Bendett of the Virginia-based Center for Naval Analyses (CNA).

Ukraine alleges Russia has ordered 2,400 of the Iranian suicide drones, and its military has claimed to have shot them down in great numbers, often using conventional anti-aircraft guns or even small-arms fire. But their ability to be launched in bunches of five -- often from the cover of civilian trucks -- improves their chances of reaching their target.



"The Ukrainians are stopping most of these, but the whole point of these drones is that they fly in a large mass," Bendett said. "The air defense does not always catch all of them. All it takes is for several or even one to make it through."

The estimated range of the Shahed-136 varies, but Iran says it is capable of traveling 2,500 kilometers. The slightly smaller and older Shahed-131, which has been used by Huthi rebels in Yemen to attack Saudi targets in the Arabian Peninsula, has been estimated to have a range of 900 kilometers, according to tests conducted by the Ukrainian military.



Ukraine's Defense Ministry has published multiple images of downed Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks, and the Ukrainian National Guard on October 19 claimed to have shot down a Shahed-131.



Ukraine has also claimed to have shot down a more advanced Iranian combat UAV, the Mojer-6 drone capable of carrying out both reconnaissance missions and aerial strikes within a range of 200 kilometers. There have also been reports of Russian interest in obtaining Irans Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 combat drones.



"When launched from any territory that Russia controls or is allied with -- anywhere from the south, from the Donbas, from Belarus -- they're able to strike a lot of Ukrainian targets," Bendett said.

In addition to the U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia will soon boost its arsenal with Iranian ballistic missiles, as first reported by The Washington Post on October 16, the White House on October 20 said that Iranians are now "directly engaged on the ground" in Moscows war against Ukraine after sending "a relatively small number" of personnel from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to assist Russian forces in using the Iranian drones.

Iran has denied sending combat drones to Russia, and Moscow has rejected claims that it is using Iranian UAVs.

Images of downed Iranian drones appear to show that they have been rebranded to look Russian-made, experts say, with the markings in Cyrillic naming them as the Geran-1 (the Shahed-131) and Geran-2 (the Shahed-136).

Observers are widely skeptical of Russia's denials, noting that the drones are essentially identical right down to the font of the serial numbers. Even Russian Defense Ministry experts have unwittingly admitted that the suicide drones are Iranian.



But the rebranding of the drones to make them appear to be Russian has opened the possibility that Moscow could, if it is not already doing so, seek to manufacture or assemble the Iranian drones on its own territory.



Sustaining A Campaign



The new aerial weaponry fits well with the Russian military's renewed focus on striking military and civilian targets far from the front lines in southern and eastern Ukraine. The air assault has ratcheted up following the October 8 appointment of Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, a former Aerospace Forces commander, to lead the Russian war effort.



Just days after Surovikin's appointment, Russia launched the biggest air strikes since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in February. Moscow said the drone and missile strikes, which targeted civilian areas and infrastructure in cities throughout Ukraine, were in response to a bomb blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

While the Kremlin has accused Ukraine's intelligence services of carrying out the "terrorist" attack on the Crimea Bridge, Ukraine has denied responsibility.



Since the initial air assault in response to the bridge blast, Russia has continued to pound Ukrainian infrastructure, often targeting power plants in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said is a deliberate effort to wear down the Ukrainian people by denying them heat and electricity as winter approaches.



"Civilian infrastructure is obviously the new layer in this war. The Ukrainian economy is now the target, the Ukrainian population is now the target," Bendett said.



Hard To Stop



The hypersonic speed and high trajectory of Iran's Fateh-110s and Zolfaghars, should they arrive, would be extremely difficult for Kyiv to counter without a network of high-tech and costly antimissile batteries it currently does not possess.



Ukraine has repeatedly requested more advanced missile-defense systems from the West, and in the face of the threat of the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles reportedly sent an official request to Israel this week for components of its "Iron Dome" system.



While the United States has said that it is seeking to expedite the process of sending two U.S. air defense systems known as NASAMS, Washington has appeared reluctant to provide more advanced Patriot missile systems.



Janes' defense expert Binnie is skeptical that the delivery of the Patriot system, which has proven to be successful in shooting down ballistic missiles, is realistic for Ukraine.

"It's eye wateringly expensive and it's probably not really practical because each [missile] battery only covers one city," he said. "You would never get enough batteries to get the coverage you would want. You just wouldn't be able to find them, produce them, and train enough Ukrainians."
The death toll from the massive July 3 bombing in Baghdad is still rising as more human remains are recovered from the blast site.

The Health Ministry said on July 7 that the number of dead from the suicide attack now stood at 292.

The identities of 177 people killed in the bombing have yet to be determined, while 115 bodies have been handed over to families.

The attack also wounded 200 people.

The bombing in a busy shopping street in the mainly Shi'ite Karrada district was the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The Islamic State (IS) group, which controls large swaths of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and AP
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Kyiv, where he is expected to discuss ways of ending Ukraines continuing war against Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

Kerrys visit on July 7 comes ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will also attend in the hope of securing support and assistance.

The deputy head of Poroshenko's administration, Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying he expected the meetings with Kerry to focus on "the issue of global security, regional security, and of course the issue of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO."

Yeliseyev said Ukraine hoped to receive further assistance from the United States and other allies in upgrading its outdated and underfunded armed forces. He said Kyiv also wanted to discuss the peace process between Kyiv and the separatists.

Kerry visited Georgia on July 6 where he underscored Washingtons commitment to supporting the ex-Soviet nation in its long-running standoff with two separatist regions backed by Russia.

The two countries signed a new military cooperation agreement during Kerry visit to Georgia -- his first to the Caucasus nation as secretary of state.

Based on reporting by AFP, Interfax
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says that the alliance has reached a "defining moment for our security" and that its summit in Poland this week will confront head-on the challenges of an increasingly "dangerous" world.

Stoltenberg's comments at a joint news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda came ahead of a two-day NATO gathering starting on July 8 during which Moscow's actions in Eastern Europe will be a focus of discussion.

The alliance's relations with Moscow reached their lowest point since the Cold War following Russia's military seizure and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and the ensuing war between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"The world is a more dangerous place than just a few years ago," Stoltenberg said. "NATO is responding with speed and with determination."

He added that during the summit, NATO "will take new major steps to further modernize our collective defense and deterrence and to project stability beyond our borders."

In the wake of Russia's actions in Ukraine, NATO has moved to reinforce its support for its eastern members that were under Moscow's domain during Soviet times and remain wary of the Kremlin's intentions in the region.

NATO is expected to agree in Warsaw to the deployment of battalions of up to 1,000 troops in Poland and in each of the three Baltic states: Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

The plans have angered Moscow, which has long accused NATO of stoking hostilities with its eastward expansion over the past two decades, a charge the alliance rejects.

In an interview published in the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Russia's ambassador to NATO, Aleksandr Grushko, accused the alliance of having a "confrontational agenda" and warned that Russia would take countermeasures.

Kerry In Kyiv

In a show of support for Ukraine one day before the summit, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv and pledged that U.S. sanctions against Russia will remain in place unless Moscow fulfills its obligations under the Minsk agreement reached last year in an effort to bring lasting peace to Ukraine.

Kerry and Poroshenko discussed progress toward implementing the deal and ending a conflict that has killed more than 9,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

U.S. officials say Ukraine has completed most of its obligations under the Minsk agreement that relate to providing the east -- where the separatists hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, also known as the Donbas -- with greater autonomy.

But the officials say Moscow and the separatists have not done their part on key security issues such as ensuring a cease-fire, withdrawing heavy weapons, providing full access to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors, and restoring Ukrainian control to border crossings with Russia.

"Ukraine is making a good-faith effort to implement Minsk," Kerry said, adding that the same message was relayed by President Barack Obama to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their phone call on July 6.

"President Putin indicated that he does have a desire to see this process move forward, as does President Obama," Kerry said, adding that the international community would welcome proof of Russia's choosing "the path to de-escalation and full implementation of Minsk."

Kerry lauded Ukraine's efforts at judicial, legislative, and economic reforms, as well as a new anticorruption program.

He also announced that the United States will provide nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Poroshenko, who has been invited to the NATO summit, stressed Ukraine's demands for security.

"There cannot be effective progress without comprehensive and sustainable security," he said. "We insist on decisive implementation."

While there is little prospect of Ukraine joining NATO in the near future, Poroshenko indicated the alliance must keep its doors open despite fierce Russian opposition.

He said Ukraine expects that the Warsaw summit to uphold "the positions adopted at the NATO summit in Bucharest [in 2008] -- the key of which is that NATO's doors are open to any European country."

Kerry said that during the summit the NATO-Ukraine Commission, which is a decision-making body responsible for developing the mutual relationship, will hold a special meeting at the level of heads of state.

Kerry's visit to Kyiv followed high-level meetings in Georgia, where he signed an agreement to boost U.S. military cooperation. Georgia's NATO aspirations were a chief catalyst for the five-day war in 2008 in which Russian forces drove deep into the South Caucasus country.

Merkel: Dialogue Backed By Firmness

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, meanwhile, defended NATO's plans to bolster its presence in Central and Eastern Europe amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine, saying the Kremlin was to blame for the West's loss of trust in Moscow.

Merkel told the German parliament on July 7 she was ready to offer Moscow her "outstretched hand for dialogue" on July 7, saying that Germany wants a constructive relationship between Russia and NATO.

But she warned that dialogue has to be backed by firmness.

"This means deterrence and dialogue, the clear commitment to solidarity with our partners in the alliance...and an outstretched hand for dialogue," Merkel said.

She told lawmakers it was not enough to be able to quickly relocate troops in emergencies.

"The alliance needs to have a stronger presence in the Baltics and in Poland," Merkel said.

Merkel told lawmakers that Germany will make "a substantial contribution" to NATO's deployment plans in Eastern Europe.

The NATO-Russia Council, which was for two years dormant until a reportedly acrimonious effort to revive regular consultations in April, will meet at the ambassadorial level at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels on July 13.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
WASHINGTON -- On the one year anniversary of the imprisonment of Saparmamed Nepeskuliev, a contributor to RFE/RLs Turkmen Service and other independent news outlets, RFE/RL joined a chorus of international organizations calling for his freedom.

Little is known about the whereabouts and well-being of Nepeskuliev, who, in one of the worlds most closed countries, boldly produced video reports for RFE/RLs Turkmen Service documenting decrepit infrastructure, financial hardship, economic inequality, and depressed schools in the countrys western region. He disappeared on July 7, 2015 in Turkmenistans Caspian Sea resort city of Avaza, and was held incommunicado before a Turkmen court, in a closed session on August 31, 2015, sentenced him to three years in prison on narcotics charges that rights groups believe were fabricated in retaliation for his reporting.

RFE/RL President Thomas Kent called Nepeskulievs imprisonment outrageous and thoroughly inhumane, and said, Authorities obviously believe they can act with impunity to silence, without any due process whatsoever, a journalist who is reporting honestly about the society he lives in.

U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Daniel Baer expressed concern about Nepeskulievs ongoing detention in a tweet today, calling on Turkmenistan to respect shared OSCE #MediaFreedom commitments.

U.S. Congressman Adam B. Schiff, who co-chairs the Congressioinal Caucus on Freedom of the Press, and six other Members of Congress have sent a letter to Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov calling for Nepeskulievs immediate release.

In late June, RFE/RL and twelve other media and human rights organizations signed a joint letter to President Berdymukhammedov calling for an end to [Nepeskulievs] wrongful imprisonment and urging his immediate release. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Nepeskulievs detention arbitrary and lacking due process in December 2015.

Turkmenistan is consistently ranked as one of the worst violators of press freedom by numerous media monitoring groups, including Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders.

About RFE/RLs Turkmen Service

Because of prohibitive political conditions, RFE/RLs Turkmen Service has no presence inside Turkmenistan, but it works through a local network of contributors to provide the countrys only Turkmen-language alternative to state-controlled media. The Service actively engages its audience via cross-border radio, the Internet and on social networks, logging an average of over 650,000 visits and 1 million page views to its website every month during the past year. In the year prior to Nepeskulievs arrest, six of the Turkmen Services nine correspondents were forced to resign from their jobs in response to government pressure.
The Russian Investigative Committee said it shared its files on the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 with Dutch investigators visiting Moscow, but the Dutch team declined to reciprocate.

Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said committee staff met with representatives of the Dutch national prosecution service on July 6 to discuss their separate inquiries into the Boeing 777's downing over eastern Ukraine two years ago.

Markin said the committee expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Dutch inquiry and provided files from its own investigation of the crash.

But while the Dutch accepted the data Russia provided, he said they declined to take any further assistance and also did not offer to share any data they have gathered.

The Dutch investigators have determined that the plane was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile, which Ukraine and the West say was fired by Russia-backed separatists but Russia contends that it could have been fired by Ukrainian forces.

Markin said that "a bilateral exchange of information would significantly speed up the inquiry," but added that the Dutch have ignored Russian requests for assistance.



The Dutch team left Moscow on July 6 without commenting on its inquiry.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax


Any cab driver in Belgrade or Sarajevo will tell you that war is a terrible thing, and that we are really nice people. As for the terrible wars that ripped Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s, one often hears that it was foreigners who made us fight one other!

Having covered those wars as a reporter, I know this is false, but it is a convenient interpretation of a very complex past.

This made me think about why Russian propaganda is so successful in Serbia, as well as in some neighboring countries. Putins Russia offers an equivocal version of reality, one in which no one is guilty and there is no right or wrong, only different and competing points of view. If blame must be assigned for violent conflict in Ukraine today, or in the Balkans then, the fault lies not with those who give the orders, those who carry them out, or those cheerleading from the sidelines in Belgrade or Moscow, the narrative goes. It is far easier to point a finger at shadowy, conveniently elusive "foreign agents" and their Western backers.

Conspiracy theories abound regarding the period from 1991-1995, and they are not confined to taxi drivers. The common theme is that it was the West that destroyed Yugoslavia and opened a Pandoras Box of horrors. Slobodan Milosevic, the former Serbian president and indicted war criminal, was merely their puppet -- yet another victim of a tragedy plotted in Berlin, Brussels, or Washington. The homegrown demagogues, warlords, and foot soldiers --whose guilt is unquestionable to any rational observer -- are thus absolved of all responsibility.

This popular version of recent history is the starting point for Russian propaganda, which finds in the Balkans a hothouse of denial and oblivion. The narrative of the Balkan present currently being peddled by Moscow is built upon an invented past.

Those who were responsible 20 years ago are also responsible for Serbias present troubles. In this vein, the Belgrade-based tabloid Informer uncovers a sensational plot: its reporter had access to a secret document with instructions on how to undermine Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and destabilize Serbia! Western powers are using local groups, including anarchists, leftists, Marxists, anti-globalists and trade unions. The paper has solid evidence of renewed attempts to create chaos in Serbia and topple Vucic.

There has been no reaction in Serbia to this blatant scaremongering. A lone protest was raised by independent journalist Bosko Jaksic, who warned in the Belgrade daily Politika about the dangers of the irresponsible conjectures of what he called the "Disinformer."

It is not hard to figure out where the notions of a Western conspiracy against Serbia are coming from. Sergei Zheleznyak, deputy chairman of the State Duma, Russia's lower parliament house, leveled a thinly veiled accusation:

It is obvious that the current series of protests in Belgrade under the symbol of a yellow duck, at which representatives of the U.S. State Department were present as observers -- along with the protests in Banja Luka (Bosnia) and Macedonia -- bear all the hallmarks of operations carried out by external forces aimed at destabilizing the situation in the Balkans, he said.

Zheleznyak was referring to the public protest over a rebuilding project in Belgrade that is financed by the United Arab Emirates and supported by the prime minister. Russia has interposed itself in this domestic standoff as the protector of the legitimate government against a potential color revolution manufactured by Washington and Brussels. Both the European Commission and the U.S. ambassador to Serbia deny that they have played any role in the street demonstrations.

Speaking at a celebration of St. Vitus day -- a propitious day for nationalist harangues -- Zheleznyak gave instructions on how to deal with foreign agents.

Our country and our party have extensive experience in successfully fighting similar attempts to interfere in our internal affairs. In 2012 in Russia a series of laws was adopted which make it possible to single out those NGOs engaged in political activities, and whose funding comes from abroad, he said.

According to Zheleznyak, a consolidation of all healthy social forces is urgently needed, on the basis of ideas and values that unite the nation and distance it from the attempts to impose unacceptable outside solutions.

Unacceptable outside solutions covers all that comes from the West, in this case from the EU and NATO. Zheleznyaks Kremlin-backed United Russia party last week signed a joint declaration with representatives of parties from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Bulgaria. The document advocates militarily neutral territory in the Balkans -- in which neutral clearly stands for pro-Russian.

If anyone is guilty of undermining regional stability at the moment, it may be Ivica Dacic, foreign minister in Serbias caretaker government, and the most steadfastly pro-Russian politician in the country.



Taking advantage of a recent stutter in Serbias negotiations with EU, Dacic reaffirmed his euro-skeptic arguments:

We are being [deliberately] blocked by the EU, because nobody can persuade me that the whole of the EU is not more influential than Croatia [which had opposed the start of Serbias accession talks]. Anyway, if Croatia -- a country that committed genocide against Serbs in the Ustasha-fascist NDH (Independent State of Croatia during the Second World War), and where the fascist salute is still used -- is a yardstick for joining the EU, then it is right to ask whether we are going in the right direction, he said.

A strange way to endear oneself to an entity that one aspires to join, and ones future EU partners.

Dacic added that EUs decision to delay talks was unacceptable to Serbia and that he would suggest Vucic hold urgent consultations on the direction of the countrys foreign policy.

Dacics strident rhetoric is partly explained by the fact that he is still unsure of whether he will be part of the new government. His hope is that Moscows influence might be brought to bear on his behalf, having restated his credentials as the most reliable Putinist in Serbia.

His anxiety will only grow after Mondays announcement from the Western Balkans Summit in Paris, about the opening of chapters 23 and 24 in Serbias accession talks with the EU.

Meanwhile, speculation about the United States destabilizing Serbia was described as ridiculous by former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Cameron Munter. Speaking to the Serbian news agency Tanjug, Munter said that he strongly supports Serbias EU integration.

The ravings of Infomer, and Dacics inflammatory rhetoric, may not be able to deflect Serbia away from its path toward EU membership. But Putins anti-Western designs for the Balkans will not be foiled so easily, and greater vigilance is required to stem the flow of disinformation and propaganda that continues to find a receptive audience in the region.
A multinational crew blasted off aboard an upgraded Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan early on July 7 for a two-day trip to the International Space Station.

A NASA TV broadcast showed the rocket lifting off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi.

They reached orbit within nine minutes and are expected to arrive at the station on July 9.

The launch marked the debut flight of a next-generation Soyuz capsule, currently the only vehicles capable of ferrying crewmembers to and from the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations.

Upgrades to the Soyuz include better shielding to protect the spacecraft from micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts, additional batteries, improved communications equipment, new steering thrusters, larger solar arrays, an improved docking system, and a GPS-equipped landing system.



Rubins, a cancer and infectious diseases researcher, plans to attempt the first DNA sequencing in space.

Ivanishin has made one previous flight to the station. Rubins and Onishi are both rookie astronauts.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP


The frenzy in Ukraine of renaming streets and landmarks shows no sign of abating, with one of Kyiv's main thoroughfares about to lose its name, Moskovskiy Prospekt, or Moscow Avenue.

Instead, the street will be named after Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist resistance leader who fought both Soviet and Nazi forces during World War II but is particularly revered by right-wing extremists and reviled by many Poles and Jews over bloody campaigns carried out in his name.

The renaming was supported by 87 of the Kyiv city council's 97 members. A comment published on Facebook shortly after the vote by Yuriy Syrotyuk, the head of the Freedom (Svoboda) party's faction at the council, suggested that the remaining 10 members had abstained rather than voted against the proposal.

The move is a snub of Moscow; While hailed by many Ukrainians as a hero, authorities in Russia have branded Bandera a Nazi collaborator and have sought to portray pro-democracy Ukrainian protesters as his followers.

The renaming is part of a massive "decommunization" campaign to rid Ukraine of Soviet-era symbols in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support of pro-Russian separatists in the country's east.

Under legislation adopted in May 2015, Ukraine formally categorizes the communist government that ruled between 1917 and 1991 as a criminal regime.

Street interviews conducted by RFE/RL in Kyiv back in March, when the initiative was first aired, showed that many residents welcomed the proposal. Others suggested that Ukraine should instead devote its time and money to more important tasks.

Along with Moscow Avenue, the Kyiv city council also voted to rename three other Kyiv streets honoring famous Russians -- a street and a lane named after Mikhail Kutuzov, a renowned field marshal of the Russian Empire; and a street named after 18th-century Russian military leader Aleksandr Suvorov.

The council agreed to name the streets after Oleksa Almazov, a general of the Ukrainian People's Army; Ukrainian writer, journalist, and poet Yevhen Hutsalo; and Mykhaylo Omelyanovych-Pavlenko, supreme commander of the Ukrainian Galician Army.

The resolution must now be approved by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who appears likely to give it the green light.

Klitschko himself has suggested renaming the street hosting the Russian Embassy in Ukraine after slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has reassured Ukraine that sanctions against Russia will remain in place unless Moscow fulfills its obligations under the Minsk agreement reached last year, and announced additional humanitarian aid for Kyiv.

Kerry spoke at a joint news conference in Kyiv with Petro Poroshenko on July 7, a day before NATO leaders meet in Warsaw for a crucial summit to which the Ukrainian president has also been invited.

Kerry and Poroshenko discussed progress toward implantation of the Minsk deal, which is aimed to end the conflict between government forces and Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 9,300 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014. It began shortly after Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Poroshenko stressed Ukraine's demands for security.

"There cannot be effective progress without comprehensive and sustainable security," he said. "We insist on decisive implementation."

U.S. officials say Ukraine has completed most of its obligations under the Minsk agreement that relate to providing the east -- where the separatists hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, also known as the Donbas -- with greater autonomy.

But the officials say Moscow and the separatists have not done their part on key security issues such as ensuring a cease-fire, withdrawing heavy weapons, providing full access to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors, and restoring Ukrainian control to border crossings.

"Ukraine is making a good-faith effort to implement Minsk," Kerry said, adding that the same message was relayed by President Barack Obama to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their phone call on July 6.

"President Putin indicated that he does have a desire to see this process move forward, as does President [Barack] Obama," Kerry said, adding that the international community would welcome proof of Russia's choosing "the path to de-escalation and full implementation of Minsk."

"If Russia does not move in the direction of embracing that possibility and de-escalating, then the sanctions will remain in place. The same is true with respect to Crimea," Kerry warned.

"Without real security in the Donbas, an end to the bloodshed on the Contact Line [between Ukrainian and separatist forces], the use of heavy weapons, the blockading the OSCE access, without that, Minsk is doomed to fail."

While there is little prospect of Ukraine joining NATO in the near future, Poroshenko indicated the alliance must keep its doors open despite Russian opposition.

He said Ukraine expected the Warsaw summit to uphold "the positions adopted at the NATO summit in Bucharest [in 2008] -- the key of which is that NATO's doors are open to any European country."

Kerry said that during the summit, which starts on July 8, the NATO-Ukraine commission will hold a special meeting at level of heads of state.

Kerry lauded Ukraine's efforts at judicial, legislative, and economic reforms, as well as a new anticorruption program.

He also announced that the United States will provide nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

The funding will bring the total amount of U.S. humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to more than $135 million since the crisis began, the State Department said in a statement on July 7. Citing recent United Nations estimates, it said there are more than 3.1 million vulnerable people in Ukraine.

On July 5, Kerry visited Georgia, where he signed an agreement to boost U.S. military cooperation. Georgia's NATO aspirations were a chief catalyst for the five-day war in 2008 in which Russian forces drove deep into the South Caucasus country.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended NATO's plans to bolster its presence in Central and Eastern Europe amid tensions with Russia over Ukraine, saying the Kremlin was to blame for the West's loss of trust in Moscow.

Merkel told the German parliament on July 7 she was ready to offer Moscow her "outstretched hand for dialogue" on July 7, saying that Germany wants a constructive relationship between Russia and NATO.

But she warned that dialogue has to be backed by firmness.

"This means deterrence and dialogue, the clear commitment to solidarity with our partners in the allianceand an outstretched hand for dialogue," Merkel said.

She told lawmakers it was not enough to be able to quickly relocate troops in emergencies.

"The alliance needs to have a stronger presence in the Baltics and in Poland," Merkel said.

NATO is expected to agree in Warsaw to the deployment of battalions of up to 1,000 troops in Poland and in each of the three Baltic states -- Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

Warsaw and the Baltic states have raised concerns with NATO about Russian aggression in the region following its seizure of Crimea and involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine, where Kyiv and NATO say it has sent thousands of troops and substantial weaponry to support the separatists.

Merkel told lawmakers that Germany will make "a substantial contribution" to NATO's deployment plans in Eastern Europe.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden assured Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis that the United States has an "unshakable" commitment to the security of Latvia and other Baltic states, the White House said.

During a telephone call on July 6, "the vice president underscored the unshakable U.S. commitment to the security of the Baltic states and the importance of the U.S-Latvia bilateral relationship," it said.

The two leaders pledged to work closely together to ensure regional security and prosperity, and Biden accepted Vejonis's invitation to visit Latvia later this summer.

The White House said the visit is likely to be one of Biden's last foreign trips as vice president. President Barack Obama's term in office ends on January 20.

With reporting by Reuters
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STACYVILLE | Mitchell County residents will join together at the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Mitchell County from 4-9 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at Stacyville City Park to help save more lives from cancer.

This year's honorary survivors are Carol Brumm and Verena Kramer. Brumm, 72, of Stacyville, and Kramer, 80, of Stacyville, will make a speech at this year's event as well as make an appearance in the Osage Fourth of July Parade.

Kramer has been involved with Relay for Life for the past 15 years, when her granddaughter was diagnosed with Children's Leukemia. Kramer helped form a team and collect donations.

Kramer is a survivor of lymphoma for the past eight years. This past spring, she had a tumor removed from her tongue, but said there are no current problems.

Brumm has been involved with the Relay for Life organization for the last six years, helping her daughter-in-law raise money for a team. She became involved with the Mitchell County Relay for Life this year. She was diagnosed with lymphoma in November 2014 and entered remission this past spring.

"Life throws a lot of surprises, and this is one we didn't expect," Brumm said. "But you have to think positive through it all and have faith."

Community members and Relay For Life participants are encouraged to walk around the park which will be lined with luminarias. In addition to the walk, there will be a silent auction, music, food, the Dairy Wagon and kids games including balloon toss, egg hunt, sack races, face painting and the limbo.

Cancer patients, survivors and caregivers are honored and recognized in a special way for their brave fight at the Relay. If you are a cancer survivor and would like to be a part of Relay For Life, check in at the survivor tent at Relay For Life.

Luminaria bags are available for those wishing to have them decorated for the Relay For Life. Luminaries are done In Honor Of someone who has battled cancer or In Memory Of someone who has lost their battle with cancer.

The Relay For Life movement unites communities across the globe to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and take action to finish the fight once and for all. Dollars raised help the American Cancer Society save lives by funding groundbreaking cancer research, supporting education and risk reduction efforts, and providing free information and critical services for people with cancer who need them.

Schedule of Events

4 p.m. - Opening Ceremony

4:30 p.m. - Jugglers

6:30 p.m. - Team Introductions

7 p.m. - Survivor Celebration Ceremony  including Survivor and Caregiver Laps

8 p.m. - Luminaria Lighting

8:30 p.m. - Luminaria Ceremony

9 p.m. - Closing Ceremony

Kids Activities

Will be held during the event and will include an egg hunt, face painting, balloon toss, sack races and the limbo.

Survivors Registration - 5  6:30 p.m. (Register anytime between these hours)

Silent Auction - 4 - 7:30 p.m.

For more information, please visit relayforlife.org/mitchellcountyia to learn more about the event, or contact Aggie Theobald at 641-710-2431.

Ethan Stoetzer contributed to the story
Chesterfield had the most teacher resignations in the Richmond area, with 538 in the past five Junes, followed by 363 in Henrico, 333 in Richmond and 131 in Hanover.
A male victim is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a shooting early Thursday in South Richmond, police said.

Shortly after 3 a.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 1800 block of Southlawn Avenue. Officers found a male victim with a gunshot wound, police said.

No other details were immediately available.
An Appomattox County man was sentenced Thursday to two years and four months in his mother's August 2014 killing, but he has served a majority of the sentence, according to a judge's ruling Thursday.

Joshua Scott Phelps, 20, pleaded no contest in March to one count each of voluntary manslaughter and shooting in an occupied dwelling. He initially faced a first-degree murder charge that prosecutors amended and a use of a firearm charge was dropped.

Phelps was arrested for the Aug. 1, 2014 shooting death of his mother, Laura Phelps Hess, a woman described by her daughter and several witnesses as physically and verbally abusive to her two children, Joshua and Kimberly Phelps.

Joshua Phelps shot his mother in the neck with a .22-caliber rifle after an argument with his mother and sister turned physical, said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Les Fleet.

Fleet said Phelps restrained his mother moments earlier and shot her in "a fit of rage."

"He used deadly force when there was no need to use deadly force," Fleet said.

Paul Valois, the defendant's attorney, said Phelps is a good kid who was "isolated" in a dysfunctional home environment.

"What is clear is this young man just doesn't remember what happened," Valois said of the incident.
Last month, the duck call-making Robertson family of Duck Dynasty fame caused a stir in Lynchburg when locals spotted members of the TV cast and crew all over town, supposedly filming an upcoming episode of the series.

The reason became clear when it was announced that John Luke and Mary Kate Robertson would attend Liberty University in the fall.

Now in their third week on campus, the newlyweds have started to settle into their life as college students at Liberty University and in Lynchburg.

At first glance, the couple looks like any other college students as they walk across campus  if you tune out the backwards glances and the people snapping photos on their phones, that is.

After all, when Wal-Mart carried an entire shelf of merchandise baring your familys likeness and your wedding was recently broadcast into millions of homes across the country, youre bound to turn a couple of heads here and there.

People [are] coming up and telling us how much they love the show and how proud they are of us, he said. That really means a lot.

The eldest son of Duck Commander CEO Willie Robertson, John Luke Robertson has appeared in every season of A&Es hit show Duck Dynasty, written a series of childrens books, served as a guest speaker at youth events and completed missionary work abroad all while playing sports and serving as class president at his high school.

The nineteen-year-old became engaged to his then-girlfriend in October of 2014 and the two exchanged their vows in front of about 800 guests on the Robertson family farm in West Monroe, Louisiana the following June.

It was everything we could have dreamed of and more, Mary Kate Robertson said of the wedding.

With their honeymoon, which started in Australia and finished in Bora Bora, complete, the couple has turned their attention to school. Both said that Liberty University was the obvious choice for them, as their faith is such a strong part of their lives.

Liberty is the Disney World of Christian colleges, said John Luke Robertson.

You can just see that God is moving here, added his wife, who left Louisiana Tech to plan the couples wedding. I knew the entire time I was there, I wanted to come here.

Each had toured other schools, but once they learned about Liberty and visited the campus, they knew that the school was the one.

You might say something similar happened when the two moved from friendship in to starting their relationship.

I feel like God just orchestrated it perfectly, just in His timing, Mary Kate Robertson said.

We didnt try to force  well I tried to force our relationship, her husband joked before turning serious once again. Our relationship really just built naturally.

The newlyweds met at a Christian summer camp in 2010, in what they referred to as pre-Duck Dynasty, but did not start dating until three years later.

Before he and I were dating, his sister Sadie and I were best friends, so I kind of already started to come over the house, meeting the family, Mary Kate Robertson said. So when we started dating it was nice because I already knew [his] family.

She did add that even with knowing the family, meeting his grandfather, Phil Robertson, was a bit intimidating.

While some might feel the two have married incredibly young, the newlyweds said that age has little to do with whether or not their marriage will succeed. After all, some couples marry young and stay together until the end while others marry when older only to end up divorced.

As far as relationships and marriage goes, weve discovered that the ones that put God first in their relationship last and the ones who put themselves first dont. John Luke Robertson said. Our relationship is based on God in the fact that through His word, marriage is something holy and sacred, so were in this to make that holy and sacred marriage  We know were going to stick together and figure it out no matter our emotions.

And if the stresses of life begin to set in, the two, who said they will make appearances in the upcoming season of Duck Dynasty, plan to do their best to support each other.
In his book Virginia Climate Fever, Stephen Nash explains how climate change will affect Virginia, and why the commonwealth needs to be preparing for those impacts now. The serious impacts he describes include sea-level rise, coastal flooding, heavy rainfall, and their effects on coastal Virginia, especially the Hampton Roads area.

Nash, a journalism scholar at the University of Richmond, won the Science Communications Award from the American Institute of Physics for this book. He described the need to prepare for coastal flooding and more severe storms and storm surges, and the steps being taken outside Virginia to prepare for those. When he asked Virginias Department of Environmental Quality to comment on climate change, an agency spokesperson responded in a 2013 email: The Virginia (DEQ) does not have the expertise to study climate change issues.

Virginia Climate Fever, published in 2014, should have been a wake-up call for DEQ. And of course there have been many other wake-up calls, before and after, in the peer-reviewed scientific literature and elsewhere.

That Virginias environmental agency lacked climate expertise in 2013, when the commonwealth had regions susceptible to major climate impacts, was an embarrassment. A recent DEQ action suggests the agency still isnt paying attention.

Last month, DEQ released its proposed permit for closure of Dominion Virginia Powers coal-ash storage facility at the Chesapeake Energy Center, a now-closed coal-burning power plant in Chesapeake, Va. For some 60 years, ending in late 2014, Dominion deposited coal ash there on a narrow, low-lying peninsula adjacent to the tidal Elizabeth River. The 3 million tons of arsenic-laden ash now at the site are partly below sea level, and partly above. DEQs proposed permit would allow the company to leave the ash there in a coastal flood zone permanently.

At DEQs June 16 public information session for the proposed Chesapeake permit a DEQ official was asked if his agency had considered sea-level rise in preparing the permit. He answered no.

The following week DEQs director of operations, James Golden, appeared as a witness for Dominion in federal court in the Sierra Clubs lawsuit alleging Clean Water Act violations at the Chesapeake site. Golden testified that DEQ did not consider sea-level rise in its work on the draft Chesapeake landfill closure permit.

In his new book, Retreat From a Rising Sea, Duke University emeritus professor Orrin Pilkey describes the hazards of leaving industrial and waste facilities in areas subject to storm surges, more intense rainfall, and accelerating rates of sea-level rise.

These factors wont act alone; they can combine with one another to compound the risks of catastrophic flooding. And the dangers from industrial waste mixing with flood waters are heightened in densely populated regions such as Hampton Roads.

DEQ would not have to look far to find expert advice on dealing with these issues. Pilkey is one of the worlds leading experts.

Even closer to home, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, the nearby College of William and Mary, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science all have experts, and have just formed the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency that houses experts in all areas of relevant research.

DEQs lack of knowledge about climate change issues in 2013 was embarrassing. Its failure in 2016 to consider sea-level rise and other climate-change impacts before proposing to allow millions of tons of coal ash to remain at the Chesapeake site permanently is downright irresponsible.
MASON CITY  Roger Rasmussens two cats were perched on window sills inside his home last week, quietly sunning themselves, he said.

Apparently, the cats, named Jetney and Brownie, were a little too quiet.

A passer-by saw the cats and thought one of them was dead. That started a set of circumstances that resulted in what Rasmussen believes is his rights being trampled on by city employees.

The passer-by, apparently thinking the cats were being abused, contacted the city. Animal Control Officer Pat Gansen went to the house at 603 N. Massachusetts Ave. to investigate.

Rasmussen, a Marine Corps veteran who makes his living as a handyman, was not at home at the time and heard all about it from a neighbor.

But soon after, he also heard about it from the city, in the form of a notice informing him he needed to provide proof of registration and vaccinations or be cited for violations of city code.

He said he thinks the city went way beyond its scope and invaded his privacy. He does not know who complained but said whoever it was had to be close to his house, on his property, to be able to see the cats in the window.

The cats were not wandering around. They were inside my home, said Rasmussen. I dont like the idea of Pat Gansen looking in my windows. Thats a polite way of saying it.

Apparently cats are supposed to be registered. I didnt know that. Thats just a profit-maker for the city. Thats all that is, he said.

Those cats were on private property. The city came on private property to look in my windows. That should never have happened. Where are my rights in all of this? Does the city have no boundaries in what they can do?

He said the city gave him a deadline to show proof of registration and vaccinations.

The way I see it, I have two choices  roll over and let the city have their way with me or give up my cats.

Neighborhood Services Supervisor Pat Otto said Gansen was dispatched to Rasmussens home for a welfare check on a cat that was feared dead by the caller.

She said Gansen went to the home and saw two cats in windows on either side of the door. The cats reacted to seeing her and she knew both were all right, said Otto.

Whenever animal control makes contact with a citizen, we check to see if the cats or dogs are up to date on their rabies vaccination and city license, said Otto.

When Gansen checked the database, she discovered the vaccination data and license were not up to date.

So she went back to his home and left a tag on the door, informing Rasmussen he needed to show proof of recent vaccination and license.

Those are required by ordinance and the ordinance does not distinguish between indoor and outdoor animals, said Otto.

She said the cat registration ordinance has been on the books for at least 25 years. Persons cited for not having up-to-date vaccinations and license could face a fine of $50 to $65 plus court costs.

I cant say this strongly enough, said Otto. We would not take his cats.

She said confirmed cases of rabies have been more prevalent in cats than in dogs in recent years. Since bats are the most common carriers, you can see how even inside cats could be infected, she said.

Since rabies can be fatal, it is always at the forefront of health concerns.
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Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled at times to explain his positions and spoke haltingly throughout a highly anticipated debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as they vie for a critical Senate seat. In the opening minutes of Tuesday's debate, Fetterman addressed the stroke he suffered five months ago. Fetterman said it knocked him down but he's "going to keep coming back up. Oz ignored Fettermans health challenges, focusing on Fettermans policies on immigration and crime and his support for President Joe Biden. The race represents the best chance for Democrats to flip a Republican-held Senate seat this year. A big question is whether the debate will have a lasting impact so close to the November election.
Rooney formerly worked at Bristol Compressors and had been delivering newspapers for the Herald Courier since August.

Her husband, David, declined to comment as relatives gathered at his home.
CHARLES CITY | A rural Charles City woman accused of shooting out the rear window of a vehicle occupied by two adults and a child has received a deferred judgment.

Tawni L. Frey, 24, was put on probation for one year Tuesday in Floyd County District Court for fourth-degree criminal mischief. She also was ordered to pay a $315 civil penalty.

She originally was charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, a Class D felony, following the shooting on March 21, 2015, on private property in the 1800 block of Shadow Avenue near Charles City. She pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of fourth-degree criminal mischief in March.

The child in the vehicle received a small cut on his left thumb from the broken glass but did not require medical attention, according to the Floyd County Sheriff's Office.

-- Mary Pieper
WASHINGTON  Conservative opposition put a House Republican gun and anti-terrorism bill in jeopardy Wednesday, delivering a slap to Speaker Paul Ryan and his effort to mount a legislative response to last months mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.

Even as Democrats castigated the election-year GOP measure as ineffective and demanded votes on their own gun curb plans, the often defiant House Freedom Caucus said it opposed the Republican package. The group has around 40 members, and with solid Democratic opposition, GOP leaders would lack the votes needed to move the bill forward.

Despite the National Rifle Associations endorsement of similar GOP legislation in the Senate, the Freedom Caucus complained that the House bill, which Ryan has been pushing, did not adequately protect gun owners rights. They also said its anti-terror provisions, chiefly creating a new federal office focused on radical Islamist terrorism within the U.S., did not go far enough.

One dissident conservative, Rep. Dave Brat, R-Henrico, said the Freedom Caucus objected most strongly to the measures anti-terror provisions and said fixing them would be a heavy lift. He and others said talks were ongoing, and it seemed possible the bill would be broken into two pieces.

Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters, Were going to get it right, and were going to do it when were ready.

Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Freedom Caucus member, was among those who opposed the bill as introduced but said hes encouraged by efforts to find curative amendments.

I think the speakers going to take another look at it, and I commend him for making sure we get this right because we are dealing with constitutional issues, said Griffith, R-Salem, adding his own greatest concern lies with the gun provision.

While the bill aims to smooth out due process concerns cited by Second Amendment advocates, Griffith said it still goes too far.

Citizens mistakenly flagged by the secretive no-fly list could be forced to go to court to defend their right to buy a gun despite having committed no crime, he said.

Griffith also agreed with Democrats that the rapid, three-day window allowed for judicial review under the bill was unrealistic and ultimately would prove ineffective.

The GOP bill would bar many gun sales to suspected terrorists, but only if federal prosecutors could prove within three days that a terrorist act was afoot. The government would have to cover legal costs for people for whom it unsuccessfully tried to deny firearms. Republicans say their measure protects peoples constitutional right to legal protections. Democrats say it sets an unreasonably difficult hurdle that makes the whole proposal unworkable.

Democrats are actually right on this one, Griffith said, adding the gun section overall seemed rushed and poorly written.

They decided to plop this thing into here too quickly. I would submit it has civil liberty issues as currently written, and it just plain doesnt work legally.

Lawmakers have been circulating a flurry of possible amendments to the bill. Griffith said he hasnt seen them all yet, but has read some that could make the measure more palatable, including one that would put the focus on non-U.S. citizens.

Non-citizens make up the bulk of the no-fly list.

Conservative upheaval against Ryan has been less frequent and vitriolic than it was against his predecessor as speaker, John Boehner, R-Ohio. Even so, the opposition comes on an issue thats been propelled back into prominence by last months attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people and the gunman died.

Underscoring the pressure on GOP leaders, a mere vote on the Republican measure would be a departure. Since the 2012 slaying of school children in Newtown, Connecticut, Republicans have not brought any legislation broadly restricting guns to the House floor.

Democrats are pressing for votes on two amendments: One to broaden background checks for gun buyers, the other to ban many firearms sales to suspected terrorists. Ryan has so far turned aside the Democrats demands for votes.

Roanoke Times staff writer Alicia Petska contributed to this story.
A federal class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday is challenging Virginias system of suspending drivers licenses of people too poor to pay their court costs and fines.

The complaint alleges that the failure to take into account reasons for nonpayment or to consider debtors financial circumstances before suspending their licenses is discriminatory and in violation of constitutional protections.

Offenders who are more affluent can pay in order to avoid suspensions, but many low-income people cannot and get trapped in a vicious cycle when deprived of transportation to jobs, so they cannot make money to pay their financial obligations to the courts, alleges the lawsuit filed by the Charlottesville-based Legal Aid Justice Center.

A spokesman for the Virginia Attorney Generals Office declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.

We will review the complaint closely with our client agencies and respond appropriately, spokesman Michael Kelly said.

The 56-page complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville against the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles on behalf of four people with suspended licenses who represent others similarly situated.

It states that Virginia relies on drivers license suspension to coerce payment of money owed the court.

Those who can afford to pay, generally do, the lawsuit says. But, the complaint continues: Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their licenses simply because they are too poor to pay, effectively depriving them of reliable, lawful transportation.

A recent analysis by the justice center said people have 30 days to pay costs and fines in full or establish a payment plan. Low-income drivers struggle to meet the minimum down payments or monthly payments required, get their license suspended and are therefore punished more harshly than someone who can pay, according to the center.

Each court has its own procedure for establishing a payment plan. Last year 1 in 6 state drivers, 900,000 people, had suspended licenses because of one or more unpaid court costs, the center said.

The center reported that most Virginia general district courts are disregarding recommendations made last summer by the Judicial Council of Virginia aimed at helping low-income residents pay off court costs and fines.

According to the center, a person convicted of reckless driving in Virginia risks no more than a six-month suspension of their license, while a person who fails to pay court costs faces an indefinite license suspension, often lasting years.

In the year that ended June 30, 2015, the DMV issued 366,773 orders of drivers license suspensions resulting from unpaid court costs or fines, more than a third of them for offenses unrelated to driving.
MASON CITY | The case against a Mason City man authorities say pushed a woman out of a moving vehicle has been dismissed.

Troy Djuren, 49, was charged with domestic abuse, a serious misdemeanor, after an incident on May 10 on County Road B-20.

The woman was found in a ditch with minor injuries. She was evaluated by paramedics and then taken home by a sheriff's deputy, according to Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals.

The woman requested the charge be dropped, according to the motion to dismiss filed by Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen.

Djuren agreed to pay court costs. A no-contact order has been terminated.

 Mary Pieper
CLEAR LAKE | A Minnesota man is accused of throwing alcohol in a Clear Lake police officer's face on the Fourth of July.

Nicholas Perkins, 19, of Eden Prairie, was charged with misdemeanor assault of a peace officer, having a false driver's license, public intoxication and interference with official acts.

Police say he threw a glass of hard alcohol in an officer's face about 11:45 p.m. on the north side of City Park.

Perkins ran off and was caught in the 300 block of North Shore Drive, said Clear Lake Police Chief Pete Roth.

He also was accused of having fake driver's licenses from Florida and Ohio.

Perkins posted bond Tuesday night.

His next court date is set for July 15 in District Court in Mason City.

 Molly Montag
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MASON CITY | A Mason City man was sentenced to up to two years in prison Wednesday for public intoxication, third or subsequent offense.

Lawler was found walking along a sidewalk at 5:20 p.m. on May 20 in the 200 block of 14th Street Northeast, according to a Mason City Police Department complaint. The department said it received numerous calls about an individual matching his description being disruptive in the area.
DEMOLITION work to bring down the remains of a collapsed power station where two Rotherham men have been lost for more than four months could finally be about to begin.

The bodies of Ken Cresswell (57) and colleague John Shaw (61) have been missing in the rubble of Didcot power station since it collapsed on February 23.

Now, more than four months on, the sites owners RWE nPower has decided it will use explosives to bring down the rest of the building and its proposals are currently being reviewed with relatives hopeful work can get underway soon.

Mr Cresswells wife Gail (58), of Middle Lane, Clifton, said: We went to the site for three days to see what they had done and everything is near enough sorted now.

Its just a case of getting the papers signed and then its all set to go.

Grandfather-of-two Ken and Mr Shaw, from Kimberworth, and their colleague Christopher Huxtable (34), from Wales have been trapped under the 20,000 tonnes of rubble for four months.

But rescue work was halted for the second time on May 16 when contractors reached a 50-metre exclusion zone around the remaining part of the building as the company said it was too dangerous.

RWE nPower then developed two recovery options to bring down the rest of the building  either using remote operated vehicles (ROVs) to plant explosive chargers, or using workers to go in and place them.

The company said its preferred option was to use ROVs as it limited the risk to life and are reviewing the plan with experts.

A spokeswoman added: The conditions caused by the collapse are unprecedented at this scale in the UK.

Given these extraordinary circumstances, and in order to minimise the risk of any further incidents, it is necessary to bring down the remaining structure to be able to continue the recovery of the men.

We have a clear recovery plan in place which has been aligned with all agencies involved and have already completed several stages of it.

She said a start date for the demolition was yet to be confirmed and added: We understand that the time taken to recover the families loved ones is deeply upsetting.

We are in close contact with them, providing information and regular updates.

Our priority remains the recovery of the missing men and we are doing everything that is within our power to ensure it is progressed as fast and safely as possible.
State-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) has floated a tender for the provision of drilling and blasting services as well as the supply of lubricants.

Harare pushed out mining companies that were operating in the Marange fields last February saying their licences had expired.

It then invited the companies to form part of ZCDC but they declined.

In addition to the scope of works, the bidders are also requested to supply and deliver Warman and KSB pump spares, it said in an advert.

There will be a compulsory pre-tender site visit for drilling and blasting prospective tenderers.

Tender documents are obtainable upon payment of a non-refundable fee of $10.

The Zimbabwe Independent quoted unnamed mines ministry sources as saying last week that ZCDC had contracted Adlecraft Mining to mine diamonds on its behalf in Marange as it allegedly lacks capacity and resources to do so.

Mines minister Walter Chidhakwa said that the erstwhile Marange mining firms refusal to enter into the merger with government in ZCDC was the reason why the company had limited capacity.

He, however, professed ignorance of the Adlecraft deal.

ZCDC produced 513,000 carats worth about $21,5 million since March when it started operations.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




KGK Groups Chairman and visionary Navrattan Kothari, was recently felicitated with the Excellence Award 2016 in Hong Kong by the Sarjan Group, at the Sarjan Annual Award Function on 19th June 2016.

Kothari was bestowed with this honour by Rashmikant Donda, President, Sarjan Group for remarkably augmenting the Gems & Jewellery industry at a global level, with his insights, experience and acumen.

Navrattan Kothari has been leading KGK since the 1960's and has transformed the landscape of Jewellery trading and manufacturing over the last 50 years. Under his astute guidance KGK has evolved into a modern multinational that operates to world-class standards with state-of-the-art infrastructure. His leadership has enabled KGK to innovate and expand into numerous markets and achieve global growth and recognition.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




Georgia Ports Authority/Stephen B. Morton

Several intermodal projects, as well as two grade separation projects will benefit from Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-Term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) received 212 applications requesting a total of $9.8 billion, but was only authorized $800 million for the program.

Port and intermodal projects with rail elements that will receive the grants include:

$44 million to the Georgia Ports Authority for the Port of Savannah International Multimodal Connector: The $126.7-million project will increase rail capacity and velocity at the Garden City Container Terminal.

$25,65 million to the Iowa Department of Transportation for the Cedar Rapids Logistics Park: The $46.5 million project calls for the construction of a full service intermodal facility.

$10.67 million to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) for the Cross Harbor Freight Program (Rail): The grant will be applied toward a $17.8-million project to reduce highway truck traffic by improving PANYNJs railcar float system. The project calls for improvements to the 65th Street Yard that will increase capacity and the construction of a double track portion of the Port Jersey Division of the New York New Jersey Rail.

$7.71 million to the Maine Department of Transportation for the Maine Intermodal Port Productivity Project: The $15.4 million project will provide infrastructure improvements, equipment and technology investments for the Port of Portland.

In addition to the port projects, two grade separation projects in Washington state will see funds. The city of Seattle will receive a $45 million grant for the South Lander Street Grade Separation and Railroad Safety Project and the city of Tukwila will received $5 million for the Strander Boulevard Extension and Grade Separation Phase 3.

Previously, RT&S reported that Virginias Atlantic Gateway Project will benefit from a $165-million grant that will help add capacity to Long Bridge and build 14 miles of new track and Coos Bay Rail Link will receive an $11-million grant for a tunnel rehabilitation project.

Grant recipients have been notified of the awards, but USDOT will not issue the awards until a 60-day review period has been reached.

RT&S wishes to acknowledge the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association, which contributed information to this report.
CLEAR LAKE | A Florida woman who hid drugs by stuffing them down her pants faces criminal charges, police say.

Lauren Wasloski, 31, of Orange Park, was charged with felony counts of possession of methamphetamine, possession of oxycodone and conveying contraband into a jail.

Wasloski had meth, five tablets of the prescription drug oxycodone, marijuana and a syringe in her possession on Tuesday in the 200 block of Main Avenue in Clear Lake, according to court documents.

Police say she didn't have a prescription for oxycodone, which is a painkiller.

Officers say Wasloski attempted to hide drugs but they were found in her pants and underwear at the Cerro Gordo County Jail in Mason City.

She also was charged with misdemeanor interference with official acts, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana -- third offense.

-- Molly Montag
The Australian dollar weakened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday.

The Australian dollar fell to 75.27 against the yen and 0.9693 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 76.18 and 0.9740, respectively.

Against the NZ dollar, the euro and the U.S. dollar, the aussie edged down to 1.0487, 1.4832 and 0.7467 from an early 4-week high of 1.0549, more than a 2-month high of 1.4715 and a 2-day high of 0.7538, respectively.

If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 83.00 against the yen, 0.94 against the loonie, 1.03 against the kiwi, 1.52 against the euro and 0.72 against the greenback.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators data for May at 1:00 am ET Thursday. The leading index is expected to be stable at 100 in May.

Ahead of the data, the yen retreated from early highs against its major rivals.

As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 112.12 against the euro, 131.21 against the pound, 103.67 the Swiss franc and 101.00 against the U.S. dollar.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Forex News
Editors Pick

Shares of Credit Suisse Group AG were losing around 14 percent in the morning trading in Switzerland as well as 11 percent in pre-market activity on the NYSE, after the Swiss banking major reported Thursday a hefty loss in its third quarter, compared to prior year's profit, mainly hurt by weaker performance for Investment Bank. The company also projects a net loss for the Group in the fourth quart

Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc., affiliated to Indian pharma major Aurobindo Pharma Limited, is recalling two lots of Quinapril and Hydrochlorothiazide tablets due to the presence of Nnitroso-quinapril, a probable human carcinogen, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

Boeing Co. on Wednesday reported a loss for the third quarter that sharply widened from last year, reflecting higher commercial volume and losses on fixed-price defense development programs. Both core loss per share and quarterly revenues came in well below analysts' expectations.
Danone SA's (DANOY) shares were trading around 6 percent higher in the morning trading after the French dairy giant revealed an agreement to buy US-based WhiteWave Foods Co. (WWAV) for $56.25 per share in an all-cash transaction. The total enterprise value of the deal would be approximately $12.5 billion, including debt and certain other WhiteWave liabilities. WhiteWave shares are gaining around 18 percent in the pre -market activity.

Danone expects the transaction to be solidly accretive to its earnings within the first year after closing and to be above 10 percent accretion based on expected run-rate synergies. The transaction is expected to result in approximately $300 million of EBIT synergies by 2020.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies. The per share price in the deal represents a premium of approximately 24 percent over WhiteWave's 30-day average closing trading price of $45.43.

The acquisition doubles the size of Danone's US , and significantly enhances Danone 2020 plan, and immediately accelerates its journey towards strong sustainable and profitable growth by 2020, the company noted.

WhiteWave, a provider of organic foods, plant-based alternatives to milk & yogurt, and related products, generated $4 billion in sales in 2015. Its bands include Silk, So Delicious, Vega, Alpro, Provamel, Horizon Organic, Wallaby Organic, Earthbound Farm and International Delight. Since becoming a public company in 2012, the company's sales have increased at a 19 percent compound annual growth rate through 2015, and has also doubled its operating income during this period.

After the deal closing, Danone will submit to its shareholders a resolution appointing WhiteWave Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Engles to the Danone Board of Directors.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. It is subject to WhiteWave shareholders approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals, including in the European Union and the United States and other customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of WhiteWave is expected to be fully financed with debt for which Danone has received commitments from its bank.

Franck Riboud, Danone Chairman said, "We believe WhiteWave's size, positioning and geographical footprint fit perfectly with Danone's strategy and that it is the right transaction at the right time."

Following the closing of the deal, both companies expect to combine their U.S. activities into a Public Benefit Corporation, which is in line with Danone's long term mission for building economic and social value.

Danone and WhiteWave will establish a team to prepare for and to oversee the transition of the businesses. Danone also said it expects to maintain a strong investment grade rating.

In Paris, Danone shares were trading at 67.16 euros, up 6.08 percent.

On the NYSE, WhiteWave shares were gaining 18.28 percent in the pre-market activity at $56.10.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
AutoNation, Inc. (AN), an automotive retailer, announced Thursday that it has signed agreements to acquire four stores, including five franchises, in the Westchester County, New York area.

The stores to be acquired are BMW Mt. Kisco, Land Rover Mt. Kisco and Jaguar Land Rover Larchmont/New Rochelle from The Premier Collection and White Plains Jaguar from DiSimone Imports. These stores collectively represents approximately $190 million in annual revenue and 2,600 retail new and used vehicle annual unit sales.

The acquisitions are subject to customary terms and conditions, including manufacturer approvals, and are expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

AutoNation said it will renovate the BMW facilities in Mt. Kisco, while construct a new state-of-the-art Jaguar Land Rover store in the White Plains area. In Mt. Kisco, AutoNation will relocate the Land Rover franchise and combine it with Jaguar in a new state-of-the-art auto retail facility.

The company will also renovate and expand its Jaguar Land Rover facilities in Larchmont/New Rochelle.

Upon completion of the above-mentioned facilities in White Plains and Mt. Kisco, AutoNation will be awarded a Land Rover franchise in White Plains and Jaguar franchise in Mt. Kisco. These new Jaguar Land Rover facilities in White Plains and Mt. Kisco are expected to generate approximately $100 million in additional annual revenue once fully operational.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
The Chennai patent office has rejected TVS filing for a shock absorber patent based on the pre-grant opposition filed by Bajaj Auto. Bajaj alleged that the invention for which the patent is being sought has been in the market since 1998.

TVS filed a patent for a shock absorber which employs a helper spring made of polyurethane. This element helps in absorbing and dissipating energy in a more efficient manner thus offer a better ride quality.

Bajaj filed a pre-grant opposition against TVS patent application.

M Ajith, deputy controller of patents & designs, stated that Bajaj was successful in establishing a ground of insufficiency in disclosure and the patent application is liable to be refused based on this ground alone. The Bajaj induced setback for TVS comes soon after TVS dragged Bajaj to the Madras High Court with an accusation that the Pune-based automakers dealers propagated false mileage claims of TVS products.

This is not the first patent war between the two Indian two wheeler giants. Several years ago, Bajaj Auto was successful in restraining its rival from launching the Flame 125 cc motorcycle which allegedly employed twin-spark plugs akin to Bajajs patented DTS-i technology. The injunction was lifted later but the case is still on.

Several years ago, Bajaj and TVS entered into a patent war over the TVS Flames ignition system.

Also read  TVS Apache RTR 200 modified into a fully faired motorcycle

In addition to Bajaj Auto, Endurance Technologies also filed a pre-grant opposition against TVSs patent application.

TVS Apache RTR 200  Photos

Via  Financialexpress.com
Hyundai Creta has completed 1 year in India. To celebrate the occasion, Hyundai has announced the launch of a new special edition of Creta, called 1st Anniversary Edition.

The car was unveiled in presence of Indias ace shuttler Saina Nehwal earlier today in Bangalore. As a mark of respect to Sainas achievements in the field of Badminton, Hyundai India also handed over the keys to first 1st Anniversary Edition of Creta.

Mr. Y K Koo, Managing Director and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. presenting Hyundai Creta 1st Anniversary.

Saina Nehwal (26) is amongst the most decorated athletes in the country having won Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padam Shri and Padam Bhushan in 2016 besides winning an Olympic Bronze at the 2012 London Olympiad for India.

Speaking about Creta, it is among the best-selling cars in the country. With sales of Creta in the region of 80,000 units till date, it is the Indias best selling compact SUV in the past 1 year. Creta is also the current winner of Indian Car of the Year Award.

Hyundai Creta 1st Anniversary Edition

Mr. Y K Koo, Managing Director and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, Ms. Saina is Badminton Icon of India. Her consistent performance has elevated this sports enthusiasm to a great level of admiration among badminton lovers globally. Creta  the Perfect SUV and the Indian Car of the Year 2016, is an ICON in SUV segment. Creta with its superior performance and style along with strong body structure is a Perfect SUV for global customers. 

On the occasion, Ms. Saina Nehwal said, It is an honor and wonderful experience for me and I would like to thank Hyundai for honoring me with the 1st Anniversary Edition of Creta. Its motivation for every athlete to receive the recognition for his/her hard-work and achievements. I am quite confident and will give my best efforts in upcoming tournaments to bring pride to my nation and fellow countrymen.

Photos
MASON CITY  Six Mason City Kum & Go gas stations will change branding after their sale to a Massachusetts-based company earlier this year.

At least two Mason City stations were closed for the day on Thursday at 1303 Fourth St. S.W. and 1920 S. Federal Ave. as construction crews worked on renovations and removed signs.

The stations will be rebranded as Cenex gas stations and Yesway convenience stores.

The Mason City Kum & Go stations were purchased earlier this year by BW Gas & Convenience Holdings LLC of Beverly, Massachusetts.

BW Gas & Convenience is an affiliate of Brookwood Financial Partners, a private equity firm.

The Yesway convenience stores are part of an initial launch by the firm.

Most of the Mason City locations will be closed at least one day for construction, said Jayne Rice, managing director of Brookwood Financial Partners LLC.

418 S. Federal Ave.: open during remodeling

1224 N. Federal Ave. closed on Monday

1465 Fourth St. S.E.: closed on Monday

637 12th St. N.E.: closed on Tuesday

Kristie Bell, director of communications for Kum & Go, told the Globe Gazette in March that BW Gas & Convenience intended to retain all Kum & Go employees.

Bell said the sale reflected the corporate vision of both companies, with Kum & Go divesting itself of some of its properties at the same time BW Gas & Convenience is expanding.

Brookwood and BW Gas and Convenience have been making inroads into the Iowa market for several months.

In December, the company announced that BW Gas and Convenience had acquired a 10-store/gas station portfolio in western Iowa that included eight company owned-and-operated stores and two company-owned and dealer-operated stores.

According to a company news release, BW Gas and Convenience intends to purchase between 600 and 1,000 gas stations with convenience stores in selected regions of the United States over the next several years.

Brookwood is a private investment firm founded in 1993 that specializes in acquiring and managing commercial real estate and corporate securities on behalf of high net worth investors, family offices and trusts, according to the company.
MASON CITY  A 62-year-old Mason City man recently fulfilled his lifelong dream of riding a bike.

John Peck, who was born with polio, couldnt ride a bike growing up because of his leg braces.

With my braces, Im not able to pedal, he said.

His brother used to pull him in a wagon when he was a child, but it wasnt the same.

Peck, a native of Pennsylvania who moved to Mason City in 2003 after many years in Texas, began looking for a specialized bike several years ago.

However, the ones he found were too expensive. The cheapest one he could find cost $700.

He even tried to have one built for him. The man who was doing the job almost had the bike finished when he was evicted from his home, according to Peck. The bicycle was taken when the place was cleaned out while the man wasnt home and it was never recovered, he said.

Then Peck found a handcycle, a three-wheel bike with hand-operated pedals on the handlebars, listed on eBay.

Peck got the bicycle, a Quickie Mach 2, for $200. The parts were shipped in three boxes to Legacy Manor Apartments where he lives.

He put it together in his apartment and rode it down the hallway when he was finished. It fit in the elevator so he was able to take it downstairs.

He rode it in the parking lot for an hour and a half.

It was great, he said.

Peck was a little bit sore afterwards, but not as sore as he thought. He thinks his arm strength was built up after years of walking with a cane.

His first ride was on June 27. Since then he has ridden to Walmart and back on the seven-speed bike.

I learned that you do not start out in seventh gear, he said. Its a learning process.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
By SA Commercial Prop News

Africa Real Estate is still good value, experts revealed at the recent South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) conference which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre.



Africa property industry still represents good value for investors wanting a relatively secure income stream despite challenges that faces the continent.

This was revealed at the recent South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) conference which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Various experts discussed African property investing saying African countries offer exciting returns for investors if they do their homework and study each market.

There are risks in Africa which putting some investors off nonetheless South African real estate investment trusts (Reits) are looking for strong returns offshore and some opportunities may lie in Africa.

Given the uncertainty caused by Brexit, where the UK voted to leave the European Union, developing and frontier markets may regain some attention and investment funds.

Addressing the conference, Bronwyn Corbett, the head of Mara Delta, which is the only listed pan African fund, admits interest is growing in African real estate but says it is a challenging continent to invest in.

Ian Anderson, the chief investment officer at Grindrod Asset Management said more and more companies were looking for ... TO GET THE FULL STORY, CLICK HERE FOR MORE




Two aircraft also have been used in the search. An Iowa State Patrol plane equipped with forward-looking infrared has participated, and a friend of the family who owns an airplane has assisted, searching west of Highway 218.
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Salina photographer brings exhibit to Kansas Wesleyan

The exhibit features Wichita War Dancer, a member of the Tohono Odham and Ponca nations who has been performing the war dance for several years.
The Health sector in Samoa celebrated a milestone at the beginning of the week.

The 10th year anniversary of the Health Sector Reforms, which signaled the separation of the National Health Services (N.H.S.) and the Ministry of Health was a moment for the sector to reflect on the journey.

The anniversary celebration started with a parade on Beach Road. At the end of the parade, Reverend Auvaa Peseta conducted a thanksgiving service.

The celebration brought together the Ministry of Health, N.H.S., National Kidney Foundation and other stakeholders of the health sector. The separation of the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service took place on the 1st July 2006.

This separation of roles was the culmination of the realignment programme, which began in 1998, driven by the governments Strategy for the Development of Samoa.

The passing of these two Acts demonstrated the governments commitment to ensuring safe practice in health care through the establishment of the Ministry of Health as separate from the services delivery arm of publicly funded services realized through the establishment of the National Health Service.

On March 2005, the National Kidney Foundation was established with a mission to actively pursue the reduction of the incidence of Kidney Failure and Kidney related diseases, with sustainability in the provision of Quality Holistic Care for patients already with End Stage Renal Failure.

The Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Leao Tuitama, congratulated everyone involved.
Hot on the news this week is the fact that cost of living has once more increased on these shores. With the price of basic food items costing you more and kicking the poor even harder where it hurts the most, its imperative we start to think of ways to reduce public spending so that some of the benefits are reaped by members of this community.

The truth is there for all to see. While no one is saying anything yet, an increase in the menacing tax called the V.A.G.S.T is not beyond the realm of possibilities. Which will be the last thing the people of this country need.

Today, lets think about some ways where we can save public monies that could otherwise be useful to reduce the cost of living so that the impact of it could be at least cushioned for the most vulnerable members of society. We are talking about the poor and members of society at the lower echelons of the economic ladder.

Which brings us to a question we have asked before and we will ask again. Are advisory boards to the government really necessary? Before we go any further, we want to reiterate that we believe the government needs sound advice so it can make informed decisions about issues and policies that impact on the country.

But how much advice is enough sound advice? How many advisors does the government need to make these decisions? And how much money do taxpayers need to fork out to ensure the government gets all the advice it needs?

After all, think about the countless consultants who are getting paid ridiculous amounts for advice that is hardly ever used.

Now when it comes to the question of advisory representatives in the villages, we believe they are political appointments we dont need. Speaking of which, some time ago, Falealupos Member of Parliament, Aeau Peniamina Leavai questioned the need for advisory boards. Calling them unnecessary, inappropriate and a waste of time and money, Aeau said members of such boards exist because they are cronies of the government. Well he had a point.

Advisory boards by the way consist of representatives chosen to be the eyes and ears of the government in the community. Now, with nearly 150 villages in Samoa, their existence is costing this country a lot of money. And with that in mind, Aeau argued they are unnecessary and should therefore be done away with.

The cost of having such boards are being put back on members of the public.

And that was not his only concern.

Aeau added that most members lack understanding of the issues they deal with and are there only because they support the HRPP.

Its inappropriate. Its the public who are funding for their existence. They are paying for the overseas trips but I dont know what they do. Thats money being spent unnecessarily.

The veteran politician said the government should clean them out so the Ministries can do their work without the unnecessary interference.

Thats why we have people holding those senior positions within those Ministries, Aeau said referring to Cabinet Ministers, Associate Ministers, Chief Executive Officers and Assistant Chief Executives. CEOs and their workers are experts, skilled, capable and should know better.

Aeaus got a valid point. Why do you need more advisors on top of public servants who are already costing this country an arm and a leg? Naturally, youd expect Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to disagree at the time. And he did.

We dont take one set of advice, he responded. We take as many pieces of advice as possible, there is no end [in our effort] to seek the best possible decision.

When we make a sound decision, we must take into account all the advice from the C.E.Os, from the Boards, Parliamentarians and people in the country. It is then up to us to sort it out and make the best decision.

Thats why the role of Advisory Boards is necessary.

The Prime Minister also denied the suggestion that Advisory Boards undermine C.E.Os and their workers.

The C.E.O is the head of the corporation or ministry or whatever. They are put there for a reason. The Advisory boards merely act as just that, Advisors.

At the time of the debate, a member of one advisory board defended their existence. He wrote that these boards are eyes for the Ministry and they have a lot of work to do to justify their fortnightly salaries.

For instance, the work of the committee, he says, includes surveillance inspections to ensure the sound and safe condition of the existing natural resources, and follow up enforcement of the government environmental policies and the applicable laws and regulations.

He adds: What I am trying to clarify here is that it is not the existence and the money spent on the committees that matters. There is a lot of work out there that needs to be done. As long as the committees are organized properly and put competent leadership there.

Well. But lets remind the writer here that money spent on the committees [does] matter. Its taxpayers money and if the government is spending it unwisely, it should be stopped.

Our economy is already struggling. Think of our foreign debt thats well over $1.5billion. Then think of the dying exports market. What kind of future will this country have?

The time has come for the government to start looking seriously at cutting unnecessary spending. And considering the advisory boards is a good start. Why do we need them when the Government is already paying for the pulenuu and most recently a representative of women in the villages?

What these boards basically come down to is a clever (if we may use that word) political ploy to keep these people subservient to the government. Politics is about winning power and keeping it as long as you can.

The government knows that as long as you pay these people well  they will go out of their way to make sure the villages are singing the H.R.P.Ps tune come election year. And you dont need to be a rocket scientist to know thats precisely whats been happening in Samoa.

The H.R.P.P is applying the same tactics in the running of government.

How else can you justify those ridiculous salaries for Cabinet Ministers, Associate Ministers, C.E.Os, A.C.E.Os and senior officials within the public service?

It is no secret that the government is paying crazy sums of money to attract the countrys brightest minds to the public sector. How is the private sector ever going to compete with those salaries?

But then thats not the point here. The fact is that the cost of living has become ridiculously expensive for many people in this country. While there are external factors beyond the governments control, a major contributor to this is the amount of public monies being wasted through such unnecessary committees and boards, which should be disbanded immediately. There are many other ways where public monies are being wasted but we think this is a pretty good start.

What about you? Write and share your thoughts with us.

Have a fantastic Friday Samoa, God bless!
Dear Editor,

The story about the tourists who their bag stolen in Apia is a disturbing story. It is just NOT right. I am very angry and very disappointed with the people of Samoa.

Here are two tourists who are visiting Samoa in good faith and hope to enjoy a piece of paradise and yet these thugs are out to destroy every moment of their experience.

The office of Tourism Samoa should wake up and smell the hot coffee in the morning and do something about it. You simply just can't ask people to come visit and enjoy Samoa and spend their hard earned money in Samoa if they are not protected.

The Police are not doing their duty and why in the world were the tourists told to go back and forth looking for their stolen items. This is your job and this was the opportunity for the police to exercise and showcase your call to duty by stepping up and showing these tourists that you care.

Except you showed ignorant and laziness and why didn't they get off their lazy butts and do something for crying out loud. As a proud Samoan I continue to promote our island to tourists to go and visit but when people read about situations like these where they were pretty left to fetch for themselves is far cry from being a Safety Holiday Place.

Bruin
Dear Editor,

Re: Chinese Restaurant now offers karaoke at Vailoa

I hope the government is charging maximum fees for licenses for these types of bars. Karaoke may seem just that but there's a lot more to it.

A Chinese karaoke bar is a seedy place for people to conduct business. It is basically a massage parlor in disguise. In some places I know, they will employ young local girls to serve drinks and be companions for the men that go to these bars, usually the rich and corrupt government officials as they have the money to spend.

I believe a few more of these karaoke bars will be popping up at every corner in Apia. As prostitution is illegal in Samoa, who will be keeping an eye out for illegal prostitution rackets happening within these bars and from there?

Samoa, warn your daughters not to seek or take up employment at these bars.

Esther Tyler
The colour on his guitars fretboard peeled off years ago, the strings are dappled with rusty spots. But when Alapati starts strumming the first chords with his big, leathery right hand until his brothers deep, characteristic voice comes in, the two blind brothers gloss over those difficulties.

In fact, the lack of musical equipment never held them back to play music to the people of Samoas capital city. A voice and a guitar was all they needed to shape Apias streetscape with their typical sound. But since a few weeks, they are lacking a voice: the voice of the third brother.

Our beloved brother passed away this May,says Avaiti Ah-Sang in front of the roofed Chan Mow Wholesale building where the two musicians can be found on most days.

We were just starting to save money, when it happened, Alapati explains, his red guitar with the rusty strings placed safely on his lap. The process of saving money is not an unknown one for the two blind street musicians.

Because of their handicap, both have to nourish their families with only their music. Our family counts on this, because it is the only financial income that we have for them, the man from Vailele explains. The 55-year old, who together with his five years older brother from Manono is still mourning the death of their third brother, does not think about abolishing the plans they have made together with the deceased family member: to record their music and spread it all over the islands.

Every day, we earn between 30 or 40 Tala with our music. We share the money with our families to make sure that theres a plate on the table every day so that nobody has to starve. But what is left in the basket goes straight to our bank account, so that if we have saved enough, we can pay one of the studios to record our music.

Indeed, this is not the first time for the brothers to cut their songs on a record. In the past, it was easier for use to make a living out of music, because people would give more money and we only had to ask the radio stations in the area to record some of our music, Avaiti tells.

But this is no longer possible. We asked around and from the information we got from different studios, our record would cost us 3000 Tala in total. A huge amount of money for two sightless street musicians who recently lost their brother. All of the savings we had so far were of course spent to say farewell to our beloved brother in the most appropriate way possible, Avaiti Ah-Sang states.

Even though both brothers and their families had to overcome this elusive amount of challenges in the recent past, they are still focused on fulfilling their dream of recording their songs. It would be nice to find some other musicians to form a band together at least for the recording sessions, but first we have to save the money again. It is sad, because we already had a title in mind for it, that now does no longer fit.

The title for their new record would have been Three Blind Brothers, but with the recent tragedy they went through, the two musicians will most likely change it to what makes the most sense for them now: We will call it Two Blind Brothers if we will ever be able to afford a new record again, but it will be dedicated to our beloved brother, Alapati Ah-Sang says and after a few moments of silence, the well-known sounds of his guitar suffuse the pedestrian underpass in front of Chan Mow Wholesale.
Police Commissioner, Fuiavailili Egon Keil, has declined to comment on a $1million tala lawsuit being filed against him, the Minister of Police, Sala Fata Pinati and the Ministry by an unhappy member of the public.

Suitupe Misa, who was unlawfully arrested at gunpoint at the Fugalei market last year, filed the lawsuit with the Supreme Court recently.

During a Police press conference yesterday, Police Spokesperson Maotaoalii Kaioneta Kitiona relayed a message from the Commissioner.

On behalf of the Police Commissioner, he said that the matter is already with the Court so all we can do is wait until the matter proceeds in Court, said Maotaoalii.

As for the lawsuit, that is a persons individual right. We will let the Court decide and provide justice for the matter.

In a document obtained by the Sunday Samoan, Mr. Misa is suing the Minister of Police for a breach of statutory duty. According to the statement of claim, the plaintiff argues that the first defendant breached his duty under section 13 (3) of the Police Powers Act.

In particular, Sala is accused of failing to consider any exceptional circumstances to establish whether or not a police officer(s) ought to be armed when the police arrested the plaintiff.

The second cause of action against the Commissioner is an alleged abuse of process.

The second defendant received information from the first defendant that a person by the name of Suitupe apparently made threats to kill the first and second defendants, and other senior government officials (alleged threat), says the statement of claim.

The first defendant had also informed the second defendant of a witness who may verify the alleged threat. The second defendant however failed to verify the reliability of the alleged threat through direct enquiry with the witness referred to.

The second defendant could have easily found out the truth regarding the alleged threat if he had made reasonable enquiries with the witness.

The second defendant used and relied on the apparent validity of the Ministers approval by ordering certain police officers including Officer Iosefa to be armed and to arrest the plaintiff upon confirmation of the plaintiffs presence at the market.

Fuiavailiili is accused of using the legal process in order to accomplish an ulterior purpose of oppression against the plaintiff.

Mr. Misa claims that the Commissioner abused the process to effect an improper purpose.

The third cause of action is against the third defendant or the Ministry of Police for unlawful arrest and unlawful detention.

Accordingly the plaintiffs detention was unlawful, said the statement of claim.

That the plaintiffs unlawful arrest and unlawful detention deprived the plaintiff of his personal liberty, and the third defendant therefore breached the plaintiffs right to liberty under Article 6 of the Constitution.

Lastly, the fourth cause of action is against the Ministry of police for unlawful search.

The statement of claim pointed out that the circumstances under which the relevant police officers carried out the said searches did not justify an immediate search or a search without a warrant.

The plaintiff was not committing any offence at the time of the searches, the statement of claim stated.

There was no reasonable ground to believe that the plaintiff was in possession of any narcotics or any other drugs or any dangerous weapon. That the police officers who searched the plaintiffs poloka and taxi did not identify themselves to the plaintiff or Catherine or any other person operating the nearby poloka in the market, nor was any reference made to an authority used by the said police officers to carry out a search without a warrant.

Furthermore the statement highlighted that as a result of the first defendants breach of statutory duty, the second defendants abuse of process, the third defendants unlawful arrest and unlawful detention of the plaintiff and the third defendants unlawful search of the plaintiff, Mr. Misa has suffered damages.

In particular, the plaintiff has suffered injury to liberty, injury to feelings, dignity and mental suffering, disgrace and humiliation.

Mr. Misa also claims he had suffered temporary confusion and shame experienced, temporary loss of physical comfort for a period of 2 to 3hours from the time of the unlawful arrest until released at the Main police station.

In addition the plaintiff is also seeking damages for distress, anger, anxiety and uncertainty associated with his unlawful detention.

The plaintiff seeks against the first, second and third defendants jointly and severally global award in the sum of $1,050,370.00 tala.

General damages in the sum of $300,000tala, aggravated and punitive damages in the sum of $750,000tala special damages of $370tala.

The matter will be called again in the Supreme Court on 8 August 2016.
Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi left the country with his wife, Gillian Malielegaoi, for New Zealand yesterday afternoon.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of the Prime Minister, Agafili Shem Leo is accompanying the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa is attending a meeting in New Zealand.

He will also use the opportunity to undergo a medical check-up.

The official could not confirm what the meeting is about.

He is scheduled to return some time next week.
Strengthening the partnership between Samoa and Wallis and Futuna is the main purpose of a meeting between the two countries in Apia this week.

A delegation from Wallis and Futuna is in the country to discuss their proposal to connect to Samoas Tui-Samoa Submarine Cable.

But thats not all. The discussion looked at other areas to improve the cooperation between the two countries.

Held at the Central Bank's Conference room, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology and the board members of the Tui-Samoa Submarine cable were present.

The meeting was closed to the media.

But Marcel Renouf, Administrator of Wallis and Futuna, said the meeting was an effective way to strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

Its a true partnership and its a very good one, said Mr. Renouf. Its an example of cooperation between the Pacific Islands. Its an opportunity for two countries to meet and discuss a common project and it will be very good for the development of the Islands.

I understand that in this project, we are partners. On the technical ground, we are finished with all the paper works, its a fair deal.

I think we are able to finalise the contract and we shall be able to sign an agreement in the next month between the two countries, so that we will be able to push forward with the project. The main thing is to get it done in a quick way so that we can all benefit from and be able to have a good network.

Minister Afamasaga the purpose of the meeting was to get an update of the progress of the project from the two countries.

Todays (yesterday) meeting is to get an update from both governments, said Afamasaga.

Asked if they were finalising having Wallis and Futuna connected to the Tui-Samoa Cable, Afamasaga said he was not sure.

It depends, he told the Samoa Observer. I think that we may not be able to reach the end of the agreement today (yesterday), because that is not the purpose of this meeting.

But Afamasaga said that this partnership is vital and they are very much welcoming the proposal to have Wallis and Futuna connect to our Tui-Samoa Cable.

The main purpose of the Tui-Samoa cable is for us to easy access to internet services at affordable prices and for our people to able to do business very quickly, he said.

Its in the same spirit why were welcoming the idea to have Wallis and Futuna to connect with us through this cable. Its no business to us and its also no obligation to Samoa to provide this for Wallis and Futuna. But its in the spirit of partnership that why were doing this, and its also the goal of all the leaders in the Pacific to be able to stand together and have partnerships and be able to work together as a whole.

Its a brotherhood thing, he added. So its in that spirit that we are doing this, so that the people of Wallis and Futuna to share the same benefit as the people of Samoa. Pacific is a family; and we need to stand and work together to make sure that we share the same benefits within the Pacific.

Said Afamasaga, the people of Wallis and Futuna will benefit if they connect to the Tui-Samoa Cable than us.

It will save them 6% of the money they will use to have their own cable, he said. But its in the spirit of cooperation within the Pacific and also what our leaders want, for the Pacific Island Countries to work together and come together to improve our partnerships so that our people can share the same benefits.

He added that, this is not the only meeting theyve had with Wallis and Futuna to get updates on the project.

Weve been having meetings through Skype prior to this meeting, said Afamasaga. But its always good to sit down and discuss face to face and that is the whole purpose of this meeting.

Afamasaga said the progress of the project has been going very well.

There are a lot of requirements by our funders like World Bank and ADB that we need to meet. But those requirements are there to enable us to make sure that the whole governance of governments around the cable are done in a proper way that will protect us moving forward.

And we are hoping for a fruitful discussion and a discussion that is based on the spirit of brotherhood.

As a new Minister, Afamasaga said it was not difficult for him to pick up the work on this project from the former Minister of M.C.I.T, Tuisugaletaua Sofara Aveau, who was on the post when the project and negotiation started.

The information about how this negotiation started and everything about the project was well-recorded and well documented, he said. So it was not hard for me to fill in and pick it up from where it was when Tuisuga was in charge.

So I just had to read through the files and get all the information I needed to know about this project. And I acknowledge the team of consultants that I work with in this project.

I also acknowledge the companies that are working on this submarine cable and also the Ministry of Finance and Communication who are on top of this.

However, Afamasaga said that the submarine cable is not the only topic on the agenda of the meeting.

It seems like Wallis and Futuna also wants to use this opportunity to talk about other cooperation in other areas, he said.

Other areas include finding ways to have flights from Wallis and Futuna to Samoa and the development of tourism, said Afamasaga.

They want to have flights that come via Wallis and Futuna to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa and some arrangements of tourism development and partnership between the two countries. Thats all in todays agenda.

We will not concentrate on the cable but we will also talk on other areas that can strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

The cable is a good start in terms of partnership between the two countries. And if there are any other areas that we can work together and start building then we will welcome that. Its very expensive and difficult for us to fly to Wallis and Futuna because we have to go through two international ports, and vice versa when people from Wallis and Futuna fly over to Samoa. If we can arrange flights and we will accommodate that then it will be easy for us to fly over and do businesses. With the economy of small scales like us in the Pacific, we welcome any offers that will enable us to move around easily.

Marcel Renouf welcomed the idea to open the discussion to other areas to improve cooperation between the two countries.

We want to develop the cooperation between of Samoa and Wallis Futuna, he said.

In terms of airlines, weve always wanted to have flights from Wallis and Futuna connected to Samoa. We only have flights from Wallis and Futuna to New Caledonia, but that is far away from us and the other Pacific Island countries.

Getting here to Samoa was also a long travel for us. So we hope that in the next two years, we will be able to have flights connected to Nadi.

And from Nadi, it will be easy for us to come to Samoa. And we want to develop on that, because the people of Futuna, the people originated from Samoa, and the people form Wallis originated from Tonga. So its one big family and we want to develop more partnerships and cooperation with these islands for a brighter future of our Pacific family.
Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and the government have been cautioned once more. Member of Parliament, Olo Fiti Vaai, has called upon Tuilaepa to rethink the changes his government is making in the Citizenship Amendment Act 2014.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer yesterday, the Salega West M.P. said Prime Minister Tuilaepa should not become so caught up in his efforts to settle Samoas debt to China that he forget what really matters.

He said if Tuilaepa truly cares for the country, he would reconsider the bill.

My advice to Tuilaepa and his government is to discuss things that will make the country happy, he said.

He needs to rethink this and not get caught up in finding money from the Chinese businesses just to pay back our debt, while forgetting about the next generation.

It seems like hes begging the Chinese in order to pay for the debt or even pardon it. The legislation is clear that it is to satisfy the needs of the Asians to get citizenships.

The changes in the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 before Parliament involves section 7 of the Act to cover second generation Samoans born outside Samoa whose parent was or grandparent is or was a Samoan citizen at the date of birth.

Tuilaepa had accused the M.P. of being confused with the Investment Citizenship Act 2015.

But Olo denies this. He said he understands the different legislations but there is more to the changes.

He explained that if the P.M. really does mean that the changes are for Samoan rugby players overseas, he suggested that the word "Samoan" should be inserted in the bill to allow only those with Samoan blood.

Olo also pointed out in the past there was no need for legislation change to allow Samoans overseas to get Samoan citizens as it is their birth right.

So I dont understand why we would need to change the law now if that is the case to allow our Samoan children overseas to play for Samoa, said Olo.

This is just a diversion for Asians to get into our country. Im not racist against them but it now appears that we are relying on them for our economy and Samoa continues to loan from them.

Olo continued to say that Samoa hardly gets aid from other countries because its system is no longer democratic but a one state party.

Lastly, Olo said the difference between him and the P.M. is he speaks from his heart.

Tuilaepa talks about his understanding of things, he said.

I speak from my heart where the spirit of God whispers to me. So if he calls me stupid it means that hes making fun of Gods message that he whispered to mebefore I make a speech in parliament I pray to God to help me and for him I fear that very soon hell start walking the streets.

Asked for a comment on Thursday about Olos claim, Tuilaepa said the M.P. was stupid.

So that is totally wrong (what Olo claims). The change is not because of foreign investors. Its for Samoans who were born overseas but cannot obtain Samoan citizenship.
Think a minuteJames Macie was a child born outside of marriage. Tragically this marked him for the rest of his life as a second-class citizen in Englands 18th century society. Even though his biological father was Duke of Northumberland, James was never allowed to hold his fathers title.

James mother tried to have his rightful honor in society restored, but the British government refused. Consequently, James was denied the rights of most ordinary citizens. He could not enter Parliament, hold a public office, or get a job in civil service. He could not even join the Army or the Navy.

Shortly after James graduated from Pembroke College, he ambitiously started a career in science. The results of his many advanced experiments were published, and James became a highly respected scientist. Yet, while other scientists were recognized by the British government with knighthoods, James was denied that honor simply because of his birth.

James never married, knowing that his country would also reject his children because of him. However, he still gave to others a great inheritance. When James died in 1829 he was a very rich man. But instead of giving his wealth to his own nation, he left all of his money to the United States. He disinherited England as it had disinherited him.

In his will, James instructed that his money be used to start an institution that would continue to discover and spread knowledge for humankind. His only condition was that it would carry on his family name which was taken away from him at birth. The name he adopted later in life: Smithson. And today the Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum and research complex. It has 19 museums, 9 research centers, and more than 140 affiliate museums around the world, sharing with millions of people its cultural, historical, and scientific knowledge.

James used his rejection to give him direction to where he could invest his time, talents and treasures to make the world a better place. Just because you have felt rejected, it does not mean your life has no important purpose. On the contrary, if you sincerely ask your Maker to take charge of your heart and choices, Jesus, who will never reject you, will show you His great plan and purpose for your lifeone day at a time. Just think a minute
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Valley Cottage, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/07/2016 -- Future Market Insights (FMI) announced the release of a latest report titled, "POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020". FMI estimates that the Point of Use (POU) water purifier market in Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach US$ 471 Mn at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2014 to 2020.



Residential water purification system includes point of use water purifiers (POU), point of entry (POE) water purifiers, portable water purifiers. Moreover, the demand for POU water purifiers is high among consumers in MENA region as compared to POE and portable water purifiers.



In the POU water purifiers market, products with high purification capabilities such as combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV) technologies are more preferred. It has also been observed that a majority of the demand is coming from urban centres in GCC when compared to the entire MENA region.



Browse Full: "POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" Report at http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/details/mena-pou-water-purifiers-market



Market Segments



The POU water purifiers market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes RO, UV and media-based. RO technology based water purifiers segment is estimated to account for slightly over 40% of the total POU water purifiers market in MENA region in 2014. Media-based water purification, which is a conventional water purification technology has also witnessed technological advancements, and is estimated to display a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, in terms of volume. The third technology, UV based water purifiers, is estimated to exhibit a sluggish growth rate during the forecast period due to its limitation in removing only organic contaminants from water. Additionally, UV-based water purifiers are also priced higher in comparison to media-based water purifiers and hence the product preference for UV based water purifiers is comparatively low.



Region-wise, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Algeria are the promising markets for POU water purifiers. In addition, a cumulative scenario has been highlighted for rest of MENA (includes smaller countries like Kuwait, Jordan etc.). Among the aforementioned regions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be the prominent market for POU water purifiers, followed by Turkey, due to its growing population and rapid urbanization, and increasing awareness for safe drinking water forecast period.



Request Free Report Sample With TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ma-30



In addition, penetration of bottled water is a challenge for the POU water purifiers market in Anatolia. As a result, Anatolia is estimated to demonstrate a sluggish growth rate in the near future. Furthermore, POU water purifiers market in UAE is anticipated to reach 149.2 thousand units by 2020, exhibiting a CAGR of 10% between 2014 and 2020.



Drivers and Restraints



Deteriorating water quality, rising cost of bottled water, increasing population coupled with increasing per capita income are some of the prominent factors which will catalyse the point of use water purifiers in the region. Though the MENA market is attractive in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, low awareness about safe drinking water and product unavailability are major challenges for the MENA POU water purifier market.



Discussion With Analyst@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-ma-30



Competitive Landscape



Key players operating in the MENA water purifier market are LG, Eureka Forbes, Strauss Water, Panasonic, WaterLife and Coolplex. The report sheds light on their key growth strategies and recent developments. In addition, the report also discusses the value chain followed by multinational companies in MENA for POU water purifiers.
Beautiful 1,500-year-old mosaics depicting Noahs ark, animals, and the parting of the Red Sea have been discovered by archaeologists excavating a synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village located three miles west of Magdala in the Galilee of Israel.

The newly-discovered mosaic panels decorate the floor of a synagogue that dates to the time when the area was ruled by the Roman Empire and when Christianity had become the Empires official religion.

They portray two Biblical stories: Noahs Ark and the parting of the Red Sea.

The panel with Noahs Ark depicts an ark and pairs of animals, including elephants, leopards, donkeys, snakes, bears, lions, ostriches, camels, sheep and goats.

The scene of the parting of the Red Sea shows Pharaohs soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots with horses and chariot drivers.

These scenes are very rare in ancient synagogues, said Dr. Jodi Magness from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the director of excavations at Huqoq.

The only other examples that have been found are at Gerasa/Jerash in Jordan and Mopsuestia/Misis in Turkey (Noahs Ark), and at Khirbet Wadi Hamam in Israel and Dura Europos in Syria (the parting of the Red Sea).

Mosaics were first discovered at the Huqoq site in 2012, and excavations have since continued each summer.

Since then, mosaics depicting Samson and the foxes (as related in the Bibles Judges 15:4), Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders (Judges 16:3) and a scene containing a Hebrew inscription surrounded by human figures, animals and mythological creatures have been uncovered.

Another mosaic discovered and excavated in the synagogues east aisle in the 2013-2014 seasons depicts the first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogue  perhaps the legendary meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest.

A mosaic uncovered in 2015 next to this scene contains a Hebrew inscription surrounded by human figures, animals and mythological creatures including putti (cupids).

This is by far the most extensive series of Biblical stories ever found decorating the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue, Dr. Magness said.

The arrangement of the mosaics in panels on the floor brings to mind the synagogue at Dura Europos in Syria, where an array of Biblical stories is painted in panels on the walls.

Dr. Magness and her colleagues have also uncovered coins spanning 2,300 years.

The ancient coins are critical for our knowledge of the monumental synagogue and the associated village, explained team member Dr. Nathan Elkins, from Baylor Universitys College of Arts & Sciences.
[MANILA] More than 120 million children born each year in 137 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) miss out on educational opportunities that could help them prepare for a career to a better life.



Scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the United States estimate that impaired early life growth among children in developing countries slashes potential career earnings for children born each year by around US$177 billion.



If governments can address the problem, a reduction in early growth faltering could yield significant benefits from increased human capital and improved long-term health outcomes, says the research led by Gunther Fink, an associate professor at the Massachusetts-based institution.



The research, published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (29 June), is the first in-depth evaluation in LMICs of the economic impact of early growth faltering  when a childs physical growth is below the normal range for healthy children. It quantifies the impact that early childhood development has on personal and national economic wellbeing, says Fink.



The calculation of early life faltering considered a wide range of risk factors, which include poor nutrition, birth prematurity, low breastfeeding rates and early exposure to infection.

Six and a half million boys and girls are missing out on even the foundations of an education. Karin Hulshof, UNICEF



The study does not include economic impacts of slow development of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The numbers [in our study] likely underestimate the true economic cost over sub-optimal early childhood development by a fair margin, Fink tells SciDev.Net.



Based on a projection of 69.4 million years equivalent of lost educational attainment for affected children every year, the study estimated that nearly US$177 billion worth of missed earnings are caused by childrens early development shortfalls.



Huge potential losses



Such potential career earning losses can reach US$37.87 billion among 26.59 million children born each year in India, US$18.49 billion with 2.37 million children in Mexico, and US$13.33 billion with 16.48 million children born each year in China.



The study used 2010 birth totals in computing potential future career losses. Estimates of future career losses are based on the assumption that the children born in a single year participate in the labour market for 40 years, entering at the age of 20 and retiring at 60.



Among geographical regions, South Asia accounts for 35.95 million children born every year with potential career earning losses of about US$46.6 billion, the highest regional total. The 21 LMICs in the Middle East and North Africa, with 11.57 million births a year, could incur potential economic losses of up to US$14.5 billion due to early life faltering. In Sub-Saharan Africa losses are projected at US$34.2 billion, and in Latin America the amount comes to US$44.7 billion.



In South-East Asia, where 11.72 million children are born every year, estimated potential career losses due to early life faltering could run into US$17.77 billion. The potential career losses range from US$9.06 billion in Indonesia to US$2.2 billion in Thailand.



The study recommends a comprehensive package of critical interventions improving all domains of development to curtail the potential career earning losses among children. It argues that even a 20 per cent success rate  an estimated cost of US$100 per child each year  could still result in long-run benefits of about US$3 for every US$1 invested by governments.



Governments are trying hard to change these outcomes, but growth is very complex so that single interventions like vitamins or supplements cannot fix the problem, Fink tells SciDev.Net.



Preventable deaths in children



The UNICEF (UN Childrens Fund) State of the Worlds Children 2016 annual report, which was formally launched in Asia this week (5 July), notes that in the East Asia and Pacific region, the number of preventable deaths of children under five years of age has been halved from 1990 and 2015 to around six million a year.



While that also means that six million children under five still die every year from preventable causes  which UNICEF regional director for East Asia and the Pacific Karin Hulshof describes as horrifying still  the report also cites that life has improved for the vast majority of children in the region as a result of economic growth, good policies and political commitment.

Sustainable development, begins with providing all children with a good start and a fair chance in life, Gaspar Fajth, UNICEF



Across the region, 96 per cent of boys and 97 per cent of girls attend primary school, while 82 per cent of boys and 84 per cent of girls attend secondary school.



However, across East Asia and the Pacific, that small gap between 96 per cent and every child adds up to 6.5 million children who still  in 2016  do not attend primary school. Six and a half million boys and girls are missing out on even the foundations of an education, Hulshof points out.



Hulshof notes that the UN Sustainable Development Goals establish universally agreed targets for progress, namely, to end poverty and hunger in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality.



The UNICEF annual report lists five elements that are key to improvements for the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach children: information on affected children and the reasons for their deprivation, as well as government spending on key interventions; integration of solutions to solve different problems; innovation that will speed up change; investment in smart, strategic and cost-effective programmes; and involvement of technology and all citizens in assisting children left behind by progress.



Not always sustainable



Gaspar Fajth, UNICEF regional adviser for social policy and economic analysis, says that fast growth is not always sustainable growth. Sustainable development, he adds, begins with providing all children with a good start and a fair chance in life.

One reason why children drop out or miss out school altogether is because they are poorly prepared for it, and in the region, the record is highly uneven in terms of support before children get to primary school, Fajth says.He calls on policymakers and all citizens to work together towards securing universal health , universal education and universal social protection.Even in basic services such as issuing birth certificates, inequities are already evident, Fajth says. While birth registration reaches almost all children in Mongolia or Thailand, it still shows significant gaps in most countries in the region  less than 70 per cent in Indonesia and less than 50 per cent in several Pacific island states.Universal support at early childhood is particularly important but this is where there are still large gaps in many countries, Fajth says. To reach out to each and every child, we need universal plus: services tailored to the needs of disadvantaged mothers and children with strong social assistance, social care services helping children who are economically or socially disadvantaged.This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets South-East Asia & Pacific desk
Indices that seek to measure international connectivity and rank the most connected countries often fail to capture the damage caused by globalisation, a report argues.

Connectivity comes with many negative impacts often neglected in indices, says the first chapter of the report launched by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) today in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Higher connectivity between people, cities and countries can increase the risk of pandemics, inequality, financial instability or pollution, the authors say. But existing indices, such as the DHL Global Connectedness Index or The Economists ICT Globalisation Index, focus on economic, business or technology data and do not reflect these possible harms.

The absence of environmental and social metrics in most connectivity indices is surprising, not to say shocking, the report says.

For example, indices often use figures on the number of migrants in a given country, under the assumption that countries that welcome more migrants are better connected.

But nations such as Qatar or Saudi Arabia have a high share of migrants in their population because they exploit cheap labour, says Thierry Schwarz, who coauthored the chapter. Is it a sign of good connectivity? Of course not, says Schwarz, a former director of ASEFs political and economic department.

The absence of environmental and social metrics in most connectivity indices is surprising, not to say shocking. Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) report

To account for the damage high connectivity can cause, Schwarz and his chapter coauthor Yvonne Guo, a public policy researcher at the National University of Singapore, propose an alternative measure: the Sustainable Connectivity Index (SCI).

This index would give positive marks to connectivity elements that are neutral or beneficial to other countries, and remove marks for harmful aspects. It would also include and give equal weight to economic, social and environmental criteria.

Developing countries would fare better in the long term in a ranking based on this proposed index, predicts Schwarz.

The report singles out the Maastricht Globalisation Index (MGI) as the only one that reflects the environmental impact of connectivity.

Globalisation researcher Lukas Figge, who has worked on MGI at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, agrees that existing indices do not account for the damage connectivity causes. But he is a bit sceptical about the proposed SCI.

The decisions to ascribe positive or negative scores to each criterion would involve underlying value judgements that would reflect different cultural perspectives, Figge says. From a scientific perspective, this would be difficult to defend, he says.

Also, the list of metrics proposed to calculate the SCI includes about 70 components, and it will be difficult to access reliable data for all of them, Figge says.

You are always tempted to include more, but adding too many components makes [composite indicators] more difficult to understand and interpret, he explains.

The report is the second volume of the ASEF outlook report 2016/2017, published alongside the Asia-Europe Meetings 11th summit, an event held every two years for heads of state and government from both continents.
[LAGOS] Effective surveillance and integrated pest management could curb the devastating impacts of tomato pest, Tuta absoluta, also called tomato leaf miner, which is ravaging the crop in Nigeria, experts say.



T. absoluta has affected most parts of northern Nigeria tomato farms in Kaduna state, causing a loss of more than 1 billion naira (about US$3.5 million), leading to rising tomato prices, according to the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI)  an organisation working with African governments and research institutions to monitor the spread of the pest.

How successful we fight this pest can inform how we can deal with future disease and pest attacks in our agricultural sector. Joseph Khettima, Fidele Integrated Farms

Washington Otieno, a programme executive of CABI who is based in Kenya, says that his outfit is helping monitor other pests as well and provide farmers with guidance on how to control the pest.



Its not just affecting farmers livelihoods but also the countrys food security as tomatoes are a staple food in Nigeria, CABI says in a write-up to SciDev.Net last month (16 June).



T. absoluta is not a new disease. Otieno says it was identified in Spain in 2006. The following year it was detected in Algeria, France, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta and Morocco. In 2009 it was reported from Turkey.



In Africa, T. absoluta moved from Egypt to reach Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia from the east and to Senegal in the west and presently is in most African countries, says Otieno. It was reported in Nigeria in May 2016.



Otieno adds that data gathered from various sources in Nigeria show that the pest attacks the tomato plant at all stages of growth from seedling till harvest.



He tells SciDev.Net that a single female can lay about 250 eggs at a go that will hatch in one to two days when the larvae begin to feed on the plants. The female can live for 30-40 days having multiple cycles during this period. An active female moth will lay eggs some two days after mating.



This is a picture of how the pest population can explode within a season if no action is taken to control it. Damage from the pest can reach a 100 per cent of crop failure, Otieno says.



Johnson Onyibe, an agronomist with expertise in agricultural finance at the Nigeria-headquartered International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, says the damage inflicted on the economy is about 80 per cent loss for famers.



The loss is also high in the tomato value chain, for example, the basket makers, the transporters, the labourers that depend on picking tomatoes, the loaders, network of middlemen or distributors, retailers of tomatoes, the consumers and food restaurants, he explains.

Joseph Khettima, an agricultural researcher with Nigeria-based Fidele Intergrated Farms, notes that there is need to involve big international agrochemical companies in the fight because such organisations are always doing research and developing new technologies for emerging challenges.How successful we fight this pest can inform how we can deal with future disease and pest attacks in our agricultural sector. Khettima says.This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
According to a widely accepted estimate, cybercrime costs the world economy the sum of US $ 500 billion, more than the GDP of South Africa (350.6 billion dollars) and slightly less than that of Nigeria ( 521.8 billion dollars), the continent's largest economy.



The latter pays a heavy price to the scourge: according to estimates, cybercrime costs the Nigerian economy the sum of US $ 500 million per annum.



According to the United Nations, cybercrime covers any illegal behavior directed by means of electronic operations that targets the security of computer systems and the data processed by them.



It goes without saying that the phenomenon goes far beyond the common scams perpetrated through emails  the famous Nigerian "419" scam.



Alongside this form of crime are a host of other illegal activities using ultra-sophisticated means.



In this article, we will endeavor to present a range of different forms of cyber crime, their characteristics and scope, as well as available related data.



(13)

A high cost

The digital economy is developing at lightning speed, and with it a new challenge has appeared, along with the economic and strategic stakes that go with it: this new danger is cybercrime.According to Microsofts Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), there are nearly 400 million victims of cyber crime each year. And cyber crime costs consumers 113 billion dollars a year. India, followed by Pakistan, Egypt, Brazil, Algeria, and Mexico, have the largest number of infected machines involving malware developed outside Eastern Europe.



According to Microsofts estimate, in 2014 about one half of all adults connected to the Internet were victims of cybercrime. This costs the world economy 500 billion dollars; 20% of all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been hit.



These estimations are confirmed by Merrill Lynch Global Research, who, in a 2015 report, also predict a potential Cybergeddon in 2020, when cybercrime could extract up to one-fifth of the value generated by the Internet.



As far as the African continent is concerned, there are fewer available data  this shows the absence of measuring tools and of control of cybercrime.



However, and to serve as an illustration: a study conducted by International Data Group Connect showed that each year, cybercrime cost the South African economy an estimated 573 million dollars. For the Nigerian economy the cost was estimated to be 500 million dollars, and for the Kenyan economy, 36 million dollars (14).

Proportionally speaking, for middle income countries this represents enormous sums.



Another study conducted by Deloitte and dating back to 2011 showed that financial institutions in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia had sustained losses of 245 million dollars, attributable to cyberfraud. (15)



Lastly, several Zambian commercial banks were defrauded of over 4 million dollars in the first semester of 2013, as a result of a complex cybercrime scheme involving Zambians as well as foreign nationals.(16)



In francophone Africa, the phenomenon is mostly to be found in the main regional economies. For instance, in 2013 the estimated cost of cybercrime in the Ivory Coast was 26 billion CFA Francs (3.8 million euros). In Senegal the cost was estimated to be 15 billion CFA francs (22 million euros).



At an international forum on cybercrime in 2016 in Dakar, Charles Kouame, in charge of governance in the Ivorian Authority for the regulation of telecommunications, pointed out that 1.409 complaints had been lodged and acted on by the Ivorian courts last year. According to him, the global volume of Web based fraud in the country seems to have started to decrease, falling from 5.8 billion CFA francs (8.9 million euros) in 2014 to 4 billion CFA francs (6,1 billion euros) in 2015.



These figures show the size of the problem in a part of the world which is currently experiencing exponential growth, fed by the rise in the prices of raw materials and the boom in the technological sector, to which one could add the rise in the incomes of the middle classes. Even if they cant buy the usual computer kit (PCs, printers, routers etc) they can now connect to the Internet with smart phones, the prices of these devices having dropped significantly in the last ten years.



This explains why, in 2013, in Sub-Saharan Africa alone 311 million mobile phone users were counted (a penetration rate of 36 %). The figure should reach 504 million in 2020 (49% penetration rate). (17)



For its part, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) estimates that one African out of every five now uses the Internet. (18)

Piracy

The high ratio of Internet connection is unfortunately accompanied by a high rate of software piracy.



Since there are obvious links between software piracy and cybercrime, the main method used by cybercriminals is still to use infected machines, fed by the proliferation of pirated software.



In 2013 a study by the IDC (International Data Corporation), The dangerous world of counterfeit and pirated software commissioned by Microsoft estimated that 33% of all software in the world was counterfeit and estimated that on the global scale the phenomenon cost 114 billion dollars.



In Africa, the twelve countries with the most infected IT infrastructure are: Libya (98%), Zimbabwe (92%), Algeria (84%), Cameroon (83%), Nigeria (82%), Ivory Coast (81%), Kenya (78%), Senegal (78%), Tunisia (74%), Morocco (66%) and Mauritius (57%). (19)



An earlier study by BSA in 2011 estimated that the proportion of pirated software in the whole of Africa and the Middle East was of 58%.



In the Kenyan market alone, Microsoft estimates the proportion of pirated software to be 78% with a commercial value of 12 billion kenyan shillings (about 120 million dollars).



Most of this software ends up on African markets because of the high cost of buying the original versions.



In most francophone countries, new computers are on offer in two possible options: free dos (without an operating system) or, in most cases, an option with pirated operating systems.



It goes without saying that the counterfeit programmes are subject to modifications in their codes, with the introduction of lines of malicious code and Trojans that expose most machines to the activities of cybercrime networks.



The net result is that the African continent has become a nest of cybercriminals of all kinds. For instance, those who specialise in the 419 scam, named after article 419 in Nigerian criminal law that penalises fraud and specifies the fines and other penalties for this sort of crime. Other criminals operate on a larger scale, using sophisticated crime networks.



Indeed, according to a new 2015 estimate by international software security group Kaspersky, three African countries are among the world Top 20 countries with the highest ratio of computers infected by malware. They are: Somalia (6th), Algeria (14th) and Rwanda (16th). (20)

Attacks

In another report, Kaspersky states that more than 49 million cyberattacks took place in the continent during the first three months of 2014, most of them in Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya.



Another company specialising in software security, Norton, estimates that 70% of South Africans have been hit by cybercrime (compared to a world average of 50%).



McAfee is another firm in the same line of business. It calculated that cybercrime had cost South African companies more than 500 million dollars in 2014.



All these figures show how widely exposed African countries are to cybercrime, compared to other economies.



Another notable fact is that Internet connectivity and mobile telephones offer unprecedented possibilities for spreading and sharing data.

Mobile money threats

In its annual Security Bulletin 2015 giving overall statistics for that year, the Kaspersky group points at a new trend: for the first time mobile finial threats are among the 10 main malware programmes written with a view to stealing money. Two families of mobile banking Trojans  Faketoken and Marcher  were among the 10 top banking Trojans for 2015. Another notable and alarming trend for that year was the rapid spread of ransomware. In 2015 Kaspersky detected programmes of this sort in 200 countries and territories.



Africa, with the rapid growth of its mobile banking sector, is particularly vulnerable to this sort of evolution.



Revenues from mobile telephony now represent 3,7 % of GDP on the African continent  a ratio three times higher than in developed economies.

Cybercrime accounts for losses of 1 billion Rand (about 64 billion dollars) for South Africa every year. Sabric

In this context, cybercrime is growing.



Data on the subject are somewhat scattered, but the main target on the African continent is very probably South Africa, because of its high connectivity rate, its wealth, and its GDP per head. According to the 2014 report of the Center for Strategic and International Studies on cybercrime (NET LOSSES: ESTIMATING THE GLOBAL COST OF CYBERCRIME), South Africa loses 0,14% of its GDP because of cybercrime. (21)



According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) cybercrime accounts for losses for the country of 1 billion Rand (about 64 billion dollars) every year. Almost half of these losses are due to debit card fraud.



These figures are confirmed by the Internet Crime Report 2014, published by the FBI. The classification of cybercrime cases according to the countries of origin of complainants mentions three African countries among the 50 most affected: they are South Arica in the 11th place (434 complaints), Nigeria (24th place, with 215 complaints) and Egypt (45th, 95 complaints). When the cases are classed according to the damages caused,South-African complainants are, there again, in first position with 6.5 million dollars lost; followed by Nigeria (2,9 million dollars) and Egypt (523.000 dollars). (22)



On the other hand, in the Ivory Coast (a francophone country) the Direction de l'informatique et des traces technologiques (or DITT), an agency set up to fight cybercrime, estimates that in 2014 and 2015 cybercrimes such as romance scams and the theft of email accounts and data were becoming less numerous. But others were gaining ground, such as money transfer scams (up by 207,7 %) and mobile phone payments fraud (un 74,4%).



The emergence of these crimes linked to transactions by phone is made easier by the widespread use of new payments by mobile (or cellular) phones. A peak can be observed in the number of cases observed during the school holidays, between the months of July and September. According to the DITT, this is due to the high number of cybercriminals who are still at school or university.

Simbox

In the Ivory Coast, simbox fraud has cost almost 926 million CFA francs in 2014. This technique allows the fraudsters to bypass the normal channels for international telecommunications which are then treated as local calls. This causes enormous losses for telecom companies.



In Kenya, the three methods most frequently used by the cybercriminals in 2012 were keylogging software (spyware), password theft, and ATM piracy. But in 2015 the main methods were: ransomware (malware that blocks access to personal data, holding the data hostage), also the manipulation of database transactions, and social engineering (a way of acquiring information, and a form of fraud, used to obtain a product or a service under false pretences).



The profile of the virtual delinquents has also changed.



The Kenya cyber security report 2015" points out that in 2012, cybercriminals were opportunists by nature, or computer enthusiasts seeking to impress, but that theyve now become hardened professionals, whose attacks have very specific aims.



In Senegal, very little data is available, but the most significant case is the one involving Jonijoni, the money transfer site, that was hacked into for several hours last January.



The hackers, who said they were Senegalese, wanted to draw attention to the matter of security. The address led to a black page that had a text by the two perpetrators. They said, among other things, that computer security is, alas, neglected in our beloved country. Here we are again to remind you of the importance of this security. Oh, and: his time, well spare your data.



An investigation in Kenya in 2015 showed that fewer than 5% of organisations who were asked about what measures theyd taken said theyd equipped themselves with tools to administer the security of their databases. Over 73% of the people whod been victims of cybercrime had not lodged a complaint, and in that number 13% didnt know to whom they should report those attacks. Still according to the Kenya cyber security report 2015, the public sector faces the highest threat to cyber security, followed by the banking sector and financial services (including electronic money). This is explained by the continued automation, centralisation of systems, limited investment in computers security, as well as a lack of defined processes shared by all.

South African media in 2015 revealed that hackers, with accomplices in the civil service, had tried four times to lift 24 million dollars from the coffers of the Ugandan central bank, by targeting the accounts of the ministries with the largest shares of the national budget.



More recently, the group known as Anonymous said theyd launched a cyberattack and appropriated a terabyte of data from the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, in order to denounce the corruption of the powerful in this country, both in the public and private sectors.



The Kenyan authorities seek to understate or minimise the gravity of the leak, believing there are no sensitive documents among the lifted data. But the incident illustrates one more facet of the risks that cybercrime represents for Kenya and all the other African countries.



Even once a legal framework has been put in place, the fight against cybercrime comes up against other difficulties.



In the Ivory Coast, the laboratory of digital forensics, whose job is to accompany the police in their duties, finds cooperation with the telephone companies far from easy.



In 2015 those operators answered fewer than 50% of the demands made by the police for information or data about mobile phone numbers. Many of these requests are treated only partially. Or sometimes, for a single request, results are given only about certain numbers. Even in the case of requests that are answered satisfactorily, the answers are often very long in coming and only arrive at a time when they are no longer useful to investigators.

Mobile: opportunity and threats

The mobile telephone sector is expanding rapidly in Africa, a trend that can be seen by the popularity of vocal communications but also of the exchange of data on the continent.



The latest figures published by GSMA are as follows:



Unique mobile subscribers

2013 : 564 million (penetration ratio: 65%)

2020: 947 million (penetration ratio: 91 %)

Connections

2013: 564 million (penetration: 65%)

2020: 947 million (penetration: 91%)



Its estimated that 3G connections will continue to increase, from 15% in 2013 to 52 % in 2020

(72 million smartphones in 2013, forecast : 525 million in 2020 )

Jobs directly provided by the mobile ecosystem



2013: 2,4 million

2020: 3.5 million



(3.7 million jobs, linked indirectly, created in 2013)



(Data provided by GSM Africa)



Concerning the dangers of cybercrime in that sector, homogeneous statistics for the whole continent are hard to come by. But on a world scale, Kaspersky sees an increasing threat:



 Kaspersky Lab detected 884,774 new malware programmes. This means a threefold increase on 2014 (285,539)

 The number of new banking trojans has decreased, reaching a stable level of 7.030 (16,586 in A014).

 94,344 unique users were victims of mobile ransomware attacks. This figure is five times higher than in 2014 ( when it was 18,478). (23)



These figures show an imminent threat to the African continent, where the growth of the mobile phone sector is the highest in the world.

Cyberterrorism in Africa

African cyberterrorists dont have the same powerful means at their disposal as their opposite numbers elsewhere in the world, but they are harmful nonetheless.



These last few years, a few terrorist groups have started to make their presence felt on a supranational level.

Anonymous

Anonymous is a generic denomination that covers several international groups that have no unified command structure. These groups are active on the Internet defending causes relating to (among others) justice, politics, and religion.



They are well-known because of their DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, by which they paralyse whole websites, by flooding their servers with concerted attacks that overwhelm them.



They can sometimes be recognised in public, because they wear Guy Fawkes masks.



They made an impression with a series of large scale operations, for instance against the current system for protecting authors rights in the online distribution of works of an artistic nature. They have also supported the WikiLeaks website, and the Occupy Wall Street movement.



Members of Anonymous, known as Anons, also became famous for launching attacks against government agencies in the United States, Israel, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, etc.



In Senegal, the group drew attention to itself by spectacular targeted attacks.



In 2015, for instance, Anonymous Senegal attacked the sites of the State Information Technology Agency (ADIE) and of the Ministry of Livestock and Animal Production.



These attacks were seen as a response after the banning in Senegal of an issue of the magazine Charlie Hebdo that featured cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammad.



Under the hash tag #OpChalieHebdo , the authors of the attacks gave explicit reasons for their operation:



So, you banned Charlie Hebdos front page cartoon?  Bad call.



They used a simple technique known as website defacement.



This consists of replacing the home page of a website by another page, usually with a black background, with messages in red letters describing the aims of the operation.



Technically, in PHP language, all that is needed is a simple replacement of lines of code in the index.php page, which contains the technical instructions for redirecting the user to the Home page of a website. The modification will give the impression that someone has taken control of a site or, at the very least, of its Home page. A swift technical intervention to restore the original index.php is enough to restore the site.



A loose collection of activist (or hacktivist) groups claims the name Anonymous. They have created multiple accounts on social networks to exchange information and expertise on hacking techniques. But to date no spectacular action can be attributed to them. (24)



Yunus Incredibl

The hacker Yunus Incredibl made a name for himself in 2014, by taking on six Senegalese government sites with domain names ending in the suffix .gouv.sn.

These were the sites of the Foreign ministry, the ministry of the Interior, the Journal Official (the official government publication listing new legislation etc)., the Ministry of Sports, and the Delegation generale a la protection sociale et a la solidarite nationale (DGPSSN), the agency responsible for social protection and aid.



A subsequent investigation indicated that the hacker was based in Algeria and had clearly wanted nothing more than to show his computer skills.

In a more general way, Internet groups of African militants are slowly beginning to organise to defend various causes ranging from the fight against corruption to violations of childrens rights.In a press statement published last January, a number of these small groups had announced that they were launching an operation they calledto draw the attention of the international community to failings in governance. Their aim was to do this by a series of spectacular actions.A first list of targets had been drawn up, in the following countries:Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan.

It has to be noted that although their political aims may be noble, these groups are still, from a legal point of view, criminal organisations, insofar as they fit the description by conducting unauthorised intrusions into computer networks.

The Mauritania attacker

This is an active member of the Anonghost group which took part in the massive defacement of French Internet websites in 2015.



Moreover, Boko Haram used the Internet for a long time to challenge former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, by posting their claims in videos. But the group uses the Internet mainly for recruitment and propaganda, because up to now Boko Haram hasnt really had the means to act directly on the Web.



And African cyberterrorists use their own channels of communication such as the TOR network, which makes it possible to anonymise connections, but also video games chatrooms that allow them to converse freely, without any surveillance.

Legislation

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warns that cybercriminals are increasingly targeting developing countries, first and foremost because the relevant legislation in those countries isnt enforced as strictly as it should be. The number of countries who have adopted cyber legislation is increasing fast, but over 30 countries, most of them in Africa and Oceania, still have no specific legislation of this kind (source: 2015 report on the Information Economy).

The most important Pan-African legal document is the Convention of the African Union on cybersecurity and the protection of personal data, adopted in June 2014.
Three law enforcement officers were killed and three others wounded Sunday morning in a shooting at a gas station in Baton Rouge, less than two weeks after a black man was shot and killed by police here.
Alex Abutu identifies the reasons for increased cybercrime in Nigeria and efforts to curb the canker.



A Swedish couple arrived at Lagos on 8 March this year with the aim of taking over an oil company in which they had invested about US$3 million through an offer on the internet.



Officials of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) of Nigeria Police Force were helpless in how to assist the crying couple after they had narrated how they learnt of the lucrative offer on the internet and decided to invest their retirement savings in it.



The CIID in cities such as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are often inundated with different cases related to what has become popular in Nigeria as 419 or Nigerian Letter.



The Nigerian Letter or 419



In many countries, the term Nigerian Letter connotes a beautifully crafted letter either soliciting for investment or partnership to transfer funds from a wealthy fathers account due to hard government stand on how their parents acquired the wealth.

Young boys in secondary and higher educational institutions now see the internet as an opportunity to make money [through fraudulent practices], Oko Johnson, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria



In some instances, the scammers go as far as claiming that they are the children of Nigerias late military rulers such as Sani Abacha (who was accused of stealing millions of dollars from government coffers during his reign) and that they are interested in moving huge sums of money from their fathers hidden account to an off-shore account to avoid government officials tracing it.



At the beginning of the 1990s, the 419 business was only restricted to Lagos and the exclusive preserve of those who had access to the internet or those who have networks with friends or relations outside the shores of Nigeria.



But with the liberalisation of the communication sector by government and increased access to the internet, and coupled with the public display of affluence by the scammers, 419 has become so attractive that most young graduates in Nigeria cities spend many hours daily on the internet subtly crafting one trick or the other with the aim of luring innocent and unsuspecting members of the public, especially foreigners.



Why the increase



A workshop organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency in March this year to build capacity of the media in addressing cybercrimes has heard that Nigeria loses 89.55 billion naira (almost US$450 million) a year.



Oscar Ekponimo, a cybersecurity expert based in Nigeria, tells SciDev.Net that a common form of cybercrime in Nigeria include social engineering for money fraud.



Ekponimo adds that cybercrime is steadily on the increase in Nigeria in recent times, with the advent of mobile penetration partly because over 60 per cent of the Nigerian population have access to mobile phones, and about 65 million people use the internet users.



Ekponimo explains that increased mobile penetration and internet use make cyberspace a valuable arena for the value exchange of goods and services for monetary compensation, but such use also fuels cybercrime.



The cyber criminals in Nigeria have also taken advantage of the Boko Haram insurgency to defraud unsuspecting international organisations and individuals who are sending in aids in support of the victims of the terrorists attacks.

The criminals set up websites soliciting for help on behalf of the victims.



Combating cybercrimes



In efforts aimed at curbing cybercrimes, the Nigerian government introduced certain measures such as Nigerian Cybercrimes Bill that became law  and thus a key policy  on 15 May, 2015. The new law provides for the prohibition, prevention, detection, response, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes; and for other related matters [1].



It is an elaborate policy insulating Nigerians from unscrupulous elements who use the internet to defraud the unsuspecting individual and organisations.

Ekponimo cites the setting up in 2014 of the computer emergency response teams by the government to handle cybersecurity incidents and the inauguration of a cybercrimes advisory council as part of government overall efforts in combating cybercrimes in the country.Oko Johnson, a final year, computer science student at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State in Nigeria, says that the internet offered a lot of opportunities.But how these opportunities are used is what government need to seriously address as young boys in secondary and higher educational institutions now see the internet as an opportunity to make money [through fraudulent practices].This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.
BMW is teaming up with Mobileye and Intel in working with its first fully autonomous self-driving car. To be called BMW iNext, the first fully autonomous BMW car will arrive in 2021.

BMW, just like other automakers, has been working on self-driving cars for some time. As they have previously stated in their 100th anniversary celebration, the company will launch an autonomous flagship vehicle in 2021. The plan is teaming up with Intel, which will supply processing power, while Mobileye will supply driver assistance systems and sensors.

Production vehicles have recently been offering various forms of partial automation. However, compared to existing self-driving technology, the new generation of BMW cars are supposed to be able to drive on its own from start to finish. This is not just about helping the driver on the highways. It is supposed to be a door to door self-driving car platform, CMLviz reported.

While everyone knows BMW and Intel, Mobileye has been a quiet, although a key player in the self-driving car industry. The Israeli company has been developing camera sensors for cars in the past two decades.

Mobileye paved the way to self-driving cars today. It has expanded its product line from car sensors to supplying an entire technology stack to power self-driving cars. In fact, the autopilot feature of Tesla uses Mobileye's technology, GovTech reported.

While there is a rapid advance of technology in fully self-driving cars, regulatory challenges still loom large. There are still questions on the liability in a crash when the car is in control of itself. The US Department of Transportation is now drafting guidelines that would aim to stop individual state laws on autonomous driving from getting out of sync.

BMW and its partners reportedly want to replace the driver. It is an entirely different level of complexity where you simply summon a vehicle.
A lot of people hit the beaches to celebrate the 4th of July festivities. People crowd the San Mateo County coastline to witness a stunning show from the humpback whales near the shore line.

According to ABC7 News, Allie Fitzgerald and Pete Weafer were among the dozens of surfers who have been getting up close and personal with the humpback whales on sight. "We saw so many whales, they started over there and you see the spouts coming in and every once in a while they would pop their heads up and breach a little bit," Fitzgerald said.

"Half the time I'm like, 'Allie right there, there's the spout' and she's like 'Aw I just missed it, or, 'I saw it too.' It's great. It's really fun," Weafer said.

News about whales near the coastline has been spreading as fast as the California forest fires. One couple visited all the way from Missouri to witness the show these humpback whales are doing, Yahoo News reported.

Whale watchers flock to Pacifica for stunning show https://t.co/t0Pkfga98W  Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) July 2, 2016

"My father-in-law lives here in Pacifica and he's been telling us about the whales," said Missouri resident

"Several out there, I mean they just come up and dive up and back down, they're just absolutely beautiful," Janice Castening said.

According to some scientists, recent weather patterns have pushed schools of fish near the shoreline and these whales go where fishes go to feed.

Jim Harvey from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories explained the situation he called "lunge feeding". Wral.com reported Harvey describing how whale feed. He said whales usually do little circle underwater below the school of fish so they would become a tighter school, then the whales will come up through the middle of the tight school of fish with their mouth open.

Residents near and around Pacifica don't know how long the whales will stay, but surfers and whale watchers say they are enjoying the show.
With the surprise announcement of the United Nations that makes Internet access a human right, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is becoming its staunchest supporter by bringing the Internet to remote places on earth with an inexpensive cellular access point. Introducing, OpenCellular.

The company may not be in the wireless business, but it is in the very early stages in developing a shoebox-sized access point that can support even LTE. For the moment, the system is used in Facebook's headquarters to get basic data connectivity, and to send SMS and make voice calls.

"We designed OpenCellular as an open system so anyone-from telecom operators to researchers to entrepreneurs-can build and operate wireless networks in remote places," Zuckerberg said. "It's about the size of a shoe box and can support up to 1,500 people from as far as 10 kilometers away."

It is Facebook's new way of providing everyone with internet connectivity without using expensive technology like their solar-powered aircraft Aquila, and the high-bandwidth laser beams.

Facebook engineer Kashif Ali said that it is too expensive for small organizations and networks to extend access in rural communities. "Traditional cellular infrastructure can be very expensive, making it difficult for operators to deploy it everywhere and for smaller organizations or individuals to solve hyperlocal connectivity challenges," he said.

The device is powered by any source that is available on the site, which includes, Ethernet connections, solar, direct current, or batteries. The software it will be running is open-source and the company hopes that the community will help make the technology better.

To focus on this, Facebook is setting up a company called Telecom Infra Project, which will develop new telecom hardware and work with wireless carriers.

The project is not all about charity work, however. One of the goals of the company is to expand their existing 1.6 billion users, targeting areas where the Internet and Facebook is not as accessible or out of reach.

This motive caused ire in its foray into India when Free Basics was suspended as the opposition claimed that Facebook was creating an unfair advantage against local internet firms.
Granola has always maintained a reputation as a staple "healthy" food. It's packed with oats, nuts, dried fruits and other grains that entice people to love them even more. However, they are really not what they seem to be, and some other seemingly healthy foods don't always live up to their image.

According to an article in The New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration has recently agreed to reassess its standard for what foods can be classified "healthy". This is a bold move that shows how much nutritional knowledge has changed over the years, and how much still remains unknown.

A survey conducted by the NY Times compared the views of a panel of nutritionists with those of an average American. It revealed that the panel of experts and the public don't often see eye to eye about which foods can be considered health and which ones aren't. And the food that always gets the most arguments is granola.

A report made by 13wmaz.com revealed that although 71 percent of the public rated granola bars as a healthy food, there were only 28 percent in the panel of nutritionists agreed. When asked about the regular loose granola, there were 80 percent of the general public said it was healthy, however, there were less than 47 percent of nutritionists that think it is.

This made a lot of people wonder. Well, granolas and granola bars can differ tremendously in ingredients, Sharon Zarabi, a nutritionist and fitness expert at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, told CBS News. So it's a good idea to read ingredient lists and nutrition labels.

"In order for something to be considered healthy, you're looking at calories, fat, sugar and nutritional content," said Zarabi. She also pointed out that when you check the ingredients list, it will show that many granola bars and granola cereals are jammed with sugar.

An example Zarabi gave was Nature Valley Oats n' Honey granola bars. She said that the bar contains oats as its main ingredient and sugar as its second ingredient. If you look further down the list, it will reveal the presence of honey and brown sugar syrup. Another example she gave was Quaker's peanut butter chocolate chip chewy granola bars which contains brown sugar, sugar, corn syrup, and corn syrup solids. Zarabi also pointed that out that KIND Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut bars use sweeteners like tapioca syrup, dried cane syrup, honey, and brown rice syrup.

There's a difference between those sweeteners, Zarabi noted.

"Sugars are defined by their glycemic index, how quickly it gets absorbed into your bloodstream and how it affects your blood sugar levels in the body. Corn syrup has a higher glycemic index than, for example, honey," she said.

Zarabi also said that making homemade granola is one way to reduce the sugar but still enjoy it. "Granola is basically toasted oats glazed in some type of sweetener -- whether it's honey, sugar or light syrup -- to make it bind and taste sweet," she said.

Zarabi also suggested that toasting oatmeal, skip the sweetener and add fruit, such as frozen dried blueberries, for sweetness instead. She added that it is also a good idea to add nuts for fat and protein. "This will also help keep you fuller longer," she advised.

Another food that had opposing votes in the survey is coconut oil. There were about 72 percent who considered it healthy while there were only 37 percent of nutritionists who agreed.

In the same way, almost 50 percent of Americans thought that SlimFast Shakes were healthy, but only 1 in 5 nutritionists agree. Frozen yogurt was viewed as healthy by at least two-thirds of the American public, compared to just one-third of nutritionists.

Another big surprise was quinoa, the New York Times noted. Often boasted as a "superfood," there were only 58 percent of the total public who considered it healthy, while 89 percent of nutrition experts gave it a thumbs up.

But, wine drinkers can relax as wine, along with tofu, sushi, hummus and shrimp were all voted healthy by more nutritionists than by the general public.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Florence City Council member-elect Pat Gibson-Hye Moore said Thursday during a press conference that shes heard from colleagues in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., who say young black males who feel marginalized by law enforcement are ready to begin shooting officers at random.

Moore said shes appalled that black men and women are being needlessly killed at the hand of police officers but responding with violence is never the right answer.

Violence will only create more problems and more death, Moore said. Instead we need to, peacefully, across this country demand more convictions on police officers who use their badge as legal death weapons. We need to demand Congress to take action.

Moore said she felt compelled to start the conversation in Florence in light of the recent outrage and protests sparked by the police shootings of Alton Sterling outside a gas station in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile during a traffic stop just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota.

She said Florence has its problems, but the police force in Florence is a good one and the residents know how to come together to work through hardship.

Everything here is calm but who knows what could happen if this violence spreads across the country? You never know what might click with a troubled young person, Moore said. Right now I dont see that happening here. We have a good police force that works with our communities and responds to situations appropriately. 

Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said the key to successful, unbiased policing is building partnerships with every community in the city.

Our goal is to obviously reduce crime in the city and were very diligent in doing that, but were also aware that we have to do that through community partnerships and mutual trust, he said. Otherwise, we will not be productive in what we do.

Heidler said the established, positive police-citizen relationships in Florence work as both a layer of accountability on officers as well as deterrent to anyone who may target police after these types of incidents.

Anytime you have a serious incident in another part of the country it will affect people on an emotional level locally, he said. Weve worked to build strong community relationships, in an effort to combat crime together. Our neighborhood organizations are willing to stand up for us and just as quick theyll let us know when we need to do better. Its a mutual partnership built on trust.
FLORENCE, S.C.If all goes well, South Carolina could soon have another cash crop: vetiver grass. Through a partnership between the Clemson Extension, South African company Hydromulch and Environmental Solutions out of Summerville, South Carolina the grass was first planted at the Pee Dee Research and Education Center last year.

Vetiver originates in India but has been grown in many other parts of the world for hundreds of years. It has grown in the United States since the early 1900s but in very limited quantities in just a few areas. Now researchers are working to see if the crop can survive in the weather conditions in South Carolina as well as thriving through other factors, such as the sandy soil in many parts of the state.

Bruce Coy, with DCI Marketing Group, said the vetiver project at Clemson Extension grew out of a working relationship that he had with Roley Noffke, of Hydromulch, who has been doing work with the crop for several decades.

We originally met Roley in the equipment business, Coy said. We were over (in South Africa) visiting Roley and I probed the question many times why the vetiver grass is not here; we discovered that it is over here but in a small way. Roley is one of the experts in the world and has been using it for almost 30 years. We thought it would be interesting to investigate its value here for erosion control and bioremediation. What were really excited about, and why we are here (at the Clemson Extension), is because of its potential for biofuel.

Noffke said that he has seen research on other alternative fuel possibilities and wanted to see how vetiver might stack up against them.

Ive been in many, many countries  and I always saw the value of using vetiver grass. If it can succeed under the climatic conditions here it can be used as an alternative to the food source, which is corn, which is being used (for fuel). I know a lot of research has been done with miscanthus and switchgrass and I thought this would be a good opportunity to evaluate vetiver grass against the other types of grass that are available.

Noffke is quick to point out that unlike other foreign plants brought in -- think kudzu -- vetiver is a noninvasive plant.

That is a very important thing, Noffke said. You get the seeding types in West Africa and Central Africa that regenerate by seed but we dont use that. The only way this propagates is by splitting the mother plant and replanting.

Clemson professor James Frederick has been involved with the project and sees lots of potential for the plant if their testing goes well.

A lot of our job at Clemson is to test these new products, new types of equipment, new plants and make sure that they do work in this area, Frederick said. Just because they work somewhere else doesnt mean that they will do well here. We want to test them, rather than put them out on a farmers farm and find out they dont work for whatever reason.

Frederick said that he could see the possibility of a farmer or two testing the crop in small plots on their land in the next year; in two or three years, if the testing proves it to be a valuable investment, Clemson Extension agents will begin working with the Department of Commerce to find ways to market vetiver grass products.

Farmers always want to experiment a little bit, Frederick said. One a bigger scalewhen we see where the numbers of falling, we have to make connections with the industries that will use the end product, whether its the oils, the biofuel; youve got to have that market there.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The South Carolina Disaster Recovery Coordination Office met Wednesday with the public to discuss disaster relief eligibility for those in Florence and the surrounding area.

The meeting came after a June decision by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allocate approximately $156 million in federal funding to the 22 counties in need of assistance after historic floods devastated South Carolina in early October 2015.

Lexington and Richland counties and the city of Columbia will receive approximately $60 million of the grant. The other $96 million will go to the state of South Carolina to be distributed among the other 20 counties.

Florence, Horry, Williamsburg, Darlington, Marion and Clarendon are just six of the 20 counties across the state set to receive part of the $96 million.

The key is right now to make sure that were all on the same sheet of music in terms of how that moneys going to be spent, said retired Army Col. Kevin Shwedo, who until recently ran the state disaster recovery office.

But the challenge comes in determining how to distribute the money. State officials say they will focus solely on housing and prioritize distribution based on vulnerability.

Money has a lot to do with how quickly youre able to recover, Shwedo said.

Vulnerability is assessed by three factors: age dependency, disability and average median income for the residents county.

If we do not set priorities, if we do not use this as part of our intake operations and screening processes, were not going to get anywhere with this program, said retired Army Col. J.R. Sanderson, who recently took over for Shwedo after working with him for months.

To be considered eligible for disaster relief, a person must provide proof of income, proof of home ownership and documentation to show that the damaged home was the primary residence at the time flooding. This, for example, could be a power bill from the month of October, Sanderson said.

Flood insurance is another stipulation  and one that might cause a problem for those who fall in low- to moderate-income bracket.

Homeowners currently living without flood insurance are eligible for disaster relief but will be required to purchase insurance before accepting assistance from the state.

By and large what we dont want to do is put our good taxpayer money into your home, and you dont get flood insurance on that home. The next time it happens were in this same boat all over again, Sanderson said. So there will be a requirement upon the citizen to look at flood insurance.

The disaster recovery office expects that South Carolinians with flood damage will not begin to receive assistance until the spring of 2017.

To read the disaster recovery offices plan, visit http://sccommerce.com/south-carolina-disaster-recovery-assistance. For more information or to determine if you may be eligible for assistance, email ContactSCDR@scdr.sc.gov or call 803-896-4068.
Amid the overheated, hyper-partisan reactions to the FBI decision to close the investigation of Hillary Clinton's use of private email servers without an indictment, two things are clear.

First, the single greatest threat to Clinton's nomination and election -- the possibility she might be indicted for mishandling confidential government secrets -- has been removed. Her nomination at the Democratic Convention in three weeks is safe.

Second, Clinton's chances in the general election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump have been damaged by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey's searing statement disputing many of her prior claims and accusing her of "extremely careless" handling of secret information.

Even without a recommendation of indictment, the report further weakens her already-tattered reputation for honesty and integrity, perhaps the main reason she finds herself in a relatively close race against a GOP opponent with questionable qualifications. Comey's press conference will provide Trump with the raw material for campaign ads.

But Clinton still has two big advantages. One is the contrast between her long career of public service and Trump's failure to show the experience and temperament Americans expect from a president. His recent mishandling of a tweet with anti-Semitic overtones and his inexplicable praise of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's handling of terrorism only underscore his shortcomings.

Second, as Clinton's recent love-in with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her appearances with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden illustrate, she heads into her convention with a substantially united Democratic party in contrast to a sharply divided GOP.

That contrast may be somewhat misleading. Beneath the surface, barely concealed Democratic tensions stemming from Sen. Bernie Sanders' primary challenge still simmer. This weekend's Platform Committee meeting in Orlando may determine if Clinton can resolve them before the July 25 convention in Philadelphia.

These tensions reflect the same differences on issues like trade and energy that marked the Vermont senator's campaign, but the specifics matter less than whether the end result enables Sanders to end his stubborn holdout and join other top Democrats in calling for Clinton's election.

In the wake of the FBI report, Clinton needs the votes of as many of the Pied Piper of Burlington's young followers as possible lest they undercut her by staying home or backing independent candidates in what could be an uncomfortably close election.

Sanders' dissatisfaction stems largely from these proposed platform sections:

 Trade: The draft falls far short of Sanders' call to reject the Trans Pacific Partnership, declaring there is "a diversity of views in the party" and "any trade agreement must protect workers and the environment."

 Minimum wage: "We believe that Americans should earn at least $15 an hour and have the right to form or join a union," the draft reads, adding "we should raise and index the minimum wage." While that sounds like support for raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, it doesn't quite say that.

 Climate change: While it favors "slashing carbon pollution and rapidly driving down emissions of potent greenhouse gases like hydrofluorocarbons," the draft omits Sanders' proposal to tax carbon emissions, which Clinton also opposes.

On Wednesday, Clinton adopted a form of Sanders plan for free tuition at in-state colleges and universities for families with income under $125,000.

The draft also includes Sanders-backed provisions pledging health care access for all through Medicare or a public option, "breaking up too-big-to-fail financial institutions posing a systemic threat to the stability of our economy," "real campaign finance reform now" and tax reform including "a multi-millionaire tax." But the Drafting Committee rejected his proposals opposing the trade deal and supporting a carbon tax, a fracking ban, and a ban on fossil fuel extraction on public lands.

Sanders wants the full committee to replace the trade provision by declaring the TPP deal "must not get a vote" in this or future Congresses. If that loses, he'll have to decide whether to force the issue in Philadelphia. He'll have more than enough delegates to do so but would need 500 Clinton delegates to prevail.

It's a dilemma for both sides. Failure to deliver an enthusiastic endorsement could damage Sanders' future Senate standing. And he risks ceding leadership of the party's liberal wing to Warren.

But the FBI report ensures the email issue will continue to fester, meaning Clinton needs even more to strengthen her appeal to Sanders voters, even if means accepting some unwanted platform provisions.
Donald Trump, you might have heard, recently called Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren racist for claiming her Native American heritage.

I believe the appropriate response to Trump can be expressed by a quote from The Princess Brides Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

But its not just Trump whos confused.

Ive seen plenty of white people get upset about people of color referring to themselves as people of color. Some even insist that they, as white people, have a color, too. Its kind of a pinkish-peachy color that sometimes tans.

Well, from one pinkish-peachy person who tans sometimes to another, I have a few things to say.

Racism is often invisible to white people. Our society is set up that way. Sure, we notice it when somebody uses the N-word or when theres overt violence. We can spot racism when someone is denied entry to an exclusive club because theyre not white. But aside from that, it can be hard to notice.

Heres an example. The other day I was in a makeup store. This store has clients and employees of all races, yet it only sold foundation in various shades of white and light brown skin tones.

Its subtle, but it sends a message to black people: This store is not for you.

Im sure the shop would say this wasnt their intent. It probably never even crossed their minds that they were being exclusionary or making their store a less welcoming environment for some of their customers. But thats the effect.

On its own, this is trivial. But its one example among thousands that people of color deal with day after day after day.

They also face much more serious problems.

For example, black men with no criminal record are less likely to get called back for a job interview than identically qualified white men with a criminal record. To employers, whether they admit it or not, being black is worse than being a criminal.

Some hardships stem from historical oppression, from back when it was legal and even orchestrated by the government. Richard Rothstein traces how racist housing policies from the mid-20th century, for example, have left black people today with only 5 percent as much wealth as whites, despite making 60 percent as much income.

But racism hardly ended with Jim Crow or redlining. And much of it is sneakier  we may not even recognize it. This is called implicit bias, and almost all of us have it. Including me.

Those who say we should be colorblind, that we shouldnt recognize race, are saying that we should pretend centuries of racial oppression never happened, sweep them under the rug, and move on.

Well, thats not how you fix a problem.

As for whites who insist they count as people of color because they have a tan? Nobody ever discriminated against you because of your tan.

Its not racist to say that people of color have different experiences from white people on account of their race, because its true. Everyones experiences are different, of course. But only people of color experience being other due to their race in a society in which whiteness is seen as the default.

Feeling like the other and sometimes facing outright discrimination or malice is a day-to-day affair for people of color  from shopping in stores that dont sell makeup in their skin color to being the targets of racial slurs.

Healing our history of racism begins, for the vast majority of well-meaning white folks, with accepting that people of color have had experiences we know nothing about, and listening to them.
The recent Iowa Supreme Court decision to uphold a restriction on voting by ex-felons is bringing renewed arguments over voting rights.

The decision means Iowa will remain one of just three states that bans felons from voting unless the privilege is reinstated by the governor.

The Iowa Constitution says: A person adjudged mentally incompetent to vote or a person convicted of any infamous crime shall not be entitled to the privilege of an elector.

Therefore, the case revolved around the words infamous crime. The court, in a 4-3 decision, effectively ruled a felony qualifies as an infamous crime.

In 2011, Gov. Terry Branstad quickly took action to reverse an executive order dealing with voting rights for felons.

Branstads order rescinded former Gov. Tom Vilsacks directions from 2005. In July of that year, Vilsack established an automatic process to restore voting rights and the right to hold public office to felons and those who committed aggravated misdemeanors.

Those rights were then automatically restored after any jail or prison time was completed.

Before Vilsacks order, and during Branstads previous terms, felons were required to ask the governor to restore their voting rights. Their applications were then evaluated by corrections and law enforcement officials. Its a policy that can take three to six months to complete.

That policy also requires all fines, court costs, victim restitution and other obligations are met before voting rights are restored.

Never has anyone said if a felon is rehabilitated, and takes care of their business, they cannot receive voting rights.

Some felons deserve to have their right to vote restored. Others dont. A person who has completed a prison term but has no plans to make good on other requirements would be part of the latter group.

Some call the law discriminatory. It is, in its purest form of the word. It discerns differences between those felons who are taking care of all their debts to society and those who are not.

In 2005, Vilsack claimed he was trying to bring Iowa in line with other states that automatically restore voting rights to felons. Many claimed his order was based purely on politics, saying most of the thousands of potential voters affected tend to support Democratic candidates.

We cant be sure about Vilsacks motivations at the time, but we did comment on his 2005 change to the states policy, and we feel the same way today.

Having a felons right to vote restored automatically as he or she walks out the prison gates is not enough.

Simply doing time is but a partial payment on the required actions handed down by the justice system. Its the part that requires no real change in behavior or sense of responsibility.

We feel that the review process still makes sense for Iowa.

 By the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier,

another Lee Enterprises newspaper.
NEW YORK, July 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evercel, Inc. (Evercel) (OTC:EVRC) announced today that it has received an additional $18.3 million in cash related to the previously disclosed sale of Printronix, Inc. (Printronix Inc.), which contained certain assets related to the thermal printer business. The $18.3 million amount is equal to 100% of Evercels original investment in Printronix. In addition, following the sale of Printronix's factory in Singapore, Evercel received an additional $4 million representing the net gain (e.g. after taxes, transaction costs, pay down of mortgage, etc.) from the sale of the factory real estate. Printronix originally acquired the factory in Singapore as a separate transaction for $5.5 million several months after Evercels acquisition of Printronix and did so solely for debt (i.e., Evercel invested no additional equity). Over the past several months, Printronix, LLC (Printronix LLC"), which was created in connection with the sale of Printronix Inc. to hold the Line Matrix printer business and other business operations not directly related to the thermal printer business that was sold, has completed the transition from the Singapore facility to a new factory it built in Malaysia and is in the process of ramping up its operations there.

Evercel is focused on optimizing the Printronix LLC Line Matrix printer business, which will include significant strategic restructuring plans to improve operational efficiency following the sale of the thermal printing business in which only a portion of the sales and engineering staff transitioned to the buyer. On a longer term basis, Evercel intends to leverage its platform to find additional investment opportunities.

Consistent with our practice since 2013, Evercel plans to communicate to shareholders with an annual letter following the release of the audit in the fall. Evercel also plans to communicate to shareholders the occurrence of material events in the interim, such as the acquisition or sale of a business. We will continue our strict policy to distribute information to all shareholders simultaneously and are unable to respond to individual requests. We communicate through issuing press releases with information, or through a press release announcing the posting of information to the Evercel website.

Due to Evercels limited number of shareholders and its decision at present not to register with the SEC, Evercel is not obligated to report financial information. Evercel chooses to voluntarily report information periodically at the discretion of management. However, management may change the reporting policy at its discretion without notice. The information provided in this announcement and any other information provided by Evercel as to its operations, financial statements, conditions, prospects or any other matter does not purport to be complete as it does not contain risk factors, qualifications or further explanation that investors may deem relevant. You should not rely on the information provided as being complete.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information

Statements in this announcement that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that may involve material risks and uncertainties. The company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which statements speak only as of the date made.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chatham Lodging Trust (NYSE:CLDT), a lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels and owns 133 hotels wholly or through joint ventures, today announced that it will report second quarter 2016 financial results on Wednesday, August 3, 2016, before the opening of the market. That same day at 10:00 a.m. ET, Jeffrey H. Fisher, Chathams chief executive officer, Dennis M. Craven, executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Jeremy Wegner, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will host a conference call to review second quarter 2016 financial results.



Shareholders and other interested parties may listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call on the Internet by logging onto Chathams Web site, http://chathamlodgingtrust.com/, or www.streetevents.com, or may participate in the conference call by dialing 1-877-407-0789 and referencing Chatham Lodging Trust. A recording of the call will be available by telephone until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 10, 2016, by dialing 1-877-870-5176, reference number 13641009. A replay of the conference call will be posted on Chathams website.

About Chatham Lodging Trust

Chatham Lodging Trust is a self-advised, publicly-traded real estate investment trust focused primarily on investing in upscale, extended-stay hotels and premium-branded, select-service hotels. The company owns interests in 133 hotels totaling 18,177 rooms/suites, comprised of 38 properties it wholly owns with an aggregate of 5,679 rooms/suites in 15 states and the District of Columbia and a minority investment in two joint ventures that own 95 hotels with an aggregate of 12,498 rooms/suites. Additional information about Chatham may be found at chathamlodgingtrust.com.
PHILADELPHIA and ALGIERS, Algeria, July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hill International (NYSE:HIL), the global leader in managing construction risk, announced today that it has received a contract extension from Societe Algero-Emiratie de Promotion Immobiliere to continue providing project management services in connection with the construction of the Forum Al Djazair development in Algeria. The eighteen-month extension has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $7.3 million.



The project entails four residential towers, three business towers, a commercial center, fifteen luxury villas, a 270-key, five-star hotel and a ten-story hotel and apartment building. Hill announced their original $5.7 million contract for this project in July 2012.

Our operations in Algeria and throughout North Africa continue to expand thanks to the hard work of our dedicated professionals, said Waleed Abdel Fattah, Senior Vice President and North Africa Regional Manager for Hills Project Management Group. We are honored that our client has continued faith in our team by extending this important contract, added Fattah.

Hill International, with 4,600 professionals in 100 offices worldwide, provides program management, project management, construction management, construction claims and other consulting services primarily to the buildings, transportation, environmental, energy and industrial markets. Engineering News-Record magazine recently ranked Hill as the eighth largest construction management firm in the United States. For more information on Hill, please visit our website at www.hillintl.com.

Certain statements contained herein may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and it is our intent that any such statements be protected by the safe harbor created thereby. Except for historical information, the matters set forth herein including, but not limited to, any projections of revenues, earnings or other financial items; any statements concerning our plans, strategies and objectives for future operations; and any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although we believe that the expectations, estimates and assumptions reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results could differ materially from those projected or assumed in any of our forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections contained in our forward-looking statements are set forth in the Risk Factors section and elsewhere in the reports we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including that unfavorable global economic conditions may adversely impact our business, our backlog may not be fully realized as revenue and our expenses may be higher than anticipated. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement.

Hill International, Inc.

John P. Paolin

Senior Vice President of Marketing and

Corporate Communications

(215) 309-7710

johnpaolin@hillintl.com

The Equity Group Inc.

Devin Sullivan

Senior Vice President

(212) 836-9608

dsullivan@equityny.com

(HIL-G)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. (OTCQB:ALLM) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce that as the scientific and engineering team at subsidiary Ek Laboratories continues to optimize the CTS process for dry distillers grain (DDG) and various other cellulose biomass, interest from groups around the world, with an eye on territory and plant sub-licensing, continues to grow. The latest group from Honduras has met with management on several occasions and has scheduled a visit to the Ek Labs pilot plant for later this month. This is the latest in a series of meetings with potential sub-licensees as the Company expands the list of viable feedstocks the CTS process is able to successfully convert into its base components of sugars and lignin that can then be used to produce biofuels, bioplastics, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, carbon fiber and a variety of other high value products.



The team at Ek Laboratories has successfully shown maximum conversion of over 43 different types of cellulose biomass at commercial scale including sugar cane bagasse, corn stover and fiber, agriculture waste, various grasses, most all woods and paper products, hays, algae, bamboo, tobacco and specialty crops such as sorghum, switch grass and sweet grasses. Unlike competing technologies the CTS process is feedstock agnostic and capable of switching between feedstocks throughout the day without loss of efficiency or production output.

Alliance BioEnergy is currently in discussions with several ethanol producers relating to its bolt-on CTS unit capable of processing DDG and other biomass while it continues meeting with potential territory and plant sub-licensees from around the world.

About ALLM:

Alliance BioEnergy +, Inc. (ALLM) is a publicly traded company focusing on the commercialization and licensing of a patented cellulose conversion technology that it controls through a master license agreement with the University of Central Florida. ALLMs subsidiary, AMG Energy Group, LLC (AMG), owns 50% of Carbolosic, LLC, in a joint venture with Thor Renewable Energy Singapore. Carbolosic holds the exclusive, worldwide license to three (3) issued patents and fifteen (15) filed and pending patents revolving around the core CTS (cellulose to sugar) technology. ALLM also holds the exclusive CTS rights to North America (Canada, US, and Mexico) and Africa.

The CTS process is the only known patented, dry mechanical process that can convert virtually any cellulose material into sugars and other products in a matter of minutes with no liquid acids, no applied heat, pressure or hazardous materials of any kind. The CTS process when used in the production of Ethanol is clean, less expensive to build and operate than traditional ethanol plants or other cellulose ethanol technologies and is completely environmentally friendly.

Information in this document constitute forward-looking statements or statements which may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "should", "believe", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. actual results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements to differ from the future results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors are more fully discussed in Alliance Media Group Holdings, Incs filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above-mentioned cautionary statement. Alliance BioEnergy Plus, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this estimate, except as may be required by law.




Immunoscore has confirmed its potential to become a major component of the colon cancer classification at ASCO 2016.

Immunoscore Colon is available as a laboratory service in July 2016 and on track to be commercialized as a CE-IVD solution by end of the year.

MARSEILLE, France and PARIS, July 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HalioDx SAS, an immuno-oncology diagnostic company, the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and Inserm Transfert, its subsidiary, today announced the commercialization of Immunoscore Colon, a unique diagnostic assay for guiding therapeutic decisions in colon cancer.

Based on Immunoscore, an Inserm technology protected and licensed by Inserm Transfert, HalioDx development team worked on the reagents components of the assay, to guarantee a robust and reliable staining, but also on the image analysis software to render Immunoscore a straightforward, standardized and quantitative assay.

The very first test, Immunoscore Colon, will be available in July 2016 through HalioDx service laboratory*. By the end of the year, pathologists will have access to a CE-IVD assay in Europe, while a RUO (Research Use Only) solution will also be available in the rest of the World.

The CE-IVD test will be intended as an aid for clinicians to assess prognosis of colon cancer at diagnosis, in combination with the TNM classification and other relevant clinical and biological patient and tumor features. Immunoscore Colon has demonstrated its robustness and accuracy in several retrospective studies, including in the recent Immunoscore Validation Project led by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) involving 23 pathology centers from 17 countries, where more than 3,800 patient samples were evaluated. Positive results were presented at ASCO 2016 by Dr Jerome GALON, Research Director at Inserm, Head of the laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, Paris, France and principal investigator of the study. (Press Release & video presentation )

Vincent FERT, CEO of HalioDx comments "This is an important milestone achieved by our teams, demonstrating that the quantitative analysis of immune cells can be performed in a routine setting and the information delivered can be integrated in the routine practice of pathologists and oncologists. Associating the simplicity of immunohistochemistry methodology with advanced image analysis is a powerful concept for providing standardized, objective and quantitative information in the immuno-oncology diagnostics. We are in line with our plan for the commercial launch of Immunoscore Colon with a first version available in July, as a service performed in our laboratory* and with a CE-IVD solution, available by the end of the year. "

"Inserm Transfert rapidly realized that the technology Immunoscore developed by Dr. J. GALON and his team had an outstanding potential in helping physicians to stratify cancer patients and support anti-cancer therapeutic approaches. We were very pleased to sign a licensing agreement with HalioDx on this unique technology in late 2014. 18 months later, we are delighted to see Immunoscore will be available for the oncologists community by the end of the year." added Pascale AUGE, CEO of Inserm Transfert.

About Immunoscore Colon

Immunoscore Colon measures the density of two T lymphocyte populations in the center and at the periphery of the tumor: CD8+ and CD3+ T cells. The technology used is immuno-histochemistry coupled to advanced image analysis for a standardized tissue segmentation and immune cells quantification. Cell densities are then computed to calculate the sample's Immunoscore.

Dr. Jerome GALON, Research Director at Inserm and Head of the Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology, developed the concept of immune contexture consisting on analyzing the immune variables associating the type, density, location and functional orientation of immune cells within and around the tumor from which Immunoscore was derived. The assay was developed to predict the ability of a person's immune system to fight tumor cells and its performance has been documented in a number of studies for its ability to predict recurrence in colon cancer. Additionally, a prospective trial headed by Franck Pages at the European George Pompidou Hospital (HEGP, Paris, France) is ongoing.

Immunoscore Colon is one of the first diagnostic test that will be used in routine by pathology labs leveraging advanced image analysis. The accuracy and robustness of the test relies on precise counting of positive immune cells in predefined regions and automatic calculation of Immunoscore for each sample based on specific algorithm.

The Immunoscore Colon assay is available as a laboratory service* in July 2016.

For more information, please visit: www.haliodx.com or www.immunoscore-colon.com

* This test is intended for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

About HalioDx SAS

The Immune Response to Cancer Diagnostics

By precisely measuring the immune reaction in and around the tumor, HalioDx tests allow the clinician to determine the degree of severity of the patient's disease and predict the response to treatment, regardless of the cancer stage or the molecular class.

HalioDx designs and develops a unique range of immune scoring tests, whose first-in-class product is Immunoscore. Considered a future diagnostic standard in Oncology, this biomarker has already demonstrated strong prognostic value in colorectal cancer. HalioDx was founded in 2014 by the former management team of Ipsogen (leader in the molecular diagnosis of leukemia), and a pioneer in integrative immunology and oncology, Dr. Jerome Galon. HalioDx benefits of worldwide licenses on a broad portfolio of IP rights on immuno-oncology biomarkers (including the Immunoscore technology) developed by Dr. Jerome Galon, Research Director at Inserm, and his team (Inserm UMRS1138) at Cordeliers Research Center, Paris, France.

HalioDx has an experienced team of 87 employees and compliant facilities to develop, manufacture, deliver and market in vitro diagnostic products and services in immuno-oncology.

For more information, please visit: www.haliodx.com

HalioDx and Immunoscore are registered trademarks.

Contacts

ATCG Press

Marie Puvieux (France), Mob: +33 (0)6 10 54 36 72

Celine Bouquerel (ROW), Mob: +33 (0)6 29 97 71 52

haliodx@atcg-partners.com

Twitter: twitter.com/haliodx

Twitter: twitter.com/haliodx

About Inserm

Inserm is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. Ranked as the number one academic research institution for biomedical research in the European Union, Inserm operates under the dual auspices of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Research. It was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health.

About Inserm Transfert

Founded in 2000, Inserm Transfert SA is the private subsidiary of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), dedicated to technology transfer (from scouting of invention disclosure to industrial partnership). Inserm Transfert also manages European and International research projects, and assists large-scale projects in epidemiology, cohorts, and public health. Inserm Transfert runs an internal proof of concept fund. The company also supports entrepreneurs in the biotech sector. www.Inserm-transfert.fr

PR in English http://hugin.info/168169/R/2027019/753299.pdf

HUG#2027019
BELLEVUE, Wash., July 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a previous three-way tie, Verizon emerges as the Overall Performance award winner in Houston according to the latest RootScore Report from RootMetrics, the standard for independent mobile performance information. Notably, Verizon also swept awards across all categories in the 1st Half 2016 Houston Metro RootScore Report.



Though Verizon led the rankings in Houston, every category but Overall Performance resulted in shared wins, meaning a close competition between the networks. Verizon and Sprint shared the top spot in Network Reliability and Call Performance, while both Network Speed and Data Performance categories resulted in ties between Verizon and AT&T. Furthermore, all four carriers shared the award for Text Performance in the latest rankings from RootMetrics, an IHS (NYSE:IHS) company.



"While Verizon topped our rankings across the board in Houston, the mobile performance competition remains hotly contested and shifts are happening quickly," said Julie Dey, RootMetrics vice president. "We noticed particularly tight rankings in reliability, call and text categories, all of which are crucial aspects to a good overall mobile connection. The number of shared wins in this latest report suggests the carriers are making important improvements that benefit mobile users."



This is the eleventh time RootMetrics has tested the mobile networks in Houston and issued findings for the metro area. RootScore Reports provide a scientific, independent, consumer-focused assessment of mobile network performance.



The RootMetrics Overall Performance RootScore rankings for Houston:

1  Verizon (97.3)

2  Sprint (96.9)

2  AT&T (96.7)

4  T-Mobile (93.6)



RootScores are on a scale of 0 to 100. A good Overall RootScore means strong all-around performance and a good consumer experience.



Mobile Performance You Can Depend on

Reliability and speed are crucial to a consistently good mobile experience. RootMetrics indicates performance in these key areas with its Network Reliability category, a combination of results from data, call, and text tests; and its Network Speed category, which examines results across testing of data transfers, downloading email, and web/app tasks.



Verizon and Sprint shared the top spot in Network Reliability, an award the two carriers had previously shared with AT&T. Notably, the scores in this category were very close with less than one point separating first and last place. When it came to Network Speed in Houston, Verizon and AT&T shared the RootScore Award.



Network Reliability RootScore rankings:

1  Verizon (99.4)

1  Sprint (99.2)

3  AT&T (98.9)

4  T-Mobile (98.5)



Network Speed RootScore rankings:

1  Verizon (90.5)

1  AT&T (90.0)

3  Sprint (88.4)

4  T-Mobile (77.2)



Data Performance

Data Performance RootScores reflect how well networks perform in downloading and uploading data, performing email tasks, and downloading files that approximate loading typical webpages or apps.



After previously winning the Data Performance award outright for four consecutive test periods, Verizon now shares the top spot with AT&T. Meanwhile, Sprint recorded the fastest median download speed in Houston at 18.4 Mbps, meaning it would only take about three seconds to download a song. T-Mobile recorded the fastest median upload speed at 20.3 Mbps.



Data Performance RootScore rankings:

1  Verizon (96.1)

1  AT&T (95.9)

3  Sprint (94.7)

4  T-Mobile (90.6)



Call and Text Performance

Call Performance resulted in a two-way tie between Sprint and Verizon while AT&T and T-Mobile came in a close third place. Meanwhile, all four carriers shot to the top in the Text Performance category, which is an award Sprint previously held on its own for three consecutive test periods.



Call Performance RootScore rankings:

1  Sprint (99.5)

1  Verizon (98.8)

3  AT&T (97.5)

3  T-Mobile (96.9)



Text Performance RootScore rankings:

1  T-Mobile (99.4)

1  Sprint (99.3)

1  AT&T (99.2)

1  Verizon (98.6)



Comprehensive Testing

To evaluate the mobile experience in Houston, RootMetrics performed 61,619 call, data, and text tests across all hours of the day and night from June 2 through June 8. Using smartphones purchased off the shelf at carrier stores, tests were conducted indoors at 99 locations and while driving 4,499 miles. For details about RootMetrics testing, see the methodology section of the RootMetrics website.



About RootMetrics

RootMetrics is an independent mobile analytics firm that offers insights into the consumer mobile experience. RootMetrics provides data on mobile network performance to help people and companies make more informed mobile decisions. RootMetrics offers its RootScore Report series for nations, states, metro areas, airports, campuses, venues, and transit stations, as well as its downloadable CoverageMap app. To ensure that RootMetrics testing reflects real-world mobile usage, testing is conducted based on where, when and how consumers use their smartphones most often.



About IHS

IHS (NYSE:IHS) is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today's business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 140 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs nearly 9,000 people in 33 countries around the world.
Verizon, managing principal investigative response, Ashish Thapar, uses the multiple attacks on the owners vessels to illustrate the vulnerability that shipping can face from hackers access to their IT systems.

The case study, known as the Roman Holiday, involved an undisclosed global shipping conglomerate that contacted the Verizon RISK Team after they became alarmed at a series of attacks were the pirates were armed with very specific information in terms of the cargo onboard the vessel.

The pirates would board the vessel forcing the crew into a single area, and then depart very quickly having located the cargoes that they planned to steal.

The company kept on wondering how the pirates had such specific information as to know which container had the highest value cargo. They were very perplexed as to how this happened six or seven times, Thapar explained to Seatrade Maritime News recently.

Suspicion fell on the companys content management system (CMS) through which bills of lading were uploaded.

Studying the network traffic around the CMS Verizon found a malicious web shell had been uploaded onto the server. This allowed the pirates, or the hackers working with them to, interact with the webserver and perform actions such as uploading and downloading data including bills of lading for future shipments.

What we did was recovered all their commands, we found out which systems they compromised and then when stopped that entire access, and we completely foiled their plan, Thapar said.

While CMS and their vulnerabilities are by no means limited to shipping and are, according to Verizon increasingly being targeted in attacks on e-commerce systems, it illustrates the vulnerability of many of the systems used onboard vessels such as the navigational systems.

Thapar highlights system such as ECDIS, AIS and GPS tracking which if hacked could potentially allow the threat actor to take ship off course. These systems have not inherently had that security kept in mind when they were developed several years back, he explained.

The maritime industry has to put in a lot effort of to improve their security. There is a very deep risk assessment that needs to undertaken by the industry to preserve their critical assets that could be approachable over internet.

As well as undertaking a comprehensive risk assessment he recommends implementing three areas of security control  preventative, detective and response controls.

Preventative controls to stop attacks in the in the first place, detective controls to found out if anything wrong is going on, and response systems for organisations to be prepared to handle incidents when they do happen because as Thapar notes you cannot build a Fort Knox.

Security needs to be kept as a part of design rather than an after thought.
The company carried a total of 58,195 freight units, a 15% rise year-on-year and the highest quarterly total in the nine-year history of the route.

Janette Bell, chief commercial officer at P&O Ferries, said that Continental exporters increasingly viewed the Zeebrugge-Tilbury route as a fast and reliable way of delivering goods as close as possible to London, for which reason P&O is now making a major investment in expanding its terminal and rail infrastructure at Zeebrugge.

P&O has two ships serving Zeebrugge-Tilbury, Norsky and Norstream, with main cargoes including wine, mineral water, detergents, consumer goods and motor cars from a number of major European manufacturers.

Last year the company carried 1.34m freight units across the Channel, a 22% increase year-on-year more than in any previous year since 2003. Partly this was due to the ceasing of operations by rival MyFerryLink in mid-year, its two vessels then being removed from service for the rest of the year to undergo refurbishment prior to redeployment by fellow Channel operator DFDS.

Meanwhile, ongoing migrant security issues affecting the port of Calais are also thought to have contributed to a shift of some former Calais-Dover traffic to the Zeebrugge-Tilbury route.
CLEARWATER, Fla., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On July 16th 2016 in celebration of their one year anniversary, the Scientology Information Center and the six humanitarian centers supported by the Church of Scientology are inviting all to their first annual Block Party. The event will take place on Cleveland Street and Waterson Avenue in Downtown Clearwater from 5-9 pm.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09ccf63a-06a5-40cb-a2d4-8cae8588c9e0

Last year, on July 11th 2015, over 4,000 people came together to inaugurate the opening of these centers which house international programs providing solutions to drug abuse, immorality, human rights abuses and criminality.



Since their opening some 60,000 visitors have come through our doors and have learned about these programs. In terms of community outreach over 152,000 human rights booklets, 281,000 drug education booklets, and some 200,000 The Way to Happiness booklets (a non-religious, non political moral code based on common sense) have been distributed across the Tampa Bay area and we have partnered with over 500 groups and individuals, stated Nicole Biancolini, the centers' representative.

The July 16th block party will include live music, food, prizes and family friendly activities such as arts and crafts, a scavenger hunt through the centers, and a raffle drawing. There will be a bouncy house, inflatable slide and face painting for kids. There is no charge to attend or participate in the festival activities.

Working with the community has been an amazing experience. There are so many individuals and nonprofits in the local area working to improve the quality of life for all and wed like to thank them for it, said Mrs. Biancolini.

For more information or to RSVP please contact Amber Skjelset, Manager of the Scientology Information Center, at 727-467-6966 or e-mail her at amber@cos.flag.org.

About the Church of Scientology:

The Scientology religion was founded by humanitarian and philosopher, L. Ron Hubbard. The first Church of Scientology was formed in the United States in 1954 and has expanded to more than 11,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups, with millions of members in 167 nations. Scientologists are optimistic about life and believe there is hope for a saner world and better civilization, and actively do all they can to help achieve this. Based on L. Ron Hubbards words, A community that pulls together can make a better society for all, the Church of Scientology regularly engages in many humanitarian programs and community events.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in counties along the state's east coast, because of a massive algae bloom from Lake Okeechobee that's spread into the St. Lucie River.

The blue-green algae, AKA cyanobacteria, has the pungent aroma of manure, is highly toxic, according to tests run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and it poses a health threat to animals, plants and humans.

RELATED: Harmful Algae Blooms Intoxicate Marine Mammals

Angry residents, fishermen and business owners are complaining that the problem is being spread by the Army Corps of Engineers' practice of releasing water from Lake Okeechobee into the river to prevent the water level from creating potentially damaging pressure on the lake's aging earthen dike, the Miami Herald has reported.

Rainfall and runoff has caused the lake's water levels to rise more than a foot since May.

The lake's waters are contaminated by runoff, some of it from human waste leaking from homeowners' septic tanks, according to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

RELATED: Giant Algae Bloom in Lake Erie in 2014

Gov. Scott has announced that he'll ask the Florida legislature to appropriate money for grants to homeowners who are willing to switch to central sewer systems. He also pledged to set aside funding in 2017 for communities who want to build wastewater treatment systems. Those areas would receive up to a 50 percent state match on whatever investment they make in wastewater management.

It's unclear, though, how much those measures might cost, or whether Scott will find the necessary political support.

Intensive use of fertilizers in the region is another factor in the lake's contamination, according to Discover.

WATCH VIDEO: How Can Something Be a Plant And an Animal?
While the Juno spacecraft grabbed all the headlines as it approached Jupiter and the US celebrated the July 4 weekend, another NASA mission wasn't faring so well. On July 2, Mars rover Curiosity ceased science operations on the slopes of Mount Sharp after a fail safe was tripped, forcing the nuclear-powered robot into a low-power "safe mode." RELATED: Curiosity Science Suspended After Electrical Glitch According to a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory report, preliminary information communicated by Curiosity suggests an "unexpected mismatch between camera software and data-processing software in the main computer" may have been the culprit and the rover's automated systems took over, preventing any permanent damage from being caused. Interestingly, Curiosity has gone for a long period without experiencing an unexpected safe mode on the Martian surface. In 2013, the rover experience three separate safe mode events, but none since. It did, however, experience an electrical short in 2015 that forced a pause in science activities. WATCH VIDEO: A New Clue to Finding Life On Mars

Safe modes are built into all complex space missions that will be automatically triggered should an unexpected systems error arise. Often, safe modes are triggered when a surge in power is detected or an erroneous command is triggered after a cosmic ray impact on internal electronics. In case this is indicative of a bigger fault, a safe mode will be triggered to prevent further damage from occurring while ground controllers can remotely work through the problem. RELATED: Curiosity Takes a Selfie on Mars Roving companion Opportunity has suffered many safe modes in its 12 years roving Mars, especially now its on board memory is literally wearing out, causing system instabilities and bouts of "amnesia". Built-in fail safes in Opportunity's software have allowed mission engineers to extend the rover's lifespan well beyond its primary mission of only 3 months. Though obviously a concern, Curiosity is doing exactly what it is designed to do and it is still communicating with Earth while mission engineers get it back to carrying out ground-breaking science in the middle of Gale Crater. GALLERY: Curiosity's Epic First Year on a Mars Mountain

Nearly one (Earth) year ago, NASA's Curiosity rover arrived at Mount Sharp, the key science destination of its mission. The rover has now spent three Earth years on the Red Planet, looking at rocks and environment to try to piece together the ancient past of Mars. Was it habitable for life? If so, did the life disappear? Why did the conditions change? These are all questions investigators are trying to learn the answers to. In this brief rundown of the science being done on Mount Sharp (officially known as Aeolis Mons), we've picked out some of the most intriguing and, frankly, beautiful photos of Curiosity's mountain. This is one of the latest ones from Curiosity, showing it perched at the Marias Pass just after doing some drilling. While the selfies are used as a public relations tool, NASA also uses these pictures to monitor the condition of the rover in the harsh Martian environment. After extensive practice taking pictures of the rover, Curiosity's "selfies" are getting pretty amazing.

Yep, that's a rock -- there are a lot of those on Mars. But look more closely at each one, and they reveal surprises. This particular rock is embedded with silica , a silicon-oxygen rock-forming compound that often shows up on Earth as quartz. It's an unusual find for Mars, and the team said it is going to take a closer look to see if it could preserve organic materials. Organics are considered building blocks of life, but not necessarily signs of life itself. MORE: NASA's Curiosity Rover Eyes Weird Rock on Mars

Curiosity has a laser on board (called the Chemistry and Camera or ChemCam instrument) that shoots at rocks to figure out what they are made of. But for months, the auto-focuser malfunctioned and required multiple laser shots to be sent, slowing down the science. This image shows the result after a successful software update that takes several images and figures out how to target the focuser from there.

In 28 pictures stitched together, Curiosity uncovered an extensive network of mineral veins at a site investigators dubbed "Garden City." These veins are created when a liquid cuts through cracks in a rock and leaves minerals behind. At the time this picture was taken, NASA was trying to figure out what the fluids were made of, and how the rock changed after the fluids touched it. It's all part of better understanding the ancient wet past on Mars and prospects for life. MORE: Curiosity Has Hit a Martian Mineral Jackpot

Sometimes you can't predict what will happen when you do science. In this case, Curiosity's drill did a test to see if this "Mojave" rock could be suitable to collect a sample... and the rock shattered. While it wasn't a total surprise that the rock broke, what made this test interesting was it created a few rock chips. This gave Curiosity an opportunity to look at what a new rock looks like before it gets all weathered by Martian wind and elements. MORE: Robot Smash! Curiosity Shatters Mars Rock Slab

In December, couple of building blocks of life came to light: Curiosity saw a 10-fold spike and fall in methane around this time, and detected carbon-bearing organic molecules on Mars. While neither of these are necessarily signs of life, they point to conditions that could have been friendly for life at some point. Also, Curiosity got to flex its drill at the "Cumberland" rock target, which was a good thing as a NASA senior review said the drill wasn't being used enough (making it hard to justify the cost and complication). MORE: Mars Mission Will Drill Deep for Inside Information
The fusion of flash with ash! Say the words aloud, together, and it sounds impossible  the kind of thing a six-year-old might think up. And yet, volcanic lightning is very real. But how does it happen? Few phenomena can compete with the raw beauty and devastating power of a raging thunderstorm, save for a particularly violent volcanic eruption. But when these two forces of nature collide, the resulting spectacle can be so sublime as to defy reason. The photograph above offers some important insights into the formation and study of volcanic lightning. It was taken late last month by German photographer Martin Rietze, on a visit to Japan's Sakurajima volcano. Only very big eruptions, he tells us via email, can generate major thunderbolts like the ones seen above. PHOTOS: Eruption of Iceland's Grimsvotn Volcano Smaller eruptions tend to be accompanied by more diminutive storms, which can be difficult to spot through thick clouds of ash. What's more, lightning activity is highest during the beginning stages of an eruption, making it all the more challenging to capture on film. Photographing a big volcanic event at any stage is hard enough as it is; if you're not nearby when it happens, says Rietze, "you will always arrive too late." It turns out the same things that make volcanic lightning hard to photograph also make it difficult to study. The first organized attempt at scientific observation was made during Iceland's Surtsey eruption in 1963 (pictured here). The investigation was later recounted in a May 1965 issue of Science: "Measurements of atmospheric electricity and visual and photographic observations lead us to believe that the electrical activity is caused by the ejection from the volcano into the atmosphere of material carrying a large positive charge." Translation? Volcanic lightning, the researchers hypothesize, is the result of charge-separation. As positively charged ejecta makes its way skyward, regions of opposite but separated electrical charges take shape. A lightning bolt is nature's way of balancing the charge distribution. The same thing is thought to happen in regular-old thunderstorms. But this much is obvious, right? So what makes volcanic lightning different? VIDEO: Does Lightning Cause Migraines? Close to 50 years have transpired since Surtsey exploded in November 1963. Since then, only a few studies have managed to make meaningful observations of volcanic eruptions. One of the most significant was published in 2007, after researchers used radio waves to detect a previously unknown type of lightning zapping from the crater of Alaska's Mount Augustine volcano in 2006. "During the eruption, there were lots of small lightning (bolts) or big sparks that probably came from the mouth of the crater and entered the (ash) column coming out of the volcano," said study co-author Ronald J. Thomas in a 2007 interview with National Geographic. "We saw a lot of electrical activity during the eruption and even some small flashes going from the top of the volcano up into the cloud. That hasn't been noticed before." The observations suggest that the eruption produced a large amount of electric charge, corroborating the 1963 hypothesis  but the newly identified lightning posed an interesting puzzle: where, exactly, do these charges come from? "We're not sure if it comes out of the volcano or if it is created just afterwards," Thomas explains. "One of the things we have to find out is what's generating this charge." NEWS: Act of God? Lightning Strikes St. Peter's Dome Since 2007, a small handful of studies have led to the conclusion that there exist at least two types of volcanic lightning  one that occurs at the mouth of an erupting volcano, and a second that dances around in the heights of a towering plume (an example of the latter occurred in 2011 above Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex, as pictured here. (Photograph by Carlos Gutierrez/Reuters.) Findings published in a 2012 article in the geophysics journal Eos reveal that the largest volcanic storms can rival the intensity of massive supercell thunderstorms common to the American midwest. Still, the source of the charge responsible for this humbling phenomenon remains hotly debated. One hypothesis, floated by Thomas' team in 2007, suggests that magma, rock and volcanic ash, jettisoned during an eruption, are themselves electrically charged by some previous, unknown process, generating flashes of electricity near the volcano's opening. Another holds that highly energized air and gas, upon colliding with cooler particles in the atmosphere, generate branched lightning high above the volcano's peak. Other hypotheses, still, implicate rising water and ice-coated ash particles. "What is mostly agreed upon," writes geologist Brentwood Higman at Geology.com, "is that the process starts when particles separate, either after a collision or when a larger particle breaks in two. Then some difference in the aerodynamics of these particles causes the positively charged particles to be systematically separated from the negatively charged particles." You can see the diagram here. The exciting thing about this process is that these differences in aerodynamics, combined with various potential sources of charge (magma, volcanic ash, etc) suggest that there may actually be types of volcanic lightning we've yet to observe. As Martin Uman, co-director of the University of Florida Lightning Research program, told NatGeo back in 2007: "every volcano might not be the same."

Volcanic lightning strikes during an eruption of Japan's Sakurajima volcano in February 2013.

Ring of Fire In 2008, 72 volcanoes erupted around the world -- that's a lot of fire, and slightly above average. 2009 got off to a fast start, too, with Mount Redoubt letting loose in Alaska, Japan's Mount Asama raining ash on Tokyo and an undersea volcano in Tonga breaching the surface and growing an island. But none of these is likely to break into our list of Top 10 Volcanoes in Geologic History. Most of these come with signs that read "Danger: Keep Back at Least One Continent." But if this list of past catastrophes teaches us anything, it's that the biggest, baddest volcanoes can erupt anywhere and at any time. And they will again -- it's just a matter of when.

10. Ontong-Java Plateau, South Pacific This is the biggest volcano you've never heard of. When it erupted 125 million years ago, it covered a region of the south Pacific Ocean the size of Alaska with basalt, in some places as much as 30 kilometers thick. It was so big, the eruption itself is thought to have lasted 6 million years. Scientists call this type of volcano a large igneous province (LIP). They are highly mysterious, and appear to form when huge amounts of hot magma well up from thousands of miles deep in the mantle, near Earth's core. There's a lot of debate as to whether LIPs erupt in huge explosions, or just ooze out in massive sheets of lava. Either way, mass extinctions have a tendency to occur whenever one of these things go off, so it's probably a good thing we've never seen one in action.

9. Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA May 18, 1980, was a bad day in Washington state. Silent for over 100 years, the picturesque 9,677-foot peak had by late April grown into a bloated, trembling blister of rock and magma. And like a blister, it popped early on a Sunday morning, rocketing fiery ash out to the north at close to the speed of sound. The eruption killed 57 people and did almost $3 billion in damage when all was said and done. It also lopped 1,314 feet off the height of the mountain, which was reduced to a smoldering crater. This was the most deadly volcanic eruption in Unites States history -- and it was just a pipsqueak, really.

8. Grimsvotn, Iceland Nothing says "explosion" quite like the mixing of searing hot magma with ice from a glacier. It's a common circumstance at Grimsvotn, a volcano buried underneath the Vatnajokull glacier in eastern Iceland that last erupted in 2004. Each time Grimsvotn erupts, huge amounts of liquid build up under the glacier until the pressure becomes so great that the water literally lifts up the glacier and escapes in catastrophic floods, called "jokulhlaups." You don't want to be around for a jokulhlaup. The flood that came after the 1996 Grimsvotn eruption discharged 50,000 cubic meters of water per second, making it briefly the second-largest river in the world. But that kind of thing doesn't faze Icelanders  these are the same folks who once sprayed seawater on a lava flow to keep it from engulfing a nearby harbor town.

7. Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA Given the violent company it's in, Mauna Kea is pretty chill. Dormant for the last 4,500 years, it was never much of an exploder even in its heyday. That's because the lava that comes out of volcanoes in Hawaii is a low-viscosity basalt -- it tends to ooze and flow like a river. Shown here with snowy peaks in the foreground, the mountain has erupted a lot of lava over the eons. It is only 13,796 feet above sea level, but from its base at the bottom of the Pacific, it measures 33,476 feet high, making it the tallest mountain in the world. Its upper reaches used to have enough snow for skiing (and further back, glaciers).

6. Krakatau, Indonesia In 1883, humanity witnessed what scientists call a "caldera-forming eruption" in Indonesia. In plain English, we call that a mountain blowing itself apart. At 200 megatons of explosive power, the eruption was four times more powerful than the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. Since the volcano and island were one and the same, there wasn't much left after the explosion rocked the Sunda Strait and sent 100-foot-high tsunamis and scalding ash flows ashore up to 25 miles away. In the ruined void the volcano left behind, a new island has been growing back (through a series of much smaller eruptions) and is now around 1,000 feet high.

5. Ra Patera, Io, Jupiter's Moon Thanks to space exploration, the list of greatest volcanoes can no longer be restricted to Earth. In 1979 the Voyager space probe made a shocking discovery -- Jupiter's moon Io was pock-marked with active volcanoes. Voyager's snapshot of Ra Patera was the first discovery of an active extraterrestrial volcano, though the bigger vents Loki and Pele were discovered soon after. But it didn't make sense. Io is about same the size as Earth's moon, which long ago froze in the vacuum of space. So why was it still active? As scientists soon learned, Jupiter's intense gravity was tugging on Io's innards, creating such heat that the moon was literally disemboweling itself, spewing sulfur-rich lavas all over the surface of the moon, and out into space.

4. Santorini, Greece Look at the small group of five islands known as Santorini, and it's clear something bad once happened there. In fact, the islands all were one, until an eruption bigger than Krakatau blew the place apart about 3,600 years ago. Ash deposits 100 feet thick have been found 19 miles in all directions from the caldera. Shown here is a wall of the volcano where you can see layers of ash, lava flows, pyroclastic deposits and other volcanic products. The ancient eruption is thought to have spawned the tales of the "Lost City of Atlantis" and perhaps even hastened the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete.

3. Olympus Mons, Mars The biggest volcano in the solar system is also the quietest. It's the size of Arizona, and close to 90,000 feet high, but this gentle giant hasn't erupted in millions of years. When it did it was probably a lot like Mauna Kea, leaking rivers of liquid rock rather than exploding into the Martian skies.

2. Tambora, Indonesia Between dozens of volcanoes, the biggest earthquakes in the world, and devastating tsunamis, Indonesia has a lot of geology to worry about. And Mount Tambora, a huge volcano on the island of Sumbawa, is no exception. The mountain produced a gargantuan eruption in 1815 that produced an ash cloud so big, it canceled the summer of 1816 in North America and Europe. The eruption also killed between 70,000 and 90,000 people, making it the deadliest in human history. And the No. 1 volcano in geologic history is ... (you saw this one coming) ...
In the past year, ISIS and other terror groups have staged a series of at least 14 major attacks in Turkey, culminating in the recent Atatyrk Airport assault that left 43 people dead and 238 injured. Why is Turkey being targeted?

As Jules Suzdaltsev explains in today's Seeker Daily briefing, Turkey is in a unique and precarious position. The country borders both Syria and Iraq, where ISIS and other radical groups maintain multiple strongholds. Turkey has openly opposed ISIS, as well as the Syrian government and certain Kurdish groups, triggering retaliatory attacks.

Turkey's involvement in the Syrian civil war goes back to the early days of the Arab Spring. When war broke out between the Syrian government and rebel factions, Turkey backed the rebels, allowing militant fighters to move freely through the country and into Syria.

RELATED: Will Turkey Ever Be Able To Join The EU?

However, experts not content that the majority of those fighters moving through Turkey are now joining the Islamic State. In 2015, Turkey made several official policy changes designed to crack down on domestic ISIS networks and strengthen border security. The increased terror attacks in the country are almost certainly a response from ISIS and ISIS-inspired groups to the new Turkish policies.

Turkey has other issues, too. The government's long-standing conflict with Kurdish militants continues to smolder and flare. The violent rebel group known as the PKK tends to target police and government agencies and Kurdish militants are believed to be behind as many as eight of the recent attacks in Turkey.

In addition to all of this, Turkey is in the midst of a massive refugee crisis as it takes in millions of Syrian refugees. Turkey has agreed to admit those seeking refuge in Greece in exchange for an accelerated path to membership in the European Union. The country also recently normalized relations with Israel, which angered ISIS and other groups.

It all adds up to a dangerously volatile situation for Turkey.

-- Glenn McDonald

Learn More:

BBC: Istanbul Ataturk airport attack: 41 dead and more than 230 hurt



New York Times: Airport Attack in Istanbul Is the Latest in a Year of Terror in Turkey

CNN: Understanding Turkey's deadly catalog of enemies

RT: Istanbul attack - result of 'complex & dangerous situation in Turkey'
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Lectra announces the opening of its subsidiary in Vietnam

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Lectra Vietnam will accelerate the company's growth in Asia

Paris, July 7, 2016 - Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology solutions dedicated to industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles and composite materials, is pleased to announce the opening of its subsidiary Lectra Vietnam on July 1, 2016.



Lectra has been present in the country for over 20 years and represented by its agent Ly Sinh Cong Trading Service Company (LSC) for the past twelve years. The new subsidiary will take over LSC's team and assets.



With the opening of the Vietnam subsidiary, Lectra is continuing its development plans in Asia. "Thanks to 5.5% growth in the first quarter of 2016, Vietnam is one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic economies. It is a top choice for manufacturers who focus on production costs and brands seeking to diversify supplies. The transpacific agreement signed in February 2016 will reinforce the attractiveness of the country, where Lectra has many customers, including very large Asian companies," declares Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO.



"Lectra Vietnam's objective is to help Vietnamese companies implement Lectra's technologies that have demonstrated their worth in Asia and across the globe, and to accompany locally established foreign groups in the country. This opening will boost Lectra's expansion in Southeast Asia and reinforce synergy in sales with the company's other subsidiaries in the region," explains Yves Delhaye, Managing Director Asean, Autralia, South Korea, India.



The apparel industry is especially vibrant in Vietnam. Clothing exports reached $21 billion in 2014 and should grow by 8%, attaining $29.5 billion in 2016, nearly a third from local actors. Of the 6,000 textile and apparel companies, a large number are owned by Chinese, Hong Kong, South Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese companies operating out of Vietnam to take advantage of lower manufacturing costs.



"Thanks to twenty years of experience in Vietnam, Lectra understands the local industry's fundamentals perfectly. I am pleased to develop even further the close ties that Lectra has with companies present in the country," adds Yves Delhaye. "Several of our Chinese and South Korean apparel customers manufacture a portion of their production in Vietnam. They are very interested in innovative solutions to improve the quality of their products, the efficiency of their operations and the productivity of their factories. Moreover, a growing number of actors within the automotive industry are investing in Vietnam. Lectra will be there to help develop their production," he underscores.

About Lectra

Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions (software, automated cutting equipment, and associated services) specifically designed for industries using fabrics, leather, technical textiles, and composite materials to manufacture their products. It serves major world markets: fashion and apparel, automotive, and furniture as well as a broad array of other industries. Lectra's solutions, specific to each market, enable customers to automate and optimize product design, development, and manufacturing. With more than 1,500 employees, Lectra has developed privileged relationships with prestigious customers in more than 100 countries, contributing to their operational excellence. Lectra registered revenues of $264 million in 2015 and is listed on Euronext.

For more information, please visit www.lectra.com
More than a dozen rising ninth-graders from the Town of Cary, North Carolina, visited the base and local businesses as part of the Camp Confidence program run by school resource officers.

Camp Confidence is a mentorship program for incoming high school freshmen, chosen by their school resource officers, based on who they think will benefit the most from the program intended to help guide them to a better future. There are two two-week programs for boys and one two-week program for girls. The program aims to provide a glimpse of some options available to students who choose the path toward graduation.

This program is about helping them keep an open mind and fill their tool box with options, said Capt. Theodore Ellis, 334th Fighter Squadron pilot. It (helps) youth see and understand the options available to them if they stick with their motivations, work hard and support each other in the right circles.

During the tour of the base, the students learned about the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft, security forces and what it takes to be an Air Force firefighter. They were able to touch the jet, handle some firefighter equipment and explore the inside of a fire truck. The students also toured and participated with several local businesses, such as a racetrack, a chefs academy, and a mock trial with lawyers.

Camp Confidence helps you be a better leader and explore job opportunities, said a Camp Confidence student.

Ellis said the goal of the program is to help young teenagers stick to a game plan and feel confident about their choices and feels the program is worth it if Team Seymour Airmen and school resource officers can help even one teenager see the opportunities available and make good choices.
SACRAMENTO  A swath of bills dealing with Californias stringent laws protecting the privacy of police officers and the release of information to the public has failed to garner support, leaving the state at a standstill on a troubling public issue that exploded anew this week.

In Baton Rouge, La., protests erupted Tuesday night after a cell phone video went viral showing two police officers pinning down and fatally shooting a black man that morning.

The incident, also captured on police body cameras  though the footage was not released  renewed calls across the nation for police transparency and accountability, and comes as California lawmakers have deadlocked on legislation that would have set rules on who should be able to view police body camera footage and when.

In the Baton Rouge shooting, police killed Alton Sterling, 37, after responding to a call about a man with a gun outside a convenience store, where Sterling regularly sold CDs. On Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it had opened a civil-rights investigation into Sterlings death.

The incident is the latest in a string of fatal police shootings caught on video that have led to massive, violent protests across several U.S. cities. The shootings prompted California lawmakers to call for increased police transparency and accountability, but with few results.

The Legislature is out of step with what the public wants, said Peter Bibring, director of police practices for the ACLU of California. This isnt going away until the Legislature fixes it.

Leno bill dies

One of the bills was authored by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and would have opened records of investigations and discipline in police shootings and other serious cases of use of force. But SB1286 died without a vote last month. Supporters said California law currently bars the release of basic information about a departments investigation into officer misconduct. SB1286 would have included the release of body-camera footage in use-of-force cases.

When police dont disclose, the public thinks its because they have something to hide, Bibring said, adding that this lack of transparency increases mistrust of police in some communities.

He said California keeps confidential nearly all aspects of law-enforcement investigations into an officers conduct, even when proved.

Its not just that they can withhold it  they have to, Bibring said.

He pointed to Oakland, where Mayor Libby Schaaf has been limited by privacy laws from disclosing details about the turmoil in the citys Police Department. The Oakland Police Department has been roiled by scandals, including allegations of officers having sex with an underage teen and sending racist texts.

California has the most restrictive (officer privacy) laws in the country, Bibring said.

Michael Short/Special To The Chronicle

And some bills this year would have made those laws more restrictive when it comes to body cameras.

A bill by Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), would have allowed officers to review body-camera footage before making their reports, while legislation by Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, would have given officers three days notice before their footage was made public, which opponents argued would have resulted in an increase in officers seeking a court injunction to delay the release.

Both bills died last month.

Those bills were seen as favoring officers, while a bill by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, attempted to find middle ground. Quirks bill at first required body-camera footage to be released within 60 days, before the legislation was watered down and eventually killed.

A bill by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas, would have provided more funding for police to purchase body cameras. It too died.

Still on the table

The only bill still active is by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-San Jose, which would limit the release of footage showing an officers death.

Cooper said he believes all officers in the state should be equipped with body-worn cameras, but that a one-size-fits-all policy governing their use does not work. His bill would have left the decision on how the cameras are used up to each agencys collectivebargaining process, but required those guidelines to allow officers to review footage before speaking to internal-affairs investigators.

At the end of the day, the ultimate goal for everyone is they want as many body cameras out there as possible, said Cooper, a former law enforcement officer. Even my opponents agree on this. In the meantime, we as a legislature sit on our hands.

Last year, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, authored a bill that would have created mandatory and recommended guidelines for law-enforcement agencies that use body-worn cameras. That bill, AB66, included requirements opposed by police unions, including a provision that barred officers from reviewing footage before giving their initial statement following a serious use-of-force incident and prohibited officers from making copies of their footage for their own records.

Mayors support

Schaaf, Oaklands mayor, supported the bill, which died in committee.

California would benefit greatly from more uniform regulations that make it clear to law enforcement, the media and the public who can access body-camera footage and when they can do so; how we protect the privacy of everyone captured on camera, including bystanders; as well as how the footage should be stored and accessed and for how long it should be available, Schaaf said. These are just a few of the questions we are now grappling with on a local level, city by city. It shouldnt be this way.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez

Lawmaker votes

Heres a look at how lawmakers voted on three bills dealing with police transparency:

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.

SB1286 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco

Would have opened records of investigations and discipline in police shootings and other serious cases of use of force.

Last vote: Passed 5-1 in Senate Public Safety Committee before dying in Senate Appropriations without a vote.

Voted for it in Senate Public Safety Committee: Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley; Steve Glazer, D-Orinda; Mark Leno, D-San Francisco; Carol Liu, D-La Canada Flintridge (Los Angeles County); Bill Monning, D-Carmel

Voted against it: Jeff Stone, R- La Quinta (Riverside County)

Did not vote: Joel Anderson, R-San Diego.

AB1940 by Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove (Sacramento County)

Would have left the decision on how body cameras are used up to each law enforcement agencys collective bargaining process, but required those guidelines to allow officers to review footage before speaking to internal affairs investigators.

Last vote: Failed 3-4 in the Senate Public Safety Committee

Voted for it: Anderson, Glazer, Stone,

Voted against it: Hancock, Leno, Liu, Monning.

AB2611 by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-San Jose

Would have made an exemption under the states public records act for any audio or video recording showing the death of an officer in the line of duty, unless approved by the officers immediate family.

Last vote: Passed 6-1 in Senate Public Safety Committee

Voted for it: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Liu, Monning, Stone

Voted against it: Leno
GASSAWAY, W.Va., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In order to help alleviate the burden placed on the Mountaineer Food Bank after recent devastating floods in West Virginia, Smithfield donated more than 35,000 pounds of protein this week in an effort to replenish supplies that were distributed during the recent flooding. This flood was ranked the third-deadliest flooding event for the state, and many are still working to rebuild their homes and find alternative sources to nourish their families.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2adb8a7f-807c-426f-ab25-3a5da77cd12d

"We appreciate all of the great partners that have stepped up to the plate to help West Virginia with our needs during the flooding, and Smithfield has certainly done that, said Chad Morrison, executive director of the Mountaineer Food Bank. Protein is one of the most valuable resources for our organization. During disasters, it becomes even more important. Many West Virginia families will have access to healthy sources of food because of this donation and the work that Smithfield is doing in our communities."

Smithfield salutes the food banks, first responders, and other organizations who have tirelessly provided time and resources to help the communities affected by these floods, said Dennis Pittman, Smithfield senior director of corporate communications and public affairs. We are pleased to assist their aid efforts, and provide more than 140,000 servings of protein to local families and individuals and help alleviate food insecurity during this time of need. Smithfield encourages others who are able to help to get involved by reaching out to the Mountaineer Food Bank to see how they too can contribute.

The donation is part of Smithfields Helping Hungry Homes initiative, a coast-to-coast program to help Americans become more food secure. This year, the program will help fight hunger through more than 30 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 3.5 million servings.

To learn how you can assist the Mountaineer Food Bank with flood recovery, please visit www.mountaineerfoodbank.org.

More Information

Smithfield has a long history of stocking food banks, supporting after-school nutrition programs, and providing food relief in the wake of natural disasters. In 2008, Smithfield established its Helping Hungry Homes initiative to support the fight against hunger across the country, and has since donated more than 39 million servings of protein to food banks across America.

About Mountaineer Food Bank

Mountaineer Food Bank is a 501(c)(3) non-profit hunger relief organization that serves 48 counties in West Virginia. Our network consists of over 600 feeding programs including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, senior programs and Backpack Program. To learn more about Mountaineer Food Bank and how to help solve hunger in your community, visit our website at www.mountaineerfoodbank.org.

About Smithfield

A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the Ham Capital of the World. From hand-trimmed bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfield's products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com, www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand, and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield. Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods

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Jaballa Matar was a leading dissident in Libya under the reign of Moammar Khadafy. He was kidnapped by Libyan forces for his political actions in 1990 and put in a notoriously brutal prison. After Khadafy was ousted and killed in 2011, Matars son Hisham, a novelist who had been living in exile, returned to Libya to try to discover his fathers fate. He spoke to other dissidents, absorbed Libyas mixed atmosphere of promise and danger, and mourned for his lost father. His new memoir, The Return, is his account of the experience.

In her New York Times review of the book, Michiko Kakutani said Matar wrote with both a novelists eye for physical and emotional detail and a reporters tactile sense of place and time.

The prose is precise, economical, chiseled; the narrative elliptical, almost musical, cutting back and forth in time.

In a recent email interview, Matar discussed what he had learned after returning to Libya, his feelings about his fathers political activism, his own dealings with Khadafys son and more. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Q: At what time did you come to believe that your father was no longer alive? Before or after you returned to Libya?

A: I used to believe that it was not possible to lose someone I loved without sensing it somehow, without feeling something shift. But its not true. People can die, sometimes the closest people to us, without us noticing a thing. In my case, because the evidence remains inconclusive, my acceptance of my fathers passing has come upon me as cunningly as a slowly fading line that was there and suddenly is not. After the fall of Khadafy, when all political prisoners were released and my father was not among them, it became inescapable.

Q: As a child, did you fear or resent your fathers work in opposition to Khadafys regime?

A: I wanted to protect him. I was always alive to the dangers he was putting himself in, even when I couldnt quite conceive of the true gravity of the situation. One of the ways this expressed itself, particularly in my mid-teens, was through our vigorous and at times heated debates. My argument was that the best way to achieve the social and political changes he desired was through education and culture; he agreed but believed that a prerequisite to this would have to be the overthrow of the dictatorship. In several variations we turned in circles over this, neither side ever giving in.

Q: What do you think your father would have made of your journey back to Libya and your inquiries into his fate?

A: My failure to cure myself of Libya would have amused and perhaps even comforted him; my search for him would have not. He wanted me, above all things, to be free and happy.

Q: The two novels youve written deal with themes drawn from your life and your fathers life. What did writing a memoir allow you to address that the novels didnt?

A: Ive never been particularly interested in genre distinctions. They seem to me more useful to a librarian than to a writer. Each book Ive written has a different attitude and sensibility and therefore has demanded, technically and intellectually and emotionally, different things. One of the distinct qualities of this book, and why it challenged and gave me so much pleasure, was its ability to handle different things at once. I used to be a keen rider. Sometimes I could sense what a horse liked or preferred to do. This book had a wide repertoire: It liked to gallop cross-country at dawn, climb rocks and wade through rivers all day, and canter at dusk along the avenues. So notwithstanding its difficult subject, the book was a thrilling challenge to write.

Q: You spoke to former prisoners, including your own uncle, as part of your research. What was the most surprising thing you learned from them?

A: I learned something about the power of stories and how, through them, we can travel through time and share, at least in our imaginations, former aspects of ourselves. Most of all, I learned that we can endure great suffering and survive, mostly intact yet altered.

Q: You had a remarkable back and forth with Seif al-Islam, Khadafys son, who dangled the idea of giving you the truth about your father but ended up providing no answers. Do you regret your dealings with him?

A: I regret how hard it was, but not my actions. I learned a lot from it, about myself and about how power functions. But it was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

Q: You write that given everything that has happened, the natural alignment of the heart remains towards the light. Does your heart feel lighter?

A: What I was referring to was not so much a cathartic outcome but rather a tendency of being and how the direction where there seems to be the least resistance is towards creation, joy and effortless curiosity.

Q: Youve taught courses on the literature of exile, and you drew on that knowledge in writing this memoir. What do you consider the greatest examples of the genre?

A: I lean to the less obvious ones, where being out of place is not bluntly stated, perhaps because what has always interested me in the theme of exile and estrangement is its potential for universal resonance. Some examples might be: Salvatore Sattas The Day of Judgment, where a man in old age visits the island where he grew up; Tayeb Salihs Season of Migration to the North, where the native, having lived far away in London for many years, moves back to his village in the Sudan; and Good Morning, Midnight, by the formidably delicate Jean Rhys. All are, in a way, about the complications involved in returning home.

Q: In one of his letters to your family from prison, your father wrote: My forehead does not know how to bow. Would you say the same thing about yourself?

A: I would rather not be tested.
A tense 3-hour standoff between police and an armed, belligerent, bare-chested man ended late Wednesday afternoon on a Tenderloin street corner after San Francisco officers fired a barrage of flash grenades and whisked the suspect away in an ambulance.

The bizarre incident tied up traffic for hours and brought the area around McAllister and Jones streets to a standstill.

This person was threatening to do harm to (himself) and made several statements to the effect that he wanted to die and he wanted the police to take his life, said San Francisco Police Chief Toney Chaplin.

Chaplin said prolonging the standoff allowed police to protect the sanctity of life and avoid a fatal shooting.

We wouldve stayed out here until tomorrow, he said. The bottom line is, we were able to resolve it because we had enough time.

Mayor Ed Lee issued a statement after the standoff, thanking police officers for using restraint and lauding Chaplins efforts.

I want to praise Acting Police Chief Toney Chaplin for his leadership during the tense negotiations with this armed man, Lee said. In direct communication with me all afternoon, he continually showed the judgement and prudence that resulted in a non-violent outcome.

The handling of the situation today is a reflection of the emphasis that we put on de-escalation training in recent months. We are making critical investments to rebuild trust with our communities and are changing how our police officers handle conflicts on our City streets.

The incident began around 2:15 p.m., when officers confronted a man who was acting strangely.

Officer Grace Gatpandan, a police spokeswoman, said officers asked the man to show his hands, believing he might be armed. When the man refused the request, officers fired beanbag rounds at him.

The man lay facedown on the ground in front of the renovated Hibernia Bank building and refused officers demands to cooperate. At one point, a beanbag struck the suspect but had little effect on him.

A woman who identified herself to police as a cousin of the suspect arrived and attempted to talk him into surrendering. A small crowd gathered, some shouting taunts at officers.

Late in the afternoon, officers fired about a dozen flash grenades at the suspect. The loud, bright projectiles seemed to disorient him, and officers were able to rush in and take him into custody. The suspect did, in fact, possess a handgun, which had remained in his pocket throughout most of the incident.

Chaplin said the man brandished the gun at one point during the standoff.

The suspect was being evaluated by mental health workers and being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, apparently caused by the impact of the grenades.

As they tried to defuse the situation, authorities told people to avoid the area of Market and Seventh streets, just a few blocks from the Civic Center.

Were going to exhaust every possibility to take this person into custody without anyone being harmed, Gatpandan said.

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Police did not identify the suspect, but a relative said that he was known to frequent the area, and was known for being intoxicated and stubborn.

Chaplin said that under his leadership situations with possibly armed suspects are being treated differently than they were in the past. Previous situations where the department had come under fire all tended to end quickly, he said.

By lengthening the standoff, Chaplin said, officers had more time to opt for a peaceful resolution.

Time allows people to calm down, think about what theyre doing and maybe have second thoughts about making themselves a target for the Police Department, he said. Time is our friend. The longer we delay these situations, the better they end.

Chronicle staff writers Kimberly Veklerov and Steve Rubenstein contributed to this report.

Jenna Lyons and Peter Fimrite are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jennajourno @pfimrite
A 61-year-old San Jose man was arrested on allegations he molested a Los Gatos child, police said Wednesday.

Ali Shakoury was booked in Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of molesting a child under 10 years old, according to a statement from the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.

Shakoury was arrested at his San Jose home on June 29, four days after the department was informed of the alleged child abuse.

The Santa Clara County district attorneys office and Los Gatos detectives launched an investigation that led to Shakourys arrest. Shakoury claims to work for the A Top Limousine service on his LinkedIn account.

Police did not release additional information on the abuse, such as the age of the child and the relationship between Shakoury and the victim.

He was being held on $1 million bail. Anyone with more information was encouraged to call the department at (408) 354-8600 or email Detective Bill Hoyt at bhovt@losgatosca.gov.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Ron Chapple/Getty Images

A man suspected of killing an Oakland mother and her adult son committed suicide Tuesday night at a hotel in Stockton as police officers and federal agents attempted to get into his room, authorities said.

The suspect was wanted in the fatal shootings Saturday afternoon of Latrelle Parker, 48, and her son Ezra Glenn, 22, on the 3300 block of MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland.
High school graduation rates hit a record high across California, with the biggest gains made by students most at risk of dropping out, according to statewide figures released Tuesday.

More than 82 percent of students who started high school in 2011 graduated four years later, up from 81 percent a year earlier and marking the sixth consecutive year of growth in the state.

The 2015 data showed increases among all demographics, with the largest strides made by student groups with the lowest historical graduation rates  African American and Hispanic students, English learners, and migrant students.

More than 69 percent of English learners graduated with their class, up four percentage points from a year earlier.

The jumps, mirrored in many Bay Area districts, trace in part to the elimination of the High School Exit Exam graduation requirement, which the state suspended last year, officials said. In previous years, English learners were often denied a diploma because they couldnt pass the English and math exams.

However, the increases follow a six-year trend of improvement in graduation rates, going back well before the Exit Exam was put on hold, said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

This is encouraging news any way you look at it, especially since the increase is occurring as we are introducing much more rigorous academic standards, Torlakson said in a statement. But a lot of work remains, and our schools still need additional and stable resources.

More ready for college

The state and the Bay Area also achieved gains in the percentage of graduates who were college-ready  meaning they met eligibility requirements for the University of California or California State University systems.

In Oakland, 56.5 percent of 2015 graduates met those standards, up from 49.1 percent a year earlier.

San Francisco Unified saw across-the-board gains, with nearly 85 percent of students graduating on time in 2015  among the highest urban rates in the state.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

When more of our students are graduating, its like the Warriors winning a game, said Superintendent Richard Carranza in a statement. It shows our team of educators, parents and community partners are working together to ensure students score.

Some district officials said additional state funding for low-income students and English learners helped focus attention and services on the most at-risk kids.

Big jump in Pittsburg

In the Contra Costa County city of Pittsburg, the graduation rate jumped to 88.4 percent  up from 75.1 percent the previous year. The district used extra state funding to pay for summer school and after-school classes, so lagging students could catch up on required courses, said Superintendent Janet Schulze.

We allocated a significant portion of these funds to provide more opportunities for our students to take classes and receive extra supports, she said. This is a recognition of our talented students and the skill, professionalism and commitment of our teachers and staff.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: jilltucker
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Desperate to fill well more than 100 teaching positions in the next five weeks, San Francisco schools are taking the unusual step of offering signing bonuses amid a post-recession teacher shortage that is rippling across the Bay Area and beyond.

As many districts march out incentives as they compete for limited job seekers, San Francisco is offering $4,000 to special education teachers who take a job in the city. The district needs 70 such teachers, who are in short supply across the state, officials said Wednesday.

The district, which is challenged as well by the citys housing affordability crisis, is also offering signing bonuses to special education teachers aides as well as veteran teachers willing to go back to school for a special education credential.

Other districts are stepping up efforts to lure teachers, offering cash incentives, seniority perks and other novel inducements to reel in qualified candidates mulling over a fistful of job offers. Labor unions  typically opposed to differential pay, bonuses or other compensation gimmicks  have given their blessing.

All told, San Francisco had about 500 teacher openings heading into the school year, stemming from a combination of retirements and resignations and the creation of new positions. As of Wednesday, the district had 117 classrooms to fill.

After years of teacher layoffs during the recession, districts have money once again to reduce class sizes and add back academic programs, which has increased the demand for teachers. Yet fewer people are entering the profession, and the supply of new teachers is at a 12-year low, according to the Learning Policy Institute, a nonpartisan education research organization.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Fewer taking up teaching

As the recession began in 2008, almost 45,000 people were enrolled in teacher preparation programs in California. By 2013, there were fewer than 20,000, according to the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Last year, the commission said, districts hired about 21,500 new teachers, while the state issued just 18,100 new credentials.

California is facing a significant teacher shortage, and that means we have unprecedented competition for credentialed teachers across the state, San Francisco Superintendent Richard Carranza said Wednesday.

That competition is heating up. The Pittsburg Unified School District in Contra Costa County has one-upped San Francisco with a $5,000 signing bonus for special education, math, science and Spanish bilingual or dual-immersion teachers, who are in the greatest demand. Pittsburg will give another $5,000 if the candidate graduated from a high school in the city  a grow-your-own incentive to teach, said Superintendent Janet Schulze.

Large urban districts have been especially hard-hit, with many teachers choosing or transferring to schools or districts where there is often less poverty and higher pay.

Rich districts advantage

Everybody in California knows theres a teacher shortage, said Chris Ungar, president of the California School Boards Association. Sometimes what youre going to see are districts that have a lot of property tax coming in, that have the ability to pay a little bit more, to have smaller class sizes and fewer kids in need  they may have an easier time recruiting teachers than more urban school districts.

In Oakland, school officials are working with the Department of Education to hire bilingual teachers from Spain and Mexico. Yet suburban districts like Fremonts also have ramped up recruiting efforts, quadrupling resources to travel to recruitment fairs across the country and advertise job openings in local movie theaters, the district said.

Many districts are increasingly relying on intern teachers  who earn a credential while teaching full time  or uncredentialed emergency teachers. San Francisco had 77 intern teachers and 67 emergency teachers at the start of the 2015-16 school year. And the district has already hired 63 emergency teachers for the fall.

San Jose Unified is seeking more stability by offering to hire veteran teachers at the same pay they earned at their old district. Typically, experienced teachers dont want to transfer to a new district because they are required to move to a lower step on the pay scale.

San Jose puts teachers who agree to transfer on the step that matches their previous pay rate, with a cap set around $80,000  a bit below the highest-paid teachers. This year, the district has lifted that cap for veteran special education, bilingual and math teachers.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Zero-sum game

It creates an incentive for those with higher experience coming from much higher-paid districts to come to us, said Jennifer Thomas, president of the San Jose Teachers Association. That way people dont have to take a salary cut to join us.

Yet luring new teachers to districts with bonuses or other perks isnt a solution to the problem across California, Ungar said.

Currently, the teacher shortage is creating a zero-sum game where districts are competing for teachers, but there are just not enough to fill the statewide need, he said. Retaining teachers is just critical.

The state, Ungar said, should offer student loan forgiveness for new teachers, something previously included in the state budget. In addition, programs that guide new teachers into the profession through residency or mentoring can help ensure that young people are adequately prepared for the job.

Up to half of new teachers, many of them overwhelmed by the workload or financial woes, quit within the first five years of their career.

Having these programs is going to help young teachers start off without a lot of debt and without a lot of worries, Ungar said. Its important that we keep quality teachers and qualified teachers in the system.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @jilltucker
It takes just a few minutes with him to understand why Keith Corbin was appointed corporate kitchen manager at Locol, helping the company open its new Oakland restaurant a month ago.

Corbin can give orders to his kitchen crew and leave them smiling, segue into earnest oratory when explaining his restaurants mission, then interrupt the second he spots a camera crew nearing the front door. He is a natural manager  but six months ago, the only work he could find was on the streets.

Talents like Corbin may be the answer to the labor shortage that plagues Bay Area restaurants. The problem has left kitchens understaffed and dining rooms in constant churn. Rising minimum wages around the region  even wages well above the minimum  can barely cover a room in a shared apartment in San Francisco or Berkeley.

A small group of Bay Area restaurateurs argue that this shortage is an illusion, that anyone who claims he or she cant find staff is standing in a field of ripe tomatoes complaining of hunger. Locol, as well as Cala, Home of Chicken and Waffles and a cluster of nonprofit job-training programs, find reserves of talent in places many dont look: East Oakland, Richmond, probation departments and re-entry houses.

The restaurant industry in the Bay Area is one of the most robust in the nation, with the potential to bring thousands of people into the workforce. Restaurants offer people the opportunity to gain skills that will keep them employed, and employable, for decades.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Rethinking required

At the same time, bringing people like Corbin, long denied meaningful work, into the restaurant industry requires rethinking how restaurants find and train staff. It means restaurants have to reconsider how they support workers  and how they give them paths to rise.

As Cala general manager Emma Rosenbush said, Im so in awe of the hypocrisy of how much we care where our vegetables are grown and how theyre treated, and yet we seem to have no regard to the people serving it, cooking it and cleaning it.

At Locols new Uptown Oakland restaurant, line cooks grill barbecue-turkey burgers and ladle out chili bowls at prices closer to Burger King than Umami Burger.

The restaurants West Oakland commissary kitchen, though, is where the complex cooking behind the dishes becomes evident: Its fast food as redrawn by owners Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi, two of Californias best-known chefs (Patterson for the two-Michelin-star Coi in San Francisco, Choi for Kogi taco trucks in Los Angeles).

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

One cook pulls racks of buns out of the oven, their loft and sweetness bolstered by cultured rice. Another stirs a giant stockpot of tofu and barley seasoned with fish sauce and white soy, which will be added to ground beef to form Locols burger patties, topped with a tomato-and-fermented-chile sauce. A $90 tasting menu in San Francisco might trumpet each of these improbable elements. Locol just calls the dish a $5 cheeseburg.

Locols first location opened in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts in January, greeted by long lines of neighbors, as well as journalists eager to write about a celebrity-chef fast-food joint in a neighborhood whose last sit-down restaurant opened 50 years ago.

Choosing Watts, where 48 percent of households earn less than $20,000 a year, required the experienced restaurateurs to engage with the neighborhood in ways they never anticipated. Over the course of a year, they spoke in front of community boards and civic groups, as well as on the street and in homes.

Choi and Patterson didnt hire in the conventional manner, either. Locol posted flyers on telephone poles and handed them out on the street. They told people that they cared about character and not work experience, prison records or even literacy. Choi brought on a shaman to lead therapy sessions with the new staff. Four hundred people applied for 60 jobs.

Corbin was one of Locols early hires. Another was Eddie Corril.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

The two grew up on different sides of Watts: different turf, different races  Corbin African American, Corril Latino  and warring gangs. But their lives werent all that different. In the absence of employment, legally earning a living in Watts meant scrimping together enough money to open a small storefront and recruiting family into the work. On the streets, where both Corbin and Corril survived, getting by meant selling drugs, stealing when you needed to, and shuttling in and out of prison.

Corbin applied for a job at Locol after watching its construction with a mix of wariness and curiosity. Businesses didnt open in Watts, he thought, and if they did, they brought in workers from outside.

Corril, who lived across town, happened across Locol when he drove a friend to a nearby laundromat. There he encountered a woman who offered him some fruit, then handed him a job application. Perplexed, he filled it out.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Finding hope

It wasnt until the orientation, when Choi and Patterson explained their mission  to bring healthy, affordable food, good jobs and even healing to Watts  that the two new employees felt hope about their new chance.

Its either succeed or die here. Thats what Locol is for us, a job opportunity, Corbin said. Theres no way back. Theres nothing behind us but water. Theres no job down the street.

Locol isnt the first to rethink how to bring people normally shut out of the job market into the restaurant industry.

Episcopal Community Services 19-year-old Chefs program in the South of Market area, for instance, offers a seven-month training program to people at risk of homelessness. The program, which takes on a new class every three months, doesnt pay participants. But it leads them through classroom instruction, kitchen training, and then a three-month culinary internship, all bolstered by help with social services and job placement.

Youth Uprising, which works with young people in East Oakland, runs a social enterprise called Corners Cafe out of its headquarters. Jobs are almost as scarce in East Oakland as in Watts, and even fast-food restaurants are rare there. The cafe, which serves breakfast and lunch, hires 18-to-24-year-olds from the neighborhood.

The purpose isnt to provide just employment, says director of social enterprise Hunter Tanous, but mentoring on how to be employed. Young people (in East Oakland) dont have a network of people around them that show them, hey, this is what it means to be on time, this is what it means to connect with customers, he said.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Other Bay Area restaurants have responded to the scarcity of jobs for people getting out of prison. As of 2013, 5,456 Oakland residents were on probation or parole after spending time behind bars, according to Richard de Jauregui of the Oakland Private Industry Council. Less than 5 percent of persons being released to the Oakland community are offered permanent full-time employment at a living wage right out of the gate, de Jauregui said in an email.

Derreck Johnson, owner of the Home of Chicken and Waffles in Jack London Square, is well known among re-entry organizations for hiring people with prison records. So is Gabriela Camara, the owner of Cala, a 9-month-old Mexican seafood restaurant in San Franciscos Hayes Valley.

Before Cala opened, Camara and general manager Emma Rosenbush got word to activists, social services agencies and even defense attorneys that they were hiring ex-offenders. Whereas most new restaurants struggle to find applicants, Cala received a glut of resumes. Camara and Rosenbush started wine and service training in a spare office in San Franciscos Adult Probation Department.

Cala is among those restaurants where diners expect upper-middle-class polish. It took months after opening day before its staff could properly clear silverware and pronounce German wine varietals.

Some of its workers have left for higher-paying trades, but Calas proportion of recently incarcerated workers is still about 40 percent. Rosenbush prizes the loyalty and pride she sees in those who have stayed. When it does work, its so much more delicious than anything else, she said.

Soon after Locol opened in Los Angeles, the soft-spoken Corril found he preferred cooking in the commissary, where the food was prepped, to the clamor of the main dining room. He loved learning about new flavors and cooking techniques. Locol became his sanctuary. Every time I step outside Locol, Im back in Watts, he said. Soon as I step back in, Im somewhere else, where I can do what everybody taught me. I wanted to stay there.

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In many ways, restaurants are an ideal point of entry into employment. It is a realm where people with doctorates and recent immigrants with little formal education all learn skills on the job, repeating tasks over and over again. At their best, restaurants, and especially their kitchens, are environments in which workers are judged by performance and teamwork.

Leah Millis/The Chronicle

Gaining sense of control

Cooking, said Chefs program manager Phoebe Sanders, is an opportunity to take something that comes from the earth and use your skills and experience to transform it. To have that feel of control, when you have so little control over everything else in your life, is super-transformative.

Yet kitchens are also high-stress work environments. At the height of the dinner rush, when order tickets spit out of the machine rapid-fire and there arent enough burners on the stove to keep up, shouting can erupt and rational thought shut down. Its a brutal high.

The great thing about restaurants is that adrenaline  and the bad things the adrenaline, said Mimi Silbert, CEO of the Delancey Street Project. One of the countrys best-known prison re-entry programs, it has operated an eponymous South of Market restaurant for more than 40 years. My adrenaline goes to joy and excitement. If its already in you to feel stupid and like a failure, if that has been in your past and this is now going on, anger rises up.

Adding to the pressure of restaurant work is the structure of many professional kitchens, which are based on a militaristic Northern European brigade system. If you dont create an environment where people arent comfortable, then you cant train them, Patterson said. Conversely, its actually not that hard. If you just see people as human, you create an environment where people are allowed to be who they are. And if your means of interaction is more diverse, then so is your workforce.

At Locol, that management approach means that a shout of Close the oven door quickly! is followed up by quietly explaining to the cook how much heat gets lost when the oven door is open. It means looking over 25 pounds of tofu that have been cubed three sizes too large and asking the cook to cut each cube in quarters, without recriminations.

Industry prejudices

There are other challenges that the restaurant industry as a whole must confront.

The restaurant industry is low-paying, very hard work, said Youth Uprisings Tanous. But in a lot of cases, its a good way to get in (the job market), and a lot of these youth dont have a way. Because of tips, servers typically make more than cooks in San Francisco. Yet Calas Rosenbush said that although her once-incarcerated servers earn well above minimum wage, many still have to live far outside the city.

Entry into the workforce doesnt guarantee success. There are the widespread, subtle prejudices in the restaurant world that tend to promote white faces and fluent English speakers to the highest positions, and can silently deny cooks of color mentoring and opportunities.

A study released by the Restaurant Opportunities Center in June found that white restaurant workers made an average of $6.12 more than workers of color, and are disproportionately represented in high-paying service positions.

So it isnt enough to offer a job, many advocates say. You have to offer workers paths to advancement. It can be as simple as Delancey Streets mantra of Each one teach one, which Silbert says gives each worker a sense of purpose beyond whatever he or she is dealing with.

Promise of a new city

Locols rapid expansion  San Franciscos Tenderloin is next, followed by Crenshaw Avenue in Los Angeles  is giving a number of Watts employees a path up, including Corbin, who was quickly promoted to head cook. Impressed by his charisma and palate, Choi and Patterson then brought him on to the corporate team to help open new restaurants. He moved to Oakland a few months ago, where Patterson and former Coi chef Andrew Miller are mentoring him.

Last month, Corril also took a promotion, moving north to become Oaklands commissary manager. There he shares an apartment with Corbin, former rival and now fast friend.

Corril was finally ready to leave Watts, he said, for the promise of a new city. Here you walk out and see everybodys minding their own business, and youre not even noticed. You could be yourself. Youre free.

Jonathan Kauffman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jkauffman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jonkauffman
Body Language uses its audience like a focus group. Or, as Grant Wheeler, one of the members of the New York City electronic group, puts it: Everybody is our guinea pig. Were gonna see if you dance.

They do it slyly, generally without warning, just by slipping some new tracks into a live set before theyve been released and watching how the audience responds.

We definitely try out everything and really get a feel for what the crowd reacts to the most, Wheeler says. We even sometimes go back and tailor a song itself based on the live tracks or how theyre performed.

Fair warning, then, for those who go watch Body Language at Bottom of the Hill, where theyre set to perform Sunday, July 10, with a bunch of new tunes, some of which havent been released, Wheeler reveals.

Body Language blends disparate genres  pop, disco, house and, more recently, bass and R&B  into tracks that make people move. The group, Wheeler, Matt Young, Angelica Bess and Ian Chang, popped up in 2008. Wheeler and Young, who handle the production, were already friends and throwing a weekly DJ night together (no doubt thats partly where the tendency for crowd reading comes from) when they met Bess, who, along with Young, offers up vocals for the bands music. Later, they pulled Chang in when they decided to add a live drum element.

Sure, most might figure the dance-focused electronic music of Body Language is like the tunes created by one producer in front of a laptop. But the fact that Body Language creates music with four members, Wheeler says, makes a palpable difference.

It certainly makes the outcome a lot more eclectic, he says, because were working in, almost, consensus with each other. We stumble upon a lot of pop music and pop forms.

When Wheeler says consensus, he means it. Rather than any one member coming to the group with a finished track, they tend to work on things together  one person playing chords on a piano, while another tries out vocal melodies, just to get an idea down.

Its really varied, Wheeler says. And a lot of finishing ideas and really rounding off complete ideas is done with all three of us in the room. When the three of us or the four of us get together, it really starts to take shape.

Body Language has always played with various genres, but in their earlier years, the group almost always did so in the context of indie-disco. Recently, weve sort of broken out of that, Wheeler says.

More and more  both in terms of the vocals and the instrumentals  R&B influences are finding their way into Body Languages songs. As music lovers with various tastes, they pull from musicians like Beyonce and Kaytranada.

On Friday, July 8, the group is set to release an AA-sided single. On one side is Just Let It, a song that sounds bright and bouncy, featuring sweet vocals that slice straight through all the production  something along the lines of what longtime fans have come to expect from the band.

The other side of the forthcoming release is The Fall, which is a different story altogether, Wheeler says. It just completely flips the tables and is a very moody, darker song. I think weve waded into some uncharted territories with the bass music.

Over the course of nearly a decade, Body Language has released only one full-length album. Instead, the group concentrates on singles and EPs. Listeners should expect more of the same in the future. The band has another EP planned for release in the fall, though Wheeler wouldnt go into details.

Albums are very challenging, especially for music that leans dance, he says. I think its easier to put together a concise group of songs if you keep it just a little bit shorter.

Another quirk of Body Language is that its songs are so frequently remixed by other musicians familiar to those who spend serious time on dance floors. Producers like Machinedrum, Star Slinger and Plastic Plates have all reworked Body Language music.

We definitely love to hear interpretations of our music, Wheeler says. A lot of the folks who have remixed our songs have drawn them out into very loopable pieces that kind of combine the best of both worlds: dance grooves and pop music.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost

Body Language: 9 p.m. Sunday, July 10. $12-$15. Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F.

Listen to the groups latest single, Just Let It, at tinyurl.com/justletit
The suspect accused of assaulting two Muslim teens outside a mosque in Brooklyn this weekend has been taken into custody and charged. Sunset Park resident Christopher Vallaro, 31, turned himself into police at the 72nd precinct station house this morning. He has been arrested and charged with assault in the third degree.

However, Vallaro will not be charged with a hate crime, despite pleas from community leaders. Asked about the charges, an NYPD spokesman told us, "It's fair to say that investigators sought to determine whether his assault was bias-motivated, or bias in nature."

The attack took place around 1:15 a.m. Sunday in front of Muslim Community Center of Brooklyn at 53rd Street near Third Avenue in Sunset Park. One of the victims, 16-year-old Ahmad Emrech, was taking a break from late night prayers when he was beaten by the assailant, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who released a statement about the attack on Facebook. Vallaro was reportedly heard shouting slurs at the teens, including, "You f**king terrorist," and, "You Muslims are the cause of all the problems of the world."

An NYPD spokesman told the News that those derogatory statements "were made in the heat of the moment and were not a motivating factor."

Emrech sustained a concussion, cuts, bruises, and severe swelling to his eye, head and face. He was taken to Lutheran Hospital for treatment. The second victim, who police say is 17-year-old, also suffered from a swollen black eye.

You can see surveillance video and followup photos of the attack in the CBS report below.

Police have a slightly different take on what happened that evening: they say that Vallaro's girlfriend was sleeping in a car outside the mosque when the teens were hitting on her ("attempted to interact with her"); the dispute then became physical.

Mohamed Bahe, the director of the mosque, told Buzzfeed this was "a blatant cover-up," and non-profit group Muslims Giving Back decried the decision not to categorize the assault as a bias crime: "One of the victims heard the attacker shout "Terrorist!" while being punched to the ground. This is absolutely a HATE crime."
Two public swimming pools in Brooklyn will maintain weekly women-only swimming hours, following an NYC Commission on Human Rights policy review. The Parks Department confirmed Wednesday that both the Metropolitan Pool in Williamsburg and the St. John's Recreation Center in Bed-Stuy have been issued exemptions to the NYC Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination based on gender, race or creed.

Gender-segregated swim hours have been the norm at both pools for years, and were largely unchallenged until this spring, when the NYC Commission on Human Rights received an anonymous complaint about the Metropolitan Pool.

At Metropolitan, women-only hours will be reduced from nearly six hours per week to fourWednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Sundays from 2:45 to 4:45 p.m. At St. John's, the city will eliminate a weekly two-hour men-only swim, and maintain women-only swim from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday nights.

Both pools serve sizeable ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, which adhere to strict modesty rules.

"Maintaining limited women-only swim hours at these pools will allow all women to enjoy the pool without being asked to compromise their religious beliefs or affiliations and will have a minimal impact on other community members ability to access the pool," said Commission on Human Rights spokesman Seth Hoy in a statement.

Religious accommodation was not the only consideration, Parks confirmed. Histories of domestic and sexual abuse, as well as body image concernsto which the city deemed women and girls primarily susceptiblewere also considered.

"Women-only swimming hours provide an important accommodation to New Yorkers who may feel more secure and comfortable in a single-sex environment," said Parks spokesman Sam Biederman in a statement Wednesday. "NYC Parks is appreciative that the NYC Commission on Human Rights recognizes the need to provide such safe and fair access at public facilities."



The Metropolitan Pool in Williamsburg (Wally Gobetz / Flickr).

Signage popped up around the Metropolitan Pool in May stating that women-only swim had been suspended, prompting an outcry from the ultra-Orthodox community. "The point is about being culturally sensitive," Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind said at the time, arguing that disbanding women-only swim would be akin to banning Hasidic women from the pool altogether.

Other pool users countered that the policy compromised their civil rights, and simply cut down on available swim hours.

Parks later said that a typo in poolside signage was to blame, and confirmed that the policy was under review. Then, in early June, a nearly identical situation played out at St. John's: staff posted signage indicating that gender-specific swimming hours had been suspended, then reinstated those hours following an influx of 311 complaints. Again, Parks blamed an error in the posted signage.

According to the Parks Department, Metropolitan and St. John's are the only two indoor pools in the city with women-only swim hours. Going forward, any indoor pool seeking an NYC Human Rights Law exemption will have to submit a 200-signature petition to the department, pitching the importance of women-only swim.

Women-only swim hours will be open to all who identify as suchregardless of the gender indicated on one's state issued IDand petitions will not be considered if the pool in question is within "reasonable" distance of another pool with women-only hours.

City-wide, women-only swim sessions will be limited to two hours, in an effort to accommodate other pool users.

In a recent BRIC TV interview, New York Civil Liberties Union Senior Staff Attorney Erin Beth Harris described the women-only swimming hours as legally compromised.

"There's a reason that we have these laws, and that's because the city wants to create an open space for everybody," she said. "We cannot be biased on the basis of our race, our gender, or our sex. And you can't start making individual accommodations on the basis of individual beliefs, because that's exactly what creates unequal access on a regular basis."

Reached on Wednesday, Harris reiterated these concerns. "This undermines the purpose of the Human Rights Law," she said. "You can't keep hacking away at it."

Harris added that the city's apparent decision to associate body image issues and sexual and domestic abuse with girls and women was "paternalistic in a way that's a bit concerning."

"Men are sometimes victims of that abuse," she said. "It's leading to a false dichotomy of men's and women's experiences."
Some pledges cant be kept  and should not be kept. For President Obama, its his long-held promise to end a major U.S. military presence in Afghanistan by the end of this year. Instead hes keeping the force at 8,400 troops.

Its a disappointment, but a decision built on hard reality. The U.S-trained Afghan troops arent ready, and the Taliban are surging back. Other pressures, such as the growth of the Islamic State and a wave of global terrorist bombings, make it hard to leave a persistent trouble spot.

On taking office, Obama aimed to end a 14-year involvement that has cost more than 2,300 U.S. lives and nearly $1 trillion in humanitarian and military aid. That colossal expense knocked the Taliban from a ruling perch but failed to achieve stability or peace. Amid interminable fighting, the country is still largely run by warlords, with the central government mired in corruption and discord.

Obamas decision accedes to Pentagon warnings. The generals argue that cutting the number of military advisers to a few thousand invites havoc, just as the 2011 exit from Iraq has shown. The unfinished job of building a national army needs more time, they claim.

Since taking office with a promise to pull out, Obama has dropped troop levels from more than 100,000 and will now stop at just under a 10,000, short of his former goal of 5,500 mostly military trainers. In recent months, he expanded rules on air strikes and combat operations, a sign the war wasnt going well. One operation to track and kill a Taliban leader in next-door Pakistan paid off, but warplanes mistakenly hit a hospital in October with 42 fatalities involving medical workers and patients. Its a conflict that smolders and never quite ends.

Timing an Afghan exit to his departure from the White House no longer makes sense. As the president indicated in announcing his switch, it invites major trouble and could erase all thats been achieved. I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven to attack our nation again, he said, referring to the Sept. 11 attacks directed by al Qaeda members holed up in the country. Obamas decision to backtrack drew praise from one Republican, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who tweeted that conditions not calendar should guide U.S. thinking.

Obamas move hands the war to his successor, who will be the third president in charge of the nations longest overseas conflict. Democrat Hillary Clinton is notably more hawkish than the president, though her views on Afghan troop levels arent spelled out beyond generalities about making the Afghan government bear more responsibility for security.

Republican Donald Trump is a mix of views favoring a strong U.S. image while demanding that allies pay their share of military costs. We waste billions there, he said at one point, but later added that a small military presence was necessary.

The presidential campaign offers an opportunity for both contenders to outline a path that finally leads out of Afghanistan.
Our city needs a dedicated, stable funding source to build and preserve desperately needed affordable housing. Homeowners are paying their share through the housing bond and other taxes. Its time for the big tech companies to pay their fair share, too.

A recent poll found that 83 percent of voters polled were clear about the cause of our housing affordability crisis  the influx of more than 10,000 new, highly paid employees that the technology industry brought to San Francisco. In addition, more than two-thirds of voters believe we need more innovative housing solutions.

Case in point: Our landlord wants to sell our home for a fair price and would prefer to sell to us, but the citys housing programs to help families stay in the city are inadequate and under-resourced. To fight to stay, we joined a community coalition that has been calling on the mayors office for real investment and innovative solutions.

A 1.5 percent payroll tax on technology companies would directly target the source of the crisis  the rapid growth of a highly paid tech workforce  to fund a solution that allows teachers, students, bus drivers and small businesses to keep calling San Francisco home.

The proposed tax on these companies would generate an estimated $115 million annually and amounts to far less than they pay for employee perks such as free beer and massages. They can afford to pay to help house those they are forcing out on the streets and out of our city.

The last few years of extreme inequality, displacement and higher rents signal a time to finally listen to the people directly affected by the crisis rather than wealthy special interests capitalizing on it.

Street encampments are just one symptom of our housing crisis and the citys inability to deal with it. Hundreds of people have been forced to live on the street because of dramatic increases in rent. We are not building housing to serve these populations, however. Most of the citys new construction is luxury housing that is never going to bring the cost of housing down for most residents.

Some claim this tax will kill jobs, which is highly unlikely. Technology companies are located in the San Francisco Bay Area precisely because of access to a highly skilled workforce, sources of financing and the attraction of a beautiful and exciting city we have all helped to create.

So the question is: Should tenants and taxpayers subsidize millionaires and billionaires who are driving up the cost of housing but not paying for the impact?

As teachers and residents of San Francisco, we have invested our heart and soul into this city. We are fighting for the right to stay in the home we have created, near the students we strive to help share in the citys prosperity, in the city we love.

Our polling found that other residents are ready to address the influence of big money, too. They would work to get their elected leaders to listen to those most affected by this crisis, and make sure that San Francisco is not for sale.

If you agree and want to get involved, email sfacce@calorganize.org.

Maria Lourdes Nocedal and Julian Geaga are San Francisco teachers, members of ACCE Action and residents of San Franciscos Ingleside neighborhood.
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From a ridgetop overlook of Eagle Lake, the view can be difficult to fathom.

Over the years, as summer vacationers arrived, this is where many would look down on Eagle Lake (the second-largest natural lake in Northern California) and imagine the greatness that awaited them: giant trout, pretty campsites and even lakefront homes. It was among the most prized lakes in America.

Now, as you look down from that same pullout along Highway 139, youll see cows grazing on vast acres of exposed lakebed  the same areas where anglers once hooked fantastic numbers of giant trout. Miles of tule-lined shoreline, which once provided habitat for trout, shorebirds and waterfowl, are gone, vanished, inert from 10 years of exposure from low water.

In the town of Spalding, the Lakeview Inn  once a hub of activity with lodging, restaurant and boat rentals  is abandoned, the building sitting like an exposed corpse in an unkempt cemetery. According to local guide, Val Aubrey, 18 boats out Saturday caught seven trout.

Locals havent given up hope that the lake someday will rise again, and the once-great trout fishing again will attract thousands.

It rained across Northern California last winter, but not much here, said Gwen Beck, owner of Eagle Lake RV Park. Were in the rain shadow, where the storms hit the mountains (to the west) and dont always make it here.

The lake level came up 32 inches this year, she said, and the scene is improved from a year ago. Though underground springs help feed the lake, surface waters can evaporate during 90 degree summer days and windy afternoons, she said, and the lake remains in drought.

Nobody gets here by accident. Eagle Lake is located in remote northeastern California, settled in a wide desert basin at an elevation of 5,100 feet, with its southern shore 15 miles north of Susanville in Lassen County. It is 15 miles long, and among natural lakes inside state borders, only Clear Lake is bigger in Northern California.

For many years, the lakes distant remoteness was part of the draw. You had to set time aside for a trip. What was ahead for you was special.

Legends of fish, wildlife

The area has bucks with giant antlers, roaming herds of antelope and many pairs of nesting bald eagles. The high desert is peppered with junipers, not vast forests of pines, firs and cedars. The spectrum of colors at dawn, when each passing minute provides a new look as refracted light bends across the desert, can be among the most spectacular anywhere.

Back in the day, I fished openers where we limited on trout, all over 20 inches, before the sun hit the horizon at 6 a.m. At the now-dry north end, wed flyfish for trout that approached 24, 25 inches that would swim amid the tules. Once I kept a 5-pounder and went into the Eagle Lake General Store in Spalding to weigh it; I ended up embarrassed when a youngster, about 10, fishing from shore, showed up with a trout nearly twice as big.

Now that same store is closed, boarded up and for sale.

Nearby, Eagle Lake RV Park has been able to stay in business with its small store, the only functioning gas pump in the area this year, and 65 RV sites. Last weekend, the park hosted a fundraising barbecue for Project Eagle Lake Trout and drew more than 400 participants.

Paul Devine, a biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the crowd that the fish are out there and that the DFW may provide a bonus plant for this summer. Despite the water crisis and recent poor fishing, many were upbeat and hopeful.

Many campgrounds are available, and Merrill Campground, located at the south end of the lake and operated by the Forest Service, is the most popular. Theres plenty of space. The one remaining functional boat launch, Gallatin, with a low-water ramp, is nearby. It takes some skill to launch and load without issue; the water depth here is only about 3 to 4 feet.

The secret at Eagle Lake has been to troll flies, where Jay Fair and Aubrey have developed patterns that often seem to catch fish when all else fails.

Like many lakes set in high desert basins, Eagle Lake has high alkalinity. That has resulted in its unique species of trout, the Eagle Lake trout, and at the same time, non-native species are unable to survive here.

Town on the brink

The one town on the lake, Spalding, was long the heartbeat of the region. As you drive in there now, you notice the lack of people, the properties for sale, and no stores or gas pumps until you find your way to Eagle Lake RV.

At the waterfront, the boat ramp and parking area for the boat ramp includes two giant lots that are capable of holding hundreds of trucks and boat trailers. On my visit, only a lone Jeep was parked there, the occupant sitting alone and staring out across the bleak setting. The boat ramp hasnt been functional for years and led into a lakebed that is getting converted to a field. Maybe the cows will graze here next.

The lakeside airstrip, onto which pilots used to fly from across the West, did not have a single plane. Adjacent to the runway, what was once one of the best fishing spots on the lake, was high and dry for several hundred yards leading to the waters edge. Several docks sat on lakebed.

As many lakes, such as giant Shasta, Oroville and Clear, filled this spring, some locals believe that Eagle Lakes continuing drought is the result of diversions, though there is no verifiable evidence of that. The Bly Tunnel, a diversion long closed, still could be sucking water, longtime resident Mary Laughlin said. I think its possible that farmers are pumping water from wells that tap into the lakes aquifer, she said.

Some have given up. At a website for a local real-estate company, in response to concerns over low water levels and the difficulty to launch boats, the author wrote: New channel at Spalding Marina is working great and still launching big boats with no problems  and then you notice the information hasnt been updated since 2010.

Real-estate prices have fallen like the water levels. Out of dozens of listings, the most expensive home I could find was a spectacular ranchette for $430,000. Some lake-frontage homes are advertised for $150,000 and under.

One had these fatal words: Owner is relocating.

Tom Stienstra is the outdoors writer for The San Francisco Chronicle. He is the author of Moon California Camping. His Outdoor Report can be heard at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. Saturdays on KCBS (740 and 106.9). Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom

Information

Camping: Eagle Lake RV Park, (530) 825-3133, www.eaglelakeandrv.com; Merrill Campground, reservations for RV sites at www.recreation.gov, many first-come, first-served tent sites; several other campgrounds available, Lassen National Forest, (530) 257-4188, www.fs.usda.gov/lassen.

Boat ramp: Gallatin low-water ramp available near campgrounds at southern end of lake.

Fishing: Val Aubrey, (530) 249-1430, www.eaglelakefishing.net.

How to get there

To Merrill Campground: From Red Bluff, take Highway 36 east (toward Susanville) and drive 100 miles to Eagle Lake Road/County Road A1 (3 miles before Susanville). Turn left on Eagle Lake Road/County Road A1 and drive 14.2 miles to the campground on the right side of the road.

To Eagle Lake RV Park: Drive as above to Merrill Campground, and then continue on A1 for 12 miles to Lake View Drive. Turn right and drive 2.7 miles (to the lake) to Strand Way (lake frontage road). Turn right and drive 0.6 of a mile to the RV park on the right.

Distances to Eagle Lake: 17 miles from Susanville, 117 miles from Red Bluff, 199 miles from Sacramento, 300 miles from San Francisco.
Sometimes to see how cooking is changing, you have to go back to culinary school.

Chocolate work has long been a requisite lesson for professional baking and pastry students, who must learn how to melt and cool the ingredient so it sets into a shiny coating for confections and cream puffs. But now, as restaurant chefs make their own charcuterie and baristas can tell you which farmer grew the coffee theyre preparing, prospective pastry chefs are learning to make chocolate from bean to bar.

We want to take it one step further back so that you can have more control over the finished product, says instructor Stephen Durfee, who launched a chocolate-making class last year for advanced pastry students at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. It gets you closer to the source.

Like the countrys many popular bean-to-bar chocolate makers, including Tcho and Dandelion Chocolate in the Bay Area, the students roast, clean and grind cacao beans to make chocolate, then turn it into bars. Their final project is to design a chocolate bar with flavorings that bring out the chocolates inherent qualities.

Its not necessarily to encourage people to go into chocolate making, says Durfee, a former pastry chef at the French Laundry, where he earned a James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Its more about having an opportunity to know what our materials are, and chocolate is a very important material for us.

Durfees white-coated students spend 12 weeks at the California campus toward the end of their Bachelor of Professional Studies in Culinary Arts Management program; the rest of their classes are at the CIAs main facility in Hyde Park, N.Y. Those who elect his class may learn to roast cacao beans over a charcoal fire and grind them by hand with a Mexican stone metate. Some will end up outside with a bowl of roasted beans and a modified hair dryer, slowly winnowing the papery skins away from the cacao nibs.

You dont need fancy equipment. Anybody can do it, says Durfee.

Its all in earthy contrast to the refined chocolate work for which pastry programs are better known, such as chocolate sculptures of swans, trees and musical instruments embellished with gold leaf and flowers  all which Durfees students eventually learn to make, too.

Dandelion Chocolate provides the class with raw cacao beans from different growing regions. Durfee wants the students to learn that chocolate is an agricultural product that can be grown in different climates and altitudes, with varying styles of production, all of which result in a range of flavors and levels of fat.

On this day, the beans  which are actually seeds that have been removed from cacao pods and then fermented and dried at the farm  are from Trinidad & Tobago, Ecuador, Madagascar, Tanzania and Vietnam.

This is a luxury product that comes from some of the poorest parts of the world, Durfee says.

The students first parse through their beans and remove any deformed or discolored rejects. Light or dark brown, depending on the variety, the cacao beans look like wrinkly, supersize almonds covered in a parchment-like shell.

Like coffee beans, cacao beans must be roasted to bring out their full flavor. The teams roast them with a few different methods, including the original way  over a fire (though in this case, its a charcoal grill)  in the oven and in a small coffee roaster. The coffee roaster is the most consistent, but since not everyone has one, Durfee shows them how to roast in an oven as an alternative. It takes about 20 minutes in a low oven, with the temperature reduced halfway through the process.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

After they cool, the beans need to be cracked or slightly broken down, which can be done in a food processor or with a rolling pin. Its an intermediate step necessary before the next one: winnowing, which means to separate the loose, thin husks from the cacao nibs, or the meat of the cacao bean. Durfee built his own winnower with a bucket, some PVC pipes and a vacuum that sucks the light shells away from the nibs. Or, theres the hair dryer, which, the students say, is only partly effective at blowing the shells away from the heavier nibs.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Once the shells are removed, the cacao is ready for grinding. The tool of choice for this step is a professional stone grinder, called a melanger, or a less-expensive Indian wet spice grinder. Many chocolate makers grind cacao for several days to reach the right consistency. At the CIA, they grind their first batch of chocolate for 24 hours, and add sugar halfway through the process.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

The ratio of cacao content (which includes any added cacao butter) to sugar is what gives chocolate its cacao percentage. In Durfees class, each team makes chocolate at 70 percent cacao, so differences in flavor and texture can be attributed to the origin of the cacao, not the amount of sugar in the bar.

The final step is tempering, which ensures proper crystallization so that the chocolate will mold into a shiny, snappy bar. Students melt the chocolate to 115 to 120 degrees, then agitate and cool it down to 87 to 91 degrees. Once its at the correct temperature, the chocolate is quickly piped into chocolate bar molds.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

After student Cayla Taylor fills her teams molds with Trinidadian chocolate, she squeezes the small amount thats left back into a bowl to use later.

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Because we made it, we want to use every little drop, she says.

Taylor taps the molds against the table to remove air bubbles and make sure theyre filled completely. After the chocolate sets for 15 minutes to an hour, its ready to go. The complete process has taken about 27 hours.

As Taylor finishes up, other students are in the final stages of making their own bars or baking up brownies so they can compare how their chocolates perform in the oven.

You should appreciate the flavor, but at what point does your appreciation diminish? asks Durfee. At what point, as a baker, is it no longer worth it to use origin-specific chocolate?

When everyone is done, the students place their bars and brownies on a table and gather to taste and share. The Ecuadoran has red fruit notes, while the Tanzanian has flavors of dried fruit that someone suggests would make it delicious with candied citrus. The Vietnamese chocolate reminds the students of Indian spices.

Think about different types of apples. Some are sour, some are sweet. Some are crunchy, some are good for baking, Durfee says.

Alex Marrano says she never enjoyed working with chocolate  its just so messy, she says  but now she wants to specialize in it after school. Shes also become more aware of her place in the world of chocolate.

Not a lot of people know where chocolate is from, Marrano says. Being able to go through all of these processes is fascinating. It gives you a sense of where you stand in this whole system.

Raw cacao beans and chocolate-making equipment are readily available online; instructor Stephen Durfee especially recommends ChocolateAlchemy.com. In addition, you can find the Wonder Table Top Wet Grinder, which the CIA uses in classes, for $199 at Amazon.com.

Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan
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Were already halfway through another busy year of Bay Area restaurant openings. So lets press the pause button and take a look at 2016s biggest debuts thus far.

Alternative restaurant models are booming. Leading the way is Locol, Daniel Patterson and Roy Chois revolutionary fast food restaurant in Uptown Oakland. Theres also Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitzs eco-conscious Perennial in San Franciscos Mid-Market neighborhood and Corey Lees curatorial exploration of dishes from some of the worlds top-tier chefs at his new SFMOMA restaurant, In Situ.

Its been a time of grand revamps of classics like Joes of Westlake in Daly City and downtown San Francisco steakhouse Alfreds. In Chinatown, chef Brandon Jew breathed new life into the Four Seas space in Chinatown with Mister Jius.

Its also been a year of quick exits: Two of the years most hyped newcomers  Antoinette (Dominique Crenns restaurant at Berkeleys Claremont) and Cadence (Joey Elenterio and Jay Bordeleaus Mid-Market fine dining establishment) each closed just months after opening.

Oddly enough, perhaps the highest-profile entries have come from chain eateries.

Dunkin Donuts returned to the Bay Area after nearly two decades with a new shop in Walnut Creek. On the international side, Taiwanese dumpling palace Din Tai Fung opened its first Bay Area outpost in Santa Claras Westfield Valley Fair mall, while acclaimed Tokyo ramen shop Mensho took over a tiny storefront on Geary Street in San Francisco. Not surprisingly, the openings of all three were marked with a flurry of love from fans on social media, as well as epic lines.

Even some celebrities got in the mix. Opening night of Ayesha Currys International Smoke  a pop-up at Michael Minas Test Kitchen in the Marina  drew hip-hop artist Drake (and Currys husband, Steph).

Alfreds Steakhouse: The new ownership regime of Daniel Patterson and Co. has done a lot of work to spruce up the nearly 90-year-old San Francisco restaurant, working meticulously to honor the meaty, clubby spirit of the original.

659 Merchant St., S.F. (415) 781-7058 alfredssteakhouse.com

Bellota: Restaurateur Bill Russell-Shapiro and his team at Absinthe Group took three years to build this Spanish-inspired restaurant in SoMa, the groups largest project yet. Paella is a specialty from chef Ryan McIlwraith.

888 Brannan St., S.F. (415) 430-6580 www.bellotasf.com

Din Tai Fung: The Bay Areas very first outpost of the famous Taiwanese dumpling chain arrived in the South Bay, and the grand opening was marked with long lines and waits up to five hours.

2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., in Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Clara. (408) 248-1688 www.dintaifungusa.com

Dunkin Donuts: The East Coast sensation now has an outpost in Walnut Creek  and the crowds have followed. Its the first Bay Area Dunkin Donuts in more than a decade, serving up the same doughnuts and coffee as the rest of the chains locations.

1250 Newell Ave., Walnut Creek. (925) 946-1134 dunkindonuts.com

In Situ: Corey Lees restaurant on the ground floor of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art replicates famous chefs dishes from around the world, from Alice Waters in Berkeley to Rene Redzepi in Copenhagen.

151 Third St., S.F. (415) 941-6050 insitusf.org

International Smoke: Michael Mina partnered with Ayesha Curry in his latest temporary pop-up at the Mina Test Kitchen. Named International Smoke, it highlights barbecue with global influences  and tickets go quickly.

2120 Greenwich St., S.F. (415) 6250-5469 minatestkitchen.com

Locol: Roy Choi and Daniel Pattersons fast-food restaurant opened its doors in Oakland, serving $5 burgers, $7 noodle bowls and other playful bites. More locations are expected throughout the country, including San Francisco; the original opened in Watts (Los Angeles County) earlier this year.

2214 Broadway, Oakland. www.welocol.com

Mensho: Tokyo ramen creator Tomoharu Shono opened the doors to his tiny Tenderloin ramen shop, the chefs first foray into America, sending Bay Area ramen junkies into a tizzy. It has seen nightly lines stretching down the block and hour-plus wait times.

676 Geary St., S.F. (415) 800-8345 mensho.tokyo

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Mister Jius: Brandon Jews long-awaited restaurant serves a family-style banquet menu, set in a gorgeous room in the heart of Chinatown. The food is a modern interpretation of Cantonese dishes through a Northern California lens.

28 Waverly Place, S.F. (415) 857-9688 misterjius.com

Original Joes Westlake: The Daly City dining landmark is back up and running, with a glossy, yet nostalgic, redo courtesy of new owners, the Duggan family, who also own Original Joes in North Beach.

11 Glenwood Ave., Daly City. (650) 755-7400 originaljoessf.com

The Perennial: This is the latest and most ambitious project from Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz, the couple behind Mission Street Food and Commonwealth, among others. The pitch? Trying to create the most ecologically conscious restaurant possible.

59 Ninth St., S.F. (415) 500-7788 theperennialsf.com

Two Birds One Stone: Douglas Keane of Cyrus fame and Los Angeles chef Sang Yoon became buddies on Top Chef Masters, and theyve partnered on a Healdsburg restaurant serving Japanese food and yakitori.

3020 St. Helena Hwy., St. Helena. (707) 302-3777 twobirdsonestonenapa.com

Waxmans: Celebrity chef Jonathan Waxmans eponymous restaurant is trying to bring locals and high-end diners back to Ghirardelli Square with a menu of California-Italian cuisine.

900 North Point St., S.F. (415) 636-9700 waxmanssfo.com

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @foodcentric
While there shouldnt be any pointing of fingers, let me say that many pieces of luggage in my possession have been, well, kicked. A few of those times, the suitcase in question probably didnt deserve it  there might have been misplaced anger from one of the frustrations that naturally seem to happen in airports.

Again, no pointing of fingers.

This time, however, there was no anger. I just forgot my wifes luggage was under the table. Three times.

Probably because I forgot we were in an airport.

Its something you dont often experience with airport dining. But there we were in Dallas-Fort Worth Internationals Terminal A, enjoying one of the better meals of the trip  returning from New Orleans, so thats saying something. Great food, excellent service, high-end decor  and not a jet tail, fluorescent light or Auntie Anns in sight. How could we still be in an airport?

Should we expect more from airport restaurants? Are they really so different? For starters, they have to meet a couple of demands that dont usually apply to other restaurants: Is it a place where you can comfortably park yourself (possibly for hours) while waiting for a flight? Is it a place where you can quickly get a decent bite when you have little time before a flight?

Spud Hilton/The Chronicle

Beyond those considerations, all the usual standards for restaurants and cafes should apply  service, atmosphere and, of course, food. But that doesnt always work out. A few thoughts:

Because airports tend to host a wider variety of people (and tastes)  and restaurants want to appeal to as many of them as possible  there often are more of the lowest-common-denominator places: Chilis, TGI Fridays, Chilis Too, Wolfgang Puck, Chilis to Go, and, well, Chilis.

Because of the transient nature of customers, some restaurants clearly dont see a need to build loyalty. Which is odd. Call me crazy, but I have booked an itinerary based on whether I knew the airport had a decent place to eat during a long layover.

Just because a city is known for great dining doesnt mean it translates. Louis Armstrong International, for instance, lacks even a glimmer of the culinary promise of New Orleans itself  unless of course what you need is hangover food, in which case there are a couple of Lucky Dog stands. (Theres a Dooky Chases, but its in the ticketing area before TSA screening.)

Similarly, just because a restaurant chain has a great reputation doesnt mean the airport branch is any good. LAX has a number of restaurants with the same names as famous bistros in Los Angeles  but that are disappointing if youre expecting the same experience.

The airport restaurants that stand out are the ones that offer something beyond the usual standards and convenience  something as simple making it easy to forget youre in an airport. Those are the places that impress or surprise me.

Everyone has their favorites, based on their own reasons. Here are four of mine. (Im not talking about fast-food counters, although there are some that are well above average, and Im only looking at places behind security checkpoints, where you do most of your waiting, transferring and general suffering.)

Tasteful Wenzhou Wontons (Terminal 2, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport): Maybe it was having spent 13 hours in the air, but the pork soup dumplings and shrimp dumplings were exactly what I needed at 7 a.m. The steamy bombs of hot broth were as good as the ones Id had at the famed Din Tai Fung in Taipei (and a third of the price), although again that might be the long flight talking.

Burger Joint (Terminal 2, San Francisco International): Yes, Burger Joint is a burger joint, but Ive never had a bad experience there. The medium rare cheeseburger I get (and that has become a Terminal 2 ritual) is always just right, whether at 6 a.m. or 10 p.m. Sit at the counter and watch the show that is the open kitchen.

Hausmanns (Terminal A, Frankfurt): Hip and modern cafe with plenty of smart touches, including a couch area and spaces well suited for working on a laptop, as well as enough outlets for charging an army of gadgets. The menu is full of meats and sandwiches, including the Omas Stulle: thickly sliced pork loaf with sauerkraut and two fried eggs. It washes down nicely with German beer.

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen (Terminal A, Dallas-Fort Worth): This elegant, enclosed dining room with a vintage feel (part of a chain) is a floor below Terminal A, explaining why its easy to forget the rest of the airport. Highlights include the separate sushi bar, excellent Louisiana-ish seafood and friendly, patient waiters who didnt try to push us out when a flight was delayed. Just go easy kicking the luggage.

Spud Hilton is the editor of Travel. Email: travel@sfchronicle.com Twitter and Instagram: @spudhilton
The term has almost become pejorative: We hear police procedural, and our minds go to a kind of template. A crime is committed, a crime is investigated, a crime is solved. There are variations, of course  perhaps the wrong person is charged, perhaps the investigation is flawed, perhaps justice gets thrown under the bus of a flawed judicial system. But in literature, film and television, the procedural provides a useful way of arranging elements of crime storytelling.

As ubiquitous as cop shows are on TV, some procedurals stand out  Prime Suspect, The Wire and Broadchurch come to mind. The first year of True Detective was a contender  the second season was decidedly not.

The Night Of comes to HBO on Sunday, July 10, as an eight-episode limited series with a unique backstory. This is the series that James Gandolfini was working on before his sudden death in 2013. He had even filmed a pilot episode of the show, which was created by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price.

Correctly deciding that the series was worth salvaging, the shows creators signed Robert De Niro to replace Gandolfini, but when he withdrew because of a scheduling conflict, John Turturro was hired to play John Stone, a divorced, two-bit lawyer with a woebegone countenance and a defiant case of eczema.

Stone is at the right place at the right time to snag a headline-making murder case involving a young Pakistani American man named Nasir Khan (Riz Ahmed, The Nightcrawler), who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or was he? It certainly seems that way at first when he sneaks out of his familys Queens apartment, takes his fathers cab and goes into Manhattan to attend a hot party hes heard about.

When he stops on an empty street to figure out where he is, Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black-DElia, The Messengers) climbs into the backseat and tells Naz to take her to the beach. One thing leads to another, as it were, Andrea winds up dead and Naz is arrested for her murder.

Lessons in survival

Nazs transport to Rikers Island prompts the rise of several interwoven plot elements. Stone gets the case and then loses it when Nazs parents, Salim (Peyman Moaadi, Camp X-Ray) and Safar (Poorna Jagannathan, Thanks for Sharing), are successfully courted by a high-profile lawyer (Glenne Headly, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) looking to increase that profile.

Naz is terrified and overwhelmed by the brutality of life at Rikers, where the real power rests not with the guards but with Freddy (Michael Kenneth Williams, Hap and Leonard), a lifer who runs a crime empire from his comparatively well-appointed jail cell.

Naz has to learn how to survive in an alien environment, but how far is he willing to go to stay alive? He needs to be political in ways that he never had to be on the outside, even as a Pakistani American student in an increasingly Islamophobic world.

The richness of the story owes much to the extraordinary attention to detail paid by Price and Zaillian in creating even the supporting characters. Detective Dennis Box (Bill Camp, Boardwalk Empire) is a veteran cop on his last watch before retirement. We think he believes Naz is guilty, but is that mostly because he wants to go out with a win?

Vivid characters

Prosecutor Helen Weiss (Jeannie Berlin, still best known for 1972s The Heartbreak Kid, directed by her mother, Elaine May) is laser-focused on nailing Naz for the girls murder, to the point of closing her mind to alternatives. Nazs father owns the cab with two relatives who want him to charge Naz with grand theft to get the vehicle out of impound so they can go back to making a living. Chandra (Amara Karan, The Darjeeling Limited) is a young attorney working for Headlys character, who shamelessly exploits Chandras ethnicity as a way of getting Naz to be more cooperative.

Almost every supporting character seems to have a defining backstory. But if each of them is a superb short story, John Stone is a novel. Theres the eczema, of course, which has mottled his feet with so many painful blisters that he is forced to wear sandals to court. He tries every remedy he can find, including encasing his feet in plastic wrap. Meanwhile, hes taken pity on the murder victims cat and, despite being highly allergic, has taken the animal back to his sad apartment, where he keeps it in a closed room, opening it every day only to feed the poor animal and clean its litter box.

Unquestionably, though, the most significant contributing factor to the characters magnetic credibility is Turturros performance, a masterful assemblage of all those little details from the script, brought beautifully to shabby, world-weary life by Turturros finely honed skill.

Ahmed is almost as good, and if he falls just shy of making Nazs radical transformation inside Rikers fully credible, its really because the script fails him. We readily accept the idea that prison brutalizes even the most naive inmate, but there isnt quite enough foundation for the rapid character shift. Its only a small problem, as is the use of writerly details from time to time.

Price, who shares writing credits with his co-creator, is known for a naturalistic sense of detail in his novels. There are just a few moments in The Night Of, however, when someone should have called in an editor, because the detail, whether authored by Price or Zaillian, feels forced.

The most egregious (albeit funny) example comes in a scene when Weiss is interviewing a medical examiner with a completely naked mans body on a table between them. A case file needs to be consulted. The ME tells her to put it down. Where, she wants to know. He points, and she places the file right next to the South Pole. Of course, every time the camera cuts to the case file, we get a lingering gander at the ganders goods. Its just silly.

Less damaging, but also ill-considered, is a moment when a potential romance is suddenly suggested between two characters. There is no foundation for it, and it potentially cheapens the credibility of the story line.

These things are vexing because the rest of the series  at least the seven episodes sent to critics  is absorbing and exquisitely constructed. If The Night Of makes great use of the procedural template, it does so with one great performance after another, an otherwise profound script, superior direction (mostly by Zaillian, with one episode by James Marsh) and a collective intelligence you will be hard-pressed to find on typical procedurals like Law & Order.

Riveting human drama

Its not so much about, or whether, Naz is guilty or innocent: The Night Of is really about the roiling moral conflicts both within and among the characters. Price and Zaillian make it impossible to form easy, hard and fast assessments of the characters, especially Naz.

We are brilliantly teased into believing him innocent of the crime, and yet once he has been hardened by life in Rikers, we begin to have doubts. We sympathize with him being a young Islamic student, but then Price and Zaillian test our sympathies as Naz learns to survive and even thrive in prison.

One life is lost, other lives are changed, perhaps forever, in a single night, and a system of justice, inevitably flawed because it is, after all, a human construct, grinds on to other nights, and other lives. Thats what The Night Of is really about, and why it is a great human drama that also happens to be a great procedural.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow me on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: WaitWhat_TV

The Night Of: Eight-episode limited series. 6 p.m. Sunday, July 10, on HBO.
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For the first time in a tradition that goes back more than a half century, a woman  wearing black heels, a black tie and a standard dark Muni jacket  climbed aboard the No. 52 cable car Thursday in Union Square to compete against six men in San Franciscos annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest.

It was the 53rd year for the competition, which sees the citys Municipal Transportation Agency cable car workers recreating their finest showmanship for would-be passengers in an attempt to win the coveted title of bell ringing world champion.

Cassandra Griffin, a cable car conductor who has worked for the MTA for more than 15 years, took her place in the famed vehicle shortly after noon, swaying from side to side and pulling the white cord of the cars bell at just the right moment to create a combination of short and fast notes that built slowly into a soft melody.

There has never been a woman to compete, Griffin said after her performance. Im the woman who has been here (at MTA) the longest, so I wanted to stand up for women and show that we can do this.

A few hundred people crowded into Union Square, encircling competitors as they took to the cable car to perform two-minute routines. Some competitors used a two-handed method to pull the bells cord quickly, while others used one hand and head-bobbed to a slower beat.

Griffin faced off against six men who, like her, represented the best of the citys conductors and grips as determined by a preliminary competition in June. That list included Ignacio Sandoval, Trini Whittaker, Singh Rai, Joseph Sue and Leonard Oats, as well as six-time world champion bell ringer Byron Cobb.

The rules were simple: Contestants were allowed no props, no additional accompaniment and no electronic devices. They dressed in traditional Muni uniforms  brown pants, and brown vests for the men  and had 30 seconds to warm up before being judged on their rhythm, originality and ringing style.

After nearly an hour of competition, and a waiting period filled with theatrical and musical performances from local artists, the results were read: Oats, known as Big O, won first place for the fourth time, Cobb was second and Whittaker took third. Griffin didnt place.

Though she was saddened by the outcome, Griffin was happy she participated  and opened the competition to other women.

It was exciting, Griffin said. After a couple of rings, I looked out at one of my regular passengers and she helped me get in the groove. I may not have won this year, but Im coming back.

Her line of work has been historically dominated by men. There are six women working alongside 164 men on the citys cable cars: two as grips and four as conductors, said Paul Rose, a Muni spokesman. Just two other women have worked on the citys cable cars in the past.

Whittaker, who has been a cable car grip for 16 years, said his winning technique was composed of a series of two-handed rings, with inspiration from Michael Jacksons song, Bad.

Its a whole lot of bouncing and singing songs in your head, Whittaker said.

Winners took home cash, goodies donated by local businesses and bragging rights for the next 12 months. But for many of the competitors, including Whittaker, it was all about the fun.

I just hope everyone came out and had a good time, Whittaker said, after slapping backs and cracking jokes with his fellow entrants. I hope the tradition continues on for years and years to come.

Kevin Schultz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kschultz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kevinedschultz


(Photo by Scott Heins / Gothamist)

For over five decades, Alex Carozza built and repaired musical instruments on the strip of West 48th Street off Times Square known as Music Row. The eponymous owner of Alex Musical Instruments, Carozza has gone by many nicknames  the Sultan of Squeezeboxes, the Master of Music Row, and the Horse-shitter (more on that later). He made guitars for Eric Clapton and George Benson, did business with Frank Sinatra and Tony Mottola, and earned a reputation as one of the premiere accordion technicians in the world.

But over the past few months, Carozza, who will turn 89 in August, has mostly served as a symbol of a bygone era, the token old guy in yet another narrative of a vanishing New York institution.

In December, Alex Musical Instruments vacated its three-story storefront on 165 48th Street, leaving the historic block without a single music store. The citys musical mecca, where the Beatles bought drums for the Ed Sullivan Show, where Pete Townshend would stock up on Gibson guitars that hed later smash, and where musicians of all stripes would venture for affordable gear, had collapsed under the forces of rising rent.

For those invested in the fate of Music Row, Alexs departure was hardly surprising  Mannys shut its doors for good in 2009, Sam Ash closed all five storefronts and moved to West 34th Street in in 2012, and Rudys absconded to SoHo last year. But the surrender of the last holdout made the death of Music Row official, and Alex Carozza, the weathered face of that demise. He played the role expected of him, lamenting the impersonal nature of online shopping for WFUV, telling the NY Post that the time comes for everything, and posing solemnly with an accordion for the NY Times eulogy of Music Row.



Alex's Music Row shop was on the top right. (Photo by Christian Hansen / Gothamist)

But while the street itself is dead, Alexs accordion business is still very much alive  now just a few blocks north, on the sixth floor of an office building on West 54th Street. The space is considerably smaller than the 48th Street location, and the workshop spills out a bit from behind the counter onto the showroom floor. Alex, who left Italy in the 1930s and spent his childhood in Argentina, is speaking in Spanish with two customers when I arrive, both of whom have dropped off their accordions for a tune-up.

When the customers leave, I ask Alex how the transition is going. I'm just renting here, temporary, he says. For now, it's alright. But end of the year, maybe next year, I will have my own place. Much better than this, because we are so close here. He gestures at the work benches behind him, where two others are tinkering with accordions.

One is Juan Carlos, Alexs understudy for more than two decades, and the man expected to take over the business if Alex ever retires. The other is Alexs nephew, Enrique Gabriel, a filmmaker and writer whos currently working on a biography of his uncle.



(Photo by Scott Heins / Gothamist)

There was no choice but to move, Alex says, because the landlord planned to raise his rent 400 percent, up to $16,000/month. I wasnt too sad, he adds. Everyone else had already disappeared.

Over the next hour, I do my best to pry some Music Row nostalgia from Alex  maybe a story about meeting Bob Dylan or a grand indictment of the citys failure to preserve cultural spaces  but he seems uninterested in this line of questioning. Instead, he speaks hopefully about the accordion schools set to open in the Bronx and Brooklyn. He talks about his early days as a documentary filmmaker, a passion he gave up years ago but hopes to pursue again one day. He tells me about a favorite customer who lives in New Zealand and takes an annual trip to New York just to bring his $29,000 accordion to Alex Musical Instruments.

They wont let me retire, he laughs. They say, Stay in business, please, Alex, because they dont want anybody else.

What memories I can gather from Alex seem to straddle the line between fact and fiction. He claims that he had over 20 employees and brought in $40 million a year during the heyday of the 1970s. A woman, a family friend who once served as the stores bookkeeper but now just helps out, overhears this figure and disputes it. When I ask Alex how that compares to business now, he tells me its about the same.

This seems unlikely, but it feels impolite to press the jovial senior on his year-over-year revenue declines. In any case, Im assured by the former-bookkeeper-turned-helper that Alex Musical Instruments is indeed still turning a profit.

Later, Ill sit down with Alexs nephew, Enrique Gabriel, who oversaw the move from 48th Street, helping Alex to clear out decades worth of memories. I was much more sentimental than he was, Enrique says. I think he put a wall up, and it was very clever of him to do that.

With Enriques help, Im able to piece together a more coherent timeline of Carozzas life: He started his first business as a schoolboy in Argentina, picking up horse manure and selling it to brick factories. In 1960, he came to the United States to work at Accordion-O-Rama (now based in New Jersey), then took a job on Music Row as a manager at Sam Ash. In 1969, he opened his own instrument repair shop on the second floor of 165 48th Street, where Rudy Pensa worked as a stockboy before opening Rudys Music Shop right next door.

Seven years later, Alex moved across the street to the largest storefront on Music Row, right next to Mannys. Business was booming then, and Alex was able to buy the large building for very cheap. A few years later he rented the space to Sam Ash and moved back to the original location across the street, this time occupying three floors. In 2008, he sold the Sam Ash building to the Rockefeller Group for a reported $33 million.



(Photo by Scott Heins / Gothamist)

I call him the horse-shitter, Enrique says, laughing, because he started selling horse shit and ended up making business with Rockefeller. Enrique pauses then, mentally translating an excerpt of the book for me. The main thing about Alex is that, yes he's a very talented musician, but his real essence is commerce. Making business, relating with people. All his life he is obsessed with progress, because he suffered a lot, he wanted to buy good things for the people he loved. For him, the important thing is to overcome the obstacles.

After coffee, I walk along 48th Street. Its just another midtown block now, bookended by parking garages and condos, with a Dunkin Donuts and Chipotle in the middle. The former locations of Alex Musical Instruments, Rudys Music Shop, and Mannys are all empty, with For Rent notices plastered on each window. On the south side of the street, a black sign advertising Mannys remains as well, attached to a stopped-clock that seems all too fitting. Its not hard to picture the streets better days, to imagine a much younger Alex entertaining a packed shop.

But even if 48th Street does feel like a recently abandoned ghost town, its not as though the gears of the urban growth machine have stopped. Earlier this month, Hard Rock International announced plans to erect a flagship hotel on the block that, according to a press release, will breathe new life into Music Row and recapture the legacy of this historic location. So while you may not be able buy an instrument on 48th Street anymore, guests of the 445-room hotel will soon have access to Fender guitar and DJ-equipment rental delivered in-room for impromptu jam sessions.

When I call Alex to ask his thoughts on this, he says that hes very busy, and will have to get back to me. He hasnt yet, though Id venture a guess that hes not losing sleep over the news. For now, its just nice to know that this relic of Music Row has survived, and that Alex Carozza is still busy making progress.



(Photo by Scott Heins / Gothamist)
SANTA ANA  Marian Bergeson, a well-known Orange County politician and the first woman to serve in both Californias Assembly and Senate, has died. She was 90.

Ms. Bergeson, whom lawmakers called a trailblazer for female politicians, died due to complications from surgery for pancreatic cancer, Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff told the Orange County Register.

Ms. Bergeson was born in Salt Lake City and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in elementary education. She worked as a teacher in Newport Beach and began her political career as a Newport-Mesa school board member.

She was elected to the Assembly in 1978 and served three terms, before winning her Senate seat in 1984. She was one of the first two Republican women elected to Californias Senate.

In 1994, she moved to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, where she served until Republican Gov. Pete Wilson nominated her as education secretary.

In a statement, Republican Sen. Patricia Bates of Laguna Niguel (Orange County) called Ms. Bergeson instrumental in helping her and other Orange County women run for public office.

We all started on local councils and committees and worked our ways up, and so did Marian, Bates told the Orange County Register. That was her legacy for us  that you start there and achieve your goals all the way to Congress.

During her time in the Legislature, Ms. Bergeson became known as a problem solver and a Republican who thought talking things through could solve any issue, Kiff said. He worked on her Senate legislative staff for eight years.

She was willing to work with members of both parties and pursue nonpartisan solutions, he said.

Republican Sen. Jean Fuller of Bakersfield wrote in a statement that Ms. Bergesons legacy will live on and continue to empower women across California.

Ms. Bergeson is survived by her husband, Garth Bergeson, and three children. One daughter, Nancy Bergeson, died in 2009.
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About 2,000 angry protesters marched through downtown Oakland, blocking traffic on Interstate 880 and pouring red paint on the front door of an Oakland police station in solidarity with two black men fatally shot by police officers this week in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Cars were backed up for hundreds of yards in both directions on the elevated downtown freeway after hundreds of protesters swarmed up the on-ramps around 8:45 p.m. and began dancing, playing music and spray-painting slogans on the pavement. Other protesters climbed to the top of a semitrailer that was stalled in the huge traffic jam.

Burn it to the ground, one protester wrote in black spray paint in the middle of the freeway.

Another group of protesters stood facing a long line of helmeted Oakland officers at Sixth Street and Broadway in a tense, quiet standoff.

The march through downtown Oakland and the freeway protest, which followed an hour-long rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza, was loud, emotional and generally peaceful. One protester was being treated for a minor medical condition.

No justice, no peace, no racist police, the crowd hollered as it proceeded south on Broadway to the police station at Seventh Street, where they encircled the front door and threw what appeared to be red paint on it. At some point later, the doors were also smashed. There were no arrests. An unidentified male freeway protester was being treated for a seizure, authorities said.

During the freeway blockage, hundreds of stalled motorists sat in their cars with their windows rolled up. Others got out and walked around. A dozen police on motorcycles drove onto the freeway, but, after seeing that they were outnumbered by hundreds of protesters, turned around and left.

One protester pointed a small projector at the side of a stalled white truck and displayed images of the two slain men from Louisiana and Minnesota. Other protesters lit a small bonfire in the middle of the roadway and tossed empty cardboard boxes into it.

Another protester, Antoinette Young of Oakland, said she favored taking stronger action.

I think black people need to stop marching and begging, she said. It hasnt gotten us anywhere. Were being slaughtered like its a sport.

I got to get home, said Luis Andrane, a stuck motorist from Oakland. Im hungry and tired.

Another stalled motorist, Megan Chunn of Alameda, sat in her car and said she supported the demonstration.

I think its very much warranted, she said. You can feel the energy in the air.

Brothers Miles and Avery Vonherrmann were on their way to pick up their mother at the San Jose airport when they got caught in the protest.

We support the cause, Avery Vonherrmann said. We just dont understand what it has to do with traffic.

Around 10 p.m., a handful of cars managed to maneuver free of the jam and continue southbound before a group of protesters rushed to set up another blockade at the spot and prevent any more movement of traffic.

As the freeway blockage neared the three-hour mark, some protesters were sitting cross-legged on the roadway and others were dancing, shouting and linking arms. A large number of motorists trapped in the backup said they supported the demonstration.

Its a real thing that theyre protesting, said Chris Owens, who was trying to get to his San Leandro home. You cant just summarily execute people.

A line of police officers walked toward protesters blocking the southbound lanes of I-880 shortly before midnight. Most of the demonstrators scattered as police advanced. Multiple officers pushed protesters back and cleared the southbound lanes, but protestors remained in the road in the northbound lanes.

The protest began around 7 p.m. with speeches before a small crowd in the plaza, where speakers called for justice and police accountability.

This has to stop, said Ike Pinkston, one of the San Francisco hunger strikers who had fasted during the spring in an attempt to oust San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr. Im speechless. Ive watched officers manhandle us. Its all on video. This is terrible. Man, they cant keep killing us like this.

The crowd called aloud the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two slain men, and also shouted, Accountability now!

Another speaker, the uncle of slain BART passenger Oscar Grant, called on the crowd to remember that the power lies with us.

We can bring a change as we come out in numbers to make that happen, said Cephus Uncle Bobby Johnson Jr., the uncle of the man shot and killed by a BART police officer at the Fruitvale Station in 2009.

The event, billed as the Shut It Down Rally & Action, was sponsored by the organizations Live Free and Anti-Police-Terror Project.

The Rev. Ben McBride of the Oakland Leadership Center, lead organizer for the rally, said his daughters are afraid that the police are going to kill their father.

This is not about anybody putting together a riot or inciting violence, he added. We participate in nonviolent protest and direct action.

Sterling, 37, was killed Tuesday in a scuffle with two police officers in Baton Rouge, La. Video footage showed Sterling was pinned to the ground by officers when he was shot. Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, Minn.

For #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastile, and for all the women trafficked and exploited by the rapists and murderers in Oakland Police Department and across the Bay Area, said the rally organizers post on social media. For all who are displaced from their neighborhoods and robbed of opportunity. We march. We act. We Shut It Down.

Around 8 p.m., the crowd grew several times larger and McBride announced, Lets take the intersection right now  lets go!

The crowd moved quickly south on Broadway, waving signs and banners.

Police, stop killing our children, police, stop sexually exploiting our young people, McBride hollered. Until black lives matter, there will be no peace in these streets.

Chronicle staff writer Steve Rubenstein contributed to this story.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @JennaJourno
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Life in remote parts of New Zealand must forge hardy souls, judging from the characters in Hunt for the Wilderpeople, the gifted director Taika Waititis last film before heading off to Hollywood.

Its the kind of place where a troubled teen is taken into his latest foster home and among the objects in his new room is a nice sharp knife to kill the monsters in the night, says his foster mom, who herself can kill wild boars with one; and his foster dad never bothered to learn how to read.

But like anywhere in todays world (sadly), you can become a social media star even in the remotest part of it.

Weve seen the formula for Hunt for the Wilderpeople before  crotchety old man clashes/bonds with troubled teen  but when the old man is played by Sam Neill, who has his best part in years, and is presented with the assured quirkiness of Waititi, who scored a hit with the vampire horror comedy What We Do in the Shadows and is now directing the third Thor movie, its a winning formula.

Ricky (Julian Dennison) is a piece of work  a roly-poly juvenile delinquent who is used to a more urban environment. He is given a choice by his counselor (Rachel House) of jail or placement at a remote, rural house, presumably a place where he can do little damage. His foster mother, Bella (Rima Te Wiata, wonderful), takes to him right away, although her gruff husband, Hec (Neill), wont speak to him unless necessary.

Just as Ricky is starting to enjoy a foster home for the first time, Bella collapses and dies of a heart attack. Since the terms of the foster care require a mother figure, the state must reclaim him. The grief-stricken Hec, soon to be rid of the boy, decides to disappear into the wilderness. Ricky, fearing jail, relentlessly follows him.

The outside world believes Hec to be a possible molester who has kidnapped Ricky, and an extensive manhunt is mounted. The rural inhabitants who follow the media reports of the case see them as rebellious heroes escaping from overextended government reach.

Im reminded of First Blood, a TV reporter intones. John Rambo, a man alone. Of course, theyre two men alone.

Filled with gorgeous vistas of mountainous New Zealand  it almost feels like an epic at times  and oddball characters, Hunt for the Wilderpeople has much to recommend it, but none of it would work unless Hec and Ricky are believable and have chemistry. Fortunately, they do.

As Hec, Neill, who is 68, has skin like sun-parched leather, a sandpaper voice and absolutely no parenting skills. As Ricky, Dennison is a misfit with a creative streak (he writes haiku poetry), and as his resourcefulness improves, he becomes gradually more useful during their wilderness journey.

What are they after? Hec is desperately trying to avoid becoming a form-filler, like the average human. Ricky wants to live in Rickyville (Population: Ricky). Of course, what theyre really after is to retain a sense of individualism in a world that works against that.

One hopes Waititi can retain a sense of his own quirky individualism during his Hollywood adventures.

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Drama. Starring Sam Neill and Julian Dennison. Directed by Taika Waititi. (PG-13. 101 minutes.)

To see a trailer, go to https://youtu.be/tICv8QH3oM0
First Run Features

Last Cab to Darwin, a charming Aussie euthanasia road-trip movie, takes a tough subject and amiably rides it out into the Outback sunset. Its a wry film that remains upbeat without betraying its rough-around-the-edges cast of characters.

Taxi driver Rex (Michael Caton, excellent) has never lived anywhere else except the desolate town of Broken Hill, a real place with a name that screenwriters dream about. His life consists of hanging out with his dog, knocking down a few with his buddies at the bar, and enjoying closeted relations with Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf, wonderful), the feisty Aboriginal woman across the street.
1 Homeless killings: Police say theyve arrested a man on suspicion of murder and other charges in attacks on four homeless men in four days in San Diego. The attacks left two men dead and two seriously injured. Capt. David Nisleit said 36-year-old Anthony Alexander Padgett was taken into custody Thursday and will be booked as the sole suspect in the attacks. All four victims suffered significant trauma to the upper torso, though police refused to elaborate on the nature of the injuries.

2 Severe weather: Officials have declared a state of emergency in Tennessee after heavy rains caused flooding in several areas overnight and more rain is forecast. Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener said on Thursday that crews were performing swift-water rescues in Stewart County. He said several other counties have reported high water over roads and trees down from storms.
WASHINGTON  Donald Trump tried to assure skittish GOP lawmakers Thursday that they all share the same Republican Party goals, but Senate antagonists withheld support after a tense meeting with the presidential candidate.

Protesters chanted in sweltering heat outside, while inside a packed room at the Republican National Committee, Trump offered a simple message, according to Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona (Riverside County): We all need to stick together. Things will all work out in November.

With GOP lawmakers unanimous in their desire to beat Hillary Clinton this fall, some welcomed the reassurance and applauded Trumps remarks. It wasnt enough for others, as lawmakers who have been wary of Trumps incendiary comments and off-putting campaign style said they remain unconvinced.

Trump defended himself against some of his harshest Senate critics. Addressing Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse, he said, Surely, you dont want Clinton. Sasses spokesman, in a statement, said the senator considers the two presidential choices as a dumpster fire, adding that nothing has changed.

In one testy exchange, Trump recognized Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona as a lawmaker critical of him. Flake referenced Trumps criticism last year of his colleague, Sen. John McCain, who was captured and spent 51/2 years in a Vietnamese prison.

Flake said he wanted to talk to Trump about those statements. The exchange, first reported by the Washington Post, left Flake unwilling to back the nominee.

My position remains, I want to support the nomination. I really do. I just cant support him given the things that hes said, Flake told reporters later.

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois wasnt in Thursdays meeting, during which Trump supposedly called him a loser. Asked if Trump could win his home state in November, Kirk said, I dont think so.

We havent seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully, Kirk said later. Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois.

.

Dozens of protesters awaited Trump, shouting slogans and waving signs that said Trump is Dangerous, Divisive, Deceitful. Protesters chanted, Donald Trump, hes a fraud. Sending our jobs far abroad.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., an outspoken Trump critic, said there was a lack of energy in the room. You could feel it, he said.

Im not a Never Trump guy, Ive said I want to get there. Im a Republican and I want to support the nominee, Kinzinger said after leaving the meeting early.

But things like the Saddam Hussein comment are not helping me get there, Kinzinger added.

He was referring to Trump having praised the late Iraqi dictators terrorist-killing prowess.
Not many people can say they've punched a bear in the face and lived to tell the tale.

Rick Nelson, a 61-year-old Canadian former featherweight boxer, can.

Nelson was reportedly walking his dog in Sudbury, Ontario, on Sunday when he happened upon a black bear cub, according to CBC News.

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"I sat down on a log and the bear cub poked its head out of the shrub nearby," Nelson told the news outlet. "It was so close, I could touch it. It let out a yelp, because I scared the heck out of it."

As an apparent former bear hunter, Nelson said he knew the mother bear would not be far behind. Lo and behold, a 300-pound black bear came running through the bush at "full speed," according to Nelson, and stood in front of him on her hind legs.

There was nowhere to go. The two bears were in front of Nelson and his dog, he told Huffington Post Canada, and behind them was a cliff.

Finding no weapons to defend himself with, Nelson decided to take a swing at the bear. He wound up connecting with the bear's teeth, injuring his knuckles.

The bear then swiped back at the boxer, leaving him with gashes to his face and chest.

"I knew it would swing first with its left, but it would really come with its right, because most bears are right-handed," Nelson said to CBC News.

Nelson then decided to take another swing at the bear: He dealt the bear an uppercut that connected with the bear's snout and left her with blood dripping from her nose.

"[The mother bear] turned around and it was snorting blood. It looked at me, and I thought, 'Oh no. Here it comes,' " he said.

"But it just turned back around and walked away like nothing ever happened and followed the cub," Nelson said. "So I really lucked out there."

The bear and her cub decided to retreat back into the woods.

"Once the cub was safe, it was fine. That's all it was there to do, get its cub to safety. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said to Huffington Post Canada.

"He's experienced with bears. He always knew, if it came to it, to hit a bear in the snout," Nelson's wife Sheryl told the Sudbury Star.

The incident has earned Nelson the nickname "Kung Fu Panda" at work.

Despite what happened, Nelson insists that black bears aren't dangerous and have a "bad rap."

"Black bears really aren't dangerous unless you have a cub involved, so sometimes black bears get a really bad rap," Nelson told the CBC. "Probably they're more afraid of you and [me], than we are of them."

"I'm really glad that the bear walked away. And I'm really glad I did, too," he added.

As for his wounds? Nelson decided to be treated at home with some peroxide and antibiotic cream. Like a boss.
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Brad and Amy Herzog of Monterey County have spent the past 17 summers rolling around the country promoting the RV lifestyle as spokespeople for the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA).

The parents of two teenage boys have made nearly 300 appearances on local news shows across the United States., sharing the joys and wonders of traveling with a family in a house on wheels. Brad has chronicled their adventures on GoRVing.com ever since 2008, writing over a half-million words.

This summer, the Herzog's annual road trip was cut short when an industry newsletter editor caught hold of the couple's unrelated side project  a satirical picture book playfully poking fun at presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

On June 28, two hours after Amy and Brad posted a Kickstarter campaign to print D is for Dump Trump: An Anti-Hate Alphabet, RV Daily Report founder and editor Greg Gerber published an opinion piece calling for the RVIA to "disavow their affiliation with these authors."

"For an organization that routinely walks the tightrope of political correctness, it seems rather odd that RVIA would turn a blind eye to such a divisive book in this politically-charged environment," Gerber writes.

Twenty four hours later, the RVIA alerted the Herzogs their contract was being terminated.

D is for Dump Trump, with prose by Brad and illustrations by Amy, is described on the Kickstarter page as a "picture book for adults about a man-child. Funny, fearless poems and illustrations about the dangers of Donald Trump, from A to Z."

The spread dedicated to the letter "A" reads:

A is an anti-alphabet about an awful human being, an atrocious candidate we can't believe we're seeing. It's animus and acrimony from appalling Donald Trump, who ignores his better angels when he's on the stump. Mix affluence with arrogance. Throw in anger, too. Stir it up. Antagonize. It's an authoritarian stew.

Brad who has written more than 30 books, including several alphabet-themed ones for kids, says that this title was "our creative expression of the courage of our convictions" and "was completely separate from our lives as traveling ambassadors as promoting RVing to all Americans."

RVIA confirmed with SFGate the suspension of the Herzog's 2016 media tour and said in a statement the decision was "difficult" as they "have been long-time supporters of our industry and the RV lifestyle."

"However, Go RVing, and its principals, RVIA and RVDA, are nonpartisan," the statement goes on. "On both the federal and state level, the RV industry has a long and successful record of building and maintaining positive working relationship on both sides of the aisle on legislative and regulatory issues. As spokespersons for Go RVing, the Herzogs' decision to merchandise a book that does not meet the nonpartisan position of our organizations, distracted from our core values of political neutrality."

Brad said he and Amy have always acted professionally in their jobs as spokespeople.

"In those hundreds of TV interviews and hundreds of thousands of blog words, never have we ever broached any other agenda, political or otherwise, beyond promoting the RV experience and we never would," he said. "We did four TV interviews this summer in Los Angeles, San Diego, Tucson and Phoenix, and the Phoenix one was 15 minutes before we were terminated and there was nothing in those different than we've ever done, which was traveling in a house on wheels."

Despite the Herzog's alleged track record with the RV industry, Gerber implies in his blog post that the couple is using their TV interviews to promote their politics.

Gerber writes:

I can hear it now: "Next up on ABC-15, Brad and Amy Herzog, authors of the wildly popular "D is for Dump Trump: An Anti-Hate Alphabet," who are in studio to talk about the benefits of RVing. Brad, do you think the economy under a Trump administration will allow people to buy and use an RV? Is the RV industry as a whole as 'xenophobic' as Donald Trump? On your book cover, why didn't you show billionaire Donald Trump driving a motorhome off a cliff? Isn't that the direction he wants to take the country and, some say, the world?"

Gerber also accuses the Herzogs of being "California liberals" and "criticizes them for taking "other people's money to publish a book."

The post has instigated an emotional and heated debate between people supporting Gerber's effort to get the Herzogs fired and those who disagree with him.

"I have never met these people but as you note very well above, given the political environment in this country today, there is simply no way that RVIA should be affiliated with them  even if it means losing money by canceling their contract," Bob Zagami writes.

"Here in America, people are allowed to have their own opinions and voice them outside of work," a commenter with the user name Tara Corvo writes. "You and Trump seem to share similar ideas about whether that right should be allowed to continue. Your unsupported accusations caused this family to lose their jobs. At any real reporting organization, making up facts would have the same result for you. We'll all be watching."

While the Herzogs have lost a job they love and that provides their main source of income, some good has come from this all. The Kickstarter that aimed to raise $7,000 had brought in more than $11,955 as of Wednesday afternoon, and still has 28 days to go.

"We're buoyed by the fact that the Kickstarter campaign is doing well," Brad said, "but I don't recommend losing the bulk of your livelihood to boost a Kickstarter campaign."

SFGate reached out to Gerber who chose to not comment.
Rumblings that caused alarm for coastal residents in San Francisco and Daly City on Wednesday night were planned detonations by San Francisco police officials.

Late Wednesday evening, several people reported shaking.

"The explosions heard around Great Highway/Ocean Beach are from the #SFPD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) unit disposing of ballistic materials seized earlier in the day," tweeted SFPD public information officer Grace Gatpandan.

Details of where the explosives were confiscated were not immediately available. This story will be updated when that information becomes available.
A 25-year-old Bushwick resident died of a suspected heroin overdose this week, just hours before she was supposed to move back home to the West Coast.

Janina Glasov's roommate found her body in her bedroom on Bushwick Avenue near Pilling Street at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night. The Post reports that a hypodermic needle, spoon, and empty bag marked MONSTER HIGH were found on the premises.

Glasov was a native of San Francisco, and she was expected to fly back West to move home for good on Wednesday. She graduated from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts with a concentration in journalism, and according to LinkedIn she held a number of internships in both the Bay Area and in New York.

The Post spoke to her mother, who told the tabloid Glasov "was the most dazzling young woman. She had so much potential she had so much to give. She was just amazing."

Fatal narcotics overdoses have spiked so much in the city that in April Mayor de Blasio announced the creation of a "Heroin and Prescription Opioid Public Awareness Task Force," which has increased the number of lifesaving nalaxone kits in public circulation and installed a response system that would ensure social workers follow up with overdose victims. The city has also floated opening Safe Injection Sites clinical centers where heroin users can inject with clean suppliesbut that has not come into fruition.

Still, the entire country has been experiencing what the Times has defined as a "heroin epidemic," noting that heroin deaths nearly quadrupled from 2002 to 2013. Glasov's mother told the Post she hopes the media will continue to spread the word. "I just think every journalist out there should be doing something about these killer drugs that are out there," she said. "We cant ignore this."
OAKLAND (BCN)



An East Bay home builder who avoided criminal charges when his company was fined in a bank fraud case earlier this year has been charged with retaliating against a witness, federal prosecutors said today.



Albert Seeno III, the owner of Discovery Builders and Albert Seeno Construction Co., appeared in U.S. District Court in Oakland this morning on the single criminal charge. He was released on $1 million bail, U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Abraham Simmons said.



The details of the case remain under seal for now. But earlier this year, one of Seeno's companies, Discovery Sales Inc., was fined $8 million for a bank fraud scheme designed to shield Seeno's real estate companies from the effects of the housing market collapse, according to court documents.



Discovery Sales was also ordered to pay $3 million in restitution to government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, though a plea agreement acknowledged that the financial impact of Discovery Sales' conduct went far beyond those two lenders.



While Seeno himself was not criminally charged, Ayman Shahid, vice president of Discovery Sales from 2006-2008, pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme and several other employees and associates were prosecuted, with some sentenced to prison.



Discovery Sales was created by Seeno to sell homes built by his construction companies in developments throughout the East Bay.



The company sought to keep its home prices inflated to support a large line of credit and offered incentive programs to new homebuyers who couldn't afford the high prices.



The incentive programs would provide assistance with down payments, among other things, but didn't show up on bank loan documents. The company also offered cash assistance with mortgage payments to keep buyers from defaulting.



Since the case remains under seal, whether Seeno's alleged witness retaliation is related to the criminal case against his company has not been revealed.



Seeno has been involved in previous civil litigation, including a case filed in Nevada in 2012 alleging that Seeno threatened violence over a soured business relationship.



Seeno is scheduled to return to court at 9:30 a.m. on July 22.







436-7264








A jury has convicted Danny Lin, 25, of manslaughter for fatally running over a 57-year-old man while speeding on the Lower East Side in November of 2014.

In an unusual move, last year Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance indicted Lin on one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, after Lin struck and killed Robert Perry, who was crossing the Bowery near Delancey Street on the evening of November 14th, 2014. Lin was driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit at the time, and police testified that he attempted to flee the scene after striking Perryhe drove on the sidewalk and crashed into a fire hydrant before he was apprehended.

A New York State Supreme Court jury found Lin guilty today. He will be sentenced on September 27th. Vance said in a statement:





This case serves as an unfortunate reminder of the risks associated with reckless driving and speeding, said District Attorney Vance. Danny Lin was fully aware of those risks as he hurtled down the Bowery at more than double the speed limit and took an innocent mans life. He endangered the lives of pedestrians and drivers alike as he continued barreling down the streetwith no regard for our laws or the safety of his fellow New Yorkersbefore eventually crashing into a hydrant on a congested sidewalk, narrowly missing several bystanders. Because of the defendants recklessness and disregard for human life, my Office has fought to hold him accountable and will seek significant penalties for his criminal conduct.

Perry used to frequent the Bowery Mission when he was alive. Workers described him as "a good guy" who loved jazz.




Video by Jessica Leibowitz

Earlier today, we looked back at the origins of the name of the East Village and how it ended up being recognized as a separate entity from the Lower East Side. Over the course of researching that, we learned that the East Village (like all other NYC neighborhoods) doesn't have any official borders recognized by city or state agencies. As Kate Cordes at the NYPL told us, "Neighborhoods are just crowdsourced knowledge and boundaries are unofficial."

So instead of relying on arbitrary real estate demarcations or our digital overlords over at Google Maps, we ventured out to Tompkins Square Park on a particularly lovely day in June to ask real New Yorkers where they think the East Village borders lie. Most people seemed to be in agreement that 14th Street and Houston are the north and south borders; there was some debate whether the area stretched over to the East River or stopped just before the FDR Drive.

But the most hotly contested part was the western border of the area: people seemed to be divided on whether it ends at 4th Avenue, Broadway, or 3rd Avenue/Bowery. The beautiful part, of course, is that there is no definitive right answerlike democracy and the inner lives of dogs, the East Village is only as real as your imagination.

So click on the video above to watch where people drew the neighborhoodand after that, check out the video below to hear native East Villagers talk about the development of the area. And let us know where you think the East Village begins and ends.
The East Village wasn't always called that, it was simply part of the Lower East Side until the mid-1960s. At that time the area  mostly populated by working class immigrants  began changing, with artists moving in after getting priced out of nearby Greenwich Village. This change came with a rebranding, and the new name was popularized by both real estate agents and newcomers. With that, a wave of gentrification created the East Villagea neighborhood that was never officially dubbed that.

In the 1964 guide "Earl Wilson's New York," the author declares that "artists, poets and promoters of coffeehouses from Greenwich Village are trying to remelt the neighborhood under the high-sounding name of 'East Village.'" Around the same time, The NY Times began using the name, and in 1964 reported that the affluent were taking over the area"When artists and writers began in 1960 to move into tenement housing in what is now called the East Village, the older residents of the Lower East Side greeted them as they had all previous invaders: They fought back." The artists were standing beside those that came before them to "face a new invasion... The uptown rich." And so it goes.

The neighborhood also got its own publications, among them was The East Village Other, which debuted in 1966 (not to be confused with the The Other Paper). While the moniker existed in everyday life, it was never named the East Village in any official wayin the 1990s, a spokesman for the city's Department of City Planning told The NY Times that "while the East Village is not listed as such in city zoning maps, the term has been recognized by City Planning officials for about 25, 30 years."

To match its unofficial name, the area also has ambiguous borders, but that's par for the course in New York, where there aren't any official border lines for any neighborhoods. Kate Cordes at the NYPL told us, "Neighborhoods are just crowdsourced knowledge and boundaries are unofficial."

However, she noted that in a city planning proposal from 1969 some boundaries were offered, unofficially stating: "The East Village lies between East 14th Street and Houston Street from the Bowery and Fourth Avenue to the East River."

We ventured over to Tompkins Square Park recently to ask people on the street to highlight what they believed the borders to be (watch that video here, or below).
Last summer, Montauk was terrorized by entitled "loud, obnoxious people" peeing all over bushes and fornicating right on the side of the highway. Little did enraged locals know, entitlement knows no bounds: this summer the horror has migrated west to Sag Harbor, where this past weekend, Manhattan hedge fund bro Brett Barna allegedly took it upon himself to trash a $20 million mansion with his annual, unfortunately-dubbed #Sprayathon party.

There were 1,000 guests in attendance. There were "scores of bikini-clad women and costumed gun-toting midgets," according to the NY Post. Ace Hood was there. And as a result, Barna's been booted from both Airbnb and his job, so he'll have to resort to more traditional rental-booking options when choosing a venue at which to spray away his sorrows. Sad!

Happy 4th #Hamptons #sprayathon #fourthofjuly #champagne A photo posted by AlexMerutka (@alexmerutka) on Jul 4, 2016 at 1:31pm PDT

Barna apparently name-dropped his boss, billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Bacon, when booking the Airbnb, and implied the event would have something to do with the Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in NYCbut also that it would be a fundraiser for animal rescue. Humans living in poverty, stray animalswhy split hairs when it comes to #SPRAYATHON 2016 WOOOOOO!

I'm just gonna leave this here. Good causes and great parties #sprayathon #puppiesandacehood #4th A video posted by Kyle Marelli (@kylesmoochie) on Jul 3, 2016 at 12:58pm PDT #AMERICA #sprayathon A video posted by Becky Lee (@beckyalee) on Jul 4, 2016 at 2:48pm PDT

Regardless of what charity the party was purportedly supporting, the property owner said that "the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them." He told the Post:

They drowned themselves in Champagne, they had midgets they threw in the pool, they broke into the house, trashed the furniture, art was stolen, we found used condoms. So many people were there that the concrete around the pool crumbled and fell into the water. It was like Jersey Shore meets a frat party. We are preparing a massive lawsuit.

The mansion Barna rented goes for $5,000 a night for a minimum of 5 nights on Airbnb, but Barna's now apparently refusing to pay his $27,000 bill. The host plans to sue him for $1 millionand Barna won't exactly have a steady stream of cash to handle his legal fees, as he was fired from Moore Capital Management after his bosses decided that his "personal judgment was inconsistent with the firm's values."

Airbnb, for its part, has banned Barna: spokesperson Nick Shapiro said that "we have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior and have removed this guest from our platform. We are working to support the host under our $1 million host guarantee."

The hosts are preparing to serve Barna, as soon as they can actually locate himthe mansion's owner tells the Post, "Brett was last seen on Sunday chugging Champagne with two midgets."
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California looks like Hillary Clinton country in a new Field Poll on the November presidential election, but the states Democratic voters are none too excited to see the former secretary of state at the top of the partys ticket.

Clinton holds a commanding 58 percent to 28 percent lead over Republican Donald Trump in the poll, but only 35 percent of likely Democratic voters say they are enthusiastic to see the former first lady as the partys nominee.

Thats only slightly more than the 33 percent of Republicans excited about Trumps run for president.

Enthusiasm for the two major-party candidates is demonstrably low, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. That might increase after the party conventions, since thats what conventions are designed to do.

But even the shoulder-shrug acceptance of Clinton by most Democrats is plenty to put her way ahead of Trump in deep-blue California, especially when more than a third of the states Republicans are either dissatisfied or upset at the idea of having Trump as the face of the party.

Trumps true believers

Trumps campaign is driven by true believers, but there arent enough of them to make the presidential contest a race in as strong a Democratic state as California, especially when Republicans also have their doubts about their nominee. Even among self-described conservative voters, a group thats reliably Republican, Trump only pulls 60 percent support.

While 87 percent of Democrats back Clinton, with only 5 percent moving to Trump, the developer turned reality TV star only has 72 percent support among California Republicans, with 16 percent of likely GOP voters saying theyll turn to Clinton in November. Just under half of the voters with no party preference are Clinton supporters, with 32 percent undecided.

Few Democratic defectors

Trumps supporters are pretty hard core to begin with, DiCamillo said. The headline here is that the number of Democratic defectors is in single digits, which is extremely low.

The Anyone but Trump contingent makes up a notable percentage of California voters. When Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Partys presidential candidate, is added to the polling mix, Clintons support drops from 58 percent to 50 percent, while Trumps numbers barely budge. Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, collects 10 percent in a three-way race.

Trumps continuing call for a wall on the Mexican border and pledge to deport the countrys estimated 11 million undocumented residents has been devastating to his chances in California, where Latino voters make up a growing part of the electorate. Among likely Latino voters, hes losing to Clinton by a staggering 75 percent to 12 percent, worse than the 22 percent Republican Mitt Romney had in a July 2012 Field Poll and the 21 percent the GOPs John McCain had in the 2008 presidential survey.

Among African American voters, Clinton leads by a President Obama-like 87 percent to 3 percent. She also holds a better than 2-to-1 margin over Trump among likely Asian voters.

Latinos are a big voting bloc in the state, three to four times larger than the black vote, DiCamillo said. Trumps support among that group is historically low.

While Trump wins much support nationwide among less-educated voters, its different in California, where 64 percent of likely voters with a high school education or less are Clinton supporters, compared with 21 percent backing Trump.

Thats another sign of the strong anti-Trump feelings of the states Latinos, DiCamillo said.

According to a January study by the Pew Research Center, about 51 percent of California Latinos have a high school education or less, which skews that educational grouping in statewide polls.

California is very different from the rest of the country in that voters at the low end of the educational scale are predominantly Latinos and other ethnic minorities, DiCamillo said. Id be willing to bet that lower-education white voters in California are similar to the rest of the country in supporting Trump.

Clinton over the top

Clinton also received a boost when she used June 7 primary victories in California and New Jersey to collect the final delegates needed to virtually guarantee her a first-ballot nomination at the Philadelphia convention later this month.

Despite Californias strong support for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 53 percent of the states Democrats now want him to step aside and throw his support to Clinton, while only 38 percent want Sanders to continue his campaign to the convention.

Only voters 39 and younger, who made up the bulk of his support, disagree, with 59 percent calling on Sanders to continue campaigning.

The growing support from Sanders backers  along with the end of the bitter primary campaign  is giving Clintons image rating a boost. Among likely California voters, 53 percent now have a favorable opinion of her, with 43 percent unfavorable. That a jump from the 47 percent to 48 percent split seen in an April Field Poll.

Trumps image rating, though, shows just how unpopular he remains in California, where only 24 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion and 73 percent dont much like him. Despite his strong primary showings across the country and his clear path to the GOP presidential nomination, those numbers are virtually unchanged since January.

While Trump continues to promise that hell run a strong  and expensive  campaign in California, and has vowed to turn the electoral map around in November, the new poll shows just how steep a political mountain he has to climb in the state.

Survey methodology

Its very difficult to imagine Trump making up the ground he needs, DiCamillo said.

The poll is based on a June 8 to July 2 telephone survey of 1,635 California voters, including 956 likely voters. The margin of error among all likely voters is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points, while its plus or minus 4.2 percentage points on questions asked only of Democrats and plus or minus 5.8 percentage points on questions asked only of Republicans.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
BERLIN  German lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that will make it easier for victims of sex crimes to file criminal complaints if they rejected their attackers advances with a clear no.

The move was partly spurred by a nationwide outcry over a string of sexual assaults that happened in the western city of Cologne over New Years.

German law previously required victims to show that they physically resisted an attack before charges for rape and other sexual assaults could be brought. Womens rights campaigners argued that Germanys failure to recognize the principle of no means no was one of the main reasons for low reporting and conviction rates for rape in the country.

In the past, there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldnt be punished, German Minister for Women Manuela Schwesig said. The change in the law will help increase the number of victims who choose to press charges, lower the number of criminal prosecutions that are shelved and ensure sexual assaults are properly punished.

According to figures cited by Heiko Maas, the countrys justice minister, only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8 percent of rape trials result in convictions.

Conservative lawmakers had resisted changing the law until a string of attacks in Cologne during New Years sparked a fresh debate. Authorities said most of the attacks were carried out by asylum-seekers, leading some to question whether last years influx of young men from predominantly Muslim countries could be properly integrated in Germany.

Others noted that Germany lagged behind most Western nations in its definition of rape and that sexual assaults were a feature of German society before large numbers of refugees arrived last year.

Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didnt resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised or feared greater violence if they objected.
1 Pope meets parents: Pope Francis met on Wednesday with the parents of a U.S. college student whose body was found in Romes Tiber River this week, after apparently either being pushed or tumbling into the murky waters less than 24 hours after arriving in Italy for summer classes. A brief Holy See statement said Francis expressed to Beau Solomons parents feelings of deepest sympathy and compassion, and his closeness in prayer to the Lord for the young man who died so tragically. Police on Tuesday detained a homeless Italian, Massimo Galioto, 40, whom they described as being seriously suspected of murder aggravated by futile motives.

2 Refugee agency: European Union lawmakers have endorsed plans for a new border and coast guard agency to help manage thousands of people trying to reach Europe in search of sanctuary or jobs. The scheme was approved Wednesday in Brussels 483-181 with 48 abstentions. The new agency will be built up from the EUs border management agency Frontex. The plan was launched after national guards were overwhelmed by the arrival of more than 1 million people last year. EU countries will establish a pool of 1,500 officers and technical equipment that the agency could rapidly deploy to countries struggling with extraordinary migration flows.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Human Rights Watch said Thursday that a pattern of covering up police killings has thwarted efforts to curb violence in Rio de Janeiros slums ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Brazil.

Many of the people killed by police in recent years were unarmed, in custody or trying to flee, according to the 109-page report. Authorities have said that in most cases, the police had come under attack, but prosecutors told the rights group that in the majority of the cases there was no confrontation.
Domenico Stinellis/Associated Press

VATICAN CITY  A Vatican court declared Thursday it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists for having published confidential information after an eight-month trial that drew scorn from media rights groups around the world.

The court did convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass documents to the journalists, but cleared them of having formed a criminal association to do so. A fifth defendant, the monsignors secretary, was cleared of all charges.
Twitter, the virtual embodiment of a Roman fighting pit run by basement-dwelling mouth breathers, is where the multitudes gather to rehash tired memes, spread messages of hate and influence the stock of a major company with a single tweet.

This morning, author Eric Van Lustbaderwho notably continued the Bourne series after Robert LudlumTweeted that his editor had fallen sick after eating at a Manhattan Chipotle, saying she'd spent seven hours in the ER from dehydration. In what appears to be fallout from said Tweet, according to Business Insider, the burrito chain's stock fell over 3% this morning, a possible sign that panic over the restaurant's ongoing food safety issues has yet to abate.

Predictably, Van Lustbader has been the target of attacks by egg avatars and others accusing him of purposefully shorting Chipotle's stock, a claim Van Lustbader denies. Financial faith in the company has been trending downward since the outbreak was first reported, even though restaurants were declared safe after closing all of their locations and retraining employees.



(Google)

At least one other person claims they contracted some kind of illness from a Manhattan Chipotle, but a spokesperson told Business Insider the company had "not heard any reports of illness associated with any of our restaurants." At press time, a Health Department spokesperson said they would look into whether an investigation was underway.

It's been a seriously atrocious year for the once-respectedand fearedcompany. During the height of the E. coli scandal, Chipotle executives, including ex-CEO and founder Steve Ellis, were accused of insider trading while their company was floundering. Then, executive Mark Crumpacker was named as an alleged buyer in a bust of a cocaine ring, from which he was said to have purchased cocaine during the height of the scandal.

Dos Toros FTW.
Michael Hill International, the listed jewellery chain that's shifting its primary listing to Australia, lifted annual earnings by as much as 5.9 percent, boosting sales across all its territories and opening new Emma & Roe stores.

The shares jumped 15 percent to A$1.25 on the ASX.

Earnings before interest and tax was between A$46 million and A$48 million in the 12 months ended June 30, up from A$42.1 million a year earlier, the Brisbane-based company said in a statement. Annual sales rose 8.9 percent to A$545.1 million, with its Michael Hill brand increasing revenue 8.1 percent to A$535.8 million and the Emma & Roe chain almost doubling sales to A$9.3 million. On a same-store basis, sales were up 4.8 percent across Michael Hill and 34 percent at Emma & Roe.

Last month, shareholders in the jewellery chain voted in favour of a restructuring plan to shift the assets into a new company incorporated in Australia and listed on the ASX. The deal would align the board, management and business operations in one jurisdiction, while also providing tax benefits of up to A$22 million.

Today's statement shows the company's Michael Hill chain lifted sales in Australia 4.2 percent to A$307 million, the smallest gain. The New Zealand operations generated a 7 percent increase in local currency sales, rising 7 percent to NZ$122 million, while Canada sales rose 19 percent to C$93.9 million and US revenue was up 24 percent to US$14 million.

The Emma & Roe chain is only in New Zealand and Australia so far, with Australian sales climbing 90 percent to A$8.7 million and New Zealand revenue more than doubling to NZ$731,000. Michael Hill plans to open 12 more stores in Australia and four in New Zealand in the coming financial year.

Michael Hill is embroiled in a tax dispute with New Zealand's Inland Revenue Department over transferring its group intellectual property and franchising operations from New Zealand to Australia in 2008, using an Australian Limited Partnership (ALP) as part of the finance structure. The Court of Appeal last month turned down a bid by the retailer to have the dispute thrown out, and Michael Hill has since said it continues to defend its position, with almost NZ$40 million in dispute.

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Fletcher Building is on the hunt for 100 British senior construction workers to prop up its workforce as a major pipeline of activity looks set to stretch the sector.

The Auckland-based company will kick off a recruitment drive in London for construction leaders on July 28 in partnership with Immigration New Zealand and HainsAttract subsidiary, Workhere New Zealand, it said in a statement. Fletcher's construction division operates commercial, infrastructure and residential building projects, incorporating its Canterbury earthquake recovery business and projects across the Pacific.

Fletcher Construction employs 3,000 people and is looking to hire both locally and abroad to deal with a series of major projects it says would constitute a 30-year pipeline of work.

"I have never seen so much construction activity of such a scale right across New Zealand in my 40 years working in the industry," Fletcher Construction chief Graham Darlow said. "We can increase our workforce by up to 20 percent to meet requirements. It is something we have always done and no doubt will continue to do."

The construction division posted first-half earnings of $36 million on revenue of $748 million, about 17 percent of Fletcher Building's $4.4 billion of sales in the period. The wider Fletcher group employs 19,000 across 40 countries.

Fletcher's drive overseas follows the release of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion showing the construction sector pushing demand for labour and facing potential shortages of skilled and unskilled workers. Government figures showed 230,300 people were employed in the construction sector in the March quarter, or 9.6 percent of the workforce, compared to 212,700, or 9 percent of the workforce, a year earlier.

The company's pitch to British expats comes at a time when the value of the British pound has slumped in the wake of the UK vote to leave the European Union, increasing the value of money earned abroad. Ordinary time average hourly earnings for construction workers was $26.93 an hour in the March quarter, below the private sector average of $27.51 across all industries.

Darlow said New Zealand can't compete with salaries offered in other places such as Dubai, and will make its pitch to British talent using the country's lifestyle and quality of life.

Recruitment and contract hire firm AWF Madison Group is another company looking overseas to plug the labour gap in the construction sector. Chief executive Simon Bennett has said he wants to hire another 1,000 migrants by the end of next year to help deal with a boom in Auckland building work requiring an extra 32,000 jobs through to 2018.

Fletcher shares rose 1.3 percent to $8.71, having gained 17 percent so far this year.

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Sixty-four years after it was founded and 49 years since it listed on the NZX, New Zealand-based global resins company Nuplex Industries is set to pass into the hands of private equity-backed Belgian company Allnex following a shareholder vote today.

Proxy votes filed to the NZX and ASX this morning made Allnexs $1 billion takeover bid a fait accompli ahead of todays vote at Nuplexs special meeting of shareholders where many long-time investors expressed their disappointment at the change of ownership just when the company was starting to show good returns from their support.

At least 75 percent of the votes cast and more than 50 percent of the total number of Nuplex shares were needed for the takeover to proceed. That is less than the typical threshold required because it was made under the first scheme of arrangement of a significant size since law changes in 2014.

Independent directors had recommended shareholders accept the offer of $5.55 per share, which includes the 12 cents per share interim dividend already paid. That was a premium of 44 percent to the share price at the time the offer was made in February. The board had rejected three previous Allnex offers, which first approached Nuplex in October last year.

Chairman Peter Springford told shareholders today the board felt obliged to put the final offer before them, given it was a premium to the share price, which has since risen to $5.30, and was above analysts valuations. An independent report by Grant Samuel said the company's underlying value was in the range of $5.36 to $5.86 per share.

Shareholders Association chairman John Hawkins, speaking in his private capacity as a shareholder, said the offer was not a great deal for Nuplex shareholders despite the premium, which was only 15 percent above the share price at the end of last year.

The share price of technology companies were marked back substantially in January, a situation that has since reversed, he said. He accused the board and management of bailing out rather than being willing to do the hard yards to grow a good company into a great company.

If other boards adopted the same approach we would never have had Microsoft, Google, or Bayer Chemicals, Hawkins said. Allnex has been very smart in buying an increasing earnings stream and new technology at a modest premium even before the value of the synergies are taken into account.

When asked by shareholders if the two companies were such a good fit why the Nuplex board hadnt tried to take Allnex over, Springford said they had considered it three years ago when the balance sheet was not as strong as it is today and felt the financial risk and need to raise more money from shareholders would not have been acceptable. We would have loved to have done it, he said.

Broadcaster and shareholder Michael Wilson questioned why the offer didnt include paying a final dividend which would have been around the 17 cents per share mark but Springford said the board wasnt able to negotiate that. One of the conditions of the offer was that the directors agreed to sell their shares.

Richard Oliphant, whose 97-year-old mother Rona was the first shareholder in the company and whose family members combined have a substantial shareholding, said they had gone through some thin times and some buoyant times and were "not making a killing" out of the Allnex offer, despite their loyalty and long-time support.

The scheme still requires High Court approval and is taking longer than expected to receive anti-trust clearance in the European Union. If the acquisition is not completed by Aug. 2 because of the clearance delay, the company has to pay a compensatory dividend of 0.075 cents per share to shareholders for every day of delay in addition to the $5.43 cash offer. The final deadline for getting all approvals is Nov. 9. unless both parties agree to an extension.

Nuplex had a run of profit downgrades and shareholder bailouts from 2009 but its financial results turned around last year after cutting back its operations in Australia and New Zealand and focusing solely on global resins. In May, the company said the 2016 financial year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were expected to be between $157 million and $161 million, more than the previous guidance of $145 million to $157 million announced in February. The company said it was in a strong position to achieve an annual return on funds of greater than 16 percent by the end of the 2018 financial year.

Last year the company launched a breakthrough coating technology, Acure, which had an estimated global market opportunity of US$1 billion to US$2 billion per annum and is expected to become a significant contributor to Nuplexs earnings.

Nuplex shares rose 2.1 percent to $5.29.

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The High Court in Wellington has backed a decision that a 90-metre safety area for an extended Wellington Airport runway is sufficient, turning down a bid by pilots who wanted a review because they didn't regard it as long enough.

Justice Karen Clark yesterday rejected an application for judicial review of the Civil Aviation director's decision by the New Zealand Airline Pilots' Association saying the director didn't make an error in law in reaching the conclusion, nor was the consultation process with the NZAPA inadequate.

The association, which represents about 2,200 pilots and air traffic controllers, sought to have the decision reviewed, claiming the 90-metre runway end safety area was too short and needed to be 240 metres.

The judge rejected the NZAPA's claim that a cost-benefit analysis relied on by the director subordinated safety to cost, calling such criticism "unfounded". The threshold needed to establish an error of law based on "flawed evidence simply has not be met evidentially by the applicant," the judgment said.

Justice Clark took a "cautious view" that the union had a legitimate expectation to be consulted on the proposed southern extension "because of the nature of the (Civil Aviation) Authority's assurances", but that didn't oblige the director to negotiate with the NZAPA.

Wellington Airport wants to build a 350-metre runway extension in an effort to attract long-haul flights from Asia and the US, for an estimated $300 million. Majority shareholder Infratil has been pushing for central and local government to cover the cost, claiming the national and regional interest would benefit from the investment which wasn't viable on a standalone commercial basis.

In a separate statement, chief executive Steve Sanderson said the decision means the company can pursue its application for consent and "provide confidence that our work has been considered and robust".

The Greater Wellington Regional Council and Wellington City Council have been publicly notified about the project, and public submissions are being accepted until Aug. 12.

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Dr. Eric Butler's Award-winning Sensor Tracks the Secrets Lives of Bees

Shaw University assistant professor of biology Dr. Eric Butler is giving new meaning to the secret lives of bees. Using a micro-controller, a timer and a micro-SD card reader similar to those in digital cameras, Dr. Butler has created a sensor that monitors how bees behave and could have far-reaching effects on food production worldwide.

For his work, Dr. Butler received the Triangle Business Journals 2016 BDO Life Sciences Award in May. The category: Outstanding Research by a University. Shaw, among 17 finalists recognized, was the only university recognized for advances in life sciences. The research project is a partnership between Dr. Butler, a behavioral ecologist with a Ph.D. in Zoology from N.C. State University, and Georgia professor Mark Schlueter, who is conducting research on native bees. Shaw student Krystal La Flora, a rising junior, is a project assistant.

The bee-sensor monitor allows bee keepers to determine whats happening inside a beehive, as well as assess the well-being of  and threats to  its inhabitants in order to keep habitats suitable for their return each season.

While global concern centers on the waning population of honeybees traditionally used in pollination and assure a healthy supply of food and industrial crops, Dr. Butlers research zeroes in on mining bee colonies found burrowed in underground tunnels. Although the mining bee is an often ignored bee species usually considered pests, the bees are excellent pollinators that also aerate soil, making them suitable stand-ins for the honeybees pollination chores.

Dr. Butler programmed the device to track how many bees are in the hive, and how they move in and out of the hive. Data includes a daily count of exits and returns, with information about time, temperature and other conditions at the time of movement. Any bees that dont come back from foraging are assumed dead, Dr. Butler said, which leads to critical information about bee loss, and opens the door to further research into what they did when they left and how that behavior or the environment impacted their inability to return home. Questions that might be answered, for example: At what time of day are bees most active, and how that activity corresponds to may be happening around them, such as scheduled pesticide spraying, wind-blown herbicides or not enough shade?

Beehives are families, Dr. Butler said. So, if they are not coming back that means something happened to them. If you know when the bees are dying, it helps narrow down whats causing them to die. This research will have much broader implications for food production all over the world.

So far, four devices have been deployed in Georgia to monitor as many colonies of mining bees, described as a smaller, more solitary species with a shorter season of activity than honeybees. They seem to be working, Dr. Butler said of the sensors. Were hoping to get enough data to publish a paper.

The device will be tested on honeybee hives in winter 2016, said Dr. Butler, who learned his hobby of computer programming while in graduate school.

Even more interesting than the actual research, is we can make these, Dr. Butler said, holding up the palm-sized sensor. I dont think the bee sensor is going to be the last thing  or the best thing  to come out of here. Dr. Butler said hes passionate about ensuring Shaw students are exposed to the future wave in research. I want to see our students get ahead of the curve on this, he said.

Vice president for Academic Affairs, Dr. Paulette Dillard called the recognition of Dr. Butlers work an innovative approach to help address one of societys most critical problems and proof that Shaw, even though its a smaller institution, is doing monumental things in the area of research.

The work also matches Shaws mission under the leadership of President Tashni-Ann Dubroy, also a scientist, to intentionally prepare new generations of STEM professionals who graduate from Shaw ready to compete in the global workforce.

Shaw University will become the leading producer of STEM professionals in the 21st century, said Dr. Dubroy. Dr. Butler, along with our other stellar faculty in the department of natural sciences and mathematics, is committed to educating young scientists, especially minorities who tend to be underrepresented in science fields.
This election season has suffered without Jon Stewart's steady hand at the Daily Show helm, but last night struggling host Trevor Noah came up with a pretty good idea, suggesting that maybe we shouldn't have an election in November after all.

Noah dug into this week's fuckups from both parties' nominees. First, there was the revelation that Hillary Clinton had indeed lied (quite a bit!) about her private email server, which managed to quash whatever Honest Hill image the Democrats have been trying to craft over the last year. Not that any of that is super surprising, but in any other election, it could have sounded a death alarm.

Lucky for Hillary, she's running against Herr Windbag, who followed up Hillary's FBI scolding by...lauding Saddam Hussein. Like the rest of us, Noah wondered if he's being pranked. "What the fuck, dude! This was your chance to bury Hillary, this was not the time to praise Saddam Hussein. To be honest, I don't know when the time is to praise Saddam Hussein, but I do know that THIS is not the time!"

It is almost too fortuitous for Hillary, who has been running for president since 1947, that her opponent is a bigoted sack of over-saffroned riceit's almost as if a production studio at, I don't know, Langley or Christof's moon dome, has orchestrated this whole thing for amusementbut Noah ended last night's segment by pointing out Election 2016's Sophie's Choice between "Grandma Nixon and a traffic cone soaked in raw sewage." And he had a good outsiders tip: "Maybe you shouldn't have an election," he said. "Because right now it looks like America's getting into a marriage it's going to regret."

Things are as bad as they can be, between rampant police brutality; nonstop terrorist attacks in Europe and the Middle East; and global economic instability. Of course, history shows us things will get worse.

One of the two people vying for probably the most powerful position in the world is about as trustworthy as a Clinton. The other was pretty much handpicked by the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and makes George W. Bush look palatable. What are we to do? Obama's already ordered his retirement La-Z Boy, he's not going to stay.

Not that I'd support Making America Great Again by bringing back the English monarchy, but at least we'd get some cute celebrity babies out of it.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a five-day tour of Africa early Thursday that will take him to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

"The Prime Minister emplanes for a vital four-nation Africa tour. The first nation he will visit is Mozambique," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

This is Modi's first official visit to continental Africa. He had earlier visited the island nations of Mauritius and Seychelles.

Modi will arrive in Maputo, Mozambique's capital, on Thursday morning.

This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the southeast African nation in 36 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

After concluding his engagements in Mozambique, he will leave for South Africa on Thursday evening.

His engagements in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg on Friday and Saturday.

Following this, he will leave for Dodoma, Tanzania's capital, from Durban on Saturday evening.

After completing his engagements in Dodoma, Modi will leave for Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday evening.

Ahead of his departure, the Prime Minister tweeted on Wednesday that his visit was aimed at enhancing India-Africa ties.

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JOHANNESBURG: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to South Africa on Friday, the country's foreign minister on Thursday said the visit will cement and strengthen the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

"South Africa and India share common values and objectives which were forged during the struggle against colonialism and for liberation and democracy in South Africa," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Modi will be in South Africa as part of a whirlwind five-day tour of Africa that will also take him to three other African countries  Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

"India played a leading role in isolating the apartheid regime, resulting in a shared history of friendship and solidarity," Nkoana-Mashabane, a former high commissioner to India, wrote in the daily The New Age.

"India also provided consistent support to the liberation movement during South Africa's struggle for democracy and was at the forefront within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, in promoting international efforts towards South Africa's liberation," she added.

She also reflected on the impact that Mahatma Gandhi's tenure in South Africa at the turn of the last century had on the resistance to the apartheid regime.

Nkoana-Mashabane said one of the key objectives of Modi's visit would be to enhance commercial and business relations with India and to promote private sector-to-private sector contact.

"In this regard, a Chief Executive Officers' Forum and a South Africa-India Business Forum are planned to be held during the visit to facilitate business opportunities," she said.

"South Africa will also be exploring ways in which to increase and diversify our exports to India by identifying new areas of market access in areas including the defence sector, deep mining, renewable energy and the health sector," said the minister.

"The business meetings will also serve to promote investment by Indian companies in South Africa through the identification of areas of investment and by investigating ways in which to simplify procedures for companies investing in South Africa," he added.

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WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama heads to Europe this week, possibly his last European visit, that would take him to Poland and Spain where he would attend the NATOsummit and hold meetings with top European leaders following Britain's exit from the EU.



The situation in Afghanistan, the war against Islamic State terror group after attacks by it in the last month, are likely to dominate the proceedings in addition to post-Brexit European Union and Ukraine, senior administration officials told reporters on the eve of Obama's departure for Europe.



"This trip comes at an important time," said Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor.



"Certainly NATO as the foundation of transatlantic security and the cornerstone of global security, but also our ability to engage with European allies in the context of the aftermath of Brexit, some of the tensions withRussia over the last several years, and the broader concerns about the counter-ISIL effort and the refugee situation," he said.



"So many different pressing issues that will be on the agenda at Warsaw and throughout the President's time in Europe," Rhodes said.



The US-EU meeting tomorrow, he said, will be a very timely opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Brexit vote and their continued, very strong support for the European project, which has been at the center of so much security and prosperity for Europe and the US and the world.



"They'll review the circumstances in the aftermath of Brexit. They'll also be able to discuss a range of issues we're cooperating with the Europeans. That would include terrorism, migration, economic issues, Russia," he said.



In addition to attending the NATO Summit at Warsaw in Poland, Obama would also meet the Ukrainian president along with leaders of the UK, Germany, France, and Italy.



"(This is) a format that he's worked with on many issues, but in particular on Ukraine, it's an important opportunity to reaffirm our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to stress the urgency of moving forward with the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and expressing our continued determination to maintain sanctions on Russia should they not follow through on those commitments," Rhodes said.



From Poland, Obama would travel to Spain, which is the one major European country that he has not visited so far.



Doug Lute, US Permanent Representative to NATO said after the Warsaw summit, the command and control of the ballistic missile defense system will pass from the US to NATO.



"And of course, the President, in being able to meet with the European leaders and the EU leaders and certainly he'll be seeing Prime Minister David Cameron as well can get a sense from them over how they are thinking about the discussions and negotiations that they will have surrounding the British decision to exit the European Union," he said.



"It's possible that this is the President's final stop in Europe, although there may be additional changes. It is certainly his last NATO summit," he added.

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Source: PTI
Joseph DeCandido

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Joseph DeCandido once graced the Staten Island Children's Museum and Pepper Jack Grill with his promising artistic talent -- but now he's headed to the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

Relax: It's a good thing.

The Prince's Bay native's "See My Voice" exhibit opens with a reception at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 7, and remains on display through Oct. 7 in the Charles P. Sifton Gallery space.

Joseph, who was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old, says he "dreams of becoming a famous artist and wants to raise autism awareness." He is currently is attending the Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program at the College of Staten Island.

The school contacted the gallery and asked curators to look at his work. They were so impressed he was offered a solo show.

His family says his biggest challenge is communication -- so he expresses himself through painting.

"Art has made him more focused," says Frank DeCandido, Joseph's proud papa, adding that "for all of my son's 22 years of life, he's always had an artistic talent."

Joseph began using his art as a communication outlet at an early age. His ability to draw maps from a bird's eye view and sketch beautiful landscapes and buildings developed over the years with help from his teachers and from watching his idol, Bob Ross, on television.

In 2001, while still in kindergarten, Joseph won honorable mention in the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures contest. As the years progressed, Joseph's artwork became far more intricate.

His art was featured in the the Staten Island Children's Museum's annual art shows from 2012 to 2015. Joseph presented his first solo show, "New York City Sights and Neighborhoods," in 2013 at the Pepperjack Grill. He returned to the PepperJack in 2014 to present his second exhibit: "Lighthouse Mania

"See My Voice" includes 15 of DeCandido's works. Among the paintings is a series of Italian landscapes he's been working on since the family took a trip to Italy.

"It was amazing walking through this unique little village near my grandmother's hometown," Joseph says of one featured painting, "I Trulli di Nonna."

Note: The Charles P. Sifton Gallery is in recognition of United States District Judge Charles P. Sifton commitment to the arts and the many excellent art exhibits and performances the Judge arranged for the Court family over the years.

The exhibit space is located at the Brooklyn's U.S. District Court house, 225 Cadman Plaza East, on the first floor. It is open to the public on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The tides of change are rolling in across the borough's cultural organizations.

From Staten Island Arts to the Shakespeare Theatre Company to Snug Harbor, the creative community on Staten Island is welcoming new leadership and staffing changes as summer programming across the borough heats up.

Here's a look at the new leadership and ideas coming to some of Staten Island's culturals.

ART IN THE THICK OF IT

First up: Staten Island Arts' board has appointed a new executive director, Elizabeth Bennett. The organization awards grants to artists and cultural groups around the borough, in addition to putting on public programs, like this year's highly successful LUMEN Festival.

Bennett, a New Jersey native, was previously a director of program services at the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, where she helped manage the application process to distribute annually approximately $31 million in public funds to cultural organizations throughout the city.

Bennett also serves as an application review panelist for the state's Council on the Arts and has worked in fundraising at Columbia University School of the Arts, Park Avenue Armory, and the 92nd Street Y.

"We are entering a critical point in our history with all of the rampant development on the North Shore, and Bennett will help position Staten Island Arts in the thick of things," said Staten Island Arts' board president Diane Kramer.

Bennett was already somewhat familiar with the cultural and artistic landscape on Staten Island from her previous role with the city.

"Some of the most satisfying work I enjoyed the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs was with Staten Island's cultural organizations, and from that basis, I have great affection and respect for the island's artists," she said in a statement.

She said she's now looking forward to increasing support and recognition for the borough's individual artists and organizations.

Staten Island Arts' previous director, Christopher Hellstrom, who joined the council less than a year ago, took a job as an associate director of development at Project Hospitality. He said the new job "allows for more flexibility with my time as I have two small children."

"I hope to be able to volunteer time to continue to support the arts community," Hellstrom added. "Staten Island Arts is a fantastic organization with an experienced and passionate staff. I am excited that they have Elizabeth at the helm."

MEANWHILE IN LIVINGSTON

Down the road on the grounds of Snug Harbor, the Staten Island Museum announced that it had officially hired Cheryl Adolph as its executive director. Adolph had been the museum's interim director for two years, following the death of former leader Elizabeth Egbert.

At Snug Harbor, artistic director Gabri Christa has accepted a teaching job at Barnard College. Christa was hired at the end of 2014 and brought with her a monthly performance art event that attracted contemporary artists from around the world to Staten Island for unique performances. Christa will continue to curate with the Harbor for about another year, staff said.

Snug has also posted several open positions, so be on the lookout for more announcements. The cultural center recently received a $400,000 boost in baseline funding from the city to help maintain the grounds. The center's president and CEO Lynn Kelly said in a previous article that the extra help will allow them to focus more on filling the staffing gaps which had opened up over the past several years.

THE BARD IS MAKING A COMEBACK

Filling out the "summer of cultural staffing changes" is the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Company, coming off the success of its production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

The 40-year-old theater company's board recently appointed grant-writer, poet and Wahoo Skiffle Crazies ukulele-player Frank Williams last week to the position of producing artistic director.

Jim Hazard was elected the new Board Chair, Ken Conroy, the Vice Chair/Treasurer; and Danielle Bonanno, Secretary. Other members of the board remain: Evelyn Finn, Dorri Aspenwall, Jayne Cooper, Ellen Mitchell and Cara Liander.

"Until recently, I believe the company took major steps away from the Bard--its very namesake -- and classical theatre, which should be celebrated, made relevant to life today, and held up as its niche," Williams said in a statement. "Our free Shakespeare shows have been packed and audiences have absolutely loved them. I think that our reputation is building and we can translate that into successful ticketed shows as soon as next season."

Next up for the company is "The Trojan Women," directed by Ritty Mahoney. The ancient tragedy written by Euripides will be performed for free in front of the Battery Weed at Fort Wadsworth at 6 p.m. on August 19, 20, 26 and 27.
Hillary Clinton

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Standing on Atlantic City's famed Boardwalk, Hillary Clinton ripped Donald Trump as a "shameful" businessman who contributed to the decline of the oceanfront resort town and would be just as disastrous for America's workers as president.

"What he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he'll do if he wins in November," Clinton warned on Wednesday, the faded facade of Trump Plaza, a shuttered hotel formerly owned by the presumptive Republican nominee, just over her shoulder.

Clinton's remarks were part of a growing effort by her campaign to undercut Trump's business reputation, which Democrats believe is greatly overhyped and based more on his ability to attract publicity than actual private sector skills. In the coming weeks, she is expected to highlight "victims" of Trump's business ventures, including contractors who went unpaid -- echoing a strategy Democrats employed successfully against 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Clinton made no mention of the FBI's withering criticism Tuesday accompanied its recommendation that she not face actual charges for her email practices as secretary of state. She ignored reporters' shouted questions about the matter later in the day as she greeted striking workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, another property previously owned by her GOP opponent.

In clearing Clinton of breaking the law, FBI Director James Comey was scorching in his criticism of the Democratic nominee, saying she was "extremely careless" in handling classified information on a private email account and personal internet server.

Even with Comey's tough rhetoric, Clinton aides were relieved to have the investigation closed so they can fully turn their attention to the fall face-off with Trump. Campaign aides say that while Trump's comments about minorities and women weaken his prospects of winning the White House, he is still viewed favorably as a businessman by many Americans.

For Clinton, Atlantic City provided a picture-perfect backdrop to try to undermine that reputation.

Once a casino-lined coastal jewel, the city has struggled in recent years, losing more than half of its gambling revenue during the past nine years. The casinos' struggles have led to job losses and credit downgrades.

A quarter-century after Trump sought to build a casino empire, he owns not a single hotel here. His name is still atop the Taj Mahal, but the property belongs to his friend Carl Icahn, the billionaire businessman magnate.

Trump has defended his record in the gambling town, saying he "created thousands of jobs and made a lot of money in Atlantic City, which was what, as a businessman, I am supposed to do for my company and my family." Earlier Wednesday, he blamed Atlantic City's troubles on politicians' "big mistakes."

Even in the years when other Atlantic City casinos were growing, those carrying the Trump name weren't. When his publicly traded company, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., went bust in 2004, Atlantic City's casino revenues were on their way to an all-time high. In fact, two of his casinos' three bankruptcies occurred in years when overall Atlantic City gambling revenue was rising.

"Isn't he supposed to be some kind of amazing businessman?" Clinton said. "So it's fair to ask, since he is applying for a job, what in the world happened here?"

She also placed blame for Atlantic City's troubles on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of Trump's biggest supporters and a possible vice presidential pick.

"If your governor would start doing his job instead of following Donald Trump around holding his coat, maybe we could really get New Jersey's economy moving again," she said.

After a months-long fight over Atlantic City's future that included threats of a state takeover, Christie signed legislation in May that kept the city solvent and staved off immediate bankruptcy. The city now has until the end of October to formulate a plan for balancing its budget in order to avoid being taken over by the state.

Christie, meanwhile, has blamed the city's issues on Democrats as well as larger structural forces, including increased competition from new gambling centers and the city's failure to rebrand itself and expand its attractions.

As Clinton campaigned in New Jersey, Democrats on Capitol Hill were pushing her primary rival Bernie Sanders to join them in backing the former secretary of state. Sanders challenged Clinton vigorously in the Democratic primary and has yet to endorse her.

During a private meeting, House Democrats voiced frustration with Sanders' slow-moving support for Clinton, shouting "timeline, timeline" at the Vermont senator. Sanders never clarified when he would endorse Clinton, though at one point he said, "our goal is not to win elections," then paused. During that pause, Sanders was booed, according to a Democrat who attended the session and spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the discussion.
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The government had been reviewing the terms of reference for the ACT Racing Industry, although a decision was not expected for some time. The ban would result in a small loss of Canberra jobs. The decision was made after considerable pressure on Thursday from RSPCA chief executive Tammy Ven Dange, who described Mr Baird's stance as "brilliant" and "an amazing day for greyhounds everywhere". "This is an important milestone for animal welfare today, particularly for greyhounds," she said. "RSPCA ACT has been calling on the ACT government to end funding and to ban greyhound racing since last year. "We are very pleased to see them make this historic decision that is a win for these gentle giants everywhere."

Greens MLA Shane Rattenbury, who holds the balance of power in the ACT Legislative Assembly, also called on the government to ban the industry immediately after the NSW decision. "This is huge news from the NSW Government and a step that the ACT must immediately follow," he said. "We don't need to wait for NSW to commence its wind down; the ACT should move to shut this industry down now." The NSW investigation was prompted by an ABC's Four Corners program that showed surveillance footage of piglets, rabbits and possums being mauled and used as live bait for greyhounds to increase their performance on the track. After the ABC report, Canberra Greyhound Racing Club chairman Ron Peck condemned the actions of trainers interstate, calling for anyone involved in live baiting to be banned for life and for the sport to become more transparent in its operations.

The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club spent close to $30,000 on new security systems to strengthen its bid to prevent illegal live baiting, adamant the practice was not a problem in Canberra. Club chairman Ron Peck said he was very disappointed by the ACT government's decision. "We've done nothing wrong, nothing like that [live baiting etc] has been done in Canberra and now they're banning us," he said. "It's not on." Mr Peck said the biggest challenge would be re-homing dogs given they could be sent to the NSW racing community. "It's going to be a battle because there's a lot of dogs to find homes for, it's going to be really hard," he said. "I'd hate to think how many dogs are out there."

"A lot of people will try and send them to Victoria because they're going to still be racing and probably send some to New Zealand. "We try to find a home for as many as possible ... all we can do now is hope and pray that they can be all re-homed." There are 6809 registered greyhounds in NSW. Government plans for the transition of the industry including rehoming, transfer to interstate competition, or euthanasia. The ACT ban comes after Mr Rattenbury routinely called for the government to stop providing $1 million annually in taxpayer subsidies to support the industry. "This funding should cease immediately," he said.

"It is completely unacceptable for our government to financially prop up this cruel and inhumane industry and I have previously called on both the responsible minister and the Chief Minister to put an end to the funding. The ACT Greyhound Support Network has also called on the ACT government to end its $1 million in annual funding to the local racing industry. Earlier on Thursday, opposition racing spokesman Brendan Smyth said the Liberal party would consider the findings of the NSW report before making a decision on the industry. Loading "There is no doubt however, that the decision in NSW will have enormous implications for the local industry here in the ACT, given many of the greyhounds that compete locally come from interstate," Mr Smyth said.
For All U of U Health Patients & Visitors
Just as the election results had us despairing about the dumbing down of our nation (for we have elected Pauline Hanson and other chips off her fossil block), along came this week's 22nd Annual International Conference On Auditory Display (AICAD 2016).

On to the joys of AICAD in just a moment but Pauline Hanson's election coincides with the publication of a sumptuous new book of Australian postcards. One of the postcards, a 1907 Xmas Greetings White Australia, is just the kind of thing Ms Hanson's race-crazed One Nation members might like to send to one another. The verse explains that the white heather flowers "stand for Fair White Australia/While we both sing this Joyous Refrain/Hurrah for the Land of the Fair and the Free/Always White may it ever remain".

A "white Australia" Christmas greetings postcard (1907). Credit:National Library of Australia

Jim Davidson's Moments in Time: A Book of Australian Postcards, weighs 857 grams and is handsomely published by the National Library of Australia.

Yes, AICAD 2016, an ANU-curated extravaganza held at the ANU's School of Music has bristled with some very fine minds and those minds' very fine ideas. This year's conference focused on something called "sonic information design" which "has the aspiration that artificial sounds may be designed to make the world a better place".
Canberra fans of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and the US version of The Bachelorette will have their free-to-air feed of junk TV restored on July 17.

Southern Cross Austereo says the lifestyle and reality channel 9Life will be back on the air in the TV markets of Canberra, Wollongong, southern NSW, regional Victoria and regional Queensland from 6am on Sunday, July 17.

JoJo Fletcher of The Bachelorette US

Southern Cross Austereo, which switched over to showing Nine's channels on July 1, had expected 9Life to be off-air until mid-August as it scrambled to install the required transmission equipment.

But the regional broadcaster says fans of imported programs like Dinner Date, Millionaire Matchmaker and Beachfront Bargain Hunt will find their favourite shows on channel 54 on their TV remote controls within days.
Mr Canty, 42, rejects the Liberal Party line voters such as himself had been conned into believing a Labor lie about Medicare being privatised.

Coombs residents Luke and Laura Canty have been frequent visitors to their local GP since the arrival of their seven-year-old daughter, Maddy.

Luke Canty, of Canty's Bookshop, says it would be "bloody beautiful" if Medicare were retained in its present form forever.

Adrian Watts, the managing director of Canberra's National Health Co-op, said his organisation's 33,000 members wanted to be able to see their doctor when they needed to, not just when they could afford to.

The Coalition's failure to understand Australian families regard access to free healthcare, including visits to their GP, as a basic right was a major factor in its poor showing at the polls, voters and health administrators have said.

"If you look at the history of Liberal promises and Liberal intentions, it was a legitimate call to say we should be worried about Medicare," the Fyshwick bookstore proprietor said.

"It would be disingenuous of the Liberal Party to claim they're not thinking about it or looking at it; they've already taken steps in that direction with co-payments. It's not in their nature to let the little guy have free healthcare if they can avoid it."

It would be "bloody beautiful" if Medicare were retained in its present form forever, and even better if it were extended to include dental cover.

"Dental care has become the big divide between the rich and the poor," he said. "You can tell someone's wealth by the state of their teeth. This is wrong in our society. It's not as if teeth aren't a health issue. To punish poor people in a very visceral, physical fashion for being poor when you have the alternative is unconscionable."

The National Health Co-op's Adrian Watts said the Coalition had only itself to blame for its poor performance on health in the weekend poll.
Firefighters have contained a house fire at a rural property east of Canberra.

Emergency crews were called to the small house on a property off Sutton Road just over the ACT border shortly before 11am on Thursday.

Both NSW and ACT fire crews attended, as well as police and paramedics.

All people inside the house were accounted for and the fire was contained about 11.40am.
Direct flights to Wellington are expected to bring in $45 million to the ACT economy a year, and could add up to $44 million to New Zealand's GDP, the ACT government says.

A sister city relationship between the trans-Tasman capitals was formally established on Wednesday night at a lavish party welcoming Chief Minister Andrew Barr and his delegation to Wellington.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says international flights to Wellington alone will boost the local economy by $45 million. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Both the ACT government and the Wellington City Council are pushing hard to boost trade and business exchanges ahead of the commencement of international flights in September, and say the benefits of the sister city relationship will be much more than symbolic.

The two capitals have obvious similarities, most notably a major public sector and service industry, and both are high-earning, highly educated cities seeking to diversify their economies.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr says New Zealand's approach to same-sex marriage should lead the way for Australia, showing how a conservative prime minister can use a conscience vote to achieve change.

The federal election result has thrown the future of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's promised plebiscite into doubt, with opponents saying the poor result has stripped him of his mandate and signalled voters' support for more urgent action on marriage equality.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who is currently in Wellington, says Australia should look to New Zealand for guidance on a same-sex marriage conscience vote. Credit:Rohan Thomson

It has now been almost three years since New Zealand passed same-sex marriage laws, after Prime Minister John Key, a friend of Mr Turnbull's, allowed a conscience vote in national parliament.

Mr Barr, Australia's first openly gay leader of government, met with the New Zealand prime minister on Wednesday, a day on which the country marked thirty years since it decriminalised same-sex acts.
A former Aussie Home Loan mortgage broker has admitted to 18 charges relating to a commission for loan scam for people struggling to get bank approval.

Madhvan Nair, from Sydney, orchestrated for 18 home loan applications to be supported by false borrower employment documents for $5.6 million.

'Market has lost its energy': Sydney enters spring with a whimper Credit:Erin Jonasson

However only 12 applications for mortgages totalling $3.7 million were accepted by the banks  Westpac, NAB and ANZ.

Mr Nair received commissions in total of $10,083.49 for his role in the scam.
Australia's uncertain political landscape is a far cry from the Brexit woes impacting Britain's real estate funds, but last week's indecisive election outcome has taken its first victim with ratings agency S&P Global downgrading Defence Housing Australia.

The voter backlash that left Malcolm Turnbull's Coalition government struggling to stay in power has prompted S&P Global to revise its outlook for the government-owned property fund that provides housing for defence force families.

Defence Housing Australia' manages a property portfolio worth more than $10 billion. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Defence Housing Australia (DHA), controlled by the federal government's finance and defence departments, is underpinned by a cohort of private investors who buy defence force homes on the promise of 10-year rental guarantees and zero vacancy rates.

It manages a $10 billion property portfolio that was in the news earlier this year when the Finance Department, without explanation, asked the Australian Federal Police to investigate the organisation.
A Hawthorn real estate agency has been forced to hand over thousands of dollars in unpaid wages after illegally exploiting an employee for $9 an hour.

The worker was taking home less than $375 a week while carrying out duties for the real estate business including drafting contracts, assisting buyers and general administration. The national minimum wage is currently $17.70 an hour, or $672.70 a week.

Workplace investigations revealed the payment of illegal wages after the employee  a 28-year-old Chinese national on a temporary graduate visa  sought help from the workplace watchdog.

The case is the latest instance of rampant exploitation of migrant labour in Australia, following a string of similar underpayment scandals exposed in farming, cleaning, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and supermarket trolley-collecting businesses.
Ben Caplan, the huge-bearded, roots-blues artist from Nova Scotia, will take command of the Myrna Loy stage Tuesday, July 12, at 7:30 pm.

With a voice as raspy as Tom Waits and sometimes as smooth as a whiskey crooner, Ben Caplan has become a worldwide sensation since the release of his first album, In the Time of the Great Remembering, in 2011. Though he tours relentlessly across Europe, Australia, and Canada, this is only his second U.S. tour  and his only Montana appearance.

Caplan and his band, the Casual Smokers, bring to the stage an explosive folk/blues presence with stomping eastern European flavor and turbo-charged stagemanship. Caplan looks like he tours in a Viking ship, and his songs combine sounds from all over the world. His enormous voice can reach from a darkly comic hoedown to a poised foxtrot, to a slinky county heartbreaker.

Caplan has won multiple Canadian music awards, including Entertainer of the Year in the Nova Scotia Music Awards. His second album, "Birds With Broken Wings," was released last fall and he has toured almost incessantly since then, writing new material that is edgy and dark, but holds the seeds of beauty.

Tickets to Ben Caplan ($20) are available at the Myrna Loy Center, on Ewing across from the Courthouse, 443-0287 or online at myrnaloycenter.com.
Today, a simple question: Should the state require you to have a licence for something you don't do? Of course not. Maybe.

If you're not doing brain surgery, you shouldn't need a brain surgeon licence. Ditto for plumbing and pest control (for pay).

So what's going to happen when driving no longer involves driving?

Sadly, though inevitably, we have the first traffic death involving a semi-self-driving car. It happened in Florida in May in a Tesla in its semi-autonomous Autopilot mode.
On the last Q&A on ABC TV before the federal election, Tony Jones asked Aboriginal professor Marcia Langton why it was that "during this election campaign we've heard very little, if anything, about Indigenous issues". Langton replied: "I've been watching elections for 50 years and it's the same old answer. Everybody wants Aborigines to shut up during the election, because both sides of politics  and I'm not even talking about the Greens here, there's no point  but, you know, both sides of politics don't want a backlash from, you know, the racist backblocks. You know, so if they say too much, the racists are going to say, 'Well, I'm not voting for them. They're backing those lazy Aborigines'."

Well, the election is done and dusted. During the campaign, the ABC Vote Compass indicated that two-thirds of Australians would like to see the federal government commit to reducing the rates of Indigenous people in prison.

Now it's NAIDOC Week and the theme this year is Songlines: The living narrative of our nation. The tragedy is that far too many young Aboriginal men are taken away from their songlines for long periods of time to serve time in jail. The statistics are horrific and they have not improved since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

During the election campaign, I was on ABC radio in Alice Springs lamenting new bail laws in the Northern Territory which would result in even more young Aboriginal men being taken away from their Songlines. Understandably the interviewer asked what business it was of mine because I was not a resident Territorian.

I replied that the NT statistics for Aboriginal imprisonment were so bad that it was a national disgrace and that we all bore a responsibility. I have no doubt that some of his listeners still thought I was an interfering southerner, but I remain unapologetic. It is our business.
John Howard and Tony Blair have expressed in different ways the same justification for the deadly decision to invade Iraq 13 years ago: it was right in the context, given what information they had then.

Doubts remain, however, about their open-mindedness at the time and the processes by which they chose to commit troops to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.

John Howard was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from George W. Bush in 2009 in part thanks to their unity over the Iraq war. Credit:AP

The former British Labour prime minister's role has been investigated thoroughly. Calls are growing for Mr Howard to face similar scrutiny.

Following the seven-year Chilcot inquiry in Britain, Mr Howard has at least conceded there is criticism about allowing the Australian executive to commit troops to war without a parliamentary vote.
Whatever the ultimate result of this election, this is not 2010. It is not the story of a governing party, riven with toxic personality wars, tearing itself apart for no good reason. And it is unlikely to be the story of a coherent minority government, carefully negotiating its way through two divided houses of parliament. It is instead the story of a party tearing itself apart for very good reasons.

And that means it is hugely compromised even in majority government, and uniquely ill-equipped to handle the task of minority government if it comes to that. That's because the Coalition is now deeply, irreconcilably divided on ideology. It is not merely the Liberal Party that is in crisis, but its very politics. Rudd despised Gillard out of a mortal wound to the ego. Malcolm Turnbull's reactionary flank despise him for what he believes. Turnbull's position is impossible because he now presides over a civil war that cannot be resolved; it can only be won.

For decades now we've witnessed the disintegration of the political left, which became incoherent as an idea once it wholeheartedly embraced Hawke and Keating's liberalism. Thereabouts it could no longer figure out if it was about class, or cultural ideas like freedom of choice and non-discrimination. Hence the cleavage whereby the "liberal left" now holds working-class people in disdain for their occasionally racist or sexist views. That's partly how we ended up with the Greens threatening to take seats from Labor, and a Labor Party plausibly claiming success even as its primary vote plumbs new depths. Now, though, we're seeing a similar disintegration on the right. The combined result is the complete fracture of what we once understood politics to be.
When self-described "web developer, mystery blogger and jazz kitten" Melburnian Samuel Davide Hains, 24, catapulted to international fame this week it said a lot about our sense of national identity.

Snapped in the street for The Sunday Age's M magazine, wearing overalls (turned backwards!) and a beret, Hains talked about style influences such as "Trotsky in leather" and a childhood "all-orange Fubu tracksuit with a spray tan". It wasn't clear how much of it was tongue-in-cheek, how much straight-up out-there style, but it prompted much discussion.

He may have been a prank, but Samuel Davide Hains was everything bad about 2017. Credit:Tara Kenny

The ABC called him "hyper hipster" and "mega hipster", Stuff.co.nz branded him "quite possibly the world's biggest hipster", and the UK's Daily Mail went with the reliable "internet sensation". (For the record, he hates the term, telling the Mail: "I reject the term hipster and all that it represents."

Full credit to Sam for being both a comic and creative genius. Meanwhile, another Australian made news this week: actress Margot Robbie, gracing the cover of Vanity Fair's August edition for an interview that also caused ripples around the world, for all the wrong reasons.
Assigned a missing person's case in a remote town, the troubled lawman has to work with Russell's Josh, the sole local police officer and someone who's either ignored the corruption Jay uncovers or shepherded it.

"I thought it was the best Australian script I'd ever read," Russell says. "I was so impressed with, on one hand, the heart of it, the authenticity, and the beautiful voice. Then, on the other hand, how great the structure was. As an artist you check things off and it had this grounded integrity, but it was still going to be super entertaining."

Amidst Sen's evocatively sparse filmmaking, and a supporting cast that includes Jacki Weaver and David Wenham, Russell's performance is increasingly tightly wound, showing how the "she'll be right" mentality can take you to the very cusp of breaking bad.

"You realise that Josh is a guy who's chosen the easy way, as so many of us, including me, do all the time. And they're never the moments you're proud of, because growth comes with the tougher route," he says. "He needs someone like Jay to come along and challenge his integrity."

The son of a surgeon father and nurse mother who grew up in Rockhampton and graduated from NIDA, Russell has been on cinema screens for all of six years.
John Cho, who plays Enterprise helmsman Hikaru Sulu in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, has revealed the fan favourite character is openly gay and married in the new film.

Audiences got their first look at the action-packed science-fiction film - and Sulu's relationship - at the world premiere in Sydney on Thursday night, where Cho was joined by fellow cast member Chris Pine, Karl Urban and Zachary Quinto and director Justin Lin.

The cast members of Star Trek Beyond in Australia this week to kick off promotions for the film, which will be released on July 22.
THEATRE

EINSTEIN: MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE 

Book, music and lyrics by Jess Newman

Theatre Works, until July 10



An original full-length musical is a hard ask. I'd be lying if I said I didn't go into Einstein: Master of the Universe expecting, if not quite a black hole, then at least enough of a curve in the space-time continuum to make hours feel like days. Certainly, I didn't anticipate something as prodigiously gifted as this.

Scott Mackenzie as Albert Einstein with Mitchell Roberts and Darcey Eagle as reporters in Einstein: Master of the Universe. Credit:Ben Fon

Jess Newman transforms the life of Albert Einstein into a melodic odyssey. The musical is through-composed, almost verging on operetta, and winningly embraces an eclectic variety of styles: discordant modernist riffs and romantic arias, pure vaudeville and catchy blues numbers, even Gilbert and Sullivan-like patter songs.

Liberties are taken with the scientist's biography. This is Einstein (Scott Mackenzie) as a driven and eccentric genius whose obsession with unlocking the secrets of the universe leads him to two wives, Mileva Maric (Jessica Condon) and Elsa Einstein (Stephanie Adams), and romantic regret.
The current state of Australian politics is hard to describe in words, but can probably be best understood by picturing a burning wheelie bin full of cats being fired out of a catapult into an open sewer. Who is to blame for this state of affairs? I don't know about you, but I point the finger squarely at Shaun Micallef.

If you've watched Micallef's "show", Mad As Hell, you know what I mean: Mr Micallef had a chance to make a positive difference, and he vacated that responsibility shamefully, choosing cheap laughs over serious political analysis. Even the title, Mad As Hell, is a lie, as Micallef completely fails to demonstrate the white-hot rage that we expect from any good publicly-funded left-wing activist. Surely a man claiming to be a political commentator owes it to the public to furiously interrogate government policy, but on the episode I saw, there was less than 30 seconds devoted to condemning the capture of government by special interests, compared to over a minute spent on a drunken octopus. I think it was supposed to be a metaphor for the surveillance state, but who knows?

Shaun Micallef: Too funny? Credit:ABC

That's the other problem with Mad As Hell: it refuses to spell out exactly what it means. The best satires  your Chasers, your Comedy Incs, your Insiders  are always very diligent in explaining their jokes. Micallef fails miserably on this score. A clip of Bill Shorten, followed by the word "Zinger"? What do you mean, Micallef? Are you endorsing him? Criticising him? It's impossible to figure out. Time for this silver fox to pick a henhouse: I call on Micallef to elaborate what party he prefers, who he voted for, and which memes best promote these views. Satire is an important part of democracy: too important to be ruined with jokes.
It didn't take long for the comedian to respond. She tweeted a picture of the cover with the caption "good" and then tweeted another picture of the cover with herself photoshopped in as a centaur with lasers coming out of her eyes and the caption: "BETTER".

Bee's late-night show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, had yet to premiere but it had been announced.

It was a stark snapshot of the boys' club that US late-night TV had become and  critically  it was missing one person: Samantha Bee.

When Vanity Fair magazine published a cover photo last September featuring a line-up of US late-night TV hosts, it was a sea of male faces: Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, John Oliver and Trevor Noah to name a few.

The response perfectly captures Bee's grab-'em-by-the-throat humour and since her weekly show premiered on US cable channel TBS in February she's been hailed as the sharpest and funniest voice on TV.

She didn't come from nowhere, though. Bee spent 12 years as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and was pegged as the natural successor when Stewart stepped down in 2015. However, the powers didn't see it that way. A younger, less experienced Trevor Noah was picked over the experienced middle-aged woman, leaving Bee free to be snapped up TBS.

It would be easy  and a cheap shot  to put the extra attention down to Bee's gender, but the truth is she is daring to go where the boys' club is not.

Where Fallon (ABC2) and Corden (Eleven) prefer to skip over current affairs and instead chummy up to their celebrity guests and where Colbert has struggled to mesh his old satirical Comedy Central persona with his new role as David Letterman's replacement on the Late Show (Ten), Bee has blazed her own trail and in the process set fire to the old ideas of what late-night show hosts should be.

(If you're wondering what this very American strain of television has to do with Australia, think of how clips from Fallon and Corden's shows go viral, how we know what John Oliver said on Last Week Tonight even though it's watched here on the Comedy Channel by about five people.)
The Helena community will have a unique opportunity to hear the accomplished Choir of E.Mikeladze Central Music School on Sunday, July 10, at 4 p.m. at St. Peters Cathedral.

The choir is from Tbilisi, Georgia, and has traveled to the United States to participate in the International Choral Festival in Missoula (held once every three years). T

The choir members, ranging in age from 11 to 22 years old, are separated into three voices and sing traditional Georgian folk songs and chants that reflect the centuries-old traditions and cultural heritage of Georgia.

Since its founding in 2010, the choir has performed throughout Europe and competed in several international choral competitions, including the Idaho International Choral Festival in 2013, and San Franciscos 2012 Golden Gate International Children's Choral Festival.

Conductor Badri Jimsheleishvili  a professional composer and recording artist -- was invited to the E.Mikeladze Central Music School in 2004 to teach traditional Georgian folk music. Since 1990 until today he has conducted the Chanters of the Church of St. Panteleimon the Healer, and was a member of the Georgian state choir in 1992-1994.

The public is invited to attend this free public concert and visit with the musicians after the performance. For additional information contact Kerry Krebill at 406-933-5246.
Coming from the pen of Anthony Horowitz (Foyle's War), New Blood arrives with high expectations, which this first episode mostly fulfills. It kicks off in Mumbai with a dodgy drug trial that goes wrong then switches to London and introduces Rash (Ben Tavassoli) and Stefan (Mark Strepan), the cocky pair of young investigators who stumble on what turns out to be a massive conspiracy. It's fast-paced  occasionally to the point of disorientation  and energetic as the odd-couple pairing start to realise just what they have got themselves into. Nick Galvin

Thriller Movies (pay TV), 8.30pm

As with his breakthrough success The Sixth Sense, M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable had a studied contrast of otherworldly events happening within a family structure and an understanding of what children hope for from the adults in their lives. But instead of a ghost story, Shyamalan made a mystery explicitly rooted in the world of comic books. David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is a diffident security guard with a stressed marriage to Robin Wright's Audrey who survives, without a scratch, a train crash that kills the other 131 people on board. He is contacted by Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a comic book dealer whose own body is full of brittle, frail bones due to a rare disease. Price believes Dunn has extraordinary abilities and encourages the sceptical everyman to uncover them. What unfolds, played with the eerie stillness, is the film version of the comic book origin story. What do superpowers actually mean?

Craig Mathieson

pay Joanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure

UKTV, 9.30pm

Joanna Lumley is off on one of the world's great rail journeys, starting in Hong Kong, where she lived as a young child, and ending up in Moscow  which she last visited as a model during the height of the Cold War in the 1960s. Tonight's leg, which takes her through China and into Mongolia, is as absorbing as you'd expect. Lumley cruises around Beijing with an enormously rich woman who enjoys taking selfies while driving her new Rolls-Royce; she checks out the giant stone Buddhas in the northern province of Shanxi; and she takes part in a Mongolian shaman's John Edward-style talking-to-the-dead act. Lumley has done quite a few of these travelogues and she's really quite good at them. As well as being well-travelled, good-humoured and innately curious, she's also politically, socially and historically aware. Not just another celeb on another paid holiday.

Brad Newsome
Rather too many people still experience some level of discomfort when they encounter someone with a disability.

How are you supposed to react?

Rhys Wakefield and Gemma Ward form an affectionate relationship in The Black Balloon.

Despite growing admiration and support for Paralympians and those ordinary folk who triumph over their personal adversities to do astonishing things, social aversion persists.

Countless films have celebrated the challenges of disability, demonstrating how inspiring their stories can be. Yet the fear inherent in centuries-old fables which depict the lame or the outcast as sociopathic villains, driven to wreak vengeance on the rest of the world to compensate for the lousy hand fate has dealt him or her  mostly him  remains.
Showcase, 8.30pm

The mystery deepens as loggers, greenies and sundry shifty townsfolk search the forbidding Tasmanian forest for the missing Chloe (Sianoa Smit-McPhee). If Chloe's disappearance does indeed involve foul play, there will be no shortage of suspects. Some Kettering locals naturally suspect young doctor Anna Macy (Elizabeth Debicki)  this is the second time she's been the last person seen with a girl who disappeared  but almost everyone on the screen tonight looks as though they've got something to hide. And then there's the whole paranormal thing around the edges of the story. Maybe E.T. is to blame, or even those weird moths. It's all fiendishly well constructed and paced, with Debicki's perfectly judged performance providing the requisite well of gravity at the centre of an outstanding cast. Thoroughly absorbing stuff.

Brad Newsome

movie R (2009)

SBS2, 11.25pm

Michael Moore's recent documentary Where to Invade Next judiciously spotlighted various differences between American and European public policy, with one of the simplest contrasts between America's jails and those of Scandinavia. But as this Danish film shows, behind the focus on rehabilitation and comparatively modern facilities incarceration still creates the same corrupt power structure wherever it occurs. Sent to a high security wing, Rune (recent Game of Thrones addition Pilou Asbaek) finds himself at the mercy of the ruling gang, whose enforcer Brickie (Roland Moller) exploits him until Rune gains a degree of power by solving a problem in the jail's drug supply system. Co-directors Tobias Lindhom (one of Borgen's key creatives) and Michael Noer outline his experiences as a sparsely simple experience, physically and mentally penned in. Rune's usefulness only makes him more vulnerable when there's a problem, and this tense drama's lack of sentimentality is brutally scrupulous.

Craig Mathieson
If the Bible's prodigal son story had been written as a comedy, it might have turned out like The Grinder. Good son Stewart Sanderson (Fred Savage) has stayed home in Boise, Idaho, studied the law, joined the family firm, married, raised a family. His brother Dean (Rob Lowe) went to Hollywood and starred in a hit show called The Grinder, playing a lawyer who grinds out wins through a combination of charm and brilliance. When the show is axed, Dean comes home to visit and somehow convinces himself he could cut it as a real lawyer. His father (William Devane) is so delighted to have him home he encourages the idea: his firm is the fatted calf and he's more than willing to put it on the spit. This week, the deletion of an episode of Ray Donovan from the PVR, along with Dean's suspicion that new girl Claire (Natalie Morales) is leaking secrets to her old firm, combine to reopen an old argument from childhood. Savage  the child star of The Wonder Years back in the '90s, now all grown up  is terrific as the straight man of this act but it's Lowe's self-obsession, charm and empty-headed confidence that holds centre court in this savvy sitcom.

Karl Quinn

pay Peter Garrett: A Version of Now

Max, 9.30pm

A brief but enjoyable visit to the Sydney studios where Peter Garrett has been busy recording his first solo album with a band of fine musicians, including Midnight Oil's Martin Rotsey. It's a revitalised Garrett too, his eyes dancing as he enthuses about the creative process, and his demeanour and lyrics suggesting a man who is not so much disillusioned by his time in federal parliament as he is appreciative of the insights he has gained. The music? It's different, but not startlingly so. The driving rhythm of Tall Trees recalls The Clash, while Great White Shark recalls Midnight Oil  which is not entirely surprising, given that it was originally intended to be an Oils song. The other musicians, who include Peter Luscombe (Paul Kelly), Mark Wilson (Jet) and Heather Shannon (The Jezabels) are up for a chat as well.

Brad Newsome
Not a hard-hitting expose of alcoholism in Silicon Valley, Geeks Who Drink is actually a quiz show, based on a pub trivia-style format played in more than 600 bars in the US, which is phenomenally popular, with reportedly more than 25,000 participants. This version is hosted by Chuck actor Zachary Levi, with teams of "self-professed geeks" competing to answer questions about pop culture and, mostly, science fiction. If you like your sci-fi trivia, it's a fun half-hour, with question rounds like guessing whether a term relates to war or sex (seriously), "Zelda monster or mineral" and mathematical challenges  tonight's is adding the number of times Sir Ian McKellen has played the character Gandalf to the amount of times he's played Magneto. If that's not geeky enough, the rapid-fire round sees contestants asked to name as many Harry Potter characters as they can. Truly geeky.

After an astonishing 23 episodes  and dealings with hackers, warlords, terrorists and even art thieves  the first season of what at first seemed a promising twist on the police procedural reaches its finale tonight. But don't expect everything  or even anything?  to be neatly tied up. Weller (our own Sullivan Stapleton, who has by now well and truly perfected his scowling-into-the-distance look) comes closer to finally solving his mysterious family secret, while Jane (Jamie Alexander) looks set to be  well, re-set, as it were, as she finds herself about to be again injected with mind-erasing drugs. That old chestnut. Will the truth be revealed? Is Jane Doe actually Taylor Shaw? And if so, who the hell is Jane? If you're a fan, then this frantic season finale should satisfy you enough to check in again for the second.

Kylie Northover
Expect the pitter-patter of tiny quoll feet in the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in coming months.

For the first time in more than 80 years, eastern quolls are breeding in the ACT, with all of the female quolls in the sanctuary expecting joeys.

The ACT's eastern quoll population could double by next year. Credit:Adam McGrath

It's a positive sign for the species that has been considered extinct on mainland Australia for more than half a century.

Fourteen of the cat-sized, spotted marsupials were released in the fenced sanctuary in March.
Australia is reverting to "a frontier mentality", with rising rates of deforestation lifting carbon emissions and placing at risk almost 2000 species including the country's iconic koala populations, scientists say.

As many as 400 scientists and four scientific societies are expected to sign a declaration on Friday warning that land-clearing rates are again picking up. Eastern Australia has become the only rich nation to feature among the 11 global deforestation hotspots, they will say.

"Worldwide the most important issue for conservation is habitat loss," Richard Kingsford, director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW and also Australian president of the Society for Conservation Biology  one of the signatories to the declaration. Threats extend from woodland clearing to the draining of wetlands and the trawling of the oceans, he said.
Taiwan is bracing for the full impact of super typhoon Nepartak, a monster category-five strength storm bringing torrential rain and wind gusts exceeding 330 km/h.

The storm is likely to cross the island's central mountainous county of Hualien early on Friday morning, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

Satellite readings indicate the storm has sustained winds of 150 knots (277 km/h), with gusts reaching 180 knots (333 km/h). These winds should ease to sustained levels of 120 knots (222 km/h) when the storm makes landfall.

The storm "poses a serious threat to Taiwan, Japan's Ryuku Islands, and eastern China", the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Former NSW Liberal leader Peter Collins said tracking research - normally closely guarded by party pollsters - should be revealed and dissected during the crucial election autopsy to be conducted over coming months.

As the count continues, Liberals involved in the dismal defence of western Sydney are furious that an "early warning system" of the impending swing to Labor was not activated by party bosses in Canberra.

Polling data used to reassure some defeated Liberal Party candidates in marginal seats that they were on track to victory should be laid bare as part of the election campaign post mortem, senior Liberal figures are urging.

"For any post-election review to be full and meaningful, it has to take into account the research that was informing the campaign. It may not be for public consumption; it may be just for internal consumption but that is one aspect that should be looked at," he said.

Liberal Party federal director Tony Nutt. Credit:Jessica Hromas

Mr Collins, who lives in the Penrith area, took an active role in the effort to retain bellwether seat Lindsay for Liberal Fiona Scott.

Fairfax Media understands Ms Scott was told on a number of occasions during the campaign that she was tracking at three to four percentage points ahead of Labor's Emma Husar and campaign resources were diverted from there into Macarthur, which, in hindsight, should have been written off as a loss weeks out.

Ms Scott, who had pleaded with party officials without success to make an announcement positive for Nepean Hospital in a bid to blunt Labor's Medicare scare campaign, was given no warning of the four per cent swing to the ALP in Lindsay.
Dubbed Australian Conservatives , Coalition MP George Christensen has described it as "a new movement for common sense", adding "if we do nothing, we will let the forces of socialism and globalism conquer".

Conservatives are too individualistic to act collectively and lack the energy and youth to door-knock and carry out social media campaigns, an expert says, as hard-right Liberals try to emulate activist group GetUp!.

But University of Sydney governance expert Stewart Jackson warned that the nature of conservative politics "doesn't lend itself to this sort of movement-building".

Coalition MP George Christensen describes the Australian Conservatives as "a new movement for common sense". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"Conservatives  tend to be quite focused on the individual as opposed to collective action," he said, adding such efforts traditionally only worked when centred on specific issues such as gun owner rights.

Dr Jackson said groups such as GetUp! appealed to younger people, such as students, who "generally...have more time and more energy", and were more savvy at online campaigning and engagement.

"There are some quite radical older people but they are in much smaller proportions," he said.
Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will cover a broad range of topics at its July 13 meeting, including potential agreement on Yellowstone Grizzly Bear management, Montanas 2015-16 wolf hunting and trapping season, seasonal closure of a fishing access near Great Falls and final approval of upland game bird quotas and limits.

The meeting will be at Montana WILD at 2668 Broadwater Ave. in Helena starting at 8:30 a.m. and is slated to go until mid-afternoon. People who are unable to attend the meeting in Helena can participate via video conference at any FWP regional office or listen in online at fwp.mt.gov.

The commission will consider endorsing a proposal to accept a property donation around Harrison Lake Fishing Access Site and listen to an informational presentation on elk shoulder seasons.

For the full agenda and background on the scheduled topics, go to the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov; under Quick Links click "Commission.

***

Kids hike, 'I Spy' challenge

Youre never too old for a game of "I Spy," and youre never too young to enjoy the outdoors. Kids of all ages are invited to join Prickly Pear Land Trust on Tuesday, July 12, for a short hike on Bompart Hill and a game of "I Spy." The fun starts at 5:30 p.m. Meet at Diehl Drive trailhead.

Trail Work Day scheduled July 18

Help Prickly Pear Land Trust maintain the trails you love at the next Trail Work Day on Monday, July 18. Meet along South California Street between Southridge and Bull Run drive at 5:30 p.m. to convert an existing social trail into a wider constructed trail in the Bull Run park area between Saddle Drive and South California Street. If there are lots of volunteers, they will also do some work on a similar trail between South California Street and Gold Rush Avenue.

***

Becoming an Outdoors-Woman classes

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks' popular Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program offers classes for women to improve upon or learn new outdoor skills. Women must be 18 years of age or older to attend. Registration is open for these upcoming summer events:

July 17 in Helena -- Nature Journaling: Slow down, observe and take note of nature. This class is for the beginner or experienced nature journalist. Youll learn to reflect on what you see in nature and express this in a journal. Class will be held at Montana WILD Education Center.

Slow down, observe and take note of nature. This class is for the beginner or experienced nature journalist. Youll learn to reflect on what you see in nature and express this in a journal. Class will be held at Montana WILD Education Center. Aug. 5-7 near St. Regis -- Kayak Camping Adventure: Bring your kayak and paddle the Clark Fork River from St. Regis to Paradise. Participants should have kayaking experience and must bring their own kayak, life jacket and camping gear. The group will camp together and meals will be provided.

Bring your kayak and paddle the Clark Fork River from St. Regis to Paradise. Participants should have kayaking experience and must bring their own kayak, life jacket and camping gear. The group will camp together and meals will be provided. Aug. 19-21 near Great Falls -- Summer BOW Workshop: Participants choose four classes from a variety of topics including basic gun handling, rifle and shotgun training, map and compass, outdoor survival and more. New this year is a series of classes for women who want to learn about hunting. The workshop will be held at the Arrowpeak Lodge in the Highwood Mountains.

For more information or to download the registration forms, go to fwp.mt.gov and click the "Education" tab. For more information on these events, call Liz Lodman at 406-444-9940 or email her at llodman@mt.gov.

***

Explore the past at Bannack Days

Montana State Parks invites you to explore the past during Bannack Days at Bannack State Park on July 16-17. Activities run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Held on the third weekend in July, Bannack Days is a celebration of pioneer life. Breakfast will be served in the Hotel Meade beginning at 7 a.m. both days. Lunch will be available along with other treats, like ice cream, kettle corn, fry bread and fresh lemonade.

Watch the quilters craft a quilt and skilled demonstrators make lace. Up Hangman's Gulch, you can learn about buffalo guns, the cavalry and infantry, and experience an 1860s gold camp. Try your luck at gold panning, hand-dip your own souvenir candle, or watch the blacksmith forge an incredible work of art from a flat piece of iron.

Throughout both days there will be music in the air -- bluegrass, barbershop, gospel, old time fiddlers, and junior fiddlers, to mention a few.

Throughout the weekend, the visitor center will be open and guided tours of the Masonic Lodge and the Mill will be available. Please leave your pets at home during this busy weekend. Special event admission to Bannack is $5 for Montana registered vehicles and $10 for non-Montana registered vehicles. There is limited parking, so carpooling is encouraged. Bannack State Park is located 25 miles southwest of Dillon just off of Highway 278.

For more information, call the park office at (406) 834-3413.

***

Bear-proof your home, cabin

Its summer; time for many folks to head to the mountains for vacation.

This time of year, bears are looking for any and all food sources as they wait for chokecherries, currants, buffalo berries and other natural foods to ripen.

In search of food, bears can be drawn to populated areas or mountain cabins by unsecured garbage cans, the smell of pet food, bird feeders and dirty barbecue grills.

Bears that encounter human-supplied food sources often have a hard time returning to natural food. A conditioned bear will travel miles to get to a garbage can.

The following small precautions can go a surprisingly long way to deter bears from visiting one's backyard or campsite:

Keep pet food inside a building or vehicle.

Clean dirty barbecue grills.

Take down bird feeders until the winter.

Make sure the compost pile is not laden with food scraps.

Keep garbage in bear-resistant garbage cans or in a secure building until trash collection.

To learn more about bear proofing backyards and neighborhoods, and what systems, such as bear-resistant garbage cans or electric fence kits, may be needed to keep attractants off-limits, visit or call the nearest regional FWP office. Or go to the FWP website's Be Bear Aware page at fwp.mt.gov.

***

Glacier's shuttle service extended

Glacier National Parks free, optional shuttle system that provides daily service along the Going-to-the-Sun Road during peak season will continue through Monday, Sept. 5. In addition, limited shuttle service to Logan Pass from Apgar Visitor Center will operate through Sept. 18 this year in response to public interest in having shuttle service extend into September, according to Jim Foster, Glacier National Parks Chief of Facilities Management.

West side service

The first shuttle bus, called the Express Shuttle, leaves Apgar Visitor Center at 7 a.m. and goes straight to Logan Pass. Following this first bus, additional Express Shuttles leaves Apgar Visitor Center at 7:05 a.m., 7:18 a.m., 7:23 a.m., and 7:36 a.m. for a nonstop trip to Logan Pass.

After reaching Logan Pass, the 7 a.m. and 7:18 a.m. Express Shuttles continue on to St. Mary Visitor Center. The other Express Shuttles return westbound to Avalanche Creek from Logan Pass to begin regular service between those two destinations.

At 7:56 a.m. and 8:17 a.m. an Express Shuttle leaves Apgar Visitor Center and makes stops only at Avalanche Creek, The Loop, and Logan Pass.

Regular shuttle bus service begins each day at 9 a.m. with buses departing every 15-30 minutes from every stop, with a transfer required at Avalanche Creek. The last bus of the day leaves Logan Pass at 7 p.m. for the Apgar Visitor Center.

East side service

The St. Mary Visitor Center is the hub for shuttle services on the east side of the park. East-side buses begin service at 7 a.m. from the visitor center and depart every 40 to 60 minutes. The last bus of the day leaves Logan Pass for the St. Mary Visitor Center at 7 p.m. The east-side service will continue operating through Sept. 5.

The shuttle service is free, wheelchair accessible, and first-come, first-served. Bicycle racks are available on some of the buses. Expect limited seating at most locations during periods of heavy demand. Smoking, pets, and open containers of alcohol are prohibited while riding the buses. Bear spray must be safely secured to prevent accidental discharge on the buses.

For more information on the shuttle system, visit www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm.

***

Life jackets required on paddleboards

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants to remind those using stand-up paddleboards (SUPs) that a life jacket is required to be on board. The use of SUPs has exploded in Montana over the past few years. The vessels are fun, easy-to-use and have equipment requirements, not unlike other vessels.

In addition to having a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket on board, children under 12 years of age must wear a life jacket while using or on an SUP.

With this increase in popularity, more people than ever are participating in this recreational activity. In 2008 the U.S. Coast Guard determined that stand-up paddleboards are considered to be a vessel when used outside a marked swimming area, and that state law applies for safety equipment.

Also, remember all people with watercraft, including SUPs, must stop at Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) inspection stations.

***

FWP wardens graduate from academy

Five Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy June 24.

The wardens were part of a 59-member class at the academy, which trains law enforcement officers for agencies around Montana.

The five wardens who graduated are:

Austin Marsh  who is from California, served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corp and graduated from Montana State University. He will be stationed in Chinook.

Alexander Mattson  who is from California, was a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and graduated from Friends University in Kansas. He will be stationed in Helena.

James McNamara  who is from Texas, was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and graduated from the University of Missouri. He will be stationed in West Yellowstone.

Robert Gacke  who is from Texas, was a captain in the U.S. Army and graduated from Texas A&M University. He will be stationed in Lewistown.

Skyler Mitchell  who grew up in Helena, graduated from the University of Montana - Western and will be stationed in FWP Region 5.
The promotions would marginalise conservative figures such as Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz and former defence minister Kevin Andrews, who were dumped from cabinet by Mr Turnbull last year.

Fairfax Media reported on Thursday that Mr Seselja and Deakin MP Michael Sukkar could be given frontbench positions lost by Turnbull supporters at the election.

 ACT senator Zed Seselja has distanced himself from reports he may be promoted to the frontbench among a new generation of conservative MPs, should the Coalition secure office.

Mr Seselja said he was confident the Coalition would secure a narrow majority of seats but would not be drawn on his interest in a promotion.

"There are a lot of talented people in the ministry and a lot of talent on the back benches," he said. "I am not getting ahead of myself here and it is for Malcolm to decide.

"This is a matter for the Prime Minister and a decision he will make once the final votes are counted."

Mr Seselja said the government would likely secure the 76 seats to hold majority government, but remained hopeful extra seats could swing to the Coalition.

"I'm talking with a lot of my government colleagues in other states and those postal votes are heavily favouring us," he said.
There's only one way to put this. We're going to have to ask you to please explain, Pauline.

Pauline Hanson, Senator-elect for Queensland and fierce opponent of halal food, has been caught out drinking (allegedly) halal-certified milk, despite saying she doesn't "believe" in halal certification, and citing the vaguely-sourced statistic that "98 per cent of Australians" also oppose it.

The milk melee began on Monday when Ms Hanson posted to her Facebook account a video of herself making a cup of tea.
As you may be aware, Renee Zellweger's face has been the subject of much consternation for the media in recent months, what with her return to the spotlight with the upcoming Bridget Jones' Baby. And perhaps most obnoxiously with male film critics.

Owen Gleiberman, the new chief film critic at Variety, was appropriately dragged online over the past week, after publishing an absolutely insane think-piece on Zellweger's appearance, titled 'Does Renee Zellweger Still Look Like Herself?'

The piece - which used the film's new trailer as a launch pad for ridiculously judge-y sentences like "I just hope it turns out to be a movie that stars Renee Zellweger rather than a victim of 'Invasion of the Face Snatchers'", and "I hope it turns out to be a movie about a gloriously ordinary person rather than someone who looks like she no longer wants to be who she is" - spent way too many words analysing Zellweger's 'non-traditional, everywoman' Hollywood beauty and pondering her personal reasons for "having had work done" or not.

In a perfectly biting response penned for The Hollywood Reporter, outspoken actress Rose McGowan slammed Gleiberman's column and wrote a rousing defense for Zellweger and women who so boldly dare to age in an industry that looks down on that kind of thing.
A Vanity Fair profile of Margot Robbie has been heavily criticised for its bizarre descriptions of both the actress and her native Australia.

Robbie, 26, was profiled by Vanity Fair contributing editor Rich Cohen for the magazine's August cover story.

However, the profile has been destroyed on social media for spending a lot more time giving odd descriptions of Robbie's physical appearance than the Tarzan actress' talent.

In his opening paragraph, Cohen describes Robbie as, "... blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes."
WARNING: This story may distress some readers

A father has been charged with sexually assaulting his baby daughter and offering her up to his boyfriend, who then gloated about it over Skype.

The two men, both aged 50, were arrested in Ivanhoe, Victoria on Tuesday. They were extradited to Sydney on Wednesday night to face charges that Child Abuse police said were so horrific they were lost for words.

Neither man appeared in Waverley Local Court on Thursday when their matter was briefly mentioned.
Sydney man Hamdi Alqudsi may have had an "obsession" with Syria and an "unhealthy interest" in men travelling or fighting there but his "real concern" was the welfare of civilians rather than waging war, a court has heard.

Intercepted phone calls of Mr Alqudsi pleading for donations to help civilians flee the war torn country provided a "window into his mind", his defence lawyer Scott Corish said on Thursday in his closing address to the Supreme Court jury.

Caner Temel, one of the men Hamdi Alqudsi helped get to Syria, with Mohammad Ali Baryalei.

"Is that fighting? Is that encouraging hostilities?," Mr Corish said. "My submission to you is that it sounds like it's going in the opposite direction."

Mr Alqudsi, 42, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court accused of helping seven young Australian men prepare to fight in Syria.
Sierra 3-1 took up a position in the Westpac building, about 60 metres from the Lindt Cafe windows.

Barrister Katrina Dawson and cafe manger Tori Johnson were killed during the Lindt Cafe siege.

The sniper known as Sierra 3-1 had been the co-ordinator of the NSW police marksman on December 15, 2014, the day Man Haron Monis took 18 people hostage.

A sniper was not concerned when several "critical" radio broadcasts went unacknowledged in the final moments of the Sydney siege, he told an inquest on Thursday.

Just after 2am he saw cafe manager Tori Johnson kneeling down on the cafe floor, his hands interlocked on top of his head, he said. Then he saw a muzzle flash. Mr Johnson fell forward, flinching, and then resumed his previous position. A group of hostages had recently escaped the building.

The sniper told the inquest he was confident he had called Mr Johnson's positions through to the police forward command post on his radio.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Sophie Callan, asked why the sniper had not broadcast these messages again when they went unacknowledged.

"I can only say that I had no reason to believe I had not been heard," the sniper said.

But he agreed that important pieces of information were normally acknowledged. He also accepted Ms Callan's characterisation of Mr Johnson's movements as "critical information".
A pedestrian has been struck by a car and killed in Sydney's north, police say.

Police and paramedics were called to Galston Road in Hornsby Heights just before 7am on Thursday to reports that a car had lost control, left the road and crashed into a man.

A pedestrian has been killed in a crash on Galston Road in Hornsby Heights. Credit:Nine News

Paramedics attempted to treat the pedestrian, who was understood to be trapped beneath the red hatchback.

A NSW Police spokesman said the man suffered fatal injuries, and died at the scene of the crash.
Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt has admitted the market volatility created by the Brexit decision has had an impact on the public servant super fund the Palaszczuk Government is raiding to cover budget holes.

But Mr Pitt said while the Queensland Investment Corporation-managed fund, which has a range of international investments, including in the UK, did take a "modest" hit following the success of the leave vote in the UK European Union referendum, it had been protected "from the worst of the volatility".

Curtis Pitt said the scheme had been affected but had been protected from the worst of the volatility.

The government sought advice from the independent State Actuary, Wayne Cannon, over how much it could safely "repatriate" from the scheme, which has a market surplus of about $10 billion.

After originally being told $2 billion would be the maximum it could take, the government changed the fiscal principles which guided how the fund was to be managed, which changed the advice to "up to $5 billion".
The competition watchdog, ACCC, has put those in the big end of town on notice that it will take them to court if they refuse to pay subcontractors, amid growing complaints on major projects in Western Australia.

Complaints about late and nonpayments are rampant in WA's building industry and the state government has been criticised for not protecting subcontractors, some of whom had been ripped off on government projects as lead contractors refuse to or simply can't pay.

The Western Australian government has been accused of failing to protect subcontractors. Credit:Louie Douvis

Multibillion-dollar major public and private projects such as the new children's hospital, Perth airport extension and Elizabeth Quay riverside development have been notable for subcontractor complaints over massive amounts of unpaid work.

The issue was raised in parliament last week by Opposition Leader Mark McGowan, who named the owners of six small businesses owed massive amounts of money, including Ross McGinn, who took his own life last year.
Purge: Election Year

At the Cinemark

(R)

Grade: B-

The premise of The Purge movies remains intriguing: What would Americans do if, for 12 hours, all laws were suspended, allowing murder and all other crimes to go unpunished?

In the third and best edition of the under-written horror franchise, we watch as Americans ponder whether to carry out their own purges -- and, if so, who to target?

In Purge: Election Year some of those who participate include:

A woman who kills her abusive husband;

White supremacists who hunt for minorities;

The wealthy who seek to prune the country of the poor and weak;

A gang of crazies who roam the streets being crazy;

Numerous individuals who harbor personal grudges;

And, in this script, a new target emerges: politicians.

In particular, a female presidential candidate becomes a target because her platform includes the ending of the annual Purge. The simplest way to end her threat is to purge her, of course.

That vendetta alone would not make the film watchable.

What sustains our interest -- at least a little -- are three fine actors awash in this bloody adventure. They are not the leads, but part of an engaging subplot.

Joe (Mykelti Williamson) owns a deli and Marcos (Joseph Julian Soria) is his assistant. Joes good friend Laney (Betty Gabriel) is an EMT who runs her ambulance during the Purge to offer medical help to anyone who asks.

These three gentle friends ultimately are sucked into the fighting and, surprisingly, we care what happens to them. All three of them are unselfish victims who would give their lives to lessen the suffering of others.

By contrast, most of the rest of the characters are self-interested folk intent to kill or be killed.

Except, perhaps, the lady candidate. She constantly spouts words about saving America and orders her forces not to kill her opponent. But her words ring hollow, and we dont much care about her fate -- at least I didnt.

But I did care about Joe, Marcos and Laney.

Gabriels portrayal of Laney is deep and powerful. A little research says Gabriel is a trained dancer who started out on a track to become a veterinarian. Then she enrolled at Julliard for acting.

Finding talent like that buried in a horror film reminds us that acting careers dont start with leads in epic Spielberg movies. I hope this small role launches Laneys career.

A good science fiction writer could easily guide The Purge toward thoughtful exploration of ethics and theology.

I can imagine a story where a person is tempted to use her free pass, but chooses compassion instead. And what if a person of the cloth chose to purge a serial killer to protect his village?

Such complex inner dramas would lift the Purge from exploitative horror to thoughtful drama.

We can always hope.
Maritz is a leading Australian entrepreneurship academic and a global expert in "seniorpreneurship"  where older people start businesses. "Australia needs to utilise its strength in entrepreneurship to address the significant employment challenge for those with disabilities," he says, adding that entrepreneurship may lead to a breaking down of barriers faced by people with disabilities. "It can provide them with opportunities that traditionally are viewed as not possible or unattainable, given the constraints of finding employment," Maritz says. "A discussion on entrepreneurship for the disabled should be considered an opportunity for Australia." Maritz and Richard Laferriere have written a paper, Entrepreneurship and self-employment for people with disabilities, to be published in the Australian Journal of Career Development. The research is the first of its kind in Australia. Maritz says international evidence shows targeted, inclusive entrepreneurship initiatives, such as training and support programs, can help people with disabilities participate in self-employment.

The United States, Britain, Europe and South Korea have recognised the opportunity that entrepreneurship provides to people with disability, he says. Like Australia, these countries have low employment participation rates among those with disabilities. Granted, entrepreneurship is only a small part of the employment challenge and probably only suits a small fraction of those with physical or mental disabilities. The same is true of the population without disability: successful entrepreneurs, with or without disability, are rare. However, there is enough evidence to suggest self-employment can make a difference and become one of several policy levers to help more people with disabilities into the workforce. People with a disability are more likely to run a business than those without a disability, according to 2013 ABS data (11.6 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively). US and European studies report similar findings. Clearly, stereotypes about the capacity of those with a disability to start and run a business are not backed by evidence. Maritz cites US research showing the characteristics inherent in those with disabilities are well suited to entrepreneurship. These include creative problem-solving skills, flexibility, grace under pressure, persistence, a sense of humour, willingness to ask for help and resourcefulness.

I would add resilience, the greatest of entrepreneurial qualities, to that list. Some with disabilities may be "pulled" into self-employment because it is their best chance for a job. They see self-employment as a way to overcome real or perceived job discrimination in some organisations. Or they pursue self-employment to improve their independence and work/life balance, and increase their happiness and satisfaction  not unlike many without a disability who see the professional and personal benefits of entrepreneurship. Australia has much to build on in this area  if only policymakers can get their head around entrepreneurship's potential to help people with disabilities. The federal government's New Enterprise Incentive Scheme allows people with disabilities to access training and support services through the Disability Employment Service and has had some reasonable success. The National Disability Employment Framework consultation is a step in the right direction, as are recent summits on employment and disability.
But the United Firefighters Union says the commission is biased against it, and has criticised the inclusion of volunteers in the review, a week after it called for peace between career and volunteer firefighters.

The Andrews government has engaged the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to investigate the CFA and MFB following the Fire Services Review , which found a poor culture, bullying and a lack of gender diversity.

Victoria's paid firefighters have been told by their union to shun an investigation into discrimination, workplace bullying and gender diversity in the state's fire services.

"The fact that it [the review] includes volunteers is a concern in itself, as essentially any findings of volunteers' conduct will not be distinguished and therefore there cannot be any independent or accurate findings through this review," a union bulletin posted on Wednesday reads.

"The UFU does not accept that this review is independent or a genuine attempt by the fire services to investigate."

The union is concerned that the volunteer and paid workplaces are vastly different and that the evidence from firefighters will not be differentiated in the review.

The intervention by the union has angered some in government who have tried to make peace with the union after Premier Daniel Andrews intervened to push through an EBA deal that was being resisted by emergency services minister Jane Garrett, who has now resigned, the CFA board and volunteers.

MFB chief executive Jim Higgins has emailed staff to tell them that the review was about to begin and would examine the "extent, nature and impact of sexual harassment and discrimination, including bullying on employees and volunteers of the CFA and MFB".
Melbourne Express: Friday, July 8, 2016

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The head of WA's greyhound association has moved to reassure punters the state's industry is well governed following a shock decision by New South Wales to ban the sport after a report uncovered widespread animal cruelty.

His comments come as Racing and Gaming acting minister Mia Davies said the ramifications of the ban would have a significant impact on the national racing industry.

Greyhound racing has been banned in NSW following widespread cruelty revelations. Credit:Craig Golding

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announced on Thursday morning that the state's industry would be banned following a special commission report into the industry which was overseen by former High Court judge Michael McHugh.

The report was triggered by the ABC Four Corners investigation into live baiting within the industry.
A Mandurah school teacher accused of secretly filming students in a primary school toilet while they changed has pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court.

The 58-year-old, who cannot be identified due to a suppression order, was charged with 27 counts of indecently recording a child under 13 years old, 15 counts of attempting to indecently record a child under 13 years old and 10 counts of unlawfully installing an optical surveillance device.

Christopher Lobban will learn his fater in Perth Magistrates Court on Monday. Credit:Emma Young

He appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday to enter his pleas.

The man, who is no longer employed as a teacher, recorded children using a hidden camera on a pen hanging on a coat in the toilets, according to police.
Washington: President Barack Obama said he planned to leave 8400 American troops in Afghanistan until the end of his term, further slowing the drawdown in a 14-year war that Obama pledged to end on his watch but now seems likely to grind on indefinitely.

Acknowledging that the Taliban had retaken territory and were terrorising the population, Obama said on Wednesday he was again adjusting his plan to withdraw US forces. The announcement will leave his successor with a substantial military commitment in the country, though far less than the nearly 40,000 troops deployed there when he took office.

President Barack Obama makes a statement on Afghanistan from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Credit:AP

"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. "Even as they improve, Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be." Those troops, he said, had not been able to quell a string of attacks and suicide bombings, including in the capital, Kabul.

The United States has close to 10,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, where they train and equip Afghan forces and carry out counterterrorism operations. When he last tinkered with the drawdown schedule, Obama said he hoped to reduce that number to 5500 by early 2017.
The US Army confirmed Manning had been released back into custody from the hospital, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Chase Strangio said on Wednesday, following media reports she had attempted suicide.

Washington: US soldier Chelsea Manning, imprisoned for handing over classified files to pro-transparency site, WikiLeaks, has been briefly hospitalised.

Manning was taken to a hospital near the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, early on Tuesday, US Army spokesman Colonel Patrick Seiber said.

Former Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is escorted out of a courthouse in Fort Meade, Maryland in 2013. Credit:AP

CNN, citing Seiber and an unnamed official, reported that she was taken to a hospital.

Colonel Seiber said that officials continue to monitor the inmate's condition.

One of Manning's attorneys, Nancy Hollander, said in a statement on Wednesday that she was outraged over the release of her client's confidential medical information to the news media.
Angry demonstrators in St Paul, Minnesota. Credit:AP US President Barack Obama said he and his wife Michelle shared the anger, frustration and grief many in America were feeling in response to the killings. "All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings..." he wrote on Facebook. "We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss." A still from the Facebook live video showing a police officer shooting Philando Castile.

Ms Reynolds started the live-stream video with the man in the driver's seat slumped next to her, his white T-shirt soaked with blood on the left side. In the video, taken with her phone, she says they were pulled over for a broken rear light. "He killed my boyfriend," said Ms Reynolds, as blood soaked through Mr Castile's shirt. Protesters hang signs near the scene of Philando Castile's shooting. Credit:AP In the video, Ms Reynolds says Mr Castile was legally licensed to carry a firearm and was reaching for his identification when the officer opened fire. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm," she says.

As Mr Castile moans and appears to lose consciousness, the officer can be heard in the background shouting expletives in apparent frustration. "Ma'am, keep your hands where they are," the officer shouts at Ms Reynolds. "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up." "You told him to get his ID, sir, his driver's licence," Ms Reynolds responds. "Oh my god. Please don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that." The video of the shooting in St. Anthony begins in jarring fashion, with Mr Castile covered in blood, staring up towards the car ceiling. "Stay with me," Ms Reynolds pleads.

"We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back," she explains to the camera as the officer can be seen aiming his handgun at the dying driver. Ms Reynolds continues to film even as a second officer orders her out of the car. "Where's my daughter?" Ms Reynolds asks. "You got my daughter?" An officer can be seen in the distance holding Ms Reynolds' child. "Face away from me and walk backwards," the second officer orders. He then tells Ms Reynolds to get on her knees. As her daughter cries in the background, handcuffs can be heard tightening around Ms Reynolds' wrists.

"Why am I being arrested?" she asks. "Ma'am, you're just being detained right now until we get this all sorted out, OK?" the second officer responds. "Wow," Ms Reynolds says as the camera tilts upwards towards the evening sky. "They threw my phone, Facebook." As an ambulance draws nearer, its siren growing louder and then suddenly stopping, Ms Reynolds grows more frantic. "Please don't tell me he's gone," she screams. "Please Jesus, no. Please no. Please no, don't let him be gone lord."

Someone, presumably the police officer who shot Mr Castile, can be heard swearing in the background. "He was reaching for his licence and registration. You told him to get it sir! You told him," Ms Reynolds says. "He tried to tell you he was licensed to carry and he was going to take it off. Please don't tell me boyfriend is gone. He don't deserve this." The screen goes black. "Please lord, you know our rights lord," Ms Reynolds says, apparently praying. "You know we are innocent people, lord. We are innocent people." At one point, an officer can be heard talking to Ms Reynolds' daughter.

"Can you stand right here sweetie?" a male officer says. "I'm gonna get my mommy's purse," the girl says, her face flashing on screen as she picks up her mother's still-recording phone. "Is that your phone?" the male officer asks. The video then cuts to Ms Reynolds sitting in the back of a squad car. "Don't be scared," she tells her daughter, before addressing the camera.

"My daughter just witnessed this," she says. "The police just shot him for no apparent reason, no reason at all." "It's OK mommy," the little girl says, as her mother sobs. "It's OK, I'm right here with you." "Y'all please pray for us," Reynolds says at the end of the video. "I ask everybody on Facebook, everybody that's watching, everybody that's tuned in, please pray for us." From her video, Ms Reynolds appears to have begun recording seconds after her boyfriend was shot, just after 9pm local time. Within a couple of hours, a crowd had gathered at the site of the shooting, according to local television stations. When authorities removed Mr Castile's car, angry protesters tried to block the tow truck, according to KARE reporter Melissa Colorado.As the tow truck pulled the vehicle away, the protesters chanted "murderer," reported Fox9's Ted Haller.

Candles were placed at the site where Mr Castile was shot. Protesters then gathered outside the Minnesota governor's mansion, chanting "Philando Castile." The video startled police reform advocates across the nation, who expressed a mixture of frustration and fatigue. "Philando Castile should be alive today," said DeRay Mckesson, a prominent member of the Black Lives Matter movement who worked in nearby Minneapolis, in a text message early Thursday morning. "I don't know what else to say," Mckesson said of the video. "He should be alive today. He is not alive because a police officer murdered him in cold blood." Governor Mark Dayton a Democrat, released a statement on the incident, saying that he had spoken with a White House official to request a Justice Department investigation. In his statement, President Obama said it was clear the two high profile killings were not isolated incidences.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) is pleased to announce the candidacy of Mrs. Mulrose Rogers-Toulon on the SMCP slate for the upcoming Parliamentary elections which will be held on September 26, 2016.

Mulrose graduated from high school in the 80s and immediately embarked on a career in the airline industry where she first worked at Pan American Airlines and later moved on to Ogden Aviation Services in the Passenger handling section. After working in the airline industry for 10 years she continued to serve people but in a different capacity, as she answered the call to pastor a new ministry in Simpsonbay, called Tehillah Ministries International. Her vision is to inspire others to aspire to greatness in Gods Kingdom.

Mulrose is an avid activist and has been speaking out against inequality, injustice and the lack of information from our government. Having grown up in St Peters she understands the heart of our people. She loves Sint Maarten and wants to see it become a strong, vibrant and safe country with a booming economy, satisfied citizens and a healthy population.

The SMCP is of the opinion that Mulrose has a lot to offer Sint Maarten and its people. She has duly and amicably resigned from the Democratic Party on whose slate she ran in the 2014 elections. By the end of the week Mulrose will share with the public of Sint Maarten her reasons for being a part the Sint Maarten Christian Party. SMCP welcomes Mulrose as she joins to SERVE OUR PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE!!

Wycliffe Smith

Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party
As our beloved country marks its 240th birthday, Im not alone in feeling that we occupy a moment of great turmoil and testing as a nation. Maybe weve taken the wonders and blessings of our country for granted, never thinking the grand experiment of our Founding Fathers, so dependent for its endurance upon mutual decency, respect and self-discipline, could ever really fall into disrepair.

Throughout history our republic has faced other extraordinary threats to our freedom, our existence as a nation and our system of self-government. But in those times, by the grace of God, the nation has been blessed with the emergence of good and courageous men and women of character and fortitude who have led this last best hope of man on Earth through harms way.

One of the most profound examples of such leadership was provided by Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party and, many would say, our most distinguished president. But Lincoln was not always perceived that way.

Although he served several terms in the Illinois state legislature and one term in Congress, Lincoln was also defeated in U.S. Senate campaigns in 1854 and 1858. Nonetheless, he became one of four presidential candidates in 1860, representing a new party that formed during some of the most fractious moments in our history. Lincoln was elected our 16th president with only 40 percent of the popular vote.

How is it that, in the darkest of times, the nation invested its confidence in a man who had failed in business and had lost almost as many elections as he had won, a man who had no significant administrative experience, a man who represented a new political party that had never seen the inside of the White House, and a man who was not even the first choice of his party on either of the first two ballots of that partys political convention in 1860?

There appears but one conclusion. The collective whole of our citizenry, like a jury, has always had the capacity, if the evidence was before them, to discern those best qualified by virtue of their character and capacity, to lead us through perilous times.

As responsible, though admittedly not perfect, citizens, we are obliged, before automatic commitments to political parties, ideologies or candidates, to give consideration to those timeless and eternal qualities of genuine leadership that transcend ever-changing political charters, programs and affiliations. Rarely stopping to inventory them, we all know them when we see them.

It is inescapable that every decision made by every leader reflects the character of the man or woman making the decision. Character is the lens through which a leader perceives the path to be followed. It conceives and shapes every thought and is inextricably interwoven into every word spoken, every policy envisioned and every action taken.

Persistent seriousness, solemn and honest commitment to the interests of others, exhaustive study and detailed proposals, sincerity, humility, empathy, dignity, fairness, patience, genuine respect for all of Gods children, durability, modesty and the absence of self-interest are those qualities of principled leadership absolutely essential to presidential decision-making.

Knowing my own imperfections and frustrations, I am hesitant to judge others harshly. And I know that 13 million people, my fellow citizens, have made their initial choice in voting for Donald Trump, thereby elevating his candidacy to presumed nominee. I dont deny nor diminish the message that each of those votes carries with them. And every one of those 13 million people has a right to be heard and their thoughts fairly and honestly considered.

But after long and careful consideration, I cannot endorse or support their decision to express their frustration, anger and disappointment by selecting Trump as the Republican nominee for president. Trump has demonstrated neither the aforementioned qualities of principled leadership, nor offered any substantive or serious conservative policy proposals consistent with historical Republican Party platform positions. Both, in my humble view, are indispensable preconditions to his selection as the Republican candidate for the office of president of the United States.

As a result, I cannot endorse or support Trump for president. And I offer my prayer for a second miracle in Cleveland.

Marc Racicot is a former governor of Montana and former chairman of the Republican National Committee. He wrote this for The Washington Post.
PHILIPSBURG:--- "As mentioned after my visit to Columbia where I visited several hospitals and met with COOMEVA, it became very clear that the entire functioning of the medical referral process including before patients are referred to SZV and after they return from abroad must be optimized. While in general there have been many positive reports on quality of service, there have also been various complaints from clients that have been referred abroad for diagnostic test and treatment." Said Minister Lee.

In order to establish a baseline and an improvement plan where needed, the Inspectorate for health care has been requested to review the referral process of SZV and prepare a report in collaboration with SZV. This will result in an action plan to improve the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of the entire medical referral process.

Ultimately, all stakeholders share the goal of providing high quality affordable healthcare, The Ministry of VSA and SZV are committed to working together to improve the whole referral process for patients that are sent abroad for medical treatment. Glen Carty commented, "Based on principles of openness and transparency, SZV welcomes the constructive feedback from Dr. Best, the Inspector General of VSA on where SZV's referral process can be improved. SZV has already embarked on customer service improvement plan 3.0 but recognize that there are still areas for improvement."

While SZV has already made substantial efforts to improve customer service and quality of care, all parties agree that there is substantial room for improvement in the referral process. The Inspectorate will review the procedures of SZV when sending patients abroad. While the review process will begin with SZV, the entire process chain including family physicians and Medical specialists will be included in the review process.

"In the same spirit of cooperation and collaboration, I'm also looking at ways to collaborate with Aruba and Curacao in medical referrals as much can be gained by joint procurement of care, in the selection of hospitals, the preparation of protocols and guidelines for referrals and the evaluation of referrals" mentioned Minister Lee.
For the first time, the United States has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses. among 23 individuals and entities cited for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today for human rights abuses "without parallel in the Modern world."

The Treasury Dept. added Kim and 10 other North Korean individuals and five entities, to the U.S. sanctions list. The "Marshall" as he is called in North Korea, is among 23 individuals and entities cited for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Human rights abuses in the DPRK are among the worst in the world," U.S. Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a statement today. "The government continues to commit extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced labor and torture. Many of these abuses are committed in the political prison camps, where an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 individuals are detained, including children and family members of the accused."

It is the very first time the US has sanctioned Kim personally.

The department added that this is part of "the most comprehensive U.S. government effort to date" to identify and sanction North Korea's leaders responsible for the widespread abuses - which they hope will "send a signal to all government officials who might be responsible for human rights abuses."

The sanctions, which target property and other assets under U.S. jurisdiction, follow a 2014 report by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea, which details a harrowing system of extrajudicial killings, forced labor camps and torture under Kim's rule.

North Korea's human rights record is among the worst in the world and has been globally condemned - especially by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the European Union and the United Nations. The country has spent decades near or at the top of virtually all measures of state repression. Indeed, most international human rights organizations consider North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.

The General Assembly of the United Nations has since 2003 annually adopted a resolution condemning the country's human rights record. The latest resolution of December 19, 2011, passed by a vote of 12316 with 51 abstentions, urged the government in Pyongyang to end its "systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights", which included public executions and arbitrary detentions. North Korea rejected the resolution, saying it was politically motivated and based upon untrue fabrications. In February 2014, a UN special commission published a detailed, 400-page account based on first-hand testimonies documenting "unspeakable atrocities" committed in the country.

The U.S. action comes at a time when the North Korean government is pushing ahead with its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, despite the threat of international sanctions. Just days after the reclusive country test-launched two medium-range ballistic missiles last month, the top North Korean official for U.S. relations told The Associated Press that Washington can expect more nuclear tests and missile launches as long as it tries to force his government's collapse through a policy of pressure and punishment.

"It's the United States that caused this issue," Han Song Ryol, the director-general of the department of U.S. affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry, told AP in his first interview with an American news organization since assuming the post three years ago. "They have to stop their military threats, sanctions and economic pressure. Without doing so, it's like they are telling us to reconcile while they are putting a gun to our forehead."

Human rights in North Korea are severely limited. Despite numerous rights being enshrined in the country's constitution, in practice, there is no right to free speech, and the only radio, television, music and news providers that are deemed legal are those operated by the government.

For the first time, the United States has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Based on defectors' testimonies, an estimated 150,000200,000 prisoners are incarcerated in various prison camps, including camps that are dedicated to political crimes, and are subject to forced labor, physical abuse and execution.[citation needed]

The North Korean government makes it very difficult for foreigners to enter the country for purposes other than tourism and it strictly monitors their activities when they do. Aid workers are subject to considerable scrutiny and are excluded from places and regions the government does not wish them to enter. Since citizens cannot freely leave the country, it is mainly from stories of refugees and defectors that the nation's human rights record has been constructed. The government's position, expressed through the Korean Central News Agency, is that international criticism of its human rights record is a pretext for overthrowing its Juche-based socialist system, while the abuses of its critics go unpunished.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's flagship for trip to Tehran to meet Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin in 1943

Volunteer shows a visitor how to hold a hundred-pound bag of gunpowder . The USS Iowa boasts special quarters created for Franklin D. Roosevelt for his trip to Tehran to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in 1943

Battleships, once thought to be the ultimate weapon, are now a relic of the past. For a chance to visit this past - and enjoy 360-degree breeze-swept views of Los Angeles Harbor, the USS Iowa at Berth 87, is a great place to go.

A self-guided tour takes one in and out of sailors' quarters, mess halls and up and down ladders leading to almost all levels of the ship's significant superstructure and winding around the impressive armaments. It's easy to get distracted by views of yachts sailing in and out of the channel and the work of the giant cranes unloading ships from China.

The USS Iowa, Battleship 61, was constructed beginning in 1939 and completed in 1942. She's the only battleship of her class to have served in the Atlantic during World War II. Her biggest claim to fame is possibly the special quarters created for Franklin D. Roosevelt for his trip to Tehran to meet with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in 1943. A bathtub - the only one in the entire navy - was installed in his quarters as well as an elevator to transport him between decks. Roosevelt had suffered polio and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Upon her transfer to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the Iowa participated in shelling of beachheads in the Marshall Islands and was present at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay. After some service during the Korean War, the Iowa was mothballed until 1984, with Ronald Reagan sought to beef up the navy's fleet. Following a tragic accident in 1989 in which 47 sailors were killed by a mysterious explosion in her No. 2 gun turret, the Iowa was decommissioned for the final time.

Alyssa Ganezer View of the famous 16-inch guns on the foredeck, USS Iowa Battleship, Long Beach.

In other words, there's a lot to see here, especially if you're at all interested in World War II, the navy, or armaments.

Parking is easy, right next to the ship in her permanent home. A ramp onto the ship shifts in steepness according to the tide, but they'll get you onboard if you're in a wheelchair, no matter the time of the month or day. Prices are discounted for military, seniors, and children. They're not cheap, but this tub receives no government money and relies entirely on admission and donations.

Often, you run into a few of the tens of thousands of men who served aboard the USS Iowa during her more than 50 year tour of duty. Some of them are volunteer docents. Talking to them is in itself, worth the drive to Long Beach.

For more information, visit http://www.pacificbattleship.com/
Spark Networks(R) Announces Investor Conference Call to Discuss Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

LOS ANGELES, CA  (Marketwired)  07/06/16  Spark Networks, Inc. (NYSE MKT: LOV) will release second quarter 2016 financial results on Thursday, August 4, 2016, after the close of the market. The Company will host a conference call at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss the quarterly financial results with the investment community.

Call Title: Spark Networks Second Quarter 2016 Earnings Conference Call

Toll-Free (United States): 1-877-705-6003

International: 1-201-493-6725

In addition, the Company will host a webcast of the call which will be accessible in the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at or by clicking .

A replay will begin approximately three hours after completion of the call and run until August 18, 2016.

Replay

Toll-Free (United States): 1-877-870-5176

International: 1-858-384-5517

Passcode: 13639962

Spark Networks is a leader in creating iconic, niche-focused brands and communities that help individuals form life-long relationships with others that share their interests and values. Our core properties, JDate.com () and ChristianMingle.com (), are communities geared towards singles of the Christian and Jewish faiths.
Cogeco Inc. Releases its Results for the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2016

MONTREAL, QUEBEC  (Marketwired)  07/06/16  Today, Cogeco Inc. (TSX: CGO) (Cogeco or the Corporation) announced its financial results for the third quarter ended May 31, 2016, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

For the third quarter of fiscal 2016:

Except for our Business ICT segment of Cogeco Communications, our results for the third quarter of fiscal 2016 have been satisfactory, declared Louis Audet, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cogeco Inc. Cogeco Connexion, Cogeco Communications Canadian broadband services subsidiary, has reported relatively satisfactory results, leveraging its superior internet speeds and video solutions in a competitive environment.

Meanwhile, Atlantic Broadband, Cogeco Communications American broadband services subsidiary, continues to report strong results and new growth, particularly in Miami with the recent announcement of a contract to be the exclusive communications services provider for the new 83-story Panorama Tower, added M. Audet. We are also maintaining solid organic growth, including in our newly acquired Connecticut system.

We are seeing increased competition in the Business ICT sector from large cloud-based offerings competing with traditional managed hosting providers, stated Mr. Audet. Cogeco Communications remains committed to investing in and growing the Business ICT sector with its subsidiary, Cogeco Peer 1, at the forefront of this strategy, positioned as a trusted partner to its customers. Our integration is now complete and we are confident that with a solid, seasoned management team in place and a competitive product portfolio, our subsidiary can serve the market, continuing to adapt to the significant capacity and price pressure originating from cloud providers.

Finally, in our radio business, Im very pleased to report that Cogeco Media results remain on their trajectory of solid financial performance and growth, and our stations continue to shine in the rankings in all our markets, continued M. Audet.

In all our businesses, we move forward and act with our customers in mind, and we feel this strategy continues to be the key to our success, concluded M. Audet.

ABOUT COGECO

Cogeco Inc. (corpo.cogeco.com) is a diversified holding corporation which operates in the communications and media sectors. Through its Cogeco Communications Inc. subsidiary, Cogeco provides its residential and business customers with video, Internet and telephony services through its two-way broadband fibre networks. Cogeco Communications Inc. operates in Canada under the Cogeco Connexion name in Quebec and Ontario, and in the United States under the Atlantic Broadband name in western Pennsylvania, south Florida, Maryland/Delaware, South Carolina and eastern Connecticut. Through Cogeco Peer 1, Cogeco Communications Inc. provides its business customers with a suite of information and communications technology services (colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed IT services), through its 17 data centres, an extensive FastFiber NetworkTM and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe. Through its subsidiary Cogeco Media, Cogeco owns and operates 13 radio stations across most of Quebec with complementary radio formats serving a wide range of audiences as well as Cogeco News, its news agency. Cogecos subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CGO). The subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Communications Inc. are also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CCA).

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Contacts:

Source:

Cogeco Inc.

Patrice Ouimet

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

514-764-4700

Information:

Media

Rene Guimond

Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs and Communications

514-764-4700
VeloCloud Showcasing Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN at Important Industry Events This Summer

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA  (Marketwired)  07/07/16  VeloCloud Networks Inc., the , today announced that it will demonstrate VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered at a number of important industry events around the world this summer.

VeloCloud Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN enables enterprises to support application growth, network agility and simplified branch implementations while delivering optimized access to cloud services, private datacenters and enterprise applications. Global service providers are able to increase revenue, deliver advanced services and increase flexibility by delivering elastic transport, performance for cloud applications, and integrated advanced services all via a zero-touch deployment model. Both enterprises and service providers benefit from the multi-tenant cloud gateway architecture and the ability to support real-time applications over ordinary broadband links.

VeloCloud will exhibit at a number of important events this summer, including:

Cisco Live! 2016; Las Vegas; July 11-14; at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center; in the Cisco Investment Pavilion

Data Connectors; Vancouver; July 14; at the Fairmont Waterfront

Data Connectors; Denver; July 21; at the Embassy Suites Denver Downtown Convention Center

Data Connectors; Pittsburgh; Aug. 4; at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel & Suites, Pittsburgh Downtown

Data Connectors; Cincinnati; Aug. 11; at the Millennium Hotel Cincinnati

Channel Partners Evolution; Washington, D.C.; Aug. 15-17; at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; in Booth F73

Data Connectors; Sacramento; Aug. 18; at the Double Tree by Hilton Sacramento

VMworld; Las Vegas; Aug. 28-Sept. 1; at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center; in the New Innovator Pavilion, Booth 841

Data Connectors; Orlando; Sept. 8

VeloCloud Networks, Inc., the Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN company, Gartner Cool Vendor 2016 and a winner of Best Startup of Interop, simplifies branch WAN networking by automating deployment and improving performance over private, broadband Internet and LTE links for todays increasingly distributed enterprises. VeloCloud SD-WAN includes: a choice of public, private or hybrid cloud network for enterprise-grade connection to cloud and enterprise applications; branch office enterprise appliances and optional data center appliances; software-defined control and automation; and virtual services delivery. VeloCloud has received financing from investors including NEA, Venrock, March Capital Partners, Cisco Investments and The Fabric, and is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, visit and follow the company on Twitter .

VeloCloud is a registered trademark of VeloCloud Networks, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

Dan Spalding

(408) 960-9297
Flowmetrix Awards Carl Data Solutions Contract With City of Toronto for Its FlowWorks Application

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA  (Marketwired)  07/07/16  Carl Data Solutions Inc. (CSE: CRL)(FRANKFURT: 7C5) (Carl or the Company), a developer of Big-Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS)-based solutions for data integration and business intelligence, is very pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, FlowWorks Inc., (FlowWorks Inc.) has entered into a Flow and Rain Data Management Service Agreement (the Agreement) for its FlowWorks Application (FlowWorks or the Application) with Flowmetrix Technical Services Inc. (Flowmetrix) on behalf of the City of Toronto, Ontario (Toronto or the City) in partnership with AECOM and ADS LLC. (ADS).

The Agreement commenced April 1, 2016 for Torontos Trunk Sanitary Sewer Monitoring Project (the Project), which includes approximately 190 flow meter sites and 45 rain gauge sites and was awarded as a one-year initial services contract with the prospect of up to three years of renewals, awarded annually. Flowmetrix holds the primary contract directly with the City, with the project management services of AECOM and ADS providing equipment and data QA/QC services. FlowWorks is used as the software component for advanced data collection, notification and alarms, analysis and reporting.

Flowmetrix, AECOM, ADS and FlowWorks have collaborated on other large, multi-year wastewater projects including the largest multi-year flow monitoring project in Canada on behalf of the Regional Municipality of York with over 250 installed flow meters and 70 rain gauges active in FlowWorks.

The City of Toronto services a population of over 6 million, making it the largest metropolitan area in Canada. The City has released several Request for Proposals (RFPs) to service its progressive environmental and water management projects that often require solutions for advanced flow monitoring, data analysis and near real-time reporting, which are compatible with applications such as FlowWorks.

Toronto was particularly interested in a readily accessible, secure, web-based, vendor neutral, comprehensive time-series data analysis and reporting tool that includes rainfall accumulation, intensity statistics and maps, near real-time alarming features, GIS data integration and summary reporting. FlowWorks meets these requirements through a powerful suite of online data collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting tools that play an integral role in managing the data collected from the Citys trunk and local sewer lines, combined sewer overflows and rain gauges.

Curtis King, President of Flowmetrix Technical Services Inc., commented, Flowmetrix has included FlowWorks in a number of its projects over the last few years. We find that the Application is very easy to use and provides advanced tools and functions that our clients require. The Application makes it simple to setup, modify and control alarming parameters and maintain the integrity of the data using its FlowWorks Advanced Calculation Engine (F.A.C.E.) feature. This kind of multiplicity and simplicity is crucial for application adoption. Our clients are very satisfied with our choice in offering FlowWorks as the software solution for their water and wastewater data management projects.

Peter Kurtz, P.Eng., Project Manager for the Toronto project, added, We also really enjoy working with FlowWorks Inc.s enthusiastic and knowledgeable engineering and development team to develop custom features such as the rainfall accumulation maps for the City of Toronto. Their level of flexibility and ingenuity makes it a real pleasure to work with the FlowWorks Inc. team and use the Application. Recently, we welcomed the FlowWorks Inc. team to our local office to train our team on the implementation of automated data quality checks and data quality scrubbing routines using the F.A.C.E. We found that FlowWorks Inc.s training course was extremely useful and the FlowWorks Inc. team was very knowledgeable of the industry and our needs.

Greg Johnston, CEO of Carl Data Solutions Inc., commented, Were excited to work with the City of Toronto. The City is very progressive with its environmental projects. This is consistent with other large North American cities that are now requesting the most modern, innovative technologies in their RFPs. Were confident that FlowWorks will serve Torontos environmental data management needs, providing them with advanced functions and tools that are not available in any other application. We look forward to demonstrating the versatility of the Application and working with the City to demonstrate how to take advantage of its many advanced features. This is the beginning of a strong working relationship and were confident that well continue to add many more in the near future.

About Flowmetrix Technical Services Inc.

Flowmetrix Technical Services Inc. is well known in the industry, providing flow meter and rain gauge installation services for more than 20 years. As an unbiased flow service company, they are committed to providing flow meter products and flow measurement services that best meet their clients technical, budgetary and operational requirements. Flowmetrix has the unique ability to take on flow monitoring tasks that their competitors cannot and have built an extensive knowledge base through: installing various flow meters with different technologies; reviewing and correcting flow meters that do not work as intended; and recommending solutions by integrating different technologies to form a turn-key solution. Flowmetrix staff has selected flow metering technologies and installed flow meters for many applications around the world. More information can be found at .

About AECOM

AECOM is built to deliver a better world. AECOM designs, builds, finances and operates infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations in more than 150 countries. As a fully integrated firm, AECOM connects knowledge and experience across a global network of experts to help clients solve their most complex challenges. From high-performance buildings and infrastructure, to resilient communities and environments, to stable and secure nations, AECOMs work is transformative, differentiated and vital. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM had revenue of approximately $18 billion during the 2015 fiscal year. See how AECOM delivers what others can only imagine at and @AECOM.

About ADS LLC.

ADS LLC. is a leading technology and service provider and a reliable source of knowledge to the global wastewater collection system industry. Monitors manufactured, installed, and maintained by ADS measure over 5 billion gallons of flow daily across the globe. ADS delivers value to its customers by providing industry-leading solutions for flow monitoring, data analysis, reporting, and field services. These customers rely on Underground Intelligence from ADS to manage planning and rehabilitation, satellite community billing, regulatory compliance, O&M, and model calibration. ADS is an IDEX Fluid & Metering Business. More information can be found at .

About FlowWorks

FlowWorks is a powerful Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based application for collecting, monitoring and analyzing all types of environmental data. FlowWorks is flexible, affordable and easy-to-use compared to competing software packages. The Application has the unique ability to collect data from all types of monitoring equipment, gauges and sensor hardware, SCADA systems and other sources of public and private data, to merge the information into a single platform to perform comprehensive analytics and reporting, saving time and money for the end user. More information on the FlowWorks Application can be found at .

About Carl Data Solutions Inc.

Carl Data Solutions Inc. is focused on providing next generation information collection, storage and analytics solutions for data centric companies. Building on its recent acquisitions, Flow Works Inc., a company that helps its clients analyze and understand all forms of environmental data through a powerful platform of data collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting tools and Extend to Social Media Inc., a company that specializes in unstructured data analysis from Social Media, Carl develops applications to work with new cloud-based mass storage services and analytics tools (Big-Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS)).

Carls development platform can accommodate virtually unlimited storage of any amount and type of data. This technology allows Carl to build advanced applications for monitoring, reporting and analysis. Carls data collection and storage methods allow the company to build smart Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based applications that can collect data from many diverse sources and provide deep insight for decision-making purposes. More information can be found at .

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Greg Johnston, President, Chief Executive Officer, Director

Carl Data Solutions Inc.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. In particular, forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, Greg Johnstons expectation that FlowWorks will serve Torontos environmental data management needs, providing them with advanced functions and tools that are not available in any other application, and his desire to teach the City staff how to most effectively utilize its many advanced features and add more in the future.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including, without limitation, risks with respect to: the ability of the Company to establish a market for its services; competitive conditions in the industry; general economic conditions in Canada and globally; the inability to secure additional financing; competition for, among other things, capital and skilled personnel; potential delays or changes in plans with respect to deployment of services or capital expenditures; possibility that government policies or laws may change; technological change; risks related to the Companys competition; the Companys not adequately protecting its intellectual property; interruption or failure of information technology systems; and regulatory risks relating to the Companys business, financings and strategic acquisitions. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Carl Data Solutions Inc.

Tiffany Tolmie

Corporate Communications

(778) 379-0275
CloudGenix v/s Cisco in SD-WAN Smack-Down

LAS VEGAS, NV and SAN JOSE, CA  (Marketwired)  07/07/16  , the software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) pioneer, today announced the IWANT CloudGenix Challenge to be held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on July 12th. The multi-round match, hosted by Ethan Banks of Packet Pushers, will pit CloudGenix against Cisco to determine which company delivers the most powerful SD-WAN product. The winner will be determined by the audience  certified network administrators and engineers in Las Vegas for the Cisco Live event.

CloudGenix is radically changing how networks are built and managed. Its Instant-On Networks (ION) product family delivers an application-defined fabric that eliminates the need for hardware routers. Unlike providers of incremental, hybrid-WAN-only alternatives, ION delivers the cloud without compromise to the remote office, ensures high performance for transactional and rich media applications over a hybrid-WAN, and virtualizes the branch  truly delivering on the promise of a software-defined WAN. Enterprises that choose CloudGenix ION eliminate complex networking configurations, reduce WAN costs by over 70 percent, and experience unparalleled performance and availability for data center and cloud applications.

In the IWANT CloudGenix Challenge, the audience will put to the test claims by both vendors to determine the most powerful SD-WAN solution for enterprises of all sizes.

IWANT CloudGenix Challenge

Tuesday, July 12, 6-8 p.m.

Aureole Restaurant, Swan Court, Mandalay Bay

To register for the event, click

CloudGenix () is the software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) leader, revolutionizing networking by transforming legacy WANs into a radically simplified, secure, application-defined fabric and virtualizing heterogeneous underlying transports into a unified hybrid WAN. Enabling application-specific, service-level agreements (SLAs), CloudGenix controls network application performance based upon application-performance SLAs and business priority. CloudGenix ION (Instant-On Network) radically simplifies how WANs are designed and managed, enabling customers to build networks without networking, and achieve more than twice the performance at less than half the cost  leading to a much faster time-to-value once deployed  and extending data center-class security to the network edge. Founded in 2013 by a team that has previously delivered industry-leading products in networking, SDN, cloud, security and web-scale applications, CloudGenix serves world-class financial services, legal, retail and technology organizations. The company is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, Charles River Ventures and the Mayfield Fund and has headquarters in San Jose, California.

Ivy Chen

BOCA Communications

650.224.8954
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It all started at a kitchen table in the Blackfoot Valley. Back around 1970. Local folks like us, including our good friend and neighbor Bill Potter. Worried about increasing recreational pressure on the river, our property and the lands surrounding ours.

We knew what we wanted to do, but we werent sure how to do it. We knew we wanted to engage the public. They had a stake in the river and the land that surrounded it. So we got together -- some landowners, river users, hunters, agency folks -- to see what kind of options or solutions we could come up with.

What we wanted to do was find a way to protect property rights and conserve land now and in the future. The idea of voluntary private land conservation appealed to us. So we sat around kitchen tables in the evenings, maybe passing around a bottle of Old Crow, before it was over, talking about the future and what was important to us, our families, and in our case, the Blackfoot River.

Truth was, in those days, we didnt know what a conservation easement was. Luckily we heard more about easements from a guy named Huey Johnson, who if we recall correctly in those days was the only Nature Conservancy employee west of the Mississippi.

What has happened since is astonishing. Remarkable, really. We never anticipated it. Weve been told that since 1976 landowners have worked with land trusts and public agencies to conserve more than 2.4 million acres of Montana private land. There are a dozen land trusts working throughout the whole state. Montanas a national leader in land conservation. That wasnt our intent. We know celebrating Montana Open Land Month in July is a big deal. Its wonderful to see, but that sure wasnt what we were trying to do.

The first try, in 1974, to pass a bill in Helena creating conservation easements, failed. We were pretty naive, but we gave it our best shot. We did get support. And some of the people who killed that first attempt liked the idea but not the bill. They helped us sort out what we were really trying to accomplish, and in 1975 legislation passed. In 1976 the first conservation easement in Montana history was created up the road from us, right here in the Blackfoot Valley.

Sure, there was some opposition. Conservation easements were new, and different. People would ask us, How can you do that to your children or grandchildren? The answer was, Were not doing it to them. Were doing it for them. For their benefit.

Our first thoughts about conservation easements mainly focused on lands along the banks of the river. But things took off when we started thinking about community. Not just about a single property but about the whole Blackfoot Valley, ridge top to ridge top.

Theres been a conservation easement on the Lindbergh Ranch for almost 40 years. Why someone puts a conservation easement on their place varies with each landowner. Theres an easement on the Lindbergh place because its a stupendous piece of ground, along a beautiful river that people were enjoying every year and enjoying in every way. And we wanted that to continue. People should be able to enjoy that tremendous experience.

Here, in the Blackfoot, it all starts with the river. Its a river thats very alive, very powerful. It sustains everything in this valley, and everything in the valley flows back into it. And that includes all our conservation efforts. If you listen carefully, the river will tell you how youre doing.

When you allow a conservation easement on your property it comes with a responsibility. Not so much a legal responsibility but a personal pledge to continue to carry on what you treasure about the property. You need to look beyond immediate financial gain or loss or what you can personally make from the property to help make a better life for others still to come. What we do in our lifetime for the generations still to come is far more important than any gain we might have as an individual in our lifetime.

Look at what we have in Montana. Just look at it. Open land and land conservation are vital to our way of life. Open land is the definition of the Montana way of life.

And it will only get better. Our advice is to start local. Be collaborative. Include everyone. Focus on what you agree on.

Congratulations to Montana on the 40th anniversary of the states first conservation easement.

It all started with people around a kitchen table. And it continues today with people around a kitchen table.

Land Lindbergh is a retired rancher who has lived in the Blackfoot Valley since 1965. Hank Goetz is the former manager of the Lubrecht Experimental Forest. Both have long been active in the Blackfoot Challenge and Montana private land conservation. July 2016 has been officially recognized by Governor Steve Bullock as Montana Open Land Month. More information is available at http://openlandmt.org/.
Hospitals feeling surge of RSV locally and across state

Post-pandemic easing of isolation is fueling rise in the respiratory RSV illnesses in children in the South Bend area.
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In the landscape of presidential politics, Montana has been solid Republican territory. But fissures are developing in the state's conservative bedrock, as Donald Trump's bid for the White House jolts the party establishment.

Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot recently expressed what few are willing to share publicly as the state GOP tries to rally around Trump.

In an op-ed appearing July 1 in the Washington Post and Thursday in the Independent Record, the two-term Republican governor and former head of the Republican National Committee under George W. Bush said he could neither endorse nor support Trump. He said the New York businessman lacked leadership and the conservative principles to be a true standard bearer for the GOP. And he prayed for a miracle during the party convention in Cleveland later this month.

Racicot did not say what he would do.

Faced with their choices, other prominent Montana Republicans are confronted with tough decisions  including the possibility of sitting out the presidential election because of such intense distaste for Trump and Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Montana Republicans have strong libertarian and populist streaks. That played out in 1992 when a fourth of Montana voters chose third-party candidate Ross Perot, allowing Democrat Bill Clinton to win the state against the Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush. But the state has been reliably Republican, voting for Democrats just twice since 1952. Lyndon B. Johnson won the state in 1964.

Already, Montana Republicans are struggling to keep their party unified. In recent years, philosophical differences have spawned power struggles between hardliners and moderates.

"It's totally unprecedented in my lifetime that we have a candidate like Donald Trump. I can't believe how divided people are," said Betti Hill, a member of the state's delegation to the Republican National Convention.

She and her husband, Rick, a former U.S. Congressman and the Republican nominee for Montana governor four years ago, have been involved in Montana politics for more than four decades. Months ago, Rick Hill began expressing alarm over Trump's candidacy.

"At this stage, I've made a decision I'm not going to vote for Mr. Trump. And obviously, I'm not going to vote for Hillary Clinton. I think they are, unfortunately, really two bad choices," he said.

Clinton faces problems of her own because of ongoing questions over her private email servers. Many voters view her unfavorably. But Trump's negative ratings are even worse, according to recent polls.

The state's Republican Party Chair, Rep. Jeff Essmann, is confident the party faithful will rally behind Trump.

"Republicans need to recognize that united we stand, divided we fall. Now is the time to unite," he said. Essmann called Trump a candidate befitting Montana's populist traditions.

Like so many other Republicans, state Rep. Theresa Manzella, who supported Ted Cruz until the Texas Senator dropped out, is not totally convinced about Trump. But the alternative  a Hillary Clinton presidency  would be far worse, she said.

"We have to deal with reality. What we've been dealt is a choice between Mr. Trump and Hillary Clinton," said Manzella, who is chairing the state's convention delegation.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox, another of the state's prominent Republicans, said he's not endorsing anybody for president.

But other high-level members of the party, including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, have now thrown their support behind Trump, but waited until the last minute to do so. In May, the senator delivered a note of support to Trump that reads "Welcome to Montana! Looking forward to calling you Mr. President, and working together to make America great again."

Though Zinke is one of the state's delegates to the Republican National Convention July 18-21 in Cleveland, Daines is not. The senator, who said he is skipping the convention to go fly-fishing, attended a meeting with Senate Republicans Thursday in an effort to build party unity.

When Trump visited Billings in June, the GOP's nominee for governor, Greg Gianforte, didn't even mention Trump by name in a press release welcoming "another visit by a 2016 presidential candidate to Montana."

Disaffected Republicans do have choices, said Jeremy Johnson, a professor of political science at Carroll College. They could rally behind the libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.

"Some voters not thrilled with the top of the ticket may skip voting altogether on Election Day, which of course affects everyone on the ticket," the professor said. "Clinton and Trump both are less popular than most major party nominees, but the problem appears to be more acute for Trump."

Independent Record reporter Holly Michels contributed to this story.
A Russian Soyuz rocket lifts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 6, 2016, carrying three crewmembers toward the International Space Station.

Three new crewmembers launched toward the International Space Station in an upgraded Russian Soyuz spacecraft today (July 6), beginning a two-day journey to the orbiting lab.

At 9:36 p.m. EDT (0136 on July 7 GMT), the trio  NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi  successfully lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan atop a Russian Soyuz rocket.

The three spaceflyers will spend their two-day trip testing the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft's modified systems before docking with the station early Saturday morning (July 9). [Russia's Manned Soyuz Space Capsule Explained (Infographic)]

"The crew on board the Soyuz MS-01 are safely on orbit ... making their way to the International Space Station after a picture-perfect launch from a beautiful, clear day in Baikonur," NASA spokesperson Brandi Dean said during NASA TV's live broadcast.

"We are feeling fine; everything is good on board," Ivanishin reported shortly after launch, and the crew exchanged fist-bumps when the rocket's third stage detached, marking their safe arrival into orbit.

The new crewmembers are slated to stay aboard the station for about four months as part of the orbiting outpost's Expedition 48 and 49 missions. During their time in space, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will help conduct more than 250 experiments in the fields of molecular and cellular biology, human physiology, fluid dynamics, materials science and physics. Some of the physics work will treat gravity as a variable, taking advantage of space's unique setting, NASA officials have said.

During a press conference in March, Rubins even mentioned hoping to try microgravity DNA-sequencing in her spare time.

Rubins is a molecular biologist and former "virus hunter"; she worked with West and Central African viruses before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. Onishi, who is a trained pilot, was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2009 as well (by JAXA), and he was a part of NEEMO 15, a 2011 NASA research mission in which six "aquanauts" lived in an underwater lab testing new technologies for exploring an asteroid.

Ivanishin flew in the Russian Air Force before his selection by the Russian space agency, known as Roscosmos, in 2003, and he served as flight engineer on the long-duration Expedition 29/30 space station missions in 2011. (His last launch from Baikonur was on a snow-filled winter day).

The Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese spaceflyer Takuya Onishi toward the International Space Station rises into the skies above Kazakhstan on July 6, 2016. (Image credit: NASA TV)

"The hardest aspect of being in space is to fly 34 orbits around Earth," Ivanishin said during a discussion with the press in March, referring to the two-day journey before the Soyuz spacecraft finally reaches the station. A shorter flight plan, which has been available since 2013, takes just 6 hours, and four orbits around the Earth, to reach the orbiting lab. Ivanishin's previous flight to the space station was the longer journey as well.

"The first difficult thing will be to survive this journey to the International Space Station," he said. "This part of the journey will be maybe less pleasant."

See more

The upgraded Soyuz spacecraft, which the spacefliers will test out on their journey, includes additional shielding on its habitation module, a fifth battery assembly to increase its electrical power reserves, increased efficiency and more surface area for the solar panels, a new thruster configuration and several upgrades to its communications and command systems, said Mark Bowman, chief engineer in the Soyuz branch of NASA's Astronaut Office, during a NASA TV broadcast.

The Soyuz spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the space station and dock at 12:12 a.m. EDT (0412 GMT) on Saturday (July 9), and the hatches connecting the two vessels should open at around 2:50 a.m. EDT (0650 GMT) that day, NASA officials have said. The new crewmembers will then be greeted by the station's present inhabitants: the station's commander, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin. (The arrival, hatch opening and welcome ceremony will stream live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.)

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi pose during training before their July 6 launch to the International Space Station. Rubins and Onishi are both first-time fliers. (Image credit: NASA Johnson via Flickr

And then the real work will begin.

"One of the things that's the most difficult is time," Rubins said in a video interview with Space.com last month. "There are so many exciting things to do. There are amazing experiments that you want to do. There are pictures you want to take out of the window. Just being able to fit that in, it feels like there are not quite enough hours in the day to be able to do everything we want to do aboard space station.

"We've got so much stuff to do, and it's all going to be pretty interesting and incredible," she added.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The OneWeb global Internet-delivery constellation includes 720 150-kilogram satellites in orbit  40 in 18 orbital planes. One year after kickoff and initial financing, the OneWeb Satellites joint venture that is building the satellites says it has passed preliminary design review and about to complete its subcontractor lineup.

TOULOUSE, FRANCE  Satellite Internet startup OneWeb Satellites has completed the preliminary design review for its 700-satellite constellation and expects to have its entire satellite subcontractor team committed by by early August, Chief Operating Officer Eric de Saintignon said June 30.

The next step, he said, is a design-to-manufacture period to be followed by production of the first 10 pilot satellites, to be built at Airbus Defence and Space's production facility here.

The 10 pilots will be launched aboard a Europeanized Russian Soyuz rocket in late 2017 and then tested in orbit before full-scale production of the remaining 890 satellites is committed. [Satellite Quiz: How Well Do You Know What's Orbiting Earth?]

One year after the program's formal kickoff following OneWebs securing $500 million in funding from prospective partners and suppliers  ncluding Airbus  de Santignon said the basic OneWeb satellite design and performance requirements have been confirmed, with no major issues so far.

Another OneWeb official said the commitments from contractors so far has kept OneWeb to within 5 percent of its original cost target for the space segment.

OneWeb's entire architecture, including a network of gateway Earth stations, is expected to cost $3.5 billion even if OneWeb Satellites  a joint venture of Airbus and OneWeb  makes its cost target of $500,000 or less per satellite produced from the Exploration Park, Florida, facility selected earlier this year.

A 900-satellite order is unheard-of in the satellite industry and is one reason why OneWeb Satellites sought the participation of non-space companies. But de Saintignon said the automotive sector, for example, proved not to be a good fit.

"They were interested in supporting us, but it was impossible for them," de Saintignon said at the Toulouse Space Show. "For the automotive industry, a pre-series production is 1,000 items. For us, that's our full series. So there are not the same methods, the same rules, that apply for other industries."

As a result, most of the contractors selected have a background in the space industry. But many of them will be required to create entirely new production lines, or revamp existing facilities, to meet OneWeb's aggressive schedule and production volume.

The volume alone is unprecedented. For example, the 900 satellites will require the production of 15,000 solid-state power amplifiers, more than have been launched in the history of the satellite industry, de Saintignon said. The contracting team will need to glue 540,000 inserts for the honeycomb panels used for the satellite structure. Contractor Sodern will build 1,800 star trackers, two per satellite.

Plans are to have the entire constellation in orbit by late 2019, although OneWeb has the option of slowing production, if needed, to start generating revenue from certain latitudes, including Europe and North America, even with just half the constellation in orbit.

For now, OneWeb founder Greg Wyler and other OneWeb officials say their prospective customers want deployment to occur as quickly as possible and that, for now, they are not giving any thought to slowing down.

With the notable exception of MDA Corp. of Canada, none of the second-ground contractors have made equity investments into OneWeb, but several of them have invested pre-contract to prepare for what's coming.

One subcontractor official said each company needs to decide how much it needs to invest now to make the OneWeb schedule, and how much investment can be deferred given the fact that OneWeb has raised only around 15 percent of the system's estimated capital cost.

Wyler has said since the July 2015 kickoff that the $500 million in equity, plus the internal investment being made by OneWeb contractors, is enough to carry the company through 2016. After that, further funding will be needed.

OneWeb Satellites now counts 90 employees, but when chipmaker Qualcomm, ground network provider Hughes Network Systems, additional Airbus and other companies' commitments are tallied, there are likely around 300 engineers now working full-time on the project.

In addition to their own internal resources, several French companies have received funds from a government bond issue devoted to new technologies, with a special carve-out for technologies needed for future satellite constellations.

The government backing, while modest, has had an outsize importance because of its timing, de Saintignon said.

For the subcontractors, OneWeb Satellites has designed the contracts in two phases: development and production.

"For some of the space subcontractors this means starting a new production line, including starting with us in Toulouse and in Florida," de Saintignon said. "The development part of the contract is to produce an early product and the processes [for future full-scale production] so that we can qualify it all together. Then the production phase would begin.

"We signed all these to get the full commitment of suppliers. But we are a startup in the sense that the program still has to be funded. We are on the way and we are convinced we will get there."

One sweetener for OneWeb contractors is that, if the project succeeds as planned, the Florida production facility will position itself as prospective supplier for any satellite system that wants relatively small, inexpensive spacecraft.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Note: This article contains minor spoilers for "Independence Day: Resurgence."

A group of aliens bent on destroying humanity has returned to Earth in the movie "Independence Day: Resurgence," a sequel to the 1996 blockbuster "Independence Day." The new film, which is playing now in theaters, continues the story of the original movie and is packed with action, suspense, drama and  best of all  amazing spaceships!

In the new movie, the once-defeated aliens have spent the past two decades mounting a comeback. Can Earth hold them off?

The battles between humans and extraterrestrials feature all sorts of cool spaceships, and unlike in the first "Independence Day" movie, the war takes place across the entire solar system. Read on to see what fictional spaceships were used by both aliens and humans. (Note that some of this information comes from the film, and other info is from the fan-made "Independence Day" wikia page.) [Earth's New Battle Against Aliens: Photos from 'Independence Day: Resurgence']

The Harvester (Aliens)

We all remember the scene in the 1996 film when Capt. Steve Hiller (played by Will Smith) stands in his driveway and sees a ship called a City Destroyer, hovering over the nearby metropolis, blotting out most of the horizon.

An alien ship descends to Earth. (Image credit: Photo Credit: Twentieth Century Fox. TM &  2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication)

The spaceship is roughly the diameter of Jupiter's moon Europa: 3,000 miles (4,830 kilometers). This makes it large enough to have artificial gravity (which can be used to swoop up nearby ships or objects and throw them into a planet, as necessary). The spaceship also has a massive force field that can repel attacks. Once it lands on a planet, it can drill into a planet's core and shut down the magnetic field  in the movie, this deprives the planet of its atmosphere.In "Resurgence," the aliens arrive in a ship called the Harvester. It is many times larger than the City Destroyers. Thousands of aliens swarm inside the Harvester, including a huge queen alien, who serves as a point of collective intelligence.

The City Destroyer (Aliens)

In the new movie, viewers learn that about three dozen of these spaceships attacked Earth back in 1996. One of them touched down in the (fictional) National Republic of Umbutu in Africa, where locals attacked the aliens to stop them from drilling into the Earth. The spaceships have remained dormant for two decades, but in 2016, they are inexplicably reactivated.

Scientists visit the wreckage of a downed alien ship in the new movie "Independence Day: Resurgence." (Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox. TM &  2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication)

Reluctantly, the Umbutus allow outside experts to investigate the spaceship for the first time. The group includes David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), who helped destroy the mothership in the 1996 invasion. Levinson, who is now the director of the United Nations-led Earth Space Defense program, discovers that the City Destroyer is sending a distress signal to the Harvester.

Fighter jets (Aliens)

Once the aliens get to Earth, they can begin using fighter jets in individual combat against humans. First, they deploy the jets after the humans get close to the Harvester. These spacecraft are equipped with "fusion drives"  supposedly, fusion-powered engines  and are all networked back to the Harvester queen, who directs and deploys them.

A plane and set props from "Independence Day: Resurgence." (Image credit: Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

The Sphere (Aliens)

Just prior to the 2016 attack on Earth, a sphere of alien origin approaches Earth's moon. Humans at the Earth Space Defense station on the moon decide to shoot it down as a precaution, even though it's not clear what the sphere is doing. The sphere crashes onto the lunar surface, and a search party decides to bring it to Nevada's Area 51 military station to learn more about its nature.

Earth Space Defense (Humans)

After the first attack of 1996, humans stopped fighting each other and instead poured their military resources into protecting the Earth from aliens. The result is an Earth Space Defense system that stretches from Earth's orbit far out into the solar system.

An alien attack over a major world capital. (Image credit: Twentieth Century Fox. TM &  2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.. All Rights Reserved. Not for sale or duplication )

The first early warning location appears to be near Saturn. A military base stationed on Earth's moon monitors possible alien activity in the solar system, and is equipped with space tugs and is within easy reach of H-8 defender fighter jets that come from Earth. The last line of defense is two sets of satellites orbiting Earth. There are two constellations of satellites  one across latitude, and one across longitude  that have lasers capable of shooting at alien ships.

International Legacy Squadron and space tugs (Humans)

The International Legacy Squadron is an elite fighter pilot group led by the son of Steve Hiller, Dylan Dubrow-Hiller (played by Jessie Usher). The squadron has H-8 defender fighter jets capable of fighting in Earth's atmosphere or in space, with the capacity to fly at least as far as the moon. They have fusion drives that are used only in space.

Space tugs are cargo ships that are used mainly on the moon base, for carrying personnel and equipment. While they are not defensive ships, they can maneuver quickly. The tugs have robotic arms and hands that can be used to pick up and manipulate large objects. They also have fusion-drive capability.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
A newly discovered planet has been spotted orbiting three stars at once, in a highly exotic celestial arrangement.

"The planet is orbiting star A  the lonely star in this scenario," Kevin Wagner, a first-year doctoral student at the University of Arizona, told Space.com. The planet and star A are then orbited by a pair of stars that the scientists call "star B" and "star C. (Check below to see a video of the system's orbital dance).

The strange new world, HD 131399Ab, lies 340 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Centaurus. For about half of its orbit through the system, all three stars are visible in the sky. [The Strangest Alien Planets (Gallery)]

What would the three stars look like to someone on HD 131399Ab? Some rough calculations by the Space.com staff show that all three stars would be similar in brightness to the full moon seen on Earth.

In the case of HD 131399Ab, star A is much larger and brighter than the sun  about 80 percent more massive and 7.8 times more luminous. But the planet orbits the star at a distance of about 82 astronomical units (one astronomical unit is the distance from the Earth to the sun, 93 million miles, or 150 million kilometers), which is about twice the average distance from the sun to Pluto. The increased distance means the star would appear only about 0.00116 times as bright to an observer on HD 131399Ab as the sun appears to us on Earth. But the star would still appear about 464 times as bright as the full moon appears from Earth, meaning it would still be a dominant presence in the sky.

Another comparison: On the surface of Pluto, the sun at high noon delivers about as much light as the Earth gets just after sunset. On HD 1313388Ab, star A would deliver about twice that much light.

Stars B and C are smaller and dimmer than star A. Star B is only about 0.87 times as bright as the sun and has about the same mass. Star C is less massive than the sun (about 60 percent the sun's mass), and only 0.17 times as bright. The two stars also orbit at a much greater distance from the planet (300 to 400 astronomical units, depending on the position of the planet in its orbit). As a result, at their closest approach to the planet, star B would appear about 3.86 times the brightness of the full moon on Earth; and star C would appear about 0.75 times the brightness of the full moon.

"For about half of the planet's orbit, which lasts 550 Earth-years, three stars are visible in the sky, the fainter two always much closer together, and changing in apparent separation from the brightest star throughout the year," Wagner said in the statement. "For much of the planet's year, the [three] stars appear close together, giving it a familiar nightside and dayside with a unique triple sunset and sunrise each day. As the planet orbits and the stars grow farther apart each day, they reach a point where the setting of one coincides with the rising of [the other two]  at which point the planet is in near-constant daytime for about one-quarter of its orbit, or roughly 140 Earth-years."

Another aspect of the triple-star system that has surprised scientists is how large the planet's orbit is around star A  it's the widest orbit of a planet ever found in a triple-star system, Wagner told Space.com. What's more, stars B and C orbit so close to star A that their gravity is "very significant for the planet," Wagner said. In other triple-star systems, the planet orbits very close to one star and much, much farther away from the other two, he said.

"This [triple-star system] is the first one that we have ever found that looks like this," Wagner told Space.com. "It tells us that planets can exist in these much more exotic configurations, in multiple star systems, than many would have thought possible."

This graphic illustrates the orbit of the planet in the HD 131399 system (red line) and the orbits of the stars (blue lines). (Image credit: ESO)

Exoplanet hunters

HD 131399Ab was discovered using a technique called direct imaging, in which light from the planet is seen directly by a telescope, as opposed to other planet-hunting techniques that look for planets through indirect means.

Using an advanced, direct imaging tool known as the Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research Instrument (SPHERE), astronomers found that the planet is about 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit (580 degrees Celsius) and weighs an estimated four Jupiter masses, making it one of the coldest and least massive directly imaged exoplanets. The researchers also found water and methane in its atmosphere.

SPHERE is an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in the Atacama Desert, in Chile. SPHERE is sensitive to infrared light, meaning it is able to detect heat signatures of otherwise hidden exoplanets. The instrument uses a technique called specialized adaptive optics to boost the contrast of its images, which, in turn, corrects the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere and blocks unwanted starlight, explained Wagner, who is the first author of the new study.

"HD 131399Ab is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it's the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration," Daniel Apai, an assistant professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at UA, said in a statement.

At an estimated 16 million years old, HD 131399Ab is also one of the youngest exoplanets found to date, according to the research paper published today (July 7) in the journal Science.

How to make a triple-star system

Although the study's researchers have determined the system formed in the classical star formation scenario, which starts with a giant molecular cloud that collapses under its own gravity, much of the planet's origins remain a mystery.

"One possible scenario is that it formed in the disk that would have been around star A, after the formation of the system," Wagner told Space.com.

However, at about twice the distance Pluto is from the sun of our solar system, there would not have been very much material available for a planet to form.

"So, we think that the planet actually formed closer to one of the stars. Then, through some scattering or migration, the planet found its way to its present orbit," Wagner said.

Next, researchers plan to examine the planet's movement and trajectory, in order to determine the long-term stability of the system.

"We think that it's stable, but we can't really say for sure," Wagner said. "An unstable orbit would typically have adjusted over a few orbits of the planet. The system itself is 16 million years old, so it would have had plenty of time for the planet to adjust if it were in an unstable orbit. Still, 16 million years is rather young, so it wouldn't be extremely surprising if it were on an unstable orbit. Right now, we can't really tell for sure, because we only have one snapshot of where the planet is in orbit, and it takes over 500 years to complete."

Follow Samantha Mathewson@Sam_Ashley13. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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A U.S. Forest Service decision to close most of Idahos Great Burn area along the Montana border to motorized access has observers both frustrated and confused.

Nez Perce-Clearwater Forest Supervisor Cheryl Probert released a draft record of decision banning snowmobile access in the national forests recommended wilderness areas and limiting summer motorized use to a single trail. Motorized advocates called the ban unjustified because the area lacks a federal wilderness designation. A coalition of environmental groups was equally upset because Proberts decision appears to ignore a recent court order telling the Forest Service to protect more elk habitat from motorized access.

The bottom line for me is that the forest plan, after considerable analysis of values and public comment and discussion, did recommend four areas for wilderness designation, Probert said in an email about the travel management plan.

Through that rigorous analysis, the Forest Service found compelling reasons that elevated these areas above all other roadless areas on the forest and led to the wilderness recommendation in the forest plan. Until such time as the forest plan is revised or Congress makes a decision to either designate these areas as Wilderness or clearly reject them, management of those areas needs to protect the values that resulted in them being recommended for wilderness designation in the first instance.

Idaho State Snowmobile Association public lands director Sandra Mitchell said the decision repeated a previous Forest Service stance that had been challenged in court.

We prevailed in that lawsuit, and the judge ordered them to go back and make a new decision, Mitchell said Tuesday from her Boise office. This is identical. We will be appealing and objecting.

The snowmobile association and the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a motorized recreation user group, argued Forest Service was usurping Congress authority under the 1964 Wilderness Act to create and manage wilderness areas. Without such congressional legislation, the groups claimed, the Forest Service has no power to block existing uses of public lands.

This is just an absolute classic backcountry snowmobile experience you cant find anywhere else in the Clearwater, Mitchell said. For snowmobiling the Great Burn is the biggest issue for us. And were not asking for all of it  just those acres that are rideable. Theres only about 20 percent that is what we actually snowmobile.

The Friends of the Clearwater joined with several other environmental groups in a different lawsuit saying the Forest Service disregarded its own rules for protecting elk habitat from motorized intrusions. They found the Proberts decision equally perplexing.

Those areas are not supposed to be motorized during the summertime, Friends of the Clearwater Director Gary McFarlane said Tuesday. Thats what we won on, and the Forest Service was told to go back and fix that.

McFarlane said hes unclear how Proberts proposal will withstand the judges elk habitat order, given that the Forest Services own statement acknowledges it doesnt specifically address the ruling.

In all likelihood well file an objection to that portion, McFarlane said. By choosing to go this way theyve created a bit of confusion.

The Great Burn Recommended Wilderness Area covers the state line roughly south of Superior nearly to Highway 12 west of Lolo Pass. Its 252,000 acres includes many scars from the historic forest fires of 1910, as well as part of Lewis and Clarks route across the Rocky Mountains, Nez Perce and Salish cultural sites, numerous lakes and trails.

The draft travel plan allowed motorized summer access to the Fish Lake Trail No. 419, which can be reached from Hoodoo Pass on the Montana side or Pierce, Idaho.

It now goes through the Forest Services objection process, which is only open to people and groups that have participated in the previous comment periods. The 45-day objection period started on Tuesday.
Luanda, July 07, 2016 (SPS) - The vice president of Angola,Mr. Manuel Domingos Vicente reiterated Thursday his country firm and historical position for the just struggle of the Saharawi people for independence and self-determination " during a reception of the Ambassador Saharawi, Mr. Abah Cheikh Mohamed recently appointed as Ambassador Extraordinary and plenipotentiary of SADR to the Republic of Angola.

The Angolan Vice President also conveyed on behalf of his government his deepest condolences to the Saharawi authorities for the death of Mohamed Abdelaziz.

For his part, the Saharawi Ambassador praised on behalf of the Government and Saharawi people the solidarity and continued support of Angola to the Saharawi cause, also informed his interlocutor about the latest developments of the national cause.SPS

125/090/TRA
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DANBURY  U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty loves chocolate, but she recently received a chocolate bar she wont be eating.

Its too pretty to eat, the Democrat who represents the states 5th District said. I have to show it off.

Esty paid a visit to the Danbury Hackerspace recently and one of the many entrepreneurial innovators she met specialized in laser-designing chocolate bars. The inscription on the bar read: Dear Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, thank you for supporting innovation in the great state of Connecticut. The Great Seal of Connecticut adorns the middle of the bar and bottom reads: Sincerely Jennifer & Michael Sauvageau.

Founded in 2012, The Danbury Makerspace is a nonprofit organization that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship and features 3D printers and prototyping tools in a studio, common work area and coworking space. It operates out of the Danbury Innovation Center at 158 Main St., which is attached to the Danbury Library.

Were very excited to be working with Representative Esty to find new ways to help entrepreneurs in the greater Danbury area, Danbury Hackerspace co-founder Mike Kaltschnee said. With her help we can expand our efforts and help even more people realize their dreams. Working together we can help make Danbury the technology hub of Western Connecticut.

Esty was also impressed by ideas regarding vertical farming, a fashionable way to keep ear buds in while working out and other innovations.

I was struck by the diversity of the projects and of the ages, genders and ethnicities of the people there, she said. It brings everyone together so they can share and support each other. This will make Danbury an innovation leader.

Esty said the local business community is behind the idea, and she is leading an effort to get more businesses to support the concept.

I was delighted to see a Small Business Administration representative there, she said. I saw a lot of folks there. The mayor (Danburys Mark Boughton) was there. The head of WestConn was there. Its bringing together companies, academic institutions, mentors and innovative entrepreneurs.

Its a real gem and something people should know about, Esty added. What really struck me was the energy and enthusiasm that Mike has created here.

Danbury Hackerspace holds a free open house from 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday.

cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
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STAMFORD  After announcing last month the move of its Manhattan operations, the family office that manages the assets of billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen is planning to expand its Stamford headquarters.

Point72 Asset Management and Soundview Farms LLC, which owns several office buildings on Gatehouse Road, has filed an application with the citys Zoning Board to build a 20,000-square-foot building at 43 Gatehouse Road. The new Waterside complex would complement Point72s current base at the neighboring 72 Cummings Point Road, where about 550 people now work.

The new building on Gatehouse Road would replace a 23,160-square-foot structure, according to the Zoning Boards agenda.

The Zoning Board is set to review the application at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Monday, at the Stamford Government Center.

Weve got a very strong financial sector, and its continuing to grow, said Thomas Madden, the citys economic development director.

Point72 announced last week that it plans to lease more than 175,000 square feet across six floors at 55 Hudson Yards, in a 51-story office tower set to open in 2018 on the west side of Manhattan. Point72 now bases about 400 employees in two Midtown buildings a mile apart: 510 and 330 Madison Ave. The new offices would be able to hold about 700.

Our Stamford headquarters will be unaffected by the new (Manhattan) office, Point72 spokeswoman Jessica Schaefer said in an email.

Stamford employees will also be able to work in the new Manhattan offices, Schaefer said.

As we hire more analysts in Connecticut, as part of our commitment to increase the amount of intellectual firepower we can bring to our fundamental research, well be able to give them the opportunity to also work in the New York office to learn from their counterparts there, Schaefer said.

Point72 has a total of about 1,000 employees.

As a global firm, weve made a commitment to providing the best office space available in Asia, Connecticut, London and New York, Schaefer said.

The founder of SAC Capital Advisors, Cohen, of Greenwich, converted his investment operations into a family office in 2014. Point72 manages Cohens assets and those of some of his employees. Cohens fortune has been estimated to total about $11 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In January, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Cohen would be prohibited from overseeing funds that manage outside money until 2018. The settlement resolved charges against Cohen of failing to supervise a portfolio manager at SAC Capital, whom the SEC said engaged in insider trading.

The settlement allowed Cohen to start up this year a new venture, Stamford Harbor Capital, which can accept outside investors money. Stamford Harbor complies with the SEC ruling by not putting Cohen in a supervisory role, although some, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have criticized that venture.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
STAMFORD  A new teen center at the Boys & Girls Club and improvements at the Yerwood Center are among projects that will be funded by nearly $6 million in state bonds that legislators expect to be approved next week.

Upgrades at the two community centers, which will cost $4.4 million, were among the statewide projects that Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Stamford native and former mayor, chose for bonding. The State Bond Commission is to allocate the money Tuesday at the state capitol.

Mayor David Martin announced tentative plans for a Boys & Girls Club teen center, to be built at the Mary C. Rich Clubhouse on Stillwater Avenue, at a West Side community meeting last month.

The city and community groups have acknowledged the need for more after-school programs since the Yerwood Center  which for decades was the primary provider of services for low-income children on the West Side  was taken over last year by the Boys & Girls Club.

Community leaders say the programs are an important tool for keeping young people occupied and off the streets, especially in light of ongoing gun violence on the West Side that has resulted in six injuries since March.

The Yerwood Center lost its lease with the city after it failed to overcome significant financial troubles. Although the Fairfield Avenue center is being used this summer for camp, it requires upgrades that neither the city nor the club can afford.

This is excellent news for us in Stamford, the Boys & Girls Club and the kids they serve, the mayor said Thursday. The Boys & Girls Club routinely steps up to support our community, whether its their work at their location on Stillwater or most recently at the Yerwood Center. Their record of successful programs in the West Side deserves this significant state funding.

The Bond Commissions agenda also includes $750,000 for Fairfield County Hospice for construction at its new Stamford site; $529,000 for Mental Health Connecticut for improvements at its Quintard Terrace building; and $160,000 for first-responder equipment to be shared with Darien, Greenwich and Norwalk.

This infusion of state funding will be a great boost to Stamfords community service providers, said state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-27th District. Investments in mental health, senior services and our youth are crucial to ensuring our city is a vibrant, welcoming home for everyone in our society.

Leone is vice chairman of the Senate Revenue and Bonding Committee, which helps determine which long-term infrastructure improvements will be funded with 20- and 30-year bonds.

State Rep. Patricia Miller, D-145th District, who represents the West Side, applauded the investment in the city.

Helping our children succeed, providing mental health care and ensuring quality care for seniors are top priorities, Miller said. The Boys & Girls Club provides an invaluable service to Stamfords youth, and the funding to expand and improve their facilities will open the doors of opportunity for more children and teens.

eskalka@scni.com
Youve come to a crossroads and need to decide how you want to pay to repair the deteriorating road under your wheels.

Do you:

a) Pay a higher gas tax.

b) Pay a toll.

c) Pay a fee per mile.

d) Pay all of the above.

e) Pay none of the above and pray the road survives the trip.

If you answered e, you probably live in Connecticut.

Its hard to embrace option c, particularly if you drive an electric car. As officials throughout the country do the math and come to the conclusion that environmentally correct vehicles equal less income from a gas tax, they are starting to look more closely at c. You cant blame electric-car drivers for feeling like someone being asked to pay more for their water because soda and beer sales are down.

There seems to be no off-ramp out of the congestion in the conversation about raising the money to pay for Gov. Dannel P. Malloys $100-billion plan to upgrade Connecticuts highways, bridges and rail systems.

Connecticut politicians and pundits have been quick to denounce the I-95 Corridor Coalitions pursuit of federal funding to set up a pilot program to explore how road miles could be counted and translated into mileage fees. Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire have joined Connecticut in volunteering to participate in a program to test the system.

The idea has proven unpopular in polls, and seems to raise endless questions about practical execution as well as concerns about violation of personal rights. How would miles be counted across state lines? How would they be counted at all? GPS and apps are suggested, though not every driver has either. It also seems like a system ripe for cheating. And even as so many members of our society seem ignorant about the perils of storing personal information in phones, its reasonable to be wary of allowing every mile of personal travel to be documented.

One of our many concerns with a so-called mileage tax is that it would afflict the afflicted, punishing low-income workers who already put in long commutes.

But suppressing the conversation about the tax does not mean it will not move forward in other states. Unless we plan to shut down the borders, Connecticut needs to be part of the conversation. The pilot process should include vocal critics such as state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, a ranking member on the Legislatures Transportation Committee; and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk.

On a positive note, its encouraging to see any effort that involves states cooperating toward a common good.

Thats also a reason skeptics might want to tap the brakes instead of pumping them. E will always be the wrong answer. The roads must eventually be paved and reshaped; the bridges rebuilt; the rails modernized.

We dont have all the answers, but we know the state cant just sit and wait in hopes a free ride will come along.
I f anyone was going to show that the London markets were still open for business despite all the turmoil, it was Jock Miller and his team at Melrose. The company specialises in restoring the fortunes of neglected or badly managed engineering businesses which it buys cheaply, revives and sells  often for two or three times what it originally paid. It delivers private-equity-style transformations in the public markets.

When most market practitioners were wailing and gnashing their teeth in the post-referendum mayhem, the Melrose team set about raising 2.2 billion to finance the purchase of its next candidate for revival  US air-conditioning business Nortek. Some 1.65 billion of the total was new equity, and it was all raised in London in just three days.

It is a timely reminder that when the City focuses on the end-users, and channels its skills to finance real economic activity, no one does it better. But this has been lost to much of the country outside the M25. People there look to the City and see financial excess, bad behaviour, ripped-off customers and greed. The Brexit vote was as much about stuffing it to the City as it was a vote against the so-called bureaucrats in Brussels.

The mood is so toxic and flowing so strongly in the country that many people would be pleased to see the City brought low, even if it does hit tax receipts and make the country worse off. Most dont believe that bit anyway, dismissing such warnings as self-serving scaremongering by the elite. They will take the chance they might suffer a little for the certainty that bankers and businessmen will suffer a lot. The more thoughtful see this as a way to end the situation in which the pain of globalisation is shared by the many while the rewards are grabbed by the few. The rest simply want revenge.

The leaders of the financial world have for years thought their problem with the country at large was a lack of trust; since the referendum, the penny has dropped. Trust is merely a symptom  the real problem is the huge tide of resentment, disgust and in some cases actual hatred at the way people think the City and big business behave and the values they display.

Last week, for the first time at a major City conference, many business leaders showed they got it. Thrown by the Brexit vote, they realise things have gone too far, and there is a major repair job to be done  one that will require a fundamental examination of behaviours, and even then carries no guarantees it will shift the public mood.

Deloitte senior partner David Sproul told the annual conference of lobbying body TheCityUk: We are all paid too much. We will never shift the negative attitudes to globalisation if we carry on paying ourselves too much.

This was immediately echoed by HSBC chairman Douglas Flint, who said he believed the world still wants the benefits of globalisation but with a much better distribution of the spoils.

Then Financial Conduct Authority chairman John Griffith-Jones said that now really is the time for the City to put the end-users of the market first. It had been talked about for long enough but it was time for it actually to mean something in every single business, he said. Fairness and straight dealing were vital, if perceptions of the city were to change.

What should be done is another matter but what might at least be a partial blueprint was unveiled quite independently today by the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), which launched a scheme committing its members to promoting high standards of ethical behaviour, value for clients and professional development. The idea is to establish a hallmark for excellence that can be used to guide clients towards firms which offer high-quality work, and employees towards ones committed to ethics and value.

The fact the MCA has delivered this step change in setting recognisable standards of conduct is to its credit. It will not put the other, less high-minded, consultancies out of business but it will make the industry cowboys easier to spot and avoid. This, of course, is why it is hard for trade associations to get initiatives like this off the ground  the turkeys among the members dont like being asked to vote for Christmas.

Unfortunately, big business and finance need more than codes of conduct and hallmarks of excellence if they are to rebuild respect and trust. It is one thing for heads of organisations to say perceptive things at a conference, quite another for behaviour actually to change. Inertia is almost guaranteed because so much is entrenched, taken for granted, there is so much self-interest and so many people have a vested interest in the status quo. Change is not impossible but it does require enough people to see the need for it.

Maybe that is what the Brexit vote will achieve in a way nothing else has. Business and finance have for years ignored soft talk about reputational risk and the withdrawal of a licence to operate as being the pious words of losers who dont really matter. But the Brexit vote presents a new hard reality  distrust and dislike of business have prompted the public to vote for a change that, if it goes through, will make commercial life harder and less profitable. Ignored for years, the public has finally found a way to force business to listen.
O ne of Londons biggest landlords cast a shadow over the capitals property scene earlier as it warned over a Brexit blow to the market.

Great Portland Estates chief executive Toby Courtauld said it would be nuts to think the market could escape the impact of Brexit as confidence weakens and business investment decisions are deferred.

GPE owns more than 3 billion of property, largely in the West End, with major tenants including social media giant Facebook.

Its gloomy comments follow investors rushing to pull cash out of a series of commercial property funds, while tenants are also deferring deals.

Fund manager GAM has pulled out of a deal to take space at Land Securities Nova scheme at Victoria, while private-equity firm EQT has also put plans to take space with Courtaulds firm on hold.

The chief executive said Londons commercial property markets would weaken during this period of uncertainty although he remained positive on the capitals long-term prospects.

Weve just got to remember that cities like London have traded for the vast majority of their existence outside the EU and have done very well. Im sure the magnetism and power of the city will continue after weve sorted out the arrangement. Long term I remain as optimistic over the city as I ever have, but the interregnum will be somewhat more volatile.

GPE, however, still has 11 tenants on the point of taking up space and has signed up one in the days after the vote.

Courtauld added that most companies were still hunting for space in an undersupplied London market while borrowing levels in the industry were much lower than in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, meaning lower prospects of forced selling.

What happened after the UK voted to leave the EU?

But he warned: There is a complete political vacuum and to say that is unhelpful is probably a serious understatement. I think we need to get political stability and then start fighting our corner.

That call was echoed by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which urgently called for a Brexit battle plan from ministers, with confidence among the capitals firms at a record low in its latest quarterly poll of businesses. Smaller firms are more negative about prospects than bigger firms, the findings revealed.

Chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: Given the result of the referendum and the lack of clear leadership within political parties, it is even more important that the Government moves quickly to maintain confidence and minimise economic insecurity.

The LCCI put forward four demands to Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Government. These were leading more trade missions on behalf of the capital, encouraging more small housebuilders, easing the burden of business rate rises and a decision on airport expansion.
I f you thought NFI meant Not Flippin Invited  or something similar  youd feel sorry for recruitment tycoon Robert Walters.

His NFIs are up 16%. Happily, though, in his business it stands for Net Fee Income, and  despite Brexit  fees are up, meaning clients are hiring.

Banks might not be hammering on his door, but then Walters says thats been the case for years.

Whats really encouraging is that other companies are looking to recruit armies of accountants and lawyers to advise them on Brexits ramifications.

You could harrumph that compliance wonks do not an economy build, and youd be right. But Walters says clients have also been hiring staff to handle big export orders springing from sterlings weakness.

Is this is just a short-term gain to be followed by long-term pain when Article 50 is invoked? Perhaps, but Walters doesnt seem to think so.

Its good to hear some optimism in town for a change.

After all, no one invites the party pooper.

Shanks euro sense

Waste disposal group Shanks is also consigning Brexit gloom to the dustbin, pressing ahead with its takeover of Benelux recycler VGG.

As the 440 million deal is priced in euros but paid for in our newly devalued sterling, it is costing Shanks 40 million more today than it would have in May when the talks began. Thanks, Boris.

Nonetheless, it makes sense because of the euro revenues that VGG will bring for years to come.

As with yesterdays bigger deal by Melrose, Shanks is sending a sign of confidence in the City.

Plenty more UK companies are hunting for deals that bring in dollars and euros. London M&A isnt dead yet.
A new fashion collection from model Alexa Chung has failed to save ailing Marks & Spencer from a calamitous sales collapse, new trading figures revealed.

Aggressive price-cutting and weak consumer spending in the run-up to the EU referendum were blamed for the spectacular 8.9% slump in clothing and homeware sales  the worst for more than a decade.

The new boss of the retail giant, Steve Rowe, said the figures for the three months to the start of July were not the numbers I want to see and retail analysts described them as an absolute shocker.

The scale of M&Ss struggle to regain its once dominant high street status was highlighted by a seven per cent sales rise at discount rival Primark, also announced to the City today.

Alexa Chungs 31-piece collection Archive was launched in February and was inspired by M&S classics dating back to the Forties in the latest bid to overhaul the retailers dowdy fashion reputation.

But on the website today all 24 unique pieces available to order online were being heavily discounted with the Myrtle jumper down from 29.50 to 18 and the Nellie boots reduced from 65 to 29.

Mr Rowe, who replaced Marc Bolland in April, said across-the-board price cuts and a later launch of the summer sale were largely responsible for the equal biggest quarterly fall in clothing sales since 2006. Without these changes the fall in sales would have been only 3.9%.

He said These are not the numbers I want to see in clothing and home, not by any stretch, but they are the numbers I expected to see given the strategic priorities we outlined in May.

Prices were too high and in places we were too promotional and that eroded value. We want to break this cycle which is damaging to the business and not sustainable in the long term.

"The problems at M&S are starting to look terminal."

He insisted there were some encouraging early signs the strategy is working.

Even M&Ss normally reliable food halls failed to offset the downturn in womens wear with a 0.9% fall leaving UK overall like-for-like sales down 4.3%.

The City was unimpressed and M&S shares, already down more than a quarter since Mr Rowe stepped up to the top job, sank as much as 3%, or 8.7p, to 285.4p.

Most commentators were equally unsparing in their criticism of the performance of the 132-year-old business, with one even suggesting the problems were starting to look terminal.

Neil Saunders, managing director at retail research agency Conlumino, said: Calamitous numbers from M&S  although reduced promotions and a later summer sale were both unhelpful, the products still not right.

John Ibbotson, director of the Retail Vision consultancy, said: Todays younger shoppers simply do not have the emotional bond with M&S that older people have. As a result, theyre shopping elsewhere, whether with Next, New Look, Primark and other affordable luxury brands.

As hard as it is to say, the problems at M&S are starting to look terminal.
T he Government has been urged to scrap a planned revaluation of business rates to ease the pressure on London retailers already struggling with Brexit uncertainty.

From 2017, business rates  the annual tax companies pay on their property  will be based on rents on April 1 last year.

But the New West End Company (NWEC), which represents Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street and wrote to Chancellor George Osborne today, said that will mean a 150 million, or 80%, rise for retailers on its patch and could stymie the district, which generates as much gross value added as Wales.

Chairman Sir Peter Rogers added: Britains vote to leave the EU has created significant economic doubt. In these times of insecurity, our major economic engines need to be supported more than ever.

The NWEC wants a move at the very least to transitional relief with rises capped at 12.5% to spread the cost over a number of years. Fenwick boss Mark Fenwick backed the NWEC, warning current plans could prove detrimental to investment in the area and eventually affect jobs.

The Evening Standard is also calling for business rates reform.
A lex Mahon, boss of tech firm The Foundry, shares the secrets to her success such as riding out tough times, being confident and reliable and making the most of long-haul flights.

What do you do?

We are a tech and creative software provider, writing code from scratch for special effects on TV, films, gaming and design.

Were in Soho but were a global company. Its an interesting mix  our work is quite numerical but our clients are creative, like Disney and Framestore.

Ive been here for six months. As CEO, Im juggling a lot, managing people, working on product launches and targeting new markets. Typically I spend a couple of days in London and then I might be at our office in LA or Austin, Texas, or Manchester or Paris.

Travelling means I meet a lot of people and glean their perspectives. Also, I have four kids so a long flight with a glass of wine, a film and a nap is bliss.

What do you enjoy about it?

I like that the focus is international as I have only ever done international tech and high-growth businesses. I enjoy that running-to-catch-up mode.

Managing a steady, static business is a very different skill. I like building a culture at a company that can thrive on growth.

Coming from television before, whats exciting is going to clients like Pixar to see them create Finding Dory or ILM for Star Wars.

"Ive always believed if you have an understanding as a consumer, thats a great quality."

Were still in the cowboy days in terms of augmented and virtual reality but London has become the home of tech, which is really exciting.

What dont you like?

I generally want to get things done fast. To do that you have to bring everyone with you, which takes time, so Im always having to balance that.

That said, if you wait around to reach consensus you will never get anything done. Thats why CEOs often say theyre lonely; theyre surrounded by people but the crunch decisions are often made alone.

Biggest break?

My mum ran a pharmacy in Edinburgh and I started working there at eight, I left at 11 because it paid less than the minimum wage! Later I was a waitress, a barmaid, a dishwasher and eventually did a PhD to become a medical physicist.

Then I became a tech consultant, which is what led me back to tech. I became an internet consultant in 1998. I went from being an academic to plunging into proper business and then went into TV at RTL and Fremantle. I worked with Peter Fincham, who has gone on to run ITV, and he gave me incredible support.

I was not scared back then. In your twenties, you have no cares. I knew nothing of producing TV, but as a kid I used to watch five hours a night and Ive always believed if you have an understanding as a consumer, thats a great quality.

I went on to Talkback Thames, working on shows like X Factor and then I moved over to Shine, later becoming chief executive. A group of us built it into a rocket ship over eight years with shows like MasterChef and Broadchurch.

Biggest setback?

Ive had plenty. When I moved to RTL, after just three months they said: youve lost your job unless you move to Luxembourg. I knew I couldnt go crawling back into consulting so I moved to room 1212 of the Hilton in Luxembourg, spending four days a week there on a horrible industrial estate and knowing no one. I did, miserably, stick it out but I think you need to be able to ride these things out.

I grew up in a non-standard household, ending up with nine stepbrothers and sisters. If you have gone Oxbridge, Goldman, Harvard MBA and are on that perfect curve, then you probably take these knocks much more to heart. However, for me, setbacks are important in life, they teach you things.

How do you juggle your work-life balance?

I have a huge family and Im also on the board of Ocado, where its great working with intelligent people like Tim Steiner and Stuart [Lord] Rose, so theres a lot going on.

Because I did not have the archetypal housewife mother, my mind is happy at work and theres not the typical guilt complex. I also have a great nanny and an awesome cleaner, and spend time arguing with my husband to do more.

I live in Paddington so I often nip back to see the kids, barrel in, slap some make-up on top of that mornings make-up and head back out to the evening dos.

Any tips?

An ex-boss used to say the world is split between those who tried and those who didnt. Work hard, be confident, reliable and honest.
HAMILTON -- The evacuation warning for the Observation Fire was officially lifted at noon Wednesday.

With some favorable weather coming in and, honestly, some pretty aggressive firefighting tactics by the Forest Service, we feel comfortable about rescinding the evacuation warning, said Ravalli County Undersheriff Steve Holton. Its unlikely anyone will have to evacuate now ... the firefighters have done a lot of really good work over the last few days.

There has been a stage 1 evacuation alert in place for 203 residences since June 28 for an area that includes everything west of U.S. Highway 93 between Lost Horse Road to the south and the Gold Creek area to the north.

Since the fire is still being fought, Holton urged locals to stay alert for firefighter traffic.

The fire is currently at 1,417 acres and 30 percent contained.

As winds died down and temperatures moderated Tuesday, firefighters were able to construct line right against the fire in places that werent too steep. They also mopped up existing lines, laid hoses and installed temporary water reservoirs along Camas Creek ridge.

A contingency line from Camas Creek trail to the top of the ridge was completed by the heavy equipment group.

Currently there are 607 people assigned to the fire, as well as 16 crews, eight helicopters, 21 engines, 14 dozers and eight water tenders.

Some of the resources may soon be assigned to other incidents.
A nyone following the debate during its hottest phase could tell that the referendum on the UKs membership of the European Union would not have a happy ending. But I am shocked to the core. The British peoples decision to leave the EU was met with regret, puzzlement and disappointment across Europe. It is a turning point, a historic watershed.

That said, we must not allow ourselves to be paralysed by shock or to rush into action for actions sake. We must now work together to draw the right conclusions for the EU.

First of all, we have to assess the situation honestly. Many EU citizens do not currently hold it in high esteem. Many people are disappointed, and some are even turned off, because they think the EU has not made good on its central promises of prosperity, democracy and peace, or has made good only in part.

The economic crisis opened up deep wounds that are far from healed. The influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants to Europe has brought to light more than just differences of opinion.

Many people have the impression that European decisions are far removed from their own wishes and ideas and the world they live in. Even peace and security in Europe have become more fragile  just think of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the appalling terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.

And yet there are many things that are working well in Europe. We must not allow our self-critical impulses to blind us to the fact that we have survived the worst and most dangerous phase of the economic crisis. The eurozone has held together and has indeed expanded.

Europe can make the world a safer and more peaceful place, as demonstrated by the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, negotiated with the participation of European foreign policy-makers. Europe exports stability and security, for example to the Western Balkans, where faith in Europe and the desire to develop closer ties is still strong. We have shown at international level what the EU can achieve if it speaks with one voice. And even in the migration crisis we have made significant progress  even if it did take too long.

Nonetheless, the EU of today has lost its attraction for many. We cannot afford to be indifferent to this development. We are now looking back on an unprecedented 70 years of peace and stability.

More than 25 years have passed since we brought an end to the division of our continent. The process of European unification is an unparalleled success story. At its core is an agreed political framework under which the member states come to Brussels to manage their relations and settle their conflicts  and do not head off to the battlefield. This agreement has lost none of its utility or significance. The European peace project must be passed on intact to the generations who will follow us.

Many people criticise the EU because they feel powerless and that they are losing control. Even if this is understandable in a world that seems out of joint, at a time when globalisation is encroaching into many areas of our lives, fear is not a good counsellor. And withdrawing into a national shell does not provide any lasting protection from the risks and dangers of a world perceived to be threatening.

What is to be done? We have to show people that the EU is not the cause of this feeling but rather the best instrument available to influence the world around us, to shape globalisation in our European interests. If we in Europe play as a team, co-ordinate closely and act dynamically, we can overcome conflicts and surmount many obstacles. By contrast, no member state, not even Germany or France  or even the UK  can assert its interests as successfully on the international stage as we can together as a powerful community bound together by solidarity.

It is a fact today that anyone who seeks to abolish the EU will not thereby solve their problems. They will aggravate them. The political and economic turmoil the UK is experiencing shows this clearly. It also shows that the very people who screamed Leave, who shouted Down with the EU, have no answer to the question What next? when the country leaves or the EU is abolished. That is not only foolish and irresponsible, it is playing with fire.

'We are committed to making Europe better, and to making it listen more to the needs of its citizens'

As former French president Francois Mitterrand said at the end of his life, which was so profoundly influenced by his experience of war and suffering: Le nationalisme, cest la guerre! [Nationalism means war!].

People whose conduct is destructive, who instrumentalise voters yearning for putative safety in all things national, must be revealed for what they are and their arguments countered by putting forward genuine solutions.

We are committed to making Europe better, and to making it listen more to the needs of its citizens. This is the direction taken by the proposals put forward by French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and myself last week. We have specific ideas which are focused on areas where people rightly expect more of us: ideas on improved internal and external security, an active migration policy and a policy for growth and employment. And we look forward to receiving lots of constructive ideas.

Listening to the citizens also means we in Europe will have to find a new way of working. A better, more flexible EU will respect differing views on the further progress of Europe and will allow for different speeds, without excluding anyone or leaving anyone behind. Instead of arguing about what the ultimate goal of European integration should be, we should work towards tangible results.

It is only by working together that we will make progress. That is why it is so important for us to consult each other in the group of 27, to listen carefully to each other, and then take joint action.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the German Foreign Minister
I raq paid in blood for what the US and Britain started. The Iraq Inquiry Summary shows how reckless decisions by political, military and diplomatic leaders set in train events that, the departure of Saddam Hussein apart, led to disaster. The Iraqis own killings and abuses ensued. But we should be ashamed.

The inquirys findings are a primer for how not to do such a thing. We have a form of political and public accountability. We have a chance to ensure our government absorbs the lessons.

The inquiry reveals that there was no imminent threat to the UK and that the evidence presented to us on the need to disarm Iraq was fixed so that it could appear to justify getting rid of the Iraqi regime. The legal case was fixed around the policy too. We became aggressors, basing ourselves on falsehoods, the Blair government having propagandised not an enemy but our people.

We then over-reached ourselves massively. We were ill-prepared and ill-equipped to cope with the consequences of what we had set in motion.

But the careful language of the report does not always call a spade a spade. First, decision-making on the legal basis for invading in the absence of UN Security Council authorisation was, the inquiry writes, far from satisfactory. A quaint choice of words, were it not for the suspicion it was designed to minimise the chance of legal accountability.

The inquiry does not explain how the Attorney-General changed his mind. Tony Blair withheld Lord Goldsmiths advice until he had been brought to change his opinion  held from March 2002 until the morning of March 11, 2003  that the envisaged war would be illegal. He crumbled under pressure and on March 13 came to his better view.

The excuse for the fudge on the legal issues  that the inquiry was not set up to assess the legality of the war  is feeble. Its remit was policy  all of it. It assessed military issues without being generals. It could have summarised the arguments and reached a conclusion that the UN Secretary-General of the day had been right to say it was illegal, as Kofi Annan did on September 15, 2004.

They could have cited the late Lord Bingham, who demolished the governments case on the revival of authority to use armed force contained in a Security Council Resolution of 1990 in his book on the Rule of Law.

Second, the limits of our influence on the US are made plain  but no conclusion is drawn on the danger of following the US when it is mesmerised by its might. The inquiry goes into the special relationship but could have made it clearer that Blair had a partnership with a government, under which the US acted like a gangster state in its use of rendition for torture and setting aside the Geneva conventions. The inquiry does give us a lesson, though, on the limits of US military power and civilian capabilities.

Third and most important, Blairs subversion of government processes under our constitution are described but no conclusion drawn on the fragility and potential for corruption of our government system. Blair exploited it, and the powers of a British prime minister. There was in effect a parallel government structure or cabal. It was designed to get a war policy opposed hugely in the country put in place through faits accomplis.

Parliament must set up a non-partisan National Commission to follow through on all the political, military and diplomatic lessons we now have.

Sir Richard Dalton is a former British ambassador to Libya and Iran
Review at a glance









I n many ways, a review seems an inadequate response to Queens of Syria. After all, the group assembled on stage are 13 women, Syrian refugees now in exile in Jordan.

They perform a vital task, lending individual voices and narratives to what, for those of us far removed in the West at least, threatens to become one never-ending bad-news story. The fact that some are perforce better performers than others seems irrelevant to report.

Yet theatre is consciously their chosen medium, as they weave modern-day accounts of homes burnt and cities destroyed around Euripidess The Trojan Women, which tells of how women bear the brunt of the after-effects of war. The group undertake occasional bursts of choral speaking, but the most striking aspects of Zoe Laffertys simple production are the individual accounts.

One woman tells of having to dodge through checkpoints in order to get to the hospital to give birth, only to find it empty and all the staff hiding to escape the bombing. Another has to stop and compose herself after telling of her cousins kidnapping and death.

The ending is terribly moving, for theatregoers, certainly, but most importantly for members of the human race. In turn, the women recount the most precious thing they left behind in Syria and then the most precious they took with them. My children, says one of them simply. Mercifully, its in answer to the latter question.

Until July 9 and then touring.

Buy tickets for Queens of Syria with Going Out Tickets

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
S heehy Skeffington, Reminiscences of an Irish Suffragette, is the fascinating story of Hanna Sheehy Skeffington, Irelands leading suffragette, and her life as a political activist during the early part of the 20th century.

Written and directed by Rosalind Scanlon, this one woman show pays tribute to the extraordinary heroine who campaigned for Irish independence. The staging is particularly timely as this year marks the 100th anniversary of Irelands Easter Uprising.

Ailis Duff portrays the feisty campaigner and her struggle for equal rights. Born in Cork in 1877, Hanna few up in a politically active household becoming one of the first female students accepted at university, graduating from University College Dublin.

The play is at the Tabard Theatre, July 19-24, and tickets can be booked through the Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith.

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
T his years The Girl on the Train is The Girl on the Train, still. Paula Hawkinss first thriller has now sold 400,000-odd copies in paperback since publication in May  although the film, starring Emily Blunt, is not due out until October. The book has effectively taken up the slack left by every interested reader already having done Gone Girl.

In a Q&A on her publishers website, Hawkins honourably pays tribute to Gillian Flynn, while insisting that her book is different. I am a huge fan of Gone Girl. I thought it was an extraordinary book and in Amy I think Flynn created a character who people will be talking about for years, so to be mentioned in the same breath as that book is a huge compliment as far as Im concerned. I can see why people draw comparisons but I also think The Girl on the Train is a very different book. While Gone Girl deals with the disintegration of a marriage, in The Girl on the Train we have already passed that point: Rachels marriage is gone, she has no job, no home, she has lost everything. Most importantly, shes lost control

In a forthcoming book, The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel by Jodie Archer, a former publisher, and Matthew J Lockers, a computer-based literary analyst, use digital text-mining to predict what features make a novel a bestseller or not.

Much of what they conclude comes under Sybil Fawltys special subject: the bleeding obvious. Stick to real people Conflict drives novels Style is important Human closeness is a top theme You dont say.

Yet eventually the authors arrive at a chapter called The Noirs, or, What the Girl Needs. There they puzzle at the mainstream rise of a new subgenre, the domestic noir, the dark feminine in mass culture in which marriage, home and family become the most alienating of spaces. Their statistical researches have yielded the definite result that the four verbs most used of these bestselling characters are need, want, miss and love. But they admit that novels cannot be machine-written or fully-specified and that authors really matter. Publishing remains a punt. Their simple advice to editors? Keep buying the girl books.

They do, they do. Yet there is simply not (yet) any thriller in the airport bookshops this summer that hits the spot precisely. Emma Clines The Girls (9, Amazon )  you see what she did there?  is doing well. But it rehearses the Charles Manson murders so much from the first-person point of view of an impressionable, self-regarding young girl it is merely exasperating, if not incomprehensible, to male or more sceptical female readers.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (8.10, Wordery ) has a heroine, Lo, a travel journalist in north London who, as well as being traumatised by a burglary, drinks so much, in addition to taking anti-depressants, she makes the girl on the train look a pitiful abstainer. Lo sets off on a luxury boutique maiden cruise to Norway, thus providing a form of locked-room mystery, when she believes she has witnessed a murder but others doubt her sanity. The resolution depends on whether or not you find it credible that, on this cruise, she would not recognise the same person disguised with a wig and false eyebrows. But thats often the way with thrillers: if they do get you to the end, its too late then to mind if the villain turns out to be a rabid guinea pig.

The best books for summer 2016 1 /8 The best books for summer 2016 Click through our gallery to discover the best books to read this summer Rex The Muse by Jessie Burton Burtons The Miniaturist sold more than a million copies and won Waterstones Book of the Year in 2014, with TV rights recently optioned. Its US publisher paid six figures for follow-up The Muse. The story of Caribbean immigrant Odelle Bastien, which evolves into a mysterious tale of long-lost art work and 1930s Spain. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley Get ready to sacrifice your social life again: Hawley created and wrote Netflix hit Fargo and this, his fifth novel, promises to make you cancel even more dinner plans. Artist Scott Buroughs is involved in a suspicious plane crash, survivied only by himself and its super-rich owners young son. An increasingly nerve-wracking investigation follows. Hawley is, of course, already adapting it for screen. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Perrys debut novel, After Me Comes the Flood, was longlisted for the Guardian First Book of the Year, and the rights to her second were snapped up. A religious, secluded upbringing clearly impacts Perrys work: set in 1889, The Essex Serpent concerns widow Cora Seaborne, who finds Essex locals terrified of a mythical man-killing serpent on the marshes. A fellow sceptic, local vicar William, provides romance. Barkskins by Annie Proulx Another Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this time with a real heavy hitter. At more than 700 pages, Barkskins is being heralded as Proulxs masterwork  no small accolade, after Brokeback Mountain and The Shipping News. The epic, which shes been working on for a decade, is an environmentally-focused narrative set in the 17th century: expect intensely vivid depiction of landscape and character. The Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler I thought maybe I could make it more believable, says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tyler of Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew. Her hilarious contemporary take on the play  part of the Shakespeare Project, in which acclaimed authors update the Bard  sees bored pre-school teacher Kate Battista caught up in her fathers plan to save a friend from deportation.

I See You by Clare Mackintosh (9, Amazon ), her follow-up to the hit I Let You Go (brand! brand!) comes with an endorsement from Paula Hawkins herself. It is about the wicked stalking of women on the Tube by lustful, even murderous men, orchestrated by an agency called Findtheone.com, which operates through ads placed in the London paper everybody reads,

The London Gazette. Eh? Troubled policewoman Kelly tries to solve the case while threatened heroine Zoe wonders if she should suspect her new partner (a hack sacked from The Daily Telegraph, poor chap), her son, her boss  or maybe even another woman, could it be? The girl on the Underground cant guess until the end.

In Lie With Me (7.99, Amazon ), Sabine Durrant has most adroitly whizzed up the ingredients. Our narrator, Paul, is a failed novelist, boozy, lecherous but thanks to his remaining looks still successfully sponging off women. He ends up with his latest conquest, a wealthy widow 20 years older than he prefers, on holiday in Greece, where something awful happened when he was pissed out of his mind 10 years ago, and a girl disappeared. This point of view allows Durrant to give us an intimate picture of an horrific male (always focusing intently on teenage girls bikini-clad bottoms) while eventually perhaps still going feminine noir. Surprise!

The most remarkable, indeed the best, of these books, however, is The Couple Next Door (11.74, Wordery), a debut by Canadian Shari Lapena, already sold into 28 territories apparently. Its about young parents in upstate New York who go for an alcoholic dinner with a sexy couple next door, leaving their six-month-old baby at home  from where she disappears. Over 300 fiercely twisty pages, the mother, Anne, tries to find out what has happened, if her child is still alive, and if theres anyone she can trust  the couple next door, her husband, her own parents, herself even? Any resemblance to an actual case is acute. Heres one in which marriage, home and family have become alienating: heres one for the flight, for the beach.
S omething about Jessie Burtons first novel, The Miniaturist, caught the public imagination in spectacular fashion. Set in 17th-century Amsterdam, it told the story of 18-year-old Nella Ootman, whose chilly merchant husband gave her a doll-sized replica of their marital home as a wedding present.

The novel was published in 34 countries and sold more than a million copies  every novelists dream, you might think. But the author found her abrupt success, and the intense public scrutiny that accompanied it, disturbing.

Something of that trouble of mind finds its way into Burtons second novel, The Muse, in which questions of creativity, success and its discontents provide a plangent theme. Burtons narrative alternates between London in 1967 and Malaga 30 years before, where the ominous stirrings of the Spanish Civil War are ignored by an expatriate Viennese-British family until it is almost too late.

Burtons London narrator, Odelle Bastien, is a young Trinidadian woman who arrives in Britain with an English degree and an ambition to write but finds the only work she can get is as a shop assistant in the cheap shoe chain Dolcis. Her fortunes change with the offer of a position as a typist at the Skelton Institute of Art, an imposing gallery off Pall Mall. Odelles employer is Marjorie Quick, always known by her surname, an elegant woman of a certain age with an astringent manner, who takes a particular interest in the intelligent young typist.

Burtons narrative strands entwine when Odelles would-be boyfriend, Lawrie, arrives at the Skelton with an enigmatic painting that belonged to his dead mother. When Quick sees the picture she rushes out of the gallery into the rain. In her impetuous flight lies the key to multiple layers of secrets concealed within Burtons fiction.

Neither the painting nor Quick herself are what they appear to be. The picture is thought by the Skeltons experts to be the work of a young Spanish Republican artist, Isaac Robles, whose striking images were bought by the American collector Peggy Guggenheim before his mysterious wartime disappearance. But we rapidly discover that the picture is actually by a young woman, Olive Schloss, who lived in Malaga with her parents, Harold, a Viennese dealer in modern art, and her fragile, depressive English mother, Sarah. After meeting Robles and his younger sister, Teresa, Olive became at first inadvertently and then deliberately embroiled in an ingenious artistic subterfuge.

Both Olive and Odelle have complex relationships with their own talent. When something is considered good it draws people in, often resulting with the eventual destruction of the creator, Quick remarks gnomically, during a conversation with Odelle about writing. Olive, meanwhile, relishes her pseudonymous artistic liberty: All the freedom of creation, with none of the fuss.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

There are ideas here, waiting to be developed, about the relationship between artistic quality, value and recognition. But they are smothered by a mass of conscientious research and an extravagantly complicated plot, which forces Burton into passages of stodgy exposition and threatens in the final pages to collapse beneath its own elaborations.

Burton has a fine eye for the thingness of things (the articulated joints of a beetle, trundling through the corn root) and an engaging, if occasionally self-indulgent, passion for language (birdsong arpeggios spritzing from the trees).

The character of Odelle  a prickly combination of diffidence and egotism, with a writers furtive and dishonest curiosity  is by far the best thing about this otherwise rather thinly characterised novel, whose flaws will doubtless prove no impediment to its success with admirers of The Miniaturist.
D o you remember the days when a bottle of Badoit seemed recherche? When the idea of spending 5 on 500ml of water shipped from Fiji seemed absurd? Well, blame fitspo, the endless pictures of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley et al clutch-ing bottles to their well-exercised chests, and the general elevation of wellness, but somehow water  the stuff of life  has become a status symbol.

This autumn, Selfridges will launch a new ground-floor bar, The Source, serving charcoal water (water which has been infused with or filtered through charcoal), alkaline-filtered water, and botanical water infusions. In LA, restaurants  such as Rays & Stark Bar  boast water sommeliers. And the super-rich are splashing their cash on Fillico Jewelry Water from Japan, which costs more than Dom Perignon, fluid oz for fluid oz. Sold in a Swarovski-crystal-studded bottle, one litre is a cool 150.

For that sort of money, youd hope youre paying for something more than just bog-standard H20 in a fancy bottle. Fillico comes from the Rokko Mountains in Kobe, Japan, where the granite rocks are said to enhance the minerals present. But its promised benefits pale in comparison with Veren Water, available at Harrods for 12.95 for 750ml. Only 3,000 bottles are gathered each year, condensed from vapour in the air over the Florida Keys. As well as being rich in calcium and magnesium, Verens creators claim its free from the chloride (which, in excess, can increase blood pressure) and fluoride (which disrupts the endocrine system and can decrease bone density) used to sanitise many conventional bottled waters.

A lot of essential minerals get depleted so mineral waters can be a great way to restore them, says Lee Mullins, founder of the Workshop Gymnasium at the Bulgari Hotel. They tend to be rich in potassium which is crucial for our heart, muscle and nervous-system functions, as well as zinc, which is good for hair and nails, and magnesium which is one of the most common minerals people lack. Its key for calming the body down and is involved in hundreds of chemical reactions in the body.

Then there are the various speciality waters offering not just purity but added benefits. Alkaline waters such as Blk (also available at Harrods, 3.45 for 500ml) promise an abundance of antioxidants and electrolytes  which tend to get depleted by exercise  while, supposedly, helping balance the bodys pH levels. And advocates of charcoal water swear by its cleansing and digestion-aiding properties.

Not everyone is so enthusiastic. Its a waste of money, says nutritionist Eve Kalinik. Hydro-geologist Paul Younger agrees: If tap water is safe to drink anywhere, it is London. He believes residual chlorine can be beneficial, making it resistant to bacteria, and doubts concerns raised over oestrogen in the water supply. For those still wary, Kalinik recommends PureH20, a filter which pushes water through an advanced membrane.

The best wrist water bottles 1 /6 The best wrist water bottles Ronhill Wrist Bottle Crafted by running brand Ronhill  which has been making performance apparel since 1970, this sturdy bottle features a sports cap and measures at 500ml. Thanks to the cap you wont have to worry about leakage, but you ought to leave this off while running to ensure easy access. 2.80, John Lewis, Buy it now Ultimate Performance Runner's Bottle Available in pink or clear, this durable water carrier is able to hold 580ml of liquid and is ideal for those who are used to carrying wrist bottles while running. Its also designed with a pull-up sports cap thats easy to remove. 2.79, Wiggle, Buy it now Reebok Wrist Water Bottle Part of the Reebok Running range, this one offers a Velcro wrist strap, a water-resistant pocket and an anti-drip locking cap for peace of mind. It might be a bit bulkier than others on this list, but its comfy around the wrist and you can keep small items safe in its pocket. 11, Reebok, Buy it now Swiggies Wrist Water Bottles Looking for something small? These nifty little bottles are designed for any type of physical activity and wont weigh your arm down while running. The large sports cap makes filling them super easy to fill up and they are dishwasher safe. 9.95, Amazon, Buy it now Sweaty Betty Run Bottle Crated from lightweight plastic, this easy grip bottle from Sweaty Betty ought to last a while. While its a bit on the small side, it is super-comfortable to carry so you can enjoy fuss-free hydration for up to an hour. 5, Sweaty Betty, Buy it now

Such a filter also removes the need for a disposable container  no bad thing as London generates two million plastic bottles every day. But if youre caught on the run, ethical choices are available. As part of their Project Ocean initiative, Selfridges has replaced brands using plastic bottles with those using glass such as Elm Spring and Pedras, and at last months Graduate Fashion Week, the FROW toted CanO Water made from recyclable aluminium, while Boxed Water Is Better uses cardboard. Then theres Belu, which donates all its profits to WaterAid. While posh water probably wont make a world of difference to our health, but how we consume it might make a good deal of difference to the world.

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I ts 1pm in Claridges and everything is right with the world, as it always is in Claridges, even when everything is wrong. It is particularly right when you are lunching with Michael Kors in the Reading Room, the doors of which have been closed for privacy, leaving you alone with Kors, his senior vice-president of global communications, and a black-and-white photograph of Jackie Onassis. Theyve moved it, Kors observes, a Claridges regular for many years. Oh, I know what Im having. Im going to be very New York and change the bread, but Im going to have a roast beef sandwich. Perfect. I have to tell you, I am definitely not a kale enthusiast. Last night, they had these wonderful gnocchi, and I said to Gwyneth: Im getting up to go to the mens room. Touch the gnocchi on my plate and there will be hell to pay.

For a man who, the previous evening, got straight off a plane from New York, held a press conference to mark a new lifestyle partnership with McLaren-Honda, threw a party to launch his new Regent Street flagship store, then popped to the River Cafe to host a dinner for 100 friends (Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Chastain, Solange Knowles, Jenson Button, Elle Macpherson and Dame Joan Collins among them), Kors, 56, looks pretty fresh in his uniform of black T-shirt, black jacket and dark jeans. He is tanned, but not the deep mahogany colour of lore. His teeth are reassuringly normal: almost British in fact. Im built for speed, he says cheerfully. Im either at full tilt or I go on vacation and collapse.

Ask him what the hardest thing about being Michael Kors is, and without hesitation, he says the calendar. But then, you dont build a $1bn (700m) empire with 869 worldwide stores by farting around on Facebook eating crisps. Kors launched a womenswear line in 1981, filed for bankruptcy in 1993, relaunched in 1997 (the year he also became creative director of Celine, a fact that may blow the minds of those who thought the house began and ended with Phoebe Philo), launched menswear in 2002 and has since added bags, accessories, jeans, shoes, fragrance, sunglasses, watches and wearables. In 2014, he joined the billionaires club, an elite pack whose members include the Wertheimers (who own Chanel perfumes), Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Miuccia Prada.

Possibly, you may have noticed that every third woman on the Tube is toting a Michael Kors handbag. Their ubiquity goes some way to explaining the success of Michael Kors. Put it this way: if your girlfriend asks Santa for a Jet Set, a Greenwich or a Selma this Christmas, thank your lucky stars she doesnt want a Chanel. Kors three most popular bags retail at 260, 285 and 310 respectively: a Chanel 2.55 bag costs upwards of 3,000. With stunning prescience, Kors pre-empted the current obsession with mid-market price architecture many years ago. The current trend for accessible luxury? You could almost say he invented it.

My wheels started turning a long time ago, he says when I ask him why he decided to make his bags so (relatively) affordable, recalling a time in the early 1990s when he happened to be in Bergdorf Goodman on the first day of its seasonal sale. He watched as women rushed the racks looking for marked-down bargains, and had a lightbulb moment. Why am I not thinking about them? Why cant I be more democratic?

Not just with handbags  with shoes, jewellery, watches, everything. The reality is that people mix up everything anyway. When I was 20, I might have literally spent a months rent on buying a jacket and then wear it with a pair of thrift shop pants. But for a lot of fashion people, price and the idea of wearability and saleability are dirty words. As are age, size, height. I never felt that way, even a long time ago, because I did so many trunk shows and personal events. I was so young when I started; if I hadnt done that, I truly would have been designing in the dark.

Jessica Chastain and Kors at the opening of his store at 179 Regent Street

Kors success lies in his refusal to be snobbish. Or rather, in his natural yearning to be inclusive. He is interested in people. More unusually still, on the evidence of the time I spent with him, he appears to treat them all the same. Even with celebrities, I mean, I can be pretty blunt with them, he says devilishly. Ill say: You look like you cant move in that. Take it off. No wonder close friends such as Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Kate Hudson, Sarah Jessica Parker and Blake Lively all adore him. The simple truth is that if you understand people and youre curious about them, its a huge leg-up. Whenever I talk to students or designers who are just starting their business, I say: Have you spent time in a store? Are you on the street? And also: Are you only friends with other fashion people? Because if you are, its a disaster. Get out of your bubble.

Kors birth name is Karl Anderson, but when his mother, a former model, remarried his stepfather, Bill Kors, a businessman, she gave him the option to change his first name, too. He was a child model growing up in Merrick, New York (he appeared in a TV ad for Lucky Charms), then an actor, before finally deciding to pursue fashion, enrolling at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 1977.

I grew up with very opinionated women, he says. They loved to debate. The men, never. But the women in our family would fight over clothes. I listened to all of it. A lot of fashion people, they burn their past: My family? Oh no, I dont want to talk about them. They made you! You dont want to get them dressed? I do. Im interested. I listen to everything. Ive had the same housekeeper in New York for 27 years. She has two daughters, and they wear Michael Kors. One of them is very petite. Tiny. She told me she tried on this coat and it overwhelmed her. The next thing you know, we started doing petite sizes. We make an American size 16 [UK 20] for the runway collection, but we also make a size 0. I dont care if youre 17 or 70. Everyones looking for similar answers. Maybe Im old-fashioned, but I think thats my job.

Andrew Woffinden

It takes a peculiar kind of snob to ignore the potential dividends of dressing everyone, as opposed to a narrow remit of slim and wealthy people just like them. Yet, so afraid are some luxury brands of doing anything to tarnish their perceived exclusivity that they seem to act in a snobbish way. Fabulous, if your brand is in rude health. Otherwise? Good luck with that. Particularly now, in the midst of such global financial turmoil. Some fashion critics might dismiss Kors as too commercial, but what he may lack in creative spark, he makes up for in strategy. In the same deft way that he identified an overlooked market, he also identified his customers rapidly shrinking time frame in which to shop. Everyone is overloaded: and so he has embraced what he calls punctuation points. Theyre the signifiers of how you get dressed, he explains. Its a fabulous coat or jacket, its an amazing bag, its the right sunglasses, its a shoe thats comfortable but cool, and everything else kind of recedes. Those are the look-changers. And fragrance is a signifier. It tells people what mood youre in, says something about you, finishes you off.

The food arrives. I have ordered the lobster risotto; because I am in Claridges and it will be easy to spoon into my mouth while I talk. Kors roast beef sandwich is less acquiescent. I ask whether he would like to pause the interview while we eat. Dont worry, Im a New Yorker, he says. Im a multi-tasker. It seems an apposite time to ask him about the pace of fashion. The calendar globally is insane. Youre just going to give everyone burnout, and then no one can notice whats wonderful, he says. We used to show 90 looks. Now, Im like: If this is longer than 11 minutes, Im going to kill myself. He famously banned guests from Instagramming his Resort collection in June. People are overloaded and seeing too much, he justifies. He still loves Instagram, though, and has over eight million followers. Its my giant global trunk show.

Michael Kors Collection S/S 2016

Kors fiddles with his phone only once when his husband calls him, though he doesnt take the call. He met Lance LePere in 1990 when LePere interned at Kors design studio while still a student at Parsons. They married in 2011, straight after gay marriage was legalised. We have a similar point of view, but were different people, he says of the man he describes as his right hand (LePere is also head of Kors womenswear).

Kors has a 26-year involvement with Gods Love We Deliver, the New York charity he first encountered when a friend was ill with AIDS. Thanks to a 6m city grant (and a 3.8m donation by Kors), it now turns out nearly 1.5 million meals a year to people suffering from AIDS, cancer and other illnesses.

How lucky am I? How could you not give back? he exclaims. Its my nature. I like results. Thats how I approach fashion. Halle [Berry] took her daughter to Nicaragua  she was six at the time  and as soon as they got back to LA she said Mommy, what can we do to help? Thats the key thing. I want people to feel engaged. You dont have to be rich. People donate $5.

If Kors is affectionately known as a name-dropper, its clear he does it more out of a duty to entertain than show off. A man who counts Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama as clients; whose public offering in 2011 was one of the most successful in fashion history, probably doesnt need to impress anyone. No, Kors isnt a boaster. Hes a people-pleaser. Try the caviar! hed entreated me the previous evening at his store opening, after having been unfailingly polite to the stream of guests whod asked for selfies.

I have finished my lobster ravioli, but Kors beef sandwich is half-eaten when our time runs out, a consequence of his prioritising talking over eating, as one must do when conducting an interview over lunch. On the way home, I think about his courtesy and charm, his sense of public duty and propriety, and one thing he said comes back to me. Im convinced that its an increasingly casual world.

I dont know that well go back. He was talking about the way we dress, but he may as well have been talking about everything. From manners to microshorts, the world has gone casual. And Kors is there to dress it.

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H ome is 

Forest Hill, south-east London. I grew up in Wimbledon, and my parents and grandparents are from Battersea, so living south of the river clearly runs in the blood.

Most romantic thing someones done for you?

When I was 15 my best friend took me to Dennis Severs house in Spitalfields. Its an old Huguenot silk weavers house thats been decorated as if its inhabitants have just left the room. Its influenced my ideas of how the past never really leaves us.

Best place for a first date?

Gordons Wine Bar near Charing Cross. Its candlelit interior offers great potential for naughtiness, and sometimes you need a little bit of Dutch courage.

Earliest London memory?

My mum took me to see The Wind in the Willows at the National Theatre when I was eight. I clearly remember the revolving stage was used as a tree trunk hiding all the animals homes, and Richard Briers played Ratty. Thats when I fell in love with theatre.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?

Get all the empty properties occupied. There are families on waiting lists for places to live, and there seems to be private property development happening everywhere but not necessarily for people who can afford it.

Best place for a night cap?

Blacks Club on Dean Street. Its an old Georgian house with creaky floorboards, dark walls, dark corners, and velvet sofas. It has an old London feel to it.

Best piece of advice youve been given?

All you can do is your best and thats enough  from my parents.

Where do you go to let your hair down?

My living room. I love getting some friends round, cracking open the Sancerre and putting on our favourite Nineties anthems. Well play some TLC, Spin Doctors  the bangers we listened to in our early 20s.

Favourite bar?

The Gilbert Scott bar in Kings Cross. I go there with my publisher. Its A-pear-itif is the best cocktail Ive ever had. It tastes like its good for you.

Last album you bought?

Emmy the Greats Second Love. Ive listened to Swimming Pool about 300 times.

Favourite London discoveries?

The top floor of the V&A. There are rooms and rooms of beautiful ceramics in cabinets.

Whos your hero?

Jackie Collins. I seek to emulate her work ethic, her down-to-earth attitude, her glamour  and the fact that she seemed to really bloody enjoy life.

The best books for summer 2016 1 /8 The best books for summer 2016 Click through our gallery to discover the best books to read this summer Rex The Muse by Jessie Burton Burtons The Miniaturist sold more than a million copies and won Waterstones Book of the Year in 2014, with TV rights recently optioned. Its US publisher paid six figures for follow-up The Muse. The story of Caribbean immigrant Odelle Bastien, which evolves into a mysterious tale of long-lost art work and 1930s Spain. Before the Fall by Noah Hawley Get ready to sacrifice your social life again: Hawley created and wrote Netflix hit Fargo and this, his fifth novel, promises to make you cancel even more dinner plans. Artist Scott Buroughs is involved in a suspicious plane crash, survivied only by himself and its super-rich owners young son. An increasingly nerve-wracking investigation follows. Hawley is, of course, already adapting it for screen. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Perrys debut novel, After Me Comes the Flood, was longlisted for the Guardian First Book of the Year, and the rights to her second were snapped up. A religious, secluded upbringing clearly impacts Perrys work: set in 1889, The Essex Serpent concerns widow Cora Seaborne, who finds Essex locals terrified of a mythical man-killing serpent on the marshes. A fellow sceptic, local vicar William, provides romance. Barkskins by Annie Proulx Another Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this time with a real heavy hitter. At more than 700 pages, Barkskins is being heralded as Proulxs masterwork  no small accolade, after Brokeback Mountain and The Shipping News. The epic, which shes been working on for a decade, is an environmentally-focused narrative set in the 17th century: expect intensely vivid depiction of landscape and character. The Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler I thought maybe I could make it more believable, says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tyler of Shakespeares Taming of the Shrew. Her hilarious contemporary take on the play  part of the Shakespeare Project, in which acclaimed authors update the Bard  sees bored pre-school teacher Kate Battista caught up in her fathers plan to save a friend from deportation.

What are you up to at the moment?

Ive just finished my second novel, so Im taking a break before inevitably starting on another.

What do you collect?

People, to put in my novels.

The Muse by Jessie Burton is out now in hardback and ebook (Picador 12.99/8.99)

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T here are wristbands that can do everything, from tracking your exercise to telling you when you're sunburned.

Now, there's even one that'll tell you how drunk you are, according to New York Magazine. The new device, BACtrack Skyn, contains a sensor that detects ethanol molecules, which your skin releases when you drink.

It's no secret that as you consume alcohol, your judgement goes  including your judgment of how drunk you're getting. So, when you're out drinking, you can check the band to see an up-to-date reading of your blood alcohol concentration. You can also look at a chart that shows how it's changing over time. But even if you don't think to check the band, you can program it to send notifications when you've reached a certain BAC.

BACtrack also makes breathalysers that connect to smartphone apps. This new, breathalyser-free wristband won first place in the National Institute of Health's Wearable Alcohol Biosensor Challenge.

"Were excited to bring BACtrack Skyn to market to aid researchers and treatment providers in collecting more reliable data and ultimately, make advances in healthcare treatment, BACtrack President and CEO Keith Nothacker said in a press release.

The device isn't for sale yet, but you can sign up on its website to be one of the first to know when it's available.

Read more from Refinery29

Read the original article on Refinery 29 UK  2016. Follow Refinery 29 UK on Twitter
T he family of a young man stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in a London bar today urged the public to help find one of Britains most wanted men as police doubled the reward.

21-year-old Josh Hanson was fatally stabbed on the dance floor of the RE Bar, in Hillingdon, last October.

Police want to speak to Shane OBrien, 28, after he fled the country in the aftermath of the attack.

He was thought to be hiding in the Netherlands and detectives now believe he has fled to Dubai after receiving sightings from around the world.

They have doubled the reward to 20,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Wanted for questioning: Shane O'Brien / Metropolitan Police

Mr Hansons mother Tracey said: Our lives will never ever be the same without Josh and it just gets harder and harder every day, so please if you have any information at all no matter how small or irrelevant you think it may be, please call the police.

OBrien, originally from Ladbroke Grove, is described as white, six foot tall with grey eyes and short dark brown hair.

He also goes by the name of Troy OBrien and has a distinctive Shannon 15-04-06 tattoo on his back.

Two men aged 24 and 29 were arrested on board an inbound flight to the UK on October 11 on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender. They are bailed until September.

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh said: Clearly OBrien is being helped by other people to evade police - some of those allegedly assisting him have already been arrested. The fact that OBrien is moving from country to country demonstrates he has the means to travel without using his own identity.
A taxi driver today admitted murdering a Muslim shopkeeper who hours before had wished Christians a very happy Easter.

Asad Shah, 40, who ran a convenience store in Glasgow, was fatally stabbed by Tanveer Ahmed, 32, on March 24.

Ahmed, a Muslim from Bradford in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the businessman, who was described by his family as a brilliant man.

The killer was remanded in custody and sentencing deferred until August 9.

Mr Shah, an Ahmadi Muslim who moved from Pakistan to Glasgow in 1998, was discovered outside his shop on Minard Road and taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ahmadis differ from the majority of Muslims in that they do not hold that Muhammad is the final Prophet, the court heard.

Evidence showed Mr Shah had posted videos on Facebook and YouTube which could be seen as him claiming that he was a Prophet.

Ahmed was arrested and, after a court hearing in April, released a statement through his lawyer saying Mr Shah had disrespected the message of the Prophet Muhammad.

He said the shopkeeper claimed to be a prophet and if I had not done this others would. It so offended his feelings and faith that he had to kill him, advocate deputy Iain McSporran said.

The prosecutor stressed that a message posted on Facebook by Mr Shah hours before the attack, wishing Christians a happy Easter, had no bearing on the crime.

Mr Shahs customers and friends flocked to the store the day after the murder to lay flowers and tributes to the shopkeeper they described as a pillar of the community.

Hundreds turned out for a candlelit vigil that evening, including Nicola Sturgeon. Donations to an online fundraiser for Mr Shahs family topped 100,000.

After his killing, his family said: He was a brilliant man, recognising that the differences between people are vastly outweighed by our similarities. Asad left us a tremendous gift and we must continue to honour that gift by loving and taking care of one another.
A man is fighting for life today after being mown down by a Land Rover apparently used as a weapon.

The pedestrian, believed to be in his late teens, suffered serious head injuries and is in a critical condition after the incident shortly after 1am yesterday morning.

He was with a 26-year-old man who suffered minor injuries when they were hit by a car in Frimley Way, Mile End.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Neighbours were woken up by the sound of men fighting in the early hours of the morning.

One resident told the East London Advertiser: A white Land Rover pulled up - then I saw about 15 men were chasing it.

My husband said he saw the man being run over and the other men trying to get at the driver, so we rang police.

A resident said: One man was being put into a raised stretcher and paramedics were working on him for an hour before they rushed him off in an ambulance. The police were everywhere.

Forensic experts scoured the scene yesterday, with witnesses reporting evidence tags all over the floor.

Police said they were called to reports a car in collision with two men.

Officers arrested two men in Vallance Road, Bethnal Green, on suspicion of attempted murder.

They both remain in custody at an east London police station and enquiries continue.
S adiq Khan marked the anniversary of 7/7 today by vowing to do everything possible to protect against another terrorist attack - as survivors called for more to be done to make London safe.

After attending a memorial service in Hyde Park he said it was his first priority to keep Londoners secure.

The Mayor spoke on the 11th anniversary of the devastating suicide attacks on the capitals transport network by four British jihadists that left 52 dead.

A wounded woman is led away from Edgware Road station after the 7/7 attacks(Edmond Terakopian/PA ) / PA

A further 700 people suffered life-changing injuries as radical islamists Mohammed Sidique Khan, Shehzad Tanweer, Hasib Hussain, and Jermaine Lindsay, brought terror to the streets of the capital in 2005.

Home Secretary Theresa May was set to attend the Hyde Park memorial and other services were being held at the sites of the bomb attacks.

People leave flowers as Rock Choir sings at 7/7 bombings memorial in Hyde Park

Mr Khan, who has commissioned a security review into the readiness of Londons emergency services to deal with another major incident, pledged to strengthen links between communities to limit the risk of attack.

He said: As Mayor, my first priority is to do everything possible to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.

By strengthening the bonds between Londoners from different backgrounds and focusing on real neighbourhood policing, we are making it easier for people to speak out and help root out and prevent radicalisation and extremism.

7/7 bombings memorial in Hyde Park

Timeline of the 7/7 attacks This is how events unfolded on Thursday July 7 2005, the day four suicide bombers brought horror to London. 3.58am: A light blue Nissan Micra hired by Shehzad Tanweer, 22, and thought to have had Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, and Hasib Hussain, 18, as passengers is caught on CCTV in Hyde Park Road, Leeds, before joining the M1. 5.07am: Jermaine Lindsay, 19, arrives at Luton station car park in a red Fiat Brava. 6.49am: The Micra arrives at Luton and parks next to the Brava. All four men get out and appear to move items between the two boots before putting on rucksacks. 7.15am: The men enter Luton station and go through the ticket barriers heading to the platform for the Thameslink train to London King's Cross. 7.40am: The train sets off. 8.23am: The train arrives at King's Cross, slightly late after a delay further up the line. The four head in the direction of the London Underground system. 8.30am: Four men fitting their descriptions are seen hugging before splitting up. Khan boards a west-bound Circle Line train, Tanweer an east-bound Circle Line train, and Lindsay a south-bound Piccadilly Line train. Hussain also appears to walk towards the Piccadilly Line entrance. 8.50am: Three bombs explode within a minute on London Underground trains. Liverpool Street: Seconds after leaving the platform the eastbound Circle Line train is blown up by Shehzad Tanweer - almost certainly in the second carriage from the front. Eight people die including Tanweer, with 171 injured. Edgware Road: The westbound Circle Line train is blown up by Mohammad Sidique Khan who is also in the second carriage from the front. Seven people including Khan are killed, and 163 injured. Between King's Cross and Russell Square: Jermaine Lindsay blows himself up in the packed front carriage, killing 27 people including himself and injuring more than 340. 8.55am: Hussain walks out of King's Cross Underground station and tries unsuccessfully to contact the other three. 9.19am: A man thought to be Hussain is seen on a bus to Euston, from where he is believed to have boarded the Number 30 bus. 9.30am: Cobra, the government's national crisis management facility, is activated in response to the explosions. 9.47am: Hussain detonates his bomb on the number 30 bus at Tavistock Square, killing 14 people including himself, and injuring more than 110. 10.21am: Scotland Yard confirms there have been "multiple explosions" in London. Noon: Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, says: "It is reasonably clear there have been a series of terrorist attacks in London." Afternoon: There are subsequent statements from Home Secretary Charles Clarke in the House of Commons, and London Mayor Ken Livingstone in Singapore with the 2012 Olympic bid team. Mr Blair returns to London during the afternoon. 5.50pm: United Nations Security Council unanimously condemns the attacks. 10.19pm: Hussain's family reports him missing. 11.40pm: Among several items reportedly found by a police exhibits officer are cards and personal items in the name of "Sidique Khan" and "Mr S Tanweer" at Aldgate.

The Mayor added: Today, we remember those we lost and the heroic efforts of our emergency services and transport colleagues on that darkest of days.

We must also ensure that every single individual, and every single agency, involved in protecting our city has the resources and expertise they need to respond to any future major incident, which is why I have instigated a comprehensive preparedness review due to report later this year.

Minute's silence on the tube for 7-7 bombings anniversary

It came as survivors of the bombings said more should be done to make London safe.

Jacqueline Daukes, 45, was on her way into SOAS for a conference when a bomb was detonated on her Piccadilly line train between Kings Cross and Russell Square.

Twenty-six people on her train were killed, but miraculously she escaped with no injuries.

7/7 bombers, (L-R) Hasib Hussain, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Mohammad Sidique Khan / PA

The community integration charity worker said she hoped Mr Khan, as a Muslim mayor, could better fight homegrown extremism.

She said: I feel we have to look at the root causes why young Muslim men go to fight in Syria, what are they lacking? What are we not listening to?

We cant be naive because there are people in our community who are evil, the terrorists planned these vicious attacks for a long time.

We need to listen to one another instead of blaming others and we can avoid the rise in xenophobia since Brexit.

That is the great thing about London even with all its diversity there is still this Blitz spirit and you could see from the amount of people helping that day we all pulled together.

Emergency workers at Aldgate station (John Stillwell/PA) / PA

Jacqui Putnam, 65, was in the carriage behind Mohammad Sidique Khan when he detonated his bomb at Edgware Road in one of four co-ordinated strikes.

The business analyst suffered scarring, concussion and had broken glass embedded in her scalp. She needed two years of intense therapy to combat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Speaking to the Standard today she welcomed Mr Khans calls for a review of the citys readiness in the event of responding to any future attack.

But she added: We want to know if TfL have implemented all the changes that were recommended from the inquests. There need to be better first aid kits available at stations, they need to be bigger and well resourced.

7/7 London bombings (2005) - In pictures 1 /20 7/7 London bombings (2005) - In pictures Carnage The destroyed number 30 bus that was being driven by George Psaradakis when it exploded in Tavistock Square PA Walking wounded Victims leave Edgware Road Tube station to be treated at the London Hilton Metropole following the terrorist attacks PA Plotters (L-R): Shehzad Tanweer, Germaine Lindsay and Mohammed Sidique Khan in Luton Train Station on June 28 during an apparent dry run of their devastating attack on the capital Metropolitan Police Shock Blast survivors leave Edgware Road Tube station PA Final journey The four London bombers arrive at Luton train station at 7.21am on Thursday, July 7, 2005 Metropolitan Police Devastation Damage to the the Circle line train blown up at Aldgate Tube station Metropolitan Police Murderers The July 7 bombers: Hasib Hussain, Shehzad Tanweer, Jermaine Lindsay and Mohammad Sidique Khan PA Remember Thirty of the 52 bomb victims PA Hero Stephen Hockin, who rescued casualties from the scene of the Edgware Road bombing PA Driver Jeff Porter, who was driving a train in the opposite direction past the ill-fated Edgware Road Tube as it exploded PA Tavistock Square The scene nearby after the number 30 bus exploded PA Rescue Firefighters bring up the injured at Aldgate Tube station after the Circle line blast that killed seven PA Cordon Police near Edgware Road Tube station following the blast that killed six PA Scars An injured Tube passenger after being treated near Edgware Road station PA Memorial The July 7 memorial in Hyde Park, which has one pole for every one of the 52 victims PA

We want there to be evacuation plans printed at every station, we raised this with TfL and were told they didnt want to panic anyone.

Eleven years on and were still none the wiser. I want to know if it happens again - is it going to be the same chaos? Are people going to be trapped like we were?

The driver, whom I have come to know, said that no one believed that another bomb had gone off when he phoned it in, there needs to be better communication all around.

This attack was always on the cards and if it happened once it could happen again.
L ondon's air ambulance touched down on a busy dual carriageway after a serious motorcycle crash this morning.

Traffic ground to a halt in Eltham, south London, so the helicopter could land on the A2 close to Eltham station.

The motorcyclist, a man in his early 30s, was rushed to hospital with serious injuries after crashing with a car.

The accident happened on the A2 just before 7.30am.

The car stopped and no arrests were made.
H eathrow passengers faced travel mayhem today after a computer glitch sparked delays to hundreds of flyers.

Holidaymakers were reportedly turned away from flights after a fault with the new British Airways check-in system.

Frustrated flyers captured pictures of hundreds of people queuing at the gates inside Terminal 5 on Thursday morning while anger at the shambles also boiled over on Twitter.

It is the second time the system has caused huge disruption after it failed last month despite its recent implementation.

Mayhem: Hundreds of passengers queued at Terminal 5 because of an IT glitch, which sparked huge delays for flyers / Shivani Ashoka

Passenger Shivani Ashoka tweeted: @British_Airways you utter shambles. 2hr+ wait, 7-lane queue for Club bag drop. Desks unmanned, ppl missing flights.

While another user posted: Fed up with @BritishAirways what's the point of online check in if it results in just as long a wait? Bag should mean bag drop #FailToServe.

A BA insider told the Sun holidaymakers face a summer of chaos because of the IT problems with some people turned away even if they arrived with plenty of time to board their flights.

The source told The Sun: Its going to be a summer of holiday chaos. The system isnt robust enough for an airport like Heathrow. Its a nightmare.

They added the new system, which governs the majority of the check-in process from baggage to passports, had frequently crashed since its introduction which left staff in tears.

British Airways has apologised for the delays but added no flights were affected as a result and the issue was now resolved.

A spokesman said: We are sorry for the disruption to customers' travel plans due to an IT glitch at Heathrow on what was already a very busy morning.

The issue was resolved as quickly as possible, and all of our flights left as normal.

Ten million passengers have already used our new check-in system as we introduce it around the world.
A nightclub in Millbank Tower that has hosted the likes of Idris Elba and Princess Beatrice has been forced to close after a mass brawl in which groups fought with knives and bottles.

The event at Altitude 360 descended into violence described by a police officer as the most serious he had ever dealt with.

A thug brandishing a knife was knocked unconscious, bottled and stamped on by up to eight others during the sold-out club night promoted by Paravana Project.

The venue on the 28th floor of the Grade II listed skycraper boasts views across London and caters for corporate and private events. The Conservative Party has its HQ in the same complex.

Idris Elba is among those who have been hosted by the bar / Dave Benett

The Metropolitan Police asked for the venues licence to be revoked in the interest of public safety after several people were seriously injured in the clashes on Easter Monday.

At a licensing hearing at Westminster council on Monday the polices application was agreed by councillors and the nightclub will close. Corporate events and photo shoots hosted by the company at the skyscraper will continue.

Shut down: Altitude 360 bar at the top of Millbank Tower

Nickie Aiken, chairman of Westminster council licensing committee, said: The management of Altitude 360 was utterly chaotic, putting members of the public and staff at serious risk of harm. Images from the venue show customers brandishing knives and others arming themselves with bottles as thugs fought a running battle. As a committee we have no confidence in the management of the venue moving forward and so we have revoked Altitude 360s licence.

Stunning views: Westminster's Millbank Tower / Shutterstock

A spokesman for Altitude London said: The relatively small 600 capacity nightclub space was rented out to an external party organizer on the night in question when a group of gatecrashers broke past security into the club, causing fights and disorder.

The owners of Altitude London deeply regret the disturbance caused but were not involved in the running of the event whatsoever and feel aggrieved that although blameless for the scenes that unfolded on the night that they now have to the pay the penalty for the gate crashers behaviour.

Panoramic: the view from Altitude 360

Licensing officer Pc Toby Janes said: A blood trail down stairs was found by police, suggesting an unknown victim has sustained serious injuries, possibly a stab wound. Documents also claim three men hit a female security guard, someone urinated on a table and a man wandered around dripping with blood. Up to 670 people may have attended the party, with just eight security guards.

The Altitude 360 spokesman added: There had never been any trouble at the nightclub venue but in light of the serious nature of what happened and to try to rebuild good relations with the police and our neighbours we have agreed to close the nightclub space for the foreseeable future and operate only the corporate event spaces. The hospitality venues at the complex will continue to operate as normal.

Promoter Paravana Project was unavailable for comment.
A former traffic policeman has invented a device to stop cyclists being dragged under tipper lorries, in a bid to reduce the number of deaths on the capitals roads.

James Dawes had been called to dozens of fatal and serious accidents involving cyclists and concluded that many were easily avoidable.

He noticed the worst injuries were suffered when victims were dragged into the gap between the front and back wheels of trucks, and after leaving the Metropolitan police traffic unit he invented an inflatable skirt that provides a shield to stop cyclists, or pedestrians, sliding under.

The barrier is designed for use in Londons busy streets. It can be inflated from the cab, and also features permanent panels made of shatterproof plastic that reduce the risk of clothing or bike parts becoming entangled.

The Mets cycle team and City Hall officials have seen the 3,000 device, called the DawesGuard, and construction company Keltbray has already introduced it on some of its fleet of tipper trucks.

In May there were 11 road traffic deaths in London, three of them involving cyclists, prompting safety groups to stage a die in at City Hall. Last year eight cyclists died on the capitals streets, seven of them in collisions with HGVs.

In June 2015, graduate Ying Tao, 26, was crushed to death by a tipper truck outside the Bank Of England.

Mr Dawes, 36, said: As a motorcycle policeman I regularly attended accidents between cyclists and large vehicles.

"After realising the most severe injuries were sustained when a person was dragged beneath a vehicles wheels I simply had to do everything I could to stop the risk of such harm.

I will never forget the terrible effect serious accidents have on the witnesses and families of people involved in collisions.

"I gave up my 15-year career in the Met to found Dawes Highway Safety and set about developing a concept that I hoped would one day save the life of somebodys mum, dad or child.

Yesterday the DawesGuard was nominated for an innovation prize at the Motor Transport Awards at Grosvenor House in central London.

Keltbrays head of haulage operations Terry Good said: We trialled the Dawes-Guard and believe it will prevent vulnerable road users getting trapped under the nearside of one of our vehicles. The retractable mechanism is easy to operate for our drivers.
T he body of an elderly man was found in a side road off Camden High Street this morning.

Emergency services were called to Camden High Street after members of the public reported seeing an elderly man lying a side street.

Police officers attended the scene around 10am and found the body of a man on Greenland Road.

His death is not currently being treated as suspicious but enquiries are continuing.

Greenland Road was cordoned off between Camden High Street and Bayham Street while the incident was dealt with.
I ts a world away from the South Downs or the Lake District but Croydon could be set to become a new tourist hotspot thanks to the National Trust.

The organisation, which protects areas of outstanding natural beauty or historic interest, is celebrating the London boroughs contemporary heritage with new walking tours.

Traditional destinations for such tours include the South Downs, the Lake District and the White Cliffs of Dover. The London boroughs version, called Edge City: Croydon, will celebrate the areas brutalist architecture.

Joseph Watson, London creative director for the National Trust, said it was the first time a borough had been recognised by the organisation, but Croydon had extraordinary buildings which were a vision of the future when they were constructed.

Croydon - in pictures 1 /8 Croydon - in pictures Aerial image of the business district of Central Croydon High Level/REX The Norwood Lakes near Croydon Alex Lentati Croydon 50p Building One of Croydon's famous trams Charles Bowman/robertharding/REX Lunar House, Visas and Immigration, Croydon Jenny Goodall Fairfield Halls in Croydon Sophia Schorr-Kon

Its such an interesting place, which has been described as a mini-Manhattan and Alphaville, he said.

Many Croydonians have so much pride in their home, but it is also known as a crap town and frequently features in lists of the worst places to live.

We wanted to explore why Croydon has that reputation and understand its history. There was a huge post-war construction boom and a grand ambition to create Londons third city, but it didnt really come off.

Kate Moss told this week how she felt lucky that she had managed to get out of Croydon / Getty

"It shows how quickly tastes and architectural fashions change and the occasionally dystopian outcomes of utopian visions.

Famous Croydon residents have included Tracey Emin, Ronnie Corbett, Sue Perkins and Kate Moss  who this week said she felt lucky that she had managed to leave the area after being scouted as a model.

The tours begin next Saturday. They will take in No 1 Croydon, known as the 50p building because of its hexagonal design, and Lunar House in Wellesley Road, which was built in 1970 and showcases the space-age design Croydon was renowned for, with concrete wings on its roof.

Visitors will also have behind the scenes access to Fairfield Halls, which has hosted stars including The Beatles and The Who.

The building will close later this month to allow for a 30 million refurbishment.

It is part of a wider 5.25 billion regeneration plan to transform Croydon, which aims to turn existing the Tech City cluster into south Londons Silicon Valley.

The White Cliffs of Dover are a more common spot for walking tours / Rex

Mr Watson said: Not everything should be preserved in aspic. We need to develop for the future, but we need to be convinced what will follow will be better. In the post-war boom there was unleashed capitalism with developers allowed to come in with very little scrutiny of the plans.

In subsequent years weve learnt that really good planning and careful architecture with good consultation leads to better places to live.

Click here for more information on the tours
L ondon should get more control over its own finances after a report showed a third of UK tax revenue is generated here despite attempts to rebalance the British economy, Sadiq Khan said today.

The Centre for Cities study said the capital generated almost as much tax as the next 37 largest cities in the UK combined, many of which have seen little or no growth in their income tax income over the past decade.

The Mayor said the findings proved the need for more devolution of financial powers from central government to all British cities.

Mr Khan said: Further devolution, so that London and all our cities and neighbourhoods can take back control, is vital to unleash the energy and dynamism that this country needs in the light of its decision to leave the EU.

Sadiq Khan discusses London's part in EU negotiations

Alexandra Jones, the think tanks chief executive, said: The UKs growing reliance on Londons taxes underlines the importance of ensuring that the capital prospers in a post-Brexit world.

Londons tax intake grew by 25 per cent in the past decade.
G ermany's Foreign Minister today warned some Brexiteers they are playing with fire by potentially fuelling UK nationalism.

Writing in the Standard, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said those who screamed leave during the referendum without knowing what would come next were foolish and irresponsible.

He claimed British political and economic turmoil is a taste of what awaits the continent if the EU is abolished.

In the wake of the UKs leave vote, Mr Steinmeier was among those calling for faster and deeper EU integration on immigration, economic and military matters.

In his piece today he said anyone who seeks to abolish Europe will only aggravate their own countrys problems.

He wrote: The political and economic turmoil the UK is currently experiencing shows this clearly.

And it also shows that the very people who screamed leave, who shouted down with the EU, have no answer to the question what next? when the country leaves or the EU is abolished.

That is not only foolish and irresponsible, it is also playing with fire.

He attacked those seeking to instrumentalise national sentiment, citing former French President Francois Mitterand who said nationalism means war.

Mr Steinmeier said he and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had set out ideas in the wake of the Brexit vote that focused on making Europe better.

The statement the pair produced called for a new EU fiscal capacity, a permanent civil-military chain of command, the harmonisation of criminal law and an integrated European asylum, refugee and migration policy.
G ermany's foreign minister today warned some Brexiteers that they were playing with fire by potentially fuelling UK nationalism.

Writing in the Standard, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said those who screamed leave during the referendum without knowing what would come next were foolish and irresponsible.

He claimed British political and economic turmoil was a taste of what awaited the Continent if the EU is abolished.

Following the UKs leave vote, Mr Steinmeier was among those who called for faster and deeper EU integration on immigration, economic and military matters.

In his article today, he said anyone who seeks to abolish Europe will only aggravate their own countrys problems.

He wrote: The political and economic turmoil the UK is currently experiencing shows this clearly. And it also shows that the very people who screamed leave, who shouted down with the EU, have no answer to the question what next? when the country leaves or the EU is abolished.

"That is not only foolish and irresponsible, it is also playing with fire. He attacked those seeking to instrumentalise national sentiment, citing former French President Francois Mitterand who said nationalism means war.

Mr Steinmeier said he and French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had set out ideas after the vote that focused on making Europe better.

The statement they produced called for a new EU fiscal capacity, a permanent civil-military chain of command, the harmonisation of criminal law and an integrated European asylum, refugee and migration policy.
A health minister has hit out at Boris Johnson and Michael Gove for promising more money for the NHS after Brexit.

Alistair Burt poured scorned on their pledge in private handwritten comments at the bottom of a letter to London Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.

Ms Siddiq, the MP for Hampstead & Kilburn, had pressed him to provide funding for the charity SeeAbility to increase sight tests in special schools, where thousands of children are at greater risk of eye problems. In his formal reply, the minister added his personal comments at the bottom of a standard civil service letter: Ive seen SeeAbility at work as you know and strongly support this initiative.

Of course, when we have the 350 million a week for the NHS, as some of my colleagues recently pledged, maybe this will be funded? Im sure you will bring it to their attention!

Ridiculed: Michael Gove and Boris Johnson

Mr Burt, who was a leading Remain supporter, this week announced he is retiring from the front bench.

Ms Siddiq said: I was amazed when out of all the dull correspondence I have with ministers I found this heartfelt handwritten comment. I had a chuckle because it was quite witty.

"But I have to say I thought it was pretty gutsy of him to speak his mind. It shows how divided the Tory party is that he should have written something like this in a letter to a Labour MP, knowing it was bound to come out.
T ony Blair expressed regret today that he did not challenge intelligence about Saddam Husseins alleged weapons of mass destruction after the damning Chilcot verdict into the Iraq war.

The former Prime Minister also strongly defended the decision to topple the dictator, arguing that not doing so may now have led to a worse situation in Iraq and beyond its borders.

But he admitted: I may be completely wrong about that.

Mr Blair was grilled for half an hour on BBC Radio 4 today about the scathing conclusions in the Chilcot report, including that the UK was taken to war in 2003 on the basis of flawed intelligence with inadequate preparation.

Chilcot inquiry: Timeline of events

He denied that he did not challenge intelligence reports on Saddams supposed WMDs more rigorously because he wanted to believe them to justify going to war.

However, he accepted: Certainly given our experience it would have been far better to have challenged them more clearly. I did believe it and one of the reasons for that was because Saddam Hussein had used these weapons against his own people.

Searches after the war did not find the vast stocks of WMDs which the tyrant was alleged to have hidden.

But Mr Blair argued that he had the intent and expertise to pursue a nuclear and chemical weapons programme after sanctions were lifted.

I can regret many things about it but I genuinely believe not just that we acted out of good motives, and I did what I did out of good faith, but that we would be in a worse position if we hadnt acted that way. he added: I may be completely wrong about that.

Mr Blair insisted despite the terrible consequences of the invasion  which saw Iraq plunged into a bloody sectarian civil war  the British-US military intervention had not been in vain.

He accepted the reports finding that it would have been better if the Cabinet had been given Attorney General Lord Goldsmiths written advice on the legality of the conflict rather than having to rely on an oral briefing. But he continued: I personally dont know what difference that would have made since he was there around the table.

Following strong criticisms in the report about the inadequacy of the military equipment, such as the lightly protected Snatch Land Rovers, Mr Blair said no limits were put on the financial resources for the military action.

Military chiefs, though, have accused the Government of failing to provide the equipment needed in time.

Shadow health secretary Diane Abbott said: Im not going to be harsh about Tony Blair. He has destroyed his own reputation.

For Tony Blair to say the struggle was not in vain suggests he has not really closely examined the chaos that was unleashed by the original, ill-fated decision by himself and George Bush.

Chilcot report reaction: Jeremy Corbyn makes an Iraq War apology from Labour

Families who lost loved ones have called for Mr Blair to be prosecuted over the invasion.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who served as UK ambassador to the UN in 2003, stressed Mr Blair sought a UN resolution backing intervention, but American officials thought it was a waste of time.

The senior diplomat said the then PM wanted more time before the invasion and argued it would have been much safer to grant UN weapons inspectors six more months to try to find any WMDs in Iraq.
T ory activists marched on Parliament in a bizarre show of support for leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom.

Footage of Tory MP Tim Loughton, her campaign chief, leading the crowd through Westminster has triggered a wave of ridicule on social media.

In painfully awkward scenes, he leads the posh protesters in chants of What do we want? Leadsom for leader!

When do we want it? Now!

The clip shows the smartly-dressed activists strolling along the pavement, alongside others in bright blue T-shirts emblazoned with #RALLY4LEADSOM.

They marched on Parliament after Ms Leadsom had earlier addressed the group at a rally.

The Brexit-backer is the second favourite to become the next Conservative leader and prime minister behind Theresa May, with the final two candidates set to be announced today ahead of a deciding vote by the Tory membership.

But the protest was met with a raft of jibes on social media, with Peter Dyke tweeting: Oh god this Leadsom rally is all kinds of embarrassing.

Posh British people trying to do American style politics. Cringe!

Leadsom supporters vox pop

Leadsom at candidate rally

Another tweeter wrote: Looks like a protest by bankers to get their bonuses back.

I feel a bit silly and I am not even there, wrote another.

And Emma Clifford simply said: Oh, that is painful.

Andrea Leadsom promised to "banish the pessimists" in her speech this morning as she spoke about her economic plans.

TODO: define component type apester

She promised "prosperity, not austerity" and said she would be a "realistic, but optimistic" leader for the post-Brexit age.

It came amid controversy over claims that the success of her career in the City has been exaggerated.

The Times has reported comments from former colleague Robert Stephens on the Reaction website suggesting that, while at Invesco Perpetual, "she did not manage any teams, large or small, and she certainly did not manage any funds".

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She has since published details of her CV, which her spokesman said "comprehensively disproves the letter's assertions".
A US army chief has claimed the Iraq invasion could have been successfully completed without the UK.

Responding to the findings of the Chilcot report, Colonel Peter Mansoor made the shocking claim that the US could have invaded Iraq without British involvement.

Colonel Mansoor served as executive officer to General David Petraeus who led American troops into Iraq in 2007.

Responding to the findings of the Chilcot report, he said on Good Morning Britain that if Tony Blair had refused to offer Britain's assistance, it could have led to the US rethinking their strategy.

Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

He added: More importantly, it might have given the Bush administration some pause.

The special relationship between the US and the UK was not about linking arms.

Colonel Mansoor described the Iraq War as one of the biggest mistakes in American History and praised the British government for launching the inquiry.

Chilcot Protest - In pictures 1 /18 Chilcot Protest - In pictures Protesters wearing Tony Blair and George Bush masks outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, where the Chilcot Inquiry was published Jeremy Selwyn Protesters waving placards outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Matt Dunham/AP Protesters focused on Tony Blair's role in the Iraq War Jeremy Selwyn An Iraqi woman waves a 2004-2008 version of the Iraq national flag as she stands with demonstrators Jeremy Selwyn Demonstrators dressed as Tony Blair and George Bush Jr Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Protesters call for Tony Blair to be impeached Jeremy Selwyn Anti-war demonstrators in Westminster Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Dozens of anti-war protesters gathered in Westminster Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images An Iraqi woman outside QEII Centre Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Protesters focused their anger on former Prime Minister Tony Blair Peter Nicholls/Reuters Demonstrators before the release of the John Chilcot report Jeremy Selwyn The inquiry ruled that the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein failed in all its key objectives Jeremy Selwyn The report found the war was based on flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction Gareth Fuller/PA The report was damning about the actions of Tony Blair, and the failure of his Cabinet and Whitehall to challenge his assumptions and decisions Paul Hackett/Reuters

He added: The decision to go on in and topple him brought out a lot of assumptions that werent brought out in the force.

There was not a lot of planning and resources put into it. There need to be more discussions in the council of power.

There are plenty of countries around the world with WMDs and we dont go invading them, North Korea, Pakistan. The intelligence was horribly wrong.
A n elderly woman has died after a bus careered into a bank in a busy town centre.

The 52-year-old man who was driving the vehicle has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, Durham Police said.

The woman was killed when the 50-seater Arriva bus crashed into a branch of the Halifax in Northgate in Darlington town centre.

Two other people were injured.

Chief Inspector Graham Milne, of Durham Police, said: "Obviously this is a tragic incident and I would like to extend my condolences to the deceased's family."

The two pedestrians who were hurt have been taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Janet Langan, a retired civil servant, who lives in Branksome, on the edge of Darlington, came out of the Queen Street Shopping Centre just after the crash happened.

"The driver's side of the bus was inside the bank. People were being sick and people were crying and I saw a man under the wheels. Then they started to put the green screen up so I couldn't see," the 64-year-old said.

"The emergency services were there very quickly so I started to walk away because I didn't want to look.

"That turning is just a death-trap. It's the second time this has happened. About 18 months ago a bus went skew-whiff at the sharp turn by Boots and Halifax, but not like this.

"I use that bus - the number 2 - every day. The only reason I wasn't outside the bank is because I went to buy a tin of paint. That's what has stunned me more than anything - that I would have been there.

"I just stood with my mouth open and couldn't believe it."

Arriva issued a statement which read: "We can confirm that an Arriva bus (Service 2 from Branksome to Red Hall) has been involved in an accident today in Northgate, Darlington.

"An investigation has been launched and we are co-operating fully with the emergency services and the police, who are leading the investigation.

"Our thoughts are with the families of those involved.

A Halifax spokesman said: "An incident took place this morning outside the Halifax branch in Darlington. The branch is currently closed and emergency services are in attendance."
T ony Blair is facing fresh calls to be brought to court over his role in taking Britain to war with Iraq following the damning verdict of the Chilcot Report.

The former prime minister has been put on notice by families of dead servicemen that he may face legal action over what flowed from his decision to tell US president George Bush "I will be with you whatever" eight months before the 2003 invasion.

Meanwhile shadow Commons leader Paul Flynn said the Iraq Inquiry's findings amounted to an "utter condemnation" of Mr Blair's "terrible" decision to commit British troops to the US-led invasion and prosecution of the former statesman should be given "serious consideration".

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he would like to see Mr Blair investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime of aggression and face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

A former British ambassador to the UN has said the UK was "pushed" into entering military action too early by the US.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will face questioning on the implications of the report's devastating findings for Britain's future role in the world when he appears before a Commons committee on Thursday.

A defiant Mr Blair refused to accept accusations from service families that he had been wrong and reckless as he insisted he would make the decision to go to war again if presented with the same information about the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein at the time.

Grief: relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq after the Chilcot report was published / Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Mr Blair's stance was at odds with the report's finding that war was not the last resort, but that Britain triggered military action before all options for a peaceful resolution to the crisis had been exhausted.

Families of some of the 179 military personnel killed in Iraq described the former PM as a "terrorist", and Jeremy Corbyn offered an apology on Labour's behalf for what he branded "a stain on our party and our country".

But Labour leader Mr Corbyn stopped short of calling for his predecessor to be tried for war crimes, as some had expected.

Mr Blair insisted he could look the families in the eye - and the nation - and state that he did not mislead anyone over the invasion, the service personnel did not die in vain, and he was right to do what he did.

The long-delayed Chilcot Report insisted Saddam posed "no imminent threat" at the time of the invasion, and the war was unleashed on the basis of "flawed" intelligence.

And in a withering assessment of its aftermath, the probe found the military intervention ended six years later "a very long way from success", with the "humiliating" spectacle of UK troops in Basra making deals with local militia who had been attacking them.

Mr Blair said he took responsibility for "mistakes in planning and process" identified by the report, and felt "more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know" for the grief of those whose loved ones died.

Key findings in the 2.6 million-word report included:

The case for war was presented with "a certainty which was not justified";

It was based on "flawed" intelligence about the country's supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which was not challenged as it should have been;

The US-led coalition resorted to force to remove Saddam before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted and in a way which undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council;

Planning for post-conflict Iraq was "wholly inadequate", with shortfalls in armoured vehicles to protect UK troops which "should not have been tolerated".

The report did not support claims that Mr Blair agreed a deal "signed in blood" to topple Saddam at a key meeting with Mr Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2002.

A note from Blair to Bush stating "I will be with you, whatever" (Iraq Inquiry/PA ) / Iraq Inquiry/PA

But it revealed that in July that year - eight months before Parliament approved military action - the PM committed himself in writing to backing the US president over Iraq, telling him: "I will be with you whatever."

Military policeman's father Reg Keys said it was clear Mr Blair "deliberately misled" the country and that his son Tom "died in vain".

Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb, said the families reserved the right "to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts".

Sarah O'Connor, whose brother Bob died when a military plane was shot down near Baghdad in 2005, branded Mr Blair "the world's worst terrorist".

Protests began as the report was published / Jeremy Selwyn

Speaking on his LBC radio show, Mr Salmond, now the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman at Westminster, said he wanted action to be be taken against Mr Blair.

He added: "I'd like to see the ICC investigate a crime of aggression but I don't think that's going to happen.

"I'd genuinely like to see a prosecution for that offence in this country but I'm not certain that's going to happen."

Chilcot Protest - In pictures 1 /18 Chilcot Protest - In pictures Protesters wearing Tony Blair and George Bush masks outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, where the Chilcot Inquiry was published Jeremy Selwyn Protesters waving placards outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre Matt Dunham/AP Protesters focused on Tony Blair's role in the Iraq War Jeremy Selwyn An Iraqi woman waves a 2004-2008 version of the Iraq national flag as she stands with demonstrators Jeremy Selwyn Demonstrators dressed as Tony Blair and George Bush Jr Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Protesters call for Tony Blair to be impeached Jeremy Selwyn Anti-war demonstrators in Westminster Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Dozens of anti-war protesters gathered in Westminster Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images An Iraqi woman outside QEII Centre Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Protesters focused their anger on former Prime Minister Tony Blair Peter Nicholls/Reuters Demonstrators before the release of the John Chilcot report Jeremy Selwyn The inquiry ruled that the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein failed in all its key objectives Jeremy Selwyn The report found the war was based on flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction Gareth Fuller/PA The report was damning about the actions of Tony Blair, and the failure of his Cabinet and Whitehall to challenge his assumptions and decisions Paul Hackett/Reuters

Before the report's publication the ICC said it was conducting a "a preliminary examination with respect to the situation in Iraq" to determine if an investigation should be launched.

It added: "An important distinction must be borne in mind between war crimes, which fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the crime of aggression, which, at the present stage, does not. These are two very distinct crimes with their own legal elements of criminality."

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, who was UK ambassador to the UN in 2003, told the BBC that Mr Blair had wanted a UN resolution backing military intervention in Iraq, but senior US officials thought it was a "waste of time".

"I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early," he said.
P olice are hunting a lynx which escaped from a zoo after it chewed its way out of his enclosure.

Helicopters have joined the search to find Flaviu, a two-year-old Carpathian lynx, after he was reported missing from Dartmoor Zoological Park, near Plymouth, on Thursday.

The wild cat arrived in Devon on Wednesday from Port Lympne in Kent but is now on the loose after it chewed through a board in the wall and escaped.

Around 30 staff and volunteers began a search of the zoo but found no trace, leading police to be called to carry out a wider comb.

Devon and Cornwall police have warned people not to approach the grey coloured animal and to call 999 if it is spotted.

A spokesman said: The animal should not be approached as it could become dangerous if alarmed or cornered.

Search: Royal Navy helicopters join the hunt for the missing lynx / PA

"Officers have visited two local schools to offer safety advice and reassurance.

"All children at All Saints Primary School are not in school as they are away on a field trip.

"Police are also working with staff at Little Orchard Montessori School to make sure they are kept inside.

"Officers are also going house-to-house in the area to offer advice and are assisting with the search on the ground.

A zoo spokesman said the cat, about the same size as a Labrador, is timid and likely to stay away from people.

He said The house into which he was released has successfully held lynx for eight years, however he managed to escape by chewing through a board in the wall of the house.

This was discovered at 10am this morning when keepers came to release him.

"A search party immediately set out and quickly established that it was extremely unlikely for the lynx to still be on site and the local police and Radio Devon were informed at 10.20am.

"Our main concerns now are for the safety of the public and for the welfare of Flaviu.

"He is extremely timid and his instinct will be to stay away from people, so we are asking the public to be vigilant and inform the police on 999 if they see him."

Carpathian lynx, otherwise known as Eurasian lynx, are solitary and secretive animals which live naturally in forests in Europe and Siberia.

They mainly prey on hoofed mammals such as deer, as well as hares, rabbits, rodents and grouse.
A young brother and sister who died when the car they were in plunged into a Scottish loch have been named by police

A major rescue operation was launched at Loch nan Druimnean, near Kilmelford, when the car plunged into the water at around 4pm on Wednesday.

Today, Police Scotland confirmed siblings Leia and Seth McCorrisken, aged three and two, as victims of the tragedy. Their next of kin have been informed.

A force spokesman said: "Inquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."

Bystanders raised the alarm after reports a car with people inside had fallen into the loch.

Tributes: Flowers left at the scene after the car fell into the water on Wednesday / PA

Police, fire, ambulance and coastguard teams were all sent to the scene following the incident, which led to the temporary closure of the A816 road.

A coastguard helicopter and police dive teams scoured the loch as the emergency response unfolded.

The bodies of the children were later recovered from the water.

A 36-year-old woman was taken to hospital in the nearby town of Oban and released after treatment.

The car was recovered from the scene during the early hours of Thursday.

Scene: View of the Loch nan Druimnean, near Kilmelford / PA

Argyll and Bute SNP MSP Mike Russell said the incident has shaken the local community.

He said: "I think everybody is just completely stunned. It is a horrific thing to have happened, nothing worse could be imagined for a family.

"I think there's a general sense of shock both in the local community and more widely in Argyll.

"It is a bad piece of road, it's a difficult piece of road, and the weather was very bad yesterday.

"I do think that people are looking at this and saying it's a terrible, terrible thing to happen and looking at the conditions and wondering whether they were contributing.

"But we don't know any more and I think we should obviously wait to hear what the police have to say."

One man, who lives in the area and asked not to be identified, said he has had concerns about that stretch of road in the past.

He said: "It's a terrible tragedy. It has been talked about for years that it's a dangerous bit of road."

Witness Samantha Leiper, 20, told STV News she saw a woman in tears at the roadside following the crash.

"There were at least 20 cars in front of me at a standstill and the woman at the side of the road was crowded by people trying to comfort her.

"There were tyre and mud marks on both sides of the road. The loch is really close to the road. It is a sharp bend you go round - there's four or five corners all together at that part."

Inspector Darren Faulds said: "Two young children have lost their lives and our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of those involved in this tragic incident."

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the divisional road policing unit at Campbeltown on 101

Additional reporting by Press Association
S chools have been placed on high alert after a lynx escaped from Dartmoor Zoo.

People have been warned not to approach the wild cat, which is on the loose on the outskirts of Plymouth.

The zoo only took delivery of the lynx last night but officials this morning found that the carnivore had dug its way out of its enclosure.

A Devon and Cornwall police spokesman said: The lynx is a wild cat approximately the size of a large domestic cat and is grey/silver in colour.

The animal should not be approached as it could become dangerous if alarmed or cornered.

Anyone who spots the beast should call police on 999 as a matter of urgency.
A teenager is fighting for her life after the car she was travelling in collided with a pony in the New Forest.

A Volkswagen Polo being driven through the New Forest crashed into a pony which had escaped onto the A35 around 11.15pm yesterday.

An 18-year-old woman from Brockenhurst, Hampshire, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to hospital and has suffered life-threatening injuries.

It is believed the pony, which died at the scene, escaped onto the road through an insecure gate which may have been left open by a member of the public.

The driver and another passenger, both 18 year-old women, were not injured in the crash.

Around 3,000 ponies roam the New Forest and are regularly involved in crashes.

The animals are usually kept off major roads by the gates but they are left to roam free on minor roads.

Police are investigating the incident which occurred near Holmsey, Hampshire.
A British man has pleaded not guilty to attempting to grab a police officer's gun in a bid to kill Donald Trump.

Michael Sandford, from Dorking in Surrey, allegedly tried to snatch the weapon during a rally at Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas on June 18.

The 20-year-old is said to have told police he travelled to the Nevada city to kill Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidential election, according to court documents.

Sandford appeared at a federal court in Las Vegas wearing leg irons and a yellow prison uniform with the word "detainee" on the back.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of disrupting government business and official functions and two charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a gun.

After the charges were read to Sandford, magistrate judge Cam Ferenbach asked him: "Do you understand the nature of the charges against you?"

Sandford replied: "Yes I do."

The judge said: "How do you plead?"

Sandford replied: "Not guilty".

He was remanded in custody and is due to stand trial on August 22.

According to a complaint lodged with the US district court in Nevada, Sandford told a policeman at the rally that he wanted Mr Trump's autograph before he attempted to seize the officer's gun.

During a police interview, when asked why he attempted to grab the weapon, Sandford replied: "To shoot and kill Donald Trump," the complaint alleges.

He had driven to Las Vegas from Californa on June 16, and went to a shooting range the next day, where he said he learned how to use a gun for the first time, it is claimed.

Sandford - who had been living in the US for around 18 months - allegedly told investigators he expected to die in the attempt on June 18, which is said to have been planning for a year.

He also claimed to have booked tickets for another Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona, in case he was unable to attempt to take the billionaire's life in Las Vegas, according to the complaint.

Sandford's mother has voiced fears that her son, who faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, may try to take his own life in a US jail and called for him to be returned to the UK.

Lynne Sandford told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme: "I would like him to be deported so he can be back in the country and can get psychiatric help and that way he could see the family that still adore him.

"Jail is no place for him. He needs help, but not prison."

Mrs Sandford said her son had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 13 and he had previously tried to kill himself. He had to be sectioned as a teenager after suffering from anorexia, she added.

The case will next be in court on August 11 for a hearing ahead of the trial.
P ractising Muslims face fines for wearing burkas after a ban on face veils came into force in a part of Switzerland.

Penalties of up to 8,000 can now be levied against women who flout the rule in the canton of Ticino, an Italian-speaking region near the Swiss border with the country.

Two people have reportedly already fallen foul of the ban after publicly ignoring it as part of a protest in the city of Locarno.

A Swiss woman, said to be a Muslim convert, and a French-Algerian businessman were fined after being stopped by police, website SwissInfo reported.

The controversial law was introduced on July 1 following a 2013 referendum in which 65 per cent of voters in the region supported the ban.

Fines range between 100 Swiss Frances (78) and 10,000 Swiss Francs (7,850). Ticino has a population of 350,000, about two per cent of whom are Muslim.

In 2010, France became the first European country to outlaw the full face veil, sometimes known as a niqab.

It met widespread opposition, but in 2014 the ban was upheld by judges at the European court of Human Rights who accepted the argument it encouraged citizens to "live together".
B angladesh was today hit by another deadly attack when a group of gunmen threw homemade bombs and engaged in a gun battle with police protecting hundreds of thousands of people who had gathered for Eid prayers.

Days after 28 were killed following a siege at a cafe in the countrys capital Dhaka, suspected radical Islamists targeted a prayer meeting around 60 miles away in Kishoreganj, held for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan.

According to officials, one police officer and one of the suspected militants were killed and several injured in the attack.

The countrys information minister said the target of the attack had been the police convoy patrolling the religious gathering.

Police killed in Bangladesh attack

At least one of the bombs exploded before police then engaged in a gun battle with the attackers.

Bangladesh has suffered a wave of extremist attacks recently targeting atheists, religious minorities and other so-called enemies of Islam, many of which, including the hostage taking, have been claimed by Islamic State.

The Bangladeshi government, which has been cracking down on extremist groups for several years, has dismissed the IS claims as opportunistic, and says none of the attacks has been orchestrated from abroad.

Eid 2016 - all you need to know

Instead, the government accuses home-grown militant groups of waging the violence in order to create political chaos in the country and undermine the secular government.
T he first images have emerged of the BBCs Porridge revival.

The classic sitcom, which originally aired between 1974 and 1977, is making a limited comeback as part of the BBCs celebrations of 60 years of TV comedy.

The Landmark Sitcom Season will mark the 60th anniversary of Hancocks Half Hour making the move to TV, with several classic BBC series set for a revisiting.

The new Porridge episode will star comedian Kevin Bishop as Nigel Fletch Fletcher, the grandson of Ronnie Barkers original character Norman Stanley Fletcher.

The episode is being penned by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, who created the classic series, in a one-off special set 40 years after the end of the original show.

Bishops Fletch is behind bars for cyber-crimes, forced to help out prison bad boy Richie Weeks, and avoid the suspicions of Officer Meekie.

Porridge: The Original TV Series 1 /9 Porridge: The Original TV Series Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher with Mackay in Porridge (1979) BBC Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher with Richard Beckinsale as Godber in Porridge (Series 1) BBC Ronnie Barker, Richard Beckinsale and Fulton Mackay shooting the television series 'Porridge' Porridge with Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher BBC Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletche during filming of the feature length film 'Porridge'in Chelmsford surrounded by real prison officers Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletche filming the christmas edition of Porridge with Richard Beckinsale as Godber and Brian Wilde (1979) Associated Newspapers Ronnie Barker as Norman Stanley Fletcher starring in the 1976 Christmas special of the classic comedy set inside 'Slade' prison BBC

Dick and Ian have brought Porridge back to life again with a brilliant script and it is a genuine honour to be involved in a show that is iconic in so many ways, says Bishop.

Porridge: Fletcher offers words of wisdom

Ronnie Barkers character was one of the most loved in BBC history and the thought of stepping into his grandsons shoes fills me with both thrills and paralytic fear!

Other classic sitcoms set for special episodes include Goodnight Sweetheart, Are You Being Served?, and a Keeping Up Appearances prequel titled Young Hyacinth.

The Landmark Sitcom Season is due to air from this summer on the BBC.
I f the latest series of Top Gear left you underwhelmed and youre eagerly awaiting the return of the old presenting trio, youre in luck.

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James Mays new Amazon series The Grand Tour has just announced a date in the UK.

The show, due to arrive on the streaming platform this autumn, is shooting episodes across the world, with the first set to take place in Johannesburg.

Even though applications for the South African episode are now open, those in the UK hoping not to have to travel too far to join the live filming can try their luck for a ticket to the British episode.

A prize draw has been launched on Amazon for a lucky winner to not only attend the episode shoot, but also to meet the presenters.

The draw is open now, and closes just before midnight on July 12.

Best TV dramas 2016 1 /38 Best TV dramas 2016 The Missing The addictive and twisty second series of the BBC's crime anthology series BBC/New Pictures/Robert Viglasky Dark Angel Joanne Froggatt stared as Victorian mass murderer Mary Ann Cotton in this ITV drama ITV Close to the Enemy Stephen Poliakoff's post-war drama thriller BBC/Little Island Pictures Ordinary Lies The BBC anthology drama returns with more twisted tales BBC/Red Productions/Adrian Rogers The Night Of Riz Ahmed stars in HBO's critically acclaimed crime mini-series HBO Cold Feet The classic ITV comedy-drama returns - and it's just as good as it ever was ITV Victoria ITV have given Poldark some stiff competition with this period drama about a young Queen Victoria ITV Poldark The BBC's hit drama returns with more brooding, and less naked scything BBC/Robert Viglasky One of Us The BBC kept everyone guessing with this claustrophobic four-part whodunit Ripper Street The fan-favourite Victorian police drama returned for Series 4 BBC/Tiger Aspect 2016/Bernard Walsh The Secret Agent Toby Jones led the cast in the BBC's Joseph Conrad adaptation BBC/World Productions/Mark Mainz/Matt Burlem The Living and the Dead The BBC's gothic romance debuted in full on iPlayer BBC Preacher AMC's adaptation of Garth Ennis' cult comic book is available week-by-week on Amazon Prime Amazon / AMC Versailles A raunchy royal romp around the court of King Louis XIV, spicing up Wednesdays on BBC Two Canal +/ BBC Locked Up The Spanish prison drama came to the UK thanks to Channel 4's Walter Presents series Channel 4 / Global Series Peaky Blinders The Birmingham-set gangster thriller was more popular than ever in its third series BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky The A Word The BBC gave us a nuanced and emotional take on autism BBC/Fifty Fathoms Marcella Anna Friel stars in ITV's British take on the Scandi-noir thriller ITV Grantchester James Norton is back as the crime-solving vicar ITV / Lovely Day Stag The comedy-thriller from the team behind The Wrong Mans is both hilarious and chilling BBC/Des Willie/Hal Shinnie/Matt Burlem Vinyl Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger present a glossy drama about the Seventies music industry HBO American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson Cuba Gooding Jr leads an all-star cast in a dramatic re-telling of the 'trial of century' BBC/Fox Happy Valley Sarah Lancashire returned as Sgt Catherine Cawood for a second series of the gritty crime thriller BBC/Red Productions/Ben Blackall The X Files Mulder and Scully return for a brand new set of mysteries War and Peace The BBC's epic adaptation of the Russian literary classic BBC/Mitch Jenkins Call the Midwife The BBC period drama moved into the Sixties for Series 5 BBC/Neal Street Productions/Sophie Mutevelian Dickensian Charles Dickens' most famous characters collide in this historical soap BBC Jericho ITV's British western set in the wilds of Yorkshire Silent Witness The hugely popular detective drama returns for a 19th series

A regular ticket ballot for the Grand Tour is currently open for the Johannesburg episode, meaning that the Amazon competition is the only way to join the UK shoot for now.

The exact date and location of the UK episode is yet to be confirmed, though it is set to film in autumn. Whos feeling lucky?
Do you want to know why Bernie Sanders is still in the presidential race? Its because he actually cares about this country and making it better. And hes made a difference. He pushed so hard, some of his stances are being added to the 2016 Democratic platform.

However, we have two presumptive nominees who only care about themselves and say whatever they need to in order to get elected. Hillary Clinton is capitulating because Sanders brings to light all the ways government has failed Americans.

On the other side, we have an egomaniac who is the most racist and bigoted candidate Ive seen in a long time. Donald Trump does nothing but sling mud, spew hate and provide vapid responses that crowds cheer over. He then falls back behind the Im not saying we should do this, but maybe we should think about it rhetoric as an excuse to claim hes not responsible for the garbage he says.

We have a multi-year witch hunt against Clinton about Benghazi. If anyone paid attention, theres nothing there. Ambassador Chris Stevens family places blame on Congress, not Clinton or Leon Panetta. But Trey Gowdy and his ilk are determined to punish someone. If he really wants to accuse someone, he needs to look within Congress.

Now that the FBI isnt indicting Clinton over her emails, can everyone just shut up about it? Where was this kind of outrage when Karl Rove deleted 22 million emails or when Condaleeza Rice and Colin Powell had their own servers? Sure, their servers werent in their bathroom, but they had private servers that had zero security protocols, but thats OK, right? Their last names werent Clinton.

I dont care what size Trumps hands are. I do care about whether he can lead this country. Do you want someone in charge of your company who doesnt know how to handle money and files bankruptcy four times, forcing taxpayers to cover his incompetence? I certainly dont. He is the presumptive nominee and has never said what he stands for. Why have people fallen for this stooge with no idea what is needed to be the man in charge?

Trump says hes going to build a wall. Ive been hearing about building a wall for 40 years. Its never going to happen. It will bankrupt this country. Sure, we might be able to build it, but we cant maintain it and we cant afford to police it. Its an idiotic solution ill-informed voters like to cling to as if keeping Mexicans out are going to solve all our problems.

Both parties are beating the war drum so hard, it might just break. They whip up fear and hatred, and scare people into voting for them. They get people so afraid, they dont react when a partially deaf, blind, paralyzed girl with cancer is beaten bloody for not following instructions of the TSA. Where is the outrage for her and the thousands of other people abused at airports by these uniformed bullies? There isnt any because youre told you must be afraid, especially of little girls in wheelchairs who are obviously terrorists. You know how many real terrorists the TSA has caught? Zero. They cant even catch weapons.

Trump talks about how hes going to keep out Muslims because, hey, you never know, right? In less than a year, hes shifted from Mexicans are bad to Muslims are bad and people lap it up. How many of you are of Irish, German or Italian descent? We did the same thing to them.

Do I sound angry? You bet Im angry. Im tired of the willful ignorance, the pandering and the outright lies of the chosen ones.

Trump has mob ties and is a union buster, but thats okay. We dont need any unions fighting for 40-hour work weeks or vacation pay. Lets all be indentured servants instead. Weve already got an entire generation of them slaving away to pay back student loans that will never be fully repaid because they need a college degree for low-paying or minimum wage jobs. Theyll scrape by with little to no raises while working second jobs and eating ramen. But thats okay. Theyre lazy. Donald Trump works for his money.

I have a friend with stage four cancer. She has to ask for monetary assistance in expenses because our health care system has failed her. You know whos talking about reforming health care? Bernie Sanders. But dont worry, Nebraskans. My friend is a lazy nurse who isnt contributing to society. Next year, the Nebraska legislature will surely vote down, for a fifth time, expanding Medicaid to help its residents.

Well continue to ignore domestic affairs under both Clinton and Trump while we beat the war drums. Weve already destabilized an entire region of the world, why not more? Well find the trillions to start another unjustified war. We just wont help ourselves.

You want to know the issues we should be talking about? Read my column next week.
SPRINGFIELD  Continued uncertainty over state funding for tuition-assistance grants could jeopardize the future academic success of thousands low-income college students, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission warned this week.

A short-term budget deal that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week provided $151 million to cover grants made to students this spring through the Monetary Award Program. That followed an earlier emergency funding measure that covered MAP grants for the fall semester.

But the agreement, which is designed to keep state government functioning through December, doesnt provide any funding for the grants for the upcoming school year.

As a result, state universities, private schools and community colleges must decide whether to front the money to students, which many did for at least part of last year. In turn, students who depend on the grants have been left to decide whether to enroll or return to campus in the fall.

With future funding still up in the air, more than 18,000 students could delay or not complete their degrees, according to a survey from the Student Assistance Commission, which oversees the program. Citing research from the organization Complete College American, the commission says students who take longer to work toward their degrees are less likely to finish.

The commission cautions that the survey of more than 10,000 MAP grant recipients was conducted before the recent deal was approved and notes that some students might have responded differently in light of the grants being fully funded for the 2015-16 school year.

But the commission also points out that no decision likely will be made on future funding until long after students have to make their enrollment decisions.

Any appropriation would not come until sometime after the General Assembly reconvenes, which isnt scheduled to occur until mid-November  leaving students and schools with ongoing uncertainty about when and how much funding will be available, the commission said in a written statement.

In the survey, 96 percent of respondents said receiving a MAP grant played an important part in making college attendance possible.

Universities are taking differing approaches to the issue.

As it did last year, Illinois State University plans to cover MAP grants for its students for the full year, university Chief of Staff Jay Groves said, unless something drastic happens.

Southern Illinois and Western Illinois universities, meanwhile, have announced that they will cover the grants for the fall semester but are taking a wait-and-see approach to the spring semester. Eastern Illinois University did not respond to a request for comment.

Private colleges and universities also are facing the decision.

MAP grants were awarded to roughly 101,000 students statewide last year. The average award for the 2014-15 school, the last period for which numbers are available, was $2,782. The average was $3,550 for students at public universities and $944 for community college students.
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DECATUR  A union rally this afternoon outside the Mueller Water Products Inc. plant on Eldorado Street in Decatur will be designed to throw a spotlight on contract talks between United Steelworkers Local 7-838 and the company.

After 10 bargaining sessions, the two sides are divided on the subject of pay for new hires and enhancing retirement benefits for older workers. Local 7-838 said the company wants to pay new hires $4 less an hour and won't budge on increasing retirement multipliers as the union requested.

In the last company offer, rejected by the union, Local 7-838 said there were 2 percent raises on the table for each of the four years the contract would last.

Steve Moroney, president of Local 7-838, believes the contract might have been accepted with those raises if the company would have given ground on the new hire rates and the retirement calculations.

No, we're not a million miles apart, he said in an interview Wednesday evening.

He said the rally will draw attention to the negotiations and inform the public about what's going on; the union has also taken out large billboard signs calling for what it describes as a fair deal. Both sides are due back at the bargaining table Wednesday, July 13.

Mueller Water Products Inc. is based in Atlanta, Ga., and company spokesman, John Pensec, confirmed that negotiations with Local 7-838 are continuing. He would not comment on how the talks are going.

Out of respect for them (the union) and the process, we're not going to discuss any of the details, he added. We continue to operate the facility to meet our customers' needs.

A contract extension is in effect that runs until July 20, according to the union

Mueller makes valves, fire hydrants and other water-handling hardware and has significant factory and foundry operations in Decatur, where Local 7-838 represents more than 400 workers.

The company navigated some rough waters during the Great Recession but has since emerged strongly. Announcing second-quarter fiscal results in April, Mueller said adjusted operating income jumped 9 percent to $35.3 million.

Moroney said hard work by the employees in the city where the company was founded in 1857 has been a significant feature of that success.

Decatur seems to be a big part of the money they are making, he said. We reckon we should getting a better deal.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 19:00:32 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

The Brazilian environment military police in the state of Minas Gerais has fined and then seized irregular works performed by local pellets producer Samarco at a site near the Mariana tragedy.

Samarco has performed non-authorized works in a lake near the S3 dyke in order to prevent iron ore waste from the damaged Fundao dam to pollute local rivers.

Samarco was fined BRL 33,230 and then at BRL 1,495 for the irregular works. The company didnt have the proper licenses to work at the site, according to media reports.

Samarco confirmed the fines and said its analyzing the documents.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 23:32:19 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Chilean steelmaker and iron ore producer CAP group expects to increase output and reduce costs at its Copiapos magnetite plant, according to local newspaper Diario Financiero.

The magnetite plant located in the city of Copiapo had its output temporarily halted earlier this year due to high electricity costs, the companys most expensive cost, and declining commodity prices.

The company told Chilean media that it should adjust iron ore concentration, so it can increase the commoditys output, reaching the plants original production capacity, while diminishing operating costs.

According to companys data, the magnetite plant produced 2.2 million mt of filtered feed pellet in 2015. With the expected improvements at the facility completed, concentrates output is forecast to reach 3 million mt in 2016.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 09:33:46 (GMT+3) | Shanghai

China s state-owned credit rating agency Dagong Global Credit Rating Co., Ltd (Dagong Global Credit Rating) has announced that it has maintained the credit rating of Inner Mongolia-based Chinese steelmaker Baotou Iron and Steel (Baogang) at AA+. While the companys credit rating outlook has been downgraded to negative from stable.

As of March 31 this year, Baogangs gross debt amounted to RMB 123.841 billion ($18.59 billion) and the liability ratio stood at 79.98 percent, indicating great pressure of repaying debts in the company.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 09:35:00 (GMT+3) | Kolkata

India s list of 173 steel products under the Minimum Import Price (MIP) would be reshuffled later this month, an official in ministry of steel said on Thursday.





He said that some products would be shifted out as antidumping investigations were expected to be completed and definitive antidumping duty would be levied on them while new product categories would be included like color coated steel products.





According to the official, ideally the government would have liked to move all products under MIP to antidumping duty regime but since antidumping investigations were time consuming list of items under MIP would go under periodic re-shuffle as more products get into a more long term antidumping regime.

However, no decision had yet been taken on whether MIP would be extended for six or three months as the tenure of the import protection measure approaches its expiry next month, the official said.





The decision would be taken by the new Minister of Steel, Chaudhury Birendra Singh who took charge of the ministry of steel last Tuesday following a reshuffle of Cabinet of Ministers and portfolios held by them, the official added.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 22:19:48 (GMT+3) |

Mexicos auto production and domestic sales have increased in June, according to information released on Thursday by the nations automotive industry association, AMIA.

According to AMIA, Mexican auto production rose 4.1 percent in June, year-on-year, to 319,122 units, while exports and domestic sales in the same period increased 1.8 percent and 25.9 percent, respectively, to 247,005 and 134,536 units.

Despite the year-on-year increase for car output and exports in June, the Mexican automotive industry saw a different trend for the two indicators in H1.

Auto production and exports in H1 fell 3.1 percent and 5.6 percent, year-on-year, respectively, to 1.6 million and 1.3 million units, it said.

Domestic sales, however, improved 18.4 percent, year-on-year, in the six-month period to 721,856 units.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 22:47:57 (GMT+3) | San Diego

With the expansion of the Panama Canal almost complete, ports in the eastern United States are bracing for additional port traffic and increased cargo volumes. The Canals expansion will allow the passage of ships with up to 14,000 TEUs, almost three times the current capacity. High capacity vessels are expected to shift maritime traffic across vital international lanes.

In preparation, the Port of Virigina, the only US east coast port with authority for 55-foot depth channels, has purchased five new container handlers with each offering materials handling capacities up to 105,000 pounds.
Tapping offshore fields in the Russian Arctic is a new challenge for all industry players, and we are willing to contribute by offering our partners high-tech tubular products to their requirements, which not only match but surpass our foreign competitors, said Alexander Shiryaev, TMK s CEO.
DECATUR -- Alfred Mascaro had heard of Decatur, but he didnt understand why he had to go all the way there from his home in Palm Springs, Fla., and was beginning to worry as he passed cornfield after cornfield on his way from St. Louis.

I was saying, Where the hell is this hospital? Mayberry RFD and Green Acres, here we come, Mascaro said. There were no tall buildings anywhere. Im thinking, holy Christmas, where are we going?

But Decatur Memorial Hospital was one of the two places in the country that could help Mascaro. Using the C-11 Choline PET CT and MRI -- available only at DMH and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. -- Mascaros recurrence of prostate cancer was pinpointed, he returned home and the cancer was removed.

In Florida, we have some of the biggest cancer hospitals in the world -- Moffitt, Cleveland, Shands -- and I didnt understand why they were sending me to Decatur when we had all those hospitals, Mascaro said. My lady friend and I did some research, and we found that there were only two places that even had the test. I didnt get it, but I trusted my doctor.

Im glad I did.

Unlike traditional tests to find prostate cancer -- typically, CT (computed tomography) and bone scans -- the C-11 Choline PET CT and MRI uses a tracer that, after injection, highlights the exact location of prostate cancer in patients. It was approved by the FDA recently after a two-year trial. Its particularly effective for men whose PSA (prostate specific antigens) go up after a prostatectomy without explanation.

Even medical facilities that want to do this and jump in on it -- very few of them have the facilities and equipment, saidDr. Mark Muscato, DMH director of Radiology. Its the best test right now for prostate cancer. It really changes the ability to accurately diagnose the disease and gives us a better idea how to treat them.

C-11 Choline is a radioactive isotope agent produced on site at DMH by a cyclotron -- its part of the hospitals Center of Advanced Molecular Medicine. DMH was an early buyer in the world of molecular medicine when now-DMH President and CEO Tim Stone noticed peculiar purchases by some major companies 15 years ago.

With the completion of the Human Genome Project, we started paying attention to the three big imagine equipment manufacturers -- GE, Siemens and Philips, Stone said. We noticed they were all making acquisition plays that didnt fit my view of their traditional business in the medical arena. They were suddenly buying pharmacy companies that made injectable imaging agents with isotopes.

I started asking people, and they all said the same thing: With the completion of the Human Genome Project, theyre all working on the next generation equipment. So we started buying all the latest digital equipment that would allow us to be able to take advantage of the next generation of isotopes. We bought a cyclotron. It was a big investment, but soon we were able to create a wet lab capability for some of those molecular tests and started getting involved in clinical trials.

The goal is precision medicine, imaging agents paired with therapeutic drugs to create customized, tailored approaches for each individual patient. They would provide a targeted approach that doesnt damage surrounding tissue.

Expect more to come because DMH is already producing and selling isotopes to other health care facilities, but C-11 Choline combined with PET CT and MRI technology is a significant start.

As far as molecular medicine goes, were way ahead right now, Stone said.

After C-11 Choline is produced, it is injected into the patient. The test itself lasts 15 to 20 minutes. Prostate cancer cells absorb the choline, and the scan picks up the exact locations of tracer concentrations. Lesions appear as brightly illuminated spots on the scan. C-11 Choline has a rapid rate of decay, losing half of its radioactivity every 20 minutes, which means the tiny amount of original radioactivity is gone quickly from the patients body.

Muscato said results are either sent to the patients physician or discussed on site at DMH.

We usually tell them to go grab lunch, then well go over it in detail while theyre gone and discuss it with them when they get back, Muscato said.

John Harper, a 62-year-old former Decatur resident now living in Springfield, had a prostatectomy 10 years ago after being diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer. Its given Harper 10 years of life he wouldnt have otherwise have had, and hes made the most of it. He saw three grandchildren born and traveled to London and Israel. After resigning as CEO of the nonprofit organization Teen Challenge in Decatur last year, Harper moved to Springfield.

I reinvented myself, Harper said. I have a traveling ministry, Im writing a book and I do a Christian talk show out of Chicago.

But one thing Harper didnt change was hospitals. And when Harpers PSA level rose slightly recently, doctors at Cancer Care Specialists of Illinois were able to take advantage of the C-11 Choline PET CT and MRI.

A lesion was found on Harpers pelvis, but his doctors have chosen to monitor it for now rather than perform surgery.

Theres no test that accurately identifies cancer at such low PSA levels, said Dr. Thomas Tarter, a urologic oncologist with Cancer Care Specialists of Illinois. Because of this test, were learning a lot about the patterns of relapse.

"Previously, with conventional imagery, we would have to wait until the PSAs were high in order to identify these cancers. Now were able to identify small areas of relapse and decide what kind of care to provide.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 23:32:37 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Venezuelas state-run steelmaker Complejo Siderurgico Nacional (CSN) has reactivated two more mills, in addition to other four, which resumed activities late on June, government news agency AVN said this week.

According to AVN, both CSNs Valencia and the Guarenas mills resumed activities in the past few weeks.

Basic industries minister Juan Arias said CSN has now six reactivated mills. The official said the mills had halted operations due to conjunctural issues, such as lack of feedstock.

A pellets plant at state-run steelmaker Sidor was also reactivated, the Venezuelan minister added.

Venezuelas CSN produces rebar, beams, profiles, sections, meshes, trusses, billets, plates, joist and bars.
Thursday, 07 July 2016 09:47:30 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

A source from a Brazilian distributor told SteelOrbis that the local producers did not increase so far their prices for wire rod

Such price, covering both domestic and export prices, was supposed to increase along with the eight percent increase applied in July to other long products, but was postponed as a market strategy, due to a possible loss of competitiveness vis-a-vis international prices, in the case of exports, and vis-a-vis imports, in the case of domestic sales.

The source mentioned that he believes that the prices will be increased over the next few weeks.

With the increase, wire rod of the drawing grade would be exported in average at $540/mt, while for the mesh grade the base price would be $523/mt, both FOB conditions.

In May, ArcelorMittal exported wire rod in average at $443/mt, while Gerdau exported at $381/mt, FOB conditions, price deals probably closed in March.




By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Bloomsdale will probably host a major fireworks display. The pyrotechnics will not take place until 2024, however. During the Oct. 12 board of aldermen meeting, Kevin Wehner and city officials again discussed the possibility of a July 4 fireworks display at the youth soccer fields on land leased by the city
The decrees appointing new ministers - Mircea Dumitru as Education Minister, Sorin Buse - as Transport Minister and Maria Ligor - as Minister Delegate for Relations with Romanians Everywhere - were published on Thursday in the Official Gazette.

These will be sworn in at a ceremony to be held on Thursday afternoon at Cotroceni Palace. Also published in the Official Gazette has been the decree on appointing the chief of Prime Minister's Chancellery, Dragos Tudorache as interim Communications Minister. The head of state on Thursday signed these decrees, as well as the one revoking Maria Ligor as Romania's Ambassador to Canada.

Agerpres
The European Commission's Directorate General for Competition (DG Competition) started an investigation into the Romanian gas market following a complaint filed by a Hungarian company, sources from the energy sector told Agerpres.

"The European Commission is unhappy with Transgaz dragging its feet for years with the investment that would have allowed the export of gas from Romania to Hungary [via the Arad-Szeged pipeline]. The investigation was triggered by a complaint from Hungary that Romania does not export to this country the cheap gas it produces, which amounts to blocking the free movement of goods in the Community space," the sources mentioned.

Only gas imports from Hungary to Romania are currently possible through the Arad-Szeged pipeline. Transgaz plans investments that would set the technical conditions in place allowing two-way gas transit through this pipeline. On June 6, European Commission officials conducted unannounced inspections at the premises of companies Romgaz, Transgaz and OMV Petrom, which stand under the suspicion of having colluded to block gas exports from Romania to other EU member states.
I still remember your funeral.

I still remember the white casket, small with only two handles on each side.

I still remember the red teddy bear someone had placed near your head.

I still remember then-Florida state lawmaker Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall weeping over your coffin, then-Congressman Kendrick Meek standing there in speechless anguish, and then-Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio deploring the violence that took you away at just nine years of age. In our very midst, he said, we sit on a crisis of epic proportions that we fail to recognize.

At your graveside, they released a white dove and it zoomed away, skimming through the trees.

You write different columns for different reasons. Some you write to argue a point, some to vent anger. One reason I write this one, Sherdavia Jenkins, is because its been 10 years since you died and I feel the need to call your name.

Not that it will resonate for many people. They wont know it in Seattle, Austin or Denver. But theyll never forget it in Miami.

Ive never been quite clear on why that is. After all, its not as if its unknown for children to be shot to death  in South Florida or elsewhere. So Ive always wondered why youre the one Miami named a park for, the one that is remembered.

Maybe its because you were a child of uncommon promise. At your funeral, they passed out a booklet of certificates youd received, documenting excellence in reading, science, math and Spanish. You had your schools top scores on the state math test and were named best all-around student.

So maybe were stung by the fact of a sparkling future, foreclosed. Or maybe its just the way you died, in a crossfire between two punk gangsters, while playing outside your own front door. What kind of country is it when a child is not safe on her own doorstep?

But again, your story is not unique. In the decade since you fell, thousands of other children have died by gunfire. They all had names, too.

Joseph Spencer, age 12, died nine years ago in Jackson, Miss.

Michael Alvin Muha, age 12, died eight years ago in Redstone Township, Pa.

Roberto Lopez, age four, died seven years ago in Los Angeles.

Rosay J. Butler Jr., age three, died six years ago in Selma, Ala.

Gabriel Martinez Jr., age five, died five years ago in Oakland.

Delric Miller, age nine months, died four years ago in Detroit.

Antonio Santiago, age 13 months, died three years ago in Brunswick, Ga.

Davia Garth, age 12, died two years ago in Cleveland.

JaQuail Mansaw, age seven months, died last year in Kansas City, Kan.

King Carter, age six, died in February near Miami.

Chicago is awash in the blood of its children. South Florida is routinely heartbroken. And I havent even mentioned the weekly massacres of children and adults in places like Newtown, Aurora and Orlando.

Sherdavia, Id love to be able to say weve taken decisive action to fix this, but we havent. A nation where the right to free speech is regulated and the right to freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures was just narrowed again somehow considers the right to have a gun to be sacrosanct.

Lawmakers refuse to consider measures favored by the vast majority of us to keep guns away from those who should not have them. Yet we keep returning these paragons of moral idiocy to office. That includes Sen. Marco Rubio, who spoke at your funeral.

As I said, Sherdavia, you write columns for various reasons. Ive given you one reason Im writing this one. The other is simply that I felt the need to say the obvious: Weve failed you in life and in death and Im sorry.

You deserved better. They all did.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Sunshine and a few afternoon clouds. High 82F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Low around 65F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Armenias National Aviation Union (NAU), in a public statement, has called for the halt of the partial demolition of Terminal 1 at Zvartnots International Airport.

Terminal 1, built in 1971 and closed in 2011, is known for its circular structure that housed a control tower inside.

The NAU argues that Armenia is in a war footing and that the country can ill afford to dismantle such structures of strategic significance.

The NAU says that the decision to partially dismantle the Zvartnots complex clearly violates various clauses of Armenias military doctrine, labeling the decision of the Public Council a conspiratorial blow to body of the Armenian people at the most difficult of times for our country.

The organization calls for an investigation into this crime against state property and that those responsible be held accountable.
The U.S. Department of Justice has significant concerns about Aetna Inc's proposed acquisition of health insurer Humana Inc, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

Aetna's purchase of Humana would combine two of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans for elderly people, and investors have long been concerned the deal might pose a competition issue for antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department is also reviewing Anthem Inc.'s proposed purchase of Cigna Corp., and investors are worried it will fail because of its impact on competition in the employer insurance market. Together, the two deals will decrease the number of national health insurers to three from five.

News of the Justice Department's significant concerns come as the department is due to meet with officials from Aetna and Humana on Friday, as first reported by antitrust trade publication MLex.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, confirmed the department's concerns but did not expound on the exact nature of its worries.

However, the issue raised investor worries on both deals.

Jeff Jonas, portfolio manager for Gabelli Funds, which owns Humana and Cigna shares, said that he believes that the Aetna-Humana deal still has a chance to go through with divestitures because there are plenty of buyers for the assets.

Reuters reported last week that Aetna had begun a process to divest about $1 billion of Medicare Advantage assets to address antitrust concerns.

Antitrust regulators are mainly focused on whether the deal would limit consumer choices for Medicare Advantage health plans for the elderly.

Aetna has argued that Medicare Advantage competes not just with other Medicare Advantage plans but with traditional Medicare, according to a different source familiar with the matter.

Aetna announced its plans to buy Humana Inc. last summer in a deal now worth about $34 billion. Anthem's deal for Cigna was announced a few weeks later.

Humana was not immediately available for comment.

Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford said on a phone call that the company continues to cooperate with the Justice Department.
ST. LOUIS  Francine Katzs fight with Anheuser-Busch is not yet over.

Two years after a jury sided with the worlds largest beermaker in a lawsuit the former executive brought against A-B alleging she was underpaid because of her gender, a judge heard arguments Thursday over who should pay for nearly $60,000 in court costs.

Katz worked at A-B from 1988 until 2008, when the St. Louis maker of Budweiser and Michelob beers was sold to Belgium-based InBev. She rose to become A-Bs top ranking female executive when she was named vice president of corporate communications in 2002 and the first female member of the companys strategy committee.

In her lawsuit, Katz alleged it was only after the sale to InBev that she learned that her base salary and bonus were 46 percent lower than her male predecessors and less than that of every male executive on A-Bs strategy committee. She sought $9.4 million in missed compensation and $5 million in interest, but a jury sided with Anheuser-Busch in its claim that it did not discriminate against Katz.

Katz, who lives in Richmond Heights, was back in the same seventh floor Civil Courts courtroom Thursday where her three-week trial took place two years ago. During the high profile 2014 trial, the list of witnesses who took the stand included rare public appearances from A-Bs previous owners, including former CEOs August Busch III and his son, August Busch IV.

After A-B won the 2014 case, Katz challenged the courts directive that she pay for the costs of subpoenas, depositions and other fees totaling just under $60,000. Katzs attorney John Lynn argued at the hearing Thursday that her lawsuit was brought under the Missouri Human Rights Act, which bars taxing of court costs unless the case is frivolous.

It provides that no costs at all can be awarded against the non-prevailing party unless her claim was without foundation, Lynn, an attorney with Sedey Harper Westhoff, told the Post-Dispatch.

Circuit Judge Rex Burlison, who presided during the 2014 trial, said at the hearing Thursday that Katzs lawsuit wasnt a frivolous case.

Burlison said hed consider briefs filed by both parties over the issue of court costs and did not issue a ruling.

The legal fight over court costs comes just days after A-Bs Bud Light brand debuted a national TV ad starring actors Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer portraying itself as a defender of equal pay for men and women.

In an emailed statement, A-B said it believes in and practices equal pay for equal work.

The jury found that Francine Katz was always treated and compensated fairly during her 20 years of employment at Anheuser-Busch, A-B spokesman Katie Petru said. We value equality throughout all levels of our organization and our position on equal pay has been very consistent over the years.

As the prevailing party in this trial, the court ordered that Anheuser-Busch be reimbursed a small portion of its litigation costs, Petru continued. Mrs. Katz challenged that ruling, and this hearing is simply a means of presenting our position to the court with respect to whether and what amount of costs should be awarded under Missouri law.
CHICAGO  Monsanto and DuPont said on Thursday they have signed a multi-year supply agreement for the weed killer dicamba in the United States and Canada.

Under the deal, whose terms were not disclosed, Monsanto will supply its farm seeds and chemicals rival with the herbicide, which will be sold as DuPont FeXapan herbicide plus VaporGrip Technology, the companies said.

The chemical is meant for use with Monsanto's Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans, a genetically modified variety designed to tolerate applications of dicamba and glyphosate herbicides. DuPont signed a licensing agreement in 2013 to incorporate Monsanto's Xtend trait in its seeds.

Widespread planting of glyphosate-tolerant corn, soybeans and cotton in the United States has contributed to the rise of weeds resistant to the herbicide so farmers are seeking alternative varieties that can withstand other weed killers.

Monsanto has invested more than $1 billion in a dicamba production facility in Luling, La., to supply demand it expects will blossom in the coming years. The company has said the Xtend platform will be its largest-ever technology launch.

The Xtend soybean trait was planted on around 1 million acres in the United States this year, less than initially planned due to import-approval delays in the European Union. Monsanto expects 15 million acres to be planted with Xtend soybeans next season and 55 million acres by 2019.

DuPont's deal with Monsanto comes amid a period of heightened consolidation in the farm seeds and chemicals industry that has long been dominated by six large companies.

DuPont and Dow Chemical agreed to a $130 billion merger last year and Syngenta agreed in February to be bought by ChemChina for $43 billion. In May, Monsanto turned down a $62-billion takeover offer from Bayer but said it remained open to a deal.
To mark its 40th anniversary year, Laumeier Sculpture Park has installed Alexandre da Cunhas 2013 work "Mix (Americana)." The large-scale (it's made from a cement-truck mixer) artwork was donated to the park's permanent collection by da Cunha and New York's CRG Gallery, after it was exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It's now on view in Laumeiers Museum Circle, and visible from the Lower Entrance parking lots.

"Mix (Americana)" has been polished up and painted in white with red and blue; it's now a functional sundial. Light reflects and bounces around its steel innards, making for a network of shadowy shapes within.

Da Cunha, born in 1969 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, trained in Sao Paulo and London. His work has been seen around Europe and the Americas. "Mix (Americana)" is an addition to the Laumeiers current "New Territories: BRICS, 2015-19" (for Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) theme.

According to the press release, "Within the context of Laumeiers green space, 'Mix (Americana)' inspires discussion about the suburban landscape and the complex meeting point between natural and manmade environments."
St. Louis rapper T-Dubb-O has quickly responded to this weeks shooting deaths by police officers of African-American men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, deaths both caught on video, with his new song Enough.

He says he created the song Wednesday night in response to the "bull(crap)," and that tired and angry arent enough to describe how he feels.

T-Dubb-O, who met with President Obama in the wake of Ferguson, was working on another project last night when he felt compelled to switch gears and address what was happening.

Click here to listen to the unrelenting Enough, which is available to stream on his Soundcloud. (Warning, the song includes very graphic language).
Local blood collection agencies have issued emergency calls for donations in response to supply shortages after the holiday weekend.

The blood supply typically drops off in the summer because of vacations and a lack of school-based blood drives, but its much, much lower than it normally is at this point in time, said Joe Zydlo of the Missouri-Illinois Blood Services Region of the American Red Cross, which is short 39,000 units of blood nationwide.

Two recent changes in U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy have limited the number of eligible donors. Anyone who has traveled to countries where the mosquito-borne Zika virus is circulating (including much of Latin America and the Caribbean), or has had sex with someone who has traveled to the area, must wait 28 days before donating blood.

In May, the FDA increased the minimum level of hemoglobin, a protein in the blood that contains iron, from 12.5 grams per deciliter to 13 grams per deciliter for male blood donors. The change was intended to protect donors health. For women, whose hemoglobin levels fluctuate more often, the minimum level for eligibility remains at 12.5 grams per deciliter.

This means more donors who would like to give are being deferred than in previous years, said Kirby Winn, spokesman for Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, which supplies blood to 22 hospitals in the St. Louis region.

We have these trends that negatively impact the rate of donation, but hospital utilization stays the same year-round.

The center will host a summer blood drive on Saturday and Sunday at locations across the St. Louis area and the Metro East. For more information, call 314-291-4741 or visit bloodcenter.org/KSHE.

The Red Cross is also hosting regular blood drives across the region. For more information, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.
A Missouri woman who traveled to Jamaica and another woman who traveled to Haiti mark the state's eighth and ninth cases of Zika virus. Neither woman was pregnant when she contracted the mosquito-borne virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects.

All nine cases of Zika in Missourians have been connected to travel to the Caribbean, Central America or South America where the virus is circulating. Two of the cases involve pregnant women, whose conditions have not been released.

Illinois reports 23 cases. Nationally, there are 1,133 Zika cases that have all been associated with travel. There have been no Zika transmissions from mosquitoes in the U.S.

Most people who catch Zika dont know they have it. In 20 percent of cases, the virus can cause mild symptoms of fever, rash, joint pain and pink eye.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has started tracking pregnancy outcomes for 320 American women who have caught travel-related Zika. There have been seven cases of birth defects in newborns, and five reports of pregnancies with birth defects that ended in miscarriages, abortions or stillbirths.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/zika.
As the University of Missouri-Columbia braces for what could be a fairly painful enrollment decline this fall, one bright spot campus administrators have identified is the recent expansion of the University of Missouri High School.

The hope is that significant numbers of students taking courses through Mizzous high school program will one day land at the university as college students, enhancing the international flavor of the campus while also boosting its enrollment.

Enrollment is one of the most pressing matters on campus at the moment.

Last month, interim University of Missouri System President Michael Middleton described Mizzous freshman enrollment outlook as grim for the coming school year.

University administrators are expecting to see roughly 2,600 fewer students on campus in the 2016-17 school year, including 1,500 fewer freshmen.

As a result, the campus is bracing for a $30 million drop in revenue.

When universities begin anticipating enrollment decreases, a common strategy is to cast a wider net  expanding outreach efforts to markets previously untapped by recruiters.

In Mizzous case, administrators are cautiously optimistic that its high school, which has been quietly branching out to foreign countries over several years, can continue to fulfill its broader academic purpose while also creating a path for increased enrollment at the university in these dire times.

As dean of Mizzous College of Education, Kathryn Chval oversees the high school and its 6,000 students.

In addition to training future teachers how to conduct online courses and relate to foreign students, Mizzou is providing quality high school education to people around the world, Chval said.

The bonus is the potential influx of new students.

College leaders generally welcome diversity on a campus as a way to enrich the experiences of the entire student body. To that end, Mizzou has stepped up its international recruiting over the last decade. Mizzous 2,500 international students made up 7 percent of the universitys 35,400 students last year. Ten years ago, Mizzou had 1,370 international students, making up 4.9 percent of its student population.

Within a few years, we could potentially have hundreds of new international students bolstering Mizzous enrollment numbers and diversifying our campus in amazing ways, Chval said.

Mizzous high school traces its roots to the early 1900s, when universities stepped in to provide high school education to rural students who couldnt travel long distances to schools each day, as well as the medically homebound, and people who couldnt take time off from their jobs to attend school on a regular schedule.

Those early correspondence courses, for which students and teachers communicated through the mail, eventually gave way to todays online courses and so-called blended models in which students complete classes through a mix of online learning and face-to-face instruction.

Mizzous high school offers both.

Mizzou offers online classes and full diploma programs in all 50 states and around the world.

More noteworthy, the university has partnerships with brick-and-mortar high schools in 65 countries, including China, Brazil, Thailand, Honduras, Tanzania and Serbia.

What it means is that a gifted student in Detroit whose high school doesnt offer certain advanced classes can take them through Mizzou.

Additionally, a student enrolled at a private school in Brazil can sit through a Brazilian curriculum in the morning, then switch to an American curriculum in the afternoon on his or her way to earning dual diplomas.

In that scenario, the Brazilian student might learn lessons designed by local teachers as well as instructors at Mizzou. And while the local teacher might handle the face-to-face classroom instruction, an instructor at Mizzou would grade the essays and exams. Both would provide feedback to the student.

Zac March manages many of Mizzous high school operations. He explains that students can choose from dozens of different courses at a cost of $500 each, or $250 for in-state students.

Students who complete an approved graduation plan, maintain a satisfactory grade-point average and meet enrollment requirements, are pre-admitted to attend the university through a program established last year called MizzouDirect.

Although the university hopes MizzouDirect will help boost enrollment, March said it wasnt created specifically for that purpose.

It was something that had been talked about for a while, March said. The university process is slow. We had to get all sorts of approvals.

There are currently 850 students in the MizzouDirect program  750 in Brazil and 100 in Vietnam.

Much of the optimism at Mizzou comes from the Brazilian partnership. Nearly half of the high schools student body  2,500 students  is in Brazil.

Brazil was looking for a partnership, and they saw us as an attractive option, March said. All of those students have the option to end up on our campus one day because of MizzouDirect. Eight hundred and fifty kids in the pipeline is tremendous. It could make us a different campus.
WASHINGTON  It depends on the definition of lobbying.

When it was announced last year that Andy Blunt would manage the re-election campaign of his father, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Democrats accused the younger Blunt of a conflict of interest.

In December, Andy Blunt told the Post-Dispatch that I lobby in the state of Missouri, not the United States Congress, and there is a clear distinction.

But in April, the Post-Dispatch has learned, Andy Blunt helped lead a delegation of Missouri cable television executives in meetings with members of the Missouri congressional delegation or their staffs.

Asked about the meetings this week, Andy Blunt said he did not consider the meetings to be lobbying. Rather, he said, they were part of an annual meet-and-greet trip to Washington. He said he accompanied about 15 Missouri cable executives in his new job as executive director of the Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association.

But the issue of a Federal Communications Commission proposal to change how viewers get television programming came up. And the staff of at least one Missouri congressional office said it considered the meeting to be lobbying.

The revelations rekindle questions about where Andy Blunts lobbying for clients ends and his advocacy for his fathers re-election campaign begins.

Roy Blunt is being challenged by Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander, who has pointed to lobbying by Andy Blunt and other members of the senators family  including his wife, Abigail, and another son, former Gov. Matt Blunt  as an example of what Kander says is an entrenched career politician.

Roy Blunt says Kander is trying to change the subject from that of Kander being out of step with many Missourians on issues most important to the state.

While he did sit in on meetings with other members of the Missouri delegation, Andy Blunt said he did not attend any meeting between the cable executives and his father, the senator. Andy Blunt said that was not an acknowledgment that lobbying may have gone on, but simply a recognition of the line that he and his father have always drawn between their work and personal lives.

Roy Blunt is the second-ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce subcommittee on communications, technology, innovation and the internet. The committee has jurisdiction over the FCC.

Look, I am not going to take away my right, if I think something important is going on, as a citizen to write to my congressman, Andy Blunt said. I drew a bright line that I am not a lobbyist and I am not lobbying members of the United States Congress.

That certainly doesnt mean that once a year when the MCTA has a fly-in, I dont go walk around with 20 people from the Missouri Cable Association, or however many there are for that particular meeting, and say, Here is what is going on in our industry, he said. That would be a massive group of people that all of a sudden would be federal lobbyists in the eyes of whoever was making that assertion. And that is not accurate, that is not what I do. Proud of what I do and I am pretty clear about what I do and dont do.

He said the cable-box issue did come up in some meetings, but that is an issue before the FCC, not Congress. He also said that the MCTA was one of many state cable groups there for an annual meeting.

The Kander campaign is trying to draw an inference that an annual pilgrimage for a meet-and-greet should be covered as See, he is a federal lobbyist, and any coverage of that assertion would leave the reader with an impression way different than the clear reality, Andy Blunt said. I dont think if I was going to start a career as a federal lobbyist that I would be going to Senator McCaskills office, and I cant imagine anyone would ever pay me to do that.

He was lobbying us

John LaBombard, a spokesman for Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Andy Blunt was in a meeting of five MCTA representatives with McCaskills staff on April 13.

I can confirm on the record that this meeting was requested by Andy, that it was a staff meeting that didnt include Claire, LaBombard said, when asked by the Post-Dispatch. And from our staffs perspective, he was lobbying us.

Andy Blunt also sat in on meetings with staffs of Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth; and Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, spokespeople said.

The Federal Communications Commission is studying a proposal that would require satellite and cable providers to give makers of alternatives to cable boxes the right to have access to programming. Cable and satellite companies say the initiative would unfairly cut revenue to programming providers, stifle innovation and threaten user privacy.

A respected strategist

In December, Andy Blunt described himself as a son who loves my father and helps his political campaign as its manager.

At the beginning of 2016, Andy Blunt became executive director of the Missouri Cable Telecommunications Association, while still maintaining his prominent lobbying profile in Jefferson City. The groups annual trip to Washington came about three months later.

The MCTA represents about two dozen large and small cable companies and affiliates that provide video, broadband and other telecommunications services to about 2 million Missouri customers.

When Andy Blunt was named executive director, Paul Berra, the MCTA board chairman who is director of government affairs for Charter Communications in St. Louis, described him as one of the brightest young lawyer/lobbyists in Jefferson City, and a respected strategist and tactician of integrity in Missouri.

Charter is the second-largest cable provider in the nation after acquiring Time Warner earlier this year, a move that was approved by the FCC.

In the cable groups meetings with the congressional delegation, the cable box proposal being considered by the FCC came up, Andy Blunt said. But he said the issue didnt directly involve Congress.

I know the MCTA guys offered their perspective that the FCC has not been helpful, but that is an FCC issue, not really a congressional one, Andy Blunt said.

Roy Blunt spokesman Brian Hart said the senator had not taken a public position on the cable box issue.

Through March, Roy Blunts re-election campaign had received about $462,000 from communications and technology sector donors, out of about $10.3 million raised, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Federal disclosure requirements say that to be considered a federal lobbyist, a person must spend 20 percent of his or her time trying to influence members of Congress or federal agency officials. Under that definition, Andy Blunt and the other members of the MCTA would be far from having to register.

By contrast, Roy Blunts wife, Abigail Blunt, was named one of Washingtons top lobbyists last year by The Hill, a Washington news outlet. Abigail Blunt lobbies federal officials for Kraft Food Groups Inc.

Lobbying and congressional ethics experts contacted by the Post-Dispatch in December were split on whether a lobbyist  even at the state level, as Andy Blunt primarily is  would cross lines in running a campaign.

Veteran campaign ethics expert Stanley Brand said there are scores of federal lobbyists involved in campaigns, and he said then that the fact that Andy Blunt said he lobbied only on state issues makes a big difference.

But Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen, a nonprofit watchdog group, said that the appearance of a conflict of interest is important. He said he had documented about 25 U.S. senators who had family members as lobbyists, and that Roy Blunt had the most.

One of Holmans colleagues at Public Citizen said this week that Andy Blunts trip here demonstrates why the group is trying to get Congress to more clearly define what constitutes lobbying.

This falls squarely into the gray area, where a layperson (or a staff person) would likely access these interactions as lobbying, said Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizens Congress Watch. But since Andy is not a registered lobbyist at the federal level, and definitely isnt spending more than 20 percent of his time lobbying Congress, he wouldnt record it as such.

It is just a meeting, as he described, Gilbert said. From our perspective, this speaks to the need to more accurately capture meetings with members, senators and their staffs, and have contacts be what triggers lobbying reporting rather than whether one is officially registered.
JEFFERSON CITY  Two weeks after rolling out a TV ad accusing his opponent of working for a terrorist, a Republican candidate for attorney general is again trying to tie law professor Josh Hawley to Islamic extremism.

Sen. Kurt Schaefer, whose earlier ad was panned as misleading by former U.S. Sen. John Danforth, has taken to the airwaves this week with a 30-second spot highlighting Hawleys role in writing a legal brief arguing that the federal government should no longer designate the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran as a terrorist organization.

The group has since been removed from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations and is considered by many prominent Republicans as an exile group that has helped the U.S. in the Middle East.

The group has enjoyed support from notable Missouri Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and former U.S. Sen. Christopher Kit Bond.

The ad is the latest flare-up in a heated battle to replace Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster, who is running for governor.

Hawley and Schaefer are both from Columbia. Hawley is a professor of law at the University of Missouri. Democrats vying for the nomination on Aug. 2 include St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman and former Cass County prosecutor Teresa Hensley.

Both Republicans are well-armed heading into the final weeks of the primary. Schaefer has received more than $1.4 million from retired financier Rex Sinquefield in recent days, while Hawley reeled in a $1 million check Thursday from David Humphreys, owner of Tamko Building Products of Joplin.

Hawley also has the backing of a Virginia-based super PAC, which is running ads on his behalf.

In his earlier ad, Schaefer also used images of a legal brief containing Hawleys name to tie him to the defense of a prisoner who wanted to grow a beard in connection with his Islamic faith. Hawley said his name was placed on the brief by mistake.

Danforth told the Post-Dispatch that the ad was a malicious misstatement of fact.

In the latest dispute, the Hawley campaign supplied the Post-Dispatch with a 2008 letter from Bond to then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates urging the U.S. to protect members of the organization from the Iraqi Revolutionary Guards and pro-Iranian forces.

The candidate also supplied a letter from former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who served under President George W. Bush, calling Schaefer's claim "grossly inaccurate" and libelous.

The Schaefer campaign did not back down Thursday afternoon.

The unsettling revelation that Professor Hawley continually defended some of the most heinous terrorists in the world is not what Missourians are looking for in their next Attorney General, Schaefer campaign manager Scott Dieckhaus said.

On Thursday, meanwhile, Zimmerman rolled out his second TV ad of the election season. In it, he focuses on his role as an assistant attorney general in a 2002 legal battle over cell phone prices.

Hensley has not yet bought air time.
FERGUSON  Patricia Bynes violated 10 laws and spent $1,539 from her campaign on a psychic reading service as she managed the campaigns of two unsuccessful Ferguson City Council candidates in 2015, according to an agreement between Bynes and Missouri Ethics Commission.

Bynes, the Ferguson Democratic committeewoman, said many of the violations were the result of typos.

As for the $1,539 paid to a psychic service between April 14 and May 15, 2015, Bynes said her personal and campaign accounts were at the same credit union, the debit cards are nearly identical, and she confused the two.

After we realized that, I put a sticker on my campaign card so that way it wouldnt get confused anymore, Bynes said.

According to the Ethics Commission, Bynes repaid the money on May 26  eight days after an ethics complaint had been lodged against her.

In an Ethics Commission consent order released Wednesday, Bynes waived her right to a hearing, and agreed that she committed the violations and to a fine of $9,679. If she does not violate any campaign finance laws during the next two years, she will pay only $1,170.

In August 2014, as protests broke out over Michael Browns death, Bynes quick wit and insight prompted national media outlets to seek her out for interviews.

The next year, she managed the City Council campaigns of Bob Hudgins and Lee Smith, two candidates supported by the protesters. Although both men lost, their campaigns raised nearly $20,000  an amount unheard of for a Ferguson council race.

Most of that cash went unspent, and Bynes demanded the candidates pay her $4,000 apiece for her work, although neither had signed a contract.

Before and after the election, Hudgins and Smith received warning notices for failing to file campaign finance reports. Nick Kasoff, a Ferguson resident and local Libertarian Party committeeman, eventually took over filing reports for both candidates.

Campaign finance disclosure is very important to me, Kasoff said. It keeps elected officials honest and it gives the public the ability to know whos buttering their bread ... As Patricia demonstrated, she wasnt going to file them (the reports) at all ... It became clear that the violations had gone on for much longer and were much broader than I was first aware.

So Kasoff filed the ethics complaint.

On Thursday, Bynes argued that anyone could have made the same mistakes.

The reports arent easy to file, she said. Its not cut and dry.

St. Louis County has 28 townships headed by Democratic committeeman and committeewoman who are responsible for representing their party to residents.

Bynes four-year term will end shortly after the Aug. 2 election. Her name is not on the ballot.

Ferguson taught me a lot, she said. Im not sure what Im going to do next.
ST. LOUIS  Eric Greitens, whose campaign for Missouri governor has played up his past as a Navy SEAL warrior, spent much of Wednesdays gubernatorial debate on the defensive against attacks from his three Republican primary opponents, in a clash that descended at one point into jabs about sexual slavery and strip clubs.

Greitens opponents for the GOP nomination  businessman John Brunner, former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder  went after him, as they have before, for refusing to return $1 million in donations he has received from a California donor who is facing civil action for allegedly sexually abusing a woman for years.

(It is) the dirtiest money that has ever been brought into any Missouri campaign, Kinder alleged at one point.

Greitens shot back: Lt. Gov. Kinder is the last person on this stage who should be talking about men hanging out in strip clubs, a reference to a 2011 controversy over Kinders prior relationship with a stripper.

The exchange was almost identical to one the two men engaged in during a debate in March.

Greitens opponents, and the moderators, also pressed him about the preponderance of out-of-state donations he has taken and about a campaign commercial showing him firing a military-style rifle and sparking an explosion.

Its not a surprise that weve got all three of the professional politicians on stage attacking me, Greitens said at one point, working his claim that he is the only true political outsider in the race.

The debate, hosted and moderated by St. Louis Public Radio, comes less than a month before the four candidates will face each other on the Aug. 2 GOP ballot, in what has become the states marquee primary contest. The winner will probably face Democrat and Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster in the Nov. 8 general election.

Wednesdays debate was only a few minutes underway before the discussion turned to Greitens controversial rifle-and-explosion commercial.

Our government is too big and its broken. ... It cant be fixed by explosive ads from candidates with no experience, said Hanaway in her opening remarks, as Greitens sat next to her.

Co-moderator Don Marsh later pressed Greitens on the propriety of keeping the commercial on the air after the massacre in Orlando, in which the gunman employed a rifle similar to the one Greitens uses in the commercial.

Its the same rifle (style) I used to hunt terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, Greitens answered.

But much of the fire directed at Greitens related to Michael Goguen, a California-based venture capitalist who is Greitens single-biggest contributor, at $1 million.

In a lawsuit filed in March, a longtime female acquaintance accuses Goguen of sexual slavery. That has prompted demands from Greitens campaign opponents that he return Goguens donations.

Greitens answered on Wednesday in the way he has before, by maintaining that he isnt ethically obligated to return Goguens money unless the allegations are proven. Im not going to try someone in the court of public opinion, he said.

Greitens isnt the only candidate whose funding patterns have drawn attention in the race.

Brunner, who self-funded his failed 2012 U.S. Senate campaign with about $8 million, is self-funding again. He has sought to turn that sometimes-controversial practice to his advantage, saying that when donors give heavily to candidates, they want a return on their investment.

I cant be bought, Brunner said several times in Wednesdays debate.

Hanaway, who was criticized early in the campaign for accepting about $1 million in donations from groups affiliated with conservative St. Louis mega-donor Rex Sinquefield, has since dwarfed that early figure, taking in some $2.3 million in Sinquefield-related money in the past month alone, according to a Post-Dispatch analysis.

Hes given a tremendous amount to my campaign, but hes a Missourian who has pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, Hanaway said when asked Wednesday about the Sinquefield money. Im pleased hes decided to support the things Ive been standing up for for a long time.

As in previous debates, the four candidates agreed on a series of standard Republican positions: against any expansion of the Affordable Care Act through Medicaid, in favor of beefing up support of police, in favor of continued rights of citizens to carry concealed guns, and opposed to abortion rights.
JEFFERSON CITY  A controversial measure that would require a government-issued photo ID to vote was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon on Thursday, with the Democratic governor arguing it would act as a barrier against citizens fundamental right to vote.

It proved to be one of the most contentious items of debate during the 2016 legislative session, reflective of a broader ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans on voter access. GOP lawmakers argue the bill would prevent voter fraud, but their Democratic colleagues said it was a solution in search of a problem.

Missouri Democrats fought the issue throughout session, eventually winning some compromises. Under the measure, voters without a photo ID can sign an affidavit at the polls, swearing they are who they say they are under penalty of perjury. Their vote then counts so long as their signature matches the one on file.

Other provisions in the bill include exemptions for anyone born before 1946, anyone with a disability and those with religious objections to their photo being taken. Under the measure, the state also foots the bill for the IDs and any documents needed to get them.

Nixon argued that those allowances still dont go far enough, as some voters would still need to expend time and resources tracking down birth certificates or other documents to be issued identification.

Calling voter fraud an extremely rare occurrence, in his veto message, Nixon said the bill was an attempt to dissuade certain communities from going to the polls, unfairly targeting senior citizens, the disabled and racial and ethnic minorities. He vetoed a similar bill in 2011.

Due to the overwhelming evidence that photo ID requirements arent necessary, the proliferation of these laws is widely understood to be motivated by an attempt to suppress turnout among certain classes of voters, Nixon said.

Sponsoring Rep. Justin Alferman, R-Hermann, called the veto partisan politics at its worst and said the Legislature would override it when they return for the veto session in September.

Gov. Nixon has been pretty clear that having integrity in our elections is not a priority for him, Alferman said. Hes flat out lying when hes saying it will disenfranchise voters. Weve gone above and beyond any other voter ID bill in the entire country to make sure people can vote.

The measure is also tied to a voter referendum clause, where voters will be asked to weigh in on the proposals constitutionality in November. The bill Nixon vetoed Thursday lays out how the system would be implemented if voters approve the plan.
ST. LOUIS  The citys black police officers association is urging Police Chief Sam Dotson to resign, claiming he is unfair in making promotions and managing the department.

Dotson said he will stay on the job, and disagrees with the associations assessment.

Homicide unit Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, said the group is not accusing him of racial discrimination, but said Dotsons policies have led to a racial disparity in the force.

Taylors group, along with the Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality  an organization of black city firefighters  released a lengthy report detailing their concerns Thursday. The report, written by the board of the police group, centered on police concerns. The firefighters group said it would release its own more detailed report within the month.

Also taking part is the National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice Reform and Accountability, based in Washington.

The call for his resignation ups the ante in the organizations criticism of Dotson. In November, the Ethical Society announced that it lacked confidence in his leadership and might ask him to step down if he didnt make improvements.

Asked whether Dotson engages in racial discrimination, Taylor said: You cant prove that a chief is racist. What you can say is that there are problems internally, problems with morale and with officers being able to have faith in him.

As for race, she said: He hasnt promoted enough African-Americans for there not to be a disparity. I havent seen too many blacks get promoted. Whether hes intentionally discriminating, I cant tell you.

Taylor is supervisor of the night-shift homicide unit.

She said the 112-page report does not specifically ask for Dotson to resign, saying, Theres no need to say it in the report. But we are asking him to resign.

Taylor said Dotson plays favorites with promotions and transfers. If you are not connected with him, black or white, youre going to have issues, she said.

Reached to respond, Dotson said, I am not going to resign. The chief said he works hard to promote the safety of the city and its police officers without regard to race.

Dotson said the departments promotion policy follows a procedure for independently managed tests and evaluations that results in short lists of six qualified officers for available openings. He chooses from among those lists.

I promote the most qualified candidates regardless of race, and we have a lot of qualified African-American and white officers, he said. The chief doesnt have a tremendous amount of flexibility. I follow the rules.

Dotson said he has met with the Ethical Society before and will continue to do so. I support a lot of what the institute is talking about, he said.

He also said, Any police chief in any community around the country is worried about lots of things. Worried about keeping his or her community safe, worried about the safety of his or her officers, worried about morale. Everything I do is trying to accomplish those goals.

At a forum Thursday night, a panel of leaders and activists talked about the report and about broader racial issues. Both firefighters and police called for more hiring of black officers and police to better reflect the communities they serve. Both departments pointed toward disparities in promotions and lack of minorities in recruiting classes.

St. Louis Fire Department Capt. Abram Pruitt, president of the Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality, said hes often out on house fires in poor neighborhoods and has to remind firefighters to not cause more damage, like breaking out a window, once a fire is out.

More restraint is shown in wealthier neighborhoods, he said. Thats what we have to do, he said. If Im not there, theres no one.

Taylor said she was frustrated when police used more resources to tackle recent violence downtown when most murders occur in north St. Louis.

She also is frustrated by recent police-involved shootings, and said police shouldnt take lightly their authority to take another persons life. She called for more police to wear body cameras.

We have people dying at the hands of people who are criminals, and we dont want to say that, because these are people that we work with, she said.

Longtime activist Percy Green pointed out that voting is a form of protest, and said the voting rate among blacks should be higher. We should be as quick to vote as we are when we say our prayers at night, he said.

Valerie Schremp Hahn of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.
Donald Trumps private meeting Thursday with Senate Republicans  designed to foster greater party unity ahead of the national convention in Cleveland  grew combative as the presumptive presidential nominee admonished three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their reelection bids, according to two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges.

Trumps most tense exchange was with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who has been vocal in his concerns about the business moguls candidacy, especially his rhetoric and policies on immigration that the senator argues alienate many Latino voters and others in Arizona.

When Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him, Youve been very critical of me.

Yes, Im the other senator from Arizona  the one who didnt get captured  and I want to talk to you about statements like that, Flake responded, according to two Republican officials.

Flake was referencing Trumps comments last summer about the military service of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict. Trump questioned whether McCain was a war hero because he was captured.

Flake told Trump that he wants to be able to support him  Im not part of the Never Trump movement, the senator said  but that he remains uncomfortable backing him, the officials said.

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so.

Flakes spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Trump also called out Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who withdrew his endorsement of Trump last month, citing the business moguls racially based attacks on a federal judge  and said he did not approve of the senators action, the officials said.

Characterizing Kirk as a loser, Trump vowed that he would carry Illinois in the general election even though the state traditionally has been solidly Democratic in presidential contests. Kirk did not attend the meeting with Trump.

Kirk later issued a statement to the Post-Dispatch: As I stated last month, I have come to the conclusion that Donald Trump lacks the judgment and temperament to lead our military and our nation.

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois says Donald Trump is an Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully.

Trump called Kirk, one of the more vulnerable GOP incumbents, a loser at the closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Kirk did not attend the meeting, but The Washington Post described the presidential candidates comments.

Asked about them later, Kirk told The Associated Press: Ive run for election six times in Illinois. Really tough races for the Congress and for the Senate and won every race. Otherwise I wouldnt be here.

On why Trump would say Kirk would lose: I guess the bully side of him. We havent seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully. Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois. Were much more practical and polite.

Kirk joked that hes not on Trumps Christmas card list anymore.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., was in the meeting. Later Thursday, he was in a Senate Intelligence Committee briefing and unavailable for comment.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin, had said earlier she had doubts about Trump. She later said she was encouraged by his list of possible Supreme Court nominees. On Thursday , she indicated she would vote for Trump, her communications director, Meghan Burris, said.

Wagner said she appreciated hearing firsthand Trumps plan to beat Clinton.

Trump also singled out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who has refused to support Trump and has emerged as perhaps the most vocal advocate for a third-party candidate. Sasse declined to speak with reporters as he left the meeting.

Senator Sasse went to todays meeting ready to listen. Senator Sasse introduced himself to Mr. Trump, and the two had a gracious exchange, said James Wegmann, the senators spokesman. Mr. Sasse continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed.

Trumps trip to Washington on Thursday highlighted the continuing concerns among congressional Republicans over controversial remarks he continues to deliver on the campaign trail and how they may affect GOP members facing tough reelection battles in the fall.

Before his meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump visited with the House GOP conference in what leaders billed as a chance for rank-and-file members to get to know the partys presumptive presidential nominee.

Chuck Raasch of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this article.
The neighborhood of Tower Grove South is about as integrated and diverse as you can get. It is simultaneously upscale, downscale, young, old, white, black, Hispanic, Bosnian, Lebanese, Afghan, Vietnamese and Somali. The only continent not represented is Antarctica.

Property values are going up because this neighborhood has everything, including convenient shopping, great restaurants, a fabulous park down the street and lots of walkable amenities. The commute to work downtown is about 12 minutes on a bad-traffic day. But, like lots of St. Louis neighborhoods, theres a crime problem, too.

Residents are reeling in anger and shock. A family in the 3700 block of Wyoming, exactly two blocks away from my own house, was robbed at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday as they returned home from a trip. The parents were holding their two children, ages 2 and 5, when a young man approached them with a gun and demanded their property.

Any parent can imagine the horror of that moment, especially knowing that we live in an increasingly trigger-happy environment where young people with guns seem to place little value on human life and could squeeze that trigger at the slightest provocation. This gunman seems to have had a measure of compassion: He handed the mother back her bag before fleeing.

Not even two weeks ago, a carjacking occurred very close to where Wednesdays robbery happened. There have been several other recent robberies and assaults.

I drive down the 3700 block of Wyoming every evening. Ive walked my dog probably 20 times late at night on that same block in recent months. Ive badly wanted to let down my guard and just enjoy the walk, but my years as a correspondent in places like Beirut, Bogota, Baghdad and Kabul simply will not allow me to. Certain habits have kept me alive.

We are not living in a war zone, but the urban core of St. Louis definitely is a zone of caution. Until police get a handle on the violent crime problem, its important that we, as potential victims, do everything possible to keep from becoming actual victims. If you take some precautions as a part of a routine, they might seem awkward or even a little overboard at first. But if you do them enough, they become habit, almost like wearing a seat belt in the car.

First, let me make clear that guns are not the answer. I managed to survive years in the most dangerous cities on earth without ever having carried a firearm. No matter how Rambo-tough you imagine yourself to be, you will not outdraw a person who has taken you by surprise and is already pointing a gun at you. Do not give that person a reason to pull the trigger.

Second, get rid of your ego. When someone is aiming a firearm at you, it is perfectly OK to whimper, plead, beg or do whatever it takes to emerge from that situation alive. Credit cards can be canceled and replaced. Losing a few bucks wont matter in the long run. You will feel humiliated and violated when its all over, no matter how it resolves. But relish those feelings. Those are the feelings of someone who is alive.

Finally, take reasonable precautions to avoid allowing risky situations to develop. Predators tend to strike when they know they have the element of surprise. When leaving the house, take an extra few seconds on the porch to look up and down the street. Make sure no one is lurking suspiciously. Same thing when youve just parked your car. Dont open the door until youve scanned the surroundings. Use those rearview mirrors.

The streets of this city are beautiful. The architecture is stunning. The foliage breathtaking. When youre out for a walk, take the time to look all around and drink it in. And while youre at it, just take an occasional quick scan in front, behind and to the sides, just to make sure youre aware of anyone else close by. Occasionally look over your shoulder. If something doesnt feel right, trying changing directions, or crossing the street. Dont be predictable.

In 1992, the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate, Sen. John Whitmire of Houston, was in an almost identical situation to the one faced by that family Wednesday on Wyoming Street. Whitmire, his wife and 9-year-old daughter were confronted in their garage by a masked gunman.

I had to beg an armed robber not to shoot us ..., he told me last year. Ive been there and experienced the horror.  Its something you never really get over. Whitmire could have played the Texas tough guy. Instead, he played it smart. He swallowed his ego and got himself and his family out of that situation alive. (And the gunman eventually went to prison.) In the end, isnt survival the outcome that matters most?
Theres no way to say this diplomatically: The city of Kinloch is a disaster zone, and thats sad, considering its proud history as the oldest African-American community west of the Mississippi River. It was a once-thriving north St. Louis County municipality next to Ferguson, but today its streets are lined with rubble, decay and weed-choked lots.

Kinlochs 200 residents must depend on a financially struggling police department whose 10 officers share three uninsured patrol cars. Isnt driving without insurance illegal? You bet it is. Outrageous, too.

But its OK, City Manager Justine Blue suggests, because officers only go out when needed and are directed to drive carefully and exercise extreme caution. Sorry, but its unacceptable for a police force to knowingly break the law, regardless of how the city manager justifies it.

Equally unacceptable was the arrest of a Fox 2 News reporter who tried to bring a TV camera into a municipal meeting last week. Fox 2 News revealed the lack of insurance in a recent report. Under Missouris Sunshine Law, government officials may not ban news coverage or cameras from public meetings.

No government entity is above the law, regardless of the excuse. Kinlochs ongoing mismanagement underscores this newspapers conviction that it should be disincorporated, the sooner the better.

It has happened before. St. George, a south St. Louis County municipality of 1,300, voted to disincorporate and be absorbed by the county in 2011. Before that, Peerless Park, pop. 41, west of Fenton, was dissolved in 1999 by the County Council at the request of residents.

Disincorporating requires approval by 60 percent of voters. That vote can come only after a majority of registered voters petition for it. Failing a locally driven petition movement, other methods must be found to protect the citizens of Kinloch from the fiscal, health and safety dangers posed by the citys bleak situation.

Kinlochs problems are similar to those that ultimately caused Peerless Park and St. George to go away: An eroding tax base, need for extensive municipal repairs, scandal-plagued elections, corrupt officials, no revenue to fund local police or hire an outside agency.

When Kinloch couldnt pay its utility bills, providers cut off service in recent years. One mayor went to prison for stealing city funds from a federal program, and other officials have been questioned about their financial practices. City leaders cant account for about $1 million from a tax increment financing district established for NorthPark, an adjacent, 550-acre business park.

Kinloch badly needs an official audit, but the state auditor must first receive a request either from the municipality or the governor. Regardless of that outcome, voters shouldnt need more evidence to convince them they would be better off as residents of unincorporated St. Louis County.
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?
After World War II, about one in six workers in the United States was in the agricultural sector. Today, less than one in 50 workers is in the farm sector because of large increases in agricultural productivity over time and better opportunities for farmers in the nonfarm sector.

Not only can a small number of workers now supply our food needs, agriculture is a major export sector. Last year the value of exports from the agricultural sector exceeded $100 billion. Key countries that buy our farm products are some of the same countries that we buy from, including Canada, Mexico and China. Since 2000, the value of agricultural exports has increased considerably. As a case in point, farm exports to China have increased 10 percent a year for the past decade.

If manufacturing imports are restricted in the future, this would negatively affect our ability to export farm products. It would also have a negative effect on selected manufacturers that have been able to expand exports to our key trading partners. The state of Illinois ranks third among states in agricultural exports and fifth in international exports overall. Exports support 27 percent of the manufacturing jobs in the state and 22 percent of jobs overall. In Missouri, international trade supports about one in five jobs while the state of Missouri is the 11th largest exporter of agricultural products.

In some respects, there are similarities between the agricultural and manufacturing sectors. After World War II, about one in three workers was in the manufacturing sector. This has declined to less than one in 10 workers today. As was the case in agriculture, increases in productivity have resulted in fewer workers being employed to produce a greater output. Since 1975, manufacturing output has more than doubled.

As was the case in agriculture, many workers have had to migrate from manufacturing to new jobs elsewhere. In some cases, workers have not been able to find jobs in other industries. Whereas farmers could look forward to better opportunities in a growing nonfarm sector, this is less the case for manufacturing workers. Good jobs outside of the manufacturing sector require skills that many manufacturing workers lack.

Further, research by MITs David Autor and others indicates that trade with China has aggravated this problem of a mismatch between manufacturing-related skills and employment opportunities in other industries. Over the past decade, trade with China has resulted in a loss of over 2 million manufacturing jobs. Whereas international trade has had a positive effect on the agricultural sector in the U.S., it has had the opposite effect on at least part of the manufacturing sector.

The problem is especially acute for low-skilled African-American workers who have lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector in cities such as Chicago and St. Louis. Whereas many African-Americans once had middle class jobs in manufacturing, this is no longer the case.

The lesson for manufacturing is that workers need more help in moving to non-manufacturing jobs if they are displaced by trade and/or technology. Efforts to protect jobs in the manufacturing sector by restricting competition can only hurt the economy overall, especially in industries like our highly productive farm sector that depend upon exports.

William Sander is a professor of economics at DePaul University in Chicago.
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LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Oil beats tech as Shell pleases but Meta doesn't

Thursday, October 27, 2022 - 12:31

The FTSE 100's biggest constituent was its saving grace on Thursday, as Shell shares outperformed on strong quarterly results and plans a $4 billion share buyback.

"US tech may be letting the side down when it comes to third-quarter earnings but bumper profit from index heavyweight Shell helped lift the FTSE 100 on Thursday morning," AJ Bell head of investment analysis Laith Khalaf said.

The FTSE 100 index was up 23.72 points, or 0.3%, at 7,079.79 at midday on Thursday, and the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 21.35 points, or 0.1%, at 18,127.56. The AIM All-Share, however, was down 3.16 points, or 0.4%, at 806.51.

The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.4% at 707.37, the Cboe UK 250 was up 0.3% at 15,546.53, and the Cboe Small Companies was up 0.1% at 12,395.09.

Markets in Europe were now waiting on the European Central Bank and President Christine Lagarde.

AJ Bell's Khalaf said: "Once again, the wider market seems to be pinning some hopes on central banks looking at evidence of a deteriorating economy and reacting accordingly by slowing the pace of rate rises."

In European equities on Thursday afternoon, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.8%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 0.7% lower.

Analysts are all but convinced the ECB will up rates by another 0.75% on Thursday, but some say there is room for a full percentage point raise - 100 basis points.

Observers will be looking out for plans on how the central bank plans to reduce its balance sheet. In response to various crises, the ECB has expanded its balance sheet to a record 8.8 trillion, which is about 70% of annual eurozone gross domestic product.

"The more the ECB normalises its policy rates, the more apparent it becomes that the amount of excess liquidity in the system is posing challenges for the conduct of monetary policy. Several policymakers have therefore urged the Council to discuss liquidity conditions, a potential quantitative tightening and/or ways to 'encourage' banks to repay their [targeted longer-term refinancing operations] loans," analysts at Rabobank said.

The Frankfurt-based central bank announces its interest rate decision at 1315 BST, which will be followed by a press conference hosted by Lagarde. After the ECB, the Federal Reserve will make a rate decision next week Wednesday and the Bank of England a day after its US counterpart.

The euro traded at $1.0035 midday Thursday, down on $1.0064 late Wednesday.

The pound fell below the $1.16 mark Thursday midday. Sterling was quoted at $1.1567, down from $1.1612 at the London equities close on Wednesday.

In London, Shell shares advanced 5.4%.

The oil company reported a swing to a net profit in the third quarter compared to a year ago, but the profit fell behind the second quarter as Shell warned of volatility in global energy markets.

Shell reported a net profit totalling $6.74 billion in the third quarter, after oil prices surged, improving from a loss after tax of $447 million in the same period last year.

Flush with cash, Shell said it will buy back $4 billion of its shares, after completing a $6 billion share buyback announced in July. It expects to complete its $4 billion share buyback by February 2, the day it will release its 2022 results.

BP gained 3.4% on a positive read-across from the Shell results. BP reports its own third-quarter results on Tuesday next week.

Airtel Africa was at the bottom of the blue-chip index, giving back 8.4%.

It saw strong interim revenue growth, but profit was held back by the devaluation of some African currencies.

Pretax profit fell 9.1% to $516 million from $567 million, as Airtel recognised $358 million in net finance costs, compared to $169 million a year before.

In the half year ended September 30, the Africa-focused telecommunications firm said revenue grew 13% year-on-year to $2.57 billion from $2.27 billion. In constant currency, it rose 17%, with appreciation in the Zambian kwacha offset but devaluations in several other currencies.

Also towards the bottom of the FTSE 100, Anglo American lost 4.6%.

The minder reported a mixed quarterly production performance, with the output of most commodities declining amid a challenging operating conditions.

Anglo kept its annual production guidance mostly unchanged.

Peers Rio Tino, Glencore, Antofagasta lost 4.1%, 3.2% and 2.8% in a negative read-across.

In New York, the open is expected to be mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seen up 0.3% and the S&P 500 up 0.1% but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite down 0.3%.

The Nasdaq benchmark continues to be hit by troubling tech earnings, with Meta Platforms down 20% in pre-market trading.

The Facebook-owner late Wednesday said revenue fell 4% to $27.71 billion in the three months that ended September 30 from $29.01 billion a year before. Income from operations dropped 46% to $5.66 billion versus $10.42 billion. Net income was $4.40 billion, down 52% versus $9.19 billion.

Big tech earnings will continue Thursday, with Amazon and Apple to report after the closing bell in New York on Thursday.

Gold was quoted at $1,661.00 an ounce midday Thursday in London, down from $1,665.70 on Wednesday evening.

Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP146.30, down from JP146.50.

Aside for the ECB, the economic calendar has a US gross domestic product reading at 1330 BST.

The US economy is forecast to grow 2.4% at an annual rate, according to FXStreet-cited consensus. A stronger-than-expected reading may give the Federal Reserve more impetus to impose stronger rate hikes between now and the end of the year.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
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Win a copy of the Shakespeare Live! From the RSC.

THE Stratford-upon-Avon Herald has teamed up with the Royal Shakespeare Company to offer a great prize package for theatre lovers. Three lucky winners will win a pair of tickets to see Cymbeline as well as a copy of Shakespeare Live! From the RSC on DVD.

Cymbeline is Shakespeares coming of age tragicomic romance. A story of power, sexuality and identity, stunningly retold for the 21st century.

An ineffectual Queen Cymbeline rules over a divided dystopian Britain.

Consumed with grief at the death of two of her children, Cymbelines judgement is clouded. When Innogen, the only living heir, marries her sweetheart Posthumus in secret, an enraged Cymbeline banishes him.

Behind the throne, a power-hungry figure plots to seize power by murdering them both. In exile Innogens husband is tricked into believing she has been unfaithful to him and in an act of impulsive jealousy begins a scheme to have her murdered. Warned of the danger, Innogen runs away from court in disguise and begins a journey fraught with danger that will eventually reunite Cymbeline with a long-lost heir and reconcile the young lovers.

Shakespeares rarely-performed tragicomic romance is directed by Melly Still who designed Tales from Ovid and Midnights Children for the RSC, and whose directing credits include The Cunning Little Vixen for Glyndebourne Opera and Coram Boy for the National Theatre.

Melly directs Gillian Bevan in the role of Cymbeline, the first woman to take on the role for the RSC, and Bethan Cullinane (King Lear, 2013, Globe Theatre) as Innogen. The production runs in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre until 15th October.

For tickets see www.rsc.org.uk Celebrating Shakespeares legacy to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the worlds greatest playwright in April, the BBC and the Royal Shakespeare Company came together in an extravaganza, celebrating Shakespeares words and his enduring influence on all performance art forms, from Berlioz and Bernstein, to hip-hop and jazz, from ballet to Broadway to blues and back.

This unique event came from the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, in the presence of the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate.

DVDs are now available to buy from the RSC Shop in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and online: rsc.org.uk/shop

To enter the competition to win Cymbeline tickets and a copy of the Shakespeare Live! From the RSC DVD answer on page 10 of the Stratford-upon-Avon Herald, dated Thursday, 7th July, 2016.
vMix Expands Social Media Integration to Include Instagram Content!

The latest version of vMix now has full Instagram support for increased social media integration in live video productions.

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia( )

vMix continues to close the gap between content creators and viewers by adding Instagram support to vMix Social. Viewer interaction is the key to maintaining and growing a loyal user base and Instagram support in vMix allows an immersive social media experience like no other live production and streaming software. Says Tim Vandenberg, vMix COO. With our existing Facebook and Twitter support, the addition of Instagram now covers all social media bases and is a great inclusion for those with a large Instagram presence.

vMix Social is a free application within vMix that allows users to bring in content from Twitter, Facebook and now Instagram. This feed can include text, usernames, user photos and content photos. vMix natively supports photos which is great for Instagram enthusiasts looking to utilize photo content in their live production. Instagram support includes the ability to search for hashtags and usernames and then display them instantly within a vMix production.

Connecting with a live audience is vital for any production today. Using a hashtag for a live or online event has been proven to increase viewer times and interaction. vMix Social allows you to use an event hashtag to accumulate and moderate responses before sending them to air. These responsibilities can be handled by a separate operator and doesnt need producer input, freeing them to take care of the production.

These updates to vMix are available to be downloaded today.

For more information about vMix and Instagram, visit vMixSocial.com

About StudioCoast PTY LTD

STUDIOCOAST PTY LTD is a multimedia software and web services company based on the Gold Coast, Australia. Established in 2010, StudioCoast released vMix, a new cutting-edge live production software solution that utilises the latest in computer hardware to enable live high definition switching and streaming on an ordinary PC.
By Barani Krishnan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 5 percent to two-month lows on Thursday after the U.S. government reported a weekly crude draw within analysts' forecasts that disappointed market bulls expecting larger declines.

Brent crude also lost the most in a session since February as the global benchmark and U.S. crude futures broke key technical support they had defended for nearly two weeks since a selloff on Britain's shock vote to exit the European Union.

"Once we got past those levels, it was just longs liquidation all the way," said Tariq Zahir, a trader in crude spreads at New York's Tyche Capital Advisors.

Oil broke support levels after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stockpiles fell 2.2 million barrels for the week to July 1, just below a 2.3-million barrel decline forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll.

While the EIA reported a seventh weekly decline in crude stocks, the figure it gave was far less than a 6.7 million-barrel draw cited by trade group the American Petroleum Institute in preliminary data issued late Wednesday.

"Expectations were high for this report, and they were dashed," said John Kilduff, partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital.

Brent crude futures settled down $2.40, or 4.9 percent, at $46.40 per barrel. That was the biggest percentage loss for Brent in a day since Feb. 9.

The session low of $46.15 marked a bottom for Brent since May 11 and tripped the technical support of $46.69 held since June 27.

U.S. crude futures settled down $2.29, or 4.8 percent, at $45.14. They hit a two-month low of $44.87 earlier, tripping the June 27 bottom and support of $45.83.

"This opens the door down to $43 on a technical basis," said David Thompson, executive vice-president at Washington-based commodities broker Powerhouse.

The CBOE volatility index, a gauge of options premiums based on moves in the U.S. oil exchange traded fund, jumped to its highest level in more than four months.

Traders said that indicated sentiment shift in a market that has traded not far from the psychologically bullish $50 a barrel level since mid-May despite mixed data on crude.

Oil has risen more than 70 percent from 12-year lows of around $27 for Brent and $26 for U.S. crude in the first quarter, driven by unexpected supply outages from Nigeria to Canada that are now being resolved.

U.S. gasoline inventories also fell less than expected, slipping by 122,000 barrels according to EIA, versus forecasts of a 353,000-barrel draw. That added to fears of a gasoline glut.

U.S. gasoline futures hit four-month lows, settling down 5 percent at $1.3631 per gallon.

(Additional reporting by Libby George in LONDON and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) issued the statement below in response to a release and "opinion" commissioned and issued by The Barington Group ("Barington"), which indicates that it and its affiliates own approximately 0.92% of the Company's outstanding shares and own derivatives potentially convertible into another approximately 850,000 shares or 0.64% of the Company's outstanding shares. The majority of such derivatives were purchased within the past six months and at least 650,000 of them are out-of-the-money call options.

As we have been clear about all along, neither Hudson's Bay Company nor any of the department stores within its portfolio are competitors in any practical sense to Chico's FAS or any of its brands. The issue of any potential conflict for either of the Company's two new independent director candidates was considered by the Chico's FAS Board of Directors prior to the candidates' nomination.

Independent third party analysis from Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), a leading business analytics firm, has found that Hudson's Bay's stores are not competitively relevant to the Chico's FAS brands in terms of geographic proximity or demographic profile. Chico's FAS brands serve different price points, different geographic areas and different consumer demographics. Contrary to the selective examination published by Barington, APT's analysis shows that Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue stores are generally located in significantly different demographic areas than the Chico's FAS brands stores, with the Hudson's Bay concepts skewing towards higher population density, higher home value and higher incomes, among other differing attributes.

Further, instead of relying on information from 2009, using current data and information, the Company's own customer analyses, customer surveys, shop-along experiences, and visits to customer homes and their closets to better understand the shopping habits of our consumers, show that Chico's FAS customers overwhelmingly do not shop at Hudson's Bay's stores. In fact, these stores represent only 1.3% of our customers' apparel spend. Notably, the "opinion" published by Barington fails to take into account any share of wallet analysis, including that published by the Company, which shows where customers actually shop, not just where they theoretically could. Commissioned academic studies aside, we believe actual knowledge of a customer's buying patterns more effectively informs a value enhancing business strategy.

Barington also ignores the announcement from Hudson's Bay Company yesterday that Bonnie Brooks is retiring from her role as nonexecutive Vice Chairman, which we believe takes Barington's red herring issue completely off the table and permits shareholders to focus on the real issue in this contest: who will best deliver value to Chico's FAS shareholders.

We believe Barington's attempt to replace Bonnie Brooks' superior expertise with less qualified, outdated candidates is as irresponsible as Barington's brick and mortar store growth strategy. Indeed, Barington continues to suggest candidates whose outdated experience is out of touch with how consumers shop today and the current retail environment.

In contrast to Barington's less qualified candidates, Ms. Brooks brings more than 30 years of global executive leadership experience in retail and merchandising, including having led three major international department store turnarounds. Digital marketing and ecommerce have been major elements of Ms. Brooks' formula for success and turnaround work over the past decade, including implementing an entirely new ecommerce site and digital marketing capability while Chief Executive Officer and President of Hudson's Bay department stores.

We believe that with our new Chief Executive Officer and President and refreshed Board, we have world-class leaders  and the right four director nominees  with the skills and expertise to continue executing on our new plan.

Neither of Barington's proposed candidates has expertise equivalent to any of the Board's four nominees. We believe that replacing any of the Board's superior nominees with any one of Barington's less qualified candidates would jeopardize the progress we are making and that Barington's need to focus solely on Ms. Brooks further demonstrates its lack of ideas and vision for Chico's FAS.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) issued a statement to StreetInsider.com on Twitter reports of sickness in NYC.

"We are aware of the post made on Twitter, however there have been no reports of illnesses at any of our New York restaurants. Moreover, we have excellent health department scores throughout the city, and we continue to have the highest standards of food safety in our restaurants."

Comments come via e-mail from Chipotle Communications Director Chris Arnold.
CST Brands (NYSE: CST) and CrossAmerica Partners LP (NYSE: CAPL) announced that it has reached an agreement regarding the refund associated with CSTs sale of its California and Wyoming stores.

With todays announced closing of the sale of 79 California and Wyoming sites by subsidiaries of CST Brands, Inc. to 7-Eleven, CST has agreed to compensate CrossAmerica for the decrease in revenues related to its 17.5% interest in CSTs wholesale fuel business, CST Fuel Supply LP. CST and the Partnership have agreed to a refund of a portion of the 2015 purchase price paid by the Partnership for its ownership interest in CST Fuel Supply, as it relates to the approximately 191 million gallons sold annually to the 79 California and Wyoming sites that were sold to 7-Eleven. The total refunded consideration is approximately $18.2 million.

The independent executive committee of the board of directors of CST Brands and the independent conflicts committee of the board of directors of the general partner of CrossAmerica have reviewed and approved the terms and amount of the refund.
Danone (OTC: DANOY) and The WhiteWave Foods Company (NYSE: WWAV) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Danone will acquire WhiteWave for $56.25 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $12.5 billion, including debt and certain other WhiteWave liabilities. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies. Its price represents a premium of approximately 24 percent over WhiteWaves 30-day average closing trading price ($45.43). The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to the approval of WhiteWaves shareholders, regulatory approvals, and customary conditions.

WhiteWave is a global company which generated $4 billion in sales in 2015 and has a portfolio of large and leading branded platforms in North America and Europe in high-growth, on-trend food and beverage categories which focus on Premium Organic Dairy, non-GMO, Plant-based alternatives to milk & yogurt, Fresh Foods, and Coffee Creamers. With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, WhiteWave has a successful track record of transforming categories and creating large scale brands. WhiteWaves business includes highly recognized, category leading brands such as Silk, So Delicious, Vega, Alpro, Provamel, Horizon Organic, Wallaby Organic, Earthbound Farm and International Delight. Since becoming a public company in 2012, WhiteWave sales have increased at a 19 percent compound annual growth rate through 2015, and WhiteWave has doubled its operating income during this period.

Together, WhiteWave and Danone will create a truly unique global leader committed to addressing tomorrows consumer trends by providing healthy and sustainable eating and drinking options.

At Danone, we constantly seek to align our vision of the world, our mission and our businesses: we believe we have a special responsibility, as expressed in our Manifesto, to help and support people in adopting healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices and constantly evolve our portfolio of brands and products to achieve this objective. To that extent, we found in WhiteWave the perfect alliance as we both believe in a healthier future and are conscious of our power to lead society forward, said Emmanuel FABER, Danone Chief Executive Officer. This unique combination positions us better to address tomorrows consumer trends and represents a great opportunity to step change the ambition of our plan for an Alimentation revolution and to accelerate our path towards strong sustainable and profitable growth by 2020. It will allow us to enhance Danones growth profile and reinforce our resilience through a broader platform in North America. We are convinced that combining with WhiteWave will create significant value for all of our stakeholders.

Franck RIBOUD, Danone Chairman said: I believe this acquisition advances Danones mission and rich history of being at the forefront of emerging consumer trends and commitment to creating economic and social value. The Danone Board of Directors and Strategy Committee unanimously approved this transaction. We believe WhiteWaves size, positioning and geographical footprint fit perfectly with Danone's strategy and that it is the right transaction at the right time. The Danone Board will propose that shareholders approve the appointment of Gregg ENGLES, WhiteWave Chairman and Chief Executive Officer as a member of our Board upon completing the transaction as we pursue our ambitious vision together.

Gregg ENGLES, WhiteWave Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: Todays announcement is an exciting next chapter for WhiteWave, bringing together two leading companies with a shared mission of changing the way the world eats for the better. We believe this is a compelling transaction that delivers significant cash value to our shareholders. Danone is a unique company with distinctive capabilities that will enable WhiteWave to reach its next phase of growth. Danone is a great cultural fit for our organization and I am excited for our employees to benefit from the opportunities presented by joining Danone, a leading global food company and the ideal strategic partner to support our future. I am pleased to be joining Danones Board to assist with the exciting and unique journey combining our two companies.

Strategic Benefits

This transaction represents a key opportunity to enhance Danones growth profile and enriches WhiteWaves opportunities. The strategic and financial benefits of Danones acquisition of WhiteWave include:

Creating a leader strongly aligned with consumer trends for healthier and sustainable eating and drinking options: WhiteWave is well positioned in high growth categories that are supported by strong secular trends. Organic foods and beverages and non-GMO plant-based alternatives to milk and yogurt are among the fastest growing categories in the industry. WhiteWave has been the fastest growing food and beverage company in the United States and one of the fastest growing in Europe for the past four years. In joining Danone, WhiteWave will have the opportunity to continue its industry-leading growth as part of a larger global company with substantial financial, geographic and operational resources. Upon closing the transaction, Danone will have one of the most extensive portfolios of brands and products in fresh dairy, organic foods and beverages and plant-based alternatives to milk & yogurt.

Building a stronger North America platform: This transaction further diversifies Danones portfolio and broadens its presence in North America. The transaction will create a leading U.S. refrigerated dairy player, as well as one of the top 15 largest U.S. Food and Beverage manufacturers. Following the closing of the transaction, Danones North America footprint would increase from 12 to 22 percent of Danone total portfolio.

Driving strong value and delivering attractive financial benefits. By building on its resources, scale, distinctive R&D and marketing capabilities, and route to market expertise especially in the chilled category, Danone will have significant opportunities to support WhiteWaves continued growth while also realizing significant sales growth and cost synergies. Danone expects the transaction to be solidly accretive to Danones earnings within the first year after closing and to be above 10 percent accretion based on expected run-rate synergies. The transaction is expected to result in approximately $300mn of EBIT synergies by 2020.

Management and Governance

After the closing of the transaction, Danone will submit to its shareholders a resolution appointing Mr. Gregg ENGLES, to the Danone Board of Directors.

WhiteWave and Danone uniquely share common business values and a vision for providing people healthier foods and beverages. Following the closing of the transaction, Danone and WhiteWave expect to combine their U.S. activities into a Public Benefit Corporation. This commitment is in line with Danones long term mission for building economic and social value.

Danone and WhiteWave will establish a team to prepare for and to oversee the transition of the businesses.

Path to Completion

The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the year, is subject to WhiteWave shareholders approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals, including in the European Union and the United States and other customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of WhiteWave is expected to be fully financed with debt for which Danone has received commitments from its banks.

Danone expects to maintain a strong investment grade rating.

A conference call and presentation webcast for analysts and investors, chaired by Danones CEO Emmanuel Faber and CFO Cecile Cabanis, and WhiteWaves CEO Gregg Engles will be broadcast live today at 9:00a.m CET on the Investors section of www.danone.com
Ferrari N.V. (NYSE/MTA: RACE) announces that Ferrari and Luxottica Group have signed a sponsorship agreement based on which the Ray-Ban brand will appear on the SF16-H Formula One cars, starting from the next Formula One race, the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.

Mr. Sergio Marchionne, Chairman and CEO of Ferrari, commented: "Adding another prestigious brand like Ray-Ban to our livery is very gratifying for Scuderia Ferrari. This new agreement strengthens the ties between Ferrari and Luxottica, two major Italian companies with shared principles and values that are both continuously striving for excellence. I am sure that this new partnership will be satisfactory for both companies and give the team an extra boost to strive for more."
hhgregg (or the Company) (NYSE: HGG) affirmed that it intends to open 25-30 Fine Lines appliance locations over the next two years. The 24-month store expansion program will increase the prominence of this high-performing retail format as it correlates to the connected hhgregg locations, and further solidify its position as the place to buy appliances.

hhgregg currently has 14 Fine Lines stores, including three new locations.

8921 S. US 31, Indianapolis, IN 46227

6440 Sawmill Road, Columbus, OH 43235

4786 Fields Ertel Road, Cincinnati, OH 45249

The new Fine Lines locations in Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH are the second Fine Lines stores in these markets.

Fine Lines high-end appliance locations are connected to hhgregg stores and feature state-of-the-art showrooms, showcasing a wide selection of premium appliance brands. Fine Lines locations feature top brands, typically including SubZero, Wolf, Viking, Thermador, JennAir, KitchenAid, Bosch, GE Monogram and Miele. These showrooms are designed to inspire customers to create their dream kitchens.

Robert Riesbeck, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, said, Our Fine Lines locations have proved to be a strong-performing format and we expect that to continue in the future. We believe our increased appliance footprint will continue to have a favorable impact on the growth and performance of these stores and the Company overall. Weve recently seen strong momentum in appliances sales, and intend to continue that through the rest of the year and into the holiday season, assisted by the expansion of the new Fine Lines locations and the steady sales being generated, both in stores and online.

To find a store or shop online, visit hhgregg.com, and for more information, follow hhgregg on Twitter (@hhgregg) or Facebook (facebook.com/hhgregg).
Hill International (NYSE: HIL), the global leader in managing construction risk, announced today that it has received a contract extension from Societe Algero-Emiratie de Promotion Immobiliere to continue providing project management services in connection with the construction of the Forum Al Djazair development in Algeria. The eighteen-month extension has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $7.3 million.

The project entails four residential towers, three business towers, a commercial center, fifteen luxury villas, a 270-key, five-star hotel and a ten-story hotel and apartment building. Hill announced their original $5.7 million contract for this project in July 2012.

Our operations in Algeria and throughout North Africa continue to expand thanks to the hard work of our dedicated professionals, said Waleed Abdel Fattah, Senior Vice President and North Africa Regional Manager for Hills Project Management Group. We are honored that our client has continued faith in our team by extending this important contract, added Fattah.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded a $344-million contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and deploy the Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) system. This key NextGen system will provide electronic flight strips as well as improved surface management tools that will allow streamlined operations in the air traffic control towers for busy airports. The TFDM contract period of performance has a five-year base with seven one-year options.

Lockheed Martin along with principal subcontractor Saab Sensis will be using proven technology to develop the system. TFDM will work by integrating digital flight plans with surface surveillance data to create accurate, real-time predictive tools for the terminal environment. TFDM will share data among controllers, aircraft operators and airports so they can better stage arrivals and departures, and manage traffic flow within terminal airspace for greater efficiency. Additionally, the surface departure management will improve gate departure efficiency for the airlines and will significantly reduce or eliminate queues of airplanes waiting for departure on a runway.

"More than 23,000 flights take place every day, making it crucial for airports to leverage the most innovative systems and technology to keep airport traffic consistently flowing," said Paul Engola, vice president of Transportation and Financial Solutions for Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS). "The benefits of the Terminal Flight Data Manager tools are far-reaching, not only improving the passenger experience with fewer delays and missed connections, but also lowering greenhouse gas emissions through reduced airplane taxi times."

Lockheed Martin IS&GS currently provides air traffic controller automation to the Air Route Traffic Control Centers for high altitude and oceanic air traffic control. Lockheed Martin IS&GS also provides the automation for Time Based Flow Management, a key decision support tool. This contract will expand its relationship with the FAA into a new area of service, providing surface departure management to the largest and busiest airports in need of process improvement on the ground and in the air.

For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/.
(Reuters) - A gunman who shot at a Tennessee hotel and vehicles on a nearby parkway early on Thursday was apprehended by police in an incident in which one person died and four were wounded, including the suspect and an officer, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.

Newspaper carrier Jennifer Brewer Rooney, 44, was killed in the shooting at about 2 a.m. CDT on her way to pick up her daily delivery of the Bristol Herald-Courier, the newspaper reported.

Police responding to a report of shots fired at the Days Inn on Volunteer Parkway exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was armed with at least two weapons, TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said in a statement. He was quickly apprehended.

Authorities did not immediately release details, including names of the wounded.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York)
In its letter to employees following the Danone takeover deal, WhiteWave Foods (NYSE: WWAV) is telling them not to discuss the possibility of a competing bid.

From the letter:

In addition, given certain restrictions within our agreement with Danone, its critical that if someone asks you questions about how the deal was struck or how you think the company would respond to a competing bid, or even how you would feel if there was a higher bid, you simply cant respond.

Shares of WWAV continue to trade fractionally above the$56.25 per share cash offer price on speculation of another bid. Shares last traded at $56.35.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- (TSX: CWB) - Chris Fowler, President and Chief Executive Officer, is pleased to announce three new appointments to CWB's executive team. This follows the planned retirements of Randy Garvey, Executive Vice President, Corporate Services, and Greg Sprung, Executive Director, Business Development, who will support the transition until August 31, 2016.

Stephen Murphy, CWB's Executive Vice President, Banking, joined CWB in March 2016. He previously held diverse, progressive business and corporate leadership roles during his 20 year tenure at a large Canadian bank. Stephen is responsible for CWB's business and personal banking, product development, marketing, equipment financing, and corporate lending. He will also oversee CWB's specialized finance businesses: CWB Optimum Mortgage, National Leasing, CWB Maxium Financial and CWB Franchise Finance.

"Stephen brings extensive relevant experience, excellent leadership capabilities and a proven ability to deliver on business objectives," said Mr. Fowler. "We're very excited to bring him on board to support our established commercial banking strategy, as well as the complementary growth of personal banking and wealth management."

Effective July 1, 2016, Darrell Jones and Glen Eastwood have moved into newly restructured executive positions. Darrell, who previously led the information services team as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Glen, who previously led the prairies region as Senior Vice President and Regional General Manager, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Business Transformation.

"Darrell's appointment demonstrates the importance of technology in our growth plans. The opportunity to leverage our recently implemented new core banking system to deliver enhanced functionality to support clients while improving our data management capacity and capabilities is significant," said Mr. Fowler. "During his time with CWB, Darrell has helped position us for future growth by re-shaping our approach to technology. This appointment reflects his important contributions to date, as well as our vision for CWB's future."

Glen will provide leadership for a strategic focus on process improvements that enhance efficiencies to support delivery of exceptional client service within our branch network. He will also oversee CWB Wealth Management and Canadian Western Trust, with a focus on developing these business lines to realize more multi-product client relationships.

"Glen's commitment to process improvement and excellent client experience, coupled with his ability to get things done, make him ideal for this new role," said Mr. Fowler. "With the implementation of our new core banking system comes the opportunity to look strategically at how we manage our business as we prepare for our next phase of growth. There is significant work to be done to realize the benefits we have in front of us, and I'm confident that Glen is the right leader to guide this work."

"As we continue to develop our established commercial banking strategy and diversify our geographic footprint, it's critical that we have the right leadership team in place," said Mr. Fowler. "We are determined to build on CWB's unique client experience, support our culture, and deliver long-term value for shareholders. In their new roles, Stephen Murphy, Darrell Jones and Glen Eastwood will help us achieve these goals and I welcome them to our Executive Committee alongside Carolyn Graham, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Blackett, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, and Bogie Ozdemir, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer."

For detailed information about CWB's executive team visit www.cwb.com/executive-team.

About CWB Group

CWB Group (CWB) is a diversified financial services organization serving businesses and individuals across Canada. Operating from its headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, CWB's key business lines include full-service business and personal banking offered through 42 CWB branches and Internet banking services provided by Canadian Direct Financial. Highly responsive specialized financing is delivered under the banners of CWB Equipment Financing, National Leasing, CWB Maxium Financial, CWB Franchise Finance and CWB Optimum Mortgage. Trust Services are offered through Canadian Western Trust. Comprehensive wealth management offerings are provided through CWB Wealth Management, which includes the businesses of Adroit Investment Management, McLean & Partners Wealth Management and Canadian Western Financial. As a public company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), CWB trades under the symbols "CWB" (common shares) and "CWB.PR.B" (Series 5 Preferred Shares). Learn more at www.cwb.com.

Contacts: Angela Saveraux Senior Manager, Corporate Communications Canadian Western Bank (780) 441-2257 [email protected]

Source: Canadian Western Bank
NEW YORK, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Shafer Plastic Surgery and Dr. David Shafer, Double Board Certified Plastic Surgeon in New York City is featured on the Real Housewives of New York City, episode 14, July 6, 2016. In the episode, Real Housewife Jules Wainstein, visits Shafer Plastic Surgery after suffering an injury earlier in the week. Dr. Shafer discusses vaginal treatments, repair and rejuvenation. In Episode 12, Jules Wainstein, discusses her visit to Lenox Hill Hospital after the injury and mentions calling Dr. Shafer.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386818

In related news, Dr. David Shafer is the first to introduce CO2RE Intima Vaginal Rejuvenation by Syneron-Candela to New York City. The CO2RE Intima is a fractionated CO2 laser which is used internally for increased lubrication, tightening, sensitivity and improved urinary incontinence. The Intima laser is also used externally on the labia to tighten the skin as well as improve texture and color. The gentle in-office procedure is non-invasive, essentially pain-free and has little downtime. Most patients require 2-3 treatments separated by one month each for optimal results. The vaginal rejuvenation procedure can be performed alone or as part of a Mommy Makeover with abdominal and breast rejuvenation.

A recent patient commented, "the procedure was so easy, did not hurt and I can see results already."

Also mentioned during the episode is cosmetic lip injections. Products such as JUVEDERM XC and newly FDA approved VOLBELLA XC have been shown to increase lip fullness and soften the lines of the lip and around the mouth. Lip injections help give patients a natural rejuvenating effect which can last up to a year. Dr. Shafer is a master trainer for BOTOX COSMETIC and the Allergan family of facial fillers. Lip injections have significantly increased over the last year due in part to social media, selfie pictures and celebrities flaunting their sexy lips all over Instagram, Facebook and the Internet.

http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-8/episode-14/videos/next-on-rhony-friends-with-benefits

https://syneron-candela.com/na/product/co2re-intima

About Shafer Plastic Surgery Dr. David Shafer is a New York City double board certified plastic surgeon, a Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery & a Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Dr. Shafer is trained in all aspects of plastic and reconstructive surgery, but specializes in aesthetic surgery. Dr. Shafer was trained at the world renowned Mayo Clinic and he completed a prestigious fellowship at MEETH, making him an expert in Aesthetic Surgery of the Face, Body & Breasts. With an eye for achieving natural looking results, Dr. Shafer has repeatedly been voted TOP DOCTOR for Botox, Liposuction, Tummy Tuck, and Facelift among many other categories and is an international peer trainer for Botox Cosmetic and the Juvederm family of dermal fillers.

Contact Information:Shafer Plastic Surgery10 EAST 53rd StreetNew York, NY 10022(212) 888-7770

[email protected]

www.ShaferPlasticSurgery.com

Related Images

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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/dr-david-shafer-top-plastic-surgeon-seen-on-the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city-discussing-vaginal-rejuvenation-and-lip-injections-300294964.html

SOURCE Shafer Plastic Surgery
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fitch Ratings has affirmed 10 classes of Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities Trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates series 2005-PWR8 (BSCMS 2005-PWR8). A full list of rating actions follows at the end of this release.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Credit enhancement for the classes has increased; however, the affirmations are the result of pool concentration and adverse selection of the remaining collateral. The pool is concentrated with only 14 loans remaining.

Fitch modeled losses of 60.9% of the remaining pool; expected losses on the original pool balance total 5.7%, including $72.8 million (4.1% of the original pool balance) in realized losses to date. Fitch has designated eight loans (77.5% of pool) as Loans of Concern, which includes seven specially serviced loans (75.5%). The specially serviced loans consist of three assets (38.7%) that are REO and four loans (36.8%) that are classified as in foreclosure.

As of the June 2016 distribution date, the pool's aggregate principal balance has been reduced by 97.4% to $46.7 million from $1.77 billion at issuance. Per servicing reporting, one loan (1.2%), which has an April 2020 maturity date, has been defeased. The six remaining non-specially serviced loans have final maturities in 2017 (one loan; 4.3% of pool), 2020 (four; 17.1%) and 2024 (one; 2%).

The largest contributors to modeled losses have remained the same since the last rating action.

The largest contributor to modeled losses is the La Borgata at Serrano asset (25.2% of pool), which is a 62,183 square foot (sf) mixed-use property located in El Dorado Hills, CA (approximately 30 miles east of Sacramento, CA). The loan was transferred to special servicing in March 2012 for imminent default and the asset became REO in August 2013. The asset has been affected by declining occupancy coupled with increasing operating expenses since issuance. As of the March 2016 rent roll, the asset was 63% occupied, an improvement from 49% at Fitch's last rating action, due to three new leases commencing in 2015. The asset is expected to be included in an upcoming auction.

The next largest contributor to modeled losses is the specially-serviced One Corporate Drive loan (12.6%), which is secured by a 54,948 sf office building located in Holtsville, NY. The loan was transferred to special servicing in May 2015 for imminent default and the loan subsequently defaulted in June 2015. The property has been vacant since April 2015 and the special servicer has indicated there are currently no leasing prospects. A receiver was appointed in February 2016 and negotiations with the borrower, which has several tenant-in-common entities, are being dual-tracked with foreclosure.

The third largest contributor to modeled losses is the 310 Technology Parkway Office Building asset (9.4%), which is a 61,244 sf office building located in Norcross, GA. The loan was transferred to special servicing in September 2013 for payment default and the asset became REO in April 2014. The asset has been vacant since the single tenant, Pediatric Services of America, vacated at its January 2013 lease expiration. The special servicer has indicated there are currently no leasing prospects. The asset is expected to be included in an upcoming auction.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Upgrades to classes E and F are not likely due to adverse selection of the remaining collateral and high percentage of specially serviced loans. Downgrades are possible if additional loans transfer to special servicing and/or expected losses increase significantly.

DUE DILIGENCE USAGE

No third-party due diligence was provided or reviewed in relation to this rating action.

Fitch has affirmed the following classes:

--$15.8 million class E at 'CCCsf'; RE 100%;

--$19.9 million class F at 'Csf'; RE 15%;

--$11.1 million class G at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class H at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class J at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class K at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class L at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class M at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class N at 'Dsf'; RE 0%;

--$0 class P at 'Dsf'; RE 0%.

The class A-1, A-2, A-3, A-AB, A-4, A-4FL, A-J, B, C and D certificates have paid in full. Fitch does not rate the fully depleted class Q certificates. Fitch previously withdrew the ratings on the interest-only class X-1 and X-2 certificates.

Additional information is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Applicable Criteria

Counterparty Criteria for Structured Finance and Covered Bonds (pub. 14 May 2014)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=744158

Criteria for Rating Caps and Limitations in Global Structured Finance Transactions (pub. 16 Jun 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=882401

Global Structured Finance Rating Criteria (pub. 27 Jun 2016)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=883130

U.S. and Canadian Fixed-Rate Multiborrower CMBS Surveillance and U.S. Re-REMIC Criteria (pub. 13 Nov 2015)

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=873395

Additional Disclosures

Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form

https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1008594

Solicitation Status

https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1008594

Endorsement Policy

https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707006374/en/

Fitch Ratings

Primary Analyst

Melissa Che

Director

+1-212-612-7862

Fitch Ratings, Inc.

33 Whitehall Street

New York, NY 10004

or

Committee Chairperson

Christopher Bushart

Senior Director

+1-212-908-0606

or

Media Relations

Sandro Scenga, +1 212-908-0278

[email protected]

Source: Fitch Ratings
New Advisory Board members to provide extensive experience on improving maternal health care for expectant mothers in high-need communities

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Square Roots, a mission-driven company focused on defining and empowering healthy birth, announced today the addition of two new advisory board members: Dr. Lisa Saul, MD, the president of Allina Healths Mother Baby Clinical Service Line and a perinatologist with Minnesota Perinatal Physicians; and Dr. Rachel R. Hardeman, PhD, MPH, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Saul and Dr. Hardeman bring a wealth of experience and leadership in health care delivery, particularly for at risks populations, said Morad Fareed, founder and CEO of Square Roots. Expecting mothers in low-income and minority communities often receive the poorest care and have the worst outcomes. Square Roots is working to change that dynamic and ensure quality care for all mothers, in all communities. The insights and vision Dr. Saul and Dr. Hardeman will provide our work is incredibly valuable, and I am thrilled they are both joining other esteemed members of our Advisory Board.

Dr. Lisa Saul has served as President of the Mother Baby Clinical Service Line of Allina Health since September 2014. She leads quality improvement, facilitated care model improvements for those patients at highest risk, and has been instrumental in crafting a compelling and forward thinking strategy, and program/service development that will further improve the health of our community and address care disparities. In addition to her role as president, Lisa works part-time as a perinatologist with Minnesota Perinatal Physicians. Her area of clinical focus is fetal cardiology.

The challenges with maternal health care are intractable, but not insoluble, said Dr. Lisa Saul. Improving health outcomes for expectant mothers demands more cross-sector coordination. I look forward to providing guidance to Square Roots as the company works to develop new partnerships and deliver innovative solutions that couple non-clinical community-based health interventions with clinical care.

Dr. Rachel R. Hardeman, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health and Consultant with Partners in Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Hardeman is a health inequities researcher whose work focuses on the provider contribution to equity and quality of health care delivery and the ways in which race impact health care delivery and the clinician-patient encounter.

Too many expectant mothers in America, particularly those from minority communities, are not receiving the quality care they need and deserve, said Dr. Rachel R. Hardeman. Research and data help expose and elevate the problem and the need for action. I am thrilled to join a team of advisors that includes some of the nations leading maternal health researchers and to work with Square Roots to develop and distribute new research to inform and improve the quality of maternal health care.

To view the full Square Roots Advisory Board, please visit http://www.squareroots.com/team.

About Dr. Lisa Saul

Dr. Lisa Saul has served as President of the Mother Baby Clinical Service Line since September 2014. She leads quality improvement, facilitated care model improvements for those patients at highest risk, and has been instrumental in crafting a compelling and forward thinking strategy, and program/service development that will further improve the health of our community and address care disparities.

In addition to her role as president, Lisa works part-time as a perinatologist with Minnesota Perinatal Physicians. Her area of clinical focus is fetal cardiology.

Lisa is a California native who received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California, San Diego, and her OB/GYN Residency at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. A fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at the University of California, Irvine completed Lisas medical training. Lisa will complete the Business of Medicine MBA program at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University in 2017.

Lisa is married with two young children. In her free time she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.

About Dr. Rachel R. Hardeman

Rachel R. Hardeman, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health and Consultant with Partners in Equity and Inclusion.

Dr. Hardeman is a health inequities researcher whose work focuses on the provider contribution to equity and quality of health care delivery and the ways in which race (e.g. implicit bias, explicit bias, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination institutional racism and the white racial frame) impact health care delivery and the clinician-patient encounter. She has a particular interest and focus on prenatal care delivery and persistent disparate birth outcomes for African American women. Dr. Hardeman is also a leading expert in medical education research focusing on the experiences of under-represented minority physician trainees.

Dr. Hardeman is passionate about moving the conversation around racism in public health forward and to that end, the overarching goal of her work is to contribute to a new body of knowledge that enriches how we understand the ways that institutional racism plays out in healthcare encounters.

Dr. Hardeman earned a PhD in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration and an MPH in Public Health Administration and Policy in the Division of Health Policy & Management and an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Spanish from Xavier University of Louisiana.

About Square Roots

Square Roots (www.squareroots.com) is a mission-driven company focused on defining and empowering healthy birth. By integrating new technology and scientific findings with intelligent partnerships from medicine to policy to maternal care takers, Square Roots brings needed solutions and resources to the most critical period of life: our beginning. We identify the highest impact programs and tools that have a proven health impact for mothers and coordinate the distribution of these programs and tools between academia, policy, public agencies, and private companies.

Follow Square Roots on Twitter with @SquareRootsLife and on Facebook and Instagram with @SquareRootsBirth.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707006009/en/

Square Roots

Aaron Kinnari

[email protected]

Source: Square Roots
GAITHERSBURG, MD -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 --

UltiSat, Inc., a provider of global end-to-end managed network services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Hetmanski as its Chief Technology Officer.

Mr. Hetmanski has over 20 years of satellite and telecom industry experience developing, deploying and operating mobile and fixed satellite solutions in support of U.S. Government, military and commercial applications. As Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Hetmanski is responsible for developing all of UltiSat's end-to-end products, services, and solutions for its customers throughout the world.

Prior to accepting the position with UltiSat, Mr. Hetmanski played a key role in the technical development of several companies including Airbus DS Satcom Government, Inc. (ASGI) and Vizada, where he also served as CTO. Chris started his career in 1993 as a software engineer with The MITRE Corporation and later joined COMTSAT Labs, COMSAT Mobile Communications, Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications, and Telenor Satellite Services, where he served in key technical, operational and/or management roles at all of these organizations.

"I am very pleased to announce this key appointment and we are delighted to welcome Chris as part of UltiSat's executive team," said Moe Abutaleb, UltiSat's Chief Executive Officer. "Chris' extensive background and successful track record in the various roles he has undertaken in our industry will bring tremendous value to UltiSat as we strive to take our business to the next level."

About UltiSat:

Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, USA, UltiSat provides a wide range of satellite communications products, services, and infrastructure incorporating Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), airborne ISR/COTM, teleport, and mobile satellite services for mission-critical applications. UltiSat delivers high-value solutions to end users in some of the most remote and harsh locations in over 135 countries on 7 continents around the globe. With customer networks that vary from a few sites to hundreds of locations, UltiSat's technical expertise and technology-agnostic approach ensures that our customers get the best- fit/best-value solutions. UltiSat customers include U.S. and foreign government agencies, government contractors, NGOs and multinational enterprises. For more information, visit www.ultisat.com.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/7/11G105676/Images/Hetmanski_2011-b480d845d6e1a942bfb5de032d01fe3c.jpg

Media Contact:Laura Moreno-Davis, MBA Director of Marketing [email protected] (240) 813-7578

Source: UltiSat, Inc.
SONOMA, Calif., July 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- V2 Wine Group of Sonoma, California and Dry Creek Vineyard of Healdsburg, California are proud to announce the extension of their agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of the agreement V2 Wine Group will continue to serve as the exclusive Sales & Marketing Company for Dry Creek Vineyard for the U.S. market, a relationship that began in February 2011.

With the extension of the Dry Creek agreement, V2 Wine Group continues to partner with seven families with a passionate mission to help family-owned wineries in the North American marketplace. The company's portfolio, of both owned and represented brands has seen steady growth since Dan and Katy Leese and Pete and Terri Kight founded it in 2010. V2 Wine Group services all classes of trade and specializes primarily in wines priced from $15 - $100 per bottle.

"We are pleased to continue our partnership with Dry Creek. Kim Stare Wallace, second-generation proprietor of Dry Creek Vineyard, and the Dry Creek team are marvelous to work with and we are extremely honored to represent them. Together we will continue to grow their presence in the marketplace which Kim has stewarded since taking the day-to-day reigns from her father and founder, David Stare", said Dan Leese, Co-Founder and President of V2 Wine Group. "The wines of Dry Creek Vineyard are world class and the connection we have established with the wonderful people of Dry Creek is the essence of the V2 mission".

"V2 Wine Group has assembled one of the most professional and passionate sales teams in the industry; I couldn't be prouder to have them continue to represent our wines in the U.S. market. We look forward to building upon the strong foundation we have created these last five years together", stated Kim Stare Wallace.

Established in 1972, Dry Creek Vineyard is Dry Creek Valley's flagship winery located in the heart of Sonoma County, California. Named one of the top 100 wineries of 2015 by Wine & Spirits Magazine, the winery produces Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Meritage blends as well as a handful of single vineyard selections. Kim Stare Wallace serves as President overseeing a successful family winemaking and grape-growing business that includes 185 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards.

V2 Wine Group is a wine producer and provides sales and marketing services to a limited group of family owned wineries. With a wine portfolio that also includes Bouchaine Vineyards, Cameron Hughes, La Follette Wines, Lake Sonoma Winery, Lucinda & Millie Wines, Merryvale Family of Wines, Morande, Quivira Vineyards, Steelhead Vineyards, Toad Hollow Vineyards, Torbreck Vintners, Valley of the Moon Winery and Vindicated Wines, V2 is dedicated to building strong, innovative wine brands in the North American marketplace.

CONTACT: V2 Wine Group Katy Leese / General Manager [email protected] 707-938-7624, ext. 116 Dry Creek Vineyard Sara Rathbun / Director of Marketing & Communications [email protected] 707-433-1000, ext. 128

Source: V2 Wine Group
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PASADENA, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE: WMC) today announced that it will release financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 after the market closes on Wednesday, August 3, 2016. The Company will host a corresponding conference call with a live webcast on Thursday August 4, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time/8:00 a.m. Pacific Time, to discuss those results and answer questions.

Individuals interested in participating in the conference call may do so by dialing (866) 235-9914 from the United States, or (412) 902-4115 from outside the United States and referencing "Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corporation." Those interested in listening to the conference call live via the Internet may do so by visiting the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.westernassetmcc.com.

The Company is enabling investors to pre-register for the earnings conference call so that they can expedite their entry into the call and avoid the need to wait for a live operator. In order to pre-register for the call, investors can visit http://dpregister.com/10089260 and enter in their contact information. Investors will then be issued a personalized phone number and pin to dial into the live conference call. Individuals can pre-register any time prior to the start of the conference call on August 4, 2016.

A telephone replay will be available through August 18, 2016 by dialing (877) 344-7529 from the United States, or (412) 317-0088 from outside the United States, and entering conference ID 10089260. A webcast replay will be available for 90 days.

ABOUT WESTERN ASSET MORTGAGE CAPITAL CORPORATION

Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corporation is a real estate investment trust that invests in, acquires and manages a diverse portfolio of assets consisting of Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, CMBS, ABS, Residential Whole-Loans and other financial assets. The Company's investment strategy may change, subject to the Company's stated investment guidelines, and is based on its manager Western Asset Management Company's perspective of which mix of portfolio assets it believes provide the Company with the best risk-reward opportunities at any given time. The Company is externally managed and advised by Western Asset Management Company, an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. Please visit the Company's website at www.westernassetmcc.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/western-asset-mortgage-capital-corporation-to-report-second-quarter-2016-financial-results-300295126.html

SOURCE Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corporation
PARIS (Reuters) - France on Wednesday sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the African country in 1994.

Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were tried over attacks against ethnic Tutsis in the town of Kabarondo, where they both have been mayor. They denied any wrongdoing.

Ethnic Hutu extremists killed more than 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in a three-month rampage in 1994 while the world largely stood by.

A number of Rwandan genocide-related crimes have been tried in recent years in Rwanda and other countries. This was the second such trial in France, which can rule on such cases since parliament adopted a law that gives it universal jurisdiction over cases of crimes against humanity.

Rights groups welcomed the decision but called for faster trials in other, ongoing investigations. "We need to speed things up, it's high time, it's been 22 years," said Dafroza Gauthier from CPCR, a rights groups of Rwanda victims. "We need procedures to accelerate while there are still witnesses."

Philippe Meilhac, a lawyer for Barahira, said the accused were likely to appeal the decision.

France was an ally of the Rwandan government that ruled before the genocide.

(Reporting by Chine Labbe; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Larry King)
By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - The daughter of the founder of South Korea's Lotte Group conglomerate was arrested on Thursday on charges including breach of trust and embezzlement, a judge told Reuters.

Prosecutors applied for a detention warrant earlier this week for Shin Young-ja, who is also a director of Lotte Group's hotel unit, a Seoul Central District Court judge said.

Shin is the first founding family member or high-ranking manager from South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate to be detained after prosecutors began investigating the group earlier this year.

Prosecutors targeted Lotte with their largest corporate raids ever in terms of manpower in June, looking into a possible slush fund as well as breach of trust involving transactions among the group's companies, sources said.

An initial investigation into Shin's affairs led authorities to publicly open the wider probe, two prosecution sources with direct knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.

Shin allegedly received bribes of about 3 billion won ($2.6 million) as requests for preferential treatment for brands in Lotte Duty Free stores, one of the prosecution sources told Reuters earlier this week.

Prosecutors also allege Shin embezzled about 4 billion won from an unnamed company that she de facto controls, paid out as salaries for her daughters, the person with direct knowledge said. The people declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to media.

Hotel Lotte directed questions to Lotte Duty Free. Lotte Duty Free declined comment.

The fallout from the broader probe into the Lotte business empire has already seen the derailment of a planned initial public offering worth up $4.5 billion for the group's hotel and duty free unit, as well as Lotte Chemical bowing out of bidding for a U.S. company.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin has said Hotel Lotte's IPO plans would be revived with an aim to list around the end of this year.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)
JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS II

601 Congress Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02210

July 7, 2016

VIA EDGAR TRANSMISSION

Securities and Exchange Commission

100 F Street, N.E.

Washington, DC 20549

RE: John Hancock Funds II (the Trust) on behalf of: Active Bond Fund (the Fund) File Nos. 333-126293; 811-21779

Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Trust, transmitted for filing pursuant to Rule 497 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are exhibits containing interactive data format risk/return summary information for the Fund.

The interactive data files included as exhibits to this filing relate to the prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 24, 2016 on behalf of the Fund pursuant to Rule 497(e) (Accession No. 0001133228-16-010450), each of which is incorporated by reference into this Rule 497 Document.

If you have any questions or comments, please call me at (617) 663-4311.

Sincerely,

/s/ Thomas Dee

Thomas Dee
A person was treated for injuries following multiple explosions at a block of flats in Pakuranga, east Auckland.

A garage in Latham Ave was engulfed by flames following the blasts just before 2pm.

Seven fire trucks and an ambulance responded to the scene, with 20 firefighters tackling the blaze.

SHARP FOCUS MEDIA Twenty firefighters tackled a blaze which engulfed a garage in Pakuranga.

St John ambulance spokesman Robbie Walker said one person was treated for moderate injuries at the scene, but did not require hospitalisation.

Multiple people had made calls to 111.

"Still dozens of 111 calls being received. Explosions can be heard over phone," the Fire Service communications centre tweeted at 2pm.

PHIL TAYLOR/FAIRFAX NZ Rubbish collectors Taylor Riwhi, left, and John Milner tried to fight the blaze with a fire extinguisher.

A dozen police officers were at the scene and about 50 people from surrounding properties were standing in the street watching.

The fire had begun in a garage attached to two units. A burnt-out car was visible in the garage and there was damage to the front-facing unit.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said he heard a series of explosions before the fire began.

SHARP FOCUS MEDIA A burnt-out car could be seen in the garage following the blaze.

"I heard boom, boom, boom," he said.

The man said a neighbour from across the street came over to tell him to get out of the house "to be safe".

He said it was not the first time neighbours had heard exploding noises. A similar incident had occurred "years ago" with previous tenants of the property.

Envirowaste contractors Taylor Riwhi and John Milner had collected the rubbish in Latham Ave about 10 minutes before the explosions.

They said they had not seen anything suspicious at the time.

While on Pakuranga Rd, the pair saw thick black smoke coming from the street and decided to return.

They attempted to tackle the blaze with a fire extinguisher, but it proved too big.

A police officer at the scene said authorities were investigating the cause of the fire, which was extinguished by 3pm.
Rototuna Primary school students with staff (back row from left): Ricky Epere, Berny Koppens, Mike Sutton, Neil Robertson and Adrienne Grant stand in their gully.

A gully that was once an "eyesore" has now become an asset to Rototuna Primary School students and staff.

The north-Hamilton school has willingly given themselves the task to restore the Mangaiti Gully, which forms part of the school's grounds.

More than 1000 trees and shrubs have been planted, with every student getting involved.

"Everybody's had a hand in putting something into the ground. It doesn't matter what ability or age, anybody can do it," principal Mike Sutton said.

The vision started eight years ago, with Sutton wanting his students in a city school to have a learning experience with nature.

He said the children have loved taking part in the planting and are excited to see life come back to the gully.

So far they have seen birds in the sky, skinks on the ground, eels and fish in the creek since planting began.

The next step will be building bat houses and researching whether glow worms inhabit the gully at night.

Gully restoration teacher Berny Koppens said there was "so much learning going on".

Kawakawa, silver fern, kowhai and manuka are just some of the trees planted in the gully, replacing the gorse that was there before.

Ninety-five per cent of these plants have been grown in the nursery at school.

"It's great to see the change in the school and see everybody come on board," Koppens said.

"The kids are getting connected with the local environment. They can see it change before their eyes."

The overall vision for the Mangaiti Gully Restoration Group is to restore the native flora back to pre-European status and to sustainably manage it in a way that native fauna will re-establish, either naturally or by introduction.

At Rototuna Primary, all of the school buildings are named after native trees. Koppens said the aim is to see all of those native trees growing in the gully.

The teachers all agree the pupils have developed a sense of what it takes to plant a tree.

The gully project is supported by Trees for Survival, Waikato River Authority, Enviroschools and the Mangaiti Gully Restoration Group.
Hinemoa Elder says evidence shows that bilingualism can help delay the onset of dementia.

Te reo Maori could save the economy almost $500 million a year, according to researcher Hinemoa Elder.

Studies have shown that bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia by four years, drastically reducing the rates of Alzheimer's and other conditions that affect the brain.

The 2012 Dementia Economic Report estimates New Zealand spends nearly $1 billion a year on the treatment of dementia.

CHRIS SKELTON/STUFF Teaching te reo could potentially halve the $1 billion New Zealand spends on dementia every year.

Elder, a post-doctoral fellow and Maori strategic leader for the Centre of Research Excellence for the Ageing Brain, Rangahau Roro Aotearoa/Brain Research New Zealand, thinks that, if te reo was added into mainstream education, it would benefit people's health in many ways.

"This international evidence suggests New Zealanders being bilingual in te reo and English could have a powerful impact on improving quality of life in the older years by delaying the onset of dementia," she says

"We already know that, if we can delay onset by around five years, it decreases the prevalence by 50 per cent. And if we can do that by encouraging people to speak te reo as a second language, then all the better."

123rf.com Dementia currently impacts 60,000 Kiwis and is on the increase.

According to Alzheimers New Zealand, the disease affects 60,000 Kiwi adults and is expected to affect 1 in 33 by 2050, due to our ageing population.

Country data from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study showed deaths from Alzheimer's disease had increased by 346 per cent New Zealand between 1990 and 2010.

The University of Ghent in Belgium carried out a study of 134 people who were all undergoing treatment for probable Alzheimers.

The study showed both the manifestation and diagnosis of Alzheimer's occurred at least four years later for the bilingual or multilingual participants than those who were monolingual.

Following a 2014 study Ellen Bialystok, a cognitive psychologist at York University, said "Becoming bilingual early in childhood is generally associated with larger effects, but the consequences of bilingualism can be seen even in very late bilinguals.

"It is clear from our studies that schools should provide many more opportunities for language learning to children."

Elder agreed that, the earlier children could grasp more than one language, the greater the effect and thought it was an important question to pose during Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori.

"I would love to be able to replicate those studies in Aotearoa because I think that would provide very powerful argument for te reo to be taught in schools."
"Does anybody have any questions?" the Ministry of Education's Canterbury representative Coralanne Child asked the crowd.

Several hundred beaming faces stared back at her, speechless.

"I don't usually have that effect on people," she laughed, as the crowd joined in.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff.co.nz Redcliffs School pupils celebrate following news their school will stay open on Thursday.

Education Minister Hekia Parata delivered her final decision on Redcliffs School's fate on Thursday. She met with three representatives from the Christchurch school on Thursday morning in Wellington to deliver the news that an alternative site would be explored for the facility.

The decision is expected to come as a major relief for parents, staff and pupils of the school, as well as residents who have joined the fight to save the school from closure.

READ MORE:

* Redcliffs School considering court action to stay open

* Disruption to Redcliffs School same as any other school

* Valentines Day quake did not trigger rockfall behind Redcliffs School

GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAX NZ Thousands supported a campaign to save Redcliffs School in Christchurch.

Such was the atmosphere at the Redcliffs community meeting on Thursday night, it seemed a merry calm had settled over what was once two opposing groups: the Government, and the school community.

Hundreds of assembled school parents and community members, clapped, cheered, stomped and eventually stood in honour of their school board as they took their seats on the stage. The feeling was mutual.

"We're absolutely stoked, and possibly still in shock," Principal Rose McInerney said.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/FAIRFAX NZ Redcliffs School pupils celebrate the good news.

"We're incredibly grateful to you all. You absolutely did it!"

Several questions eventually trickled in to Child, including one about time frames. She said it usually took about two years from start to finish to open a new school.

Another parent asked whether the Ministry could guarantee that if another site was not found, and the old site was unsuitable for psychosocial reasons, would the school stay in the community.

Child replied she could not, but every measure would be taken to ensure it did.

Hearing the news in Christchurch, parent Emma Alldridge cried "happy tears". She said she felt "over the moon".

Parents and board member Andrea Wylie was "ecstatic".

GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAXNZ The Ministry of Education will consider moving the Main Rd school to an alternative site.

"Absolutely unbelievable," she said.

McInerney said earlier the school was "absolutely delighted". She understood pupils were lifting the roof at the news.

"The staff are absolutely overwhelmed...the texts are coming in thick and fast because this is the decision we were really hoping and banking on."

Staff and students celebrated by singing songs, including One Direction's "We've got a whole lot of history".

Bella Hansen-Ratt, 11, felt "really happy", while friend Siena Cleugh had "tears in her eyes".

"Lots of people started crying," Bella said.

Brendon Clarke was with his son, Luca Paynter-Clarke, when the decision was announced.

"It's home and that's where the school is and that's where it should be. It's been hard and it's been stressful on everyone. It's been traumatic," he said.

Sumner resident Francis Fitzgerald said the closure would have put too much strain on the area. Transport for pupils would have become a major issue. He hoped the school would return to its Main Rd site.

Board chairman Mark Robberds said an alternative site may be better because it could be bigger, though the current site had been declared safe.

Robberds said the work to investigate the options for another site will start immediately and, by the end of the year, the school would have a firmer idea of the future.

McInerney said the minister had "really heard the community" and understood the need for a school in Redcliffs.

"I think it's an absolutely massive relief, we're a community who has stood strong through five years of being off site. We've thrived under those conditions, we've got a 4-5 year ERO review, we're a school that is determined to keep going."

Parata said the school had answered her concerns about rockfall on the site and when houses on the cliff might be moved.

When asked if the school may end up on a site outside of Redcliffs, Parata said, "I can't rule anything in or out at this stage. We have two months ahead of us where we have to carry out two pieces of work".

Parata said everyone agreed rockfall would continue, along with land mass movement, and that was of concern.

BARNETT PARK CONSIDERED

The school was forced off its original site on Main Rd after the June 2011 aftershock, when rockfall from a cliff backing on to the property threatened safety. The year 1 to 8 school has been operating from van Asch Deaf Education Centre in Sumner since.

In a statement, Parata said discussions on relocating the school to an alternative site in the suburb of Redcliffs had begun. Barnett Park was a possible site for the school.

"The school's board has made the case that moving the school forward and sacrificing about 40 per cent of the Main Rd site will address the risk of disrupted education on the Redcliffs site being caused by rocks falling from the cliffs behind the school," she said.

"Based on expert engineering advice, I am advised that the concerns leading to my interim decision have been addressed, and have therefore decided not to confirm my interim decision that the school should close."

Parata said authorities needed to explore the "possible psychosocial effects" of returning the school to its previous site, and the possibility of relocating to a new site, before a final decision could be made. An independent specialist found there could be a "psychosocial risk" to children returning to the school's Main Rd site, Parata said. "My main concern is for the well-being of the children, so the decision about whether the school can return to the site will be deferred until the Ministry has carried out a thorough investigation of this risk."

The ministry would work with the school board and psychosocial specialists before reporting back to Parata by the end of September.

A final decision was expected by mid-October. "If relocation is possible that would address the complexities of the Main Rd site while providing a school in the Redcliffs community. The Ministry will investigate Barnett Park and will look again at other possible sites." The next phase was not a formal consultation process, but the views of the board, parents and the wider community would be important, Parata said.

A WIN FOR COMMUNITY

More than 2700 submissions were lodged in response to Parata's proposal to close the school by the end of 2016 - all in favour of keeping the school open.

Parata's interim decision, announced in November 2015, was based on "ongoing concern about the unstable cliff behind the school" and the potential for disruption.

Experts compiled reports on the risk of disruption to the school, should another earthquake occur.

Board spokesman Mark Robberds said the results showed the risk was "negligible".

Safety was not an issue.

More than 6500 people signed a petition to save the school. Psychologist and author Nigel Latta and former mayor Sir Bob Parker appeared in a video to champion the cause. A further 15,000 postcards were delivered to MPs, calling for their support.

A community meeting was planned on Thursday night to discuss Parata's verdict.

Parents and Redcliffs residents were encouraged to attend.

Port Hills MP Ruth Dyson said the decision was "fantastic" and "the right response" to the school's work.
Sue King with one of her many patients, Jasmine Olsen. Sue is retiring after more than three decades working as a pain nurse practitioner.

New Zealand's first pain nurse practitioner with prescribing rights is retiring after a career in the health industry spanning 33 years.

Now based in Ngaruawahia, Sue King initially made her mark in 1994 with specialist anaesthetist Steve Jones as founding members of the Waikato pain team, with the Waikato District Health Board.

"We started in surgical services but over time became quite well known and built a healthy reputation with medical consultants across the spectrum of services provided at Waikato Hospital and across the DHB."

Supplied Sue King at the beginning of her career.

And with the help of fellow colleagues, she put forward a business case to open up the role of pain nurse practitioner, and qualified for it in 2010.

"As a clinical nurse specialist, I got frustrated and to a point where I couldn't prescribe. I could do it verbally, as in tell house surgeons what they needed to prescribe, do full assessment plans, and plan ongoing therapy but I couldn't physically prescribe which sometimes caused delays."

The Integrated Pain Service brings together a team of health professionals including doctors, nurses, psychologists and physiotherapists to assist people in hospital or in their community to get relief from acute pain or manage chronic pain.

One aspect of the job that she highlighted was being able to mix with people who had great character.

"To work with people who have a great sense of humour, and to use that humour in an appropriate way, was really important and helped me be the person I am throughout my profession.

"People can go on a treadmill of multiple investigations, looking for answers, causes, cures and go nowhere. Sometimes you meet with these people, they are so sad and helpless, and you feel that you have their weight on your shoulders."

It's been quite a journey for King who has worked with a number of consultants throughout the years.

"I love the job. The anaesthetic department is extremely supportive and I have felt well respected, professionally and personally by anaesthetic clinical directors, and equally nurse managers of theatres."

But her role as a pain nurse practitioner was just one of many achievements.

Other roles have included the New Zealand Pain Society secretary for six years and she was the first nurse and woman to become a life member for her contribution to the society and pain management nursing.

A final legacy was her own Waikato Meade Clinical Centre pain clinic for inpatient cases complex enough to be on strong opioids at home but needed some oversight post discharge.

Although the clinic is not currently operating, King has developed a plan for a successor to keep it going.

"Outside of deciding to chase my home and hobby dreams, I'm professionally ready to leave. Pain service has been my baby all these years and I'm now prepared to pass it on to someone with the same dedication as me.

"I've loved the work, the people, and will miss the simulation of my job. I am a little anxious about the looming retirement but am excited about the new chapter of my life."
A high demand for Maori language classes in Australia have seen Taranaki reo teachers head across the ditch to help out.

Te Reo o Taranaki kaiako or teacher Rukutai Watene, along with wife Peeti, have taken regular trips to cities like Brisbane and Melbourne to hold language classes for Maori who are living there.

"They're screaming out for te reo over there," Watene said.

He said some of the Maori he met there had lived away from New Zealand for up to four generations.

READ MORE:

* Te reo a key part of cultural identity

* Reo fruit needs community nurture

* Te reo tips aimed at encouraging rangatahi to use Maori language

"They've lost touch with family back home," he said.

"A lot of them don't have the reo, they don't know who they are and they want to find their roots again."

The Watenes, who also run te reo classes in Hawera, started out with the basics for their Australian students, focusing on the Maori vowel sounds and simple kupu or words.

He said Maori from a range of different iwi came along, including a contingent with whakapapa links to Taranaki.

"They want to be able to get up there and have a basic conversation in te reo Maori. It gives them pride to be able to do that," Watene said.

He said the numbers attending their classes were capped at 80 and lessons were often held at one of the participants' homes. Another Te Reo o Taranaki employee Ihaka Noble has also held classes in Sydney where he can get up to 200 people attending, Watene said.

He said many of the Maori in Australia have gone there for employment opportunities and while they were making good money, they still felt they were missing something.

"What they're lacking is the language. They have everything else," he said.

Te Reo o Taranaki manager Rawiri Eriksen said there were a lack of options in Australia to learn and speak Maori.

"There is a huge amount of demand but there are a lack of resources," he said.

Eriksen, who up until recently lived in Perth, said kohanga reo classes were already established there and in other Australian cities.

He said a strategic review of Te Reo o Taranaki was underway, which was looking to develop a stronger focus on building te reo speaking communities.

While people living in Taranaki remained the priority, social media or on-line learning were options which could tap into students based overseas, he said.

He said the organisation's kaupapa was based on meeting the language needs of Taranaki whanui, wherever they were in the world.

"A community can be based anywhere," he said.
Ngapari Nui of Ngati Ruanui has been stood down from his volunteer work in prisons after allegations he is a patched Black Power member.

Prime Minister John Key has said Corrections Minister Judith Collins was "quite entitled to make her point known" regarding an embattled Ngati Ruanui kaumatua who was stood down from volunteering in prison because of his gang connections.

Ngapari Nui was suspended from his duties as a kaiwhakamana with the Department of Corrections after his life membership to Black Power was revealed to Corrections Minister Judith Collins by the Sensible Sentencing Trust.

Nui has been working with prisoners for about five years and is also a community worker in South Taranaki and an iwi representative.

ANDY JACKSON/Fairfax NZ Wharehoka Wano says Ngati Ruanui leaders are disappointed by the attack on Ngapari Nui.

Wharehoka Wano, spokesman of the Taranaki Iwi Chairs Forum, said the group supported Nui and praised the work he was involved in.

READ MORE:

* Chester Borrows backs prison volunteer stood down by Judith Collins for gang links

* Prison volunteer stood down after gang connections revealed to minister

* New information to be passed onto police regarding innocence claims

* Convicted murderer Denis Luke's family appeal his release rejection

* Parole board showing 'extreme caution' in case of double-murderer

But the Prime Minister said "active gang members present a real risk".

Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

"Sure, if you're an ex-gang member and want to do some good work in prisons then that's to be welcomed but an active gang member, there's always a risk that person will recruit or do other things and I think she's got a valid point there," Key said.

The Prime Minister said he wasn't aware of a statement the Corrections Department allegedly planned to release saying they were happy with Nui's work, which Collins overruled when she asked for Nui to be stood down.

"Ministries often get direction from their minister and then they operationally make those things happen and she has a strong view and I actually happen to support her that gangs are a real issue in New Zealand society," Key said.

Taranaki iwi leaders are standing by Nui. Wharehoka Wano said: "Ngapari has been a great servant for his people over a long period of time.

"He supports many of the grass roots initiatives at a whanau and marae level and has also been effective as a previous chairperson of Ngati Ruanui and in his role representing Ngati Ruanui on the Taranaki Maori Trust Board."

He said the iwi leaders were "disappointed" in the role the Sensible Sentencing Trust had played in "attacking" Nui without considering the outcomes of his work.

"His cultural role cannot be understated and his experiences have made him effective in the work that he is doing in the prison system that desperately needs people like Mr Nui to support our young people who have been incarcerated," he said.

The iwi leaders' views were echoed by about 200 people who attended a meeting in Hawera on Wednesday.

At the meeting, Te Runanga o Ngati Ruanui kaiarataki Debbie Ngarewa-Packer called for Corrections' boss Ray Smith to resign over the issue and said the complete lack of consultation with the iwi was "deeply offensive."

"Ngati Ruanui and those like Ngapari Nui are the ones that make rehabilitation a reality. Throwing away the last ten years of hard and dedicated work is just a huge slap in the face for the iwi of Ngati Ruanui and Ngapari," she said.

Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesman Scott Guthrie said it was unacceptable for active gang members to have access to prisoners.

"You don't have to look far to see the death and destruction that gangs cause in our community and to even remotely suggest that any gang member or their associate should be allowed to work inside a prison is against what the majority of the public believe.

"Debbie Packer needs to wake up and smell the roses. This is the real world and she needs to understand what it is exactly that Black Power stands for because I can tell you they don't stand for much that is law-abiding and there is no way any gang member, whether Mongrel Mob, Hells Angels, Head Hunters, Black Power or any or other gang, patched or non-patched, should be working in prisons with prisoners.

"If Mr Nui had any clue at all he would front the media himself and make a public statement instead of hiding behind iwi or is that because he has something to hide," Guthrie said."

Collins has been unapologetic about her stance on the matter, but Whanganui MP Chester Borrows and the Maori party have spoken up in support of Nui.
Drone footage from inside the cathedral captured in May this year.

After five years of dereliction, legal spats and uncertainty, the Government has appointed a working party to consider options for the Christ Church Cathedral.

The working party was formed last month, but announced this week by Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Gerry Brownlee after criticism from central city developers of the nearly six months of silence on the cathedral's future.

The working party comprises of high profile Christchurch developer Alasdair Cassels, the man behind The Tannery shopping centre in Woolston, former Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority general manager Steve Wakefield, National Party regional chair Roger Bridge, former NZ Transport Agency head Geoff Dangerfield, and academic Sue McKenzie.

GRANT MATTHEW/Stuff.co.nz Anglican Church spokesman Jayson Rhodes called a briefing outside the Christ Church Cathedral on Thursday.

It will make a recommendation for the cathedral by November 28 and provide a report to the Government and church trustees by December 7.

"There is strong public interest in what is happening to this iconic building, and I know people want to see the [Church Property Trustees] CPT able to reach a decision so that the city can move forward," Brownlee said.

He said the working party would calculate accurates costs for restoration or reinstatement of the cathedral.

GRANT MATTHEW/FAIRFAX NZ The Christ Church Cathedral in the city centre is open to the elements, filled with pigeons and surrounded by long grass.

READ MORE:

* Govt 'crying wolf' on Cathedral sows uncertainty and mistrust - developers

* Christ Church Cathedral plans announcement due soon

* Christ Church Cathedral announcement due this week

* Christ Church Cathedral announcement expected in weeks

The Anglican cathedral has been sitting damaged in Christchurch's city centre for more than five years, with no clear decision on its possible fate.

The Government last year appointed mediator Miriam Dean, QC, in an attempt to break deadlock over the building.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/FAIRFAX NZ Engineers check markers in cracks to see how far the cathedral has moved on Thursday morning.

Church leaders and the Government announced in December that reinstating the cathedral was being considered. An announcement on how the deadlock would be resolved was expected by campaigners in April, but did not happen.

Anglican Bishop Victoria Matthews said in a written statement that she was committed to a cathedral in the square, but did not state if that would mean restoration or replacement of the building.



"I believe in the foreseeable future we will again have a Cathedral in the Square. It won't be easy but it is possible. We know its current state, what I am not able to say today is what that inspiring Cathedral will look like," she said.



"I look forward to what the working group recommends for the beloved Cathedral. I do know the life of the city of Christchurch will always be linked closely to an Anglican Cathedral in the Square."

Cassels was nominated for the working party by the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust, which is campaigning to restore the building.

DAVID WALKER/FAIRFAX NZ Developer Alasdair Cassels is part of a working group set up to decide the Christ Church Cathedral's fate.

The Anglican diocese released drone footage this week of the interior of the Christ Church Cathedral, which was shot in May. A crane was used on Thursday morning to inspect longstanding damage to the cathedral.

Labour Party Canterbury issues spokeswoman Megan Woods MP said expectations would be "very high" for a definitive announcement in December.

"The people of Christchurch have been more than patient while the church and the Government work through a complicated issue, but something has to happen. We've got to see progress."

"It's been five-and-a-half years and we still have a pile of rubble at the heart of our central city."

Developers and landowners in Cathedral Square were waiting on a cathedral decision before starting to build. City Owners Rebuild Entity chairman and developer Ernest Duval said this week that the lack of action after the Government announcement last December eroded trust in its rebuild leadership.

Property developer Miles Yeoman, who owns the former Press building site in Cathedral Square, said he had shelved hotel plans for now because there was not enough activity in the "barren wasteland" square.
RACINE  A Racine woman convicted of welfare fraud for failing to tell the state in the 1980s about a car she owned will continue to be banned from being a state licensed day care provider.

The state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a state law allowing authorities to revoke day care providers licenses for life if theyre convicted of welfare fraud is constitutional.

Passed by the Legislature in in 2009, the law allows authorities to permanently revoke licenses and certifications if a day care provider has been convicted of public benefit fraud. Lawmakers drew up the statutes in response to a series of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel articles detailing extensive fraud by child care providers receiving money through Wisconsin Shares, a state program that reimburses providers who care for children in working families.

Racine resident Sonja Blake was one of the first day care providers in the state to suffer the repercussions of the law when her license was revoked in February 2010 by the Racine County Human Services Department after a background check revealed a 24-year-old welfare fraud violation.

Blake filed suit against Racine County and the state Department of Children and Families in July 2010 in an effort fight the revocation. She argued that the law violated her constitutional rights to equal protection and due process. She also contended that the law creates an irrefutable presumption that people convicted of fraud are permanently unfit for certification.

The case was transferred in to Dane County Circuit Court later that year.

Court decisions

In October 2012, Dane County Circuit Judge Shelley Gaylord found that Blake failed to show the law was unconstitutional; a state appeals court upheld Gaylords decision. The state Supreme Court also sided with Gaylord on Wednesday, ruling 5-2 that the law advances the reasonable goal of reducing fraud. Justice David Prosser, writing for the majority, acknowledged that the statutes are harsh but legislators make policy, not the courts.

Justices Shirley Abrahamson and Ann Walsh Bradley, who make up the courts liberal-leaning minority, dissented. Abrahamson wrote that a lifetime ban is draconian and isnt tied to any legitimate state purpose. She noted that Blake hasnt been in legal trouble since her conviction more than two decades ago and that other offenses, including child neglect, dont result in a lifetime revocation.

Simply put, (the permanent revocation for welfare fraud) shocks the conscience, Abrahamson wrote. (The law) is so broad that it arbitrarily, irrationally, and significantly impedes the ability of law-abiding people like Blake to earn a living in their chosen profession, child care.

Violation

Blakes welfare violation reportedly stemmed from a 1986 incident in which she failed to report to the welfare agency a car she had received from her boyfriend as a gift. Blake said she didnt think she had to report the car, which, according to court records was not running, but officials called it fraud. She originally faced a felony charge for failing to report the car and a motorcycle she owned as assets, obtaining $294 in benefits to which she wasnt entitled. She later pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor count.

At the time of her license revocation in 2010, Blake, then 57, had been a licensed day care provider for 12 years, caring for a small number of children in her Racine home and working at a local day care center.

According to a 2010 story in The Journal Times, the county revoked the certifications of about 40 day care providers during the first four months the law was in effect. Blakes suit was the first action of its kind filed against Racine County.

Attempts to reach Blakes attorney for comment were unsuccessful on Wednesday, as were attempts to reach Racine Countys corporation counsel.
Wisconsins pollution control agency released a draft Tuesday of a comprehensive study of sand mining to swift criticism from environmentalists who say it relies too heavily on industry-funded air quality data.

The Department of Natural Resources strategic analysis is intended to assess the latest scientific, natural resource, and socioeconomic information of the 128 mines, processing and loading facilities across western Wisconsin. The DNR is accepting public comments on the draft.

For years, companies have mined the fine-grained silica sand prevalent in western Wisconsin for industrial use. But advances in a gas and oil mining technique known as hydraulic fracturing created enormous demand for the sand, which is used to open cracks in underground rocks.

Many of those sites have been shuttered in the past year as world oil prices plunged, but environmentalists warn the industry is not going away.

Midwest Environmental Advocates immediately critiqued the 155-page documents assessment of air quality in nearby communities.

According to the DNR analysis, the primary concern is airborne particles smaller than 10 microns  known as PM10  rather than the smaller, more dangerous fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which can lodge deep inside human lungs. The DNR says air quality monitors in western Wisconsin have not detected elevated levels of fine particulates.

But MEA attorney Sarah Geers argues there is no evidence to support that conclusion.

Like DNRs 2012 analysis, the strategic analysis provides a lot of background about the industrial sand process and the regulatory framework. This should not distract the reader from the limited data and analysis of the actual air quality impacts of industrial sand facilities, Geers wrote. The most serious limitation is that DNR fails to adequately assess the threat from PM2.5 emissions because DNR is operating under the faulty premise that these facilities do not emit PM2.5.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has previously expressed concerns with the DNRs approach to regulating fine particulate matter.

A DNR spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MEA also bemoaned the DNRs reliance on a previous study by the nonprofit Institution for Wisconsins Health.

Published earlier this year, the Health Impact Assessment concluded industrial sand operations pose little risk to air and water quality. MEA says the reports authors overlooked the risks of fine particulate matter while failing to acknowledge the limitations of a study based on data gathered by the industry itself.

All of these important organizations keep pointing back to this industry-funded study, said MEA spokeswoman Stacey Harbaugh. The big problem here is that the DNR is not collecting data.

The IWH study has come under fire from others, including the Ho-Chunk Nation, which suggested the organization may not have the resources to properly evaluate the topic.

Jim Steinhoff, the environmental health and lab manager for the La Crosse County Health Department, was one of more than a dozen local health officials who reviewed the IWH study. He shares some of MEAs concerns about the lack of data on PM2.5.

They did the best they could do with what they had, he said. I dont think you can say theres no concern here looking at the data they had to work with.

The IWH, an independent nonprofit, has defended the study, even publishing a 14-page response to prior MEA critiques.

Were standing by the findings of the study, said IWH manager Dustin Young. We realize it cant be all things to everybody.

Young said the institute encourages further study of the issue and welcomes advocacy from groups like MEA.

Geers said she was glad to see the DNR acknowledge the threat of water contamination and call for additional study.

DNR has known for some time that some wastewater holding ponds at industrial sand mines have had high levels of metals, which present a risk to groundwater quality and the health of rural residents who rely on private wells for drinking water, she said. In the meantime, DNR should require monitoring at industrial sand facilities to ensure that these discharges are not going unnoticed.
Clayton Mitchell

New Zealand First MP

The Government has finally acknowledged the housing crisis. A crisis created by the irresponsible approach this Government has taken towards immigration and housing. A crisis not inevitable, but due to the Governments arrogant refusal to meet the increasing housing needs of New Zealanders.

While some new housing is finally beginning to enter the planning stages, too many New Zealanders are still in need of housing today.

And there are options between a new house build and the backseat of a car or a friends garage that can be made available.

During the next few weeks I will continue the work I started earlier in the year; with businesses, social organisations and government agencies, to help make some of these options available.

ENDS

With press headlines highlighting the increase in our working homeless and tales of families living in cars and garages  and after more than six months of adamantly declaring there is no housing crisis  the Government has finally acknowledged the issue.

The Government is making $1 billion available to councils across New Zealand, with priority consideration for cities, like Tauranga, in most need.

Unfortunately, the Government is also handing off the responsibility for addressing this crisis to council. Its a great opportunity for council; but shows further irresponsibility by National.

There needs to be a partnership between local and national government. Offering a sum of money which will prove to be too little too late does not equate to partnership.

This current housing crisis has been created by the irresponsible approach this Government has taken towards immigration and housing. The number of immigrants allowed entry into New Zealand and the policies governing their time here has been and continues to be unsustainable.

And now $1 billion will not be enough to stem the tide, because the Government is doing nothing to change the immigration and housing policies that led us here.

While some adequate housing finally beginning to enter planning stages, too many New Zealanders are still in need of reasonable housing accommodation today.

New housing takes time, but there are a lot of options that can be made available between a new house build and the backseat of a car or a friends garage.

During the next few weeks, I will continue the work I started earlier in the year; with businesses, social organisations and government agencies, to help make some of these options available.
Bay of Plenty students have been touring plans and building sites around Tauranga today to find out if a career in the construction industry is for them.

Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation chief executive Warwick Quinn says his organisations Big Construction Tour on today  with more than 1000 student taking part nationally  is to lure young people into the variety of roles the industry offers.
The young enterprise group called Crunch - from John Paul College in Rotorua - have taken the iconic ginger nut biscuit and morphed it into an ice pop on a stick.

At least one ginger nut in every ice cream, promises Thomas Firth, a young man with a bent for business, biscuits and ice cream.

Crunch is part of a national competition for Year 12 and 13 students. It involves creating a company, in this case Crunch, and producing and selling a product.

So far we have invested over 120 hours developing the ginger nut and apple recipe, says Thomas. And many, many more dollars.

But why ginger nut?

We tried feijoa but it oxidises, goes brown and loses its niceness. We tried blood orange, but in the end we stuck with ginger nut with apple puree as a base so we dont have to add any extra sugar.

That showed acumen because after their first run of 1500 ginger nut ice creams the tastebuds have reacted positively. They brought them to the Tauranga food show, their first public outing, and Tauranga liked them. They sold 400.

At $4 an ice cream, our product is a bit more expensive than Tip Top, says Thomas. But ours is a boutique ice cream, it costs more to make with better ingredients.

Seems most people at the show were sceptical at first.

But when we told them it tasted exactly like a ginger nut, they bought one. If you like ginger nuts, you will like our ice cream. They really enjoyed them so that was cool.

But ginger nut ice cream had uncertain beginnings.

We started day one of term one, every lunchtime in the kitchen at school. But when we took a sample to our mentors and advisors, frozen pops manufacturer Dr Feelgood, they werent sure about it.

They said you need to work on this and that. They gave lot of good advice. Afterall, Dr Feelgood have won several national awards.

But the young entrepreneurs from John Paul College, Thomas, Brianna Donlon, Jared Sinclair and Britney Ore, had faith in their idea. They went back to school and tweaked and refined, one gram at a time here and one gram at a time there.

There was quite a bit of disagreement to begin with. Then one day we hit on a recipe which we all agreed on and it tasted pretty good. Since that point we have been building on it  adding a bit more ginger extract or decreasing it.

Now even Dr Feelgood is feeling very good about the product.

They need to sell five hundred to cut even on the first run. Theyre confident of doing that at the Rotorua Home Show. After that theyll re-invest in the next run and build distribution.

We are negotiating with a couple of stockists in Rotorua. Then we will go to stockists right around the Bay of Plenty to sell on our behalf. Bold ideas but long term prospects are unclear.

Team Crunch is focussed on the Young Enterprise nationals in December. But hopefully we will keep it going. Rush Munro, Kapiti, Tip Top, Deep South, Dr Feelgood and now Crunch.

The young talent is muscling in on the market.
Its been a tough, mind grinding and mentally challenging day one of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year with the seven contestants taking part in a number of technical challenges.

Waikato-Bay of Plenty finalist Calvin Ball and six others called on all of their knowledge to complete a complex series of challenges reflecting the wide range of skills young farmers need during the opening day of the contest at Raincliff Station in South Canterbury.
Due to the bleak weather forecasted Tauranga City Council has changed the location for the Civic Heart community event taking place today.

Originally scheduled to be held in Taurangas Red Square, the event will now be taking in the Tauranga Central Library on Willow Street, from 10.30am to 1pm.
Principals say its an issue demanding urgent clarity. What rights do principals have when international students breach school rules and the laws of the land?

Tauranga Boys College unwittingly became the catalyst for debate.

Principal Robert Mangan has the best possible interests of his international students, and their parents, at heart. As do most other college principals who host international students.

That was certainly the message that Robert was getting back from agents for parents overseas.

They need to know we are responsible for their pastoral care, their health and safety and management of their behaviour. And Robert, like other host principals, assumed theirs was a 24/7 responsibility.

We have a duty of care to them. Not only while at Tauranga Boys College but while they are in this country. Then the bombshell.

But last week the High Court ruled Tauranga Boys College acted unlawfully in expelling and excluding German international students caught smoking cannabis off school grounds and outside school hours back in 2014. The facts werent disputed by the students.

And again feedback from international students agents in Germany has been very supportive of the schools actions, says Robert.

But now the waters are muddied.

And schools need absolute clarity and best practice guidance to manage similar issues where international students break not only school and homestay rules but also the laws of the country, says the principal.

Thats a concern echoed across the Kaimai Range into Rotorua. And round the country perhaps. There the principal of John Paul College, and Secondary Principals Association NZ executive, Patrick Walsh says schools had taken the view they had responsibility for international students 24/7.

The High Court decision against Tauranga Boys College appeared to contradict that. Now principals are planning to meet with ministry officials to discuss the issue.

Now we are calling on the Schools International Education Business Association and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to provide that absolute clarity, says Robert.

Initially, on legal advice, the college applied a breach of contract to the German students. Then after further legal advice the students were either expelled, excluded or returned to school with conditions attached, this time under provisions of the Education Act.

A complaint was laid with the International Education Appeal Authority, which found against the college. And after seeking a judicial review the college was again found in breach.

The point of contention is the High Court ruling that the Education Act didnt apply to the Tauranga Boys College situation as schools do not have jurisdiction over students outside school hours.

So where does the colleges responsibility for pastoral care, health and safety and behaviours start and stop? And what rights do schools have to discipline international students?

If teachers, principals or schools are demanding clarity, so are parents. Agents [in Germany] want to be able to assure parents with total confidence that the college is responsible for their children. We pride ourselves on being able to provide that type of environment and care, says Robert.

And most importantly, he says he wont abdicate his responsibility to teach both domestic and international students that their actions have consequences. We will help guide them to make the right choices and take responsibility for their actions as we focus on growing boys into good men.

The principal also makes clear the colleges unshakeable stance on illegal drugs. We will maintain a firm line and a zero tolerance on the use of illegal drugs within the college environment. And we will continue to give a clear message to our boys and community of our view of their use in the wider community.

And he will continue to play hardball.

We will use all means legally available in managing this very significant societal issue. We will use the [High Court] decision to guide our future actions should a similar situation occur.

But they will need the support and guidance of the NZQA and SIEBA to do so.

In the meantime the countrys largest secondary school, Rangitoto on Aucklands Northshore, has introduced sniffer dogs to drive home its zero drug tolerance message to students.

The dogs will be used if and when needed to keep drugs out of the school.
Step forward Champagne De Watere, the premium French champagne brand, which has recently launched a new distribution service that, depending on availability and subject to a minimum order, can offer same-day delivery to anywhere on the Cote dAzur.

The service spans from St Tropez all the way along to the French-Italian border, and is the result of a partnership between Champagne De Watere and Monaco-based Britesyde Distribution.

According to Martin Konorza, owner and president of Champagne De Watere, the service offers the large numbers of affluent champagne lovers who live or spend time in the region the ultra-high level of efficiency and convenience that they demand. And for yachting visitors detached from the mainland and reliant upon provisions, it is the perfect solution.

Until now, yachting visitors had to order our product well in advance, he says. Now they just call our Monaco-based distributors and order their personal delivery, and it will be on its way to you as fast as traffic allows - sometimes even within a couple of hours!"

Britesyde delivers directly from their storage facility in the heart of Monaco to locations across the iconic Riviera. Customers can specify a delivery time and place of their choosing. Alternatively, they can call ahead and pick up their order in person.

As well as its new delivery service, Champagne De Watere has also created a number of lavish packaging options exclusively for the Cote dAzur. Instead of a traditional wooden case, customers can instead opt for their champagne bottles to arrive in a gold lacquered bag, protecting the champagne from the sun and the heat, and featuring a Monaco branded Champagne De Watere seal of authenticity.

Produced in the heartland of Champagne, France, Champagne De Watere has become a renowned champagne brand since it was founded five years ago. Its production techniques include as much hands-on labour as possible, and an aging process of at least three years, helping to create an unmistakable taste, strength and composition.

Champagne De Watere will be available to sample at the 2016 Monaco Yacht Show, which runs from 28 September  1st October.
The Highland Wind Farm, a $250 million project thats been in the works for five years in northwest Wisconsins St. Croix County, has won the final piece of regulatory approval Thursday  again.

The state Public Service Commission voted 2-0 to allow the project to be built without stricter noise limits near certain neighboring homes or additional public hearings. Commissioner Mike Huebsch abstained from voting.

Project manager Bill Rakocy called it a tremendous development for the advancement of renewable energy in Wisconsin.

The wind farm will consist of 44 turbines, each 500 feet tall and able to produce 2.3 megawatts of power. They will be built across 6,200 acres with a total maximum capacity of 102.5 megawatts of electricity when wind conditions are optimal, enough for more than 35,000 homes.

The project by independent energy developer Emerging Energies, of Hubertus, was first rejected, then later approved by the PSC in 2013.

Opponents in the town of Forest have fought for smaller turbines and noise protections for nearby residents, and a St. Croix County judge in 2015 sent the case back the PSC for further review. But regulators again gave the project a green light on Thursday.

Rakocy said smaller turbines have never been a viable option. He said he would still like to reach an agreement with the town of Forest, though.

Were hopeful the continued support that todays decision provided will help the town to come to the table for a discussion, he said.

Town of Forest officials could not immediately be reached Thursday.

Rakocy said he could not yet comment on a potential client for the renewable power. Options include contracting with a utility company or selling the power into the regional electric transmission grid.

WPPI Energy, Sun Prairie said in June it plans to add 100 megawatts of electricity from wind power or another renewable resource.

Meanwhile, Dairyland Power Cooperative, based in La Crosse, said it has contracted to buy electricity from the planned Quilt Block Wind Farm, a 98-megawatt wind farm with 49 turbines that will be installed in Lafayette County, 20 miles southeast of Platteville. EDP Renewables North America will develop that project.

Quilt Block and Highland will be the first large-scale wind energy projects built in Wisconsin since 2011.
China's armed police force is joining Russia's National Guard in a counter-terrorism drill in Russia.

The drill, coded Cooperation-2016, was launched on Sunday. It will last for two weeks and be held in the Russian Oblasts of Smolenskaya and Moscow.

Liu Zhijun, leader of the Chinese troops attending the drill, said it was the third cross-country cooperation between China and Russia since Cooperation-2007 and Cooperation-2013, and would focus on specific technical and tactical issues in counter-terrorism operations.

Liu told China Central Television that many of the Russians taking part in the drill had combat experience, and having members from both countries training together could quickly improve Chinese troops techniques and tactics.

China sent members of the commando units of Falcon and Snow Leopard to take part in the drill. Falcon and Snow Leopard are China's two leading counter-terrorism forces.

All the weapons used in the drill are provided by Russia, according to a report by China News Service.
A co-worker who got to Field Table during its opening weekend in late April said he had the best breakfast sandwich of his life. But he didnt care for how the place is part restaurant, part market, part bar, part bakery, part coffee shop.

That, however, is exactly what I appreciate about it.

My visit to Field Table came after a trip to New York, where I got to experience Eataly, the Italian food emporium with an original location in Turin, Italy, and U.S. outlets in Chicago and New York. The New York location has six restaurants, a coffee bar, and all manner of pasta and other specialty grocery items.

Field Table is also a hybrid, offering a primarily high-end dining experience. Its creator, Andre Darlington, who worked with principal owner Trish Davis to develop the business, said he didnt have Eataly in mind exactly, but definitely loves it. In terms of offering a variety of things and kind of having stations, they are similar in a way.

Like so many of Madisons newest restaurants and coffee shops, Field Table has full-length windows that completely fold open to the outside, letting in air and light. The first table we were shown was crammed into the corner by the restaurants open glass doors, and we instead chose a table in the middle of the room that was so dim at lunchtime we needed a flashlight to read the menu. The contrast seemed strange, particularly during the day.

But that is about the only complaint I had about an otherwise enjoyable lunch.

The big discovery here was what are easily the best roasted potatoes around. Thats because, as I later found out, these potatoes ($6) are not just roasted, but deep fried. They didnt taste deep fried, but it explains why they were so extraordinary. The squished red potatoes were subtly seasoned and didnt need the ancho pepper ketchup and garlic aioli served on the side.

Ask Darlington about those potatoes, and he goes into a long explanation, detailing the moisture content in local potatoes and temperature control. Squashing the potatoes releases more surface area and ensures that there wont be a cold part, he said. Eventually, they plan to smoke the potatoes first.

A watercress and leek soup ($5 or $8) with creme fraiche and toasted Marcona almonds served in a handsome mug, was a fine, comforting summer soup, but a bit on the weak side.

The lemony kale salad ($10), dressed in olive oil and Parmesan, was notable for its roasted pine nuts and the way the kale was shredded into ribbons.

The lunch menu is vegetable-friendly, with only two meat selections  a burger and a daily butchers sandwich. The Field Table burger ($12) has a dense, homemade sesame brioche going for it, grilled onion, and a surprise deep-fried, tempura-style Anaheim pepper on the plate. What it lacked was the the ketchup from the roasted potatoes.

There are two healthy bowl options on the menu, the forest bowl and the macrobiotic bowl (both $12). The former had pockets of wood-ear mushrooms; smooth, sweet potato whipped with olive oil; lentils cooked just right; neatly rolled-up collard greens; and toasted walnuts. If you want to feel good about yourself, this meals for you.

My friend and I blew that momentary self-righteousness by sharing a glazed raspberry cream cheese doughnut ($2), made in-house, for dessert. It could have been more firm, but my companion didnt mind. I can see these being a Saturday morning hit with kids, she said. The frosting is amazing.

Field Table has an interesting cocktail list, with its Wonderous ($9)  a vodka drink with raspberry syrup, lemon and Bittercube cherry bark bitters  served in a small glass with an equivalent amount in an adorable little carafe.

Darlington, a former food and drink critic for Isthmus, wrote the book on cocktails  for real (The New Cocktail Hour: The Essential Guide to Hand-Crafted Drinks, out earlier this year), so it was no surprise Wonderous lived up to its name, even if it tasted slightly medicinal.

The most remarkable thing about Field Table is the transformation of the space, although I tend to get on my high horse when new owners come in and gut a perfectly beautiful space, even if they replace it with another beautiful space, as was the case here.

The location near State Street was home to Sunprint Cafe for about two years after it moved from the glass U.S. Bank Plaza on the Square. The Sunprint owners did an incredible job remodeling it from its former use as a day spa.

Still, theres a lot to admire about Field Table and its chef Shannon Berry. And two months later, my colleague is still talking about how crazy good his breakfast sandwich was.

On his recommendation, I stopped by one recent morning and got the sandwich ($8) to go. The fried egg was nice and runny and the bacon was high-quality. Avocado sauce and a hint of lettuce added a lot. The brioche, the same one from the burger, just seemed to make it too bread-heavy.
A bomb threat made in Sun Prairie on Wednesday caused city hall and other government offices to be evacuated, but police found no bomb.

The threat was called in to the Sun Prairie Police Department at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, said police spokesman Officer Jon Lothe.

"Nothing was found and everything is back to normal on Thursday," Lothe said.

As a precautionary measure, city hall and the west side community service building were evacuated and people sent home for the day.

Police are continuing their investigation.
Here are this week's restaurant inspections:

Unsatisfactory inspections

Operating acceptably

Violations corrected

Unsatisfactory inspections

Big Bowl Chinese Restaurant

5194 West Taft Road, North Syracuse

Inspected on June 21

Potentially hazardous foods are not cooled by an approved method where the food temperature can be reduced from 120 degrees to 70 degrees or less within two hours and 70 degrees to 45 degrees within four hours. Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked). In use food dispensing utensils improperly stored. Single service items reused, improperly stored, dispensed, and not used when required. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean.

Inspector findings: Pan of cooked chicken noted in the walk in cooler at 98-103 degrees and covered while cooling (corrected-covering removed). Several bags of raw rice stored on storage area floor. Some non-food grade bags used for storing frozen food. Several utensils used for serving food are noted stored on shelf lined with cardboard and not stored clean and sanitized or at proper temperature. Several single service items used as scoops in bulk products lack handles. Bottom shelf of prep cooler, door gaskets of prep cooler, and interior of small broiler oven.

Domino's Pizza

215 N. Main St., North Syracuse

Inspected on June 23

Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean. Hot, cold running water not provided, pressure inadequate. Plumbing and sinks not properly sized, installed, maintained; equipment and floors not properly drained. Miscellaneous, economic violation, choking poster, training.

Inspector findings: Lid of bulk container holding corn meal not clean. No hot water provided to hand wash sink. Mop sink not operable-not connected to drain. Food service establishment permit for 2016 not posted.

Empire Pitas

107 Marshall St., Syracuse

Inspected on June 22

Food from unapproved source, spoiled, adulterated on premises. Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45 degrees during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38 degrees during cold holding. Potentially hazardous foods are not cooled by an approved method where the food temperature can be reduced from 120 degrees to 70 degrees or less within two hours and 70 degrees to 45 degrees within four hours. Enough refrigerated storage equipment is not present, properly designed, maintained or operated so that all potentially hazardous foods are cooled properly and stored below 45 degrees as required. Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate refrigerated or heated storage temperatures. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean. Improperly functioning on-site sewage disposal system, improper. Toilet facilities inadequate, inconvenient, dirty, in disrepair, toilet paper missing, not self-closing doors, missing hand wash signs. Hand washing facilities inaccessible, improperly located, dirty, in disrepair, improper fixtures, soap, and single service towels or hand drying devices missing. Hair is improperly restrained. Non-food contact surfaces and equipment are improperly designed, constructed, installed, maintained (equipment not readily accessible for cleaning, surface not smooth finish).

Inspector findings: Spoiled pineapple noted in reach in portion of prep top cooler at front counter. Entire container discarded, 4 cups. Various potentially hazardous food items found out of temperature in top and bottom portions of prep top cooler at front counter: sour cream, 55 degrees, diced tomato, 50 degrees, hummus, 53 degrees, feta cheese, 53 to 54 degrees, and ranch dressing, 56 degrees (corrected, all moved to walk in cooler). Portion of cooked turkey, covered while cooling in the walk in cooler, temp noted at 55 to 60 degrees. In cooler less than 2 hours, corrected by removing cover to allow to cool to 45 degrees. Prep top cooler at front counter not operating properly to keep all potentially hazardous food items at 45 degrees or less. Prep top cooler at front counter lacks a thermometer. Wire shelving in the walk in cooler not clean. Odor of sewage noted coming from a sealed off cabinet at front counter. Doors duct taped shut to keep odor in. Upon opening cabinet, there appears to be an open gas vent inside the cabinet, from which the odor is coming. Even with doors closed, odor is noticeable. Bottom portion of toilet in restroom not clean. Hand wash sink is blocked by a fan in front of it. Hand wash sink lacks single service paper towels. Several employees noted preparing food without hair properly restrained. Gasket on prep top cooler at front counter in poor repair.

Aster Pantry & Parlor

116 Walton St., Syracuse

Inspected on June 20

Note: In its inspection report, the health department referred to the business as Small Plates, the name of a now-closed restaurant that was located at the same address and owned by the same people.

Lighting and ventilation inadequate, fixtures not shielded, dirty ventilation hoods, ductwork, filters, exhaust fans. Premises littered, unnecessary equipment and article present, living quarters no completely separated for food service operations, live animals, birds and pets not excluded. Food from unapproved source, spoiled, adulterated on premises. Cooked or prepared foods are subject to cross-contamination from raw foods. Food workers do not use proper utensils to eliminate bare hand contact with cooked or prepared foods. Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45 degrees during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38 degrees during cold holding. Potentially hazardous foods are not cooled by an approved method where the food temperature can be reduced from 120 degrees to 70 degrees or less within two

hours and 70 degrees to 45 degrees within four hours. Enough refrigerated storage equipment is not present, properly designed, maintained or operated so that all potentially hazardous foods are cooled properly and stored below 45 degrees as required. Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked). In use food dispensing utensils improperly stored. Single service items reused, improperly stored, dispensed, and not used when required. Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate refrigerated or heated storage temperatures. Manual facilities inadequate, technique incorrect; mechanical facilities not operated in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any time of operations when contamination may have occurred. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean. Floors, walls, ceilings, not smooth, properly constructed, in disrepair, dirty surfaces.

Inspector findings: Lights in kitchen near pizza oven not shielded. Floor behind ice machine cluttered with long electrical cord. Bag of potatoes stored in storage area in basement noted rotten, corrected discarded bag of potatoes. Chicken stock stored in walk in cooler in basement noted with mold, corrected discarded chicken stock. Raw oysters stored next to ready to eat foods in reach in cooler at cook line, corrected moved oysters, raw sausage stored next to cooked duck legs in reach in cooler at end of cook line, corrected moved raw sausage over to other part of cooler. Bartender noted cutting fruit for bar drinks lack gloves, bare hand contact noted. Sliced tomatoes, 2 containers of yogurt, 2 containers of homemade caesar salad dressing, 1 container of blue cheese, 3 containers of creme anglaise, 2 containers of goat cheese, 1 container of cooked sausage all noted between 53 degrees and 60 degrees in reach in salad cooler for more than 2 hours discarded all products. Container of boiled potatoes stored in walk in cooler in basement more than 4 inches deep covered, noted between 49 - 51 degrees more than 2 hours discarded approximately 20 pounds of potatoes. Reach in salad cooler not operating to maintain potentially hazardous foods at 45 degrees and below. Large container of french fries stored on floor in walk in cooler in basement, water bottle stored at grill not properly labeled. Bins of corn meal and flour noted in rear hallway not covered. Open bag of semolina and panko bread crumbs in basement dry storage, and ice cream cartons in freezer all stored not protected. Ice scoop stored in pan containing standing water at room temperature on top of ice machine. Cases of single service items stored on floor in basement, and scoop used in bread crumbs in basement dry storage lack handle. Some coolers at cook line lack thermometers. Some clean sanitized pans not air dried before stacking in kitchen hallway. Bulk food can opener in basement not clean, Shelving at bar storing clean sanitized glasses lined with linen, not smooth and easily cleanable. Wall mounted knife holder by hand wash sink not clean, interior of ice machine not clean. Tray cart in walk in cooler in basement not clean, lower shelf of 2 door reach in cooler noted with standing water, basement dry storage shelving not clean. Floor areas in basement, floor under cooking equipment in kitchen, floor under shelving at service counter off kitchen, all not clean. Ceiling at end of stairs in basement leaking from ice machine at bar, floor noted wet, not clean.

Subway

5500 Bartell Road, Brewerton

Inspected on June 24

Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or above 140 degrees during hot holding. Food not protected during storage, preparation, display, transportation and service, from potential sources of contamination (e.g., food uncovered, mislabeled, stored on floor, missing or inadequate sneeze guards, food containers double stacked). In use food dispensing utensils improperly stored. Improper thawing procedures used. Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any time of operations when contamination may have occurred. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean. Floors, walls, ceilings, not smooth, properly constructed, in disrepair, dirty surfaces. Non-food contact surfaces and equipment are improperly designed, constructed, installed, maintained (equipment not readily accessible for cleaning, surface not smooth finish).

Inspector findings: Meatballs noted in hot holding unit at 108-113 degrees for greater than two hours (corrected-voluntarily discarded). Beverage lines noted draped on the floor in rear kitchen-food not protected. Ice bucket stored in mop sink and ice scoop stored on top of ice machine-not sanitary surfaces. Frozen meatballs thawing in rear prep area on rack-not under cold running water or under refrigeration as required. Interior of ice machine noted not clean with dirty ice slide and evidence of rust. Exterior of food scale and dispensing area of self-serve beverage unit (adjacent to nozzles) noted not clean. Beverage lines, large reach in cooler door gaskets, rear prep cooler door gaskets, grey plastic shelving unit, front cooler door gaskets, and interior of cabinet under self-serve beverage unit-all not clean. Floor edges in rear kitchen noted not clean-primarily under racks and equipment. Wall area behind three bay sink and adjacent prep table are not clean. Several wire racks in rear storage area noted rusty and interior of large reach in cooler noted with deteriorated bottom shelf.

Subway Restaurant

357 S. Warren St., Syracuse

Inspected on June 22

Potentially hazardous foods are not kept at or below 45 degrees during cold holding, except smoked fish not kept at or below 38 degrees during cold holding. Enough refrigerated storage equipment is not present, properly designed, maintained or operated so that all potentially hazardous foods are cooled properly and stored below 45 degrees as required. Accurate thermometers not available or used to evaluate refrigerated or heated storage temperatures. Manual facilities inadequate, technique incorrect; mechanical facilities not operated in accordance with manufacturer's instructions. Insects, rodents present.

Inspector findings: Ten milks noted between 56 - 60 degrees in reach in self-service cooler for more than two hours - corrected, voluntarily discarded. Self-service reach in cooler noted operating at 57 degrees, not maintaining potentially hazardous foods at 45 degrees or below - removed all potentially hazardous foods. Some reach in coolers lack accessible thermometers. Clean, sanitized dishes not properly air dried before stacking. A few fruit and house flies noted by mop sink.

Unique Tea House

171 Marshall St., Syracuse

Inspected on June 22

In use food dispensing utensils improperly stored. Wiping cloths dirty, not stored properly in sanitizing solutions. Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any time of operations when contamination may have occurred. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment not clean. Floors, walls, ceilings, not smooth, properly constructed, in disrepair, dirty surfaces. Toilet facilities inadequate, inconvenient, dirty, in disrepair, toilet paper missing, not self-closing doors, missing hand wash signs.

Inspector findings: Ice scoop noted stored in standing water in storage holder. Wet wiping cloths not stored in sanitizing solution between uses. Interior of microwave, interior of tray holding ice scoops, shelving at front prep area, top of reach in prep cooler, and interior, bottom of reach in prep cooler all noted not clean. Drying rack above three bay sink, exterior of equipment in prep area, and all shelving in dry storage noted not clean. Floors throughout prep area, some wall areas in prep area, and floors throughout dry storage noted not clean. Bathroom - floors, toilet, sink - noted not clean.

Operating acceptably

Burger King Restaurant

4734 Onondaga Blvd, Geddes

Byblos Cafe

223 N. Clinton St., Syracuse

CNS Softball Concession Stand

6150 South Bay Road, Cicero

Crowne Plaza

701 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

DJ's on the Blvd.

3010 Erie Blvd E, Syracuse

Dunkin Donuts

5194 W. Taft Road, Clay

Firudo Asian Food & Bar

3237 Erie Blvd E, DeWitt

Kim's Fried Dough

2100 Park St., Syracuse

Lao Village Stand at Regional Market & Downtown

2100 Park St., Syracuse

Liverpool Golf & Country Club

7209 Morgan Road, Clay

Lyndon Golf Course

7054 E. Genesee St., DeWitt

Ma & Pa's Kettle Corn Company (A-Mex)

2100 Park St., Syracuse

Ma & Pa's Kettle Corn Company @ Regional Market

2100 Park St., Syracuse

Mark's Pizzeria

119 W. Seneca St., Manlius

Pastabilities

311 S. Franklin St., Syracuse

Playland Amusements Mobile Unit #1-5

138 Garrow Street Extension, Onondaga County

Provisions

216 Walton St., Syracuse

St. Daniel Church

3004 Court St., Salina

University United Methodist Church

1085 E. Genesee St., Syracuse

V.F.W. Salt City Post #348

631 W. Belden Ave., Syracuse

Vali's Golden Apple Restaurant

4693 US Route 20, Onondaga

Villa Pizza Fritte Mobile Unit #1-7

3179 Erie Blvd E, DeWitt

Violations corrected

Dunkin Donuts

818 N. Main St., Cicero

Paula's at Wa-Noa

6920 Minoa Bridgeport Road, DeWitt
Graham Nash and David Crosby Perform at the State Theater in It

Graham Nash and David Crosby performed to a sold-out audience at the State Theater in Ithaca in 2008.

(Warren Linhart)

Graham Nash still hitting those high notes. In 2008, he performed at the State Theater in Ithaca with David Crosby.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- English rock and roll legend Graham Nash will return to Central New York this fall.

Dan Smalls Presents will bring Nash to Ithaca's State Theatre (107 W State St.) on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016 at 8 p.m. Tickets range in price from $36 to $56 and go on sale Friday, July 8 online. The concert is open to all ages.

Nash, an accomplished guitarist, songwriter and harmony vocalist, was a key member of Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Hollies. He's known as one of the most cheerful, consistent performers from the British Invasion era who is still performing today.

A politically-minded musician, Nash also became a U.S. citizen in the late 1970s. He endorsed Bernie Sanders for president and performed at a Sanders rally in Manhattan this year. In an interview with Billboard, Nash said he's watched every presidential campaign since 1968 and called 2016 "by far the strangest."

"I have never seen a party in such disarray as the Republicans and such extreme levels of hatred and animosity towards other people," he told Billboard.

Nash last played the State Theatre in 2008, along with David Crosby, his musical comrade of over 40 years. However, after a feud with Crosby this year, Nash told Rolling Stone, "Right now, I don't want anything to do with Crosby at all."

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook
IMG_7807.JPG

Michela Hugo and her daughter, Genevieve, with diapers that have been collected for the CNY Diaper Bank.

(provided photo)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The CNY Diaper Bank collected more than double its goal during its first diaper drive. The new group, which set out to collect 10,000 diapers, was given nearly 23,000 diapers.

"We are overjoyed by the success of our first diaper drive," said Michela Hugo, one of the four women who started the diaper bank in May. But she said the real work of creating a dependable source of diapers for nonprofit agencies that help struggling families has just begun.

Hugo said the diaper bank plans to shift away from running diaper drives, itself, focusing on fundraising and helping other organizations start diaper collection drives to fill the need.

Diapers can cost a family about $100 a month for one child. The cost is not covered by WIC or food stamps. Struggling families often turn to nonprofit agencies and churches for help, but the organizations cannot keep up with the need.

The new diaper bank will be supplying diapers to the Rescue Mission Outreach Store, University United Methodist Outreach, ACR Health, Chadwick Residence, Salvation Army's Teen Apartments and Parenting Center, and Vera House.

The CNY Diaper Bank is still collecting diapers in the children's rooms of the Fayetteville and Manlius libraries and Chicks and Hens Baby Boutique in DeWitt. For more information about helping out the CNY Diaper Bank, visit their website.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Contact her anytime: email | twitter | 315-470-2246.


West Africa Ebola

Women gathered as food is offloaded from a truck at a market in Monrovia, Liberia, in October 2014. The U.N.'s World Food Program delivered emergency food rations to 265,000 people in Sierra Leone's capital to help fight the spread of Ebola. There are many happy and sad stories to tell about the different lives and cultures of the continent's 54 countries.

(The Associated Press)

Karen Attiah is The Washington Post's Opinions deputy digital editor.

By Karen Attiah | The Washington Post

If there is one media narrative about Africa that refuses to be quashed, it's the White-Savior-in-Africa bug. Even though some of the world's fastest-growing economies are in Africa, and Africans on the continent and in the diaspora are perfectly capable of telling their own stories and transforming their own societies, the white savior framework lives, like some prehistoric literary insect that has managed to survive the ages without having to evolve. And just when you think the world has made at least some progress in beginning to exterminate this trend, a big, fat, multi-legged WhiteSaviorInAfricaStory crawls into the mediasphere.

Louise Linton, an actor and producer, just may have written the defining work of the White-Savior-in-Africa genre for the digital age. Linton's piece, "How My Dream Gap Year in Africa Turned Into a Nightmare," published in Britain's Telegraph newspaper, follows the venerable tradition of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" -- Africa seen through the lens of white or foreign central characters. This tradition includes recent films such as "Machine Gun Preacher," ill-advised public relations campaigns such as Kony2012, which position Western "awareness" as the solution to African warlords, and basically everything New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof writes about war-torn countries.

Linton describes experiences as an 18-year-old student traveling to Zambia in 1999 and claims she didn't know that war was raging in Congo. If "How Not to Write About Africa" were an Olympic floor gymnastics event, Linton's piece would be a strong contender for a gold medal because she deploys, with maximum flourish, just about every lazy trope there is when it comes to writing about Africa.

-- Make up for being light on research or knowledge about Africa by being heavy with good intentions.

"With a cheery smile, I'd waved goodbye to Dad and jumped on a plane to Africa without researching anything about its tumultuous political history or realising that my destination -- Lake Tanganyika -- was just miles from war-torn Congo."

Good intentions allows for one to view Africa as one dark blob of violence, poverty, jungle bush and disease instead of a continent of 54 countries, each with a unique history and cultures.

-- Include references to war, poverty, animals or disease (bonus points for all four in one story).

"But I soon learned that Africa is rife with hidden danger. I witnessed random acts of violence, contracted malaria and had close encounters with lions, elephants, crocodiles and snakes. As monsoon season came and went, the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in neighbouring Congo began to escalate and then spill over into Zambia with repercussions all along the lake. Thousands of people were displaced and we heard brutal tales of rape and murder."

Remind people that everything in Africa can and will, if given the chance, kill you.

-- Whiteness must be centered in stories about Africa. At all times.

"As the night ticked interminably by, I tried not to think what the rebels would do to the 'skinny white muzungu with long angel hair' if they found me. Clenching my jaw to stop my teeth chattering, I squeezed my eyes shut and reminded myself how I'd come to be a central character in this horror story."

Linton manages to imply that she was somehow more at risk for African violence because of her whiteness while reminding the audience that with her blond "angel hair," she is literally heaven-sent to Africa and the central character in the story, not the Zambians.

-- Include references to African orphans (bonus points for photos with said orphans).

"I was still struggling with the loss of my mother and found special comfort in my bond with Zimba, a 6-year-old orphan girl with HIV who called me "Ru-eese."

-- In the end, Africa must serve to remind Westerners to be happy about their own lives even when they feel down.

"I know that the skinny white girl once so incongruous in Africa still lives on inside me. Even in this world where I'm supposed to belong, I still sometimes feel out of place.

Whenever that happens, though, I try to remember a smiling gap-toothed child with HIV whose greatest joy was to sit on my lap and drink from a bottle of Coca-Cola."

Linton really stuck the landing in her last paragraph. She also gets bonus points for narcissistically assuming that Zimba's mere contact with her was the greatest joy the child had ever known.

Linton's story is so riddled with Africa cliches, many wondered whether it was a parody. The popular Instagram account BarbieSavior even took inspiration from Linton. Many Africans as well as writers and journalists took to the Internet to swiftly condemn the piece and the Telegraph's editorial decision-making process using LintonLies. (Linton has since sent a series of tweets apologizing for the offense her article caused and deleted her account.)

Africans all over the continent and in the diaspora are helping their own communities and telling their own stories. It was local groups in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, not Western savior intervention, that were instrumental in combating Ebola during the 2014 scourge. Skip the gap-year accounts from wealthy foreigners in favor of Nicole

Amarteifio's hit Web series "An African City," which documents stories of love, fashion and friendship in Accra, Ghana. Read Nigerian authors such as Okey Ndibe, Teju Cole and Chimamanda Adichie, who offer fascinating perspectives set in their home country.

The erasure of the voices and experiences of Africans in stories about Africa, and the constant positioning in media narratives of Africans as background props for do-gooder Westerners, creates fertile ground for lazy thinking, writing and policymaking about Africa. It is dehumanizing, racist -- and plain boring.
A dog that bit a rabid bat is being sought in Baraboo, so the dog can be treated if necessary.

The Sauk County Health Department sent out a notice on Wednesday looking for the owner of the dog, so the dog and anyone involved with the dog can be assessed for potential exposure to the deadly rabies virus.

The bat was found on the Baraboo River Walk on Sunday. Police were notified by an individual after their dog bit the bat, with police calling the Health Department on Tuesday.

"The Health Department is requesting that the owner of the dog involved contact the Health Department immediately," said Health Director Cynthia Bodendein.

"The dog won't have to be euthanized, but will need to be examined by a veterinarian," Bodendein said. "Treatment is available and must be administered as soon as possible after exposure."

The Health Department phone number is 608-355-3290.
FITCHBURG  A grieving Dane County sheriffs deputy injured himself Wednesday after he went home to check on his terminally ill wife and found her dead in their apartment, Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney said Thursday during an emotional press conference at the Fitchburg City Hall.

As a result of facing the loss of the love of his life, (the deputy) attempted to harm himself, said Mahoney, who paused a few times during the short press conference to gather his emotions.

The deceased woman was identified by Fitchburg Police Lt. Todd Stetzer as Kimberly M. Baker, 60. Stetzer said that the Dane County Medical Examiners Office said she died of natural causes.

Mahoney did not name the deputy, saying he wanted to give him some privacy. He also did not say how he injured himself or what injuries he sustained that led emergency responders to take him to a hospital, where he was stable.

He said the deputy, who has been with his office for a number of years, did not use his service revolver to injure himself.

Mahoney said the deputy and his wife had a loving relationship and that her death has also had an emotional effect on many the deputys coworkers. He said that many members of the department knew both of them.

Its a real tragedy, Mahoney said.

She was suffering from a terminal disease and, undoubtedly, he came home to comfort her and found her deceased. I can only imagine ... said Mahoney as his voice trailed off.

When the love of your life is suffering from a terminal illness and you are suffering from losing the person you dedicated your love and your life to, it was probably bothering him for awhile.

He said the deputy had been working earlier in the day, and his co-workers, who were aware of his wifes illness, grew concerned when they could not locate him after his shift was over, Mahoney said. After several hours, sheriffs deputies went to his home after a caller to 911 said an unoccupied squad car had been running there for a long time.

Mahoney said the sheriffs department will make resources available for the deputy, as well as other employees who have been affected by Kimberly Bakers death.
Readers have been asking me about local Chinese restaurants. I found Canton House, which features Szechuan, Hunan and Cantonese styles of Chinese cuisine.

Canton House is tucked away in a strip center on U.S. 1 between Southeast Emerald Lakes Way and Southeast Summerfield Way. I was surprised by the quiet ambience inside. The decor is simple and there are several tables if you want to sit down instead of ordering takeout.

My friend, who was recovering from a recent surgery, told me she was up for an outing so I invited her to accompany me. This place was new to her, as well.

The lunch menu is a great value for the price. It features several traditional favorites, such as Szechuan shrimp or beef ($6.50), cashew chicken ($6.50), and sweet and sour chicken or pork ($6.50). All lunch specials come with an egg roll, pork fried rice and a choice of soup. They also have an appetizer special for $7.95.

The appetizer sampler comes with a chicken wing, fantail shrimp, spare rib and teriyaki steak. This was the perfect choice because it allowed us to sample several items. The fantail shrimp had a thick tempura-style breading, allowing us to soak up the sweet and sour sauce served on the side. However, the chicken wing was our favorite. There was no breading and the outside skin was extra crispy, which sealed in all of juices, keeping the chicken very moist.

Each lunch special is served with a choice of soup: wonton, egg drop or hot and spicy. The wonton soup had some tasty shredded pieces of pork floating in the delicate broth. My egg drop soup was the perfect blend of egg in a light, thin broth, which I prefer, rather than the thicker, more gel-like style.

One of the specials of the day was the dragon and Phoenix, a combination of chicken and shrimp with broccoli, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and snow peas in a brown sauce. There were large chunks of chicken and at least a half dozen shrimp. The sauce was not overly salty and carried the flavor of the chicken. The broccoli was still firm and the mix of vegetables gave the right crunchy texture to this flavorful dish.

The house lo mein had huge pieces of pork and shrimp nestled in the noodles. It also came in a mild sauce with no heat.

If you are in the mood for some traditional Chinese food, Canton House provides an alternative choice for you to sit down and enjoy your favorite Chinese dishes in a casual setting.

Karen Lennon dines anonymously at the expense of Treasure Coast Newspapers for #TCPalmSocial. Contact her at yourmobilechef@gmail.com or follow @urmobilechef on Twitter.

Canton House
SHARE Frederick Petrone

By Nicole Wiesenthal of TCPalm

MARTIN COUNTY  A 48-year-old Deerfield Beach man who was driving without his pants on was arrested Sunday after he rammed a deputy's car with his truck, according to a Sheriff's Office arrest report.

Frederick Petrone was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude at a high speed, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon and possession of drug equipment.

About 3:45 a.m. Sunday, Petrone, driving a silver F-150 pickup, fled from a traffic stop initiated by the U.S. Border Patrol on northbound Interstate 95 near Palm City, according to the report.

Deputies joined the pursuit and Petrone rammed a deputy's patrol car before he was stopped. When deputies approached Petrone, they discovered he was naked from the waist down, according to the report. Petrone admitted he had been smoking crack cocaine for more than a month and had been drinking all day. Deputies found a glass crack pipe in the center console in his truck.

Petrone was treated at Martin Hospital South, then taken to the Martin County jail, where he is being held without bond.
SHARE

Isaac Schwartz, 31, 2000 block of Southeast Harding Street, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of community control, grand theft.

Jarrod Christie, 33, 4900 block of Southeast Salvatori Street, Stuart; warrant for violation of probation, driving while license revoked.

Lisa Ayala, 52, 1000 block of Southwest Janette Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for grand theft.

Kelley Baker, 49, Melbourne; fleeing to elude.

Matt Dandrea, 41, 1500 block of Southwest Pineland Way, Palm City; driving while license suspended. Arrested in St. Lucie County.

Kenneth Pyle, 22, 2200 block of Southwest Culpepper Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for failure to appear, possession of oxycodone, possession of clonazepam, possession of alprazolam, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana of less than 20 grams.

Justin Lansdell, 36, 900 block of Northwest Fresco Way, Jensen Beach; out-of-county warrants, possession of heroin, possession of paraphernalia.

Charles Cravish, 33, 3600 block of Cobia Terrace, Stuart; warrant for failure to appear, mental health court.

Joseph Stokes, 47, 300 block of Southwest Kentwood Road, Port St. Lucie; warrants for dealing in stolen property, giving false information to a pawnbroker.

Sheila Hedges, 48, 1900 block of South Kanner Highway, Stuart; giving false information to a pawnbroker; dealing in stolen property.

Anna Gilmartin, 50, 3600 block of Southeast Cobia Way, Stuart; warrant for misrepresent/failure to disclose public aid.

Michael Cote, 35, 100 block of Northwest Magnolia Lakes Boulevard, Port St. Lucie; possession of a controlled substance (THC).

William Sills, 44, Pompano Beach; possession of a controlled substance (cocaine).

Bryce Nance, 23, 1700 block of Southeast Elrose Street, Port St. Lucie; possession of marijuana of more than 20 grams.

Zachary Stone, 23, St. Cloud; possession of a controlled substance (MDMA).

Taylor Hindle, 22, Boynton Beach; possession of marijuana of more than 20 grams; warrant for violation of probation, possession of marijuana.

Pedro Gonzalez, 48, 2600 block of Southeast Lake Street, Stuart; grand theft.

Robert San Souci, 66, Okeechobee; DUI, three or more prior convictions.

DeForrest Swoope, 32, 2400 block of Valencia Avenue, Fort Pierce; possession of marijuana with intent to sell; possession of marijuana of more than 20 grams.

Michael Pendleton, 36, Pompano Beach; unauthorized possession of fictitious driver's license.

Eugene Knight, 30, 4000 block of Avenue N, Fort Pierce; possession of a controlled substance (MDMA).

Charvis Jones, 33, Boynton Beach; trafficking in cocaine; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Destiny Acosta, 18, Hialeah; possession of cocaine.

Valentina Riccio, 19, Miami; possession of cocaine.

Krystal O'Connor, 22, 1300 block of Southwest Hutchins Street, Port St. Lucie; possession of a controlled substance (hydromorphone); possession of a controlled substance (clonazepam) warrant for violation of supervised release status.

Melissa Rothman, 24, 500 block of Southeast Parkway Drive, Stuart; possession of a controlled substance.

Anthony Brumbelow, 51, 300 block of Southeast Film Avenue, Port St. Lucie; aggravated assault with a firearm; display or use while committing an offense.

Frederick Petrone, 48, Deerfield Beach; aggravated battery on an officer with a deadly weapon (motor vehicle).

Daniel Akes, 41, no street address, Stuart; aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

Christian Spinner, 21, Centertown, Mo.; fleeing/attempting to elude with disregard of safety to others.

Mark Wible, 44, 7300 block of Independence Avenue, Hobe Sound; warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon. Arrested in St. Lucie County.

Kenneth Snider, 31, first block of Southwest Hideaway Place, Stuart; battery  cause bodily harm; corrupt by threat of a public servant or family member; escape. Arrested in St. Lucie County.

Ryan Keane, 19, 900 block of Northeast Sandalwood Place, Jensen Beach; possession of a controlled substance (amphetamine) without a prescription. Arrested in St. Lucie County.

Frederick Galas, 58, 5100 block of Southeast Flounder Avenue, Stuart; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. Arrested in St. Lucie County.
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Noli Matzulis, 48, 800 block of Orange Avenue, Fort Pierce; out-of-county warrant, Miami-Dade County, violation of probation, kidnapping, domestic battery.

Rodniqua Lampkin, 22, 100 block of South 13th Street, Fort Pierce; out-of-county warrant, Indian River County, failure to appear, possession of marijuana, driving without a valid license, court order to revoke bond, possession of marijuana under 20 grams, driving with license suspended.

Anthoney Bruey, 30, 7000 block of North Road, Fort Pierce; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, commit domestic battery by strangulation.

Lenetta Demps, 42, 600 block of West Weatherbee Road, Fort Pierce; warrant for failure to re-deliver leased property.

Matt Dandrea, 41, 1500 block of Southwest Pineland Way, Palm City; driving while license suspended.

Debra Thomes, 48, no street address, Fort Pierce; prostitution  aid/abet/commit third subsequent offense.

Raquel Mattis, 30, Fort Lauderdale; warrant for violation of probation, burglary of an occupied dwelling.

Mark Wible, 44, 7300 block of Independence Avenue, Hobe Sound; warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

Ashli Whitman, 20, 1100 block of Southwest Broadview Street, Port St. Lucie; warrant for court order for revocation of release on own recognizance, possession of cocaine.

Ronny Mata, 31, Hollywood; warrant for violation of probation, carrying a concealed weapon.

Wyatt Johnson, 38, 4900 block of Myrtle Drive, Fort Pierce; out-of-county warrant, Citrus County, criminal mischief.

John Mitchell, 29, 1200 block of Bell Avenue, Fort Pierce; robbery by suddent snatching without a firearm or weapon; larceny/grand theft; battery; warrants for battery, criminal mischief, tampering with a witness, victim or informant.

Brian Pippin, 31, 1900 block of Southwest Susset Lane, Port St. Lucie; aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; burglary with assault or battery.

Michael Delprete, 47, 2100 block of Southwest Marblehead Way, Port St. Lucie; burglary of an unoccupied dwelling while unarmed.

Peter Leslie, 26, 500 block of Northwest Biscayne Drive, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of probation, battery.

Tremaine Mcgriff, 31, 4200 block of 26th Avenue, Vero Beach; possession of a controlled substance (amphetamines) without a prescription.

Bradley Trout, 21, 2200 block of Southeast Adobe Street, Port St. Lucie; commit domestic battery by strangulation.

Kenneth Snider, 31, first block of Southwest Hideaway Place, Stuart; battery  cause bodily harm; corrupt by threat of a public servant or family member; escape.

Adrian Shaw, 21, Lake Park; aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; resisting an officer with violence; kidnapping/false imprisonment.

Aaron Wallace, 18, 3100 block of Jersey Court, Fort Pierce; possession of marijuana with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver.

Jose Soto Palominos, 31, 300 block of Pecan Place, Fort Pierce; court order, possession of cocaine, DUI, introduction of contraband into a detention facility.

Paul Mcculley, 54, 5100 block of Seagrape Drive, Fort Pierce; re-admit, driving with license suspended.

Anthony Brumbelow, 51, 300 block of Southeast Film Avenue, Port St. Lucie; aggravated assault with a firearm; display or use while committing an offense. Arrested in Martin County.

Krystal O'Connor, 22, 1300 block of Southwest Hutchins Street, Port St. Lucie; possession of a controlled substance (hydromorphone); possession of a controlled substance (clonazepam); warrant for violation of supervised release status. Arrested in Martin County.

Eugene Knight, 30, 4000 block of Avenue N, Fort Pierce; possession of a controlled substance (MDMA). Arrested in Martin County.

DeForrest Swoope, 32, 2400 block of Valencia Avenue, Fort Pierce; possession of marijuana with intent to sell; possession of marijuana of more than 20 grams. Arrested in Martin County.

Bryce Nance, 23, 1700 block of Southeast Elrose Street, Port St. Lucie; possession of marijuana of more than 20 grams. Arrested in Martin County.

Michael Cote, 35, 100 block of Northwest Magnolia Lakes Boulevard, Port St. Lucie; possession of a controlled substance (THC). Arrested in Martin County.

Joseph Stokes, 47, 300 block of Southwest Kentwood Road, Port St. Lucie; warrants for dealing in stolen property, giving false information to a pawnbroker. Arrested in Martin County.

Isaac Schwartz, 31, 2000 block of Southeast Harding Street, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of community control, grand theft. Arrested in Martin County.

Kenneth Pyle, 22, 2200 block of Southwest Culpepper Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for failure to appear, possession of oxycodone, possession of clonazepam, possession of alprazolam, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana of less than 20 grams. Arrested in Martin County.

Lisa Ayala, 52, 1000 block of Southwest Janette Avenue, Port St. Lucie; warrant for grand theft. Arrested in Martin County.
SHARE

Brian Lawson, 32, 200 block of East Weatherbee Road, Fort Pierce; warrant for driving while license suspended.

Kwuan Baker, 26, 4600 block of 32nd Avenue, Vero Beach; warrant for violation of probation, fleeing and eluding.

Josue Pedroza, 25, 2600 block of South 26th Street, Fort Pierce; warrant for driving while license suspended.

Blair Fredrickson, 35, 400 block of Southeast Sunnydale Lane, Port St. Lucie; possession of cocaine. Arrested in Indian River County.

Josue Pedroza, 25, 2600 block of South 26th Street, Fort Pierce; warrant for driving while license suspended.

Angela Ward, 34, 1600 block of Southeast Mariner Lane, Port St. Lucie; warrants for grand theft, giving false information to a pawnbroker, dealing in stolen property.

Justin Rivera, 19, 900 block of North 17th Street, Fort Pierce; possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon.

Sarah Henderson, 29, 1200 block of North 17th Street, Fort Pierce; driving while license suspended, habitual offender.

Harrison Pomerantz, 31, 900 block of Southwest General Patton Terrace, Port St. Lucie; warrant for court order for pretrial detention and termination of pretrial supervision, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief.

Omar Gamez, 19, 1000 block of Bermuda Avenue, Fort Pierce; possession of marijuana over 20 grams.

Richard Sacco, 55, 3700 block of Whiteway Dairy Road, Fort Pierce; grand theft.

Natalie Fazio, 55, 200 block of Northeast Greenbrier Avenue, Port St. Lucie; larceny/grand theft.

Miranda Rivera, 21, 300 block of Southwest Lacroix Avenue, Port St. Lucie; larceny/grand theft.

Wyatt Blankenbaker, 53, 1300 block of Pepper Tree Trail, Fort Pierce; battery on an officer.

Michael Paquette, 36, 2500 block of Southwest Abate Street, Port St. Lucie; warrants for larceny/grand theft, giving false ownership information to a pawnbroker, dealing in stolen property.

Millie Santiago, 23, 500 block of South 32nd Street, Fort Pierce; warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Michelle Thompson, 43, first block of South Oleander Street, Fellsmere; warrant for failure to appear, grand theft.

George Thomas, 56, 600 block of Avenue B, Fort Pierce; larceny/grand theft.

Ericst Ricks, 27, 1200 block of Nobles Terrace, Fort Pierce; warrant for court order to revoke bond, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana under 20 grams, driving while license suspended or revoked.

Manuel Bernard, 27, 1000 block of South 15th Street, Fort Pierce; driving while license suspended, third or subsequent offense.

Erasmo Pabon, 39, 900 block of Southeast Dixie Highway, Stuart; warrants for purchase of heroin, possession of heroin, unlawful use of a two-way communications device.

Zynia Swoope, 36, 2800 block of Avenue L, Fort Pierce; warrant for violation of probation, petty theft.

Menuel Bernard, 27, 1000 block of South 15th Street, Fort Pierce; driving while license suspended, third or subsequent offense.

Millie Santiago, 23, 500 block of South 32nd Street, Fort Pierce; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Lawrence Perry, 44, re-admit, giving false information to a pawnbroker, dealing in stolen property.

Chadwick Limberis, 29, 300 block of Southeast Naranja Avenue, Port St. Lucie; re-admit, possession of oxycodone.

Daryn Leopold, 20, 800 block of Southwest Juliet Avenue, Port St. Lucie; re-admit, robbery with a deadly weapon.

Daniel Mills, 60, 700 block of South 11th Street, Fort Pierce; re-admit, sale of morphine.

Shaunetta Patrick, 28, 700 block of North 20th Street, Fort Pierce; warrant for violation of probation, driving while license suspended, prior conviction.
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

Party change/new voter registration deadline is Aug. 1

Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Leslie Swan reminds residents they must be registered to vote by Aug. 1 to be eligible to vote in the Aug. 30 primary.

Florida is a closed primary state so all registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, are eligible to vote in universal primary contests, nonpartisan races and on ballot questions. Only voters registered within a candidate's respective party are eligible to vote in partisan races.

Voter registration applications are available at the Supervisor of Elections office, public libraries, county offices, city halls or state agencies providing public assistance. Applications also are available atvoteindianriver.com. Completed applications must be signed, dated and returned to the elections office by the close of business Aug. 1.

Registered voters may check their status by going to voteindianriver.com and clicking on "Am I Registered?" on the website.
Algae blankets the water along the St. Lucie River at Rio Nature Park in Stuart on Sunday, July 3, 2016. (HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

It's a rare thing when a hamlet the size of Stuart is a lead story on a national evening news broadcast.

Rarer still is when that stardom stretches over more than just a day or two.

But Stuart and Martin County have been holding up their collective chins for more than a week now as the nation focuses in for a close-up. And like a train wreck that sparks a chemical fire, the image may be ugly, but no one can stop staring at it.

The bright lights, big cameras and satellite trucks of the national news media rumbled into town like a convoy. They descended from regional bureaus in Atlanta, Miami and Tampa a few days after "avoid the water" warning signs and double red flags were posted at Martin County beaches. Until two weeks ago, most of us old-timers didn't know what double red flags even meant. Is it something like double secret probation at Faber College in "Animal House"?

Like a weird media groupie with an obsession about eco-disasters, I began DVR-ing ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN. Daily, and to the chagrin of my family (sorry, fellas, SpongeBob reruns will have to wait), I fast-forwarded my way through fire season out West, bombings in Iraq and Bangladesh and human-interest stories about great acts by wonderful Americans. I wanted to zero in on how the national news media chose to cover the onslaught in the county I've called home for my entire life.

The problem with the news media these days is we have too many platforms. So a 2 minute story on toxic algae in a South Florida waterway doesn't just play for 2 minutes in a 6:30 p.m. news broadcast following a story about a presidential candidate's questionable tweet. It re-airs on the national morning "news-lite," on the cable brands of the network's mother ship, on the network website and of course it gets spread around like a virus on all the social media platforms. (Is Lester Holt on Snapchat?)

Some of the national news media has been right on the money. Algae is bad. It smells, it is toxic, it is "guacamole thick," it is "putrid," and so on. All the major networks have visited Central Marine in Rio, spoken to Irene Gomes at Driftwood Motel in Jensen Beach and have been to Bathtub Reef Beach. Some have spoken to downtown Stuart shop owners. Others have taken pool cleaning nets and have scooped up algae along shorelines. Some have visited docks behind homes where the algae is horrible and dying. All aired 5 seconds of the manatee drinking water clip.

Some of the reporting I think has been effective, including ABC's Eva Pilgrim, who said Tuesday on "Good Morning America" during a live shot: "It smells like a toilet ... and it's turned what should be busy marinas and beaches into ghost towns with an assault on the senses." Jennifer Gray, on CNN's "New Day," on Tuesday noted Floridians passed Amendment 1 in 2014 asking to set money aside to "Buy the Land" to restore the flow of water to the Everglades and it hasn't been honored. "I'm a fisherman and scuba diving and this is just heartbreaking," she said. I hope she comes back when she can fish here.

Another reporter on CNN whose name I didn't catch gave Florida Oceanographic Society scientist Vincent Encomio the time to explain the dynamic of the whole picture  from algae to discharges to nutrient pollution to the threat to marine life. That posted to the CNN website Wednesday.

Some reporting I've been disappointed with includes Gabe Gutierrez of NBC, who started off strong last week nailing the problems here and its complex dynamic. However, each day he reports from Stuart, he departs from the chief challenges of water management, and is starting to get lost in the weeds with septic tanks and nutrient pollution north of Lake Okeechobee. Not one word in his Tuesday story on the "Today" show about more than 150 billion gallons of discharges from the lake that should never be here in the first place.

The word is carrying far, wide and powerfully. It has brought some interest from folks who wish to help, but far more interest from people who wish to spend their tourist dollars elsewhere. Emails and Facebook posts are coming in from the Midwest, Northeast, Canada, other countries. One reader claimed the coverage is making us look like just another extension of the nation's laughingstock. There goes Florida, again.

So will this town ever get to show off its good side?

Nerissa Okiye, tourism & marketing manager for the Martin County Office of Tourism and Marketing, has an uphill battle for sure. She is working feverishly to make sure the county does not lose footing when it comes to tourism, perhaps when the algae dissipates.

"I've already reached out to the U.S. Travel Association and VISIT Florida for assistance in marketing this community to attract tourists," she said. "Our data shows that visitors plan three, six, nine and 12 months out before traveling. Research shows that tourism is often a huge impact as a driver to get a coastal communities back to economic prosperity."

It happened following the Gulf oil spill, she said. It happened after hurricanes, she said.

Okiye, who moved here in 2014, isn't ready to parachute out as the waters turn green. Instead, she is committed to helping rebuild the waterfront economy with her family and for their benefit.

"My kids were in surf camp and sailing camp and fishing camps this summer," she said. "We've found paradise here with amazing things to do."

Okiye and the county's tourism development board has been active since the waters began getting fouled by dirty water discharges in February. It hired Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, to measure economic impact data then and now with algae.

"We know this is going to happen again and we need to understand how bad it is so we can use that analysis to get marketing assistance," she said.

Hopefully, once this ecological and economical disaster passes, the networks will return to broadcast about our great fishing, boating and more. They'll do standups at 6:30 to tell America we on the Treasure Coast know how to bounce back and survive.

But I'm not counting on it.
A Gotham man seen by deputies leaving a local bar with a drink in his hand was arrested for his alleged ninth drunken driving offense.

Mark Wastlick, 54, was taken into custody at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Gotham, the Richland County Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies saw Wastlick get into his car outside the Steel Horse Saloon, with what appeared to be an open alcoholic beverage in his hand.

"Deputies attempted to make contact with the subject as he started his vehicle and began backing up," the Sheriff's Office said. "He came to a stop on Third Street."

Wastlick was also tentatively charged with operating after revocation and possession of an open intoxicant in a motor vehicle.
Algae is caked onto the shore of Rio Nature Park in Stuart on Sunday, July 3. (HOBIE HILER/ SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

By News Release

TALLAHASSEE  In a letter to President Obama, Gov. Rick Scott requested a federal emergency be declared following algae blooms in local waterways surrounding the Indian River Lagoon and anticipated algae blooms surrounding the Caloosahatchee River.

Gov. Scott said, "It is the federal government's sole responsibility to maintain the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike, and for more than a decade, the federal government has ignored proper maintenance and repair to this structure. As a result, billions of gallons of water have been discharged into the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River which is causing toxic algae blooms to cause havoc to our environment.

I am asking President Obama to immediately declare a Federal Emergency and use the full resources of the federal government to address the effects caused by the frequent discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee."
"Every day (I'm) fighting just to breathe," said Donna Marceau on Thursday at her home in Stuart. She lives a short walk away from Kreuger Creek, a tributary of the algae-covered St. Lucie River. "I've been trying to stay inside as much as possible," Marceau said. "I really feel it's just toxins being released in the air." Marceau, who has had asthma for several years, is currently on a daily regimen of two inhalers, steroids and anti-inflammatory drugs. Marceau and her father are considering moving out of the area, even though they love living here. "It seems like people's health is on the bottom of the list." (LEAH VOSS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

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By Tyler Treadway of TCPalm

Donna Marceau was always able to control her asthma and allergies  until a month ago.

"Now my asthma is getting increasingly worse," Marceau said. "None of the drugs I've been prescribed seem to work anymore. I can't sleep at night from chest pain and heaviness, coughing, the feeling like I can't get enough oxygen and my eyes burning. If I go outside, it just gets worse."

Marceau lives in Stuart, four houses away from Krueger Creek, a tributary of the St. Lucie River covered with algae.

"I sincerely believe there are harmful toxins in the air we breathe because of the algae," she said. "I've never had extreme symptoms so persistent; I can't get the symptoms under control."

Algae blooms first were reported in Krueger Creek in early June, about the time Marceau's allergies flared up.

The 61-year-old said she's the full-time caretaker for her elderly father "or else I would be out of here."

Several algae samples the Florida Department of Environmental Protection took from the river have tested positive for hazardous levels of the toxin microcystin, which can cause nausea and vomiting if ingested, and rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled. Drinking water with the toxins can cause long-term liver disease.

NOT SO HOT LINE

Although reports of people suffering algae-related illnesses abound on social media, local emergency rooms aren't reporting a rash of patients; and a special algae illness hotline the Florida Poison Control Center set up June 1 has logged 20 calls  seven from Martin County and none from St. Lucie County.

The rest were people throughout the state asking about the river's algae bloom and whether it's safe to travel to the affected area, said JoAnn Chambers-Emerson, an educator at the Florida Poison Information Center at Tampa General Hospital.

Callers who asked whether their recent illnesses could be related to the bloom reported "varying signs of illness such as headaches, sore throat, earache, urinary infection, dizziness, allergy-like symptoms or shortness of breath," Chambers-Emerson said. "One call was from a physician asking about recommendations for medical treatment."

There is no confirmation the symptoms were caused by the algal bloom, she said. The symptoms also might be the result of allergies to grass and ragweed, "which are in full bloom right now," said Dr. Daniel Brodtman of Allergy and Asthma Specialists of South Florida in Stuart.

Exposure to toxic algae can "set up asthma exacerbation" like Marceau's, Brodtman said.

HEAD SCRATCHER

Most people with algae-related symptoms appear to be treating themselves at home, said Dr. Steven Parr, director of emergency medicine at Tradition Medical Center in Port St. Lucie.

Still, Parr said he's seeing an upswing in patients with nausea, vomiting, rashes and shortness of breath, as well as increases in reports of gout and achy limbs and joints.

"It's got me scratching my head," he said. "Could they be related to the algae bloom? Maybe. Can I say it's definitely related? No. There's no test to prove algae is the underlying cause of any symptoms. But it sure is odd."

Martin County officials are looking for contractors to test the air around algae blooms for airborne microcystin and levels of hydrogen sulfide, the chemical that gives algae its rotten-egg smell.

Breathing low to moderate levels of hydrogen sulfide can irritate the eyes, nose, or throat. Asthma patients might find it harder to breathe. At higher levels, the chemical sometimes causes headaches, poor memory, tiredness and balance problems, according to a Florida Department of Health fact sheet.

People with chronic breathing problems and liver or kidney conditions are the most vulnerable to developing algae-related symptoms, Parr said, "but breathing in that stuff can't be good for anybody. The best thing is to avoid contact with algae, either touching it or breathing it."

Some research indicates a link between long-term inhalation of microcystin fumes and neurological ailments such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.

"Think about a common irritant like poison ivy," Parr said. "It will give you a rash, but not other symptoms. The toxins in cyanobacteria can be absorbed into your bloodstream and give you internal problems."

WHO TO CALL

855-305-3903: To report possible blue-green algae blooms to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection

800-222-1222: To report algae-related illness to the Florida Poison Control Center

800-636-0511: To report fish kills

888-404-FWCC (3922): To report sick, injured or distressed wildlife

772-320-3112: For Martin County beach closings due to algae
Algae blankets the canal at Central Marine Stuart in Stuart on Sunday, July 3, 2016. (HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

By Nicholas Samuel of TCPalm

Gov. Rick Scott asked President Barack Obama on Wednesday to declare a federal emergency because of the algae blooms in local waterways, and anticipated algae blooms surrounding the Caloosahatchee River in the western part of the state.

In a letter to Obama, Scott asked the president to "use the full resources of the federal government to eliminate the public health and safety threats associated with the unnatural discharge of nutrient-laden freshwater from Lake Okeechobee into the canals that flow east into the Indian River Lagoon and west into the Caloosahatchee River."

"It's the federal government's sole responsibility to maintain the federally operated Herbert Hoover Dike," Scott said in the letter. "Any damage caused by unnecessary water releases because of the federal government's lack of appropriate maintenance of the Dike is the federal government's responsibility."

Scott said in a news release Wednesday that for more than a decade, the federal government has ignored proper maintenance and repair of the dike, leading to billions of gallons of water being discharged into the lagoon and river, "causing toxic algae blooms to cause havoc in the environment."

"Now, as a result of their releases, there is toxic algae which has caused environmental and economic devastation," Scott said.

Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith said he appreciates Scott asking for assistance from the federal government and he has met with hundreds of residents regarding the algae blooms.

"Public safety is our main concern. The next issue is how do we cut back the algae and remove it from the ecosystem," Smith said. "It takes all levels of government to deal with this disaster. The people do really need to know what's going on."

Mark Perry, executive director for the Florida Oceanographic Society, said a federal emergency would open up a dialogue between Obama and Scott.

"It's a step in the right direction. We have to get the federal and state working together to solve the problem," Perry said. "We need the Army Corps of Engineers to stop the discharges and we need either the federal or state government to buy the land and move the water south."

Both Martin County and Stuart declared a state of emergency for the toxic blue-green algae on June 29, followed by Scott declaring a Florida state of emergency later that day for both Martin and St. Lucie counties. On June 30, he expanded the emergency to include both Lee and Palm Beach counties for the potential spread of the toxic algae blooms. On July 2 in a visit to the Treasure Coast, U.S. Sen. Mark Rubio said it was his understanding Scott would ask for a federal emergency declaration.

Joe Catrambone, president and CEO of the Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber was told by elected officials Obama's declaration of a federal emergency might be able help local businesses adversely impacted by the algae blooms.

He said he doesn't know exactly what type of monetary relief businesses could get, but it could be a grant they wouldn't have to repay.

He said the Small Business Administration earlier this year offered to give Martin County businesses loans, but there were no takers because business owners didn't know if they could repay them.

"We were looking for something like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency)-type relief that would help in a disaster," he said.

Staff writer Lidia Dinkova contributed to this report.
Algae blankets the water along the St. Lucie River at Rio Nature Park in Stuart on Sunday, July 3, 2016. (HOBIE HILER/SPECIAL TO TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

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By Isadora Rangel of TCPalm

Gov. Rick Scott's request for a federal state of emergency to address algae blooms is under White House review and there's no timetable for when the Obama administration will issue a decision, a Federal Emergency Management Agency spokesman said Thursday.

A declaration could funnel money to the Treasure Coast to help the state and local governments deal with public health and safety costs. It also could go into the repair, replacement or restoration of publicly owned facilities and the facilities of nonprofits, according to a FEMA fact sheet.

FEMA, which first must review requests and make a recommendation, has denied six of the 10 other requests Scott has made for federal money since taking office in 2011, PolitiFact reported last month. One was for the state's response to the June shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 50 people, including shooter Omar Mateen of Fort Pierce. The agency said the request didn't show how the emergency response associated with the situation was beyond the capability of the state and affected local governments.

U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson sent letters to President Barack Obama asking for him to declare the state of emergency. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who represents Martin and St. Lucie counties, also supports a declaration. All three visited Stuart to see the algae last week.

Here's what else they have done in response to the crisis:

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Asked the Army Corps of Engineers to temporarily stop discharges from Lake Okeechobee to provide relief for the St. Lucie River.

Asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess the health implications of the algae, then wrote a letter Wednesday asking the agency to deploy help if the state requests it.

Wrote a letter Wednesday to Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asking him to allow a vote on a bill that approves water projects across the nation, including one that will reduce discharges by about 14 percent by sending water into the Everglades. That bill has cleared House and Senate committees, and Rubio asked for a vote before Congress goes into a seven-week summer recess on July 15.

Called for Congress to pass the bill during a nine-minute floor speech Wednesday.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

Asked the Army Corps of Engineers in a letter last month to send more lake water south.

Wrote a letter to McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid Wednesday asking the water bill be up for a vote "as soon as possible."

Called Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy to discuss the algae blooms.

Is working to arrange a phone call with the White House to discuss the algae, possibly on Friday.

U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter

Wrote a letter to Gov. Rick Scott last month asking for a Florida state of emergency, which Scott signed June 29.

Asked the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter last month to conduct an assessment of the water quality in local waters and help the state with ongoing water quality testing. The agency responded last week saying it has offered technical assistance and help collecting water samples.

Wrote a letter to send to House leadership asking for a vote on the bill that approves the project that reduces discharges. GOP U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, who represents Indian River County, is one of the 13 lawmakers who signed the letter.

Federal emergency

These declarations supplement state and local efforts in providing emergency services, such as the protection of lives, property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe.

The total amount of assistance provided in a single emergency may not exceed $5 million, and the president must report to Congress if it does.

Homeowners can apply for money to cover repairs or replacement of items that are damaged as a direct result of the disaster that are not covered by insurance.

The federal government also might consider covering repairs to damaged personal property or disaster-related necessary expenses, such as medical and dental costs, tools required for your job or cleanup items.

The governor of the affected state must submit a request to the president within 30 days of the occurrence of the incident.

That request must state that federal emergency assistance is necessary because the situation is beyond the capability of the state and affected local governments.

Source: FEMA
St. Lucie Inlet July 7, 2016

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By Will Greenlee of TCPalm

HUTCHINSON ISLAND  Two suspected refugees from Haiti were apprehended on Sailfish Point on Thursday while a boat possibly linked to the incident turned up at Hobe Sound Beach, a Martin County Sheriff's Office lieutenant said.

The two immigrants, a man and a woman, might not have been the only people who came ashore, according to sheriff's Lt. Joe Kukuvka.

"There was evidence to indicate that there were additional passengers on the boat that were being dropped off intermittently going up the beach," he said. "The two that we have in custody indicated they were the first two off the boat and they wandered back and forth on the beach until the sun came up and that they came up into the neighborhood where they were discovered."

Kukuvka said that at 5:48 a.m. a deputy was dispatched to Hobe Sound Beach  south of Sailfish Point and the St. Lucie Inlet  about possible refugees in the area and a boat on the shore.

He said a call came in at 6:09 a.m. from Dune Drive in Sailfish Point about possible refugees in the area.

Kukuvka said Sailfish Point is where the two suspected immigrants were found.

He said the two had life jackets with them.

Kukuvka said one person heard a boat and saw a light or lights about 3:30 a.m., though that wasn't discovered until after 6 a.m.

"There was a large gap in there in between us responding and the actual landing happening," he said.

Kukuvka said the two spoke Creole and a Creole-speaking deputy translated. Both were turned over to federal authorities. Kukuvka said there might have been a total of 10 on the boat.

He said the boat recovered at Hobe Sound Beach had two engines.

Kukuvka said it hasn't been confirmed that the boat is related to the incident, but that if it was abandoned, it easily could have floated south and washed ashore at Hobe Sound Beach.

Todd Bryant, division chief with the U.S. Border Patrol based in Pembroke Pines, said investigators suspect they left the Bahamas early Thursday morning.

He said they continue to work with the sheriffs office and the U.S. Coast Guard to search for others who may have absconded from the area.

Bryant said the two who were apprehended were taken to a U.S. Border Patrol station in Riviera Beach where they will be processed for removal and then turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

The border patrols mission is combating these organized smuggling events and cross border smuggling, he said.

Bryant said the boat recovered in Hobe Sound appears linked to the incident, but it must be confirmed.
By Staff Report

PORT ST. LUCIE  The public on Friday will get a chance to meet the five finalists for city attorney.

A social mixer is slated for 4 to 6 p.m. at the Community Center, 2195 S.E. Airoso Blvd.

City Council members on Saturday will meet individually with each candidate to conduct one-on-one interviews. Florida Sunshine Law permits council members to meet individually with the candidates, but prohibits them from discussing their conversations with one another.

The new city attorney will be hired during a special City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 121 S.W. Port St. Lucie Blvd.
The bridge over Danforth Creek on eastbound Martin Downs Boulevard in Palm City. (FILE PHOTO)

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By Lidia Dinkova of TCPalm

MARTIN COUNTY  If Martin Downs Boulevard is part of your commute, consider finding an alternative route in the coming months.

Lanes will be closed as crews fix up a sidewalk on the south side of the road, buffer the road from erosion and repair bridge joints.

Go here to see the map below in a browser window.

The $1.18 million Florida Department of Transportation project will focus on a short stretch of Martin Downs Boulevard where it crosses Danforth Creek.

Lane closures will take place from Southwest Matheson Avenue east to Mapp Road, according to FDOT.

Starting around Aug. 1, all eastbound lanes will close for construction and drivers will be directed onto a westbound lane, according to FDOT. As soon as that work is done, all westbound lanes will close for construction and motorists will instead be directed onto an eastbound lane.

Construction is to be finished in early 2017, but that projection doesn't take into account holidays and delays caused by bad weather, according to FDOT.

Pedestrians, too, will be impacted because sidewalks will temporarily close during the work. Part of the sidewalk on the south side of Martin Downs Boulevard will be closed during construction on the eastbound lanes, and then the sidewalk on the north side of the road is to close during construction on the westbound lanes.

PROJECT OPEN HOUSE

What: Informational meeting on Danforth Creek Bridge project

When: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. July 14

Where: Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce, 1650 S. Kanner Highway, Stuart
Law enforcement officials work at the Pulse nightclub following a fatal shooting Sunday, June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. . (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

SHARE An injured person is escorted out of the Pulse nightclub after the shooting rampage. photos by The Associated Press Police officials investigate the back of the Pulse nightclub after Sunday's shooting at the nightclub in Orlando.

World Reacts

"The Secretary-General condemns the horrific attack this morning in Orlando, Florida, in which dozens of people were killed and injured. He extends his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and expresses his solidarity with the Government and people of the United States."

 United Nations office of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

"While authorities are still investigating and details continue to be confirmed, it is appalling that as many as 50 lives may have been lost to this domestic terror attack targeting the LGBTQ2 community."

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

"I wish you and people in the U.S.A. strength and determination so that your country can stand together to come to terms with the grief and pain over this attack."

 German President Joachim Gauck, in a message of condolences to President Barack Obama

"Pope Francis joins the families of the victims and all of the injured in prayer and in compassion. Sharing in their indescribable suffering he entrusts them to the Lord so they may find comfort. We all hope that ways may be found, as soon as possible, to effectively identify and contrast the causes of such terrible and absurd violence which so deeply upsets the desire for peace of the American people and of the whole of humanity."

 Statement from the Rev. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office

"We are looking at a massacre that has no precedent in the history of the gay community,"

 Rome's Gay Center spokesman Fabrizio Marrazzo told the Italian news agency ANSA

"We are heartbroken and angry that senseless violence has once again destroyed lives in our state and in our country. Gay clubs hold a significant place in LGBTQ history. They were often the only safe gathering place and this horrific act strikes directly at our sense of safety."

 Equality Florida

"It's horrific, it's unthinkable. And just hopes go out to all those who were shot that they can recover."

 Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate, speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press"

"Horrific incident in FL. Praying for all the victims & their families. When will this stop? When will we get tough, smart & vigilant?"

 Tweet from Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate

He tweeted about an hour later: "Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!"

 Trump

"Woke up to hear the devastating news from FL. As we wait for more information, my thoughts are with those affected by this horrific act."

 Tweet from Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate

French President Francois Hollande "condemns with horror" the mass killing in Florida and "expresses the full support of France and the French with America's authorities and its people in this difficult time."

 Statement from Hollande's office

"We condemn this monstrous attack and offer our heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all those killed or injured. The Muslim community joins our fellow Americans in repudiating anyone or any group that would claim to justify or excuse such an appalling act of violence."

 Rasha Mubarak, Orlando regional coordinator for Florida's chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Fort Pierce Police Chief Diane Hobley-Burney (center) speaks with residents during a meet and greet at the Havert L. Fenn Center on June 25, 2015, in Fort Pierce. (FILE PHOTO)

By Elliott Jones of TCPalm

FORT PIERCE  It is unclear how long Police Chief Diane Hobley-Burney will be on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an internal city investigation into complaints by Police Special Investigator Borthland Murray, officials said Wednesday.

Murray resigned last month.

The next time the City Commission could discuss the matter at a regular meeting is July 18, said city spokeswoman Shyanne Helms. So far, no special sessions have been called.

In Hobley-Burney's place, Deputy Chief Kenny Norris, 51, is running the department. She hired Norris out of retirement from the Tampa Police Department, where she last worked.

Wednesday morning he urged his staff to stay focused, to "keep your heads up" and "not sulk."

Norris declined to comment about how he feels about the action against Hobley-Burney. In addition to her hiring him last year, "she is my friend," he said. He has previously described her as being "military minded and serious with a big heart."

WHAT HAPPENED

On Tuesday, City Manager Nick Mimms put 57-year-old Hobley-Burney, who earns $124,000 annually as chief, on leave because of issues Murray, whom Hobley-Burney hired last year, brought to the attention of the City Commission on Friday.

In his July 1 memo to the panel, Murray, whose job was auditing the Police Department, improving its internal affairs office and investigating complaints that came into the City Hall, said Hobley-Burney mismanaged the department, misused her official position, selectively enforced rules and mishandled the department's accreditation process.

The complaints were a major blow to the chief who previously was rated highly by her superiors, who praised her work, citing her work ethic and attitude.

Hobley-Burney couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Murray's three-page memo said the chief ordered him to investigate Commissioner Reggie Sessions and city critic Rick Reed, both of whom pushed for the city to ask the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the April 23 police-involved fatal shooting of Demarcus Semer, 21, during a traffic stop in northwest Fort Pierce.

Because the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the shooting of Semer, Norris declined to comment except to say Hobley-Burney's being put on leave is separate from the Semer case.

Murray, who did not finish a full year of work with the Police Department, ended his memo with saying Hobley-Burney responded to his concerns by "attacking my character with a frivolous harassment complaint, labeling me a disgruntled employee"  a label that Murray said was used in describing "an alarming" number of other employees who have left since she arrived.

MOUNTING CONCERNS

By the time Murray sent his memo, city administrators were aware there were problems.

On June 16, there was a meeting among Hobley-Burney, Mimms, City Human Resources Manager Kevin Browning and Browning's executive assistant, Jennifer Robinson. A memo from that meeting says Mimms mentioned disciplinary action and the police chief said she didn't want to talk without her attorney present.

The meeting ended.

The next day, the same day Murray resigned, Mimms gave Hobley-Burney a notice of disciplinary action for a "code of conduct violation" after she questioned his judgment on a personnel matter, and forwarded email about it to commissioners and some staff members.

The city manager didn't accept the police chief's recommendation to fire an officer whom she put on administrative leave. Browning found the chief's recommendation was based on largely unconfirmed or unwarranted complaints, including anonymous accusations, according to paperwork in the chief's personnel file.

EVALUATION, OUTREACH

Hobley-Burney came to the Fort Pierce Police Department calling for change, including overhauling the Police Department.

The city hired Police Executive Research Forum of Washington, D.C., for $43,500 in September 2014 to conduct a national search.

Her last employment review during January gave her an overall evaluation of excellent, city records show.

The evaluation said she has a "vibrant, welcoming and exciting personality and ... has successfully imprinted these traits into the administration of the Fort Pierce Police Department. The community has benefitted by her presence."

It only faulted her for trying to do too many things at once, spreading "resources very thin."

Fort Pierce community activist Betty Bradwell, 64, was pleased Hobley-Burney was hired and continues to support her.

Bradwell said the chief is getting blow back from trying to improve the department.

"The chief is trying to make changes inside and outside the department, to make things better. She is not trying to hurt the community," she said.

Ned Childress heads up the Guardian Angels citizens group that has marched against crime in the city.

"From what I have seen (before the current controversy), I have to give her high marks in combating crime and in engaging the community," he said. "I haven't seen any cons."

Longtime pastor Jerome Rhyant with the Love Center on 13th Street, works in an area that has seen several murders.

"She had positioned herself correctly to be able to do what the past two police chiefs couldn't: getting citizens to consider coming forward with information about gang-related crimes," he said. "She is on the right trail. She had done credible things."

After the Semer shooting, Hobley-Burney asked the U.S. Department of Justice to consider including the Police Department in an advisory program that was set up nationally in part because of police-involved shootings nationwide. Several representatives of the Collaborative Reform Initiative visited Fort Pierce to listen to citizens before making a decision whether to help. The agency also met with the police chief, the city manager and members of the Police Department.

That program is still considering whether to advise the Police Department.
By News Release

The Fort Pierce Police Department wants citizens to know that officers remain ready to provide police services in any way needed, and that the department's efforts to build relationships within the community will continue.

Though Chief Diane Hobley-Burney has been placed on administrative leave, the senior leadership of the department has many decades of collective experience and is working cohesively as a team to continue the recent progress of lowering the city's crime rate and making Fort Pierce a safer community for residents, businesses and visitors.

Deputy Chief Kenny Norris, who is now serving as Acting Chief, met this morning with senior staff members and asked them to make an extra effort to contribute their individual skills and abilities to the overall good of the department. He also asked them to remind subordinates that they should be proud to be Fort Pierce police officers and employees who have a long history of overcoming challenges and unexpected situations.

In short, the good work of the officers and support staff of the Fort Pierce Police Department will continue while Chief Hobley-Burney is on leave.

Regarding the progress of the Demarcus Semer shooting case and it's relation to Chief Hobley-Burney's administrative leave status: That case still is under investigation by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, so the Fort Pierce Police Department cannot comment on it. However, Chief Hobley-Burney's leave came as a result of a letter written by a former police employee, not because of the Demarcus Semer shooting case. They are two separate situations.
Madison police have named the officer who fatally shot a man they say was aggressively advancing with a pitchfork at a Near East Side home last week, but the department is still waiting to release the names of the officers involved in the forceful arrest of a young black woman last month.

The department on Wednesday said Officer Hector Rivera has been placed on paid leave while the state Division of Criminal Investigation investigates the shooting that killed Michael William Schumacher, 41, of Fitchburg.

Rivera joined the department in 2013 and was most recently assigned to the Central District. He worked as an officer for UW-Madison Police from 2008 until he was hired by the city.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Rivera has ever been the subject of disciplinary actions or has been involved in other incidents that involved use of force.

Sgt. Erik Fuhremann of the departments Professional Standards & Internal Affairs division did not return calls Wednesday. Police Chief Mike Koval said Wednesday evening that he has the power to request employee records, but does not have access to the room where those records are kept.

But even without seeing Riveras employee records, Koval was skeptical there was anything of note contained in them.

In terms of significant events involving force, I cant recall any in the two years Ive been chief, he said.

UW police spokesman Marc Lovicott did not return a call seeking comment on Riveras tenure with his department.

The fatal shooting occurred shortly after 9 p.m. June 30, when a neighbor called 911 to report that a man, later identified as Schumacher, was chest-deep in Lake Monona and acting oddly, seemingly talking to himself and slapping the water.

Police said a witness observed Schumacher break a window of a nearby home by throwing a rock. The residents of the home also called 911 and fled the house after they heard Schumacher smashing items inside.

Rivera was first officer to respond to the home at 1303 Morrison St. and waited for backup to arrive. Schumacher approached the doorway from inside the house with a four-pronged pitchfork, Koval said, ignored multiple orders to stop and continued aggressing toward Rivera.

Schumacher has struggled with mental illness for much of his adult life.

State law requires that officer-involved shootings be investigated by an outside agency. DCI is conducting the investigation that will be the basis for determining whether Riveras use of deadly force was lawful.

Madison police are also conducting an internal review of whether Rivera followed department policies and procedures.

Office

rs in Laird arrest

still unnamed

Two other Madison police officers remain on paid leave as the Dane County Sheriffs Office continues its investigation into the forceful arrest of 18-year-old Genele Laird on June 21.

Laird, who reportedly threatened an employee with a knife inside the East Towne Mall food court, was arrested by officers who used knee strikes and a punch to the abdomen and eventually a Taser after she resisted being taken into custody.

Video of Lairds arrest went viral online, prompting accusations that the officers used excessive force.

In the immediate aftermath of the arrest, Koval declined to name the officers, citing death threats against them called in to the 911 center or posted on social media.

On Wednesday, Koval said the officers would not be named until the Sheriffs Office concludes its review and District Attorney Ismael Ozanne decides whether the force used was excessive.

They enjoy a different relationship with respect to the law, Koval said, comparing the case to Riveras. In the Laird incident, the district attorney said at the press conference that the officers should be treated with a higher degree of confidentiality because they are statutorily victims.

Koval said a decision on whether the force used was excessive could come as early as next week, at which point his department would release the names of the officers.

Greg Jones, president of the Dane County NAACP, said he still wants the names of the officers released expeditiously but said he was sensitive to the departments reasons for withholding their names.

My position would be to understand that theres a lot of information that we dont know, Jones said. There had been at least some information that there could have been threats. Im not aware of any and I dont know if theyre true, so I want to respect that.

My position would be that as soon as practicable all information ought to be released, including names.

Ald. David Ahrens, 15th District, said releasing the names of the officers involved in the Laird arrest now would cause more agitation and division within the community.

I think the issue of who did it ... becomes something that creates a lot of heat but not a lot of light, Ahrens said, adding that a rational examination of Lairds arrest is needed.

If everybody who we think has done something thats misconduct is told to be fired, resign or whatever it is, organizations just cant function like that. We need something thats just much more basic and systemic.

State Journal reporter Logan Wroge contributed to this report.
Water from Lake Okeechobee is released June 16 into the C-44 Canal, which leads to the St. Lucie River, at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam near Stuart. (LEAH VOSS/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)



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By Joseph Gilio

Timing is everything.

I was boating the St. Lucie Inlet when the volume of 2016 discharges from Lake Okeechobee equaled the "Lost Summer" of 2013.

The discharges 4 miles from shore were spreading north, contaminating much larger portions of the Atlantic Ocean than ever reported.

I predict the discharges will continue into 2017.

In 1985, I suggested to the South Florida Water Management District that phosphorus levels in Lake Okeechobee's water would not be reduced by spending tens of millions of our dollars to move dairy farms away from the lake edge. I stated the overwhelming need for improving the lake's water quality was to demuck  remove the sediment/muck  from the lake's bottom to reduce its legacy load of phosphorus.

This legacy pollutant is a thousand times more abundant than amounts from dairy farms. Dairies were moved  not a bad idea in itself  and millions spent. But the lake's water phosphate levels remained unchanged. We got little benefit from the district spending our tax dollars.

Timing is everything.

In 2002, the South Florida Water Management District finally contracted a study to address the demuck issue. Five recommendations were:

Demuck to man-made islands within lake at a cost of $3.5 billion Demuck from the deep lake bottom to lake shore as littoral zones at a cost of $3.1 billion Demuck to an off-site location outside the lake's drainage area at a cost of $3.37 billion Add a toxic chemical to settle phosphorous to the lake bottom at a cost of $500 million Do nothing

The report recommended doing nothing. It stated Lake Okeechobee's water would self clean to 40 parts per billion total phosphorus by 2015.

There was no improvement in lake water quality.

As I predicted, the lake's average in 2015 was unchanged at 120 parts per billion total phosphorous.

Only demucking, followed by regrowth of existing underwater grasses over the cleared lake bottom, will bring lake phosphorous levels low enough that less Everglades Agricultural Area land will be needed to move massive volumes of water south. My work at St. Lucie West's lakes strongly indicates that success.

Timing is everything.

Recently, I presented my proposal, called Plan G, to the Society of Wetland Scientists. Plan G's synergistic elements include:

Fund the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, except deep-well injections (about $15 billion) Fund the Central Everglades Planning Project ($1.9 billion)

Together, these projects will decrease Lake Okeechobee discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers by 21 percent.

Plan G reduces the remaining 79 percent of discharges to the St. Lucie to zero, restores the natural flow to the Caloosahatchee, the Okeechobee Waterway and full south flow to the Everglades and Florida Bay.

Plan G calls for:

Finishing filling the C-37 Canal to the original Kissimmee oxbows Demucking Lake Okeechobee to an off-site location Building a slotted weir in the new, hardened lake dike up to 7 miles in length adjacent to newly acquired EAA land at the south end of the lake, and bridge State Road 80 over the weir. Buy 70,000 acres adjacent to the weir and create a flowing, storing, treating "restored" Everglades  not a reservoir Restore the Holey and Rotenberger state tracts (63,000 acres) to Everglades marshes Use existing 50,000 acres of stormwater treatment areas to meet 10 parts per billion phosphorous maximum for waters entering the remnant Everglades, and complete bridging Tamiami Trail

Plan G retains 80 percent of the existing Everglades Agricultural Area. It eliminates costly building and maintenance of leaky reservoirs and maximizes soft engineering duplicating nature.

Plan G is a necessary add-on to completion of the Central Everglades Planning Project and the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.

Together, these projects would stop river discharges and increase lake water flow south. Plan G would cost $5-9 billion, in addition to the $17 billion estimated for CERP and CEPP.

Plan G's time is now.

Joseph Gilio is a wetland scientist, former founder and president of Wetlands Management Inc., who lives in Palm City. His website is www.joegilio.com.
Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal

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By Paula Dockery

At election time, political candidates often tout our beautiful natural resources, but their actions in office belie their concern  until disaster strikes.

This time it's slimy green algae blooms coating our waters in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon. Beaches have closed (and later reopened) because of the public hazard.

Our estuaries are damaged, our sea life is dying and fish kills and manatees struggling to breathe are too common. Visual images of Florida's Treasure Coast are making national headlines and discouraging tourists from coming. Toxic algae can cause nausea, vomiting, rashes, red eyes and scratchy throats.

MORE | Angry about the algae? Send a letter to lawmakers

The economic, health and environmental impacts are becoming a political liability for those in office who are hearing from angry constituents. They claim to be interested, concerned and fighting to fix this, when they are responsible for the mess in the first place.

Gov. Rick Scott and some legislators are blaming the federal government  specifically the Army Corps of Engineers. Ironically, this is the same governor who fights against federal agencies on environmental and water standards.

MORE | Gov. Scott calls on Obama to declare federal emergency for algae blooms

While the corps does control releases from Lake Okeechobee into the rivers for flood control, it has to consider the integrity of the dike surrounding the massive lake. We've known for years that there are structural concerns with the dike but have done little to fix it.

Gov. Scott and the Legislature need to stop pointing fingers and get to work. The quality of the water is the state's responsibility.

Here's the cold hard truth: They have allowed polluted water into Lake Okeechobee that they know will be released.

We know certain actions have negative environmental consequences. The science is there, yet those we elect to represent us don't give a flying fig.

Yeah, I'm mad. I'm mad because those of us who care about the environment and care about protecting it, preserving it and restoring it are often pooh-poohed as being Pollyanna, Chicken Littles or environmental wackos.

We understand the importance of our natural systems  for quality of life and for our economy  and continue to educate and advocate and try to hold people responsible for causing or allowing disasters to happen.

We know that nutrients and chemicals such as fertilizer and pesticides are a danger to our natural systems. We know there are sound environmental policies that protect water resources if regulated and enforced. We know prevention is preferable and less costly than restoration.

We warn against not providing adequate lands for recharge, filtration and storage.

What we hear in return: We have to prioritize.

Prioritize? Really? Prioritize? What could be more of a priority than a clean drinking water supply needed to survive?

Am I mad? Yes, I'm mad.

When people run for office they tell you what you want to hear. And then they don't do what they say.

Let me be blunt. During my 16 years in the Florida Legislature, I spent most of that time fighting for good environmental policy. I would be lying if I told you a lot of fellow Republican legislators were environmental heroes.

Gov. Scott reversed the positive trend of his predecessors. He reduced regulations and permitting, abolished the Department of Community Affairs, stripped the Department of Environmental Protection of long-term, science-based staff and decimated the budgets and staff of the water management districts. Oh, and he took a lot of money from U.S. Sugar Corp.

Floridians understand the need to protect our unique natural resources for future generations. We need pristine beaches, clean water, recreational areas, a plentiful food supply, thriving aquaculture and fishing industries to attract tourists, grow our economy and preserve our quality of life.

What do we need to do?

The short-term answer is to provide more water storage. The long-term solution is to return to sound environmental policy, regulation and enforcement, hardening the structural integrity of Lake Okeechobee's dike system and providing water treatment both upstream and out of the water storage areas.

We need a strong leader to put water experts back in key positions, invest in our land and water resource acquisitions, remove leaking septic tanks and convert septic systems to wastewater treatment.

There have been a few elected officials genuinely working to resolve this latest environmental disaster, such as U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, and state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

Voters need to know who acted in their best interest and who paid them lip service.

I take offense at those who try to appear concerned when their legislative records show they failed at every opportunity to prevent these environmental messes.

Am I mad? Yes, I'm mad and you should be, too.

Paula Dockery is a syndicated columnist who served in the Florida Legislature for 16 years as a Republican from Lakeland. She can be reached at PBDockery@gmail.com.
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By Maureen Nicolace, Your Newsweekly Contributor

'Healing Meditation' topic of July 11

Friends After Diagnosis meeting

Healing Meditation will be the topic of the July 11 meeting of the Friends After Diagnosis breast cancer support group. Jeanne Fournier will be the guest speaker. The 90-minute meeting will begin at 2 p.m. in the Earnshaw Room on the second floor at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Blvd., Vero Beach. The meeting is open to breast cancer survivors, caregivers and loved ones. There is no cost to attend.

Friends After Diagnosis offers breast cancer support and educational meetings four times per month (Mon. and Sat.), in Sebastian and Vero Beach. Please visit the event calendar atFriendsAfterDiagnosis.com for more information or call 772-978-9392.
Thank you for reading!

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Microsoft on Tuesday announced a new Windows 10 upgrade policy  weeks after losing a US$10,000 case in a small claims court.

The owner of TG Travel Group in Sausalito, California, last month won a final judgment after she alleged that her computer was upgraded to the new operating system without prior authorization, according to court documents.

The case was a high-profile example of customer dissatisfaction with the Windows 10 upgrade process. Many felt Windows 10 had been thrust upon them without their consent, and they complained that the uninstall process was nearly impossible to execute.

Get It While Its Free

The new experience has clearer options to upgrade now, choose a time or decline the free offer, said Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group.

If the red X is selected, it will dismiss the dialog box, and the company will notify the device again in a few days, he said.

Microsoft will continue to recommend Windows 10 installation until the free upgrade period expires on July 29, Myerson added.

Thousands of engineers have been working on making Windows 10 the most secure version of Windows, helping to protect people from viruses, phishing, identity theft and more, he said. Wed like our customers to upgrade and improve their experience with Windows and Microsoft.

System Failure

Teri Goldstein, CEO of TG Travel, alleged in her January filing that she had been using Windows 7 on her computer in August 2015 when it was chosen at random as a beta user for a Windows 10 upgrade. The update froze her system, and she spent months trying to get it fixed through Microsoft technical support.

The MS Task Force began to remotely uninstall and reinstall her operating system on a daily basis, Goldstein said, and she later got error messages saying she was an unrecognizable user. At the time, Microsoft did not have the ability to remove Windows 10 upgrades from systems that previously were running Windows 7, according to court documents.

During a seven-month period of attempting to fix the problem, Goldstein repeatedly was passed along to different Microsoft reps, some of whom were extremely rude, she said. One of the reps tried to offer her $150 to go away. By that time she had lost so much business that she resorted to legal action.

She filed suit in Marin County Superior Court citing the California Uniform Commercial Code, which holds that all products and services sold in the state have an implied warranty to be fit for purpose.

Microsoft needed to be held accountable for its negligence regarding the forced Windows 10 upgrade, which rendered many users computers useless, Goldstein told the E-Commerce Times.

Sensitive Timing

Microsoft filed notice to appeal the ruling in April, but abandoned the appeal on May 12. The satisfaction of judgment was filed on May 24.

Microsoft dropped its appeal to avoid the expense of further litigation, said company spokesperson Sophia Brockman.

News of the suits outcome came in the midst of Microsofts aggressive promotion of free Windows 10 upgrades through July 29.

Perceived consumer reluctance to upgrade might be tied to a trend toward using tablets or mobile phones for email and watching video, and using cloud-based systems to handle word processing, spreadsheets and more complex applications.

However, Microsoft early last month announced that Windows 10 was running on 300 million active devices, and noted that the free upgrade period would be coming to an end. After July 29, the upgrade will cost $119.00.

Loss of Trust

Microsofts upgrade policy not only was wrong from an ethical standpoint, but also risked creating long-term damage with its customers, according to technology analyst Jeff Kagan.

Microsoft is burning their relationship with so many customers its hard to see any value, he told the E-Commerce Times. The big question to me has always been why is Microsoft cutting its nose off to spite its face?

Many customers have grown tired of dealing with Microsoft and have defected to Apple or Linux, he said.

Microsofts aggressive stance on Windows 10 upgrades was due to the resistance it experienced around XP, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

A large number of XP users refused to upgrade to Windows Vista for years, in part due to the new OS abysmal performance, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Microsoft obviously wants to avoid similar situations this time around and believes that Windows 10 offers superior performance and security than other versions of Windows, King said. Its initial approach to upgrading older systems was opaque and underhanded, but things have improved considerably over the past six to eight months.
I joined a bunch of analysts in discussing Hewlett Packard Enterprises next move at a secret conclave last week. The company had just announced the sale of its IT services, which basically undid much of Mark Hurds work as CEO. (It already had sold off PCs and printers, more than undoing Carly Fiorinas earlier efforts.) Granted, HPE spun it like it was an acquisition (Ill get to that later) but this move leaves the firm even more crippled, suggesting theres more to come.

Ill focus on that this week and close with an interesting book I should have written on how Donald Trump is winning the election and likely will become president.

So, Did HP Buy CSC or Sell Services?

I have to hand it to HPE, as Ive never before seen a sale spun as an acquisition. To hear Meg Whitman speak, it was like she had completely lost touch with reality. Im starting to think there is an alien artifact in the CEOs office at HPE, because she clearly isnt the first HP CEO who has lost complete touch with reality.

Carly Fiorina, for example, thought the HP board reported to her. Mark Hurd thought an HP-paid mistress was a perk. Leo Apotheker actually thought he was CEO  even though apparently no one else at HP shared that view.

Here is a test of a sale versus a purchase: When you sell something, you get cash and they get control. HPE got cash and CSC got control. Yes, Whitman got a board seat and undoubtedly another big paycheck, but being on a board  and she should know this  doesnt mean you run the company. Given that she appears to believe it does, it kind of makes you wonder which HPE board member is running the company. Clearly, Whitman doesnt have a clue.

She has sold off printers, PCs, thin clients, tablets, whatever was left of the phone business, and now services. So whats next?

Servers on the Block?

Id say the smart money was on servers. When IBM sold off PCs, it couldnt sustain its Intel-based server business and had to sell it to Lenovo  the firm that bought the PC business. So I guess HPE could try to sell servers to HP Inc., but HP Inc. is up to its eyeballs in debt already, thanks to being gifted with all of the company debt in the divestiture, so I doubt it has the resources to buy it.

Next in line would be Oracle, because Mark Hurd knows the business and it would strengthen Oracles offering. However, Hurd also knows what it is worth, and Ill bet it is less than Whitman is willing to accept.

Next theres Lenovo, but it currently is finishing two parallel large acquisitions and likely feels it can take the business organically. Finally, theres a bunch of other companies out of China that probably arent too excited about HPs server business.

So, other than HP Inc., I dont see a viable purchaser  unless Acer wants to make another run at the server business, and I dont think it is that stupid.

Storage on Its Way Out?

Ive been doing a lot of large customer interviews this year, and a common refrain is that HP Storage isnt competitive at scale. 3Par isnt working at scale either, and that likely is at the heart of Whitmans decision to make a play for EMC. She realized her storage product set was crap and wanted to replace it with EMCs.

I also think she realized that if EMC bonded with a different company  and Lenovo was looking to partner with it closely at the time  shed likely lose a lot of accounts, because the smart buyers that still bought other HP gear were buying EMC storage.

By the way, this likely goes a long way toward explaining how Dell justified the purchase. With EMC, it likely gets a decent shot at replacing HP servers. HPs storage is crap  so selling that unit likely will be difficult unless it can convince either Lenovo or Oracle that what it has is fixable and thus, at a discount, worth the price.

Networking for Sale?

HPs networking was its most powerful asset when Whitman took over, but she slowly got rid of all the top networking execs. It still seems to concern Cisco, though, which means it still has a great deal of potential value  though with the staffing changes, it likely has a sell-by date after which it wont be worth much.

Again, both Lenovo and Oracle likely would-be purchasers, though Dell also might take an interest, depending on how its relationship with Cisco goes after the EMC merger. (EMC loves Cisco  Dell not so much.) Ciscos new management appears to be mending fences, though. So if we are talking the asset with greatest value  and this suggests Meg Whitman would get the most personal gain from selling it  then networking is next.

Although many of my peers are thinking servers, Im betting on networking because thats where the biggest return is likely to come for Meg.

Software Holding Firm

I doubt theyll sell software. Mark Andreessen has been pushing for some time to turn HP into a software company and though some might question his judgment, given the Facebook India scandal and Netscapes failure, other members of the board apparently listen to the guy.

Leo Apotheker was hired largely to make that happen, and it seems the idea just hasnt died a well-deserved death. So I think the end game here is to leave HPE as just a troubled software company, making the only real lasting mystery who Andreessen will blame when that fails. (HPE got rid of its top software guy some time ago.)

Wrapping Up: RIP HPE

Maybe this should be titled Death by CEO. If you dont buy it, just take a look at HP Inc.s executive team.

Youll see two people who likely have the strongest inside knowledge of Meg Whitmans plan: HPs old CFO Cathie Lesjak, who is rather famous for either stopping or trying to stop some of HPs biggest mistakes; and HPs old head of HR, Tracy Keogh, who is out of Harvard and arguably the most qualified HR director in tech. Both of them left HPE, and probably not because they thought Whitman was a brilliant CEO. Just saying.

I had been thinking it would be interesting to take one of my columns on Trump and turn it into a book named The Trump Presidential Playbook  but damn it, Geoff Blades did it first. I think he did a pretty decent job of it.

My angle was comparing Trumps manipulative skills to Steve Jobs; Blades is to compare Trump to one of the leading experts on human behavior and hypnotism.

Its interesting that he seems to demonstrate how Trump moves minds by using a parody of Trumps skill in the book, making for a very fast read. I actually read it on a flight from Boston to Denver with time to spare.

You wont get insight into Trumps views  other than they are likely fluid  but you will get a sense of how he gutted every Republican politician he ran up against and how he is likely to do the same thing to Clinton.

Geoff makes a compelling argument that he even could have taken out the far stronger Obama, though he would have had a battle. This book dovetails with my belief that unless something happens to Trump, the only one who can beat him is Trump himself, and I found it a fascinating read. It is available in paperback and for the Amazon Kindle.

A lot of folks who argued that Trump was a joke of a candidate and that Hillary could beat him likely should read the book because it should give them a reason to reconsider (not that wiping the floor with experts like Jeb Bush shouldnt have been a clue).

Confirmation bias is a powerful thing, and I expect that when Trump is reading his acceptance speech (who am I kidding  Trump doesnt read his speeches, he extemps them) many of those folks will go into shock.

Trump has a special set of skills. Coupled with Trump: The Art of the Deal, his 1987 bestseller, The Trump Presidential Playbook delivers all you need to know if you want to understand why he is unbeatable. For that reason, it is my product (book) of the week.
Fitchburg police said in a news release early Thursday that there was no indication of foul play found in a death investigation Wednesday night at an apartment in the 2600 block of North Park Lane.

Lt. Todd Stetzer had said Wednesday night that the womans death did not appear to be suspicious.

A man who was at the apartment was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life threatening.

Stetzer said deputies were called to check on someones welfare at about 8:10 p.m.

Fitchburg police were called to the scene about 8:45 p.m.
Nvidia has released a new set of GeForce graphics card drivers, version 368.69, this time introducing support for Dirt Rally's upcoming virtual reality mode, which is expected to launch in the new few days.

This isn't the first time that Dirt Rally has included support for VR headsets, but the initial offering was pretty substandard. The new update to the popular rally racing game will support the Oculus SDK 1.3, and will appear in the Oculus Home store as well. Vive owners will be a little disappointed, though, as Dirt Rally VR won't be supporting SteamVR for now.

Nvidia also lists three new SLI profiles in their 368.69 driver, for Armored Warfare, Lost Ark, and iRacing: Motorsport Simulator. Plus you'll get the usual range of bug fixes, apparently without the introduction of any new known issues.

As always, you can download the GeForce 368.69 driver automatically through GeForce Experience, or you can grab a manually installer from our driver download section here.

For those that are interested, it may also be worth checking out Nvidia's GeForce Experience 3.0 Beta, which was released a couple of days ago complete with a range of new features and tweaks.
According to a report from Android Police, Google is reportedly looking to expand its range of Nexus devices with two Android Wear smartwatches, codenamed Angelfish and Swordfish.

Angelfish is the larger of the two smartwatches, with a design reminiscent of the 42mm Moto 360. This watch will reportedly feature a circular 43.5mm display - still smaller than the 'large' 46mm Moto 360 - with specifications to include GPS, LTE and a heart rate monitor. LTE in particular will allow the Angelfish to work fully independently of a smartphone.

It appears Android Police has seen these devices in person, because their report goes into detail about their design. Interestingly, the Angelfish will feature three physical buttons, although it's not clear what their function is. We also won't be getting a 'flat tire' design like the Moto 360: the display is fully circular.

The Swordfish is notably smaller than the Angelfish, featuring a design similar to the Pebble Time Round, although not as slim and without the massive bezel. Unlike the Angelfish, there is no GPS or LTE in the Swordfish, and there's only one physical button.

It seems Google is developing these smartwatches to be a reference platform for Wear 2.0 and their new artificially intelligent assistant. It's not clear when they will be launched either, though expect a release later this year, potentially around the same time as new Nexus smartphones.
Samsung has issued earnings guidance for the second quarter of 2016 that forecasts its largest profits in more than two years.

The South Korean electronics giant said that for the three-month period ending June 30, it expects to take in profits of 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion). That's 17.4 percent higher than the same period a year ago and up from 7.8 trillion won forecasted by a survey of 16 analysts. If accurate, it would be the highest profit for Samsung since it generated 8.5 trillion won in the first quarter of 2014, Fortune notes.

Shares are up more than two percent on the guidance as of writing.

Samsung can thank its smartphone business for the impressive guidance and specifically, its new Galaxy S7 line. Samsung released its Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge on March 11 with many labeling them as Samsung's best smartphones to date. Some even feel it is the best overall Android phone on the planet.

In our hands-on review, Tim Schiesser awarded the S7 Edge a score of 95 out of 100, praising its refined design, camera, processor, battery life, water resistance and Samsung's decision to bring back the microSD card slot. The only faults we found with the device were its lack of USB Type-C, a slippery glass body that's a major fingerprint magnet and Samsung's TouchWiz overlay.

Just last week, Samsung released unlocked versions of the S7 and S7 Edge in the US that come without all the carrier bloatware.

Samsung will publish its full Q2 earnings report later this month.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is one of the most awaited smartphones of this year. Rumors of the handset have been surfacing in the mobile phone space for many months now, and latest rumors hint that the upcoming phablet may sport a new S Pen Stylus and Air Command features.

Indian publication iGyaan claims to have obtained an internal Samsung memo, which suggests that the Samsung device will sport a newly designed S Pen. Apart from a new physical design, users will also experience improved features of the S Pen.

iGyaan reports that the stylus of the Galaxy Note 7 will have a new version of Bluetooth LE, which will allow owners of the phone to use the stylus for a longer period and also improve the proximity accuracy.

The functionality of Air Command is also expected to receive more features. Air Command launches automatically when the S Pen is taken out from the phone. The Air Command menu includes some features related to the S Pen, such as saving a memo when one needs to write something down immediately. iGyaan reports that the menu will now include a Dictionary and Speaking (text-to-speech) shortcuts.

The internal Samsung memo also highlights that the Galaxy Note 7 will sport a borderless display, which may hint at the "edge" version of the phone with no borders.

Speculations are rife that the Galaxy Note 7 will be equipped with an iris scanner for increased security of the device. Users will be able to unlock the screen of the smartphone by having their eyes scanned. However, the functionality may not be limited to unlocking the handset. Reports suggest that the iris scanner may be used for unlocking individual Apps and folders as well.

Previous rumors suggest that the Galaxy Note 7, which was previously called the Galaxy Note 6, may tout a 5.8-inch slim RGB AMOLED screen. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 823 processor or a new Exynos chip may power the device. It is likely that the Galaxy phone will come with 6 GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Note 5 does not have a microSD card slot for expanding the storage capacity, which disappointed many smartphone fans. However, Samsung may introduce one in the new Galaxy handset, which can be used to increase the phone's storage capacity.

Most of the top-end mobile phones are dust- and water-resistant, but the Galaxy Note 5 was not. The Galaxy Note 7 may be IP68 certified, which will protect the phablet from dust and water.

Samsung has not revealed any detail of the Galaxy Note 7, which is estimated to be launched in August this year. Samsung smartphone enthusiasts will have to wait patiently before the company officially unveils the device and reveals its specs and features.

Photo: Karlis Dambrans | Flickr

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Countless attempts have been made to perfect the world's first working "space elevator" - a concept that has emerged since the dawn of the Space Age.

In theory, a functional space elevator would work like this: passengers travel in a vehicle that is tethered to a cable. The cable is attached to a counterweight located in a zero-gravity environment.

Because the technology is rocket-less, passengers would not have to think about the huge amount of combustible fuel that typically propels vehicles into space. The ideal vehicle will ascend or descend as needed with the help of the cable.

So far, no one has successfully tested a fully functional elevator on outer space yet. But that doesn't mean the idea will be laid to rest and forgotten.

In fact, a group of Japanese scientists from Shizuoka University have designed their own space elevator technology known as Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite-Cube or STAR-C.

Japan's Space Elevator Technology

STAR-C is constructed as a micro-satellite that provides a cable connecting our planet to a space station in orbit, high above the atmosphere.

The prototype for STAR-C, which was unveiled in Japan on June 8, contains an orbiter that weighs 2.66 kilograms (5.86 pounds).

The orbiter is made of two 10-centimeter (3.9-inch) cubes that are linked to a 100-meter-long (328-foot-long) tether, which is made out of Kevlar, a tough and durable material.

Initial Testing In Space

STAR-C will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) and then released from Kibo, a module owned by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Once in space, STAR-C's two cubic components will split from each other in order to test the Kevlar tether as they move apart.

The results of this experiment are expected to provide information that will be useful in the improvement of the space elevator concept, as well as insight on what kind of considerations would have to be made if one were to develop and design a full-scale version of the technology.

Furthermore, the experiment might also contribute data for the development of technology that could remove and eliminate space debris that is orbiting Earth. The technology produced would possibly include electrodynamic tethers.

STAR-C will be manipulated and will have its data sent to Earth using ham radio frequencies. The team will take the aid of amateur radio operators to collect the information.

The History Of STAR-C

In 2014, project developers and university professors Masahiro Nomi and Yoshiki Yamagiwa sent their proposal to JAXA. During that time, the space agency was looking for satellites to be launched from the Kibo module in the ISS.

Kagawa University, another institution in Japan, has conducted two experiments in space using two models that were the predecessors of STAR-C, but the experiments failed to gather a sufficient amount of information.

Additionally, a Japanese construction company called Obayashi had promised to build a space elevator by the middle of the 21st century.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new study finds that goats are just as clever and affectionate as dogs. Could a goat be man's new best friend?

Findings from a new research from the Queen Mary University of London suggest that goats are on the same route to domestication as dogs.

The research was published in the Biology Letters journal on July 5.

In the study, the researchers gave goats a reward-based task that involves taking a lid off a box wherein a treat awaits. When the researchers decided to increase the level of difficulty to "impossible," the goats in the study "gazed" at the nearby human researchers similar as to what dogs do when they give their humans the "puppy eyes" look.

Just like dogs, the confused goat participants turned to their human owners in a way that looked as if they were pleading for help in order to get the treats inside the closed box. The researchers noted that the goats gazed longer when humans were looking at them compared to when the owners were not looking.

In the new study, the research team also showed that goats were capable of determining how to open the sealed box using levers. This type of tasks is used to gauge intelligence levels among apes.

"Goats gaze at humans in the same way as dogs do when asking for a treat that is out of reach," said study author Dr. Christian Nawroth. The experiments were conducted at the Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats.

According to Dr. Jenna Kiddie, Anglia Ruskin University's senior lecturer in animal behavior and welfare, canines evolved to follow human's gaze because the latter needed them to become good hunting companions.

"We've never had any social need from goats apart from their meat and milk, so this research really throws that into the water," added Kiddie.

Researchers have long studied dogs and wolves in the hopes to explain why one evolved to become domesticated while other remained wild. However, data on farmyard animals is a bit more irregular.

While there are already data on cognition, there are several social aspects of the relationship between animals and humans that have yet to be explored.

Goats have a natural desire to explore, and it provides a window for cross-species sociability. In fact, goats were the first species domesticated by humans about 10,000 years ago.

Britain is home to about 100,000 goats. Around the world, there are about a billion goats, but until recently, humans believed that goats and sheep share the same level of intelligence.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Drones To Help London Police Track Bike Thieves | TechTree.com

Drone Technology just became a little more popular and practical in its uses, this time for the London Police. The security forces from the capital of the UK, will be using the drone technology to track down suspects, who could be involved in high-speed snatching of motorbikes, mopeds, and other valuables. The police have been struggling in recent times to come up with safer, and a more effective option in tracking down criminals, and Drone technology ought to be a safer alternative in that regard.

As per Evening Standard reports, the city of London has recorded phone thefts in excess of 3,000 within the past year itself, especially around the areas of Islington and Camden. Many of these robberies and snatchings have been attributed to criminals on 2-wheelers, who are the ideal drive-by thieves. Also in 2014, an 18-year old man named Henry Hicks lost his life in a high-speed chase with unmarked police vehicles and a helicopter, when he was trying to evade them after a robbery. London assembly's police and crime committee Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey is thus working strongly on tactics, which would help prevent tragedies, and be more effective in tracking down criminals of such crimes.

In a statement from the Metropolitan Police, it said "The possibilities of unmanned aerial vehicles to tackle suspects using two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles to commit crime are currently being discussed at a national level by the National Police Chiefs' Council's steering group and the Centre for Applied Science and Technology." In certain daily operations of the police, the use of drones have known to be more cost effective as well, by reducing the need for helicopter support, and more effectively guiding ground forces to peruse suspects, or even help control situations like protests and investigate any intrusions.

The above initiative by London, is something which could be effective in India, if a strong initiative is taken. With larger cities facing the problems of monitoring security logistics, especially in localities where space and knowledge of local geography is a challenge, drone technology could indeed be more effective in guiding the police forces of the city towards more effective and quicker operations.

TAGS: London, Police, drones, technology, crime
Next week U.S. General Services Administration Administrator Denise Turner Roth plans to travel to California for three days, as GSA puts it, to engage with industry leaders, CIOs and local officials as part of her mission to deliver the most innovative technology services to the federal government at the best value for the taxpayer.Roth will be on hand in San Francisco on July 13 for GSA Cyber Industry Day in support of the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, and on July 14 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new for Superpublic workspace partnership with Mayor Ed Lee and the City Innovation Foundation.Shell then head south to San Ysidro on July 15 for the grand opening of the new PedWest facility and Virginia Avenue Transit Center at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry.Roth assumed office in August 2015. She previously was GSAs deputy administrator.
Oakland man charged with arson after trying to set Google Headquarters on fire

An Oakland resident who said Google was watching him has been charged with one count of arson after being allegedly linked to three late-night attacks at Googles Silicon Valley headquarters in Mountain View, California. In the attacks that took place in May and June, while one of the Internet search giants self-driving cars was destroyed by fire, but no one was hurt in the attacks.

Raul Murillo Diaz, 30, of Oakland, California was arrested by the Mountain View Police Department on June 30, after his vehicle was spotted at Google HQ (also known as the Googleplex) around midnight. His car, a 2004 grey Volkswagen Touareg, was previously caught on security tape involving three other criminal incidents at the campus.

According to a federal complaint, Diaz began the first attack shortly before midnight May 19 at the companys huge campus in Mountain View, California. After seeing a man throw a beer bottle at a Google mapping car, an employee called police and then watched the area blow up into flames. The fire bombs landed at the rear of the vehicle, which sustained minimal damage.

Police say they recovered fragments from two bottles of Blue Moon beer. Charges in two later attacks are pending. The federal authorities said that the second incident took place on June 4 at about 11:30 p.m. Two witnesses reported hearing gunshots about half a mile away from where the fire broke out, and police arrived to find five bullet holes in Google office windows. It happened to be the same SUV that was captured on the surveillance video on May 19. Authorities believe a .22 caliber handgun was used during the attack.

Police were called a third time on June 10 at about 2 a.m. after a Google self-driving car was found engulfed in flames. Video footage showed a man nearby holding a makeshift water-pistol, believed by police to contain flammable liquid used to start the fire. The same SUV was also recorded on the surveillance video.

Shortly after midnight, on June 30, Mountain View police pulled over a 2004 Volkswagen Touareg they said Diaz was driving on the Google campus. The arresting officer said he could see a gun case and a cylinder with wires coming out of it, according to the affidavit. Though Diaz said the object was used for target practice, the bomb squad that was later called in said it was an unfinished explosive device.

Johnny Luu, a Google spokesman, said a self-driving car was not involved in any of the incidents and said he had no other information about what happened.

According to an affidavit filed last week in US District Court for the Northern District of California, Diaz told investigators he was responsible for all three attacks and was planning another before he was stopped and arrested. Diaz said he carried out these attacks because he felt that Google was watching him and that made him upset. He also kept journals of all the times he suspected the company was watching him.

The San Francisco Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping in the investigation.

Diaz made a brief appearance in a San Jose federal court Friday, but didnt enter a plea. He remains jailed and is represented by federal public defender Varrel Fuller. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
A 40 anos de Malvinas

"Revisar el pasado es pensar el futuro". La frase de la presidenta de Telam, Bernarda Llorente, resume el espiritu del documental coproducido entre la agencia de noticias y el canal publico de TV sobre la cobertura que los medios de comunicacion hicieron del conflicto, plagada de censura y mentiras. Una autocritica necesaria para mirar hacia adelante en un (ya viejo) contexto de fake news y negocio informativo.
"To produce is to win and we are winning!", President Nicolas Maduro stressed. | Read More
A 20-year-old Reeseville man who allegedly inhaled a dust cleaner product a few minutes before he struck and killed a teen in Dodge County in September has been charged with vehicular homicide.

Cody Buechel was charged in Dodge County Circuit Court on Thursday in the death of 17-year-old Lukas Jaeger.

Jaeger was walking along Highway G in the town of Lowell on Sept. 27, 2015, when he was struck.

The Sheriffs Office said Buechel had inhaled Dust Off, a chemical spray used to clean computers that has an intoxicating effect when inhaled, minutes before hitting Lowell.

Buechel was driving his Chevy pickup truck north on Highway G, crossed the center line into the southbound lane and struck Jaeger who was on the shoulder of the southbound lane, the Sheriffs Office said.

Jaeger died at the scene.

Buechel was also charged with two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.
Molinare has hired award-winning dubbing mixer, Greg Gettens, to strengthen its broadcast factual audio offering.

Gettens joins from Clear Cut Pictures, having spent the last seven years as its Head of Audio. He has been working in audio post production for over 18 years after first beginning his career at Molinare as an Audio Assistant.

Gettens has most recently been working on BBC Twos landmark drama documentary The Last Warrior King. In 2013, he won the RTS Award for Best Sound in Drama for his work on BBC Ones historical epic drama documentary D Day: The Last Heroes, and has also mixed shows including the political series Inside The Commons and Channel 4s Charlie Hebdo  3 Days That Shook Paris. He was also re-recording mixer for David Singtons documentary The Fear of 13.

Current Head of Factual Sound, George Foulgham, will now concentrate on Molinares expanding feature documentary division.

Julie Parmenter, Molinares Managing Director said: We are delighted to be welcoming Greg back to Molinare in what is set to be a very busy autumn period for us. Gregs exemplary reputation and back catalogue of award-winning work demonstrate our intention to grow our factual portfolio even further.

Greg Gettens said: I am very excited to be coming back home to Molinare, now as the head of a department which has such a great reputation. The work they produce is outstanding, so to be offered the opportunity to become part of that team is fantastic."

George Foulgham, also commented: Greg is without doubt one of the best Factual Mixers in London, and I couldnt think of anyone better to work alongside with. He will greatly enhance our Factual Audio offering.

He joins Molinare on the 1st August 2016.

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Louise Pedersen is set to return to All3Media International as Chief Executive Officer.

Pedersen spent ten years at the super-indie distributor before making a move to Playground Television to set up their UK division in January 2015.

She replaces current All3Media International CEO Steve Macallister, who has been in the job since March 2015.

In a statement, All3Media said Macallister has decided that it is time for a change of direction after 25 years in the international TV business. He plans to take the remainder of the year off before embarking on new ventures.

Pedersen focused on high end British drama at Playground, alongside its co-production slate.

She was previously managing director of All3Media International. Before joining All3Media International Pedersen spent 14 years at Carlton International as Sales Managing Director.

Jane Turton, Chief Executive Officer, All3Media said: The prospect of Louise returning to All3Media International is very exciting. Her knowledge of the international production and distribution market is second to none and that, coupled with her leadership skills and strategic vision make her a very natural choice as the Chief Executive of such an important and central part of the All3Media Group.

Pedersen said: All3Media is a company that is close to my heart and I am really thrilled to be returning to the new CEO role at All3Media International. Jane and the All3Media team have added some exciting companies to the fantastic group of All3Media production businesses in the last 18 months and I am really looking forward to working with them all and bringing their shows to international audiences.

Id like to thank Colin Callender and the Playground team for giving me a wonderful opportunity to learn more about drama over the last 15 months and I look forward to watching their continued success.

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Former senator Russ Feingold, perhaps the most surprising Democratic casualty of the 2010 midterms, is fighting to win back his seat after six years in academia and the State Department. His opponent, Sen. Ron Johnson, never ran for office before the 2010 victory. And someone tuning into the race after never previously paying attention to politics would have no idea that Johnson is the incumbent and Feingold is a former senator who wants backs in.

Feingold's latest ad, "Bill of Goods," continues the odd and revealing messaging contest that's defined the race. In it, Johnson is portrayed as a conniving politician who "went to Washington and never looked back." He's repeatedly identified as "Senator Johnson." Feingold is never really identified, which is common for attack ads.

One reason for the unsubtle branding is that Johnson's own ads never mention that he was elected to the Senate six years ago. In "Pallets," his first spot, Johnson walks around the factory he ran before running, criticizing "career politicians" and saying that he "stayed put right here in Oshkosh" instead of outsourcing.

In his second spot, "Dishwasher," Johnson tells a Horatio Alger summary of his biography, from his teenaged dishwashing gigs to the "12-hour shift at night" on industrial equipment. "I'm working hard to keep Wisconsin prosperous and America safe," he says, again not mentioning where (Washington, D.C.) he is doing this.

The potency of Johnson's ads is acknowledged by Feingold's; the last shot of "Dishwasher," of Johnson keying open a door, is altered to show him leaving a factory for the Capitol in "Bill of Goods." Feingold's campaign has learned from the brutal experience of 2010, when Johnson's best ad  an award-winner  showed him diagramming the jobs of current U.S. senators, pointing out that almost all of them were trained as lawyers, and none were manufacturers like him.

That branding may be as potent for Johnson as Feingold's old stance against outside money (abandoned in the 2010 race, and this one) once was for him. In a strategically chintzy ad paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Johnson and Feingold appear as animated characters  Johnson at work in shirtsleeves, in a factory, and Feingold running around in a suit, toting a wheelbarrow of money.

In fact, the only recent TV ad that mentions Johnson's current job was produced by Americans for Prosperity  and there's a reason for that. The Koch-founded AFP is a 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organization, meaning that its electioneering activity must appear to educate the public on legislation or major issues. To hit that mark, the AFP spot supporting Johnson tells voters to "call Senator Johnson" and thank him for his hard work  boilerplate language, not really a suggestion to bombard the senator's office with compliments.

The phony war in Wisconsin, and the distancing from Washington, was telegraphed at least a year ago, when the Washington Free Beacon obtained video of Wisconsin Democratic chair Martha Laning telling Democratic activists not to call Feingold a senator.

"Never call him 'Senator Feingold.' We are to call him 'Russ,'" she said. "They want us to say 'Russ' because the last campaign  it was all about '16 years, 16 years, 16 years, he's there too long.' And so they want to say, 'He's just one of us.' We want to go back to Russ being Russ."

Feingold had actually been in office for 18 years. The Chamber of Commerce's spot accuses Feingold of "28 years in office," adding his Washington service to his years as a state senator. The message there is the implicit one of "just Russ"  voters hate Washington, and it is safer to decry politicians who've been elected to office than it is to argue for supporting them based on what they did. Neither Feingold nor Johnson has been involved in any kind of scandal. Both have records to brag about, and while in Washington, Feingold's record made him much-adored by progressives. And at some point, possibly, the candidates will tell voters about this.
Workers paint the facade of a newly built hotel in downtown Hanoi on January 7, 2015. Photo credit: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP

While the average occupancy rate at high-end hotels in Vietnam rose slightly in 2015, it was significantly lower than that of Thailand and the Philippines, a survey found.

The survey, released by consulting firm Grant Thornton Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, said that four-star hotels in Vietnam saw an increase of 1.2 percent, from 60.3 percent in 2014 to 61.5 percent in 2015, in their occupancy rate.

Five-star hotels experienced a 1.6-percent growth to reach 62.7 percent in 2015.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rates at four- and five-star hotels in Thailand and the Philippines ranged between 73 and 77 percent, Grant Thornton said.

In terms of room rates, four-star hotels in Vietnam cut their rates by 17.1 percent to US$72.3 in 2015. Five-star hotels had a better performance, with the rates increasing by 1.2 percent to $111.4.

To Thi Thu, Senior Manager of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton Vietnam, who led the survey, said: 2015 was a tough year for the tourism industry in Vietnam while international arrivals declined considerably in the first six months but the number of new hotels increased.

The proportion of foreign guests staying at four- and five-star hotels in the country accounted for 81 percent in 2015, 2 percent lower than 2014.

Vietnam welcomed 7.9 million international visitors in 2015, a 0.9 percent year-on-year increase. In ASEAN, that growth rate was the same as Singapore's and higher than Malaysia's.

In the first six months of this year, more than 4.7 million foreigners visited Vietnam, up 21.3 percent from the same period of last year.

Tourism revenues in the first half rose 22 percent year-on-year to more than VND200 trillion ($9 billion). Officials are confident that the country can achieve the targets of 8.5 million foreign visitors this year and $370 trillion in revenues.
Miniso, a popular Japanese chain stores of affordable fashion and lifestyle products, is set open its first three outlets in Vietnam this August, local media reported on Thursday.

By 2021, Vietnam will be home to 200 Miniso stores, Le Thi Ngoc Hai, chairwoman of Le Bao Minh Group, which bought the franchise, told news website VnExpress.

More than 10,000 products such as fashion accessories, cosmetics and home decorations will be sold at Miniso stores in Vietnam with prices starting from VND43,000, she said.

Founded in 2013, Miniso has opened 1,600 stores around the world, such as China, Italy and the US. It reportedly raked in nearly US$700 million in sales in Asia alone last year.

Le Bao Minh Group is best known as the exclusive distributor of Japan's Canon with more than 230 stores around Vietnam, according to the website.
Singaporean developer Low Keng Huat Limited has reportedly sold a four-star hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh City to an undisclosed investor for US$49 million.

The sale of Duxton Hotel Saigon on Nguyen Hue Street was confirmed by research company Savills Vietnam, news website VnExpress reported on Wednesday.

It was the fourth reported acquisitions in Vietnam's hotel industry this year.

Last month South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines reportedly sold a 50 percent stake in Kumho Asiana Plaza, a serviced apartment and hotel complex also in District 1, to Saigon Boulevard Holdings for $107.5 million. The buyer is a subsidiary of Singaporean developer Mapletree Investments Pte.

In April, Que Huong Liberty Corporation, which owns several hotels in HCMC, said it sold Novotel Saigon Centre, another four-star hotel in the downtown area, to a Vietnamese investor, reportedly for $46.7 million.

In Hanoi, local hotel company BRG Group has recently bought four-star hotel Sedona Suites Hanoi from Singapore's Keppel Land Vietnam at $31.5 million, local media reported.

Given Vietnam's increasing popularity among foreign tourists, Savills forecast the local hotel sector will see more mergers and acquisitions this year, according to VnExpress.

Official figures showed Vietnam's international arrivals rose 21.3 percent year-on-year to more than 4.7 million in the first six months.
A file photo of a Vasco aircraft at Con Dao Airport in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Photo: Hung Do

SkyViet, which was restructured from Vietnam Airlines' short-haul carrier Vasco, may have to wait for a while before it can start flying due to new questions about the legitimacy of the restructuring process.

In its recent letter to the government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has demanded a review of SkyViet Aviation JSC's establishment.

It was responding to the government's request for inputs before a license to provide passenger and goods transport services can be granted.

The ministry said it and the finance ministry had never been consulted on SkyViet's formation. Under existing rules, they must have a say in the business of state-owned enterprises.

Vietnam Airlines owns a stake of 51 percent in SkyViet, which has a chartered capital of VND300 billion (US$13.22 million). Two Techcombank's subsidiaries Techcom Capital and Techcomdeveloper own the rest.

The venture acquired a business license from Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment in March and was expected to get a flying license in the second quarter.

The investment ministry also asked the transport ministry to check the value of VASCO's assets that Vietnam Airlines transferred to SkyViet.

The assets were estimated at VND153 billion ($6.74 million), but several media reports have suggested that they could be worth much more than that.

Founded in 1987, Vasco now has a share of around 8 percent in Vietnam's domestic passenger air market, besides hotel and aircraft servicing businesses among others. It posted a profit of VND75.3 billion last year, up 12.6 percent from 2014.

Speaking to Thanh Nien, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Hong Truong said Vietnam Airlines hired an independent company to evaluate the assets.

Previously Vietstar Airlines, a military-run aviation company, has also faced challenges in acquiring a license to provide passenger and goods transport services due to a financial issue.

Founded in 2010 by the defense ministry to provide charter flights, filming and rescue services, the company's equity was estimated at VND652.7 billion ($29.2 million) at the end of last year. But, the finance ministry said that does not meet the minimum of VND700 billion ($31 million) required for an airline with a fleet of up to 10 aircraft and operating international flights.

Vietnam's domestic passenger air market is now dominated by Vietnam Airlines and private low-cost Vietjet Air, with respective shares of 40.8 and 36.3 percent. Jetstar Pacific Airlines, another low-cost carrier run by Vietnam Airlines and Australian-owned Qantas, controls 14.9 percent.

Vietnam's air market is forecast to see a rise of 19 percent to 45 million passengers this year, with the domestic sector accounting for more than 58 percent.
An undated photo of trucks crowding a street that leads to Cat Lai Port in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Diep Duc Minh Vietnam's maritime authority has announced a plan to limit the amount of goods that can pass through ports in Ho Chi Minh City in an attempt to help divert some of the freight to a giant seaport nearby which has been mostly avoided by shipping lines.

The plan will be submitted to the transport ministry and then the National Assembly for approval, news website Saigon Times Online reported, citing Bui Thien Thu, deputy chief of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

Thu said t he transport ministry has been trying to encourage shipping lines to move to Cai Mep-Thi Vai, a deep-river port complex in the province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Despite fee discounts, t he number of arriving ships has been much lower than expectations, he said.

The port complex which costs VND40 trillion (US$1.75 billion) consists of seven ports. It has been been operating at just 15 percent of its designed capacity since its opening in 2009, the official said.

The plan, if approved, will also help reduce congestion at Ho Chi Minh City seaports, particularly Cat Lai in District 2, he said.

The Vietnamese maritime agency's reasons for the restriction came from the success Thailand has apparently enjoyed after introducing the similar policy with its old Bangkok Port and the new Laem Chabang Port, according to the news report.
Vietnam, the world's fifth largest garment exporter, will import 1.2 million tons of cotton this year, up about 19 percent from 2015, to meet rising demand from its textile industry while domestic output is insignificant, an industry official said on Wednesday.

Most of the imported cotton will come from the United States, which has been Vietnam's top supplier of the raw material, followed by India, Brazil and Australia, Vice Chairman Nguyen Son of the Vietnam Cotton and Spinning Association told Reuters.

Vietnam's exports of textiles and garments, the country's second-biggest cash earner after smart phones, are projected to jump 36 percent this year to $31 billion, according to the trade ministry.
Vietnam's exports of textiles and garment products increased 5.1 percent to US$10.7 billion in the first six months, the slowest pace since 2010, which industry insiders attribute to the rise of new suppliers in the global market.

The downshift means the industry, which accounted for nearly 14 percent of the country's exports last year, is likely to miss the annual shipment target of $31 billion this year, according to news website Dau Tu.

Buyers are not cutting back purchases altogether but they are increasingly turning toward other suppliers such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar for lower import tariffs and thus lower prices, local media reported, citing industry insiders.

Vu Duc Giang, chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, told news website Bnews that Vietnam will have to wait at least two years before its free trade agreement with the EU and the Pacific-Rim trade pact TPP take effect. The former has been signed off but the latter is still waiting to be approved by each of the 12 member states.

At the moment, Vietnam's textile shipment is subject to an average tariff of 17 percent in the US and nearly 10 percent in the EU.

The industry's exports grew 8.2 percent to $22.63 billion last year, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.
An artist impression of the new bridge between Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai Province

Ho Chi Minh City is asking for permission to build a new bridge and make it easier to travel to the neighboring industrial hub Dong Nai.

In its proposal sent to the government, the city said a construction company plans to invest VND5.7 trillion (US$255.6 million) on a suspended bridge across the Dong Nai River that will link HCMCs District 2 and Dong Nais Nhon Trach District.

More than a fifth of the cost is for site clearance and compensation. The project has received support from Dong Nai's government.

The four-kilometer bridge will serve cargo transport between HCMCs Cat Lai Port and industrial parks in Dong Nai, the proposal said.

It will also give travelers a new option. Ferryboats shuttling between HCMC and Dong Nai remain a popular means of transport. The boats serve more than 45,000 vehicles daily and the number can double on holidays.

There is also an expressway but many still prefer the ferries to save time.
Vietnams labor ministry has pledged to give priority in labor export programs to fishers whose livelihood has been as stake due to a toxic spill disaster linked to Taiwanese steel firm Formosa.

Doan Mau Diep, the deputy labor minister, said at a press briefing Tuesday the government will support those directly affected by the mass fish deaths in the four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue in April.

The incident, possibly the biggest environmental crisis in Vietnams history, has destroyed a large part of the sea creature population in the area. Even if the fishers could catch anything now, they cannot sell it to anyone as there has been a safety scare looming large across the country.

Diep said the ministry can help send local fishers to work in Germany, Japan and South Korea.

The labor pact with South Korea was renewed in May for 3,500 workers.

Diep said some parts of the affected provinces are blacklisted for having many workers overstaying in South Korea in the past. But he promised that the ministry will lift the restriction for now.

Three other labor export programs send technical interns to Japan, and nurses to Japan and Germany. All candidates will receive training and attend foreign language classes for free.

Diep said there are also new opportunities in Thailand, which is accepting Vietnamese workers for fishing and construction jobs.

Formosa has pledged to compensate fishers in the affected provinces US$500 million for causing the environment crisis that killed around 100 tons of fish.

Scientists who helped investigate the cause of the disaster said the regional environment will need at least 50 years to recover from the toxic spill.
The Soyuz MS spacecraft carrying the crew of Kate Rubins of the U.S., Anatoly Ivanishin of Russia and Takuya Onishi of Japan blasts off to the International Space Station (ISS) from the launchpad at the Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, July 7, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov

A three-member multinational crew blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on Thursday for a two-day trip to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed.

NASA astronaut Kathleen "Kate" Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi liftedoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 0136 GMT on Thursday (9:36p.m. EDT Wednesday) and reached orbit nine minutes later.

"We wish you good luck," a Russian flight controller radioed to the crew, an interpreter said.

The crews Russian Soyuz capsule is scheduled to arrive at the station, which orbits about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, at 0412 GMT Saturday (12:12 a.m. EDT) to begin a four-month mission.

"Im incredibly excited about a lot of the biology experiments were going to be doing," Rubins, 37, said in a NASA interview before launch.

Rubins, a cancer and infectious diseases researcher, plans to attempt the first DNA sequencing in orbit.

She, Ivanishin, 47, and Onishi, 41, will join NASA astronaut and station commander Jeff Williams and two Russian cosmonauts who have been aboard the orbital outpost since March.

Ivanishin has made one previous flight to the station. Rubins and Onishi are both rookie astronauts.

Thursday's launch marked the debut flight of a next-generation Russian Soyuz capsule, currently the only vehicles capable of ferrying crewmembers to and from the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations.

Upgrades to the Soyuz include better shielding to protect the spacecraft from micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts, additional batteries, improved communications and tracking equipment, new steering thrusters, larger solar arrays, an improved rendezvous and docking system and a GPS-equipped landing system.

NASA hopes to resume flying station crewmembers from the United States in 2018 aboard capsules under development by Boeing Co and privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX.

A docking system that the new commercial U.S. spaceships will need to park at the station is scheduled to be launched aboard a SpaceX cargo ship on July 18.
Chinese nationals are fined for working illegally as tour guides in Vietnam. Photo credit: Doan Cuong/Tuoi Tre

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has asked Chinese officials to strictly deal with tourists who misbehave or break local laws when visiting the country.

Director Nguyen Van Tuan said tourism cooperation between the two nations has improved recently, with a significant increase in the number of Chinese arrivals.

Around 1.78 million Chinese tourists visited Vietnam last year. In the first six months, that number was 1.2 million.

But some Chinese visitors did not leave a very good impression. In a recent case, a group of Chinese tourists made a scene at a bar in the central city of Da Nang and one of them burned a Vietnamese banknote. That man was deported.

Tuan said to prevent similar situations, Chinese tourism officials need to coordinate with relevant agencies to issue strict punishment and manage tourism activities more effectively.

In related news, Da Nang authorities have issued fines of VND20 million (US$897) each against six Chinese nationals who were caught working illegally as tour guides in the city.

The city also issued a fine of VND20 million against Landscape travel agency and suspended its license for two years, saying it was opened as a front for illegal tourism services.
Vietnam Airlines says services may return to normal on July 9, 2016. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines

Vietnamese carriers have cancelled many flights to and from Taiwan to avoid damage from the super typhoon Nepartak that is forecast to batter the island soon.

The flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said it has cancelled four flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei and Kaohsiung on Thursday and six more on Friday.

A source from the airline told the Vietnam News Agency that it still keeps a few flights but there could be changes to the schedule.

All flights are expected to be resumed on Saturday, the representative said.

Low-cost carrier Vietjet has also cancelled three flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei and Tainan on Thursday.

Its service to South Korea may also be affected due to the weather situation, a representative said.

Nepartak, the first super typhoon of the region this year, is taking aim at Taiwan. It has strengthened from a tropical storm to a roaring super typhoon with winds hitting 240 kilometers per hours in just 48 hours, and can possibly become even stronger.
U.S. President Barack Obama, surrounded by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (L) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff USMC General Joseph Dunford, Jr., (R) delivers a statement from the Roosevelt Room on Afghanistan at the White House in Washington U.S. July 6, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Gary Cameron

President Barack Obama, calling Afghanistan's security situation precarious, said on Wednesday he will keep U.S. troop levels there at 8,400 through the end of his administration rather than reducing them to 5,500 by year's end as previously planned.

Obama, in a statement at the White House, said the role of U.S. forces in Afghanistan will remain unchanged: training and advising Afghan police and troops, and supporting counterterrorism missions against the Taliban and other groups. Obama's presidency ends in January.

Obama's plan still calls for a reduction in U.S. troop levels from the current roughly 9,800, but not as much as previously planned.

Obama, who took office in 2009 pledging to wind down the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he had ended America's combat mission in Afghanistan. But he acknowledged that security concerns persist.

"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said. "The Taliban remains a threat. They've gained ground in some places."

Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, according to recent United Nations estimates. The Islamic State group has also established a small presence in Afghanistan.

Obama's decision, which came after a review submitted last month by the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, drew some criticism inside and outside his administration.

Some Pentagon officials said that it does nothing to address the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

"It's disappointing that the administration thinks that troop numbers are a substitute for a more comprehensive strategy," said a U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This is neither the reduction that the White House seems to have wanted nor the current numbers that dont seem to be sufficient to deal with the security problem."

Mac Thornberry, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, criticized what he said was a new cap on U.S. troop levels.

"It is time that the president level with the American people about what it will really take to achieve our goals in Afghanistan, and how much it will cost," Thornberry said in a statement.

Obama spoke in advance of a NATO summit on Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, where alliance members are expected to confirm their support for the Kabul government.

In addition to the U.S. forces, there are about 3,000 other international troops in Afghanistan.

U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion launched by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, that toppled the Taliban leaders who harbored the al Qaeda organization responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that killed about 3,000 people. It is America's longest war.

During his announcement at the White House, Obama was flanked by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the top U.S. military officer, General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., July 5, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Joshua Roberts

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday rejected criticism of his campaign tactics, in a wide-ranging speech defending his team's use of a Jewish star and his own praise of the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

At a campaign rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, Trump vented his frustration at a news media he feels is out to derail his candidacy and help Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, deriding CNN, in particular, as the "Clinton News Network."

Trump's hour-long performance was unlikely to reassure those Republicans who would like to see the New York businessman focus his message on attacking Clinton to rally the party behind him at the Cleveland convention from July 18 to 21 where he is to be formally nominated.

He was particularly animated in defending his campaign's use of what was seen to be a Jewish star in a tweet last week that described Clinton as corrupt. The star was replaced with a round emblem after the criticism, but the incident has generated days of controversy.

Trump said he thought the star was more the shape of a sheriff's badge. He described as "sick people" those in the news media who called it a Jewish Star of David.

Later, Trump tweeted an image of character from a book linked to Disney's movie, "Frozen", that used a similarly shaped star on its cover.

"Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the 'Star of David' also? Dishonest media! #Frozen," he tweeted.

In his Ohio speech, Trump also returned to the subject of Saddam after generating controversy on Tuesday by complimenting him for his handling of militants.

Irritated by the criticism, Trump brought up Saddam again.

"So I said bad guy, really bad guy, but he was good at one thing: Killing terrorists I dont love Saddam Hussein. I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damned good at killing terrorists," Trump said.

Trump also reacted to a mosquito that buzzed near his hand at the podium.

"I don't like mosquitoes, I never did. Speaking of mosquitoes, hello Hillary, how are you doing?" he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets Salvador Antonio Valdes Mesa, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) and vice-president of the Council of State of Cuba, and his party on a visit, in this undated photo released by KCNA. Photo: Reuters/KCNA

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.

The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the U.S. jurisdiction. They include 10 other individuals besides Kim and five government ministries and departments, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement.

North Korea's leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea. It had to address the role of Kim Jong Un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.

Kim Jong Un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea. Many of the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children, the report said.

The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People's Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.

Senior U.S administration officials said the new sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The report was "the most comprehensive" to date on individual North Korean officials' roles in forced labor and repression.

They said the sanctions would be partly "symbolic" but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries "think twice" before engaging in abuses. "It lifts the anonymity," a senior administration official told reporters.

The North Korea mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

South Korea, which has imposed its own sanctions against the North that cut off all political and commercial ties, welcomed the move and said it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.

More sanctions to come

Using sanctions against a head of state is not unprecedented. In 2011, the United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their role in Syria's violence. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was also sanctioned.

Policymakers often worry that targeting a country's leader will destroy any lingering chance of rapprochement, say former diplomats. It is a sign "there probably isn't much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution," said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser in the U.S. Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The new sanctions join a long list of measures that have had little effect in pressuring North Korean leaders to change, experts who study the North's political system said.

"The sanctions from today will do nothing whatsoever to alter North Korea's strategic calculus and only underscore their thinking that the U.S. has a 'hostile policy' against their country," said Michael Madden an expert on the North Korean leadership.

"Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic. There will be numerous official and state media denunciations which will target the U.S. and Seoul and the wording will be vituperative and blistering," he said.

Peter Harrell, a former State Department sanctions official, said the measures would signal to companies in China as well as others doing business with North Korea that the U.S. would continue escalating sanctions.

Harrell added it was unlikely that any assets would be blocked, however "given the realities of where Kim Jong Un and his cronies likely hide their assets."

In March, the U.N. Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear and missile tests.

That same month, Obama imposed new sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a rocket launch that Washington and its allies said employed banned ballistic missile technology.

Those steps froze any property of the North Korean government in the U.S. and essentially prohibited exports of goods from the U.S. to North Korea.

"The United States has maintained sanctions and pressure against the North for 65 years since the Korean War, but there's not been a single case where the intended result was accomplished," said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"How much time is left in the Obama administration? There may be the wish to prove the policy of 'strategic patience' against the North has not failed, but when it comes to practical results, there won't be much to show," Yang said.
Heads up to prevent injury from falls Morning walks in my neighborhood are one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I love the coolness of daybreak and the special sightings of the stag and two does that frequent our open space. I also enjoy my walk because each day at...

Signs that point to the best time for retirement Ive been thinking a lot about retirement lately. One of our amazing staff members, who has been with Senior Concerns for the last 13 years, retired last month. It just doesnt seem real. I always thought of Dana as young. Certainly not the person to...

Rethinking the mandatory retirement age How old is too old for working at a job? Last week a news story hit my inbox and it really got me to thinking about age and retirement. The article noted that Target Corp. abandoned its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO,...

Tips to promoting a healthy nights sleep for children Question: Help, please. My daughter is almost 2 years old and has been an easy child to put into her own bed. Yet in the past few weeks she is purposefully stretching out the bedtime routine longer and longer. She wants more: more stories, more...
7.17am: A three-car crash is impacting the intersection of Drakeford Drive and Marconi Crescent in Kambah.

7.13am: There's been a crash on the intersection of Drakeford Drive and Marconi Crescent in Kambah.

Road closures:

Ginninderra Drive eastbound, between Coulter Drive and William Webb Drive, is still reduced to one lane. That should end after today.

If you see any accidents or have any info on the morning commute, let us know whenever it is safe to do so. Email morningblog@canberratimes.com.au or tweet us @canberratimes.

Check out what's on over July 8-10 with the Canberra Weekender.

Warm up with the World Curry Festival on City Walk. Friday 5pm-8pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday 11am-6pm. Free entry.

From 11am on Saturday the National Archives hosts Constitution Day with family friendly activities from 11am-4pm.

Artist Fiona Hall's exhibition Wrong Way Time is on at the National Gallery of Australia until July 10.

The ultimate foodie festival, the Canberra Region Truffle Festival is back for another year until August.

Looking for school holiday activities for the kids? Check out our guide.

Come to the National Archives and explore exquisite garments, sleek fashion shoots, designers, retailers and bloggers in Faith, Fashion, Fusion - Muslim Women's Style in Australia. Until September 4.

Touch or click through for more David Pope

Today: Cloudy. Medium (60%) chance of a shower or two. Light winds. Max 13.

Saturday: Cloudy. Slight (20%) chance of a shower. Light winds. Min 2, max 15

Sunday: Cloudy. Light winds. Min 2, max 14.
When retired Olympian Zuzana O'Hanlon faced a dramatic career transition she found companionship and support from former athlete Argos.

The three-year-old greyhound was once a star of the racing track but is now more comfortable slumped on her living room couch.

Zuzana O'Hanlon with her pet Argos, an ex-racing greyhound. Credit:Karleen Minney

"As a retired athlete myself, it is so nice to hang out with an animal that has served the same purpose as me but is now happy to just lounge on the couch," Ms O'Hanlon said.

Ms O'Hanlon, who represented the Czech Republic as a race walker at the Beijing Olympics, called on the Canberra community to give retired racing dogs another shot at life.
Lawyers for killer Danny Klobucar have launched a bid to have weapons charges against their client permanently stayed.

Klobucar, 27, was found not guilty due to mental impairment of the brutal bashing death of Canberra grandfather Miodrag Gajic, 71, at his Phillip unit in January 2014.

Danny Klobucar leaves the ACT Supreme Court in May. Credit:Jamila Toderas

An ACT Supreme Court jury in March found Klobucar was the killer, but agreed with overwhelming psychiatric evidence that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia at the time and did not properly understand his actions were wrong.

That verdict meant Klobucar would be held in a secure facility for a length of time decided by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and reviewed monthly until he was no longer deemed a threat to himself or the community.
Billionaire Jack Ma is taking the challenge to Apple and Google by pushing Alibaba Group into the car business, joining the global battle to control the automobile dashboard.

The Chinese e-commerce company's YunOS operating system, which connects phones, tablets and smart watches, is now on its way into car dashboards, touch screens and advanced rear-view mirrors.

Jack Ma, the billionaire and chairman of Alibaba Group. Credit:Andrey Rudakov

Alibaba showcased its OS'Car technology in an SAIC Motor Corp Roewe RX5 SUV model  starting price 148,800 yuan ($29,300)  that allows drivers to book a parking space, order a coffee and pay for it all using the company's Alipay system.

"We believe in the future that 80 per cent of the car's functionality won't be related to transportation," Mr Ma, who is Alibaba's chairman, said at the event introducing the vehicle in Hangzhou, China.
The phenomena of Brexit, Sanders and Trump and now an unholy mix of Turnbull, Hinch, Hansen and heaven knows who else, tells us that major modern democracies are in crisis.

But this morning I am in Athens, the home of democracy. It seems just the place to be, while the AEC labours away under mountains of paper, in this smart digital world, trying to work out exactly what happened.

Those who read history will know the story of Greece's great periods from the early Cycladic civilisation, through the Minoan period and on to Classical Greece and modern times which have seen Greek emigrants make wonderful contributions to many countries including Australia.

While the crisis of the contemporary democratic systems still reverberates around the world, many things can be learned from early days in Greece.
Former Woolworths boss Roger Corbett has denied there's any bad blood with the management of Australia's biggest supermarket chain amid concerns over his influence at the retailer's slot machine and hotels joint venture, Australian Leisure and Hospitality.

Mr Corbett said his "no comment" on whether Woolworths' chief executive Brad Banducci was the right man to lead the turn-around of Woolworths should not have been read as criticism.

Former Woolworths boss Roger Corbett refutes talk of any ill feeling between him and the supermarket's management team. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

"I'm not going to endorse or not endorse anyone in Woolworths," Mr Corbett said.

However, he described Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns and the board he put together as "outstanding" after quitting his role as an adviser to the board and mentor to management last week.
It's doubtful a report into government policy-making has ever been as detailed  or as unequivocal  as that compiled by Sir John Chilcot. Comprising 12 volumes and 2.6 million words, the Chilcot report into Britain's involvement in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 (from 2001 until the 2009 withdrawal of British troops from southern Iraq) states clearly that this monstrous misadventure was conceived in doubt and deceit, and that the prosecution of the war on the ground in Iraq was dysfunctional. These findings have been obvious for some time, but the report's depth and detail lends them an authority which no amount of reinterpretation or whitewashing by the principal players or their supporters is likely to shift.

The report posits that Iraq posed no immediate security threat to Britain, that the coalition of the willing (which included Australia) acted without exhausting all diplomatic options, and that flawed intelligence was used to justify the invasion. While the report does not canvass the illegality or otherwise of the invasion, it does conclude that attempts at bestowing a veneer of legality on the adventure were mere window-dressing. The appalling misjudgments the 'coalition of the willing' made after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist regime are explored in great but depressing detail.

Blame for the monstrous legacy of the invasion lies with many individuals, including ministers, bureaucrats, military and security personnel, and notable Neocon urgers like Paul Wolfowitz. It's the political leaders of the time, George Bush, Tony Blair, and John Howard, who've shouldered most of the opprobrium, however. Their contrition, such that it is, has always been overlaid by defiance.

Confronted by Chilcot, Mr Blair apologised to the families of British soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq, but stood by his decision, saying it was the "right thing" at the time and that he still believed Iraq was "better off" without Saddam. Mr Howard took a more studied approach, saying that on the "information available" he believed he'd made the right decision. Happily for Mr Bush, US anger about Iraq and the former president's duplicitous role in the invasion appears to have passed.
War is a dreadful matter of life and death. The decision to send our people into harm's way is the gravest one a government can make, a decision to be taken in the interests of national security with scrupulous honesty about necessity and objectives. The sad and terrible fact is that Australian governments have failed the nation. Australian governments have blood on their hands. Since the fight for national survival that was World War II, we have marched into quagmires under the leadership of America, as members of coalitions of the too-willing.

This week Britain, searching for a new relationship with Europe, is having to confront the question of its relationship with the United States. Australia must do so too.

Then prime minister John Howard greets the US President George Bush in his Sydney office in 2007. Credit:Andrew Meares

The Chilcot report, years in the making and 6000 pages long, has delivered a crushing verdict on Britain's participation in the invasion of Iraq. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister who drove the decision, has responded by saying: "I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you can ever know or believe." Yet, despite the clear evidence of deliberate exaggeration of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, of deceit in his dealings with his own Cabinet, of a determination to rush to war, Blair maintains that the decision was the right one.

But perhaps the most damming piece of evidence was found in secret letters between Blair and United States president George Bush. Blair told Bush: "I will be with you, whatever." This was sycophancy and stupidity, a betrayal of Britain's true national interest. John Howard, who drove Australia's participation, sounded the same sorry note in 2013 when in an address to a think tank he revisited "the most controversial foreign policy decision taken by my government". He said that America's insecurity since the terrorist attack on 9/11 "necessitated a 100 per cent ally, not a 70 per cent or 80 per cent one". An unquestioning Howard did America a disservice; he did Australia a disservice.
"Military adventurism is wrong," some will write. "Bush and Blair should be charged as war criminals," some will say.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair responds to the Chilcot report: "I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know." Credit:WPA/Getty

I did not accept then, nor do I accept now, that the arguments on weapons of mass destruction or terrorism were valid. The Chilcot Inquiry report shows, in exquisite multimillion-word detail, that intelligence estimates were poorly justified and arguably misused.

On February 3, 2003, a short time before the Iraq war began, I wrote on these pages that Iraq posed a great moral dilemma for the West. While Britain's Chilcot report released this week will focus attention on Bush and Blair's failings, the underlying moral dilemma nevertheless still remains today.

Well may people hold anger in their hearts at the results of the war. Yet, if we take the lesson from Iraq, that intervention is always wrong, do we not condemn people to unnecessary suffering if we fail to intervene when needed? An anger focused on Bush and Blair, creating a belief in universal non-intervention, will do nothing to solve the moral dilemma when countries butcher their own people.

In 2003, I wrote of the cost of non-intervention based on my experiences of working for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Rwanda and Yugoslavia in the 1990s. I wrote then:

"In 1994, the world had advance warning of the Rwandan genocide. The world, Australia included, ignored the pleas of General Delaire, the UN force commander, when he asked for a mere 2500 soldiers to stop genocide from happening.

"Just 100 days later, up to 1 million people were dead. That is 10,000 a day, every day, for 100 days. That was the cost of non-intervention.

"In 1992, the Europeans (especially the French and the Germans) said to the US that Bosnia was a European problem and that the US should keep out. "We will fix it," they said. For three years, the Europeans tried and failed, and 250,000 people died before the US intervened. That was the cost of non-intervention.
This superior sequel to Mystery Road brings back the laconic Aboriginal police detective hero Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), this time investigating a disappearance in a remote Queensland mining town. Pedersen's performance in the earlier film was stone-faced to a fault, but life hasn't been kind to Swan over the last few years: his hair has lengthened, his once neatly-trimmed beard is ragged and greying at the edges.

Ivan Sen is one of the most interesting younger talents in Australian cinema, but also one of the most erratic. His 2013 detective story Mystery Road was an ambitious misfire, making awkward use of genre convention as if striving to win over the audience that bypassed Toomelah, a frightening portrait of a New South Wales Aboriginal community that remains his best feature to date.

Slouching and squinting, rolling one cigarette after another, he has the air of a man who's long ceased active involvement in life. But appearances deceive: more vividly than before, Swan embodies an archetype out of a Western, the mysterious stranger who sets about cleaning up a society where corruption holds sway.

Aaron Pedersen (left) and David Gulpilil in outback thriller Goldstone, Ivan Sen's follow-up to Mystery Road. Credit:Transmission

Indeed, Goldstone the town makes Dungatar, in last year's The Dressmaker, look like an attractive holiday destination. It's hardly a town at all, just a collection of demountables and shacks, filmed by Sen in wide shots that emphasise their isolation in the landscape.

It's a setting Australians will recognise from the movies if not from direct experience  and like The Dressmaker, the film is so packed with familiar faces it becomes an echo chamber, as if Sen were holding a dialogue with many precursors at once. Jacki Weaver essentially reprises her crime matriarch role in Animal Kingdom as the town mayor, who wears bright red lipstick, bakes apple pies and delivers thinly-veiled threats with a motherly simper.

The great Indigenous actor David Gulpilil turns up all too briefly as a tribal elder, with Tom E. Lewis from The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith as a more pragmatic representative of the same community. David Wenham is the hard-nosed mine overseer, with sun-baked skin and wire-rimmed glasses that (intentionally or not) make him look like Jimmie Blacksmith director Fred Schepisi.
Betting markets on who will be the next James Bond have been shaken and stirred by the sudden emergence of British actor James Norton as a red-hot contender.

The War and Peace star bolted from the pack, firming dramatically from 20/1 to 4/7, forcing bookies Ladbrokes to temporarily suspend betting on Daniel Craig's successor in the iconic role.

"We're taking a breather on Bond betting whilst the market settles," said a Ladbrokes spokesman. "The gamble on Norton has seemingly come out of nowhere, but money talks, and punters clearly think he's worthy of being 007 favourite if nothing else."

Norton's unexpected favouritism suggests there may be some inside knowledge behind the punters' swift plunge in a field that features everyone from Idris Elba to Tom Hardy.
Josh Hedley provided one of the highlights of 2015 for anyone lucky enough to be in the Newtown Social Club when he put down his fiddle and stepped out from behind rawboned country artist Jonny Fritz to sing Sweet Memories.

His tender but unaffected voice gave the song, written decades back by Mickey Newbury, a compelling presence.

Singer Willie Watson Credit:monkeybird

However, if that song sent anyone searching for more of Hedley, say a song he'd released or an interview with him, they'd have been plum out of luck because up until now he had not done any. Not one. Are we to get that Hedley has not actually been keen for attention?

"Through no preference or anything," says the burly, bearded Hedley, who has also played with Justin Townes Earle and Jack White. "Just that I've been a sideman for years and only recently have I decided that it was time for me to jump out there."
In a show of unity from the federal opposition, Bill Shorten's chief potential rival for the Labor leadership, Anthony Albanese, will make clear that no one should challenge the leader when the Labor caucus meets in Canberra on Friday. Illustration: Cathy Wilcox Talk has already turned in the ALP to likely minor changes to the front bench, with former NSW deputy Labor leader Linda Burney mentioned in dispatches. After meeting Mr Turnbull in Brisbane, Mr Katter said: "We do not want to go back to the polls, that should not be imposed upon the Australian people. "So, today we are announcing our support by supply and confidence for a Turnbull government. I do so with no great enthusiasm," he said, adding that he maintained "my right to move at any point in time in another direction".

Mr Katter said he would work closely with NXT party leader Nick Xenophon, who now controls three Senate seats and the crucial lower house seat of Mayo in South Australia, while listing more dams in Australia's north, more rail lines and "numerous other issues" on his wish list. I do so with no great enthusiasm Mr Turnbull, who has also spoken to Senator Xenophon and crossbench MPs Cathy McGowan and Andrew Wilkie, welcomed the promise of supply and confidence from the Queensland independent and the pair had a "common commitment to strong development, particularly in Northern Australia and particularly with respect to water infrastructure". "We are seeing positive trends in a number of seats but the counting will have to be concluded before we know the final result . . . I remain confident that we will form a government and we will do so and will unite the Parliament, so far as we are able to, unite the nation in a common purpose," he said. Senator Xenophon told Fairfax Media he would work with Mr Katter on certain issues and that he remained open to striking a deal with Mr Turnbull.

The Prime Minister and the South Australian senator met on Wednesday and discussed saving the state's Arrium steel works, Senator Xenophon said. Gambling reforms, stronger anti-dumping laws and more stringent rules for Commonwealth government procurement were also on the table. "We have given no guarantees, no deal has been struck, there will be further discussions and we will work through the process," he said. Mr Shorten said it seemed likely the Prime Minister would be "dragged across the line" but that his problems were only just beginning, pointing to unhappy conservatives in his ranks as well as restive Nationals, who wanted a larger say in the Coalition's second-term agenda. If he "fell across the line", the Opposition Leader said, "it will be with a diminished authority, a diminished mandate and a very divided political party". Labor's lead in in the South Australian seat of Hindmarsh fell from 151 votes to just 68 votes with 3100 ballots to be counted, setting up a nail-biting finish, but both sides of politics believe absentee votes will be particularly strong for Labor, making it a Labor gain.
There was none of the rock-star reception that was afforded to Kevin Rudd during is famous Queen Street Mall walk in the lead-up to his return to the prime ministership in 2013.

But current Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull still received a warm welcome in Brisbane on Thursday morning, in one of the few seats that saw a swing towards the Coalition.

Walking up the mall with Member-elect for Brisbane, Trevor Evans, Mr Turnbull gave off an air of confidence, suggesting he felt pretty safe in his current job.

Mr Turnbull insisted he remained confident of forming a majority government, as votes continued to be counted across the country.
Former prime minister John Howard has stood by his decision to join the 2003 invasion of Iraq, insisting he and fellow world leaders should not be judged with the benefit of hindsight.

Responding to a long-awaited British inquiry report into the Iraq war  which is today widely regarded as a strategic blunder by experts  Mr Howard maintained it was the right thing to do with the information his government had at the time.

The Chilcot report, based on seven years' work, concluded that the invasion had been launched before the diplomatic options had been exhausted, and was based on flawed intelligence that "should have been" challenged but was not.
Similar offenses, vastly different outcome. The key factor, of course, is that one subject is a regular Joe without Clinton-like political connections. His name is Bryan H. Nishimura and last July he pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials after the FBI found such materials were copied and stored in at least one unauthorized and unclassified system. Clinton had droves of classified and top secret materials in an unauthorized and unclassified system. Nishimura had been deployed to Afghanistan as a regional engineer for the U.S. military and had access to classified briefings and digital records that could only be retained and viewed on authorized government computers, according to the FBI announcement, which defines the reservists crime in the following manner; handled classified materials inappropriately. So did Clinton on a much larger scale.

Last July Nishimura pleaded guilty to unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials and was sentenced to two years of probation, a $7,500 fine and forfeiture of personal media containing classified materials. He was further ordered to permanently surrender all government security clearance. Hillary Clinton could soon have the highest security clearance available if she gets elected president making Comeys inconceivable recommendation that no charges are appropriate in this case all the more outrageous. Incredibly, during his 15-minute press conference this week Comey provided details of how Clinton violated the law by exchanging dozens of email chains containing classified and top secret information and how she mishandled national defense information on her outlaw email server. The FBI director even outlined how Clinton compromised the countrys national defense to hostile actors yet he asserts Clinton and her cohorts didnt intend to break the law. Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, Comey said, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. Enough to be criminally charged like the Navy reservist from northern California.

When Comey, the federal prosecutor in the Martha Stewart case, put the television celebrity in jail for participating in an insider trading scheme, he acknowledged the importance of not granting special treatment to a rich and famous person. Stewart went to prison for obstructing justice and lying to investigators about a sudden stock sale that helped her avoid losing thousands of dollars. In an interview with his college newspaper a few years after Stewarts conviction Comey, then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that if Stewart were Jane Doe she would have been prosecuted. I thought of my hesitation about the case due to someone being rich and famous, and how it shouldnt be that way, Comey said. I decided we had to do it.
A Wollongong man accused of threatening the lives of four people, including two NSW judicial officers, has been sent to hospital for psychological assessment after claiming to be a British spy and allegedly threatening to have at least one of his victims beheaded.

Police documents outlining the case against John Phillip Curtis in relation to one of the alleged threats reveal the 64-year-old claimed he was part of the British secret intelligence service 'MI6' and allegedly told a receptionist at a Sydney-based debt recovery agency that he was going to send someone to cut off her boss' head.

Curtis came into contact with that alleged victim when she was appointed to look after his property in the wake of bankruptcy proceedings initiated against him by the Commonwealth Bank, the Illawarra Mercury reports.

The court heard Curtis phoned the company to speak to the woman on April 17 but when he was told she was unavailable, he allegedly told the receptionist "tell [the victim] MI6 wants to f--- her".

A month later, Curtis allegedly sent a series of sexually explicit emails to the woman over the space of two days.
The Baird government vowed on Thursday to legislate the NSW greyhound racing industry out of existence after a report found it participated in and condoned the mass slaughter of thousands of healthy dogs each year and appeared incapable of reform.

The government's announcement followed the report of a Special Commission of Inquiry by former High Court Justice Michael McHugh, which conservatively put the number of greyhounds killed in NSW over the past 12 years at up to 68,000, or between 50 and 70 per cent of all dogs bred for racing.

"There is no other alternative," said Mr Baird when announcing a phased ban to take effect next July.
Queensland's community organisations are lobbying the Palaszczuk Government for stronger protections, to ensure they can advocate freely and criticise governments when necessary - without the fear of losing funding.

While the Palaszczuk Government removed the 'no advocacy' gag clause imposed on community groups as part of social contracts, community sector organisations want the government to go one step further and protect their freedom to advocate, even if it means criticising the government which funds them.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath is considering a request to strengthen the rights of community groups to advocate without fear of losing funding. Credit:Chris Hyde

More than 30 groups, including the Human Rights Law Centre, Community Legal Centres Queensland and Relationships Australia Queensland wrote to Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath asking for provisions to be included in funding agreements "to clarify that organisations receiving government funding are not prevented from entering into public debate or criticising the government", as well as "passing laws to prevent government funding from being used as a lever by which to unreasonably directly or indirectly gag funding recipients".

Director of Community Legal Centres Queensland James Farrell said it was necessary to ensure the sector's clients, which included the most vulnerable within society, were adequately represented.
Queensland's greyhound industry will lose revenue from locals betting on New South Wales races as New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory shuts down greyhound racing.

Michael Byrne, QC the past chairman of the Queensland Greyhound Racing Board, said he was "just astounded" by the New South Wales decision to ban greyhound racing.

"The impact on people and animals, as well as state revenues, will just be extraordinary," Mr Byrne said.

"There will be flow-on effect in Queensland, because money is bet in Queensland on New South Wales events to create money here," he said.
The Queensland government has moved to ban toxic fire-fighting foam at the centre of a Defence base water contamination scare.

The recall and ban would not affect the foam's use or storage at Commonwealth-owned facilities, such as the Oakey army and aviation base where problems first surfaced in Queensland.

Oakey residents' water was contaminated with elevated levels of perfluorinated chemicals. Credit:Paul Jones

But it's understood the Australian Defence Force and Airservices Australia told the state government the chemicals were no longer in use at Defence bases or airports in Queensland.

On Friday, state Environment Minister Steven Miles said Defence had an "incredible moral duty" to do the right thing after contaminating groundwater in Oakey, a rural town about 140km west of Brisbane.
Fire has destroyed the top floor of a Preston restaurant where two men allegedly fired shots into the ceiling last year.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade commander David Woods said the top floor of New Europe restaurant was in flames when crews arrived in the early hours of Friday morning.

The New Europe restaurant in Preston has been gutted by fire. Credit:Penny Stephens

Crews arrived to find flames shooting five metres above the roof line of the restaurant and billowing from the front windows.

"Roughly about five minutes into the fire, flames went through the roof," Mr Woods said.
A hand grenade was found in a car that had been in a police impound lot in Melbourne for more than a month.

The explosive was discovered only after police in northern Victoria found a photo of it on the joint Facebook page of an alleged criminal couple they arrested last week.

A picture of a grenade found on the Facebook page shared by Mr El-Zayat and Ms Tannous.

The latest scare came less than a week after the Preston facility was shot up in an unconnected incident.

Police in Wodonga were combing through the thousands of selfies and love dedications on the joint Facebook page of Mahmoud El-Zayat, 43, and Claudette Tannous, 22, when they found the photo of the grenade.
Businesses on a busy Kew shopping strip where a woman's body was found on Tuesday have been told the area is safe.

Police swarmed High Street in Melbourne's east after the 29-year-old woman was found dead at a property near Derrick Street, about 1.40pm.

The owner of nearby Rox Cafe, Louie Mir, said two police officers visited on Wednesday morning to tell him and other businesses not to be alarmed.

"They told us not to worry, that it's safe for your staff and customers," he said.
Police have appealed to the public to help find a missing baby believed to be living in a car with his parents.

Police said they hold concerns for the welfare of 12-month-old Beau Lachmund, who is understood to be in the care of his parents Dean Lachmund and Brooke Billing, whose whereabouts are unknown.

Dean Lachmund and Brooke Billing, parents of missing baby Beau Lachmund. Credit:Victoria Police

They have been known to sleep in their car in the Mornington Peninsula and Frankston areas and have limited access to money, police said.

Investigators have released an image of a car similar to the one owned by the parents. It is believed they are travelling in a fawn 2001 Ford Forte station wagon with Victorian registration RES-705.
WASHINGTON - Illinois' U.S. Senator Mark Kirk was the only Republican to vote "No" on Louisiana Senator David Vitter's proposal known as "Kate's Law," earlier this week. Illinois' other Senator Dick Durbin also voted "No," effectively blocking the bill the 60 votes needed for the bill move forward.

One Democrat - Indiana's Senator Donnelly - voted with the Republicans to progress the bill.

The bill would impose a mandatory minimum jail sentence of five years for illegal immigrants convicted of re-entering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony or have three strikes for trying to enter the country illegally.

Kirk's office did not issue a statement explaining his reasoning.

Senator Vitter addressed the need for the legislation on the Senate floor before the vote:
Construction of the City of Cockburn's new maritime dive trail, showcasing the Omeo shipwreck at Port Coogee, has been completed and is set to open this summer.

About 25 metres from the shore, the purpose-built reef will consist of 33 reef modules ranging in height from one to five metres tall.

An aerial shot of the dive trail which is set to open this summer. Credit:City of Cockburn

City of Cockburn Mayor Logan Howlett said the Coogee Maritime Trail will feature underwater sculptures and educational signage.

"The purpose-built reef will support a range of marine life, while providing a great snorkel and dive experience," he said.
New York: A three-member multinational crew has blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan for a two-day trip to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Kathleen "Kate" Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Thursday.

Russia's Soyuz-FG booster rocket with the Soyuz MS space ship is carrying new crew to the International Space Station. Credit:AP

The crew is due to arrive on Friday at the station, which orbits about 400km above earth, to begin a four-month mission.

Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will join NASA astronaut and station commander Jeff Williams and two Russian cosmonauts who have been aboard the orbital outpost since March.
Paris: French biotech firm Valneva says it has produced a possible vaccine against the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

Valneva on Thursday said its facility in Lyon, central France, had succeeded in generating a "highly purified inactivated vaccine candidate" using the same platform as the company's Japanese encephalitis vaccine which is marketed in the United States and Europe.

A Brazilian doctor performs physical therapy on an infant born with microcephaly, a birth defect linked to the Zika virus. Credit:Getty Images

No other details were immediately available.

France's Sanofi is the only major drugmaker working on a vaccine against Zika, which has been linked to birth defects and neurological disorders, although more than a dozen smaller biotech firms and other groups are also active in the field.
Donald Trump on Wednesday offered a defiant defence of his campaign's decision to publish an image widely viewed as anti-Semitic earlier in the week - saying he regretted deleting it - and vigorously reaffirmed his praise of Saddam Hussein, the murderous Iraqi dictator.

In the span of 30 minutes, an often-shouting Trump breathed new life into a controversy that was sparked on Saturday by his posting of an image on his Twitter account of a six-pointed star next to a picture of Hillary Clinton, with money seeming to rain down in the background. The image was quickly, and broadly, criticised for invoking stereotypes of Jews. Trump deleted it two hours later, and replaced the star image with a circle.

Donald Trump, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign event in Cincinnati, Ohio. Credit:Bloomberg

"You shouldn't have taken it down," Trump recalled telling one of his campaign workers. "I said, 'Too bad, you should have left it up.' I would have rather defended it."

"That's just a star," Trump said repeatedly.
SHANGHAIFord Motor Company continued its strong performance in China with vehicle sales in the first half for Ford, Lincoln and its joint ventures reaching 577,097 vehicles, a 6 percent increase compared to the same time last year.

Vehicle sales for Ford and its joint ventures in the first half were up 5 percent over last year to 564,647, with June accounting for 85,105 units sold. June results were 3 percent higher than June 2015.

We continue to see solid growth in China during the first half, said Dave Schoch, Ford Motor Company group vice president and president of Asia Pacific. Even as the pace of growth slows and the market matures, customers continue to respond well to our products, particularly our world-class SUV lineup.

Demand for Ford and Lincoln sport utility vehicles (SUVs) continues to be high in the first half of 2016, with combined sales of the Ford EcoSport, Kuga, Edge, Everest and Explorer and Lincoln MKC, MKX and Navigator surpassing 150,000 vehicles, a 27 percent increase over 2015.

The Ford Edge saw sales surpass the 50,000 mark during the first half. First half sales for the Ford Explorer increased nearly 50 percent over last year to 6,884.

First half sales for Changan Ford Automobile (CAF), Ford's passenger car joint venture, reached 434,645 vehicles, a 10 percent increase compared to last year. In June, CAF sold 64,377 vehicles, up 4 percent compared to June 2015.

Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), Ford's commercial vehicle investment in China, sold 19,351 vehicles in June, an increase of 5 percent compared to last year. First-half sales totaled 121,514 vehicles, down 7 percent.

Lincoln continues to see strong growth in China with 12,450 vehicles sold in the first half of 2016, an almost three-fold increase compared to last year. With this, the luxury brand already has exceeded last years full-year sales of 11,630.

Ford Motor Company China Retail Sales Performance June 2016 January  June 2016 June 2015 January  June 2015 CAF 64,377 434,645 61,979 394,978 Imported Ford Vehicles 1,377 8,488 2,511 14,856 JMC 19,351 121,514 18,496 130,238 Total China (Excluding Lincoln) 85,105 564,647 82,986 540,072 Lincoln 12,450 4,285 Total Ford Motor Company China 577,097 544,357

Editors note: Ford reports retail figures versus wholesale figures. The chart above reflects retail figures. JMC figures reflect only sales in China and exclude export sales. Lincoln sales in China are reported on a quarterly basis.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is a global automotive and mobility company based in Dearborn, Michigan. With about 201,000 employees and 67 plants worldwide, the companys core business includes designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs and electrified vehicles, as well as Lincoln luxury vehicles. At the same time, Ford is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility, the companys plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience and data and analytics. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide or Ford Motor Credit Company, visit www.corporate.ford.com.

Ford's wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and investment in China include Ford Motor (China) Limited, Ford Motor Research & Engineering (Nanjing) Co., Ltd., Ford Automotive Finance (China) Ltd., Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd., Changan Ford Mazda Engine Co., Ltd. and Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd.
But on this night Reagan was speaking on his on behalf of his ideas and principles rather than on behalf of a candidate or a product. His enthusiasm, optimism, personal humility, and good will were very appealing to me. That positive first impression stayed with me for the rest of Reagan's life. Because of that, maybe I gave him a wider margin for error even when he might rarely disappoint me. Most of us give friends and people we like the benefit of the doubt but we are more critical of people who make a bad first impression on us.

The question is whether or not it is too important in politics. I had a very positive first impression of Ronald Reagan the first time I heard him speak in person at the old Sherman House Hotel in Chicago on March 20, 1965. For most of the audience that night, Reagan was known as a former movie actor, TV host, and the person who raised a lot of late campaign money for Barry Goldwater six months before with a very successful fundraising speech on TV.

Many people understand that making a good first impression is often critically important because you only get one chance to introduce yourself for the first time.

Newt Gingrich made a good first impression on me in the early 1990s because I was looking for new conservative leadership in Congress. But when Newt brought us to the promised land with the first GOP majority in 40 years after the 1994 House elections, he needed to make a good first impression on a broader audience outside of DC. But Newt quickly failed due to his own mistakes, circumstances, and a hostile liberal media.

Newt thought he was already well known and he was to political junkies and DC media. But he was not very well known to a broader American public in November 1994. Suddenly, he was given the intense publicity that is normally conferred only on a new president. Cameras and microphones followed his every move whether it was news or not because his personality became the news.

Newt was not as careful as he could have been in making his first impression on that wider audience of Americans. By December 1994, the hostile pro-Bill Clinton media had already branded Newt as a menacing mean guy and "The Gingrich who Stole Christmas." It was not fully Newt's fault, but he never got much of a chance to re-introduce himself to millions of Americans who already, justly or not, had a bad first impression of him.

Bill Clinton had good reasons to dislike Newt because both of them always thought they were the smartest people in any meeting whereas they were merely the two most arrogant competitors.

Over the following years my good first impression of Newt started to wear off for a variety of reasons that happened in the years after he left Congress.

Maybe I have been too critical of Donald Trump because my first impression of him was formed when I saw him speak to a New York Rotary Club in 1979. At once I took him to be a very vain and arrogant person who was out of his element and simplistic when he spoke about politics. That first impression never changed and has not changed in the last year as he won enough delegates to be nominated.

So I admit that I am out of step with many Republicans who like Donald Trump even though I do not understand why they like him so much. I have tried a few times to take a fresh look at Trump this year but he only seems to keep re-enforcing the same negative impression I formed 35 years ago at the Rotary Club event. He still seems simplistic, arrogant, vain, and not particularly well informed.

But that does not seem to be a problem for his millions of followers who say they admire what they see as his positive quality of total candor. I never had any good first impression of Hillary Clinton in the first place so i am stuck now as an outsider with no major party candidate that I can endorse with enthusiasm. That is nothing new and it has happened in the past but not to the same degree as this year.

All I know for sure is that I miss Reagan more now than ever and I did not realize how unique his appeal was.
First All-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Roadsters Arrive in America +VIDEO







 Fiat 124 Spider officially returns to the U.S. with its arrival at port

 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the Fiat 124 Spiders introduction

 Fiat 124 Spider lineup includes Classica, Lusso and Abarth models, while the first 124 units will be available as limited-production Prima Edizione Lusso

BALTIMORE, MD - July 7, 2016: Last sold in the United States more than 30 years ago, the iconic Fiat 124 Spider is back.

The first shipments of the all-new 2017 roadster have arrived at the Port of Baltimore and the Port of San Diego, and will be available at FIAT studios in North America this month.

After much anticipation, the all-new Fiat 124 Spider is here in the U.S. and will start to arrive at FIAT studios next week, said Bob Broderdorf, Director of FIAT Brand North America. Just in time for the prime convertible season, customers will now have the opportunity to experience our Italian-designed, fun-to-drive roadster for themselves.

Nearly 50 years ago, on Nov. 2, 1966, the original Fiat 124 Spider was introduced at the Turin Auto Show. Spider sales in the U.S. began in 1968 and concluded in 1985. Today, nearly 8,000 Fiat 124 Spiders are still registered in the U.S.

The all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider brings classic Italian styling and proven performance to a new generation of buyers. Paying homage to the original 124 Spider, the all-new Spider delivers the ultimate Italian roadster experience with driving excitement, technology and safety combined with iconic design.

The roadster comes standard with the proven 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo four-cylinder engine, the engines first application in a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. The engine delivers 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque on Classica and Lusso, 164 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque on Abarth, and is available with a six-speed manual transmission (26 mpg city/35 mpg highway) or a six-speed automatic transmission (25 mpg city/36 mpg highway).

The Fiat 124 Spider has a double-wishbone front suspension and rear multi-link suspension with stabilizer bars, and tuned electric-power steering system for enhanced handling and fuel efficiency. Available safety features include Blind-spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Path detection and ParkView rear backup camera. Available technology and convenience features include passive entry with keyless go, Bluetooth connectivity, heated seats, and FIAT Connect with access to Pandora, Stitcher and Aha apps.
CHICAGO, July 7, 2016 -- This fall, United Airlines customers will have a historic opportunity to board one of the first commercial flights to Havana, Cuba in more than a half century. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) tentatively awarded the airline nonstop flights to the Cuban capital from its global gateways in New York/Newark and Houston. By providing access from key, geographically diverse locations across the U.S., United's newly awarded routes will help ensure better choice, convenience and competition for travelers between the United States and Cuba.

"These flights open the door to a new world of travel and opportunities for our customers," said Oscar Munoz, United's president and CEO. "We are proud of the important and historic role our airline will play in connecting the U.S. and Cuba, as commercial air travel takes flight between these countries for the first time in more than 50 years."

United expects to begin its first flight to Cuba from New York/Newark and Houston later this year, which would make it one of the first U.S. airlines to provide commercial service to Havana  and the first airline to offer U.S.-Havana service from outside Florida.

Daily nonstop service from New York/Newark (EWR)

United's daily nonstop flight from Newark Liberty International Airport will provide unique value in serving the New York City/Newark region, the largest metropolitan area in the country and home to the second-largest population of Cuban Americans. For more than 20 years, United has offered the New York City/Newark region the most flights to the most destinations around the world.

"Today is an exciting day for people who want the opportunity and better options to visit Cuba," said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. "Newark will benefit greatly from United's new competition in the U.S.-Cuba market, which will spur economic activity and job creation in our area. United service enables the nearly 80,000 Cuban Americans living in New Jersey  along with many more Americans throughout the largest metropolitan area in the country  new travel choices and business development opportunities. I thank Secretary Foxx and the DOT for recognizing the value of this route, and want to also thank United Airlines for supporting Newark as a gateway to Cuba."

Saturday nonstop service from Houston (IAH)

Recognized by "Trusted Traveler Network" as one of the most international-friendly points of entry for foreign travelers, Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport is United's gateway to Latin America. United offers 91 daily nonstop flights to 52 destinations across Latin America and the Caribbean from its Houston hub. Bush Intercontinental will be an important gateway for service to Havana and will directly connect 20 markets across the central and western United States to Cuba with just one stop. The Cuban-American population in the Houston metropolitan area ranks among the top ten cities in the country.

"Secretary Anthony Foxx and the U.S. Department of Transportation made an outstanding decision by approving United Airline's application for Saturday service between Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Havana's Jose Marti international Airport," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "Secretary Foxx and United both recognized the very signicant economic and consumer benefits these flights to Cuba will bring to Houston-area residents, travelers, businesses and entrepreneurs. While there are nearly 20,000 Cuban Americans in Houston alone, United's service will also connect communities across the central and western U.S. Again, I would like to thank Secretary Foxx and United Airlines for making our great city one of the first new gateways to Cuba."

A Strong History of New Market Operations

United has a long and rich history of successfully starting new operations in airports around the world. In the last four months, United has started service from its San Francisco gateway hub to Tel Aviv, Israel; Xi'an, China; Singapore; Auckland, New Zealand and will launch new service to Hangzhou, China on July 13.

United's global route network offers customers convenient connection opportunities to Havana from virtually every major city in the U.S. The airline has a proven track record for launching new international service in the Caribbean. United currently operates 231 weekly flights to 19 points throughout the Caribbean region.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of nearly 5,000 flights a day to 336 airports across six continents. In 2015, United and United Express operated more than 1.5 million flights carrying more than 140 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates more than 715 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 21 new Boeing aircraft, including 737 NGs, 787s and 777s. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 192 countries via 28 member airlines. Approximately 86,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.
2017 ROUSH Mustangs Now Available

New 2017 ROUSH Mustangs from ROUSH Performance blend striking good looks with an iconic pedigree

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MI -July 7, 2016: The entire lineup of 2017 model year ROUSH Mustangs is now available for order from authorized ROUSH Performance dealerships across the United States. Delivering raw power, looks and legacy, ROUSH Performance engineers American-made vehicles that passionate drivers crave.

Each 2017 Mustang is equipped with the standard striking R7 Aero Body Component Package featuring a front fascia with aero pockets; high-flow upper grille with "RS" or "Stage" badge; high-flow lower opening; front chin splitter; and performance lamps. The package also includes an optional hood scoop, body side scoop, fender badges, side rocker aero aids, a rear blackout panel with ROUSH badging, and a rear decklid spoiler (available on fastback Mustangs only).

New for 2017, ROUSH Performance has redesigned optional side graphics for RS, Stage 1 and Stage 2 Mustangs. Other options across the board include a hood graphic, low-gloss black rear decklid spoiler (requires matte black hood and side graphic options), 20-inch polished wheels, billet performance pedals, leather seating options (Recaro seats optional in Stage 1 or Stage 2 applications), and hood strut lift assist, among others.

The 2017 ROUSH Mustang RS, with an MSRP of less than $30,000, is built from a Ford Mustang equipped with a 300HP 3.7L Ti-VCT V6 engine, and now features 19x9 Black GT Performance Pack Wheels as a standard offering. Additional optional features include Ford Leather Seating with embroidered "RS Head Rests, 20-inch Quicksilver Wheels wrapped in Ultra High Performance Cooper Tires, and a dealer-installed Dual V6 Performance Exhaust System.

The 2017 ROUSH Stage 1 Mustang, based on the 310HP 2.3L EcoBoost Mustang, boasts additional standard features, including a ROUSH Dual-Tip Performance Exhaust System and ;RS Strut Tower Brace. Stage 1 owners can choose to upgrade to a Quad-Tip Exhaust or take it a step further and include the ROUSH Active Exhaust  an option that provides drivers with four selectable modes to tune their exhaust sound. Active Exhaust offers pre-loaded and custom modes that allows drivers to program a sound map from their Apple iPhone or iPad, offering virtually endless sound possibilities based on lifestyle and circumstance.

The 2017 ROUSH Stage 2 Mustang is powered by a 5.0L V8 engine, producing 435HP and offers a standard single-adjustable coil over suspension system. For those craving solid handling in the turns, the TrakPak three-way adjustable coil-over suspension is an option that has been custom-tuned by World Challenge professional driver Jack Roush Jr. to achieve a phenomenal 1.07g skid-pad performance. Additional options include the aforementioned innovative ROUSH Active Exhaust System, new red ROUSH engine coil covers with black detailing, extreme-duty half shafts, and a reverse-sensing custom fitting.

"The 2017 ROUSH Mustangs are a direct reflection of our culture at ROUSH Performance," said Justin Schroeder, director of vehicle operations. "We build vehicles and parts built to last because our people are passionate about creating the high-performance lifestyle. We live it, and want our customers to live it as well."

The 2017 ROUSH Stage 3 Mustang is also available for order, and is powered by a 670HP ROUSHcharged 5.0L V8 engine.

About ROUSH Performance: ROUSH Performance, a division of Roush Enterprises, designs, engineers and manufactures completely assembled pre-titled vehicles, aftermarket performance parts, performance crate engines, and marine engine superchargers for the global performance enthusiast market. Based in Plymouth Township, Michigan, ROUSH Performance was founded in 1995 by motorsports legend Jack Roush. Visit us at ROUSHperformance.com or call 800.59.ROUSH.
Adaptive Cruise Control Downhill with a 15-Ton Trailer! - Among Ford F-Series Super Duty Class-Exclusive Features +VIDEO







Adaptive cruise control, adaptive steering, and Blind Spot Information System with trailer coverage are three of the new class-exclusive features available to heavy-duty pickup truck drivers for the first time on Super Duty.

DEARBORN, MI - July 7, 2016: Ford is giving drivers more confidence and control behind the wheel of the all-new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty pickup with class-exclusive driver-assist technologies. "The all-new Super Duty is the toughest, most capable Super Duty ever," says Brian Rathsburg, Ford Super Duty marketing manager. "With a host of driver-assist technologies, it is also the smartest Super Duty ever."

These 17 new class-exclusive features are available in the all-new Super Duty pickup:

1. Adaptive cruise control and collision warning with brake support

2. Adaptive steering

3. BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) with trailer coverage

4. BoxLink with premium locking cleats

5. Factory-installed customer-placed trailer camera

6. Inflatable rear outboard safety belts

7. Multicontour front seats with Active Motion

8. Power-deployable running boards

9. PowerScope power-telescoping and power-folding trailer tow mirrors

10. Remote tailgate release with power lock

11. Standard flat load floor on SuperCab and Crew Cab

12. Stowable loading ramps

13. SYNC 3

14. Tailgate step

15. Trailer Reverse Guidance

16. Trailer tire pressure monitoring system

17. Utility lighting system (LED side-mirror spotlights)

Adaptive cruise control can engage trailer brakes

Drivers can set cruise control at a comfortable following distance using Super Dutys adaptive cruise control. The feature uses radar to measure the distance and speed of vehicles ahead, then automatically slows truck and trailer to maintain that preset distance at speeds above 20 mph.

Adaptive cruise control with Super Dutys 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel engine uses the engine brake to smartly assist drivers towing heavy trailers, allowing truckers to traverse steep mountain grades while maintaining speed  even with a trailer weighing more than 31,500 pounds.

Towing is core to the Super Duty mission, and drivers will appreciate the engineering sophistication that enables adaptive cruise control to determine speed uphill and downhill with a trailer, says Craig Schmatz, Ford Super Duty chief engineer. We have torture-tested the technology in high elevations and on significant grades at places like Davis Dam in Arizona, Loveland Pass in Colorado and the mountain roads surrounding Beckley, West Virginia.

A number of systems work in tandem to enable adaptive cruise control  including powertrain control, trailer brake control and the anti-lock brake system. Speed is further controlled on descents with the 6.7-liter Power Stroke engines integrated engine brake, which is enabled with the push of a button. Extra engine braking power helps reduce wear and tear on wheel brakes  especially on downhill grades.

Adaptive cruise control is optional on Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum Super Duty pickups, including the mighty Ford F-450 Super Duty, Fords most capable pickup.

Adaptive steering enhances maneuverability

Another class-exclusive feature  adaptive steering  helps give Super Duty drivers more confidence to maneuver tight work sites and parking lots.

Adaptive steering is a new generation of power steering technology that reduces the amount of steering input needed to change direction at low speeds. It also reduces sensitivity to steering input necessary at higher speeds and helps make towing the heaviest of loads easier.

The technology changes the ratio between the drivers actions at the steering wheel  the number of turns  and how much the front wheels turn. Vehicles without the technology have a fixed ratio, but with adaptive steering, the ratio continually changes with vehicle speed, optimizing steering response in all conditions. Housed entirely within the steering wheel, the precision-controlled actuator  an electric motor and gearing system  can add to or subtract from a drivers inputs. The result is a more connected, engaging driving experience at all speeds.

Even more smart technologies

BLIS with trailer coverage is another Super Duty class-exclusive feature. It uses radar hidden in the taillights to detect a vehicle entering a drivers blind spot while driving or backing up, and alerts the driver with a yellow light in the sideview mirror. For Super Duty, BLIS can extend to the back of the trailer, helping to make the driver aware of vehicles entering the trailers blind spot.

Another driver-assist technology, lane-departure warning, vibrates the steering wheel to mimic rumble strips when the driver begins to drift over a lane marker.

The all-new Super Duty will be built at Kentucky Truck Plant. It goes on sale late this year.
WASHINGTON DC - Although Illinois' U.S. Senator Mark Kirk was one of the few Republicans to welcome a meeting with President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, the GOP senator refused to meet with Donald Trump near the Capitol Thursday morning - reaffirming his non-support for the presumed Republican presidential candidate.

Mr. Trump noticed and brushed off Kirk's snub. The Washington Post reports:

Trump also called out Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.)  who withdrew his endorsement of Trump last month, citing the business moguls racially based attacks on a federal judge  and said he did not approve of the senators action, the officials said. Characterizing Kirk as a loser, Trump vowed that he would carry Illinois in the general election even though the state traditionally has been solidly Democratic in presidential contests. Kirk did not attend the meeting with Trump. Asked later in the day about Trumps comments, Kirk declined to comment other than to say: I guess he lit me up.

More HERE
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The ongoing saga to allow a sheep farm and abattoir in the RM of Stuartburn is nearly complete now that the provinces municipal board issued a ruling on June 24 in favour of the municipality approving the by-law.

The board ordered Stuartburn to give third reading to the by-law on the condition the owner enters a development agreement with the municipality.

The RM of Stuartburn gave first reading to the by-law on Sept. 1, 2015. They held a public hearing for the project on March 8 and gave second reading on Apr. 4. Due to several objections filed with the municipality, the matter was sent to the municipal board.

The municipal board heard from both people in support and against the project at the hearing. However, despite seeing the validity in the objectors concerns, the board found the evidence does not support the refusal of the by-law or its unconditional approval.

In April 2015, Pat Smith, the president of Canada Sheep and Lamb Farms, applied for three different planning applications. The first was to rezone a portion of SW  28-3-8E (six kilometers east of Zhoda) to industrial/commercial. The second was to allow the establishment of an intensive livestock operation. And the third was to vary the required minimum setback in the zoning by-law from 1180 feet to 680 feet.

The applications support Smith proposed plan to build a 945 animal unit (15,000 feeder lambs) lamb feeder operation.

Stuartburn is currently working with Smith on the development agreement before giving third reading to the by-law.
For Dogs, its Trick and Treat Its almost Halloween, a great time to teach your dog a trick and give him a treat. Most trainers are fans of trick training. Its not as silly as it...

Muzzle is not a bad word If you see a dog in a muzzle, you immediately think the dog is aggressive. Right? Well, this is not always true. Unfortunately, seeing a dog in a muzzle carries...
A Boston cab driver returned a passengers backpack to him last weekwhich is lucky, since it contained $187,000.

The driver, Raymond Buzzy MacCausland, said the customer was a homeless man who abruptly left the cab to meet a friend, leaving his backpack behind.

MacCausland waited 30 minutes for the man to come back, then drove to his hotel. But he needed the mans name to find him, so he looked through the bag for some ID. What he found were three huge wads of cash.

I opened the bag, I saw the most money I ever saw in my life, the driver told WFXT.

Unable to find the man at his hotel, MacCausland went to the police. The passenger had already called the cops looking for his bag and was able to prove it was his. It turned out he had just cashed a huge inheritance but had forgotten it all in the cab.

Thanks to MacCausland, he got it all backand MacCausland got a $100 reward.

My mother always said do the right thing, youll be rewarded somewhere later, you know? MacCausland said. Maybe shes right.
For Fox News Chairman Roger Aileswho was slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit Wednesday by fired Fox anchor Gretchen Carlsona very bad day seems likely to metamorphose into a much worse year.

While Fox Newss parent company, 21st Century Fox, promptly announced an internal review of Carlsons sensational allegationswhich include her claim that Ailes suggested last September that having sex with him would help her careerAiles vehemently denied them in a lengthy Fox News statement.

This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously, Ailes was quoted as saying, adding the claim that Carlson is retaliating against him because her contract wasnt renewed due to disappointingly low ratings [that] were dragging down the afternoon lineup.

Fox News officially declined to comment to The Daily Beast beyond the statement.

A source close to the situation, however, insisted that many of the allegations in Carlsons complaint dont square with reality, while her vindictive effort to viciously harm Ailes after her contract was not renewed, as this person put it, is suspiciously at odds with Carlsons previous effusive praise of Ailes in various public statements and her June 2015 memoir, Getting Real, in which she called the Fox News chairman the most accessible boss Ive ever worked for, brilliant, and razor sharp, adding, we seemed to have a real connection.

But the bombshell litigation from the 50-year-old former Miss Americawhose 11 years at the network abruptly ended on June 23, when she was terminated moments after finishing her regular afternoon broadcast of The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson, according to the lawsuitcould turn the 76-year-old Ailes, a legendary television executive both admired and criticized, into this years answer to Bill Cosby.

It might be, Carlsons attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said concerning the Cosby comparison, which was suggested to The Daily Beast by a former Fox News employee and alleged sexual harassment victim who asked that her name not be used.

Smith, for her part, said Carlsons lawsuit has opened the floodgates of female ex-Fox News employees who say that Ailes harassed them as well.

Since about 11 a.m., we have been contacted by many women who say they were harassed by Roger Ailes and theyve reached out to us, Smith said, adding that she hadnt had an opportunity to talk to them yet. There are maybe around 10 women whove said, Ive been a victim, too.

Smith said she spent the weekend reading Gabriel Shermans critical Ailes biography The Loudest Voice in the Room, which included an anecdote from Ailess days in the early 1980s as executive producer of NBCs Tomorrow late-night show. According to Sherman, Ailes hired a twentysomething female segment producer named Randi Harrison who told Ailes that his $400-a-week salary offer was too low. If you agree to have sex with me whenever I want I will add an extra hundred dollars a week, Ailes allegedly responded. I was in tears by the time I hit the street, she later recalled. At the time, a Fox News spokesperson called Harrisons allegation false.

Smith said that under the law of New Jersey, where Carlsons suit was filed in Superior Court and the married Ailes owns a home in the suburb of Creskill, a sexual harassment plaintiff is permitted to call other alleged victims as trial witnesses to buttress the case and attempt to demonstrate a pattern of behavior.

Ailes has 35 days to respond to Carlsons lawsuit, and the pre-trial discovery process can begin after that, Smith said, though it could take as long as two years for a trial to commence, when Ailes, who sometimes walks with a cane and is struggling with the symptoms of hemophilia, would be 78 years old.

While the lawsuit claims that Carlson was sent packing in retaliation for complaining about her allegedly sexist treatment by Fox News management, an alternate version of events has it that anemic ratingsshe barely beat CNN in the 2 p.m. time period in the second quarter and occasionally lost to the second-place network, including in Juneshould have alerted her that her days at Fox were numbered.

Carlsons contract permitted her to look for a new job at another outlet starting mid-May, and Fox News would have wished her godspeed, according to the source, but apparently that didnt happen. As CNN media reporter Brian Stelter wrote in his nightly newsletter, under the headline What Ailes and his allies are saying/thinking: The key data point: Carlsons 2 p.m. hour had been falling behind CNN in the 25-54 demo. You think Ailes was OK with that?

Carlson was handed a severance agreement on June 23 and, saying shed get back to management after looking it over, left on a planned vacation, according to the source. But instead Ailes received a nasty surprise Wednesday morning when Carlson filed her scandalous lawsuit.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by Ailes and Fox News, several women who formerly worked at the network told The Daily Beast of similar encounters with the defendant.

One time he asked me if I was wearing underwear, and was he going to see anything good, said a former Fox News employee, who said she has spoken with other women at the network who said they were targets of Ailess sexually charged remarks. Its happened to me and lots of other women Hes a disgusting pig whos been getting away with this shit for 20 years.

A second ex-employee, who also said Ailes verbally harassed her with inappropriate comments during one-on-one meetings, said the powerful and famously combative executive has so far escaped the consequences of his alleged behavior, because when it comes to this issue, theres already a conspiracy of silence. The problem is you dont want to come forward because you dont want to be personally and professionally destroyed. You dont want to bring down Roger Ailess wrath on your head.

She added that Ailes is hardly unique in an industry dominated by male executives who sometimes take sexual advantage of their power and position. Television is really a difficult, arbitrary, and competitive business, and you dont want to give TV executives a reason to say no, she said.

A third former Fox News employee told The Daily Beast: When I met Ailes he wouldnt stop staring at my legs, and at one point he asked if I was single. I was taken aback and said yes. And he was like, Oh, OK, so youre not gonna get pregnant any time soon. And then he asked my age.

And I think he could tell I was offended by the questions. And he said, I know Im not supposed to ask thisHR keeps telling me I cant ask that because you can sue me because its illegal, but I dont care. Im [over 70] years old, if you wanna sue me, sue me.

Carlsons lawsuit alleges that Ailes ogl[ed] her in his office and ask[ed] her to turn around so he could view her posterior; comment[ed] repeatedly about Carlsons legs; stat[ed] Im sure you can do sweet nothings when you want to, among other off-color remarks. The lawsuit also quotes Ailes as telling her, during a Sept. 16, 2015, meeting requested by Carlson to resolve what she viewed as discriminatory and retaliatory treatment, that: I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better.

Ailes added, according to the lawsuit, sometimes problems are easier to resolve that way.

Carlson rebuffed Ailes sexual demands at that meeting, the lawsuit alleges, and nine months later, Ailes ended her career at Fox News.

The lawsuit also claims that during the seven years that Carlson co-hosted Fox & Friends, the top-rated cable morning show, fellow anchor Steve Doocy had created a hostile work environment by regularly treating her in a sexist and condescending way, including by putting his hand on her and pulling down her arm to shush her during a live telecast mocking her during commercial breaks, shunning her off air, refusing to engage with her on air, belittling her contributions to the show, and other uncollegial behavior.

Doocy, who is not named as a defendant in Carlsons complaint, is a close friend of Ailes who has worked for Fox News since its launch; in 2009, Doocys son Peter was hired as a fulltime Fox News reporter at age 22. In the fall of 2002, when former Fox News anchor Paula Zahn got into a nasty public dispute with Ailes and left for CNN, and Ailes insulted Zahn to The New York Times by saying, I could have put a dead raccoon on the air this year and got a better rating, it was Doocy who happily ambushed Zahn at CNN, Fox News cameras in tow, and presented her with a stuffed raccoon toy.

21st Century Fox, the cable channels parent company, issued this statement on Wednesday in response to Carlsons lawsuit: The Company has seen the allegations against Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy. We take these matters seriously. While we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy, who have served the company brilliantly for over two decades, we have commenced an internal review of the matter.

Smith, Carlsons New Jersey-based attorney, who has spent 36 years specializing in workplace harassment litigation, said the fired anchors lawsuit is aimed at Ailes personally, and not Fox News or 21st Century Fox, because we have no evidence, as of today, that Fox News authorized his behavior or condoned his behavior. They have policies against this kind of behavior As of today, our beef and Gretchens beef is with Roger Ailes.

Still, interviews on Wednesday with former Fox News employees suggested that Ailes has presided over a corporate culture that values and even demands female pulchritudeor at least Ailess blonde ideal of sameover other professional qualities. According to a former staffer, executive assistant-turned-Fox News vice president of programming Suzanne Scott enforces with the wardrobe and makeup departments an aesthetic that features skimpy dresses, high-heeled open-toed shoes, and big hair for the channels on-air women.

Showing skin is practically written into the company charter, a former staffer told The Daily Beast.

A lot of the stuff in her [Carlsons] suit rings very true to me, said this person, who worked for almost a decade at the network and, like other Fox insiders quoted in this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity. The stuff about showing of the legsthat was not even a secretthat was open company policy.

Meanwhile, a fifth former Fox News employee told The Daily Beast that Carlsons allegations seem credible because Ailes runs Fox News like his personal fiefdom and has fostered a culture that is not only sexist but menacing, something akin to a sexual North Korea.

Its a malicious and sort of terrorized environment run by pitting people against each other to send information up the chain of command, she said. Its almost like a fascist state where everybody is terrorized and nobody trusts each other. People are friendly in the hallways, but youre always looking over your shoulder to see who might stab you in the back. You have to be skinny. All the hair and makeup people get strict guidance. You have to wear these kinds of clothes, this kind of makeup, this kind of hair, know how to behave, what to say, how to interact, and if you want to do well and move up, you have to toe the company line.

This person said of Carlson, I have a sense Gretchen was aggrieved for a very long time and probably kept very good notes. Nobody sues Roger Ailes without having their eyes wide open, unless theyre just idiotsand Gretchen is not an idiot.

Former female employees of Fox News described Carlsons lawsuit as potentially career-ending but also courageous.

As soon as I heard about it, I immediately emailed her saying, Youre my hero, said the fourth ex-Fox Newser who befriended the fired anchor.

Im proud of her, said another.

Carlson, in a statement, said she filed the suit because I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career. She added: Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments at Fox News and for keeping our loyal viewers engaged and informed on events and news topics of the day.

with additional reporting by Daily Beast staffers M.L. Nestel, Kate Briquelet, and Asawin Suebsaeng.

Here is Ailess complete statement supplied by Fox News:

Gretchen Carlsons allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the networks decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, Fox News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.

Updated 10:00am, July 7, 2016 with statement from Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman, attorneys for Ms. Carlson in response to Mr. Ailes statement:

Ailes claim that Gretchen Carlson was terminated because of bad ratings is demonstrably false. The publicly available ratings confirm the allegation in the Complaint that at the time of her termination Gretchens total viewership was up 33% year to date and up 23% in the key demographic. After her firing from Fox and Friends for complaining about discrimination, Gretchen was moved to a challenging time slot and denied support and promotion. Despite this, she succeeded and was the number one cable news show in her time slot in total viewers.

Regarding Ailes claims that Gretchens allegations are false, we challenge him to deny, under oath, that he made the statements attributed to him in the Complaint.

Finally, Ailes does not allow his employees to speak to the press or publish anything without prior approval. Gretchen was chastised for answering a question from a hometown newspaper about her favorite Minnesota State Fair food. In her book Gretchen told her story while trying to keep her job knowing that Ailes had to approve what she said.
Barney Frank has been out of Congress since 2013, which makes him a more fun late-night talk show guest than most politicians. And the former Massachusetts representatives appearance on Chelsea Handlers Netflix show this week was no exception.

Referring to a bit from earlier in the show when the host had a male model strip down to his tighty-whities to demonstrate what men should and shouldnt wear, Frank said he was a little nervous that Handler might make him get naked as well. I forgot where Im supposed to start, what comes off first.

Its top down, you dont want to be caught bottomless, Barney, she said, to which Frank replied, Very important to tell a gay man.

Soon they moved on to more important matters, like the vice presidential selection process of Franks preferred candidate, Hillary Clinton. I am very much an enthusiast for Senator Elizabeth Warren, Frank said of his fellow New Englander, explaining that he worked with her starting in 2009 on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency Donald Trump has vowed to abolish.

Frank said the theory that Wall Street donors will abandon Clinton if she chooses Warren is overblown, adding, They dont get a veto. He added that people are unfairly skeptical that Clinton is capable of being tough on bankers. I think Elizabeth Warren would do the best job of reassuring the people who voted for Sanders, he said.

As for those who believe the country isnt ready for two women on one ticket, Frank said it might be the perfect way to upend her reputation for being too much a part of the establishment. A woman for president of the United States is about as unconventional as you can get, given our history, he said. For her to defy the rules and pick another woman as her running mate is one more sign that no, shes not the staid, stolid person they say [she is].Later in the show, Handler brought out Weston Lindemann, a 19-year-old delegate for the Democratic National Convention, who just happens to support Bernie Sanders and predicted that many of the Vermont senators voters will never vote for Clinton no matter how much she courts them.

I hope that the number that are not going to vote for Hillary Clinton will diminish, Frank said, arguing that Sanders biggest issues are also priorities for Clinton. Shes not just better than Donald Trump, he said. Saying someone is better than Donald Trump is like saying He paused, for once unable to come up with an apt analogy. Its hard to say, because thats such a low bar.
As the nation grappled with the killing of Alton Sterling by Baton Rouge police, a woman in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb is searching for answers after she watched a cop kill her boyfriend in the car they were in together.

In the moments after a routine traffic stop that ended in the shooting of her boyfriend, Lavish Reynolds took to Facebook Live to tell their story. According to Reynolds, recording beside her dying boyfriend in a car with her 4-year-old daughter in the backseat, an officer demanded to see his license and registration. Her boyfriend, 32-year-old Philando Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, informed the patrolman that he was carrying a licensed firearm and that he was reaching for his identification.

Moments later, according to Reynolds, the officer unleashed four to five shots, striking her boyfriend in the arm.

Stay with me, she says to Castile. Stay with me We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back.

The officer can be heard saying, I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.

Reynolds, maintaining her composure, immediately corrects the patrolman, noting his directive to Castile to produce a drivers license and vehicle registration.

Growing in distress, but ever mindful of her duty to fully capture the incident, she later says, Police shot him for no apparent reason No reason at all.

The recording continues as Reynolds and her daughter leave the car and are placed in the back of a squad car. In custody, the young girl tries to comfort her mother, saying, Its OK, Mommy. Im here with you.

The shooting comes on the heels of another high-profile killing of a black man, in Louisiana. Alton Sterling was selling bootleg CDs outside a convenience store when he was accosted by local police officers. Sterling, who offered no resistance, was immediately tackled and pinned to the ground. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back. The Justice Department, in a rare move, immediately took charge of the investigation.

In the recording, Reynolds repeatedly voices her concern that her boyfriend would die.

We are innocent people, Lord, she prays and weeps out loud. We are innocent people.

Castiles family confirmed he died shortly after the Live recording ended.

According to Reynoldss account, Castile complied with the officers commands, has no criminal record, and was licensed to carry a gun.

The stream begins with the man slumped over next to Reynolds. His white T-shirt is soiled with blood and he appears to be fading in and out of conscious. All the while, the officerwhom Reynolds identifies as possibly Chinese and heavy setcontinues to train his service revolver at Castile, even though the shooting victim poses no discernible threat. No medical aid is rendered in the video.

Reynolds keeps talking, panning the camera between Castile and the unidentified officer who is visible through the window. At times, she speaks directly into the camera.

The young black woman recounts the incident line by line on the newly launched live-streaming platform. She is fearful, if the tape is any indication, and takes caution to address the officer, and those who respond later, in formal tones. Her cellphone is confiscated at one point and tossed away. The video captures the blue sky above and the power lines, but the audio does not stop.

She is heard crying, pleading to know if her boyfriend survived. The officers offer no answer.

According to her account, Reynolds and her daughter were then detained in a squad car at the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street. Reynolds, who was handcuffed, is heard repeatedly questioning the officers actions.

She says they were stopped for a broken taillight. At times crying and at others answering officer questions, it is clear that Reynolds wants the world to know what happened in real time. As of this writing, over 500,000 social media users have viewed the video.

The ubiquitous nature of smartphones with video capability has delivered new insight into police violence. Unlike police body camera images, which are subject with Freedom of Information Act requests in most jurisdictions, bystander video is often directly uploaded to the internet where it can be viewed and shared unfettered. That means cases like Sterlings and that of Reynoldss boyfriend see the light of day in a speedier and unedited manner.

A contemporaneous account, like the one Reynolds rendered, is treated like a time-stamped diary and is generally admissible as evidencefor internal investigations, as well as criminal and civil proceedings.

Castile was licensed to carry, Reynolds says repeatedly, and was trying to get out his ID. She further explains that he was letting the officer know he had a firearm, and he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him... He just shot his arm off.

The video stream was removed from Facebook shortly after midnight on Thursday, but not before media outlets were able to capture and distribute the horrific footage. Facebook has now reinstated it.

Crowds of demonstrators had already begun to flood the streets of Falcon Heights late Wednesday night, standing just yards from where police were collecting shells at the scene of the crime.

We will stand our ground, they chanted. We will not move.
One morning soon, Dr. Derric Nimmo will head into the mangroves of the Florida Keys with a two-liter box of 1000 live genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. He will shake it, remove the lid, and watch them disappear into the sky.

Although normal in appearance, all 1000 of them (exclusively males) will have been injected with a flawed gene that prevents their offspring from surviving to adulthood. An army of sorts, secretly equipped to destroy their own.

Eliminatingor at least drastically reducingthe number of Aedes aegypti is extremely beneficial to humans. The most dangerous mosquito on the planet, they are the prime vector for a wide range of serious and even deadly diseases including Dengue, Chikungunya, and most recently, Zika.

Although a new concept in America, for Oxitec, the British-based biotechnology company, the concept is nothing new. The technology to create these lethal mosquitoes has been around for yearsand has proven successful. Part of this is due to the one-track mind of the male mosquito. Theyve got one job after [being released]: find a female and pass on their genes, Nimmo, Oxitecs point person in Florida tells The Daily Beast. Doing so causes their offspring to die.

Over the past five years, Oxitec has conducted five trials of their GM mosquitoes in three different tropical regions (Cayman Islands, Brazil, and Panama)all of which showed a 90 percent reduction of the Aedes aegypti population within six to nine months. In America, the idea has remained stuck in a regulatory quagmire for years. Nimmo, who was first called to Florida by government officials during the 2009-2011 dengue outbreak, has been trying to get it approved ever since.

Hes done his homework, and then somebuilding a facility for the creation of the mosquitoes, publishing a 285-page environmental assessment of the impact, and traveling around southern Florida talking to residents about why the program is both safe and effective. This March he got a big win when the FDA released a report that found no significant impact from the Oxitec mosquitoes.

In the wake of the report, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expressed their support for the project moving forward.

Now, with a severe outbreak of Zika spreading across the world, the need for an efficient and effective mosquito solution has never more urgent. Still, Oxitec is months away from being able to use the groundbreaking technology on U.S. soil. Its not the government that is keeping the Oxitec mosquitoes off the landbased on the FDAs recommendation they could start tomorrow. Its the people of southern Florida themselves who are boycottingpeople who are unwilling to believe that anything modified by science is safe.

In defiance, residents of southern Florida have launched an opposition campaign that includes putting signs in their yard that read No Consent. One resident, Mila Demier, started a petition on Change.org requesting that Oxitec be banned from releasing the mosquitoes. Don't let Oxitec bully our community! she writes. We say no to genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys! As of Wednesday, her petition boasted more than 160,000 signatures.

As is, the fate of Oxitecs program in the Florida Keys now sits in the hands of the residents there, who will vote on it in November. Until then, Nimmos hands are tiedmeaning that hes sitting on what could be the solution to a Zika outbreak that has infected tens of thousands worldwide, including 1,000 Americans. Beyond the flu-like symptoms, Zika has been linked to severe birth defects like microcephaly and nerve disorders like Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Many of the problems it causes are still unknown.

Other efforts to curb the epidemic, such as vaccines, are underway, but are years from becoming realistic solutions. Oxitec has been prepared for an epidemic of this nature for decades. The idea of the genetic mutation itself, according to Nimmo, dates back to the 1990s when Oxford researcher Dr. Luke Alphey became obsessed with finding a way to mimic sterile insect techniques in mosquitoes. Creating sterile male insects had proven successful in eliminating entire species, most famously the screwworm.

But in mosquitoes, a much more threatening creature, sterilization made them too sick to be functional. Instead Alphey started working a specific gene that would keep the mosquitoes from getting sick, but still lead to their demise. Along with another Oxford researcher named Dean Thomas he formed the organization Oxitec (Oxford Insect Technologies) in 2002 to dedicate his time to finding the solution.

Fast forward more than a decade and Oxitec, which was recently acquired by the American company Intrexon, is a hotbed for innovation on the biological level. In a recent Ted talk, the companys CEO Haydn Parry discussed the importance of the project. What we're actually doing is taking the mosquito and giving it the biggest disadvantage it can possibly have, rendering it unable to reproduce effectively, said Parry. So for the mosquito, it's a dead end.

Parry echoed Nimmos mention of the importance of male mosquitoes finding females to mate witha job that he says have more or less mastered. Males are very, very good at finding females, he said on the Ted stage. If there's a male mosquito that you release, and if there's a female around, that male will find the female.

He went on to explain why its superior to pesticides (more accurate and targeted) and how 150 million Oxitec mosquitoes had been released to date without a single human harmed in the process. On top of the CDC and EPA offering their support, he verified that the World Health Organization has also endorsed the project. The process has been so successful in Brazil, one of the first places which Oxitec tested the procedure, that the government there has asked them to expand to a region of 300,000 people. Nimmo says they were asked about Rio de Janeiro, but it was too late to be effective.

If these endorsements arent enough for southern Floridians, the FDA impact statement should be.

In it, officials address two of the main concernsone, that people bitten by female mosquitoes would be exposed to the protein from the male gene, which it deemed highly unlikely. The other, that reducing the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes could have some adverse impact on the environmentconcerns which the FDA concluded were largely negligible.

The agency opened the document up to public comments for 60 days after posting it in March, but have yet to receive any evidence thats changed their mind. The 285-page report Nimmo helped draft contains over 150 publications of the research they have conducted, which is all independent and peer reviewed. Beyond the backing of the science world, a Purdue study from February found that 78 percent of Americans support the introduction of GM mosquitoes.

So why, faced with a potentially life-changing solution that both the science world and general population support, are southern Floridians so opposed?

The main arguments are the unknown and you cant predict them, says Nimmo, who has spent countless hours fielding questions in town halls, on radio shows, and in his office. Thats why you do trials and weve done trials, weve done them for six years. This isnt a new technology, its not like that at all.

Nimmo says some of the residents have gone so far as to craft conspiracy theories that revolve around the idea that Oxitec actually launched the Zika epidemic. I get frustrated, Nimmo says. Considering that the male mosquitoes cannot bite (they dont have the mouthparts) and that Oxitecs method for sorting the genders is 99 percent accurate, this theory is far-fetched.

But despite a plethora of facts proving thisand the idea that these mosquitoes could wreak havoc on the earthwrong, many stubbornly assert that the GM mosquitoes are dangerous.

Dr. Nina Fedoroff, who wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on the topic in April, says its less about mosquitoes and more about genetically modified organisms in general. Federoff, who has no connection with Oxitec, wrote that their method is our best hope for controlling the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

But three months after she posted the article, Oxitec is no closer to getting them released. The fact that its a GMO has everybody on edge, she says. She hypothesizes that much of this fear stems from the Organic food industry, which has vilified GMOs for profit. As the GM mosquitoes prove, she says, not all genetically modified things are bad.

You ask most people about GMOs and they say I dont know what they are but I know theyre bad Well how do they know? Federoff says. You dont see a whole lot of positive. Fedoroff is hoping that Oxiteca group of scientists shes long been a big fan of, will interrupt this narrative.

This lethal strain is like insecticide without the downsides of insecticides, she says, citing the fact that mosquitoes can develop resistance to insecticides and that it can be toxic to other beneficial insects. This is the smartest thing that I have seen to address the vector situation, she adds, its about as good a self-limiting design as you could possibly have.

Whether or not the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have a future in southern Florida is now up to the residents to decide. Until they do, Zika rages on.
In a shocking turn of events, theres a theory going around the internet. The revolutionary global system of interconnected computer networks behind cat videos, free porn, and memes has produced one of its most fascinating hypotheses yet: that Tom Hiddleston and Taylor Swifts relationship is a deliberate piece of performance art. This conspiracy sure is seductive. From writers reduced to using the Hiddleswift portmanteau to Swifties who had finally forced themselves to like Calvin Harris, theres a communal feeling that weve all been punkd.

Plus, the whole theory sort of adds up. Any tween with an iCal can tell you Taylor Swifts production schedule. The pop star has consistently dropped albums at two-year intervals, and were quickly approaching 1989s two-year anniversary. Swift is also wont to release a single from her new album a couple of months before its released. Some basic calculations (which I borrowed from Buzzfeed) suggest that the next teaser single would likely leak in Septemberwhich is also around the time of the Emmy Awards. Swifts hired hand-holder, Tom Hiddleston, is hoping to score an Emmy nomination for his performance in The Night Manager. Were a Hiddleswift-helmed music video to drop around this time, it would be the equivalent of a publicity bomb for both of the stars, leaving a trail of rabid fans and lengthy think pieces in its wake.

But if this really was just a ploy for album sales and Emmy buzz, wouldnt there be some warning signs? In fact, the fauxmance is full of red flags. For one, Swift and Hiddleston have been performing a series of incredibly staged romantic outings. Sure, the dynamic duo might just really love being fully clothed on beachesin fact, it might be their favorite date activity. But that doesnt explain away the fact that Taylor and Tom have been caught canoodling around the world by the same paparazzi agency, in a series of photos taken at close range. Since most of these shots look like something from a movie, its not a huge stretch to imagine that they actually are. Besides, it wouldnt be the first time Swift has used a music video to play on themes like Hollywood romance, tabloid fiction, and her own man-eater imagesee her videos for Wildest Dreams and Blank Space.

For proof that the Hiddleswift affair is truly extra, just take a gander at Swifts annual Fourth of July party. This year, #Taymerica had it all: supermodels in onesies, prop pies, and a professional photographer who was spotted discussing shots with Taylor as the group hit the beach, with the pair directing the glam squad as they posed in the surf. Meanwhile, the internets ex-boyfriend was snapped following Swift around the beach like a well-trained British pug, sporting an I heart TS tank top and a temporary heart-shaped tattoo with a letter T. Now, Im usually not one to force someone into a stifling box of heteronormative machismo, but Tom Hiddleston kind of needs to grow a pair.

The Hiddleswift conspiracy theory stems from a belief that this level of unreal affection, of well-timed snogging and conveniently located photogs, crosses some sort of line. But where is that line? More importantly, where exactly is the prank? As Jezebels Madeleine Davies muses, What exactly would the prank be here? We told you we were dating and you believed us? You thought Tom Hiddleston was charming, but hes actually as thirsty as a high maintenance house plant? We made out on some Roman ruins and you thought we had feelings for each other? Haha, good one. Jokes on us.

Hiddleswift is certainly the peakor nadirof Taylor Swift as serial monogamist. But with Swift, its hard to say where the personal ends and the professional begins. When all your relationships can be placed on a spectrum of publicity and performativity, can you really single out one tabloid-friendly boyfriend as a commentary on all the others? Making art about her exes is in Taylor Swifts DNA, as is the sort of fake relationship posturing that sells tabloids and albums in equal measure. Furthermore, the notion of a T-Swift masterminded conspiracy or prank has connotations of parasitism, as if someone is being fooled or played. In fact, theres an argument to be made that were actually witnessing complete symbiosisbetween Taylor Swift, the men who kind of love her, the fans who follow her, and the tabloids that convert all of this intimacy into profit. This is exactly how the entity that is Taylor Swift is supposed to workin fact, this is some of the best work of her entire career.

Swift isnt really a crossover country-pop sensation so much as she is a well-oiled PR machine wrapped in pastel separates with shiny blonde hair. Historically, wed have to wait a year or even two for Swift to gestate the moneymaking fodder of her relationships and spit out a hit single. But millennials are impatient, so Swift ditched the time lag. Now we can consume these romance narrativesfrom optimistic intro to schmaltzy chorus to heartbreaking hookin real time. Its a brave new world, where the most famous celebrities are bored of having to operate under the guise of selling anything other than themselves.

For proof, look no further than Kanye West. West isnt just a rapper, or a producer, or a designerhes also Mr. Kim Kardashian, and a full-time celebrity in his own right. This level of stardom made West the perfect candidate for a metacommentary on fame in America. Cue the rappers video for Famous, which features a litany of celebrities, bodies real and imagined, breathing, sighing, and sleeping in platonic nudity. West has presented the work, which is essentially a Madame Tussauds remake of Vincent Desiderios 2008 painting Sleep, as a piece of art. However, the man behind Famous is hardly too highbrow to refrain from commoditizing his own commentary. From screenings on E! News to incendiary, celeb-baiting tweets (Can somebody sue me already #I'll wait.), West is actively using Famous as a platformfor more fame. Its a whole messy knot of self-promotion and self-awareness.

More importantly, its a reminder that fame is what Kanye West does best.

Taylor Swift and Kanye West have their own storied relationship. Sure, it started when West tried to steal Swifts VMAa move which was confirmed by the POTUS as decidedly dickishbut it would be too simplistic to reduce this bond to tormentor and victim. Suffice to say that their stars are connected, a point that West hammered home in Famous when he placed a nude mock-up of Swift by his side. Theres also that infamous lyric, the one that Swift swears she didnt approve: I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous. Despite her history of sneak-dissing (or outright confronting) Kanye West, Swift has remained strategically silent when it comes to the incendiary Famous video. While its clear that West would love nothing more than a rebuttal, Swift is treating this incident like Beyonce addressed Elevatorgateby not addressing it at all. A la queen Bey, Swift opted out of the backlash, sharing her Hiddleswift and squad Instas instead. Because as any middle schooler reared on social media will tell you, the only way to respond to a bully is to buy some waterproof mascara and Instagram through the tears.

What if, instead of an overt response, Swift is actually planning her own Famous, feat. Hiddleswift? The timing makes sense: Famous was released on April 1st, Swift and Hiddleston were snapped dancing together at the Met Ball on May 2nd, and the sensational Rhode Island pics hit the Internet on June 15. Not incidentally, Swifts new relationship took some attention off of Kim Kardashians simultaneous GQ cover interview, in which Kardashian insisted that not only had Swift approved the Famous rhymes via a phone call with Kanye, but that the West camp had footage of the alleged conversation that Swifts people had promptly asked them to delete via a cease-and-desist. Of course, this doesnt mean that Swift is actually producing a Hiddleswift-centric response to Famousshe could just be attempting to permanently deflect the conversation.

But isnt it fun to imagine? Swifts Famous would be so much more than just a victory for Hiddleswift conspiracy theorists. It would be a musical clap back, a la Lemonadelike Beyonces beloved relationship odyssey, except with its own specially fabricated romance. It would be the meta headfuck of Kanye Wests fantasies, orchestrated by none other than his pop culture foe. After all, these interconnected artists have more in common than they might think. Much like Kanye, Taylor Swift has blossomed from an artist into a brand. Taylor Swifts job isnt to produce new music; its to be Taylor Swift. Kanye has his tools: controversy, a nude color palette, his wifes nudes. And she has hers: an endless army of squad members, a crew of hired photogs, and a strategically placed temporary tattoo.

From her ludicrous Fourth of July squad to her increasingly posed relationships, Swift has actually become a parody of Taylor Swift. And yet, we cant look away. Like the most carefully curated clickbait, Swift is swimming in views. As much as I would love to watch her Hiddleswift performance art, Taylor Swift doesnt need to generate a flashy meta commentaryor even make new musicto get buzz. Kanye might have made fame into a work of pseudo-art, but Taylor just made fame her bitch.
The saga over Hillary Clintons emails that began with Benghazi just may be her new Benghazi.

A day after FBI Director James Comey announced he would not recommend pressing charges against Clinton or her aides for what he called their extremely careless handling of classified information, Republicans were gearing up a multi-pronged political assault that could keep the controversy thriving until the November elections, and possibly beyond.

In light of the FBIs findings, a congressional staffer told The Daily Beast that the House Intelligence Committee is considering legislation that could block security clearances for people who have been found to have mishandled classified information in the past.

Its not clear how many of Clintons aides still have their government security clearances, but such a measure could make it more difficult for them to be renewed, should they come back to serve in a Clinton administration.

The idea would be to make sure that these rules apply to a very wide range of people in the executive branch, the staffer said. (Clinton herself would not need a clearance were she to become president.)

Republicans on Wednesday afternoon were already calling for security clearances of Clinton aides to be revoked.

Thats what Im asking for, absolutely, Sen. Marco Rubio told The Daily Beast.

Sen. Ron Johnson, the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, demanded to know the names of aides who mishandled information.

I want to know who else was on those email chains that were marked top-secret, or secret, or confidential, because from my standpoint they were every bit as reckless engaging in these email exchanges that they had to know full well were outside the classified system and not in a secure environment, Johnson told The Daily Beast.

And in a move sure to trigger flashbacks of Clinton scandals past, House Republicans said they were considering whether to appoint a special prosecutor to further investigate Clintons email use.

Were not going to foreclose any options, House Speaker Paul Ryan said after meeting with his fellow GOP lawmakers.

On Thursday morning, Comey will testify before the House Oversight Committee , where congressional aides told The Daily Beast he is certain to be grilled by Republicans about why he thinks Clintons use of a private email system for official business didnt violate laws against mishandling classified information, either intentionally or through negligence. Comey said that 110 emails were found to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received, including seven email chains in which Clinton herself sent messages concerning matters that were classified at the top secret level. (The Clinton campaign has disputed the exact number but hasnt denied that classified information was sent and received.)

Next Tuesday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch will appear before the House Judiciary Committee, where shes expected to face more tough questions about the FBI decision as well as her impromptu meeting with former President Bill Clinton last week on an airport tarmac in Arizona.

Privately, aides to Democratic and Republican members drew comparisons between the congressional email inquiries and the special House committee to investigate the attacks in Benghazi , Libya, which worked for two years, subpoenaed dozens of witnesses, spent millions of dollars, and only issued a lengthy report last week. That investigation was highly polarizing and led some lawmakers to accuse the White House and State Department of a political coverup. (It was also because of the investigation that lawmakers first discovered Clinton had been using a private email account.)

But the FBI is an independent organization, and Comey is widely respected among law enforcement and national security officials, as well as many lawmakers, as an apolitical figure. Congressional Republicans now find themselves in the difficult position of second-guessing the nations top law enforcement official, whos also a self-identified Republican and served as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration.

The Clinton campaign blasted Republicans for trying to undermine Comeys conclusions in the email affair. For weeks Republicans have said they trusted FBI Director Comey to lead an independent review into Secretary Clintons emails, but now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories, spokesperson Brian Fallon said in a statement. The bottom line is the career officials who handled this case have determined that no further action is appropriate here, no matter how much Republicans may seek continuing politicizing this.

Comey will surely come prepared to answer skeptical lawmakers questions, and will remind them that the FBI spent more than a year investigating Clintons email system, interviewed current and former officials, including Clinton herself, and conducted a forensic examination of the email system that Comey described as a painstaking undertaking, requiring thousands of hours of effort.

In announcing his recommendation, Comey stressed that he had not coordinated his announcement with anyone else in the executive brancha statement that appeared designed to defend against criticism in light of Lynchs meeting with former president Clinton, which was criticized on both sides of the aisle.

But if history is any guide, Republicans will want to tread cautiously. The Benghazi review backfired when the final report was dubbed a partisan attack by the committees fellow Democrats. And the years of investigation, including by a special prosecutor, that ultimately led to Bill Clintons impeachment saw Republicans blamed for a partisan witch hunt.

But the politics are perilous for Clinton aides, as well, particularly those who might want to return to government. In his statement, Comey emphasized that just because he wasnt recommending criminal charges didnt mean other punitive measures wouldnt be appropriate.

People who mishandled classified information are often subject to security or administrative sanctions, Comey said, of which revoking a security clearance is one example.

Whenever someone applies for a security clearance or a renewal, investigators look for so-called derogatory information that may indicate a person isnt fit to handle classified information.

Generally speaking, mishandling of classified information could be grounds for suspension or revocation of clearance, Steven Aftergood, an expert on classification and official secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, told The Daily Beast. However, it would have to be a rather severe infraction, such as unauthorized disclosure of classified information. Lesser offenses would more typically be met with training and supervision.

Comey didnt name any of the aides that the FBI had determined behaved carelessly. But the bureau is known to have interviewed some of Clintons closest staff members and confidantes, including Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills, both of whom corresponded with Clinton on her private account and were aware she was using it for official business. Both women maintained their security clearances after theyd left the State Department as full-time employees, records show, but its not clear whether those clearances are still active.

As is standard, the Department does not comment on the security clearance status of individuals, State Department spokesperson John Kirby told The Daily Beast. Lawyers for Abedin, Mills, and three other Clinton aides didnt respond to requests for comment about whether they still have clearances or if theyve received any notice that they could be revoked.

Ultimately, the decision could hinge less on the actions of a few staffers than on the broader policies of the State Department, Aftergood said.

The problem in this case is that the mishandling of classified information may be a reflection of the whole agencys security culture, and so may not be attributable to individual misconduct, he said. Under those circumstances, penalizing individuals might not be appropriate. In any case, it would be up to the State Department, not the FBI, to make that determination.

That could put the State Department in the uncomfortable position of penalizing the actions of ex-staffers who worked under a previous secretary now running for president.

In remarks to the press Tuesday, Kirby said that the State Department does have an administrative process to evaluate cases where information may have been mishandled Up until now, though, officials have not looked into the issue at the request of the FBI, in order not to interfere with its investigation, Kirby said.

with additional reporting by Tim Mak.
In an unprecedented escalation in the last two decades, Iranian Kurdish rebels have broke a unilateral ceasefire with a series of attacks against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the mountainous Kurdish cities in northwestern Iran.

A series of ongoing attacks by Kurdish rebels from the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iran (KDPI) on the Revolutionary Guard, dozens from both sides have been killed. (Exact numbers are difficult to come by given competing claims.)

Rostam Jahangiri, a member of the political office of the KDPI confirmed to The Daily Beast that clashes have taken place in the surrounding mountainous areas of Marivan, Saghez, Piranshahr, Sardasht, Oshnavieh, Mahabad, Urmia and Sarvabadall cities in the West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan Provinces of Iran.

One reason why the KDPI has been stepping up its military activities against the Islamic Republic, Mustafa Hijri, the partys leader, said is that Iran has been increasingly clamping down on the civic and political activities in the Kurdish area more than elsewhere in Iran and Iran has left us no alternative.

The center-left KDPI, the oldest Kurdish party in Iran, insists that its presence in Iranian territory is defensive in nature. Nevertheless, Hijri told The Daily Beast that the Kurds might turn to an offensive mode if conditions continue to deteriorate.

Rostam Jahangiri, a KDPI member who participated in one of the operations, told The Daily Beast, we used to go to the mountains of Iranian Kurdistan last year too, but [the Revolutionary Guard] didnt clash with us. Jahangiri believes the forbearance last year owed to the Obama administrations landmark deal with the Islamic Republic to curb its rogue nuclear program. This also accounts, KDPI members insist, on U.S. reluctance to speak out against the escalating violence in Irans Kurdish region. According to Arash Saleh, a KDPI representative to United States, the administration is more preoccupied with their concerns about their legacy on Iran deal.

Kurds are minority in Iran, a mere 10% of the population, according to unofficial figures. Like their stateless ethnic kin in Iraq, Syria and Turkey, Iranian Kurds consider themselves inhabitants of a broader Kurdistan region that encompasses all of these modern nation-states. Kurds in Iraq and Syria are enjoying a renewed period of expansionism and autonomy, owing to the coalition campaign against ISIS which has empowered various strains of Kurdish nationalism. And in spite of Turkeys ongoing war against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Kurds have also gained considerable political and cultural rights in Turkey in the last decade.

So it is perhaps unsurprising that Iranian Kurds feel their time is now. But many doubt capabilities of Kurdish rebels to do more than create a nuisance for the mullahs  albeit one that will precipitate human rights abuses. Military activity alone cannot change the formula in Iran, says Parwez Rahim, a lecturer and specialist on Iranian Kurds at Salahaddin University in Erbil, because the KDPI dont have that much force. However, Rahim believes that the rebels are using insurgency tactics to give energy to urban Kurds in northwestern Iran [in order to] demand change through peaceful means.

KDPI rebels are believed to have 2,000 militantsknown as peshmerga, much like their Iraqi counterpartsbased in remote border communities in northern Iraq. Other Kurdish rebel groups are thought to have between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters. The main rival group to KDPI is known as the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan or (PJAK), which is the Iranian armed wing of the PKK. Some Iranian Kurds have gone off to join the war against ISIS, although analysts say that what they may have gained by way of battlefield experience, they still lack in terms of materiel.

Another complicating factor is their relationship with their host nation of Iraqi Kurdistan, the semiautonomous mountainous region which Iran has shelled, injuring a number of civilians and forcing villagers to flee. The commander the Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces, General Mohammad Pakpour, threatened to launch attacks against rebel bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, a threat that risked destabilizing relations between Tehran and Erbil. Since the main bases of these terrorists are in northern Iraq, if they dont follow through with commitments to stop these attacks, their bases will be targeted where they are, he said.

KDPI officials say they take such threats seriously. Rostam Jahangiri thinks the Iranians would invade Iraq, if push came to shove.

And this is why the Kurdistan Regional Government, which runs Iraqi Kurdistan, has officially asked Iran to end its cross-border artillery fire. It has also called on Kurdish rebels to stop using the borderlands to mount campaigns against a neighboring country. On June 29, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met an Iranian delegation and stressed preventing the recurrence of such incidents in the future.

Hijri says that the KDPI is therefore thinking of relocating its forces inside Iranian territory, a move that would seem to escalate rather than diminish tensions with Tehran.

Quite apart from being a perceived national security threat to the notoriously well-guarded Khomeinist regime, Kurdish separatists are also seen through prism of geopolitical sectarianism. Iranian officials have accused their mortal enemy, Saudi Arabia, of supporting KDPI activities since the majority of Kurdish rebels are Sunnis, a fact underscored by a number of Gulf media outlets that have reported on Iranian Kurdish activity, although the Saudi embassy denies any patronage.

Jahangiri, too, denies any backing from Riyadh and a sectarian agenda. We are striving for national aspirations of Kurds, he said. We have both Sunni and Shia within our ranks. In reality, though, the KDPI has almost no constituency with the Shia Kurdish population.

Others says that its Iran that is exacerbating the Sunni-Shia divide. Iran has exploited the sectarian diversity in the Kurdish areas, the scholar Parwez Rahim told The Daily Beast, and has been relatively successful in splitting Kurds. Irans parliament has a total of 43 Kurdish representatives but only 11 are Sunnis.

For democratic societies diversity has been a source of empowerment but in Iran weak point of the regime is the country's diversity, Jahangiri said. He is hopeful of the future of his struggle. Just as the Arab Spring ignited from a small incident, the same will inevitably happen in Iran when the time is right.
Even a National Rifle Association podcast host thinks the killing of Philando Castile by police does not look good.

Cam Edwards, host of the Cam & Co NRA podcast , appeared to be the first figure from the pro-gun association to publicly discuss the shootings of Castile and Alton Sterling on Thursday afternoon. Both black men were armed when they were killed by police; Castile is said to have had a permit to carry a handgun.

What we know does not look good, he said, adding later: Our right to keep and bear arms is not based on the color of our skin.

In an interview with John Cardillo, another conservative pro-gun radio host, Edwards noted that Castiles family have said theyre afraid to carry weapons because they might be shot by law enforcement.

The NRA is facing a lot of criticism for its silence about the police killing two black men this week who were carrying guns for personal protection and not threatening cops when they were slain.

Castiles family says he had a permit to carry the gun in Minnesota. (A sheriffs spokesman would not confirm or deny the status of Castiles permit.) Louisiana, where Sterling was killed , allows the open carry of weapons by individuals over age 17 who are not otherwise legally barred to possess firearms

The National Rifle Association remained silent about two police-involved killings of black men Thursday, despite its ongoing efforts to win support from black gun owners through an outreach campaign and boasting about its history.
Twenty-six years after Russias only aircraft carrier entered service, she is reportedly heading into combat for the very first timein Syria.

The general staff has prepared a plan for involvement of the deck aircraft in delivering strikes on terrorist groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, an unnamed diplomatic source told the state-owned news agency TASS. With the flattop Admiral Kuznetsov holding station in the Mediterranean Sea, crews will practice taking off the carrier to deliver strikes on ground targets.

The deployment is reportedly scheduled to begin in October and last up to four months.

Prepare to be underwhelmed. Kuznetsov is too small, too unreliable, and her 15 fighter jets too lacking in flying range, weapons, and sensors to make a meaningful contribution to Russias nine-month-old intervention in Syria.

Indeed, Russias very first carrier air strikes will be mostly for showalthough, to be fair, they could also benefit the flattops long-suffering crew. The thousand-foot-long Kuznetsov is rusty, leaky, and prone to fuel spills and fatal accidents. She rarely sails from her home port in northern Russia and, as a consequence, her crew struggles to maintain seagoing proficiency.

I think this is really just an opportunity for Russia to demonstrate the relevance of its relatively small and aging carrier aviation capabilities while also giving their crews the opportunity to practice and enhance their skills in a combat environment, Eric Wertheim, an independent naval expert and the author of Combat Fleets of the World, told The Daily Beast via email. I think theyre using the Syrian operations as an opportunity to do just that for many of their previously neglected naval forces.

Although shes the flagship of the Russian fleet, Kuznetsov is hardly Moscows most powerful warshipan honorific that probably belongs to one of the Russias new nuclear-powered submarines or missile-armed atomic cruisers.

The U.S. Navyby far the worlds leading naval aviation poweroperates 10 large, nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carriers and nine smaller, carrier-like amphibious assault ships, and can simultaneously deploy several of the vessels to combat zones, with each vessel remaining at sea for six months or more at a time.

This summer, the Americans sent two large carriers and an assault ship to strike ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Each big U.S. flattop sails with an air wing of 60 or more aircraft, including more than 40 F/A-18 fighters. A large American carrier can launch more than 100 air raids a day, with every fighter carrying multiple smart bombs, each of which canin theorystrike a different target.

Russia has just the one carrier. Her deployments are less frequent and shorter than U.S. vessels areand so are the missions her planes are capable of undertaking. I bet they dont put up 50 sorties in any 24-hour period, Jerry Hendrix, a former U.S. Navy strategist who is now an analyst with the Center for a New American Security think tank in Washington, D.C., said of the Russians.

Kuznetsovs fighters carry mostly unguided dumb bombs that lack the precision of their U.S. counterparts. Equally problematic, the Russian carrier doesnt have the catapults that, on large U.S. carriers, help to boost planes into the air with heavy loads of fuel and weapons. As a consequence, the Russian ships Su-33 and MiG-29 fighters carry partial fuel loads and just a few weapons when they take off.

The Kremlin is clearly aware of Kuznetsovs limitationsand reportedly has plans to partially mitigate them. The ship will remain close to the Syrian shore so that the deck aircraft have enough fuel to complete the military tasks and return back, the anonymous official told TASS.

Still, Kuznetsov and her 15 planes are unlikely to make much difference in Russias air war in Syrianot as long as Moscows land-based planes are so much more capable of sustaining intensive air operations. In October, the Kremlin deployed around three dozen warplanes to Khmeimim air base in Latakia, in western Syria. Boosted by long-range bombers flying directly from Russia, those planes have conducted thousands of air strikes targeting rebel forces and civilians in rebel-held areas.

Kuznetsov has never performed a land strike role, and it doesnt make any sense to use [her] that way, considering the availability of the Latakia air base, Maxim Shepovalenko, a retired Russian navy captain who is now the deputy director of the Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow, told The Daily Beast. Just compare the tonnage, stores, and air-wing strength of a Nimitz-class and those of Kuznetsov. No match.

As pointless as the carrier deployment might be from a military standpoint, it actually makes a lot of economic sense. Naval shipbuilding is big business in Russia, but the countrys dilapidated shipyards have earned a reputation for producing crappy aircraft carriers and equally crappy carrier-launched planes.

Just ask the Indians, who ordered a refurbished flattop from a Russian yard back in 2004. The carrier Vikramaditya arrived years late and billions of dollars over-budget, and on her first voyage in 2013 suffered a devastating engine failure. India has been buying MiG-29 fighters to fly from Vikramaditya, and Russia is keen to extend that deal. If it appears successful, Kuznetsovs Syria deployment could lure the Indians into buying more MiGs, Shepovalenko said.

Another customer of Russian carriers is likely to pay close attention to Kuznetsovs war debut. In 2011, China commissioned into service an upgraded copy of Kuznetsov named Lioaning. Shes Chinas first and so far only flattop. Shes never seen combat, either. And if Kuznetsov can pull off her inaugural wartime mission without major embarrassment, maybe Lioaning can, too.

-- with additional reporting by Matthew Bodner
PARIS  Does high couture represent the dumbing down of fashion? It's a question one finds oneself asking after a week of being bombarded by the sight of sequins, beads and all things that glitter, during Couture Week, which wrapped here in the French capital Wednesday evening.

Many designers say that couture, unlike the relentless ready-to-wear, resort or even mens collections, are where they can express themselves, experiment and be truly creative.

Think Jean Paul Gaultier, ditching ready-to-wear to focus on his first love, high couture, a few seasons back. The move only enhanced the fact that his cancan-style shows are almost always the highlight, and certainly the most fun, of the week.

Gaultiers women have spunk and edge. His approach to dressing them is tongue-in-cheek, and delightfully irreverent. This seasons characters included Klimt Eastwood, Holy Wood, Wonderfull Life and La Femme Oxydantale.

Gaultiers show was amusing. His women wore wild orange fur coats, Eskimo-inspired head dresses and what looked like a Tartan blanket turned into a coat. It was creative couture, done with humor.

But after enduring Freddie Mercury blasting through the Grand Palais for the presentation of an over-the-top wedding dress by Zuhair Muradit closed a show that coupled perhaps half of all available sequins and crystals in the Western hemisphere, with mens hats and thigh-high bootsI wasnt so sure that couture represents the high point, or even a creative outlet for most designers.

If Murad had managed to be tongue-in-cheek, it might have helped.

Hailing from Lebanon, Murad (born 1971) is part of a new generation reviving Couture Week, which was considered more or less dead on its feet a few years ago, or somewhat stagnant to say the least.

His wedding dress, which was made from champagne-colored lace, and featured a four-meter train adorned in crystals and beads, was so glittering and sparkling that it made all would-be princesses dreams come true instantly, just by looking at it.

But it got my feminist blood rising fast. Does couture need to be as glittering and silly as this?

Murad named the collection Boho Rapture, and he described in his show notes a fairytale queen with a taste for Bohemia as his muse. Fairytales are great, but isn't this just patronizing patriarchal nonsense? And why are wedding dresses still so relevant that some minor member of the design team had to spend years of their life sticking sequins onto a dress?

Moreover, how could any man or marriage possibly live up to the excitement of wearing the dress?

The answer to some of these questions might lie not in Murads Arabian Nights fantasy, but in the tastes of real-life Arabian princesses from whom many of these designers earn their bread and butter, even if paid in myrrh and gold.

Arabian princesses are very much the customer of the Rome-based designer Antonio Grimaldi. He said so himself, as he discussed laser cut trains and organza linings in his equally princess-like dresses presented at the Ritz. (Where else?)

But glittering dresses are also much in demand from a generation of pop idol-inspired millennials and some of the elderly bimbos tottering around Paris this week in high heels and revealing dresses--high tack or haute couture, you decide.

Haute couture, at its best or in its most traditional form, might or should represent the very opposite to tacky. It should be the apotheosis of understated French taste, and the very best of craftsmanship. It is all handmade, after all, over hundreds and sometimes thousands of hoursbut it seems with certain designers to be going in the reverse direction.

Maybe younger designers have a hard time mastering this art and craft, or maybe good taste has all but disappeared?

Just as observers of high couture seem to fall into two or three camps (those with good taste, those without any, and those in-between), so too do the designers. There are those that do lots of sequins, those that create modern art, those that make beautiful clothing look effortless, and those that fall somewhere in-between.

Still, one new couture addition to have hit the mark this year is Chinas Guo Peimost famous for creating Rihannas astonishing yellow gown at the 2015 Met Ball. A household name in China, Pei is in her second season at couture week, and is the first designer from China to show at Couture in living memory.

This season, Pei more or less opened couture week with an extravagant costume drama presentation. Her inventive, funky and original designs surprised me. I expected gaudy silk dresses and folk costumes. She certainly gave Gaultier a run for his money in terms of creating amusingly brilliant dresses.

Versace has long marked the opening of couture week with its Sunday night show. But Pei went before Versace, and utterly upstaged the label.

Upbeat music accompanied the energizing Versace catwalk, which almost made one want to be a lithe Miami nightclub babe. The Fall 2016 collection featured Duchess satin and cashmere coats, and experimented with draping and volume to create revealing designs that turned the body into a canvas for elegant experimentations with cloth.

There was much more experimentation from Dutch designer Iris van Herpen.

Models stood like statues on podiums inside a vacant church, as a musician created a sound installation from brass bowls.

Otherworldly creatures wore feather-light dresses that created artful shapes as they moved their arms. Some designs looked inspired by seashells and the beauty and translucency of rare creatures found deep in the sea. Her unusual work combines technology with handicrafts and looks one-off.

Bucking the sequin school of thought, designs from the house of Elsa Schiaparelli might just as well be considered high design or walking art works, as they display such originality.

This seasons collection was inspired by the houses Circus collection from 1938.

There were no clowns and not even any clowning around, but sophisticated, singular designs, combining artsy prints, original shapes and feminine but modern and silhouettes. There were plunging necklines and thigh-high slits, but none of it looked cheap.

Alexandre Vauthier, meanwhile, gave a utilitarian touch to his couture collection. He created Marie Antoinette-style dresses, and a wraparound dress that looked like a pair of Gap trousers had been cut and wound around the torso.

Chanels presentation began with three-quarter length trouser suits, while Valentino sent out some of the most unusual silhouettes seen on the couture catwalks this week. Some of their pieces were adorned in frilly choir boy collars. Other velvet outfits were artfully strange, eliciting stares of delight and surprise.

And not a sequin, bead or crystal in sight.
PARIS  Saudi King Salman bin Abdelaziz sounded at once angry and plaintive as he marked the end of this blood-drenched month of Ramadan.

The so-called Islamic State, ISIS, had just staged attacks in three Saudi cities, hitting near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, a Shia mosque in Qatif, and even a mosque in the holy city of Medina.

Two days before, a car bomb in Baghdad and the fire that followed had killed more than 250 people. Before that, attackers in Bangladesh slaughtered Western patrons and locals at a popular Dhaka cafe. Days earlier came the stunning attack on Istanbuls Ataturk Airport, and before that the murder of a husband and wife from the French police in front of their 3-year-old son in a Paris suburb. Still earlier: the horrific slaughter at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

All that happened in one month on the Muslim calendar, all in the name of Allah.

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the ISIS spokesman and second in command, had declared Ramadan a time of conquest and jihad.

Get prepared, be ready to make it a month of calamity everywhere for the non-believers, he said in a recording released in May. But as usual, most of the slaughter targeted other Muslims.

King Salman, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, vowed this week to meet these threats with an iron fist, as of course he would. But his statement acknowledged the heart of the problem with a more original and more memorable phrase: the biggest challenge, he said, is how to keep young people away from the masterminds of misleading ideas.

Salman also called for Muslim unity to face the ISIS menace. But given that the Saudis proxy wars with Iran from Lebanon to Syria to Iraq, in Bahrain and in Yemen are waged with sectarian vehemence, the kings call for Muslim unity sounds oxymoronic, a true contradiction in terms.

And contradictions, in fact, are the foundation that ISIS is built on.

The so-called Islamic State chooses its targets and tailors its terror to reach specific audiences. To do this, it tries, as communist revolutionaries once did, to exacerbate the contradictions among its rivals: build on suspicions, inflame resentments, inspire violence and repression that engenders more violence and rebellion.

In a global war of attrition, which is what were looking at, the key to defeating ISISaside from killing its operativesis to resist absolutely and unequivocally its strategy using terror to divide and demoralize.

But thats no easy feat. There are just so many contradictions in Arab and Western society, and ISIS understands them better, it seems, than many Arab and Western leaders do. Its masterminds of misleading ideas employ what the French call la polique du pire, a policy that provokes a society to turn on itself, aiming eventually to make the masses ungovernable, and daily life unbearable.

In the last few weeks, as ISIS has come under pressure on the ground in Iraq and Syria, its response has not been a blind, senseless lashing out. It has been a carefully calculated campaign using a wide array of available human tools, some of them acting under direct orders, some of them loosely affiliated, and some merely inspired to carry out mass murder against a backdrop of psycho-sexual confusionbut always serving the interest of the self-anointed caliphate that ISIS claims to be.

Lets go down the list from this gruesome month of fasting, prayer, and slaughter:

The Saudi AttacksConspiracy theories abound, which is part of the ISIS game sowing suspicion and doubts. But the basic messages are straightforward: a bomb near the U.S. consulate draws attention to the longstanding Saudi-U.S. alliance, and pretends to threaten it. A bomb near a Shia mosque in Qatif suggests there may be those in Saudi willing to attack Shiites in the same manner theyve been attacked in Iraq, Pakistan, and elsewhere, thus exacerbating sectarian tensions inside the kingdom. And the attack in Medina is a direct affront to the monarchy, showing the Custodian cannot defend the Two Holy Mosques.

According to a fact sheet from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has suffered more than 25 terror attacks in the last two years, and ISIS has declared two Saudi provinces, along with Bahrain, part of its caliphate. In response, some 2,800 alleged terror suspects have been arrested since 2015, and some have been beheaded. Yet Medina is hit by a suicide bombing. That is a particular embarrassment to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister and longtime U.S. ally in the counter-terror wars.

Bin Nayef is now in an ill-concealed power struggle with Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kings favored son, who is minister of defense and holds the economic portfolio as well. Heightening the friction between MBN and MBS, as these two princes are called, is an added plus from the ISIS point of view.

The Kerrada Bombing in BaghdadFor more than a decade, the core strategy of ISIS and the organization from which it sprang, Al Qaeda in Iraq, has been to incite sectarian war between Shiites and Sunnis, with the idea that in the end, and not least for self defense, the Sunnis would side with ISIS.

But the record-setting carnage in Kerrada, where the bomb ignited a crowded shopping center with no fire exits, has had a deeper impact than what might be described, in Iraq, as the usual atrocities. And it comes days after the governments reconquest of the nearby city of Fallujah, an ISIS stronghold since 2014, which was supposed to have made people in Baghdad more secure.

Among other aftershocks, Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban, a member of the Badr Organization widely seen as a front for Iran, has been forced to resign. Even if someone else from Badr replaces him, ISIS can score that as a victory.

But as blogger Sajad Jiyad wrote, the effect of this incident, on top of so many others, is deeply, fundamentally corrosive:

The recriminations are underway, politicians using the tragedy for score settling or to outdo each other in their condemnations and even sectarian innuendo. People are disgusted at the entire ruling system in Iraq, blaming them as much as Daesh [ISIS]. Perhaps that is the biggest change Ive seen over the years in such attacks, a paradigm shift where the first point of responsibility is the government rather than the terrorists who conducted the attack.

The Bangladesh Hostage Taking and MurdersAs Daily Beast columnist Maajid Nawaz pointed out, the killers struck at a moment when the political establishment already has been torn asunder by the heavy-handed rule of Sheikha Hasinas Awami League, which has seen to the execution of several of its Islamist rivals.

From the jihadist point of view, Nawaz wrote, The killing of the leader of the countrys oldest Islamist group is too good an opportunity to pass up. It provides perfect justification for the jihadist notion that secularists are at war with Islam everywhere, which is why Muslims must fight back. Call jihadists anything, but bad at propaganda they are not.

ISIS immediately claimed the murders in Dhakas Holey Artisan Bakery, which left 22 people dead, some of them reportedly after gruesome torture. That the gunmen came from relatively well-to-do families and had not previously been associated with ISIS does not in the least affirm that some other group was involved. Indeed, the use of previously unaffiliated killers has become standard operating procedure for the masterminds of misleading ideas.

The Attack on Istanbuls AirportIn Turkey, ISIS has taken a different tack. The intelligence services of Ankara and Washington have little doubt that the so-called Islamic State, which borders Turkish territory in many places, was behind the attack that killed 44 people and injured 240 people on June 28. Indeed, specific operatives from Chechnya and from former Soviet republics have been named and arrested.

But ISIS has not claimed responsibility, most likely, because it is punishing what had been an important tacit ally, the Turkish government and security services under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The ISIS leadership had virtual carte blanche to import fighters through Turkey and export oil across the Turkish border to fill its war chest in 2014 and 2015.

Under pressure from the United States and Europe, the Turks have been cracking down on these routes in recent months. But ISIS may yet think it can renew the old arrangement, and is punishing the Turks in hopes they will see the wisdom of such a deal. A claim of responsibility would make that more difficult.

This is almost standard operating procedure in the Middle East, where plausibleor even implausibledeniability has long been a favorite tool of those who use terror as a means of communication. Atrocities can be carried out, pressure exerted, and then agreements struck, with both sides eventually agreeing that somebody else must have been responsible, as long as no one explicitly claims credit in the first place.

The French Cop KillerThe murderer who stabbed to death a French policeman and his wife, who also worked for the police, in their home in Magnanville outside of Paris on June 14with their 3-year-old son watchingchose easily available targets. At the time, French cops were not allowed to take their service weapons home, so they were basically defenseless. (That rule has since been changed.)

The murderer fit a by-now familiar profile in France and Belgium, one common to the men who carried out the Charlie Hebdo and kosher supermarket massacres in January 2015, the Paris slaughter in November and the Brussels atrocity in March: He was already known as a radical Islamist and a potential threat, but managed to keep a low enough profile long enough for the authorities to lose interest in him. Then he struck, and in this case live-streamed his diatribe on Facebook.

His message to would-be emulators? Killing like this is so easy, people should give it a try. The strategy: to show the French that even with their state of emergency and cops and soldiers all over the place, they are still vulnerable.

As if to underscore this point, a report by a French parliamentary committee investigating the earlier attacks concluded this week that the French intelligence services need to be reorganized because they are not up to the jihadist challenge.

The longer strategy served by such attacks is to force the French to pull out of the fight against ISIS, and eventually to provoke such internal repression against Muslims that there will be civil war here. Whether that will work is doubtful, but the jihadists certainly will keep trying.

OrlandoThe ISIS strategy in the United States, thus far, has been to encourage lone wolves, or, as veteran counter-terror analyst Brian Jenkins calls them, stray dogs, to strike when and where they can. Little direction is given. The notion is to show that ISIS can reach into American life one way or another and sow terror, pure and simple, then to see what contradictions emerge.

If people with personality disorders, high-powered rifles and pistols want to claim allegiance to the ISIS cause, so much the better. And if Donald Trump or any other American demagogue wants to exploit the fear provoked, thats truly the cherry on top of the cake.

Omar Mateens rampage in Orlando fit neatly into the ISIS worldview, in which LGBT people should be thrown from building, stoned, or exterminated in other ways. But Mateens own demons appear to have played a major role in his decision to lay waste the Pulse nightclub, killing 49 people, and the FBI has found no direct orders given to him by ISIS.

From the point of view of ISIS, which did claim Mateen as its own, after the fact, it didnt matter that thered been little or no contact with him before. Indeed, thats the genius of that organization. The masterminds dont need to give explicit orders, they just spread their misleading ideas. And the war goes on.
ROME  In what must surely be a relief to Pope Francis, a Vatican tribunal ruled on Thursday that the press is free, that secretaries arent to blame, that new mothers shouldnt go to jail, and that one of their own is the only one who truly deserves to pay the price for the Vatican crime of leaking documents to the press.

The so-called Vatileaks II trial began eight months ago over allegations that Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and a Calabrian public relations consultant named Francesca Chaouqui, aided by Baldas assistant Nicola Maio, knowingly leaked secret documents to journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipladi.

Balda and Chaouqui were both on a special commission designed to reform the Vaticans finances, during which they allegedly stole the documents with the help of Maio and fed them to the journalists who published them in books last year.

The audacity of putting two journalists on trial for practicing journalism garnered harsh criticism from around the world, including a New York Times editorial that outlined why the Vatican was on the wrong side of press freedom and a call by the Committee to Protect Journalists to drop the charges.

During the bizarre trial, Monsignor Balda insisted Chaouqui seduced him at a Florentine hotel and threatened him with her ties to the Calabrian Ndrangheta crime syndicate unless he gave the documents to the journalists.

The voluptuous Chaouqui denied mob tiesand the seduction. The last thing Balda would do is go to bed with me, she said. I know emirs and millionaires. If I wanted to betray my husband, I wouldnt do it with an old priest who doesnt even like women.

Balda, who actually admitted giving Nuzzi documents and passwords under pressure from Chaouqui, was kept in a Vatican jail cell during most the trial after violating the rules of house arrest by sneaking a cellphone into his room.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison Thursday, for which he may be pardoned if Pope Francis follows the general practice of pardons and forgiveness.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVIs butler, Paolo Gabriele, was convicted of similar crimes for leaking documents to the same journalist as in this case, Gianluigi Nuzzi. He was also sentenced to 18 months, of which he served very little after Benedict forgave him.

Chaouqui, who had a baby boy she named Pietro three weeks ago, and who brought the infant to several hearings in the Vatican tribunal to breastfeed, insisted that Balda is gay and that said she despised the mob in her native Calabria.

She also played the martyr during the last days of the trial, insisting she would serve her time baby in my arms if she was convicted, and threatening that, If you convict me, Ill tell the journalists everything!

She was given a 10 month suspended sentence for her role in the affair, which convicts her of wrongdoing but doesnt punish her for it. She vowed to appeal to clear her name, though there is little precedent in terms of Vatican trials, so it is truly anyones guess if thats even a possibility.

During closing arguments, her Vatican-appointed lawyer admitted her client wasnt the nicest person in the world, but said that shouldnt be a reason to convict her.

Francesca Chaouqui isnt likeable. She's never quiet. She talks when she shouldnt, her lawyer, Laura Sgro, told the court. But you cant convict her just because shes unlikeable, unpleasant, insufferable, arrogant and presumptuous.

The sentencing was seen as the best-case scenario for all involvedespecially the Holy Seeexcept, perhaps, for Balda.

During closing arguments, the Vatican prosecutor, known as the promoter of justice, asked that the court dismiss the case against the journalist Fittipaldi altogether out of lack of evidence and only asked for one year for the author, Nuzzi.

In the end, the Vatican tribunal ruled that it didnt have jurisdiction to try either of them in the first place, which is exactly what both had argued throughout the trial.
AMSTERDAM  A Belgian civil court has fined a Catholic home for the elderly 6,000 ( $6,660) for interfering with a doctor trying to euthanize a patient.

The case, decided last week, stands out in a country where assisted dying has become almost commonplace. Last year, according to official statistics, 1,926 patients were helped to end their lives in Belgium, including some people who were suffering from depression.

It is not unique for hospitals or nursing homes to try to prevent euthanasia, says Dr. Patrik Vankrunkelsven, a former senator and physician involved in the case against the Sint Augustinus home in Diest, near Brussels. Usually they do so for ideological reasons. Or, as they would say, religious ones. But that is illegal in Belgium, whose laws since 2002, like those in the Netherlands, support the right to die.

The family of 74-year-old Mariette Buntjens started the suit against the care home in 2011, after they were forced to move their mother at the last minute to a different location in order to respect her final wish.

Our mother was terminally ill, she had cancer, one of her daughters told Belgian VRT television. Buntjens, diagnosed with final-stage lung cancer, had decided six months before where and when she wanted to die. She was afraid to suffer, to have pain, her daughter said.

On the set date, the homes reluctance to cooperate with the euthanasia, which has been legalized in Belgium since 2002, came completely out of the blue.

You prepare, for that day, for whats going to happen, said another daughter on the VRT broadcast. The whole family had said their goodbyes. It was hard enough to do that once, her daughter said. Then the director of the home said, We will not go ahead; we dont do that here.

There are set procedures before a decision is made to help someone to die.

If a patient asks for euthanasia several times over an extended period, two doctors have to agree that the procedure can be performed. The first physician is usually the personal physician. (Family doctors are not so rare in Belgium and the Netherlands as they have become in some other countries.)

In this case Mariette Buntjens long-term doctor, Jozef Vankrunkelsven, agreed, and called in Patrik Vankrunkelsven, one of those second opinion doctors, who are called LEIF doctors in Belgium. A particularity of this case is that the long-term doctor and LEIF doctor are brothers.

We look at the physical condition of the patient again and in this case we agreed that she had deteriorated to such an extent that the moment was indeed nearing, Patrik Vankrunkelsven told The Daily Beast.

The nursing home had not previously said it objected, and had even prepared the drip for the procedure, then suddenly said no. The patients personal physician was refused entry. He called an ambulance and had her transported to another location.

Given that most hospitals in Belgium to this day are Catholic, if they refuse to carry out euthanasia procedures that will complicate matters greatly for those who want assistance dying. We just hope to prevent such situations for others, said Buntjenss daughter. If your papers are in order and the moment is there, you should be able to get euthanasia.

Archbishop Jozef De Kesel told the regional newspaper Het Belang van Limburg that when it comes to euthanasia or abortion, I think that on an institutional level we have the right to decide that we wont do that. By institutions, he said, I primarily mean hospitals. But the law holds that conscientious objection is insufficient cause to refuse euthanasia, and at present many Catholic hospitals reportedly are allowing it.

The law says that euthanasia is an agreement between a physician and patient. It does not describe a position for a nursing home. So this court decision, which goes in favor of Belgiums pro-euthanasia legislation, sets an important precedent.

The court case was set to determine if nursing homes were overstepping legal boundaries by intervening in the wishes of patients to end their lives. It essentially marks the nursing home as an extension of the private living space of its patients, explains Vankrunkelsven.

One could take the position that if a nursing home takes a clear stand on euthanasia in its external communication, it would give a clear signal to its patients. said Vankrunkelsven. But in the case of St. Augustinus it told the family clearly, before they admitted Mrs. Buntjens, that euthanasia would not pose a problem.

I had a meeting with the head nurse and the resident doctor, who were on one page with us, said Vankrunkelsven. All seemed set. But then things changed. All of a sudden my brother received an email from management saying that the euthanasia we had planned, thats how it read, cant go ahead because we find the conditions have not been met. Apparently management changed its mind.

The judge decided the home did not stipulate which conditions were not met, explains Vankrunkelsven, so that leaves the option that the home resisted out of principle and that is not legal.

For the Catholic homes there will be a chance to appeal, but so far there are no indications a case is in preparation.
Matthew Perry Apologizes for Trashing Keanu Reeves

THE ONE WHERE CHANDLER...

Im actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake.
Lagavulin 200th anniversary edition released

The Islay single malt Scotch whisky distillery Lagavulin is marking its 200th anniversary with the launch of a limited edition bottling of Lagavulin 8 Year Old in honour of Britains most famous Victorian whisky writer, Alfred Barnard.

In the late 1880s, Alfred Barnard, the first ever whisky journalist and traveller, sampled an 8 Year Old Lagavulin during a visit to Islay, describing it as exceptionally fine.

Famous for its majestic nose of Hebridean peat smoke and complex flavours, Lagavulin 8 Year Olds long, sweet and powerful finish encapsulates the passion, heritage and skills that lie behind its crafting. The launch of this special edition kick starts the distillerys bi-centennial activities.

Peter Fairbrother, Diageo GTME global marketing director says: single malts represent the fastest growing segment of the whisky category in travel retail, growing 12.5% in the last recorded year and now valued at US$800M. Diageo has the largest portfolio in this flourishing category and we are proud to own over 40% of the industry's inventory. With this breadth to our portfolio, we are delighted to be able to bring rare and special whiskies  such as this limited edition Lagavulin 8 Year Old  to travellers across the globe.

Dr Nick Morgan, Diageos head of whisky outreach adds: This is a special year for a much loved single malt Scotch whisky revered around the world as the definitive Islay whisky. We are thrilled to begin the celebrations for such an historic occasion with the launch of the first Lagavulin 8 Year Old for many years.

The whisky will be available twice during the course of the year and carries an RRP of 41.40/ US$ 88.65/ 72.00.

7 July 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor
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Reminder: Crop reporting deadline is fast approaching

Farmers are reminded that July 15 is the deadline to report acreage of spring seeded crops such as corn, soybeans, grain sorghum, tobacco, vegetables, hay and pasture.

Once a producer's row crops are planted, producers should report their acreage of the planted crop to FSA by the crop's applicable reporting deadline. Call the FSA office at 270-826-3450 to schedule an appointment to report your crops. Farmers should be prepared to give acreage by field, planting dates, crop shares and intended use of the crop at the time of crop reporting. Complete cropland reports are required for participation in many of the Farm Service Agency Programs. Failure to report crop acreage to FSA by the applicable crop reporting deadline may result in loss of program benefits and a late file fee will be charged for late reports.

County committee info

FSA is hosting informational meetings regarding the 2016 County Committee Election process at the Henderson County Farm Service Agency office located at 706C North Green Street in Henderson, KY 42420.

A general overview of FSA programs will be presented in conjunction with the election material. Producers, including minority, women and new farmers, are encouraged to attend the meeting and participate in the 2016 election.

The meeting dates are as follows:

July 19, 1 p.m. at Henderson County FSA office  Public meeting to explain the county committee role and responsibilities.

Aug. 23, 1 p.m. at Henderson County FSA Office  Public meeting to explain the ballot and voting process.

Sept. 13, 1 p.m. at Henderson County FSA Office  public meeting to explain voter eligibility and how elections are held, and votes are tabulated.

The county committee nomination period began on June 15. Nomination forms must be postmarked or received in the Henderson County FSA Office by close of business on Aug. 1, 2016.

For election purposes, counties are divided into local administrative areas (LAA). Each LAA nominates and elects one producer to serve a three-year term on the FSA County Committee.

Each year, an election is held in an LAA where a committee member's three-year term is expiring. For 2016, an election will be held in LAA 3, which includes Hebbardsville, Rankin, Busby Crossing, Robards and Niagara areas of the county.

Farmers and in LAA 3 are urged to participate in this year's county committee elections by nominating candidates by the Aug. 1, 2016 deadline. County Committees are unique to FSA and allow producers to have a voice on federal farm program implementation at the local level.

To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the LAA in which the person is a candidate.

Farmers and ranchers may nominate themselves or others. Organizations representing minorities and women also may nominate candidates. To become a candidate, an eligible individual must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. Nomination forms must be postmarked or received in the local USDA Service Center by close of business on Aug. 1, 2016.

Nationwide, there are approximately 7,800 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. These individuals make decisions on disaster and conservation programs, emergency programs, commodity price support loan programs and other agricultural issues. Committees consist of three to 11 members that are elected by eligible producers.

Persons with disabilities who require accommodations to attend or participate in this meeting should contact Patti Karn at 270-826-3450 ext. 102 or Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339, by July 18.
Gov. Matt Bevin holds a press conference June 17 to announce changes at the University of Louisville, including the expected departure of President James Ramsey and an overhaul of the Board of Trustees. (Photo: By Michael Clevenger, The C-J)

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By Morgan Watkins, The Courier-Journal / USA TODAY Network

Gov. Matt Bevin wants to tamp down on the red tape that can strangle businesses, and he's asking for the public's advice on which regulations to ditch.

The governor announced a new endeavor Wednesday, the Red Tape Reduction Initiative, that is aimed at reducing the number of bureaucratic rules that can hinder the progress of businesses large and small.

People can visit www.RedTapeReduction.com to submit suggestions about which regulations should be axed and which should be revised. To report a regulation, they need to list their name, mailing address, phone number and email address along with their proposal.

Kentucky has more than 4,500 state regulations, the vast majority of which have never been reviewed for continuing need or effectiveness, according to the Governor's Office. Bevin has told cabinet secretaries to review the regulations that are on the books as part of this effort and has asked state employees to recommend possible improvements as well.

"This suffocating red tape is a problem that must be fixed and, with the help of all Kentuckians, we intend to do just that," Bevin said in a news release.

But Kenny Colston, communications director for the nonpartisan nonprofit Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said regulations that are referred to as "red tape" could be important safeguards for workers and consumers.

Just because several people come out and say that they dont want a certain regulation doesnt mean we should take it off the books, he said. It could be saving lives.

Transparency is key, Colston continued. Instead of listening to certain interest groups, it would be beneficial to hold community forums and show the public who is writing in and what theyre suggesting.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Guild of Brewers and Kentucky Retail Federation are among several business-related organizations that have backed Bevin's new initiative so far.

Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, praised it in an emailed statement Wednesday.

"Addressing unnecessary administrative regulations is an issue the Senate has been working on for years to no avail with past administrations," he said. "This will create a better business environment and help create Kentucky jobs."

House Republican Leader Jeff Hoover of Jamestown also praised the endeavor in a statement and pointed out that many of the state's administrative regulations haven't been reviewed since the mid-1970s.

Bevin's endeavor isn't the first of its kind. When developing this new initiative, the state studied the way previous red tape reduction efforts were implemented.

British Columbia, one of Canada's provinces, managed to reduce its number of regulatory requirements by more than one-third in only a few years and served as a guidepost for Kentucky's own red tape project.
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By Beth Smith of The Gleaner

For Henderson and Webster county residents, it should be a great opportunity to have their voices heard.

At 6 p.m. Thursday, July 7, the Poole Volunteer Fire Department is hosting the second in a series of public forums, initiated by Henderson County Judge-executive Brad Schneider, and a community dinner at which both Schneider and newly appointed Webster County Judge-executive Steve Henry are expected to attend.

Poole Fire Chief Ken Reynolds said the Webster County Republican Committee, which assembles on the first Thursday of each month, was also scheduled to meet Thursday night, so the decision was made to combine both events and add a community dinner.

"I just thought it would be a good time to hold everything together," Reynolds said. "But the first hour is his time," since Schneider originally scheduled the forum to get feedback from the Poole community.

However, Reynolds said, "We are asking all of Henderson and Webster county residents who want to attend, to please attend."

Reynolds said the fire department is providing the dinner, which is being catered by the Poole Market. The market is also donating the drinks.

This will be one of Henry's first appearances since being appointed as Webster County's judge executive, Reynolds said.

In addition, Rep. Jim Gooch has been invited, and some of the Henderson Republican committee members will be attending.

Reynolds said Gov. Matt Bevin declined an invitation to attend due to another engagement, but his Western Kentucky field representative might be present.

"We are just hoping it gets everything off to a good start and that the cooperation between Henderson and Webster counties continues," Reynolds said. "With the tough times we're in, it's going to take everyone working together to survive. Both counties were so dependent on coal severance money."

"The way I look at it, this event is a meet and greet situation," Reynolds said.

.

Better communication, "Is one of the biggest things we'd like to accomplish," said Brian Reynolds, chairman of the Webster County Republican Party executive committee.

"There hasn't been a whole lot of communication with the public, and we would love to get the government a little closer to the people. Especially with this being a presidential election year, it's time to get information out, get voter registration up," he said.

"We also want to foster cooperation between Judge Schneider and Judge Henry. We'd like to see increased communication between the counties and establish better working relationships between the counties for the benefit of both," Brian Reynolds said.

"We want emergency service agencies to get to know the two judge executives and for them to get to know us, so they know what equipment we have and what we need," he said.

"I think what Judge Schneider is doing, going to all the departments, is a great idea, and I'm trying to get Judge Henry to steal it," Reynolds said.

"You don't have to be from Poole to attend Thursday night," he said. "You can be from anywhere in both counties. It's going to be an exciting meeting. I'm interested in seeing what community has to say."

The following is the full schedule of "Your Turn" forums spearheaded by Schneider:

July 7 at 6 p.m.  Poole Volunteer Fire Department.

July 12 at 6 p.m.  Robards City Hall.

July 18 at 6 p.m.  Bennett Memorial Methodist Church.

July 19 at 6 p.m.  Cairo Volunteer Fire Department.

July 26 at 6 p.m.  Hebbardsville Volunteer Fire Department.

Aug. 2 at 6 p.m.  Corydon Missionary Baptist Church.

Aug. 4 at 6 p.m.  Spottsville Volunteer Fire Department.

Aug. 11 at 6 p.m.  Zion Volunteer Fire Department.

Aug. 16 at 9 a.m.  Fiscal Court Room.

Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.  Smith Mills Volunteer Fire Department.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP)  Norton Healthcare is giving a $1.25 million grant to the University of Louisville for pediatric research.

Norton Healthcare says in a news release that the grant will provide one year of funding to research areas including pediatric cardiac medicine, surgery and clinical research  each of which will receive $100,000.

About $400,000 will go to the Kosair Children's Hospital Research Institute for research into multi-organ diseases that stem from diabetes or obesity; $300,000 will go to the Child and Adolescent Health Research Design and Support Unit to reduce the number of psychiatric prescriptions that give too much medicine to children; and $250,000 will go to the University of Louisville Autism Center at Kosair Charities.

Norton Healthcare chief medical officer Dr. Steven Hester says research is vital to advancing pediatric care.
Iowa Poll: Most say Iowas caucuses should stay first in the nation

But a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows a growing share of Iowans say it would be better if some other state or states went first.
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A photographer has been banned from Disney Parks after he took photos of an abandoned water park formerly known as River Country in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. to reveal the dark side of the mega company, he told multiple outlets.

Seph Lawless, who has made a name in the shutterbug world by following a theme of snapping photos of bygone places, has a new gallery called Dismaland. It gives an inside look into the shuttered Disney water park, River Country, which has been closed since 2001.

RELATED: Photos show desolate, abandoned Six Flags New Orleans 10 years after Hurricane Katrina

Multiple news sites have cited various reasons and rumors surrounding the mysterious 2001 closure of the park.

According to Roadtrippers.com, the park initially shut its gates in 2001, but then made the decision to remain permanently closed in 2005.

A 2012 report from the Martin County Times, headquartered about three hours away from the park, said River Country was closed in September 2001 due in part to new Florida Laws prohibiting the use of natural water bodies, requiring chlorination and only municipal water supplies, for water park use.

Requests made by mySA.com to Disney World Communications for clarification on the topic were not immediately returned.

Bay Lake workers, where the property is located, told Lawless the water is too dangerous to swim in after years of boat and firework pollution. Even fish caught from the area should not be eaten, Lawless told the site.

Buzzfeed described the lonely park as once having four water slides, a sand bottom lake, white water rapids and a tubing river. Weeds and trash now fill the pools where families once enjoyed their vacations.

RELATED: Eerie photos show abandoned Costa Concordia cruise ship years after deadly disaster

The Huffington Post reported creepy banjo music sometimes still plays throughout River Country.

Being inside the abandoned park felt like a creepy real-life Disney ride, Lawless said in his interview with Buzzfeed. It was surreal and really beautiful.

Lawless motives for sneaking into the property and taking photos using a robotic drone are fueled by something deeper than showing people a creepy lot. He told the Daily Mail he hopes his work bring awareness to the issue of a huge corporation like Disney failing to clean up what they left behind.

RELATED: The long-lost amusement parks of Texas

He forewarned the revelation of additional information in a recent Facebook post.

So Disney is upset at me, but why do they get so upset anytime someone gets too close to the abandoned Disney Island? What are you hiding Disney, he said. Stay tuned for the strange and bizarre oddities of the Disney Conspiracy.

Keep up with Lawless work via his Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr.

Editor's note: This story initially cited a Daily Mail article that reported a death of a child in 1980 caused by a neurological parasite contracted at the park was part of the reason it was closed. No other outlets or the Disney corporation have verified that rumor.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
WILTON  Summer Meals is a federally funded program intended to provide food for food-insecure teens who are 18 years old and younger; however, Wilton isnt eligible to run this program because only a small percentage of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, said Shannon Yearwood, director of child nutrition programs for End Hunger Connecticut!

Connecticut is tough  theres a lot of wealth in the state, but there are a lot of pockets of poverty, she said. Its really tough for families who do have low income in areas where these programs are not available. Its tough because you have to go out of your area to be able to access these resources, which can all be expensive. It can be a little tougher because your neighbors may not understand and you may not want them to know.
WILTON  Will Connecticut tax drivers for the miles they drive? Local leaders are split on the issue.

Earlier this week, state officials denied any intention of implementing a mileage tax. They explained their decision to apply for a federal grant last month  as part of the Interstate 95 Corridor Coalition  as a means to study and test effective ways of reducing roadway congestion.

However, local leaders are not convinced that a mileage tax is the answer to the states persisting revenue and infrastructure problems.

I certainly think its a waste of money, said state Rep. Tom ODea, ranking member of the General Assemblys Transportation Committee. I do applaud the governor in trying to figure out other ways to get out of state to pay for our infrastructure, but this is not the answer.

I think we have a spending problem more than a tax problem, he added.

Another ranking member of the Transportation Committee criticized this approach as a way to add more taxes on an already overtaxed population."

It really is doubling down on negative policies that are driving businesses and people out of state, said state Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton.  the motion of having to reach into peoples pockets to tax them more is a false presumption."

Boucher also voiced her concern about the pilot programs the grant would fund and the possibility of it eventually becoming implemented.

Theres a trust factor right now of not necessarily listening to what they say but watching what they do, she added.

However, while Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff agrees on the inefficiency of a mileage tax, he doesnt see the grant as a threat  and believes residents shouldnt either.

The idea right now is not something that has any widespread support. The governor has rejected it, legislators have rejected it, and Im not even sure its feasible at this point, said Duff. Theres fearmongering going on by some when the issue was settled last year.

State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, also believes its too early to speculate how a mileage tax would affect local communities.

I dont think its time to worry about it yet, I just think its time to be vigilant, she said.

But if there came a time the mileage tax was ever proposed, Lavielle said she would oppose itand suspects she wouldnt be alone.

Public opposition would be wild and rightfully so, she said. Nobody Ive talked to is in favor of it. Not a single soul.
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NORWALK  The last time the subsidy was put on hold, preschool providers near and far struggled to keep their families children enrolled.

Rovitta Paul saw the struggle firsthand. She saw lunches without boxes, kids without clothes, and for those that did have clothes, she brought a washer and dryer to help clean them.

The families could barely afford to send their child to the preschool, and were sacrificing basic amenities to keep their kid enrolled.

You do what you need to do for your families, Paul, the owner of the preschool provider Childrens Playhouse, said.

And now, it looks like history may be repeating itself.

Changes in the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant led to a $33 million shortfall in the 2016-2017 fiscal year for Connecticuts Care 4 Kids program. The program provides funding for low-income families with children in preschool or daycare.

With this shortfall, Connecticuts Office of Early Childhood has had to make changes to Care 4 Kids. The threshold for those who qualify fell from 50 percent or less of their State Median Income, to 30 percent  or about $27,000 a year for a family of three. And as of Aug. 1, the office will stop accepting applications for Care 4 Kids indefinitely.

That means those families at 31 to 49 percent of the State Median Income are no longer eligible for the subsidy, and those that intend to apply after Aug. 1 will be put on a waiting list.

This is gonna hurt in so many different ways, Paul said. An adjustment to the policy, announced by the Office of Early Childhood late June, allows the parents who were already enrolled in C4K last fiscal year to continue enrollment, even if their State Median Income is higher than 30 percent.

In Norwalk, 328 families depend on the Care 4 Kids subsidy, said the districts Early Childhood Coordinator Mary Oster. Of those, 128 fit between that 30 and 50 percent State Median Income that, moving forward, does not qualify a family for Care 4 Kids, she said.

It was getting sadder and sadder  I worry if this time were even going to be able to help, Paul said.

What might have to go

A rocket made out of recycled materials hangs from inside the Childrens Playhouse classroom. Next to it hangs a sign with a picture of the children who made it, and the quote We worked together to create our own rocket ship.

Its these kinds of enhanced, hands-on projects that sets her playhouse apart, Paul said, in addition to the musicians, Zumba classes and field trips her preschool also provides.

And its these kinds of extras, said Oster, that might have to go.

Were not going to be able to do all those things, Paul said.

Without the state subsidy, not only will the parents struggle to afford preschool for their children, but school readiness preschool providers will struggle to keep their business afloat.

Pauls plan?

Well sit around the table and say What can we do? each month, she said.

Both Childrens Playhouse sites have 69 students total, said Paul, with 27 headed to kindergarten this fall. All are benefiting from school readiness grants. She has 27 openings this fall, she said, but she said it might be hard to get more children enrolled, if they cant afford the school without the Care 4 Kids subsidy.

When Care 4 Kids was temporarily suspended in the past, Paul said it was difficult to ask families to donate.

Its hard to go to families and ask them to bring things because theyre struggling too, she said.

The toll on families

Aida Sanchez is a mother of four whos youngest child is enrolled at Childrens Playhouse Too.

She pays $19 a week for her sons enrollment, she said, because of Care 4 Kids and School Readiness grants. Without those, Paul said it would cost a family $200 a week per child to attend one of her preschool sites.

Imagining what it would be like if she didnt have Care 4 Kids, Sanchez said it would be very, very hard.

How would I pay my rent? My bills? Everything? she said.

The reality is, thats what people are going to have to face, Paul said.

Limiting families preschool options could be dangerous for the children, Oster said.

It can drive people into using child care thats not quality child care, she said.

It forces parents to make tough decisions, said Oster, and in some cases, kids could be going to informal child care centers with unqualified teachers, which would leave them unprepared for kindergarten compared to their higher income peers.

Its very important we get help for these parents because if they dont get it, I dont know how they will survive, Sanchez said.

Long-term effects

Parents are likely to opt-out of preschool if its too expensive for them. And with that, comes consequences that could affect the child for the rest of their school career, and possibly beyond.

These children will be going to kindergarten with no preschool experience. And some of them dont even speak English, said Jamie Bennetta, the school readiness coordinator for Norwalk Public Schools.

This will hurt the family, but its also going to hurt the education of the child, she said.

Studies show that the earlier the academic intervention on lower-income or English language learning students, the less of an achievement gap they experience later on in life. But with less access to preschools, this could regress some of the work Norwalk Public Schools has been doing to close the achievement gap.

For Paul and her team, which includes Sanchez, who also works at Childrens Playhouse Too, registering parents for Care 4 Kids now is more important than ever, since they will no longer be able to do so come Aug. 1.

We talk about this every day, all the time, Paul said.

And she remains worried about repeating what happened the past.

Oster said this time around, it could be worse, because now theyre totally cutting it off. Its closed until something changes.

The question is, what will that something be.

Its hard to say whats going to happen, Paul said. But I have a feeling its going to be bad.

SFoster-Frau@CTPost.com; @SilviaElenaFF
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NORWALK  For years, celebrating the end of Ramadan was a small and divergent affair for members of Al Madany Islamic Center of Norwalk.

For lack of space, they gathered in small groups in rented spaces across Norwalk.

Not so on Wednesday as the upward of 500 members of the congregation, family and friends celebrated the end of this years Ramadan in their own mosque at One Union Park.

Before we had prayers and afterward everybody celebrated with their family, said Azzeim Mahmoud, imam at Al Madany Islamic Center. But today we have a place, we have our home so everybody can stay the whole day.

The day began with a morning prayer service that filled the prayer hall, outside hallway and community room downstairs and continued into the afternoon with a barbecue and other activities outside.

Children munched snow cones and afterward played in a bouncy house set up behind the mosque as their parents chatted and ate grilled chicken and vegetables.

Its a great day for families to come together and pray in the morning and have fun in the afternoon, said Farhan Memon, Al Madany spokesman. This year is extra special. We have our first mosque. This is a real milestone, especially for kids because theyll now grow up with a mosque in their own community.

Later in the afternoon, Memon was plunked into a dunk tank set up as part of the afternoon activities.

Al Madany purchased the former Grace Episcopal Church at One Union Park earlier this year, ending its long search for a permanent home. Since moving to Norwalk 30 years ago, congregants have worshiped in a members basement, at Christ Episcopal Church and at the former Hour building on Main Avenue.

Faruk Vahora recalled the congregation renting a room at the DoubleTree Norwalk Hotel for last years celebration marking the end of Ramadan.

This year we have a home for ourselves, Vahora said. God blessed us with our place.

Ramadan, one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, is a monthlong celebration during which Muslims refrain from food, liquid, smoking and sexual relations between sunrise and sunset. This years Ramadan ended Tuesday at sunset.

The purpose of Ramadan is to get close to God, Mahmoud said. We have self control and mercy for the needy people.

In 2008, Al Madany purchased land at 127 Fillow St. to build a mosque, but the plan met opposition from neighbors and was rejected by the citys Zoning Commission. Al Madany went to court over the matter. A settlement was reached under which the city bought the Fillow Street property and helped the congregation find the property at One Union Park.
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NORWALK  Norwalk detectives are seeking the publics help in identifying the man who robbed the Chase Bank branch at 50 Washington St. on Wednesday.

The robber  who witnesses described as a white man in his 40s, short, balding, and wearing a white shirt and blue jeans  and ran in the direction of Haviland Street after the 3:56 p.m. heist.
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NORWALK  The State Bond Commission is expected to release next week $3 million to churn into streetscape, roadway repairs and other public infrastructure improvements related to the West Avenue redevelopment project known as Waypointe.

The commission, which is chaired by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, will vote on the grant July 12, during a special meeting at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, labeled the funding another major investment in Norwalks West Avenue Corridor Redevelopment Area.

There has been a concerted effort for some time on behalf of myself, Mayor Rilling and the Norwalk legislative delegation to ensure that state bonding is part of the redevelopment of Norwalks downtown, Duff said in a statement released by Senate Democrats. Waypointe is one of the most dynamic private developments in southwestern Connecticut in some time, and it will change the face of the region for decades to come.

Duff thanked Malloy and the Bond Commission for their support of Norwalk and said he looked forward to the economic benefits that Waypointe will bring to the area.

Phase One of Waypointe entailed the construction of 465 apartments, a parking garage and street-level retail in area bounded by West Avenue and Orchard and Merwin streets, as well as the reshaping of the former Bigelow Tea Co. warehouse into apartments and retail space.

In 2011, the State Bond Commission approved a $5 million grant for public infrastructure improvements related to Waypointe. The money went to boost electrical, water and sewer capacity and install trees, granite curbing, concrete sidewalks and street lighting.

Norwalk developer Stanley M. Seligson, a partner in the Waypointe project, said the development could not have happened without investment by the state.

We are most grateful to Senator Duff and the Norwalk delegation, as well as to Mayor Rilling, for all the help they have given on this project, Seligson said in the statement. This state bonding has helped produce over $200 million in local construction.

Malloy said Waypointe will make Norwalk an even greater place to live, work and raise a family. He said the Bond Commission is pleased to support the project in conjunction with local elected officials.

Rilling said the grant funding demonstrates the cooperation between the city and state to improve our local infrastructure and to bring necessary development to out community.

This is a great piece of news, Rilling said.

State Reps. Bruce V. Morris and Christopher R. Perone, both Norwalk Democrats, also welcomed the anticipated release of the state funding.

With this state grant for necessary infrastructure work, the Waypointe project moves one step closer to realizing its laudable goal of creating a lively urban core in Norwalk, Perone said.
BROKEN BOW  Broken Bows ALCO building will have new tenants.

ALCO, a small-town discount retailer, closed its doors in late 2014. The building has been empty and on the market until two local couples decided to purchase the lot.

Kevin and Joyce Richardson and Ron and Cheri Chytka joined forces for the property. The Richardsons own the Runza in town and the Chytkas own Bow Family Furniture and Flooring.

For the local business owners, teaming up was a win-win.

The Richardsons said they were looking at the property, which is next to the Runza, for the extra parking it provides. Their employees and customers have been parking in the empty lot anyway. Splitting the lot with the Chytkas will secure the parking for customers and employees and allow the opportunity for future growth.

The Chytkas will be using the former ALCO building to expand their family business. Their downtown store will remain, but this second location allows space for growth and expansion.

Deb McCaslin, executive director at Custer Economic Development Corp., helped connect the two couples to go in on the lot together.

McCaslin said some out-of-town developers were looking at the property, too. She knew the two couples would work well together and that their reasons for wanting the property would complement each other. The Richardsons primarily wanted a section of the parking lot, while the Chytkas wanted the building.

Because of confidentiality rules, McCaslin couldnt tell the couples each others names without permission.

Both of them knew someone was looking at it. They just didnt know who, she said.

McCaslin told each couple that other local business owners were looking at the property and that it may be a good idea for them to team up.

About local business owners deciding to take the chance on teaming up, she said she thinks its extra special.

Joyce Richardson said she and her husband have known the Chytkas for more than 30 years, so upon finding out who they were teaming up with, she was glad it was people she knew.

It was a good fit, she said.

Kevin Richardson said he and his wife thought about buying the lot for a while and were going to make an offer around the same day as the Chytkas.

We just didnt want to lose that, he said about the opportunity for more parking and possible expansion.

The Richardsons said they hope by having the furniture store next to Runza, it will attract more customers to both businesses. They said if a furniture customer needs time to make a decision, he or she can take a break and eat at Runza while thinking about it. On the other hand, Runza customers who park in the former ALCO lot may be inclined to visit the furniture store.

Its kind of a win-win, Kevin said.

Joyce said she and Kevin are happy that the building wont sit unoccupied or be used for storage, as she said it deserves to be used for more.

Were real tickled to see it will be retail, she said.

McCaslin said the building needs some work and the changes wont happen overnight, but shes proud of the two couples for teaming up. She said she loves hearing them talk about their goals and dreams for the lot.

It is just going to be great, McCaslin said.

She said the couples want to make that area a destination that people seek out and people driving through town look for.

McCaslin also said the two couples teaming up is one more way to keep local business dollars flowing in the community. She said it helps the local economy.

The Richardsons said theyre thankful for McCaslin, Nebraska State Bank and Bruning State Bank, for without their cooperation it wouldnt have been possible.

On the teaming up and attracting more people to town, Joyce said, We think its a win for the entire community.
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Linkedin Anugerah Rizki Akbari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Marking its 71st anniversary on Friday, the National Police welcomed its new leader, Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian. Unlike the chaotic candidacy of Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan for the top police position last year, all parties supported without reservation President Joko Jokowi Widodos choice of Tito as his sole nominee for the post.



With his excellent professional and academic credentials, Tito, formerly the head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), enjoyed a smooth process of approval by the House of Representatives, during which he pledged to transform the force into a better organization.



Nevertheless, Tito will face the same question posed to his predecessors: Will he fulfill his promises?



There is no doubt that corruption is a highly pathogenic virus infecting the police. As an illustration, in 2013 the National Police force was named the most corrupt institution in the country, as were its counterparts in 36 countries, according to a survey by the Global Corruption Barometer.



Two years later, the World Justice Project (WJP) found that Indonesias absence of corruption in the police was below regional average. In the same year, 38 percent of respondents to a Transparency International Indonesia survey said their interactions with police officer ended in bribe payments.



The gravity of graft practices involving police officers has been made stark with the arrest of several police generals in recent years. In 2011, former detective chief Susno Duadji was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for accepting a bribe and misusing funds allocated to secure an election in West Java in 2008.



Previously, former National Police traffic directorate chief Insp. Gen. Djoko Susilo was handed a 10-year prison term for corruption in the procurement of driving simulators.



Furthermore, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Budi a graft suspect in December 2014, although the case was eventually dropped following a court verdict that found the KPK lacked justification to ensnare Budi, who was then the police chief candidate.



Police corruption in general stems from abuse of power, which can be divided into four categories. First is straightforward corruption, which is a reward in exchange for action or inaction. Taking a bribe falls under this type of corruption. Second is strategic corruption, which involves an active stimulation of crime by police officers in order to extort money or goods.



Third is combative corruption, which is intentionally aimed at strengthening the police cases through unlawful means. This particular form of corruption is predominantly found in drug-related cases where police officers trick potential suspects to illegally build the cases.



Lastly, there is the kind of corruption involving distracting justice with the purpose of either seeking revenge or avoiding prosecution.



The police force under Tito needs to address these ingrained problems. To a large extent, police corruption has flourished because of a lack of accountability. For instance, police enjoy very limited oversight in naming a crime suspect.



While pretrial appeals can clarify whether such procedures have complied with the standard laid down in internal police regulations, it would be much fairer if the control mechanism were enacted before the police declared someone a suspect.



Allowing the judiciary to verify whether there is enough evidence for the police to launch a criminal investigation would significantly curb opportunities to commit corruption.



Hence, this mechanism has to be included in the amendments to the Criminal Procedures Code (KUHAP) and the new police chief must support it.



Aside from cleaning up the institution from corruption, Tito has to evaluate the effectiveness of current policing strategies. In this regard, it is important to understand that the nature of policing is complicated, since it faces contradictory commands, namely to serve people and at the same time to exert power over them. That being said, the measurement of effective policing has to take both sides into account.



First and foremost, protection of suspects rights remains a major concern in Indonesian policing practices. The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) reported that between May 2015 and May 2016 alone 91 cases of torture and other inhumane treatment were found to have been committed by the police.



The WJP also found that Indonesia scored only 0.35 out of 1 in terms of protection of the rights of suspects, including freedom from torture and abusive treatment.



This problem will not disappear unless the police leader orders his subordinates to uphold human rights and punishes those who violate this instruction.



Second, in the field of crime control, the issue is two-pronged. To begin with, the police force relies heavily on the mechanisms of criminal law to reduce crime.



This is understandable considering its traditional mandate as a law enforcement agency.



Nonetheless, the law itself cannot answer every single question regarding crime reduction.



There is a growing necessity to involve interdisciplinary interventions to this realm. In the meantime, lack of recorded crime rates in Indonesia makes it difficult for the police to validly acclaim their work. On that account, Tito needs to instruct the police to firmly record crimes over time and make the information easily accessible to the public.



Considering the complex challenges in policing, it is quite intriguing to see what changes Tito can bring to the police. However, one thing is certain: Police reform cannot be delayed.

***

The writer teaches in the Criminal Law Department of the School of Law at the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java.

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We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post)  Mon, July 4 2016

British oil and gas giant BPs planned expansion of its Tangguh liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in West Papua reached its final investment decision (FID) worth US$8 billion, much lower than an earlier projected figure because of low oil prices.



The Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Special Task Force (SKKMigas) stated that the project had previously been estimated to be worth $12 billion.



However, consistently low oil prices have forced the prices of oil and gas sector engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to go down because of lower demand.



The EPC work prices went down both domestically and globally, following the oil price slump.

However, the project quality will not be downgraded, SKKMigas chief Amien Sunaryadi told reporters on Friday.



Global oil prices have gone from $110 per barrel in 2014 to $30 early this year because of over-production and lack of demand. However, prices have rebounded recently to about $50 per barrel.



The Tangguh expansion project will add a third LNG processing train, dubbed Train 3, with a production capacity of 3.8 million tons per annum (mtpa), bringing total plant capacity to 11.5 mtpa.



The EPC for the onshore facility was awarded to a consortium led by PT Tripatra Engineers and Constructors with a contract worth $2.43 billion.



The offshore facility EPC will be conducted by PT Saipem, with a contract worth $448 million, and PT Agcia Pertiwi was appointed to construct the pipeline with a contract worth $60 million.



BPs regional president for the Asia-Pacific, Christina Verchere, declined to confirm that the total project was worth $8 billion. We are finalizing details with potential lenders and at this point Im not able to disclose who they are, she said.



The plant is expected to start operating in 2020 and 75 percent of all LNG produced is to be sold to state-owned electricity company PLN to support the governments 35,000 megawatt (MW) electricity procurement plan.



About 20 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas will be dedicated solely to electrifying West Papua and that amount of LNG will be able to generate approximately 100 MW.



The remaining product will be sold to Japan-based Kansai Electric Power.



West Papua deputy governor Irene Manibuy claimed that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry had promised that some of Train 3s production would also be contributed to a future fertilizer plant that will start operating in 2019. However, the amount has yet to be disclosed.



Meanwhile, Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said claimed that not only will the project help contribute $9.3 billion to state revenues, but BP had also promised to help develop a majority of their workforce locally in West Papua.



There will also be several multiplier effects, including the employment of local workers. Currently it stands at around 50 percent and BP has committed to increasing it to 85 percent by 2029, the minister said.



JP/ Fedina S. Sundaryani

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Mon, July 4 2016

Exodus in motion: Passengers fill the departure area of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, on Sunday. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

Every year, millions of Indonesians return to their hometowns to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday with their families. They travel by air, sea and land, conquering hundreds or even thousands of kilometers in distance so that they can share the happiness of the special day with their friends and relatives. Every year this epic journey gets harder as the number of travelers joining the annual mass exodus continues to rise significantly. This means more traffic, and more time, energy and money expended for all involved. But none of this deters people from traveling back home as they believe it is worth all the hassle to be reunited with their loved ones during the holiday.  JP

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Linkedin Syafaatun Almirzanah (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Mon, July 4 2016

The most exceptional and colossal celebration in the Islamic tradition is Idul Fitri or Eid. It is the day Muslims most look forward to, including prisoners who need remission. People refer to Eid as a moment for self-purification, aiming for fitrah (purity).

Muslims share the festivities with the poor, the underprivileged, the downtrodden, orphans and the neglected. But the bizarre celebration has shifted Eid from its transcendental meaning. Eid has been shifted from a period of piety to a euphoric spectacle of consumerism.

Socially, Eid has the capacity to engender mass urban migration. The velocity of money during the mass migration has become a key social ritual. Eid also makes state officials open their hearts and doors to forgive all the people and the needy, with an event called open house.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

The Indonesian community in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia has found the consulate-general compound in the city to be a special place to celebrate Idul Fitri.

Not only could around 1,000 Indonesian students, migrant workers and consulate staff observe Idul Fitri prayers to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan at the consulate on Wednesday, but also to meet friends, relatives and devour a wide variety of Idul Fitri dishes from opor ayam (chicken cooked in coconut milk and spices) and kerupuk (flour crackers), to kue pisang (steamed banana cake wrapped in banana leaves).

A migrant worker from Andonara, East Nusa Tenggara province, Muhammad Iqbal, said he and his friends planned ahead to spend their time in prayer at the consulate and to get together to enjoy the festivities of Idul Fitri.

The atmosphere resembles my kampung back home, we gather in hospitality and eat ketupat [rice cakes cooked in plaited young coconut leaves], Muhammad said.

His fellow migrant worker, Udin Bin Ladala, said he rented a car from Marudu, 95 kilometer from Kota Kinabalu as he didnt want to miss the event. We share the fee for the rented car just to get to the consulate on time, observe Idul Fitri prayers and enjoy the festivities with others, he said as quoted in a press release by the Indonesian consulate generals office on Wednesday.

Those attending the event were not only Muslims as the open house was for all Indonesians, regardless of religion. Some of my friends are not Muslim, but they join us at this joyous event because it is hard to meet each other during the year. Its a rare occasion, Udin said.

Indonesian Consul General Akhmad DH Irfan said he had invited all Indonesians to come to the open house event and to feel as if the compound was their home. There are 500,000 Indonesians living in Sabah, mostly working for palm plantations.

Even though we are far away from our hometowns, this could be the place to fulfill our longing for home, he said after the mass prayers.

Imam Muhammad Nur Bachtiar led the mass prayers while Muchlis Kasim delivered the sermon, focusing on the essence of the 30-day fasting that strengthened compassion for others. (Yoh)
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Beirut  Thu, July 7, 2016

Muslims around the world are celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a time for family and feasting, to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadhan and its daytime fasting.

Businesses closed across the Muslim world, as people dressed up and visited relatives, enjoying their first daytime meals in a lunar month. Mosques hold special prayers at sunrise, and children are often given gifts or a special allowance.

The holiday lasts one to three days, and is eagerly anticipated after the month of fasting. During Ramadhan, the faithful refrain from eating, drinking, smoking or sexual activity from dawn to dusk, with even a small sip of water enough to invalidate the fast, which is one of the five pillars of Islam.

For the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, Eid al-Fitr is second only to Eid al-Adha, which comes around two months later.

Ordinarily a festive occasion, this year' Eid comes after a month of attacks by Islamic extremists that killed more than 350 people in several countries, including a suicide truck bomb in Iraq that claimed at least 175 lives and a suicide bombing outside the Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Saudi Arabia, one of Islam's holiest sites.

Wars are raging in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, as tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran exacerbate political conflicts throughout the Middle East. The two powers have cast their rivalry in corrosive sectarian terms, with Saudi Arabia positioning itself as the champion of Islam's more numerous Sunnis and Iran claiming to lead the faith's minority Shiites.

In the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday, Muslim protesters hurled stones at Indian police, who fired tear gas and pellets to disperse them.

Here is a selection of Eid al-Fitr photos from around the world.

Muslims pray in a public park to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadhan, known as Eid al Fitr, July 6, in Manila, Philippines. (AP/Bullit Marquez)

Egyptians try to catch balloons distributed for free after Eid al-Fitr prayers outside al-Seddik mosque in Cairo, Egypt, July 6.(AP/Amr Nabil)

Muslim residents attend Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Niujie mosque, the oldest and largest mosque in Beijing, July 6.(AP/Ng Han Guan)

Iranian women pray during the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran, Iran, July 6.(AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Muslims march during Eid al-Fitr prayers along the Mekong river of Tanong, northeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, July 6. (AP/Heng Sinith)

Kashmiri Muslim protesters throw stones on Indian policemen during a protest near an open area where they performed Eid prayers in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, July 6. (AP/Mukhtar Khan)
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Linkedin Rod McGuirk (Associated Press) Canberra  Thu, July 7, 2016

Australia's conservative government increased its narrow lead over the opposition in vote counting on Thursday after weekend elections turned out too close to call.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was traveling to Australia's remote northeast for talks Thursday with maverick independent lawmaker Bob Katter to discuss what demands Katter might make in return for supporting a minority government if the count ended with only Australia's third hung parliament in more than a century.

"I am very confident, very confident indeed that we will form ... a majority government in our own right, but I am, of course, talking to the crossbenchers as well," Turnbull told reporters in Katter's homes state of Queensland.

"But so far the counting trends are very positive from our point of view," he said.

Turnbull's Liberal Party-led coalition needs at least a 76-seat majority in the House of Representatives, where it had controlled 90 seats before the election.

The Australian Electoral Commission put the coalition ahead in 74 seats, Labor in 71, and the minor parties and independents were leading in five seats. Mail-in and absentee votes that are still being counted days after Saturday's vote are favoring the conservatives.

Australian Broadcasting Corp. election analysts  considered among the most reliable  were forecasting that the coalition had 72 seats, Labor 66, with the minor parties and independents leading in five seats. Another seven seats are still in doubt.

Bill Shorten, who leads the center-left Labor Party, said Wednesday that if Turnbull clung to power, he would still have to deal with the most conservative lawmakers in his party who are angry that Turnbull, a moderate, had ousted his predecessor Tony Abbott in an internal leadership ballot less than a year ago.

Turnbull would also have to deal with a more fragmented Senate, which includes One Nation party founder Pauline Hanson, a conservative firebrand denounced by major parties who opposes Muslim and Asian immigration as well as free trade. With no party holding a majority in the Senate, the next government might have to do deals with Hanson and other independents to get contentious legislation passed.

"If Mr. Turnbull does scrape home, his problems have only just begun," Shorten told reporters. "In the House of Representatives, he'll be hostage to Mr. Abbott and the right wing of the Liberal Party, and in the Senate, he'll be hostage to Senator Hanson ... and other right wing senators."

Turnbull said he had no plans to meet Queensland-based Hanson while he was in her state on Thursday.

Liberal Party Deputy Leader Julie Bishop praised Turnbull's leadership despite the unexpectedly large voter swing away from the government.

"I think he did a very competent job. I do have faith in him. I think he'll be a great prime minister should he get over the line as I hope we will," Bishop said.

"I'm looking forward to a Parliament where we can work closely with the independents in the House of Representatives and in the Senate whether we form a majority government or minority government," she said.

If the government falls short of a majority, Governor-General Peter Cosgrove will give Turnbull the first chance to form a minority government with the support of one or more independent lawmakers.

If Turnbull can't, then Shorten will be given a chance to form a minority government. If neither side can form a government, then another election will be held.
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

The Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), a state-owned agency that covers protection for bank deposits, is preparing a new premium rate for big banks as financial authorities prepare a new list of domestic systemically important banks (DSIBs).

LPS commissioner board head Halim Alamsyah said the firm was reviewing a risk-based differential premium system, as opposed to the existing rate that is charged the same for any bank that is included as its insurance member. DSIBs, also known as too-big-to-fail banks, may be charged higher premiums as they carry bigger risks.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Indonesia (BI) are slated to announce the DSIBs list to the LPS, which is not open to the public.

"As the OJK and BI will announce which banks fall into the DSIB category, we are reviewing the premium rates as well," he told reporters on the sidelines of an open-house event at OJK chairman Muliaman Hadads official residence in South Jakarta on Thursday.

Halim said the new premium rate system would follow international standards, as the global benchmark charges a higher premium rate for DSIBs that lend to other banks, had big assets and significant impact on the financial industry as a whole.

The LPS covers savings or deposits up to a maximum of Rp 2 billion (US$176,113) for each domestic depositor. Its insurance members comprise 109 commercial banks, 11 sharia banks and around 1,700 rural banks (BPRs). (est)
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said the effects of a recent bombing in Surakarta, Central Java, Tuesday would be minimal, if none, to the country's business climate.

"Our businesspeople and the public are already hard-skinned and able to recover quickly from the incident, Rosan said Thursday after visiting an open-house event hosted by Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution in South Jakarta.

He admitted that several foreign investors queried Indonesian businesspeople about the country's situation but the latter had explained that the bombing would not directly affect their investments.

"The bombing means nothing [to businesses]," asserted Rosan, who is also the president director of coal producer Bukit Mutiara and has experience leading Berau Coal Energy, Recapital Advisor, Vallar Plc and Bumi Plc.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in front of the Surakarta Police headquarters Tuesday, injuring a police officer.
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution is holding an open house on Thursday at his official residence at the Widya Chandra ministerial complex in South Jakarta to celebrate Idul Fitri.

Since 9 a.m., guests from various backgrounds, such as government officials, embassy representatives and businesspeople, having been seen visiting Darmin, who once served as Bank Indonesia governor and the director general of taxation at the Finance Ministry.

Among the guests are Bank Indonesia (BI) senior deputy governor Mirza Adityaswara, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto. ambassadors from the European Union, the Czech Republic and Belgium and representatives from Denmark.

Guests are being served West Sumatra's Padang satay, somay (fish cakes), noodle soup and rice with various dishes.

"Please have something to eat first," Darmin told journalists who waited for a chance to interview him. He also took some time to play with his granddaughters while the guests enjoyed their meals. (est)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Neng, a middle-aged woman who is now living at a Pulo Gebang low-cost apartment, recalled that she had a gloomy Idul Fitri because the Jakarta administration failed to keep its promise.

"It's not that I am a hateful person but Ahok never apologizes for evicting us from our homes. His promise to provide us with assistance to start businesses is merely a lip service to the media. Most of us are now jobless and face a tough life," Neng told thejakartapost.com on Thursday.

Neng, who opened a grocery store in her unit said that her daily income was just around Rp 20,000 (US$1.52) per day, a steep decrease from the Rp 2 million a month she earned while still living in Kalijodo, pre-eviction.

Although Neng has submitted her family card and identity card to apply for business assistance in the form of a loan or tent for a shop, she has yet to receive anything from the administration. Life has become tougher for her and her family as she needs to pay rent for the apartment, which is Rp 250,000 per month excluding the water and electricity bill. The situation has made her become dependent on her son, a private company employee, to support her and her husband.

"In the past, Idul Fitri was a happy time. I could cook two chickens with two kilograms of beef and feed the whole family for three days. Now, I only buy one chicken with half-a-kilogram of beef and it's all finished in one day," Neng said, adding there are no subsidized bazaars for occupants who do not hold a Jakarta smart card (KJP).

Aning, Neng's husband, added further that the family had tightened its belt for quite sometime and therefore refrained from enjoying activities such as visiting the Ragunan Zoo or travelling around Jakarta as what they used to do during previous Idul Fitri festivities.

Another resident, Syaiful Ali, a company employee in Slipi, West Jakarta, acknowledged that his life had become better since moving but admitted that he missed the joyous atmosphere of Idul Fitri like that enjoyed during his time living in Kalijodo.

"Life in an apartment is more individual. It makes me miss my childhood in Kalijodo, when my neighbors would visit my house during Idul Fitri and we could enjoy playing the guitar and singing together," Ali said, adding that he regretted the administration's reluctance to help relocated residents to find jobs after the eviction.

"Ahok should come here and listen to our problems for himself," he said.

Although there are similar protests from other evictees who are being moved to the Rawabebek low-cost apartment in East Jakarta, many residents here have acknowledged that their livelihoods have improved and they have a better environment at the new apartments.

"Its cleaner here compared to our village in Pasar Ikan. The apartment was also built well with the trees so the environment is quite nice here," apartment resident Wiguna said, adding that he was happy that the apartment management was conducting Pesantren Ramadan, a religious short-course program for his children.

Wiguna's wife Supri Nuraini was also grateful as she could buy daily goods at cheaper prices as the apartment was located near the Cipinang traditional market. The only problem this family with four children encountered was that their apartment was a single-bedroom unit.

The Jakarta administration was reportedly labeled as impatient during the eviction process as it decided to move 300 families to the single-bedroom units back in April. The construction of apartments with family-sized units will be finished in October.

Kholidah, another Rawa Bebek apartment resident, also expressed her disappointment with the small unit.

"I have quite mixed feelings spending Idul Fitri here. Previously, in my last house I could receive guests, but now I can hardly welcome them in my small unit," Kholidah said, adding that she lived with her husband and two children in the studio apartment.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Tawi, sat silently on the ground in the front yard of the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta, was waiting her turn to see her son who had been in prison for almost two years. The 40-year-old woman had been waiting for one-and-a-half hours, along with hundreds of people wanting to visit inmates during the Idul Fitri holiday period.

Her eyes glistened with tears when she explained that its her second time celebrating Idul Fitri without her youngest son who was arrested for possession of crystal methamphetamines.

I feel something is missing when I dont see him at home during Idul Fitri and he should not be here as he was only riding a motorcycle with his friend whom he did not know was carrying [the drug] in his bag when he was arrested, Tawi said on Thursday.

She also added that she could not afford to bring her other two children and grandchildren as she lived in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

Another visitor, Sri Wahyuni said she had not visited Cipinang Detention Center before, which was built next to Cipinang Penitentiary, as she felt overwhelmed by the noisy crowds there.

Sri, carrying her 10-year old son and her 3-year old daughter, wanted to see her husband who was also in prison for drug possession.

I feel abandoned, and its Idul Fitri now. It's devastating to celebrate it without him, Sri said, adding that she had to lie to her daughter that her father is in a hospital, although she said that her youngest child had begun to realize her mothers lie.

Visitors to both the penitentiary and detention center have less than an hour to see their family members while normally they can get up to one-and-a-half hours visiting time.

Cipinang Penitentiary warden Heru Prasetyo said on the first day of Idul Fitri, there were 2,578 visitors, and a slight increase was seen the following day as 2,914 people visited. The total numbers of inmates in the penitentiary is 2,860.

Meanwhile, Tri Purnomo of the detention center recorded that there were 1,035 visitors on the first day of Idul Fitri and also predicted a similar number of visitors for the second day. The number of people in custody at the center is 3,839.

The penitentiary opens for visitors from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the detention center opens from 8:30 a.m. to 17:30 p.m. because of the higher number of visitors. Both establishments will be open until July 8 during the Idul Fitri holiday period. (wnd/dic)
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Canberra  Thu, July 7, 2016

A former Australian army chief has warned Australia against "blindly going along with" the United States after an inquiry was critical of Britain's involvement in the Iraq war.

Australia sent 2,000 troops to support US and British forces in the 2003 invasion. A British government-commissioned report published on Wednesday said former Prime Minister Tony Blair led Britain into an unsuccessful war through a mix of flawed intelligence, "wholly inadequate" planning and an exaggerated sense of the UK's ability to influence the United States.

Peter Leahy, who was Chief of the Australian Army from 2002 to 2008, said Thursday that Australia had to examine how it decides to go to war in light of the report.
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Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

The 2016 Idul Fitri mass exodus has seen a lower number of road accidents and deaths compared to last year's figures, a minister has said, amid reports that heavy traffic congestion contributed to the deaths of some people in Brebes, Central Java.

"Data from the Korlantas [National Police Traffic Corps], from six days prior to Idul Fitri until the first day of Idul Fitri has seen a 21 percent reduction in road accidents," Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Thursday, adding that the number of deaths caused by land transportation accidents had declined by a quarter this year when compared to the previous year.

According to official data, the number of accidents recorded from six days before Idul Fitri to one day after it was 1,289, an improvement from 1,622 during the same period in 2015. Meanwhile, the death toll recorded was 244, or a 25 percent reduction from the 328 deaths last year. Throughout the 12 days before Idul Fitri, a total of 2,327 accidents were recorded, causing approximately Rp 4,8 billion (US$ 364,224) in losses.

Many travelers have voiced complaints and expressed frustrations during this years mass exodus, also known as mudik.

Public attention has been focused on the notorious Pegatan-Brebes toll road where holidaymakers vehicles lined up for more than 20 kilometers on Sunday to pass the East Brebes exit gate, locally coined the Brexit.

The Brebes Health Agency reported 18 deaths related to the mass exodus in the city alone, with some of them likely caused by traffic-induced health problems. Jonan said traffic jams should not be blamed for the deaths as traffic congestion cannot kill people. (ary)
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Linkedin Ezra Kaplan (Associated Presss) New York, United States  Thu, July 7, 2016

Women-only swimming hours will continue at two city pools, accommodating mostly Orthodox Jewish women.

Normally such gender discrimination would be banned under New York Human Rights Laws. However, the New York City Commission on Human Rights has the power to grant exceptions to that rule based on gender or age. Two exceptions were granted Wednesday after a months' long review of the legality of the special swimming sessions. An anonymous tip of possible human rights violations earlier this year prompted the initial review.

The Met Pool in Williamsburg will decrease its women-only swim hours from 6.5 to four hours per week. The pool at the St. Johns Recreation Center in Crown Heights will continue to offer two hours per week. The adjusted hours go into effect at the end of the summer.

Currently there are also men-only swimming hours at the St. John's location, two hours per week. The park's department also submitted a request for an exception to the human rights laws for the men's hours, however it was denied. And come the fall, there will be no men's swimming hours.

The women-only sessions at the two pools in Brooklyn are open to women of all religions but cater mostly to Orthodox Jewish women, whose beliefs bar them from bathing with men.

"They are creating an exemption based on the personal and religious beliefs of a certain community," said Erin Harrist, a senior staff attorney at the New York Civil Liberties Union. "The whole point of the human rights law is to treat everyone equal on the basis of sex and to make sure people are not discriminated against that basis."

In a statement from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, one of the reasons given for the necessity of women-only swim hours was "body-consciousness concerns." Harrist said it's highly concerning and indicative of the gender-bias of the decision.

New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind was a strong advocate for the conservation of the special swim sessions.

"This is a great victory of human rights, especially for women. I couldn't be prouder to be a New Yorker than today," he said, stressing that this was not an issue of religion but rather about the special needs of women.
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Linkedin Tama Salim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

In his first year celebrating the annual Muslim celebration of Idul Fitri in Indonesia, British Ambassador to Indonesia Moazzam Malik says he feels the traditions of joy for Muslims are not that different from those observed in his native UK.

"There are a lot of Muslims in London, and even if we are not the majority, we observe traditions that are similar to those in Indonesia, such as pilgrimages to family graves, gathering with family for meals and silaturahmi," Ambassador Malik said on Wednesday, referring to the Muslim equivalent of keeping close familial ties by visiting each other.

For Malik, the UK's first Muslim ambassador to Indonesia, the affinity between the two countries' Islamic cultures makes it easier for him to settle into the local community.

The envoy gets along with the caretakers of the Sunda Kelapa Mosque, where he regularly attends Friday prayers, due partly to his own experiences coming from a tight-knit Muslim community in Harrow, a suburb in northeast London.

The mosque in Harrow conducts the Idul Fitri prayers five times a day to accommodate the 20,000-strong local Muslim community, offering services in the English, Arabic, Urdu, Afghan and Somalian languages.

The community is more like family, he said, making comparisons to the way Indonesians observe the Muslim holiday.

The Malik household has been a member of the community in Harrow since his late father migrated to the UK at the age of 19.

Malik was present at an open house event hosted by Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir on Wednesday, which featured a number of foreign dignitaries including EU Ambassador Vincent Guerend and Japanese Ambassador Yasuaki Tanizaki. (Yoh)
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has ordered 10,000 tons of buffalo meat from India and it will enter the local market in stages -- the first batch has already been shipped and is expected to arrive in two weeks.

The government is aiming to sell the buffalo meat for Rp 60,000 per kilogram, a lower price than is set for beef, said Bulog president director Djarot Kusumayakti.

The new imports will break into Indonesias traditional beef import market, which primarily receives from Australia, in an attempt to bring down beef prices that have stubbornly soared higher than the governments ideal price of Rp 80,000 per kg.

Beef trades at Rp 100,000 to Rp 130,000 per kg around the country, according to a nationwide survey by hargapangan.id.

Djarot said one of the challenges of importing buffalo meat from India would be to convince the public that it is safe for consumption.

Were the first institution instructed to bring buffalo meat into the local market, so we have to promote that its healthy for consumption, he said on Wednesday during an open house at the private residence of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

As of May 2016, India was not yet recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health as a country free of foot and mouth disease (FMD), although it has several disease-free zones. A new Indonesian regulation allows for imports from countries with FMD-free zones. (est)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

The number of home burglary incidents in Greater Jakarta during the Idul Fitri holiday period so far has decreased to 17 cases from the 33 recorded in the same period last year, says Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Awi Setiono

"Starting from June 30 to July 6 this year, we have been reported 17 home burglaries. However, we haven't received full information," Awi said.

He also added that the polices policy to heighten security had also contributed to the decrease in crime during the long holiday.

Adj. First Insp. Maryono of Mampang sub-precinct, South Jakarta, similarly said there were no robberies of empty houses reported in the area.

"We have been coordinating with community leaders, such as heads of neighborhood units [RT], to keep an eye on vacant houses. Thank God we haven't received any reports of robbery up until now since Idul Fitri eve," Maryono said.

He further added that the Pancoran area was without incident with no thefts, as the police worked closely with communities to watch over empty houses left by their owners for several days during the Idul Fitri holiday period.

Daldiri, the neighborhood unit head of Mampang Prapatan district, South Jakarta, said he and a number of youths living in the neighborhood conducted inspections three to four times a night during the Idul Fitri holidays to anticipate any thefts from occurring.

"We will stop in front of every empty house for about five minutes to observe whether there is something suspicious going on in the house," Daldiri said.

The police have also registered people leaving their houses during the Idul Fitri holidays and have increased the number of personnel in areas with many vacant residences.

Jakarta Police have deployed hundreds of officers to tighten security in the capital for the holiday period. (vny/dic)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Ferry Mursyidan Baldan has used the second day of Idul Fitri to meet and greet with old friends, including his schoolmates from Al-Azhar Junior High School in Jakarta and Padjajaran University in Bandung, West Java.

"Aside from colleagues from the BPN [State Land Agency], many of them are my schoolmates. So we made this event a reunion party," Ferry told thejakartapost.com on Thursday

It was the second time he hosted an open-house event during the Idul Fitri holiday period as a serving minister since October 2014. Last year he also held a gathering on the second day of Idul Fitri after accompanying President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to celebrate Idul Fitri in Aceh.

"Last year, I accompanied the President in celebrating the first day of Idul Fitri, then held an open-house event on the second day. This is a time to gather with family and old friends," he went on. (dic)
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Linkedin Elias Meseret (Associated Press) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia  Thu, July 7, 2016

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his African tour this week, saying he knew "nothing" of it.

Netanyahu said he was learning about the reports of an assassination attempt for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.

"The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it," Netanyahu said.

He made the remarks in response to a reporter's question following an anonymously sourced report in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.

Kenyan officials also denied there was an effort to kill Netanyahu.

"An attempted assassination can't be secret. It has to be something visible, and to my knowledge there was absolutely nothing of the sort," Kenya's Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press.

"I'm not aware, and there was no such thing at all. Those are lies," Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said.

The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around theworld. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.

Netanyahu's four-nation Africa visit is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations, which cut or limited their relationships with Israel in the 1970s under pressure from Arab countries. African states were also opposed to Israel's close ties to South Africa's apartheid government.

Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state in 2012.

Netanyahu and Desalegn said Thursday they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more.

Netanyahu also pledged to allow Ethiopian Jews remaining in Ethiopia to move to Israel.

"We have a commitment and we are keeping it on a humanitarian basis and on the basis of family reunifications. It will take place in the current budget," Netanyahu said.

Desalegn invited Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to come to Ethiopia and invest. Ethiopian Jews have complained of discrimination in Israeli society, and hundreds recently demonstrated against what they called Israeli police brutality.

Netanyahu also asked for the Ethiopian prime minister's help in pressing for Hamas to release an Ethiopian-Israeli citizen being held in Gaza. (dan)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, July 7, 2016

Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara is preparing a ministerial decree to ensure protection of consumers data on the internet, where much personal information is contained in online applications.

The regulation will stipulate the ministrys authority to monitor what happens to data sent outside of the country by content providers or application makers, Rudiantara said without elaborating on the new rule.

When consumers download an application or use a service provided by over-the-top (OTT) companies like Apple, Facebook and Google they are obliged to accept an agreement that gives providers access to their personal information, from email addresses to their global positioning system (GPS) coordinates.

The government has to know that the data will not be misused, Rudiantara said during an open-house event at his official residence in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Apart from the ministerial decree, Rudiantara said the ministry was also drafting a customer privacy bill. We will propose the bill to be included in the 2017 national legislation program. In absence of a higher regulation, the ministerial decree on customer privacy will serve as a legal umbrella.

The ministry will issue the new regulation in August and Rudiantara claimed that it would comply with other draft ministerial decrees stipulating legal and fiscal obligations for foreign OTT content providers.

On the same day, the minister said OTT companies would be advised to partner with local telecommunications operators to address three issues: customer service, consumer data protection and the need for a level playing field. They will not be forced to establish local entities or engage in joint ventures with local firms to be able to operate here, as initially planned. (mos/est)
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Semarang, Central Java  Thu, July 7, 2016

A Surakarta police officer who was injured in an attack by a suicide bomber outside the citys police headquarters on the eve of Idul Fitri is recuperating and is likely to get a promotion.

He has burn wounds on his face and body. Hes recuperating. Hes also conscious, but the police bars people from seeing him, the officers wife, Triana, said on Thursday.

The officer, Bambang Adi Cahyanto, was the only victim hurt during the attack, which was blamed on a local terrorist network linked to the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

Bambang made an attempt to stop the motorcycle-riding suicide bomber who was trying to break through a security barricade before detonating an explosive device that ended up killing only himself. The blast threw Bambang a distance of three meters.

He suffered from severe bleeding in his left eye because of bomb shrapnel, Triana said.

Surakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Ahmad Luthfi said the force would pay for Bambangs medical treatment. We will also propose that he be promoted, he added. (ary)
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Linkedin (Associated Presss) Concord, N.H., United States  Thu, July 7, 2016

A US Army soldier who participated in a scheme to buy guns and send them to a security detail for the president and vice president of Indonesia plead guilty Wednesday to several charges in federal court.

Audi Sumilat pleaded guilty Tuesday and will be sentenced in October, the US attorney's office in New Hampshire said. The 36-year-old faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of US$250,000.

One of Sumilat's co-conspirators also has been charged and is scheduled to be tried on July 19.

Assistant US Attorney Bill Morse said there have been cases in New Hampshire and other states involving international firearms trafficking to countries including Ghana, Canada and Mexico.

"But this is the first case that I'm aware of in which the intended beneficiaries of the trafficking were representatives of a foreign government," Morse said.

Authorities said Sumilat joined a conspiracy to buy guns in Texas and New Hampshire for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard, who are tasked with providing security to the president and vice president but could not lawfully buy the weapons themselves.

Sumilat admitted he and three guard members came up with a plan in 2014, when they were stationed together for training in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Sumilat said he bought guns in Texas and shipped them to a co-conspirator in New Hampshire, who delivered them to guard members on visits to Washington, D.C., and to the UN General Assembly in New York. The guns were to be smuggled out of the United States.

Sumilat pleaded guilty to making false statements in records required to be kept by federal firearms dealers for telling gun dealers the weapons were for him and for smuggling firearms from the US.

To have legally exported the guns, Sumilat was required to get an exporter's license and a license covering the specific guns exported. No licenses were issued.

New Hampshire US Attorney Emily Gray Rice said the consequences of international gun trafficking can be grave.

"Firearms exported overseas illegally can easily end up in the wrong hands," she said in a statement. "International gun trafficking will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible to protect innocent individuals, both American and foreign, from the criminal use of US weapons abroad."
Cops are looking for a suspect who robbed a man at the Delancey Street subway station and then slashed him in Brooklyn. [Daily News]

The Department of Education is moving closer to a grassroots plan to make District 1 schools more diverse. [Chalkbeat]

John Banks of the Real Estate Board of New York says the recently approved rent freeze will hurt the quality of the affordable housing stock. [Real Estate Weekly]

Tracy Williams Ltd. is closing its Hester Street art gallery. [Art News]

After another collision, there are more concerns about safety at Clinton and East Houston streets. [EV Grieve]

A country club sport comes to the Lower East Side. Heres a look at this summers plans for a squash court at Hamilton Fish Park. [Daily News]
Its an age-old story, weighted in the yellowed pages of many a history book- that asymmetric relation of coloniser and colonised. An ignorant tourist, exploring New Zealand through rose-tinted glasses, I assumed those days of inequality and oppression were a long-distant memory for the indigenous Maori people.

But below the surface, the undercurrents of unease still linger.

I shifted from one foot to the other, pulling at the sleeves of my jumper. In front of me the tribe drew up in a long boat, in their traditional Maori dress ornga taonga tuku iho. It was difficult to hide my apprehension. There was an element of imperialism about it - the European tourist visiting the indigenous tourist attraction.

Tamaki, located in Rotorua on New Zealands North Island, is a Pre-European Maori village open to tourist groups for evening and overnight experiences. As we arrived we were greeted as any other visiting tribe wouldve been - first challenged with a haka, then offered a token of peace, and welcomed onto the tribal land. It seemed clear from the Maori chiefs that the purpose of Tamaki was to raise the profile of their culture, that this was a mutually beneficial exchange.

Maori performing the haka

Crossing the boundary, I stepped back through Aotearoas (the Maori term for New Zealand) history into a vast woodland lit with fire torches, humming with the soft lull of traditional song. At each hut spread about the forest, we were taught about ta moko (permanent body and face markings), haka (ceremonial war dance), ti rakau (traditional stick games), with the evening culminating in a hangi feast, cooked beneath the earth.

I was welcomed with overwhelming warmth by the Maori at Tamaki. Their pride for their culture was humbling, as was their eagerness and generosity in sharing it with a group of international visitors. This indigenous pride seemed to me a sentiment that resounded across New Zealand too.

Wandering around Rotorua, I would see Maori perusing the shelves of supermarkets, proudly bearing their traditional ta moko face markings. Along the high streets I would catch the soft lilt of Maori, an official language of New Zealand, and a compulsory part of the education system. Maori was engrained in the landscape, in the lexicon, in the rituals of everyday life. To an ignorant tourist there seemed little cultural friction.

Wharenui- Maori meeting house

It read like a different narrative to those across the water. The historic trauma and subjugation of Native American peoples has been long documented, and the BBCs 2015 Red River Women feature brought to light an unprecedented spate of murders and assaults against First Nations people in Canada.

While New Zealand was colonised by the British in 1840 with the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the legislation promised the Maori the same rights as British subjects and guaranteed full rights of ownership of their lands, forests, fisheries and other possessions. Its worth noting however, that the Maori version of the treaty is not an exact translation of the English, creating a somewhat contentious void in meaning.

Of course the road was far from smooth. From 1975-1984 the Maori Land Rights Movement protested the acquisition of Maori land by Pakeha (European-descended New Zealanders), and in 1975, the Waitangi Tribunal was established to investigate breaches of the Waitangi Treaty by the crown.

But thats in the past right? Its all tucked away neatly in the dust jacket of a history book.

Well no. Not really. Look close enough at the smooth surface of this diverse country, and you can glimpse something of the fraying edges.

A gaping absence is evident when it comes to political representation. While four Maori parliamentary seats were introduced in 1867, it took until 2011, almost 150 years later, for representation to increase to seven seats, despite Maori making up nearly 15% of the countrys population.

Maori unrest with the government has long been vocal. Numerous protests occurred this year over the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, in particular the governments lack of consultation with the Maori.

The bill aimed to create a new single market, similar to that of the EU, between Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.

The issue? The TPP promoted the notion that states should give priority to commercial interests and subordinate social interests. It was seen as detrimental to the resolution of the crowns transgressions of the Waitangi Treaty and the injustices imposed upon the Maori. Nevertheless, without the full consult of its people, the government signed the bill in February.

Maori protests

As I delved deeper, the chasm between Maori and Pakeha seemed to grow. A study published by Victoria University of Wellington in 2014 examined indicators of inequality among Maori and Pacific people in comparison to their non-Maori counterparts. Life expectancy rates from 2010-12 showed Maori males could expect to live 7.4 years less than non-Maori males, and Maori females 7.2 years less than non-Maori females.

Unemployment rates from 2012 showed non-Maori at 5.5%, meanwhile Maori rates were at 14.8%, a 4.8% increase since 2003. Furthermore, the proportion of non-Maori people on income-tested benefits in 2013 was measured at 6.2%, 2% less than in 2001, while Maori figures came in at 20%, a 2.3% increase from 2001.

Most concerning perhaps are government statistics published in 2012, showing that over 50% of the prison population is Maori, a vast over-representation. Not only are inequalities glaringly obvious, but worryingly, the gap between Maori and non-Maori seems to be widening still.

Its a multi-faceted problem no doubt, a complex intertwining of structural inequalities, lifestyle factors, access to healthcare, discrimination and other socioeconomic determinants, rooted ultimately in government failings to integrate the Maori culture into law. Fundamentally, it reveals the fractious foundations of the Treaty of Waitangi - that enshrined equality is still yet to be achieved by the Maori.

The Beehive- New Zealand Parliament

Im not a New Zealander. But I am painfully aware of my own colonial heritage as a Brit.

Im ashamed of the grubby, grasping hands of the empire, and I think to learn from history is to work toward repairing the wounds suffered by indigenous populations. Its important for the rest of the world to recognise the Maori fight for equality is ongoing, and that its not a struggle consigned to the past tense.
After a seven-year wait, and half a decade late, the report into the Iraq War has finally been published.

Whilst grieving families, campaigners and politicians alike feel many unknowns remain about what the future holds for Tony Blair, those who were affected by the invasion, and the Iraqi people,

here are the questions that we can answer so far

What is the immediate fallout following the reports publication?

Cameron adds to statements after himself voting for the war to go ahead (PA)

Initial statements have been made by some of the key figures, including Blair  who led the 2003 invasion of Iraq as Prime Minister  accepting responsibility for mistakes, but saying decisions were taken in good faith.

David Cameron, who voted for war 13 years ago, said: Members on all sides who voted for military action will have to take our fair share of the responsibility.

Sir John Chilcot, author of the report, said the Government failed in certain aspects.

Can Blair be tried for war crimes?

Protesters volunteer a clear answer to the question (Jonathan Brady/PA)

There is currently no involvement by UK police, but organisations including CND and the Stop The War Coalition have long campaigned for the former premier to be tried for war crimes, describing him as a murderer.

The fact that the Chilcot Report did not confirm the legality of military action leaves the issue open, particularly as the author found the circumstances in which the government formed a legal basis for war were far from satisfactory.

It may be that families of Iraq war victims seek private prosecutions against the former prime minster.

How likely is it that private prosecutions will go ahead?

Relatives of those killed in the war have been waiting seven years for answers (Jeff J Mitchell/PA)

Lawyers for those families have said it is too early to tell whether this will happen or not.

What has this done to Blairs reputation?

Will Blairs name become synonymous with the mention of Iraq? (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

If there was any doubt before the inquiry about his legacy as prime minister, the Chilcot report has cemented it.

The introduction of the minimum wage, the Good Friday Agreement, three consecutive general election wins  all these will largely fade into obscurity. Blair will be known simply by the mention of Iraq.

And the Labour Party?

Corbyns contribution receives a mixed reaction (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

MPs are divided. Embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn  a staunch anti-war campaigner  claimed MPs were misled over the basis for going to war, despite not mentioning his predecessor by name.

But Corbyn, believed to be on the cusp of facing a leadership challenge, was heckled by his own MPs as he gave his response to the report.

What impact did the invasion have on Iraq?

The invasion had a huge impact on Iraq (David Cheskin/PA)

Dr Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at think-tank Chatham House, said we are now living with the global consequences of war.

She said: The Islamic State (IS) and the present conflicts in Iraq and Syria are part of the legacy of the invasion of Iraq, and the repercussions are being felt worldwide through IS terrorist attacks and the waves of migrants from Syria and Iraq heading to Europe.

Will the report have an impact on Iraq?

Are these going to make any difference? (Dan Kitwood/PA)

It is unlikely. Just days ago, 175 people were killed in Baghdad as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to a bloody conclusion in one of the deadliest series of attacks in the country for years.

Khatib said: The Chilcot report points out the mistakes of the past, but in doing so what it says is ultimately not new because Iraq as well as the international community have been living with the impact of those mistakes for 13 years.

What does Iraq need?

Iraq needs a stabilisation plan, according to some experts (Dan Chung/MoD Crown Copyright/PA)

Experts say the answer is a stabilisation plan  one that goes beyond technical military assistance and pays serious attention to good governance as well as to the need for a new social contract between Iraqi citizens and the state that fully guarantees their rights.
Hundreds of mourners and protesters gathered last night after another horrendous incident of a black man killed by police was caught on camera.

Alton Sterling, 37, was shot on Tuesday as he wrestled with two white Baton Rouge police officers outside the Triple S convenience store where he sold CDs for a living.

Police say he was armed.

The shooting was filmed and circulated on social media by anti-violence activist group Stop the Killing Inc, who were monitoring police scanners when they heard a report of a disturbance at the store.

The video shows the officers pinning Sterling down before the shots are fired. The camera moves away at one point and when it returns, Sterling can be seen lying on the ground with what appears to be blood on his chest.

It was not clear from the footage whether Sterling had a gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot, but a witness said he saw police pull a gun from Sterlings pocket after the shooting.

A second video of the killing, taken by the stores owner Abdullah Muflahi, emerged later.

(Gerald Herbert/AP)

The peaceful vigil following the shooting involved prayers, songs, a balloon release in memory of Sterling and calls for justice. Many of those gathered held signs demanding action as participants chanted Black Lives Matter.

Some of the protesters signs read No Justice, No Peace, Black Out Downtown and Who Is Supposed To Protect Us?

(Gerald Herbert/AP)

Democratic Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards said at a conference: I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.

The US Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the killing.
A chat with 22-year-old Holly Watson indicates nothing out of the ordinary. She sounds healthy and upbeat, ready for her next chapter in life of continuing to pursue her degree. Shes moving to London from her native Wellow, Somerset, and gearing up for the changes of city life. She has hobbies and passions and goals.

But these normal parts of life were all put in limbo several years ago when Watson was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). A series of illnesses indicated that something was seriously wrong. But these normal parts of life were all put in limbo several years ago when Watson was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). A series of illnesses indicated that something was seriously wrong.

I had a series of one illness after anotherI just never recovered, she says. I had really bad temperatures, aches and pains; I couldnt really talk in full sentences.

With the help of a doctor, she finally had a name for her condition.

It was finally like, what I was feeling  there was a reason for it.

The sense of relief turned to a sense of feeling daunted as Watson came to terms with the fact that there is no cure for CFS. The symptoms kept getting worse until she was bedbound and left with no choice but to break from her studies.

Her life became consumed by needing to sleep constantly. Even eating was difficult.

My mother would wake me up and kind of force-feed me a biscuit, and then I would go back to sleep, she says.

Meanwhile, Holly had to understand that her life would be taking a drastic turn. She had planned to be a physical therapist and eventually transition into equine therapy, following her interest in horses. She wanted to travel after university  Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and South America especially interested her.

Her diagnosis stopped these plans in their tracks.

[I realised] thats not going to be happening for a long time, she says.

Holly slowly regained her energy, but was looking for more fulfilling ways to spend her time.

[Energy levels] would still fluctuate day-to-day, but in general I was working a part-time job and things, she says. That was an OK level. I still felt like I had extra time, and at the time I was still thinking about whether I wanted to go into a healthcare route eventually, later on in life.

When considering these factors  her energy levels, her spare time, her interest in healthcare and helping others  Holly discovered volunteering, something she says keeps her energised and busy.

She started with a Red Cross programme of helping victims of fires or floods. This became a bit of a problem when she realised many fires and floods occur in the middle of the night.

It didnt really work, as much as I wanted it to, she says.

Because the Red Cross offers many options for volunteering, Holly was able to switch gears and help out in a different way.

She now volunteers up to two hours a week at homes of people who are socially or physically isolated.

[Im] just trying to help them reconnect with their community," she says. "For some people its just conversation; they just want to talk to someone because theyre incredibly lonely. For other people, they mightve lost their confidence a little bit.

For the latter group, Watson will help patients use buses or go to the library or a shop. Shell work with them for six to ten weeks.

I do genuinely really enjoy it. Ive had some really lovely service users who are very inspiring in their own ways, she says.

This autumn, Holly will move to London to continue pursuing her degree - and will hold on to what she has learned in her past year as a volunteer.

Ive realised that everyone has their own little battlesit kind of opens your eyes to realise that everyones got their own things going on behind closed doors, and its okay.
A selection of Queen Elizabeth IIs most memorable wardrobe pieces is set to go on public display for the first time at Buckingham Palace this summer.

The Royal Collections largest ever exhibition, Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from the Queens Wardrobe, is due take place this month in celebration of The Queens 90th birthday.

The lavish display will host over 150 pieces, including the elegant Hartnell designed dress worn by the then Princess Elizabeth for her marriage to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, her Coronation dress and her ATS battledress overalls worn during World War Two.

When put to the task of designing Princess Elizabeths wedding dress, British couturier Sir Norman Hartnell was determined to create "the most beautiful dress I had so far made." The exquisite masterpiece is in ivory silk and adorned with 10,000 seed pearls and crystals.

The event, which will feature across three of the monarchs official residences  Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh  illustrates the most significant occasions throughout her life and her 60-year era on the throne.

Clothing from her childhood will also go on show, including a pink double-breasted coat worn by the young Princess Elizabeth during an official visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937.

Speaking to Vogue in April, Caroline de Guitaut, Senior Curator at The Royal Collection, was very enthused by the upcoming exhibition, stating: "The Queen transcends fashion but her clothes continue to reflect it."

"She is completely involved in her wardrobe and works with leading British couturiers of the day but will reject designer's sketches if she doesn't like them. Consistently elegant, she dresses in bright, visible block colours, often with a complementary hat, but note that we rarely see her in pattern."

The three exhibitions will be hosted at the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace from 23rd July 2016 to 2nd October 2016, at Windsor Castle from 17th September 2016 to January 8th 2017, and at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh from 20th April 2016 until 16th October 2016.

Each admission is included in the price of a general ticket.
This week saw another high-profile political resignation. The only saving grace about this one is that Nigel Farage is finally (hopefully) on his way out, but I wouldnt hold your breath that hell be off the TV for too long...

But now the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) faces a huge dilemma. Who can replace Nigel? Whether you agree with his politics or not, it is difficult to find somebody in the political spotlight who has as much charisma as the former UKIP leader. His numerous appearances on question time, radio talk shows and even with Steph and Dom from Gogglebox have been, in my opinion, the making of the brand Nigel Farage  so how can a party with a small amount of little known figures keep hold of their 3 million strong voting base with a new leader?

Yes, I know  I've raised a few questions already, but it shows just how difficult this choice must be.

Now Im not just a politics student, Im a current affairs geek as well. So even when someone who is as actively interested in the topic of politics as me struggles to name but a few UKIP front runners, I can imagine the rest of Britain would struggle just as much.

Now the obvious choice would have to be UKIPs only Member of Parliament, Douglas Carswell, solely on the basis of him being the most senior member of the party with an electoral mandate. However, Farage gained a lot of his support through the image that he created of being an ordinary person separate from the political elite, who went and had too many pints at the weekend, made no secret about smoking cigarettes and stood up for the hard working British bloke (lets be honest UKIP has basically ignored women). I doubt a position that once was held by one of the most outlandish and ear catching politicians could be replaced by Carswell, who may have the political acumen needed for the job, but has not come close to the outspoken persona that UKIP supporters have come to crave. If Carswell were to take the job then I think we may see a more auto-tuned message coming from UKIP and also possibly a much needed stray away from the topic of immigration.

And, fortunately, I think wed see a decrease in their media presence.

Now we come to a small group of UKIPs so called Key People  who I promise you are even less well known than Carswell. Potentially the third most well-known UKIP member is Paul Nuttall. His consistently strong performances on question time have proved effective and his standing in the party is well regarded with grass-roots members, as he is one of three UKIP MEPs in the North West. However, as somebody that is sceptical about climate change and who also wants to ban the burka in the public, I cant see him capturing the electorates hearts, let alone their minds.

Then theres Diane James, currently UKIPs Deputy Chairman (according to their website). Despite a number of strong media performances, Diane lacks one thing that Nigel has in abundance and Carswell has the slight advantage over, which is essentially fame. Nigel Farage is a household name and, well, Diane James has a long way to go on that front, and thats before we even consider the time that she said she admired Vladimir Putin in an interview.

Watch: Another example of EU intervention in nation state affairs which weakens our security https://t.co/SXX0TPXZNz pic.twitter.com/2jXIx98VTV  Diane James (@DianeJamesMEP) June 20, 2016

And finally, the last person from our bunch of Key people is Roger H

elmer, and for the 99% of the population that do not know who he is, hes the guy with the snazzy moustache who they roll out on Question Time once every six months to make yet another offensive comment. One of his lowest moments was when he said this about rape: The victim surely shares a part of the responsibility; or how about when he said that homophobia is merely a propaganda device, designed to discredit those with conventional views. So, I think we can rest assured that Roger has as much chance of taking the leadership as a Romanian immigrant who is in a same-sex marriage.

So, unfortunately for fairness and equality, it looks like UKIP members will have a limited number of viable candidates for the leadership race. And even though I think it will not bring the party much electoral success, I do think that Douglas Carswell seems like the safest option. He may lose some of their core voters, but may possibly be able to branch out and appeal to more middle-class voters who are disgruntled by the Tory governments policy of austerity, as Labour has proved hopeless in capturing this section of the electorate.
Five months ago, 100 UCL students stopped paying their rent in protest against the universitys unfair profits and unacceptable hall conditions. Now, we have received an offer of 850,000 from UCL, and our power is only growing.

Our strike forced the university to offer students 350,000 to fund accommodation bursaries in 2016/17 academic year, with a further 500,000 for 2017/18.

They have also reduced the cost of 1,224 rooms for the next academic year, totalling 1m in concessions. These are huge numbers, as it is forcing them to meet their promise to ensure access to education for those from all backgrounds, rather than earlier statements admitting they dont consider low-income students when setting rents. By pushing them to these concessions, we have exposed their elitism and exploitation of students.

Its been a long battle to get to this point. As someone who was one of the initial 100 strikers, Ive seen the campaign grow from a hopeful spark to a raging, nationwide fire.

UCL did not come to these concessions easily  they made it difficult, or sometimes outright refused, to negotiate. They showed themselves to be bullies by trying to silence a student journalist, telephone strikers and threatening them, refusing international students the guarantor scheme, and trying to fine us 25,000.

Students were trying to fight all this whilst also earning a degree.

But that didnt stop the campaign  if anything, it angered students, inspiring more action, and from more people.

They thought they would subdue us, but instead they poured petrol on our fire. The numbers increased exponentially to that the point that the people in the campaign itself hadnt realised quite how many had joined our cause. By the end of the strike we had over 1,000 students withholding rent.

However, the obvious anger and upset of over 1,000 people clearly wasnt enough to persuade UCL that something should be done, and they still tried to threaten their way out of it.

So, in the weeks preceding the aforementioned agreement, the campaign escalated.

Occupations of the accommodation management offices showed them we werent going anywhere, and demonstrations in and around campus spread the passion through the current and prospective student body.

It was the organisation of a manifestation that really marked the turning point. We arranged for a manifestation on campus on UCLs open day, which would have spelled disaster for their precious reputation.

It scared them so much that this was the point that they gave us our first major offer, in agreement that we moved the action off campus. Our large, loud, and passionate parade marched down the streets of London instead, joined by London-wide housing campaigns.

So we have won large amounts of money and eased the burden of future students.

one boy has already rejected his UCL offer for fear of being able to pay the rent prices. We can only hope that this has been prevented from now on. But that doesnt mean were finished. The bursaries still are not enough to rescue all students from the extortionate prices of UCLs rent. As a scheme, it means that only applicable lower-income students will benefit, and everyone else will still be feeding into UCLs unreasonable profit margin. Sadly, the nature in in which they have made the cut may have come too late, asfor fear of being able to pay the rent prices. We can only hope that this has been prevented from now on.

There have also been no promises of improving the conditions in the halls (collapsing ceilings and cockroaches, to name just a couple) which were a key motivator for many of the strikers. There is clearly a lot of work to be done.

The campaign is going to escalate.

There are already parallel campaigns at Goldsmiths, Bristol, and many more contacting us for advice on how to start action. UCL students will be starting over with the campaign next year, but from an even stronger standpoint.

The movement has support from various housing groups such as the Radical Housing Network, as well as Shelly Asquith, NUS vice-president. The government and universities have tried to load us with tuition fee debt and exploit us with rent costs but we arent taking it anymore and students are stronger than ever. Nationwide students are saying no more! to the pressures on us.

This is just the beginning.
St. Ives is a quaint seaside town and port, located in the heart of Cornwall, England.

Discover an array of beautiful beaches, charming cafes and adrenaline-packed activities. We suggest you add these to your must-do list if you venture southwest this summer...

1. Indulge in fresh seafood at the Seafood Cafe

Seafood lovers rejoice - Seafood Cafe, located at Fore Street, offers a mouth-watering selection of fresh seafood, supplied daily to their counter. Choose from a range of fresh fish, such as Cornish hake and crab cakes, sea bass fillets, local scallops, crispy calamari and fresh local lobster.

2. Soak up the rays at award-winning Porthmeor Beach.

Porthmeor Beach is the towns most renowned surfing beach. With fine golden sands and twinkling blue waters, there is something on offer for everyone here. There are deck chairs, life guards and toilet facilities on site  not to mention Porthmeors Beach Cafe, where you can sit back and relax with a drink and take in the stunning views overlooking the crisp blue skies and gentle ocean.

3. Cruise, paraglide or surf alongside dolphins and seals at Seal Island.

website Take a boat ride down the Cornish coast to Seal Island and Godrevy Lighthouse and spot Dolphins, Seals and Basking Sharks along the way. You can make further enquiries at the St Ives Boat Rides

4. Go and hunt for the best Cornish Pasties and ice cream St. Ives has to offer.

Cornish Pasties are undoubtedly a must when visiting the famous seaside port. Founded in 1985, Pengenna Pasties specialise in home-made pasties using original family recipes. Options include: Traditional Steak, Steak and Stilton, Lamb, Vegetable, and Cheese and Onion - plus they're a steal at 4 apiece. Just beware of seagulls wanting to steal your food...

5. Take a day trip to Lands End.

Venture on a day trip to Britains most Westerly point, with stunning scenery and endless activities on offer. Lands End is a legendary Cornish destination immersed in history and brimming with adventure. You can take bus number 300 from St. Ives, and arrive directly to Lands end in as little as 1 hour and 30 minutes.

6. Catch an open-air performance at the world famous Minack theatre, with picturesque sea views.

here Make a stop at the Minack Theatre, located only 4 miles from Lands End, and enjoy a show at the ancient open-air amphitheatre perched on cliffs above the Atlantic Ocean. Schedule your stay in St. Ives in line with what Minack Theatre has on offer

7. Dine alfresco whilst watching the spectacular sunset at Porthminster Beach.

End your day on a romantic note and catch the beautiful sunset whilst dining on the terrace of Porthminsters Beach Cafe. This photo says it all...
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Foreign owned yacht sinks off Phuket

PHUKET: A foreign couple today (July 7) went to the Krabi Marine Police to report that their yacht had sunk whilst moored off Ao Nang late last night (July 6) during a storm.

accidentsmarinepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 7 July 2016, 06:11PM

Alexander Travkin, 31, from Russia and his partner Julia Mironova, 29, from the Ukraine filed a report with the Krabi Marine Police at noon today where it was stated that their 12 metre yacht Adventure had sunk at Ao Nang.

Mr Travkin told police that he and Ms Mironova, both freelance photographers, had travelled on their yacht from Malaysia and were heading to Phuket.

The wind was strong and the waves were big so we moored the yacht at Ao Nang and stayed in town. When we returned in the morning, we discovered the yacht had sunk. The mast was still visible and all our belongings were floating in the water, he said.

Marine Police, led by Lt Siroj Chumsri, went to the area following the report and helped the couple retrieve their belongings.

They reported the incident to us because they had many valuable items that had been damaged. They said that the damage would come to about one million baht, Lt Siroj said.
Injured sea turtle found washed up on Phuket beach

PHUKET: An Olive Ridley sea turtle of an unknown age and sex was found washed up on Karon Beach yesterday afternoon (July 6) with one of its flippers badly slashed. Marine biology officials have said they believe the flipper was damaged by a fishing net.

animalsmarine

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 7 July 2016, 12:16PM

Officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC) at Cape Panwa were informed at 4pm by Petty Officer 1st class Jirasak Chugaung of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command that the lifeguard team at Karon Beach had found an injured turtle washed up on the beach.

Mr Jirasak said, The turtle was injured but it still alive. Kusoldharm rescue workers and officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Centre came to the beach and helped transport it to the centre.

Marine Officials said that the injured turtle found was an Olive Ridley weighing about 50 kilograms. Its front left flipper was nearly broken off and there were scratches and wounds all over its body. The officials said that the injuries probably came from fishing nets. They believe the turtle got trapped in the fishing net and it injured itself whilst trying to escape. Officials were not able to say the sex or age of the turtle, he said.

However, the Marine Endangered Species Unit at PMBC are treating the injured turtle, and I was told it will recover fully from its injuries and once this has happened they will release it back into the sea, he added.
Royal Phuket Marina for sale

PHUKET: Royal Phuket Marina has been put into the transaction market, reports Bill Barnett, Managing Director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks.

marineeconomicspropertytourismtransport

By The Phuket News

Thursday 7 July 2016, 10:23AM

Royal Phuket Marina has been put on the market for sale. Photo: Royal Phuket Marina

The sale includes 100% interest in the marina, the commercial complex along with a beachfront site in nearby Naka Yai island, Mr Barnett reported in an article posted today.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels have been retained as the exclusive broker, he added.

Overall the offering is over 193 rai and there is a considerable land bank for hotel, residential and commercial expansion, Mr Barnett said.

Royal Phuket Marina is considered one of Asias leading yachting facilities. Developed in 2005 by entrepreneur Gulu Lalvani, the facility features 110 wet berths and a hardstand for 40 watercraft.

Over the past decade Gulu Lalvani has been a strong investment advocate of Brand Phuket and he is now looking to give someone the upside opportunity to execute a larger integrated offering.

No other reason for the sale was given. (See story here.)

A source at Royal Phuket Marina this morning confirmed to The Phuket News that the report is accurate and said that a statement was due to be released later today.

The news comes just 12* months after Mr Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina, announced a five-year plan to inject B5 billion in investment to transform the marina into a premier lifestyle destination. (See story here.)

Royal Phuket Marina was bestowed the Luxury Yachting in Thailand award at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards Gala Ceremony in Singapore in February  the first marina in Thailand receive this honour. (See story here.)

* Not 18 months, as originally reported.
Thai Navy concludes hostage, air-sea rescue crisis exercises off Phuket

PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy concluded its week-long crisis-response exercises off Cape Panwa on Tuesday (July 5), bringing to an end a spectacle of live simulations that included terrorists taking hostages on a cruise ship and recovering people after a passenger plane ditched into the sea.

Thursday 7 July 2016, 09:06AM

The annual drills, this titled Crisis Management Exercise 2016 (C-MEX 16), were led by the Third Area Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre (MECC), operating under the command of the Royal Thai Navy.

Among the exercises were regular drills of sea-rescue techniques and boarding, commandeering and searching illegal fishing vessels.

This year, the aim of the exercise was to develop better co-ordination among a wide variety of government agencies in carrying out such manoeuvres, including the Office of the National Security Council as well as the Phuket offices of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the Public Health Ministry, the Transport Ministry and Information and Communications Technology Ministry.
Ying Kai hit with 3 charges in 5 cases

BANGKOK: Monta Ying Kai Yokrattanakan was hit with three charges in five different cases, all relating to her employment of young women, when she reported to the Crime Suppression Division today (July 7).

crimeimmigrationpolice

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 7 July 2016, 05:13PM

Monta Yokrattanakan (centre) arrives at the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok last Friday (July 1) to insist on her innocence. Photo: Tawatchai Kemgumnerd

The charges are: making false complaints to police, attempted human trafficking, and insulting the royal institution. Mrs Monta denied all the charges and said she would testify in court.

Police earlier summoned Mrs Monta to hear a single charge of filing a false police report next Monday, but said she could report earlier if she wanted to.

After two hours of questioning, the 56-year-old was taken to Bann Prachaniwet Condominium building in Bangkoks Chatuchak district where police searched her room.

Acting CSD chief Charn Wimolsri said officials found no illegal items, but took possession of 19 passports found in there, for further examination.

Maj Gen Charn said police had enough evidence to indict Mrs Monta on all the charges.

Media reports said Mrs Monta, whose former employees said she claimed to hold a title bestowed by the King, refused to talk to reporters and looked stressed when she was taken to Bann Prachaniwet Condominium.

Police later took Mrs Monta to the Criminal Court and sought approval to detain her for 12 days for further investigation.

The court was still considering the application.

Read original story here.
Ying Kai now facing lese majeste allegations

BANGKOK: Police have formed a panel to determine whether Ying Kai, a woman suspected of lodging false complaints against her former employees, has violated the lese majeste law.

crimepolice

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 7 July 2016, 09:18AM

Songkan Atchariyasap, (bottom left) of the Network Against Acts that Destroy Kingdom, Religion and Monarchy, presents former employees of Monta Ying Kai Yokrattanakan to the Lawyers Council of Thailand for legal help. Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul

Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Thitirat Nongharnphithak said yesterday (July 6) that the panel was ordered to investigate an alleged claim by Monta Yokrattanakan, 56, or Ying Kai, that she was a khunying, a title bestowed by the King. An investigation is underway to determine if she breached Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, Lt Gen Thitirat said.

Ms Monta made headlines after her former housekeepers accused her of lodging false theft complaints.

One of her former employees, Praphawan Jaikla, 19, said Ms Monta filed a complaint with Pracha Chuen police accusing her and her parents of stealing valuables worth more than B10 million while they worked at Ms Montas condominium in Chatuchak district on March 18 last year. Ms Praphawan said the complaint was filed after she turned down Ms Montas job offer to work in Hong Kong.

Col Nattawat Kesarak, investigation chief of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said police had obtained additional evidence from Ms Montas employees. Police also obtained records that Ms Monta filed for bankruptcy in the Central Bankruptcy Court.

Ms Praphawan and her lawyer, Kamolsak Sriprasert, yesterday met CSD investigators to present evidence and discuss the possibility of pursuing other criminal charges against Ms Monta, including human trafficking.

Mr Kamolsak said six or seven others are likely to have been victimised by Ms Monta. One person, aged under 18, was taken to work in Laos, allegedly at Ms Montas urging, for over two years, he said.

The lawyer said Ms Monta may also have persuaded other young girls to take care of VIP customers at casinos in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. He said his legal team has evidence leading them to believe that if the suspected trafficking was true, some high profile figures, including ex-MPs, local politicians, high-ranking police and military officials, may be implicated.

Ms Praphawan said when she worked for Ms Monta she saw almost 20 passports in her bosss residence and that Ms Monta told her the travel documents belonged to other employees.

Also yesterday, Songkan Atchariyasap, chairman of the Network Against Acts that Destroy the Kingdom, Religion and Monarchy, took Ms Montas former employees to seek legal help from the Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT). The former employees included Ms Praphawan, her parents and Sukanya Sirimuang, 54, who was on Tuesday (July 5) granted bail by the Criminal Court on a charge of stealing three million baht worth of valuables from Ms Monta.

Ms Sukanya said she worked for Ms Monta for a month. She was forbidden from leaving the home, which made her uncomfortable, so she quit. She said after she told her boss she would quit, Ms Monta and a Pracha Chuen police officer threatened her and forced her to confess to stealing. She made the confession out of fear, she said.

The police officer visited Ms Monta several times, Ms Sukanya said, adding she had never seen a large number of valuables in her boss room. LCT president Dejudom Krairit said the council is likely to look into the charges against each former employee, adding the court may be asked to revive the cases.

Read original story here.
No truth to rumor that schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms

local
President Barack Obama waves from the top of the steps of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Md., Thursday, July 7, 2016. Obama is traveling to Poland to attend a NATO summit and then on to Spain. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The government on Wednesday indicated it was contemplating action against controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who was followed by militants who killed 20 persons in Dhaka's Holey Artisan Bakery on July 1.

It was a "matter of law" and the agencies concerned will take "appropriate action", Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told reporters here.

"We will give all kind of support, whatsoever, in matters related to terrorism," he said.

Asked if the government planned to ban the preacher, as some other countries have already done, the minister said: "It's not wise on part of the minister to make announcements about actions likely to be taken."

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for his hate speeches aimed against other religions.
There are petitions pending with the High Court of Justice challenging the conciliatory agreement signed recently with Israel. That agreement compels Israel to pay $21 in compensatory payments for the nine Turkey nationals killed on board the Marvi Mamara flotilla vessel that tried breaking the IDF Navy blockage on Gaza.

One petition was filed by members of the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, citing the unwritten agreement that exists between the State of Israel and its soldiers, to stand behind them and back them.

The photo accompanying the article shows the prosecutor in the case representing the State of Israel against petitioners, a Gerrer Chossid from the prosecutors office.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Fayez Matzbah Muhammad Atar  born in 1951, a resident of Beit Lahiya in Gaza, who holds a permit to enter Israel for commercial purposes  was arrested in June 2016 at Tarkumiya Crossing, in a joint Shin Bet -Israel Police-IDF operation, after it was learned that he was a courier for terrorist funds for Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron.

Atar had been asked by Hamas terrorists to smuggle  through the various crossings  funds for Hamas in Yehuda and Shomron. The cash was hidden in shoes that he wore for this purpose. He thus managed, on several occasions, to smuggle cash  amounting to tens of thousands of Euros  for various Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron; he was fully aware that the money was for Hamas.

Shin Bet investigators learned that members of Atars family were active in Hamas including in operations against IDF forces and in digging tunnels. It was learned that Atars sons used his home for Hamas meetings.

The investigation revealed information about the openings of tunnels that were located, for the most part, under civilian structures such as innocent residences and mosques, as well as about launching points for rockets that were located close to civilian structures, thus endangering the civilian population in Gaza.

Itallah Ali Abd Al-Karim Sirhan  born in 1979, a resident of Jebalya, who holds a permit to enter Israel for commercial purposes  was arrested in June 2016 at Erez crossing, in a joint Shin Bet -Israel Police-IDF operation, after he was caught trying to smuggle 10,000 Euros in his shoes, for Hamas terrorists in Yehuda and Shomron.

ISA investigators learned that Sirhan, who received the above permit only two weeks before his arrest, had been contacted on the day of his first entry in Israel by a Hamas policeman, who worked on the Gaza side of Erez Crossing, and who interested him in smuggling cash into Yehuda and Shomron.

In addition to the smuggling attempt on the day of his arrest, it was learned that on the day before his arrest, Sirhan had transferred hidden cash for terrorists.

Investigators discovered that Sirhan was fully aware that the money was for a terrorist organization in Yehuda and Shomron.

In the framework of Sirhans investigation, it became clear that he had previously worked for several months as a truck driver for a company that cleared away sand from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad tunnel excavation sites. Through his work, Sirhan was exposed to many such tunnel excavation sites. He divulged considerable information about openings of tunnel shafts including their exact locations and conditions, and the terrorist organizations responsible.

Beyond the considerable information that was obtained, this investigation underscored the cynical way in which Hamas exploits the willingness of the State of Israel to ease conditions for the civilian population in Gaza by issuing commercial permits to enter Israel and uses permit holders to advance its terrorist goals, thus deliberately harming the civilian population in Gaza.

The State of Israel allows, on a monthly basis, the entry of thousands of residents of Gaza for humanitarian medical and other needs. More than once, terrorist elements have exploited these permit holders for illegal purposes including the transfer of cash for terrorism.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Following a special meeting of The Administrative Committee of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, the rabbis issued a call to the Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his government to declare a state of emergency.

There are times when a nation is confronted with war and terrorist insurgence that threaten the security and lives of its citizens. In such cases, international law acknowledges the curtailment of certain basic rights as a proactive response.

The Rabbis lamented the fact that that past year has been one of in which innocent Israelis have been stabbed, shot and killed by their enemies, with little or no effective response from the Israeli government.

According to Orach Chaim 329 (as well as international law) the sanctity of life takes precedence over all else, to the extent that one is not only permitted but is obligated to desecrate the Shabbos and pick up arms to repel the enemy from entering your town.

Therefore, the Rabbis called on the Israeli government to

1) The imposition of a complete three-month closure on all towns and villages from where terrorists came to kill Jews, as well as other economic sanctions.

2) Since the Israeli media justifies and backs (overtly or by insinuation) terrorist activity, making it the equivalent of a fifth column in Israel that encourages our enemies, the government should therefore temporarily impose a complete censorship on radio and TV for the period of several months. There is no doubt that without the support of the Israeli leftist-controlled media, terrorist activity would substantially decrease.

The rabbis reiterated their call to the government to unequivocally declare the annulment of the Oslo agreements, a copy of which should be publically torn up in the Knesset. The government should also allow unlimited construction in all parts of Israel. Hesitating on these obvious measures is tantamount to the encouragement of terrorism by the government itself.

The rabbis are crying out and beseeching the Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, government ministers and members of the Knesset to recognize that this is a time of trouble for Yaakov! The Torahs prediction of the grievous consequences of transferring Israeli territory to its enemies is being actualized before our very eyes.

Come to your senses and heed the instruction of the Torah, and stop the further shedding of innocent blood, which continues unabated.

It is only by following the Torah  the Torah of Life  that the wave of terror can be stopped, and the Jewish people can experience true peace and tranquility in their land. You can prove this for yourself by heeding its words!

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A French court has convicted seven young men who returned from weeks among the ranks of Islamic State extremists in Syria, including the brother of one of the suicide attackers who targeted Paris in November.

The defendants, aged 24 to 27, were sentenced Wednesday to prison terms ranging from six to nine years for taking part in a group recruiting French jihadis, for joining a terrorist group in Syria in 2013-2014, namely IS, and for participating in military training and other activities.

Karim Mohamed-Aggad, brother of one of the extremists who attacked the Bataclan concert hall Nov. 13, received a 9-year term, the harshest penalty among the seven defendants.

The prosecutor said he was one of the ringleaders. Mohamed-Aggad claimed he went to Syria only for humanitarian purposes.

(AP)
Be ready: Your phone might soon start ringing with a few more unsolicited robocalls.

Government employees, and any contractors working on their behalf, are now officially exempt from regulations on robocalls designed to protect consumers from annoying phone spam under a new, federal clarification on who is and isnt allowed to place autodialed phone calls and text messages.

The clarification comes from the Federal Communications Commission, which issued the ruling late Tuesday. Many corporate robocalls are annoying and spammy, and those are technically illegal if the person on the receiving end didnt explicitly sign up to receive those calls.

But because the regulations only apply to persons  meaning an individual, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, or corporation  and the government is none of those, the regulations dont apply to the government, the FCC said in its decision. The only way that situation would change is if Congress passed legislation explicitly saying so.

Dont expect that to happen anytime soon. Thats because many lawmakers rely on robocalls themselves, inviting constituents to join outreach meetings with them to discuss hot-button issues. Itd be against the rules for members of Congress to use robocalls as part of their election campaigns  but so long as theyre just using the technology to do their jobs, theyre fine, according to the new FCC clarification.

The implications of the decision could be far-reaching. It validates the ability of federal agencies to perform surveys and polls on the effectiveness of their programs (perhaps such as the Affordable Care Act). It also affirms the ability of contractors to make robocalls to inform people of their Social Security benefits.

But at the same time, they could also lead to unsolicited calls from debt collectors and student loan companies. The industry and the Education Department both argue that these calls would help prevent people from falling behind on their loan payments. Consumer advocates say those calls would not only be annoying, but expensive to low-income Americans for whom the calls and text messages might cost money.

Wherever you fall in this debate, the rules are clearer than ever: The government has a special status when it comes to blasting out phone calls to the public.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post  Brian Fung
A blistering start to summer is helping put U.S. natural gas futures on course for the biggest gain in eight years.

Gas has surged 18 percent this year, rebounding from a 17-year low. Drillers, burned by earlier declines, are refilling storage at half last years pace as extreme heat boosts the use of air conditioners, increasing gas demand from power plants. By November, supplies will probably drop below the five-year average, the benchmark for normal levels, for the first time in 13 months, based on storage rates.

Just four months ago, gas plunged after the warmest winter on record left the market with a glut large enough to last through the year. Instead, hot weather and a slowdown in shale production are eating into the surplus, signaling an era of higher prices as gas exports rise and electricity generation cuts into excess supply.

Were moving toward a potentially serious deficit in the supply-demand balance for this coming winter, Andrew Weissman, chief executive officer of EBW Analytics Group, a Washington-based energy analysis company, said by phone.

Gas inventories were 25 percent above the five-year average in late June, down from 54 percent in April. An extended slide in production would erase the surplus by the end of the year, leaving stockpiles at a deficit to normal levels for the first time since May 2015 and pushing prices to $3 this month, according to EBW Analytics and Again Capital LLC.

Forget about record gas inventories, said Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. If the weather continues to be hot, well start the winter with below-average supply. Gas has become the primary fuel for power generation.

In April, hedge funds turned net bullish on natural gas for the first time since December, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The funds are the most bullish on natural gas since October 2014, CFTC data show.

Gas futures climbed to a 13-month high of $2.987 per million British thermal units on July 1, more than a dollar above the March low. Gas has averaged $4.64 over the past decade. The 18 percent gain this year is the most since the 81 percent advance at this point in 2008.

Across the contiguous U.S., the period January to May was the fourth warmest on record, said the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina. Winter, measured from Dec. 1 to Feb. 29, was the warmest on record, according to the agency.

An extended rally isnt certain. A cooler-than-expected summer would curtail air-conditioning demand. Prices fell the most in eight months on Tuesday as forecasts showed milder weather from July 15 to July 19 for the lower 48 states than meteorologists had predicted.

A slowdown in gas production is magnifying the effect of hot weather on the glut. The number of rigs drilling for gas in the U.S. slid to the lowest since at least 1987 in the week ended June 3, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

Output has dropped 3.5 percent after reaching an all-time high in February, data from PointLogic Energy show. The government forecasts that supplies from the Marcellus gas play, Americas largest, will fall for a fourth straight month in July.

Production, more than anything else, will be the main factor in limiting storage injections, said EBWs Weissman, who sees gas prices heading to $3.19 by late summer. Its pretty obvious that were going to see really large cuts in the inventory surplus.

Widespread heat may persist through the summer. The National Weather Services Climate Prediction Center odds favor a warmer than normal summer across almost the entire U.S. except a small part of Texas in July, August and September.

Also curtailing the oversupply have been the low gas prices and environmental regulations that forced older coal-fired plants to shut, boosting gass share of the power market. Gas consumption by electricity generators was up 8.9 percent in June from a year earlier, according to PointLogic Energy. Power plants account for about 36 percent of gas demand.

Rising gas exports may also become a release valve for excess output. The first cargo of U.S. shale gas left Cheniere Energy Inc.s Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana in February, and four other U.S. LNG terminals are under construction. The government predicts the U.S. will export 600 million cubic feet of LNG a day this year, a sevenfold increase from 2015, and shipments may almost triple in 2017. Meanwhile, gas deliveries to Mexico via pipeline surged 33 percent in April from a year earlier.

Gas will get a sustained boost this summer as hot weather sets off early withdrawals from storage in the central southern U.S., EBWs Weissman said.

That will most likely trigger the next leg up for natural gas prices, he said.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg  Christine Buurma
After ending a two-year smartphone slide with the Galaxy S7, Samsung Electronics Co. could be about to hike capital spending to sustain a revival across the company.

At least $5 billion more of investment is headed to the display and semiconductor businesses, according to a survey of analyst estimates, to help Samsung ride out bumps in the phone market. Such a move reflects new optimism about the company after the success of the Galaxy S7, with the shares rallying 13 percent this year.

Samsungs rise into an electronics behemoth has been fueled by the ability to get its memory chips and displays, often the most expensive components, into devices made by others. With the South Korean company said to be in talks to supply Apple with next-generation OLED screens and bring out its own phones with bendable screens, Samsung can use its cash pile of more than $60 billion to extend its lead on rivals.

Samsungs smartphone business has finally had a soft landing after a bumpy ride, said Chung Chang won, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Seoul. Samsung will probably boost spending on memory and displays, which are poised for a sudden rise as the next growth drivers.

The shares slid 3.3 percent to close Wednesday at 1.42 million won. Analysts however are betting theyve got room to rise. Since the companys last earnings report, the average target price of analysts has risen by 6.7 percent, backing the Galaxy S7s ability to keep winning customers. In the same period, profit estimates have risen by almost half a billion dollars.

Samsung will report preliminary second-quarter earnings Thursday, with operating income expected to rise about 7 percent to 7.4 trillion won ($6.4 billion), according to the average estimate. Sales are projected to increase 4.9 percent to 50.9 trillion won.

But with growth in the global smartphone market evaporating, it needs to build up its other major businesses as competitors bring out new products in an attempt to spark growth.

The mobile business is holding up well, but its still questionable whether thistrend will be sustained over the coming quarters with more new devices in thepipeline from rivals, said Lee Jae-yun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Co.

The Korean technology giant hasnt been afraid to make bold investments in advanced technologies and plants, even during a severe economic downturn. That has helped it outrun competitors in Japan and combat Chinese producers as it rose to the top of smartphones, chips and TVs.

Samsung had almost $23 billion of capital spending in 2015, the fourth straight year that capex topped $20 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company said in April that it spent 4.6 trillion won in the first quarter and annual spending could increase slightly.

OLED is one such example, with Samsung championing the screens as thinner, brighter and less taxing on the battery compared to liquid-crystal displays. By using the technology in its own Galaxy range, Samsung has become the biggest producer for mobile devices.

The company may introduce two new smartphones with bendable OLED screens as soon as next year, a move that could spark sales of components to rivals, people familiar with the matter said last month. Samsung has also held talks to be the exclusive supplier of displays for future iPhones, people familiar have said.

Delivering such products requires new plants, factory upgrades and equipment and the company may need to spend as much as 15 trillion won ($13 billion) just on OLED, according to HI Investment & Securities Co. But its got money in the bank: its hoard of cash and short-term investments has been growing steadily in past years, to more than 70 trillion won at the end of March.

To keep rivals off its turf, Samsung needs to move faster and go bold with investment now, said Chung Won-suk, a Seoul-based analyst at HI Investment. With Apple expected to join the race, the bendable display will eventually become the default feature on future smartphones.

Samsungs panel-making subsidiary Samsung Display Co. has already started to halt some of its older LCD lines to boost OLED capacity. Chung at HI Investment expects that to continue.

The popularity of the Galaxy S7 models, one with a curved display, is expected to have continued into the second quarter, helping to bail out its mobile division from a slump that has hit Apple and Chinese companies.

Samsungs business outlook seems extremely good and creates a lot of excitement now, said Peter Yu, a Seoul-based analyst at BNP Paribas SA. That is the opposite of what had been thought earlier this year.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg  Jungah Lee
Chris Christies chances of being named Donald Trumps vice presidential pick may hinge on deepening questions about his role in the George Washington Bridge scandal  like what happened to his phone?

A criminal case involving two ex-Christie allies took a bizarre turn in recent days as no one can account for a phone he used to send texts during legislative hearings on the 2013 traffic jams. With Christie on a short list of vice presidential hopefuls, the scandal is again in the news as Trump plans to name his running mate before the July 18 start of the Republican convention in Cleveland.

But first, the mystery of the missing phone may play out before a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey. The two ex-allies of the New Jersey governor are expected in court Thursday seeking more evidence from prosecutors, including the phone, before their September trial on charges that they caused traffic gridlock near the bridge to punish a local mayor.

With Christies administration tarred by scandal, his selection could blunt the ethical attacks that Trump will mount on Hillary Clinton, the presumed Democratic nominee, said Bruce Haynes of Purple Strategies, a political consulting firm. The FBI recommended that no criminal charges be filed against Clinton over her use of private email while secretary of state, even as the bureau found that her careless handling of official communications could have exposed classified information to hackers.

You want to keep that contrast as clear and strong as possible, said Haynes. To invite someone onto your ticket that has any kind ethical cloud hanging over them could defeat that. The Trump campaign disadvantages itself by blurring any of those lines.

Trump also faces his own ethical challenges, including pending fraud trials in California and New York over allegations that he cheated students at his real-estate school.

The former allies under indictment, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, are pressing for the phone that Christie used to send texts to another top aide in December 2013. The exchanges came as lawmakers took testimony from officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge.

Christie has said he doesnt have the phone. A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said prosecutors never got it, and they relied on the law firm that Christie hired to examine its contents and turn over evidence. The law firm said in a June 28 court filing that it returned the phone without saying who received it.

There should be no mystery regarding who has the governors phone, said Michael Baldassare, Baronis lawyer. He wants to examine the phone to see if it contains evidence that might help his client.

Christies spokesmen didnt respond to requests for comment on the phone or his political prospects.

Trump is also considering other Republicans for the VP slot, including ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and three GOP senators  Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa.

Christie, a former federal prosecutor, could also serve as attorney general or chief of staff for Trump.

I know that Donald Trump trusts him a lot so the question is whether hed be better for the VP position or attorney general, said John Catsimatidis, a prominent Republican donor. If I was sitting in Donald Trumps position, Id be thinking the same thing.

Former Port Authority Chairman David Samson, who was a close adviser to Christie, agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge related to his use of a United Airlines flight from Newark to South Carolina, the Observer reported on Tuesday, citing a former prosecutor familiar with the case. The money-losing flight, which United stopped operating within days of Samsons resignation from the Port Authority in March 2014, was known as The Chairmans Flight.

A federal appeals court is also weighing a request by media organizations to release a list of people who joined the conspiracy to create gridlock but werent charged with a crime. The judge in the case ordered the release of the list but an anonymous person on it appealed, arguing that publicizing the names would ruin his reputation and career.

While the risks of someone with Christies baggage would sink most candidates, he may still land on Trumps ticket, said Matthew Hale, who teaches political science at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Donald Trump will go with his gut, Hale said. Hell choose someone he trusts and has a strong personal relationship to, traditional politics be damned.

By late May, Christies approval rating had plunged to a record low 27 percent in his home state, according to a Monmouth University poll.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg  David Voreacos, Terrence Dopp
Belgian authorities handed over two men to France Wednesday who allegedly helped the top suspect in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, they said.

The federal prosecutors office identified the two as Mohammed A. and Ali O. and said they were transferred to France under a European arrest warrant.

The Paris prosecutors office confirmed that they were Mohammed Amri and Ali Oulkadi.

Amri is accused of going to Paris to pick up top suspect Salah Abdeslam after the attacks that killed 130 people. Oulkadi, a 31-year-old French national, allegedly drove Abdeslam through Brussels the day after the attacks and dropped him off at a safe house used as a workshop for manufacturing explosive belts.

An official at the Paris prosecutors office said the two were questioned after the transfer by an investigating magistrate who was to hand down preliminary charges.

It wasnt immediately clear what charges they face. The official wasnt authorized to speak about the cases and requested anonymity.

Belgium transferred a suspected accomplice of Amri, Hamza Attou, to France last week. Attou was given preliminary charges of helping a terrorist criminal linked to a terrorist act, and was then jailed.

Attou is alleged to have been with Amri when he drove to Paris and brought Abdeslam back. Attou and Amri were arrested shortly afterward and charged in Belgium with participating in terrorist activity.

Attous Belgian lawyer said her client went on the trip just to keep the driver company.

According to internal French police documents, searches involving Amri and Attou netted shells of 5.56 and 7.62 mm caliber, fertilizer, two hard drives and a military-type backpack.

Abdeslam was arrested in Brussels in March after four months on the run and was extradited to France.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times

Kees Veldboer is an ambulance driver who founded an organization called, the Ambulance Wish Foundation. The organization helps the terminally ill fulfill their dying wishes.

Veldboer founded the organization in November 2006 after having moved a terminally ill patient from one hospital to another. Just after they put the patient, Mario Stefanutto, on the stretcher, they were told that the receiving hospital wasnt ready yet. Stefanutto had no desire to get back in the hospital bed where he had spent the past three months, so Veldboer asked if there was anywhere else he would like to go.

The retired seaman asked if they could take him to the Vlaardingen canal, so he could be by the water and say his final goodbye to Rotterdam harbor. Tears of joy ran over his face, Veldboer recalled. When I asked him: Would you like to have the opportunity to sail again? he said it would be impossible because he lay on a stretcher.

Veldboer wanted to make this mans last wish come true. He asked his boss if he could borrow an ambulance on his day off, recruited the help of a colleague and contacted a firm that does boat tours around Rotterdam harbor. Everyone was happy to help.

The following Friday, the ambulance driver turned up at his hospital bed to take him sailing.

In a letter written just before his death  Stefanutto wrote, It does me good that there are still people who care about others I can tell you from my own experience that a small gesture from someone else can have a huge impact.

Veldboer says, I have learned that people who are going to die have little wishes.

Clearly, the ambulance driver fulfilled a great Mitzvah. When the dying man is still alive, the Mitzvah is one of vahavta larayacha kamocha  a Torah Mitzvah. But what about fulfilling a dying persons wish after he has already passed on? Is that too a Torah Mitzvah? Or is it perhaps of rabbinic origin?

NO SOURCE OR REASONING IN SHAS

The Gemorah in several places (see Gittin 35a, Rashi Kesuvos 69b) discusses the notion of Mitzvah lekayem divrei hamais which literally means, it is a Mitzvah to fulfill the words of the deceased. The concept is codified in Shulchan Aruch (CM 252:2) as well.

Yet, interestingly enough, the Gemorah provides no source or reason for this Mitzvah. Who made it? What was the rationale behind it?

VIEW THAT IT IS RABBINIC IN ORIGIN

The Baalei Tosfos (Kesuvos 66a Priyas) write that the Mitzvah is of Rabinic origin. They too provide no explanation as to why this was enacted. Nor is there any time frame or discussion as to when the Rabbinic enactment took place.

VIEW THAT IT MAY BE BIBLICAL

The Shoel uMaishiv (Mahadurah #3 Vol. II #63 fourth Ubazeh), on the other hand, cites the Mahari Ibn Shoav seems to learn that the Mitzvah is one of Chesed shel Emes toward the dead  since the dead have nachas ruach when their will is fulfilled. This is a biblical Mitzvah of Chessed.

The Ramban (Bereishis 3:12) states that one of the ten things that we learn from the commandment of Yaakov Avinu to his sons is that it is a Mitzvah to fulfill the words of the deceased. It is possible that the Ramban is merely giving us a biblical allusion to a future Rabbinic enactment, much like the asmachta that is found in the Gemorah.

FASCINATING EXPLANATION OF MAHARIT ALGAZI

Rabbi Yom Tov Algazi (1727-1802), also known as the Maharit Algazi, writes (Simchas Yom Tov #29) that the essential Mitzvah was to reassure the deceased before he passes away that his request will be fulfilled. Otherwise, the deathly ill patient will becomes depressed out of concern that his wishes will not be fulfilled. The rabbinic enactment of fulfilling the will of the deceased reassures him.

With this explanation of the Maharit Algazi in hand  we can say that, in fact, although it is a Rabbinic enactment  it allows a Torah Mitzvah of vahavta lrayacha kamocha to be fulfilled earlier. The children or the third party in charge of implementing his desires, by showing that they will follow the Rabbinic enactment after his death, are placing his mind at ease. This is a fulfillment of a Torah commandment.

IS IT LIMITED TO MONEY OR ANY WISH?



There is another question that also comes to mind. In the discussion in both Shulchan Aruch, the topic centers around the distribution of financial assets. But what about the wishes of the deceased beyond monetary issues? What if the wish of the deceased involved entering a field of study or some other area of desire that does not involve money?

This too is actually a three way debate among the Achronim.

THE VIEW THAT THE MITZVAH EXTENDS TO ALL MATTERS

Some are of the position that there is indeed such an obligation to listen to the words of the deceased in other areas too. This is the view of the Mahari Ibn Shoav that was cited earlier. This is also the view Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (1713-1793) of Prague, Czechoslovakia (See Noda BiYehudah MT EH #45).

Rabbi Yehoshuah Falk (1555-1614), student of the Ramah and author of the Sma commentary on Shulchan Aruch, writes (YD 353:9) that if someone commands that they not eulogize him after his death, they must listen on account of the notion of Mitzvah lekayem Divrei HaMais. A eulogy (hesped) is certainly within the rubric of other matters rather than finances.

THE VIEW THAT IT IS LIMITED TO MATTERS OF FINANCES ALONE

Yet others write that there is no Mitzvah beyond monetary issues. This is the view of the Tashbatz (Vol. II #53). Indeed, the Tashbatz writes that a person who is passing away is not considered as if he is a prophet, nor a king nor a leader, that those who are among the living must follow his decrees in all matters. The Tashbatz specifically limits it to matters of his own finances which are subsumed under the laws of inheritance.

Rabbi Malachi Ben Yaakov haKohain of Livorno, Italy (c. 1698-1772 , in his Yad Malachi (Klalei HaDinim #422) provides a fascinating proof from Kesuvos 103b that the Mitzvah does not apply to matters beyond finances from the fact that Rabbeinu HaKadosh commanded that after he passes away Rabbi Chanina should be seated at the head. Yet, his wishes were not adhered to in this matter.

This is also the view of Rabbi Yaakov Reischer (1661-1733), in his Shvus Yaakov (Vol. I #168). The Shvus Yaakov writes that one cannot find any Posaik who discusses that there is such an obligation regarding other matters. Before one takes the Shvus Yaakov to task for missing the Noda BiYehuda, it should be noted that the Noda BiYehuda came after the Shvus Yaakov not before him  which is why it is always a good idea to have a historic background when one studies achronim.

THIRD VIEW

Finally, there is a third opinion that there is a voluntary Mitzvah to fulfill the wishes of the deceased when it does not involve money, but that there is an obligatory Mitzvah to do so when finances are involved. This is the view of Rabbi Shmuel de Medina (1505-1589) of Thessaloniki Greece, better known as the Maharashdam in his responsum (YD #303). It is interesting to note that the Yad Malachis proof does not negate the position of the Maharshdam, as if it is only a voluntary Mitzvah, then matters of inconvenience can sway them not to observe it. This would not be the case if it was a full-fledged obligation.

CONCLUSION

It seems to this author that the halachic areas of dispute discussed above are on account of a debate as to the origin of the halacha. the view that there is no Mitzvah of fulfilling the wishes of the deceased beyond monetary issues are of the opinion that the concept is one that stems from the laws of inheritance. Those who view that there is a Mitzvah to do so in other matters are of the opinion that Mitzvah lekayem divrei hamais stems from the Mitzvah of Gmilas Chasadim or the verse of vahavta lracha kamocha  love thy neighbor as thyself. What then is the source of the Mitzvah according to the Maharshdam? It seems that he would hold that it has two sources one of inheritances and one of chessed.

The author can be reached at [email protected]


[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

A young man was struck by an Egged 402 bus on Golda Meir Blvd. in Yerushalayim near Tamir Hall on Wednesday night the eve of 2 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. According to the spokesmans unit of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, the young mans condition was reevaluated to be moderate after being stabilized in the trauma unit. He sustained head injuries.

One of the responders to the scene, who arrived in less than a minute, was United Hatzalah President Eli Beer, who told YWN that he was just moments away when the call came in. He stated it was clear to them on the scene the young man did sustain head injuries and he was treated and transported expeditiously.

What makes this case especially painful and chilling is the fact the victim is the chosson of Sara bas Dina Sperling, the kallah who was critically injured in the Egged 402 bus crash on the Tel Aviv Highway in February 2015.

Bchasdei Hashem Sara has made significant progress and now, wedding plans may be delayed again after the chosson being struck by an Egged 402 bus in the capital. The chosson, Yaakov [Yitzchak ben Chana] Kestelnitz, 26, is a talmid at Yeshivas Kol Torah in Yerushalayim.

When the kallahs father Rabbi Avraham Sperling heard of the accident, around midnight, he told the press We heard of the tragedy and prefer not to comment but to recite Tehillim at this time. We are davening for miracles. When his kallah heard what had occurred, she could not stop crying.

The family stresses that following Chanas injuries, there was never talk of canceling the shidduch.

UPDATE: Hadassah Hospital Spokesperson Hadar Elboim reports on Thursday, 2 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz that Yaakov is now listed in light condition, conscious and alert BH.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The family of the murdered Jerusalem Arab teenager, 16-year-old Muhammed Abu-Khadir, have turned to the High Court of Justice, demanding the destruction of the homes of the Jews convicted in the attack as is done to Arab homes. The Jews convicted in the murder were sentenced to life imprisonment and 21-year sentences.

The Abu-Khadir family however feels this is insufficient and wants their homes razed as well.

The petitioners included the letter they received from former Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who responded to their demand to raze the homes. Yaalon explained there is a difference between this case and the murder of Jews by Arabs since in the former, the act was denounced by the entire community and there is no mechanism in place to support or praise such actions. However, in the latter, the PA (Palestinian Authority) lauds such acts as do residents and something has to be done to create a deterrence.

The family however feels today this is not the case as the extreme right-wing has shifted more to the extreme right, citing the fatal arson attack in Duma that claimed the lives of members of the Darawshe family.Therefore, they reject Yaalons reasoning and are calling on the high Court to order the demolition of the homes of the convicted murderers.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Residents and supporters of Amona have set up a protest tent next to the Prime Ministers Office under the banner Amona will not fall a second time!

Aware the end of year deadline given by the High Court of Justice to eradicate the community is approaching, the residents explain they are preparing for an unprecedented battle, vowing the yishuv in the Shomron will not be evacuated a second time.

They explain they learned from the struggles to save Beit Els Ulpana neighborhood and Yishuv Migron, both failing. As a result, this time around they plan to use all means at our disposal, determined to prevent the government from removing Amona for a second time.

The original Amona was destroyed after violent confrontations between residents and supporters and police, in 2006. It was a bloody confrontation with police, as mounted units literally ran people over without mercy.

The Bayit Yehudi party, which has 8 seats, has announced numerous times that if the coalition tries to remove any community in Yehuda and Shomron, it will bring down the coalition without hesitation. Amona activists insist if the government tries to remove them with force, the response will topple the administration.

In the interim, as the December 25, 2016 deadline for demolition moving closer by the day, cabinet ministers including Zeev Elkin of Likud have spoken out openly in opposition to removing the community, insisting the cabinet and coalition can and must find a way to circumvent the High Court order.

Amona is currently home to about forty families. Joining the call to prevent the demolition of the community are Likud MKs Miki Zohar and Yehuda Glick, both insisting the government must not expel Jews from their homes as was done in Gaza in 2005.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Donald Trump held his first meeting with congressional Republicans on Thursday as skeptical rank-and-file lawmakers looked for assurances the bombastic mogul could execute their shared goal of beating Hillary Clinton this fall.

Trump offered a quick wave from behind the window of his SUV as he arrived just before 9 a.m. to meet with House Republicans, pulling into an alleyway behind the Republican National Committee headquarters. He didnt speak to reporters before entering the building.

Several dozen protesters were gathered to greet him, chanting Donald Trump, hes a fraud, sending our jobs far abroad and waving signs.

The gatherings came less than two weeks before the GOPs national convention, which a number of leading Republicans are skipping, including some in Congress.

While Trump was sure to be greeted enthusiastically by a handful of lawmakers, many others have expressed skepticism, criticism or outright opposition to a presidential candidate who has flouted conservative principles and divided the Republican Party.

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a Trump critic, told reporters that he will be a vociferous supporter of Trump because Frank is convinced that Democrat Hillary Clinton will obliterate the Supreme Court, undermine this Constitution, and decimate this republic for a generation.

One Republican who strongly backs Trump, Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, said he was looking forward to his colleagues seeing a different side of Trump  a serious, business-like, boardroom Donald Trump  not so much what they have been seeing on TV.

Trumps appearance came on the heels of a fiery speech in which he defended his use of a Star of David symbol in a retweet, an image that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and others have criticized.

Instead of focusing on Clinton during his remarks Wednesday in Cincinnati, as Republican leaders would have liked, Trump mixed his attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee with a defense of the tweet as well as earlier remarks complimenting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as a killer of terrorists. Trump argues the star in his tweet was a regular star that a sheriff might use.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was quick to endorse Trump but has criticized him for going off-script and lagging in fundraising, said he looks forward to a frank exchange.

All of us are anxious to win the presidential election, said McConnell, who recently has said Trumps campaign is improving. I think the one thing we agree on unanimously is four more years just like the last eight is not a good place for the American people.

A number of lawmakers planned to skip Thursdays meetings.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, in a tough re-election race, told reporters she had to attend a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at the same time as Trumps appearance.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida said he needed to check his calendar. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said he was scheduled to preside over the Senate, but that others would benefit more anyway from seeing Trump.

Obviously Im very familiar with Donald and his positions, I just came off an 11-month campaign where he was one of my opponents, said Rubio, a former Trump rival who was often mocked by Trump as Little Marco.

So some of the other folks perhaps wanted to spend more time learning more about his positions.

The meetings come as two potential vice presidential picks  Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa  indicated that they werent interested in running on the same ticket as Trump.

The meetings were taking place at the political headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, within blocks of the Capitol. Trump planned to meet first with House members.

Ensuring an overheated atmosphere on Capitol Hill, FBI Director James Comey was to testify before a House committee at the same time as the Senate meeting with Trump. Comey was summoned by House Republicans who are irate over his recommendation against criminal charges for Clintons classified email handling.

Democrats are moving to find political advantage from Trumps appearance. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which tries to elect Democrats to the House, released a new nationwide ad campaign Thursday seeking to link Republicans to Trump. The ads, focused in the districts of 10 vulnerable lawmakers, will be running on cable networks; one of them, Sidekick, likens Trump to a schoolyard bully and congressional Republicans to the bullys sidekicks and asks: Shouldnt they really be standing up to the bully?

(AP)
The Ariel family got up from shiva on Thursday, 2 Rosh Chodesh Tammuz. They were sitting shiva for their daughter, Hallel Yafeh Ariel HYD, the 13-year-old Kiryat Arba resident murdered by a lone Palestinian terrorist who entered her home and stabbed her multiple times without mercy as she slept.

After getting up from shiva they traveled a few short kilometers, to Yishuv Otniel, making a shiva visit to the Mark family, whose father Rav Miki Mark HYD was murdered in a terrorist drive-by shooting attack near Otniel on erev Shabbos. Miki was killed and his wife, Chavah Rochel bas Ayelet HaShachar was seriously wounded by terrorist gunfire. Bchasdei Hashem she is making a miraculous recovery and is reported in moderate condition in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. She has regained consciousness and is alert and communicating with her surroundings. The couples children are sitting shiva in their home.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his heavily guarded African tour this week, saying he knew nothing of it.

Netanyahu said he was learning about the reports of an assassination attempt for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.

The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it, Netanyahu said.

He made the remarks in response to a reporters question following an anonymously sourced report in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida.

Kenyan officials also denied there was an effort to kill Netanyahu.

An attempted assassination cant be secret. It has to be something visible, and to my knowledge there was absolutely nothing of the sort, Kenyas Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press.

Im not aware, and there was no such thing at all. Those are lies, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said.

Israels Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said a report that the motorcade changed its route because of an explosives threat was simply not true.

The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.

Netanyahus four-nation Africa visit is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations, which cut or limited their relationships with Israel in the 1970s under pressure from Arab countries. African states were also opposed to Israels close ties to South Africas apartheid government.

Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state in 2012.

Netanyahu and Desalegn said Thursday they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, a theme that Netanyahu has repeated often during his African tour, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more.

Netanyahu also pledged to allow Ethiopian Jews remaining in Ethiopia to move to Israel.

We have a commitment and we are keeping it on a humanitarian basis and on the basis of family reunifications. It will take place in the current budget, Netanyahu said.

Desalegn invited Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to come to Ethiopia and invest. Ethiopian Jews have complained of discrimination in Israeli society, and hundreds recently demonstrated against what they called Israeli police brutality.

Netanyahu also asked for the Ethiopian prime ministers help in pressing for Hamas to release an Ethiopian-Israeli citizen being held in Gaza.

(AP)
In his news briefing, FBI Director James Comey said he was going to provide more detail about Hillary Clintons extremely careless . . . handling of very sensitive, highly classified information than he normally would because I think the American people deserve those details in a case of intense public interest.

Hes right. But his 2,314-word statement is woefully inadequate. The FBI has amassed a huge amount of evidence on Clintons reckless conduct  evidence that it has presented to the Justice Department in a detailed decline to prosecute memorandum. This memo, and supporting documentation, should be publicly released (with redactions to protect the classified information Clinton so dangerously exposed in her emails). While the evidence against Clinton may never be submitted in a court of law, it must be submitted to the court of public opinion so that Americans can judge whether Clintons behavior disqualifies her from holding the highest office in the land.

Based on the information Comey did make public, we now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Clinton repeatedly lied to the American people about her emails. For example, in March 2015, Clinton held a news conference in which she assured Americans, I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. That statement, Comey says, was flatly untrue. Seven email chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received, Comey said in his briefing, adding, These chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending emails about those matters and receiving emails from others about the same matters. He added that the FBI also found emails that were properly classified as Secret by the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Clinton also lied when she changed her story and declared that I did not send nor receive anything that was classified at the time (emphasis added). That is also false, according to Comey: 110 emails in 52 email chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received, he declared (emphasis added). Eight of those chains contained information that was Top Secret at the time they were sent; 36 chains contained Secret information at the time; and eight contained Confidential information.

Clinton also lied when she said that this process will prove that I never sent nor received any email that was marked classified (emphasis added). Her emails did include some that bore markings indicating the presence of classified information, Comey said. But he added that whether they included such markings was irrelevant. Even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants who know or should know that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it, he said.

Clinton also lied when she definitively assured the American people that there were no security breaches of her private server. She had no way to know that, Comey explained. Given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess that we would be unlikely to see . . . direct evidence of security breaches, Comey said. But the FBI did conclude that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial email accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. The FBI also concluded that Clinton used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. And the emails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff, like those found at departments and agencies of the U.S. government  or even with a commercial service like Gmail. Therefore, Comey said, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clintons personal email account.

The reason all this did not result in criminal charges, Comey said, was that the FBI did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information (emphasis added). As many legal scholars have pointed out, the statute in question does not require intent, simply evidence of gross negligence. Comey provided that in spades. None of these emails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, Comey said, adding that any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position . . . should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.

While he declined to recommend prosecution, Comey did say that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would often be subject to security or administrative sanctions. Such sanctions usually include the suspension of that individuals access to classified information.

Indeed, the Daily Caller reports that in 2015, a Navy reservist was found by the FBI to have stored classified materials on his personal, unclassified electronic devices and storage media during a deployment to Afghanistan. He was prosecuted and sentenced to two years of probation and a $7,500 fine and ordered to surrender any currently held security clearance and to never again seek such a clearance. Apparently, the rules that apply to Navy reservists dont apply to Clinton.

Based on Comeys conclusions, its hard to see how Clinton should ever be allowed to hold a security clearance again. Indeed, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, has called on the director of national intelligence to block Clintons access to classified information while she is a presidential candidate.

While Clintons actions may not land her in the jailhouse, they should disqualify her for the White House. That decision rests not with the FBI but the American people  which is why the FBI must give them the evidence they need to decide.

Release the memo!



(c) 2016, Special to The Washington Post  Marc A. Thiessen
Donald Trump is the father of Ivanka Trump, who is married to Observer publisher Jared Kushner.

The following was written by Jared Kushner, and appears on the Observer:

My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite.

Its that simple, really. Donald Trump is not anti-Semitic and hes not a racist. Despite the best efforts of his political opponents and a large swath of the media to hold Donald Trump accountable for the utterances of even the most fringe of his supportersa standard to which no other candidate is ever heldthe worst that his detractors can fairly say about him is that he has been careless in retweeting imagery that can be interpreted as offensive.

I read the Dana Schwartz piece that appeared on Observer.com. As always, there are thoughtful points but journalists, even those who work for me at the Observer, are not always right. While I respect her opinion, I want to show another side to explain why I disagree.

In my opinion, accusations like racist and anti-Semite are being thrown around with a carelessness that risks rendering these words meaningless.

If even the slightest infraction against what the speech police have deemed correct speech is instantly shouted down with taunts of racist then what is left to condemn the actual racists? What do we call the people who wont hire minorities or beat others up for their religion?

This is not idle philosophy to me. I am the grandson of Holocaust survivors. On December 7, 1941Pearl Harbor Daythe Nazis surrounded the ghetto of Novogroduk, and sorted the residents into two lines: those selected to die were put on the right; those who would live were put on the left. My grandmothers sister, Esther, raced into a building to hide. A boy who had seen her running dragged her out and she was one of about 5100 Jews to be killed during this first slaughter of the Jews in Novogrudok. On the night before Rosh Hashana 1943, the 250 Jews who remained of the towns 20,000 plotted an escape through a tunnel they had painstakingly dug beneath the fence. The searchlights were disabled and the Jews removed nails from the metal roof so that it would rattle in the wind and hopefully mask the sounds of the escaping prisoners.

My grandmother and her sister didnt want to leave their father behind. They went to the back of the line to be near him. When the first Jews emerged from the tunnel, the Nazis were waiting for them and began shooting. My grandmothers brother Chanon, for whom my father is named, was killed along with about 50 others. My grandmother made it to the woods, where she joined the Bielski Brigade of partisan resistance fighters. There she met my grandfather, who had escaped from a labor camp called Voritz. He had lived in a hole in the woodsa literal hole that he had dugfor three years, foraging for food, staying out of sight and sleeping in that hole for the duration of the brutal Russian winter.

I go into these details, which I have never discussed, because its important to me that people understand where Im coming from when I report that I know the difference between actual, dangerous intolerance versus these labels that get tossed around in an effort to score political points.

The difference between me and the journalists and Twitter throngs who find it so convenient to dismiss my father in law is simple. I know him and they dont.

It doesnt take a ton of courage to join a mob. Its actually the easiest thing to do. Whats a little harder is to weigh carefully a persons actions over the course of a long and exceptionally distinguished career. The best lesson I have learned from watching this election from the front row is that we are all better off when we challenge what we believe to be truths and seek the people who disagree with us to try and understand their point of view.

In December 1972, a month after Richard Nixons 49-state landslide, the New Yorkers great film critic Pauline Kael gave a speech that said I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I dont know. Theyre outside my ken. I encourage Ms. Schwartzand all reportersto get out there and meet some of those people outside their ken. One of the reasons the Observer has more than quadrupled its traffic over the last three-plus years is that weve been actively broadening our perspective.

The fact is that my father in law is an incredibly loving and tolerant person who has embraced my family and our Judaism since I began dating my wife. His support has been unwavering and from the heart. I have personally seen him embrace people of all racial and religious backgrounds, at his companies and in his personal life. This caricature that some want to paint as someone who has allowed or encouraged intolerance just doesnt reflect the Donald Trump I know. The from-the-heart reactions of this man are instinctively pro-Jewish and pro-Israel. Just last week, at an event in New Hampshire, an audience member asked about wasting money on Zionist Israel. My father-in-law didnt miss a beat in replying that Israel is a very, important ally of the United States and we are going to protect them 100 percent. No script, no handlers, no TelePrompterjust a strong opinion from the heart.

Theres real racism in the world. Theres real anti-Semitism in the world. These are pernicious, dispiriting truths. Some of the tweets that Ms. Schwartz has received, depicting her being thrown into an oven, for example, are beyond disgusting. I am appalled that anyone, let alone someone who works for me, would have to endure that kind of hateful rhetoric. But blaming Donald Trump for the most outrageous things done by people who claim to support him is no different from blaming Bernie Sanders for the people who stomp and spit on American flags at his rallies.

I tell people that Donald Trump is a Rorschach test. People see in him what they want to seeif they dislike his politics, they might see other things they dislike, such as racism. If they like his politics, they might imagine theyre hearing dog whistles. He will touch subjects politicians try to avoid. This is part of why he appeals to so many.

This notion that has emerged that holds my father in law responsible for the views of everyone who supports him is frankly absurd. Not only is this expectation completely unique to Donald Trump, but its clear how easily it could be used to manipulate the public. Dont like a candidate? Hire some goons to go hold signs in favor of that candidate at a rally. A few months ago, my father in law completely and totally disavowed the support of one of Americas best-known racists. The issue immediately became whether the seconds it took for him to do so proved that he was insufficiently committed to fighting racism. Its an insane standard.

If my father in laws fast-moving team was careless in choosing an image to retweet, well part of the reason its so shocking is that its the actual candidate communicating with the American public rather than the armies of handlers who poll-test ordinary candidates every move.

Government is built with many layers to avoid making mistakes. The problem with this is that it costs a lot and little gets done. In business, we empower smart people to get jobs done and give them latitude on how to get there. I prefer to move forward and endure some small mistakes to preserving a stale status quo whose sole virtue is that it offends no one.

America faces serious challenges. A broken economy, terrorism, gaping trade deficits and an overall lack of confidence. Intolerance should be added to that list. Im confident that my father in law, with his outstanding record of real results, will be successful tackling these challenges. Thats why I support him.

(Source: Observer.com)
The following was mass emailed from NYC Mayor DeBlasio to his fundraiser list on Thursday afternoon:

For too many Americans, Donald Trump represents New York City. But as a proud New Yorker, I promise you, were better than that.

From his anti-semitic tweets this past weekend to his appalling claim to Iowa voters earlier this year that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldnt lose any voters, Trump applauds hatred and cheers division.

Those arent New York values.

Were the city where the American dream started. A city built by immigrants thats faced down terrorism without giving in to hate. New York is the original melting pot, and our strength comes from our diversity and our shared commitment to creating opportunities for all.

When I became mayor in 2013, we set out to make New York City a place where the American dream thrives. Since then, weve broken down barriers for LGBT citizens, weve started building a path to affordable housing for all New Yorkers, and weve recognized that opening up classrooms empowers working moms.

What weve accomplished in a few short years is more than anyone expected, and theres no chance were slowing down. In my next term, were going to continue to fight for diversity, inclusion, and opportunity. Were going to make sure New York is the city of dreams for all Americans.

Im asking you to show the world what New York stands for. Make a contribution to support the values that have always made our city, and our country, great.

Thank you for all you do.

 Bill

P.S.: Donald Trump attacked me on the same day that he claimed that Saddam Hussein was really great at killing terrorists. Should show you all you need to know about that guy.

(YWN Desk  NYC)
Blue-blooded private bankers Hoare & Co, Britains oldest bank, has appointed former Treasury boffin, Sir Nicholas Macpherson, as its new chairman.

Tousled Sir Nicholas, 57, succeeds another retired Sir Humphrey, Lord Wilson, in October.

Havent crafty Whitehall officials done well out the City?

Combustible ex-Treasury minister Baroness Vadera, 54, aka Shriti the Shriek, is chairman of Santander where she receives 650,000 a year.

Sir John Majors dry biscuit adviser Lord Blackwell, 63, pockets 700,000 as chairman of Lloyds. Another Treasury mandarin, bookish Sir John Kingman, 47, recently took up the 340,000 chairmanship of Legal & General.

Former Barclays director Andrea Leadsoms Prime Ministerial bid remains dogged by claims her City CV is over-egged.

Talking up her qualifications on Newsnight, campaign manager Tim Loughton said: Shes widely respected.

'She was highly involved in the financial crisis in 2008 working alongside [Bank of England Governor] Eddie George.

Really? Lord (Mervyn) King was governor in 2008, so thats cobblers. Ex-fund manager Loughton is confusing Leadsoms claim to have advised George during Barings Banks collapse in 1995.

But since convivial, chain-smoking Steady Eddie is sadly no longer with us, we may have to take her word for it.

Argos owner Home Retail Group spent a ludicrous 2million on public relations during its 1.4billion takeover by Sainsburys, after being advised by city spinners Finsbury.

Sainsburys spent 600,000 with rival firm Brunswick. Talk about money for old rope. Wonder what the 600-odd staff Sainsburys are now preparing to lay-off make of it all?

Update on Topshop tycoon Sir Philip Greens yet-to-be delivered 100million yacht, Lionheart, which I reported remains moored in the Italian port of Livorno.

A reader enjoying a cruise spied the sprawling monstrosity from his cabin window yesterday.

Several engineers were moping about on board, taking it for a brief chug around the harbour. Meanwhile, Green, 64, was spotted in Jersey this week, casually perusing a BHS window display.

Tough-talking health club mogul and Dragons Den judge Duncan Bannatyne, 67, whose miraculously bristled thatch is the result of a painful, strand-by-strand hair transplant, shares a picture on Twitter of him scuba diving in Ibiza.
Investing in property through peer-to-peer lenders is increasingly popular as disillusioned savers scrape around for somewhere, anywhere, to put their money to earn a decent rate of interest.

With the Bank of England warning a rate cut is now on the horizon following Britain's decision to leave the European Union, annual returns of between 3 and 12 per cent look even more tempting.

The size of the sector has nearly doubled in the past 12 months, according to figures from the Peer-to-Peer Finance Association. By the end of the first quarter of 2015 100,000 Britons had lent2.6billion in the form of peer-to-peer loans. By the end of March this year the cash figure had ballooned to 5.1billion.

The returns promised are high but whether you'll see them is another matter

In April this year, such loans became eligible to be put in the new innovative finance Isa, prompting even more interest - though as yet none of the major platforms has received the necessary regulatory permissions to apply for Isa manager status with HM Treasury.

But the loans do now benefit from the personal savings allowance introduced by the Chancellor and which came into effect in April this year.

Through it, the first 1,000 of interest earned for basic-rate taxpayers and the first 500 of interest for higher-rate taxpayers is now free of income tax, although it is not available for additional-rate taxpayers.

But with so many peer-to-peer platforms, models and methods to choose from, how do you know which is the most suited to your hard-won cash?

P2P versus equity crowdfunding

First-off, it's important to note that peer-to-peer lending isn't crowdfunding - there are different risks associated with each.

PEER-TO-PEER PROPERTY LENDERS Funding Circle: Originally a platform lending to businesses, Funding Circle recently branched out into peer-to-peer lending against assets or property worth up to 1million as well as development funding. Minimum investment is 20 with typical net returns around 7 per cent a year. Landbay: Invests in buy-to-let only with customers' capital invested across a portfolio of properties. The firm has committed to independent stress tests to Bank of England standard. Includes a reserve fund to protect investors' capital. Minimum investment is 100 with annual returns around 4 per cent. LendInvest: Invests in buy-to-let, bridging and development loans, always secured against property. Until recently the lender also offered second charge loans as well but has pulled back from this following Brexit. Investors can choose specific properties to lend against. Minimum investment is 100 while investors can expect to earn upwards of 5 per cent a year, with the current average return at 7.2 per cent. Ratesetter: Lends to a mixture of individuals, businesses and property developers. Investors don't choose what loans to invest in, Ratesetter 'takes care of that for you, matching lenders and borrowers directly' in line with your risk appetite. Includes a reserve fund to protect investors' capital - however it has just issued a warning on reserves available. Rates vary depending on the loan and length of investment with longer term loans reaping higher returns. Minimum investment is 10. ThinCats: Invests in businesses but secures those loans giving additional protection to investors' capital. Minimum investment is 1,000, with investors able to choose deals and corresponding rates of return - averaging 9 per cent a year over the past five years. Wellesley & Co: Invests in buy-to-let and bridging loans and is heavily into development finance. Investors' money is pooled across the whole portfolio rather than specific properties. Minimum investment is 10 with returns on a fixed three-year term up to 3.75 per cent.

While those putting money into crowdfunded businesses exchange cash for a stake in the business or some other benefit, those investing in peer-to-peer lending are effectively providing debt to a business or property investor in exchange for them paying interest on the loan.

That means crowdfunders risk losing capital if the business they back goes bust while peer-to-peer investors are pinning their hopes to property investors, developers or business owners being able to afford to repay that loan plus interest.

Equity crowdfunding can have significant upside but with only one in ten start-ups making it to their fifth birthday, the risks could be considered higher than in peer-to-peer lending.

By investing in debt through peer-to-peer, investors earn a fixed return. They know what they can expect to earn and when they can expect to be repaid right from the start.

This is different from an equity investment, where the return is obtained through a share of the net profits (if any), the value of which is only known once the property is sold - as long as everything goes according to plan.

Through P2P, if investors are funding property lending, there is the added security of the property underlying the loan - which means if a developer goes belly up and fails to repay, the peer-to-peer platform can at least recover some of the money lent by selling the property and potentially repay investors' capital.

This is important because investments made into peer-to-peer are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme so if the platform goes bust or the investment doesn't work, not only do you not get the returns you were expecting, you also risk losing your original investment sum completely.

Why invest in property through P2P?

Investing in property could reasonably be described as a British obsession with property buying, selling, auctioning, developing and decorating programmes filling our television screens.

But with mortgage finance harder to get and the size of deposit required to buy, it's simply not accessible to everyone.

Many people recognise they neither want, nor can they afford, to buy or develop property themselves but they do still want to see the benefit of returns available.

These range from 3 per cent a year up to in excess of 12 per cent - Wellesley & Co will pay a fixed return of 3.75 per cent for three years against a mixture of bridging and development loans, while ThinCats averages 9 per cent a year with many deals returning even more than that.

But as is the case with any form of investing - the higher the return, the higher the risk. And with so many peer-to-peer platforms out there all claiming to lend 'on property' it's not always easy to work out exactly what the risk is.

For example, some platforms only lend buy-to-let mortgages at low loan-to-values over two-year terms; others will lend for much shorter lengths of time through what is known as a 'bridging loan'.

Bridging loans are typically used to fund basic refurbishment and therefore carry more risk, allowing the lender to charge more interest - anything between 10 per cent and 18 per cent a year. This clearly offers investors better returns but the risk is consequently higher.

Even more risky is development finance, which can be used to fund projects that start off as simply a muddy plot of land and planning permission. Development is notorious for going wrong, even where the developer is experienced.

The returns promised are high but whether you'll see them is another matter.

Peer-to-peer: Investment cash is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme

How will my investment be structured?

How the peer-to-peer platform structures your investment is also critical. While some platforms take retail investors cash and allow them to choose a very specific loan secured against a specific property, others allow retail investors to buy the equivalent of a unit in the platforms portfolio of loans. LendInvest and CrowdProperty both adopt the former method, while Wellesley and LandBay spread investments across a mixed portfolio to generate returns.

Some platforms give you detailed information on the borrower, property and project plans. Others give you the bare minimum.

As well as taking an additional level of fees so the ultimate return for the investor is less, some of the platforms that invest across a portfolio on investors' behalf can also look suspiciously like an unregulated collective investment scheme.

This is a form of investing that ordinary investors are nearly always advised to steer well clear of because they do not fall under the financial regulator's beady eye.

Indeed, following the high-profile collapse of the Connaught Income Fund that left hundreds of investors suffering significant and unrecoverable losses in 2012, the Financial Conduct Authority published rules in 2013 banning the marketing of UCIS to retail investors, restricting their promotion to sophisticated investors only.

To self-certify as a sophisticated investor or high net worth individual, you have to earn at least 100,000 per year or have net assets (excluding your property, pension and so on) of at least 250,000.

Peer-to-peer lenders are less highly regulated than funds, do not have to publish their accounts or credit policies and investors are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for anything but advice, meaning investment in the sector should be recognised as medium to high risk.

Despite all of these issues, it is commonly acknowledged that those putting their money into peer-to-peer are usually not 'sophisticated', with many not understanding the risks and platforms are not required to point all of them out.

Check the fine print

Another thing to be really wary of is how platforms calculate the loan-to-value on the underlying investment.

For example, CrowdProperty lists 34 Sidney Street in Nottingham as a development project requiring a 200,000 loan to complete the works. The loan is pitched as a 50 per cent LTV deal, which it sort of is - sort of.

In fact, when you look at it more closely the developer bought the property for 150,000 in cash (apparently), he wants to borrow 200,000 against the property which a surveyor has said is currently worth 150,000.

Technically, that makes this a 133 per cent LTV loan. However, when you get into the detailed explanation from CrowdProperty they've avoided saying this by splitting the 200,000 loan into separate 'tranches'.

The developer will receive 75,000 as an initial payment - which is indeed 50 per cent of the current value of the property.

Once the first stages of work are complete, the remaining 125,000 is paid out in phases during the extension.

If the development runs over, fails to complete, costs more than originally anticipated, fails to sell at asking price or fails to sell at all within the term of the loan a low loan-to-value protects the investor's money to some degree

CrowdProperty promises: 'The 125,000 will be held by the solicitors and released as and when the independent monitoring surveyor inspects progress and verifies money spent at the point of inspection.'

But the thing is, a half-finished development is not going to sell at the price a fully refurbished property will - in the case of this particular property, that projected future sale value is estimated to be 375,000.

At some point after the first payment is made from the 125,000, the LTV is definitely going to spike way above the 53.3 per cent that CrowdProperty says will be the LTV 'once the conversion works have been completed'.

It sounds complicated but it's a critical point - LTV is the ratio that covers the person making the loan. The lower the LTV, the bigger the cushion of capital there is in the property.

If the development runs over, fails to complete, costs more than originally anticipated, fails to sell at asking price or fails to sell at all within the term of the loan - 12 months in this case - this cushion protects the investor's money to some degree.

If the LTV spikes to say 85 per cent, that cushion suddenly looks a lot less comfortable were the project to go south or property values to fall - something experts have warned could happen following the UK's vote to leave the European Union.

RateSetter has admitted loan defaults were worse than expected, and this could squeeze its provision fund

You could lose the lot

The warnings that blare out from these companies' websites speak for themselves. They range from 'you could receive up to 10 per cent a year' (with 'up to' being the point to note) to 'returns are not guaranteed'.

It's also important to note that your capital is at risk if you lend to businesses that develop property through peer-to-peer platforms.

And although these platforms are now regulated by the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, investors' cash is still not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which usually covers losses up to 75,000 per person if the company you invest in should fail. (Though if you receive poor advice regarding P2P investment, the scheme may cover you.)

Some peer-to-peer lending companies run their own compensation schemes that aim to return every penny to investors through a contingency fund borrowers contribute to by way of a credit rate fee, usually charged at between 0.5 per cent and 3 per cent of the loan. Both LandBay and RateSetter offer investors this added (though not guaranteed) protection.

Some peer-to-peer lending companies run their own schemes that aim to return every penny to investors through a provision fund

In theory this should protect your capital but not every peer-to-peer platform has to do this. That means, you may lose all of what you lend.

This point has been hammered home very recently with the collapse and subsequent rescue of FundingKnight and the warning last week that RateSetter's Provision Fund could become depleted as a result of worse than expected bad debt levels - both of which could expose investors to potential loss.

Professional advice

It's for exactly the risks outlined above that the financial regulator got rather uncomfortable with the sector a few years ago and has just recently managed to get some of it into its grip.

From April this year, the FCA has started to regulate all advice given to investors on peer-to-peer lending. That means an adviser must be sure they are giving you the best advice for your circumstances - for example, not advising you to put your money into a high-risk but potentially high-return peer-to-peer fund or loan if you're about to retire.

The other thing regulated advice means is that the adviser must have done a reasonable amount of research into the various peer-to-peer platforms and what they offer.

Taking financial advice before you invest in peer-to-peer does afford you some protection - you can submit formal complaints against the adviser if you think that it was bad advice and may be in line for compensation in the future.

If you take no advice and the firm goes bust, taking your life savings with it, you have no recourse to anyone.
Four more giant property funds have shut their doors to investors  blocking savers from around 15billion of their cash.

Nervous investors have been rushing to get their money out of funds that own commercial property, such as office blocks, shopping centres and car parks, over fears of a sharp fall in property prices.

But funds are now blocking such withdrawals because they cannot sell the properties they own fast enough to raise the money needed to return to investors  or are afraid to do so because such a firesale would send prices tumbling.

In echoes of the financial crisis that started in 2007, the 3.9billion Henderson UK Property and 1.4billion Threadneedle UK Property funds were shuttered yesterday as savers rushed to the exit doors.

Crash fears: Henderson Global Investors, which owns a number of properties in the City, and Threadneedle have shut their doors to investors  blocking savers from nearly 15bn of their cash

Canada Life suspended trading in its life and pensions funds, which invest in property. The six funds have around 500million of savers cash between them.

Aberdeen Asset Management last night revealed it has also suspended trading in its UK property funds but only for 24 hours until noon today. It also reduced the share price of the fund to reflect lower property prices.

It followed similar moves by investment giants M&G, Aviva and Standard Life, who suspended trading in their open-ended real estate funds earlier this week. The funds hold a combined 14.9billion of savers money, which they can no longer access.

Other big property funds are still open to redemptions, but analysts warn that the dominos are starting to fall in the UK commercial property market just as they did in the last financial crisis.

Philip Nell, a fund director at Hermes, said there had been a massive over-reaction to whats been going on over the last two weeks.

Open-ended funds have long been criticised as an inappropriate way to invest in property, but now have around 35billion of assets under management

Such funds allow investors to withdraw their money immediately, but critics have argued they are an accident waiting to happen because this is not always possible given most of the money is tied up in property.

The funds are popular among pensioners because they offer a steady income stream and strong returns when property prices are rising.

Shares in commercial property developers and housebuilders have also tumbled since the vote to leave the EU  although fears have been brewing for some time.

Bank fo england Governor Mark Carney stepped in to try to calm markets this week

The Bank of England this week warned that property prices had become stretched in recent months  meaning a cooling of the market was likely at some point regardless of the Brexit vote.

Jane Sydenham, investment director at Rathbone, said there was no need for panic, however. It doesnt mean theres disaster coming, she said.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: The dominos are starting to fall in the UK commercial property market.

'Half of the property fund sector is now on ice, and will remain so until managers raise enough cash to meet redemptions.

He added: These funds are therefore likely to be closed for weeks and months rather than simply a matter of days.

But Adrian Lowcock, head of investing at AXA Wealth, said it could be a good time to buy back into property.
Addressing fire safety Living in San Diego County, the threat of fires is constant, that is why I have made fire safety one...

Supporting animals As a trained Project Wildlife Native Songbird Rehabilitator, my experience raising orphaned and injured songbirds and returning them to the...
By Mark Hallum

Two abandoned vehicles full of newspapers left behind by hoarders at a house in Flushing have drawn the attention of residents and state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who held a news conference to call upon the city to remove the fire hazard posed by the contents of the cars.

Avella said Stella Beckman, the deceased owner of the brick bungalow at 50-19 175th Place, is still receiving violation notices in the mail at the abandoned property a decade after her death. Beckmans son, a hoarder, according to one neighbor, filled not only the house but both vehicles in the driveway with stacks of New York Times issues dating back to 1992. The newspapers are packed so tightly into the back of one of the vehicles, a Hyundai Excel, that moisture has caused them to expand and shatter the back windshield.

The house has been sealed up with concrete by authorities following a small fire in 2014, according to neighbor who has lived in the area since 1990.

This is probably one of the best examples Ive come across while Ive been in government of how stupidly the city operates, Avella said. Here you have a situation where there were numerous violations. The owner, unfortunately, passed away, I guess its 11 years now. And yet, every time theres a violation the city keeps sending the dead person notices Anybody who walks through this block sees what a nice neighborhood this is. The homeowners pay attention to their property, they keep it nice, and yet they live next to this eyesore. The city has to step up, demolish the building, level the ground, fence it off and sell it.

Residents stood with Avella to voice their concerns about the property, especially since it has been the scene of teenagers smoking and raccoons taking up residence.

The house has already been on fire, the firemen came, they created large holes in the attic to vent it, said Peter Cilla, who has lived in the neighborhood for three years, Now we have rascally raccoons. There is a family of five to 10, theyre out during the day with their children. We have children here, there is a school only two blocks away. Theres a chance for an encounter and you could have a serious injury. Also, it looks like a dilapidated dump and it darkens the neighborhood. We would like the city to do what we pay taxes for it to do.

According to Elaine Marmiroli, a resident in the area since 1952, it is the first time this type of problem has occurred and she worries about another fire and the integrity of her neighborhood.

So many people want to buy this property, Marmiroli said. The house at the corner sold for a million dollars a few months ago. This is not a poor neighborhood. Theset houses go for $600,000 to $800,000. Its not cheap, and the city just ignores us totally because were not poor and were not rich. Were middle class.
President Barack Obama on Wednesday put the brakes on the US pullout from Afghanistan, saying 8,400 troops will remain in the war-ravaged country into next year to tackle the threat from a resurgent Taliban.

Obama, who was elected in 2008 on a promise of ending America\s longest war, had previously vowed to slash the US troop presence from its current level of 9,800 down to 5,500 by 2017.

But he said a still "precarious" security situation, with Afghan security forces struggling to contain the Taliban, made such a move untenable.

"Instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year through the end of my administration," Obama said.

"It is in our national security interest, especially after all the blood and treasure we\ve invested in Afghanistan over the years, that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed," he added.

With only a few months left in office, Obama said additional troops would enable his successor to have "a solid foundation for continued progress" in Afghanistan.

Most of the US troops work as trainers or advisers to Afghan partners and operate under the NATO banner. About 40 NATO members and partner countries currently contribute to the overall force of nearly 13,000.

It was not immediately clear whether Obama\s decision would influence other nations\ troop levels, though the issue is sure to be central at this week\s NATO summit in Poland.

"I welcome @BarackObama\s announcement on troop levels in Afghanistan. A strong signal of our continued commitment," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter.

Obama\s announcement is an acknowledgement that Afghan forces, which took charge of the country\s security in 2015, still face massive institutional shortcomings.

They have suffered devastating setbacks at the hands of the Taliban, including the temporary loss of the city of Kunduz, and more than 5,000 Afghan troops were killed last year alone.

Other organizations, including the Islamic State group, have meanwhile stepped up activity.

"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," said Obama, who last month unveiled looser rules making it easier for US forces to proactively strike Taliban targets.

"Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be. With our help, they\re still working to improve critical capabilities, such as intelligence, logistics, aviation and command and control."

Stephen Biddle, an Afghanistan expert and professor at George Washington University, said adjustments to the comparatively small US troop presence  the Afghans have about 320,000 police and troops  would make little difference to local security capabilities until Afghanistan tackles issues such as deeply entrenched corruption.

"The ability of the Afghans to hold the line is not primarily being shaped by whether there are 9,800 or 8,400 or 5,500 US soldiers," Biddle told AFP, noting that the troop count is "more about the optics and the politics of this than it is about military capability."

In particular, the Pentagon needs to maintain a steady troop level to ensure continued Congressional funding for the Afghan cause, Biddle said.

Obama himself acknowledged the solution to the conflict, which has dragged on for 15 years, would not be military alone.

"The only way to end this conflict and to achieve a full drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan is through a lasting political settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban," he said.

"That is why the United States will continue to strongly support an Afghan-led reconciliation process, and why we call on all countries in the region to end safe havens for militants and terrorists."

But diplomatic efforts to engage with the Taliban are in disarray. The United States in May killed the group\s leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in a drone strike in Pakistan.

Obama\s decision follows a review of the security situation by General John Nicholson, the new commander of the US-led NATO mission in Afghanistan.

Republican Senator John McCain, a longtime critic of Obama\s military policies, welcomed the move, but said the president should have kept the entire 9,800 US troops in the country.

Still, he said, "the decision to retain 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan into next year is certainly preferable to cutting those forces by nearly half."

Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, also questioned the rationale of pulling about 1,400 US troops.

"Our military posture there should be based on the facts on the ground, the advice of our commanders, and our national security interests," she said.

US forces have been in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban in late 2001.

The United States has spent in total about $1 trillion since, and some 2,200 US lives have been lost in the longest war in US history.

SOURCE: AFP
 Barcelona star Lionel Messi will appeal and vowed to clear his name after a court in Spain on Wednesday sentenced him and his father to 21 months in jail for tax fraud, the player\s lawyers said.

The prison sentences are likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.

The Argentine\s lawyers feel an appeal would eventually succeed in persuading the court that Messi and his father have behaved correctly, the player\s representatives told AFP in a statement.

"The most recent laws from the supreme court on the matter that concerns us would seem to prove the argument of the defence," Messi\s lawyers Enrique Bacigalupo and Javier Sanchez-Vera asserted.

Earlier Wednesday, the Barcelona court had found the Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi guilty of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on 4.16 million euros of Messi\s income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.

The income related to Messi\s image rights that was allegedly hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company.

The court found Messi and his father, who has managed his son\s affairs since he was a child, guilty of tax fraud and ruled that for each of those three years they should serve a sentence of seven months.

Messi, 29, a five-time world player of the year winner, was also fined 2.09 million euros while his father was fined 1.6 million euros.

They can appeal the decision to Spain\s Supreme Court and that is what the pair\s lawyers indicated on Wednesday they would, saying they felt confident an appeal would succeed.

Messi told the court during the four-day trial that wrapped up on June 4 that he trusted his father with his finances and "knew nothing" about how his wealth was managed.

Prosecutors had asked for Messi to be absolved, arguing there was no evidence that the player was aware of how his income was managed.

The state attorney representing tax authorities in the trial, Mario Maza, said he found it unlikely that Messi knew nothing about the situation.

"There is no deliberate ignorance here, it\s fraud and that\s all there is to it, because he didn\t want to pay his taxes," he said.

"It\s like a crime boss. At the very top is the bigwig who doesn\t want to know about the details."

The court agreed, arguing in its ruling that Messi "had decided to remain in ignorance".

"Despite all the opportunities available to the player to show interest in how his rights were managed, he did not," the court added.

The court said if the player was not punished, "ordinary" citizens could conclude that it was better to "not show interest" in their tax obligations.

Messi\s tax fraud trial has taken place against a backdrop of simmering voter anger over steep cuts to health and social spending, as the government struggles to bring Spain\s public deficit down.

The player and his father made a voluntary payment of 5.0 million euros  equal to the amount of the alleged unpaid taxes plus interest  in August 2013 after being formally investigated.

After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a statement "giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father".

"The club, in agreement with the government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case," it added.

Messi is Barcelona\s all-time leading goalscorer.

His verdict comes just six months after a Spanish court handed Barcelona\s Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano a one-year suspended sentence for tax fraud.

He was found guilty of avoiding paying taxes on 1.5 million euros of income related to his image rights.

Barcelona in June agreed to pay a 5.5-million-euro fine in a deal with prosecutors that sees the club avoid trial on tax evasion charges over its signing of Brazilian striker Neymar from Santos in 2013.

Last week Spanish authorities disclosed that Brazilian international defender Dani Alves owes 1.3 million euros in overdue taxes and late payment fines.

Alves left Barcelona in June after eight seasons to join Italian side Juventus.

SOURCE  AFP
Poland\s eurosceptic government has long said it would like Poles living in Britain to return home, but it is now promising to fight for their right to stay after the British vote to leave the European Union.

The roughly 800,000 Poles resident in Britain helped stimulate an emotive debate over record high immigration that helped the "Leave" side win the June 23 referendum on EU membership, and the conditions under which Poles may be able to stay in the UK will be subject to future Brexit negotiations.

For Poland\s ruling conservatives, a return of Poles from Britain could be seen as a vote of confidence in their government, in place since a sweeping election victory last October on a promise of more economic equality.

But analysts say Prime Minister Beata Szydlo\s Law and Justice (PiS) party is being pragmatic. With salaries in Poland a fraction of what they are in Britain, any returnees might turn sour on her government. Opinion polls also show the majority want to remain in the UK and expect the government to help them.

"The Poles in Britain are an important part of the PiS electorate, so are their families," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at London\s Centre for European Reform think tank. "It would be risky to use the situation to persuade the Poles to return."

The vast majority of Poles in Britain have arrived since 2004 when Poland joined the EU, giving citizens the option of moving to one of the bloc\s strongest economies, with plentiful jobs and relatively low taxes.

Many of Britain\s Poles came from economically deprived smaller towns in their homeland where PiS support is strong.

Detailed negotiations between the EU and Britain over the exact terms of its split have yet to start. EU leaders have insisted Britain must continue to accept the free movement of EU citizens if it wants to enjoy unbroken access to the bloc\s lucrative single market of 500 million people.

Poland has said it will seek to preserve its citizens\ status quo in Britain, which includes the right to work and access to welfare benefits.

"My dream is that they return to Poland. These people have incredible experience  and financial resources," deputy prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told private broadcaster TVN24.

"(But) we will try to negotiate so that our citizens, Poles who have settled in well in Britain, are not treated worse than the Brits. That\s obvious."

Morawiecki said he expected Poland\s labor market, where unemployment fell to eight-year lows of 8.8 percent in June, to be able to absorb many returnees, if needed.

"I assume it would be possible for the Polish labor market to absorb them in the course of two or three years. I would like it very much if at least 100,000 to 200,000 people decided to return."

That may be optimistic. An opinion poll by IBRIS conducted between June 29 and July 1 showed that two-thirds of Poles living in Britain wanted to stay but 20 percent would leave for Poland if this proved impossible after an exit from the EU.

Less than six percent said the Brexit vote meant they wanted go back. Almost 16 percent said they would leave Britain but move elsewhere in the EU or outside the bloc.

"Our research shows that most Poles who would be forced to leave Britain would go to countries such as Germany, France or the Netherlands," said Andrzej Kubisiak of the London-listed employment agency Work Service.

"Salaries in many sectors are comparable to Britain there."

Economically, a return home of a substantial number of Poles could have a mixed impact, analysts say.

The amount of cash they send to families in Poland has fallen in recent years from about 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009 alone. Upward pressure on salaries would ease, as well.

An influx of the mostly young migrants would help offset Poland\s demographic problems. With one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, Poland faces increasing difficulties in making pension payments.

Government officials hope a return of expatriates would also reverse an outflow of skilled labor.

But analysts say thousands of Poles in Britain will probably now seek permanent residence status that is available to foreigners who have lived in Britain for at least four years.

A study by the Polish Institute of International Affairs think tank indicates that some 120,000 to 400,000 Poles  about half or less  may not qualify for this now.

"Of course we want them to return," a senior PiS official told Reuters. "But we need to have the ability to receive them. We will, when the economy is in better shape."

SOURCE: REUTERS
In a landmark ruling, a Paris court jailed for life Wednesday two former Rwandan mayors accused of orchestrating the massacre of hundreds of Tutsis during the country\s 1994 genocide.

The court said Octavien Ngenzi, 58, and his predecessor Tito Barahira, 64, were guilty of "crimes against humanity", "massive and systematic summary executions" and "genocide" in their village of Kabarondo, where some 2,000 people seeking refuge in a church were bludgeoned and hacked to death.

Ngenzi and Barahira have consistently denied the charges. Both appeared impassive as the judge read out their sentences.

It was the stiffest genocide sentence ever handed out by a French court. In 2014, former Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa got 25 years in solitary confinement for genocide and crimes against humanity.

The eight-week trial has heard chilling testimony depicting the two men as "supervisors" and "executioners" in the massacre at the height of the genocide in which 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists.

"Ngenzi was the leader," said prosecutor Philippe Courroye, who requested life sentences for the two men. Barahira was the "dreaded machete officer," he added.

Ngenzi and Barahira\s lawyers had pointed to contradictory testimony delivered 22 years after the killings to argue that reasonable doubt exists over their role, portraying them as having been helpless to stop the chaos unfolding around them.

"I am extremely disappointed but not really surprised," said Philippe Meilhac, Barahira\s lawyer, after the ruling adding that his client may appeal the verdict.

A lawyer for the civil parties to the case, Gilles Paruelle, told the jury: "To kill one man, hatred is sufficient. To kill 1,000, you need organisation."

Alain Gauthier, whose organisation is one of the civil parties in the case, was jubilant.

"The jury has understood the distress of the victims," he said. "We hope that this sentencing signifies that one cannot live with impunity in France."

His wife Dafroza, whose family was wiped out in the genocide, said she was "comforted" but would be "taking up the fight" again to bring other genocide offenders to justice.

The violence broke out in Kabarondo a week after the shooting down of a plane carrying Rwanda\s president Juvenal Habyarimana, which inflamed ethnic tensions and sparked the genocide.

Among those seeking shelter at the church on April 13, 1994, when the genocidal Hutu "Interahamwe" militia attacked, was Marie Mukamunana, who told the court how her seven children and husband were killed by grenades and machetes.

"Someone said \don\t waste the bullets\ and they continued with machetes," she said.

She recalled seeing former mayor Barahira "armed with a gun, among the Interahamwe" and testified that Ngenzi was "supervising the massacre."

Jean-Damascene Rutagungira  who lost 21 members of his family including his wife and children  told the court he saw the pair encouraging the killers, shouting "cut them down."

The bloodshed in Kabarondo, a town near the border with Tanzania, was over by the end of April, when Tutsi rebels in the armed wing of what is now the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR) took control of the area.

Elsewhere in the former Belgian colony, the slaughter continued until the FPR fighters finally prevailed in July.

Ngenzi and Barahira were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by Rwandan people\s courts, known as "gacaca", in 2009.

Ngenzi has been in custody since 2010 when he was captured in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte off the east coast of Africa, where he had been living under a false name.

Barahira was arrested in 2013 in the southwestern French city of Toulouse where he was living.

The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which ended its mandate in 2015, sentenced 61 people for their role in the genocide.

Alleged perpetrators of the genocide have also been captured and tried in Belgium, France, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and the United States.

SOURCE: REUTERS
A Syrian rebel alliance agreed to a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army on Wednesday and the United States voiced hope a more significant truce could be achieved, though fighting and air attacks continued.

The truce was the first to be declared across the whole country since one brokered by foreign powers in February to facilitate talks to end the five-year-old civil war. That truce has mostly unraveled, and the escalating violence caused talks to break down.

Wednesday\s ceasefire covers the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrated by Muslims to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But opposition groups and a monitoring organization said little had actually changed on the ground.

"The regime announced the ceasefire, but they did not commit to it. There has been a lot of shelling and bombing on Douma and Daraya (rebel-held towns near Damascus)," a spokeswoman for the Syrian opposition delegation to Geneva peace talks said.

Syria\s military high command said in a statement that "a regime of calm will be implemented across all territory of the Syrian Arab Republic for a period of 72 hours from 1 a.m. on July 6 until 2400 on July 8, 2016".

The Syrian government uses the term "regime of calm" to denote a temporary ceasefire.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel alliance later said it would respect the Eid holiday ceasefire, but only if government forces also abided by it.

"We, the armed revolutionary groups in Syria, welcome any effort towards a ceasefire for the happy Eid al-Fitr period. We declare we will abide by it so long as the other side does the same," an FSA statement said.

"Until now, (the government) has not abided by what it has announced, in that it has launched a number of attacks in various areas today," the statement added.

It said the rebel bloc welcomed international efforts that had yielded the announcement from the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but attacks had not ceased as a result.

Islam Alloush, spokesman for the powerful Jaish al Islam rebel faction, said in a telegram message to journalists: "The regime has made this announcement purely to escape international pressure. On the ground, I don\t think anything has changed."

Jaish al Islam is represented on the official Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

Jaish al Islam said in a separate statement that, despite the announced truce, government and allied forces had attacked the town of Maydaa, in the Eastern Ghouta area east of Damascus. Maydaa has been held by Jaish al Islam.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that government and allied forces had taken almost complete control of Maydaa and that fighting continued. Syrian state media said the army and its allies had taken ground from "terrorists" in the area. The Syrian government describes all groups fighting against it as terrorists.

The Britain-based Observatory, which monitors the Syrian conflict, also said there had been rebel and government shelling in areas around the northern city of Aleppo, and air strikes had hit towns in the northern Aleppo countryside on Wednesday.

The Observatory said five air strikes hit the town of Jisr al-Shughour in rebel-held Idlib province, killing two children who were brothers, and injuring a number of others.

Syrian state media also reported army operations against Islamic State militants across the country on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the Syrian army\s announcement, adding that discussions were under way to try to extend the truce.

"We are trying very hard to grow these current discussions into a longer-lasting  enforceable, accountable cessation of hostilities that could change the dynamics on the ground," Kerry told a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The open-ended February "cessation of hostilities" truce, which was intended to smooth talks to end the war, was agreed with many opposition militias, but did not include the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front or Islamic State.

The truce has mostly collapsed and the Syrian army and the Russian military, which backs Assad, have periodically announced a number of temporary local truces in areas of intense fighting, for example in the city of Aleppo or near the capital Damascus.

But air strikes and fighting have often continued in spite of the declarations.

Farah al Atassi, the opposition spokeswoman, said the HNC, which welcomed the ceasefire initiative, would meet in Riyadh after the Eid holiday ahead of an expected resumption of peace negotiations by U.N. special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura.

The opposition has consistently said it wants to see full humanitarian aid access across Syria to lay the ground for talks.

"There have been some good stories of aid reaching some besieged areas, but we would like to see that over all Syria. Probably that will be an opportunity to resume the political negotiation," al Atassi said.

SOURCE: REUTERS
Hopewell Community Park remains a 'labor of love' for local community

The lush green park is a product of the combined efforts of the Hopewell Township community and a symbol of decades of conservation efforts in Beaver County.
File Photo

By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

Sheppard Air Force Base concerns notwithstanding, Horn Wind LLC will push forward with two wind energy projects in Clay County.

The Times Record News exclusively learned Thursday that development plans in the communities of Bluegrove and Byers will be sent to the Federal Aviation Administration for its approval. From there, it's expected that project proponents, the Department of Defense and other federal agencies will hash out a workable agreement for the installation of turbines in the rural North Texas town.

The decision was made after a study was conducted on the possible effects of private development near Sheppard Air Force Base, said Jimmy Horn, owner of Horn Wind LLC. This week, Virginia-based Capitol Airspace Group determined that wind farms in Clay County would have minimal impact on Sheppard operations, save possible interference with one flight training route.

"It shouldn't be a huge issue to solve," Horn said.

Alterra Power Corp., the owners of the projects, contracted with Capitol Airspace Group after Sheppard officials raised concerns that the proposed developments could interfere with base radar operations and cause student pilots to miss training days. Base officials previously said at a town hall meeting in Henrietta that turbine construction could bring about the transfer of base flight missions to another military installation.

A Sheppard spokeswoman challenged the studys findings, writing in an email that Capitol Airspace Group has not been in contact with the base or seen the military training mission that will be affected. ...

She said Sheppards goal will continue to be the safety of local communities surrounding the base and the success of its training missions.

The developments are expected to cost $450 million and span more than 11,000 acres. Due to possible interference with one military flight training route, some proposed turbine locations might be changed, Horn said.

It's also possible that developers could pay Sheppard to upgrade its radar infrastructure, mitigating the issue of wind turbines creating a "dead space" on radar screens, which can cause aircraft to disappear from the view of traffic controllers.

Once a formal project review is submitted to the FAA, the Department of Defense's siting clearinghouse is expected to get involved in negotiations between the military and private industry. In more than 10,000 cases, only one project has been cancelled due to military objections.
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By Ted Buss, Special to the Times Record News

Final cosmetic touches have been added, training of a staff of about 40 full and part-time employees is underway and Reef Street Authentic Seafood is expected to open July 15 in the former Smashburger location in the Faith Village Shopping Center.

Only a few weeks ago, the location was being primed to open under the banner of The Catch, a coastal seafood style restaurant based in Tyler. However, GS Dallas Group, investors in more than 300 restaurants, elected to create a slightly different and new seafood concept in Reef Street instead of partnering with The Catch.

"GS is an excellent (investor) group and it just decided to do another concept in Wichita Falls," said David Weaver, co-owner of The Catch. "This is the restaurant business and we understand the decision to go with another idea. We are not related to Reef Street, but as restaurateurs, we wish them the best and expect they'll do well."

Reef Street is under the supervision of managing partner Shivam Khanna, new here from the Dallas area, and Wichitan Carl Alfert, general manger and director of operations.

"This is a concept our investors are looking to for future expansion," Khanna said. "We are here to meet the (menu) expectations of the customer; discover what foods are popular and tweak things as we go. As the Reef Street model grows, future training for other locations will be done here in Wichita Falls."

"We are not a fast food restaurant," Alfert said, looking around the tidy sea of tables and booths with checkered blue and white tablecloths. "We are designed to provide excellent seafood, salads and Po Boys in eight to 10 minutes. We will also take orders to go."

Menu prices begin $3.99 to $9.99 and top out at $11.99. It includes gumbo, clam chowder, chicken and shrimp salad, crawfish, chicken tenders, fish filet and shrimp plates, oysters and catfish tenders. Different combo plates are featured, also with margaritas, beer and soft drinks.

Hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday.

"The weekend hours will remain flexible for awhile until we get a feel for what our customers want," Khanna said. "We are excited to be in Wichita Falls. We want to be an active part of the community. We plan to have an open dialogue with our customers and be innovative with our menu.

"Seafood is not only tasty but it is healthier for the body," Alfert added. "After a month or so, we plan to be in tune with our customers' tastes."

Faith Village Shopping Center and Reef Street Seafood is located at 3831 Call Field Road.
Lauren Roberts/Times Record News Wichita Falls police block entrances to the River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant Saturday evening. Two city workers from the plant were transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas in critical condition after being exposed to a gas while making routine repairs in the facility's basement. Officials said the gas was never a threat to the public.

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By John Ingle of the Times Record News

Wichita Falls officials continue to piece together what happened Saturday evening when two workers at River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant were exposed to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas.

Christi Klyn, a risk management employee in the city's Human Resources Department, said the investigation of the incident that is ongoing, and that no other information will be released at this time. An update on their condition was not provided.

As reported by the Times Record News on Sunday, the two employees were conducting routine maintenance Saturday afternoon on a sludge pump when the pair were exposed to toxic hydrogen sulfide gas. The gas is a by-product of the breakdown of human waste and bacteria at the plant.

Other employees at the plant found the two  on and 18-year veteran and the other with almost two year's experience  were found with decreased levels of consciousness. Fire and police department units arrived, and the men were taken to United Regional Health Care System. They were later transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital because of the severity of their injuries.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the respiratory tract and nervous system are the most vulnerable targets of hydrogen sulfide.

"Exposure to low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide may cause irritation to the eyes, nose, or throat," The CDC warns. "It may also cause difficulty in breathing for some asthmatics. Respiratory distress or arrest has been observed in people exposed to very high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide."

Headaches, poor memory, tiredness and balance problems could be indicative of exposure to low levels of the gas. A person can experience a brief loss of consciousness with no further complications after waking up. In cases where people were exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulfide, headaches, poor attention span, poor memory and poor motor function were listed as some of the long-term effects.

Daniel Nix, utilities operations manager, told the Times Record News that utilities work is inherently dangerous.

"It's one of those things the occasion for it to occur is there, but an incident actually happening is low," he said. "We work in a hazardous environment every day."
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By Christopher Collins of the Times Record News

Texas and other plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit over bathroom rights for transgender students now are asking a judge to order the federal government to cease directives for more inclusive bathroom policies.

Texas and its 14 co-plaintiffs filed an injunction against the U.S. departments of Justice and Education, among others, calling recent directives for schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice akin to putting "a gun to the head" of states. The lawsuit initially was filed May 25 in a Wichita Falls federal court.

Though the original complaint in the suit made clear the plaintiffs' opposition to the federal directive, Wednesday's injunction motion shone more light on the strategy Texas and other states are using in the case. The 39-page document argues that the Obama administration circumvented rules for notifying parties of rule changes, that inclusive bathrooms will cause "irreparable harm" and that the government is attempting to coerce states by threatening the loss of federal funds.

"Defendants' unlawful rules go far beyond lawful administrative interpretations; defendants are attempting to rewrite law," the motion reads. "The public interest is disserved if defendants are not enjoined from enforcing unlawful rules. A preliminary injunction can protect the public from defendants."

At the center of the dustup is the Harrold Independent School District, led by Superintendent David Thweatt, in Wilbarger County. In a separate document attached to the motion, Thweatt wrote that the $117,000 in federal funds  which could be taken away if his district doesn't comply with the directive  is primarily used to provide meals for students.

"The (directive)would jeopardize the lunches otherwise available to qualifying students. There presently is no other available funding source for these lunches," Thweatt wrote.

Though Thweatt has previously told the Times Record News the Harrold ISD does not have any transgender students, he wrote in the court document that transgender students would "always be accommodated with gracious courtesy" in his district.

Thweatt also has told the newspaper he doesn't "believe in the word 'transgender.'"

Thus far, the federal government has not responded to any of the court filings. They so far have also declined comment.
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NATO's summit meeting in Warsaw, scheduled to begin July 8, comes at a difficult yet opportune time for the alliance.

The difficulties NATO confronts are evident. Major challenges include terrorism by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria as well as the security impact of Syrian refugees flooding European NATO nations.

The modernization of military forces is always a challenge. The expense involved in upgrading weapons and support equipment is one reason. However, NATO places a premium on integration, which means that alliance members should buy weapons and build military organizations that can easily operate in concert with other alliance members. That requires a sustained political and budgetary commitment. At the moment, however, force modernization has a bigger price tag. Many military analysts are making the case that NATO nations need to rebuild their navies. Improving and expanding missile defense capabilities is another big ticket item.

However, NATO'S biggest difficulties begin in the Russian Kremlin, the one led by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia's creeping war of aggression against Ukraine  which began with an attack on the Crimean peninsula in February of 2014  continues unabated. The Ukraine War has displaced over a million people (1.5 million by some estimates) and killed over 10,000 people.

The Ukraine War is on the summit agenda. Ukraine makes no secret of its desire to join NATO.

The Ukraine invasion shook neighboring Poland, which maintains close ties with Ukraine. The invasion frightened the Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania  remember, in June 1940, Joseph Stalin's Red Army invaded the Baltic nations and made them Soviet socialist republics. Like the Poles, the Balts say never again.

To deter further Russian aggression, all four states demanded a permanent NATO troop presence on their soil. Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey are concerned about increased Russian military activity and belligerence in the Black Sea. The Kremlin's Black Sea mischief leverages its now total control of the Crimean peninsula.

For the past four years, NATO's Nordic members, Norway and Denmark, have confronted increasingly belligerent Russian military activity in the Baltic Sea. Russian aircraft buzzed Navy and British Royal Navy ships. One of the most worrisome Russian military probes occurred in mid-June 2014, when Russian aircraft carrying live missiles bluffed an attack on Denmark's Bornholm Island.

Russia's provocative military activity has led some citizens of Sweden and Finland to suggest their countries join NATO. Sweden recently demurred and said joining the alliance wasn't likely. Russia, however, has been openly threatening Finland; Putin recently told Finland that Russia would bolster its forces on the Finnish border if Finland joined NATO.

Nevertheless, the foreign ministers of both Sweden and Finland attended a pre-summit meeting in May. That sent a political message Moscow couldn't miss.

Other pre-summit activity also sent Moscow a message. I am referring to NATO'S Anaconda 2016 war game, which began in Poland in early June and ran for some 10 days. Over 31,000 NATO soldiers participated, including U.S. and British troops.

Phase 3 of the exercise began on June 10 as allied troops and vehicles crossed the Vistula River and entered Lithuania. Many analysts pointed out the goal of the operation was the relief of Lithuania. In theory, a quick Russian tank attack had closed the Suwalki Gap, which separates the Russian-controlled Kaliningrad Oblast from Russian territory.

Kaliningrad was once the Prussian city of Konigsberg. Russia kept the city and its environs as a special Kremlin reward for winning World War II.

However, crossing the Suwalki Gap could interpreted as an offensive stroke that isolates and surrounds Kaliningrad. A subtle message? Perhaps, perhaps not, but one NATO took the opportunity to deliver. If Moscow starts a war, it puts Kaliningrad risk.

The Anaconda exercise scenario was fictional. Participating units were pretending. However, the NATO military units were the real thing. Russia's war in Ukraine continues to spill real blood. The Kremlin's March 2014 annexation of Crimea is a vicious historical fact. These acts of war are the predicates of NATO's June war game. They are the predicate for the July summit in Poland, where NATO leaders can tell Moscow that enough is enough.

Austin Bay is a commentator on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," covering foreign affairs but often addressing issues in Texas that have a national interest.
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Albany

The train station is in Rensselaer. But most arriving rail passengers are heading to Albany. How to get them there?

Why not by gondola?

Next week, engineers will begin studying the feasibility of just such a conveyance, one that would start at the train station and carry passengers across the Hudson River.

Peter Melewski, national director of strategic planning for McLaren Engineering Group, envisions a stop in Albany for those heading to the Capital Center and Times Union Center. The gondola would then continue on to the Empire State Plaza.

"It's one of those things where a lot of people just feel there needs to be a better way to get from Point A to Point B," he said Wednesday afternoon, adding "It's a clean form of transportation."

It's not clear how many travelers the gondola might serve. The Rensselaer rail station is among Amtrak's busiest nationwide, and hundreds of thousands of passengers arrive or leave by rail each year.

The train station once was on Broadway in Albany, a building that now serves as the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center operated by SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Penn Central Railroad moved the station to Rensselaer in the late 1960s as it made way for Interstate 787. The current building is the third to be built on the site to accommodate growing passenger traffic.

McLaren, which has an office in Albany, is self-funding the study and assembling a team that includes Doppelmayr, a manufacturer of ropeway technologies and gondolas, to conduct it. Doppelmayr has a Ballston Spa office.

"The Albany train station, Amtrak's ninth busiest, is physically isolated from the Capitol and downtown businesses," said Malcolm McLaren, president and CEO of the engineering group. "An aerial gondola system will provide a unique, cost-effective transportation mode that will benefit the entire region."

How much would such a system cost? Melewski estimated it in the $20 million to $30 million range, and that operating costs would ideally be covered by fares.

Each gondola car might carry 10 passengers and would comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Melewski said.

But the study would seek to determine such variables as ridership and fares, and whether the project would be a private-public partnership or a private-sector undertaking.

The gondola's towers would require a "very small relative footprint," Melewski said, avoiding the greater costs of acquiring a right-of-way that a rail line, for example, would need.

He added that maintenance requirements were low, and that "the safety record is really quite good."

"Cities around the country and the world have used gondolas as a cost-effective way to solve transportation challenges and this is the first step in determining whether it is the right solution for Albany," said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

The gondola might even become an attraction in its own right, drawing tourists to the Capital Region and offering them a view of the Albany skyline, Melewski said.

"Certainly it could be a destination," he said.

If the study determines the gondola is feasible, sponsorships might help cover the cost. Doppelmayr was involved in another gondola system over the River Thames in London that cost about $78 million to build and opened in 2012. Air carrier Emirates paid about $47 million for a 10-year sponsorship of what's now called the Emirates Air Line.

eanderson@timesunion.com  518-454-5323
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EDUCATION

SCHENECTADY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

David Regan White joined as director of marketing and public relations. White has 16 years of experience in the creation, management and execution of digital marketing and traditional communication strategies.

HEALTH CARE

VISITING NURSES HOME CARE

Jeannine Pelish joined as director of care management. Pelish previously worked at Fidelis Care.

MANUFACTURING

SI GROUP

Ermal Shkullaku joined as content administrator. Shkullaku previously operated a business called Upstate Geeks.

Staci Smith joined as manager, collaboration solutions. Smith is responsible for developing and implementing collaboration tools across the company's global footprint.

PROFESSIONS

TULLY RINCKEY PLLC

Gregory F. Greiner was named military and national security law practice chairman. Greiner joined as senior counsel in 2015.

JoAnne Perniciaro was promoted to director of client services. Perniciaro joined in 2015 as business operations manager.

Heather C. Tenney, Esq., joined as an attorney and will represent officers and enlisted service members in complex legal matters. Tenney previously served as an attorney and adviser with the U.S. Army Claims Service.

WHITEMAN OSTERMAN & HANNA LLP

Paul A. Wolpert joined as an associate in the Business, Corporate and Commercial Practice Group. Wolpert previously served as senior counsel at Ocwen Financial Corp. in West Palm Beach, Fla.

HESLIN ROTHENBERG FARLEY & MESITI P.C.

Alison R. Anechiarico joined as marketing coordinator. Anechiarico is responsible for overseeing overall marketing initiatives and will help expand the firm's presence.

BOWITCH & COFFEY LLC

Sarah Harrington joined as a legal assistant/paralegal. Harrington previously worked as a legal assistant at law firms in Poughkeepise and Troy.

BERGMANN'S BUILDINGS GROUP

William G. Koonz II joined as regional business segment manager, based in Albany, and will manage projects across the state. Koonz previously served as a senior project architect and lighting designer at M + W Group.

REAL ESTATE

THE GALESI GROUP

Doug Prince was named director of tax. Prince previously served as tax director at North American Partners in Anesthesia, a privately held medical group.

SERVICES

BESTPASS INC.

Wally Perea joined as customer service manager. Perea previously served as a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual.

 Jennifer Patterson
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Albany

Carl H. Dukes and Lavell Jones have their lives back and their murder convictions tossed.

The men  who spent most of the last 20 years in prison after being found guilty of coldly murdering a 23-year-old University at Albany student in 1997  tasted freedom for the first time in two decades Thursday after state Supreme Court Justice Thomas Breslin vacated their convictions in court.

New evidence emerged after a man confessed to the slaying of Erik Mitchell, who was shot in the head at point-blank range on Feb. 18, 1997. Their cases now serve as another frightening example of wrongful convictions highlighted by defense attorneys, judges and even prosecutors as a major problem in recent years in New York.

"I'm overwhelmed. I'm excited. I'm nervous and a whole bunch of other things that I can't even say right now!" Dukes, 39, told the Times Union outside the Albany County Judicial Center, where he was surrounded by family members.

When Breslin announced the convictions had been vacated, Jones, said he "felt like crying a little bit, but I didn't want to. It was unbelievable to hear it."

Dukes, 39, and Jones, 38, who were serving sentences of 37 years to life in prison, walked out of an elevator to embraces and tears from Dukes' elated family members, who are based in Albany, and lawyers for Jones, who are from New York City.

Dukes said he will be able to celebrate the 21st birthday of his daughter. Jones, fighting tears, said: "It's not a jump-for-joy moment. My son is a grown man now. He was born while I was here."

"It's been too long for catching up," Jones added. "I just got to start from where I'm at and try to pick up the pieces now."

When asked what the first thing was that he planned to do as a free man, Dukes pulled up his shirt, showed a skinny waist and said, "Eat!"

Dukes' family members cheered the release but also expressed anger at police at the sequence of events that led to the men's convictions.

Chief Assistant District Attorney David Rossi told the judge that prosecutors and Albany police conducted an extensive re-investigation into the case since learning of the September 2014 arrest in Ohio of Jeffrey J. Conrad, 53, who confessed to the murder and provided details previously known only by police.

Although the murder conviction was vacated, Dukes and Jones each pleaded guilty to a single count of robbery for their roles in an earlier armed robbery at Mitchell's apartment in October 1996. They were immediately sentenced to a maximum of 14 years, which they already served in state prison, and released.

"I'm just happy that my brother is exonerated today," Dukes' sister, Tyhisha Dukes, told the Times Union. "I'm disgusted with the justice system. It's a lot of injustice and it's not fair. You give someone back some time, you say, 'OK, you're released.' But what happens to his life? Mentally, he has to readjust. Mentally, the family has to readjust. You've taken him away from his family. He's missed out on family. There's relatives that are dead that he can never see, hug or touch or they cannot ever see, hug or touch him as a free man. So it's a travesty. I hope that they fix things and find out who else Mr. Conrad murdered and who else is sitting in prison for the crimes that he committed."

Rossi highlighted additional statements by Dukes and Jones' co-defendant, Pierre Lyons, who recanted prior statements to police implicating the men.

"We agree that there is newly discovered evidence and we join in the defense motions," Rossi told the judge.

"The conviction is vacated," Breslin said.

Dukes was represented by Manhattan attorney Don Savatta. Jones was represented by attorneys Glenn Garber and Rebecca Freedman, the respective founder and assistant director of The Exoneration Initiative, a nonprofit group in Manhattan for the wrongfully convicted in New York. The attorneys placed their hands on Jones' shoulder as the judge vacated the conviction.

Garber said his client has been incarcerated three months shy of 19 years.

"It's been very, very difficult for him and we're very fortunate that we're able to bring this case to this point," Garber said. "Obviously, (Jones)' conviction was tainted in many ways and Jeffrey Conrad's confession to the murder really was the string that unraveled everything."

"This conviction was based on extremely weak evidence of guilt," Freedman said. "It was only the confession from Lavell, which was false. It was obtained after 36 or so hours of police questioning after he maintained his innocence for most of that time and it was definitely under duress. So we believe that it goes to show how dangerous false confessions are."

Dukes and Jones pleaded guilty to taking part in an unrelated robbery at Mitchell's address on Oct. 4, 1996, which they had long admitted they took part in  just not the murder the next February. They will be sentenced to time already served.

Police alleged that Dukes and Jones killed Mitchell to silence him from testifying about the earlier robbery. Neither Dukes nor Jones expressed anger at Conrad for keeping quiet about his crime for so many years.

"I'm not bitter toward anybody. I don't hold any animosity," Dukes said. "I'm just glad that whatever touched that man for him to do the right thing at this point, I appreciate it."

Said Jones: "I was actually thinking maybe I should visit him and say, 'Hey. I appreciate it."

Jones stressed that he believes his wrongful conviction was not rare.

"I was one of the lucky ones that was able to be found," he said.

The Times Union reported in February 2015 that Conrad allegedly confessed to killing Mitchell. Police in Ohio charged Conrad with fatally stabbing an ex-girlfriend at her home in a small town north of Akron.

The Times Union also reported last month that Conrad provided details about the murder on a videotaped prison interview with Albany detectives in 2014.

"You've always known that they didn't do it," Conrad told the detectives, referring to Dukes and Jones. "They couldn't tell you what kind of gun it was 'cause they didn't know. They couldn't tell you how he fell cause they didn't know. They couldn't tell you a (expletive) thing. Nothing. Nothing. ... You guys knew from the beginning, when you sensed it, that they didn't (expletive) do it ... and you went and told his family all that (expletive): 'Yeah, we got the guys.'"

At the time of the Mitchell murder, Albany police regularly built homicide cases using signed confessions from suspects after lengthy interrogations. Late city Detective Kenneth Wilcox fell under scrutiny in 1999 after obtaining a false confession from 19-year-old Kevin Cherry, who stood trial for the murder of a drug dealer. Cherry was exonerated when an eyewitness came forward and identified the actual killers.

Wilcox, who died in an on-duty car crash in 2006, helped Detective Ronald Matos obtain the murder confession from Dukes, who was being jailed on an unrelated charge. Dukes was left alone with Matos and Wilcox while his public defender, Bertrand Gould, left the room, returning only periodically to see if Dukes needed legal representation. Court records showed Gould was unaware detectives were even accusing Dukes of killing Mitchell.

The six-hour interrogation ended with Dukes signing a detailed statement saying he was only a lookout when Jones killed Mitchell. He was charged with first-degree murder and, at the time, faced a potential death penalty.

Jones underwent a similarly grueling interrogation, and signed a similar confession after being in police custody for two days.

"We could have saved lives by doing things the right way the first time," said Dukes' cousin, Zakee Abdul-Hameed.

Brendan J. Lyons contributed
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Albany

A U.S. congressional committee has launched an investigation into the state and federal governments' handling of the widespread contamination of public and private water supplies in Hoosick Falls and other areas of eastern Rensselaer County.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent letters Wednesday to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency demanding documents for the pending congressional probe into the water pollution.

The House committee's investigation cites Times Union articles and other news reports indicating that officials at all levels of government, including the state and Rensselaer County Health departments, as well as the EPA, were aware for more than a year that a hazardous chemical, PFOA, had polluted the village's water system but did not warn residents to stop drinking the water.

The EPA was informed of the water pollution in December 2014, according to emails previously obtained by the Times Union. In December 2015, EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck sent a letter to Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge directing him to stop telling residents it was a "personal choice" whether to drink the contaminated water. Borge has said he was relying on advice from the state Health Department, which had issued "fact sheets" to residents that month stating no adverse health effects were expected from normal use of the village's water.

The state Health Department took its controversial position on the water's safety despite a widely reported health study that linked the PFOA in the village's water to kidney cancer and other diseases. The EPA issued an advisory in 2009 warning that short-term exposure to water containing PFOA is not safe at levels above 400 parts per trillion. The village's water system recorded levels at more than 600 ppt in August 2014.

"It raises serious questions that the county and state would continue to assure residents the water was safe to drink even though the federal government had already warned residents to the contrary," the House committee wrote in its letter to Cuomo.

"The Committee is seeking information as to why the state and county delayed in acknowledging the health risks of PFOA exposure in Hoosick Falls and continued to provide the public with false and confusing information."

U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, has pushed for months for the House committee's leadership to investigate and potentially hold congressional hearings on the situation in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh, where PFOA also contaminated public and private water supplies. U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles E. Schumer, both Democrats, supported Gibson's calls for a federal investigation.

"I am very pleased that they have finally done this, but this has been a long engagement," Gibson said Thursday. "We need answers on this and right now, as it relates to the situation in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh. We're playing defense."

Gibson was referring to efforts by the state and local officials to provide filtered and alternate water supplies to residents in the affected communities. The state has conducted blood sampling that found many residents have elevated levels of PFOA.

"We need to learn what happened and not repeat it and this is why we need the hearings," Gibson said. "They and the rest of the country deserve answers as to what happened."

Officials with the EPA's Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, declined to comment on the congressional inquiry. They also declined to clarify when Enck, the EPA's Region 2 administrator, learned of the situation in Hoosick Falls. The Times Union has reported that Enck learned of the crisis last fall. But emails indicate that Rensselaer County health officials consulted with Arlene Anderson, a supervisor in the Region 2 office, in December 2014. Anderson works in the agency's Drinking Water and Ground Water Protection Section.

The Times Union reported in February the state Health Department was made aware in August 2014 that the toxic chemical had contaminated Hoosick Falls' village water system, but conflicting information and a lack of regulations led to months of delays in notifying the public about the situation, documents show.

In a statement Thursday, Cuomo spokesman James Allen said, "States across the country have struggled to confront evolving information about PFOA and other emerging contaminants, particularly in the face of shifting guidelines and the absence of regulation from the federal government. We will gladly share our experience in New York to clarify the facts and the steps we have taken to address these challenges.

"We hope the end result is that Congress and the federal government act swiftly to prioritize and to implement uniform, nationwide regulations of PFOA and similar, currently unregulated contaminants," Allen said. "No town, city or state should have to fear the water they are drinking. With clear federal regulations, we can achieve that goal."

After the congressional letters were sent Wednesday, the state Assembly's Democratic majority announced it would hold hearings on the state's public water pollution, including the situation in Hoosick Falls and Petersburgh.

The Assembly's announcement came after state elected leaders, including state Sen. Kathy Marchione, R-Halfmoon, whose district includes Hoosick Falls, said hearings to determine whether the state mishandled the water-pollution crisis were not necessary.

The investigation by Congress comes at a time when the EPA has been under fire for its handling of environmental pollution, including the water crisis in Flint, Mich. The House committee's letter was addressed to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

"Documents and public statements about the crisis in Hoosick Falls show EPA knew that the village water supply was contaminated in December 2014, but did not take any action until nearly one year later, in November 2015," the House committee's letter states. "The fact that EPA staff at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., knew or should have known about the problem, and failed to communicate with their counterparts in Region 2, raises serious questions, considering the health and safety of the residents of Hoosick Falls was at stake."

The state's awareness of the contamination dates back years. In February, the Times Union reported that Taconic, a plastics company in Petersburgh, alerted the state Department of Environmental Conservation in 2005 about its discovery of the toxic chemical in the groundwater around its plant on Route 22. The state and county began distributing water to residents in that community on Feb. 13, the day the Times Union reported that state regulators and officials with a Petersburgh plastics company were discussing how to address the PFOA contamination of water around the Route 22 plant.

State officials said environmental laws and regulations in 2005 did not require any public notification or additional investigation.

PFOA is a toxic chemical that has been used since the 1940s to make industrial and household products such as nonstick coatings, specialty tapes and heat-resistant wiring. Several specialty manufacturing plants in eastern Rensselaer County and North Bennington, Vt., used the chemical for decades before studies emerged 10 years ago linking the substance to cancer and other serious diseases.

blyons@timesunion.com  518-454-5547  @brendan_lyonstu

ABOUT THE SERIES

A Times Union investigation of polluted Superfund sites across the region focused on locations where cleanups are unfinished or people are concerned about exposure to hazardous chemicals from manufacturing or dumping.

SATURDAY

 A homeowner in Valley Falls bought his house in 1978 with little thought about what a commercial laundry left behind.

SUNDAY

 Al Tech, riddled with PCBs and heavy-metal contamination in Colonie, is about a mile from million-dollar homes.

 High levels of lead from old wrecking company pollute area near Albany's Westland Hills Park.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  A Connecticut man came to Saratoga Springs for a Phish concert and has not been seen since July 2, police said.Police in Branford seek the public's help finding Jason Czech, 39, who left home July 1.

State Park Police said they are aware of the case.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Saratoga Performing Arts Center debuted a new education program, The Performance Project: Youth in Motion, on Thursday at the Saratoga Regional YMCA.

Sixty Capital Region children and Saratoga Regional YMCAs will join 30 New York City children in a dance performance on SPAC's stage at 7 p.m. Friday.
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Director John Rando and choreographer Joshua Bergasse are the dynamic team who three years ago brought the classic musical "On the Town" to life for the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass. The production was such a delight that their singing and dancing sailors cruised on to Broadway, where the show played for almost a year and earned four Tony nominations.

Rando and Bergasse are back this summer with more musical mariners. "The Pirates of Penzance," the comic operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan, opens on Friday and runs through Aug. 13. Also returning as part of the production team is scenic designer Beowulf Boritt, who is integrating the entire theater into the nautical set. The bow of the ship thrusts out from the normal proscenium, there will be audience seating onstage, and actors will venture out among the patrons in the house.

Whether the whole thing eventually sails down the Hudson to Broadway is unknown, but it already sounds like a good ride.

"I love this kind of comedy, because it's witty and smart," says Rando. "What's really fun and wonderful about the show is discovering the heart of it. What appear to be unscrupulous, horrible evil pirates are actually very sympathetic characters looking deeply and profoundly to find love."

More Information If you go Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance" When: Opens Friday and runs through Aug. 13. Where: Barrington Stage Company, 30 Union St., Pittsfield, Mass. Tickets: $20-$79. Call (413) 236-8888. Or visit: www.barringtonstageco.org See More Collapse

Of course, it takes more than pirates to make a story. Also at hand are the upright British navy officers and their fair daughters, led by "the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" (to quote one of the most famous lyrics) plus a troupe of bumbling police.

"There are three kinds of tonal styles that come out of the music, the characters and the dialogue," explains Rando. "If you're in the world of the major-general and the daughters, it's a conservative world of propriety and duty and obedience and grace. The pirates are all muscular swagger and loose body and loose angles, daredevil things and dangerous things. The world of the police is yet another style, quirky, herky-jerky and comic."

The adventure comes when these distinct realms collide.

Speaking of collisions, the intersections of acting, singing and dancing seem to come naturally for Bergasse and Rando at this point, since "Pirates" is their seventh collaboration. Another of their shows was "Guys and Dolls," which also played at Barrington Stages back in 2011.

"When we go into rehearsal, Josh will have already spent a week or two working out the more complicated numbers with just the dancers, not the full cast," says Rando. "And I'll visit to see what's up or he'll send a video."

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

"In 'Pirates,' a lot of numbers begin with recitative or a little music, so I'll get them going and then Josh will take them from there. Then we pass it back and forth and tag-team," continues Rando. "There will be sections where I really want dance, and so I'll do a funny wiggle or jig that I can fake. He'll laugh and give them something really far better than I can do."

Efficient rehearsal techniques are key, because Rando has been in demand ever since he won the best director Tony Award for "Urinetown" in 2002. Among his many upcoming projects are musical adaptations of the TV classic "The Honeymooners" and of the film "The Sting." He says that it was Barrington's artistic director Julianne Boyd who came up with the idea of "Pirates" for this season. But Bergasse got him to finally commit.

"He called me and said we have to do it together, it's our show," recalls Rando. "And it's truly one of my dream projects."

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
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It's America's 11th most-visited national park, but it's also a place many people have never heard of: Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

Nearly 2.3 million people visited Cuyahoga in 2015, putting it right behind better-known parks like Glacier National Park in Montana and Acadia National Park in Maine. But if you're not from Ohio or nearby, you'd be forgiven for knowing a lot less about Cuyahoga than you do about Grand Canyon or Yellowstone.

And while Cuyahoga doesn't have the dramatic features that typically draw visitors to national parks  no volcanoes, glaciers or geysers here  it does offer something that can be hard to find: an opportunity to immerse yourself in nature just minutes from densely populated cities.

"We've got this amazing, peaceful, beautiful area carved out and protected between these large urban areas, Cleveland and Akron," said Deb Yandala, CEO of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which raises several million dollars a year for the park.

More Information If you go Cuyahoga Valley National Park: https://www.nps.gov/cuva. Free admission. The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park lists 100 things to do at https://www.conservancyforcvnp.org. Depending on route and destination, you can reach the park in 20 to 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland. Brandywine Falls: 8176 Brandywine Road, Sagamore Hills Township, Ohio, near Exit 147 from I-77 South. See More Collapse

"I think when people hear 'national parks,' they think of the big Western parks," she added. "But not everyone is going to get out to Yellowstone or Glacier or Zion. For us to have a national park right in our backyard is amazing. We are part of a new breed of parks, bringing national parks to urban populations."

In general the park is both extremely safe and heavily used, despite an incident in which a shooting victim was found in the park over the July Fourth weekend. Police described that as an isolated incident.

Cuyahoga Valley became a national recreation area in 1974 and a national park in 2000, so it's one of the National Park Service's newer parks. The park has 100 miles of trails across 33,000 acres, including 20 miles of a restored towpath, perfect for biking, that follows the Ohio & Erie Canal. (The towpath was originally laid as a pathway for horses or mules towing barges.)

The park is also home to restored historic farms and a large farmers market, both connected to the Cuyahoga Valley's history as an agricultural region supplying food to Cleveland and Akron. Other activities and attractions include concerts, a historic railroad that offers scenic tours and a variety of other programs. The park is often mentioned as a top spot for fall foliage, and one of its loveliest spots is Brandywine Falls, a 65-foot-tall waterfall easily reached from a parking lot via a wooden walkway.

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But Cuyahoga has not always been associated with outdoor recreation and scenic beauty: The river was so polluted in the 20th century that it repeatedly caught fire, including two major fires in 1952 and 1969. News coverage of the 1969 blaze helped spur cleanup efforts.

"We're now doing kayaking on the Cuyahoga River, which would have been unheard of years ago," said Yandala.

Only about 20 percent of Cuyahoga's visitors are from outside Ohio, but that could change this summer when Cleveland hosts the Republican National Convention.

"The world will be looking at Cleveland during the convention," Yandala said. "It's a terrific comeback story of an industrial city that has a really great vibe these days"  a vibe that includes a national park in the city's backyard.
As a pair of dancers leapt and whirled before him, Justin Peck stepped back, watched closely and thought hard. The gears cranked visibly in his head. An accompanist coaxed Stravinsky from the piano.

"Can we hear it one more time?" he said, then stepped back and thought hard again.

New York City Ballet's resident choreographer stood in a small rehearsal studio at Lincoln Center in May, running through  one more time, then one more time  a bit of "Scherzo Fantastique," a new work he'll world-premiere with City Ballet Saturday, July 23, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center to mark its 50th anniversary season.

Isabella LeFreniere and Miriam Miller, dancer and understudy for a portion of the piece, worked through the footwork that Wednesday: a releve rising on the balls of the feet, a rond de jambe followed by a step, a jete attitude that soared, in Peck's words, "almost like going up into the sunset."

More Information If you go "Scherzo Fantastique" and ''21st Century Choreographers'' Where: Saratoga Performing Arts Center, 108 Avenue of the Pines, Saratoga Springs When: 8 p.m. Saturday, July 23 Tickets: $55 for lawn and $65-$125 for seats Info: 584-9330; www.spac.org Contact Amy Biancolli at 518-454-5439 or abiancolli@timesunion.com or visit the arts blog at http://blog.timesunion.com/localarts See More Collapse

He watched, mental clockwork spinning away as he issued directions. A little faster. A little slower. Face that direction when you land. "Do the sous-sus before you turn," he said, and the women added a quick rise to their toes in fifth position. "Oh, that's good." He stepped back again, then turned to Craig Baldwin, the man at the piano. "Let me hear it one more time. "

An NYCB dancer who became a soloist in 2013 and resident choreographer in 2014, the wonder boy of contemporary ballet has created more than 30 works in the seven years since he first started crafting dances out of bodies and air. Creating them means hashing out ideas in real time and three dimensions  the watching, the listening, the one more times.

Sometimes, at work on a piece, he zeroes in on the accompaniment. Sometimes he cues up a full symphonic recording on his phone  in this case, "Scherzo Fantastique," an early orchestral work by Igor Stravinsky. "It's just more of a focus, more of a concentrated state of being," he said in an interview afterward. "And also, for me, I kind of have to go to that place when I'm exploring such a rich, textured orchestration."

The excerpt he rehearsed that day was one breakout solo in a 12-or-13-minute abstract work featuring 10 dancers, three couples, soloists and a pas de deux The work, he said, would be in "a rough draft state" in a matter of days. After that, the company would head to Paris for a stretch, then return to the States and SPAC  where he planned to "keep refining it, developing it" in the week before its premiere.

" 'Experimental' is kind of the best word I can use" to describe the choreographer's modus operandi, said dancer Taylor Stanley, whose work in "Scherzo" marks his 10th appearance in a Peck dance. (Among other pieces, he originated featured roles in "'Rode,o: Four Dance Episodes" and the Sufjan Stevens collaboration "Everywhere We Go.") "He's able to kind of envision what he wants in a certain part of the piece. And he knows right away if it's gonna fit, or if it will work somewhere else. You know, he's like, very calculative."

At the same time, Stanley said, Peck is elastic enough to embrace the unexpected. "He really embodies this really great balance between preparedness and also just, like, exploration  and seeing what kind of inspires him in the moment or influences him in the moment." That includes dancers. "We give ideas, too. You know, someone will be doing something really random, and he'll say, 'Oh, that's kinda cool.' He's open as well  within reason, of course. Within his own realm of creativity."

In that realm, Peck stands  or leaps  as both dancer and choreographer. Do the two roles feed each other? "I think they do," Peck said. "I mean, I definitely approach my dancing differently now that I further understand choreography as an art form. I play a lot more with energy and dynamic in my own dancing, because that's something I really want to bring out in my own ballets. ... And I guess I'm just more influenced to embrace spontaneity on stage now than I was before."

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His dances are both obviously and beautifully classical and just as obviously and beautifully now Familiar ballet moves are kinked with angular contemporary touches  a switch in direction, a complicated landing that ends in a plie, an intricate little scissors kick on a turn.

"It's maintaining a respect for the classical basis, and seeing how we can push the envelope without irritating the art form," he said. "So it's like a fun balancing act, actually. I really enjoy that aspect of choreographing  that challenge."

Back in rehearsal, Peck kept watching. "Let me hear it one more time," he said, then closed his eyes. His hands gestured lightly to the beat, like a conductor's. Then, opening his eyes, he picked up his phone and played the excerpt in question. An a-ha flickered across his face.

"Oh! I know what I wanted to put in. I wanted to put in this jump from 'The Muses.' " By that he meant the "Nine Muses" dance from "The Most Incredible Thing," his most recent NYCB work ballet.

Peck turned to the dancers and demonstrated, then turned to Baldwin and asked the eternal question. "Can I hear it one more time?" The pianist played. The dancers danced. "That was cool  a little variation," then added: "One more time  from the beginning."

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli
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For new homeowners, there's a lot to think about: Do the kitchen and bathrooms need updating? How high are the taxes? What about the school district?  the list seems never-ending. But there's one consideration in homeownership that's easily overlooked but extremely important: safe, drinkable water.

From Hoosick Falls to Flint, Mich., water contamination has become a national headline. Jeff Beyer, a local home inspector, says that publicity has spurred a growing number of people to request analyses of their water sources, private and public.

Most inspections only test for bacteria, according to Beyer, who owns Beyer Protection Professional Home Inspections in Saratoga Springs. Beyer added that when buyers purchase a home they are required to run basic water analyses as part of their home inspections, which cost around $100 along with the home inspection fee.

"The main component of a water test is looking for bacteria," Beyer said. "Usually the form of bacteria that shows up first is coliform. They refer to that as an indicator bacteria."

More Information For more information The state Health Department website includes detailed information about drinking water regulations and also a list of certified testing laboratories. Go to www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking. The Centers for Disease Control website also offers comprehensive information about safe and healthy drinking water. Go to www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking. See More Collapse

According to the state Health Department's website, not all kinds of coliform cause disease. However, if it is present in your water supply, further tests are necessary to determine its source and the proper method to remove it.

Beyer explained that people can adapt to some types of coliform. However, he added that an issue may arise for those purchasing a home with a well, as their bodies may not be able to adapt to the new level of bacteria in the water. According to Beyer, this sort of water contamination is most commonly caused by the lack of a sanitary cap on a homeowner's well.

Beyer added that homeowners using private wells should first evaluate the security of their well caps if their water tests positive for contaminants.

For both those on private and public water systems, he said that further issues can be resolved through at-home water tests, in-depth laboratory tests or the installation of a filtration system.

Home testing kits are easy to find at hardware stores. One, the H2O OK Plus Complete Water Analysis Kit, available for purchase at a number of home improvement stores, offers 23 drinking water quality tests  examining for common contaminants, such as lead, coliform bacteria and pesticides.

Detailed water analyses can be conducted by an number of labs in the Capital Region. CNA Environmental, a Ballston Spa-based laboratory, offers five basic water-testing packages, ranging from $36 to $167. After the $167-level package, pricing increases depending on the specific contaminants being tested for.

Both Beyer and Damian Constantine, a sales associate for Culligan, a water treatment products company, said that a filtration system is a homeowner's best option for ensuring water quality. "A detailed test is a snapshot in time," Constantine said. "If your real worry is protection, then you should have a system regardless."

Residents relying on municipal water supplies can take some comfort in their municipality's annual drinking water quality report, said Joe Coffey, the commissioner of the Albany Department of Water and Water Supply. The reports are released to the public each year. Albany's is available for viewing at albanyny.gov and lists the containments tested for, such as chloride, sulfate, barium and manganese, at the city's Alcove Reservoir.

"It has a wide array of chemistry, chemical analysis, microbiology that we summarize if there are any exceedances of the maximum contaminant level," Coffey said. "We have had none in the city of Albany."

According to Coffey, the city also has a corrosion control program that "significantly limits the potential of lead to leach out."

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The city's 2015 lead and copper compliance test illuminates the effectiveness of this program.

"We actual sample maybe 70 distribution samples when we do our lead and copper [test]," Coffey said. "We've found those to be in compliance with the lead and copper standards."

Still, he said, he will refer residents who have concerns about water quality to a laboratory certified by the Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP).

Those with private water wells are advised by the state Health Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to have their water tested annually, preferably at an ELAP lab.

However, all tests  whether performed at home or in a lab  have their limits, warns Liz Moran, a water and natural resources associate for Albany-based Environmental Advocates of New York. She said tests fail to check for thousands of other possible contaminants in residents' water systems.

"There are over 80,000 chemicals that are on the market now that are unregulated," Moran said. "At-home tests  things that are provided to people that own private wells  only test for certain things. At the end of the day, there are so many chemicals that can be out there."

Liam McGurl, a St. Bonaventure University student, is a Times Union intern
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Albany

A year after an agreement between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Republicans to essentially freeze implementation of an ammunition sales database, the project remains in limbo. And while the Administration says they are still looking for the right technology, a leading gun control advocate says it appears to have been put on a back burner, at least for the foreseeable future.

"There isn't really anything going on. No progress has been made,'' said Leah Gunn Barrett of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.

"I just picked up (the idea) that there is not an appetite to develop it,'' she said, referring to recent talks she's had with the Cuomo Administration.

That's in contrast to discussions months ago in which they said they were working toward such a database.

While favored by gun control supporters, Second Amendment activists had been protesting the idea of an ammunition database, calling it both unrealistic and an infringement on their privacy.

The ammo database was written into the 2013 SAFE Act, which bans assault-style weapons, and which Cuomo pushed through in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut where 20 children were killed.

The database would allow background checks by ammunition dealers like gun stores or sporting goods outlets. The dealers would report the sales, including the amount of ammo sold, to the State Police. The idea was to flag potential large purchases by those who might be planning acts of violence.

But the data base has never been set up or implemented.

Cuomo has said they still need to develop the technology for such a system. Others, though, have said they believed the data base went dormant in the face of continued opposition by gun enthusiasts who remain angry at the SAFE Act.

Either way, implementation of the database was further blocked in July 2015. Back then, Cuomo's Operations Director, Jim Malatras, and Senate Republican Majority Leader John Flanagan signed an agreement that the database wouldn't be put in place until Senate Republican leadership gave the go-ahead.

"You would need an affirmative agreement between the majority leader and the governor on the second floor to move it forward,'' said Senate Republican majority spokesman Scott Reif.

The agreement provoked an outcry by gun control advocates as well as Assembly Democrats who were not part of the deal.

But it won points for upstate Senate Republicans, where many SAFE Act opponents reside.

One GOP Senator, James Seward of Oneonta, for example, issued a release shortly after the agreement was signed, saying it was a ''clear victory for Second Amendment rights in New York.''

Margaret Miller, who oversees the state Office for Information Technology Services, told lawmakers that her agency had come up with three options for setting up the database. But all of those options, she said, were rejected by the State Police who will be charged with overseeing the database.

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Since then, a state Office for Technology spokesperson says work continues and they "are continuously monitoring any and all practical technologies that would accomplish what was intended in the law,'' but that "no new proposals have been approved.''

And State Police spokesman William Duffy said "New York State Police and OITS are continuing to review all options for this first-in-the-nation ammunition database.''

"Once an appropriate technology is identified, vetted and tested, the State Police will proceed with a time line for implementation,'' Duffy added in an email.

Tom King, president of the state Rifle and Pistol Association, agreed with Gunn Barrett that there's been no movement toward building an ammo database.

But he thinks they sill want to do it.

"I can't believe they stopped working on it,'' he said, adding that it may be on hold until the upcoming Senate and Assembly races in November are over.

While the database may be a dud so far, Cuomo has continued to speak up, calling for Congress to enact tougher gun laws in the wake of mass shootings at Orlando, Fla., and San Bernardino, Cal.

rkarlin@timesunion.com  518-454-5758  @RickKarlinTU
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Albany

A woman who lived up the street from me passed away late last month. I didn't know her well, but I know she was much loved in the neighborhood.

She was connected  but not in the cynical, political sense of the word. She was connected to her community.

Those connections were made obvious by her obituary. My neighbor, 96 when she died, was active in her church and the PTA. She volunteered for the Rotary, the Red Cross and several other groups. She was in a book club, too.

More Information Contact Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or email cchurchill@timesunion.com See More Collapse

Her obituary was evidence of a life lived fully, and it made me think about my own. I hate to admit it, but my connections are pretty limited.

I don't belong to a single club. Not one. My wife and I have tried a few churches, but we haven't committed. Our volunteer work is sporadic rather than routine.

I could make excuses. My neighbor was retired and her children were grown, while we have a toddler. We're busy. It often seems hard just to keep the lawn mowed and the refrigerator stocked.

But we know we should do better. We talk about how we're going to do better. Soon. Maybe next week. Or the week after.

We're just one family, though. The problem is that there are too many families like us, and fewer and fewer people like my neighbor from up the street.

In part, the change is generational. Most people I know socially also haven't joined clubs. Many don't go to church regularly. Their activities revolve almost entirely around the activities of their children.

To double check my perceptions, I texted a friend on Wednesday and asked if he belonged to any groups.

"Groups?" he asked.

Yes, groups. The kind that gather with some frequency and require you to socialize.

"I am eager to join something," he said. "Just not sure what yet."

Yes, people are working longer hours. They have longer commutes. Those children's activities keep everyone on the run and overscheduled.

But aren't those just more excuses?

If we're really so busy, how does the average American manage to watch nearly three hours of television daily? (That's according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.) Can't we do better?

The decline in group membership has been well documented, most thoroughly by the seminal book "Bowling Alone." Its author, Robert Putnam, famously noted that while more people are bowling, fewer are bowling in leagues.

In Putnam's view, declining group membership is evidence that civic vitality and social connections are also waning, with troubling consequences such as increased cynicism, distrust and loneliness.

Others are sounding a similar alarm. I'm thinking of Sebastian Junger's new book about the struggles war veterans have returning to civilian society. The problem, he argues, isn't combat; it's the lonely and divided society to which soldiers are returning.

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"Veterans have gone away and are seeing their own country with fresh eyes," Junger said in a recent TED Talk available online. "This is the country they fought for. No wonder they're depressed. No wonder they're scared."

Lately, there's been a lot of howling about the fraying of connections between countries  you know, Britain's exit from the European Union, or proposals to impose tariffs here at home.

But the fraying connections in our hometowns deserve just as much attention. We can't trust other countries if we don't trust our neighbors. No country can be globally strong when it is internally sick.

And if you don't believe we're sick, think about the recent study showing how mortality rates among middle-aged white Americans have been rising since 1999. The reason, according to its authors, Angus Deaton and Anne Case, is "external causes, mostly increases in drug and alcohol poisonings and in suicide."

That's sickness. That's unhappiness.

Meanwhile, we're told again and again that the real keys to a happy life aren't money and fame, but deep connection to family, friends and community.

A 2012 study, for example, found that people who volunteer live longer. A recent study found that people who regularly attend church do, too. Another showed that lonely people die sooner.

I think many of us know all this in our bones. We long for meaning. We long for deeper connection to the things we know really matter  family, nature, spirituality, community.

If only we stopped bowling alone. If only we turned off the TV. If only we lived more like my neighbor from up the street.

So why don't we?
When Ted Chmielewski bought a house to rehabilitate in the quaint Rensselaer County village of Valley Falls in 1978, he didn't think much about the adjoining storage building the previous owners used to run a laundry business.

But 38 years later, Chmielewski is still paying for his choice. A well test by a concerned neighbor in 1991 sparked an emergency investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which found Chmielewski's well and others nearby were contaminated with dangerous levels of a hazardous chemical, tetrachloroethylene or perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc and still used in the dry-cleaning industry.

Investigators found the laundry discharged perc into an on-site septic system for years, contaminating the groundwater, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation records on the case. The EPA eventually turned the case over to DEC, which oversaw the excavation of 75 yards of contaminated soil and the drilling of new wells for some nearby property owners. Around 2013, a monitoring well still showed elevated levels of perc, so the DEC did ozone injection last year in an attempt to break the chemical down.

Chmielewski's small property is still listed as a Superfund site  a designation that gives the state legal grounds to investigate and clean up a property, including targeting those responsible. A carbon filter attached to Chmielewski's water supply will likely be there permanently, he suspects.

Michael P. Farrell

"I could never sell this place," said Chmielewski, 61. "No one would list a mortgage on this."

The Valley Falls case is one of thousands of examples in New York of the legacy left by dry-cleaning businesses. The greatest impact is in New York City's five boroughs, where the bulk of the state's dry cleaners exist. Most of those dry cleaners are also on the ground floor of apartment buildings  a concern because of the effects perc vapors can have on indoor air quality.

The Capital Region has cases as well, with the DEC listing about 25 current and former dry cleaners from the eight-county region in an online environmental remediation database.

Contamination from current perc use is less of an issue because of newer regulations concerning disposal and better designed machines. But for decades perc, which is heavier than water, entered storm sewers or polluted soil from leaking machines, spills, or irresponsible and illegal disposal by some dry-cleaner operators.

Perc is valued because it's one of the most-effective chemicals for removing grease and other stubborn stains and leaves very little trace on laundered clothing. But straight perc can be toxic even at low levels. Inhaling vapors from perc can cause dizziness, loss of coordination and memory loss. Ingestion through drinking water over many years can cause liver problems and increase the risk of cancer. Federal and state officials have also found that chemicals trapped in soil and groundwater can evaporate and emerge as vapor into buildings.

Some former dry-cleaning sites in the Capital Region have been fully remediated, but others remain polluted.

A former Roxy Cleaners on Main Avenue in Wynantskill was responsible for a 55-gallon spill in 1984 that contaminated 14 private wells, according to DEC records. The town of North Greenbush responded by connecting residences and businesses to a public water line in the late 1990s. In April, the building was finally renovated by a different owner and turned into a restaurant.

Lori Van Buren

DEC has also overseen the installation of underground depressurization systems in many buildings that are near former dry cleaners. The systems typically involve drilling a hole into a basement floor and venting any vapors outside. The Golub Corp. headquarters in Schenectady was a brownfield site built over a former shopping plaza and dry cleaner, calling for such a ventilation system to be installed. The nearby Rivers Casino and Resort is also located on a site that was contaminated with chlorinated solvents that are similar to perc, and may need ventilation systems once it's completed, according to DEC records on the cleanup.

But pollution at many other contaminated sites has endured for years. The DEC is still working on a situation discovered 15 years ago when leaking machines at the former Damshire Cleaners at 1205 Central Ave. in Colonie caused contaminated groundwater to migrate under the road and possibly affect residences and businesses nearby.

DEC fined Damshire's former operator in 2001, and the business later closed. Records show the site's current owner has accumulated $94,000 in unpaid property taxes since 2008, and the building has broken windows and is overgrown with weeds. In 2015, the DEC tested the immediate area and found unsafe levels of perc vapor around properties just to the southwest of the building. The DEC said three property owners either declined or did not answer the state's call to participate in a voluntary program that tests indoor air quality. The state said it is working on a plan to permanently clean up the site.

Elmhurst Avenue resident Mark Simonian said he remembers getting a letter from the DEC about the former Damshire cleaners sometime last year, but he said he dismissed it because the area has public water. "I don't have any colored water or anything," he said.

Lstanforth@timesunion.com  518-454-5697
Schenectady

Many people who grew up in the working-class neighborhood that surrounded what was known as "The Varnish Works" remember vividly the stench from the 10th Avenue factory smokestacks.

Marc Della Villa, 64, grew up in the small collection of streets across the Cowhorn Creek from the former Varnish Works, an area called Hungry Hill that is sandwiched between Schenectady and Rotterdam. He recalls playing in the creek as a boy, and it often changed colors when you skipped rocks on it.

For the last two decades, Della Villa has made claims that many of Hungry Hill's former residents developed cancer, possibly because of the 10th Avenue factory or the 70-acre Cheltingham landfill, across from Cowhorn Creek, where factory operator Schenectady International and other companies are alleged to have dumped materials.

PAUL BUCKOWSKI

The landfill, while closed in 1980, shows little sign the city is maintaining the property.

Production at the factory stopped in 1997 and the buildings are gone. But the impact of an unknown number of discharges and spills remains as the soil and groundwater are still contaminated with unsafe levels of various chemicals, including those typically used as disinfectants or to make resins and plasticizers, according to state records on the site. The company said a final cleanup is happening this summer.

On a recent tour of the neighborhood, Della Villa pointed out each house where he knew someone who was diagnosed with cancer at a relatively young age.

"The second house in, the kid there died at 38 or 40 from cancer," Della Villa said about a house on Sterling Avenue. "His best friend who lived up in the street there died with almost the same kind of cancer. They would play together down here," he said gesturing toward the creek.

The Varnish Works was likely the first plant operated by Schenectady International, now called SI Group, which was started in the late 1800s by a General Electric Co. chemist. The factory, built in the early 1900s, made electrical insulation materials for GE and other companies.

"I don't miss the smell the factory put out," said Anthony Ferrari, who grew up helping in his family's restaurant that is directly across from the factory site on 10th Avenue. He now owns the restaurant with his brothers. While Ferrari said his family has joked the factory's emissions must have miraculously done wonders for his mother, who lived until she was 92, it's well known that's not the case for others. "Definitely other people got sick," Ferrari said.

Albert DeMarco, 66, a retired Schenectady police officer, grew up around the corner from the factory on Lakeview Avenue. He said he remembers his father's 1958 Buick often being covered in a sticky, orange residue. Sometime in the late 1980s, while responding to a call beneath the factory around the Oak Street Bridge, DeMarco said he found a discarded jar near the creek filled with a sick-smelling liquid. He said he gave it to a city fire chief for testing, but he presumes nothing was ever done with it.

In 2002, four months after DeMarco's retirement from the force, doctors found a malignant tumor in his sinus. He has also battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia, but is now in remission. The former police sergeant, who is living again in his childhood home, said he recognizes many things could have caused his cancer. But when he recently read an obituary of a classmate who died from cancer DeMarco said to himself, "that darn varnish company struck again."

The removal of all the factory buildings took place from 2004 to 2011; black fabric now draped behind a chain-link fence shields eyes from concrete slabs that remain. A sign vandalized with graffiti was posted near the entrance gate for years that stated "pardon our appearance" and noted the demolition would be done in January 2004, followed by remediation of the ground contamination.

The company, which still owns the site, only removed the sign last month after being asked about it by the Times Union.

Former Schenectady Councilman Tom Isabella, whose grandfather worked at the factory, said he drives by the site regularly. Isabella's sister still owns their childhood residence in Schenectady's Mont Pleasant neighborhood. "You would think the state would take the necessary action to finally stabilize that area," said Isabella, who served on the City Council from 1980 to 1995.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation finished a record of decision on the cleanup needed in 1998, and interim remediation has been done. But eradicating the source of the underground pollution still has not been addressed.

PAUL BUCKOWSKI

SI Group said a treatment system has been in place since 2002 to decontaminate the polluted groundwater before it reaches Cowhorn Creek, which drains into the Mohawk River. The company said an employee goes to the site five days a week to monitor the system.

Developing a final cleanup plan took four years as SI Group went through reviews and comment periods with the state, the company said. Now, a plan to treat the remaining contaminated soil with heat is scheduled to start this month, according to both the DEC and SI Group.

The DEC, in response to a Times Union inquiry, said it's normal for a cleanup project like the Schenectady International site to take years to engineer and implement.

As for the Cheltingham landfill, Della Villa was one of about 100 residents in 1999 who signed a petition and threatened legal action if the city of Schenectady didn't stop liquid from oozing out of the landfill. The residents couldn't prove a direct correlation, but suspected that the landfill was contributing to residents' health problems.

PAUL BUCKOWSKI

The DEC investigated and found landfill byproducts, including ammonia and iron, leeching into Cowhorn Creek. The city signed a consent order with the DEC saying it would stop the illegal releases, and install a better landfill cap and new fencing. DEC records say the landfill's contents are listed as solid waste, and are therefore not hazardous to human health.

But issues continue on that property today, with many of the old metal tubes once used to vent methane gas now broken and knocked over. Gray Street resident Crystal Hiscock said she called the city about fixing the landfill fence after a tree fell and crushed it during Tropical Storm Irene. She installed a camera outside her house because of all the teenagers entering the landfill through her property. She said her calls to City Hall have gone unanswered.

There are piles of what look like road debris also visible on the landfill.

Mayor Gary McCarthy said the piles were put there two years ago, and he thinks the placement is OK because it's on the landfill's perimeter. He also said he doesn't know what maintenance is required on the landfill vents or if they still emit gas. "I am not briefed on it and I'd have to pull a file to tell you the technical criteria. It's been a long time since I looked at any of that."

Hungry Hill's Della Villa, meanwhile, has a past with the DEC himself  he served six months in a county jail in the mid-2000s for violations related to his own construction and debris landfill on nearby Westside Avenue.

But he said his complaints about the Cheltingham landfill have not been just payback for DEC's actions against him, which required Della Villa to cap his one-acre landfill. He said the charges against him were minor compared to the widespread contamination that's affected his neighborhood.

"The big companies like (SI Group) , they should be paying a fine for every day they're violating their consent order. But the DEC lets them put in a little stipulation that it's 'under review,' and lets the big guys off the hook," Della Villa said. "Me? They just crushed us."

lstanforth@timesunion.com  518-454-5697
The following editorial appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The attack at Istanbul's main airport last week, with a death toll of at least 45, makes it increasingly clear that U.S. floundering in the Mideast involving Turkey is a growing threat to the stability and well-being of that moderate, predominantly Muslim state, a cornerstone of the Western alliance for decades.

Turkey had been a model of evolving democracy and economic development in Eurasia for many years when successive American administrations decided that it could be employed as a key player in achieving its goals in various Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq and Syria, with which Turkey has borders. Turkey's own orientation is somewhere between its majority's Sunni Islam and the secularism introduced there subsequent to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and World War I, by its national hero, Kemal Ataturk.

Turkey's president, Recip Tayyip Erdogan, has unfortunately become more autocratic as his regime becomes more defensive in response to increasingly sharp assaults from both resurgent Kurds and, now, from the Islamic State, which appears to be behind the Istanbul attack. Turkey is feeling menaced and shaken. That state is very much not to America's advantage  but yet is due in no small part to U.S. policy.

Turkey's government at one point had reached a point of some equilibrium with its estimated 25 percent Kurdish minority.

Then the United States apparently concluded, based on battlefield experience, that virtually the only forces it can rely on to fight on its side in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria are Kurdish. American military aid bolstered considerably the Kurds' capacity  not only to fight the Islamic State, but also to torment Turkey's government and forces in Turkey.

In Iraq, the Kurdish north continues to build its ability to stand apart from the national government in Baghdad. In Syria, as other U.S.-backed forces including the New Syrian Army suffer defeat at the hands of IS troops, units of the also U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces remain virtually the sole credible troops opposing IS in Syria. There are now underway efforts on the part of the some 6 million Kurds in Iran to gain ground there, led by rebel Kurdish Democratic Party forces active in Iran.

The Kurds maintain that their different forces in Iran, Iraq and Syria operate separately, but this is a claim that is hard to believe.

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In the meantime, Turkey bleeds, from IS and Kurdish attacks. Its prospects of gaining admission to the European Union have suffered as well, based on the Istanbul and other attacks, as well as from disruption within the EU itself, signaled by the United Kingdom's Brexit decision to separate itself, in part based on the possibility of Turkey joining the organization.

All in all, U.S. Mideast policy, including its support for the Kurds, needs a serious review, including consideration of its impact on ally Turkey.
The former Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh, has revealed how he went to a dark place following a sudden illness in 2013.

The bishop emeritus was speaking at a signing of his memoir, No Crusader, in Steeples bookstore and More, Nenagh, last Saturday.

Reading from the memoir, he told how he reached his lowest point while listening to an RTE documentary about Thomas Niedermeyer, a German businessman kidnapped and murdered in Belfast in 1973. In the following years, Dr Niedermeyer's wife and daughters, who had experienced the kidnapping, all separately took their own lives.

The story just tore me apart. Tears flowed as I listened. Whether they were tears of self-pity or pity for those whose lives had been so cruelly destroyed I dont know  probably a mixture of both. It was a story of the futility and destructiveness of violence in the name of a so-called noble cause, he said.

Bishop Walsh told how he had struggled with the conflict between the message of joy, peace and love given to us by Pope Frances and the violence, pain and suffering in the world.

The eternal question remained: where was God in the midst of all this suffering and pain? I also found myself asking where was my faith in that God of love; a faith I had preached so easily in times past.

During these dark days, as he called them, I found myself physically pacing the hospital chapel several times a day repeating the only words I could find  'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus'.

There were no flashes of new light, no inspirational experiences. Gradually, over time, the darkness began to lift. I began to get a sense of the peace that somehow I could continue to trust in the Lord and that he would accept that trust.

His second reading was about gratitude, which tells the story of his friend Padraig who died a few years ago at the age of 96 and who, despite challenges in his life, had the habit of counting his blessings rather than storing up hurts. He had a grateful heart.

Although initially reluctant to speak at the event, Bishop Walsh was persuaded to say a few words and read the two extracts from the book, which were found to be both moving and inspiring by those present.

He said it had never been his intention to write a memoir, but that he had been persuaded by The Columba Press to do and eventually he relented.

He had written the book over three years, all by hand, finding it at times very difficult.

The book is in two parts, the first being a memoir of his life from early years right through to being Bishop of Killaloe, and the second part being reflections on issues from despair to gratitude.

Published by Columba Press, No Crusader by Willie Walsh in available in bookshops.
A copy of last weeks Tipperary Star was produced in Dail Eireann this week by Fianna Fail Leader Micheal Martin during an at times heated, and unusual debate between An Taoiseach Enda Kelly and former Environment Minister Alan Kelly.

Deputy Kelly was seeking to get clarification from An Taoiseach that no secret deals had been struck with Independent TD's outside of those which had been published in official documents.

Without stating it, Deputy Kelly was believed to be alluding to comments by Deputy Michael Lowry in last weeks Tipperary Star in relation to a proposed 'Modular Hotel' for South Tipperary General Hospital. Members were left baffled by Deputy Kelly's cloaked comments while a number of smirks crept across the faces of opposition backbenchers - the ones in the know obviously.

But then, low and behold, the FF Leader just happened to have a copy of The Tipperary Star in his possession and he delighted in enlightening the country as to what exactly Deputy Kelly was having so much difficulty in spitting out. It seems to me that in one fell swoop, the other four deputies, as a result of the deal between Lowry and the Government, would appear to be redundant in Tipperary, he said after reading out an extract from the newspaper in which Deputy Lowry said that he was the only TD in the county in a position to work on the hospital project, as he was supporting the Government.

Minister Kelly was left angered by the exchanges which had left him red faced, while An Taoiseach smiled, It's the first time I've heard Deputy Kelly not being clear. You have full privilege in here. I don't know what you're talking about. You should say outright what's on your mind about whoever. Deputy Lowry's getting good free publicity.

The Tipperary Star was later much sought after by the TD's in Dail Eireann who were mad to find out what exactly had gotten Dpeuty Kelly so hot and bothered.
Cork Institute of Technology student Vincent Forde from Silvermines has scooped a major award from Enterprise Ireland having been named College Entrepreneur of the Year 2016.

Vincent's winning entry Gasgon Medical was selected from over 500 submissions from third level institutions across Ireland with the Silvermine man's business idea taking home the 10,000 prize fund and mentoring sessions from Enterprise Ireland.

Vincent, who is in his third year of his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering, returned to college as a mature student after running his own design company for several years.

His idea for Gasgon Medical originally began as part of one of his college modules which was later selected to join the Student Inc summer programme at the Rubicon Centre on CIT's campus. The company aims to improve patient safety in the clinical environment after doctors from UCC highlighted the valuable staff time that was being wasted while setting up and monitoring IV procedures.

As for future plans Vincent says he will focus on combining studying for his final year in college as well as setting his sights on scaling the company.

Taking part in this competition has allowed me to make some great contacts and given me access to supports networks to help develop my business idea. Going back to college was the best decision I ever made, he says.

This most recent win follows on from Vincent being named as Accenture Leader of Tomorrow in February this year. Vincent also received the Local Enterprise Office CIT Prize for Innovation where he was awarded 4,000 and took the title of CIT Entrepreneur of the Year.
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TeleMasters to Supply South African SMMEs with Cloud-based PBX

By Michael Guta - Contributing Writer

The IT segment in South Africa is one of the most developed in the whole of the continent. The country is the base of operations to some of the largest tech companies in the world for its regional services, which has given it access to the latest innovations in IT. This includes cloud-based communications, TeleMasters, a provider of IP communications, just announced it going to be supplying Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) with cloud-based PBX after overcoming some obstacles.

According to an article written by Vicky Sidler on mybroadband.co.za, the CEO of TeleMasters, Mario Pretorius, the obstacles were, "Scant features, high cost and expensive installations." And once the company was able to overcome these obstacles, it has been able to supply SMME businesses with a full-feature cloud-based PBX.

In order to make this possible, TeleMasters used its DeCT deLiTE system, which combines a DECT handset system with an LTE based connectivity. The company's DeCT DeLiTE has a built-in wireless modem capable of delivering up to 10 MBs data to users, for an affordable voice and internet connectivity.

Pretorius goes on to say, "Installing a DECT handset is quick and easy. By combining up to 15 extensions and an operators handset with our LTE- based SIMPLEX system, we can get a customer up and running in minutes."

The TeleMasters cloud PBX is powered by Broadsoft, which has the scalability to provide Unified Communications to virtually any size company. This hosted platform has all the PBX functions, plus fully integrated enhanced services, such as call center, teleconferencing, call recording, video as well as mobile integration. All of these features are managed through a web portal that allows administrators to take control of their own PBX environment.

The SMMEs in South Africa will now have access to future proofed unified communications delivered with a hosted, scalable and feature-rich service without annual licensing or escalation. Telemasters also offers remote support and programming with mobile office and presence management with branch WAN/ LAN integration to the head office.

Whether it is in South Africa or any other country in the world, cloud-based PBX has changed the way businesses communicate with their customers and employees. Not only does this technology have many enterprise grade features, but it is accessible to the smallest of businesses.

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Edited by Maurice Nagle
[July 07, 2016] Archer Norris Releases Second Annual Report on the State of Business Litigation in California

Archer Norris today published its second annual California Business Litigation Report, revealing that corporate lawyers continue to view many aspects of California's business environment as perplexing, downright exasperating, and in many ways more challenging than other states. Employment laws and labor issues were found to be by far the most significant legal concern of companies doing business in California, reported by 62% of respondents. When it comes to areas in which litigating in California is more challenging than in other states, employment law and labor issues again landed in the top spot (69%), followed by environmental law and regulation (57%). The survey showed that the most-cited legal stumbling blocks also include commercial litigation, product liability, intellectual property, land use, and health care. Among out-of-state counsel specifically, regulatory compliance was repeatedly cited as a chief challenge across a wide spectrum of legal concerns. Conducted in partnership with ALM Marketing Services, Archer Norris's survey polled general and corporate counsel with business interests in California on their opinions of the California legal climate, how they evaluate litigation matters, and how they choose outside counsel for handling these matters. This year, Archer Norris also examined current attitudes toward hot issues such as cybersecurity, finding that anxiety about exposure to cyber risks indeed runs deep among in-house counsel, with nearly two-thirds reporting they are "very concerned." They are most worried about information loss and associated costs resulting from data lekage or systems attacks, damage to critical IT infrastructure, and risk arising from malware and computer viruses.



"The results of our 2016 survey make it clear the legal terrain in California continues to prove daunting not only to companies new to litigating in the state, but also to those who have been handling matters here for some time," said Gene Blackard, Managing Partner of Archer Norris. "In order to overcome these challenges, it's more critical than ever for companies doing business in California to have highly responsive and knowledgeable outside counsel. Archer Norris has guided hundreds of businesses through the complex litigation and transactional landscape here, with the goal of seeing our clients succeed in California long-term. With more than 100 attorneys practicing in five offices across the state, we're exactly where our clients need us to be to best handle their diverse needs." The survey also yielded insights about how in-house counsel evaluate which outside California counsel is the right partner. While 55% of respondents noted the importance of a firm offering competitive rates and fees, a number of other factors were deemed more important than cost. Respondents first and foremost look for dependability and consistency (74%), followed by responsiveness, depth of experience, knowledge of the business and industry, and whether the law firm is one known for thoroughly exploring options for resolution other than going to trial.

Respondents reported spending about one-quarter of their overall legal budgets on outside counsel, and most said their budgets will stay the same or increase this year (37% and 29% respectively) compared to last. Many admit they would consider paying "premium" fees (up to 30% above the norm) to defend "bet the company" issues (23%) or legal matters where the client risks losing $1 million or more (32%). To download the previous Business Litigation Playbook white paper, which also reveals corporate counsels' greatest legal concerns within a variety of practice areas, please visit: http://www.archernorris.com/business-litigation-playbook-microsite About Archer Norris A leading California law firm, Archer Norris PLC has approximately 100 attorneys admitted to practice in 17 states. BTI Consulting Group named Archer Norris to its 2016 Client Service A-Team and the National Law Journal recognized Archer Norris on its "Midsize Law Firm Hot List" in 2015 and 2016. The firm focuses on business law from five strategically located offices throughout California and wherever our clients need us. For more information about the firm, please contact Jann Dudley at 925.952.5406 or visit the Archer Norris website at www.archernorris.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005317/en/

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[July 07, 2016] Dorsey Partner Peggy Hunt Named President of Utah Women's Forum

International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP announced today that Peggy Hunt, a partner in the Firm's Salt Lake City office, has been named President of the Utah Women's Forum. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005908/en/ Dorsey & Whitney announced today that Peggy Hunt, a partner in the Firm's Salt Lake City office, has been named President of the Utah Women's Forum. (Photo: Dorsey & Whitney LLP) Ms. Hunt has been working in the area of bankruptcy and receivership law for more than 25 years and is a Fellow in theAmerican College of Bankruptcy. She serves as a Panel Chapter 7 trustee for the District of Utah, and she has represented distressed companies, banks and other creditors, equity holders and Chapter 11 and 7 trustees in all aspects of the workout, restructuring and liquidating process, including in related litigation. Ms. Hunt also serves as lead counsel to trustees and equity receivers appointed in some of the largest Ponzi and securities fraud cases in Utah.



The Utah Women's Forum is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that elects into membership women of outstanding accomplishment in diverse fields. The purpose of the Utah Women's Forum is to identify and bring together women leaders to build and foster a network of communication, enhance the status of women, and undertake selected community service. "Peggy is dedicated to her colleagues and community, as demonstrated by her active role in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the Utah Women's Forum," said Dorsey Managing Partner Ken Cutler. "As a tremendous attorney and leader, we know that as President, Peggy will advance the agenda and impact of the Utah Women's Forum."

About Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Clients have relied on Dorsey since 1912 as a valued business partner. With locations across the United States and in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Dorsey provides an integrated, proactive approach to its clients' legal and business needs. Dorsey represents a number of the world's most successful companies from a wide range of industries, including leaders in the banking, energy, food and agribusiness, health care, mining and natural resources, and public-private project development sectors, as well as major non-profit and government entities. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005908/en/

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[July 07, 2016] Grady Health System the First in Georiga to Acquire Revolutionary Technology for Brain Surgery

Grady Health System, one of the busiest Level 1 trauma centers in the southeast and largest public hospitals in the United States, will be the first hospital in Georgia to acquire Synaptive Medical's BrightMatter technology. This innovative solution provides physicians at Grady visualization with unprecedented details of a patient's brain for intervention in situations such as stroke or tumor. BrightMatter, a seamless integration of essential technologies, is designed to support efficient clinical decision making with advanced imaging, planning, navigation and robotic visualization. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707006326/en/ (Video: Business Wire) BrightMatter uses a type of MRI called diffusion tensor imaging, or DTI (News - Alert), to produce an image of the entire brain's pathways. This occurs immediately after the MRI is complete and allows physicians to consider every possible approach. In a hospital like Grady where time is of the essence, immediate access to these details can make a significant impact on patients who may be diagnosed with a stroke or brain tumor. "Grady remains deeply committed to its vision of becoming the leading public academic health care system in the country," said Dr. Gustavo Pradilla, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery for Emory University Healthcare, and Chief of Neurosurgery for Grady Health System and Co-Director of the Grady Skull Base Surgery Center."As part of this mission we are excited to announce the acquisition of a revolutionary technology for brain imaging and robotic-assisted neurosurgery.



This technology brings the most advanced imaging system for neurosurgical planning and allows for minimally invasive surgical treatment of hemorrhages and tumors in deep locations of the brain that were previously deemed inoperable and will transform the way traditional neurosurgical procedures for brain and spine conditions are performed. The potential impact for patients is transformative and includes smaller incisions, shorter recovery times, and preservation of vital brain and spinal cord functions." "The BrightMatter technology provides a life-changing opportunity for people in our community and our region. We are thrilled to bring this offering to Grady to provide new clinical options for our patients," said Shannon Sale, Senior Vice President, Planning and Business Development, Grady Health System.

The brain is made up of millions of pathways in the white matter that connect key functional areas. BrightMatter supports a physician's ability to see these pathways, which cannot be seen with the naked eye or a standard MRI. While physicians know anatomy of the brain, every patient is different. Crossing these pathways may result in complications and prevent a physician from considering surgery. BrightMatter brings hope to patients whose condition might have previously been considered inoperable. Dr. Michael Frankel is chief of neurology and director of The Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center at Grady. Established in 2010, the center is internationally known for elite comprehensive stroke care. In 2013, they were designated a Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Center and were among a handful of facilities that were responsible for setting the national agenda for highly specialized stroke care. Their goal is to impact the lives of patients who might not have had a favorable outcome had they not received care through Grady's highly coordinated interdisciplinary effort. "Grady is internationally recognized for its leadership in neurosurgery, trauma and acute stroke care," said Cameron Piron, president of Synaptive. "We've enjoyed a productive clinical research relationship with Dr. Pradilla and his team, and look forward to continuing our partnership as the BrightMatter technology opens new clinical and research opportunities." About Synaptive Medical | Synaptive Medical, a Toronto-based company has a talented team of scientists, engineers and locally-based customer care specialists committed to developing and supporting surgical technologies and therapies. Their BrightMatter Solutions provide advanced tools and information that allow surgeons to focus on patient outcomes. From advanced visualization and guidance to their first hands-free surgical scope, Synaptive Medical collaborates with surgeons, hospitals and industry partners to define new standards of care for surgical intervention. About Grady Health System

Grady Health System is one of the largest safety net health systems in the United States. Grady consists of the 953-bed Grady Memorial Hospital, six neighborhood health centers, Crestview Health & Rehabilitation Center, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes (News - Alert) Spalding, which is operated as a Children's affiliate. With its nationally acclaimed emergency medical services, Grady has the premier level I trauma center in the Metro Atlanta region and serves as the 911 ambulance provider for the city of Atlanta. Grady's American Burn Association/American College of Surgeons verified Burn Center is one of only two in the state. The Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center is a Joint Commission designated Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center. Other key services include Grady's Regional Perinatal Center with its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Georgia's first Cancer Center for Excellence, The Avon Breast Health Center, the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and the Ponce de Leon Center - one of the top three HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in the country. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707006326/en/

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[July 07, 2016] NCKU President's Visit Bolsters Taiwan's Ties with Prestigious Myanmar Universities

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) President Huey-Jen Jenny Su landed in Yangon, Myanmar, on June 30, making a historic visit that she hopes it will bolster an important ally in higher education and offer a better understanding of Taiwan for Myanmar people. She visited the Yangon University of Economics on June 30 giving a guest lecture titled "Shaping Taiwan's Future, City, Industry and University" to introduce the current development of education in Taiwan and the innovation within the impact of university-industry-government collaboration networks. On the following morning, she gave another lecture to the faculty and students in the University of Yangon. Pro-Rector of Yangon University Omar Kyaw said, "During these years, we have carried out lots of rigid reforms. We have introduced more academic programs that enhance human resources in Myanmar. We have embargoed the missions to educate our students doing mre creative and innovative study so that they will be able to face the challenge of knowledge exchange."



"The lecture Dr. Su is giving meets what we are striving for. I am sure we will learn a lot from you," said Omar. Su said, "around ten years ago, NCKU was working to set up a platform to connect all the best universities from south-eastern Asian countries, so there were candidates and universities coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, even Brunei."

Su again invited University of Yangon and the Yangon University of Economics to join the platform. "We consider it a very effective platform over the past decades to connect the students, faculty as well as research capacity, and even the industry sectors altogether to participate in an effort that higher education can better contribute their human capital as well as their research and teaching outcome and have it flow back to the society to mobilize more resources together and therefore we can better our society in a meaningful way," she noted. Two history students of the Yangon University raised their hands to show their interests of pursuing education in Taiwan. They would like to know more about Taiwan's education system, hoping more scholarships from Taiwan will be provided to Myanmar students. In addition, Su pinpointed the crucial position of Taiwan in the globe and the ASEAN, linking to the south-bund policy for Taiwan. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160706006440/en/

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[July 07, 2016] Study Sheds New Light On 'Global Citizens' And How They Spend Money Outside Their Home Countries

South Korea may have more "Global Citizens" who can afford to pursue educational and healthcare-related opportunities outside of their home countries, but China and India have more Global Citizens who are actually enrolled in U.S. schools, according to the newly released PYMNTS.com Global Citizen Index. Based on the study's findings, this may be due to less parental pressure to study outside of their home countries but having to both earn more and pay more for their education than families living in China or India - the two other countries examined in this study. In South Korea, the high average living cost of $36,101 means a family would need to earn the equivalent of $96,101 in U.S. dollars to maintain their lifestyle and cover the educational costs required to send their children to school in the U.S., compared to $56,233 for Chinese families and $30,889 for families living in India. This study was done collaboratively with Flywire, a leading provider of high-ticket payment solutions connecting educational and healthcare institutions with consumers in 220 countries. The study creates a benchmark for Global Citizens' relative income levels in the three countries who have among the greatest concentrations of Global Citizens - China, India and South Korea. As part of the study, hundreds of confidential online surveys - completed by current and former students who left their home countries to attend school - were analyzed. A common finding was the esirability of the United States as a destination market for school.



One of the Chinese Global Citizens profiled in the report said the opportunity to seek higher education and better career opportunities led him to study abroad and in the U.S. The 22-year-old Tufts University student also noted how China's policy of limiting the subjects that students can pursue as a major made it difficult for him to pursue his educational ambitions in his home country. Nearly 60 percent of Chinese students cited similar reasons for studying abroad. At 31 percent of all enrolled students in college, Chinese students comprise the largest international student ethnicity in America. Being a Global Citizen requires the ability to move money from a person or family to a business outside of their home country. These potentially high dollar, low frequency transactions often involved a complicated and expensive series of opaque "hops" between the originating party's banks and the destination institution.

"Focusing on the consumer and building a strong understanding of the evolving needs and aspirations of Global Citizens is critical to any global company. This learning supports our goal to provide a world-class payment experience for those who require the ability to make cross-border payments for large ticket items like education and healthcare," says Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire. The average cost of a U.S. education costs South Korean students $36,101, Chinese students $32,233, and Indian students $27,090. Annual tuition cost and living expenses when studying abroad were also highest for South Korean students at $54,000, followed by Chinese students ($52,000) and Indian students at $35,000. Karen Webster, CEO of PYMNTS.com, says this study is an important step in defining who the Global Citizen really is, and how and why they spend their money outside of their own home countries. "There is a whole new generation of Global Citizen, made possible by the growth of the emerging middle class around the world. This study, we hope, will open everyone's eyes to the fact that Global Citizens aren't only those who fly around the world in private jets and give their teen age kids new BMWs for Christmas," she said, "But people with an interest in providing the very best opportunities for their families wherever those opportunities might be found." Additional details, including 14 charts and graphs, can be found in PYMNTS Global Citizen Index. About PYMNTS.com PYMNTS.com is reinventing the way in which companies share relevant information about the initiatives that shape the future of payments and commerce and makes news. This powerful B2B platform is the No. 1 site for the payments industry by traffic and the premier source of information about "What's Next" in payments and commerce. It provides an interactive platform for companies to demonstrate thought leadership, popularize products and, most importantly, capture the mindshare of global decision-makers. For more information, visit the PYMNTS website. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005886/en/

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[July 06, 2016] Global Video Surveillance System Market with Focus on Equipments: (2016-2020)

LONDON, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Scope of the Report



The report titled "Global Video Surveillance System Market with Focus on Equipments: (2016-2020)" provides an in-depth analysis of the global video surveillance system market with detailed analysis of market sizing and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides detailed analysis of front-end and back-end video surveillance system products.



The report provides country analysis of China, the U.S. and Europe for the Video surveillance system market. Country analysis includes market sizing by value and volume along with the major players in the country.



The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global video surveillance system market has also been forecasted for the period 2016-2020, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The competition in global video surveillance system market is stiff and dominated by the big players like Hikvision. Further, key players of the video surveillance system market Dahua Technology and Axis communications are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.



Country Coverage



- China

- The U.S.

- Europe



Company Coverage



- Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd.

- Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.

- Axis Communication AB



Executive Summary



ideo surveillance system market has become a vital part of the global economy due to increasing security and safety awareness, be it a shopping or industrial complex or military areas or common areas. The industry includes surveillance cameras which are used for keeping a check on the areas. Cameras record the whole activity and then the analysis of the footage can be done with automated software. Due to the technological advancements, now there are high resolution cameras which have a better quality and long transmissions. There are various video surveillance equipments present in the market today such as CCTV, security cameras, analogue security cameras, network security cameras, video encoders, VMS, hardware NVRs, DVRs, megapixel network security cameras, and network video surveillance equipments.







Global Video Surveillance System market has increased at a significant annual growth rate in 2015 as compared to the preceding year and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2016-2020 tremendously. Global video surveillance system market can be segmented in analog and network video surveillance systems, of which, network video surveillance system market exhibited an increase, driving the global video surveillance system market. The upsurge in the market was due to various factors such as rapid growth in urbanization, rising global population, increasing crime & theft rate and development of smart cities.



The major growth drivers for the video surveillance system market are: upsurge in Internet of Thing market, rising demand for video analytics, development of smart cities, emergence of e-traffic system and smart parking lot system, increase in global crime and rising international terrorism. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as: hampering of privacy, regulatory issues, instability across the world and poor trading environment.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3671171/





About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com For more information:

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Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-video-surveillance-system-market-with-focus-on-equipments-2016-2020-300295062.html SOURCE ReportBuyer

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[July 06, 2016] Multi-Dimensional Circuit Carriers Created With Additive Manufacturing

SHANGHAI, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Almost all contemporary devices require a circuit board in order to incorporate one or more chips, plus the additionally required electrical components. This creates a network that fulfills a range of tasks, from supplying of electricity, circuitry, through to the output of signals. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160627/383497 ) But with contemporary electronic products, the circuitry often has to compete for the limited space within the housing. When conventionally stacked, printed circuit boards (PCB) can no longer accommodate all of the necessary components, so that three-dimensional circuit carriers becomethe solution of choice. Here again, the ever-shorter life cycles of many devices pose additional challenges: injection molding is far too expensive to manufacture prototypes.



Harnessing Additive Manufacturing technology For this reason, The German firm of Beta LAYOUT GmbH successfully harnessed EOS technology to manufacture and test the prototypes for three-dimensional circuit carriers: The company uses plastic parts manufactured by 3D printing. The innovation takes place after the printing process itself; once they've been made, the models are coated with a special finish that is furnished with an additive. The subsequent so-called 'laser direct structuring' (LDS) generates layouts, which can be turned into conductor tracks by activating the finish.

"We offer manufacturing of 3D-MID (mechatronic integrated devices) as prototypes for diverse companies," explains Manuel Martin, Product Manager 3D-MID at Beta LAYOUT GmbH. "Working with EOS' FORMIGA P 110, we are in a position to deliver high-quality products to our customers fast. What's particularly practical in all this is that we are even able to deal with orders of 3D models via websites and online shops. Additive manufacturing has enabled us to successfully expand our business model." Technical changes lead to high level of cost efficiency Whether for individual developers or large established companies, additive manufacturing ensures that custom-made circuit carriers can be used for the prototypes of new electronic devices. The plastic components can be produced quickly and at an attractive price. The process simultaneously offers the necessary level of precision and high component-quality, allowing the required basic body to be manufactured as if it were already a close-to series product - an aspect that should not be underestimated, particularly with test runs. The complete customer case study you can find online on the EOS website. For further information please contact Stephanie Cheong, Marketing Manager EOS Singapore Pte. Ltd. (phone +65 6430 0541, e-Mail: [email protected]).

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[July 07, 2016] StarTimes Steps up Capacity with Eutelsat for DTT Broadcasting in Africa

Regulatory News: StarTimes, one of the fastest-growing operators of digital TV networks in Africa, and Eutelsat (News - Alert) Communications (Paris:ETL) have concluded new multi-year agreements that set the stage for accelerated roll-out of digital broadcasting services across Africa. StarTimes uses satellites to deliver its multi-channel TV platform to over seven million homes in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries and is gearing up to expand into DRC Congo and Zambia in August. The platform transmits over 200 channels, including international channels, regional and country-focused channels as well as StarTimes' own branded content. Content is offered both on a Free-to-View and pay-TV basis, with exclusive programming including frontline events such as the Bundesliga and the 2016 Copa America. StarTimes has renewed capacity contracts on two Eutelsat satellites as well as agreements for uplinking services provided by a partner teleport operated by STN, in Slovenia. In anticipation of continued expansion of Africa's TV market, StarTimes has also secured extra capacity and plans to scale up further by the end of the year. This expanded portfolio equips StarTimes to host more services, uplink channels from Europe and Africa and provide the highest levels of service continuity. "StarTimes and Eutelsat are long-term strategic partners," said StarTimes Group Chairman and President Pang Xinxing. "We rely on Eutelsat's advanced satellite communication technology to make our signals available throughout the African continent. Going forward, we will continue to work with Eutelsat to provide the best digital TV serice to our African customers."



Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat CEO added: "Eutelsat is fully engaged in the transformation of Africa's broadcasting landscape and is proud to work with the players who are bringing the benefits of digital TV to viewers across the continent. In leveraging diversified satellite resources we can help StarTimes achieve its ambition to reach 30 million homes in 30 African countries by 2018." For more information about STN: www.stn.eu

About Eutelsat Communications Established in 1977, Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL, ISIN code: FR0010221234) is one of the world's leading and most experienced operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 39 satellites to clients that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat's satellites provide ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a user's location. Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat represents a workforce of 1,000 men and women from 37 countries who are experts in their fields and work with clients to deliver the highest quality of service. For more about Eutelsat please visit www.eutelsat.com www.eutelsat.fr - Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @Eutelsat_SA and Facebook (News - Alert) Eutelsat.SA View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005441/en/

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[July 07, 2016] CSRA Helps Advance Medical Research

FALLS CHURCH, Va., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CSRA Inc. (NYSE: CSRA), a leading provider of next-generation IT solutions and professional services to government agencies, today announced it was awarded an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide scientific, information technology and administrative solutions for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). The IDIQ, which is managed by the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, is valued at $180 million over a five-year period, if all options are exercised. The CDMRP is a global funding organization that supports cancer, military medical, and other disease and injury-specific research. The CDMRP manages more than $1 billion in biomedical research investments annually, funding groundbreaking research projects intended to transform healthcare for military service members and the general public. "Over the last 20 years, we've partnered with the CDMRP to develop and deploy a world-class approach for engaging scientists, clinicians, and consumers in the evaluation of grant applications," said Paul Nedzbala, CSRA's executive vice president, Health and Civil grup. "Bringing an outstanding team of subject matter experts together with survivors and caregivers has been instrumental in ensuring funding of innovative research with the potential to make a real impact on peoples' lives."



Under the contract, CSRA will continue to support all facets of grant application receipt and scientific evaluation, leveraging the company's industry-leading peer review technology platform, PRMIS. CSRA will recruit, train and engage scientists, clinicians, and specialists to serve on review panels; provide logistics support to panel participants; and maintain the CDMRP's electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal, eBRAP. "This award is a critically important win for CSRA and cements our position as the pre-eminent provider of scientific peer review solutions," said Nedzbala.

About CSRA Inc.

Every day CSRA (NYSE: CSRA) makes a difference in how the government serves our country and our citizens. We deliver a broad range of innovative, cloud-enabled, next-generation IT solutions and professional services to help our customers modernize their legacy systems, protect their applications, infrastructure, and assets and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of mission-critical functions for our warfighters and our citizens. Our 18,000 employees understand that success is a matter of perseverance, courage, adaptability and experience. CSRA is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia. To learn more about CSRA, visit www.csra.com. Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release and in all future press releases that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements represent CSRA's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs, including statements about network and asset protection and improving mission-critical functions. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of CSRA. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. For a written description of these factors, see the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in CSRA's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any updating information in subsequent SEC filings. CSRA disclaims any intention or obligation to update these forward-looking statements whether as a result of subsequent event or otherwise, except as required by law. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151207/293934LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/csra-helps-advance-medical-research-300295029.html SOURCE CSRA Inc.

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[July 07, 2016] Gartner Says Worldwide IT Spending Is Forecast to Be Flat in 2016

Worldwide IT spending is forecast to be flat in 2016, totaling $3.41 trillion, according to Gartner (News - Alert), Inc. (see Table 1). This is up from last quarter's forecast of negative 0.5 percent growth. The change in the forecast is mainly due to currency fluctuations. "The current Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast assumes that the U.K. would not exit the European Union. With the U.K.'s exit, there will likely be an erosion in business confidence and price increases which will impact U.K., Western Europe and worldwide IT spending," said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner. While the U.K. has embarked on a process to change, that change is yet to be defined. The "leave" vote will quickly affect IT spending in the U.K. and in Europe while other changes will take longer. Staff may be the largest immediate issue. The long-term uncertainty in work status will make the U.K. less attractive to new foreign workers. Retaining current non-U.K. staff and having less access to qualified new hires from abroad will impair U.K. IT Departments. New Options Are Disrupting Established Markets "2016 marked the start of an amazing dichotomy. The pace of change in IT will never again be as slow as it is now, but global IT spending growth is best described as lackluster," said Mr. Lovelock. "2016 is the year that business focus turns to digital business, the Internet of Things and even algorithmic business. To fund these new initiatives, many businesses are turning to cost optimization efforts centering around the new digital alternatives (for example, SaaS instead of software licenses, voice over LTE (News - Alert) [VoLTE] instead of cellular and digital personal assistants instead of people) to save money, simplify operations and speed time to value. It is precisely this new breadth of alternatives to traditional IT that will fundamentally reshape what is bought, who buys it and how much will be spent." The Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast is the leading indicator of major technology trends across the hardware, software, IT services and telecom markets. Global IT and business executives use these highly anticipated quarterly reports to recognize market opportunities and challenges, and base their critical business decisions on proven methodologies rather than guesswork.







Table 1. Worldwide IT Spending Forecast (Billions of U.S. Dollars) 2015 Spending 2015 Growth 2016 Spending 2016 Growth Data Center Systems 171,213 2.9% 174,578 2.0% Software 313,948 1.1% 332,207 5.8% Devices 662,295 -4.6% 627,235 -5.3% IT Services 865,818 -3.4% 897,634 3.7% Communications Services 1,400,049 -9.2% 1,380,782 -1.4% Overall IT 3,413,324 -5.5% 3,412,436 0.0%

Source (News - Alert): Gartner (July 2016) Data center systems' spending is projected to reach $174 billion in 2016, a 2 percent increase from 2015. The market is driven by strong growth in the server markets in Greater China and Western Europe, and a strong refresh cycle in the North American enterprise network equipment market. Global enterprise software spending is on pace to total $332 billion, a 5.8 percent increase from 2015. North America is the dominant regional driving force behind the growth. It is responsible for $11.6 billion of the $24 billion dollar increase in 2016. At a segment level, the fastest-growing market continues to be customer relationship management software. Devices spending is projected to total $627 billion by the end of 2016. The lackluster economic issues surrounding Russia, Japan and Brazil will hold back demand and worldwide PC recovery in 2016. Additionally, Windows 10 upgrades have further led to PC buying being delayed - consumers are willing to use older PCs longer, once they are upgraded to Windows 10. Spending in the IT services market is expected to increase 3.7 percent, totaling $898 billion. Japan is the fastest-growing region for IT services spending with 8.9 percent growth. With an increase in digital business projects, Japanese companies are starting to better understand that they need consulting support to transform their business and advice around new technologies from consultancy companies. Critically, they now see real value in those services and consequently are willing to pay for the services. Communications services spending is projected to total $1.38 trillion in 2016, down 1.4 percent from 2015. Japan leads the growth in communications services, with 8.3 percent growth, while Greater China adds the most dollars to spend with just more than $8.3 billion. Eastern Europe, Western Europe and North America all are forecast to decrease as price wars and declining usage affect virtually all communications services markets. More detailed analysis on the outlook for the IT industry will be presented in the complimentary webinar "IT Spending Forecast, 2Q16 Update: New Options Are Disrupting Established Markets" taking place July 12 at 11 a.m. EDT. During the webinar, Gartner analysts will walk through three different examples of digital alternatives and demonstrate the effects that they are having on the markets that they play in as well as the deleterious effects they can have on adjacent markets. Gartner's IT spending forecast methodology relies heavily on rigorous analysis of sales by thousands of vendors across the entire range of IT products and services. Gartner uses primary research techniques, complemented by secondary research sources, to build a comprehensive database of market size data on which to base its forecast. The Gartner quarterly IT spending forecast delivers a unique perspective on IT spending across hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications segments. These reports help Gartner clients understand market opportunities and challenges. The most recent IT spending forecast research is available at http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/it-spending-forecast/.This Quarterly IT Spending Forecast page includes links to the latest IT spending reports, webinars, blog posts and press releases. Gartner clients can read more on the Brexit impact on IT spending in "Brexit Will Disrupt CIO and Vendor Plans Through 2018." About Gartner Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. The company delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the valuable partner to clients in approximately 10,000 distinct enterprises worldwide. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, and has 7,900 associates, including more than 1,700 research analysts and consultants, and clients in more than 90 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005815/en/

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[July 07, 2016] LexisNexis To Help Journalists Tell Faction from Fiction at Upcoming Political Conventions

NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a leading provider of content and technology solutions, will partner closely with media to support coverage of the RNC and DNC conventions. The company was invited to serve as the official research provider at the Republican National Convention, July 18-21 in Cleveland. LexisNexis will offer extensive support to approximately 15,000 credentialed media attending the GOP convention including research assistance and access to the largest and most comprehensive news and public records database in the world. "In today's fast-paced, 24/7 news cycle, transparency and credibility are more critical than ever. We want to make it easy for the media to quickly and thoroughly vet and confirm the talking points that will be so important to this historical election," explained Tom Ogburn, Managing Director of Business Insight Solutions at LexisNexis. Ogburn oversees the LexisNexis flagship research platform, Nexis, and the company's media monitoring and analytics platform, LexisNexis Newsdesk. He noted the company has been monitoring Election 2016 at LexisNexis.com/Election2016, which offers a near real-time glimpse into the media coverage and issues shaping the campaign.



First Year Project to have a presence in its space at the convention. Part of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, the First Year Project is a multi-year, non-partisan effort to examine the legacy of each U.S. president's first year in office. Appearing in the LexisNexis space will be two noted experts in history and politics from the Miller Center: Barbara Perry , director of presidential studies and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program and Nicole Hemmer , assistant professor of presidential studies. "We will offer journalists customized, on-demand background, context, historical analysis and quotes for their stories and broadcasts," explained Perry, an author/editor and frequent commentator on the intersection of politics and history in America. "The First Year Project is an ambitious effort that focuses on the key issues the next president must confront, viewed through the clarifying lens of history and amplified with actionable advice from leading scholars, former administration officials and policy experts."

LexisNexis support of media professionals will continue July 25-28 at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where research specialists will be available to provide virtual support to attending media. For more information and live updates from the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention, follow LexisNexis on Twitter at @LexisNexisBiz. About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organizations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis and Nexis services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organizations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 175 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide, is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries. Business Insight Solutions (BIS) is a business unit within LexisNexis Legal & Professional serving companies and organizations of all sizes in the US, Europe and Pacific regions, offering premier news, corporate information and public records through a portfolio of solutions, including the flagship and award-winning Nexis. This unique combination of market-leading content and innovative technology helps business professionals make more insightful decisions by offering them quick and easy access to the latest news, facts and insights regarding their brand, clients, prospects, competitors, suppliers and industry trends. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387111LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lexisnexis-to-help-journalists-tell-faction-from-fiction-at-upcoming-political-conventions-300295399.html SOURCE LexisNexis

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[July 07, 2016] ThinkTel launches ExpressRoute service to enable optimized private connectivity to the Microsoft Cloud

TORONTO, July 7, 2016 /CNW/ - ThinkTel, a division of Distributel and a leading provider of voice and data services for Canadian SMB and Enterprise customers, today announced the launch of ExpressRoute service via their new Agile IX data service. The expanded partnership gives ThinkTel customers immediate access to ExpressRoute connectivity for their Azure and Office 365 deployments. In conjunction with their Think 365 service, private connectivity ensures reliable and high-quality voice and video performance of Skype for Business. "ExpressRoute connectivity provides our customers with the performance they need for real-time and mission critical services hosted in the cloud," says Dave Damer, President of ThinkTel. "Offered as a ThinkTel pay-as-you-go service, ExpressRoute connections are also more secure, more reliable and faster than connecting overthe public Internet."



ExpressRoute boasts connections to Microsoft cloud services including Microsoft Azure, Office 365, and CRM Online. Connectivity can be from any-to-any (IP VPN) network, a point-to-point Ethernet network, or a virtual cross-connection through any of the many ThinkTel points of presence in major Canadian cites. "ThinkTel is continually developing strategic partnerships that enhance our overall customer experience, and the addition of ExpressRoute does exactly that," adds Matt Stein, CEO of Distributel. "We are proud to be chosen by Microsoft as an ExpressRoute provider for Canadian businesses, given Canada's global reputation as being early adopters of leading-edge technology."

Pricing is available across multiple speed tiers, from 50 Mbps to 10 Gbps, with a variety of connectivity options. About ThinkTel

ThinkTel, a division of Distributel Communications Limited, is a provider of advanced voice and data services for the SMB, Enterprise, and Wholesale markets throughout Canada. ThinkTel is one of the top Microsoft Solutions Partners in this market, and its pioneering achievements include being the first to be SIP-certified for Microsoft's OCS-R2 and Lync unified communications offering. ThinkTel was recently named by the CIO Review (2016) as one of the Top Office 365 Solution Providers for proven expertise in this space. For more information, please visit www.thinktel.ca. SOURCE Distributel Communications Limited

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[July 07, 2016] The "Most Experienced Startup" Recognized by 14th Annual American Business Awards

Maestro Health, a leading all-in employee health and benefits company, was named a bronze winner for both the Most Innovative Company of the Year and Tech Startup of the Year categories in the 14th Annual American Business Awards. Maestro Health was selected from more than 3,400 nominations submitted by organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry. Founded in 2014, Maestro Health has grown to an over 300 employee-strong company with a tech-meets-service approach to help employers and employees, including customers such as the University of Texas, DISH and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, make the most of their healthcare benefits. The Company has received $65 million in funding since its start, and continues to look for ways to make benefits more "people-friendly" by simplifying and personalizing the experience with modular and agile technology supported by a complete service model. By acquiring both Group Associates and Integra Employer Health, Maestro Health combines seasoned industry experience with enhanced technology options to respond to customer needs across otherwise disparate healthcare systems. "We have invested and spent meaningful time thinking about the future of employee benefits and 'where the puck will be' and it's beginning to pay dividends as the market shifts towards an "all-in" solution. Our convergence of benefit administration and private exchange into a modern platform that can be personalized to meet employers 'where they are' in their respective needs is the driving force behind our success," said Rob Butler, Maestro Health Founder and CEO. Building out an eecutive bench with over 175 collective years in the healthcare and technology spaces, including 15 years of exchange experience, 60 years of benefits administration experience and over 100 years in healthcare, the Company is known for delivering in-depth industry expertise to take on the nuances of a quickly changing healthcare landscape. These awards signal its strength and vitality to address the challenges the industry faces as consumers and employers are faced with many new decisions to take ownership of their health and wellness.



"Our name might be new, but our leadership team and their strategic vision makes Maestro Health 'the most experienced startup'. We are grateful for the recognition as the market is full of very good competitors. Our belief is that innovation coupled with our strong service DNA will set us apart as we strive to earn the long-term trust of all our employer and broker clients that have become part of the Maestro Health culture," continued Butler. More than 250 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select this year's Stevie Award winners.

"The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries we received this year. The competition was intense and every organization that has won should be proud," said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. The Stevie Awards, named after the Greek word for "crowning," are hosted by the American Business Awards, the nation's premier business awards program. The honorees were recognized at a gala ceremony last month in New York. Details about The American Business Awards and the list of 2016 Stevie winners are available at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA. To learn more about Maestro Health, visit: www.maestrohealth.com. About Maestro Health Headquartered in Chicago, IL, we are an employee health & benefits company delivering a single, comprehensive platform of personalized benefits solutions to employers, brokers and carriers. To meet the dynamic needs of the market, we've taken the four key components of employee health & benefits-HR Management (Benefits Administration, On-Boarding), Benefits Marketplace (Online Enrollment, Private Exchange), Benefit Accounts (HSA/FSA) and Self-Funded Insurance (Medical TPA & Care Management)-and integrated them on our all-in, tech-meets-service platform: maestroEDGE. Our partner base ranges from small employers to Fortune 1,000 organizations, to which we deliver a depth of personalized and private-labeled solutions-enabling them to customize our brand offerings to suit their needs, then brand them as their own. Visit us at www.maestrohealth.com to learn more about how we're making employee health & benefits "people-friendly" again. About the Stevie Awards Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707006078/en/

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Lawrence County Council approve transfer and appropriation requests

During Tuesday evenings meeting of the Lawrence County Council, budget transfers and additional appropriations were approved for county offices.
Volunteer walks in honor of her husband Thousand Oaks resident Joan Hull will be among those participating in this years Conejo Valley Walk to End Alzheimers at 9 a.m. Sat., Oct. 22 at the Westlake Promenade. Hull...

Overpass could get protective fencing A substantial safety upgrade for the areas most notorious overpass is finally getting some Caltrans considerationbut dont expect changes any time soon. At the Sept. 21 Moorpark City Council meeting,...

Early detection is the best way to survive breast cancer Every October, we celebrate those men and women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. But what is breast cancer and how can it be diagnosed and managed? There are...
In a statement, Tesla Motors Inc said, "Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident."

An accident in May, which killed the driver, raised questions about safety of autopilot mode.

By Reuters: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a July 1 crash in Pennsylvania of a Tesla Model X to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the accident, the agency said on Wednesday.

NHTSA is looking to learn whether Tesla's Autopilot function, a semi-autonomous technology that helps drivers steer and stay in lanes, was at play. NHTSA is currently probing a May 7 fatality of a Tesla Model S driver using Autopilot.

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In a statement, Tesla Motors Inc said, "Based on the information we have now, we have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident."

Tesla said it had received an automated alert from the car indicating airbags had been deployed, but never received logs containing details about the state of vehicle controls - which would indicate whether Autopilot was on or off. Multiple attempts to reach the car's owner were unsuccessful, Tesla said.

Also read: Sleeping driver, terrified granny among Tesla Autopilot users on YouTube

NHTSA said it was collecting information from state police, Tesla and the driver, Albert Scaglione of Farmington Hills, Michigan.

NHTSA's disclosure last week of its probe into the May crash in Florida that killed a Model S driver using Autopilot has focused attention on the nascent technology that Tesla has said is still in "beta," or test, mode.

While Tesla has said drivers are responsible and their hands should be on the wheel even as the car takes over more control, some industry experts have questioned whether such partially autonomous systems lull drivers into a false sense of security.

In the Pennsylvania crash, state police said the Model X struck a turnpike guard rail, then veered across several traffic lanes and into the median, where it landed on its roof in the middle of the roadway. The driver and a passenger were injured, according to the police report.

Also read: Tesla crash could hurt sentiment on driverless cars

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The investigation into model year 2011 to 2015 Explorer SUVs was opened last Friday by NHTSA which said it has identified 154 complaints of occupants smelling exhaust odours in the occupant compartment.

One crash has been reported that is linked to the potential hazard, and no injuries.

By Reuters: US safety officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have opened an investigation into possible exposure to carbon monoxide in recent models of the Ford Motor Co Explorer SUVs, the regulator's website showed on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Ford Mustang to be launched on July 13 in India

The investigation into model year 2011 to 2015 Explorer SUVs was opened last Friday by NHTSA which said it has identified 154 complaints of "occupants smelling exhaust odours in the occupant compartment," and that some of the vehicle owners "expressed concerns about exposure to carbon monoxide."

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"We will cooperate with NHTSA on this investigation as we always do," a Ford spokeswoman said.

NHTSA often opens an investigation to determine if there is need for a recall of the vehicles involved. An investigation can lead to a recall but does not always.

ALSO READ: 2017 Ford EcoSport facelift spotted testing in Europe

One crash has been reported that is linked to the potential hazard, and no injuries, NHTSA said.

Federal officials did not say how many Explorer SUVs would be affected by the investigation.

The problem has been noticed, some Explorer owners told NHTSA, when the vehicle is at full throttle such as climbing steep hills, or when the air-conditioning system is re-circulating air into the cabin.

ALSO READ: Ford, Fiat Chrysler to build more SUVs, less small cars

Ford in December 2012 and July 2014 issued two "technical service bulletins," which alert dealers' repair shops how to fix the potential problem. Some Explorer owners reported no solution to the issue after the repairs Ford Motor directed in the bulletins were conducted, NHTSA reported.

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Im pretty happy with my office chair, but Id be lying if I said it was perfect. Half the time, Im leaning too far forward; half the time, Im slumping. I have to maintain the same position whether Im on a phone call, or writing a long article, or putting a new gaming mouse to the test. The Altwork Station, a truly bizarre but potentially useful chair-and-desk combination, aims to solve this workplace dilemma.

I sat down and experienced the Altwork Station for myself at a private demo in NYC. After encountering the odd setup at GDC a few months ago, I wanted a little more time with it to see if it was really a viable office solution, or just an expensive gimmick. The full setup, not including a computer, costs $3,900 for a standard preorder and $4,900 for a more colorful signature edition. If office managers are going to invest in these things, theyd better have some kind of tangible return on comfort and/or productivity.

MORE: Best Smart Home Tech - Systems, Gadgets, Devices

What sets the Altwork Station apart from other chair-and-desk combos is that its totally adjustable. If you want to sit up straight, even slightly forward, with your desk right in your face, thats fine. If you want to recline at a full 180-degree angle with your desk just barely brushing your fingertips, thats also easy to do. The system is mostly electronic, so you can adjust the setup with a push of a button, and there are a ton of mechanical failsafes to make it virtually impossible to hurt either yourself or the furniture.

While it takes only about 30 seconds to take the chair from one extreme conformation to the other, users can also program four presets that set the chair to a particular height and angle. This could be useful if, for example, you want an upright position for heavy writing, a fully horizontal one for media streaming, and two in-between for reading or taking phone calls.

Just about everything is adjustable, too: the angle of the seat, the height of the leg rest, the distance of the desk, the height of the desk, the angle of the desk, the height of the monitor and the angle of the monitor, for starters. The desk can withstand 15.5 pounds worth of stuff, and the chair is cleared for up to 250 pounds worth of person, giving it plenty of flexibility for the everyday office worker. As for mice, keyboards and mousepads, all it takes is a few 3D-printed mounts and a handful of magnets to keep them in place.

Altwork foresees applications beyond simple productivity, however. When I asked about potential gaming applications, Che Voigt, the companys CEO, told me that it was something the engineers had in mind. While the average gamer is not likely to dish out $4,000 or $5,000 for a fancy seat, the setup may be of interest to game developers, who need to spend hours upon hours both programming and playtesting. (Having the same chair to continue gaming after-hours wouldnt hurt either, he said.)

Preorders for the stations will continue until Jul. 29, as Altwork intends to start shipping the setups in August or September. As San Francisco is closest to the companys distrubutors, buyers there can expect their stations first, followed by buyers elsewhere in the United States. (European distribution will hopefully come later, Voigt said.)

I spent some time typing, reading and surfing the Web in various configurations on the Altwork Station, and it was definitely both comfortable and functional. Im not sure Im dying to swap my more conventional setup, though, especially at the asking price. Still, I see how the seat could have some benefits for startup companies with a lot of space and long hours to spend in front of computers. Just about every study says were killing our backs in standard office chairs, so the Altwork Stations value could exceed its cost after a few years.
You may know someone who uses another person's password to watch Netflix or HBO GO. You may even do so yourself, even though you know it's something you could get in trouble for. Now a federal appeals court has reaffirmed that such password sharing can be considered a criminal offense under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) a 30-year-old law designed to stop computer hacking.

(Image credit: Fotos593/Shutterstock)

The 2-1 ruling was issued by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday (July 5) in U.S. v. Nosal, a long-running, convoluted case that involves corporate espionage, theft of proprietary information and charges of unauthorized access gained by using someone else's password.

It's not likely that HBO, Hulu or Netflix are going to use the ruling to come after you for using your grandmother's password to stream video. But the ruling does make it clear that doing so is illegal, whether or not your grandmother knows you're using her password.

"While risk of enforcement for the individual consumer is something approaching zero, it is not exactly zero," Mark Grossman, an attorney specializing in technology law, told Tom's Guide. "If someone wanted to make a point out, you've won the bad-luck lottery."

MORE: The Best Streaming Video Services for Cord Cutters

The Case

Nosal left the San Francisco office of global executive-search firm Korn/Ferry in 2004, and secretly started a competing head-hunting firm in violation of a no-compete agreement. He recruited two fellow Korn/Ferry employees, Becky Christian and Mark Jacobson, to join him, and the two began supplying Nosal with information from Korn/Ferry's database of current and potential clients while they still worked there. In early 2005, the two left Korn/Ferry to join Nosal's firm (which was set up under Christian's name), losing access to the Korn/Ferry client database.

However, Nosal's former assistant, Jacqueline Froehlich-L'Heureaux, continued to work at Korn/Ferry and had access to the database as part of her regular company-network access. Nosal instructed Christian to obtain more information from the database, and Christian asked Froehlich-L'Heureaux to share her Korn/Ferry company-network credentials, apparently without telling Froehlich-L'Heureaux the true reason her credentials were needed.

Froehlich-L'Heureaux shared her credentials with Christian, who twice used them to copy information from the Korn/Ferry database and pass it own to Nosal. Later, Jacobson did the same. By mid-2005, someone tipped off Korn/Ferry about the scheme, and Korn/Ferry called the police.

Nosal, Christian and Jacobson were all charged and indicted on various counts. But in 2012, charges against Christian and Jacobson were dropped after the Ninth Circuit ruled 9-2, in a rare full-bench decision, that the pair had not violated the CFAA when they used their own passwords to steal information for Nosal while they were still Korn/Ferry employees.

The Ruling

Charges against Nosal were refiled in early 2013, and he was quickly convicted on six counts, including three CFAA violations involving Froelich-L'Heureaux's password. In September 2013, Nosal was sentenced to a year and day in federal prison. The Ninth Circuit's ruling Tuesday affirms Nosal's conviction.

"The panel affirmed convictions for knowingly and with intent to defraud accessing a protected computer 'without authorization,' in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)," wrote Justice M. Margaret McKeown in the summary of the decision.

Arguably, that language could be applied to any unauthorized person who uses an authorized person's password to access a protected online service such as Netflix. Judge Stephen Reinhardt used that ambiguity to disagree with the decision.

"This case is about password sharing," Reinhardt wrote in his dissent, which emphasized the fact that Froelich-L'Heureaux willingly gave her credentials to Christian. "People frequently share their passwords, notwithstanding the fact that websites and employers have policies prohibiting it. In my view, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act ... does not make the millions of people who engage in this ubiquitous, useful, and generally harmless conduct into unwitting federal criminals."

Attorneys for streaming services might disagree that password sharing is "generally harmless," as it could rob companies of paid dues. And McKeown's majority opinion countered that Reinhardt's view "would render meaningless the concept of authorization" and "would remove from the scope of the CFAA any hacking conspiracy with an inside person."

The Real-Life Impact

Netflix seemingly encourages potential customers to share passwords by offering multiple user accounts under a single subscription, but it may be alone among streaming services with such leniency. HBO sees it differently. In a 2015 interview, HBO CEO Richard Plepler said the company was monitoring HBO GO password sharing yet didn't believe it required action.

But, Plepler added, "Should it become a big number, we will deal with it" by changing "the number of concurrent streams that are available."

Georgetown University law professor Orin Kerr doesn't believe this case will lead to you and your parents getting prosecuted for sharing Hulu logins.

"I don't think this decision will lead to any users being prosecuted under the CFAA for password sharing," Kerr told Tom's Guide. "The court's opinion is limited to access by former employees who had their old accounts revoked."

Yet he reminded us that as widespread as login sharing may be, it's not recommended.

"Sharing passwords beyond what the service allows is a bad idea," Kerr said. "It can amount to criminal theft of service."

Grossman agreed.

"When you conspire to do what you know is not authorized by the provider, there is exposure on your end," Grossman told Tom's Guide.

The Risks

The CFAA has arguably been abused by prosecutors in the past. The best-known example is the case of Aaron Swartz, who broke into a utility closet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in an attempt to rapidly download, and then make public, millions of academic-journal articles from a paid online archive.

Federal prosecutors in Boston used the CFAA to slam Swartz with multiple charges that could have amounted to $1 million in fines and 35 years in prison, although Swartz rejected a plea deal that would have had him spend 6 months in jail. In early 2013, Swartz hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment.

There's also a risk of lawsuits resulting from sharing passwords. A decade ago, the music industry spent, and won, a lot of money suing individuals randomly selected from the millions of people who were downloading MP3s illegally from file-sharing services. Because the CFAA can be used in civil as well as criminal cases, it's possible that a litigious streaming service could take the same approach with illegal video streamers.

It's hard to make a moral argument in favor of the defendants in the Nosal case. But it's not hard to argue that the CFAA's ambiguous language  for example, there's no clear-cut definition of a "protected computer"  should be rewritten to suit the technological developments of the past three decades. Yet we're not holding our breath for the law to change.
Its not like we needed any more proof that Melbourne is one of the worlds leading music cities, but a new white paper released in association with the recent Midem music industry conference has done that math and made it a scientific fact for us.

Midem is like the global BIGSOUND, drawing music industry professionals from around the world, who all congregate in Cannes to schmooze and discuss all the pertinent issues that are currently facing the industry and how to tackle them.

The study, entitled The Mastering Of A Music City, was published by the IFPI and Music Canada in association with Midem and cites Melbourne as one of the primary hubs for music, particularly live music, in the world.

Alongside London, Montreal, New York, Berlin, Nashville, and Austin, Melbourne is held up as an example of what a music city should look like and how it should function. In fact, Melbourne gets mentioned a total of 38 times in the study.

In Melbourne, Australia, a 2012 census found that live music alone generated more than A$1bn in spending at small venues, concerts and festivals, supported 116,000 annual full-time equivalent jobs, and produced significant spin-off benefits to restaurants, hotels, transportation companies and other providers, the study reads.

Researchers praised factors like the citys groundbreaking Agent of Change laws. In 2009-2010, an estimated 5.4mn people attended live music performances in the city. This puts music in the top ranks of the citys economic drivers, the study reads.

The Agent of Change Principle works well where there is a concentration of established music venues that are threatened by encroaching residential developments. An effort is now underway to have this principle adopted in part of London, UK.

[include_post id=480363]

Government policies that are mindful of the arts and musicians were one of seven strategic areas the study cites as contributing to a strong and vibrant music economy, as well as community engagement and support for music advisory boards, such as Music Victoria.

A vibrant music sector delivers an extensive array of social, cultural and economic benefits to its community; from job creation and retention to city identity and music tourism, to social cohesion, music can play an essential role, said Music Canada CEO Graham Henderson.

The Agent of Change laws are used as a case study in the report and Melbourne is generally hailed as the model for what a music city should be. Like we said, you didnt need any more proof of that, but its nice to know.
By paying $1, you can either get your nails or hair done and that will help this girl raise money for hungry and homeless children.

By India Today Web Desk: While children her age are vacationing with their parents, this 9-year-old girl from Minnesota's Minneapolis is putting her entrepreneurial skills and her love for beauty to use for helping hungry and homeless children.

You can get your nails and hair done in Rhuin Stevens-Masterman's salon, Rhu's Salon, for only $1. And she even offers hair braiding.

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Located in the residential block of Columbus Avenue is Rhu's Salon which this 4th grader runs all by herself.

The young girl did not have many customers until one of her customers, Daeja Carson, put up a Facebook post giving her good reviews and that viral.



Now Rhuin has appointments of many women, little girls and even boys. She sits on the curb outside her house with a signboard and asks the passersby if they would like to get their nails or hair done.





Photo: Facebook/Rhu's salon

The 9-year-old is available with her services on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2-6pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 12-4pm.

Rhuin's mother is herself a certified cosmetologist and was initially apprehensive about this idea.

Rhu's Salon offers a range of nail polish colours to choose from but she does not offer a full manicure. She also made an exception when she shaved the heads of a woman, who soon will undergo treatment for cancer, and her two daughters.

Rhuin usually does not offer hair cut facility but helped the Weinand family, one of her first clients, to get their heads shaved as an act of solidarity.





Photo: Facebook/Rhu's Salon

Keeping in mind the noble cause she is working for, her customers often donate a few dollars.

Whatever money she earns, half of it will go to a charity for hungry and homeless children. Rhuin's mother also opened a GoFundME page for this cause and since then she has raised more than $500.

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Legendary Swedish punk outfit Refused have announced they will return to Australia this January for a string of shows alongside American hardcore favourites Sick Of It All and locals High Tension.

Refused cemented their legacy with one unforgettable album back in 1998, The Shape Of Punk To Come, and their iconic status has only grown in the ensuing two decades, gaining a new generation of fans.

Its not a reunion anymore, frontman Dennis Lyxzen insists. This is one of the most radical things weve ever done, both musically and lyrically, he said of the bands latest statement, the critically hailed Freedom.

Joining the boys will be New York hardcore veterans Sick Of It All, wholl be celebrating 30 years together. Meanwhile, Melbournes High Tension are one of the most visceral and talked-about bands in the country.

Refused Australian Tour Dates

Friday, 20th January 2016

Tivoli, Brisbane

Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Saturday, 21st January 2016

Enmore Theatre, Sydney (Lic/AA)

Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Sunday, 22nd January 2016

HQ, Adelaide

Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Tuesday, 24th January 2016

Prince Of Wales, Melbourne

Tickets: Destroy All Lines

Thursday, 26th January 2016

Metropolis, Fremantle

Tickets: Destroy All Lines
Craig Glazer: The Alton Sterling Shooting

A 37 year old black male was shot and killed Tuesday by Baton Rouge Police Alton Sterling, outside a convenience store. We are told he is often there selling his CDs. It was reported the clerk at the store called police after an argument with Sterling and he told police that Sterling was armed. Videos of the incident show the police tackle Sterling, take him to the ground, seemingly have him in control, someone yells 'he has a gun' and then shots are fired into his body killing him. He had a gun, but it was not drawn out by Sterling. It still isn't quite clear what the hell happened to cause an officer to shoot him several times. Sterling died on the scene.Now comes all the media racing in on yet another police involved killing of a black male suspect for reasons that seem at best weak. The racial implications are obvious. Police more and more get trigger happy when it comes to arresting black males and too often it ends with the suspect being shot and killed. All the recent examples are sighted by the press, families and the local community as well as national groups that see this happen all too often today.The FBI is now involved and from what we have seen so far, an indictment of at least one or more officers is likely. What is the answer? How do we stop all the violence? Nobody has a good answer. We hear the same statements and comments after each tragic event. 'We need better training of officers' 'we need to work on black/white relations in the area' and the beat goes on.In the end a few days of stories go by, someone is held to answer, local unrest often occurs, we now see this happen all too often. Much like terror attacks we as a nation and people seem helpless to stop it or even slow it down.Race relations are at an all-time high with distrust and anger between blacks and whites nationawide. Yet we have a president who is of color and was voted in by a large number of white voters. We thought this would be a big step towards peace and race relations improving. They have gotten worse.Today we have so many economic problems, too many people unemployed, low paying jobs, income can't keep up with rising bills for families and individuals. Social media fuels the fire. So does the print and tv media. We are now feeling somewhat helpless to fix it. Black on black crime is off the chain and violence in America is reaching a level where more and more people just want to go to work, get home, and stay there. The streets are scary after dark in too many cities and neighborhoods today.I wish I had an answer. Will this get better in time? Everyone has words and feelings but nowhere do we seem to hear an answer that fits. Most Americans are just too busy trying to survive their own problems. Sad but true.###########
Travel and Leisure presented the 5 best resort hotels in Greece according to its readers and notes:

"Its easy to see why travelers love the Greek isles, with their whitewashed villas, enticing beaches, and cerulean waters. Thats some serious scenery for the regions hotels to live up to  but they do.

In fact, though mainland Greece might have the Acropolis, the islands of the Mediterranean take the laurels for hospitality. The best hotels on these islands deliver privacy, great design, a sense of place, and views that can't be beat.

Every year for the Worlds Best Awards survey, Travel + Leisure asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globeto share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise lines, spas, airlines, and more. In the hotels category, readers rated properties on their rooms/facilities, location, service, food and drink, and overall value. Properties were categorized as city or resort based on their locations.

Romantic Santorinifrequently voted a Worlds Best Island  has three of the top five properties, all of which were in Oia, on Santorinis northern tip. The hotels here sit mere steps from the action but still manage to feel private and secluded. "Breakfast on the terrace overlooking the sea couldn't have been more spectacular," wrote one respondent about Oia's Katikies Hotel, which topped the list.

Crete, Greeces largest island, is also represented on the list. The fishing town of Elounda, next to Mirabello Bay on the northeastern coast, has grown into a magnet for celebrities  no doubt thanks to its roster of memorable hotels. Among them are World's Best winners Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, and Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas.

"Blue Palace may be a fairly large resort, but it feels more like an exclusive village," a reader wrote. Maybe it's time to plan your own island getaway."

The complete list of the 5 best resort hotels in Greece includes:

5. Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas, Crete| Score: 88.00

4. Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Santorini| Score: 92.17

3. Canaves Oia Hotel & Suites, Santorini| Score: 92.68

2. Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Crete| Score: 92.80

1. Katikies Hotel, Santorini| Score: 95.95

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
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met on Wednesday with the president of the international giant company Alibaba, Jack Ma, in Shanghai in an effort to strengthen small and medium sizes enterprises (SMEs) in Greece

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met on Wednesday with the president of the international giant company Alibaba, Jack Ma, in Shanghai in an effort to strengthen small and medium sizes enterprises (SMEs) in Greece.

Alibaba is an online sales platform for small businesses and especially young entrepreneurs interested in start up companies. Its customer base includes 10 million businesses around the world. It offers services from consumer to consumers, businesses to consumers and businesses to business.

The meeting between Tsipras and Ma dominated the expansion of company's activities in Greece, which will give a lot of small businesses the possibility to expand their activities internationally.

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
JPMorgan Chase & Co could be forced to move thousands of staff out of Britain if the country loses its automatic right to sell financial services to the European Union after last month's Brexit vote, bank CEO Jamie Dimon told an Italian newspaper.



Currently, banks based in the UK can sell services freely across the EU under a "passporting" system, considered the most significant feature of the EU single market for financial firms. But that is now in doubt after Britons voted to leave the bloc.



"The key issue is the 'passport rule' that we have in London and allows us to provide services to clients in the European Union," Il Sole 24 Ore quoted Dimon as saying on Thursday.



"However, if the EU imposes new conditions on Britain ... the worst-case scenario is we would have to move some thousands of employees to other branches in the euro zone," Dimon said.



JPMorgan has 16,000 employees in Britain. Its European headquarters are in London and the bank has offices in the English coastal city of Bournemouth as well as in Scotland.



Those locations helped JPMorgan produce $14.2 billion worth of revenue last year from operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  Reuters
The United States on Wednesday sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.



The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the US jurisdiction. They include 10 other individuals besides Kim and five government ministries and departments, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.



"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement.



North Korea's leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.



Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring US President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea. It had to address the role of Kim Jong Un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.



Kim Jong Un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea. Many of the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children, the report said.



The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People's Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.



Senior U.S administration officials said the new sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.



The report was "the most comprehensive" to date on individual North Korean officials' roles in forced labour and repression.



They said the sanctions would be partly "symbolic" but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries "think twice" before engaging in abuses. "It lifts the anonymity," a senior administration official told reporters.



The North Korea mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.



South Korea, which has imposed its own sanctions against the North that cut off all political and commercial ties, welcomed the move and said it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.



MORE SANCTIONS TO COME



Using sanctions against a head of state is not unprecedented. In 2011, the United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their role in Syria's violence. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was also sanctioned.



Policymakers often worry that targeting a country's leader will destroy any lingering chance of rapprochement, say former diplomats. It is a sign "there probably isn't much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution," said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser in the US Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.



The new sanctions join a long list of measures that have had little effect in pressuring North Korean leaders to change, experts who study the North's political system said.



"The sanctions from today will do nothing whatsoever to alter North Korea's strategic calculus and only underscore their thinking that the US has a 'hostile policy' against their country," said Michael Madden an expert on the North Korean leadership.



"Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic. There will be numerous official and state media denunciations which will target the US and Seoul and the wording will be vituperative and blistering," he said.



Peter Harrell, a former State Department sanctions official, said the measures would signal to companies in China as well as others doing business with North Korea that the US would continue escalating sanctions.



Harrell added it was unlikely that any assets would be blocked, however "given the realities of where Kim Jong Un and his cronies likely hide their assets."



In March, the U.N. Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear and missile tests.



That same month, Obama imposed new sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a rocket launch that Washington and its allies said employed banned ballistic missile technology.



Those steps froze any property of the North Korean government in the US and essentially prohibited exports of goods from the US to North Korea.



"The United States has maintained sanctions and pressure against the North for 65 years since the Korean War, but there's not been a single case where the intended result was accomplished," said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.



"How much time is left in the Obama administration? There may be the wish to prove the policy of 'strategic patience' against the North has not failed, but when it comes to practical results, there won't be much to show," Yang said.  Reuters
A mother celebrates with her child on the first day of the Eid Al-Fitr festival, in Kuwait City on July 6. Muslims around the world celebrate the festival, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and is marked with prayers, readings from the Quran, and gatherings with family and friends. EPA/Raed Qutena


The Obama administration on Thursday proposed eight airlines including United Continental Holdings, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines Group and JetBlue Airlines to start nonstop flights from the US to Havana, Cuba, as early as this fall, administration officials said.



The tentative list of airlines, which must still be finalised, also include Alaska Air Group, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.



"Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obama's promise to re-engage Cuba," US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement given to Reuters.



"Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban-American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes," he said.



The round-trip flights would come from a handful of US cities that include large Cuban-American populations and serve as connection points or hubs within the United States. They include Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa, Florida.



Twelve airlines applied for the rights to operate passenger and cargo flights to Havana.



Officials said the selections were made to have a variety of carriers including large legacy airlines and low-cost carriers from a variety of airports and cities.



The decision comes roughly one year after the US and Cuba formally re-established diplomatic relations after decades of Cold War tension. The warming of ties is a major piece of Obama's foreign policy legacy. He leaves office in January.



Though a travel ban and trade embargo on Cuba still exist, the Obama administration has chipped away at the restrictions while pressuring Congress to lift the embargo once and for all. Travel by Americans to Cuba has increased by 77 per cent within the last year, a US official said.



That demand was reflected in the proposals by the airlines to fill the 20 daily flights allowed between Havana and US cities by the two governments. The options would include flights on planes with 28 seats to carriers flying planes with just under 200 seats, officials said.



An official said the US was interested in opening more flights to Havana but there were no plans at the moment to negotiate further access with the Cuban government.



The US Department of Transportation has previously announced approval for six US airlines to fly to other Cuban cities outside Havana. Ten round-trip flights between the US and other Cuban airports are allowed under the agreement. - Reuters
Qatar Investment Authority has agreed to buy Indian diversified group Sahara's stake in three overseas hotels for a whopping $1.6 billion, said a report.



According to a report on CNBC-TV18, the agreement to buy stakes in Grosvenor House (London), New York Plaza and Dream Downtown (NY) nears a close after a 24-month long negotiation period.



Out of the total money, Sahara is expected to pay $995 million to Reuben brothers, its prime lender. The Indian group is looking to move the Supreme Court tomorrow for its approval.



After Supreme Court nod, the deal completion will take about two months, the report said.


The activists of Hindu Suraksha Samiti and All India Hindu Student Federation in a complaint written to the Police said that Ashish Khetan by comparing Shirimad Bhagwad Geeta with AAP's manifesto has hurt religious sentiments of Hindus.

By Manjeet Sehgal: A day after Aam Aadmi Party leader and National Spokesperson Ashish Khetan was booked under section 295A of IPC for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments, the Hindu organisations also joined the protests and filed a similar complaint against Ashish Khetan in a Mohali (SAS Nagar) police station.

The activists of Hindu Suraksha Samiti and All India Hindu Student Federation in a complaint written to the Superintendent of Police, Mohali on Thursday said that Ashish Khetan by comparing Shirimad Bhagwad Geeta with AAP's manifesto has hurt religious sentiments of Hindus. Hence, a case may be registered against Arvind Kejriwal and Ashish Khetan.

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THE COMPLAINT



"Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta is a pious Hindu scripture and I also have deep faith in this holy book. Ashish Khetan's statement has hurt my religious feelings as he compared Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta with his party's election manifesto. Action may be taken against Arvind Kejriwal and Ashish Khetan," North India Chief, All India Student Federation,Nishant Sharma said in his complaint.

The activists of Hindu Suraksha Samiti and All India Hindu Student Federation also staged a protest outside the Mohali police station and shouted slogans against Arvind Kejriwal and Ashish Khetan. They also burnt the effigy of Arvind Kejriwal and Ahish Khetan and demanded their arrest.

Ashish Khetan while reading out AAP's youth manifesto in Amritsar on July 3 in the presence of AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had said that the manifesto was like Geeta, Quran, Guru Granth and Bible for them (AAP). His statement and the cover of the manifesto which had a photograph of Golden Temple and a broom had left the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP and Sikh organisations fuming.

APOLOGY FOR 'SIN'



Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP and All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) had asked Kejriwal to tender an apology for his 'sin'. Though Ashish Khetan had apologised on July 4 but it failed to satisfy AISSF which on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against Ashish Khetan in an Amritsar police station.

Sources said Youth Akali Dal has also moved a similar complaint in the court. While the first case unser section 295A has already been registered against Ashish Khetan, others may follow. Khetan can be arrested anytime as the offence is non bailable.

AAP has clarified that its leaders have already tendered apology but some opposition leaders were politicising the issue. "Forgiveness is one of the commandments of Sikh religion. Ashish Khetan had already apologised and had inadvertently compared the manifesto with scriptures. There was hardly any need to stir-up the issue. Some people want to misuse religion for political gains," AAP's Punjab Convenor Sucha Singh Chotepur said.

Also Read:

FIR against AAP leader Ashish Khetan for hurting religious sentiments



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The AQIS is trying to attract South Asian youth while competing with Islamic State, which claimed last week's deadly attack on a restaurant in Bangladesh.

By Abhishek Bhalla : An arrested member of al Qaeda's India wing was in touch with Pakistani jihadi outfits since the mid-1990s and was aware of Jaish-e-Mohammed's plan to free terrorist leader Maulana Masood Azhar from jail, a Delhi Police chargesheet says.

The operative, Mohammed Abdul Rehman, was told by a Pakistani terrorist in 1999 that 10 JeM members were in Nepal, ready to strike to secure Azhar's release. Days later, the Indian Airlines flight IC 814 was hijacked from Nepal's Kathmandu city and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan. The Indian government was forced to swap the JeM boss with the passengers who were taken hostage.

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Intelligence agencies remained clueless about Rehman and several others like him who had a free run for nearly two decades. Giving Indian sleuths the slip, they travelled to Pakistan for terror training, returned, and got involved in radicalising and influencing youths for jihad. Some of them also played host to Pakistani extremists on occasions who had come to carry out strikes.

ARRESTS MADE

The syndicate was finally busted last year. While five are in custody, 12 are still on the run. Sources say many of them may be running other al Qaeda sleeper cells, while some are suspected to be in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including Sana-Ul-Haq, the module's leader.

The reports come at a time when the al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) group urged Indian Muslims this week to revolt and carry out lone wolf attacks to kill government and security officials.



AQIS VS ISIS

The AQIS is trying to attract South Asian youth while competing with Islamic State, which claimed last week's deadly attack on a restaurant in Bangladesh.

The charge sheet filed by Delhi Police last month on the module that is now being dubbed as a branch of AQIS reveals that the members were veterans who attended terror training in Pakistan and were indoctrinated to carry out jihad.

TERROR RING STRAGGLERS

Indian agencies went into a frenzy in April 2014 when al Qaeda announced its mission to spread its network in India and planned a massive recruitment drive across the country. A video showing the group's top leader Ayman Al Zawahiri urging the outfit to expand its fight to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh shook the security establishment, prompting the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to sound a countrywide alert that led to the busting of the terror ring in December 2015.

The charge sheet says Rehman, after completing his PhD from Uttar Pradesh's Deoband city in 1994 in Arabic and Hadees, started giving lectures on jihad and was in touch with terrorists from across the border. He was arrested once in Cuttack in 2001 for getting into a quarrel but escaped the police since there was no record of his terror activities. In 2015, he visited Pakistan, was assisted by an ISI agent and met 26/11 Mumbai attack plotters Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Hafiz Saeed.

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"During his discussions, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi enquired about the conditions of Muslims in India including Muzaffarnagar, UP and motivated him to lead jihad against the Indian government and State. Zaki-ur-Rehman had told him that it was the right time for Ghazwatul Hind (The War on India)," says the document.

The charge sheet also mentions that a Pakistani terrorist, Salim, who got in touch with Rehman in the 1990s, dropped hints about the IC-814 hijack. "Salim told him that he had been sent to India to take revenge of Babri Masjid demolition and was planning an attack in Ayodhya. Rehman's brother Tahir assisted Salim for recce of Ayodhya and other places in India," the document reads.

The terror syndicate was busted with the first arrest of Mohammed Asif on December 14, 2015. The charge sheet states that like Asif many others from Sambhal, a small town in western UP, have left India and joined al Qaeda after visiting Pakistan.

Also Read: After ISIS, al Qaeda urges Muslims in India to mount lone wolf attacks

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An increasing number of Tour Operators have added exclusive Swaziland itineraries to their product offering, proving the Kingdom of Swaziland is really getting noticed. There is a huge range of adventure activities on offer in Southern Africas smallest country. The opportunity to explore the beautiful and varied scenery of Swaziland, whilst experiencing its unique African culture, and close wildlife encounters, is what made UK tour operators get behind Swaziland.



(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - July 7th, 2016 - Explore, www.explore.com an Adventure Travel Expert Tour Operator launched its first dedicated Swaziland trip at the end of 2015, and sales way exceeded expectations! Out of 81 new trips that Explore launched for 2016, the Kingdom of Swaziland was their best-selling long haul trip. This tour consists of a 10-day journey through the last true monarchy of Africa, and additional departure dates have been added to meet demand.

The first clients and members of Explore Management team have recently returned from their trip to Southern Africas tiniest nation. Sarah Fowler, Head of Marketing at Explore said, This was my first Explore trip, and it more than lived up to my expectations. Swaziland may be a small country, but there is so much to see and do that I could happily have spent twice as long there - however 8 days is the perfect amount of time to really get under the skin of the country and learn all about the fascinating culture.

Swaziland has a diverse range of attractions and activities. Stunning landscapes of mountains and valleys, forests and plains; plus wildlife reserves across the country that are home to The Big Five, gives visitors all thats best about Africa in a welcoming country. Add to that Swazilands offer of rich culture and music festivals and you have the perfect combination for one of the best sellers of 2016 for Explore in the UK.

Sarah also said, The two main highlights for me on the trip were the wildlife and the accommodation we stayed in. We were able to get so close to the animals - At Mkhaya we saw no fewer than 8 white rhino and a herd of giraffe on our first game drive.

Every day I thought the holiday had peaked, and every day it surprised me with an exciting new twist. I couldn't recommend this trip strongly enough - whether you're a first time Explorer like myself, or a travel veteran, it will not disappoint.

Explore are one of 6 specialist Tour Operators recently adding new exclusive Swaziland tours to their portfolio, showing its increase in appeal. Ramblers Worldwide Holidays  experts in guided walking and adventures across the globe, will also introduce a brand new holiday including 7 days in Swaziland for 2017. The 17 day tour taking in Swaziland combined with South Africa makes an unforgettable experience for adventure and wildlife lovers. Some of the highlights of the Swaziland experience include, walking in Malolotja Nature Reserve, Milwane Wildlife Sanctuary and the ancient Sibebe Rock.

Kelly White from Swaziland Tourism said  Its no surprise that Swaziland is seeing an increase in operators offerings. Its compact size and variety of landscape, wildlife and unique culture mean even in a short period holiday makers can have the full Africa experience.

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The government affidavit says that the AMU does not qualify to be a minority institution.

By Press Trust of India: The government has told the Supreme Court of India that it will withdraw its appeal, filed by the erstwhile UPA government, challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict holding that the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is not a minority institution.

"We (government) have filed an affidavit stating that we will withdraw the appeal," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, adding that an affidavit in this regard has been filed by the Centre in the apex court.

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AMU FILES PLEA AGAINST HC VERDICT



Besides the Centre, the varsity administration had also filed a separate plea against the High Court verdict on the issue.

Rohatgi further stated that "AMU is not a minority institution" and referred to an apex court verdict of 1967, saying that it was not a minority institution as it was set up by the government and not by Muslims.

AMU: A CENTRAL UNIVERSITY NOT A MINORITY INSTITUTION



Earlier too, the top law officer had told the apex court that the AMU was set up by a central act and moreover, a five-judge Constitution bench in 1967 in the Aziz Basha case had held that it was a "central university" and not a minority institution.

Rohatgi had said that to circumvent the effect of the judgement, an amendment was brought in 1981 in the central act to accord the minority status to the university which has recently been held as unconstitutional by the High Court.

"You cannot override the Aziz Basha judgement. Union of India's stand is that according minority status to AMU would be contrary to the Aziz Basha judgement and it still holds good," the top law officer had submitted before the bench in April which had permitted the Centre to file an application and an affidavit within eight weeks to withdraw the appeal filed by it.

Filing an affidavit, Rohtagi said, "We go by the Aziz Basha judgement and therefore we are going to withdraw the appeal" made by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

The Allahabad High Court had in January 2006 struck down the provision of the AMU (Amendment) Act, 1981 by which the University was accorded minority status.

The division bench of the High Court had upheld the order of its single judge passed in 2005 by which it termed as "unconstitutional" the granting of minority status to AMU and 50 per cent reservation to Muslims in 2004.



AMU CAN'T BE CALLED MINORITY INSTITUTION



The Attorney General had on January 11 also made a statement in the apex court that AMU could not be categorised as a minority institution.

"It is the stand of the Union of India that AMU is not a minority university. As the executive government at the Centre, we can't be seen as setting up a minority institution in a secular state," he had submitted, adding that "the previous stand (of the UPA government) was wrong."

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He had said the law laid down in Aziz Basha case by a five-judge bench of the SC on October 20, 1967 still holds ground.

AMU Act was enacted in 1920 dissolving and incorporating Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College. AMU (Amendment) Act in 1951 was passed by Parliament to do away with compulsory instruction in Muslim theology. The amendment opened membership of the Court of AMU to non-Muslims.

Changes were introduced by the 1966 amendment to AMU Act, which was challenged before the Supreme Court by S Aziz Basha. The SC dismissed the petition in 1967 holding that AMU was not a minority institution because it had been established by an Act of Parliament and had not been set up by Muslims.

Another amendment to AMU Act in 1972 made the academic and executive councils more democratic and drastically reduced the nominees of the Visitor.

--- ENDS ---
By Parmita Uniyal: Barely after a month of Balika Vadhu entering Limca Book of Records as the longest running TV soap, the news of it going off air, has shocked the loyal viewers and the cast members (former as well as current) alike. Mahhi Vij--who plays Nandini on the show, broke the news on Twitter and was almost in tears when she spoke to India Today Online. The news was yet to reach Toral Rasputra, when we contacted her for an interview. The 'last' Anandi on the show felt that though she felt the soap had lived its life, it was unfortunate for the cast who had started shooting for the soap three months back.

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Interestingly, Toral entered Balika Vadhu at a time when the soap was raking in good TRPS, thanks to the wedding track of Anandi and Shivraj Shekhar. People had not only accepted Pratyusha as the grown-up Anandi, but also wanted to see how her chemistry with Sidharth Shukla who portrayed Shiv will develop post marriage. So, when Pratyusha abruptly left the show, Toral's entry led to a lot of apprehensions. "I was replacing somebody and Pratyusha was household name at that time. It was a very big test for all of us. I took time to adjust because people were used to seeing Pratyusha as Anandi. But in the end, it was worth it. As an actor I got to know a lot from the show and the character itself. When you work with veteran actors like Surekha and Sudhir Pandey you learn a lot," the actress told India Today online.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/toral_rasputra

While working for the soap was a serious affair, when not shooting, Balika Vadhu sets transformed into a fun zone. "I made a lot of friends, from the cast as well as from the crew. It was a big family and it was good fun. When you are not shooting, you had lots of people around and we used to go for lunches together. I really miss those days. The three years that I worked for Balika Vadhu will remain the most special years of my life," shares Toral.

BEST FRIENDS ON THE SETS

"It has to be Sriti Jha. We had done our first show Dhoom Machaao Dhoom together. So we knew each other since the beginning of our career. She was playing Ganga in the show. I was really close to her. After she left, and Aasiya Kazi came, she and I became very close.

BEST EPISODE

"There was a long scene that was shot between me and Jagiya. It took us two days to shoot that scene. In the scene I was moving to Jaipur and I want Jagiya to settle down and think about his life. It was a beautifully written sequence and we had fun shooting for it."

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ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE THE SHOW DIDN'T WORK OUT

"When the show took leap for the first time and when these kids grew up and we started with another chapter, it was then when as actors we felt that it was stretching somewhere and the story was not reaching somewhere. Maybe they tried to breathe a new life into the show by introducing a new cast, but it didn't work out. Also maybe because there was a change in the slot and you have a particular audience for the show for that slot. When it changes, it definitely affects TRPs.

Every show comes to an end. Unfortunately it is too soon for the new cast. They started shooting in April and they are wrapping up within three months," says Toral.

The actress says that the characters will live on even after the show is over and that is the biggest achievement for the people associated with the show. "I feel honoured to be part of the show. People will always remember me as Anandi," she concludes.

--- ENDS ---
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "We welcome you (Kejriwal) as the critic of our government but cannot tolerate desecration of our gurus."

By Manjeet Sehgal: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal's social engineering formula failed to evoke significant response as his three-day Punjab visit that concluded on Tuesday was mired in controversies.

Already on the backfoot, after the alleged involvement of party MLA Naresh Yadav in the desecration controversy, Kejriwal hit a slippery course when he and his party colleagues released party's youth manifesto.

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CONTROVERSIAL YOUTH MANIFESTO

The cover of the youth manifesto, released on Sunday, itself was controversial as it showed a broom with Golden Temple photograph in the backdrop. Party's Spokesperson Ashish Khetan went on and compared the manifesto with religious scriptures. The comparison of AAP's document with Guru Granth annoyed the Sikh community. Ashish Khetan has now been booked for hurting religious sentiments based on the complaint filed by AISSF Chief Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad.

Tendering the apology, Khetan said, undermining any section, community or any individual was not intended to.

SIKH SENTIMENTS HURT

Shiromani Akali Dal, however, said it has not only hurt Sikhs but also Sikhism.

Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said, "We welcome you (Kejriwal) as the critic of our government but cannot tolerate desecration of our gurus."

PROTESTS BY MUSLIMS

Kejriwal also faced protests from the minority Muslims at Phagwara and Malerkotla during the second day of his visit. The effect of the controversy also over shadowed AAP's Iftar thrown in Malerkotla on Monday evening as part of the party's damage control, with only few people from the community turning up and the vacant mats were occupied by the non Muslims.





Also Read: Punjab Congress demands arrest of sacrilege accused AAP MLA Naresh Yadav

--- ENDS ---
Mumbai

E-commerce major Amazon has invested in six new Fulfilment Centres to meet growing requirements of its fast-increasing seller base in the country. The new centres, to be set up in Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai, will bolster the company's presence in India ahead of the festive season, the company said on Thursday. PTI

New Delhi

Renault Kwid clocks 1.5 lakh orders in India

French auto major Renaults small car Kwid has clocked 1.5 lakh orders since its launch in September last year, playing a key role in boosting the groups sales in Africa Middle-East India region in the first six months of 2016. pti

New Delhi

Juergen Hase to head Reliance Groups IoT biz

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group on Thursday said it has appointed Juergen Hase the Group CEO for its Internet of Things (IoT) business. Based out of Reliance Groups headquarters in Mumbai, Hase will report to Group Managing Director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Reliance Group said. PTI

New Delhi

JLR posts record sales in six months

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover on Thursday reported 22% jump in global retail sales to a record 2,91,556 units in the first half this year riding on robust demand in Europe and the UK. The growth has been primarily driven by an increase in Jaguar sales by 64% for the first half of the year, JLR said. pti

Mumbai

RJio bond issue fetches bids worth Rs 3,700 cr

Eliciting robust response from investors, Reliance Jio Infocomm on Thursday received bids worth over Rs 3,700 crore for its Rs 2,000-crore bond issue on the BSEs new platform. The Rs 1,500-crore bond issue with a green shoe option of Rs 500 crore got oversubscribed within a few minutes of the issue opening, the BSE said. PTI

New Delhi

Fiat unveils new variants with more power

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has launched diesel variants of models  Linea sedan, hatchback Punto EVO and crossover Avventura  with more powerful engines, priced between Rs 6.81 lakh and Rs 10.47 lakh

(ex-showroom Delhi). PTI
London, July 7

Tata Steel may pause its plans to sell off most of troubled UK units, including the mammoth Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, as Britains business minister is set to hold talks with the senior management of the Indian steel giant in Mumbai to achieve a long-term solution.

The company is holding its monthly Board meeting tomorrow in which executives are expected to announce a pause, according to BBC.

The steel major is expected to proceed with the sale of its speciality steel-making business, which employs 2,000 employees in the sites of Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge and possibly shelve plans for the rest of its steelworks as a result of rising steel prices and uncertainty following Britains vote to leave the European Union, it said.

UK business minister Sajid Javid is to fly out to Mumbai for talks with Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry ahead of the Board meeting.

This is part of our ongoing dialogue with Tata to maintain momentum and achieve a long-term solution for UK steelmaking, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said today.

Meanwhile, ITV News claimed that only one bidder has been left with any serious chance of buying Tata Steel UK and that is Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Guptas Liberty House.

The news channel claims he has an unassailable lead over the other contenders, including a management buyout team, Excalibur Steel UK.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said: There has been no official comment on the subject so far.

Earlier this week, UK minister for small business Anna Soubry said she remains confident that Tata Steel will find a buyer for its UK business, despite economic volatility triggered by the Brexit vote. PTI
Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 7

The private hospitality company looking after the ambitious Heritage Village project, situated at Guru Nanak Dev University, has decided to put in place a unique ticketing arrangement for entry of the visitors, which would allow them the liberty to savour Punjabi delicacies.

Officials of the company said the visitors could enjoy food and snacks associated with Punjabi country life at any house and dhaba in the village after paying once as entry fee. They said 20,000 brass utensils had been procured to cook and serve Punjabi delicacies.

Now, the village is likely to be opened in October. Hospitality players, tour and travel agents painstakingly await its commission to prolong the stay of tourists in the Sikh holy city. The Akali governments ambitious project, to showcase traditional Punjabi countryside lifestyle, is named Sadda Pind (our village).

Officials associated with the project said the civil work of the village was almost complete and finishing strokes to beautify the place in sync with ethnic Punjabi furniture, windows and other paraphernalia was underway. Artefacts associated with Punjabi countryside are being painstakingly collected from far off places to give a true feel at the site.

Situated on the four-lane Amritsar-Attari Road, en-route to the Attari-Wagah border, the Heritage village will showcase Punjabs rich culture and tradition. It is situated about 25 km from the venue of the famous Retreat ceremony, involving border guards of India and Pakistan, which takes place every evening at Attari village.

The village will feature houses of potters, weavers, blacksmiths and other artisans who make parandis, juttis, phulkaris, clay toys, musical instruments, durries, agricultural implements and shawls, among other things. Each house tries to bring alive the life of that particular rural artisan, complete with the interiors, the decor, and the tools used for work.

The village also has the residences of sarpanch and nambardar, baraat ghar (community hall), daak ghar (post office), a dhaba, grocery store besides a huge haveli. The project also plans to rehabilitate and revive folk art and crafts of Punjab by recruiting local artistes.
When asked to comment on the recent changes at the Centre, a Shiv Sena leader observed: It was the BJP governments expansion, not the NDAs. NDA coalition partners have reason to be unhappy. They have not just been left out in the ministry expansion; they were neither consulted nor briefed. Basic niceties and coalition dharma, it appears, are no longer in fashion. By now reconciled to the way it is treated in Modi Durbar, the Akali Dal leadership has stopped complaining. Only the Shiv Sena makes public its anger at the deliberate neglect. Unafraid of jeopardising its arrangement in Maharashtra, the Shiv Senas reaction varied from we do not beg for Cabinet berths to questioning the calibre of Modis ministers. In the BJPs growth and expansion scheme in states, allies serve a limited purpose.

BJP leaders arrogant behaviour annoys the Shiv Sena but the Akali Dal has apparently learnt to put up with it. Whatever the portfolio, it appears content with the Badal bahus adjustment in the ministry. The Centres discrimination with Punjab used to be a recurring theme of Chief Minister Badals speeches at one time. It is a different tune he plays today. If he does make a demand  like seal the border  it is more to shrug off responsibility for the drug menace than genuinely find a solution. Larger issues  terror attacks, neglect of agriculture, meagre hikes in MSPs, river cleanup, Central stand on SYL etc  no longer agitate the Badals as they did in the past. Only Delhi Akali leader Manjit Singh GK has shown some courage while accusing the Modi government of having the same mindset as the Congress on the issue of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The RBI has pointed to a loss of Rs 12,000 crore of bank loans in the wheat procurement in Punjab, but both the Central and Punjab governments have failed to come clean on the issue. A cover-up in this day and age does not last long. An otherwise aggressive Akali leadership turns meek while taking up Punjabs legitimate demands with the Centre. It has a right to keep its peace with Modi but, as a Congress leader has pointed out, Punjab is under-represented at the Centre.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 7

Thanks to the initiative by a plucky 12-year-old girl, residents of Fatehabads Ganda village are hopeful their village will finally get a new name. For, the authorities at Ratia sub-division have recommended to the state government to rename Ganda as Ajit Nagar, as resolved by the village panchayat.

Harpreet Kaur, a Class VII student at the village government school, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January this year, drawing his attention to the acute embarrassment faced by residents owing to their village name. While some betray a contemptuous smile, others openly mock at us, Harpreet wrote. She also spoke of the plight of her school and the adjoining veterinary hospital.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

As our school does not have a boundary wall, children bunk classes at will. The adjoining veterinary hospital with hundreds of plants also has no wall. Stray animals rule the roost, she wrote.

Sources said the authorities in Fatehabad had received a communication from the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) to act on her demands.

I am waiting for a report from the Ratia SDM. Changing a villages name needs the Cabinet nod and then approval by the Union Home Ministry, explained Deputy Commissioner NK Solanki.

Ratia SDM Pooja Chanwaria said the Ganda panchayat had passed a resolution for a change of name to Ajit Nagar way back in 1998. However, there was no follow-up action and we continued to use the name for official purposes, she said.

She said now that a fresh resolution had been passed by the panchayat, the file was being sent to the DC.

Harpreet belongs to a family of modest means. Her own house does not have a boundary wall.
Zakir met the victim and promised to get her a job and took her in a car. PICTURE FOR REPRESENTATION

By Mail Today Bureau: A 27-year-old woman, who was staying with her mother following a marital discord, was raped allegedly by her friend in the city on June 26. The alleged rapist and two of his friends, who helped him in kidnapping the woman, were also arrested.

According to the police, Syed Zakir (22) raped the woman in Mico Layout in an abandoned building while his friends Krishna (22) and Abdul Zakir (22) helped him. The woman was staying with her mother in Venkateshwara Extension in Mico Layout. She knew the rapist and had met him often in the past.

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On June 26, Zakir met her and promised to get her a job and took her in a car. Later his friends joined him and all the three forcibly took the lady to the abandoned building. Zakir threatened the woman against approaching the police. However, on June 5, the victim lodged a police complaint on the basis of which the three people were arrested.

Also read:

These pictures highlight exactly what you should not say to a rape victim

Selfie with rape survivor: Rajasthan women panel member shoots a row

Man gets 2 years jail for attempting to rape woman priest

'Forced to rape each other': Australian navy cadets reveal details of sexual abuse during training





--- ENDS ---
N Kalia

Intal Kalan (Jind), July 7

Residents found an ancient structure while digging a pond in Intal Kalan village of district.

A few days ago, the residents had started cleaning of the pond located outside the village with the help of a JCB machine. While cleaning, they noticed some wall-like structure beneath the ground. On further digging, they found a long wall in the pond. The villagers also recovered large-size bricks from the site.

On getting information, Jind-based historian Prof BB Kaushik, who visited the site, said: The structure looks different from the Harappan-era and it is clear from the size of the bricks recovered from the site. The bricks are of 38cmX22cmX6.5cm dimensions, while Harappan bricks were smaller in size.

The site seems to be older than the Harappan period and it looks like that it belongs to the later Vedic period, he said, adding that the government should protect and conserve the site.

Dharamveer Sharma, a former official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), said: The site appears to be an ashram in the Vedic period where saints used to perform yajna. He also supported the fact that the site was not related to the Harappan period and could be older than that of the period around 1,800 BC. Sharma said that he had noticed signs of three fingers on some bricks which could have some religious belief during the Vedic period.

Sharma said the state government and the ASI to explore the site and start excavation to know the right chronology of the site.

Ramesh Kumar, a former sarpanch of the village, said: Every year, people, especially from southern states, visit our village to perform some rituals near the pond. It is still not clear why they visit our village and how they come to know about it.

Deputy Commissioner Vinay Singh said the administration would approach the ASI and the other departments concerned to bring out the facts of ancient site.

He said: I will also send a team of officials to the village to know more about the place. If anything having historical importance has been recovered then the administration will preserve it.
Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 7

Paucity of funds for acquiring land for settling the displaced families is the biggest hurdle that is coming in the way of effective and speedy implementation of the relief and rehabilitation plan for the families facing displacement due to the coming up of the Renuka hydro-power project in Sirmaur district.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) appointed expert committee, which submitted its report to the green body last week, has reportedly stressed the need to repose faith in the families facing the threat of displacement that they will not meet the same fate as the Bhakra and Pong dam oustees, who even after decades are struggling to get alternate land. As such, they have recommended that the relief and rehabilitation plan needs to be implemented at the earliest, notwithstanding the shortage of funds.

It is being expected that the submission of the report before NGT might finally pave the way for the early execution of the Renuka project. The major part of the funding for the project has to come from the Centre and in case the NGT passes an order directing the nodal agency, the Ministry of Water Resources and the Government of India will have to shell out the required amount of funds.

The expert committee headed by Principal Chief Conservator Forest (PCCF) SK Vasudeva visited the project affected area in Renuka on May 19 and 30 earlier this year to assess various environmental and resettlement issues concerning the locals. They met the villagers, environmentalists, panchayat bodies and NGOs espousing the cause of the villagers, whose life would be impacted with the coming up of the project. Some of the affected families along with an NGO have filed a petition against the coming up of the project.

Sources confirmed that Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL), executing the project, has so far acquired only about one fifth of the total land required to rehabilitate all the displaced families. This obviously has led to a feeling of uncertainty and bleak future among the affected families. The HPPCL has sought Rs 1983.35 crore from the Centre so that the huge amount required for implanting the relief and rehabilitation plan could be met.

As far as the fears of the villagers about ensuring minimum discharge downstream is concerned, the expert committee was satisfied as they felt that the primary objective was to meet the water requirements of the national capital Delhi and the power generation of 40 MW was only a secondary component. A total of 337 families are likely to be displaced due to the coming up of the Renuka dam.

Envisaged to meet the growing water needs of Delhi, the Centre has accorded the status of national importance to the project. However, owing to delay in obtaining environmental clearance due to the large number of trees that would be lost, the cost of the project has already escalated to Rs 5,000 crore.
Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 7

The 10-month ordeal for Kubja Devi and Shashi Kala, two wives of Hirday Ram, the worker who had gone missing in the September 12 Tihra tunnel cave-in, is over if one goes by the claims of the rescue team that the body has been spotted during debris clearing in the tunnel last night.

Though the wait for the families could take a couple of days more, the Bilaspur district administration faces a difficult situation as both wives and their parents are making claims over the body to perform Hirdays last rites, revealed officials.

The rescue team comprising local officials and workers of the contractor firm IL&FS, of the Kiratpur-Ner Chowk four lane project, may take out Hirdays decomposed body in a day or two, said Manasi S Thakur, Deputy Commissioner, Bilaspur, who is monitoring the operation to recover Hirdays body buried in the collapsed tunnel.

After the rescue team cleared 40-m distance of debris in the collapsed tunnel, they got a pungent smell of flesh, some trace of a gum boot and a staircase that gave them clues that Hirdays decomposed body could be nearby in the debris, she said. But the work was going on slow because of they had to first strengthened the loose strata of the tunnel before clearing more debris, she added.

The team would dig out more debris before they could reach the exact spot where the body was buried, said Surjit Singh, a manager of the company. We have cleared debris up to 40 m in the collapsed portion of the tunnel so far and need to clear remaining debris spreading in about 25 m distance in the collapsed tunnel, he added.

The Bilaspur administration faces fresh problem as both families of the wives are staking their claims over the body to perform the last rites. Earlier, the administration pacified both families and the company disbursed Rs 2.5 lakh compensation to each of them, said officials.

Hirday, 57, has eight children from his two wives. His two children - a son and a daughter - have been doing engineering from a private institute in Mandi and their education is being funded by IL&FS, said Manasi Thakur.

The company had also offered jobs to them after they complete the course. Other children were adults and settled, added officials. Both wives and their families had been frequenting the sites, putting pressure on the administration to trace out the body, they added.

The company had already employed Satish Tomar, 25, and Mani Ram, 30, the two other trapped workers after they were rescued in a gruelling round-the-clock operation carried out by workers, the BRO and SJVNL tunnel experts, NDRF team and officials after nine days on September 21, 2015. They were pulled out through a 40 m deep shaft from the dark hell hole, but Hirday remained untraced.

The Divisional Commissioner, Mandi, had probed the tunnel mishap and submitted his report in mid-May to the government, but it failed to find out the exact cause behind the collapse and attributed it to weak topography of the area. But it pointed out lapses and recommended to the NHAI to follow procedures set up by the Safety Council.
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 6

An NRI, 24-year-old Ranjit Singh, who had gone missing since July 2, was found dead near Subhanpur in Kapurthala today. He had been living in Kuwait from the past few years and was a native of Ludhiana.

Ranjit's family had been suspecting the role of his friend's uncle behind the death and asked the police to verify

his role.

Deceased's uncle Inderjit Singh said his nephew Ranjit had come from Kuwait on June 15. "On July 2, he had gone to take part in the bhog ceremony of his friend's father at Nurpur village who had recently died. In the afternoon, Ranjit's friend's uncle Satnam had gone to drop him to the Subhanpur bus stand from Nurpur and on the way, an oil tanker collided with their bike on a bridge. After collision, bike and the tanker had fallen off the small bridge," Singh adding that in the accident, Satnam had sustained injuries. In the accident, Ranjit got crushed under the tanker but nobody noticed him. Interestingly, when the police recorded statement of Satnam, he told the police that he was alone on the bike. When the Ranjit's family asked Satnam about Ranjit's whereabouts, he told them that he had dropped Satnam at the Subhanpur bus stand and might have disappeared from there. "We have also filed a missing report of Ranjit at the Subhanpur police station but today we were informed by the police that Ranjit's body was found from the same accident spot. His body had got buried in the mud inside the tanker due to which nobody noticed him. Today, when some passerby noticed the body, he informed the police," said deceased's uncle while he was narrating the incident to Jalandhar Tribune.

Deceased uncle said that they suspect the role of Satnam because he lied to the police that Ranjit was not accompanying when the accident occurred. The Kapurthala police have started the investigation.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 7

Even 40 hours after a high-intensity hailstorm hit the Jammu region, the Power Development Department is yet to restore electricity to several areas hit by heavy rain on Tuesday.

Enraged over the failure of the PDD authorities to restore power supply, several parts of the region witnessed protests and demonstrations against the department.

The disruption in power supply has also affected the water supply in the region as the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department is unable to operate its pumping stations without electricity.

Facing sharp criticism from the public, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh, who holds the charge of PDD, convened a high-level meeting today in the cool climes of Srinagar to discuss the measures undertaken by the department to restore the power supply and repair the damaged infrastructure in Jammu.

The Deputy Chief Minister directed the Commissioner Secretary, PDD, Dheeraj Gupta to ensure the immediate restoration of the power infrastructure which had got damaged due to the recent hailstorm in Jammu.

The meeting was told that the restoration process had already been initiated under the directions of the Deputy Chief Minister who had earlier telephonically directed the Chief Engineer, PDD, to undertake the measures as soon as the storm passed. It was also conveyed that the power supply had been restored to some extent, the official spokesperson said.

Much to the embarrassment of the Deputy Chief Minister, who belongs to the ruling BJP, partys state president Sat Sharma expressed concern over the huge power crisis in Jammu amid the scorching heat.

It is a matter of concern that people are facing a huge electricity crisis in this scorching heat. I have taken up the matter with the Deputy Chief Minister, Sharma said while conducting a tour of Jammu West Assembly constituency following complaints of power crisis.

Ashwani Gupta, Chief Engineer, PDD, Jammu claimed that they had been able to restore nearly 80 per cent of the power supply in the region while the engineers were on the job to ensure 100 per cent restoration of the electricity supply soon.

The power infrastructure has suffered extensive loss due to the high-intensity hailstorm. Our first priority is to restore the power supply to all parts of the region. The assessment of loss to infrastructure will be done thereafter, he said.

Protesters block traffic

Udhampur: Protesters blocked traffic for over two hours at the Dhar road area of Kashirah panchayat near here on Thursday, demanding an immediate restoration of the electricity supply, which was cut off after a thunderstorm hit the region on Tuesday. Two days have passed but the Power Department is still unable to restore the power supply in the area, said Ram Pal, sarpanch. The protesters lifted the blockade after the Udhampur SHO assured them that the electricity will be restored soon. Protests also erupted in Poonch with residents staging a dharna for one hour against the Public Health Engineering Department.

Power snag leaves region parched

Jammu: Power outages have adversely affected the water supply in many parts of the Jammu region. Heavy rain coupled with high velocity winds on Tuesday resulted in the uprooting of several trees and electricity poles, which led to power breakdown in the region. The disruption in power supply has also affected the water supply in the region as the Public Health Engineering Department is unable to operate its pumping stations.

BJP state chief expresses concern

Much to the embarrassment of the Deputy Chief Minister, who belongs to the ruling BJP, partys state president Sat Sharma expressed concern over the power crisis in Jammu. It is a matter of concern that people are facing a huge electricity crisis in this scorching heat. I have taken up the matter with the Deputy Chief Minister, Sharma said while conducting a tour of Jammu West Assembly constituency following complaints of power crisis.
Vikram Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 7

After granting of amnesty to 634 stone-throwers, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has expressed the hope that pending cases of Jammu youths in connection with the 2008 Amarnath land row will be taken up soon.

Twenty FIRs registered at various police stations in the Jammu region for involvement in stone-throwing during the Amarnath land row in 2008 were among the 104 cases withdrawn by the government on Tuesday on recommendations of a high-powered committee.

BJP MLC Ramesh Arora said as lawyer of the party, he had fought cases of Jammu youths and secured bail for many of them.

He expressed the hope that the remaining cases would be considered for amnesty soon. At least 150 persons of a number of organisations were involved in the agitation, he said.

After the stir ended on August 31, 2008, with acceptance of all demands during Governors rule, the FIRs were not withdrawn, he said.

He said the agreement between the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti and the government committee should have been implemented in toto and all youths relieved.

Fifty challans concerning Jammu youths were still pending in the court of law while nearly 600 cases were lodged at various police stations in the Jammu region.

Cases lodged at police stations can be waived if a direction is issued by a high-ranking police officer with not proved statement and the cases dismissed in the final report, said Arora.

Confirming the granting of amnesty to 20 Amarnath land row agitators, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had described it as a historic decision of the PDP-BJP government on a long-pending demand of people of the Jammu region.

Other activists who did not wait for the BJP to fight for them had fought the battle themselves and got relief from the judiciary.

We had known that neither the then government nor the saffron party would come to our rescue. We fought our battle in the court of law and cases against us were dismissed after great hardship, said Sunil Sharma, a PhD scholar of the Dogri department at Jammu University.

He and seven other activists had been rounded up and booked by the police in 2008 in connection with the Amarnath land row for defying curfew.

Hari Om, chairman of Jammu For India, alleged that the state government had to release stone-throwers under Hurriyat compulsion every time. He said it happened in 2014 when more than 1,800 persons were released in the Valley.

The withdrawal of FIRs against Jammu youths has been by default as the BJP is in coalition with the PDP. Otherwise the saffron party has no concern for people of Jammu, he claimed.

In 2014, a total of 1,811 youths were granted amnesty for stone-throwing during the 2010-11 Kashmir riots. No Amarnath land row protester was considered for amnesty, causing resentment in the BJP.
Srinagar, July 7

Infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir is on the rise with nearly 100 terrorists sneaking into the Valley this year from across the Line of Control using routes, including those chosen by Pakistani raiders in 1947, to move towards south, which has emerged as the epicentre of militancy.

According to inputs received from various sources in the counter-infiltration grid, around 100 militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e- Muhammad have infiltrated into the higher reaches of Gulmarg and Boniyar in Baramulla (north Kashmir) to reach southern parts of the state via Yusmarg in central Kashmir, the route taken by tribal raiders from Pakistan to wrest control of Jammu and Kashmir.

Nearly 20 to 25 of these militants have been killed in encounters with the security forces on the LoC. Till June 30 last year, 34 militants had infiltrated into the Valley. There were several instances in June this year when militants crossed over to India from the higher reaches of Gulmarg and reached Baba Reshi where they dumped their arms and ammunition before moving towards south Kashmir in local vehicles or trekking down to Pulwama using the Yusmarg-Pakharpora route.

The central security agencies have provided intelligence about the presence of nearly a dozen militants in the Nichnai forests in the higher reaches of Yusmarg.

The Army had frustrated the attempts of the Pakistani raiders, which included some of its armed forces personnel, to take over Kashmir in 1947.

There has been a lot of movement of people in the area due to the Pakharpora shrine in Yusmarg which has gained popularity in the last couple of years, making it difficult for the security forces to quickly identify the militants.After it came to light that terrorists were using public roads instead of the usual mountainous path while moving towards south, the security agencies have suggested barricading them.

While the Army has been maintaining a studied silence over the issue, sources said intelligence inputs about the militants who managed to escape notice while crossing the LoC were picked up by the local police leading to various encounters across the state. The Gulmarg-Yusmarg route was used by LeT terrorists Naveed and Noman in August last year. These two were transported to Udhampur where they carried out an attack on a BSF bus killing two personnel. Noman was killed in retaliatory fire and Naveed was arrested with the help of local people.

Not much has been done to plug this route despite repeated warnings by the central intelligence agencies, state officials said.  PTI
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 7

Displaced Kashmiri Pandits today urged the PDP-BJP coalition government to improve living conditions at transit camps, which house community youths employed under the Prime Minister employment package.

In a statement, the Jagti Tenement Committee (JTC) alleged that the state government had failed to address the concerns of youths who returned to the Valley under the PM package.

A majority of youths engaged under the employment package are forced to rent private accommodation or share rooms at the transit camps. We also demand speeding up of the construction of 6,000 three-room set quarters at the transit camps, said SL Pandita, JTC president.

Community members have expressed grave concern over authorities ignoring Pandit youths while carrying out a recruitment drive despite several of them having cleared physical tests and interviews. The JTC, which is a representative organisation of displaced living in the camps, demanded a special drive for allowing youths to join the police.

Pandita said despite a lapse of more than eight years when then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced a rehabilitation package for the community, only 2,200 posts had been filled while 3,800 posts were yet to be filled.

The JTC also expressed its concern over the government slackness in filling up the remaining posts under the employment package. The government should come up with a clear stand for ensuring implementation of the employment package in its letter and spirit. It should fill up the remaining posts immediately and give an opportunity of employment to the eligible migrant youths, said Raj Kumar Tikku, another member of the organisation.

The Centre had also approved another package on November 18, 2015, involving an estimated expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore for providing 3,000 state government jobs to the Kashmiri migrants and construction of transit accommodation in the Valley but the state is yet to take any step following opposition from separatists.
Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 7

Hundreds of people from across the state visited the official residence of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at Fairview here today to offer Eid-ul-Fitr greetings.

The Chief Minister personally received the visitors and reciprocated their greetings. She thanked the people from different walks of life for arriving from across the state to convey their greetings to her.

Besides the common people, the visitors included ministers, Parliament members, legislators, civil and police officers, political workers, prominent citizens, lawyers and representatives of trade, travel and civil society organisations.

The Chief Minister called upon the people to strive for peace, harmony and brotherhood and support the governments endeavour to end the miseries of the people and bring stability and prosperity to the state.

I need the support and cooperation of every citizen of the state to realise the vision of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for a cohesive, peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said.

Special prayers were also offered for former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed on the occasion.

Hundreds of people from different walks of life have also been thronging the residence of the National Conference working president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to extend Eid greetings in the last two days here. Those who visited Omar included party leaders, legislators, party workers, senior officers of police and civil administration, social activists and trade representatives.
Tribune News Service

Jammu, July 7

Udhampur MLA Pawan Gupta has said the decision of the PDP-BJP government to send the Transfer of Property Bill, tabled in the Legislative Assembly, to a select committee is a temporary reprieve, which can be back in the next Assembly session and get passed, leading to chaos in the state.

The Bill aims at strangulating the economy of the state, erecting a strong wall between the state and the Centre, giving more teeth to Article 370 and snatching the fundamental rights of state subjects, he said while addressing a press conference here today.

He said eight BJP ministers in the Cabinet giving their consent for tabling of the Bill on the floor of the House apparently showed that the saffron party had sold its principles and acknowledged itself as a separatists class in Jammu.

He said it was intriguing that the BJP chose to be party in framing and approving of this Bill on June 23, the day the nation was paying tributes to Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his death anniversary.

Gupta added that the adoption of the Bill on this day by the PDP-BJP Cabinet was not merely a lapse, but an act enacted to tell the nation that the ruling elite in the state had no regard for the patriot who had sacrificed his life in 1953 to get discriminatory state subject laws weakened and bridge the politico-constitutional gulf between Srinagar and New Delhi.

He said this move should be a vindication of those who had been warning since 2014 that the Union government had planned a compromise on Jammu and Kashmir.

He said since Kashmiri separatists had not been liking the flourishing industry in Jammu, the Bill targeted the business and trade interests of Jammu province as it had been the main hub of industrial activity in the state because of the huge reserve of persons interested in free enterprise in the area of trade and business.

Gupta warned that the passing of this Bill would make the availability of land and facilities for security related purposes almost impossible and increase the degree of difficulty for the conduct of security related activities in the state.

It will only aggravate the deteriorating security situation in the state and cause great difficulty for corporate offices and nationalised banks which are operating in the state, he said.

Regarding the fundamental rights of people getting snatched through this Bill, Gupta cautioned that if it took the shape of an Act, it would defeat the provisions of Article 31 of the Indian Constitution.

Article 31 has been made a directive principle in the rest of the country through the 47th Amendment. It subsists in Jammu and Kashmir, which gives the fundamental right to property to its owner by his own choice and not by the government. This Bill, if passed, will defeat this right, said Gupta.

He said the referring of this Bill to the select committee had ensured that a Damocles sword continues to hang over the nationalists in Jammu and Kashmir and over free enterprise to promote trade and business of people in the state.
The blast took place at Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh where at least 2,00,000 people had gathered for Eid celebrations. One of the attackers has been killed following a fierce gunbattle with the security forces.

The incident comes after last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed over 20 people mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.

By India Today Web Desk: At least two policemen were killed and 12 others injured after some men hurled petrol bombs at a huge Eid gathering in Bangladesh's in Kishoreganj district today. According to latest reports, security forces have killed one the attackers in gunbattle. Security forces have nabbed one of the attackers alive while an operation to neutralise others, who have taken refuse inside a school building, is underway.

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The attack on the police position was close to an area where some 200,000 people had gathered for a prayer service in Kishoreganj town, about 140 km (90 miles) northeast of the capital, Dhaka, said district administrator Zillur Rahman.

"We are still checking for other miscreants but after this incident prayers were held peacefully and we have asked everyone to go home," Rahman said.



Roads along that attack site have been cordoned off and more reinforcements have been rushed in. "There is panic here," said an officer at the police control room in Kishoregonj town.

The attackers were said to have been carrying sharp weapons, local media reported. But how many took part in the attack is still unclear.

Witnesses said police fired at the attackers before being joined by troopers of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), bdnews24 reported.



Not without my friends: How Faraaz Hossain refused to leave Tarishi Jain's side and died when he could live



The incident comes after last week's deadly attacks at an upscale eatery in Dhaka in which killed over 20 people , mainly foreigners including an Indian girl was killed. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack, however, the Bangladesh government had claimed that the terrorists belonged to a home grown group, which may have received help from Pakistan's ISI.

IS HAD WARNED OF MORE ATTACKS



The Islamic State (IS) had on Wednesday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack on a cafe in Dhaka was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria in Bangla language was first found in an IS-affiliate website and then released on YouTube early on Wednesday.

Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the last week's attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups.

But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame.



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Also Read:

Who is Zakir Naik? Were the Dhaka attack terrorists 'inspired by him'?

Dhaka attack: Pakistan rejects allegations of ISI involvement, slams Indian media



--- ENDS ---
Mona

Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukones secret engagement sure rings in some cheer in otherwise the year of celeb break-ups. The duo reportedly got reserved for each other with a roka on the super-energetic actors birthday.

Unlike Hollywood wherein celebs are open to celebrate their relationships and also at times break-ups on their social media accounts, Bollywood is rather secretive. Here are some of the other secret engagements some of which led to the altar, correction, mandap here and also others that didnt fructify.

The hush hush affair

Shahid Kapurs engagement to a non-filmy girl 13 years his junior created ripples in early 2015. What garnered even more mileage was that the duo got into the arranged marriage for their parents are followers of group Radha Soami Satsang Beas. On their wedding in July 2015 the cute couple posed for pictures for one and all.

 Rani Mukherjee and Aditya Chopra kept a low profile till a shining rock on Ranis ring finger in 2013 pointed towards a more meaningful relationship. The couple got married in a rather hush-hush ceremony that eventually made it to news in 2014. They are proud parents of a baby girl, Adira, now.

 Expect every single actress that Salman Khan is seen with to make news as his to be. Recently it was a picture of the Sultan star posted by Bina Kak (who also posted pictures of Romanian beauty Lulia Vantur) that led to rumours of couples engagement. Apparently a water droplet was mistaken to be a ring on Salmans finger. (Really? Believe it or not, running in his 51st year, the universal Bhai still makes for one of the most eligible B town bachelors).

 Preity Zinta managed to keep her engagement and wedding rather private and LA corporate executive Gene Goodenough remained a mystery man till the dimpled beauty herself shared details with the world.

 Well, you need not necessarily need a man to spark of secret engagement tittle-tattle. Actress Esha Gupta managed to do it with a sparkling solitaire that she posted on Istagram with He asked and I said yes. Later, she clarified it to be a joke.

Not so lucky

Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif were rumoured to have got engaged in London on December 30, 2014 in a party hosted by Kaifs family in due presence of the Kapoors - Neetu and Rishi. However, the former live-in partners have moved separate ways.
Jasmine Singh

No one really knows, though we assume that Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor has invented a machine that can defy age. He would probably be shutting himself in a glass cage, dousing himself with some forever young chemicals, coming out as the Mr India, the totally jhakaas one!

These are just some of the stories that one gets to hear about this age defying, looking younger by the day actor. And if you ask Anil Kapoor, he shrugs it off. There is no secret behind this, no magic potion, nothing..... It is simple, whatever I do, I do in moderation, and there is a consistency in it. I dont lose myself to eating or drinking, everything is in control, I am not erratic with anything, says Anil dressed immaculately in a blue blazer and checked trousers, all eager to talk about his show on Colors TV 24 season 2... sitting straight, on a sofa.

With the thought that Anil still hasnt given away the secret behind his youth, we move on to what brings him to Chandigarh.

The second season of 24, this time the story goes bigger and better. We have put in our best for the second season, and trust me, it will hook the audience this time as well, shares Anil, who takes forward his character of Jai Singh Rathore to a new dimension, along with the story and other new entrants. The first season of 24 received a great response, something Anil expects from the second season as well. Those who have seen the first show have told me that it has an international feel to it.

International.... we like to take a break here, and ask Anil Kapoor about leaving an international project for 24. I had to let go many projects, however, there was one international project that I thought I could have done, says Anil, all in his stride. So, no regrets? Never, I do everything with my heart; I give in my best, leaving no place for regrets.

This is just one of the philosophies that this energetic actor goes by. Another one is, I dont carry forward any argument or issue to bed. Whatever needs to be sorted is done then and there. No carry fowards for me, adds Anil, who doesnt need to teach all these to his celebrity kids. I dont need to teach them all these, they imbibe the good things from the family, from parents. And also, interacting with youngsters like Sonam Kapoor (his daughter) has brought in a lot of difference to how I look at things in general.

Does this mean he has changed; he is not that jhakaas anymore? Jhakaas, is too retro now, fans around like me saying it, so I say it. This makes them happy, and when everyone is happy, I am happy. As far as changing my outlook towards work is concerned, we all change with time. For instance, my son convinced me to do Slumdog Millionaire and Dil Dhadakne Do, the young breed these days knows what is good. When three of my kids ask me to take a look at a film, I am sure there must be something good in it, adds Anil, who hasnt slouched or moved even a bit from his straight pose. Does he take potion for this as well! He might get an answer for this in some season.
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, July 7

Twenty-six people were killed and 33 others were injured in two separate road accidents in Rajasthan since Wednesday night.

Thirteen people, including seven women, were killed on the spot, while 30 others were injured when a tractor-trolley in which they were travelling collided with a truck laden with gravel bags on a hilly terrain near Bandore town, 80 km from Bhilwara, on Wednesday night.

While 13 passengers of a private bus on way from Pune to Jodhpur were crushed to death, and three others were injured by a speeding truck at Paldi town in Sirohi district on Thursday morning.

In the Bhilwara mishap, three of the seriously injured have been rushed to a government hospital in Ajmer, while others to various hospitals in Bhilwara, Beawar, and Asind, the SHO of Bandore said.

The deceased were identified Rukma, Lehari, Kamla, Jeti, Kali, Sohani, Laxmi, Seema, Devilal, Dinesh, Ramdeo, Madan and Dhana Singh. The bodies were kept in the mortuary.

About 45 people of Gurjar community were returning after a family event from Gopalpura to Bajunda in a tractor-trolley when the truck coming from the opposite direction collided with it at Vijay Nagar circle in Bandore Thana area, the SHO said.

The second accident occurred when the bus driver had an altercation with a truck driver and parked the vehicle in the middle of the Sirohi-Pali-Jodhpur highway and passengers got down the bus. Another speeding truck coming from the opposite side mowed them down, Sirohi SP Sandeep Singh Chouhan said.

Of these, nine passengers were killed on the spot and four died on way to Udaipur, the SP said, adding that the three injured were critical. The deceased, all males, are yet to be identified.
Dhaka, July 7

Islamist militants carrying bombs and machetes launched a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, killing four persons, including two policemen and a Hindu woman, nearly a week after 22 people were slaughtered in the country's worst terror attack.

Read: Dentist, singer and MBA identified in IS video threatening more attacks

Bombs exploded near the countrys biggest Eid gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

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Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh.

Read: NSG team to travel to Bangladesh, to study terror strikes

Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was also killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off.

Police said that two of the attackers have been held while media reported the arrest of three persons.

Machetes were seized from the suspected assailants.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear, he said.

Police did not reveal the identities of the arrested attackers. No group has claimed responsibility for today's attack.

The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were brutally slaughtered by Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.

'We will face them'

The site of the attack is called Sholakia Eidgah, a large field where hundreds of thousands of people gathered almost every year since the early 19th century to pray on the occasion of Eid, according to media.

Police had increased security at the site after Friday's attack in Dhaka, the Independent newspaper of Bangladesh said.

A religious leader preparing to attend the prayer service when the attack took place, Farid-uddin Masud, had recently denounced militancy and led a drive to collect signatures condemning it as un-Islamic.

"It is likely that they targeted me as I have received previous threats," he said by telephone. "It is their strategy to create panic."

The government says it will not be cowed by the violence.

"Their aim is not to establish Islamic ideology but to tarnish the image of the government and the country," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.

"We will face them with all our might."  Agencies




Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

Taking charge of the keenly watched HRD Ministry, Prakash Javadekar today announced his first programme  to felicitate his own college teachers in Pune on July 10.

The idea is to honour all teachers across the country with the programme in Pune," said Javadekar, who completed his graduation in commerce from Pune University.

On the current education scenario, he said: India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything?

He said if children were encouraged to be inquisitive, innovation would follow as the status quo would be challenged and there would be transformation.

"I take on the challenge of providing quality education to all," Javadekar said, adding that he would work as a team with the two MoS  Upendra Kushwaha (school education) and Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey (higher education).

On the no detention policy, Javadekar said he was aware of the opinion of the states and could come to a decision only after examining the matter.

He said his mission would be to ensure quality education for all, thereby transforming lives, especially of the poor.

He has already reviewed the working of the ministry through two detailed presentations  on school education and higher education  made at his residence by top ministry officials on July 6.

Thanks to his role as the BJP national spokesperson, Javadekar is media savvy and usually steers clear of any controversy.

He has been a Rajya Sabha member since 2008 and has also been a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council from 1990-2002. He has been a member of the BJP students wing ABVP. He was among the opposition leaders jailed during the Emergency for 16 months.
Mumbai/New Delhi, July 7

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday asked the Mumbai Police chief to probe preacher Zakir Naiks speeches and submit a report.

Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his hate speech' was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan suburb.

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As Mumbai-based Naik came under the scanner, senior Congress leader Digivjaya Singh was in the BJP's line of fire after a 2012 video showing him share a dais with the 50-year-old televangelist praising him at an event to promote communal harmony surfaced today.

Calling Islamic preacher Zakir Naek's speeches "highly objectionable", the Centre, earlier, said the Home Ministry will take appropriate action after studying them.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters, The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable.

Meanwhile, after it came to light that he had attended an event of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

Digvijaya Singh said if the government of India or Bangladesh has any evidence against Naik's involvement in the ISIS, they should take action against him.

Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed, he added.

The video shows Digvijaya Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

Zakir should travel all over IndiaI am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace, he said. We need your message to reach the country, Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office-bearers of his organisation Islamic Research Foundation' in Mumbai's Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters, The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable.

Naidu's remarks came a day after Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher, whose speeches are believed to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on July 11.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai-based PR agency.  Agencies
Maputo (Mozambique), July 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

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During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will high on the Prime Minister's agenda.

Prime Minister Modi will hold a "restricted meeting" with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

This will be followed by delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and a joint statement.

The Union Cabinet had earlier on Tuesday gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters through enhanced cooperation.

The cabinet also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by both nations.

The Prime Minister will visit the National Assembly and the Maluana Science and Technology Park and the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD) and intercat with Indians in Mozambique before leaving for Pretoria, South Africa, in the evening.

Modi is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during the visit.

He is the first Indian head of government to visit Mozambique after 34 years.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi was the last to visit that country in 1982.  Agencies
Maputo (Mozambique), July 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held bilateral talks with Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo on his arrival.

"Mozambique honours. PM Narendra Modi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo," tweeted Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

"Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM Narendra Modi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks," Swarups second tweet said.

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Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday morning, the first leg of his four-nation tour to Africa.

"An early morning arrival in Mozambique. Important talks await the PM in this brief but important visit," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted earlier.

Modi will later also meet with Veronica Macomo, President of Mozambique's National Assembly.

His other programmes in the day include an interaction with students at the Science and Technology Park, Maluana, and an Indian community reception.

He will leave for South Africa on Thursday evening.

This is the Prime Minister's first official visit to mainland Africa. He is also scheduled to visit Tanzania and Kenya.  IANS
By PTI: Gandhinagar, Jul 7 (PTI) Joining the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations along the international border in Gujarat, personnel of the border guarding force BSF today exchanged sweets and greetings with their Pakistani counterparts.

Border Security Force personnel handed over packets of sweets to the Pakistan Rangers who reciprocated with equal felicitations, a senior official said.

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting.

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"It is part of our tradition to exchange greetings and sweets with them (Pakistan Rangers) on festivals like Eid, Diwali, Holi and Independence Day," the official said.

Both sides greeted each other Eid Mubaraq as the festive exchanges were done at almost all battalions of the BSF under the Gujarat Frontier, the BSF officer said. PTI KIS ACB SMN

--- ENDS ---
Mumbai/New Delhi, July 7

As the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faces heat, the Maharashtra government today ordered a probe into his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers while the Centre said "appropriate action" would be taken against him.

I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naiks speeches) and submit a report, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.

Everything, including Naiks speeches, his social media accounts and sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai), would be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked a restaurant in Dhaka, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the Mumbai-based scholar.

Naik for his part released a statement, saying he "totally disagreed" that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged anyone to kill another person  Muslim or non-Muslim, said Naik, who has been banned in a few countries.

About a video in which Naik is urging all Muslims to become terrorists, he said: Many of the news channels in India are showing a clipping where I am saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Whenever anyone wants to malign me, they show the clipping. This clipping, yes it is me saying it but it is out of context. I said a terrorist is a person who terrorises someone. I also gave an example that a policeman terrorises a robber. So, for a robber a policeman is a terrorist. In this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the anti-social element.

Meanwhile, security personnel were deployed outside Naiks Islamic Research Foundation office at Dongri area in South Mumbai as a precautionary measure.

I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said: The Home Ministry will study (Naiks speeches) and take appropriate action. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable.  PTI
Seema Kaul

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Thursday that he would felicitate teachers of his alma mater, a college in Pune, on July 10, as he took over the ministry.

Javadekar, who holds a graduation degree from Pune University, said:  "The idea is to honour all teachers across the country with the programme in Pune. I take on challenge of providing quality education to all," he said adding that he would together with the two MoS: Upendra Kushwaha and Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey.

Will decide on No Detention Policy

Javadekar said the ministry would decide on the No detention policy only after studying states opinions on the subject carefully.

He also claimed all states would be treated equally and that the ministry would seek their opinions on all subjects.
New Delhi, July 7

India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on day, contending "unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything".

Innovation is a process of rebellion essentially. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything," he said, emphasising the Modi government's focus on innovation in education.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

"Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don't allow questioning. We don't promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions," the newly appointed HRD Minister said.

Javadekar said if children are encouraged to be inquisitive, innovation would follow as the status quo would be challenged and there would be transformation.

The minister, who had been given the charge of the HRD Ministry after Tuesday's reshuffle, was speaking at an event, 'Infocom 2016', organised by the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra is sustainable development which does not impact adversely the nature but ensures progress of all, for which innovation is the key.

He said the development in IT Sector has brought a revolution in the media industry. Transformation is the result of new ideas. There are doomsayers, but one should always be positive and look for innovation, he said.

Javadekar also recalled his interaction in the 1990s with late Steve Jobs of Apple who had then predicted the evolution of smart phone and its varied functions.

Javadekar also said he will soon go for a programme in Pune where those who had taught him will be honoured.

After taking over, he held a meeting with his ministry officials.

Officials said he spoke on issues, including geographic information system (GIS) mapping of institutes and filling up of faculty vacancies.

After taking charge as HRD Minister, Javadekar said the prime challenge that the education sector faces in the country is raising the quality of education and ensuring it reaches all.

His predecessor Smriti Irani, who has been given the charge of Textiles Ministry, however, did not turn up for the event.

Javadekar said she could not join the occasion because of "family reasons". He had yesterday met Irani, whom he had described as his "little sister" and said he would carry on with the "good initiatives" taken by her.  PTI
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, July 7

The Supreme Court has set a 30-day deadline for Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand for filing their response to Punjabs suit against Centres 2010 circular offering duty sops to industrial units in the two hill states and Himachal Pradesh.

A Bench comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and RF Nariman passed the order after being told that the two states were yet to file their statements despite several opportunities given to them.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

This was the last chance and no further opportunity would be given to them if they failed to submit their written statements in a month, the Bench clarified on July 5 when the 2009 suit came up for hearing.

Appearing for Himachal Pradesh, senior advocate JS Attri said his client had filed its response defending the need for duty concessions for the industries in the hill state. HP has pleaded that because of the peculiar and tough geographical conditions and industrial backwardness of the state, enterprises should be encouraged to set up shop in the hilly region. Punjab had no legal right to challenge the sops through a suit, it has maintained.

In fact, another SC Bench had observed in 2013 that Punjabs suit was prima facie not maintainable. Punjab should have challenged the circular instead of filing a suit, which was meant for resolving inter-state disputes, a Bench comprising Justices Gyan Sudha Misra and PC Ghose had remarked.

Earlier, the SC-appointed mediators had failed in their efforts to find a solution. The sops were offered for 10 years from June 2002 for Jammu and Kashmir and from January 2003 to the other two states. Before the 10-year period was over, the Centre issued a circular on December 12, 2010, offering continued excise duty exemption for 10 years even to plants that were added or upgraded by the industrial units to step up output. This prompted Punjab to amend its 2009 suit for challenging the circular.

The amended suit said the renewed duty exemption would hit the existing industrial units in Punjab and result in unemployment and revenue loss to the government.
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said terrorism was the gravest threat to the world as he made his first stop in Mozambique at the start of his four-nation tour of Africa. Modis comments assume significance coming in the backdrop of increasing terrorist activities around the world and most recently in Indias neighbourhood, Bangladesh.

India also signed a significant long-term agreement with Mozambique for the import of pulses. For India, this will help it manage its domestic demand of pulses and provide Mozambique farmers an additional source of income. Since both India and Mozambique are also connected via the Indian Ocean, maritime security and further strengthening defence and security cooperation was also high on agenda.

The PM arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique early today and was accorded a ceremonial welcome. Later, he held delegation-level talks with Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi after which the two leaders held a joint press statement. This is the PMs first official visit to mainland Africa.

The PM in his statement said, President Nyusi and I recognise that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today. Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally. The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans-national crimes.

He said both nations had decided to strengthen the defence and security relationship and to advance it further.

The PM also announced India would donate essential medicines for the Mozambican public health system, including medicines for treatment of AIDS. India and Mozambique have also decided to take their agricultural cooperation to the next level.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 7

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said here today that Badal & company had no right to reject the unconditional apology tendered by the party to the Sikh Sangat for inadvertently and unintentionally hurting its religious sentiments.

Addressing a press conference, AAP spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the SAD leaders who claimed to be more Panthic than anyone else had denigrated Sikh institutions and committed far more blasphemous acts during their nine-year rule in Punjab, but never tendered an apology.

Khaira recalled that during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Akali Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had wrongly recited a shabad from the Gurbani while eulogising BJP leader Arun Jaitley. Majithias act hurt the sentiments of the Sikh masses, but the Punjab Police did not book him under Section 295A of the IPC, the AAP spokesman said.

If Majithia subsequently apologised for his blasphemous act, so did Ashish Khetan. But why is the Badal government adopting different yardsticks in the two cases, asked Khaira.

He added that Badal recently compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at a function in New Delhi, but the CM never felt the need for an apology.

Khaira claimed that during the DSGMC elections in 2013, the SAD had used the picture of Gurdwara Bangla Sahib on its manifesto, along with the election symbol (bucket), but no SAD leader had apologised.

Legal cell office-bearers

AAP today released a list of its legal wing office-bearers. Himmat Singh Shergill said besides appointing 50 joint secretaries and 13 zonal coordinators, the party has appointed KS Malhi, JS Arora, Gaurav Gurcharan Singh Rai, JS Virk, SS Gill and Eklavya Kumar as vice-presidents of the cell.
Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 7

Education Minister Daljeet Singh Cheema has summoned the lowest performing five teachers  whose students have got poor result in the class X annual examination  of every subject from all districts of the state.

As the minister wants to ask these teachers the reasons for their students poor performance in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) annual exam, 800 poorly-performing teachers have been directed to reach the PSEB Complex in Mohali on July 13.

In a letter to all District Education Officers (DEOs) in the state, the School Education Department has directed the DEOs to collect the details of the performance of these teachers.

The DEO has to submit information about the subject the teacher was teaching, the number of students who appeared in the exam and how many of them passed the exam in that particular subject. The DEOs have also been directed to accompany these teachers during their meeting with the Education Minister.

Six months back, unhappy with 186 teachers in government high schools for their abysmally low performance, the School Education Department had summoned all these teachers for a meeting with the minister.

At that time, these teachers were the ones whose students pass percentage was less than 20 per cent.

Mathematics and English are two subjects in which students have shown very poor result in class X and XII exams in government schools. The teachers in government schools in this area blame it on the no-detention policy under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

The Education Minister has already announced that in evaluating the annual confidential report (ACR) of school teachers in the state, 70 per cent weightage would be given to their students performance from this year.

The Education Department has also revised the ACR performa. Earlier, the performance of students in the annual examination was given only 8 per cent weightage in the teachers ACRs.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 7

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader HS Phoolka will go to the Golden Temple on July 10 to seek pardon for what he described as a mistake committed inadvertently by party leader Ashish Khetan in comparing the youth manifesto with Guru Granth Sahib.

Asked whether he would meet the Sikh High Priests, Phoolka said today: I will appear before Guru Granth Sahib, bow my head before Him and seek pardon from Him.

Speaking to The Tribune, the AAP leader said he would first pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and then perform sewa in the community kitchen.

I have talked to Arvind Kejriwal, who told me to go to Amritsar, said Phoolka, adding that he was going there on the partys behalf.

Meanwhile, accusing the SGPC chief of adopting double standards, Phoolka said Khetan was a non-Sikh who made a mistake out of ignorance, but Bikram Singh Majithia modified a verse from the Gurbani despite being aware of the maryada. Why did Makkar not seek the registration of a case against CM Parkash Singh Badal (for Majithias mistake),asked Phoolka. We (Sikhs) are accountable to the Guru, not to Makkar, he added.
After his stint as a judge on a reality show, the author's returning on the small screen in a completely different avatar.

By India Today Web Desk: Chetan Bhagat's relationship with the telly can only be described as the tagline of a popular chips brand, "No one can eat just one." And it seems like after getting a taste of the small screen in 2015--as a judge on Nach Baliye 7--the author's back on the telly for more.



Also read: Led by a female protagonist, is Chetan Bhagat's latest book inspired by his stint on Nach Baliye?

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The 3 Mistakes of My Life author, will be seen playing the host on Real 2 States Couples, on newly launched channel FYI TV18.

Bhagat, who has penned book 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, said, "India's youth today are major change agents driving social transformation." Real 2 States Couples explores the relationship dynamics of a cross-cultural couple and their respective families before a wedding, much like the theme of his aforementioned work.

Talking about his spanking new avatar, he added, "One of the best examples of this are inter-cultural marriages which have been brilliantly captured in our new series 'Real 2 States Couples'. I've been personally very entertained by these confident young people and I'm sure our viewers will love them too."

(With IANS inputs)

--- ENDS ---
Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 7

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) will move court against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, party spokesperson Ashish Khetan and Punjab Dialogue chief Kanwar Sandhu for allegedly showing disrespect to the Guru Granth Sahib and hurting Sikh sentiments.

Rejecting the apology offered by Khetan, Sandhu and HS Phoolka for comparing the AAP youth manifesto with Guru Granth Sahib, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said today that this was a case of blasphemy, for which the AAP leaders should be punished.

There are some crimes which cant be pardoned, said Makkar. When asked about Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, who had been accused of distorting a verse of Guru Gobind Singh while campaigning for Arun Jaitley in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Makkar said, There can be a slip of tongue during a public address. It was not done deliberately.

On the use of pictures of gurdwaras by the Shiromani Akali Dal in its election manifesto, Makkar said, Such pictures cant be used by political parties which make false promises. He added that the SAD had fulfilled all promises listed in its manifesto.

Meanwhile, All India Sikh Student Federation chief Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad said a meeting of Sikh organisations had been convened in Jalandhar to plan the course of action. He criticised the state government for not arresting Khetan. He also demanded an apology from Kejriwal.
THE opportune lecture recently delivered by Sardar Daljit Singh before the Indian Section of the Society of Arts in London, and the glowing need of appreciation given by Mr. Chamberlain, must have greatly helped in keeping the undaunted courage and gallantry of the Sikhs before the British public. But no appreciation, however generous, tells so eloquently as deeds, and deeds done like those of the Sikhs and their other Indian comrades. Indeed, Mr. Chamberlain himself brought home the achievements of our gallant countrymen with the unerring logic of facts. Out of 1,300 decorations awarded to the Indian Army the Sikhs had won no less than 400, including one Victoria Cross, six Military Crosses, two Indian Orders of Merit, first class and 113 seconds class. This is a record of which the Sikh warriors and their countrymen have just reason to feel proud. Mr. Chamberlain gave two instances of Sikh bravery one at Gallipoli and the other in France. The list of honours are notified in the Gazette of India as having been granted to Indian troops for personal gallantry and distinguished service in the fields, which are shared by the 14th King Goerge's Own Ferozepore Sikhs and a number of Gurkha battalions.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 7

The Uttarakhand government will make provisions for providing jobs to the dependents of the families who have lost earning members or head in the natural disaster, Chief Minister Harish Rawat said on Thursday.

Rawat said the decision to provide jobs to at least a member of the affected families in the event of the death of the earning members or head would be considered during the upcoming Cabinet meeting. We will bring the proposal at the Cabinet meeting. We have also decided to raise the government grant for fully damaged houses from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The additional Rs 1 lakh will be provided from the Chief Ministers Relief Fund, he said while reviewing the preparedness of the Department of Disaster Management.

The Chief Minister announced raising ex gratia amount from Rs 3,800 to Rs 5,000 for the affected persons. We will also constitute a disaster relief fund so that funds could be raised immediately in times like this, said Rawat.

He added that temporary arrangements would be made for those living in relief camps. I have directed the district administration to look into the matter so that persons living in camps could be shifted to rented houses, said Rawat.

He said incentives would be given to villagers for making compulsory abodes in mountains so that these could be used as shelters during disasters. Of late, villagers had stopped migrating to these abodes (chaniyas) during the summer.

The Chief Minister also stressed on perfecting the response to disasters so that there were minimal casualties. He said two more battalions under the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) would be raised.

On the other hand, Secretary, Disaster Management, Shailesh Baiguli said the work was on to reopen broken roads and repair damaged water schemes. Out of the 87 water schemes that were damaged in the disaster, around 67 have been repaired and electricity has been restored to 1,127 places, he said. Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhyay and in charge of Congress affairs in the state Ambika Soni attended the meeting.
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 7

Though Governor KK Paul wrote 10 letters to officials of the Ayush Department drawing attention towards the illegal appointment of Dr Mritunjay Mishra as Registrar of Ayurved University, the Additional Secretary, Ayush, has conducted only a token inquiry with no time frame. Despite all this, Mishra reportedly continues to occupy the position.

After relentlessly writing letters to the government, the matter suddenly gained traction after mediapersons highlighted it before the Chief Minister during a press conference. Om Prakash, Principal Secretary, Ayush, directed Additional Secretary GB Oily to look into the matter on Wednesday. Om Prakash also recommended the removal of Mishra but the order has not been implemented, casting doubts on the inquiry against Mishra.

The office of the Governor had recently written to the Chief Minister seeking action in the matter. The step was taken after the previous attempts by the office did not elicit any response. On December 12, 2015, too, the Governor office had written to the Ayush Department but to no avail.

Significantly, Mritunjay Mishra, who belongs to the Higher Education Department, was sent to the Ayurved Department on deputation. Later, he was absorbed in the department after allegedly tweaking rules and regulations. The matter was later brought before the Governor in 2015.

Mritunjay was appointed on July 11, 2013, at a time when rules and regulations of 2009 (Ayurved University Act) were in place. Under these norms, Mishra could not get the job as the qualification for a Registrars position stateshe should be from All India Service/ state Ayurveda services with senior pay scale or from provincial civil services. At the time of his appointment, Mishra did not possess these qualifications. But soon after he joined as Registrar after seven months, these rules were allegedly circumvented to accommodate him and amendments were introduced in the Act so as to make the selection process amenable to Mishra.

The former Uttarakhand Horticulture Minister had perfected the art of sending his relatives and close friends from the Education Department to the specialised departments such as the Horticulture Department on deputation. This became a norm and a playground for politicians to mess with rules and regulations. During Harak Rawats tenure as minister, his close relative Dr Yashwant Bartwal was made Registrar of Horticulture University, Bursar. He was from the Education Department and was suspended.

Bartwal was never given the no objection certificate from his parent department. Interestingly, after Harak Singh Rawat mounted a rebellion against his own government, within a few days the Harish Rawat government suspended Bartwal, who later approached the High Court but failed to get reprieve.

However, in the case of Mishra, the Harish Rawat government conveniently turned a blind eye, until a few days ago.
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 7

The Union Governments Namami Gange programme, to cleanse the Ganga throughout its route from Gangotri till Ganga Sagar, was launched in Haridwar today.

Union Minister for Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti, Union Minister for Highways Nitin Gadkari, Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched the Namami Gange programme on the banks of the Ganga at the Rishikul ground.

Songs based on the theme of Namami Gange, compiled by Shyam Mohan, were also launched on the occasion.

Uma Bharti, while addressing the gathering, said the project would clean the Ganga of pollution in the coming years. Besides, mass plantation drives, development of Ganga ghats, installation of sewage treatment plants (STPs), crematoriums, pilot drain projects, interceptor drain projects, awareness drives and conservation of bio-diversity projects would also be done under the project.

Uma termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the modern day Pt Madan Mohan Malviya. She said exactly 100 years ago, Bharat Ratna Pt Malviya forced the British to sign an agreement to ensure sanctity and flow of water in the Ganga at Har-ki-Pauri. Now, in 2016, Narendra Modi, through his visionary Namami Gange project, was carrying further that agreement to ensure purity of the mother Ganga.

Today, 250 projects worth Rs 1,500 crore are being launched simultaneously under the Namami Gange project. These projects are also being launched at 108 places situated on the banks of sub-tributaries of the Ganga. From Gangotri to Ganga Sagar, the Namami Gange will ensure cleanliness of the river for which Rs 20,000 crore have been earmarked, Bharti said.

Industrial pollutants flowing into the Ganga was a major concern for which a tri-level system was being put in place. Now, only STP-treated water would be allowed to be poured into the Ganga, for which a law would be enacted soon, the Water Resources Minister said.

Results and impact of Namami Gange will be visible by October in the first phase as more than 1,000 schemes for cleaning the Ganga are ready. The Ganga water flows in my veins and its the responsibility of all Ganga devotees, not alone the government, to ensure purity and sanctity of the holy river, Uma said.

Nitin Gadkari assured people of success of the Namami Gange programme. He said under the project, methane from the polluted water would be used for power generation purposes.

Gadkari advocated having Namami Gange programmes and initiatives included in the school curriculum.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat assured the Union Government of full support of the state government in ensuring a pollution-free Ganga.

Haridwar parliamentarian Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Mahamandaleshwar Swami Harichetanand Maharaj, public representatives, saints and residents attended the launch of the project.

Panwar plants sapling to launch project

Mussoorie: Urban Development Minister Pritam Panwar inaugurated the Namami Gange afforestation project by planting a pipal sapling in the forest area near Badethi bend Chinyali Saud development region of Uttarkashi district today.

Students from various schools, along with villagers and eco-task force jawans, planted more than 100 fruit saplings.

Panwar said they were planning a project of creating mixed forests, which would have several fodder bearing species in around 5 hectares. It would improve the economic condition of people and protect the environment. He appealed to people to join the movement in a big way to make the project successfull. He commended the efforts of the eco-task force in greening the area.

Zila Panchayat vice-president Prakash Chandra Ramola, block pramukh Bijendar Singh, SSP Dadan Pal, DFO Girish Rastogi, SDM Dunda Vijay Nath Sukla and others were present on the occasion.
Sofia, July 7

Two suspected accomplices in a bombing that killed five Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in Bulgaria in 2012 are expected to be put on trial in absentia within days, the Balkan country's president said on Thursday.

Bulgarian authorities blamed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah for the attack on a tourist bus.

Hezbollah denied involvement. The European Union subsequently placed Hezbollah's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist.

President Rosen Plevneliev said he had been assured by Bulgaria's chief prosecutor that the two alleged accomplices  named by Bulgarian investigators as Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj  would be put on trial shortly.

"None of us will rest until the people who committed the attack, as well as those who organised it, are brought to court.

This will in fact be very soon ... It is a matter of days," Plevneliev told a news conference in Sofia after a meeting with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

The whereabouts of Farah and Hassan  Australian and Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin respectively  remain unknown. In 2013, Bulgarian official said they were believed to be in Lebanon and could be tried in absentia.

In 2014, Bulgarian authorities identified the bomber as Mohamad Hassan El Husseini, a dual Lebanese-French citizen, who was killed in the course of the attack.

The Israeli tourists had arrived on a charter flight and were in the bus in the Sarafovo airport car park when the blast tore through the vehicle, also killing the Bulgarian driver and wounding more than 30 people.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria's government approved draft legislation giving security agencies the right to curb civil liberties in case of a terrorism emergency.  Reuters
Berlin, July 7

The German parliament on Thursday unanimously approved tougher laws making any form of non-consensual sexual contact a crime, seeking to reassure a public shaken by mass attacks on women on New Year's Eve that were largely blamed on migrants.

The measures, dubbed "nein heisst nein" or "no means no" by the German media, aim to close loopholes that made it difficult to punish offenders if proof was lacking that they had used violence against their victims or when victims did not resist.

Under the new rules, all forms of non-consensual sexual contact will be punishable, regardless of the circumstances. All 601 lawmakers participating in the debate voted in favour of the new measures.

In Cologne at New Year, hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the train station. Police said the suspects were mainly of North African or Arab appearance.

The police chief was forced to resign over the incident, which hardened public opinion against the government's decision to allow in more than one million migrants last year, mostly people fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Women's rights activists launched the "no means no" awareness campaign after the Cologne attacks, which prompted a debate about the challenge to integrate the new arrivals.  Reuters
Baghdad, July 7

The death toll from a suicide bombing in Baghdad this weekend has reached 292, Iraqs Health Ministry said on Thursday.

More than 200 people were wounded in the attack, claimed by the Islamic State, in a busy shopping street in the mainly Shi'ite Karrada district of central Baghdad. About 23 of the wounded were still in hospital, health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Rudaini said.  Reuters
Islamabad: Pakistans lonely elephant Kaavan, brought from Sri Lanka at the age of one, has become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by music icon Cher, but efforts to improve the pachyderms lot appear limited. The 32-year-old is suffering from mental illness, and without a better habitat his future is bleak even if a long-promised new mate finally arrives, experts said. His behaviour, including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly, demonstrates a kind of mental illness, said the vice-chairman of the Pakistan Wildlife Foundation.  AFP

Indo-Canadian selected for Arctic expedition

Toronto: A 14-year-old Indo-Canadian Sikh student has been selected to take part in the prestigious Students on Ice Arctic Expedition. Beginning July 21, Abhayjeet Singh Sachal will travel along with a team of more than 100 high-school and university students from around the world to the eastern Canadian Arctic and western Greenland, in an expedition which will continue up to August 5. He studies in British Columbia. Students on Ice (SOI), which began nearly 16 years ago, is a foundation that educates the worlds youth about the importance of the polar regions. IANS

Party drug as treatment for alcoholics?

London: British scientists are recruiting volunteers to test whether ketamine, also known as the party drug Special K, may be helpful in reducing relapse rates among people with severe alcoholism. After pilot studies that showed ketamine combined with psychotherapy might make detoxing alcoholics less likely to relapse, the scientists are looking for 96 volunteers with severe alcohol disorder who have been recently abstinent.  Reuters
Baton Rouge, July 7

Hundreds of protesters stood vigil early on Thursday outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, demanding the prosecution of police who fatally shot a black man there two days earlier.

The demonstration was largely peaceful at about 1 am local time as about 300 protesters remained outside of the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest by two white police officers on Tuesday.

"There is not going to be a riot until they show they are not going to prosecute these people," said Arsby, a 53-year-old truck driver who declined to give his last name, as he stood outside of the store. "Right now it's just started." Some protesters blocked traffic while others marched, sang, and chanted, accusing the police of using "excessive force" against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

The US Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

"Now, all eyes are in Baton Rouge. What may have been easier to cover up before because it was just us ... now they've woken up the sleeping lions," said Tammara Crawford.  Reuters
When asked why China was on the other hand objecting to military deployments in the South China Sea, Col. Yang pointed out that Beijing had never objected to Indian deployments.

China's People Liberation Army (PLA) today said that the crossings of its submarines across the Indian Ocean were "legitimate" and "follow international practice".

India has been closely following the increasing frequency of Chinese submarine deployments in the neighbourhood, with PLA Navy Yuan-class submarines last year, making a first ever port call to Karachi and also stopping in Colombo.

The deployments have been seen as demonstrating the new reach of the PLA Navy, which has in the past rarely deployed its vessels and submarines far beyond China's coastlines.

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Asked about India's concerns, PLA Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence, said the submarine deployments were "legitimate" and followed international practice.

"The Chinese submarines crossed some of the sea areas and those crossings are legitimate and legal, and we follow international practices," Senior Colonel Yang told reporters in a rare freewheeling interaction today.

When asked why China was on the other hand objecting to military deployments in the South China Sea, Col. Yang pointed out that Beijing had never objected to Indian deployments.

"I want to point out one thing. You said when Indian ships enter the South China Sea, [we are saying] it is wrong. But where did you hear that? I am from the Ministry of Defence and I never said that."

"If it is done in accordance with international law and as freedom of navigation, that should be lawful," he added. "Such movement should be helpful for country-to-country relations and for peace and stability in the region. All those kind of moves should be welcomed".

ANTI-PIRACY COOPERATION WITH INDIA

The PLA Senior Colonel stressed that India and China were working well together in the Indian Ocean Region, as evident in the way both countries have closely coordinated anti-piracy escort missions in the Gulf of Aden. "Since 2008, China's navy has sent over 23 fleets to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia for escort missions and provided more than 6,000 services. We have cooperated well with the Indian Navy".

He said both sides were "deepening cooperation" in technical areas. "Thanks to efforts of leaders, bilateral relations are developing steadily and there is a high level of strategic communication and exchange of visits. In terms of border exchanges also, we maintain very good communication and we are both working hard to safeguard peace and tranquility on the border."

SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS

Many of the questions that the Senior Colonel faced in his interaction with reporters revolved around the South China Sea, with a ruling on the arbitration initiated by the Philippines expected on July 12. The tribunal will deliver a verdict on whether or not some of China's claims are consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China has deemed the arbitration tribunal illegitimate and did not take part in the proceedings. But rulings on the validity of some of China's claims, including its "nine-dash line" that covers much of the South China Sea and is claimed by China on the basis of "historical rights", could have regional ramifications and push other claimants in the dispute to seek arbitration, officials say.

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Col. Yang hinted at the role of "outside countries" in fanning the dispute, with Beijing in recent weeks hitting out at the U.S. for carrying out "freedom of navigation operations" in the South China Sea and for what Beijing sees as tacit support to other claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

Washington has also led the opposition to China's moves to carry out reclamation projects on contested islands and reefs and to set up infrastructure, including runways, on them. Earlier this month, a top US diplomat, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, on a visit to Delhi even described Beijing's moves as "madness", prompting an angry rebuttal from China.

"I want to reiterate that what ever the complexities that may emerge, China is not the troublemaker," Senior Colonel Yang said. "The activities carried out by the Chinese side are legitimate, reasonable, professional and responsible. Some countries particularly outside the region come to the South China Sea under various pretexts? in an attempt to make provocations and troubles."

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On US deployments in the South China Sea, Senior Colonel Yang said, "We want to ask, why are you here? Are you here to promote peace or to provoke incidents? We have a saying in China: the trees want to be tranquil but the problem is the wind. The South China Sea is an issue among parties concerned. We want to work with parties to safeguard this tree, but now there is a wind from outside. Is that a tornado or typhoon we don't know, but we know that it comes from outside".



--- ENDS ---
London, July 7

Andrea Leadsom, one of three candidates vying to become the next British prime minister, said she had given a full account of her past jobs on Thursday as some of her career credentials were called into doubt.

Leadsom has put her 25 years' experience working in financial services at the centre of her campaign to become leader but five former colleagues told Reuters Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money.

"My CV is correct," she told Sky News.

Leadsom also defended a mortgage she had taken out, which had raised questions about her financial affairs.

"We were shopping around for a cheap mortgage and the mortgage was offered by a bank who booked it in the Channel Islands. There's no advantage to me. It was just a good deal," she said.  Reuters
HONG KONG, July 7

US destroyers have sailed close to Chinese-held reefs and islands in the disputed South China Sea in recent weeks, US naval officials said on Thursday, patrols likely to fuel tension ahead of landmark ruling over Beijing's maritime claims.

The destroyers Stethem, Spruance and Momsen have been patrolling near Chinese-held features in the Spratlys archipelago and the Scarborough Shoal, which is near the Philippines, the officials said. The patrols were first reported by the Washington-based Navy Times newspaper.

Pressure has been rising in the region ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.

China has refused to participate in the case and vowed to ignore the rulings that the United States insists are binding and an important test of Beijing's willingness to adhere to international law.

While not close enough to be within 12 nautical miles  a so-called freedom of navigation operation that would require high-level approval  the destroyers operated within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the Chinese features, the Navy Times reported.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its escort ships have also been patrolling the South China Sea since last week.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Clint Ramsden said he could not go into operational or tactical details but that the patrols were part of a "routine presence".

"All of these patrols are conducted in accordance with international law and all are consistent with routine Pacific Fleet presence throughout the Western Pacific." US navy officials said Chinese naval ships, and sometimes fishing vessels, frequently track US ships in the South China Sea but it is not yet known if the presence of the destroyers attracted particular attention.

Manila is challenging the legality of Beijing's actions and claims in the South China Sea - the first legal case involving the South China Sea.

With legal experts expecting the ruling to go Manila's way, at least in part, US and other regional naval officials are bracing for tension in the weeks and months after the ruling.  Reuters
WASHINGTON, July 6

The United States on Wednesday sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.

The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the US jurisdiction. They include 10 other individuals besides Kim and five government ministries and departments, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement.

North Korea's leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring US President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea. It had to address the role of Kim Jong Un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.

Kim Jong Un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea. Many of the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children, the report said.

The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People's Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.

Senior US administration officials said the new sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The report was "the most comprehensive" to date on individual North Korean officials' roles in forced labour and repression.

They said the sanctions would be partly "symbolic" but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries "think twice" before engaging in abuses. "It lifts the anonymity," a senior administration official told reporters.

The North Korea mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

South Korea, which has imposed its own sanctions against the North that cut off all political and commercial ties, welcomed the move and said it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.

More sanctions to come

Using sanctions against a head of state is not unprecedented. In 2011, the United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their role in Syria's violence. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was also sanctioned.

Policymakers often worry that targeting a country's leader will destroy any lingering chance of rapprochement, say former diplomats. It is a sign "there probably isn't much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution," said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser in the US Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The new sanctions join a long list of measures that have had little effect in pressuring North Korean leaders to change, experts who study the North's political system said.

"The sanctions from today will do nothing whatsoever to alter North Korea's strategic calculus and only underscore their thinking that the U.S. has a 'hostile policy' against their country," said Michael Madden an expert on the North Korean leadership.

"Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic. There will be numerous official and state media denunciations which will target the US and Seoul and the wording will be vituperative and blistering," he said.

Peter Harrell, a former State Department sanctions official, said the measures would signal to companies in China as well as others doing business with North Korea that the US would continue escalating sanctions.

Harrell added it was unlikely that any assets would be blocked, however "given the realities of where Kim Jong Un and his cronies likely hide their assets."

In March, the UN Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear and missile tests.

That same month, Obama imposed new sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a rocket launch that Washington and its allies said employed banned ballistic missile technology.

Those steps froze any property of the North Korean government in the U.S. and essentially prohibited exports of goods from the US to North Korea.

"The United States has maintained sanctions and pressure against the North for 65 years since the Korean War, but there's not been a single case where the intended result was accomplished," said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"How much time is left in the Obama administration? There may be the wish to prove the policy of 'strategic patience' against the North has not failed, but when it comes to practical results, there won't be much to show," Yang said.  Reuters
By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Claris Lifesciences shares rose nearly 6 per cent after the company received approval from the US health regulator for generic Tobramycin injection used for the treatment of bacterial infections, in the American market.

The stock climbed 5.59 per cent to settle at Rs 229.35 on BSE. During the day, it gained 13.28 per cent to Rs 246.05.

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The companys market valuation rose by Rs 66.51 crore to Rs 1,251.51 crore.

"The company has received abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for Tobramycin injection USP, 80 mg/2 mL and 1,200 mg/30 mL multiple dose vials," Claris Lifesciences had said in a BSE filing yesterday.

The estimated market size of the product in the US is USD 6 million. The product is currently in the shortage list of the USFDA, it added.

With this, the company has a total of 14 approvals and 24 under approval ANDAs and is expecting more product approvals during the year, Claris Lifesciences said. PTI SUM PRB ABK

--- ENDS ---
Upping its ante against the BJP government, Mumbai Congress has decided to launch an online campaign called 'Bol mere pothole Bol'.

At a time when the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is struggling to fix the existing potholes in the city, the monsoons are creating havoc, with more new potholes emerging everyday.

Despite being served a 48-hour deadline by the BMC chief, the pothole crisis appears to be unsolved. Interestingly, the BMC refuses to acknowledge the growing crisis, claiming that there are very little potholes in the city.

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POTHOLES TO BE NAMED AFTER POLITICIANS

Upping its ante against the BJP government, Mumbai Congress has decided to launch an online campaign called 'Bol mere pothole Bol'. As a part of the campaign, the Congress has asked the people to send photos of potholes along with relevant information.

Through this information, the Congress shall name the potholes after the ruling political party leaders.

"Police have arrested two suspended BMC engineers but why can't they arrest the standing committee chief? To nail the lies of the BMC, we have launched this new campaign. We have asked people to send us the photos via WhatsApp or emails," Sanjay Nirupam, Mumbai Congress chief, said.

LOCALS COMPLAIN



"In Malad Evershine area, a number of potholes are causing waterlogging and traffic. I don't understand why can't the BMC fix it properly," Deepa Seth, one the residents, said.

"We require proper roads, it is our right. We have been facing this issue for several years now. We do not know if at all we are going to get proper roads," Hayder, resident of Malavani, told India Today Television.

However, the BMC has claimed to fix maximum number of potholes in the last one year. According to officials, as many as 1499 complaints were received last year in July, out of which 1355 complaints were looked after. Only 164 were pending.

This year, 411 complaints were received, out of which 343 were attended to.

--- ENDS ---
Criminal charges have been dropped against Total Transportation of Mississippi in relation to a fatal accident involving one of its drivers that killed five people in April 2015.

Five Georgia Southern University nursing students were killed in the seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 16 when the truck driver, John Wayne Johnson, failed to stop in time, careening into traffic slowed on the interstate. In addition to the five deaths, three other students were injured in the crash.

The District Attorney General of Georgia Atlantic Judicial Circuit decided against pursuing criminal charges after Total Transportation agreed to spend $200,000 to set up a nonprofit group to offer nursing students financial aid, according to a report in the Savannah Morning News.

The company has already settled wrongful death lawsuits related to the case, with at least one victim receiving $14 million.

Johnson was indicted on multiple charges of vehicular homicide as well as a slew of other counts, including reckless driving.

In depositions from the civil suits, it was revealed that Johnson was hired by Total Transportation after he disclosed to the company that he had been fired for falling asleep at the wheel.
OKLAHOMA CITY  State Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday that Oklahoma is showing no signs of making a marked recovery from the recession that began in the spring of last year.

Miller served up more bad news with a report showing gross revenue collections for June were down 7.4 percent from the prior year.

During fiscal year 2016, which ended June 30, gross revenue brought in $11.1 billion, or 7.2 percent below collections for the prior 12-month period, a drop of nearly $863 million from the previous year.

It marks the lowest 12-month total in 39 months since March 2013 and is down by more than $980 million  or more than 8 percent  from the last peak of $12.1 billion in February 2015, Miller said.

The state also reversed a long trend in its jobless rate, he said.

After almost 13 years with unemployment rates below the national average, Oklahomas monthly jobless rate climbed by two-tenths of one percentage point in May to match the U.S. rate, Miller said. The state and national rates were set at 4.7 percent in May, the first time both numbers have been the same since September 2003.

Miller, former chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, said next years budget will still follow the downward trend, but moderating some, especially in the area of gross production.

Clearly, oil prices have moderated and come back up pretty significantly over the last couple of quarters, he said.

Lawmakers had $1.3 billion less to spend in crafting a fiscal year 2017 budget due to depressed energy prices, tax cuts and a failure to significantly reduce the number of tax credits and incentives given in hopes of generating economic activity.

Hopefully, we have hit bottom and the numbers will not go back there, Miller said. And if that is the case, I think we wont see the budget gap next year that we saw this year. There may still be one, of course. And it is way too early to try to predict those numbers, but I hope the worse is behind us and the budget has recovered somewhat.

Miller said it is difficult and counter-productive to assign blame for the states budget predicament. He said the state has learned from past downturns, as evidenced by the creation of the Rainy Day Fund.

June gross receipts brought in $925.7 million, down $73.6 million from the same month last year.

Gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income taxes, generated $353.4 million, a drop of 13.1 percent from the prior June.

Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, totaled $351.1 million in June, down 3.7 percent.

Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $25.5 million in June, a drop of 29.1 percent from last June.

Collections from gross production taxes remain below prior year numbers but have risen slightly for two months in a row after hitting a 17-year low in April. June receipts are based on oil prices in April, when the spot prices of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $40.75 per barrel.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $65.8 million, down 5.1 percent from the prior year.

Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, horse race gambling and alcoholic beverages, produced $129.9 million, or 6.1 percent more than last June.

Gross Receipts to treasury

FY 2015 FY 2016 Variance from prior year Income Tax $4,403.73 $4,123.67 -$280.06 -6.4% Gross Production $697.85 $366.60 -$331.24 -47.5% Sales Tax* $4,464.94 $4,287.16 -$177.78 -4.0% Motor Vehicle $766.25 $758.81 -$7.44 -1.0% Other Sources** $1,651.85 $1,585.39 -$66.46 -4.0% Total revenue $11,984.61 $11,121.64 -$862.97 -7.2%

Dollar figures in millions

* includes collections for counties and municipalities

** gross collections from OTC
The 26-year-old Harry Potter actor stars as an FBI agent who goes undercover as a Neo-Nazi operative in the dark, intense trailer of Imperium.

By India Today Web Desk: With film after film, Daniel Radcliffe continues to reinvent himself, slowly shedding off his global young adult superstar image that he earned with his role as Harry Potter. The 26-year-old actor enters a dark, brooding zone as a war veteran-turned-FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate a Neo-Nazi group in director Daniel Ragussis's Imperium.

ALSO READ: Alia Bhatt to Daniel Radcliffe, young actors who surprised us by breaking away from the norm

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ALSO READ: Daniel Radcliffe will return as Harry Potter only if script is exciting



Neo-Nazism is a post-World War II social and political movement that supports and works towards the return of far-right-wing values of Nazism. Neo-Nazis are noted for their racist, xenopboic, homophobic, anti-semitic views along with their open admiration for Adolf Hitler.

In Imperium, which is apparently "inspired by real events", Daniel Radcliffe who is a decorated war veteran is employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to mingle with and pretend as Neo-Nazi skinhead. In the process, he uncovers a sinister terrorist plot. The film also stars Toni Collette and Pulitzer prize winning playwright and screenwriter Tracy Letts.



The trailer which was released on YouTube on Tuesday (July 5 ) has got an uncanny amount of dislikes. Most commenters on the site have criticized the trailer for depicting Neo-Nazis as terrorists as organized and capable of causing mayhem as Islamic terrorists. A top comment also criticized the use of footage of a Polish patriotic parade during Polish Independence Day in a movie about Neo-Nazis.

The controversial shot from Imperium trailer The controversial shot from Imperium trailer

To put things in context, Poland was occupied by the German Nazi army from 1939 to 1945 during which the Nazis killed over five million Poles, including 3 million Jews.

Since his last Harry Potter film in 2011, Radcliffe has experiment with small, independent films such as the critically acclaimed Kill Your Darlings (2013) and 2016's Sundance Film Festival favourite Swiss Army Man, where he plays a farting corpse. Radcliffe has also featured in big budget films like 2016's Now You See Me 2, where he played the chief antagonist.

Imperium, written and directed by Daniel Ragussis, will receive a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 19, this year.

Watch the trailer below:



--- ENDS ---
The PNM is saluting one of its former Senators, Dr Lester Henry, for his contribution to nat
A Gold Walkley-winning Four Corners story on the underbelly of greyhound racing across three states has led to the NSW government announcing a permanent ban on the sport, from mid-2017.

The joint 2015 ABC-Fairfax investigation by Caro Meldrum-Hanna, led to a Special Commission of Inquiry in NSW, which found widespread cruelty within the industry.

Today Premier Mike Baird announced the inquiry found:

Between 48,00068,000 dogs were killed in past 12 years in NSW because they were too slow or otherwise unsuitable for racing

Live baiting is widespread, with about 1020 per cent of trainers engaged in the practice

Greyhound Racing NSW had a policy of deliberately misreporting the number of dog deaths and injuries

The industry is not capable of reforming over the short or medium term

Internal documents revealed senior greyhound racing administrators in NSW were actively strategising to downplay live baiting in the industry in the days before the Four Corners episode Making a Killing was set to air.

Certainly this is not an easy decision, Premier Baird said.

Its not something that has been taken lightly. But when confronted with Justice McHughs report, I believe there is no other alternative.

He added those currently making a living from the industry would be provided with assistance.

I feel much empathy for innocent trainers and those who will lose their job or hobby as a result of this. And I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs, he said.

But we simply cannot and will not stand-by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals.

Animals Australias Shantha Hamade described the announcement as a courageous decision in line with the community expectation.

What the industry revealed and the subsequent inquiry show [is] the practices entrenched in this industry do not accord with community expectations, she said.

We are dealing with an industry who, for more than a decade, has been founded on the practice of live baiting.

Also an industry that has happily been responsible for the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs, healthy dogs each year and so  lets not forget the drugging of dogs for performance enhancing reasons that goes on in this industry.

This is a culture that is entrenched and just cannot be changed.

Last year Walkley Award judges said: Making a Killing exposes greyhound racings ugly secret. It took bravery, tenacity and months of planning in three states to produce a jaw-dropping report that has shaken not just the greyhound code but the entire racing industry.

Source: ABC
9Life will be broadcast from 6:00am on Sunday 17th July on Channel 54 in Southern Cross markets: Canberra, Wollongong, southern NSW, regional Victoria and regional Queensland.

Originally the channel was set for mid-August due to the need for new equipment, installation and testing prior to going to air.

Southern Cross now advises work has been fast-tracked and the date brought forward.

Shows such as The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Dinner Date, Millionaire Matchmaker and Beachfront Bargain Hunt, and The Bachelorette (US) will be resume shortly.
By PTI: Lucknow, Jul 6 (PTI) Principal Secretary Irrigation Deepak Singhal has been appointed the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh.

A 1982 batch IAS officer, Singal would replace Alok Ranjan, who retired on June 30, an official spokesman said today.

Singhals appointment came after Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav returned from vacations.

Senior IAS officer Pravir Kumar was looking after the charge of Chief Secretary after the retirement of Ranjan. PTI AVA KJ RG KJ

--- ENDS ---

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As Cristiano Ronaldo headed in and wheeled away at the Stade de Lyon he was mobbed by his team-mates. It was a familiar sight  the Portugal captain dragging his side over the line once more.



The scenes at Wednesday's semi-final against Wales were eerily reminiscent of those during the Group F meeting with Hungary, where Portugal battled from behind three times to secure a 3-3 draw and advance as one of the best third-placed nations.

Without Ronaldo on such magical form on matchday three  creating EURO history in becoming the first player to score in four tournaments  Portugal would likely have been sent packing. As it was, their talisman stepped up and helped them seal a round of 16 spot.



The general consensus is that the forward has been below par this championship. Granted, against Austria he endured a frustrating evening as he struck a post with a penalty, yet invariably during his team's most crucial moments it has been Ronaldo to the fore.

Cristiano Ronaldo: We need to keep the dream alive

Aside from that important double against Hungary, it was the skipper who slid the ball through to Nani  enjoying a quietly excellent tournament alongside him in attack  to equalise against the Magyars and help Portugal back into a game they were struggling to get a foothold in.

In the last 16, it may have been Ricardo Quaresma who nodded in the 117th-minute winner versus Croatia, but who was there beside his great mate, spearheading the counterattack and forcing a save with time running out? Ronaldo.

The 31-year-old has also shown signs of outstanding leadership skills. You can see the influence he has on the squad every day in training, where he is often at the centre of things, laughing and joking. This renewed drive has never been more evident than in the quarter-final shoot-out with Poland.

Nani on 'historic' moment for Portugal

When Ronaldo had been assigned the fifth penalty against Spain in the UEFA EURO 2012 semis, Bruno Alves's miss ensured it did not proceed that far. This time there was no repeat. The No7 scored the first to guarantee his country the perfect start. In the build-up he also spoke with Joao Moutinho  another to miss four years ago  encouraging the midfielder, eventually coaxing him into taking one. It worked.

Further heroics followed against Wales in Lyon. On the night he became the first player to figure in three EURO semi-finals and with the tie on a knife-edge, time seemed to stand still as Ronaldo hung in the air following Raphael Guerreiro's cross. Rising above James Chester, he powered Portugal in front and duly equalled Michel Platini's record of nine EURO finals goals. There was a sense of inevitability about things.

He then claimed an assist for Nani's effort as Portugal clinched their UEFA EURO 2016 final berth, 12 years on from their last appearance in the title decider. Chasing yet another EURO record, the Real Madrid man is also seeking to fill the one void in his trophy cabinet: a major honour with Portugal. He will never get a better chance.
The European Parliament endorsed the decision of recommendation to cancel visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens for short term travels within the Schengen area as soon as possible.

The relevant report was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of members of the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs in Strasbourg on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Visa-free regime should be granted as soon as possible and without any delay, being the recognition of the country's progress made on its European path after the Euromaidan protests two years ago, when the Ukrainian nation defended its European path and European democratic values in the struggle," reads the report authored by Polish MEP Jacek Saryusz-Wolski.

Polish politician requested his colleagues to support this issue "with enthusiasm" as Ukraine deserves the visa-free regime with the EU.

The members of the Committee noted that visa requirements for Ukrainians should be abolished independently of the adoption of a new EUs mechanism for suspension of visa-free regime for all third countries.

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Ukraine considers the United States as its key ally in resolving security challenges in the international arena, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ha said at a joint briefing with U.S Secretary of State John Kerry, Ukrinform has reported.

"We have noted that the United States is and remains a key ally of Ukraine in the international arena in the context of overcoming security challenges. We share common values, a common understanding that the civilized world can effectively resist the attempts to destabilize the global system of international security and cooperation only by being united," Poroshenko said.

"For the Ukrainian people it is vital to realize that while battling the complex external challenges we have a strong strategic partner by our side. We hope that [U.S.] Congress and the new [U.S.] Administration will proceed with the principle of continuity and effective support for Ukraine because our success is ultimately your success and success for both our countries. We act according to this principle," Ukrainian President noted.

"We, Ukrainians, are committed to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which we consider the road map for peaceful settlement in Donbas. However we have emphasized this [issue] before, and we are emphasizing it now, there cant be any effective settlement without reaching permanent and comprehensive security. We believe that the security component is a key component of the Minsk agreements and insist on its resolute implementation. Political process has perspectives only if a proper level of security is provided. This is a key position of Ukraine, and this logic and approaches are being supported by our allies," the President said.

tl
The United States decided to grant Ukraine additional $23 million in humanitarian aid.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said this during a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I have told President Poroshenko that the United States will provide additional $23 million in humanitarian aid to help the thousands of people who have become the victims of the current conflict in eastern Ukraine," he said.

ol
The United States is a supporter of the open door policy for new NATO members, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has stated during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Ukrinform has reported.

"The United States is a supporter of the open door policy in welcoming new NATO members when they are prepared," Kerry said.

Moreover, Kerry said that Ukraine has plenty of tasks to do in reforming its defense sector and implementing interoperability with NATO troops.

"Mr. Poroshenko, your country has not yet reached a final decision on applying for NATO membership, but I want to assure you that the latest efforts to reform the defense sector relating to civilian control of the Armed Forces are highly appreciated as a sign of a democratic process and an important element for accomplishing interoperability with NATO member countries as a part of the Ukrainian intentions to expand cooperation with NATO within the framework of partnership that exists today," U.S Secretary of State noted.

tl
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko hopes that the NATO countries and Ukraine will coordinate their actions on de-occupation of Crimea and Donbas following the meetings to be held with participation of Ukraine within the framework of the Warsaw NATO Summit.

The Head of Ukrainian state said this to journalists on Thursday after his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is on a visit in Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Ukraine expects that we will co-ordinate actions to force Russia to fully implement the Minsk agreements and start to de-occupy Crimea following the meetings within the framework of the NATO Summit, NATO-Ukraine Commission and G5 plus Ukraine format," the President said.

He stressed that Ukraine continued to insist on establishment of an international mechanism for de-occupation of the peninsula.

ol
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that sanctions against Russia will be prolonged until it chooses a path of de-escalation and implements the Minsk agreements in full.

John Kerry who is visiting Ukraine has made a statement Thursday following his meeting with the Ukrainian President, Ukrinform has reported.

U.S. chief diplomat once again noted that the fastest way to resolve the conflict in Donbas is implementation of the Minsk agreements in full, including complete ceasefire, an unrestricted access for OSCE to the entire area of Donbas, including the border, release of the hostages, withdrawal of troops and free elections in this region in accordance with the OSCE standards and in accordance with the Ukrainian Constitution.

"I want it to be seen that Ukraine has made great efforts for implementing the Minsk [agreements] and begun the process of granting special status to decentralization, amnesty, and Ukraine is ready to do more if the security situation progresses," said Kerry.

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Published July 7, 2016

MONROE, La.  University of Louisiana Monroe alumna Emily Helmick was recently selected to serve as a law clerk to Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

Helmick was one of six, top-tier law students in the state of Arkansas chosen for the paid position through a competitive application and interview process. She clerked in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for the Summer Session I, which ran from May 23 to June 30.

It is a great service-learning opportunity to have this group of law students in our office this summer, said Attorney General Rutledge. They are gaining valuable experience from some of the States top attorneys, as well as being exposed to the public service sector. Law clerks are a valuable asset to services provided at the Attorney Generals office.

A second year student at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Helmick graduated from ULM in 2015 with a bachelors degree in healthcare management and marketing. She is from Peja, Kosovo, and graduated from Prishtina High School in Prishtina, Kosovo in 2011.

While at ULM, Helmick developed a passion for the healthcare field and so working for the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit was the perfect fit for her, she indicated.

The Medicaid programs in every state are so important to a lot of people and when you have people abusing the system with Medicaid fraud or abusing patients its very frustrating, said Helmick. These people at the Attorney Generals office step in and try to balance the scales against people who want to take advantage of the sick, the elderly, and the mentally impaired.

Helmick did her first internship at ULM working with a local medical facility and she said it was that experience, coupled with all her work experience in the healthcare field to date, that really prepared her to work for the Attorney General.

She said one of the main reasons she pursued law school was because of her academic advisor, Dr. Paula Griswold, Association Professor of Health Studies, who suggested law school might be a good fit for her.

I had a healthcare law class with Dr. Griswold who noticed my interest in the subject, and so she encouraged me to take the LSAT, Helmick said.

When asked about her future plans, she expressed a keen desire to return to the healthcare field after law school.

I think the healthcare industry is quickly evolving, and depending on what happens on the political side of things, in the next 20 years we might have a completely different healthcare system than weve ever seen. If were going to have an effective healthcare system, we need people who understand policies that comply with federal and state laws, she said.

Id like to think that by working in the legal field I might be able to do something to help that move along.
By PTI: Dhaka, Jul 7 (PTI) The Islamist militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian girl, in the brazen assault at a cafe here used five pistols and three AK-22 rifles, police said today.

Three knives, a machete, a white handkerchief and around 300 rounds of bullet shells were also found on the premises of Holey Artisan Bakery that was stormed by at least five gunmen on July 1, sparking a 12-hour stand-off with police that saw 20 hostages murdered with machetes.

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Police also found nine safety pins and suspect these are of the grenades used by the terrorists, the bdnews reported.

A police official said the bloodied handkerchief with something written on it in black ink, was found on a dead body.

Two police officers and 20 hostages, including 18-year-old Indian girl Tarishi Jain, nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis and one American were killed in Bangladeshs worst terror attack.

Thirteen hostages were rescued when security forces stormed the restaurant. PTI PMS AKJ PMS

--- ENDS ---
Sow, left, a refugee from Mali, recently arrived with his son at Mbera camp in Mauritania. Their suitcases are still unpacked.  UNHCR/Sebastien Laroze-Barrit

MBERA CAMP, Mauritania  When militants harassed pastoral nomads in a neighbouring village in northern Mali a few weeks ago, Sow, a father of four, packed his bags and fled  despite a peace accord struck a year ago.

I heard that the Peuhl community was targeted in the village next to ours and I decided to flee, says Sow, who sought safety at this camp in neighbouring Mauritania and expects others to follow.

One year after the UN-brokered Algiers Peace and Reconciliation Agreement in Mali was reached, some 130,000 Malians who had run from the conflict in their country continue live in exile, mainly in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.

In the far south-east of Mauritania, a few kilometres from the border with Mali, Mbera camp hosts 42,000 Malian refugees. Many are from the northern cities of Timbuktu and Lere, where the situation remains volatile, marked by frequent clashes between armed groups, banditry and militant attacks.

Despite the 2015 peace agreement, which ended decades of uprisings in Malis desert north, tensions in the area continue to trigger new influxes of refugees to Mauritania. More than 500 new arrivals have been registered since spring 2015 by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

The insecurity that made me flee in the first place is still there.

Sow was among more than 70 people who recently arrived from the Peuhl areas of Nampala and Diaoura. He is not alone in his concerns. Like others at the camp, religious leader and teacher Mamadou uses the word fear to explain why he left Mali.

The insecurity that made me flee in the first place is still there, says the marabout, who instructs 10 students between the ages of six and 11 in the Koran. If the security situation in northern Mali goes back to how it was before the war, I will return, he adds.

He cites the lack of income-generating opportunities in war-torn northern Mali as another important factor for not returning yet. People who went back did not find a job, he says.

Refugee protection is the priority for UNHCR. On June 16, the Governments of Mali and Mauritania signed a Tripartite Agreement together with UNHCR. It provides a legal framework to protect refugees deciding to return to Mali as well as those willing to stay in Mauritania.

A Koranic scholar and teacher, Mamadou fled insecurity in Mali four years ago and sought refuge at Mbera camp in Mauritania.  UNHCR/Sebastien Laroze-Barrit

While many are cautious about going back, a growing number have decided it is time to go home. Between December and June 2016, UNHCR helped some 2,000 refugees return to Mali, compared to fewer than five returns in the same time period the year before.

Lamine is among those planning to return. Although he says his family lives very well and in safety at Mbera, after three years in the camp, he believes that it is time to go home. During go-and-see visits to Mali, he found his houses destroyed, with doors, windows and other items stolen and the rest damaged by the harsh climate.

We are going back to rebuild it, he says. Should the security conditions in return areas deteriorate, he would also consider returning to Mbera camp as an option, he says.

There are roadblocks and people with weapons who come to rob you.

Among those who have already returned to Mali after a long exile at Mbera camp is 18-year-old Ahmed, who went back to the Timbuktu area in March 2016 and found his house destroyed. The young man sees banditry and the lack of basic infrastructure in small villages as the main difficulties.

There are roadblocks and people with weapons who come to rob you, he said. There is no education in small villages, as teachers are scared of travelling there every morning, he added.

Sow, Mamadou and other refugees in Mauritania are concerned that it could take several years for northern Mali to stabilize, and for basic infrastructure like wells and hospitals to be rebuilt.

*Names changed for protection reasons.
Mahmoud, a refugee and father from Syria, shares his hopes and concerns about his children's education at a meeting led by UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee in Baalbek, Lebanon.  UNHCR/Matthew Saltmarsh

BAALBEK, Lebanon  A father of eight, Mahmoud fled the war in Syria four years ago, shepherding most of his family to safety in Lebanon. Since then, his childrens education has been patchy. Some have missed years of schooling.

My dream is that they have a brilliant future, better than now, he says, on the sidelines of an outreach meeting for the parents of refugee children facilitated by UNHCR in this town in eastern Lebanon.

Maybe one can still become an architect, another a doctor, he adds. I want the best for them in society and in life. To have a position in life, education is very important.

The UN Refugee Agency, the Government of Lebanon and other partners like UNICEF are working with refugees like Mahmoud to make that happen by improving educational opportunities for children among the more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

In 2012, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, or MEHE, opened the doors of public schools to refugee students, giving them a chance at an education. It subsequently added a second shift to enable more children to attend.

There have been positives. A recent report, UNHCR Lebanon: Back to School, shows that 157,984 refugee children  from Kindergarten to grade nine  were enrolled in formal public education in January, up from 106,735 a year earlier and 62,664 in 20132014.

More ambitious targets are being set for the next academic year through the national education strategy currently being developed, which aims to enrol all children in Lebanon. The number of schools offering the second shift grew to 238 in 20152016, up from 144 a year earlier and 90 in 20132014.

Another UNHCR contribution to education here is its outreach capacity and ability to mobilize communities around enrolment and retention. UNHCR assists learning through more than 100 refugees trained to act as education mobilizers in their own communities.

They help establish parents committees to galvanize the enrolment of refugee children in public schools and support students with their homework from informal settlements or shared apartments. It also supports group sessions that have a more social or psychological aim, like the one in Baalbek.

Still, the sector faces challenges. Many schools report that attendance often falls short of enrolment figures due to the movement of refuges families, the high cost of transportation or stationery, distances involved and students difficulties adapting to a new system.

Some families also need their children to work to make ends meet, as the vulnerability and indebtedness of refugees rises across the country. And some Syrian kids have struggled with the linguistic demands of the Lebanese curriculum, where some classes are taught in English or French.

To counter this, the government and partners have introduced so-called accelerated learning programmes to help children who have missed months or years of learning make up lost time.

A separate UN interagency report conducted with MEHE estimated that 255,400 children of all nationalities were out of school in Lebanon at the end of last year. It recommended further outreach efforts and more funding for MEHE to expand classes.

"One day, Id like the kids to finish their education in Syria.

At a recent meeting in Qsarnaba, also in the Bekaa Valley, refugees gathered in a tent under a baking sun for a community meeting to discuss ways to stop children from dropping out of school and working. Volunteer counsellors repeatedly stressed the importance of gaining a certificate from a Lebanese school that is transferrable in future.

Ahmed*, a refugee from Raqqa, recounted the difficulties  mainly financial  that he had encountered keeping his two children, 9 and 12, in school for a long period. He said he would like to register them in public school but had missed enrolment for the current year. For now, I help them with what I can, he said. What I know, I teach.

Ive seen my neighbours children are improving in public school, he added. Ill be happy if they learn in the same place and then, one day, Id like the kids to finish their education in Syria.

Back in Baalbek, Amira*, a volunteer in her 40s, told the group how her son had seen something horrible amid the fighting in Syria, when he was just three years old. He speaks, she told the meeting, but not like a normal child.

She is awaiting resettlement abroad, hoping for a new start and the possibility of more specialised help for her son, to bring him out of his shell.

*Names changed to protect identities
By PTI: Bengaluru, Jul 6 (PTI) Nobel laureate and eminent economist Joseph Stiglitz today said the difficulties faced by NGOs operating in India and the JNU controversy put the country in the same group of nations like Egypt and Russia and can have a negative effect on foreign investors.

"One big concern is the difficulties of NGOs operating in India. It puts India in the same group of countries like Egypt and Russia," he told reporters here in an interaction organised by Azim Premji University here.

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"The other thing is obviously without my knowing all the details of JNU controversy ... the closing down action in any university puts you in a small group of same countries. Turkey is another country. Most of these countries are authoritarian in nature ... That kind of thing can have very negative effect on foreign investors," he added.

He said organisations like Ford Foundation had played an important role in the development of India for decades and it should be a concern that NGOs as such are being subjected to conditions that make it difficult for them to function.

"There is a broad understanding of the importance of civil societies in the functioning of democracies across the globe," he added.

Stiglitz said if India, which is a part of global community, wants to grow as an open economy, it should address these issues.

He also said if these issues are right or wrong, it is for India to do a better explanation on JNU and NGO controversies. "This is purely a statement without having evaluated the validity of those (issues)... I think - if those are wrong it is important for India to do better job of explaining and if they are right it is important for India to make sure that it is not doing those jobs," he said. Asked whether capitalism has failed, economist Branco Milanovic, who accompanied Stiglitz, said this is the first time in history capitalism is dominating in practically the entire economic world. "Earlier, we had different systems like socialism. Now it is only capitalism. So it is all about the different forms of capitalism. One has to acknowledge that we have never had a situation that we have now, that is private ownership is the means of production," he said.

Joining the issue, Stiglitz said the US economy has not done enough for their citizens, but the market economy cannot be blamed for this. PTI BDN RA BN MKJ

--- ENDS ---

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Bride-to-be Divyanka Tripathi's Haldi ceremony was held on July 6 in her hometown, Bhopal.

By India Today Web Desk: Small-screen actress Divyanka Tripathi is clearly all set to tie the knot with fiance Viveh Dahiya. She actress left Mumbai for her hometown, Bhopal, on July 5, to be part of her pre-wedding celebrations, which apparently began as soon as the bride-to-be arrived home.

And these pictures from her Haldi ceremony are nothing less than a sight to behold, as Divyanka glowed in her yellow lehenga-choli:

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1. She clearly seems to be enjoying every bit of this affair

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

2. That colourful umbrella just seems to be adding on to Divyanka's beauty

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

3. The colour Divyanka chose for the occasion is just perfect

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

4. The bride-to-be is naughty and she knows it!

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

5. She looks rather pleased to have haldi smeared all over her face

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

6. Did Vivek gift Divyanka that 'Bride-to-be' phone cover?

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

7. Could she look any cuter?

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

8. Bride-to-be with her mother

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

--- ENDS ---
Registered nurses job turnover has been a nagging issue in the United States engendering considerable financial costs to not only the organizations but also to the society.

NYU Meyers' Professor Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN noted that nearly 80% of newly licensed nurses find their first job in hospitals. Turnovers, she says, is one of the highest priced expenditures in the profession.

The estimated costs per departure range from $62,000 to $67,000, which sums up to $1.4 - 2.1 billion in terms of expenses for newly hired nurses who quit their first jobs within three years of starting, Professor Kovner added.

A slew of researches have concentrated on organizational turnover but very few studies have focused on internal or unit-level turnover.

Turnover of newly hired nurses in hospitals has specific significance as almost 80% of the new nurses that take up work in hospitals have higher turnover rates as compared to nurses who have been around for quite some time, according to a panel survey designed to analyse changes over time; published in the International Journal Of Nursing Studies.

There is a meager literature on internal or unit-level turnover, which crops up every time a nurse leaves their ongoing assignments in a bid to accept new roles or position in the hospital or organization.

Dr. Kovner recently teamed up with researchers at NYU Meyers and the School of Nursing at SUNY Buffalo to conduct a study in a bid to fill in the gaps.

The study of nationally representative sample of new nurses that work in hospitals, needed to better inform unit-level retention planning by identifying factors associated with job retention among recently authorized nurses.

The internal turnover rate for the one year between the two waves of the surveys, according to Dr. Kovner, turned out to be almost 30%. This turnover is coupled with those leaving the organization. This figure is considerably larger than the figure reported in previous studies, which predicted a 13% one-year interval turnover rate among newly licensed nurses.



The researchers intended to strengthen the current evidence on internal turnover in order to determine precursors to remaining on the same unit-type and title from the first to the second year of service, according to a post on New York University official website.

The nurses (n=1,569) were categorized in to four groups on the basis of their unit and title retention.

About 69.5% (1090) nurses retained the same title and unit-type at wave two, however 8.2% (129) saw a change in title, but not in unit-type. In addition, a small group of 11.8% (185) saw no change in title; however changed unit-types, 10.5% (165), on the other hand had a change in their title as well as unit-type.

Besides collecting the newly licensed nurses' demographical data, Dr. Kovner along with her team evaluated their perceptions of their work surroundings in both surveys.

Following the analysis, researchers discovered five factors strongly connected with retention:

Taking up more than one job for pay (negative)

First earned professional degree was a baccalaureate or higher

Negative sentiments

Better autonomy and variety

Better anticipated RN-MD relations

Kovner noted that the results leads to the variables on which administrators can focus to reform unit-level retention of newly licensed nurses, (all positively related).

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded this research.
All roads lead to Rome! It is a title of a lesson on leadership created by Harvard Business professors, Frances Frei and Emma Dench.

Both academics dig deeper in historical readings on Roman and Greek to reveal that the contents have influenced the modern leadership styles.

Modern leadership styles get inspirations from the Roman emperors. Why Rome?

The lesson focused on Rome as an empire that ruled for more than 700 years. The Romans were known for their organized structures and dynamic power. According to the course published at Harvard Business School catalog, the academics list the differences between today's leadership styles and historical writings from Augustus, Julius Caesar and Marcus Aurelius.

There are in fact, many other imperial societies that shape modern leadership styles but the Roman Empire has something special since it is an essential Europe history and Americans are so familiar with it.

Rome is a good focus when trying to explore modern leadership. According to Dench, the leadership style of the Romans involved around mortality, mercy, power and standard rules.

For instance, the Romans had this type of 'culture' that when a leader did not get it right, he'd be killed. Compared to the modern leadership style, students found it may not be that serious threat but more like being fired by the director.

Frei gave another example from 'Lean In' - a book written by Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg where she reflects on her husband's death. It makes Frei to think of Marcus Aurelius with his meditations - which was not intended for the public to know. Speaking to the Forbes, the professor regarded Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and the master of universe. She's fascinated by his thinking and the way he saw the world through his writings. And also, Plutarch's reading on how his Greek fellows must deal with 'not being an imperial superpower anymore'.

Frei made an example of how customers would love a brand or product but the feeling may be gone. She said that things do not last forever. This makes a leader thinks of what to do next? Frei noted some leadership actions such as being reactive or proactive.
This woman is forcing us to set new #BridalGoals!

By India Today Web Desk: There's no stopping Divyanka Tripathi from making the best of her own wedding's celebrations--whoever said the bride and the groom never enjoy their own wedding!

With the venue for all her pre-wedding ceremonies decked up with colourful, hand-painted earthen pots, Divyanka cut a ravishing image on the night of her mehendi function, looking nothing less than a pretty princess in shades of pink. Here's a look at what the night was about:

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1. A visibly happy bride-to-be

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

2. With mehendi running all the way up to her upper-arm, Divyanka looked ravishing in pink

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

3. Could this mehendi BE any more perfect?

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

4. Divyanka's Mehendi, feat. Divyanka!

Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub Picture courtesy: Instagram/vivekdahiyafanclub

--- ENDS ---
July 7 2016

Cruden Homes has filed plans with East Lothian Council to build 107 houses in Aberlady off Kirk Road on land owned by Wemyss and March Estates.Incorporating a range of two to five bedroom properties the development will plug into the existing village and will entail construction of a new link connecting Kirk Road to the A198. Provision is made for new open space as part of the plans whilst also retaining protected roadside trees.Fraser Lynes from Cruden Homes commented: The site has been allocated for housing in the Draft Local Development Plan and we wanted to ensure, through our consultation process, that the views of the local community helped shape the proposals going forward.Whilst there were a number of themes mentioned by the local community, we hope our proposals provide a development that complements the outstanding village of Aberlady.East Lothian is required to accommodate 10,050 new homes by 2024 to help the county meet a projected 35 per cent population increase by 2036.
MARTIN, Tenn.  Anyone considering finishing a degree or going back to college is encouraged to attend the Tennessee Reconnect event July 19 at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The event will take place from 5-7 p.m. in the Welcome Center, located on the first floor of the Boling University Center. Attendees will receive information on their academic records and financial aid options, as well as meet with academic advisers and discuss online and extended campus course options. The admissions application fee will be waived during this event, so those in attendance can apply to UT Martin and get instant feedback on their admissions status. Those accepted can have their previous transcripts evaluated, apply for financial aid and register for fall semester courses  all in the same evening. Dinner will be provided. Tennessee Reconnect is an initiative from Gov. Bill Haslam to help Tennessee adults finish their degrees, gain new skills, advance in the workplace and increase their earning potential. For more information on this program, visit tnreconnect.gov. For more information on the UT Martin Tennessee Reconnect event, contact Beth Edwards, event coordinator, at 731-881-7701 or by email at bedwards@utm.edu . ###

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By PTI: Jammu/Bikaner, Jul 7 (PTI) Sweets were today exchanged between the Indian and Pakistan security personnel to celebrate the festival of Eid at several points on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan.

Indian and Pakistani Army exchanged sweets on several points along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

"On the festival of Eid, Army representatives of India and Pakistan exchanged sweets at Poonch-Rawalakot Crossing Point and Mendhar Hot Spring Crossing Point in Krishna Ghati Sector of Jammu and Kashmir," a defense spokesman said.

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He said the exchange of sweets is a testimony of goodwill from both the countries and is expected to go a long way in promoting harmony and bonhomie.

"This will certainly strengthen the efforts towards maintaining peace and tranquility along theLine of Control," the spokesman added.

Meanwhile, the border guarding forces of the two countries also exchanged sweets on the international border in Rajasthan today.

Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers exchanged sweets and greeted each other on the occasion of Eid, a BSF spokesperson said.

The exchange of sweets took place at 20 places on the international border in Sriganganagar, Bikaner and Jaisalmer. PTI TSS AB CORR SDA RCB PAL RCB

--- ENDS ---
There were few funny conversations over the 'biryani demand' among celebrities. Particularly, Vishal and Arya's conversation over biryani might put a smile on your face.

By India Today Web Desk: Today marks the end of the Ramadan fasting in India. Many celebrities from Tamil film industry including Arya, Vishal, Khushbhu Sundar, Hansika and Soundarya Rajinikanth took to Twitter to wish their fans and followers for the widely celebrated festival.

There were few funny conversations over the 'biryani demand' among celebrities. Particularly, Vishal and Arya's conversation over biryani might put a smile on your face.



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#EidMubarak to all my dearest friends.may this b a happy day in your lives.@arya_offl daii am stil for the biriyani. Call me Vishal (@VishalKOfficial) July 6, 2016

Bringing Thai biryani for u Macha ?????????? https://t.co/fNdPgAwAf5 Arya (@arya_offl) July 6, 2016

Hi my MMDDDDLCT ?????? Eid Mubarak ??????????Celebrating Eid in Thailand Jungle ?????? pls have the biryani for me ?????? pic.twitter.com/1kHEuePClE Arya (@arya_offl) July 6, 2016

Wishing you all a very happy Eid Mubarak Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) July 6, 2016

#EidMubarak May Allahs blessings be showered upon you and your family . Peace and happiness to you . Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@Samanthaprabhu2) July 7, 2016

Eid Mubarak ?? Hansika (@ihansika) July 7, 2016

Eid..a festival of celebration of giving selflessly..to serve the needy n to help..wishing one n all a very happy Eid.. #EidMuburak friends? khushbusundar (@khushsundar) July 6, 2016

--- ENDS ---
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By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour across Maharashtra today.

The celebrations were also witnessed in Muslim pockets of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed and other areas of the state.

Muslims came out early morning dressed in their finery to offer the special Eid congregational prayers at mosques in Mumbai.

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After the solemn prayers, people joyfully greeted each other with hugs and "Eid mubarak" in mosques, homes and public places.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is observed as a fasting period by Muslims the world over who abstain from food and water during the period extending from 30 minutes before the sunrise to sunset.

After offering the Eid namaaz, it was time for the celebrations with family, friends, neighbours and community people, savouring and serving each other the festival special dish of "sheer-korma", a sweet preparation of milk, vermicelli and dry fruits.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis greeted people on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr. PTI VT NSK RCJ

--- ENDS ---
After Brad Keselowski took home the win in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to the Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400. Keselowski is among the favorites, but Kyle Busch has to be considered a favorite also, as he has multiple Sprint Cup wins at the track. Here is all of the weekend info to prepare you for the race.

Weekend Schedule (all times eastern)

Thursday, July 7

First practice: 2:30 p.m. - 3:55 p.m.

Friday, July 8

Final practice: 1:30 p.m. - 2:50 pm.

Qualifying: 6:45 p.m.

Saturday, July 9

Race: 7:30 p.m.

Weekend notebook

- There are two drivers who are to be considered the heavy favorites. Those are Keselowski and Busch, who are the only two active drivers with multiple wins at the track. Keselowski also has the momentum, although Busch is the defending winner of the race.

Busch leads the field during last year;s race. Matt Sullivan/NASCAR via Getty Images

- This will be the second race that the new rules package will be used as the first was the Michigan race a few weeks ago. Drivers were very upbeat about the new package after that race, with the general consensus being that it makes for better racing. The race is also the first on the newly repaved Kentucky Speedway, which will make it interesting to see how the new rules package plays with the new surface.

- Even though he finished 26th at Daytona, Tony Stewart may have been the biggest winner of the weekend, as he moved into the top-30 in points. That is significant because all he has to do from here on out is maintain that points position, as he already has a win.

- The Camping World Trucks Series made news on Wednesday, as Joe Gibbs Racing made a surprising move, as just an hour before the first practice they pulled John Wes Townley from the car due to a possible concussion. Parker Kligerman was tabbed as his replacement for the weekend, and will also run in the ARCA Series race in Townley's place.
This week's edition didn't have a lot of stuff happen because it was really just a fun entertaining episode that wasn't very story driven except the two main stories with incredible mic work from AJ Styles and Seth Rollins tonight it was incredible how much AJ Styles has improved on the mic since his time in TNA and it is great to see.

The night kicked off with a pretaped backstage segment where all the WWE superstars were in a room and they were having a feast, Tyler Breeze and Fandango had their shirts off for some reason, Apollo Crews and Cesaro are having an arm wrestle and Big E and R-Truth were singing. But Aidan English stops them and it looks like they are working the old character of his into the new one because he starts singing and someone throws food on him and he attempts to stop a food fight from happening but it doesn't work because Fandango sprays chocolate sauce on the Miz and then something hits Maryse and everything kicks off.

The worst thing about this thing was that Darren Young was in it and so were the shining stars that was a small annoyance because they just show up in weekly vignettes and for no reason are they being kept on like the Shining Stars who are dead in the water already, speculation leads us to think that they are waiting on Carlito but who really knows?

Anyway, the food fight goes on for about a half minute as Kevin Owens hides under the table eating a bag of crisps/chips depending on what part of the world you are on. Then Heath Slater hits Kane and Big Show with some food which leads to Kane and Big Show hitting a double Chokeslam to Slater threw a table which then followed by Curtis Axel spraying mustard all over Heath Slater which was hilarious to see. Kevin Owens stands up ou from under the table saying this would never happen on Canada day before being smashed in the face with a pie of some sort.

US Title match

This match opened the show and it was a really good match. This feud has done nothing but good things for the two men involved because it really has shown how much talent Titus O'Neil has and it has put Rusev back up into the threat status and it is really good to see. Something that could have given Rusev a huge amount of heat was if he interrupted Lilian Garcia singing the national anthem it would have been incredible now not like through the middle but when she hit the high note at the end if they hit Rusev's music that would have had the people boiling but that was just a thought. Rusev and Titus O'Neil is a great feud. Rusev made Titus tap out to the Accolade.

Tag Team action!

Next up was the Social Outcasts - Enzo and Cass, it was good match, props to Bo Dallas for the sell off Big Cass's big boot that looked like it destroyed his face it was such a great looking move, all the Social Outcasts are great workers and amazing sellers something they are overlooked for. Well, this match was everything you'd expect from Social Outcasts it was to quickly put Enzo and Cass over with the rocket launcher.

Woman's promo

Dana Brooke and Charlotte come out to the ring and Charlotte says that Sasha and all her friend's and family are just jealous of her and everything she has accomplished so far in the WWE, Sahsa Banks comes out heated and tells Charlotte what a boss actually does and what a boss really is. Dana swings at Sasha and a fight breaks out. Now this segment worked great, Charlotte has improved so much on the mic and it shows being a heel has really set the tone of how great she is going to be. Dana Brooke messed up a sell from Sasha Banks the combo of the forearm and kick which took the segment back a little but that's why she is with Charlotte she is there to learn and a good thing for her that it was the only women's mess up of the night.

Champion - Champion match!

This match was a great showing from The Miz as he is so good from where he was when he was WWE champion it is a really nice thing to see his because most of the time you go from champion to get maybe a title chase and get beat up by Rusev no knock on Jack Swagger. A problem with Dean Ambrose as the WWE champion? No, there really isn't but JBL keeps telling us that he is a bad champion and nothing says that he is, he had a good TV match he understands less is more when he doesn't need to have crazy high spots in the match he doesn't put them in. Also, he beat the Miz clean and that was that nothing was bad he didn't cheat to win or anything bad as champion.

Seth Rollins - Dolph Ziggler

This match was a classic showing between the two men, pretty normal stuff for Dolph Ziggler beat up, thrown around, kicked someone in the chin with the superkick, sells like crazy then goes for the Zig Zag, ends up hugging the opponents back followed up by being tossed back to get the Pedigree hit on him and that was that. It really was Dolph Ziggler going through his steps ask a five-year-old, they'll tell it to you too. After the match, Seth Rollins cuts this crazy amazing promo on how he isn't going to let Roman Reigns pull him down, his mic work has been on fire lately, he has gotten so much better since before he was injured. Dean Ambrose then stood up and threw the belt at Seth Rollins and hit the Dirty Deeds on the Seth on the table a little side note on that is it was a great thing that the table didn't break because it looked like it killed Seth Rollins it was really good to see.

The champion left his challenger laying. Photo- Youtube

30 Minutes of vignettes and promos

Talking backstage segments and vignettes the middle hour was filled with it all. First up we got a Wyatt Family Vignette where they invite the New Day to the compound saying the world they live in isn't real and positivity isn't real. Then we got a Baron Corbin vignette where it dug a little deeper into who he is and where he came from because unless you watched NXT you don't understand where he came from or who he really is so he is about to make a big splash watch out Miz he's coming for you! Then we jumped back to SmackDown 2010 because Vickie Guerrero returned to the WWE and stood up saying she should be the one to run SmackDown live, she talks until security comes and removes her. It then shows her being removed from the building where Dolph Ziggler is on the phone to his mom and Vickie pleads with Dolph to say he knows her Dolph tells the Security that he has never seen this woman in his life and she is escorted off screen. #Vickierunssmackdownlive

Golden Truth - Vaudevillians

This was upsetting to see that the Vaudevillians were just put in the ring to lose to the GoldenTruth in about five minutes with Breezeango on the outside they did nothing at all not even after the match. This seems to be a recurring thing of the NXT stars when they come up from NXT they have a feud and that's it they just sink names like Tyler Breeze, Ascension, Bo Dallas, Neville, Adam Rose and as of now The Vaudevillains it is a horrible thing to see but as the saying goes that's the nature of the beast.

John Cena and The Club

John Cena came out to the ring and told the crowd to wake up because they weren't there all night but the crowd had no intention in doing so they went "no Cena you good". John Cena addressed the Club and then the Club came out to address John Cena about addressing them. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are great they have really come into their own in the WWE when backing up AJ Styles they are great and on their own they are even better. They named a bunch of holidays and after all of them they put and then beat up John Cena which was the birth of the newest internet meme.

The Club went to beat John Cena down because they told him no one was coming to save him because he has put himself on an island and no is coming for him. As they beat them up Big Cass and Enzo Amore came to the rescue of John Cena and cleared the ring. It will be interesting to see if Enzo and Cass will get the same stupid things said about them as the Usos did. How long will take people to say Enzo and Cass the good guys are burying The Club?

Becky Lynch - Summer Rae

Now this was a disaster of a match, Summer Rae must have three years of ring rust because she swung a kick and it missed Becky Lynch by a mile by a long shot I mean the breeze wasn't felt on that one it was shocking. Then she went for a suplex and everyone's heart burst out of their chests because Becky Lynch was dropped on her head straight down like a sack of potatoes and it was scary, thank god she wasn't hurt because it would be a horrible time for her to get injured. This match was long enough for it to gain momentum again and enough time had passed for Becky Lynch to gain momentum and she got the win with the disarmher. Send Summer down to NXT because she isn't a bad wrestler, she did good before in NXT before and could improve.

New Day promo

This was a great segment where the New Day again play games towards the Wyatt Family and not take them seriously until The Wyatt Family again pop up on screen and invite the new day to the Wyatt Compound which everyone's first thought was lets do the TNA Hardy - Hardy angle where it's over the top have New Day fireworks and a Sister Abigail into the river.Then Xavier Woods speaks up to Kofi and Big E and he tells them that they need to take the Wyatt Family serious. It may be a sick crazy mind game by Xavier Woods to swerve the Wyatt Family.

Team USA - World Alliance.

This match was a 16 man elimination tag team match that was just on the show for the sake of it being there it wasn't very clear it was there for the fourth of July and that was it. It didn't do anything for any storylines or anything. The coolest moment in this match was Jack Swagger and Cesaro doing the We the People thing and that was very fitting. The match ended with Zack Ryder getting the win for team USA that was a pleasant surprise for the crowd.

This episode was a throwaway episode and it isn't their fault because they knew the viewer count would be way down for this week. So they couldn't do a huge thing where people were gobbed smacked by so they played it hyped and it really is a well-played move by WWE because the whole show was entertaining. This show was- 7/10
LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Joseph Herzog of Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard poses with a bottle of 2014 Camouflage, a red blend released to mark the winery's 30th anniversary in California. Camouflage took a silver medal at the 2016 Los Angeles International Wine Competition.

Lisa McKinnon Columnist SHARE LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR The tapas menu for the tasting room at Herzog Wine Cellars includes a pair of sliders made with beer-braised short ribs on house-baked brioche buns. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR Herzog Wine Cellars and its on-site restaurant, Tierra Sur, opened in Oxnard in 2005. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR A wall of wine bottles is part of the decor in the tasting room at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard. LISA MCKINNON/THE STAR A boxed set of Herzog Wine Cellars' 2014 Variations Oak cabernet sauvignon is seen in the tasting room of the Oxnard winery. The bottles are displayed with the gold and Best of Class medals awarded to the American Oak "variation," left, and the silver medal awarded to the French Oak "variation," right.

At Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, it's hard to know which piece of good news to celebrate first.

Would it be the winery's anniversary? The medals it won at two recent wine competitions? The return of its Summer Burger & Beer Bash, a joint project by chefs from the winery's in-house restaurant, Tierra Sur, and area microbreweries?

The answer this month is: "Yes."

Herzog opened the doors to its 77,000-square-foot Oxnard tasting room, working winery and restaurant in October 2005, a fact it will mark with an 11th anniversary soiree from 6 to 9 p.m. July 11.

Tickets for the event, $80, include wine tasting and food by the Tierra Sur culinary team led by executive chef Gabe Garcia. Each attendee also will receive a bottle  autographed by head winemaker Joe Hurliman  of Herzog's single-vineyard St. Helena cabernet sauvignon, released that very night.

Herzog has been making wine in California since the 1980s, another fact it celebrated with the release of a 30th-anniversary wine: 2014 Camouflage, a limited-edition red blend of 12 estate-grown grape varietals. It won a silver medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition this spring and is sold out until the release of the next vintage, said Joseph Herzog.

Hard but not impossible to get is the winery's Variations Oak  American Oak 2014 cabernet sauvignon, winner of a gold medal and Best of Class award in the same competition. The sole remaining bottles are part of "Battle of the Barrel" boxed sets that include Variations Oak  French Oak 2014 cabernet sauvignon (winner of a silver medal) for $100.

The latter also is available on the current reserve tasting flight of eight wines ($14; fee waived with purchase) and by the bottle ($35).

Other winning vintages include Baron Herzog 2014 cabernet sauvignon (silver medal at the LAIWC, bronze at the Tasters Guild International Wine Competition) and Baron Herzog 2015 chenin blanc (double gold from the Tasters Guild).

The tasting room offers its own menu of everything from sweet potato fries ($5) to a slider duo that stacks beer-braised short ribs with grilled pineapple and coleslaw on house-baked brioche buns served with pickled onions ($18).

The sliders are but a hint at what Garcia and company have in mind for the Summer Burger & Beer Bash from 6 to 9 p.m. July 28.

Twelve beers from six area microbreweries will be paired to six burgers created specifically for the event. Attendees will vote for their favorite burger, and the winner will be added to the menu for the rest of the summer.

Tickets for the beers-and-burgers event, $75, include commemorative glass, plus tax and tip.

To order tickets or for more information, click on http://herzogwinecellars.com.

Regular tasting room hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays.

Tierra Sur restaurant is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, for dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and for tapas from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Fridays.

The winery, tasting room and restaurant are closed Saturdays in observance of the Sabbath (3201 Camino del Sol, 805-983-1560).

Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. Her Cafe Society column appears in the Sunday Life section and Fridays in the Time Out section. For between-column updates, follow 805foodie on Twitter and Instagram and "like" the Facebook page VCS Eats. Please send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) today said it has extended USD 200 million (around Rs 1,350 crore) worth buyers credit (BC) to Senegal for construction of a 225 kV power transmission line.

The government-run principal financial institution extended the credit under National Export Insurance Account (NEIA).

The funds will be used to construct a transmission line for Tambacounda-Kolda-Ziguinchor link and extensions and rehabilitation of networks in the region in the African country, the bank said in a statement here.

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The agreement was signed by Exim Bank CMD Yaduvendra Mathur and Ambassador of Senegal in India Elhadj Ibou Boye.

BC-NEIA is a unique financing mechanism that provides a safe mode of non-recourse financing option to Indian exporters and serves as an effective market entry tool to traditional as well as new markets in developing countries, which need deferred credit on medium or long term basis.

Exim Bank has till date sanctioned USD 2.07 billion for 19 projects valued at USD 2.37 billion under the programme. PTI HV RSY ABK

--- ENDS ---
ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Jose Leal (left) and Gamaliel Cortez, groundskeepers for Oak Park Unified School District, use a water-activated rodent deterrent on gopher holes at Medea Creek Middle School on Wednesday. According to Leal, the nonlethal deterrent takes two to three months of treatments to clear an area of pests.

SHARE ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Jose Leal, a groundskeeper for Oak Park Unified School District, applies bait to a squirrel trap near the entrance to a burrow at Medea Creek Middle School on Wednesday. Captured squirrels are later released in one of several wooded areas away from school grounds, according to Leal. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Gamaliel Cortez, a groundskeeper for Oak Park Unified School District, uses a water-activated rodent deterrent to treat a gopher tunnel at Medea Creek Middle School on Wednesday. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Jose Leal, a groundskeeper for Oak Park Unified School District, uses pine soil to fill a gopher hole after treating it with a water-activated rodent deterrent at Medea Creek Middle School on Wednesday. The soil expands when it gets wet. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Jose Leal, a groundskeeper for Oak Park Unified School District, uses a water-activated rodent deterrent to treat a gopher tunnel at Medea Creek Middle School on Wednesday.

By Jean Moore of the Ventura County Star

Tony Knight, superintendent of Oak Park schools, has an ambitious goal: he wants to stop using pesticides, or any other chemicals, to kill weeds, rodents and bugs unless it's an emergency.

The Oak Park Unified School District has adopted a pesticide-free pest management policy that Knight believes is one of the most far-reaching statewide.

"It's definitely unusual," Knight said. "It raises the bar and puts the responsibility on you to do more preventive work. ... You can have a few weeds here and there, rather than poison everywhere."

The state doesn't keep track of districts with pesticide-free policies. However, at least one district, Goleta Union, has a policy that mirrors Oak Park's.

And among the state's 1,000 school districts, 147 reported they did not use pesticides in 2015, said Craig Cassidy, spokesman for the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

Districts can use pesticides under state law, but they must inform parents and staff of what they plan to use, post warning signs and maintain records. The state's rules for schools are much stricter than those governing homeowners, said Mike Handberg, grounds supervisor for the Simi Valley Unified School District.

"There's little jurisdiction over what homeowners can spray," Handberg said. "They can go out and spray what we can't."

Still, some of the most common pests schools deal with are the same as those you might find at your own home and yard: ants and gophers. Ants are drawn to food, which kids, of course, can spill. Gophers dig in playgrounds, creating tunnels that students can fall into, possibly twisting an ankle.

The pest problem is more challenging in Oak Park because several schools are next to open space, Knight said. But that means respecting animals that share that space, he said.

"If we live in chaparral, we have to be different because of that," Knight said. "We have to be respectful of the wildlife that is going to come and go from our properties."

Handberg, with the Simi Valley district, believes "it's going to be tough" for Oak Park to avoid pesticides and other chemicals entirely. And it definitely will take more manpower.

But "I can't say, 'No, it won't work,' " Handberg said. "I hope it does for them."

Oak Park's policy, adopted this summer, will indeed take more manpower, including hiring another groundskeeper, doing more cleaning and experimenting with solutions that don't involve chemicals to manage pests, Knight said.

Those solutions include:

Using orange-based cleaners. "It's a lot about housekeeping," said Julie Suarez, Oak Park's director of business operations. "We want to make sure everything is clean, that trash cans are clean."

Deterring ants with peppermint oil. "It's a quick and easy solution to ants because when it's hot outside, ants want to come inside," Suarez said.

Planting mint around trash cans because animals don't like mint.

Installing fencing 2 feet below the ground to keep animals from coming onto playgrounds.

Trapping and releasing gophers, then filling their holes with a product that gophers don't like. "It appears to deter gophers from coming back," Suarez said.

Other districts also are trying other ways to manage pests, even if they're not going as far as Oak Park.

Simi Valley Unified uses orange oils in cleaning, sweeps and mops regularly to keep food out of classrooms and empties trash cans regularly, Handberg said. The idea is to prevent problems, but Handberg is not willing to avoid chemicals entirely.

"If it's not working, then we need to use something stronger for the safety of the kids," he said.

The Ventura Unified School District uses vinegar to get rid of weeds, which tend to be hardier than the grass that has dried out in the drought, Superintendent Michael Babb said.

Like other school districts, Ventura Unified also has regular inspections to spot problems, such as doors that have gaps at the bottom, allowing insects to get through or classrooms that haven't been adequately cleaned.

"We can manage to a certain extent, but there's kids involved, so it's not a perfect world," Babb said. "At some schools, we feed kids three times a day  breakfast, lunch and dinner."

While Ventura's pest management policy isn't as strict as Oak Park's, the district hasn't used chemical sprays since 2014, Babb said. If workers want to use a chemical, a committee must approve it, Babb said.

But Knight and Suarez believe districts can go further than that.

"There's always skeptics," Suarez said. "There's not one solution, and every pest may take a different solution. We're willing to take the time to find them. The damage we're doing to the Earth, I think that's worse than having a burrowing squirrel on campus."

PEST POLICIES

Oak Park Unified School District's policy:

Avoid using any pesticide, rodenticide or herbicide, unless it's an emergency. An emergency is a "grave threat" to people's health, where no other effective alternative can be used.

Notify the superintendent if they want to apply pesticides.

First consider nonchemical options for treating pests. Cost and staffing issues alone will not justify using chemicals.

If a chemical must be used, choose one that poses the least hazard to people, animals, property and the environment.

California's Healthy Schools Acts requires all schools to:

Notify staff and parents of any pesticides that the district expects to apply in the coming year.

Allow staff and parents to register with the district if they want to be told before a school uses a pesticide.

Post warning signs 24 hours before applying a pesticide and keep those signs up for 72 hours after the applications.

Maintain public records of all pesticides used at the school over four years.

Name a coordinator to oversee pesticide requirements.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Paige Duddy (left) and her brother Chase, both of Westlake Village, have enjoyed internet success with "America," and they have more music coming out this summer.

SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Paige Duddy (left) and her brother Chase, both of Westlake Village, have enjoyed internet success with "America," and they have more music coming out this summer.

By Robyn Flans, Special to The Star

With nearly 60,000 YouTube views for their first single, "America," the Westlake Village brother/sister music duo XYLO has catapulted from obscurity to record-deal status seemingly overnight.

Just two years ago, Chase Duddy was working on a PacSun ad campaign for Kendall and Kylie Jenner when he decided to call his kid sister Paige for help. He figured that if she was about to enroll in USC's songwriting program, he might as well throw her into the fire.

Until then, their 10-year age difference had limited their musical involvement. They'd written a song together for fun when Paige was 13, and she'd performed the occasional vocal for her brother's songs once she graduated from high school.

"Chase had asked me to help him out during my teens once in a while, and it was so much fun and a nice hobby," she said. "I felt super cool going to a studio. When he called me to do this one, I thought I was just going to be singing a song and I thought, 'Piece of cake.' When I got there, he said, 'We're going to write it together.' "

That music, which they have never released as a song, started the buzz, and then came their next collaboration: a minute-long snippet from what became "America" for a PacSun video.

"It was up on YouTube and most of the comments were, 'What's this song?' 'What's this song?' 'I need this song.' People were ripping the song  making their own," Paige Duddy said.

Inspired by such social media comments, she went to music school to refine her talent.

"I thought, 'If we're going to start a band, I'm going to learn how to get on stage and perform in front of people and how to professionally train my voice," she said.

They finished "America," re-recorded it and released it as a single  and it took off on the internet.

"That was a wild feeling, for sure," said 31-year-old Chase Duddy. "I had been a behind-the-scenes guy, making a decent living, but nobody knew who I was. There wasn't that kind of gratification. It opened me up into this whole new world within a few days. It's been a learning experience, as well  the whole digital music, streaming music, SoundCloud, all of it. It's a whole other world from what I was doing."

Paige Duddy is now in charge of social media for XYLO.

"We were just two people living in the suburbs of Westlake Village," she said. "It's crazy how overnight, people from different countries that I don't even know how to pronounce are telling us that our music has touched them. It's just crazy to hear someone say, 'I met the love of my life because of your music,' or, 'It got me through such dark times.' It is just the best."

While working on their first full-length album, she said a new single on Disruptor Records that's just around the corner will demonstrate the growth they've had since "America."

"It has been fun to push ourselves to experiment with different sounds and melodies outside of our norm," she said. "We have decided to release three songs this summer along with some visual content. We are excited to show our fans what we've been working on the past few months."
SHARE STAR FILE ART Ventura County Fire Department

By Megan Diskin of the Ventura County Star

Three people suffered moderate injuries in a crash Wednesday in the Mira Monte neighborhood in the Ojai Valley, officials said.

A vehicle crashed into a parked vehicle just after 6:50 p.m. near Tico Road and Cruzero Street, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Crews on the scene with the Ventura County Fire Department reported that two people were trapped inside one of the vehicles. One of them was freed by 7:15 p.m. but crews were still working to rescue the other person, authorities said.

Crews with Southern California Edison were called to the scene to repair a damaged utility pole, officials said.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Authorities were seeking the public's help in identifying the man seen in this still image taken from surveillance footage at an Ojai restaurant.

By Staff Reports

Authorities on Wednesday were asking for the public's help in identifying a man suspected of stealing a laptop computer from a restaurant in Ojai.

The theft occurred about 9:45 a.m. at the HiHo! Burger, 401 E. Ojai Avenue, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said.

A black backpack containing a MacBook Air computer was left unattended in the restaurant, authorities said. Surveillance footage from inside the business shows a man seated next to the backpack while eating at the restaurant with a group of people, officials said.

The footage shows the man, described as 25 to 30 years old, pick up the backpack and exit the restaurant after the meal is finished, authorities said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Will Hollowell at 477-7042.
SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ SIMI VALLEY POLICE DEPARTMENT Tom Carney

By Staff Reports

Fundraisers are planned next week to help the family of a Simi Valley police officer injured last month in a motorcycle crash while on duty.

Officer Tom Carney was hospitalized after the June 15 crash near Tapo Canyon Road and Los Angeles Avenue. He has undergone several surgeries to repair internal injuries and fractures in his hip, pelvis, ribs, forearms and facial bones, Simi Valley police said. Carney continues to improve, police said.

Authorities said 255 people donated 230 pints of blood in two planned blood drives for the officer. Police said the American Red Cross estimates that up to 458 lives could be saved by these donations.

A fundraiser will be held from 4-9 p.m. Tuesday at Firehouse Subs, 1263 Simi Town Center Way, with 20 percent of the proceeds going to Carney, police said. A second event will be held from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Junkyard Cafe, 2585 Cochran St., with 15 percent of proceeds going to the officer, police said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the Simi Valley Police Officers Association to support Carney and his family. Anyone wishing to donate can visit http://www.gofundme.com/tomcarney.
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Members of the Santa Paula City Council violated the letter and intent of California's open meetings law by gathering secretly to discuss plans to gain voter approval for a 1-cent sales tax measure that will be on the November ballot.

Recognizing the potential for violating the law, the members sought the advice of City Attorney John Cotti, who provided a written memo  which he declined through a council member to give to us  that reportedly said "there was no problem with the Brown Act whatsoever."

One week after voting unanimously to place the sales tax measure on the ballot, council members decided to get together at Councilwoman Ginger Gherardi's house, over coffee and cookies, to "identify who will run and participate in the campaign (to support the sales tax)."

The rationale apparently used by the city attorney to bless the secret meeting was that no city money was being used and the decision to place the sales tax on the ballot had already been made, so this gathering could not be seen as a precursor to a council action.

We disagree and believe that thinking is flawed as to the law, and certainly the intent, of the Brown Act.

The law, first passed in 1954, defines a public meeting as "any congregation of a majority of the members of a legislative body at the same time and place to hear, discuss, or deliberate upon any item that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body." A 1968 court ruling on the issue explained that "the term 'meeting' extends to informal sessions or conferences of the board members designed for the discussion of public business."

The Brown Act permits a majority of an elected board to gather in one place without the normal public notice "at a conference or similar gathering open to the public that involves a discussion of issues of general interest to the public ... provided that a majority of the members do not discuss among themselves, other than as part of the scheduled program, business of a specific nature that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the local agency."

We believe, looking at both passages, that the key is whether the discussion of organizing a campaign to pass the sales tax is within the "subject matter jurisdiction" of the Santa Paula City Council. We simply cannot agree with Councilwoman Gherardi that the discussion somehow falls outside that definition.

The sales tax idea originated with members of the council as a way to pay for improved and new city services. It was vetted by city staff and approved by the council. Council members have expressed publicly at public meetings the imperative of this tax measure passing. If voters do approve it, the council will make the decisions on how to spend the money to benefit the community. If the voters reject it, the council will have to find ways to pay for, or reduce, city services.

Passage of this tax is critical to the future of city finances, as the council sees it today. Given that, a discussion on how to create a campaign  even one that does not use city money  to convince voters to approve the tax measure would fall within the "subject matter jurisdiction" of the council.

It would have been perfectly legal and reasonable for all members of the council to attend a public meeting called by sales tax supporters to organize the campaign. Instead, they opted to keep "this discussion just among the council for now."

The Brown Act carries no penalties for those who violate it. All we can do is shine a light into the dark corner when we find a secret meeting. All the public can do is express its dismay at such meetings of elected officials where it is purposely excluded.


Award-winning actor, comedian, writer and producer, Kevin Hart, was spotted partying the night away in honor of his bachelor party Friday night at Chateau Nightclub & Rooftop at Paris Las Vegas (Photo credit: Denise Truscello / WireImage).

The actor arrived at the club with an entourage of friends around 2 a.m., sporting a green polo shirt and distressed jeans complemented by a gold watch and white sneakers. Hart greeted fans in the clubs main room before making his way to a VIP booth, where he sipped on Ciroc and celebrated with friends into the early morning hours.
By Ankit Kumar, Gaurav C Sawant: Intelligence agencies are now probing an alleged connection between Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a front of Pakistan's banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba and controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik's organisation Islamic Research Foundation website.

Several petitions have also been filed with the Maharashtra police and the Union home ministry seeking an investigation into the alleged link. "When you click on the archive pages of the then JuD website it links throws up several links like the Al-Huda International and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa urdu website link. Among the 9 links on the main page is also the link to Dr Zakir Naik's IRF or Islamic Research Foundation. This link is a matter of investigation,'' sources said. The JuD has since changed the name and address of its new website post the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

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Who is Zakir Naik? Were the Dhaka attack terrorists 'inspired by him'?



ZAKIR NAIK'S TERROR LINK

Hafiz Muhammed Saeed is the main architect of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008. Months after the worst terror strike in India which killed more than 167 innocent people, the two websites remained linked. "The connection with LeT does not end here. One of the masterminds of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts that killed 187 people - Rahil Sheikh was also influenced by Zakir Naik,'' sources added.

But the radicalisation link doesn't end with 2006 train blast accused Rahil Sheikh. "Dr Zakir Naik with his hard line Wahabi Islam preaching is also alleged to have influenced terrorists like Rohan Imtiaz in Dhaka and the Malwani and Hyderabad Islamic State modules,'' said an official.

Ten controversial statements by Zakir Naik



"There is nothing on record to connect Dr Zakir Naik or his IRF directly with terror. But his speeches appear to have inspired and influenced a number of terrorists worldwide. Why did JuD/LeT link its website with his IRF? Why did a number of 'would be terrorists' attend his camps, listen to and circulate his speeches? All of these issues are now a matter of grave concern,'' he added.

DEVENDRA FADNAVIS ORDERS PROBE

Maharashtra government has now officially initiated an investigation with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis having ordered a probe into Dr Naik's speeches both on Peace TV and online.

In New Delhi Mahesh Giri, BJP MP also wrote to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking an investigation into the funding of Dr Zakir Naik's organisation and television channel.

Also Read

Maharashtra govt orders probe against Zakir Naik, seeks reports from Mumbai Police





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illustration photo

Desmond Sim, CBRE head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, predicted that demand and supply for industrial and office space in almost every ASEAN nation will increase across the short- and mid-term, as more and more businesses and corporations establish themselves here.

David Blackhall, managing director of VinaCapital, said that the AEC and other free trade agreements are a key factor behind Vietnams strong growth, and will continue to play an important role for the foreseeable future across all sectors of the economy, including real estate.

The AEC brings with it a commitment to the free flow of goods and services, capital and investment, and skilled labour. And Vietnam is already benefiting from this as evidenced by the strong foreign direct investment coming into the country, much of it from fellow ASEAN member states such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, Blackhall told VIR.

He also said that all segments of Vietnams real estate sector (offices, retail, residential, and land property) will stand to gain from the AEC.

However, the manufacturing sector is the primary beneficiary of FDI, and industrial parks and logistics/distribution centres will continue to expand, with yields from this sector increasing significantly over the next five-ten years. On the back of this expansion, public infrastructure will also need to be developed at a pace aligned to the expansion of real estate development, he added.

Oliver Massmann, general director of Duane Morris Vietnam LLC, said that recent market fluctuations pointed to an excessive amount of foreign capital being poured into the property sector.

As of June 2016, a total of $16.6 billion had been invested into this market from ASEAN investors, despite the fact that the AEC was not formed until December last year.

This is partly because of the recently applied Housing Law and the Law on Real Estate Business allowing foreign investors to legally own, sell, and transfer properties. Regardless, the influence of the AEC is undeniable. Also, similar trends were found in other ASEAN nations such as Thailand and Singapore, he said.

This has led many experts to predict that the involvement of Vietnam in the AEC will result in prosperous times for the real estate market. Vietnam can compete well with its ASEAN member countries in this sector, Massmann confirmed.

Vietnam has the most liberalised real estate sector in Asia, allowing free hold ownership of land, and houses for foreigners who are married to Vietnamese nationals, Massmann added.

Michael Piro, COO of Indochina Land, noted that for Vietnam the establishment of the AEC represents a great opportunity to close the development gap with other member states.

As the AEC will enhance the mobility of capital, business, and human resources across the ASEAN region, real estate segments such as retailing, offices for lease, tourism, and storage can expect significant growth in the years to follow, Piro told VIR.

The benefits of the AEC for the real estate sector will, however, be offset by barriers such as incompetent management of supply, the lack of a skilled labour force, a large professional gap between the labour forces of countries, and inadequate property support policies.

Piro added that anticipation of the AEC has been rather slow in Vietnam, as seen in the countrys shortages in office space and poor management of retailing space. Past challenges associated with the limited availability of investable stock and the highly diverging price expectations between buyers and sellers will not be improved with this further increase in competition. Limited supply may serve as the key driver for better service and management. Meanwhile, the housing segment may improve at a slower pace due to legal limitations on foreign ownership, he said.

Although the ASEAN real estate market is an attractive destination for many investors, individual countries like Vietnam must improve systematically to compete in the global marketplace, he added.
The mills construction was kicked off in March 2006, with the initial investment capital of VND1.487 trillion ($66.3 million) by Transport and Communication Development Investment Company (Tradico). The mill was expected to produce the best quality pulp in Vietnam, reaching European standards.

At the time, the province encouraged farmers to grow jute on nearly 9,000 hectares in Thanh Hoa, Moc Hoa, and Tan Thanh districts to supply materials for the mill.

In 2007, the mill entered its test run, and in November Tradico decided to increase the total investment capital to VND2.286 trillion ($102.5 million).

However, the test run was suspended due to the breakdown of the machinery.

In 2009, Tradico was licensed to transfer the pulp mill to Vietnam Paper Corporation. The expected cost of the project increased to VND3 trillion ($134.5 million).

However, after Vietnam Paper Corporation took over the mill, it was upgraded and started operation again, but the malfunctions remained.

Vietnam Paper Corporation invited both international and domestic experts to deal with the malfunctions, but ultimately failed. As a result, the entirety of the machinery was abandoned and the 9,000 hectare jute growing area was wiped clean.

According to a representative of the Long An Department of Industry and Trade, the mill had to suspend operation due to unsuitable technology and machinery.

However, when VIRs reporter contacted another representative of the department to request information about the origin of the technology and machinery as well as solutions to deal with the unmarketable mill, the representative refused to comment and said that the department did not manage the projects operation.

According to the Saigon Times Daily, in April 2014, the prime minister directed the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate efforts with the Ministry of Finance and Long An authorities to deal with the project, including the sale. However, as of now, no investors have registered to buy the project.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014. (Photo: AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)

"Since the onset of poor conditions associated with winter weather, progress has slowed with only a minimal area searched during this time," ATSB said in an operational search update.

ATSB added that in the event of poor weather, or delays as a result of unforseeable issues - such as equipment failure or crew incapacity - searching the entire 120,000 square kilometre search area may continue beyond the winter months.

More than 110,000 square kilometres of the seafloor have been searched so far, ATSB added.

"Consistent with the undertaking given by the Governments of Australia, Malaysia and the Peoples Republic of China in April last year, 120,000 square kilometres will be thoroughly searched. In the absence of credible new information that leads to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, governments have agreed that there will be no further expansion of the search area," the authority said.

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 went missing on Mar 8, 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, while carrying 239 passengers and crew. The Australian government is leading the search for the plane, which is believed to be somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.
The sale of Duxton Hotel Saigon on Nguyen Hue Street was confirmed by research company Savills Vietnam, news website VnExpress reported on July 6.

It was the fourth reported acquisitions in Vietnam's hotel industry this year.

Last month the Republic of Korea's carrier Asiana Airlines reportedly sold a 50% stake in Kumho Asiana Plaza, a serviced apartment and hotel complex also in District 1, to Saigon Boulevard Holdings for US$107.5 million.

The buyer is a subsidiary of Singaporean developer Mapletree Investments Pte.

In April, Que Huong Liberty Corporation, which owns several hotels in HCMC, said it sold Novotel Saigon Centre, another four-star hotel in the downtown area, to a Vietnamese investor, reportedly for US$46.7 million.

In Hanoi, local hotel company BRG Group has recently bought four-star hotel Sedona Suites Hanoi from Singapore's Keppel Land Vietnam at US$31.5 million, local media reported. Given Vietnam's increasing popularity among foreign tourists, Savills forecast the local hotel sector will see more mergers and acquisitions this year, according to VnExpress. Official figures showed Vietnam's international arrivals rose 21.3% year-on-year to more than 4.7 million in the first six months.
Counting on changes

Under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a singly functioning regional financial market is expected to be formed by 2020, in line with the ASEAN Financial Integration Framework (AFIF). This framework will transform the landscape of the regional financial market through the liberation of capital account systems and a connected capital market.

Breaking it down further, financial integration will take place through the increased freedom of cross-border financial services, the removal of restrictions on regional banks, and on foreign exchange transactions in capital accounts, FDIs, and portfolio investments.

According to Tharabodee Serng Adichaiwit, the Ho Chi Minh City-based general manager at Bangkok Bank Public (Vietnam), due to regulatory and development gaps between each countrys banking sector, it is unlikely that authorities in any AEC member country will open their financial market completely until their banks are ready.

The AEC blueprint has a pre-agreed flexibility that allows each country to opt out of any financial services that they dont want to liberalise, noted Adichaiwit, adding that the face of the regional banking sector will take time to change.

In Vietnams case, Adichaiwit told VIR that while the integration of the AECs financial markets would not take place until 2020, foreign and regional financial institutions would still have to count on the financial liberalisation plan of Vietnamese authorities to actually oversee any development in the meantime.

Openness vs. foreign ownership limit (FOL)

Following the formation of the AEC, all countries in the community are en route to opening their service sectors, with a minimum openness of 70 per cent.

Over the last few years, weve already seen the [Vietnamese] market open up to foreign investors quite significantly, both in terms of ownership as well as investment. Thats a very big step in terms of opening up the economy to foreign investors, said Chidu Narayanan, Standard Chartered economist for Asia.

As the AEC adopts the principle of ASEAN-X that allows some of its members to perform their commitments later than others, Vietnam may choose to open 40-50 per cent of its banking sector on a case-by-case basis for a number of banks. The sectors foreign ownership limit (FOL) is likely to be untied from the current 30 per cent rate to 40 - 50 per cent, and by 2020, there will be virtually no barrier in the banking sector among AEC countries.

It is undeniable that financial services are the essential backbone of a country, as they facilitate trade and investment within the economy. The FOL is thus a highly sensitive issue to be prudently considered by the central bank and government, said Bangkok Banks Adichaiwit.

Adichaiwit pointed out that the removal of the FOL could herald foreign investments into the local banking sector, as foreign investors can take advantage of the already-established branch network, customer base, and human resources at local banks. This would allow them to tap into the potential market of 49 million people that still do not use banking services here, according to data by the World Bank. It is the most effective way to bypass the many difficulties involved in building one from scratch, Adichaiwit said.

The FOL is therefore not just one of Vietnams key commitment issues to help liberalise its financial system, it is also one of the most important prerequisites for foreign investors to inject funds into Vietnam, Adichaiwit noted.

Standard Chartereds Narayanan, however, warned that a country ought to be careful when opening up its economy. It should neither be too fast nor too slow, but the right pace must be maintained to foster steady integration into the regional economy.

Ready. Go

Numerous regional banks have prepared for the unified financial market to tap into the opportunities arising from a borderless market economy, golden population, and rising middle class. Vietnam, in particular, has featured prominently on the regional radar for international banks as an investment destination.

At Bangkok Bank, weve already made preparations for integration. Our network has been presented in all the main cities in the AEC. Weve already tripled our capital base in Vietnam to $250 million to tap into the huge opportunities in this market in the years ahead, shared Adichaiwit. We are pursuing organic growth, but we may be interested in our own local incorporated unit if such an opportunity arises post AEC-integration.

While the intended prospects can be foreseen as rough estimates, banks will most likely wait-and-see to gauge the development of Vietnams financial market and the integrated financial market as a whole.

Regarding the AEC, its too early in the process to comment on what the impacts will be. So well have to wait and see how the results emerge, and how the details of the discussions come out, said the Singaporean economist.
People are pictured near the wastewater treatment area at the Formosa steel plant in Ha Tinh, located in north-central Vietnam.

Vietnam will closely oversee the technology change at the Formosa steel mill in the north-central province of Ha Tinh, which is also part of a five-point commitment the Taiwanese firm has made after its role in the environmental disaster was revealed last week.

Under our supervision, Formosa will have to change some types of technology at their steel mill, in line with what their leaders had promised, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac said at a ministry press briefing in Hanoi.

The Vietnamese government announced on June 30 the results of a two-month inspection into the mass fish deaths observed between April and May along the coast of Ha Tinh and three other provinces, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue.

The investigation, with more than 100 scientists involved, found that untreated wastewater from the Ha Tinh steel plant of Formosa, containing such toxic substances as phenol, cyanide and ferric hydroxide, had been dumped into the ocean, leading to the fish deaths.

The Taiwanese admitted its wrongdoing and made five commitments, including apologizing to Vietnam, paying US$500 million in damages, and improving its steelmaking technology.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac

Scientists have found that the direct cause of the fish deaths was wastewater resulting from a technology known as wet-quenching coke, in which the coke is sprayed with water for cooling, resulting in high CO2 emissions and thermal energy loss.

In steelmaking, coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace.

The Formosa plant in Vietnam currently deploys these pieces of technology.

It is suggested that Formosa switch to the dry-quenching coke method, in which coke is cooled using an inert gas, to avoid repeating its mistake.

Passing the buck

Formosa had initially intended to apply the dry cooling technology, but eventually adapted the wet-quenching method to save costs.

This leads to the question as to which Vietnamese bodies are responsible for allowing the use of the polluting technology at the steel plant in Ha Tinh.

The answer from the science ministry, giving by a top official at the same meeting in Hanoi, was it wasnt me.

Do Hoai Nam, head of the technology evaluation and assessment agency within the science ministry, told reporters that the role allocation in the case of the Formosa project is clear.

The science ministry only had a role in the prefeasibility study, whereas the Ha Tinh administration was responsible for issuing the investment approval and the Ministry of Industry and Trade was accountable for backing the technology plan of the Taiwanese developer, Nam elaborated.

Nam said when the Ha Tinh administration sought advice from the science ministry on the technology plan of the Formosa steel mill, the response was that the blast furnace technology the Taiwanese proposed using is common, but not modern, in the world.

As the project was at that time in the prefeasibility stage, we could not say anything more specific, Nam explained.

The wastewater discharge canal at the Formosa steel plant

The official then confirmed that it was the industry ministry that eventually approved the technology plan for Formosa.

We were not directly involved in the technology evaluation and assessment for [this] project, he underlined.

Interestingly enough, the industry ministry also ducked responsibility for the incident as alleged by its technology counterpart.

Asked about the statement Nam made at the press meeting, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh asserted that his ministry never assessed the wet-quenching coke technology or allowed Formosa to use it.

It is not among the designated functions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to do so, he said. Our ministry is not a [technology] evaluation agency.
In October 2014, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to set up a joint venture that would invest in two factories producing bathroom fixtures and tiles in San Jose and Santa Cruz.

Once the joint venture is established, it is expected to meet the demand for construction material in Cuba and Latin America.

The Cuban market has a high demand for construction materials, as the country is encouraging investment in housing and tourism infrastructure. Since early 2014, Viglacera has sent two groups of technology specialists to work with construction material factories in Cuba.

Viglacera general director Nguyen Anh Tuan stated at the MOU signing ceremony that the companys products are present all over the world and its co-operation with Geicon would help deepen its presence in the Cuban market and consequently raise its export revenue.

Geicon, under the Cuban Ministry of Construction, is comprised of 24 companies with a combined workforce of 16,000 people and annual sales revenue of more than 220 million pesos ($8.3 million).

Viglacera focuses on producing and selling construction materials and developing industrial parks, infrastructure, and real estate. In the first quarter of this year, the company earned VND1.923 trillion ($86.3 million) in revenue and VND434.1 billion ($19.5 million) in profit.
There seems to be no respite from the rain in sight as the meteorological department has warned of more rain in the next 2 days.

By Rahul Noronha: The Air Force has been called in to help out in relief and rescue operations at Rewa district in eastern Madhya Pradesh after large parts of the district were cut off owing to continuous rain in the last 3 days.

Meanwhile there seems to be no respite from the rain in sight as the meteorological department has warned of more rain in the next 2 days.

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THE OPERATIONS

Collector, Rewa, Rahul Jain asked for an Air Force helicopter after 5 people were stranded on trees to protect themselves from rising waters of the Tamas river in Rewa district. The men had gone fishing when the water level rose suddenly and they climbed atop trees to protect themselves. The Air Force sent a helicopter to Rewa and rescue operations would be launched soon.

On Wednesday, 4 youth who had gone to the Purva Falls on the Tamas River were swept off after the water level in the falls increasing suddenly. The body of one of the boys has been found on Thursday morning while rescue operations are continuing to find the remaining boys. It is said one of the boys was taking a selfie when he was swept off.

THE DAMAGE



Eastern Madhya Pradesh including the Baghelkhand and Mahakoshal regions have been receiving heavy rain that has led to cutting off of road networks. In Bundelkhand too heavy rain has led to flooding in Damoh town. Low lying areas in Jabalpur and Narsinghpur town are flooded too. An earthen dam was washed away in Unchehra block in Satna district leading to 6 homes being destroyed in the downstream area. The injured have been rushed to hospital.

Maihar in Satna district recorded 34 cm rain in the last 24 hours, while Hatta in Damoh district recorded 29 cm, Satna recorded 28 cm, Damoh recorded 19 cm, Khajuraho recorded 11 cm and Pachmarhi recorded 17 cm.

The Met Department has forecast more rain in the next 2 days. Heavy rains have been forecast in Bhopal, Hoshangabad, Sagar, Damoh, Ashok Nagar, Shajapur and Agar districts.



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Members of Prime Minister Hun Sens family on Thursday denied accusations of grand corruption leveled against them by a major anti-corruption watchdog that said the Huns had amassed more than $200 million in business interests.

The Hostile Takeover report released by Global Witness on Thursday morning said Hun Sens family owned or controlled part of companies with a listed share value of just under $215 million, including firms accused of land grabbing, violence and other human rights abuses.

The NGO said the figure was likely to only be a small fraction of the familys total net worth, which it suggested was obscured by the use of shell companies and nominee owners.

The reports release came amid a tense political standoff between Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party ahead of elections scheduled for the coming two years.

Hun To, Hun Sens nephew, told VOA that he was not aware of the report, but when pressed questioned whether any of the business holdings of the family were illegal.

I dont really know about this issue. Dont ask me [about it], he said.

Hun Mana, Hun Sens eldest daughter and the director of Bayon TV, wrote on Facebook that she understood the intentions of Global Witness.

And as expected every time when we are near election time, your organization always comes out with something to try to tarnish my [fathers] reputation. Anyhow, we thank you for your destructive efforts, which as a consequence will help my father in the coming election as they are lies and deceitful to confuse the public about what my [f]ather has accomplished.

Meanwhile, Hun Manet, the premiers eldest son and a senior general in the army, also took to Facebook to air his displeasure with the report.

From my recent memory, whenever it is close to an election time, an organization called Global Witness has come up with very colorful accusations aimed at attacking the government and, in particular, making personal attack on my father, he wrote. It is that time again and there is nothing new to their subjects of concern. This time, though, Global Witness does it in a slightly different way. Through its coordination with [the] Cambodia Daily and Phnom Penh Post, it has expanded the scope for their accusation targeting not only against my father, but against every single member of my entire family. So what is next?

Mana was found in the report to control the largest number of business holdings, with interests in 22 companies with a listed share capital of more than $66 million.

Three of Hun Sens children, including Mana, are also listed as shareholders in Cambodia Electricity Private, a company run by tycoon Ly Yong Phats family that sells energy to the state.

The familys companies span most major sectors of the economy, with links to international brands such as Apple, Nokia, Visa, Unilever, Procter and Gamble, Nestle, Durex and Honda.

These revelations point to a cruel irony of Hun Sens model of dictatorship  his family has Cambodias economy so sewn up that Phnom Penh residents are likely to struggle to avoid lining the pockets of their oppressors multiple times a day, Patrick Alley, Co-Founder of Global Witness said in the report.

Foreign investors, on the other hand, can and should opt out of bankrolling a regime that kills, intimidates or locks up its critics, he added.

Sok Eysan, a spokesman for the CPP, said the report, which was based largely on official data from the Ministry of Commerce, was biased and did not have a clear basis.

Its merely  jealousy and narrow-mindedness, fabrication, he said. So thats all there is to say about this story.
Australia's ruling conservative government is inching closer to keeping a razor-thin hold on power after a surprisingly close parliamentary election.

An analysis by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation says Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's Liberal/National coalition is on track to win 73 seats in the House of Representatives, three seats shy of the total needed to form a majority government.

Turnbull narrowed that margin Thursday after traveling to Brisbane and securing a pledge from independent lawmaker Bob Katter to support the coalition. Katter told reporters after the meeting he made his decision "with no great enthusiasm," doing so only to prevent Australians from going through another election. "I maintain my right to move at any point of time in another direction," he added.

ABC says the opposition Labor party has won 66 seats, while four independents and a minor party candidate have been elected. Six other seats are still too close to call.

Labor Party leader Bill Shorten acknowledged that Prime Minister Turnbull would return to office, but is doing so "with a diminished authority, diminished mandate and a very divided political party."

The deadlock from last Saturday's vote has led global ratings agency Standard and Poor's to downgrade Australia's coveted AAA credit rating from "stable" to "negative."
It has been 16 years since Serbia, as part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, began negotiations to enter the European Union. Some Serbians think the debate has gone too long and the EUs loss of Britain means it may no longer be worth the effort to join. Serbias government says it is not abandoning reforms to improve rule of law, end corruption, and enact regulations to conform with EU trade rules.

Serbias recent troubled history plays a big part in how people see the argument.



Army headquarters and other buildings in central Belgrade that were hit by NATO bombs in 1999 have yet to be demolished or repaired, and serve as a daily reminder for Serbians of war, stagnation, and isolation that followed the breakup of Yugoslavia.



Prospects of joining the EU represent hope for some.



It will be a better life, simply because it will be peaceful. That is what is needed in the Balkans. War did what war did. We need to find our way again, said a T-shirt vendor. He said T-shirts with the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin are big sellers these days.



The dream is for Serbia to regain what it lost - a time when Yugoslavia produced things like cutting edge jet fighters.



At Belgrades aeronautical museum, broken pieces of American and NATO aircraft downed in the war speak of Serbias recent troubled relations with the West. Accession to the EU represents a chance to mend matters and move onto a better, more prosperous future.



But some see the European Unions efforts to equalize and homogenize economies and standards on the continent as a threat to individuality, tradition, and culture.



The question is, if Europe is what we are dreaming of, is it a place where all different countries and nations can join like a family or is it a new model of imposing policies that dont take care about small people? asked Zoran Petrov, a dairy farmer near Vrsac, 87 kilometers northeast of Belgrade.



Petrovs farm produces organic, traditional Serbian yogurt, whole milk and cream from free range, grass-fed cows that are of a species native to this part of Serbia.

He has been following the news from Britain. I deeply believe that Brexit is a strong message from one of the oldest democratic countries in Europe, he said. If they say we cant be in Europe it has to make us think, why is that? Why is that? It means that diversity in Europe is becoming threatened.



Polls since Brexit indicate more Serbians are now against joining the European Union.



People here are seeing maybe more than in other parts of Europe, they are growing more Eurosceptic, said Marko Prelevic, editor of Nedeljnik magazine in Belgrade. They are growing more worried that the European Union is about to fall because whether that parallel is right or not they are saying weve seen this and this is how it starts, he said.



Those sentiments are not echoed in Serbias parliament, which is dominated by pro-EU parties and the Serbian government has kept up its campaign to promote EU accession with promises of greater equality, respect for the rule of law, and higher salaries.



As Serbias leaders vow to continue with reforms, EU officials also say they are determined to keep up efforts to enlarge the grouping despite Brexit and other troubles.



Johannes Hahn, the EU enlargement commissioner, said this week that Brexit doesnt mean that enlargement, particularly to the western Balkans, has come to an end.



But analysts say Brexit has made it harder for Serbian politicians to argue in favor of EU membership.

With the exception of sovereignty, the issues driving the debate in Serbia differ from those in Britain. Serbians largely do not view immigration as a major issue. Trade is also a lesser concern.



In the area of trade, Serbia and the rest of the region are already highly integrated in the European trading area, said Jelica Minic of the European Movement in Serbia, a lobbying group.



Minic and others say disillusionment with Europe after Brexit is helping push Serbia closer to Russia and giving pro-Russian groups an advantage. It is a sense that incentives are running out and concerns about overregulation that are driving opposition.



Analysts say if the polls are right, Serbia could see a swing to the right much like other nations in Europe are experiencing. That is also a prediction of pro-Russian groups in Belgrade who believe Moscow has historically been a better friend to Serbia than the West.

Jugoslav Kiprijanovic, a spokesman for the pro-Russian Dveri movement, said his party  a tiny minority in parliament  is raising its calls for a referendum on EU membership.



When Britain could do a referendum, what is the problem in asking Serbian people after 16 years of waiting, of moving toward the European Union and we still dont see when well get there? he asked.
Mourners held a candlelight vigil Wednesday outside the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convenience store where police had shot and killed an African American man just 24 hours earlier - an incident captured on cellphone video that rekindled national outrage over alleged use of excessive force against African Americans and other minorities.

Large crowds had been gathering outside the Triple S Mart throughout the day to protest the death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, waving signs and chanted "Black lives matter" and "Hands up, don't shoot," slogans heard after other fatal encounters between police and black residents.

Earlier Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards announced the state was turning over the investigation into the shooting to federal authorities, led by the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division. "I have very serious concerns," Edwards told reporters in making the announcement. "The video is disturbing, to say the least."

Fatal confrontation



The video showed two officers initially confronting Sterling before tackling him and pinning him to the ground. They wrestled with Sterling for several seconds before someone yelled "He's got a gun." Both officers pull their weapons and point them into Sterling's chest, with one saying "If you f****** move I swear to God," before firing several shots.

Baton Rouge police chief Carl Dabadie told reporters that Sterling was armed when the officers arrived on the scene. But a video of the incident taken by the store's owner, Abdul Muflahi, and posted on the website of the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper showed one of the officers reaching inside Sterling's pocket for an item after the shooting.

The officers, identified as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, have both been placed on administrative leave.

Something is profoundly wrong

Officials say police went to the store after an anonymous caller said they had been threatened by someone with a gun.

But Louisiana state Representative Edmond Jordan, an attorney for the victim's family, said "Mr. Sterling was not reaching for a weapon. He looks like a man that was actually fighting for his life."

The family and store owner Muflahi says Sterling, a father of five children, was a regular presence outside the store, selling homemade music CDs from a folding table.

Reaction to the shooting was swift after the cellphone video was posted on social media.

Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, issued a statement calling Sterling's death "a tragedy," and praising the Justice Department's for launching an investigation.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin," she said.
Two weeks after Chile's government completed work on a landmark labor reform, leading lawyers in the world's top copper exporter say the bill is filled with gaping regulatory voids that have replaced many laws with question marks.

The reform, aimed at strengthening organized labor in the South American country, was initially passed by Chile's Senate in March after a bruising battle that opened up divisions within the governing coalition.

However, key parts of the bill, touted as a central element of leftist President Michelle Bachelet's broad reform program, were later struck down by a constitutional court.

The government, whose fractured coalition could not produce the votes needed to replace the removed parts, responded by excising the reform's unconstitutional sections in June, thus letting the unchallenged provisions become law.

The removed parts, however, contained a huge chunk of the laws that define the nation's collective bargaining framework. Lawyers now say bargaining outside established unions has been left essentially unregulated, meaning the nation's courts, not its legislators, will establish many of the new rules.

Some see deja vu with the country's recent tax reform, which had to be simplified last year because of its complexity. All see an uptick in court cases, at least in the short term.

"When morning comes and a company goes to negotiate with a group [of workers outside a union], they're going to ask, 'Well, how is it regulated?' " said Juan Vergara, a labor adviser and member of pro-labor group ProSindical.

"What rights do they have? These are the questions that exist, and this is where the uncertainty is."

Changes in bargaining units

Unions worry that the laws could encourage the use of bargaining units that are less formal and that would weaken established organized labor in the long term.

Business-affiliated lawyers fear that small bargaining units will proliferate, because there is no longer an enforceable floor for the number of workers who can band together to bargain collectively. Questions have also arisen about the enforceability of some contracts, and several pro-labor parts of the original bill, such as restrictions on replacing striking workers, will still go into effect because they were never challenged in court.

Still, while many executives and business lawyers are apprehensive, others see opportunity in the new laws.

"There are many who say this project is very negative," said lawyer Felipe Saez, who has advised heavy industry group Sofofa. "But for companies with decent labor relations, less regulation might not be the worst thing."
A colleague of slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres, known for her fight against the encroachment of hydroelectric dams and mines on indigenous lands, was killed by unidentified men in the western part of the country, authorities said Thursday.

Lesbia Yaneth Urquia, 49, was found dead by a road in the semi-rural town of Marcala, 100 kilometers west of the capital, Honduran security ministry spokesman Luis Osabas said by phone.

She had been missing since Tuesday when she left home on a bicycle, he added.

Since 2009, Urquia has been a member of the Consejo de Organizaciones Populares e Indigenas de Honduras (COPINH), an indigenous rights organization whose award-winning leader, Berta Caceres, was killed in March. Another member, Nelson Garcia, was shot dead a few weeks later.

Honduran police have arrested five people for Caceres' murder, including a representative of a hydroelectric dam whose construction faced local opposition.

Urquia fought against the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the La Paz region, COPINH said in a statement, adding that the dam is owned by the husband of Congressional Vice President Gladys Lopez.

COPINH said that it held Lopez, her husband and the government responsible for the murder of Urquia.

Lopez and her husband could not be reached for comment.

The murder is being investigated as a family property dispute and as an extortion case, as Urquia was the owner of two hotels and a small market, said Eddie Lopez, a police sub-inspector based in Marcala. Urquia had reported extortion, he added.

Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
By Elora Sen: November 29 will be the D-day for this North-eastern state as Mizoram goes to Assembly polls along with Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.



A prelude to the Lok Sabha polls due next year, these elections will no doubt be indications of how the voters will treat their political leaders. Stakes are always high for Indian politicians whenever they face the electorate, and this time will be no exception. Also, Mizo leaders would naturally want to gauge the mood of the electorate before they face the Lok Sabha elections too.



A relatively young state - Mizoram was formally accorded statehood in 1987 - it has no dearth of political intrigue and the fight for power between the ruling Mizo National Front and the Congress is an open battle.



MNF president and chief minister Zoramthanga has never lost an election and in 1998, when the last Assembly elections were held, he became the fifth chief minister of Mizoram. A close associate of the legendary Laldenga, he has been able to continue to be the driving force of MNF and is their chosen chief ministerial candidate for the coming polls too.



However, he may not have it very easy as the ruling MNF faces charges of corruption and the main opposition in the state, the Congress, led by former chief minister Lalthanhawla, will make that the focus of their election campaign.



Whether the Congress will succeed or not and whether Lalthanhawla will be able to cash in on his previous charisma will be seen only after the election results are out, but the fight will be critical.



Another force that may play a significant role this time is the rise of a third front. The Zoram Nationalist Party and the Mizoram Peoples' Convention are joining hands to form an alliance and may take part in the elections. But it is also possible that this alliance may also join hands with the bigger political forces in the state, and the next few days will see an unfolding of that drama.

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A unit of Colombia's FARC rebel group says it will not lay down arms or demobilize under a potential peace deal with the government, the first public sign of opposition to an accord from within the rebel ranks.

The statement by the Armando Rios First Front, a 200-strong rebel unit in the southeastern jungle province of Guaviare, comes nearly two weeks after leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government announced a cease-fire deal at their more than three-year-old peace talks.

"We have decided not to demobilize, we will continue the fight for the taking of power by the people for the people, independent of the decision taken by the rest of the members of the organization," the unit said in a statement Wednesday.

The unit, which famously held ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors hostage, said the deals being reached at the talks will not solve the social and economic problems which first motivated rebels to take up arms more than five decades ago.

President Juan Manuel Santos has said the peace talks, aimed at ending a conflict which has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions, may conclude as early as this month. Any deal will be put to Colombians for approval in a plebiscite vote.
Top congressional Republicans claimed party unity after meeting Thursday with presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, even though dozens of lawmakers shunned the encounter and others withheld endorsing the candidate less than two weeks before the Republican National Convention.

We had a great meeting, House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement. It was an important opportunity for our members to get additional information about Mr. Trumps campaign and ask questions about issues that matter to Americans.

Its clear that our party is committed to defeating Hillary Clinton and Democrats this fall, Ryan added.

Trump concurred via Twitter.

"Had great meetings with Republicans in the House and Senate," he said. "Very interesting day! These are people who love our country!"

Trump met behind closed doors with House and Senate Republicans at separate venues near the Capitol. It was Trumps second pilgrimage in the last three months to reach out to lawmakers of his own party, many of whom plan to skip the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, that begins July 18.

Dent unpersuaded

Pennsylvania Representative Charles Dent met Trump for the first time Thursday. He confirmed he would not go to Cleveland, saying his opinions of the nominee-to-be had not changed.

"Ive been expressing my concerns about the many incendiary comments [by Trump], the lack of policy specificity," Dent said. "The few policies that we have heard have often been contradictory and conflicted. So those have been my concerns walking into the meeting, and theyre still my concern now."

Others emerged decidedly upbeat.

We need him [Trump] to win, said Representative Joe Barton of Texas. Were tired of having a President Obama and we dont want a President Clinton.

Tennessee Representative Phil Roe said Trump was engaging and made a good impression before a tough crowd.

The most reassuring thing he said was that we needed to work together, and we do, Roe said. We have to  if were going to win this race, the race for president  were going to have to work together as a team.

Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina was noncommittal after listening to Trump.

I think the room was generally receptive and there are some folks that still have some questions. I remain to be one of them, Sanford said.

That some Republicans skipped the meeting was no surprise. Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois is openly campaigning against Trump, going so far as to run television ads saying the presumptive nominee "is not fit to be commander in chief."

Other Republicans offered a range of excuses for their absences, from scheduling conflicts to a doctors appointment.

Even if Trump earned few new endorsements, he did not leave Capitol Hill empty handed. One of his fiercest rivals for the nomination, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, told reporters he agreed to speak at the national convention. Cruz' participation had been in doubt since a bitter, often personal feud broke out between him and Trump in the final weeks of the primary campaign season.

Roe said Trumps goal at the meetings was to bring us [Republican lawmakers] on board with his campaign. The Tennessee lawmaker said he believed Trump had succeeded.



'Far from the norm'

But the very fact that Trump felt compelled to corral the support of his partys congressional foot soldiers as he prepares to receive the party's presidential nomination caught the attention of political analysts.

It is not uncommon for a nominee to meet with his or her partys House and Senate members during the campaign to discuss plans or brief members on strategy, said John Hudak of the Brookings Institution, a Washington public policy research group. However, Trumps appearance on Capitol Hill, particularly so far along in the campaign, in an effort to gather support and stop criticism from party members is far from the norm.

There's no recent precedent for Trump's difficulty securing his party's congressional support, concurred political analyst Sarah Binder, also of Brookings. [Republican] Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign might come close, though: Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen refused to endorse Goldwater until two weeks before the GOP convention.

Democrats on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, largely avoided immediate commentary on Trumps meetings. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who regularly rails against Trump on the Senate floor, did not mention Trump during 10 minutes of comments after the chamber gaveled in.
As heads of state meet amid the rolling hills of Kigali for the African Union summit, which kicks off Sunday, the biggest item on the agenda will be the selection of the next AU Commission chairperson.



The current chair, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma of South Africa, is to step down after holding the position for the last four years.



I think its important to stress that who leads the African Union Commission matters, said Elissa Jobson, advisor on African Union relations for the International Crisis Group. "And it matters immensely. The chairperson is responsible for shaping the continents economic, political and security agendas, and so its really key that they have the best candidate in this job.



So far, there are three candidates. Two are current foreign ministers, one from Botswana and the other from Equatorial Guinea. The third candidate is Ugandas former vice president and a former U.N. special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.



But J. Peter Pham, the director of the Washington-based Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, cautions that Dlamini Zumas successor may not come out of this summit, since a two-thirds majority vote is required.



This time around, with three relatively unknown candidates, it might well be the case that a two-thirds majority is not achieved, and there is additional campaigning and the possibility that other candidates might throw their hats in the ring, said Pham.



The leadership turnover doesnt stop there. A new deputy chairperson and eight commissioners of the AU will also be selected, according to Monde Muyangwa, director of the Africa Program at the Wilson Center.



So you have a huge leadership transition occurring at the African Union and so this is really going to determine which way does the African Union go, said Muyangwa.

ICC issue simmers



Back in January, an AU ministerial committee was asked to draw up a strategy regarding the International Criminal Court, giving special consideration to whether AU member countries should leave.



Critics of the ICC point out that all of the cases it has investigated or prosecuted stemmed from Africa.



The committee said that in order to prevent an African withdrawal from the court, the ICC should grant immunity from prosecution to sitting heads of state and other senior officials. But that demand is at odds with many human rights activists, who say it would undermine the effectiveness of the court.



Elise Keppler, the associate director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch said, Now whether or not the conclusions and assessments of that committee are going to be considered at this AU summit is not clear, although its important to note that we have seen again and again in the past few years that the issue of the ICC and AU attacks on the ICC regularly comes up very last minute, sometimes on the floor of the debate at the African Union summit. So really, we dont know for sure now, but anything is possible.



Pham doesnt believe the ICC issue will become a priority at this particular summit, because no sitting head of state other than President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, is under threat, although he says in the long-term, the issue will be important.



In many respects, the collapse of the ICC case against the president of Kenya, in a way took a bit of the urgency out of the African threat to withdrawal from the ICC, he said.

War crimes court for South Sudan?



South Sudan will likely be discussed. HRWs Keppler said the AU was tasked in the 2015 peace agreement to establish a hybrid court to prosecute crimes committed during the conflict, because the country is not a part of the ICC.



And weve been looking to the African Union commission to get this process off the ground. I think a great outcome from the summit would be to see that there is encouragement for more progress, said Keppler.



Last month, South Sudans leadership called on the international community to reconsider setting up that tribunal in an op-ed published in The New York Times.



Meanwhile, the 54-nation bloc will be issuing its first e-passports, which will go to AU heads of state, permanent representatives of these states and ministers of foreign affairs as part of a pilot program.



The goal of the new passport is to ease restrictions in the movements of people, goods and services across national lines.



Which is a step at least symbolically in the direction of a closer union, a pan-African identity, said Pham. But the reality is that despite those aspirations and those ambitions, its not the want of passports that causes Africans not to travel to each others countries, and to trade and do business with each other. Its the lack of transportation infrastructure that makes that. A passport wont do you any good if you dont have a road that will get you from one place to another, or you dont have customs officials and customs clearing houses to expedite the passage of goods.



Muyangwa expressed a bit more optimism that the e-passports will be more than just symbolic.



Ive been encouraged by the discussion on the benefits of this e-passport at the highest levels in Africa so hopefully this is something that youre going to get more and more countries signing up for and hopefully becoming a reality in the next few years.



The AU summit opens July 10 and culminates with the heads of state meeting on July 17 and 18.
The European Central Bank threatened to take legal action against Slovenia on Wednesday after police seized documents from the country's central bank in a rare conflict between authorities and one of the eurozone's most respected institutions.

ECB President Mario Draghi said he deplored the seizure, which infringes on the ECB's legal privileges and immunities, and called on European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to intervene.

Slovenian police conducted an investigation Wednesday in four locations in Ljubljana, including at the central bank, collecting evidence in a pre-criminal investigation related to possible irregularities during a bank overhaul in 2013.

"Seized equipment contains ECB information and such information is protected under directly applicable primary EU law," Draghi said in a letter to the Slovenian State Prosecutor General. "The ECB will also explore possible appropriate legal remedies under Slovenian law."

The ECB said police seized information on the computers of Bank of Slovenia Governor Bostjan Jazbec, who sits on the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council, as well as a former deputy governor and some staff members.

Slovenian police said the investigation related to an assessment of one of the banks rescued by the state in 2013, which meant the bank could scrap its obligations toward holders of subordinated bonds and subordinated debt in the value of 257 million euros.

In 2013, the previous government had to pour more than 3 billion euros ($3.33 billion) into local banks to prevent them from collapsing under a large amount of bad loans. The move helped the country narrowly avoid an international bailout.

As part of the bank overhaul, about 600 million euros of subordinated bonds were scrapped in five banks.

In 2014, the Slovenian Association of Small Shareholders filed several court cases against the Bank of Slovenia and local banks, claiming the subordinated bonds and shareholders' capital in rescued banks should not have been erased. None of the cases have been finished yet.

The Bank of Slovenia had repeatedly rejected allegations that it mishandled data used when putting together a rescue package for Slovenia's banks.
The U.S. State Department is reopening an internal investigation into whether Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her top aides mishandled classified information when she was secretary of state under President Barack Obama.

"We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process," department spokesman John Kirby said, noting that the internal review can proceed now that the Justice Department investigation wrapped up with no charges filed against Clinton.

The move comes a day after Attorney General Loretta Lynch agreed with the FBI recommendation that no criminal charges should be filed in relation to the incident.

Republicans, including Clinton's White House rival Donald Trump, have cried foul over the lack of charges, alleging that Clinton's influence as a prominent politician helped her escape criminal proceedings.

Earlier Thursday, FBI Director James Comey defended his decision to not pursue a criminal case against Clinton, even though he said investigators found "great carelessness" in her use of private, unsecured email servers.

Comey told a House of Representatives panel that after a yearlong probe, investigators decided there was no evidence that either Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, or her aides intended to break U.S. laws against the disclosure of classified materials. The investigators found 113 classified documents in the more than 30,000 Clinton emails they reviewed from her 2009-2013 tenure as the country's top diplomat.

Why Clinton was not charged



Comey also said that it would have been inappropriate to charge Clinton, seeking to become the first U.S. female president, under a 1917 U.S. law making "gross negligence" a crime. He said that the law had only been used once, to bring charges in an espionage case, and that Justice Department prosecutors "have grave concerns whether it's appropriate to prosecute someone for gross negligence."

Comey's testimony came two days after announcing that investigators had concluded no criminal case should be brought against Clinton, a recommendation Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted Wednesday, ending the case without any charges against Clinton.

Clinton, who has yet to comment on the FBI's findings that she and her colleagues were "extremely careless" in the handling of the classified material, answered questions from FBI investigators for 3 1/2 hours last Saturday. Comey said there was "no basis to conclude that she lied to the FBI."

'Mystified and confused'



Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz, the panel's chairman, said he was "mystified and confused" by how the FBI could find that Clinton mishandled dozens of classified documents and then not be criminally charged. "If your name is not Clinton," Chaffetz said, "or you're not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently. Hillary Clinton created this mess."

FBI Director Comey testified in the midst of the highly charged national presidential campaign, with Clinton set to face off with the presumptive Republican nominee, billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump, in the November national election to pick the successor to President Barack Obama, who leaves office in January.

But Comey said the investigators conducted their investigation "in an apolitical and professional way." The FBI chief said he concluded that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a case against Clinton.

Republicans on the panel noted sharp differences in Clinton's past comments on her use of the private email server and handling of the classified material from what the FBI investigators found. The FBI determined that over four years as secretary of state, she used multiple servers positioned at her New York home, not just the one she has acknowledged.

Democrats support decision



Democrats on the panel did not defend her email practices or question the FBI findings, but rather noted that her conduct did not reach that in another celebrated U.S. national security document case, when former CIA chief David Petraeus acknowledged he leaked eight folders of secret documents to a woman who was his lover and writing a biography about him.

Comey said Petraeus' conduct was "clearly intentional" while Clinton's was not.

When her use of a private email system first came to light more than a year ago, Clinton claimed she used one phone for both government and private emails for "convenience," which Comey said the FBI agreed with.

But Clinton later acknowledged use of the single email system was "a mistake," leading to the FBI investigation.

Comey said the FBI, after the lengthy investigation, concluded that Clinton was not "particularly sophisticated" in the use of electronic information.

"Good grief," remarked Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis.

Attempt to block Clinton from intelligence info



But in the aftermath of the FBI findings about Clinton's email records, Speaker Paul Ryan, leader of the Republican-controlled House, called on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to block Clinton from receiving the national security briefings. Ryan said blocking her from the intelligence information "certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions."

Ryan said if Clapper refuses the request, he wants the intelligence chief to provide his rationale for giving Clinton the information "despite the FBI findings."

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi dismissed the Republican complaints about the FBI's decision against prosecuting Clinton.

"We have an investigation of the investigation of the investigation," she said. "How long can this go on?"

Comey's testimony occurred a week after a political uproar over an encounter Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, had with Lynch, the country's top law enforcement official, on an airport tarmac in Phoenix, Arizona. Both Bill Clinton and Lynch said they chatted for half an hour, although not about the email case, but subsequently regretted doing so while Lynch was overseeing the email investigation.

Trump denounces FBI decision



Trump has denounced the no-prosecution decision, saying at one point on Twitter, "FBI director said 'Crooked Hillary' compromised our national security. No charges. Wow! Rigged System."

Well after Clinton left office in early 2013, she deleted about 30,000 emails she and her lawyers deemed to be personal and turned another 30,000 official government-related emails over to the State Department, as she was required to do in any event because of government record-keeping regulations. But Comey said thousands more emails were discovered as well.

Clinton said she never sent or received emails that were marked as classified documents. But Comey said FBI investigators found that 110 emails in 52 email chains contained classified information at the time they were sent, with eight of the chains having top secret information in the emails she turned over to the State Department. Three other emails with classified information were found in the additional emails.

Were Clinton emails hacked?



Comey said investigators do not believe that Clinton's emails were hacked by hostile, foreign interests. However, he said "hostile actors" gained access to private commercial interests that Clinton corresponded with and that her extensive use of personal email outside the United States and in the territories of "extensive adversaries" makes it possible they gained access to her personal accounts.
Syrian student Ali Khaled Stouf has to walk down several steps into a hole in the ground to get inside his school - a cave.

There for four hours each morning, he studies subjects like Arabic, English, maths and religion, sitting on a rug with dozens of children in the underground space in Tramla, an opposition-held village in Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

"I study in a cave. The conditions are not very good but the professor and his wife treat us very well," the 14-year-old, originally from neighboring Hama province, said. "We sit on the ground and often we don't see clearly because it is dark."

His teacher Mohamed and his wife, also from Hama, have opened up their underground home to teach some 100 children, whose families have been displaced by the Syrian conflict.

More than five years of war, which began as a peaceful protest against President Bashar al-Assad and has since drawn in foreign military involvement and allowed for the growth of Islamic State, has displaced millions of Syrian children and limited their access to education.

With schools themselves at times attacked, teachers make do with the basics to provide education.

Mohamed said the primitive, six-month-old school floods when it rains, forcing him to teach outside or in a tent, although he prefers the security underground.

"We believe the cave is the safest place from shelling and air strikes and all the students are in one place," he said.

Idlib province is a stronghold of insurgent groups including the al-QaIda-linked Nusra Front and has been regularly targeted in airstrikes by the Syrian government, whose war effort has been boosted by the Russian air force.

At the Souriya al-Ammal (Syria the hope) school, in the town of Maarat al-Numan, corridors and classrooms are bullet-ridden and sometimes crumbling. In one less damaged area, walls have been repainted and the school now has some 250 pupils.

"War has affected education massively; most schools, if not destroyed completely, are damaged," school supervisor Abdullatif al-Rahoum said, adding those who missed out on education are now playing catch up with younger students.

"The biggest challenges we face are the warplanes, which never leave the skies. This always worries students."

In the nearby town of Saraqib, a mobile caravan serves as a classroom, run by a group aiming to reach children who have no access to schooling in the area.

Lack of books is problematic. Teachers in Idlib said they relied on charities or used books printed in neighboring Turkey by the opposition run Directorate of Education. In the rebel-held town of Douma, outside Damascus, Mounir Abdelaziz, a member of the opposition-run education body, said local schools were using old textbooks, but with changes.

"We follow the same curriculum as the education ministry but with some modifications and articles related to the [Assad] regime deleted," he said.
Border checks by Austria that have caused long queues on the Hungarian side of the frontier in recent days are unjustified, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Thursday.

Szijjarto said controls were needed on Hungary's Serbian and Croatian borders, but not where it meets Austria. He said Hungary was doing its job to defend the external border of the passport-free Schengen zone to the south.

"I think what the Austrians are doing on the Hungarian-Austrian border is unjustified," he told a news conference.

Austrian police said an uptick in illegal crossings from Hungary had caused them to intensify checks on vehicles at the border starting on July 4. Both countries are in the passport-free Schengen zone.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants crossed from Hungary into Austria last year in an unprecedented influx to Europe of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere. Most of them went on to Germany or Sweden.

After the Austrian police stepped up controls, the Hungarian police in turn introduced its own checks, causing queues to form on the Austrian side.

"We take notice of the Hungarian explanation that these are traffic controls, but in effect this amounts to border controls," said a spokesman for the interior ministry in Austria.

Austria introduced temporary border checks last year after 71 migrants were found suffocated in a truck near the border with Hungary, abandoned by smugglers.

The spokesman said Austria's border checks were approved by the European Commission, whereas Hungary had no such agreement.

Hungary has taken an anti-immigration stance during the crisis, closing its southern border to migrants in October. This means the flow through to Austria has slowed to a steady trickle.

Austria's Interior Minister summoned Hungary's ambassador for a meeting on the issue Wednesday. A police spokeswoman said Austria's controls would remain in place at least for the coming days.
A terrorism suspect already behind bars for allegedly helping al-Qaida has been charged with ordering a hit on the federal judge overseeing his case.

Yahya Farooq Mohammad of the United Arab Emirates was indicted Wednesday in the central state of Ohio for soliciting the killing of U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary.

"Conspiring to have a judge killed is not the way to avoid being prosecuted  now Mohammad will be held accountable for additional serious federal charges," said Stephen Anthony, special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Cleveland.

Mohammad allegedly told another inmate in April that he wanted to pay to have Zouhary kidnapped and killed. That inmate then introduced Mohammad to an undercover FBI employee. The indictment alleges that Mohammad told the inmate he was willing to pay $15,000 to have Zouhary killed.

Mohammad was indicted last year for conspiring with three other men to donate thousands of dollars to Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born al-Qaida preacher killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2011. He has pleaded not guilty.
A wave of arrests in Mauritania have landed anti-slavery activists behind bars.

Authorities arrested at least nine activists between June 29 and July 3 and denied them access to their families and lawyers, according to Amnesty International.

The activists are part of the Initiative for Resurgent Abolition Movement (IRA), one of the main organizations that have shone a spotlight on the persistence of slavery in Mauritania.

They were arrested following a protest against the forced removal of a group of about 20 Mauritanians who had been living in a shantytown on the outskirts of the capital, Nouakchott, and were relocated by security forces to a more remote area. The protests over relocation became violent and resulted in injuries to demonstrators and members of the security force and damage to property.

The government hasnt officially responded, and the Mauritanian Embassy in Washington didnt respond to VOAs request for comment on the arrests. However, one of the governors of Mauritanias capital, Mahy Ould Ahmed, said the IRA arrests were provoked by a movement known for its extremism, according to Reuters.

The people removed are of a darker-skinned ethnic group who have historically been discriminated against in the country, according to Sadibou Marong, Amnesty International's West Africa press officer.

Marong said the land was private and did not belong to those who were living there, but unconfirmed reports said Mauritanian officials were trying to clean up the capital in advance of hosting an Arab League summit this month.

He said the jailed activists have been held incommunicado, and "even the family members dont know" where they are. We are calling for the government of Mauritania to free them."

Marong said the anti-slavery activists are being targeted as troublemakers by security forces, even though they are only exercising constitutionally protected rights of freedom of expression and association. The longtime repression of these people "has started to really become violent ... and we are calling on the Mauritanian government to stop that.

Awarded in U.S.

The IRA's president, Biram Dah Abeid, and vice president, Brahim Bilal Ramdane, who were not among those arrested, were recently invited to Washington by the U.S. State Department. They were awarded the Trafficking in Persons Heroes Award on June 30, 2016.

Biram Dah Abeid has been arrested several times in the past for fighting slavery. He told his story from Aleg prison in Mauritania last year, saying: In the past five years, I have been imprisoned three times. I have been locked up during key events of my adult life, including the birth of my daughter. I celebrated my 50th birthday behind bars on 12 January 2015.

Siikam Sy, a member of the board of directors of IRA-USA, said he is concerned for the safety of the activists. He said Mauritanias heavy-handed approach is counterproductive to addressing the issue of modern slavery.

The government is making a huge mistake by aiming or seeking to basically decapitate IRA-Mauritania, when in fact what it should have done is look at IRA-Mauritania as a partner in ending slavery, he said. We continue to demonstrate, and each one of those demonstrations is met with unbelievable violence from the police. We will continue because we think this is a human rights issue.

He pointed out that although the organization is recognized and supported around the world, it is not recognized in Mauritania itself.

The fact is that you can still buy and sell human beings in Mauritania, and this is backed by facts on the ground, he said. On one side you have a government that denies, denies, denies, and on the other side you have the IRA that will continue to push so that the government could take tangible steps toward eradicating, eliminating the practice of slavery in Mauritania.
Cancer associated with the human papilloma virus (HPV) is on the rise, according to a study released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The centers said from 2008 to 2012, there were about 39,000 annual cases of HPV-related cancers, which typically occur in the head, neck, genitals and reproductive organs. Thats up from 33,000 a year from 2004 and 2008.

Among the cases, there were 11,700 cases of cervical cancer and 12,600 cases of oropharyngeal cancer among men.

Of the 39,000 cases, the CDC says 28,500 cases could have been prevented by the HPV vaccine. The vaccine is available to girls and boys starting at the age of 11.
By PTI: grant

Maputo (Mozambique), July 7 (PTI) Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit here, India today handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique, completing the delivery of USD 4.5 million grant assistance as part of supporting the institutions of this African country.

The vehicles were handed over by Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, to an official of Mozambiques Interior Ministry.

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"With handing over of 30 Mahindra SUVs, India completes delivery on $ 4.5 million grant assistance to Min(istry) of Interior," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Swarup posted on Twitter the photographs of the handing over ceremony along with the caption "supporting Mozambican institutions. In a separate ceremony Secretary ER donates vehicles to Interior Ministry."

Shortly before that, the Prime Minister handed over four buses to Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CIDT) as donation from India.

"New engines for innovation. PM @narendramodi donates 4 buses to the CITD," Swarup tweeted. The Prime Minister went around the campus of the CIDT and interacted with students who have studied in India under ITEC and other programmes.

Later, Modi addressed the Indian diaspora and hailed Africa as a place which helped shape the identity of Indian diaspora throughout the world.

"Africa is such a land from where Indians got an international identity. Africa is such a land which shaped the identity of Indians in the world," he said in his brief speech before winding up his day-long visit to Mozambique to move to South Africa in the second leg of his four-nation tour.

Noting that many of those present could be even fourth generation Indians, he appreciated the fact that they had preserved the culture and identity of India even while assimilating with the local societies.

He said many of the Indians present here would be those from Kutch, which is in his home state Gujarat. PTI AKK AKK

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Fatal police shootings in the U.S. of two African-American men in as many days are again raising questions about excessive police force, particularly against minorities.

Police say 32-year-old Philando Castile of nearby St. Paul was killed after a policeman pulled over the vehicle. They said the incident began when an officer initiated a traffic stop, but they have not further explained what led to the shooting. They said the officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases.

Governor Mark Dayton said he does not believe Castile would have been treated that way if he had been white.

"All the facts aren't known, but from evidence that's been presented, the video that's been taken, nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a traffic, a taillight being out of function. Nobody should be shot and killed while they are seated still in their car," said Dayton, who is white.

The state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate.

What happened

A child and a woman were passengers in the car when Castile was killed. Shortly after the shots were fired, the woman began broadcasting video on her cellphone, streaming it live on her private Facebook account.

Castille was shown slumped in the car and bleeding profusely, with at least one officer pointing a gun through the driver's side window.

Obama's response

The shooting comes one day after police killed 37-year-old Alton Sterling in the southern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two white officers responding to a call about an armed man pinned Sterling to the ground when at least one officer shot him. The investigation into the shooting is being led by the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division.

President Barack Obama said in a Facebook post that he is confident in law enforcers' ability to conduct thorough and fair investigations into the shootings, but he emphasized they are not isolated incidents.

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."

The problem, Obama said, does not contradict "our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day."

The president mentioned his two-year-old program, the Task Force on 21st Century Policing, as one effort to improve community policing, but emphasized the need for "communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents."

President and CEO of the NAACP William Brooks told VOA that the rights organization is pushing for the passage of several pieces of legislation, including comprehensive racial-profiling laws at the state and federal levels.

Amnesty International's Jamira Burley also stressed a re-examination of the law.

"The laws that govern when police can use lethal force need to be reformed and they need to be reformed now," Burley said. "Philando Castile should not have had to fear for his life during a traffic stop."

Samuel Walker, professor emeritus at the University of Nebraska and an expert on police accountability, told VOA, Theres deep-seated racial prejudice among some white Americans and that plays out in police encounters. Walker said some police officers have an unconscious bias that causes them into reacting accordingly.

Were really the prisoners of our history in this country, Walker added.

With the proliferation of video recording devices, Walker said the United States is in the midst of a digital revolution of policing that is having a tremendous effect on the practice nationwide.

Mobile video impact



Although fatal police shootings go unabated, videos have had a huge impact on public understanding of policing, Walker said.

There have been 509 fatal police shootings in the United States in 2016 compared to 990 last year, according to a national database maintained by The Washington Post.

Continuous deadly force training in local police departments would help officers better handle encounters with the public, said Walker; but, such training is hit or miss due to the lack of national standards for the 15,000 separate local law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
On the heels of a U.S. announcement to keep 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, NATO leaders will meet in Warsaw Friday and Saturday to discuss three key security topics: continuing support for Afghan forces, defeating Islamic State militants on NATOs southern flank and deterring Russian aggression on the alliances eastern flank.

Let's be blunt: Alliances don't have a choice. They have to walk and chew gum. You don't prioritize key threats; you have to deal with all of them, Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told VOA ahead of the summit.

Afghanistan

With U.S. troop numbers no longer uncertain, analysts say NATO leaders need a strategy to help Afghans solve a myriad of problems, including a struggling economy, a failure to restart peace talks with the Taliban and a rise in Afghan casualties following a fierce fighting season.

Cordesman says the Afghan war is something Afghan security forces and their NATO allies clearly are not yet winning, despite more than a decade of resources flowing into the country and thousands of lives lost.

In addition to sustaining the alliance mission on the ground in Afghanistan, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Doug Lute says, the second key thing NATO leaders will deliver on Afghanistan is a funding commitment to support the Kabul government's army and police until 2020.

Lute told reporters Wednesday the NATO moves are designed to build Afghan government leaders' confidence and to continue progress thats been made so far.

Russian aggression

Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimea peninsula, along with its continued support for separatists in Ukraines east, have increased NATOs need to reassure its eastern allies and also take steps to deter further Russian aggression.

I think one of the greatest keys to deterrence, what would really deter those who would seek to bring pressure on our alliance, is that our entire alliance - the force structure that we already have - becomes more ready and more responsive, said retired General Philip Breedlove, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He was speaking at an event in Washington last week hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

To help with the deterrence effort, the U.S., Britain, Germany and Canada are each planning to lead a NATO rotational battalion to be based on the alliances eastern flank.

A U.S. official who declined to be identified told VOA Wednesday that President Barack Obama will announce that the United States will lead a battalion in Poland. The other allies will be leading battalions based in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Lute told reporters the modest and responsible force presence of four rotational battalions will complement the key commitment leaders made at the last NATO summit, in Wales, where they agreed to place a larger proportion of allied forces on "a higher readiness standard.

Based on that decision, the alliance today has about 13,000 troops in Spain who are ready to move anywhere in alliance territory in just days, Lute said.

Islamic State

To the south, the U.S.-led coalition is helping Iraqi security forces and Kurdish peshmerga fighters defeat Islamic State terrorists in Iraq, and supporting moderate rebels battling Islamic State in Syria.

NATO is not fighting Islamic State forces as a bloc; instead, members choose unilaterally to contribute troops to the U.S.-led coalition in the region.

After the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, some called for NATO to invoke its Article 5 collective defense authority to step up the fight against Islamic State extremists. Since that could result in official NATO involvement in Iraq and Syria, analyst Daniel Serwer of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies sounds a cautionary note.

We need Russian cooperation - in Syria, especially - and you're not going to get Russian cooperation if NATO is there, Serwer told VOA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his African tour this week, saying he knew "nothing'' of it.

Netanyahu said he was learning about the reports of an assassination attempt for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.



"The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it,'' Netanyahu said.



He made the remarks in response to a reporter's question.



Kenyan officials also denied there was an effort to kill Netanyahu.



"An attempted assassination can't be secret. It has to be something visible, and to my knowledge there was absolutely nothing of the sort,'' Kenya's Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press.



"I'm not aware, and there was no such thing at all. Those are lies,'' Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said.



The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.



Netanyahu's four-nation Africa visit is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations.



Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state in 2012.



Netanyahu and Desalegn said Thursday they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more.



Desalegn also invited Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to come to Ethiopia and invest. Ethiopian Jews have complained of discrimination in Israeli society, and hundreds recently demonstrated against what they called Israeli police brutality.



"Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel,'' Netanyahu said.



Israel played a prominent role in assisting newly independent African countries in the 1960s, but relations crumbled in the 1970s when Arab countries, promising aid, pressured African nations to cut ties.
Three new crew members -- an American, a Russian, and a Japanese national -- are on their way to the International Space Station aboard a newly redesigned Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

Kathleen Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin and Takuya Onishi blasted off from Russia's Baikonur spaceport in Kazakhstan early Thursday morning for the start of a two-day trip to the ISS, where they will join American commander Jeff Williams and Russian crewmates Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.

The new crew will spend four months aboard the orbital outpost, where Rubins, a molecular biologist, will become the first person to sequence DNA in space. They will also conduct hundreds of other scientific experiments, and install a new docking port that will allow privately owned spacecraft to dock at the ISS.
North Korea said Thursday that the most recent U.S. sanctions imposed on its leader, Kim Jong Un, amounted to a "declaration of war" and vowed to take strong retaliatory measures against "the worst-ever hostile act."

On Wednesday, the U.S. blacklisted Kim, along with 10 other people and five government ministries and departments, for the first time over human rights abuses.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture," Adam Szubin, the U.S. Department of Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

In its first response to the U.S. action, Pyongyang urged Washington to withdraw the sanctions immediately, warning that the North would otherwise sever all diplomatic channels.

Ten other top officials were accused by the U.S. of being behind widespread abuses that have made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries."

South Korea welcomed the U.S sanctions, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.
U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday about the situation in Syria and the importance of Russia pressing the Syrian regime for a lasting halt to attacks against civilians and groups agreeing to a cessation of hostilities.

The White House said the two presidents confirmed their commitment to defeating Islamic State and the al-Nusrah Front, the Syria-based al-Qaida affiliate. President Obama also emphasized the need for progress on a political transition in Syria as a means of ending the conflict. He also pushed for sustained access to humanitarian aid for victims of the conflict.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Obama and Putin agreed to "intensify" military coordination between their two militaries in Syria.

Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine. Obama urged Putin to take steps to end the escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine. Obama also spoke with urgency about the importance of moving forward with "full implementation" of the Minsk agreements aimed at ending the conflict.

They also discussed Putin's recent meetings with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The White House said President Obama expressed his readiness to intensify efforts together with Russia and France to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.

Along with the U.S. and Russia, France is a co-chair of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Minsk Group spearheads the effort to find a peaceful solution to the ethnic and territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.
An investigation by London-based Global Witness has uncovered an intricate network of Cambodian companies with a listed value of about $200 million, all tied to the family of the country's autocratic prime minister, Hun Sen.

This is likely just the tip of the iceberg, the report, Hostile Takeover, said.

The report does not include the family's real estate assets, which are extensive, but quotes experts as saying the clan's total value could be between $500 million and $1 billion.

It's an enormous sum, given Hun Sen insists he makes just $13,800 a year as prime minister and head of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP).

Gap between rich and poor

About 40 percent of Cambodians live near or below the poverty line, another 40 percent of children are malnourished, and the wealth divide between rich and poor is emerging as a major social issue.

The oldest sons, Manet and Many, were mentioned in the report, along with the prime minister's wife, Bun Rany, who heads the Cambodian Red Cross  which Hostile Takeover says does little to hide its political allegiances and is often referred to as the humanitarian wing of the CPP.

But it was the eldest daughter, Mana, who emerged as the most successful of the clan. She is just one of two people whose companies have controlling interests in television, radio and newspaper outlets. The other is CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat, a close ally of Hun Sen.

Hostile Takeover sheds light on a huge network of secret deal-making and corruption that has underpinned Hun Sens 30-year dictatorial reign of murder, torture and the imprisonment of his political opponents, Global Witness said.

Company ties

The report found the Hun Sen family held interests in 114 companies that spanned nearly every facet of the Cambodian economy, including the mining, agriculture, electricity, media, garment, forestry and transport industries.

Of these, 103 companies counted a family member as chairperson; 44 companies included family members as a significant owner, with a minimum 5 percent stake; and 33 companies had a family member listed as the sole owner.

It said those companies held links to many international brands such as Apple, Visa, Procter & Gamble, Tommy Hilfiger and Polo Ralph Lauren, and much of the data was garnered online from the government's own companies registry. Access, however, has since been restricted.

That $200 million figure represents the listed asset value of the companies, and we believe that the true figure is likely to be much higher for a couple of reasons, said Global Witness co-founder Patrick Alley. One of which is the listed asset value, which is the value when the companies were created, is very likely higher than that  and also we can only talk about the companies which we have definitely found links to.

And we believe that the family very likely own lots of companies which are hidden behind nominee directors  anonymously owned companies which we obviously can only stab at. We've heard over the years figures of $500 million and $4 billion, but we can't verify that.

Crackdown on opposition

The report landed at a critical point in Cambodia, where supporters of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) have faced arbitrary arrest and jail. Last year, two CNRP members of parliament were viciously bashed outside the National Assembly.

The CPP crackdown came as both parties begin gearing up for the campaign trail, with commune elections due this time next year and national elections a year later.

Hun Sen and his CPP were stunned by an electoral backlash in 2013, when the government was returned to power but with a sharply lower majority amid CNRP claims the government had rigged that poll while intimidating the electorate into voting its way.

Stephen Peel, former senior partner at private equity firm TPG Capital and a Global Witness board member, said too many company officials viewed corruption as a legal challenge and as an issue to get around as opposed to dealing with it from a moral and ethical standpoint.

Companies should think hard and deeply before they get engaged in any sort of business relationship, be it investment or be it joint ventures, franchise agreements, distribution agreements, with these types of regimes, he said.

Alleged ties to crime

Hostile Takeover also mentioned the prime minister's nephew, Hun To, who has denied allegations that he was involved with a heroin-smuggling and money-laundering ring targeting Australia.

The Hun family includes members once implicated in a $1 billion heroin-smuggling operation, shootouts, a fatal hit-and-run, and land grabs that have caused mass displacements and destitution among Cambodias rural poor, it said.

A government spokesman was unavailable for comment, and Global Witness said letters were sent to 25 members of the prime ministers family asking for a response. One response was received, but Global Witness said it failed to address any of the allegations.

Global Witness said the the report should serve as a warning to investors who are urged to conduct stringent due diligence in Cambodia and report any evidence of corruption to international authorities. It has also called on the Hun family to make a full and public disclosure of its assets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed into law a controversial package of amendments to the countrys existing counterterrorism laws.

While the new law toughens punishment for crimes connected to terrorism and extremism, experts say that the criteria for determining what is terrorist and extremist are vague, meaning the authorities can interpret the terms in an unacceptably loose manner.

The Kremlin said in a statement Thursday that Putin instructed the government and the Federal Security Service, the countrys principal security agency, to prepare drafts of necessary regulatory acts aimed at minimizing the possible risks associated with the application of the new law.

Various provisions of the new law have come under heavy criticism. Among the critics are the heads of leading Russian mobile phone operators MegaFon, VimpelCom, MTS and Tele2; human rights activists, including the head of the Russian presidents own human rights council; and Muslim groups.

Data storage required

The law requires mobile phone operators to store customers data for six months and metadata for up to three years, and provide such data at the request of law enforcement agencies. Companies that provide such services as websites, social networks and messenger apps are required to help authorities decipher encrypted data.

The law makes it a criminal offense to incite unrest, armed rebellion or terrorism in mass media or online. It also, for the first time in post-Soviet Russia, introduces prison sentences for people who fail to inform the authorities about serious crimes, and increases the number of crimes for which Russians as young as 14 can be prosecuted.

Russian Muslim politicians and clergy have criticized the law for tightening restrictions on religious missionary activities, including by banning such activity on residential premises.

The legislation was passed by both houses of Russias parliament and signed into law by the president within just a few weeks.

Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin told VOA that Russias upcoming parliamentary elections, set for September, were a factor.

"It is obvious that Vladimir Putin is nervous, he said. He sees how his [popularity] rating is slipping through his fingers."

The Russian president, Oreshkin said, understands that the financial resources needed to maintain his influence are running out.

It turns out that money is disappearing from the budget extremely quickly, he said. They need a lot, but real revenues are small. Under the conditions of a severe deficit of funds, it is extremely difficult to govern.

Now that it has become more difficult to rule by the carrot, he said, Putin must rely even more on the stick.

'Disperse and neutralize'

"Because he deeply despises democratic procedures and the population, he believes there is no threat from society as a whole, but that it is necessary to disperse and neutralize certain of its members, so that they do not stick their necks out, he said.

According to Oreshkin, the new counterterrorism law is very useful in this regard, because it gives the authorities the means to prosecute and jail some while intimidating others.

For his part, Ilya Shablinsky, deputy head of the department of constitutional and municipal law at Moscow Higher School of Economics, believes Putin took into account criticism of the new counterterrorism legislation by his own presidential human rights council, as well as by other experts and observers.

For example, provisions imposing such sanctions as depriving people of their citizenship, banning them from leaving the country, and so on, disappeared from the law, he told VOA.

Still, Shablinsky was critical of the new requirements imposed on telecom companies and internet service providers.

They now have to store an enormous amount of information  some of the traffic that the special services might need at some point, he said. It's just a heavy and, in my opinion, senseless economic burden.

Beyond economic considerations, human rights activists say the new law does not conform to generally accepted international standards, the European Convention on Human Rights or Russia's constitution.
This weeks suicide attack on a revered holy site in Saudi Arabia has shocked MuslimsSunni and Shiaacross the globe. It has also raised questions about the Kingdoms ability to protect pilgrims in the upcoming Hajj, which begins in early September.

Four security officers were killed and five wounded in a suicide bombing Monday just steps away from the burial site of the Prophet Mohammed in the city of Medina. It was one of three attacks across the Saudi kingdom in a 24-hour period.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but many Saudis say they bear typical IS hallmarks. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-declared IS caliph, made clear his intentions to destabilize the Kingdom in a 2014 audio message urging attacks against Shia, Westerners and the monarchy itself, urging followers to snatch them as groups and as individuals.

Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Wahhabism, an austere Sunni doctrine credited, ironically, with inspiring IS in the first place. IS accuses the Saudi monarchy of using Wahhabism to legitimize its rule, particularly its custodianship of Mecca and Medina, Islams holiest sites.

I think its become painfully obvious that ISIS will stop at nothing to try to create an air of uncertainty and instability in Saudi Arabia, said Saudi security analyst Fahad Nazer, using an acronym for the terrorist group. ISIS is seeking to destabilize it by creating a sense of uncertainty and insecurity and by attempting to foment sectarian discord between the majority Sunnis and Shia minority. It clearly thinks that the Saudi government is illegitimate and that ISIS should rule Mecca and Medina.

Some analysts suggest the attacks demonstrate the kingdom is failing in efforts to contain homegrown extremism, and that this puts visitors at risk.

The Saudis bear responsibility to protect the Prophet's Mosque, and the incident will prompt diplomatic discussions on security among the kingdom's friends and foes in the Muslim world, noted the geopolitical intelligence and consulting firm Stratfor. The bombing also draws questions about Saudi Arabia's continued ability to shoulder the burden of hosting what are, at their core, international spaces.

Nazer rejects that notion.

Ultimately, Saudi Arabia faces the same sort of challenge that the U.S. or any other country that has been hit with ISIS' brand of terrorism has faced, he said.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Wednesday promised to retaliate with an iron fist against extremist groups who target youth with malicious calls to violence.

Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif Wednesday visited Jeddah, where a suicide bomber had targeted the U.S. consulate two days earlier, and reassured Saudis that security in the kingdom is tighter than ever and getting stronger every day.

Last March, the Kingdom held a workshop to review security procedures during the Hajj, but media suggest the focus was on preventing disasters such as the deadly stampede in September 2015 that killed more than 200 pilgrims.

In May, the Kingdom announced it would shortly introduce and require pilgrims to wear water-resistent e-bracelets, equipped with barcodes that link to personal information -- even individual medical records. Presumably, these will also help security authorities keep track of pilgrims.

Police had already increased security patrols in Mecca prior to Mondays bombings, and the interior ministry has set up a national security center in that city, which it says is staffed by more than 1,600 security officers and civilians and linked to 18,000 security cameras.

But security, said Nazer, is just one element in combating IS inside Saudi Arabia: The other is an effort to discredit ISIS' narrative and to expose its brutality. I expect that effort will continue for the foreseeable future, he said.

VOA reached out to Sama Tours, a California-based agency that makes travel arrangements for pilgrims.

We have not received any calls or any cancellations from anyone registered to go with us to Hajj this year, a spokesman replied by email.
Seven men have been charged in a federal indictment with firebombing the homes of African-American families living in a Latino neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The 10-count indictment against the men, all members of a street gang known as Big Hazard (Hazard Grande), was unsealed Thursday. Charges included arson, weapons offenses, civil rights violations and racketeering.

"The defendants used firebombs to drive the victims from their homes because of their race," said Vanita Gupta, head of the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "This is a hate crime. Such violence and intimidation have no place in our society."

The seven men were accused of planning their attack in advance and carrying it out in mid-May 2014 against specific homes where African-American families lived, in a housing development where most residents are Hispanic. No one was hurt in the pre-dawn attacks, but prosecutors said one of the firebombs landed where a mother and her baby had just been sleeping.

The attacks took place near downtown Los Angeles in Boyle Heights, a densely populated neighborhood of about 100,000 people in the city of nearly 4 million.



The indictment described the Hazard street gang as "a criminal organization whose members engaged in, among other things, robbery, extortion, witness intimidation, trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in controlled substances."

Federal officials said gang members would spray-paint their symbols on businesses and residences, "obtain and possess guns and other dangerous weapons in order to enforce the authority of the Hazard gang, intimidate rivals and residents, and attack rivals and African-Americans."
By PTI: issue

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) India and Sri Lanka have agreed to have a meeting between the ministers for fisheries of the two countries at the earliest in a bid to finding a permanent solution to the fishermen issue.

This was discussed between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and visiting Sri Lankan Minister for Development Strategy and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama, sources said today. Samarawickrama was on a two-day visit to the country, starting from July 4.

advertisement

"Swaraj emphasised the urgency of finding a permanent solution to the fishermen issue, recommended by the joint commission meeting in February 2016," one of the sources said, adding it was agreed that the meeting between the ministers for fisheries would be held at the earliest.

The two leaders also discussed ways to create an enabling environment for Indian industry to invest in Sri Lanka and reviewed the status of various projects, including the Sampur power plant, rehabilitation of Palaly airfield and Kankesanthurai harbour.

Discussions also emphasised the neighbourhood first policy between the two countries with Swaraj reiterating that India would like its economic growth trajectory to also lead to growth for Sri Lanka, the sources said. PTI PYK SMN

--- ENDS ---
When it comes to Mali, attention has focused on the conflict in the north, but over the past year tensions have been climbing in the central part of the country as well. New armed groups have emerged in the face of continued banditry and disputes over resources.

In the courtyard of the mayors office in Kerena, shaded by neem trees, young men sit idle.



No one is grazing their cattle anymore, out of fear, says Moussa Issa Bary, a herder from this village in Malis central Mopti region.



He says we are afraid of everyone, mainly the armed bandits on motorbikes that roam the countryside, but also the security forces that arrest you if they find you in the bush because think you support the rebels.





By rebels, he is referring to a broad and ever-evolving spectrum of armed groups that have been emerging around the Mopti region.



The most well-known is the Macina Liberation Front, a jihadist movement active since early last year, mainly in central Mali.



Bandits, militias

But criminality and conflict over land and resources are also destabilizing the area. Locals say there is little government presence outside the major urban areas. And Peul traders, herders and village chiefs told VOA that bandits and ethnic militias, some branding themselves as jihadists, have been recruiting young men.



Some analysts believe local bandits could just be adopting extremist rhetoric to scare authorities.



The mayor of the nearby village of Kerena, Ibrahima Hamadoune Bary, called the situation catastrophic.



He says people no longer dare to leave the town to go their fields. At one point, he says we had at least one deadly attack a week. In some villages, he says food is becoming a problem because the population dont have access to markets.



The situation is even more complicated now than it was a year ago when the Bamako government signed a peace agreement with separatist rebels and other northern armed groups, says Boukary Sangare, a researcher studying the Mopti region since 2008.



Marginalized youth



He says today the state is absent in several parts of the region where former members of armed groups have moved in. I call these people neo-jihadists because they used to cooperate with the Islamists.



Some of these groups are attracting Peul youth who say they feel marginalized.



The peace agreement, signed in Algiers one year ago, focused on the three northern regions of Mali  Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal. The herders and farmers of the Mopti region were not represented.



Sangare says because the state has been unable to address these issues some youth within the Peul community have felt it necessary to take up arms to defend themselves.



Earlier this month, the National Alliance for the Safeguarding of the Peul Identity and the Restoration of Justice, known by its French acronym the ANSIPJ, announced itself as a military force. Its leader Omar al-Janah, a 27-year-old teacher, reportedly of Tuareg and Peul parents, claims to have 700 fighters at his disposal.



Claims of government abuses

In June, the U.N. Security Council voted to beef up the mandate and size of the U.N. peacekeeping force to Mali amid continued jihadist attacks in the north.



Sangare says central Mali should not be ignored.





The center is the umbilical cord that binds the north and south together. If the Peul rise up, you risk losing the north and the center too, Sangare says.



Residents of the Mopti region accuse the government of abuses and mass arrests, something that is feeding resentment.



This man says he was swept up by security forces with nine other men and detained for two months. He says when they arrested me I thought they would kill me. That's what they do with Peul men because they think we support the jihadists.



He says he was beaten and starved. His family paid to get him released.



He says we had to sell some of our best cows. My mother doesn't want me to go with the animals in the bush after what happened.



Peul activists and local leaders who spoke to VOA told similar stories of being arrested and their families having to pay for their release.



Kaman Kane, the governor of the Mopti region, justified the arrests, saying it was part of the strategy to suppress the violence in the region.
Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom have been chosen to compete for the prime minister's position.

On a second ballot Thursday, conservative members of parliament cast 199 votes for May, 84 for Leadsom and 46 for Justice Secretary Michael Gove to lead the Tory Party. Gove was eliminated and the two women now have the chance to become the country's next prime minister.



About 150,000 members of the Conservatives Party across Britain will now vote by postal ballot to decide whether May or Leadsom become Britain's first woman prime minister since Margaret Thatcher was forced from office in 1990.



The result would be known on September 9. The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron who announced his resignation after Britons voted on June 23 to leave the European Union.



The new prime minister will be responsible for leading Britain's exit negotiations with the 28-nation bloc, as well as leading a country shaken by global markets' reaction to the Brexit referendum.

The 53-year-old Leadsom, who was elected six years ago as a member of parliament and backed the "leave" campaign in the referendum, said Thursday that her top priority would be to guarantee tariff-free trade with the EU after leaving.



The 59-year-old May, who supported the losing "remain" side, said she is the best person to unite a party that, like the country, is divided over the referendum result.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni may have found a way to run for another term, a move long expected by his critics, who accuse him of seeking a lifetime presidency.

A legislator from the ruling party said Thursday that she would petition top party officials to begin the process by which parliament would remove an age limit that now bars Museveni from standing for another term.

Ann Maria Nankabirwa, an MP from the National Resistance Movement, told Reuters she had recently met with constituents who asked her to start the process of removing the age limit from the constitution.

"These are my constituents telling me," Nankabirwa said. "I can't ignore their voices. They want the age limit removed for Museveni to stand again, and I have no choice but to take their petition to the party."

The constitution bars anyone above 75 years of age from standing for president. Museveni, now 71, would be ineligible to seek re-election in 2021, when the next vote is due.

If the constitution is amended and he wins re-election, the move could extend his rule to 40 years.

Petition to committee

Nankabirwa said within a week she would deliver a petition to the National Executive Committee and ask it to begin the procedure for amending the constitution.

The committee is a top body of the ruling party, where major national policy proposals and legislative measures are often first discussed before being introduced in parliament. All legislators from the ruling party are members of the committee.

Museveni was declared the winner of Uganda's last election, in February, with 60 percent of the vote. His main rival, Kizza Besigye, who came second with 35 percent of the vote, said the election's integrity was undermined by rigging, intimidation by security personnel and voter bribery.

Besigye was arrested in May and charged with treason shortly after a video circulated on social media depicting him in a mock swearing-in ceremony.

Museveni was accused of bribing ruling party legislators in 2005 to amend the constitution to remove a two-term limit, although he denies the charge.

"Museveni has an absolute majority in parliament ... these legislators do not have the courage to resist what Museveni wants," said Nicholas Opiyo, a Kampala-based political analyst and human rights lawyer.
The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for the United Nations Mission in Liberia, also known as UNMIL, says the mission has done a good job in bringing security to the West African nation after a period of unrest and now it is time for Liberia to be responsible for its own security.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council passed resolution 1509 to have UNMIL, among other responsibilities, protect civilians, offer help to the people of Liberia, and assist the Liberian government in developing and implementing national security reform.

Liberia now responsible for its own security

The mandate ended on June 30 this year, and UNMIL officially handed over security responsibilities to Liberia.

Deputy Special Representative Waldemar Vrey said while UNMIL will no longer have security responsibility, it will maintain a presence in Liberia to support the Liberian government.

I really think we have accomplished a lot in Liberia. Things were really not great when we got here in 2003, and I think, together with the regional bodies, particularly ECOWAS, we have worked very hard to return stability to Liberia, and this is 100 percent being achieved, said Vrey.

Praise for international partners

Vrey credits the support of international partners, including the Economic Community of West States (ECOWAS), the United States and Liberians for the success of UNMILs mission.

We will remain present in Liberia under the current mandate that we have. At the request of the U.N.Security Council, there is going to be a technical review mission that will visit from New York. We will consult with the government; they will consult with us; they will consult with normal citizens of Liberia; and they will consult with the international community, and a final report will be prepared for the Security Council, he said.

Vrey said he expects the U.N. Security Council to make a decision by December this year on the future of the U.N. presence in Liberia.

Some Liberians do not want UNMIL to leave

A group of Liberian women have been praying openly and almost daily in an open field not too far from President Ellen Johnson Sirleafs residence for UNMIL not to leave Liberia, at least not until after the 2017 presidential election because they fear Liberian security forces may not be ready to take on responsibility for the entire country.

Vrey said UNMIL has done its job in building capacity. Now it is up to Liberian security and the citizens to build confidence and trust.

The security institutions capacity has been built; we have seen a large number of them being deployed into the counties. This is now a confidence and a relationship that needs to develop between the communities, which will take a bit of time before the population has full confidence in their institutions, Vrey said.

Vrey also confirmed UNMIL has received a letter from a group of political parties also calling on UNMIL to stay in Liberia until after the 2017 election.

There has been a petition that we have received and we have reported this to the Secretary General and to the U.N. Security Council. But I think everything will be considered when we have the review team that comes in the second half of this year. We are expecting them around September, and that is when assessment on the ground will be made for a recommendation to the U.N. Security Council, Vrey said.

Liberia's Defense Minister is confident

Liberias Defense Minister Brownie Samukai told VOA Liberian security agencies have been preparing for years to take over security responsibilities from UNMIL.

We are fully prepared, and we have been preparing for the past six years. We have gone through a lot of training and capacity building. We have seized the opportunity with the challenges we have to make sure that our security elements are deployed throughout the country. The military is involved in civil-military operations, Samukai said.

Samukai said while there still logistical challenges, the U.S. government has donated 22 new military vehicles and the Chinese government has donated transportation equipment to the Liberian military, police, bureau of immigration, fire service, and other agencies of government.
Military setbacks in Iraq and Syria are having little impact on the Islamic State terror groups ability to gain ground in cyberspace, where it has dramatically advanced both the quality and volume of its messaging, according to top law enforcement and diplomatic officials.

The officials, charged with beating back Islamic States online recruiting efforts, on Wednesday told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that turning the tide was proving as difficult as ever, with IS operatives aggressively employing the latest technologies.

No matter the format, the message of radicalization spreads faster than we imagined just a few years ago, said Michael Steinbach, FBI executive assistant director. We may see a more dangerous world in the short term.

Of greatest concern to U.S. officials are homegrown violent extremists, people who are ready to consume Islamic State propaganda and then use it as inspiration to carry out attacks.

The FBI is investigating about 1,000 such cases right now but faces difficulties because many of the would-be terrorists are not actively communicating with other sympathizers or operatives.

The most concerning trend that weve seen in the past year when we identify these individuals online is the speed with which they mobilize, Steinbach said. That flash-to-bang effect youve heard us talk about is going now in days, even weeks, as opposed to months and years.

Communication methods

Even when IS sympathizers and recruits do communicate, law enforcement officials say the trail quickly goes cold as they shift from social apps such as Facebook to encrypted communication methods.

I think were in a crisis mode, said Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, the panel's chairman. This online messaging is a huge part of the radicalization effort.

The hearing Wednesday came just as Islamic States media wing, al Furqan, issued its latest video, The Structure of the Caliphate.

It is a structure that has become more manifest than the sun, the narrator says in English, as the scene shifts from a bright sky to that of smiling IS fighters, some watching as young boys laugh and run in IS uniforms.

Other parts of the video show scenes of everyday life, from farming to public works projects, as the narrator touts the health of the self-declared caliphates 19 provinces in Iraq and Syria, as well as another 16 around the globe.

It has outlined the path of salvation and triumph for the Muslim generations, the narrator continues before the nearly 15-minute-long video shifts to IS fighters in action and a gory montage of beheadings and executions set to music, some of it in slow motion.

Analysts say many of the claims made in the video are at best overblown, if not outright lies. Yet, even as fictitious as the claims are or as repulsive as many of the images may be, these types of IS productions seem to be finding an audience in the U.S.

According to a new report by the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, a nonpartisan research group in New York, 89 percent of the 101 publicly known criminal cases in the U.S. involving IS included the use of social media, and 69 percent involved the consumption of IS online messaging.

Of the cases in which IS messaging was a factor, 58 percent involved the content showing graphic violence.

The average age, overall, of those indicted for ISIS-related crimes is 26, and the most common age among them is 20, Center for National Security Director Karen Greenburg wrote in the report, using an acronym for the militant group.

This report suggests that efforts to intervene with or redirect these late adolescents towards more constructive futures will require focus on individual needs and circumstances, Greenburg added.

Twitter feed ridiculed

So far, though, many of the U.S. government efforts to directly counter IS messaging have faltered, with some early State Department initiatives like the Think Again, Turn Away Twitter feed ridiculed for a lack of meaningful engagement.

While the U.S. government has a good message to tell, we are not always the most credible voice to tell it, said Meagen LaGraffe with the State Departments Global Engagement Center.

LaGraffe told lawmakers Wednesday that the disconnect had led the barely four-month-old center to focus on empowering partner organizations to help beat back the IS narrative. But she added the center was not yet fully operational and that the goals, too, were more modest.

"While we may have less success altering what an individual thinks, we can certainly be more effective at preventing individuals from turning those beliefs into violence, she said.

In addition to the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security is also working to find voices that will resonate with individuals at risk of being swept up by IS propaganda and messaging.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Wednesday a new Countering Violent Extremism Grant Program, with $10 million in funding available to state and local governments as well as nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.

Research has proven that young people, millennials, victims of terrorists and community-based organizations are the most credible voices to discourage those in danger of being radicalized, said George Selim, director of the Interagency Task Force on Countering Violent Extremism.

Countering IS messaging

To further that effort, Homeland Security has been working with about 150 colleges and universities on countermessaging campaigns, with individual campaigns netting anywhere from 30,000 to 1 million social media impressions, or views.

Selim said the department also wants to establish a more comprehensive, integrated approach that can include both social service and mental health providers, and give friends and families options for dealing with those they fear may be in the process of being radicalized.

Once an individual comes to the FBIs attention and weve predicated an investigation, its too far down the road. Its gone. Its too late, said the FBIs Steinbach.

But officials say there are also other models that can help, such as some of the techniques that were used to stem the influence of U.S. gangs in the 1990s.

At the core, the reasons for disaffected youth joining something they can belong to, whether its a gang or radical Islam, theres something to that, Steinbach said. The only difference between the '90s and today is the online space and working within the online arena.
The United States will give Ukraine nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian assistance to help it deal with the crisis in the eastern part of the country.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced the new aid package Thursday in Kyiv where he met with top officials, including President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, to discuss Ukraine's reforms and the fragile cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

U.S. humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since the start of the crisis in 2014 now totals more than $135 million.

The funding will support the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and other international humanitarian organizations in providing for the basic survival needs of thousands of people affected by the ongoing conflict between Ukrainian government troops and the Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine.

According to the U.N., there are more than 3.1 million vulnerable people in Ukraine, including many children, disabled and elderly individuals.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Kerry said that there is an "urgency" to fully implement the Minsk agreement to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Kerry said that lives continue to be lost along the line separating government and Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine.

The United States is not satisfied with any day that goes by that lives are lost. So there is an urgency that we do feel with respect to the full implementation of the Minsk Agreement," he said.

U.S. officials have denied that Kerry's visit is intended to send a message to Moscow ahead of Friday's NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, during which alliance members will address the military threat from Russia following its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in 2014.

On Wednesday, Kerry visited the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, where he signed an agreement to boost U.S.-Georgia military cooperation.

Like Ukraine, Georgia is concerned about Russia's activities on its territory and has sought to associate with NATO and the European Union.
In the closing months of the 2016 presidential election campaign, the Green Party calls itself the Real Difference and has invited supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders to consider the party as a political home.

The Green party is based on green principles, those of an ecologically sustainable society, such as environmentalism, non-violence and grassroots democracy. But the party is also fighting for basic access to voters.

We are fighting to open up the debates, so the American people can know who their choices are, Jill Stein, one of Green Partys presidential hopefuls, said in June. Presidential debates are usually between the candidates for the two main parties, the Republicans and Democrats.

Stein also called for state ballots to be opened to all candidates. Were calling for a common-sense rule for participation," she said.

As of June 2016, the Greens were on the ballot in 20 states and were working towards getting on the ballot in most others. Requirements for ballot access vary from state to state and can be stringent.

What the Greens stand for

The Greens say they are committed to social justice, renewing a democracy without the support of big money corporations, and long-term environmental sustainability programs. The party also supports raising the minimum wage, election reform and addressing climate change.

The American people are tired of the rigged economy and rigged political system that created it. The presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees are the most disliked and mistrusted of all times, Stein said.



On foreign policy, the Green Party calls for the end of nuclear weapons by declaring a no-first-strike policy and a commitment that the U.S. will never threaten or use a nuclear weapon, regardless of size, on a non-nuclear nation. The party also pledges to support peaceful negotiations in the Middle East.

We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations, reads the party's 2014 platform.

On the domestic front, the Greens demand universal health care with a single-payer national health insurance that guarantees treatment to all Americans, and support womens productive rights by urging clinics to be accessible, and offer free contraceptive and abortion consultations.

The Green National Committee approved its party platform in 2014, but an official said it is "being revised." The official platform is will be presented to the partys presidential candidate during the Greens' national convention set for August 4 to 7 at the University of Houston in Texas.

Besides Stein, William Kreml is also running to become the party's presidential nominee.

Here is where the Green Party stands on other issues:



 Supports electoral reform

 Supports the labeling of foods with genetically modified organisms

 Advocates to eliminate student debt

 Opposes corporate campaign contributions

 Believes in renewable energy sources and the use of low-cost wind and solar power

 Supports the reduction of the military budget

 Encourages programs as an alternative for incarceration

 Supports the release of prisoners who are too old

 Opposes the death penalty

 Wants to eliminate gun law loopholes and extend background checks to all private gun sales

 Fully supports the Social Security system

 Believes in the adoption of a living wage and right to organize
The newly announced U.S. sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for human rights violations is not expected to have any immediate impact, but advocates say the new measures will increase pressure on the repressive state and continue to isolate its leadership.

South Korea on Thursday expressed solidarity with Washingtons decision to blacklist the North Korean leader, along with 22 other entities and individuals, for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in North Korea.

We are expecting that the sanctions will raise the awareness of the international community about the grave situation of broad and systemic human rights violations in North Korea, while contributing to strengthening related measures and advancing the discussion on this matter," said South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said in a statement,  These efforts send a clear message  not just to the senior leaders, but also prison camp managers and guards, censors, secret police, interrogators, and persecutors of defectors  the world is documenting your abuses, and they will not be forgotten.

In 2014, a United Nations Commission of Inquiry issued a report documenting North Koreas pervasive and systematic human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, beatings, forced starvation, sexual assault, forced labor and torture. Many of these abuses, the reported noted, are committed in the country's political prison camps, where an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 men, women and children are held.

Human rights precedent

The U.S. measures announced Wednesday mark the first time North Korea has been sanctioned solely for human rights violations.

The advocacy group Human Right Watch said the new sanctions reflect a growing international focus and concern about the ongoing atrocities occurring in North Korea.

What were seeing now is that concern about human rights abuses by the North Korean government and junior people in that government have really become part of the mainstream in the engagement of the international community with North Korea, said Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division.

Since 2006, the United Nations has imposed increasingly stronger sanctions on North Korea for continuing to develop its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.

This year, the United Nations Security Council imposed tough new measures that include suspending currency transfers and restricting the Norths lucrative mineral trade after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch using ballistic missile technology.

North Korea defiance

North Korea is expected to react with defiance to the new U.S. sanctions. Following the latest U.N. sanctions, North Korea vowed to continue its nuclear development program and test fired multiple short and medium range missiles.

The immediate economic impact of the sanctions is expected to be quite limited, since the United States has virtually no direct business ties to North Korea.

And some analysts say the increased sanctions will only harden the adversarial stand-off between Pyongyang and Washington, and make it more difficult to pursue diplomatic negotiations in the future.

Even though the impact of the new sanctions may be largely symbolic, U.S. officials said it was important to put the Kim Jong Un government on notice for its repeated and ongoing violations.

It would send absolutely the wrong message to him and could embolden him to continue these depravities on his own people if you just, if you just sit by quietly and say nothing and do nothing and sanction nothing," said U.S. State Department Spokesman John Kirby.

Under the so-called Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list, property or interests of those designated within the U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen. In addition, transactions by U.S. citizens involving the designated persons are generally prohibited.

Other North Korean officials designated in the blacklist include Choe Pu Il, minister of People's Security; Ri Song Chol, a counselor in the Ministry of People's Security; as well as Kang Song Nam, a bureau director with the Ministry of State Security.

U.S. officials said Wednesday's actions will strengthen and expand sanctions on North Korea. They are consistent with the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February.

In addition to Kim Jong Un the United States is also blacklisting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko.
A Vatican tribunal on Thursday began deliberating the fate of five people, including two journalists, accused in the publication of confidential Vatican documents that exposed greed, mismanagement and corruption in the Holy See.

The journalists have denounced the Vatican for putting them on trial rather than the priests and laymen whose wrongdoing they uncovered, calling the trial a "farce" since prosecutors were accusing them of being part of a criminal conspiracy by their mere "availability" to receive information.

"Five-hundred pages of news about Vatican financial scandals, where not even one bit of news, not one page, not even a single line has been denied," journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi wrote on his Facebook page Thursday. "It's therefore a trial against the freedom of information."

The judges are expected to return a verdict within hours.

In a final, tearful statement, the woman at the heart of the scandal, Francesca Chaouqui, admitted she had made mistakes and that she has a strong, proud personality. But Chaouqui, an Italian communications expert who was brought in to work on a Vatican reform panel, has denied that she ever passed confidential documents to journalists and vowed to go to jail with her newborn if convicted.

"If the court asks Italy to put this sentence into effect, we will pass our first years in jail," Chaouqui told the court, with baby Pietro in a side room with his father.

Chaouqui, a Vatican monsignor and his secretary are accused by the Vatican of forming a criminal organization and leaking confidential documents. They were part of a pontifical panel tasked with acquiring information about the Holy See's finances and proposing recommendations to make them more transparent and efficient.

Fittipaldi and Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote blockbuster books last year based on the commission's documentation exposing the greed of bishops and cardinals angling for big apartments, the extraordinarily high costs of getting a saint made and the loss to the Holy See of millions of euros in rental income because of undervalued real estate.

Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, the reform commission's No. 2, admitted in court that he gave Nuzzi 85 passwords to password-protected documents, but said he did so because he felt pressure to turn them over. He denied that the journalists themselves threatened or pressured him, and pointed the blame on Chaouqui.

The journalists are accused of conspiracy in publishing the news. Publishing confidential information is a crime in the Vatican, punishable by up to eight years in prison. The journalists are Italian, and have challenged the Vatican's jurisdiction to prosecute them, since the alleged crime took place in Italy. But the Vatican asserts universal jurisdiction over foreigners if the purported crime threatens its fundamental interests.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and other media watchdog organizations have criticized the trial and called on the Vatican to drop the charges, saying journalists must be allowed to do their jobs without fear of repercussions.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors insisted they weren't putting the freedom of the press on trial. Prosecutor Roberto Zannotti argued that the journalists' "availability and presence" created the "psychological impulse" that "reinforced the will of those who divulged the information to reveal their news."

That argument met with swift ridicule on the front pages of La Repubblica newspaper, which is owned by the L'Espresso group for whom Fittipaldi works.

"In this case, there's no calumny, defamation or disinformation: there's an inconvenient truth that someone inside the Vatican wanted to get out," wrote Ezio Mauro, until recently Repubblica's longtime editor-in-chief. "There's a surreal case of a `psychological impulse' that's been transformed into an accusation."

The case has had several surreal moments: At its start, the journalists complained of a "Kafkaesque" trial given they had only seen the court file a few hours before the first hearing.

Then Pope Francis, the Vatican's supreme legislator, executive and judge, intervened to insist that the defense be given more time after the court tried to rush the trial through in two weeks. Eight months later, it finally finished.

Then Vallejo was put back under house arrest after a friend sneaked a cellphone to him inside a cake. Finally baby Pietro was born on June 14. Chaouqui has brought him to the courthouse each day since.

To date, the only criminal investigation that has been opened stemming from the journalists' work concerned the transfer of some 400,000 euros ($444,000) from the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu hospital to pay for renovations on the attic of the Vatican's former No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The hospital's former president and treasurer are under investigation by Vatican prosecutors. Bertone has said he was unaware of the payment but has nevertheless repaid the hospital 150,000 euros ($166,000). He was not put under investigation.
Australias former prime minister joined other Western leaders Thursday in standing by their decisions to go to war in Iraq 13 years ago.

"Well, I defend that decision, of course I defend it, I don't retreat from it, said John Howard, who was Prime Minister when Australia sent 2000 troops to join the American- and British-led coalition. I don't believe, based on the information available to me, that it was the wrong decision. I really don't.

The invasion of Iraq in 2003 ago was unnecessary and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein represented no imminent threat to Britain or other Western powers, according to a long-awaited official report on Britain's involvement in the Iraq War.

The inquiry led by John Chilcot, a former top British civil servant, heaped blame on politicians, intelligence officials, diplomats and generals for their role in the invasion and for the conduct of the years-long military operations by Britains forces, mainly in the south of Iraq.

In a scathing appraisal, Chilcot told a packed news conference in London that the planning and conduct of the military intervention was seriously flawed and went badly wrong, with consequences to this day. He referenced the recent suicide bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, that left more than 250 people dead.

We have concluded that the U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted," Chilcot said. "Military action at that time was not a last resort.

As the inquirys chairman explained the broad aspects of the monumental report, journalists continued to pick through the evidence and findings contained in 13 volumes. Much of the Chilcot report focused on the legal basis and intelligence justification for the invasion. The report excoriates then-British prime minister Tony Blair, his ministers and the intelligence services, saying their justifications for the invasion were far from satisfactory.

In explaining his decision to join the United States in the intervention, Blair told Britains parliament, Iraq has biological and chemical weapons. The claim was crucial in persuading a majority of British lawmakers to endorse the countrys participation in toppling Saddam Hussein.

Blair takes responsibility



On Wednesday, Blair took responsibility for taking Britain into war, expressing "more sorrow, regret and apology that you can ever know or believe." However he insisted the world is a better place because of the removal of Saddam.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the president and his staff have not read all the way through the lengthy document yet, but he said President Obama "has been dealing with the consequences of that fateful decision for the entirety of his presidency." He also said it is important that the United States "learn the lessons of those past mistakes."

Bush stands by decision



A spokesman for former U.S. President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, released a statement Wednesday saying, "Despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."

Public policy expert William Galston of the Brookings Institution told VOA Wednesday that he agrees with the report that the international community had not yet exhausted all other options to eliminate the Iraqi threat.

He noted that U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix has maintained that the U.N. sanctions regime "was not as weak as was represented, and was not in eminent danger of crumbling, that the inspections regime was very robust, and that Saddam couldn't have done anything major without being detected or without expelling the international inspectors."

Galston says one of the big questions the report raises is "whether the status quo was as untenable as the international community said it was."
Both sides also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in youth affairs and sports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents book on Doing Business with Mozambique to President Filipe Nyusi. Photo: PIB/Twitter

By India Today Web Desk: India and Mozambique today signed a long-term deal on import of pulses by New Delhi. Under this agreement, India will purchase pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

MoUs SIGNED

On the first leg of his four-nation African tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed two more agreements with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

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The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in youth affairs and sports and on drug demand reduction, and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor materials and related matters.

The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks by both countries.

Further declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, PM Modi announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

"We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," Modi said.



TERROR TALKS

On the recent spate of terror strikes across the world, PM Modi said that terrorism was the 'gravest threat' to the world and that there was a need to strengthen security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

"Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said.

The prime minister added that networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking. To curb this, India and Mozambique signed a pact.

MODI GREETS GULF LEADERS ON EID

Meanwhile, the prime minister extended his greetings to Gulf leaders on the occassion of Eid al-Fitr.

Modi telephoned Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces to wish them, according to the UAE's official news agency Wam.

He wished the leadership and people of the UAE further progress and prosperity.

A statement released by the news agency said Sheikh Mohamed thanked Modi for his greetings and expressed wishes of development in all fields for the people of India.

Qatar news agency also said that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Modi.

"Modi wished the Emir a blessed Eid Al Fitr. They also discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in regional and international affairs," the statement said.

--- ENDS ---
A report by the World Economic Forum finds technologically savvy countries are coming out ahead economically and in societal development. This years Global Information Technology Report says Singapore tops the list of 139 ranked countries, followed by Finland, Sweden, Norway, and the United States. Burundi and Chad rank at the bottom.



The report finds seven countries, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United States, are leading the world in getting the most economic impact from investments in information and communications technologies, or ICT.



It says this group of high-achieving economies is doing 33 percent better than other advanced economies and 100 percent better than emerging and developing economies. It says a supportive, enabling environment is critical for success.



The report finds countries that are benefiting most from the digital technologies have quality infrastructure, good business regulations and a ready skills supply.





World Economic Forum Spokesman Oliver Cann says consumers, rather than businesses and governments are driving the digital revolution.



We are finding a very laggard contribution, especially from government, which has stagnated over the past few years. I am taking a global view here, there are obviously exceptions. And also business as well. We all think global business is driving ahead, but actually they could be doing a lot more. On the other hand... I think the consumer and consumer uptake of the Internet is really far exceeding the contributions and the efforts of governments and business, Cann says.

Middle East, Africa up-and-coming

The report finds Europe remains at the technology frontier, with seven of the top-ranked countries coming from that region. But senior economist and author of the report Silja Baller tells VOA there is some very encouraging news coming from parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.



There we have some of the largest movers this year. So, we see countries like Lebanon making big strides in the index. South Africa is moving up and Cote dIvoire is one of the examples where the government has really been behind the digital agenda, where they are really driving impact and Ethiopia is another country that we are seeing moving up in the index this year, Baller says.



Specifically, Baller noted that South Africa has made ICTs more affordable by dropping tariffs on mobile access, while Ivory Coast has strongly improved its business environment.



In 2013, it took an average of 32 days to open a new business in Ivory Coast, she says. Today, it takes only seven.



The report says the digital divide is widening between rich and poor countries due in large part to a yawning gap in infrastructure, such as high-speed internet.



The authors say infrastructure is not the only factor leading to economic growth, but it is a major factor in holding back less developed economies in the digital age.
Pastor Evan Mawarire of#ThisFlag movement and youth calling themselves Tajamuka-Sesijikile say the national protest was a huge success.

Pastor Mawarire warned that the protest would be intensified if the government does not address several issues, including the payment of civil servants June salaries, arrest of corrupt ministers and the abandonment of a law banning the importation of some basic commodities.

In a video message on Periscope, he said, If these demands are not met we are shutting down again and so government the ball is in your court  We are ready to close down again within the next few days. And so if we are not hearing from you government next week on Wednesday we shut down and this time we add another day  Wednesday and Thursday.

We are not playing and we urge you to take us seriously. Citizens thanks very much for heeding the call. Remember, no violence.

At the same time, spokesman Promise Mkwanazi of Tajamuka-Sesijikile protest movement, said, This is a message to (President Robert) Mugabe that he must do the long overdue and most honorable thing of stepping down and allowing this country another chance to make progress, to create employment and economic opportunities.

And people of Zimbabwe we want to thank you very much, we respect and appreciate your courage, your passion and your resilience a quasi-military regime.

Most political activists are accusing President Mugabe of allegedly ruining a nation, which at independence was a jewel of southern Africa.
Some Zimbabweans in the diaspora say they joined their counterparts in Zimbabwe in solidarity with the mass stay away throughout the country in protest against alleged government misrule.

Some Zimbabweans in South Africa staged a peaceful protest at the Zimbabwean consulate in Johannesburg. Isabel Mwonzora, a Zimbabwean based in Johannesburg, said their protest was in solidarity with people back home.

"We wanted to do our part in showing our disapproval of how things are being run at home. We are part of Tajamuka a non-political grouping that is calling for the government to step down for allegedly failing to run the country," said Mwonzora.

Another Zimbabwean, Zvidzai Ruzvidzo, based in the United States, said he used social media to distribute news on the situation at home as a way of supporting the stay away today.

"We applaud the efforts of all Zimbabweans back home. We tried our best to share information about what was happening on social media and also sending money home but unfortunately our friends and relatives were unable to access the money as there is no money in the banks," said Ruzvidzo.

Zimbabweans on Wednesday heeded the call for a mass stay away and remained at home with some engaging skirmishes with the police in Harare and Bulawayo.

Mwonzora said their protest was a success even if they did not manage to hold a meeting with staff at the Zimbabwe consulate.

"We were protesting the ban of imports like groceries into the country and police brutality and we hope that now that the police are aware they can have their pictures splashed all over social media they will stop brutalising people especially those that will be protesting peacefully," said Mwonzora.
Industry and Commerce permanent secretary Abigail Shonhiwa says lack of clarity on the import ban of some basic commodities could have fueled protests in the Beitbridge border post.

Shonhiwa says people are free to import some of the goods listed in the new law for domestic consumption.

Addressing delegates attending a three-day Buy Zimbabwe 2016 Local Summit in Mutare today, Shonhiwa said the import ban only affects the commercial sector and not individuals who buy goods for domestic consumption.

The import ban on the targeted goods is for commercial sectors and purposes not other people that buy the goods in small quantities. So, I have to say there was no clarity on the issue and due communication on this would be done by end of day.

She also stated that the import ban under Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 was not targeted at South African goods alone.

I arrived late here because I was attending SADC meetings and I do have to reiterate that the SI Statutory Instrument on the banning of the goods was not put to target South African products. In the SADC region the most affected country by the SI is South Africa because of the level of its development. This SI is not targeted at South Africa nor targeted at the goods from South Africa.

She said the Buy Zimbabwe Campaign, which is canvasing for the purchase of local goods, is a noble idea and urged companies to produce quality goods that compete well with others from different nations.

Included in the list of banned import are goods like furniture, baked beans, potato crisps, cereals, bottled water, mayonnaise, salad cream, peanut butter, jams, maheu, canned fruits and vegetables, pizza base, yoghurts, flavoured milks, dairy juice blends, ice-creams, cultured milk and cheese.

The Buy Zimbabwe summit ends Friday.
Prosecutor General Johannes Tomana was on Thursday suspended pending investigations by a tribunal appointed by President Robert Mugabe.

At the same time, Tomanas trial on allegations of abuse of office failed to kick off after he asked the magistrate to recuse himself.

President Mugabe announced that prominent lawyer Ray Gova, who represented him in a high profile case brought to court by Jealous Mawarire, which resulted in Zimbabwe holding national elections in 2013 before the implementation of key democratic reforms, would be the acting prosecutor general.

At the same time, Mr. Mugabe appointed a tribunal that will investigate Tomana on various allegations raised by the Judicial Services Commission. Members of the tribunal took oath of office at State House today. The Commission has accused Tomana of disrespecting court orders, among other issues.

The Judicial Services Commission complained to President Mugabe that Tomana was no longer fit to continue as the countrys prosecutor general after leveling those allegations against him.

While members of the new tribunal were being sworn in at State House, Tomana was at the Harare Magistrates Court where he applied for magistrate, Vakayi Chikwekwe, to recuse himself in a matter where he is being accused of abuse office as a public officer.

In his appllication, Tomanas attorney, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said Chikwekwe was not suitable to preside over his clients trial because his hands were not clean. Mpofu submitted that Chikwekwe presided over Tomanas remand proceedings and could not therefore preside over his trial.

While the state opposed the application, Mpofu submitted that his client would not get a fair trial, adding that Chikwekwes recusal would ensure that the ends of justice were met.

Chikwekwe said he would give his ruling on Tomanas application for his recusal Thursday. The application resulted in his trial that was set to begin Thursday to be put on hold pending Chikwekwes ruling. Tomana is facing criminal charges after being accused of illegally releasing suspects accused of allegedly plotting to bomb Gushungo Dairies, a multi-million dollar business venture owned by President Mugabes family.

In another matter that was before the courts, magistrate Chikwekwe deferred his ruling tomorrow in a case in which 104 protestors, who were arrested in Mabvuku and Epworth suburbs on Monday, are facing charges of public violence.

One of the defense lawyers, Obey Shava, said some of the accused persons failed to appear in court for their bail application owing to injuries sustained when police officers set dogs on them and assaulted them during the demonstrations.

Shava added that the magistrate also did not entertain the defense lawyers request for arrested minor children to be released.

The Monday protests were a precursor to yesterdays national job stay-away where human rights lawyers say hordes of people were arrested while business came to a standstill countrywide.
Organizers of Wednesdays national shutdown, Tajamuka Sesijikile Campaign, on Thursday gave President Robert Mugabe until the end of August to give the nation a timeline for the resolution of the countrys economic crisis.

The group also said President Mugabe should tell the nation about when he is likely to step after allegedly failing to properly run Zimbabwe.

Normalcy returned to Harare and most parts of the country today though police maintained a heavy presence in some suburbs that were rocked by violence Wednesday during the national shutdown.

Organizers, Tajamuka Sesijikile Campaign, commended Zimbabweans for a successful shutdown, adding there will be more action until President Robert Mugabes government addresses peoples concerns or resigns.

Tajamuka, Sesijikile spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi, said President Mugabe has become a sticking point in the resolution of the Zimbabwean crisis. He says Mr. Mugabe must go.

The group made several demands, which Mkwananzi said were not negotiable. These include the immediate release of all people arrested during protests in the last few days, a return of abducted human rights activists, the abandonment bond notes, a reversal of legislation banning the importation of some goods and the implementation of the new constitution and electoral reforms.

The group distanced itself from social media messages urging citizens to march to President Mugabes official residence at State House.

Mkwananzi said he was aware the government was planning all sorts of things to criminalize their non-violent campaign.

At the same time, Home Affairs Minister, Ignatius Chombo, said the ruling Zanu PF government would not be shaken by the countrywide protests, which he blamed on Western embassies.

He, however, said state security organs were working around the country to control the situation.

More than 150 people have been arrested countrywide since the protests started countrywide.

Zimbabwe National Students Union president, Alistar Pfunye, told Studio 7 the student community was proud of the Tajamuka-Sesijikile Campaign and they were fully behind it.

He said it presents a good platform for students to fight for their liberation from what he called a repressive state.

Political commentator and media center director, Enerst Mudzengi, the success of yesterdays mass action shows the peoples deep resentment in the way they are treated by the government.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe is tomorrow expected to address a rally at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura Mashonaland Central province.

He is expected to address the issue of mounting protests and cash shortages, among many other issues
Defence spokesman, Lt Col. Manish Mehta said that the exchange of sweets is expected to go a long way in promoting harmony and bonhomie.

By Ashwini Kumar: On the occasion of the holy festival of "Eid- ul-Fitr", the Army representatives of India and Pakistan exchanged sweets at Poonch-Rawalakot Crossing Point and Mendhar Hot Spring Crossing Point in Krishna Ghati Sector of Jammu & Kashmir here today.

Defence spokesman, Lt Col. Manish Mehta said that the exchange of sweets is a testimony of goodwill from both the countries and is expected to go a long way in promoting harmony and bonhomie and will certainly strengthen the efforts towards maintaining peace and tranquility along the Line of Control.



ALSO READ :

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Eid celebrated across India



Eid Mubarak! India celebrates Eid-ul-Fitr with elan







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Cosby. Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that Bill Cosby will still have to stand trial on sexual-assault charges. Cosby appeared in a Philadelphia court on Thursday in his latest attempt to either have the case against him dismissed or have his accuser, Andrea Constand, testify at a preliminary hearing for cross-examination. The judge rejected Cosbys appeal, arguing that Constands police testimony is enough evidence to bring the case to trial. Additionally, the district attorney said Constand will testify at the trial itself. Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand in 2004, when she was working at Temple University; the trial does not yet have a start date.
Photo: Paramount Television, Paramount Pictures

Its a whole new world for Hikaru Sulu. John Cho, the actor who plays Sulu in the J.J. Abrams film reboots of Star Trek, says the helmsman will be revealed as gay in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize ones personal orientations, Cho told Australias Herald Sun. The paper reports that the decision to give Sulu a husband and a daughter was a nod to George Takei, who played the original Hikaru Sulu.

John Chos Sulu will be the first gay canonical Star Trek character. Back in 2011, J.J. Abrams told New Now Next that he would consider putting a gay character into the franchise. Its one of those things Ill bring up with the writers next time we meet, he said. Even though Gene Roddenberrys show made strides to be racially inclusive, Star Trek never had major queer characters. In fact, Paramount actually suppressed an episode where one writer tried to introduce a gay character in The Next Generation. On the TV show, Sulu was never paired with any romantic partners, but it was later shown that he had a daughter, Demora Sulu, who took his place in the 1994 movie Star Trek Generations. For Star Trek Beyond, Sulu would be arguably the most visible major gay character in a popular film franchise. (Whatever, Dumbledore.)



The move is a clear homage to Takei, who publicly came out in 2005 after then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in California. Takei had been in a relationship with his partner, Brad Altman, then for 18 years. At the time, Takei said, Its not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. Its more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen. In May of 2008, Takei and Altman became the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in California, and they held a wedding ceremony later that year. They have been together for 29 years.
Photo: Hollywood Pictures

According to the Chilcot report, a seven-year investigation commissioned by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown into Britains entrance into Iraq in 2003, British Intelligence used details lifted from a Michael Bay movie as part of their intel that Saddam Husseins regime was creating toxic nerve agents. In 2002, the M16 report apparently relied on a source who claimed a factory in Al-Yarmuk was manufacturing VX, sarin, and soman, nerve gases which were then stored in linked hollow glass spheres. However, according to the report, glass containers were not typically used in chemical munitions. Where might someone have gotten that extremely specific and erroneous detail? Why, Michael Bays 1996 action-thriller The Rock, of course. Despite the error, the source was cited in a report about Iraqs chemical-weapons program. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair leaned on M16s data when making the argument that Britain should join the U.S. in invading Iraq in March 2003. It was discovered by June 2003 that M16s source had been a fabricator who had lied from the outset. All of which suggests that any sources claiming that, say, Kim Jong-un is currently battling a team of anthropomorphic humanoid teenage turtle boys, should be vetted with extreme caution.
More like, tulip see you later! Photo: Weinstein Company

What has tulips and sudden change in its release date? This period drama! The Weinstein Company has pushed the release date for the Alicia Vikander period drama Tulip Fever back from July 15 to February 24 of next year  hey, thats just two days before the Oscar ceremony, right when nobody will be paying attention! The film, which also stars Christoph Waltz and Dane DeHaan, was shot back in 2014 and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, has been finished for more than a year. Tulip Fevers move also gives more breathing room between Vikanders other period drama, The Light Between Oceans, which opens September 2, and the Weinstein Companys other summer release, The Founder, which opens August 5.
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 - The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), along with Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), labor unions and other environmental groups, have signed a proposal to replace the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, operating in San Luis Obispo County, California, with zero-emissions energy within nine years.

NRDC says the proposal marks the first time any nuclear facility retirement has included a replacement commitment of no carbon emissions.

The generation from Californias last remaining nuclear power plant, which began operating in 1985, will be replaced with programs that reduce electricity needs and include more wind and solar power. The plan includes programs that compensate customers for reducing their electricity use during peak periods (demand response) and increasing capacity to store wind and solar energy for later use.

Under the Joint Proposal, PG&E will withdraw its request for a 20-year extension of its Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses for Diablo Canyons two generating units near San Luis Obispo. The current licenses for Diablos two units, located about 250 miles south of San Francisco, expire in November 2024 and August 2025, respectively, NRDC says.

PG&E says the two units produce a total of 18,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, nearly 10 percent of California's energy portfolio and enough energy to meet the needs of more than 3 million Northern and Central Californians.

Not an Agri-Pulse subscriber? Get our Daily Harvest email and Daybreak audio Monday through Friday mornings, a 16-page newsletter on Wednesdays, and access to premium content on our ag and rural policy website. Sign up for your four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





The proposal also includes an increase in PG&Es target for renewables to 55 percent, effective in 2030, as compared to the states statutory goal of 50 percent renewables by that date.

Energy efficiency and clean renewable energy from the wind and sun can replace aging nuclear plants  and this proves it. The key is taking the time to plan. Nuclear power versus fossil fuels is a false choice based on yesterday's options, says NRDC President Rhea Suh. The Diablo Canyon solution is the way of the future. Even as nuclear plants near retirement, we can cut our carbon footprint with energy efficiency and renewable power. Our families, our businesses and our children will be the better for it."

Also signing the proposal were Friends of the Earth, Environment California, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, the Coalition of California Utility Employees and the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.

#30

For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
At the Dangal poster launch, Aamir Khan was asked about Irrfan's remarks on the traditions of Ramzan.

By India Today Web Desk: Irrfan, who's upcoming film Madaari is all set to hit the screens on July 15, courted controversy saying that Muslims should introspect rather than fast during the month of Ramzan. At a promotional event in Jaipur for the film, Irrfan also questioned the Muharram ritual of animal slaughter too.



ALSO READ: Irrfan Khan questions Ramzan fast, Muslim clerics ask him to focus only on acting

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"Rather than fasting during Ramzan, people should introspect. Animals are being slaughtered in the name of qurbaani (sacrifice) during Muharram. We Muslims have made a mockery of Muharram. It is meant for mourning and what do we do? Take out (tajiya) processions," he said.

The Piku actor's statement questioning killing of animals in the name of 'Qurbaani' invited sharp reactions from Muslim clerics, who have asked the actor to focus on his work instead of making his own interpretation of religious customs.

Aamir Khan was asked about it at Dangal poster launch. The PK actor said, "I feel religion is a personal issue. Each one has personal thought and belief about it. I have nothing to say on that. I have my own and follow that," the actor said.

Dangal is set to hit the screens on December 27 this year.



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Im doing this a little differently this week: Im listening to music as I write this column. Not just any music, but something Im writing about.

This past May after a long process, the Dallas City Council gave its final approval for a piece of art in the citys Kiest Park to celebrate blues legends Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother, Jimmie. The Vaughan brothers grew up in the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff, but their home town never gave them any sort of official acknowledgment until now. Austin, where both brothers musical careers took off, erected a statue of Stevie Ray Vaughan downtown along the banks of Town Lake in 1994.

Kirby Warnock of the Oak Cliff Foundation, one of the chief organizers of the effort, pointed out to the council that there is no public art in the public spaces of Dallas honoring any of the citys musicians and that it was time to recognize our creative class.

He added this was especially true because Dallas has a rich music history we have never bragged on or claimed before. Spanish artist Casto Solano is now crafting a multi-panel steel screen printed and cut with images of the brothers and the lyrics to their song Tick Tock from the one album they made together. It will be installed next year.

But today, the Dallas blues scene is dying out, overlooked in the increasing cultural glare of contemporary music. Dallas is so blinded by the glitz shining in our eyes that we cant even see the treasure sitting on our ground, Dallas playwright and songwriter Dianne Tucker recently told The Dallas Morning News.

Until 2012, Tucker managed a blues club which that year closed its doors due to falling attendance. The blues is Dallas indigenous sound, she said. Its a sad commentary that we dont celebrate that.

Indeed, though it may be down right now, the Dallas blues scene is one of the countrys most historic if least publicized. In 1912, Dallas Blues became one of the very first published pieces of blues sheet music in the country and several seminal figures of the genre have called the city home at one point or another.

Blues legend Blind Lemon Jefferson was born in 1893 in Freestone County near Wortham and moved

to Dallas in the teens. By the 1920s he was one of the most popular blues performers in the country. While in Dallas he met Louisiana native Huddie Ledbetter, a pioneering 12-string guitar player who became known in American blues as Lead Belly. Lead Belly served time in prison on a murder conviction, but in 1925 was pardoned by Texas governor (and future Baylor president) Pat Neff after serving seven years.

Freddie King, who would later influence some of the most prominent guitarists of the British music scene in the 1960s, lived in Dallas until he was 15. (In the wake of Warnocks success with the Vaughan Brothers public art project, Warnock believes Dallas should commemorate King next.)

Blues musician Blind Willie Johnson, born near Temple, recorded and performed in Dallas in the late 1920s, and the legendary Robert Johnson made almost half of all of his recordings at a studio in Dallas in 1937.

When you make the list, it becomes a cultural heritage well worth celebrating. So kudos to Dallas for finally honoring a couple of their musicians. Other towns with such luminous culture figures in their history should follow suit. This includes Waco.

(By the way, the music I was listening to while typing this was Jimmie Vaughans 1998 album Out There.)
Its tough to pigeonhole the L.A. duo of Alexa James and Rory Partin, a married musical couple who perform as the ROAMies and come to Waco on Friday night for a show at Runnin Bird Studio.

She comes from the pop side of music, he more from big band and they meet in what Alexa calls happy Americana.

She likes banjo and cello together in their music, a combination that makes a little more sense when she explains that the cello is often played percussively, as a string bass in an acoustic group.

Hes into the details of writing and making music. Shes more of a general ballpark type person.

Theyre a duo, but often pick up a guitarist when traveling. Swiss guitarist Michel Heinzman is traveling with them on their Oh My My Summer Time Tour.

Other musicians tour with commercial support from beverage companies or guitar makers. The ROAMies have corporate backing from Wholly Guacamole.

People get to come out and hear new music and eat guacamole when we play, laughed Alexa, speaking by phone while the trio was driving late last week from Oklahoma to Texas.

Friday marks a homecoming of sorts for the Woodlands native. She studied business and broadcasting at Baylor University for two years before realizing that her heart lay in making music.

She transferred to McLennan Community Colleges commercial music program  faculty member Dick Gimble runs the Runnin Bird Studio at which the ROAMies play Friday night  and then on to Belmont College in Nashville, Tenn.

Belmont is where she reconnected with Rory  the Louisiana-bred trumpeter led a band in which an older sister played  and a relationship of classmates eventually blossomed into romance and marriage.

Musical path

The two pursued different musical paths, but performing at the same concerts nudged them into adding a shared musical path.

People kept asking for a CD of us together and eventually we said, OK, we will do this,  she said. Their band name plays off Alexas combination of their names  Ro and Me, she says  and their extensive road traveling.

Their latest national tour, the guacamole-fueled Oh My My Summer Time Tour, will take them from coast to coast in support of a new extended play album to be released on July 12, with Oh My My its first single.

Folky and pop

Their Waco audience will hear something thats somewhat folky and pop and a little bit more.

People seem to enjoy the banter Rory and I have between each others, she said. Our vocals are happy and inspiring and, I think, reflect our relationship. We connect with people and like to share with them.
The title of the film, Kaatru Veliyidai, is the opening line of a Tamil poem penned by legendary poet Bharathiyar which means 'Breezy Expanse'.

By India Today Web Desk: Finally, after facing a lot of constraints regarding cast and call sheet issues, Mani Ratnam's upcoming film finally went on floors recently with Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead role. Now, the first look poster of the film is out and one can expect another OK Kanmani from the ace director.

The title of the film, Kaatru Veliyidai, is the opening line of a Tamil poem penned by legendary poet Bharathiyar which means 'Breezy Expanse'.

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The poster does not reveal much about the film. However, it perfectly sets the tone for the romantic drama. Karthi is seen with a different hairdo in the picture, and you get to see only a glimpse of Aditi.

Aditi Rao Hydari took to Twitter to share the poster with her fans and captioned it: A new journey that dreams are made of- NEED your blessings.

A new journey that dreams are made of- NEED your blessings ?????1st look of #KaatruVeliyidai #ManiRatnam @Karthi_Offl pic.twitter.com/dpD4ouV6km Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) July 7, 2016

Popular Radio Jockey Balaji is also playing an important role in the film, which is bankrolled by Mani Ratnam's home production Madras Talkies.

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A McLennan County jury recommended a probated sentence Wednesday for a Waco man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Judge Matt Johnson of Wacos 54th State District Court will sentence Markal DeVonta Shorter, 21, in about three weeks after reviewing a presentencing report to determine how long Shorters probationary term will be and what terms and conditions the judge will impose.

Shorter, who faced a maximum of 20 years in prison, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a child and elected to have a jury assess his punishment.

Shorter acknowledged he sexually assaulted the girl, whom he met through his cousin before developing a closer relationship with her. He said he did not know her real age.

A probationary term for Shorter is a long way from what he faced at one point.

Prosecutors initially charged him with one count of continuous trafficking of a person, three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of sexual assault of a child. The trafficking count carried a minimum of 25 years in prison, and the other four counts all carried maximum penalties of life in prison.

Shorter pleaded guilty Feb. 23 after prosecutors waived all but one aggravated sexual assault of a child count and recommended he be placed on deferred adjudication probation. But Johnson rejected the plea bargain April 20 and set the case for trial.

In testimony Wednesday, the girl, who is now 16 and living in the China Spring area, said Shorter assaulted her when she was 14 and he was 18, although she told him she was older.

She said Shorter wanted her to have sex with his friend, Konico McLennan, and that he asked McLennan for payment for the act. She said she had sex with McLennan, but no money was exchanged.

The allegation that Shorter was paid for someone to have sex with the girl prompted the human-trafficking charge initially to be filed against Shorter.

The girls troubled past and additional allegations of sexual assault sparked charges against Shorter and three other men, including the girls father and McLennan. Those charges remain pending.

John Adam Vanous, a 29-year-old Ross man, was sentenced to 25 years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to human trafficking for taking the girl to a San Antonio motel and charging men to have sex with her.

In defense testimony, Waco psychologist Lee Carter told jurors that he twice evaluated Shorter at the jail. He determined that Shorter made a youthful mistake and that he could benefit from counseling. Shorter poses no serious danger to society, Carter said, but added that Shorter knew the girl was an underage runaway and took advantage of the fact that the troubled teen had been sexualized at an early age.

Prosecutors Gabrielle Massey and David Shaw asked jurors to send Shorter to prison.

This is what happens when the danger nobody sees coming meets the perpetual victim, Shaw told jurors in summations.

Defense attorney Sam Martinez countered that Shorter was a good candidate for probation and had held down jobs while attending Connally High School and after he graduated. He said Shorter already had been punished to a degree because he spent 10 months in jail awaiting trial.

Martinez said after the brief trial that he was pleased the jury recommended probation for Shorter.

Markal Shorter made a mistake at 19, and we are grateful the jury is giving him an opportunity to learn from his mistake and correct his ways while on probation, Martinez said. Hopefully, he will take advantage of this opportunity.
As McLennan County commissioners continued Wednesday to prepare next years budget, one commissioner suggested the county look to hire its elections-equipment vendor to run its elections.

During the March 1 primary election, 600 McLennan County voters were disenfranchised in the countys first joint primary election with multiprecinct vote centers.

Commissioners are working through department requests this week as they put together the fiscal year 2017 budget.

While talking to Elections Administrator Kathy Van Wolfe about her budget requests, Commissioner Kelly Snell asked Van Wolfe to find out how much it would cost for Hart InterCivic to run elections, taking over a role the countys elections office fills.

Not everyone agreed with Snells request.

You say that, but didnt we just get through going through a big fiasco with that vendor? County Judge Scott Felton said. That makes absolutely no sense.

The county recently renewed its elections software agreement for one year with the company  which it has been with since 2005  after several deferrals upon learning the countys elections equipment is nearing the end of its useful life.

Blame ran rampant after the election as county leaders looked to find out how so many voters ended up with the wrong ballot. Some of that blame fell on Hart InterCivic. County leaders have said the company did not send a reminder about procedural changes that were needed to run a joint primary election using vote centers.

But Hart InterCivic officials have said the county has long been in possession of the necessary documentation to set and conduct this type of election, which has been used in Texas for nearly a decade.

County leaders and Hart InterCivic said proper testing of equipment before the election was not done, which was one of the reasons cited by Van Wolfe in the firing of her employee Karen Hall at the end of March.

Hart InterCivic officials also have said they suggested solutions after learning of the problem from the county prior to the day of the election, but those suggestions were not implemented.

Snell said it would be worth checking into how much it would cost to have the company run the election. Snell cited Van Wolfes request for a new employee in the 2017 budget. But before the discussion, Van Wolfe explained she had decided she no longer needs to add another position.

Van Wolfe said the county will contract with 16 other cities and school districts for the November election to hold their races. She said the county might not be able to afford Hart InterCivic. The city of Waco has used it and its quite a bit more expensive, she said.

Van Wolfes original 2017 budget requests included a new position for an elections tech specialist with a salary of $47,000. But she has talked to the countys IT department and is working with her staff to adjust responsibilities, she said.

Snell asked what additional work Van Wolfe has, compared to past years, that would lead her to even consider needing a new employee.

Van Wolfe said she was looking at ways to move the elections department forward with technology. She said she plans on outsourcing some of the technology work instead of hiring a new employee.

Van Wolfe also is requesting a $6,000 pay raise for one of her employees. She said the employee has worked in her office for a decade and had 20 years of experience in office work before joining the county. She said the employee also has taken on additional responsibilities. If approved, the salary would move from $34,224 to $40,224.

Commissioners wont make a final decision on individual raise requests or cost-of-living adjustments to salaries until later in the budget process. The county leaders have until Aug. 26 to adopt the budget for fiscal year 2017, which starts Oct. 1.
McLennan County department heads are requesting about $1.8 million for new county positions, three department heads want raises, and more than $100,000 is being requested in new carpet as commissioners prepare the upcoming budget.

Commissioners will continue working through budget requests for fiscal year 2017 at 10 a.m. Thursday in the Commissioners Courtroom on the first floor of the McLennan County Courthouse, 501 Washington Ave. County leaders must adopt the budget by Aug. 26 for the new fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1.

Department heads have requested almost 100 individual raises for county employees, totaling more than $215,000. Department heads also have requested 24 new positions across the county, which if approved would cost $1.83 million. Nine of the new position requests are from the sheriffs office, and another seven are being requested for the jail.

Department head raises

Two elected officials and one department head are seeking raises for themselves.

Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Fernando Villarreal is requesting an extra $5,000 to move his salary from $49,931 to $54,931.

Precinct 3 Constable David Maler is seeking a $2,008 raise, to move his salary from $40,173 to $42,181.

Both elected officials sought a raise in the fiscal year 2016 budget, but commissioners denied both requests. Villarreal requested the same amount he is requesting this year, and Maler requested $1 less.

Two department heads and five elected officials requested raises for themselves in the fiscal year 2016 budget. Three were approved by commissioners for the proposed budget: County Treasurer Bill Helton, Health Director Eva Cruz Hamby and Veterans Services Officer Steve Hernandez.

For fiscal year 2015, the budget reversed a 5 percent pay cut elected officials received in fiscal year 2014. Also in fiscal year 2015, constables and justices of the peace got an increase in pay from the funds saved when the court reduced the number of constable and justice of the peace seats through redistricting.

Hamby again is requesting her salary increase, this time by $1,500, moving her salary from $75,750 to $77,250. Commissioners approved a $7,000 raise for her in the fiscal year 2016 budget, from $68,750 to $75,750.

Individual raises, requests

County Engineer Steve Hendrick requested $26,000 to purchase a truck for his assistant. Hendrick said the truck it would replace is a 2005 Chevrolet with about 155,000 miles. Hendrick said the last truck he replaced had been driven for 15 years and accumulated 180,000 miles.

Commissioner Kelly Snell said if he replaced every vehicle belonging to his road employees that had more than 100,000 miles on it, they all would have new vehicles.

County Judge Scott Felton said he drives a high-mileage vehicle and understands that maintenance on an older vehicle adds up quickly compared to something new. Commissioner Will Jones agreed, and commissioners agreed to keep the request in the budget.

Hendrick also requested 5 percent raises for three of his five employees. He said similar positions for those employees outside the county make more money.

Snell said the examples provided were not governmental agencies, which dont provide the level of benefits, retirement and holidays McLennan County provides.

Commissioners also heard from Wayne Canaday, the countys equipment maintenance director. Canaday also requested money  $32,065  for a vehicle. He said service calls have increased by 10 percent to 15 percent, and more calls would be addressed if each of his employees had a vehicle to respond in.

I was trying to make it more efficient so we could take on more service calls and go three different directions at one time, he said.

Commissioners agreed to include $25,000 in the budget for a vehicle if Canaday can find a used van to meet his needs rather than a new one.

Canaday also requested a raise for one of his employees that would bring that salary from about $34,000 to about $43,000. He said Human Resources Director Amanda Talbert brought that salary to his attention because it was below what individuals in similar positions with the county make.

Carpet replacements

Commissioners also reviewed a request for $124,000 to replace carpet in six departments.

Facilities Director Herschel Miller said the work is not imminent and these are not his requests. Miller said he continually told department heads that pieces of carpet could be replaced to address stains; however, total replacement is intended to address any type of trip hazard. He said he keeps hearing that the department heads simply dont want old carpet.

These are elected officials, Miller said. I didnt really know how to talk to elected officials about saying no or yes.

The request for new carpet comes from the county clerk office, the county court at law office, the tax office, the bail bonds office, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 office and the engineering office.

Commissioner Ben Perry said he supports replacing carpet where there is a safety hazard. But, he said, if the county starts replacing carpet every time there is a stain, coffee cups will start being tipped over onto floors every now and then.

Jones and Snell recommended removing the funding for that request from the budget, but commissioners held off on making a decision.

Miller also requested 3 percent raises for almost all his employees. He said he has eliminated a position from his office and wants to use that funding to spread across the remaining salaries.

Felton said reducing personnel to increases salaries is not the appropriate methodology for the county. He said it is not fair to smaller departments that cant afford to reduce personnel to increase salaries.

I could see folks saying, Im going to cut an employee spread that money across because a COLA is not enough, and next year ask for a replacement, Felton said. I think we need to talk about raises straight up based on the merit of giving a raise.

District Clerk Jon Gimble also requested raises for many of his employees.

Gimble said he has been working with Talbert to bring salaries to a range comparable to similar positions across the county.
It is said that the individual wanted a favourable judgment and in return the Chief Justice would be compensated monetarily.

By Mail Today Bureau: Karnataka's High Court Chief Justice S K Mukherjee stunned the court hall on Tuesday by revealing that he was offered a bribe by an unknown individual to deliver a favourable judgment in connection with a property dispute case.

When the particular case came up for hearing before him on Tuesday afternoon, Justice Mukherjee informed the court that an unknown Bengali had visited his home in the city recently and offered him a bribe in connection with the case involving Umrah Developers and the Government of Karnataka. It is said that the individual wanted a favourable judgment and in return the Chief Justice would be compensated monetarily. However, the Chief Justice sent him away and since then he recused from hearing the case since then.

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On Tuesday, the Chief Justice had flashed the visiting card of the individual, who had visited his home. The same was handed over to the advocate representing Umrah Developers. The advocate, however, clarified to the media that none representing his client visited the Chief Justice's home.

The Chief Justice did not elaborate on the incident, but lamented about it in the court. "People should not misuse the liberty given to them."

On Wednesday, the Chief Justice's office informed the media that the Justice Mukherjee had nothing more to explain on the incident.

Also read:



Karnataka High Court Chief Justice collapses in local market, rushed to hospital



S K Mukherjee likely to be next Ukhand CJ





--- ENDS ---
We have a mental-health workforce shortage in Texas. Just look at the numbers. Last year, 185 Texas counties out of 254 did not have a single psychiatrist, which left more than 3 million Texans without access to a psychiatrist. Worse, 40 counties didnt even have a licensed clinical social worker.

This issue is not something that just sprang up. Five year ago, the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health published a report on this shortage in Texas. We called it Crisis Point. When we updated the report this year, we decided to change the name. Why? Because it doesnt make sense to call it a crisis anymore. Its just a chronic reality.

Like someone living with a chronic illness, we should be honest with ourselves about the costs of doing too little to treat it. But we can also be strategic and optimistic about the opportunities for getting healthier.

The economic value of providing appropriate mental-health services can be measured in the avoided costs of hospital admissions, emergency department visits, criminal and juvenile justice involvement, homelessness and more. Providing appropriate mental-health services has also been shown to reduce lost workdays and improve workplace productivity.

More importantly, access to the right services at the right time offers hope to individuals that they can achieve recovery and live meaningful lives. Meeting the mental-health needs of Texans requires an adequate mental health workforce.

A lot of factors have converged to create this chronic problem. They include an aging mental-health workforce, the unwillingness of mental-health providers to accept patients with Medicaid, inadequate reimbursement rates, and outdated education and training practices.

These issues will need to be addressed collectively in order to make a significant impact. And it begins with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission formulating a comprehensive plan that outlines short-, mid- and long-term objectives.

The process should include active participation from agencies responsible for higher education, public education, criminal justice, juvenile justice, the Texas workforce, child welfare, public health, insurance, housing and others.

Fortunately, Texas doesnt need to start from scratch. There are common-sense reforms that can dramatically improve care.

For starters, we need improved integrated health care. Effective integrated health care is the comprehensive coordination of mental health, substance use and primary-care services. Sixty-eight percent of adults with a mental health condition also have one or more chronic physical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. The integration of primary care and behavioral health services allows health professionals to better coordinate treatments.

We also need to improve the mental-health reimbursement rates. Only half of Texas psychiatrists accept private insurance, compared with nearly 90 percent of other physician types. And only 21 percent of Texas psychiatrists will accept Medicaid patients, according to the Texas Medical Association. The state should increase reimbursement rates to increase the number of practicing mental-health care providers willing to provide services to consumers with Medicaid.

The state also would be wise to increase access to services provided by certified peer specialists where peers, who have a history of lived experience with mental illness or substance use, rely on their personal recovery and specialized training to help guide other individuals experiencing behavioral health conditions in their own recoveries.

Finally, we need to expand the use of technology. Technology can be useful to support individuals in rural areas of the state that have significant shortages of mental-health professionals.

The challenges facing the mental-health workforce are real, and the solutions are not always easy to implement. They require additional resources and funding. But the cost of ignoring the problem is greater. The growing Texas population coupled with the aging workforce will continue to strain mental-health professionals. If we start now and think long-term, the future can and will be healthier.

Colleen Horton is policy program officer at the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin. Its mission is to advance mental wellness for the people of Texas as a strategic grantmaker and catalyst for change.
A couple of McLennan County commissioners are quite likely rethinking their logic from 2009 when they pressed the court to hire John Wells in place of another jail physician because Wells promised to work more hours treating inmates. By the end of his tenure last spring, student vocational nurses from McLennan Community College were reportedly trying to figure out when Wells wasnt working so they could work their internships free of his supposedly sexist and racist palaver.

While details about Wells resignation last spring remain obscured  amazingly, many county officials claim they didnt know why he was leaving  those of us in the taxpaying public are left to form conclusions about how things went awry. If the allegations of several MCC student nurses are credible, Wells fell into a habit of saying wildly inappropriate things to them  discussing his sexual prowess, belittling nurses intelligence, defining good Mexicans and bad Mexicans and offering up his belief in maintaining a rotation of women that I cycle out.

If any or all of this is true, Wells final mistake was complaining to MCC about the student nurses trying to work days when he wasnt there. Oops. Statements from student nurses to MCC officials, obtained by veteran Trib staff writer Tommy Witherspoon (and redacted to protect their identities), convey their great disdain at Wells behavior. To their credit, MCC officials yanked the students from the jail program and conferred with county officials, setting in motion events that ultimately led to Wells April 30 departure.

Many questions remain, including just who was in charge of keeping an eye on the $330,000-a-year jailhouse doc (already flagged by a drunken driving charge four years ago); how long such alleged misbehavior had been going on  a concern not only for students in MCCs celebrated nursing program but county inmates, including those who are Hispanic; and whether County Judge Scott Felton, Sheriff Parnell McNamara and county commissioners have seen fit to take specific steps to ensure this never happens again.

If the upheaval at Baylor University over the past year involving sexual assaults is any indication, officials both public and private only compound matters by turning a blind eye or deaf ear to hints of sexual harassment or worse. In any case, students should never hesitate to notify higher-ups about such incidents. And if they dont get results, they should keep going up the ladder till someone listens and investigates.
Cuba is amazing

Another view of Cuba from someone who has been there: I spent an amazing week visiting Cuba this past February. I traveled freely with no restrictions and interacted and conversed with numerous locals every day. These are some of the nicest people anyone could ever meet!

Contrary to popular opinion, they are very fond of Americans. They are hardworking with an amazing will to live their lives. Their opinions about improved U.S. relations are very positive. The only thing made very clear to me was that it will be on Cubas terms and time frame, not anyone elses. They have other trade partners such as Canada and various South American countries that have preference due to prior relations.

There are private business ventures, private property owners, etc. Yes, there is much repair work needed, living standards need improving, but change is happening. I see no reason to keep punishing 11 million people for the actions of a few.

Doug Peterson, China Spring

Debating patriotism

Sorry for James C. Harringtons inner negativity about patriotism [Many of us have flawed idea of patriotism,  July 4]. Too bad he wallows in his negative world of liberalism.

This is the greatest country in the world, and I celebrate the Fourth of July with anyone who will celebrate with me. I recall going to a Fourth celebration in Washington, D.C., several years ago. We sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and put up with a severe thunderstorm.

We sheltered in place with people from all over the United States and the world. Then, we all celebrated that the rain stopped and everyone was OK. We then were thrilled when the first rocket went into the air. It was the very best Fourth of July in my memory.

I need the Fourth of July to remind me of how our citizens love this great country.

Stephen Williams, Hewitt

What of bigamy?

In a May 4 letter, frequent Trib columnist Terry Commander argues that he does not condone anyone attempting to make his religious view law. The same Trib issue that carried Commanders letter reported that a woman is in the county jail for bigamy  being married to two men at the same time. I ask Commander: What is the purely secular basis for criminalizing bigamy (or polygamy), so long as it does not harm anyone physically or financially?

To say it harms someone emotionally opens a Pandoras box of issues about emotional harm. And that plural marriages often harm women in some way (the typical argument used to support laws against them) does not explain why a woman is in jail.

I do not favor plural marriages, bigamist or polygamist, but I cannot think of a clear secular basis that is solely rational for criminalizing them.

Roger Olson, Waco
The Washington Education Association (WEA) has endorsed Secretary of State Kim Wyman for re-election.

With over 85,000 members, the Washington Education Association is the largest representative of public school employees in Washington. They also endorsed Secretary Wyman in 2012.

Secretary Wyman thanked the WEA for their endorsement, saying, I am grateful to the Washington Education Association for their endorsement. I am dedicated to engaging students and young people in our democracy. Maintaining a strong education system is central to that goal.

The Office of the Secretary of State has a rich history of engaging young voters. Our education programs have engaged hundreds of thousands of Washington students with a variety of civic engagement activities. We continue to rank amongst the top states in the country for voter registration and participation rates for young voters.

Secretary Wyman noted that she is endorsed by a wide variety of organizations, including the WEA, the Washington Patrol Troopers Association, the Retired Public Employees Council, and the Washington Association of Realtors.
BOARD PROCEEDINGS SAUNDERS COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS/EQUALIZATION

As per Nebr. State Statute 23-122, the following is a brief statement of the proceedings of the Saunders County Board of Supervisors and Board of Equalization June 28, 2016 meetings.

Members present were Rastovski, Mach, Sukstorf, Hanson, Lutton and Karloff. Breunig was excused.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

PROCEEDINGS

Chairperson Karloff called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

1. M-Rastovski, S-Lutton to authorize the Chairperson to sign the sign the School Based Behavioral Health Program State Grant Award #16-EB-0604. Yes all.

2. M-Sukstorf, S-Hanson to authorize the Chairperson to sign the Interlocal Agreement between Dodge County and Saunders County for Jail operations and Inmate Housing. Yes all.

3. M-Hanson, S-Rastovski to convene as an Equalization Board at 9:11 a.m. Yes all.

BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

PROCEEDINGS

Chairperson Sukstorf called the meeting to order at 9:11 a.m.

1. M-Karloff, S-Hanson to authorize the mailing of (2) Change of Value Notices. Yes all.

2. M-Lutton, S-Karloff to approve the Refund request(s) on Property Tax by Wayne Petersen, Mead, for the property described as N NW 14-15-8 (78.97 ac). Said request is for 2013, 2014 and 2015. Yes all.

3. M-Mach, S-Hanson to approve the minutes of the June 21st Board meeting.

Chairperson Sukstorf declared the meeting recessed at 9:14 a.m.

***************

Upon the adjournment of the Equalization Board, the Saunders County Board of Supervisors reconvened in their Regular schedule Board meeting.

4. M-Lutton, S-Mach to convene in Closed Session at 9:28 a.m. for personnel matters pertaining to time/attendance record keeping (84-1410) with County Clerk and her staff Denise Hauschild and Eva Egr, Mitch Polacek, County Attorney and Administrative Assistant to the Board present. Yes all.

5. M-Rastovski, S-Sukstorf to adjourn from Closed Session at 10:33 a.m., with no action taken and to convene in Regular meeting. Yes all.

6. M-Rastovski, S-Hanson to approve and authorize the signing of the Nebraska Dept. of Health & Human Services Subgrant Agreement for Child Support Enforcement Services for the Clerk of District Court and the Agreement for Emergency Protective Custody Services for Fiscal Year 2016-2017 with Region V Systems. Yes all.

7. M-Sukstorf, S-Lutton to approve the minutes of the June 21st meeting and accept the Fee/Activity Reports for the month of May from the various County Officials. Yes all.

Chairperson Karloff declared the meeting adjourned at 10:45 a.m. A complete copy of the Saunders County Board of Supervisors & Equalization proceedings is on file in the Saunders County Clerks office for review by the Public or can be seen on the Countys Web Site at www.saunderscounty.ne.gov.

NOTE: This is a draft of the minutes from the meetings; they are subject to change or correction(s) upon the approval by the Boards at their next regular scheduled meeting.

SCOTT SUKSTORF

Chairperson Board of Equalization

DORIS KARLOFF

Chairperson Board of Supervisors

PATTI J. LINDGREN

Saunders County Clerk

12085334;Jul 7
WAHOO  Medicaid and property taxes were on the minds of area citizens who attended Governor Pete Ricketts June 29 town hall meeting at the Wahoo Public Library.

Ricketts said that addressing taxes has been a priority during the last legislative session.

Nebraska is ranked 12th highest in property taxes, 24th highest in income taxes and were ranked 25th in overall tax burden, which means were in the middle of the pack, and thats not competitive, Ricketts said to the nearly 40 area citizens who attended the meeting.

Ricketts added that agriculture land taxes have increased 66 percent in the last five years, while commercial and residential real estate have gone up eight percent. He said his expense control bill was proposed, but failed, during the last legislative session. The bill would have limited growth on agriculture land valuations to a three percent a year increase.

Dennis Fujan of Prague told the governor his property tax on agriculture land has increased drastically over the past 10 years, and suggested revising how property values are determined.

Basing my tax on the value of my property is really a false premise, it should be more on what I can produce on that piece of property, Fujan said.

He urged caution in cutting income taxes. He said the need for that money does not change, so local governments typically shift the burden back to rural property taxes.

The Governor responded that some difficulty lies in gathering a consensus from senators to pass expense control bills, as urban senators are typically more interested in addressing income or sales taxes.

Without expense controls, it doesnt matter, youre never going to get property tax relief, Ricketts said.

He added that local governments collect property tax, not the state. He said since the state aid formula was created in 1991, the state puting back more money into the school aid formula has not been consistent in bringing property taxes down.

Ricketts said one of the challenges with the current school aid program is that about 24 districts get 80 percent of the funds.

Another topic included Medicaid expansion.

Ricketts criticized the Obama administrations Affordable Care Act.

It has driven up premiums for people, it has driven up deductibles and has made health care less affordable than what it was a few years ago, he said. We do have challenges and were going to need a good administration to tackle this.

One audience member urged Ricketts and the executive branch of the Nebraska Government to become involved with state senators to develop a revised Medicaid plan.

Gary Gillespie of Wahoo asked how county corrections services could become more competitive with Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Ricketts said the state corrections is in need of dire reform and he has hired a new director, Scott Frakes.

That reform includes no longer allowing co-ed incarceration and improving rehabilitation programming.

This is a business we dont want repeat customers, Ricketts said. Ninety-three percent will end up leaving, and the plan for them leaving needs to begin when they arrive. And that has not been happening.

Prior to the question and answer segment of Ricketts visit, he discussed the past legislative session and plans for growing Nebraska.

We need to create more, better paying jobs, keep our young people here and attract other people from around the country to move here and make Nebraska their home, Ricketts said.

He said to further those goals, his administration has prioritized property tax relief, controlling the budget, continuing to develop infrastructure and prevent risking long term budget with a Medicaid expansion plan proposed by Senator McCollister.

After the town hall meeting, Ricketts went to the Saunders County Courthouse, where Saunders County employees dedicated a photo to the governor that depicts his first day of office.

Pete comes to Saunders County so often, hes like a resident. Hes a very visible governor, said Don Clark, Saunders County register of deeds.

The governor hosted another town hall meeting later that day in David City.
WAHOO  At the end of the June 29 town hall meeting in Wahoo, Governor Pete Ricketts answered a question about high property taxes by offering numbers he said were connected to the Wahoo Public School District.

Wahoo Public Schools Superintendent Galen Boldt and the Board of Education have since offered a written response to the governors remarks.

The numbers referenced by Boldt and the Board of Education in their response to the governors comments were taken from documents filed with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE), including Annual Financial Reports (AFRs), actual budgets, state calculated Average Daily Membership of Cost Per Pupil and state calculated State Aid. The AFR information represents real dollars spent and received.

The governor did not cite the source for his numbers, but said during the town hall meeting the number of students went up by 10, from 911 to 921 and the money the district got out of the school aid formula went up 33 percent, or $400,000.

And, they still took their budget up almost 10 percent, Ricketts said.

Wahoo Public Schools (WPS) response is the year that WPS received an additional $408,000 in state aid (2012-2013) was preceded by a year (2011-2012) in which WPS lost $900,000 in state aid. Property taxes went up $900,000 to offset the loss of state aid. The budget increased by 8.7 percent.

WPS state aid for that school year included an NDE approved adjustment of $448,407 for the Performance Learning Center. Without this adjustment, the district would have actually lost state aid in the year that the governor cited for a big increase.

The WPS response said the enrollment increase mention of only 10 students was followed the next two years by increases of 23 and 29 students. Since 2010-2011, WPS has grown from 938 to 1,020 students, or 8.74 percent. Budget increases reflect the need to plan for a growing school.

During his remarks, Ricketts said, Look at that example of Wahoo schools, they

got a ton more money from school aid, went up $400,000, and they still took their budget up of local property taxes 10 percent. Without expense control, it doesnt matter. Thats the challenge we have. Without the local expense control, youre not going to get a single property tax relief.

WPSs response is that the governors comments about expense control do not fit with the question about property tax relief.

While budgeting and spending are related, an attack on WPS as the problem in property tax relief doesnt match the WPS record on spending, Boldt and the Board of Education said in their written response.

In 2010-2011 WPS expen-

ditures were reported at

$9,618,645. In 2011-2012, expenditures were $9,804,471, an increase of 1.93 percent. In the past five years, the average annual expenditure growth is 3.02 percent.

The WPS state aid for the 2010-2011 school year was $2,161,192. Next years will be $198,483, representing an average annual loss of 25 percent since 2010-2011. Nebraskas record of state funding support is 49th out of the 50 states.

Ricketts also questioned WPS budget increases.

In the last five years, theres been three 10 percents, one eight percent and one 18 percent, he said during the town hall meeting. Whos budget gets to go up like that in the private sec-

tor?

Boldt and the board responded that budget increases for the past five years at WPS have been 8.67 percent, 1.77 percent, 9.37 percent, 1.2 percent and 16.37 percent.

A school that is growing at nearly 2 percent annually requires thoughtfully planning. Since 2010-2011, revenue from all sources has grown an average of 4.79 percent annually, while expenditures have grown 3.02 percent. The difference allows for cash reserve to prepare for future needs.

WPS also offered past six-year comparison of Cost Per Pupil  WPS Average: $10,515.51; Statewide Average: $10,798.57; Neighboring nine school comparison Average: $12,572.78.
Congress leader Mari Gowda, who allegedly abused and threatened Mysuru district Deputy Commissioner C Shikha for not following his instructions, is absconding.

By Mail Today Bureau: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's aide and Congress leader Mari Gowda, who allegedly abused and threatened Mysuru district Deputy Commissioner C Shikha for not following his instructions, is absconding. The police are searching for him after Shikha lodged a police complaint against him.

The issue has snowballed into a major controversy with leaders of other parties asking Siddaramaiah to rein in on his followers. Siddaramaiah has distanced himself from the issue by stating that the "law will take its own course."

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Meanwhile, Mari Gowda applied for an anticipatory bail before the 7th Additional & Sessions Court in Mysuru through his advocates. His case will be heard on Friday and the police seem to be clueless about his whereabouts. The police have merely pasted a notice on his home seeking to appear before them.

"The manner in which this case is being handled shows how efficient this administration is. A CM's aide threatens a district magistrate and gets away easily. The police in the CM's home district are unable to trace him. The bureaucracy has lost faith in this government," said BJP leader K S Eshwarappa.



--- ENDS ---
The Board of Education of Cedar Bluffs Public Schools will meet in regular session on Monday, July 18, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. in SPED room at 110 East Main Street, Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska. An agenda for the meeting, which shall be kept continually current, is readily available for public inspection at the Superintendents office during normal business hours.
Lalu said , "People like Zakir Naik create trouble in society. They should exercise restrain and shown patience while giving speeches".

By Rohit Kumar Singh: RJD Chief Lalu Prasad has slammed the controversial Islam preacher Zakir Naik for his controversial hate speeches. Speaking Exclusively to India Today, Lalu said that people like Zakir Naik were trouble makers in the society.

Lalu further added that Zakir Naik who claim to be religious preachers should exercise restrain while speaking and show patience. Lalu said that such religious preachers should not be highlight themselves much and be in background . Attacking Zakir Naik, Lalu said that being a religious preacher doesn't mean they can say anything and create doubts in the mind of the people.

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" People like Zakir Naik create trouble in society. They should exercise restrain and shown patience while giving speeches. They should not highlight themselves much. Being a Dharma Guru does not mean that they should create 10 kind of confusion in minds of people", said Lalu.

Lalu also spoke on Congress leader Digvijay Singh sharing stage with the controversial Islam preacher in 2012 and said that Singh was not a stable leader. He however, said that the reason why and the circumstances under which Singh shared stage with Zakir Naik will be investigated by him personally.

" We will find out why and under what circumstances Digvijay Singh met Zakir Naik", said Lalu.

ALSO READ:

When Lalu and his minister son Tej Pratap threatened India Today reporter in Patna

--- ENDS ---
PROXIMA

"El 80% de las residencias en Juana Matos estan destruidas"

El alcalde de Catano confirmo la informacion en entrevista con Noticentro.
By PTI: New York, Jul 7 (PTI) People who live exceptionally long lives may have the additional benefit of shorter periods of illness - sometimes just weeks or months - before death, a new study has found.

In a study of nearly 3,000 people, the onset of illness came decades later in life for centenarians than for their younger counterparts, researchers said.

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"Most people struggle with an ever-increasing burden of disease and disability as they age," said Nir Barzilai from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US.

"But we found that those who live exceptionally long lives have the additional benefit of shorter periods of illness - sometimes just weeks or months - before death," said Barzilai.

Researchers looked at the health status of centenarians and near-centenarians enrolled in two ongoing studies - the Longevity Genes Project (LGP) and the New England Centenarian Study (NECS).

The LGP recruits healthy, independently living Ashkenazi Jewish people 95 and older from the northeastern US.

For comparison, the LGP includes a group of Ashkenazi Jewish individuals who do not have a parental history of longevity.

The NECS includes participants from North America generally as well as England, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The NECS comparison group consisted of people aged 58 to 95, researchers said.

The study compared the health status of 483 long-lived LGP participants with 696 LGP comparison individuals 60-94 years old, and the health status of 1,498 long-lived NECS participants with 302 NECS comparison subjects aged 58-95.

For both sets of comparisons, researchers looked at the ages at which individuals developed five major age-related health problems: cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis and stroke.

Analysis showed a consistent pattern of delayed onset of illness in the LGP and NECS centenarian groups compared to their respective comparison groups.

For the long-lived NECS individuals, cancer did not afflict 20 per cent of men until age 97 and women until 99.

In contrast, 20 per cent of NECS comparison participants had developed cancer by age 67 in men and 74 in women.

Results were similar for the LGP: for the long-lived LGP participants, the age at which 20 per cent had developed cancer was delayed to 96 for both sexes, researchers said.

But cancer had affected 20 per cent of LGP control-group males by age 78 and control-group females by 74, they said.

Compared to younger comparison groups, their onset of major age-related disease was delayed, with serious illness essentially compressed into a few years very late in life.

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The findings suggest that discoveries made in one group of centenarians can be generalised to diverse populations. And they contradict the notion that the older people get, the sicker they become and the greater the cost of taking care of them, researchers said.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. PTI SAN AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
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Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. It facilitates the processing of payment transactions, including authorization, clearing, and settlement, as well as delivers other payment-related products and services. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; prepaid programs and management services; commercial credit and debit payment products and solutions; and payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts. It also provides value-added products and services comprising cyber and intelligence solutions for parties to transact, as well as proprietary insights, drawing on principled use of consumer, and merchant data services. In addition, the company offers analytics, test and learn, consulting, managed services, loyalty, processing, and payment gateway solutions for e-commerce merchants. Further, it provides open banking and digital identity platforms services. The company offers payment solutions and services under the MasterCard, Maestro, and Cirrus. Mastercard Incorporated was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.
Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling unleashed protests and social media outcry over the latest alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

By Reuters: The US Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing of a black man pinned to the ground and shot in the chest by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over the latest alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

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One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy," said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store. He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.

Several hundred people gathered for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling was killed, with speakers urging peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of "excessive force" used by police against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd, including families with children, that filled the parking lot and nearby streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Many people stayed hours after the service and a brass band joined a large, peaceful nighttime march circling the store. A local artist had painted a mural of Sterling on the wall just feet from where he was shot.

Officials scrambled to defuse tension, saying there would be an independent investigation, after media showed a separate graphic video of the shooting recorded by a bystander.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel Edwards told reporters.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

Such incidents undermine trust between police and the communities they serve, said presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin," she said in a statement.

There was no immediate statement from presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"HE'S GOT A GUN"

Video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackle him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest.

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Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells, "He's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired.

Three more shots are heard, before the camera shows one officer lean over Sterling and take something from his pocket.

Police did not say how many shots were fired and declined to say whether a stun gun was used on Sterling. Muflahi said police Tasered Sterling before he was tackled.

The two police officers involved, Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran, and Howie Lake, a three-year veteran, were both put on administrative leave, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie told a news conference.

The officers were responding to a call about a black man reported to have made threats with a gun, Dabadie said.

"When officers arrived, Sterling was armed and the altercation ensued that resulted in the loss of his life," Dabadie said.

The body cameras of both officers became dislodged during the altercation, but continued recording audio and video, police said. Those and other recordings will be turned over to federal investigators, police spokesman Lieutenant Jonny Dunnam said.

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RAP SHEET

Court records show Sterling had several criminal convictions since the mid-1990s, for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Relatives and acquaintances described Sterling as jovial and friendly, a neighborhood fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.

Cameron Sterling, Alton's 15-year-old son, broke down crying at a news conference as his mother spoke. "He was killed unjustly and without regard for the lives he helped raise," said the mother, who did not give her name.

Several people were arrested for blocking traffic in downtown Philadelphia during a protest over the killing, broadcaster NBC Philadelphia reported.

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They said it would never fill. Now it has spilled.

Water has cascaded down the Cotter Dam wall for the first time since it was raised three years ago, after the wettest June in Canberra's history.

Three generations of the Hansen family Joe, 12, Richard and David watch the first spill of the Cotter Dam. Credit:Jay Cronan

The engorged dam has also been declared full for the first time, holding 76.4 gigalitres.

It was tipped to spill between 11am and 1pm on Thursday and didn't disappoint the dozens of people who'd ducked down for a peek.
A code of practice setting out how banks should deal with consumers and small business customers will be put under the microscope by a review starting this week.

As banks face political heat over misconduct in the sector, the Australian Bankers' Association on Thursday said it had appointed a governance expert and former regulator, Phil Khoury, to carry out a review of its code of practice.

Australia's bank credit ratings are vulnerable after action was taken against the sovereign AAA rating. Illustration: Karl Hilzinger Credit:Karl Hilzinger

The ABA in April announced it would review the industry's code, which covers the vast bulk of banks, as part of a range of measures. It has now provided terms of reference and further details on how the review will be run.

The code of practice, which 13 banking groups including the Big Four have signed up to, covers rules that banks should abide by on issues such as cancelling direct debits when customers move banks, debt collection, complaints handling and fee disclosure.
CBD has to admit, we have been selling digital media paparazzi app Newzulu short.

Don't worry about its financial troubles, the penny-dreadful share price, or the fact that its founder  digital wunderkind Alex Hartman  is now walking away from the business.

Newzulu has finally received the celebrity endorsement it needs to really take off  thank you Pauline Hanson.

One Nation's comeback kid hailed Newzulu as the tool needed to defeat her foes in traditional media who use her as a "punching bag by encouraging news stories from so-called "citizen journalists".
High-profile, brash online retailer Ruslan Kogan's plans to establish a love affair with sharemarket investors faces obstacles, the first of which has nothing to do with its own financial performance.

The two largest online retail trailblazers, Surfstitch and Temple & Webster, have been a disaster for their investors.

Ruslan Kogan has a sufficiently strong track record in growing sales that there could also be reward if things go right. Credit:Luis Ascui

Anyone counting on making a quick profit on Kogan.com's listing will have dashed hopes as the share price fell 10 in the first few minutes of trading from the $1.80 issue price.

This will be Kogan's first handicap in the market's mind.
Spare a thought for a young Asian Australian kid in Hurstville this week. Amid all of the federal election drama, Senator-elect Pauline Hanson has used her newly minted pedestal to announce to the country that her and her family are "swarming" the community and upsetting the "locals".

When Pauline Hanson was merely a contestant on Dancing With The Stars, her views carried the weight of an eccentric aunt at Christmas lunch. She made everyone uncomfortable, but was easily ignored.

Now she's back in the political arena, Hanson's hurtful missives must be met with a sustained challenge from across the political spectrum. Failing to expose her lies will mean that for some they become facts. We all have a responsibility to speak up.
Until 2003 we only had one, with New Zealand. We preferred to cut tariffs unilaterally and argue for global free trade rather than play favourites. In the 13 years since then we've added, or are adding, 13. Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison rebadging their agreements with Japan, Korea and China as "export agreements". Credit:Andrew Meares After the first new-style agreement with Singapore in 2003 our exports climbed much as before while imports (goods and services) surged. After the 2005 free trade agreement with the United States, both imports and exports continued on the trend lines set previously with imports climbing faster than exports, as they did for Chile and Malaysia and as they will for China, Japan and Korea. Which isn't to say imports aren't welcome. Increased imports lift our standard of living. And while they can lead to the closure of old Australian industries, such as the car industry, they can boost new ones by ensuring the supply of cheap inputs. Senator Nick Xenophon.

But that isn't an argument for our never-ending pipeline of trade deals. We could get the same cheap imports more quickly by cutting all of our tariffs to zero. Seriously. We could do away with much of our mammoth self-perpetuating trade negotiating bureaucracy and trade more simply. The Treasurer himself provided an unintentional window into how complex these trade agreements have become when during the campaign he lauded "export trade deals that generate some 19,000 new export opportunities". In every case for which we have clear evidence, our trade agreements seem to have boosted imports more than exports. What were these 19,000 new export opportunities, I asked one of his staff. The number refers to the count of specific line items in the China, Korea and Japan free trade agreements. That's how complicated they've made trade. A huge chunk of the traders surveyed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry don't use them.

"In my experience, they have been a waste of time, particularly Thailand. The paperwork to qualify was so onerous it wasn't worth the effort," says one member. "I know we have one with the US and I know there is one now with Japan and Korea. Is that correct?" says another. Using the agreements costs more than time. In order to get low-tariff entry into a market such as the United States, an Australian company has to comply with "rules of origin", which means it needs to ensure that no more than a certain percentage of its inputs is sourced from countries outside of Australia and the United States, sending up costs. In 2010 the Productivity Commission found these extra costs amounted to as much as 8 per cent per shipment. Where exporters attempt to apply with the rules, they shrink trade. One of the few studies of the impact of the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement found it shrank both nations trade with the rest of the world. That agreement had 980 rules of origin. One of our latest, with Korea, has 5205. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has even more. And because the agreements are not always consistent with each other, the "noodle bowl" of overlapping requirements makes attempting to trade using the new agreements harder still.
We think that "one person, one vote" is the hallmark of any democratic election. However, the EU referendum and the Australian election suggest that, in the interest of democracy, we should grant more votes to younger citizens, and fewer to older ones.

Although official data is unavailable, a demographic analysis of the vote shows that, throughout Britain, places with lots of older citizens voted for Brexit, while places with younger voters ticked the "Remain" box. But the latter voters, not the former, will bear the brunt of Brexit: they are the ones for whom it will be harder to study or work in Europe, to make experiences overseas and to broaden their skills. The tens of thousands of pensioners, who, on the other hand, voted for Brexit, will have much less to lose from leaving the EU. Is it fair they all had the same say in such decision?

Or consider the case of Australia. As we witnessed yet again on the lead-up to this election, the two major parties tend to ignore the interests of young voters in favour of those of the older ones. Younger voters are less concerned with "economic management", superannuation, border protection, and are interested in rising university fees, job insecurity, unaffordable housing. Not only does this disparity impact negatively on their engagement with politics; it is seriously unfair. Younger voters should rather receive more attention from politicians, because they will have to live longer with the consequences of the electoral outcome.
Sadly, Pauline Hanson is returning to Canberra after nine failed attempts to revive her political career.

As a fellow Senator-elect for Queensland, I certainly don't share her Donald Trump-style views on immigration and trade.

I condemn her inflammatory slogans against fellow Australians, based on their religion and ethnicity.
Federal election results 2016: Malcolm Turnbull to form government as vote count continues

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Do you know anything about turntables? Anything at all? If so, you'll be fascinated by the latest media release for Bryston. Bryston is a serious audio company, making serious equipment  equipment so good that much of it carries a 20-year warranty. It's famous among the cognoscenti for its amplifiers, speakers, cables and connectors. And now it has a turntable for $4999 (with a three-year warranty), introduced locally by a most arresting media release.

There were two passages in there that stopped me cold. Bryston has either pioneered some hitherto unknown technology that moves the goal posts, well, somewhere else, or it has set someone with no understanding of turntables at all to writing about it.

Quality maker Bryston's new turntable is one of several just released into a booming market.

The first was the following sentence: "Keeping their speed adjustments to 331/3 and 45 rpm, Bryston give users the ability to listen to larger 12-inch discs for up to 30 minutes listening time on each side, plus a slower speed to appreciate each pluck of the guitar string."

This suggests to me that 12-inch LPs should be played at 45 rpm on Bryston's new BLP1 turntable, with 331/3 applicable only to those who appreciate plucks. Who wants to listen to an LP at 45, with Pavarotti sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks? And what single side of an LP will play for 30 minutes if you do?
The BJP is thinking of allotting one more Cabinet berth to Shiv Sena as the ally party is miffed at not getting its due in the Modi Cabinet.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after Shiv Sena expressed its unhappiness at being ignored in the Narendra Modi Cabinet expansion and reshuffle, the Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra is all set to take place tomorrow.

The BJP is also thinking of allotting one more Cabinet berth to Shiv Sena as the ally party is miffed at not getting its due in the Modi Cabinet.

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Decoding Modi Cabinet: Who got what portfolio



SHIV SENA 'HURT'



Sena had earlier said it was 'hurt' at the way the exercise was carried out and questioned the Prime Minister's "selection criterion".

Shiv Sena took potshots at the BJP saying that it is difficult these days to find people of the same calibre as those who had served in the ministries of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

"(Narendra) Modi is the lone face of this government.

Compared to this, the ministries of Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had some excellent members like Babasaheb Ambedkar, Babu Jagjivan Ram, Yashwantrao Chavan and Shankarrao Chavan," Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana.

"The HRD ministry got its name only because of P V Narasimha Rao. The world got to know that India has a Finance Minister who works, only because of Manmohan Singh. People of the calibre in the cabinets of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi cannot be found today. In such a scenario, Modi has no option but to take complete responsibility of his Cabinet," it said.

Cabinet reshuffle: Shiv Sena will not stand at anyone's door, says Uddhav Thackeray



'ALL ABOUT BJP'



Apparently drawing cold comfort from the fact that it was mostly the BJP members who had been inducted in the ministry, it said the exercise was about the leading partner alone and so NDA partners like Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and TDP should not feel bad for not being given additional berths.

"Today, the BJP has a majority and thus they can do what they wish," it added.

Sena, however, took a jibe at RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale, who has been made a Minister of State.

"Athawale had earlier said that he would not accept a Cabinet berth till his party got a place in the Maharashtra government. What has caused him to change that stance now?," it sought to know.

Also Read:

Modi Cabinet 2.0: Who joins, who rises, and who goes out

Modi's masterclass for new ministers: Stop celebrating, prepare for Parliament

Modi Cabinet: All you wanted to know about the 19 new faces Modi Cabinet reshuffle: The inside story of how it was done



Modi's massive Cabinet rejig, Smriti's loss is Javadekar's gain



--- ENDS ---
The RSPCA has warned animal owners about a rise in pet poisonings, with one alleged case of a dog being fatally baited caught on home security footage.

German Shepherd Bommer was believed to have been a victim of baiting after a person was filmed feeding the four-year-old dog through a gate.

Bommer's owner, Michael, told Nine News Perth he rushed his dog to the vet but it was already too late.

"He's been killed for no reason, my best friend we've done everything together," he said.
A man has died in a suspected hit-and-run crash as he tried to flag down cars for help after he got bogged on the side of a road in Cullacabardee.

Police spokesman Samuel Dinnison said about 9pm on Wednesday the man's light metallic blue Holden HZ tray back ute was parked on the side of Beechboro Road North. It's believed the man had pulled over and got stuck in soft sand.

The man's ute got bogged in soft sand on the side of the road. Credit:WA Police

The driver, a 47-year-old man, was found by police officers nearby with serious injuries which were consistent with being struck by a car.

Police provided first aid until a St John ambulance arrived but any attempts to revive the man failed and he died at the scene.
One of Perth's most prominent addresses in Perth's CBD has been sold for $87 million to Chinese investors.

The Australian Financial Review said the building on 167 St George's Terrace was sold by the WA Insurance Commission to Zone Q Investments as part of a large portfolio divestment.

The Insurance Westralia Plaza on 167 St George's Terrace in the heart of Perth's business district. Credit:Daniel Carson

Zone Q is behind a range of residential development projects in Perth, including its Pinnacle project in South Perth opposite Perth zoo.

More recently, Zone Q has embarked on a second apartment project on the corner of Aberdeen and Beaufort streets in Northbridge.
London: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would make the same decision again to join the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, after he and other officials were accused of misleading the public and Parliament over the intelligence used to justify the invasion.

Mr Blair, appearing tired and at times emotional, presented a two-hour defence of his conduct in light of the inquiry report that said Britain had decided to invade Iraq before exhausting peaceful options, used intelligence presented with a "certainty that was not justified", and undermined the authority of the United Nations.

"We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted," said John Chilcot, the lead author of the 2.6-million-word report, which presented the results of an inquiry that took seven years to complete.
Washington: Former US president George W. Bush, the main promoter of the Iraq war during 2003-2011, says he still hasn't read the Chilcot report which has raised harsh criticisms against his former ally Tony Blair in the UK.

But he was convinced that the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein.

In a statement, Bush spokesman Freddy Ford explained that the former president hasn't had the chance to read the Chilcot report and that "despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power".
Patrick Norman Pat Chapman is a 34-year-old, Caucasian male who was last known to be in Piedmont which is near the area of Greenville, Missouri on May 10, 2020.

Pat had stayed the night with a friend and his wife at their home. In the early morning when the friend woke to go to work.

Pat was gone in his own Burgundy color 1995 Ford Escort. That is the last anyone was known to have seen him. The vehicle was later recovered on May 29, 2020 in Mill Spring, Missouri.
The Mumbai Police was also asked to probe Zakir's source of funding and recordings of his speches.

By India Today Web Desk: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has now directed the Mumbai Police officials to initiate inquiry against Muslim preacher Zakir Naik.

The Mumbai Police was also asked to probe Zakir's source of funding and recordings of his speches.

The Centre had earlier indicated that the government may take action against the controversial Islamic preacher. "The Home Ministry will analyse everything," Naidu said, adding that speeches of Naik "are objectionable".

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Here are the latest developments

Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Padsalgikar has been directed to conduct the probe and submit a report to the state government. The enquiry follows mounting pressures from various quarters after Naik was accused of making inflammatory speeches which allegedly inspired the recent Bangladesh terror attacks. The Islamic preacher has also distanced himself from the controversial statement that "all Muslim should be terrorists". Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists". Reports also emerged that the attackers of Dhaka restaurant that left 20 people dead were inspired by his speches. The televangelist has been banned from entering the UK and Canada his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday indicated that the government was contemplating action against Naik, saying it was a "matter of law" and the agencies concerned will take "appropriate action". The BJP today attacked the Congress over a video in which Digvijaya Singh is seen sharing a hug and the stage with Naik at an event to promote communal harmony. On Wednesday, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai Arvind Sawant sought a ban on Naik's speeches and movement as well as his television channels, to prevent him from making provocative speeches. Young militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, posted a message on Facebook last year quoting Peace TV's preacher Naik "urging all Muslims to be terrorists".

Also Read

Act if you've evidence against him, Digvijaya tells govt after video shows him praising 'messenger of peace' Zakir Naik





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Mallya, who has been in the UK since March, has been declared a proclaimed offender by a special court in a money laundering case back home.

By PTI: Troubled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya is set to make a rare public appearance in the United Kingdom on Friday when he is scheduled to attend the team bosses press conference ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

Mallya, who has been in the UK since March, has been declared a proclaimed offender by a special court in a money laundering case back home. The creditors in India have also been trying to recover dues of Rs 9000 crore owed by his long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

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How Vijay Mallya flew to London via Delhi



It will be the first time this season that Force India boss Mallya will be seen in the paddock. Mallya is scheduled to address the press conference alongside fellow team principals Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari), Eric Boullier (McLaren), Dave Ryan (Manor), Claire Williams (Williams) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes).

The liquor baron is going through tough times but his team Force India has had a successful season so far. Sergio Perez's third place finish in Monaco and Baku helped the team record two podiums in a season for the first time.

Ferrari, swimming pools, helipad: An exclusive look inside Mallya's Goa villa



Force India, who had a forgettable last race in Austria, remain in the fifth place with 59 points are aiming to catch up Williams, who are fourth with 92 points.

The British Grand Prix is considered a home race for Force India, whose factory is a stones throw away from the circuit.

Also Read:

Verify facts before calling me a defaulter, tweets Vijay Mallya

Endgame Vijay Mallya? ED asks Interpol to issue Red Corner Notice against him



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By PTI: Washington, Jul 7 (PTI) Marijuana use can reduce the brains response to rewards over time, exposing users to the risk of becoming addicted to the drug, a new study has found.

The first long-term study of young marijuana users that tracked brain responses to rewards over time shows measurable changes in the brains reward system with marijuana use - even when other factors like alcohol use and cigarette smoking were taken into account.

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"What we saw was that over time, marijuana use was associated with a lower response to a monetary reward," said Mary Heitzeg, from the University of Michigan Medical School.

"This means that something that would be rewarding to most people was no longer rewarding to them, suggesting but not proving that their reward system has been hijacked by the drug, and that they need the drug to feel reward - or that their emotional response has been dampened," Heitzeg said.

The study involved 108 people in their early 20s - the prime age for marijuana use.

All were taking part in a larger study of substance use, and all had brain scans at three points over four years. Three-quarters were men, and nearly all were white.

While their brain was being scanned in a functional MRI scanner, they played a game that asked them to click a button when they saw a target on a screen in front of them.

Before each round, they were told they might win 20 cents, or USD 5 - or that they might lose that amount, have no reward or loss.

The researchers were most interested at what happened in the reward centres of the volunteers brains - the area called the nucleus accumbens - at the moment when the volunteers knew they might win some money, and were anticipating performing the simple task that it would take to win.

In that moment of anticipating a reward, the cells of the nucleus accumbens usually swing into action, pumping out a pleasure chemical called dopamine.

The bigger the response, the more pleasure or thrill a person feels - and the more likely theyll be to repeat the behaviour later.

However, the more marijuana use a volunteer reported, the smaller the response in their nucleus accumbens over time, the researchers found.

While the researchers did not look at the volunteers responses to marijuana-related cues, previous research has shown that the brains of people who use a high-inducing drug repeatedly often respond more strongly when theyre shown cues related to that drug.

The increased response means the drug has become associated in their brains with positive, rewarding feelings, which makes it harder to stop using then drug.

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The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. PTI MHN ABH

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The woman said that her boyfriend had just been pulled over for a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun, which he was licensed to carry.

By Reuters: A suburban Minneapolis police officer fatally shot a black man on Wednesday during a traffic stop, police said, and a woman posted a video on the internet saying he had been reaching for his license and showing what she described as the aftermath of the incident.

The incident comes hours after the US Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into two police officers fatally shooting a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

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The use of force by law enforcement against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has come under heavy scrutiny.

The St. Anthony Police Department said in a statement an unidentified black man was wounded in an officer-involved shooting during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota at 9 pm local time,

The man was taken to the hospital where he later died, police said.

VICTIM CARRIED LICENSED WEAPON



A woman live-streamed what she described as the aftermath of the shooting in a 10-minute video posted on YouTube and briefly on Facebook. Reuters has been unable to confirm the validity of the video.

The video began with the unidentified woman in the passenger seat describing what had happened moments before while a black man covered in blood sat in the driver's seat as a police officer pointed a gun into the vehicle.

The woman said that her boyfriend had just been pulled over for a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun, which he was licensed to carry.

"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," she said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."

HANDGUN RECOVERED AT THE SCENE



Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Officers told the woman to keep her hands up as a small child is heard briefly crying in the background.

"I told him not to reach for it," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video.

The Minneapolis Star newspaper reported relatives and friends identified the man as Philando Castile, 32. Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at a school in St. Paul school district, according to the paper.

"He doesn't deserve this," the woman was heard saying as she cried in the video. "He was a good man."

ALSO READ: Serbian man kills 5, injures more than 20, in cafe shooting





--- ENDS ---
Three juveniles charged with robbing same Paducah store twice in one day
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jul. 07, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 07, 2016 | 06:47 AM | PADUCAH, KY

Two Paducah women have been charged with felony theft.



McCracken County Sheriff's deputies were called Tuesday to Food Giant on Benton Road. Video surveillance footage determined that two women came into the store with three children about 4:20 pm and got a shopping cart. One woman placed a Yeti cooler in the cart and walked away with it, then a small child brought her a second cooler. The video reportedly shows the women arranging the coolers in the cart, then placing the children on top of the coolers to conceal them.



Deputies say the women appear to look around to see if they have been spotted, then allegedly walked out of the store with the items without paying.



On Wednesday, after West Kentucky Star and other local media broadcasted the public's assistance request, the sheriffs department received several tips about the identity of the suspects. One of the suspects was believed to be Mechelle Woods of Boyd Street. Detectives investigated the information and determined that Woods owned a van that matched the vehicle in the surveillance video at the time of the theft. Detectives compared known photographs of Woods with the surveillance video footage and believed that she was the woman assisting in the theft.



A search warrant was executed for Woods' home was executed about 11:00 pm Wednesday after Deputies saw the vehicle parked behind the home. The clothing that Woods was allegedly wearing at the time of the theft was recovered and she was taken to the Sheriffs Department for questioning.



Detectives believed that the second person involved was Arnita A. Martin of North 8th Street. At about 11:55 pm Wednesday, detectives found her at her home, and during a search Detectives say they found some of the clothing that Martin allegedly wore at the time of the theft. She also was brought in for further questioning.



Both women eventually admitted to their involvement in the thefts. Martin admitted that she positioned the items in the cart to conceal them under two of the three children, and Woods admitted she was the lookout, and that she placed the third child in the cart in an effort to conceal the cooler bags.



Both women were arrested and taken to McCracken County Regional Jail and charged with theft by unlawful taking over $500. The total value of the two Yeti cooler bags was $635.98.




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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jul. 06, 2016 | METROPOLIS, IL

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 06, 2016 | 08:24 PM | METROPOLIS, IL

The office of Billy McDaniel, mayor of Metropolis, issued a press release concerning the cleanup efforts in the city after Wednesday's severe storms.



"The office of the Mayor of the city of Metropolis requests that citizens other than storm relief crews remain off the streets and away from areas damaged by today's storms. Traffic is currently impairing the efforts of utility crews to clear storm debris and restore power. Failure to abide by this will result in arrests.



"The city also wishes to remind cleanup contractors that the City of Metropolis has an ordinance requiring all persons providing tree cutting, debris removal, or other storm-related services to register with the city and obtain a permit before performing any work. The permit can be obtained at the city clerk's office in City Hall. All contractors must complete a registration form and submit proof of liability insurance in order to obtain a permit."
By The Associated Press Jul. 06, 2016 | 08:41 PM | AUSTIN, TX

Two states have joined the 11-state coalition Texas is leading in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the Obama administration's recent directive about transgender students in public schools.

In a court pleading filed Wednesday in Wichita Falls, Texas, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also seeks a preliminary injunction to halt implementation of the directive pending a final judgment in the lawsuit.

Kentucky and Mississippi joined the coalition challenging the directive to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. The coalition also includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, Louisiana, Utah, Arizona and Georgia. Conservative-led states had vowed defiance since the Justice Department handed down the guidance.

The parties ask for a hearing on the injunction motion on Aug. 8 or 9.
By PTI: From Fakir Hassen

Johannesburg, Jul 7 (PTI) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis trip to South Africa tomorrow, the countrys foreign minister today said the visit will cement and strengthen the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

"South Africa and India share common values and objectives which were forged during the struggle against colonialism and for liberation and democracy in South Africa," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

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Modi will be in South Africa as part of a whirlwind five-day tour of Africa that will also take him to three other African countries - Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

"India played a leading role in isolating the apartheid regime, resulting in a shared history of friendship and solidarity," Nkoana-Mashabane, a former high commissioner to India, wrote in the daily The New Age.

"India also provided consistent support to the liberation movement during South Africas struggle for democracy and was at the forefront within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, in promoting international efforts towards South Africas liberation," she added.

She also reflected on the impact that Mahatma Gandhis tenure in South Africa at the turn of the last century had on the resistance to the apartheid regime.

Nkoana-Mashabane said one of the key objectives of Modis visit would be to enhance commercial and business relations with India and to promote private sector-to-private sector contact.

"In this regard, a Chief Executive Officers Forum and a South Africa-India Business Forum are planned to be held during the visit to facilitate business opportunities," she said.

"South Africa will also be exploring ways in which to increase and diversify our exports to India by identifying new areas of market access in areas including the defence sector, deep mining, renewable energy and the health sector.

"The business meetings will also serve to promote investment by Indian companies in South Africa through the identification of areas of investment and by investigating ways in which to simplify procedures for companies investing in South Africa," the minister concluded. PTI FH KUN

--- ENDS ---
Rita Redmond was a true lady who felt that every pupil had something to gift to the world
By PTI: Hyderabad, Jul 7 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will participate in INNOPROM 2016, an international industrial exhibition, to be held in Russia from July 11 to promote investments in the state.

He will also visit Astana, the newly-constructed capital of Kazakhstan, to study the best practices for the construction of APs permanent capital Amaravati, coming up near Vijayawada.

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"He (Naidu) will participate in INNOPROM 2016 which one part of the tour to Russia. We are also visiting Kazakhstan in order to see their newly-constructed capital Astana," Parakala Prabhakar, Advisor (Communications) to the state government, told reporters here today.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up our Chief Minister after his return from Kazakhstan last year and said that Astana is very beautiful, newly-constructed capital with all the modern facilities. So we must go and take the best practices from there," he said.

India is a partner country for INNOPROM 2016 and Naidus counterparts Devendra Fadnavis from Maharashtra and Vasundhara Raje from Rajasthan are also attending the four-day event.

Delegations from other states, including Gujarat and Jharkhand, would also participate in the event.

Prabhakar said Naidus agenda includes addressing the session on the theme Industrial Net (how internet, Internet of Things and modern technology is used in production of industrial goods and agriculture), showcasing the opportunities in AP and the resources in the state and meeting prominent government leaders of Russia.

A number of bilateral meetings with business leaders coming from different parts of the world have been scheduled, Prabhakar added.

Representatives from about 75 countries are participating in the INNOPROM event.

He said business leaders of international companies already operating in Russia have also sought appointments with the CM.

Andhra Pradesh has a special pavilion in INNOPROM 2016, said Prabhakar, who is part of Naidus delegation. PTI SJR NSK RCB JMF

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If these photographs don't inspire you to travel the world, nothing can.

By India Today Web Desk: The long-awaited list of winners of National Geographic's Travel Photographer of the Year 2016 is finally out!

While it is surely a reason to celebrate for the winning photographers, we just can't stop appreciating the stunning frames. Keeping the compositions, the colours and the quality of the photographs apart, the winning frames are acting as major sources of travel inspiration for us.

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Having adjudged a winner from a pool of hundreds of photographs contributed by photographers from all parts of the world, the Grand Prize Winner has won a well-deserved seven-day Polar Bear Safari for two at Churchill Wild-Seal River Heritage Lodge with airfare. Besides that, the category winners also won attractive prizes.

While the travel photographers of the year enjoy the fruits of their hard-earned titles, let's take a look at some of the winning photographs:



Winter Horseman, Grand Prize Winner

Category: People

Photo and caption by Anthony Lau

Picture courtesy: National Geographic/Anthony Lau

Caption: The winter in Inner Mongolia is very unforgiving. At a freezing temperature of minus twenty and lower, with a constant breeze of snow from all direction, it was pretty hard to convince myself to get out of the car and take photos. When I saw Inner Mongolia horsemen showing off their skills and commanding the steed from a distance. I quickly grabbed my telephoto lens and captured the moment when one of the horseman charged out from morning mist.

Wherever you go, I will follow you!!, First Place Winner

Category: Nature

Photo and caption by Hiroki Inoue

Picture courtesy: National Geographic/Hiroki Inoue Picture courtesy: National Geographic/Hiroki Inoue

Caption: It was when I drove back home feeling disappointed with the fact that I had finished the day in vain without any anticipated subject that I heard the joyful voice from the car window like "quack, quack!" There they were: red foxes. Around the end of the winter, they meet the season of love; they care for and love each other enough to make us jealous.

Location: Biei, Hokkaido, Japan

Ben Youssef, First Place Winner

Category: Cities

Photo and caption by Takashi Nakagawa

Picture courtesy: National Geographic/Takashi Nakagawa

Caption: Marrakesh is an exciting city for any traveler, but I was tired of walking on the crowded street and being asked for money from local people, so I was looking for a place to settle down. Even though there were a lot of people in Madrasa, it was still a more quiet and relaxing place than outside. Suddenly a beautiful reflection appeared on the shallow pool when I was taking a rest. It was a cloudy day so I could only see it when the wind stopped blowing and sunlight hit this Islamic architecture.

Location: Marrakesh, Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, Morocco

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Click here to see the other winning photographs.



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By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jul 7 (PTI) A Hong Kong-bound Nepal Airlines plane with 60 people on board today made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport here after being hit by a bird minutes after take-off.

The Airbus A320 of Nepals flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) safely made it back to the airports runway without any further troubles, according to airport officials.

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The Hong Kong-bound flight met with the incident at around 10 AM. There were no reports of any injuries.

NAC had to arrange another plane to fly the passengers to the destination.

Many aircrafts flying out were delayed while other flying in were put on hold before NACs another plane landed.

The affected aircraft was immediately grounded after it sustained damage to its engine due to the bird hit. PTI SBP CPS

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Art DeFehr has become the first Canadian named to the prestigious American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame.

DeFehr, now in his early 70s, may not be running any of the familys companies but is still very much involved in the business as the chairman and CEO of the holding company that owns Palliser Furniture, EQ3 and other operating entities in the furniture industry, as well as extensive real estate holdings.

He also continues to be outspoken and incisive in commentaries about international affairs, in particular regarding refugee settlement, an area in which he has worked his whole adult life.

wayne glowacki / winnipeg free press files Art DeFehr is best known for his business enterprises, but has a lengthy record of international development work, much of it in aid of refugees.

DeFehr said it was an honour to be recognized by the industry that built his familys fortune.

Hes the first Canadian to be selected to the hall, but its an institution that started allowing non-American members only 10 years ago.

When they decided they were international they realized they should award people who made an impact in the industry, whether they are Canadian, American, Chinese or Italian, he said. A few years ago, I became eligible. This is the industry where I have worked. Im honoured. They reward people whove worked for a long time in the industry who have in some way made their mark doing something new or different. It is meaningful to the industry.

One of DeFehrs significant accomplishments is simply keeping Palliser in business through the past 15 years, a period in which many companies went bankrupt.

When the industry moved to Chinese off-shore production at the end of the last century it caused massive disruption in the furniture business and put many long-standing companies out of business.

What DeFehr did differently was set up in Mexico rather than moving production to China. The company owns a couple of factories in Mexico  and may soon open another  and has about 1,300 employees there.

We made a choice go to Mexico to supplement production costs but lots of companies went to China, he said. The problem with China is that in many case the companies lost control. The Chinese eventually said we dont need you anymore, we can do it ourselves. The industry became messed up that way.

While publicly owned North American furniture companies lost about 90 per cent of their collective market capitalization from 2002 to 2008, Palliser became smaller, but was able to successfully reinvent itself as a custom leather company.

The familys enterprises also continue to employ more than 1,000 in Winnipeg.

At one time we were the largest supplier to the Brick and Leons. Now we dont ship at all in terms of upholstery products, he said. We have gone to higher-end specialty products. That is how we survived.

Palliser is the largest custom leather furniture supplier in North America.

He believes Palliser had more flexibility as a family-owned business.

We saved a lot of jobs in Canada. To me, that is valuable, he said. From the perspective of what our personal goals are  to operate a business with integrity, to employ people, to be part of the community in that sense it was a successful change. If you are a public company, that does not count for much. It only counts if you get bigger.

Lauren Estep, an official with the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation, based in High Point, N.C., said the selection process is a rigorous five-month ordeal that uses a points-based evaluation of four attributes  enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity, and philanthropic generosity.

Its not just what they have given back to the furniture industry but also what they have given back outside the industry, she said.

In that regard, DeFehrs accomplishments are just as noteworthy.

DeFehr led an agricultural redevelopment program for two years in Bangladesh in the 1970s in the aftermath of a bloody civil war; served as United Nations high commissioner for refugees to Somalia in the early 1980s when warlords first took over the famine-ravaged country; founded LCC International University, a Christian university in Lithuania in the chaotic, dying days of the former Soviet Union; and recently organized a conflict resolution conference in Myanmar.

As the child of refugee parents, DeFehr has been a lifelong activist in the field of immigration, and was one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the provincial nominee program, which has brought thousands of immigrants to Manitoba.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON  Wednesday marked the end of Ramadan for millions of Muslims around the world, but the beginning of a new life for four refugee families in Manitoba.

The Brandon Islamic Centre hosted about 150 people for the first day of Eid, a three-day celebration that follows the month-long fast. Among those present Wednesday were refugees who fled the Syrian conflict and arrived in Canada early this year.

Riad Sulaymans family lived in Qamishli, a city along Syrias northeastern border with Turkey, until 2012 when it became too dangerous.

Fearful for his two daughters and son, Sulayman moved his family to Turkey where they lived for three years.

When the first thing started I took the kids and left away. I did not witness it. I did not want them to witness it, Sulayman said through an interpreter.

Back home, Sulayman had worked as a butcher.

Surrounding countries would not allow refugees to work. They are not like advanced civilized First World countries. We are pointed at as a refugee. You cannot work, you are there as a refugee.

Then, Sulayman received notice of his familys acceptance to Canada. They arrived four months ago as one of three Syrian family sponsored by Westman Immigrant Services.

Currently, the three families are staying in Dauphin while a fourth, from Sudan, lives in Minto. Each family was sponsored in part by area churches, as well as by the federal government.

Several times, Sulayman expressed gratitude towards the team who helped him and his family.

God loves me, so he sent me here.

Wednesday, Sulayman and his family joined the celebration of the end of Ramadan at Brandons mosque. Feet folded beneath them, dozens of people bowed to the east while a member from the Muslim community led them in prayer.

Wednesdays event, which also included a potluck luncheon, was the opportunity to gather as a like-minded group  a special opportunity for the newcomers.

We provide a place and community where they can practise their faith, Brandon Islamic Centre representative Faiz Ahmad said. If you cannot practise your faith  if you are inclined that way  and you cannot express yourself, then one can imagine how difficult ones life could be.

In addition to serving as a welcoming community, the centre, which opened in 2001, aids Westman Immigrant Services in lessening the language barrier through interpreters and language resources.

Islamic centre members brought the refugees to Brandon to celebrate the first day of Eid.

Two and a half hours we drove, picked them up, came back we housed them, and we will take them back this afternoon. Why? Only so that they can be part of the celebration of Eid so they wont feel left out, Ahmad said.

It certainly is an occasion where the larger community come(s) together and seek(s) for each others welfare and happiness.

 Brandon Sun
Assam based regional news channels reported that a group of five people from the Muslim community allegedly entered India through the South Garo Hills border with Bangladesh and that they were en route to Assam.

By David Laitphlang: The state police as well as security agencies deployed in Meghalaya have warned "vested interests" from spreading malafide rumours that may unnecessarily cause public panic in the wake of terrorist strikes in neighboring Bangladesh.



RUMOURS

This warning has come in the wake of some Assam based regional news channels reporting that a group of five people from the Muslim community allegedly entered India through the South Garo Hills border with Bangladesh and that they were en route to Assam.

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A firm Meghalaya DGP, SK Jain told Eastern Chronicle over phone, "We are aware of the rumours but please appreciate the fact that there is no truth in them. We are constantly in touch with all agencies deployed here including the BSF and no such thing has taken place as far as our knowledge is concerned."

The DGP opined that speculation and rumour mongering is dangerous when it comes to "national security" while urging media houses to discharge their duties more "responsibly".

Jain asserted, "Despite serious challenges, we are working overtime in tandem with all agencies to ensure our frontiers are not breached."

Echoing M'laya DGP's take on the rumour, BSF DIG, Sushil K Singh said he had no knowledge of any infiltration in the Meghalaya frontier on Thursday. Being in charge of operations amongst other aspects, Singh stated it was a mischievous rumour initiated by perhaps people with ulterior motives. "We are alert as always and will foil any nefarious attempts," he assured confidently

ALSO READ:

\Mine uranium at your own peril: Meghalaya CM tells DelhiMine uranium at your own peril: Meghalaya CM tells Delhi

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two weeks after refusing to join Ottawa and eight other provinces in boosting Canada Pension Plan benefits, Manitoba is now prepared to sign the deal, Premier Brian Pallister said Thursday.

The province has an assurance from the federal government that several Manitoba proposals to improve CPP will undergo additional research and analysis, he said in a news release.

In June, Finance Minister Cameron Friesen joined his provincial and federal counterparts at a meeting in Vancouver that produced an agreement in principle to enhance the 51-year-old plan.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Brian Pallister described the seven-week sitting as "intense" and a "good healthy start" for his majority Progressive Conservative government.

Manitoba and Quebec did not sign the deal to increase premiums paid by both employers and employees beginning in 2019. Quebec administers QPP, its own pension plan.

We are pleased with the federal governments openness to a continued dialogue around the modernization of the CPP, Pallister said in the release, adding the results of the research will guide further discussion on Manitobas proposals at the next CPP review and are to be included as an agenda item at the next finance ministers meeting.

Federal Finance MInister Bill Morneau applauded Pallisters decision in his own news release from Ottawa.

On June 20th Canadas finance ministers came together to help middle-class Canadians achieve a safe and secure retirement by strengthening the CPP for generations to come. At that time, the newly elected government of Manitoba indicated its intent to give the matter careful consideration, Morneau said.

Today, I am pleased to welcome Manitoba to this historic agreement in principle, which now includes all CPP participating provinces.

A stronger CPP comes at a time when people in the middle class are working harder than ever, but dont always feel like theyre getting ahead. Too many people are worried that they wont have enough money for their retirement and fewer and fewer  particularly young people  have workplace pensions to fall back on, Morneau said.

I want to thank Premier Pallister and Minister Cameron Friesen for their hard work and ongoing dedication to the people of Manitoba. Their contributions before, during and following the meeting in Vancouver were substantive and deeply appreciated. I look forward to our ongoing collaboration and discussions.

The NDP Opposition hammered the Tories almost daily in question period for not having signed on to the deal.

Reaching consensus on the provision of affordable enhancements to CPP may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Friesen said in a prepared statement. Several other jurisdictions have indicated their willingness to both discuss and support these measures. Their input on Manitobas proposals will be an important part of the continued discussion around the modernization of the CPP.

Manitobas proposals include elimination of the clawback of guaranteed income supplement payments for widowed seniors CPP survivor benefits; indexation of the CPP death benefit; and comprehensive review of CPP survivor and disability benefits.

 with files from Mia Rabson
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After waiting more than eight months for a Freedom of Information request, a complaint against the Sustainable Development department by a former Free Press reporter has been supported by Manitobas Ombudsman.

Last October, reporter Bartley Kives filed a Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) request to what was then called the Conservation and Water Stewardship department. In the request, he asked for documents regarding the provinces plans to use potash to control zebra mussels in Lake Winnipeg, as well as the effectiveness and success rate of zebra mussel-control efforts.

The Ombudsmans report on the complaint, released Monday, outlines that after he received no response by December, Kives spoke with the departments privacy officer who explained that no records responsive to his request exist.

MANITOBA CONSERVATION AND WATER STEWARDSHIP A thick coating of Zebra mussels on a sampler (trap) removed from Gimli Harbour last year.

In Manitoba, the Ombudsman is an independent Officer of the Legislative Assembly, appointed to investigate complaints. Manitobas current ombudsman is Charlene Paquin.

Kives was then told that the department believed his request related to future plans. Kives explained he wanted documents dating back to 2012.

Kives was then promised by the department that he would get a response by March 2016; when March passed without one, a complaint of no response was made to the Ombudsman.

After several months of back and forth between the department and Ombudsman, several documents were released to Kives in May. They included one study on potash uses to fight zebra mussels, a PowerPoint presentation and a written response from the department.

The report notes it took the department seven months over the allowed time limit of one month under the act to respond to Kivess request. Despite finding the request unclear, the department failed to contact Kives about it for more than three months, the report says. Another four months elapsed following the clarification.

The Ombudsman concluded that the failure to contact Kives to clarify the request, the lengthy interval between the request and the eventual response shows the department failed to fulfil its duty to assist the complainant.

Our office found that the exceptional delay in responding to the complainant access request was unreasonable, the report concluded.

 staff
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police have concluded there is no evidence to conduct a criminal investigation into allegations former Red River College president Stephanie Forsyth used college marble for a kitchen renovation in her home.

And the college said Thursday it has no evidence that any of its marble is missing.

Investigators concluded a review and in the review there was insufficient evidence to look at proceeding with a criminal investigation, Const. Rob Carver told reporters Thursday. There just wasnt information that allowed us to allow investigators to make a conclusion that they should open a criminal investigation.

Photo provided by Canadian Taxpayers Association Stephanie Forsyth allegedly used marble from the college's culinary arts school in renovations of the kitchen in her home on Wellington Crescent, which she has since sold.

By its absence, we havent concluded that there was no criminal activity. What weve concluded, and I want to be very clear about this, is that we didnt have evidence to support the opening of a criminal investigation. Thats all weve been able to conclude, and thats all we were asked to determine, Carver said.

Im very pleased its over and done with, college board of governors chair Lloyd Schreyer said in an interview Thursday morning.

Schreyer said that RRC has found no evidence that marble is missing from its culinary arts building, or anywhere else on its campuses. Theres no evidence any Red River College marble was taken from anywhere, he said.

He said that allegations were raised and photos of marble in Forsyths renovated kitchen were published widely even before she and the college parted ways in the summer of 2014.

We couldnt come up with anything conclusive  it was like chasing the wind, said Schreyer, so RRC turned it over to the police.

Forsyth was president of the college for almost four years, until she left by mutual agreement at the end of August, 2014.

A scathing provincial investigation into Forsyths time as president had cited dozens of questionable expenses and spending decisions. During her tenure, Forsyth fired, or forced to leave, 16 senior executives, some of whom she had recruited to replace people shed fired.

The RRC board of governors had asked police to look into allegations Forsyth had used marble from the colleges culinary arts school building project in renovations of the kitchen in her home on Wellington Crescent, which she has since sold.

Carver said that he is unaware whether Forsyth had marble in her kitchen, and if there was, where she had obtained it. The details of where it came from really wasnt what we were asked to confirm, he said.

Forsyth now lives in Penticton, where she had advertised her availability as a carpenter, and where her spouse is in charge of a community womens agency. Carver did not know if Winnipeg police went to Penticton to interview her.

I would say that police interviewed, as part of their review, anyone we felt who had any information regarding this incident. I think you can conclude that she would have been one of the people interviewed, he said.

The details of commercial crime investigations, they tend to be some of the slowest moving investigations, where theyre based on sort of evidentiary information, inventories and track records, Carver said. Investigators have that burden of being incredibly thorough, and they make sure that they do that. So, every i has to be dotted and every t has to be crossed, and yeah, it takes a long time.

Carver said that a commercial crime situation moves at a different pace than a case such as a physical assault against a person.

This is really unique. An outside organization has come to us and asked us to review their own investigation. Thats not that common. And typically, if there is evidence up front, often commercial crime investigators are provided up front, there is some evidence of wrong-doing brought in early, then our investigators have initiative to provide an actual criminal investigation which may or may not end up with charges.

We were given a review by Red River College. We were asked to review that from an investigative standpoint as to whether or not there is evidence to support a criminal investigation. Our determination was there was not. So we werent asked and it wouldnt be appropriate for us to determine details as to what was approved and what wasnt approved. Were looking at it solely as an investigative analysis of, was there evidence of a crime and should we start a criminal investigation? We determined there wasnt. That was really the sole mandate of our review, Carver said.

Carver said police were not asked to determine if Red River College was missing any marble.

Schreyer said RRC turned to the police in January of 2015. The board had conducted their own internal investigation but the results were inconclusive, which resulted in our decision to ask the Winnipeg Police Service for their assistance, as they possessed the necessary tools and authority to properly review this matter.

At this time the board will not pursue this matter further, and we believe this new information closes the door on this issue. I want to thank the Winnipeg Police Service for their assistance in thoroughly reviewing this matter on behalf of the Board of Governors, said Schreyer.

RRC has always refused to disclose if the college paid Forsyth severance in return for leaving quietly.

However, public salary disclosure reports show that RRC paid Forsyth $245,491 for her final 61 days as president  a period in which there is no evidence she was on campus.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Half of Manitobans think its OK for politicians to duck out of Steinbach Pride for personal reasons, a new Probe Research poll reports.

But the research also finds Manitobans are divided on the issue, with more than one-third of respondents saying politicians should attend the citys first Pride parade this Saturday regardless.

Probe Research wanted to learn Manitobans thoughts after Provencher MP Ted Falk said he would not attend Steinbach Pride, said research associate Mary Agnes Welch.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza / The Associated Press files

Theres been a lot of debate over whats been a divisive issue, Welch said. We were mostly just curious to see if we could put some numbers and some figures on the views of Manitobans on two of the issues that emerged from this larger debate over gay rights.

Falks reasoning for not attending came under fire last month from critics and other politicians, such as Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman. Initially, Falk said he would not attend because he had prior plans to attend Frog Follies, a small fair in neighbouring St-Pierre-Jolys. When the organizer of the event said Falk should participate in Pride instead, Falk issued a statement saying he wouldnt attend the Pride parade, even if there wasnt a scheduling conflict, due to his personal beliefs.

According to the latest poll in which 653 adults were asked about LGBTTQ issues in Steinbach, 52 per cent of Manitobans believe Falks decision should be respected, but a significant minority of 36 per cent believe politicians should attend regardless of their personal views.

What it says to me is this is a nuanced issue and theres no consensus among Manitobans yet on how politicians should behave when confronted with these kinds of choices, Welch said.

Prior to helping plan the parade, Michelle McHale asked Hanover School Division trustees to teach middle school students about sexual orientation and gender identity after her own child was bullied for having two moms. The board denied McHales appeal and she and her partner have since filed a human rights complaint.

Poll results suggest 50 per cent of Manitobans believe Education Minister Ian Wishart should intervene and force the division to change its curriculum to teach younger students about LGBTTQ issues before they enter high school, while one-third of respondents said intervention isnt necessary.

This kind of encapsulates how split we are on this question, Welch said. There is no consensus on how to move forward as a province on this yet.

Saturdays parade will begin at 11 a.m. at Steinbach United Church at 541 Main St. and head to city hall for a rally. Following speeches, the parade will make its way back to the church.

Probe Research conducted the survey through its own online panel between June 30 and July 4, 2016. Participants are recruited through a quarterly, random telephone poll. The survey is a non-probability sample, so a statistical margin of error cant be ascribed. But a margin of error on a probability sample of the same amount of people is plus or minus 3.83 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

 with files from The Carillon

bailey.hildebrand@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Point Douglas rooming house in which two people died in a fire early Thursday was a known trouble spot to area residents.

Community activist Sel Burrows said the house at 186 Austin St. North was the last remaining problem house on Austin Street.

Burrows said while Austin has been remade over the past nine years into a quiet, hospitable street, the house at 186 Austin was known as a rough house with frequent, loud partying and the occasional drug dealing.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Police have a large perimeter set up around the scene of a fatal house fire in the 100 block of Austin Street North as fire officials investigate.

Austin Street used to be one of the worst crime streets in all of Winnipeg, Burrows said. Over the last nine years, between the community and working with authorities, it really cleaned up.

On that block, this was the only (house) that was still a problem Its rougher.

Firefighters rushed to the burning three-storey rooming house at about 1:40 a.m. The structure was well involved, and crews hit the exterior with large-volume water lines before entering, said a spokesman with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service. When inside, firefighters located one male who was already dead.

Crews continued to battle the blaze and then entered the building a second time, finding another male victim who was dead.

The ages of the victims were not released.

The rooming house, across the street from the Immaculate Conception Parish church, was destroyed.

Winnipeg Police Const. Rob Carver said about 15 people were evacuated from the rooming house, although he couldnt say if all were residents. Several were treated in hospital.

It was the citys second deadly fire in less than eight hours. On Wednesday about 6 p.m., firefighters pulled a man in his 50s out of a home on Aberdeen Avenue at Charles Street. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition, where he died.

Carver said the fire on Aberdeen is believed to have started in the kitchen and is not considered suspicious.

A civic spokeswoman confirmed the house was a licensed rooming house.

Audrey, a neighbour, said the rooming house had become party central. She, along with numerous others, had complained to the houses landlord.

Lots of drug activity, lots of fighting, lots of noise, lots of arguing, she said.

She estimated there were seven suites inside the house.

Burrows said neighbourhood residents believe the fire was linked to the drug dealing that had been going on in the house. Residents in the house, he said, were often getting drunk or stoned and having loud parties and arguments.

Yesterday, the community support unit of the police were in my kitchen talking to me about general issues in Point Douglas, and this house was one of the issues. They were showing their frustration because theyd been in the house quite a few times but not able to apprehend anybody.

ARLEA ASHCROFT photo Above left: Officials investigate at the rooming house at 186 Austin St. North Thursday. Above right: The rooming house well involved with flames early Thursday.

Area residents knew little about the house or its ownership, Burrows said, adding hes feeling guilty more wasnt done to pressure the owner to clean it up, as was done with other trouble spots in the neighbourhood. The fire, he said, was a shock to the neighbourhood.

We thought we had enough social controls in the area that this kind of thing wasnt going to be happening, Burrows said. I feel personally guilty I should have done more about this address because we knew it was a problem. We didnt put pressure on the owner to smarten the place up, which is what we normally do.

A civic spokeswoman said the Austin Street rooming house was last inspected by fire inspectors in November 2013 and was considered to be fully compliant in February 2014.

The spokeswoman said there are 176 licensed rooming houses in Winnipeg.

The spokeswoman said there is no longer a requirement for annual fire inspections of rooming houses. Licensed rooming houses used to be inspected every two years, the spokeswoman said, but that requirement was removed in late 2008 with the introduction of the Neighbourhood Livability Bylaw.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service in 2015 committed to inspecting all licensed rooming houses on an annual basis. However, the spokeswoman said the WFPS only carries out inspections for new-owner licences or when acting on complaints.

Couns. Janice Lukes and Ross Eadie said they want bylaw officers to accompany fire officials when inspecting rooming houses. Their proposal is being considered by a civic committee Monday. Burrows said he supports the plan and will speak to the committee.

A rooming-house fire on Austin Street N. in July 2011 killed five people. Three others narrowly escaped. Lulonda Lynn Flett, 41, pleaded guilty to five counts of manslaughter and one count of arson.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 06/07/2016 (2304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 22-year-old Winnipeg man is suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Boniface, the priest who sexually abused him and the religious order Clercs de Saint-Viateur du Canada for $2.1 million in damages.

Rev. Ronald Leger, former pastor of Holy Family Parish on Archibald Street, was convicted of sexually assaulting the young man when he was a boy as well as two other boys and sentenced in February to two years in jail.

The statement of claim filed for the victim, known only by his initials, says the archdiocese took no steps to stop the behaviour or to protect the plaintiff and, instead, took steps to attempt to cover up the behaviour. It said the the conduct of the order and the archdiocese was harsh, high-handed and malicious and needs to be punished. Instead of reacting appropriately to Legers sexual misconduct, it transferred him to new postings where further unsuspecting victims awaited. It claims they consciously and deliberately suppressed information about Legers sexual misconduct in an effort to protect the reputation of the order and the archdiocese. They promoted a culture of secrecy with respect to sexual misconduct of clergy to benefit the order and the archdiocese rather than stop the misconduct or help the victims, it said. They failed to contact the plaintiffs parents and police when they learned about Legers actions, the statement of claim alleges.

The archdiocese still hasnt helped the victim, it said. It has failed, to this day, to investigate the extent of Legers past behaviour and has failed to render any assistance to the plaintiff, contrary to its own internal policies and the policies of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The young man has suffered suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder shame, guilt and feelings of worthlessness, it said. He was deprived of a normal adolescence and his ability to develop normal relationships was impaired. He hasnt been able to live up to his abilities and aptitude in school or work because of the emotional trauma he suffered, it said. He had to go for medical treatment and still receives psychological counselling.

The abuse started in 2004 when the boy was about 12 and, for two years after, Leger repeatedly sexually abused, assaulted and molested him, the court filing said.

The priest hugged him and fondled him over his clothing, including his genitals, it said. Leger exposed his naked body to the boy and engaged in other sexual activities, the statement of claim said. Leger used his position of authority and trust to ensure the boy kept it a secret and didnt tell anyone about the behaviour that occurred on a regular basis increasing in frequency, nature and intensity as it progressed, it said.

Leger had a priest-parishioner relationship with the boys family and had known him since he was a toddler, the statement of claim said. Leger provided religious counselling and mentored him as a child and later, as a teenager, provided him with spiritual guidance. The archdiocese taught the boy and other Catholics that priests are the chosen representatives on Earth of God and have special powers, and that priests are to be viewed with special reverence, power, respect, honour and authority, the statement of claim said. The archdiocese employed Leger to carry out those teachings and provided him with the opportunity and means to come into contact with his young victim on diocese property, the court filing said. Leger used such ideologies and rules to manipulate his victim, it said. He used his position of trust as a priest of the archdiocese and the religious order to develop a close, personal relationship with him, it said. It allowed Leger to be alone with him and to exert total control over him, prey upon him and sexually abuse him.

If the archdiocese didnt know about the abuse of the plaintiff, it ought to have, the statement of claim said. It pointed to Legers difficulties as a seminarian and with alcohol and his sexuality, as well as the concerns of other clergy, parishioners and students. Parents and others at Legers previous parish postings or schools had complained about his actions with young people, the statement of claim said.

The archdiocese, it said, was negligent for failing to recognize that a certain percentage of priests would become sexually deviant and would make sexual advances to children and young people. It said the archdiocese didnt properly investigate Legers background, character and psychological state when it accepted him to serve in St. Boniface then failed to document, discipline or expel Leger for his shortcomings. It failed to follow its own internal policies in allowing him to serve and didnt warn his immediate supervisors, parishioners, students and others who may come into contact with him of Legers difficulties. The archdiocese had no proper system of self-self reporting or other-reporting or counselling in place for priests who engage in such deviant behaviour, the claim alleges.

In fact, it said the archdiocese fostered a system based on the rules, principles and ideologies of the church, in particular the rule that priests have absolute authority so that the reporting of such deviant sexual behaviour of a priest by its members would be considered to be wrong' The statement of claim said the archdiocese implemented and maintained a system that was designed to cover up the existence of such behaviour if such behaviour was ever reported. It failed to protect the plaintiff from Leger when it knew or ought to have known that he was vulnerable to the attentions and influence of the priest, it said.

The Archbishop of St. Boniface, Rev. Albert LeGatt, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It seems every day there is another story about unusual weather somewhere in the world. The longest drought in California has killed 66 million trees in the Sierra Nevada. An airplane cant land in Phoenix because the asphalt on the runway is so hot it would explode the tires. Palm Springs hits 50 C, like parts of India. We have our own serious forest fires (remember Fort McMurray?) that seem to start before the last one is extinguished.

Acute water shortages in urban areas (such as in Karachi, Pakistan) are becoming a serious threat to political stability as well as to human health. Ethiopia is facing its worst drought (and corresponding famine) in 50 years. Elsewhere, there are heavy floods yet again in Europe, while the Caddy Lake area in Manitoba is under water for the first time anyone can remember.

Tornado season is just spinning up here, but down south, it started early (there was even a tornado in China). No doubt any serious increase in the number of hurricanes this year will just be the fault of El Nino.

JASON FRANSON / THE CANADIAN PRESS Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, and Fort McMurray Fire Chief Darby Allen look over a burnt-out car in Fort McMurray, Alta., in May. Climate change is exacerbating conditions behind frequent wildfires and other extreme weather events.

Global heat records have been broken every month for more than the last year, but again, its just a fluke, merely what happens every once in a while.

The words we use to describe just bad weather are evidence of a dangerous delusion. The bad weather we are experiencing is not an accident of planetary cycles, but the consequence of a warming planet with a changing climate. It will only get more frequent, not less extreme.

This statement will, of course, bring the Internet trolls out of their caves of denial, but I would challenge everyone to consider this different point instead of hacking away at the usual arguments.

By pretending extreme weather is just accidental, we are not accepting that this kind of weather is the new normal. The odd forest fire is bad luck, against which we can do little. The occasional flood is misfortune, best managed by Emergency Measures and some insurance. Drought? Unlikely, but we will just bring in some extra drinking water from somewhere else. Overflowing storm sewers dumping sewage in the Red River? Happens rarely and thats just the price we pay for an old, combined system.

And so we do nothing to mitigate the future effects of similar extreme weather when it happens again  which it will. How many 100-year floods have there been lately? It wont be 100 years until the next one. How long until the next Fort McMurray fire? Next year? What about the next sewage overflow? Next week?

Disregarding mosquito biology, scientific evidence and common sense, we keep pretending that our 1950s chemical warfare approach to mosquito control is effective, despite our clay soil, wetter weather and warming winters. No doubt it will just be unfortunate when malarial mosquitoes start to appear in Manitoba in what, perhaps a decade?

Its just not smart. Whatever the specific causes, it is clear extreme weather everywhere is the new normal. Our language needs to reflect this. Otherwise, people will not understand the urgent need to change policies and infrastructure to mitigate the worst effects of these extreme weather conditions on individuals and communities.

How would we deal with the kind of drought faced by California? By Ethiopia? What would it mean for commercial agriculture and for the food we eat?

We did not just hope that Duffs Ditch (now extended) would save the city from a 700-year flood  we did the math and made sure of it. But that still leaves communities such as Brandon twitching in the wind, remembering the sandbag wall that saved the city the last time.

Are we going to find ways of increasing wetlands around our lakes to take excess water (the way they used to) and filter it slowly back into the lakes after the spring floods are over, or do we move residents into Winnipeg hotels every year and wring our hands about it, yet again, because we cant control the flows?

Do rural and remote communities have plans for preventing or managing forest fires, or do we instead expect them to manufacture a miracle when the inevitable fire hits the edge of town? And how would we deal with an extended heat wave of 40 to 50 C? With paper fans and extra Slurpees?

Extreme weather is the new normal. Whatever you think is causing it, we need to stop pretending its just bad luck and deal with what is surely coming at us over the horizon, while we still have time.

Peter Denton was an author of UNEPs GEO6 North American Regional Assessment and chairs the Policy Committee of the Green Action Centre.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the Pride March for Equality proceeds toward Steinbach City Hall on Saturday, it will not be the first time that queer Manitobans have demonstrated on the streets of the community.

More than 40 years ago, activists with the University of Manitoba-based organization Gays for Equality staged a protest on Steinbachs Main Street. Derksen Printers had refused to publish their booklet, Understanding Homosexuality, a 20-plus page broadsheet collection of gay-affirmative writings.

Eleven activists, eight of them women, picketed along the sidewalk outside the Derksen office on July 2, 1974. The protesters marched up and down the block, waving placards reading Derksen Unfair to Gay People, and the more inflammatory Hitler Would Be Proud.

Not about to surrender the streets of their community to the homosexuals, at least seven local clergy arrived with children in tow and engaged in a counter-protest. Brandishing their Bibles and quoting scripture, the ministers preached that homosexuality was a sin. It says so in the Bible, one minister insisted. Here, let me read you a few passages.

What resulted bordered on the hilarious, the Winnipeg Free Press reported, with the protesters trying to out-shout the preachers cries of praise be the Lord with their chants of gay is good! Eventually, an RCMP constable arrived and told everyone to go home.

Company owner Eugene Derksen told the Globe and Mail, We resent these people coming in and I had to leave because I was tempted to throw rotten eggs at them. To the Free Press Derksen said, I dont have to dig in the garbage to make a buck.

Gays for Equality spokesman Bill Lewis wrote to then-attorney general Howard Pawley to discuss Derksens refusal of service and request protection for sexual orientation under the Manitoba Human Rights Act.

Homosexual relations between consenting adults had recently been decriminalized under a 1969 federal bill championed by the justice minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau.

However, Manitobas chief human rights official, Jim White, responded there was nothing in the act to cover discrimination against gays and lesbians. If homosexuals wanted change, he suggested, Theyre going to have to push the public for it.

And push, they did. Founded by a core group of dedicated activists in 1972, Gays for Equality was a local organization connected to a national and international gay-liberation movement. Activists views were diverse, but they shared several goals: celebrate the beauty and naturalness of homosexuality, confront societal homophobia and work to change laws and policies that unfairly discriminated against gays and lesbians.

The call to come out of the closet, which was popularized during this period, was a part of a strategy aimed at challenging the denial and invisibility of homosexuality.

Over the subsequent decades, the campaign for visibility and equality broadened to include a range of LGBTTQ* identities: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirited, queer and more. The struggle for equal treatment and protection of the law, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity went on to achieve remarkable victories. Activists fought against discrimination and for inclusion in the areas of policing, housing, employment, same-sex relationships, adoption and health care.

Today, Derksens refusal to publish Understanding Homosexuality would constitute a violation of the Manitoba Human Rights Code, and he would likely face a penalty for discrimination.

Much has changed over the last four decades. In the present-day controversy, it is religious conservatives, and not gay people, who feel like an embattled minority. Today, public opinion is broadly supportive of LGBTTQ* rights. The federal Conservative party even voted to drop its opposition to same-sex marriage, conceding the legal and political debate on the matter was over and done with.

Understanding Homosexuality, the small publication at the centre of the 1974 controversy, contained premises that were radical for the time. It featured the work of psychiatrist George Weinberg, who coined the term homophobia. The booklet also drew from the findings of sexologist Alfred Kinsey, whose studies identified a much higher prevalence of same-sex desires in the general population than previously thought.

Progressive Christian theologians K.H. Jones and Father John McNeil were quoted, too. These authors examined the story in Genesis 19:4-11 that is still used to justify intolerance, and found that it was not homosexuality that was at stake. The evil of which Lot suspects the men of Sodom and for which God punishes them is not a perverted sexual appetite, they explained, but rather a breach of the rules of hospitality.

Many of the religious conservatives who have opposed equal recognition and treatment of LGBTTQ* persons have cited their Christian faith as a reason for their lack of support. Yet the most basic tenet of this faith, and other spiritual traditions, calls on each of us to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Perhaps then the scriptural lesson for this weekend should emphasize the principle of loving hospitality, rather than reinforcing practices of intolerance and exclusion.

Robert Lidstone grew up queer and Christian in southeastern Manitoba.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 07/07/2016 (2303 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A child dies in hospital, never once feeling the sanctity of home, while various levels of government argue about who is responsible for paying for something as petty as a showerhead. Its an indignity no family should have to endure. On Tuesday, 11 years after Jordan River Andersons death, the federal government sought to address these long-standing disputes by outlining its new approach for First Nations children living on reserve with a disability or a short-term condition.

The ministers of Health and Indigenous Affairs announced an additional $382 million will be set aside over three years to address the so-called Jordans Principle  in essence, the jurisdictional disputes that occur over services provided for First Nations children. The funding will go toward hiring regional service co-ordinators to assess and address health and social service gaps for Indigenous children, as well as create a fund for Health Canada to draw from to pay for services when they are needed and are not currently met by existing programs.

Jordans Principle was named after a First Nations baby from Norway House Cree Nation born in 1999 with a rare neuromuscular disease. Because of Jordans medical needs, he couldnt be treated on reserve and was transferred to a hospital in Winnipeg. In 2001, it was determined Jordan could be treated in a foster home closer to his home community, but jurisdictional disputes over who paid for what meant he never was released from hospital, and thats where he died, at the age of five.

ALEXANDRA PAUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First National Child & Family Caring Society

Status First Nations people will consistently be caught in the trap of jurisdictional disputes because of their unique treatment under Canadian law. Provincial governments provide social services and health care for those living off reserve, while the federal government funds on-reserve services. Its further complicated because services provided on reserves are regulated by the province. The structure of the current system means jurisdictional disputes are almost a given.

Add to that the ongoing pressure on all government departments to keep the costs under control with decades of belt-tightening and funding cutbacks, and its hard to see how adding more money, and another layer of bureaucracy, will change institutional cultures at either level. This means theres a potential of yet another Jordan falling between the cracks and being denied what kids off reserve take as a given.

Further, the new child-first approach from the Trudeau government is only applied to children living on reserve with a disability or a short-term condition. Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First National Child & Family Caring Society, says the principle should also be applied to all public services available to children, such as education, early childhood education and language services that are also under federal government control on reserves.

The Trudeau government wants to forge a new relationship with Canadas indigenous people, but as Ms. Blackstock has pointed out, children on reserves are still being treated differently. A new approach means a different mindset, difficult to achieve by just throwing money at it.
The need has always been there. The need to care for the sick and the injured has been part of the Winona community since its founding.

The summer of 1852 was a sickly season for the infant communities of Winona and Minnesota City. High water in the spring followed by exceptionally hot and dry weather brought on a general epidemic of severe forms of malarial diseases. Of the 350 or so settlers in the area, nearly all fell ill.

With no doctor nearer than La Crosse, Catherine Goddard opened her home to the sick of the community as a makeshift hospital. However, despite Catherines ministrations, Abner Goddard and her two youngest children were among the 14 people who perished before the epidemic ran its course.

It would be two years before a physician finally opened a practice in Winona. In 1854, Dr. James Cole arrived and hung out his shingle. The practice of medicine in the mid-19th century was considerably less lucrative than it would become, and, to remain solvent, Dr. Cole was obliged to also operate a livery stable.

Frontier physicians faced formidable challenges. Medical knowledge was primitive at best. An understanding of infection and sanitation was still in the future, as were anesthetics and most of the most basic tools of the physicians trade. Records of the time take note of epidemics of typhoid and scarlet fever in 1858, diphtheria in 1863, and in 1872, whooping cough and smallpox.

Doctors fought back with what weapons they had. When news of smallpox spreading westward reached Winona in 1872, one doctor vaccinated 150 people in a single day. The effort succeeded in holding the plague at bay, with only seven smallpox deaths recorded for the year.

Other treatments were less efficacious. In 1863, doctors advised gargling twice daily with the brine of Holland herring to prevent diphtheria, and horseradish, applied to the wrist, was a popular cure for toothache.

By the 1880s, germs were generally recognized as the cause of disease and infection. A pest house was established in 1884 by the Winona Board of Heath. People suffering from communicable diseases were sent to the pest house for treatment and, more importantly, to stem the spread of their illness.

In 1888, the Sisters of St. Joseph took over St. Marys Academy, located at Wabasha and Vila streets for use as a hospital. Four years old, four stories tall and 227 feet long, it was the largest building in town, and far too large to be operated economically. In 1894 the building was sold to the Sisters of St. Francis and was reopened as the Winona Seminary for Ladies, predecessor to the College of St. Teresa.

The city was again without a hospital, but leaders in the civic and medical communities rallied to remedy the situation.

In February 1894, the Winona General Hospital Association was organized. Its charter stipulated any hospital operated under its authority must be operated on a not-for-profit basis, be non-sectarian, and offer treatment to all types of patients.

A community-wide fund drive was launched, collecting $4,500 to establish a new hospital for the community.

The Winona City Hospital was established in the Langley house at West Sanborn and Winona streets on the site now occupied by Conway Hall. The hospital had beds for 18 patients and in its first year served 225 patients.

In 1895 a nurses training school was established in connection with the hospital. The school would continue until 1935, when changes in nursing education made its continued operation economically unfeasible.

Only four years after it opened, the little hospital on Sanborn Street was faced with a new crisis  eviction. The Langely property had been purchased for Winona State Normal School and the hospital needed a new home.

A second community fund drive was launched, raising $35,000 for a new hospital. In the spring of 1899 a new 50-bed hospital was opened at West Wabasha and Ewing streets, the current site of the Heritage Apartments.

Advances in medical practice were transforming the hospital from a place where people went to die, to a place where they were cured. By 1919, a new three story wing was added to the hospital, with another three stories added in 1926.

In the ensuing years new demands were made on the space available in the buildings. Major improvements included two automatic elevators, a central sterile supply, new laundry equipment and room remodeling, enclosing and fireproofing stairways, a pediatric department, pharmacy, and kitchen renovation. With no new space added, the building was stretched to its limits, until, in 1949, a consultant recommended replacing the venerable old buildings, which he deemed inefficient, outmoded and inadequate for the practice of modern medicine.

In April, 1959, a community-wide campaign to raise funds for a new hospital overshot its $1,750,000 goal by $450,000, and on August 11, 1962, the first patients were moved into the new Community Memorial Hospital built near Lake Winona on Mankato Avenue.
By PTI: From Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jul 7 (PTI) US President Barack Obama heads to Europe this week, posiblky his last European visit, that would take him to Poland and Spain where he would attend the NATO summit and hold meetings with top European leaders follwoing Britains exit from the EU.

The situation in Afghanistan, the war against Islamic State terror group after attacks by it in the last month, are likely to dominate the proceedings in addition to post-Brexit European Union and Ukraine, senior administration officials told reporters on the eve of Obamas departure for Europe.

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"This trip comes at an important time," said Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor.

"Certainly NATO as the foundation of transatlantic security and the cornerstone of global security, but also our ability to engage with European allies in the context of the aftermath of Brexit, some of the tensions with Russia over the last several years, and the broader concerns about the counter-ISIL effort and the refugee situation," he said.

"So many different pressing issues that will be on the agenda at Warsaw and throughout the Presidents time in Europe," Rhodes said.

The US-EU meeting tomorrow, he said, will be a very timely opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Brexit vote and their continued, very strong support for the European project, which has been at the center of so much security and prosperity for Europe and the US and the world.

"Theyll review the circumstances in the aftermath of Brexit. Theyll also be able to discuss a range of issues were cooperating with the Europeans. That would include terrorism, migration, economic issues, Russia," he said.

In addition to attending the NATO Summit at Warsaw in Poland, Obama would also meet the Ukrainian president along with leaders of the UK, Germany, France, and Italy.

"(This is) a format that hes worked with on many issues, but in particular on Ukraine, its an important opportunity to reaffirm our support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, to stress the urgency of moving forward with the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and expressing our continued determination to maintain sanctions on Russia should they not follow through on those commitments," Rhodes said.

From Poland, Obama would travel to Spain, which is the one major European country that he has not visited so far.

Doug Lute, US Permanent Representative to NATO said after the Warsaw summit, the command and control of the ballistic missile defense system will pass from the US to NATO.

"And of course, the President, in being able to meet with the European leaders and the EU leaders and certainly hell be seeing Prime Minister David Cameron as well can get a sense from them over how they are thinking about the discussions and negotiations that they will have surrounding the British decision to exit the European Union," he said.

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"Its possible that this is the Presidents final stop in Europe, although there may be additional changes. It is certainly his last NATO summit," he added. PTI LKJ KUN

--- ENDS ---
Jack Gunnarson of Winona moved to the area in the early 2000s, and in the time since he purchased a business here and has established a very successful company called Excel Images.

With the help of my two sons, and an incredible group of hardworking, committed, talented, passionate and dedicated employees, we have become a very meaningful branded apparel and promotional products company, said Gunnarson about his contribution to Winona Countys business community.

Gunnarson and his wife, Jaci, will be married 43 years on August 25, and the family includes sons Jackson (wife Katrina) and Jon (wife Shannon) and grandchildren Carter, Crew, Peyton, Jonna and Tyler.

Jack and Jaci grew up on the Iron Range of northern Minnesota, and after spending 30 years in the Twin Cities, the couple made the move to Winona when they purchased the business here.

While in high school Gunnarson started working part time in a small lettering shop in Virginia, Minn. He proudly stated that was the beginning of a 46-year career in the decorated apparel/promotional products industry. For 33 years, he and a close friend partnered in a decorated apparel business, and when the business went public, the two experienced 25 years as a quality supplier of printed and embroidered apparel to major retailers nationwide.

When the business was purchased in Winona, the family moved to the area. Visits to Winona County in the 1990s convinced Gunnerson and his wife this would be a wonderful place to live.

The river, the bluffs, the beautiful farmland, the business environment and the people ... small communities with their own character and charm are so refreshing, said Gunnarson about his decision to purchase a business in Winona County.

For Gunnarson, the important parts of life are faith, family, health and business, and while there are limited hours in the day, he does support some important causes. Cancer events are one, since he lost his business partner to cancer in 2003. The other is the national wheelchair camp at Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch, since he and his wife have two grandsons with spina bifida. He also supports the Winona County Fair through discounts on apparel and other items.

With so many worthy causes, you have to decide which ones mean the most to you and focus on those, Gunnarson said.
One of the joys we derive from traveling is the chance to meet with former students around the world. Like Cecilias former student from Egypt, who traveled from Alexandria to Cairo to meet up with us at the dawn of the Arab Spring. Or the outstanding business student from Finland who met us in Helsinki on my birthday. We have met up with former students in China and Malaysia as well. It is a chance to find out how they are doing, as well as a chance to see their country through their own lenses after they have received an American education. It is something we look forward to.

But on our recent trip to Poland, sadly, we could not to meet up with one of Cecilias former students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, promising Polish professionals were sent to American universities to learn more about our democratic political system and market oriented economies. One of them took a course in political science with Cecilia.

These Polish students eventually returned to Poland and a number rose through the ranks of government. One of them was Cecilias former student, who eventually became a Minister of National Defense of Poland. Sometime in early 2010, he reached out to his former professor and even sent us traditional Polish Easter gifts with an open invitation to visit Poland.

Unfortunately, on April 10, 2010, even before we had finished consuming his Easter gifts, the plane in which he was on together with the Polish president and other high ranking officials crashed while landing in Smolensk, Russia, killing all aboard. Ironically, they were on the way to Russia to commemorate the 1940 Katyn Forest massacres during which some of the best and brightest of Poland were murdered.

Our tour guide in Krakow, upon learning of Cecilias connection with the former defense minister, took her to Wawel Castle, where the president lies buried and a memorial for the plane crash victims is located. And there Cecilia was able to honor her former student, Aleksander Marek Szczygo.

Some of Polands history has been tragic. There have been times in history when other powers have contrived to eliminate the country through partition. At other times, the outright murder of Poles was sanctioned as a prelude to their extermination. We were able to visit the museums and monuments in Warsaw and Krakow that commemorated the fierce resistance of Poles against its aggressors, often with tragic consequences.

And it was no accident that some of the worst atrocities committed against Jews  first the ghettos and ultimately the extermination camps (more on that later)  took place in German-occupied Poland. It was home to many Jews prior to World War II and the Nazis detested Jews and Poles alike, along with Gypsies, homosexuals and the disabled.

We reflected on much of this as we traveled with church choir members from the Diocese of Winona through this beautiful country. Our journey was made even more personal by a connection to a foreign student whose American experience was first nurtured in this area. We could only hope that the many foreign students who pass our way would lead happy and productive lives and carry fond memories of this place as well.
The Ready Set School board of directors would like to thank local business partners for recently hosting a Ready Set School fundraiser. The following Winona businesses generously contributed a portion of their daily profits to contribute to our 2016 fundraising campaign:

Bloedow Bakery, Blooming Grounds, Godfathers Pizza, Yarnology, Penguin Zesto, Lakeview Drive Inn, and Adventure Cycle and Ski. We also appreciate the donation of backpacks and school supplies received from Cellular Wireless in Winona.

Winona National Bank, the Winona Hims, Winona Masonic Lodge #18, Walmart, Shopko through its Community Grants program, and many new and returning donors came together to support this important effort for Winona County children and their families.

Thank you also to new donors from St. Charles: St. Charles Lions Club, Cabin Coffee, Jimmys Pizza, Dels Cafe, Good Sport Bar and Grill, and Merchants Bank.

Individual donors, community civic organizations, and businesses answered our call to help with reaching our $50,000 goal to assist eligible children and families with the purchase of clothing and supplies for fall of 2016.

The $50 vouchers will be mailed to families in mid-July, just in time for the back-to-school specials. They may be redeemed at Walmart, Shopko, Rogans Shoes and JC Penney until Sept. 15.

Please visit readysetschoolwinona.org or e-mail readysetschool@gmail.com with questions or to deliver a donation of school supplies to supplement our supply shelf at Winona Volunteer Services.

Ready Set School is committed to making sure that every child in Winona County, grades K-12, have the basic and necessary supplies and clothing for a successful start to the school year.
A new independent film will feature a Portage star and cameos by Baraboo Candy Co. and Jerry Springer.

Jarrod Crooks and Greg Kuper are directing -- and starring in -- a movie titled Indie Guys. Theyre two broke guys making a movie about two broke guys making a movie. A screening is set for Aug. 7 at Portage Theatres.

Crooks, who lives in Portage, said Indie Guys is an underdog story about how lives change when dreams are pursued. We thought it would be very relatable for people, he said.

Filming took the cast and crew to locations across Wisconsin, including Portage and Baraboo. In Portage, the theater, Dairy Queen and a street scene were used. Baraboo Candy Co. served as the backdrop for a scene starring talk show host Springer.

The filmmakers were looking for a celebrity to make a cameo, and learned Springer was hosting a game show last week at Ho-Chunk Casino. They approached his agent, got approval and convinced him to cross the highway to Baraboo Candy.

It really helps to have a name or a celebrity in your movie to sell it, Crooks said.

Don Carroll, general manager of Baraboo Candy, was happy to host the film crew on a moments notice. Its a good marketing opportunity for us, said Carroll, noting his companys cow mascot will attend the screening.

In the scene, Springer  playing himself  is shopping for his grandchildren, when hes approached by the filmmakers about making a cameo.

Hes basically saying, No, Im not going to be in your movie but hes in the movie, Crooks said. It actually was a really great setting.

Carroll said the hourlong shoot was a pleasant surprise, noting that Springer was gracious with fans. While hes pleased that the stores exterior and interior will appear on the big screen, Carroll said he doesnt foresee a new career in movies. Ill stick to peddling the Cow Pies, he said.
Legislators looking for smart law-and-order legislation should consider making it a felony to tamper with any court-ordered GPS tracking unit.

Counties dont have nearly enough jail space and certainly dont have enough money to incarcerate everyone charged with or convicted of a crime. Frankly, jail isnt the right place for many people charged with a nonviolent crime.

For all sorts of good reasons, a judge may release someone from custody with the requirement that the person be released wearing a GPS monitoring device. That allows the county to track the person, and it costs taxpayers much less.

That all sounds great.

But too many people have cut off and destroyed these GPS units, which cost $800 each.

In La Crosse County, a total of 84 tracking units were cut off from 2013 to 2015, and 22 more had already been cut off and ditched during the first few months of this year.

The units cost taxpayers $35,000 last year alone.

So much for keeping a close eye on these people.

Heres where legislation can help: State law makes it a Class I felony for anyone who intentionally tampers with, or blocks, diffuses or prevents the clear reception of a signal transmitted by a global positioning system tracking device or comparable technology.

Heres the catch: The law only applies to GPS units issued by the state Department of Corrections.

But, if the unit is issued by a county, thats a different story.

As more counties adopt GPS monitoring to save on jail space and taxpayer money, state law should expand to include any issuing agency, not just the state.

Its true that prosecutors can charge offenders who remove the device with felony bail jumping or criminal damage to property, although thats a misdemeanor.

But that doesnt happen often.

People who are ordered to wear the GPS units  about 110 on any given day in La Crosse County, for instance  are charged for the privilege. The fee is $7 per day for those released on bond, $12 a day for those who have been sentenced for a crime.

The folks who operate the program in La Crosse County collected 44 percent of those daily monitoring fees in 2015, up from 30 percent in 2012-2014.

And, they do collect a fee for units that have been lost or destroyed.

Keep in mind, you cant lose these units like you can lose your cellphone  unless, of course, someone has strapped your cellphone to your ankle.

Cutting off these units is a willful act.

So, its time for the Wisconsin Legislature to change the law so prosecutors can charge folks with a felony for tampering with any GPS equipment.
In the six years since the Affordable Care Act became law, Republicans in the U.S. House have voted dozens of times to repeal or dismantle it. Not once have they voted on legislation to replace it. Last week party leaders finally unveiled a 37-page blueprint of their alternative reforms.

Written by a task force appointed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, the proposal is the fifth installment in a six-part better way agenda being rolled out by Republicans. It certainly does chart a new direction on health care for the country: Going backward. The goal seems to be returning to a time when universal access to comprehensive health insurance didnt exist.

Of course the partys first order of business is scrapping Obamacare. This law cannot be fixed, the proposal declares. We need a clean start in order to pursue the patient-centered reforms the American people deserve.

What are these long-awaited reforms? The same tired ideas Republicans have bandied about for years, including health savings accounts, medical malpractice reform, wellness programs, allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines and other warmed-over ideas that do not actually insure Americans.

Then there is the absence of the basic details one would expect to find in any serious reform plan. No cost estimate. No suggestions for where the money would come from to pay costs. Its anyones guess as to how many people would be insured and how many would lose their current coverage. Apparently we are simply supposed to have faith that all the missing information will materialize at a later date. Perhaps in six more years. Perhaps never.

What one knows for sure after reading the proposal: Scores of Americans would lose insurance. Repealing Obamacare means saying goodbye to the Medicaid expansion and insurance exchanges that have covered millions of previously uninsured Americans. Gone would be requiring insurers participating in exchanges to sell coverage to everyone, regardless of preexisting conditions.

Instead, Republicans are offering tax credits of an unspecified amount to help people buy coverage in the private sector. The unlucky Americans with a history of health problems who cant buy coverage can look forward to the resurrection of high-risk pools. Remember those? Dump all the sickest people into their own special groups and charge them prohibitively high premiums.

The 37-page proposal cant be taken seriously. And it comes from members of a party that for decades did nothing to reduce the number of uninsured Americans. They talked about tort reform and tax credits while people died due to lack of medical care and faced bankruptcy from medical bills.

When Democrats finally delivered a comprehensive health law that insures Americans and generates revenue to pay for itself, Republicans fixated on killing it. They refuse to work to improve it. And the country can expect more of the same unless both parties come together.
Disorderly conduct  Wednesday at 6:21 a.m., a woman in the 1600 block of North Spring Street told police that a man knocked off her car mirror in anger. A physical confrontation ensued.

Vandalism  Wednesday at 7:06 a.m., someone reported that a pool in the 100 block of Vincent Circle has been deflated three nights in a row.

Suspicious  Wednesday at 1:52 p.m., a man told police that he saw a boy kicking down real estate signs near the Spring Street and Burnett Street intersection. He also witnessed the boy taking a wheelchair from the front of a residence and placing it near the street. An officer located the boy and he started running. The boy was later cited with disorderly conduct, theft, trespassing, resisting and obstructing.

Retail theft  Wednesday at 7 p.m., someone at Wal-Mart Supercenter, 120 Frances Lane, told police that a person stole from the store.

Theft  Wednesday at 10:54 p.m., someone reported that a bike was stolen in the 100 block of Lakeshore Drive.

Theft  Thursday at 5:14 a.m., a woman reported the theft of money and cigarettes from a vehicle in the 200 block of Madison Street.
Dusty Babcock

Dusty J. Babcock 17, Reeseville, passed away peacefully Saturday, July 2, 2016, with his family at his side.

Dusty was born Aug. 13, 1998, in Watertown, the son of Frederick and Patti (Bartz) Babcock. Dusty was a 2016 graduate of Dodgeland High School and a member of St. Johns Lutheran Church in Watertown. He enjoyed tinkering, fixing and putting things back together. Dusty had a great sense of humor, was kind-hearted and most of all enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.

Survivors include his parents, Fred and Patti Babcock of Reeseville; sister, Sunshine (Rich Rewolinski) Babcock of Reeseville; three brothers, Fred (Heather) Babcock of Markesan, Jeremy Babcock of Lake Geneva, and Brandon Babcock of Fox Lake. Dusty is also survived by a number of nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents; and a niece, Mia.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 11, at St. Johns Lutheran church, Watertown, with the Rev. Doug Carter presiding. Visitation will be held Monday from noon to the time of the service at the church. A private family service will be held at Washington Cemetery in the town of Portland.

Pederson-Nowatka funeral home is caring for the family. Online condolences may be made at www.pn-fh.com.
A group of 25 young leaders from 19 countries in Africa visited Columbus last Saturday morning through a program at UW-Madison. While here, the group, which is part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, took a walking tour of the downtown and visited the City Hall, Farmers & Merchants Union Bank, the Poser house, Columbus Community Hospital and Sassy Cow Creamery.

What the fellows are doing at UW-Madison is thinking about public management, said Catherine Reiland, Wisconsin Idea seminar director, who coordinated the visit for the university. Theyre looking at different aspects of American society but through the lens of public management.

The group chose to visit Columbus, in part, because its proximity to Madison made it easy to get to, but also because it was a good match for the themes that the fellows wanted to explore.

We wanted to look at city government and city administration of a smaller, rural community, Reiland said. We wanted to look at issues of historic preservation, and we wanted to look at health care in a rural community. We also had some members of the group with an interest in dairy.

The fellowship, which is part of the Young African Leaders Initiative, is made up of emerging leaders ages 25 to 35.

There are doctors, there are lawyers, we have an architect in the group, so these are not students, Reiland said. These are people who have already demonstrated success in their careers and theyre coming here to the United States to look at case studies and just think about themes that resonate in their communities and what they do in their careers in the various countries that they come from.

Reiland said the group was thrilled with the visit. She thanked Mayor Kelly Crombie and City Clerk Anne Donahue for meeting with the fellows when they stopped at City Hall and expressed her appreciation to the Columbus Fall River Rotary Club for helping to coordinate the visit and to the hospital for hosting the group for lunch.
Seventeen Portage High School students traveled 900 miles recently to Atlanta, where they learned about peaches and pecans and CNN and Coca-Cola.

The main purpose of the trip was to compete in nationals for Future Business Leaders of America  an event that had graduates and new members thinking about a lot more than their unfamiliar surroundings.

On our last night in Atlanta we asked students what their favorite part of the week was, said FBLA adviser Jan Imoff, who traveled with five PHS graduates and 12 underclassmen for the competition from June 27 to July 3. Whats so cool is I was waiting for them to say one of the things they toured, but most of the kids said it was competing against people from all over the nation.

Portages team of three  graduates Jacob Witt and Andrew Smalley and junior Nicholas Santas  made it all the way to finals in Business Plan, placing in the top 14 in the nation. While they and other Portage competitors didnt make stage by placing in the top 10, the experience, they agreed, was one of a kind.

It was really amazing, said Santas, who finished his first year in FBLA. You definitely learn a lot. I wasnt a good speaker going into this. But each time going into (FBLA events) we all gained confidence in each other and ourselves, and it was really cool to see how this project we made went on.

The trios business plan had earned them first place in state competition in La Crosse in April. The students put together a 30-page report and presentation for a 3-D printing company they called DDP (Design, Development and Production).

We had to do pretty much everything to create a real business  from analyzing our competition, finding a building we could rent, as well as analyzing the market to make the business as successful as possible, Santas said, adding how the group came up with financial spreadsheets, sales goals, projections and accounted for various expenses.

FBLA projects like the trios always have students thinking about the future, as Santas said one of his groups projections, courtesy of Forbes, showed the 3-D printing industry in the U.S. will grow to a net worth of $8.5 billion by 2020.

To give an idea of how nationals works Imhoff noted the trio competed in preliminaries that had seven rooms holding 15 to 20 groups, where the top two in each room made it to finals.

Its a big accomplishment, Imhoff said of their top-14 finish.

Other accomplishments included graduate Cecilia Shortreed being recognized for winning Wisconsins Whos Who in FBLA by walking across the stage in the opening ceremony. Shortreed was also recognized for earning the AMERICA level of the Business Achievement Awards (BAAs), which Imhoff called a prestigious honor. Shortreed in nationals competed in Business Financial Plan, with fellow graduate Emily Narel, and in Local Chapter Annual Business Report, with graduate Carly Weiss.

So whats next?

Witt  who made his third trip to nationals in four years  will attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study civil engineering.

Smalley will study mechanical engineering at Cedarville University in Ohio. Earlier in June he competed in SkillsUSA Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky.

Shortreed in April said she plans to study biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She hopes to someday work as a surgeon or in scientific research.

Santas  who will be a senior this year  plans to major in biochemistry before moving into the medical field. Santas added he wished hed started in FBLA sooner  a common theme for FBLA students this year.

This was Andrews (Smalley) first year in FBLA, too, and he said, I should have done this earlier. And I said: Yes, you should have! Imhoff said.

What would a four-year FBLA member say to a high school student considering the organization?

Id say choosing to sign up my freshman year was one of the best decisions Ive ever made, Witt said. I had so many opportunities to network with people across the state and country, (to gain) personal skills, business skills and become a well-rounded person.

Grits and gumbo

FBLA students in Atlanta toured CNN, the World of Coca Cola and visited places like the peach and pecan farm, Lane Southern Orchards; the Georgia Aquarium; the National Center for Civil and Human Rights; Centennial Olympics Park; and the burial site of Martin Luther King Jr.

We packed a lot of stuff in, Imhoff said of Atlanta, which followed FBLA Nationals held in Chicago last year and Nashville, Tennessee the year before that.

Providing incentive for next school years Portage FBLA crop are nationals held in Anaheim, California. Students for nationals cannot compete in the same event twice, so many of the students are already thinking about next year.

Im really excited for what the future brings, Imhoff said of Portage FBLA, which at state won second place in Largest Local Membership and second in Outstanding Wisconsin FBLA Chapter. This years team had about 100 members. I think its the networking and meeting people from all across the country. FBLA is growing. We had people competing from China, Germany, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands  so they get to meet people from all over the world, to network with them, and theres also the workshops.

Its the experience of, Hi, Im from Wisconsin  and for some of them you had to tell them where Wisconsin was. We kept getting called out for our Wisconsin accent that we all dont think we have, said Imhoff.

We tried a lot of summer food  grits, fried green tomatoes, collard greens, gumbo  we made the Southern experience part of our trip.

Some of these kids would have never had that opportunity had we not done this.
By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jul 7 (PTI) Pakistan today expressed concern over the house arrest of Kashmiri separatist leaders on Eid and asked the international community to take notice of the "violations" of their "fundamental rights".

"We are deeply concerned over detention of Kashmiri leaders on this sacred day, in violation of their fundamental right of religious freedom. We call upon the international community to take note and urge the Indian Government to respect the basic rights of Kashmiris," Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was quoted as saying in a statement by Foreign Office.

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Aziz also felicitated Kashmiris on Eid.

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir had placed top separatist leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik under house arrest, fearing their presence at large Eid gatherings could spark violence.

The Eid festivities in parts of Kashmir were yesterday marred by stone-pelting and the resultant clashes, in which more than 30 people, including a senior police officer and 20 other security personnel, were injured. PTI SH PMS AKJ PMS

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Wisconsin company wrestles with the FDA over an infant formula

Nikos Linardakis says the FDA has stymied efforts that he and James Esselman have made to launch their Bene Baby Co.s product.
By PTI: Pretoria, Jul 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in South Africa as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

"In the footsteps of history. PM @narendramodi arrives in Pretoria for the second leg of his Africa tour," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modis arrival in Pretorio.

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"Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations & Cooperation and Lindiwe Zulu, Minister for Small business welcome PM to SA," he said.

During his South Africa visit, Modi will meet President Jacob Zuma and also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President. "In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," Modi had earlier said.

Modi arrived in Mozambique this morning in the first leg of his five-day tour.

Earlier in Mozambique, Modi held wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and the two countries agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

Modi will also travel to Tanzania and Kenya. PTI UZM

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By PTI: Mumbai, Jul 7 (PTI) Police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose hate speech is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naiks Islamic Research Foundation office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

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"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI.

He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had yesterday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naiks speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."

Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant yesterday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the countrys interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. PTI APM GK DV

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W&M professor addresses new Virginia marriage law

New Marriage Law W&M Professor of Law Vivian Hamilton (back row, third from left) poses with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (center) after he signed the Commonwealth's new marriage law. Photo by Michaele White, Governor's Office Photo - of - Hide Caption

A new law, which took effect on July 1, has raised the minimum age at which young people in Virginia may marry to 18. Prior to this month, 16- and 17-year-olds were free to marry in the Commonwealth with parental consent; those even younger could marry with parental consent if there was a pregnancy.

Vivian Hamilton, a professor at the William & Mary Law School, worked with advocates and the state legislature to create the bill and witnessed its ceremonial signing by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. She recently talked with William & Mary News about Virginia's new law.

What exactly does the new Virginia law require?

Under the new Virginia law, children under 16 may no longer marry  at all. But the law permits a court to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to marry if the judge conducting a hearing where both individuals intending to marry are present finds that the minor is entering the marriage voluntarily and is "mature enough" to make the decision to marry. In those cases, the judge may order the minor "emancipated" and thus able to marry.

The new law thus does away with the most troubling, youngest marriages. And by putting procedural safeguards in the way of 16- and 17-year-olds seeking to marry, we hope it will drastically reduce the occurrence of minors being coerced to marry. Those same procedural hurdles, moreover, will likely reduce the total number of minors aged 16 and 17 entering marriage.

How common is child marriage?

Many people are unaware that thousands of children and teens marry in the United States. In Virginia alone, almost 4,500 minors under age 18 were married between 2004 and 2013.

Some 90 percent of minor spouses in Virginia were girls, and many of them married men significantly older than they were  sometimes decades older. Advocates have identified cases where the previous law did nothing to prevent forced marriages, and it allowed abusers who could otherwise be prosecuted for statutory rape to evade prosecution by marrying their victims.

Even where minors enter marriages voluntarily, however, the social costs of child marriages are enormous.

What are some of the social costs of child marriage?

Marriages entered at young ages are the most unstable. That familiar statistic  that nearly half of all marriages end in divorce  obscures significant variation in marital stability, depending on the age at which couples marry. When individuals marry before age eighteen, the likelihood of divorce increases to 70 percent. And for the youngest child marriers, those aged sixteen and younger, marital failure rates approach a sobering 80 percent.

Researchers have found that individuals who marry early are more likely to discontinue their formal educations prematurely, earn low wages, and live in poverty than those who delay or avoid marriage. Women who marry in their teens are 50 percent more likely to drop out of high school and four times less likely to finish college than those who delay marriage.

Early marriages resulting from unintended pregnancies fare no better. Instead, teen mothers who marry between conception and childbirth are less likely to ever return to school than young mothers who delay marriage. And following divorce, mothers (and their children) tend to suffer greater economic deprivation and instability than do their never-married counterparts.

Women who marry early experience worse physical health and develop more mental health problems than those who marry later. Studies of women have found teen marriage to be significantly associated with mental disorders, particularly major depressive disorder. For women, teen marriage also correlates with heightened risk of heart attack, diabetes, cancer, and stroke.

Do we know why early marriages tend to exact such a toll on those families?

The reasons why the marriages of the young are so unstable are complex, but two factors likely interrelate to play a significant role. The first is economic: To earn a wage sufficient to support a family in todays economy typically requires more years of education and training than can be acquired before age eighteen. Low-paying work and occupational instability hinder the ability to support a family. And financial insecurity stresses the marital relationship.

Marital stress is part of the second significant factor, which is relational. Throughout history, the meaning of marriage has evolved. Marriage today is imbued with greater symbolic and personal value than in previous decades. We expect more of our marriages  and marriage partners  today than at any other time in history. As a result, todays marriages require relational capacities that depend on a level of psychosocial maturity that adolescents lack. And the marital relationship thus flounders.

Should other states copy and paste the new Virginia law into their state codes?

Virginias new law is a good start, and I hope that other states begin to change their laws along similar lines. An even better law, however, would prohibit child marriages altogether. Neither parental nor judicial consent has been found to provide a protective effect for these most fragile unions.

The bipartisan effort to improve Virginias marriage law is an example of the sort of legislative cooperation and progress that is all-too-absent in todays legislative bodies. But, as with much social policy, it is part of a work in progress, and more remains to be done.

Hamiltons areas of specialization include children and the law, civil procedure and family law. She has published The Age of Marital Capacity: Reconsidering Civil Recognition of Adolescent Marriage, Mistaking Marriage for Social Policy and Immature Citizens and the State.
If reports are to be believed, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are engaged.

By India Today Web Desk: Bajirao ne Mastani se mohabbat ki hai, ayaashi nahi. This popular dialogue from Bajirao Mastani also stands true for Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in real life. Ranveer's public display of affection can give any guy serious trouble. Women love him, and men want to be him. Unlike his contemporaries, who keep their private life under wraps, the 31-year-old actor has always remained vocal about his love for Deepika.

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ALSO READ: Not for Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone goes down on her knees for Fawad Khan at IIFA 2016

ALSO READ: Ranveer and Deepika's PDA in this video will give you major relationship goals



And recently Deepika took everyone by surprise when she indulged in some serious PDA during her performance at the recently held IIFA Awards in Spain. And if reports are to be believed, the lovebirds have been secretly engaged.

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, the families of both the actor met a few months ago and marriage was very much on their mind.

The report further states that the two had a 'rokka' ceremony.

In fact, Ranveer, who recently turned 31, celebrated his special day with his ladylove by his side. According to a report in Femina, the lovebirds jetted off to an undisclosed island in Europe to ring in Ranveer's birthday. And they are set to return to Mumbai on July 18.

With this development, it seems the couple would soon make things official and who knows might tie the knot soon.

On the work front, Ranveer will be next seen in Aditya Chopra's Befikre, while Deepika will make her Hollywood debut with XXX The Return of Xander Cage.



--- ENDS ---




China News on Women





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By PTI: Itanagar, Jul 7 (PTI) The Arunachal Pradesh government has released Rs 58.48 lakh for payment of stipend to ITI and government craft centres trainees in the state.

Chief Minister Kalikho Pul, who also holds the finance portfolio, released this amount out of a total Rs 311.76 lakh kept in budget estimates for 2016-17, an official release informed here today.

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The remaining amount would be incorporated in the revised estimate for the 2016-17.

The stipend would benefit 866 trainees across the state, the release said.

Sticking to his commitment in his budget speech, the chief minister also approved enhancement of ration money of police personnel from existing Rs 300 to Rs 1000 per month.

The enhancement would benefit 11,701 police personnel from the rank of constable to sub-inspector.

Pul also approved their pay upgradation from existing Grade Pay of Rs 1900 to Rs 2400 in PB?I to Rs 5200-20200 at par with the post of lower division clerk and store keeper, the release said.

However, the enhancement of ration money of police personnel and the pay up gradation of drivers would be placed before the state cabinet for final approval, it added. PTI UPL NN

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After Kavita Kaushik quit the new show, makers are contemplating changing the name of the show, besides finding an actress to fill Kavita's shoes.

By India Today Web Desk: If you've been following small-screen news, you probably know by now that Kavita Kaushik has quit her new show, Dr Bhanumati On Duty, after just a month of being a part of it.

According to fresh reports, the show will now see a new protagonist, besides a change in title. While the title is all set to shift from Bhanumati to Madhumati, the actresses who are supposedly in the run for Kavita's replacement are Rati Pandey and Debina Bonnerjee.

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Kavita Kaushik quit Dr Bhanumati On Duty so soon after its release because she felt that the show was very similar to her previous show, FIR. "Kavita's character was supposed to have action scenes and a lot of newer elements. That hasn't happened yet. Also some of the dialogues seem to be copied from FIR," a source told Bombay Times.

Business head of SAB TV, Anooj Kapoor, told Times of India, "Yes, there are some changes on the anvil."

Kavita also confirmed her exit, by telling TOI, "I'm the odd one out and I feel the show will be better off without me. I don't believe in its content and I'm too old to do stuff I don't believe in. So, no hard feelings. It's just a creative call. I am shooting this month till they get a suitable replacement. I wish the producers all the best. I had a short, but pleasant time working with them."

Whoever the makers sign up to replace Kavita--be it as Bhanumati or Madhumati--sure has a huge line-up of heavy expectations waiting for her!

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Wiluna traditional owners sign agreement

07 July 2016

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Toro Energy has signed a mining agreement with the Wiluna People, the traditional owners of land including uranium deposits the company proposes to mine as part of the Wiluna project in Western Australia.

Representatives of Toro and the Wiluna People: L-R Alan Ashwin, Vanessa Guthrie, Dallas Harris, Vera Armstrong, Kelman Patch, Victor Ashwin (Image: Toro)

The agreement is the culmination of over seven years of relationship-building between the Wiluna People and Toro, and was ratified in a community meeting in Wiluna. The Tarlka Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation (TMPAC) holds the native title on trust on behalf of the Wiluna People, under federal determinations that took effect in January 2015. The title covers almost 48,000 square kilometres of land and water and includes three of the four uranium deposits - Millipede, Centipede and Lake Way - making up Toro's project.

The agreement's primary objectives are to maintain and develop a mutually beneficial long-term relationship between the Wiluna People and Toro; to ensure that the effects of Toro's activities on the native title holders' rights and interests, on Wiluna County and on the environment are minimised; to ensure the Wiluna People are kept informed of and consulted about Toro's activities; to provide compensation for impacts on the native title holders' rights and interests; and to provide funding and other benefits to the native title holders to protect the country and maintain traditional law and culture. The agreement also recognises opportunities for a range of business and employment initiatives.

TMPAC chairman Kelman Patch said the agreement provided opportunities for the Wiluna People as well as protecting their cultural heritage. "Our people have been able to negotiate a strong agreement to protect their interests and to pursue benefits and opportunities from this project," he said.

Toro has already provided funding to build the capacity of the Wiluna People to undertake environmental and radiation monitoring, and the two parties hope to extend this into areas such as groundwater monitoring, mine closure and rehabilitation. As well as providing ongoing access to information and assurance about project impacts, this approach also provides opportunities for the Wiluna People to establish business activities that could service both the Wiluna project and other mines in the region, Toro said.

Toro managing director Vanessa Guthrie said it was important for the Wiluna People to understand how uranium mining might affect their land, culture and health and described the agreement as a "most important" step in the project's progress. She said the company had provided the Wiluna People with the means to secure their own independent advice throughout the negotiation of the mining agreement. "As a result, they have reached a position where they can give full and informed consent to Toro's development proposals on their land," she said.

As well as the three deposits covered by the Wiluna People's native title land, the Wiluna project also includes the Lake Maitland deposit over which no native claim has yet been established but over which the Barwdigee People claim an interest. Toro said it has been engaging with the Barwidgee People.

Current plans envisage mining taking place first at Centipede and Millipede, with mining at Lake Maitland beginning six years later, and Lake Way being minded after completion of Lake Maitland. The total project life is about 20 years, and all ore would be processed in a plant to be built near the Centipede and Millipede deposits. Centipede and Lake Way, and the associated processing facility, received environmental approvals from the state and federal governments in 2013.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
The judge granted the former Olympian some leniency

29-year-old Olympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. She was shot through a bathroom door in 2013 as Pistorius mistook her for an intruder.

The athlete faced a minimum sentence of 15 years, but the judge thought otherwise during sentencing. Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide and reckless endangerment last year, but his sentence was changed to murder in December 2015.

While speaking about her judgment, Judge Thokozile Masipa said, [Pistorius is] a fallen hero, who has lost his career, and been ruined financially. He cannot be at peace. She felt a lengthy sentence would not serve him justice.

Pistorius was taken directly to prison while the victims parents watched the sentencing unfold. His attorney, Andrew Fawcett, said that he has no plans to appeal the decision. Fawcett also expects Pistorius to serve at least half of his sentence before a chance for parole.

The fallen Olympian was the first double-leg amputee to participate in the Olympics at the London 2012 games. The sprint runner was labeled the blade runner by some.

Now an inmate, he admitted to authorities that he shot his girlfriend on Valentines Day under the misguided belief she was an intruder. He did not want to be convicted of murder and told his lawyers, At times I dont feel like I should have the right to live for taking someone elses life. Whats difficult is dealing with the charge of murder. The day before we started the trial I sat with my lawyers and I said to them: I will spend 10 years in jail for taking Reevas life, for culpable homicide, but I wont spend a day in jail for murdering anyone.
Brad Scott Beard and Samantha Brooke Canipe

By: Feng Qian

(Scroll down for video) A young couple ended up in jail after they had a fight and threw pizza at each other, according to police in North Carolina.

Gastonia police said that they have arrested 24-year-old Brad Scott Beard and his girlfriend, 21-year-old Samantha Brooke Canipe, after a dispute they had turned violent.

They were both charged with one count of assault and were booked into the Gaston County Jail. If convicted, Beard faces up to 60 days in jail and Canipe faces up to 30 days in jail.

According to the police investigation, the suspects got into a fight at their apartment and started throwing pizza rolls at each other.

Police were called to the home, where both were arrested.
A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took
Last week, the panel had rejected the actor's reply and summoned him afresh on July 7.

By India Today Web Desk: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has been summoned again by the Maharashtra State Women's Commission (MSWC) on July 14. This is the third summon issued to him in connection with his 'raped woman' comment.

"We can summon a person thrice and this is his (Salman Khan) third summon," Vijaya Rahatkar, chairperson MSWC said.

Salman Khan and his lawyer failed to appear before the State Women's Commission twice.

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"For the second time they have sent a letter stating that since NCW has already summoned them so this is just duplicity of work," she added.

"He has been called to appear before us tomorrow (Thursday), or through his lawyer, at 4.30 p.m. to submit his affidavit in the matter. We shall await his reply before taking any further step," MSCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar had said on Wednesday.

Hisar gangrape victim demands Rs 10 crore from Salman Khan over rape remark



MSWC REJECTS SALMAN'S REPLY

Last week, the panel had rejected the actor's reply and summoned him afresh on July 7, which happens to be a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr. Since the MSCW will be working as usual on Thursday, Ms Rahatkar ruled out issuing any fresh date for filing his reply.

The actor has also been issued summons for personal appearance for July 8 by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in New Delhi in the case.

On June 29, Salman's lawyer submitted a letter to the MSCW, urging it not to pursue the matter to avoid duplication since it was already being dealt with by the NCW.

"We have concurrent powers just the way the NCW has. This matter can be heard at the state level too. Therefore, his version is invalid," Ms Rahatkar had said, rejecting his plea.

Salim Khan apologises for Salman's rape metaphor, says intention wasn't wrong



SALMAN KHAN RAPE REMARK CONTROVERSY

Salman Khan was issued a notice for his "raped woman" remark. During a media interaction on June 18, Khan had said that he "felt like a raped woman" after shooting a gruelling wrestling sequence for 'Sultan'.

"It is like the most difficult thing... when I used to walk out of that ring, it used to be actually like a raped woman," he was reported as saying.

The movie, in which he plays a wrestler, was released on June 6.

Also Read



Salman Khan not sorry for 'raped woman' remark, says he didn't trivialise rape

Anurag Kashyap on Salman's rape remark: He must say sorry

--- ENDS ---

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Discarded Smoking Materials Cause Bin Fire in Town Centre

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Jul 7th, 2016

Fire crews were this morning called to an accidental fire in Wrexham Town Centre.

Shortly before 11am North Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to a bin fire near the British Heart Foundation shop on Egerton Street.

The fire was caused by discarded smoking materials.

One crew from Wrexham attended the incident and one hose reel jet was used to extinguish the fire.

A spokesperson for North Wales Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the fire was started accidentally.
Mohammad Khalid, a resident of Ballimaran area in Delhi, was arrested after a woman from Ashok Vihar filed a complaint, stating that she received indecent messages from two different numbers.

By Mail Today Bureau: If you receive an obscene message from unknown numbers on WhatsApp or other chat applications, better don't avoid it. Delhi Police have arrested a person for sending obscene messages and porn video clips to nearly 1,500 women in the city.

Mohammad Khalid (31), a resident of Ballimaran area in Delhi, was arrested after a woman from Ashok Vihar filed a complaint, stating that she received indecent messages from two different numbers. The accused used to call randomly on numbers and if receiver was a woman, he used to save her number so that he could check for the photos. To get details, he used to scan other mobile applications too.

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Cops claimed that they have recovered phone numbers of nearly 2,100 women and hundreds of porn videos and messages which he sent to females. Cops are also claiming that due to his crime, marital life of some of them was on the verge of collapse as their husbands had reportedly started having doubts over their fidelity.

Randomly called any number, if answered by a female, saved that number



DCP north-west Vijay Singh said, "The accused had a unique modus operandi. He used to call any number randomly and if the call was picked by a female, he used to save that number. Then he used to check the picture profile of that particular number through WhatsApp and if he liked the picture, then he used to send SMS or WhatsApp messages to that particular number."

He also used to threaten girls that he would put their mobile numbers and photographs on Facebook to malign their image. During investigation, it has also been learnt that many of the victims never reported the matter to the police as they did not want to reveal their identities.

Used more than one mobile number to carry out the crime



Matter came to the light when a woman from Ashok Vihar lodged a complaint in last week of May, saying she has been receiving obscene, vulgar, abusive messages on her phone from two unknown mobile numbers and when she contacted the caller over telephone, he threatened her of dire consequences. "Details pertaining to the mobile numbers from which the complainant was getting obscene messages were obtained. It revealed that these numbers were obtained on fake documents. Further investigation in the case revealed that the accused had been found using more than one mobile number for sending vulgar messages," Vijay Singh said.

After getting no tip-off, Delhi Police took help of technical surveillance and found the location of mobile phones after continuous efforts for a month.

Arrests made



"On June 29, Khalid was zeroed in the area of Sadar Bazaar as he bought his SIM cards from that area only. The accused was apprehended from his shop in the Sadar Bazaar area. He had been running a bag shop along with his father. Two mobile phones were recovered which were used by him for committing the crime," Singh added.

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"He had sent 750 text messages and same amount of WhatsApp messages to females. We have received porn clips from his mobile which he used to send to the victims," a senior official involved in investigation added.

A case has been registered under sections 354A, 506, 354D, 509, 420, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

Also Read: ISIS terrorists auctioning sex slaves on Whatsapp, Telegram apps



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US President Barack Obama announced Wednesday a halt in the reduction of US troop strength in Afghanistan, leaving the US troop strength at current levels until he leaves office next January. The decision is in response to the increasing instability of the US puppet regime in Kabul, and to facilitate an escalation of US military operations by the next US president.

The decision I am making today insures that my successor has a solid foundation for continued progress in Afghanistan, as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism, as it evolves, Obama said. Instead of going down to 5,500 troops, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops into next year, through the end of my administration.

After hailing the heroic efforts of our military and intelligence agencies, the US President warned that the security situation remains precarious.

The extended deployment of US troops, recommended to President Obama by US Commander in Afghanistan John Nicholson and the Pentagon leadership, will be tailored to help Afghan forces continue to improve, and will support critical counterrorism operations in Kandahar, Jalalabad and elsewhere, Obama said.

He called on Washingtons NATO allies to use the upcoming Warsaw summit as a platform to define their own commitments in support of the US-led war. The timing of the announcementtwo days before the NATO summit beginsstrongly suggests that the extended US troop presence will be used as a lever to extract additional troop commitments for Afghanistan from powers like Germany, Italy, Britain and Canada.

Afghan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be, Obama said. Afghan forces have pushed the Taliban out of some areas, and remain in control of most district centers, but face a continued Taliban insurgency and terrorist networks.

I strongly believe that it is in our national security interestespecially after all the blood and treasure weve invested in Afghanistan over the yearsthat we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed, Obama said.

Absurdly, Obama claimed that the US is no longer engaged in a major ground war in Afghanistan. In reality, during the year and a half since the purported end of the war in Afghanistan in December 2014, the American military has continued to organize and lead military repression against the countrys rural areas and any forces deemed hostile to the US-backed state. US combat forces are involved in frequent clashes with Taliban militias and other insurgent forces, and the past year has seen the combat deaths of thousands of Afghan national forces. Pentagon planners envision an American presence of thousands for decades to come, US generals told media earlier this year.

The narrative that were leaving Afghanistan is self-defeating, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told a US Army conference Wednesday. Carter warned that an enduring commitment by the United States is necessary to prevent Afghanistans use as a safe haven for terrorists.

This turns reality on its head. Beginning in the late 1970s, the American government worked systematically to finance, train and arm Islamist networks in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, fueling the growth of the very same terrorist and insurgent forces that Washington now claims to oppose, including the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Since 2001, 15 years of US invasion, occupation, counterinsurgency and mass terror, directed largely against Afghanistans rural and oppressed population, have failed to produce anything close to a stable centralized state, and the position of the extremist and insurgent forces in Afghanistan appears stronger than ever. Islamist insurgencies and terror groups are waging an increasingly successful civil war against Kabul, one that threatens to produce an Iraq-style takeover of Afghanistans major cities and infrastructure by insurgent militias.

The US-backed administration in Kabul, run by a coalition of imperialist stooges, drug traffickers and wealthy feudal landowning families installed by an American invasion force in 2002, has been repeatedly humiliated by opposition forces since the official end of the US combat role. Last September, Islamist insurgents captured the key northern city of Kunduz, and government forces regained control only with aid from US Special Forces, and the US air bombardment that infamously targeted and incinerated a well-known a Doctors Without Frontiers (MSF) hospital.

Last June, Taliban attackers penetrated the Kabul governments central compound, firing machine guns and setting off explosives just outside an ongoing session of the Afghan legislature. In April, Taliban fighters attacked the Afghan Special Forces headquarters in Kabul, killing dozens and wounding over 300. The Islamist fundamentalist movement also remains in control of large areas of Afghanistans hinterland and border areas with Pakistan, along with a smaller but growing Afghan Islamic State affiliate.

Fearful of inflaming popular anti-war sentiment just months before the elections, the Obama administration has sought to delay another official revision of the American troop presence as along as possible.

At the same time, the White House has green-lighted the Pentagon to lay the foundations for a more extensive US intervention in Afghanistan and Central Asia, once the elections are past and a new administration has taken office, approving expanded US air and ground operations in June.

In May, Obama authorized the assassination of Taliban leader Mullah Aktar Mansour in Pakistans Baluchistan province, signaling that the US government is prepared to expand the war against the Taliban into areas of Pakistan that were previously off-limits to the US drone war.

Wednesdays announcement comes as the latest confirmation that Washington intends to wage permanent war in Afghanistan. The US political establishment is determined to retain its grip over the impoverished and war-ravaged country, which has considerable natural resources of its own, and can serve as a staging area for future military and covert operations throughout the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia, in Pakistan, and in western China.

Factions within the American ruling class are pushing for expanded US involvement along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and the strategic and highly unstable Pakistani Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

This week, US Senator John McCain staged a high-profile tour of Pakistani military sites in Miranshah, a fortress town in the FATA province of North Waziristan. McCain made overtures to pro-US factions within a Pakistani ruling elite that is increasingly being forced into an alliance with China, promising increased American involvement in counter-terror operations run by Islamabad. We look forward to closer relations and resolving the differences we have, McCain said.
Tuesdays execution-style murder of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, the capital and second-largest city in Louisiana, is the latest in a long series of brutal killings by police in the United States.

Sterling was the 595th person killed by police since the start of the year, according to the web site Killed by Police (two killings were recorded by the site later in the same day, bringing the total to 597). It was the third killing this year in Baton Rouge alone, a smaller city with a population of only 230,000, already matching last years total. Nationwide, there have been more police killings through July 7 than there were at the same time last year, when the total number reached 1,208.

The killing of Sterling, who was African American, touched off a wave of protests and became a major story in the national press. However, had Sterlings death not been captured on video by bystanders, as is the case with the vast majority of police killings, it would almost certainly have been swept under the rug, with the lying police version of events accepted without question.

Sterling was a father of five who had been living in a homeless shelter for the past several months. He lived day-to-day off of money from selling CDs outside of a local convenience store in a poor, working class area of the city. He was a regular fixture at the location. Residents who spoke to the press remembered Sterling as a friendly and helpful person who regularly gave away CDs and money for food in spite of his own poverty.

Sterling was at his usual spot shortly after midnight on July 5 when he was approached by two Baton Rouge police officers, since identified as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, both of whom are white. They were allegedly responding to a 911 call stating that Sterling had threatened someone with a gun. While Sterling did own and was apparently carrying a gun, which is legal in Louisiana, store owner Abdullah Muflahi disputed this allegation, telling CNN that he did not hear Sterling get in an altercation with anybody. Just five minutes before, he walked into the store getting something to drink, joking around, [and we were] calling each other names, Muflahi said.

What happened next was captured on cell phone video by eyewitnesses in a nearby parked car. (A second video was released yesterday.) The officers shot Sterling with a taser and wrestled him violently to the ground. Then, while he was pinned to the ground by the two officers, one of them shouted, Hes got a gun!, prompting them to pump several rounds into Sterling from point blank range while he lay in a prone and subdued position on the pavement.

Muflahi, who witnessed the killing, denied police claims that Sterling was reaching for his gun when he was shot, insisting that he was not holding his gun or touching his pockets during the incident, according to the Advocate. This statement is confirmed by the video footage.

Protests began at the scene soon afterward and are ongoing. The crowd swelled to several hundred as the protests continued throughout Tuesday and into early Wednesday morning, and demonstrators briefly succeeded in stopping traffic at the adjacent intersection. The folding table from which Sterling sold his CDs was turned into a makeshift memorial, where people wrote their condolences and left mementos behind.

Sterlings family held an emotional press conference Wednesday morning in front of City Hall, calling for the arrest of the officers and for other eyewitnesses to step forward. I for one will not rest and will not allow you all to sweep him in the dirt, until the adequate punishment is served to all parties involved, said Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterlings oldest child, Cameron Sterling, choking back tears.

The official response to the killing of Sterling has followed a familiar and time-tested routine. Behind a screen of hand-wringing and declarations that they will get to the bottom of the incident, the political establishment is preparing to whitewash the killing and defend the powers of the police.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the Baton Rouge police held separate press conferences on Wednesday morning following that of the familys, feigning sympathy for Sterlings relatives and promising a thorough and impartial investigation, which Edwards announced would be conducted by the federal Justice Department.

The involvement of the Justice Department, which cleared Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in its independent civil rights investigation of the killing of Michael Brown, is the surest sign that a cover-up of the crime is being prepared. Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden told reporters that he had already received calls of support from President Barack Obama and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

According to lawyers for Sterlings family, police immediately confiscated the recordings of the killing made by the stores security cameras. If not for [smart phone manufacturers], maybe we wouldnt be here today right now, attorney and state representative Edmond Jordan said at Wednesdays press conference. Body-camera footage, which was touted after the Michael Brown murder as a cure-all solution to police brutality, is apparently not available, as is frequently the case in instances of police brutality. Police claim improbably that the body cameras fell off of the officers when they jumped Sterling.

While police have not yet been deployed against protesters, Edwards repeatedly warned them during his press conference that its urgent that they remain peaceful. This is a coded threat that if the protests escape the control of the political establishment and the Democratic Party, they will be met with riot police and the National Guard, as happened in Ferguson and Baltimore, where military-style occupations were justified on the basis of isolated or unsubstantiated claims of violence.

Sections of the Democratic Party, civil rights leaders and practitioners of identity politics have been deployed in an attempt to contain the protests. At the Sterling familys press conference, Baton Rouge NAACP Leader Michael McClanahan declared Sterlings murder the result of 1 percent of bad police officers and called on Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr to resign. The NAACP has also called for the hiring of more black police officers.

Congressman Cedric Richmond, a black Democrat whose district covers parts of Baton Rouge, called on the Justice Department to investigate the killing yesterday, before it was announced by Edwards.

Whatever role racism may play in particular acts of police violence, the explosive growth of police killings is a class, not a racial question. It is the consequence of a deliberate policy of bolstering the repressive powers of local police departments. American police forces have been virtually transformed into paramilitary groups that view the population as a hostile force, armed to the teeth with hi-tech weaponry, including billions of dollars worth of military hardware loaned to them for free by the Pentagon.

Baton Rouge has a poverty rate of 25 percent, ten points above the already-high national average. A mere 80 miles to the southeast, in the major port city of New Orleans, the ruling elite seized upon Hurricane Katrina, a natural disaster compounded by decades of neglect, by remaking the city in the interests of the rich, most notably by converting almost the entire public school system into privately-run charter schools. The New Orleans Police Department gained international infamy for numerous atrocities its officers committed during Hurricane Katrina.

Sterlings death follows a a long chain of high-profile police killings, including of Eric Garner in Staten Island on July 17, 2014; Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014; 12 year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio on November 22, 2014; Walter Scott in North Charleston, South Carolina on April 4, 2015; and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland on April 19, 2015.

The Obama administration responded to these high-profile police killings by backing the repression of protests while pledging police reform. While the reign of police violence continues, the issue had largely been dropped by the corporate-controlled media. It has also been downplayed in the presidential election campaign. President Obama, in a campaign rally for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, reiterated his complacent statement that America is really great [right now]. The killing of Alton Sterling, which occurred only hours before, exposes the brutal reality of class relations in the United States.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton held a campaign rally Wednesday in Atlantic City, New Jersey and made a token appearance at a casino workers picket line, attempting to exploit the strike to pose as a friend of labor and score points against her Republican rival Donald Trump.

The picket line photo op was coordinated with the bureaucracy of the hotel and restaurant union Unite HERE, which is backing Clinton. The union has isolated the week-old strike by 1,000 workers at the Trump Taj Mahal casino, a business formerly owned by Trump and now owned by billionaire financial raider Carl Icahn. The workers are fighting for the restoration of health and pension benefits taken away in a bankruptcy court settlement in 2014.

Unite HERE signed contracts with four other casinos before calling the strike at the Taj Mahal. No talks are scheduled.

Clinton devoted her speech to attacking Trumps business record, specifically his role in the casino industry. To promote her own pro-business credentials, Clinton had local businessman Marty Rosenberg introduce her.

Clinton sought to draw attention to her middle class origins, declaring, As a daughter of a small businessman whose hard work sent me to college, I have a special place in my heart for the contractors, the craftsmen, and the shopkeepers who built this city and keep it going.

In a gesture to the unions, Clinton used her speech to promote economic nationalism. Her response to Trumps trade war policies was to seek to outflank him by depicting his avowal of America-first nationalism as inconsistent and hypocritical. She gave a long list of Trump enterprises that outsource manufacturing and production jobs, and said, If he wants to make America great again, maybe he should start by actually making things in America again.

Clinton had nothing to say about the crisis in Atlantic City, which is on the verge of bankruptcy and has a poverty rate of 35.8 percent.
American filmmaker and screenwriter Michael Cimino died in Los Angeles on July 2 at the age of 77. Cimino is best known as the director of two films that had quite different fates, The Deer Hunter (1978), which won numerous Academy Awards, and Heavens Gate (1980), which was denounced by leading critics, lost a great deal of money and severely damaged Ciminos career.

The ferocious, politically motivated attack on Heavens Gate, a drama about class conflict in the American West in the late 19th century, marked a watershed in the history of American filmmaking. Industry complaints about Ciminos over-spending and general excess, coming on top of difficulties surrounding the production of Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, became part of the rationale for reining in independent directors and turning Hollywood into what it has now almost fully become, a platform for turning out politically inoffensive, noisy blockbusters.

In the wake of the controversy surrounding Heavens Gate, Cimino was able to direct only four more feature films (Year of the Dragon, The Sicilian, Desperate Hours and Sunchaser), the final one two decades ago.

Born in New York City in 1939, Cimino grew up on Long Island and attended Michigan State and Yale universities. After graduate school, Cimino went to work on Madison Avenue in New York in advertising, where he eventually directed television commercials. He moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and began writing screenplays. One of them came to Clint Eastwoods attention and Cimino was able to direct Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), a relatively undistinguished and violent heist film, featuring Eastwood and Jeff Bridges.

Cimino next took on an ambitious subject, the Vietnam war and working class life in America, in The Deer Hunter. The film follows three young steelworkers from western Pennsylvania (Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage) and their physical or moral destruction in the Vietnam war.

The scenes set in Vietnam, where the trio are tortured by the Vietcong, are the weakest. As Robin Wood noted, in a generally perceptive essay, Two Films by Michael Cimino: The film, of course, presents the war as a terrible thing, a trauma, but it was terrible because our boys suffered so much. As in almost every other Hollywood film about Vietnam  political analysis is totally repressed and the possibility that it might be regarded as a war of American aggression/imperialism never permitted to surface.

However, there are other, striking elements in The Deer Hunter. First of all, it is one of the few films produced by the so-called New Hollywood that took the conditions and sentiments of the American working class seriously. Ciminos work is unusual in that it adopts a respectful and genuinely sympathetic attitude toward everyday life in Clairton, Pennsylvania (although the film was actually shot elsewhere), even its backward, religious, conventional, patriotic features, while ineluctably leading the viewer toward the conclusion that this is all going to end in catastrophe, through no individual fault or weakness.

Whether Cimino was fully cognizant of it or not, the horrors of the Vietnam war are associated in the film with the brutalities and confusions of American life, everything ugly, careless and corrupt about it. That the steel industry was on the eve of being virtually wiped out in western Pennsylvania only adds poignancy.

In The Deer Hunters most perceptive sequences, the chasm between the sincerity and essential decency of the characters, on the one hand, and the fate America has in store for them, at home or in Vietnam, on the other, is almost terrifying.

Not everything is successful here, by any means. The suggestion that various forms of psychological and sexual repressionincluding the suppression of the feelings that the leading male characters (played by De Niro and Walken) have one for anotherare, in some sense, driving forces in the events, is simply misplaced. Nonetheless, this is a disturbing film that cannot, as Wood suggested, be read as an endorsement of contemporary America.

On the contrary, the critic argued, in contrast to the picture of America found in the classic films of John Ford, for example, Ciminos film offers the hysteria into which the Clairton wedding celebration is imminently in danger of collapsing: in place of harmony and unification, one finds incipient chaos, tension, disruption. The ominous proximity of Vietnam (the three men are to leave for the war the next day) is only one of the sources of this hysteria, albeit the decisive one.

As for the singing of God Bless America, which concludes the film, Wood noted, the only America the film has validated is that of Clairtona community of eastern European immigrants which the dominant America has virtually destroyed. On whatever level the film is read, it is clear that if the song affirms anything, it is something already perceived as lost.

On the strength of the success of The Deer Hunter, Cimino undertook an even more ambitious project in Heaven's Gate: to represent America at the dawn of the modern age, the era of the emergence of giant corporate interests. As his framework, he used the Johnson County War, which was fought in Wyoming between large cattle companies and small settlers and culminated in a pitched battle between the companies hired killers and a group of small farmers and ranchers in April 1892. The mercenaries were only rescued by the intervention of the federal government in the form of the Sixth Cavalry.

Cimino transformed the beleaguered farmers into a group of Central and Eastern European settlers, drawn to the area by cheap land. Reduced to near starvation, the immigrants resort to stealing individual cattle. The Stockgrowers Association determines to exterminate them with the help of hired gunmen, paid $50 for every thief shot or hung. The wealthy cattle barons have made a list of 125 settlers to be murdered.

Jim Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is a federal marshal in Johnson County. He is involved with Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert), a brothel keeper, who accepts cash or cattle as payment. Ella is also in love with Nate Champion (Walken again), who works for the cattle companies as an enforcer. (Cimino borrowed these names from individuals involved in the Johnson County War, but little else adheres to the immediate historical facts.)

Frank Canton (Sam Waterston), the leading figure in the Stockgrowers Associations, is a vicious, cold-blooded defender of wealth. In one of the films early scenes, Canton explains to the members of the Association, This is no longer a poor mans country. These emigrants only pretend to be farmers. But we know many of them to be thieves and anarchists openly preying on our ranges.  I had a very satisfactory talk with the governor [of Wyoming] yesterday. He asserted in the most positive terms his wholehearted support, as well as that of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the president of these United States.

When the gunmen invade Johnson County and begin their work of assassinating those on the death list, which includes Ella, the immigrants discuss and debate how they should respond. There are voices urging compromise (some have even suggested handing over those on the list to the killers), but the most outraged and militant newcomers choose to take up arms against the companies. They [the companies] advanced the idea that poor people have nothing to say in the affairs of this country. The final confrontation between the hired assassins and the immigrant settlers, with whom Averill belatedly joins forces, is a prolonged, savage battle. When, early in the film, one of the locals observes to Averill, Its gettin dangerous to be poor in this country, he replies, It always was.

When the 3 hour and 40 minute version of Heavens Gate opened in New York City, almost two weeks to the day after the election of Ronald Reagan as president, it was savaged by the leading critics. There are certain similarities in this to the assault on Free State of Jones currently under way.

The film played for only one week before it was withdrawn from the theaters. A two and a half hour version opened in April 1981.

In a May 1, 1981 review of the shortened version (The Lynching of Heaven's Gate,), the Bulletin, the newspaper of the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, described the attacks:

Heavens Gate, the film by Academy Award-winning director Michael Cimino, has been bombarded with abuse and outright vilification since its new version was released last week.

The New York Times called Ciminos film a desperately muddled compromise lacking both substance and purpose. Time magazine denounced him for his alleged notion of Hollywood Marxism: the poor are better than the rich because they are more photogenic.

And the Washington Post proclaimed Heavens Gate a humiliating white elephant and grotesque folly, branding Cimino as a simpleton overwhelmed by the discovery of revisionist history who achieves only a peculiarly outmoded form of caricature. 

The New York Times reviewer Vincent Canby had been extraordinarily foul in his original review in November 1980. He termed the film an unqualified disaster, asserting that Mr. Cimino's approach to his subject is so predictable that watching the film is like a forced, four-hour walking tour of one's own living room. More to the point, Canby snidely commented, The point of Heaven's Gate is that the rich will murder for the earth they don't inherit, but  this is not enough to carry three hours and 45 minutes of screentime.

As the Bulletin correctly noted in 1981, The heart of the criticism of Heavens Gate  is the subject matter itself.

They [the critics] are enraged that such a great amount of talent, time and resources should be expended in accurately recreating a bloody chapter in the struggle against American capitalism.

This argument is certainly supported by a viewing of the restored, 3 hour and 40 minute version now available.

Whatever criticisms one might make of the work, the verbal assault, including claims that Heavens Gate was one of the worst films ever made, was so absurdly out of proportion that only ideological and political considerations could have motivated it.

In fact, Heavens Gate stands up today as a significant and often fascinating and moving work. The early scenes of Averills graduation from Harvard in 1870, where the pious Reverend Doctor (the marvelous Joseph Cotten) lectures the departing students on their responsibility to educate the nation, succinctly sets out the ideological atmosphere, as the Bulletin reviewers observed in 1981, at the intellectual center for an American ruling class which, five years after the Civil War, was convinced that it was destined to be the master of the world.

There is extraordinary and infectious energy (in Robin Woods phrase) in such scenes as Ellas roller-skating birthday celebration attended by the entire town, one of the means by which Cimino sought to suggest that another America than the one controlled by huge corporate interests was possible.

There are mistakes and excesses and languors as well. Cimino perhaps deluded himself at times, confusing the demands of his personal demons for artistic perfectionism. Reportedly, one brief sequence that lasts a minute or two on screen took up an entire day of shooting and 52 takes. A performer in the film told the WSWS, Cimino had a brilliant idea about Eastern Europeans coming west and the Johnson County War, but he took all the spontaneity out of the acting by doing twenty takes of everything.

At any rate, Heavens Gate was not attacked for its weaknessesor, at least, these were wielded in an entirely dishonest manner, as part of the general assault on the films great strength: its careful, clear-eyed, fierce condemnation of modern capitalist America and its brutal methods of rule. Ciminos work substantiates, in no uncertain terms, the view that the wealthy in America, in Trotskys words, are in essence ruthlessly rude, predatory, in the full sense of the word, and criminal.

This was not what the upper middle class, moving rapidly to the right in 1980, wanted to hear. The radicalism of the late 1960s and early 1970s had receded very far. The critics, and the circles in which they traveled, were throwing in their lot, with varying degrees of cynicism, selfishness and self-delusionwith the wonders of the market, with Reagans attacks on and contempt for the poor, with the struggle against the Evil Empire, the Soviet Union. Heavens Gate, in the end, fell victim to this reactionary shift in the political winds.

In response to the news of Ciminos death, Jeff Bridges (who plays a character loosely based on one of his relatives, John Bridges) wrote on Facebook that Heavens Gate was a movie about a particularly fascinating time in American History when Cattle Barons, sanctioned by the United States government, waged war on emigrantsthe Johnson County Wars.  The many months of shooting in Montana were a one of a kind movie making experience. When Heavens Gate came out, many critics called it a flop, a disaster. Wellthats just their opinion, man. To me, and many others, its a masterpiece, and grows in beauty each time its seen.

Indeed, the critical appraisal of Heavens Gate has altered considerably. As Nicholas Barber of the BBC observed in December 2015: But he [Cimino] may just have the last laugh. His original cut of Heavens Gate earnt rapturous reviews when it was shown in Britain in 1982. Thirty years after that, he presented a restored-and-tweaked version at the Venice Film Festival, and its reception was even more euphoric. It was Canby and his fellow critics who looked ridiculous now; Heavens Gate looked magnificent. Richard Brody of the New Yorker, in 2012, referred to the film as the victim of a critical assassination. With their reviews, the most famous American film critics brought shame on themselves and their profession.

At the conclusion of their comment on Heavens Gate in 1981, the Bulletin reviewers once again condemned the hostile reaction to the film, which has everything to do with the attempt to swing the arts to the right. The authors continued, We unreservedly recommend this film. Its director, Michael Cimino, has taken great care to honestly and faithfully present history as it was. And in this film, as in his earlier one, The Deer Hunter , he shows great concern in portraying the life of the working class.

We urge Cimino to fight for this film. We are sure that it will find its audience among intellectuals, the best sections of the middle class and above all in the working class itself. Cimino wrote to the Bulletin editorial board, thanking the socialist newspaper for its stand.

Thirty-five years later, Heavens Gate has been restored to its rightful place in the history of American filmmaking, and the late director has been thoroughly vindicated.
Shah Rukh Khan and his three-year-old son AbRam waved to the cameras on Eid.

By India Today Web Desk: Muslims all over the world will celebrate the end of the month of fasting on Thursday, July 7, which marks Eid-ul-Fitr. Bollywood's King Khan is not far behind when it comes to celebrating Eid. The Dilwale actor and his three-year-old son AbRam waved to paparazzi on Eid.

ALSO READ: Madhuri to Anushka, Bollywood celebs wish their fans Eid Mubarak

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Both Shah Rukh and AbRam wore white kurta-pyjama for the occasion. AbRam waving to the cameras outside Mannat mansion is the cutest thing you'll see today. One of Shah Rukh Khan's fans shared the pictures on Instagram.



The Chennai Express actor's PK Mandwi Sharma also shared a video of fans waiting for Shah Rukh to wish them on the auspicious occasion of Eid.

The Fan actor also addressed the media and answered their questions.

On the work front, Shah Rukh Khan will next be seen in Raees.

--- ENDS ---
Canada Post has given the required 72-hour notice to obtain the legal right to lock out 50,000 letter-carriers, mail-sorters and other postal workers and shut down Canadas postal service nationwide starting this Friday.

The notice is highly provocative and makes clear that government-owned Canada Post is determined to press forward with an across-the-board attack on postal workers wages, conditions of employment and pension entitlements. But in the face of this frontal assault, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is doing everything it can to isolate the postal workers struggle, boost illusions in the big business federal Liberal government, and prevent postal workers from taking strike action.

Canada Post is pushing for massive concessions. These include: elimination of the defined benefit pension system for new hires and its replacement by a defined contributions model; a pay freeze for temporary workers throughout the four-year life of the new contract; massive attacks on healthcare benefits; the cutting of paid meal times; and the undermining of job protection guarantees so that they would apply only to workers with 10 rather than five years of continuous service.

Although Canada Post has made multi-millions in profits over the past two years thanks to the concessions contract rammed through with the collaboration of CUPW in 2012, it has rejected out of hand the unions modest demands, including a pay increase for rural delivery workers who earn 28 percent less than their urban counterparts.

Postal workers must reject all claims that Canada Post lacks the funds to offer them decent-paying, secure jobs, and make their struggle the spearhead of a working-class counteroffensive in defence of workers rights and public services.

This can be accomplished only if postal workers draw the lessons of the treacherous role played by CUPW and the pro-capitalist trade unions as a whole over the past quarter-century and take the conduct of the struggle out of the hands of the union bureaucracy.

CUPWled by national President Mike Palecek, a former leading member of the pseudo-left Fightback grouphas worked systematically to block postal workers from opposing the attacks of management throughout the more than six months of contract negotiations. For all his rhetoric about being a left and militant leader, Palecek has pursued precisely the same policies as the previous CUPW leadership, which oversaw a long series of defeats for postal workers, most recently in 2011 when the union bowed before the Harper Conservative governments strikebreaking legislation and subsequently agreed to a concessions-laden five-year contract.

From the outset of negotiations last January, Canada Post made clear that it is determined to impose a cost-cutting deal. In April, management initiated conciliation, a move which effectively set a three-month time limit for negotiating a new contract. Palecek responded by repeatedly assuring Canada Post and the media that CUPW had no desire to call a strike. The union waited until the last minute before organizing a strike ballot in early June. That vote showed the overwhelming determination of workers to resist the assault on their working conditions, producing an overwhelming majority of over 90 percent in favour of strike action.

Yet instead of organizing for a genuine struggle, CUPW has played for time. Last week it pleaded for a two-week cooling off period, a proposal that was summarily rejected by management.

CUPW has also sown the most fatal illusions in the Liberal government and its independent task-force review of Canada Post, claiming that the review will allow workers to be heard and to save Canada Post. However, in announcing the terms of the review, Minister of Public Procurement and Infrastructure Judy Foote emphasized its recommendations must be predicated on Canada Post being run as a profitable concern.

CUPW fully accepts this reactionary framework and has repeatedly signaled to management, the government and big business its desire to expand its role as an accomplice in the attacks on postal workers. As Palecek said in an emailed statement Sunday, We dont want a labour conflict, especially when theres a public review.

Since 2013, CUPW has focused on a campaign to persuade Canada Post to introduce postal banking to counteract falling revenues from declining letter volumes. It has firmly rejected linking the defence of postal workers jobs with a broader working-class offensive in defence of public services, which are under sustained assault by federal and provincial governments alike.

Responding to Canada Posts lockout notice, Palecek accused the company of sabotaging the public review of the post office. The unions groveling appeal to the corporate elite was summed up in a July 4 statement in which CUPW boasted, While the company has been creating uncertainty by warning the public to avoid the post office, CUPW has been showing up at the bargaining table with proposals to make the post office even more profitable and improve services for Canadian businesses and the public.

CUPWs statement went on, We want to reassure the public and the business community that we intend to remain in talks as long as there is hope that the parties offer suggestions on how we can better serve Canadians.

Such a pledge to the business community should be taken as a warning by postal workers. It reflects the fact that CUPW, like the union bureaucracy as a whole, has been transformed over recent decades into an appendage of corporate management and the state with interests irreconcilably hostile to those of its own members.

During the last labour dispute at Canada Post in 2011, CUPW crippled working class resistance by organizing futile rotating strikes. This token protest enabled management, egged on by Harper and his Conservatives, to seize the initiative by imposing a lockout. The government then used this as the pretext to illegalize any and all job action against Canada Post. Subsequently, CUPW capitulated to managements concession demands, claiming it had no other option because otherwise a Harper government-appointed arbitrator would have dictated the contracts terms.

The unions hostility to postal workers is demonstrated most of all by CUPW and Paleceks promotion of the big business Liberals, who have repeatedly outlawed postal workers strikes, most famously in 1978, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus father, Pierre Trudeau, ordered the arrest of CUPW President Jean-Claude Parrot and threatened to fire postal workers en masse.

Palecek was one of the most prominent leaders of the unions Anybody But Harper campaign during last years federal election campaigna campaign that served to paint the Canadian elites traditional party of government as a progressive alternative to the Conservatives. The purpose of this initiative was to help bring to power a government that, unlike Harper and his Conservatives, would accept the unions offer of partnership and incorporate the union officialdom in designing and implementing policies aimed at making Canadian capitalism more competitive, i.e., profitable. Less than a week after Trudeau was appointed prime minister, Palecek was among around 100 Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) leaders who met with him behind closed doors and pledged to work with the new government.

Significantly, Prime Minister Trudeau has not ruled out stripping postal workers of their rights and imposing a contract. Speaking Tuesday, he said his government doesnt believe it has an immediate responsibility to intervene in the event postal service is interrupted.

A sharp warning must be made to postal workers about the role of the CLC, which has isolated and repeatedly intervened to shut down militant worker struggles. An article in last Saturdays Globe and Mail reported on the cozy relations between the CLC leadership and the Liberals. In interviews with the Globe, top union officials, including CLC President Hassan Yussuff and Unifor President Jerry Dias, gushed about the warmth of their relations with the government and easy access to cabinet ministers, including Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

Postal workers must take the initiative out of the hands of the CUPW leadership by establishing their own independent action committees to organize a strike in defence of jobs and living standards and prepare defiance of any Liberal back-to-work law. Such a struggle cannot be successful if it accepts the reactionary premise that Canada Post must be run as a profitable concern. Rather, postal workers must fight to mobilize the entire working class to protect and expand workers rights and public services. Above all, a new political strategy is required which rejects the capitalist profit system and fights for a workers government based on socialist policies.
On Wednesday, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced that a referendum of junior doctors and medical students in England had rejected by a clear majority the contract it had agreed with the Conservative government last month.

The deal seeks to impose a radical reduction in payments for working out of hours and Saturdays and undermines safeguards against working excessive hours. Some 58 percent opposed the agreement, in a 68 percent turnout of the unions 55,000 members.

For over four years, the Conservatives have sought a new contract, seeing it as key to imposing seven-day working as standard practice on all National Health Service (NHS) workers, without increasing funding or staffing and rapidly increasing the privatisation of health care.

The junior doctors have remained steadfast, holding six strikes including the latest in April during which emergency cover was withdrawnthe first ever in the history of the NHS. Many recognise that what is at stake is something far greater than their own immediate interest and that the imposition of the contract will dramatically affect the livelihood of all workers in the NHS and its future as a public service.

Following the announcement of the ballot result, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt declared, It is extremely disappointing that junior doctors have voted against this contract, which was agreed with and endorsed by the leader of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee [Dr Johann Malawana] and supported by senior NHS leaders. He declared that the only realistic way to end this impasse was to impose the new contract.

Malawana, who had attempted to sell the deal in scores of roadshows across the country, has been forced to resign, saying, Having spoken to many junior doctors across the country in recent weeks it was clear that, while some felt the new contract represented an improved offer, others had reservations about what it would mean for their working lives, their patients and the future delivery of care in the NHS. There was also considerable anger and mistrust towards the governments handling of this dispute.

Some indication of the opposition to the BMAs capitulation appeared in the comments pages of the health professional website, Pulse. One medical student declared, The BMA obviously gave in. There should be no compromise!!

Another wrote, The new deal is quite frankly s**t! In no other industry is weekend working 9am to 9pm regarded as standard working hours. The juniors should reject the new deal without thinking twice.

A general practitioner (GP) remarked, The BMA has given in too easilyas usual. Still a pay cut. Vote against it and resign from BMA.

Another health worker added, In what profession would anyone be happy taking an averaged 30% pay cut? Especially as the price of registration, indemnity and exams are increasing along with the cost of living. Doctors have been down trodden and reduced in respect and trust by this government and others to enable better political control. 

Despite these sentiments, which were expressed in yet another resounding vote against the governments plans, it is clear the BMA is intent on sabotaging any further action. According to BBC Health correspondent Nick Triggle, The Brexit [referendum vote to withdraw from the European Union] fall-out means that behind the scenes the BMA has now accepted its fight has to end.

Several influential voices in the organisation have told me there is nowhere to go regardless of the resultwith one saying any more industrial action at the current time would be just ridiculous given what is happening in the country.

Triggle reveals that during the ballot, the NHS has been quietly continuing the process of implementing the new contract. ... Some 6,000 medics fresh out of medical school are due to start on the new deal from August and Much of the rest of the workforce will follow over the coming year.

It cannot be clearer that the dispute has to be taken out of the hands of the BMA and the other health unions. They have done everything to isolate strikes, refusing to unite junior doctors with other health service workers in struggle, most recently those fighting the governments scrapping of NHS bursaries. GPs are to be balloted for action over the governments reactionary General Practice Forward View proposals, but only in three months time!

Junior doctors should form independent action committees to take their fight forward, in a unified struggle with other workers. This fight is a political struggle that cannot be carried out through the Labour Party. It has refused to officially support the strike, and fewer than 50 MPs turned up to debate the NHS Reinstatement Bill, which was presented as restoring the NHS to public ownership, ensuring it fell.

Independent action committees are also essential for developing the struggle of teachers, who took strike action on Tuesday after a 92 percent vote in favour. Officials from the National Union of Teachers (NUT) claimed that teachers solidly supported the strike, with hundreds of schools affected, either closing completely, or teaching reduced subjects.

Like health workers, teachers are faced with the privatisation of an essential public service, this time through the academisation process. Statutory education is being removed from local authority control and handed over to independent academies, many of which are being privately funded. Multi-academy trusts are also being encouraged to make them more attractive to global education corporations.

There has been widespread opposition to this development from across the teaching profession and from parents. But the unions have been complicit from the early days of the introduction of academies under the 1997-2010 Blair Labour government. Their only concern has been that the break-up of national pay structures could impact their negotiating rights with the government and, through this, their privileged positions.

Teachers must organise meetings in every school, independently of the unions, to discuss how to combat the governments privatisation agenda, and organise committees in defence of public education and link up with workers under attack in the NHS and elsewhere. Above all it requires the building of a genuinely socialist and internationalist partythe Socialist Equality Partythat fights for the reorganisation of economic life on the basis of social need, not private profit.
On June 17, states attorney Gloria Thomas, on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and DOC secretary Jon Litscher, petitioned Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Brian Pfitzinger to permit the force-feeding of inmates at Waupun, Columbia, Green Bay and other state prisons, where some half dozen men or more initiated a hunger strike on or about June 5th.

Pfitzinger granted the petition and ordered the temporary forced nasogastric tube hydration and feeding for at least two of the strikers, Cesar DeLeon and LaRon McKinley Bey. The six known participants in the hunger strike include DeLeon, McKinley Bey, Joshua Scolman, Parish Golden, Lamar Larry, and Shirell Watkins.

The prisoners have titled their hunger strike Dying to Live Humanitarian Food Refusal Campaign Against Torture, aware as they are of the US Constitutions 8th Amendment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

For years, prisoners have protested the DOCs policy of placing them in solitary confinement for extended periods. McKinley Bey has informed media outlets and courts that his time in uninterrupted solitary at Waupun state prison exceeds a quarter century.

Multiple media sources report that approximately 100 Wisconsin inmates are living now in long term solitary. UN officials have declared that any time in solitary over 15 days constitutes torture.

Inmates held in the hole and in the general population have also reported beatings by sadistic guards, confinement in cold cells for many weeks with scant or no clothing, the provision of contaminated drinking water and rotten food, receiving poor or no treatment for medical and mental needs, and never being allowed outside.

The prisoners also report that punishment is meted out for their exposing these prison practices to their families, the courts, the media and prison advocacy groups. Prison wardens and staffs have been sued many times by the inmates and their families, to no avail, given the consistent protection prison officials receive from the state.

Judge Pfitzinger received a petition authored by Dr. Jeffery Manlove, the Waupun prison consulting physician, on June 17, which stated, He (DeLeon) is showing signs of significant dehydration. He appears weak, gaunt, and has an unsteady gait. His mucous membranes are very dry. He has a rapid heart rate of 132. His lab tests results are consistent with dehydration and metabolic acidosis.

In his report, Dr. Manlove also noted that DeLeons weight had fallen from 206 pounds to 186 pounds between January and June. Judge Pfitzinger then ordered the force-feedings.

After Pfitzinger issued the order DeLeon wrote a reply to the court, which reveals, among other things, the undoubted and legitimate legal and ethical anxiety felt by prison medical staff.

He wrote, The prison doctor from Waupun submitted some exaggerated report about me been (sic) in immediate danger and so forth. Im here to tell you that Waupun officials are trying to dupe you into beliving (sic) this lie to stop me and other inmates from continuing our religious fasting because we been making the news for the past 10 days.

The reply continued, The same doctor...came to my cell a day before and wisper (sic)...that the warden...was putting pressure on him to declare us being in immediate danger because the DOC secretary was calling...him (the warden)...to do whatever it takes to stop us. He, the doctor, ask me to eat or else he was going to have to go with what the warden ask him to do.

DeLeon and McKinley Bey appeared before Dodge Circuit Court Judge Steven Bauer on June 30th to oppose being force-fed, reminding the court of their 8th Amendment rights. DeLeon asked that the court view a video of his being force-fed for a punitive purpose, not medical, a recording that he submitted in a motion. Judge Bauer told DeLeon that he had not received the video, and agreed to schedule a follow-up hearing for viewing; meanwhile, forced feedings would continue.

The DOC attorney Thomas flippantly dismissed DeLeons assertions of abuse, saying, If there is an implication of an 8th Amendment violation then that is up to the court.

McKinley Bey told Judge Bauer the same day, I am refusing to eat and drink for political reasons and to protect myself. I am going to refuse to eat and drink as long as they mistreat me. I have suffered all kinds of medical conditions. I am doing this to protest long-term solitary confinement.

He reported that he is in his cell 164 of 168 hours in a week, all told for 27 1/2 years. He added in court, Im prepared to go long-term with this. Judge Bauer responded by issuing a permanent order for McKinley Beys nasogastric tube feeding, effective until December 29, 2016.

McKinley Bey reported that force-feeding is conducted by strapping inmates into a restraint chair. A guard inserts the nasogastric tube into the nose and down the throat while another guard films the event.

Norman C. Green, also known as Prince Aturn-Ra Uhuru Mutawakki, formerly incarcerated at Waupun but moved to Columbia state prison in Portage, Wisconsin in an effort by DOC authorities to break the strike, is also being force-fed. He reports having lived in the hole for 18 years.

Prison authorities also began an attempt at the forced feeding of Joshua Scolman, the exact date unknown, but because of an apparent deviated septum (a crooked mid nose bone and cartilage) attempts to place the tube caused bleeding at the prison that could not be stopped. Scolman was then taken to an area hospital for treatment and IV therapies. One unconfirmed source reported that the DOC considered forcing Scolman to undergo a surgical tube placement through the abdominal wall directly into the stomach, to circumvent the nasal issue.

In April of this year, a Waupun inmate named Robert Tatum went on a hunger strike for 14 days after filing a suit against the DOC for abuse by the guards, a litigation that went nowhere. He quit the strike when threatened with tube feedings, after which the guards force fed him anyway. In a revealing statement, the DOC communications director Tristan Cook declared that Waupun was following DOC-approved procedures.

Correct nasogastric tube placement in the stomach, especially repeatedly, forcibly, or by hostile amateurs, let alone by trained professionals, is not considered by the medical profession as being risk-free or entirely benign. And it is certainly understood to be exceptionally painful.

Complications include nasal, throat and esophageal irritation, bleeding and membrane tearing, as well as the risk of infusing nutrient fluids into the human airway, causing either pneumonia and/or asphyxiation. With force-feeding, lungs have also been punctured with resulting lung collapse, a life-threatening and surgical emergency.

In October 2015 the American Medical Associations Journal of Ethics and J. Wesley Boyd of Harvard Medical School stated unambiguously that force-feeding prisoners is wrong in a review of this dangerous and barbaric practice.

Dr. Boyd noted in his article that the Israeli government authorized the force-feeding of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners last year, and, wanting to obtain the collaboration of medical professionals, the Israeli Public Security minister attempted to portray the fasting prisoners as suicide terrorists. The Israeli Medical Association would have none of it and informed the government that if it enacted such practices the Medical Association would request its member physicians refuse to participate.

Moreover, the World Medical Association, founded in the wake of WWII, updated its recommendations for prisoner treatment in the so-called Malta revisions of 2006. The revisions explicitly forbid force-feeding, which the group likened to inhuman and degrading treatment, that is never ethically acceptable. The medical associations of over 80 countries adhere to WMA guidance. The WMA also pointed out that hunger strikers are not suicidal, but are a last resort way of expressing protest or dissent in situations of coercion.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran for three days in late May, holding discussions with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini and President Hassan Rouhani and signing several agreements, including the Trilateral Agreement on Establishing Chabahar Transport and Transit Corridors.

The Trilateral Agreement paves the way for the construction of the Chabahar port complex, which is intended to serve as the hub of a commercial-transportation corridor stretching into Afghanistan and across much of Central Asia, as well as to Europe via both Iran and Russia. The Chabahar corridor is widely viewed as a rival to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which will end at Gwadar, Pakistan, 72 kilometers (45 miles) east of Chabahar.

The Trilateral Agreement was signed by Modi, Rouhani, and Afghan President Ashaf Ghani following a trilateral summit May 23.

Modis visit to Iran was the first by an Indian prime minister in fifteen years. In addition to signing a dozen agreements aimed at promoting trade, developing transport infrastructure, and fostering cooperation in education and in cultural and scientific endeavors, Modi and Rouhani agreed to enhance interaction on regional and maritime security, including intelligence-sharing and cooperation in combating terrorism and cyberwar.

Under the terms of the Chabahar deal, India Ports Global has been contracted to build two container berths and three multi-cargo berths at Chabahar, valued at $85 million. Meanwhile, Indias state-run engineering firm IRCON International will begin construction of a 300-mile railway line linking Chabahar to Zahedan, thereby connecting it to the rest of Irans rail network, and of a second rail line from Zahedan to Afghanistan. There are plans for Indian businesses to develop an array of industrial ventures along the Iranian part of the corridor, including aluminum smelting and urea production. Indian firms are also vying for rights to build a liquid natural gas plant alongside the Chabahar port complex.

If completed, the Chabahar corridor would enable India to rebuild commercial ties with Afghanistan, access to which has been denied India for nearly seventy years by its arch-rival, Pakistan. Exploiting its geographic position between the two countries, Pakistan has refused to allow land-based trade between India and Afghanistan.

Crucially, the Chabahar corridor would give India access to oil and gas reserves in Central Asia, control over which is central to Indias rapidly intensifying geo-political power struggle with China. The Chabahar corridor would also tie into Afghanistans road and rail network, enabling Indian firms to access Afghan resources and markets, funneling cargo via Chabahar to and from Indias west coast ports.

India first agreed in 2003 to take the lead in developing Chabahar as a modern port. But the project was repeatedly delayed, because the US exerted intense and escalating pressure on India to curtail its dealings with Iran as part of its drive to coerce Tehran, if need be by war, to abandon any challenge to US hegemony over the Middle East. Similarly, Washington succeeded in scuttling the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India natural gas pipeline, a project that was touted as an important means of underpinning the ostensibly US supported India-Pakistan peace process.

However, with last years deal between the P-6 and the Islamic Republic to dismantle or freeze most of Irans civil nuclear program, the US-led campaign to wreck Irans economy has been suspended and there has been an easing of tensions between Tehran and Washington. This has cleared the way for India to renew efforts to realize the long-delayed Chabahar Port and corridor scheme.

India is only one among a large number of imperialist and Eurasian powers seeking to advance their economic and geopolitical interests by striking commercial deals with Tehran. Since the lifting of sanctions last January, a parade of European political leaders and businessmen have visited Tehran. In June, Iran agreed to buy more than a hundred commercial jets from the US transnational Boeing, a deal potentially worth $25 billion or more.

After years of punishing economic sanctions, Tehran hopes to piggyback on Indias growing role in Asian economic networks, and is eager to take advantage of the $500 million in initial funds New Delhi has offered in support of the Chabahar port and related infrastructural links to Afghanistan. Iranian President Rouhani called the signing of the Chabahar deal an important and historical day of development of relations between the three countries, praising the deal as a defining partnership which has the potential of connecting the entire region.

The India-Iran rapprochement, above all the corridor project, will inevitably intensify strategic rivalries in Central and South Asia. And it will do so under conditions where the USs drive to strategically isolate and encircle China and its concomitant push to make India a frontline state in its confrontation with China have transformed the entire region into a geo-political tinderbox.

The Indo-Iranian rapprochement and the encirclement of Pakistan

Emboldened by the USs promotion of New Delhi as its principal South Asian and Indian Ocean ally and offers of advanced weaponry, India is aggressively asserting its claim to be the regional hegemon. In particular it has intensified military-strategic pressure on Pakistan. This has included ordering the Indian military to assume a more aggressive posture at the border, making the resumption of the long-stalled India-Pakistan peace dialogue conditional on Islamabad bowing to a long list of demands, and increasing its efforts to become a major military-strategic partner of Afghanistan.

Pakistan has reacted to the trilateral Chabahar agreement with alarm and for multiple reasons. It fears the Chabahar corridor could undercut the viability and profitability of the CPEC, a $46 billion project that is pivotal to reviving Pakistans flagging economy. The corridor would bolster Indias influence in Afghanistanlong a major arena of strategic competition between New Delhi and Islamabad. Also, the Trilateral Agreement opens the door to renewed strategic cooperation between Tehran and New Delhi, who in the 1990s jointly backed the Northern Alliance against the Pakistani-backed Taliban regime in Kabul.

Further fueling Pakistans apprehensions is that the renewal of Indo-Iranian ties has coincided with a ratcheting up of US pressure on Islamabad to bear more of the burden of the Afghan War and a sharp deterioration in relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

On May 21, the day Modi arrived in Iran, the US violated Pakistani red lines and carried out a drone strike in Balochistan in order to assassinate the political leader of the Taliban, Mullah Akthar Mansour, and blow up Islamabads attempts to entice the Taliban into peace talks.

Kabul and Islamabad have long been trading accusations that the other is secretly supporting anti-government Islamist insurgents in their respective countries. Kabul, which does not recognize the British colonial border that separates between Afghanistan-Pakistan, has vigorously protested against Islamabads recent steps to fortify the border through the building of fences, ditches and border gates. In mid-June, fighting erupted between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the Torkham border crossing.

The Chabahar deal has ominous implications for Pakistan, two former Pakistan Defence Secretaries, Lt. General Asif Yasin Malik and Lt. General Nadeem Lodhi, told a Strategic Vision Institute workshop May 30. Malik warned the alliance between India, Afghanistan, and Iran threatens Pakistan with an abyss of isolation, while Lodhi said Chabahar is designed to undermine the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In an obvious reference to China, Lodhi said, We need to break out of this encircling move with help from friends, ... diplomatic manoeuvres and by forging a strong deterrence.

Noting that Tehran was the most likely of the three to be open to Pakistani overtures, Lodhi called for Islamabad to take counter steps to prevent this formidable bloc from crystalizing." Iran, the Pakistani general declared, must not be further alienated and its interests in CPEC should be developed.

Chinas growing presence in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan

Chinas response to the Chabahar project has been much more circumspect. While Beijing is angered and alarmed by the extent to which India under the two year-old premiership of Narendra Modi has integrated itself into the USs anti-China Pivot to Asia, it still hopes it can forestall Indias entry into a formal US-led alliance along with Japan and Australia. A precipitous confrontation with India, calculates Beijing, would only play into Washingtons hands, enabling it to tighten its strategic harness on a frightened New Delhi.

Thus, the Chinese government-owned Global Times played down the strategic implications of the Chabahar corridor. It highlighted statements from Tehran that the project should be seen as complementary to the CPEC and the development of Gwadar, and inviting Chinese and Pakistani involvement in the Chabahar corridor.

That said, Beijing is not standing idly by as the US mounts its military-strategic offensive to isolate and encircle China and positions itself to implement its Air-Sea Battle plan, which would combine an economic blockade of China with a devastating missile and bomb attack on its industrial centers and infrastructure.

The CPEC is itself a response to the burgeoning Indo-US strategic partnership, as well as to New Delhis refusal to take up Beijings offers for a major role in the Chinese-led One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative to strengthen transport links across Eurasia.

The CPEC exemplifies the extent to which the USs strategic embrace of India and consequent downgrading of its ties with Pakistan are pushing Beijing and Islamabad into an ever-closer partnership. For Beijing, the CPEC has major strategic implications. If the plans for pipeline, rail and road links between western China and Gwadar were to be realized, it would significantly undercut the US plans to blockade China in the event of a war or war crisis by seizing Indian Ocean and South China Sea choke-points.

While Washington has not, as of yet, publicly opposed the CPEC, New Delhi has, citing the fact that the corridor will pass through parts of Pakistan-held Kashmir that it claims are rightfully Indian. But this is merely a pretext. The real concern of the Indian elite is that the CPEC will give a desperately needed shot-in-the-arm to the economy of its arch-rival Pakistan.

Underscoring the deepening antagonism between the Indian bourgeoisie and both China and Pakistan, the Indian media was full of commentary in late May lauding Modi for pressing ahead with the Chabahar project and thereby delivering a strategic blow to both Beijing and Islamabad.

For his part, Indian Air Marshal Arup Ruha has repeatedly denounced Beijing, charging that its investments and infrastructure projects in the states neighbouring India are all strategic moves to contain India.

The intertwining of the US-China and Indo-Pakistani conflicts adds a new, highly combustible charge to both of what are already explosive conflicts between nuclear powers.

China is also increasingly present in Iran and Afghanistan and competing for influence there with both the US and India.

Beijing has viewed the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran as an opportunity to deepen economic and strategic ties with Tehran, which were substantial even during the past decade of intensifying US-EU efforts to crash the Iranian economy.

Soon after sanctions were lifted, President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders rushed to Tehran with proposals for billions of dollars of additional investments. China is already already Irans largest trade partner, with bilateral trade surpassing $50 billion in 2014.

Beijing aims to transform Iran into a central node of its OBOR project, serving to connect China with the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. The first train to connect China and Iran arrived in Tehran on February 15, spending just 14 days to complete the 9500-kilometer journey through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and carrying 32 containers of commercial products from eastern Zhejiang province.

China is also seeking to gain influence in Kabul, whose participation in the Chabahar corridor threatens the CPEC project and, by extension, could throw a wrench in Chinas broader OBOR initiative.

Press reports indicate elements within the US-sponsored Kabul regime would welcome the idea of integrating Afghanistan into the CPEC. Afghanistans China envoy Janan Mosazai recently told Chinese media, We would like to link up with [CPEC] and facilitate the linking of Central Asian countries with the corridor. We enjoy the importance and vitality of the Afghanistan-China relationship, which is irreplaceable.

Afghanistan also plans to deepen security collaboration with Beijing, including joint operations against the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). The ETIM is among a group of Islamist and ethno-nationalist secessionist movements that feed on grievances with Chinas authoritarian, capitalist regime and that Washington views as potential assets in sowing chaos in Chinas western provinces and disrupting Chinas increasingly important economic linkages with Central Asia.

Chinas growing influence in Afghanistan and Afghanistans proximity to Russia, another state Washington views as constituting an intolerable threat to its hegemony over Eurasia, are chief among the reasons that the Pentagon is insistent that the US must continue its fifteen year-long Afghan War and retain Afghanistan as a strategic beachhead in Central Asia.

Washington and the Indo-Iranian rapprochement

Despite US imperialisms longstanding enmity toward Tehran, important sections of the US political and military-security establishment have given their tentative support to the Indo-Iranian rapprochement.

Those in American ruling circles who supported the P-6 Iran nuclear deal, seeing in it the possibility of tying a weakened Iran to US strategic objectives, are inclined to favor an enhanced Iran-India partnership. They calculate it will provide an economic boost to their global strategic partner and Major Defence Partner, India, and strengthen Indian efforts to contest Chinese influence in both Iran and Central Asia.

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal told a May 24 US Congressional hearing that the Obama administration is watching very closely Indias growing ties with Iran. When Senator Ben Cardin, a Democratic opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, expressed concerns that Indias economic relationship with Iran would further boost Tehrans alleged activities to support terrorist groups, Biswal responded by rationalizing the India-Iran partnership as an outgrowth of both countries economic needs, and went on to defend India as being very sensitive to US concerns over the issue.

Indias burgeoning ties with Iran are driven by ever growing energy needs and using the Persian Gulf nation as a gateway into Afghanistan and Central Asia, Biswal said. They [India] have been very responsive and receptive to our briefings. And we have to examine the details of the Chabahar announcement to see where it falls in that place.

The nuclear accord with Iran was bitterly contested in Washington. As Cardins comments attest, a significant faction of the US elite remains adamantly opposed to anything that could conceivably strengthen the current regime in Tehran and wants the US to ratchet up sanctions and openly pursue regime change in Tehran.

The American ruling class as a whole views the Iran deal as a tactical gambit, subject to constant reappraisal from the standpoint of whether it is serving US global strategy. US imperialism has retained large portions of its sanctions regime against Iran, and is preparing to roll out a raft of new military interventions after the November elections, including escalations on both of Irans flanks, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and against Tehrans strongest regional ally, the Bashar al Assad-led government in Damascus.

Even the partial execution of these war plans could well result in a rapid deterioration of USs relations with Iran, no matter whether the next president is a Republican or Democrat, and the sudden rescinding of Washingtons tentative support for the Indo-Iranian rapprochement and the Chabahar corridor.

Whatever their ultimate fate, the Indo-Iranian rapprochement and the Chabahar corridor exemplify the extent to which South and Central Asia and the Middle East are riven with lethal geo-political rivalries and have been sucked into the maelstrom of imperialist and great power conflict.
Last Saturday, on polling day for the Australian federal election, the WSWS spoke to voters about the political issues that they confront, and the international context of the double-dissolution election.

The alienation of broad layers of the population from Labor, the Liberals, and the entire political establishment was palpable. In the days since the election, the result remains unclear, with neither of the major parties having secured enough seats as yet to form a government in their own right.

The corporate and financial elite has responded with undisguised hostility and frustration over the refusal of millions of people to support parties identified with war abroad, and austerity at home. Retail billionaire Gerry Harvey openly suggested the establishment of a dictatorship, while numerous commentators have declared that the population is ungovernable.

The election outcome is a distorted expression of a developing political radicalization of workers and young people around the world. Many of those who spoke to the WSWS have closely followed developments internationally, including the campaign of Bernie Sanders, the candidate in the Democratic primaries for the US election who won mass support based on the mistaken belief that he was a socialist. Britains decision to exit the European Union was also a concern.

In the Seat of Blaxland, in Sydneys southwest, Abdul, a telecommunications worker said he didnt vote for anyone. None of these parties were going to get my support because it doesnt matter which way we vote. Liberal, Labor or Greens, were still screwed.

He spoke against the war on terror, which has included intense police surveillance of working class areas in southwestern Sydney. The government says its taking pre-emptive action to prevent terrorism is beyond stupid. It means that the country is actually involved in instigating wars. This is also being used to take away our basic rights.

What rights do we have to lose for this? And the kids that have been accused of terrorism here in Australia are the victims of religious brainwashing. You cant really call them terrorists. Theyve been failed by the system.

Phillip who works as a storeman at a supermarket said that he went for the Greens and the firearms party. I didnt vote for Liberal or Labourtheyre full of crap. The WSWS asked Phillip what attracted him to the Greens. Nothing really. Theyll probably do better than the other two guys. Labor and Liberalthey say they are going to do things and it never happens. You always see another tax come in. They say theyll help a school but a year down the track that all changes. Its gone on for years. Theyre both the same. From my perspective, they dont help me.

Cassandra, a university student in Melbourne, voted for the Greens. She explained: Deregulation of university fees is a big issue for me. Marriage equality is another huge one, and immigration policy. Im against both Liberal and Labor because their treatment of refugees is terrible. Australia should be doing more. It is not illegal to seek asylum, it is guaranteed in the UN charter.

She denounced the bipartisan assault on higher education. I think university should be free. People Malcolm Turnbulls age got a free education. Ive been to rallies against fee deregulationI think it is one of the most abhorrent policies. If it succeeds it will destroy education in Australia. There have already been cuts and cuts, and there is no help for anyone who doesnt come from a wealthy family who can buy their degree.

Darren works as a printer. He was one of a number of workers in Melbourne who raised the US presidential election campaign with WSWS reporters. I was very encouraged by what was going on in America with Bernie Sanders, he said. I think its a step in the right direction for western democracy generally. The participation and the interest in it and the fact that hes prepared to openly state where the moneys going, why people are struggling in their lives and to call for simple things like universal health cover.

The very notion of universal health cover is anathema to the right wing  I think people are waking up to the fact that if we stick together we can effect change. Im broke. Ive got no health cover. Im working hard. I had a health issue which saw me off work for a year and now Ive used up all my savings.

For me its a question of social democracy versus neo-liberalism. Weve been overrun by free market ideology for so long and the consequences of it are being felt. The ideas that drive neo-liberalism are social Darwinism. These policies are designed to make the poor struggle and drop off the face of the earth. Im all for the redistribution of wealth. Im supportive of socialism.

Ubee, a cook, spoke with the SEP in Marrickville, in the inner-west of Sydney. He said that there had been the rise of a very xenophobic culture, as we have seen with Brexit. Right now Muslim people are being targeted. Before that it was Asian immigrants. There is always a new group to make the enemy. And thats to get people behind right-wing politics.

Speaking on the Australian election, Ubee commented: From the last election, people feel defrauded by the Liberal government. The only reason people voted Liberal was because of the instability of the Labor Party. I dont think the two-party system offers anything. Labor has always been the working class vote, but thats just the image that they trade. Do they really stand for the working class, for the persecuted? If you look at their policy on refugees, there is no difference between Liberal and Labor.

The excuse given for border controls is that its a matter of safety. Its not. These are people just like us. Refugees are running from wars that Western intervention and persecution of the working class has created.

In Newcastle, WSWS reporters spoke to Andrew, a university student and part-time music teacher. He said that he was more pro keeping Britain in the EU, but added, I am not a fan of the EU itself.

The principles on which the EU was established were good, but the way it is carried out is not. The EU gives Europe an excuse to walk over other countries. The bigger countries control the economy of the smaller countries, such as the Balkans.

Britain leaving gives an image of trying to get back the glory days of the empire and imperialism. Brexit could lead to higher tensions in Europe and it also appears to be completely built on xenophobia.

Nathan, 38, a bank worker spoke to the WSWS in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield.

I come from a former cotton town in the north of England. My friends strongly urged me to vote for an exit because the core belief of a lot of people in that town is that the benefits of globalization are not seen there, but the negative effects are. The town voted 60/40 for Brexit, he explained.

The result was no surprise to me. I think people in the UK are unbelievably angry at the moment, especially in the poorer class. People in London almost have no idea what is going on in the rest of the country. The banks went under in 2008 and were saved by the governmentin fact it was the taxpayer. The country has never recovered. No one has gone to jail for that, nobodys been disgraced. The banks are back in business. Its a warped situation.

The UK is trying to cut the welfare system to get out of recession, which is a terrible policy, I couldnt disagree with it more.

Vittoria, a pensioner originally from Italy, voted for the SEP in the seat of Wills in Melbourne. I am so disillusioned and disappointed in all the parties, she explained. I really did not know what to do, I didnt want the Liberals to get in again but the others are all the same. Labor and Liberals are no different and when they blame everything on the refugees I get angry. I get really mad when people say refugees jump the queuewhat queue? There are immigration queues in Bangladesh? That is a bad joke?

I voted for Will [Fulgenzi] to get rid of Turnbull and Shorten. I feel so sorry for young people. When I was young you could knock on a factory door and ask if they had any vacancies and they would say when can you start? And it is not young peoples fault that Australia has gone to the dogs, it is the fact that big companies want to make big profits and they go overseas or they put all their money in Switzerland  I am so angry, disillusioned and so sad because the world has never been this bad. Young people have nothing.

Paul, a radiologist, expressed support for the SEPs campaign. I very much agree with the SEP. There is a global awakening for socialism, and I think it can work en masse. I came across the SEP at the shopping centre. I read the literature and I agree with everything about it, like power to the workers. Corporations have taken over the political establishment.

The stigma that used to exist about socialism has gone. War and the distribution of wealth are big issues. Bernie Sanders initially turned my interests in this direction and, lo and behold, theres a party, the SEP that represents my exact interests, that I was not aware of before.
The debacle produced for the Liberal-National government by last Saturdays Australian election has exacerbated deep-rooted fissures in the ruling Coalition and the entire parliamentary establishment, producing a highly volatile political situation.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the rare double dissolution election for all members of both houses of parliament in a failed bid to end the protracted political instability that has already seen prime ministers ousted five times since 2007. No government, Coalition or Labor, has been able to fully impose the sweeping cuts to social services and working class living standards demanded by the corporate elite.

Instead, the immense social discontent, already generated by widespread job losses, wage cuts and glaring inequality, produced an anti-government backlash. The final outcome of the election remains unclear, with the counting of postal votes continuing today in seven undecided seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives. But the Coalition, which held 90 seats in the previous parliament, has suffered substantial losses.

Even if Turnbull, as now appears likely, is able to form a government with a wafer-thin majority, for which it needs 76 seats, or a minority government reliant on the votes of right-wing independents, the result will be an unstable administration. It will be wracked by divisions and lack any popular mandate to prosecute a brutal austerity agenda under conditions of a rapidly worsening economic situation.

Moreover, the governments position in the 76-member Senate will be even worse than it was before the election. The Coalition is likely to hold just 30 seats, down from 33, and will need the support of all 9 or 10 minor party or independent senators, who are mostly right-wing populists, to push through any legislation that is opposed by Labor and the Greens. Alternatively, it will have to rely on Labor and/or the Greens, both of which have pledged to back parts of the multi-billion dollar budget cuts to which the government is committed.

The precariousness of the governments position has been highlighted by Turnbulls frantic efforts to strike deals with various other parties and independents. Today Turnbull flew to northern Queensland for negotiations with Bob Katter, a right-wing rural-based populist and protectionist. Later, Turnbull will see another rural independent, Cathy McGowan. Yesterday, Turnbull spent an hour with South Australian-based protectionist Nick Xenophon, whose party is likely to have three seats in the Senate, plus one in the lower house.

Even while Turnbull was trying to salvage his government, recriminations broke out throughout his Liberal Party and its rural partners, the National Party. Within the Liberal Party, supporters of Tony Abbott, whom Turnbull removed in an inner-party coup last September, criticised Turnbulls election campaign and some called into question his capacity to govern.

Among those voicing their dissent were Abbotts most senior backer in the cabinet, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, and former cabinet member Eric Abetz. One of the most forthright denunciations came from Liberal backbencher and former SAS officer Andrew Hastie, who declared that Turnbulls proposed company tax cuts and economic innovation agenda was not resonating with everyday Australians. Hastie backed calls for a Liberal Party room meeting to prevent Turnbull from selling out conservatives in making deals with other parties.

These calls were issued despite a plea by former Coalition Prime Minister John Howard for unity between conservatives and small L Liberals. Howard, who lost his parliamentary seat in the Coalitions landslide 2007 election defeat, declared that with many votes to be counted, members of his party shouldnt start slitting their throats.

However, a prominent conservative, Senator Cory Bernadi, announced the formation of a new political movement, the Australian Conservatives, to gather proponents of limited government, traditional values. He said his preference was to save the Liberal Party, but his proposed movement could transform into a political party. He accused the Turnbull Liberals of ushering forth a hung parliament that put Australia right back where we were in 2010, when Labor formed a minority government with the Greens.

Bernadi said he was appealing to the 1.7 million people who voted for right-of-centre or conservative parties rather than the Liberal Party. These parties include Christian fundamentalists, anti-Islam formations and Pauline Hansons xenophobic One Nation, each of which is seeking to channel the social dissatisfaction and political alienation in right-wing nationalist directions. Any such formation would serve to help shift official politics even further to the right, fomenting anti-refugee and jingoistic responses to Australian and global capitalisms worsening economic crisis.

While the fault lines in the Liberal Party are depicted as a conservative/liberal divide, they also reflect rifts between the interests of formerly nationally-protected sectors of the economy, such as small business, manufacturing and agriculture, and those of globally-oriented finance capital, personified by Turnbull, a wealthy investment banker. Turnbulls electoral pitch of innovation and exciting times is also totally divorced from the reality of recession, mine and factory closures and declining conditions facing millions of working people.

Similar conflicts are resurfacing with the National Party, which this week leaked to the media a post-poll briefing that branded Turnbulls election campaign as aloof and presidential and urged a complete policy rethink by the Coalition. Nationals sources told the Australian they avoided the new in Turnbulls new economy mantra and his talk of economic agility. A source said: Most people live in the old economy and they equate the new economy with losing their job and having to find another one.

National Party leader and deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is demanding a key role in any negotiations with other parties, as well as greater representation in cabinet. He pointed to the fact that the Nationals, who ran their own campaign, appear to have held 14 of their 15 lower house seats, and picked up one from the Liberals.

Adding to the tensions is the likelihood that the US government will call on the next government to send warships into the South China Sea to mount freedom of navigation operations to challenge Chinese territorial claims. Turnbulls government has not yet committed itself to such a confrontation.

Todays Australian Financial Review editorial continued to rail against the election outcome, casting doubt on the viability of Turnbulls government, and declaring that the nation is yet to wake up to the countrys economic crisis. Even if, as likely, Mr Turnbull scrapes together a slim majority, he will not have the authority within his own party or the popular mandate to deal with the challenges facing Australia as the end of our biggest-ever resources boom collides with the new global instability highlighted by Brexit, it stated.

One indicator of the impact of the post-2008 global economic breakdown, now exacerbated by the instability produced by Britains vote to leave the European Union, is that foreign direct investment into Australia has fallen by 50 percent in the past two years, contributing to a collapse in overall capital investment. Whatever government is formed will be under intense pressure from the financial markets to intensify the slashing of health, education and other social spending, as well as wages and working conditions.

Amid the political turmoil, Labor Party leader Bill Shorten is currently touring the country, offering to work with all parties, including the Coalition, to make the 45th Parliament work. In Tasmania yesterday, Shorten said that if Turnbull did scrape back into office, his problems have only just begun, because of the splits in his ranks. Above all, Shorten declared: The problem is he has a mandate for absolutely nothing.

This amounts to a pitch for a united front to impose severe budget cuts on the working class, and to position Labor to step into government if Turnbull falls. During the election campaign, Labor already demonstrated to the financial elite its readiness to enforce the austerity agenda, abandoning pledges to oppose spending cuts totalling about $40 billion over four years, plus a $57 billion cut to public hospital funding over the following six years.
The report of the Chilcot inquiry into the role of the British government in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, released Wednesday, provides devastating confirmation of the illegal character of the war and the criminal role of those officials, both British and American, who organized and led it.

The conclusions of the investigation headed by Sir John Chilcot were issued seven years after the inquiry was first convened. The 2.6 million-word, 13-volume report covers the policy decisions made by the British government, military and intelligence services between 2001 and 2009. The inquiry has no legal powers, and any finding on the legality of the invasion was specifically ruled out by the Labour government of Gordon Brown that established it.

Nonetheless, the report provides conclusive proof that those responsible for the war have the blood of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, on their hands.

This applies not only to then-Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who functioned in Britain as liar-in-chief for the invasion and, as such, features heavily in the report. By extension, it is also an indictment of the principal architects of the war in the United States: former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others, as well as all those leading officials who supported it, including the Democratic Partys current presumptive presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Personal testimony, confidential documents and private memos confirm that Blair opted to support a US-war against Iraq that was prepared at least from the start of 2002, all while publicly claiming that there were no such plans.

The invasion that began on March 20, 2003 took place before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted, Chilcot notes. Damningly, he states, Military action at that time was not a last resort.

Iraqs Saddam Hussein did not present an imminent threat at the time, and claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction were not justified. The invasion was launched on the basis of flawed intelligence assessments that were not challenged when they should have been, Chilcot states.

These facts in and of themselves demonstrate that the invasion was a brazen violation of international law. But the reality is far more incriminating.

The Chilcot report includes a declassified version of the so-called Downing Street Memo, memorializing a July 2002 meeting between Blair and other top officials in which the head of British intelligence explicitly acknowledged that Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.

In other words, a false pretext was being manufactured to justify an unprovoked war, and they all knew it.

The legal case for UK military action was far from satisfactory, Chilcot states. Moreover, while Blair was attacking France for failing to support a second United Nations Security Council resolution authorising military action, we [the inquiry] consider that the UK was, in fact, undermining the Security Councils authority.

The report finds that the invasion failed in its stated objectives. It notes, The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and al-Qaida activity in Iraq were each explicitly identified before the invasion.

Not only were 179 British soldiers killed (along with 4,491 US troops) and many thousands horribly wounded, The people of Iraq have suffered greatly. According to the most reliable estimates, the number of Iraqi lives lost as a result of the war stands at roughly 1 million. An estimated 5 million more people were driven from their homes. The country remains embroiled in bloody sectarian conflict and extreme economic and social hardship.

Of all those arraigned before the International Criminal Court Hague over recent years, such as Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, none are responsible for even a fraction of the deaths caused by Blair and Bush.

The Chilcot inquiry is an indictment of the policy pursued by US and British imperialism over the past 15 years. Its genocidal dimensions are made apparent from the catastrophes inflicted on Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, which have served only to strengthen sectarianism and Islamic fundamentalism.

The verdict should be clear enough: Blair, Bush, et al are war criminals. They, along with their co-conspirators, should face immediate trial.

The Nuremberg Trials convened following the Second World War were clear and unequivocal in their principal conclusion: the use of war to achieve political ends that cannot be justified by imminent threat of attack constitutes the most heinous of war crimes. Bush and Blair are as culpable as the 12 Nazi defendants sentenced to death by hanging.

The Chilcot findings include previously secret memos from Blair to Bush (those sent from Bush to Blair were kept secret at Washingtons request) that make clear that the real motive behind the war was not the threat of weapons of mass destruction or terrorism, but, as was the case with the leaders of the Third Reich, global domination. Within days of the invasion, Blair exulted in the act of military aggression, declaring it a chance to establish the true post-Cold War world order.

The reactions of many of the families of British soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict bear repeating. Sarah OConnor, whose brother Bob died in Iraq in 2005, said, There is one terrorist in this world that the world needs to be aware of, and his name is Tony Blair, the worlds worst terrorist.

Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed in Basra, said, Never again must so many mistakes be allowed to sacrifice British lives and lead to the destruction of a country for no positive end.

Mark Thompson, father of Kevin, killed in 2007, said Blair should be stripped of everything he has for what hes done. It was an illegal war. My son died in vain. He died for no reason.

Blair knew he was manufacturing and massaging intelligence, said Reg Keys, whose son Thomas was killed, while Eddie Hancock, whose son Jamie also died, called for Blair to be banned from any form of public office for life, at the very least.

Such honest and heartfelt statements stand in stark contrast to the response of the powers-that-be, who are trying to conceal the implications of the inquiry and turn it into a framework for waging more efficient wars in the future.

Prime Minister David Cameron claimed that, whatever the consequences of Iraq, it is wrong to conclude that intervention is always wrong.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was the most craven apologist of all. Lamenting the disastrous decision to invade Iraq, he said it had left a stain on the Labour Party. Not so much of a stain, however, that Corbyn felt obliged to even mention Blairs name, let alone moot his expulsion from the Labour Party.

This cleared the path for Blairs arrogant and belligerent response to the report, in which he sought not only to defend past crimes, but to justify new ones. The world was and is, in my judgment, a better place without Saddam Hussein, he said.

In a statement issued from his Texas ranch, ex-US President George W. Bush echoed Blairs remarks, declaring that the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein.

What these murderous sociopaths are saying is that the world is better off without the 1 million people annihilated by their war.

The response to the inquirys findings by not only Bush and Blair, but the entire political establishment on both sides of the Atlantic, makes plain that the fight for truth and justiceand compensation for the Iraqi peoplecan proceed only in struggle against the capitalist ruling class.

The Chilcot report has been released against the backdrop of an escalation of imperialist militarism, not only in the Middle East, but increasingly against Russia and China as well. The preparations for a Third World War have advanced rapidly during the seven years of the commissions deliberations.

The lessons of this investigation confirm the essential conclusion of the International Committee of the Fourth International in its statement Socialism and the Fight Against War, published February 18, 2016: The struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population.
By India Today Web Desk: Shahid Kapoor's marriage to Mira Rajput, on July 7 last year, sent the fans and media into a tizzy. A Bollywood actor marrying an unassuming 21-year-old Delhi girl became the most-talked-about topic for Shahid's fans. Shahid and Mira tied the knot in a low-key gurudwara wedding on July 7, 2015, at a friend's farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi.



ALSO READ: Shahid Kapoor finally opens up on wife Mira Rajput's health



It's been an year now and they are all set to welcome their bundle of joy soon and seem to be ecstatic about it.

On their first wedding anniversary, Shahid was all by the side of his baby wife. Mira is currently in hospital and Shahid is planning to celebrate their wedding anniversary with her in the most adorable way.

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A source told Business of Cinema, "Special food and everything favourite of Mira has been arranged. Few close friends of the couple are expected to arrive. Shahid has arranged everything well planned."

"Mira is soon to be discharged from the hospital but there is no official confirmation regarding it as doctors are would be better to reveal about the same," added the source.

During a recent interview, Shahid spoke about the first time he met Mira and how he fell in love with her. Talking about the "moment" he fell in love with Mira, he said, "I'm still falling in love with her...a bit more every day. The first time we met, we spoke for seven hours. We were at a friends' farmhouse in Delhi. We went for a walk outside and the sun was setting behind her. I realised her eyes were not dark. They had a hazel tinge. That moment, I felt shayad main iss ladki se shaadi kar sakta hoon. But I also told myself, "What are you thinking? Bees saal ki hai besharam!"

From their selfies to the pictures from their holidays, the two have always managed to keep their fans entertained. The much-in-love Shahid and Mira have been spotted together at various occasions. And on their first wedding anniversary, we wish them luck for their future.



--- ENDS ---
In addition to the ALH Dhruv, what has also progressed is the acquisition of 14 medium lift helicopters.

If things go as planned, the Coast Guard looks set to ride the air with newer, more powerful and versatile helicopters. Photo: Airbus Helicopters

By Jugal R Purohit: When terrorists struck Mumbai in the later hours of November 26, 2008, a dumbfounded security set up wandered around seeking answers about the infiltration of the ten Pakistani gunmen. It was a Coast Guard Chetak helicopter which flew over Mumbai's skyline to track down the now-infamous fishing vessel Kuber which was hijacked and used as a means of entry.

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Back then, the planners in the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) asked the government to arm it with more helicopters which could perform better. They said it would enhance their capabilities to monitor the seas manifold. Nothing came of it.

NEWER, MORE POWERFUL, VERSATILE COPTERS



If things go as planned, the Coast Guard looks set to ride the air with newer, more powerful and versatile helicopters. The ICG, which has the mandate to save lives at sea as well as maintain a vigil along the country's maritime borders and exclusive economic zones (EEZ), is on the cusp of signing the dotted line in two separate cases for helicopter acquisition. Cases to procure at least 30 advanced helicopters of the type never been used before have fructified near- simultaneously for the ICG, revealed a top Ministry of Defence (MoD) officer who did not wish to identify himself.

The first involves procuring 16 self-made Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a MoD Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). While the ICG had procured four these copters earlier as well, they were Mk I version and this time they are looking at an advanced MkIII version which promises a glass cockpit, enhanced performance, better interior among other things. Powered by Shakti engine (Indian name for Ardiden 1H1 engine co-developed by HAL and French firm Turbomeca), the 5.5 ton aircraft can do speeds up to 300 kmph. Feedback received from those who've flown the helicopter has been overwhelmingly positive. A source revealed that the cost is likely to be in the range of Rs 90 crore a piece.

"While the field evaluation and negotiations over cost have both been concluded, the Coast Guard is working with the navy to arrange for the funds for this procurement. Navy is also interested in the same procuring 16 MkIII ALH Dhruv helicopters and the case was pursued jointly from the very start," explained a source. The proposal will soon be placed before the Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) the apex body for clearing procurement above Rs 1000 crore for it approval.

MEDIUM LIFT HELICOPTERS



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In addition to the ALH Dhruv, what has also progressed is the acquisition of 14 medium lift helicopters. The MoD had found the EC725 of France-based Airbus Helicopters the most suitable bidder last year. The aircraft marketed as H225M falls in the 11 ton category and is a twin engine helicopter which can carry up to 30 passengers. While it is meant for shore-based flying the aircraft can also have its rotor blades folded so as to fit into the hangar on board a ship. It was revealed that the entire set of trials and negotiations with the firm had also been completed and the matter was in the 'final stage'. "The office of the Director General of Acquisition had certain queries and those are being answered," explained a source.

"The consolidated contract value of these acquisitions is over Rs 5000 crore spread over years," a source explained.

Interestingly, the H225M/EC725 is the military variant of EC225, the helicopter which had emerged the most suitable in the initial process of the VVIP helicopter procurement case back in 2003. The case was called off, however, as the EC225 then owned by Eurocopter was found to be the only vendor available and the government wanted more participants. The subsequent, tainted acquisition process saw the selection of AgustaWestland AW101 copter.

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At present, the ICG is in a precarious position as its main workhorse, fleet of 20 Chetak helicopters is being pushed to its limits. Single engine helicopters, Chetaks have been a part of India's armed forces since 1965. "In reality, rules forbid a single engine copter to undertake flying over sea but we are doing it as there is no option," revealed a source. With a top speed of 185kmph and endurance of under three hours, the Chetak can't possibly fly too deep at sea. Such has been the crunch that despite having the space on board ships in the form of hangars, the ICG has nixed the very concept of integral flying - having dedicated copters assigned to ships.

Explained a Coast Guard officer who is at present commanding a ship, "When a ship moves to patrol, having a helicopter on board can help it monitor a much larger area. It simply expands the reach by leaps and bounds". The government, he said, should finally act.



ALH Dhruv

WHAT THE ALH DHRUV MkIII BRINGS TO ICG?

1. Range - 640km

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2. Endurance - 4 hours

3. Can carry - 14 personnel

4. Maximum Take Off Weight - 5500kg

5. More powerful SHAKTI engine from TM3332B2 engine

6. Glass cockpit from the earlier conventional one

7. Health & Usage Monitoring System

8. Infra Red suppressor to minimise chances of being hit by missile

9. Electro-optical pods for enhanced surveillance

WHAT H225M BRINGS TO ICG?

1. Range - 1300km (with additional fuel tank and no extra passengers)

2. Has been utilised in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Libya among others

3. Boasts of 95 per cent rate of availability

4. Air to Air refuelling to enhance range

5. Maximum speed of 324kmph

6. Twin-engine Turbomeca Makila 2A1

--- ENDS ---
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Supreme Court says it will publicly reprimand a Hillsborough County judge who tried to help a U.S. Army veteran expelled by the University of South Florida.

The court ruled Thursday that Circuit Judge Gregory Holder has engaged in misconduct in his bid to assist a former U.S. Army Green Beret. Army Staff Sgt. Clay Allred was kicked out of school after he was convicted of charges stemming from an incident where he fired his gun outside a Tampa gas station.

A judicial conduct panel found that Holder told USF officials he could change Allred's probation conditions and discussed the case with a prosecutor.

Holder admitted the charges and has apologized for his improper conduct on behalf of Allred, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Smriti took to Twitter to remind of her achievements and even expected incumbent Prakash Javadekar to continue the good work started under her reign in the MHRD.

By Mail Today Bureau: Smriti Irani might have been relieved from the Human Resource Development ministry but while her shift to the textile ministry kicked up a storm she also made it clear subtly that she was unhappy. Though she did not break into open rebellion, Smriti took to Twitter to remind of her achievements and even expected incumbent Prakash Javadekar to continue the good work started under her reign in the MHRD.

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UNHAPPY SMRITI

She even went as far as to say that Javadekar could be expected to keep up the work that she had begun. But, she did not forget to sugarcoat her response, declaring that the Modi dispensation had faith in her, hence the new ministry which bagged a Rs 6,000 crore package recently and vowed to strengthen textile and apparel sector.

"In last 2 years, all initiatives of @HRDMinistry have been towards increasing learning outcomes for students and improving quality of education," she said in a tweet. Smriti, on the other hand, is speculated to have rubbed the RSS the wrong way which led consequences.

Smriti also pointed to the new initiatives her former ministry had planned in the recent times. "SWAYAM which allows students to choose subject from 500 online courses & marks a paradigm shift in credit system will be rolled out soon," Smriti said in a tweet.

In yet another tweet, she promised that the much-touted New Education Policy (NEP) would be rolled out soon. "Am glad NEP 2016 which has been drafted after exhaustive consultations & right now seeking feedback from citizens will soon be released," she said.

Javadekar, perhaps would find himself under quite some pressure stepping into her shoes in the MHRD and Irani seemed to have told him that. "Extended best wishes to @Prakash-Javdekar ji who assured that he will build upon the initiatives undertaken by @HRDMinistry in last 2 years," Smriti tweeted.

Amid all this hoopla, Smriti did not forget to thank her captain.

SMRITI IRANI THANKS MODI

She tweeted: "I thank PM @narendramodi ji for giving me the opportunity to serve the country earlier in the @HRDMinistry & now in the @TexMinIndia." Though she was seen as an authoritative figure across the MHRD who ruled with an iron hand, Smriti also thanked the ministry officials. "I thank officials from @HRDMinistry for the consistent support in realising PM @narendramodi's vision of ensuring quality education for all," she said in another tweet.

TRANSFER WARMLY WELCOMED

Conversely, the new Textile Minister also welcomed warmly her transfer to the ministry. "I am happy that I have been given an opportunity especially when a special package has been announced for the sector. This signifies that my party, and especially the Prime Minister, has faith that I have the capacity to implement the roadmap that was projected through the Cabinet for the rest of the country," she said. After the NEP, Smriti might soon preside over another new policy, this time the National Textile Policy (NTP). She said she was hopeful that the much-awaited initiative would be rolled out soon. "Look forward to working with officials at @TexMinIndia for strengthening the very important Textile & Apparel Sector of our country," she tweeted.



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AVOIDS QUESTIONS REGARDING DEMOTION

The union minister parried questions regarding who was behind her demotion. Asked if party chief Amit Shah was the one, she said it was not individuals, but the party that took such decisions. She also quelled another speculation, though in a poetic way when she used a famous Bollywood song to whether her shifting meant a more pronounced role in upcoming UP polls: "Kuchh toh log kahenge logon ka kaam hai kehna".

Meanwhile, Industry body Texprocil on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Smriti Irani as the new Union Minister for Textiles and hoped to get her support in increasing exports and generating employment.

The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) also welcomed the appointment of Ajay Tamta as Minister of State for Textiles.

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Also Read: Will build upon good initiatives taken by Smriti Irani, says Javadekar

--- ENDS ---
Scenes from the ConneX summer academy, hosted by the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, at Toppenish High School in Toppenish, Wash. Tuesday, 
A homeless camp situated along a narrow strip of land between East Chestnut and the sidewalk in Yakima, Wash. is photographed Tuesday, July 5, 2016. City officials considered an exemption to allow camping on the empty lot adjacent to the encampment, a piece of property that is owned by Yakima Neighborhood Health Services. (SHAWN GUST/Yakima Herald-Republic)
Scenes from the ConneX summer academy, hosted by the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, at Toppenish High School in Toppenish, Wash. Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Students performed experiments that included testing foods for the presence of macro molecules such as carbohydrates, starches, proteins and lipids.

Close
By PTI: From Aditi Khanna

London, Jul 7 (PTI) Tata Steel may "pause" its plans to sell off most of troubled UK units, including the mammoth Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, as Britains business minister is set to hold talks with the senior management of the Indian steel giant in Mumbai to achieve a long-term solution.

The company is holding its monthly board meeting tomorrow in which executives are expected to announce a pause, according to BBC.

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The steel major is expected to proceed with the sale of its speciality steel making business, which employs 2,000 employees in the sites of Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge and possibly shelve plans for the rest of its steelworks as a result of rising steel prices and uncertainty following Britains vote to leave the European Union, it said.

UK business minister Sajid Javid is to fly out to Mumbai for talks with Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry ahead of the board meeting.

"This is part of our ongoing dialogue with Tata to maintain momentum and achieve a long-term solution for UK steelmaking," the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, ITV News claimed that only one bidder has been left with any serious chance of buying Tata Steel UK and that is Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Gupta?s Liberty House.

The news channel claims he has an "unassailable lead" over the other contenders, including a management buyout team, Excalibur Steel UK.

A Tata Steel spokesperson told PTI: "There has been no official comment on the subject so far".

Earlier this week, giving evidence to MPs on a House of Commons? joint select committee session on the steel industry, UK minister for small business Anna Soubry said she remains confident that Tata Steel will find a buyer for its UK business, despite economic volatility triggered by the Brexit vote.

She also seemed to indicate that prospects of nationalising the steelworks had not been entirely dismissed.

"When we faced the crisis with Tata? you can be assured we looked at all options and one of those was whether or not, my phrase, to buy it for a quid. When you make political determination that youre going to keep at least one of the blast furnaces [at Tatas Port Talbot steelworks] open, you look at all options," she said.

"Being a member of the European Union has never precluded us from nationalising the steel industry. It is a complete myth. People think we couldnt nationalise it because of state aid rules. That is not true. You cant prop it up financially but that is not the same as taking ownership, nationalising it," she added.

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TataSteel employs around 15,000 workers in the UK across plants in Port Talbot, Rotherham, Corby, Shotton and Teesside.

The company had decided to exit its UK business earlier this year after suffering losses of up to 1 million pounds a day, largely due to Chinese steel exports forcing down prices in the steel market.

One of the biggest obstacles to a sale has been the legacy of the British Steel Pension fund, which Tata inherited when it bought the business in 2007.

It has 130,000 members and a deficit of 700 million pounds. PTI AK NSA AKJ NSA

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis four-nation tour of African countries, Assocham today said trade agreements at bilateral and multilateral levels along with investment and capacity building cooperation are needed to fructify unity between the two regions. "No fruitful trade relationship with African nations can be built without supplementing and complementing it with an equally organic and trustworthy investment relationship where capital can flow into key African development sectors seamlessly and only then mutual economic benefit can be derived," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. Ahead of his departure, Modi today said his four-nation tour of African countries is aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts. Modi will begin his tour with Mozambique and then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. Focus of the visit will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food. Rawat outlined sectors like pharmaceuticals, capital goods, automobiles and spare parts are areas offering new trade opportunities that need focus to enhance trade relations between India and Africa. "Consumer goods, wholesale and retail, construction, housing, telecom, financial and banking services are the sectors where India can engage itself with African nations at various levels," he said. PTI RSN MR

--- ENDS ---

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Israel may have hacked into French Prime Minister Manuel Valls during the latters visit to Israel in May , according to a report by the French newspaper LExpress.

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The report claims that Valls and his advisors were requested to hand over their phones to the Israeli security services prior to their meeting with Israeli officials. After the phones were returned to the French delegation, some of the members noticed a number of unusual problems which aroused their suspicion.

L'Express report about French delegation to Israel having phones tampered with by Israel

When Valls returned to France, all the telephones belonging to the delegation were handed over to the department of intelligence security and the National Security Agency to ascertain whether the telephones had indeed been tampered with by a third party.

Despite the rumors, the French intelligence services have not as yet published their findings. For its part, the Israeli Prime Ministers Office (PMO) has denied the validity of the newspapers claims and has dismissed any accusations of spying on Prime Minister Valls. "This absolutely never happened. Israel sees France as a friend and passes intelligence information according to the need. It does not spy on her," the statement read.

French PM Valls

Another senior official was more forthright in his rejection of the claims: The report is complete nonsense . It says they left their phones outside (the meeting). But what it does not say that there is always an entourage that does not go into the meeting and stands by the place where they leave their phones. So someone came and tampered with the phones then? Somebody has been eating magic mushrooms."

French media expressed surprise that of all people, Valls, who is considered to be among Israels closest allies, was the victim of the Israeli security services during his state visit between 21 and 24 May.

Prime Minister Valls and Prime Minister Netanyahu (Photo: Kobi Gidon/GPO)

When the delegation had their cellphones returned to them, many of them were surprised to find that they were having trouble with the signal, LExpress reported. The French Prime Ministers Office however, sought to calm the concerns by assuring that checks on phones conducted by the French intelligence agencies is standard procedure upon the return of senior French officials from visits to foreign countries.

In any event, the French PMO declared, Allies never spy on other allies, a statement grossly at odds with past leaks which have emerged on Wikileaks showing that allies spying on other allies is not uncommon.
Draft legislation is currently being prepared by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and the Deputy Attorney General Raz Nazari, which will enable authorities to expedite the process of removing content defined as terror-related.

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In order to facilitate swift removal of such content, an administrative court order may be required to. Only thereafter would authorities need to proceed with a criminal investigation against a suspect - a process which usually takes time to execute.

Today, when security services or the National Cyber Association discover content which constitutes incitement to commit acts of terror published by way of a social media post or an internet article, an appeal is usually made to the networks such as Facebook for the removal which, in most cases, is enforced.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Photo: Flash90)

However, given the protracted nature of the process, efforts are often rendered futile. Formulators of the new legislation therefore are seeking to circumvent this delaying obstacles by granting authorities to immediately remove incitement material by taking the appeal to the state attorney, or to an individual acting on his behalf, who will then consider whether the the content constitutes an assault against state security, against public security or against individual security.

Moreover, it will also examine whether the content exceeds the limits of freedom of expression. If it is decided to remove the content, the district courts will immediately be notified and the content will be removed in a matter of hours.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Noting the potential threat the proposed law poses to freedom of speech, the Ministry of Justice clarified that content-removal decrees will be issued sparingly, only in extreme cases and will be directed solely against threatening content.

As part of the struggle against terror organizations, an amendment will also be made to the existing legislation on the issue, which currently grants the authority to close places used for crimes such as pedophilia, gambling and drugs. Terror will also be added to theses categories.

Incitment on Facebook

Consequently, authorities will have the power to close down virtual sites and networks used for criminal purposes. Moreover, they will be authorized to disable websites that recruit terrorists, remove their content and calls to terror and document the actions of its moderators and users. Israel would not be the first to pass such legislation with similar laws already existing in other countries such as Australia and France.

Two weeks ago, Ministers Shaked and Erdan instructed the head of the State Attorney's Cyber Office, Dr. Haim Wismonski and police cyber units to coordinate the removal of harmful material such as expressions of support for terror, shaming and defaming public officials.

In cases in which illicit posts are uploaded, the justice ministry will approach the various social networks and internet sites such as Facebook and Google and inform them that the content violates the provisions stipulated in the Israeli Penal Code and is therefore a violation of the terms of use.

Israeli security officials have clashed with Facebook in recent days over what Israel views as a cavalier attitude in addressing the problem of incitment posted on its webiste.
India carried out a successful test of the Israeli made Barak 8 surface to air missile last week. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which produces the missile, carried out a successful joint test with the Indian Ministry of Defense and Indian Air Force. The test saw the SAM missile take out targets at mid-range, including hitting an "enemy drone."

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IAI said that they tested all of the components of the system, and that everything worked to the satisfaction of the Indian clients. India is now the first country in the world to use the land based Barak 8 SAM system.

Barak 8 in action (   )

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The test follows an IDF test of the ship-mounted version of the missile. That missile has been put on Sa'ar 5 class missile ships, and is capable of intercepting aerial threats at a range of hundreds of kilometers such as missiles carrying heavy explosive warheads, precision missiles, and planes.

Barak 8 missile being tested in India (Photo: Indian Ministry of Defense)

The missiles are also expected to be sold to the German Navy and will likely become a central component in the defense of German naval vessels.

The Barak 8 is also able to defend against the Russian-made anti-warship Yakhont missile. The Yakhont, which can be shot from land at sea, has a range of over 175 miles. Lebanese terror group Hezbollah is in possession of these missiles, which they can easily use to cripple the ports of Haifa and Ashdod in the event of a war.
BERLIN (AP) -- Prosecutors say that an Algerian man who was allegedly tasked by the suspected ringleader of November's Paris attacks with reconnoitering the Balkan migrant route last year is in custody in Germany.

German federal prosecutors said Thursday that the 20-year-old, identified only as Bilal C. in line with German privacy rules, is accused of having been a member of the Islamic State group from December 2014 until at least last August. They said the man was already in custody over another matter.

Prosecutors say the man joined IS in Syria in 2014. They say Paris attacks suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud tasked him last June with scouting the Balkan route that was then popular with migrants for border checks and smuggling opportunities, and that he traveled from Syria to Austria and then Germany.
SOFIA- Two suspected accomplices in a bombing that killed five Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in Bulgaria in 2012 are expected to be put on trial in absentia within days, the Balkan country's president said on Thursday.

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Bulgarian authorities blamed Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah for the attack on a tourist bus. Hezbollah denied involvement. The European Union subsequently placed Hezbollah's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist.

President Rosen Plevneliev said he had been assured by Bulgaria's chief prosecutor that the two alleged accomplices - named by Bulgarian investigators as Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj - would be put on trial shortly.

Five Israelis were killed in a Hezbollah bus bombing in Bulgaria (Photo: AP)

"None of us will rest until the people who committed the attack, as well as those who organized it, are brought to court. This will in fact be very soon ... It is a matter of days," Plevneliev told a news conference in Sofia after a meeting with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

The whereabouts of Farah and Hassan - Australian and Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin respectively - remain unknown. In 2013, Bulgarian official said they were believed to be in Lebanon and could be tried in absentia.

In 2014, Bulgarian authorities identified the bomber as Mohamad Hassan El Husseini, a dual Lebanese-French citizen, who was killed in the course of the attack.

The Israeli tourists had arrived on a charter flight and were in the bus in the Sarafovo airport car park when the blast tore through the vehicle, also killing the Bulgarian driver and wounding more than 30 people.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria's government approved draft legislation giving security agencies the right to curb civil liberties in case of a terrorism emergency.
PARIS - France said on Thursday that a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army was not good enough and it was unrealistic to expect a revival of peace talks without a long-term truce.

Syria's military declared the three-day "regime of calm" - a term it uses to denote a temporary truce - on Wednesday to cover the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrated by Muslims at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But some fighting has continued.

Taking note of the truce announcement, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said it fell far short of "commitments made in Vienna for a lasting comprehensive ceasefire.

"We will judge the announcement of a 'regime of peace' in terms of concrete results on the ground," the spokesman said. "Without a full and lasting truce, and without full and continuous humanitarian access to all people in need in Syria, it is unrealistic to expect a resumption of negotiations."
Eid is a day to spread joy and happiness, and our small-screen actors are doing just that.

By India Today Web Desk: Eid is a celebration of all good things life has bestowed upon us. Eid-ul-Fitr in particular--being celebrated around the world today--is marked by the end of Ramadan, and thus gives people all over the world a fair-enough reason to indulge.

Our TV actors too are looking forward to the day of celebrations, and they haven't curtailed all the fun to themselves and their loved ones; here's how our small-screen actors are wishing their fans and followers #EidMubarak:

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Faisal Khan



EID MUBARAK ????????????? Want to send everyone warm wishes for this Eid day, may this day brings immense happiness, joy, peace and prosperity in your lives. Have a great and safe Eid day! Eid Mubarak ?? #MakhdoomShahBabaDargah #Mahimi #Alhumdulillah A photo posted by Faisal khan (@faisalkhan30) on Jul 6, 2016 at 8:12pm PDT

Sunil Grover



Eid Mubarak. May this festival brings joy and fill our hearts with love. ?? Sunil Grover (@WhoSunilGrover) July 6, 2016

Krystle D-Souza



Eid Mubarak to everyone ! ???????? #eidmubarak #7/7/16 #newbeginnings #prayers #positivity #festive A photo posted by Krystle D'souza (@krystledsouza) on Jul 6, 2016 at 6:09pm PDT

Hussain Kuwajerwala



Eid Mubarak everyone Hussain Kuwajerwala (@Hussainkk12) July 6, 2016

Kavita Kaushik



Eid Mubarak doston ... We are all here for such limited time .. Let's eat pray love and travel ...????? spread only joy ????? Kavita kaushik (@Iamkavitak) July 7, 2016

Mandana Karimi



Eid Mubarak ????? A photo posted by Mandanakarimiofficial (@mandanakarimi) on Jul 6, 2016 at 8:33pm PDT

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BERLIN - German authorities have arrested a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the 31-year-old, identified only as Syed Mustufa H. in keeping with German privacy rules, was arrested on Tuesday in the northern city of Bremen.

They said in a statement that he was "in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran," without elaborating. He is alleged to have spied on the former head of the German-Israeli Society and people close to him, among others, and handed over information to Iran in October.

The ex-head of the German-Israeli group, former lawmaker Reinhold Robbe, told the Bild newspaper that he wasn't surprised by the alleged espionage and he "will not be intimidated."
The Israeli Navy's Missile Boats Flotilla on Thursday finished an extensive two-week training exercise, which culminated in the launch of two anti-ship Harpoon missiles at a decommissioned Israeli missile boat.

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Two of the Navy's missile boats, INS Hetz and INS Herev, fired the Harpoon, known as Kanarit in Hebrew, to its maximum range of some 120 kilometers.

Their target, the INS Atzmaut, was retired from service a year and a half ago along with INS Nitzachon.

Israeli Navy training (: ")

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The Harpoon missiles accurately hit the INS Atzmaut and it sunk in short order.

A team in a Eurocopter AS565 Panther helicopter circling over the target helped locate the wreckage of the INS Atzmaut, which was simulating a medium-sized enemy ship.

The Harpoon is considered the most advanced missile in the Navy's arsenal, with its own radar that could identify the target and hone in on it during flight until hitting it.

During the training, which was done as part of a wide-scale annual IDF exercise, the forces drilled different naval warfare scenarios while collaborating with Air and Ground forces. But the launch of a real missile at a ship simulating an enemy vessel is considered unusual in the IDF, mostly because of the high costs of the weapon systems.
President Reuven Rivlin began his visit to Bulgaria on Thursday morning with an official welcome ceremony and a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart Rosen Plevneliev.

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The Bulgarian president gave Rivlin an update on the investigation into the 2012 Burgas terror attack , which claimed the lives of five Israeli tourists.

"In our hearts we will always remember the tragedy of the 2012 attack in Burgas. The two countries are doing their best since then so this tragedy may never to repeat itself. Bulgaria will do its utmost to bring to justice the perpetrators of this attack," President Plevneliev said.

Rivlin with Bulgarian President Plevneliev (Photo: Reuters)

expected to be put on trial in absentia within days, the Balkan country's president said.

The accomplices were named by Bulgarian prosecutors as Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj

"None of us will rest until the people who committed the attack, as well as those who organized it, are brought to court. This will in fact be very soon ... It is a matter of days," Plevneliev told a news conference in Sofia after his meeting with Rivlin.

Rivlin addressed the attack as well, saying "We must all stand strong together and say in a loud and clear voice that above all else, we will fight terrorism and its supporters in any place they may try and reach and in every place they will attempt to hide."

The Israeli president also spoke of the debt of gratitude Israel owes Bulgaria, both for its support of the Jewish state when it was first established and for standing by its Jewish community during the Holocaust.

"We will not forget the asylum you gave our people during the terrible Holocaust that killed six million of our brothers and sisters, in the darkest period known in Europe. Forty eight thousand Jews survived the Holocaust thanks to the heroism of the Bulgarians, and their stance against the Nazis," he said.

During his visit, Rivlin will inaugurate a monument commemorating the rescue of Bulgarian Jews during World War II.

Rivlin with Bulgarian President Plevneliev (Photo: Reuters)

The two presidents discussed in their meeting the strong relations between Israel and Bulgaria and expanding the cooperation.

"The results of years of diplomatic relations are apparent for all to see in many areas," Rivlin said after the meeting. "Much more potential for future cooperation awaits us, and I hope that my visit today will help to promote them, and will strengthen our friendship."

The Bulgarian president added, "Israel is a strategic partner and there is huge potential for bilateral cooperation in various fields including high-tech, electronics, energy, agriculture and more. We will continue and develop businesses between the countries and we will establish new projects that will provide many opportunities for Bulgaria and Israel. We welcome the Israeli tourists who come to the country every year. Thousands of Israelis visited Bulgaria last year, and we will be happy to see more and more Bulgarians visiting Israel. We also see Israel as a potential supplier of gas to our region. In view of our strategic location we can deliver gas to Europe from Israel."

President Plevneliev stressed the defense cooperation between the two countries and noted that cooperation in this field has never been more successful, and said: "We want to be of help to Israel in Europe, and hope that Bulgaria will be the platform for the realization of Israeli interests. The friendship between me and the President (Rivlin) is strong and it will benefit the two peoples."

Rivlin also met with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and the two discussed the political situation in the Middle East and specifically the growing threat posed by ISIS. They also spoke about the absorption of Syrian refuges making their way to Europe and the support of terrorism by states such as Iran.

Rivlin is also scheduled to meet with representatives of the Jewish community on Thursday.
Turkey can be a valuable partner in commerce for Israel. The two countries markets complement each other: Turkey has vast amounts of natural resources, inexpensive labor and a prime location as the gateway between Europe and Asia. Israel has military, aerial and civilian technology, an exceptional trade agreement with the US and advanced software technology. Both sides have something to trade.

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But despite what each would bring to the table, the reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey was not economically motivated, nor was it based on the energy issue: In the future, Israel may very well sell some of the gas produced from its Leviathan gas field to Turkey, but it also may not. The gas itself is still years from being extracted, and it remains unclear as to how it would be exported to Turkey. Tankards? A pipeline? A liquefying process? There are many options, all of whom are complicated and expensive.

And so, there is not much merit to the claim that future gas deals acted as an incentive for the Israeli government to sign the reconciliation agreement. Netanyahu naturally finds it convenient to wave futuristic (rather than future) contracts to get MKs to swallow their national pride and vote in favor of the agreement. In fact, people who are not economists, and especially politicians, tend to overstress economic considerations in regards to decisions of national importance. But just like with protests, when it comes to agreements, the economy is simply used as an excuse for a shift in policy, a convenient means to market the sudden change to a bewildered audience. 'We caved,' politicians tell their public to justify their fluctuating position. 'But youre going to benefit from it.'

Turkish President Erdogan and Minister of Energy Steinitz

Such was the case in Iran, when the countrys leaders presented suspending its nuclear program as a completely reasonable price to pay for easing the economic sanctions placed on it. The tradeoff will indeed benefit Iran's economy, but even Tehran-based economists will tell you that its advantages will be limited, and perhaps even minor, as long as the current, corrupt regime remains in power. The only thing that could jumpstart Irans economy is a fundamental liberalization of all aspects of Iranian life, which is something that may never come about.

Israels gas reserves play a similar role in its reconciliation agreement with Turkey. A best-case scenario would have Israel selling its gas to Turkey within eight years, for about $1.2 billion a year. By then, Israels export is estimated to reach $120 billion100 times that of the possible deal with Turkey.

Going beyond Israels Leviathan gas field, Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz has expressed his support of the agreement and has stressed the potential that other large, new gas fields under the joint jurisdiction of Israel and Turkey hold for both countries. The potential of such reserves has yet to have been tested, but it is at least not an argument that offends peoples intelligence. However, using Leviathan as the crux of your argument is.

The State of Israel agreed to pay turkey over $20 million and offer a vaguely-worded apology because even the Israeli government understands that the IDFs commandeering of the Mavi Marmara flotilla in May 2010 was a mistake. In hindsight, its clear that it would have been preferable to allow that ridiculous vessel to dock in Gaza and unload its insignificant cargo, including those supposed peace activists.

Israels legal right to uphold a naval blockade around Gaza has been recognized by a committee of legal minds set up by the UN; but it granted itself the right to act foolishly. Allowing the Marmara to pass through would not have broken the blockade or detracted from the IDFs power of deterrence. Rather, it would have fortified it. But the Israeli government decided to give in to its baser instincts, and we all ended up paying for it.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also understood his own historical misstep: Israel, it turns out, isnt his enemy; radical Islam is. Making peace with Israel and joining forces both overtly and covertly in the fight against radicalism is therefore clearly in Turkeys best interest. I wouldnt even be surprised if Erdogan starts changing his internal affairs policy to reconcile with secular nationalists that have suffered from persecution, especially at the hands of the Turkish army and security services.

Israel can only gain from a positive relationship with Turkey, a neighboring, developing Muslim country with a population of 80 million people. There really is no need to justify the reconciliation agreement with any other claims.
In an effort to increase education of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish heritage, a commission appointed by Education Minister Naftali Bennett submitted its recommendations on the matter on Thursday.

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The Biton Commission, headed by poet Erez Biton, recommended to including questions about Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities in the history matriculation exam; introducing a new major for high school students that will focus on Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews; introducing the issue of the kidnapped Yemeni children into the school curriculum; adding pieces by Sephardic and Mizrahi poets and other writers to the literature curriculum; taking students on trips to Balkan countries, Spain and Morocco; taking students on trips to graves of great Torah scholars; and having an equal representation of Sephardic/Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews in the Council for Higher Education in Israel.

Implementing the recommendations for all age groups in the education system is estimated to cost some NIS 500 million a year.

Commission chair Erez Biton submitting recommendations to Education Minister Bennett (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

According to the commission, "the current curriculum has been written from a European point of view and only superficially incorporates the history of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, diminishing their part in the history of the people of Israel."

The commission recommended that another weekly hour of history lessons is added to high schools in which the students will learn the history of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. One of the topics the commission recommends to include in these history lessons is the Holocaust of the Jews of North Africa.

"The material on the Hassidic movement, for example, has a clear European focus," the commission wrote. "But it's also possible to point to later influences of the Hassidic Jews in Asia, Africa and the Sephardic Diasporafrom Chabad yeshivot in Morocco to Sephardic Jews joining Hassidic groups like Chabad and Braslev, or the use of the term 'Admor' (Hebrew initials for 'our master, teacher and rabbi' relating to a Hassidic leader ed.) to describe figures like the Baba Sali ."

Other topics the commission recommended to add to the curriculum are: Mashhadi Jews, the Damascus affair,the resettlement of Jews in Tiberias by Dom Joseph Nasi, the Golden Age of Safed in the 16th century, and other topics. The students will also learn about Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Israel's fifth president Yitzhak Navon, and others.

In civics class, the commission recommended incorporating topics like the Wadi Salib riots, Israel's Black Panthers, the Yemenite Children Affair, the 2011 protest over the cost of living, and more.

"As part of civics class, students should discuss the reasons for the failure to integrate the immigrants in the 1950s," the commission noted.

In literature, the commission lamented the fact students could take their matriculation exam in the subject without learning even one Sephardic or Mizrahi piece of literature. Therefore, the commission recommends introducing creations by Sephardic and Mizrahi poets and authors to the curriculum of all age groups (pre-school to senior year in high school), including Erez Biton, Amira Hess, Shimon Adaf and Haviva Pedaya. In addition, the commission recommended to add the topic of "immigration poetry" to the curriculum in which students will have to learn five poems from a list of poets including Adi Keissar, Roy Hasan, and Shlomi Hatuka.

The commission also made recommendations regarding school trips. Among other places, the commission recommends that the students visit the Worldwide North Africa Jewish Heritage Center and the Babylonian Jewry Heritage Museum, as well as take a class trip to Tiberias that includes a visit to the grave of the Rambam and the spot reserved for spy Eli Cohen, who was hanged in Syria after being caught.

Commission chair poet Erez Biton (Photo: Yuval Chen)

The commission also recommends trips to the graves of great Torah scholars, saying "an emphasis must be put on the values and ideas these figures represented in their lives and writing."

Students should also visit development towns in the periphery, moshavs and cities that were centers of Jewish thought.

In higher education, the commission recommends establishing a department for Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Studies within the Humanities Faculty. The department will include courses in history, literature and philosophy. Outside the department, a third of mandatory and elective courses for Humanities students will be dedicated to the Sephardic and Mizrahi Diaspora, and students who are not in the Humanities Faculty will have to take at least one mandatory course on the subject.

In addition, an annual scholarship of NIS 30,000 will be given to any PhD student who studies the Sephardic and Mizrahi Diaspora.

The commission recommended a third of the history courses at colleges of education to be dedicated to Jews from the Sephardic Diaspora, Muslim countries, Asia and Africa. In addition, every future teacher, particularly future history teachers, will have to take university courses on the history of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews from the 17th to the 20th century and their culture. This will be a requirement for their teacher certification.

In the world of television, the commission recommended to produce a 12-episode educational show dealing with the cultural contribution of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. The show will discuss the history of the Jews living in Muslim countries in modern times, the influence of the Jewish-Arab conflict in the Land of Israel, Zionism, dispersed communities, renewed identities, and more.

More recommendations include the establishment of museums focusing on different Sephardic and Mizrahi communities and the immortalization of different Sephardic and Mizrahi figures at schools, in street names, etc. In addition, November 30 should be dedicated in the education system to the exodus of Jews from Arab and Muslim countries by taking students on trips to museums and organizing other activities.
The settlement of Otniel rests just south of Hebron. Since 1994, 11 residents from its 140 families have been murdered in terror attacks. The latest was Michael Mark, who was gunned down last week.

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All 11 Otniel terror victims

The settlements first encounter with terrorism was in 1994 with the murder of the local yeshivas rabbi Ami Olami. The incident sent shock waves through the fledgling settlement. Rabbi Benny Kalmazon, a friend to Olami and a relative of Marks, described the general feeling at the time. We couldnt understand how something like this could happen, and why of all people it should happen to Rabbi Olami, who gave himself to developing the settlement, he said. We almost broke it up, but then we decided to move forward.

Despite persevering, Otniels sorrow would only grow. In December 2000, Eliyahu Ben-Ami was murdered on his way to Hebron. His daughter Yesca grew up to marry Marks son. She spoke at her father-in-laws funeral on Friday, saying: I lost one father 16 years ago. I got a father that truly made me feel like a daughter, but now Ive lost him, as well.

In 2002, Avi Sabag was murdered on the same road as Olami and Ben-Ami. Later that year, two terrorists disguised as soldiers entered the local yeshiva, shot and killed Gabriel Hoter, Tzvika Zeiman, Yehuda Bamberger and Noam Apter. It was revealed that the four victims died heroically, locking a door that would have led the terrorists to where the other students had already convened for dinner.

In 2005, it was Aviad Mantzur who was shot to death while waiting to catch a ride near Beit Hagai. A few years passed, during which the residents of Otniel tried to recuperate, only to be faced with another tragedy in 2011 when Dan Merzbach was accidentally killed by friendly fire by the IDF, on his way to the Cave of the Patriarchs.

Five years had passed since then, when on January 2016, a terrorist infiltrated the settlement and made his way to the house of Dafna Meir , who was murdered on her own doorstep . And now it is Michael Mark, whose wife Chava was also wounded during the attack.

On Thursday, the Marks received the family of another terror victimHallel Ariel, who one week prior was murdered in her bed by a 17-year-old Palestinian terrorist. The Ariels had finished their own Shiva to visit the Marks at theirs, offering them words of comfort and prayers for the recovery of their mother.
An online version of the Kedmi Committees official report on the disappearances of children of Yemenite immigrants was published on Thursday.

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The report was initially released in 2001, but was made available online via the National Librarys website following a more recent public demand to have access to the committees confidential protocols, as well. Despite the public outcry, the protocols themselves will remain sealed by government decree for several more decades, until the year 2071.

Nevertheless, the report that has been made public contains several disturbing cases. One such recorded incident describes A mother who had made aliyah while eight months pregnant, who gave birth to her son in a tent for fear that he would be kidnapped. At the request of the father, the boy, named Yair, was brought to the nursery at camp to be circumcised, where he disappeared. The parents were told that he had died, and when they insisted on being shown the body, they were presented with the body of a 16-year-old. They never got to see their sons body.

Photo: David Eldan / GPO

The committee, headed by Judge Jacob Kedmi, did not find a factual basis to verify the systematic and organized kidnapping of the children. It did, however, find several cases where children were given up for adoption without the parents knowledge or consent. Regarding such cases, the committee accepted the claim that the children given up for adoption were living in institutions without any connection to their birth parents.

The National Library stated that the report unearthed important and disturbing information on the ease with which infants were hospitalized without supervision, documentation and at times without allowing family members to visit. Among other points, the committee described how many children were buried without the notification of their parents.

Though the committee stated that in certain cases the records in its possession clearly show that the child had passed away, it admitted that it lacks any information that could point to a cause of death, date of death or place of burial.
According to the 27-year-old complainant, the suspect drove the cab rashly after dropping her co-passenger, a male friend, at the city's Aranya Bhavan on Monday.

The victim alleges the driver refused to drive her home and threatened to kidnap and rape her.

By Indrajit Kundu: Police in Kolkata have arrested an Uber driver after a woman passenger accused him of molestation and aggressive behaviour.

According to the 27-year-old complainant, the suspect drove the cab rashly after dropping her co-passenger, a male friend, at the city's Aranya Bhavan on Monday.

RASH DRIVING

"He started swerving towards the left lane. When I protested, he said this would be faster because there's less traffic," she alleged. The driver refused to take the car towards her destination and instead threatened to kidnap and rape her, the victim alleged.



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ROUGHED HER UP

She accused him of roughing her up, saying the man tried to drag her inside the cab after she had leapt out for her safety. "He threatened to hit me. I leapt aside on the footpath and he went away," the woman alleged.



POLICE COMPLAINT

While on her way home, she sent a complaint to Uber. The complainant reported the matter to police the next day. The driver, identified as Santu Pramanik, has been arrested. "He's been charged for wrongful restraint, molestation and criminal intimidation," police said.



Also Read: The reason behind this IIT graduate working as Uber cab driver is truly humbling

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Aditi Khanna

London, Jul 7 (PTI) Britains Parliament was today put under a temporary lockdown after a Pakistani-origin member of the House of Lords received a suspicious envelope filled with "white powder" along with a racist letter, on a day the UK marked the 11th anniversary of the 2005 London terror attacks.

Windows of the Palace of Westminster in central London had been closed as MPs, peers and others within the complex were locked out onto the Lords rooftop terrace as police officers investigated the envelope.

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"A suspicious package has been delivered to the Houses of Parliament. Officers are at the scene examining the contents of the package," a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

"There have been no reports of any related injuries or illnesses at this time."

The officers were "stood down" after a few hours when it emerged that the letter had been received by independent peer Lord Ahmed, the first Muslim member of the House of Lords.

"Peers car park and parts of the terrace were closed temporarily but have now been reopened. The closure was put in place while a package containing a white powder was investigated by specialist police units, which is standard procedure. The powder was found to be non-harmful," a House of Lords spokesperson said.

Lord Ahmed reportedly found "white powder" in an envelope addressed to him, along with a racist letter.

As a precaution, Metropolitan Police locked the door of the House of Lords terrace, at the rear of the building overlooking the river Thames, but there was no evacuation of the building.

Peers and reporters were having lunch on the terrace at the time of the alert.

A correspondent for the The Times was among those caught up in the lockdown and tweeted from the terrace: "Chemical incident in parliament underway for almost an hour. Investigating a white powder."

"Emergency supplies have arrived for the stranded on the Lords terrace," he later added.

July 7 marks the 11thanniversary of the terrorist bombings across Londons transport network in 2005, whichclaimed 52 lives. PTI AK ABH AKJ ABH

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From H S Rao

London, Jul 7 (PTI) The benefits of being physically active are far greater for people who are "naturally" unfit, according to scientists at The University of Glasgow.

In a study of almost 500,000 participants from the UK Biobank, the researchers found that the benefits of being physically active, including decreased risk of mortality and heart disease, were far greater for those with low levels of fitness or poor grip strength.

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The study, which was published today in The European Heart Journal, found that those with high fitness or strength levels were at low risk of premature mortality and cardiovascular disease whether had high or low levels of physical activity.

A high-level of fitness and a high level of strength are both known to be associated with reduced risk of mortality.

Current UK guidelines suggest that all adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, and public health strategies currently target everyone who is inactive to increase their physical activity level.

However the researchers, from the Institutes of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences and Health and Wellbeing, suggest that a more targeted campaign at those who are unfit or have low grip strength could increase the clinical, and potentially cost, effectiveness of interventions.

Jason Gill from the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, said: "We wanted to determine whether somebodys level of fitness or grip strength influenced the effect of physical activity on risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.

"Our data showed that the benefits of being physically active were far greater in those with low levels of fitness or grip strength. Those with high fitness or strength were at low risk whether or not they had a high level of physical activity."

It is well established that physical activity reduces risk of mortality and a number of diseases including heart disease.

However this research suggests that there is a strong genetic component at play, which allows for people who are naturally fit or strong to gain some of the benefits of low risk of mortality and low risk of heart disease irrespective of whether they engage in physical exercise or not.

Carlos Celis-Morales said: "Our findings suggest that targeting on the basis of strength, and possibly fitness, could greatly improve our ability to identify those individuals who could benefit most from increased physical activity, thereby increasing the clinical and cost effectiveness of physical activity interventions.

"Grip strength ? easy to measure and can be done quickly in health care and community settings, so this screening has potential for implementation."

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The authors add that those with low fitness may enjoy physical activity less than those who are naturally fit and strong, so it may be important to develop strategies to also help support their engagement in physical activity. PTI HSR ABH

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: From Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jul 6 (PTI) Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Kosiyari today said that it was up to the people of Nepal to decide whether they wanted Hindu Kingdom to be reinstalled in the Himalayan nation.

Koshiyari, who was in Kathmandu to attend the first meeting of the eminent persons group from India and Nepal, told the Himalayan television "it is up to the people of Nepal to decide whether they wanted Hindu Kingdom to be reinstalled in the country."

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"India does not have any say about that," he said.

Nepal was converted into a secular state from a Hindu nation in 2008 through a Parliament declaration following the abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy from the country.

The Maoists came to power that year after winning the general election and Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda became the prime minister.

But they were ousted in 2013 in the constituent assembly polls.

According to official figures, over 81 per cent of Nepals nearly 28 million people are Hindus, followed by 9 per cent Buddhists, 4.4 per cent Muslims and 1.4 per cent Christians.

In another interview to the BBC Nepali service, Koshiyar admitted that he met Nepals deposed king Gyanendra Shah last month during a visit to the country.

Kosiyari said he met Shah in the third week of June.

"I dont think meeting former king is a crime," he said.

"(Shah) is a citizen of this country and if someone wants to meet me, then its my duty to meet that person," he said.

Koshiyari, however, said he has no plans to visit the former king this time.

Shah, the last king of the Shah dynasty, ruled Nepal from 2001 to 2008. He took charge of absolute power in February 2005 that lasted for 13 months.

The Shah dynasty rulers were revered as incarnations of Lord Vishnu and performed public rituals during festivals.

Koshyari is a frequent traveller to Nepal and enjoys good relations with senior politicians in Nepal. PTI SBP ABH

--- ENDS ---
According to a survey of 50 development firms by the Victorian branch of the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA), recent political and regulatory policy changes have the potential to seriously impact the supply of housing in Melbourne.

The compounded impact of recent policy changes has made the business environment very challenging for the development industry, UDIA Victorian chief executive Danni Addison said.

Measuring industry sentiment is a difficult feat, but this survey blatantly shows waning confidence in the sector. Government take note  recent policy changes have caused some serious long-lasting issues that will have a very real and negative impact on Victoria, she said.

According to the survey, 78% of the developers believe at least one of their projects will be delayed, with 46% believing that delay could exceed as six months.

In particular, the surveyed developers identified three key issues that are currently impacting their ability to operate in Melbourne.

Ninety-three per cent of respondents said they have been impacted by the decisions of Australian banks to stop lending to foreign investors, while 86% said they had been dealt a blow by regulations imposed on the banking sector by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA).

Victorias decision to hit foreign buyers with additional stamp duty and land tax charges was identified by 81% of respondents as a negative impact on their operations.

The Institutes survey findings have measured and confirmed the groundswell of concern about volatility, market conditions and funding constraints in Victoria, Addison said.

The development industry is calling out for critical and urgent attention from national and state policy makers and regulators. Action must be taken to improve confidence and facilitate better investment prospects in the interests of a strong and healthy housing market.

A combination of those grown factors as well as poor global economic conditions have left many developers with a large funding gap, with 60% of the surveys respondents believing traditional lending sources such as the banks can no longer supply them with the finance needed to complete projects.

Theres a broad expectation that there is a wealth of capital available in the global markets. However with increasing uncertainty as a result of Brexit, the upcoming US election and even our own domestic election, thats simply not the case, Addison said.

On a positive note, in times where traditional capital markets are increasingly restricted, there is great opportunity for innovative funding models to emerge. The residential property industry is actively seeking out these opportunities and we hope to see them emerge quickly to fill the funding gap the industry is currently facing,

The UDIA findings arent the first to raise issues around developers being unable to finance projects.

Mark Mendel, chief executive officer of iBuyNew, told Your Investment Property earlier this year that a large number of projects, particularly apartments, are unlikely to get off the ground.

While there is a lot discussion about banks toughening their lending policies for buyers, they are even tougher on developers, Mendel said.

Developers with no track record are getting a blanket no from lenders across the board while those with a limited track record are also finding it extremely tough, he said.
The ruling SAD-BJP combine faces a stern test in the elections slated for next year with several opinion polls predicting a victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that is targeting the issues of poverty, corruption and drug problems in the state.

Locals at Muthianwali, Channanwala, Chuhriwala and Kerain - about 12 km from the district headquarters - have put up banners (left) that read 'neither the Punjab government nor the central government has helped us' across their villages.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Four villages are up for sale in poll-bound Punjab's Fazilka district as the residents have vowed to move, tired of insincere political promises on basic amenities like water and power.

MAJOR EMBARRASSMENT FOR STATE GOVT

The matter has come as a major embarrassment for the state government since the areas are part of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal's Jalalabad assembly constituency.

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The ruling SAD-BJP combine faces a stern test in the elections slated for next year with several opinion polls predicting a victory for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that is targeting the issues of poverty, corruption and drug problems in the state.

BANNERS ACROSS VILLAGES

Locals at Muthianwali, Channanwla, Chuhriwala and Kerain - about 12 km from the district headquarters - have put up banners across their villages. "Neither the Punjab government nor the central government has helped us," they read.

"These villages are disowned by Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Our groundwater is useless. Somnallah flows through here in which sewage is being released, which has ruined our agricultural land. We are neither getting the canal water nor getting power. The supply of canal water has been suspended since two and a half months. 99 per cent residents are in debt. We don't have a senior secondary school or a hospital. Any industrialist or politician can buy our villages by paying a fixed price."

POISONOUS GROUNDWATER

Residents say they have been forced to consume groundwater laced with sewage and hazardous chemicals.

"The water has also reduced the fertility of the agricultural land. We want to move somewhere else by selling our villages," said Surinder Singh, panchayat member Channanwala.

The power supply too is erratic and lasts about three hours a day. There is just one primary school, which has not been upgraded so far.

For elementary or higher education, the children of these villages have to travel to far-off areas. The farmers are unable to sow paddy as it requires a lot of water.

LACK OF BASIC AMENITIES

"We are leading a miserable life. The men do not get brides as proposals are turned down on the grounds that we even lack the basic amenities. The politicians gave false assurances which were never fulfilled," says another local resident, Ravinder Kumar.

The government, though, denies water scarcity. "There was a temporary problem as the canal was under repair. The government is committed for development and will sort out the problems. Some people are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill," said Punjab's health minister Surjit Kumar Jyani. The district's additional deputy commissioner, Charan Dev Singh Mann, said he was unaware about the sale.

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"I am not aware about the village sale notice. As far as the problems are concerned we will take up the matter with the departments concerned and will assure uninterrupted water and power supply," he said.

In 2014, five villages - Badiwala, Chatirwala, Kerian, Khanpur and Siwana - of the same district were also put up for sale.



Also Read: Poster attack, religious rows: Kejriwal's Punjab visit mired with controversies

--- ENDS ---
News

Washington, DC - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today it will award $30 million to 23 state health departments over the next five years as part of the Core State Violence and Injury Prevention Program (Core SVIPP).

The funds will support states comprehensive strategies addressing critical injury and violence issues such as child abuse and neglect; traumatic brain injury; motor vehicle crash injury and death; and intimate partner/sexual violence.

The enormous number of lives lost and the high costs of injury and violence underscore the need for effective prevention, said Deb Houry, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDCs National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center). Core SVIPP will help states implement evidence-based programs and policies to prevent injuries and violence and the considerable cost to society. This has the potential to touch thousands of lives.

The program helps states share lessons learned on these issues, highlight successful strategies, and bring together partners to prevent violence and injury.

Awarded through a competitive application process, Core SVIPP strategies include educating health department leaders and policy makers; engaging stakeholders; developing evaluation plans; disseminating surveillance; and conducting evaluations for continuous quality improvement.

The 23 states that will share in the five-year grant are: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Surveillance Quality Improvement (SQI) and Regional Network Coordinating Organization (RNCO) are two optional enhanced components. Four of the 23 states (Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland and Massachusetts) received SQI funding and five of the 23 states (Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Washington) received RNCO funding.

CDCs Injury Center is committed to working with its partners to promote action that reduces injuries, violence, and disability by providing leadership in identifying priorities, promoting prevention strategies, developing useful tools, and monitoring the effectiveness of injury and violence prevention program activities.
Latest News

Washington, DC - Vice President Biden spoke today with President Raimonds Vejonis of Latvia. The Vice President underscored the unshakable U.S. commitment to the security of the Baltic states and the importance of the U.S-Latvia bilateral relationship.

The leaders pledged to work closely together to ensure regional security and prosperity. During the call, the Vice President accepted the invitation of President Vejonis to visit Latvia later this summer.
Latest News

Washington, DC - One essential part of educating students successfully is assessing their progress. Done well and thoughtfully, assessments are tools for learning and promoting equity. They provide necessary information for educators, families, the public, and students themselves to measure progress and improve outcomes for all learners. Done poorly, in excess, or without clear purpose, however, they take valuable time away from teaching and learning, draining creative approaches from our classrooms.

Many states have done important work in recent years to improve and reduce testing, but in too many places, redundant or ineffective assessments still consume valuable instructional time without clear purpose or benefit.

In October, President Obama announced a Testing Action Plan, putting forward a set of principles and steps to restore balance to Americas classrooms, protecting the vital role that good assessments play in guiding progress for students while providing help in unwinding practices that have burdened classroom time or not served students, educators, or families well. That plan acknowledged the role that this Administration has, at times, had to play in the overuse of testing and set forth a new vision for the role assessments should play in schools.

Consistent with the Presidents plan, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ensures annual information about students progress for parents, educators, and policymakers while helping states and districts improve and reduce testing. The law commits resources for states to improve their assessment systems by reviewing their existing assessments to ensure that each test is high-quality, maximizes instructional goals, has a clear purpose, and is designed to help students demonstrate progress. In addition, the law creates flexibility for state and local leaders to think creatively  beyond just test scores and graduation rates  about how to measure school quality. The law also enables state and local leaders and educators to eliminate redundant or unnecessary tests, by auditing their assessment systems and to start piloting innovative approaches to next generation assessments.

ESSA presents an opportunity to reclaim the promise of a high-quality, well-rounded education for every student by reducing the focus on testing, while ensuring critical protections for all students. Today, as part of its ongoing effort to seize that opportunity through implementation of the law, the U.S. Department of Education is releasing two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Together, they implement provisions of Title I of ESSA that seek to ensure states administer high-quality assessments that are worth taking and provide meaningful data about student success and equity, while also encouraging states and districts to continue to push the field of assessment forward through innovation.

Across the country, states, districts, and educators are leading the way in developing innovative assessments that measure students academic progress; promote equity by highlighting achievement gaps, especially for our traditionally underserved students; and spur improvements in teaching and learning for all our children, stated U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. Our proposed regulations build on President Obamas plan to strike a balance around testing, providing additional support for states and districts to develop and use better, less burdensome assessments that give a more well-rounded picture of how students and schools are doing, while providing parents, teachers, and communities with critical information about students learning.

Ensuring Fairer and Better Tests Under Title I-A

The first proposed regulation focuses on ensuring states continue to administer tests that are fair measures of student achievement for all students, with particular focus on ensuring states appropriately capture and measure the progress of English Learners and students with disabilities. It also allows states to take advantage of a range of innovative approaches to improve assessment and reduce the burden of tests, such as utilizing computer-adaptive assessment, implementing smaller interim assessments in place of large summative tests, and diverse measures such as performance-based assessments. The proposed regulation also implements flexibilities such as allowing districts to offer locally selected, nationally recognized high school tests in place of the annual-statewide high school assessment, which could reduce the amount of testing in high schools. This regulation was subject to negotiated rulemaking and achieved consensus among negotiators in the spring, a reflection of the support for the principles of creating flexibilities for states and districts and for ensuring that tests are administered fairly.

Creating Better, More Innovative, Next-Generation Assessments

The second proposed regulation establishes a rigorous, but achievable, process for a small set of states to take advantage of new innovative demonstration authority under Title I, Part B, which will enable up to seven states to re-think their testing systems and pilot new approachesto develop the next generation of high-quality statewide assessments. Specifically, these demonstration states will be allowed to phase-in and use a new system for accountability initially in a subset of their districts, while maintaining their existing system in the rest. As innovative assessments are administered and used for accountability and reporting in participating schools, states in the demonstration authority can apply lessons learned from implementation to improve their innovative systems and take these projects to scale, building a new statewide assessment system over 5 years-one that is high-quality, fair, and worth taking.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - The Yuma City Council will consider calling a special election to be held at the same time as the City of Yuma General Election on Nov. 8, 2016, during the regular City Council meeting to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6, inside the Council Chambers of City Hall, One City Plaza.

This item is on the adoption of ordinances agenda, which means that once it is introduced before City Council, it will generally be presented for adoption at the next Regular City Council meeting. If the City Council later adopts the calling of a special election, it will then submit to those persons qualified to vote in the City of Yuma the question of increasing the transaction privilege tax levy by 0.3 percent.

The Yuma City Charter allows the City to raise money by levying and collecting taxes. To increase the transaction privilege tax rate above 1 percent, the City must call an election and the rate increase must be approved by a majority of qualified electors voting on the question.

The 0.3 percent increase will be used to fund public safety and road improvements.

There are several other items on the introduction of ordinances agenda:

Two separate amendments to the Yuma City Code, one regarding the Housing Authority of the City of Yuma and another regarding the Yuma Fire Department.

The rezoning of property located on the northwest corner of 34th Drive and 24th Street.

A declaration of surplus and real property exchange.

There are no ordinances on the adoption of ordinances Agenda.

Council will consider several items on the motion consent agenda, which will be considered and enacted with one motion:

A liquor license request.

An agreement amendment for professional real estate appraisal services.

Two cooperative purchase agreements.

An operation and maintenance agreement with the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park.

A request for proposal for a GIS Centric Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) with integration and implementation services.

There are two items on the resolution consent agenda: One regarding an intergovernmental agreement amendment with the Arizona Department of Transportation and another item to declare a document a public record.

Yuma City Council meetings are open to the public, and can be viewed locally on Time Warner Cable (channel 73 for digital subscribers) and online at yuma.peg.tv.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Today, just before 6:30 am, a house fire was reported in the 200 block of south 8th Avenue. Responding Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a house at 271 S. 8th Ave, and active fire inside. The fire was quickly extinguished, with no damage to neighboring houses. The house was occupied by two adults and five children at the time of the fire, and one of the adult family members was transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters rescued one family pet rabbit from the house, administered oxygen to it, and it is expected to survive. Another pet rabbit, however, was sadly lost due to the fire.

The house is not able to be reoccupied until damages are repaired, and the American Red Cross responded to assist the occupants. Fire investigators are on the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

The family was alerted to the fire from one of the children who smelled smoke and told the other family members, who were in bedrooms. They all safely evacuated the residence, but one of the adults re-entered the house several times in an attempt to rescue pets. Fires grow quickly and can double in size every minute. Once out safely, never re-enter a burning structure to retrieve items or pets. Most people that die in fires die from smoke inhalation and not the fire itself. Early morning is also the time most fatal fires occur. Every year between three and four thousand people die in fires here in the U.S. In more than half of those cases, smoke alarms were not installed or properly maintained, and did not give victims the time they needed to escape. SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES!
Irrfan Khan was in Patna for the promotion of his upcoming film 'Madaari' slated to be released on July 22.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Two characters most proficient in their own field, RJD chief Lalu Prasad and internationally acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan today met in Patna. The RJD supremo himself acted in a film, which was named after him, Padmashri Lalu Prasad Yadav released in 2004.

Irrfan Khan was in Patna for the promotion of his upcoming film 'Madaari' slated to be released on July 22.

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NO QUESTION ON TOLERANCE OR INTOLERANCE

Irrfan had come to meet Lalu on a day when the country is celebrating Eid. " I am questioning Lalu about the system from a common man point of view. I will question him about politics also. But there will be no interview on tolerance or intolerance", said Irrfan Khan.

Irrfan who came to Patna for the first time said that people of Bihar were extremely hard working. On being questioned as to why Irrfan chose to meet Lalu Prasad and what was special about him, Irrfan has his own reasoning.

" We chose Lalu Yadav as he gave us time immediately. Lalu is the politician who has brought humour in Parliament, this is his USP", said Irrfan.

The RJD chief said that he was fearing meeting Irrfan Khan as he thought that he might be some fake person. But after his deputy CM son Tejaswi Yadav convinced him, he readily accepted the offer to meet him.

"Irrfan does good acting. Earlier I thought he was a false person but after verification I found out that the person who wanted to meet me is genuine", said Lalu.

"He will question me and I will provide him information. Politicians despite wanting cannot become actors but we feed filmmakers with stories", said Lalu.

QUESTION-ANSWER SESSION

There was a small question answer session also between Lalu and Irrfan when the latter asked him about a film being made on him, whom would Lalu prefer to play his character and as usual, witty Lalu was at his best and his reply invited a thunderous laugh from the audience.

"I am myself a hero. Who will copy me? Instead you should ask who will be heroine opposite me ?" said Lalu.

After the meeting got over, the actor spoke exclusively to India Today on his experience meeting country's most colourful politician.

" I have met Lalu for the first time. We requested him to provide us time and he readily agreed. It was a nice experience. We asked political questions also and questions from aam aadmi point of view," said Irrfan.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Delhi government, which is operating at mere 40 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of officers, will get experts to make up for the shortfall, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today.

Sisodias remarks were part of full page advertisements in todays newspapers, through which the Delhi government took on the Centre over the recent "undemocratic transfers" of nine officers out of the national capital, which it claimed was done to "paralyze" the city administration.

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not reacted over the issue, or on his Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumars arrest, till now. Sisodia has addressed the media twice and the advertisments also carry only his photograph.

"There are 309 sanctioned posts of DANICS officers for Delhi, but the central government has so far provided only 165 officers. Now 8 officers have been sent to Andaman, despite the fact there is no requirement of these officers there.

"There are 24 posts in Andaman, of which 23 are already filled-up and now there will be more officers than are required there. At present Delhi has mere 40 per cent of the sanctioned strength of officers," the government advertisment said.

Sisodia had earlier accused the Centre of forcing the Delhi government to make do with only 157 DANICS officers as against the sanctioned strength but today revised the number to 165.

The ads bore a message from Sisodia in which he vowed to take forward Delhis development "despite all hurdles" being created by the central government.

"You have given us a massive mandate. If they do not provide us officers to work with, we will get experts from amongst you since there is no dearth of experts in Delhi," it said.

Among the officers transferred, the government said, one was working towards developing unauthorised colonies while another was supervising the modernisation of government schools and construction of new classrooms.

"The officer in-charge of CCTV cameras project transferred out of Delhi...The officer handling public grievances in the CMO transferred out of Delhi. In the countrys history till date, personal staff of any Chief Minister has never been transferred without consulting the CM...Why the people of Delhi should suffer?" it asked. PTI SBR AAR AAR

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Ringing Bells, the Noida-based firm that ran into controversy after announcing a Rs 251 phone five months back, today claimed it will start shipping the cheapest smartphone ever, from tomorrow. In February, the company announced the Freedom 251 phone which saw a mad rush of over 70 million people jostling to register but when the prototype was presented to media it turned out to be produced by another manufacturer with its logo covered. This led to protests from buyers and consequent inquiries by police and tax officials, forcing the company to stop sale of the product and offer refunds to those who had booked the phone. The Freedom 251 prototype touts a quad-core processor, a 4-inch screen and front and back cameras, priced at an astonishingly low rate of Rs 251. Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel, who had last week stated that his company will soon start shipping 200,000 smartphones to buyers picked by lottery, today said deliveries will start as early as tomorrow. "We will start delivery of 5,000 Freedom 251 phones in the first phase from tomorrow," he told reporters at an event organised to unveil new models as well as an LED TV priced at Rs 9,990. Ringing Bells had last month stated that it will start deliveries for 2 lakh handsets from June 30 initially, then mentioned 10,000 devices will be given to customers in 19 states, and has now brought it down to 5,000 devices. Goel said the first batch of 5,000 Freedom 251 devices will be out for delivery from July 8 and buyers will have to pay Rs 291, including Rs 40 as delivery charges. He had previously stated that Ringing Bells faced Rs 930 loss on each phone, which cost Rs 1,180 and the parts were imported from Taiwan. He had claimed that Rs 700-800 will be recovered from app developers and advertisement revenue. When the phone was announced in February, about 30,000 people paid in advance for booking the phone and over 7 crore people registered for it, which is equivalent to the phones Samsung and Apple sell in an entire year. Today, Goel claimed that the company is ready to ship 2 lakh units of the smartphone for Rs 251 each, but "only if it gets government support". He, however, said that Ringing Bells will ship two lakh units to people who registered for it even if the company doesnt get government support but it will take time. The company also unveiled four new feature phones in the range of Rs 699-999 and two budget Android smartphones that are priced between Rs 3,999 and Rs 4,499. It also unveiled three power banks, and a 31.5-inch HD LED TV priced at Rs 9,900 that will be launched on August 15. PTI PRS MBI ANZ JM MR

--- ENDS ---

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"A suburban Minneapolis police officer fatally shot a black man on Wednesday during a traffic stop", police said, and a woman posted a video on the internet saying he had been reaching for his license and showing what she described as the aftermath of the incident.

The incident comes hours after the U.S. Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into two police officers fatally shooting a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

The use of force by law enforcement against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has come under heavy scrutiny.

The St. Anthony Police Department said in a statement, "An unidentified black man was wounded in an officer-involved shooting during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota at 9 p.m. local time.

"The man was taken to the hospital where he later died", police said.

A woman live-streamed what she described as the aftermath of the shooting in a 10-minute video posted on YouTube and briefly on Facebook.

Reuters has been unable to confirm the validity of the video.

The video began with the unidentified woman in the passenger seat describing what had happened moments before while a black man covered in blood sat in the driver`s seat as a police officer pointed a gun into the vehicle.

The woman said that her boyfriend had just been pulled over for a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun, which he was licensed to carry.

"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," she said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Officers told the woman to keep her hands up as a small child is heard briefly crying in the background.

"Fuck. I told him not to reach for it," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video.

The Minneapolis Star newspaper reported relatives and friends identified the man as Philando Castile, 32. Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at a school in St. Paul school district, according to the paper.

"He doesn`t deserve this," the woman was heard saying as she cried in the video. "He was a good man."
Washington: A grand jury in the US state of Ohio returned a three-count indictment against an Emirati man suspected of trying to order the killing of a federal judge.

Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 37, was charged with attempted first degree murder of the judge presiding over the case that landed him in jail, as well as with committing a crime of violence and using the mail and interstate commerce facilities -- a cellphone -- to commit murder for hire, a Justice Department statement said.

The charges stem from Mohammad allegedly telling another inmate that he wanted to have US District Judge Jack Zouhary kidnapped and murdered, and that he was willing to pay USD 15,000 for the crime, according to the indictment.

The inmate then alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and presented Mohammad to an undercover FBI employee.

Mohammad is also said to have told the undercover agent that he could use a mail courier to send a downpayment, or the undercover employee could meet Mohammad's wife in Chicago to obtain the money.

Asked about when he wanted the murder to take place, Mohammad said: "The sooner would be good, you know," according to the indictment.

On May 5, Mohammad's wife, identified simply as "N.T." in the indictment, met the undercover agent at a post office in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and provided $1,000 in cash inside a white envelope, according to the indictment.

On May 11, Mohammad told the inmate that the rest of the money for the murder was coming from Dubai.

The undercover agent and N.T. Met on May 16, and he undercover agent showed her a photograph he claimed was of Zouhary's dead body.

"The undercover agent then asked for the rest of the money owed to him and N.T. Said she would contact Mohammad and then get back in touch with the undercover agent", the indictment said.

Zouhary was presiding over a case in which Mohammad was indicted last year for conspiring with three other men to travel to Yemen to provide thousands of dollars to US-born Al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar Al-Awlaki to support violent extremist acts against US military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"According to the charges in the indictment, this defendant not only attempted to have a federal judge murdered, but he did so to obstruct justice in a terrorism case against him," US Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a statement.

"This prosecution seeks to hold the defendant accountable for attempting to victimize the judge and for trying to undermine our criminal justice system."

Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony added: "Conspiring to have a judge killed is not the way to avoid being prosecuted -- now Mohammad will be held accountable for additional serious federal charges."

If convicted on all of the new counts, Mohammad could face up to 50 years in prison.
Columbia (US): Thousands of people reached out to South Carolina Gov Nikki Haley after the slayings of nine black people at a historic Charleston church, condemning the violence as senseless and saddening.

Many of these messages included among more than 10,000 pages released yesterday by Haley's office praise the Republican governor as courageous for calling to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds.

But many others, while criticizing the violence, urged her to leave the flag alone rather than make a "knee jerk" reaction to the shootings.

The messages arrived from across the state and as far away as Texas, Washington and Hawaii. To many, Haley sent a standard response, thanking the writer for his or her message and praising South Carolina for unifying in the face of tragedy.

The documents, released in response to open records requests, reflect the divisiveness of the debate over the banner that had flown on the Statehouse grounds until Dylann Roof, the white man charged in the shootings, posed with the battle flag and talked of trying to start a race war.

Just five days after the shootings at Emanuel AME Church, amid heated conversations nationwide over race relations and the legacy of Confederate symbols, Haley held an emotional news conference to say the flag should be taken down.

"The fact that people are choosing to use it as a sign of hate is something we cannot stand," Haley said then. "The fact that it causes pain to so many is enough to move it from the Capitol grounds. It is, after all, a Capitol that belongs to all of us."

Thousands gathered on July 10, 2015 to observe the honor guard lowering the flag from 30-foot pole near a Confederate soldier monument.

It has been kept since then in a climate-controlled storage unit at the Confederate Relic Room, since lawmakers have offered no money for a special display.

The document release comes just days before the one-year anniversary of its furling.

All the messages are passionate. Some are just a single sentence, praising Haley or condemning her for taking her stand. Others go on for pages, even including news articles or historical information.

There are racial epithets, too, aimed at the nine black shooting victims and at Haley, whose parents emigrated from India.

All of the senders' last names and contact information have been redacted.

"You boycott my flag, I boycott you," one wrote.

"What will you give up next when they ask. Our Bibles? Our guns? Our children?" another questioned.

Still others praised Haley's leadership in the tragedy's aftermath.
Kiev: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was due to visit Kiev on Thursday to discuss Ukraine`s reforms and a fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists are fighting government forces.

Kerry was to fly on to Warsaw later for a NATO summit and U.S. officials have denied the visit is aimed at sending a message to Moscow ahead of Friday`s alliance meeting to address the military threat from Russia following its annexation of Ukraine`s Crimea peninsula in 2014.

The Minsk ceasefire agreement has failed to stop all fighting between Ukrainian government troops and the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukraine is grappling with economic crisis and an ambitious Western-backed reform agenda, which has been slowed by a political crisis.

The peace deal was negotiated by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015 and Ukraine and separatists have repeatedly accused the other side of failing to honour commitments made under the agreement.

Ukraine and NATO also accuse Russia of sending troops and weapons to separatist rebels, a charge Russia denies.

"This is an opportunity to talk about ... the road to full implementation of the Minsk agreements and the security situation more broadly in Ukraine," a senior State Department official told reporters.

The United States is the largest provider of security support to Ukraine.

Kerry will meet senior Ukrainian officials including President Petro Poroshenko and new Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

Under the peace agreement, Ukraine has pledged to hold local elections in eastern regions and pass a law granting them greater autonomy.

But Kiev has said it cannot implement these points until all fighting subsides and it has full control of eastern borders with Russia.

"It`s fair to say that quite a bit of progress has been made on the political aspects of Minsk," the U.S. official said, adding, "There`s still work to be done there, but far more needs to be done to reach an agreement on the security side."

"That will involve concrete conversations about disengagement and ceasefire on the line, (Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe) access throughout the territory, cantonment (storing under monitor) of heavy weapons  we can`t have an election in eastern Ukraine unless those things happen," the official added.

U.S. President Barack Obama, along with leaders and senior officials from France, Britain, Italy and Germany will discuss political and security aspects of the Minsk accords in Warsaw.
Australia`s next government looked more likely to remain in conservatives` hands Thursday as they secured extra seats in an ongoing vote count after weekend elections, and a key independent pledged his support.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been meeting with independent lower house politicians to shore up backing for his Liberal/National coalition amid uncertainty that it will be able to win the 76 seats required in the House of Representatives to form a majority government.

On Thursday he won the support of Bob Katter, a colourful rural MP who recently sparked controversy after a campaign video showed him shooting two political opponents over the sale of agricultural land to foreigners.

"I have had very constructive discussions with Katter and I thank him for the support that he has given my government," Turnbull said in a brief statement after the pair met in Brisbane.

Latest projections by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation`s veteran analyst Antony Green said the coalition was on course to hold at least 73 seats, with Katter`s support taking them to 74. Six seats remain too close to call.

Katter`s backing means he would get behind the government on budget matters and on votes of no confidence.

"We do not want to go back to the polls, that should not be imposed upon the Australian people," the Queensland MP said, which could happen if none of the major parties can secure enough support to form a government.

"I do so (give my support) with no great enthusiasm... I maintain my right to move at any point in time in another direction."

His announcement was not a surprise, with Katter backing the coalition in 2010 when the nation was last faced with a hung parliament, where no single political party has a majority in the 150-seat lower house.

Four independents and one Greens MP have won lower seats.

At least two of them have ruled out working with either the coalition or the Labor opposition.

The uncertainty follows national polls on Saturday, with early counts giving neither of the two major parties enough seats to govern.

The inconclusive result led global ratings agency Standard and Poor`s to place Australia coveted AAA-rating on negative watch from stable Thursday, saying the outcome could lead to further delays in efforts to reduce rising budget deficits and debt.

Treasurer Scott Morrison pledged after the S&P statement that if his government was returned to power, they would work hard to 'ensure that we can maintain the financial strength of the government and of the country as a result'.
Melbourne: Former Australian leader John Howard Thursday defended his decision to go to war with Iraq alongside the United States and Britain, saying it was justified at the time and there was "no lie".

His comments follow an inquiry into Britain`s role in the conflict which found its then prime minister Tony Blair took his country into a badly planned, woefully executed and legally questionable conflict in Iraq in 2003.

Howard, prime minister from 1996 to 2007 and considered with Blair to be George W. Bush`s staunchest ally in the US-led invasion, said he regretted the loss of life but stood by his decision.

"I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I don`t resile from that because I thought it was the right decision," he told a press conference in Sydney.

Asked whether he should offer an apology to military families, Howard said: "Obviously I am sorry for the wounds or injuries that anybody suffered.

"But if you`re saying to me do I apologise for the decision that I took, the core decision? Well, I defend that decision. Of course I defend it.

"I don`t retreat from it. I don`t believe, based on the information available to me, that it was the wrong decision. I really don`t."

The long-awaited British Chilcot report found that Blair`s decision to join the invasion was taken before all other options had been exhausted and on the basis of false intelligence.

Launched with the stated goal of wiping out Saddam Hussein`s stores of weapons of mass destruction, the war aimed to enshrine a liberal democracy in the Middle East but instead unleashed sectarian violence and endless political disputes.

No weapons of mass destruction were ever found, undermining the basis for the conflict which left thousands of Iraqis and foreign soldiers dead.

Howard said there was intelligence that suggested the weapons existed before the invasion.

"There was no lie. There were errors in intelligence but there was no lie," he said, adding that he respected Chilcot`s findings but did not agree with all of them.

Australia contributed about 2,000 troops to the US-led coalition from March 2003. No Australian military personnel were killed in action, although many were wounded and a handful died in accidents.
Bengaluru: A dispute between the Army and three government schools over a piece of land in the Karnataka capital has threatened the future of 1,700 students, a media report said on Thursday.

The stand-off got uglier when the Army decided to reclaim the land on which three upper primary schools, one high school and a junior college were built by the state government.

The school authorities refused to give in and students locked themselves up in classrooms, forcing the Army to back down after a three-hour long stand-off, news18.com reported.

On June 14, the Army had directed the occupants to vacate the premises within 15 days.

"Army allowed us to continue the school today. Children came and attended classes. The Army claims that the land belongs to them. But we too have documents. There is a meeting organised for it. Hopefully the matter will be resolved soon," the report quoted a school teacher as saying.

Meanwhile, Karnataka's Primary and Secondary Education Minister has urged the Army to allow the institutions to function until the government makes alternative arrangements.
New Delhi: A large number of Muslims offered special prayers in mosques and eidgahs this morning, kick-starting Eid celebrations in the national capital.

Throngs of people in their festive best turned up for special prayers which mark the end of month-long Ramzan, at major mosques in the city, including historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid and Hazrat Nizamuddin, as well as eidgahs in the city.

After the prayers, people exchanged Eid greetings and gifts.

Festivities gripped Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives.

Ecstatic children, who were gifted 'Eidee' money by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities, buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques.

People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and Eidgahs.

Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the most joyous days in the Islamic calendar.

Special arrangements were made by the Delhi Police to manage the crowd and ensure safety and security around religious places in the city.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is observed as a fasting period by Muslims who abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset and it culminates in Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.
On World Chocolate Day today, we tell you the stories behind your favourite chocolates' names.

By Somya Abrol: Not like we need an excuse to drown ourselves in chocolate, it's World Chocolate Day today. If you haven't already declared today as cheat day, now is the time.

While most of us don't think twice before picking up our favourite chocolates at the local grocery store, have you ever stopped to wonder how all of them came to be known by the names they're famous because of today? Why is a freakin' Toblerone a Toblerone? Who came up with that twisted name?

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Think no more, we have just the answers for you. Here are 7 of the most famous chocolates of the world, and how they came to be named.

Toblerone

Picture courtesy: Instagram/junglezzing

This pyramid-shaped chocolate was created by the Late Theodor Tobler in Switzerland, in 1908. With his cousin Emil Baumann, Mr Tobler developed a unique milk chocolate with nougat, almonds and honey as main ingredients.

If you've been observant enough to notice the packaging of a Toblerone bar, you'd have noticed the mountain on the side and the bear shape on top of it. Well, that mountain is the Matterhorn high mountain, and it symbolises the town of the chocolate's origin.

For the uninitiated, Matterhorn is located in the Swiss Alps, and is said to have given Mr Tobler his inspiration for the shape of Toblerone.

According to shockmd.com, the name of the chocolate is a conjunction of the last name of Theodor Tobler and the Italian word for nougat: torrone.

Mars Bar

Picture courtesy: Instagram/mars_chocolate

Mars bar is named, obviously, after the company that makes it--Mars Incorporated. That company, in turn, is named for its founder--Franklin Clarence Mars. Mars Inc. was founded in 1911, in Minneapolis, and its first mass-produced chocolate bar was actually the Milky Way, which was launched in 1923. It was only in 1932 in the UK that the company began producing Mars Bars as a localised version of the Milky Way.

Bournville

Picture courtesy: Instagram/cedar_blooms

Yes, you earn it. As did this chocolate, its name. Launched in 1908, Bournville is named after the area of Birmingham (England) where Cadbury's factory relocated to in 1879. The Cadbury Brothers, George and Richard, dubbed the area around their new factory 'Bournville', by combining the name of the Bourn Brook, which ran near the site of the factory, with the French word for town, 'ville', reports Mentalfloss.

Kit Kat

Picture courtesy: Instagram/romigunsett

Though it was first produced in 1935--and called Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp--the KitKat received its name in 1937 when it began to be marketed as 'Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp'.

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The name 'Kit Kat' is believed to be a reference to the famous Kit Kat Club, a 1920s Jazz nightclub in London's West End, which was one of the city's most popular venues, according to Mentalfloss.

The nightclub in turn was named after the Kit-Cat Club, a political society formed in the early 1700s and named for the man who owned the tavern where meetings were held--one Christopher Catling, aka Kit Cat.

Snickers

Picture courtesy: Instagram/nhii_2k3

Would you believe it if we told you that Snickers was earlier named Marathon--probably owing to its high calorie-content, the name hinting at one being able to run a freakin' marathon after consuming this bar of chocolate.

Anyway, Snickers was Mars Inc.'s follow-up to the Milky Way chocolate, in 1930. Franklin Mars named the confection after his wife's favourite race horse. Unfortunately the horse died two months before the product came to market, reports Mentalfloss.

Twix

Picture courtesy: Instagram/renata_shtiber

The name of this twin-delight of a chocolate could simply be explained as the confluence of the two words--twin and mix. 'Twin', because two rows, and 'mix', because of its mixture of ingredients--caramel, chocolate and biscuit.

The chocolate took birth in the UK in 1967.

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Ferrero Rocher

Picture courtesy: Instagram/ferrerorocherbr

While the first name of the chocolate, Ferrero, is thanks to the Italian producers of the premium chocolate, its second name depicts exactly what the chocolate is about. 'Rocher' comes from French and means 'rock' or 'boulder'.

In 1950, Michele Ferrero assumed leadership of Ferrero after the death of his father Pietro and his uncle Giovanni. Other notable Ferrero SpA brands include Nutella, Kinder Chocolate and Tic Tac.



--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: While admissions are in full swing and students from all over the country are scurrying to get themselves enrolled into prestigious institutions, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has slammed Delhi University (DU) over poor quota for locals.

Kejriwal took to Twitter on Thursday to highlight his concerns about poor quota in DU for local students.

Delhi University admission system is most bizarre. They don't have either quota for locals or normalisation of marks or entrance tests  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 7, 2016

Attempting to strike a chord with students from Delhi and surrounding areas, Kejriwal sought to highlight the problem of locals failing to secure admission in DU and its affiliated colleges every year.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had in past advocated that the Delhi University, which falls under the ambit of the Delhi government, should give primacy to local students in securing admissions.

With so much at stake, senior AAP leader and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had taken to Twitter in June in which he asked then HRD Minister Smriti Irani for a 5% relaxation in Delhi University admissions.
New Delhi: India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday, contending "unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything".

"Innovation is a process of rebellion essentially. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything," he said, emphasising the Modi government's focus on innovation in education.

"Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don't allow questioning. We don't promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions," the newly appointed HRD Minister said.

Javadekar said if children are encouraged to be inquisitive, innovation would follow as the status quo would be challenged and there would be transformation.

The minister, who had been given the charge of the HRD Ministry after Tuesday's reshuffle, was speaking at an event, 'Infocom 2016', organised by the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra is sustainable development which does not impact adversely the nature but ensures progress of all, for which innovation is the key.

He said the development in IT Sector has brought a revolution in the media industry. Transformation is the result of new ideas. There are doomsayers, but one should always be positive and look for innovation, he said.

Javadekar also recalled his interaction in the 1990s with late Steve Jobs of Apple who had then predicted the evolution of smart phone and its varied functions.
Philadelphia: Reflecting St John Paul II's stand, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia has issued a new set of pastoral guidelines for clergy and other leaders in the archdiocese.

The guidelines, which went into effect July 1, close the door opened by Pope Francis to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

As per the guidelines set by Archbishop Charles Chaput, who is known for strongly emphasising strict adherence to Catholic doctrine, Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist.

Church teaching says that unless divorced and remarried Catholics received an annulment  a church decree that their first marriage was invalid  they are committing adultery and cannot receive the sacrament of Communion.

Chaput says the new instructions stem from Francis' sweeping document on family life released in April. That document  called "The Joy of Love"  opened a door to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Francis didn't create a church wide admission to Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics as some progressives had wanted. But in the April document, he suggested bishops and priests could do so on a case-by-case basis in what could become a significant development in church practice.

John Paul II, in his 1982 document on the family, proposed the brother-sister option for divorced and remarried couples as the only way they could receive Communion.

In Francis' revision of that document, which conservatives like Chaput have criticized for sowing confusion, Francis made clear that John Paul's proposal was simply unrealistic and unhealthy for families.

In a footnote to "The Joy of Love," Francis wrote that many people, while acknowledging the brother-sister option, "point out that if certain expressions of intimacy are lacking, it often happens that faithfulness is endangered and the good of the children suffers."

The Philadelphia guidelines say Catholics in same-sex partnerships, civilly remarried parishioners and unmarried couples living together should not be permitted to serve on parish councils, instruct the faithful, serve as lectors or dispense Communion.

Such "irregular" relationships "offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community," the guidelines state, acknowledging it is a "hard teaching."

The new guidelines also address Catholics "who experience same-sex attraction." Chaput says such parishioners can still live out a heterosexual marriage with children, despite that attraction. Others in same-sex relationships should avoid sexual intimacy.

The guidelines posted on the archdiocese website urge leaders in the archdiocese to offer compassion, love, guidance and respect to all parishioners.

Bishops wield enormous authority in their dioceses in laying down such guidelines and interpreting church doctrine. Since Francis only offered bishops the option of case-by-case allowances in his April document, Chaput with these guidelines is clearly opting out for the church's nearly 1.5 million members in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.

After the papal document was released, several US bishops said that, according to their interpretations, Francis' statement did not require any change in the practice of barring communion for Catholics who divorce and remarry without an annulment.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter, said Wednesday that he thinks Francis is empowering bishops to make their own judgment calls on how church teaching should be applied in their diocese.

"Somebody in the diocese next door could release a letter that says something totally different," Reese said.

Robert Bankle, a retired editor of a construction publication who volunteers as a greeter at Philadelphia's Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, said Wednesday he sees the guidelines as a clarification Chaput was obliged to make.

"If something's not clear, let's make it clear, even if it's unpopular," said the 75-year-old from Bucks County, just outside the city. "If you want to be a member of the Catholic Church, these are the guidelines, these are the rules, these are the laws." If people disagree, he said, "don't be a Catholic."

Mia Trotz, an 18-year-old college student from Philadelphia who was selling water ice outside the cathedral, said she didn't think the guidelines made sense.

"The whole part about being a good Catholic or Christian is helping people or being more accepting of people, but most of the time they're going against what they're telling you to do," she said of church leaders.

"I'm Catholic but I don't agree with everything they do or believe, so it's kind of hard to be Catholic sometimes."

(With Agency inputs)
Berlin: The German Parliament is set to pass a new law on Thursday broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport foreign nationals who commit them.

After years of debate on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year`s Eve in the western city of Cologne.

Dubbed the "No means No" law by the media, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back.

The legislation, entitled "improving the protection of sexual self-determination", also lowers the bar for deporting sexual offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.

"It is crucial that we finally embed the principle `No means No` in criminal law and make every non-consensual sexual act a punishable offence," said deputy Eva Hoegl of the Social Democrats, one of the law`s sponsors.

Chancellor Angela Merkel`s cabinet signed off on the measure in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year`s Eve.

The attacks were blamed largely on Arab and North African men.

The city`s police chief conceded that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and which inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that under German law there were "unacceptable gaps in protection" against sexual coercion and assault.Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must not only demonstrate that they verbally declined sex but also that they physically resisted their assailant.

The new law is intended to cover "the actual situations in which most attacks occur", Maas said.

These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence, for example in an abusive relationship.

Parliament had already in January made it easier to expel migrants and refugees convicted of crimes.

But along with sexual offences, it required proof of additional "violence, threats or physical endangerment" and generally a prison sentence of at least one year before an attacker could be deported.

The reform means any sexual assault can be used against an applicant in an immigration or asylum hearing.

It also specifically upgrades groping to a sex crime with sentences of up to two years` jail or a fine.

Merkel`s conservative parliamentary group included a stipulation making it illegal to be part of a group committing assaults in a crowd, rather than requiring proof that a specific person attacked a victim.

Anyone "who at least tacitly accepts that crimes are committed by a group they are a part of" can now be prosecuted.

News agency DPA cited figures that 8,000 rapes are reported in Germany each year but that only one in 10 victims files charges. Moreover, only one in 10 rape complaints leads to a conviction.

The latest reform drive began in 2011 with the passage of a Council of Europe convention on preventing and combatting violence against women, requiring signatories including Germany to penalise all "non-consensual" sexual acts.
Vatican City: A Vatican drama of sex, lies and press freedom was to peak Thursday with a verdict in the trial of two journalists and sources accused of leaking details about financial mismanagement within the Holy See.

Italian investigative journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi, on trial with colleague Gianluigi Nuzzi after publishing books based on secret Vatican papers, told the press the judges had retired to deliberate and a verdict was expected at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT).

Three other people -- a Spanish Vatican official, his assistant and an Italian communications consultant -- have joined them in the dock since November.

The scandal, the second to hit the Vatican, rocked the Roman Catholic Church with its leaked accounts of theft and greed, along with publication of secret recordings of Pope Francis`s private conversations.

It then ballooned into steamier fare, as Spanish monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and PR expert Francesca Chaouqui turned on each other in the witness box.

Details emerged of alleged sexual affairs, glitzy parties and secret plots in the corridors of power.

Chaouqui, who had been involved in a review of Vatican finances and is accused of both "inspiring" and being ultimately responsibility for the leaks, was the only one to address the court Thursday.

The prosecution has called for a sentence of three years and nine months for Chaouqui, who along with the three other Italian nationals may be subject to an extradition request from the Vatican state in the case of a guilty verdict.

Chaouqui, who gave birth three weeks ago, said Thursday she feared the Vatican would ask Italy to clap her behind bars.

"If the court asks Italy to carry out the sentence, my son and I will spend the first years of his life behind bars," she told the court.Fighting to hold back tears, she apologised to the judges for her someone erratic behaviour during the trial, but also complained about the prosecution`s bid to give her the heaviest prison sentence, saying it was "as if I had acted alone".

Vallejo Balda admitted to leaking the classified papers but said he had done so under pressure from Chaouqui, with whom he claimed to have a "compromising" relationship. The PR consultant had allegedly threatened to "destroy" him.

He also claimed he had been blackmailed by a woman he believed to have links to Italian secret services and other contacts in a "dangerous world".

The trial has provoked outrage among campaigners for press freedom.

In closing statements on Wednesday, prosecutors rebutted accusations that the tiny city-state was attacking the media`s freedom. Earlier this week they called for Nuzzi to be handed a one-year suspended sentence.

But Nuzzi`s defence team insisted the journalist was merely "an Italian citizen who exercised the freedom of the press on Italian soil without endangering the peace and security of the Vatican".

Fittipaldi, who prosecutors said should be acquitted due to a lack of evidence, also defended his "right to inform" the public.

All five accused have been prosecuted under draconian anti-leaks legislation, which could have seen them face prison terms of between four and eight years.

The law was rushed onto the Vatican statute book in 2013 as a result of the fallout from the first Vatileaks scandal, which centred on secrets divulged by the butler of now-retired Pope Benedict XVI.
London: The British Conservative Party elected two women on Thursday as the final candidates to become Britain`s next prime minister replacing David Cameron.

The party`s 330 lawmakers elected Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy spokeswoman Andrea Leadsom in the penultimate round of voting in the party`s 2016 leadership contest, EFE news reported.

The candidates will face a final vote decided by the party`s 150,000 members.

For the second time in its history, the next Prime Minister is set to be female when the winning candidate is appointed as head of government on September 9.

Cameron announced his resignation on June 24 after Britain`s referendum decision to leave the European Union.

May obtained 199 votes, while Leadsom got 84.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated, securing just 46 votes.

Speaking to supporters outside the House of Commons, May said: "This vote shows the Conservative Party can come together and under my leadership it will."

May campaigned for the "remain" vote in the referendum, whereas Leadsom backed a British exit, or "Brexit", from EU.

A first round of votes held on Tuesday eliminated Liam Fox and triggered the withdrawal of Stephen Crabbs due to poor support from party members.
Tirap: Four cadres of the Naga militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Reformation (NSCN-R) were gunned down in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district early on Thursday, the Assam Rifles (AR) said.

Two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered from the slain militants.

The gunfight occurred at the remote Kheti village, seven km from Khonsa, the district headquarters of Tirap, Assam Rifles spokesman Lt. Col. Rahul Josan said.

The four were allegedly involved in extortion, arms dealing and drug peddling. They were Captain Jano Tekwa, Sergeant Major Lombho Pangsa, Sergeant Tongbai and Corporal Mankhu Wangsa.

"Assam Rifles troopers cordoned off the area on Wednesday night after a tip-off. One of the three columns came under heavy firing as it approached the militants camp, forcing the troopers to retaliate," the spokesman said.

In the ensuing gun battle, the four militants were killed.

The NSCN-R is a breakaway faction of the banned NSCN-Khaplang, a Myanmar-based rebel outfit.


Panaji: A group of locals today protested against the anchoring of an offshore casino vessel near Chorao's Salim Ali wildlife sanctuary, a protected bird habitat, near here.

The protesters, led by Congress legislator Pandurang Madkaikar, Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte, social activist Aires Rodrigues, demanded that casino vessel Deltin Caravela, anchored next to the bird sanctuary in river Mandovi on the city outskirts, should be moved away.

They gave a 15-day ultimatum to the state government to shift the casino vessel, failing which they would plan an aggressive agitation.

"Direct revenue to the state government from casino industry is negligible. But people in power are supporting them due to their vested interests," Madkaikar alleged while addressing the protesters near Ribandar jetty, four kilometres from here.

"Wedding and family functions of few officials and ruling party members are sponsored by the casino lobby to keep them happy," he alleged.

Independent legislator Rohan Khaunte, representing Porvorim constituency, claimed prostitution and other crimes have increased due to casinos in the tourist state.

He said, "If Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar has 'love for casinos', he should shift them to his constituency, Mandrem."

Notably, the government had recently renewed the licence of Delta Corporation Ltd's offshore casino?Deltin Caravala, which had sparked controversy.

It has became the fifth offshore casino vessel in the river.

NGOs like Aam Aurat Admi Against Gambling (AAAAG) had held protest last week in Panaji against renewal of licences despite past assurances that the offshore casino vessels would be shifted away from the river.

The CM had said that the government had not allowed new casino but only renewed the old licences.
Rameswaram: "Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week", a Fisheries Department official said today.

With this, the number of fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

Fisheries Department Assistant Director K D Gopinath said, "The Lankan Navy surrounded the fishermen, who put to sea from here and snapped 50 fishing nets of some boats last night."

The arrested fishermen and their three boats were taken to Kangesanthurai.

They also hurled stones forcing other fishermen to retreat.

Rameswaram fishermen's association president, P Sesuraja said about 580 fishing boats had ventured into the sea yesterday but the catch was poor due to the attack by the Lankan personnel.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had writted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, requesting him to take steps to secure the release of 80 Indian fishermen and 101 boats seized by the Lankan Navy.

She had also said the root cause of the frequent arrests of the fishermen was the "unconstitutional" ceding of Katchatheevu to the Island Nation.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day.

Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
Mumbai: Is the Bharatiya Janata Party's use of Lotus as its electoral symbol illegal? A public interest litigation filed in the Bombay High Court suggests so.

The PIL asks the High Court to issue a direction to the Election Commission of India asking it to take back the Lotus symbol allotted to BJP.

The petition contends Lotus is India's national flower and hence cannot be used as a symbol by any political party.

The PIL argues the BJP's use of the national flower for electoral purposes violates the Emblems and Names (Prevention of improper use) Act, 1950.

Lotus is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in art and mythology of ancient India and it has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture. Lotus is a flower of Goddess Laxmi and symbolises wealth, prosperity and fertility, the petition filed by activist Hemant Patil says.

Lotus symbolises purity, achievement, long life and good fate and hence cannot be used as a symbol by any party for election purpose, the petition goes on to argue.

The court is likely to take up the petition for hearing next week.

Patil chose to approach the Bombay HC after the EC did not consider his representation on the need to scrap the Lotus symbol of BJP.

The EC had allotted the Lotus symbol to the BJP 25 years ago.
By Mail Today Bureau: Amid the controversy surrounding Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, the government on Wednesday indicated taking action against him. Naik, who was reportedly followed by terrorists who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka, also came under attack from Shiv Sena which demanded a ban on Naik and his organisation, Islamic Research Foundation (IRF).

Photo: Mayuresh Ganapatye

SHIVA SENA MP WRITES TO HM

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Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh seeking ban on Naik. "People whose language propagates violence against the nation's unity should be banned," Sawant said in the letter.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the government was keeping a watch on his activities. "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken," Rijiju said.

STINGING ATTACKS ON AMERICANS



He has described Osama Bin Laden "as a soldier of Islam". He also once said Americans swap wives because they eat pigs and pigs also swap wives. Naik was, however, denied entry into the United Kingdom and Canada in June 2010. In 2004, Naik, at the invitation of the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia, made an appearance at the University of Melbourne, where he argued that only Islam gave women true equality.

He also said 'revealing Western dresses' made women more susceptible to rape.

WHO IS ZAKIR NAIK?

50-year-old Naik was trained as a doctor in Mumbai before becoming a public speaker. He founded the IRF in 1991 and became quite popular among the Muslims with his distinctive style of preaching. Unlike many Islamic preachers, his lectures are colloquial, given in English and not Urdu or Arabic.

Naik preached that his goal is to concentrate on the educated Muslim youth who have become apologetic about their own religion and have started to feel the religion is outdated.

He considers it a duty of every Muslim to remove perceived misconceptions about Islam and to counter what he views as the Western media's anti-Islamic bias in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US. Many of his debates are recorded and widely distributed online. His talks have been recorded in English and broadcasted on weekends on several cable networks in Mumbai's Muslim neighbourhoods, and on the Peace TV channel, which was banned in Indian in 2012.

Also Read: Who is Zakir Naik? Were the Dhaka attack terrorists 'inspired by him'?



--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: Amid a raging debate over the implementation of a uniform civil code in the country, Law Commission chairman Justice (retd.) B S Chauhan on Thursday said the code has been in place in many laws and not been linked to religion.

The government had last month asked the law panel to examine the implementation of the common code. While the move was opposed by some political parties and activists, ruling BJP had hailed it.

"It (uniform code) had never been linked to religion in many cases," Justice Chauhan told PTI.

Supporting his observation, he said Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Evidence Act, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and UP Abolition of Zamindari Act are some legislations where a common law is applicable to all without consideration of religion.

He said these laws do not discriminate on religious lines. "These laws have been observed for years and no one has raised any question. Most people are perhaps unaware that common code exists in many laws," he said.

He, however, said it is too early for him to say anything concrete on the Law Ministry reference.

"We will have to examine the various issues involved, segregate them and then talk to various people on those lines...We will have to see whether it is time to regulate the various laws in one go or in phases or to regulate them (in one common code) at all," he said.

He said the Commission will take time to present its report to the government. After sorting out various issues, it will seek public opinion by perhaps putting up a consultation paper on its website.

Taking over as the new Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad had yesterday said the decision to refer the matter to the law panel should not be linked to the election in Uttar Pradesh due next year.

Prasad said there was a need for "wider consultation" on the issue before arriving at a decision.

Implementation of a uniform civil code is one of the core issues of BJP and the Sangh Parivar but the NDA governments in 1998 and 1999 and the current dispensation headed by Narendra Modi have put the contentious issues like scrapping of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and construction of Ram temple on the back burner.


New Delhi: Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated with traditional fervour and gaiety in various parts of the country on Thursday.

The festival marks the culmination of the fasting holy month of Ramzan.

The faithfuls will offer Eid prayers in Eidgahs and mosques.

In Delhi, main Eid congregations are being held at the Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid and Shahi Eidgah.

Prayers were also offered at Eidgah in Bhopal. Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the occasion.

In Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, Eid was celebrated yesterday.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar is observed as a fasting period by the Muslims world over who abstain from food and water during the period between sunrise to sunset.
New Delhi: Calling Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches "highly objectionable", the government Thursday said the Home Ministry will take appropriate action after studying them.

"The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

Naidu's remarks came a day after Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher, whose speeches are believed to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka.

"Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken," he had said.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given an assurance that he will look into the recent gender crimes in Bihar, according to a member of the National Commission for Women.

The Commission also shared a report on the issue, including on the brutal gangrape in Motihari last month, during a meeting with Singh at his residence today.

Sushma Sahu, a member of the Commission who accompanied Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam at the meeting, said, "Rajnath Singh has assured us that he will look into the matter."

There have been several instances of gender crimes recently in Bihar, including two rape cases in Motihari, an acid attack in Aurangabad and a case of an acid attack survivor committing suicide by electrocuting herself.

The commission had shared its report on the Motihari gangrape with the Prime Minister's Office and also met the President earlier this week seeking his intervention in the issue.

A 21-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped and brutalised with a wooden stick and a pistol in Motihari on June 13.

Sahu, had visited Motihari after the gangrape, and prepared a detailed report which mentioned how the two-finger test continues to be carried out on rape survivors in hospitals in Bihar despite a ban on the practice by the Supreme Court.

The report also mentions a deliberate attempt on part of the local hospital staff and police to play down rape cases and "alter medical reports".

Kumaramangalam had earlier said, "Our member who went to Motihari found a huge cover-up. There is a collusion between police and medical staff to brush rape cases under the carpet."
Lucknow: Eminent Muslim cleric Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli on Thursday criticised acts of terror and called Islamic State as un-Islamic.

The Imam of Lucknow's famous Eidgah Aishbagh said, while addressing a huge gathering durig Eid prayers, clerics along with him today denounced ISIS and terrorism.

While speaking to NDTV, Rasheed Farangi Mahli said, The dreaded terror outfit (ISIS) is against Islam and humanity, adding that the terror group's ideology is defunct.

Meanwhile, Imam of Gedu Mia mosque in Agartala, Maulana Abdul Rehaman said, "I pray that on this happy occation of Eid, every house is filled up with happiness. I also condemn those who want to spread the message of hatred in the name of religion, be it Bangladesh, India or any other place, and stand against those who want to disturb our peace."

The top clerics'reactions come after radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh today that killed two policemen and a terrorist at the country's biggest Eid gathering nearly a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers often travel to foreign countries on official tours.

During such visits, they also receive gifts in their official capacity.

Now, the Ministry of External Affairs has published a list of such gifts and interestingly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has left PM Modi behind when it comes to receiving gifts.

As per a report in Hindi newspaper Jansatta, the list details how many gifts the PM, the External Affairs Minister, the Vice President and other ministers and officials have received this year.

Swaraj, who is very popular among Indian expatriates for helping those in distress, has topped the list with 29 gifts. The total value of these gifts stands at Rs 2.23 lakhs.

The costliest among these gifts is a silver utility box valued at Rs 40,000.

PM Narendra Modi, on the other hand, has received 25 gifts since the start of this year. The costliest among these is a watch worth Rs 18,000.

Meanwhile, it is Vice President Hamid Ansari who has received the most interesting gifts among all.

Ansari, who got a total of nine gifts, also received a ladies purse and ladies dress material.

The costliest gift which he received is a watch valued at Rs 1.5 lakhs and a Rs 59,000 iPhone.

The list also includes the names of Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar who received 17 and 12 gifts, respectively.

Indeed, whoever said official foreign travel is rewarding was not wrong!
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear a petition challenging the Centre's ordinance diluting an apex court order declaring the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as the sole means to gain admission to undergraduate MBBS and BDS courses for the academic year 2016-2017.

Activist Anand Rai, known for exposing the Vyapam scam, has filed a petition in the apex court against the Centre's decision to promulgate the ordinance.

The petition that sought the quashing of the ordinance questioned the Centre's flip-flop stand on the issue. The Centre had initially accepted the apex court's order and later partially reversed it through the ordinance.

The Centre's decision was in violation of Section 14 (right to equality), Section 21 (right to life) in terms of its arbitrary character and with regards to the students who would suffer irreparably because of the constantly changing stand by the centre, the petition stated.

The petitioner said that various associations across the country have to be treated with equality under law and administrative authority should be exercised to assure a degree of fair decision-making.

The Centre had given an undertaking and fulfilled criteria for a unified NEET, and yet within four weeks, it passed the ordinance, the petition said, calling the ordinance "arbitrary".

With ANI inputs
Dhaka: Firebrand BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Thursday joined hundreds of politicians from across the globe in condemning the Islamic State for its alleged role in the latest blast in Bangladesh, which left at least 4 people dead and many others injured.

The BJP leader took to Twitter and slammed the Islamic State for allegedly wrecking havoc in Bangladesh at the auspicious occasion of Eid.

B'Desh has another terrorist attack now on a EID congregation. Message: Only true Muslim is an ISIS certified Muslim. Rest are expendable  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) July 7, 2016

Swamy's remarks came shortly after four people were killed in an attack aimed at a police contingent guarding the Sholakia Ground in Kishoreganj district, just before prayers began at Bangladesh's largest Eid congregation.

Police said at least 13 other persons were injured in the blasts at Azimuddin High School gate, a kilometre away from the ground, around 9 am.

Witnesses said over 300,000 Muslims, who had gathered at Sholakia to offer the Eid prayers, were trapped in the middle of sporadic gunshots being fired between cops and the attacker militants.

Such an attack on Eid is said to be first time in Bangladesh. The blasts follow the deadliest terror attack in Bangladesh on July 1, the killing of 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in the heart of the capital's diplomatic estate.
Jammu: Over 71,000 pilgrims have performed the Amarnath Yatra so far as another batch of 1,612 pilgrims left Jammu on Thursday.

An official of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) that manages the affairs of the annual pilgrimage said, " A total of 1,612 pilgrims comprising 1,266 males and 346 females left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas today (Thursday) in 35 buses and 22 light motor vehicles in a convoy escorted by security forces for the Valley."

"Since the Yatra started on July 2, two pilgrims have so far died of natural causes."

An ice stalagmite structure inside the cave situated at 3,888 feet above the sea level wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon.

Devotees believe the ice stalagmite structure called the `Lingam` symbolises mythical powers of Lord Shiva.

Pilgrims use the north Kashmir Baltal and the south Kashmir Nunwan (Pahalgam) base camps to reach the cave Shrine.

From Baltal in Ganderbal district, pilgrims have to trek 14 km to reach the cave while those using the traditional Pahalgam route have to trek 46 km.

The south Kashmir Pahalgam route passes through Chandanwari, Sheshnag, Pissu Top and Panchtarni.

According to Hindu scriptures, this route that Lord Shiva used to reach the cave is where he told goddess Parvati the study of immortality and eternal life.

Helicopter services are also available for the pilgrims from Baltal and Pahalgam to and fro the shrine.

Due to heightened militant activities in the Valley this year, extra security measures have been taken to provide protection to the pilgrims.

A three-tier security cover manned by the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, Central Reserve Police Force and state police are in place to secure the Jammu-Srinagar national highway which is the only surface link used by the pilgrims.

The 48-day long Yatra will conclude on August 17 coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan festivals.
Maputo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held bilateral talks with Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo on his arrival here.

"Mozambique honours. PM Narendra Modi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo," tweeted Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

"Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM Narendra Modi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks," Swarup added.

Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday morning, the first leg of his four-nation tour to Africa.

"An early morning arrival in Mozambique. Important talks await the PM in this brief but important visit," the Prime Minister`s Office tweeted earlier.

Modi will later also meet with Veronica Macomo, President of Mozambique`s National Assembly.

His other programmes in the day include an interaction with students at the Science and Technology Park, Maluana, and an Indian community reception.

He will leave for South Africa on Thursday evening.

This is the Prime Minister`s first official visit to mainland Africa. He is also scheduled to visit Tanzania and Kenya.
In a telephonic interview to India Today Television, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik today said he only asked Muslims to terrorise evil-doers but some people are trying to spread hate in his name.

By India Today Web Desk: In a telephonic interview to India Today Television, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik today said that he never supported terrorists and the clips where he talked about Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden were doctored.

After facing flak from all corners, the doctor-turned-islamic preacher from Mumbai clarified that he only asked Muslims to terrorise evil-doers. A defiant Naik alleged that Bangladesh government has no problem with him but some people are trying to spread hate in his name.

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Though, the Islamic preacher has distanced himself from the controversial statement that "all Muslim should be terrorists", reports emerged that the attackers of Dhaka restaurant that left 20 people dead were inspired by his speeches. Investigations have revealed Naik's sermons and ideology inspired Rohan Imtiaz, one of the perpetrators of the recent terror strike in Dhaka.

Naik's name has also been linked to the alleged Hyderabad module of ISIS that was recently busted by the NIA. According to a media house, the terror module's head Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani reportedly told the NIA during his interrogation that his inclination towards violent outfits working to establish Shariah law was also because of Naik.

BANGLADESH MULLS ACTION AGAINST NAIK

Meanwhile, Bangladesh government has launched an investigation about Naik's style of preaching Islam.

Speaking on the controversial preacher, Hasanul Haque Inu, Information Minister of Bangladesh, said, "Zakir Naik is an international preacher of Islam. Bangladesh government is investigating Naik's alleged role in influencing the Alims and Ulemas of Bangladesh to promote terror. If the allegations against him come true, the Peace TV broadcasting in Bangladesh will be suspended as soon as possible."

Terrorist Hafiz Saeed's Jamat ud Dawa website has a direct link to #ZakirNaik 's Islamic Research Foundation website https://t.co/lzwj424TMe&; GAURAV C SAWANT (@gauravcsawant) July 7, 2016

"The decision on Zakir Naik will be taken post Eid. Experts on Islam and clerics have been vested with the task of checking on Zakir's speeches and content. Subject to their report, a decision on his fate is likely to be taken soon," Inu added.

PEACE TV ON GOVERNMENT RADAR

Government of India will watch footage of last 90 days of Peace TV where Zakir Naik is a frequent speaker. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry will initiate necessary action against the channel if found propagating hate speech. The ministry will also monitor footage of other channels.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday directed Mumbai Police Commissioner to investigate and submit a report on the controversial Islamic preacher. The Mumbai Police has been asked to probe sources of funding of Zakir's Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and recordings of his speeches. According to sources, 2006 Mumbai train blasts mastermind Rahil Sheikh was influenced by Zakir Naik.



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Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday also indicated that the government was contemplating action against Naik, saying it was a "matter of law" and the agencies concerned will take "appropriate action".

ZAKIR NAIK'S LINKS WITH JUD CHIEF HAFIZ SAEED

The alleged link between Muslim preacher Zakir Naik and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed has came to the fore.

According to a report published by CNN-News18, Naik's IRF is listed as a religious learning resource on Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) website. The report said Naik's IRF is the only South Asian centre listed on JuD website.





PEACE TV ILLEGALLY OPERATING IN INDIA

Though Peace TV does not have a valid licence to broadcast in India, it continues to be beamed unhindered across the subcontinent via cable operators. Peace TV has been operating in India since 2006, but as of 2009 failed to register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, making it illegal. Hathway also stopped broadcasting the channel. Peace TV was banned in India in 2012, because the government said it was broadcasting malicious anti-Indian content. However, Naik denies owning the channel, and claims it is run by a Dubai-based company and uplinks from there.

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Speaking on the controversy, Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told a TV channel the "government has time to study all these aspects."

CANADA, CHINA, US AND UK BANNED PEACE TV

Canada, China, US and United Kingdom have banned Peace TV which broadcasts Islamic teachings in English and Urdu. In 2011 the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom investigated the channel for allegations of broadcasting extremist messages. Its programmes have labelled Jews as enemies of Islam and that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job. In 2012, Ofcom said the Islamic channel broke broadcasting rules on the basis of statements which were broadcast on 8 March 2012 on the Dare to Ask programme.

According to reports, the channel reportedly received 1.25 million pounds in 2009 from the Islamic Research Foundation International, a registered charity owned by Zakir Naik. Since 21 January 2006, the channel has been telecast to more than 200 countries around the world.

ALSO READ:

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Ten controversial statements by Zakir Naik

ISIS head of Hyderabad module was deeply influenced by Zakir Naik





--- ENDS ---
Maputo (Mozambique): Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here, a significant "long term" agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces amid Modi's vow to march with this African country on its path of development and progress.

"We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

"Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said, in comments that come against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world, including Bangladesh as also Saudi Arabia.

He said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence cooperation.

India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.
Maputo (Mozambique): Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for South African capital city Pretoria after having a brief interaction with Indian diaspora in Mozambique on Thursday evening.

"Obrigado Mozambique! PM @narendramodi departs Maputo for Pretoria, the second leg of his African sojourn," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

"Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique," tweeted Prime Minister Modi after his departure.

Earlier, interacting with the Indian community in Mozambique, the Prime Minister said, "Africa was the land which started shaping the identity of the Indian Diaspora. Even as you assimilate with your local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness."

"I should have spent more time with you all. But, I assure you that when I come here next, I will give you all more time," he added.

"Always a delight to meet and interact with the Indian community," tweeted the Prime minister after the interaction.

From July 8-9 in South Africa, the Prime Minister will have meetings with President Jacob Zuma and other senior leaders across the political spectrum to further enhance relations with South Africa.

With South Africa, India cooperates and works closely in multi-lateral fora like BRICS, IBSA, G20 and BASIC.

The Prime Minister is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during the visit.

Pietermaritzburg is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train compartment.

Underlining that on the evening of 7th July, he will reach Pretoria in South Africa, which is an important strategic partner with whom India's ties are historical and deep-rooted, the Prime Minister had said before embarking on his four-nation tour: "My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind."

"I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa. A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved 'Madiba'. I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation, where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place," said Prime Minister Modi in a statement, adding that during his visit, he will meet President Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In an effort to boost economic ties between the two countries, the Prime Minister will speak at the India-South Africa business meet. His other programmes in South Africa include a meeting with the Alumni Network in Durban and a reception hosted by the Mayor of Durban, at Durban City Hall.

Noting that South Africa is home to a vibrant Indian community that has made South Africa their home for years, the Prime Minister said: "I will interact with the Indian community a programme in Johannesburg on 8th July. I invite you to share your ideas and inputs for my speech, through the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'."

The Prime Minister will have meetings with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in Tanzania on July10 to further enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest.

The Prime Minister will be in Kenya the next day, where he will have bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta.

Prime Minister Modi will also address students in the University of Nairobi during the visit.
Maputo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD) at Maluana near here that has been built with Indian aid and interacted with students.

New capacities for a closer partnership. PM @narendramodi visits Centre for Innovation & Technological Development, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The CITD is situated at the Science and Technology Park, built with an Indian line of credit.

Modi also interacted with students during his visit to the centre.

At CITD, PM @narendramodi interacts with students who have studied in India under ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) and other programmes, Swarup said in another tweet.

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister.

Modi later visited the Mozambique National Assembly and met its President Veronica Macamo.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour,.

Modi is scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, he will also visit Tanzania and Kenya during his African sojourn.
New Delhi: Former environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday took charge of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.

After serving as the HRD minister for two years, Smriti Irani took charge of the Ministry of Textiles yesterday.

Javadekar, who earlier held independent charge as the Minister of State was the only minister promoted to the cabinet rank in the major cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, he said raising the quality of education is his "top priority" as the HRD Minister.

"All the challenges will be converted into opportunities. and we will cooperate with all the states," Javadekar said here.

Speaking of the controversy that marred the HRD during Irani's tenure, Javadekar said, "Keep on reporting out good work and there would be no controversy".

Asked about new education policies, he said that he will only comment after meeting the ministry officials and understanding the work.

Irani did not turn up for the event. Asked about her absence, he said certain family issues have held her back.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on an Eid congregation in Bangladesh and expressed India's support to the neighbouring country in defeating forces of terror.

"I am shocked and distressed to hear about the terrorist attack in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, today (Thursday) on Eid. I condemn the perpetrators of this attack in the strongest of terms," the President said in a statement here.

This is the second terrorist attack in a week in Bangladesh, he said.

"The people and government are engaged in a brave struggle against the evil forces of extremism and violence. The government of India will strongly stand by our brothers and sisters of Bangladesh in this fight. We will extend every support possible to enable the Bangladesh government defeat these forces whose goal is to spread hatred, chaos and instability," he added.

Four people were killed on Thursday in an attack aimed at a police contingent guarding the Sholakia Ground in Kishoreganj district, 150 km north of Dhaka, just before prayers began at Bangladesh's largest Eid congregation.

Abu Sayem, Additional Superintendent of Police in Kishoreganj, said the four dead included two police constables and a woman. An attacker was also killed.

On July one, suspected Islamic State terrorists killed 20 people, including a young Indian woman, during a siege at a Dhaka cafe.
New Delhi: France has offered to help India revive the unsuccessful Kaveri engine project for indigenous Tejas aircraft and a host of other high-end collaboration as part of the offsets in the multi-billion Euro Rafale fighter plane deal which is now in the final stages.

Defence sources said the file on the purchase of the 36 Rafale aircraft in a fly-away condition from France has been finalised and is likely to be put up before Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon.

The estimated cost of the deal is about 7.89 billion Euros and entails a 50 per cent offset clause.

Under the offset agreement, which was discussed last year, the French side has made a 30 per cent offset commitment for military aerospace research and development programmes and the rest 20 per cent for making components of Rafales here.

The offsets will be carried out by French companies Safran, Thales, MBDA and Dassault, all part of the Rafale project.

As per the initial agreed points, the French have offered to provide stealth, radar and thrust vectoring for missiles technologies besides others to DRDO and domestic defence firms.

"The French government has in principle agreed on these points under the offset commitments. Once a final contract for 36 Rafale aircraft is signed, the French government will give subject wise clearance and concrete talks will start," a defence source said.

The French have also agreed in principle to collaborate on the Kaveri engine which lacks the real power thrust needed to fly the Tejas.

An upgraded Kaveri engine with 90 kN thrust compared to the existing 72 kN can be developed with French cooperation which can eventually be used for Tejas which currently uses an American engine.

"The negotiations on offsets were carried out last year with DRDO and some other agencies. Once the contract for the Rafales is signed, there will be a six months window to finalise the offset," a source said.

The French are hoping that they will have a bigger share in the Indian defence market and see the Rafale contract as a great breakthrough. They are also hoping that India will eventually go in for more Rafale aircraft, possibly under the 'Make in India' route.
Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe Thursday expressed hope that the fishermen issue with India would be resolved as talks were going on at different levels, even as more than 40 Indian fishermen have been arrested by Lankan Navy this month.

Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake asked the Prime Minister if moves were underway to allow fishing by Indian trawlers limited to a number of days per week or by a restricted zone in the north eastern seas.

Wickremesinghe, while answering an opposition query in the parliament, said that around 1,000 Indian trawlers were illegally fishing in the country's waters using bottom trawling techniques which is very harmful to the fishing resource.

"We have received various proposals to end this dispute. The main objective is to put a stop to bottom trawling. We cannot allow our fishing resources to be plundered. At the moment there are around 130-140 boats in our custody. We may return the fishermen but we can't release their boats.

"We will seek the views of the northern fishermen as to how we could resolve this issue. We can't be seen to be doing anything against their wishes," Wickremesinghe said.

Foreign Ministers of India and Sri Lanka had discussed the issue while the Navies of the two countries have also tried to resolve the issue through their periodical talks. The Joint Commission meeting between the two countries was also to take up this issue as a priority, Wickremesinghe said, adding that talks were going on at different levels.

Dissanayake was unhappy with the Prime Minister's explanation that family ties between the two countries among the people in the area had led to this issue. He was citing the restrictions placed by India to curb the Pakistani illegal fishing on the Indian side of the waters and demanding such action from the Sri Lankan government vis a vis India.

Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel yesterday when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week. With this, the number of fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day. Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
Pune: Welcoming the entry of women in Lucknow's Aishbagh Eidgah on the occasion of Eid, Bhumata Brigade activist Trupti Desai on Thursday said it was a very big change and a big historical beginning.

"For the first time women were allowed to enter the mosques in Lucknow. The women are offering prayers there. It's a matter of great happiness. We had started the movement so that the Muslim women get this right. We want equality in temples, mosques and Dargah. This is a very big change. It will be a very big historical beginning," Desai told ANI.

Wishing the women on the occasion of Eid, Desai lauded the step of the trustees and called it a 'historical step'.

"The step taken by the trustees of Lucknow is a historical step. All other trustees should follow it," she added.

She said the Bhumata Brigade somewhere got support by this step of the Lucknow trustee.

"Somewhere, we got support through this. It's a very big beginning. If women are given equality everywhere, then I think our movement will very soon become successful," she added.

In an unprecedented move, Lucknow's famous Eidgah Aishbagh for the very first time opened its doors for women where they read the Eid-ul-Fitr namaz earlier today to celebrate the end of the Holy month of Ramazan.

A separate enclosure was put in place for the women to offer Eid prayers.

According to reports, the move comes at a time when instances of women being denied entry to Haji Ali Dargah and sanctum sanctorum at Shani temple in Maharashtra have made headlines with women organisations demanding equal rights on access to places of worship at par with their male counterparts.
Srinagar: Two persons were arrested by police on Thursday in north Kashmir's Kupwara district for alleged gang rape of a woman.

A senior police officer said in summer capital Srinagar, "A complaint was lodged by parents and neighbours of a female in Police Station Lalpora Kupwara, that the woman had been raped by two persons, namely Jaffar Ahmad Khan, resident of Diver, and Manzoor Ahmad Lone resident of Dardpora.

"On the receipt of this complaint an FIR number 74/16 was lodged in Police Station Lalpora.

"Both the accused have been arrested.

"The medical examination of the female has been conducted and further investigation is on".
New Delhi: That VIPs (very important persons) love VIP treatment is an accepted fact! But, that some VIPs do not want VIP treatment is rare.

This was exemplified by Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha of the Congress when he wrote to SpiceJet management complaining about the special treatment given to him.

Tankha was flying to Delhi from Jabalpur on a SpiceJet flight when the incident happened.

NDTV quoted Tankha as saying that when he and another MP boarded an airline transit bus, the staff "abruptly shut" the doors and did not let other passengers in.

"The three of us were exclusively ferried," the MP said, describing the incident as "extremely embarrassing".

"We are living in a democratic country where every person is equally respected and important," the MP said, as per the news channel.

He added that a parliamentarian "is like any other passenger" and should be treated at par with other passengers.

"As a concerned citizen I feel that there is no need to extend such extra courtesy to any Member of Parliament or any VVIP/VIP. As public representatives we should receive the same treatment as extended to other passengers. I found this extra courtesy extremely embarrassing. I immediately requested the ground staff not to extend such VIP treatment to us or anybody else," he said in his letter to the airline.

He further suggested the airline to discontinue "excessive courtesy with immediate effect for all VIPs (or at least to me) - barring if there are some very genuine or compelling security/health considerations."
Ringing Bells will start delivering the Freedom 251 to buyers from July 8. It will deliver 5,000 units of the Rs 251 smartphone in the first phase, and in all a total of 2 lakh units will be available for grabs.

By Saurabh Singh: Noida-based startup Ringing Bells aspires to digitally-empower every Indian through the 'cheapest smartphone in the world' aka Freedom 251. It wants to make as much as possible in India, and help bring to life Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a digitally connected India. At Thursday's launch event -- where the company showcased India's cheapest HD LED TV and six new phones -- Ringing Bells founder and CEO Mohit Goel was all praise about Modi-led NDA Government's pitch for a Digital India and Make in India. In fact he went on to say that it was only after Modi came into power that Ringing Bells realised the potential of launching a Rs 251 smartphone. But, he is not quite impressed with Modi's Startup India campaign.

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In a letter written to PM Modi dated June 28, Goel had sought the Government's aid to ensure timely delivery of the Freedom 251 phone to all citizens at the same price. He had requested the Government of India to invest a financial sum of Rs 50,000 crore in his project, so 75 crore people of India could buy the Freedom 251. The company however does not seek a subsidy from the Government, and ensured it isn't getting any as previously reported. When asked, why it did not simply join Startup India where it could have easily received up to 25 per cent subsidy, Goel said the company had to nitpick in order to make its vision of an affordable phone a reality.

"With Startup India, we would have to register first, two months later we would have gotten a number, six months later we would have been called for talks. It would have taken 10 years to build the phone, had we gone that way," Goel said.

Also Read: Freedom 251 is real, says Ringing Bells, seeks Govt 'blessings'

Ringing Bells will start delivering the Freedom 251 to buyers from July 8. It will deliver 5,000 units of the Rs 251 smartphone in the first phase, and in all a total of 2 lakh units will be available for grabs. Buyers will be chosen on a lottery basis. Buyers will have to pay a sum of Rs 40 additionally as delivery charges. To recall, Ringing Bells had initially promised to deliver 25 lakh Freedom 251 smartphones before June 30. It then lowered that number to just two lakh units and said that deliveries will commence from June 30. Then, it went on to postpone the date to July 2, but, did not keep that promise either. At Thursday's launch event though, Goel seemed confident -- of finally starting the deliveries from July 8 -- and stressed that the real challenge starts now.

"We had it easy to begin with. The real challenge start now because the phone is now ready. We have competitors standing in front of us. I still want to stress that we are not competing with Mircomax, Intex or Samsung. Our only motive is to promote Digital India," Goel said.

Thursday's launch event wasn't about the Freedom 251 alone, but ten new products as well. The company showcased a 31.5-inch HD LED TV called -- that costs just Rs 9,990 -- two smartphones -- Elegant and Elegance -- and 4 feature phones -- King, Boss, Raja and Hit -- along with 3 power banks. It is through these products that Ringing Bells is looking to make some profit. The 31.5-inch Freedom TV, which is claimed to be India's cheapest HD LED TV, will alone make 10-15% profit margin, it said.

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"Freedom 251 is just one of the products that we have on offer. Today we have displayed in front of you a 7 product bouquet. There are two different methods of pricing that we looked at. For all the rest, there's just one method, cost plus margin is equal to price. So there's a margin on every product. In case of the Freedom 251, we have adopted a different strategy, wherein cost minus subvention plus margin is equal to price. At the same time we are also looking to add further to e-commerce and make money out of pre-loaded apps," said Ringing Bells president Ashok Chadha.

The company is looking at economies of scale, something which it has stressed on time and again. The Freedom 251 has cost it Rs 1,180 to make. The loss is a clear-cut Rs 930. The number is likely to go down further if it orders more units, lower still if it can order 75 crore. The Indian Cellular Association has however argued it isn't possible to make a phone for less than Rs 2,000-2,500. "Initially, the ICA said it wasn't possible to make a phone for less than Rs 4,500, then they came down to Rs 3,500 and now they say Rs 2,500. This phone has cost me Rs 1,180, including 5 per cent VAT. I can show you the invoice copy as well," Goel stressed.

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The Freedom 251 is being locally assembled in Haridwar. So are the company's other products. Ringing Bells wouldn't tell exactly where though, not even on persistent questioning. It did claim that it was sourcing as much as 60 per cent components locally, but dreams of a future where it would manufacture 100 per cent in India.

"Taiwan is renowned for memory. We can still make up to 90 per cent parts in India. If the Government supports us to make 75 crore units, there will be a big factory, it will be possible to make as much as 90 per cent parts in India. Going forward, it is also possible to make memory here," he insisted.

Also Read: Freedom 251-makers launch cheapest LED TV, 6 new phones

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Ringing Bells is looking at an investment of 70-80 crore to begin with, out of which about Rs 23 crore has been allocated to the Freedom 251 smartphone. The company has somehow managed to amass 280 distributors pan-India and investment from these entail in Rs 10 crore. Ringing Bells wouldn't name its investors though. For the time being, it is content for getting a 'clean chit' from security agencies and appealed to the general public "to make their perceptions accordingly. Nobody has run away, there is no money taken in advance from anybody. We are a small focused team. Let us focus on actualising our ideas. The reality is there are 5,000 units (of Freedom 251) on the way and 2,00,000 in all for grabs," said Chadha.

While Ringing Bells is yet to deliver even one unit of the Freedom 251, it has already chalked out a whole new dream -- to deliver India's cheapest LED TV. Online registrations for the TV sets will begin from July 25 and deliveries will begin from August 15.



--- ENDS ---
Banihal (J&K): In a shocking incident, a 14-year-old girl, who was sexually assaulted by a 23-year-old man, has given birth to a baby boy at the government hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district, police said today.

A case of rape was lodged on the basis of a complaint from the girl's parents and the accused was arrested but he managed to give police the slip, said a police officer.

The girl, who complained of severe stomach pain, was rushed to the district hospital where she gave birth to the boy two days ago, he added.

The parents of the girl had lodged a police complaint after the girl disclosed that she was being physically assaulted by a 23-year-old man, said the officer.

A case of rape was registered against the accused, who was arrested yesterday, but managed to escape from the police station. A police officer has been suspended and an inquiry initiated into the matter.

A hunt is on for the accused.
Srinagar: In a suspected case of fratricide, an army jawan was killed and another injured today in a firing incident in Ganderbal district of Kashmir.

"One jawan has died while another was injured in firing incident at Safapora in Ganderbal district today," an army official said.

He said a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the circumstances leading to the incident.

The deceased has been identified as Sepoy B Venkataiah while the injured is Havaldar Manohar Singh.

Defence sources, however, said that it was an incident of fratricide in which one jawan shot at and injured his colleague before committing suicide.

Police officials said that they have taken cognizance of the incident and were awaiting a report from the army for further proceedings in the case.
Srinagar: "A woman was allegedly gangraped by two persons in Kupwara district of north Kashmir and the accused have been arrested", police said on Thursday.

"A complaint was filed at Lalpora police station in Kupwara district against Jaffar Khan from Diver village and Manzoor Lone from Dardpora village for allegedly raping the woman yesterday", a police spokesman said.

An FIR was registered against the accused and they were arrested yesterday after a manhunt was launched to nab them.

"Medical examination of the victim has been conducted and further investigation is on", the spokesman said.
Bengaluru: In the second case of suicide by a police officer in Karnataka this week, Ganapathi, who was serving as Deputy Superintendent of Police in Mangaluru, committed suicide in Madikeri on Thursday.

51-year-old Ganaptahi has left behind a suicide note in which he blamed Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Minister KJ George, his son Rana George and Lokayukta IGP Pranab Mohanty and former Mangaluru IGP and present ADGP in state intelligence department A M Prasad for his death. George had earlier served as the Home Minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet.

Hours before he allegedly committed suicide, Ganapathi, in an interview to a local news channel had said that KJ George, Mohanty and Prasad should be held responsible if anything happens to him.

The cop, who was recently transferred to Mangaluru from Bengaluru, had alleged that he was harassed and pressured by senior officers into adjusting cases.

However, speaking to a news channel after Ganapathi's suicide, Rana George denied any connection to the Ganapathi's suicide. I don't know why name Is being dragged into this as I am not involved in politics, he said, adding, There should be an investigation.

Earlier in the week, DSP Kalappa Handibhag had also allegedly committed suicide after he was accused of being party to a Rs 10 lakh kidnapping and ransom case.
Kolkata: A young woman from Kolkata was threatened by the driver of the app-based cab she had booked that she would be raped if she made noise.

'Akdom chup! Toke kidnap kore rape kore debo (Shut up! I will kidnap and rape you)," the cab driver told the 27-year-old woman who had booked to the cab from JD block in Salt Lake area at around 10 pm on Monday.

Realising the cruel intentions of the driver and what could possibly happen to her, the woman jumped off the moving car. However, the driver immediately reversed the vehicle and allegedly tried to run her over.

The 28-year-old suspect Santu Parmanik was later arrested by the Kolkata Police and charged with molestation and criminal intimidation.

Narrating her story to the police officials, the woman said, ''It was okay till my friend got down near Aranya Bhavan. Suddenly, the driver started speeding up and took a left where he didn't need to."

When the cab reached Bijan Bhavan, the driver again took to a left lane, it was when the woman protested.

"The lanes were deserted so I insisted on taking the main road. He agreed and continued to drive till FD block, where he again tried to enter a lane on the left," the woman was quoted as saying by 'The Times of India'.

When she protested again, the cab driver replied ''the lane would save time''. The two continued to argue till the cab went past the area the woman was supposed to get off at.

"This alarmed me and I asked him to stop. Suddenly, he flew into a rage," she recalled in horror.

Worried about her the safety, the woman rolled down the window and started shouting for help. Since the road was deserted, no help came. Realising that she was alone, she finally jumped off the moving car.

The next day, she filed a complaint with Uber and Bidhannagar North police station after which the cab driver was arrested.
Mumbai: The CBI on Thursday sought time to file its affidavit in response to a bail application filed by former media baron Peter Mukerjea, arrested for his alleged involvement in the murder of his wife Indrani Mukerjea's daughter Sheena Bora.

The Central Bureau of Investigation today told Justice Revati Mohite Dere that it would require time to file its affidavit opposing Peter's bail.

Justice Dere then posted the bail plea for further hearing on July 19.

Peter approached the high court seeking bail after the sessions court rejected his bail on two occasions earlier.

In his bail plea, Peter said there is nothing incriminating against him in the charge sheet.

Peter was arrested in November last year in the Sheena Bora murder case. Prior to it, his wife Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, and her former driver Shyamvar Rai were arrested in connection with the sensational murder case.

In his bail plea before HC, Peter questioned the lower court's refusal to grant him bail on the ground that the probe was still on.

A further probe once the charge sheet is filed has no fixed deadline, and merely mentioning that they are still investigating the case is not fair ground to keep a man in custody indefinitely, the application contended.

"There is still not an iota of evidence against Peter, and he has been kept behind bars only on suspicion. An arrest on mere suspicion based only on calls at odd hours is extremely tenuous," the plea said.

According to the prosecution, Sheena was murdered on April 24, 2012, but the crime came to light after the arrest of Rai in another case in August 2015.

Following this, Indrani and Sanjeev were also arrested in August last year.

According to the prosecution, Indrani, Sanjeev and Rai allegedly strangled Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, inside a car in April 2012.

While Peter and Khanna are lodged in Arthur Road prison, Indrani (43) is in Byculla women`s jail in Mumbai.
Mumbai: Controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who is under attack from all quarters over allegations of promoting terrorism, has denied any wrong doing on his part and welcomed any investigation against him.

Naik, who is the founder of Islamic Research Foundation, has been hogging the headlines after it was revealed that one of the five young militants, who slaughtered 20 innocent people at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka used to follow him.

"It is totally illogical to say that I promote terrorism. Not a single investigative agency says Dr Zakir Naik promotes terrorism. The Home Ministry is most welcome to go through all my speeches," Naik said in a telephonic interview to a TV news channel.

"I inspire many people because I have a large following. These people might have been inspired by me but I dont know them personally. I fear media and politicians because they might malign my image. There are people who are using my photographs and misquoting me to defame me. I welcome any investigation against me," he added.

Naik also refuted that he ever said that all Muslims should be terrorists saying the video which allegedly showed him doing so was doctored.

The controversial preacher was reacting to reports from Bangladesh that two of the terrorists - Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam - who hacked to death 20 people at Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant were inspired by him.

"I always preach no Muslim should terrorise anybody...Anyone who kills people, whether he is Muslim or non-Muslim, will go to hell," Naik said.

On the context of his controversial speech on Osama Bin Laden, he said, "My speech on Osama Bin Laden made in Singapore was doctored. I never asked to support Osama Bin Laden. The video circulated (in social media) was doctored. I didn't call Osama either a terrorist or a saint. I dont even know him."

On Wednesday, Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had said that investigating agencies were probing his speeches.

Meanwhile, protests broke out today outside Naik's office in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Police has increased security outside his office.
Delhi: In a sensational revelation, it has come to the fore that a Mumbai train attacks accused had named controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik as an inspiration.

As per a report in CNN-News18, it has also been revealed that mastermind Rahil Sheikh spent much of his time at Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF). Sheikh is accused in a series of train bombings in Mumbai in 2006.

Seven serial blasts had ripped through Mumbai's suburban railway network at peak hour on July 11, 2006, leaving at least 147 dead. The death toll had risen to 189 later.

Trained as a computer engineer, Sheikh's brothers Faisal and Muzammil Shaikh were charged in the 2006 bombings. Various reports had said that as per intelligence agency sources, Sheikh's telephone records had indicated that he had been receiving calls from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Also, it has been suggested that he was acting as the point man to collect funds and pass it on to the LeT which is said to have carried out the attacks.

Sheikh is said to have travelled to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra government today asked Mumbai Police to conduct a probe into Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.

"I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI today.

Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant (Holey Artisan Bakery) in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar.

On the other hand, the new Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Naik's speeches, as being reported in the media, as highly objectionable

"The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them," he told reporters in Delhi.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had yesterday hinted at action against Naik after looking into whether the preacher through his speeches glorifies terrorist acts by Muslims.

Naik has denied propagating terrorism in any way.

"I totally disagree (with suggestion) that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged anyone to kill another persons - Muslim or non-Muslim," said Naik, who has been banned in a few countries.

(With PTI inputs)
The world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips said its April-June profit was likely 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion), better than the average forecast of 7.8 trillion won.

By Reuters: Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday its second-quarter operating profit likely rose 17.4 per cent from a year earlier, its highest in more than 2 years as Galaxy S7 smartphone sales propelled mobile earnings.

The world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips said its April-June profit was likely 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion), better than the average forecast of 7.8 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters survey of 16 analysts. It was the highest since a 8.5 trillion won profit in the first quarter of 2014.

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The mobile division likely was the top earner for the second straight quarter, raising the question of whether the South Korean company can sustain this strong momentum in the face of competition from Apple Inc and cheaper Chinese rivals.

"At this point it appears unlikely that we'll see stronger competing devices emerging (in the second half)," IBK Asset Management fund manager Kim Hyun-soo said.

Apple's new iPhones - likely to launch around September - would not offer any dramatic new features, Kim said.

While Samsung will not disclose detailed results until late July, its shares rose on the guidance. They were up 1.7 per cent as of 0132 GMT, compared with a 1.1 per cent rise for the broader market.

The Thomson Reuters poll tipped the mobile division's profit to have risen 54.5 per cent from a year earlier to 4.3 trillion won, the highest since the second quarter of 2014.

S7 sales will likely ease in the second half, but Kim said Samsung should be able to maintain quarterly earnings of between 7 trillion won and 8 trillion won for the rest of 2016 with help from its chips business and the launch of its next premium smartphone, the Galaxy Note.

Also read: Over 100,000 Galaxy S7 phones sold in first two days

BOUNCING BACK

Samsung's smartphone business shrank last year as Apple grabbed market share at the high end with its iPhone 6, and Chinese rivals like Huawei Technologies Co Ltd did well in the budget segment.

Things turned around this year, with the success of the Galaxy S7 and margin improvements from a more streamlined product lineup putting the business on track for its first annual profit growth in three years.

Looking further ahead, some investors remain sceptical about Samsung's long-term prospects in the cut-throat smartphone segment, which has seen slowing growth globally.

"For the medium term I think 4 trillion won (quarterly mobile) profit is the new normal," Nomura analyst C.W. Chung said.

Samsung said revenue for the quarter likely rose 3 per cent to 50 trillion won.



--- ENDS ---
Mumbai: Protests broke out on Thursday outside the office of Islamic preacher and scholar Zakir Naik, who is under scanner after the Dhaka terror strike, in Mumbai.

The Mumbai Police has increased security outside his office.

On Wednesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said Naik's speech was a "matter of concern for us" and the Indian agencies were looking into it.

Also, Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant has demanded an immediate ban on Zakir Naik.

However, Naik has condemned the attack in Dhaka and said that the term Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) is actually un-Islamic, reported The Indian Express.

By using the name Islamic State, we are condemning Islam They are the anti-Islamic state of Iraq and Syria that has killed innocent foreigners. The name is given by enemies of Islam. said Naik.

"My speeches on Islam and terror are being taken out of context", said Naik in an interview with CNN-News18.

Born and living in Mumbai, the 50-year-old Naik is a qualified doctor who left the medical profession to set up the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), which runs the Islamic International School and NGO United Islamic Aid for the poor and destitute.
New Delhi: It's a major revelation citing deep linkages between controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed!

It has come to light that Zakir Naik's Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) was listed as religious learning resource on JuD website, according to an expose done by CNN-News18.

Noteworthy, 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed is chief and founder of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) outfit.

Zakir Naik's IRF is the only South Asian centre listed on JuD website.

It is important to note that JuD website has been banned in India. The website was banned after 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Probe ordered against Zakir Naik

Earlier, on Thursday, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis directed the Mumbai Police officials to initiate inquiry against Zakir Naik.

The probe will include inquiry into his all public documents.

The Maharashtra government has ordered the police officials to probe all the recordings of Zakir Naik's speeches.

Confirming that inquiry has begun, Mumbai Police said, "Zakir Naik's public documents, videos and social media posts are being examined."

Noteworthy, the move by Maharashtra government came a day after Bangladesh asked India to examine the speeches of Zakir Naik.

Dhaka attack

The developments have come in the wake of the recent attack in a Dhaka cafe.

It was reported that Zakir Naik's 'hate speeches' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last week.
Mumbai: Facing heat over the "hate speech" that reportedly inspired one of the involved in the Dhaka attack, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik on Thursday said his statement "urging all Muslims to become terrorists" has been taken out of context and that he is totally against terrorism and the killing of innocent humans.

"Many of the news channels in India are showing a clipping where I am saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Whenever anyone wants to malign me, they show the clipping.

"This clipping, yes it is me saying it but it is out of context. I said a terrorist is a person who terrorises someone. I also gave an example that a policeman terrorises a robber. So, for a robber a policeman is a terrorist. In this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the anti-social element," Naik told PTI from Mecca.

Rubbishing Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' report that he inspired one of the Dhaka carnage perpetrators to go on a killing spree, Naik sought to put the blame on "other speakers" who misguide Muslims in the name of Islam.

"Regarding me being shocked that a Bangladeshi was inspired by me, I would say no I wasn't shocked... I agree I do inspire people close to Islam but every fan may not follow everything what I say. Once a person comes close to Islam, there are possibilities he starts hearing other speakers," he said."Today, as we are aware, there are some people who misguide Muslims and in the name of Islam, they encourage them to kill innocent people, which is totally against the Quran," he added.

"I totally disagree that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," Naik said.
Dhaka: As investigations into the deadly Dhaka terror attack continues, shocking facts about the incidents continue to pour in almost everyday. It has now come to light that a group of seven young terrorists, who held dozens hostage for nearly 12 hours, had forced the staff at an upmarket restaurant in Dhaka to cook a series of meals for them preferably - pasta and fish.

This was disclosed by a young chef on the condition of anonymity. The survivor was quoted as telling a TV news channel that the young gunmen were ruthless who killed most of the victims within the first few minutes of the cafe being stormed on fateful Friday night.

"They used gas cylinders to beat and mutilate dead bodies," he added.

The assistant chef hid with eight of his colleagues in a toilet. "The bathroom was small and we didn't have enough air. We opened up all the taps in the hope of getting some fresh air," he said.

"A little after midnight, the terrorists realised that the bathroom door was locked from inside," he said.

"We were forced to come out. There were two terrorists - one was carrying an automatic weapon and another had a machete. We came out of the bathroom with our hands in the air, they checked us and asked whether there were any foreigners amongst us. Diago, our foreign cook, had escaped at the very beginning," he said.

"Satisfied there weren't any foreigners, they packed us back in the bathroom and locked us in."



Hours later, he said, "It was impossible to breathe, we started banging on the door." The terrorists allowed them to leave the bathroom; five headed out while four chose to stay back.

"I am a Hindu, I didn't want to try my luck," he said.

One of the five who had left the toilet sat down on a chair. "Pointing to the dead bodies and the blood strewn across the floor, he asked the man seated next to him why he had not tried to intervene," the cook said.

"The man smiled and said he was the one who had killed them."



As the sun was over the horizon and they finished the sehri or dawn meal during Ramzan, the terrorists told the hostages that they ''would all die but would meet in heaven.''

A little later, when the commandos started closing in, the cook and three others used the distraction of the gunfire to climb onto the first floor from which they jumped onto the next building and escaped.
Dhaka: Nearly a week after the Dhaka cafe massacre, Bangladesh was on Thursday the target of another terror attack aimed at a police contingent guarding an Eid congregation during prayers. Four persons were killed and over a dozen injured.

The attack was aimed at police personnel deployed at the Sholakia Ground in Kishoreganj district, and came just before prayers began at Bangladesh's largest Eid congregation.

Police said at least 13 people were injured in the blasts and gunfire at the Azimuddin High School gate, a kilometre away from the ground, around 9 a.m.

Abu Sayem, Additional Superintendent of Police in Kishoreganj, told the Daily Star that the four victims of the attack were two police constables, a woman and an attacker.

Constable Jahurul Haque, 30, was pronounced dead after he was rushed to a hospital. Constable Ansarullah also died in the hospital, bdnews24 reported.

Witnesses said over 300,000 Muslims, who had gathered at Sholakia to offer the Eid prayers, were trapped in the middle of sporadic gunfire between police personnel and the attacker militants.

Such an attack on Eid is said to be first time in Bangladesh. It was not known immediately who or which group launched the attack.

However, the prayers were not disrupted.

Police said another suspect with bullet wounds was detained from the spot and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Last Friday, Dhaka witnessed an unprecedented terror attack in which 20 hostages and two policemen were killed by Islamist terrorists. They laid siege to the Holey Artisan Bakery and O'Kitchen restaurant and took over 35 persons hostages.

Security forces killed six of the terrorists and captured one, ending the over 12-hour siege. But by then the militants had slaughtered 20 hostages who could not recite the Quran. They included 9 Italians, seven Japanese and an Indian student.


Madurai (TN): Three labourers were killed and another injured after a portion of the sand in a quarry where they were working caved in on them at Kondayampatti area in the district today, police said.

The labourers were engaged in digging operations when the sand suddenly caved in on them along with some stones, Inspector Guruvenkataraj said.

"The exact cause of the mishap is being investigated. What we know is that the mishap occured during a drilling exercise in the quarry," he told PTI.

While the injured labourer was hospitalised, the bodies of the three victims have been sent to Rajaji Government General Hospital for autopsy, he said.
Lucknow: Scores of women scripted history on Thursday by stepping inside the prestigious 300-year-old Eidgah of Aishbagh in Lucknow and offering prayers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

As per a report in CNN-News18, it was the first time that women offered prayers along with men at the Eidgah.

It was made possible through efforts of Maulana Khalid Rashid of Firangimahal, chief imam of the mosque and a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

Maulana Khalid Rashid was quoted by the media house as saying, "We want to prove that Islam gives both men and women equal rights. In the future we will ensure that more and more such common prayers are organised."

Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across the country with fervour as scores of faithful attended special prayers and extended greetings to each other, marking the culmination of the holy fasting month of Ramzan.

In recent times, Muslim women in India have increasingly been demanding an entry inside the famous Haji Ali shrine in Mumbai and opposing triple talaq.

They have also been asking for parity in interpretation of Sharia law.
Noida: The website of a prominent management institute in Noida was attacked by Pakistani hackers, officials said on Thursday.

The website of the School of Law, Design and Innovation Academy of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) was hacked and along with a Pakistani flag another flag resembling a Chinese flag was posted on the website, the officials said.

Probe has so far revealed that the site was hacked on Monday night and the hackers also posted a message - "hacked by Pakistani hackers Mister ji".

The hackers also posted many sacrilegious and obscene comments on India, the officials added.

The site has been put offline.

Circle Official Arvind Yadav informed that an FIR was lodged and the cyber cell was investigating the case.
Two years after Gaza`s last devastating conflict with Israel, rights groups vented frustration Thursday over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and lack of war crimes prosecutions.

Amnesty International said it was 'indefensible' that no criminal cases had been brought for alleged war crimes committed by Israel or the Palestinians, while a coalition of leading NGOs urged Israel to lift its blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip.

The July-August 2014 war between Israel and Gaza militants killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes in besieged Gaza.

Reconstruction has been painfully slow, with the United Nations taking over a year to rebuild its first destroyed home.

Israel has maintained a blockade on the enclave, limiting the entry of many goods essential for construction that officials fear could fall into the hands of the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza and be used for another military build-up.

Only three Israeli soldiers have been charged over the war, all on minor charges, the Amnesty report said, ahead of Friday`s anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict.

"The fact that no one has been held to account for war crimes that were evidently committed by both sides in the conflict is absolutely indefensible," said Philip Luther, Amnesty`s Middle East and North Africa head.

"Two years have passed and it`s high time the wheels of justice started turning."

In a separate report, AIDA - an umbrella body for major international NGOs working in Israel and the Palestinian territories - said Israel`s decade-long blockade was "severely impeding reconstruction and recovery" in Gaza.

"Unless it is lifted, Palestinians living in Gaza will be unable to move on with their lives and live in freedom, dignity and safety," said Chris Eijkemans, country director at AIDA with the British charity Oxfam.

In Gaza, although new roads have been constructed, many areas remain desolated and the economy has ground to a standstill.

Over 120,000 homes were at least partly damaged, while around 20,000 were left totally uninhabitable in the war, according to the United Nations.

The Mediterranean enclave`s unemployment rate of 45 percent is one of the highest in the world, while child labour has doubled over the past five years, according to Palestinian estimates.

Sohad al-Masry, a 40-year-old housewife, lost her home in the war, in which her cousin was killed.

"I don`t like to remember but I am sad," she told AFP. "They have not rebuilt the destroyed houses, the siege and closure (continue), and there is unemployment."

Fears of another conflict with Israel, which would be the fourth since 2008, have grown in recent months after Israeli forces uncovered two Hamas "attack" tunnels allegedly reaching across the border.

After a brief flare-up in May, leaders on both sides have talked of being ready for another conflict.

"I am very worried a fourth war is coming. The occupation is threatening war on Hamas`s tunnels," said Mohammed Abu Daqa, 26, who works in a government school.

He called on Hamas to reconcile with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas`s Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, to whip up global support for lifting the siege of Gaza.

"But unfortunately Hamas and Fatah are not ready for a reconciliation," he sighed.
Beijing: The United States should do nothing to harm China`s sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China`s foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of a key court ruling on China`s claims in the disputed waterway.

Speaking by telephone on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry the United States should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, China`s foreign ministry said.

China hopes the United States "speaks and acts cautiously, and take no actions that harm China`s sovereignty and security interests", the statement paraphrased Wang as saying.

Tensions and rhetoric have been rising ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.

China is conducting military exercises around the Paracel Islands in the north of the region this week, while U.S. Navy officials said on Thursday that U.S. destroyers had been patrolling around Chinese-held reefs and islands in the contested Spratly Islands to the south.

While not close enough to be within 12 nautical miles - a so-called freedom of navigation operation that would require high level approval - the destroyers operated within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the Chinese-occupied features, the Navy Times reported.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its escort ships have also been patrolling the South China Sea since last week.

"All of these patrols are conducted in accordance with international law and all are consistent with routine Pacific Fleet presence throughout the Western Pacific," Pacific Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Clint Ramsden told Reuters.

PEACEFUL RESOLUTION SOUGHT

China frequently blames the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, where its territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Speaking in Beijing following a meeting with Wang on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that while he could not comment on the Philippines legal case, he called for a peaceful resolution of differences.

"I did stress to minister Wang, as I have with all other countries involved, the need to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner and to avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk."

Wang repeated China`s position that it also wanted a peaceful resolution, but that it would not accept forced arbitration.

"This approach will not help bring about a peaceful resolution of disputes. On the contrary, it would only escalate the disputes and tension and should be resisted by all countries and people who uphold justice."

China has accused the United States of militarising the waterway with freedom of navigation patrols, while Washington has expressed concern about China`s building of military facilities on islands it controls in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials say the U.S. response should China stick to its vow to ignore the ruling could include stepped up freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese claimed islands in what is one of the world`s business trade routes.

In the call initiated by Kerry, Wang also said relations between China and the United States were generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while managing their differences.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that Kerry had spoken to Wang, without providing details.

U.S. officials say they fear China may respond to the ruling by declaring an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013, or by stepping up its building and fortification of artificial islands.
St Paul: A police officer fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop near Minneapolis and the victim`s girlfriend posted live footage of the bloody aftermath to Facebook, sparking immediate outrage and a call by the state governor for a federal investigation.

"Police officers should not be able to gun a man down for no reason," Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of shooting victim Philando Castile, told reporters and sympathizers on Thursday, hours after the Wednesday evening incident.

She said Castile, 32, was shot in front of her and her 4-year-old daughter after police pulled their car over, citing a broken tail light. "Nothing within his body language said `Kill me, I want to be dead,`" she said.

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said a state investigation was under way and that he had asked the US Justice Department to begin an immediate, independent probe.

"This kind of behavior is unacceptable," Dayton said.

Dozens of protesters gathered at the Governor`s mansion in St. Paul, about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of the scene of the incident, where Dayton spoke at a news conference with Reynolds and civil rights activists.

As Reynolds spoke, people shouted "murder," and called for the arrest of the police officer involved.

The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests, as well as spawning a movement called Black Lives Matter. Anger has intensified when the officers involved in such incidents are acquitted or not charged at all.

The latest shooting was especially chilling because Reynolds streamed a 10-minute video on Facebook moments afterward.

"Many of us watched the video, and we are shaken to capacity at the thought of this," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of rights group NAACP`s Minneapolis chapter.

Reynolds and her daughter were treated like criminals after the incident, Levy-Pounds said. What this signifies to us is that black lives dont really matter in the state of Minnesota.

So far, the St. Anthony Police Department said only that an unidentified black man was wounded during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, at 9 pm local time on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The police officer`s ethnicity was not clear.

The Justice Department said it was assessing the Minneapolis area incident but did not say if it would start a formal investigation into whether excessive force was used.

Castile was killed hours after the department said it had opened an investigation into Tuesday`s fatal shooting of a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, by two police officers.

US President Barack Obama is "deeply disturbed" by the latest lethal shootings by police, the White House said, adding that the incidents do not need to drive a wedge between communities and law enforcement.

Castile`s mother expressed shock. "I never once in my life would have thought that my son would be killed by the persons that were supposed to protect and serve him," Valerie Castile said on CNN.

She described her son as a "laid back" but industrious man who worked as a school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, she said.

Castile, who was waiting for permission to see her son`s body, said she wanted the officer to be prosecuted.

Reynolds said police had not even tried to check if her boyfriend was alive after they shot him, and it had taken at least 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive. She said he was shot five times.

"Not one shot, not two, shots, not three shots, but five shots," she said at the news conference. "They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime."



The video Reynolds posted to Facebook began with her in the passenger seat describing what had happened moments before. A black man covered in blood sat in the driver`s seat as a police officer pointed a gun into the vehicle.

She said her boyfriend had just been pulled over and explained he had a gun he was licensed to carry.

"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," Reynolds said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm."

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

"Fuck," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video. "I told him not to reach for it."

Officers told Reynolds to keep her hands up as a small child is heard briefly crying in the background.

"He doesn`t deserve this," Reynolds was heard saying. "He was a good man."

The Washington Post said Castile was at least the 506th person and 123rd black American shot and killed by police so far in 2016, according to its database that tracks such deaths.

About 10 percent of those black Americans were unarmed, while about 61 percent had guns, the paper said.

Castile`s death was at least the second high-profile police shooting of a black man in the Minneapolis area in the past year. In June, federal prosecutors decided there was insufficient evident to charge two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting last November of 24-year-old Jamar Clark.
Dhaka: Two Bangladeshi policeman were killed and nine other officers were wounded on Thursday as radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police. The attack took place near Sholakia ground at Kishoreganj district, before Eid prayers began at Bangladesh's largest congregation.

Here are the updates:

Latest reports say that four people have been killed in an attack aimed at a police contingent guarding the Sholakia Ground in Kishoreganj district. Abu Sayem, Additional Superintendent of Police in Kishoreganj, told the Daily Star that four victims were two police constables, a woman and an attacker.

Condemning the terror attack in Bangladesh, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, terror has no religion or region, it is a threat to the humanity. Naidu appealed to the entire international community to unite together against terrorism. He opined that the United Nations should strongly condemn and ensure adequate steps are being taken to contain all such forces.

Giving more information of the ground situation, Bangladesh Information Minister said, while one attacker has been killed, another captured alive by the security forces.

A senior district official said the militants attacked police with "sharp weapons" after the grenades exploded.

According to Reuters, two policemen have been killed and nine other officers injured.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemns the terror attack on the occasion of Eid, says terrorism is against Islam and humanity.

Eid congregation attackers have taken shelter at a nearby school, gun fire is reported to be on.

More police forces have been dispatched to Kishoreganj where Eid attackers are believed to be holed up in a school.

Locals say 6-7 youths led the attack. They attacked cop with knife and exploded bombs.

India will send a team of National Security Guards (NSG) officials to assist Bangladesh.

Reports suggest that Imam of masjid at Sholakia, Maulana Farid Uddin Masud, was the main target of the terrorists.

Local media reports say that some militants are believed to be hiding in the area. However, there is no official information on this.

Police says assailants hurled homemade bombs at a police team, killing one officer, news agency Associated Press reported. It is not clear how many bombs may have exploded in the district of Kishoreganj.

Bangladesh I&B Minister confirms one cop killed, 8-9 people severely injured, in a bomb explosion during Eid prayer congregation in Kishoreganj.

The Minister says over three lakh people had gathered to offer prayers at the spot, culprits absconding and yet be identified.

200,000 people had gathered to offer prayers. There were also exchanges of gunfire at the scene.

"One police constable is dead and at least five others were injured," Mahbub, a police officer in the Kishoreganj control room, told AFP.

Reports say that one of the attackers reportedly killed while detonating a bomb.

Initial reports say that a policeman was killed and five injured in the blast that took place at Sholakia Eidgah, where people had gathered to offer prayers on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, the day of celebration after the Ramadan.

The unfortunate incident happened at 9:30 am in Kishoreganj area.

Minister of Information Hasanul Haq Inu confirmed that one cop was killed in the blast.

Following the blast, the security agencies have sounded red alert across the country.

Notably, the dreaded terrorist outfit Islamic State recently warned of barrage of terror attacks that would target Bangladesh and elsewhere until an Islamic caliphate prevails worldwide.

On Friday evening, a group of gunmen attacked the cafe in Banladesh capital Dhakas diplomatic district Gulshan, killing 22 people including two police officers and twenty hostages, 17 of whom were foreigners.
Tripoli: At least 12 soldiers were killed on Thursday in a car bomb attack in Libya's Benghazi city, officials said.

Heavy clashes erupted between the Libyan army troops and the militants, who used mines and car bombs, Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesman of the Libyan marine as saying.

On Wednesday, at least four soldiers were killed and seven others were injured in clashes with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in the city of Benghazi.

Also on Wednesday, an army MIG-23 aircraft crashed in western Benghazi, killing its pilot.


Baghdad: A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 292 people, the health minister said on Thursday, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in a crowded shopping area early on Sunday, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Health Minister Adila Hamoud said the identities of 177 people killed in the bombing have yet to be determined, while 115 bodies have been handed over to families.

The attack also wounded 200 people, Hamoud said.

The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of failing to do enough to protect them.

And it has overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness.

The Islamic State group overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant territory from the jihadists.

In response to the battlefield setbacks, the group has hit back against civilians, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground.


Berlin: The German parliament on Thursday unanimously approved tougher laws making any form of non-consensual sexual contact a crime, seeking to reassure a public shaken by mass attacks on women on New Year's Eve that were largely blamed on migrants.

The measures, dubbed "nein heisst nein" or "no means no" by the German media, aim to close loopholes that made it difficult to punish offenders if proof was lacking that they had used violence against their victims or when victims did not resist.

Under the new rules, all forms of non-consensual sexual contact will be punishable, regardless of the circumstances.

All 601 lawmakers participating in the debate voted in favour of the new measures.

In Cologne at New Year, hundreds of women said they were groped, attacked and robbed outside the train station. Police said the suspects were mainly of North African or Arab appearance.

The police chief was forced to resign over the incident, which hardened public opinion against the government`s decision to allow in more than one million migrants last year, mostly people fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Women`s rights activists launched the "no means no" awareness campaign after the Cologne attacks, which prompted a debate about the challenge to integrate the new arrivals.
Kiev: US Secretary of State John Kerry meets Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday to reaffirm support for Kiev's fight against pro-Russian insurgents and its bid to anchor its ties to the West.

Kerry's visit comes ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw on Friday that Poroshenko will also attend in the hope of securing new assistance for his former Soviet republic's 26-month war in the separatist industrial east.

Thursday's meeting falls in line with Washington's bid to curb Russian President Vladimir Putin's perceived expansionist ambitions and follows a visit to Georgia -- another Kremlin foe that has also lost parts of its territory to Moscow-backed separatists.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Russia`s actions in Ukraine had caused a loss of trust with the West.

"If through words and deeds the validity of law and the inviolability of frontiers are questioned, then of course trust is lost," she told the German parliament.

The deputy head of Poroshenko`s administration, Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, said he expected Thursday`s meetings to discuss "the issue of global security, regional security, and of course the issue of Ukraine`s cooperation with NATO".

He said Kiev hoped to receive further assistance from the US and other allies in upgrading its outdated and underfunded armed forces and also discuss the tortuous peace process with the pro-Russian rebels.

Ukraine changed the course of post-Soviet history by ousting its Kremlin-backed leader in a pro-EU revolution in 2014 that was followed by Russia`s annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars.

The revolt in the east has killed nearly 9,500 people and left many of Ukraine`s most important coal mines and steel mills under rebel control.

The war has now ground to a stalemate that sees sporadic spikes in fighting around hotspots surrounding the de facto rebel capital of Donetsk.

But Washington has turned a deaf ear to Ukrainian pleas to supply them with offensive equipment that could help Kiev's forces stamp out the insurgents and win back control of its porous eastern border with Russia.

Washington fears such a step would only further infuriate Putin and complicate US efforts to work with Russia on pivotal issues such as the Syria war.

Poroshenko and the West accuse Russia of covertly using rebel-held parts of the border to supply insurgents with weapons and soldiers -- a charge Moscow persistently denies.Ukraine last weekend did receive 14 long-range US radar systems that should help its army detect and destroy rebel rockets.

Kiev was also bolstered by the EU's decision last week to extend by another six months punishing sanctions against Russia's energy and other key sectors for its role in Ukraine.

But efforts led by Germany and France to end fighting with a peace agreement brokered in February 2015 have so far produced few results.

Kiev insists that no compromise with the separatists is possible without them first handing back the areas under their control.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Wednesday he had no intention of recognising the legitimacy of the self-proclaimed leaders of the separatist Lugansk and Donetsk regions.

Kerry is also due to meet Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to check on Ukraine`s progress on stamping out the corruption that brought down the previous government in April.

Ukraine is meant to clean up graft and improve governance in order to fulfil its ambition of applying for EU membership by 2020.

But the chances of the eastern European state joining NATO remain slim for the foreseeable future because much of its southeastern territory remains under rebel control.
Srinagar: On the occasion of Eid, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday sought the cooperation of the people in promoting pace, harmony and brotherhood and wanted them to partner her government's endeavour to bring stability and prosperity to the militancy- hit state.

"I need the support and cooperation of every citizen of this state to realize the vision of (former Chief Minister and Mehbooba's father) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of a cohesive, peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir," she said interacting with hundreds of people who visited her official residence here to extend Eid greetings.

She said the people need to strive for promotion of peace, harmony and brotherhood and partner with her government's endeavor to end the miseries of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and bring stability and prosperity to the state which is bleeding due to militancy.

An official spokesman said the Chief Minister personally received the visitors and exchanged Eid greetings with them.

The visitors included ministers, MPs, MLAs, civil and police officers, political workers, lawyers, representatives of trade, travel and civil society organizations besides common men, women and children, the spokesman said.

On the occasion, special prayers were also offered for Sayeed, who breathed his last in January this year, he said.

Meanwhile, a National Conference spokesman said hundreds of people from all walks of life thronged the residence of party Working President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here to extend Eid greetings to him.

Party leaders, legislators, office bearers and party workers in addition to senior officers of the police and administration as well as prominent social activists and trade representatives called on Omar yesterday and today and exchanged Eid greetings with him, the spokesman said.

Interacting with the people, Omar prayed for the state's honour, dignity and prosperity and said it was the duty of every conscientious citizen to protect the state's political rights and interests and also to work towards alleviating the grievances of the masses.

The NC Working President expressed profound grief and sorrow over the spate of attacks around the world, especially those in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Iraq recently and prayed for the restoration of peace and amity in the world.

Thanking the visitors for their greetings and affection, Omar said Jammu and Kashmir's legacy and ethos of amity, brotherhood and mutual respect among people of different faiths was an asset that needs to be nurtured and safeguarded.
Kathmandu: A Hong Kong-bound Nepal Airlines plane with 60 people on board today made an emergency landing at Tribhuvan International Airport here after being hit by a bird minutes after take-off.

The Airbus A320 of Nepal's flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) safely made it back to the airport's runway without any further troubles, according to airport officials.

The Hong Kong-bound flight met with the incident at around 10 AM.

There were no reports of any injuries.

NAC had to arrange another plane to fly the passengers to the destination.

Many aircraft flying out were delayed while other flying in were put on hold before NAC's another plane landed.

The affected aircraft was immediately grounded after it sustained damage to its engine due to the bird hit.
Moscow: Russian security officials said Thursday that one special forces agent and seven alleged rebel fighters were killed in an operation in the Dagestan region of the volatile North Caucasus.

The country`s anti-terrorism committee said in a statement released to Russian news agencies that the FSB security agency raid had "neutralised" seven members of a "group that had more than once murdered law enforcement officials and civilians.

"In the course of the battle with the bandits one FSB agent died and three were wounded, it said.

The Dagestan region neighbours Chechnya where Russia fought two brutal separatist conflicts.

An Islamist insurgency lingers on in the North Caucasus despite Moscow`s attempts to crush it and the authorities regularly report deadly firefights with alleged rebels.

In March the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed a policeman in Dagestan.

del/cw
Washington DC: Pakistan`s support to the belligerent hermit kingdom continues unabated.

Following on the heels of ANI`s report of June 22, 2016 which reported that Pakistan sold restricted nuclear material `Monel` and `Inconel` to North Korea, now, new data from leading flight tracking service `FlightRadar24` and a news agency UPI dispatch shows that Air Koryo used Islamabad as a refuelling point on its onward journey to Kuwait.

According to the latest UN Security Council resolution 2270 that was passed in March of this year, the screening of all cargo onboard Air Koryo flights is imperative and export of aviation fuel and rocket fuel is to be banned with immediate effect.

In addition to this, the UNSC panel of experts said in a 2014 report, "UN member states should be aware that providing financial transactions, technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provision, maintenance or use of Air Koryo`s aircraft could constitute a violation of the embargo on all arms and related material."

In light of these guidelines issued by the UN, Pakistan`s continued support to the World`s worst airline, ranked so for a fifth year in a row, may amount to a violation of UNSC resolutions.

It is also important to note that Pakistan has gone on an overdrive campaign with the international community to accept its membership in the NSG, while at the same time providing nuclear technology, and now, refuelling support to the national carrier of North Korea.

Air Koryo JS 161 flight to Kuwait which had a stopover in Pakistan on May 17, 2016 was dispatched to pick up North Korean forced labourers working in Kuwait who were protesting Pyongyang`s refusal to pay salaries.

Their fate remains unknown.Recently, a VICE Media documentary highlighted the plight of North Korean forced workers in Poland.

The workers did not receive pay, worked inhuman hours and had no contact with their families back home.

Stringent international sanctions have had an effect on the functioning of the dictatorship with overseas workers particularly feeling the heat.

North Korean diplomats around the world resort to selling contraband to earn foreign exchange for their country, for example, multiple instances have been reported by the Pakistani media of North Korean diplomats using their diplomatic immunity and consular vehicles to run an alcohol trade which is banned in Pakistan.

With these revelations coming to light, and Pakistan`s nuclear largesse to North Korea, Air Koryo`s use of Islamabad as a transit point does raise red flags.
Seoul: Washington's move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea Thursday, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit state.

The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country`s system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea "among the world`s most repressive countries".

Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.

"The government... notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The measure is expected to raise the international community`s awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations of human rights are being committed, while greatly helping intensify international discussions on the issue and strengthening relevant measures."

Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the measure was an "important step forward in achieving justice for the countless victims of human rights abuses in North Korea".

He added the US was "leading the international community to send a clear message to mid-level North Korean officials that obeying orders to violate rights could have very negative consequences for them".

Robertson called for Washington to extend the blacklist and to make clear to Pyongyang "that taking rights abusing decisions will have consequences because the world is closely watching and will judge them accordingly".

South Korean analysts said the North was likely to react angrily at what North Koreans could perceive as a "personal insult" against Kim.

"There will be a bombardment of diatribes from North Korea against the US as the military, government agencies and various social groups are likely to fall over themselves to prove their loyalty to Kim", Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

But the North is likely to wait until the start of a massive annual military exercise the United Sates and South Korea plan in August to flex its military muscle, he said.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Dongguk Univesity said the North would ratchet up tension but it would stop short of conducting another nuclear test to avoid alienating further its main ally China.

Defying international sanctions, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a missile test, disguised as a satellite launch, in the following month.
One of the last surviving veterans of Spain`s 1936-39 civil war has died at the age of 102, his family said on Thursday.

Virgilio Pena was also a member of the French Resistance during World War II and a survivor of the Nazis` Buchenwald concentration camp.

France awarded Pena the Legion d`honneur last year for his work in schools teaching young people about the horrors of fascism.

Born in 1914 in Espejo, a village near Cordoba in southern Spain, he fought for the Republicans during the civil war, taking refuge in France after the defeat.

He later joined the French Resistance in Bordeaux but was arrested by the Nazis in 1943 and deported to Buchenwald.

After US forces liberated the camp in April 1945, he returned to southwestern France, firstly to Pau, then to Billeres, where he died.

A carpenter by trade, he worked tirelessly with young people, even holding in his last years the presidency of a body dedicated to former deportees.

Pena`s story was told in a book by French academic Jean Ortiz and in a 2007 film "Red Mirror".
Washington: Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has defended his remarks on Saddam Hussein saying that he hated him but the Iraqi dictator was "good at killing terrorists."

"I was talking about terrorism and I said Saddam Hussein is a bad man," Trump told his supporters in Ohio.

"He was really good at killing terrorists, he didn't wait around, you think he gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years?" he asked.

"He was good at one thing, he killed terrorists. I don't love Saddam Hussein, I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists," 70-year-old Trump said.

After a similar remark a day earlier, the rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump for praising a dictator.

Trump, however denied the allegations.

"I wake up, I turn on the television: Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein. He loves Saddam Hussein," Trump said, impersonating an unidentified television news anchor.

"That's not what I said. So, that's the narrative," he said.

Trump used his campaign rally in Ohio to address another controversy by saying that his campaign should not have deleted a tweet containing an image that had been posted weeks earlier on a white supremacist website and featured Hillary Clinton, USD 100 bills and a red six-point star with the text:

"Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Trump insisted that the six-point stars were just a star, even as Jewish activists and many others have denounced the image as being anti-Semitic.

"They shouldn't have taken it down. You know, they took the star down. They should have left it up. I would have rather defended it -- just leave it up. I'd say, No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star," he said and blamed the media for raking up the controversy.

"We have a crooked system, we have a rigged system, we have a dishonest press. I love talking about how dishonest they are,? he said as he called NBC host Chuck Todd "this really stupid guy," declared CNN "dishonest as hell" and labeled the press bad people.

"CNN started this dialogue going: It's the Star of David, and because it's the Star of David, Donald Trump has racist tendencies. These people are sick. I'm telling you. They're sick," he said.
Washington: The United States on Wednesday sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing 'notorious abuses of human rights', in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.

The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the U.S. jurisdiction.

"They include 10 other individuals besides Kim and five government ministries and departments", the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement.

North Korea`s leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible.

A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea.

It had to address the role of Kim Jong Un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.

Kim Jong Un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea.

"Many of the abuses are in North Korea`s prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children", the report said.

The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People`s Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.

Senior U.S administration officials said that the new sanctions showed the administration`s greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington`s efforts to halt Pyongyang`s nuclear program.

The report was 'the most comprehensive' to date on individual North Korean officials` roles in forced labour and repression.

They said that the sanctions would be partly 'symbolic' but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries 'think twice' before engaging in abuses.

"It lifts the anonymity," a senior administration official told reporters.

The North Korea mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

South Korea, which has imposed its own sanctions against the North that cut off all political and commercial ties, welcomed the move and said that it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.

Using sanctions against a head of state is not unprecedented. In 2011, the United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their role in Syria`s violence.

Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was also sanctioned.

"Policymakers often worry that targeting a country`s leader will destroy any lingering chance of rapprochement", say former diplomats.

"It is a sign 'there probably isn`t much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution" said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser in the U.S. Treasury`s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

"The new sanctions join a long list of measures that have had little effect in pressuring North Korean leaders to change", experts who study the North`s political system said.

"The sanctions from today will do nothing whatsoever to alter North Korea`s strategic calculus and only underscore their thinking that the U.S. has a `hostile policy` against their country," said Michael Madden an expert on the North Korean leadership.

"Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic. There will be numerous official and state media denunciations which will target the U.S. and Seoul and the wording will be vituperative and blistering," he said.

Peter Harrell, a former State Department sanctions official, said that the measures would signal to companies in China as well as others doing business with North Korea that the U.S. would continue escalating sanctions.

Harrell added that it was unlikely that any assets would be blocked, however "given the realities of where Kim Jong Un and his cronies likely hide their assets."

In March, the U.N. Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear and missile tests.

That same month, Obama imposed new sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a rocket launch that Washington and its allies said employed banned ballistic missile technology.

Those steps froze any property of the North Korean government in the U.S. and essentially prohibited exports of goods from the U.S. to North Korea.

"The United States has maintained sanctions and pressure against the North for 65 years since the Korean War, but there`s not been a single case where the intended result was accomplished," said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

"How much time is left in the Obama administration? There may be the wish to prove the policy of `strategic patience` against the North has not failed, but when it comes to practical results, there won`t be much to show," Yang said.
District of Columbia: A video of the dying moments of a black man shot by police after being pulled over while driving in the US state of Minnesota went viral on Thursday, a day after a video emerged of a similar incident in Louisiana.

Police said the man -- identified by family and activists as school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, 32 -- died late Wednesday after being pulled over while driving in the town of Falcon Heights.

The aftermath of the attack was captured by his girlfriend on her camera phone.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me he's dead, please don`t tell me my boyfriend just went like that... You shot four bullets into him, sir," the woman, identified on her Facebook page as Lavish Reynolds, is heard saying.

Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. Reynolds was sitting in the front passenger seat. Her young daughter was also traveling in the car.

The shooting took place just one day after police in Louisiana shot dead a black father of five at point-blank range, in an incident being probed by federal investigators.

In the video of the Falcon Heights killing, broadcast on Facebook Live and already viewed more than 1.7 million times, Reynolds says the car was pulled over for a broken tail light. She later says there was also marijuana in the car.

Castile had a legal license to carry a firearm and was reaching for his license and vehicle registration when police shot him, she adds.

Police said the incident was being investigated and a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Castile "was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket, and he let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm. He just shot his arm off," Reynolds says in the video.

She says the police officer, who has not yet been identified, was "Chinese."

With Castile moaning and gasping for air, the police officer pointed his gun through the car window.

"Fuck! I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up!" the officer shouted.

For much of the nearly 10-minute video, Reynolds can be heard wailing, off and on camera, as police apparently cast her phone to the side at one point and later handcuffed her, so she could not hold the phone up.

A Facebook page set up by supporters, Justice for Philando Castile, said: "Philando Castile was murdered by police on 7/6/2016. We demand justice!"In a poignant moment toward the end of the video, Reynolds`s four-year-old daughter can be heard reassuring her deeply distraught mother.

"It`s ok, mommy," says the girl sweetly. "It`s ok, I`m right here with you."

Activists said the girl, who witnessed the incident, was just four years old.
Washington: Over 100 persons on Thursday held a vigil for Alton Sterling, 37, the African-American man who was killed in Tuesday's shooting by two white police officers in Louisiana's Baton Rouge city.

The participants, including Sterling's family members,politicians and religious leaders, urged those who gathered for the vigil to stay peaceful even as their words spoke of the hurt, anger and frustration following news breaks with updates on the killing of Sterling, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sterling was selling compact discs outside a food store when he was gunned down following an altercation with two police officers on Tuesday, local media reported.

Two videos showing the shooting that killed Sterling had fuelled protests.

One of the videos released on Wednesday showed two police officers were struggling with Sterling just before he was fatally shot.

The video showed Sterling's left arm was moving slightly as an officer pulled the weapon from his right pocket. Sterling could be seen struggling as officers held him down.

Footage confirmed some of the claims made by the food store owner, who told local media that Sterling was shot several times.
YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. National Assembly RPA MP Khosrov Harutyunyan said the reactions over the agreement on forming Air Defense system between Armenia and Russia are emotional in nature. He said he didnt meet any objective interpretation over that agreement.

And the reality is just the opposite. The reality is the following: today we have an air defense system. It is the Armenian air defense system which includes the necessary capacities for ensuring the security of the air space of Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. That agreement provides new opportunities for ensuring the security of Armenias air space. Armenia receives an opportunity to use the air defense system of the Russian military base located in Armenia in case of necessity, Armenpress reports, he said to journalists on July 6.

The MP clearly stated that by this agreement Armenias military responsibility of the air defense system doesnt disappear. We will continue making decisions in case of danger by using our own, as well as the measures provided by that agreement. This is the main essence. A question is being raised whether to use this opportunity of making Armenias air space more secure? Of course, yes. Whether these additional opportunities will not increase our chances for ensuring the security of the NKRs air space by our own forces? Of course, they are increasing since we are getting a chance to put additional resources on the defense of the NKRs air space. This is the main meaning of the agreement. I think that we should move forward on being involved in such systems but maintaining our role of responsibility, the MP said.

The Armenian Parliament has ratified the agreement on forming an Armenia-Russia joint Air Defense system on June 30, 2016. 101 lawmakers voted in favor of the agreement, while 8 voted against.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in a telephone conversation on Wednesday confirmed readiness to step up coordination of Russian, US military actions in Syria, TASS reported.

The conversation took place at the Russian sides request, the Kremlin press service said.

Putin urged Obama to contribute to separation of moderate Syrian opposition from extremists.

"As the situation in Syria was discussed, Putin called his interlocutors attention to the need to dissociate moderate Syrian opposition from the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group and other extremists to whom the ceasefire regime does not spread as early as possible. Both sides confirmed readiness to build up military coordination of Russian and American actions in Syria and stressed the importance to resume the U.N.-brokered inter-Syrian dialogue with an aim to reach the conflicts political settlement," the Kremlin said.



According to the Kremlin, Putin told Obama that Kiev should strictly implement the Minsk Agreements.

"When discussing Ukrainian issues, the president of Russia again pointed to the importance of strict implementation by Kiev of the Minsk Agreements of February 12, 2015, including organization of real direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, the holding of amnesty, the granting of a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics, and joint development of the law on local elections," the statement said.



The Kremlin went on to say that Putin informed Obama on the June 20 meeting in St Petersburg on peace settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The trilateral meeting brought together Putin, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev.

"Putin said that Russia had proceeded from the importance of assistance to an earliest possible stabilization in the zone of conflict and facilitation of the peace process while organizing the St Petersburg talks," it said.

The Kremlin added Obama praises Russia's effort on Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

The White House said Obama expressed his readiness to intensify efforts together with Russia and with France, as co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.








YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. The United States and Georgia have signed a memorandum on deepening the defense and security cooperation, the US Department of State said in a press release on July 6, reports Sputnik News.

"The United States intends to reinforce existing assistance mechanisms to strengthen Georgias self-defense capacity against potential threats," the release stated. "The United States and Georgia intend to increase military cooperation.[and] to strengthen information sharing."

The State Department said the United States will enhance existing assistance mechanisms, and will provide Georgia with defense articles, training and technical personnel.

In addition, Washington will work with Tbilisi on improving cybersecurity, and the two countries will arrange joint military exercises.

The United States and Georgia signed the memorandum on military cooperation during the visit of the US Secretary of State John Kerry to Tbilisi on July 6.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan signed a number of laws approved by the Parliament on July 7, the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

The laws concerned amendments in the Civil Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Criminal Code, the Compulsory Enforcement Service of Judicial Acts, the State registration on property rights, the Use of the cash register machines, the Trade and services, the Protection of consumer rights.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. On July 7 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Greece to Armenia Ioannis Taghis whose diplomatic mission comes to its end in our country, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress.

The Armenian President expressed gratitude to the Greek Ambassador for his input on the strengthening of the Armenian-Greek traditional friendly relations which contributed to the expansion of the interstate cooperation in different sectors of mutual interest.

President Sargsyan said the Armenian leadership, as well as the Armenian people highly appreciate the progress achieved in the bilateral relations during the Greek Ambassadors tenure and his efforts towards that path.

Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope the next Greek Ambassador to Armenia will continue developing the relations between the two friendly states and people with the same dedication. He stated that he appointed the new Ambassador of Armenia to Greece with the same expectations and instructions.

Ioannis Taghis expressed gratitude to the Armenian President for appreciating his works in Armenia, for the warm words and the assistance provided during his tenure.

He said over the past four years he has always received a positive attitude in Armenia, and he is very grateful for that.

The Greek Ambassador ensured that he will continue keeping the warm memories and our country in his heart, and will remain a friend of Armenia and the Armenian people.
TBILISI, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the OSCE South Caucasus Media Conference held in Tbilisi, the public sector representatives of the Armenian delegation expressed their dissatisfaction with the passive stance of the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media towards the destructive policy of Azerbaijan.

During the discussions the representatives of the Armenian delegation proposed to condemn the vicious practice of the so-called blacklists for reporters, which serves as a basis for rejecting entry-visas to some countries and hindering the normal work of the reporters, considered personae-non-gratae due to ethnic and professional reasons. However, after a 20-minute discussion that almost led to a consensual solution, this issue was not reflected in the final advisory declaration due to the contradictory positions of Azerbaijani officials. Its worth mentioning, that the member of the Azerbaijani delegation representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, agreed that the existence of the blacklists is a vicious phenomenon, while justifying its existence on the internal legislation of Azerbaijan; afterwards, he claimed that the existence of the blacklists derives from the intention to prevent illegal visits to his country.

Andrei Richter, Senior Advisor to the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic, initially praised the proposal of the Armenian side and underlined the importance of the issue; nonetheless, he did not include the issue in the final document allegedly due to lack of consensus. The representatives of the Armenian delegation noted that the adoption of such equating document, which does not reflect the current situation in the region and only briefly considers the challenges in each of the countries, cannot be efficient.

After all, we are again affected by the regressive ambitions of Azerbaijan, ranking in the bottom of international indexes, and we principally cannot endorse such stance, said H. Nikoghosyan, member of the Armenian delegation.

The representatives of public sector of Armenia did not take part in the adoption of the final document.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. National Assembly RPA faction MP Hayk Babukhanyan says a very serious global process is taking place where the Nagorno Karabakh issue became one of the most important links in the policies of the superpowers.

A very serious global process is taking place which relates to the Karabakh, Syria and the South-East Asian Islands issues. The Presidents of the worlds superpowers have started frequently discussing the Nagorno Karabakh settlement issue and give comprehensive solutions to it, Armenpress reports, he said to journalists.

The MP said the comprehensive settlement of the conflict is a necessity where the right to national self-determination and the peaceful settlement of the conflict must be principled.

We are interested in the peaceful settlement, however, we must also be interested in the negotiations in order to give a final solution to the conflict. We will be able to solve our national issues if we behave in a right way and use this favorable moment. In other words, we will be able to ensure peoples security and will make Nagorno Karabakhs right to self-determination as a priority, Hayk Babukhanyan said.






YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan says the Armenian Government is engaged in an ongoing policy of making Armenia more attractive for the business. Armenia has declared and consistently implements the open doors policy by applying almost no restrictions on the investment activities, Armenpress reports, he said in Business prospects, obstacles and opportunities in Armenia business-forum organized by the European Business Association.

He said this policy aims to provide equal conditions for all in order for the foreign companies to feel comfortable and safe in our country. We highly appreciate such kind of events, the presence of the business community and the economic policy makers in this event enables to predict that an active discussion will be held over the issues of our concern, he said.

The Prime Minister highlighted that Armenia can serve a bridge between the EAEU and the EU states, since it is a member of the EAEU, and also it has the opportunity to benefit from the GSP+ privileged regime in trade with the EU states. We have a similar privileged regime with Canada, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland. Another opportunity is the framework agreement on Trade and Investments between the Governments of Armenia and the US, which creates favorable conditions for the promotion of investments and product turnover, the Prime Minister said.

Hovik Abrahamyan also said they offer wide range of privileges to investors whose investments will contribute to the creation of new jobs.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on June 7 the USD exchange rate was 476.93 AMD. It remained the same compared to the previous day.

Armenpress reports that the Euro increased by 1.53 drams forming 528.92 drams. British pound increased by 2.24 drams forming 619.77 drams, Russian ruble rose by 0.07 drams reaching to 7.45 drams on July 7.

The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 313.27 AMD, gold-20,949.6 AMD, and platinum-16,407.01 AMD.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is well-known for its trade and entrepreneurial skills, it exists in the genetic code of Armenians, the implementation of which requires favorable environment and legislature, Armenpress reports head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski said on July 7 during a conference headlined Prospects, obstacles and opportunities for business in Armenia. He expressed gratitude to the Armenian PM for attending the forum, mentioning that his presence displays the Governments firmness to create favorable business environment. There is one common goal uniting all of us, which is to have more European partners who will engage in trade and invest in Armenia. We will be able to open a new page during the upcoming months based on the cooperation between the business community in Armenia and the European Business Association, Switalski said.

Referring to the problems facing the global economy, the EU Ambassador noted that ensuring economic growth is a major challenge for many states, including the EAEU and EU member states. I hope we will be able to take advantage of Armenias added value: Armenia is a natural bridge and Armenians know how to build bridges connecting other cultures and remote areas, Piotr Switalski said.

He also added that now its a very important stage of cooperation between Armenia and the EU. The environment is very favorable for European businessmen and we appreciate those efforts. Now we have to transform that environment into trade and investment relations, Piotr Switalski concluded.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. Preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on the incident that took place at the entrance of the yard of the Armenian second President Robert Qocharyans detached house is completed in General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases.

Through preliminary investigation sufficient data were obtained on the allegation that on April 15, 2016 at about 18:25 32 year-old Hovhannes Muradyan drove in a car registered in his fathers name to the main entrance of the yard of the second President of Armenia Robert Qocharyans detached house and threw a training grenade towards the security post disrupting the work of state security officers.

Besides, through inspection, conducted on April 18 in H. Muradyans apartment in the order defined by law, drug of tetrahydrokannabinol type in significant amount was found in his personal items and confiscated.

On the base of the obtained evidence on April 20 charge was pressed against H. Muradyan according to the Part 1 of the Article 258 and the Part 1 of the Article 268 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.

As "Armenpress" was informed from the press service of the Investigative Committee of Armenia, during preliminary investigation a writ was received from Avan Mental Health Center CJSC of the Ministry of Health of Armenia informing that Hovhannes Muradyan has been registered in the center with diagnosis of Schizophrenia, paranoid form since 19.09.2014.



Stationery psychiatric examination was commissioned against him by the investigator the implementation of which was tasked to experts of department of stationery forensic psychiatric examination of Nubarashen psychiatric hospital of the Ministry of Health.

According to the conclusion N 34 H. Muradyan should be found irresponsible for the incriminated act, while committing the offence, he could not, as well as currently he cannot realize the danger of his actions, control them. He cannot participate in judicial actions in his current mental state, he is socially dangerous for himself, as well as for others, he needs compulsory treatment in psychiatric ward of special supervision.

On the base of the obtained evidence the investigator made a decision to send the criminal case to court to use compulsory medical measures against the person who had committed actions forbidden by the Armenian Criminal Code in the state of insanity.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan introduced the results of his meeting with the Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov during RPA Executive Body meeting, RPA spokesperson and Vice-President of the Armenian parliament Eduard Sharmazanov told the reporters after the meeting. You are aware that the Foreign ministers of the CSTO member states have issues a statement in support of the Republic of Armenia. They reconfirm that the right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno Karabakh has no alternative, the Minsk Group format is not subject of changes and the agreements reached at Vienna and ST.l Petersburg meetings must be implemented. You also know that during the Vienna meeting of the Presidents an agreement was reached over the installation of investigative mechanisms, Armenpress reports Sharmazanov mentioning. He added that the CSTO Foreign Ministers support Armenia and show Azerbaijan that their official positions are in confrontation with Baku at least over these 3 points.

The National Assembly Vice Speaker added that this announcement shows that the official position of the CSTO member states does not go in line with the position of Azerbaijan. In his words, this is a result of flexible and also strict policy conducted by the Armenian president. We saw that Kazakhstan, that in some cases has supported Azerbaijan, and the other CSTO member states supported Armenia, Sharmazanov said.
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020.

* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018.

* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

* Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010.

* Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010.

* Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010.

* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.
CETA  the "Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement" is a secretly negotiated deal between Canada and the EU, mirroring many of the most controversial provisions in notorious deals like ACTA, TPP, and TTIP  including the "corporate sovereignty" clauses that permit multinational corporations to sue governments in closed courts, and force them to repeal environmental, labour and safety rules (albeit dressed up in new clothes that make the provisions appear different, without making any real difference).

After June's Brexit vote, the European Commission  justly famed as the most undemocratic, high-handed part of the EU  tried to use the chaos of the UK's impending departure for cover while ramming through CETA ratification. Under the Commission's plan, the EU member-states wouldn't get a chance to debate CETA's provisions in their own parliaments  instead, it would be whipped through the European Parliament and handed down as an edict to the member states, who'd have to amend their national laws and suck it up.

It's hard to imagine a more tone-deaf, idiotic response to Brexit. The Leave campaigners accused the Commission of being an autocratic, unresponsive, undemocratic institution that bullied member states without any accountability. The Commission's rebuttal? An autocratic, unresponsive, undemocratic act of bullying that would have sweeping effects on the states' most fundamental laws, to the detriment of hundreds of millions of people and the benefit of a handful of super-wealthy executives and investors.

Thankfully, the negative publicity from this gambit overwhelmed even the Commission's arrogance and killed the fast-track. The resulting "humiliating climbdown" bodes poorly for CETA's future, not to mention TTIP. As both left- and right-wing campaigners on both sides of the Atlantic have started fighting against these so-called "trade" agreements, they're beginning to crumble.

And Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden declared: "It's testament to the strength of the campaign we have built across Europe against CETA and its U.S. cousin TTIP, that the Commission has been forced to backtrack and allow national parliaments a vote on CETA." Still, Dearden warned, "this isn't the end of the story. CETA has been slowed down, but the British government has been pushing for so-called 'provisional implementation' of CETAwhich would mean bringing CETA into force now, with the idea that it can be voted on by parliaments at some future, unspecified date. That is clearly not acceptable, and we must stop the British government foisting this toxic deal on us before a vote can be held." Pushing for provisional implementation, he said, would merely reinforce "the widely-held suspicion that the EU makes big decisions with harmful consequences for ordinary people with very little in the way of democratic process." In a joint statement on Tuesday, Friends of the Earth Europe, the European Public Services Union, and the European Anti-Poverty Network added their voices to the mix, calling on national parliaments to reject CETA outright. Passing the deal, said Sergio Aires, president of the European Anti-Poverty Network, would "be a very dangerous precedent for TTIP."

Growing Opposition Forces EU into 'Humiliating Climbdown' on CETA

Deirdre Fulton/Common Dreams]

Desperately Trying to Salvage Canada-EU Trade Pact after Brexit, EU Escalates Assault on Democracy

[Don Quijones/Wolf Street]





(via Naked Capitalism)

(Image: Food Watch, STOP TTIP CETA 10/10/2015 Belin, Jensbest, CC-BY-SA)
(L) John Leech, CEO of ASTTBC and (R) Bryan Tisdall, outgoing President and CEO of Science World British Columbia signing Letter of Intent to Collaborate on June 29th at Science World.Click here for high-resolution version

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - On Wednesday, June 29, Bryan Tisdall, outgoing President and CEO of Science World British Columbia, and John Leech, CEO of ASTTBC, formalized a Letter of Intent to Collaborate. This collaboration between ASTTBC and Science World will deliver innovative community outreach activities across the province to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday in 2017.

Building on the Canada-wide celebration of innovation, ASTTBC and Science World will jointly develop and deliver innovative educational resources and community outreach activities. From January to June 2017, the partners will visit communities throughout BC, highlighting local community innovation and leaving a meaningful and lasting impact across the Province.

"Science World is pleased and proud to be expanding our outreach in a celebration of innovation as part of the Canada 150 festivities," said Bryan Tisdall. "Together with ASTTBC and its members across the Province, we will work to profile innovative science and technology that lives in local communities."

"Exciting minds, both young and old, of the wonders of science and technology is one of the services a self-regulating body like ASTTBC can provide to the people of British Columbia," said John Leech. "Enhancing awareness of how science is at work in everyday life is a hallmark of Science World. Our two organizations collaborating on this Canada 150th initiative is a natural fit."

About Science World

Science World British Columbia is a charitable organization that engages British Columbians in science and inspires future science and technology leadership throughout our province.

About ASTTBC

Established in 1958, the Applied Science Technologists & Technicians of British Columbia is the voice of Technology Professionals in the province. ASTTBC is focused on achieving professional recognition for technologists, technicians and technical specialists. The Association's mission is to serve the public by regulating and supporting Technology Professionals' commitment to a safe, healthy and sustainable society and environment.

For more information, http://www.asttbc.org

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/7/11G105669/Images/IMG_9555-7d99687fcebab56588c3325cffc1074b.jpg


Toronto Sun and National Post newspapers are posed in front of a news stand in Toronto, October 6, 2014. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO (Reuters) - Postmedia Network Canada Corp (PNCa.TO), the country's biggest newspaper publisher, will give creditors nearly all of its equity in a restructuring deal that would almost halve its heavy debt load, the company said on Thursday.

The deal will reduce its debt by C$307 million ($236 million) and cut around C$50 million from its annual cash interest payments, the company said.

"The outcome we announced today represents the best way forward for Postmedia," said company Chairman Rod Phillips, who headed the special committee that oversaw the process.

Postmedia launched a strategic review in April, looking to sell assets and restructure its heavy debt load as it struggles with falling print advertising revenue.

It owns the National Post, Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen and Sun tabloids in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

The company said it had reduced its first-lien obligations to C$225 million and extended them by around four years to July 2021. It exchanged second-lien notes for 98 percent of existing equity, meaning shareholders' total stake will be reduced to 2 percent.

Postmedia also secured C$110 million of new second-lien debt priced in U.S. dollars, due in mid-2023, that offers no cash interest for three years.

It expects to complete the transaction by September.

Phillips said the deal is supported by 80 percent of debtholders and 75 percent of shareholders.

One notable absence from the deal was Postmedia's largest shareholder, GoldenTree Asset Management LP, which a Wall Street Journal report in March said was looking at selling its stake.

"They're not involved at all," Postmedia Chief Executive Godfrey said on a call.

Postmedia signed support deals with its biggest investors, including first-lien holder Canso Investment Counsel Inc.

Godfrey said the company would not consider selling any media assets, and that new investments would be focused on online publishing.

Story continues

Postmedia posted a loss of C$23.7 million in the three months to the end of May, compared with a loss of C$140.8 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 6.4 percent to C$218.3 million, although it would have fallen 12.9 percent without the contribution of Sun Media assets acquired in a deal that closed earlier this year.

The company will maintain separate voting shares for Canadian investors and non-voting ones for foreigners that allow it to receive the favorable tax treatment afforded to Canadian publishers.

(Additional reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Richard Chang)
When Tania Wittensleger visited Morocco, the hotel she stayed in was so bad and riddled with bed bugs that she and her partner checked out early.

So she was astounded when a week later she received an email thanking her for the positive review she had posted online.

Miss Wittensleger then realised that the hotel owner had hacked into her Booking.com account to post the glowing review.

She had used the website to find and book the Palais El Yazid hotel in Fes, for a three-night stay in May, and had been swayed by favourable reviews, one of which read: All in all a very good hotel. Lovely staff  that is keen on fulfilling even special requests.

But the reality was nothing of the sort and the couple cut short their stay and returned to Melbourne, where they lived.

On her return home, Miss Wittensleger was was sent an email from Booking.com thanking her for her review of the hotel.

The review apparently left by the disgruntled guest

The website only lets verified hotel guests to review their trips so Ms Wittensleger was not sure how this had happened  until she remembered that a manager at the hotel had photographed her confirmation email.

She then realised that her PIN and booking reference, which were in the email, had been used to log in to her account and write the glowing review.

Miss Wittensleger took to Facebook to reveal she was 'absolutely disgusted at the hotels behaviour  and that she was pretty sure she was not the first to have been caught out by them.

She wrote: 'The [review] was clearly not written by me and when I went back and read other reviews which helped me in my own selection, I realised that they sounded a lot like my forged review.

Miss Wittensleger sets the record straight



She then posted a real review, which said: 'Unfortunately our experience at Palais El Yazid ended on such a low note and continued after we left.

'Please be careful not to let him [the manager] take a picture of your booking.com reference or he will write a fake review on your behalf as he did with us.

Story continues

Given our experience and Abdouls behaviour I would definitely not recommend this place.

A Booking.com spokesman said: 'The manager at the accommodation did indeed break the rules by photographing Ms Wittenslegers booking confirmation and subsequently using the information collected, including the reservation ID and PIN code, to fraudulently leave a review on her behalf.

The couple cut short their visit to Fes

The hotel has been suspended from Booking.com through the investigation.

An investigation by Money Saving Expert found some other reviews of the hotel it described as 'unusually extravagent and noted they had since been removed by Booking.com.

One raved that 'breakfast was delicious and had been served by one staff member who was 'phlegmatic and sympathetic and another who was an 'easygoing and trustworthy polyglot.

Another enthused about a staff member who was 'beyond helpful. He is witty, funny, wants to make sure you have a great time and has a very good heart () we truly found another brother from a different mother.

The Association of British Travel Agents said: 'Members of the public have become increasingly reliant on customer reviews when choosing their holiday arrangements and it is incredibly important that they should be able to trust these reviews.

'ABTA would expect that travel companies should have adequate procedures in place to prevent false posts and take immediate action when they have evidence that abuse is taking place.

The owner of the Palais El Yazid told Money Saving Expert that he had been out of the country and blamed the issues on those managing the hotel in his absence.

He added: 'I assure you it will never happen again.

Pictures from Rex and Booking.com




The "Own Name" defence has proved a challenging issue across jurisdictions. An interesting approach to the issue was recently taken in Singapore,as reported by Kat friend Aaron Thng of Amica Law."The Own Name defence to trade mark infringement recently received considerable attention in Europe in the aftermath of the European Commission curtailing its availability in respect of non-natural persons. Specifically, as a result of EU Regulation 2015/2424 , which came into force on 23 March 2016, only natural persons (i.e. human beings) can invoke the Own Name defence in the EU. Companies and businesses will no longer be able to do so. Previously, companies could invoke it as a defence to trade mark infringement, like ASOS plc did, with much success, in Assos of Switzerland SA v ASOS plc [2015] EWCA Civ 220 In the case of The Audience Motivation Company Asia Pte Ltd v AMC Live Group China (S) Pte Ltd [2016] SGCA 25 , between The Audience Motivation Company Asia Pte Ltd (the Plaintiff) and AMC Live Group China (S) Pte Ltd (the Defendant), Singapore's apex Court of Appeal addressed this very issue in the context of an action for trademark infringement of, amongst others, the "amc! Asia" (stylized) trade mark. The allegations referred to the Defendant's use in Singapore of several trade marks, all of which contained the word amc (the Defendants Marks).The Defendant raised the Own Name defence, asserting that the amc element in the Defendants Marks could also be found in its own company name, AMC Live Group China (S) Pte Ltd. In contra-distinction with the position in the EU, the Court confirmed that, in Singapore, the defence is indeed available to a corporation in relation to the corporations use of its own name. Indeed, the Court did not just make the defence available in respect of a corporations legal name, but also applied it to a corporation's trading name, which is a name that is sometimes used by corporations to carry out their business which may differ from its registered name.For example, the Eastman Kodak Company is more commonly known by its trading name, Kodak. In one sense, the Court noted that use of a name by a corporation is not any different from the applicability of the defence to natural persons, whereby an individual would technically be able to invoke the defence in relation to an adopted name by which he or she is known, such as an actors stage name or a writers nom de plume.The Court, however, recognized the potential for abuse, since corporate names are artificial creations that can be adopted and changed at will. Nevertheless, according to the Court, any potential for abuse could be effectively policed through a diligent application of the honest practices proviso found in section 28(1) of the Singapore Trade Marks Act. This proviso required that the use of ones own name first be in accordance with honest practices in industrial and commercial matters before the defence can be made out.Therefore, rather than following the EU and curtailing the availability of the Own Name defence in respect of corporations, the court in Singapore let the honest practices proviso to do most of the heavy lifting when it came to weeding out undeserving defendants. Having regard to the enhanced role of the "honest practices" defense, the Court in this case required that a defendant be also subjectively honest in his use of his own name, despite the express wording of the section, honest practices in industrial and commercial matters, pointing more towards an objective assessment (at paragraph 56). The Court reasoned, at paragraph 57 of the Grounds of Decision , that it cannot lie in the mouth of a defendant to say that his acts were in accordance with honest practices if those acts were in fact motivated by a lack of bona fides.In this case, the Defendants invocation of the Own Name defence failed. The Court found that the Defendants China-based affiliates had represented themselves as a Singaporean events-management company known as amc well before the Defendant had been incorporated in Singapore, and at a time when the Plaintiff was the only Singaporean company engaged in the events-management scene going by the name amc. While they were presenting themselves as amc, the Defendants affiliates had organized corporate events in Singapore, which were comparable to, and in direct competition with, similar services offered by the Plaintiff, prior to their incorporation of any company under the name amc.To the Court, this was strongly suggestive of an active misrepresentation by the Defendants affiliates that it was connected to the Plaintiff, a misrepresentation that the affiliates had continued to perpetuate when they subsequently established the Defendant, which adopted amc as part of its legal name. The Court therefore found that the Defendant had failed to discharge its burden of proving that its use of the amc name as well as the Defendants Marks had been honestly and independently conceived, and in accordance with honest practices. The Defendant was therefore liable for trade mark infringement."
By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - A 92-year-old man who has confessed to being a former member of a Nazi death squad won a court victory on Thursday against Canada, boosting his chances of staying in the country that has been trying to revoke his citizenship for two decades. The Supreme Court declined to hear the government's appeal of a lower court decision in favor of Helmut Oberlander, who says he was forced to act as a translator for the squad and never took part in atrocities. Oberlander emigrated to Canada in 1954 and became a citizen in 1960 but did not reveal his wartime record. The Canadian government, which banned those who took part in war crimes, has revoked his citizenship three times since 1995 but had the decision overturned each time on appeal. Ronald Poulton, a lawyer for Oberlander, said he was pleased by the Supreme Court's move. "It's taken a great toll on his family. Over and over again the courts have exonerated him," he said in a phone interview. "It's been tiring and difficult and unnecessary and now the Supreme Court - the highest court - has told the government that's enough." Oberlander says he was conscripted as a 17-year-old to interpret for one of the Nazis' Einsatzkommando mobile killing squads which murdered a total of more than 2 million people in eastern Europe, most of them Jews. Shimon Fogel, head of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said Oberlander had "lied about his complicity in these atrocities and gained Canadian citizenship fraudulently ... he should be deported without further delay". Time is running out to bring to justice to those who took part in the Nazi Holocaust, which had more than 6 million victims. A 94-year-old former guard at the Auschwitz camp was sentenced to jail in Germany last month by a judge who branded him a "willing and efficient henchman" in the Holocaust. Although Oberlander concealed his wartime service, Poulton said this should not be cause for him to lose his citizenship after living for 50 years in Canada, especially since he had neither committed nor been complicit in war crimes. Poulton said Ottawa had never moved to deport Oberlander, since it could only do so once his citizenship had been irrevocably revoked. No one was available for comment at the federal immigration ministry, which filed the request for appeal that the Supreme Court rejected. (Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by W Simon and David Gregorio)
With hundreds of scientists furious about changes to the way their research is funded, Health Minister Jane Philpott has ordered the federal funding agency to hold an emergency meeting.

"I have noted with growing concern the views that have been expressed within the health research community about changes being implemented at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)," Philpott said in a message to Canada's health research community.

Peer reviewers revolt

The health minister called for the meeting after what amounted to a peer revolt among Canada's health researchers.

Last week, more than 1,200 scientists, including some of the country's most prominent researchers, signed an open letter expressing alarm at the chaos that had erupted during the latest round of science funding.

Philpott had strong words for the CIHR, which is an agency of Health Canada.

"I expect CIHR to ensure that the very best health research across all pillars is funded according to the highest international standards of research excellence," she said in the statement posted on the ministry's website.

So next week, CIHR officials will meet with an invited group of scientists to talk about what went wrong with the new online system.

"It's very welcome and indicates the minister recognizes there is a significant problem. Twelve-hundred and fifty scientists aren't usually wrong," said Jim Woodgett, director of research at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and author of the open letter.

Scientists tweeted about the chaos as it unfolded over the last two weeks. Reviews were not submitted, reviewers didn't participate in the online discussion, and some scientists said they didn't have the expertise to properly evaluate the proposed experiments.

Reviews still missing after deadline

Also, the new computer system that was supposed to match reviewers with grants in their areas of expertise wasn't working properly.

Story continues

The process was especially chaotic because this was the largest grant competition in the CIHR's history. More than 3,800 applications were submitted from 3,000 scientists, a pent-up demand for research funding created because two previous grant competitions were cancelled, as part of the reforms.

Lisa Porter, a cancer researcher from the University of Windsor in Ontario, chaired one of the virtual committees. She was still missing reviews when the deadline closed. She would like the CIHR to resume the face-to-face peer review process, and slowly implement changes.

"To me that would be the most reasonable way to restore balance to the system," she said.

"Urgency is important," said Woodgett. "It's critical that changes in response to the mess we're in right now are made before the next competition. Otherwise, that would really twist the blade. But I don't know how much they're willing to change."

Meanwhile, scientists are anxiously waiting for the results of the current competition, expected on July 15. Most will be disappointed.

"We only fund the top 10 to 15 per cent of research," said Woodgett. "A lot of really good research is not going to get funded."

The CIHR had received a series of warnings from scientists, and university presidents, about its plans to reform the peer review system. The original system involved face-to-face panels of reviewers, meeting in more than 50 different peer review committees, a process used by most of the world's scientific funding agencies.
THURSDAY, July 7, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A blood test that detects bits of DNA shed from colon cancers may someday help doctors predict a relapse, researchers report.

This "liquid biopsy" predicted -- with imperfect accuracy -- the return of colon cancer in patients with early forms of the disease, the team said.

"Although this and other DNA-based blood tests are not perfect, this study shows that when we find tumor DNA circulating in the blood of cancer patients, recurrence is very likely," said study co-author Nickolas Papadopoulos. He is professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

As the researchers explained, stage 2 colon tumors generally have not yet spread to other organs in the body. This makes it tough to determine which patients stand to benefit from chemotherapy after their surgery.

"Some of these [stage 2] cancers will recur, and we need to improve our diagnostic approaches to detect recurrence earlier than it can be found with current, conventional methods," Dr. Bert Vogelstein, co-director of the Ludwig Center at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, said in a hospital news release.

A test that could spot patients with a high chance of cancer recurrence would help with those decisions, the researchers said.

In the study, investigators at Johns Hopkins and the University of Melbourne followed 230 patients with stage 2 colon cancer treated at 13 hospitals in Australia for four years.

The researchers collected more than 1,000 blood samples from the participants before and after surgery, and also performed genetic analysis of tissue samples derived from the patients' tumors.

During the study, cancer-related mutations in each blood sample were monitored using DNA tests. Patients also underwent a CT scan of their entire body every six months after surgery for two years, looking for tumor recurrence.

Among the 230 patients, 20 did show telltale cancer-linked DNA fragments in their blood, the study authors reported.

Of these 20 patients, six went on to receive additional chemotherapy, and three of those six did experience a cancer recurrence.

Of the 14 who did not undergo additional chemotherapy, 11 developed a recurrence of their tumor, detected on a CT scan, according to the report.

The test was not perfect: The researchers noted that another 14 patients experienced cancer recurrences, even though their blood tests did not detect cancer-linked DNA.

Good methods to predict patients' risk for cancer recurrence are needed, the researchers said, and labs around the world are working to develop DNA-based tests. However, at the present time there are no such tests for cancer approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Cost could be an issue, too: According to the study authors, it's estimated that, if approved, these blood tests would cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and it's unclear if insurance companies would reimburse the cost.

Two colon cancer experts agreed that the new study is promising, but more research is needed.

"This study is an important first step, but it remains a first step of a likely long road ahead to perfect this technology to the point where it can be clinically useful and affordable to our health system," said Dr. David Bernstein, chief of hepatology at Northwell Health in Manhasset, N.Y.

Dr. David Rivadeneira directs colon and rectal surgery at Huntington Hospital in Huntington, N.Y. He agreed that although the new findings are "encouraging . . . it is still early in the process and is not to be considered standard of care."

The study was published July 6 in Science Translational Medicine.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about colon cancer detection.
Maryam Rajavi is a devout Muslim woman who is the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and so a leading figure in the Iranian Resistance. She has a ten-point plan for a free and democratic Iran which includes a secular government, the abolition of capital punishment and the end to nuclear weapons testing.

Maryam Rajavi

Maryam Rajavi rejects the discrimination of women and believes that gender equality is essential to progress in a modern society which is why she champions the equal participation of women in leadership in the government and private sector.

Her commitment to a change in the misogynous regime is what led Maryam Rajavi to appoint women of the resistance movement to crucial positions with major responsibilities. Not only has Maryam Rajavi been able to appoint talented and intelligent women to positions of power but shes inspired a generation of young women who neednt have the options limited because of their gender.

This just and equal movement proves that anyone can exercise their talents and abilities once they have been given an equal right to education and participation.

For more than thirty years, Maryam Rajavi has led the opposition to the tyrannical regime, preferring a tolerant interpretation of Islam which unifies, rather than divides, the middle east. She calls for democratic nations to come together to fight the threat of terrorism which stems from the mullahs regime, as the threat is not only to the middle east but the world as a whole.

In a piece written for Iran Focus, Elaheh Azimfar, the NCRIs representative for international organizations said: Maryam Rajavi is recognized for her strength, resolve, and leadership qualities. Maryam Rajavi is admired for her tireless leadership and struggle against the ruthless mullahs of Iran. Maryam Rajavi has demonstrated amazing strength in the face of numerous difficulties facing her movement.

Azimfar continues: Maryam Rajavis motto is we can and we must. Maryam Rajavi believes that by being realistic, devoting enough energy and time to any task, human beings can decide their own fate and break through any impasse. That is how Maryam Rajavi has succeeded in leading her movement through a tortuous path over the years, towards imminent victory.

Iranians know the Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance forces are the keys to regime change which will ensure human rights and a democratic, more peaceful Iran.

The Free Iran rally will take place this Saturday, June 9, in Le Bourget, Paris.
WEST HAVEN, Conn., July 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Watson Inc. received an award for workplace safety from workers' compensation specialist The MEMIC Group. Only nine other employers, out of more than 20,000 MEMIC policyholders, were honored during the MEMIC Annual Meeting of the Policyholders with a recognition award for outstanding safety performance.

Watson Inc. is a third generation family-owned company and leader in developing quality products and ingredient systems for the food and supplement industries with expertise in microencapsulation, agglomeration, micronizing, spray drying, and film technology. "One of the reasons we exist," says President James Watson, "is to provide a better life and opportunities for our people and the families of people that work here, and part of that is providing a safe work environment. So safety is very important to us."

"We are like a family so we look out for each other," says Ronald Chiles, an operator at Watson Food. "You wouldn't want one of your family members to get hurt, so we make sure everyone works safe."

The other workplace safety award winners honored at the Portland Museum of Art during MEMIC's Annual Meeting on Monday, June 13 include:

First National Bank of Damariscotta, Maine

Giovanni Food Co., Inc. of Syracuse, New York

Good Shepherd Food Bank of Auburn, Maine

InterMed, P.A. of Portland, Maine

Lumbra Hardwoods, Inc. of Milo, Maine

Ridgewood Estates, LLC of Madawaska, Maine

St. Paul's School of Concord, New Hampshire

Ultrafab, Inc. of Farmington, New York

WWRD US, LLC of Wall Township, New Jersey

Click here to watch videos of Watson Inc. and the other MEMIC safety award winners.

###

About MEMIC

The MEMIC Group includes MEMIC Indemnity Company, MEMIC Casualty Company, and parent company Maine Employers' Mutual Insurance Company; all rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best. As a super-regional workers' compensation specialty insurer, The MEMIC Group holds licenses to write workers' compensation in 46 states plus the District of Columbia. The group insures more than 20,000 employers and their estimated 300,000 employees, and holds more than $1 billion in assets. The group maintains offices in Manchester, NH; Glastonbury, CT; Albany, NY; Weehawken, NJ; West Conshohocken, PA; Tysons Corner, VA; and Tampa, FL; in addition to its headquarters in Portland, ME.

About Watson:

Watson is one of the highest quality suppliers of products and services geared towards enhancing human health and nutrition around the world. We are a leader in developing quality products and innovative ingredient systems for the food and supplement industries. Expertise in custom nutrient premixes, microencapsulation, agglomeration, micronizing, spray drying, and film technology allows us to develop unique formulations and products using Watson manufactured value-added ingredients. For more information on Watson, see www.watson-inc.com.

Contacts:

Watson Inc.

Moira Watson, V.P. Marketing & Communications

moira.watson@watson-inc.com

800-388-3481 or (203) 932-3000

Michael Bourque, SVP, External Affairs, MEMIC

207.791.3314 | mbourque@memic.com

Company info:

Watson Foods Co., Inc. DBA Watson Inc.

Corporate headquarters: 301 Heffernan Drive, West Haven CT 06516

CEO: James T. Watson

Website: www.watson-inc.com

Employees: 300

Editor's Note:

Videos and photos of award winner available upon request by emailing obreen@memic.com

Photos accompanying this release are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40766

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40767
French English

Valneva Announces Successful Generation of a Highly-purified Zika Vaccine Candidate Using its FDA-EMA Approved Japanese Encephalitis Platform

Lyon (France), July 7, 2016 - Valneva SE ("Valneva" or "the Company"), a leading pure play vaccine company, today announced that it successfully generated a highly purified inactivated vaccine candidate against the Zika virus (ZIKV). The candidate was developed using the same manufacturing platform as the Company's Japanese encephalitis vaccine, a vaccine which has already been approved by the American (FDA, Health Canada), European (EMA) and other regulatory agencies and is today commercialized in the US, Europe, Canada, and other territories under the tradenames IXIARO/ JESPECT.

In response to the international health emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), Valneva announced on February 2, 2016 the initiation of research work on Zika based on the Company's Japanese Encephalitis ("JE") vaccine which Valneva developed from bench to market.

The Company's JE vaccine is a Purified, Inactivated Vaccine ("PIV") based on an original technology which Valneva exclusively in-licensed from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and others.

Health authorities, including WHO, have expressed a preference for the PIV approach over other vaccine technologies, such as live attenuated approaches, in the initial target product profile for emergency use. The emergency target population is expected to be women of child-bearing age, including those who may be pregnant. There is a theoretical risk that live attenuated or replication competent viral vaccines given to pregnant women may be capable of crossing the placenta and infecting the foetus, and for this reason, live vaccines are not recommended during pregnancy.

By working on a type of vaccine that the regulatory agencies have seen and licensed before, Valneva believes that regulatory risk can be mitigated, resulting in the most efficient path to market.

Generated on the IXIARO (JESPECT) platform, Valneva's Zika vaccine candidate demonstrated excellent purity and overall had a biological, chemical and physical profile comparable to the commercially produced JE vaccine.

Given the manufacturing process proximity, Valneva's Zika vaccine candidate could be produced rapidly and at attractive costs in the clinical and commercial JE vaccine facilities.

Thomas Lingelbach, President and CEO and Franck Grimaud, Deputy CEO of Valneva, commented "We are glad that by building on our proven technology and leveraging on our strong capabilities in arthropod-borne flaviviruses, we have been able to generate a Zika vaccine candidate quickly. Valneva's existing manufacturing platform represents a unique asset that could enable rapid production of a significant number of doses for an emergency use".

Valneva was recently invited to participate to the global consultation on research related to Zika virus infection convened by WHO in Geneva and conducted discussions with WHO, BARDA and WRAIR to potentially join forces in accelerating the Zika vaccine development. Subject to regulatory approvals, Valneva could be in a position to move into clinical investigations in the coming months.

About IXIARO/JESPECT

Valneva's Japanese encephalitis vaccine is indicated for active immunization for the prevention of Japanese encephalitis for adults who travel to, or live in, endemic areas. It has received marketing approval in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Israel under the trade name IXIARO and in Australia and New Zealand where it is marketed as JESPECT. It is the only vaccine being marketed to the U.S. military for Japanese encephalitis. IXIARO is approved for use in individuals 2 months of age and older in the US and EU member states, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel. In all other licensed territories, IXIARO/JESPECT is indicated for use in persons 18 years of age and above.

About Valneva SE

Valneva is a fully integrated vaccine company that specializes in the development, manufacture and commercialization of innovative vaccines with a mission to protect people from infectious diseases through preventative medicine.

The Company seeks financial returns through focused R&D investments in promising product candidates and growing financial contributions from commercial products, striving towards financial self-sustainability.

Valneva's portfolio includes two commercial vaccines for travelers: one for the prevention of Japanese Encephalitis (IXIARO/JESPECT) and the second (DUKORAL) indicated for the prevention of cholera and, in some countries, prevention of diarrhea caused by ETEC. The Company has proprietary vaccines in development including candidates against Clostridium difficile and Lyme Borreliosis. A variety of partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies complement the Company's value proposition and include vaccines being developed using Valneva's innovative and validated technology platforms (EB66 vaccine production cell line, IC31 adjuvant).

Valneva is listed on Euronext-Paris and the Vienna stock exchange and has operations in France, Austria, Scotland, Canada and Sweden with approximately 400 employees. More information is available at www.valneva.com.

Contacts

Laetitia Bachelot-Fontaine Teresa Pinzolits

Head of Investor Relations Communications Specialist

& Corporate Communications T +43-1-206 20-1116

T +02-28-07-14-19 M +43-676-84 55 67 357

M +33 (0)6 4516 7099 communications@valneva.com

investors@valneva.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Valneva, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical trials for product candidates, the ability to manufacture, market, commercialize and achieve market acceptance for product candidates, the ability to protect intellectual property and operate the business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others, estimates for future performance and estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing. In addition, even if the actual results or development of Valneva are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, those results or developments of Valneva may not be indicative of their in the future. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "could," "should," "may," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "targets," or similar words. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the current expectations of Valneva as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In particular, the expectations of Valneva could be affected by, among other things, uncertainties involved in the development and manufacture of vaccines, unexpected clinical trial results, unexpected regulatory actions or delays, competition in general, currency fluctuations, the impact of the global and European credit crisis, and the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection. In light of these risks and uncertainties, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements made during this presentation will in fact be realized. Valneva is providing the information in these materials as of this press release, and disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
TORONTO, July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alacer Gold Corp. (Alacer or the Corporation) (TSX:ASR) and (ASX:AQG) plans to release its second quarter 2016 operating results, financial statements and the related managements discussion and analysis on Sunday, July 24, 2016 (North America) and Monday, July 25, 2016 (Australia).



Rod Antal, Alacers President and Chief Executive Officer will host a conference call on Monday, July 25, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. (North America Eastern Daylight Time) and Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at 7:00 a.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time).

You may listen to the call via webcast at http://services.choruscall.ca/links/alacer20160725.html. The conference call presentation will also be available at the link provided prior to the call commencing.

You may participate in the conference call by dialing:

1-800-319-4610 for U.S. and Canada 1-800-423-528 for Australia 800-930-470 for Hong Kong 800-101-2425 for Singapore 0808-101-2791 for United Kingdom 1-604-638-5340 for International Alacer Gold Call Conference ID

If you are unable to participate in the call, a webcast will be archived until October 25, 2016 and a recording of the call will be available on Alacers website at www.AlacerGold.com or through replay until Monday, September 5, 2016 by using passcode 00631# and calling:

1-855-669-9658 for U.S. and Canada 800-984-354 for Australia

The corresponding financial statements, managements discussion and analysis, press release, and presentation will be posted on Alacers website and on www.SEDAR.com.

About Alacer

Alacer is a leading intermediate gold mining company, with an 80% interest in the world-class Copler Gold Mine in Turkey operated by Anagold Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Anagold), and the remaining 20% owned by Lidya Madencilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. The Corporations primary focus is to leverage its cornerstone Copler Mine and strong balance sheet to maximize portfolio value, maximize free cash flow, minimize project risk and, therefore, create maximum value for shareholders.

Alacer is actively pursuing initiatives to enhance value beyond the current mine plan:

Copler Oxide Production Optimization  expansion of the existing heap leach pad to 58 million tonnes continues to advance. All required land use permits for the Heap Leach Pad Phase 4 expansion have been received. The Corporation continues to evaluate opportunities to optimize and extend oxide production beyond the current reserves, including a new heap leach pad site to the west of the Copler Mine.



Copler Sulfide Project  the Sulfide Project will deliver long-term growth with robust financial returns and adds over 20 years of production at Copler. The Sulfide Project will bring Coplers remaining life-of-mine gold production to 4 million ounces 1 at All-in Sustaining Costs 2 averaging $645 per ounce. The Environmental Impact Assessment and all required land use permits for construction have been approved. Detailed information regarding the Copler Sulfide Project can be found in the Press Release dated May 12, 2016 entitled Alacer Gold Announces Copler Sulfide Project Approval (The Sulfide Project Update Press Release) available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Corporations website.



at All-in Sustaining Costs averaging $645 per ounce. The Environmental Impact Assessment and all required land use permits for construction have been approved. Detailed information regarding the Copler Sulfide Project can be found in the Press Release dated May 12, 2016 entitled Alacer Gold Announces Copler Sulfide Project Approval (The Sulfide Project Update Press Release) available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Corporations website. The Corporation continues to pursue opportunities to further expand its current operating base and to become a sustainable multi-mine producer with a focus on Turkey. The systematic and focused exploration efforts in the Copler District, as well as in other regions of Turkey are progressing. Yakuplu Southeast, Yakuplu East, Yakuplu North and Bayramdere are the main focus in the Copler District, which are shallow, oxide targets with favorable metallurgy and have the potential for rapid development. In the region, evaluation work is advancing and an update on the Dursunbey Project in western Turkey will be provided in Q3 2016.

Alacer is a Canadian corporation incorporated in the Yukon Territory with its primary listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Corporation also has a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange where CDIs trade.

1 Alacer has an 80% controlling interest of the Copler Gold Mine.

2 All-in Sustaining Costs is a non-IFRS financial performance measure and has no standardized definitions under IFRS. For further information and detailed reconciliation, please see the Non-IFRS Measures section of the MD&A for three months ended March 31, 2016.
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
Democracy

Number one on Maryam Rajavis list is an essential component of democracy, universal suffrage. Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance as a whole believe that the ballot box is the only legitimate method of choosing a government, which is why everyone should have the vote.

They also recognise the important role of checks and balances played by both other political parties and the media, which is why they would allow complete freedom of expression and of the media. It is also why they would allow unrestricted access to the internet.

Maryam Rajavi also wishes to separate religion from state and introduce a secular government which means that the mullahs Sharia law will be abolished. They would appoint independent judges and set up a modern legal system based on the presumption of innocence, the right to a defence, and the right to be tried in a public court

Human Rights

Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance are committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international conventions on human rights including civil and political rights, the Convention against Torture, and the elimination of discrimination against women.

One of their biggest commitments to human rights is the abolition of the death penalty, another is their wish for complete gender equality. Maryam Rajavi wants women to be able to take positions of power in political, social and economic arenas and they will also ban discrimination of women. In Maryam Rajavis Iran, women will have laws protecting their rights to dress how they wish, speak to whom they wish and go where they wish. They will be free to marry, to divorce, to be educated and to be employed.

They will also protect ethnic and religious minorities in their country like the Kurds and the Christians, from any form of discrimination. They would also ensure equal opportunity in employment for every Iranian citizen, allowing them to hold private property, investments and businesses.

Peace

Maryam Rajavi and the resistance forces want to see a peaceful Iran, with a foreign policy based on cooperation and coexistence, which follows the United Nation Charter.

One of their biggest commitments to peace, not only in the Middle East but globally is shutting down all nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

A grand gathering will take place in Paris on July 9, for all members and supporters of the Iranian resistance. It will be attended by world leaders, policy makers, journalists and religious leaders to support the resistance and find solutions to the current Iranian government.
He said: Only when the Ballot Box determines who holds power, when both women and men can speak freely and Parties can debate, will the Iranian people be able to govern the country for the benefit of all.

He said that the secular pluralist efforts by the National Council of resistance of Iran (NCRI) are vital to a democratic system that is good for the country and the world.

In his statement, he said that he wished he could attend the Free Iran Gathering in Paris this weekend but that he hopes the convention will receive the attention it deserves on a global stage.

Sherman, who has served on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives for 20 years, has been focused on preventing Iran from operating a nuclear weapons programme and implementing an American foreign policy dedicated to human rights.

After the attacks made on Camp Liberty in 2015, a resolution was passed in Congress demanding that the Iraqi government provided adequate protection the Iranian political exiles.

He thanked the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK) for exposing the nuclear weapons programme that Iran had been trying to keep secret.

He said: I remain committed to ensuring that Iran does not get nuclear weapons. Thats why I broke with my own political party and opposed the recent Iran nuclear deal, I am sure that the Iranian regime will cheat on that deal and we will then move forward with new sanctions which will force a new policy and, hopefully, a new regime in Tehran.

Sherman explained that the regime as it stands is not only a threat to its own people or even those in the middle-east but people all over the world as it funds terrorism through the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and indirectly allowing the spread of ISIS.

This is why he introduced the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Sanctions Act which would require the U.S. President to block and ban all property transactions by people who do business with the IRGC.

The Free Iran rally will take place in Paris on Saturday, July 9, and will show support for the president-elect of the NCRI Maryam Rajavi. Politicians and human rights activists from around the globe will be attending to show their support for the Iranian Resistance in their quest for a democratic Iran.
BALL  Poll A BOLA: Is the Portuguese Rafa in better shape? View final result (SHAR)

After the interactivity that we intend to implement with readers of different platforms of the A BOLA universe, we have launched a new challenge for you....
Singapores rental market continues to soften. Rental prices of prime residential property in Singapore dropped by 3.6 percent in Q1 2016 compared to the same period last year, according to Knight Franks Prime Global Rental Index.

The overall index, which tracks the change in luxury residential rents across 17 global cities, fell for a third consecutive quarter, with rents falling on average by 0.5 percent in the year to March 2016.

In fact, 11 cities recorded flat or falling prime rents over the last 12 months.

Toronto leads the rankings with prime rents increasing by 8.9 percent in the year to March 2016, followed by Guangzhou with 5.3 percent growth.

Nairobi occupies the bottom ranking after rents slipped by 7.9 percent. This is preceded by Hong Kong, which saw a decrease of 5.2 percent.

Nicholas Holt, Head of Research for Asia Pacific at Knight Frank, said: Real estate markets in Asia have been sensitive to the wider macro-economic environment in 2016, as demonstrated by the prime residential rental performance in the seven major Asian cities tracked.

Singapore and Hong Kong, the two cities with significant export exposure have seen rents soften, while mainland Chinese cities have seen more varied performance, with Shanghai still seeing rental growth on the back of a robust local economy.

Looking forward, the political uncertainty in Europe and the US will likely weigh on the region for the second half of the year, depressing rental growth prospects.



Prime residential rental growth by city

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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I imagine with Real it was just heading out with a small crew and Dan Wolfe. But Away Days has been really structured with those trips, spot guides and so on.

Yeah, theyre really organised. Its basically the same though, I dont really get involved with picking spots and its pretty much the same thing for me; we just end up at a spot and we try to skate and film.

Due to the size of the team, there have been three main filmers for Away Days  Chris Mulhern, Justin Albert and Torsten Frank who made Diagonal. Who have you spent the most time with?

Justin because he lives in SF where I live. Just out of convenience we skate together the most but Torsten edited my part.

How has that compared to working with Dan Wolfe for Real last time?

Its a little bit more relaxed Id say. Wolfe is awesome, obviously, but sometimes I felt kind of intimidated. I mean its Dan Wolfe; hes had a lot under his belt.

The fact that hes Dan Wolfe basically plays on your mind?

Yeah, exactly: kind of trips me out sometimes. But whatever, I put that out of my mind when Im skating but I guess I never really thought about it until you asked this question, (laughs). Poobert  sorry, Justin just seems a little more casual. Poobert is his nickname, (laughs).

Youve also got the last part in both videos, were you aware of that with either video whilst filming for them and would that have put more pressure on you if you had known?

No. I dont think they plan who has the last part before its done, they just see what they have at the end of filming and decide from there. I guess with pressure I just try and do what I can and thats that.

Can you enjoy your part in a video straight away or does it take a while?

(Laughs), thats funny. Enjoy your part like how?

Not exactly enjoy watching yourself skate, but to appreciate the effort you put into it. Or is it more that you just view them as a snapshot of your life at that time?

Yeah, I dont know if Im particularly proud of my parts or whatever, just looking back at them reminds me of a whole era of my life. Bad fashion choices, tricks and just different times, (laughs).
The human gut is a complex and amazing system, and the more we learn about it, the more amazed we are. It turns out
hang cliff

REUTERS/China Daily

We just got another major sign that Italy's financial system is extremely fragile.

Consob, Italy's Securities and Exchange Commission, has banned the short selling of shares in stricken Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena for at least three months from Thursday morning, in the latest sign that Italy's banking system is teetering on the brink of a major disaster.

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, the regulator says that no short selling  essentially placing bets on the price of a stock falling  will be allowed on the shares of the world's oldest existing bank until October 5.

The ban follows on from an initial one-day short selling ban, put in place earlier in the week after Monte dei Paschi shares dropped around 20% in a single day.

In a sign of just how bad things are for Monte dei Paschi, and the wider Italian markets, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority has also joined in on the ban, saying that "it is necessary to take the action set out in this notice to assist Consob." Further bans have been put in place on Credito Valtellinese, a small sized co-op lender, and Telecoms Italia, by both Consob and the FCA.

Shares in the bank have now fallen more than 99% since the 2008 financial crisis, dropping from more than 0.90 to less than 0.003 now. Here is the brutal chart from Bank of America Merril Lynch (BAML) showing Monte dei Paschi's pain:

Monte dei Paschi shares

REUTERS/China Daily

And here is the key extract from Consob's statement:

"The ban will be enforce for the next three months, from tomorrow 7 July 2016 (start of day) until 5 October 2016 (end of day).

"The prohibition on net short positions strengthens and extends the ban to short selling adopted yesterday, as the new prohibition bans both short selling on Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS) shares and short positions taken though single stock derivatives on BMPS shares.

Story continues

"The ban applies to all transactions, irrespective of where they have been carried out (on an Italian or foreign trading venue or over-the-counter) and it affects market makers as well."

bank queue line greece

REUTERS/China DailyThe rarity of short selling bans

Bans on short selling are a pretty rare occurrence in the markets.

The last notable examples of bank shares being subject to prohibitions came in Greece during 2015 when the country's financial system came close to collapse, which would have dragged Greece out of the euro and subsequently decimate the European Union.

In 2015, short selling on the shares of several Greek banks was banned just before they were recapitalised by the Greek government in a bid to stave off collapse.

Monte dei Paschi's fall from grace has come as a result of fears around Italy's banking sector caused by huge numbers of non-performing loans (NPLs) held by banks. Monte dei Paschi for example, is in possession of a bad loan book of around 47 billion (39.9 billion) right now, compared to a market capitalisation of roughly 1 billion.

The situation is being made worse by a hugely uncertain political landscape in the country. Italians will have a say on reforms to its Senate, the upper house of parliament, in October. The proposed reforms are widespread, and if approved could improve the stability of Italys political set up and allow Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to push through laws aimed at improving the countrys economic competitiveness.

If denied, Renzis government will most likely fall, plunging Italy back into the type of political chaos last seen after the ousting of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, according to Deutsche Bank. That, Citi says, makes the referendum "probably the single biggest risk on the European political landscape this year among non-UK issues."

NOW WATCH: Everyday phrases that even smart people say incorrectly

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Forget Brexit  Italy is poised to tear Europe apart
[July 06, 2016] Adeneo Embedded Announces the availability of Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 Beta BSPs for Sitara AM437x and AM335x processors from Texas Instruments

ECULLY, France, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Adeneo Embedded, a leading global company in embedded software integration and development, announces the development of Android Marshmallow Beta BSPs for the Sitara AM437x and AM335x processor platforms from Texas Instruments (TI). TI's Sitara AM437x processor, based on the ARM Cortex-A9 core, is designed with highly integrated peripherals, and low-power architectures. The AM437x SK platform enables developers to immediately start evaluating the AM437x processor family (AM4376, AM4377, AM4378 and AM4379 processors) while the BeagleBone Black provides a stable and affordable platform to quickly start evaluation of Sitara ARM Cortex-A8 AM335x processors. Software components that are supported in this release include but are not limited to: Android Marshmallow 6.0.1 release from Google, Android Linux Kernel 4.1, Android GCC toolchain 4.8, Bootloader (U-Boot), SGX OpenGL ES driver and Libraries DDK v1.10. The AM437x Android Marshmallow BSP also supports Bluetooth and Wi-Fi through the integration of Texas Instruments WiLink 8 combo-connectivity solution. Adeneo Embedded has been in collaboration with TI for the Sitara AM335x, the AM437x as well as the newest Texas Instruments platform, the AM57x with Android Lollipop BSP. Adeneo Embedded has the continued opportunity to build Sitara application development on the latest CPU. For complete information and feature set details on the offerings from Adeneo Embedded for TI's Sitara processors, please refer to http://www.adeneo-embedded.com/Products/board-Support-Packages/Texas-Instruments-Sitara BSP Android Marshmallow AM335x BeagleBone Black: http://goo.gl/LIIdN3

BSP Android Marshmallow AM437x: http://goo.gl/B0xBIJ "Adeneo Embedded has been collaborating with Texas Instruments for many years on the development of reference BSPs for Texas Instruments Jacinto, DaVinci and Sitara processor families. Based on the latest Android version released from Google along with the latest Linux kernel supported by Texas Instruments, our Android Marshmallow BSPs will help device manufacturers releasing the next generation of embedded devices in the shortest time to market." Said Anthony Pellerin: Director of Technology EMEA at Adeneo Embedded. ''We are excited to have our Sitara processor platform integrated into Adeneo Embedded's Android Marshmallow Beta BSPs. This integration of the AM437x and AM335x processor platform allows device manufacturers to experience even more scalability and greater performance. By leveraging all the software provided by TI for the Sitara processor family, developers will have a dramatically simpler design experience and speed their time to market." Said Adrian Valenzuela: Marketing Manager, processors, Texas Instruments Thanks to our close collaboration with TI on Sitara and "Jacinto" processors Adeneo Embedded is a platinum member of the TI Design Network. This premier group includes independent and well-established companies that offer products, system-level design and manufacturing services complementing TI's semiconductors to a worldwide customer base to accelerate product innovation and time-to-market. About Adeneo Embedded Adeneo Embedded has been an industry leader for over 10 years providing software system integration, design, support, and training services to companies seeking world-class expertise in embedded solutions using high-performance architectures. We bring together embedded technology and integration expertise by understanding and analyzing the interactions between the embedded system design and the different software layers. Adeneo Embedded has a worldwide global sales and support network backed by engineering offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Our Mission: To enable the success of embedded systems development by managing technology and integration challenges. Our Promise to our Customers: To maximize the efficiency of embedded projects, providing expertise, methods and engineering teams that enable a flexible, scalable and mature system software integration. We have helped clients, in all stages of development, create profitable, feature-rich products that incorporate software and hardware solutions based on Embedded Linux, Android, QNX, Windows Embedded operating systems as well as Qt, Java and HTML5 technologies. Close working partnerships with industry-leading silicon and software vendors has allowed Adeneo Embedded to apply experience to a wide range of embedded solutions for the automotive, handheld, industrial, medical, mobile and wireless markets. About the Texas Instruments Design Network

Adeneo Embedded is a platinum member of the TI Design Network, a premier group of independent, well-established companies that offer products and system-level design and manufacturing services complementing TI's semiconductors to a worldwide customer base to accelerate product innovation and time-to-market. Network members provide product design, hardware and software system integration, turnkey product design, RF and processor system modules, reference platforms, software development, proof-of-concept design, feasibility studies, research, certification compliance, prototyping, manufacturing, and product life cycle management. For more information about the TI Design Network, please visit http://www.ti.com/designnetwork. Trademarks All trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.  2016 Adeneo Embedded. All Rights Reserved. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. Further information







For more information about Adeneo Embedded competences, products and services:  Visit Adeneo Embedded web site www.adeneo-embedded.com  Visit Adeneo Mobility dedicated web site www.adeneo-mobility.com  Adeneo Embedded General sales contact [email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adeneo-embedded-announces-the-availability-of-android-marshmallow-601-beta-bsps-for-sitara-am437x-and-am335x-processors-from-texas-instruments-300294946.html SOURCE Adeneo Embedded

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We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
Arbor Investments has paid tribute to its co-founder and former vice chairman Joseph P. Campolo following his death after a battle with brain cancer.
YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. By the Governments decision the 2016, April 21 decree has been clarified, in particular the phrase accordingly by 50 % has been deleted from the procedure regulation on providing accommodation and travel sum for treatment of servicemen abroad.

The decision doesnt define the amount of money for the travel and accommodation of the accompanying persons of the servicemen, but rather the procedure and conditions of providing that amount.

As a result of the proposed changes, not only will the travel and accommodation expenses of wounded servicemen be compensated, but also the travel and accommodation expenses of the persons accompanying them.
[July 07, 2016] Boeing, Embraer Unveil Newest ecoDemonstrator Aircraft

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Embraer S.A. [BM&F Bovespa: EMBR3, NYSE: ERJ] unveiled the next phase of the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program today. The program expands Boeing and Embraer's cooperation agreement and will test technologies to improve airplane environmental performance and accelerate their introduction into the marketplace. An Embraer E170 will serve as the flying testbed and will feature advanced environmental technologies that will undergo operational testing in Brazil during August and September. "Collaborating with Boeing on the ecoDemonstrator program in the structuring and implementation of new technologies tests reinforces, once again, Embraer's commitment towards a sustainable future," said Mauro Kern, Executive Vice President of Operations at Embraer. "At the same time, as we integrate and test different technologies in a single aircraft, we contribute to consolidate in Brazil a powerful tool to support technological development and innovation  the technology demonstrator platform." "As industry leaders, we have a unique opportunity to invest in technologies that encourage our industry's long-term, sustainable development, while supporting our customers' environmental goals," said Boeing Chief Technology Officer John Tracy. The ecoDemonstrator flights will test several technologies designed to reduce carbon emissions, fuel use and noise including: LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology using lasers to measure air data parameters such as true airspeed, angle of attack and outside air temperature. LIDAR shows potential to increase air data reliability by complementing current sensors, which could lead to further innovations that improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbo emissions.

An "ice phobic" paint designed to reduce icing and help prevent accumulation of dirt and bugs due to its low adhesive property. The special paint can help operators save water by reducing the need for frequent aircraft washing.

A new wing design with improved slats to reduce noise on takeoff and approach.

Special sensors and air visualization techniques near the wing surface to better understand in-flight aerodynamics. This analysis could lead to further innovations to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions, such as new wing designs.

A Brazilian-produced biofuel blend made up of 10 percent bio-kerosene and 90 percent fossil kerosene, the maximum mixture according to international standards. Studies have shown that sustainably produced aviation biofuel emits 50 to 80 percent lower carbon emissions through its life cycle than fossil jet fuel.



The ecoDemonstrator collaboration expands a relationship that began in 2012 when Boeing and Embraer signed a cooperation agreement to benefit their customers, their companies and the global aviation industry. Since then, Boeing and Embraer have supported Embraer's KC-390 defense aircraft program and improved runway safety by providing commercial customers with tools to reduce runway excursions. Last year Boeing and Embraer opened a joint biofuel research center in Sao Jose dos Campos to perform biofuel research and coordinate research with Brazilian universities and other institutions.

To date, the ecoDemonstrator program has tested more than 50 technologies, using a Next-Generation 737-800 (2012), 787 (2014) and 757 (2015) as flying testbeds. For more information visit www.boeing.com/environment and www.embraer.com Contact:

Marcio De Meo

Embraer

+ 55 11 3040-6895

[email protected] Ana Paula Ferreira

Boeing Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico

+ 55-11-3759-4801

[email protected] Peter P. Pedraza

Boeing Commercial Airplanes

+1 206-544-2825

[email protected] Photo and captions are available here: http://boeing.mediaroom.com/ and www.embraer.com.br To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boeing-embraer-unveil-newest-ecodemonstrator-aircraft-300294864.html SOURCE Boeing; Embraer

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Mercedes-Benz has agreed to pull a TV commercial for the "Drive Pilot" feature on its redesigned 2017 E-class cars after safety advocates said the ad could mislead consumers into thinking the feature was a fully autonomous driving system. The advocates also assailed federal safety regulators for "rushing full speed ahead" to put self-driving cars on the road without adequate safeguards.

The optional drive-assist feature includes advanced adaptive cruise control and automated steering that allows the sedan to follow traffic and stay in its lane at speeds of up to 130 mph.

Mercedes said late Thursday that it would take the ad out of rotation, saying it did "not want any potential confusion in the marketplace to detract from the giant step forward in vehicle safety the 2017 E class represents.

The Mercedes decision followed a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez from safety advocates who said the sedan did not meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations definition of a fully or partially self-driving car.

Yet the E-class is marketed in a way that a reasonable consumer would believe it does, the advocates said, adding the commercial could give a false sense of security in the ability of the car to operate autonomously, said the letter from officials of Consumer Reports, the Center for Auto Safety, the Consumer Federation of America, and by former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook.

Tesla drops camera supplier

Automated driving systems have been under scrutiny in recent weeks after a series of accidents blamed at least partly on the systems. In the most serious, the driver of a Tesla was killed when his car, while operating on Autopilot, crashed into the side of a tractor trailer truck on May 7.

Tesla now says it will stop using cameras manufactured by Mobileye, the company that made the camera used in the fatal Tesla crash. Both companies acknowledged the split and each gave the impression it had made the decision. Mobileye implied it had not had any input into how Tesla was using the camera.

I think in a partnership, we need to be there on all aspects of how the technology is being used, and not simply providing technology and not being in control of how it is being used, Mobileye CTO Amnon Shashua said in an earnings call with investment analysts, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

What's the rush?

The auto safety advocates also berated National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Mark Rosekind in a letter, saying he was "inexcusably ... rushing full speed ahead" to promote the deployment of self-driving robot car technology instead of developing adequate safety standards "crucial to ensuring imperfect technologies do not kill people by being introduced into vehicles before the technology matures."

The letter was in response to Rosekind's recent assertion that NHTSA cannot "stand idly by while we wait for the perfect" before self-driving robot car technologies are deployed.

"This is a false dichotomy," the advocates wrote. "The question is not whether autonomous technology must be perfect before it hits the road, but whether safety regulators should allow demonstrably dangerous technology with no minimum safety performance standards in place, to be deployed on American highways."

The letter charged that Teslas Autopilot "could not tell the difference between a white truck and a bright sky or between a big truck and a high mounted road sign." It said Tesla "apparently knew of the defect, yet still released autopilot in beta mode and turned its customers into human guinea pigs."

The safety advocates charged that Rosekind and his colleagues at NHTSA "have become giddy advocates of selfdriving cars, instead of sober safety regulators tasked with ensuring that new systems dont kill people. Instead of seeking a recall of Teslas flawed technology, you inexcusably are rushing full speed ahead."
More than 100 million Americans now do their banking at CUs. However, studies show that many people are still confused about what a credit unions vs. banks, and how CUs are both similar to  and different from  traditional banks. Make sure your community understands the following key features of your credit union:

Almost Anyone Can Join a Credit Union

Many people hear credit union and automatically think that they must belong to a specific company, union, group or organization to join one. While many CUs were originally established to provide services to a specific group, (such as the employees of a particular company), most CUs have expanded their eligibility to include nearly everyone in the community.

Banking at a Credit Union is Convenient, and Familiar

Credit unions can offer the same services as banks such as checking accounts, savings accounts, credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and more. And because CUs cooperate on shared branches and ATMs, members find convenient access to their accounts at locations all across the country. According to CUNA, CUs have more than 30,000 ATMs in place nationally, for instance.
The House of Representatives passed the CUNA-backed Senior$afe Act of 2016 (H.R. 4538) late Tuesday night by voice vote. The bill was introduced by Reps. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine), and would protect good-faith reporters of suspected elder financial abuse.

CUNA sent a letter this week urging all House members to vote for the bill. Specifically, it would provide legal immunity for financial services employees who disclosed concerns about elder financial abuse.

This bill will help local bank and credit union tellers, and retirement advisors to stop these crimes before they happen by reporting this crookery to the proper authorities, Poliquin said.

CUNA also supports the Senate version of the bill, which was introduced last year by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
An Atlanta man was sentenced to more than three years in prison last month for running a social media scheme that deposited more than $1 million in fraudulent checks at the $75.1 billion Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA and BB&T.

Stefon D. Clark, 27, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones in Atlanta on June 23 to pay restitution of more than $613,000. Clark pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

In November 2015, Ayanna Johnson, 23, and Quantaves Curry, 27, also of Atlanta, were also sentenced to more than three years in prison for participating in the social media scheme.
The Millennial Generation has proven difficult to define beyond the generally accepted birth year span from about 1980 to the year 2000. Mark Traphagen, guest on my BANK ON IT Podcast show and the Senior Director of Marketing at Stone Temple Consulting, believes that Millennial is actually a mindset that crosses generational gaps and also serves as a descriptor for those who are currently in their 20s-and-30s. Furthermore, as their (Millennials) purchasing power comes of age, it is important for credit unions to develop an effective marketing strategy with the sound fundamental principles  that can remain constant  and appeal to the interchangeable generations your individual campaigns target, so as to achieve similar if not nearly identical results across different generations using the same marketing strategy.

The Millennial mindset is one that has high expectations  both of the marketing messages they are exposed to, and the quality of the products that those messages promote. This is the result of targeting Millennials in their adolescence with our aggressive marketing campaigns. Their exposure to such high levels of advertising has conditioned them to jump rather quickly from engaging with Ads to completely dismissing brands and products they and their peers perceive as unentertaining or uninformative. It is perhaps, because of this detachment, that Millennials have been dubbed as entitled, impatient, and allergic to marketing. However, Millennials and like-minded consumers will sometimes listen to and acknowledge marketing messages when, and only when, they deem said messages to be authentic. Authenticity has become the most important factor when marketing to this newly empowered generation.

The digital age is one where viral, or highly viewed, content can outright display your brands authenticity (or lack thereof)  and it is for this reason that credit unions must take great care to appeal to the Millennials awareness of this authenticity. Technology has made information so readily available now  not just to members of the Millennial generation, but to ALL consumers  that the universal habit is to look down at your phone when asked for information beyond your depth of knowledge. While it may ironically seem outdated to type a question into your phone as opposed to asking Siri, if a company does not list the information a consumer needs to immediately make their decision on whether or not they want to make a purchase, then they are at risk of being completely overlooked by Milliennials and like-minded consumers  who will quickly move to another site, video, or image that contains the valuable information they seek in order to make their purchasing decision. With that being said, this renders traditional advertising and marketing strategies virtually ineffective.

If credit unions can harness the power of social media, they will catalogue their information where this new breed of consumers is most likely to search. Most social media services are delivered via a mobile application and it is because of this trending obsession with smaller and smaller devices that Mark Traphagen suggests that banks first look at how their information is presented before they even begin to think of new technology to offer consumers. Marketing to the Millennial generation requires that financial institutions optimize their websites for viewing on mobile devices, catalogue their information on social media, and stay genuine in their interactions with consumers (far ahead of trying to self-promote their institutions goods and services). A credit union will deliver their message to Millennials much better having their information readily available than by posting ads for their new mobile application. After all, most Millennials use some form of ad-blocking software on both laptops and mobile browsers.

As the millennial demographic grows into full purchasing power over the next two decades, they will have inherited nearly $7 trillion and that doesnt include the money theyll earn over their lifetime. This should make it a top priority for credit unions to understand that they can no longer market to Millennials by criticizing them as entitled, impatient and egotistical  a marketing message that only emphasizes how much Millennials like to take selfies is satirically condescending.

You dont need to speak to the Millennials language. The main message is that you need to learn to market like people to people, says Mr. Traphagen. I think theres nothing more important I could say today than humanize your brand. Dont be condescending. Speak the way people want to be spoken to. Always think of all of your marketing messages, and all of your content: Im a human being, whats useful to me? What means something to me? What reaches me? Youre probably heading in the right direction for the millennial mindset.

We didnt stop with just one executives opinion on marketing to those with the Millennial mindset. We asked Tara Graff, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Royal Credit Union, to share with us some of their findings on successful marketing strategies for Millennials. Jennifer Block McHugh, Director of Public Affairs at Royal Credit Union and Shelby Wodarck, a marketing specialist from Royal Credit Union also joined her. They gave their account of a recent rebranding effort and website redesign with Millennial-mindset consumers as a focus.

Their primary goal was to revamp their website with a big emphasis on navigation and intuitive design. They created a section dedicated to young adults and implemented a library of educational videos on Millennial-centric topics such as increasing credit score. When trying to stay ahead of the marketing curve, it is important for credit unions to examine the generation after current, and Royal Credit Union has done just that by making a slew of financial educational videos under a minute in order to keep them appealing to Millennials and even younger consumers that will experience online and mobile banking as a social norm  having existed since their birth.

In order to determine the best look for the new site, the team took on a rebranding initiative that included heavy survey taking in the Twin Cities area. The surveys revealed many demographics they could improve upon, and so they formed an internal branding committee to utilize their findings. They also employed a creative agency to help with the aesthetic design of the site, and finally hired a separate web development agency to put it all together.

During the process, they allowed fans of their Facebook page to vote for their favorite color scheme leading up to the site redesign. Although the general color scheme had already been chosen, the opportunity to take part in shaping the credit unions brand caught viral fire on social media. Their Facebook likes surged to over 15,000 and they received over 650 comments on the voting post. The voting post alone had more likes than their entire demographic at over 17,000, mostly in the age range of 18-35. Royal Credit Union was able to engage Millennials before the site was even redone.

Royal Credit Union realized they needed to rebrand themselves in order to appeal to the Millennial generation, and this came only after a series of discovery sessions revealed that the majority of their new business was with adults in the age range of 18-35. This forced them to not only consider a website update, but all-new content and so they built a brand new site  transferring none of their old content over. It was a complete renovation of their branding. They also considered their position in proximity to schools, which initiated their educational program for younger would-be customers to learn about healthy financial decision-making. They hope to groom their customers, from an early age, for their financial journeys in life.

If your company has not already taken a more sensitive marketing approach towards Millennial and like-minded consumers, then youre already behind. In fact, Google recently rolled out the second version of their mobile-friendly algorithm boost  which is clearly indicative of where the mobile and digital landscape is headed. However, the good news is that the catch-up game can be an easy one for you if you hold the advantageous knowledge about your target audience along with an authentic message that appeals to them. Ask your customers if they can find the information theyre looking for on your website. Ask them to do it on their phones. The risk of missing out on the next generation of consumers is just too great to ignore.

For more on marketing to Millennials, listen to BANK ON IT: Episode 043 Millennials With @marktraphagen And @Royal_CU (1 of 2) and BANK ON IT: Episode 044 Millennials With @marktraphagen And @Royal_CU (2 of 2).
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Department of Transportation published a final rule standardizing lighting and agricultural equipment on highways, June 22, that incorporates two American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers standards.

Rule mandated

Formation of the rule was mandated in the 2012 highway bill. That legislation required the DOTs National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a federal rule regarding lighting and marking for agricultural equipment.

Level playing field

Prior to the ruling, NHTSA has not regulated the manufacture of most agricultural equipment because it did not have specific authority to do so. Because of this, most states adapted their own regulations for agricultural equipment, which created a varied landscape of regulations.

Scott Cedarquist, director of standards and technical activities at American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, said the ruling was designed to level the standards across the board. For a lot of larger manufacturers, it wont matter. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan already require S279, he said, referring to the societys standard Lighting and Marking of Agricultural Equipment on Highways.

The focus of this ruling will mostly be geared toward new equipment, explained Cedarquist. Old equipment is not required to update and manufactures have a year to comply with the standards (until June 22, 2017), he said.

Requirements

Some of the requirements in the new ruling include, for tractors and self-propelled equipment:

Two head lamps, two red tail lamps and at least two flashing amber warning lights must be mounted at the same height and spaced laterally as wide as possible.

At least two flashing amber warning lights visible from both front and rear must be used when the machine is at least 3.7 meters wide.

Turn signals must be provided.

One slow moving vehicle (SMV) identification emblem must be installed on the machine.

For non self-propelled equipment:

Equipment that obscures the SMV emblem of the propelling machine must be equipped with an additional visible SMV emblem.

Equipment that extends past the sides of the propelling machine must have strips of reflective material visible from the front and back depending on the length of projection.

Equipment that obscures tail lamps, flashing warning lamps or turn signals, must be fitted with appropriate lighting to take place of those obscured lamps or signals.

A detailed list of standards can be found at asabe.com.

Safety

For farmers, it just increases safety, said Cedarquist. He advises farmers with old equipment to consider making even the simplest of upgrades to make sure their tractor and equipment is visible at all times. If they have an old, bent or cracked SMV sign, it is a small amount of money to get a new sign or sticker to put over the old one. Its remarkable how much easier it is to see from a distance versus the old one, he said.

Definition of equipment

In addition to lighting and marking requirements, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is incorporating American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers definition of agricultural field equipment, which includes tractors, self-propelled machines and implements.

The definition will apply to new agricultural equipment operated on a public road, specifically defined as any road or street under the jurisdiction of and maintained by a public authority and open to public travel. Personal equipment used primarily by homeowners, such as lawn tractors, and lawn mowers, is not included in this ruling.

Spreading the word

Right now, Cedarquist said it is just a matter of getting the word out to many of the smaller dealers who may not be aware of it. There are a lot of entrepreneurs in agriculture trying to make things better. Having these standards will make a level and balanced guide for manufacturers to follow.
Britain is lagging behind other EU member states in the detection of food crime and fraud and is risking another horsemeat-type scandal, the countrys foremost expert on food fraud has warned.

It has been three-and-a-half years since the horsegate scandal made headlines across Europe when tonnes of horsemeat found its way into products sold to consumers as beef.

Although lessons had been learned from the scandal, the risk of food fraud affecting the UK remains as high as ever, said Chris Elliott, professor of food safety at Queens University Belfast.

See also: Up to 50,000 horses disappeared in the horsemeat scandal

Trading Standards officers have been cut to the bone. If there are further cuts, the likelihood of major food safety incidents is quite likely

Chris Elliott

Every food is vulnerable. A lot of people think its the very high end  things such as caviar and champagne  where there is fraud, but there is also very low-value foodstuffs such as processed meats where there is fraud associated, warned Prof Elliott.

Speaking to a Lords EU committee on food fraud on Wednesday (6 July), Prof Elliott, who led the governments inquiry into the horsemeat scandal, said he was shocked by the decline in public food analysis laboratories in the UK.

Only six remain  down from about 30, due to cuts in local authorities budgets over the past 20 years.

Trading Standards officers have been cut to the bone. If there are further cuts, the likelihood of major food safety incidents is quite likely, warned Prof Elliott.

Food crime unit

He welcomed the governments decision to set up a National Food Crime Unit two years ago, to protect the food industry. But the new unit has failed to secure a single prosecution.

Heather Hancock, chairwoman of the Food Crime Unit, has been tasked with reviewing the unit and she is expected to say it is grossly underfunded, he revealed. They dont have the resource to go out and investigate. They are dependent on those people that are doing the investigations.

In contrast, the Dutch food crime unit, the first of its kind, carried out 24 major investigations into food crime in 2012, seizing 6.5m (5.56m) in criminal assets.

Prof Elliott said a more joined-up approach, which included the exchange of data on food testing between government agencies, supermarkets and food testing laboratories, was essential to tackle food fraud.

Food traceability

Most retailers have now introduced their own food testing programmes and quick response (QR) codes added to millions of food products helped traceability for shoppers using their smartphones.

The Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN), which most of the major retailers have signed up to, was also helping to identify which foods to test and to exchange information on results of food testing.

However, Prof Elliott said Europe was ahead of the UK and way ahead of the world with the EUs Food Fraud Network (FFN), which involves agencies working together to exchange information on food fraud.

In 2015, the FFN recorded 108 cases of cross-border food-chain issues  an increase of more than 300% on 2013.

Prof Elliott said the world trade in food is estimated to reach US$400tr (309tr) in the next 10 years  and there was more evidence to show that organised criminal gangs were targeting the food industry.

Prof Elliott said longer supply chains carried an increased threat of food fraud  with the substitution of one material for another  especially where there is a chance for paperwork to change hands.

Crop failures heighten fraud risk

Climate change and crop failure and the resulting massive perturbations in the supply chain could be linked to previous episodes of food fraud, Prof Elliott said.

For example, the crop failure of cumin in Gujarat, India, in 2014 led to fraudsters substituting the spice with another brown powder  ground peanut shells. The fraud only came to light after people with nut allergies started to suffer allergic reactions.

Mafia copies of olive oil have fueled an explosion of food fraud in Italy, he added.

Many food fraud cases also concerned false labeling, such as claims products were organic or free range, he added.

To fight food fraud, Prof Elliott called for more testing, unannounced auditing of suppliers and information sharing between competent authorities in EU member states.
Alton Sterling, Father of Five, Murdered by Police in Baton Rouge by Democracy Now!

Hundreds gathered for a vigil last night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to honor father of five Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot by police early Tuesday morning, July 5. Sterling was a 37-year-old African-American. The two officers involved are both white. Bystander video shows Sterling was pinned to the ground when he was fatally shot. The Justice Department has announced it will investigate the killing. Sterlings death has sparked two days of protests in Baton Rouge, as well as protests last night in Ferguson, Missouri, and Philadelphia, where activists were arrested for blocking Interstate 676. For more we speak with Louisiana State Representative Ted James and artist and activist Donney Rose. Speaking about the Department of Justice investigation, Ted James said: "The federal government has responded in record time. I guess the sad part is, it has happened so many times that the federal government and states know what to do when police officers murder black man in their community." (Triple S Food Mart owner Abdullah Muflahi's video below)

Alton Sterling, Father of Five, Murdered by Police Two Months After "Blue Lives Matter" Bill Signed



July 07, 2016



TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.



NERMEEN SHAIKH: Vigils are continuing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to remember Alton Sterling who was fatally shot by police early Tuesday morning. Sterling was a 37-year-old African-American, father of five. The two officers involved are both white. Bystander video shows Sterling was pinned to the ground when he was fatally shot. Sterling is at least the 38th person killed by Louisiana police since 2015. The Justice Department has announced it will investigate the killing, which has sparked two days of protests. At least two bystanders filmed the shooting on their cell phones. New video posted online Wednesday was filmed by Abdullah Muflahi who owns the convenience store where Sterling was killed. A warning to our TV audience, the footage you are about to see is very graphic.



ALTON STERLING: Please, come on. Dont [beep].



POLICE OFFICER: Hes got a gun. Gun. Hey bro, you [beep] move, I swear to god.



[shouting]



[gun shots]



POLICE OFFICER: Get on the ground.



[gun shots]



BYSTANDER: What was that for man?



POLICE OFFICER: [indiscernable] shots fired, shots fired. [beep]



AMY GOODMAN: The officers involved, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II, have been placed on paid administrative leave. In 2014, Lake was placed on paid leave after being involved in the shooting of another African-American man, Kevin Knight. On Wednesday, Alton Sterlings family addressed the media. This is Quinyetta McMillan, the mother of Sterlings son, Cameron. At the beginning of the press conference, the 15-year-old Cameron consoled his mother as she spoke. But after a few minutes, he broke down into the arms of supporters standing behind the two of them.



QUINYETTA MCMILLAN: Alton Sterling, regardless if you knew him or not, he is not what the mass media is making him out to be. This is a play to try and obscure the image of a man whos simply trying to earn a living. To take care of his children. With that being said, the individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis. My son is not the youngest. He is the oldest of his siblings. He is 15 years old. He had to watch this as this was put all over the outlets. And everything that was possible to be shown. As some may know, Alton sold CDs, and was doing just that. Not bothering anyone. And had the consent of the store owners as well. And then the events that recorded during the two officers, that this event would not go unjustice.



CONFERENCE ATTENDEE: Thats right.



QUINYETTA MCMILLAN: It would not go unnoticed, especially for the future.



CONFERENCE ATTENDEE: No justice, no peace.



QUINYETTA MCMILLAN: I, for one, will not rest or not allow him to be swept in the dirt.



AMY GOODMAN: Thats Quinyetta McMillan ,the mother of Alton Sterlings 15-year-old boy Cameron, who broke down and was held and supported by the people at the news conference. As we go to Baton Rouge where were joined by two guests. Edward "Ted" James is a Louisiana State Representative whose district includes part of East Baton Rouge Parish. And Donney Rose is with us, poet, activist, and youth development worker with Forward Arts, a non-profit youth spoken word program in Baton Rouge. We welcome you both to Democracy Now!. Ted James, lets start with you. Your reaction to what has taken place and to what the police and the governor has said since? But first, talk about what you understand happened to Alton Sterling.



REP. EDWARD "TED" JAMES: To my understanding, both videos speak for themselves and Alton was a man that was well respected, well known in the community. He was there with the consent of the store owner selling CDs as he has done many days and many nights on that same street, the street on which I grew up and spent many, many years. And before Alton was shot and killed, he was tackled against the car. He was tased several times, and then he was murdered, as you see depicted in the two videos. I cant even watch the second one. Just sitting here listening to the audio, it frightens me to even hear it.



The community, I will tell you, has shown an outpouring of support for the family. Im extremely proud of the work that we have been able to do through our governor here. The federal government has responded in record time. You hadnt seen that across the country, and it speaks to the level of  I guess the sad part is, its happened so many times that the federal government and states know what to do when police officers murder black men in their community. So the governors office reached out. There was a lot of coordination between our congressional representative Cedric Richmond and those local leaders on the ground. the federal government is here now taking over the investigation, which many of us called for  that was the first thing that we asked for, independent investigation. Thats only one small step. We dont want the federal government to just investigate. We want them to do a thorough investigation. We dont want any stone unturned. And as the family has continued to pray with us, they want justice and we want to see justice for Alton Sterling as well.



NERMEEN SHAIKH: And Donney Rose, can you talk about your reaction to Alton Sterlings killing, and also about the Blue Lives Matter bill which was just signed into law in May?



DONNEY ROSE: My reaction was definitely one of devastation. It was traumatic to watch the videos. I initially saw the first video  I watched it with apprehension and then I watched the second video and it was even more horrifying. Tragic  unfortunately, there are certain precedents that had taken place prior to this killing that almost set  set the stage for it. So, a few months back, a young man was beaten by police officers at an Earth Day Festival.



And then in reference to the Blue Lives Matter bill, which essentially makes killing a first responder or police officer a hate crime, it puts the precedent over the lives of  puts the precedent of the lives of officers over those of regular civilians. So, theres almost a level of lawlessness thats at play that is not  that goes unchecked. And so, its devastating that our community is now present-day Baltimore, is [Ferguson], New York City, and even now is also aligned with St. Paul and whats going out there.



AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to go through, State Representative Ted James, the timeline. Were talking about, what was it, 12:35 Tuesday morning, so this is Monday night into Tuesday morning. The police say they get a call from an anonymous person that someone has brandished a gun. Now, the police move up. They -what do you understand happened at this point? Now, we hear this differently in New York than people here and around the country because you have, what, open carry laws? You can carry guns in Louisiana? Like, when we hear it, its a totally different - since we have whats going on when a civilian is holding a gun.



REP. EDWARD "TED" JAMES: Yes, we, we do have open carry in, in Louisiana. Louisiana, you know, a lot of my colleagues, you know, probably proclaim that we are the most pro-gun state in the country. But when a black man is carrying a gun, he is always perceived as a criminal. And we still dont know who made that, that call to 911. We still havent heard a name there. But we do know that the police officers who have not been on the force  neither one of them had been on the force for five years. Both of them are perceived as royalty in our police department because of the long tenure of their parents. Theyre in a specialized unit that most of our officers have to go through many, many years on the force before theyre even placed in this unit. And what weve learned is that those folks who we rely on to serve and protect us, rushed to judgment. And what happened, because of their rush to judgment, they killed an innocent man for doing what he does legally every single day and standing outside minding his own business.



You know, we still have not heard anything about this person who made the call. The store owner, he was the first eyewitness to come to us. And everything that he said happened was depicted on the video. And were relying on that eyewitness testimony. And certainly, you know, Im excited that he was brave enough to share that video. He was under a lot of stress and scrutiny. The police officers had him in the back of a police car while they took his surveillance video  no warrant, did not ask him, just took his video. We still havent seen that. Thats the next big push for us, is to  we want to see that video. We want to see what was depicted there.



NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, I want to go to a clip of Abdullah Muflahi, who owns SS Food Mart, the convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Alton Sterling was fatally shot by police early Tuesday morning. Muflahi told reporters he witnessed the shooting.



ABDULLAH MUFLAHI: I was shocked. I thought it was like a nightmare. It was crazy, seeing your own friend getting shot in front of you. Its, its horrifying. Scary. By the time I get outside, they are throwing him on top of the car. From there they tasered him. Then other cop tackled him onto another vehicle. From there they throw him onto the ground where both of them got on top of him. One of them screaming, was like, "gun, gun," shot him three times. Then they telling him get on the floor. Hes already on the floor. They shot him three times already. Then they shoot him another three times. He was a nice guy. Always smiling, always happy, always joking around with people. Never seen him get into fights with anybody. Never seen him get into any kind of even arguments out there with people.



NERMEEN SHAIKH: That was Abdullah Muflahi, who witnessed the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling.
TUSCOLA -- A free anniversary event will be hosted by Vintage Karma at The Vault Arts Collective, 100 N. Main St., from 6-10 p.m. Friday to celebrate nine years.

Live music will be performed by The Ex-Bombers. The client appreciation tattoo contest will be featured, plus tattoo gift certificate prizes awarded, along with Vintage Karma merchandise. Art, food, music, contests, prizes and drinks will also be featured.

The Vault Arts Collective is a privately owned collective of independent artists located at 100 N. Main St., Tuscola. The venue showcases artwork, hosts art-related events, and provides an opportunity for artists to join a like-minded affordable community.

The Vault is located in a historic former bank building in downtown Tuscola. The two-story 12,000-square-foot building is an ideal venue for retail, exhibit, studio, and event space for the arts. The group's goal is to establish and maintain a diverse range of talents and mediums allowing a home for established, as well as burgeoning artists.

For more information, visit the website www.thevaultarts.com/

Vintage Karma is a tattoo studio and goods shop located at 110 West Sale St., Tuscola, in a 19th century building that once housed an Odd Fellows lodge. The tattoo studio is nestled away from curious onlookers and distraction. With this private atmosphere, Vintage Karma is definitely not a street shop."

The studio is the only Illinois state licensed and inspected facility in Douglas County. For more information, log on to www.vintagekarma.wix.com/home
CHARLESTON -- The shot that fatally injured a woman came from the caliber of gun found in an apartment where the man accused of killing her was located.

That was part of the account a police officer gave Thursday during a court hearing that led to the suspect, James Todd Shafer, being ordered to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder.

Shafer, 24, for whom court records list an address of 413 1/2 N. 20th St., Mattoon, is one of two people charged with murder and four suspects charged overall in connection with incident that killed Ciara J. Faires.

The 23-year-old Charleston woman died at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center after she was shot during a confrontation at an apartment building at 313 S. 21st St., Mattoon, on June 18.

Mattoon police Lt. Sam Gaines testified Thursday during questioning by Assistant State's Attorney Rob Scales and said police found the injured Faires on the apartment's porch when they arrived.

He said the investigation showed that Shafer apparently fired two shots through the apartment's door during a confrontation with the other suspects. However, Faires, who wasn't part of the confrontation, was the only person hit, Gaines said.

An autopsy showed a gunshot wound as the cause of Faires' death and a 9 mm caliber bullet was recovered from her body, Gaines also related. During the search of the apartment, a handgun and two shell casings of the same caliber were found, he added.

When Shafer was interviewed, he said he heard what he thought was a gun fired outside the apartment after the other suspects arrived, Gaines said. Faires, who was Shafer's girlfriend, was outside because she'd left after an argument, he added.

Shafer said he knew Faires was still outside the apartment when he fired two shots through the apartment front door, Gaines continued. He said the investigation showed that one of the shots traveled in a path that meant it was likely the one that hit Faires.

Gaines also repeated information he gave at earlier hearings in the suspects' cases, mostly that the other three men apparently went to the apartment to try to retrieve guns one of them said Shafer had stolen from him.

One of the suspects, Kevin W. Johnson, told police he went to the apartment mostly at the request of Shawn D. Adamson, another suspect in the case, Gaines said. Johnson said Adamson fired a gun once and he and the others fled after hearing what was apparently the return fire, he added.

During cross examination by Public Defender Anthony Ortega, Gaines also said police didn't find the gun Adamson reportedly used or the bullet allegedly fired from it.

Circuit Judge Teresa Righter ruled that Gaines' testimony showed there was enough evidence for Shafer's case to go forward, leading Ortega to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. The judge and attorneys agreed on an Aug. 4 hearing to check the status of the case.

Meanwhile, Adamson also had a brief court appearance Thursday and made an obscene gesture toward two county probation officers as he was led into the courtroom. A jail guard accompanying him quickly admonished him about the behavior.

Adamson, 33, for whom records list addresses on Charleston Avenue in Mattoon and in Kankakee, was in court for attorney Todd Reardon to tell Righter he was willing to be appointed to the case.

Reardon doesn't regularly take court-appointed cases but said he'd represent Adamson because he handled earlier cases for the suspect. Reardon also noted the conflict of interest with most of the county's regular public defenders because of the number of suspects charged in connection with the shooting.

Righter then scheduled Adamson's next court appearance for July 21.

Adamson is also charged with first-degree murder for allegedly being responsible for the confrontation that resulted in Faires' death.

Johnson, 38, whose address on record is an apartment at 2100 Prairie Ave., Mattoon, and the fourth suspect, Matthew S. Cook, 31, for whom records list addresses on Charleston Avenue in Mattoon and on County Road 800N in rural Coles County, are charged with conspiracy and attempted armed robbery.

All four suspects remained jailed pending posting of bond.
SPRINGFIELD -- Continued uncertainty over state funding for tuition-assistance grants could jeopardize the future academic success of thousands low-income college students, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission warned this week.

A short-term budget deal that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law last week provided $151 million to cover grants made to students this spring through the Monetary Award Program. That followed an earlier emergency funding measure that covered MAP grants for the fall semester.

But the agreement, which is designed to keep state government functioning through December, doesnt provide any funding for the grants for the upcoming school year.

As a result, state universities, private schools and community colleges must decide whether to front the money to students, which many did for at least part of last year. In turn, students who depend on the grants have been left to decide whether to enroll or return to campus in the fall.

With future funding still up in the air, more than 18,000 students could delay or not complete their degrees, according to a survey from the Student Assistance Commission, which oversees the program. Citing research from the organization Complete College American, the commission says students who take longer to work toward their degrees are less likely to finish.

The commission cautions that the survey of more than 10,000 MAP grant recipients was conducted before the recent state budget deal was approved and notes that some students might have responded differently in light of the grants being fully funded for the 2015-16 school year.

But the commission also points out that no decision likely will be made on future funding until long after students have to make their enrollment decisions.

Any appropriation would not come until sometime after the General Assembly reconvenes, which isnt scheduled to occur until mid-November -- leaving students and schools with ongoing uncertainty about when and how much funding will be available, the commission said in a written statement.

In the survey, 96 percent of respondents said receiving a MAP grant played an important part in making college attendance possible.

Universities are taking differing approaches to the issue.

As it did last year, Illinois State University plans to cover MAP grants for its students for the full year, university chief of staff Jay Groves said, unless something drastic happens.

Despite the recent funding turmoil, Illinois State expects another robust class this year, Groves said.

Southern Illinois and Western Illinois universities, meanwhile, have announced that they will cover the grants for the fall semester but are taking a wait-and-see approach to the spring semester. Eastern Illinois University did not respond to a request for comment.

Private colleges and universities also are facing the decision.

Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, for example, says it has a plan in place in the event that MAP grant money doesnt come through this school year.

To reduce the pressure on our students, last year Illinois Wesleyan credited the unfunded MAP Grant to our students accounts for tuition, room and board, and stood ready with a mix of grants and loans to bridge any shortfall, should the state not have met its obligations to students and their families, spokeswoman Ann Aubry wrote in an email. It is our intention to continue to support our students this year, should the need arise.

MAP grants were awarded to roughly 101,000 students statewide last year. The average award for the 2014-15 school, the last period for which numbers are available, was $2,782. The average was $3,550 for students at public universities and $944 for community college students.
When U.K. live promotion company All Tomorrows Parties announced it was shutting down in June, it caused annual 3-day international festival ATP Iceland to be cancelled within weeks of its 2016 edition at the Asbru Naval Base in Keflavik, Iceland. Many fans and bands still traveled to the area, citing non-refundable airfare as a chief deciding factor. Replacement shows were held in the nearby capitol of Reykjavik by such bands as Sleep, Thee Oh Sees, Angel Olsen, JC Flowers, and Suuns, with local acts to fill out the bills.

Sleeps legendary stoner doom metal sold out tiny upstairs venue Gaukurinn on Friday night, prompting a crushing surge to push forward in the pitch black room. The drummer asked the crowd, Whos an ATP refugee? to widespread screams. Thanks for flying here to be with us. Someone in the crowd yelled, F*ck the festival! and everyone laughed.

Suuns played a gripping, magnificent set at a free show Saturday night in the restaurant/lobby of KEX Hostel (a local favorite for its small show programming). Later that night at the venue Hurra, in a strange but satisfying mix of genres, Angel Olsens sultry tones warmed the stage for Thee Oh Sees knock-down, drag-out punk party. Olsen and her band had visited a local public pool that day, and she couldnt seem to get her mind off of the countrys comfort with going nude. She told the crowd through a cheeky smile, People are really comfortable with their bodies here, and I have a lot of respect for that. Are you comfortable with your body?

When it came time for her to leave the stage, she likened Thee Oh Sees set to the midnight sun of summer in Iceland. Theyre gonna bring it up to your speed again, which is perpetual daylight. Theyre gonna express that in their wonderful, beautiful set. It was a perfect introduction to the ecstasy and absolute mayhem of the foursome. Frontman John Dwyer mans a towering pile of amps, pedals, and keys, all hooked up to his clear electric guitar, which hes fond of pressing his tongue up against at the crowd. The band (consisting of two full drummers and a bassist) doesnt use set lists, but rather waits for Dwyer to call out a track name often followed by the phrase, Good luck! The crowd becomes a sea of bodies and everyone wilds out. Its a unique instance of a band going ape-shit crazy without coming off as contrived, and everyone should see Thee Oh Sees at least once to feel that exhilaration.

The combination of the bands attitudes and attendees frustration at the festival made for an intense but grateful weekend. Ben Redder of Seattle, WA stated after Thee Oh Sees set, Ive been to ATP eight times, and this is as good if not better than any ATP. ATP is dead; long live ATP.

Check out our gallery of these shows, as well as a few local attractions attendees could check out with their extra down time. Those who stayed through the weekend were able to catch the Euro Cup game between Iceland and France, an event which inspired a huge viewing party in the city center.

1 of 54 Victoria Holt

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In the same vein as Spotlight, a new drama is coming out to explore how investigative journalists exposed the Panama Papers, the nearly 12 million documents detailing how world leaders and celebrities utilized offshore law firms to escape taxes.

Steven Soderbergh is set to produce the as-yet untitled work, but he may also direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Michael Sugar, who produced Spotlight, and Lawrence Grey will also produce the drama.

The Oceans Eleven director will base the film on the forthcoming book Secrecy World by Jake Bernstein, one of the reporters involved in investigating the Panama Papers.
Most breweries are no stranger to beer festivals. But Sierra Nevada kicked the summer off not only by attending a ton of summer festivals, it organized them.

This year the brewery invited every craft brewery in the country (the Brewers Association current count says theyre over 4,200) to join them on a six-city nationwide tour of the United States for Beer Camp Across America, a beer festival that celebrates craft beer in general, and the Beer Camp 12-pack loaded with collaborative brews that Sierra Nevada started shipping shortly before the first event. Now in its third year, all six events sold out.

The first beer camp festival we did was a couple of year ago, to celebrate the opening of the Mills River Brewery, Sierra Nevadas founder Ken Grossman told Paste outside of the fourth stop on the tour in San Francisco.

We tried to come up with an idea of how we can sort of do a grand opening party that is inclusive of the industry and sort of pay thanks to where weve grown as an industry from my first years to where we are today, he says.

Grossman founded Sierra Nevada in 1978 when there were only 45 craft breweries in the world, and long before many knew what the term craft beer even meant. Today, Sierra Nevada has two large production facilities: one in Chico, California and another in Mills River, North Carolina, and is third largest craft brewery in the country.

This years Beer Camp was a little different.

We picked some different cities, we did different collaborations, says Grossman. Last year the Beer Camp 12-pack included 12 different beers. This year the brewery opted to offer just six different beers, including two bottles of each inside.

This time we sort of took a page from the music business where they have supergroups with a leader and then band members, he says. We chose a head brewer for each group, and then we had them pick some friends that they wanted to work with. Then we put one of our brewers on the team  so we have five brewers and a Sierra Nevada brewer working together to create a beer.

While on the surface that might seem a bit easier, Grossman says the process was still quite challenging.

We started out by bringing all the brewers together in Mills River and had sort of a kickoff meeting with everybody and started talking about recipes, and then the first round was done at the participating breweries, he says. In general, breweries were allowed to make whatever they chose, but the group as a whole tried to ensure that the mix pack had a lot of variety and you didnt end up with a ton of the same style.

After a test batch was brewed, they shipped the finished beer to Sierra Nevada where it was tasted and the recipe was tweaked. Sierra then brewed a larger batch with its 10 and 20-barrel pilot systems and circulated that with everyone. Sometimes everyone was satisfied with where the beer was at that point, sometimes it needed further adjustments.

We had quite a few batches leading up to the production run, Grossman says. Not enough hops, too many hops, not enough fruit flavor depending on which beer style. Its pretty hard to hit it exactly right on your first test batch. Youve got a concept first of what you want to brew, and then youve got to brew it and might take some minor tweaks.

He says that overall most of the beers were pretty close on their first run to what youll find in the 12-pack that shipped, with the majority reaching their final recipe by the second round of brewing.

That testing and trying new things is also a huge part of the culture at Sierra Nevada.

The consumer is so much more educated now, and understands beer styles and beer flavor. For us we try to stay relevant, we try to give consumers beers that are both pushing the boundaries a little bit, as well as beers that appeal to a wider reach of folks, Grossman says.

For us its being creative. Staying creative. We have a small brewery and we brew in it all the time, so were always producing new beers, new styles. We have a pretty big barrel-aging facility where we age a lot of beers and brew a lot of beers to be aged in brandy, rum, tequila, sakea whole range of fun barrels that we do special projects with all the time.

He says that last year the brewery made over 100 different beers. It also launched Otra Vez, a gose-style beer Grossman says is a style well likely see more of from the brewery going forward.

Projects like Beer Camp also enable the brewery to try even more new things.

The brewers today are much more experimental than brewers historically have been, Grossman says. If you look at some of the beers that were in the pack, we had hibiscus in one, we had sweet tea as a concept for another. We really did push some boundaries with our styles. We probably wouldnt have gone that far on our own with some of those beers. Its been a great experience, we had a lot of fun, and we made some great beers.
In case you havent been following, the colossal failures of the Iraq War are big news again. Why? The Iraq Inquiry in the UK has turned in its 2.5 million word verdict which painstakingly documents the brazen carelessness with which Tony Blairs Labour government stumbled into the war.

You might remember that Australia was particularly gung-ho about diving in as well  John Howard led us in almost as quickly as the United States and the UK. But Australia hasnt had an inquiry as extensive as the UKs, which was painstakingly conducted and headed by former public servant Sir John Chilcott.

MP Andrew Wilkie used the damning results of the report to condemn Howard, who he believes ought to stand trial for war crimes alongside Blair and George W. Bush.

Howard fronted the media today, and he doesnt think he has anything to apologise for.

John Howard says he regrets the loss of life in Iraq but believes the decision was correct at the time #Chilcot https://t.co/1RFw0phP2T  Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 7, 2016

The hundreds of thousands that died are regrettable, says Howard, but he still thinks it was the right decision at the time.

Despite the fact that many were saying back in 2003 that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Saddam Husseins possession, and that Iraq presented no immediate threat which necessitated a pre-emptive invasion, he still thinks that based on the info it was the right choice. Mmm.

Watch the whole press conference below, if you like. There are a couple of comments towards the end about his experience with Pauline Hanson that are worth hearing.

Source: ABC.

Photo: ABC.
Costs of patients who develop chronic post-surgical pain could range from $2.5 million to $4.1 million a year, in one Ontario hospital alone, according to a study in Pain Management.

In a paper titled, "Chronic postsurgical pain and persistent opioid use following surgery: the need for a transitional pain service," published on-line July 6, 2016 in Pain Management, a team led by Dr. Hance Clarke, Medical Director of the Pain Research Unit at Toronto General Hospital (TGH), University Health Network (UHN), estimated that about 15 per cent of complex postoperative pain patients develop moderate to severe chronic, post-surgical pain, have significant disability, and continue to use opioids for pain relief long-term.

Moreover, these same patients consume 90 per cent of healthcare's pain-related resources, such as repeated pain visits to physicians, extended hospital length of stays, and are at risk for hospital re-admission. On average, chronic pain patients stay five to seven days longer in the hospital for the same condition as those patients who do not have chronic pain.

"We need to break the cycle of pain before it becomes chronic. It is much harder to treat someone when the pain is entrenched, and the window of opportunity is lost," says senior author Dr. Hance Clarke, who is also Director of The Transitional Pain Service in the Anesthesia Department and Pain Management at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) and Clinical Researcher at the Toronto General Research Institute. He adds that after about six months, post-surgical pain can develop into chronic pain, therefore it is important to intervene before this happens. Generally, from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of patients after major surgery are discharged from hospital with a prescription for opioids.

In this study, Dr. Clarke outlines the annual projected total cost linked to TGH surgical patients who develop moderate-to-severe chronic post-surgical pain, pain disability, and persistent opioid use. Five percent of all surgeries at TGH result in new cases of chronic post-surgical pain, explains Dr. Clarke. That, in addition to about 13 per cent of TGH surgical patients with previous chronic pain, which worsens after surgery, adds up to yearly chronic pain costs ranging from $2.5 million up to a possible $4.1 million to the Ontario healthcare system from one hospital. These estimates are calculated using figures obtained from recent healthcare use studies which estimate healthcare costs for chronic pain patients in Ontario to be about $5,000 a year for one patient.

"Pain is an epidemic, and the costs to the healthcare system, as well as to patients, are staggering," says Dr. Clarke. He notes that chronic pain costs the Canadian healthcare system between $47 billion and $60 billion a year -- more than HIV, cancer and heart disease combined.

"Identifying at-risk patients, typically those who have pre-existing pain, mental health issues, chronic use of opioids before surgery, is critical, so that we can develop follow-up plans, and educate patients and other healthcare providers,'' adds Dr. Clarke. "We need to give patients the tools to manage their pain, should it become problematic."

The study also examined the needs of 200 patients who had major surgery, such as thoracic, cardiac, gynecological and head and neck, at TGH in 2013-2014. The study found that 27 per cent of patients with pain at three months after surgery were still using opioids, higher than previous estimates which range from one to 10 percent.

These patients on opioids rated their overall health to be lower compared to non-opioid users, reporting significant pain-related disability in relation to mobility, mood and the ability to work.

The TGH Transitional Pain Service was created in 2014 to address the needs of at-risk patients, similar to those in this study. The service is designed to treat complex pain patients who have had surgery by helping with pain control, monitoring and weaning patients off excessive amounts of opioid medications for pain, and providing much-needed support for patients and primary care physicians after hospital discharge. The aim is to improve opioid practices in hospitals to improve patient care and safety, including identifying and monitoring at-risk patients before and after prescribing opioids.

Follow-up care is provided by a diverse team of clinicians who specialize in pain control. They use a variety of methods to help and teach patients to manage their pain, including mindfulness, "exercise prescriptions" and acupuncture.
Radio astronomers have used a radio telescope network the size of the Earth to zoom in on a unique phenomenon in a distant galaxy: a jet activated by a star being consumed by a supermassive black hole. The record-sharp observations reveal a compact and surprisingly slowly moving source of radio waves, with details published in a paper in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The results will also be presented at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science in Athens, Greece, on Friday 8 July 2016.

The international team, led by Jun Yang (Onsala Space Observatory, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden), studied the new-born jet in a source known as Swift J1644+57 with the European VLBI Network (EVN), an Earth-size radio telescope array.

When a star moves close to a supermassive black hole it can be disrupted violently. About half of the gas in the star is drawn towards the black hole and forms a disc around it. During this process, large amounts of gravitational energy are converted into electromagnetic radiation, creating a bright source visible at many different wavelengths.

One dramatic consequence is that some of the star's material, stripped from the star and collected around the black hole, can be ejected in extremely narrow beams of particles at speeds approaching the speed of light. These so-called relativistic jets produce strong emission at radio wavelengths.

The first known tidal disruption event that formed a relativistic jet was discovered in 2011 by the NASA satellite Swift. Initially identified by a bright flare in X-rays, the event was given the name Swift J1644+57. The source was traced to a distant galaxy, so far away that its light took around 3.9 billion years to reach Earth.

Jun Yang and his colleagues used the technique of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), where a network of detectors separated by thousands of kilometres are combined into a single observatory, to make extremely high-precision measurements of the jet from Swift J1644+57.

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"Using the EVN telescope network we were able to measure the jet's position to a precision of 10 microarcseconds. That corresponds to the angular extent of a 2-Euro coin on the Moon as seen from Earth. These are some of the sharpest measurements ever made by radio telescopes," says Jun Yang.

Thanks to the amazing precision possible with the network of radio telescopes, the scientists were able to search for signs of motion in the jet, despite its huge distance.

"We looked for motion close to the light speed in the jet, so-called superluminal motion. Over our three years of observations such movement should have been clearly detectable. But our images reveal instead very compact and steady emission -- there is no apparent motion," continues Jun Yang.

The results give important insights into what happens when a star is destroyed by a supermassive black hole, but also how newly launched jets behave in a pristine environment. Zsolt Paragi, Head of User Support at the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE) in Dwingeloo, Netherlands, and member of the team, explains why the jet appears to be so compact and stationary.

"Newly formed relativistic ejecta decelerate quickly as they interact with the interstellar medium in the galaxy. Besides, earlier studies suggest we may be seeing the jet at a very small angle. That could contribute to the apparent compactness," he says.

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The record-sharp and extremely sensitive observations would not have been possible without the full power of the many radio telescopes of different sizes which together make up the EVN, explains Tao An from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, P.R. China.

"While the largest radio telescopes in the network contribute to the great sensitivity, the larger field of view provided by telescopes like the 25-m radio telescopes in Sheshan and Nanshan (China), and in Onsala (Sweden) played a crucial role in the investigation, allowing us to simultaneously observe Swift J1644+57 and a faint reference source," he says.

Swift J1644+57 is one of the first tidal disruption events to be studied in detail, and it won't be the last.

"Observations with the next generation of radio telescopes will tell us more about what actually happens when a star is eaten by a black hole -- and how powerful jets form and evolve right next to black holes," explains Stefanie Komossa, astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany.

"In the future, new, giant radio telescopes like FAST (Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) and SKA (Square Kilometre Array) will allow us to make even more detailed observations of these extreme and exciting events," concludes Jun Yang.
El Nino exerted powerful effects around the globe in the last year, eroding California beaches; driving drought in northern South America, Africa and Asia; and bringing record rain to the U.S. Pacific Northwest and southern South America. In the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast, however, the California Current Ecosystem was already unsettled by an unusual pattern of warming popularly known as "The Blob."

New research based on ocean models and near real-time data from autonomous gliders indicates that the "The Blob" and El Nino together strongly depressed productivity off the West Coast, with The Blob driving most of the impact.

The research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters by scientists from NOAA Fisheries, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California, Santa Cruz is among the first to assess the marine effects of the 2015-2016 El Nino off the West Coast of the United States.

"Last year there was a lot of speculation about the consequences of 'The Blob' and El Nino battling it out off the U.S. West Coast," said lead author Michael Jacox, of UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "We found that off California El Nino turned out to be much weaker than expected, The Blob continued to be a dominant force, and the two of them together had strongly negative impacts on marine productivity."

"Now, both The Blob and El Nino are on their way out, but in their wake lies a heavily disrupted ecosystem," Jacox said.

Unusually warm ocean temperatures that took on the name, The Blob, began affecting waters off the West Coast in late 2013. Warm conditions -- whether driven by the Blob or El Nino -- slow the flow of nutrients from the deep ocean, reducing the productivity of coastal ecosystems. Temperatures close to 3 degrees C (5 degrees F) above average also led to sightings of warm-water species far to the north of their typical range and likely contributed to the largest harmful algal bloom ever recorded on the West Coast last year.

"These past years have been extremely unusual off the California coast, with humpback whales closer to shore, pelagic red crabs washing up on the beaches of central California, and sportfish in higher numbers in southern California," said Elliott Hazen of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, a coauthor of the paper. "This paper reveals how broad scale warming influences the biology directly off our shores."

The research paper describes real-time monitoring of the California Current Ecosystem with the latest technology, including autonomous gliders that track undersea conditions along the West Coast. "This work reflects technological advances that now let us rapidly assess the effects of major climate disruptions and project their impacts on the ecosystem," Jacox said.

Separate but related research recently published in Scientific Reports identifies the optimal conditions for productivity in the California Current off the West Coast, which will help assess the future effects of climate change or climate variability such as El Nino. The research was authored by the same scientists at UC Santa Cruz and NOAA Fisheries.

"Wind has a 'goldilocks effect' on productivity in the California Current," Hazen said. "If wind is too weak, nutrients limit productivity, and if wind is too strong, productivity is moved offshore or lost to the deep ocean. Understanding how wind and nutrients drive productivity provides context for events like the Blob and El Nino, so we can better understand how the ecosystem is likely to respond."

Both papers emphasize the importance of closely monitoring West Coast marine ecosystems for the impacts of a changing climate. Although the tropical signals of El Nino were strong, the drivers -- called "teleconnections" -- that usually carry the El Nino pattern from the tropics to the West Coast were not as effective as in previous strong El Ninos.

"Not all El Ninos evolve in the same way in the tropics, nor are their impacts the same off our coast," said Steven Bograd, a research scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and coauthor of both papers. "Local conditions, in this case from the Blob, can modulate the way our ecosystem responds to these large scale climate events."
One in ten adults who died of a drug overdose in Ontario between April 2006 and March 2013 had been released from a provincial correctional facility within one year, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto have found.

The overdose death rate was highest immediately following release -- nine per cent of the deaths occurred in the first two days and 20 per cent within the first week.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, also found that three quarters of those who died of an overdose were under the age of 45.

"This is the first Canadian study to examine overdose mortality rates by matching incarceration records with coroner reports after release," said Dr. Nav Persaud, a scientist with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's and a family doctor with the hospital's Academic Family Health Team. "We were surprised at how high the fatal overdose rate was among those who were recently released from provincial custody -- almost 12 times higher than the general population."

The researchers obtained data from the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services between 2006 and 2013 on the nearly 50,000 people released annually from Ontario provincial correctional facilities. Dr. Persaud and his team looked at incarceration release records with coroner reports in the Coroner's Information System to determine how many of these people died of drug overdoses within one year of their release.

"Previous research has speculated that the higher risk for overdose immediately following release can be attributed to periods of no or less frequent drug use while individuals are incarcerated," said Dr. Persaud. "Once released, these individuals may not realize that their tolerance has diminished and can accidentally overdose."

The study also found that the majority of the overdose deaths involved opioids and that in over half of these cases, there was a person present who could have intervened.

Dr. Persaud said that increasing education around and access to interventions like naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, could help prevent future overdoses -- especially in situations where another person is present and could administer the treatment.

"At least some of these deaths are preventable and there may be opportunities to prevent overdose deaths by supporting this vulnerable group--during incarceration and immediately following release," said Dr. Persaud. "Future research and policy should focus on immediate interventions such as directing people to treatment programs and providing better access to naloxone, drug substitution therapies and overdose prevention education."
Ancient inhabitants of the southern Brazilian highlands were no strangers to the types of home improvements we enjoy today, academics from the University of Exeter have found.

New research has shown for the first time how oversized pit houses in the southern Brazilian highlands were used for centuries thanks to careful repairs by generations of owners.

This is the first evidence that these oversized pit houses in region were continuously occupied.

Academics have demonstrated one house was occupied for more than two centuries.

People had assumed the proto-Je pit house villages of the southern Brazilian highlands had been abandoned and then occupied again throughout history. But this was based on an insufficient amount of data provided by radiocarbon dating.

Academics have now carried out further tests using comprehensive AMS radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling of an oversized pit house used between 1395 and 1650 in Campo Belo do Sul, Santa Catarina state, Brazil.

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They found twelve well preserved floors, five of which were covered by completely burnt collapsed roofs. The research shows the house was occupied for over two centuries, and that communities built big pit houses, but the smaller homes continued to be inhabited.

The homes was never abandoned, but constantly extended. The occupants built new floors on top of the old ones, showing a single family or group lived there for centuries. As time went on they used different types of ceramics and techniques to renovate and update their home.

Lead researcher Jonas Gregorio de Souza said: "Our research shows the disparity in domestic architecture in the southern Brazilian highlands. We have highlighted that it is important to use radiocarbon dating on individual structures to understand how and for how long homes were occupied.

This research shows experts more about how the southern proto-Je groups lived, and suggests there was a moderate degree of social inequality and the land was used more intensively than previously thought. Experts have found the land was used to bury people, and the mortuary rites were different for a few individuals.

Some inhabitants of those houses grew a range of plants, contradicting previous assumptions that they didn't stay in one place long enough to cultivate horticulture for the whole year.

Mr Gregorio de Souza said: "We now know more about the way these groups lived, and are able to challenge the view, dominant until relatively recently, that these were marginal cultures in the context of lowland South America.

The research was carried out in collaboration with academics from the Universidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil, University of Reading, Reading, Unisul and Centro Universitario Univates in Brazil.

Understanding the chronology and occupation dynamics of oversized pit houses in the southern Brazilian highlands is published in PLOS ONE.
Medical marijuana is having a positive impact on the bottom line of Medicare's prescription drug benefit program in states that have legalized its use for medicinal purposes, according to University of Georgia researchers in a study published today in the July issue of Health Affairs.

The savings, due to lower prescription drug use, were estimated to be $165.2 million in 2013, a year when 17 states and the District of Columbia had implemented medical marijuana laws. The results suggest that if all states had implemented medical marijuana the overall savings to Medicare would have been around $468 million.

Compared to Medicare Part D's 2013 budget of $103 billion, those savings would have been 0.5 percent. But it's enough of a difference to show that, in states where it's legal, some people are turning to the drug as an alternative to prescription medications for ailments that range from pain to sleep disorders.

Because medical marijuana is such a hot-button issue, explained study co-author W. David Bradford, who is the Busbee Chair in Public Policy in the UGA School of Public and International Affairs, their findings can give policymakers and others another tool to evaluate the pros and cons of medical marijuana legalization.

"We realized this question was an important one that nobody had yet attacked," he said.

"The results suggest people are really using marijuana as medicine and not just using it for recreational purposes," said the study's lead author Ashley Bradford, who completed her bachelor's degree in sociology in May and will start her master's degree in public administration at UGA this fall.

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To obtain the results, they combed through data on all prescriptions filled by Medicare Part D enrollees from 2010 to 2013, a total of over 87 million physician-drug-year observations.

They then narrowed down the results to only include conditions for which marijuana might serve as an alternative treatment, selecting nine categories in which the Food and Drug Administration had already approved at least one medication. These were anxiety, depression, glaucoma, nausea, pain, psychosis, seizures, sleep disorders and spasticity.

They chose glaucoma in particular because while marijuana does decrease eye pressure caused by the disease by about 25 percent, its effects only last an hour. With this disorder, they expected marijuana laws--as a result of demand stimulation--to send more people to the doctor looking for relief. And because taking marijuana once an hour is unrealistic, they expected to see the number of daily doses prescribed for glaucoma medication increase.

They were not disappointed. While fewer prescriptions were written for the rest of categories--dropping by 1,826 daily doses in the pain category and 265 in the depression category, for instance--the number of daily doses for glaucoma medication increased by 35.

"It turns out that glaucoma is one of the most Googled searches linked to marijuana, right after pain," David Bradford said. "Glaucoma is an extremely serious condition" that can lead quickly to blindness. "The patient then goes into the doctor, the doctor diagnoses the patient with glaucoma, and no doctor is going to let the patient walk out without being treated."

Marijuana is classified federally as a "Schedule 1" under the Controlled Substances Act. With its placement in this most restrictive of drug categories, it means that the federal government has determined it has high abuse potential, no medical use and severe safety concerns. Several states don't agree with this assessment, and, in 1996, California became the first to legalize it for medical purposes, followed by Alaska, Oregon and Washington in 1998. As recently as June of this year, Pennsylvania and Ohio passed laws allowing its medical use.

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Each of the 25 states plus the District of Columbia with a medical marijuana law has different guidelines for its use and possession limits. Also, physicians in these states may only recommend its use; it remains illegal for them to prescribe the medication.

Patients also can't walk up to their neighborhood pharmacy to pick up a marijuana prescription; they have to either go to a dispensary or grow it themselves--and the legality of having marijuana plants differs by state. This lack of patient oversight by a trained health care profession, in particular, worries David Bradford.

"Doctors can recommend marijuana and in some states can sign a form to help you get a card, but at that point you go out of the medical system and into the dispensaries," he said. "What does this mean? Do you then go less frequently to the doctor and maybe your non-symptomatic hypertension, elevated blood sugar and elevated cholesterol go unmanaged? If that's the case, that could be a negative consequence to this."

The researchers will explore these consequences further in their next study, Ashley Bradford said, which will look at medical marijuana's effects on Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps with medical costs and typically serves an older population.

They expect the cost savings seen in their current study to be repeated when they look at Medicaid, saying their findings suggests a more widespread state approval of medical marijuana could provide modest budgetary relief. Their current study suggests total spending by Medicare Part D would have been $468.1 million less in 2013 if all states were to have adopted medical marijuana laws by that year, an amount just under 0.5 percent of the prescription drug benefit program's spending.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have made an important breakthrough in their ongoing efforts to develop a diagnostic test that can tell health-care providers whether a patient has a bacterial infection and will benefit from antibiotics.

The study will be published July 6 in Science Translational Medicine.

Antibiotics have saved millions of lives and created a world in which complex and lifesaving surgeries are possible. But the overuse of antibiotics threatens to create a global scourge of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. Because of this problem, public health experts regularly remind physicians to prescribe antibiotics only for bacterial infections. But too often there's no easy way for doctors to tell whether a patient's illness is bacterial or viral or, sometimes, if there's even any infection at all.

"A lot of times you can't really tell what kind of infection someone has," said Timothy Sweeney, MD, PhD an engineering research associate with the Stanford Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and lead author of the paper. "If someone comes into the clinic, a bacterial or a viral infection often look exactly the same."

"The idea to look for a diagnostic test came from our previous paper in Immunity last year," said assistant professor of medicine Purvesh Khatri, PhD, the senior author. "In that paper, we found a common response by the human immune system to multiple viruses that is distinct from that for bacterial infections. We wondered whether we could exploit that difference to improve the diagnosis of bacterial or viral infections. But we needed a gene signature consisting of far fewer genes for the test to be clinically useful."

Blood test

The team used publicly available patient gene expression data to pinpoint just seven human genes whose activity changes during an infection; their pattern of activity can distinguish whether an infection is bacterial or viral.

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When pathogens infect the cells of the body, the infection sets off a chain reaction involving the immune system that changes the activity, or expression, of hundreds of genes. Gene expression is the process by which cells extract information from genes and render it in the form of either protein or RNA molecules. Cells have the capacity to express more or less of each molecule, creating a pattern of gene expression that changes in response to external influences, including infections.

The seven-gene test is a vast improvement over earlier tests that look at the activity of hundreds of genes, the researchers said. Because so few genes are involved, the new test will be cheaper and faster, while remaining accurate, they said.

A study in Nepal co-authored by assistant professor of medicine Jason Andrews, MD, revealed that only 5 percent of patients who received antibiotics actually needed them, said Khatri. The Nepalese patients got antibiotic treatment because the drug was cheaper than trying to figure out if they actually needed it. "If we really want to make a difference," Khatri said, "our test has to be more cost-effective than the drug itself." That's an important breakpoint, he said, since it could allow health-care systems to use antibiotics appropriately and save money at the same time.

The work is part of a global response to the need to reduce the use of antibiotics, driven in part by President Obama's National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. Today, drug-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year in the United States alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, of the 154 million antibiotic prescriptions written in U.S. doctors' offices and emergency departments each year, it's estimated that 1 in 3 are unnecessary. A 2014 review of antimicrobial resistance reported that unless something is done to stop the evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such so-called superbugs could cost the world $100 trillion in gross-domestic-product losses by 2050.

Finally, besides promoting the evolution of drug-resistant microbes, antibiotics increase the risk of side effects such as tendon rupture or kidney damage, and can damage gut and other microbiomes that are essential to overall health.

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Hurdles ahead

The new gene-expression test for bacterial infection faces two hurdles before it can be made available to doctors in a few years. First, it must be thoroughly tested in a clinical setting. Until now, the data and test results for this ongoing work have all come from preexisting, online digital data sets of gene expression from patients with different kinds of infections -- not from current patients.

The new study tested the seven-gene test on blood samples from 96 critically ill children, using an assay called NanoString, and found that the test was accurate. But it needs to be further validated in larger numbers of patient blood samples, the researchers said.

Second, the test needs to be incorporated into a device that can give a result in an hour or less. The preliminary NanoString version of the blood test takes four to six hours -- too long for people who are seriously ill. In patients who have sepsis, for example, the risk of death goes up by 6 to 8 percent for every hour that antibiotics are delayed, so it's critically important to act quickly.

In someone who is obviously severely ill, said Sweeney, prescribing antibiotics would be the default. But often patients have early bacterial infections and doctors don't yet realize the patient is in danger. The gene expression test could remove doubt in a matter of minutes, allowing doctors to prescribe antibiotics sooner and save lives.

For that reason, Sweeney and Khatri are working with other researchers on a way to engineer the gene expression test to provide results in under an hour. The plan is to combine an 11-gene test they created a few months ago with the more recent seven-gene test. The 11-gene test reveals if the patient has an infection at all. If they do have an infection, the seven-gene test reveals if it is bacterial or viral. Both tests would be run at the same time.

The researchers envision the two tests as a decision tree. "When you put the new seven-gene set together with the 11-gene set, we can make a decision tree that matches how a physician might think about a patient," said Sweeney. "First we ask, 'Is an infection present?' Because some people present with an inflammation, a fever, a high heart rate, but it's not due to an infection. Then we ask, 'If so, what kind?'"

The 18-gene combination test would first be used in hospitals, Sweeney said. It's possible, he said, that an even cheaper test just using the seven genes could be used in outpatient clinics.
Imagine an agriculture field. Most are planted with row upon row of tidy cash crops. Now imagine that same field with rows of trees between the rows of crops. This forested field concept is called alley cropping. Alley cropping helps farmers diversify by growing long-term tree crops alongside short-term cash crops like wheat.

"For so long farmers have been taking trees off farmland," said Josh Gamble, agroforestry researcher at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, "So the idea of putting trees back on is a little bit of a barrier."

Alley cropping is a type of agroforestry, which is the practice of combining crops and trees into one farming system. The dual income from the land can bring greater economic security to farmers.

"The idea is that it's potentially a multi-use system, with more diversity and more function," said Gamble.

Alley cropping is not only useful for diversifying a farm's income. Fields with trees capture more carbon than fields without trees. Trees protect the crops planted alongside them by providing shade and wind protection.

In addition, trees can provide a buffer between the field and nearby waterways. When a field floods, the water runs off with nutrients and soil, leaving the field less productive and the river more polluted. Trees can filter the nutrients and stabilize the soil on farm land.

Tree crops are used for a variety of products. Some, like pine, are grown for timber. Others, like hickory and walnut, can be used for nut production. Josh Gamble is interested in growing biomass, or trees and crops that are grown for heat and power production. Gamble and his team chose two fast-growing, hardy trees--willows and poplars-- and planted them alongside a variety of native grasses.

The willows, poplars, and grasses absorb excess nutrients, preventing them from leaching into waterways. The grasses are especially productive and absorb nutrients quickly. Because the grass is cut and removed from the land at harvest time, fewer nutrients are released back into the ecosystem. Additionally, the roots that remain after harvest help stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

Gamble and his team wanted to find out which pairings of trees and grasses were most compatible. "Some species pairings work, and some compete against each other," said Gamble.

Poplar and prairie cordgrass were among the best-performing pairs, but Gamble said that might change. "These are only the first four years, so we'll see what happens," said Gamble. "We're trying to think about long-term productivity and diversity."

The trees and the grasses have to strike a truce for alley cropping to work well. "There's a fine balance between competition and sharing resources," said Gamble. Part of ensuring that balance is done by planting species that benefit each other. Warm- and cool-season species can benefit from the shade protection of trees to survive heat stress. It's also important to plant species that match the condition of the landscape. If a field is prone to flooding, farmers should plant species that can survive wet conditions.

Alley cropping adds a certain amount of complexity to the day-to-day management of farms, which can make it unappealing to some farmers. However, Gamble said that alley cropping is one technique in a broad suite of agroforestry tools that improve ecosystem function and boost productivity.
The sun is a clean and inexhaustible source of energy, with the potential to provide a sustainable answer to all future energy supply demands. There's just one outstanding problem: the sun doesn't always shine and its energy is hard to store. For the first time, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the ETH Zurich have unveiled a chemical process that uses the sun's thermal energy to convert carbon dioxide and water directly into high-energy fuels: a procedure developed on the basis of a new material combination of cerium oxide and rhodium. This discovery marks a significant step towards the chemical storage of solar energy. The researchers published their findings in the research journal Energy and Environmental Science.

The sun's energy is already being harnessed in various ways: whilst photovoltaic cells convert sun light into electricity, solar thermal installations use the vast thermal energy of the sun for purposes such as heating fluids to a high temperature. Solar thermal power plants involve the large-scale implementation of this second method: using thousands of mirrors, the sun light is focused on a boiler in which steam is produced either directly or via a heat exchanger at temperatures exceeding 500 C. Turbines then convert thermal energy into electricity.

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the ETH Zurich have collaborated to develop a ground-breaking alternative to this approach. The new procedure uses the sun's thermal energy to convert carbon dioxide and water directly into synthetic fuel.

"This allows solar energy to be stored in the form of chemical bonds," explains Ivo Alxneit, chemist at the PSI's Solar Technology Laboratory. "It's easier than storing electricity." The new approach is based on a similar principle to that used by solar power plants." Alxneit and his colleagues use heat in order to trigger certain chemical processes that only take place at very high temperatures above 1000 C. Advances in solar technology will soon enable such temperatures to be achieved using sun light..

Producing fuel with solar heat

Alxneit's research is based on the principle of the thermo-chemical cycle, a term comprising both the cyclical process of chemical conversion and the heat energy required for it -- referred to by experts as thermal energy. Ten years ago, researchers had already demonstrated the possibility of converting low-energy substances such as water and the waste product carbon dioxide into energy-rich materials such as hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

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This works in the presence of certain materials such as cerium oxide, a combination of the metal cerium with oxygen. When subjected to very high temperatures above 1500 C, cerium oxide loses some oxygen atoms. At lower temperatures, this reduced material is keen to re-acquire oxygen atoms. If water and carbon dioxide molecules are directed over such an activated surface, they release oxygen atoms (chemical symbol: O). Water (H2O) is converted into hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (CO2) turns into carbon monoxide (CO), whilst the cerium re-oxidizes itself in the process, establishing the preconditions for the cerium oxide cycle to begin all over again.

The hydrogen and carbon monoxide created in this process can be used to produce fuel: specifically, gaseous or fluid hydrocarbons such as methane, petrol and diesel. Such fuels may be used directly but can also be stored in tanks or fed into the natural gas grid.

One process instead of two

Up to now, this type of fuel production required a second, separate process: the so-called Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis, developed in 1925. The European research consortium SOLAR-JET recently proposed a combination of a thermo-chemical cycle and the Fischer-Tropsch procedure.

However, as Alxneit explains: "although this basically solves the storage problem, considerable technical effort is necessary to carry out a Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis." In addition to a solar installation, a second industrial-scale technical plant is required.

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Direct production of solar fuel now possible

By developing a material that allows the direct production of fuel within one process, the new approach developed by Ivo Alxneit and his colleagues dispenses with the Fischer-Tropsch procedure and hence also with the second step. This was accomplished by adding small amounts of rhodium to the cerium oxide. Rhodium is a catalyst that enables certain chemical reactions. It has been known for some time that rhodium permits reactions with hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

"The catalyst is a pivotal research topic for the production of these solar fuels," says Alxneit. His PhD-candidate at the PSI Fangjian Lin emphasizes: "it was a huge challenge to control the extreme conditions necessary for these chemical reactions and develop a catalyst material capable of withstanding an activation process at 1500 C." During the cooling process, for example, the extremely small rhodium islands on the material surface must not be allowed to disappear or increase in size since they are essential to the anticipated catalytic process. The resulting fuels are either used or stored and the cyclical process begins again once the cerium oxide is re-activated.

Using various standard methods of structure and gas analysis, researchers working in laboratories at the PSI and the ETH in Zurich examined the cerium-rhodium compound, explored how well the reduction of the cerium oxide works and how successful methane production was. "So far, our combined process only delivers small amounts of directly usable fuel," concludes Alxneit.. "But we have shown that our idea works and it's taken us from the realms of science fiction to reality."

Successful tests in high performance oven

During their experiments, researchers kept things simple by using a high performance oven at the ETH in place of solar energy. "In the test phase, the actual source of thermal energy is immaterial," explains Matthaus Rothensteiner, PhD-candidate at the PSI and the ETH Zurich whose area of responsibility included these tests.

Jeroen van Bokhoven, head of the PSI's Laboratory for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry and Professor for Heterogeneous Catalysis at the ETH Zurich adds: "These tests enabled us to gain valuable insights into the catalyst's long-term stability. Our high performance oven allowed us to carry out 59 cycles in quick succession. Our material has comfortably survived its first endurance test." Having shown that their procedure is feasible in principle, researchers can now devote themselves to its optimization.
Rhesus macaques, primates brought from Asia in the 1930s to entice more tourists to an area now known as Silver Springs State Park, likely prey on eggs of the park's birds, a new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows.

A group of UF/IFAS researchers used camera traps next to 100 artificial bird nests baited with quail eggs near the Silver River. Researchers placed nests in shrubs and left them for 12 days, which represents the incubation period of many of the park's songbirds, like Northern Cardinals.

Rhesus macaques preyed on 21 of the 100 nests, the study showed. Creatures other than macaques preyed on another nine nests and an unidentified predator ate eggs from five nests. The study results do not suggest rhesus macaques are destroying 21 percent of native bird nests, said Steve Johnson, a UF/IFAS associate professor of wildlife ecology and conservation.

However, the study does confirm rhesus macaques in Silver Springs State Park will consume eggs when they find them in natural habitat, Johnson said.

"Our study shows that we need to learn more about their habits and impacts in the park so the Florida Park Service can make science-based decisions on how to manage these non-native monkeys," he said.

"Monkeys are cute, but can devastate systems that don't have the proper predators or other ecological means to keep their populations in check," said Jane Anderson, a doctoral student in wildlife ecology and the lead author on this study.

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Silver Springs State Park provides a natural habitat for numerous species, including 18 endemic and 10 endangered plant species, as well as habitat for resident and migratory birds, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

While the non-native rhesus macaque resides in Silver Springs State Park, the rest of Florida is home to more non-native wildlife species than any other state. It costs $500 million annually to prevent, manage and mitigate those invasive species, according to previous research cited in the new UF/IFAS study. Florida is particularly vulnerable to non-native species because of tourism, ports and a thriving exotic pet trade, among other factors.

In places where they've been introduced by people, macaques have increased bacteria in water, destroyed mangrove trees -- leading to shoreline erosion -- caused millions of dollars in crop damage and threatened native wildlife populations. When they're put in non-native habitats, macaques prey on nests.

As for Silver Springs State Park, about 190 macaques lived in the park as of the fall of 2015, the study says. However, there are no management strategies or population control measures for the animals. By not removing macaques from the park, park managers risk allowing their population to increase, and scientists don't know how that would affect native species.

Rhesus macaques could potentially impact the native plant and animal species in the park in several ways; for example, eating plants needed by other animals, changing the plant composition in the park, or pushing other animals out of the habitat by being aggressive, Anderson said.

"There are lots of things that could be tested, so the nest study was just one of the things that needed to be considered," she said.

The new study, co-authored by Johnson, Anderson and other UF/IFAS researchers, is published in the journal Biological Invasions.
Researchers at Umea University in Sweden have published new findings on the adaptation of the bacterial cell wall in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study reveals novel bacterial defence mechanisms against the immune system and how they can become resistant to antibiotics.

Bacteria are surrounded by a mesh-like structure which, similar to an external skeleton, defines the cell shape and provides protection against external attacks. This remarkable polymer cell wall called peptidoglycan, given its basic composition of sugars and amino acids, is well known for being a major target of beta-lactam antibiotics such as Penicillin.

Despite this structure having been the focus of extensive investigations on the long-lasting battle against bacterial pathogens (i.e. bacteria that cause infectious diseases), there is currently little understanding of its natural variability and the consequences of such changes on the ability of bacteria to adapt and survive in a threatening environment.

"This new study provides a powerful pipeline which permits rapid identification and boosts knowledge of cell wall biology in bacteria and opens new avenues towards the development of taxon-specific antimicrobial strategies," says infection biologist Felipe Cava who led the study at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the Department of Molecular Biology at Umea University.

One objective of the research at the Cava Lab is to find new treatment methods against infectious disease and resistance to antibiotics. The study will be of great importance to address fundamental questions on bacterial adaptation to environmental challenges such as to the natural occurring poly-microbial environments as well as to the parasitic, commensal and symbiotic relations with other organisms.

In their recent publication, the researchers investigated the cell wall chemical diversity in the Alpha-subdivision of Proteobacteria, possibly the most abundant organisms in the world. This division includes the most common bacteria in surface water, as well as some plant, animal and human pathogens. The research resulted in finding unprecedented chemical modifications in the cell wall of certain bacteria which enabled them to adapt to their environmental niche.

"We identified a novel peptidoglycan structure displayed by acetic acid bacteria, which are very relevant microbes in the food industry. One of these modifications occur in the diaminopimelic acid, a highly conserved amino acid in the peptidoglycan cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, these species have devised an original way of crosslinking their peptidoglycan mesh, which is different to what has been described for other bacteria so far," explains Felipe Cava.

The biological importance of the study is that these bacteria actually develop structural adjustments in their peptidoglycan layer to create better-fitted cell walls to live in, and colonise competitive environments.

"We showed that these modifications are not purely decorative, but instead, empower acetic acid bacteria with a higher level of protection against lytic enzymes delivered by competing microbes. Also, we showed that the cell wall structure to a certain extent elicits an innate immune system response in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster -- a natural host for these bacteria," says Felipe Cava.

Felipe Cava was appointed in 2013 as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow at the Umea University and is head of an independent research group at The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), the Swedish partner in The Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine.

The study is part of a Kingdom-wide peptidoglycan -omic research database called The MUREINome, which collects data from thousands of different bacteria species. The work has also been the result of a collaboration with researchers at the Computational Life Science Cluster at Umea University, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.
Cletus, a very friendly 11-year-old dog, was found abandoned on a playground in Georgia, all alone except for his box of toys and an incredibly sad note.

Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Guy Falls In Love With His Little Meatball Of A Foster Dog

The note detailed how Cletus's owner was homeless, and no longer had the means to take care of him. "I'm a very good dog," the note said. "I'm 11 years old, but I still play like a puppy."

Cletus was taken in by the Gwinnett County Animal Control, and has already proved that for a senior dog, he still has plenty of years left in him. He loves to play fetch, and is overjoyed to meet anyone and everyone who comes his way. "I play ball, catch frisbees, and I love to give hugs," the note said. "Will you please give me a new home?"

There were worries that because of Cletus's age, finding a new home might prove difficult - but this morning, not long after he was found, Cletus was adopted into his new forever family, the Gwinnett County Animal Control told The Dodo. His former owner just wanted to find a new home for him, and thanks to the shelter who took him in and social media who fell in love with him, Cletus no longer has to worry about being homeless.
Meet the dog who nearly died for his owner's new hair color.

The dog was left in the car for about two hours with no shade or water in sight, while his owner sat inside a nearby hair salon.

"She was getting her hair colored," an incredulous Karla Iannucci of Operation Gypsy, in Rochester, New York, told The Dodo. "I guess I don't get it. Your brain goes, 'Why did they do it?' I have no idea."

Iannucci, whose rescue group responds to animals in crisis through its Facebook page, said someone on the scene called the cops, who smashed the window.

When the woman emerged from the salon, she was issued a ticket, which, under New York State law, involves a fine and a court appearance. The dog remained in the custody of his owner.

Summer's barely begun and we've already heard this song too many times. Pets should never be left alone in the car. What might seem like breathable weather outside is often a life-threatening situation inside - even with the windows cracked.

While laws governing pets in hot cars are changing for the better across the U.S. and Canada, many people seem to be taking matters into their own hands when they see an animal in need.

Like a man in Ontario, Canada, who hurled a rock through a car window at a music festival.
We've been there before: Bummed out, feeling blue, flailing helplessly on our shells of dense rib bone. But then a friend happens along, and like a blast of sunlight through dark clouds, our day gets a little brighter. In this video, one kind tortoise nudges his floundering friend:

This browser does not support the video tag. AUDI YU/YouTube

And wedges himself under his stuck buddy.

Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend

This browser does not support the video tag. AUDI YU/YouTube

Then heaves the hapless tortoise up, up, up, until ...

This browser does not support the video tag. AUDI YU/YouTube

... the graceful landing. And the crowd goes wild! (They're shouting "jia you!", along the lines of "Go! Go! Go!") Check out the whole thing here:

This tortoise version of bros before woes took place in Taipei, Taiwan, and according to the translation of the YouTube video description: "Animals have compassion, too - encountering a flipped turtle by chance, the turtle's companion comes to his rescue." That this tortoise understood his friend needed rescuing is not an implausible idea. Though scientists are still trying to decipher the sounds turtles make, shelled reptiles are certainly capable of social communication. Desert tortoises, for example, let out a variety of noises like hisses and "poinks," which may be distress calls. And it's not the first time a tortoise has come to his friend's aid, either. (Though this guy takes his sweet, turtle-y time):
<p>W.O.L.F. Sanctuary</p>

Late last week, "New Boy" was a stray, roaming the suburbs of Los Angeles. At one point, he might have been someone's pet, because he had something that resembled a collar on him when he was picked up by a local shelter. From a distance, it was easy to think that New Boy was just another stray dog. But his true nature quickly became clear to his rescuers. He was no ordinary house pet - he was a wolf dog and he was in need of saving. Otherwise it was more than likely he would be euthanized by the shelter, which couldn't keep a wild animal and didn't have the resources to give him the care he needed.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

After reaching out to wolf and wolf dog rescues in California, which didn't have enough room to take in New Boy, the shelter that picked him up reached out to a national network of wolf rescues.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

That was how Colorado's W.O.L.F. Sanctuary first heard about the young wolf dog, who's about 1.

Dodo Shows Soulmates Growling Little Kitten Becomes Her Mom's Best Friend

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

"He obviously had not been taken care of very well for awhile," Michelle Proulx, director of animal care at W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, told The Dodo. "He is in very, very rough shape, physically."

New Boy was emaciated, dehydrated and filled with parasites and had developed a severe case of mange. W.O.L.F. Sanctuary staff saw photos of the young pup, despondent and obviously frightened. The sanctuary happened to have room to give the wolf dog a home and immediately put together a group to move forward with picking him up. The drive from California back to Colorado was around 18 hours, but on Monday, New Boy was officially in safe hands and ready to start his new life.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

He checked into the Wellington Veterinary Hospital early Monday morning, where an examination determined that in addition to his other health issues, New Boy was anemic, had inflamed feet and was covered in ticks. After getting cleaned up, New Boy was transferred to an off-site infirmary, where he'll remain for about two weeks until he is healthy enough to join the sanctuary.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

"When we first met him he was extremely timid and very scared," Proulx told The Dodo.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

"When people would come around, he would try to get in the farthest corner away that he could. He would look for escape routes, try to find his way out of his enclosure so he could get farther away from the people coming [into his room]," she said.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

Although New Boy's only been with his current company for a few days, Proulx noted that he's slowly starting to relax a bit. "I think he's starting to realize that it's going to be okay," she said. "We're not seeing the same intensely fearful animal that we met initially on Sunday."

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

According to Proulx, most wolves and wolf dogs kept as pets typically end up dying before before the age of 2. "The reason for that is because wolves are not dogs, and wolf dogs are not dogs," she said. "People don't realize that when they go out to get them as a pet ... People tend to give them up because they're not easy pets." When wolves or wolf dogs start to show their owners their wilder instincts, they are often abandoned - which may have been the case for New Boy. Nothing about his background before his rescue is currently known.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary

"Once we get him treated to the point where he is healthy enough to come up to the sanctuary, what we'll do is actually look to rescue a young female to be a companion for him," Proulx said. "We keep our groups at the sanctuary small, two to three individuals maximum so that we can prevent fighting and confrontation issues within social groups." For now, New Boy is continuing to build up his appetite - and learn that the people surrounding him now have nothing but good intentions for his well-being. "He's a very adorable, special little boy," Proulx said.

W.O.L.F. Sanctuary
CALGARYThe wildfire that rendered the heart of oilsands country a charred and ashy mess is estimated to be the costliest disaster in Canada, worrying evidence that extreme weather events have increased in frequency and severity, the Insurance Bureau of Canada said Thursday.

About $3.58 billion in damage is expected due to the fire in May that swept through Fort McMurray, Alta., nearly twice as much as the January 1998 ice storms that paralyzed eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. That disaster resulted in just over $2 billion in damages when converted into 2015 dollars, the bureau said.

Ultimately what we are seeing is that our climate is changing, and the long-term trends are directly a result of some of those dynamics, Bill Adams, Western and Pacific vice-president for the bureau, said on a conference call.

Adams urged various levels of government to design building codes and land use policies that keep people out of harms way by anticipating fires, floods and other disasters. Specifically, he said people should stop building houses in flood plains and putting flammable cedar shingles on homes in the middle of forests.

Historically, we have not done that well in Canada and perhaps less so in Alberta, he said. Unfortunately, were living with the consequences.

Last week, Fort McMurray fire Chief Darby Allen issued a similar call for less flammable home construction materials and a bigger buffer zone between the city and the forest. In response, Melissa Blake, the mayor of the Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality that encompasses Fort McMurray, said she thinks change may come through personal choices rather than new bylaws or building codes.

In an audit published in May, Julie Gelfand, the federal environment and sustainable development commissioner, recommended that the National Building Code be updated to take into account increasingly frequent severe weather events stemming from climate change.

The Fort McMurray fire forced almost 90,000 residents from their homes. It destroyed about 1,800 houses as well as buildings containing about 600 apartments or condo units. People have since been allowed back into the community, but it took nearly two months before a state of emergency could be lifted.

Adams said most of the damage from the wildfires will be covered by insurance. That was not the case during the June 2013 floods in southern Alberta, where total damage came to about $6 billion but most of that was caused by overland flooding for which most people did not have insurance coverage, he said. In the end, nearly $1.8 billion in damage claims were made when expressed in 2015 dollars.

The tally of the damage in Fort McMurray is based on surveys of insurance companies by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. Of the $3.58 billion in damage, about $2.2 billion is expected to be for personal property loss, it said.

About $1.25 billion in commercial claims and $180 million in auto insurance claims are also expected.

Managing director Carolyn Rennie of CatIQ said the commercial claims would also cover business interruptions. Financial analysts estimate that as much as 30 million barrels of oilsands production worth $1.6 billion was lost as producers were forced to shut down or curtail operations, although the fire did little physical damage to their projects.

Adams said the insurance industry will announce as early as next week a program to help remove debris from burned-out neighbourhoods, a similar initiative to the co-ordinated disposal of fridges and freezers tainted by rotting food as Fort McMurray residents returned to the city last month.

He said Alberta has been hit by seven of the 10 most expensive disasters in Canadian history and although no one event directly affects insurance rates, most Albertans are paying higher premiums.

This wildfire is, yes, the largest, he said. But unfortunately its one in a series of significant events ... that have taken place in Alberta over the course of the last number of years, so I think most Albertans who have had renewals would have seen their premiums increase.

What impact this will have will be determined at a later date by individual insurers.

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SEOULSamsung Electronics Co. reported its biggest operating profit in more than two years, bolstered by brisk demand for its Galaxy S7 smartphones, cost controls and sluggish iPhone sales.

Shares in the worlds largest maker of phones and memory chips rose after it reported operating income of 8.1 trillion won ($9.1 billion) in the latest quarter, exceeding the 7.38 trillion-won average of analysts estimates compiled by Bloomberg and 6.9 trillion won a year earlier.

The results underscore how the South Korean company is defying a slowdown in the smartphone market. Galaxy S7 models, which were timed to go on sale earlier than usual this year, have capitalized on a lull in new iPhones from Apple Inc. That, along with a healthy consumer electronics business, is helping to boost profit margins and make up for declining income in Samsungs semiconductor business.

S7 smartphones turned out to be a greater hit than what the market had thought without competing iPhones, said Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Co. in Seoul. Samsungs end-user products, such as smartphones and TVs, all performed unbelievably well in the first half and looks like they did a lot of cost reduction.

Shares of Samsung rose 1.5 per cent in early trading, to 1.44 million won. The stock has climbed 13 per cent in 2016 as of Wednesday, before the preliminary results were released, putting it on track for their first annual increase in four years.

Revenue was 50 trillion won in the June quarter, the company said, compared with the 50.9 trillion won analysts expected. Samsung wont provide net income or break out divisional performance until it releases audited results later this month.

Samsung probably sold 15 million units of the S7 in the quarter after shipping 10 million in March when it debuted, said Greg Roh, an analyst at HMC Investment Securities in Seoul. Operating profit at the mobile unit probably rose 53 per cent to 4.23 trillion won in the second quarter, according to the average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Higher sales of the S7 Edge with a wraparound screen, compared with the flat version, along with solid demand for cheaper models helped earnings grow.

In the absence of a new iPhone, many carriers boosted marketing spending to drive purchases of the S7, shifting the cost of promotion away from Samsung.

Marketing cost is under control, said Peter Yu, a Seoul-based analyst at BNP Paribas SA in Seoul.

Operating income at the semiconductor business probably fell about 25 per cent to 2.55 trillion won in the June quarter on sales of 11.2 trillion won, according to the analyst survey. Slackening demand for personal computers and smartphones have pressured chip prices and outweighed rising orders of storage chips from company clients.

The companys display division, which also makes screens using organic light-emitting diodes, probably posted a profit of 170 billion won, reversing from the 270 billion won loss recorded in the previous quarter, according to the Bloomberg survey.

Stronger profit from OLED as more smartphone makers adopt the technology helped to make up for losses from liquid crystal displays.

Samsung has held exclusive talks to supply OLED screens for iPhones due in 2017, people familiar with the matter have said. The company may also bring out its own phones with bendable screens as early as next year, people familiar have said.

"Investors expect the smartphone-tablet hybrid device that is made of flexible OLED technology could be a game changer," Peter Lee, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities Co. said in a June 20 report. "Especially, they seem to have higher hopes on foldable smartphones."

Continued price declines of LCD panels also propelled sales of televisions. Operating profit at the consumer electronics division, which encompasses TVs and appliances, probably more than tripled to 770 billion won, according to the analyst survey.

I am not sure if the end-user product sales growth can be sustainable throughout the latter half of the year but the component businesses will give a leg up, said IBKs Lee.

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The U.S.s top auto safety regulator said Wednesday that it had begun an investigation of a second crash involving a Tesla Motors car equipped with Autopilot technology, a system designed to let vehicles drive themselves for brief periods.

In the nonfatal crash, a Tesla SUV rolled over Friday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike after hitting barriers on both sides of the highway. Safety officials continue to investigate a fatal Florida accident in May. The driver of the Pennsylvania vehicle told the Pennsylvania State Police that he was operating it in Autopilot mode.

The accidents have put new scrutiny on Teslas Autopilot system and raised questions about whether the technology, which the company describes as only an experimental beta test, lulls drivers into a false sense of security.

Although Tesla drivers have posted YouTube videos of themselves operating the vehicles completely hands-free  even climbing into the back seat  the company has cautioned that Autopilot is meant only as an auto-assist feature that requires drivers to keep their hands on or near the steering wheel at all times.

In the Florida crash, the first known fatality involving an autonomous driving system, the driver was killed when his Tesla Model S sedan struck a tractor-trailer that was crossing the roadway.

An account given Wednesday by a witness to the Florida accident seemed to indicate that the Autopilot system continued operating the car at highway speed, even after the vehicles top was sheared off by the impact and the Tesla went under the trailer and continued down the road.

The car came from underneath the trailer, said the witness, Terence Mulligan, who was named in the Florida Highway Patrols accident report. Mulligan, who was driving behind the tractor-trailer at the time, said: The top was gone. It went right by me.

Mulligan, in a telephone interview, said he turned and followed the Tesla, which did not slow down until it had left the road, crashed through two fences and hit a utility pole. His account jibed with the accident report by the Florida Highway Patrol, which said the car was travelling at 65 mph (105 km/h) when it hit the tractor-trailer.

Tesla has declined to comment on the details of the Florida crash, which is still under investigation by state and federal officials.

In a statement Wednesday about the Pennsylvania crash, Tesla said it had no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident based on the information it had collected so far.

The Pennsylvania crash involved a Model X SUV heading east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 160 km east of Pittsburgh. The car scraped a guardrail on the right side of the road, crossed the roadway and hit the concrete median. It then rolled over onto its roof and came to a stop in the middle of the road.

Tesla vehicles have the ability to send data to the company about their condition and operation. In a statement, the company said it received an automated alert from the Model X in Pennsylvania on July 1 showing that its airbags had deployed. But the company said more detailed information about the cars operation was not received, a situation that could happen if the cars antenna was damaged in the crash.

Details of the Pennsylvania crash were first reported by the Detroit Free Press. The Pennsylvania State Police declined to release additional details because an investigation is in progress.

The Pennsylvania driver, Albert Scaglione, said by phone Wednesday that he had just been released from the hospital and declined to comment on the accident.

My attorneys will be releasing a statement shortly, he said.

A passenger in the car, Tim Yanke, was reportedly not seriously injured.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday that it was collecting information from the Pennsylvania State Police, Tesla and the driver to find out whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash.

The federal safety agency has also sent a crash investigation team to Florida to determine if the Tesla Autopilot system was at fault in the accident on May 7, which killed Joshua Brown, 40, from Canton, Ohio.

In the Florida crash, charges are pending against Frank Baressi, the driver of the tractor-trailer that was hit by Browns Tesla. But no final determination on charges will be made until the inquiry is complete, Sgt. Kim Montes, a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said Wednesday.

We know the truck made a left turn, and the person going straight has the right of way, she said, referring to Browns vehicle.

Baressi, reached by phone, declined to comment.

In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Baressi said he had heard a Harry Potter movie playing from Browns vehicle but also acknowledged, He went so fast through my trailer, I didnt see him.

Montes said, We dont know if thats accurate, adding, We may never know, obviously, given the damage of the vehicle. In a very violent crash, theres not going to be a lot left inside a car that could be playing.

A DVD player and a laptop computer were recovered from Browns vehicle after the crash.

Questions have been raised about why neither Tesla nor the federal safety agency notified the public sooner about the May 7 accident, if only to caution other drivers about using Teslas Autopilot feature.

After the federal investigation of Browns accident was disclosed last week, Tesla released a statement Tuesday saying it had informed the agency of the crash immediately after it occurred.

But Tesla said it did not tell the federal agency about the accident until nine days later.

The Florida Highway Patrol contacted Tesla, seeking help in downloading data from the cars so-called black-box recorder, seven to 10 days after the crash.

The company said in a statement that it was obligated to notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on a quarterly basis when it became aware of a fatal accident involving a Tesla vehicle.

As part of its regular ongoing communication and not as part of any formal process, Tesla told NHTSA about the accident while it was still in the process of conducting its investigation, Tesla said. This happened on May 16.

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SOUTH ISLAND, NEW ZEALAND-There are plenty of places and excursions worth checking out when driving through New Zealands South Island. Here are a few quick stops for your road trip:

Related stories:

New Zealand road trip covers South Island

4 things to take home from New Zealand

1. Wine tasting bicycle tour:

Famous for its Sauvignon Blanc, the Blenheim region produces 75 per cent of all New Zealand wine. With verdant valleys ringed by crumpled mountains, one of the best ways to explore the areas expansive vineyards and wineries is on a wine tasting bicycle tour with Explore Marlborough. Whitehaven Wines is a great place to try several varieties of the regions crisp whites. Also be sure to sample Nautilus Estate award-winning bubbly.

2. Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre:

Blenheims Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre is more than just a museum: its a First World War aviation experience. Complete with rare original aircraft, working replicas and lifelike dioramas constructed by Peter Jacksons Weta Cave special effects studio, it brings to life an age when airplanes  with their wooden frames, canvas wings, and intricate pulley systems  had more in common with sailboats than modern jets. The centre will be debuting a Second World War exhibit in July.

3. Ohau Stream Walk:

Some 25 kilometres north of Kaikoura on State Hwy. 1 (or just more than an hours drive from Blenheim on the South Islands east coast), look out for a sign for the Ohau Stream Walk. An easy 10-minute stroll from your car through a sheer verdant gorge brings you to a gentle stream and towering waterfall where scores of cute little seal pups can be found barking, frolicking and splashing giddily while their parents hunt for dinner at sea.

4. Mountain bike trip:

Looming over the city of Christchurch, the grassy and forested Port Hills attract a steady stream of local bikers and joggers. With sweeping views of New Zealands second largest city and a near-endless system of shady trails, a mountain bike trip with Natural High Tours is a great way to explore this eroded ancient volcano. Expect gruelling uphill climbs and whirring descents. There are even ramps and jumps peppered throughout the forest if youre hungry for a thrill.

5. Lake Tekapo:

A three-hour drive from Christchurch and just more than an hour from Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, mountainous Lake Tekapo is the perfect place to break up your long drive into the South Islands interior. Stretch by the lakes glassy waters, stroll its rock-strewn beach, check out the pioneer-built 80-year-old stone Church of the Good Shepherd or laze in the steaming pools at Tekapo Springs. If youre feeling peckish, pop into Run 76 Cafe for some healthy and hearty local fare.

6. Stargazing tour:

Almost totally free from air and light pollution, majestic Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park has been distinguished by the International Dark-Sky Association as a gold-level Dark Sky Reserve. With an array of high-powered telescopes, the Hermitage Hotels Big Sky Stargazing tour is a perfect way to get acquainted with the southern sky. You could see constellations such as the iconic Southern Cross, as well as far-flung clusters of galaxies and Saturns impressive rings.

7. Jet boat ride:

Hang onto your seat. Racing at more than 90 km/h in sometimes ankle-deep water, the jet boats that ply Queenstowns Shotover Canyons are not for the faint of heart. Youll zip through impossibly narrow canyons, racing mere centimetres from boulders and cliffs, while learning about the days when adventurous prospectors waded in these gold-rich waters. Remember: when your driver spins his finger in the air, get ready for a whirling 360-degree turn.

8. Rugby:

A trip to New Zealand wouldnt be complete without catching a game of rugby: the countrys rough-and-tumble national sport. If you cant get tickets to a big-city stadium bout or a match featuring the famous All Blacks national team, keep your eyes open for games being played by local leagues. The rugby pitch across from Queenstowns Memorial Hall, for example, is a great place to catch a game on a weekend afternoon.

Daniel Otis was hosted by Tourism New Zealand, which did not review or approve this story.

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SUPAI, ARIZ.  The sun is high as we begin our descent into the Grand Canyon, sweating on steep switchbacks, looking out at sheer red cliffs and parched thorny scrubland. A helicopter buzzes back and forth and we share the trail with the occasional train of scraggly pack horses and tired hikers heading back to the road. In all this dryness, dust and heat, its hard to imagine the waterfall-filled oasis weve been promised. But we trek on and down into the depths of the canyon.

Sprawling over 760 square kilometres in northern Arizona, the Havasupai Indian Tribes land hugs the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. They have called this area home for a millennium.

Only a limited number of permits are issued every year for the ecologically sensitive Havasupai Trail, and if youre doing this trip independently, it can often take months to secure one. If youre travelling with an outfitter  which is much more expensive but includes gear, meals and pack horses  trips can start almost any time.

The tribes name, our Arizona Outback Adventures guide Nick Pacini says, means People of the Blue-Green Waters.

While our group takes a break in a shaded gulley of red rock nearly halfway into our 16-kilometre trek, Pacini tells us the legend of a bear that demanded the tribes sons as payment to pass to their summer hunting grounds on the canyons rim. A priest and twin warriors set out to subdue the bear, and as the priest finishes a magical song, the bear and the twins grappling with it all become frozen in stone.

Pacini points out the animal hanging above us  a massive slab of red rock that looks like a bear standing on its hind legs. The twins, Pacini says, were moved closer to the village to protect it.

The canyon opens up and suddenly parched rock gives way to the sound of rushing water and the lush shade of ancient cottonwood trees. Birds sing and leaves rustle. We soon see the sign for Supai. Above, the fearless twins stand guard like pillars of red rock.

Supai, population 400, is the remote capital of the Havasupai people. Ringed by the canyons sheer walls, the village is a cluster of fenced bungalows with yards where horses and donkeys graze. There are two general stores, a 24-room inn and a small restaurant. With the nearest road being 13 kilometres away, supplies can only come in by helicopter, horseback or foot. Traditionally, the Havasupai farmed in the canyon during summer and hunted on the plateau above in the winter. Today, tourism supports the economy.

Dogs wander freely and children play in the sandy path. Children are schooled here until Grade 9, at which point theyre sent across the country to complete high school. The village is the only place in the United States where mail still arrives by horse and its the only indigenous community in the country that boasts 100 per cent local language knowledge. An old woman selling soft drinks from a cooler reveals theres no place shed rather be.

We pass the village and see our first waterfall. The water is a milky turquoise colour from travertine: a mineral released by the areas limestone rock. Pacini points out a dry water-carved cliff.

Before 2008, the waterfall was there, he says. A hundred-year flood completely changed the landscape.

Were soon at camp, where our tents and air mattresses have already been set up near a stream that feeds the mighty Colorado River. Its getting dark as we arrive and somebody from our group screams.

Its not venomous, Pacini laughs, casually lifting up a corner of a tent to reveal a metre-long kingsnake.

And theyre good to have around, he adds, shooing the serpent away. They eat rattlesnakes.

While bats and moths flit above, we dine on pasta and sip water that comes from a spigot inserted into the canyon wall, the living rock filtering rainwater for centuries before it gets into our thirsty mouths.

Over the next two days, we use our campground as a base to explore the canyon, clambering down chains and ladders and wading through streams to more waterfalls where we swim in perfect turquoise pools and jump off ledges and through cascades. Here, the canyon is a riot of shocking green, a verdant oasis hidden amidst tall desert cliffs. Pacini takes us into an abandoned mine of sparkling galena  a mineral that contains lead. Outside, we scour the ground for fossils, finding mollusks and marine worms that lived as much as 525 million years ago, when no animal walked the earth and sea covered this area.

On our fourth and final day, theres just enough light to see as we break camp. The group is quiet. Pacini says it should take at least four hours to get back to the road.

With the sun just about to scorch the canyon, I take a last break in an alcove of smooth sandstone. Im munching on a granola bar when a chocolate-coloured horse trots up to where Im sitting. It doesnt have a saddle or gear and while it doesnt exactly look wild, theres something ancient and feral about its aimless canyon wandering. The colt pushes its nose up to me and I can see its chin is filled with thorns. The long face hovers. I gently pat its nose. It flinches, then calms. With my other hand, I carefully pull out the long spikes. When I finish, the horse quickly turns away and saunters off in the direction of Supai.

Daniel Otis was hosted by the Arizona Office of Tourism, which did not review or approve this story.

When You Go

Keep in mind: If you plan to trek the Havasupai Trail independently, visit havasupai-nsn.gov/tourism.html for information on securing a permit. Youll pay a $35 (U.S.) entrance fee plus accommodation costs and some small incidental fees, but youll also have to bring in all of your own gear and food (there are two small general stores and a restaurant in the village of Supai, but supplies can be limited and expensive). Outfitters such as Arizona Outback Adventures (aoa-adventures.com) offer three, four and five-day trips starting at $915 per person. Most of these trips include gear, such as tents and air mattresses, pack horses, meals and guides. No matter which option you choose, you need to be in good enough shape to trek for up to 16 kilometres a day over uneven terrain.

Get there: The closest airports with direct flights to Toronto are in Las Vegas, Nev., and Phoenix, Ariz. Serviced by Air Canada and WestJet, both cities are a four to five-hour drive from the trailhead. Its easy to rent a car and get to the trailhead by yourself. If visiting with an outfitter, transportation can also be arranged. The Havasupai Trail would also make a great addition to any southwestern United States road trip.

Get around: Most visitors to the canyon travel on foot, humping their gear on their backs. Its possible to hire pack horses to carry your luggage. Travelling on horseback is also an option, as is taking a helicopter into (our out of) Supai and beginning your adventure from there. For information on costs and availability, contact the Havasupai Tribe (havasupai-nsn.gov/tourism.html ).

When to go: While you can visit the Havasupai Trail year-round, warm days and mild nights make early spring to early summer (March to June) and fall (September to November) the best times to go. It can drop below freezing at night in the winter (December to February), and in the summer (June to August), daytime temperatures can climb above a sweltering 40 C.

Where to stay: A short walk from majestic Havasu Falls and about three kilometres past Supai village, the Havasupai Campground is where most visitors sleep in the canyon. If travelling independently, campsites cost $17 per person per night (plus a few additional fees) and must be reserved by calling 928-448-2121. Ringed by the canyon, shaded by trees and bisected by a turquoise creek, most of the sites in the sprawling walk-in campground are absolutely lovely. Toilets, potable water and picnic tables are all available. If youre not into camping, the 24-room Havasupai Lodge in Supai village offers basic but comfy rooms for $145 a night. Reservations should be made well in advance by calling 928-448-2111. If youre looking to start your trek first thing in the morning, the Caverns Inn (gccaverns.com) in Peach Springs, Ariz., is the closest accommodation option. An hour and a half south of the trailhead, the motel is also next to an impressive network of caves.

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An Ottawa teacher has been charged with sexual assault after allegedly fostering a sexual relationship with a male student at her school, say police.

The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board said the teacher worked full time at an elementary school and the alleged victim was a senior elementary student.

Kyla Cowan-Wilson, 32, was arrested Tuesday on charges of sexual assault, sexual interference  which pertains to children under 16  and invitation to sexual touching.

Ottawa police received a single complaint in early 2016, said Const. Chuck Benoit. The relationship allegedly unfolded during the 2013-14 school year, police said.

The investigation revealed the relationship began when the accused was working as a teacher while employed by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, police said in a news release.

There was one victim, but the investigators are concerned that theres possible other victims, Benoit told the Star.

The teacher was immediately removed from the classroom and did not return following the complaint this year, said school board spokesperson Sharlene Hunter.

The teacher is no longer employed by the board.

Cowan-Wilson sat down with police Tuesday and was subsequently arrested at the station, appearing in a downtown provincial courthouse by video from the basement cells in the afternoon.

Cowan-Wilson was released after she and her partner, Matthew Wilson, posted a $5,000 bond Tuesday afternoon.

Bail conditions prevent her from communicating with four individuals or visiting public pools, parks, playgrounds, schoolyards or community centres.

She is not to be in the company of boys under 16 unless in the presence of her husband or the childrens parents.

Cowan-Wilson is due back in court on July 25.

The Star attempted to contact Cowan-Wilson by phone but she could not be reached for comment.

Situations involving criminal allegations can result in an investigation and possible disciplinary hearing by the Ontario College of Teachers after a court decision is rendered, said a college spokesperson.

Ottawa police said Cowan-Wilson taught at the same school the alleged victim attended. The board said the school is for students from kindergarten to Grade 8, ages 4 to 14.

Neither police nor the board would identify the school or the exact age of the student.

Its a matter in front of the court and we cannot put an age to the victim due to identification, said Benoit.

We are not providing any information that could possibly identify the student, Hunter said.

The National Post reported that Cowan-Wilson had been teaching science at Sir Winston Churchill Public School in Nepean in 2012.

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KITCHENER, ONT.Correctional Service Canada says a woman serving a sentence for first-degree murder has died after being found unresponsive at the same Ontario prison where Ashley Smith died in 2007, sparking a national debate on the use of solitary confinement.

CSC says Terry Baker was found unresponsive in her cell at the Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener on Monday.

Staff members performed CPR and Baker was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead on Wednesday. The Grand Valley Institution didnt immediately return messages seeking information on how Baker died.

Grand Valley is the same institution where Smith killed herself in 2007. In 2013, Smiths death was ruled a homicide, after a coroners inquest. A review from the federal corrections watchdog found that corrections staff failed to respond to Smiths needs, and that inaction cost Smith her life.

Baker, 30, had been serving an indeterminate sentence since Jan. 12, 2006.

As in all cases involving the death of an inmate, the police and the coroner have been notified, and Correctional Service Canada says it will review the circumstances of the incident.

Kim Pate, CEO of Elizabeth Fry Society, an advocacy group for incarcerated women, compared Bakers death to that of Smith, saying Baker was in solitary confinement at the time of her death. Neither CSC nor Grand Valley would immediately confirm Pates claim.

The use of solitary confinement is one parallel between Baker and Smiths death, said Pate.

According to Pate, Baker died in segregation. She should have been in the care of non-corrections mental health, Pate said.

She described Baker as very childlike, and loving towards others and animals. Pate said Baker even donated her organs.

A woman of the same name, same age, and same time of sentencing, was serving life in prison for murder, the Stars records show. It couldnt immediately be confirmed whether it was the same Terry Baker who died this week.

After her arrest in 2002, a woman named Terry Baker pled guilty to first-degree murder in the torture and sex slaying of 16-year-old Robbie McLennan, just days after his birthday.

Baker  then 16 years old  helped her boyfriend William Bronson Penasse, then 21, sexually assault, beat, burn, and stone McLennan. She was sentenced to life in prison.

It was a vicious, senseless and brutal crime, said Justice Bruce Durno at the trial in 2006, an attack rarely seen in criminal courts.

Her crime was monstrous, but she isnt a monster, said Owen Wigderson, Bakers lawyer, at the time. According to previous Star stories, Wigderson told the court that Baker had repeatedly attempted suicide while in custody.

A minor at the time of the crime, Bakers identity was initially under a publication ban, which was lifted in 2006 after she received an adult sentence for the crime.

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OTTAWABritain has assured Canada it will push for speedy ratification of the mammoth free trade deal with the European Union, despite its intention to leave the 28-country bloc, says International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Freeland told The Canadian Press she has received assurances from her British counterpart, Lord Mark Price, and that hes conveyed those same assurances to their EU counterpart, Cecilia Malmstrom.

Weve proactively had assurances from Britain that Britain would be supporting the EU at that level, and is proud to do so, Freeland said this week.

Britains referendum decision to leave the EU last month is one of many factors complicating the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA.

Freeland said Britain has a lot of its plate, starting with selecting a new government later this year.

They have to make some choices about national political leadership and they have to make some very big choices about the EU. They are very mindful of how Canada fits into that picture, she said.

A senior government official said Wednesday it would be a long, complicated process before Britain formally leaves the EU. In the meantime, Britain is bound by its treaty obligations, which include CETA.

Britain has yet to serve formal notice to the EU that it intends to leave, by invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which has never been done. That would trigger a two-year negotiation period.

But the government official, who briefed journalists on the condition he not be named, said that two-year period could be extended, perhaps up to a decade because of some 40 years of common regulation.

Its going to be extremely complicated to try to extricate the U.K. from all of those regulations if thats where would they would like to head.

Scott Sinclair, a senior research fellow with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the government needs to make a critical evaluation of how the deal could be diminished by Britains departure.

Were going to be paying a lot more for drugs. Were going to be risking more investor-state lawsuits. Dairy farmers took a hit, he said. With Brexit its fair to ask, are we getting less in return?

The European Commission this week said it would designate the deal a mixed agreement, which means that each of the EUs countries must ratify it.

Though thats viewed as a slow track to ratification, the EU and Canada insist that 90 per cent of the deal will take effect next year with only the European parliaments approval under what is known as provisional application.

The government official said it could take up to five years for individual European parliaments to ratify the deal, but admitted it would plunge everyone into uncharted territory if one of them rejected it.

French Trade Minister Matthias Fekl said Wednesday his country supports the deal, but it is also important for national parliaments to vote on it because this is an essential matter in order to ensure that European citizens support the trade policies enacted on their behalf.

The Canadian official said there is also an active internal debate about the deal in Austria and Belgium, so the government is reaching out directly to them to sell the merits of it.

The official also said that negotiations are ongoing with Romania and Bulgaria about lifting the visas Canada imposes on their travellers. He insisted Canada wont lift the visa requirements for the sake of helping the trade deal.

The EU ambassador to Canada, Marie-Anne Coninsx, has linked the two issues, saying it needs to be resolved to remove an unnecessary impediment to CETAs ratification.

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OTTAWA  The Liberals proposal to overhaul Canadas electoral system just got more complicated.

Outgoing Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand told MPs Thursday a new voting system may require a long and difficult process to redraw Canadas 338 electoral districts.

Mayrand said its still possible, if the government moves quickly, to put in place a new system for 2019  but its not so simple as placing a new process over the existing ridings.

You should not underestimate the challenges it would represent, said Mayrand.

Even looking at a streamlined process to simply aggregate the current ridings, you will have pockets where aggregation will not necessarily be the best way to go. You may find, among other things, a community of interest could be linguistic. Or you may suddenly, through aggregation, completely dilute a community of interest.

Part of the problem is that Elections Canada doesnt know what kind of system will be ultimately proposed.

The electoral reform committee is meeting throughout the summer to come up with a recommendation for Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef. The Liberal cabinet, however, will ultimately decide on legislation.

The absence of a clear preference on a new system from the government led to a number of hypothetical situations being thrown Mayrands way. Is there time enough to hold a referendum on the new system? Can we simply amalgamate existing ridings? Is it already too late to hold a referendum, redraw ridings, and have a new system in place for 2019?

Mayrand, who is stepping down later this year, said many things are possible  but repeatedly noted the clock is ticking. Elections Canada has worked on a number of contingency plans, but requires a new system approved no later than May 2017.

While the Liberals have not endorsed any specific system, the New Democrats are pushing for a form of proportional representation, which they argue would more accurately reflect the popular vote.

The Conservatives are generally thought to support the current first-past-the-post system, and maintain Canadas 149-year-old voting system shouldnt be substantially changed without a national referendum.

Mayrand told MPs that Elections Canada estimates a referendum would cost around $300 million.

Monsef, who testified Wednesday, has not ruled out a referendum, but neither has she endorsed the idea. The minister reiterated Wednesday that the government would not move forward with major changes without the broad support of Canadians  although how the Liberals intend to gauge that support remains up in the air.

Electoral reform, to be successfully achieved, should be built on co-operation amongst political parties and have the broad-based support of Canadians, Monsef said Wednesday.

The committee, which will hold hearings throughout the summer, must report their findings by Dec. 1.

With files from The Canadian Press

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The brother of a University of Toronto student detained in Bangladesh since last weeks terrorist attack says he has written to Global Affairs Minister Stephane Dion to ask for help.

Talha Khan said his younger brother, 22-year-old Tahmid Hasib Khan, has epilepsy, and worries that the stress of witnessing the deadly cafe attack in Dhaka, followed by his prolonged detention, will spur seizures and other health problems.

Whatever hes seen so far, all the bloodshed, this is taking a toll on him, said Tahla, 26.

Tahmid was one of 13 people freed after an 11-hour hostage crisis in which gunmen stormed and holed up inside an upscale cafe, the Holey Artisan Bakery, in the Bangladeshi capital. The Associated Press reported that 22 people were killed in the attack, including at least 18 foreign nationals, while the five assailants were gunned down as security forces entered the cafe Saturday morning.

Tahmid arrived in Dhaka from Canada on July 1, planning to celebrate Eid with his parents before travelling to complete a summer internship with UNICEF in Nepal, his cousin Rasheek Irtisam told the Star.

Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, claimed responsibility for the attack, though Bangladeshs home minister has reportedly blamed a domestic Islamist group.

Tahla, who is a Canadian citizen and history student in Toronto, spoke with the Star from the office of his lawyer, Marlys Edwardh, whose practice focuses on human rights and national security litigation. He said his brother was taken in for questioning by police immediately after the crisis ended and hasnt been freed since. Tahmid was able to speak with his family by phone a few times, but hasnt been able to speak with them in three days. Tahla said theyve heard nothing official about why his brother is still in custody, and has no indication about whether he will face charges.

Edwardh said that, while Tahmid is not a Canadian citizen  his family says hes a permanent resident  the government should step in and provide consular assistance to ensure hes in good health and can speak with his family.

So far, she said, there has been no response from Dions office to the letter that was sent late Tuesday afternoon.

Global Affairs spokesperson Austin Jean said in an email that there are limits to what any country can do for individuals who are not citizens of that country. He did not expand further, but said staff overseas work according to Canadian consular services guidelines.

My parents are being patient and they have full faith in the due process, Tahla said. We understand why its taking time, but it would be great if we had access to him, if my mother could go and talk to him and touch him and kiss him.

Correction-July 8, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Talha Khans first name.

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When Sharon, Ont. beekeeper James Murray went out to check on his bees last week he was in for a shock: dead bees in front of his hives.

I thought that was odd. All the bees were shaking, he said.

The situation worsened when he discovered 17 hives were ruined, and it appeared the bees had clearly been affected by something, Murray said.

It was horrible. I cried, he said. I lost a lot of money.  I was just devastated.

With up to 60,000 bees in each hive, thats a loss of one million honeybees.

Murray summoned a provincial bee inspector, who visited the local hives and said the mass deaths are the worst he has seen, Murray said.

While samples have been sent to a lab for further analysis, Murray believes neonicotinoids  a new class of agricultural insecticide, chemically related to nicotine and used to kill sap-feeding insects such as aphids and to protect corn and soybean seeds  are to blame for the bee deaths.

Murray and beekeepers across Ontario have fallen on difficult times in recent years. According to the province, in the winter of 2013-2014, bee deaths in Ontario reached a staggering 58 per cent. The generally accepted level by those who care for and breed bees is 15 per cent.

The culprits for the rapid rise in deaths, according to beekeepers, the province and myriad scientists, are neonicotinoids.

Residents of Sharon, a community north of Newmarket, can attest to the huge amount of dust in the air this year, a byproduct of construction. Murray said it is especially bad this year because it has been so dry. He believes the neonicotinoids most likely got into the dust and infected several bees which then brought the toxin home and poisoned the other hives.

(The use of neonicotinoid-treated seeds) needs to be reduced, he said.

Last year, Ontario was the first jurisdiction in North America to enforce rules to reduce the number of acres planted with neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seeds by 80 per cent by 2017. The Grain Farmers of Ontario appealed the decision but the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled against grain farmers earlier this year.

The Ontario law stipulates farmers must plant half their soybean and corn crops in 2016 without neonicotinoids and that neonicotinoids will be banned in 2017 unless farmers can show their fields are infested with crop-eating worms and insects.

That reduction cant come soon enough for Murray, who says beekeepers are finding it difficult to sustain a living because they have to constantly replace their stock of bees.

People dont understand the amount of money that goes into having bees, he said.

Murray was part of the breeding program operated through the University of Guelph. His Ontario stock bees were extremely disease resistant.

To get good stock like that cost a lot of money. Those bees are worth more than the common bee, he said.

Murray will not receive compensation or insurance for the loss of his 17 hives, but he vows to rebuild. The numbers add up pretty quickly, as he estimates a hive costs about $250, the bees cost $200 and the lost crop from the hive, about $1,000. Multiply that by 17, he said. This is why the beekeeping industry is dying.

That should worry people because bees are needed for a lot of Canadas food production, most notably fruit that requires pollination.

Ontario Beekeepers Association vice-president Andre Fly calls what happened to Murray unfortunate.

Its a big loss. It took years for him to build up that stock, Fly said.

If this happened on a dairy farm, there would be outrage, but when it comes to bees, people seem to turn a blind eye, Fly said.

Although it was a tough loss for Murray, he still has about 80 hives. You might recognize him from the East Gwillimbury Farmers Market, where he sells his honey and has a live honey collection demonstration.

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There will be free admission after all this year at the Ex for people with disabilities.

After critics called out the Canadian National Exhibition for a decision to eliminate free passes for people with disabilities, the fair has opted to keep its original policy, at least for this year.

Over the last couple of days, CNE customers and members of the broader community have shown considerable interest in, and provided valuable feedback regarding the proposed changes to the admissions policy, a statement reads on the CNE website.

To ensure that all interested voices in the community have an opportunity to help shape the policy going forward, this fall the CNE will be hosting public consultations about the admissions policy for persons with disabilities.

Advocates had blasted the original decision.

Mobility advocate Luke Anderson described the proposed change as unfortunate.

There is a high percentage of people with disabilities that are unemployed with very few resources. Whatever systems or support we can provide is a good thing, said Anderson, founder of StopGap, which provides ramps for buildings and stores which otherwise wouldnt be accessible.

Theres also a lot of issues with our society in general that stops people with disabilities from being fully engaged in their communities.

The CNE handed out flyers to fair-goers last year, warning them that the admission policy would be changing in time for this years fair, which runs from Aug. 19 to Sept. 5.

The CNE welcomes this discussion, CNE general manager Virginia Ludy says in the statement published on CNEs website. For 18 days a year, our fair brings together more than 1.6 million people, celebrating everything that is Toronto  diversity and inclusivity. We look forward to engaging with the community.

With files from Ebyan Abdigir

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A Mississauga company found to have mocked, humiliated and launched a campaign of abuse designed to force a deaf employees resignation has been ordered by Ontarios top court to pay her $266,000.

The stinging Ontario Court of Appeal decision amplified the original damages awarded to Vicky Strudwick by more than $100,000. The result comes after four years of legal proceedings against her former employer, Applied Consumer and Clinical Evaluations (ACCE), for wrongful dismissal, breach of the human rights code and intentional infliction of mental suffering. Her lawyer called the lawsuit the worst employment case hes seen in 31 years of practising.

Less than a year after she suddenly became deaf, a condition doctors believe may have been caused by a virus, the 56-year-old was fired from the polling and research firm in May 2011. By that time, she had worked there for more than 15 years and was making $12.85 per hour in her latest position.

Leading up to her dismissal, Strudwick was belittled, isolated, humiliated and made to suffer the effects of her disability to the greatest extent possible, the three-judge panel wrote. This conduct was deliberate, malicious and designed to force Ms. Strudwick to quit a job she had held for almost 16 years.

In an email to the Star, ACCE CEO Raymond Berta said his company has been part of the Mississauga community for 30 years, with a solid track record of performance coupled with an inspiring corporate culture.

This case occurred several years ago. As a good corporate citizen we have taken corrective action as reported and we have implemented procedures to prevent any reoccurrences.

Andrew Hoffman, an ACCE general manager at the time, was named in the decision as the primary participant in Strudwicks workplace harassment. He declined to comment on the case when reached by the Star.

Also named was Strudwicks immediate supervisor, Liz Camilleri, who featured prominently in (her) despicable treatment according to the judgment. Camilleri could not be reached by the Star for comment.

Both bossestormented (Strudwick) for the specific purpose of making the work environment intolerable, the court noted in its sharply worded decision, citing evidence presented in court last summer.

This included advising co-workers not to talk to Strudwick and to telephone her with information she needed. Not hearing the phone  thereby missing the information  provided her superiors with an opportunity to chastise her.

When Strudwick requested workplace accommodations  including a Canadian Hearing Society assessment, visual fire alarm, a special telephone designed for hearing impaired people, and permission to turn her desk around so she could see people as they approached her  Hoffman denied them, taking the position they were unnecessary, the court decision stated.

In an interview, Strudwick told the Star she had mixed emotions about the judgment.

It doesnt put this to rest, she said. I have to continue to live through this ordeal.

It was a nightmare, that part of my life, to wake up and dread going to work. But its a job, so you put up with it.

The court noted Strudwick was fired after Hoffman called her a goddamned fool over a stunt she pulled at a workplace event. The reason for the termination was for insubordination and wilful misconduct.

Strudwicks lawyer, Christopher Du Vernet, told the Star he believes the case puts Ontario employers on notice that disabled workers have to be treated fairly and with respect.

This is a warning signal for any employer contemplating disregard of employees human rights and it will cost them dearly if they do so, he said. This is a woman who came in on weekends, came in early, stayed late  her work was her life. And then shes fired when she became disabled.

The decision notes the company argued its penalties be deflected onto Hoffman, whose employment was terminated after Berta returned from medical leave. The court rejected this argument, stating the company cannot escape responsibility for the actions of its employees.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Hoffmans employment with ACCE ended in November 2014. A statement of claim obtained by the Star shows he has sued Berta, his former boss, for wrongful dismissal following a negligent workplace investigation into allegations that he had harassed someone within his workplace. Hoffmans lawyer declined to comment but said the case is ongoing.

In response, Berta has counterclaimed for damages. A statement of defence and counterclaim alleges Hoffman stole from the company and mistreated employees. Neither Berta nor his lawyer could be reached by the Star on Wednesday.

For Strudwick, it took a lot of prayer and support from friends, family, and the Canadian Hearing Society, but she has since learned how to accept her hearing loss, work with it and move on from her workplace nightmare.

Still, she recalled listening to her CD collection as her hearing began to fade so many years ago, hoping in vain it would come back. Earlier this week, she recited a biblical passage from one of her favourite songs, a religious tune titled Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.

At that time the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

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BERLINGerman lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that will make it easier for victims of sex crimes to file criminal complaints if they rejected their attackers advances with a clear no.

The move was partly spurred by a nationwide outcry over a string of sexual assaults that happened in the western city of Cologne over New Years.

German law previously required victims to show that they physically resisted attack before charges for rape and other sexual assaults could be brought. Womens rights campaigners argued that Germanys failure to recognize the principle of no means no was one of the main reasons for low reporting and conviction rates for rape in the country.

In the past, there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldnt be punished, German Minister for Women Manuela Schwesig said. The change in the law will help increase the number of victims who choose to press charges, lower the number of criminal prosecutions that are shelved and ensure sexual assaults are properly punished.

The bill passed easily thanks to the governments large parliamentary majority. Opposition parties welcomed the lowering of the threshold for prosecutions, but criticized two measures in the bill that could see people who arent directly involved in the assault punished and foreigners deported for sexual harassment.

According to figures cited by Heiko Maas, the countrys justice minister, only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8 per cent of rape trials result in convictions.

Conservative lawmakers had resisted changing the law until a string of attacks in Cologne during New Years sparked a fresh debate about sexual violence in Germany. Authorities said most of the attacks were carried out by asylum-seekers, leading some to question whether last years influx of young men from predominantly Muslim countries could be properly integrated in Germany.

Others noted that Germany lagged behind most Western nations in its definition of rape and that sexual assaults were a feature of German society before large numbers of migrants arrived last year. They have cited the case of a German model, Gina-Lisa Lohfink, who alleges she was raped by two men in 2012. Even though a video showed her saying no, no, no, a court cleared the men of rape. She is currently on trial accused of making false accusations.

Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didnt resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised or feared greater violence if they objected.

Eva Hoegl, a lawmaker with the centre-left Social Democrats, dismissed criticism that its difficult to prove in court if someone said no when there are no independent witnesses. Similar concerns were raised before marital rape was criminalized in 1997, she said.

In the future, if a member of a group carries out a sexual assault, others in the group can also be prosecuted for failing to intervene. The measure was criticized as unworkable and possibly unconstitutional by legal experts.

The new law also allows authorities to more easily deport foreigners who are convicted of sexual assaults. Prosecutors in Cologne received more than 1,100 criminal complaints following the New Years assaults, including about 500 allegations involving sexual crimes.

On Thursday, a local court in Cologne handed down the first conviction for a sexual offence on New Years Eve.

A 21-year-old Iraqi man was convicted of sexual assault and given a one-year suspended sentence. A 26-year-old Algerian man was convicted of abetting a sexual assault and attempted assault, and given the same sentence.

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The fatal shooting of a black man by a police officer during a traffic stop fit a long-standing pattern of disparate, unfair and even violent treatment of black people, Minnesotas governor said Thursday, after millions of people watched the bloody, dying man in a grisly video recorded by his girlfriend and streamed live moments after the shooting.

Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white? Gov. Mark Dayton asked at a news conference. I dont think it would have.

He said he had heard from many black people, including some in positions of authority, about how theyve been pulled over, singled out, in a way that white people would not have. Ive been told by very respectable African-American leaders that they understand how this dynamic goes on.

Dayton and members of the states congressional delegation asked for the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the death of Philando Castile, 32, who died just hours after the Justice Department took over the investigation into the fatal police shooting, captured on video, of another black man in Baton Rouge, La.

But the department responded that for now, it will monitor the state investigation and offer assistance, rather than conduct its own investigation.

The deadly encounter occurred Wednesday night in the city of Falcon Heights, just northwest of St. Paul. The graphic video showed Philando Castile, 32, who had been shot several times, slumping against the woman who was recording the scene. As she did so, her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat and an officer stood just outside the drivers side window, still aiming his gun at the mortally wounded man at point-blank range.

The video is all the more shocking for the calm, clear narration of the woman, Diamond Reynolds, saying again and again that Castile was just reaching for his drivers licence and registration  as the officer had requested  when the officer opened fire.

You shot four bullets into him, sir, she said. He was just getting his licence and registration, sir.

Reynolds daughter appears several times in the video. Near the end of the 10-minute clip, as the two are sitting in the back of a police car, the girl comforts her mother. Its OK, Mommy, she says. Its OK. Im right here with you.

U.S. President Barack Obama posted a message on Facebook on Thursday, saying that all Americans should be deeply troubled by the Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights shootings.

Whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents, he said. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

Speaking to CNN, Castiles mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her sons death.

I think he was just black in the wrong place, Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had stressed to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply.

Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul, Minn., where he was known as a warm and gentle presence, the Washington Post reported.

I still cant quite wrap my mind around it, Anna Garnaas, who teaches Grades 1, 2, and 3 at the school, told the Post. If youre going to pick someone to feel threatened by or to feel like you have to feel you have to defend yourself against, this is not the guy.

Speaking to reporters Thursday morning, Reynolds said that Castile had just come from having his hair done for his birthday when they were pulled over on Larpenteur Ave., a major east-west street.

Falcon Heights is a small, predominantly white and middle-class city of about 5,500, bordering St. Paul on the northwest. The two officers who stopped them were from the nearby city of St. Anthony, which provides police services under contract to Falcon Heights, and one officer approached Castile, who was driving, and said he had a broken tail light, Reynolds, who is also black, said.

He tells us to put our hands in the air, we have our hands in the air, she said. At the time as our hands is in the air, he asked for licence and registration.

My boyfriend carries all his information in a thick wallet in his right side back pocket. As hes reaching for his back pocket wallet, he lets the officer know, Officer, I have a firearm on me. I began to yell, But hes licensed to carry. After that, he began to take off shots  bah, bah, bah, bah, Dont move! Dont move! But how can you not move when youre asking for licence and registration? Its either you want my hands in the air or you want my identification.

Jon Mangseth, interim police chief of St. Anthony, said he could not provide any details about the shooting, but said the officer had been put on administrative leave. He declined to identify the officers involved, but said that the one who fired  whom Reynolds described as Asian-American  had been with the department for more than five years.

With files from The Associated Press

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WARSAW, POLANDThe Polish capital once lent its name to the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet-led defence alliance that stood as a counterweight to NATO during the Cold War. This week, in a sign of how dramatically strategic alliances have shifted in Eastern Europe, Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit, the first time that Poland has hosted a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999.

The anticipation of having U.S. President Barack Obama and the heads of the other allied nations gather in a city shaped by centuries of unwanted Russian interference marks a vindication for Poland, which was forced into the Soviet sphere of influence against its will after World War II and saw the fall of communism in 1989 as a moment of national rebirth.

Over 17 years of NATO membership, Polish leaders have sometimes lamented feeling like a second-class members given that there have so far never been NATO bases or significant troop numbers on its territory  frustration that grew after Russia annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and began backing separatists in Ukraines east. Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia  former Soviet republics now in NATO  worried they could be next.

So this summit marks a turning point for Poland, not only due to the clout that comes with hosting the summit, but more importantly because the 28-member alliance will finalize plans to deploy four reinforced multinational battalions, to Poland and the Baltic states. The development builds on the previous summit, in Wales in 2014, where NATO decided to create a spearhead force that could move quickly into the region in case of an attack.

We are becoming a full member of NATO, Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz told The Associated Press, referring to the planned stationing of troops. Not only a political one, but one that we have always very much wanted to be, one that the Poles have waited 70 years to be. We will be fully protected by a joint force.

Macierewicz, whose ministry has a leading role in organizing the summit, himself embodies his nations tortured history with Russia. His great-great grandfather was a military officer who fought in a war against Russia in 1792. Three years later, Poland was partitioned by Russia, Austria and Prussia and wiped off the map for the next 123 years. Poland regained its independence after World War I, but this was short-lived, as the country was conquered and divided again in 1939, this time by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. After the war, Poland ended up a Soviet satellite state.

In 1949, when Macierewicz was 1, his father died in mysterious circumstances, most likely murdered by secret services under Moscows direction.

During the communist era, Macierewicz was a staunch anti-Communist dissident, becoming a political prisoner for a time.

Today he is considered one of Polands most outspoken critics of Moscow. He has even accused Russia of intentionally bringing down the plane that crashed in Smolensk, Russia, in 2010, killing President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, many top Polish officials. Official investigations by Poland and Russia blame bad weather and human error  and even many Poles see Macierewiczs theory as anti-Russian fear gone too far.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been threatening us for a long time, Macierewicz insists. It is a fact that the Russian Federation has an aggressive character. Its not only propaganda, but a fact, and thats why we have decided to take steps.

For their part, the Russians say that they feel provoked by a buildup of NATO activity and forces so close to Russian territory.

But Poles and other Westerners insist four battalions are not enough to threaten Russia in any way.

Its only enough to be a trip wire in case something would come from Russia, said Michal Baranowski, the director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund think-tank. It would automatically bring the nations who provide the forces ... directly into to the fight.

Radek Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister, described the new forces as a belated but welcome step toward correcting some of the vast military imbalance.

This is 15 years late, but at last its happening, he said at a debate in Warsaw last week.

Meanwhile, Polands parliament on Thursday rushed through legislation governing the constitutional Tribunal in an attempt to address international concerns about the rule of law a day before President Barack Obama and other Western leaders arrive in Warsaw for the summit.

But critics of the right-wing ruling Law and Justice party strongly criticized the legislative changes as little more than cosmetic. They said the moves do almost nothing to ease concerns over the court, which has been paralyzed by the government and made unable to act as a check on its power.

We are dealing with the end of democracy. Poles will have to be afraid of their state, said Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz, a lawmaker with one of the opposition parties, Modern.

The tribunal has been the focus of a divisive political battle since November, sparking criticism by the European Union and the United States and leading to a string of street protests in Poland.

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BATON ROUGE, LA.The mood was emotional, and at times angry, as evening unfolded in the working class, predominantly black Louisiana neighbourhood where the police killing of a black man was caught on videotape.

Hundreds of mourners, friends and family members of Alton Sterling, 37, gathered Wednesday in Baton Rouge for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance.

Sterling was shot early Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside the convenience store where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed.

Cellphone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against black people.

Four previous use of force complaints were lodged against the two white police officers in the video-recorded shooting death of a black man and they were cleared in all of them, according to internal affairs documents released Thursday.

The complaints included three black men and a black juvenile. One of the men was shot when police said he pointed a gun at them and the others were injured during arrests and a police pursuit in a vehicle.

In the latest death, a Minnesota officer shot a black man in a car with a woman and a child about 9 p.m. Wednesday, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath of the killing was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video.

The White House says President Barack Obama is deeply disturbed by the police shootings in Louisiana and St. Paul, Minnesota.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama is following the situations closely. But he tells reporters aboard Air Force One that the White House cant comment more specifically while the cases are being investigated.

In the Louisiana case, the federal Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of a black man by two white police officers.

Earnest noted the task force on policing that Obama established to improve ties and trust between police and law enforcement. Hes urging local policing agencies to implement the Justice Departments recommendations.

Earnest spoke as Obama was flying to Poland for a NATO summit.

Moving quickly to keep tensions from boiling over in Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least, the governor said at a news conference.

Edwards is expected to attend a prayer vigil on Thursday night. Edwards plans to speak at the vigil following the death of Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old who was fatally shot by police in Baton Rouge earlier this week, according to his offices Twitter account.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds Wednesday night with a tearful, broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged showing the moments before her nephew was shot left her angry.

Im angry, but Im not angry enough to hurt nobody, Augustus said. Im not angry enough to go into the street. Im not angry enough to curse the police out. But Im angry and Im mad because they took something from me that I never ever will get back.

Terrance Carter, Sterlings 28-year-old nephew, wore a T-shirt with his uncles image printed on it. The police, he said, went way too far.

They did it wrong, he said. They could have handled it better than they did. They didnt have to shoot him!

He said, though, the family was not condoning violent protests.

The family just wants it to be peaceful, he said. I understand right now its bigger than us, but at the same time were just trying to work through this and be smooth with it.

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesnt consider them as precious as others because of the colour of their skin, Clinton said.

A law enforcement official said a gun was taken from Sterling after he was killed early Tuesday. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear from the murky cellphone footage whether Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Sterlings pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said Sterling was armed  Dabadie didnt specify the type of weapon  but that there are still questions about what happened.

Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers, Dabadie said, calling the shooting a horrible tragedy.

Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with a gun outside the store, authorities said.

In cellphone video, one of the officers tackled Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone yelled, Hes got a gun! Gun! and one officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave  standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterward. His video shows an officer reaching into Sterlings pocket to grab an object.

Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Sterlings chest.

The street protest continued into the night Wednesday. People danced on cars and trucks, blocked traffic, and demanded justice. The protests were peaceful, and there was no sign of police even as the protests blocked a thoroughfare through that section of Baton Rouge.

Kristen George, a 25-year-old restaurant manager, came to the protest with her 2-year-old son Amazen and her wife and her 9-year-old son. George said she wanted to show her children the meaning of a civil-rights protest.

Its hard out here for a black man in 2016, she said. I dont want them to feel scared to stand up for their rights.

Nefertiti Queen, a 34-year-old activist, predicted the protests in Baton Rouge would continue and remain peaceful as long as the authorities take the right steps in the investigation.

Its peaceful right now, but if the people dont get what they want, it might get like Ferguson, she said. She said she spent some time protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, after the controversial police shooting of Michael Brown, a black man who was unarmed. People will get frustrated if they dont get answers.

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54 per cent black, according to census data, and more than 25 per cent of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dashcam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers wilfully violated Sterlings civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Browns shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garners chokehold death in New York City.

Community and faith-based leaders called on the Justice Department to broaden the scope of its investigation into the killing.

The group called Together Baton Rouge said it was concerned that federal officials would only conduct a civil rights investigation without looking at whether state criminal laws were violated.

They gave examples of possible state charges to be investigated as battery, assault with a deadly weapon and negligent homicide.

State and local officials have said they have asked the Department of Justice to investigate and described them as the lead investigating agency.

Four previous use-of-force complaints were lodged against the two white police officers in the video-recorded shooting death and they were cleared in all of them, according to internal affairs documents released Thursday.

The complaints included three black men and a black juvenile. One of them was shot when police said he pointed a gun at them and the others were injured during arrests and a police pursuit in a vehicle.

Baton Rouge officials said Wednesday that police would do an internal investigation but that they would otherwise let federal officials handle the civil rights probe.

There is also potential  and I use that word cautiously  but there is also possible criminal violations, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said.

Moore didnt return messages Thursday to clarify his remarks and the Justice Department said it wouldnt comment further because of its investigation.

The officers in the shooting were Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years. Each had two prior use-of-force complaints.

Lake was involved in a police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a black man refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

He also injured a combative black juvenile when they went to the ground during a struggle on Apr. 19, 2014, according to police documents. The juvenile cut his chin.

Salamonis complaints involved punching a black man on Aug. 5, 2015, when he tried to grab the officers stun gun, according to documents. The man had a cut on his head and needed stiches.

He was in a vehicle pursuit on June 17, 2015, in which a black man was injured when he crashed into a retaining wall, the documents said. The pursuit began when someone was pushed out of the mans car.

Separately, Salmoni was issued a letter of caution for his involvement in a preventable crash on June 13, 2012, in which he damaged department equipment.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, standard department procedure.

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BEIJING  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Chinas leaders on Thursday that a flourishing civil society and free media are key to Chinas development, on one of his last visits to Beijing as UN leader.

Ban spoke while standing next to Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who last month berated a Canadian journalist for asking a question about Chinas human rights record during a news conference in Canada.

As China continues along the path of transformation and reform, I encourage Chinas leaders to create the space needed for the civil society to play its crucial role, Ban said, as Wang looked down at his lectern or stared ahead, expressionless.

Ban added that environmental activists, human rights lawyers and defenders and others can act as a catalyst for social progress and economic goals.

Along with a free and independent media, they can help ensure accountability, thereby helping the state to evolve better and strengthening its standing in the eyes of the people, Ban said during the tightly managed news conference, in which only two questions were allowed.

While Chinas news media have long been directed by the ruling Communist Party, President Xi Jinping signalled a further tightening of control in February when he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the medias highest priority.

This week marks the first anniversary of a crackdown in China on human rights lawyers and activists in which more than 200 were detained or questioned.

One year on, around two dozen are still detained, including several who could face life imprisonment after being charged with subverting state power.

Ban, whose second term as UN secretary-general runs out at the end of the year, said, The world will look to China to complement its remarkable economic progress by giving citizens a full say and a role in the political life of their country.

The pair also discussed tensions involving the South China Sea ahead of a ruling expected next week by an international arbitration panel on the validity of Chinas claims to virtually all of the sea. Beijing has not participated in the case, which was brought by the Philippines.

The UN leader said that all countries with rival claims to the South China Sea should settle their differences peacefully and avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk.

Wang told reporters that the Chinese government also wants a peaceful resolution, but condemned any effort to reject dialogue, or to unilaterally initiate arbitration without the consent of the other party.

This approach will not help to bring out a peaceful resolution of the disputes. On the contrary, it will only escalate the disputes and the tensions and should be resisted by all countries and people who uphold justice in the world, Wang said.

In an opening statement to reporters, Wang said Ban had been an outstanding secretary-general, and that eight candidates to be his replacement had travelled to Beijing to canvass support, including one on Wednesday. He didnt name the candidates.

Ban met with Xi later Thursday and is to meet Premier Li Keqiang on Friday.

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Toronto has a priorities problem.

When large infrastructure projects are chosen that benefit relatively few people, such as the underused Sheppard subway line, poorly planned Union-Pearson Express (UPX) and unnecessary Gardiner East rebuild, there is less funding available to serve your real needs.

City Hall is on the brink of seeing history repeat itself by making yet another short-sighted decision. It might actually choose to build a single subway stop rather than a 24-station LRT network for Scarborough.

We all agree that the one-stop option would provide fast service from Scarborough Town Centre (STC) to Kennedy Station; so would the LRT, which would run through its own traffic-separated corridor. However, with a one-stop subway, the residents in the rest of Scarborough (comprising 35 per cent of Torontos land area) would be left on a bus.

For approximately the same city funding, we can choose instead to build two LRT lines. One would have seven stops using the existing RT corridor to link the Scarborough Town Centre and Centennial College to Kennedy Station on trains with the same top speed as a subway (80 km/h). This project is part of the signed Metrolinx Master Agreement, and would be mostly funded by the provincial government. Then, with money saved by moving forward now with the approved LRT, council could fund a new 17-stop extension of the Eglinton Crosstown through Kennedy, serving Kingston Rd, U of T Scarborough and several neighbourhoods in between.

Combined, the LRT lines would provide rapid transit to the 96,200 existing residents and employees who are within walking distance of a station. Thats six times more than a one-stop subway. The 24 LRT stations geographic coverage better matches the needs of residents who want more than just to leave Scarborough.

In fact, recent data shows that 48 per cent of trips are local compared to just 23 per cent ending downtown. Ridership projections for a one-stop subway predict almost 8,000 fewer daily users in 2031 than the current five-stop SRT has now. This suggests people want transit to get them to work or school in the morning, while also making it more convenient to go shopping, see a movie or visit with friends and family.

The LRT network also does a better job of delivering transit access to marginalized communities by serving 25,900 people living in five Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) and three former Priority Neighbourhoods. The one-stop subway would only serve 1,700 NIA residents.

Perhaps the most puzzling argument put forward in this debate is that only a one-stop subway is capable of unlocking the Scarborough Town Centres development potential. Tasked with providing a planning rationale for a subway stop, the citys planning staff have developed a remarkable proposal for the area that would transform parking lots and ring roads into a more urban, pedestrian-friendly street grid.

It is unfortunate some have falsely created an exclusive causal relationship between this visionary plan and the one-stop subway. Thats simply misleading. The LRT would have more than double the capacity to serve projected ridership and its east-west alignment would better facilitate expansion of the Scarborough Town Centre area with an additional stop at McCowan  a flaw in the subway plan that city planning already identifies in its report. Thats why our chief planner previously stated that an LRT to Scarborough Town Centre, and stops beyond, would better serve city building goals than could a subway.

Poor choices can have long-lasting consequences. It was recently reported that Queens Park is paying more than $50 per ride to subsidize the Union-Pearson Express, while the TTC is still paying more than $10 for every trip on the Sheppard subway line. Already, we know a one-stop subway in Scarborough would require at least $2 billion in maintenance costs over the next 60 years  costs the city wouldnt be responsible for with the provincially funded LRT.

A 24-station LRT network would not only provide more transit for Scarborough residents but would also leave more funding available for daycare spaces, youth recreation programs, parks, libraries and affordable housing.

Without a strong rationale to support their cause, one-stop proponents have resorted to populist rhetoric for a project that isnt even that popular. Poll after poll shows Scarborough residents see through pandering statements; caring more about whether new rapid transit will take them where they need to go rather than the type of vehicle they ride.

Council will meet on July 12 with an opportunity to put people before politics, and finally move forward with evidence-based plans that serve more residents for fewer dollars. Please tell the mayor and your local councillor that you choose 24 stops for Scarborough.

Josh Matlow is councillor for Ward 22-St. Pauls and Paul Ainslie is councillor for Ward 43-Scarborough East.

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The decision of British voters to leave Europe has been treated as evidence that theyre intolerant xenophobes keen to seal themselves off from the world. That Donald Trump is on their side only helps make the case that they represent a boorish throwback, a desire to make the English-speaking world great again by turning it into a giant gated community surrounded by sky-high walls.

Having such a collection of bigots and boors opposing globalization may turn out to be a boon for those promoting globalization  that is, the laws that govern the global economy.

This is unfortunate, since these laws  and the international trade deals that enforce them  have delivered benefits almost exclusively to those at the top in recent years, and should be thoroughly overhauled.

But with Neanderthal wall-builders lurking in the background, it may be easier for the Trudeau government to convince Canadians to accept these badly flawed and increasingly unpopular trade deals as part of living in an open, modern world.

U.S. President Barack Obama helped make this case in his address to Parliament last week, urging us to resist sealing ourselves off from the world, as he derided opposition to foreigners and opposition to international trade deals with the same broad brush.

But whoa, Nelly! Lets not lump Trumps scurrilous Muslim ban in with legitimate resistance to trade deals such as NAFTA, as well as the highly contentious new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the sweeping 12-nation trade deal Obama is keenly promoting.

Theres a litany of reasons why any sensible person would resist these trade deals.

But the most outrageous aspect of them has always been the special set of legal rights they bestow on foreign corporations and investors. These rights  which go beyond anything that exists in domestic or international law  enable wealthy foreigners to sue governments over policies the foreigners dont like, and to have their lawsuits decided by closed tribunals.

The TPP, rather than removing this indefensible, anti-democratic set of rights for wealthy foreigners, actually extends them.

Indeed, the TPP could open a floodgate of new claims by wealthy foreigners, according to a powerful report by Osgoode Hall law professor Gus Van Harten, released last month but ignored by the media.

With the TPP, many more such claims will become possible, notes Van Harten, an expert in international law and investment treaties.

The report documents how corporations and wealthy investors have taken advantage of the bizarrely generous legal rights available to them under NAFTA, suing Canada 39 times and winning more than $190 million in compensation from Canadian taxpayers. There is no cap on how high the compensation can be, and the vast majority of it goes to the ultra-rich 

corporations with annual revenues over $1 billion and individuals with net wealth above $100 million.

Oh, and lets not forget what it is these foreign interests are objecting to: laws passed by democratically elected governments to protect the public. For instance, Philip Morris challenged anti-tobacco regulations in Australia, Lone Pine Resources challenged fracking regulations in Canada. Just last month, TransCanada sued the United States for $15 billion to compensate for Obamas decision not to approve the Keystone pipeline.

And the cases are decided by private sector lawyers acting as arbitrators. Unlike regular judges, these arbitrators, paid exorbitant hourly rates, have a direct financial interest in encouraging foreign investors to bring claims and to stretch them out, and have so far earned well over $1 billion in fees, Van Harten says.

OK, so the TPP offers sweetheart legal protection for some of the richest people on Earth, making it easy for them to sue us for uncapped amounts, in closed tribunals adjudicated by lawyers with a financial interest in siding with the rich foreigners.

But surely theres also got to be something in the TPP for foreign banks?

Yes, there is: the TPP goes beyond NAFTA in creating new opportunities for foreign banks to sue for compensation. Who would have thought of that!

Last February, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland flew to New Zealand to sign the TPP. While Canada still must ratify the deal, Freeland sure sounded keen as she told reporters we are a party that believes in trade, and a government that believes in free trade.

The Trudeau government will no doubt fill us with dark Brexit and Trumpian images to warm us up to the TPP. But not even revulsion for Donald Trump will provide enough lipstick to pretty up this pig.

Linda McQuaig is a journalist and author. Her column appears monthly.

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Pride is a celebration of inclusion, you say? Well, Torontos black Pride community says Pride is not an inclusive space for trans people, bisexuals, queers, lesbians, gays, two-spirited people, and intersex people who also happen to be black  that it has never been inclusive enough of such individuals.

The public would rather not hear this. On Sunday, Black Lives Matter Toronto halted the annual Pride parade to remind us that black people also identify as LGBTQ2SI, and that their exclusion from the family must end. They were booed, harassed, and taunted by many of the Pride revellers, by folks who claimed they had gathered to celebrate inclusion.

The idea that BLMTO hijacked the parade to advance its own agenda assumes that the black struggle is somehow separate from that of Pride. This assumption  that blackness is somehow divorced from queerness and queer politics  explains why blacks have been so unwelcome within one of the largest queer celebrations in the world from the beginning.

Pride originated in Toronto after police raids of local bathhouses, resulting in hundreds of gay men being beaten, arrested, and humiliated. The community responded in part by forming the Citizens Independent Review of Police Actions (CIRPA), a coalition of white, black, and south Asians who had experienced police brutality because of their various racial, sexual and gender identities and expressions.

Longtime gay activist Tim McCaskell told me in a phone interview that well-known local black activists Dudley Laws and Charles Roach were among those providing support to CIRPA. Months after the raids, during a large rally at city hall against police brutality, Rev. Brent Hawkes, the beloved openly gay, white clergyman, approached the microphone to speak. Some people in the gathering began shouting that they didnt want to hear from a gay man, said McCaskell, but it was members of the black community who insisted Hawkes had the right to speak.

Despite this history, blacks and south Asians had difficulty integrating into the gay scene. They would be targeted by security at clubs, McCaskell said. Security would say, This is a gay club  do you really want to be here? As Pride and the gay village expanded, people of colour were left behind.

Just as people of colour have had to fight to be recognized in queer spaces, so have lesbians, intersex people, trans people, and genderqueer people. Those who take for granted that Pride includes separate marches for dykes and trans people may not know how hard these communities had to fight (and continue to fight) to be included. But the intersection of race and queerness remains a particularly stubborn set of oppressions to overcome.

For almost 15 years, Syrus Marcus Ware, a black trans man, has worked to sustain Blackness Yes!, a community-based committee that celebrates black queer and trans history, creativity and activism. In turn, Blackness Yes! has supported Blockorama, a party space within Pride festivities set aside specifically for black queer, trans, and intersex people.

Part of why Blackness Yes! started is because it was such a white festival, one that was actively unwelcoming to black and trans people of colour, said Ware during a phone chat. In its 18-year history, Pride has repeatedly underfunded Blockorama, moved its venue, and situated it far away from the main Pride festivities. The idea that we could be black and queer, black and trans, is unfathomable to too many people in our community, Ware said. We dont belong because theyve never expected us there.

When BLMTO halted the parade on Sunday, Ware took the microphone to explain this mostly unknown struggle to Torontos Pride family, and to echo BLMTOs call for more funding, for better inclusion of people of colour. As the crowd booed him and told him to move along, Ware said, I am so saddened to see that after 18 years, nothing has changed.

As Ware and others fight tirelessly for visibility and acceptance within Pride, media and politicians fret about whether or not the cops, whose brutality birthed Pride, will now feel welcome (BLMTO has demanded to end police floats in the parade). Rinaldo Walcott, a black queer academic in Toronto, pointed out in a phone interview that white queers have long argued that the militarization of Pride  floats for the army, the military, the navy  is inappropriate.

But our city still feels particularly threatened to hear the same demands from black people, and questions their right to speak at Pride. Says Walcott, That tells us how deep the problem of anti-black racism is, in queer communities and beyond. Toronto scorns blacks for raining on the parade, when in reality black people are claiming a piece of Pride they have historically been denied.

Desmond Cole is a Toronto-based journalist. His column appears every second Thursday.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus government is still falling short of his promise to hold an open and transparent competition to find the best fighter jet to fit Canadas needs. But it is, at least, exploring options and consulting with allies and aircraft makers.

The previous Conservative government had proposed to buy Lockheed Martins F-35  a choice vigorously opposed by the Liberals. As recently as last month, Trudeau said this plane does not work and is far from working.

Comments like that, and the governments retreat from holding an open competition, have produced mounting concern that Ottawa is bent on purchasing the Boeing Super Hornet, rather than the F-35, even if it means proceeding with undue haste and through a sole-source contract.

Now the government has committed to a procurement process that allows for some comparison of rival brands. Its a step forward  but not far enough

Canadas military and experts from various federal ministries will meet with aircraft makers over the summer to assess their offerings, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said on Wednesday. Officials will seek up-to-date information from leading manufacturers on key issues including cost, economic benefits for Canada, and their ability to deliver planes quickly.

Canadian officials will also consult our allies, several of which have already opted for the F-35, to discuss what theyve experienced.

It would be unfortunate if all this was simply window-dressing to obscure a choice that has already been made for political purposes. Trudeau seems determined not to accept the F-35 championed by his predecessor, Stephen Harper. But it may well prove the best plane for Canadas needs. If so, its the jet we should buy.

Billions of dollars are at stake, as well as an obligation to properly equip the men and women serving in our air force. Their interest will be served only if the coming consultations are conducted in an unbiased manner, according to a set of fair and realistic requirements drafted to reflect Canadas genuine needs.

Unfortunately, Sajjan was unable to provide the kind of details that would boost confidence that this will happen. New fighter jet requirements are still being drafted. Theres no indication that the consultation process will be guided by any independent oversight. No timeline has been released. And Sajjan refused to say whether the government still intends to hold an open competition to replace the countrys aging CF-18 fighters.

Sajjan needs to do a better job of convincing Canadians that whats underway is, in fact, an even-handed process. To that end, the Liberals initial promise of a fair and transparent competition to find the best plane is still the best way to proceed.

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Re: Bittersweet graduation for Syrian boy, July 1

Bittersweet graduation for Syrian boy, July 1

Mohamad Saers father knows that he is not ready to go to high school. But the Board of Education policy says that he and many other unprepared students must stay with their peer group.

Why? So they will feel good about being promoted and not realize until it is too late to catch up to other students and just drop out?

If a student cannot grasp Grade 2 reading or arithmetic, what is gained by placing him in Grade 3 the following September? Mohamad Saers father is wiser after a few months in Canada than the Board of Education.

Eileen Herbert, Barrie

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Re: July 1 around the city, July 2

July 1 around the city, July 2

This years Canada Day was truly special. Every year, Canada Day for me goes by in the ambiguity of its celebration other than self-reflection about the great country we live in.

However this year, I had the chance to celebrate Canada Day with a Syrian refugee family that arrived here last year in November. The children were ecstatic to further strengthen their ties within Canadian fabric. We sang O Canada and made fun of how much people thank one another, say excuse me, and apologize.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat had Canada Day events integrating Syrian refugees all across the country  truly a remarkable initiative!

Canada is a great country, and Canada Day is just a reminder of how thankful we should be on a daily basis.

Jariullah Adnan, Toronto

My husband and I, along with our daughter and grandsons ages 6 and 8, cycled over to Harbourfront to see the July 1st fireworks display. Why on earth did they not begin until around 11 p.m., when sunset was about 9 p.m. It was very late for children.

The display was wonderful and magical but it would have been equally so at 10.

Pat Scarborough, Toronto

I am amazed when I go to our local park the day after the Canada Day celebrations (or anything other public event for that matter) to find the grounds littered with trash, despite the presence of trash containers a few metres apart throughout the park.

Cups, bottles and wrappers are dropped right where people finished with them and included in the litter are the little Canada flags people wave to show their pride in Canada. But hold on, thats Canada you are dumping your garbage on when youre finished having fun.

Respect for people, property and the environment starts with the little things. It is absurd to think we can conquer big environmental and social issues if we cannot even muster the motivation to walk 10 steps to a garbage can.

David Richardson, Uxbridge

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Re: From Steve Martin, a truer north, July 3

Re: Island retreat made for summer fun, July 2

From Steve Martin, a truer north, July 3

The confluence of Lawren Harris, Steve Martin and Canada Day offers a timely opportunity to launch a discussion long overdue. At its centre is an examination if not an outright revision of our national identity and 20th century modernism  both rising from the bloody crucible of war exactly 100 years ago.

I do not diminish Steve Martins genuine love of collecting or his current efforts to showcase Harris on a grander stage but the question begged is: Why does it take an American celebritys stamp of approval to dignify our art history which, furthermore, is tiresomely and narrowly circumscribed by the same seven white guys. Im sorry but it smacks of a national inferiority complex, arrested development, or just a lack of effort on our part.

Id posit that we need more of the humanities in our universities and fewer business schools. We need scholarship to advance Canadian art history studies and not leave it to the privilege of wealthy collectors and obliging public institutions. We need to reconstitute our country in proud contradistinction to the United States to carry the torch of optimism Laurier set out for this nation at the start of the last century.

Louis Gagliardi, Woodbridge

Island retreat made for summer fun, July 2

Tom Thomson was not a member of the Group of Seven. The Group was founded three years after Toms death.

Had he lived it would have been the Group of Eight. Or Tom would have come up with a more creative name for their collective.

Virginia Eichhorn, director and chief curator, Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound

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Two weeks after the UK surprisingly voted to leave the European Union, the economic and political landscapes in the U.K. have continued to darken. "The U.K. has entered a period of uncertainty and significant economic adjustment," said Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, at a news conference Friday in which he said that the bank wouldn't be able to counteract economic instability following Brexit. "The efforts of the Bank of England will not be able fully and immediately to offset the market and economic volatility that can be expected while this adjustment proceeds."

The pound has plummeted to its lowest mark against the U.S. dollar in three decades. London's equity markets have fallen and there are signs that investors are abandoning U.K. real estate. Meanwhile, a new leader to replace Prime Minister David Cameron and guide the country as it cuts ties with the EU has yet to emerge.

To be sure, it will take time for the full impact of the British referendum to become apparent. The country must disengage itself from the agreement, which has roots in the early 1950s but became a formal entity in the Maastricht Treaty of 1993, and create new trade pacts with trading partners on the continent. The U.K. will have to establish new policies on immigration.

But fundamental changes will occur, although their long-range impact is uncertain. Below are three areas of concern in the post Brexit months ahead.

1. Property Risk

On Tuesday, the Bank of England warned that prices for domestic commercial properties could fall significantly. Its financial Policy Committee also warned,"Valuations in some segments of the market, notably the prime London market, had become stretched."

Foreigners had been some of the biggest investors in U.K. property in recent years. But in a financial stability report, the Bank of England said that foreign investment capital had dropped 50 in the first quarter.

Two major, British asset managers blocked investors from taking their money out of real estate funds. One of the funds, Aviva, said in a note to investors that it was suspending trading in its Aviva Investors Property Trust because of "higher than usual volumes of requests to sell units."

"It would not surprise me if similar firms take similar actions in the coming weeks," Hargreaves Lansdown senior analysts Laith Khalaf told The Wall Street Journal.

2. Pressure on the Pound

The pound reached its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since the 1980s, touching $1.30. It is expected to remain weak, at least until the impact of Brexit becomes clearer.

"It will take time for the United Kingdom to establish new relationships with the European Union and the rest of the world. Some market and economic volatility is to be expected as this process unfolds, " the Bank of England said in its Financial Stability Report.

3. Political Instability

Great Britain has been among the world's most raucous but stable democracies. Its leaders have been well-regarded globally.

But following David Cameron's resignation, it's now unclear who the next prime minister will be, and more importantly, if this new leader will be able to address post-Brexit challenges.

Last week, the favorite to replace Cameron and most prominent Brexit advocate, Boris Johnson, said that he would not run for prime minister after former ally Michael Gove withdrew his support. Gove, Cameron's justice secretary, is running for the position, although he finished third on Tuesday in the Conservative Party's first round of voting.

The winner by a large margin was long-time home secretary Theresa May, who opposed Brexit but has campaigned as someone who could manage the aftermath of the vote.

Behind May was Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister who was a loud campaigner for Brexit.

The vote made May the favorite but hardly guaranteed her a victory. Leadsom led by a percentage point in a poll published Monday by the ConservativeHome website.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.
Mosquito coils are stored in a drying room at Dainihon Jochugikus factory in Arita, Japan, on Wednesday. The company has donated its mosquito-repellent products to the Japan Olympic Committee to help prevent Olympians from getting mosqito-borne diseases, such as Zika, during the Rio Olympics this year. (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

PRODUCT SAFETY

Half a million hoverboards recalled

U.S. regulators announced recalls of more than 500,000 hoverboards Wednesday. The motorized, self-balancing scooters contain lithium ion batteries that can overheat and catch fire or explode, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The agency said it has received at least 99 incident reports about the battery problems to date, including complaints about burn injuries and property damage.

The agency said consumers should stop using the recalled products and contact the recalling company for a full refund, a free repair or replacement.

The recall affects hoverboards from several manufacturers, but more than half of the units were from Indiana-based Swagway. Swagway said the recall affects only a previous version of their X1 model hoverboards.

Hoverboards were a hot ticket item last holiday season, but reports of injuries from falls and the battery issues have dampened their popularity.

Last year, major airlines banned hoverboards from flights because of the fire risks. Several retailers, including Amazon and Overstock (which is among the sellers involved in the recall), have also stopped stocking some models. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

 Andrea Peterson

WIRELESS

Verizon to raise rates, boost data

Verizon Communications, the No. 1 U.S. wireless provider, said Wednesday that it will raise its plan rates but expand data buckets by 30 percent for its customers, who are streaming more content on mobile devices.

Starting Thursday, the company will roll out a new version of its My Verizon mobile app to let customers control data overages and billing, as well as manage plans, the company said.

Emulating moves by some of its rivals, Verizon said it will let customers carry unused data over to the next month and begin offering users on certain plans unlimited text and calling to and from Mexico and Canada.

Verizon is increasing data across all its plans. For instance, the basic S plan will cost $35, a $5 rise, and offer double the data at 2 gigabytes; the XXL plan will cost $10 more at $110 and offer 24 gigabytes, compared with the previous 16 gigabytes.

The company also said it will introduce a safety mode that protects customers from data overages by slowing speeds.

 Reuters

Also in Business

 From news services


Dory meets Mr. Ray in Finding Dory, the long-awaited sequel to Finding Nemo. (Disney/Pixar)

6 and older

Finding Dory (PG)

Swimming alongside the rich humor, quirky characters and oceanic treats in Finding Dory is a more melancholy undertow than in the G-rated Finding Nemo (2003). This film is fine for kids 6 and older, but it may trigger their emotions more than parents expect. Its PG rating reflects a vein of sadness that was not mined as deeply in the first film. Without sermonizing, it also embodies the idea of accepting all differently abled creatures as integral to life. Never fear  the film is still a treat and has a hugely happy ending  but getting there involves some emotional leaps. Its a year after the events in the first film. Dory the blue tang (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) lives with Marlin the clownfish (Albert Brooks) and his son, Nemo, as her surrogate family. Dory still has short-term memory loss, but a sudden flash of recollection tells her the parents she became separated from long ago (shown in a poignant flashback) are in California. Marlin and Nemo go with her to find them. Near the (real) Marine Life Institute, Dory gets captured and plopped in a tank. While Marlin and Nemo try to get in, Dory makes friends with Hank (Ed ONeill), a crabby octopus; Destiny (Kaitlin Olson), a nearsighted whale shark; and Bailey (Ty Burrell), a beluga whale. (97 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: The youngest kids might worry during a few scenes near the end, when the fish heroes find themselves in a crazy highway escapade far from seawater, or feel sad at the various times Dory gets lost and feels alone.

8 and older



Snowball is the leader of the Flushed Pets in "The Secret Life of Pets." (Illumination Entertainment/Universal Pictures)

The Secret Life of Pets (PG)

Any doting pet owner or animal lover, whether child or adult, will chuckle and occasionally howl at this cleverly conceived animated feature. But note: The second half gets violent enough in imagery and storytelling  and the animation is crisp and real-looking enough  to make the movie an iffy choice for kids younger than 8. Some 6- or 7-year-olds may be okay with it, but parents need to gauge what they can handle. Max (voice of Louis C.K.), a terrier, lives in a New York apartment with his human, Katie. While waiting for her to return each day, he engages with neighboring pets  Gidget the fluffy Pomeranian, Chloe the fat cat, Mel the pug, Buddy the dachshund, Sweetpea the budgie, and Norman the guinea pig. But Katie brings home a second rescue dog, the shaggy giant, Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who tries to take over. Max and Dukes feud turns disastrous with the dog-walker, as they get separated from the group and caught in an alley with a nasty gang of abandoned pets  feral cats, a tattooed potbelly pig  all led by Snowball (Kevin Hart), a fearsome bunny. After Animal Control grabs Duke and Max, Snowball breaks them out, but they must promise to join his crew, the human-hating Flushed Pets, in a sewer hideout. Gidget rallies the neighborhood pets and enlists a hawk and an old basset hound to rescue Max and Duke. (90 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: Much of the second half hinges on threats and violence in alleys and sewers populated by feral-looking cats, snakes, lizards, crocodiles and others. A huge python nearly bites Max. There are non-lethal falls from buildings and big road crashes. The toilet habits of pets provide many laughs.

Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) befriends a friendly giant named the BFG (Mark Rylance) as they set out on an adventure to capture the evil, man-eating giants who have been invading the human world. (Walt Disney Pictures)

The BFG (PG)

The big heart and quirky language in Roald Dahls classic 1982 kids novel translate quite nicely into Steven Spielbergs 3-D adaptation. At times overstuffed and awkwardly paced, it is nevertheless a fine diversion, with an eccentric look, a romantic soundtrack and a crackerjack cast. Kids 8 and older, whether they know the book or not, should find the movie enjoyably odd and deliciously scary. Ten-year-old Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), a brainy, bespectacled insomniac, lives in an orphanage in London. One late night she looks out on the street and spies a huge cloaked figure (Mark Rylance, digitally altered), as tall as the buildings, blowing silently on a trumpety thing into bedrooms. He sees Sophie, snatches her up and galumphs away to Giant Country. Sophie learns hes the Big Friendly Giant, which she shortens to the BFG. Hes a sweet soul who speaks deliciously fractured English, eats gross-looking snozzcumbers and devotes his life to blowing good dreams into kids bedrooms. His more enormous neighbors are people-eating giants, bullies with such names as Fleshlumpeater. Sophie insists they go to the queen (Penelope Wilton) in Buckingham Palace for help. (117 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: There are many shivery moments, from when the BFG first grabs Sophie to confrontations with the people-eating giants  cannibals who is guzzling human beans, as the BFG says. But the movie does not show them doing that. They are fearsome, and they sniff out humans, but they only talk about eating them. We do hear a newspaper account about children disappearing, their bones left behind. The giants bully the BFG horribly.

PG-13

It has been years since Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard) left the jungles of Africa for a life in London with his beloved wife, Jane Porter (Margot Robbie). He's invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly scheme. ( / Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Legend of Tarzan

Not for middle-schoolers because of its level of violence, albeit more stylized than bloody, this is a movie with multiple personalities. Part old-fashioned adventure, part history lesson, part popcorn romance with unintended giggles. The Legend of Tarzan never quite fulfills any of its identities, but it looks great. Its a zoologists dream of digitally created animals, and its history lesson, although partly fictionalized, may inspire high-schoolers to learn more about the horrors of Belgian colonial rule in 19th century Congo. Set in the 1880s, it sends Lord Greystoke, a.k.a. John Clayton III, a.k.a. Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard)  the title character from the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs  back to the jungle where he grew up as an orphan raised by great apes, and where he met his beloved Jane (Margot Robbie). Invited to revisit Congo by the English and Belgian governments, he declines, until an American, George Washington Williams (Samuel L. Jackson), proposes they go together to witness the atrocities and slavery going on in Belgian King Leopold IIs colony. Leopolds emissary (Christoph Waltz) aims to capture and kill Tarzan. (110 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: We see enslaved Congolese men, shackled in a rail car, and villagers shot by mercenaries. The battle scenes are artfully edited, so injuries and deaths are never graphic. The passion between Tarzan and Jane gets gauzy, romantic treatment  steamy, but never graphic  with one brief, non-explicit sexual situation. The dialogue includes rare profanity and sexual innuendo.


(The Washington Post)

We are well into the summer entertaining season, which puts bars and kitchens front and center for barbecues, pool parties and other gatherings.

Jonathan Lo, the founder and principal designer at J3 Productions, a creative agency based in Southern California, says that new bar stools are a quick and easy way to freshen up your entertaining space. Lo, who is also editor in chief of the Octopian and the guy behind the lifestyle blog Happy Mundane, suggests using the bar stool as a statement piece or simply to add seating.

We asked Lo to choose several stylish bar stool options at different price points. Here are his picks.



(ABC Carpet & Home; Ikea)

SPLURGE: Arper Babar chrome stool ($706, abchome.com ), left. SAVE: Janinge bar stool in white ($129, ikea.com ).

SPLURGE: Remy backless stools in burnished steel ($344 for two, restorationhardware.com ), left. SAVE: Carlisle 29.5-inch backless metal bar stools in antique brown ($100 for two, target.com ).



(Design Within Reach; Room and Board)

SPLURGE: Tractor bar stool in walnut ($1,400, dwr.com ), left. SAVE: Bay bar stool in walnut ($449, roomandboard.com).



(Kathy Kuo Home; Target)

SPLURGE: Jordan industrial loft wood backless swivel bar stool ($334, kathykuohome.com ), left. SAVE: Lewiston adjustable swivel bar stool in bronze ($75, target.com ).

SPLURGE: Scoop-back 30-inch bar stool in white ($338 for two, westelm.com ), left. SAVE: Pisa 30-inch stools in white ($160 for two, overstock.com ).
Artists can find inspiration on the walls of the Amazing Art Studio in Gaithersburg. (Christine Koubek)

Patrons come to the Amazing Art Studio in Gaithersburg to explore their own creativity. They fuse glass, make mosaics and paint  pottery and canvas  and sometimes discover a different kind of date night activity.

Passersby can peek in the large front windows at vases full of colorful glass. Shelves are filled with displays of work, much of it still to be finished. There are kid-friendly ceramics (a Captain America jar, animal figurines, a rainbow-shaped piggy bank), serving pieces (plates, bowls, a deviled-egg holder) and picture frames (painted or decorated in mosaic tiles).

It all began with Julya Myers.

She was a corporate accountant who had worked her way to a VP position  and a final realization that the hours meant never seeing the kids. Then she learned that a small 1,200-square-foot store named Plaster, Paint & Party was available. I always wanted to own my own business, she says.

Fifteen years later, in 2014, the Amazing Art Studio moved to its third and largest site, in Gaithersburgs Downtown Crown development (115 Crown Park Ave.).

The space is meant to be a stress-free zone, where any project can be made during store hours, and there are no required sessions or appointments.

We are not teaching people how to be an artist. Were giving people a chance to be creative and have fun, Myers says, adding that the fun is as much in the process as in the product. And, it doesnt matter how old you are, your mother loves your artwork.

Examples of paintings customers can attempt hang on a butter-yellow back wall: smile-inducing dogs, flowers and a night landscape that appears inspired by Vincent van Goghs The Starry Night.

There are more than 150 canvas designs with step-by-step illustrated instructions, Myers says. Costs can range from less than $20 to more than $60 an item, including all art materials for the project.

Staff members assist artists, gathering materials and handling cleanup, but they do not give advice.

The studio is also a date-night destination for creative types. It is open exclusively to adults from 8 to 11 p.m. Fridays (by appointment Thursday nights after 7).

Gaithersburg resident Katie Fritts has been on dates there.

We went for adult night and had wine with us while we painted, she recalls of a visit.

She has also gone with her mother, and made coffee mugs and mixing bowls and painted. If ever I am unsure, the owner has guided me and offered her strategies without taking away my creative flair.

Myers says: People have dinner and then come here. ... Its better than a movie.

It doesnt hurt that Downtown Crown is loaded with options for a meal. Its first restaurants and shops opened in 2014. The growing areas streets are named for innovators in music, art, literature and science.

Today, the 182-acre development community offers a lot that can enhance a date: Theres a park, a Wednesday evening summer concert series and casual food options such as &Pizza. Other restaurants include Coastal Flats (seafood), Ruths Chris Steak House, Marylands first Teds Montana Grill (Ted Turners venture), Old Town Pour House (90-plus craft brews on tap), and Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar. Teds Bulletin offers a delicious breakfast or lunch, as well as milkshakes and its signature pop tarts.

Fritts has found creativity and comfort at Amazing Art. The most special thing ... is that they are a family business and treat you as such, whether youre a regular or a first-time customer, she says.
Reader: Our board is looking to expand our nonprofit organization, which is having a record revenue year. I am an executive and the second-highest-paid person in our office. I have been asked to take a pay cut, unrelated to my performance, which will make me the third- or fourth-highest-paid person. Everyone else is expected to receive merit-based raises or cost-of-living adjustments at the start of the next fiscal year. Is it legal to cut one employees salary and nobody elses when there is no business reason to do so? Does it matter that I am the only employee over 45 and a woman, while the executives who will outearn me after my pay cut are male?

Karla: Your age and gender may not have been conscious factors in your pay cut. But in the eyes of employment law, they could indeed matter  a lot.

Under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, its illegal for employers with 20 or more workers to discriminate against any worker age 40 or older. But in practice, courts have found that its lawful for a company to lay off its highest earners, who often tend to be older workers, says employment attorney Tom Spiggle. That same business reason  cutting costs from the top  may be in play here, he says.

Still, the fact that you, the oldest worker, are the only high earner being asked to make this contribution to the greater good ... well, that looks a bit dodgy through the ADEA lens.

Shifting perspective to your gender: Title VII broadly prohibits sex discrimination by employers with more than 15 employees. Finally, theres the Equal Pay Act, which states simply that men and women must be paid equally for performing substantially similar jobs. Unlike the ADEA and Title VII, the EPA applies to employers of any size, and it allows workers to take their complaint straight to court, instead of filing first with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Most important, under the EPA, the employee need not prove there is intentional discrimination going on, says Spiggle. She would just have to show the pay differential exists.

Mind you, no ones advising you to go running to court just yet. Its time to ask the decision-makers why you are the only one taking a hit, and when or whether your original salary will be reinstated. If their explanation makes sense, you could ask for non-financial perks to offset the pay cut. If not, it might be worth an hour with a lawyer to discuss other options, says Spiggle. Even if federal laws dont apply to your case, your state may have laws that do.

Discrimination isnt necessarily a mustache-twirling, hand-rubbing plot to target women, seniors or any other group. But just because your employer doesnt mean to discriminate doesnt mean its not doing something illegal.

Ask Karla Miller about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com. Read more @Work Advicecolumns.

For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit The Washington Post Magazine.

Follow the Magazine on Twitter.

Like us on Facebook.

Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com.
Dear Heloise: I purchased an expensive mattress and box spring. It has an offensive chemical smell. Do you have any suggestions for how to remedy this problem?

The paperwork suggested opening the windows and turning on a fan. I tried that, with little success.

Maxine Y., Little Rock, Ark.

Maxine Y.: Dont worry  youre on the right track. The Better Sleep Council, Bettersleep.org, recommends a thorough airing-out of the new mattress and box spring. They suggest doing this for several hours, so be patient.

Dear Heloise: Does your tub drain not seal anymore, so you cant keep water in the bath (and cant get your spouse to fix it)? Simple  get a small plastic bag, put about 10 marbles in it, and place it (not sealed) over the drain.

The marbles will hold the plastic down while youre filling the tub until the water pressure makes a perfect seal. After youre done, just store near the tub for next time.

Sherri and Steve S., Brownsville, Tex.

Dear Readers: Planning a wedding takes lots of time and patience. Its wedding season, and todays brides hopefully began planning their ceremonies at least a year ago.

Youre going to want to invest time in planning your marriage, of course, but also in planning your wedding. In my almost 40 years of crafting this column, I have collected a pamphlets worth of timesaving, money-saving and memory-making hints for the bride. If youd like to receive a pamphlet, send a long, self-addressed, stamped (68 cents) envelope, along with $3, to: Heloise/Bridal, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Check with local quaint hotels to ensure that they can handle your wedding party.

Dear Readers: The letter from the wheelchair-bound reader touched a nerve with you. Disabled in Gastonia was understandably concerned when a nurse spoke to her husband instead of talking directly to her.

Heres some feedback:

Ive been in a wheelchair for decades. During one clinic visit, the nurse turned to my aide and asked, Can she stand?

I responded, She can speak for herself. That nurse never made that mistake again.

Pia H., via email

You should first speak to the person in the wheelchair. You should bend down or seat yourself to be at his or her eye level. Its uncomfortable to have to look up all the time to carry on a conversation.

Lois H., via email

I remembered dining out with my blind mother. The waitresses would always ask me what my mom would like to eat instead of asking her directly. At first, I used to get so angry  my mom was blind, not deaf.

I solved this problem by asking my mom the question out loud: What would you like to eat, Mom? From that point on, the waitresses would talk to her for the rest of the meal!

Anna N., Mission Viejo, Calif.

Thank you for your responses.

Heloises column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
Dear Miss Manners: Ever since childhood, Ive loved acting, and I cant imagine living without theater. I used to constantly get lead roles at a childrens theater, but now that Ive outgrown it and started auditioning at community theaters, my confidence in acting has been less stable.

Im getting ensemble roles, and sometimes not getting in shows at all. I know I have some talent because Ive gotten occasional callbacks and compliments, but I never seem to be close to the top anymore. And I know that most of the reasons for not being cast should not be taken personally. Yet none of this makes me feel better.

While I still have fun, when the show ends and the cast goes to greet the audience, my self-esteem always drops when I see the audience members ignoring me and the other ensemble members on their way to congratulating lead actors.

Sometimes when I feel rejected, Ill try something else that might make me stand out. Since I love writing, I try to write stories, but I either dont finish them or realize that publication is often even more difficult than landing a lead onstage. Deep down, I know that nothing can replace theater.

I know that wanting to feel special and stand out makes me sound shallow. Thats not my intention. I dont want to be famous or star on Broadway. I dont want to be recognized everywhere, but after a performance, I wish somebody would see me as an individual.

In the least shallow way possible, I want to have something to remind me that theres a reason I was granted some talent and that someone other than myself will verbally recognize it.

Be happy that you are only being ignored. Many actors get treated far worse  picked apart and criticized  a more crippling blow to ones self-esteem than not being noticed.

If you seek consistent approval in the theater and your confidence is dependent on it, then you might have picked the wrong career. Tenacity in the arts is more powerful than talent, Miss Manners has observed. And she has witnessed many a talented actor give up in frustration, while less accomplished ones succeed, merely because they stuck it out.

If you truly love theater and are not in it (purely) for the recognition, then you must accept being an ensemble member as the opportunity that it is. Working your way up in the ranks and not getting recognized for it is a necessary stage of life  and is certainly not limited to the theater.

If you want to succeed, then you must harden yourself  not only to the lack of constant accolades, but to worse: the constant critiques. (Miss Manners had a talented acquaintance who was told as a teenager by a casting director that she had a face like a chocolate chip cookie. She ignored the insult and went on to an extremely successful and lucrative career in voice-over work.)

You stated that you enjoy writing  another field that requires perseverance and tenacity. So write yourself a lead part. Many a current star has done so  and even if it never gets produced, it will afford you an opportunity in a field that you could wait forever for someone else to grant.

New Miss Manners columns are posted Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays on washingtonpost.com/advice. You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com.
Our readers share tales of their ramblings around the world.

Who: Kevin Wierzbicki of Phoenix.

Where, when, why: I went to Swaziland for eight days. I am a big fan of African and world music, and went to Swaziland to attend the MTN Bushfire Festival, which has a reputation for being one of the best music festivals in Africa. After the festival, I went sightseeing for five days.

[Interested in sharing your own What a Trip story? Apply here.]

Highlights and high points: I heard some jaw-dropping performances at Bushfire. The show that especially sticks in my mind was by a Swaziland-based group called the Correctional Services Choir  a large, predominantly female group that harmonized beautifully. They ended their show with a take on Wimoweh, the song that Western music fans know as The Lion Sleeps Tonight. I also went on several game drives and saw two elephants fighting and a submerged hippo wearing a turtle like a hat!

Cultural connection or disconnect: I stayed overnight in a rondavel [round, thatched-roofed cottage] at Shewula Mountain Camp near the Mozambique border where, as at the surrounding homesteads, there is no electricity. One of the ladies who works at the camp took me for a walk to a nearby homestead, where I met the family patriarch. The old man disappeared into his beehive hut and reemerged wearing the traditional garb of a Swazi warrior, complete with an animal-skin shield. We didnt speak a single word of each others native language, but meeting him and many of his family members made me feel like I had a real connection to the Swazi people.

Biggest laugh or cry: I couldnt help but bust out in laughter when I sat down to order lunch at a spot in the Hlane Royal National Park. The waitress walked up to me and, with a completely straight face, said: Im sorry sir, but were out of the impala. I am not much of an adventurous eater, but they did have plenty of wildebeest on hand, which is served as delicious sausages.

How unexpected: I stayed overnight at a place called the Foresters Arms Hotel. It offered nice accommodations, but it totally surprised me when I went to have dinner, which ended up being a gourmet feast that included baked salmon mousse, curried chicken and banana soup, Indonesian fish cakes and lamb with pumpkin fritters. Also, Swaziland is a monarchy, and I was surprised by how deeply Swazis universally love and revere their leader, King Mswati III.

Fondest memento or memory: Swaziland is a relatively small country, and I was able to see much of the nation during my visit. I will never forget how the people I met along the way welcomed me into their world without hesitation. I got a lasting gift when, the day before I left the country, I was recapping my adventure for someone who told me: You must come back, because Swaziland is now your home.

To tell us about your own trip, go to washingtonpost.com/travel and fill out the What a Trip form with your fondest memories, finest moments and favorite photos.
Her friends from Holy Trinity School in Georgetown lined up in the small church to hug the 11-year-old after the service.

In a shimmery white dress and with a face missing its usual, bright smile, the girl graciously accepted condolences from her classmates last week and used a tissue to dab the cheeks of her aunt, who cried as hymns lifted voices far up, past the stained-glass windows, past the balcony of mourners fanning themselves with programs.

The girls voice was quiet and restrained as she thanked everyone for coming to the funeral. Three weeks after seeing her mother killed, family members say, she has yet to cry.

It is the kind of selfless poise and strength she learned from her mom, Stephanie Goodloe, who was the director of youth ministry at Mount Gilead Baptist Church in Northwest Washington.

And it had to hurt to see the police cars outside her moms funeral at the church that meant so much to her, there to direct traffic and follow close by to ensure that the funeral procession made it safely to the Maryland National Memorial Park cemetery.

Stephanie Goodloe of Southeast Washington was shot dead inside her home on June 19. D.C. police have arrested her ex-boyfriend Donald Hairston in her death and charged him with first-degree murder while armed. (WUSA)

Because there was no protection when the man she considered a father allegedly stood over her mothers bed inside their Capitol Hill home at about 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday in June and shot her in her wrist, armpit, shoulder and head.

The first gunshot woke the girl up. She heard her mom scream, What are you doing? Then three more gunshots. She told police that she saw Donald Hairston, 49, the man who had lived with them and whom she called Daddy, race past her room.

The sixth-grader, whose family asked The Washington Post not to identify her, ran into her moms room and saw the body, then grabbed the phone, hid in the bathroom and called 911.

Im going to be haunted by that phone call, Jonathan Shell, a veteran D.C. homicide detective, testified in court last week because he could hear the terror in the 11-year-olds voice.

Goodloe, like hundreds of women in America every year, feared her ex-boyfriend was coming for her.

She filed for a temporary restraining order against Hairston two weeks before she was slaughtered in her bed. According to her plea for protection, he banged on her door, slashed her tires and threatened her.

She called police again a few days later, when he kept calling her and banging on her door, violating the restraining order.

And she called police the day before she was killed. He had called her at work and told her she should leave the District because he would send people to hurt her, she said. Hairston said he did not care whether he went to jail, Goodloe told police.

She did everything right. She kept a log of every time he called her. She reported it all to police, said John McCrea, Goodloes stepfather. I cant believe shes not here anymore.

He said Hairston even showed up at the 11-year-olds dance recital last month, when all the door-banging and calls did not get him inside the Capitol Hill rowhouse.

[Lets hail the men who protect instead of prey]

They were scheduled to go to court June 20 to let a judge decide whether the restraining order should be permanent. Instead, Hairston appeared in court alone, on first-degree murder charges, and Goodloe was in the morgue.

This is what deadly domestic violence looks like in America  a slow-motion killing field, a mass shooting over time. At least one woman is killed every day with a gun fired by a husband, a boyfriend, a lover or an ex.

About 1,000 women are lost every year to domestic violence, more than half of them  52 percent  killed by a gun. Usually, its a gun in her own home, according to the Violence Policy Center.

Yet their collective deaths rarely generate the kind of grief and outrage as a mass shooting in Orlando or San Bernardino. Why, given the emotional, psychological and spiritual toll they take?

Goodloe, 39, was beloved in all of the circles she touched. Her funeral was standing-room only, packed with friends and family. A GoFundMe campaign has generated more than $34,000 in donations for her 11-year-old, who will be raised by her grandparents.

She was just such a gift, said Sarah Shoenfeld, who watched her 14-year-old thrive under Goodloes one-on-one care at St. Coletta of Greater Washington, where Goodloe was a patient and skilled aid to children with intellectual disabilities.

At Mount Gilead, she was the teen whisperer, one of the few adults who cracked the youth code and became a confidante and leader. She was also the day-care director at the Christian Tabernacle Church of God in Northwest D.C.

She worked at the charity Marthas Table. She brought baked goods to all of her friends.

The service had an uplifting tone. A parade of people told stories about how Goodloe had helped them, inspired them, made them laugh, dried their tears when they cried.

The horrific way she was killed, the turmoil and fear she never talked about, was largely left unspoken.

This was an evil act, one of the speakers said. Another described the circumstances of her death as unusual.

The way Goodloe was killed definitely meets the definition of evil. But, sadly, the numbers tell us it was not unusual.

Twitter: @petulad
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton leveled sharp criticism against the Obama administrations directive to the nations schools that they must make accommodations for transgender students, calling it a gun to the head that threatens the independence of school districts to handle the issue how they see fit.

Paxton, who has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration challenging its position, railed Thursday against the guidance to schools that directs them to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, he said the guidance, under threat of a loss of federal funding for noncompliance, is federal overreach that puts students at risk.

Ten other states joined the lawsuit, which was filed in a federal court in Texas. Paxton this week asked the court to allow schools to disregard the guidance until the case is decided, hoping to block it from going into effect next school year.

There are a host of reasons why allowing 14-year-old boys into girls locker rooms is a bad idea, Paxton said.

Paxton spoke alongside Roger Severino, director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, and attorney Kyle Duncan, all three of them assailing the Obama administrations approach to transgender rights.

The panel comes as lawmakers, school administrators, parents and the courts are debating how schools and the public should accommodate transgender people. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocates say barring transgender people from the facilities that align with their gender identities is a violation of their civil rights that threatens their well-being. But those who support such rules say they are necessary to safeguard privacy and traditional values.

Things have moved so far, so fast and so surprisingly, and not in a good way, Severino said in his opening remarks. Were at an inflection point in America, and its all related to the idea of sexual identity, sexual morality and the role of faith in the public square.

The panelists disagreed with the Obama administrations interpretation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in public schools. The administration has said that the law bars discrimination based on gender identity and, by extension, protects the right of transgender students to use whichever bathroom they choose.

Duncan is representing the North Carolina legislators who passed H.B. 2, a state law that requires people to use public facilities that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificates. Duncan said the Obama administration has misinterpreted federal law to extend protections to transgender people.

The whole concept of sex has been turned on its head, Duncan said.

Paxton rebutted the Obama administrations argument that Title IX protects the rights of transgender students in public schools.

The federal governments guidance letter in May relies on Title IXs prohibition on sex discrimination to conclude that students can use the bathroom or shower of the gender they feel like. In short, Obama thinks that sex is the same as gender, Paxton said, going on to quote a classic comedy film. But as Inigo Montoya told Vizzini in The Princess Bride: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means. 

Paxton argued that Congress, when it passed Title IX in 1972, intended to bar discrimination based on biological sex, not gender identity.

Congress has understood sex to be biological and gender to be cultural, Paxton said. But the president has a habit of going it alone when Congress fails to do what he wants. True to form, his agencies have done just that.

Paxton said the Obama administration has done more than just issue guidance on the issue. He said the administration has gone outside its authority and rewritten rules without going through the proper procedure, pressing states into abiding by a new regulation that Congress has not legislated.

Over 18 percent of our Texas education budget is composed of federal funds, Paxton said. That is clearly a gun to the head.

Texas schools, he said, are all worried about losing their money.

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Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales, killed last month, was known for his easy smile  at dinner, at his landscaping job, and on the beach. (Family photos)

Members of the MS-13 street gang enlisted a 19-year-old woman to lure another teenager into a darkened Montgomery County park, where he was stabbed more than 40 times, according to police accounts of the countys 10th gang-related killing in the past 10 months.

The accounts, filed this week in Montgomery District Court, underscored the horror of the slaying, with at least three assailants  one of them just 16  who either held down the victim or repeatedly stabbed him.

We really are seeing an unprecedented level of gang-related homicides, said Capt. Paul Liquorie, director of the Montgomery Police Departments Special Investigations Division.

In one of the suspected MS-13 killings last year in the county, assailants allegedly threw heavy rocks down on a victim as he crawled away from an attack toward a stream, according to court records. In another, the victim was told, Get on your knees, before being shot in the face, neck and shoulder while in the woods.

In the June 16 death of Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales, 18, in Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg, police said the 19-year-old, Vanesa Alvarado, used the promise of sex to entice Villagran-Morales into the park.

At a news conference on July 7, Montgomery County Police said they've arrested two suspects and are looking for two more in the June 16 stabbing death of 18-year-old Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales. Police say the MS-13 gang is suspected in the killing. (The Washington Post)

Once they arrived, MS-13 members came up to Alvarado and Villagran-Morales and asked him whether he wanted to go into the woods to smoke marijuana, police said.

Unfortunately, Cristian made the decision to go into the woods with them. He did not come out of those woods, Capt. Darren Francke, Montgomerys major crimes commander, said Thursday.

Police have arrested two suspects in the case, charging them with first-degree murder: Alvarado and Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16, who allegedly took part in the attack. Police are looking for two more suspects: Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 27, and Jose Coreas Ventura, 20, who also goes by the name Jose Corea.

These two individuals are extremely dangerous, and theyre on the run, Francke said. We want to get them into custody as soon as possible.

When Gutierrez-Vasquez, who is being charged as an adult, was interviewed by detectives, he told them that the victim was thought to be a rival gang member, according to court records.

But detectives have found no evidence of that and said they believe the attackers made up that claim to gain street credibility.

Its absolutely senseless, Francke said of the killing. This young man was a hardworking young man. He came down here for a job.

Montgomery County police identified four suspects in the murder of Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales. Pictured from left to right are three: Vanesa Alvarado, Jose Coreas Ventura and Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez. (Montgomery County Police Department)

Investigators said Villagran-Morales arrived in Montgomery about two months ago from New Jersey to live with relatives and was doing landscaping work.

The young man sent money home to his father in Guatemala  something that to Jennifer Torres, a girlfriend of one of Villagran-Moraless cousins, set him apart from others his age. Most 18-year-olds just want to spend their money on themselves, she said.

His demeanor also distinguished him, she said.  Cristian laughs about everything. Cristian smiles about everything,  Torres remembered her boyfriend telling her  attributes she came to see.

She said she believes he went to the park thinking that Alvarado held a genuine romantic interest in him. I think there was a lot of innocence to him, Torres said. She tricked him. It was a huge betrayal.

New gang slaying: Attackers allegedly stabbed, then threw rocks, at victim

Gutierrez-Vasquez gave a rundown of what happened after an exchange of text messages that, police said, occurred between Villagran-Morales and Alvarado on the day of the killing.

He stated that he initially held down the victims legs, while others were stabbing him, and then he also stabbed the victim with a knife, detectives wrote.

Court records do not indicate whether Gutierrez-Vasquez or Alvarado have retained attorneys. Police describe Alvarado as an associate of MS-13, a large gang with ties to El Salvador.

Detective Dimitry Ruvin, one of the investigators working the case, said the suspect, Gutierrez-Vasquez, came to Montgomery County from El Salvador in February and probably joined MS-13 after arriving. I think he was recruited here, Ruvin said.

At Gutierrez-Vasquezs first court appearance on Tuesday, prosecutor Robert Hill said the 16-year-old had been enrolled at Gaithersburg High School but showed little interest in his studies. He never went to school, Hill said. He was mostly interested in whatever the gang was doing.

Immigration agents recently lodged a jail detainer against Gutierrez-Vasquez, an indication they could move to have him deported.

Alvarado was born in Silver Spring, according to court records, and attended schools in the area. She had every opportunity to be a normal kid, Ruvin said. A public defender who represented her in court Tuesday said Alvarado has two children, ages 2 and 3, and is enrolled in GED classes and previously worked cleaning apartments.

For the time being, she is pretty much a stay-at-home mom, her defense lawyer, John Lavigne, said in court.

When she was arrested, she confessed to luring, confessed to knowing that he was going to be killed and participating in the crime, the prosecutor, Hill, said.

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, operates drug rings, human trafficking and prostitution networks extending from its base in El Salvador to Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to the Treasury Department. In October 2012, Treasury designated the group a transnational criminal organization.

In Montgomery County, Liquorie, the police captain, said that six of the 10 gang-related slayings are linked to MS-13 and that the other four are linked to local neighborhood gangs, often called crews.

For years, MS-13 has been the Washington regions largest and most notorious gang.

In 2014, after years of relative quiet for the gang, FBI officials noted an upswing in violence. Experts attributed part of the resurgence to gang leaders in El Salvador attempting to reconstitute operations here in order to make more money.

In a report written last month, Montgomery police officials cited another factor for the renewal: the wave of teenagers migrating, without parents, from the gang violence of El Salvador and other Central American countries.

Its not necessarily that the teenagers are arriving as hardcore gang members, but what seems clear, Liquorie said, is that by the time the teenagers get to Montgomery County, they often are isolated, broke, unable to speak English  and prime targets for area MS-13 members.

They are probably the most susceptible youths for gang recruitment, Liquorie said. They fall into this trap. They dont have family to necessarily fall back on.

And that recruitment is taking on modern-day approaches, centered in large part on social media.

Existing gang members in Montgomery and El Salvador follow social-media postings by the new immigrants, looking for connections they may have to certain towns or people in El Salvador. They then leverage that information to threaten and bully teenagers into joining gangs.

Its a small world, Liquorie said of the connections.

Newcomers living in neighborhoods that already have a presence of MS-13 and its rival, 18th Street, can feel a need for protection, which also drives them to gangs.

In brutal killings, officials see attempt by MS-13 to rebuild

MS-13s increased presence seems to have made the local, neighborhood gangs more threatening as well. Your violence has to match the other groups violence, Liquorie said.

In a report to the Montgomery County Council, police officials discussed the teenage migrants.

After making their precarious journeys, they often find their expectations do not match the realities of the economic opportunities, cultural barriers and family situations they find here, the police officials wrote. The resulting isolation that many of them feel or experience makes them more susceptible to victimization, gang recruitment and participation in criminal activity.

Utilizing social media and the Internet to conduct research, MS-13 and the 18th Street gang target vulnerable, newly-arrived youth by threatening to harm their families and loved ones back home, the report also stated.

The very real potential for the gangs to carry out these threats back in Central America, out of the reach of American law enforcement, forces these targeted young adults to comply with demands to join the gangs, act on their behalf, or make recurring extortion payments, the report added.

Investigators ask that anyone with information on the Villagran-Morales case or the whereabouts of the two wanted suspects call 301-279-8000. To be eligible for a reward, tipsters should call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
A former elementary school janitor has been sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to stealing laptops from the campus where he worked.

Kenneth Foster, 34, was sentenced in Prince Georges County Circuit Court on Thursday and ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution with five years probation, prosecutors announced in a statement.

Foster worked at Vansville Elementary School in Beltsville, Md., at the time of the theft, according to the Prince Georges County states attorneys office. The school received about $30,000 worth of MacBooks in January 2014 and put them in storage, but when officials went to retrieve them months later, they found that the equipment had disappeared, prosecutors said.

Foster had left the school system on medical leave shortly after the laptop delivery and was still on leave when authorities discovered that the computers were missing, prosecutors said. Authorities later learned that Foster was working in a North Carolina school district when several iPads went missing and while he supposedly was still on medical leave from Prince Georges, prosecutors said.

Investigators later found that Foster was selling the iPads and MacBooks on Craigslist.

Authorities recovered 18 of 30 stolen laptops.

Foster was charged in North Carolina in 2015, prosecutors said. In May, Foster pleaded guilty in Prince Georges to one count of a theft scheme between $10,000 and $100,000.
Authorities are investigating how a man was seriously injured Wednesday night while riding a jet ski in the Chesapeake Bay, a spokeswoman for Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

The man was thrown from the jet ski and was flown to an area hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries, said Candy Thomson, a police spokeswoman.

[Jet ski blows up in Marylands Severn River; one man hurt]

Thomson said the man was riding a jet ski in the bay at the mouth of the Magothy River and Baltimore Light in Anne Arundel County. She said witnesses spotted him shortly after 8 p.m. and told authorities he was jumping boat wakes.

At some point the man was catapulted from the jet ski and found face down and unresponsive, said Thomson.

He has not been identified.
D.C. Police say 42-year-old Larona Steele lured three boys, ages 12, 13 and 15, to her apartment in Northeast Washington and forced them to perform sex acts. (WUSA)

D.C. Police say 42-year-old Larona Steele lured three boys, ages 12, 13 and 15, to her apartment in Northeast Washington and forced them to perform sex acts. (WUSA)

She was known around the neighborhood in Northeast Washington as Ronnie, and children told police that she sometimes plied them with candy and treats, and hugged them too tightly for comfort.

On the afternoon of June 30, three boys, ages 12, 13 and 15, told police that the 42-year-old woman lured them into her first-floor apartment on Clay Place, locked the front door and told them: Yall not going nowhere. Sit down.

D.C. police said in an arrest affidavit filed in court that the woman, identified as Larona Steele, danced for the children, undressed and forced them to perform sex acts with her. One of the youths took a video during some of the sex acts, according to the court records.

Steele was arrested Tuesday and charged with five counts of child sex abuse after an adult family member of two of the boys filed a complaint with the police departments youth division.

Steele, of the 3500 block of Clay Place NE, near Minnesota Avenue at Benning Road, is free pending her next court hearing. She could not be reached for comment Thursday, and the D.C. Public Defender Service, which is representing her, did not respond to interview requests.

The arrest affidavit says Steele told police that she was intoxicated on the day of the incident and does not recall if she had sex with the children.

The arrest affidavit says Steele has lived in the two-story apartment building for a few months. Residents said the area usually teems with children, cookouts and car washes, although it was quiet Thursday afternoon. A woman who said she was Steeles daughter banged on the exterior door of the building but was unable to enter.

The arrest affidavit filed in court alleges that Steele approached the boys as they sat on the front steps of the building. The document says she offered them ice cream and popcorn.

Several residents who passed by Thursday muttered words of disgust about the accusations. I just dont understand, said Anthony Stevens, 36, who lives in the complex.

Calvin Smith, 55, who lives a few blocks down the street with his teenage children, said the area in front of the apartment building is typically busy  grown men, teenagers, kids. Its rush hour 24/7 out here, he said.

Steele has been arrested previously, including on a prostitution charge along West Virginia Avenue NE in 2012 for allegedly offering to perform a sex act for $30. Ill be a good friend to take care of you for not that much money, Steele told the officer, according to the arrest affidavit. Prosecutors dropped a solicitation charge in exchange for Steele entering a diversion program designed to get her assistance rather than being jailed.

A pretrial report filed this week with her latest arrest says she completed a high school equivalency degree, is unemployed and has three children, one of whom lives with her. Asked to list other means of legal support, she wrote, Odd jobs.

After allegedly luring the three boys inside, police said in arrest files, Steele gave them the food and then turned on music and started to dance.

Police said in the affidavit that the 12-year-old reported feeling uncomfortable and wanted to leave. But when he got up, police said, Steele double locked the front door. She then told the children to go into her bedroom to look at pictures of her when she was younger, police said. When one boy again tried to walk away, police said, Steele pulled him by his shirt to the room.

Police described the bedroom as having two beds, one with pink sheets, the other white sheets, and said that Steele began to dance on the lap of one of the boys as she undressed. She then told the boys to undress and join her on the bed, police said.

There, the arrest affidavit says, she ordered the boys to engage in various sex acts. Two of the boys told police that Steele said not to tell anyone because she could get into trouble, the arrest warrant states.

Police said the 12-year-old escaped by excusing himself to the bathroom and then made it out to the hallway, where he dressed and went home. Police said Steele then forced the other two boys to continue with sex acts.

One of the youths told police that they were familiar with Steele because she greeted him and other children frequently, offering them food, according to the affidavit. The boy told police that she would hug him and rub his chest areas making him uncomfortable.

Previous addresses for Steele include Minnesota Avenue SE and Naylor Road SE. She also once lived in Columbia, Md.

Police said in a statement issued Wednesday evening that anyone who has had past inappropriate encounters with the suspect or has information that would assist the investigation should call police.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that police said in an affidavit that Steele recorded video of some sexual acts with the juveniles. The affidavit said one of the youths recorded the video.
TSA agents check passenger boarding passes and identification May 19 at a security screening checkpoint at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. (Ted S. Warren/AP)

The Transportation Security Administration is a bloated bureaucracy that tolerates corrupt, insolent airport screeners who go unpunished for their behavior, the chairman of a House subcommittee said Thursday.

Every American should be outraged by these allegations, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said at a Capitol Hill hearing on the TSA. Egregious misconduct occurs on all levels of the TSA and is growing.

Perry said that with the security threat higher than at any time since 9/11, misconduct by TSA employees increased by 29 percent between 2013 and 2015.

The hearing by two subcommittees coincided with the release of a report by the full House Homeland Security Committee that said: Employee misconduct of all types corrupts TSAs core mission to protect the traveling public and poses serious security vulnerabilities.

Half of TSAs [almost 60,000-member] workforce allegedly committed misconduct from 2013 to 2015, Perry said, citing data from the report. Almost half of that number did so repeatedly.

The devil was in the details, responded Huban Gowadia, who became the TSAs deputy administrator two months ago.

If you just look at the raw data, the vast majority of those allegations fall within [violation of] attendance and leave, she said. Its not so much a matter of misconduct as it is performance.

Perry conceded the difference between a criminal act and showing up a few minutes late for work, but he added that the integrity of the system depends on everybody doing the best they can at all times.

Gowadia cited internal findings that 99.7 percent of TSA officers have passed the agencys integrity testing, which she said included things such as an undercover supervisor dropping money at an airport security checkpoint to see whether the TSA personnel returned it.

Thursdays hearing came one year after the Department of Homeland Securitys inspector general said his undercover operatives were able to slip through airport security with weapons and phony bombs more than 95 percent of the time. They were able to carry weapons or bomblike material through airport security checkpoints in 67 of 70 attempts last year.

Acting TSA administrator Melvin Carraway was forced from the job in May 2015 after reports of the airport security issues became public.

Thursdays testimony and the scathing committee report on TSA wrongdoing came 10 weeks after another House committee heard testimony from three TSA executives who became whistleblowers. The three alleged that top TSA officials condoned or encouraged punitive forced transfers, inflated bonus payments to favored TSA officials, and sometimes ignored security concerns expressed by TSA underlings.

[TSA bosses are called some of the biggest bullies in government]

At that April hearing, the committee heard from Mark Livingston, a program manager in the TSAs Office of the Chief Risk Officer.

The refusal to address or to hold senior leaders accountable is paralyzing this agency, Livingston testified. TSA employees are less likely to report operational security or threat-relevant issues out of fear of retaliation from supervisors who fear further retaliation from their chain of command. No one who reports issues is safe at TSA.

One issue brought to light by the whistleblowers led to the reassignment of a top TSA official in May.

Kelly Hoggan was reassigned as head of the agencys security division after it was revealed that he received bonuses of $10,000 on six occasions, and three bonuses just above or below that amount, over a 13-month period in 2013 and 2014, according to information collected by the DHS.

The practice of keeping bonus payments to $10,000 or less makes them less likely to be scrutinized by federal officials. The practice of spreading bonuses out into several payments to escape scrutiny is known in federal circles as smurfing.

Andrew Oosterbaan, assistant inspector general for the DHS, told the subcommittees Thursday that smurfing is not criminal, but did reveal that the TSA was lax in supervising bonus payments.

[Huge bonuses and forced transfers were downfall of top TSA official]

When someones getting $60,000 to $70,000 in bonuses for poor performance, thats not a good signal to send, said Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.).

It isnt, Gowadia responded, which is why it is a practice that has been discontinued at TSA.

Since his Senate confirmation in June 2015, TSA Administrator Peter V. Neffenger has restricted executive bonuses to $10,000 per year, ended forced relocations and taken steps to increase airport security.

He also ended the practice under which Hoggan received his bonus. He was recommended for the payments by a subordinate, Joseph Salvator.

A subordinate may no longer nominate a supervisor for an award, Gowadia said. She must approve all bonuses, she said.

Neffenger also has implemented a massive retraining program for all TSA personnel and created a training facility in Georgia for all new hires.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) gives a thumbs-up as he takes his seat at the head table for the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 4 in Washington. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

 Hillary Clinton will campaign in Northern Virginia next week with Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, a potential running mate for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Details of the July 14 event have not been announced.

They will discuss their shared commitment to building an America that is stronger together, while emphasizing that Donald Trumps divisive agenda would be dangerous for America, according to a statement.

Clinton is reportedly vetting Kaine (D-Va.) among a list of possible vice-presidential choices for her ticket. The pair has not campaigned together since before Virginias March 1 primary.

[Clinton is vetting three for vice president  but is still studying a longer list]

Kaine, who was among the first senators to endorse Barack Obamas presidential bid in 2008, defended Clintons use of personal email as secretary of state as recently as Tuesday during an appearance in Richmond.

Kaines extensive resume  former governor, Democratic National Committee chairman and Richmond mayor, along with his time in the Senate  makes him an attractive candidate for Clinton.

She is also reportedly vetting Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and has identified a list of more than a dozen potential choices.
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump applauds while speaking at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday. (Gerry Broome/AP)

Attorneys for a GOP delegate on Thursday argued that he has the right to vote his conscience at the national convention despite a state law that requires him to vote for the winner of the Virginia presidential primary  Donald Trump.

Carroll Beau Correll Jr., a lawyer from Northern Virginia, made his case as part of a contentious federal court battle that has galvanized GOP delegates across the country who are loath to nominate the celebrity billionaire.

The case is playing out days before party activists gather in Cleveland to begin revising rules and preparing for the official nomination of a presidential candidate at the national convention.

Thursdays six-hour-long hearing involved dueling experts who discussed the minutiae of Republican National Committee rules. Judge Robert E. Payne of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia is expected to rule next week on the challenge to a state law that requires delegates to vote on a first ballot for Trump, who won about 35 percent of the vote in the states March 1 primary.

Even if Correll wins the case and the state law is tossed, its unlikely to have a practical impact. The nomination will be governed by RNC rules adopted at the convention.

A whole host of influential Republicans have decided not to attend July's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

[Anti-Trump GOP delegates still coming up short]

But Correll, who was co-chair of Sen. Ted Cruzs campaign in Virginias 10th Congressional District, said a victory would nevertheless be of great symbolic importance to Republicans who worry that Trump cannot beat presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Many Republicans have bristled at Trumps bombastic style and say his unconventional campaign strategy could cost their party the White House.

The national spotlight is on this convention, Correll told reporters outside the federal courthouse in Richmond. Take a minute and ask yourself if we can do a lot better than Mr. Trump. We can do a lot better than Mr. Trump.

Correll said his lawsuit could have ramifications and reverberations in other states, but he would not say how the case fits into a national strategy. One of his attorneys said the case is being funded by the Citizens in Charge Foundation but declined to elaborate.

Trumps campaign is closely monitoring the case.

Donald F. McGahn II, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and an election law attorney for Trump, sat in the courtroom for the hearing but declined to comment.

In his lawsuit, Correll contends that the law conflicts with RNC rules and violates his civil rights.

Lawyers in the office of Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) defended state law alongside eight Virginia Republican delegates and Trump supporters who petitioned to be part of the case.

The group includes John Fredericks, a conservative radio show host from Chesapeake, Va., and Eugene A. Delgaudio, a former Loudoun County supervisor and conservative firebrand who survived a 2014 recall effort.

They presented testimony from Jesse R. Binnall, a professional parliamentarian working for the Trump campaign, who said the RNCs current rules require Virginia to allocate delegates proportionally based on the primary results. That would give 17 delegates to Trump, 16 to Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), eight to Cruz, five to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and three to retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Corrells attorneys presented testimony from Erling Curly Haugland, a Republican national committeeman and co-author of Unbound: The Conscience of a Republican Delegate.

Haugland, who makes a living selling swimming pool supplies in North Dakota, said he believes that RNC rules allow delegates to vote their consciences.

Delegates can frequently be taken advantage of if they dont know their rights, he said.

Early in the hearing Payne, the judge, seemed to anticipate a drawn-out legal fight ahead when he told lawyers, This may be the first railroad station on your journey.
As the use of deadly force by police once again roils the nation, the number of fatal shootings by officers has increased in the first six months of 2016, according to an ongoing two-year study by The Post. (Whitney Shefte/The Washington Post)

As the use of deadly force by police once again roils the nation, the number of fatal shootings by officers increased from 465 in the first six months of last year to 491 for the same period this year, according to an ongoing two-year study by The Washington Post. This year has also seen more officers shot and killed in the line of duty and more officers prosecuted for questionable shootings.

Two years after a white police officer fatally shot a black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., the pace of fatal shootings has risen slightly, while the grim encounters are increasingly being captured on video and stoking outrage.

On Tuesday, a black man in Baton Rouge was fatally shot when two white officers pinned him to the ground outside a convenience store. The event was captured in a video that went viral online, and within hours, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation. On Wednesday, an officer in Falcon Heights, Minn., fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop. The aftermath of the shooting also was captured in a video that has received widespread attention.

I feel change is not coming, said Porsche McCullough, whose 29-year-old black female cousin was shot and killed by an Asian San Francisco police officer in May. The community is tired. They are tired of seeing black people shot, poor people shot, people with substance-abuse problems shot.

A Post database that tracks fatal shootings by police shows a 6 percent increase in the number of such deaths during the first six months of 2016, compared with the same period last year. Fatal encounters are strikingly similar to last years shootings: Blacks continued to be shot at 2.5 times the rate of whites. About half of those killed were white, and about half were minorities. Less than 10 percent of all those killed were unarmed. One-quarter were mentally ill.

But there are notable differences: More of the shootings were captured on video, 76 in the first half of 2015 and 105 in the first half of this year. And the number of fatal shootings of black women, such as that of Jessica Nelson-Williams in San Francisco in May, has risen. Nearly the same number of black women have been killed so far this year as in all of last year  eight this year, compared with 10 in all of 2015.

Last year, The Post began to log every fatal police shooting in the nation, analyzing more than a dozen details about each event. The project revealed that in 2015, nearly 1,000 people were fatally shot by police, more than twice the average annual number reported by the FBI in previous years.

The Post has expanded the effort in 2016, culling media reports and filing hundreds of public-records requests to obtain the names and work histories of officers involved in fatal shootings  information that is not tracked by any federal agency. More than 360 officers names have been added to the database, and more names will be included as The Post obtains additional information.

As was the case in 2015, in most fatal shootings by police this year, officers were confronted by subjects armed with guns. In half of such cases, those persons fired at police, prompting officers to fire their own guns to defend themselves or to protect bystanders. In the first six months of this year, 20 officers were fatally shot in the line of duty, compared with 16 in the first six months of 2015, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.

Officials representing rank-and-file officers say it is criminals who make it hard to reduce the number of fatal shootings by police.

Police are dealing with a lot of violent individuals, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the Nashville-based national Fraternal Order of Police. And the criteria for using deadly force hasnt changed essentially, so why would the numbers change?

After Ferguson, pleas for reforms focused on reducing certain types of shootings, such as those of individuals who are unarmed or experiencing mental-health crises as opposed to violent criminals who initiate shootouts with officers.

What followed was a White House task force that called for teaching officers new skills to de-escalate volatile encounters. Hundreds of police chiefs also pushed new policies for dealing with the mentally ill. And thousands of departments began outfitting officers with body-worn cameras, hoping this would curb the use of excessive force.

The FBI also vowed to improve its collection of data on the fatal use of force by police. The agency said that in January 2017, it would start to compile a more accurate tally and would collect dozens of details about the incidents to analyze the events.

But widespread compliance with the FBIs initiative by police associations and departments isnt expected until 2019. The agency is seeking unanimous consent from numerous police groups regarding what data should be collected, a process that is still underway. And thousands of departments will need to equip themselves with the software to properly track and report the data. Even then, reporting will not be mandatory.





Training reforms, which the White House and police chiefs have embraced, also are rolling out in a slow, scattershot fashion. There are about 18,000 police departments in the nation, many with their own training academies and unions, making it impossible for them to move in lockstep.

There will be a lag time before there is a measurable drop in deaths, even among the departments that are earnestly embracing reforms, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston.

It takes time to get everyone through training, Fox said. It takes time to change a culture.

The nations focus in 2016 shifted away from fatal shootings by police and toward a historic and often bizarre presidential campaign  in which policing policy has received little widespread attention. Dozens of shootings, however, continued to generate outrage in local communities.

In San Francisco, Porsche McCulloughs cousin, Jessica Nelson-Williams, died on a foggy May morning as she tried to flee from San Francisco police down a dead-end street driving a stolen Honda Accord. Sgt. Justin Erb fired a single shot into the car, striking Williams, killing her.

It was the third fatal shooting by police over the past seven months in the city. All of the dead were homeless; all of them minorities. Within hours, a makeshift memorial sprouted on the spot where Nelson-Williams died  the familiar jumble of flowers and candles that has marked the scenes of police shootings in cities across the nation.

The local protests have rarely led to the nationwide demonstrations that turned past police shooting victims such as Brown, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and Walter Scott in North Charleston, S.C., into household names.

Are we becoming anesthetized to these violent events? Are they happening so often we no longer feel moved? said Cedric Alexander, the police chief in DeKalb County, Ga., and a member of the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

This weeks fatal shootings by police of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota have brought back the national outrage. How long it lasts remains to be seen.



Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, left, with Police Chief Charlie Beck, displays the body-worn camera being introduced for use by officers in the Los Angeles Police Department. Garcetti showed off the device at a September news conference last year in the departments Mission Division in the San Fernando Valley. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

More videos, more shootings

In 2016, fatal shootings by police are increasingly captured by cameras, a Post analysis shows. In the first six months, at least 105 shootings have been recorded in whole or in part by police-worn body cameras, surveillance cameras, cameras mounted on patrol cars or bystanders smartphone cameras.

At this point last year, that number was 76.

The biggest shift has been in the use of body-worn cameras: 63 of the shootings were recorded in this way through June, compared with 34 for the same period in 2015.

The videos have been a linchpin for prosecutors, activists and city mayors who want to hold police chiefs and officers accountable for questionable shootings.

Graphic video of fatal shootings has led to the firing of several police leaders, including Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in December. On May 19, San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr stepped down at the urging of the citys mayor, Ed Lee, hours after Nelson-Williams was killed in the city. Although Nelson-Williamss killing was not captured on video, San Francisco police were recorded in the preceding months fatally shooting two homeless men.

In the past 18 months, murder and manslaughter charges brought against officers in fatal shootings have tripled, while the presence of video evidence in these cases has doubled, a Post analysis shows.

From 2005 to 2014, 47 officers were criminally charged in fatal shootings, with 15 of those cases involving video evidence.

In 2015, 18 officers were criminally charged, with 10 of the cases involving video. And, so far this year, seven officers have been criminally charged, with five involving video evidence.

With video, it no longer comes down to the word of police against people who are dead or against people who could be easily discredited, said Philip M. Stinson, a criminologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who studies arrests of police.

Philip Mitchell Brailsford, an officer in the Mesa, Ariz., police department, responded to a Jan. 18 call about a man with a gun at a La Quinta Inn. (Mesa Police Department)

In Mesa, Ariz., prosecutors said they charged an officer after video contradicted his account of what led him to shoot and kill an unarmed man at a hotel.

On Jan. 18, Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford of the Mesa police responded to a 911 call from a La Quinta Inn where guests spotted someone pointing a rifle out of a fifth-floor window. Police traced the incident to a room where 26-year-old Daniel Shaver was drinking rum shots with a woman. When officers arrived, they ordered the two of them into the hallway.

Brailsford later told investigators that Shaver became uncooperative, made a furtive movement toward the waistband of his shorts, and that he feared Shaver was attempting to retrieve a gun. Brailsford shot Shaver five times. Brailsford is white and so was Shaver.

But Shaver was unarmed when shot, and the woman told a story that was different from the officers. She said that seconds before being shot, Shaver was crawling toward officers, crying and saying, Please dont shoot me.

Prosecutors said video from Shavers body camera supported the womans version of events. Shaver was audibly sobbing as he crawled toward officers, a police report said, adding that Shaver said, No, please dont shoot me.

Brailsford was carrying an AR-15 rifle, with the phrase Youre F--ked etched into the weapon. The police report also said the shots were fired so rapidly that in watching the video at regular speed, one cannot count them.

The video also showed Shavers shorts were falling off as he crawled, and, according to the police report, he may have reached toward his waistband to pull them up. Brailsford shot just as Shavers empty hand moved back in front of him toward the floor, the report said.

Seven weeks later, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery filed a felony second-degree murder charge against Brailsford. During a private meeting with Shavers widow, he said, Your husband didnt do anything wrong. He didnt. He was trying to comply, according to an audio recording made by Shavers widow and posted online.

Brailsford was fired by the department March 21. His case is expected to go to trial next year.

Brailsfords attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Post he thinks the body camera footage will clear his client. It demonstrates that the officer had to make a split-second decision when [Shaver] moved his hands toward the small of his back after being advised that if he did, hed be shot.

After her sons death in Ferguson on Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Browns mother began pushing for all police departments to equip their officers with body cameras. She has said the cameras may provide answers to grieving families, such as hers, when there are conflicting eyewitness accounts. Civil rights groups and police associations that also support police use of the technology think the presence of video will change how officers respond and will drive down the number of police shootings.

FBI Director James B. Comey said as recently as May that he thinks a viral video effect has changed officers behavior, making them wary of confronting suspected lawbreakers.

However, The Posts analysis suggests that the ubiquitous nature of video has not yet had the deterrent effect that police and civil rights groups have predicted  at least in relation to fatal force.

On March 13, in Lenoir City, Tenn., Officer Tyrel Lorenz activated a police camera on his chest as he responded to a call from a Ruby Tuesdays restaurant. It was just before 1 a.m., and three apparently intoxicated people had just driven away in a Dodge Dakota pickup truck.

Lorenz, 29, found the trio across the street at a Bimbos convenience store and began questioning the passengers, who had stepped out of the truck to pump gas. Joshua Grubb, 30, remained behind the steering wheel and, as Lorenz began to handcuff one of the passengers, Grubb started the engine and began to drive away.

Video from the body camera and from surveillance cameras at the convenience store shows that Lorenz abandoned the passenger he was handcuffing and jumped into the bed of the pickup truck. He screamed two warnings: Stop the car! Stop the car!

Then Lorenz fired nine bullets through the back window of the truck. One struck Grubb in the back of the head, killing him, causing the unmanned truck to drift into oncoming traffic and ultimately crash into a utility pole, according to video and a police report. Lorenz is white and so was Grubb.

Toxicology tests later showed that Grubb had both methamphetamine and twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system when he died.

The local prosecutor declined to charge Lorenz with a crime, saying that once the officer was in the bed of the truck, he had reasonable fear for his life and the lives of other motorists. But in a news conference announcing his decision, the prosecutor called the shooting tactically problematic. Lorenz, who had been a police officer for six years, resigned. His attorney had not responded to questions from The Post by the time of publication.

Police departments are increasingly banning officers from shooting into vehicles because bullets can ricochet off the metal and kill bystanders. Also, if a driver dies or becomes disabled, the multi-ton vehicle creates a traffic hazard, as was the case with Grubbs drifting Dodge Dakota.

Fox, the criminologist from Northeastern University, said he is not surprised that the rise of video has so far had no impact on the number of fatal shootings. He thinks cameras may affect police behavior in routine, calmer situations, such as during interactions with motorists who are complying with traffic stops, but not in more intense encounters.

Once an officer feels they are in danger, or their emotions get elevated, then video is not paramount in their mind, Fox said. Then, they would tend to act more instinctively than deliberately.

Pasco, the executive director of the national Fraternal Order of Police, said he thinks video will never alter rates of fatal shootings.

Theres a lot of hoopla surrounding the idea that body-worn cameras and the ubiquitous nature of social media would dramatically change the number of instances of deadly force, Pasco said. Unfortunately, this is not driven so much by police but by the aggressive criminal behavior of suspects.

Shooter often is experienced

In January, The Post began collecting additional details about officers who fired fatal shots, including the total years of service they had with their departments at the time of the shootings. So far, The Post has obtained that information in more than half of the shootings, or for 453 officers. Some shootings involve multiple officers.

Rookies were rarely the ones to pull the trigger in fatal shootings over the first six months of 2016. Only 19 percent of the officers who fired fatal shots had been with their departments for two years or less.

The largest group, 41 percent, had a decade or more on the force. The remaining officers fell between, with three to nine years experience.

Police experts and criminologists said senior or veteran officers may be firing the fatal shots more often because of the types of job assignments they receive.

Older officers may be assigned to gang units, or criminal investigation units, or they work traffic, said Samuel Walker, a national expert on police training. So their seniority sometimes puts them in some of the most dangerous assignments.

Walker said senior officers also often ask for traffic assignments, a job that involves issuing tickets and citations, and provides lucrative overtime pay for court appearances. Traffic stops can often turn deadly: About 10 percent of fatal shootings by police over the past two years began as traffic-related interactions.

But assignments do not fully explain the pattern. Rookies also are often assigned to dangerous jobs in high-crime areas, responding to 911 emergencies, typically on the night shift.

Walker said one of the stark differences between todays rookies and veteran officers is the type of training they have received. Most training academies now emphasize de-escalation tactics, encouraging officers to take cover, speak calmly to suspects and use less-than-lethal means to bring them into custody. Veterans may have gone through academies when training emphasized moving in quickly, barking orders and using force if suspects did not immediately comply.

They may be stuck in the old ways, Walker said.

In one Texas neighborhood, community leaders were surprised to learn that a senior officer with a decade of experience was the one who shot and killed a naked, unarmed teenager.

About 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 8, Officer Geoffrey Freeman of the Austin police responded to a 911 call about a teenager chasing someone through an apartment complex.

When Freeman arrived, he found 17-year-old David Joseph lying naked in the middle of a residential street. An autopsy would find that Joseph had marijuana and Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug, in his system.

Stop right there, Freeman can be heard saying calmly on a video captured by a camera mounted to his dashboard. Joseph looked up and began to run in the direction of the officer, who yelled: Dont move, stop, stop, stop!

On the video, the naked teen runs up the street, past the view of the camera. Moments after he exits the frame the microphone captures the crackle of two shots from Freemans gun. Joseph was shot in the chest and thigh and died at the scene. Freeman is black and so was Joseph.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo fired the officer  a rare punitive step for officers who kill in the line of duty  arguing that the shooting was avoidable and that approaching Joseph alone without backup was a violation of department policy.

If there is no consequences, well continue to have incidents where deadly force is used as a result of the abandonment of smart tactics, and cases where officers are injured or killed as a result of the abandonment of smart tactics, Acevedo said in an interview with The Post.

At protests and rallies, local clergy and civil rights groups demanded Freemans firing and later his indictment. They argued that the teen was not a threat. Prosecutors declined to file charges.

A 17-year-old boy, who was naked, was shot by a 10-year police veteran. Thats ridiculous, said Fatima Mann, 29, a local activist with the Austin Justice Coalition, one of the protest groups. An officer with that much experience should have known better.

Freemans attorney did not respond to calls and emails from The Post.

Two of the three fatal shootings over the past seven months in San Francisco also involved senior officers.

Sgt. Erb, who shot Nelson-Williams in San Francisco in May, has worked for the department for 15 years.

And the April 7 shooting of Luis Gongora, 45, involved two senior officers, one with 17 years of experience and the other with 13 years. The Dec. 2, 2015, shooting of Mario Woods, 26, involved five officers who have between one and nine years of experience.

Edwin Lindo, who serves on the San Francisco Bar Associations Criminal Justice Task Force and took part in a hunger strike to protest Gongoras and Woodss deaths, said older officers are not being properly retrained. Yet these senior officers are typically paired with rookies to provide them with on-the-job training, he said.

The new recruits come out of the academy with new training. But the old guard tells them, Thats nice what youve learned about de-escalating things, but you need to shoot before they shoot you,  Lindo said. The old guard corrupts the new rookies.



San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr briefs the media near the scene where Jessica Nelson-Williams, 29, was fatally shot by a police officer in the Bayview District of San Francisco on May 19. Suhr resigned later the same day at the request of Mayor Ed Lee. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Examiner via Associated Press)

Demonstrators outside San Francisco City Hall on May 19 protest against Suhr, who was then police chief. Lee, the mayor, had stood by Suhr during earlier controversies, including fatal police shootings of two homeless men and racist messages exchanged among city police officers. (Stephen Lam/Reuters)



The Frisco 5 hunger strikers arrive at San Francisco City Hall on May 3 with hundreds of protesters to demand the firing of then-Police Chief Greg Suhr. The Frisco 5 are, from left, Ike Pinkston, Maria Cristina Mother Gutierrez, Edwin Lindo, Ilyich Equipto Sato and Sellassie Blackwell. The strike lasted 17 days, ending May 7 with Mayor Ed Lee refusing to fire Suhr. Lee would request Suhrs resignation 12 days later, hours after an officer fatally shot a woman. (Leah Millis/San Francisco Chronicle)

Unrest in San Francisco

The police killing of Nelson-Williams followed months of turmoil in San Francisco over officers use of deadly force and the departments relationship with minorities in the city.

In December, a bystanders video recorded Woods, a homeless black man, moving slowly down the sidewalk with a knife at his side as five officers fired at least 20 bullets into him, several after he slumped to the ground. In January, Mayor Lee asked the Justice Department to conduct an independent review of the San Francisco Police Department, including its use of force. Lee also announced his own overhaul.

Ten weeks later, Gongora was shot. This time, surveillance video revealed that the homeless Hispanic man was killed after officers fired four beanbags and seven bullets at him within 30 seconds of stepping out of their patrol vehicles.

Then, in an April 29 news conference, Chief Suhr disclosed for a second time in a year that some of his officers had exchanged racist messages. The latest messages involved three officers who referred to Latinos as beaners and blacks as niggas and wild animals.

Lindo and four other activists, known as the Frisco 5, began a hunger strike that lasted 17 days, demanding that Suhr be fired. But the mayor stood by Suhr  until Erb shot and killed Nelson-Williams.

Jessica Nelson-Williams (Family photo)

Erb was assigned to auto-theft detail that day and came across Nelson-Williams, who was sitting in a parked white Honda Accord that had been reported stolen, according to a police report.

The pregnant mother of four tried to drive away, crashing the Honda into a parked utility truck. As she powered the car back and forth, trying to dislodge it from the truck, Erb fired into the car, records show. She was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital. Erbs attorney declined to comment.

Seven hours after Nelson-Williams was shot, Suhr stepped down.

She was unarmed. She was in a car. She was female and it appears she was stuck and going nowhere, said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Franciscos Coalition on Homelessness. Policymakers wanted to respond quickly. They wanted to make it look like change is happening.

San Francisco Police Association President Martin Halloran described Suhrs forced departure as a political move meant to appease a knot of noisy troublemakers. In a statement, he added that the three fatal police shootings resulted from a failure to comply with lawful commands and that officers were simply doing their jobs the way they were taught.

Still, the fatal shooting of Nelson-Williams has not sparked the fiery national demonstrations that followed other deadly police encounters in 2015.

The public response seems tepid, local officials said, even for San Francisco. Nelson-Williams died a mile from where police decades before fatally shot an unarmed black man, triggering five days of rioting. In 1966, Matthew Peanut Johnson, 17, was shot in the back by an officer after he fled police in a stolen car and then attempted to run away.

More than 40 years have passed, said John Burton, a lifelong resident of San Francisco, former congressman and current chairman of the California Democratic Party. And it all sounds the same.

Ted Mellnik, John Muyskens and John Sullivan contributed to this report. Students from the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, Samantha Hogan, Andrew Kreighbaum, Ben St. Clair and Emma Kerr, also contributed.
U.S. sales of FluMist in 2015 totaled $206 million. (MedImmune Inc via Bloomberg News)

What led to the abrupt fall of FluMist, until recently the preferred alternative to the injectable influenza vaccine for younger children?

No one is quite sure, but there were hints of trouble for the past three flu seasons.

In June, an advisory panel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided that the nasal spray was so ineffective that it should not be used by anyone during the 2016-2017 flu season.

[Universal flu vaccine is no longer science fiction. Scientists report major step in development.]

Just two years ago, after reviewing several studies from 2006-2007 that suggested the spray was more effective in kids than the injectable forms of the vaccine, that same panel had recommended FluMist as the preferred alternative for most kids ages 2 to 8.

What changed?

We dont understand what it is, said David Kimberlin, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, adding that academics and researchers at MedImmune, which makes the vaccine, are working to get answers.

FluMist is a live attenuated vaccine, which means it contains a weakened version of the virus that does not make the recipient ill. Instead, it  like injectable forms of the vaccine, which contain killed versions of the virus  sparks the bodys immune system to create antibodies.

[7 things about vaccines and autism that the movie Vaxxed wont tell you]

Among several studies the panel considered when it made its 2014 recommendation was a 2004 randomized controlled trial that found a 55 percent reduction in the number of flu cases among children who received the nasal spray compared with those who got the shot. Those results were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.

Three months after it made the recommendation, however, the CDC received some troubling data: During the 2013-2014 flu season, the nasal spray showed no measurable effectiveness in kids ages 2 to 8 against the pandemic H1N1 virus, the predominant type of influenza virus circulating that year.

As a result, the panel in February 2015 did not renew its preference for FluMist for the next flu season, although it was still considered a viable option.

In June, a panel of experts decided that the FluMist nasal spray was so ineffective that it should not be used by anyone during the 2016-2017 flu season. (Chris Gardner/AP)

At that meeting, the panel also heard that the spray had performed poorly in the 2014-2015 season.

Because vaccine makers have to guess months ahead of time what the predominant strains of the virus will be, designing the correct combination is always a gamble.

That time, they guessed wrong. More than two-thirds of the H3N2 versions of the virus circulating in the United States during the 2014-2015 season were different from the H3N2 versions in both the nasal spray and the injectable vaccines. So all versions of the vaccine  shots and spray  performed poorly.

[The vaccines your child needs before heading to college]

Now, looking at this winters flu season, the CDC says data shows that FluMists efficacy among children 2 to 17 was only 3 percent, essentially providing no protective benefit.

AstraZeneca, the parent company of MedImmune, said the CDCs data for 2015-2016 is in sharp contrast with its own studies as well as preliminary findings by public health officials abroad.

These findings demonstrate that FluMist . . . was 46-58 percent effective overall against the circulating influenza strains during the 2015-2016 season, the firm said in a release last month.

U.S. sales of FluMist in 2015 totaled $206 million.

In any given flu season, vaccine effectiveness varies. One factor is how well the vaccines match the virus that is actually prevalent. Other factors include the age and general health of the recipient. In the overall population, the CDC says studies show vaccines can reduce the risk of flu by about 50 to 60 percent when the vaccines are well matched.

Now, researchers are trying to find a common factor behind FluMists recent incidents of poor performance.

Theres not a clear answer, said Henry Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in New York and an ex-officio member of the committee on infectious diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We know that the influenza virus itself is totally unpredictable from one year to the next, he said.

Among the questions researchers are considering is why the strain of pandemic H1N1 used in the 2013-2014 flu season didnt perform well. The manufacturers attempt to fix it in following seasons also did not work.

Several years ago, the vaccine also went from incorporating three flu virus strains to four. Did that somehow reduce its effectiveness? The earlier studies demonstrating that the spray was more effective than the shots were based on the three-virus vaccine, not the four-virus version.

[1 in 3 antibiotics prescribed in U.S. are unnecessary, major study finds]

Researchers will investigate whether the vaccine loses effectiveness for some reason when given to children who have had many previous flu vaccinations.

Uncertainty comes with the territory for researchers. But its harder for the general public, especially kids.

Once they found out about the nasal vaccine instead of the shot, they strongly, strongly preferred the nasal one, said Elizabeth Howton of Falls Church, Va., who has an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old.

Howton said she fears the doubts surrounding the nasal spray will add to the skepticism some parents have about vaccines in general.

For her kids, there will be no skipping the vaccine, even though it means a shot. Howton said she expects to offer copious bribes to sweeten the deal.

I know they will be very disappointed, but I will still get them vaccinated, she said.

The recommendation not to offer FluMist shows that public health agencies are watching carefully, Bernstein said, and that should be reassuring for the public.

People need to recognize and applaud the idea that this type of monitoring and evaluation happens continuously, he said. The CDC does evaluate the effectiveness of these public health initiatives, including vaccine effectiveness and safety.

While people who dont like needles will be disappointed, FluMists absence is not likely to lead to a vaccine shortage, experts say.

According to the CDC, the spray made up about 8 percent of the total projected supply of 176 million doses of vaccine being prepared for the upcoming flu season.

And despite the loss of this form of the vaccine, the CDC and other experts continue to strongly recommend that just about everyone 6 months and older get vaccinated because influenza can cause serious illness and is blamed for thousands of deaths each year.

The importance of preventing flu hasnt changed, Kimberlin said. What has changed is we have one less tool.
The Washington Post is compiling a database of every fatal shooting in the United States by a police officer in the line of duty since Jan. 1, 2015.

In 2015, The Post began tracking more than a dozen details about each killing  including the race of the deceased, the circumstances of the shooting, whether the person was armed and whether the person was experiencing a mental-health crisis  by culling local news reports, law enforcement websites and social media, and by monitoring independent databases such as Killed by Police and Fatal Encounters. The Post conducted additional reporting in many cases.

In 2016, The Post is gathering additional information about each fatal shooting by police that occurs this year and is filing open-records requests with departments. More than a dozen additional details are being collected about officers in each shooting. Officers names are being included in the database after The Post contacts the departments to request comment.

The Post is documenting only those shootings in which a police officer, in the line of duty, shoots and kills a civilian  the circumstances that most closely parallel the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., which began the protest movement culminating in Black Lives Matter and an increased focus on police accountability nationwide. The Post is not tracking deaths of people in police custody, fatal shootings by off-duty officers or non-shooting deaths.

The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention log fatal shootings by police, but officials acknowledge that their data is incomplete. In 2015, The Post documented more than twice as many fatal shootings by police as had been recorded by the FBI. Last year, the FBI announced plans to overhaul how it tracks fatal police encounters.

The Posts database is updated regularly as fatal shootings are reported and as facts emerge about individual cases. The Post is seeking assistance in making the database as comprehensive as possible. To provide information about fatal police shootings since Jan. 1, 2015, send us an email at policeshootingsfeedback@washpost.com. The Post is also interested in obtaining photos of the deceased and original videos of fatal encounters with police.

Credits:

Research and Reporting: Julie Tate, Jennifer Jenkins and Steven Rich

Production and Presentation: John Muyskens, Kennedy Elliott, Ted Mellnik and Aaron Williams

Additional Contributors: Students from the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University: Samantha Hogan, Andrew Kreighbaum, Benjamin St. Clair, Emma Kerr and Ashley Balcerzak
TEXAS

Officials try to add

abortion regulations

Texas intends to require aborted fetuses to be buried or cremated starting in September, adding new abortion regulations after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the states restrictive clinic laws.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered state health officials to propose the changes, his office said Thursday, which were quietly put out for public comment this month.

Similar fetal-remain rules in Indiana are on hold after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction last week against that states broad new antiabortion law. That bill, signed in March by Gov. Mike Pence (R), more notably also banned abortions related to genetic abnormalities.

Texas, however, isnt waiting for lawmakers to pass a bill regarding fetal remains. Abbott had been talking with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for months about making a change, Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said.

State agencies in Texas are allowed to adopt some rules on their own without legislative approval. Although the rules are expected to take effect in the fall, Matthews said Abbott hopes the Legislature will enshrine the rules into law next year.

Abortion rights groups bristled at the new regulations, which were posted online for public comment July 1. That was four days after the nations high court struck down a pair of Texas restrictions that would have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to 10, down from more than 40 in 2012.

 Associated Press

MISSOURI

Governor vetoes

voter photo ID bill

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) vetoed legislation Thursday that would have required voters to show photo identification at the polls, prompting a lawmaker behind the effort to say hes confident the Republican-led Legislature will override the veto.

Bill sponsor Rep. Justin Alferman (R), said hell absolutely ask his colleagues to override Nixons veto during a short September session. The measure passed the House and Senate with enough support to override Nixon if lawmakers stick to their original votes.

But the requirements wouldnt take effect unless voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment; that approval is needed because the Missouri Supreme Court previously struck down similar requirements as unconstitutional. If voters back the measure, the requirement would take effect for elections after June 2017.

 Associated Press

ARIZONA

Grand jury indicts

teen in terror plot

An Arizona grand jury has indicted an accused Islamic State sympathizer on charges of plotting to stage an attack on a Phoenix-area state motor vehicle office with bombs and other weapons, prosecutors said Thursday.

The suspect, Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson was arrested July 1 by FBI agents and local authorities after a tip from citizens alerted them to suspicious behavior, according to a statement from the Arizona attorney generals office.

In a three-count indictment, Khan was charged with terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons.

Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an investigation of Khans repeated communications with an individual he thought was an Islamic State fighter.

In the communications, prosecutors said, Khan sought to obtain weapons including pipe bombs or pressure cooker bombs for an attack on a Motor Vehicle Division office in Maricopa County.

 Reuters

Seven charged in attack on Calif. apartments: Seven Los Angeles men have been charged with firebombing the homes of black families living in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood in 2014. The men were charged in a 10-count indictment unsealed in federal court Thursday. Prosecutors say the men charged belong to the Big Hazard street gang and hurled Molotov cocktails at apartments in a public housing complex in May 2014. Prosecutors say the attack was meant to drive black people out of the complex, in the Boyle Heights area near downtown. No one was hurt.

Detroit father convicted in fatal shooting: A Detroit father has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of his son who was shot by an older sister with a loaded gun found unsecured in a bedroom closet. Prosecutors say a jury on Thursday also found the man guilty of child abuse and several weapons charges. He was acquitted of a more serious second-degree murder charge. Hell be sentenced July 21. The 9-year-old boy was shot Nov. 9. He and his 11-year-old sister were visiting their father.

From news services
FRANCE

Paris attackers sibling, 6 others convicted

A French court on Wednesday convicted seven young men who returned from weeks among the ranks of Islamic State extremists in Syria, including the brother of one of the suicide attackers who targeted Paris in November.

The defendants, ages 24 to 27, were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to nine years for taking part in a group recruiting French jihadists to join a terrorist group in Syria in 2013-2014  the Islamic State  and for participating in military training and other activities.

Karim Mohamed-Aggad, the older brother of one of the extremists who attacked sites in Paris on Nov. 13, received a nine-year term.

Mohamed-Aggad said he went to Syria only for humanitarian purposes. His brother Fouad also went to Syria with the group. He returned to France to take part in the November attacks, which killed dozens.

All seven men on trial said it was a humanitarian desire, not religion, that spurred their departure for Syria.

Soon after arriving, the men testified, they realized they had made a mistake. They were collected by Islamic State fighters and were soon taking daily lessons in sharia law and later weaponry. One said he was jailed and tortured by the extremists. Another said he realized there was nothing humanitarian about what the extremists were doing in Syria.

The seven made their way back to France in March and April 2014. They were arrested soon after.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Temporary, nationwide truce declared by army

The military declared a unilateral, three-day cease-fire throughout Syria on Wednesday, coinciding with the start of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, state media reported.

The nationwide truce is not expected to affect the fight against the Islamic State militant group, which is battling government troops, rebels and other forces on several fronts.

U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry welcomed the truce declaration, saying discussions were underway with Russia and other parties to expand it.

This is the first time Syrian authorities have declared a blanket truce for the entire nation.

 Associated Press

YEMEN

Al-Qaeda militants briefly seize army base

Al-Qaeda militants briefly seized an army base next to the international airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden on Wednesday, killing 14 soldiers and setting off an hours-long gun battle before withdrawing, security and medical officials said.

The attack began before dawn on Eid al-Fitr, a major Muslim holiday.

A suicide car bombing struck the Central Security compound, while a second group of attackers wearing explosive vests stormed another gate under the cover of heavy gunfire, the officials said. The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed for more than six hours, halting only after helicopters carried out strikes.

Six attackers were killed, according to the officials.

Al-Qaeda asserted responsibility in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging service.

Yemen is in the grip of a civil war pitting government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition against Shiite rebels. That conflict has hindered efforts to combat

al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and an upstart affiliate of the Islamic State militant group.

 Associated Press

Sri Lanka to create court to probe war abuses: Sri Lankas government plans to set up a special court by next year to hear allegations of abuses during the countrys decades-long civil war, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. Samaraweera said the government places a high priority on reconciliation and is putting together a truth-seeking commission. Sri Lanka has been accused of failing to properly investigate allegations of rights abuses amounting to war crimes during the final phase of the civil war. The war ended in 2009 with the defeat of rebel forces.

U.S. suspect wants murder trial moved off Okinawa: A U.S. military contractor charged with raping and killing a woman in Japan has asked that his trial be moved outside Okinawa, saying he may not receive a fair trial on the island, where the case has received extensive media coverage and opposition to U.S. military bases is high, his attorney said. Kenneth Shinzato, a former Marine who is a contractor at Kadena Air Base, was arrested in May after the victims body was found. He wants the venue to be shifted to Tokyo.

Job boycott hits Zimbabwe: A job boycott shut down most of Zimbabwe amid deepening discontent over economic hardships in the southern African country. Streets in the capital and other cities were deserted as workers heeded the call by activists on social media. The Internet was down for several hours, and police detained several journalists. Some people barricaded roads, while others burned tires. Acts of defiance and clashes with the police are rare in Zimbabwe, but protests have surged recently over growing economic hardship and alleged government mismanagement.

Israel moves forward on West Bank construction: Israel pushed forward with the construction of dozens of homes in a Jewish West Bank settlement, issuing a tender for 42 homes in the Kiryat Arba settlement. Israel announced that it was pressing ahead with the construction after the deadly stabbing by a Palestinian of a

13-year-old Israeli girl in the settlement last week. Palestinians have long viewed settlement construction as the biggest obstacle to a stalled peace process.

 From news services
the VATICAN

2 found guilty in leaks case; reporters cleared

A Vatican court declared Thursday that it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists for having published confidential information after an eight-month trial that drew scorn from media rights groups.

The court did convict a Vatican monsignor and a communications expert of having conspired to pass Vatican documents to the journalists, but it cleared them of having formed a criminal association to do so. A fifth defendant was cleared of all charges.

Journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi wrote books last year based on Vatican documents exposing the greed of bishops and cardinals.

The documentation had been compiled by a pontifical commission that Pope Francis tasked with gathering information about the Vaticans finances to make them more transparent and efficient.

Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, the reform commissions No. 2, admitted in court that he gave Nuzzi 85 passwords to password-protected documents. He denied that the journalists threatened him.

The court convicted Vallejo and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. Francesca Chaouqui, the communications expert and a member of the commission, was cleared of passing documents but found guilty of conspiring with Vallejo and given a 10-month suspended sentence.

Media watchdog groups had criticized the trial, saying journalists must be allowed to do their jobs without fear of repercussions.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Fighting reported despite a 3-day truce

In a multi-pronged offensive, Syrian government forces and their allies pushed into an area north of the city of Aleppo on Thursday, threatening a key supply line for the citys opposition-held quarters and setting off clashes with rebels, activists said.

The advance violated the governments own cease-fire, announced the day before to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Fierce fighting also broke out in the eastern and southern suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, activists and rebel fighters reported.

A spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam rebel group said government forces moved in on the suburb of Mayda, seeking to block a rebel supply line, while the opposition fought back to regain areas previously captured. Government advances were also reported in Darayya, a besieged opposition-held town overlooking the Damascus airport, the Facebook account of the town council said.

On Wednesday, President Bashar al-Assads government announced the 72-hour truce, ending midnight Friday.

The rebel supply line to Aleppo is known as the Castello Road, and regime forces and their allies, including Lebanons Hezbollah militants, have been mounting repeated attacks on it.

The government has secured control over the surrounding Mallah Farms, leaving Syrian forces less than a mile from the Castello Road, Hezbollahs media arm said, describing it as retaliation for violations of the truce by armed groups.

 Associated Press

Rousseffs main critic resigns from top job: Eduardo Cunha, the man who led efforts to impeach now-suspended Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, has resigned as speaker of the lower house of Congress. Judges already had suspended Cunha over allegations of obstructing justice and holding Swiss bank accounts worth millions of dollars in bribes. Cunha kicked off the proceedings against Rousseff in December 2015, accusing her of violating fiscal laws.

Italy recovers 217 bodies from 2015 migrant shipwreck: Italian navy officials said they have recovered 217 bodies from the hull of a migrant ship that sank off Libya last year in a tragedy that led the European Union to beef up Mediterranean rescue efforts. Italian authorities raised the ship from the seabed last week. Some of the 28 survivors of the April 18, 2015, wreck had said that as many as 700 to 800 people were aboard. About 200 bodies were initially recovered.

Canadian wildfire damage estimated at $2.76 billion: Canadas national insurance bureau said insured damage caused by wildfires that burned for nearly two months in the countrys oil-sands region has totaled $2.76 billion, or $3.58 billion in Canadian dollars. The fires forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 people from Fort McMurray, Alberta. Flames destroyed about 2,400 homes and other buildings. The fires status was downgraded this week as under control.

Landslide kills 35 in China: A landslide triggered by heavy rains killed 35 people in a mountainous village in northwestern China, state media reported. The landslide engulfed the village in Xinjiangs Kashgar prefecture, the Xinhua News Agency said. Heavy rains caused serious damage to parts of the areas highways, the report said.

Dress code imposed on visitors to Angkor temples: Visitors who dress immodestly will not be allowed to enter Cambodias famed Angkor temple complex, the agency that oversees the site said. A spokesman for Apsara Authority said that beginning Aug. 4, local and foreign tourists will be required to wear pants or skirts below the knees and shirts that cover shoulders. Those not dressed appropriately will be required to change their clothes before being allowed to enter.

 From news services
Jonathan A. Greenblatt is the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League

Donald Trumps recent tweet of an anti-Semitic image has been roundly criticized by commentators, public officials and journalists of all political stripes. The malevolent origins of the graphic have been established, but some have debated why it was tweeted at all: Was it simply an errant tweet? Did the Trump campaign make an innocent mistake, using the image without checking its source? Did the campaigns fact-checkers simply fail at their job? Or, as Trump said Wednesday night, did the campaign not see anything wrong with it at all?

These questions miss the point.

The Trump campaign, with its regular use of anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican and anti-Muslim rhetoric, has appealed to bigots and racists. It has attracted an odd menagerie of anti-Semites, white supremacists and haters with a disturbing penchant for slandering and swarming critics online and offline. In particular, journalists  who simply have reported on Trump and his family  have been viciously targeted. The bigots who perpetrate these attacks typically invoke white nationalism and the Trump campaign as they promote their hateful ideology.

The fact that these individuals have used the Trump phenomenon to spread their bigotry is not a thing of Trumps own creation; these racists and anti-Semites existed before Trump announced his candidacy. But the campaigns repeated flirtation with these elements  retweeting their content and quoting their heroes  has helped to mainstream their ideas.

This is not speculation. Former KKK grand wizard David Duke publicly endorsed Trump and has celebrated his campaign. Neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin has thanked Trump for sending signals. And there is a wide range of white supremacists and other racists who espouse his greatness on extremist discussion boards and social platforms.

At a time when hate crimes have galvanized the nation and when it has appeared that old barriers and hatreds have been fading into memory, it is both shocking and deeply troubling to see a national figure mainstream intolerance and hate. As we mourn the recent loss of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, we should not be quibbling over a clear instance of anti-Semitism. Indeed, this mainstreaming of hate threatens to undermine the social progress of the postwar era.

We see it at political rallies where members of the media are viciously harassed and minority protesters are attacked. We hear about it from parents who report that their Muslim or Latino children are taunted on the playground for who they are and told that they will be sent back home. And it appears in the statistics. In the Anti-Defamation Leagues recently released annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, we found an increase over the prior year  and a doubling in the number of anti-Semitic assaults. We certainly cannot state that these are the result of campaign rhetoric, but these statistics are worrying, to say the least.

How do we stop this hatred and harassment? It starts with leadership.

Candidates seeking election to the presidency should be the first to condemn hatred, racism and anti-Semitism wherever and whenever they appear. They should marginalize it and never allow it to seep into the mainstream.

This is why we find it outrageous that Trump, his staff and his supporters, rather than accepting responsibility for circulating an anti-Semitic meme, instead have tried to deflect blame by claiming that the media contrived the story or suggesting that it was a sheriffs star or even dismissing any criticism of it as little more than political correctness.

Its long past time for Trump to take three simple steps: acknowledge his errors, apologize for them and unequivocally reject the hate-filled extremists orbiting around his campaign. Trump needs to make clear that he doesnt want their voices lending their support or their votes in November. Simply put, he should say loud and clear, again and again, that he has zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, racism and hate, and the people who espouse these ideas have nothing to do with his agenda or his campaign.

Opposing hate isnt a liberal or conservative issue. Its an American issue. And while our organization takes no position on who should be our next president, the ADL is firmly committed to calling out bigotry and prejudice wherever we see it and whoever may say it.

As the general election campaign approaches, I hope that our fellow Jewish communal groups and civil rights organizations will join us in speaking out against intolerance and hate. We must not write this off as politics as usual because it isnt. We must make our voices heard and use our collective power to condemn anyone who traffics in this bigotry. Doing that is the only way we can show them and the world what really makes America great.
IF REPUBLICANS believe the FBI director is corrupt and political, they should have the gumption to say so. Instead, many have insulted James B. Comey with slimy implications and underhanded threats since Tuesday, when he announced that he would not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton relating to her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

Republican leaders had practically promised supporters that Ms. Clinton would be indicted. Instead, Mr. Comey denounced Ms. Clintons judgment but explained that the facts of the case did not conform to the fevered partisan fantasies that have developed around them  did not, in other words, merit prosecution. So GOP leaders decided to attack the fact-finder.

That Donald Trump would claim that our system is absolutely, totally rigged and that Ms. Clinton bribed Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch was no surprise. The wild, unfounded accusations were on his usual level of accuracy and responsibility. More disheartening were the responses from GOP politicians who should know better than to impugn the professionalism of the FBI director and his agents, particularly after Mr. Comeys measured, fact-based presentation.

This announcement defies explanation. No one should be above the law, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) pronounced , suggesting that Mr. Comey had failed in his responsibility. In fact, Mr. Comey offered plenty of explanation, starting with the facts that investigators found no intentional wrongdoing and only a tiny number of emails on Ms. Clintons personal account containing information marked classified at the time. In reality, Mr. Comey pointed out, no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) claimed that Ms. Clinton gets to play by a different set of rules than everyone else before accusing the FBI of failing to enforce the law. In fact, as Mr. Comey reported, the FBI could find no case in which anyone has been charged under these circumstances. If the government were to charge her, prosecutors would in effect hold Ms. Clinton to different rules than everyone else.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a veiled threat to Mr. Comey: If it wants to avoid giving the impression that the FBI was pulling punches, he said, the agency must now be more transparent than ever in releasing information gathered during its investigation, presumably so that he and other Republicans can transfigure new details into fresh proof of criminality. Not to be outdone, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) will haul Mr. Comey before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for a grilling Thursday.

Several other Republicans, meanwhile, called for a new investigation and an independent counsel. As with Benghazi, their motto seems to be: Keep investigating until we get the outcome we want.

It appears damage is being done to the rule of law, Mr. Ryan said. Hes right, but the FBI director isnt doing the damage. The wreckers are those who cast baseless aspersions on U.S. law enforcement in the service of their partisan goals.
Christine Emba edits The Posts In Theory blog.

Last night I dreamed about my brothers death.

Hes alive, to be clear. Late 20s, in good health, has a great job, just moved states. Hes fine  for now.

The feeling of for now is new. Im a black woman living in the United States of America, but I didnt grow up with a pervasive sense of fear. I was taught that things were getting better  theyre always getting better. Look, weve moved past slavery, past Jim Crow. The civil rights movement worked!

Thinking back, perhaps my parents  like all black parents  were less convinced than I was, and rightly so. Immigrants from Nigeria, a pharmacist and a nurse, they were middle-class professionals obsessed with our educations and far more interested in pushing us to get ahead rather than in looking back.

Protesters are taking to the streets around the country after two black men, Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge, La. and Philando Castile of St. Paul, Minn., were fatally shot by police within 48 hours of each other. (Victoria Walker,Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Yet I still listened to them instruct my brother the day he received his drivers license: Drive slow; dont be outside at night; if youre stopped by the police, always keep your hands in view; never raise your voice; dont talk back; youre not like everyone else; this country isnt safe for you; you should always be on your guard.

And even as the younger, female child, I received my own warnings. Dress well; speak correctly; dont ever give anyone cause to suspect you; know that you need to be twice as good as anyone else. The threat of bodily harm was reduced, but the implication that certain structures couldnt be counted on to serve me, and that I would need to work harder than my white peers to stay safe, was not.

Despite all that, I assumed the best  sure, its unfair, sure, its limiting, but hey, well eventually be able to stop worrying. After all, things are improving.

The problem is, theyre not.

The past few months  the past few days  have taught us that. The years 2015 and 2016 have been a grim parade of black people killed by those who are supposed to protect and serve. This year alone, at least 115 black men have been shot and killed by police. In the past two days, there were two. Alton Sterling, shot by the Baton Rouge police while selling CDs outside a store. Philando Castile, shot by police in Falcon Heights, Minn., after being pulled over for a broken taillight  while his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter watched.

Last night I dreamed about my brothers death because, in a situation that has become outrageously common, I stumbled across the latest video of someone who looked not unlike him bleeding out while a police officer pointed a gun.

Yet the past months have made it clear that not enough of America cares. The fight for justice, for basic safety, seems to be fought almost single-handedly by people of color. Why is that the case? Shouldnt a crisis like this appeal to the humanity of us all? Shouldnt it extend across color lines?

Americans everywhere rally en masse for crises in Europe, and in Orlando, as they should. Facebook statuses change, businesses drape themselves in flags. But the response to the claim that black lives matter is: Stop being so divisive. All lives matter. Youre the ones bringing racism back.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee floats false statistics that attempt to justify police brutality, but when the black community complains, the retort is something along the lines of, Well, it was an accident. And hes not really racist, hes just not politically correct. Despite bold claims and press statements to the contrary, its not clear that the Democratic candidates care much more.

And when black writers or speakers dare to suggest that their community has long been ill-treated, that the effects persist into the present day, and that perhaps our white neighbors and friends are even slightly privileged by not having to worry constantly about their impending deaths, the reply is, Well, weve tried. Theres a black president, after all. Its your turn to do better  havent you seen the statistics for black-on-black crime?

I dont attend a lot of protests. No one would describe me as a radical. Im an opinion writer and editor, but I tend to avoid discussions about race.

But last night I dreamed about my brothers death. Because I know that for all of his achievements  two Ivy League degrees and not even a hint of a criminal record  at night hes just another black man driving, and he could be killed like one, too.
GARY JOHNSON and William Weld, the Libertarian Party nominees for president and vice president, respectively, brought their fiscally conservative, socially tolerant message to an interview with us Thursday morning. In some areas, their honesty and resistance to poll-tested polish have a certain bracing appeal. Mr. Johnson had no apparent qualms about calling for some politically dicey policies, such as raising the Social Security retirement age to at least 70 and encouraging government programs that would test heroin quality in order to reduce the number of overdose deaths. He and Mr. Weld declined the opportunity to attack one of their rivals, Hillary Clinton, over her State Department emails, saying that FBI Director James B. Comey was right to recommend against any indictment.

But this refreshing honesty could not cover up the tickets defects and lapses. These start with a lack of general knowledge and preparation. Mr. Johnson, the genial former governor of New Mexico, could not tell us what share of the economy the federal government should spend, only that whatever the current level is, it should be reduced by a few percentage points. He did not know what the nuclear triad is, which, though admittedly alarming in a potential commander in chief, might have been at least understandable if Donald Trump had not infamously muffed the same question in December. The two former Republican governors promise to govern in partnership, but they appeared to disagree on many fundamental issues.

[Read the transcript of The Post editorial boards meeting with Gary Johnson and William Weld]

None of that is necessarily disqualifying in this extraordinary political year. Mr. Johnson surely could get up to speed in some areas he hasnt thought much about. Indeed, he and his running mate mentioned that they are getting briefings from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

More disturbing for anyone inclined to take this candidacy seriously was Mr. Johnsons habit of resorting to wishful thinking whenever reality collided with libertarian ideology. Getting the government out of the way, he claimed, would solve a range of complicated social problems. Police shootings and various racial disparities have been results of the war on drugs, he argued, as if racism and police brutality would not exist if marijuana were legal. Climate change is real but regulations to cope with it arent needed, because consumers will demand clean energy, as if transforming the energy system were as simple as buying fair-trade coffee.

The Islamic State is a danger, he acknowledged, but he suggested it will work its own way into oblivion; no need for U.S. troops to help in that process. And he would solve the nations health-care challenge by abolishing most health insurance. We dont have grocery insurance, he said. If we did, why would there be any pricing on any of the shelves? Youd just pick out filet mignon. With people paying out of pocket at X-Rays R Us and Gallbladders R Us, he said, prices would drop dramatically. But he also made clear he would balance the budget by letting states restrict eligibility for Medicaid, the health coverage program for the poor and near-poor. In his world, its not clear they could afford even a cut-rate gallbladder.

In short, Mr. Johnson offers simplistic solutions to many complex problems. Voters hoping to find a serious, attractive alternative to this years presumptive major-party nominees are apt to be disappointed in what he is trying to sell.
A European Union flag is carried under Union Jack flags this week as thousands take part in a March for Europe through the center of London to protest against Britain's vote to leave the E.U. (Chris J. Ratcliffe/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Boris out. Gove up; Gove down. May saves the day; no, shes too authoritarian. Leadsom comes from behind; no, shes too inexperienced. If you dont know what Im talking about, then you werent following the minute-by-minute twists of British politics over the past few days. Having lost its leader and the countrys prime minister  David Cameron resigned on June 24, after losing the referendum to keep Britain in the European Union  the ruling Conservative Party must choose a new one. As I watched this baroque process unfold in London, I realized that I just couldnt write about the backstabbing, the personal betrayals, the resentments and jealousies, some of which date back 30 years to student political debates at the Oxford Union.

It has become clear that something far more important is happening: By voting itself out of the E.U., the United Kingdom has suddenly, unexpectedly become European. Overnight, the old British political divide, between a soft left, business-friendly Labour Party and a center-right, economically liberal Conservative Party, has disappeared. The old arguments, over taxes and spending (Labour wanted higher, Tories wanted lower) and the size of the state (Tories wanted smaller, Labour wanted bigger), are out the window. The old ideologies are gone. Even the old people are gone.

Instead, the British are split along the same lines as everyone else. Early last year, I wrote that the most important political division in Europe is not between the old left and the old right, but between what I would call established, integrationist politics on the one hand and isolationist or protectionist nationalist politics on the other. This is true in Greece, in Poland, in France, in the Netherlands.

Now it is true in Britain, too, but the split is an uneven one, jagged and still raw. Last months referendum exposed the existence of at least two coherent British political constituencies that now have no representation in Parliament. The first is roughly defined by the English nativist U.K. Independence Party  a movement that would, in any other country, go under the moniker far right  and it contains both former Labour voters and former Conservatives. UKIP had 3.8 million voters at the last election, but thanks to a voting system that favors major parties, there is only one UKIP MP. Nobody has ever really demanded that this group produce actual policies or take responsibility for carrying them out, but its fair to guess that it wants less trade, higher walls, stronger borders, more state planning, a more English England and some distance from allies of all kinds.

Bitterly opposed to these ideas, a second large political grouping  pro-European, integrationist, in favor of trade and foreign alliances, committed to the union of England and Scotland and a broad definition of Britishness  also lacks political representation. Suddenly, it looks as though these centrists, the 48 percent of the country who voted Remain, have no political voice.

Neither leader of either major political party represents this group. The dynamic inside the Tory party is pushing its leaders toward radicalization: Already, the leadership contenders are arguing about who will take the country out of Europe faster. They are bitterly divided  right now, I cant even tell you whether the next leader will turn out to be a protectionist or a global trader  and its hard to imagine how they can appeal to the pro-European center.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is stuck in a destructive downward spiral. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, comes from the Marxist, anti-American and anti-capitalist far left; he became party leader after thousands of people joined the Labour Party explicitly to vote for him. Since taking charge of one of Britains two great, historic, mass political parties, he has behaved as though he were running a secret revolutionary cell. He doesnt speak to some of his deputies; he hardly campaigned during the referendum; he refused, even, to say whether he had voted for Britain to stay in Europe at all.

Hence the weird sense of political disorientation that has gripped London. Hence the flurry of phone calls and email chains, the meetings to plan responses; hence the discussions of new parties and new alliances, the possible revival of the Liberal Democrats, the small centrist party wiped out at the last election. Hence the un-British vertigo and the fear that something even nastier will emerge. An angry British friend sent me a Gramsci quote: The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

A few months ago, British politics felt too dull, too Anglo-Saxon, too predictable to have ever been relevant to a continental philosopher. Now, just as Britain prepares to move away from Europe, the country has suddenly become not only continental but also emotional. Or maybe it has been moving that way for a long time, but we just couldnt see it.

Read more from Anne Applebaums archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
A Russian policeman stands in front of an entrance of the U.S. Embassy in downtown Moscow in 2013. (Ivan Sekretarev/Associated Press)

As new details come to light, Congress is demanding more information and more action by the Obama administration in response to the attack last month on a U.S. diplomat by a Russian FSB guard at the Moscow embassy.

One month after the June 6 attack, the Obama administration has refused to comment publicly on the incident, which was first reported in The Post last week. But the Russian foreign ministry has put out a series of statements claiming that an undercover U.S. spy, posing as a diplomat, rushed the gate at the U.S. Embassy in Moscows city center and assaulted a Russian guard stationed outside the compounds walls. State Department spokesman John Kirby said last week the Russian statements were inaccurate, but he declined to elaborate.

Kirby did acknowledge that the U.S. government has video of the incident. Two U.S. officials who have seen the video told me that it clearly shows the Russian FSB guard attacking the U.S. diplomat, not the other way around. The officials also said that the diplomat was on embassy compound property when the guard assaulted him. If true, that could mean the Russian guard violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.

I dont think weve ever seen anything quite like this, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) told me. We are intricately involved in all facets of it from an oversight standpoint. We continue to work with the State Department and all interested parties.

The State Department called in Russian Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak to complain about the incident shortly after it happened. But Burr and other U.S. lawmakers briefed on the incident told me that Congress will press the Obama administration to mount a more forceful response.

Clearly, an incident like this cant go without some action by the administration, said Burr.

Administration officials have begun a series of briefings with members of Congress who have been trying to learn more about the incident. One member of Congress who attended one of the briefings described them as useless and said the administration officials are still refusing to share details lawmakers seek.

For example, the State Department has declined to confirm that the incident happened on embassy compound property, despite what the video shows. Article 22 of the Vienna Convention states: The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission. Article 29 specifies that accredited diplomats are not subject to arrest or detention by host nation law enforcement.

Two U.S. officials told me that the U.S. diplomat was in fact working undercover for the U.S. intelligence community and was seeking refuge inside the U.S. Embassy to avoid being detained by the Russian security services, who had been following him. Russian security services personnel were waiting for him at the embassy guard station, the video shows, according to the officials. He rushed through the guard station and made it onto embassy property, but one FSB guard pursued him into the compound and tackled him to the ground. The diplomat eventually broke free and continued into the embassy building before any other U.S. personnel could come to his aid.

This account, which the State Department declined to confirm, is quite different from the account put forth by the Russian foreign ministry in two separate statements over the past week. On June 30, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the diplomat jumped out of a taxi with a cap pulled down over his face and refused to show the Russian guards any credentials before elbowing one guard in the face. She also said the Russian government believed the diplomat to be an undercover CIA agent.

Zakharova accused the U.S. government of leaking the story to deliberately undermine U.S.-Russian relations and said the State Department should simply say thank you to the guard for protecting the embassy. On July 6, Zakharova called the story part of a targeted information campaign to smear Russia, and said a banal event in the life of an ordinary employee of the CIA has been transformed by our American colleagues [into a] Russian police assault on [an] innocent American diplomat.

Kirby said that the series of comments from the Russian foreign ministry ever since The Post first reported increased harassment of U.S. diplomats by the Russian intelligence services were factually inaccurate, adding Moscow knows that all too well.

However, . . . the United States is not interested in having a public debate on the issue, Kirby said. We believe that this is best handled in private government-to-government discussions. Thats how were going to continue to do this.

He noted that Secretary of State John F. Kerry has raised this issue with the Russians at the highest levels. Kerry discussed it with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his March visit to Moscow. Kerry is traveling in Europe this week and will attend the NATO summit in Warsaw. Many in Congress are also pressing the Obama administration to do more about the pattern of harassment and intimidation against U.S. diplomats in Europe.

The administration is well behind on this, said Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), who is president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly . Theyve been slow to acknowledge its even happening.

Update: : Russian television station NTV aired a partial video of the incident Thursday. The video shows the diplomat approaching the embassy before being tackled by the Russian guard.
Marina Kaljurand is Estonias minister of foreign affairs.

When NATO leaders meet in Warsaw on Friday, little will have changed since the 2014 summit in Wales to offer the hope of better relations with Russia. There is no sign that Russia will honor its international obligations or acknowledge its military role in Ukraine; in fact, the opposite is true. NATO must meet this challenge with resolve, strength and presence.

The question of how to respond to increasing Russian aggression remains Estonias top priority. The facts are stark: We have seen violations of our airspace and irregular flights and mysterious submarines in the Baltic Sea. The Russian navy and air force engage in confrontations with NATO forces patrolling the sea, thereby normalizing a mentality of war for their pilots and sailors  and for the Russian public, which consumes these facsimiles of war through state media.

Russia routinely holds military exercises, often unannounced or with little notice, simulating an attack on the Baltic states or our Nordic neighbors, often practicing to cut off the Baltics from the rest of NATO or otherwise challenge the Article 5 collective defense principle of the alliance. Russia will hold more than 2,000 military exercises this summer; the scale of these exercises, sometimes involving more than 100,000 troops, dwarfs those of NATO .

Before NATO confirmed the deployment of four new international battalions (up to 4,000 troops) to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Russia announced that it will send three new divisions (30,000 men) to its western and southern borders.

With all due respect to those who claim that NATO is warmongering or provoking Russia with our exercises, this is the reality: NATO drills prepare for the defense of our territory, our allies and our people in case of attack. Russias drills are offensive, simulating the invasion of its neighbors, the destruction and seizure of critical military and economic infrastructure, and targeted nuclear strikes on NATO allies and partners.

Estonia is grateful for the renewed commitment of U.S. resources to regional defense and enhanced readiness. Estonia spends 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense  one of the few NATO allies to meet its defense spending commitments  but we are a small country, and we know how critical the support of NATO will be.

We hope that the new NATO battalions will be backed by predeployed equipment that will ensure a rapid response to any Russian challenge to Estonia or the other Baltic states. We also hope that the arrival of the new battalions will be accompanied by discussions about how to disrupt and respond to any Russian attempt to activate its anti-access/area denial capabilities and cut the Baltics off from the rest of NATO. This may require unconventional thinking on new responses to hybrid threats.

Post-Brexit, NATO should be revitalized as the common commitment between the United States, Canada, Britain and Europe to transatlantic security. Russia has been clear that it views transatlantic unity and a world order based on the values of representative liberal democracy as a threat to its national interests. It deploys money, promises, threats and pressure to find converts to its cause and to disrupt our decision-making. The parade that we have seen of former and current European leaders to Moscow calling for rapprochement  and tacitly agreeing to the dismantling of Europe  has been disheartening for those of us who understand that a unified Europe with a strong American partnership is the only reason we have a choice at all about where our futures should be.

When Estonia fought for European Union and NATO membership, we knew we were choosing to be the permanent front line between forces of history. Estonia will remain open to productive dialogue with Russia, but we do not have any further obligation to indulge Russian insecurities when its actions have shown that doing so encourages only the worst behavior.

We will welcome the new NATO battalion to Estonia. We also hope there will be U.S. regular and Special Operations forces beside them  and beside us. But Russia has rebuilt a war mentality in its armed forces and in its people. It is clear that the Russians will continue their aggressive behavior until they achieve their goal of breaking the Western alliance  and we must be similarly prepared for a long-term, steadfast defense of our independence and our values.
This is a letter which I faxed to the Speaker on Friday.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, Im an Illinois resident and horrified about what is happening to our glorious state.

Your crown has slipped down over your eyes and paralyzed your brain. It didnt slip far enough down to cover your mouth. You have lost all sense of decency and common sense. In your frenzy to rule the State of Illinois you neglect to care for the citizens.

The bill only takes the state down the disastrous financial path traveled from the past to now. Our bond rating is near junk status, and well have to pay more interest on loans to finance the deal since it is obvious that current state revenue will not pay for just legislated compromise.

Have you no shame? No common sense? No spirit of compromise? Do you have any ethics? How can you and your Democratic colleagues go out to face your constituents?! The rest of us in the state have to work to be paid. You go to Springfield and put in worthless time and get paid, when there really is not money to pay you.

How fortuitous for us in downstate would be to have Chicago secede from Illinois! That would be easily accomplished with your selfish power. When you might choose to return to Springfield please be a reasonable man to negotiate/compromise with the Governor to get our ship of state back on a realistic course to a BALANCED BUDGET.

Lee York, Tuscola
What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail

What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail

Donald Trump asked House Republicans Thursday to only say great things about him in an effort to project a unified front in the presidential election.

Republican members of Congress repeatedly pressed Trump during their hour-long closed-door meeting to reassure them he would work with them constructively and respect their agenda if elected. Trump promised that he would and also repeatedly urged them to exit the meeting and tell the media outside that everything was perfect inside the Republican Party.

It would great if you could say we had an unbelievable meeting. Trump loves us. We love Trump. Its going to be so good. Okay? Trump said, according to a detailed account from a person who attended the meeting. Honestly, if we could say it is great, we have a unified party, Ill tell you what, you are going to see a difference immediately. Thats what Im going to say.

Trump told the Republican lawmakers he loved them all and that they agreed on 99 percent of the issues. Trump said he assured House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) that he would never let him down. He then repeated his call for the members of Congress to praise him and project unity, even if they still had lingering reservations about him as their candidate.

If when we leave we could just go out and say, We love Trump, hes going to be great. I love you, were doing great. As a team, we cant be beaten, Trump said. Say great things, because anything you say thats even a little  well you know, they magnify it. Just say its great. You gotta say great things. Any little negativity that you have, they are going to blow it up twentyfold. Youve got to be positive.

The meeting was not entirely smooth. Trump appeared not to be familiar with Article 1 of the Constitution, which specifies the powers given to Congress. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) asked Trump what his understanding was of Article 1, given congressional concerns about the balance of power.

I am a constitutionalist. I am going to abide by the Constitution whether its number 1, number 2, number 12, number 9, Trump responded. I am a constitutionalist. Im going to abide by the Constitution . . . Its so important, and were getting away from it. And let me tell you, we have gotten so far away from it, were not going to have a country anymore.

The Constitution has only seven articles. Trump did not speak about Article 1 specifically.

Nevertheless, most House Republicans emerging from the meeting seemed to follow Trumps cue and praised the encounter.

What I thought was especially helpful today was our members just got access and got to ask their questions and talk about their issues, said Ryan. I thought he did a great job engaging with our members, and I think our members appreciated it.

Trump was introduced by Ryan and Larry Kudlow, the conservative commentator and columnist. Ryan introduced Trump as our nominee for president of the United States. Kudlow said he believed Trumps views on key issues are virtually identical with the views of the Republican Congress.

Members who asked questions at the meeting were largely supportive of Trump and sought his confirmation that he would pursue their agenda on issues including Obamacare, immigration, mental-health legislation, gun control and veterans issues.

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.

Trump touted his campaigns fundraising as a tremendous success and claimed his ground operations would prove to be more effective than most assume. He also claimed that he would be competitive in a number of traditionally Democratic states, including Washington and Connecticut.

Trump repeatedly trashed the press. The media is so dishonest, and its something we have to fight. And we will fight, he said. But we have to stay together. And its so important we stay together.

He said that skeptical Republicans should support him because the next president may appoint as many as four new Supreme Court justices. Trump has a list of 11 possible justices that he sent for review to the Heritage Foundation, and said that hed like to eventually have a list of 15 to choose from.

Even for the people who dont like me . . . if you dont think about anything else, think about the United States Supreme Court, Trump told the lawmakers.

Trump denied he was an isolationist when it came to foreign policy, and he said he could support trade deals if they were great deals. He also said Obamacare would end in 2017.

Regarding the upcoming Republican convention in Cleveland, Trump said that all the speaking slots had been filled. He dismissed the notion that his campaign team is too small or has been too slow to mobilize.

I view the campaign as starting from the convention on, and maybe I could say from the end of the convention. Thats when Im really starting, Trump said. Just stick with me folks, I know what Im doing, okay?
Vincent Vassall gets Hands-Only CPR training from paramedic Robin Green at HUD's health fair on June 15 in Washington. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Regarding the July 5 Metro article Learning a simpler way to save a life:

Why are high schools not included in the Hands-Only CPR teaching process? As simple as the new streamlined process is, it should be a required skill taught in the school system. We could teach an entire group of potential lifesavers from the ground up. Imagine that  a whole generation of lifesavers could already be easily trained.

Paula Refo, Warrenton
David Greenberg, in his July 3 Book World review of Bush by Jean Edward Smith, Arrogance, recklessness and scorn for ideas  no, not Trump. George W. Bush, cited this sentence from Mr. Smiths book: George W. Bushs decision to invade Iraq will likely go down in history as the worst foreign policy decision ever made by an American president.

Mr. Smiths criticism of President Bushs policy position ignored that it was only stocks of weapons of mass destruction that were found lacking. As Douglas J. Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy from 2001 to 2005, pointed out in War and Decision, investigations and interviews by the Iraq Survey Group sent to determine the status of such weapons following the Iraq invasion found that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had maintained the resources and intentions to restart the production of WMDs once the U.N. inspections ended. The science and technical labor pool from the pre-1991 nuclear weapons program had remained largely intact and was working on dual-use technologies that easily could have been converted to nuclear weapons. Saddam Hussein and his sons made inquiries about chemical weapon availability. Research-and-development efforts on biological weapons were kept in small, covert programs that could be quickly transformed into weapons production. Work on pathogenic and nonpathogenic agents was paired so the latter could serve as surrogates.

Saddam Hussein may have lied about active work on nuclear weapons to deter Iran from attack, but his long-term interest in nuclear, chemical and biological weapons was a threat that was forestalled by the invasion.

Dan Levine, Arlington

I take issue with David Greenbergs assertion in his review of Jean Edward Smiths biography Bush that the Vietnam War, for what its worth, was hands-down a bigger catastrophe than Iraq. The long-term effects of George W. Bushs war on Iraq are proving to be much more consequential than the Vietnam War.

Alan E. Mayers, Silver Spring
Kathleen Kick Kennedy on her wedding day in London in 1944. She married Billy Cavendish, the Marquis of Hartington, left, despite the religious objections of their parents. Her brother Joseph Kennedy Jr., second from right, was the only member of her family to attend the ceremony. (Associated Press)

Ellen Fitzpatrick is a professor of modern American history at the University of New Hampshire. Her most recent book is The Highest Glass Ceiling: Womens Quest for the American Presidency.

Kick The True Story of JFKs Sister and the Heir to Chatsworth By Paula Byrne Harper. 342 pp. $29.99 Kick Kennedy The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter By Barbara Leaming (Harper) Thomas Dunne. 292 pp. $27.99

This season brings us two books about Kathleen Kick Kennedy, the vivacious younger sister of President John F. Kennedy who died tragically at the age of 28 in an airplane crash nearly seven decades ago. Unlike her famous brothers, John and Sens. Robert and Ted Kennedy, Kick pursued an existence largely removed from the national political stage. Nonetheless, her brief life has now attracted biographers Paula Byrne and Barbara Leaming, each of whom has been drawn to the pathos of a story involving youth, wealth, fame, soaring possibilities and wrenching heartbreak.

The particulars are well known to those who have followed the richly documented history of the Kennedy family. No startling revelations emerge from either of these new studies. However, in Byrnes Kick  and Leamings Kick Kennedy , readers unfamiliar with the tale will learn much about an extraordinarily appealing young Irish Catholic woman who in 1938, at age 18, accompanied her father to England, where he would serve as U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James. The ambassador, Joseph P. Kennedy, soon became a controversial and eventually reviled figure as he supported appeasement and declaimed the likely end of the British Empire.

Kick, Kennedys charismatic second daughter, on the other hand, quickly took a charmed circle of British aristocrats by storm. Leaming focuses her book on the world inhabited by Kick and these privileged young friends, drawing upon some interesting interviews with a few of the principals, including Andrew Cavendish, the 11th Duke of Devonshire, whose brother Billy married Kick. The memories of Kennedys contemporaries, which reach back half a century, bring to life Kicks effervescence. One gets a keen sense of the energy she injected into the social gatherings and dazzling parties she regularly attended in London and in the English countryside. The romantic striving and intrigue among these young aristocrats, many of them cousins, are followed so closely in Leamings account that one might imagine something of great importance (to someone other than the couples) hinged on the outcome. But as the story unfolds, its power emerges from its historical moment. As war sweeps across Europe, the charmed circle is broken. Bombs rain down on England, the handsome young suitors depart for the front, the lavish country weekends come to an abrupt end, and soon World War II dominates the lives of these young men and women, as it did for so many who lived through the hellish conflagration.

Kicks life is irrevocably changed as her affection for her British friends and the life she led among them leads her to return to England in June 1943. Her father had sent most of his family home to the United States in September 1939 when England declared war on Germany. Kick begged to stay, but her devoted father would not relent. Eventually she found a way to return as a volunteer for the American Red Cross, with her father ensuring that she would be posted to London. She resumed her romance with Billy Cavendish, the Marquess of Hartington, future Duke of Devonshire and heir to Chatsworth, a splendid family estate in Derbyshire. The relationship flourished despite the couples seemingly insurmountable religious differences. Not only was she a Roman Catholic, his family was virulently anti-Catholic and would not countenance any arrangement that involved raising future children outside the Church of England.

Defying church and family, Kick married the Protestant nobleman, now a member of the Coldstream Guards, a venerable regiment of the British army, in May 1944, only five weeks before he returned to France. Her mother was devastated by her daughters decision, and neither Kennedy parent attended the wedding  the first among the Kennedy children. Kicks oldest brother, Joe, a naval aviator stationed in England, was the only member of her family present.

A summer of death followed that spring as news came back from the front reporting one casualty after another among the seemingly invulnerable golden cohort of friends. In August, Kicks brother Joe died when the plane he was piloting, laden with explosives, blew up shortly after taking off from England. A month later, Billy Hartington was killed in action in Belgium. At 24, the much-blessed daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy was a widow in her adopted country. She stood by as Billys brother Andrew and his wife, Deborah Mitford, the youngest of the remarkable six Mitford sisters, began to lead the life Kick had imagined would one day be hers. To the end of their days, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire remembered the young Kennedy girl as an emblem of the world theyd lost with the arrival of World War II.

( /Thomas Dunne )

Leaming and Byrne both recount in briefer terms Kicks efforts to rebuild her life in London after Hartingtons death. She decided she would remain in England after the war, even as she followed with avid interest her brother Jacks rise in American politics. In a poignant letter her young husband had written to her from France, Billy Hartington mused about all Ive got to look forward to if I come through this all right. But he added that if anything should happen to me I shall be wanting you to isolate our life together, to face its finish, and to start a new one as soon as you can. I hope that you will marry again, quite soon  someone good & nice. Cherishing the letter and the permission it gave, Kennedy integrated the loss and, after a period of mourning, moved on.

She had no shortage of attractive suitors once she returned to society but chose a wealthy married man, Peter Fitzwilliam, with whom she began a secret affair. Nearly 10 years older and a rake by reputation, Fitzwilliam saw in the young widow, Leaming speculates, a glittering trophy. Byrne observes that Kick may have seen in him a replica of her father. Whatever the source of the attraction, she was smitten and agreed to marry Fitzwilliam when he freed himself from his wife. Despite recent history, she hoped to introduce Fitzwilliam to her father, who was then in Paris, in May 1948. It was not to be. As the couple made their way to Cannes, Fitzwilliam insisted that the pilot fly on, after a brief stopover to meet friends for lunch, despite inclement weather. The small aircraft ran into a ferocious storm. Kick, Fitzwilliam and the two-man crew all died in the subsequent crash.

Byrnes biography offers a fuller portrait of Kick Kennedy, ranging as it does from her birth to her death. By the time she travels to London with her family in 1938, readers have a clear sense that she possessed the charm, wit and self-deprecating humor of her brother Jack. To some, the two seemed like twins. It is easy to understand how she came to captivate the young friends who would define her life in England. Leaming excels in providing a rich historical backdrop to Kicks story, with descriptions of British society on the eve of World War II. Both authors draw heavily on secondary sources that have previously narrated this tale, though each taps useful archival material. Given the popularity of Downton Abbey, these books aim to satisfy, it appears, an apparently unending appetite for stories that recount the glories of English country estates and the aristocrats who presided over them in a bygone era.

But in the end, the tale is a tragedy, less unique to the storied Kennedy family, despite its many losses, than it is common to the burden borne by the World War II generation.
James Downie is The Posts digital opinions editor.

At the end of a bruising presidential primary, it would not have been surprising if Hillary Clinton and the Democratic establishment had stiff-armed progressives who wanted changes to the partys platform. Yet the draft 2016 version leaked Friday shifts noticeably leftward from its 2012 counterpart in both policy and language. While not yet set in stone, the change is an encouraging sign that activists years of work are paying off and that the party is embracing an agenda that speaks to the concerns of millions of Americans who have too often been forgotten in mainstream political debate.

From the opening of the 2016 draft platform, one can see the rhetorical fingerprints of progressive movements, especially Black Lives Matter and the insurgent presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In the preamble, the authors warn that as working people struggle, the top one percent accrues more wealth and more power and our nations long struggle with race is far from over. Though the 2012 platform repeatedly criticized inequality and  to a lesser extent  discrimination, it had none of the stridency of the 2016 draft version. The greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street must be brought to an end, it declares. (Can you imagine the New Democrats of the 1990s putting illegal behavior and Wall Street in the same sentence?) Later, the authors promise that the party will push for a societal transformation to make it clear that black lives matter. Not too long ago, more politically cautious Democrats would have steered clear of phrases like that, but here they are.

The changes go beyond rhetoric to genuine policy differences. The 2012 platform, when discussing helping the middle class, centered on extending tax cuts. Although the party included a sentence calling for a higher minimum wage, it did not specify a target. The 2016 draft drops the tax cuts for a minimum wage increase to at least $15 an hour, undoubtedly a nod to the Fight for 15 movement embraced by Sanders.

Similarly, the new platform endorses specific reforms of the criminal justice system  closing private prisons, giving police training in conflict de-escalation and body cameras, banning the box, prioritizing treatment over incarceration in tackling addiction and so on  all new in 2016. And for the first time, the Democratic platform calls for abolishing the death penalty. The party has traveled a long way from Bill Clinton returning to Arkansas mid-campaign for the execution of Ricky Ray Rector.

Even President Obamas signature piece of legislation, the Affordable Care Act, is overtaken by the shift to the left. The 2012 platform was understandably content to focus on the laws successes; with Hillary Clintons determination to benefit from Obamas legacy, the 2016 version might be expected to do the same. Yet the drafters go much further, declaring that Americans should be able to access public coverage through Medicare or a public option. It is extraordinary that Democrats are saying that the most popular figure in the partys biggest accomplishment is not liberal enough.

There are other victories for progressives and activists throughout the draft, such as a prohibition on Wall Street firms choosing which credit agency rates their products and support for postal banking for low-income Americans. Progressives did not win every fight; there is no call for a ban on fracking or opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Given that Obama opposes both stances, any hope for victory on those issues was always naive. But overall, this would be the most progressive Democratic platform in history.

The obvious argument against making too much of these changes is that party platforms are non-binding and therefore signify nothing. This misses the point: Platforms reflect parties trajectories. In 1976, only a few years after Roe v. Wade, the two parties platforms each recognized both the pro-life and pro-choice sides. Not until the 1980s, after Democrats and Republicans had hardened their positions, did the platforms take unequivocal stances. (This years Democratic platform, in fact, is the first to call for the repeal of the Hyde amendment limiting the use of federal money for abortions.) The 2016 Democratic draft reflects a far more progressive party than even four years ago.

The Democratic platforms leftward turn vindicates the continuing campaigns of Sanders, Black Lives Matter and other progressive groups. Critics predicted that a refusal to quiet criticisms of the party establishment would reduce activists leverage as the convention neared. Instead, activists work has produced notable victories and shifted the center of the political conversation.

Those victories are also good for the Democratic Party. Too often in the past, the interests of minorities, the poor and others have been either ignored or barely acknowledged in the partys platform. But the version being prepared for 2016 suggests Democrats are starting to take their interests seriously, and that can only be a good thing for the country.
The report was so seismic  Daniel Patrick Moynihans word  that Lyndon B. Johnsons administration released it on Fourth of July weekend, 1966, hoping it would not be noticed. But the Coleman Report did disturb various dogmatic slumbers and vested interests. And 50 years on, it is pertinent to todays political debates about class and social mobility. So, let us now praise an insufficiently famous man, sociologist James Coleman, author of the study Equality of Educational Opportunity.

In 1966, postwar liberalisms confidence reached its apogee. From 1938, when the electorate rebuked Franklin Roosevelt for his plan to pack the Supreme Court, through 1964, congressional Republicans and conservative Democrats prevented a liberal legislating majority. But Johnsons 44-state victory that year gave Democrats 68 Senate seats and a majority of 155 in the House. Effortless and uninterrupted prosperity seemed assured as the economy grew in 1965 and 1966 by 10.7 percent and 7.99 percent, respectively. So, a gusher of tax revenue coincided with liberalisms pent-up demand for large projects. It hoped to meld two American traits  egalitarian aspirations and faith in educations transformative power.

The consensus then was that the best predictor of a schools performance was the amount of money spent on it: Increase financial inputs, and cognitive outputs would increase proportionately. As the postwar baby boom moved through public schools like a pig through a python, almost everything improved  school buildings, teachers salaries, class sizes, per-pupil expenditures  except outcomes measured by standardized tests.

Enter Coleman, and the colleagues he directed, to puncture complacency with the dagger of evidence  data from more than 3,000 schools and 600,000 primary and secondary school students. His report vindicated the axiom that social science cannot tell us what to do, it can tell us the results of what we are doing. He found that the best predictor of a schools outcomes was the quality of the childrens families. And students achievements are influenced by the social capital (habits, mores, educational ambitions) their classmates bring to school:

One implication stands out above all: That schools bring little influence to bear on a childs achievement that is independent of his background and general social context; and that this very lack of an independent effect means that the inequalities imposed on children by their home, neighborhood, and peer environment are carried along to become the inequalities with which they confront adult life at the end of school.

Colemans report came exactly one year after  and as an explosive coda to  what is known as the Moynihan Report, which was leaked in July 1965. Moynihan, then a 37-year-old social scientist in Johnsons Labor Department, presented in The Negro Family: The Case for National Action what then counted as shocking news: 23.6 percent of African American births were to unmarried women.

Today 71 percent are. Almost 47 percent of all first births are to unmarried women, and a majority of all mothers under 30 are not living with the fathers of their children.

The causes of family disintegration remain unclear, but 51 years ago Moynihan and then Coleman foresaw the consequences. Moynihan said the tangle of pathologies associated with the absence of fathers produces a continually renewed cohort of inadequately socialized adolescent males. Socializing them is societys urgent business if it is to avoid chaotic neighborhoods and schools where maintaining discipline displaces teaching. Coleman documented how schools are reflections of, rather than cures for, the failure of families to function as the primary transmitters of social capital.

The extraordinary synergy between Moynihan and Coleman was serendipitous. Today, their baton of brave and useful sociology has passed to Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute. His Losing Ground (1984) was an autopsy of 1960s aspirations. His Coming Apart (2012) explores the social consequences  we are wallowing in the political consequences  of a bifurcated society in which many do very well while many others are unable to reach even the lowest rungs on the ladder of upward mobility.

Colemans evidence that cultural rather than financial variables matter most was not welcomed by education bureaucracies and unions. Similarly, we now have more than half a century of awkward, and often ignored, evidence about the mostly small and evanescent effects of early-childhood education. Todays Democratic Party fancies itself the party of science; Barack Obama pledged, in his first inaugural address, to restore science to its rightful place. Social science, however, is respected by Democrats only when it validates policies congenial to the interests of favored factions.

Read more from George F. Wills archive or follow him on Facebook.
Regarding the June 30 news article Cancer researchers told to report findings quickly:

In his 2016 State of the Union address, President Obama announced that Vice President Biden would lead a moonshot effort to eliminate the scourge of cancer. Last month, dozens of scientists, oncologists, donors and patients met with the vice president to generate ideas. I have not seen tobacco control mentioned at all.

It appears that Mr. Biden has sought to highlight private and nonprofit research efforts while lobbying the countrys leading cancer institutions to collaborate on more and better use of their resources. For example, the Energy Department and the National Cancer Institute planned to announce new programs to analyze cancer data with supercomputers. Another effort teams government computing capability with drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.

Although these and other efforts may bear some fruit in treating and curing the disease, prevention is the better approach. Prevention would require taking on the tobacco industry, a major cause of cancer, and that appears to be taboo for this administration. Without meaningful tobacco controls, the moonshot will miss the moon and drift into outer space.

John O Hara, Bowie

The writer is president of the Maryland Group Against Smokers Pollution.
Emile Simpson is an Ernest May Fellow in History and Policy at the Belfer Center of the Harvard Kennedy School. He served three tours in Afghanistan as a British Army officer.

The title Farewell Kabul captures the mood of this beautifully written work, which weaves together two perspectives: first, a heartfelt valedictory dispatch from veteran war correspondent Christina Lamb, who has reported on Afghanistan and Pakistan for 28 years, and second, an account of the Western experience in Afghanistan since 2001.

Lambs rhetorical structure is impressionistic. A wide array of human stories gained from hard-won experience are synthesized into a broad and colorful canvas. As befits this genre, certain themes stand out more powerfully than others, within a chronology that starts in 2001 but frequently jumps back to provide historical context.

There are no dull moments in the narrative, which remains fast-paced and enlivened by the eclectic range of characters through which the reader sees events on the ground. Thus, the famous battle at the Tora Bora caves in December 2001 is recounted through the eyes of the exasperated CIA agent whose team found the al-Qaeda camp from which Osama bin Laden escaped, as confused chains of command and limited attention in Washington led to a botched operation.

While the subsequent military dimension of the conflict involved scenes from isolated U.S. outposts in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan and from the headquarters in Kabul, the focus was primarily on the deserts of Helmand province. As Lamb explains, her story has few heroes, and the account of the British experience in the south is fairly unforgiving. Given that much of Helmand is today controlled by the Taliban, her criticism is not inappropriate.

The problems started in London, where Tony Blairs government, focused on Iraq, gave barely any attention to the move into Helmand province in 2006. Defense Secretary John Reid apparently was unable to locate Afghanistan on a map and claimed naively that he would be happy if British forces did not fire a shot during the deployment.

The British move was part of a wider NATO push into southern and eastern Afghanistan whose purpose was not clear. Responsibility for defining the mission seemed to lie everywhere and nowhere. Explanations were stretched to include ambitions such as counter-narcotics and womens rights, or compressed to comprehend just the security mission.

The security mission itself was confused. It was unclear whether many of the so-called Taliban militants in Helmand province were just fighting for local objectives or intended to march on Kabul, let alone the West. Before the British deployment of 3,000 troops in 2006, just 130 U.S. Special Forces soldiers were able to keep the peace by working with local power brokers. But the British removal of the strongman governor who kept an authoritarian, if unjust, peace led to a fragmentation of power. Local tribal fights resurfaced, with one constellation of parties appealing to the Afghan government for support, the other to the Taliban. Soon, the insurgency grew.

What is not entirely clear in Lambs account is whether fighters were coming across from Pakistan or were locals. In fairness, this reflects a broader ambiguity in the current literature. Until the enemys version of events appears, we wont know whether Western forces reacted to a Taliban offensive in 2006 or whether their very presence created an insurgency that was as much tribal as Taliban.

Afghan perspectives were regularly encountered, providing a refreshing tonic to the idealized PowerPoint descriptions of Afghanistan by Westerners. One British head of mission was even likened to a member of a cult, so fervent was his belief in the experiment of reconstructing Helmand.

On the one hand, the earnest aspirations of the development crowd, whose endless gender-awareness workshops, and attempts to establish new markets as an alternative to opium, were generally dismissed as ineffectual. On the other hand, Lamb conveys the agony of Afghan women and the misery inflicted on peasants by narco-gangs. A visit to the burn unit in the western city of Herat, for example, reveals the plight of young women who attempted suicide as a way out of forced marriages. If this were a policy book, the reader would be left unsure about what path would-be interventionists should tread on the vexing issue of how far a mission should depart from security goals. But as reportage, these juxtapositions are unproblematic and reflect both sides of the debate.

Lamb expresses her own views on some policy issues. While counterarguments are acknowledged, such as the Pakistani armys extensive campaigns in its own tribal areas, Lamb is decisive in the view that Pakistans influence and support for the Afghan Taliban have significantly destabilized Afghanistan. The extensive attention to the Pakistani context is excellent and reflects Lambs familiarity with the country. The analogies between President Pervez Musharraf in the 2000s and President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s are particularly helpful.

A minor quibble can be raised with Lambs rehearsal of the standard view that all empires have lost in Afghanistan. The reality is more nuanced, as many empires have successfully influenced Kabul through client relationships. This history matters because it suggests that withdrawal with the right political solution can be a modest form of success and a more realistic proposition than a decisive battlefield victory.

While Lamb is to be congratulated for covering such a wide canvas in an accessible and lively form, the wide scope necessarily leaves a few blind spots. One of them is the Afghan security forces, which are barely mentioned. When they do appear, they are dismissed as incompetent. In a single line of the book, we read almost as a passing comment that the Afghan security forces incurred more than 5,000 deaths in 2014 alone. They have taken far more casualties per year since then; by comparison, Western forces have suffered around 3,500 dead in total since 2001.

Farewell Kabul is a timely work that arrives just when the West appears to be waving goodbye to Kabul, and it deserves to be widely read. But before the Afghan adventure is dismissed as an exercise in futility, as seems to be the standard trope today, it is reasonable to recall the sacrifice of the Afghan infantrymen, who are fighting bravely with their backs to the wall; with their families unable to leave the country, they may have a good reason to do so.
Jon Cowan is president and Jim Kessler vice president of Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank.

Donald Trump and his team are now vetting possible vice presidential picks, a process that former almost second banana Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) described as a colonoscopy using the Hubble telescope. In charge of the vetting is A.B. Culvahouse, a consummate Washington insider who ran the same process for John McCain in 2008. But imagine if Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio had won the nomination and Trump emerged on the vice presidential short list. How would Trump do? Lets take a peek inside the vetting questionnaire which has grown from 16 questions in 1976 to 79 headings and more than 200 specific queries in 2012.

Start off with a few of the biggies. Any issues with marital infidelity or avoiding the draft in your past? From there, the questions only get more difficult. On the vetting murder boards is a plagiarism question, probably the result of then-presidential candidate Joe Bidens misappropriation in 1987 of a speech by British politician Neil Kinnock. Those few paragraphs of unattributed spoken word seem quaint in comparison to the 20 pages cut and pasted from another authors book and featured as original Trump genius at his eponymous institute.

What used to be known as the nanny question concerns the hiring of illegal immigrant labor, a mistake that felled the nomination of Zoe Baird for attorney general in 1993. She hired one illegal immigrant to babysit her children. Donald Trump hired at least hundreds to build his real estate empire. To paraphrase Joseph Stalin, hiring one illegal immigrant is disqualifying; hiring hundreds is a statistic.

Vice presidential candidates are asked if there are any court records worth noting; for example, have you been involved in a lawsuit? The ideal answer probably shouldnt be 169, which published reports say is the minimum number of times Trump has been named in a suit. Sexual harassment allegations are asked about and explored. With Mr. Trump, lets just stipulate that this line of inquiry could take a while. An even longer slog, however, is the more general is there any claim anyone can make about you saying something racist or offensive in your past?

Trump has said many times that he was an excellent student and thrived at the best schools, but the vetting process is not the ideal pop quiz for this candidate. And we havent even gotten to the most basic finance questions that constitute the backbone of candidate approval. Investments overseas, entanglements with foreign governments, charitable donations, complying with federal tax laws, assets owned and traded, and actual net worth. Of course, the vetting research for the No. 2 spot centers upon the release of the candidates tax returns, something Trump has so far evaded.

No candidate for the vice presidential slot is expected to be 100 percent clean on every single question. Were not electing saints. But getting a few right would be nice. The bottom line is that the vetting process shows without equivocation that Trump is unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. If hes not acceptable for No. 2 on the ticket, it begs the question of whether hes fit to be No. 1.

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Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in front the shuttered Trump Plaza casino on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, N.J., Wednesday. (Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post)

Hillary Clinton came here Wednesday in an attempt to turn the spotlight away from her handling of classified emails and back on rival Donald Trumps controversial business practices. But Republicans back in Washington began assembling the political machinery to keep the email issue at center stage through the presidential election.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee focused intently on everything but the email issue, with a speech bashing Trump and a major policy shift toward the free-college pledge promised by her primary rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Here in this resort town where Trump built casinos that went bankrupt, Clinton pointed to one of the shuttered locations as an example of what she portrayed as a record of selfish and unethical business practices.

When everything falls apart, people get hurt and Donald gets paid, Clinton said, with faded letters spelling Trump Plaza on the building behind her.

She made no mention of the findings of FBI Director James B. Comey, who announced this week that he was not recommending criminal charges in the email case but that Clinton had been extremely careless in her treatment of classified information. The Justice Department formally closed the inquiry Wednesday.

But Republicans signaled that they would continue to push hard through committee hearings and other means to make the email controversy a central part of their critique of Clinton as untrustworthy and unreliable.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday that he believes the presumptive Democratic nominee received preferential treatment from the FBI and that she should be denied classified briefings because she was so reckless in her handling of her emails. Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee scheduled a snap hearing on Thursday to question Comey about his findings.

Republicans were also buoyed by an announcement Wednesday from the Trump campaign that it had exceeded expectations by raising $51 million with the GOP in June. Although short of Clintons $68 million total for the same month, the number eases concerns among many Republicans about Trumps fundraising potential and signals that he could hold his own with her in the money race.

Taken together, the events suggest a fiercely competitive contest in which Republicans will do everything they can to keep attention trained on Clintons actions and misstatements related to her emails  while Clinton will do everything possible to avoid the issue and campaign as a capable, can-do leader.

The boardwalk event here was a rare moment of political theater for Clinton, especially given that New Jerseys solidly Democratic status means it almost certainly will not be competitive in November. Instead, the location was used to hammer home her accusation that Atlantic City was typical of Trumps approach  using it as a cash cow to extract wealth for himself before leaving the town and its workers high and dry. Showing Trump as unscrupulous is a bedrock of Clintons strategy against him.

Republicans  including some who did not want him to top their ticket  see the email issue as an opportunity to turn that argument back on Clinton.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a Trump supporter, said he is eager to keep the focus on Clinton and her emails and said Ryan is justified in pressing for more information on the FBIs decision not to recommend charges.

I think theres a lot of questions to be answered, Cole said. I thought Director Comey laid out the case awfully well yesterday. I disagree with the decision from what I know, but it would help a lot to have some real hearings about this.

But Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon called Ryans assertion of preferential treatment absurd and said the hearing is a continuation of GOP efforts to dig up dirt akin to the closed Benghazi probe.

For weeks Republicans have said they trusted FBI Director Comey to lead an independent review into Secretary Clintons emails, but now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories, Fallon said.

The lapses concern Clintons private email system, little known outside her circle of aides and contacts when she was secretary of state. The system was maintained at her New York home and used for both government and personal communication.

The State Department inspector general earlier found serious fault with Clintons decision to set up and maintain the system as she did. Now, the FBI said this week that Clinton opened the door to possible breaches of government secrets, although it had not found evidence of any.

Ryan said the director of national intelligence should deny Clinton the standard top-level briefings given to the two partys presidential nominees. The speaker, who was his partys 2012 vice presidential nominee, said he was examining ways that Congress could block those briefings for Clinton once she formally secures the Democratic nomination in Philadelphia later this month.

Trump  who defended his record of bankruptcies in Atlantic City as a typical business practice that made him money  kept up his own fusillade on Clintons emails, venturing into terrain most other Republicans are not willing to traverse.

At a rally in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday night, Trump suggested that Clinton was offering Attorney General Loretta Lynch a bribe to let her off easy. Trump said he had heard on television that Clinton was floating the possibility of keeping Lynch on board in the next administration.

Clinton has never said that publicly. The New York Times reported that Democrats close to Clinton said she might opt to keep Lynch at the top of the Justice Department.

On Twitter early Wednesday, Trump also appeared to argue that the FBIs decision not to charge Clinton in the email case was like getting away with a homicide.

I dont think the voters will forget the rigged system that allowed Crooked Hillary to get away with murder. Come November 8, shes out! Trump tweeted.

One of Trumps favorite talking points has been his insistence that the system is rigged. He applied it earlier to the Republican nominating process, decrying the arcane process of wooing delegates that favored opponents with more political experience and knowledge. Now he is using it to explain why Clinton was not charged.

Let today be devoted to Crooked Hillary and the rigged system under which we live, he tweeted Wednesday.

Exiting a weekly meeting between Trump campaign representatives and supportive House members Wednesday morning, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to head off repeated questions from reporters about Trumps controversial praise of Saddam Hussein by pointing to Clinton.

I appreciate that youre asking Trump questions, but the fact is Hillary Clinton being found above the law by this administration is the story of today, Issa said.

Paul Kane and Sean Sullivan contributed to this report.


Anne McNeal, 3-month-old Estelle McNeal and Cody McNeal enjoy an afternoon on their backyard deck. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Reeling from countless broken promises and botched deals, Anacostias real estate market for much of the past has moved in fits and starts.

Now the Southeast Washington community seemingly is on a roll, with a variety of large-scale condominium, townhouse and commercial real estate projects transforming the landscape.

As Anacostia joins the list of suddenly hot neighborhoods around the District, some residents are concerned that the city is concentrating too heavily on big development and not enough on blighted blocks where many old homes are left to rot.

To address that issue, a local nonprofit is experimenting with a new approach thats decidedly antithetical to the way redevelopment is unfolding in much of the community.

Rather than tying development to profit, the group is happy to lose money. Rather than thinking big, it is focused on one home at a time.

And rather than build new, it hopes to move the community forward by preserving its past.

Officials at The LEnfant Trust, a historic preservation organization based near Dupont Circle, bought two blighted properties in the Anacostia Historic District as part of a demonstration project.

[Anacostia in Southeast D.C. is emerging at last]

The trust acted as developer, renovating the houses and selling them at a loss  which is exactly what it intended. Officials say they want to replicate this approach throughout the community.

These are historic properties that cannot be razed by law but are too expensive to reclaim if profit is the sole criterion, said Lauren McHale, the trusts executive director. Saving these irreplaceable historic treasures thus necessarily becomes a charitable effort.



The McNeals lost out on seven homes because of bidding wars and escalation clauses during their housing search before buying this home in Anacostia. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

A short history

Anacostia got its name from the Anacostan Indians, who settled on the banks of the river. Developed as one of the first suburbs of Washington, the community was designed to be home to working-class people employed at the nearby Navy Yard in the mid-1800s.

Incorporated in 1854 as Uniontown, historic Anacostia initially housed predominantly white residents.

When public housing complexes were built in the early 1960s, many white and middle-class residents left the area for the suburbs. Over the years, the largely black community has struggled with poverty, crime and a lack of development.

But in recent years, development and redevelopment have blossomed in Anacostia and nearby Congress Heights. The projects include the Sheridan Station townhouses and condominiums, the Henson Ridge townhouses, the Uniontown Bar & Grill, the Anacostia Playhouse, Olivias Cupcakes, the Barry Farm Indoor Aquatics Facility and Ballou High School.

More projects are in the works. Reunion Square along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE will add 1.6 million square feet of mixed-use buildings and include 124 market-rate and affordable apartments and six townhouses. The iconic Anacostia building on Good Hope Road is becoming a Walgreens. And the $45 million 11th Street Bridge Park will include a public plaza, amphitheater, environmental education center and other attractions traversing the Anacostia River.

[Anacostia neighborhood guide: Explore the thriving historic district]

The development is pumping new life into the real estate market. For instance, the Anacostia Zip code of 20020 experienced the second-highest gain in the median price of homes sold in Washington in January to May 2016 compared with the same period in 2015. Prices jumped 28.20 percent, to $289,998 from $226,250, according to Rockville-based multiple-listing firm MRIS.

Historic preservationists in some ways represent the lunatic fringe of the real estate business. If you live in a historic district, they are the ones who dictate what color you can paint your front door and what kinds of windows you have to use  which can infuriate a homeowner trying to make repairs and stay on budget.

But if it werent for preservationists, Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Old Town Alexandria and Dupont Circle would not have the historic charm for which theyre known.

In the case of the demonstration projects in Anacostia, the trust invested more than $300,000 in two homes that are generating tax revenue and occupied by two families.



The design team kept the basic room layout in place but widened the doorways, giving the ground floor an open-plan feel. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

The trusts deeds

The trust acquired and fixed up one distressed house on 14th Street SE for $112,000 and another on Maple View Place SE for $125,000. Cody and Anne McNeal eventually ended up on 14th Street, while another young couple, Stephan and Riser Gerber, bought the house on Maple View Place.

The trust rehabilitated two derelict, historic residential properties in Anacostia as a demonstration project to show the Anacostia community and the D.C. government that these vacant buildings could be rehabilitated quickly, McHale said.

The trust in 2014 floated the idea of repairing blighted houses at various community meetings in Anacostia, seeking suggestions on fix-up candidates.

Dewey Sampson, 35, who attended a public meeting at the United Planning Organization on Good Hope Road hosted by local Advisory Neighborhood Commission representative Charles Wilson, raised his hand and suggested the house next door to his.

It was terrible. There were squatters living in there and possibly some illegal activity, Sampson said. It was okay six years ago when I moved in, but it just got worse and worse.

The trust took Sampsons suggestion and bought the wood-frame house on 14th Street SE.

[Can D.C. build a $45 million park for Anacostia without pushing people out?]

Rehabilitating the properties fell to architect Jonathan Kuhn, 46, who is based in the District. A personal reference led the trust to Kuhn, who immediately had doubts about the project. I was hesitant, because historic preservation is not my specialty, Kuhn said. I was wondering how they were going to do this, because it would have been much easier to bring a bulldozer over.

Bulldozers are kept at bay by the neighborhoods historic designation, which makes it illegal to alter the basic facade of the homes, even when they are falling apart. The trust refers to a practice known as demolition by neglect, which spins properties down into a death spiral of negative equity.

Kuhn worked with builder Thomas Archer Contracting, based in the District, to bring the houses up to current code while remaining true to the historic integrity of the homes.

We were directed to restore them in a historic manner, make them marketable, keep the small footprint with no additions and make the living space as best as we could, Kuhn said.



The floors are hardwood, the ceilings are high and the lighting is recessed. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

The room closest to the street serves as a dining room . (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

The homes outcome

Both homes are relatively small, about 1,400 square feet, with three bedrooms and 1 baths. There are no garages, wine cellars or in-law suites, but that didnt matter to the McNeals. Cody, who is 33, works as an architect for Edens Development in Bethesda, Md.; Anne, 30, works for Deloitte as a consultant.

The couple had been living in the Ellington building on U Street NW, sharing 620 square feet for 3 years. After they got married, they began looking for a house in the District and lost deals on seven homes because of bidding wars and escalation clauses. The market was a lot hotter than we anticipated, Cody said.

A connection through the Urban Land Institute alerted the couple to the trusts homes in Anacostia, and they made the drive across the river to have a look at the one on 14th Street, which was still under construction. Id be lying if I said I didnt have any trepidation about the neighborhood, said Cody, referring to crime. Ive been in D.C. for eight years and know that the connotations are generally not positive.

Despite their doubts, the couple tracked the progress of the house. When it came on the market, they walked through and said they were impressed by what they saw. We could tell it was not a typical developers flip, Cody said. The objective was not to make a quick buck.

[Nonprofit commits $50 million to prevent gentrification east of the Anacostia River]

The couple took a leap of faith and put in a successful offer with escalating clauses that ended on the odd number of $377,000.

The property was originally listed at $349,000.

The home sits as a rectangle with a front porch, a Greek Revival-style pitched roof and simple window trim. There is a shallow crawl space underneath and a small, fenced-in back yard.

The design team kept the basic room layout in place but widened the doorways, giving the ground floor an open-plan feel.

The room closest to the street serves as a dining room with the living room placed in the middle and the kitchen in the back of the house. The floors are hardwood, the ceilings are high and the lighting is recessed.

The kitchen features stainless-steel appliances, painted Shaker-style cabinets, a Silestone countertop and a subway-tile backsplash.

The couple is from California, and theyve already added a deck in the back yard.

The next steps

After paying for the houses and the renovations, the trust lost $138,741 on the house on 14th Street SE and $228,746 on the house on Maple View Place, which was arguably in worse shape. The whole back of the house was just gone, Kuhn said. But you can see the entire city from the second floor.

Losing hundreds of thousands of dollars on a real estate deal is not sustainable, no matter how nice the view is.

The trust supports itself from cash contributions from individuals, foundations, businesses  and in-kind contributions from vendors and building contractors, McHale said. We are also seeking contributions of historic properties owned by the city, often acquired as a result of a tax foreclosure or a condemnation proceeding, buildings which after many years of city ownership and inaction are now nearing collapse.

She said she thinks the demonstration project can be ramped up and replicated.

Revolving funds or real estate redevelopment programs are a common tool used by many historic preservation organizations around the country, McHale said. Our HPR [Historic Properties Redevelopment Program] is D.C.s first. There are many more buildings in need in Anacostia, specifically those owned and controlled by the city government.

The citys role in the distressed-property business remains somewhat cloudy and is administered through the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), which owns 151 vacant properties in the District, 69 of which are in Ward 8, and 10 of those fall into the Anacostia Historic District.

Community development or the lack thereof in Anacostia is a bone of contention.

ANC representative Wilson, 40, an attorney, said he is not happy with how the city is responding to blighted properties and the effects they are having on neighborhoods.

We have been pleading with the District government for years, he said. We have never had a local politician be a champion, the ward has never really had an advocate and the people making the decisions dont live here.

Wilson and other stakeholders said they think the city is too focused on large-scale redevelopment projects while individual homes are left to rot.

Polly Donaldson, who has a long history of working for affordable housing, runs the Anacostia-based Department of Housing and Community Development. She was appointed to that position by D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) in January 2015.

Were not like some places, in that our property still has value, Donaldson said in comparing D.C.s problems with other major cities distressed properties. We have to look at balancing the needs of a population that has been here for years against the needs of new arrivals.

Meanwhile, Anne McNeal says the trusts project has been a win-win for the neighborhood and her family. She said the mostly welcoming vibes of the neighborhood have pleasantly surprised her.

Theres a sense of community here that we didnt have in Northwest, she said.
Bangladeshi police arrive near the scene of a blast in Kishoreganj, northeast of Dhaka, on Thursday. (Associated Press)

Assailants armed with explosives, guns and machetes attacked security forces at a large prayer gathering of Muslims in Bangladesh on Thursday, killing at least three people, police said.

The attack came with Bangladesh still in mourning  and authorities on high alert  after a terrorist siege last week in which militants took hostages at a popular cafe, hacking 20 people to death and killing two police officers in an attack claimed by the Islamic State. Many of the slain hostages were foreigners.

There was no immediate assertion of responsibility for the latest bloodshed, but the Islamic State had vowed to carry out more violence. The attack also shattered hopes that Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim celebration that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, would be peaceful after a week of carnage in Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq.

[Violence strikes Dhakas diplomatic quarter]

On Wednesday, the State Department issued a warning to U.S. citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Bangladesh in light of the series of terrorist events, noting that the threat remains real and credible. One American was killed in last weeks bloodshed in Dhaka, the countrys capital.

A victim receives medical assistance after the attack. (Jamura TV via Associated Press)

Syed Abu Sayem, a senior police official, said that several men wielding pistols and machetes attacked a contingent of police in Kishoreganj, about 68 miles northeast of Dhaka.

About 100 yards away, more than 200,000 people had gathered in a field for a prayer service marking the end of Ramadan.

At least three people, including at least two police officers, were killed in the attack, Sayem said. One of the attackers also was killed, and three others were arrested, he added.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the bombing of the faithful on a sacred holiday.

How can people attack those who have been doing namaz? Hasina said, using the word for the Muslim act of offering prayer.

Shahriar Hossain, a banker from Dhaka, said that he was walking to the prayer service when two men in traditional dress stopped him. One of the men took out a gun and started firing on a patrol team of police standing nearby, he said.

I ran away in the opposite direction and heard the sound of many gunshots, he said. He eventually took shelter in a nearby house.

1 of 29 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What the scene outside of a hostage situation in Bangladesh looked like View Photos Gunmen stormed into a restaurant near multiple embassies in Dhaka for a siege that lasted 12 hours. Police killed six attackers and rescued 13 people, and at least one assailant was reported in custody. Caption Gunmen stormed into a restaurant near multiple embassies in Dhaka for a siege that lasted 12 hours. Police killed six attackers and rescued 13 people, and at least one assailant was reported in custody. July 2, 2016 A group of people carry an injured man. AFP/Getty Images Wait 1 second to continue.

Hossain said the attackers seemed to be aiming at the police, not worshipers.

If they had targeted devotees, the casualties could have been hundreds, he said.

The largely Muslim country of about 160 million has been in a state of heightened security since last Fridays siege, with police checkpoints set up across Dhaka and probes expanding into possible terror cells.

Late Tuesday, the Islamic State, which had claimed responsibility for Fridays hostage siege as it happened, issued a video threatening more violence to come, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online terrorist activity.

What you witnessed in Bangladesh was a glimpse, the video warned. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world.

Bangladesh has suffered a string of killings of secular bloggers, foreigners, members of the gay community, Hindu priests and other minorities since 2013, violence that has intensified during the past year.

The government routinely attributes the attacks to homegrown radical groups, rather than to a global jihadist network such as the Islamic State or local affiliates of al-Qaeda, both of which have claimed responsibility in different incidents.

Hasinas government, which retained power in a flawed 2014 election in which the opposition refused to participate, has arrested thousands in conjunction with the violence in recent days. Critics say that the government has used the arrest sweeps as an excuse to detain Hasinas political opponents.

On Thursday, Bangladeshs information minister, Hasanul Haq Inu, told local reporters that the attack in Kishoreganj was political and did not have an Islamist agenda behind it.

Azad Majumder in Dhaka contributed to this report.

Read more:

In a deadly Ramadan, ISIS terrorism exposes the failures of others

Three suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia extend global wave of bombings and a bloody week

A day after the Istanbul attack: Were sad. Were scared.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
A migrant rests outside the Moria migrants camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on June 19, 2016. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said on June 18, 2016, that the "detention" of migrants who arrived in Greece since March should cease immediately. (Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images)

The human traffickers who brought a million desperate asylum seekers through Turkey to the Greek islands have been stopped. Where once thousands a day were smuggled by the mafias on cheap rubber rafts, very few are making the trip this summer.

To shut down the Eastern Mediterranean route, countries such as Macedonia, Hungary and Bulgaria acted independently and threw up razor-wire fences along their southern borders, defying Europes central authority in Brussels.

The European Union itself struck a deal that threatens to send the migrants back to Turkey from Greece en masse.

It wasnt pretty.

Human rights activists called it cruel.





But it worked.

The unimpeded flow of humanity, dominated by Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans, to Europe is over, at least for now. Arrivals in the Greek islands are down 97 percent.

The repercussions of the unprecedented maritime migration in the Eastern Mediterranean is still playing out across Europe, especially in Britain, whose citizens voted last week to leave the European Union, in part, because of fears that more immigrants would reach the British isles.

[Europe begins sending people back across the sea, defying outcry]

No country has been more overwhelmed than Greece and no place in Greece more than here on the island of Lesbos, which saw 600,000 war-weary people pass through in the past 18 months.

No more.

Now the open turnstile toward a new life in Germany or Sweden has turned into Europes waiting room.

Migrants rest at a lunch room outside the Moria migrants detention camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on June 19, 2016. (ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Mohammed, a 22-year-old Iraqi from Mosul stuck at the Moria camp on Lesbos, compared his life to the Eagles song Hotel California.

He hummed a few bars. He got the lyrics mostly right.

You check in but you never check out, sang Mohammed, who, like most asylum seekers, declined to give his full name because he was criticizing the system charged with deciding his fate.

Some 42,000 asylum seekers are stuck in grim camps on the Greek mainland, according to the United Nations.

An additional 8,000 are spread throughout the Greek islands, with about 3,000 on Lesbos.

These are essentially the left-over people who arrived in Greece after the E.U. deal with Turkey went into effect March 20.

[Europes migrant deal with Turkey was flawed from the start]

Fewer than 500 of these new arrivals in all of Greece have been sent back to Turkey, although the threat alone may be largely responsible for the steep downturn in trafficking.

The migrants and refugees appear to have made a financial calculation: Why spend $1,000 on a smuggled voyage only to be sent back later after enduring a few squalid months in a dirty camp on Lesbos?

I would not have come to this place to rot, said Akash, 24, from Bangladesh, who traveled here with two cousins. It cost us everything we had.

Asked whether he thought he would get off the island and be given asylum in Greece or be relocated to another European country, he shook his head and began to rub his eyes.

The Moria camp, where the majority of asylum seekers are being detained, is notorious.

Human Rights Watch visited the Reception and Identification Center in May and found chaotic conditions: toilets flooded, poor food, the overcrowded facility filled with angry, sometimes drunken men, fighting over their spots in lines, harassing the women and trying to enter their tents.

On Lesbos and the other islands, riots have broken out, with fires set as groups of foreign nationals  Afghans vs. Pakistanis vs. Syrians  set upon each other while the police withdrew to the safety of their fortified freight containers.

In his report, Bill Frelick, a director at Human Rights Watch, called the conditions unfit for animals. Amnesty International issued its own condemnation.

Suha, 33, is a Palestinian refugee from Syria. She arrived on Lesbos in early April, spent a few nights at the Moria hot spot and then was transferred to another facility, called Kara Tepe, run by the local municipality. This was previously known as  the good camp.

At the beginning it was okay, but as Kara Tepe became more crowded, the problems began, Suha said.

The men tried to pull my daughter away from me. She is only 14 years old, Suha said. There were too many people, too many angry people. Stealing. Going crazy.

Suha and her children were transferred to the Silver Bay Hotel, now run as shelter by Caritas, a Catholic relief agency. I would stay here forever; I dont care, she said.

Suha and her children have their own room  there is a full-service cafeteria, language classes, even yoga.

But no certainties. Only a few of the 200 asylum seekers at the Silver Bay Hotel  which hosts the most vulnerable refugees  have been permitted to relocate to other countries in Europe. The family reunification process is also bogged down; it will take months before decisions are made.

I suspect there will be camps here a year from now, said Tonia Patrikiadoy, manager of the Caritas facility.

[How Europes migrant policy is tearing families apart]

In all of Greece, only about 1,700 asylum seekers have been relocated to E.U. countries that promised to take them.

They dont care. I hate Europe, said Rowaida, 20, an Afghan from Herat, who worked in a beauty salon.

She sat outside the Kara Tepe camp, charging her phone.

I cant go forward and I cant go back, Rowaida said.

She said that the refugees who rushed to get into Europe before the borders closed and the deal was struck with Turkey to send some back, they were the smart ones.

We were too slow, too late, she said.

Rowaida complained that authorities only began to clean up the Moria camp in the days before U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon came to visit two weeks ago.

A representative in Lesbos for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said the conditions in the camps did improve in June, mostly because the Greek police began issuing permits for the asylum seekers to leave the closed facilities. They are not allowed to leave the island, but they can go into the main town of Mytilene.

On his visit here, Ban said that although the smuggling of people to Greece has stalled, the central Mediterranean route remains in use  and is deadlier than ever.

That route brings sub-Saharan Africans through Libya to Italy. A spokesman for the European border agency Frontex said he could count the number of Syrians who arrive in Italy on one hand. The top three countries of origin are Nigeria, Gambia and Somalia  and the overall numbers there are the same as last year. What has changed is the cost of the smuggling.

Almost 3,000 people have died or are missing at sea on this route this year.

Read more:

The shifting sea routes of Europes refugee crisis, in charts and maps

This has been the deadliest year for migrants in the Mediterranean. Heres why.

Most of the refugees stuck in Greece are now women and children

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Russian President Vladimir Putin, shown here last week, has signed into law a controversial package of counterterrorism measures. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed into law a controversial package of counterterrorism measures, including tougher sentences for extremism and heightened electronic surveillance of Russian citizens, that have provoked condemnation from rights activists here.

Among the critics was Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details in 2013 of U.S. government telephone and Internet surveillance programs. Some measures in the Russian legislation resemble those U.S. programs.

Several of the amendments require telecommunications operators to store recordings of their customers phone calls and text messages for six months and order messaging services such as Facebook and Telegram to provide decryption keys to Russias Federal Security Service, or FSB.

Others require Russians to inform authorities about potentially grave crimes or their planning, stiffen penalties for re-posting information deemed extremist on the Internet, and require postal employees to inspect packages.

[Edward Snowden declares mission accomplished]

Festival-goers greet Edward Snowden (on screen) during a live-stream interview with the activist group the Yes Men during the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 28. (Mathias Loevgreen Bojesen/European Pressphoto Agency)

#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia, Snowden wrote Thursday in one of several Twitter messages about the Yarovaya laws, named for co-author and former prosecutor Irina Yarovaya.

It was Snowdens most direct criticism of Putin since he received asylum in Russia three years ago. Opponents have accused him of leaking information to the Russian government and ignoring the countrys repressive Internet policies. Snowden has denied any agreement with Russia and says the U.S. government has annulled his passport and left him stranded.

People ask if I fear retaliation for my criticism. I do. But it did not stop me from criticizing the @WhiteHouse, and will not stop me here, he wrote Thursday.

After signing the law, Putin ordered the government to help minimize the costs of data storage, apparently as a concession telecom companies, which complained that compliance was technically and economically impractical.

Russias Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights called on Putin to reject the laws because of the unconstitutionality, contradictoriness and legal uncertainty of some of the legal norms contained in them.

[Russian hackers penetrated DNC, stole research on Trump]

Dmitry Peskov, Putins press secretary, told reporters Thursday that the government will keep a wary eye on the implementation of that law and will take relevant measures on the presidents order in case of any undesirable developments.

The measures will impose tougher sanctions on mass unrest and limit proselytizing, to representatives of registered religious groups. Pacifist religious organizations, including Jehovahs Witnesses, complain they have been targeted by laws aimed at violent groups.

Previous versions of the law would have allowed authorities to strip Russians of citizenship for crimes such as terrorism and extremism, and impose bans on international travel. Those amendments were omitted from the final version of the bill, which passed Russias parliament on its last day in session.

Read more:

Putin told Snowden that Russia doesnt use mass surveillance on its citizens. Heres a reality check.

Russias remarkable trust in Putin has been shaken, poll finds

The Putin-Trump kiss being shared around the world

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Donald Trump, with Russian businessman Aras Agalarov, center, and his son Emin Agalarov at the Miss Universe Pageant on Nov. 9, 2013, in Moscow. (Victor Boyko/Getty Images)

An American foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump chided the United States on Thursday for an often-hypocritical focus on democratization, inequality, corruption and regime change in its dealings with Russia, China and Central Asia.

Carter Page, an energy executive tapped by the presumptive Republican nominees campaign for his business experience in the former Soviet Union, told students and journalists gathered in a Moscow lecture hall that Washington had missed opportunities to work with leaders such as Russias Vladimir Putin and Chinas Xi Jinping because it had ignored principles of respect, equality and mutual benefit.

Pages remarks put him, like Trump, at sharp odds with the Obama administration and traditional Republican policy circles, which have viewed Russia in more adversarial terms over the war in Syria, the conflict in Ukraine and other issues. The bilateral relationship has soured to Cold War-era levels in recent years.

[Inside Trumps financial ties to Russia]

Page refused to comment specifically on the U.S. presidential election, his relationship with Trump or U.S. sanctions against Russia, saying he was in Russia as a private citizen. He gave a lecture titled The Evolution of the World Economy: Trends and Potential, in which he noted that Russia and China had achieved success in Central Asia, unlike the United States, by pursuing a respectful foreign policy based on mutual interest.

He generally avoided questions on U.S. foreign policy, but when one attendee asked him whether he really believed the United States was a liberal, democratic society, Page told him to read between the lines.

If Im understanding the direction youre coming from, I tend to agree with you that its not always as liberal as it may seem, he said. Im with you.

In a meeting with The Washington Post editorial board in March, Trump named Page, a former Merrill Lynch executive in Moscow who later advised the Russian state energy giant Gazprom on major oil and gas deals, as one of his foreign-policy advisers. Page refused to say whether his Moscow trip included a meeting with Russian officials. He is scheduled to deliver a graduation address Friday at the New Economic School, a speech that some officials are expected to attend.

[Putin indicates he wants restoration of U.S. relationship]

Trump has not outlined a specific policy concerning Russia and the former Soviet Union, but he is broadly noninterventionist, questioning the need for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and calling for Europe to play a larger role in ensuring its security.

Pages appointment followed criticism that Trump was thin on foreign-policy experience. Trump, in a March appearance on MSNBCs Morning Joe, was asked who his top foreign-policy consultant was. He responded: Im speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and Ive said a lot of things. . . . My primary consultant is myself.

Page is an outsider to Republican policymaking circles. But he has regularly criticized U.S. intervention and on Thursday quoted Putin in Russian as saying that his country does not intervene in the internal politics of other nations.

In one article for Global Policy Journal, he wrote, From U.S. policies toward Russia to Iran to China, sanctimonious expressions of moral superiority stand at the root of many problems seen worldwide today.

[Donald Trumps favorite dictators]

Page wrote that the war in eastern Ukraine was precipitated by U.S. meddling in the Maidan revolution, a reference to the 2014 demonstrations that led to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych. U.S. officials have accused Russia of orchestrating the subsequent annexation of Crimea and of backing pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Page is not Trumps only adviser with ties to former Soviet-bloc politics. Paul Manafort, his campaign manager, served as a consultant for Yanukovych before the Russian-backed Ukrainian leader was overthrown.

Read more

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Supporters of a proposed ballot measure in Washington state that would create protection orders to take guns from people deemed a serious threat to themselves or others turned in more than 330,000 signatures to the secretary of state Thursday.

Initiative 1491, backed by the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, comes after legislative efforts to create extreme risk protection orders failed earlier this year.

Stephanie Ervin, I-1491s campaign manager, said the initiative creates an important tool for families and law enforcement to prevent crisis from turning into tragedy.

Under the measure, concerned relatives, household members and police officers can petition the court by filing an affidavit stating specific concerns, such as mental illness or domestic violence, and the number and types of firearms owned. If a court hearing finds evidence that a person poses a danger to themselves or others by having a firearm, their guns can be taken away and they can be prevented from buying another firearm for up to one year.

Only three states  California, Indiana and Connecticut  have enacted similar laws. California passed its bill after the mass shooting in 2014 near the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Marilyn Balcerak, whose son fatally shot his stepsister and then himself in Auburn, Wash., last year, said she knew that her son was suicidal but was powerless to prevent their deaths.

I did everything I could to keep him from getting a gun, and even went to the police, but was twice turned down, she said. If extreme-risk protection orders had been law just two years ago, those police officers I talked to would have been able to help me.

Messages left with the National Rifle Association and the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation were not immediately returned Thursday.

An initiative requires at least 246,372 valid signatures of registered state voters to be certified, although the secretary of states office suggests at least 325,000 in case of any duplicate or invalid signatures. The process to validate signatures is expected to take a few weeks.

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility was also behind a 2014 ballot measure, approved by voters that year, that requires background checks on all sales and transfers of guns, including private transactions and many loans and gifts. Maine and Nevada have universal background-check measures on the ballot this November.

For too long, there has been a disconnect between what the American people demand on gun safety and how American politicians vote, John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in an emailed statement. In 2014, we took this issue to the people of Washington State for an up or down vote  and they spoke loud and clear to prevent gun violence by requiring background checks for all gun sales. This year the people of Maine and Nevada and again in Washington State will have their say at the ballot box as well when it comes to gun safety.
Southwest is one of six US airlines which have been licensed to operate up to 90 round-trip flights per day to Cuba, potentially opening up a new era for mass tourism. (Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images)

Eight U.S. airlines will be awarded 20 direct daily flights between U.S. cities and Havana, with service to begin this fall, the Transportation Department announced Thursday.

The airlines, whose selections wont be finalized until the end of this month, will fly primarily from Florida  including six daily flights from Miami  although six other cities around the country are also included. A bid by United Airlines to operate direct flights from Washington was not approved.

The Transportation Department announcement said the selections were made to allocate nonstop Havana service to areas of substantial Cuban-American population, as well as to important aviation hub cities.

The announcement is one of the last steps toward putting into effect a commercial aviation agreement signed by the two countries in February as part of normalizing their relations. Separate awards announced last month authorized a smaller schedule of U.S. flights to other Cuban cities.

[Among the hurdles U.S. hotels face in Cuba: A booming Airbnb presence]

An American Airlines airplane prepares to land at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana last September. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

Although authorized charter flights began service to Cuba decades ago, regularly scheduled service has been prohibited since the early 1960s as part of U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba.

The normalization agreement also allows for Cuban airlines to fly to the United States, but Cuba has made no application to the Transportation Department for its national carrier, Cubana de Aviacion, to begin service. The Cuban government has put the issue on hold because of concerns that the government-owned planes could be seized to settle financial judgments against Cuba, according to John Kavulich of the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.

U.S. courts have awarded damages totaling up to $2 billion in legal cases, most of them involving the 1996 Cuban shoot-down of a plane operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Separately, the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has certified 5,913 property claims against Cuba for seizures following the 1959 revolution. Settlement of those claims, also totaling close to $2 billion, is part of ongoing U.S.-Cuba normalization. An unknown number of claimants have won court judgments outside the official settlement process.

Tourist travel to the island is still illegal under the remaining U.S. trade embargo, which only Congress can remove. But the Obama administration has greatly loosened restrictions on who can travel there, including approval of individual visits for self-declared people-to-people exchanges.

[Americans want to see a Cuba that Cubans would rather leave behind]

In the year following the announcement of normalization made by the two governments in December 2014, nearly 150,000 Americans  not including individuals of Cuban descent  visited Cuba out of more than 3 million visitors, according to Cuban statistics.

Figures for the first six months of 2016, visits are on track to total more than 300,000 this year, with an economic impact Kavulich estimated at about $630 million.

But he predicted a massive choke point as travel increases to Cuba, which operates only 64,000 hotel rooms. While the use of some U.S. credit cards and cellphone connections has been approved, the transactions and calls are often unworkable. Internet connections remain spotty.

U.S. carriers, however, clearly see Cuba as a potentially lucrative new market, and the routes tentatively awarded Thursday followed heated competition. Twelve carriers applied to carry passengers and cargo; the sharpest contest was between JetBlue and American, which vie to dominate U.S. travel to the Caribbean.

Carriers and tentatively awarded Havana routes included: Alaska Airlines, once daily from Los Angeles; American Airlines, four times daily from Miami and once daily from Charlotte; Delta Airlines, once daily from New York (JFK), Atlanta and Miami; and Frontier Airlines, once daily from Miami.

Others were JetBlue Airlines, twice daily from Fort Lauderdale (but once on Saturdays), and once daily from New York (JFK) and Orlando; Southwest Airlines, twice daily from Fort Lauderdale and once from Tampa; Spirit Airlines, twice daily from Fort Lauderdale; and United Airlines, once daily from Newark and once weekly (Saturdays) from Houston.

This story has been updated to note that 300,000 vists by Americans to Cuba are expected this year, not that there have already been 300,000 visits in the first six months of 2016.

Read more:
An Islamic State flag is seen on the other side of a bridge at the front line of fighting between Kurdish peshmerga forces and Islamist militants in northern Iraq in September 2014. (JM Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors on Thursday said a top Islamic State recruiter in Syria was involved in directing an American college student to kill a member of the U.S. military and then attack a police station in southern Ohio.

Munir Abdulkader, 21, of West Chester, Ohio, communicated with Junaid Hussein, a well-known Islamic State operative who was killed in Raqqa, Syria, in an August 2015 drone strike, according to court documents unsealed Thursday.

Abdulkader was charged secretly in May 2015 with providing material support to the Islamic State, attempting to kill police officers and employees of the United States, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

He pleaded guilty in March to all three charges and awaits sentencing. He faces up to 40 years in prison. His attorney did not return a message seeking comment.

Prosecutors said Abdulkader, who attended college in Cincinnati and is of Eritrean descent, began expressing support for the Islamic State on Twitter in 2014. He claimed a cousin had died fighting for the Islamic State and expressed a desire to attain martyrdom, according to the court documents.

Abdulkader obtained a passport and told a confidential FBI source that he wanted to travel to Syria, according to the court documents, but delayed his plans for fear of getting caught.

In May 2015, he started communicating with Hussein, who encouraged him to mount an attack in the United States. Abdulkader talked about abducting a member of the military and then filming his execution, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said he planned to assault a police station using firearms and Molotov cocktails. Court documents indicate he surveilled the police station, attended a shooting range, where he learned to fire different weapons, and bought an AK-47 rifle for $300.

After buying the rifle, authorities said, Abdulkader was arrested later that May, but details about his case remained secret.

This is the second time in recent months that prosecutors have acknowledged that Hussein urged an American to launch a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

In April, prosecutors disclosed that Hussein instructed a Boston-area man named Usaamah Abdullah Rahim to kill Pamela Geller, the organizer of a controversial prophet-Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas last year.

Rahim, 26, was shot and killed in June 2015 in Roslindale, Mass., after he attacked members of an FBI-led surveillance team while wielding a large knife. Two of his friends were later arrested on charges of plotting a terrorist operation.

Abdulkader, who became a U.S. citizen in 2006, is the fourth person from Ohio to be charged in connection with the Islamic State.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) organised a protest in South Melbourne on Tuesday of Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) maintenance workers who are facing drastic cuts to pay and conditions.

While the workers are seeking to resist a push by the company to place them on new contracts that slash wages by up to 65 percent, the unions aim is to ensure that the union officials are not sidelined by the corporate restructuring. They convened the rally outside the companys headquarters to place pressure on CUB executives to collaborate with them in cutting costs.

CUB sacked its entire maintenance workforce, consisting of 54 fitters and electricians, four weeks ago. The workers were called to a local hotel and told they could reapply for their jobs if they signed individual contracts with body hire company Catalyst, an offshoot of Programmed Skilled. The workers were not allowed to see the contracts before signing. The new contracts included wholesale pay cuts, and forced workers onto more flexible rosters.

All the CUB workers took a stand and refused to countenance the deal.

One of the maintenance electricians, Drew, spoke with the World Socialist Web Site at the protest: I was called into the hotel and told we were made redundant, effective immediately, told not to go on site, he explained. We could apply for our jobs again that day, but they wouldnt tell us on what conditions. We have to go into the job interview to find out what the job conditions will be like, what the pay rates are ... Such a pay cut will mean Ill have to do things differently around the house to live, like anyone with a pay cut.

Geoff, a CUB worker with 35 years experience, added: Its going to be at least a 50 percent pay cut and they can make us work any hours they want.

The unions have worked to wear down and isolate the workers. The AMWU and ETU, which cover the workers, have promoted a community picket outside the plant in Abbotsford since the sackings. This token action forms part of the unions determination to confine the workers within the straitjacket of the Fair Work industrial regime enacted by the former Labor government, which bans nearly all industrial action.

Production has continued at the CUB plant, with scab maintenance workers crossing the community picket unhindered. Other workers in the facility, covered by the United Voice union, have not been called out on strike, thus helping CUB maintain operations.

The central concern of the AMWU and ETU is that CUB is attempting to force the workers to sign a non-union agreement, thereby dispensing with their services. Across numerous industries in the past period, the unions, including the AMWU and ETU, have repeatedly demonstrated their role as an industrial police force for big business and finance capital.

In the brewery industry alone since 2012, the unions have blocked any struggle by workers against the destruction of a total of at least 180 jobs by Lion Nathan in Perth and CUB in Melbourne and Warnervale, north of Sydney.

At Tuesdays rally, the sacked maintenance workers were joined by a contingent of trade union officials and a small number of construction workers from nearby building sites. Union officials addressing the rally combined empty demagogy with reactionary nationalist denunciations of the company.

An AMWU statement posted on its web site features the unions assistant secretary Craig Kelly declaring the workers were helping to deliver Australias most iconic beer brands but CUB, which was once a proud Australian company, has thrown them under a bus  CUB was built up on the basis that workers got a fair days pay for a fair days work and its time the now-South African owned brewer gave Aussie workers a fair go.

This bluster is aimed at covering up the role of the trade unions, in Australia and internationally, in working with governments and corporations to boost corporate profits at the expense of workers living standards. It also serves to divide CUB workers from their counterparts around the world, who are facing similar attacks on jobs and conditions.

Workers at CUB are involved in a struggle with a transnational giant. CUB is owned by the British and South African SABMiller, the second largest brewer and beverage company in the world. It is currently in discussions to amalgamate with the worlds largest brewer, Belgian-Brazilian Anheuser-Busch InBev, in a deal estimated to be worth more than $100 billion.

The merged entity would control 30 percent of the worlds breweries. Anheuser-Busch InBev is notorious for slashing the workforce of companies it acquires. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anheuser-Busch InBev eliminated 1,400 jobs, or about 6 percent of Anheuser-Buschs workforce, after acquiring the American brewer in 2008.

The CUB workers fight for their jobs coincided with the federal election crisis. The uncertain election outcome has only raised the determination of the corporate elite to develop new forms of authoritarian rule to push through the kind of austerity measures against the working class seen in Europe and the US, including deep inroads into wages and conditions.

This underscores the fact that the CUB workers struggle is a political one. To advance their fight, the workers need to take the leadership out of the hands of the union bureaucracy. A rank-and-file committee is needed to unite with other brewery workers, in Australia and internationally, and turn out to other sections of the working class confronting similar attacks on jobs and wages, such as the car and construction industries.

Such a campaign would become a lightning rod for the mass social discontent and opposition that found expression in the anti-establishment vote in the last election. What is required above all, however, is the adoption of a new political perspective, based on the fight for a workers government and for socialist policies.
Army private Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison sentence for exposing US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, was hospitalized Tuesday morning under circumstances that remain unclear and contested.

A CNN reporter and an unidentified Army spokesman said Manning had attempted suicide by hanging herself, but there has been no confirmation of this report by either official sources at Fort Leavenworth, where Manning is imprisoned, or by Mannings attorneys, who have been denied contact with her until Friday.

Nancy Hollander, lead attorney for Mannings defense team, expressed anger over the Armys handling of information on the prisoners condition. Were shocked and outraged that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with private confidential medical information about Chelsea Manning, yet no one at the Army has given a shred of information to her legal team, Hollander said in a statement to the press.

The unnamed Army official who leaked the report of an attempted suicide is in violation of federal law, the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prohibits the release of medical information about any individual without his or her informed consent.

Without confirmation from Manning herself, there is no reason to accept the reports of a suicide attempt, which frequently serve as a cover for abuse of prison inmates by their captors. This is of particular concern in regard to Manning, who, in addition to her status as a supposed traitori.e., courageous whistlebloweris also the highest-profile transgender prisoner in military custody.

Only a few days before her hospitalization, Manning wrote her regularly scheduled column for the Guardian newspaper, in which she criticized the Pentagons new policy of supposedly accepting transgendered soldiers, saying that it fell short in certain areas, both in its definition of transgender people and in its application to military prisoners like herself.

I am deeply concerned that like so many policies, the impact of this change wont penetrate the prison walls, she wrote. What does it mean that the military will recognize our gender, unless and until we are arrested, and then what? This core identity is then stripped away and our birth assigned sex is imposed on us?

Army officials have refused to inform Mannings attorneys about her condition, merely canceling a scheduled phone call between Manning and her defense team set for Tuesday and barring any emergency phone contact until Friday. Hollander said, We call on the Army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelseas current situation.

Manning, 28, was convicted in 2013 on charges of supplying WikiLeaks more than 700,000 digital files, most of them internal reports on military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which provided massive evidence of US war crimes in both countries. They included the notorious video of US helicopter gunships mowing down a group of Iraqi civilians, including two Reuters journalists, later released by WikiLeaks under the title Collateral Murder.

In a particularly savage demonstration of capitalist justice, the conscientious soldier who sought to bring war crimes to the attention of the world was sentenced to 35 years in prison, while the architects of the war, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, have never been brought to justice.

There was a tragic irony to Mannings hospitalization on Tuesday, July 5, which came only one day before the release of the Chilcot report in Britain, which sheds light on the criminal conspiracy carried out by US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to launch a war of aggression against Iraq, in violation of international law.

Moreover, Manning was hospitalized only hours before FBI Director James Comey announced the conclusion of the year-long investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server for her government communications while secretary of state in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013. Comey found that Clinton had compromised secret information, but since she did so for her own convenience--storing her email correspondence on her own server to better control access to it--rather than to expose US government secrets to the public, Clinton faces no criminal charges.

The contrast with the vindictive treatment of Chelsea Manning is striking and instructive. There truly is one law for members of the US ruling class like Clinton and another law for everyone else.
Photo: Courtesy Apple.

Ed. note: We will continue to update this post with the latest iPhone 7 news.

Update: Apple sent out invites for an event on September 7 at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Unless the company throws us for a serious loop, we should see the new iPhone announced that day (although the event invite is noticeably devoid of any details about what exactly we'll be seeing). We'll be there to share the news as it happens, and hopefully get some hands-on time with the new phone.

Update: August 24, 2016: A Taiwanese pop star might have given us the most recent look at the new iPhone. A photo of Jimmy Lin, who, according to Forbes, has accurately leaked previous releases, shows him on an iPhone with the dual rear-facing camera lens that the iPhone 7 is rumoured to have.

The photo doesn't show the phone's screen or the bottom of the phone, so it's impossible to tell if there really is no headphone jack or home button  or if it's even a real, working iPhone or not.

Update: August 10, 2016: It looks like the pieces are falling together: We already heard that iPhone pre-orders would open up on September 9. Now, we have word of when the actual announcement  when we'll finally get a good look at the new iPhone  will occur. According to Bloomberg, Apple's big event will take place on September 7, the Wednesday following Labor Day.

That timing makes perfect sense, since it's the same as when Apple announced the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus last year.

Update: August 8, 2016: There's new evidence to support three previously rumoured features of the iPhone. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg that there will be an additional speaker taking the place of the headphone jack, a dual camera allowing for sharper, more precise photos, and, finally, a new kind of home button.

That last feature is one that we've heard the least about so far, but could be one of the most exciting changes, if true. Right now, the iPhone home button is a button  a mechanical piece of hardware prone to maintenance issues. If, for instance, you spill something on your phone, the crevices around that button can let it in and eventually make the button sticky to use (or might make it stop working, altogether).

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According to Bloomberg, the new iPhones will have a home button that isn't really a button. Instead, it will be pressure-sensitive and operate more like the latest MacBook trackpads with haptic touch. When you press down on the "button," you'll feel a vibration that simulates the sensation of clicking a button, but minus the mechanical parts that can eventually break with use. Considering Apple uses this technique in the MacBook and the Apple Watch, it's not unreasonable to think it could come to the iPhone, too.

If this is real, it could save you future trips to the Apple Store Geniuses for repairs.

Update July 29, 2016: Part of the mystery surrounding the new iPhone isn't just about what cool features it will have, but also when we'll actually be able to get our hands on it. This week, reporter Evan Blass, who has previously leaked accurate iPhone data, revealed a possible on-sale date. According to Blass, pre-orders will begin on September 9.

The news, picked up by BGR, implies that the big Apple announcement will come earlier that week, if Apple sticks with its typical schedule of reveal, pre-order, and in-store availability. Apple's large September event tends to come shortly after Labour Day, so a September 9 pre-order date would align with that timing. That also correlates with another rumour  that the iPhone will officially go on sale September 16.

Of course, in true super-secret Apple fashion, nothing is really confirmed until event invites land in reporters' inboxes.

Update July 19, 2016: This week, we've got some degree of corroboration for one of the first rumours we heard about the next iPhone. Back in March, reports suggested there might be three new iPhone models: an iPhone 7 and two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus. Now there's a photograph that seems to back up that idea.

The image, shared on French site NoWhereElse, shows three models of the phone labeled as iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone 7 Pro. The iPhone 7 is the smallest of the three (about the same size as the iPhone 6s), while the iPhone 7 Plus and 7 Pro about the same size as the iPhone 6s Plus. The main differentiator between the Plus and Pro in the photo appears on the back of the phone.

The iPhone 7 Pro sports a dual-lens camera (something that was also previously rumoured) as well as three dots along the bottom of the phone. That may be a smart connector, a feature already available on the iPad Pro used to connect it to keyboard accessories. Of course, as Mashable points out, the so-called iPhone 7 Pro and iPhone 7 Plus in the photo may just be two different prototypes that Apple played with for the larger phone, and come September, only one may be available.

Update July 6, 2016: An image shared by tech site BGR reportedly shows us once and for all what the new iPhone 7 could actually look like. If this photo is legitimate, it confirms earlier reports of a larger camera, missing headphone jack, and a change in antenna line design (no more white lines striping the bottom and top portions of the phone). The photo originated from Chinese website Baidu. Considering iPhone production should be ramping up soon for its fall launch, there is a possibility this could be an accurate look at what to expect.

A leaked presentation slide from Foxconn, Apple's key manufacturing partner, also appears to suggest that the phone will finally support wireless charging, as well as water and dust resistant components.

And then a recent report from the Wall Street Journal suggests that storage for the new iPhone will begin at 32 GB, as opposed to the current 16 GB starting option offered until now. This is great news: It means much more room for your photos and apps and, thankfully, fewer low-on-storage notifications.

Update June 10, 2016: Is Apple debuting a new hue with the iPhone 7? Rumours from the Japanese Mac blog, Macotakara, suggest that "Space Grey" is no more, and instead will be replaced by a dark blue option. However, we're skeptical. Since Apple has Space Grey in both its iPad and Macbook lines, if anything, it seems more likely that a dark blue option would be an addition, rather than a replacement, unless the colour change is very subtle  more of a blue-grey sheen.

Update May 27, 2016: Two, maybe duelling rumours about the size and looks of the next iPhone have cropped up. According to purported iPhone 7 cases encountered by Pocket-Lint, the next iPhone will be exactly the same size as the current 6 and 6s. But according to one of Apple's suppliers, Catcher Technology, the next iPhone won't have that brushed aluminium exterior we've grown used to. Instead, one iPhone model will be wrapped entirely in glass, a la the Samsung Galaxy S7, in a move to make it more "distinctive," Catcher Technology's CEO said. If both of these rumours were true (big "if"), it could be that the iPhone 7 remains similar in design to the iPhone 6s, while the 7 Plus gets a glass facade circled by a metal frame. Sure does sound like the old iPhone 4 design, so we're curious to see how this plays out.

Update May 23, 2016: Well, this is new. French site NoWhereElse, which has published prior iPhone 7 rumours, released new images revealing an extra pair of speakers on the iPhone 7. The photos also show a larger camera hole, which fits with earlier speculation about a high-quality dual-lens camera. As CNET points out, the extra pair of speakers would make the new iPhone more like Apple's iPads, which also have pairs of speakers along their top and bottom edges. More powerful beats? We're in.

Update May 11, 2016: The latest rumoured images of the iPhone 7 agree with much of what has been speculated so far. The blueprints, leaked by @OnLeaks to uSwitch, come from Catcher Technology, where other rumoured images have come from, as well. They show two models, a larger iPhone 7 Plus (or iPhone 7 Pro, perhaps) to replace the iPhone 6s Plus and a smaller iPhone 7 to replace the iPhone 6s. Both models lack a headphone jack, which means that wireless headphones will be a must. Only the 7 Plus shows the high-quality dual-lens camera, but uSwitch notes that both designs no longer feature a metal ring around the protruding cameras.

Now, the newest rumoured feature of the new iPhone is a Smart Connector on the back of the iPhone 7 Plus, which would be compatible with iPad Pro accessories, such as the Smart Keyboard. The keyboard is handy, because it doesn't require switches, plugs, or, most exciting of all, pairing  it just snaps into the iPad and the rest takes care of itself. It would definitely be interesting to see an iPhone take on this feature...

Update March 14, 2016: We may have a first glimpse of the (supposed) iPhone 7, thanks to French site NoWhereElse, which has shared accurate leaks in the past. It looks largely similar to the iPhone 6/6s, except for those white antenna bands that stripe the back. In the photo, reportedly sourced from Apple's metal chassis manufacturer Catcher Technology, those white antenna lines are less visible, only ringing the edge of the phone's rear casing. This photo also shows a larger camera cut-out. This would support rumours that the camera may not protrude as much as the current iPhone, but not that Apple's going with the fancy dual-lens system previously reported. If you held off buying a new iPhone 6s last year, you may have made a smart call. Reports about Apple's next iPhone are starting to roll in  and it sounds like it could be a big upgrade.

A report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, an often-accurate Apple analyst, says that two models of the iPhone 7 Plus are in development right now. The higher-end model will include an amazing new dual-lens camera system incorporating technology Apple gained when it acquired Lynx Imaging last year. The camera itself would be smaller (so no more protruding lens on the back) and would have better light sensitivity. In particular, it would offer better low-light performance.

This is great news, because other phone manufacturers, such as Samsung, have really been improving their camera game.

Other reports suggest that all models of the iPhone 7 will be thinner than the current 6s. It will also ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom  to listen to your tunes, you'll have to stream over Bluetooth or use an adapter to play audio through the Lightning port. It could also come with stereo speakers, making it a better option for on-the-go video watching. It will also likely include a bigger battery. There is no phone in existence that can boast having too much battery life.

Renders Courtesy Yasser Farahi (top) and Marek Weidlich (bottom).

Artist renderings of the new iPhone, such as these two on the right, suggest that it could also have a larger, edge-to-edge display, but we'll have to wait and see if that actually plays out.

If you've been counting, these rumours only account for three phones: The iPhone 7 and two versions of the iPhone 7 Plus. Apple is also reportedly working on a smaller 4-inch iPhone SE  basically a "special edition" of the iPhone 5s that shares its screen size and looks, but features upgraded innards that are more on par with the iPhone 6s, including an A9 processor.

While the brand-new iPhone 7 models won't launch until the fall (when Apple usually debuts new iPhones), we may get to see the smaller iPhone SE later this month at an Apple event on March 21.

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Italy banned short selling of the world's oldest bank. Consob, Italy's Securities and Exchange Commission, says it has implemented a short-selling ban on shares of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world's oldest bank. The ban, which will be in effect until at least October 5, comes after shares have tumbled 99% since the 2008 financial crisis. Consob has also implemented a short-selling ban on shares of Credito Valtellinese, a small co-op lender, and Telecom Italia.

Australia's outlook was lowered at S&P. The rating agency placed its "AAA" rating for Australia on "credit watch negative," meaning the country is at a heightened risk of losing its pristine rating. "The negative outlook on Australia reflects our view that without the implementation of more forceful fiscal policy decisions, material government budget deficits may persist for several years with little improvement," S&P said in its statement announcing the decision. "Ongoing budget deficits may become incompatible with Australias high level of external indebtedness and therefore inconsistent with a 'AAA' rating." The Australian dollar is down 0.1% at .7515.

China's foreign-exchange reserves saw an unexpected jump. In June, China's foreign-exchange reserves saw an unexpected $20 billion increase to $3.21 trillion. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting that number to fall to $3.17 trillion. "The surprise increase in the value of China's foreign-exchange reserves last month could be the result of the People's Bank marking to market the value of some reserve assets at the end of June, in the midst of the post-Brexit vote financial volatility," Capital Economics said in a Thursday note to clients.

JPMorgan might have to move workers out of the UK. "The key issue is the 'passport rule' that we have in London and allows us to provide services to clients in the European Union," CEO Jamie Dimon told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. If the UK loses those rights, JPMorgan will be forced to relocate thousands of workers. According to Reuters, JPMorgan employees 16,000 employees in Britain who helped produce $14.2 billion in revenue last year from the bank's operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

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McDonald's has narrowed the list for its China franchise. McDonald's has trimmed the list of perspective buyers for its 20-year mass franchise rights in China and Hong Kong, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The rights are expected to go for about $2 billion, with China Cinda Asset Management Co. and Beijing Sanyuan Foods among the bidders moving on to the next round. Unlike in the US, most McDonald's restaurants in the region are company owned, but McDonald's is hoping to change that. Bloomberg says McDonald's would like to have 95% of its restaurants in North Asia locally owned.

Federal authorities are looking into the possibility of a 2nd Tesla Autopilot crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association is looking into a crash involving a Tesla vehicle to determine whether the Autopilot feature was in use at the time. The nonfatal accident occurred in Pennsylvania on July 1 and involved a Tesla Model X. "Tesla received a message from the car on July 1 indicating a crash event, but logs were never transmitted," a Tesla representative said. "We have no data at this point to indicate that Autopilot was engaged or not engaged. This is consistent with the nature of the damage reported in the press, which can cause the antenna to fail."

Amazon is planning a retail store in New York. Amazon is looking to open a retail store in New York City's Hudson Yards in 2018 or 2019, two sources told the New York Post. "I don't know if the final lease was signed yet, but I know the deal is happening," one of the sources said. If Amazon's retail store in Seattle is any indication, the Hudson Yards location will sell both books and Amazon products.

Global stock markets trade mixed. France's CAC (+1.6%) leads the gains in Europe after Japan's Nikkei (-0.7%) trailed in Asia. S&P 500 futures are down 0.50 points at 2,093.50.

Earnings reports trickle out. PepsiCo will report ahead of the opening bell, and Apollo Education will release its quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data flows. ADP Employment Change and initial claims will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET and 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up 1 basis point at 1.38%.





More From Business Insider


They say hindsight is 20/20, and with that in mind, U.S. News asked four seniors what they would do to get ready for retirement if they could do it all over again. They provided insight on what they would do differently as well as where they got it right. Based on those conversations, here are 10 financial tips from seniors to the younger generation.

Get an education in finance and business principles. While you don't need a degree in finance, learning about the basics of business could mean you make better investments. That's one thing Robert T. King, 65, wishes he had done differently. The Seattle resident had an opportunity to buy real estate in the 1970s, but didn't take full advantage of it. "While I do own real estate, I likely would have purchased more if I had been a little more confident," he says. Having a business or finance education may be one way to build the confidence needed to make smart investment decisions.

[See: 10 Ways to Get Ready for Retirement After Age 50.]

Pay off your mortgage early. Bernie Petersen, 67, of Marne, Michigan, didn't intend to retire at age 57 or begin his Social Security benefits early. However, he found himself doing both when he was laid off at the start of the last recession and unable to find a full-time position in the years that followed. "[People] always say, 'I'm going to work until I'm 70.' But will you be able to?" he asks. "That option wasn't available to me." While an early retirement meant money was tight, it didn't require any dramatic lifestyle changes. Petersen credits that to being debt-free and having his mortgage paid off at the time he lost his job.

Rethink maintaining a credit card balance and car loan. Petersen encourages younger adults to reconsider carrying a credit card balance or assuming a car loan as a fact of life. Although he uses a credit card himself -- and pays off the balance each month -- he calls them "legal loan sharks" and cautions against racking up unsecured debt.

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As for cars, Petersen recommends young adults continue making car payments to themselves after a loan is paid off. "Once you get out of a payment, it's not free money," he says. Instead, it should be set aside in savings because the car you're driving won't last forever.

Follow your heart, even if it gives you a smaller paycheck. For 14 years, Lorraine Shelstad, 74, worked as a missionary in Thailand. "At that time, I didn't make much money, just a basic living allowance," she says. While she could have made more money elsewhere, she doesn't feel like those years negatively affected her retirement. Despite her relatively small paychecks, she was able to put money aside for the future and that, along with a condo sale, has allowed her to live as she likes. Now based in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Shelstad says putting money aside regardless of your income is key. "I was surprised that I had made much money on small investments," Shelstad says. "I have even been able to travel after retirement."

Build wealth, but don't fixate on the bottom line. Howard Stevenson, a 75-year old Boston resident and author of "Wealth and Families: Lessons from My Life Journey," says the greatest value in earning and saving money is the options it gives you. "The best things in life aren't things," he says. "But having wealth gives you choices." Money in the bank means you are free to travel, retire early or pursue other interests at will.

However, Stevenson is quick to point out younger people shouldn't make the mistake of tying their self-worth to the balance in their bank account. "Anyone who equates money with success is probably going to be unhappy because someone else is always richer," he says.

[Read: Retirement Planning Decisions You Might Later Regret.]

Follow your instincts. There are times in which your gut may tell you to do something, and King says you should listen. "There were a few times I had instincts that would have been highly lucrative if I had followed them," he says. He doesn't want younger people to make the same mistake. "If someone follows their ideas and intuitions that might beget opportunities." Of course, people need to balance those instincts with the amount of risk they can afford to take. When in doubt, conferring with a financial professional can be a smart way to ensure an investment is wise.

Buy good quality items that will last. In today's world of fast fashion and disposable goods, cheap products are plentiful. However, Shelstad says spending more to buy good quality items can save money in the long run. "I'm still wearing some 1980s clothes," she says. Buying timeless styles and designs can help ensure your purchases will serve you well for years or even decades.

Don't confuse an expenditure with an investment. Buying high-quality items that last is smart shopping, but don't confuse it with making an investment. "There are a lot of places where people get confused about investing," Stevenson says. Items such as cars and clothes depreciate over time regardless of their quality. Even goods like fine art, which is sometimes sold as an investment, can drop in value as tastes change. Stevenson notes people should be aware that anything that loses value is an expenditure and shouldn't be counted on for retirement income.

Start saving early. The seniors we spoke to were unanimous: The best financial advice for young people is to start saving early. That's not only so savers can take advantage of the power of compound interest, but also to guard against unforeseen life changes. "A lot of people assume if one year is good, the next one will be better," Stevenson says. However, that's not always the case. Plus, today's seniors say you will need to have plenty in the bank to supplement Social Security. "[It] isn't going up anywhere near as much as expenses," Petersen says about monthly retirement benefits.

[See: 10 Retirement Planning Moves to Make in Your 20s.]

Do what you can to stay healthy. All your hard work preparing for retirement will be for naught if you don't take care of yourself. "If you haven't taken care of your health, you can't work in a physical capacity and your mental capacities are not as sharp," King says. That could translate into an early retirement or mistakes made in money management. Shelstad says staying healthy doesn't have to be complex. She recommends this: "Eat well and don't scrimp on healthy food."





More From US News & World Report


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On Wednesday, Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a damning lawsuit against Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, accusing the legendary media mogul of sexism and sexual harassment.

The lawsuit sent shocks through the media world, as pundits and viewers learned the lurid details of the case. In the lawsuit, Carson contends that Ailes called her a "man-hater" after she complained of sexism on her popular morning show Fox and Friends. Last September, Ailes allegedly told Carson that "she should have had a sexual relationship [with him] a long time ago and then you'd be good and better."

But hey  maybe it was all just a misunderstanding?

SEE ALSO: Anchor sues Fox News CEO for sexual harassment

It's entirely possible that Ailes was just joking about the whole "sex with him" thing and Gretchen Carson, steeped in a suffocating culture of political correctness, was just a little too sensitive. Ailes has already denied the allegations, which he called "false" and "offensive." What she saw as a culture of "severe and pervasive sexual harassment" might have just been a good old-fashioned American joke.

Here's the case for Ailes and a decade of giant misunderstandings.

1. THE CLAIM:

Last September, Roger Ailes allegedly told Carson that, "I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you'd be good and better and I'd be good and better."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

Ailes' statement looks like a textbook example of sexual harassment in the workplace, but his statement is grounded in real science! Having a healthy active sex life has been proven to lower stress, lessen people's risk for depression, and improve memory function. All Ailes was doing was repeating a scientific fact: that Carson's physical health could be "good and better" if she had sex with him.

In order for the health benefits to accrue, she'd also actually want to have sex with her boss, but you know, semantics.

Story continues

2. THE CLAIM:

Carson further alleges that Ailes asked her to, "turn around so he could view her posterior, commented repeatedly about her legs and instructed her to wear certain outfits that he claimed enhanced her figure."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

When we get food on our teeth, we hope that our friends will tell us. Well, if you're a woman in the workplace, wouldn't you want your ailing 76-year-old boss telling you what skirts your ass looks best in, so that you can further advance in your professional ass career?

Image: LOU ROCCO/ABC via Getty Images

3. THE CLAIM:

According to the lawsuit, Ailes reportedly, "stays seated when a woman walks over to him so she has to bend over to say hello."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

What is Ailes' supposed to do, stand? What kind of ass view is that? #Ablism.

4. THE CLAIM:

In 2009, Carson reportedly complained to Ailes that her co-host on Fox and Friends, Steve Doocey, created a hostile work environment by "regularly treating her in a sexist and condescending way" and "putting his hand on her and pulling down her arm to shush her during a live telecast."

Ailes allegedly responded by calling her a "man hater" and a "killer."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

It is entirely possible that Gretchen Carlson is, in fact, a killer of men, but records of her criminal activity have been mysteriously wiped from the Internet (Feminist conspiracy, anyone?)

Also, as anyone who's been on live TV knows, the most sophisticated, egalitarian way to get a female professional to listen is to shush them like they're a tiny child with boobs.

5. THE CLAIM:

After complaining of sexual harassment, Carlson was supposedly demoted to a midday slot to produce The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, where Ailes "reduced her compensation and withheld network support and promotion for her show."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

There's more than one way to show love, and just because Ailes didn't showcase the show doesn't mean he didn't care about it! It's unfair to assume that because Ailes is chairman of one the most powerful media empires in the universe means he knows how to promote it.

He reportedly chose to show his love the best way he knew how: by encouraging her to bone him.

6. THE CLAIM:

Carlson alleges that Ailes repeatedly "commented about her legs" and on outfits that enhanced her figure, urging her to "wear them every day."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

What, just because he's a married man who has total power over he salary/career/life, he can't make chronic unwarranted sexual advances?

This sounds like #ReverseDiscrimination.

7. THE CLAIM:

Carlson claimed that Ailes "had slept with three former Miss Americas, but not with her."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

Since when does a *statement of fact become a statement of harassment?

*May not be a statement of fact.

Image: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

8. THE CLAIM:

After Carson complained to Ailes that he was being harassed on Fox and Friends, Ailes responded by claiming that she need to learn how to "get along with the boys."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

Ailes is correct. 59-year-old television host Steve Doocy, who made multiple "inappropriate comments," and 76-year-old executive Roger Ailes, who reportedly encouraged her to sleep with him, are, in fact, boys  not men.

9. THE CLAIM:

Though not explicitly stated in the lawsuit,in 2013, Gretchen went onto Fox News reporter Brian Kilmeade's radio show wearing and pants, and casually revealed that Fox and Friends prohibited her from wearing pants on Live TV.

"I have on pants! Okay?! Now, pants were not allowed on Fox & Friends, remember?"

THE MISUNDERSTANDING:

It's possible that Ailes didn't want Carson to wear pants because he didn't want her to be wearing anything. Total misunderstanding!

Image: slaven vlasic/Getty Images

10. THE CLAIM:

Responding to Carlson's lawsuit, Ailes said in a statement: "This is a retaliatory suit for the networks decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup."

THE MISUNDERSTANDING

See what he said? He wasn't being sexist at all! Carlson was simply fired for having low ratings (as a product for being demoted to an under-promoted midday slot after refusing to respond to Ailes' reported sexual advances  but let's not get lost in the details here).

Historically, some men who've been accused of sexual misconduct have defended their behavior by labelling the interaction as a "simple misunderstandings." So why couldn't this have happened here? Nearly ten years of simple misunderstandings, on television, behind the camera, on the air, in the office, witnessed by many, reported by few, kept silenced and sealed until one day, it wasn't.








From Cosmopolitan

1. "I had previously been very lucky in that even though I'd had roommates in college and right after, they were always on wildly different schedules for whatever reason. Moving in with my girlfriend happened to be the first time where I had to share a bathroom with someone that needed to leave for work at the same time as me. So that was  really chaotic. I was so used to waking up, taking a few minutes for myself, and jumping in the shower whenever I felt like it. But now we're on a pretty specific schedule with no margin for error. It was a jarring few weeks adjusting though. A real literal wakeup call." -Jordan, 28

2. "My girlfriend cried once because I didn't think I should have to make the bed every day. I had never made my bed before. I didn't even know people did that in real life." -Alex, 29

3. "I think the biggest difference is that suddenly you're seeing this person all the time. It's really easy to think, 'Oh, well, we watch TV at night, we eat dinner together, we don't need to go on dates anymore because dates were just a way to see each other in the first place.' It becomes easy to slip into that mindset. I think it's important to remember to still do something romantic at least once a week. To go out and have date nights. But it was odd to realize the whole idea of a 'date night' shifts once you move in together." -Seth, 28

4. "I was very surprised to learn that none of the furniture I owned was good enough once we moved in together. My couch, my bed, anything I had framed and up on the walls that was never a problem in my apartment suddenly needed to get chucked or go into storage. I was also surprised to learn that 'but I've had this since college' wasn't a good reason to keep it." -Mike, 26

5. "They poop." -Rob, 25

6. "I was honestly surprised at how easy it was. I know it's supposed to be all 'guys and girls are different, blah, blah, blah,' but we're both really laid-back and low maintenance. We haven't had any problems or stereotypical 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus' moments." -Eric, 26

Story continues

7. "Learning your bed isn't as big as you thought it was. So much space gets taken up." -Anthony, 24

8. "They don't like it when you play video games for five hours." -Shane, 27

9. "I moved in with a (now ex) girlfriend and her parents for a little while. I was surprised at how immediately awkward it was. Actually I wasn't surprised at all." -Jon, 28

10. "You're used to them just showing up all ready and now you see the elaborate, hourslong behind-the-scenes process. You get to peek behind that curtain. They're still late for everything, but at least now you know specifically why. At least when you move in together, you're still at home, so you can play Madden or something while you wait for them." -Kyle, 25

11. "I don't know how surprising this really is, but just how much stuff they have. I assumed our bathroom had more than enough drawers for all her shit, and yet somehow most of the sink also has stuff everywhere and all her drawers are full." -Justin, 26

12. "I found out that women think eating a bag of chips can count as dinner." -Matt, 30

13. "I used to think my girlfriend was the clean one, but it turned out she'd just make sure things were spotless before she had anyone over. I learned very quickly that I was the 'clean' one  and that was only relative. My girlfriend would just leave things wherever, and I wound up being the one cleaning up after her. It was funny, because it was always the opposite whenever I had a roommate. I was always the messy one, so you can imagine how bad she has to be." -Brian, 24

14. "I think what surprised me most was how aware of your own schedule you have to be. Like, I'd go to the gym whenever or watch some TV or go for a run whenever. I'd stay late at work or crash at a friend's place if I was too drunk. And my girlfriend did the same thing. If we didn't have plans to hang out, we could do whatever. But once we moved in together, there was a lot more accountability. It wasn't like I had to stop doing anything, but I had to remember that it's better to go to the gym in the morning because my girlfriend would want to hang out at night. Just little things like that." -Jeff, 25

15. "I'm really confused by the amount of products women buy for the shower that all essentially do the same thing. I have soap and shampoo. Two bottles." -Cody, 29

16. "Decorative pillows. They're a lot of work for no reason." -Tim, 26

Follow Frank on Twitter.
Riyadh (AFP) - Nineteen people, including 12 Pakistani nationals, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia following suicide attacks on Monday, including one near Islam's second-holiest site in the city of Medina, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Seven people are believed to have been killed and two wounded in three separate attacks -- in Medina, at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, and in western Jeddah, the economic capital, not far from the US consulate.

A 26-year-old Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, who had a "history of drug use" had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency.

The Qatif attack, it added, was carried out by three "terrorists," including one man named as Abderrahman Saleh Mohammed al-Amr, 23, who it said was known to the security services for taking part in protests.

The Jeddah attacker was a Pakistani man identified as Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a driver who had been living in the city for 12 years, the ministry said earlier.

Four people were killed in the Medina explosion near the Prophet's Mosque, which came as Muslims prepared for this week's Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The body parts of three people were found after another suicide bombing in the Shiite-populated Gulf city of Qatif, the ministry said earlier.

Two police officers were wounded the Jeddah attack.

The US embassy in Riyadh reported no casualties among consulate staff during the attack, which coincided with the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, said while visiting the wounded policemen in Jeddah that the attacks would "only increase our solidarity and make us stronger."

No group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks so far.

However, a series of bombings and shootings claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in Saudi Arabia since late 2014 has targeted minority Shiites as well as the security forces, killing dozens.

Story continues

Most attacks have taken place in Eastern Province, home to the majority of the country's Shiites.

IS group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called for attacks against Saudi Arabia, which is taking part in the US-led coalition bombing the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

The group also considers Shiites to be heretics.
Prom night marks an important transition for every young woman into adulthood, but this prom night might be the last for this Ohio 2-year-old with terminal cancer.

Read: Teen Takes His Terminally Ill Mom To His High School Prom

Life dealt a an imperfect hand to little Shiann Lockhart of London. She was hospitalized for most of her young life for a variety of health complications, including PTLD lymphoma, a rare cancer that only occurs with transplant patients.

Finally, her parents decided it was more important for her to experience the joys in life, even if her days are limited.

Her mom Cora Lockhart told InsideEdition.com that when they took her home that Mother's Day, the family didn't expect her to make it through the day.

"When she came home she was miserable," Lockhart said, "and now she's smiling and laughing all the time."

Her health rapidly improved as she was taken away from the hospital and surrounded by friends and family, so they started coming up with a bucket list of 73 milestones one might expect to experience in a lifetime  even if that lifetime is shortened for little Shiann.

On the list were ideas as simple as going to a movie theater, or as exceptional as traveling the world, but the highlight of them all was prom.

Read: Teen With Severely Scarred Skin From Burns Named Prom Queen: 'I Feel Good About Myself'

On the last Sunday of June, nearly 40 friends and family joined Shiann for a night of fancy dress and dancing.

Shiann stunned the crowd in a beautiful turquoise dress, and even sported a matching corsage, a gift from her father who went as her date.

In addition, members of the community that rapidly grew on Facebook all chipped in to make the night special. Everyone who attended was involved in decorating the venue, a multi-purpose room at their local church.

A DJ donated his time to entertain the party, while a make-up artist volunteered to make sure everyone looked picture perfect. A supporter even paid to have a limo transport Shiann and her family to the venue, and all the catering was donated.

Story continues

Like any young woman on her prom night, Shiann received the royal treatment. A group of actors donated their time by dressing up as Disney princesses and crowning the 2-year-old prom queen with a crochet crown and a satin sash.

"Everytime we do something, she gets really excited," Lockhart told InsideEdition.com. "She has fun doing it, but she doesn't realize what it's for."

With their upcoming plans for a family vacation to Myrtle Beach for her 3rd birthday in late September, it's easy to forget that she was born with multiple birth defects and underwent her first heart transplant when she was only 5 weeks old.

"We forget about it," Lockhart said. "We're so busy having fun that it almost feels not real."

Since bringing her home, the Lockharts have been using every moment of her good health to help her experience all the fun activites on the bucket list.

Read: 7-Year-Old Girl Born Without Arms Does Everything With Her Own 2 Feet

For her first trip to the movies, the theater donated a private screening of 'Finding Dory' to her and her friends.

To travel the world, the ever-growing list of supporters on her Facebook page have been taking pictures and putting her image next to far away landmarks.

For her first date, her grandfather showed up at her front door with a bouquet of roses to escort her to dinner.

The Lockharts even have plans for Shiann to put on her mom's wedding dress, and be walked down the aisle by her dad later this summer.

Watch: Man Weds Girlfriend in Hospital Bed After Being Given a Week to Live: 'I'm Marrying My Best Friend'

Related Articles:
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Two years after Gaza's last devastating conflict with Israel, rights groups vented frustration Thursday over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and lack of war crimes prosecutions.

A coalition of leading NGOs urged Israel to lift its blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip, while Amnesty International said it was "indefensible" that no criminal cases had been brought for alleged war crimes.

The July-August 2014 war between Israel and Gaza militants killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes in Gaza.

Reconstruction has been painfully slow, with the United Nations taking over a year to rebuild its first destroyed home.

Israel has maintained a blockade on the enclave, limiting the entry of many goods essential for construction that officials fear could fall into the hands of the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza and be used for another military build-up.

AIDA -- an umbrella body for major international NGOs working in Israel and the Palestinian territories -- said in a report ahead of Friday's anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict that Israel's decade-long blockade was "severely impeding reconstruction and recovery" in Gaza.

"Unless it is lifted, Palestinians living in Gaza will be unable to move on with their lives and live in freedom, dignity and safety," said Chris Eijkemans, country director at British charity Oxfam, a member of AIDA.

The AIDA statement called on "world leaders to live up to their commitments and press for an immediate end to the blockade."

In a separate report, Amnesty International said only three Israeli soldiers have been charged over the war, all for minor offences.

"The fact that no one has been held to account for war crimes that were evidently committed by both sides in the conflict is absolutely indefensible," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa head.

Story continues

"Two years have passed and it's high time the wheels of justice started turning."

- Fear and misery in Gaza-

In Gaza, although new roads have been constructed, many areas remain desolated and the economy has ground to a standstill.

More than 120,000 homes were at least partly damaged, while around 20,000 were left totally uninhabitable in the war, according to the United Nations.

The Mediterranean enclave's unemployment rate of 45 percent is one of the highest in the world, while child labour has doubled over the past five years, according to Palestinian estimates.

Sohad al-Masry, a 40-year-old housewife, lost her home in the war, in which her cousin was killed.

"I don't like to remember but I am sad," she told AFP. "They have not rebuilt the destroyed houses, the siege and closure (continue), and there is unemployment."

Fears of another conflict with Israel, which would be the fourth since 2008, have grown in recent months after Israeli forces uncovered two Hamas "attack" tunnels allegedly reaching across the border.

After a brief flare-up in May, leaders on both sides have talked of being ready for another conflict.

"I am very worried a fourth war is coming. The occupation is threatening war on Hamas's tunnels," said Mohammed Abu Daqa, 26, who works in a government school.

He called on Hamas to reconcile with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, to whip up global support for lifting the siege of Gaza.

"But unfortunately Hamas and Fatah are not ready for a reconciliation," he said.
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2016 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Deutsche Bank AG ("Deutsche Bank" or the "Company") (NYSE: DB). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between April 15, 2013 and April 29, 2016, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm prior to the July 11, 2016, lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased shares of Deutsche Bank during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by email at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

According to the complaint, the Company failed to disclose that (1) Deutsche Bank has serious and systemic failings in its controls against financing terrorism, money laundering, aiding against international sanctions, and committing financial crimes; and (2) Deutsche Bank's internal control over financial reporting and its disclosure controls and procedures were not effective.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by email at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

Contact:

KHANG & KHANG LLP

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
If youve watched either of the first two series of Fargo that have aired so far, youll know that a third series is going to be have to be pretty damn mind-blowing to beat them. Creator Noah Hawley took the Coens Brothers original film and really threw most of it out of the window of a speeding car when he came to make his series based in the same world that the Coens established.



Now, Hawley is returning after the critically successful second series for a third delve into murder and random mayhem in the snowy setting of Minnesota. Could the next series of Fargo be the best yet? Oh yah! Heres why:

Two Ewan McGregors for the price of one

Yes thats right, Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting legend and the second best Obi Wan that ever lived, has been cast in a dual role. Like Tom Hardys recent stab at playing both Kray twins in Legend, McGregor will be playing both of the brothers called Emmit and Ray Stussy. When not attempting to act opposite the abomination that was Jar Jar Binks, McGregor can be a fine actor (see tsunami drama The Impossible for proof) and the synopsis for Fargo series 3 suggests hell be playing two very different siblings. Emmit is a handsome family man and American success story, while brother Ray is a balding, pot-bellied parole officer with a huge chip on his shoulder about the hand hes been dealt. Sparks will fly!

Its the most contemporary setting yet

Series 1 was set in 2006, while series 2 flashed back all the way to 1979. Now series 3 is going to be the closest thing to a contemporary setting that we possibly ever get. Hawley has confirmed that this series will take place in 2010 and has alluded to the fact that we are now in a very selfie-centric culture. The people of Minnesota always come across as a little, how shall we say, detached from the modern world, so it will be interesting to see how Hawley updates things in the new series.

Someone is returning from season 1

Series 2 had younger versions of a couple of series 1 characters, but they were obviously played by different actors. With a 2010 setting this time round, just four years after the events of series 1, there is scope for some of the stars of the first series to return. FX chief John Landgraf has confirmed that As far as I know, there is one [character returning]. Hopefully it will be Allison Tolman as Molly Solverson, because lets face it, its not going to be Billy Bob Thornton or Martin Freeman. Then again, it could also be Keith Carradine as Mollys father Lou, who was last seen looking a lot younger in series 2 played by Patrick Wilson.

Story continues

Creator Noah Hawley is taking his time

You clearly cant rush something as complex and clever as a series of Fargo, so its very pleasing to see that Hawley is taking his time on the third series. FX are supporting him in the process of writing and producing the show and it looks like we wont get the third series until 2017. Hawley seems unfazed, even if the rest of us want him to get a move on: We can take our time and get them right and put them on the air, whether thats 12 months or 15 months or 18 months after the last one. I think that really makes it an event. I think the minute youre hitting the same airdate every year youre just making a television show. True that. If only Game of Thrones could hold off on the final couple of series until the final books have been written!

Its all about sibling rivalry

Two strangers, one a complete psychopath, met in a hospital in series 1. A husband and wife tried to hide a dead body in series 2. Now, the focus is on the two brothers played by Ewan McGregor in series 3. Hawley states that it starts with Ewan and Ewan as brothers. Its not as big character-wise a story as the second year, but Im really excited about it There is an old wound between them that sort of gets reopened and re-litigated, and that rivalry becomes contentious and that sort of puts all the events in motion. I wonder if theyll end up having a scrap as brilliant as Tom Hardy did with Tom Hardy in Legend. Bring on another 10 hours of Fargo in 2017!

Picture credit: Radio Times


By John Geddie

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Italy led a move higher in southern European bond yields on Thursday as the rising popularity of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and concerns about a banking sector saddled with bad debts rattled investors.

Polls showed this week that the 5-Star Movement (M5S) -- which has called for a referendum on euro zone membership and triumphed in local elections last month -- is now Italy's most popular party, ahead of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democrats.

While Italy's next national election is not until 2018, the polls make grim reading for Renzi who is struggling to deal with growing friction inside his coalition and faces a do-or-die referendum in October on constitutional reform, having promised to resign if he loses. M5S and all other opposition parties are campaigning against the reform.

Layered on top of this political uncertainty is mounting concern that Italy, locked in discussion with the EU over how to head off a looming crisis in its banking sector, is going to have to stump up public cash to deal with the problem.

"It all circles around Renzi being able to win this referendum, with these legacy problems in the banks also coming back to haunt Italy," Commerzbank strategist David Schnautz said.

Italian 10-year bond yields rose 3 basis points to 1.20 percent, pulling away from the German benchmark which was flat at minus 0.17 percent.

The underperformance in Italian bonds also weighed on other southern European bonds in Spain and Portugal where bond yields also rose 3 bps to 1.21 percent and 3.09 percent , respectively.

Analysts said speculation that Madrid and Lisbon could be in line for EU fines for missing budget deficit targets over recent years was also weighing on investor sentiment.

The European Commission is expected to decide on Thursday over what steps to take over Spain and Portugal's excessive budget spending.

DZ Bank said the European Commission could recommend that euro zone finance ministers -- which meet on July 12 -- impose sanctions on the countries or freeze EU subsidies.

At the auctions, France and Spain are due to sell bonds on Thursday, a big test of demand after Britain's vote last month to leave the EU which has shaken confidence in Europe's economy.

For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets (Editing by Keith Weir)
From Esquire

Fifty years ago, George Takei made his first appearance as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series. Though he first appeared as the staff physicist in the pilot episode, Sulu was one of the main characters throughout the rest of the series, acting as helmsman of the USS Enterprise.

Along with the series as a whole, Takei has become a beloved cultural icon, known as one of the first Asian actors to play a protagonist in a major United States television program. Star Trek is also known for having the first interracial kiss on U.S. TV in 1968.

In 2005, Takei came out as gay after Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in California. Though he had been with his partner for 18 years, he'd kept his sexuality a secret from the wider public.

[contentlinks align="center" textonly="false" numbered="true" headline="" customtitles="For George Takei, It Was Always a Process" customimages="" content="article.45825"]

"I learned that I had to be guarded with the press, to watch my pronouns. It's very difficult, and that difficult life becomes the way you live, who you are," Takei told Esquire last month as part of a celebration the first year of legalized marriage across the country.

John Cho, who plays Sulu in the J.J. Abrams film reboot of the series, told Australia's Herald Sun that the character will be revealed as gay in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond.

"I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one's personal orientations," said Cho.

According to the Herald Sun, "the decision by writer Simon Pegg and Lin to make Sulu gay was a nod to George Takei... and was a sign of what he hoped were changing times."

Throughout the series, Sulu was never shown with a romantic partner, but the 1994 movie Star Trek Generations did reveal that he had a daughter named Demora. In Star Trek Beyond, Sulu will be shown as a father with his same-sex partner.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it has given the green light for eight U.S. airlines to fly to Havana from 10 different U.S. cities. The decision gives the airlines at least one weekly nonstop flight to Cubas capital, and overall, the DOT has approved 14 different daily routes to Havana in addition to one Saturday-only route.

Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obamas promise to reengage Cuba, said Anthony Foxx, DOT secretary, in a statement revealing the routes. Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes.

The move is one of many in a chain of events that began with President Obama and President Castro announcing a new course in relations between the U.S. and Cuba on December 17th, 2014. Travel to Cuba has increased this year due in part to the efforts of the Obama administration. As Reuters points out, travel by Americans to Cuba has increased by 77 percent within the last year.

The DOT had already approved flights to other Cuban cities back in June, through which six airlines can fly from five U.S. destinations to nine Cuban cities other than Havana. Tentatively, the eight airline companies that will receive the flights are Alaska ALK, American AAL, Delta DAL, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest LUV, Spirit SAVE and United UAL.

Each of the aforementioned companies stock is up today on the news. Although relations with Cuba are still metaphorically under construction, the progress appears promising, and could result in more flights down the road.

As it stands, only 20 daily round-trip flights are allowed between the U.S.A. and Havana. However, demand from airliners is apparent, with three times that volume requested from the government.

The DOT believes it will have its final list ready later this summer.

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Automotive rivalries arent just waged on pavement and drag strips (not to mention showroom floors), theyre also fought where the road ends and when the going gets tough: off-road. And in the 1980s, that battle was markedly apparent.

44 icons like the original Jeep Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner, Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Pathfinder, and Isuzu Trooper all battled it out for off-road supremacy and to fill the burgeoning SUV market. One of the more fringe 4x4s however was this lovable little trucklet, the Suzuki Samurai.

This particular 1987 Zuki (or Sami, if you prefer) looks to be a remarkably well cared for example, showing just 59,900 miles to its name. It recently surfaced up for sale on eBay, and if youre contemplating the purchase of a classic Jeep, this could be the 44 that changes your mind.

RELATED: Check Out the Do-Anything Suzuki X-Head 44 Concept

Introduced into the US market in 1985, the Suzuki Samurai was wonderfully simple in every way possible. It had a rugged four-wheel drive system, low-tech leaf springs at each corner, an interior that made no bones about its lack of frills, and an engine that could tolerate unthinkable abuse. In fact, many did.

These unashamedly bare bones 4x4s often outclassed many of their more mainstream rivals off-road, thanks to their light curb weight and short wheelbase. Hit the trails in the late 80s and early 90s and you would have surely seen some of these Suzukis scampering around bogged-down Wranglers, 4Runners, Broncos, Blazers, and the like. Everyone loves an underdog! It is worth mentioning they werent so spry at highway speeds theres only so much the 1.3-liter, 63 horsepower four-cylinder engine can give.

This Samurai however would appear to have led a quieterand albeit, more mud-freelife though. Inside, outside, and underneath it presents in remarkable condition for its age and off-road pedigree.

RELATED: Meet the Rare VW Golf 44 You Didnt Know Existed

Noted to be a JX SE model, the JX package is said to have added a few interior refinements according to Barnfinds, such as a dashboard clock and tachometer, while the SE package specd up grey wheels, a two-tone paint job, matching interior trimmings, plus two rear seats instead of the typical bench.

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According to the listing, the little ute has been driven only 1,500 miles or so since 2009, when the current owner acquired it, which is reflected by its rather pristine appearance.

Need it? So far, bidding on the super clean Suzuki Samurai slices in at just over $4,500.

RELATED: This Might Be the Worlds Most Expensive Toyota Tacoma
From Cosmopolitan

For anyone trying to de-sexualize woman over a certain age, 90-year-old Dorothy Williams is coming for you. The sassy Hawaiian widow showed up on a recent episode of America's Got Talent to perform an exotic dance number, and she slayyeeeed.

"When I get on that stage, I want to prove that you're never too old to follow your dreams," she said. And boy, did she ever. Rocking up in a red burlesque outfit that included fishnet stockings, a feathered white hat, lace gloves, and tassels in all the right places, she blew everyone's minds.

I mean, just look at this guy. She just made his life:

At first the perennially-grumpy Simon Cowell was kind of like 'idk idk' [Editor's Note: even though, come on, you know he'd been briefed by the producers on exactly what to expect. But by the end of the performance, he was like 'I got you girl.'

And when it came time for the judges to share their thoughts, Simon treated her performance seriously - saying she needed to work on her tassels, which is the best compliment ever.

AGT host Nick Cannon loved her so much that he pressed his Golden Buzzer (which means Williams automatically advances to the show's semi-final rounds), and she was so happy and grateful that you'll be grinning for days.

Follow Diana on Twitter.
From Esquire

You might not know: Before Abercrombie & Fitch became the clubhouse of hypersexed coed undergrads on Vespas, it was the original heritage sporting-goods emporium. It was also the place that sold snakeproof sleeping bags to Teddy Roosevelt; expedition gear to Admiral Richard Byrd, for his trip into the depths of Antarctica; hunting coats to Hemingway; and fly rods, Magnums (as in guns), roulette wheels, and even 13-foot fiberglass pedal-propelled submarines to whomever else. It offered the equipment required by explorers-even those trapped in concrete jungles. In 1931, E. B. White wrote of Abercrombie that it "carries the clothes men want to wear all the time and don't; they carry the residual evidences of what men used to be before they became what they are."

The same could be said of the clothes that now inhabit Abercrombie & Fitch. They are the best of what's in the vaults, brought into the 21st century for persisting escapists.

"We can best serve that history by evolving it to the next level."

This is the handiwork of Abercrombie & Fitch's new head of men's wear, Aaron Levine, a man practiced in fashioning clothes younger working men actually want to wear. Before coming to Abercrombie & Fitch, the Virginia-born 39-year-old turned Club Monaco into a mecca for ascendant and decidedly unstuffy professionals. Now he's tasked with reasserting one of the world's most recognizable-and proudly historic (since 1892)-brands for a very similar set.

"Nothing is safe," Levine said one Friday morning this past spring. "We're moving the whole needle. We're questioning everything. Like four-year-olds, we're just being curious and kind of, like, picking away at it, you know?"

To start, Levine and his team rooted through the Ohio headquarters' office cabinets for back catalogs and scoured eBay for vintage pieces. They studied the consideration given to details throughout the 124-year-old company's history-the pocket shapes, the horn buttons, the beautiful stay stitches bolstering the undersides of collars-a devotion Levine says he himself witnessed as an Abercrombie & Fitch assistant manager in 1999, during its second golden era. Steeped in the tradition, Levine decided, "we can best serve that history by evolving it to the next level."

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He clarifies: This shouldn't be construed as an attempt to make Abercrombie & Fitch's clothes modern. Levine and his company prefer words like honest and fresh. By uniting the new and the old, they seek to create uncommon experiences-to explore. "What new fabric can we put into a silhouette to make it just feel like 'Oh, wow, that's refreshing,' you know?" he says, adding, "It's a very tactile industry. It's a very emotional industry."

Levine's other guiding descriptor: usable. But although a man's needs may have stayed somewhat consistent through time-clothing that accommodates seasons and weather and is appropriate for work and play-that doesn't mean, Levine says, the clothes shouldn't advance. "Things need to be purpose-driven for our customer. But we also want to have things that are going to challenge him a little bit."

The result is a portfolio that is at once rugged and stylish, traditional and new-and developing. "We're working our hardest," Levine says, chuckling. The landscape is still shifting, still growing up. But the rewards are already worth reaping.

Seeing A&F exploring its roots, we dug into our archives and discovered this ad from the March 1962 Esquire. The coat looks quite familiar.
NEWARK, DE / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2016 / Accurexa Inc. (the "Company") (ACXA), a biotechnology company focused on the development of novel neurological therapies to be directly delivered into the brain, announced today that it filed a new patent application related to its proprietary formulation used in its ACX-31 program. Accurexa is developing its ACX-31 program for the local delivery of temozolomide as adjunctive therapy to BCNU, both chemotherapeutics, in the treatment of brain tumors.

"We are proud that we as an emerging company have the intellectual capability in-house to create new technologies for our brain cancer program. This is our first patent application that we believe has the potential to further protect our brain cancer program in addition to the patent that we licensed from Prof. Brem and his co-inventors at Johns Hopkins University last year. This is our first step of adding internally created technologies to our model of in-licensing of assets and growing our company's capabilities and assets," said Dr. George Yu, Accurexa's President & CEO.

About Accurexa, Inc.

The Company is focused on developing novel neurological therapies to be directly delivered into specific regions of the brain. It is developing its ACX-31 program for the local delivery of temozolomide as adjunctive therapy to BCNU, both chemotherapeutics, to brain tumor sites. The ACX-31 program is based on an issued patent licensed from Accelerating Combination Therapies LLC which is co-owned by Prof. Henry Brem, Director of the Neurosurgery Department at Johns Hopkins University. The Company is collaborating in the development of its ACX-31 program with Prof. Henry Brem who built one of the largest brain tumor research and treatment centers in the world at Johns Hopkins University. Prof. Robert Langer, who is the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and the most cited engineer in history, has also advised the Company in the development of its ACX-31 program. The Company engaged the Yissum Research Development Company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd. ("Yissum") to develop and supply polymeric formulations of a combination of temozolomide and BCNU. Professor Avi Domb leads the development efforts provided by Yissum. Prof. Brem, Prof. Langer and Prof. Domb are pioneers in the development of local drug delivery treatments, and invented and developed Gliadel (carmustine implant) which is a FDA approved, local chemotherapy for the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme.

Oral temozolomide is a generic, FDA approved, first-line chemotherapy drug that is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme concomitantly with radiotherapy and then as maintenance treatment. Before oral temozolomide became generic, it generated US sales of approximately $420 million and global sales of approximately $910 million under its brand name Temodar in 2012. However, current standard of care of delivering temozolomide to tumor sites through oral administration is limited by the blood-brain-barrier and oral temozolomide increases patient survival by 2.5 months from a 12.1 months median overall survival.

Animal studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine[1] have shown that local delivery of temozolomide increased concentrations of the drug in the brain threefold and increased survival up to fourfold compared with oral administration. The percentage of long-term survivors for groups receiving local delivery of temozolomide ranged from 25% to 37.5% while there were no long-term survivors with orally administered temozolomide. Further animal studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine[2] have shown that the additive effect of combined delivery of local temozolomide with local BCNU, especially in combination with radiotherapy, was significantly more effective than delivery of either drug alone or one systemically and one locally, either with or without radiation. Groups treated with combination of local temozolomide, local BCNU and radiation therapy had 75% long-term survivors.

Additional information about the Company may be found on its website, www.accurexa.com.

Notes:

[1] Brem S, Tyler BM, Li K, Pradilla G, Legnani F, Caplan J, et al. Local delivery of temozolomide by biodegradable polymers is superior to oral administration in a rodent glioma model. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2007; 60:643-50.

[2] Renard Recinos V, Tyler BM, Brem H, et al. Combination of intracranial temozolomide with intracranial carmustine improves survival when compared with either treatment alone in a rodent glioma model. Neurosurgery 2010; 66:530-537.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding: the ability of the Company to successfully submit an IND application and conduct clinical trials, file patent applications, develop and commercialize novel neurological therapies based on U.S. Patent No. 8,895,597 B2, or its ACX-31 program and execute its business plan; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact Investor Relations:

David Burke

The Ruth Group

Tel.: 646-536-7009

dburke@theruthgroup.com

Accurexa Inc.

info@accurexa.com

Tel.: 302-709-1822

SOURCE: Accurexa Inc.
By Dan Whitcomb

(Reuters) - A man already awaiting trial on charges of conspiring to aid the late U.S.-born al Qaeda preacher Anwar al Awlaki and an al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen was indicted on Wednesday over accusations he plotted to have the federal judge presiding over the case murdered.

Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 37, was accused in the three-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Toledo, Ohio, with attempting to pay an undercover FBI agent $15,000 to have the judge killed.

"Conspiring to have a judge killed is not the way to avoid being prosecuted - now Mohammad will be held accountable for additional serious federal charges," Stephen Anthony, special agent in charge of the FBI's office in Cleveland, said in a written statement released with the indictment.

Prosecutors say Mohammad was introduced to the undercover agent by another prisoner at the Lucas County Corrections Center in Toledo after telling that inmate that he was willing to hire someone to kill U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary.

Mohammad told the undercover agent that he would pay him $15,000 for the job and arranged to have his wife, identified only by the initials "N.T.", hand over a $1,000 cash down payment at a post office in Bolingbrook, Illinois, according to prosecutors.

Mohammad told the inmate that the rest of the money would be coming from Dubai and would be routed to his wife through Texas and Chicago, prosecutors said.

After the undercover agent showed N.T. a supposed photo of Zouhary's dead body and asked for the rest of the money, she agreed to contact Mohammad, according to prosecutors.

Mohammad was charged in the indictment with attempted first degree murder of a federal officer, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and use of interstate commerce facilities in commission of murder for hire. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison if convicted at trial.

Mohammad and three co-defendants were charged last November with conspiring to funnel money to Anwar al Awlaki and a Yemen-based affiliate of al Qaeda to which he belonged in support of attacks on U.S. forces.

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Awlaki, a cleric, was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011. U.S. intelligence had identified him as the head of external operations for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of the militant group.

The charges allege that from January 2005 through January 2012 the four men conspired to provide money, equipment and other aid to Awlaki.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Andrew Hay)
The New York Times

HOUSTON  Tony Earls hung his head before a row of television cameras, staring down, his life upended. Days before, Earls had pulled out his handgun and opened fire, hoping to strike a man who had just robbed him and his wife at an ATM in Houston. Instead, he struck Arlene Alvarez, a 9-year-old girl seated in a passing pickup, killing her. Is Mr. Earls licensed to carry? a reporter asked during the February news conference, in which his lawyer spoke for him. Sign up for The Morning newsletter
(Reuters) - The actor playing Hikaru Sulu in the upcoming sci-fi film "Star Trek Beyond" has revealed that the fan favorite character is openly gay and married in the new film, an Australian media outlet reported on Thursday. Actor John Cho, who plays the role of Sulu first made famous by George Takei in the 1966 "Star Trek" television series, told Australia's Herald Sun that Sulu, the helmsman of the starship USS Enterprise, is married to a man and is a father to a daughter with his partner. The decision to make a long-time franchise staple character gay comes as Hollywood faces growing pressure to include more diversity in its blockbuster films. There is yet to be an openly gay superhero or action star leading a film franchise. Cho said scriptwriter Simon Pegg and director Justin Lin made the decision to make Sulu gay to pay homage to the 79-year-old Takei, who is openly gay and married in real life. "I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it, which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one's personal orientations," Cho told the outlet. Some fans of Marvel films sparked the online hashtag "Give Captain America A Boyfriend" in May, pushing for a same sex relationship between the hero and Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Other fans for Disney's animated film "Frozen" also started an online movement for "Give Elsa A Girlfriend," asking Disney to make the princess character a lesbian in the upcoming sequel, gaining support from actress Idina Menzel, who voices Elsa. Cho was joined by other cast members of "Star Trek Beyond" in Australia this week as they kick off promotions for the upcoming film, released in theaters on July 22. The film has been cast under a dark shadow after one of its young stars, Anton Yelchin, was tragically killed after he was crushed by his car in Los Angeles last month. (This article has been corrected to remove the erroneous reference to Sulu as Captain in lead paragraph and corrects to helmsman from captain in paragraph 2) (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Agrium Inc. AGU has announced a purchase agreement whereby its Crop Production Services ("CPS") agreed to acquire Cargill AgHorizons 18 Ag-retail locations in the U.S. with annual revenues of more than $150 million. The outlets are located in the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana. The transaction does not involve Cargill's Canadian crop input retail business.



With these acquisitions, Agrium aims at growing its North-American Ag-retail business, mainly in the highly desirable U.S. Corn Belt. The locations are in regions where Agrium has limited presence. The acquisition will enable Agrium to unveil its products and services, and leverage its extensive distribution network.



Cargill will aim at being the world's leading merchant of grain and oilseeds and will enable the farmers to succeed by ensuring they remain competitive in the global market and be highly efficient in getting products from origins to destinations.



The transaction is expected to close by the end of third-quarter 2016 and is subject to customary closing conditions, and regulatory clearances.

AGRIUM INC Price

AGRIUM INC Price | AGRIUM INC Quote

Agrium, which is among the prominent fertilizer companies, along with Mosaic MOS, Potash Corp. POT and CF Industries CF, posted net earnings (attributable to its equity holders) of $2 million or 2 cents per share in first-quarter 2016, roughly an 83% plunge from $12 million or 8 cents per share recorded a year ago. The bottom line was affected by weaker selling prices across all nutrients.

Barring one-time items other than stock-based payment expense (post-tax) of 2 cents per share, Agriums adjusted earnings came in at 3 cents per share. Analysts polled by Zacks were expecting a loss of 7 cents on an average.

Revenues decreased 5.1% year over year to $2,725 million in the reported quarter. The top line also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,752 million.

Story continues

Agrium currently holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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Photo: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo Singapore

A robbery took place on Thursday morning (7 July) at the Standard Chartered Banks (StanChart) branch in Holland Village, sparking a heavy police presence in the area.



Speaking to reporters at the scene in the afternoon, police spokesman Ho Yenn Dar said, Police have received a report and investigations are ongoing. The current update that we have is that the police confirm a case of robbery has occurred at a bank along Holland Avenue at around 11.25am. Police investigation are ongoing.



Police spokesman Ho Yenn Dar speaking to reporters near StanCharts branch at Holland Village. (Photo: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo Singapore)



The immediate area around the bank has been cordoned off. At around 2.40pm, Yahoo Singapore spotted dozens of police officers, three police cars and four unmarked cars in the area.



StanChart confirmed that a robbery happened at its branch in Holland Village. Due to a robbery that took place at our Holland Village branch earlier today, it is temporarily closed for the day (7 July 2016) for police investigation. All Bank employees and customers are safe.



The Bank immediately filed a police report and is working closely with the Police on the investigations. We are unable to provide further details at this point, the bank said.



According to the Shin Min newspaper, a man allegedly handed a note over the counter at the branch and made off with tens of thousands of dollars.



Police officers searching within the cordoned area. (Photo: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo Singapore)



Benny Bek, a 64-year-old security officer who works in the area, told reporters what he witnessed shortly after the robbery took place.



When I go for lunch at noon, there were a lot of patrol cars driving slowly in the area. The sirens were not sounding, but their lights were on. so I knew something was wrong.



Later on, I saw the news, so I came to take a look. But by that time, it was over. Actually I thought it was terrorists, said Bek, who works at Raffles Medical Centre, across the road from the StanCharts branch.

Story continues

Yahoo Singapore understands that at least one bank in the area is enhancing its security measures after the incident.

At the DBS branch across the road from StanCharts, three bank staff and a Cisco guard were seen stationed at the entrance.

Yolande Dick, 47, who is a customer of StanChart, told reporters that she was turned away when she tried to make a cash withdrawal at the branch and was told to do so elsewhere.

When asked for her reaction about the incident, the 47-year-old teacher said, You dont really hear of bank robberies in Singapore. I have lived here a long time and I have never heard this before.
(BATON ROUGE, La.) The mood was emotional, and at times angry, as evening unfolded in the working class, predominantly black Louisiana neighborhood where the police killing of a black man was caught on videotape.

Hundreds of mourners, friends and family members of Alton Sterling, 37, gathered Wednesday in Baton Rouge for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance.

Sterling was shot early Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside the convenience store where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed.

Cellphone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against blacks.

In the latest death, a Minnesota officer shot a black man in a car with a woman and a child about 9 p.m. Wednesday, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath of the killing was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video.

Moving quickly to keep tensions from boiling over in Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least, the governor said at a news conference.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds Wednesday night with a tearful, broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged showing the moments before her nephew was shot left her angry.

Im angry, but Im not angry enough to hurt nobody, Augustus said. Im not angry enough to go into the street. Im not angry enough to curse the police out. But Im angry and Im mad because they took something from me that I never ever will get back.

Terrance Carter, Sterlings 28-year-old nephew, wore a T-shirt with his uncles image printed on it. The police, he charged, went way too far.

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They did it wrong, he said. They could have handled it better than they did. They didnt have to shoot him!

He said, though, the family was not condoning violent protests.

The family just wants it to be peaceful, he said. I understand right now its bigger than us, but at the same time were just trying to work through this and be smooth with it.

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesnt consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin, Clinton said.

A law enforcement official said a gun was taken from Sterling after he was killed early Tuesday. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear from the murky cellphone footage whether Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Sterlings pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said Sterling was armed  Dabadie didnt specify the type of weapon  but that there are still questions about what happened.

Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers, Dabadie said, calling the shooting a horrible tragedy.

Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with gun outside the store, authorities said.

In cellphone video, one of the officers tackled Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone yelled, Hes got a gun! Gun! and one officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave, standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterward. His video shows an officer reaching into Sterlings pocket to grab an object.

Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Sterlings chest.

The street protest continued into the night Wednesday. People danced on cars and trucks, blocked traffic, and demanded justice. The protests were peaceful, and there was no sign of police even as the protests blocked a thoroughfare through that section of Baton Rouge.

Kristen George, a 25-year-old restaurant manager, came to the protest with her 2-year-old son Amazen and her wife and her 9-year-old son. George said she wanted to show her children the meaning of a civil rights protest.

Its hard out here for a black man in 2016, she said. I dont want them to feel scared to stand up for their rights.

Nefertiti Queen, a 34-year-old activist, predicted the protests in Baton Rouge would continue and remain peaceful as long as the authorities take the right steps in the investigation.

Its peaceful right now, but if the people dont get what they want, it might get like Ferguson, she said. She said she spent some time protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, after the controversial police shooting of Michael Brown, a black man who was unarmed. People will get frustrated if they dont get answers.

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54 percent black, according to census data, and more than 25 percent of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dash-cam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterlings civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Browns shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garners chokehold death in New York City.
Alton Sterling killed by police in Baton Rouge, La. Protesters demonstrate outside the Triple S Food Mart where Alton Sterling was shot dead by police in Baton Rouge, La., on July 7, 2016. (REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman)

The 15-year-old son of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot and killed by white police officers in Baton Rouge, La., wept uncontrollably and cried Daddy! as his mother spoke to reporters about the deadly confrontation, which was captured on video.

He [her son Cameron Sterling] had to watch this, as this was put all over the outlets, Quinyetta McMillon said. As a mother, I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father.

Alton Sterling, 37, was killed early Tuesday, July 5, 2016, in a shooting that was captured on cellphone video. In the video, two officers appear to struggle with Sterling and slam him to the ground.

One man seems to yell gun. Then at least two shots are fired while the officers are close to Sterling.

Baton Rouge police said the incident began when uniformed officers responded to a disturbance call from someone who said a black man who was selling CDs threatened him with a gun.

Officers approached Sterling in the parking lot of the convenience store and an altercation between Sterling and the officers ensued, police said. He was shot during the altercation and died at the scene, police said.

The coroner for East Baton Rouge Parish said Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and back.

Officers Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran, and Howie Lake II, a three-year veteran, were placed on leave in connection with Sterlings death, according to a Baton Rouge police news release. Both officers work in the Uniform Patrol Division. (GMA)

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.
Car-lovers have a chance to win tickets to the filming of "The Grand Tour," the new motoring program from former "Top Gear" presenters Clarkson, May and Hammond.

To mark and publicize its July 12 Prime Day members-only shopping event, Amazon has launched a prize draw with tickets for a place in "The Grand Tour" audience as the prize.

As well as entry to the recording in the US, the winner will get travel, accommodation, $200 in spending money and a meet and greet with the hosts.

Although the exact format of the new show is not clear, Amazon has confirmed that the show will literally be hitting the road, traveling around the world and setting up a tent as a studio in a host of different cities where studio segments will be recorded in front of a live audience.

The first show will be filmed in South Africa, and as well as confirming a trip to the US, Amazon revealed that episodes are due to be shot in the UK and Germany, too.

"Fans have been asking us where 'The Grand Tour' will be filming and how they can attend. We're delighted to announce today new studio locations in the UK, US and Germany as we continue our plans to bring this anticipated Amazon Original Series to fans around the world," said Jay Marine, VP of Amazon Video Europe. "The Grand Tour Prime Day Prize Draw opens today giving a chance for lucky customers to be the first to win tickets to join Jeremy, Richard and James in the studio. Good luck to all the fans!"

To keep the buzz going before the show hits screens this fall, Amazon will be announcing exact dates and locations for filming over the summer months, along with details about how to get audience tickets for the filming.

As for the competition, all fans have to do is visit the Grand Tour page before July 12.
On Jul 7, 2016, we issued an updated research report on Baton Rouge, LA-based Amedisys Inc. AMED. The company provides home health and hospice services throughout the U.S. to a growing chronic, co-morbid, and aging American population.

In Home Health, Amedisys continued to generate strong organic growth in Medicare and non-Medicare revenues. In Hospice, the company successfully posted solid quarterly same-store admissions growth. Hospice growth prospects remain strong as CMS programs will help drive increased adoption of the hospice benefit.

Over the long term, the home health industry is poised for tremendous growth, driven by an aging U.S. population, patients desire for independence and home health as a cheaper care modality. Amedisys should continue to benefit from the aging demographics of the U.S. population and the need for higher acuity patients to be taken care of in a home nursing environment.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an in-depth article on hospice benefits, with particular focus on the increased Medicare expenditure for the same. The article also placed emphasis on factors driving growth for longer length of patients stay in hospice care. Both these facts reflect higher revenue opportunities for hospice care providers like Amedisys.

Currently, the company is developing and acquiring new business lines that will complement its existing home care and hospice business, and help seniors manage their health more effectively while staying at their homes longer. In line with this strategy, the company has closed two significant acquisitions over the past three months  the Infinity HomeCare acquisition on Dec 31, 2015 and the Associated Home Care acquisition on Mar 1, 2016.

With the companys strategy currently aimed at expanding its capabilities of care that can be delivered at home, the Associated Home Care is its first acquisition in the personal care space. This buyout is also expected to expand Amedisys strong home health and hospice presence in Massachusetts.

Story continues

On the flip side, with a few barriers to entry in the market for home health and hospice, Amedisys primarily faces tough competition from local privately and publicly-owned and hospital-owned health care providers. The company experiences significant reimbursement pressure as well.

Amedisys currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Key Picks in the Sector

Some other well-ranked stocks in the medical sector are AAC Holdings, Inc. AAC, LHC Group, Inc. LHCG and US Physical Therapy Inc. USPH. All the three stocks hold the same Zacks Rank as Amedisys.

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AMEDISYS INC (AMED): Free Stock Analysis Report



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JFK Airport TSA checkpoint

As the summer travel season wears on, passengers aren't the only folks concerned with long wait times at the nation's airport security checkpoints.

American Airlines has been particularly vocal after the wait times led to missed flights by its passengers. Now the carrier says it will spend $5 million to bring screening technology to major hubs to speed things up.

"In May, I talked about two words that have a big impact on all of us: TSA lines," American Airlines COO Robert Isom wrote in a July 5 letter. "Today I'm thrilled to share that we're adding three more words to that phrase: '...are getting better."

This is in addition to the $21 million American has already spent on measures to help alleviate congestion at the major airports out of which the airline operates.

The initiative, which is in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration, comprises two parts: the deployment of CT technology for carry-on bags and the installation of automated screening lanes.

CT, or computed tomography, is a 3-D imaging technology that's widely used in the medical field.

American Airlines Chicago O'hare

The airline will adopt CT technology in a trial program at security checkpoints located in its Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport hub. Although CT scanning technology is currently in use for checked baggage, American will be the first US airline to use the system for carry-on bags.

"We are working with several vendors that have expressed interest in participating in our Innovation initiative to ensure their systems are certified to detect to our standards," a TSA spokesperson told Business Insider in an email.

One company that has long championed CT scanning technology for carry-on bags is Massachusetts-based engineering firm Analogic.

American Airlines has confirmed to Business Insider that Analogic is one of the vendors whose products are in the running for the Phoenix checkpoints. Although neither American nor the TSA has released a list of all the companies in the running.

Story continues

According to Analogic, its Cobra CT scanners, which cost $300,000 each, are currently in use at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and London's Luton Airport. The airports report that Cobra CT baggage scanners have been able to double the number of bags scanned while cutting wait times at checkpoints by 50%, the company told Business Insider.

"When applied to the security lane, [a CT scanner] allows customers to leave their liquids, gels and aerosols, as well as laptops, in their carry-on bags," Isom wrote. "Think of the time  and bins!  that saves."

Although the technology has been around for more than a decade, only now has the TSA decided to put it to use.

"After 9/11, the TSA approached us to immediately build 500 scanners capable of seeing inside baggage at checkpoints," Analogic CEO Jim Green said in an interview with Business Insider in May.

Analogic COBRA CT baggage scanner

However, the agency declined to adopt the technology in favor of the more budget friendly X-ray scanning systems, which cost roughly 30% less.

American Airlines and the TSA expect the Phoenix CT checkpoint scanners to be up and running by the end of the year, and they could spread to other airports around the country if the trial is successful.

The second prong of the initiative is the introduction of automated security checkpoints at American's Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles International, and Miami hubs.

The new security lanes will feature automated conveyer belts to move storage bins between the X-ray machines and the end of the queue. In addition, the bins themselves are 25% larger. Cameras will be installed to take pictures of the bags' exteriors to go along with the X-ray images of their contents.

Both parties believe the new lanes, which are expected to be ready this fall, will decrease wait times by as much as 30%.

When completed, these new lanes will look and work very similar to the "innovation lanes" Delta Air Lines installed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in May, American Airlines told Business Insider.

Delta Air Lines innovation lane

Delta has also spent $5 million this year for additional staff to help the TSA.

In the first half of 2016, politicians, airlines, and airports around the country have sharply criticized the TSA for is severe lack of staffing and have accused the agency of mismanagement. Long security lines have attributed to numerous canceled flights and have even forced hundreds of passengers to sleep at airports this year.

Although Isom is hopeful that the two initiatives will help alleviate some of the woes, the executive points out that neither is a "slam dunk" to solving the TSA's problems.

Here's the full letter from Isom:

Dear Team,

In May, I talked about two words that have a big impact on all of us: TSA lines. At the time, American had already implemented several things to help TSA efforts, but I also committed to us doing more to enhance security and improve checkpoint efficiency. We had to for our team, and for our customers.

Today I'm thrilled to share that we're adding three more words to that phrase: '...are getting better.' In partnership with the TSA, American is spending nearly $5 million to launch an innovative initiative that will bring state of the art screening technology to several of our hubs. This is in addition to the $21 million we are already spending on non-security functions at our largest airports  like bin running and queue management  which enable TSA officers to focus solely on the screening aspects of their jobs.

Automated Screening Lanes

We'll introduce automated screening lanes at ORD, DFW, LAX and MIA, reducing the security screening process time by about 30 percent. Automated screening lanes are pretty new to U.S. airports and incorporate the latest technology so that things done manually today can be done electronically tomorrow. They enhance security and decrease the time that customers spend in line. Things like:

Automated belts that draw bags into the X-ray machines while diverting bags that present a potential threat. The belts also return bins back to queue after completion of the screening.

Bigger bins that are 25 percent larger than the bins in regular screening lanes.

Unique Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags that are attached to each bin, along with cameras to capture photos of the outside of the bag. This ensures that the correct bag is pulled if further inspection is required.

Bags with a potential threat are also directed to a separate area to allow bins behind them to continue through the system uninterrupted.

Relief can't come soon enough, so we are anticipating having these in place in the fall.

CT Technology

American will also be the first U.S. airline to deploy computed tomography (CT) technology at a TSA screening checkpoint. Currently CT technology is only used to screen checked bags. When applied to the security lane, it allows customers to leave their liquids, gels and aerosols, as well as laptops, in their carry-on bags. Think of the time  and bins!  that saves. Our goal is to get this pilot program up and running in PHX by the end of the year. If the pilot is successful, TSA may deploy CT technology to other checkpoints nationwide.

Neither initiative is a slam dunk to solve TSA woes, but they are both huge steps in the right direction. Both maximize efficiency and speed without sacrificing safety and security, and both are part of our commitment to keep chipping away at this until things improve for our employees and our customers. Our partnership with TSA mirrors the relationship we currently have with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). American and CBP are working together to expand and promote programs that expedite the entry process into the United States, including Automated Passport Control, Mobile Passport Control and Global Entry.

I would also like to thank Congress and TSA for the actions they have undertaken. After we raised concerns, federal funding was reallocated prior to Memorial Day, enabling the TSA to rebalance staffing and begin the process of hiring more officers. This has resulted in a noticeable improvement at checkpoints nationwide.

So hang in there with us  we'll get change to you as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience, your compassion for customers and your hard work.

Robert

NOW WATCH: These are the safest airlines in the world





More From Business Insider


Dubai (AFP) - Amnesty International and the European Parliament on Thursday urged Bahrain to release a prominent human rights defender and denounced repression against freedom of expression in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

The London-based rights watchdog called on Manama to drop charges against Nabeel Rajab, who is being tried for "Twitter posts criticising the war in Yemen and allegations of torture in Bahrain's main prison".

It slammed what it called a "farcical trial", in which the head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights faces up to 13 years in jail over the tweets.

The Shiite activist has repeatedly been detained for organising protests and publishing tweets deemed insulting to the kingdom's Sunni authorities.

The 51-year-old was re-arrested last month as part of an intensifying crackdown on government critics that has drawn international condemnation.

"They should drop these absurd charges, release Nabeel Rajab and other prisoners of conscience," said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Amnesty.

"The government must halt this brazen crackdown on freedom of expression and accept that everyone in Bahrain has the right to peacefully voice their opinions, including through social media," he said.

The European Parliament slammed "the ongoing campaign of repression against human rights defenders, the political opposition and civil society, as well as the restriction of fundamental democratic rights in Bahrain".

It called for "the immediate and unconditional release of the prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab... and other human rights activists" and also for "all charges against them be dropped".

According to his lawyer, Rajab is to appear in court next week over tweets allegedly made in March 2015 about unrest at the kingdom's Jaw prison and the conflict in Yemen, where a coalition led by neighbouring Saudi Arabia launched a military intervention that month.

Home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has been rocked by unrest since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.
Every year, Amsterdam Dance Event brings together leading industry producers, DJs, and professionals to talk business and slay dance floors across the storied city. Massive headliners from Maya Jane Coles to Richie Hawtin have already been announced as part of DJ programming, but ADE wants to give just as much shine to those who push the envelope in a live setting. So, it's setting up stages in various clubs for a two-day event it calls ADE LIVE, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 20 and 21.

Performers range from established legends to fresh up-and-comers and include RUFUS, SUUNS, Jessy Lanza, Salute, and more.

Maya Jane Coles, Martin Garrix, Richie Hawtin & More to Play Amsterdam Dance Event 2016

"For artists, it represents a real possibility of making a name for themselves with the public, bookers, agents and programmers," ADE's website states, "as well as the many other music industry professionals attending ADE."

Check below for the full list of ADE Live programming

ADE LIVE Day 1

RUFUS

SUUNS

Blanck Mass

Louis Mattrs

CUT

Pitto live

ZES

ADE LIVE Day 2

Jessy Lanza

Salute

River Tiber

Vuurwek

Sofie Winterson

Polynation
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - New Sonangol chief executive Isabel dos Santos has suspended all talks relating to the sale of assets belonging to the Angolan state oil firm and stripped its internal legal department of most of its powers, a statement said. Dos Santos, the billionaire daughter of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, was appointed to the Sonangol helm last month with orders to improve the efficiency of the sprawling 40-year-old firm, the central pillar of Angola's economy. The statement posted on Sonangol's website after a board meeting at the end of last month said "all processes of evaluation, negotiation and sale of any assets" had been suspended with immediate effect. It gave no further details. Separately, it said the board had removed the legal department's mandate to handle anything other than disciplinary matters. Again, the statement provided no more clarity. Isabel dos Santos told Reuters last month she planned to hive off Sonangol's non-core assets, such as its banking, real estate and airline interests, into separate holding companies to bring the company's focus back exclusively to oil. Boston Consulting Group and PriceWaterhouseCoopers have been hired as external advisers to the shake-up, which has won approval from the foreign oil firms operating in Africa's top crude producer. Isabel dos Santos also said she intended to improve transparency at Sonangol, long been regarded as one of the most opaque institutions in Africa. In 2011, Sonangol was accused of misplacing $32 billion in oil revenues owed to the government. The International Monetary Fund later said it had managed to track down the missing cash, attributing the accounting discrepancy to "quasi-fiscal operations" conducted on behalf of the government. (Reporting by Ed Cropley and Herculano Coroado; Editing by James Macharia)
A stubborn supporter of Marco Rubio at Rubios campaign headquarters in Miami last March. (Photo: Lynne Sladky/AP)

The Rules Committee is not the only stop-Trump game in Cleveland.

Talk of efforts to dump Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention this month have focused on whether the key committees 112 members would support a measure to allow delegates to vote for whomever they want, instead of being bound to their states primary or caucus results.

If the Rules Committee passes that resolution, then the full convention would have to vote on the matter.

But while anti-Trump delegates based in Colorado and New Jersey spend their time on that path, another group of convention delegates based in Wisconsin is organizing to stop Trump on the floor of the convention  regardless of what happens to that Rules Committee resolution.

I personally believe there are enough delegates who will abstain to keep Trump from getting the nomination on the first ballot, and I think that will open up a lot of options for the delegates, said Dane Waters, an official with Delegates Unbound, a group formed this year.

The group is led by Eric OKeefe, a respected Wisconsin political activist in the state who worked aggressively to bolster Gov. Scott Walker during the 2012 attempt to recall him.

Top RNC officials have dismissed the delegate-led efforts to stop Trump. RNC spokesman Sean Spicer in June called it nothing more than a media creation and a series of tweets.

But OKeefe and Waters group is reportedly well organized, even more so than the publicized efforts focused on the Rules Committee. If enough delegates abstain on the first ballot  or vote for another candidate  so that Trump does not get at least 1,237 votes out of the 2,472 delegates on the floor, the convention would have to hold a second round of voting.

At that point, other Republican politicians would be emboldened to put themselves forward as alternatives to Trump, delegates would be more free under the rules to vote for a wider range of options and all hell would break loose on the floor of Quicken Loans Arena as the convention became open and contested.

Story continues

Waters told Yahoo News on Thursday that they have people in many states working to force the convention into multiple ballots.

Delegates have the right to object and challenge the authenticity of their states announcement of votes cast for the possible nominee, Waters said. There are a significant number of states where delegates have made clear their intent to challenge the number of votes announced if they have been stopped from exercising their right to vote their conscience.

Trump supporters on the Rules Committee will likely try to pass a resolution officially binding the delegates to the results of their states primaries and caucuses, as was done in 1976, said A.J. Spiker, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party who is working with Delegates Unbound.

But Spiker told Yahoo News he did not think Trump supporters could get 56 votes on the Rules Committee for such a resolution.

And a whip count of the delegates conducted this week by a pro-Trump member of the Republican National Committee found large numbers in favor of allowing an open vote, and many hundreds more up for grabs.

Randy Evans, an RNC member from Georgia, estimated that 890 delegates are personally loyal to Trump, another 680 oppose the presumptive Republican nominee and about 900 are undecided or undeclared, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Waters said that the number of delegates joining his cause has continued to grow of late, and that because delegates are seeking his group out, the anti-Trump forces have been able to work past the fact that the RNC never provided a list of delegates from each state.

Typically, youre having to go out and convince supporters to follow you, Waters said. The difference here is its not requiring much of an effort to get people to sign up.

Trumps own stumbles over the past week have not helped his cause with delegates, even as presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has simultaneously been embroiled in controversy. FBI Director James Comey said on Tuesday that he would not recommend charges against Clinton for her use of private email servers for official State Department business, but said Clinton had made a serious error in judgment.

But at Wednesday campaign rally in Cincinnati, Trump went on a lengthy tangent in which he drew attention to his campaigns use of a six-pointed star in a tweet criticizing Clinton with a photo of her next to a pile of money and the star, which is a symbol of Judaism. Trumps image, reportedly taken from white supremacist corners of the Internet, was widely denounced as anti-Semitic. Trump has since repeatedly defended the tweet as innocent.

And on Thursday, Trump clashed with Republican senators during a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona stood to confront Trump over his verbal attacks on racial and religious minorities, and on Sen. John McCain. Trump took umbrage at this and told Flake he would lose his seat this fall, according to the Washington Post.

However, U.S. senators serve six-year terms, unlike members of the House  who are up for reelection every two years  and Flake is not up for reelection this fall. He reportedly informed Trump of this fact.
New York (AFP) - Protestors opposed to Donald Trump in New York Thursday called on retail giant Walmart to follow other major companies and stay away from the Republican Party convention this month.

"Stop hate, dump Trump!" dozens of protesters shouted outside the gold-colored Trump Tower building on Fifth Avenue, alluding to Trump's history of controversial comments that critics view as racist, xenophobic and sexist.

"Are Walmart's values the same as Donald Trump's values?" they said.

Protesters urged the retailer to follow the example of other major companies that have decided to refrain from sponsoring activities and events at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18-21, at which Trump is expected to be nominated for US president.

Companies reportedly avoiding the event include Apple, Wells Fargo, UPS and Ford.

"Others have pulled out of the convention to contest the Trump agenda," said Audrey Sasson of the group Walmart-Free NYC.

"We are asking why Walmart is not doing the same and asking whether we should assume they share his agenda. If they don't do anything, we are going to continue with the pressure."

The New York protest was launched in tandem with events in Chicago, Washington and San Francisco by the labor union-backed group Making Change at Walmart, which criticizes the world's largest retailer over low pay.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company was donating $15,000 to both the Republican event in Cleveland and the Democratic convention on Philadelphia. The company is not taking a position on the election.

"We believe it's important to be involved in the political process and we'll let the voters determine what's in the best interest of the country," said Wal-Mart spokesman Greg Hitt.
From Esquire

Raul Diaz has some privacy concerns when it comes to Google. The 30-year-old Oakland man's response was not to call his congressman or hit up Change.org, however. Instead, he allegedly elected to hunt down the Google Street View cars patrolling his area and set them on fire.

According toThe Guardian, Diaz was arrested after reports of a string of attacks on Google vehicles since May, including an incident when Molotov cocktails were hurled at a Street View car in Mountain View, California. In another incident, police responded to a call of shots fired on a Google facility. Authorities say a black SUV model was caught by surveillance cameras near the scene in both incidents, and that it's similar to the one they arrested Diaz in outside a Google building on June 30.

On that occasion, Diaz had a device identified as a half-finished pipe bomb in his vehicle. A few weeks earlier, he was arrested at an entirely separate traffic stop. In an affidavit from that case, The Guardian reports, police say he "shared information about previous events unrelated to the traffic stop [and] mentioned Google, Facebook and Larry Page [the chief executive of Alphabet, Google's parent company]."

He also "told officers that his motivation behind the attacks was that he felt Google was watching him and that made him upset. Diaz said that he kept journals of the times that he felt Google had been watching him." No one has been reported injured in the incidents.

While Google has courted controversy on privacy issues on both sides of the Atlantic-and faced repeated litigation over it-guerrilla warfare on the streets of Northern California hardly seems like the best remedy.
There are still three months to go before Starz Ash vs. Evil Dead returns for its second season, but the network is planning a big push later this month at San Diego Comic-Con and in advance of that has released the first teaser for season 2 that is every bit as gory and fun as the first season. Watch the clip below, but warning: pretty much everyone ends up covered in blood.

Season 2 picks up where we left off last year, with Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) leaving Jacksonville to return to his hometown of Elk Grove to confront and join forces with his former enemy, Ruby (Lucy Lawless), in their fight against the deadites. Joining him are his sidekick, Pablo Simon Bolivar (Ray Santiago), still coping with the intense trauma he suffered in season one, and Kelly Maxwell (Dana DeLorenzo), grief-stricken over the deaths of her parents and bent on revenge against the undead who killed her. But the important thing is that the blood, guts, and pitch black comedy arent being tamped down at all.

Ash vs. Evil Dead is based on the classic Evil Dead horror-comedy films directed by Sam Raimi and starring Bruce Campbell. Produced by Raimi, Campbell, Rob Tapert, and Ivan Raimi and executive produced by showrunner Craig DiGregorio, the 10-episode second season premieres in October.

Related stories

Comic-Con 2016 TV Schedule: Key Panels & Events

Comic-Con 2016 Film Schedule: Key Panels & Events

Starz Ups Alison Hoffman To Chief Marketing Officer
* Brazil-China rates hit seven-month high on thin tonnage numbers

* Typhoon Nepartak likely to cause delays, disrupt sailing schedule - brokers

By Keith Wallis

SINGAPORE, July 7 (Reuters) - Freight rates for large capesize dry cargo ships on key Asian routes could move higher next week on a potential ship shortage, higher cargo volumes and storms in China that could disrupt sailing schedules leading charterers to scramble to fix replacement tonnage, ship brokers said.

"We do not have a lot of ships available off Brazil to load cargo at the end of July. That will likely support freight rates," said a Shanghai-based capesize broker.

That came as capesize rates from Brazil to China hit a seven-month high on July 4.

"Hopefully, rates will climb up to near $10 a tonne," the broker added.

The Big Three Australian miners - Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group - have largely been absent from the spot-chartering market this week after freight rates climbed to a three-week high on Monday, although they have subsequently slipped.

"When the market is hot, miners are always inclined to wait for rates to fall," the broker said.

That has fuelled sentiment that miners will return to the market next week with a raft of new cargo requirements.

Bad weather in China during the weekend caused by super typhoon Nepartak is likely to cause port congestion and unloading delays, which would affect vessels while they try to fulfill their next charter. That would force charterers to pay higher rates to fix alternative vessels, brokers said.

"Right now the market is falling, but it will be a bit firmer next week. The typhoon will create delays," said a Singapore-based capesize broker.

"We should see rates pick-up next week," the Singapore broker said.

Capesize charter rates for Western Australia-China climbed to $4.63 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $4.51 per tonne last week. Rates rose to $4.78 per tonne on July 4, the highest since June 15.

Freight rates from Brazil to China hit $9.49 per tonne on Wednesday compared with $9.37 per tonne the previous week. They soared to $9.71 per tonne on July 4, the highest since Dec. 2.

Story continues

Charter rates for smaller panamax vessels for a north Pacific round-trip voyage jumped to $5,822 per day on Wednesday, from $5,153 per day on the same day last week.

There was stronger sentiment this week on all panamax routes with firm rates on Asian trades, Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.

Freight rates in the Far East for smaller supramax vessels held steady on positive sentiment, brokers said.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose to 694 on Wednesday from 640 last week.

(Reporting by Keith Wallis; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
By Jonathan Barrett SYDNEY (Reuters) - Embattled Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appeared likely to retain power after gaining the support of a key independent on Thursday, although the closeness of the vote signaled more tough political and economic times ahead. There were signs that the political instability after Saturday's cliffhanger election was beginning to take its toll on the Australian economy, with Standard and Poor's cutting Australia's credit rating outlook to negative from stable, threatening a downgrade of its coveted triple A status. Turnbull flew to northern Queensland state to win reluctant support from Bob Katter, a maverick former member of the ruling conservative coalition who is now a potential kingmaker if Turnbull is unable to win the 76 lower house seats needed to form government outright. "Today we are announcing our support ... for a Turnbull government. I do so with no great enthusiasm," Katter told reporters. "I will maintain my right to change at any point of time in the future." Katter's support gives Turnbull's coalition a total of 74 seats, according to the latest Australian Broadcasting Corp. projections, as vote counting continues. Labor is projected to win 66 seats, meaning they would need to win the six seats still being counted and do deals with all the four remaining independents to form government - a scenario considered extremely unlikely by pollsters. "I remain confident that we will form a government, and we will unite the parliament as far as we are able to," Turnbull told reporters after meeting Katter. "We will unite the nation in a common purpose to continue to ensure that we have strong economic growth," he said. Turnbull, however, will realistically only scrape through with the slimmest of margins and faces an even more hostile upper house Senate, making it difficult for him to pass planned economic reforms. "DIMINISHED AUTHORITY" That point was rammed home by Labor leader Bill Shorten, who acknowledged the coalition would most likely win, but "with a diminished authority, diminished mandate and a very divided political party". "If Mr Turnbull is dragged across the line narrowly his problems and Australia's are only just beginning," Shorten told reporters in the western city of Perth. The Australia dollar fell half a U.S. cent after S&P's announcement, which cited concerns the coalition government would be hampered in its plans to return to budget surplus as it struggles to form a majority government. "I think what the Australian people want to be assured of today is that there is a clear plan, should we be able to form government, to maintain the fiscal health of this country and that is what the agencies are saying is necessary," Treasurer Scott Morrison told reporters soon after the S&P announcement. Turnbull's gamble in calling an election, ostensibly to clear the upper house Senate of what he saw as obstructive minor parties, backfired badly with a much bigger swing to the center-left Labor opposition than expected. It also saw minor parties and independents become even more powerful, making it less likely Turnbull will be able to push his reformist economic agenda, which includes a A$50 billion ($37.6 billion) corporate tax break over 10 years, through an intransigent upper house. That places Katter and centrist Nick Xenaphon as potential kingmakers with team members in both houses. Two other lower house independents, Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan, have ruled out any deals with the government. (Editing by Jane Wardell and Paul Tait)
Sydney (AFP) - Australia's greyhound industry was reeling Thursday after the country's most populous state banned the sport following a string of scandals including "live baiting" and the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs.

New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said the industry appeared incapable of reform and his government would work toward a shutdown from July 1 next year.

"Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the US and is legal in only eight countries around the world. New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to ban it," he said on Facebook.

"I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals."

The Australian Capital Territory, of which Canberra is the capital, said it would likely follow suit, although the sport is on a much smaller scale there.

Australia has one of the world's largest greyhound racing industries and live baiting has been banned for decades.

But last year national broadcaster ABC exposed that animals such as piglets, rabbits and possums were used as bait to train some of the country's most successful dogs.

Greyhounds traditionally chase an artificial hare or rabbit and the revelations sparked raids across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland states that rocked the industry.

- Inhumane practices -

It prompted an inquiry by New South Wales, which uncovered the mass killing of dogs considered too slow to pay their way and widespread live baiting, Baird said.

The probe also revealed systemic deception of the public about the numbers of deaths and injuries.

"One of the issues we have had to wrestle with is the positive impact of the greyhound racing industry," said Baird, pointing out it employed more than 1,000 people in his state and contributed millions of dollars to the economy.

Story continues

"Dog racing can be an important part of the social fabric of regional towns. And, of course, having a punt on the dogs over a few beers is good fun for many people."

But he said that having weighed up the benefits, the negatives were too great to ignore.

The RSPCA, which provided evidence to the inquiry, called Baird's decision "courageous".

"The inquiry has demonstrated that cruelty is intertwined into every level of this sport," said spokeswoman Jade Norris.

But Greyhound Racing NSW said in a statement it was "an extremely sad day", adding there were many responsible participants "who treat their greyhounds like family".

"These people were as dismayed as others by the exposure of completely unacceptable and inhumane practices within greyhound racing," it said.

The New South Wales probe is one of several into greyhound racing around Australia.

It revealed that in the last 12 years, up to 68,000 dogs were killed because they were seen as unsuitable for racing, while some 10 to 20 percent of trainers were suspected of live baiting.

The inquiry also found that an estimated 180 greyhounds a year sustain injuries such as skull fractures or broken backs during races that led to their immediate deaths, a statistic "deliberately misreported" by Greyhound Racing NSW.

And the abuse is not limited to New South Wales, with 55 dead greyhounds found dumped in Queensland last year with spent rifle cartridges nearby.

Just weeks later two men in the same state were charged with using kittens as live bait.

Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace told reporters the sport would not be banned in her state but it was on its last warning, while Greyhound Racing Victoria said it was "well advanced on fundamental and unprecedented cultural and operational reform".
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN) revealed that it reached agreements to buy four stores, including five franchises, in the Westchester County, New York area from BMW, Land Rover and Jaguar. The company stated that the acquisitions were subject to customary terms and conditions, including manufacturer approvals. The company expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of the current year.

According to AutoNation, the stores to be purchased were BMW Mt. Kisco, Land Rover Mt. Kisco and Jaguar Land Rover Larchmont/New Rochelle from The Premier Collection and White Plains Jaguar from DiSimone Imports. The company added that these stores collectively represented about $190 million revenue annually and 2,600 retail new and used vehicle annual unit sales.

The company indicated it would renovate BMW facilities in Mt. Kisco to further improve the customer experience. Also, the company would construct a new state-of-the-art Jaguar Land Rover store in the White Plains area in connection with the transaction. As far as Mt. Kisco is concerned, it would relocate the Land Rover franchise and merge it with Jaguar in a new state-of-the-art auto retail facility. The company would also renovate and expand its Jaguar Land Rover facilities in Larchmont/New Rochelle.

AutoNation's Chairman, CEO and President, Mike Jackson, commented, "These acquisitions will greatly enhance our brand mix, positioning us with outstanding premium luxury offerings in this new market. We look forward to welcoming the BMW, Jaguar and Land Rover customers and 140 new associates in Westchester County to AutoNation."

Shares of the company traded 3.6 percent higher on Thursday.

See more from Benzinga

 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Find the Truth About Online Learning

Some people are skeptical about online education, but experts say prospective online students shouldn't trust everything they hear.

Find out what to believe when it comes to online education on topics ranging from perceptions among employers to transferring credits to and from programs.

Myth 1: The quality of teaching is lower.

Online learning requires professors to communicate differently than they would in a traditional classroom, but that doesn't mean the overall quality of instruction is lower, Ramin Sedehi, then director of the higher education consulting division at the Berkeley Research Group, told U.S. News in 2015.

In some cases, the teaching might be even better online. Faculty at certain schools might also have to undergo a process to ensure that they understand the academic standard their courses must meet.

Myth 2: You can't transfer credits to and from an online program.

Transferring credits to and from online programs generally isn't any more difficult to do than it is for credits earned on campus, experts say.

Students might encounter problems transferring credits regardless of the format, especially with for-profit schools and certain types of programs or courses, one expert says. When looking at different institutions, prospective online learners should compare the number of credits they will be able to transfer, and consequently, how much time and money they might save.

Myth 3: Employers won't accept online degrees.

When online education was new, many employers were more hesitant about job applicants with online degrees. But that perception has changed over the past few years, recruiters say.

Today, employers are more likely to ask online degree holders about their ability to work in a team setting and their program's accreditation.

Myth 4: Cheating is more common in online programs.

Experts say that while cheating can occur in online classes, it isn't any more likely to happen than it is in a physical classroom.

Story continues

Online instructors often use tools such as plagiarism detection software to prevent cheating or require students to take tests at physical locations. In those cases, students might also need to show proof of identification and take other verification measures.

Myth 5: Tuition in online programs is always less costly.

While online education might initially seem cheaper than traditional learning given that students don't have to pay for room and board and other on-campus fees, that isn't always the case, experts say.

Officials at online programs say faculty costs -- along with tech support and campus services for online students, for instance -- might cancel out the savings. Prospective online students should look into what fees they would have to pay before selecting a program.

Myth 6: Online education is easier than traditional learning.

Pursuing a degree online isn't any easier than doing so on a physical campus -- it's just a different type of learning environment, says one expert. This is especially true at reputable institutions.

Prospective online learners should be aware that online classes do, however, require more self-direction than face-to-face courses, and at least as much time spent studying each week, experts say.

Myth 7: You can't meet with an instructor.

Despite being unable to meet with a professor in person, many online courses allow students to interact with instructors in various ways, experts say, whether it's by phone, email, Skype or other videoconferencing options. Some instructors hold weekly office hours online or allow students to ask questions during live chat sessions.

Myth 8: Online students can't get federal financial aid.

In most cases, the process for getting federal financial aid is largely the same for online and on-campus students, experts say. Some online programs even have opportunities for federal work-study.

Prospective online students should first ensure that their programs of interest are deemed eligible to receive financial aid by the Department of Education, so that students can receive federal funds.

Myth 9: There are many scholarships available strictly for online students.

With some exceptions, few schools offer scholarships open only to online learners. Some scholarship providers are still hesitant about online learning, Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex.com, a website connecting students with colleges and scholarships, told U.S. News earlier this year.

Still, at many reputable universities, it's rare that a scholarship would be restricted to on-ground students. Prospective online learners should ask about scholarship opportunities in general, rather than those just for online learners, Susan Aldridge, president of Drexel University Online, told U.S. News last year.

Myth 10: Online classes aren't accredited.

A lot of online programs are accredited, though this varies among institutions, experts say. Accreditation verifies that a program meets certain educational standards, and many colleges and universities won't accept transfer credits from schools that aren't accredited.

Prospective online learners can use the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's list of recognized accrediting bodies to determine the situation for schools of interest.

More on Online Degrees

Get more advice on applying to online degree programs on the Online Learning Lessons blog, and get our complete rankings of the Best Online Programs.

For additional advice and information on how to navigate online program admissions, connect with U.S. News Education on Twitter and Facebook.

Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com.


Azealia Banks is making waves  again. The rapper defended using products to lighten her skin in a lengthy Facebook livestream on Friday, July 1.

PHOTOS: Celebs Fight Back on Twitter!

"I don't really think it's important to discuss the cultural significance of skin bleaching anymore because I think that, just as African-American people, just as black people in this world, you assimilate, and there are things you accept, not just out of necessity but things become norm because they just happen all the time," Banks, 25, said in the video.

"I guess people see the skin-bleaching thing as something different, but I see it as another ... assimilation thing," she continued. "It's a continuation of the falsification of self that comes with being a black person in America."

PHOTOS: Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2015

Last month, Banks received backlash on social media when she admitted to using the skin cream Whitenicious. In a since-deleted Instagram post, she shared a photo of herself before a show in Brazil and wrote "skincare," "skingoals" and "whitenicious."

"I consider anything that has to do with removing layers of skin or pigment, I consider it all bleaching," Banks added on Facebook Friday. "I say lightening."

PHOTOS: Stars Share Secrets: Read Celebs' Shocking Confessions

The controversial star, who has previously called out Miley Cyrus for cultural appropriation, even likened skin bleaching to getting a nose job or a weave.

"To say that [skin bleaching] negates what I've been saying about blackness in America is ignorant and just stupid," she said. "Nobody was upset when I was [wearing] 30-inch weaves, tearing out my edges, and doing all types of st like that. You guys loved it, but what is the difference?"




By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The death toll from a suicide bombing in Baghdad this weekend has reached 292, Iraq's Health Ministry said on Thursday. The attack, claimed by the militant group Islamic State, which government forces are trying to eject from large parts of the north and west of the country, was the deadliest bombing in Iraq since U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. The militants have lost ground since last year to U.S.-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias but the weekend bombing showed they can still strike Baghdad despite having lost Falluja, their nearby stronghold, in June. More than 200 people were wounded in the attack in a busy shopping street in the mainly Shi'ite Karrada district of central Baghdad. About 23 of the wounded were still in hospital, health ministry spokesman Ahmed al-Rudaini told Reuters. Earlier on Thursday, the ministry had put the toll at 281 and it rose as more people, registered as missing, were identified as dead, Rudaini said. Iraq Body Count, a volunteer-led organisation that has been counting deaths since 2003, estimates civilian deaths since then at between 160,000 and 180,000, and the toll for violent deaths including combatants at more than 250,000. (Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Bangladesh has launched a clampdown on social media sites spreading jihadist propaganda after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages were murdered, saying the country's young were being radicalised online.

Authorities said the deadly siege at an upmarket cafe popular with foreigners had been an "eye-opener", exposing the role of social media in recruiting young men to jihadist groups.

"Social media has become a fertile ground for recruiting militants," the head of the telecoms regulator Shahjahan Mahmood told AFP.

"The attack was an eye-opener for us. They (jihadist groups) attract the young men through social media."

The Islamic State group, which has claimed Friday night's attack, has long used social media to recruit fighters and incite individuals around the world to commit terrorist attacks.

Mahmood said the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had ordered YouTube to remove videos of "radical preachings", including those of the firebrand cleric Jashim Uddin Rahmani.

He was sentenced to five years in jail last December after his speeches were found to have incited Islamist militants to kill the atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in early 2013.

Shortly after the cafe siege, it emerged that several of the Bangladesh attackers were young, tech-savvy men from wealthy families and had easy access to social media.

The father of 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz, one of the suspected attackers killed when commandoes stormed the cafe, has said he believes his son may have been radicalised online.

Imtiaz reportedly posted an appeal on Facebook last year urging all Muslims to become terrorists and quoting a controversial Indian preacher who has been banned in Britain, Canada and Malaysia.

"He was a practising Muslim. So many people are. Maybe he was radicalised through the internet," his father Imtiaz Khan Babul told AFP.

"But I never checked what he was browsing... Someone may have brainwashed him."

Story continues

Bangladesh police issued a stern warning Wednesday that anyone caught sharing jihadist propaganda online would be punished in the wake of the unprecedented attack in Dhaka.

"Uploading, sharing, commenting or liking any video, images or speech in the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in support of the Islamic State or militancy is a punishable offence," Deputy Inspector General of police A.K.M. Shahidur Rahman said.

"If anyone is found to have engaged in such activities, tough legal action will be taken against that person."

- Photos of carnage -

Survivors of the cafe siege have told how the young attackers seized mobile phones from hostages and forced them to provide their passwords so they could send out photographs of the carnage that were quickly disseminated by IS.

Some reports said they had brought laptops, and ordered cafe workers to switch on the wifi.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are already working around the clock to take down jihadist accounts, but they often pop up again under different names.

Experts say IS supporters are also turning to smaller social media platforms like Telegram, a messenger app, to disseminate their propaganda.

Facebook and Twitter have removed some posts and Mahmood, of the telecoms regulator, said the government would bring in tougher laws to tackle radicalism on social media.

Bangladeshi police have set up a special email address and urged people to report any suspicious online activities following last week's attack.

Meanwhile the head of the country's elite security force appealed to Bangladeshis to be vigilant over the use of social media sites as a recruiting tool, and to report missing relatives.

"If there are any missing family members, please tell us, don't be afraid that law-enforcing agencies will take your sons away," said Benazir Ahmed.

"Their lives and other lives can be saved if they are found."
By Huw Jones

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Global banking lobby groups campaigning to soften a key rule on bank capital got a boost this week when the Bank of England recommended amending these regulations.

The rule, known as the leverage ratio, is being finalised by the Basel Committee of global bank regulators and is due to come into effect from 2018.

It aims to bolster banks' financial strength and measures a bank's capital against its total assets.

But banks say the leverage ratio could end up becoming the main determinant of capital requirements, rather than the backstop that it is designed to be.

The Bank of England, among the more hawkish regulators since the 2007-09 financial crisis and a Basel member, expressed concern on Tuesday about the way ratio is calculated.

In its current form, the leverage ratio "may act to discourage market making activity", and there was merit in amending it, the BoE said in its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report.

Six banking and markets bodies on Thursday called on the Basel Committee to revise their proposals for the ratio, saying they share the BoE's concerns.

The ratio is too inflexible when it comes to what should be included in calculating it, five banking and markets groups said in a joint statement.

"It is vital that the leverage ratio is calibrated in a way which does not constrain efficient financing for economic growth and job creation," Tim Adams, president of the Institute of International Finance said in a joint statement with four other industry bodies.

One of the criticisms of the leverage ratio is that it will hit liquidity in financial markets. Central banks are already worried about the impact of lower liquidity on the ability of markets to ride out shocks without freezing up.

"The proposals will result in lower liquidity on transparent central markets, leading to higher spreads, lower volumes, more volatility and greater systemic risk," Nandini Sukumar, chief executive of the World Federation of Exchanges said separately on Thursday.

Story continues

Basel has already sought to allay concerns by fixing the first global leverage ratio at 3 percent for the vast majority of banks across the world, sticking with the preliminary level agreed at the height of the financial crisis.

It has also softened some of its other rules as policymakers switch focus from crisis-era reforms to getting more bank credit into sluggish economies to revive growth.

In May, Japan's Financial Services Agency, also a Basel member, warned that the leverage ratio should not be the main determinant of bank capital.

(Reporting by Huw Jones. Editing by Jane Merriman)
By Edward Krudy and Bryn Stole BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters stood vigil early on Thursday outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, demanding the prosecution of police who fatally shot a black man there two days earlier. The demonstration was largely peaceful at about 1 a.m. local time as about 300 protesters remained outside of the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest by two white police officers on Tuesday. "There is not going to be a riot until they show they are not going to prosecute these people," said Arsby, a 53-year-old truck driver who declined to give his last name, as he stood outside of the store. "Right now it's just started." Some protesters blocked traffic while others marched, sang, and chanted, accusing the police of using "excessive force" against black residents. "If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering. Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York. One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot. The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors. "Now, all eyes are in Baton Rouge. What may have been easier to cover up before because it was just us ... now they've woken up the sleeping lions," said protester Tammara Crawford, a 33-year-old mother and school administrator in Baton Rouge. "HE'S GOT A GUN" Video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackle him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest. Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells, "He's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired. Three more shots are heard, before the camera shows one officer lean over Sterling and take something from his pocket. The two police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake, have been put on administrative leave, police said. Court records show Sterling had several criminal convictions and he was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Relatives and acquaintances described Sterling as jovial and friendly, a neighborhood fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien and Kathy Finn)
Angry demonstrators chant as they block Summit Avenue in front of the governors residence in St. Paul, Minn., early Thursday morning. (Photo: Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)

The heartbroken mother of a black man who was fatally shot by a police officer in Minnesota said on Thursday that the recent spate of deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers amounts to a silent war against African-Americans.

Were being hunted, every day. Its a silent war against African-American people as a whole, Valerie Castile said in an interview on CNNs New Day.

In the emotional interview with Alisyn Camerota, Castile also said she believes police officers still racially profile black people in the United States and that there are few, if any, consequences for taking their lives.

SLIDESHOW  Police fatally shoot Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. >>>

Her son, Philando Castile, 32, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, on Wednesday  one day after the high-profile, police-involved shooting death of another black man, Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, La.

Philando Castiles fiancee, Diamond Reynolds, who also goes by Lavish Reynolds, live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting in a Facebook Live video thats been viewed nearly 3.5 million times. In the video, streamed just moments after the shooting, Reynolds says that the responding officer opened fire when Philando Castile reached for his wallet, after having been asked for his license and registration.

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING FOOTAGE

Valerie Castile said she has not watched the video because she wants to remember her son as he was when they were last together  and not as he appeared in the violent last moments as he sat dying in his car.

I appreciate Diamond streaming that video live because we never wouldve known exactly what happened had she not put that out there like that, she said. And then for him to blatantly shoot into that vehicle with that child in there and that female. And I know for a fact my son would never jeopardize his fiancee and the child by doing anything to provoke this officer to think that his life was in danger.

Story continues

Philandos uncle, Clarence Castile, however, did watch the video and described it as the most horrific thing he has ever seen in his life.

I see a young man, helpless, shot for no apparent reason, he said during the CNN interview. I saw my nephew, shot by a man, clinging to his life, with no help. It was the most horrific thing Ive ever seen in my life.

They said the very people who are supposed to protect people in the United States too often become their judges and executioners.

Valerie Castile said that both her son and daughter were licensed to carry guns but recalled that her daughter was hesitant to do so because she feared, theyll shoot me first and ask questions later.

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, cries outside the governors residence in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday. (Photo: Jim Mone/AP)

My son was a law-abiding citizen, and he did nothing wrong. He had a permit to carry. But with all of that, trying to do the right things and live accordingly by the law, he was killed by the law, she said. Im outraged.

Minnesota court records show that Philando Castile has a long list of petty misdemeanor traffic charges, but nothing more serious.

He worked as a nutrition services assistant at several schools from November 2002 until August 2014, when he was promoted to nutrition services supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School, according to Saint Paul Public Schools.

Valerie Castile described her son as a hard worker who was well liked and laid-back. She also said shes positive he complied with the officers instructions.

Thats the key thing in order to survive being stopped by the police is to comply, she said. Whatever they ask you to do, do it. Dont say nothing. Just do whatever they want you to do. So whats the difference in complying and you get killed anyway?

She said her son had already died by the time she reached Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, where he was taken after the shooting, and that she has not been allowed to see his body.

The video of the shooting sparked widespread outrage and protests. Many African-American parents asked on social media what they should tell their children to avoid deadly confrontations with police officers because their previous guidance was to always be polite and to obey police officers commands.

"Son, if stopped, be polite, comply w/ police orders, let the officer know you're reaching for your license."What do I tell my son now? #BLM  Donna Edwards (@DonnaFEdwards) July 7, 2016

Others accused the pro-gun National Rifle Association of being conspicuously silent regarding Castiles death.

Dear @NRA, Since 'All Lives Matter,' I await your statement supporting legal gun owner and police shooting victim #PhilandoCastile. Today.  Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) July 7, 2016

Hundreds of demonstrators, including Reynolds, gathered outside the Minnesota governors residence in St. Paul overnight. Some protesters used police tape from the shooting site to cover the governors gate in protest.

#NoJusticeNoSleep #PhilandoCastile @tony_the_scribe A video posted by Christopher Michael Jensen (@chrismikejensen) on Jul 7, 2016 at 1:16am PDT

There were chants of No justice, no peace, f*** you police! and The whole damn system is guilty as hell. Indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail!

Outside the Governor's Mansion. The whole damn system is guilty as hell. #PhilandoCastile #FalcolnHeightsShooting pic.twitter.com/mXgVqx64z3  Black Lives MPLS (@BlackLivesMpls) July 7, 2016

Outside the mansion Thursday morning, Reynolds told reporters that Gov. Mark Dayton should take steps to ensure that there is a process for identifying police officers who may suffer from mental problems (implying that the police officer involved in the shooting might be unstable), and that he should protect the rights of licensed gun owners so these tragedies dont happen.

He was never a bad man. He never did anything to hurt anyone, Reynolds said of her fiance. He was the quietest, most laid-back person you would ever meet. He was loving. And so even for the police to take him away, nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said, Shoot me.

Diamond Reynolds weeps after she recounts the incidents that led to the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, by a police officer. (Photo: Eric Miller/Reuters)

Later Thursday morning, Dayton released a statement extending his condolences to the family and friends of Philando Castile and vowing to protect the integrity of that investigation.

This morning, I spoke by phone with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter, the statement reads. Overnight, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level. They are currently collecting all necessary evidence, and interviewing witnesses, to determine what happened, and to assure that justice in this case is served.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Obama is deeply disturbed by reports of the shootings in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights and is following both closely. He said they cannot comment on specifics at the moment because the incidents are still under investigation.

This is at least the second time in less than a year that a young black man was shot and killed by police in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Two Minneapolis police officers were involved in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, 24, in November 2015. No charges were filed against either officer.
Last month had its ups and its downs for the Clinton family.

Chelsea Clinton and her husband welcomed a baby boy...but there was also Hillary Clinton's ongoing headache over those emails and ET has confirmed that Bill's half-brother, Roger, was jailed for a DUI in Southern California.

Roger was charged with driving under the influence and above the legal limit, the Redondo Beach city attorney told ET. He refused to submit to a chemical test, which resulted in a mandatory 48 hour county jail requirement.

EXCLUSIVE: Oprah Winfrey Endorses Hillary Clinton in Upcoming Election: 'It's a Seminal Moment for Women'

This isn't the first run-in with the law for the father of two and former actor -- Roger once guest-starred on The Nanny and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

Before he left office in 2001, then-President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother for a cocaine-related offence, the BBC reports. Roger served more than a year in prison for possession in 1985 and, with the pardon, it was cleaned from his criminal record.

A month later, he was popped for driving under the influence, but those charges were dropped and he pled guilty to reckless driving and was put on probation.

Roger will be arraigned on Sept. 2.

Meanwhile, tensions have turned up in Hillary's race for the White House. Hear the three epic words she used to slam Donald Trump on Twitter and break the Internet in the video below.

Related Articles
Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill refused to dismiss the criminal case against Bill Cosby Thursday, ruling he does not have the right to confront his accuser at a preliminary hearing.



Cosby, 78,  who was back in court on Thursday  is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrew Constand, now 43, at his Elkins Park, Pennsylvania mansion in January 2004.



The case was held for trial after a May 24 prelminary hearing, but Cosby's attorneys were challenging the outcome because Constand did not testify. Instead, a detective read a statement she gave to authorities on Jan. 22, 2005.



Cosby's spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, immediately released a statement expressing disappointment with the ruling and vowed to appeal.



"Once again the prosecution had the opportunity and the obligation to place Mr. Cosby's accuser under oath so that we can search for the truth but they refused," Wyatt said. "In this courthouse and in this state, we have always protected the liberty of our citizens by requiring accusations like these to be tested by an examination under oath but not today.



"Today a man who has meant so much to so many; a man who has given so much to so many; has had his constitutional rights trampled on," he went on. "We truly believe that our Supreme Court will right this wrong and reverse this decision so that we can finish the mission of proving Mr. Cosby's innocence."



On June 8, Cosby's attorneys filed a petition asking O'Neill to order Constand, now 43, to appear in person at a new preliminary hearing  or dismiss all charges against him, saying Cosby's constitutional rights were violated by not having her appear in person at the preliminary hearing.



"The crux of prima facie we're addressing today is  'What are the limits of the commonwealth's reliance on hearsay for a criminal case in Pennsylvania?" argued Christopher Tayback, one of Cosby's attorneys.



"The commonwealth's argument is that there are no limits, that it can use multiple levels of hearsay to prove any and all elements of any and all offenses and that is sufficient," he argued. "I don't believe that's the law. We know there are limits."





Story continues

Bill Cosby Accuser Andrea Constand Will Not Be Forced to Testify Ahead of Sex Assault Trial, Judge Rules| Crime & Courts, True Crime, Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby Accuser Andrea Constand Will Not Be Forced to Testify Ahead of Sex Assault Trial, Judge Rules| Crime & Courts, True Crime, Bill Cosby

 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.



Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, under questioning by O'Neill, told the judge not having a victim testify at a preliminary hearing is the practice for all sexual assault cases in his office.



"It's our position that we're not going to re-traumatize victims if we don't have to," Steele told the judge. "We have proven this case at a prima facie level. We ask the court to bind over the charges so we can proceed to trial in this case.  and do justice



Cosby's attorneys were challenging part of Rule 542 of the Pennsylvania Codes of Criminal Procedure, which states hearsay evidence alone is enough to establish a prima facie case against an offender.



They based their argument in part on the case of Dave Ricker in West Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, who is charged with attempted murder and other offenses for allegedly shooting a state trooper in June 2012. Neither of the troopers who were present testified at his preliminary hearing; instead the prosecutor played an audio tape of the trooper who'd been wounded. Ricker argued his constitutional right to confront witnesses was violated.



The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected this argument but the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal on the matter. For the time being, though, the Ricker case is the precedent, argued Montgomery County Deputy District Attorney Robert Falin.



"Ricker remains the binding precedent even though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted the petition to allow an appeal," he said.



He also took issue with Cosby's lawyers argument that Ricker's appeal was only based on a defendant's right to confront his witness  not that his due process rights were violated, which is part of their argument.



"Their fallback argument is due process," Falin said. "That's a bit of a shell game, Your Honor. If you don't have a 6th Amendment right to something, it's unlikely you're going to have a due process right."



Keeping an eye on the case from afar was Ricker's attorney, William Costopoulos, who tells PEOPLE he believes the state supreme court will hold a hearing on the case in September.



His client has not yet entered a plea, he says.



He says he sees the similarities between his client's case and Cosby's. In his case, the troopers were "right down the street" and the prosecution refused to call them as witnesses, he says.



"The victims in each case were available to the commonwealth and these are both very serious charges," he says. "I think both Cosby and Ricker probably get held over for trial if the witnesses are called but call them."
2nd UPDATE, 1:23 PM: Despite his efforts today to stop it, Bill Cosby is heading to trial after all on three felony second-degree aggravated indecent assault charges. At the end of a half-day hearing Thursday on the actors June 8 motion to halt the trial or get a new preliminary hearing, Pennsylvania Judge Steven ONeill ruled to deny the habeus corpus in the case of the actors alleged drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand in 2004. That means the case will have a trial start date later this year, as previously scheduled.

This shuts down Cosbys argument that he was prevented from a fair process when the former Temple University employee did not testify in the preliminary hearing of May 24. In finding that the accusers testimony was not required at the preliminary hearing a month and a half ago, ONeills ruling today to not toss the case nor the charges against The Cosby Show creator re-confirms the first hearing and potentially could see the actor facing 10-years in jail if found guilty.

While over 50 women have come forward in the last few years to accuse Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them, this case in the Keystone State is the lone criminal case against the actor. Almost as soon as the ruling was read out in court, Cosbys lawyers issued a statement  anticipating things would not be going their way in the matter.

Once again the Prosecution had the opportunity and the obligation to place Mr. Cosbys accuser under oath so that we can search for the truth but they refused, the actors attorneys said on Thursday. In this Courthouse and in this State, we have always protected the liberty of our citizens by requiring accusations like these to be tested by an examination under oath but not today. They added, Today a man who has meant so much to so many; a man who has given so much to so many; has had his constitutional rights trampled on. We truly believe that our Supreme Court will right this wrong and reverse this decision so that we can finish the mission of proving Mr. Cosbys innocence.

Story continues

Earlier in the day, Cosbys main lawyer Christopher Tayback once again put forth the idea that the incident, which Cosby settled with Constand in a civil suit in 2006, was consensual. The LA-based attorney told the Judge and the court, in which Cosby was present,that the actor gave Constand a Benadryl to help her relax when she was at his Philly mansion in early 2004.

If you give somebody a pill and they ultimately have adverse reactions, if your purpose was to treat them, thats not actionable, said Tayback. Judge ONeill immediately responded  It is if you allegedly have sex with them after it.

UPDATE: 11:21 AM: After a contentious session in which the judge rebuked Cosbys lawyer over whether or not settling a civil suit in 2006 removed the need for prosecutors to protect Andrea Constand, todays hearing in the Bill Cosby criminal case is on a short break.

It doesnt matter if it was 10 years ago or 10 days ago, Judge Steven ONeill told Cosby attorney Christopher Tayback in his Norristown, PA courtroom this morning. The principles and concepts of re-victimization remain the same. As a part of the defenses effort to stop a trial that could see the widely accused actor in prison for up to a decade or get a new preliminary hearing, Tayback was arguing that because the ex-Temple U employee didnt take the stand at the May 24 hearing, Cosbys defense is damaged. The Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP lawyer cited the 2005 statement that was read out loud by a police officer at that hearing as why it was essential that Constand herself should have been in the courtroom. The statement on its face begs more questions than it answers, said Tayback of Constands recollection of her claim that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in early 2004.

TheMontgomery County D.A.s office said at Thursdays hearing that Constands credibility isnt an issue in the case. Cosbys team has said that the interaction between the two back in 2004 was consensual.

The hearing continues Thursday.

PREVIOUSLY, 10:35 AM: Less than two-months after being ordered to stand trial on the alleged 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, Bill Cosby has today got his day in court  again. In a Norristown, PA hearing scheduled to start at 1 PM ET, the much accused comedian arrived just beforehand Thursday looking relaxed, smiling and waving to onlookers and walking with a cane. Todays hearing is a consequence of Cosbys latest attempt to derail a criminal trial on three felony second-degree aggravated indecent assault charges or get a do-over of the May 24 preliminary hearing that ruled such a trial would occur.

If found guilty on the only criminal charges laid against him so far despite allegations from over 50 women of such attacks, the 78-year old Cosby faces up to 10-years behind bars and some big fines. Should Cosby prove unsuccessful in putting a spanner in the legal works today, trial date is expected to be set later this month. However, Judge Steven ONeill could name a trial date today if he agrees withe Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele and rules against Cosbys motion. Well update as necessary.

RelatedBill Cosby Cries Hearsay & Tries Again To Have 2004 Rape Case Tossed

Simultaneously, fighting the matter before the state Supreme Court and having filed their motion of dismissal on June 8 in Montgomery County, Cosby and his legal team are arguing today that they were denied the proper process in a May 24 hearing before Judge Elizabeth A. McHugh. The basis of their dispute is that Constand was not required to take the stand nor were they allowed to cross examine her. In the late May hearing, law enforcement officials read out statements by the former Temple University employee related to the alleged incident that occurred at Cosbys suburban Philadelphia mansion over 12-years ago. Saying they did not want to add to Constands trauma, prosecutors have indicated that the alleged victim will testify at the trial if required.

Though allowed under the laws of the Keystone State, the decision to not have Constand in the courtroom or on the stand taints the process, say The Cosby Shows representatives, who called the ruling a travesty of justice after the May 24 hearing. During this hearing, the Commonwealth relied solely upon hearsay evidence to establish the elements of the charged offense, without providing Mr. Cosby an opportunity to confront and cross-examine his accuser, says the petition that Cosbys lawyers filed in early June.

Ampng all the claims and cases across the nation that Cosby is facing from over 50 women who say the actor assaulted them over the years, the Pennsylvania case is the only criminal case before the courts currently. Then newly elected D.A. Steele laid the charges against Cosby right at the end of 2015 to beat the states 12-year statute of limitations for such crimes. Cosby was arraigned December 30 and released on $1 million bail without entering a plea. After the then D.A. declined to press criminal charges back in 2005, Constand and Cosby came to a settlement in 2006 in a civil case  a settlement Cosby now wants back because he says Constand and her attorneys broke the confidentiality agreement of that deal. On May 13, Constands lawyers filed a motion to have Cosbys case against her, her mother, her 2005 attorneys and National Enquirer owner American Media dismissed. A recent hearing on that matter is now under the consideration of a federal judge

As usual, Cosby is represented in court today by a praetorian guard of lawyers from L.A., D.C. and Philadelphia led by the actors main attorney Christopher Tayback of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

Anna Orso & Chris Krewson contributed to this report

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A human body found inside a suitcase floating in a Tokyo canal last month has been identified as that of a Chinese woman missing for over two years, police said Thursday.

The corpse, clad in a camisole and short pants, was not badly decomposed when discovered on June 27, which local reports said indicated the woman had not been dead for long.

But police were unable to confirm the identity of the body as being that of 34-year-old Yang Mei until Thursday, a police spokesman said.

Yang came to Japan in September 2013 as a trainee, one of the tens of thousands of foreigners -- mostly from China, Vietnam and Indonesia -- who participate in the government's Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program (TTIP).

A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP that Yang had been put on a missing persons watch list by police in Kyoto, western Japan.

"She was working at an auto-parts plant in Kyoto but disappeared from her dormitory after being seen in its cafeteria in March 2014," the spokesman said.

He added that police matched the fingerprints of the body with those of Yang from the immigration bureau.

TTIP is officially described as an internship programme under which people from developing countries can learn skills at Japanese companies.

But it has been criticised by rights activists as a scheme to provide cheap labour for the textile, construction, farming, manufacturing and other industries.

The programme has been plagued by participants running away and going missing in Japan when no longer able to stand working conditions activists have described as "abusive" or simply seeking better wages.
(Adds details, background)

July 7 (Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Thursday it delivered 199 commercial aircraft in the second quarter, up from 197 in the same period a year earlier.

The world's biggest planemaker said deliveries of its single-aisle 737 slipped to 127 from 128 as it readies a newer version of its most popular plane.

The new plane, the 737 MAX, is currently undergoing flight tests and is expected to be delivered to customers next year.

Boeing's second-quarter deliveries of its 777 planes rose to 28 from 26 from a year earlier, while its 787 deliveries increased to 38 from 34.

The company said it delivered a total of 375 planes since the beginning of the year. Boeing expects to deliver 740 to 745 planes in 2016, down from a record 762 in 2015.

Boeing also said it had 171 new orders for the second quarter.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Anil D'Silva)
By Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Boeing Co is stepping up efforts to conserve cash, cut costs in its supply chain and trim inventory of parts in its factories, while telling vendors it will take longer to pay bills, Boeing and aerospace industry executives said.

Under the new terms, Boeing is taking up to 120 days to pay, rather than 30 days in the past, these people said. The new payment schedules are being rolled out this year.

Boeing is reducing its factory inventory and relying on suppliers to hold parts instead, these people said. The moves come at a time when investors are closely watching Boeing's cash flow.

In a statement to Reuters, Boeing confirmed the changes in payment and inventory terms, saying they were necessary to compete when airlines want more capable planes at lower prices.

"To align with industry norms" and remain competitive, "we are in the process of adjusting the payment terms of our large suppliers," spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said in the statement. "In most, if not all cases, our new payment terms are in line with their payment schedules to their own suppliers."

Boeing, which is marking 100 years in business this summer, and its European rival Airbus earn lower average profit margins on the airliners they engineer and sell than many of the companies that supply components for the planes.

The company's operating profit margin averaged 6.9 percent over the last decade. Airbus's figure was 3.7 percent. United Technologies Aerospace Systems' comparable margin was about 16 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"It's in Boeing's DNA to build the best airplanes," Kent Fisher, vice president of supplier management, said in an interview. "But what we and suppliers have to recognize is that we have to shift that dynamic and focus on reducing the cost to build the airplanes."

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg has told investors he wants to lift Boeing's profit margin to the mid-teens by 2020.

Story continues

Under a program called Partnering for Success, launched in 2012, Boeing suppliers cut prices 15 percent. Now, executives at Boeing suppliers say Muilenburg is pushing a renewed round of cost cutting.

"I was in a meeting with Dennis where he was quite specific about needing to get continued cost reduction from the suppliers," said Dave Gitlin, president of United Technologies Aerospace Systems, one of the world's largest aircraft parts makers.

Gitlin said UTC did not agree to delayed payment terms because it was focused on its own cash flow.

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
(Adds Leeham News report)

By Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Boeing Co is stepping up efforts to conserve cash, cut costs in its supply chain and trim inventory of parts in its factories, telling vendors it will take longer to pay bills, Boeing and aerospace industry executives said.

Under the new terms, Boeing is taking up to 120 days to pay, rather than 30 days as in the past, these people said. The new payment schedules are being rolled out this year.

Boeing also is reducing its factory inventory and is relying on suppliers to hold parts instead, these people said. The moves come at a time when investors are closely watching Boeing's cash flow.

In a statement to Reuters, Boeing confirmed the changes in payment and inventory terms, saying they were necessary to compete when airlines want more capable planes at lower prices.

"To align with industry norms" and remain competitive, "we are in the process of adjusting the payment terms of our large suppliers," spokeswoman Jessica Kowal said in the statement. "In most, if not all cases, our new payment terms are in line with their payment schedules to their own suppliers."

Boeing, which is marking 100 years in business this summer, and its European rival Airbus earn lower average profit margins on the airliners they engineer and sell than many of the companies that supply components for the planes.

The company's operating profit margin averaged 6.9 percent over the last decade. Airbus's figure was 3.7 percent. United Technologies Aerospace Systems' comparable margin was about 16 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"It's in Boeing's DNA to build the best airplanes," Kent Fisher, vice president of supplier management, said in an interview. "But what we and suppliers have to recognize is that we have to shift that dynamic and focus on reducing the cost to build the airplanes."

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg has told investors he wants to lift Boeing's profit margin to the mid-teens by 2020.

Story continues

Under a program called Partnering for Success, launched in 2012, Boeing suppliers cut prices 15 percent. Now, executives at Boeing suppliers say Muilenburg is pushing a renewed round of cost cutting.

"I was in a meeting with Dennis where he was quite specific about needing to get continued cost reduction from the suppliers," said Dave Gitlin, president of United Technologies Aerospace Systems, one of the world's largest aircraft parts makers.

Gitlin said UTC did not agree to delayed payment terms because it was focused on its own cash flow.

But as Boeing searches for savings, he said, "it's accurate to say that everything is part of the discussion. I think they're looking under every rock."

Major Boeing supplier Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said Boeing is seeking a new round of lower prices and changes in payment terms.

"I cannot say the number, but I would like to satisfy as much as possible the required cost reduction level from Boeing," Shunichi Miyanaga, chief executive of MHI, said in an interview.

On the question of longer payment periods, first reported by aviation publication Leeham News, he added, "we have not decided."

$2 BILLION IN SAVINGS

Not all of Boeing's efforts require price reductions. Some suppliers find cost savings by re-engineering components, a process Boeing calls "value engineering." Boeing saved $1 billion a year in 2014 and 2015 through these efforts, up from $60 million in 2012, Kowal said.

"They're very aggressive," Tom Gentile, chief executive of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, said in an interview about price reductions.

"But Boeing is as hard on themselves as they are on anyone else," he added. On a recent tour of Boeing's factories in Washington state, he said, workers were under pressure to install new tools, reduce production time and reduce inventory.

Payment terms could be included in a long-term agreement Spirit is negotiating with Boeing, Gentile said. "There are a lot of levers to pull," he said.

But many suppliers have already accepted the changes. At a mid-sized machining shop in Washington state that makes parts for Boeing, payment terms shifted this spring.

"We went a whole month with no receivables from Boeing," said the owner, who asked not to be named because of concern about damaging relations with Boeing.

When payments resumed, about 10 percent of the company's annual revenue remained unpaid, he said, adding that Boeing now pays in 60 days, not 30, and pays twice a month, not weekly.

"We're having to change the way we manage our cash flow and change the way we pay our suppliers," the owner said. "It is preventing us from buying equipment."

Boeing said small suppliers in the United States are exempt from the new payment terms and that it is trying to accommodate suppliers overseas.

"Boeing did not implement any policy change or action that would have delayed or missed a contractual payment to large or small suppliers in April," Kowal said.

Other suppliers also reported changes in Boeing's terms, along with further price reductions, said Christian Schiller, a managing director at investment bank Cascadia Capital in Seattle who works with mid-sized suppliers. The effort has been dubbed "Partnering for Success 2.0."

"Notwithstanding all the concessions people made on PFS," Schiller said, "there's a whole new wave now of all sorts of other concessions." (Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Phil Berlowitz)
By Serena Chaudhry LONDON (Reuters) - Indian film star Alia Bhatt says she wants to experiment with acting in Hollywood and a web series for a platform like Netflix after four meteoric years in Bollywood. The 23-year-old says she would also like to work in Lollywood, Tollywood and even Nollywood, referring to the Pakistani, South Indian and Nigerian film industries and admires Netflix for its variety of content and global accessibility. "Definitely Hollywood is something, a destination that you really reach after, maybe a couple of years after kind of finding your feet in Indian cinema, in Bollywood," Bhatt told Reuters in an interview. "Im going to step into it maybe a little slower, but definitely I have plans." She is following a well-worn path, with Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan already making their mark in America. Chopra, who stars in the television series "Quantico", has also bagged a role in the upcoming "Baywatch" film. Bhatt, who has just seven films under her belt, said she admired the work of Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer Lawrence is somebody I really look up to because I really like the kind of choices she makes. Shell do the 'Hunger Games' but then shell also do the 'Silver Linings Playbook'," she said. "So I probably want to start with like a 'Silver Linings Playbook', something more where theres more scope for performance, you know, because I feel like thats where Ill really learn." Bhatt's most recent role was in "Utda Punjab", a crime drama which looks at the issue of drugs in India's Punjab region, and was widely celebrated for her performance in the film in which she also sang. "You can say actings my husband and singing is my boyfriend. Its a long-term commitment with my acting. Singing is something that Im really, really fond of, but I dont know how far I can take that in my life," Bhatt said. Her father is the renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and while she says it has been difficult to shake off her father's legacy, she feels she is starting to be recognized on her own merit. Upcoming films include "Dear Zindagi", which stars Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, of whom Bhatt is a big fan. (Editing by Louise Ireland)
From Road & Track

Like pilgrims sojourning to the Holy Land, they've been showing up in groups from all over the world. England. France. Italy. Germany. Australia. Austin. They arrive at the facility, located in the middle of the Arizona desert on the outskirts of Phoenix, giddy and anxious. They've come all this way, after all. And they've come for one reason: to drive Dodge Vipers.

It might seem extreme, but since Bondurant Racing School became the official "High Performance Driving School" of Dodge and traded out its fleet of amped-up Chevrolets and Cadillacs for a menagerie of Hellcats and Vipers last fall, apparently this has been the case. According to Pat Bondurant, the wife of acclaimed racer Bob Bondurant and school founder, the company has seen a surge in international interest thanks to the partnership.

"Our uptick in global students coming for Bondurant is absolutely shocking when they found out that we have the Vipers," Bondurant says. "They're calling it 'Vipers in the desert.'"

If that sounds like a marketing slogan-which it most likely will become-Bondurant says customers have been coming up with it on their own. Such is the allure of the Viper. The car has always occupied its own niche in the world of supercars, and outside of America, the newest generation has only been available in certain markets. So if your dream has always been to drive a Viper, much less on-track, the desert you must go.

I visited Bondurant with a bevy of other journalists to check out its new high-strung fleet and find out more about its partnership with Dodge/SRT. As part of the deal, the company offers a free one-day Bondurant training session with the purchase or lease of any 2015 or 2016 Dodge/SRT vehicle. The session, which doesn't include airfare or travel, is meant to let customers experience the full potential of their vehicles while also giving those who have never driven anything more powerful than an Elantra some pointers.

Story continues

If your dream has always been to drive a Viper, much less on-track, the desert you must go.

But the fun isn't limited to just Dodge/SRT customers. Anyone can still pay to take a variety of Bondurant's one-day courses that feature the same Dodge/SRT vehicles and begin at $1250. Pricey, no question, but it's also just about the only way to get behind the wheel of a Viper or Hellcat for most people. Whether it's worth the cost really just depends on how bad you yearn to drive these cars.

The Dodge/SRT class itself is fairly basic. There are four parts-accident avoidance, skid cars, autocross, and lead-follow track time-and throughout the day everyone rotates through a variety of SRT vehicles, including the Charger Hellcat, the Challenger Hellcat, and the Viper T/A 2.0. Probably figuring they had a bunch of speed addicts foaming at the mouth to hit the track as soon as possible (correct), we skipped the accident avoidance and headed straight to the skid cars.

Everyone should own a skid car.

What is a skid car exactly? Well, at Bondurant, they're Hemi-equipped Dodge Chargers attached to what looks like a large set of training wheels. The rig allows instructors to lift up the the front or the rear of the vehicle to upset weight balance and induce understeer or oversteer. Going as little as 20 mph, punch the gas ever so slightly in a turn, and next thing you know you're in a full-on skid. It's a hoot.

There is a point to these shenanigans, of course, and it is to teach drivers to look ahead to their next turn and how to countersteer while correcting a skid. The trick: Turn into the skid until the car is pointing in the direction you want to head. Then unwind the wheel. If you've done any sort of class like this before, it's nothing new, but it never hurts to be reminded.

After some timed runs around the autocross course in a Charger R/T, we then headed to the track for a brief driver orientation and the lead-and-follow portion of the class. Rotating through the logo-laden Hellcats and Vipers, we started learning the track and trying to keep pace with Bondurant's driving instructors, who progressively get faster as long as the drivers in tow can keep up. There isn't much in the way of turn-by-turn instruction or post-lap analysis, so you just follow the instructor's line and learn on the fly, pushing yourself to keep pace.

Bondurant's road course is surprisingly technical, with 15 turns in 1.65 miles. It makes sense once you remember that it's also a training facility for pros, but there is little respite for novices. With only one straightaway and many of the turns being off-camber or having late apexes, vision and control are key. The difficulty of managing the kinks was magnified by the 707-hp Challengers and Chargers: Get too greedy with the throttle on exit and the back end immediately gets squirrelly.

Driving the Charger and Challenger Hellcats back-to-back proved an interesting comparison. Both cars have the same steering ratio and handled surprisingly well given their size and power, but they couldn't have felt more different. The Charger, though slightly heavier and not as evenly balanced as the Challenger, felt tighter, nimbler, and more composed around the track. The Challenger felt big, unwieldy, and ready to pummel you into the ground for any mistake. As a fellow journalist said to me, "I can't believe they're going to let people who've never been on a track before drive these things."

The Challenger felt big, unwieldy, and ready to pummel you into the ground for any mistake.

But enough about the Hellcat twins. Let's talk about the Viper, because that really is the main show. While both Hellcats come equipped with either automatic or manual transmissions and standard seatbelts, all of Bondurant's Vipers have manual transmissions and five-point racing harnesses. Having never driven the new Viper on track before, I was anxious to see if it lived up to the hype. And there's been lots of hype.

Hoo boy, does it. The Viper is a downright riot to drive hard on the track. The steering is achingly linear, and the stiff chassis snaps to attention with each input. The Brembo brakes allow you to quickly scrub speed going into a turn, and through the corners, the aero package and Pirelli P Zero Corsas combine to give the car more grip than a stubborn gecko. Every car was intense to drive, but the Viper was the only car where you truly felt one with the machine.

Luckily, because we'd skipped a course, we got twice the time for lead-follows as a normal class would have. I snuck back into the Viper for every extra lap I could manage, and the more time I spent behind the wheel, the more I learned to trust the car and myself. The Viper rewards smart driving, and while things can still get hairy in a hurry, the 645 hp allows you to be more aggressive than in the Hellcats.

Bondurant also has quite a few Viper ACRs on hand. These cars, however, are not part of the Dodge/SRT program and are only available to drive as part of an advanced course for qualified drivers. The course is taught by racer Justin Bell, who won the 1999 GT2 class at LeMans in a 4th-gen Viper. "You can't just let anybody drive that car," Bell says of the ACR. "That would be bad."

Unfortunately, that anybody included us. On the bright side, the Dodge/SRT program includes hot laps at the end of your session, and we were able to take a few Viper TA 2.0 hot laps with Bell and Chris Winkler, SRT's vehicle dynamics manager and the man who drove the Viper ACR for 11 of the 13 record-breaking laps it completed last year.

I ended up in Bell's car, and as he furiously whipped the Viper around the track, I watched him work. He went deeper into the corners at full throttle before jumping on the brakes so hard that my harness cut into my neck. He powered out of the corners earlier, gauging the slightest changes in traction while lightly managing the wheel. Just watching him made me want to go one more time, to get a little bit better, to feel that rush. Which is exactly the sort of drug Bondurant is slinging. Consider yourself warned.
Despite Chipotle Mexican Grill's (CMG) attempt to move on from a string of high-profile foodborne illness outbreaks, the company's stock moves Thursday show how fragile its reputation is at the moment.

The stock dipped as much as 3.4 percent in early morning trading following a tweet from Jason Bourne author Eric Van Lustbader that said his editor had been hospitalized after eating at a Chipotle in Manhattan.

"We are aware of the post made on Twitter, however there have been no reports of illnesses at any of our New York restaurants," Chris Arnold, a spokesman for Chipotle, told CNBC. "Moreover, we have excellent health department scores throughout the city, and we continue to have the highest standards of food safety in our restaurants."



After Chipotle released the statement, shares began to reverse themselves and were recently trading down $7.88, or 1.9 percent, at $392.44.

"Every time that something like that comes out, yes, it will affect the stock because it potentially impacts ... the recovery [in the] near term," Nick Setyan, a Wedbush analyst, told CNBC. "There is such a lack of visibility right now that every little thing is going to change that variable."



The illness Van Lustbader reported is unconfirmed at this time, however, other Twitter (TWTR) users have taken to the social media platform to share their experiences with New York Chipotle restaurants.

The reported illness comes just a day after the company released a new short film showcasing its commitment to using quality, fresh ingredients and keeping a simple menu rather than resorting to slick deals and gimmicks. The campaign was Chipotle's first step away from its recent messaging around its food safety practices.

Story continues

"A brand is really a cultural story. The current Chipotle 'story' is unfortunately highlighted by this issue, and they are doing everything possible to return the narrative to the much more positive place it was before," Austin McGhie, author of the book "Brand Is a Four Letter Word," told CNBC. "In the meantime, people are tentative and the slightest pebble thrown into the water can create quite a large ripple. Hence the stock price."



The company was hoping to gain a foothold in the market after first-quarter same-store sales plunged nearly 30 percent, contributing to a loss for that quarter  the first in its history.





More From CNBC


(Adds finance minister comments and context)

By Alonso Soto

BRASILIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Brazil set a smaller 2017 primary deficit target than initially envisioned, in an attempt to show greater austerity after an increase in spending raised doubts about the government's fiscal discipline.

The central government primary deficit target was set at 139 billion reais ($41.32 billion) for 2017, a figure well below the 160 billion reais it initially considered. The primary deficit, or budget shortfall before interest debt payments, is a key gauge of a country's capacity to repay its debt.

Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said the new target is realistic, despite a drop in revenues amid a crippling recession, but the government will continue to study whether it needs to raise taxes.

"It was not an easy process to come up with this target," Meirelles told reporters. "It will require a tremendous effort from our end to achieve the goal."

Interim President Michel Temer, who replaced suspended President Dilma Rousseff as she faces an impeachment trial for allegedly breaking budgetary rules, has vowed to shore up the country's finances after years of heavy spending.

The smaller-than-expected deficit for 2017 aims to convince wary investors that the Temer administration is committed to unpopular measures like reducing expenditures.

Many economists have criticized Temer for raising public expenditures this year with hefty wage increases for civil servants, social programs and a generous debt relief to cash-strapped states. A smaller deficit could tame inflation and pave the way for the central bank to cut interest rates.

The smaller deficit is a victory for Meirelles who faced resistance from other cabinet ministers who called for a larger shortfall to give more stimulus to a contracting economy.

Meirelles, a former central bank chief widely respected on Wall Street, has promised more austerity, but so far has only unveiled measures to limit expenditures in the medium to long term.

Story continues

Meirelles said public expenditures will have zero growth in 2017 in line with the proposed constitutional amendment to set a cap on expenditures.

Still, he added the government expects to raise an extra 55 billion reais in revenues with the sale of assets and concessions in 2017.

The government expects a deficit of 170.5 billion reais this year, a record shortfall that some economists believe does not reflect any effort to cut expenditures.

Brazil needs steep spending cuts and tax increases to reduce its debt burden that could top 80 percent of gross domestic product in 2017, several analysts say. ($1 = 3.3643 Brazilian reais) (Additional reporting by Bruno Federowski and Jeb Blount; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Andrew Hay)
BRASILIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian police detained an official with the federal tax appeals unit for demanding bribes to help lender Itau Unibanco in an ongoing case, the bank said on Thursday.

CARF, a unit within the Finance Ministry that hears appeals on tax disputes, has been at the heart of a police investigation, known as "Operation Zealots," into kickbacks by companies to officials and lobbyists to get favorable decisions.

The federal police confirmed the detention, which was not linked to a broader corruption investigation. In a statement, the police said they were tipped by a private company that the official, who was not identified, had asked for benefits to help influence a case.

Itau, the country's largest private lender, said in a statement it reported to authorities the misconduct of the CARF official who demanded a bribe in exchange for helping the lender in an ongoing case.

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi and Alonso Soto; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
By Sergio Spagnuolo CURITIBA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police seized documents and questioned suspects on Thursday to investigate Panama's FPB Bank in connection with a sweeping graft probe of political corruption at state-run companies. Police said FPB Bank was under investigation for "financial crimes, laundering of assets and transnational criminal organization" for offering private banking services without the authorization of Brazil's central bank. Offshore companies registered by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, the subject of a massive data leak this year, allegedly helped FPB Bank get clients' money out of Brazil illegally, police said in a news conference. Funds came in part from a multibillion-dollar price-fixing and bribery scheme at Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, prosecutors added in a statement. "Staff of the Panama-based bank in Brazil not only maintained a clandestine operation but also ensured their clients' anonymity by using offshores," federal prosecutors said. An FPB Bank executive, Edson Paulo Fanton, was taken into custody for questioning in Santos, a port city near Sao Paulo, police said. Representatives for FPB in Brazil and in Panama did not respond to a request for comment. Police said other banks are being investigated but declined to disclose which ones. The probe may widen depending on evidence to include other crimes, police officer Rodrigo Sanfurgo told the press conference. Prosecutors said they have identified 44 offshore companies registered by Mossack at FPB's request. The law firm's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A central bank spokeswoman confirmed FPB Bank is not authorized to operate in Brazil. Thursday's operation also included search-and-seizure raids in Sao Paulo, Santos and Sao Bernardo, strongholds of suspended President Dilma Rousseff's Workers Party, which ran the country for 13 years starting in 2003. The two-year-old Petrobras investigation, Brazil's biggest graft probe, has resulted in the jailing and conviction of dozens of powerful executives and politicians for fixing contracts in return for political contributions and personal bribes. Fallout from the scandal has overturned Brazilian politics, feeding the movement to impeach Rousseff on unrelated charges of breaking budget laws. She denies any wrongdoing in that case or the Petrobras scandal. (Reporting by Sergio Spagnuolo; Additional reporting by Silvio Cascione in Brasilia and Enrique Andres Pretel in Mexico City; Editing by W Simon and James Dalgleish)
(Recast with lawmakers' comments and context)

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA, July 6 (Reuters) - Brazil will likely raise taxes lower next year to reduce a key budget deficit to between 150 and 160 billion reais ($48.06 billion), congressman Arthur de Lira told Reuters on Wednesday after a meeting with government officials to discuss the target.

Lira said the government's economic team will meet again early on Thursday to decide on the target for the primary budget deficit, or the public sector's shortfall before interest debt payments.

Lira, who is the head of the Congress joint budget committee, said the government is considering raising the Cide fuel tax or the PIS/Cofins social tax contribution as a way to reduce the deficit.

"There is not agreement yet on the target. They are trying to reach something between 150 and 160 billion reais, which will include measures such as raising taxes," Lira said.

Senator Wellington Fagundes, a member who also participated in the meeting, said he expects the budget committee to vote on the target on Wednesday.

Fagundes said the government will most likely raise the Cide tax instead of the PIS/Cofins tax.

Interim President Michel Temer and Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles participated in the meeting along with lawmakers and other members of the economic team.

Temer set for this year a primary deficit target of 170.5 billion reais, a record shortfall as revenues plunge amid the country's worst recession in decades. ($1 = 3.3291 Brazilian reais) (Writing by Alonso Soto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sandra Maler)
In the spring of 2014, soon after Russias military intervention in Ukraine, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army both reached out to David Ochmanek, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, with a Cold War flashback of a question: What would happen if Russian troops move on from Ukraine to attack a European country that the U.S. is obligated to defend? To find an answer, Ochmanek and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation, the military think tank where he works, organized a series of war games centering on U.S. allies in Eastern Europe. Their conclusions have troubled the NATO alliance ever since.

When we run those games with something that looks like our current posture, Ochmanek told me after presenting the findings in February, no NATO team has been able to successfully stop or even meaningfully impede this invasion. In other words, Russian troops could overrun the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia, NATO members the U.S. is treaty-bound to protect, before NATO could mount a serious response. The worlds most powerful military alliance would then be faced with a painful dilemma: Either abandon its allies to Russian occupation and, in essence, admit defeat, or face an all-out war with a nuclear superpower.

Read More: Why Russia Is Rebuilding Its Nuclear Arsenal

On July 8, when President Barack Obama arrives in Warsaw for the annual summit of NATO leaders, this dilemma will be one of several on the tableand not necessarily the most difficult one. The fallout from the United Kingdoms vote to leave the European Union last month will also top the agenda, as will NATO efforts to stop the flow of refugees and migrants into Europe and its plans to take a more active role in fighting ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria.

With all these challenges, the Warsaw summit is shaping up to be the most critical one that NATO has held since the end of the Cold War, says Ivo Daalder, who served as the Obama Administrations ambassador to NATO between 2009 and 2013. Not only is the alliance facing major threats from Russia to the east and ISIS to the south, but its internal cohesion has suffered an unprecedented blow with the U.K.s Brexit referendum.

Story continues

Read More: Watch Ian Bremmer on the Wobbly Transatlantic Alliance

The European projectheld together economically by the E.U. and militarily by NATOwas this large idea stemming out of World War II that, if we cooperated among Europeans, then they probably wouldnt kill each other, says Daalder. The British vote to leave the E.U. is the first time a leading stakeholder in this project has decided to break away, putting its own national interests above those of European cohesion and stability. And once you go down that path, the logic of what I call the renationalization of European politics can take over, says Daalder, who now heads the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. We know how that ends, because thats how we got into two world wars.

Even without the Brexit to contend with, NATO would still need to consider the risk of a third world war along its border with Russia. From its war games, RAND Corp concluded that NATO would need to deploy seven brigadeseach with between 3,000 and 5,000 troopsin order to deter a Russian attack on the Baltics. But in laying out its agenda for Warsaw summit, NATO has said it plans to deploy only a fraction of that force, totaling four battalions  each with no more than 1,000 troops  spread across Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Read More: NATO to Bulk Up Eastern European Defenses Against Russia

That kind of deterrent looks a bit funny, says Konstantin Sivkov, a Moscow military strategist who served in the Russian General Staff between 1993 and 2005. Its not just the size of the force that seems laughable to him. Its the premise that such a force is needed to defend the Baltics from a Russian attack. When it comes to the Baltics, we dont have the strength, the resources or the will to do anything there, he told me by phone from Moscow on Wednesday. We have nothing to gain in the Baltics.

The price of defending and subsidizing Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has already put enormous strain on the Russian budget, leading to deeply unpopular cutbacks in the pension system and other social services. The subsequent collapse in the price of oil, Russias main export, has driven its economy deeper into a full blown crisis, which shows no sign of easing any time soon.

On top of that, parliamentary elections have been scheduled for the fall, and the last time such a vote took place, in the winter of 2011, mass street protests broke out in Moscow to call for the resignation of President Vladimir Putin. So what worries Russia most is not a foreign war with NATO, but a revolution right at home, especially if the U.S. and its allies attempt to exploit any cracks in the regime, says Sivkov. If they manage to twist Russia in the direction of social chaos, then NATO can achieve its aim of taking over Russias nuclear arsenal.

This may sound like paranoia. But is it really much more paranoid than NATOs concerns about a Russian invasion? A lot of Western experts arent so sure. After studying the way that Russia has positioned its forces around the country, Michael Kofman, a military analyst in Washington, DC, concluded that if Moscow is getting ready for any kind of war near its territory, it would be another flare-up in Ukraine, not anywhere near the Baltics. Everything about Russias force posture indicates a country ill-prepared for war with NATO, wrote Kofman, a fellow at the Wilson Center think tank.

However much it may wish to challenge NATOs military superiority, Russia does not have the money, the manpower or the technology to do that any time soonat least not in the arena of conventional warfare. But to compensate for that weakness, Moscow has become more reliant than ever on its nuclear arsenal, says William Perry, who served as Secretary of Defense during the Clinton Administration. They have put heavy emphasis on their tactical nuclear weapons, both in terms of the deployment and in terms of their rhetoric, he says. Put those together, and Id say thats a very dangerous situation.

And its not one that NATO will resolve by stationing a few thousand more troops along its border with Russia. Going into the Warsaw summit, the White House seems to realize that, and it is trying to open the kind of dialogue with Russia that could avoid an escalation to nuclear threatsor worse. From NATOs perspective, the foundation of our relationship with Russia is a balance between strength and dialogue, says Doug Lute, the current U.S. ambassador to the alliance. The deployment of four more brigades in Eastern Europe will represent the strength in that equation, he told reporters in a conference call on Wednesday. But well equally be open to dialogue with Russia.

How and when that dialogue develops will be another challenge for NATO to work out. Stoltenberg, the Secretary General, said on July 4 that the alliance has not been able to agree on the terms for a meeting with Russia, and there is no clear sign that Obama will be able to repair those lines of communication before he leaves office in January.

Listening to the advice of the RAND Corporation might not do much to help. If they decide to station more forces at our borders, that will complicate the dialogue, without question, says Sivkov. Russia will have to answer with measures of its own. Those measures are most likely to involve positioning nuclear weapons closer to NATOs borders, and they arent likely to make Europe feel any more secure.
PARIS (Reuters) - The fallout from Britain's decision to leave the European Union will cost France, one of its biggest trading partners, between 0.1 and 0.2 points of economic growth, Budget Minister Christian Eckert said on Thursday.

"A drop in growth and activity in Britain could have a consequence in the order of 0.1 to 0.2 points of GDP," Eckert told LCP television. He did not specify over which period.

"It's still a bit early to say, we'll have to monitor things carefully," he added.

France had a trade surplus of more than 1 billion euros (1 billion pounds) with Britain in May alone, its biggest of any country, according to customs data.

(Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Catherine Evans)
* Interior minister May wins ballot of Conservative MPs

* Lesser-known rival Leadsom places 2nd, Gove knocked out

* Grassroots members to pick Cameron successor by Sept. 9

* Bookmakers make May odds-on favourite (Adds further reaction, bookmakers' odds)

By Kylie MacLellan, William James and Elizabeth Piper

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Interior minister Theresa May and eurosceptic rival Andrea Leadsom emerged on Thursday as the two candidates who will battle to become Britain's next prime minister and lead the country out of the European Union.

May won 199 votes and Leadsom 84 in a second ballot of lawmakers of the governing Conservative party. Justice Secretary Michael Gove took just 46 votes and was eliminated from the race.

Around 150,000 grassroots Conservatives across the country will now vote to decide whether May or Leadsom becomes Britain's first woman prime minister since Margaret Thatcher was forced from office in 1990.

The result of the contest is expected by Sept. 9, meaning businesses and investors must endure two more months of uncertainty over who will lead the huge task of disentangling Britain's economy from the EU while trying to safeguard trade and investment.

Prime Minister David Cameron said last month he was stepping down after voters, many of them swayed by concerns over high immigration and a desire to reclaim 'independence' from Brussels, rejected his entreaties to keep Britain in the EU and his warnings that leaving would spell economic disaster.

"This vote shows that the Conservative Party can come together, and under my leadership it will," May told supporters after the results were announced.

Until a couple of weeks ago Leadsom, a junior energy minister, was barely known to most Britons, but as one of the leading voices in the successful Leave campaign she has dramatically emerged as a serious challenger as better-known rivals have been felled by political intrigue.

"She's the future. What you want is someone who's not been in the Westminster bubble, she's had a real job in the real world and that's what people are looking for. I think they're fed up with the political elite," said Leadsom backer Peter Bone.

Story continues

Bookmakers William Hill made May the 1/5 favourite to win, implying an 83 percent chance, while Leadsom was quoted at 7/2, or 22 percent.

INVESTOR CONCERNS

Investor concerns about the impact of the 'Brexit' referendum have mounted in recent days, with asset managers suspending trading in commercial property funds worth billions of pounds after too many people rushed to withdraw their money at once.

The pound sterling has sunk below $1.30 for the first time in more than three decades as investors anticipate a slowdown in growth in Britain in the wake of the vote.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser to Europe's largest insurer Allianz, which has around 1.3 trillion euros ($1.4 trillion) under management, said the pound could sink towards parity with the dollar unless politicians got a grip.

"After the Brexit referendum, the UK has to urgently get its political act together," El-Erian told Reuters in a telephone interview. "'Plan B' depends on the politicians in London and across the Channel, but so far they have not stepped up to their economic governance responsibilities."

The Bank of England, which warned before the referendum that a Brexit vote would push Britain into a "material" economic slowdown, could cut interest rates as soon as next Thursday.

Interior minister May, 59, has served for the past six years in one of the toughest portfolios in government. Leadsom has never been a member of the cabinet.

But despite her strong lead in Thursday's vote, May is far from assured of winning the race for Downing Street. During the referendum campaign she took a low-key stance in favour of Britain remaining in the EU - unlike Leadsom, who fought on the winning side.

GRASSROOTS MEMBERS

Grassroots party members have strong eurosceptic leanings, a factor that could favour Leadsom.

The 53-year-old, who entered parliament only six years ago, said on Thursday her top priority would be to guarantee tariff-free trade with the EU after leaving.

But the EU is likely to insist that this would only be feasible if Britain continued to allow other EU nationals to live and work freely in Britain, an arrangement that has pushed immigration to record levels and was a powerful factor behind the success of the Leave side in the referendum.

Supporters of the rival candidates were quick to start making their pitches to the wider membership. May backer Chris Grayling described the MPs' vote as 'overwhelming' and said "I hope members will be looking carefully."

Leadsom supporter Owen Paterson said: "It's quite remarkable to come from absolutely nowhere to a strong second. I'm really confident that she's in tune with the members. She's got this tremendously optimistic view of where this country is going."

Leadsom has put her 25 years' experience working in financial services at the centre of her leadership bid, having worked at Barclays Bank and fund manager Invesco Perpetual.

But some of her career credentials have been called into doubt. Reuters spoke to five former Invesco colleagues, including four in senior management positions, who said Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money.

She told the BBC that questions about her career record were "ridiculous" and her CV was "all absolutely true".

Justice minister Gove told reporters: "Whoever the next prime minister of this country will be, it will be a female prime minister and a female prime minister who has formidable skills."

Gove shocked his party colleagues last week by abruptly withdrawing his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson, previously seen as the front-runner, and effectively forcing him from the race.

Some viewed that as an act of treachery that damaged Gove's own prospects. A Gove aide was also criticised for urging May supporters to vote tactically and lend him support to keep Leadsom from advancing to the final run-off.

(Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Peter Millership)
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain marked the anniversary on Thursday of the devastating Islamist suicide bombings on London's transport network on July 7, 2005, often called the 7/7 attacks. Four bombs exploded that morning in different locations, on underground trains and on a bus, detonated by four young British Muslims who killed themselves and 52 others. Around 700 were injured. Prime Minister David Cameron and London Mayor Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at a memorial to the victims in Hyde Park in central London. Khan, London's first Muslim mayor who was elected in May, said security in the British capital was his number one priority and pledged to do more to fight extremism and radicalisation. "As mayor, my first priority is to do everything possible to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again," he said. A police officer who survived one of the train bombs chose the 11th anniversary as the date of her retirement. Liz Kenworthy, who was off duty when a bomb went off on her train at Aldgate station, was later honoured by Queen Elizabeth for helping other survivors in the aftermath of the blast. "As a survivor of 7/7 I'm prouder than I can say of the efforts of everyone involved on that terrible day and over the 11 years since," she said. (Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by Estelle Shirbon)
By Tom Esslemont LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - One third of local authorities in England, reeling from years of austerity cuts, are not prepared to house any Syrian refugees, a media report said on Thursday, following a UK government pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrians by 2020. Official data shows that more than 1,800 Syrian refugees have been housed in Britain since last September under a government scheme to resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees living in camps in countries neighbouring Syria. But local councils have only committed to providing accommodation for 8,000 Syrians so far, with 53 of the country's authorities not offering to take in any, the Local Government Chronicle, a trade magazine, reported. "Some councils were worried that funding offered by government would not be adequate to cover costs to cope with the new arrivals," an LGC spokesman said. Britain, like many Western countries, has come under repeated pressure to take in more Syrian refugees, with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) conceding it is battling widespread fear and political wrangling to rehouse them. More than 4.8 million Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to escape a war that has killed more than 250,000 people since 2011 and left 13.5 million inside Syria in need of aid. Local authorities in England had shown a "tremendous amount" of goodwill and would continue to find ways to rehouse Syrians, a Home Office (interior ministry) spokeswoman said. "Some ... authorities have not resettled people in the initial phases of the scheme, but will be resettling people in the future," the spokeswoman said. FINANCIAL PRESSURE Since 2010, the British government has favoured spending cuts to reduce the deficit with local authorities particularly hard hit by the belt-tightening measures, analysts say. With refugees unevenly spread across Britain, some councils such as Northamptonshire in central England, are already struggling to cope with a rise in asylum seekers, the LGC said. "Northamptonshire county council was not in a position to make an offer (to take in Syrian refugees) due to existing pressures, including ... high numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children," the LCG quoted council leader Paul Blantern as saying. Two London boroughs said they were unable to take part in the resettlement programme under any circumstances because of the pressure it would have on their services, the LGC reported. England has taken the lion's share of Syrian refugees who arrived in Britain between October 2015 and March 2016, accepting around 900 people, government figures show. Wales resettled 78 Syrian refugees, Northern Ireland has housed 51 and Scotland accepted more than 600 in the same period, the data showed. The northeast of England, one of the country's more deprived regions, has pledged to resettle 815 Syrians, while London, a city of 8.6 million people, has vowed to take in just 521. Responding to the data, councils and their support body, the Local Government Association, said they were still convinced targets on Syrian refugees could be met. "Local government continues to stand ready to help those who need it, with the vast majority of councils already settling unaccompanied children and children in Syrian refugee families," said David Simmonds, chair of the LGA's refugee task group, in a statement. (Reporting By Tom Esslemont @tomslmont, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
By Tom Esslemont LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - One third of local authorities in England, reeling from years of austerity cuts, are not prepared to house any Syrian refugees, a media report said on Thursday, following a UK government pledge to resettle 20,000 Syrians by 2020. Official data shows that more than 1,800 Syrian refugees have been housed in Britain since last September under a government scheme to resettle some of the most vulnerable refugees living in camps in countries neighboring Syria. But local councils have only committed to providing accommodation for 8,000 Syrians so far, with 53 of the country's authorities not offering to take in any, the Local Government Chronicle, a trade magazine, reported. "Some councils were worried that funding offered by government would not be adequate to cover costs to cope with the new arrivals," an LGC spokesman said. Britain, like many Western countries, has come under repeated pressure to take in more Syrian refugees, with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) conceding it is battling widespread fear and political wrangling to rehouse them. More than 4.8 million Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt to escape a war that has killed more than 250,000 people since 2011 and left 13.5 million inside Syria in need of aid. Local authorities in England had shown a "tremendous amount" of goodwill and would continue to find ways to rehouse Syrians, a Home Office (interior ministry) spokeswoman said. "Some ... authorities have not resettled people in the initial phases of the scheme, but will be resettling people in the future," the spokeswoman said. FINANCIAL PRESSURE Since 2010, the British government has favored spending cuts to reduce the deficit with local authorities particularly hard hit by the belt-tightening measures, analysts say. With refugees unevenly spread across Britain, some councils such as Northamptonshire in central England, are already struggling to cope with a rise in asylum seekers, the LGC said. "Northamptonshire county council was not in a position to make an offer (to take in Syrian refugees) due to existing pressures, including ... high numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children," the LCG quoted council leader Paul Blantern as saying. Two London boroughs said they were unable to take part in the resettlement program under any circumstances because of the pressure it would have on their services, the LGC reported. England has taken the lion's share of Syrian refugees who arrived in Britain between October 2015 and March 2016, accepting around 900 people, government figures show. Wales resettled 78 Syrian refugees, Northern Ireland has housed 51 and Scotland accepted more than 600 in the same period, the data showed. The northeast of England, one of the country's more deprived regions, has pledged to resettle 815 Syrians, while London, a city of 8.6 million people, has vowed to take in just 521. Responding to the data, councils and their support body, the Local Government Association, said they were still convinced targets on Syrian refugees could be met. "Local government continues to stand ready to help those who need it, with the vast majority of councils already settling unaccompanied children and children in Syrian refugee families," said David Simmonds, chair of the LGA's refugee task group, in a statement. (Reporting By Tom Esslemont @tomslmont, Editing by Katie Nguyen.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
By Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) - Interior minister Theresa May led the field on Thursday before a vote to narrow the race to become Britain's prime minister to two candidates, a decision that will help determine the course of divorce talks with the European Union. May, who has appealed to lawmakers to vote for her wide experience in government as a safe pair of hands, had the support of more than half of the parliamentary party, leading Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, and justice minister Michael Gove ahead of the second stage of voting on Thursday. But her victory is not guaranteed - tactical voting among Conservative lawmakers on Thursday may skew the result and the final candidates will need to spend weeks trying to win over the party's largely eurosceptic membership, who may think a fresh face would stand a better chance in an election in 2020. The winner, to be chosen by Sept. 9, will also form a team to guide Britain's future relationship with the European Union after the vote to leave the bloc last month triggered calls in Brussels for the country to start departure talks. "It looks like May," said an aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, who triggered the contest by saying he would step down on the morning after Britons voted to leave the European Union. According to ConservativeHome, a website of the party, May had the support of 159 lawmakers of the party's 330 members of parliament who had declared their preference, Leadsom had 48 and Gove 27. Leadsom got a boost on Thursday when she was backed by former Conservative leader Michael Howard, and as someone who backed the "Leave" campaign she may find support from the wider membership who want Brexit to be delivered quickly. Speaking to supporters and journalists, she sought to ease concerns among EU migrants that they may have to leave Britain by saying those legally here are welcome to stay. She also said she expected the economy to grow after Brexit. May has deeper support among lawmakers - winning 165 votes in the first round, but she supported the "Remain" campaign -- albeit with little passion -- and has said Britain should wait before triggering the formal exit procedure, Article 50. "May is saying she will recognize the Brexit result but ... I think for many there is a real concern given that she was a 'remainer' whether she will deliver," said Anne Marie Morris, who is supporting Leadsom. "If you are naturally somebody who is a eurosceptic, if you have got any doubt over whether she will deliver on that, then you will go for Andrea." The campaign to win votes in the ruling party, which was deeply split over Britain's EU referendum last month, has been gripped by horse trading and suggestions the camps backing all three remaining candidates were involved in tactical voting. Two Conservative Party activists said some of May's supporters were encouraging lawmakers who back the interior minister to vote for Gove, cutting out the increasingly popular Leadsom from the race. But they also said other lawmakers who are backing May had resolved to "stick it to" Gove for ending Boris Johnson's leadership bid by standing himself in a contest the former London mayor was once favored to win. "That's the reality of politics," a lawmaker said. (Additional reporting by William James; Editing by Dominic Evans)
* Average investment by foreign buyer C$1,157,000

* Canadian nationals spending C$735,000 on average (Adds comment from British Columbia finance minister)

TORONTO, July 7 (Reuters) - British Columbia said foreign buyers were spending significantly more on homes in the province than Canadians, potentially strengthening the argument for further measures to curb the activity of overseas investors.

The western Canadian province said on Thursday 3.3 percent of home sales involved foreign buyers between June 10-29 and the average investment in a property by a foreign national was C$1,157,000, significantly higher than the C$735,000 average investment by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

"The disparity between the average price of a transaction involving a citizen or a permanent resident and the average price being paid by a foreign national purchasing is something we're clearly zeroing in on to examine and analyze," Finance Minister Michael de Jong told reporters.

The data was the first to be published as part of a new plan requiring that real estate buyers who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents identify their country of citizenship.

The role of foreign buyers has become a sensitive issue in the province, particularly in Vancouver which is Canada's most expensive property market. Many residents believe foreign buyers, especially from China, are driving price rises and hurting affordability, but until now there has been little hard data to back that up.

De Jong said the publication of the data had demonstrated the level of influence that foreign buyers are having.

"It is real, it is actual, it is factual and it is beyond conjecture... I attach importance to the data and we're going to approach it with an open mind," he said.

The province announced in February new measures aimed at tackling its red hot real estate markets, including adding a higher tier to the property transfer tax as well as the plans to collect citizenship data from home buyers.

De Jong said the province intended to publish the data monthly.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by G Crosse and Andrew Hay)
(Reuters) - British cyclist Gabriel Evans has been handed a three-and-a-half year suspension for using banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO), UK Anti-Doping said on Thursday. The British junior national champion, who won the national junior 10-mile time trial in September but was subsequently stripped of the title, admitted to using the performance-enhancing drug in December. "Here is a young man at the start of his sporting career whose decision to intentionally cheat has significantly impacted that career before it has really begun," UKAD's chief executive Nicole Sapstead said. "Evans clearly acted intentionally when he decided to purchase and use EPO. However, doping is not a straightforward decision and every person's motivations are different. Some do it for money, some do it to win." The 19-year-old has been banned from all competitions from October 2015 to April 2019. (Reporting by Ian Rodricks in Bengaluru; editing by Clare Lovell)
chilcot-inquiry-the-rock-vx-gas-threat

Buena Vista Pictures

The British Iraq Inquiry, better known across the internet as the Chilcot Inquiry, came out on July 6 and has been damning in its indictment of Tony Blairs UK government leading up to the start of the Iraq war in 2003. Many accusations levied back then have been proven true in the report: that Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat and that Blair had promised to support the US led invasion back in 2002.

The report also goes over the intelligence used by the British government to justify an invasion of Iraq, and one piece stood out as particularly ridiculous. Were talking Michael Bay levels of silliness. Almost as if someone took the plot from 1996 film The Rock starring Nicolas Cage and presented it as a real thing! Via The Hollywood Reporter:

Related Links:





In an MI6 report from September 2002, a new source with phenomenal access to Iraqs biological and chemical weapons capabilities claimed that nerve agents VX, sarin and soman had been produced at a facility in Al-Yarmuk, and stored in containers including linked hollow glass spheres. Eyebrows were soon raised inside MI6 after the report was circulated, with one recipient pointing out the similarities to [The Rock] film.



The report, claimed the Chilcott Inquiry, played a significant role in the arguments put forth by the British Prime Minister at the time, Tony Blair, in his justification for war, helping him make key judgments about Iraqs chemical and biological weapons capabilities. By 2003, however, MI6s doubts had been confirmed and the source had been revealed to have been lying, according to the Inquiry, and after a meeting in June was concluded to be a fabricator who had lied from the outset.

It would make you laugh if it didnt make you cry. The Iraq war set off a terrible chain of events that resulted in the deaths of untold numbers of Iraqi civilians, plunged the region into sectarian warfare and destabilized the entire Middle East, giving rise to ISIS and countless other terrorist organizations. All on evidence so flimsy the plot from The Rock ended up being passed around as a legitimate justification for an invasion.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)
(Reuters) - A British man pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to weapons charges stemming from an incident where he was accused of trying to steal a gun from a policeman during a Las Vegas rally for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Michael Steven Sandford, 20, of Britain, was charged with two felony counts of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one felony count of impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Las Vegas.

Brenda Weksler, one of Sandford's federal public defenders, declined to comment when reached by email on Wednesday evening. Sandford's trial is set to begin on August 22, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokeswoman Natalie Collins.

Sandford was initially charged in a complaint filed in federal court on June 20 with an act of violence on restricted grounds over the June 18 incident at the Treasure Island casino hotel. The complaint said Sandford told a U.S. Secret Service agent he had driven to Las Vegas from California with the goal of shooting Trump.

The indictment does not accuse Sandford of plotting to kill Trump.

According to the June 20 complaint, Sandford said he had been in the United States for a year and a half. Court records said he had lived in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Court records said Sandford went to the Battlefield Vegas gun range to practice shooting a day before the rally, and said he had never fired a gun before. While there, he fired 20 rounds from a Glock 9mm handgun, the complaint said.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Los Angeles (AFP) - A British man pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges linked to his arrest at a Donald Trump rally during which he tried to snatch a policeman's gun.

Michael Sandford, 20, entered his plea before a federal judge in Las Vegas, where he was arrested on June 18 at a campaign event for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

His trial on two felony counts of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of impeding and disrupting the orderly conduct of government business was set for August 22.

According to court documents, Sandford, who had overstayed his visa in the United States, told police that he had tried to snatch an officer's gun at the rally in order to shoot Trump.

His parents have said he suffers from Asperger's syndrome and told British media this week that they feared he might commit suicide if kept in a US prison.

His mother Lynne said she wanted him deported back to Britain so he could get psychiatric help.

She told the BBC that her son had a history of mental illness and had previously tried to take his own life.

She said the family had been told he was being held in isolation "22 hours a day with no window to the outside world."

"Why would he live the next 30 years in these situations? So yes I think he would attempt to commit suicide again," she told the BBC.

Sandford faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on each of the three charges against him.

Although an initial complaint filed after his arrest stated that he told a Secret Service agent that he had intended to kill Trump, he was not charged with plotting to assassinate the billionaire businessman.

He told the agent that he had driven from California to Las Vegas to carry out his plan and had gone to a gun range the day before to practice shooting, as he had never handled a gun before.
SOFIA (Reuters) - Two suspected accomplices in a bombing that killed five Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in Bulgaria in 2012 are expected to be put on trial in absentia within days, the Balkan country's president said on Thursday. Bulgarian authorities blamed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah for the attack on a tourist bus. Hezbollah denied involvement. The European Union subsequently placed Hezbollah's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist. President Rosen Plevneliev said he had been assured by Bulgaria's chief prosecutor that the two alleged accomplices - named by Bulgarian investigators as Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj - would be put on trial shortly. "None of us will rest until the people who committed the attack, as well as those who organized it, are brought to court. This will in fact be very soon ... It is a matter of days," Plevneliev told a news conference in Sofia after a meeting with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The whereabouts of Farah and Hassan - Australian and Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin respectively - remain unknown. In 2013, Bulgarian official said they were believed to be in Lebanon and could be tried in absentia. In 2014, Bulgarian authorities identified the bomber as Mohamad Hassan El Husseini, a dual Lebanese-French citizen, who was killed in the course of the attack. The Israeli tourists had arrived on a charter flight and were in the bus in the Sarafovo airport car park when the blast tore through the vehicle, also killing the Bulgarian driver and wounding more than 30 people. On Wednesday, Bulgaria's government approved draft legislation giving security agencies the right to curb civil liberties in case of a terrorism emergency. (Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Buttons, an adorable and friendly elk, is a true socialite in Kittitas County, Washington.

As a thank you for all of their hard work, the elk strolled toward the firefighters of the Kittitas County Fire District and began planting kisses on their faces.

According to Public Information Officer Richelle Risdon, Buttons walked into the command post on her own, and her visit with the rescuers was unprovoked.

Before long, Buttons was sauntering around as if she owned the place.

Read: Woman Surprised by Firefighters From Her Late Husband's Department for Her 100th Birthday

The female adult elk was also seen snuggling up to the firefighters and resting her head on their shoulders, according to Risdon.

The residents of Kittitas County see Buttons as a local celebrity, making friends wherever she goes.

I had never heard of her before, Risdon told InsideEdition.com. But everyone in the county knows her.

Read: Cow Sweet It Is! Injured Baby Calf's Protective Mother Won't Leave His Side

Orphaned as a baby, Buttons found a new family amongst cows, goats, and horses. She also made life-long friendships with chimpanzees in the nearby chimpanzee sanctuary.

With her newfound circle of diverse animal companions, Buttons doesnt pay attention to other elks in the area.

When she sees other elks, she wants nothing to do with them, Risdon said. She completely ignores them.

As such a lovable animal in the neighborhood, the firefighters wanted to keep Buttons safe and away from harm. Risdon captured the photos and shared them on the fire district's social media accounts.

I shared her photos so people will be aware of Buttons living in the area, said Risdon. That way, hunters will know to stay away from her.

Watch: This Llama Absolutely Loves Massages From a Leaf Blower

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By Deena Beasley (Reuters) - Medivation Inc, which has opened its books to potential buyers, on Wednesday said its experimental cancer drug talazoparib is likely the best in a new class known as PARP inhibitors and pivotal trial data could be reported earlier than planned. The San Francisco-based company on Tuesday agreed to provide information to Sanofi SA after rejecting the French pharmaceutical company's latest bid of $58 a share, plus $3 per share in the form of a contingent value right (CVR) relating to talazoparib sales. Medivation has also signed confidentiality pacts with Pfizer Inc and Celgene Corp, sources have previously told Reuters. [nL1N19R1IC] Medivation, known chiefly for prostate cancer drug Xtandi, is conducting a Phase III trial of talazoparib in patients with breast cancer linked to a mutation in BRCA genes, with initial trial data expected in the first half of next year. After recent robust trial results for rival Tesaro Inc's PARP inhibitor niraparib, Medivation is considering the option of an earlier data read out, Chief Executive David Hung said on a conference call. PARP inhibitors are designed to kill cancer cells by exploiting defects in a tumor DNA repair pathway. The only approved drug in the class is AstraZeneca Plc's Lynparza, also known as olaparib. Other experimental PARP inhibitors include Clovis Oncology Inc's rucaparib and AbbVie Inc's veliparib. Hung summarized data backing up his belief that talazoparib is the most potent PARP inhibitor, the best "PARP trapper," has the most convenient dosing schedule and a competitive safety profile, given a superior ability to select its target. He also said talazoparib could be effective against a broad range of tumor types. Medivation acquired talazoparib last year from Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc for up to $570 million and royalty payments based on future sales. Wall Street analysts said the sale made sense for Biomarin, which specializes in rare diseases, not oncology. While talazoparib appeared to be a potent PARP inhibitor, "the Phase II data is similar to that produced by other PARPs, and therefore its differentiation is unclear," Cowen and Co said in an August 2015 research note. Hung did not address the buyout offers on Wednesday's call. Sanofi previously used a CVR in its 2011 acquisition of Genzyme Corp, which at that time was developing multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada. Under that merger agreement, Sanofi issued Genzyme shareholders tradable certificates entitling them to payments if Lemtrada won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by March 31, 2014, and further payments if it met certain sales benchmarks after that. The drug was approved by the FDA in November 2014, and Sanofi said that "because of its safety profile," use should be reserved for patients who had not responded adequately to two or more previous therapies. Investors filed a lawsuit last year in U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, claiming that Sanofi deliberately slowed development of Lemtrada, ignoring the FDA's concerns about the designs of its clinical trials. (This version of the story corrects attribution in second paragraph, to "sources," not Medivation) (Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Bernard Orr)
A new video has emerged in the fatal shooting of a Minnesota man at the hands of police officers.

The aftermath of the shooting was recorded by bystander Katherine Bleth, who was driving home when she saw the scene.

Read: Woman Records Facebook Video After Boyfriend Is Fatally Shot By Cops: 'Don't Tell Me He's Dead!'

Cop cars were rushing past us; we knew something was wrong, she told the Star Tribune.

In Bleths video, police can be seen giving 32-year-old Philando Castile CPR. She also said that about 12 to 15 squad cars and paramedics arrived on the scene.

Castile died Wednesday night after being shot by police in Falcon Heights during a traffic stop. His girlfriend, Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, recorded the aftermath of the shooting, broadcasting it on Facebook Live.

The shooting occurred after Castile allegedly told the police officer that he was carrying a permitted firearm.

Castile, who would have been 33 in 10 days, was shot multiple times as he reached for his license and registration that the officer had requested, Reynolds said.

Stay with me! Reynolds yelled as her bloodied boyfriend moaned and slumped over in the drivers seat of his car.

Also in the car was Reynolds 4-year-old daughter, who witnessed the incident.

According to The Star Tribune, an unnamed bystander said she was sitting in a parking lot of a nearby apartment building at 9 p.m., when the incident occurred.

Read: Alton Sterling's Son Breaks Down as Family Addresses Fatal Police Shooting Outrage

"I just heard the officer say, 'Put your hands up,' and before he finished saying that there were four shots," the 28-year-old woman said.

Castiles mother, Valerie, told CNN that she had told her son to comply with the law should he ever be pulled over.

She added that the cops took a very good person and alluded that he was black in the wrong place.

Story continues

The death of Philando Castile comes a day after the shooting of another black man, Alton Sterling, who was gunned down by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Watch: Man Dies Shielding Son in Shooting That Killed His Daughters, Ages 10 and 3, at Their Home

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COMPTON, California - Mexican-born Manny Silva is known as the "godfather of lowriders" thanks to the custom-made bicycles he makes in the shop he set up in Compton in 1973. His lowriders, with frames closer to the ground, feature tooled handlebars, detailed spokes, specialized insignia and designer seats. "The lowrider bikes, every single piece is special because it's custom, hand-made," explained Silva, whose shop team includes his sons, nephews and even grandchildren. "We fix people's bicycles and we help people to fix their lives," he added. Creations from Manny's Bike Shop have been featured in music videos and films and sold to clients in Britain, China, South Korea, Puerto Rico and Mexico. He has also made specialized bikes for disabled children.
Phnom Penh (AFP) - Tourists showing cleavage or wearing skimpy clothes will be banned from Cambodia's famed Angkor temple complex, authorities said Thursday, after a slew of photos emerged of scantily-clad visitors at the sacred site.

From August 4 tourists wearing "revealing" clothes will be asked change or face a bar from the vast site, according to the state agency charged with managing the Angkor complex.

Long Kosal, of the Apsara Authority, explained that clothes considered to be revealing would be "too short -- so they reveal buttocks -- or not wearing bras, or T-shirts that show the back and upper body."

"The clothes show disrespect to our beautiful culture and tradition," he added.

The decree by the Apsara Authority carried photos showing tourists who appeared to be western in various states of undress at the site -- including a woman walking around in a T-shirt and her underwear.

Angkor is "a sacred place of the national and cultural soul", the statement added.

Last year several tourists were arrested for taking cheeky nude photographs at the Angkor complex.

They received suspended sentences and were expelled from Cambodia.

Their arrests followed a series of photos of Asian women posing nude at ancient Cambodian temples which went viral online, outraging officials who vowed to step up efforts to prevent similar stunts.

The Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site, contains the remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries, and is Cambodia's most popular tourist destination.

It is one of Asia's most visited sites and more than two million tourists travelled to Angkor last year.
(Adds comments from conference call, details on deal, earnings)

By Alastair Sharp

TORONTO, July 7 (Reuters) - Postmedia Network Canada Corp , the country's biggest newspaper publisher, will give creditors nearly all of its equity in a restructuring deal that would almost halve its heavy debt load, the company said on Thursday.

The deal will reduce its debt by C$307 million ($236 million) and cut around C$50 million from its annual cash interest payments, the company said.

"The outcome we announced today represents the best way forward for Postmedia," said company Chairman Rod Phillips, who headed the special committee that oversaw the process.

Postmedia launched a strategic review in April, looking to sell assets and restructure its heavy debt load as it struggles with falling print advertising revenue.

It owns the National Post, Montreal Gazette, Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen and Sun tabloids in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg.

The company said it had reduced its first-lien obligations to C$225 million and extended them by around four years to July 2021. It exchanged second-lien notes for 98 percent of existing equity, meaning shareholders' total stake will be reduced to 2 percent.

Postmedia also secured C$110 million of new second-lien debt priced in U.S. dollars, due in mid-2023, that offers no cash interest for three years.

It expects to complete the transaction by September.

Phillips said the deal is supported by 80 percent of debtholders and 75 percent of shareholders.

One notable absence from the deal was Postmedia's largest shareholder, GoldenTree Asset Management LP, which a Wall Street Journal report in March said was looking at selling its stake.

"They're not involved at all," Postmedia Chief Executive Godfrey said on a call.

Postmedia signed support deals with its biggest investors, including first-lien holder Canso Investment Counsel Inc.

Godfrey said the company would not consider selling any media assets, and that new investments would be focused on online publishing.

Story continues

Postmedia posted a loss of C$23.7 million in the three months to the end of May, compared with a loss of C$140.8 million a year earlier.

Revenue rose 6.4 percent to C$218.3 million, although it would have fallen 12.9 percent without the contribution of Sun Media assets acquired in a deal that closed earlier this year.

The company will maintain separate voting shares for Canadian investors and non-voting ones for foreigners that allow it to receive the favorable tax treatment afforded to Canadian publishers.

($1 = C$1.2993) (Additional reporting by Vishaka George in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Richard Chang)
Canadian Solar Inc.s CSIQ wholly-owned subsidiary, CSI Solar Power (China) Inc. has signed a project sale agreement with Create Technology & Science Co., Ltd., a state-owned company in China.



Under the agreement, Canadian Solar will sell its operating solar projects in Funing County, Jiangsu Province, China. The sale consideration is expected to be worth around $32.8 million (RMB218.5 million).



This project sale agreement will come into effect once Create Technology & Science gets an approval from its board of directors and from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).

CANADIAN SOLAR Price

CANADIAN SOLAR Price | CANADIAN SOLAR Quote

However, Canadian Solar has kept the details of the projects and their total capacity under wraps.



According to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar, Dr. Shawn Qu, the latest agreement will help the company to continue to monetize its high quality solar power plant assets in China, recycle out capital and strengthen our balance sheet.



Note that Create Technology & Science primarily produces specialty instruments and apparatus. The companys products are distributed in the domestic market as well as overseas.



Canadian Solar caters to a geographically diverse customer base spread across key markets in the U.S., Canada and Europe, as well as emerging markets in South Korea, Singapore and Brazil. The company has shipped more than 14 gigawatts (GW) of finest quality modules in over 90 countries throughout the globe in the last 14 years.



Asia is expected to be a big solar market in the near future, with Japan, India and China primarily driving demand. Asia contributed 44.4% to Canadian Solars net revenue in the first quarter of 2016, up significantly from 32.9% in the year-ago quarter.



The company currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



Other Stocks to Consider



Some other favorably placed stocks in the solar industry include Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. YGE, ReneSola Ltd SOL and 8point3 Energy Partners LP CAFD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Investment manager CCLA has cut the price of three institutional property funds holding a combined 1.3 billion pounds ($1.69 billion) in assets by 4.5 percent after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The firm, which invests money for a range of charities, religious groups and the public sector, made the change last week in response to market uncertainty after the vote, Chief Investment Officer James Bevan told Reuters on Thursday.

"We felt that the...adjustment was an appropriate and proportionate response to the heightened risk of uncertainty, but not more than that," he said.

"We haven't yet got any evidence at all in terms of transactional values or rental yields, which are the two fundamental drivers for revaluations."

The three funds were the CCLA Local Authorities Property Fund, which had 617.5 million pounds in property at end-June; the CCLA COIF Charities Property fund, with 541 million pounds; and the CCLA CBF CoE Property fund, with 181 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7683 pounds) (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Carolyn Cohn)
Drake

Many celebrities have taken to social media to express their grief and outrage over the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile within a 24-hour period.

Sterling, a 37-year-old black man from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was shot and killed on Tuesday by police officers who were responding to a call that Sterling was threatening people with a gun outside the convenience store where he sold CDs.

Castile, 32, died in a hospital after a Falcon Heights, Minnesota, police officer shot him during a routine traffic stop, while his girlfriend streamed the aftermath of the incident on Facebook Live.

As graphic videos of both incidents spread across social media, celebrities reacted to the incidents with condolences and calls for action.

Kanye West, Katy Perry, and Drake were among the first who reacted to the death of Alton Sterling on Tuesday. Some, like West, shared videos of the shooting, while Drake and others took to Instagram and Twitter to voice their anguish.

You can't just go on with your day, you must watch this & we must face this continual outrageousness #ALTONSTERLING https://t.co/NqW3aVSZ1j  KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 6, 2016

A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:50pm PDT

RIP Alton Sterling  #howmanymore A video posted by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jul 6, 2016 at 2:26pm PDT on Jul 6, 2016 at 2:26pm PDT

Love to Louisiana #AltonSterling  Amy Schumer (@amyschumer) July 6, 2016

1) In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!  jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016

Then, following the death of Philando Castile on Wednesday, celebrities like John Legend, Chance the Rapper, and Questlove took to social media to address both tragic shootings.

Story continues

We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldn't be shot by police during routine traffic stops.  John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK  John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

These guys murdered this man with his 4 year old daughter in the backseat? Is there any situation where police get arrested? Or convicted?  Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 7, 2016

.@NRA we know that NOONE fights so hard for "the right to legally bear arms" more than you do. That said... #PhilandoCastile? Anyone?  Questlove Gomez (@questlove) July 7, 2016

There are so many broken, backwards issues at play here it's numbing to digest. #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #blacklivesmatter  josh groban (@joshgroban) July 7, 2016

Another day, another hashtag. You didn't deserve this, brother. You didn't deserve this. #PhilandoCastile  NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) July 7, 2016

A photo posted by Zendaya (@zendaya) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:39pm PDT

In response to both shootings, Beyonce revamped her website on Thursday to include a written post that laments the deaths of Sterling and Castile while calling for judicial and legislative action on the issue of police-related gun deaths.

"We all have the power to channel our anger and frustration into action. We must use our voices to contact the politicians and legislators in our districts and demand social and judicial changes," Beyonce writes in the post, which includes links to "voice protest" toward your local Congressmen or women.

You can read Beyonce's entire post on her website.

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Satya Nadella Microsoft portrait illustration

Most busy people start their days by looking at their calendars on their phones or computers.

But if you are the CEO of one of the world's biggest technology companies, Microsoft, you get to do that task in a unique, high-tech way.

Every morning, CEO Satya Nadella puts on a Microsoft HoloLens and looks at a virtual, interactive calendar seemingly projected on a wall of his house, he told The Verge's Casey Newton.

HoloLens is Microsoft's "mixed reality" headset that lets those wearing the device see holograms in the world around them.

He loves this gadgety way of seeing his calendar so much, he gets "giddy" when he talks about, Newton says.

It represents the kind of futuristic productivity hack that he hopes Microsoft will eventually bring to every worker everywhere.

In truth, there are already more interesting ways to use the HoloLens than thumbing through a virtual calendar. NASA is using it this summer to let visitors to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida walk on Mars. Volvo is using it to let people virtually browse new cars. You can use it with Skype, and with a few video games, too.

Microsoft has a handful of device makers lined up to produce the HoloLens, and has early developer units out to programmers who are building more apps for it.

But in terms of morning rituals for CEOs, we're pretty sure Nadella's voyage into an augmented reality calendar is unique.

Here's a photo of how HoloLens can project a bunch of holograms onto a room. In the background is a To-do list, which gives some idea of what Nadella's calendar would look like.

HoloLens

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From Cosmopolitan

Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army soldier imprisoned for leaking classified military documents to WikiLeaks, was rushed to a hospital Tuesday after an apparent suicide attempt, CNN reports:

U.S. Army spokesman Colonel Patrick Seiber confirmed to CNN that Manning was taken to the hospital "during the early hours of July 5th" before returning to the barracks.

Manning's attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union was unable to confirm the report, however. "I am still trying to figure out what is happening," attorney Chase Strangio told CNN. "I have unfortunately not been contacted by [Fort Leavenworth Prison] and have no additional information." TMZ apparently does have sources, however, and reports that Chelsea is currently being "monitored" following her release from hospital.

The 28-year-old whistleblower is currently serving a 35-year sentence after pleading guilty to 10 counts of theft and espionage in 2013. Her leak included disturbing videos of US airstrikes in Iraq and Afghanistan, war logs that revealed civilian casualty counts, and chronicled abuse and torture at Guantanamo Bay. Manning, who previously went by Bradley, announced her identity as a transgender woman at her sentencing. She spoke with Cosmopolitan in 2015 about her transition while in prison.

Follow Prachi on Twitter.
Leading U.S. oil behemoths Chevron Corporation CVX and Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM, along with their partners, announced plans to invest around $36.8 billion to boost oil output in a Kazakhstan oil field.

Tengizchevroil will continue with the development of its Future Growth and Wellhead Pressure Management Project. Chevron owns 50% of the entity, while 25%, 20% and 5% is held by Exxon, Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas and Russia's Lukoil, respectively. The project is expected to bolster production in the Tengiz oil field by 260,000 barrels per day. Upon completion, the oil field is expected to generate about 1 million barrels of oil per day, with the first oil production planned for 2022.

Tengizchevroil will spend $27.1 billion in facilities, $3.5 billion in wells and $6.2 billion for contingency and escalation.

In 1993, Chevron was awarded the rights to develop Tengiz. According to the company, the Tengiz oil field's reservoir is located 12,000 feet below ground level, which makes it the world's deepest operating super-giant oil field.

Management believes that with the massive increase in oil production, the Tengiz expansion project will create value for Chevron and its stockholders by generating significant cash flows for the company. Moreover, the investment is viewed as a profitable one based on the optimism raised by the recent improvement in oil prices from the multi-year low touched in February.

CHEVRON CORP Price

CHEVRON CORP Price | CHEVRON CORP Quote

San Ramon, CA-based Chevron is one of the largest publicly traded oil and gas companies in the world in terms of proved reserves. It is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, refining and marketing of petroleum products, manufacturing of chemicals, and other energy-related businesses.

ExxonMobil, on the other hand, is the worlds best run integrated oil company in terms of high return on capital employed. Approximately 83% of Exxons earnings are generated from its operations outside the U.S.

Currently, Chevron carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), whereas Exxon holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the energy sector may consider players like McDermott International Inc. MDR and Braskem S.A. BAK. Both of these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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(Adds more details, background)

BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Outstanding non-performing loans (NPLs) in China's vast banking sector exceeded the two trillion yuan ($299.21 billion) mark at the end of May, a senior banking regulator official said on Thursday.

Chinese banks' NPL ratio climbed to 2.15 percent of total bank lending at the end of May, up 0.16 percentage point from the beginning of 2016, Yu Xuejun told a conference in Beijing.

NPLs grew more than 280 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, he added.

Yu is chairman of the Board of Supervisors for major state-owned financial institutions under the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

Loans that are overdue for more than 90 days are also on the rise amid increasing pressure on banks over risk control, provisions and profits, Yu said.

"The most important reason (for the rise in bad loans) is due to continuous economic downward pressure," Yu said.

Weighed down by sluggish domestic and export demand, industrial overcapacity and slowing investment, China's economic growth cooled to a 25-year low last year. It is expected to lose further momentum in 2016 despite a slew of stimulus measures.

Risks from non-performing loans at China's banks will continue to rise in the near term, Yu said, urging lenders to be vigilant of risks triggered by asset bubbles and especially risks related to local governments.

The figures announced on Thursday reflect the level of NPLs across China's banking sector, including at commercial banks.

Non-performing loans at Chinese commercial banks alone rose to an 11-year-high of 1.4 trillion yuan, or 1.75 percent of total bank lending at end-March.

Many analysts have long suspected that real levels of bad loans in China are much higher than official data and banks' earnings reports suggest.

($1 = 6.6843 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)
china navy peoples liberation army

Earlier this week China announced a "no sail zone" in a 39,000 square mile (an area roughly larger than the state of Maine) stretch of international waters in the South China Sea near the Hainan Island.

In doing so, China has violated the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, the US Naval Institute Reports.

"States such as China may declare a naval exercise zone, and issue a Notice to Airmen and a Notice to Mariners to alert other ships and aircraft of the heightened hazards and recommending  but not requiring  that foreign ships and aircraft steer clear," Naval War College professor and maritime law expert James Kraska told the institute.

map for lockie

The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration announced the "no sail zone" due to military drills from July 5-11, which conspicuously end the day before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague makes their ruling on a territorial dispute over the Scarborough Shoal between China and the Philippines.

China is expected to lose their claims to the island chain, but they have made clear they don't intend to respect the ruling.

However China's unilateral move to create a "no sail zone" is nothing new, and the US most likely won't respect it.

The timing is clearly sensitive, but the exercises and the declaration of a large no-go zone arent novel," Greg Poling, the head of Center for Strategic and International Studies Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative told USNI News.

In the past, the PLA has held similar exercises in the same general area of the South China Sea and declared a similarly large section off limits, said Poling.

When asked if the US would respect China's demand, a spokesman for the Pentagon indicated they would make no special allowances, and would simply "abide by established international standards."

Story continues

US navy uss ronald reagan rimpac 2010 carrier strike group

US officials also told the Naval Institute that most likely, if the "no sail zone" were challenged, it would be by a member of the USS Ronald Reagan's carrier strike group, as they're currently in the region.

During maritime military drills in international waters, it's standard issue a warning to other sailors, but to prohibit entry into international waters is a completely different matter.

The Navy Times reported that on Wednesday the US Navy had "seven ships in the region including Reagan, two cruisers and four destroyers," and that some of those destroyers had "quietly stalked" China's militarized claims, sailing as little as 14 miles off the coast.

"Patrols by US Navy destroyers... are part of our regular and routine presence throughout the western Pacific. U.S. Navy forces have flown, sailed and operated in this region for decades and will continue to do so, Lt. Clint Ramsden told the Navy Times..

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By David Brunnstrom and Ben Blanchard WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of a key court ruling on China's claims in the disputed waterway. Speaking by telephone on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry the United States should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, China's foreign ministry said. China hopes the United States "speaks and acts cautiously, and take no actions that harm China's sovereignty and security interests", the statement paraphrased Wang as saying. Tensions and rhetoric have been rising ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague. China is conducting military exercises around the Paracel Islands in the north of the region this week, while U.S. Navy officials said on Thursday that U.S. destroyers had been patrolling around Chinese-held reefs and islands in the contested Spratly Islands to the south. While not close enough to be within 12 nautical miles - a so-called freedom of navigation operation that would require high level approval - the destroyers operated within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the Chinese-occupied features, the Navy Times reported. The USS Ronald Reagan and its escort ships have also been patrolling the South China Sea since last week. "All of these patrols are conducted in accordance with international law and all are consistent with routine Pacific Fleet presence throughout the Western Pacific," Pacific Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Clint Ramsden told Reuters. PEACEFUL RESOLUTION SOUGHT China frequently blames the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, where its territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Speaking in Beijing following a meeting with Wang on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that while he could not comment on the Philippines legal case, he called for a peaceful resolution of differences. "I did stress to minister Wang, as I have with all other countries involved, the need to resolve their differences in a peaceful manner and to avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk." Wang repeated China's position that it also wanted a peaceful resolution, but that it would not accept forced arbitration. "This approach will not help bring about a peaceful resolution of disputes. On the contrary, it would only escalate the disputes and tension and should be resisted by all countries and people who uphold justice." China has accused the United States of militarizing the waterway with freedom of navigation patrols, while Washington has expressed concern about China's building of military facilities on islands it controls in the South China Sea. U.S. officials say the U.S. response should China stick to its vow to ignore the ruling could include stepped up freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese claimed islands in what is one of the world's business trade routes. In the call initiated by Kerry, Wang also said relations between China and the United States were generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while managing their differences. The U.S. State Department confirmed that Kerry had spoken to Wang, without providing details. U.S. officials say they fear China may respond to the ruling by declaring an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013, or by stepping up its building and fortification of artificial islands. (Additional reporting by Greg Torode in Hong Kong; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lincoln Feast)
(Fixes spelling of 'parts' in paragraph 5 to 'parks'.)

* Chinese government has called for "mass entrepreneurship"

* Called on migrants-to-students to start own businesses

* Innovation centres are popping up around the country

* But they are often in the wrong place, occupancy rates low

* Raises concerns investment is wasted, glut of innovation centres

By Sue-Lin Wong

SHACHENG, China, July 7 (Reuters) - The Chinese government's call to the nation to build an innovation-driven economy from the top down has sparked a rush by local governments to construct new buildings in the name of supporting creativity.

Innovation centres have been popping up around the country and are set to more than double to nearly 5,000 in the next five years, according to internet research firm iiMedia. The only problem for local governments; entrepreneurs are not moving in.

Many centres are in small Chinese cities or towns, not ideal locations for attracting startups. There is no local market for their product, no local ecosystem of suppliers and fellow entrepreneurs and centres generally provide only basic amenities, such as a desk and a telephone. They lack the financial, technical or marketing expertise that many startups need.

Most incubators have occupancy rates of no more than 40 percent, iiMedia says.

The result: like steel mills, theme parks and housing before them, the country now faces a glut of innovation centres as another top-down policy backfires to leave white-elephant projects and a further buildup of debt.

"The risk of a bubble is extremely large," said Shi Jiqiang, a partner at Leilai Management, which runs day-to-day operations at a startup base in the city of Tianjin, near Beijing.

"This is both a test for government and for the managers of startup spaces ... there aren't enough entrepreneurs."

China's Ministry of Industry and IT declined to comment and the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, did not respond to a request for comment.

Story continues

Beijing argues its development model that worked so well for infrastructure and real estate, powering the country through the global financial crisis, can build successful, high-tech startups.

With slogans such as "mass entrepreneurship" and "internet plus", Beijing has called for innovation centres to be built all over the country, hoping to lay the groundwork for the next Jack Ma - who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba - to emerge.

It has encouraged college students and even migrant workers to try their hand at starting their own businesses to transform China into a high-tech economy less reliant on basic manufacturing.

Almost 80 percent of the capital for the innovation centres springing up around the country is coming from the government or universities, which are state-backed in China, or a combination of sources, iiMedia said.

"In any sort of market, you want the experts making the decisions, not some technocrat or bureaucrat," said William Bao Bean, investment partner at venture capital fund SOSV, which invests in startups. "You don't tend to see too many successful companies come out of a government-based decision-making process."

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The small town of Shacheng in Huailai county in northern Hebei province answered Beijing's call for innovation by building two 25-storey adjoining towers - one for office space and the other as an innovation centre.

However, the innovation centre, offering desks and a period of free rent and utilities to potential startups, is empty. The floors are littered with rubbish and dust.

Like other towns in China's industrial heartland, Shacheng is feeling the brunt of Beijing's push to reduce massive industrial overcapacity. Glass and cement factories, and coal mines and steel mills have been shut down.

The town offers few signs of the central government's innovation campaign. Chinese characters hanging on a fence in Shacheng's economic zone spell out "mass entrepreneurship" but otherwise local people said they had not seen any promotion of the innovation centre and they felt it was not targetted at them anyhow.

Instead, they assumed it was designed to attract students and entrepreneurs from Beijing, some four-hours away by train.

"I wouldn't consider becoming an entrepreneur. You need money to do that. No, for someone like me, I don't really have many options," said Liu Haiyang, 30, who runs a shop next to the innovation centre, selling bathroom fittings.

Shacheng's local authority and the county economic planner declined to comment.

Residents said they hoped their economic fortunes would improve when a high-speed rail link with Beijing, which will cut travel time to the capital down to half an hour, is completed in 2019.

"The incubator is losing money," said a businessman with strong ties to the local government, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're playing the long game, hoping this push will create companies that pay taxes and add jobs to the local economy."

Elsewhere, some local governments have rebranded empty office space as innovation centres. At the new Yujiapu economic zone in Tianjin near Beijing, the government has designated 5.5 square kilometres for 11 incubators with at least four more on the way. The zone's flagship incubator is only 30 percent occupied, an administrative assistant said.

"All these office buildings have already been built," said Yang Dehong, a local government official. "We might as well use them, help startups reduce their costs," she said.

"And ride the wave of this (innovation) policy," added Pei Lei, another government official.

AGAINST THE ODDS

Venture capitalists say startups gravitate to where successful innovation centres are already up and running, or where they can find the right mix of a local market, talent, expertise and fellow entrepreneurs.

That generally means the big cities, such as Zhuhai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen - the five cities that top the rankings for startups in China.

"The idea that you can predict location or the idea that every geography happens to have this nascent group just waiting to be given capital to go create the next Alibaba, is just not true," said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners, a China-based venture capital firm.

Other more fundamental factors are holding back an entrepreneurial culture in China, startup experts say.

Even in towns with universities, young Chinese are often pressured by their parents to find a job considered more steady, such as in government or with a private company. Starting your own business is seen as too high risk.

The Chinese education system, which largely focuses on rote learning, also crimps the development of creative thinkers, said Bo Yiqun, chief executive of a privately run co-working space in Beijing with 85 percent occupancy.

"Innovation is related to education," Bo said. "If education levels don't rise, we can't expect innovation to catch up that fast."

Even if all those factors were in place, government efforts would have more chance of success if officials teamed up with former entrepreneurs or venture capitalists with money at stake, Chinaccelerator's Bao said.

"Where it's not worked the world over, as well as in China, is where the governments themselves are making the investment decisions," he said.

(Additional reporting by Zhang Qi, Elias Glenn, Pete Sweeney, Nathaniel Taplin and the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Neil Fullick.)
* Chinese government has called for "mass entrepreneurship"

* Called on migrants-to-students to start own businesses

* Innovation centres are popping up around the country

* But they are often in the wrong place, occupancy rates low

* Raises concerns investment is wasted, glut of innovation centres (Adds Reuters TV link in related content)

By Sue-Lin Wong

SHACHENG, China, July 7 (Reuters) - The Chinese government's call to the nation to build an innovation-driven economy from the top down has sparked a rush by local governments to construct new buildings in the name of supporting creativity.

Innovation centres have been popping up around the country and are set to more than double to nearly 5,000 in the next five years, according to internet research firm iiMedia. The only problem for local governments; entrepreneurs are not moving in.

Many centres are in small Chinese cities or towns, not ideal locations for attracting startups. There is no local market for their product, no local ecosystem of suppliers and fellow entrepreneurs and centres generally provide only basic amenities, such as a desk and a telephone. They lack the financial, technical or marketing expertise that many startups need.

Most incubators have occupancy rates of no more than 40 percent, iiMedia says.

The result: like steel mills, theme parks and housing before them, the country now faces a glut of innovation centres as another top-down policy backfires to leave white-elephant projects and a further buildup of debt.

"The risk of a bubble is extremely large," said Shi Jiqiang, a partner at Leilai Management, which runs day-to-day operations at a startup base in the city of Tianjin, near Beijing.

"This is both a test for government and for the managers of startup spaces ... there aren't enough entrepreneurs."

China's Ministry of Industry and IT declined to comment and the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, did not respond to a request for comment.

Story continues

Beijing argues its development model that worked so well for infrastructure and real estate, powering the country through the global financial crisis, can build successful, high-tech startups.

With slogans such as "mass entrepreneurship" and "internet plus", Beijing has called for innovation centres to be built all over the country, hoping to lay the groundwork for the next Jack Ma - who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba - to emerge.

It has encouraged college students and even migrant workers to try their hand at starting their own businesses to transform China into a high-tech economy less reliant on basic manufacturing.

Almost 80 percent of the capital for the innovation centres springing up around the country is coming from the government or universities, which are state-backed in China, or a combination of sources, iiMedia said.

"In any sort of market, you want the experts making the decisions, not some technocrat or bureaucrat," said William Bao Bean, investment partner at venture capital fund SOSV, which invests in startups. "You don't tend to see too many successful companies come out of a government-based decision-making process."

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The small town of Shacheng in Huailai county in northern Hebei province answered Beijing's call for innovation by building two 25-storey adjoining towers - one for office space and the other as an innovation centre.

However, the innovation centre, offering desks and a period of free rent and utilities to potential startups, is empty. The floors are littered with rubbish and dust.

Like other towns in China's industrial heartland, Shacheng is feeling the brunt of Beijing's push to reduce massive industrial overcapacity. Glass and cement factories, and coal mines and steel mills have been shut down.

The town offers few signs of the central government's innovation campaign. Chinese characters hanging on a fence in Shacheng's economic zone spell out "mass entrepreneurship" but otherwise local people said they had not seen any promotion of the innovation centre and they felt it was not targetted at them anyhow.

Instead, they assumed it was designed to attract students and entrepreneurs from Beijing, some four-hours away by train.

"I wouldn't consider becoming an entrepreneur. You need money to do that. No, for someone like me, I don't really have many options," said Liu Haiyang, 30, who runs a shop next to the innovation centre, selling bathroom fittings.

Shacheng's local authority and the county economic planner declined to comment.

Residents said they hoped their economic fortunes would improve when a high-speed rail link with Beijing, which will cut travel time to the capital down to half an hour, is completed in 2019.

"The incubator is losing money," said a businessman with strong ties to the local government, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're playing the long game, hoping this push will create companies that pay taxes and add jobs to the local economy."

Elsewhere, some local governments have rebranded empty office space as innovation centres. At the new Yujiapu economic zone in Tianjin near Beijing, the government has designated 5.5 square kilometres for 11 incubators with at least four more on the way. The zone's flagship incubator is only 30 percent occupied, an administrative assistant said.

"All these office buildings have already been built," said Yang Dehong, a local government official. "We might as well use them, help startups reduce their costs," she said.

"And ride the wave of this (innovation) policy," added Pei Lei, another government official.

AGAINST THE ODDS

Venture capitalists say startups gravitate to where successful innovation centres are already up and running, or where they can find the right mix of a local market, talent, expertise and fellow entrepreneurs.

That generally means the big cities, such as Zhuhai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen - the five cities that top the rankings for startups in China.

"The idea that you can predict location or the idea that every geography happens to have this nascent group just waiting to be given capital to go create the next Alibaba, is just not true," said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners, a China-based venture capital firm.

Other more fundamental factors are holding back an entrepreneurial culture in China, startup experts say.

Even in towns with universities, young Chinese are often pressured by their parents to find a job considered more steady, such as in government or with a private company. Starting your own business is seen as too high risk.

The Chinese education system, which largely focuses on rote learning, also crimps the development of creative thinkers, said Bo Yiqun, chief executive of a privately run co-working space in Beijing with 85 percent occupancy.

"Innovation is related to education," Bo said. "If education levels don't rise, we can't expect innovation to catch up that fast."

Even if all those factors were in place, government efforts would have more chance of success if officials teamed up with former entrepreneurs or venture capitalists with money at stake, Chinaccelerator's Bao said.

"Where it's not worked the world over, as well as in China, is where the governments themselves are making the investment decisions," he said.

(Additional reporting by Zhang Qi, Elias Glenn, Pete Sweeney, Nathaniel Taplin and the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Neil Fullick.)
Chipotle Mexican Grill (ticker: CMG) is channeling the Backstreet Boys in its latest attempt to win back consumers.

A cover of "I Want It That Way" plays during Chipotle's newest video, "A Love Story," which presents the tale of competing cartoon lemonade stands.

The restaurant chain, plagued by food illness outbreaks earlier this year, has made numerous attempts to recover, including giving away free food.

"A Love Story," posted to YouTube on Tuesday, ends with a reminder about Chipotle's new summer rewards program, yet another attempt to lure customers.

The video has been viewed more than 519,000 times as of Thursday morning, though MarketWatch points out previous videos garnered millions of views.

Chipotle has increasingly stood out among its competitors in the fast casual sector, though its E. coli scares shook its standing in the market. Trading at more than $758 per share a year ago, Chipotle now has a market capitalization of $11.6 billion and its shares have fallen to less than $400. CMG stock continued its fall Thursday, down 2.5 percent in morning trading.

In February, Chipotle's fourth-quarter earnings posted a dismal 43.5 percent dip than the year before, at $2.17 a share. Revenue failed to meet analysts' expectations, only hitting $999.7 million instead of $1.01 billion.

"(Chipotle needs) to do two things: Fight front-on what has happened over the next two months," Scott Rothbort, president of LakeView Asset Management in Millburn, New Jersey, told U.S. News & World Report in February. "They also need to look and say, we have an opportunity here, a free roll of the dice, to improve upon our brand and bring in people who weren't here before. I think that this is the type of management team that can do it."

Other problems still linger for the company. Chipotle put Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer, on leave after a New York Daily News report cited him as one of 18 customers of a purported cocaine ring named in an indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Story continues

Crumpacker surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and was charged with seven counts of possession of a controlled substance, the Associated Press reports. He was released on bail and is scheduled to appear in court in September.

8 Stocks to Buy for a Great 2016

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David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com.
Cillian Murphy has signed with ICM Partners, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned. He was previously with CAA.

The Irish actor stars in the period gangster drama Peaky Blinders, which the BBC has renewed through the fifth season and whose third season hit Netflix in May. On the big screen, he and Jamie Dornan headline the World War II thriller Anthropoid, which premiered at Karlovy Vary last week, and later this year Murphy will star alongside Brie Larson and Armie Hammer in A24's 1978 Chicago-set thriller Free Fire, directed by Ben Wheatley (High Rise) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. Murphy also has two films in production: Sally Potter's ensemble tragicomedy The Party and WWII action adventure Dunkirk, his latest reunion with director Christopher Nolan.

The prolific actor first broke out in 2002 with Danny Boyle's zombie thriller 28 Days Later ..., and he appeared in Cold Mountain and Girl With a Pearl Earring before a landmark 2005, with villainous turns in Batman Begins and Wes Craven's Red Eye as well as a Golden Globe nomination for playing the transgender protagonist of Breakfast on Pluto. Murphy then starred in Ken Loach's Palme d'Or-winning Irish war drama The Wind That Shakes the Barley and reteamed with Boyle for space thriller Sunshine and with Nolan for the remainder of his Batman trilogy as well as Inception. Other credits include Andrew Niccol's In Time, Wally Pfister's Transcendence and Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea.

On the stage, Murphy won the 2012 Drama Desk Award for outstanding solo performance for Misterman, which was presented off-Broadway at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse and then at the Lyttelton at the National Theatre in London.

Murphy continues to be repped by Lisa Richards Agency in Ireland, Lou Coulson Associates in the U.K. and Sloane Offer.
(Adds scale of EMEA consumer business, management adjustments, company context)

HONG KONG/NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Citigroup is merging its consumer banking unit in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with Asia, the largest region for profit for the business outside North America, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The move, which will see consumer banking revenues from five countries - Bahrain, Poland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom - getting consolidated with Asia, will not have any impact on staff headcounts in EMEA or in Asia, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Citigroup stopped disclosing its EMEA consumer revenue early last year after posting its financial reports for 2014. The region no longer had much impact on the company after Citigroup retreated from countries where it was not making enough money to be worthwhile to remain in those locations.

In 2014, the company showed a loss from EMEA consumer businesses of $7 million on revenue of $1.4 billion, which was less than 2 percent of total Citigroup revenue that year.

As of the end of March 2016, EMEA accounted for only 1.5 percent of outstanding consumer loans, according to a company disclosure in April.

James Griffiths, a spokesman for Citigroup in Hong Kong, confirmed the contents of the memo.

"As part of ongoing efforts to become a leaner, simpler organization, Citi's EMEA consumer cluster will now be managed by its Asia consumer franchise," he said.

"The integration is designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and effectively," he said.

The memo marked the completion of a shift in executives following an internal announcement in February by Global Consumer Banking Chief Executive Stephen Bird that the EMEA consumer businesses would be integrated with the Asia business.

Consumer business managers in the EMEA countries will now report to Anand Selva, head of the Asia consumer business. Anil Wadhwani, who had been head of EMEA consumer, has become head of operations for the Global Consumer Banking segment.

Story continues

Citigroup, the most geographically diverse of U.S. banks, has been shrinking and simplifying its operations to boost its profitability after having been bailed out by the government in the financial crisis.

With this change, Asia, which contributed a fifth of Citigroup's global consumer banking profit last year, will manage the group's business in 17 countries. The bank has consumer banking business in 19 countries globally.

The bulk of the company's consumer businesses are in the United States and in Mexico.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong and David Henry in New York.; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Bernadette Baum)
HONG KONG/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup (C.N) is merging its consumer banking unit in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with Asia, the largest region for profit for the business outside North America, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The move, which will see consumer banking revenues from five countries - Bahrain, Poland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom - getting consolidated with Asia, will not have any impact on staff headcounts in EMEA or in Asia, said a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Citigroup stopped disclosing its EMEA consumer revenue early last year after posting its financial reports for 2014. The region no longer had much impact on the company after Citigroup retreated from countries where it was not making enough money to be worthwhile to remain in those locations.

In 2014, the company showed a loss from EMEA consumer businesses of $7 million on revenue of $1.4 billion (1.07 billion), which was less than 2 percent of total Citigroup revenue that year.

As of the end of March 2016, EMEA accounted for only 1.5 percent of outstanding consumer loans, according to a company disclosure in April.

James Griffiths, a spokesman for Citigroup in Hong Kong, confirmed the contents of the memo.

"As part of ongoing efforts to become a leaner, simpler organisation, Citi's EMEA consumer cluster will now be managed by its Asia consumer franchise," he said.

"The integration is designed to enable us to operate more efficiently and effectively," he said.

The memo marked the completion of a shift in executives following an internal announcement in February by Global Consumer Banking Chief Executive Stephen Bird that the EMEA consumer businesses would be integrated with the Asia business.

Consumer business managers in the EMEA countries will now report to Anand Selva, head of the Asia consumer business. Anil Wadhwani, who had been head of EMEA consumer, has become head of operations for the Global Consumer Banking segment.

Story continues

Citigroup, the most geographically diverse of U.S. banks, has been shrinking and simplifying its operations to boost its profitability after having been bailed out by the government in the financial crisis.

With this change, Asia, which contributed a fifth of Citigroup's global consumer banking profit last year, will manage the group's business in 17 countries. The bank has consumer banking business in 19 countries globally.

The bulk of the company's consumer businesses are in the United States and in Mexico.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong and David Henry in New York.; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Bernadette Baum)
Paris (AFP) - The world should brace for potentially devastating impacts on human health due to climate change, top policy makers and officials from around the globe meeting in Paris said Thursday.

Some of these consequences may be avoided if humanity radically curbs its use of fossil fuels in coming decades, but many are already being felt, they said at the opening of a two-day conference run by the World Health Organization (WHO) and hosted by France.

"Health and climate are inextricably linked because human health depends directly on the health of the planet," French environment and energy minister Segolene Royal told participants.

Royal, also the rotating president of UN-led talks on how best to cope with global warming, said health impacts must play a more central role in future negotiations.

"From now on, I will do my best to ensure that health is integrated into all future climate conferences," starting with a special forum at the next high-level gathering of the 196-nation UN climate meeting in Marrakesh in November, she told AFP.

The Paris Agreement, inked in December last year, calls for holding global warming to well under two degrees Celsius (3.6 degree Fahrenheit), and helping poor nations cope with its impacts.

A crescendo of scientific studies paints an alarming picture of the human suffering in store due to disrupted weather patterns, rising seas, droughts and climate-enhanced superstorms.

Tropical disease vectors -- for malaria, dengue and zika, to name a few -- are expanding as the insects that carry them spread following warming climes.

- 'Health sector under-represented'

Extreme heat waves set to occur every decade rather than once a century will claims more lives, especially the ill and the elderly.

The WHO estimated in 2005 that killer hot spells claim 150,000 lives annually. More than 45,000 died in Europe alone due to a heatwave in the summer of 2003.

Most worrying of all, perhaps, is the threat to global food supplies.

Story continues

"Can we feed so many people" -- nine billion by mid-century, according to UN projections -- "when the climate that supports us is changing so adversely?", Letizia Ortiz, the Queen of Spain and a special ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization, asked the plenary.

Many staple foods, especially in the developing world, cannot adapt quickly enough to changing weather, resulting in lower yields.

Fish -- a key source of protein for billions -- have not only been depleted by industrial harvesting but are migrating as oceans warm and coral reefs die.

Sometimes it is the sources, rather than the impacts, of manmade climate change that damage health.

The WHO estimates that seven million people die each year from air pollution, which also contributes to global warming as a greenhouse gas.

"The health sector has been under-represented in this discussion when you think about the millions of lives that will be affected, and even ended," said Richard Kinley, the interim head of the UN climate forum.

"The world is already committed to important levels of climate disruption," he added.

"The health sector will have to deal with the consequences."

The Second Global Conference on Health and Climate will end Friday with a proposed "action agenda" for national governments.
Call it the influence of the Bernie Brosor a recognition that the health of American economy rests on having a college-educated workforce. On Wednesday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released the New College Compact, a plan that would make college free for most Americans still working toward a bachelors degree and ease student loan repayment for folks who have already graduated.

By 2021, Families with incomes up to $125,000 will pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities, which covers more than 80 percent of families, according to the plan posted on Clintons website. Meanwhile, families earning $85,000 or less will immediately be able to attend an in-state college or university without paying any tuition. In response to the student debt crisis, the plan will also take executive action to give borrowers a three-month moratorium on their federal student loan payments.

RELATED: This State Wants to Help Recent Grads Pay Back Their Student Loans

A separate fact sheet reads, Imagine what is possible in America if we tackle the runaway costs of higher education, make sure that students who start college can finish with a degree, and relieve the crushing burden of student debt.

Clintons willingness to imagine that possibility may surprise some Americans, given that she has heavily criticized Bernie Sanders proposals for free college for everyone. But Colin Seeberger, the strategic campaigns adviser for the education advocacy group The Young Invincibles, told TakePart that given the soaring costs of college and skyrocketing student debt, Clintons shift is not surprising.

RELATED: These Are the States Where College Students Are Hardest Hit by Tuition Hikes

Weve seen tuition and fees go up by nearly 30 percent since the Great Recession, and now the average student walks off a college campus [owing] roughly $30,000 in loans. Young voters are demanding change, and theyre ready to put their votes behind it, said Seeberger. According to a poll we conducted recently, more than 60 percent of millennial voters say that combatting student debt will be a major influencer in determining their vote this fall.

Story continues

Clintons adoption of Sanders free college ideaalbeit in a more limited fashion, given the $125,000 income capunderscores the importance of higher education for all Americans, Julie Ajinkya, the vice president of applied research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, told TakePart.

This matters to young people, but it also matters to everyone. We have increasing numbers of adults with some college and no degree who are also interested in finishing their degrees, Ajinkya said. Higher ed matters to everyone because we know its the ladder to opportunity and the middle class. When college is no longer affordable to everyone, youre shutting off that opportunity to huge sets of society.

With total student loan debt topping $1.3 trillion, plenty of Americans are keeping up with the tuition increases and costs of housing by borrowing money. To that end, Natalia Abrams, the executive director of Student Debt Crisis, a Los Angelesbased nonprofit that seeks to reform the way higher education is paid for, applauded Clintons focus on people who are still in school as well as folks who are repaying student debt.

One focuses on young people, and the other is largely for people over the age of 30, and people who have been paying for their debt for 10 or 20 years, Abrams said. We have 43 million student loan borrowers, and many of them have families, which means their debt indirectly affects 150 to 200 million people.

RELATED: Death, Taxes, and Loans: Student Debt Jumped 56 Percent in a Decade

Theres no better proof that a college education is an essential ticket to the middle class than data released last week showing that only 1 percent of jobs in the postGreat Recession recovery have gone to Americans with just a high school diploma. But that reality is a tough pill to swallow when people see college costs increasing year after year.

The price of higher education is being driven up by two factors: Institutions keep getting more expensive to run every year, and states havent been able to keep funding the increasing expense of higher education, Will Doyle, an education policy researcher at Vanderbilt University, wrote in an email to TakePart.

The price of higher education does not have to keep going upthese price increases are driven by decisions being made by institutional and state leaders, Doyle wrote. In April a study he coauthored found that college has become less affordable in 45 states since the Great Recession.

RELATED: As College Tuition Spikes, Soup Kitchens Are the New Cafeteria

Doyle noted that one gap in Clintons plan is that it doesnt seem to recognize the very different ways in which states are funding higher education. As a result, it could provide much more funding for states where they have historically done little to fund higher education.

New Hampshire, for example, currently provides $2,591 per student in state funding, while New Mexico provides $8,800more than three times as much. In-state tuition and required fees at public four-years in New Hampshire is $14,538, and in New Mexico its $6,003, he wrote.

Clintons plan for free tuition would have to be approved by Congress, and then individual states would need to opt in. Doyle posited that the varied response to the Affordable Care Act could give an indication of how this plan would be received.

Few analysts expected truly widespread opposition to state level exchanges, and almost no one thought that there would be widespread resistance to the Medicaid expansion. The exchanges were taken up in many fewer states than expected, and many states have refused the Medicaid expansion. If this free tuition plan is received in the states like the Affordable Care Act, then it will be in real trouble, wrote Doyle.

Doyle suggested that a more viable alternative is to create a joint-federal partnership focused on need-based student financial aid, with states being incentivized to match federal funding. This would drop tuition to [zero] for many students, while still not penalizing those states that have already made commitments to making college affordable.

Ajinkya also cautioned that the public has to pay attention to what college affordability actually means.

Its not limited to just paying for tuition and fees. We have the cost of books, child care, we have transportation for folks to actually get to school, housing costsin addition into a number of other costs that need to get bundled into our idea of college affordability, she said.

RELATED: In 33 States and D.C., Child Care Is More Expensive Than In-State College Tuition

Although free tuition will undoubtedly help plenty of families, theres also the reality that students of color and kids from lower-income backgrounds are still less likely to go to college, and may already have tuition covered by Pell grants or other aid.

This proposal cannot operate in a vacuum, Ajinkya said. For higher enrollment, we need to see targeted resources going toward those students instead of blanketed proposals. She pointed to better apprenticeships and mentorships as examples.

Ultimately, she said, while this is certainly a tantalizing headline because everyone loves the idea of free college, the devil is in the details. Nothing is really for free. Someone is going to have to pay for this, and this means that we just have to do better on keeping overall costs low.

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Original article from TakePart
horse cocaine

On Friday, New Zealand made its largest cocaine bust ever, seizing nearly 80 pounds of the drug hidden in a horse's head statue that arrived in the country from Mexico.

While three people are in custody in relation to the shipment, it's not yet clear who sent the drugs or what their final destination was.

While New Zealand has seen its own drug use rise, it's also likely that the shipment was destined for Australia, where a kilo of cocaine, about 2.2 pounds' worth, can fetch $228,000 to $259,000  far more than the same amount commands in the US.

The arrest of two Mexican nationals in relation to the bust suggests that it may be part of efforts by Mexican drug cartels to expand internationally, moving into new markets and capturing new consumers.

If the shipment was orchestrated by a Mexican cartel, then the odds are the Sinaloa cartel of jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman  which controls are large portion of the world's cocaine  was involved.

If the Sinaloa cartel was behind the cocaine shipment, it's not the only Mexican criminal organization seeking to expand into Asia and Oceania  nor is it limiting its offerings to cocaine.

Push and pull

Global cocaine map

Active links between Mexican cartels and the Australian drug market were uncovered in 2010, when Mexican nationals, who had links to cartels, were arrested during counter narcotics operations in Australia.

According to a report from the Australian National University, cartel expansion in Asia has been driven by "push" factors and "pull" factors.

Declining demand and falling prices in US and European markets has pushed traffickers to other markets.

colombia cocaine

Those traffickers have been pulled toward Asia by Australia's high prices for illicit drugs ($228,000 to $259,000 for a kilo of cocaine, versus $54,000 in the US), as well as increased demand for illegal drugs related to the region's rapid economic growth.

Story continues

The region also has the most amphetamine-type stimulant users in the world, and at the wholesale level, meth can cost 20 times more in Australia than it does in Mexico.

Australia isn't the only target, however. In early 2015, police reported "larger than usual amounts" of high-purity cocaine had been intercepted in India, and drug seizures in that country tripled between 2009 and 2013. In June 2015, authorities in Bangladesh seized a $14 million shipment of cocaine, believed to be from Bolivia.

Nor are the drugs in question limited to cocaine. China accounts for 50% of the region's annual crystal-meth seizures (though much of the drug is produced in China). In 2013, South Korea seized more than 30 pounds of crystal meth that it linked to Mexico, and that same year, Japanese authorities discovered crystal-meth trafficking from Mexico into their country.

Global meth map

Though the ANU's report notes that the danger posed to Australia is not from any one group, but rather from "dark networks" of "multiple organizations ... where one unit is not merely the formal subordinate in some larger hierarchical arrangement," it does describe the specific threats traffickers  Mexican cartels in particular  present to Australia.

Mexican cartels have pursued the wholesale side of the drug market in Australia, leaving retail distribution to local criminal groups (much as they do with street gangs in the US). And not only do Mexican cartels not discriminate when it comes to partnering with criminal groups  they often add incentives to ensure their continued access to the market.

Worryingly, these incentives include illegal firearms, many of which flow into the hands of criminal groups in Mexico from sources in the US.

Mexican cartels' growing partnerships with Australian criminal groups "is of particular concern because of the potential escalation of violence between local criminal groups vying for control of domestic distribution networks, made all the more lethal due to the diffusion of illegal firearms from the cartels," the ANU's report states.

'They are businessmen ... They are everywhere'

While Guzman's Sinaloa cartel is not the only game in town among Mexican criminal organizations, reports and arrests indicate that the Sinaloa organization has an outsize presence in international drug markets.

Sinaloa cartel in Mexico

The cartel is believed to have operations in up to 50 countries, ranging from Argentina up to the US, across Europe and Africa, and throughout Asia and Oceania.

It's suspected of partnering with Chinese traffickers to bring precursor chemicals into Mexico to fuel that country's growing meth industry. It's also turned up in Hong Kong, and the arrest of suspected Sinaloa cartel operative in the Philippines in 2015 led to the revelation that the cartel was attempting to break into that country's meth trade.

Recaptured drug lord Joaquin

In Australia, the Sinaloans appear to have a significant presence. In September 2010, a report indicated that the cartel was moving more than 1,100 pounds of cocaine into Australia each month.

In early 2013, court documents detailed how the Sinaloa organization would fly millions of dollars from Australia to the US to purchase cocaine, and then move that cocaine back to Australia.

The Sinaloa cartel has "the capacity to negotiate with Nigerian criminal groups, European criminal groups  they provide to everybody. They are businessmen," Antonio Mazzitelli, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime representative for Mexico, told Vice earlier this year.

"They are everywhere. They had the capacity to take advantage of the globalization of the demand for illicit drugs. They have the capacity to provide all types of drugs everywhere," Mazzitelli said.

NOW WATCH: EX-UNDERCOVER DEA AGENT: What I did when drug dealers asked me to try the product





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(Adds details, comments from company officials, byline)

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Bitcoin exchange Coinbase said on Thursday it received a $10.5 million investment from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), the bank's Mitsubishi UFJ Capital unit and Sozo Ventures as part of a strategic partnership involving its long-term expansion.

Coinbase, which is the world's largest bitcoin company and currently operates in 32 countries, does not operate in Japan just yet, though it runs an exchange in Singapore. The company said Japan is a big part of its international expansion.

"BTMU will be a strong partner for us both in Asia and globally," Sam Rosenblum, international expansion and banking lead at Coinbase, said in a phone interview with Reuters. "Japan will certainly be an important market for us and one that is pretty critical for the development of digital currencies."

Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification.

Rosenblum said San Francisco-based Coinbase has been working with BTMU for about a year on various projects and those collaborations have culminated in a strategic investment.

Sozo Ventures, which has dual headquarters in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, early on has been instrumental in bringing Twitter to Japan.

In order for Coinbase to do business in Japan, it would need regulatory approval from the country's Financial Services Agency.

Rosenblum said there is no timetable as to when Coinbase would launch operations in Japan.

Coinbase last year raised $75 million from a slew of investors. The BTMU investment is an individual transaction and not part of any funding round, Rosenblum said.

Coinbase currently has two trading platforms, one for retail investors and one for institutions. Over the last four weeks, trading volume for the two platforms totaled around $400 million, according to Adam White, Coinbase's vice president for business development.

Since bitcoin's inception in 2009, it has grown in popularity and price. Late on Thursday, bitcoin traded at $621.74 on the Bitstamp platform. So far this year, the digital currency is up 44.2 percent.

(Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Leslie Adler)
BOGOTA (Reuters) - A unit of Colombia's FARC rebel group said it will not lay down arms or demobilize under a potential peace deal with the government, the first public sign of opposition to an accord from within the rebel ranks that may set back efforts to end five decades of war. The statement by the Armando Rios First Front, a 200-strong guerrilla unit in the southeastern jungle province of Guaviare, comes nearly two weeks after leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government announced a ceasefire deal at their more than three-year-old peace talks. "We have decided not to demobilize, we will continue the fight for the taking of power by the people for the people, independent of the decision taken by the rest of the members of the organization," the unit said in a statement on Wednesday. The First Front, which famously held ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors hostage, said the deals being reached at talks in Cuba will not solve the social and economic problems which first motivated the Marxist group to take up arms in 1964. President Juan Manuel Santos has said the peace talks, aimed at ending a conflict which has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions, may conclude as early as this month. Any deal will be put to Colombians for approval in a plebiscite vote. The First Front, which is known to have links to the drug trade, said it would respect any FARC rebels who agree to peace, but called on other units to join forces to continue the fight. "We invite all guerrillas and militia who are not in agreement with demobilization and the laying down of FARC weapons to join forces and continue united as an organization," the statement said. Santos said earlier on Wednesday that any FARC unit that does not adhere to a peace agreement would continue at war and be killed or jailed. "Anyone with doubts, best leave them aside and join the peace accord, because it's the last opportunity they will have to change their lives, because otherwise they will end up, I assure you, in a grave or jail," Santos said. FARC leaders negotiating in Havana did not immediately respond to the decision by the breakaway unit, but security sources said other units could also reject a peace agreement, and throw the process into doubt. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Bill Rigby)
Screen Shot 2016 07 07 at 8.24.56 AM

Private payrolls increased by 172,000 in June, according to ADP Research Institute.

The median estimate among economists was for an addition of 160,000, according to Bloomberg.

The goods-producing sector lost 36,000 jobs, the biggest one-month decline in six years according to Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna. More than half of these jobs were in manufacturing.

The service-providing sector gained 208,000 jobs.

Following the slowdown in jobs growth during May to the weakest pace in six years, economists will use Friday's report for June from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to gauge whether there's a real slowdown in hiring.

"Since the start of 2016, average monthly job creation has slightly dropped," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP, in the release.

"Lackluster global growth, low commodity prices, and an unfavorable exchange rate continue to weigh on U.S. companies, especially larger companies."

NOW WATCH: What to do with your hands during a job interview





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Washington (AFP) - FBI chief James Comey on Thursday vigorously defended his recommendation not to file charges against Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton over her private email use at the State Department, saying she did not break the law.

Comey, summoned to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, reiterated his finding that while Clinton and her staff were careless, she did not lie to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The hearing on Capitol Hill, which lasted four hours and 40 minutes, was marked by some tense moments, but Comey, a Republican former prosecutor, maintained his cool throughout the marathon grilling.

"As I said, I see evidence of great carelessness, but I do not see evidence that is sufficient to establish that secretary Clinton or those with whom she was corresponding both talked about classified information on e-mail and knew when they did it they were doing something that was against the law," Comey said.

On Wednesday, the US Justice Department announced that no charges would be filed against Clinton, following the recommendations made by the FBI and revealed by Comey in an unusual press conference the day before.

The FBI found that while Clinton's conduct was not criminal, she had been "extremely careless" in sending classified information via her personal email account.

Clinton's use of a private email account and homebrew server during her time as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 has weighed heavily on her bid over the past year to become America's first female commander-in-chief.

- Double standard? -

Republicans have cried foul, saying that Clinton is not being held to the same legal standards as ordinary Americans. The issue of her trustworthiness has come up repeatedly in opinion polls.

"I think there's a legitimate concern that there's a double standard -- if your name isn't Clinton or you're not part of the powerful elite, that Lady Justice will act differently," Republican committee chair Jason Chaffetz told the hearing.

Story continues

The FBI report countered Clinton's claim that she had never sent classified information via her private account, and also said she had not turned over thousands of work-related emails to investigators.

But Comey insisted Clinton had not received special treatment in any way.

"I believe this investigation was conducted consistent with the highest traditions of the FBI," Comey said.

"Our folks did it in an apolitical and professional way, including our recommendation as to the appropriate resolution of this case."

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Comey's testimony had "shut the door on any remaining conspiracy theories once and for all."

"While Republicans may try to keep this issue alive, this hearing proved those efforts will only backfire," he said in a statement.

- No government interference -

Comey again said Thursday that he did not coordinate his Tuesday press conference with anyone else inside the administration of President Barack Obama.

"I did not coordinate that with anyone -- the White House, Department of Justice -- nobody outside the FBI family had any idea what I was about to say," he told lawmakers.

When pressed, he admitted that if an FBI employee had acted as Clinton had, "there would be a security review and adjudication of their suitability, and a range of discipline could be imposed -- from termination to reprimand."

And when asked if the Clinton Foundation -- launched by Bill Clinton and which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for charitable causes in the past decade -- was under investigation, Comey refused to comment.
UPDATE with full schedule: With two weeks to go before the crush of geeks, fans, and journalists descend on San Diego for Comic-Con 2016, the unveiling of the final schedule of panels, screenings and assorted events has begun. As usual, organizers are doling out the schedule announcements on a per-day basis, but the finalized schedule of events for Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4 are set. Read on for a breakdown of the must-see film events youll want to catch if youre able to attend, and keep checking back as the official schedules are unveiled.

Thursday, July 21

DreamWorks Animation

10 AM, Hall H

Featuring special Trolls presentation with filmmakers, voice talent, and a few colorful friends. Moderated by Chris Hardwick featuring Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, director Mike Mitchell, co-director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay.

The 4th Annual Musical Anatomy of a Superhero

11 AM, Indigo Ballroom/Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Behind-the-scenes look at the music of todays biggest superhero film and TV projects with unreleased film clips and never before heard music. Participating composers: Henry Jackman, Tom Junkie XL Holkenborg, John Ottman, Blake Neely

Snowden

11:45 AM, Hall H

Open Road Films presentation featuring never-before-seen footage and a live conversation with director Oliver Stone and star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Moana: Art of Story

12:30 PM, Room 6A

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker lead panel of artists for behind-the-scenes look at Walt Disney Animation Studios upcoming film.

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

1 PM, Hall H

Director Luc Besson, producer Virginie Besson-Silla, and stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne attending. New footage being shown.

Sausage Party Filmmaker Conversation

5:45 PM, Horton Grand Theatre

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg discuss Sony Pictures and Annapurna Pictures Sausage Party, the worlds first R-rated CG animated comedy. Pre-party and screening at Horton Plaza.

Story continues

Friday, July 22

Captain America: Civil War Screenwriting Q&A

1 PM, Horton Grand Theatre

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely discuss adapting the beloved comic tale into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Revengeance with Bill Plympton & Jim Lujan

4 PM, Room 23ABC

Bill Plympton and writer Jim Lujan preview their new animated feature with finished clips. Discussion of the production process from raising funds via Kickstarter to plans for distribution.

World Premiere of Batman: The Killing Joke

9 PM, Ballroom 20

The latest DC Universe Original Movie, an R-rated, feature-length animated film centering on the Joker, is based on one of the bestselling graphic novels of all time. Panelists: Tara Strong as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Ray Wis as Commissioner James Gordon, director Sam Liu and writer Brian Azzarello.

Saturday, July 23

Warner Bros Presentation

11:30 AM, Hall H

A sneak peek at upcoming releases that will include Suicide Squad and Kong: Skull Island, with the latters Tom Hiddleston confirmed to attend.

Aliens: 30th Anniversary

3:15 PM, Hall H

Writer-director James Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd join cast Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn and Paul Reiser for a look back at the science fiction classic.

Marvel Studios Presentation

5:30 PM, Hall H

Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige and guests provide an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Confirmed attendees: Chris Pratt and James Gunn from Guardians Of The Galaxy 2.

Related stories

Warner Bros' Comic-Con Details: 'Wonder Woman', 'King Arthur', 'Lego Batman' & 'Fantastic Beasts' Also Hitting Hall H

Comic-Con 2016 TV Schedule: Key Panels & Events

'American Horror Story' VR Encounter Headlines FXhibition At Comic-Con
Hillary Clinton

The Hillary Clinton email scandal is far from over.

Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on Thursday that Congress would send a referral to the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath about her handling of classified information.

Clinton, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has come under fire for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.

FBI Director James Comey announced earlier this week that he would not recommend bringing charges against Clinton in the case, and US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday that the Justice Department had closed the investigation.

But now questions have surfaced about whether Clinton lied under oath.

Clinton has insisted dozens of times that classified information did not traverse her private server at the time it was sent or received. She suggested that the government had classified some information after the fact, which would make it possible for the server to contain information that is now classified but wasn't at the time it was sent or received.

But during his announcement this week, Comey said the FBI found evidence that Clinton sent or received 110 emails with classified information.

Chaffetz grilled Comey on this point during a hearing Thursday morning. He then suggested that Congress would ask the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath.

Here's the relevant portion of the exchange:

Chaffetz: "Did you review the documents where Congressman Jim Jordan asked her specifically, and she said, 'There was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received'?"

Comey: "I don't remember reviewing that particular testimony. I'm aware of that being said, though."

Chaffetz: "Did the FBI investigate her statements under oath on this topic?"

Comey: "Not to my knowledge. I don't think there's been a referral from Congress."

Story continues

Chaffetz then asked if the FBI needed a referral from Congress to investigate Clinton's statements under oath. Comey responded yes.

"You'll have one," Chaffetz said. "You'll have one in the next few hours."

Clinton campaign spokesman Glen Caplin issued this statement on the proposed new investigation: "This should be called out for what it is, another blatantly political stunt by Republicans to try and keep the issue alive after career [Justice Department] officials declared this case closed because they didn't get the outcome they wanted."

NOW WATCH: Heres the footage that Republicans suggest shows Hillary Clinton lied under oath





More From Business Insider


Australia's next government looked more likely to remain in conservatives' hands Thursday as they secured extra seats in an ongoing vote count after weekend elections, and a key independent pledged his support.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been meeting with independent lower house politicians to shore up backing for his Liberal/National coalition amid uncertainty that it will be able to win the 76 seats required in the House of Representatives to form a majority government.

On Thursday he won the support of Bob Katter, a colourful rural MP who recently sparked controversy after a campaign video showed him shooting two political opponents over the sale of agricultural land to foreigners.

"I have had very constructive discussions with Katter and I thank him for the support that he has given my government," Turnbull said in a brief statement after the pair met in Brisbane.

Latest projections by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's veteran analyst Antony Green said the coalition was on course to hold at least 73 seats, with Katter's support taking them to 74. Six seats remain too close to call.

Katter's backing means he would get behind the government on budget matters and on votes of no confidence.

"We do not want to go back to the polls, that should not be imposed upon the Australian people," the Queensland MP said, which could happen if none of the major parties can secure enough support to form a government.

"I do so (give my support) with no great enthusiasm... I maintain my right to move at any point in time in another direction."

His announcement was not a surprise, with Katter backing the coalition in 2010 when the nation was last faced with a hung parliament, where no single political party has a majority in the 150-seat lower house.

Four independents and one Greens MP have won lower seats. At least two of them have ruled out working with either the coalition or the Labor opposition.

Story continues

The uncertainty follows national polls on Saturday, with early counts giving neither of the two major parties enough seats to govern.

The inconclusive result led global ratings agency Standard and Poor's to place Australia coveted AAA-rating on negative watch from stable Thursday, saying the outcome could lead to further delays in efforts to reduce rising budget deficits and debt.

Treasurer Scott Morrison pledged after the S&P statement that if his government was returned to power, they would work hard to "ensure that we can maintain the financial strength of the government and of the country as a result".
William Blount is one of the lesser-known men who signed the Constitution, but one of the most controversial, since he put a key part of the founding document to a critical test less than decade after it was ratified.

Blount represented North Carolina at the 1787 convention in Philadelphia and said little at the proceedings, when he was there. Blount was one of 39 delegates who signed the Constitution and he also promoted its ratification in North Carolina.

But about a decade later, on July 7th, 1797, 218 years ago today, the House of Representatives voted to impeach now Senator Blount from Tennessee, who was involved a plot to give land to the British.

Blount, who came from a wealthy Southern landowning family, had accumulated much land west of the Mississippi on credit, and was significantly in debt. When France defeated Spain in the War of the Pyrenees, Blount became involved in a plan for Native Americans and frontiersmen to attack this land, which would ultimately be transferred to Great Britain.

An incriminating letter fell into the hands of Blounts enemy, Secretary of State Timothy Pickering. President John Adams, upon receiving the letter, sent in to the Senate.

Blount was then the first government official to be part of the impeachment process and the expulsion process, two of the critical checks-and-balances in the Constitution.

The Constitution has several clauses that allow for the House and Senate to discipline government officials, including their own members.

Article II, Section 4, says that the President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

And Article I, Section 5, contains the Expulsion Clause, which says that, each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.

Story continues

The Senate voted to expel the Tennessean the next day, and it also ordered him to stand trial at a later date since the House had approved impeachment proceedings.

During Blounts absentee proceedings in early 1799, the Senate didnt move forward with a trial against Blount, deciding that he had already been expelled from the Senate. By a 14-11 vote, a resolution was defeated that read that William Blount was a civil officer of the United States and therefore liable to impeachment.

Since 1797, the Senate has expelled 15 members and the House has expelled five members, but no Congress member has been impeached.

As for Blount, he went back to his home in Tennessee, gained appointment to the state Senate and became its speaker. He died in 1800 after a brief illness.
Dame Helen Mirren has said she isnt against airbrushing of film posters. (Photo: Instagram/Rex Features)

In her latest LOreal campaign, Dame Helen Mirren looks totally amazing. Despite accusations of airbrushing away her fine lines and wrinkles, there has been a judgment by the British Advertising Standards Agency to the contrary.

But despite the ASA ruling that LOreal didnt retouch the TV ad, it seems Mirren is not opposed to the whole idea of airbrushing images.

After recent allegations that she didnt allow digital manipulation, the Eye in the Sky actress revealed that she is actually extremely laissez-faire about the whole thing and has no problem with promotional posters being altered.

In a cover interview in the August edition of Woman & Home magazine, Dame Helen explained: Contrary to what everyone says, I dont not allow retouching. Im very laissez-faire about it all. But when I was offered the gig to be an ambassador for LOreal, which was very exciting, I said, Please dont retouch me.

Photo: Rex Features

In the U.S., they retouch for film posters, she continued. Thats their business, of course  theyre advertising the movie. But I look at it and think, I dont look like that in real life, and certainly not in the movie. So I didnt want something to say, This is me, Helen Mirren and for LOreal to perpetuate something that isnt true.

Mirren then went on to explain that she neednt have worried, since LOreal U.K. doesnt retouch images unless maybe theres a hair out of place or a bra strap showing, which was music to my ears.

Photo: Rex Features

And speaking of her appointment last year as the oldest face of LOreal, the actress explained how proud she was to represent the more mature woman in the beauty industry.

All my life Ive been looking at 16-year-old girls selling beauty, so I think its fabulous that theyre using a 70-year-old woman to sell products to other 60- to 80-year-old women.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
In April 2013, Montres Corum made news when it became the first high-end Swiss watchmaker to be acquired by a Chinese groupHong Kongbased China Haidian Holdings, later renamed Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group. The holding company, which acquired Eterna in 2011 and Rotary in 2014, made it clear that Corum would be its luxury calling card, particularly in China, where the brand enjoys a strong reputation.

Since then, Corum, founded in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1955, has remained mostly off the radar. That changed in September 2015 with the appointment of Davide Traxler as chief executive officer. RobbReport.com caught up with the former Bulgari and Chopard executive during Marchs Baselworld fair in Switzerland, where he spoke to us about Corums three flagship modelsthe Admirals Cup, the Golden Bridge, and the recently revived Bubbleand his ambitious goals for the future, and the peripatetic demands of his new role (hint: hes already circled the worldtwice). (corum.ch)

Robbreport.com: Many Swiss watchmakers are facing tough times this year. But Corum has, by all accounts, had a strong showing here at Baselworld. What do you attribute that to?

Davide Traxler: Were a small company, and in a small company you need relatively little to make a big difference. Were also comparing to last year, and last year was a cleanup year. The company was purchased and there were a lot of skeletons in the cupboard, and there was a lot of cleanup to be done, so there wasnt a lot of market focus. Obviously, when you get back into the market, theres an awakening.

RR.com: Where are you seeing the most growth?

DT: The big increase is from Asia, where we opened new local subsidiaries. Were very happy with that result: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia all have very good teams. Ive been there twice since I joined in September. Ive been around the world twice since then. And the feedback has been so clear.

RR.com: What have you learned?

DT: Admirals Cupeveryone wanted the flag back. [The Admirals Cup model was redesigned in 1983 to feature a 12-sided bezel and hour-markers styled as nautical pennants corresponding to the international maritime code.] They wanted a strong presence of the flags. And that was easy. Then I looked at the collection, and it was 80-percent shaped watches and the market is 95-percent round watches, so we made the round Golden Bridge.

Story continues

And there was this huge call for Bubble. Everyone said, Every year, I get five calls, people wanting to know about the Bubble again. And were talking about a product that was taken out of the market 10 years ago. And that really says how strong the identity of Bubble was. It was introduced in 2000 and lasted five years. In 2015, there were three models launched and the sellout was excellent and the feedback was I want more daring, crazier, and so we did crazier. Crazy being 35 models. Thats pretty crazy.

RR.com: Whats your plan for the U.S. market?

DT: We changed teams and this is the first comeback fair, and the feedback is very positive. The feeling is that were listening and theres freshness. We make watches, we dont save lives. We have this incredible luxury in that people buy our products only because theyre happy. You dont buy a watch if youre ill; you buy it when youre celebrating something. And thats the sort of thing that makes me say, Im pretty lucky to work in this trade.

RR.com: What is Corums bread-and-butter product?

DT: Well, the brand has three brands within it. Because Bubble is basically a brand, Bridge is a brand, and Admirals Cup is one brand, with a core product around 6,000 Swiss francs. Bubble is around 4,000. And Bridge starts at 25,000. The best-selling pieces are the Admirals Cups and Bubbles in quantitybut, in value, its the Bridge.

RR.com: Earlier this year, Corum and the French photographer Dani Olivier teamed up to create a limited edition of the Bubble featuring his psychedelic nudes on the dial. Whats the idea behind the collaboration?

DT: Were going to announce a series of collaborations later this year: DJs, street artists, you name it. We have a customize your Bubble contest running online now, and we pick a winner and produce it. Theres a lot of interaction and listening.

We have a small brand, we have different products, and theyre appreciated. Its fresh, and the Bridge and Bubble are very distinctive. The feeling around Bubble is that its an affluent consumer who wants something fun.

RR.com: Tell us about your parent company.

DT: Citychamp is a watch company. They own the two largest brands in ChinaRossini and Ebohrand they are the leaders in the market, and its the biggest watch market in the world. Theyre entry-level brandshuge quantities and obviously different pricing from us. Citychamp wanted to have three levels in the market with Rotary, Eterna, and ourselves. And thats actually very good for our positioning, because theres a very clear desire to make Corum the crown jewel.

RR.com: Where are you based?

DT: La Chaux-de-Fonds. I spent 13 years with Chopard and ran Chopard USA for the last year. I came in to take Marcs place [Marc Hruschka, the former president and CEO of Chopard USA] because I was born in New York. For a year I did it while we looked for someone else. Im American born: English mother, Italian father. We lived in Canada, Europe, Africa, South America. My father was a diplomat.

RR.com: And where do you spend most of your time these days?

DT: The plane. Headed everywhere. Ive been twice around the world since September 15. Thats a lot of travel.

RR.com: Finally, what are your concerns and goals for 2016?

DT: The number for 2016 is simple: We want to grow 30 percent this year in sales, and to make the brand profitable. The worries: Where do I start? Is there any good news in the paper lately? If nothing happens, Im very happy. Stability would be a wonderful thing.

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By Joseph Ax

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge on Thursday rejected Bill Cosbys latest effort to have the sexual assault charges against him thrown out, ruling that the 78-year-old comedian must stand trial in the case.

Judge Steven O'Neill rejected arguments from Cosbys lawyers that prosecutors violated Cosbys rights by refusing to call the accuser as a witness at a preliminary hearing in May, thus shielding her from cross-examination.

This case shall proceed to trial on those counts, O'Neill said at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Once one of the most beloved U.S. entertainers thanks to his family-friendly persona, Cosby is facing accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women stretching back decades. The Pennsylvania case is the only criminal prosecution against him, as most of the other allegations involve incidents that are too old to produce charges.

Cosby, who wore a pinstriped tan jacket and used a cane to walk on Thursday, has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed the encounter with Constand as consensual.

"Today someone who has given so much to so many had his constitutional rights trampled once again, said Brian McMonagle, a lawyer for Cosby, after O'Neills ruling.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Richard Chang and Tom Brown)
By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Costa Rica nominated former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres on Thursday to be the next U.N. Secretary-General, making her the 12th candidate to enter the race ahead of the first Security Council secret ballot later this month. "The United Nations, and the world, needs a Secretary-General who is a bridge builder, who can listen and consult, who can help resolve disputes, build agreements and anticipate problems. Christiana Figueres has proven to be that person," said Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis. Figueres recently ended her six-year tenure as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She is credited by some diplomats for helping lead more than 190 countries to a global climate deal in Paris in December. The search for a successor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon - a former South Korean foreign minister who steps down at the end of 2016 after two five-year terms - has sparked a push by more than a quarter of the 193 U.N. states for the organization's first female leader. The other female candidates are: U.N. cultural organization UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; former Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic; Moldova's former Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman; former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who heads the U.N. Development Programme; and Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, who was Ban's chief of staff until late last year. Figueres told reporters her experience leading over 190 countries from the failed Copenhagen climate summit in 2009 to a global agreement in Paris in 2015 makes her qualified to lead the United Nations. She said the success of the Paris climate agreement proves the U.N. is a relevant global body. "Paris was one of the most successful negotiations of the United Nations," she said. "I believe I have proven my stripes." But she added she would have a tough learning curve on broader issues of peace and security. Also in the race are former Macedonian Foreign Minister Srgjan Kerim; Montenegro Foreign Minister Igor Luksic; former Slovenian President Danilo Turk; former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who is also a former Portuguese prime minister; former Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic; and Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak. The 15-member Security Council will hold its first informal secret ballot on July 21 and hopes to agree on a candidate by September or October to formally recommend to the General Assembly for election. Ultimately the council's veto powers - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - have to agree on a candidate. There is no requirement for the five to pay attention to the popularity of candidates with the General Assembly. Under an informal tradition of rotating the top post between regions, it is Eastern Europe's turn and eight of the current nominees are from there. At least two-thirds of the candidates are set to take part in two debates in the U.N. General Assembly on July 12 which will be broadcast live on al Jazeera. (Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Enrique Andres Pretel in San Jose; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Chizu Nomiyama)
invisible man bow

Your financial adviser is important.

No one else has such influence over your money, and when you ask for their advice, you assume it comes with significant professional expertise.

That might be years of experience in the field, or certifications like CPA or CFP, or a thick sheath of existing client recommendations. Maybe, it's all three.

But there's one important factor you probably won't see on your adviser's  or potential adviser's  resume: humility.

Humility "in large doses" can signal someone you want to work with, James Osborne of Bason Asset Management in Lakewood, Colorado told the Wall Street Journal's Jason Zweig. Humility can indicate your adviser isn't going to take unnecessary risks with your money in pursuit of a lofty but ill-advised goal such as trying to beat the market.

That's why, he says, an in-person conversation is so important.

"Financial adviser" itself is a broad term that can include financial professionals working as stockbrokers, insurance agents, tax preparers, investment managers, and financial planners. It doesn't imply fiduciary responsibility, which is the guarantee your adviser is working in your best interests. Usually, however, "financial adviser" is used to mean investment advisers, whose expertise lies solely in managing investments, CFP Bob Gavlak previously told Business Insider.

Along with lack of hubris, there are a handful of questions you can ask to see if your financial adviser is working in your best interest. The Department of Labor has a list has a list, including:

Do you consider yourself a fiduciary?

How are you compensated?

Are you a licensed or registered investment adviser?

CFP Sophia Bera writes on Business Insider that, if you're early in your career and still establishing financial security, you may not even need professional advice. Once you've amassed sufficient emergency savings, eliminated credit card debt, and set up retirement contributions, then you might want to enlist help to deal with questions around life insurance, taxes, or buying a home.

Story continues

Then, you might want to keep in mind the five signs of a terrible financial adviser.

NOW WATCH: An exercise scientist reveals exactly how long you need to work out to get in great shape





More From Business Insider


A Lancaster County district judge has dismissed a lawsuit for the second time in a case in which an 82-year-old woman said a deputy sheriff used excessive force and hurt her when he arrested her in 2012.

Judge Robert Otte said he is sensitive to Marilyn Waldron's accusations, but said any mistakes Deputy James Roark made during his encounter with her on Feb. 22, 2012, are protected under the law that gives him qualified immunity.

"The court does not condone any violation of rights by any officer of the law," he said in his order filed Friday. "However, (Waldron's) claims are balanced against other factors described."

Her attorney, Vince Powers, said he doesn't think qualified immunity applies in the case and said they'll appeal again.

Roark and Deputy Amanda May went to Waldrons home near 56th and Vine streets to arrest her grandson on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. Police had encountered Steven Copple before, including at least one time when he had a weapon.

Roark and May said there was some indication Copple might try to commit "suicide by cop," according to court documents.

The deputies said they saw him inside when they pulled up to the house. Roark knocked and then pushed his way past Waldron, saying he was a deputy sheriff and needed to see her grandson.

In her lawsuit, Waldron said Roark ignored her request to see a warrant or badge.

Believing Copple was in the basement, the deputies drew their guns and ran toward the stairs. May ordered Waldron to stay in the kitchen, but she went to the basement, yelled at deputies and threatened to call the police, documents say.

At that point, records say, Roark threw Waldron to the ground, breaking her glasses, and placed a knee on her back and pulled her right arm back. She continued to resist by keeping her arm stiff, according to court documents. She told him she'd had shoulder surgery, but he persisted and tore her rotator cuff, she said.

Both May and Roark were in plainclothes, and Waldron maintains they still had not shown her ID or a warrant.

Ultimately, they found Copple in the house and arrested him. And they cited Waldron for false reporting and obstructing government operations. That charge was dismissed after she completed pretrial diversion.

"Assuming the defendant made mistakes or was even negligent in entering the defendant's home, the record does not support a finding that he was plainly incompetent, knowingly violated the law, or that a reasonable official would have believed in that situation conduct was unlawful," Otte said in his ruling.

The judge said there is no doubt Roark used "considerable force" in handcuffing Waldron, but he said even the use of force that causes some injury is not in and of itself a violation.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said Roark remains a deputy and that he is confident he handled the situation correctly and legally.

Waldron appealed the judge's first dismissal of her claims to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which earlier this year sent the case back to Otte. On Wednesday, Otte granted Roark's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case on its merits prior to a trial and noting that he had already reviewed the depositions of all involved.

"The court finds that the record is developed to the extent that a separate trial or evidentiary hearing is unnecessary," he wrote. "Further, neither party requested such a hearing."

Said Powers: "In general its always very difficult for a citizen to sue for law enforcement misconduct, Powers said. "I respect the judges order, but I just think a jury should be deciding these issues.
From ELLE DECOR

The Northwest seems to get most of the credit as far as bike-loving residents are concerned - ahem, Portland - but if you love to pedal to your heart's delight, the East Coast may actually soon be the place for you.

The non-profit organization East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA) is building a 3,000-mile bike path that will stretch from Calais, Maine to Key West, Florida, giving cyclists the chance to see 15 states and 450 communities via two wheels.

Sound impossible? Don't doubt the power of cyclists: The trail is actually coming along quite nicely. About 850 miles have already been created, and another 200 miles will be added by 2020, according to Curbed.

"It's about seeing America at the right speed, where you can take in all of the culture around you," ECGA executive director Dennis Markatos-Soriano told CityLab. "And you don't have a windshield between yourself and the community."

(And beyond the handy health benefits of biking, just imagine the airfare you could save on.)

The ECGA has been working on the project since 1991, creating segments of the trail throughout the East Coast to eventually link together. Though the organization cannot predict exactly when it'll be completed (the project relies on local volunteers to bring path segments up to code), its goal is to have a 95 percent traffic-free route by 2030.

Since the path is intended to eventually be completely off-road and traffic-free, any on-road sections of the trail are considered "interim."

The Greenway runs alongside the rivers and train tracks that connect the East Coast's cities. Currently, the trail experiences 11 million visits per year and has 40,000 supporters and volunteers, according to the ECGA.

Check out the video below to see the most recent work on the trail.

h/t: Curbed
And Singapore leads the way for the digital economy.

Singapores stock exchange has regained pole position for initial public offerings in Southeast Asia. The bourse was lifted by the debuts of Frasers Logistics & Industrials Trust and Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust, which accounted for 96 percent of the $1.2 billion raised in the first half of the year, and a drop in activity in Thailand. Read more here.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. has introduced a system that would allow a few select passengers to bid online for a seat upgrade a few days before their departure. The city-states flag carrier, at its discretion, will invite fliers who have booked economy class seven days in advance to bid for its premium economy class, which offers relatively more comfortable seats, according to the companys website. Find out more here.

Singapore is the country seen as benefiting the most from the investments it has made into technological innovations, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday. The country topped the WEF's "networked readiness" index for the second year in a row. The index analyses how prepared countries are to benefit from emerging technologies and opportunities created by digital innovation, which the WEF calls the fourth industrial revolution. Read more here.





More From Singapore Business Review


Paris (AFP) - French dairy giant Danone said Thursday it had agreed to buy US organic foods producer WhiteWave Foods with a view to creating a world leader for organic produce.

The all-cash transaction values the US company at $12.5 billion (11.3 billion euros) and will allow Danone to double its business in the US, the French group said in a statement, adding it expected to finalise the deal by the end of the year.

Danones share price rose by nearly seven per cent in morning Paris trading on news of the deal.

Our perfect complementarity will allow us to create a uniquely-positioned organic world leader, CEO Emmanuel Faber said in a conference call.

Both companies board of directors have unanimously approved the deal, Danone said.

WhiteWave produces a range of organic dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives, achieving sales of $4 billion in 2015 with such brands as Silk milk and Earthbound Farm organic salad.

Since its stock market flotation in 2012, WhiteWave has generated an annual increase in operating profit of 20 percent, Danone said.

The French company said the deal would allow it to tap into consumer trends for healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking options.

Organic foods and beverages and non-GMO plant-based alternatives to milk and yogurt are among the fastest growing categories in the industry, Danone said.

Dairy products are already a core business for Danone, which employs 100,000 people worldwide and generated $22.4 billion of sales last year. Its portfolio also includes baby food and water.

The value-creation profile is strong. We will contribute 100 years of research and development into protein fermentation, which will be combined with WhiteWaves transformation know-how, Faber said.

Danone said it had offered to pay $56.25 per share representing a total enterprise value of approximately $12.5 bn. It said the takeover will be financed entirely by debt.

The deal, which is expected to produce annual synergies of $300 million by 2020, has yet to be approved by WhiteWaves shareholders and by competition authorities.

Story continues

Morgan Stanley equity analyst Eileen Khoo said the acquisition reflected a sound strategic rationale and was likely to increase Danones sales by 18 percent.

We view this as a very solid deal for Danone, she said.

It was, she noted however, a surprise for analysts who had expected Danone to pursue growth by its own means and cost-cutting, rather than acquisitions.

At around 0830 GMT, Danone shares stood 6.8 percent higher at 67.61 euros.
PARIS (Reuters) - France's Danone (DANO.PA), the world's largest yogurt maker, said on Thursday it would buy WhiteWave Foods Co (WWAV.N) in a deal that values the U.S. organic foods producer at $12.5 billion (10 billion pounds), including debt.

Danone said it was offering $56.25 per share in cash in a deal that would double its U.S. business and was its largest acquisition since the purchase of Dutch group Numico in 2007.

The deal will boost the French company's pursuit of affluent consumers by adding WhiteWave's popular health food offerings such as Silk almond milk and Earthbound Farm Organic salad to its portfolio, as it struggles with setbacks in more challenging markets such as Brazil and Russia.

It is the first major transaction by Emmanuel Faber who took over as Danone's chief executive in 2014.

The deal, which will be 100 percent debt financed and will boost earnings per share from the first year after closing, was approved by the boards of both companies.

It represents a premium of 24 percent over WhiteWave's 30-day average closing trading price, Danone said in a statement.

"This transaction will create a leading U.S. refrigerated dairy player, as well as one of the top 15 largest U.S. Food and Beverage manufacturers," it said.

After the deal, which is expected to close by year-end, Danone's North America footprint will increase to 22 percent of Danone's total portfolio from 12 percent.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Susan Fenton)
Mr. Newton may have had enough, but it seems British cinemas haven't had enough of Mr. Newton.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the U.K. release of Nicolas Roeg's cult sci-fi film The Man Who Fell to Earth, arguably David Bowie's most iconic turn on the big screen, StudioCanal is nearing completion of a 4K restoration.

Writer Rob Sheffield Talks Paying Homage to Musical Hero David Bowie in New Book 'On Bowie': 'He Refused to Rest on His Laurels'

The film, in which the late musician plays a humanoid alien from a distant planet on a mission to take water back home, will be released theatrically on Sept. 9 by Park Circus.

Spearheaded by Deluxe London, the restoration is based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, followed by a full 4K workflow, and all with the approval of original cinematographer Anthony Richmond. It has been in the works since late 2015, prior to Bowie's death in January.

Plus: David Bowie Finally Had a Billboard 200 No. 1 Album in the US With 'Blackstar'

This article was originally published on The Hollywood Reporter.
A weary but determined father stayed by his sons side after completing a shift at the end of a tiring work day.

20-month-old Andre Jesse, nicknamed AJ by his parents, was being treated at York Hospital Pediatrics in Pennsylvania after he suffered an asthma attack.

Read: 'Selfie Dad' Becomes Social Media Star After Taking On His Daughter's Sexy Style

When Andre Palmer, AJs father, heard about his infant son, he rushed to the hospital and straight to his bedside.

AJs mother, Amy Palmer couldnt believe that her husband had arrived to comfort their infant after completing a long shift as a commercial truck driver for Republic Services.

Read: After Couple Delivers Baby in Starbucks Parking Lot, Baby Girl Gets Drink Named in Her Honor

I said to myself, Oh my God! That was amazing, Palmer told InsideEdition.com. I thought he wasnt going to come and go to sleep due to work.

Much to her surprise, Palmer said she woke up and found her husband, Andre, sleeping under their sons crib. She snapped the heart-warming photo and posted it to Facebook, labeling him father of the year.

It was so sweet seeing him like that, said Palmer.

According to his mother, little AJ is doing much better and the family members are all resting at home.

Watch: Baby Has Heartbreaking Frown Every Time Mom says 'Roar'

Related Articles:
James Comey

Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri derailed FBI Director James Comey's Thursday hearing in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee when he asked about Donald Trump's retweeting of white supremacists.

Clay also asked if Comey was familiar with the "Daily Stormer," a white supremacist website that promotes "the hashtag #WhiteGenocide to protest what they believe is an effort to eliminate the white race."

"I am not," Comey said.

Clay continued, asking Comey if he's concerned whether someone who promotes such ideas on social media could become violent.

Comey insisted that he doesn't know enough about the specifics of the "white genocide" hashtag to voice an opinion, but added the FBI is "always concerned" when someone "goes beyond protected speech."

"One of my biggest concerns is that certain public figures are promoting these groups even further," Clay said. "As you may know, one of our most vocal candidates for president retweeted @WhiteGenocideTM. Three weeks later he did it again, and two days later he retweeted a different user whose image also included 'White Genocide'  and that's not all of them."

"Do those actions make it easier for those racist groups to recruit even more supporters?" he then asked.

Comey said he couldn't give a good answer on the subject.

The FBI director was called before the committee to testify about his recommendation to not prosecute presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over her use of private email servers when she served as secretary of state.

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump defends his controversial tweet featuring the Star of David  they 'should have left it up'





More From Business Insider


The death penalty in Nebraska wasn't exactly high on the list of social conversation topics among young professionals in Lincoln  until May of 2015.

That's when the Legislature voted to repeal the death penalty, and then to override a Republican governor's veto of the repeal, in a state known to be conservative and rather set in its ways.

And that's when conversations about the death penalty took off.

"The issue comes up a lot with my friends and a lot of the people that I hang out with," said Eric Gerrard, a co-host for a young professionals fundraiser Thursday night on behalf of Retain A Just Nebraska, which is working to ensure the death penalty repeal stands.

Gerrard, a lobbyist, said he was at the Capitol for all the debate on the death penalty repeal bill (LB268) and the votes.

"Because I'm over there quite a bit, my friends will ask me what's going on and (about) the arguments on both sides, and I guess I have a difficult time coming up with too many arguments for the death penalty," he said.

They talk about whether death or life sentences are more expensive for the state. And whether the worst punishment for murder is a death sentence or spending a lifetime in prison.

His most conservative friend, who disagrees with him on just about everything, agrees with him on this issue, he said.

Convincing a state full of voters to retain the repeal will be a task, Gerrard said.

"The death penalty's kind of the easy answer and there's a lot of education and thought that has to go into understanding why it isn't the best answer," he said. "That takes a lot of research and deep thinking, and I don't know if that always happens when people go to cast a vote."

Chris Peterson is a spokesman for the opposing side, Nebraskans for the Death Penalty, the group that got the issue onto the November ballot. He said supporters of keeping the death penalty in Nebraska cut across all age groups.

"Our recent polling indicates there is no statistical difference of opinion about the death penalty for 18-34-year-olds versus all voters," he said. "So whether someone is 25, 45 or 65 years old, they have the same probability of being among the majority of Nebraskans who support repealing LB268 and keeping the death penalty."

Lincoln Sen. Kate Bolz, a sponsor of the fundraiser and a member of the Lincoln Young Professionals, said they've had a lot of interest in the death penalty from young people, and they wanted to respond to that interest.

"That generation of people is among the most diverse in our country and so the idea that the death penalty is unfairly applied resonates," she said.

Liz Ring Carlson, a public relations manager who is a co-host for the event, said Lincoln has a history of young people being politically active and wanting to have a voice in policy making decisions. "But sometimes they're just really not sure how to get involved."

So the purpose of Thursday's gathering is, along with raising money for the campaign, to share information and educate people for the November vote, she said.

The Legislature brought forward a difficult topic last year, she said.

"That increased their interest in really having an honest and authentic dialog around it, not partisan bickering or anything along those lines," Carlson said.

They want to know the facts, she said. Does the death penalty work? Is it more expensive? How many people are affected? What percentage of people put to death are actually innocent? And why is there a group going against what our elected officials said?

Young people see lot of positive things going on in the state, with job growth, startup businesses, and the interest in attracting more young professionals to the state, she said.

And the death penalty plays into that mindset of what Nebraska's all about, especially on the national stage, she said.

The fundraiser is bipartisan, Bolz said, and will be held at Fuse Coworking, 151 N. Eighth St., from 5:30-7:30.
Paris (AFP) - Designer Maria Grazia Chiuri left the Italian label Valentino Thursday, clearing the way for her to be named the first ever woman to lead Dior.

Chiuri had presented her last collection for Valentino only the night before, taking the bow at its Paris haute couture show with her longtime creative partner Pierpaolo Piccioli.

"I have shared with Pierpaolo a great part of my professional life," she said in a statement.

"I am ready to embark on a new professional challenge."

Dior refused to comment on whether the 52-year-old had been lined up to follow in the footsteps of the house's legendary founder Christian Dior and such designers as Yves Saint Laurent, Gianfranco Ferre and John Galliano.

But sources told AFP that an announcement is likely to be made Friday.

Dior has been without a leader since the shock departure of the Belgian Raf Simons last October, which sparked soul-searching in the industry about the pressure creators were now under.

Valentino said Piccioli would now take sole charge of the label.

Chiuri and Piccioli arecredited with giving Valentino back its fizz, making it one of the most profitable designer brands in Europe.

- Hollywood favourite -

Her fairytale floor-sweeping dresses and willowy frocks have won her an army of Hollywood fans including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway and Kiera Knightley.

With her departure widely predicted, Vogue described Chiuri's swansong Paris show for Valentino as "an unforgettable farewell".

Its Shakespearean ruffs and Renaissance-inspired dresses had the critic Suzy Menkes asking archly, "To stay or not to stay, that was the question."

But a source had earlier told AFP that Chiuri already signed on the dotted line with Dior.

Chiuri, whose mother was a dressmaker but whose parents strongly disapproved of her going into fashion, took over at Valentino with Piccioli when its colourful founder Valentino Garavani retired in 2008.

Story continues

Valentino, the "Sheikh of Chic", had poached them from the rival Roman label Fendi nearly a decade earlier.

There the pair had pioneered its ground-breaking accessories range, with Chiuri credited with creating its distinctive studded handbags.

Although there has been much speculation about how their 25-year partnership works, Chiuri was always regarded as the senior partner.

Piccioli, who is two years her junior, has often praised her famous "intuition".

"Her faults? Can I make a list," he told the Italian daily La Repubblica.

"Sometimes she has a tendency to have her own way," he joked.

Her love of exquisitely embroidered creations is legendary, with the silken applications on one of the gowns in Wednesday's Paris show taking 480 hours to attach.

Some, however, have questioned her love of mediaeval motifs and called her look "anti-sexy".

Other fashionistas claim this was a deliberate decision to mark her out from the ultra sexual style of her Roman neighbour and competitor Donatella Versace.

In any case, unlike Versace, she claims not to have been a natural show-woman, recalling her first show in charge of Valentino as a "nightmare".

"I was so shy and I found it hard to even talk. The night before I was at home trying to learn English from books" so that she could talk to the media.
Washington (AFP) - Which Republican is most likely to impede Hillary Clinton's race to the White House? Most would say Donald Trump, but FBI director James Comey could be the surprise obstacle on her path to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Comey, a former federal prosecutor and ex-deputy attorney general, on Tuesday offered a damning assessment of her email practices during her time at the State Department -- but did not recommend she face criminal charges.

In an explosive -- and surprise -- 15-minute speech, the towering Comey -- he stands 6'8" (two meters) tall -- gave Clinton a dressing down that is sure to reverberate until voters head to the polls in November to choose President Barack Obama's successor.

He reiterated those views before a congressional committee on Thursday, facing a grilling over his impartiality but remaining unflappable under pressure, and insisting the FBI's conclusions were sound.

Of course, by saying Clinton was not criminally liable, Comey did not deal a death blow to her White House hopes. But the former first lady now will face difficult questions on the campaign trail for months until election day on November 8.

It will not be easy to erase the words uttered by Comey about Clinton -- his labeling of her as "extremely careless" will certainly be used in countless Trump attack ads.

Some experts even suggest the fallout could haunt her all the way to the Oval Office if she wins the presidency.

Comey said while there was no firm evidence that Clinton's email was successfully hacked, he also said he could not rule it out, and that sophisticated cyber criminals would not have left any trace.

On Thursday, he said Clinton "should have known not to send classified information." He also blasted the State Department as having a lax security culture under her leadership.

Only time will tell how Comey's words will affect Clinton's drive for the presidency.

- Straight shooter -

Story continues

Comey, who has been in his position at the Federal Bureau of Investigation since September 2013, stole the spotlight from Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who could only announce Wednesday that she was following his recommendations.

Lynch sparked controversy last week when she met Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, on the tarmac at the Phoenix airport -- a chat that left Republicans crying foul.

The year-long probe and its unusual conclusion have reinforced the view of Comey as a straight shooter, ready to take the heat from all sides in sticky situations.

Democrats are mad at how he painted Clinton in his assessment, and surprised at how much details he offered in a process that is usually kept secret.

Republicans are angry that she will not be charged, saying it defies logic given the errors that were made.

But Comey is a smooth operator with tons of experience in government.

- Connected -

For three decades, Comey has circulated in political and legal circles at the highest level, giving him the confidence to sometimes anger the country's justice department, and even the White House.

In the wake of the 2014 fatal police shooting of unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Comey raised hackles by supporting cops who were wary of fulfilling their duties, for fear of their actions being caught on video.

Many top US government careers begin in New York, and Comey is no exception -- he hails from the Manhattan suburbs. He cut his teeth as a federal prosecutor in New York and the Washington area.

In 2003, he became deputy attorney general.

The following year, he faced one of his toughest showdowns, cementing his reputation for being independent and unafraid.

Comey had become acting attorney general due to the illness of his boss John Ashcroft.

At Ashcroft's bedside, the presidential counsel to George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales, was trying to persuade him to reauthorize a controversial warrantless eavesdropping program.

Comey -- who was against extending the program -- later revealed the incident to senators, unleashing a political firestorm.
From Esquire

There is no governor anywhere in America who was handed a tougher job than John Bel Edwards in Louisiana. He was charged with repairing the profound damage left behind by former Governor Bobby Jindal. Louisiana was an economic basket case before Hurricane Katrina made the basket bigger. Desperate to polish his presidential bona fides for the benefit of his party's lunatic base, Jindal proceeded to expand the basket further. His charter schools taught theocratic nonsense. His economic policies apparently were drawn in crayon. Of all the Republican governors who have cratered their states over the past decade, Jindal engineered one of the more garish collapses, even given the fact that his state was halfway to hell when he took office.

One of the first moves Edwards made was to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid, which guaranteed healthcare to 300,000 Louisianians who had not had it before. At the same time, however, Edwards remained the kind of conservative Democrat that you have to be to get elected as a Democratic politician. At the end of May, for example, he signed the nation's first so-called "Blue Lives Matter" law, which made assaulting a law enforcement officer a hate crime. (That this was transparently a reaction by the law enforcement community to the accountability demanded by the Black Lives Matter movement on the issue of police killings is so obvious as to beggar explanation.)

Edwards signed the bill even though, as Jarvis DeBerry of The Times-Picayune pointed out, Edwards' record provided him with sufficient political cover to veto the law had he decided to do so.

But in addition to being generally concerned about hate-crime statutes, I am particularly distressed by a bill that adds police officers to the list of people who can be considered the victims of hate crimes. The primary reason is that police officers are already protected. There are already higher penalties for people who attack and or kill police officers, and it's doubtful that there's anybody around who's unaware that those higher penalties exist. But there's also another reason this bill is a noxious idea. Hate crime bills were put in to place to grant some protections to populations that have historically been powerless. Police officers are representatives of power. We call them "the law." How does it come to be that the very embodiments of the state's power are cast as weak, oppressed and in further need of the state's protection? House Bill 953 is propaganda, pure and simple, furthering the lie that police officers' lives have recently become more imperiled.

Story continues

At the very least, Edwards now has demonstrated some very bad timing.

On Tuesday night, members of the Baton Rouge Police Department were recorded subduing a 37-year old African American man named Alton Sterling and, apparently, shooting him to death while he was restrained on the ground. The Baton Rouge Advocate has what we old newspaper guys call the tick-tock.

One officer is seen pulling the man's left arm down while he pressed down on the man's chest. The man's right arm is not visible in the video. "He's got a gun! Gun," an officer says, prompting the lawman closest to the camera to draw an object from his holster. "You f*****g move, I swear to God," says an officer, before the second officer, farther from the viewer, is seen pointing a weapon down at the man's chest. There's a flash from that officer's weapon, accompanied by the sound of shots. "They shot him?" a man's harried voice, close to the microphone, says in the video. "Yes!" a weeping woman replies.

Again, this is not a national story, and it is not a national outrage, without the availability of video recording on every telephone. The police involved in the incident have said that their body cameras fell off in the struggle, and they confiscated any security camera footage covering the scene. But what has come into the public domain is a cellphone video recorded by a thus far anonymous witness.

Police interviewed a few witnesses who were at the store, he said. Muflahi said he was interviewed by police for most of the night, returning to his store around 8 a.m. Both officers at the store were wearing body cameras and cars had dash cameras, McKneely said. Muflahi said police also took surveillance footage from his store and seized his entire video system. McKneely said both body cameras came loose and dangled from the officers' uniforms during the incident.

In response, Edwards did the proper thing very quickly. At his press conference Wednesday morning, he announced that the investigation into Sterling's death would be taken away from local prosecutors and handed over to the Civil Rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Per The Advocate:

Edwards, a Democrat who took office in January after serving eight years in the state Legislature, also called on the public to have faith in the independent investigation into Sterling's death, saying that there should be no doubt that it will be investigated fairly. "I have full confidence this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally, and I will demand that that's the way it's conducted, and I know the people of Louisiana will join me in doing so," Edwards said.

The episode, of course, goes far beyond the impact of the incident on one white politician. The local officials have been scrambling to demonstrate their transparency; by one o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, the two police officers involved were identified as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II. This is all to the good.

But the news that Sterling suffered "multiple gunshot wounds" to the back and the chest is damned alarming. Whatever happened before the video started, at least some of those shots had to come while Sterling was completely restrained and pinned to the ground. This is the kind of thing that happens too damned often, and it overwhelmingly happens to our fellow citizens of color.

Shop owner Abdullah Muflahi told the Advocate that the officers were "aggressive" from the start, and that Sterling was armed but was not holding his gun and didn't have his hand near his pocket at the time of the shooting.

By the way, for those who will make a point of Sterling's carrying a gun, which has been reported in a number of places, remember that Louisiana is an open-carry state. If he were armed, then, right up until the moment somebody shot him to death, Alton Sterling was exercising his Second Amendment rights in exactly the way the NRA and its noisy apologists have suggested we all should.

Except that we're not all black, the true original American Exceptionalism has come home again.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.

[contentlinks align="left" textonly="false" numbered="true" headline="" customtitles="How Many More Teary Press Conferences Will It Take?" customimages="" content="article.46479"]
* Greyhound racing to be banned next year * Decision follows inquiry which uncovered cruelty * Industry "devastated" by decision (adds Greyhound New South Wales statement) SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Greyhound racing will be outlawed in the Australian state of New South Wales from next year after a damning investigation into the sport uncovered reports of systemic animal cruelty, including mass killings and live baiting. State Premier Mike Baird said the findings of a commission of inquiry had left the government with "no acceptable course of action except to close the industry down". The sport would be outlawed by July 1, 2017, Baird said in a statement. "Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the U.S. and is legal in only eight countries around the world. NSW will be the first state in Australia to ban it," Baird wrote in a separate post on his Facebook page. "Over the coming months, we will consult with the industry to help minimise the pain as best we can for the innocent industry participants as we work towards an orderly industry shutdown." Greyhound Racing New South Wales (GRNSW) said in a statement that the industry had been "devastated" by the shock news and announced a suspension of racing for seven days. The decision caused shares in betting company Tabcorp to fall by around five percent to A$4.34 ($3.26) on Thursday, though it said in a statement that greyhound racing only accounted for about five percent of their wagering turnover. The inquiry, led by Australian lawyer Michael McHugh QC, found that up to 68,000 greyhounds bred in the past 12 years had been destroyed because they were considered uncompetitive. That amounted to about half the greyhound population, the report said. CHEAP TREATMENT It also said that evidence suggested up to 20 percent of trainers engaged in the practice of 'live baiting', where animals such as rabbits are chased by dogs during training sessions. McHugh's report added that "many trainers" did not seek proper or adequate veterinary treatment for injured dogs, instead preferring "cheap and sometimes painful methods of treating greyhound injuries". It added the industry had turned a blind eye to reports of animal cruelty. The state government will consult with the industry and animal welfare authorities to implement a shutdown plan over the next 12 months. "I feel much empathy for innocent trainers and those who will lose their job or hobby as a result of this," Baird said. "And I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals." GRNSW said the industry had "transformed" the regulation of the sport over the last 16 months. "Today is an extremely sad day for the NSW greyhound racing industry and the people involved in it." ($1 = A$1.3307) (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by John O'Brien)
Donald Trump

Donald Trump called the media a bunch of "liars" and "bad people" at a Wednesday rally, slamming the press for reporting on his praise of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during an event in North Carolina the night before.

"'Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein,'" Trump said, pretending to be a member of the press. "'He loves Saddam Hussein.'"

Trump added that he was asked whether he loved Hussein by a reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer ahead of his Wednesday rally.

"I said, 'That's not what I said,'" Trump said. "'That's not what I said. That's just the narrative that's going around. People that saw it thought it was great.'"

He added that reporters were "liars" and "bad people."

"What I did say is that he was good at one thing  he was really good at one thing," Trump said. "That was killing terrorists."

"He didn't wait around and give trials that lasted 18 years," he continued. "And then after 18 years if they had the right lawyer, they erect a statue of the terrorist. Not with Trump."

The presumptive Republican nominee said at his Cincinnati rally that he thought Hussein was a "really bad guy" but continued to insist that he was "really good" at "killing terrorists."

"I don't love Saddam Hussein," he said. "I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damn good at killing terrorists and now terrorists, terrorist people go into Iraq  I said yesterday it's the Harvard, the Harvard University, Harvard for terrorists."

During his Tuesday rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Trump promoted a near identical position on Hussein, who was toppled in 2003 after the US-led invasion of Iraq and later executed.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser for Hillary Clinton's campaign, slammed Trump's praise of Hussein. Sullivan noted the ousted leader's numerous human-rights violations.

He also criticized Trump's penchant for displaying sympathy toward foreign "strongmen" like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Story continues

"Donald Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds," Sullivan said.

"Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights," he continued. "In reality, Hussein's regime was a sponsor of terrorism  one that paid families of suicide bombers who attacked Israelis, among other crimes. Trump's cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrate how dangerous he would be as commander-in-chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks."

House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned the remarks soon after during a Tuesday interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly.

"He was one of the 20th century's most evil people," Ryan said. "He was up there."

"He committed mass genocide against his own people using chemical weapons," the speaker added, referring to Hussein's attacks against the Kurds in Iraq.

Maxwell Tani contributed to this report

NOW WATCH: TRUMP SPOKESWOMAN: Why the Republican Party has 'miserably failed'





More From Business Insider


A 30-year-old employee of Sun Tan City is suspected of embezzling more than $98,000 from the business over the course of seven years.

James Ryan was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of felony theft of more than $5,000.

Lincoln Police Capt. Joy Citta said the statute of limitations allows police to look back on company records only to 2013 and it's possible he had been taking money as far back as 2006.

The amount Ryan can be prosecuted for is just over $74,000, she said.

Police began investigating Ryan when the company noticed missing funds in April. He was employed as a corporation project manager and had access to a company credit card, Citta said.
Donald Trump

Donald Trump called the media a bunch of "liars" and "bad people" at a Wednesday rally, slamming the press for reporting on his praise of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during an event in North Carolina the night before.

"'Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein,'" Trump said, pretending to be a member of the press. "'He loves Saddam Hussein.'"

Trump added that he was asked whether he loved Hussein by a reporter at the Cincinnati Enquirer ahead of his Wednesday rally.

"I said, 'That's not what I said,'" Trump said. "'That's not what I said. That's just the narrative that's going around. People that saw it thought it was great.'"

He added that reporters were "liars" and "bad people."

"What I did say is that he was good at one thing  he was really good at one thing," Trump said. "That was killing terrorists."

"He didn't wait around and give trials that lasted 18 years," he continued. "And then after 18 years if they had the right lawyer, they erect a statue of the terrorist. Not with Trump."

The presumptive Republican nominee said at his Cincinnati rally that he thought Hussein was a "really bad guy" but continued to insist that he was "really good" at "killing terrorists."

"I don't love Saddam Hussein," he said. "I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damn good at killing terrorists and now terrorists, terrorist people go into Iraq  I said yesterday it's the Harvard, the Harvard University, Harvard for terrorists."

During his Tuesday rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Trump promoted a near identical position on Hussein, who was toppled in 2003 after the US-led invasion of Iraq and later executed.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser for Hillary Clinton's campaign, slammed Trump's praise of Hussein. Sullivan noted the ousted leader's numerous human-rights violations.

He also criticized Trump's penchant for displaying sympathy toward foreign "strongmen" like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Story continues

"Donald Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds," Sullivan said.

"Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights," he continued. "In reality, Hussein's regime was a sponsor of terrorism  one that paid families of suicide bombers who attacked Israelis, among other crimes. Trump's cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrate how dangerous he would be as commander-in-chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks."

House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned the remarks soon after during a Tuesday interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly.

"He was one of the 20th century's most evil people," Ryan said. "He was up there."

"He committed mass genocide against his own people using chemical weapons," the speaker added, referring to Hussein's attacks against the Kurds in Iraq.

Maxwell Tani contributed to this report

NOW WATCH: Obama had some incredible reactions while campaigning with Hillary Clinton





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump entertained the idea of not serving as president if he won the November general election in a New York Times story published Thursday.

The Times brought up the scenario, asking whether Trump might go through the general election and win the presidency only to forgo the office as the ultimate walk-off winner.

In response to the hypothetical scenario, Trump flashed a mischievous smile, according to The Times.

Ill let you know how I feel about it after it happens, he then said.

To be fair, The Times noted that its entirely possible that Mr. Trump is playing coy to earn more news coverage. But considering Trumps unconventional path to winning the Republican presidential nomination, and his background as a billionaire businessman rather than a public servant, some have questioned whether Trump really wants the presidency.

Thomas Barrack Jr., a real-estate investor who is close friends with Trump, told The Times that hes not going to pull out. And Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser of Trumps, told the newspaper that Trump would definitely serve if he won.

Im fairly certain about that, Stone said. You think hed resign? I dont see that happening. There is only one star in the Donald Trump show, and thats Donald Trump.

Trump will run against Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and senator from New York.

Business Insider asked Trumps campaign whether he is actually considering giving up the presidency if he wins the election. Heres spokeswoman Hope Hicks' response: Mr. Trump is running for President to Make America Great Again. He looks forward to defeating Hillary Clinton in the fall and doing everything he can to accomplish that.

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump defends his controversial tweet featuring the Star of David  they should have left it up





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump

Donald Trump on Wednesday used the movie "Frozen" to defend a controversial weekend tweet.

In an attempt to push back against criticism of the tweet, which many viewed as anti-Semitic, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee posted a tweet of a book about the Disney film "Frozen" that contained a six-pointed star.

"Where is the outrage for this Disney book?" he posted. "Is this the 'Star of David' also? Dishonest media! #Frozen"

The image used in the tweet was originally posted to a pro-Trump message board on Reddit under the thread "Disney is Anti-Semitic."

Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the 'Star of David' also?

Dishonest media! #Frozen pic.twitter.com/4LJBpSm8xa  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2016

Aware of the ongoing firestorm, Hillary Clinton's campaign was quick to fire back a response from the presumptive Democratic nominee's Twitter account.

"Do you want to build a strawman?" she tweeted, a reference to a song from the movie.

FBI Clinton

Trump, his campaign, and fellow surrogates have kept controversy over his Saturday tweet alive in the news by continuing to defend it.

The original weekend tweet contained an image of a six-pointed star, similar to the symbol most commonly known as the Jewish Star of David, over a pile of money. The star was inscribed with the words "most corrupt candidate ever" and appeared next to an image of Clinton.

Trump told an Ohio audience on Wednesday that he regretted his campaign's decision to scrub the image from his account.

"'You shouldn't have taken it down,'" he said, as if he were speaking to Dan Scavino, the senior aide who posted the tweet. "You know they took the star down. I said, 'Too bad, you should've left it up. I would've rather defended it. Just leave it up and say no that's not a Star of David  it's just a star.'"

Story continues

NOW WATCH: MICHAEL MOORE: 'I think theres an excellent chance' Trump will be president





More From Business Insider


If you only read one thing: Just when you thought you couldnt be amazed anymore by this campaign cycle, Donald Trump proved otherwise Wednesday with a rambling address in which he said he regretted that his campaign deleted an image widely criticized as anti-Semitic. The story, already an unforced error that overshadowed a terrible week for his rival, was propelled into its sixth day of coverage by the candidates big mouth and boundless capacity for self-sabotage. Trump had personally been silent on the issue much of the week, as his campaign and cast of surrogates offered bizarre and inconsistent defenses why the six-pointed star tweet wasnt a Star of David or was a simple mistake. Actually, theyre racially profiling, Trump said of those who have spoken out against the tweet, which includes Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. He doubled-down on his kind words about Saddam Hussein. The event in Cincinnati was supposed to showcase former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as a potential counterpart on the ticket, but instead but the worst tendencies of the presumptive GOP nominee on display. After his remarks, Trump tweeted a photolifted from Redditof a Disney coloring book with a six-pointed star, asking where was the outrage. The issue with the meme wasnt just the star, rather the juxtaposition with the waterfall of cashand also the fact that it was lifted from an extremist website in the first place. Hillary Clintons campaign was thrilled by the latest Trump response, as Republicans ponder ways to further distance themselves from their standard-bearer.

After an abysmal May, Donald Trump finally stepped up his fundraising last month, bringing in more than $50 million for his campaign and the Republican National Committee. Its a substantial sum, and an indication that he has a large pool of committed donors who will write small-dollar checks, but he is still way behind where Mitt Romney was in 2012 on the mechanicshe raised $106 million in June of 2012let alone the far larger and better organized Hillary Clinton campaign. (Hes already being outspent $30 million to nil on battleground television.) Trump is spending much of Thursday courting frustrated Republican leaders in Washington, though after this week, many are trying to make themselves scarce.

Story continues

Two potential contenders to be Trumps running mate, Sen. Bob Corker and Sen. Joni Ernst, pulled themselves from contention Wednesday, citing the need to focus on their day jobs. Trump tells TIME he hopes to make a selection just before or at the GOP convention in Cleveland, as he turns the process into another season of his reality television show. Clinton, meanwhile, has scheduled a rally in Virginia next week with veep favorite Sen. Tim Kaine.

Six reasons why Donald Trump will still be the GOP nominee after Cleveland, despite the best efforts of the Dump Trump movement. Clinton borrows an idea from Sanders as she looks to lock in his endorsement. And your humble newsletter writer gets shamed for never having watched Frozen.

Here are your must-reads:

Must Reads

Donald Trump Expects to Announce Vice President Pick Just Prior to Convention

He tells TIMEs Alex Altman that theres a chance it could come at the convention in Cleveland

Obama Slows Down U.S. Troop Pullout from Afghanistan

Will drop to 8,400 instead of 5,500 by years end, as Obama leaves the nations longest war to its third president [TIME]

Heres Why the Latest Never Trump Plan Is Doomed

Theyve lost the will to fight [TIME]

In a Defiant, Angry Speech, Donald Trump Defends Image Seen as Anti-Semitic

Hes all-in [New York Times]

Can Super PACs Be Put Back in the Box?

A new legal effort wants to restore limits [Washington Post]

Sound Off

I said, Too bad, you should have left it up. I would have rather defended it.  Donald Trump on the Star of David tweet lifted by campaign aides from an extremist website

Thats correct.  Bernie Sanders confirming to MSNBC that he is preparing to endorse Hillary Clinton in the coming days

Bits and Bites

Donald Trump Raised More Than $50 Million in June [TIME]

Hillary Clinton Adopts Major Bernie Sanders Idea: Free College for (Almost) Everyone [TIME]

Christies Cell Phone in Bridge Scandal May Torpedo VP Chances [Bloomberg]

The Question of Hillary Clintons E-Mail Has Moved From the Realm of Law to Politics [The Economist]

Anti-Donald Trump Forces See Convention Coup as Within Reach [Wall Street Journal]

Donald Trump: Newt Gingrich Will Be Involved With Our Government [TIME]

Justice Dept. Closes Hillary Clinton Email Probe With No Charges [Associated Press]

Jared Kushner: The Donald Trump I Know [Observer.com]

Cruz Shakes Up Senate Office, Expands Political Operation [National Review]

Two Potential Donald Trump Running Mates Drop Out [TIME]

Norm Coleman: I Will Never Vote for Donald Trump [Star Tribune]
Donald Trump

Donald Trump told an Ohio audience on Wednesday that he regretted his campaign's decision to delete a controversial tweet widely viewed as anti-Semitic.

The presumptive Republican nominee also ripped the media mainly CNN  for covering the controversial tweet, calling journalists from the television network "sick" on multiple occassions.

Trump insisted that the star featured in the tweet's image was not the Star of David. He had previously said it was instead a sheriff's badge.

"So the star  which is a star, not the Star of David," he told the Cincinnati crowd. "When they told me the Star of David, I said you've got to be kidding. How sick are they? They're the one with the bad tendencies when they can think that way."

He reiterated that CNN reporters are "sick," "dishonest," and "bad people," before saying his staff should've kept the Saturday tweet up on his account.

"'You shouldn't have taken it down,'" he said, as if he was speaking to Dan Scavino, the senior aide who posted the tweet. "You know they took the star down. I said, 'Too bad, you should've left it up. I would've rather defended it just leave it up and say no that's not a Star of David it's just a star.'"

Trump, his campaign, and fellow surrogates defended the controversial tweet a number of times during the past few days.

The tweet contained an image of a six-pointed star, most commonly known as the Jewish Star of David symbol, over a pile of money. The star was inscribed with the words "most corrupt candidate ever" and appeared next to an image of presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

The image, which was posted to a white-supremacist message board days before being posted on Twitter by the Trump campaign, has ignited controversy.

"One of my guys, who's married to a Jewish woman  this is a very fine person, Dan Scavino  he put out a tweet talking about Crooked Hillary Clinton," Trump said when first explaining the controversy. "And on the tweet was a star. It's a star. Like a star. And I said, 'oh.' Cause when I looked at it, I didn't think anything."

Story continues

"All of a sudden, it turned out to be  in the minds of the press only because it could've been a sheriff star or a regular star  my boy comes home from school, Barron, he draws stars all over the place, I never said 'oh that's a Star of David, Barron.'"

Trump accused media members of "racially profiling" for interpreting the tweet as anti-Semitic.

"I have a son-in-law who's Jewish Jared who's a great guy," Trump said to try and prove he is not anti-Semitic. "My daughter is Jewish. I have grandchildren that are Jewish, Okay? And I love them. And these are great people. Ivanka  married a Jewish guy who's brilliant, who's wonderful, who has a great heart, they have kids. Beautiful kids."

The Manhattan billionaire then doubled-down on his attacks on CNN, saying "these people are sick. They're sick."

"And I'll tell you  someday I'll tell you the real story of CNN," Trump said. "But they're sick."

Watch Trump's remarks below:

NOW WATCH: We took a Louisiana literacy test and failed spectacularly





More From Business Insider


Donald Trumps anti-trade policies and isolationist attitude could have dangerous consequences for the global economy, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned in an interview with the Financial Times on Thursday.

The International Monetary Fund chief said that new trade barriers between countries could add to concerns in the wake of the United Kingdoms vote to leave the European Union last month. Trump has said he wants to get rid of U.S. trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and has suggested tariffs on goods from Mexico and China.

I think it would be quite disastrous, actually. Well I dont think I should say disastrous because that is an excessive word and I should refrain from excessive words. But it would certainly have a negative impact on global growth, Lagarde told the Financial Times.

Other world leaders criticized Trumps behavior and his policy suggestions throughout the Republican primary season, but since the New York businessman became his partys presumptive nominee, many foreign politicians have become more cautious.

Lagarde, who is just beginning her second five-year term as head of the IMF, was careful to avoid naming Trump or singling out any specific politician. She did say that policies that go against globalization could create economic problems like those caused by the start of World War I.

I hope it is not a 1914 moment and I hope that we can be informed by history to actually address the negative impact of globalization in order to leverage the benefits that it can deliver. Because it has historically delivered massive benefits and it can continue to do so, Lagarde said.

She did not want to comment on the specifics of the U.S. election but did add that waves of protectionism had preceded other wars and that protectionism hurts growth, hurts inclusion and hurts people.

Trump has taken to using the phrase America First and gave his support for Britains decision to leave the EU, which many have seen as another sign that he would push forward with similarly isolationist policies.
Donald Trump came to Washington seeking greater party unity, but he ended up showing some cracks in the relationship instead.

Some prominent Republican lawmakers who have been critical of Trumps campaign opted to skip the two meetings, while others who did attend found themselves sparring with the presumptive GOP nominee. Still others came out of the meeting praising him.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who has been harshly critical of Trump, left the meeting early and declined to talk to reporters.

Senator Sasse went to todays meeting ready to listen, his spokesman told TIME in an email. Senator Sasse introduced himself to Mr. Trump and the two had a gracious exchange. Mr. Sasse continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed.

Trump also had tense exchanges with Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk, who withdrew his endorsement of Trump in June, and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who has criticized his rhetoric on Hispanic immigrants, according to the Washington Post.

Todays thing was basically a stream of consciousness and talking about a ton of polls and dozens of topics, much like his rallies, a source with knowledge of the meeting told TIME. At one point Trump claimed insider knowledge of the Clinton camps SCOTUS vetting process. And in that context he said something to Sasse, like Surely you dont want Clinton.

Republican Sens. Lindsay Graham, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, John McCain and Kelly Ayotte did not attend the meeting, while Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quietly left early.

With a line of cameras tracking them, Republican Senators who did attend filed one-by-one out of the Ronald Reagan Republican Chamber, home to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. I think youre seeing the process of unification start, said South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott said. Mr. Trump spoke and took questions. He helped himself quite a bit, said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker.

Story continues

Across the street, protesters held cardboard cutouts of Republican Senators facing re-election this fall including Rubio, McCain, Ayotte, Pat Toomey and Rob Portman. They chanted Small hands, bad plans and T-R-U-M-P, thats how you spell bigotry! as reporters sweat and police dogs panted in the capitals 90-degree heat. The owner of the Exxon Mobil gas station up the street said the attention was great for business.

Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Most people would be hard-pressed to think of positive things to say about reviled dictators like Saddam Hussein, Benito Mussolini and Kim Jong-un  but for Donald Trump, it's apparently not a problem.



During a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tuesday evening, the presumptive GOP nominee praised late Iraqi dictator Hussein for being "so good" at killing terrorists.



"He was a bad guy, really bad guy. But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights  they didn't talk, they were a terrorist, it was over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It's like Harvard. Okay? So sad."



It's not the first time Trump has expressed admiration for Hussein and other world leaders who have committed atrocities against their own people. In October 2015 the mogul said he believed "100 percent" that Iraq and Libya would be much better off if their respective former dictators Hussein and Moammar Gadhafi were still in power because of their skill at killing terrorists.









Related Video: Does Donald Trump Rattle You?





He also once dismissed Hussein's use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, saying, "Saddam Hussein throws a little gas, everyone goes crazy. 'Oh he's using gas!' "



Trump has repeatedly lauded Russian President VladiAmir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un for their ability to control their people.



"If you look at North Korea, this guy, I mean, he's like a maniac, okay? And you've got to give him credit," Trump said of Kim Jong-un during a campaign event in Iowa in January. "He goes in, he takes over, and he's the boss. It's incredible. He wiped out the uncle. He wiped out this one, that one."



And Trump has embraced Putin as a strong leader who he would "get along very well with." "He's running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country," Trump said. In this case the admiration is mutual. When the Russian strongman complimented Trump as "bright," "talented" and "an absolute leader in the presidential race," the billionaire businessman said the praise was "a great honor."



He also said his critics at the time, including Sen. John McCain, were just "jealous" because Putin hadn't praised them.



And then there was the time Trump retweeted a quote attributed to Mussolini, the founder of the fascist movement.





" @ilduce2016: aIt is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep.a a @realDonaldTrump #MakeAmericaGreatAgain" a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016





Trump claimed then that he didn't know the quote was from Mussolini  but he didn't seem to care either. "It's a very good quote," he said in February. "I didn't know who said it, but what difference does it make if it was Mussolini or somebody else?"



Asked if he wanted to be associated with Mussolini, Trump replied, "No, I want to be associated with interesting quotes. Hey, it got your attention, didn't it?"



This week, Trump's latest comments on Hussein have caught the attention of critics on both sides of the aisle, including Republican lawmakers and members of the GOP's foreign-policy establishment, reports The Washington Post.



"This follows a disturbing trend of Trump relating to the way brutal tyrants executed policy in their countries. I do think that there's something dark about Trump's view of the world," Republican strategist Tim Miller tells the newspaper.



"When a person running for president continually compliments brutal, undemocratic dictators and their methods, I think it's fair to have some concerns that those are methods that they might be interested in deploying if necessary," adds Miller, a former Jeb Bush aide who has played an active role in the anti-Trump movement.



House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has endorsed Trump, appeared taken aback when he heard about Trump's praise of Hussein, CNN reports. "He was one of the 20th century's most evil people," said Ryan. "He was up there. He committed mass genocide against his own people using chemical weapons."



And Hillary Clinton's campaign was quick to pounce on Trump's comments, with senior campaign adviser Jake Sullivan saying, "Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds."



"Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights," Sullivan said in a statement. "In reality, Hussein's regime was a sponsor of terrorism  one that paid families of suicide bombers who attacked Israelis, among other crimes."



"Trump's cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrate how dangerous he would be as commander-in-chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks."
By Caroline Copley

BERLIN (Reuters) - German engineers, key to the country's export-powered economy, expect uncertainty about Britain's future ties with the European Union to drag on exports but do not want future UK access to the EU's single market to come at any price.

Exports to Britain fell 4 percent in the first quarter in the run-up to the UK's June 23 vote to leave the EU, the VDMA engineering association said, and ensuing uncertainty is likely to further sap demand for vaunted "Made in Germany" goods.

"Companies are facing insecurity. What I am hearing now from companies I know is that some of them are trying to relocate their business from the UK to the continent," said Holger Kunze, director of the VDMA's European office in Brussels.

German firms exported goods worth 89 billion euros (75.63 billion) to Britain in 2015, making the UK their third most important export destination after the United States and France.

Kunze said the VDMA would prefer a "Norwegian model" for future trade with Britain which would give the UK access to the single market in return for paying a contribution to the EU budget and guaranteeing freedom of movement for EU nationals.

One of the major reasons cited for Britain's vote to exit the EU was uncontrolled immigration from the rest of the bloc.

Nevertheless, Kunze told Reuters, the priority in future Brexit negotiations with London should be to ensure that the other 27 members of the EU stick together.

"The bottom line is, let's save the European Union, that's the first priority. Let's see that the UK stays as close as possible to the internal market, but this cannot be achieved at any price," Kunze said.

Some VDMA members are already concerned about barriers to free movement, Kunze said. One German firm which had recently concluded a contract to build a plant in Britain was worried about how its experts would be able to travel there to follow up on construction work in the event of Brexit.

Story continues

Separately, Eric Schweitzer, president of the DIHK Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said companies wanted to scale back plans for investment and employment in Britain and feared barriers to trade.

"The political and legal uncertainty in the transition period is already leading to falling exports to Britain at one in four companies," he said in a statement.

On Thursday, the DIHK said it now sees exports to Britain to fall 1 percent this year, down from a previous forecast for a 5 percent rise. In 2017, it expects a 5 percent drop.

Schweitzer said he also believed it was important that negotiators found the right balance between good future trade relations with Britain and ensuring that the single market continued to function well.

"Brexit has made abundantly clear what an important achievement the integrated EU single market is for German companies. The EU should make every endeavour to ensure the cohesion of the 27 member states."

(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Drake wrote an open letter about Alton Sterlings death, and its so, so important

Drake wrote an open letter about Alton Sterlings death, and its so, so important

On Tuesday, July 6th, a 37-year-old black man named Alton Sterling was shot and killed by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he had been selling CDs. Many have taken to social media to express their condolences, outrage, and grief in the aftermath of the shooting and YouTube star Issa Rae has even raised over $400,000 for Sterlings children. Last night, Drake added his own voice to this important conversation in a heartfelt Instagram post.

As a Canadian, Drake called America his second home and said that after he watched the video recording of Sterlings death, he felt disheartened, emotional, and truly scared. He continued:

I woke up this morning with a strong need to say something. Its impossible to ignore that the relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement remains as strained as it was decades ago. No one begins their life as a hashtag. Yet the trend of being reduced to one continues.

Drake added that hes concerned for the safety of my family, my friends, and any human being that could fall victim to this pattern.

A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Jul 6, 2016 at 5:50pm PDT

Drakes open letter comes after the outpouring of celebrity and influencer responses on social media after the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, who was shot by police in his car in Minnesota after being pulled over for a busted taillight.

Were grateful that Drake and others are speaking up and we hope the conversations continue.

The post Drake wrote an open letter about Alton Sterlings death, and its so, so important appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Construction will close Nebraska 2 from 27th Street to Old Cheney Road from 7 p.m to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday night, with single-lane closures on the weekends.

Roads will be closed for milling, asphalt and installation of permanent pavement markings.

Weather permitting, concrete patching on Nebraska 2 should be completed this week, according to the Nebraska Department of Roads.

The project is expected to be done this fall.

The intersection of 56th Street and Nebraska 2 also will be closed from 7 p.m. Monday to 6 Tuesday morning, weather permitting.

Drivers will be detoured through Pioneers Boulevard and Old Cheney Road while construction crews begin milling in preparation for new asphalt in the area.
The Duchess of Cambridge opted for a daring off-the-shoulder number at an art awards event [Photo: PA Images]

Though the Duchess of Cambridge is consistently praised for her considered outfits, some may think her style choices are a little on the safe side. But it seems shes upped her daring game of late. Following on from the pale blue, above-the-knee Catherine Walker dress she wore to the Queens 90th birthday celebrations (which may have broken one of her majs strict styling rules) the former Kate Middleton last night stepped out in an equally risque off the shoulder, form-fitting, cream dress.

It was a modern look for the Duchess [Photo: PA Images]

Created by Brazilian designer Barbara Casasola, who shows at London Fashion Week, the 1,580 dress had a fit and flare shape with ribbed stripes and a zip-up front. Though undoubtedly elegant, the outfit had a distinctly fashion-forward feel to it and represented a more modern choice for the Duchess. Kate opted to Team the stylish dress with super high pale orange stiletto sandals from Brazilian Brand Schutz, a sparkly clutch bag and a bouncier than usual blow dry, which saw her hair in loose waves.



Known for dressing to occasion, the nod to Brazil prompted some fans to wonder if this may hint at potential plans for the 34-year-old royal to attend this summers Olympics in Rio.



The Duchess teamed the dress with pale orange stiletto sandals [Photo: PA Images]

The Duchess was attending a dinner and awards ceremony at the Natural History Museum where she presented the Art Funds Museum of the Year award to the V&A.

Kate became patron of the museum in 2013 in a role that was previously held by Princess Diana. Last night the Duchess chatted to representatives from the five museums shortlisted for this years prize, explaining that Prince George is a big fan of the dinosaurs in the museum.



The fit and flare dress was incredibly flattering [Photo: PA Images]

The Duchess isnt the only celebrity to appreciate the feminine tailoring of the Brazilian designer. Gwyneth Paltrow, Rita Ora and Solange Knowles have all debuted looks from Casasola. And her sensual yet minimalist style is making quite the impression at LFW.



Story continues

What do you think of the Duchess look? Let us know @YahooStyleUK



Is The Duchess Of Cambridge Bringing Hair Nets Back?

Is This The Duchess Of Cambridges Most Spectacular Look Yet?
The Hague (AFP) - Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders vowed Thursday to press ahead with his hoped-for referendum to leave the EU despite the Brexit turmoil, and to close the Netherlands' borders to Muslim immigrants.

Despite failing once already in a bid to organise a similar vote on a possible Nexit by one of the founding members of the European community, Wilders pledged to make it a central plank of the campaign by his Freedom Party (PVV) in upcoming general elections due in March.

He brushed aside the fallout of the Brexit vote, which has seen the pound plunge to a 31-year-low, a darkening property market and warnings from the Bank of England of risks to the financial stability of Europe's second biggest economy.

"It is an enormous victory, Britain regained national sovereignty, became a free and independent country again," he told AFP in an interview in the centuries-old Dutch parliament.

Britain's painful readjustment in the wake of the shock June 23 vote will only be temporary, insisted the politician with his trademark bouffant blonde hairstyle.

"In the longer run both economically and politically, it will prove that Britain made the right choice and got rid of all those unelected politicians in Brussels who decided on their monetary policy, on their budget policy and their immigration policy," he said.

A eurozone nation, the Netherlands would also be better off if it were to quit the EU, Wilders maintained, adding it would even be beneficial to return to using the Dutch guilder.

His motion to parliament last week however to hold a 'Nexit' referendum was soundly defeated by 124 votes against and only 14 for.

And analysts have said there is little appetite currently among other parties to work with the PVV in a coalition government.

"Brussels -- of course you cannot compare it with the Soviet Union -- but at the end of the day it is a totalitarian, Soviet-like institution," Wilders said.

Story continues

"It is easier to change North Korea than it will be the European Union," he said, when asked if would not be better to stay and militate for change from within.

On the back of Europe's migrant crisis, opinion polls have for months given his PVV the edge over the current coalition parties of the Labour Party (PvdA) and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Late last year polls predicted soaring support for the PVV saying it could gain as many as 38 seats in the 150-seat parliament. But that has slipped back. And a Thursday poll from Ipsos gave it 28 seats -- still way up on the 12 it currently has and one more than for Rutte's party.

- 'Shut out' Muslims -

On Thursday's last day of the current parliamentary session, Wilders was approaching the summer recess already eyeing the premiership, hoping his party might emerge as the biggest in March and be asked to form the next coalition.

The immigrant crisis has polarised this nation of 17 million people, leading to heated debate and some attacks on refugee centres.

Wilders stressed he would push to stem the flow of migrants and "close the borders to people from Islamic countries."

He claimed "we are not xenophobes, but we are against the influx of a culture that is against everything that we stand for."

"I'm not saying that all Muslims are bad people or are terrorists, it would be ridiculous," Wilders said. "But I believe in any country were Islam is more dominant... you see a total lack of freedom, democracy, rule of law, civil society."

"All people are equal, but not all cultures are equal. Our culture based on Christianity, and humanism, and Judaism is far superior than an Islamic culture."

Unsurprisingly, Wilders said he is a supporter of the US Republican Party presidential hopeful Donald Trump and revealed he has been invited to attend the party's convention in Cleveland, Ohio later this month.
The Hague (AFP) - Dutch investigators probing who is to blame for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 two years ago have pressed Russian authorities to hand over outstanding evidence, officials said Thursday.

Initial results from the criminal inquiry into who shot down the ill-fated flight over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014 killing all 298 passengers and crew on board are expected to be revealed after the summer.

"The Russian authorities have supplied information before, but have not answered all the questions," the Dutch Public Prosecutor's office said in a statement after a two-day visit to Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The outstanding requests have now been discussed," the statement said.

Fred Westerbeke, chief investigator in the criminal probe told the respected NRC daily in an interview that Dutch investigators made a "pressing request" to the Russians to hand over outstanding information.

"We told them that time was of the essence," Westerbeke told the newspaper.

Moscow has said before that it did not have so-called "primary radar information" which Dutch prosecutors hoped could help pinpoint exactly where the surface-to-air missile was fired from that brought down the passenger flight, carrying mostly Dutch citizens.

Westerbeke told the NRC that based on "analysis" it is believed that additional radar information may be available, hence the request to Moscow.

"The Russians will now look into whether additional information is available or not," Westerbeke said.

In October, an international inquiry concluded that the Boeing 777, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile fired from a zone held by pro-Russian separatists, but stopped short of saying who was responsible.

Results of the latest investigation will not be published in a report, however, but will be included in a criminal file "which is intended for the hearing of the case in a court or a tribunal," the prosecutor said, indicating this was normal procedure in criminal cases.

The European Union in early July formally extended damaging economic sanctions against Russia by six months due to lack of progress resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

The measures target the oil, financial and defence sectors of the Russian economy and were first imposed after the shooting down of flight MH17.
(Prosecutors corrected to say Takilant holds a 6 percent in Telia's Uzbek subsidiary, Ucell, not the parent company, Telia)

AMSTERDAM, July 6 (Reuters) - Dutch prosecutors on Wednesday asked judges to seize more than 300 million euros in assets belonging to a Netherlands-based front company they say was used to bribe Gulnara Karimova, the daughter of Uzbekistan's president.

Prosecutors asked the Amsterdam court to confiscate 300 million euros and impose a fine of nearly 5 million euros. They also called on the court to seize a 6 percent stake held by the front company, Takilant, in Ucell, the Uzbek subsidiary of Nordic telecoms operator Telia Company AB.

"The bribes were paid in exchange for entry into the Uzbek telecommunications market," prosecutors said in a statement. "The beneficiary of the money was the daughter of the Uzbek president." Takilant was owned by Karimova, they said.

They said bribes were paid by telecommunications companies VimpelCom, which settled corruption charges with Dutch and U.S. prosecutors in February, and Telia , which remains under investigation.

Dutch prosecutors targeted Takilant, not Karimova personally, because of jurisdiction limits, a spokeswoman said. VimpelCom and TeliaSonera have headquarters in the Netherlands and could therefore be prosecuted under anti-corruption laws.

Dutch prosecutors allege that Karimova received more than $385 million in bribes between 2007 and 2015 to secure mobile 3G licences for Unitel, a subsidiary of the Norwegian-Russian owned VimpelCom and Coscom LLC, the Uzbek subsidiary of Telia.

Swiss, Swedish and U.S. authorities had already named Karimova as a suspect in graft investigations as early as 2012. The Swiss and Swedish investigations are continuing.

Karimova and Takilant were not represented in court on Wednesday. She was not available for comment and is not known to have ever commented on the allegations.

The case in the Netherlands focuses on what the indictment says were payments to Karimova made through Takilant via accounts or entities in Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Sweden, the British Virgin Islands, Russia and Latvia between 2007 and 2015.

Story continues

In February, Vimpelcom agreed to pay $795 million to settle U.S. and Dutch investigations into the bribery scheme in Uzbekistan, among the largest foreign bribery settlements ever.

The Vimpelcom arrangement was behind only Siemens AG's $1.6 billion settlement in 2008 that resolved wide-ranging bribery investigations in the United States and Germany.

Under the deal with VimpelCom, whose biggest shareholders are Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's LetterOne and Norway's Telenor, the firm accepted a deferred prosecution agreement in which U.S. criminal charges will be dropped in three years.

In November, U.S. authorities said they were prepared to extend their investigation into Telia's dealings in Uzbekistan to include other countries in the Eurasian region.

Karimova's father, strongman President Islam Karimov, has sought to reduce dependence on former imperial master Russia and improve ties with the West but obstacles include the Central Asian state's poor human rights record.

(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Dwyane Wade drives into his new future. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

Kevin Durants move from the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Golden State Warriors has shaken up the NBA, but its reign as the most shocking deal of the leagues 2016 free agency period lasted for not even three full days. While Durants decision is clearly the biggest event of the leagues offseason, Dwyane Wades choice to leave the Miami Heat after 13 seasons and join his hometown Chicago Bulls is easily the least expected news involving one of the best players of his generation. As reported by The Verticals Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday night, Wade will sign with the Bulls on a two-year deal for $47.5 million. The contract includes a player option on the second year, so Wade could become a free agent all over again next summer, when the salary cap is expected to rise to roughly $110 million.

The importance of Wades move has more to do with his connection to Miami than the impact his decision will have on both teams win-loss records. Among recent superstars, only Kobe Bryant has had a stronger connection to one franchise than Wade did to Miami, and it looked as if he would finish off his career with the Heat just as Kobe did with the Lakers this spring. However, it appears that a series of slights from Pat Riley and Wades belief that he had continually sacrificed for the good of the franchise added up to make him take a slightly superior offer from his hometown Bulls. Michael Lee of The Vertical has detailed the course of events that drove Wade away from the team that drafted him fifth-overall in 2003, and he probably has a decent argument that the franchise didnt treat him like the icon he is.

The emotional aftermath of this move will be considerable. Its difficult to imagine Wade fans burning the jersey of the best player in franchise history considering the 34-year-old is well past his prime, but the pain will be felt regardless. While clearly aging and limited, Wade had shown enough flashes of excellence in recent seasons to suggest that he still had plenty to give Miami. His series-winning performances against the Charlotte Hornets this April were well off his former Finals MVP form but still thrilling enough to register as genuine career highlights. They showed that Wade still had more to do, more memories to offer a Heat fan base that has embraced him at every opportunity.

Instead, theyre now left with a roster that makes little sense. They now boast $19 million in cap room with no clearly worthy targets for it, although matching a lucrative offer sheet for guard Tyler Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets could soak up the bulk of it. Whatever happens, the Heats previous offseason moves seemed like prelude to bringing back Wade. Hassan Whiteside agreed to a max-level deal to defend and dunk, not serve as a second option on offense, and Luol Deng was allowed to head to the Lakers because the Heat didnt need him as a versatile wing with Justise Winslow set to develop in his second season. Goran Dragic is now the teams primary shot creator by some distance, and their ability to compete in the East will depend heavily on Chris Boshs ability to return from the blood clot issues that have put his health and career in jeopardy for two years in a row. (Remember that Bosh and the Heat clashed over his potential return during the playoffs, as well.) This team wouldnt have been a title contender with Wade, but it now looks more like a squad set to finish near the bottom of the lottery, or in a minor playoff spot at best.

Worse yet, the Heat have to find a way to save face after a hit to the franchises mystique and image. Pat Rileys reputation as a front-office maestro should never be questioned after the work he put in to bring Bosh and LeBron James to South Beach in 2010, but the circumstances of Wades departure will not help him or the team the next time they meet with a big-name free agent. Riley and owner Micky Arison have benefited from the perception that they cultivate a player-friendly atmosphere where stars are treated well. What happens now that Wade, the greatest Heat player of all, has decided their marriage no longer works for him?

Its very possible that the short-term pain of this event will lead to a better future for the Heat. If the obvious comparison for Wades relationship with the team is Kobes with the Lakers, then its impossible to avoid noting that the Los Angeles rebuilding process would be farther along if they hadnt extended Bryant for nearly $50 million over his final two seasons. Riley is an expert opportunist, and bringing back Wade for what he had been rather than what he is would have robbed him of the time required to put together the teams next winner. Wade can still be very effective, but his lack of a dependable three-point jumper and growing need for in-season rest makes him a low-value play at close to $24 million per season. It feels as if the Heat were caught by surprise, but the figures of this individual decision make sense relative to the cap. Maybe they will luck out in the lottery and end up drafting the franchises next superstar in what could be a loaded 2017 draft.

Unfortunately, promising hypotheticals do not lessen the immediate impact of the blow. Dwyane Wade will no longer play for the Miami Heat. Forgive us if were a little stunned.

      

Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Dont Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

Follow @FreemanEric
By Marja Novak and Balazs Koranyi

LJUBLJANA/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank threatened to take legal action against Slovenia on Wednesday after police seized documents from the country's central bank in a rare conflict between authorities and one of the euro zone's most respected institutions.

ECB President Mario Draghi said he deplored the seizure, which infringes on the ECB's legal privileges and immunities, and called on European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to intervene.

Slovenian police conducted an investigation in four locations in Ljubljana on Wednesday, including at the central bank, collecting evidence in a pre-criminal investigation related to possible irregularities during a bank overhaul in 2013.

"Seized equipment contains ECB information and such information is protected under directly applicable primary EU law," Draghi said in a letter to the Slovenian State Prosecutor General. "The ECB will also explore possible appropriate legal remedies under Slovenian law."

The ECB said police seized information on the computers of Bank of Slovenia Governor Bostjan Jazbec, who sits on the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council, as well as a former deputy governor and some staff members.

Slovenian police said the investigation related to an assessment of one of the banks rescued by the state in 2013, which meant the bank could scrap its obligations towards holders of subordinated bonds and subordinated debt in the value of 257 million euros.

In 2013 the previous government had to pour more than 3 billion euros ($3.33 billion) into local banks to prevent them from collapsing under a large amount of bad loans. The move helped the country narrowly avoid an international bailout.

As part of the bank overhaul about 600 million euros of subordinated bonds were scrapped in five banks.

In 2014, the Slovenian Association of Small Shareholders filed several court cases against the Bank of Slovenia and local banks, claiming the subordinated bonds and shareholders' capital in rescued banks should not have been erased. None of the cases have been finished yet.

Story continues

The Bank of Slovenia had repeatedly rejected allegations that it mishandled data used when putting together a rescue package for Slovenia's banks.

(The story corrects typos in headline, paragraph 1)

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Andrew Hay)
MADRID, July 7 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has to study euro zone banks individually and accept that there can be differences between the health of institutions, Vice President Vitor Constancio said on Thursday when asked about the Italian banking sector.

"The supervisor has to accept what is credible, and what is credible may be different from institution to institution," he told an audience in Madrid.

Italy is in talks with the European Commission to arrange assistance for banks' recapitalization without breaching EU rules on state bailouts. European authorities have indicated a way forward for Rome to protect Italian retail investors while still abiding by EU rules against state-funded bank bailouts.

Constancio also said there was lack of harmonization at a national level between banks in the euro zone which posed difficulties to their operation within the single supervisory mechanism.

(Reporting by Angus Berwick; Editing by Jesus Aguado)
elon musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not finished commenting on an article criticizing the electric-car company's actions after a driver died in one of its cars.

The story published by Fortune Tuesday suggested that Tesla withheld information about the May 7 crash, ahead of a multibillion-dollar stock offering that happened later the same month.

Musk went off on Fortune Tuesday with a couple of tweets, calling the article "BS."

In a follow-up blog post titled "Misfortune" posted on Wednesday, Tesla went in again on the publication in the first line, saying "Fortune's article is fundamentally incorrect."

Tesla decried the assertion that it wanted to keep news of the crash under wraps, and said it "barely started" its investigation of the crash when it notified the US government about it in mid-May, around the same time that the stock sale took place.

Here's more from Tesla:

"It was not until May 18th that a Tesla investigator was able to go to Florida to inspect the car and the crash site and pull the complete vehicle logs from the car, and it was not until the last week of May that Tesla was able to finish its review of those logs and complete its investigation."

Tesla's blog post goes into a lengthy defense of its semi-autonomous Autopilot technology, and asserts that the crash never damaged the electric-car company's standing in the market. "Tesla's stock traded up, not down" despite the government's late June announcement that it was looking into the crash, the blog post read.

Some observers have taken issue with Tesla's latest missive:

Tesla's defensive response to a death in one of its autopilot cars is a truly odd strategy. https://t.co/8D6xaayd1I  Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) July 6, 2016

I think Tesla needs a crisis PR intervention: https://t.co/D17cGQqJ5m  Olivia Solon (@oliviasolon) July 6, 2016

At least one expert believes the crash won't damage Tesla.

Story continues

NYU Stern professor and founder of the research firm, L2, Scott Galloway told Business Insider last week that Tesla and its technologies have built up enough goodwill in the market to withstand the setback.

"Self-driving technology has a lot of momentum. Short of a number of crashes like this, I think its going to be a blip on the radar."

NOW WATCH: Heres where Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs started as interns





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Jon 'Bones' Jones was pulled from UFC 200 because he was all doped up.

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Have you heard of Hiddleswift? Of course you have. What if I told you it wasn't real?

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night elie wiesel

Author, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel died Saturday at 87.

Wiesel's best-known work, "Night," is an account of his time spent in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald from 1944 to 1945.

Over the past 30 years, the book has become a mainstay of required-reading lists in high-school English classes across the US.

"At this point in time, I would say 'Night' is practically ubiquitous," Carol Jago, a distinguished English teacher and former president of the National Council of Teachers of English, told Business Insider.

"I've seen a lot of high-school reading lists, and mostly in ninth and 10th grade everyone is teaching it," added Jago, who has taught middle- and high-school English classes for 32 years.

"Night" relays the horrors of the Holocaust in sparse, tormented prose. During Wiesel's acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 he discussed his reasons for continuing to share his memories of the Holocaust.

"Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices," he said.

In "Night," Wiesel doesn't retreat from sharing the horrors he experienced:

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

Elie Wiesel Charles Dharapak AP final

"Night" also focuses on Wiesel's guilt over feeling resent in the camps for having to be the caretaker of his dying father as well as on his disillusionment with humanity and his religion.

Story continues

Those themes resonate with young people, Jago said.

"In my experience, teenagers love thinking about and talking about a loss of belief or a loss of faith," Jago said. "The extent to which Elie Wiesel almost goes feral to survive, young readers think, 'What would I do?'"

Originally an 800-page text, "Night" was pared down to about 120 and translated into French and then English. It has since been translated into 30 languages and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

For English classrooms across the US, it seems that "Night" will continue to remain a staple for years to come.

"This is a text that has entered the American curriculum 30 years ago, and it is sticking," Jago said. "There has not been a replacement, and I think that speaks to its power."

NOW WATCH: This 90-year-old Holocaust survivor performed a moving dance about her time in a concentration camp





More From Business Insider


Shoot the film you've always wanted on a shoestring budget or sell out and make a blockbuster? It is a dilemma Hong Kong directors frequently face as mainland China's lucrative movie industry beckons.

Now, with concerns growing about Beijing's increasing influence on Hong Kong, some film-makers are defying commercial and political pressures to produce homegrown movies with a local voice -- and inject new life into the city's cinema scene.

Hong Kong once pumped out at least 200 films a year, from Bruce Lee's 1973 "Enter the Dragon" to Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" in 2000, via countless cop and gangster thrillers.

But in the past decade the local industry has slumped and just dozens of films are now produced in Hong Kong annually.

One major factor is the booming Chinese movie sector, offering both experienced directors and recent graduates more money and opportunities.

Yet for some the pendulum now seems to be swinging back, as the desire for freedom of expression outweighs mainland mega-bucks.

"With new films, everyone asks: 'Could it be released in China? Can you cooperate with the Chinese side?' That's how (investors) earn back their money," says Hong Kong director Derek Chiu, 54, who has a string of local feature films under his belt and has worked on the mainland.

He says he has struggled to find backers for his forthcoming drama "Chung Ying Street", which focuses on riots against British colonial rule before leaping to the present-day protest movement.

Chiu says Hong Kong and mainland bodies have rejected his funding applications. A private backer has also pulled out over concerns his investment could impact his business interests in China, he says.

"Maybe if I do 'Chung Ying Street' I cannot work in China. But I will not give up this one," Chiu told AFP.

"I need some creative control and freedom, and China cannot provide that."

Story continues

- Crowdfunding cash -

Some Hong Kong directors have turned to crowdfunding to raise cash but maintain their independence.

Celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle, a long-term Hong Kong resident best-known for his work with director Wong Kar-wai, used the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform for his most recent politically sensitive project, raising more than $100,000.

"Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled, Preoccupied, Preposterous", released last year, is based on interviews with three generations of Hongkongers. One section is dedicated to mass pro-democracy protests that brought parts of the city to a standstill in 2014.

"You can only say certain things in China, so you're making period dramas and you're making action films, as opposed to more socially relevant films," Doyle tells AFP.

"Here, we have to do the opposite. We have to go smaller budget, we have to be more concerned with the very few freedoms we still have left."

Doyle says the shift from securing mainland funding to prioritising freedom of expression has happened "very quickly", and is the biggest recent shift in Hong Kong cinema.

The critical and commercial success of 2015's locally made "10 Years" -- a series of shorts painting a grim picture of life in Hong Kong in 2025 -- is testament to the mood change.

"I think because of the social and political situation in Hong Kong, directors are more concerned with local topics," said Andrew Choi, one of the film's co-producers.

- Keeping it real -

But despite the new energy in the Hong Kong industry, some say the city's cinematic glory will be hard to recapture in the face of an ascendant China and growing global competition.

"When big names were discovered in the 1980s, the market and the world were less crowded," says Nansun Shi, a veteran Hong Kong producer who oversaw the 2002 hit thriller "Infernal Affairs" and has served on the jury of the Cannes film festival.

She adds that many film-makers will still be drawn to mainland or Chinese co-funded productions for the bigger budgets and greater exposure.

"I think it's just a natural progression that some more experienced directors have gone to China to work," she says.

Still, next-generation film-makers say that keeping a local focus not only symbolises freedom -- it is also simply a better way to engage their audience.

"I'd rather work with limited resources on something I know about," says recent graduate Crosby Yip, 24, between takes on the set of his privately-funded debut rom-com "Diary of First Love".

"If I make films about the place I grew up in, I think the feeling will be more solid and realistic," he adds -- a sentiment echoed by current film students who spoke with AFP.

"This is why I insist on working with Hong Kong themes."
BRUSSELS, July 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission will issue at 1400 GMT on Thursday its decision on excessive budget deficits posted by Spain and Portugal last year and whether these complied with the bloc's fiscal rules.

"The European Commission will today come back to the fiscal situation of Spain and Portugal," the EU executive said in a statement.

It will "present an update for these two countries, based on the recommendations that were adopted by the College today by written procedure," the Commission said.

Spain and Portugal last year had deficits higher than limits set by EU fiscal rules which require public shortfalls to be below 3 percent of a country's economic output.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Foo Yun Chee)
Brussels (AFP) - The European Commission on Thursday officially declared Spain and Portugal in violation of the EU public spending rules, the first step towards what would be unprecedented penalties against members of the bloc.

The commission, the EU's executive arm, set the countdown to possible sanctions despite fears that austerity orthodoxy by Brussels will further stoke anti-EU populism in the wake of the Brexit vote and slow a weak economic recovery.

Many EU powers led by Germany have long hoped for the commission to finally crack down on public overspenders, but with populist fires burning after the UK referendum, ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday could decide to delay their endorsement.

Spain and Portugal are accused of moving too slowly towards meeting the EU's deficit limit of three-percent of national output, the bloc's executive arm said.

"Lately, the two countries have veered off track in the correction of their excessive deficits and have not met their budgetary targets," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commission's vice-president in charge of the euro.

If endorsed by the EU's finance ministers, the commission then has 20 days to propose fines against the two neighbouring countries, which were both hit hard by the financial crisis.

The commission would also begin proceedings to block EU development financing to the countries.

"It is now for EU ministers to confirm our assessment very soon," said Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici at a news briefing.

The commission could then impose fines of up to 0.2 percent of gross domestic product on eurozone countries that repeatedly ignore the rules. This must also be backed by the EU ministers.

The commission could easily demand "zero sanctions", added Moscovici, a former French finance minister.

Portugal declared the commission's announcement a "diplomatic victory" as it fell short of a specific recommendation to sanction Lisbon.

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Ahead of the announcement, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa warned that Brussels would only embolden euroscepticism if EU sanctions are applied.

Costa cited "the results of the UK referendum" as a reason to refrain from full implementation of the rules.

In Spain, meanwhile, parties are negotiating to form a government after a second round of elections last month proved inconclusive.

But the current Spanish economy minister, Luis de Guindos, said he did not think sanctions would be brought against Spain as it is "the eurozone economy which has grown the most, the country which has put in place the most economic reforms."

- 'Done too little' -

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who is the influential chief of eurozone finance ministers, however said that EU ministers would have no choice but to penalise the countries.

"If I look at the figures I really have to conclude that Spain and Portugal have done too little...There automatically has to be sanctions," Dijsselbloem said in Dutch parliament.

France and Italy will be the most willing to delay the penalty process, fearing that their own years of EU rule breaking would put them next in line for a sanction by Brussels.

Spain and Portugal have been under the EU's excessive deficit procedure since 2009 because of recurrent fiscal holes following the global financial crisis.

Spain last year reported a deficit of 5.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), way off the target of 4.2 percent set by the commission and the normal 3.0 percent limit.

Bailed out Portugal, long considered a star reformer, sharply cut its budget deficit from close to 10 percent of GDP in 2010 to 4.4 percent last year, but that still overshoots targets and the bloc's limit.
Brussels (AFP) - The EU will end a 12-year programme with Marlboro-maker Philip Morris that was intended to thwart cigarette smuggling after complaints by European lawmakers that it was ineffective and potentially corrupt.

EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva in a letter to Philip Morris said that new rules at the UN and in Europe now "offer the best regulatory means to fight illicit trade."

"Given this changed environment, our conclusion is that there is no need for a prolongation of the PMI agreement," said in the letter dated July 6 and seen by AFP on Thursday.

Set up in 2004 and expiring on Saturday, the deal was set up after the EU complained that the world's biggest tobacco companies were not doing enough to limit tobacco smuggling.

Under the deal, the company agreed to more carefully work with EU authorities against contraband cigarettes that hit the market free of customs duties and taxes, as well as pay a contribution to the EU.

This direct outlay reached an accumulated $1 billion over the life of the deal, the commission said.

Over the years, angry MEPs saw a dangerous conflict of interest with Phillip Morris through this financial contribution, which was used to finance the EU's anti-smuggling policies.

Anger against the deal intensified in 2012 when Malta's EU health commissioner John Dalli was forced to resign in a tobacco lobbying scandal involving Philip Morris.

"I am happy that our actions... have helped push back interference by tobacco industry in the work of government," said socialist MEP Gilles Pargneux, who helped lead the fight against the deal.

The commission, the EU's powerful regulatory arm, said the real battle today was no longer the contraband cigarettes manufactured by major companies, but those made by other small manufacturers.

"The agreement was innovative at the time and lessons have been learned..., especially in terms of global tracking and tracing," it said.

The EU has similar deals with British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Brands, but these deals do not expire until 2022.
The European Parliament on Thursday urged Myanmar to end what it termed "brutal repression" and "systematic persecution" against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi insisted in May her new government was determined to address deep hatreds in western Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of Rohingya are confined to squalid displacement camps after waves of deadly unrest with local Buddhists in 2012.

But she and her administration have been widely criticised for not speaking up sufficiently for the group in a country where nationalists even refuse to use the term "Rohingya", which Suu Kyi herself has maintained risks inflaming tensions.

Nationalists in a country where radical Buddhism is on the rise label the group "Bengalis," casting Myanmar's more than one million Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The European Parliament showed its deep concern by passing a resolution calling for the issue to be urgently addressed.

"Parliament reiterates its deep concern about the plight of Rohingya in South-East Asia. This ethno-religious Muslim minority of about one million people is one of the worlds most persecuted minorities, officially stateless since the 1982 Burmese Citizenship Law and unwanted by the Myanmar authorities and by neighbouring countries," the assembly said in a resolution that decried the Rohingya's "extremely vulnerable situation."

European lawmakers said Myanmar must "as a matter of urgency ensure free and unimpeded access to Rakhine State, where some 120,000 Rohingya remain in more than 80 internal displacement camps, for humanitarian actors, the United Nations, international human rights organisations, journalists and other international observers."

They also called on the south Asian country to "condemn unequivocally all incitement to racial or religious hatred and implement specific measures and policies to prevent direct and indirect discrimination against the Rohingya in the future."

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A recent UN report expressed similar concern, citing denial of citizenship, forced labour and sexual assault of Rohingya.

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party took power in April, ending nearly half a century of military domination.

She also is a winner of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, which the EU awarded her in 1990 and picked up only three years ago following 15 years of house arrest.
Over the past decade, there has been a global decline in respect for freedom of expression. And Europes democracies  traditionally understood to be places in which these rights are both honored and protected  have not been immune.

According to Reporters Without Borderss Press Freedom Index, which measures trends in media freedom at both the global and regional levels, all but two European Union-member states (plus Iceland and Norway) have a lower press freedom score in 2016 than they did in 2013. In some cases, there has been marked backsliding: Germany went from a score of 10.24 in 2013 to 14.8 in 2016 (the lower the score, the more respect for press freedom); the United Kingdom has gone from 16.89 to 21.7; and Poland is among the worst cases, jumping from a respectable 13.11 to a deeply worrying 23.89. These scores reflect changes in important indicators such as media independence, self-censorship, and rule of law, among others.

Freedom of expression has always been unevenly protected in Europe. This is because of a philosophical divide that cuts across the continent: Some European countries can be classified as militant democracies. In these countries, the state limits freedom of speech and association when it is deemed to threaten other values outlined in the constitution, such as democracy and the freedom of others. Germany, which regularly bans or has banned various Communist, National Socialist, and Islamist organizations, is a classic example. France, which prohibits Holocaust denial, shuts down mosques it deems too radical and aggressively enforces laws against hate speech and glorification of terrorism, also falls mainly into this camp.

While there are historical justifications for some of these policies, they raise important questions and produce awkward results. Why is it impermissible to deny the Holocaust but permissible to deny the Armenian genocide? Or the evils of the slave trade and colonialism for that matter? What is the metric used for determining whether something is hate speech, or just permissible criticism? Increasingly, laws against hatred and offense have come to target controversial but non-violent speech including that of comedians, politicians critical of immigration, as well as Muslims vocally opposed to Western foreign policy. Moreover, there seems to be little evidence suggesting that suppressing speech leads to higher levels of tolerance in liberal democracies. A new report from Germanys domestic intelligence agency shows not only that there were 500 more extreme-right entities in 2015 than in 2014, but also that there has been a 42 percent increase in violent acts by right-wing extremists over that same period. American NGO Human Rights First also documented a doubling of anti-Semitic hate crimes in France from 2014-2015. A recent report by two Norwegian researchers suggests that an environment where controversial expressions are filtered out may increase the risk of extremist violence.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Scandinavian countries and the United Kingdom  the liberal democracies that have traditionally been more tolerant of intolerance (though no European state offers as robust a protection of free speech as the First Amendment in the U.S. Constitution). Lately, however, it seems that even these states are edging closer toward a militant democracy-style approach.

This past spring, a majority in the Danish Parliament broke with 70 years of tolerating most instances of extreme expressions to enact a law that will criminalize religious teaching that explicitly condones certain crimes such as murder, violence, and even polygamy. Under the law, an imam or priest who explicitly condones the spanking of children or polygamy as part of his or her religious teaching would face up to three years in prison, whereas a politician or ordinary citizen condoning such practices would be free to do so. The law also bars religious preachers who have expressed anti-democratic views from entering the country.

Denmark has been a bastion of free speech protections in Europe, including, at times, from groups that have advocated for totalitarian ideologies, both secular and religious. During the Cold War, the Danish Communist Party held seats in Parliament and freely published pro-Kremlin propaganda. Nazis were also allowed to regroup and advocate their supremacist ideas despite the Nazi occupation of Denmark from 1940-45. Notwithstanding this permissive environment, neither Nazism nor Communism has managed to seriously establish themselves in Denmark. Despite worrying levels of radicalization among some Danish Muslims, Denmark is hardly poised to become a caliphate anytime soon. And yet there are signs that the land that fiercely stood up for the right of its newspapers to publish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed has begun shifting away from this commitment to free expression. On Constitution Day in early June, Danish Justice Minister Sren Pind  who once called himself the Freedom Minister because of his determination to spread liberty to developing countries in the global south  announced his intention to criminalize the grossly negligent sharing of extremist material online. If the law is enacted, linking to online magazines such as the Islamic States Dabiq would mean jail time.

Denmarks efforts have been inspired by various counterextremist measures that the historically tolerant U.K. has taken over the past decade. In a speech in May, for example, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced his intentions to pursue a law that will, according to the Guardian, allow the government the ability to ban non-violent extremist organizations, gag individuals and empower local councils to close premises used to promote hatred. The government has previously defined extremism as vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs. This definition is vast and sweeping: It would essentially label anyone opposed to liberal democracy as an extremist.

The movement toward a more German approach to free speech, one that silences the perceived enemies of an open society, has not only taken root at the national level but is increasingly the guiding philosophy of European institutions. The final limits on free speech in Europe are ultimately determined by the European Court of Human Rights, which is under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights. The court can pass legally binding judgments against member states. In a number of cases, the court has determined that member states may ban extremist religious and political organizations (such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist movement committed to the nonviolent establishment of a global caliphate) and prohibit mere glorification of terrorism. The court views hate speech, including Holocaust denial, as an abuse of convention rights and therefore allows it no legal free speech protections. This sets a relatively low bar for the protection of controversial speech across 47 European states and leaves wiggle room for states eager to exploit such openings to further expand the permissible limits on expression.

EU law, which has primacy over national law, is increasingly developing new limitations on speech that apply to all member states. The Framework Decision on Combating Racism and Xenophobia, adopted in 2008, obliges EU states to criminalize hate speech, albeit not in a uniform manner. Lately, the European Commission has signaled that it wants to see the Framework Decision enforced more vigorously. In a speech on Oct. 2, 2015, EU Commissioner for Justice and Consumers Vera Jourova said that member states must firmly and immediately investigate and prosecute racist hatred. She added, I find it disgraceful that Holocaust denial is a criminal offense in only 13 member states. The commission has even suggested that legal proceedings could be brought against member states that have not fully transposed the Framework Decision  that is, the commission is considering bringing member states before the European Court of Justice for offering freedom of expression protection that is too strong.

But the most serious blow to freedom of expression in Europe may be the recently signed Code of Conduct (COC) between the European Commission and Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube. Under the COC, these tech giants have agreed to review the majority of valid notifications for removal of illegal hate speech in less than 24 hours and remove or disable access to such content, if necessary. What constitutes illegal hate speech is not clear. The COC refers to the Framework Decision and national laws. However, the Framework Decisions definition of what constitutes incitement to hatred is far from clear, and national hate speech laws vary widely. While 13 countries ban Holocaust denial, many others do not. In Sweden, an artist was imprisoned for six months for racist and offensive posters exhibited in an art museum; the same posters were freely exhibited in Denmark. Should Facebook remove all content that may constitute Holocaust denial, or only when uploaded in, say, Germany or France? Should an internet meme based on the offensive Swedish posters be guided by Danish or Swedish standards? This uncertainty may force companies to err on the side of caution and adopt a bias toward preventive censorship.

The COC essentially privatizes internet censorship with none of the accountability, publicity, and legal safeguards that follow from proper legal procedures. Since social media has become essential for traditional media to reach a wide audience, the COC could cause a ripple effect of self-censorship on the part of outlets that fear their content could be removed from social media platforms for being hate speech. The COC will not only affect freedom of expression in the EU, but also the EUs ability to campaign credibly for freedom of expression and internet freedom in countries where censorship is the norm. After all, why should the Putins and Xi Jipings of the world take lessons on internet freedom from an organization that imposes nebulous limits on the internet?

Democratic Europe still remains a bastion of free speech compared with most other places in the world. But the closing of the European mind, by prohibiting expressions that agitate against Europes fundamental values, moves these democracies uncomfortably close to practices that the EU is supposed to guard against. This trend bears an uncanny (albeit imperfect) resemblance to the infamous Section 106 of the East German penal code, which criminalized anti-state propaganda, including agitation against the constitutional basis of the socialist state and social order of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and glorification of fascism and militarism. Europe should make sure that such rot does not take hold in its democratic foundation, which cannot hold firm without a robust protection of free speech.

Photo credit: OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - European shares rose on Thursday after a three-day losing streak, buoyed by gains in major consumer goods stocks such as Danone and Associated British Foods.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which had fallen in the last three sessions, rose 1.2 percent while the FTSEurofirst 300 index advanced 1.1 percent.

Danone rose 4.4 percent as investors welcomed its plans to buy U.S. food group WhiteWave in a $12.5 billion deal.

Associated British Foods surged 6 percent after saying it was sticking to plans to expand its Primark clothing chain across Europe and the U.S., and was optimistic about its continued growth despite uncertainty created by Britain's vote to leave the EU.

Nevertheless, the STOXX 600 index remains down around 7 percent since the June 23 vote in favour of "Brexit", with banking and property stocks particularly affected.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
In a Conservative Party leadership race that has featured twists and turns worthy of an HBO drama, a little-known Energy Minister named Andrea Leadsom has emerged as one of the two main candidates vying to be the U.K.s next Prime Minister.

After a ballot of Conservative MPs on Thursday, the 53-year-old came out ahead of Justice Secretary Michael Gove as the main rival of frontrunner Home Secretary Theresa May. The two will now face a vote by the partys membership, due to be completed early September. Whoever wins will lead the party, and the country.

Leadsom, who has portrayed herself as an anti-establishment figure, now represents the pro-Brexit wing of the party against May, who quietly backed Remain. She benefited from the fall-out of Boris Johnsons dashed leadership aspirations at the hands of his former Brexit-ally Gove, as the popular former London Mayor gave her his backing. Leadsom began to gain votes from Johnson supporters such as Leave campaigner and former cabinet minister John Redwood. Other supporters include former party leader Michael Howard, and Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers.

She became the darling of the Vote Leave campaign during televised referendum debates before the June 23 vote. Leadsom won praise for building a softly spoken patriotic argument, spelling out her dreams of Britain creating free-trade agreements with the world, and expressing aversion to the E.U.s free movement of people.

Leadsom and her two sisters were raised by their single mother, after her parents divorced when she was four years old. She went on to study political science at the University of Warwick before beginning a long career in the City of London, Britains financial center. It was during her 10-year stint at Barclays when she met her husband Ben and, she says, became the banks youngest ever director at the age of 32. According to her website, she helped the then Governor of the Bank of England, Eddie George, in 1995 when Barings Bank collapsed.

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But Leadsoms record in the private sector may not be as impressive as she says it is. An investigation by the London Times found she had no experience as an investment banker, despite her backers claiming Leadsom managed billions of dollars worth of funds. The Financial Times disputed her claim to being Barclays youngest ever director. She has dismissed the criticism as ridiculous, publishing an official version of her curriculum vitae on Wednesday that has left journalists with even more questions about her career. She was also challenged on July 3 to publish her tax returns, after reports emerged that a company with links to her brother-in-law, Peter de Putron, and husband had links to a potential tax-avoidance mechanism.

She is a relative newcomer to politics, having joined parliament as recently as 2010 when she won her seat in South Northamptonshire. But by the following year, Leadsom had co-founded the Euroskeptic pressure group Fresh Start Project. She went on to become the Treasurys economic secretary in 2014. According to the Financial Times, Leadsom was then transfered to the energy department at Treasury minister George Osbornes request. Unlike May, she has never held a Cabinet job, but did win respect for her work setting up charities helping parents with problems bonding with their newborn babies.

The mother of three is a devout Christian and abstained from the vote on same-sex marriage in 2013. In an interview on Wednesday, Leadsom said she did not like the gay marriage law. She told ITV: I believe the love of same-sex couples is as every bit as valuable that of opposite sex couples  absolutely committed to that. But nevertheless, my own view actually, is that marriage in the biblical sense is very clearly from the many many Christians who wrote to me on this subject, in their opinion, can only be between a man and a woman. In a blog post from 2009, she had expressed shock that a gay couple were selected ahead of several heterosexual couples during the adoption of two children.

While Theresa May calls herself a safe pair of hands, Leadsom has pledged to banish the pessimists if elected leader of the Conservative Party. Reports that U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) financial backer Arron Banks wants to bankroll her bid has sent a chill through the halls of the establishment.

Some fear her candidacy will lead to the entryism of UKIP in the Conservative Party, swinging the final Sept. 9 vote by party members in favor of Leadsom. Based on the state of British politics in the last two weeks, anything is possible.
By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) - A former Rabobank trader from Australia will plead guilty on Thursday to U.S. charges that he conspired in a huge scandal to manipulate Libor, the leading benchmark for pricing financial transactions, his lawyer said.

The expected plea by Paul Thompson, former head of money market and derivatives trading in Northeast Asia for the Dutch bank, was disclosed by his attorney, Harry Sandick, at a hearing on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.

Thompson, 50, who faces charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, was extradited from Australia and released on a $500,000 (386,700) bond after the hearing.

Libor, or the London interbank offered rate, underpins trillions of dollars of financial products globally from mortgages to credit cards. The rate is based on what banks say they believe they would pay if they borrowed from other banks.

U.S. and European authorities have been probing whether banks attempted to manipulate the rate to benefit their own trading positions. Investigations have resulted in roughly $9 billion in sanctions worldwide against financial institutions.

The U.S. Justice Department has charged 16 people, including seven former traders at Rabobank, which in 2013 reached a $1 billion deal to resolve related U.S. and European probes.

Thompson was charged in 2014 and arrested in October in Australia at the request of U.S. authorities, while two other ex-Rabobank traders, Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti, were undergoing trial in New York.

Both were convicted in November for conspiring with Thompson from 2006 to 2011 to manipulate the U.S. dollar and yen Libor rates to benefit the bank's trading positions.

In March, Allen was sentenced to two years in prison, while Conti was sentenced to one year in prison. Both are appealing.

Three other Rabobank traders have pleaded guilty.

Thompson's extradition came as Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it would seek the retrial of two ex-Barclays (BARC.L) traders, Stylianos Contogoulas and Ryan Reich, after jurors were unable to reach a verdict in their Libor-related case.

Story continues

Three other Barclays traders, Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant and Alex Pabon, were found guilty. A fourth, Peter Johnson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. The men will be sentenced on Thursday.

In total, 12 people have faced trial in the United Kingdom in relation to the Libor probes. Jurors there have convicted four individuals and acquitted six others.

The case is U.S. v. Thompson, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-cr-272.
By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) - A former Rabobank trader from Australia will plead guilty on Thursday to U.S. charges that he conspired in a huge scandal to manipulate Libor, the leading benchmark for pricing financial transactions, his lawyer said.

The expected plea by Paul Thompson, former head of money market and derivatives trading in Northeast Asia for the Dutch bank, was disclosed by his attorney, Harry Sandick, at a hearing on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.

Thompson, 50, who faces charges of conspiracy and wire fraud, was extradited from Australia and released on a $500,000 bond after the hearing.

Libor, or the London interbank offered rate, underpins trillions of dollars of financial products globally from mortgages to credit cards. The rate is based on what banks say they believe they would pay if they borrowed from other banks.

U.S. and European authorities have been probing whether banks attempted to manipulate the rate to benefit their own trading positions. Investigations have resulted in roughly $9 billion in sanctions worldwide against financial institutions.

The U.S. Justice Department has charged 16 people, including seven former traders at Rabobank, which in 2013 reached a $1 billion deal to resolve related U.S. and European probes.

Thompson was charged in 2014 and arrested in October in Australia at the request of U.S. authorities, while two other ex-Rabobank traders, Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti, were undergoing trial in New York.

Both were convicted in November for conspiring with Thompson from 2006 to 2011 to manipulate the U.S. dollar and yen Libor rates to benefit the bank's trading positions.

In March, Allen was sentenced to two years in prison, while Conti was sentenced to one year in prison. Both are appealing.

Three other Rabobank traders have pleaded guilty.

Thompson's extradition came as Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it would seek the retrial of two ex-Barclays <BARC.L> traders, Stylianos Contogoulas and Ryan Reich, after jurors were unable to reach a verdict in their Libor-related case.

Story continues

Three other Barclays traders, Jonathan Mathew, Jay Merchant and Alex Pabon, were found guilty. A fourth, Peter Johnson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. The men will be sentenced on Thursday.

In total, 12 people have faced trial in the United Kingdom in relation to the Libor probes. Jurors there have convicted four individuals and acquitted six others.

The case is U.S. v. Thompson, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 14-cr-272.
Jim Carrey says the release of details about the death of his late girlfriend Cathriona White is an invasion of privacy.

After Whites autopsy report from the Los Angeles County Coroners office was released on Tuesday and her death was officially ruled a suicide, Carrey slammed the coroners offices release of personal details in a statement to ET on Thursday. In the report, the coroners office provided details about the letter White addressed to Carrey that was found at her home at the time of her death.

When I came to Hollywood to make it as a comedian, I soon learned that the details of my private life would be handed out to the media like free dinner vouchers. I never dreamed that the people I love most in the world would also be on the menu. What a shame, Carrey, 54, said in a statement to ET.

WATCH: Jim Carreys Girlfriend Cathriona Whites Death Ruled a Suicide

White was found dead in her Los Angeles home on Sept. 28, 2015. She was 30 years old. The coroners office said the death was caused by multiple drugs effect, and a toxicology report found four prescription drugs in her system: a mix of painkillers, beta blockers and a sleep aid.

According to the coroners report, Whites letter to Carrey requested that her belongings be sold and the money be given to family, and deferred instructions for her burial service to the actor. Another sealed note was more personal and addressed her and Carreys breakup.

Carrey and White dated on and off for three years, starting in 2012. The comedian served as a pallbearer at her funeral last October in Ireland.

Following the funeral service, Carrey tweeted an image of the two in silhouette, writing, Love cannot be lost alongside a symbol of a rose.

Love cannot be lost. pic.twitter.com/XxPYOhkdzc  Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) October 10, 2015

She was a truly kind and delicate Irish flower, too sensitive for this soil, to whom loving and being loved was all that sparkled, Carrey told ET in a statement shortly after her death. My heart goes out to her family and friends and to everyone who loved and cared about her.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Maya Rudolph is using her sleuthing skills to call out a possible romance!

The funny lady makes her grand entrance on TBS' satirical police comedy, Angie Tribeca, playing a best-selling romance novelist, Ms. Wilder, who is called in by the LAPD to help on a case that's been stumping detectives Angie Tribeca (Rashida Jones) and Jay Geils (Hayes MacArthur).

RELATED: Steve Carell Praises Wife Nancy: 'She Makes Me Laugh More Than Anybody'

When the case involves organ thievery at the local hospital, naturally you'd call a romance novelist for their expertise. Duh.

Dressed to the nines in a chic black-and-white ensemble, Rudolph's character immediately gets distracted by Tribeca and Geils' "sexual chemistry" and starts dreaming up their novel-perfect love story. "Girl cop gets boy partner. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl explodes and falls into year-long coma," Wilder begins, before she gets called out.

Then, she moves on to attempting to retell Geils' "tragic" childhood story.

RELATED: 14 Reasons Why Rashida Jones Is One of the Coolest Women in Hollywood

"Your story is written all over your face. Poor family. Ran away with the circus for a better life. Eleven long, hard years of riding the rams as a strong man. I bet you're still sending money home to Romania, huh kid?" Wilder says, nearly 100 percent certain her conclusions are correct. (Spoiler alert: They're not.)

Wilder leaves the best for last, predicting that Lieutenant Pritikin Atkins (Jere Burns), Tribeca and Geils' boss, isn't long for this world.

"You are a lover, a man of passion and romance. I see you dead in a boating accident in 16 months!" she declares. Watch the video above to see his hilarious response.

Angie Tribeca, created by Steve and Nancy Carell, airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on TBS.

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A leading U.K. fertility expert believes children as young as 9 should be taught about the dangers of waiting too long to start a family. (Photo: Rex Features)

Another week, another story about women waiting too late to have kids. But a leading fertility expert in the UK has now upped the ante on the warnings by claiming that girls as young as nine should be advised about their ticking biological clock.

Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society (BFS) and professor of reproductive medicine at Leeds University, believes children should be taught about fertility from a young age.

This is something we have been discussing a lot at the BFS, Balen told the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Helsinki. There were worries about diluting the message [that teenage girls should avoid getting pregnant], and we still have to advise about avoiding STIs [sexually transmitted infections]  but we also need to ensure that young people are getting a better understanding of fertility.

A survey by the BFS earlier this year found that 4 in 5 of those aged between 16 and 24 wrongly believed that female fertility starts to decline only after the age of 35. In reality, it can start to decline for some people in their late 20s.

Balen believes girls need to be taught about the importance of eating healthily, exercising, and not smoking to ensure their bodies remain in good shape to have babies.

We need to get the message across early and consistently to get the habits right from the start. I dont think teenage girls are taking nearly enough exercise, for example, he said.

Related: Soccer Star Sydney Leroux Fires Back at Pregnancy-Shaming Trolls

Should children be taught about fertility? (Photo: Rex Features)

We need to keep taking the chance to have these conversations. We should be starting this pre-puberty, around the age of 9 or 10, when they are mature enough to start understanding these issues.

But not everyone agrees, and other experts have argued that 9 could be too young to have a discussion about starting a family.

Related: Fourth Graders Nail Salon Raises Money For Charity

Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said, There is doubtless a time and place for communicating the message that female fertility declines with age and that motherhood cannot be put off indefinitely, but the majority of parents will take the view that the time is not prior to puberty and the place is not the primary school classroom.

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From Popular Mechanics

A new article written by two Air Force officers outlines how the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would perform in a future "big war" scenario. The fighters would use a combination of stealth, sensors, and networking capabilities to stay one step ahead of enemy forces. The multinational nature of the F-35 program would help the war effort of the future, too.

The pair of officers wrote this article, "Fifth Generation Air Combat: Maintaining the Joint Force Advantage" for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, a Washington, D.C. think tank. The Tom Clancy-esque scenario they imagine takes place in 2026, when "rising tensions" in a "key region abroad" escalate into a full-blown war. The enemy is never explicitly named but its arsenal, including cyber attacks, ballistic missiles, and an advanced integrated air defense system, has all the hallmarks of China's People's Liberation Army.

In the scenario, the F-22 and F-35 negate the enemy's arsenal through a deft combination of technology and tactics. In the first days of the war, the U.S. assumes the enemy's air defense network to be so dangerous only stealthy planes have a chance to survive. Older planes, such as the B-52 and F-15E, must stay away from the theater until their stealthier younger brothers degrade those air defenses.

The authors anticipate the enemy launching ballistic missile strikes on America's airfields. To counter them, U.S. fighters fly to a number of smaller military and even civilian airfields throughout the region. The networking capabilities of both the F-22 and F-35 allow them to coordinate and fight together even when dispersed through a wide geographic area.

Networking would also allow the fighters to stay in the war with minimal mission planning. The old days of cocky, confident fighter pilots sitting in ready rooms planning a dangerous mission may be gone forever. In this new scenario, fighters take off from airfields knowing little more than the distance to their target. They find out "tanker, threat, and target information" while in the air.

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According to the authors, the wide array of sensors deployed on both the F-22 and F-35 would allow a sort of "crowdsourced" picture of the battlefield. Secure links would allow data to be pushed upstream to the Combined Air Operations Center headquarters. The more flights by the two warplanes, the more detailed a picture of the enemy can be assembled.

The authors also believe the multinational nature of the F-35 will be a plus in wartime. The commonality of the aircraft, parts, training, and maintenance procedures will make it easier to share resources. In the authors' scenario, a U.S. Air Force F-35 is forced to land at a Royal Australian Air Force base, and the Australian F-35 maintainers quickly repair the plane and get it on its way. In another imagined scene, a U.S. ground crew is killed in a missile strike and allied servicemen fill in until American replacements arrive.

The scenario is an realistic one, and the authors do a good job of pitching strengths of the F-22 and F-35 forces against enemy (Chinese) weaknesses without invoking unrealistic, pie-in-the-sky concepts. It's a compelling, and plausible, look at how a future war might be fought. Let's just hope the planes-and the high-tech capabilities that win the war of 2026-are delivered on time and as promised.

Source: Defense One
Kudos to FBI Director James Comey for presenting a detailed account of the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of private email servers as secretary of state and his judgment of the import of the findings under criminal law.

Comeys concise assessment is probably the most reasonable, rational and accurate that Americans are likely to find in Washington D.C., where one supposes that Diogenes would be no more successful in finding an honest man than he was in ancient Athens.

Comey first came to the attention of the public (and the editorial board) as a result of an incident, recounted in a Dana Milbank column elsewhere on the page, in which he raced to the hospital bedside of Attorney General John Ashcroft to head off an attempt to get the gravely ill official to approve a warrantless surveillance program that Comey considered unconstitutional.

As it turned out, Ashcroft had enough strength to rebuff the attempt on his own. Nonetheless, it was reassuring that Comey was in the room to ensure that the despicable attempt by operatives in the Bush administration to maneuver around Comey, who was trying to protect traditional American freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Because Trump supporters and those unhinged by the Clintons and their unsavory record in Washington have now unleashed a torrent of invective and outrage at Comey, a review of his record is in order.

He has served as a prosecutor himself. The people he put behind bars include mobster John Gambino and Martha Stewart, for lying about insider trading.

Comey is a registered Republican who gave to Republican presidential nominees John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 in their campaigns against Barack Obama.

Comeys reputation for integrity and competence, however, was so outstanding that Obama nominated him to be director of the FBI. He was confirmed with overwhelming bipartisan support.

So when Comey says that no reasonable prosecutor would file charges against Clinton in the email scandal, we believe he should be trusted.

The final decision is in the hands of Justice Department prosecutors. But the legal requirement that violations of laws on the handling of classified information be intentional or grossly negligent makes the bar a high one.

Its for the good of the country that Comey laid bare the nature of Clintons actions. Its alarming that FBI investigators think it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clintons personal e-mail account. Her extreme carelessness and the fact that she and her campaign pushed the lie that none of the emails were classified at the time they were improperly stored and transmitted might be enough in a different election to scuttle her chances of victory.

Voters now have the information they need about the scandal to properly consider it in the November election. Thanks to Comey for shining a bright light.
(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is examining Facebook Inc (FB.O) over its transfer of various rights associated with its worldwide business to a holding company in Ireland, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The lawsuit said the documents relate to an IRS examination of the company's tax liability for 2010, when Facebook's tax return reported royalty income from transfers of intangible property to Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement on Thursday.

Facebook transferred to the Irish company rights associated with its worldwide business, with the exception of the United States and Canada, the lawsuit said.

Facebook reduces its tax bill by having non-U.S. clients pay advertising fees directly to an Irish subsidiary called Facebook Ireland Ltd.

This subsidiary reported revenues of 4.8 billion euros in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

But Facebook Ireland Ltd reports low taxable profit, of just 13 million euros in 2014, because it pays a significant chunk of its revenue to another Irish-registered company called Facebook Ireland Holdings, in return for the use of the Facebook platform.

The lawsuit said Facebook retained accounting firm Ernst & Young to value the transfers for tax purposes, but noted that information gathered by the IRS to date suggested that the valuation approach was "problematic."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Tom Bergin in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)
(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is examining Facebook Inc <FB.O> over its transfer of various rights associated with its worldwide business to a holding company in Ireland, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The lawsuit said the documents relate to an IRS examination of the company's tax liability for 2010, when Facebook's tax return reported royalty income from transfers of intangible property to Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement on Thursday.

Facebook transferred to the Irish company rights associated with its worldwide business, with the exception of the United States and Canada, the lawsuit said.

Facebook reduces its tax bill by having non-U.S. clients pay advertising fees directly to an Irish subsidiary called Facebook Ireland Ltd.

This subsidiary reported revenues of 4.8 billion euros in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

But Facebook Ireland Ltd reports low taxable profit, of just 13 million euros in 2014, because it pays a significant chunk of its revenue to another Irish-registered company called Facebook Ireland Holdings, in return for the use of the Facebook platform.

The lawsuit said Facebook retained accounting firm Ernst & Young to value the transfers for tax purposes, but noted that information gathered by the IRS to date suggested that the valuation approach was "problematic."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Tom Bergin in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)
Shortly after the nation showed outrage over the death of Alton Sterling, another man was fatally shot by a police officer as his girlfriend filmed the incident on Facebook.

According to Minneapolis Star Tribune, a Minnesota native who goes by the name Lavish Reynolds on the social network, filmed the encounter with her boyfriend Philando Castile and an unidentified police officer Wednesday evening (July 6) in Falcon Heights. The couple was reportedly pulled over for broken taillight. The graphic video begins with Castile drowning in his own blood as he leans on his Reynolds, with an officer pointing a gun into the car. A calm and collected Reynolds goes on to explain the incident.

He told him that it was in his wallet, but he had a pistol on him because hes licensed to carry, Reynolds says referring to Castiles drivers license. The officer said dont move. As he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times. The officer is heard repeating I told him not to move, with Reynolds replying that Castile was simply following his orders. You shot four bullets into him, sir, she replied, He was just getting his license and registration, sir.

Please dont tell me my boyfriends gone, she said.He dont deserve this, please. He works for St. Paul Public Schools. Hes never been in jail, anything. Hes not a gang member, anything. Reynolds four-year-old daughter was also present when the shooting happened. An officer is seen holding the child as two other cops draw their weapons towards Reynolds after she was asked to exit the vehicle.

The graphic video was removed from Facebook and later uploaded with a warning for viewers. A witness posted their own recording on Twitter.

Falcon Heights, MN: Cop pulled over & shot black man. Brought to hospital. Upsetting footage. Across from my apt. pic.twitter.com/fgRczvxEMK  skeletal trash lord (@skeletontrash) July 7, 2016

Castile was pronounced dead Hennepin County Medical Center. Reynolds was said to be in police custody as of Thursday (July 7.) Friends and family members of Castiles gathered around the hospital in prayer.

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Pastors lead prayer for family, friends of Philando Castile, shot & killed by police. #WCCO #CBS pic.twitter.com/JRjWJzOTWv  Jennifer Mayerle (@jennifermayerle) July 7, 2016

Interim police chief Sgt. Jon Mangseth released a statement to reporters on the ground. This is an ongoing investigation, Mangseth said. As this unfolds, we will release the information as we learn it and we will address concerns as we are made aware of them. I dont have a lot of details right now. Its shocking. Its not something that occurs here in our area.

This is a developing story..
By Angela Moon and Dustin Volz

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - A live, 10-minute video of the aftermath of a police officer shooting a black man in Minnesota was the latest example of the riveting power of video streaming and the complex ethical and policy issues it raises for Facebook Live and similar features.

The graphic video taken by the victim's girlfriend and broadcast on her Facebook page shows Philando Castile covered in blood in the driver's seat of a car as the officer points a gun into the vehicle.

By Thursday morning, the footage had more than four million views and together with another police shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, topped the items on Facebook's "Newswire", which promotes stories of broad interest.

Facebook this year has made its Live feature, which allows anyone to broadcast a video directly from their smartphone, a central component of its growth strategy. Rivals Twitter and Alphabet's YouTube are also pushing live video as a new frontier in Internet content.

While traditional TV broadcasters are subject to "decency" standards overseen by the Federal Communications Commission - and have a short delay in their broadcasts to allow them to cut away from violent or obscene images - Internet streaming services have no such limitations.

That easy accessibility and openness are fostering a new type of intimate, personal broadcasting that proponents said can be extraordinarily powerful, as evidenced by the demonstrations that began shortly after the Minneapolis video.

But critics said the lack of regulation can allow a somewhat cynical exploitation of tragedy.

Facebook and others can "rush forward and do whatever they think will get them clicks and users" without concerns for potential legal consequences, said Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at the University of Miami who helps run the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative. She advocates on behalf of revenge porn victims and would like companies to do more to prevent dissemination of such content.

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Indeed, Internet companies enjoy broad protections under federal law for content users posting on their services. Merely hosting third-party content that is objectionable or even illegal does not expose those companies to litigation as long as they adopt reasonable takedown policies.

The companies do enforce their own terms of service, which restrict many types of images. They rely heavily on users to report violations, which are then reviewed by employees or contractors for possible removal.

POLITICAL PRESSURE

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, head of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Simon Wiesenthal Center's Digital Terrorism and Hate project, said live video provides unprecedented opportunity to seize public awareness and cultivate political pressure on a topic such as police brutality.

But Cooper said the technology also raises concerns. "The availability of a live broadcast, unencumbered, becomes a horrendous tool in the hands of a terrorist."

Facebook said last month that it was expanding the team dedicated to reviewing live content and staffing it 24 hours a day. The company would also test the monitoring of broadcasts that go viral or are trending even before they are reported, giving Facebook a way to stop offending broadcasts quickly, just as a TV network might do.

In Wednesday night's shooting in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, the footage was taken offline for about an hour, leading to outrage on social media. It was then restored with a warning labeling it as "disturbing."

"We're very sorry that the video was temporarily inaccessible," a Facebook spokeswoman said in a statement. "It was down due to a technical glitch and restored as soon as we were able to investigate."

Details of the technical glitch were not immediately known.

Facebook's push into live streaming assures that such violent or otherwise disturbing events would not be the last.

About 1.65 billion people used Facebook monthly as of March 31, spending at least 50 minutes per day on the social media platform. In Facebook's most recent quarterly earnings, it reported a 50 percent surge in revenue, handily beating Wall Street expectations as its promotion of live video won new advertisers and encouraged existing ones to increase spending.

Facebook pays some companies, including Reuters, to produce content for Facebook Live.

The Minnesota shooting followed other violent events that were streamed live on the Internet and went viral.

Just last month, a 28-year-old Chicago man, Antonio Perkins, filmed himself on Facebook Live spending time with his friends outside when shots rang out. The graphic video showed Perkins falling to the ground and what appears to be blood on the grass.

Days earlier, there was a double homicide in France in which the killer later took to Facebook Live to encourage more violence in a 12-minute clip.

In April, an 18-year-old woman was charged after she live streamed her friend's rape on Twitter's Periscope. In May, a young woman in France recorded herself on Periscope as she threw herself under a train.

(Additional reporting by Amy Tennery, Lawrence Hurley and Yasmeen Abutaleb; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Grant McCool)
A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was live-streamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera "police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

St. Anthony Police Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. Wednesday in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb that Mangseth's department serves. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where the man died and identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN early Thursday, Castile's mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children to that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive. "I know my son. We know black people have been killed. I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Read More: Falcon Heights Shooting: Hollywood Reacts With Outrage, Grief at Philando Castile's Death

Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but say he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, La. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

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Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Philando Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled, and he lost his life over it tonight."

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. By daybreak Thursday, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite a light rain.

Dayton's spokesman didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from the Associated Press.

Read More: House Sit-In Viewed More Than 3M Times on Facebook Live

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appears to show the aftermath of a shooting like the one described by Mangseth. It shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man quietly slumped in a seat. The woman describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and her boyfriend being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol and was licensed. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The Associated Press couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Mangseth said he was "made aware there was a live-stream on Facebook" but that he had not yet seen the video and didn't know anything about its contents.

The Hollywood Reporter was able to verify the authenticity of the video as a Facebook Live post. The video was inaccessible for some time after it was posted, which was related to a glitch, not its content, Facebook told THR in a statement.

"We're very sorry that the video was temporarily inaccessible. It was down due to a technical glitch and restored as soon as we were able to investigate," Facebook said in a statement. The video has since been noted for it's graphic content, but not edited.

It does not appear the video violates the social media site's content policy concerning violent images as it was not "shared for sadistic pleasure or to celebrate or glorify violence."

The woman in the video says the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him.

Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

Read More: Hollywood Reacts to Police Killing of Alton Sterling: "Something Is Horribly Wrong"

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

Clarence Castile spoke to the Star Tribune from the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said his nephew died minutes after arriving.

He said Philando Castile had worked in the J.J. Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, "cooking for the little kids." He said his nephew was "a good kid" who grew up in St. Paul.

Read More: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Says "It Doesn't Make Sense" to Suppress Political Content

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Mangseth said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation. A spokesman for that agency couldn't immediately be reached.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men, including last year's killing of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. Levy-Pounds was a leading voice during the protests outside a police station that followed Clark's death, as well as during a renewed wave of protests after prosecutors decided not to charge the officers involved.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney, told the crowd as rain began to fall. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is Enough.'"

July 7, 8:20 a.m.: This post has been updated with a statement from Facebook.
Celebrities reacted with shock, grief, outrage and disgust when news broke that a Minnesota police officer had shot and killed a 32-year-old man named Philando Castile on Wednesday.

Castile's girlfriend posted a video of the aftermath on Facebook Live, and news of the shooting swept across social media. Castile's death comes less than 24 hours after Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old man from Baton Rouge, La., was killed by police. Two videos of Sterling's death were shared widely online.

"God help us," wrote Av DuVernay in reaction to Castile's death. "Another day, another hashtag," wrote Ne-Yo. "You didn't deserve this brother."

"Let's go NRA. I know y'all are for the 2nd amendment. Are you also for equal protection?" said John Legend.

Read More: Falcon Heights Shooting Aftermath Captured on Facebook Live

Here are some more reactions below:

God help us. #FalconHeightsShooting https://t.co/qjqevCSRYc

- Ava DuVernay (@AVAETC) July 7, 2016

This is horrifying. #FalconHeightsShooting #AltonSterling

- Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) July 7, 2016

#FalconHeightsShooting I feel sick man. I can't even watch that video. 559. Smh goodnight

- Amber Patrice Riley (@MsAmberPRiley) July 7, 2016

I'm so hurt!! WHY!!! How!!! In front of a child, then handcuff the mother. I'm in tears. #FalconheightsShooting

- Cynthia Erivo (@CynthiaEriVo) July 7, 2016

Listen to how frightened the cop in the #FalconHeights video sounds. Why was he issued a gun? Why was he allowed to be a policeman?

- Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) July 7, 2016

How is it before I lay down to sleep it happens again. #FalconHeights I HAVE NO WORDS.

- Danielle Brooks (@thedanieb) July 7, 2016

This. I definitely don't feel like praying right now. I am outraged. Yet, I know I need it more than ever. https://t.co/5K4gmrIiHx

- Kendrick Sampson (@kendrick38) July 7, 2016

Another day, another hashtag. You didn't deserve this, brother. You didn't deserve this. #PhilandoCastile

Story continues

- NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) July 7, 2016

He died .. His name is Philando Castile, he was 32 #FalconHeights shooting .. Two hours ago. https://t.co/nCg2IDYNRR

- Meagan Good (@MeaganGood) July 7, 2016

Let's go NRA. I know y'all are for the 2nd amendment. Are you also for equal protection? https://t.co/PaKMcZ7ina

- John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

My god. I am so sorry. #FalconHeights

- julieplec (@julieplec) July 7, 2016

So many excuses: "she should have..." "he shouldn't have..". #PhilandoCastile did everything right. Still dead. Now what? #FalconHeights

- Grace Byers (@gracegealey) July 7, 2016

Wow...... Back to back just like that. #PhilandoCastile.. RIP big bruh

- Diggy (@diggy_simmons) July 7, 2016

There are so many broken, backwards issues at play here it's numbing to digest. #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #blacklivesmatter

- josh groban (@joshgroban) July 7, 2016

And as if I thought it couldn't get worse. That #FalconHeights murder is even harder to watch. They killed that man in front of his baby

- BEN BALLER&trade (@BENBALLER) July 7, 2016

This IS systemic. We MUST DO BETTER. My heart goes out to the families of #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastile May they both Rest In Peace.

- Justin Timberlake (@jtimberlake) July 7, 2016

Something must be done. #AllLivesMatter #ManintheMirror

- Prince Jackson (@princemjjjaxon) July 7, 2016

Tossed & turned in my sleep last night just so sad, & it's frustrating SMH #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling

- Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) July 7, 2016

In London I have to wake up to this. He was black. Shot 4 times? When will something be done- no REALLY be done?!?! pic.twitter.com/OaLn60G6nm

- Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) July 7, 2016

My heart is broken for the Sterling and Castile families. I don't know our country anymore. #AltonSterling #PhilandoCastile

- Sheryl Crow (@SherylCrow) July 7, 2016

The sadness overtakes me.This is the FIRST time I feel like I can't distract myself & work.Not when I have a Father,brother,Husband&a son

- TAMAR BRAXTON (@TamarBraxtonHer) July 7, 2016

If all lives matter... SHOW US!!! Prove it! Show us our bodies hold the same value. There is no excuse for the slaughter. None.

- Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) July 7, 2016

We haven't healed as a nation from the last senseless, unjust slaughter and here we are again, shaking and crying and angry, retraumatized

- Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) July 7, 2016

Today I am not proud. Today I take action though I feel helpless. We can't stand for it! #blacklivesmatter #AltonSerling #PhilandoCastile

- Connie Britton (@conniebritton) July 7, 2016

So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK

- John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

Dear white people. Stop trying to paint victims into criminals. #blacklivesmatter

- Sasha Grey (@SashaGrey) July 7, 2016

#EricGarner #SandraBland #OscarGrant #AltonSterling #WalterScott #PhilandoCastile to think...that's not even the beginning of it, these are just the few we got on video....makes me sick.

A photo posted by Zendaya (@zendaya) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:39pm PDT

I can count 5 parents in the last 3 hours who have text me and said my child just asked me "AM I GOING TO DIE"?!? pic.twitter.com/mXwlLYfqZq

- solange knowles (@solangeknowles) July 7, 2016

Have written & erased at least 20 awesome furious tweets. But I am too sad. Instead, I'll just say this: #stopshootingus

- shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) July 7, 2016

What will my brown son's future be? What will your brown son's future be? I beg you to act NOW. Let us be heard. pic.twitter.com/1aEQ52GkPC

- Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 8, 2016
A splinter group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel front said on Wednesday it will not participate in a ceasefire agreement with the government, potentially derailing a resolution to nearly five decades of violent internal conflict in the South American nation.

In a statement, the Armando Rios First Front  a 200-member division of FARC  said it will not lay down arms and will continue its battle against the administration of President Juan Manuel Santos, according to Reuters.

We have decided not to demobilize, we will continue the fight for the taking of power by the people for the people, independent of the decision taken by the rest of the members of the organization, the statement said.

The peace deal was announced two weeks ago following more than three years of dialogue between the two sides.

The splinter group said it was calling on other FARC groups to pull out of the deal as well, reports Reuters.

[Reuters]
My own religion has taught me that God calls us to high and often difficult standards of love, forgiveness and justice that is rooted not in retribution, but rather in redemption and restoration. The death penalty denies the sacredness of human life and it drains societys resources that could be used for the promotion of authentic justice and true healing. As a society, when we invest in vengeance we abandon all compassion.

Christ remains the image and the model for us in regards to forgiveness and punishment. We cannot be a community of forgiveness, compassion and unity if we choose to destroy one another. We cannot allow our own state to do this for us. I hope Nebraskans will stand with our state senators who voted to abolish the death penalty when they vote in November. We feel so much better when we lead with forgiveness than if we allow our own state to fill our hearts with revenge.
From ELLE

Scroll through Instagram any given week this summer and you're bound to discover a group of glamorous women trotting around ultra-luxe islands in a very specific look-a look that generally induces envy, wanderlust, and maybe a girl crush or two. Rachel Zelic is one of those women, and her brand Majorelle, launching today on revolve.com, is one of those brands.

"I really design for a dream girl. Someone who is not so much defined by her job or something, but her mindset," Zelic told me over the phone on her way back from the Hamptons. "She's a girl who wants to travel the world, who likes having fun, who likes to be on her private jet or a yacht, or not. She is completely gorgeous, fabulous, she doesn't live in one place."

Of course, even if you're not one of those "...What is a weekend?" women, you can still dress like one, in Majorelle's scarlet off-the-shoulder tops, white eyelet dresses, and paisley printed maxi skirts. (Despite evoking a certain jet-set fantasy woman, Majorelle keeps its price points mostly in the $100 to $200 range.) Here, we caught up with Zelic to chat about the brand that will be dominating the feeds of fashion-forward Instagram legends for the next few months, and how she built her business with no formal fashion training.

You've been designing since 2008. How did you get your start?

Basically, I didn't study fashion. I did a marketing degree and a law degree. When I was still in college, in Australia, I noticed a big gap in the market for really well-designed clothes that were at a good price point. At that the time, they didn't exist. It was either cute but shitty quality, or just very expensive. In 2008 I started StyleStalker, grew that in Australia, and moved it to the U.S. Then I also started The Jetset Diaries, and we eventually got investors for those two lines and then moved those offices from Sydney to L.A. Revolve was one of our biggest clients and I just met the team and was so impressed by what they were doing that I ended up working with them and started Majorelle in partnership with them. When I first started back in 2008 I had no clue what I was doing, which is a blessing and a curse. If I had known how much work was going to go into it, I probably wouldn't have started my own line.

Story continues

How does Majorelle differ from those previous collections?

I think it's more just an evolution. The girl has grown up a little bit. As a designer I am a little more confident, so that shows. I also now understand every part of the business and that shows, too. The line is very sexy, but in a really kind of mature way. It's not all patent or showy.

Who is the Majorelle girl?

I really design for a dream girl. Someone who is not so much defined by her job or something, but her mindset. She's a girl who wants to travel the world, who likes having fun, who likes to be on her private jet or a yacht, or not. She is completely gorgeous, fabulous, she doesn't live in one place. She hops around the world. I think she is just very confident, and she doesn't necessarily look to others for style guidance. She just does what she feels is right. So, yeah. I guess that's the girl that we want to be [laughs]. My friends have always been my inspiration-and even some of them are living this way! But yeah, they are doing it. They are inspiring.

I was actually going to ask if you had any specific friends in mind when you were designing.

Two of my best friends! One is Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad and the other is Gala Gonzalez of Amlul. They can just throw something on, go out the door, and look incredible without even trying. So those two girls for sure.

What was your inspiration when you were designing this first collection?

This collection is inspired by a place in the New Mexico desert called Ghost Ranch, where the artist Georgia O'Keeffe lived. And I went there on an incredible road trip, and now this place is stuck in my mind all this time. The color palette before anything is inspired by there, the soil there is really pink so that translated to the beautiful blushes in the collection. It's definitely a bit cowboy- like urban cowboy-and then some inspiration from Native American culture. So yeah, inspired by that, but also road tripping generally.

Is there anything specific in this collection that you would wear on a road trip?

Yeah, I would definitely wear the denim romper. It's really, really cool. It's inspired by this woman named Julie who runs a charity and she has like six kids. She is just like in these outfits like the denim jumpsuit and it's just fabulous.
By Julia Edwards and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - FBI Director James Comey told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday that FBI employees who mishandled classified material in the way Hillary Clinton did as secretary of state could be subject to dismissal or loss of security clearance. Comey addressed the issue at a House of Representatives committee hearing that lasted nearly five hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that Clinton should be denied classified briefings during her campaign for the presidency. Comey, who said on Tuesday he would not recommend that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee face criminal charges, was asked at the hearing if Clinton should face administrative punishment for the way she handled her email. "I don't think that's for me to recommend," he said. Comey did say his employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation would face discipline for the same behavior. They might get fired, they might lose their clearance, it might get suspended for 30 days," Comey said. "There would be some discipline." Presidential candidates normally get access to classified information once they are formally nominated. As director of the FBI, Comey does not have the authority to revoke Clinton's security privileges. A group of Republican senators on Thursday asked the State Department to immediately suspend clearances for Clinton and several current and former aides based on the agency's findings. A Clinton spokesman on Thursday criticized the hearing for its "partisan motivations," and expressed confidence that Comey's testimony had shut down any lingering "conspiracy theories" on the matter. "Director Comey's testimony clearly knocked down a number of false Republican talking points and reconciled apparent contradictions between his previous remarks and Hillary Clinton's public statements," spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement. The issue of Clinton's use of private email servers has cast a cloud over her campaign for the Nov. 8 presidential election, raising questions among voters about her trustworthiness and judgment and giving her Republican presidential rival, Donald Trump, an avenue of attack. 'APOLITICAL, PROFESSIONAL' INVESTIGATION Comey's testimony marked the first time he took questions publicly since his announcement the FBI was not recommending charges against Clinton. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted the FBI recommendation and was to appear at another hearing next Tuesday. Comey had disappointed some Republicans by only rebuking Clinton, not recommending charges against her, for what he called her "extremely careless" handling of classified information while using private email servers. Under persistent questioning at the hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Comey said Clinton did not break the law. "The question I always look at is, is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conduct that violated a criminal statute. And my judgment here is there is not," Comey said. Comey also said Clinton knew her email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, was not authorized to receive classified information. But Clinton may not have had sufficiently sophisticated understanding to know the emails that passed through her personal server were classified, Comey said. Only three of the FBI-reviewed emails were explicitly marked as classified and those were marked with a "C" in the body of the email, not in the header, he said. Comey said his FBI team conducted its investigation of Clinton "in an apolitical and professional way" and he had no reason to believe she had lied to the FBI. Clinton had said publicly she never sent or received any classified information. 'IF YOUR NAME ISN'T CLINTON' "I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double standard, if your name isn't Clinton or you are not part of the powerful elite that Lady Justice will act differently," U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said to Comey at the beginning of the hearing. A Democratic member of the committee, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, defended Comey's actions by saying: "I firmly believe your decision was based on conviction, not convenience." The hearing took place as Trump met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get them behind his candidacy, discussing a variety of issues, including his campaign style. "I'm going to make you proud," Trump told House Republicans, according to a participant, Representative Tom Flores. Ryan, who has been critical of Trump at times, said Trump and Republican House members had "a great meeting." Comey said on Tuesday that 110 classified emails passed through Clinton's servers, which were not kept on a secure government server. He rebuked her for "extremely careless" handling of classified information but said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her or her staff criminally. Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party. He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, including over the case of General David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty after he knowingly shared classified information with his biographer and lover. Comey recommended Petraeus be charged with a felony, but then-Attorney General Eric Holder downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, Alana Wise, Julia Harte and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Steve Holland and Julia Edwards; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)
FBI Director James Comey testifies on Hillary Clintons use of private email server FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight Committee to explain his agencys recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate, over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Two days after recommending Hillary Clinton not be prosecuted over her use of a private email server as secretary of state, FBI Director James Comey is testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Oversight Committee. Comey is fielding questions from the GOP-led committee about the FBIs probe. Chief among them: Why the agency decided to disperse criminal charges against Clinton despite Comeys conclusion that the former cabinet secretary was extremely careless in her handling of classified information as head of the State Department. (Dylan Stableford/Yahoo News)

Follow Yahoo News liveblog below for the all the latest updates.

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London (AFP) - Former Wimbledon winner Marion Bartoli said Thursday she fears for her life after picking up a mystery virus which has caused dramatic weight loss.

The 2013 champion from France, who has shocked fans with her skeletal appearance, was barred from playing in an invitational event at Wimbledon this week after doctors expressed fears over her health.

Bartoli, 31, told a British daytime television show that the virus is so rare that medical experts have no name for it.

Insisting that she is not anorexic, Bartoli said she can only eat organic salad leaves and cucumbers without skins.

She added that she needs gloves when she uses her mobile phone as the virus has caused severe electro-sensitivity.

Bartoli also claims that she has to wash with mineral water rather than tap water.

"I fear for my life. I worry that one day my heart will stop," the 31-year-old told ITV's 'This Morning' programme.

"This is not life. I am just surviving."

Bartoli said she probably picked up the virus when flying between Australia, New York and India in January and February this year.

She has since lost 20 kilos which has reduced her life to a "living nightmare".

Bartoli said that after visiting Miami and Dallas in February to promote her fashion line, her condition started to deteriorate.

"I felt worse and my body rejected more and more things," she said.

"I can't type on the phone without gloves and for no more than five minutes as my heart will start to pump faster.

"My life is a living nightmare. I don't wish this on anyone but it is gradually getting worse."

Bartoli, who was around 60kg during her playing days, said she will start a course of treatment at a clinic on Monday.

"I want to go back to a normal life. I have been reduced to eating organic salad leaves and pre-washed cucumber with no skin.

"I cannot process protein. I just drink and drink and drink to get everything out."

Story continues

Bartoli said she respected the decision made by the Wimbledon doctors to withdraw her from the women's invitational doubles at the All England Club.

"I was looking forward to it. I am happy when I am on court.

"But the doctors told me that I couldn't play because of my health.

"I understand that and respect the decision."
From Road & Track

Ferraris used to exemplify the puritanical notion that exotics should not be practical vehicles. Enzo was famously disinterested in selling cars to the public, and owners notoriously avoided sullying them with daily use. It's like Cameron says about his father's 1961 250GT California in Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "Ferris, he never drives it. He just rubs it with a diaper."

That's what made the FF, the all-wheel-drive hatchback introduced in 2011, both novel and maybe a little hard to love. It was a Ferrari expressly intended to function as a car. By Ferrari's reckoning, it succeeded. The average FF gets driven more than the 612 Scaglietti, the 2+2 it replaced, and more frequently carries four passengers. Ferrari's update for the FF, called GTC4Lusso, attempts to play the role of versatile daily driver even better without losing that ineffable Ferrari-ness. "I think the Lusso is the answer we can give to the SUV," says head of marketing Nicola Boari. "It's as far as we can go."

Many of the changes for the new car directly address feedback from FF owners. For instance, many wanted more storage space, so the GTC4 now has a large bin in the center console. No one liked the infotainment system, so Ferrari engineered a completely new touchscreen. Since so many owners use the back seats, interior designers carved out more than half an inch of additional legroom. Some complained that the V12 woke the neighbors, so the GTC4's exhaust baffles stay closed during start up.

There's not an automaker that doesn't consult with its buyers, yet it's still a little jarring to hear in the context of Ferrari. When Ferruccio Lamborghini suggested improvements to his Ferrari, Enzo purportedly told him to go build his own car. What would he have said to that FF owner who wanted a quieter exhaust? "Find new neighbors," I imagine.

From the driver's seat of the GTC4Lusso, though, it's hard to argue with any of the changes. My test drive started in the northern Italian city of Brunico during rush hour, which, even with the jagged spine of the Dolomites in the distance, looks like rush hour anywhere. The GTC4Lusso is happy to crawl along with cyclists, buses, commuters, and construction workers. Its large, crisp touchscreen blends beautifully with the design of the dash-no tacked-on third-party device, a la Aston Martin. A few hard switches remain for the most common functions, like climate control. Honda should have such a nicely thought out system.

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The magnetorheological dampers, which can now be adjusted separately from the drivetrain and steering, allow the Lusso to float over bumps. The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, left to its own devices, shifts early and smoothly, the 6.3-liter V12 snoring in the background. It's not perfect- the panels over the center-console storage bin feel flimsy, and the passenger window, strangely, lacks an express-up function. But it's a fine place to sit in traffic. Consumer Reports would approve.

So, it's a nice car. But what makes it a Ferrari? Let's start with that name. GTC4Lusso. It's a mouthful, sure, but a very Italian mouthful that recalls Ferrari's most beautiful grand tourers. So much more romantic than "FF." The same is true of the styling. Whereas the FF looked overly complicated, almost reptilian from certain angles, the Lusso is simple and sensual. Ferrari designers (not Pininfarina-that relationship is all but dead) elongated and strengthened the FF's creases and added evocative details-double taillights, huge slatted fender vents like a 275 GTB. It's been a while since there's been a Ferrari as pretty.

The classically inspired skin hides the most complex drivetrain shy of LaFerrari. The Lusso retains the FF's unique all-wheel-drive system, which powers the front wheels via a second transmission, and pairs it with an electronically controlled rear differential and rear-wheel steering. Despite all that, the Lusso feels like a traditional rear-wheel-drive car. Its wide hips shimmy when you launch or power out of corners, and the steering is sharp, unfiltered, light in effort. Only when you overdrive-push too hard into a corner or put the power down too early-does it become clear that there are protective angels at work in the chassis.

A heavenly being also lives under the hood. This V12 was born in the Enzo in 2002 and carries on here with combustion improvements that increase output to 680 hp. High up in the Dolomites, traffic finally clears and I'm able to push past 5000 rpm. The Lusso drops its mask of civility with a satisfied howl and doesn't let up until 8250 rpm. Gioacchino Colombo, Ferrari's first engine designer, thought twelve was the ideal number of cylinders back in 1946. He's still right.

Ferraris are supposed to excel at being Ferraris-beautiful, powerful machines with clear racing lineage. Everything else is irrelevant. That remains true with the GTC4Lusso. It's a fine car, markedly better than the FF. But the reason to consider spending $300,000 on one is that it truly feels like a Ferrari.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (Reuters) - The fiancee of a black man fatally shot by police in Minnesota after a traffic stop told reporters on Thursday that the officers on the scene never checked the man's pulse after the shooting and handcuffed her.

Diamond Reynolds, who broadcast the bloody aftermath of Philando Castile's shooting, said the officers involved did not perform first aid on him and that she and her daughter were questioned separately by police.

"I was treated like a criminal," Reynolds told reporters outside the Minnesota state house. "I was treated like I was the one that did this. They were very racist towards me. They treated me like this was my fault."

(Reporting by David Bailey; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
Iran nuclear

In 2006, then-President George W. Bush was increasingly worried about Iranian efforts at enriching uranium, and ultimately, its hopes to build an atomic bomb.

But he was mired in the Iraq war, and had few options beyond air strikes or another full-scale war in the Middle East, which Israel was pushing for. So, his military leaders gave him a third option: a weapon that could potentially set back Iran's nuclear ambitions, while leaving no trace of the attacker.

It was the world's first cyber weapon, code-named "Olympic Games" and later called "Stuxnet" by computer security researchers.

A fascinating new documentary film by Alex Gibney called "Zero Days" that premieres on Friday tells the story of Stuxnet, along with the frightening takeaway that, while this was the first cyber weapon, it will certainly not be the last.

'We've never seen this before'

Stuxnet Bushehr nuclear power plant

Bits and pieces of the Stuxnet story are well-known by now.

First authorized by President Bush and then re-authorized by President Obama, the top secret computer worm was designed by the US and Israel to infect an Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz.

And it did. Too well.

The code made its way into the facility and infected the specific industrial control systems the Iranians were using. Once it turned itself on about 13 days after infection, it sped up or slowed down the centrifuges until they destroyed themselves  all while the operators' computer screens showed everything was working as normal.

But at some point, the powerful computer code escaped and made its way out. It had an unheard number of zero-day exploits (four, to be precise), which are software vulnerabilities unknown to the target that has "zero days" to protect themselves. Making matters worse, its self-replicating behavior ended up infecting computers around the world.

Though Iran initially had no idea it was attacked by a cyber weapon, believing its scientists and engineers were incompetent due to the failures, eventually the code escaped and worldwide infections led computer researchers to study it, and the idea of leaving "no trace" of the attacker was gone.

Story continues

"We've never seen this before," Liam O'Murchu, a director at Symantec, says in the film. "We've actually never seen this since, either."

"Real world physical destruction," says his colleague at Symantec, engineer Eric Chien.

'I don't know, and if I did, we wouldn't talk about it anyway'

George Bush and CIA chief Michael Hayden

Just the fact that director Alex Gibney could get people to give on-camera interviews providing minimal insight into Stuxnet is an achievement in itself.

But even these interviews always end up at a wall, colorfully demonstrated by former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden, who tells him: "I don't know, and if I did, we wouldn't talk about it anyway."

That's because even today, despite Stuxnet's well-known legacy in the computer security community and in-depth reporting on the subject, it remains highly-classified.

Though Gibney is stonewalled by just about every Israeli and US official he encounters, he is able to score a major source from the NSA*. And that's where the story of "Zero Days" really takes off.

Gibney's NSA source talks about the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) unit, explaining how the secretive elite hacker unit and its counterpart in Israel coded a massive piece of malware designed for this one specific task. She goes on to explain how it was tested, saying, "in the tests we ran, we blew [the centrifuges] apart."

Those tests proved accurate, with some estimates saying Stuxnet malware destroyed roughly one-fifth of Iran's centrifuges in 2009.

It's not just interviews with cyber security experts and government officials, however. Gibney weaves together documentary footage of the Iranian president touring Natanz  which US intelligence used to figure out the exact computers and equipment there  along with compelling graphics of the actual Stuxnet code as Symantec researchers explain its use.

"There wasnt any code in there that served no purpose," Chien told Tech Insider in a phone interview. "Every piece of code in there served to get inside Irans nuclear facility."

Stuxnet was only the beginning

There are some spoilers for the film below.

hackers

The most incredible revelation from the film comes from Gibney's NSA source, who talks about a much larger operation than Stuxnet. It's a news-breaking claim that The New York Times has since corroborated: The US had an in-depth cyber attack plan that was much larger than Natanz.

"We were inside, waiting, watching," the source says. "Ready to disrupt, degrade, and destroy those systems with cyber attacks. In comparison, Stuxnet was a back alley operation. NZ was the plan for a full scale cyber war with no attribution."

NZ is the acronym for a separate operation called Nitro Zeus, which gave the US access into Iran's air defense systems so it could not shoot down planes, its command-and-control systems so communications would go dead, and infrastructure like the power grid, transportation, and financial systems.

"The science fiction cyber war scenario is here. Thats Nitro Zeus," the source says.

The aftermath

What happened after the world's first cyber weapon launched?

A large portion of Iran's centrifuges were taken offline, but it was only a temporary measure. It quickly recovered and secured its systems. The country also launched it's own "cyber army"  no doubt inspired by its hacker counterparts in the US and Israel.

But for the US and Israel, the cyber weapon's launch is likened to August 1945, when the first atomic bomb was dropped. Though the physical destruction of Stuxnet pales in comparison to bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, its first use by the West has given others license to look into it for themselves.

"So whoever initiated this  and was very proud of themselves to see that little dip in Irans centrifuge numbers  should look back now and acknowledge it was a major mistake," Emad Kiyaei, executive director American Iranian Council, says in the film.

Perhaps that may be the most frightening revelation of all to come from "Zero Days."

Now there is a new weapon that can do a better job at destruction than bombs. But the difference between highly-controlled nuclear materials and computer code, is that anyone  and any state  can develop it.

It seems pretty reasonable to think that there are things out there today that we havent seen that are much more advanced [than Stuxnet]," O'Murchu told TI in a phone interview.

We'll just have to wait and see who uses it next.

*The NSA source is later revealed to be an actor reciting lines based on testimony from CIA and NSA officials who spoke with Gibney and his team.

NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you ask top government officials about an ultra-secret cyber weapon





More From Business Insider


Its become a highly reliable cliche to open a thriller with a bank robbery in which the robbers wear really creepy masks  a gambit that kicked into high gear 25 years ago with Point Break. But lets at least give Marauders some credit: The masks in this movie up the creep factor to a whole new level. Theyre thick dark armor adorned with sketchy skulls that look as if they might have been drawn by Jean-Michel Basquiat. (If you were standing in a bank and someone showed up wearing this, youd be scared.) The underworld fashion statement is matched, in this case, by a 21st-century criminal efficiency, with a smartphones computerized she-voice calmly explaining to everyone that if the police get called within 15 minutes, a bomb will go off. The hook of this sort of opener is that it gets you to look at those masks and think: The people hidden under there must be awesomely monstrous. But considering that Marauders turns out to be a muddled political crime thriller, the revelation of their identities comes to seem almost terrifying in its banality.

A more grounded form of menace arrives early on, when Bruce Willis shows up as Hubert, the president of a Cincinnati bank, who likes to ruminate on such matters as the spider crawling outside his window. In the right role, Willis can, of course, be a fine and forceful actor, and the makers of Marauders no doubt decided that his middle-aged hard-ass squint could play as a dry display of power. But its the wrong kind of power. Willis is too relaxed and casual, too laissez faire an actor to be convincing as a rigorously controlled (and controlling) financial manager. Hubert always seems disgruntled, and its hard to tell whether thats because his bank branches are getting knocked off, or because hes secretly behind the robberies and they arent going as planned, or because Bruce Willis is simply getting huffy at having to emote too much. From the start, he makes Marauders feel like the cooked-up concoction it is.

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For about 45 minutes, director Steven C. Miller gets some entertainingly brusque exchanges going among the actors playing law enforcers. Christopher Meloni, who after a dozen or so years on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is a maestro at taking small compact encounters and charging them with tension, plays Montgomery, an FBI agent whos been called in to investigate the robberies. Meloni, exuding his refined brand of ballbusting, makes Montgomery an essentially decent guy who pushes people around with his brains. Chief among his antagonists is a local cop (Johnathon Schaech) who seems up to his ears in corruption (their every encounter is a mini turf war). And then theres Wells, an FBI rookie played by Adrian Grenier with a boyish haircut and a severe expression that says to the audience, Please forget all about Vincent Chase. At first, you may think that Grenier looks just about as lost aswell, Vincent Chase in a mediocre genre film. But he gives a tightly wired performance, even when he has to do things we just cant buy.

It used to be that low-budget crime thrillers had a low-grade appeal. Now they all have to have cred. The script of Marauders is complicated enough to make you think that the screenwriters, Michael Cody and Chris Sivertson, thought that they were remaking Chinatown. They weave together plot strands as if they were knitting a film-noir lanyard. Years before, Huberts brother was kidnapped; also years before, Montgomerys wife and fellow agent was tortured to death during a sting operation. (Thats why he orders a ritual glass of red wine at their favorite bar and just sits there, not drinking it.) Hubert is involved in some sort of shady business to do with his banks  maybe the robberies, maybe blackmail (since he has access to his wealthy clients safety-deposit boxes). The robbers themselves are master terrorists who know how to sneak right onto your computer screen. But you see, there was also this platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, involved in a deadly incident, and as the film begins to piece together who each of those soldiers was

Well, as that happens, something strange occurs: The pieces all fall into place, and the movie starts to make even less sense than it did before. You simply cant hold this particular conspiracy in your head, because its all been plotted out on paper, but it doesnt hold water in the real world. And so it mocks the very seriousness with which Marauders, in its destined-for-VOD way, is made.

What does hold water is the movies cinematography. It would have to, since almost every scene is drenched in rain, a form of atmosphere that quickly becomes oppressive, because of how thoroughly it merges with the films overall glossy look of blue-grey televisual gloom. Marauders is a semi-oddity, an overly ambitious potboiler. You can respect the impulses of the people who made it and still feel as if it came out of a box that read Just add water.

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Rarely a week goes by that the pages of this paper dont feature a letter, or in the most recent instance a Local View by Lucas Sabalka ("An issue to unite us," June 29), touting the benefits of a revenue neutral carbon tax to be levied on polluters and rebated to the people. I acknowledge that reducing pollution and the use of carbon fuels in general is a laudable goal and that market based solutions provide the best hope of success. However, since when is the imposition of a new tax or any tax a market based solution?

Markets hate taxes nearly as much as uncertainty. Moreover, in what alternate universe do governments secure a new revenue stream only to divert it back to the people undiminished? The usual government inefficiency would diminish the rebate by 30 percent or so, even if it wasnt diverted to other uses. Dont fool yourself, it will be diverted, just as the so called social security trust fund has been diverted into the general fund and spent as soon as it showed a surplus while being replaced by an IOU this money will suffer a similar fate.

In 1898, a 3 percent excise tax on long distance telephone calls was imposed to fund the Spanish American War. The war lasted from April to August of that year. Most of the tax was finally repealed in 2006. More taxes lead to bigger government which leads to more waste. Have we not gone far enough down this path?

David Oenbring, Lincoln
CAIRO (Reuters) - A fire that broke out at a domestic gas storage facility in Yemen's Marib province on Thursday killed a worker and seriously injured four others, according to state media and a local official. Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze caused by an electrical fault which broke out close to Safer, an oil industry compound in Marib province about 150 km (95 miles) east of the capital Sanaa, said state news agency, Saba, citing a Yemeni official. Saudi-led coalition forces fighting the Houthi group who control the capital have been flying reinforcements into a small airport in the town of Safer. Marib has most of Yemen's oil and gas fields and has long been a battleground between factions including local tribesmen, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) insurgents and other Islamists, and government forces. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari, Writing Tom Finn; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Pamplona (Spain) (AFP) - Five people were hurt, including one seriously, at Spain's famed San Fermin bull-running festival, also marred by five arrests over allegations of sexual assault, authorities said Thursday.

Those hurt fell as they were chased by six rampaging bulls through the narrow streets of Pamplona on the second day of the city's nine-day fiesta.

None was gored but a 56-year-old man was taken to hospital after fracturing his left sinus, hospital officials said.

One man aged 66 suffered severe concussion while three others had minor injuries in a huge scrum of hundreds of people who joined the early-morning fray to see if they could outrun six bulls over 800 metres (900 yards).

Organisers had warned participants beforehand that "you can die" in a bull run, pointing to a death toll of "at least 16 since 1910". The most recent fatality was in 2009.

Also Thursday, police said they have made five arrests after a woman said she had been sexually assaulted overnight, a police spokesman told AFP.

The nationality of the suspects was not clear but a protest march against the assault was planned for Thursday evening.

Ahead of the fiesta, a tradition dating back to medieval times, Pamplona city hall had launched a campaign urging a "safe" environment for women "without sexist aggression".

Meanwhile animal rights campaigners protested against the "bloodbath" they say bullfighting causes in Spain in regions which continue the controversial tradition.

Last month's general election saw an animal rights party win a record number of votes in Spain as nearly 285,000 people cast their ballot for PACMA -- or 1.2 percent of all votes.

PACMA bitterly opposes "cruel" Spanish traditions involving animals, including bullfighting, and persuaded authorities in the Spanish northern region of Castilla y Leon to ban the killing of bulls during traditional festivals, particularly the famed Toro de la Vega bull run.
pnp_TheProducersFightToGetPaid

By Jessica Meiselman

Its easy to forget that for many years, the celebrity that we know as DJ Khaled was just a producer. It feels like a distant memory in 2016Khaled is now a social media superstar who just got off tour with Beyonce, and hes about to drop an album that includes features from top-tier artists like Jay-Z and Drake.

Today, the role of a hip-hop producer is in a period of expansion. Some of the biggest names in hip-hopKanye West, Puff Daddy, and Dr. Dreall have production credits that begin alongside or predate their rap careers. The younger generation of beat makers understands the value of name recognition, and through increasingly popular signature drops (e.g. Metro Boomin want some more, Mustard on the beat, Mike Will made it, We got London on da track), theyre building powerful, public-facing brands.

But for most of popular musics history, the producer has largely remained behind the scenes. Those days are gone. Given the expansion of hip-hop in mainstream music, the emerging discussion surrounding producers compensation in hip-hop should come as no surprise.

Flying Lotus recently took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with the state of producers rights. He took aim at rappers in particular, noting that lots of rappers think they doing us favors by fuckin with [producers], and warning producers that when a rapper invites [you] to the studio and asks [you] to make beats on the spot. Tell them to pay your fee on the spot.

He continued: I think the future is dope but producers build the landscapes. After he shared those thoughts, a handful of other producers voiced similar frustrations, agreeing that beat makers are often taken advantage of by famous artists.

For most of popular musics history, the producer has largely remained behind the scenes. Those days are gone.

Last year, a producer named DVLP sued Birdman $200,000 for failing to compensate him for production work. The story made headlines because of Birdmans text messages, but it highlights the issue at hand: producers, in a legal framework that does little to recognize their work, often end up getting the short end of the stick.

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A producers agreement with an artist can vary from an informal Paypal transaction to an agreement which outlines exactly how specific streams of income are to be shared. This depends on a variety of factors, mainly the level of involvement the producer has with a track and their negotiating power. In some cases, a flat-fee deal is considered an assignment, where the rights to the beat are fully handed over to the artist. When that happens, the producer is not entitled to further remuneration from use of the song or sales. There is no statutorily defined royalty for producers or engineers, and most outdated laws dont even acknowledge the possibility of their share in the action.

Copyright law provides that the performer of a song on a record owns the copyright to the sound recording and the songwriter owns the copyright to the song. If a song is covered, the songwriter is paid. If the particular recording is played, the performers rights are implicated. Notice whos left out?

Unless a producer is credited as a songwriter, theyre without ownership over any part of the music unless otherwise specified. When a producer lacks leverage in a negotiation, such as in a case where an extremely well known artists co-sign could give them a big break, a producer is likely to accept disadvantageous contractual terms.

But that doesnt have to be the case. For example, when Desiigner bought the beat for Panda from Adnan Khan for $200, Khan was credited as a writer. When Kanye sampled Panda for Pt. 2, Khan was also credited as a writer of that song, meaning that he shares in publishing income. At this point, that income far exceeds $200.

If a song is covered, the songwriter is paid. If the particular recording is played, the performers rights are implicated. Notice whos left out?

As Flying Lotus suggested, when the role of a producer transforms into that of a songwriter, there is a need to make changes to compensate them fairly. And change, it would seem, is on the way. There are several bills making their way through Congress that could have a direct effect on these types of arrangements.

The AMP Act, introduced into Congress last year, aims to allow artists to distribute a portion of public performance royalty payments to a producer, mixer, or sound engineer who was part of the creative process behind the sound recording.

Representative Joe Crowley (NY-14) is spearheading this bill. He tells us that he introduced it to expand the ability for producers and engineers to collect royalties on recordings produced before 1995. For those older recordings, the AMP Act would establish a procedure for producers and engineers to seek permission from featured artists or their heirs to receive appropriate royalty payments.

Another bill, the Songwriters Equity Act, would reform copyright law to help producers who are credited as songwriters [earn] a fair market royalty rate when [their] music is streamed or downloaded online. This act aims to increase the proportion of royalties attributable to songwriters or producers who are credited as songwriters.

Representative Crowley is also a co-sponsor of the Fair Play Fair Pay Act, which seek[s] to level the playing field among various platforms, for artists and producers alike. In particular, the act streamlines producer royalties for digital, satellite, and terrestrial radio play.

When and whether the bills will pass remains to be seen. But its a incremental step forward. These bills, for the first time, address the producer, engineer, and various other studio professionals lack of inclusion in copyright law. The three acts were all introduced last year, and the sponsors are in the process of drumming up support, not only within Congress but also throughout the music industry.

These laws begin to address a growing disconnect between what the music industry used to be and what it is now, especially for todays hip-hop producers. But ultimately, in order to address the issue of credit given where credit is due, what Flying Lotus comments suggest is that a broader understanding of a producers value will have to be acknowledged by performers as well. Hopefully, the increasing prevalence of high profile producers will inevitably highlight the significance and importance of their talent.

You can voice your support for these bills here.

More from Pigeons & Planes
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian television on Thursday broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a U.S. diplomat wrestling on the steps of the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Reports of the incident emerged late last month. The Washington Post newspaper, citing U.S. diplomats, said an embassy employee had been attacked on June 6 by the officer. Russian officials said the diplomat had attacked the policeman. The night time footage, from what appeared to be a closed circuit TV camera across the street from a side entrance into the embassy compound, showed a yellow taxi pulling up and a man jumping out of the front passenger door. He moved purposefully toward the entrance, but after he had taken about three steps the door of a police sentry box in front of the entrance swung open. A man in police uniform then darted out, grabbed the man, and wrestled him to the floor about two metres (yards) from the door leading into the embassy building, according to footage broadcast by NTV. (http://bit.ly/29nmt3r) The footage then showed the police officer lying on top of the other man, who was on his back, pinning him to the floor. The man managed to wriggle his way toward the door and get it open, at which point the footage ended. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on June 7 to raise concern about "an incident involving an accredited U.S. diplomat that occurred outside our embassy in Moscow". While Kirby said he would not speak to the specifics of a particular incident, he said the U.S. was "extremely troubled by the way our employees have been treated over the past couple of years". A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said the police officer had wanted to check the man's documents to establish he was not a threat to embassy security, but was elbowed in the face when he tried to challenge him. She said the embassy employee was a CIA agent operating under diplomatic cover. The United States has accused Russia of a campaign of harassment against its diplomats in Moscow, while Russia has accused Washington of meting out similar treatment to Russian diplomats based in the United States. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn and Christian Lowe; additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Vladimir Soldatkin and Grant McCool)
While other Americans were watching July 4th fireworks on Monday evening, more than 100 people were at Lockheed Martins offices outside Denver monitoring the skies for something else: NASAs Juno probe, which successfully reached Jupiter and began orbiting the planet on Independence Day.

The event--the culmination of a dangerous five-year journey since the Juno spacecraft launched into outer space in 2011--was not only a victory for NASA, which broadcast their celebration on Monday night, but for a certain Fortune 500 company: defense and aerospace contractor Lockheed Martin , which was reveling in the moment behind the scenes. It was Lockheed Martin, after all, that had spent the past 13 years on the Juno mission, working to get the spacecraft to Jupiter on time and on an amazingly tight government budget: It built Juno, tested it to withstand space conditions so harsh they defy the imagination and wrote the computer code that controls the spacecraft. Lockheed knew the stakes, declaring on its website about the mission, If this doesn't happen just right, there will be no second chance.

And on the evening of July 4, Lockheed Martin finally received confirmation that Juno has safely entered into Jupiters orbit--where the company will continue to oversee the spacecraft until its mission concludes in early 2018. Tonight, 540 million miles away, Juno performed a precisely choreographed dance at blazing speeds with the largest, most intense planet in our solar system, Guy Beutelschies, Lockheed Martins director of interplanetary missions, said in a statement.

It was a pretty exciting time, Kevin Rudolph, Lockheeds lead systems engineer for the Juno spacecraft, tells Fortune of the big night.

It was the most recent phase of Junos mission that was the most harrowing, as the unmanned spacecraft had to penetrate extreme radiation zones surrounding Jupiter. To do so the probe had to be moving at a speed of 130,000 miles per hour in order to get close enough to orbit the massive planet, which is the biggest in our solar system.

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On top of the physical risks, Lockheed and NASA were largely flying blind during the final, and most dangerous, four days of the journey, having decided to turn off all nonessential functions of the spacecrafts electronics, including its photo and video cameras, so that its computer would not be too busy or stressed by memory or processor usage. Its the same way a laptop might run slower or crash when too many applications are open, Rudolph says. (See below for NASAs Juno probe video made before they turned off the cameras.)

In fact, since last Thursday through July 4 at almost midnight, Juno had essentially been on autopilot, running on a single line of code that Lockheed wrote to guide it through its maneuvers, as the spacecraft was too far away at that point to communicate with it in real-time from Earth. Radio signals would have taken 48 minutes each way.

So around 8 p.m. on Monday, Rudolph and his team knew that Juno was getting into the riskiest part of its Jupiter approach, but all they could do was hold their breath and hope it would all be OK. At that point that's when the worry level really started picking up, Rudolph says. That was when the rubber met the road and we started getting into that radiation environment and we were all pretty tense.

Lockheed couldnt predict with absolute certainty exactly how high Jupiters radiation levels would be, but it used NASAs estimations to calculate the likely dose the spacecraft would face--then doubled their calculations just to be safe. To protect Junos computers against the radioactive elements, Lockheed built a one-meter cubic vault made out of titanium half an inch thick and put all the spacecrafts electronics inside it, where the radiation dose would be more than 1000 times smaller than it would be outside the box.

Still, Lockheed wasnt able to perfectly simulate the conditions Juno would face in its on-the-ground testing. We know that radiation can affect computers--it can make them work badly or it can make them fail, Rudolph says. We had designed this computer to be shielded, but you never really know until you get there and see it work.

Besides the atmospheric challenges, the mission had severe cost constraints, Rudolph says. The budget for the project was a relatively lean $1.1 billion. By comparison, NASAs first and only other mission to Jupiter, the Galileo, had cost about $1.5 billion--and that was in the 1990s.

Finally, Lockheed and NASA received the confirmation it was waiting for, in the form of a tone (a specific musical note), signaling that Juno had completed its 35-minute engine burn, slowing it down enough to get captured by Jupiters gravity and put it into orbit, just as Rudolphs team had planned (even the length of the engine firing was within one second of Lockheeds forecast--off by much less than 1%, which still would have been acceptable, Rudolph says). Everything worked way better than expected, he says. That's when we all breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the ceiling and wiped the sweat off our brow and then we were happy.

NASA, too, was pleased with the way Lockheed had executed. At that moment, all that went through my mind was, Wow this thing was perfect. These engineers are amazing!' Scott Bolton, the Juno missions principal investigator, said at a press conference afterwards.

Next, Lockheed will need to send new instructions to Juno for another engine burn maneuver that will slow it down from its current orbit of 53.5 days around Jupiter to just 14 days, where NASA scientists will be able to collect the data they need on Jupiter. Why didnt Lockheed just slow Juno down to its final orbit speed the first time around? It had never done a test run to see if the spacecrafts engine could fire continuously for as long as would be required to bring it down to speed. We couldn't be absolutely, utterly positive that the engine would work that long, Rudolph says.

On the other hand, they were positive that it could fire in two shifts of 35 minutes or less. We never want to do anything that hasn't been proven before, he says.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
(Updates with Citi signature in paragraph six)

By David Milliken and Lawrence White

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Five U.S. investment banks promised British finance minister George Osborne on Thursday that they would try to help London keep its top spot as a financial centre, but gave no commitment on jobs following Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

One banker at the meeting with Osborne told Reuters the banks wanted to see concrete moves to ensure firms based in London would retain access to EU markets, however, because "no one in their right mind" would currently invest in Britain."

Since the June 23 referendum there have been fears of an exodus from the City of London if access to the EU's single market becomes significantly harder. Banks like JPMorgan have said they could move thousands of jobs.

On Thursday JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as Britain's Asia-focused Standard Chartered said they would try to support London's financial sector.

"Today we met and agreed that we would work together ... with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre," the banks said in a joint statement with Osborne.

Citi, which had been unable to attend the meeting, signed the statement later on Thursday.

The statement said no other city in Europe had capital markets as deep as those of London, but the banks made no commitment about keeping jobs in Britain.

Banks at the meeting sought immediate reassurance over the fate of EU staff currently working in London, and urged a pragmatic approach to quickly ensure Britain retained access to the EU single market.

But any permanent trade deal is likely to be years away, given the normal length such agreements take and the political vacuum as Britain's ruling Conservatives picks a new leader.

The French government pledged on Wednesday to make its tax regime for expatriates the most favourable in Europe in a land grab for London banking business.

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Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have denied speculation they were poised to shift London-based staff and operations to Frankfurt.

Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan Chase, said before the referendum that the bank could have to move up to 4,000 staff from the UK in the event of a Brexit vote.

Osborne, who was senior figure in the failed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, has spent years trying to expand London's role as a global hub for trade in China's renminbi and India's rupee, as well as Islamic finance.

On Wednesday the Lord Mayor of the City of London, the district in the capital that is home to many large banks, said the government needed to ensure EU exit talks preserved financial services firms' "passporting" rights that allow them to use London as a base for EU-wide activities.

Osborne has said Britain needs to ensure a heavy emphasis on trade ties, including financial services, in EU exit talks.

On Tuesday, he met British domestic banks, whose share prices have tumbled since the Brexit vote, and encouraged them to make more funds available for UK lending after the Bank of England eased capital rules.

(Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill, editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Toby Chopra)
Baltimore (AFP) - The most senior Baltimore policeman charged in the death of Freddie Gray went on trial Thursday in a case that sparked riots last year and fueled a national debate over how US police treat young black men.

The proceedings opened as the country is reeling from two new cases of young black men dying at the hands of police.

Officer Brian Rice, 42, is the fourth Baltimore policeman to go on trial in the death of Gray.

Three other trials ended in one hung jury and two acquittals, raising questions of whether anyone will ever be punished for Gray's death, which police say was an accident.

Gray, 25, was arrested April 12, 2015 after fleeing at the sight of police, and suffered a broken spine while being transported in the back of a Baltimore police van, unsecured and with his hands and feet bound. He died a week later.

Rice is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Two other police officers will also be tried for Gray's death. Of a total of six officers charged in the case, three are white and three are black.

The latest trial comes as two more deaths of black men at the hands of police this week have riveted America, in Louisiana on Tuesday and Minnesota on Wednesday.

In the Minnesota case, a black driver shot as he sat his car is seen bleeding out, on footage livestreamed by his girlfriend, who was in the vehicle with him. The Louisiana shooting was also caught on video.
Fox CEO Roger Ailes slammed former Fox News host Gretchen Carlsons sexual harassment lawsuit on Wednesday, July 6, calling the claims retaliatory and false.

Gretchen Carlsons allegations are false, he said in a statement to Us Weekly. This is a retaliatory suit for the networks decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit.

PHOTOS: Stars at Court

Ironically, Fox News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book, Ailes continued. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.



Earlier in the day, Carlson, 50, filed a suit in the Superior Court of New Jersey, alleging that Ailes, 76, had long made inappropriate sexually charged comments toward her throughout the duration of her career, and had even made sexual advances toward her, which she rejected.

PHOTOS: Stars Who Survived Abuse

According to the lawsuit, obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the chairman and CEO once allegedly told the political commentator, I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better during a September meeting.



Carlson also alleged in the filings that Ailes sabotaged her career when she complained to him about the hostile working environment as a cohost of Fox and Friends. Her show The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson was moved to the 2 p.m. time slot shortly afterward.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Mugshots

The former Miss America was fired from her position at Fox News on June 23 after 11 years. In the time since the suit was filed, a number of women have contacted Carlsons attorneys with stories of their own experiences.



We have gotten emails from former Fox employees who said they experienced the same kind of harassment from Roger Ailes, Nancy Erika Smith, an employment litigator for Smith Mullin, P.C., tells Us. We havent had the chance to contact anybody. Its been a very hectic day. But we have gotten emails from women who had similar experiences who may be willing to speak out.




Paris (AFP) - Prosecutors on Thursday sought a two-year suspended prison term and a nine-million-euro ($9.96-million) fine for tax fraud against 91-year-old Serge Dassault, one of France's leading industrialists and wealthiest citizens.

They also want Dassault -- who is also a conservative member of the Senate -- declared ineligible to serve as a senator for five years.

Dassault, the head of aviation and software giant Dassault Group, is accused of stashing millions of euros in tax havens from Liechtenstein to the British Virgin Islands.

The prosecution slammed Dassault for not appearing in court for the trial, which started Monday.

"There is his law and the law of others," said prosecutor Ulrika Delaunay-Weiss, accusing the tycoon of "flouting and trampling on republican values."

Dassault is France's third wealthiest person, with a net worth estimated by Forbes magazine of $14.8 billion (13.3 billion euros).

Prosecutors say his foreign accounts contained 31 million euros in 2006, and 12 million euros in 2014.

"We don't know what became of this 19-million euro difference," said lead judge Olivier Geron.

The only evidence brought by Dassault's lawyers were letters indicating the money had been inherited.

The court heard that the money may have been placed in the accounts in the 1950s by his father Marcel Dassault who was afraid of "reliving the war" during which he had been imprisoned and deported for refusing to collaborate with Germany's aviation industry.

Marcel Dassault -- who changed his original surname Bloch to Dassault which means "on the attack" in French -- developed a propeller used by French pilots in World War I and went on to create fighter jets and form Dassault Aviation.

His son Serge has had a more controversial career.

If the court follows prosecutors' suggestions it will be the second time a court strips him of a political position.

In 2009 his re-election as the mayor of the town of Corbeil-Essonnes in the Paris suburbs was annulled over allegations he bought the votes of poor families of immigrant backgrounds.

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Dassault was mayor of the town from 1995 to 2009 and an investigation is still under way into the accusations.

He was charged in April 2014 with vote-buying, complicity in illegal election campaign financing and exceeding campaign spending limits.

In May a court heard the money had fuelled violence, threats and extortion in the small town.

A close ally of Dassault, Younes Bounouara, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted murder in May for shooting a man who filmed Dassault admitting he had given money to Bounouara to be distributed.

The French satirical weekly Canard Enchaine reported that Bounouara had been given 1.7 million euros by Dassault, but had not shared it out within the community as he had promised, stoking anger.
Paris (AFP) - Prosecutors have called for telecommunications giant France Telecom, now renamed Orange, and its former executives to face trial over a wave of employee suicides, a source close to the investigation said Thursday.

After a probe lasting seven years, prosecutors have asked an investigating judge to bring harassment charges against the company and its former chief executive Didier Lombard, the source told AFP.

Prosecutors want similar charges to be brought against the company's former number two, Louis-Pierre Wenes and its former human resources chief, Olivier Barberot.

Another four executives could be tried for complicity in the harassment, according to the prosecution requests dated June 22.

The investigation focused on 39 employees as "victims" -- 19 who took their own lives, 12 who attempted suicide and eight who suffered from deep depression or who were forced to stop work as a result.

The company was privatised in 2004, leading to major restructuring and job losses.

Between 2006 and 2008, it wanted to shed 22,000 jobs and retrain 10,000 employees for different jobs as it adapted to new technologies.

The deaths triggered questions about the way employees were managed, whether they were bullied and how the company dealt with stress.

Prosecutors say the company and the chief executive introduced a policy of unsettling employees in order to induce them to quit.

- 'Great satisfaction' -

Unions and management accept that 35 France Telecom employees took their own lives between 2008 and 2009 and Lombard stepped down as a result of the deaths.

A lawyer for civil parties and the SUD-PTT trade union, Jean-Paul Teissonniere, said the prosecutors' move gave him "great satisfaction even... without mention of involuntary homicide or reckless endangerment".

Another union, the CFE-CGC, demanded the company be charged with involuntary homicide, saying: "A deliberate disregard has been clearly demonstrated that threatened the lives of personnel for the sole goal of cutting jobs in order to increase profits."

Story continues

However, an Orange spokesman said the request for a trial was "a normal stage in the procedure (that) does not assume how the judge will decide."

- 'It could happen again' -

A family member of a 51-year-old technician who killed himself in May 2008 after being transferred to the sales team told investigators: "He was afraid he wouldn't make it... He wasn't sleeping... It's the work that killed him."

Lombard inflamed the situation with remarks that came off as extremely callous, admitting he had committed "an enormous gaffe" when he spoke of a "fashion for suicide".

The remark was seen as a final straw, and he resigned in March 2010.

Four years earlier, Lombard had said "I'll get them (employees) out one way or another, through the window or the door."

Lombard's lawyer Jean Veil objected that his client's "tactless language provided an opportunity to base a (possible) trial on harassment that rests on no serious elements."

Psychiatrist Patrick Legeron said "what happened was not due to a particular individual. The entire management was stuck in an infernal pattern of having to get people to leave and rewarded managers who succeeded in doing so."

France Telecom failed to "take the human factor into account," he told AFP.

He said that in contrast to Scandinavian countries which "understood that big changes in the world of work would have an impact on individuals, in France it took tragedies for awareness to catch on."

Legeron, recalling suicides at the Renault and Peugeot auto giants in the early 2000s, said "people were ashamed to talk about it."

But he said he feared French businesses were still more concerned about avoiding legal consequences than looking after their employees' welfare.

"It could happen again, of course," Legeron warned.
PARIS (Reuters) - French biotech firm Valneva said on Thursday it has produced a possible vaccine against the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Valneva said its facility in Lyon, central France, had succeeded in generating a "highly purified inactivated vaccine candidate" using the same platform as the company's Japanese encephalitis vaccine which is marketed in the United States and Europe. No other details were immediately available. France's Sanofi is the only major drugmaker working on a vaccine against Zika, which has been linked to birth defects and neurological disorders, although more than a dozen smaller biotech firms and other groups are also active in the field. Valneva said in the statement that subject to regulatory approval, it could be in a position to conduct clinical investigations in the coming months. Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus, which has caused a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Richard Lough and Alexandra Hudson)
Warsaw (AFP) - After the latest deadly shooting of a black American by police, President Barack Obama on Thursday said US police departments needed to move more quickly to reform.

Obama offered condolences to the family of the black motorist, who was killed by a Minnesota cop, and insisted the country had seen "tragedies like this too many times".

Citing a litany of evidence to show that non-white Americans are more likely to be pulled over, searched or shot by police, Obama appealed to white Americans not to see this as a fringe issue.

"This is not just a black issue. It's not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we should all care about," Obama said in a hastily arranged statement on arrival in Warsaw for a NATO summit.

"All fair minded people should be concerned."

"It's incumbent on all of us to say we can do better than this. We are better than this."

Obama said a series of reforms recommended by the White House last year should be implemented across the country.

"If anything good comes out of these tragedies, my hope is that communities around the country take a look and say, 'how can we implement these recommendations'."

"There's some jurisdictions out there that have adopted these recommendations. There are a whole bunch that have not."

America's debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, has been fuelled by a spate of high-profile cases that have occurred across the country.
HOOPER  Two years ago, Stacey Smith looked out of her window in rural Hooper and saw a thin teal-blue strip along the horizon that looked a little like the beam from a Star Wars light saber.

A powerful storm followed, shattering the stained glass windows on one side of St. Pauls Lutheran Church north of here on June 3, 2014.

When you see that color, its never going to be good, she said.

Tuesday night, Smith saw that same teal strip.

This could be catastrophic, she wrote when she posted a photo on her Facebook page.

Before the night was over, a storm carrying 60 mph-plus winds toppled the 85-foot-steeple on the stately white church built in 1902 and tore down tree limbs throughout the area.

Smith and her family live in the parsonage and heard a loud crash when the storm hit about 9:30 p.m.

From her porch, she said, she saw a glint of silver in the parking lot.

I was really sad, because I thought the cross blew off the steeple, she said. I walked out into the parking lot and saw that the whole steeple had fallen. I was just sick.

Smith called the Rev. Judy Johnson, and Johnson called the church council.

There wasnt anything any of us could do, Smith said, but then some kids who came out started to sing a song theyd learned in Sunday school.

It goes like this: The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is the people.

By 9 Wednesday morning, more than 30 church members and area residents were clearing away what was left of the steeple, and the whirring of chainsaws and rumbling of heavy equipment filled the air.

Before the storm, people could see the steeple from hilltops two or three miles away, said Molly Brockemeier, who grew up in the church and is still a member.

Were grateful that it came completely straight forward  directly east, she said. It didnt land on the church. The rest of the church is fine. No internal damage.

Two bells in the steeple are fine, said church council member Todd Meyer, adding that no decision has been made about rebuilding.

But surely, well do something. Its just a matter of the height, the size and the overall scope.

In the meantime, congregants of the 200-member church continued to work.

Clean up went well!" Smith wrote in an updated Facebook post. "St. Pauls has the best workers!
On a recent visit to Mitilini, Greece, Game of Thrones stars Maisie Williams, Lena Headey and Liam Cunningham met with Syrian refugees to bring awareness to the current crisis.



Through their trip with the International Rescue Committee, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding refugees, they visited with some of the more than 60 million people who are currently displaced, marking the greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II.



"In 10 minutes of getting to a camp, I had tears in my eyes," Cunningham tells PEOPLE. "It just struck me how unfair the whole situation is, that it's out of these people's control."



"These beautiful people that were there were wonderful families and some of them are broken families," he explains. "When they were getting on these boats to come across, there wasn't room and dad had to go on one  the wife and the children and had to go on another  and they're finding it very difficult to even find each other.









Game of Thrones Cast Members Recount the Life-Changing Stories from Their Visit with Syrian Refugees in Greece| A Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, People Picks, Real People Stories, TV News, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Maisie Williams

Headey met with one woman  a mother of three young daughters  who has not seen her husband for over a year and a half and now is hospitalized with cancer in Germany.



"She said to me, 'I don't know if I'm going to see him before he dies,' " Headey tells PEOPLE. "She said it was all too horrendous. She walked for months with her children and she got them to the dingy that we hear joys about all the time, and at gunpoint she was forced on with her children onto the boat."





Game of Thrones Cast Members Recount the Life-Changing Stories from Their Visit with Syrian Refugees in Greece| A Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, People Picks, Real People Stories, TV News, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Maisie Williams

Feeling the pain of the refugees, Headey says, "It is all very overwhelming and heartbreaking, and it's certainly not going away any time soon."



The cast members met with several men, women and children  including many of who have left their successful lives behind.



"These are brilliant people who have jobs that would've changed the world," Headey says. "Doctors, oncologists, teachers, project managers  and they've lost everything."





Game of Thrones Cast Members Recount the Life-Changing Stories from Their Visit with Syrian Refugees in Greece| A Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, People Picks, Real People Stories, TV News, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Maisie Williams

Williams, 19, the youngest of the cast members to attend, met with many of the children.



"Just to see how these camps are really, really affecting them and knowing that this can be an effect that will stay with them for the rest of their lives," Williams says, "it was just really sad to see this is how their life is now."



When they gave the children gifts, Williams says the children "almost turned into to adults with their fighting and their aggression and their hunger" wanting to have the feeling of owning something.



Williams also met with girls her age, who told her about their lives they left behind and the dreams they have now.



"I sat down with an amazing 12-year-old girl called Heyer who always dreamt of being an actor in Syria after watching film and television series," Williams says. "She was telling all about this Indian television series that she's watched all of apart from the last couple of episodes because she had to leave her home. She didn't know the ending and she doesn't know what happened, and it was just something that warmed my heart."



To cope with the uprooting of her life, the young woman instead began to write her own plays, which she and other girls at the camp acted out for the Game of Thrones stars.



"There was not a single dry eye in the house," Williams says. "All the other Syrian and African kids from all over the middle east around us crying also, and it was like, 'This is their life, this is so real.' "



The entire trip hit a personal level for each of the stars.



Headey says, "I met incredible women in the camp, who could be me. The world feels very unstable and I think we have to remind ourselves that we belong to each other as beings and to stop ignoring it and turning away and being fearful."



For more information or to donate, please go to rescue.org.



 Reporting by MARY GREEN
Garth Brooks is adding "DJ" to his resume. The country music legend is set to curate his own station, the Garth Channel, on SiriusXM.

Garth Brooks Announces New Video Series

The 24/7 satellite and online channel, with music chosen and presented by Brooks, launches September 8th and will feature music spanning his four-decade career, as well as songs from artists who influenced him and current acts he enjoys. He joins such artists as Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Chesney, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and Jimmy Buffett, all of whom have branded stations on SiriusXM.

Brooks, who says his plans for the station are still developing, predicts 50 percent of the content will be his own music, with the remaining 50 percent "stuff that I love. It's going to be everything from Haggard and Jones to Katy Perry and Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Strait," he tells Rolling Stone Country. "I'm also big on songwriters and on undiscovered music too, like [his opening act] Karyn Rochelle."

Catering to his die-hard fans, the Garth Channel will also air live recordings and other rarities from Brooks' vault. "We record every night on this tour, so we'll have our choice," he says, adding that vintage live material, such as his 1996 episode of VH1's Storytellers and appearances on PBS's Austin City Limits are also likely to surface.

Regardless of the content, he wants to create a save haven for his fans. "If you've had the best day, come celebrate with us. If you've had the worst day, come get in that dark place and just know that this is your place to come where love is the first and foremost thing," he says. "It's like [our] concerts: I want to take you for a roller coaster ride. I want you to laugh, I want you to cry, but most of all I want you to know that you're in a world that's kind and loving."

Brooks will have a presence presenting music on the channel as will his wife, Trisha Yearwood so much so that SiriusXM has provided them with the equipment they need to broadcast from their Nashville home with ease. "One of the great things is you get to hire two or three DJs. The first person I went to was Trisha because I thought this would work well for her world, as well," he says. Brooks tapped former Big Machine Label Group promotion exec Mandy McCormack, who has worked with Brooks and Yearwood since 2015, to serve as the Garth Channel's program director.

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Though Brooks stresses he sees the station evolving over time as he grows more familiar with what works, he adds his involvement will also increase after his three-year tour concludes in 2017. "You'll see the shift go over to the station more," he reports. "As the tour winds down, you'll see us start to play a bigger role."

Brooks, who has scrubbed his music from YouTube because he feels the channel doesn't fairly compensate artists and songwriters, is unsure if he'll debut new material on the Garth Channel, "knowing the second you broadcast it, with the re-streaming services that you have, it becomes not special anymore."

That uncertainty extends to premiering a new single on the Garth Channel from one of the two albums Brooks has coming in the fall: a Christmas duets album with Yearwood and a new studio album. "I don't know if we are, but that is one of the great options that you have and it would make nine kinds of sense that you do."

Though several songs are already completed, the recording of the new studio set, which was originally slated to come out last year, has been slowed by studio bassist Mike Chapman's battle with cancer, which he lost in June. "It's an honor to have gone through this with Mike and his family," said Brooks of Chapman, who has played on all of Brooks' albums. "With that said, this album has been pushed back because we're having to re-look at how this thing sounds now that Chapman is no longer part of this process. You just keep going back to tracks you haven't used that have his playing on them; you just so want to preserve his sound. So we're just looking at all our options now. We don't want to rush it, so we're asking the people to be patient."

The albums will be his first since Man Against Machine, which he released through Pearl/RCA Nashville in 2014, his first new studio set since 2001's Scarecrow. His initial deal with RCA Nashville has ended and Brooks says he is "figuring out what we're going to do. . . Right now we're focusing on the music. I'm not sure what label, if any major label, it's going to be on at this point," adding that it will "probably be on our own [label]."

Garth Brooks Sets Yankee Stadium Concert

Brooks only co-wrote three songs for Man Against Machine, admitting that he didn't trust his pen after his long hiatus. For the new album, he will have his hand in almost every song, "which is very odd for me," he says. "Usually it's half and half. This one, I just find my pen in everything we're doing. I know there's one song for sure on the album that I have nothing to do with, but it will be the most Garth thing we've done since [1997's] Sevens."

Before he returns to the studio, Brooks is looking forward to his two Yankee Stadium dates in New York, July 8th and 9th. The concerts, the only stadium stops on his tour, will use elements of the massive stage, including a huge ring that extends into the audience, that he originally constructed for his five sold out 2014 shows at Dublin's Croke Park, which were cancelled after the city would only grant permits for three shows. "That ring was built because the Irish crowds were so large and their venue was so big that to get to people was hard. Now you're sitting in center field in Yankee Stadium and the whole overall warmth and intention of it plays to wherever you're playing, so this is nice," he says. "The ring puts you right in the middle of the people who have given me my career and my life."

Indeed, on a career built on striving for connection, Brooks sees the Garth Channel as one more way to reach out and touch his fans. "The cool thing I've always enjoyed is just talking with the people," he says. "I'm hoping that's the role this station is going to play, too."

It could also serve as a harbinger of bigger things to come, hints Brooks, who has withheld his music from streaming on services such as Apple Music, Spotify or Tidal. "Sirius is the first step we're taking in bringing our music more to the forefront. I think this is a natural progression between here and eventually signing a deal with one of the streaming companies."

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By Joseph Nasr BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court on Thursday convicted two men of sexual assault in a New Year's eve mob attack on women in Cologne which sparked outrage and hardened public opinion against Berlin's decision to allow in more than one million migrants. The District Court of Cologne gave a 20-year-old Iraqi and a 26-year-old Algerian a one-year suspended sentence each in a ruling that came just hours after the parliament in Berlin unanimously toughened sex crime laws. It was the first such conviction from the incidents in Cologne on New Year's Eve, when hundreds of women told police they had been groped, attacked and robbed by mobs of men outside the central train station. Police said the suspects were mainly of North African and Arab appearance. The incidents took place as Germany wrestled with the problem of accommodating more than one million migrants last year, mostly people fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Cologne police chief was forced to resign and women's rights activists launched the "no means no" awareness campaign after the attacks, which prompted a debate about problems arising from trying to integrate the new arrivals. The court said the two men along with a group of 10 to 15 other men separated two victims from one another. It added that the Iraqi was found guilty of kissing one of the victims and licking her on her face against her will. The Algerian prevented a man accompanying the victim from intervening to stop the attack and asked him if he would "abandon the girl for 5,000 euros." He was found guilty of being an accessory to the sexual assault crime. The Iraqi man, who was 20 at the time, was sentenced under juvenile law and was ordered to take part in an integration course and serve 80 hours of community work. In other cases related to the attacks on New Year, offenders were sentenced for theft and other minor crimes. Earlier, the German parliament unanimously approved a new law making any form of non-consensual sexual contact a crime. The new law seeks to reassure a public shaken by the attacks in Cologne and elsewhere, which were largely blamed on migrants. The measures aim to close loopholes that made it difficult to punish offenders if proof that they had used violence against their victims was lacking or when victims did not resist. Under the new rules, all forms of non-consensual sexual contact will be punishable, regardless of the circumstances. All 601 lawmakers participating in the debate voted in favor of the new measures. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police have arrested a man suspected of being a member of Islamic State and of feeding information to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who planned last year's Paris attacks, federal prosecutors said on Thursday. The 20-year old Algerian identified only as Bilal C., is believed to have been tasked by Abaaoud to check border controls, waiting times and entry and exit points along the 'Balkan route' last year at the height of the migrant crisis. Bilal C. is suspected of being trained by IS at the end of 2014 and the first half of last year after traveling to Syria from Algeria via Turkey. From June to August 2015, he is thought to have traveled to Syria to Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and Austria where he informed Abaaoud about open borders before entering Germany. Abaaoud planned several IS attacks in Europe including the bombing and shooting rampage in Paris that killed 130 people in November. He was shot dead in a gunbattle with French police soon after that attack. Bilal C. was also thought to be in touch with Ayoub el Khazzani, who shot at passengers on a Thalys fast train between Amsterdam and Paris last August, said prosecutors. There were no leads suggesting the suspect had been actively working for IS since his arrival in Germany, prosecutors said. They said the suspect had already been arrested for a previous incident but they declined to give any details. Many Germans were worried about any increased security risk from Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision last year to open the borders to migrants trying to reach western Europe via the 'Balkan route'. (Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Berlin (AFP) - German prosecutors said Thursday they had arrested an alleged Algerian Islamic State group militant who had had contact with the late ringleader of the November Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

The suspect, identified only as 20-year-old Bilal C., is accused of having informed Abaaoud of ways to smuggle jihadists into Western Europe along the Balkans route then used by a mass influx of migrants.

He had also been in touch with Moroccan jihadist Ayoub El Khazzani, who opened fire with an assault rifle on an Amsterdam-Paris train last August but was overpowered by a group of Americans and a Briton, prosecutors said.

Bilal C. was already in custody "on another matter" when the German domestic intelligence service identified him as an IS suspect, said federal prosecutors in a statement. An investigating judge had issued a new arrest warrant.

The man allegedly travelled in 2014 from Algeria via Turkey to Syria where in December he joined the IS and received combat and weapons training.

In June 2015, Abaaoud allegedly instructed him "to explore the so-called Balkans route in terms of border controls and trafficking opportunities".

"As a result, the accused travelled from June to August 2015 from Syria via Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Hungary to Austria" before reaching Germany, the prosecutors said.

Along the way he had informed Abaaoud of "any open border crossings, waiting times, and arrival and departure routes," the statement said.

Several members of the IS group that carried out the November 13 Paris attacks are suspected of having posed as refugees.

Abaaoud, a Belgian-Moroccan, was killed in November 2015 in a French police raid, aged 28.

Bilal C. had also kept Khazzani up to date on trafficking opportunities, "particularly from Turkey to Greece", the statement said.

Prosecutors said they had no evidence Bilal C. had been active on behalf of the IS since arriving in Germany.
Berlin (AFP) - The German parliament passed a landmark "no means no" rape law Thursday, broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport migrants and refugees who commit them.

After years of anguished discussion on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the German criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a spate of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne.

Deputies gave a standing ovation as the law passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority, following an emotional debate.

Dubbed the "no means no" law, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back. It brings what critics call woefully lax legislation into line with that of many other developed countries.

The law, entitled "improving the protection of sexual self-determination", also lowers the bar for deporting sex offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that there were "unacceptable gaps in protection" against sexual coercion and assault in Germany.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet signed off on the measures in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year's Eve. These were blamed largely on Arab and North African men.

The draft law was toughened again by the ruling left-right coalition last month.

- Outrage over Cologne mobs -

Cologne's police chief conceded earlier this year that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants.

A first attempt at prosecution in May was thrown out by a court when the alleged victim said she could not identify the defendant as her attacker.

A second trial stemming from the Cologne violence on Thursday saw a 21-year-old Iraqi man given a one-year suspended sentence for kissing and licking the face of a woman against her will.

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A 26-year-old Tunisian defendant received the same sentence for accessory to sexual assault and attempted sexual assault for another attack in the crowd.

Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must demonstrate not only that they verbally declined sex but also that they resisted their assailant.

The new law, which is set to come into effect in September after passage by the upper house, is intended to cover "the actual situations in which most attacks occur", Maas said.

These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence -- for example in an abusive relationship -- or is unconscious.

"Other countries implemented this principle of 'no means no' long ago and it is high time that we have this paradigm shift in our own criminal law," lawmaker Carola Reimann of the Social Democrats told the Bundestag.

Parliament had already in January made it easier to expel migrants and refugees convicted of crimes.

But along with sexual offences, it required proof of additional "violence, threats or physical endangerment" and generally a prison sentence of at least one year before an attacker could be deported.

The reform means any sex crime conviction can be used against an applicant in an immigration or asylum hearing.

It also specifically upgrades groping to a sex crime with sentences of up to two years' jail or a fine.

Merkel's conservative parliamentary group included a stipulation making it illegal to be part of a group committing assaults in a crowd.

The leftist opposition withheld its support for that plank of the legislation on constitutional grounds, saying it opened the door to prosecution of innocent bystanders.

Its abstentions meant that while the "no means no" plank passed with a unanimous 601 votes, the other two planks carried only with large majorities.

News agency DPA cited figures that 8,000 rapes are reported in Germany each year but that only one in 10 victims files charges. Moreover, only one in 10 rape complaints leads to a conviction.

The latest reform drive began in 2011 with the passage of a Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women, requiring signatories to penalise all non-consensual sexual acts.

"Rape cannot be limited to just physical assault," Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said, adding that Germany's law should encourage more countries to sign the convention.
Tokyo (AFP) - A bunch of grapes in Japan sold for $10,900 Thursday, a record price for the variety in the fruit-obsessed nation where the produce can be a huge status symbol.

Seasonal fruit offerings in Japan routinely attract massive sums from buyers seeking social prestige, or from shop owners wanting to attract customers to "ooh and ahh" over the high-flying edibles.

The buyer of Thursday's bunch of about 30 Ruby Romans -- who paid about $360 per grape -- showed no wrath, promising to dole out samples to a few fortunate patrons.

"These are truly Ruby Roman gems," bidder Takamaru Konishi from western Japan told media.

"We will display them at our store before giving our customers a sample taste," he said.

Even to the untrained eye, the super-sweet grapes -- about as large as a ping pong ball -- stand above their more affordable cousins readily available in supermarkets elsewhere in the world.

The 1.1 million-yen sale kicks off the auction season for Ruby Romans in Japan. Other fruits, from apples to watermelons, can also fetch jaw-dropping sums under the hammer.

Fruit is comparatively expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost as much as $3.

The king of fruits in the country is the melon, which serves as a status symbol akin to a vintage wine, and is given as a high-ranking gift. A single pair of melons fetched $12,400 at an auction last year.
Get your thinking caps on, Gilmore Girls fans, this is one mystery you're going to want to solve!

British actress Alex Kingston is the latest star to join Netflix's anticipated revival series, which she revealed over the July 4th holiday weekend at a Miami fan convention.

"I also got to play a role in the reboot of the Gilmore Girls," Kingston, 53, told the shocked audience. "I play a very eccentric character in a couple of those episodes."

PICS: Behind the Scenes of Netflix's 'Gilmore Girls' Revival

Not only is Kingston appearing in the new Gilmore Girls episodes, but she'll be appearing in several. This seriously is the best news.

Though Kingston doesn't divulge much about her mysterious character, the news itself caused many fans to hyperventilate -- and understandably so. She's Doctor Who's River Song, after all!

Alex Kingston talking about Gilmore Girls (via Once Upon A Twilight on Facebook) Pt: 1. pic.twitter.com/RAFMnjiIiQ  GilmoreGirls Updates (@GilmoreGUpdates) July 2, 2016

RELATED: Rory Gilmore Meets Michelle Obama and Basically Makes Our Day

Kingston did share some tidbits, however, that may serve as useful clues.

For one thing, she didn't film her scenes in Stars Hollow, which is located on the Warner Bros. lot in Los Angeles, but rather "on location." Then, she let it slip that her scenes may have been with Alexis Bledel, who plays Rory Gilmore.

Alex Kingston talking about Gilmore Girls (via Once Upon A Twilight on Facebook) Pt: 2. pic.twitter.com/dMQRV0queY  GilmoreGirls Updates (@GilmoreGUpdates) July 2, 2016

"It was so funny for them to reboot it again, but Alexis -- oops, I really shouldn't say that -- she's all grown up! It's amazing!" Kingston said. "She's got a baby and I remember when she was so young."

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Hmmm, the possibilities are endless!

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For Gina Rodriguezs latest role, the Jane the Virgin star is stepping in front of the camera to get personal. Partnering with Clinique for the brands new global campaign, Difference Maker, the 31-year-old actress is opening up about the challenges she faced growing up in hopes of helping others  and inspiring them to create positive change in their communities.

Ive known that I wanted to help create change with my art, since I was like 17 or 18 and went to NYU, she shared. Now I am 31 years old. I have been working at this for a very long time, so when Clinique came to me with this campaign, I legitimately was in tears thinking about all the efforts that I made leading up to this point. To be a part of a movement because of your heart, because of your ambition, its an honor.

In a heartfelt video, Rodriguez explains that in the gang-infested Chicago area where she was raised, the belief was this is it, this is it. This is the neighborhood I grew up in, this is the neighborhood I am gonna die in. As a result of that, kids got caught up in a cycle of cant and wont.

RELATED PHOTOS: They Woke Up Like This: Celebs Best Makeup-Free Selfies

But thanks to her parents, who make an appearance in emotional clip, Rodriguez says unlike others, she had the unfair advantage of knowing that education is the key to success and now she wants to share that knowledge with others.

It pains me because I feel really lucky and thank God I had giants around me to stop that view of life, otherwise my life wouldnt look as beautiful as it is today. I dont want to be the only one living that though. What do you do? You go back, and you change it. I go and I talk to high school students, grammar school students, I go to universities and talk. We need people to say, listen, I know what youre going through, I know what you went through. I went through it too, and it sucks. Education is the only way to get out. Its about confidence and self-worth. You can, and you will.

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Gina

Rodriguezs goal, to turn education into empowerment is the her lifes purpose, she told PeopleStyle exclusively. I think the sexiest part of a woman is her brain. There is so much power in having education. Beauty will fade, they can take away your money, you can get fired from a job, but your education is whats going to help you succeed.

And she feels strongly that you dont have to be a TV star, or even have a huge number of followers on social media to make a lasting positive impact. All of us are capable of being difference makers. All of us have that power. Its the small stuff that makes the great amount of change. Our voices are so powerful, and I think thats something we can start giving to our youth.

Behind

Rodriguez is one of six inspirational women Clinique is teaming with to make a change around the world. The participants are also supporting charities as part of the brands philanthropic platform, The Clinique Difference Initiative, which supports education and healthcare for women. Additionally its inciting conversation by using the hashtag #DifferenceMaker on social media.

Said Cliniques Global Brand President Jane Lauder in a statement: With this campaign, we aim to inspire confidence, and empower women to believe that they too, can make a difference.

For more on Ginas empowering partnership, pick up this weeks issue of PEOPLE, on stands everywhere Friday!

Will you join the Difference Maker conversation? Share below!

 Jackie Fields
Director Keiichi Haras award-winning anime Miss Hokusai has been acquired by GKIDS and will be coming to North America in limited release beginning October 14 in New York and Los Angeles. An expanded release to other cities in North America will follow. Based on the historical manga series Sarusuberi, written and illustrated by Hinako Sugiura, the episodic story is set during Japans Edo period (which lasted from 1603-1968) and focuses on O-Ei, daughter of the legendary Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai whose work helped define the style of the countrys artistic output. Living under the shadow of her famous, domineering father, O-Ei comes of age as a young woman, struggling with her identity as an artist and her emerging sexuality, while searching for the sublime through art.

From anime powerhouse Production I.G, Miss Hokusai comes to American audiences following tremendous critical acclaim internationally, winning the Jury Prize at Italys Annecy Film Festival, top jury and audience awards at Montreals Fantasia Film Festival, Best Animated Feature at Spains Sitges Film Festival, and Best Animated Feature at the Asia Pacifica Screen Awards.

GKIDS is the distributor of feature animation aimed at adult and family audiences and since 2008 has handled eight eventual Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations. Among its films are The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, and Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016. The next film on the GKIDS slate, Phantom Boy from the Oscar-nominated writers and directors of A Cat In Paris hits theaters later in July, and in 2017 will release of Cartoon Saloons The Breadwinner. GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution Studio Ghiblis anime library.

Related stories

GKIDS Reteams With 'Secret Of Kells' Studio For 'The Breadwinner'

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Gkids' 'April And The Extraordinary World' English Cast Packed With Oscar & Emmy Winners

GKids To Release Studio Ghibli's 1991 Film 'Only Yesterday'; Isabella Kai Rice Joins 'Unforgettable'
bill-george-harvard-prof

Harvard Business School professor and Goldman Sachs board memberBill George is not a fan of Tesla's disclosure practices.

In a tweet sent out Thursday morning, George disagreed with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's contention that disclosing the death of a Tesla driver using the company's auto-pilot feature was "not material" ahead of the company selling $2 billion in stock.

We should note that Goldman Sachs was one of the banks working on the stock sale.

This dust-up over whether the death of a Tesla Model S driver using the vehicle's autopilot feature constituted "material nonpublic information" began on Tuesday when Fortune's Carol Loomis published an article asking whether the incident should have been disclosed ahead of the stock sale.

Musk fired back at Fortune on Tuesday, calling Fortune's article "BS" and saying that the market's reaction to the news means it clearly was not material.

George, who was also formerly the CEO of Medtronic and currently serves on the boards of Exxon Mobil and Novartis, clearly disagrees.

How can Elon Musk possibly justify NOT disclosing deaths from self-driving Tesla autos prior to $2 B stock offering. It is clearly material.  Bill George (@Bill_George) July 7, 2016

In a blog post published Wednesday, Tesla further outlined its complaints with Fortune's report.

Among other things, Tesla argued that the lack of a stock-price reaction to the news of the autopilot death settled the issue around whether this was "material" to shareholders or not.

The post said:

"On the day the news broke about NHTSA's decision to initiate a preliminary evaluation into the incident, Tesla's stock traded up, not down, confirming that not only did our investors know better, but that our own internal assessment of the performance and risk profile of Autopilot were in line with market expectations."

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Some observers, as Business Insider's Bryan Logan reported Wednesday, view the "stock-price move in reaction to disclosure of a fatality" as a bit of a crude measure of what constitutes "material."

Under SEC rules, companies are required to disclose to shareholders any material nonpublic information it passes along to other entities. Reg FD, however, is mostly targeted at information made available to some shareholders, investors, or individuals with an ability to profit off this information before the broader markets knows.

Additionally, Tesla had telegraphed its capital raise, saying on its first quarter earnings call it was likely to need to tap markets for cash in order to fund a ramp-up in vehicle production.

Looking at Tesla's side of the argument, it is clear the company sees an accident involving one of its vehicles as information that did not impact  and would not have impacted  an investors' understanding of the company's business. Seen in this light, information regarding the accident is not material.

But in the view of someone who teaches the corporate leaders of tomorrow about best practices when it comes to disclosure, this was information shareholders should've had much more quickly.

NOW WATCH: These secret codes let you access hidden iPhone features





More From Business Insider


Executives at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) who want to support Republican efforts in this falls elections are telling GOP fundraisers that management at the big investment bank is cautioning them about making direct contributions to the partys presidential candidate, real estate developer Donald Trump, the FOX Business Network has learned.

Rather, these same Goldman executives say they are being prodded by their supervisors that if they want to support the GOP this year, they should give more broadly to Republican party coffers, such as PACs and directly to the Republican National Committee, another indication that Trumps sometimes erratic campaign rhetoric is having a direct impact on his fundraising, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Trump got off to a slow start in fundraising compared to his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, with as of the last filing date, having just $1.2 million in his war chest, compared to $42 million for Clinton after deciding just weeks ago he would no longer self-finance his presidential campaign and rely on outside donors as well.

But his fundraising has picked up steam of late. On Wednesday, the Trump campaign stated it had raised $26 million in June, and $25 million with the Republican National Committee. Clinton meanwhile raised $40.5 million herself and $28 million with the assistance of the Democratic National Committee.

The distinction is important for campaign financing purposes: Most of the money a candidate raises with the party must be used for party building purposes, or in conjunction with party efforts to win congressional and Senate seats, which diminishes its impact for the presidential nominee. Money contributed directly to the candidate or his PAC can be used to mount attack ads or support voter recruitment that directly helps the presidential candidate.

All of which makes Goldmans move a challenge for the Trump campaign since he may not have enough money to directly rebut Clintons attacks or mount direct attacks on his own, fundraisers tell FOX Business.

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Goldman has traditionally been one of Wall Streets biggest pools of campaign cash, while its top executives have often taken key positions in presidential administrations of both parties, earning the firm its moniker, Government Sachs.

In 2008, the firm was one of candidate Barack Obamas top contributors to his successful presidential campaign even as the firm was on the verge of insolvency during the financial crisis. In 2012, following the passage of new regulations by President Obama and a Democratic congress that hampered its business model, Goldman executives contributed heavily to Republican Mitt Romneys unsuccessful run for the White House.

What (Trump fundraisers) are hearing is that management has told Goldman executives who want to give they should do so to the party and not to Trump directly, according to one GOP fundraiser with direct knowledge of the matter.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman said no direct edict from company management has been given to executives regarding the Trump campaign. An RNC spokesman had no comment, and Hope Hicks, the spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, didnt return an email and a telephone call for comment.

Goldmans top two executives, chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and president Gary Cohn are considered among the financial sectors leading Democrats. After Clinton left the Obama White House as his secretary of state in 2013, she earned lucrative speaking fees from the firm and other big Wall Street firms.

But at least so far, Goldman executives are siding with the GOP as opposed to Democrats in its 2016 fundraising, contributing just $160,000 to Clinton directly and $971,000 to the DNC and other Democratic campaigns through the end of May, compared with a little more than $2.3 million going to various Republican races including the presidential contest.

The breakdown in Goldmans GOP support is revealing. Of the $2.3 million, $102,000 went to the Republican National Committee and only $534 has been donated directly to the Trump campaign, and that from a single Goldman executive.

Republican fundraisers who have had direct interactions with Goldman executives cite a number of reasons for Goldman executives shying away from donating directly to Trump that go beyond the GOP presumptive nominees sometimes controversial campaigning, where among other things he attacked the Mexican heritage of a judge presiding over a private litigation involving one of his businesses.

These executives cited Trumps general anti-establishment rhetoric, particularly during his harsh nomination fight; Trump attacked rivals like former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for receiving money from firms like Goldman, which has now made firm executives squeamish about outright support for Trump.

Additionally, some Trump fundraisers say they expect more direct contributions once Trumps nomination is official at the GOP convention in Cleveland in two weeks. A long-shot effort to deny Trump the nomination continues to percolate with some GOP delegates looking to mount an insurrection during the convention.

Ive heard from a lot of people telling me they will write checks once its guaranteed hes the nominee, a major GOP bundler of campaign cash said.

But without more direct support from firms like Goldman, Trump could face difficulties rebutting a planned wave of negative attack ads from Clinton. Trump fundraisers concede modest fundraising goals of around $350 million compared to the estimated $1 billion or more Clinton is likely to raise for the November election.

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American Airlines and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are joining forces to test next-generation automated screening technologies this fall at a number of airports.

The automated lanes are 30% quicker than exiting systems and will be introduced at Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Miami.

"Our foremost priority is the security of the traveling public," said TSA Administrator Peter V. Neffenger. "To ensure that we remain up-to-date in an evolving threat environment, TSA continues to test and deploy state-of-the-art technologies. This collaboration with American Airlines is an important step in enhancing the traveler experience while maintaining effective security."

One of the automated screening lanes set for testing in Phoenix, Arizona, uses computed tomography (CT) technology.

The benefit for travelers being that they won't need to empty a bag of liquids or of their electronic devices before putting it on the conveyor.

"We are proud to be working collaboratively with the TSA to support next generation screening technology at five of our hubs this fall," said American Airlines Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom. "These state-of-the-art lanes, along with new detection technology that will be tested in Phoenix, will enhance security effectiveness and efficiency, while improving the customer experience."
And away we go. Less than 24 hours after the Department of Justice declined to press criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server to transmit classified material, members of Congress said that they would ask the FBI to launch another criminal investigation of Clinton, this time over whether or not she lied to Congress.

FBI Director James Comey, who on Tuesday morning announced that despite finding Top Secret information on Clintons unsecured server his agency would not recommend a criminal prosecution to the Justice Department, testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee Thursday morning to explain his decision.

Related: We Now Know Hillary Clinton Should Have Been Indicted  but That Wont Matter

When the question and answer session began, Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) did his best to get Comey to call Clinton a liar, and had little success until he read back a statement that Clinton made under oath when asked her about her email set-up during a hearing of the House Select Committee on Benghazi.

In the hearing last October, Clinton responded to a question from South Carolina Rep. Jim Jordan by saying, There was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received.

This is now known to be a false statement, and potentially an instance of perjury if it can be shown that at the time Clinton knew that she had sent and received classified information.

Did the FBI investigate her statements under oath on this topic? Chaffetz asked Comey.

Not to my knowledge, the FBI director replied. I dont think theres been a referral from Congress.

Related: Can Anti-Clinton Anger Unify Republicans (Even If Trump Cant?)

Do you need a referral from Congress to investigate her statements under oath?

Sure do.

Youll have one, Chaffetz promised. Youll have one in the next few hours.

Lying to Congress under oath is, theoretically, a serious criminal charge that can carry jail time; it isnt one that is frequently prosecuted. However, it would be a reason to drag Clinton up to Capitol Hill for more embarrassing hearings -- hearings that would probably sound a lot like the one conducted by Chaffetz and his colleagues today.

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He, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and other Republicans repeatedly and effectively hammered Clinton simply by restating the facts of the case. Gowdy was particularly effective by reading back statements the Clinton had made about her use of the private server and then asking Comey if they were true.

Related: Trump Goes Overboard on Clinton Scandal as Clinton Sails On

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said there was nothing marked classified on her emails, either sent or received. Is that true?

Comey: Thats not true, there were a small number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said, I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email, there is no classified material. Was that true?

Comey: There was classified material emailed.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said she used just one device. Was that true?

Comey: She used multiple devices during the four years of her term as secretary of state.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said all work-related emails were returned to the State Department. Was that true?

Related: Get Ready for 4 More Years of GOP Investigations If Clinton Wins

Comey: No, we found work-related emails thousands -- that were not returned.

Though Gowdy, a former prosecutor, was probably the best at it, it wasnt particularly difficult for any of the members of the panel to make Clinton look duplicitous and reckless because, well, the facts are pretty damning.

The important question going forward as far as the nation at large is concerned is what impact this will have on the presidential race. In a different year, with a Republican nominee other than Donald Trump, it seems plausible that this would derail Clintons candidacy, forcing the Democrats to scramble to find a replacement.

Trump, though, is unique -- uniquely frightening, in the view of many -- and that may be enough in the end to persuade voters that, compromised as she is, Clinton is still the better option in November.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Donald Trump

Donald Trump had an intense, testy exchange with Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona  one of his sharpest Republican critics on Capitol Hill  during a closed-door meeting with GOP senators on Thursday in Washington, DC.

The Washington Post reported that when the Arizona Republican stood up and introduced himself, Trump said, "You've been very critical of me."

"Yes, I'm the other senator from Arizona  the one who didn't get captured  and I want to talk to you about statements like that," Flake responded, two Republican officials told the Post.

Flake was referring to Trump's comments from roughly one year ago when he questioned whether Sen. John McCain of Arizona was a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War. Trump said he preferred people who weren't captured.

According to The Post, Flake told the Manhattan billionaire that he wants to be able to support him but is still uncomfortable doing so.

Trump noted he had yet to start attacking Flake and threatened to start. Flake then urged Trump to stop attacking Mexicans, according to the report.

The presumptive Republican nominee predicted Flake would lose his reelection bid, to which Flake shot back that he's not on the ballot until 2018.

Sources told CNN's Manu Raju that Trump also threatened to defeat Flake in an election.

Flake declined to elaborate on the exchange when asked by reporters afterward.

"No, I'll just leave it," he told reporters, adding that "my position remains. I want to support the nominee. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said."

A Flake spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that the Post account was accurate.

Trump also called out Republican Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois and Ben Sasse of Nebraska, according to The Post. Kirk recently unendorsed Trump, while Sasse has been fiercely critical of the real-estate magnate.

Trump characterized Kirk as a loser.

"I guess he lit me up," Kirk later told The Post.

Story continues

Jeff Flake

During a recent interview with Business Insider, Flake said anybody who uttered the protectionist rhetoric on trade that Trump has "is not what I'd call a Republican." He also said it's "quite possible" Trump could lose in his state of Arizona, a GOP stronghold, and that he thinks Republicans should consider confirming Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in October if it looks like Trump is going to lose the election.

"Mr. Trump's problem is not just being dissatisfied with the status quo," he said. "It's that he's gone out and gone after specific groups and organizations. The Mexican judge comments. The Muslim ban, although he seems to be backing off of that. It's just the general statements on too many groups he's going to need to win an election. So I think he's still got to change quite a bit."

He added that "we just don't know" if Trump is capable of change.

"Sometimes he'll walk something back one day and be back with the original policy the next," he said. "So we'll see what holds. He's 70 years old, and it's tough to change. He's made many statements about how he won the primary and why change it. He may, for a time, use more appropriate rhetoric or statements, but I just don't know if that can last. I really don't."

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump defends his praise of Saddam Hussein





More From Business Insider


Mark Kirk

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois said Thursday that he would write in Gen. David Petraeus for president in November instead of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Kirk made the announcement to Steve Cochran on WGN radio Thursday after making the unprecedented move to unendorse Trump last month.

"I share your concerns about Trump every day with people," Cochran said. "And then I look at the alternative choice and I never thought I'd be in a position to even consider voting for Hillary Clinton. And yet here we are with those being our two main choices. I don't know what to say to people when they say every day, 'Well, what are we supposed to do?'

"Cochran, I got a way out for you," Kirk responded. "I'm gonna, I'm gonna write in Petraeus when I vote. And I encourage you too. I want to see Petraeus get a lot of votes so that just shows that there are thinking people out there that are really concerned about the security of the United States. Thinking that someone who has an outstanding potential as commander-in-chief and can be, should be, our new leader. With these two choices that you almost think it's Tweedle-Dee dumb and Tweedle-Dee bad."

Kirk also railed on Clinton for her use of a private email system after FBI Director James Comey announced Tuesday that she was "extremely careless" with sensitive information, although he did not recommend prosecution.

david petraeus

Petraeus, a former CIA director, disclosed classified information to his biographer. Petraeus pleaded guilty in 2015 to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information.

"[Petraeus] not only shared [classified information] with someone who was not allowed to have it, but we found it in a search warrant under the insulation in his attic, and then he lied to us about it in the investigation," Comey said during a Thursday hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Story continues

Kirk, who is battling for his Senate seat with Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, made headlines elsewhere Thursday after he decided against attending a meeting between Trump and Senate Republican leaders.

At the meeting, Trump characterized Kirk as a loser, The Washington Post reported.

"I guess he lit me up," Kirk later told The Post.

Kirk's seat is widely considered by many to be one of the most likely to flip this fall.

Listen to Kirk's radio interview below:

NOW WATCH: These are some of the things Donald Trump has taken credit for





More From Business Insider


Lincolns Super Saver stores collected $4,190.31 in contributions from customers during the recent Great American Milk Drive.

The two-week project sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association encouraged shoppers to donate at checkout to provide milk for children and families in need. Project partner Hiland Dairy will convert the cash into nutritious milk, which will be distributed by the Food Bank of Lincoln. Pat Raybould, president of B&R Stores, says customer support made the Great American Milk Drive a success.

We know that some children are more likely to go without milk during the summer, Raybould said. Our customers came through to help provide area kids with vital nutrition to help them stay healthy during this active time of year.

The Food Bank of Lincoln, a Feeding America Network member, provides support to nearly 21,000 children in Southeast Nebraska every year. According to Feeding America, milk is among the most requested items at food banks, but it is also in short supply because its perishable. The Great American Milk Drive will help fill that gap so more children get the essential nutrients that milk provides, including high-quality protein.
Presumptive Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein explained why she views a student loan bailout as a boost to the U.S. economy.

According to Stein, a student loan bailout would cost far less than what it cost to bail out the banks.

Actually, if you count the quantitative easing for the bankers, that was an additional $4.5 trillion, which is far more than we need for student debt which is $1.3 trillion. Stein told the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo.

Stein believes the student bailout could be achieved tax free, by the Federal Reserve canceling the debt.

No, you dont pay for it  the Federal Reserve basically cancels the debt, it doesnt cost taxpayers one penny.

Stein viewed a student loan bailout as leading to U.S. economic growth.

The reason its good to do it for students is that it actually expands the economy. Its the stimulus package of our dreams to put to work a whole generation of young people thats held hostage in debt, thats working two or three part-time, temporary, low-wage jobs, not doing what their passion is, what their skills are, what theyve been trained to do. 

According to Stein, many young people took on student loan debt with the expectations of a stable, strong job market, but that changed in 2008.

Young people were lured into these loans with the promise there would be jobs, but what happened in 2008, Wall Street crashed the economy, so they basically reneged on their end of the deal. So we have young people who are going to college with the expectation of jobs. But what kind of jobs have been created? Theres no question the jobs that have come back are massively jobs that are low wage, part time and temporary.

Stein also took issue with President Obamas Affordable Care Act and its impact on the American people.

Obamacare was basically a boondoggle for insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies. Stein continued, It was essentially written behind closed doors by the insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry, thats whos making out like bandits here and taxpayers and businesses and everyday people are paying through the teeth.

Related Articles
Gretchen Carlsons attorneys have fired back at Fox News boss Roger Ailes, calling his claims that the former anchor was fired due to poor ratings demonstrably false.

Lawyers Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman said in a statement, Ailes claim that Gretchen Carlson was terminated because of bad ratings is demonstrably false. The publicly available ratings confirm the allegation in the Complaint that at the time of her termination Gretchens total viewership was up 33% year to date and up 23% in the key demographic.

After her firing from Fox and Friends for complaining about discrimination, Gretchen was moved to a challenging time slot and denied support and promotion, the statement continues. Despite this, she succeeded and was the number one cable news show in her time slot in total viewers.

Also Read: Roger Ailes Rips Gretchen Carlson's Sexual Harassment Suit

Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Ailes on Wednesday. The suit, filed in Bergen County, New Jersey, claims the Real Story host refused Ailes sexual advances, and was terminated nine months later as a direct and proximate result.

The lawsuit alleges Ailes once said to Carlson, I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better.

Ailes, however, called the allegations false.

Also Read: Fox News' Megyn Kelly, Howard Kurtz Slam CNN's 'Sad' Corey Lewandowski Hiring

This is a retaliatory suit for the networks decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup, he said in a statement released Wednesday. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.

Story continues

Carlsons team challenged Ailes on Thursday to deny, under oath, that he made the statements attributed to him in the Complaint.

The statement continued: Finally, Ailes does not allow his employees to speak to the press or publish anything without prior approval. Gretchen was chastised for answering a question from a hometown newspaper about her favorite Minnesota State Fair food. In her book Gretchen told her story while trying to keep her job  knowing that Ailes had to approve what she said.

Also Read: Gretchen Carlson's 5 Most Shocking Allegations in Roger Ailes Sexual Harassment Suit

Carlson seeks a trial by jury with respect to all issues that are so triable [sic], according to the suit, adding that the loss of employment has caused significant economic, emotional and professional harm.

She further claims Ailes denied her fair compensation, desirable assignments and other career-enhancing opportunities in retaliation for her complaints of harassment and discrimination.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Gretchen Carlson Is Objectified on 'Fox & Friends' Over and Over Again in This Supercut (Video)

Gretchen Carlson Called Roger Ailes a 'Brilliant' Boss in Her Book

Roger Ailes Rips Gretchen Carlson's Sexual Harassment Suit
On Wednesday, former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson filed suit against CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Now the journalist's lawyers Nancy Erika Smith and Martin S. Hyman are speaking to PEOPLE about what it was that led to her demotion, why she was fired and just how Carlson is doing as she heads into legal battle they say has been "a long time coming."



After Carlson, 50, was demoted from her role as co-host on Fox & Friends in 2013, she was put on a daytime show, The Real Story, which Smith says was a strategic plan to "lower her profile."



"She was not invited to big events, she was not allowed to cover breaking news, she was not assigned to very important political events  they actually took her picture down from Fox News Studios," Smith tells PEOPLE. "The goal was to lower her profile and then fire her."



Adding, "In September 2015, [Ailes] said, 'Have sex with me. You should've done it a long time ago. These problems are easier to solve.' She rebuffed that and nine months later she was fired."







Smith says that Ailes "engaged in sexual innuendo and banter, seeing if she would take the bate," from the very beginning.



"She ignored it and tried not to encourage it and hoped it would end," says Smith. "It never ended. It, in fact, escalated and got worse over time as you can see from the very specific complaints."



According to papers obtained by PEOPLE, Carlson alleges Ailes asked "her to turn around so he could view her posterior," commented on her body and wardrobe and once told her "she was 'sexy,' but 'too much hard work.' "



After news of the suit broke, Carlson took to social media to express her thoughts on the matter.



"I have strived to empower women and girls throughout my entire career," she said in the statement. "Although this was a difficult step to take, I had to stand up for myself and speak out for all women and the next generation of women in the workplace. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments at Fox News and for keeping our loyal viewers engaged and informed on events and news topics of the day."



Ailes, 76, responded on Wednesday: "Gretchen Carlson's allegations are false," he said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.



"This is a retaliatory suit for the network's decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit."



He concluded his statement: "Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously."



Because Smith and Hyman say that Ailes is "known to be very vicious and retaliatory and to smear people who take him on," they admit that this sexual harassment case was a bound to happen.



"It is a long time coming because it's been a pattern of behavior that has escalated and gotten worse over time," Smith explains.



In fact, Smith admits that they have been receiving inquiries from women around the country who claim they have been victims of sexual harassment by Ailes  including former Fox host Judith Regan, who was also fired and allegedly pressured by Ailes to keep certain information from federal investigators, according to the Huffington Post.



"We will probably be subpoenaing Judith Regan about her interaction with Roger Ailes," says Smith. "We have reason to believe that she has some evidence that is relevant. In New Jersey and in New York, other victims of the same harasser are relevant and the jury can hear from them because we allege a pattern of behavior. We will vet and talk to all the other women who have reached out to us to see if they are willing  they seem to be because they're reaching out to us  to testify about how Roger Ailes treated them."



Though Carlson's lawyers admit that she was nervous to pursue the case, they say she is receiving a lot of support."



"It's very, very encouraging because it took a lot of bravery to stand up to Roger Ailes," says Smith.



Later adding, "She hopes that she can continue with her career in journalism. We are hoping that the tide is turning for women in all professions  including media and journalism  and that it won't be like the old days where the woman is the one that has no career when this is over and the man goes on to have a great career."
T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Advisor (PABGX) a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) seeks long-term capital growth. The fund invests a major portion of its net assets in common stocks of large and medium sized blue chip companies that have the potential for above-average growth in earnings and are well established in their respective industries.

This Large Blend fund, as of the last filing, allocates their fund in two major groups; Large Growth and Small Growth. Further, as of the last filing, AMAZON.COM INC, ALPHABET INC and FACEBOOK INC were the top holdings for PABGX.

The T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Advisor fund, managed by T. Rowe Price, carries an expense ratio of 0.99%. Moreover, PABGX requires a minimal initial investment of $2,500.

PABGX has a history of positive total returns for over 10 years. Specifically, the funds returns over the 1, 3, 5 year benchmarks; 1 year 0.03%, 3 year 13.19% and 5 year 12.97%. To see how this fund performed compared in its category and other #1 and #2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.

PABGXs performance, as of the last filing, when compared to funds in its category was in the top 21% in 1 year, top 4% over the past 3 years, and in the 1% over the past 5 years.

About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank

By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Pick the best mutual funds with the Zacks Rank.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>



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By Niki Cheong

For the past few years, my parents and I celebrate the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri by heading over to my sisters place. Both my sisters are Muslims and celebrate Hari Raya, although one is usually away visiting her in-laws.

In the weeks following the first day of Raya, I would have visited the homes of several Muslim friends of mine still going by the Open House tradition, where old friends come together and celebrate the end of the fasting month.

We attend open houses for several reasons  for some, it is the special rendang dish that makes an appearance only once a year while for others, it is an opportunity to catch up with like-minded people who are part of each others lives in these busy times we live in. Then there are those who come to visit the older folk and pay their respects.

For many, it is all of the above.

As a kid, I used to enjoy visiting homes of good friends also for the duit raya (green packets with money), the same way they would come by during Chinese New Year for their ang pows (red packets).

Maybe its because Im older now, and a bit more cynical but it feels like those were also simpler times when we had more time for one another. It was when we still use the term Puasa, whether following the words Hari Raya, Bulan or Buka, and when I didnt have to worry if wearing a cultural dress would cause offense.

I remember rushing into homes of my friends to salam their folks, and await a packet of duit raya. I remember being so close to some of my friends that I ended up helping them host guests  greeting people and serving drinks and food. I remember begging the satay-man uncle to let us have a go at fanning the charcoal.

I remember feeling like it was my celebration too.

These may have been my childhood memories but I know many others who share the same experiences with me. While I now know that the idea of open house is not just one practiced by Malaysia  I know people in Indonesia and Singapore, for example, who organise similar parties  my friends and I grew up believing that it was uniquely ours.

Story continues

Just like how our school years would always be remembered fondly for the Milo van, holiday celebrations in Malaysia will also be known for these parties where good food are served, and friendships solidified  whether it is Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas or other celebrations.

And wherever we may live, especially when it is out of Malaysia, we bring these customs with us. When I lived in London four years ago, my a Muslim-Malaysian friend living there hosted an open house for some his friends, some of whom were like myself, Malaysian. It was a lovely evening sharing a bit of our culture with the others who were not as familiar with the tradition.

While I am currently in Malaysia, I am missing a Raya gathering organised by my other friend in London (originally from Klang) where I would have joined a Sarawakian Malaysian, a half-Scottish Singaporean, a Malaysian Indian and his British wife among others for some lovely Malay dishes  satay, rendang and the like were on the menu!

None of the above are Muslims, and therefore are celebrating Hari Raya not for religious reasons; instead, we celebrate it as part of the shared cultural lives we grew up with.

It really comes as no surprise that my friends of various faiths and backgrounds would come together during festive seasons, even when they now live in a different country they call home. In the Malaysia I grew up in, we celebrated our differences, we offered our cultures and traditions to one another and these all became our shared experiences.

I still hang on to these values now that I am in my late 30s, and happily share it with other people from different cultures beyond our shores as well.

That said, these days, I get the feeling that these are not values that we as citizens of Malaysia, and the world, hold on to. We seemed to be so obsessed with our differences  even within our own communities  that we cant help but put so much negativity out there. I sometimes wonder why people feel the need to put others down. How does spreading hate and vitroil make us feel good about ourselves?

The thing is that this is happening the world over. The past month  like the many before it  has been turbulent. Whether it is overt politicising, natural disasters, acts of terror or people making life difficult for others because of prejudice or judgements  both online and off  we could all do with a reminder to look for how we are similar than how we are different.

In Malaysia in particular, we have the privilege of having so many shared experiences thanks to our many years of exchanging our cultures with one another. Lets not forget that this has shaped our social fabric for decades, and commit to keeping it going for generations to come.

Heres wishing all Muslims in Malaysia, and around the world, Selamat Hari Raya!

Niki Cheong is a PhD researcher in Critical Theory and Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK.


Songwriters Jon Stone and Kristy Osmunson are self-described polar opposites, but as the duo American Young, they're turning oil and water into a magical, genre-defying mixture. To date, their songs have been hits for Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts and Joey + Rory, among others. Stone, who co-produced the duo's self-titled debut album with Lee Brice, is also the writer behind Brice's Number One smash, "A Woman Like You."

See Lee Brice and Jerrod Niemann's Summer Fantasy Video

Out August 5th, the American Young LP begins with a timely, potent message. Opening track "Be Here" is a gauzy ballad that opens with hushed, romantic vocals reminiscent of Sixties French-pop. An invitation to shut out the outside world and live in the now, it's a welcome  and sensuous  reminder, ideal for today's technology-driven world. Listen to the exclusive premiere of "Be Here" below.

"In a time and age where most of our interactions are done looking down at phone screens, this song is a calling to look up," Stone tells Rolling Stone Country. "Turn it off, embrace an experience. The magic in life solely exists in the present moment. Be human. Be here."

The duo are responsible for writing 11 of the 12 tracks on the LP, with "Eighteen," featuring Brice as a special guest vocalist. Other tracks include the lighthearted "Point of View," reminiscent of the John Prine-Iris DeMent duet, "In Spite of Ourselves."



American Young is currently available for pre-order. The duo, who played a string of international shows in the spring, including the Country2Country festival in London, will continue to tour the U.S. and abroad throughout the year.

Related
Your heavy period may actually be caused by a lack of this specific protein

Your heavy period may actually be caused by a lack of this specific protein

Lets just get the obvious out of the way, shall we? Periods are the worst. The cramps, the bloating, the crazy cravings, and what about when your flow is SUPER heavy?!

heavy flow period true blood sookie

If youre one of the ONE THIRD of women whove had the nightmare of experiencing a heavy period even ONCE in your life, you know the struggle is real.

Dr. Jackie Maybin, a clinical lecturer in OBGYN studies at the University of Edinburgh, recently told New Scientist,

Heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the most common reasons for referral to a gynecologist.

Clinically called menorrhagia, heavy bleeding during your period can actually be caused by a number of factors like uterine fibroids, polyps, and medications among many other things. But it turns out about half the time, there is no actual cause found.

new girl gif

However, thanks to a new study by Dr. Maybin, there may be another answer  a protein called HIF1. In her study, small samples of cells were taken from womens uteruses (half of whom were experiencing heavy periods) over the course of a month.

When these samples were studied, it was discovered that the women who had experienced heavy bleeding also had LOWER LEVELS of the HIF1 protein.

But why is that important?

Well, the H1F1 protein plays an important role in helping repair the body when your oxygen levels are low (which is something that happens when youre on your period). The protein is also helpful in repairing the gut.

So, the conclusion in Dr. Maybins study was that when theres less HIF1 protein, your uterus does not repair as fast, and therefore menstrual bleeding tends to be heavier.

brooklyn nine nine gif

Unfortunately, because its such a new discovery, there is no treatment yet for a lack of HIF1. But if youre experiencing severely heavy periods and its becoming a detriment to your quality of life, you should definitely make an appointment with your doctor to figure out the underlying cause.

The post Your heavy period may actually be caused by a lack of this specific protein appeared first on HelloGiggles.
veteran american flag job fair

After the weakest jobs report in six years during May, the June data, due on Friday, are expected to show that the US labor market is not rolling over.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has called it the most important employment report of this year.

Via Bloomberg, here's what Wall Street is expecting:

Nonfarm payrolls: +180,000

Unemployment rate: 4.8%

Average hourly earnings month-on-month: +0.2%

Average hourly earnings year-on-year: +2.7%

Average weekly hours worked: 34.4

May's report showed a gain in nonfarm payrolls by just 38,000.

About 35,000 Verizon workers were on strike during the reference week for the jobs report.

This dragged down the three-month moving average job gains  a better gauge of the underlying employment trend that smooths out month-to-month variation  to its lowest level since July 2012. Even adding back the striking Verizon workers to the count of payrolls left jobs growth during May at a four-year low too.

It's now up to the June jobs data to calm worries about the labor market.

But remember that May was just one month's data, and is subject to revision. Other labor-market indicators like initial jobless claims and the number of job openings are not showing a hiring slowdown.

Also, the ISM non-manufacturing index  a monthly reading on the services sector  showed that employment rebounded in June from contraction in the prior month.

These seemingly conflicting data are why the Federal Reserve agreed that the last report increased its uncertainty about the labor market, but was still divided about the jobs data, as Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Ethan Harris and team said in a note. For example, "some" participants said other labor-market indicators "did not corroborate a material weakening of labor market conditions," but some "others" thought it might hint at "a broader slowdown in growth."

Story continues

Their uncertainty means the data-dependent Fed is likely to hold its fire on raising rates again until at least December, Harris said.

Screen Shot 2016 07 07 at 9.51.19 AM

Economists are betting that wages would rise 0.2% month-on-month, taking the year-over-year gain to 2.7%, the highest of this cycle.

"A rebounding hiring performance, coupled with a pickup in earnings growth, would go a long way towards easing concerns that the US economy had hit a soft patch," said Wells Fargo economists in a note on Wednesday.

It's expected that the unemployment rate would inch up from a cycle low of 4.7% to 4.8%.

The rate fell in May because fewer people actively looked for work  a trend captured by the labor force participation rate, which declined to a year-to-date low of 62.6%.

Its decline has been driven in large part by the number of baby boomers who are retiring, but a higher rate would show more people are being drawn to the workforce.

NOW WATCH: Ace those trick questions in every job interview by following this simple rule





More From Business Insider


MOUNT PLEASANT  The soft opening leading up to Trek Bicycle Store Racines formal opening Wednesday has been an encouraging one for owner John Rodriguez.

Trek Bicycle, 5509 Durand Ave., is in Mount Pleasant Plaza, a strip retail center directly south of Regency Mall.

According to the National Bicycle Dealers Association, Waterloo-based Trek is the top-selling bicycle brand in the United States.

Trek is No. 1 in the U.S., and they have been for quite a few years for a reason, Rodriguez said.

He said Trek caters to almost every type of cyclist: They make (bicycles) for the entry-level rider through the pro-level, pro-caliber rider.

Rodriguez, who said he has worked in the bicycle industry for decades, decided to open a Racine-area bicycle dealership after Perry and Terri Oksiuta retired and closed Racine Cyclery, 4615 Washington Ave., a 59-year-old family business.

Trek had a void (in this area) that they wanted to fill, he said previously. Theres a market here that needs to have good-quality bike shops, and Trek wanted to be part of that.

Trek Bicycle Store Racine is an independent store but will carry mostly Treks, Rodriguez said.

During the few weeks of the stores soft opening, Rodriguez said: The publics been super-supportive. People who arent necessarily buying a bike come in saying, Thank you for opening a business in (the Racine area). 

A soft opening, according to the thestorestarters.com website, is a retail tactic in which a new stores doors open a few weeks early, without the pressure or fanfare of a grand opening.

In that time, Trek Bicycle Store Racine has been getting a good amount of repair work, Rodriguez said.

Assets

Another facet of the business thats working out beautifully is that Wood Road leads directly into a quiet, suburban neighborhood thats ideal for test-riding a bike.

Its a great test area, theres a nice little hill, so people can test within a relatively short little route, Rodriguez said.

The store has about 150 bicycles on hand and will maintain that level year-round, he said.

When Rodriguez was staffing his store of about 4,500 to 5,000 square feet of actual retail space, he said, he was looking for a particular kind of person.

I made it a point to hire people who have really good personalities  not necessarily the bike skills, he said.

Weve got the expertise when we need it, he added.

The store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call the store at 262-770-3294.
Washington (AFP) - The United States was coming to terms on Thursday with the latest controversial police shootings of black men.

Wednesday's shooting in the state of Minnesota of 32-year-old Philando Castile, came as civil rights investigators probed a similar incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old father of five Alton Sterling was shot to death by police.

Here are a selection of recent killings of US black citizens that have caused outrage -- and sometimes violent protests -- across America.

- Mario Woods -

On December 2, 2015, in San Francisco, the 26-year-old is shot by police who say he would not hand over a knife.

The scene is filmed on smartphones. At least six police agents take aim at him while he is huddled against a wall.

- Freddie Gray -

On April 12, 2015 Baltimore police officers arrest Freddie Gray, 25. He is handcuffed and eventually placed on his stomach in a police van, unsecured by a seatbelt.

While in transit, Gray asks for medical help but none is given. The police van is diverted to assist in an unrelated case, at which point Gray is found unresponsive.

Despite this, an ambulance is not called until after the police van reaches a police station and Gray is found to be in cardiac arrest, having suffered serious spinal injuries in the van.

Gray dies on April 19, leading to rioting in Baltimore and protests in other US cities. State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby calls the arrest illegal. Six officers are later charged over the incident. One trial ends in a hung jury, and two others in acquittal. The fourth trial started on Thursday.

- Walter Scott -

On April 4, 2015 in the state of South Carolina, a video shows police officer Michael Slager gunning down a fleeing black man, 50-year-old Walter Scott, after a traffic stop.

The video seems to show Slager in an altercation with Scott. Slager then draws his gun and shoot seven to eight shots in Scott's back as he flees. Slager was charged with murder in June 2015. His trial is due to open on October 31.

Story continues

- Tamir Rice -

On November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio, a video emerges of US police officers shooting dead Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy carrying a replica gun, just seconds after confronting him.

Surveillance video showed Rice was killed within seconds of the patrol car arriving on the scene in a park.

In December 2015, the US authorities announce that the police officers concerned will not be prosecuted.

- Akai Gurley -

On November 20, 2014 an unarmed black man, Akai Gurley, 28, is shot by an Asian-American officer who opens fire in a dimly lit staircase at a Brooklyn, New York apartment block.

On the day of his funeral on December 7, New Yorkers take to the streets to denounce the spate of police killings. The police officer, Peter Liang, is in April 2016 given five years probation.

- Laquan McDonald -

On October 20, 2014 in Chicago a white police officer pumps 16 bullets into the 17-year-old adolescent, who was not showing threatening behavior.

Images of the incident shown in November 2015 during the indictment for premeditated murder of the police officer shock the country, right up to President Barack Obama.

The shockwaves lead to the chief of police in Chicago being fired and a federal probe which embarrasses Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff.

- Michael Brown -

On August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a white police officer shoots dead 18-year-old Brown, unleashing sometimes violent protests.

A subsequent decision not to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, prompts riots in Ferguson and raises tensions from New York to Seattle, with thousands taking to the streets.

In March 2015, the US Justice Department publishes a scathing report into the shooting, condemning Ferguson's city hall, police department and municipal court for targeting the city's African American majority. A black man subsequently takes over as head of Ferguson's police.

- Eric Garner -

On July 17, 2014, African American Eric Garner, 43, dies after being held in a police chokehold while he is being arrested for selling individual cigarettes illegally in New York.

In an amateur video which is viewed around the world, as police wrestle him to the ground, Garner is heard repeating: "I can't breathe."

A coroner declares the death a homicide. But a grand jury opts not to charge the white officer involved, sparking demonstrations in several cities.

- Trayvon Martin -

The 17-year-old unarmed adolescent is killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in 2013 by a jury which found that he had acted in self defence.
Donald Trump visited Washington D.C. today to meet with rank-and-file Republicans in both the House and Senate.

For Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, its one of his last chances before the partys nominating convention to garner more support from the Republican establishment. For many Congress members, its their first chance to witness Trump in person rather than over Twitter. National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden emphasized the importance of the relationship between the presumptive nominee and Congress. That relationship so far has been uneasy at best.

Related: Trump VP Picks Are Heading for the Exits

Today was no different, as a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to have had a remarkably hard time clearing their calendars to meet with Trump. As Politico reports:

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) told reporters he had a longstanding appointment downtown. Another member said he had to be at the doctors office and couldnt make it. A third said he had a breakfast meeting. The member  who asked not to be named  then pulled out his schedule for Thursday morning. When he saw that there wasnt any event on his schedule, the member took out a pen and wrote Breakfast meeting on it. See, I have one! he joked.

And while some Republican who attended were upbeat about what they heard, others at the meeting were less enthused.

"I said before the meeting that Donald Trump has a lot of work to persuade many Americans, including myself, that he is able to lead this great country," Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said, according to the Associated Press. "I still need to be persuaded."

"I like a lot of what he says, but not how he says it," Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina said.

So much for Trump being able to bring the party together.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has released a statement on the death of Alton Sterling, calling for the nation to rebuild their trust with the African-American community in light of yet another officer-related shooting.

Sterling was the 558th person to be killed by the police this year, according to The Guardian. The father of five was stopped by officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II in Baton Rouge, La. Tuesday evening as he sold CDs outside a convenience store. The officers were reportedly responding to a 911 call of a man with a gun when they came into contact with the 37-year-old. Harrowing footage shows the officers holding down Sterling and shooting him six times in his back and chest.

After the Department of Justice announced a civil rights investigation into the shooting, Clinton expressed the need for proper police training and an end to racial profiling. The death of Alton Sterling is a tragedy, and my prayers are with his family, including his five children, she said.

"The death of Alton Sterling is a tragedy, and my prayers are with his family." Hillary pic.twitter.com/Yky4ZxfbLN  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 7, 2016

I am glad the Department of Justice has agreed to a full and thorough review of this shooting. Incidents like this one have undermined the trust between police departments and the communities they serve. We need to rebuild that trust. We need to ensure justice is served. That begins with common sense reforms like ending racial profiling, providing better training on de-escalation and implicit bias, and supporting municipalities that refer the investigation and prosecution of police-involved deaths to independent bodies. All over America, there are police officers demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples.

Citing the hometowns of Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, Clinton mentions how profoundly wrong the relationship is between police officers and civilians. Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesnt consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin. Progress is possible if we stand together and never waver in our fight to secure the future that every American deserves.

Just a few hours after Sterlings death was confirmed, a new 38-second recording surfaced, showing one officer kneeling on Sterlings chest and the other grabbing his legs. Sterlings arms are raised before he was shot to death. Causing more concern was another officer-related shooting in Minnesota that resulted in the death of Philando Castile, whos final moments were seen on Facebook Live on Wednesday (July 7.)
(WASHINGTON)  The Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns are discussing a potential event next week in New Hampshire, during which the Vermont senator would endorse Clintons White House bid.

A Democrat familiar with the plans said Wednesday if the two sides continue to make progress, Clinton and Sanders would appear at the joint event Tuesday in New Hampshire. The Democrat spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the plans.

Clinton and Sanders officials declined comment on the possible rally, which was first reported by NBC News.

Sanders has withheld his endorsement of Clinton since the end of the Democratic primaries in mid-June, pressing for policy commitments from the campaign and party leaders developing the platform that will be considered at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. But he has shown signs of coming around.

The senator praised Clintons announcement of a proposal earlier Wednesday to tackle the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt, calling it a very bold initiative. In a positive sign for Democratic unity, Sanders said he hoped to find more areas of agreement with Clinton sooner rather than later.

Sanders trounced Clinton in the New Hampshire primary, and holding the event in the Granite State would put the two rivals in a fall battleground state where Clinton will compete against Republican Donald Trump. It would also draw comparisons to 2008, when then-Sen. Barack Obama joined Clinton for an endorsement event in Unity, New Hampshire, a symbol-rich town where Obama and Clinton split the vote in the primary.

Sanders was wildly popular with young voters during the Democratic primaries, with many drawn to his calls for free tuition at all public colleges and universities. Clinton cast her opponents proposals as unrealistic, saying that while she shared his concerns about rising debt, she didnt want wealthier families to be able to take advantage of opportunities aimed at the middle and lower classes.

The new policy proposal from Clinton would place a three-month moratorium on loan payments for all federal borrowers. It would also ensure that families with annual incomes up to $125,000 pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities.

Sanders said the plan combined some of the strongest ideas which she fought for during the campaign with some of the principles I fought for. The final product is the result of the work of both campaigns.
By Anshuman Daga

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's HNA Group and a firm backed by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing are among suitors advancing to a second round of bidding for CIT Group's (CIT.N) aircraft leasing assets valued at between $3 billion and $4 billion, people familiar with the situation said.

CIT's commercial air unit is one of the world's top 10 lessors with 331 aircraft - an attractive target particularly for Chinese firms whose enthusiasm for the $228 billion global aircraft leasing market has climbed in tandem with rapid growth in Chinese air travel.

The people said HNA is the leading contender for the U.S. lender's assets. Bohai Capital, HNA's leasing arm, has said it is planning to add 300 to 400 planes to the 500-plus it has on order and in service.

Others advancing to the next round include Ping An Insurance , which has an aircraft leasing arm, and Century Tokyo Leasing (8439.T), which has joint ventures with CIT, the people said, declining to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Li's Accipiter Holdings, is a Dublin-based unit of his flagship company CK Hutchison Holdings and has partnered with U.S.-based Apollo Aviation Group for its bid.

CK Hutchison, a ports-to-telecoms conglomerate, entered the aircraft leasing business in 2014, seeking to diversify its earnings.

"This fits well with their ambition to build a sizeable global leasing business," said one person with knowledge of the group's strategy.

Representatives for HNA Group, Ping An Insurance and Century Tokyo Leasing declined to comment. CK Hutchison and Apollo Aviation did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

A spokesman for CIT noted that in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the company said it was still pursuing a dual track process which would either involve spinning off the business or an outright sale. He declined further comment.

CIT, which has more than 100 customers such as Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), kicked off the sale process earlier this year inviting bids from more than a dozen entities, sources have said.

The second round of bids is due in August, the people said, adding that a meeting with short-listed suitors would be held in New York in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO; Editing by Denny Thomas and Edwina Gibbs)
FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress on Thursday, doubling down on his conclusions in the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server as Secretary of State.

Comey recommended on Tuesday that no criminal charges be brought against Clinton, but he criticized her and her staff for being extremely careless in their handling of classified information. In his testimony before the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee on Thursday, Comey said it was important to distinguish between deliberate and unintentional unlawful behavior.

I see evidence of great carelessness, but I do not see evidence that is sufficient to establish that Secretary Clinton or those with whom she was corresponding both talked about classified information on email and knew when they did it, they were doing something that was against the law, Comey said. No reasonable prosecutor would bring this case. No reasonable prosecutor would bring the second case in a hundred years focused on gross negligence.

Read More: Paul Ryan Asks That Hillary Clinton Not Receive Classified Information as Candidate

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, opened the House hearing by saying he was mystified and confused by the fact-pattern and conclusions of the FBI investigation. Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland told Comey there is absolutely no evidence that you made your recommendation for political reasons and asked him to close the gap by explaining the steps of the investigation.

Republican committee members grilled Comey about Clintons answers throughout the investigation, asking if she had lied to the FBI and accusing Comey of treating Clinton differently than they would someone else.

Its just not accurate, Comey said, refuting claims about bribery and special treatment. We try very hard to apply the same standard whether youre rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all.
chaffetz flint

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee grilled the FBI director on Thursday about his decision to recommend that Hillary Clinton not be charged over her mishandling of classified information.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah, asked FBI Director James Comey point-blank if Clinton lied during the investigation of her emails. He also said Congress would send a referral to the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied under oath about her handling of classified information.

Clinton, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has come under fire for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Comey opened his testimony by explaining why the FBI decided to recommend the Justice Department not prosecute Clinton over the email scandal, despite concluding she was "extremely careless" with classified information.

"There are two things that matter in a criminal investigation of a subject," Comey said. "What did the person do, and when they did that thing, what were they thinking? When you look at the hundred-years-plus of the Justice Department investigation and prosecution of mishandling of classified information, those two questions are obviously present."

Comey continued: "We don't want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldn't do. When I look at the facts we gathered here, I see evidence of great carelessness, but I do not see evidence that is sufficient to establish that Secretary Clinton or those with whom she was corresponding both talked about classified information on email and that when they did it, they knew it was against the law."

Chaffetz then started questioning Comey. He asked if Clinton "did come to possess documents and materials containing classified information via email on unsecured servers."

"That is correct," Comey responded.

Chaffetz then asked: "Did Hillary Clinton lie?"

Story continues

Here's the rest of the exchange:

Comey: "To the FBI? We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI."

Chaffetz: "Did she lie to the public?"

Comey: "That's a question I'm not qualified to answer. I can speak about what she said to the FBI."

Chaffetz: "Did Hillary Clinton lie under oath?"

Comey: "Not to the FBI, not in a case we were working."

Chaffetz: "Did you review the documents where Congressman Jim Jordan asked her specifically, and she said, 'There was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received'?"

Comey: "I don't remember reviewing that particular testimony, I'm aware of that being said, though."

Chaffetz: "Did the FBI investigate her statements under oath on this topic?"

Comey: "Not to my knowledge, I don't think there's been a referral from Congress."

Chaffetz then asked if the FBI needed a referral from Congress to investigate Clinton's statements under oath. Comey responded yes.

"You'll have one," Chaffetz said. "You'll have one in the next few hours."

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced on Wednesday that no charges would be brought against Clinton in this case.

Watch the exchange below:







More From Business Insider


Boeing, the massive U.S. airline manufacturer, wants to get back into Iran. House Republicans appear increasingly reluctant to allow that to happen.

On Thursday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade debated three bills aimed at stopping Boeings sale of passenger jets to Iran. Last month, the Chicago-based airline giant struck a deal to provide Tehran with new passenger planes in an effort to modernize Irans airline industry. This means, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, new American planes could soon fly over the skies of a long-time foe.

The deal, worth up to $25 billion, marks the first major deal between a U.S. company and Iran since sanctions linked to Irans nuclear program were lifted seven months ago. It also lines Boeing up alongside Airbus, a major European competitor, which reached a $27 billion deal with Iran in January to sell Tehran 118 aircraft.

Opposition to the sale  according to a memorandum of agreement between Iran Air and Boeing, 80 aircraft will be sold and a further 29 will be leased  is strong among Republicans. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.), the subcommittees chairman, said at the hearing Thursday, by relaxing the rules, the Obama administration has allowed U.S. companies to be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian regime, in apparent reference to civilian airliners.

Opposition to the transaction wasnt limited to Republicans, despite support for it from the Obama administration. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said that Iran Air still supports Irans Revolutionary Guard and gives aid to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah. Under the terms of the nuclear agreement, Iran Air is allowed to do business with Western companies, but all transactions need to be approved by the U.S. Treasury Department. The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Irans Mahan Air for links to terrorism. Iran Air was once sanctioned, but has been delisted.

We should, at a minimum, not license the sale of aircraft knowing theyre going to go to an airline thats likely to use them to support terrorism, Sherman said. There is no reason to believe that Iran Air is going to change its conduct.

Story continues

One of the bills considered Thursday would forbid the U.S. Treasury from licensing the Boeing deal; Treasury has to sign off on all business agreements with Iran. The second would ban Treasury Secretary Jack Lew from authorizing U.S. financial institutions from making transactions for the export of aircraft. The third would block the Export-Import Bank from financing entities that do business with Iran.

If the final of the three bills becomes law, it could put Boeing in a very tough spot. International banks have been wary of stepping into the regulatory minefield the Treasury Department has created around doing business in Tehran. There are sanctions still in place, like prohibitions on using dollars in trade with the country, that any potential creditor would have to deal with.

In a statement Thursday, the National Iranian American Council accused lawmakers of attempting to undermine the Iran nuclear deal.

It is no secret that opponents of the Iran nuclear accord continue in their attempts to upend U.S. obligations under the agreement, the group said. By attempting to block Boeings pending sale of commercial passenger aircraft to Iran, opponents of the Iran nuclear accord are also seeking to undermine significant U.S. commercial interests and to impose humanitarian suffering on the Iranian people by denying them access to safe air travel.

Photo credit: DAVID RYDER/Getty Images
Taiwan is bracing itself for receiving the full impact of a monster category-5 cyclone expected to hit its eastern shores late Thursday night.

Supertyphoon Nepartak is expected to wreak chaos in the western Pacific basin, which has been eerily quiet with a record drought of no tropical cyclones in the last 200 days. The hiatus has allowed waters to conserve tremendous heat promoting ripe conditions for storm formation. Nepartak recorded maximum gusts of 175 m.p.h. as of Wednesday morning ET.

Taiwanese officials are preparing for the worst and mobilizing thousands of troops although the eastern coast, according to Taiwanese newspaper the China Post. Some flights to the island have already been canceled, the Taipei Times reports.

Anthony Sagliani, a tropical meteorologist at Earth Networks in Maryland, tells TIME that Nepartak was an almost textbook supertyphoon. We as meteorologists have called Nepartak perfect because, really, it is from a visual standpoint, he said.

Cat-5 Super Typhoon Nepartak (knee-PAR-tack) a pure monstrosity. Some of the best outflow channels I've ever seen. pic.twitter.com/HzBM71ITCg  Anthony Sagliani (@anthonywx) July 6, 2016

The typhoon is expected to lose some steam and become a category 4 by Friday before it sets it sights on eastern China, but it nonetheless expected to cause damage on the mainland, where its central and eastern provinces have already been hit by severe weather recently, with flooding exacting a heavy death toll.
Schneider has secretly been a contract killer for years. Yet, when hes called in to assassinate Bax, an alleged child murderer, he somehow manages to turn what should be a quick-and-easy hit, into a logistical nightmare.

His assignment: take out Bax, leave no one to tell the tale, collect the money, and not take any of it personally.

The question: Can he make it home in time for dinner?

Thats the storyline of the quirky comedy/thriller, Schneider vs. Bax, which opens the Summer 2016 Foreign Film Series tonight, July 7, at the University of Wisconsin-Parksides Student Center Cinema, 900 Wood Road, Somers. The Dutch language film, by director Alex van Warmerdam, is the first of three films to be shown in the summer, mini-version of the universitys popular Foreign Film Series, which runs during the academic year.

The rest of the Summer 2016 series will feature About Elly, an Iranian film, July 14-16, and the Icelandic film Rams, July 21-23 (see listing below for more detail). Each film will offer three screening times  7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday nights, and 8 p.m. Saturday  and an admission charge of $5 per film, paid at the door.

Expanding the audience

Whether you attend one or all three, the FFS summer program offers an ideal opportunity to discover what UWPs regular film series has to offer. Like the longer series  which will celebrate its 35th season in 2016-17  Summer 2016 brings internationally acclaimed films to our community, and offers them at a bargain price. The difference is that summer audiences can buy a ticket to a single film in the mini-series, while the longer FFS requires patrons to purchase season tickets to attend the films.

The summer program also offers FFS organizers Norm Cloutier and Don Kummings the chance to expand their audiences horizon a bit more.

Summer is often the time and place where we can do things we cant do during the regular season, said Cloutier, FFS director and UW-P Professor of Economics.

The quirkiness of Schneider vs. Bax, for example, is something audiences are more likely to find in the summer series, Cloutier said. That doesnt mean, though, that every summer film will be outside the regular series realm, he said.

About Elly, for example, is a more classical style film, Cloutier said. It is also a very powerful film by a director (Asghar Farhadi) both he and Kummings highly respect, he said. And, Rams will finish out the series with an oddly comical story of reconciliation between two crusty bachelor brothers/sheep farmers.

Rams is also a good example of how much series organizers value their patrons point of view, Cloutier said, as the film was a write-in suggestion on the FFS annual patron survey. Quite a few people recommended this film, so we looked into it, he said. It does look like it it going to be a fun film.

Other mini-series

Foreign film fans should also mark their calendars for Sept. 8, when the regular FFS will launch its 35th anniversary season with another special mini-series  this one focusing on the work of five contemporary, Italian directors. All five films are ones never before shown at the university, Cloutier said, and they include the work of both well-established and emerging directors (details at www.uwp.edu/therita/foreignfilmseries.cfm).

The Italian Showcase mini-series will run through Sept. 11, and, will include the opportunity to attend a Sept. 10 presentation about the history and art of Italian cinema, by Patrick Rumble, professor of Italian, European studies and visual culture studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Like the summer series, the Italian Showcase offers the opportunity to buy tickets to individual films, but it will include just one screening time for each film. Cloutier said he expects this series to be popular, and therefore recommends people purchase tickets in advance, online at www.uwp.edu.therita/foreignfilmseries.cfm.

Rumbles presentation, and the reception to follow, are free, but a ticket is required. Free program/reception tickets are available to anyone who purchases a ticket to any of the films in the Italian Showcase mini-series.

The FFS 35th anniversary celebration will also include another mini-series, set to follow the regular 2016-17 season, with films yet to be announced, Cloutier said. For more about it and the full upcoming season, look to future issues of the Out & About section.

But first, here are the details of the Summer 2016 Foreign Film Series:

July 7-9: Schneider vs. Bax, directed by Alex van Warmerdam (Netherlands/Belgium, 2015). Winner of the Prix Nouveau Genre at the 2015 Festival Du Cinema De Paris. See above for description.

July 14-16: About Elly, directed by Asghar Farhadi (Iran, 2009). From the Oscar-winning director of A Separation, this gripping mystery is set among a group of old friends who reunite on a holiday retreat by the Caspian Sea. Sepideh brings a newcomer to the group  her daughters kindergarten teacher, Elly  and when an afternoon disaster strikes, Elly suddenly vanishes. Her mysterious disappearance sets in motion a series of deceptions and revelations that threaten to shatter everything the group holds dear. (Winner of Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, and Best Director at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival).

July 21-23: Rams, directed by Grimur Hakonarson (Iceland, 2015). Gummi and Kiddi are brothers and competitive sheep farmers who have lived on the same scrubby patch of farmland their entire lives. They hate each other and havent spoken for 40 years. Their only communication is by written notes, carried by Somi, their trusted sheepdog. It takes the threat of a devastating disease, with the potential of wiping out their herds, for the crusty, bachelor brothers to consider reconciliation.

For more information, go to www.uwp.edu/therita/foreignfilmseries.cfm.
Protesters converged on New Yorks Union Square on Thursday, July 7, to march against police brutality. The protest comes after the second fatal police-involved shooting that caught national attention in as many days.

On Wednesday, Philando Castile was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota, and the aftermath was broadcast live on Facebook. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said Castile would be alive if he was white. Officials have asked federal investigators to review the case.

On Tuesday, Alton Sterling was fatally shot outside a convenience shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Video of the shooting shows Sterling was unarmed and that police had him pinned down before the shooting. Credit: Instagram/Steph Boogie
Bucharest (AFP) - Several hundred people from Romania's Jewish community paid tribute Thursday to the late Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate instrumental in getting his native country to face up to its dark past.

Wiesel, born in northern Romania in 1928 and who survived Auschwitz, died on Saturday in New York at age 87. He had devoted his life to keeping memories of the Nazi genocide of World War II from fading away.

"Elie Wiesel became a symbol of the struggle towards a normal society through what he lived through and what he achieved," Holocaust survivor Liviu Beris told AFP at the event in Bucharest's synagogue.

Wiesel, who settled in the United States after the war, helped challenge the widely held assumption in Romania, following decades of communist rule, that the Germans alone were responsible for the Holocaust.

In 2003 he headed a panel of experts that found that between 280,000 and 380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews, as well as 11,000 Roma, perished on Romanian soil under dictator and Nazi ally Ion Antonescu.

Wiesel himself said that, even though he had "read everything about the Holocaust," he had had little idea of the extent of the massacres in Transdniestr -- a strip of land on what is now the border between Moldova and Ukraine where there were Romanian-run death camps.

Rabbi Andrew Baker from the American Jewish Committee hailed Wiesel's work at Thursday's ceremony, which was also attended by public officials.

"It was not easy for the countries of central and eastern Europe, emerging after half a century of communism, to confront their earlier history of cooperation and collaboration with the Nazis, but Romania seemed even more in denial than most," he said.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to Elie for taking on this assignment and shepherding the work of that international commission," Baker said.
CarWale Team

Hyundai has unveiled an anniversary edition of its Creta SUV at a function in Bengaluru in the presence of badminton star Saina Nehwal and YK Koo, CEO and MD of Hyundai India. Created to celebrate one year of the Cretas existence, it gets cosmetic updates on the outside and inside but remains the same mechanically. Prices for this vehicle will be announced on August 1.

The most noticeable cosmetic change to the car is the blacked-out roof and additional stickers on the outside which includes a 1st anniversary decal on the C-pillar. The cabin gets a red trim but remains the same in terms of features. The first unit of the anniversary edition has been handed over to Saina Nehwal for winning the Australian Open, 2016.

It is based on the SX / SX( O) trim of the five-seater SUV and can be had in both the petrol and diesel engine options. In addition, this special trim is also available with both the automatic and manual gearbox options.

Both the petrol and diesel engines are 1.6-litre four-cylinder units and are offered with a six-speed manual or a six-speed AT. The former produces 122bhp/154Nm while the oil burner produces 126bhp/265Nm.

For more news,reviews,videos and information about cars, visit CarWale.com.

Check On-Road Prices | Find New Cars | Upcoming Cars | Compare Cars | Dealer Locator
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2016 / Iconic Minerals Ltd. (ICM.V) (YQGB.F) (the "Company" or "Iconic") is pleased to announce that it has been granted a Notice of Intent (the "NOI") by the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM") to commence its lithium brine drilling program at the Bonnie Claire Property (the "Property"), located 30 miles (48 km) north of Beatty, Nevada. The NOI grants Iconic the right to drill 6 of the 8 approved drill locations, that were applied for through the BLM. A drilling rig has been scheduled and will be mobilizing to the property.

The initial drilling program will consist of 3 vertical drill holes designed to test potential brine horizons, which have been identified by the Company's MT geophysical surveys (refer to June 19, 2016 News Release ). Drill targets will be spaced an average of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) apart and drilled to depths of 1,200 to 2,000 feet (365-610 m) deep. The brine target thickness to be tested, as defined by MT, ranges from 330 to 980 feet (100-300 m) thick. Lithium assays from the brine sampling should begin being received within 4-6 weeks after initiation of the drilling program. Additional details relating to the drilling program will be released prior to the initiation of the drilling.

The following is a brief summary on the Property:

The Property is a lithium brine target comprising 18,420 acres. It is located within a valley that is over +20 miles (+30 km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide into which streams from an +800 mi2 (2,070 km2) drainage basin empty. The source rocks are quartz-rich volcanics that contain anomalous amounts of lithium. Sampling of salt flats within the basin has found lithium values in salt samples ranging from 50 to 340 ppm. The deeper part of a gravity low within the valley is 12 miles (20 km) long and initial estimates are the depth to bedrock ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 feet (460-610 m) within this low. The current claim block covers the gravity low and associated mud flats that could be used for evaporation ponds if significant lithium brines are discovered in drilling.

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist (#11494) and CEO of Iconic is the Qualified Person who has prepared and reviewed this press release in accordance with NI 43-101 reporting standards.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Kern"

Richard Kern, President and CEO

Contact: (604) 336-8614

For further information on ICM, please visit our website at www.iconicmineralsltd.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com

Forward Statement: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Iconic expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Iconic Minerals Ltd.
By Susan Cornwell and Emily Stephenson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump endured some blunt exchanges when he met Republican members of Congress on Thursday but several lawmakers, including past critics, emerged with encouraging words about their presumptive White House nominee. Republican aides cited good attendance from both houses of Congress at the two closed-door meetings, even though some lawmakers made a point of staying away, citing previous commitments. Trump drew 41 of 54 Republican senators to the U.S. Senate meeting where Trump called out three senators who had been critical of his candidacy, according to Republican aides familiar with the meeting. Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort said the meetings with lawmakers were positive and productive, adding characterizations of discord "attributed to unnamed sources, are wholly inaccurate." "The Members were in total agreement with Mr. Trump of the need to unite the Party and work together to win the Presidency and keep a Republican Congress." Trump also met privately with Senator Ted Cruz, his former rival for the Republican nomination. They did not discuss an endorsement but Trump did ask Cruz to speak at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland the week of July 18 and Cruz accepted, said Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier. 'I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PROUD' At the first session on Thursday, with members of the House of Representatives, Trump shared a hug with House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican who has often criticized Trump even while endorsing him, lawmakers said. They joked a bit about some of their past exchanges during an hour-long session, and Trump took questions. "I'm going to make you proud," Representative Bill Flores quoted Trump as saying. Trump won grassroots support during months of state-by-state nominating contests for the Nov. 8 election with a pledge to ban Muslims temporarily from entering the United States and to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. He has managed to annoy party leaders with inflammatory remarks to this day. Flores, a Texan who heads the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative grouping in Congress, had criticized Trump, including for having questioned a U.S. judge's motives because of his Mexican ethnicity. Flores had said he wanted to see "more vision and less trash talk" from the presumptive nominee. After Thursday's session, Flores said he felt better about Trump. "Based on what I have heard today, I've got the confidence that you are going to see a lot more in terms of visionary messaging," Flores said. "Today was extremely positive," said New York Republican Peter King, another representative who has criticized Trump. "There was not one negative moment." But not everyone was won over. "I need to be persuaded," said Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania who said he would not support either Trump or the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. TENSIONS IN SENATE MEETING Trump's session with Republican senators sounded more turbulent. The Washington Post reported details of a combative exchange between Trump and Senator Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who has expressed concern that Trump's comments on immigration will cause Hispanic voters in the state to reject him. When Flake stood up and introduced himself, Trump told him, "Youve been very critical of me," the Post said. "Yes, Im the other senator from Arizona  the one who didnt get captured  and I want to talk to you about statements like that," Flake responded, referring to Trump's past dismissal of Senator John McCain's record as a prisoner during the Vietnam war. The senator urged Trump to stop attacking Mexicans; Trump predicted that Flake would lose his re-election, at which point Flake informed Trump that Flake was not up for re-election this year. Flake's spokesman Jason Samuels said the Post account was accurate. Trump also turned to Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who has refused to endorse him, and "said something along the lines of 'Surely you don't want Clinton,'" one Republican aide said of the session. Trump said he would win also in Illinois, the home state of a third Republican critic, Senator Mark Kirk, who is in a tight re-election race and recently withdrew his endorsement of Trump. "He's wrong," Kirk told reporters several hours later. "I think Trump is going to get a vote like Alan Keyes got, which is about 28 percent," Kirk said, referring to the Republican who ran unsuccessfully for senator against Barack Obama in Illinois in 2004. On Friday, Trump will make a speech in Miami. His economic policy adviser Steve Moore said the speech is about how the Obama/Hillary economy has hurt minorities and how his plans would help them. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by Kouichi Shirayanagi; Editing by Howard Goller)
Washington (AFP) - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says that Britain's vote to quit the European Union has injected significant uncertainty into the global economy but is nevertheless unlikely to cause a world recession.

But in an exclusive interview with AFP, she also said that Brexit underscores the need for the EU to better explain how it benefits Europeans, amid "disenchantment" with the institution.

And she said that Britain's move to cut corporate taxes to counter the expected economic fallout from Brexit was just a "race to the bottom" that could hurt everyone.

Two weeks after the British referendum on cutting its EU ties, Lagarde, speaking in her Washington offices at the launch of her second five year term as IMF managing director, called the event a "major downside risk" for the world.

We don't think that a global recession is very likely. The immediate effects will be on the UK," with some spillover into the euro area, she said.

Yet the longer the withdrawal process remains unclear, the worse the effects could be.

"The key word about this Brexit affair is uncertainty and the longer the uncertainty, the higher the risk," she said.

"The sooner they can resolve their timeline and the terms of their departure the better for all. It needs to be predictable, as soon as possible."

- Still optimistic -

Lagarde, who as IMF managing director has already endured five years of grinding turmoil in Europe, said she remained positive over the outcome.

"My optimistic approach of life tells me that Brexit could be a catalyst that could push the EU to deepen its economic integration."

Lagarde, 60, presided over possibly one of the most challenging periods for the global crisis lender, dealing with the Fund's largest ever rescue operation, for Greece, and simultaneous bailouts of three other eurozone countries: Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus.

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It made the IMF a central player in saving the euro area itself, a job still incomplete and with plenty of perils ahead.

Even so, Lagarde, who was France's finance minister before moving to the IMF in July 2011, has signed on for another term, embracing the challenges ahead, including proving that the Fund is more attentive to those who suffer from its policies.

She admitted that the bailout of Greece, now in its third rescue program after the first two failed, has made the IMF a "convenient scapegoat" for the ongoing crisis.

The Fund is accused of worsening the country's troubles by insisting on fiscal consolidation -- deep government spending cuts and austerity reforms.

With the Greek economy still contracting this year, she said the Fund has to examine whether or not its demands were overly excessive.

Yet a reassessment would not radically change the IMF's key job, which sees it rescuing governments that have run aground financially but only in exchange for reforms designed to make them stronger in the future.

"In every story, there has to be a bad cop, but I just hope that this bad cop has also a human dimension," she said.

Yet, as the march of globalization takes a toll on the most vulnerable people, the IMF needs to take account of that, she said.

"Globalization has done a lot of good and has lifted a lot of people out of poverty. But equally it has produced some losers."

"The losers have to be helped and the IMF will continue to pay more attention to issues like excessive inequalities, women's empowerment, climate change, and corruption, in order to produce a decent globalization, one that not only increases the overall GDP but that also looks after those who are at risk of losing."

"That's how I want to see the IMF evolve in the next five years."

- EU needs to work harder -

As for Europe, Lagarde had shown dismay before the June 23 referendum over the possibility of Britain breaking away. It just shows that the European Union must work harder to prove itself, she said.

"The EU has to do a lot more to explain what it does, what it means for people, what the cost/benefits are in a much more transparent manner."

"The overall European architecture is complicated and any means to clarify and explain it would be critical."

"At the same time, member states should avoid blaming the EU for everything that goes wrong. I've seen it myself and I might have been guilty of doing it too."

- 'No' to a French political future -

Once seen as a rising star in French politics, Lagarde was asked if she considers returning to the political arena in her home country.

"I hope that where I am today, I am useful to my country as well. Often my friends in France or people I pass on the streets of France tell me they are happy, that they are proud that I am where I am," she said.

"But a strong desire to, so to speak, return to politics? No, certainly not."
RACINE  Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave is one of several county and city leaders working with Segue Inc. to find a viable location for a short-term homeless shelter in Racine.

On Thursday, July 7, Delagrave plans to host a meeting at the Racine County Courthouse, 730 Wisconsin Ave., to talk with stakeholders about the project. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. in the first floor conference room.

I feel my job is to bring people together to try to offer solutions, Delagrave said. I dont have anything specific, but were going to try to go over locations that make sense.

At this stage, its unclear whether the shelter location Segue publicly announced on April 8, a building at 961 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, is a viable option. Aldermen and community members have posed concerns that the building is next door to a bar and across the street from Julian Thomas Elementary School.

Last week, Delagrave said that he didnt believe the concerns from the community were a setback to the project. In April, Segue said the shelter could open by mid-summer 2016.

Delagrave said a few Segue members and community members are planning to attend Thursdays meeting, and while its not an officially posted public meeting, interested members of the community can attend.

Ultimately, its more of a conversation than (a meeting), he said.

Delagrave doesnt know if the group will make a definitive decision on the shelter Thursday, but does hope the conversation moves the project down the right path.

I dont think anything will be solved overnight, but we can discuss solutions and hopefully something will be decided, Delagrave said
Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f133538%2fpronita_kocharekar

An Indian designer is trying to raise awareness about anxiety, through candid and humorous illustrations.

SEE ALSO: This illustrator is raising mental health awareness by drawing conditions as monsters

Pranita Kocharekar's "Is That You?" series comprises of 16 illustrations that capture different situations of anxiety, drawn from her own experiences and those of her friends.

"After speaking to a few friends, I realised that there are many people who suffer from minor and major anxiety," Kocharekar told Mashable. "I also realised that there are simple solutions to minor anxiety such as acknowledging it, meditation and breathing techniques. I knew that stating these facts will not be enough. So I began gathering details of incidents that my friends and I acknowledged and illustrated them."

The Mumbai-based designer also chose to take a light look at an otherwise dark topic, adding humour to the series. "Using a serious approach could make an already anxious person even more anxious," Kocharekar says. "I wanted to keep the mood as light as possible."

However, she was also careful to clarify that the series focused on the emotions rather than symptoms of anxiety, and highlight the importance of consulting a doctor for guidance.

The illustrations were inspired by British illustrator Gemma Corell's drawings on mental illness. Kocharekar first made the illustrations on paper with water colours, and then digitised them to add more details. They were made over a period of one month, with one illustration posted on her Instagram and Facebook accounts daily.

The 24-year-old hopes that her illustrations will help people understand and accept anxiety. "The idea was to let people know that they're not alone, that this is fixable if acknowledged," Kocharekar adds.

Image: PRANITA KOCHAREKAR

Image: PRANITA KOCHAREKAR

Image: PRANITA KOCHAREKAR

Image: PRANITA KOCHAREKAR

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Image: PRANITA KOCHAREKAR

The entire "Is That You?" series can be viewed on Instagram and Facebook.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday kicked off a four-nation tour of Africa, as India scrambles to catch up with its Asian rival China which has a strong presence across the continent,

His first stop was Mozambique where he vowed to be "a trusted friend" after talks with President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo and announced a raft of cooperation agreements.

He will also take in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya over his five-day trip.

"Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need. And what Mozambique requires is available in India," Modi said.

"In Mozambique's march towards economic prosperity, India will walk every step of the way.

"We will be a trusted friend in your development and a reliable partner."

Modi, the first Indian leader to visit Mozambique in 34 years, said the two countries would work together on agriculture, defence, security and healthcare.

He later visited a technological centre that provides training for start-ups.

India has been working to build ties with African nations as it vies for a greater share of the continent's natural resources. Last year, it hosted a summit of Africa's heads of state in New Delhi.

Its economic footprint in Africa is dwarfed by that of China, whose trade with the continent topped $200 billion last year.

India is gaining ground, however, led by private entrepreneurs with a keen interest in the continent's burgeoning energy sector.

But relations between India and the continent have been strained by alleged racism, with African ambassadors recently claiming after the murder of a Congolese teacher that Africans in Delhi live in a "pervading climate of fear".

- Largest diaspora in S.Africa -

Modi's Africa tour will focus on hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food, according to Indian officials.

Later Thursday, Modi will head to South Africa for a two-day state visit, holding talks with President Jacob Zuma on Friday in Pretoria and meeting business leaders.

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India is now South Africa's sixth largest trade partner, with two-way trade reaching $5.3 billion in 2015-16.

South Africa has been vocal on the need to reform the UN Security Council, making it a natural ally in India's long-running campaign to be made a permanent member.

India and Africa are together home to a third of the world's population, but neither India nor any African country has a permanent seat on the council, which is made up of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States.

With 1.3 million people of Indian origin, South Africa also has the largest diaspora population in Africa, a major element of Modi's diplomatic push across the world since taking office two years ago.

On Friday evening, he will address a thousands-strong audience at a stadium in Johannesburg, having hosted similar rallies for the diaspora in cities from New York to London.

While in South Africa, Modi is also expected to honour Mahatma Gandhi's time in the country.

India's independence hero lived in South Africa for 20 years, working as a lawyer and activist campaigning for the rights of Indian people.
NEWS BRIEF

Gretchen Carlsons website has the usual features youd expect from the digital presence of a television anchora brief biography, photos galleries, videos, positive reviews about new memoirs. As of Wednesday, it has something new: a link to download the lawsuit Carlson filed this morning against her former boss, Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News.

Carlson alleges Ailes fired her from the network late last month because she refused his sexual advances, and because she complained to him about sexual harassment in the office. When Carlson met with Ailes to discuss treatment she considered offensive, the complaint alleges, Ailes told her, the lawsuit claims, they should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better, adding that sometimes problems are easier to solve that way.

The eight-page lawsuit, filed with the Superior Court of New Jersey on Wednesday, alleges Ailes cut Carlsons salary, blocked her from certain assignments, and sabotaged her career after she rebuffed his advances. Scroll to the end of this story to read it in full.

Recommended: African Americans Are the Second Amendment's Second-Class Citizens

The complaint alleges Ailes injected innuendo and sexist comments into his conversations with Carlson, which including calling her sexy, ogling Carlson in his office and asking her to turn around so he could view her posterior, commenting that certain outfits enhanced Carlsons figure and urging her to wear them every day, and admonishing her to stop worrying about being treated equally and getting offended so God damn easy about everything.

In September 2009, the complaint says, Carlson told a supervisor that her Fox & Friends co-host, Steve Doocy, had created a hostile work environment by:

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 regularly treating her in a sexist and condescending way, including by putting his hand on her and pulling down her arm to shush her during a live telecast. Doocy engaged in a pattern and practice of severe and pervasive sexual harassment of Carlson, including, but not limited to, mocking her during commercial breaks, shunning her off air, refusing to engage with her on air, belittling her contributions to the show, and generally attempting to put her in her place by refusing to accept and treat her as an intelligent and insightful female journalist rather than a blond female prop.

When Ailes learned about Carlsons complaints, the suit says, the network boss called her a man hater and told her she needed to learn to get along with the boys.

Carlson arrived at Fox News in 2005 from CBS Newss The Saturday Early Show. She joined the networks morning show Fox & Friends a year later. She left in 2013, which the lawsuit claims was retaliation by Ailes, and hosted an eponymous afternoon show until her contract with Fox News ended in Juneanother retaliatory move, according to the suit.

Carlson is seeking monetary compensation for damages to her career and reputation.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
By Sue-Lin Wong

SHACHENG, China (Reuters) - The Chinese government's call to the nation to build an innovation-driven economy from the top down has sparked a rush by local governments to construct new buildings in the name of supporting creativity.

Innovation centres have been popping up around the country and are set to more than double to nearly 5,000 in the next five years, according to internet research firm iiMedia. The only problem for local governments; entrepreneurs are not moving in.

Many centres are in small Chinese cities or towns, not ideal locations for attracting startups. There is no local market for their product, no local ecosystem of suppliers and fellow entrepreneurs and centres generally provide only basic amenities, such as a desk and a telephone. They lack the financial, technical or marketing expertise that many startups need.

Most incubators have occupancy rates of no more than 40 percent, iiMedia says.

The result: like steel mills, theme parks and housing before them, the country now faces a glut of innovation centres as another top-down policy backfires to leave white-elephant projects and a further buildup of debt.

"The risk of a bubble is extremely large," said Shi Jiqiang, a partner at Leilai Management, which runs day-to-day operations at a startup base in the city of Tianjin, near Beijing.

"This is both a test for government and for the managers of startup spaces ... there aren't enough entrepreneurs."

China's Ministry of Industry and IT declined to comment and the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, did not respond to a request for comment.

Beijing argues its development model that worked so well for infrastructure and real estate, powering the country through the global financial crisis, can build successful, high-tech startups.

With slogans such as "mass entrepreneurship" and "internet plus", Beijing has called for innovation centres to be built all over the country, hoping to lay the groundwork for the next Jack Ma - who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba - to emerge.

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It has encouraged college students and even migrant workers to try their hand at starting their own businesses to transform China into a high-tech economy less reliant on basic manufacturing.

Almost 80 percent of the capital for the innovation centres springing up around the country is coming from the government or universities, which are state-backed in China, or a combination of sources, iiMedia said.

"In any sort of market, you want the experts making the decisions, not some technocrat or bureaucrat," said William Bao Bean, investment partner at venture capital fund SOSV, which invests in startups. "You don't tend to see too many successful companies come out of a government-based decision-making process."

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The small town of Shacheng in Huailai county in northern Hebei province answered Beijing's call for innovation by building two 25-storey adjoining towers - one for office space and the other as an innovation centre.

However, the innovation centre, offering desks and a period of free rent and utilities to potential startups, is empty. The floors are littered with rubbish and dust.

Like other towns in China's industrial heartland, Shacheng is feeling the brunt of Beijing's push to reduce massive industrial overcapacity. Glass and cement factories, and coal mines and steel mills have been shut down.

The town offers few signs of the central government's innovation campaign. Chinese characters hanging on a fence in Shacheng's economic zone spell out "mass entrepreneurship" but otherwise local people said they had not seen any promotion of the innovation centre and they felt it was not targetted at them anyhow.

Instead, they assumed it was designed to attract students and entrepreneurs from Beijing, some four-hours away by train.

"I wouldn't consider becoming an entrepreneur. You need money to do that. No, for someone like me, I don't really have many options," said Liu Haiyang, 30, who runs a shop next to the innovation centre, selling bathroom fittings.

Shacheng's local authority and the county economic planner declined to comment.

Residents said they hoped their economic fortunes would improve when a high-speed rail link with Beijing, which will cut travel time to the capital down to half an hour, is completed in 2019.

"The incubator is losing money," said a businessman with strong ties to the local government, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're playing the long game, hoping this push will create companies that pay taxes and add jobs to the local economy."

Elsewhere, some local governments have rebranded empty office space as innovation centres. At the new Yujiapu economic zone in Tianjin near Beijing, the government has designated 5.5 square kilometres for 11 incubators with at least four more on the way. The zone's flagship incubator is only 30 percent occupied, an administrative assistant said.

"All these office buildings have already been built," said Yang Dehong, a local government official. "We might as well use them, help startups reduce their costs," she said.

"And ride the wave of this (innovation) policy," added Pei Lei, another government official.

AGAINST THE ODDS

Venture capitalists say startups gravitate to where successful innovation centres are already up and running, or where they can find the right mix of a local market, talent, expertise and fellow entrepreneurs.

That generally means the big cities, such as Zhuhai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen - the five cities that top the rankings for startups in China.

"The idea that you can predict location or the idea that every geography happens to have this nascent group just waiting to be given capital to go create the next Alibaba, is just not true," said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners, a China-based venture capital firm.

Other more fundamental factors are holding back an entrepreneurial culture in China, startup experts say.

Even in towns with universities, young Chinese are often pressured by their parents to find a job considered more steady, such as in government or with a private company. Starting your own business is seen as too high risk.

The Chinese education system, which largely focuses on rote learning, also crimps the development of creative thinkers, said Bo Yiqun, chief executive of a privately run co-working space in Beijing with 85 percent occupancy.

"Innovation is related to education," Bo said. "If education levels don't rise, we can't expect innovation to catch up that fast."

Even if all those factors were in place, government efforts would have more chance of success if officials teamed up with former entrepreneurs or venture capitalists with money at stake, Chinaccelerator's Bao said.

"Where it's not worked the world over, as well as in China, is where the governments themselves are making the investment decisions," he said.

(This version of the story has been refiled to fix spelling of 'parts' in paragraph 5 to 'parks')

(Additional reporting by Zhang Qi, Elias Glenn, Pete Sweeney, Nathaniel Taplin and the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Neil Fullick.)
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Major investment banks including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan said they would work to help London remain a top centre for international finance, in a joint statement on Thursday with British finance minister George Osborne.

"Britain's decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet," the statement said.

"Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre."

Senior executives from Standard Chartered, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, as well as from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, met Osborne and signed the statement.

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)
Two specks of uranium might determine whether or not the Iran nuclear deal succeeds or fails.

The Obama administration has concluded that uranium particles discovered last year at a secretive Iranian military base likely were tied to the countrys past, covert nuclear weapons program, the Wall Street Journal reported last month. The International Atomic Energy Agency first disclosed the discovery in a footnote to a key report last December.

The IAEA dismissed the matter, saying that the number of particles was too small to prove a connection to illicit activities. The U.S. government, however, has capabilities that may exceed those of the IAEA. As U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said last year, when the White House was pushing for the Iran deal, We have plenty of evidence of exquisite environmental sampling that will reveal traces of nuclear work. If President Barack Obama and his administration  which has repeatedly downplayed the importance of past Iranian nuclear weapons activities  is revealing its suspicions, there is probably something to them.

So why should two mites of uranium matter? There are three reasons.

First, the particles of anthropogenic uranium are prima facie evidence of nuclear material without safeguards in Iran. A larger quantity of uranium left them behind. IAEA verification rests on a complete and correct declaration of all relevant nuclear materials and activities, followed by inspection of those materials and activities by the agency to ensure that they are solely for peaceful purposes. Iran denied rather than disclosed any nuclear activity at Parchin. So the uranium never should have been there. The particles support the IAEAs charge that Iran exploded a device using unenriched uranium to test manufacturing capabilities and weapons design. The agency, however, does not know how much uranium was used, whether or not it was part of a larger undisclosed stock, where it came from, or what has become of it. These are important gaps in the agencys ability to verify Irans compliance, not only with its past obligations, but also with the current deal.

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Second, the dispute over the particles undermines the Obama administrations defense of a 24-day (or more) delay for access to suspect sites. Moniz justified the failure to secure anytime-anywhere inspections with a straw man: There have been various analogies to throwing things down toilets etc. This is not so simple with nuclear materials. He then referenced exquisite sampling capabilities.

In other words, never mind that the Iranians will have weeks to clean up a covert site before inspectors are admitted, because sampling and analysis will catch illicit activity anyway. Yet in the very first test case, in a place where the IAEA concluded that Irans concealment activities seriously undermined the agencys ability to conduct effective verification, we are left with an ambiguous situation, in which Tehran contends that it did nothing wrong, the agency reports that the evidence is inconclusive, and the U.S. government sees weapons activity. For Irans purposes, cleanup does not have to be perfect, only good enough to create uncertainty.

Third, how this issue is resolved will determine how soon Tehran sheds some of the restrictions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Under the deal, Iran will receive sanctions relief from the European Union and the United States, and all United Nations restrictions on ballistic missile or conventional military acquisitions will end after eight years, or when the IAEA reaches the so-called broader conclusion that all Iranian nuclear activities are peaceful and under safeguards. According to Olli Heinonen, the former former IAEA chief of safeguards, Tehran could actually use the broader conclusion to accelerate its nuclear weapons capabilities: It will also stock up on key raw materials like carbon fiber and maraging steel, inventories of which will not be subject to continuous monitoring. Iran will then develop more advanced centrifuges and update its equipment manufacturing and testing capabilities, helping it more easily break out to nuclear-weapon capacity.

What then should be done about the Parchin particles? First, the IAEA should take more samples at the site, and not under the unprecedented procedures during which Iranian officials were permitted to collect the swipes  an inspection selfie. It is unfathomable that the agency would not respond to ambiguity by collecting more data. Second, if the agency, like the U.S. government, concludes that the uranium particles are evidence of past weapons activity, it should attempt to locate and assess the size of any undeclared uranium stocks, and demand access to people, documents, equipment, and sites relevant to the investigation. The IAEA has an absolute obligation and authority to try to find unsafeguarded nuclear material, should the agency have reason to believe that such material exists. Third, until the IAEA is satisfied that Iran has made a complete and correct declaration of all of its nuclear materials and activities, the agency must refrain from reaching the broader conclusion that Tehrans nuclear activities are peaceful.

The U.S. government and the IAEA must not let the issue of the Parchin particles drop. In matters atomic, even minutiae can be critical.

Image credit: DigitalGlobe via Getty Images

Correction: Olli Heinonens last name was originally published incorrectly due to an editing error.
Former Australian leader John Howard Thursday defended his decision to go to war with Iraq alongside the United States and Britain, saying it was justified at the time and there was "no lie".

His comments follow an inquiry into Britain's role in the conflict which found its then prime minister Tony Blair took his country into a badly planned, woefully executed and legally questionable conflict in Iraq in 2003.

Howard, prime minister from 1996 to 2007 and considered with Blair to be George W. Bush's staunchest ally in the US-led invasion, said he regretted the loss of life but stood by his decision.

"I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I don't resile from that because I thought it was the right decision," he told a press conference in Sydney.

Asked whether he should offer an apology to military families, Howard said: "Obviously I am sorry for the wounds or injuries that anybody suffered.

"But if you're saying to me do I apologise for the decision that I took, the core decision? Well, I defend that decision. Of course I defend it.

"I don't retreat from it. I don't believe, based on the information available to me, that it was the wrong decision. I really don't."

The long-awaited British Chilcot report found that Blair's decision to join the invasion was taken before all other options had been exhausted and on the basis of false intelligence.

Launched with the stated goal of wiping out Saddam Hussein's stores of weapons of mass destruction, the war aimed to enshrine a liberal democracy in the Middle East but instead unleashed sectarian violence and endless political disputes.

No weapons of mass destruction were ever found, undermining the basis for the conflict which left thousands of Iraqis and foreign soldiers dead.

Howard said there was intelligence that suggested the weapons existed before the invasion.

"There was no lie. There were errors in intelligence but there was no lie," he said, adding that he respected Chilcot's findings but did not agree with all of them.

Australia contributed about 2,000 troops to the US-led coalition from March 2003. No Australian military personnel were killed in action, although many were wounded and a handful died in accidents.
RACINE  Close, but not quite.

For the second time in as many years, Racine came up just short in applying to a federal anti-poverty program that would have given the area priority for grant dollars.

Racine was named a finalist last month in the federal Promise Zone initiative, which aims to help high-poverty communities improve education, reduce crime and increase economic activity.

The designation would have allowed Racine to get federal funds for a variety of programs, from community-oriented policing programs and business tax credits to education grants, officials have said.

While disappointed, state Rep. Cory Mason believes groundwork has been laid for future grant money to flow to the area. The effort engaged many community agencies involved in putting together an intensive Promise Zone application.

Even going through the process of applying has helped coordinate efforts at a multi-jurisdictional level that will help us better address poverty at the local level, said Mason, D-Racine, who was a main driving force behind the application. It helps you align priorities and resources to a greater extent than you did before, and it forces you to look at the raw data in ways that people perhaps werent before, in terms of where the poverty is most acute.

The proposed Promise Zone area included much of the City of Racine and a portion of Mount Pleasant, south of Racine near the lake. In that designated area, about 40 percent of residents live in poverty, with more than 10,000 people over age 25 without a high school diploma or equivalent.

Racine has also been plagued by a well-documented high unemployment rate, which has slipped to under 6 percent but still remains the highest in the state.

Competitive program

The Promise Zone program is highly competitive. Out of 82 applications from 38 states and Puerto Rico, nine communities received Promise Zone status, according to a HUD news release.

Racines finalist status allows officials to receive technical assistance from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, though Mason said it remains to be seen how that will play out.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who highlighted Racines anti-poverty efforts and supported the application, said she is proud Racine was named a finalist.

I am pleased that HUD has recognized that Racine has a high-quality strategy for improving the community and I have seen that firsthand, Baldwin, D-Wis., said in a statement to The Journal Times. I look forward to continuing my work with Racine to open up opportunities to invest in quality education, workforce readiness and economic development.

The program is an Obama administration initiative, which means its future is unclear after he leaves office in January. Mason hopes the city can apply to a similar program in the future.
Dont attack Iraq: Protesters hold aloft anti-war slogans Dont attack Iraq: Protesters hold aloft anti-war slogans

On February 15, 2003, more than two million protesters took to the streets of London to ask the British government not to invade Iraq.

Streams of protesters from around 250 countries arrived in the capital, along with high-profile speakers like Rev Jesse Jackson, who led chants of give peace a chance, keep peace alive.

Years on, the release of the Chilcot inquiry casts a new light on the mistakes Tony Blairs made in deciding to invade Iraq.

Photographer Valerio Berdini has chosen this exact moment to release a series of black and white photos that show the 2003 event unravelling.



Reflecting on the Chilcot report, Valerio said: Several years and hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths later, history tells where is the truth. The proof was faked, the weapons of mass destruction never existed. The threat of terrorism is now on the rise and Iraq is in a much more difficult situation to Saddams era.

The photos show events on February 15 along with moments captures from several other protests over the following months in 2003.
Dublin (AFP) - The Irish parliament on Thursday rejected proposed legislation to allow abortion in Ireland in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny had instructed his Fine Gael party members to vote against the bill as the state's top legal adviser believed it contravened the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution, which recognises the equal right to life of the unborn and the mother.

"The bill is bad for women and medically inadequate," the prime minister said earlier this week.

Fine Gael deputies were joined by members of Fianna Fail, the other main centre-right party, and the bill was defeated in a vote of 95 to 45.

Speaking ahead of the vote, the bill's proponent Mick Wallace said he wanted to see the proposals tested in the country's Supreme Court.

"It will add urgency to the fact that there's at least four or five women every week in Ireland having to travel out of the country to have a fatal foetal abnormality dealt with," he said.

Abortion is illegal in Ireland unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, and a woman convicted of having an illegal termination faces 14 years imprisonment.

However, women are free to travel abroad for abortions and thousands do so every year, mainly to England.

Defeat for the proposed legislation does not mark an end to the controversy over an issue that has polarised Irish society for generations.

Parliament is due to debate a separate bill seeking a referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment within the next three months.

It will also top the agenda for discussion at a Citizens' Assembly composed of a random sample of the adult population, which the government has pledged to create before the end of the year.

The Eighth Amendment was passed overwhelmingly in 1983, with 67 percent voting in favour and 33 percent against.

However, opinion polls over the last few years have consistently indicated strong support for reform and Ireland is now also coming under increased international pressure over its current stance.

Last month the UN Human Rights Committee found Ireland's abortion laws "cruel, inhuman and degrading".
London (AFP) - A prominent Irish republican will stand trial over the IRA murder of a Belfast mother more than 40 years ago, one of the most notorious incidents in Northern Ireland's "Troubles", a judge ruled Thursday.

Ivor Bell, 79, has been charged with aiding and abetting the 1972 murder of Jean McConville, 37, as well as being a member of the Irish Republican Army paramilitary group.

McConville, a mother of 10, was abducted by the IRA at her Belfast home in December 1972, shot dead and then secretly buried. She was accused of passing information to the British army.

Nobody has ever been convicted for the murder.

In 1999, the IRA admitted her murder and her remains were found on a beach four years later.

Judge Amanda Henderson told the white-haired Bell at a court hearing in Belfast that there was a case to answer, but a trial date has yet to be confirmed.

The case against Bell stems from an interview he allegedly gave to researchers at Boston College in the United States.

They interviewed a number of former paramilitaries about the Troubles on the understanding that transcripts would not be published until after their deaths.

However, a US court ruled in 2013 that the tapes should be handed over to the Northern Irish police.

At a previous hearing, Bell's lawyer Peter Corrigan said that on the tapes, his client "explicitly states that he was not involved with the murder of Jean McConville".

The Troubles, three decades of sectarian bloodshed between Northern Ireland's Protestant and Catholic communities, were largely ended by the 1998 peace accords.

Republicans, from the Irish Catholic community, want Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland to the south.
If you meet a stranger and discover you have a mutual appreciation of the beautiful game, chances are the conversation will move to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pretty quickly.

The Ronaldo vs Messi debate is a global conversation starter.

The Argentinean megastar won his fifth Ballon dOr at the start of 2016 and has generally relished his role as part of Barcelonas feared attacking trident. His Portuguese contemporary, however, scored more goals in 2015-16 and concluded the campaign with a Champions League.

The Ronaldo vs Messi debate is always finely balanced, but the summer of 2016 may be the time when the scales tip towards the Real Madrid star.

Ronaldo finds himself in a major tournament final with the prospect of glory, while Messi has quit the national team after yet another final failure. To top it off, he has found himself in deep trouble with the taxman.

Check out FC Yahoos latest video and give your thoughts on the worlds greatest oneupsmanship battle in the comments.
Issa Rae has set up a hugely successful scholarship fund for Alton Sterlings children

Issa Rae has set up a hugely successful scholarship fund for Alton Sterlings children

In only one day, YouTube star Issa Rae has raised nearly $400,000 for the family of Alton Sterling on a GoFundMe page.

Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, July 6, where he had been selling CDs. He is survived by five children, the New York Times reports, who will be the beneficiaries of Issas online fundraising effort. On Wednesday, the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Altons death.

While many on the internet are sharing outrage and resources from the Black Lives Matter movement, Issa Rae took action by creating a GoFund Me for his children, including 15-year-old Cameron Sterling. As she wrote on her initial fundraising plea for an Alton Family Scholarship Fund:

If you feel helpless, but want to play a small part in easing the burden of #AltonSterlings family, consider donating to this scholarship fund for his 15-year-old son (and his other kids). *ALL* funds raised will go to Alton Sterlings family.

According to Issas updates, an initial goal of $100,000 was hit in six hours and she raised the goal to $200,000. At the time of publication, the Alton Family Scholarship Fund had raised over $365,000.

Issa Rae is the star of The Mis-adventures of Awkward Black Girl and the author of a book by the same name. Shes currently developing a show for HBO called Insecure.

The post Issa Rae has set up a hugely successful scholarship fund for Alton Sterlings children appeared first on HelloGiggles.
By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) - Italian police arrested a man on Thursday suspected of killing a Nigerian refugee in a racist attack that has shocked Italy, further fuelling political debate on the long-running immigration crisis. Emmanuel Chidi Namdi, 36, was attacked on Tuesday in the small, central Italian town of Fermo, after coming to the defense of his wife, Chinyery Emmanuel, who was verbally abused by two Italians, locals said. Emmanuel told police that her husband was knocked unconscious by a man wielding a road-sign pole. "The assailant continued to kick and punch him even when he was lying on the ground," said priest Vinicio Albanesi, who had offered the couple shelter in a nearby center that is home to more than 100 migrants and asylum seekers. Namdi died in hospital on Wednesday. The pair came to Italy last year on a boat from Libya after escaping an attack on their church in Nigeria by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Their child and both their parents died in that assault, friends told Italian media. Police said they had arrested Amedeo Mancini, 38, on suspicion of murder motivated by racism. The suspect's lawyer told AGI news agency that the dynamics of the incident had not yet been established. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi dispatched his interior minister to the town on Thursday to discuss the killing with local authorities. "The government today is in Fermo, alongside father Vinicio and the local institutions in memory of Emmanuel. Against hatred, racism and violence," Renzi said in a tweet. Politicians from all parties condemned the killing, but the leader of the right-wing Northern League party, Matteo Salvini, said the incident showed immigration had to be controlled. "Whoever kills, rapes or assaults another human being has to be punished. Without exception. Regardless of race," he said in a post on Facebook, adding: "It is ever more clear that illegal immigration is out of control ... and will bring no good." Italy has been on the frontline of Europe's immigration crisis. About 170,000 migrants reached Italy by sea in 2014 and 153,800 came in 2015. So far this year, more than 75,000 migrants have arrived, the vast majority of them Africans. Many have moved swiftly on to wealthier countries in northern Europe, but tightening border controls mean increasing numbers are remaining in Italy and are being sent to reception centers around the country. The Roman Catholic Church has looked to provide homes to migrants and father Albanesi told reporters that the arrival of Africans had caused problems in Fermo. "More than hate, I see discomfort," he said. "People see folk of different ethnicities begging, selling goods ... wandering around town. But the problem is also that the migrants have to wait one or even two years to hear if their asylum requests have been accepted." (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Toby Chopra)
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Vatican court on Thursday cleared two Italian journalists charged with publishing leaked documents that claimed the Church was riddled with graft, ruling that the Holy See had no jurisdiction over them. The court found two other defendants, Italian public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui and Spanish priest Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda, guilty. Vallejo received an 18-month sentence and Chaouqui, who has a three-week-old son, was given a 10-month suspended sentence. The fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, an assistant to Vallejo, was found innocent at the end of the eight-month trial that shed light on fierce infighting and mismanagement at the heart of the Vatican administration. The two reporters, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, published books last year that depicted a Vatican plagued by greed and corruption, and where Pope Francis faced stiff resistance from the old guard to his reform agenda. Angered by the books' revelations, Vatican investigators accused Chaouqui, Balda and Maio of leaking confidential documents and said the reporters had tried to reap financial reward from knowingly receiving stolen documents. Media watchdogs accused the Roman Catholic Church of looking to muzzle its opponents and stifle press freedom. (Reporting by Philip Pullella, Editing by Crispian Balmer)
ROME (Reuters) - Islamist militants tortured a group of Italians before killing them during an attack on a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka last week, a legal source said on Wednesday. The bodies of the nine Italians, most of whom worked in the clothing industry, were flown back to Rome on Tuesday. Autopsies showed that many of them had been slashed with knives and had suffered slow deaths. Some had been mutilated, the source said. In all, 20 people died in the Dhaka assault, which started late on Friday night. The victims, mostly foreigners, included Japanese, Indians and Americans as well as the Italians. Islamic State said it was responsible for one of the most brazen attacks in Bangladesh's history, posting pictures of the five men they said took part in the onslaught. Officials said most of the militants had attended prestigious schools or universities in Dhaka and Malaysia. One was the son of a politician. The Holey Artisan restaurant in Dhaka where the attack took place is popular with foreigners, and investigators in Rome are looking into whether Italians were specifically targeted, a judicial source said. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer, editing by Larry King)
Wisconsin Republicans on Thursday turned the FBIs stinging report on Hillary Clintons use of private email into an attack line on Democratic Senate candidate Russ Feingold, calling on the former senator to condemn Clintons actions.

Democrats, including Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney, responded saying Republican Sen. Ron Johnson was politicizing the issue by floating a possible hearing on the FBIs investigation that recommended no charges be filed against Clinton.

Republican Party of Wisconsin executive director Mike Duffey highlighted findings in the FBIs report that contradicted public statements Clinton has made.

Its been 48 hours and he has not condemned Hillary Clinton for lying to the American people, Duffey said. Thats because hes looking out for the Washington elite, and his own political career.

Feingolds campaign didnt provide a response, but referred to his comments to reporters in Milwaukee earlier in the day in which he said he was troubled by her actions.

Mahoney issued a statement Thursday afternoon defending FBI director James Comey, with whom Mahoney has worked with on the National Sheriffs Association.

Its an embarrassment that the senator would use his committee chairmanship to attack Director Comey and others in law enforcement, Mahoney said.

Johnson said at a Rotary Club of Milwaukee event on Wednesday that the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee he heads might look into the FBIs investigation.

Johnson spokesman Brian Reisinger said the senator has never attacked Comey and has the highest regard for him, which is why Comeys comments about Clintons behavior are all the more troubling.

Clearly Sen. Feingold and his allies are nervous enough to begin launching political attacks on an issue the American people take far more seriously than Senator Feingold does, Reisinger said.
By Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan prides itself on having a low tolerance for guns and drugs, but a tiny political party has become the first to adopt an election plank of scrapping a research ban on medical use of marijuana. Proponents say such use could ease cancer-related pain, prevent dementia, and cut soaring medical costs. But the government says its effectiveness has not been proved, and worries about the social harm weaker controls could bring. Japan outlaws owning and growing marijuana, besides the ban on clinical research, despite a trend in advanced countries, such as Canada and the United States, to free up medical use. "Faced with this sharp gap between Japan and the rest of the world, the public are at a loss which to believe," said Saya Takagi of the New Renaissance Party, founded by a former member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party. "We are proposing lifting the ban on research to see what the truth is," Takagi, who is contesting Sunday's election to the upper house of parliament, told Reuters in an interview. "I wish for the earliest possible start of research and the introduction of medical marijuana." The idea of legalizing medical use finds backers among Japan's growing ranks of senior citizens, who make up just over a quarter of the population of 127 million. "Nothing would be better for patients, if it is put to good use," said Kimiko Yajima, a 78-year-old cancer sufferer, while shopping in downtown Tokyo. "It would be great if pain were eased, even temporarily." Abe's wife, Akie, who has a reputation for bucking conservative trends, has also spoken in favor. "I believe it can be greatly utilized for medical purposes," the weekly magazine SPA! quoted her as saying in December. Her aides could not immediately comment on the article, however. Akie also said she had once considered becoming a hemp farmer. That now requires a special permit, in contrast to the plant's former widespread use in fabric and imperial ceremonies. The government says legalizing marijuana for medical use is premature, without scientific proof. "The World Health Organization has not acknowledged there are scientific grounds," said a health ministry official, who declined to be identified, because the topic is a sensitive one. "Given marijuana is already abused, we need to be truly careful." Some medical experts counter that it should be possible to explore medical use under appropriate controls. "We are not saying marijuana should be freed from all restrictions," said Minoru Arakaki, the head of a new academic institution on medical marijuana. "All we are saying is, let's conduct research to see what harm and benefit it can bring, and let's use it if it turns out to be useful."
LONDON (Reuters) - Japan's Eisai said on Friday it would consider all options, including possible legal action, to fight delays in Britain's healthcare system that prevent patients from accessing one of its drugs to treat a rare form of cancer. The move highlights frustration among drugmakers at the way the National Health Service (NHS) restricts access to new drugs, especially ones for cancer that can cost tens of thousands of pounds a year. Eisai's drug Lenvima treats a form of thyroid cancer and was approved by the European Commission in May 2015, but it will not receive a recommendation from Britain's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) until at least April 2017. Lenvima is not included in the government's re-launched Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) and, as a result, it will have to wait its turn to be assessed by the cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE. The CDF was set up to help patients receive cancer drugs not routinely paid for by the NHS. Gary Hendler, chief executive of Eisai EMEA, said the delay was a blow to patients and was particularly galling since the medicine is manufactured at an Eisai factory just north of London. "Eisai may be forced to consider its level of investment in the UK because it is unacceptable that drugs which are manufactured in England cannot be provided to people in England, without delays of many years," he said. Hendler said Britain should introduce a transitional arrangement to allow access to treatments that had been disproportionately delayed by changes in the Cancer Drugs Fund process. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler. Editing by Jane Merriman)
It's been seven years since Jaycee Dugard was freed from the clutches of convicted sex offender Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, who kidnapped Dugard, then 11, on her way to school in 1991.



In 2011, Garrido was sentenced to 431 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and multiple counts of sexual assault. Both he and his wife are up for parole in 2034 or maybe even sooner  a possibility that doesn't sit well with Dugard, now 36.



"I hope the justice system understands who they have in prison and will not let Phillip Garrido out as they did last time he was in prison for rape and kidnapping," Dugard tells PEOPLE. "He was serving life plus 50 [years] and was paroled in 11 years. He then took me captive for the next 18 years of my life. He belongs in prison where he cannot hurt anyone else."



Before he abducted Dugard, Garrido had previously been convicted in the 1976 kidnapping of a casino worker in Reno, Nevada, who said Garrido raped her. He spent about 11 years in federal prison before he was paroled in 1988  just three years before he and his wife snatched Dugard off the street as she was walking from her California home to a school bus stop.









Jaycee Dugard on Phillip Garrido's Eligibility for Parole: 'He Belongs in Prison Where He Cannot Hurt Anyone Else'| Jaycee Dugard Cover, True Crime, Books, Real People Stories, Jaycee Dugard





In her second memoir, Freedom: My Book of Firsts, Dugard writes, "Do I wonder what my life would have been like if Phillip and Nancy Garrido never snatched me? You bet your last dollar I do!"





Jaycee Dugard Tells PEOPLE: 'I've Been Through the Worst Kind of Hell Already  and Survived'





But as she continues to rebuild the life that was taken from her for 18 years, Dugard says, "It feels so good to know that I can face whatever life throws at me, because I've been through the worst kind of hell already  and survived."



Freedom: My Book of Firsts is due out July 12.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan accused former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday of lying under oath regarding her use of private email servers on the same day FBI Director James Comey testified before the House Oversight Committee on the issue.

In an interview with Yahoo News Guest Anchor Paul Beban, Jordan said he felt Comey didnt adequately consider Clintons earlier testimony in his decision to recommend the presumptive Democratic nominee not be prosecuted for conduct related to her use of private email servers for official State Department business.

We want to make sure what needs to be investigated is investigated, Jordan told Beban. She made false statements according to what she told us under oath last October in the Benghazi Select Committee hearing and what Mr. Comey determined in his investigation. I think thats something that needs to be looked at, and then well go from there.

While Comey announced Tuesday that he would recommend Clinton not face charges, he also sharply criticized her for being extremely careless in allowing classified emails to be at risk of being viewed by a third party.

In the hearing, Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, asked Comey whether the FBI had also investigated whether Clinton had committed perjury last year when discussing her email server under oath before the GOP-led House Benghazi committee. Clinton said she did not send or receive emails marked classified, but Comey said three messages on her server were actually marked classified in the body of the email, with the letter C in parentheses. Comey said he wasnt sure whether Clinton knew they were marked classified.

Comey told Chaffetz that he had not received a referral from the committee on the matter. Chaffetz laughed and quickly said he would recommend a review. Legal experts told Yahoo News on Thursday that its unlikely that Clinton would be prosecuted for perjury on the matter.

Jordan, a leader in the conservative House Freedom Caucus who also aggressively questioned Comey on Thursday, further said the lack of prosecution showed average Americans that there is a double standard for politicians who commit crimes.

Story continues

The American people are seeing, frankly, two standards, Jordan said. The perception from a lot of Americans, a lot of the folks I get the privilege of representing in the Fourth District of Ohio, are saying, Wait a minute. It sure looks like there is one standard for we the people, and an entirely different one if youre politically connected, if youre Secretary Clinton.

While Jordan said he didnt question Comeys ultimate conclusion on Clintons conduct, he did note that there were differing opinions on the lack of charges against her. Comey said the decision not to recommend charges in this case was unanimous within his team.

Lots of other prosecutors have been on shows just like this one and have said based on what they see,  they would have taken this to a grand jury, Jordan said.

Jordan also discussed various controversies dogging presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, notably the moguls allegation that the Justice Department was bribed to avoid going after Clinton and his mixed praise for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

While Jordan said he didnt completely agree with Trump on everything, he also reaffirmed his support for the presumptive nominee.

I cant remember the last time I agreed with everything single thing the Republican nominee did or said, he said. But Im going to support our nominee because I know this election is between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, and I think Donald Trump would do us much better as the president of the United States.
John Cho is about to go where no Star Trek character has gone before.

When ET spoke with the actor on the set of Star Trek Beyond, he said we would meet Sulu's heretofore unknown daughter in this installment. Cho also teased "another revelation," but said we would have to "wait and see the movie." Turns out, we don't -- Sulu is gay!

"I liked the approach, which was not to make a big thing out it," Cho told Australia's Herald Sun. "Which is where I hope we are going as a species, to not politicize one's personal orientations."

WATCH: Rihanna's 'Sledgehammer' Music Video Proves She's the Best 'Star Trek' Villain That Never Was

Getty Images

Yes, Sulu will have both a daughter and a husband in Beyond -- a change in canon inspired by George Takei, the original Sulu in the 1960s TV series, who is gay and a vocal advocate for the LGBT community.

It's safe to say fans are pleased:

I JUST SAW THE WORDS SULU'S HUSBAND WITH MY OWN TWO EYES IM GON CRY I LOVE STAR TREK  will // dr who (@gallifreywill) July 7, 2016

im genuinely really happy that sulu is canonically gay. what a time to be alive  kristina (@Kristina_Downs) July 7, 2016

GAY SPACE DAD SULU IS SO GOOD   (@finndameron) July 7, 2016

OMG SULU!!!!!!!!!! george takei is probably so happy right now omg :''''''')  month (@buckycapt) July 7, 2016

Making new Sulu (SulNu?) gay is Star Trek making up for a long running sin of omission and paying tribute to American superhero George Takei  Andy Khouri (@andykhouri) July 7, 2016

Cho previously told ET that Beyond, which hits theaters on July 22, kicks off with the crew of the USS Enterprise feeling "homesick."

Story continues

"Sulu has a heartache for his little baby. [He] had brought his picture to his console, which technically, we've been saying, it's unprofessional. It's in the way of the buttons," Cho explained, adding of his on-screen daughter, "She's a cutie. I got it out of a picture frame from Walgreens."

Star Trek Beyond also marks the 50th anniversary of the franchise. When ET spoke with the cast on the movie's set, we found out how the film will pay homage to the original. Get the scoop in the video below!

Related Articles
Vatican City (AFP) - Two investigative journalists accused of publishing stolen papers which exposed scandal in the Vatican were acquitted Thursday, while a whistle-blowing Spanish prelate was sentenced to jail time in the Vatileaks trial.

The drama of sex, greed and press freedom which had gripped the tiny city state for months peaked with the surprise verdict given by presiding judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre "in the name of his Holiness Pope Francis".

Italians Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, who had published books based on the documents at the heart of the trial, were not considered to have committed a crime on Vatican territory and therefore were outside the judges' territorial authority.

Spanish prelate Lucio Vallejo Balda, who had admitted to leaking secret papers, was handed a 18-month prison sentence while his assistant, who prosecutors admitted had had little to do with the affair, was acquitted.

Italian PR expert Francesca Chaouqui, who had been involved in a review of Vatican finances and is accused of both "inspiring" and being ultimately responsibility for the leaks, was given a 10-month suspended sentence.

Dalla Torre said there was no evidence Chaouqui had stolen documents, though she had played a role in the leaks.

Chaouqui told the media she had been punished for serving as a go-between between Balda and the journalists, but was relieved the pope would now know she was not guilty of whistle blowing, describing her acquittal on that count as "my biggest victory".

Balda and Chaouqui have three days to appeal the verdict.

- 'Tensions, polemics in Vatican' -

The trial "had to be done, to show the Vatican's determination to fight the existence and consequences of the tensions and internal polemics of the Vatican," spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

The leaks, he said, had "negative consequences on public opinion". But fighting them had "not put freedom of the press on trial".

Story continues

Nuzzi told journalists outside the courthouse that it was "a historic day. This is the base of democracy, freedom of the press".

Fittipaldi described the trial as "Kafkaesque" but said in its ruling the Vatican had been "courageous", adding that he had not expected to be acquitted.

"Journalists have to do their job without being afraid of power. Here secrets were revealed that they wanted to cover up, but revealing them is just what we must do," he said.

The scandal, the second to hit the Vatican, rocked the Roman Catholic Church with its leaked accounts of theft and greed, as well as publication of secret recordings of Pope Francis's private conversations.

Among the most striking revelations in the books was that less than 20 percent of donations made by believers around the world under the Peter's Pence scheme ended up being spent on good works.

The rest was swallowed up by the Vatican bureaucracy, reportedly partly helping to subsidise the luxurious lifestyles of certain cardinals.

- Parties and plots -

The trial then ballooned into steamier fare, as Spanish monsignor Vallejo Balda and PR expert Chaouqui turned on each other in the witness box.

Details emerged of alleged sexual affairs, glitzy parties and secret plots in the corridors of power.

The prosecution had called for prison sentences for all, apart from Fittipaldi, saying he should be acquitted for lack of evidence.

Chaouqui, who gave birth three weeks ago, had made an emotional plea to the court earlier Thursday, saying she could not bear spending the first few years of her son's life behind bars.

Vallejo Balda had admitted to leaking the classified papers but said he had done so under pressure from Chaouqui, with whom he claimed to have a "compromising" relationship.

He also claimed he had been blackmailed by a woman he believed to have links to Italian secret services and other contacts in a "dangerous world".

All five were prosecuted under draconian anti-leaks legislation, rushed onto the Vatican statute book in 2013 as a result of the fallout from the first Vatileaks scandal, which centred on secrets divulged by the butler of now-retired pope Benedict XVI.

Butler Paolo Gabriele was sentenced to 18 months jail time in 2012 after stealing documents in a bid to "fight evil and corruption", and was pardoned by Benedict three months later and banished from the Vatican forever.

Extradition lawyer Alessandro Tirelli said finding the journalists guilty would likely have led to the Vatican requesting they be extradited from Italy, sparking "a polemical wave in the country of the sort the pope hopes to avoid".

He said he thought it probable Balda and Chaouqui would be pardoned by Francis and exiled from the tiny state.
Buenos Aires (AFP) - A judge Thursday ordered Argentine ex-president Cristina Kirchner's bank accounts frozen while he probes allegations that she ordered dodgy currency transactions while in government.

It is one in a series of cases against the leftist ex-leader, 63, and her allies, which have erupted since her conservative rival Mauricio Macri replaced her in office in December.

Judge Claudio Bonadio ordered that Kirchner's accounts be frozen to cover a $1.0 million court bond in the case, in a ruling published online.

It said Kirchner had claimed she did not have money to pay the bond but the court had evidence that "she has banking and financial assets in various banks" in Argentina.

Kirchner and her former government are accused of making speculative transactions in September with dollars from the central bank, causing it losses when the peso later fell.

After a court hearing with Bonadio on Wednesday, Kirchner denounced the case as politically motivated "harassment."

Bonadio is an open rival of Kirchner.

She said the transactions were approved by Bonadio and executives who are now members of Macri's administration.

Kirchner also faces corruption charges in a separate proceeding brought by a rival lawmaker.

In yet another case, police last week searched properties belonging to Kirchner over alleged links to money laundering.

Another judge meanwhile is investigating suspected irregularities in Macri's tax returns.

Macri was named in the Panama Papers offshore accounts scandal. He has denied wrongdoing.
From Popular Mechanics

NASA's Juno is already exploring the boundaries of spacecraft tech through its use of solar panels, but that's not all. Juno is the also first planetary spacecraft to use 3D-printed materials.

Built by weapons and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, which regularly uses 3D printing for prototypes and flight-ready parts, Juno was a prime candidate for 3D-printed parts as the technique reduces costs, cuts lead time, and leads to lighter materials being used.

Juno is outfitted with eight 3D-printed waveguide titanium brackets. By using 3D printing, "we were allowed to take half the cost out and half the schedule out for these parts that did go on the Juno spacecraft," says Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. Fellow Slade Gardner. These brackets, according to Lockheed, are "used to attach the waveguide, a rectangular pipe used for conducting radio frequency signals between spacecraft components."

Because these brackets would be traveling further than any 3D-printed item in history-over 1.7 billion miles-Lockheed relied on an Arcam powder bed machine to make the parts out of titanium.

During the process, titanium powder is placed in an argon chamber. Then an electron beam (which is like a laser, except made out of electrons) moves across the bed, making the pattern desired. Eventually, the beam moves downward and a knife's blade pushes more titanium powder over the top surface.

While these brackets are the first instance of 3D-printed objects traveling deep into space, the process is currently under testing for much more sophisticated jobs than just holding some components together. NASA has already tested fire-tested a prototype rocket engine made primarily of 3D-printed parts as well as a 3D-printed turbopump for delivering fuel to such an engine. Of course neither of those have gone into space yet, much less on a trip to Jupiter.

The brackets are reportedly functioning as well the rest of Juno, showing that 3D printing has a chance of becoming a regular part of space travel. Talking about the state of 3D printing in 2014, Gardner declared that "[n]othing is holding us back. It's simply a matter of putting in the time and doing the engineering."

So far, so good.

Source: Engineering
From Harper's BAZAAR

Just Back From...Marfa, TX and White Sands, NM.

Trip Duration: 5 days.

Travel Buddies: Our crew included AYR's founding team. Nothing like a little group bonding! Jac, our Creative Director, CEO Maggie, Brand Manager Loddie, and Max, our VP of PR.

Flight Plan: We flew from New York to Dallas and then spent the afternoon at the Nasher Sculpture Center, which was amazing especially since the inspiration for our upcoming Fall season was kinetic artwork. The Nasher has an incredible collectionBarbara Hepworth, Calder, Noguchi, Giacometti, Serra and more. We had dinner at Mr. Mesero and hit the road early the next morning. We road-tripped to Marfa, where we stayed for a few days before continuing on to White Sands, New Mexico. The road trip was a solid ten-hour day in the car, filled with open Texas skies, Whataburger, and a playlist featuring everything from 90's R&B to old-school American rock. We went low-key when it came to planningrenting cars and sharing a family room at the White Sands Moteland had the best time ever. For traveling, the AYR uniform is key: an oversized button-down over silk tanks, paired with our jeansthey're comfortable enough to sit in a car for ten hours and look polished for a quick photo op when stopping along the way.

Where We Stayed: In Marfa, we stayed at El Cosmico in safari tents. It's like a cozy, Wes Anderson-esque tent camp stuck in the middle of the most beautiful desert. It's wonderfuloutdoor showers! Winnebagos! teepees! We piled onto the bed under Navajo blankets and told ghost stories until we were too scared to go back to our tents in the dark. Desert chic decor that somehow blends in perfectly into its' camp layout brings city vibes straight into the country. It felt so magical waking up to the sunrise and the birds whistling and their shop sells beautifully hand-crafted products and trinkets made by local artists including Jac's "magic hat" which she acquired, and subsequently wore the entire trip.

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Best Thing We Ate: Handmade burrito's at a cute authentic family run spot called Marfa Burrito! We also loved snacking on beef jerky from Lights, a small company in West Texas. They sell it at the Thunderbird, and it was the best roadtrip snackeven better than Combos. We were there during the weekif you go off-peak, be aware that most businesses in town are on permanent siesta during the week, and that most stores/galleries/restaurants are open only the weekends.

Best Hang Out Spot: The Lost Horse Saloon is the spot. Ty, the cowboy who owns it, has a great lookan eyepatch and a handlebar mustache and a beat-up cowboy hat. Apparently we're not the only ones who think so; word is, he has an agent!

Best Daytime Activity: The Judd Foundation and The Chinati Foundation are so special. The Chinati, for the way the sculpture is situated in that very particular landscape, and the Judd for its glimpse of Donald Judd's everyday lifestyle. We reference his library frequently when designingit's an incredible place. Also, it's definitely worth it to take a trip out to see the Prada Marfa. Overhyped, yes. Worth it, yes. It's fun and makes for a great photo-op.

Best Night Out: For dinner, go to Cochineal. It was so delicious, we went back the next night. Everything on the menu was wonderful, especially the desserts. Our team shares a sweet tooth, so we tried them all. Our last night on the campground of El Cosmico, we all piled into one our tents and told ghost stories. It was the perfect setting.

Trip Highlight: A trip to Moonlight gemstones! We spent a small fortune cleaning out his inventory and shipping it all back to NYC. And, our short trip to White Sands, New Mexico it is one of the most mind-blowing places on the planet. It's pure magic. We got up super early and drove in just after sunrise. The sand was cold and powdery soft and there wasn't a single footprint for miles. It felt like a suspended reality.

Best Shopping Trip: If you go nowhere else, visit Freda! It's a sweet and beautifully curated store run by Susannah Lipsey. She has a selection of goodies ranging from a savory apothecary to beautiful clothing, jewelry and vintage rugs to local artwork (think ceramics, a ceramic skill wall hanging and wild day of the day of the dead paper mache). Also, we loved Moonlight Gemstoneswe went wild in there. Each of us came back with a curated collection of crystals, for ourselves and as gifts.

Can't Leave Home Without...When you're camping and sharing space and storage with friendspack light. Essentials include The Skinny in Jac's Jeanthis wash is named after Jac and is our best seller, it goes with everything and breaks in beautifully with wear. Our silk trench dress is perfect for more polished occasions or over your desert attire as a jacket. The Clean Shirt in twill and the Always Short are great for travel as wellthe fit of the shorts is poised to make your bum look fantastic. Also, RMS mascara, Dr. Bronner's, Glossier's Balm DotCom and Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer are musts.

We wish we had...visited the late-night Grilled Cheese Parlor we heard rumors ofbut midweek were left to our own devices. Next time, we would probably try to plan our trip around a concert Marfa is the absolute best backdrop for an outdoor music event.

Why Marfa? Marfa is as much a vibe as a place. It's where Texas grit and attitude meet the more cosmopolitan art world, a wonderfully-curated little town in the middle of this wild raw landscape. You have art, food, dives, locals, pickup trucks, a 'zine and a radio stationand the best burritos in West Texas to boot. Just don't go on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Town's closed.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  In a swift move by authorities to keep tensions from boiling over, the U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the video-recorded killing of a black man who was shot as he scuffled with two white police officers on the pavement outside a convenience store.

A law enforcement official said a gun was taken from 37-year-old Alton Sterling after he was killed early Tuesday in the parking lot where he regularly sold homemade music CDs from a folding table. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear from the murky cellphone footage whether Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Sterlings pocket after the shooting.

The shooting in the Louisiana capital  and shocking videos that found their way all over the internet  set off angry protests in the citys black community and brought calls for an outside investigation. It came at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against blacks.

Moving quickly just one day after the shooting, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the Justice Department to take the lead in the investigation.

I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least, the governor said at a news conference.

Edwards also met with black community leaders to reassure them about the investigation and to ask their help in keeping protests peaceful. He expressed hope that once the community sees that the shooting is going to be investigated impartially, professionally and thoroughly by the Justice Department, the tensions will ease.

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

Story continues

Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesnt consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin, Clinton said.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said that Sterling was armed  Dabadie didnt specify the type of weapon  but that there are still questions about what happened.

Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers, Dabadie said, calling the shooting a horrible tragedy.

Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with gun outside the store, authorities said.

In the cellphone video taken by a community activist and posted online, one of the officers tackled Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone yelled, Hes got a gun! Gun! and one officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave, standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterward. His video shows an officer reaching into Sterlings pocket to grab an object.

Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Sterlings chest.

Hundreds protested Tuesday night, and demonstrators gathered again Wednesday. A vigil Wednesday evening drew hundreds of mourners singing, praying and calling for justice.

Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterlings teenage son, trembled as she read a statement outside City Hall, where a few dozen protesters and community leaders had assembled. Her son, Cameron, 15, broke down in tears and was led away sobbing as his mother spoke.

She described Sterling as a man who simply tried to earn a living to take care of his children.

The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis, she said.

A cousin of Sterlings, Sharida Sterling, said he had been selling music there for about six years, often lugging his box of CDs, table and folding chair on two buses to get to the store.

Sharida Sterling said that the store management never had any problems with him but that he was often harassed by police  she suspected because he was black and a big guy.

I dont want them to get away with a slap on the wrist because it could happen to somebody elses brother, she said.

In announcing the Justice Department investigation, the governor was accompanied by black Democrats from Baton Rouge who praised him and others for quickly asking the federal government to get involved.

We know theres going to be an external investigation. I think it makes all the difference in the world, said state Sen. Regina Barrow.

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54 percent black, according to census data, and more than 25 percent of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dash-cam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

But Lt. Jonny Dunnam said the bodycam footage may not be as good as investigators hoped for because the cameras became dislodged during the scuffle.

That raises serious questions, said Marjorie Esman, executive director of the Louisiana ACLU. Right when theyre needed most is when two of them malfunction in the same way, she said.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterlings civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Michael Browns shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garners chokehold death in New York City.

Federal investigators must meet a high legal burden to bring a civil rights prosecution, establishing that an officer knowingly used unreasonable force under the circumstances and did not simply make a mistake or use poor judgment.

The man who claimed to have shot the first cellphone footage to circulate, Arthur Reed, said his company, Stop the Killing Inc., makes documentary-style videos about killings in Baton Rouge.

We look at ourselves as being a service to the community, Reed said.

___

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana and Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this story.
French duo Justice have been missing in action for a while, maintaining a relatively low profile ever since the release of 2011s Audio, Video, Disco. Both members of Justice and numerous people from their label, Ed Banger Records, have confirmed that a new album is coming sometime this year, but its not exactly clear when its coming. With fans eager to hear what Justice have been cooking up since the release of their second live album, Access All Arenas, its finally looking like their untitled third album is finally on the horizon.

At this years Sonar Festival in Barcelona, Ed Banger Records hosted a house party, and the duos manager Busy P DJed at the event alongside Para One and Boston Bun. With the full set now available online, fans have begun dissecting the setlist, and many noticed that the first song they played during the set sounded an awful lot like Justice. It seemed unclear what the track actually was, until Ministry of Sound pointed out that the track yields an interesting Shazam result.

After using Shazam on the track, the app shows an untitled track by Justice from an album titled Safe and Sound. Although, it could also be a track titled Safe and Sound, but that all remains unclear. The track certainly sounds a lot like Justice, but theres no confirmation yet.

Watch the set above, and check out the Shazam result below.

justice-shazam

More from Pigeons & Planes
KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he hoped China would continue to cooperate with the United States on sanctions on North Korea, a day after Beijing criticized new U.S. sanctions targeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "China's engagement is critical," Kerry told a news conference during a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kiev, when asked if sanctions could be effective without China's help. Kerry said he spoke to China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Wednesday about cooperation on North Korea. "Our hope is that we continue to cooperate as we have been in the last months, particularly with the U.N. Security Council resolution that we passed in which China stepped up and significantly increased its own actions with respect to (North Korea)," he said. At the same time, Kerry said the United States stood "ready and prepared" to return to talks with North Korea aimed at convincing the country to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China's foreign ministry said earlier on Thursday it opposed the use of unilateral sanctions after the United States announced sanctions on the North Korean leader for the first time. China has signed up for tough United Nations sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea, but has opposed past unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States. Washington announced sanctions on Kim for the first time on Wednesday, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," a move diplomats say will infuriate Pyongyang, where the leader is considered infallible. Some analysts and diplomats said before the U.S. announcement that such a move could limit cooperation with China on further international sanctions aimed at rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons program. China argues that the human rights situation in North Korea is not a threat to international peace and security and has sought to prevent the issue being discussed at the U.N. Security Council. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Kiev and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Kiev (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed hope on Thursday that an end to the Ukrainian conflict was possible and praised Kiev's pro-Western leaders for their commitment to peace.

Meeting President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Kerry said Ukraine had made a "good faith" effort to implement its side of the February 2015 truce agreement it signed with Russia in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

Fighting would only stop, however, if Russia halted support for the eastern separatist rebels and allowed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to fully monitor and enforce a truce, Kerry said.

Washington's top diplomat stressed that President Barack Obama had made this point "very frankly" to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a telephone call on Wednesday.

"And President Putin indicated that he does have a desire to try to have this process move forward," Kerry said.

Ukraine changed the course of its post-Soviet history by ousting its Kremlin-backed leader in a pro-EU revolution in 2014 that led to a Western-leaning administration.

This was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars.

Russia denies either backing the insurgents or plotting their 26-month revolt in a bid to keep the new leaders in Kiev off balance and dependent on Moscow's good will.

Kerry's visit came on the eve of a NATO summit in Warsaw where Poroshenko will seek new military and diplomatic assistance from his Western friends.

And it follows a similar visit to Georgia to express support for another Kremlin foe that has also lost parts of its territory to Moscow-backed separatists.

"The US is and remains Ukraine's key ally on the international arena," Poroshenko told reporters.

"There is a full understanding between us that Russia and the rebels it supports bear sole responsibility for the stalled peace process in the east."

Story continues

The approaching NATO summit appears to have only further frayed relations between Moscow and the West.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Russia's actions in Ukraine meant that "trust is lost" between the two formed Cold War foes.

Russia's foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova countered that it was NATO's recent spike in military activities near its borders that were the main concern.

"There will obviously be an adequate response from us to this, even though this is not our choice," Russian news agencies quoted her as saying during a visit to Crimea.

- Big Warsaw hopes -

Kiev hopes to agree new assistance in Warsaw that could upgrade its outdated and underfunded armed forces.

Friday's summit will also focus in part on Kiev's tortuous peace process with the pro-Russian insurgency leaders.

The eastern revolt has killed nearly 9,500 people and left many of Ukraine's most important coal mines and steel mills under rebel control.

Washington has turned a deaf ear to Ukrainian pleas to supply them with offensive equipment, but is funding the modernisation of its armed forces' commands and training.

Obama is concerned that overt offensive support would only further infuriate Putin and complicate US efforts to work with Russia on pivotal issues such as the Syria war.

- Radar and sanctions -

Last week, Ukraine did receive 14 long-range US radar systems that should help its army detect and destroy rebel rockets.

Kiev was also bolstered by the European Union's decision last week to extend by another six months punishing sanctions against Russia for its role in Ukraine.

But efforts led by Germany and France to end the fighting have so far produced few results.

Kerry also met Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to check on Ukraine's progress on stamping out the corruption that brought down a previous government in April.

Ukraine is meant to clean up graft and improve governance in order to fulfil its ambition of applying for European Union membership by 2020.
From Cosmopolitan

The advertisement is as chilling as it is incongruous: a girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old.... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon."

The posting in Arabic appeared on an encrypted conversation on a smart phone app, along with ads for kittens, weapons, and tactical gear. It was shared with the Associated Press by an activist with the minority Yazidi community, whose women and children are being held as sex slaves by the extremists, who view the Yazidis as barely human. The Yazidi faith combines elements of Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion. Their pre-war population in Iraq was estimated around 500,000. Their number today is unknown.

While the Islamic State group, known in Arabic as Daesh, is losing territory in its self-styled caliphate, it is tightening its grip on the estimated 3,000 women and girls held as sex slaves. In a fusion of ancient barbaric practices and modern technology, Daesh fighters sell the women like chattel on smart phone apps and share databases that contain their photographs and the names of their "owners" to prevent their escape through IS checkpoints. The fighters are assassinating smugglers who rescue the captives, just as funds to buy the women out of slavery are drying up.

The thousands of Yazidi women and children were taken prisoner in August 2014, when Daesh fighters overran their villages in northern Iraq with the aim to eliminate the Kurdish-speaking minority because of its ancient faith. Since then, Arab and Kurdish smugglers have managed to free an average of 134 people a month. But by May, a crackdown reduced those numbers to just 39 in the last six weeks, according to figures provided by the Kurdistan regional government.

Mirza Danai, founder of the German-Iraqi aid organization Luftbrucke Irak, said in the last two or three months, escape has become more difficult and dangerous. "They register every slave, every person under their owner, and therefore if she escapes, every Daesh control or checkpoint, or security force, they know that this girl ... has escaped from this owner," he said.

Story continues

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told the AP that the U.S. continues "to be appalled by credible reports that Daesh is trafficking in human beings, and sex slavery in particular." "This depravity not only speaks to the degree to which Daesh cheapens life and repudiates the Islamic faith, it also strengthens our resolve to defeat them," he said.

Lamiya Aji Bashar tried to flee four times before finally escaping in March, racing to government-controlled territory with Islamic State group fighters in pursuit.

A land mine exploded, killing her companions, 8-year-old Almas and Katherine, 20. She never learned their last names. The explosion left Lamiya (pictured above) blind in her right eye, her face scarred by melted skin. Saved by the man who smuggled her out, she counts herself among the lucky.

"Thanks to God, I managed to get away from those infidels," the 18-year-told the AP from a bed at her uncle's home in the northern Iraqi town of Baadre. "Even if I had lost both eyes, it would have been worth it, because I have survived them."

Nadia Mourad, an escapee, has appeared before the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament to appeal for international help. "Daesh is proud of what it's done to the Yazidis," she said to Parliament. "They are being used as human shields. They are not allowed to escape or flee. Probably they will be assassinated. Where is the world in all this? Where is humanity?"

The AP has obtained a batch of 48 head shots of the captives, smuggled out of the IS-controlled region by an escapee, which people familiar with them say are similar to those in the extremists' slave database and the smartphone apps.

In addition to the posting for the 12-year-old in a group with hundreds of members, the AP viewed an ad on WhatsApp for a mother with a 3-year-old and a 7-month old baby, with a price of $3,700. "She wants her owner to sell her," read the posting, followed by a photo.

Like the Bible, some passages of the Quran implicitly condone slavery, which was widespread when the holy book emerged. It also allows men to have sex with both their wives and "those they possess with their right hands," a phrase which has taken by some interpreters to refer to female slaves.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, most Muslim scholars backed the banning of slavery, citing Quranic verses that say freeing them is a blessing. Some hard-liners, however, continued to insist that, under Sharia law, sex slavery must be permitted, though the Islamic State group is the first in the modern era to bring it into organized practice.

Daesh relies on encrypted apps to sell the women and girls, according to an activist who is documenting the transactions and asked not to be named for fear of his safety. The activist showed AP the negotiations for the captives in encrypted conversations as they were occurring in real time. The postings appear primarily on Telegram, and on Facebook and WhatsApp to a lesser degree, he said.

Both Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Telegram use end-to-end encryption to protect users' privacy. Both have said they consider protecting private conversations and data paramount, and that they themselves cannot access users' content.

"Telegram is extremely popular in the Middle East, among other regions," said Telegram spokesman Markus Ra. "This, unfortunately, includes the more marginal elements and the broadest law-abiding masses alike." He added the company is committed to prevent abuse of the service and that it routinely removes public channels believed to be used by Daesh fighters.

"We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and disable accounts when provided with evidence of activity that violates our terms. We encourage people to use our reporting tools if they encounter this type of behavior," said Matt Steinfeld, a spokesman for WhatsApp.

In the images obtained by AP, many of the women and girls are dressed in finery, some in heavy makeup. All look directly at the camera, standing in front of overstuffed chairs or brocade curtains in what resembles a shabby hotel ballroom.

Some are barely out of elementary school. Not one looks older than 30. One of them is Nazdar Murat, who was about 16 when she was abducted two years ago - one of more than two dozen young women taken away by the extremists in a single day in August 2014. Her father and uncles were among about 40 people killed when Daesh took over the Sinjar area, the heart of the Yazidi homeland.

Inside an immaculately kept tent in a displaced persons camp outside the northern Iraqi town of Dahuk, Nazdar's mother said her daughter managed to call once, six months ago.

"We spoke for a few seconds. She said she was in Mosul," said Murat, referring to Iraq's second-largest city. "Every time someone comes back, we ask them what happened to her and no one recognizes her. Some people told me she committed suicide."

The family keeps the file of missing Yazidis on a mobile phone. They show it to those who have escaped the caliphate, to find out if anyone has seen her, and to other families looking for a thread of hope they'll see their own missing relatives again.

The odds of rescue, however, grow slimmer by the day. The smuggling networks that have freed the captives are being targeted by IS leaders, who are fighting to keep the Yazidis at nearly any cost, said Andrew Slater of the nonprofit group Yazda, which helps document crimes against the community and organizes refuge for those who have fled.

Kurdistan's regional government had been reimbursing impoverished Yazidi families who paid up to $15,000 in fees to smugglers to rescue their relatives, or the ransoms demanded by individual fighters to give up the captives. But the Kurdish regional government no longer has the funds. For the past year, Kurdistan has been mired in an economic crisis brought on by the collapse of oil prices, a dispute with Iraq's central government over revenues, and the fallout from the war against the Islamic State.

Even when IS retreats from towns like Ramadi or Fallujah, the missing girls are nowhere to be found. "Rescues are slowing. They're going to stop. People are running out of money, I have dozens of families who are tens of thousands of dollars in debt," Slater said. "There are still thousands of women and kids in captivity but it's getting harder and harder to get them out."

Lamiya was abducted from the village of Kocho, near the town of Sinjar, in the summer of 2014. Her parents are presumed dead. Somewhere, she said, her 9-year-old sister Mayada remains captive. One photo she managed to send to the family shows the little girl standing in front of an IS flag.

Five other sisters all managed to escape and later were relocated to Germany. A younger brother, kept for months in an IS training camp in Mosul, also slipped away and is now staying with other relatives in Dahuk, a city in the Iraqi Kurdish region.

Sitting very still and speaking in a monotone, Lamiya recounted her captivity, describing how she was passed from one IS follower to another, all of whom beat and violated her. She was determined to escape.

She said her first "owner" was an Iraqi IS commander who went by the name Abu Mansour in the city of Raqqa, the de-facto IS capital deep in Syria. He brutalized her, often keeping her handcuffed.

She tried to run away twice but was caught, beaten, and raped repeatedly. After a month, she said, she was sold to another IS extremist in Mosul. After she spent two months with him, she was sold again, this time to an IS bomb-maker who Lamiya said forced her to help him make suicide vests and car bombs. "I tried to escape from him," she said. "And he captured me, too, and he beat me."

When the bomb-maker grew bored with her, she was handed over to an IS doctor in Hawija, a small IS-controlled Iraqi town. She said the doctor, who was the IS head of the town hospital, also abused her. From there, after more than a year, she managed to contact her relatives in secret.

Her uncle said the family paid local smugglers $800 to arrange Lamiya's escape. She will be reunited with her siblings in Germany, but despite everything, her heart remains in Iraq. "We had a nice house with a big farm ... I was going to school," she said. "It was beautiful."

Salar Salim in Khanke, Lee Keath in Cairo and Desmond Butler in Washington contributed to this report.
Washington's move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea Thursday, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit state.

The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country's system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries".

Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.

"The government... notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The measure is expected to raise the international communitys awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations of human rights are being committed, while greatly helping intensify international discussions on the issue and strengthening relevant measures."

Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the measure was an "important step forward in achieving justice for the countless victims of human rights abuses in North Korea".

He added the US was "leading the international community to send a clear message to mid-level North Korean officials that obeying orders to violate rights could have very negative consequences for them".

Robertson called for Washington to extend the blacklist and to make clear to Pyongyang "that taking rights abusing decisions will have consequences because the world is closely watching and will judge them accordingly".

South Korean analysts said the North was likely to react angrily at what North Koreans could perceive as a "personal insult" against Kim.

Story continues

"There will be a bombardment of diatribes from North Korea against the US as the military, government agencies and various social groups are likely to fall over themselves to prove their loyalty to Kim", Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

But the North is likely to wait until the start of a massive annual military exercise the United Sates and South Korea plan in August to flex its military muscle, he said.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Dongguk Univesity said the North would ratchet up tension but it would stop short of conducting another nuclear test to avoid alienating further its main ally China.

Defying international sanctions, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a missile test, disguised as a satellite launch, in the following month.
California 'Bullet Button' (reloaded) -

the way around the 'ban'

It took exactly ONE day after governor "Moonbeam" Brown signed legislation banning the "bullet button" equipped AR-15 pattern rifles, for the American People, to design a compliant "fix" for the legislative problem.

THAT, is how effective "gun control" really is.

July 1st, 2016. Bullet Button.com

The BB Reloaded has been in the wings for many years, and it has a full utility patent (United States Patent and Trademark Office - Patent # 9,182,186). This new BB Reloaded system will allow you to only drop the magazine on a rifle when the action has been disassembled. Complying with both bills signed today by Gov JB.

** DISCLAIMER: To all those who may want to comment on the term "Assault Weapon" used in this video, it is completely accurate. The AR-15 used in the video is a registered 'Assault Weapon' from the 2000 California ban. ** (read comment below)

The described "accuracy" of the "Assault Weapon" term used in the video disclaimer is based on the CA definition from the 2000 ban. Beyond that we all know this is not an "Assault Weapon". Of course, no sooner does a work-around appear than legislators will eventually try to come along with a further ban definition - the whole process is cat and mouse and should not even be necessary at all. The battle against the shredding of the Second Amendment continues.

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Ahoy! Kourtney Kardashian is living it up in the Bahamas. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, 37, has been documenting her enviable tropical getaway on Instagram and Snapchat.

PHOTOS: Kourtney Kardashian's Body Evolution

After celebrating the 4th of July in Miami, the reality star jetted off to Bakers Bay in the Bahamas with pals Larsa Pippen and Isabela Grutman.



The ladies showed off their impressive bikini bods by posing for Snapchat and Instagram photos on a boat before jumping into the perfect, crystal blue water on Wednesday, July 6.

Hollywood's Hottest Bikini Bodies

On an adventure, Kardashian wrote alongside a Snapchat of herself in a printed one-piece swimsuit. She later documented their experience feeding and swimming with the local pigs at Pig Beach. (Contestants on Ben Higgins season 20 of The Bachelor also swam with and fed the local pigs.)

After their fun-filled day of adventure  the trio even swam with stingrays!  Pippen and Kardashian worked up a sweat. The eldest Kardashian sister shared a Snapchat video of herself doing lunges along a dock in just an itty bitty bikini and pair of white sneakers.



PHOTOS: Celebrities Biggest Social Media Fails

Cant stop wont stop, Kardashian wrote on a Snapchat video in which she told the camera theyre working out on vacation.

The women are in the Bahamas to celebrate Pippens 42nd birthday. The two moms brought along their kids for the trip.

PHOTOS: Kardashian Family Vacations in Cuba

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By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Ex-Soviet Georgia could start a gradual drift back into the orbit of its former overlord Russia if it does not see tangible signs soon that it will be invited to join NATO. Georgian officials will be at a NATO summit in the Polish capital on Friday where they will be seeking assurances that the alliance will make good on the promise it delivered in 2008 that Georgia would eventually become a member. But the alliance has hesitated to give Tbilisi a timetable for accession because some members are wary of angering Russia. In the meantime, NATO invited the tiny Balkan state of Montenegro to join, leaving some Georgians feeling jilted. Georgia's leaders are still committed to joining NATO. Opinion polls show the public backs membership, in part because they see the alliance as protection from Russia, which sent troops into Georgia six years ago and backs two separatist regions which reject Tbilisi's rule. However, as frustration builds over the slow progress towards accession, there are more and more voices who say Georgia should cut its losses and seek rapprochement with Moscow instead. "How did the West help us? Did NATO help us during the war? No. Russia is our neighbor, strong and influential. I'm afraid there may be another war if we irritate Russia further with our talk that we want to become a NATO member," said Avtandil Maisuradze, a 69-year-old pensioner in Tbilisi. Georgia is a test case for how Western governments will treat Ukraine, which, like Georgia, wants to join NATO and the European Union but is also jealously regarded by the Kremlin as part of its sphere of influence. IMPATIENCE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to Tbilisi this week before he travels to the NATO summit, urged Georgians to be patient. "I wouldn't view this as a moment of despair, moment of setback, I would view this as a continuing process," Kerry said. NATO continues to say Georgia is on a path to membership. The alliance has opened a training center in Georgia as a part of a package of measures to boost Georgia's defense capabilities, and Georgia takes part in joint exercises with troops from NATO member states. But for some Georgians, anything short of a timetable for accession is not enough. "The frustration is widespread, as the false expectations on fast track NATO integration created by the political elites did not materialize," said Kornely Kakachia, a director of the Georgian Institute of Politics. Opinion polls conducted by the National Democratic Institute show steady growth in support for Georgia joining the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union  up to 20 percent in March 2016 from 11 percent in August 2013. Political forces that are openly pro-Russian have a good chance of winning seats the Georgian parliament in an election to take place in October this year - something that was unimaginable few years ago. In local elections in 2014, several pro-Russian parties, including the Alliance of Patriots and the Democratic Movement, between them received around 20 percent of the nationwide proportional vote. Nino Burjanadze, the leader of Democratic Movement, which is campaigning on giving Georgia neutral "non-bloc status", said disillusionment with NATO membership was helping boost her support. Burjanadze used to be a senior ally of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who set Georgia on its pro-Western path. But she since changed tack. She visited Moscow for talks with Russian officials three times over the past year. "The Georgian authorities and a significant part of the country's political elite act pursuant to the interests of NATO and the United States, instead of in Georgia's interests," said Burjanadze. (Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Christian Lowe and Richard Balmforth)
KELOWNA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2016 / Laguna Blends Inc. (CSE: LAG) (OTC: LAGBF) (Frankfurt: LB6A.F) (the "Company" or "Laguna") is pleased to announce that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent (the "LOI") with Cannaceuticals of California, USA ("Canna"), whereby Laguna and Canna plan to enter into a definitive Manufacturing and Exclusive Licence Agreement (the "M&L Agreement") for the purpose of pursuing mutually beneficial business opportunities in the Cannabidiol (CBD) skin care industry. The parties have agreed to an exclusivity period until July 29th in order to negotiate and sign the M&L Agreement.



The LOI contemplates a manufacturing and licensing arrangement that includes the following material terms:

Laguna will purchase the entire existing Canna inventory of 4,500 units for each of the eight existing Canna products for payment of: (i) US$250,000 (less an initial deposit of US$24,500 that is payable within 7 days of entry into the M&L Agreement) on a monthly payment schedule over a six-month period; and (ii) a licence fee of US$100,000 payable in common shares of the Company at the prior day's closing market price upon entry into the M&L Agreement.

Laguna will receive an exclusive licence to sell the Canna products for an initial period of two years in the USA and Canada. In addition, Laguna will receive the licence and marketing rights to sell the Canna products in Asia, Europe and Mexico subject to Canna receiving regulatory approval for such sales in those markets and provided Laguna has expanded to those countries. The renewal term is anticipated to be determined at the end of the initial term.

Canna will contribute its research and development expertise in CBD-derived, high quality, Canna skin care products and Canna will continue to manufacture and/or arrange manufacturing for future Canna skin care inventory requirements for Laguna as required.

Laguna will take possession of all of the existing Canna inventory after the initial deposit and licence fee has been paid.

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The Canna clinical trials were conducted by BioScreen (BioScreen) Testing Services Inc. in accordance with the International Conference of Harmonization Tripartite Guideline on Good Clinical Practice, applicable FDA regulations / guidelines.



Pending due-diligence and any necessary approvals Laguna anticipates offering the Canna products in the USA between August - September of 2016 with Canada to follow before the end of 2016.



Laguna will publish specific details regarding the findings of the research that was conducted for the Canna "Facial Serum" at a later date.

Stuart Gray, CEO and founder of Laguna Blends Inc. said, "Canna has spent a tremendous amount of time and financial resources to create what we believe is the highest quality CBD skin care line available on the market today. By combining the known benefits of CBD's into a skin care product, we anticipate that Laguna is poised to become a direct sales leader in the skin care industry." Stuart Gray went on to say, "By offering the Cannaceuticals skin care line of products to our affiliates, the Company anticipates an increase in product sales and recruitment of new affiliates."

*According to a recent report, the global skin care industry is expected to reach $121 billion in 2016. In the United States alone, the skin care market will reach $10.7 billion by 2018; that represents a compounded annual growth rate of 1.9%.

*Source: Zacrep, K., "U.S. Skin Care Market to Reach $10,717.4 Million by 2018," MarketResearch.com, June 23, 2015; http://blog.marketresearch.com/us-skin-care-market-to-reach-10717.4-million-by-2018

About Cannabidiol (CBD)

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound in hemp that has shown to offer beneficial medical effects to the body without the psychoactive effects associated with Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Scientific and clinical research, much of it sponsored by the US government, underscores CBD's potential as a treatment for a wide range of conditions, including arthritis, diabetes, alcoholism, MS, chronic pain, schizophrenia, PTSD, depression, antibiotic-resistant infections, epilepsy, paranoia and other neurological disorders. CBD has demonstrable neuroprotective and neurogenic effects, and its anti-cancer properties are currently being investigated at several academic research centers in the United States and elsewhere.

About CannaCeuticals

CannaCeuticals Swiss heritage is at the core of Canna's revolutionary skincare products. It's pure, cosmeceutical-grade CBD extract hails from the crisp, clean air of Switzerland, but Canna's heritage goes much further than that. Swiss culture is known for its precision and perfectionism, and CannaCeuticals radiates that same standard in every formula it produces. Canna's team of formulators are made up of chemists and product developers that analyze every detail, sourcing ingredients from all ends of the earth to create the most balanced, highly efficacious, anti-aging CBD skincare products in the world.

CannaCeuticals CBD7 anti-aging skincare products incorporate cannabidiol (CBD) which is known as a superior antioxidant and potential anti-inflammatory, both of which are significant in anti-aging. Canna's Swiss heritage influences a sense of unity in its products, and it combines CBD with other essential anti-aging ingredients to create formulas that pack a powerful punch.

About Laguna Blends Inc.

Laguna is a network marketing company that generates retail sales through independent affiliates. Affiliates utilize tools and technology that enable them to build an international business from their own home or anywhere else in the world. This technology replaces the need for expensive travel and hotel meetings.

The Company is currently focused on the nutritional health benefits derived from hemp. Laguna's first product category as an entry to market are functional beverage products that contain hemp and other efficacious ingredients. Laguna's initial products to market are the following:

" Caffe " is an instant, "just add water" hot coffee beverage that is infused with both whey and hemp protein. With 2 grams of protein in every serving, Laguna's proprietary product packs a powerful protein punch. Caffe, contains Instant coffee, whey protein hydrolysate, hemp protein, natural flavors.

"Pro369" is a single serving, "on-the-go," plant based, instant, hemp protein that is served cold and comes in 4 delicious flavors. Pro369 is water soluble and can be directly mixed in water, added to milk, almond milk or coconut milk. Pro369 can also be blended in a shake or smoothie. Pro369 is also a source of Omegas, 3, 6 and 9 and contains ginseng.

Laguna Blends has been granted approval from Health Canada for four powdered Pro369 flavours: Chocolate Banana, Mixed Berry and Vanilla Caramel and Tropical Powder. Pro369 contains Hemp protein, natural flavors, stevia, and American ginseng.

The Minister of Health from Health Canada has granted Laguna a product license along with a Natural Product Number ("NPN") for all four of the Pro369 Flavours. They are all listed under the same NPN.

i. A source of protein that helps build and repair body tissues.

ii. Source of amino acids involved in muscle protein synthesis.

iii. Assists in the building of lean muscle.

iv. An adaptogen to help maintain a healthy immune system.

v. Supportive therapy for the promotion of healthy glucose levels.



Hemp has long been recognized by the health and nutrition industry as a super food, cited in many publications as a balanced source of all ingredients required to achieve health and wellness.

HempOmega

HempOmega is an environmentally sustainable, vegetarian source of Omegas 3 and 6 that boasts a superior nutrient profile. A water soluble, homogenous, powdered ingredient, it can be easily integrated and/or manipulated, with no unpleasant taste or chemical contamination - opening up entirely new product formulation opportunities. Hemp Omega's greater ability to endure the digestive process delivers unmatched bioavailability, thereby maximizing its potential health benefits.

The Company sells its products through its independent affiliates in the USA and Canada.

HempOmega is a Trademark owned by Naturally Splendid Enterprises, Ltd. and is used under license by Laguna Blends Inc.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Stuart Gray"

Chief Executive Officer

FOR INVESTOR RELATIONS INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

QualityStocks

Scottsdale, Arizona

www.QualityStocks.com

480.374.1336 Office

ir@lagunablends.com

www.lagunablends.com

www.lagunaworld.com

Join Us On FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/LagunaBlends/

Twitter: @LagunaBlends

Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to statements regarding the Company's business, products and future plans including, without limitation, statements that the company may successfully enter into and close the M&L Agreement, that such agreement will be entered into on or prior to July 29th, that the LOI may contain the terms as currently contemplated, the belief that the Canna products are the highest quality available, that the Company is poised to become a direct sales leader in the skin care industry and that the Company anticipates an increase in product sales and recruitment of new affiliates. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and makes no reference to profitability based on sales reported. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Such forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance and developments to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, that the transaction closes as contemplated, that the Company is able to finance its growth and execute on its business plan, that Canna is able to obtain all regulatory approvals and that there is sufficient demand for such products. Except as required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, and does not intend, to update any forward looking statements or forward-looking information in this news release. The statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release.

SOURCE: Laguna Blends Inc.
On Wednesdays Conan, Larry King showed that at 82 years old, he still has a lot of energy and entrepreneurial spirit. On top of his interview show and podcast, King has his own line of bedding.

Though King is an expert broadcaster, he didnt seem to be bedding expert. Conan asked what was special about his sheets, and he responded with descriptions that would sell toilet paper but not necessarily bed sheets.

To prove that Kings sheets are high quality, Conan OBrien and Andy Richter joined King in a bed made up with his sheets. After a moment of cuddling, OBrien said, My final showbiz dream has come true. King then turned to Andy Richter and said, I love you, Andy. It proved the old Hollywood adage that its not about what you know, its who you sleep with.



Conan airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on TBS.

Watch Zac Efron and Adam Devine describe their very different fans:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram  or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Cynthia LuCiette, on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.


130 Nepali migrants left in the lurch in Qatar

As many as 130 Nepali migrants working for different companies in Qatar have been left in the lurch for the past 16 days after the manager of the companies they worked for ran away
LONDON (Reuters) - Andrea Leadsom, one of three candidates vying to be Britain's next prime minister, said on Thursday she would guarantee that all immigrants living legally in Britain would be welcome to stay after the country exits the European Union. Leadsom, a junior energy minister who before going into politics had a long career in the financial services industry, said that after Brexit those who wanted to travel and study in Europe would be free to do so. "We have to give certainty to different groups in our own country. Certainty on migration. We want fair but controlled immigration, fair to those who are already here and fair to all the talents across the world," Leadsom said in a speech. "People need certainty and they will get it. I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay." (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon, Kate Holton and William James; editing by Costas Pitas)
By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Andrea Leadsom, one of three candidates vying to be Britain's next prime minister, said her top priority would be to guarantee tariff-free trade with the European Union after Britons voted to quit the bloc. Speaking as lawmakers in her Conservative Party prepare to choose which two candidates will make the final run-off to replace Prime Minister David Cameron, Leadsom also said that predictions of economic chaos had been disproved. "Trade must be our top priority: continued free trade with the EU. Continued free trade with those countries we have agreements with as a current member of the EU," she told a crowd of enthusiastic supporters in a speech in London on Thursday. Leadsom, a former financial sector worker, was one of the most ardent campaigners for Britain to leave the EU ahead of the June 23 referendum which delivered the Brexit vote. She came second in the first round of voting by Conservative lawmakers, with interior minister Theresa May leading the field. The second round of voting is later on Thursday. In her speech, Leadsom said Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was right last week when he said Britain could handle change. She did not mention that Carney had also said the economic outlook had deteriorated. Her comment on Thursday contrasted with her tone during the referendum campaign when she dismissed Bank of England analysis on the potential negative consequences of Brexit as "this big institutional ganging-up on the poor British voter". Leadsom said the key job of the new prime minister would be to ensure the continued success of the British economy. "Already, we can see that the forecasts of a disaster for sterling, for equities, and for interest rates, have not been proven correct," she said. She touched upon one of the emerging issues of the leadership contest by pledging to allow all migrants currently living in Britain to stay in the country - something the front-runner, May, has resisted doing. Leadsom said she supported fair but controlled immigration, adding that those who wished to travel and study in Europe after Brexit would be free to do so. However, she gave no details as to how this could be achieved while also scrapping EU freedom of movement rules to which Britain is currently subject, which is also one of her stated aims. Leadsom, a junior energy minister, sought to emphasise her credentials as the candidate from outside the political establishment, setting herself apart from rivals Michael Gove and May - both of whom have held senior positions in government for several years. "She's someone fresh, and she's upholding the principle of us leaving the European Union," said Vic Jackson, a semi-retired Leadsom supporter who joined around 150 others to march along the bank of the River Thames towards parliament in support of her bid. "The other candidates, I don't really trust them... you don't want to drift back to the old days. It's hope - hope over fear." (Additional reporting and writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
To celebrate 90 years of Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld, the companys creative director, brought editors and influencers from Paris to Rome in a private jet. Because the Italian company is nothing if not luxurious, the extravagant surprises didnt stop in the skies. For the show, the brand shut down the historic Trevi Fountain and erected a temporary glass bridge, on which models seemingly walked over water in gowns embellished with fur flowers and elaborate cityscape designs, draped in rich pelts, wearing colorful Victorian-style booties, and sporting crimped hair.

Kendall Jenner, who stars in Fendis current campaign, took the catwalk in two looks  she opened the show in a fit-and-flare blue Astrakhan fur coat with a kaleidoscope-inspired pattern on the skirt and then changed into a romantic chiffon number fit for a young queen.

Her friend Bella Hadid wore a dress that looked like a stained-glass window and closed the show in a voluminous emerald cape featuring the image of an Asian woman, possibly Mulan, in a forest.



A photo posted by Sam McKnight (@sammcknight1) on Jul 7, 2016 at 12:44pm PDT

Each of the models had her hair styled into Scarlett OHarastyle curls by Sam McKnight. The tight ringlets were then pulled back into half-up half-down dos and secured with fur ribbons  yes, fur ribbons! How much do I want one now?!



The event, called #LegendsandFairytales, delivered an unforgettable experience for its audience, which included A-listers, celebrities, and fashion influencers alike.

A video posted by Derek Blasberg (@derekblasberg) on Jul 7, 2016 at 12:40pm PDT

Man about town Derek Blasberg Instagrammed from the incredible location.

A photo posted by Margaret Zhang  (@margaret__zhang) on Jul 7, 2016 at 7:03am PDT

Blogger du jour Margaret Zhang, who hosted the brands live stream, admitted that it was her first time in Rome. What a treat!

A photo posted by Chiara Ferragni (@chiaraferragni) on Jul 7, 2016 at 10:42am PDT

Italys other finest export, the Blonde Salad (although I believe girlfriend prefers to go by her given name, Chiara Ferragni, these days) shared an #OOTD, with an awesome view of the city in the background.

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Kate Hudson and Bella Thorne flew the flag for Hollywood.

A video posted by Fendi (@fendi) on Jul 7, 2016 at 7:10am PDT

For good luck (and for the full tourist experience), attendees were given gold Fendi coins to throw into the fountain.

After all is said and done, one thing is for sure, King Karl once again showed the world hes the legend  and this is a real-life fairy tale! Arrivederci from Roma with Fendi.

Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.


Food stalls near the Tanjung Pinang ferry terminal. (Photo: Tong Yong How)



Letters warning of possible bombing attacks by militants in several popular areas in the Riau Islands have surfaced, an Indonesian news site has reported.

The attacks are targeted at tourists from Singapore and Johor and will be carried out this month, according to the letters cited by Batam Today.

The letters listed the Batam Centre ferry terminal, Nagoya town in Batam, Bintan Telani and Tanjung Pinang as targets.

Claiming that militants have arrived in Riau two weeks ago, a portion of one letter read, For those returning for Hari Raya, hope that everyone will remain vigilantThis is not empty talk and I am sending important information because I understand that this is wrong under the religion.

The report by Batam Today quoted two top police officers from Bintan on their response to the alleged threat.

The police chief of Tanjung Pinang Kristian P Siagian said that after the bombing incident in Solo on Tuesday (5 July), the police have reinforced security in the capital of Riau Islands.

Bintan police chief Febrianto Guntur Sunoto said, We hope that people do not panic based on the letters. Security forces have stepped up their security measures at the places mentioned (in the letters). Security forces are coordinating at the highest levels.

Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) last issued a travel advisory on Monday (4 July) after the recent terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Selangor, Dhaka and Baghdad.

The MFA said authorities around the world including Singapore have raised their level of alertness. It urged Singaporeans who are travelling abroad to eRegister with the ministry and take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety.
When I was in Poland this year, I asked everyone how a nation that exemplified the commitment to liberal democracy had elected a party, called Law and Justice, which openly appealed to nationalism, xenophobia, and religious traditionalism. Quite a few people responded with a question of their own: What about Donald Trump? Wasnt the United States, that is, heading in the same direction? Yes, I came back, but since liberal principles are more deeply embedded in American voters and institutions, Trump wont win. Now I find myself wondering: Isnt that more or less what David Cameron and other advocates of staying in the European Union told themselves about British voters?

I wonder if the West is sleep-walking toward illiberal democracy, the ideology championed by Hungarys Viktor Orban, emulated by Polands Law and Justice, and implicitly endorsed by Trump and many of the Brexiteers. Turkeys increasingly autocratic Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has gone further down this road than anyone. These populists win elections by rallying citizens against what they describe as liberalism  secular hostility to majority religious values, a cult of individualism that undermines the collective good, a concern with immigrants rather than citizens, and a celebration of the free market that weakens state control. (See Orbans 2014 speech on the subject.) It would be a mistake to think that those cynical tactics cant work in the more evolved democracies of Western Europe. Austria, to take one more example, may elect Norbert Hofer, a frank Islamophobe who advocates widespread gun ownership to counter an alleged immigrant threat, in a presidential election to be restaged later this year.

These are the stakes I was thinking of when I wrote last week that elites had a moral obligation to stand up to the politics of resentment rather than exploit them. I now understand, from the torrent of abuse I received, that a great many readers thought I was saying that people who take issue with the forces of globalization, whether from the left or the right, should defer to elites, the high priests of the globalized world. Thats a repellent thought. I regret the use of the word elites, which conjures up the Trilateral Commission or a Masonic temple. I wont use it again. Now I will try to explain myself.

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Illiberal democracy is a highly effective political strategy because many of the constituent principles of liberalism, especially the ones seized on by the populists, are intended to serve as bulwarks against majoritarianism. Perhaps the first liberal was James Madison, who in the Federalist Papers made the case that democracies, by their nature, endanger the rights of political minorities and must design institutions to protect those rights. Over the course of the 19th century, liberalism evolved to include advocacy of civil liberties, free markets, and activist government. The high-water mark of liberalism was the mid-20th century, when the world was threatened by the totalitarian nightmares of communism and Nazism. For its great exponents, like George Orwell, liberalism meant anti-totalitarianism.

That moment has long since run its course, and liberalism has taken on different meanings that are less urgent, less binding, and more deeply contested. Liberalism (as tolerance of others) isnt working for the French or Belgians who look at the North African immigrants in their midst and fear another terrorist attack or for Germans who worry that refugees will upend their culture. Liberalism (as free trade) isnt working for American industrial workers whose factories left town and reopened in Mexico. Other contemporary elements of liberalism, such as the cosmopolitan welcoming of diversity and difference, go deeply against the grain of the way most people live and will always be subject to charges of elitism. The New York Timess Ross Douthat has pointedly argued that cosmopolitanism is an elite taste masquerading as a universal principle.

In short, there are good reasons why liberalism is in crisis and illiberalism in the ascendant. Political leaders must find a way of dealing with the breakdown of the liberal order if they are to protect and preserve its basic principles. As Ive written in previous columns, even Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has bravely opened Germanys doors to hundreds of thousands of Syrian and Afghan refugees, now understands that she has left her public too far behind and has instead struck a deal with Turkey to stanch the flow of migrants. And free trade has become politically toxic and will continue to be unless more is done to buffer the effects on factory workers and others who see themselves as getting the short end of the globalization stick. Policy must change both to cushion globalizations effects and to create the political space so that liberal-minded leaders can pursue sound policies.

But there is no policy change that will mollify people who cant stand the way the world is going and want to return to a mythical golden age where women and Mexicans and refugees and gays and atheists didnt disturb the public with their demands. Populist leaders have a message for them: Liberalism is a plot to keep you down. Social tolerance threatens traditional culture, an independent media tells self-interested lies, and extending rights to accused terrorists undermines public safety. (See this very bizarre 2006 speech by Polish politician Jaroslaw Kaczynski.) Above all, as Turkeys Erdogan tirelessly repeats, those who dont share the majoritys views  ethnic minorities, secular elites, journalists  are enemies of the state and must be marginalized or crushed.

This is why I argued that rationalism itself is at stake and that the cynical fellow travelers of the illiberal democrats are feeding an anti-intellectual narrative. Michael Gove, until recently a contender to be Englands next prime minister, answered predictions  correct ones, as it turned out  that Brexit would lead to disaster by saying, People in this country have had enough of experts. The word expert is, of course, the pejorative term for someone who knows what he or she is talking about  like Gove, I imagine, who graduated from Oxford and spent years as a minister in Conservative Party governments. What Gove was actually saying was that people should be free to build gratifying fantasies free from unpleasant facts.

Similarly, the Republican Party has spent years carving the path down that Donald Trump is now careening by telling voters that Americas borders are being overrun, a national default would bring no lasting harm, global warming is a hoax, and so on and so on. It wasnt only Trump, but Ted Cruz and others, who campaigned on the need for massive increases in border security. Republican primary voters ate up this rhetoric  even though net immigration from Mexico is now flat. America has had enough of experts.

In The Open Society and Its Enemies, Karl Popper argues that the most powerful bulwark against totalitarianism is a shared belief in the neutral principles of science and inquiry. Reason, as Popper notes, is a language accessible to all. Absent a collective faith in reason, very little stands in the way of the gratifying fantasy, or the dreadful nightmare, that populists forge from voters hopes and fears.

Of course, I dont believe that deference to expertise, to technocratic knowledge, or even to science will defeat the scourge of illiberal democracy. Only good politics drives out bad politics. Perhaps only good populism can drive out bad populism. An obviously irate President Barack Obama recently argued that he, not Trump, was the real populist in American politics  since he cared about working people and Trump doesnt. In fact, Obamas remote, cerebral manner has, if anything, whetted the publics appetite for a snake-oil salesman like Trump.

We will always have charming scoundrels among us, but reckless populism is more pernicious than it was a decade or a generation ago. Thats not because Donald Trump and Viktor Orban are worse than their predecessors, but because so many people in the West feel cheated or betrayed by the impersonal forces of globalization and are seeking an alternate reality to occupy, whether Little England or Industrial Age America. The cynics who provide comfort for those delusions are as dangerous as the extremists.

Photo credit: SCOTT OLSON/Getty Images
Vilnius (AFP) - Germany's decision to deploy a battalion of troops to Lithuania under a NATO initiative marks a "mindset breakthrough" for Berlin towards taking a leading role in European defence, the Lithuanian president said Thursday.

"I think we are at a historic turning point," Dalia Grybauskaite said in an interview with AFP in Vilnius on the eve of a key NATO summit, which will to seal its biggest revamp since the Cold War to counter a resurgent Russia.

"A breakthrough is occurring in the German mindset - time for self-doubt, fear, reluctance to take responsibility, and dread of what Putin might think, is over," she added, referring to the strongman Russian president.

Fears that Russia could attempt to attack NATO's three small formerly Soviet-ruled Baltic member states surged after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move that sent East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.

NATO leaders on Friday will finalise plans to deploy four battalions to the Baltic nations and Poland.

Germany will lead a battalion deployed to Lithuania, Canada to Latvia, Britain to Estonia and the United States to Poland, diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity. Each battalion will have 600-1,000 troops.

The historic burden of Nazism has made EU heavyweight Germany a reluctant military leader, but Grybauskaite said Berlin's role in security will only increase once Britain leaves the bloc.

"With Britain withdrawing from the EU  responsibility for stability in Europe will increasingly fall on the shoulders of Germany -- not only for economic stability, but also for security," Grybauskaite said.

"No matter what we think about elections in the US, we can witness the strategic direction that the United States will hand over more security responsibility to Europeans," she added.

- 'Trust is lost' -

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday in Berlin that Russia's actions in Ukraine had eroded mutual trust with the West.

Story continues

"If through words and deeds the validity of (international) law and the inviolability of borders are questioned, then of course trust is lost," she told the German parliament.

When NATO leaders meet in Warsaw, "it will be at a time in which the security situation has significantly changed in Europe," she said, also pointing at turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

Grybauskaite also dismissed Russian accusations of the US-led alliance provoking an arms race in the region, insisting the West was simply reacting to Moscow's moves in Ukraine.

NATO will hold fresh talks with Russia on July 13, just days after the landmark alliance summit.

The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) brings together ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states and Russia, and met regularly until the Ukraine crisis plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze.

Russia's ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko told AFP: "The main focus will be on the military security in the wake of decisions to be taken at the NATO summit in Warsaw.

"We hope for a frank and serious dialogue on the issues related to the increased NATO activities near Russian borders and their impact on the security and stability in Europe and its regions."

US permanent representative to NATO Douglas Lute said Thursday that "from NATO's perspective, the foundation of our relationship with Russia is a balance between strength and dialogue.

"We're going to do what we need to do on the strength side of the equation, but we'll equally be open to dialogue with Russia, because we think that balance represents the right and responsible approach to NATO-Russia relations."
An excerpt from President Obamas statement regarding the recent fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota. (Screenshot via Facebook.com/potus)

President Obama took to Facebook Thursday afternoon to condemn the fatal police shootings of two African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota this week.

On Tuesday morning, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed during an altercation with cops outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, La. The next day, a traffic stop resulted in the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a police officer in suburban Falcon Heights, Minn.

Graphic cellphone video footage of both incidents quickly spread across social media, sparking outrage and protests in both states.

All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings, Obama said on Facebook. While the president said he is encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, he also noted that regardless of the outcome of such investigations, whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents.

They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve, he wrote.

Obama also addressed the pro-law-enforcement backlash in response to protests against police brutality. In May, Louisiana passed a Blue Lives Matter law, the first in the nation to cover police officers as a protected class under hate-crime law.

To admit weve got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day, Obama wrote. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.

In the meantime, the president urged Americans to resist falling into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, and instead try to come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.

Story continues

Read Obamas entire statement below:

All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Weve seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities whove suffered such a painful loss.

Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough and fair inquiry.

But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

To admit weve got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.

Thats why, two years ago, I set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing that convened police officers, community leaders and activists. Together, they came up with detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing. So even as officials continue to look into this weeks tragic shootings, we also need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. Thats how well keep our communities safe. And thats how we can start restoring confidence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law.

In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling  feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, lets reflect on what we can do better. Lets come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.
(Adds further details)

By Andrea Shalal

RAF FAIRFORD, England, July 7 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp said on Thursday it expected to reach an agreement soon with the U.S. Defense Department about contracts for the next 160 F-35 radar-evading fighter jets, two long-awaited deals valued at around $15 billion.

Jeff Babione, Lockheed's F-35 programme manager, told reporters he was "very, very encouraged" by the discussions about the ninth and 10th contracts, which are being conducted in tandem, and expected to finalise a deal with the Pentagon soon.

Babione said the price of the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing version of the multi-role jet would drop to under $100 million per plane in the 10th low-rate production batch. That includes an engine built by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

"I know it's going to be less, it's just how much less," he said. He said Lockheed was still working to drive the price of the jets down to around $85 million by 2019.

Six of the F-35 Lightning IIs will fly this week at the Royal International Air Tattoo near Fairford, England, the world's largest military airshow, along with a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor, also built by Lockheed, the Pentagon's largest supplier.

The F-35 had been due to make its international premiere at the same air show two years ago, but those plans were scrapped after an engine failure grounded the overall F-35 fleet.

Two F-35s made their premier appearance at an international air show in the Netherlands last month after carrying out a series of tests that officials said showed that the new stealthy jets were no noisier than previous jets.

Babione said the program had come a long way in the past two years, with more than 180 F-35s now flying and the U.S. Air Force poised to declare an initial squadron ready for combat between August and December.

A year ago the U.S. Marine Corps declared as ready for combat its first squadron of F-35Bs, the short take-off and vertical landing version. It plans to deploy that first squadron to a U.S. air base in Iwakuni, Japan early next year.

Story continues

Babione said Lockheed was ready to invest an additional $60 million to $100 million in new technologies or changes that can further lower the cost of the jets under a program called Blueprint for Affordability.

The first phase of that program involved investments of $170 million by Lockheed and primary development partners Northrop Grumman Corp and BAE Systems Plc.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Susan Fenton, Greg Mahlich)
3-party meet inconclusive

A three party meeting attended by top leadersPM KP Oli from CPN-UML, CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deubaheld at PM residence in Baluwatar on Thursday evening concluded without making any headway.
RAF FAIRFORD, England (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp on Thursday welcomed comments suggesting Canada would open a new competition for replacing its current fleet of aging CF-18 Hornets, instead of simply buying Boeing Co F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to meet its needs. Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan told Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper the government would change requirements for the new fighter jets, announced by the previous government, to allow for "more choices." His comments in an interview published on Thursday suggested that Canada could start a fresh competition, including the F-35. Canada helped fund development of the F-35 fighter but the Liberal government, which took power in late 2015, promised during its campaign in last year's election that it would not buy F-35 jets. This led to reports it would buy Super Hornets and forgo a competition. Canadian officials have since softened their tone, but no details of a competition have been released. Lockheed told Reuters last month that it was studying whether to shift work on its multibillion-dollar F-35 fighter jet away from Canadian firms amid the uncertainty over Ottawa's plans to buy the jet. Canadian firms would account for development and production work on the F-35 program worth about $1 billion by the end of 2016. Jeff Babione, Lockheed's F-35 program manager told reporters on Thursday he believed that Canada would ultimately have a new competition that included the F-35. "We love to tell our story. They probably don't fully appreciate what the F-35 can do," Babione said. He said he welcomed the latest comments from the Canadian government, but said the Canadian government had not contacted Lockheed directly. Lockheed officials said they expected discussions to occur in the near future. Babione said Lockheed had begun looking at which firms could take over the work now done by Canadian firms, but had not made any firm decisions. A decision by Canada to buy Super Hornets would make it difficult to keep Canadian firms engaged in the program, he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Many investors like to look for value in stocks, but this can be very tough to define. There is great debate regarding which metrics are the best to focus on in this regard, and which are not really quality indicators of future performance. Fortunately, with our new style score system we have identified the key statistics to pay close attention to and thus which stocks might be the best for value investors in the near term.

This method discovered several great candidates for value-oriented investors, but today lets focus on Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC VNR as this stock is looking especially impressive right now. And while there are numerous reasons why this is the case, we have highlighted three of the most vital reasons for VNRs status as a solid value stock below:

Price to Forward Sales for Vanguard Natural Resources

One of the most underrated ratios for value investors is the price/forward sales metric. This ratio shows investors how much they are paying for each dollar of revenues generated. In other words, a lower number is better here while a price to sales ratio of 1 means that you are paying one dollar for each dollar in sales.

With a P/S ratio of 0.29, VNR investors are paying 29 cents in stock price for each dollar of revenue generated by the company. Compare this to the industry average of 2.62, and it is safe to say that VNR is undervalued compared to many of its peers on this important metric.

VANGUARD NATURL PS Ratio (TTM)

VANGUARD NATURL PS Ratio (TTM) | VANGUARD NATURL Quote

Price/Cash Flow for Vanguard Natural Resources Stock

An often overlooked ratio that can still be a great indicator of value is the price/cash flow metric. This reading is preferred by some since it avoids amortization and depreciation concerns and can give a more accurate picture of the financial health in a business.

The P/CF ratio for VNR comes in at 0.48, and since investors are generally looking for a reading under 20 here, this is pretty good news. Meanwhile, we should also point out that the industry average for this metric is 1.18, so Vanguard Natural Resources has its peers beat in this regard too.

Story continues

VNR Earnings Estimate Revisions Moving in the Right Direction

The solid value ratios outlined in the preceding paragraphs might be enough for some investors, but we should also note that the earnings estimate revisions have been trending in a positive direction as well. Analysts who follow VNR stock have been raising their estimates for the company lately, meaning that the EPS picture is looking a bit more favorably for Vanguard Natural Resources now.

Over the past 30 days, 1 earnings estimate has gone higher compared to none lower for the full year, while we are also seeing that 1 estimate has moved upwards with no downward revision for the next year time frame too. These revisions have helped to boost the consensus estimate as 30 days ago VNR was expected to post earnings of 45 cents per share for the full year though today it looks to have EPS of 47 cents for the full year.

Bottom Line

For the reasons detailed above, investors shouldnt be surprised to read that we have VNR as a stock with a Value Score of A and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). So if you are a value investor, definitely keep VNR on your short list as this looks to be a stock that is very well-positioned for gains in the near term.

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Paris (AFP) - The daughter of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt was charged Thursday with witness nobbling in a case involving exploiting the frail billionaire, her lawyer said.

Francoise Bettencourt Meyers was questioned over a 300,000 euro ($330,000) loan she made in November 2012 to her mother's former accountant, Claire Thibout, the lawyer said.

"We will challenge it," said Jean Veil. "This does not hold water. This charge is totally groundless."

Bettencourt-Meyers initially triggered the probe into the alleged exploitation of Europe's richest woman, who is now 93.

She had accused photographer Francois-Marie Banier of deliberately "shattering" her relationship with her mother for allegedly taking advantage of the billionaire's increasing mental frailty.

Eight members of Bettencourt's entourage were convicted in May 2015 of fleecing her, including Banier, who was sentenced to three years in prison with six months suspended.

Banier was also ordered to pay 158 million euros in damages as well as a 350,000 euro fine.

Two men charged with overseeing Bettencourt's vast fortune, Patrice de Maistre and his successor Pascal Wilhelm, were both sentenced to 30 months in prison, 12 of which were suspended, and fines of 250,000 euros.

They have appealed their convictions charging that false testimony was given in their trial.

The explosive drama has dragged in former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who was accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash from Bettencourt for his 2007 election campaign.

That charge was dropped in October 2013 due to lack of evidence.
If you loved Making a Murderer, youll want to watch HBOs The Night Of

If you loved Making a Murderer, youll want to watch HBOs The Night Of

thenightof

Now that Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley have wrapped for the year, you might be wondering, what am I going to do with myself on Sunday nights now? Well, look no further than HBOs new mini-series The Night Of. BECAUSE IT LOOKS AMAZING.

The series, which stars Riz Ahmed (remember Jake Gyllenhaals sidekick in the uber-creepy Nightcrawler?), will be right up your alley if you love crime stories like Making a Murderer and Serial. It centers around Nasir Khan (Ahmed), who, after a night of partying with a young woman, wakes up the next morning to find the same woman dead next to him. Disoriented and panicked, he flees the scene, but later ends up in prison as a suspect. The series then meticulously delves into our heavily-flawed criminal justice system from all sides  the victim, the suspects, the witnesses, the lawyers, the detectives, etc.

nightof

But unlike the aforementioned real crime docs, The Night Of is fiction, which might just be even more satisfying, because unlike the real-crime documentaries, we get to see what actually happened rather than just wonder.

In each of those cases [Making a Murderer, Serial, The Jinx], Matt Wilstein explains for the Daily Beast, we simply dont know the truth. The Night Of is a fictional story  based on the 2008 British series Criminal Justice  we get to be there with the alleged killer at the scene of the crime. The picture we are given by co-creators Steven Zaillian, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Schindlers List, and Richard Price, an acclaimed novelist who wrote for The Wire, is so much richer and fuller than what amounts to guesswork in those documentaries.

nightof2

And speaking of very talented people we know and love, The Night Of features a lot of familiar HBO series faces like Michael K. Williams (Omar from The Wire), J.D. Williams (Bodie from The Wire), Bill Camp (Glenmore from Boardwalk Empire), Max Casella (of The Wire and Boardwalk Empire), and a brief appearance from Kevin Dunn (Ben from Veep!). We also have the super-talented John Turturro of O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Transformers fame and Amara Karan of The Darjeeling Limited.

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As Wilstein reports, James Gandolfini himself was essential in bringing the project to HBO almost ten years ago and was set to play an attorney before his unfortunate death. So, if you loved The Sopranos (who didnt?), theres a good chance you might love this, too.

The Hollywood Reporter explains why the shows level of nuance will make it so compelling and why The Night Of is not just a critique of the criminal justice system:

Or maybe the series will end up being an indictment of viewers. Like I said, Price and Zaillian have given us a lot to think about, but are we interpreting the evidence correctly? Will our own predictive flaws be brought on by a lack of attention or by our own prejudices? Are we jumping to conclusions based on Nazs Muslim faith, his education, his initial politeness?

We cannot WAIT to get into this show, which will begin airing on HBO on July 10th.

Watch the trailer below:

The post If you loved Making a Murderer, youll want to watch HBOs The Night Of appeared first on HelloGiggles.
(Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) said on Thursday that U.S. and Russian authorities had approved its $27 billion (20.94 billion pounds) merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE), giving it the first set of regulatory clearances needed to create a European exchange giant.

However, there still remain questions whether EU regulators will approve the deal, given the huge combined presence of the two companies in derivatives clearing and the status quo of LSE's LCH.Clearnet as Europe's main clearing house for euro-denominated swaps.

LSEG shareholders and industry experts have also questioned the viability of the deal after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union, a move that could dent London's title as a global financial hub.

Last week, German markets regulator BaFin said it was hard to see how the head office of the merged group could still be in London given that Britain was leaving the EU.

Despite these concerns, LSEG shareholders voted overwhelmingly on Monday to approve the merger, after Chief Executive Xavier Rolet said the group was "extremely well positioned" globally no matter what the outcome of British negotiations with the EU on new trading terms.

Deutsche Boerse has also asked its shareholders to back the deal  the third attempt by the LSE to merge with the German exchange operator in some 16 years  in a postal vote that closes on July 12.

The merger, if approved by the shareholders and cleared by other regulators, will create the world's biggest exchange by revenue, forecast to be 4.7 billion euros this year from stock, bond and derivatives trading, indexes, market data, and clearing and settlement.

(Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
Police are hunting a lynx after it escaped from a zoo by chewing through its enclosure wall.

People have been warned not to approach the lynx, which is roughly the size of a large domestic cat, after it escaped from Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon.

Missing - the lynx disappeared from its enclosure at Dartmoor Zoo (SWNS)

The zoo said the lynx, named Flaviu, had arrived last night from Port Lympne at 7.30pm.

But at 10am today, keepers found that he had escaped by chewing through a board in the wall of the house.

After a search of the grounds, keepers established that the lynx had probably left the site and alerted police.

Devon and Cornwall Police said they were informed at 10.20am today that the two-year-old grey/silver cat had escaped its enclosure at the zoo.

Officers have been helping with the search as well as visiting local schools and homes to give advice. The National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter has joined in the search.



Police urged members of the public to call 999 if they see the animal and not to approach it as it could become dangerous if cornered or frightened.

Searches - police are helping zoo staff hunt for the lynx (SWNS)

In a statement, Dartmoor Zoo said the house Flaviu escaped fromhad previously successfully held lynx for eight years.

It said: Our main concerns now are for the safety of the public and for the welfare of Flaviu.

He is extremely timid and his instinct will be to stay away from people so we are asking the public to be vigilant and inform the police on 999 if they see him.



Search teams are being organised for the local area and we have humane traps which we will be laying out in the vicinity. These are of ample size to fit a Lynx and will not hurt him.



They will contain various types of meat from specialist suppliers to tempt him and the door will then close behind him, trapping him unharmed where he can safely be returned to the zoo.

Flaviu is believed to be a Carpathian lynx, which are native to the Carpathian Mountains of Central Europe and are among the biggest species of lynx.

(Top pic: PA)


4.3 M aftershock jolts Lamjung, neighbouring districts

A 4.3 magnitude aftershock of the April 25 earthquake with epicentre in Lamjung district jolted the nation at 2:44 pm on Thursday, according to National Seismological Centre.
Margot Robbie teaches us Australian slang, just because

Margot Robbie teaches us Australian slang, just because

Margot Robbie is not only incredibly talented, but shes super relatable. You just want to sit back with her, chill, and toss back a few glasses of wine. Thankfully, Vanity Fair has given us with the next best thing.

In a four-minute video, you can watch the star of Suicide Squad explain 50 different Australian slang terms in her own words. Shes perched on a comfy chair, with her hair naturally falling around her shoulders, and you cant help but think youre right there with her, experiencing her adorable sense of humor firsthand.

She flips through some of the most popular Aussie words, like ute, which just means pickup truck, bottle-o, a liquor store, and barbie, which is a barbecue. Then there are the weirder phrases, like Fair Dinkum, which stands in for Really? or Wow.

vf1

She explains that thong doesnt mean G-string like it does in the States. Rather, its your flip-flops. And sheila is our equivalent of lady or woman. She uses ripper in this context: It was a ripper of a party! or Hes a ripper of a bloke.

vf2

Arguably, the best moments of the video are the ones where she actually has no clue what the phrase means, like dogs eye. I mean, look at her face. Shes the best.

robbie

Having lived on and off in Australia for the last few years (my partner is Australian), I watched this video and immediately wished I had had her by my side to explain all this when I first arrived in the country. Well, at least now you know! Time to book a ticket to Australia, mate!

Watch the video here:

The post Margot Robbie teaches us Australian slang, just because appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Alton Sterling death: Fresh protests over Louisiana shooting

Hundreds of people have gathered for a second night of protests at the spot where a black man was pinned to the ground and shot dead by police.
You might not realize it, but your doctor has guidelines for almost every decision he or she makes about your health care. These extensive guideline documents have recommendations about how to treat you, based on long summaries of the scientific evidence. Confusingly, there are often multiple guidelines from different organizations for the same condition. You would expect these experts to make the same recommendations about the same conditions. But they often don't. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, for example, has 477 diabetes guideline documents on its website. And experts sometimes have financial arrangements with companies that stand to benefit from their guidance.

Besides being confusing, these guidelines are problematic for other reasons.

Guidelines are about large populations -- they are not about individuals.

Guideline recommendations are drawn from scientific research, usually summaries of more than one study. So they consider what is appropriate across a population of people. But doctors and others need to remember that the people included in studies are hardly representative of an individual patient's circumstances. The people the guidelines were written for might be older or younger than you. Or come from different backgrounds. You might also have more than one condition that your doctor needs to carefully consider before he or she makes a decision about your care. That's why guidelines are meant to be just that -- guides -- not hard and fast rules. Yet doctors tend to treat them like requirements, worrying that if they do not "follow" guidelines, they might be open to lawsuits.

[See: 8 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Colon Cancer.]

Guidelines are long and full of jargon -- and hardly ever used.

Many guideline documents are hundreds of pages long and written for professionals. They are not easy to read, even for doctors. The U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, for example, has a "quick" guideline for asthma care that is 11 pages long.

Story continues

This exhaustive information isn't necessarily useful for your doctor as he or she tries to make decisions specific to your care. Some organizations make patient-friendly guidelines, but they are difficult to find online, even with perfect Google search terms.

[See: A Tour of Mammographic Screenings During Your Life.]

Guidelines don't consider what matters to individual patients.

Perhaps the most important problem with guidelines is that they seem to assume that all patients have the same goals. Not only do guidelines need to be interpreted with care, it is also clear that as patients we have individual priorities and preferences. Some things matter more to me than they do to my neighbor. So why would the same recommendations apply to both of us? These tools fail to make it clear that patient preferences matter. Of course it is important to have summaries of scientific knowledge, but doctors need to be curious about what actually matters to patients, before good decisions can be made. As currently designed, guidelines may well stand in the way of you getting the care that is right for you.

[See: 10 Questions Doctors Wish Their Patients Would Ask.]

Are there solutions?

Many people -- doctors, policymakers and patients -- are realizing the shortcomings of guidelines. They're helpful digests of scientific evidence, but they fail when it comes to supporting patients and doctors to work together to make better decisions.

However, there are efforts being made to design tools, called patient decision aids, that are much easier to use, yet are trustworthy. Descriptions of alternative treatments that allow easy comparisons are the key to these new tools. Along with answers to patients' frequently asked questions, these kinds of tools are:

? Short enough to be used in conversations between doctors and patients.

? Free of financial competing interests as possible.

? Designed with patients, for patients.

? Help you ask the right questions.

It is also a nice surprise that doctors also find these tools be rather useful. Short and sweet, yet accurate, works for most people.

Glyn Elwyn, MD, PhD, MSc, is a professor and physician-researcher at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice in Lebanon, New Hampshire. He studied medicine in the United Kingdom and did his doctorate with Professor Richard Grol in the Netherlands. He leads an interdisciplinary team that studies shared decision making. His main focus is to understand the impact of Option Grids decision aids -- evidence-based tools to foster better conversations. He developed the Observer OPTION and CollaboRATE measures of shared decision making.
MetLife, Inc. MET has sold its U.S retail advisory force, Premier Client Group, to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) for $165 million as per media release. The companys affiliated broker-dealer, MSI Financial Services Inc. (earlier known as MetLife Securities), was also part of the deal. This acquisition agreement was announced in Feb 2016.



This sale reflects MetLifes intention to separate itself from a large portion of its U.S. retail business. Also, the business was unable to deliver impressive results of late, making the divestment a feasible option.



Moreover, there was need of higher capital requirements owing to its SIFI status. Nonetheless, MetLife successfully shed its SIFI status in March as District of Columbia federal judge Rosemary Collyer gave the verdict that the insurer is not too big to fail and should not be subject to stricter regulation.



With the sale, the company separated the distribution and product manufacturing functions in its U.S. retail unit. The axing of the distribution business will now allow the U.S. retail unit to focus more on product manufacturing, which is its core business. This, in turn, will provide the company a greater competitive advantage.



Notably, MetLife has also inked a product development agreement with MassMutual as part of the aforesaid deal. According to the terms of this agreement, the insurer will design certain annuity products to be sold by MassMutual.



METLIFE INC Price

METLIFE INC Price | METLIFE INC Quote

On the other hand, the acquisition broadens MassMutuals business by 45% in terms of sales and advisory offices and by 60% in terms of financial professionals. The acquisition also positions MassMutual as an ace individual life insurance and whole life insurance provider in the U.S.



MetLife currently carries Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



Stocks To Consider:



Investors seeking yield from insurance sector can consider few better ranked stocks like Cigna Corp. CI, MGIC Investment Corp. MTG and Assurant, Inc. AIZ Each of these carries a Zack Rank #2.



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Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico City's zoo was in shock Thursday after its beloved male gorilla died as veterinarians prepared to transport him to another city to mate with two females.

Bantu, who was 24, died of cardiorespiratory arrest late Wednesday after he was sedated and efforts to reanimate him failed, the city's environment department said in a statement, citing a preliminary autopsy.

The 224-kilo (493-pound) western lowland gorilla, who would have turned 25 in September, provided one of the main attractions of the capital's vast Chapultepec zoo.

"This incident has caused great consternation among zoo personnel who cared for him for nearly 25 years," the statement said, adding that international veterinary protocols had been followed.

Bantu was to be taken to the zoo in the western city of Guadalajara, where he would have been presented to two females in the hope that they would reproduce.

Some 20 doctors and experts from the two zoos were involved in the effort to transport him. Tests are being conducted to confirm the exact cause of death.

The capital's zoo director, Juan Arturo Rivera Rebolledo, rejected any suggestion that Bantu died due to the anesthesia.

"Bantu weighed 224 kilos and we considered a dose of anesthesia for 200 kilos. The dose was much smaller than what it should have been," he told El Universal newspaper, adding that the death was due to "a medical complication."

The death of a gorilla is cause for concern because populations have plummeted in the face of relentless habitat destruction. Fewer than 175,000 remain in the wild.

A controversy erupted in the United States in May after zookeepers in Cincinnati, Ohio, fatally shot a silverback to protect a toddler who had fallen into the gorilla's enclosure.
(Corrects U.S. exports to 185,635 units, not 172,730)

MEXICO CITY, July 7 (Reuters) - Mexico auto production climbed 4.1 percent in June versus the same month last year while auto exports rose 1.8 percent, the country's auto industry group AMIA said on Thursday.

The total number of autos produced was 319,122 in June, up from 306,694 last year, AMIA said in a statement. Exports rose to 247,005 units from 242,720 in June 2015.

Exports to the United States, which receives more than three quarters of Mexico's car shipments, rose 7.5 percent to 185,635 units.

Meanwhile, exports to Canada were unchanged, while shipments to Latin America plunged by over 20 percent.

(Reporting by Luis Rojas; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Blast kills policeman near Eid prayers in Bangladesh

At least one policeman has been killed and five others wounded after a small bomb blew up near a mass Eid prayer congregation in northern Bangladesh.
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner

Citadel Securities announced Thursday morning that it has hired Kevin Turner away from Microsoft to be CEO.

Turner was COO running Microsoft's enormous sales operations.

He had been at Microsoft for 11 years and was a major part of former CEO Steve Ballmer's administration.

Turner was at one time in the running to be named CEO of Microsoft after Ballmer announced his retirement.

Prior to Microsoft he worked his way up at Walmart, starting as a cashier while in college and later becoming CIO responsible for many of the company's industry-setting technology initiatives. He later became CEO of Sam's Club.

Here's the press release:

Citadel Names B. Kevin Turner as Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Securities

Turner Also to Serve as Vice Chairman of the Firm



CHICAGO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Citadel, a global financial firm, today announced the appointment of B. Kevin Turner as Chief Executive Officer of Citadel Securities and Vice Chairman of Citadel. Turner, who spent 11 years as Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, will join Citadel Securities after a short transition period from Microsoft.

"Kevin is a world-class business builder with experience managing large and complex organizations. He will be an outstanding leader for Citadel Securities," said Citadel Founder and CEO Kenneth Griffin. "Kevin is a proven innovator who brings expertise in technology and operations with a client-first focus. I'm confident that under Kevin's leadership we will further distinguish ourselves as the partner of choice for our clients."

Turner has a successful track record across diverse disciplines. At Microsoft, he led a team of more than 51,000 employees in 191 countries. Turner was the driving force behind the sales and marketing efforts of Office 365 and the widespread customer adoption of Azure cloud. Turner's leadership resulted in the highest customer satisfaction scores in company history and more than $90 billion in revenues for Microsoft in 2015.

Story continues

Prior to Microsoft, Turner spent nearly 20 years at Walmart. He joined the company as a cashier while pursuing his undergraduate degree, and at 29, he was named the youngest corporate officer in Walmart's history. On the merits of his insight, talent and work ethic, Turner quickly rose to positions of leadership and was responsible for many game-changing technology initiatives. Turner was named Walmart's Chief Information Officer and later President and CEO of Sam's Club, a $37 billion division of Walmart. Turner was the first to ever receive the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Walton family.

"It is an incredible honor for me to serve in this important role, and I am grateful to Ken Griffin and the entire Citadel Securities team for the trust they are placing in me," said Turner. "Citadel is a global technology leader, recognized for its work to level the playing field for investors and make markets more fair, transparent and efficient. I look forward to leading this exemplary team as we grow this global business." Turner added, "I also want to express my sincere personal thanks to Satya Nadella for his leadership and mentorship, and to colleagues at Microsoft for their friendship, hard work and dedication."

About Citadel Securities

Citadel Securities is a leading global market maker across a broad array of fixed income and equity securities. Our world-class capabilities position us to meet the liquidity demands of our diverse group of institutional clients in all market conditions. In partnering with us, our clients, including asset managers, banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, government agencies and public pension programs are able to gain a powerful trading advantage and are better positioned to meet their investment goals. For more information visit www.citadelsecurities.com.

NOW WATCH: These secret codes let you access hidden iPhone features





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ok go this too shall pass video

Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has set a new record by storing 200 megabytes of data on strands of synthetic DNA. That's about 10 times the previous record.

Back in April 2016, Microsoft Research bought 10 million custom-made synthetic DNA sequences from Twist Bioscience, a San Francisco startup.

The idea was to look into the idea of using DNA molecules as a way to store massive amounts of data. Unlike hard drives, Blu-Ray discs, or pretty much any current storage technology, DNA stays intact and readable for as long as 1,000 to 10,000 years.

With this announcement, only a few months later, the science is starting to bear fruit.

Microsoft was able to successfully encode and then decode a bunch of data to DNA strands, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in more than 100 languages, the top 100 public domain books from Project Guttenberg, the Crop Trusts seed database, and the high-def music video to OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass."

Why OK Go in particular? Because the video's Rube Goldberg-inspired machinery required the band to bring in lots of outside help from all kinds of cross-disciplines, much like how Microsoft Research had to bring in biologists and computer scientists alike from Twist and the University of Washington to help break this DNA storage record.

"They're very creative and they bring a variety of other areas into their work," Microsoft Research DNA storage project lead Karin Strauss told Business Insider. "We see parallels with our work."

Two hundred megabytes of data may seem measley. After all, the most basic iPhone holds 16 gigabytes, or 16,000 megabytes. And with an average price-per-gigabyte falling to less than $0.03 in 2016, it's both cheaper and easier than something crazy like storing data on DNA. That's why Microsoft is thinking bigger.

"Initially, what makes the most sense for DNA is archival storage," says Strauss.

Story continues

Doesn't degrade

While it'll be a long time before it's as fast and as cheap as the solid-state drive that goes into a smartphone, DNA has the potential to be perfect for storing archives of big files, like movies and video, over long periods of time  hard drives, USB drives, tapes, and CD/DVDs degrade over decades, but this synthetic DNA could outlast us all.

That's why books and videos were chosen for this particular project, Microsoft says: To highlight how DNA storage could preserve culture over the long term, even as other technologies come and go. After all, as long as there are humans, there will be DNA, and likely the tools to analyze it.

Ultimately Microsoft Research estimates that one cubic millimeter of DNA can eventually store one exabyte, or one billion gigabytes of data. But the science is handicapped by the fact that it's tough to actually store that much data.

dna sequencing

DNA storage could become especially useful as the rise of the smartphone era means we're generating more photos, video, text, and audio than ever before.

While the technology is very real, scientists need to figure out better ways to quickly and automatically encode the data into DNA. Right now, it's a slow, painstaking process, which is why it's only 200 megabytes. Still, Strauss is confident that in the same way hard drives got smaller, cheaper, and faster over the years, so too will DNA storage.

"That's pretty much how all memory technology evolves," Strauss says. "The scaling needs to improve."

Scientists are also still working on the best way to decode the data once it's stored in DNA. So while it might seem really cool to have OK Go's music stored in the new DNA-format, don't expect to watch the video just yet: unless, you happen to have a DNA sequencer in your living room.

NOW WATCH: The DNA in your body stretches 12 times farther than Pluto





More From Business Insider


Death by racism.

An asylum seeker in Italy was killed on Tuesday, June 5, after responding to racist insults against his wife.

In 2015, Emmanuel Chidi Nnamdi, then 34, and his partner Chinyere, 24, made a perilous journey from Nigeria to Italy. The two applied for asylum, and while waiting on a decision, were housed in a shelter ran by a Catholic organization in Fermo, a town of about 40,000 in the central Italian region of Marche. They told Vinicio Albanesi, the priest overseeing the shelter, that they fled their native country after terror group Boko Haram set their church on fire, killing both of their parents and their daughter. But Italy turned out to be no safer.

Nnamdi was allegedly beaten to death on Tuesday by Amedeo Mancini, a local farmer described by Italian newspapers as having connections to far-right political groups, and who had been banned from public sporting events for violent behavior. According to the initial police reconstruction of the events (link in Italian), the couple was walking near the seminary where they lived when 35-year-old Mancini, sitting on a bench by the street with a friend, started shouting racist insults and called Chinyere an African monkey.

What exactly happened next is yet to be confirmed, but in the altercation, Nnamdi fell to the ground. Mancini and another man continued to beat him, according to Chinyere. Nnamdi ended up in a coma and was declared dead in the hospital shortly after. Chinyere, too, is severely injured, although the doctors say she will recover.

Mancini has been arrested on charges of murder.

Chinyere reportedly hoped to donate Nnamdis organs, but was not able to authorize the donationtheir relationship had been celebrated only as a religious ceremony (link in Italian) and not formalized under Italian law.

The horrifying episode comes in a climate of growing intolerance and resurgence of far-right, xenophobic movements across Europe, and has caused shock across Italy. Earlier this year, four bombs were found outside buildings belonging to the same community that hosted the couple.

Story continues

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It's a Million Dollar marriage for Ryan Serhant and Emilia Bechrakis!

The Million Dollar Listing New York stars tied the knot on the island of Corfu in Greece on Thursday, ET can confirm. The Bravo personalities celebrated their wedding -- plus his 32nd birthday and her 31st b'day -- all week, surrounded by family, friends and reality cameras.

EXCLUSIVE: 'Real Housewives of Dallas' Stars Mark and Cary Deuber Set the Record Straight on Their Marriage

Serhant popped the question back in September 2014, when he shut down Times Square for his bride-to-be. So, is it any surprise that the TV real estate agent went all out for his big day, too?

"It is not easy, in part because we are so busy. We work all the time and there's so much coordination," he told ET's Brice Sander in May. "I'm like, 'Why do we need that much cake?' Like, 'Why do we need that kind of cake? Why does a cake cost $10,000 dollars?'"

"It's Greece, so it's beautiful and they're like, 'We need to bring in $15,000 of flowers.' To Greece?!" Serhant explained. "It's already going to be pretty. It's like rolling waters and mermaids and like, the gods from the heavens are going to be there! Poseidon and all of their friends...[But] that's why I say this is my last wedding. This is the last one I'm gonna do."

And the couple's wedding week was well-documented on both of their Instagrams:

For scoop on Million Dollar List NY -- including "shocking" surprises and when Serhant is going to strip down again for the show -- check out the video below.

Related Articles
By David Bailey

ST PAUL, Minn. (Reuters) - The second fatal police shooting of a black man in two days sparked outrage in the United States on Thursday, this one particularly chilling because the victim's girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward.

The killing of Philando Castile, 32, who was shot by a police officer after a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, prompted Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to order a state investigation.

"Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers were white? I dont think it would have," Dayton told reporters on Thursday. "So Im forced to confront that this kind of racism exists, and it's incumbent upon all of us to vow and ensure that it doesn't happen and doesn't continue to happen."

Castiles death occurred within a day of the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was killed during an altercation with two white police officers. Graphic video of that incident triggered protests and an outcry on social media.

Dayton called for the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation, but the department said on Thursday it would assist the state investigation as necessary. The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting.

Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, videotaped the minutes immediately following his shooting and posted it on Facebook Live. Castile, who was driving, was shot with Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter in the car. The graphic video showed blood oozing through Castile's shirt as he appeared to lose consciousness.

President Barack Obama said the killings were tragedies.

"All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system," he said in remarks after arriving in Poland.

Story continues

PROTESTERS GATHER

The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests in the past two years, and has spawned a movement called Black Lives Matter. Anger has intensified when the officers involved in such incidents have been acquitted or not charged at all.

Reynolds' video showed a police officer outside the car pointing a gun. Reynolds described what was going on, sometimes speaking calmly to the police officer, sometimes with her voice rising as she feared Castile was dying.

Reynolds said Castile was shot after police pulled their car over, citing a broken tail light. "Nothing within his body language said 'Kill me, I want to be dead,'" she said on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters gathered at the governor's mansion in St. Paul, about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of the scene of the incident, where the governor spoke at a news conference with Reynolds and civil rights activists.

When Reynolds spoke earlier in the day, people shouted "murder," and called for the arrest of the police officer involved.

"All of these killings of young black men, I am ready to take my grandson somewhere else," said one protester, Chanell Peaches Wall, 59, who said she recently moved to the area from Tennessee.

She held a placard that said "He was my son too" on one side and "No justice, no peace" on the other.

Demonstrations over the deaths of Castile, Sterling and other black men killed by police were planned in St. Paul, Chicago and several smaller cities on Thursday evening, according to organizers posting on social media.

In New York City, several hundred protesters blocked traffic in Times Square, chanting "Hands up, don't shoot," and other slogans.

Other rallies, including one in Atlanta, were planned for Friday. Weekend protests as far away as London were being discussed on Twitter.

OFFICER PUT ON LEAVE

A statement on the website of the City of Falcon Heights, where the shooting occurred, said a Saint Anthony Village police officer discharged his gun during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, and the unidentified driver later died at Hennepin County Medical Center from resulting injuries.

It said the officer involved had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure for Falcon Heights, which is about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of downtown Minneapolis. The ethnicity of the police officer was not clear. Attempts to reach the police department for further comment were unsuccessful.

Former Saint Anthony Chief of Police John Ohl, who retired in June, said in an interview with a freelance journalist in May that was published on Thursday that the media were biased against police on the issue of police killings. (http://bit.ly/29unPMU)

"Nothings significantly broken in law enforcement now," he said.

Minnesota officials declined in a Thursday afternoon news conference to identify the officer who shot Castile, saying they were still interviewing him. His identity would be released after the interview was completed, they said.

The city's website said the Saint Anthony Village police department was working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other law enforcement agencies on an investigation.

The labor union that represents the officer who shot Castile urged people to reserve judgment.

"We know that people are angry, discouraged and heartbroken," said Sean Gormley, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services Inc, in a statement. "We support an open, thorough and objective investigation that we believe, in time, will provide the answers to the questions we all have."

'SHAKEN' BY VIDEO

"Many of us watched the video, and we are shaken to capacity at the thought of this," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP rights group.

What this signifies to us is that black lives dont really matter in the state of Minnesota.

Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, described her son as a "laid back" but industrious man who worked as a school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, she told CNN.

Reynolds said police had not even tried to check if her boyfriend was alive after they shot him, and it had taken at least 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

"Not one shot, not two shots, not three shots, but five shots," she said at the news conference. "They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime."

St. Paul Public Schools said in a statement Castile had worked for the district since 2002, and colleagues were mourning a cheerful "team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students."

VIDEO OF AFTERMATH

In the video Reynolds posted to Facebook after the shooting, she said her boyfriend had just been pulled over and explained he had a gun he was licensed to carry.

"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," Reynolds said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm."

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

"Fuck," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video. "I told him not to reach for it."

The shooting was the second high-profile killing of a black man by police in Minnesota in seven months. Two Minneapolis police officers in November shot and killed 24-year-old Jamar Clark in a struggle that broke out when they were called to assist an ambulance crew that was helping Clark's girlfriend.

The Washington Post said Castile was at least the 506th person and 123rd black American shot and killed by police so far in 2016, according to a database it has set up to track such deaths. About 10 percent of those black Americans were unarmed, while about 61 percent had guns, the paper said.

(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney, Bill Trott, Colleen Jenkins, Julia Edwards, Karen Pierog, Michael Hirtzer, Tom Polansek and Eric M. Johnson; Writing by Frances Kerry and Bill Rigby; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Cynthia Osterman)
By Barbara Goldberg

(Reuters) - Philando Castile, 32, was quick with a hug, gentle, and so smart that he was considered over-qualified for his cafeteria supervisor job at a Minnesota public school where kids loved him, recalled friends, family and others who knew him.

At a traffic stop near Minneapolis on Wednesday, he became the 123rd black American shot and killed by police in 2016, according to a Washington Post database that tracks such deaths.

Castile told police that he was "concealed and carry, that he was armed," his girlfriend Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds told reporters on Thursday. Reynolds was with Castile when he was shot and videotaped the immediate aftermath. The video was posted to Facebook and went viral on social media.

His mother Valerie Castile told CNN that her son had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, as did his sister.

About 1 in 17 eligible Minnesotans have a concealed carry permit, slightly more than the U.S. national average, according to gun rights advocates.

Hours before he was killed, Castile and his sister were discussing their carry permits when he stopped at the family home on his way to getting his hair styled, his mother told CNN.

"They were saying to be cautious. And my daughter said, 'I don't even want to carry my gun because I'm afraid they will shoot me first and then ask questions later,'" Valerie Castile told CNN.

Brian Herron, pastor at Zion Baptist Church in Minneapolis, said he was outraged that the shooting prompted comments that Castile was an upstanding citizen with no criminal record, rather than sparking immediate outrage that another black man had been killed by police.

"He didnt deserve to die. For a traffic stop? He didnt deserve to die. Were not animals. Why, in 2016, are we still talking about, 'Im a man,' just like back in the 50s, 40s, 60s. Why do we have to keep saying, 'Were human?' Herron said at a press conference.

Story continues

Castile's Facebook page presented the image of an easy-going man who posted numerous photos of family members. It noted that he had studied at the University of Minnesota.

His background photo celebrates Black Wall Street, a nickname for an affluent black community in early 1900s Tulsa, Oklahoma. The community prospered until 1921 when it was looted and burned by white rioters, according to the Tulsa Historical society.

St. Paul Public Schools, where Castile was employed in the Nutrition Services Department since 2002 when he was 19, said he was promoted to his supervisory position two years ago.

His employment started after he graduated with honors from St. Paul Central High School, where he was a straight-A student, his cousin Antonio Johnson told local media.

Kids loved him. He was smart, over-qualified. He was quiet, respectful, and kind," a cafeteria co-worker said in a statement issued by the school.

Castile appeared to be a man on his way up in the world, his co-workers said.

"He wore a shirt and tie to his supervisor interview and said his goal was to one day 'sit on the other side of this table.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Additional reporting by Michael Hirtzer and Fiona Ortiz in Chicago, and Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
Chilcot report: US 'pushed UK into Iraq War too early', says ex-ambassador

The US pushed the UK into military action in Iraq "too early", a former British ambassador to the UN has said in the wake of the Chilcot report.
The governor and lieutenant governor of Minnesota are calling for a federal investigation into Wednesday's fatal police shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile, PEOPLE confirms.



A statement issued Thursday by Gov. Mark Dayton offers condolences to Castile's relatives while vowing to "do everything in my power to help protect the integrity of that investigation, to ensure a proper and just outcome for all involved."



According to the statement, Dayton says he has reached out to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough "to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter."



After Wednesday's fatal officer-involved shooting, Dayton says "the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level," and that investigators "are currently collecting all necessary evidence and interviewing witnesses to determine what happened and to assure that justice in this case is served."



In her own statement, Lt. Governor Tina Smith expresses sympathy to "everyone touched by this tragedy, including our law enforcement officers."





Minnesota Governor Requests Federal Investigation Into Philando Castile Fatal Police Shooting| Crime & Courts, Shootings, True Crime

 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.



Smith adds: "As we seek justice, we must be ruled by facts and the law. We need a swift, impartial investigation, and peace."



Police in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, allegedly shot Castile at least four times Wednesday during a traffic stop.



The incident's aftermath was streamed live on Facebook, in a video that's now gone viral. The nearly 10-minute video showed a woman, Diamond Reynolds, in the car with a man with a blood-soaked shirt. In the video, Reynolds says the car was pulled over for a "busted tail light."



Last night, hundreds of protestors gathered outside the governor's mansion demanding action.



Jon Mangseth, interim chief at the St. Anthony Police Department, confirmed during a news conference that a man died in a police shooting, noting that the traffic stop was conducted at around 9 p.m. in the St. Paul suburb. He did not name Castile as the victim.



The incident is the second officer-involved shooting this week. On Tuesday, Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot by police outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an incident captured on cellphone video.
Minneapolis (AFP) - Minnesota's governor asked the White House Thursday to launch a federal probe into the shooting overnight of black motorist Philando Castile by a white police officer.

"This morning, I spoke by phone with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the US Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter," Governor Mark Dayton said in a statement, adding that a state probe was already underway.

"Overnight, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level," he said. "They are currently collecting all necessary evidence, and interviewing witnesses, to determine what happened, and to assure that justice in this case is served."
Saint Paul (AFP) - Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said Thursday there was "every indication" that police conduct in the fatal shooting of a black motorist was "way in excess" of what the situation warranted, and that race may have played a role.

"I can't say how shocked I am and how deeply, deeply offended that this would occur in Minnesota to somebody who got pulled over for a tail light being out of order," Dayton told reporters, calling the situation "absolutely appalling" on all levels.

The Democratic governor also suggested race could be a factor in the shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile, as his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter looked on.

"Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don't think it would have," he said.

"So I'm forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists."

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting, as Castile lay bleeding in the driver's seat and an officer pointed his gun through the window.

Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile informed the officer he was carrying a licensed gun, Reynolds said, and was shot as he reached for his license and registration.

"Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a traffic tail light being out of function," said Dayton, who was visibly emotional.
When reigning Miss Nashville Jeanette Morelan was asked about the sentencing of Brock Turner  the former Stanford University swimmer found guilty of sexual assault  during last month's Miss Tennessee pageant, Morelan decided to speak candidly about her own experience as a sexual assault survivor.



"It was a split-second decision," Morelan, 21, tells PEOPLE of sharing her story during the Q&A portion of the pageant. "You hear the question and you just have a moment to think. I had known how I felt about the case, and was horrified to hear about it. As a survivor I had to follow at a distance because it is so painful to read about."



But Morelan pushed that pain aside to go public at the pageant: "As a survivor of sexual assault, I definitely do not agree with the sentence," she said onstage. "Perpetrators, no matter how privileged, should be punished for their crimes."



Looking back, she explains her decision to speak out. "I was fearful because most people know me as Miss Nashville, the student body president, the national winner of the Miss America Organization teen pageant in 2010 or other things," she says. "But I'm a believer that your character is determined by how you handle challenges, not how you handle success."









"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." aHelen Keller I've finally had the chance to sit down and write about my experience at Miss TN! Read now @ jeanettemorelan.com! #TheAdventuresOfMissNashville A photo posted by jeanette a morelan (@jeanettemorelan) on Jun 27, 2016 at 6:52pm PDT





Morelan was assaulted two years ago by a former student at her university, and for weeks she didn't tell anyone or take action against her attacker.



"One of the things that really hindered me was that I had never known anyone who had gone through sexual assault," she says. "I was in denial for months that it had even happened. You think, 'This can't happen to me.' "



"I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder," she continues. "It took a huge mental toll. As much as I tried to push it away, it culminated. After a few weeks, I decided to report it to my university and go through the Title IX process."



Title IX is a federal civil right for students to be protected from sexual discrimination, sexual harassment or sexual violence. As a result, Morelan's university issued a no contact order. She decided not to press charges because the assault was not violent, but she still had to learn to face the emotional fallout.





Story continues

A photo posted by jeanette a morelan (@jeanettemorelan) on Apr 13, 2016 at 3:51pm PDT





"I realized that trying to repress it wasn't going to help, so I had to walk through it and face the fire," she says. "I started seeing a therapist, and that has been an ongoing process."



As she got more comfortable sharing her story, Morelan joined the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network as a public speaker.



"It's an opportunity to talk about something that most people don't ever want to mention," she says. "I wanted anyone who had gone through that experience to know that they were not alone."



Still, she says, telling her story on the pageant stage was a very different  and difficult  experience.



"It was terrifying," says Morelan. "I stepped off the stage and immediately started crying. I was just rushed with emotion. It was hard to [talk about it] because that was a hard experience, and it's always going to be a hard experience."





A photo posted by jeanette a morelan (@jeanettemorelan) on Jan 17, 2016 at 1:20pm PST





But Morelan has no regrets about speaking out.



"People associate pageants with perfection," she says. "And they see a sexual assault survivor and think of that as a weak, shameful or guilt-ridden thing. I wanted to share so that people understand that it's not something that only happens to certain people  it really can happen to anyone."



"Secondly, I wanted to share it because it doesn't define me," continues Morelan. "It's part of my story, and it was obviously a struggle that I went through, but in the two years since it's happened, I really found myself and understood myself like I never have before."



Since going public with her story, Morelan has received an outpouring of support.



"Every day I've had countless people message me on Facebook, or come up to me," she says. "I've had a lot of survivors come talk to me, people that I went school with in middle and elementary school, people I knew at my university, and complete strangers, all saying that that had happened to them. That part is painful, but the fact that we were able to find that connection and that shared strength is really important."
India's globe-trotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off a four-nation African tour on Thursday, in yet another charm offensive to promote his country's goods, services and investments, as well to as offset China's expanding influence on the resource-rich continent.

The man behind the 'Make in India' campaign arrived in Mozambique on Thursday, and is scheduled to stop in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya later this week.

"This visit is about trade but it's also about investment and geopolitical connections," Anil Gupta, professor of strategy and globalization at the University of Maryland, said.

India wants to be a maritime leader in the Indian Ocean and because these countries are strategically located on Africa's east coast, they are of great importance to New Delhi, Gupta explained.

India and Africa share deep historical ties dating back to colonial years and a two million-strong Indian diaspora on the continent places New Delhi in a significant soft-power position. But the world's number two economy, India's key economical rival in Asia, is now the dominant foreign power in Africa. Chinese investment and loans have flooded the continent , in sectors ranging from real estate to shipping, giving Beijing enormous diplomatic and military clout as well as a secure grip on the continent's commodity wealth, particularly energy.

As a result, India has been finding ways to counterbalance China's supremacy , particularly in the realm of development finance.

"India's development diplomacy for the continent has been through a strategic shift," Rajrishi Singhal, senior fellow of geoeconomics studies at Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, said in a recent note.



The Indian Export-Import (Exim) Bank, a government-owned institution that finances and promotes foreign trade, exemplifies that transition, he explained.

The bank's credit disbursal strategy to Africa was long centered on infrastructure and industrial projects, which placed India in direct competition with China. But as Exim looks to ramp up its investments over the next three years, it's more likely to focus more on service exports instead, Singhal noted.



Story continues

Service exports include healthcare, education, and information technology services, areas that are India's traditional strengths in Africa, that may give the former a unique advantage over Beijing. In May, Exim extended $10 billion in lines of credit for healthcare projects across the continent. About 40 percent of Exim's total loan exposure is to Africa, local media reports said in 2015.

"Exim is also looking to sharpen its focus on another area of Indian strengths in Africa: project exports," Singhal added, referring to the term used for overseas construction and engineering projects. "It has requested the Reserve Bank of India to ease regulatory and compliance guidelines regarding minimum equity capital, leverage and the maximum that the bank can lend to a single borrower."

Geopolitics aside, alternative energies will also feature prominently on Modi's agenda, as India aims to triple its use of renewable energy by 2030 .

The four countries on his tour are part of the International Solar Energy Alliance, an initiative that New Delhi launched at the CoP21 Climate Conference in Paris last year, Gupta noted. Across his tour and especially in Tanzania, Modi is scheduled to meet with "solar mamas," local women trained by Indian non-government organization Barefoot College to become solar power engineers.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.







More From CNBC


The mother of a Minnesota man who was fatally shot by police Wednesday said black people in the country are being hunted daily and that her son was killed because he was black in the wrong place.

Valerie Castile, in an interview with CNN, said she was outraged after a police officer opened fire during a traffic stop, striking her 32-year-old son Philando Castile as his girlfriend and her young daughter were in the car.

They took a very good person and everybody that knows my son knows that he is a laid-back, quiet individual that works hard every day, pays taxes, and come home and play video games, she said. Hes not a gangbanger. Hes not a thug. Hes very respectable and I know he didnt antagonize that officer in any way.

Were being hunted every day, she later added. Its a silent war against African-American people as a whole. Were never free.

The aftermath of the shooting was captured on video, which was streamed on Facebook Live by the victims girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds. The video shows Philando Castile covered in blood as hes slumped in the drivers seat of a vehicle. Police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason, Reynolds says.

St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth told the Associated Press that a police officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. in Falcon Heights and that shots were fired during the stop, but did not immediately provide more details.

Reynolds says in the video that the vehicle was pulled over for a busted taillight. The officer asked Philando Castile for his license and registration, she says. Castile reached for the information as requested and also informed the officer that he had a gun in the car and was licensed to carry before the officer opened fire, according to Reynolds.

The victims uncle, Clarence Castile, said he was horrified by what he saw in the footage, saying there was blood everywhere. Hes not an officer. Hes just a man. An officer is supposed to protect and serve. That man is a destroyer. He came into our lives and took something from us, he told CNN.
From ELLE

When a mother in Colorado saved her five-year-old son's life by prying him out of a mountain lion's jaws this June, she was rightly proclaimed a hero. "A Badass Mom Took On a Mountain Lion to Save Her Son," read the Esquire headline. "Hero mother pried mountain lion's jaws off her five-year-old son's head after it tried to 'eat him' on Aspen hiking trail," said the Daily Mail. According to the original report in the Aspen Times, the woman pulled the lion's paws off her son, then "reached into the lion's mouth" to open its jaws and release her son's head before running away with the child in her arms.

This story made me choke up. Life is full of risk, and when you have a child, that risk and uncertainty is terrifyingly displaced onto another person walking around free in the world. Stories like Mountain Lion Mom (and Shark Mom, and Pitbull-Ear-Bite Mom) are all about our desire to demonstrate mastery over risk-to experience secondhand the sensation of knowing that if our children were attacked by mountain lions (or terrorists or lone gunmen or racist police or whatever ogres we're personally stalked by), we would reach into those mountain lions' throats and tear them apart. And we would do this in front of our children so they would know they never, ever had to be afraid of anything as long as they lived, because our love is like a shield. If you're not a mom, meanwhile, I think these stories are soothing for another reason-because they give you a chance to feel that shield descend over you, perhaps in a way it never fully did in life.

Stories like Mountain Lion Mom are all about our desire to demonstrate mastery over risk-to experience secondhand the sensation of knowing that if our children were attacked by mountain lions, we would reach into those mountain lions' throats and tear them apart.

And yet our love for these stories has a lengthy and complicated pedigree. Looking at results for "heroic mother" or "mother saves" in historical newspapers, the results are myriad: Children fall into the ocean or into wells, get trapped in burning buildings, try to boil coffee and end up burning themselves horribly, have kerosene lamps explode in their faces, are attacked by Native Americans, get run down by trains or mowing machines or horse carts driven by reckless young men. In more rural places, animals represent yet another danger among many: the "enraged cow" that gored a 13-year-old boy in California, a five-foot snake stalking a baby in New Jersey, a black bear attack in Michigan (despite initial concerns, it later turned out the child was only "hugged by the bear").

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In these stories, the mother is a fearless superhero, driven by sheer primal instinct that overwhelms all obstacles, even her own sense of self-preservation: jumping into the well or the ocean, dashing into burning buildings, taking an axe to a marauder's face. One item, appearing in 1818 in Frederick Douglass's paper The North Star, anticipates by 40 years the story that inspired Toni Morrison's novel Beloved: a "frantic and heroic mother" whose 20-month-old baby was to be left behind when she was sold to another slave owner, and who "asked her husband for his pocket-knife, which was very small-cut the throat of her child-held her neck to her husband while he deliberately cut her throat." The mothers battle animals, too. When an eagle menaces her baby, "the woman seized a broom and hammered at the bird." A woman in Kentucky, her three-year-old daughter mauled by a "wild cat," "attacked it with a milk stool, and grabbing the child under her arm fought the cat bravely." In Iowa, "Seeing the life of her three-year-old daughter in danger, Mrs. Robert Benson, wife of a farmer [] attacked and killed with her bare hands a rattlesnake three feet long."

What accounts for our persistent fascination with these match-ups? There's the gut-wrenching and vicarious terror, of course. Victorian heroic mother stories are sort of a 19th-century version of reality shows like Naked and Afraid or Survivor-a chance to watch someone endure a frightening situation and imagine what you might do, confronted with a three-foot-long rattlesnake menacing your child. Would you strangle it with your bare hands, or would you run screaming? (For me, I really hope I never have to find out.)

But I also think the particular interest in these cases comes from a very Victorian idea of a maternal instinct, and an underlying sense that it acts contrary to a woman's physical weakness in a way that is more remarkable than it would be in the case of a man. The 19th-century accounts are sentimentalized, flowery, and depend for effect on an idea of a woman who is essentially meek, but compelled to act with passionate courage. "With that moral heroism born of strong maternal affection she turned from a ready avenue of escape, plunged into the flames, and regardless of her own fate, rescued the child," reads the account of the mother saving her daughter from kerosene-lamp explosion, and later perishing. There are many fewer results in the archive of stories about fathers saving their children (from drowning, fires, oncoming trains, etc.).

Today, this is mostly still the case. Stories about fathers saving their kids are more frequent now than 100 years ago, but they don't seem to blow up the way Mountain Lion Mom did. In fact, there was a Mountain Lion Dad not too long ago-a guy in Wyoming in 2009 who defended his family with a chainsaw when a hungry mountain lion attacked their campsite. His tale did not get coverage on Today. Meanwhile, the animals in these stories, whether 100 years ago or today, are just convenient villains, much like the "savages" who attack a white settlement in one story. And human responsibility in the animal attacks (the fact that, for instance, mountain lion attacks are more frequent because we're encroaching on their land) doesn't get mentioned very often.

This lack of complexity is also clear in the way Mountain Lion Mom was treated as opposed to, for instance, Alligator Dad or Gorilla Mom. Mountain Lion Mom came at the pinnacle of a month of parent vs. nature stories, most of them tragic: the three-year-old boy grabbed out of a moat by Cincinnati zoo gorilla Harambe, who was then shot and killed; and the two-year-old boy who was drowned by an alligator while wading in inches-deep water at a Disney resort in Florida. Mountain Lion Mom was able to rescue her son. The other parents, although they all, according to news reports, struggled mightily, weren't. While Mountain Lion Mom was quickly deemed heroic, and Alligator Dad was left alone in his grief, Gorilla Mom was attacked by an online mob and told "u should've been shot." The idea of maternal heroism-now as 100 years ago-serves only a lucky few.
Saint Paul (AFP) - A black motorist was shot at close range by a Minnesota cop and seen bleeding to death in a graphic video shot by his girlfriend that went viral Thursday, the second fatal police shooting to rock America in as many days.

As calls mounted for justice for the 32-year-old victim Philando Castile, President Barack Obama warned the shootings were evidence of a "serious problem" in US society, and urged Americans to unite to mend the fault lines between police and the population.

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the aftermath of Wednesday night's shooting with an officer pointing his gun at her through the window, while her four-year-old daughter sat in the back of the car.

The governor of the northern US state asked the White House to order a federal probe into the shooting, which took place in a suburb of St. Paul where hundreds of protesters rallied on Thursday around the victim's shocked relatives.

Speaking to reporters outside the governor's mansion, after a night in police custody, Reynolds repeated what she said in the gruesome footage: that Castile was shot "for no reason."

Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile duly informed the officer that he was in possession of a licensed gun, she said -- and was shot as he reached for his wallet to retrieve his identification.

Reynolds said that Castile, a school cafeteria worker described by relatives as a quiet, law-abiding citizen, had made no threat.

She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands -- telling Castile both to keep his hands in the air and identify himself.

"Nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said 'Shoot me.' Nothing within his language said 'Kill me I want to be dead," she said, her voice trembling with grief and anger.

- 'Assassinate us' -

Reynolds said she livestreamed the event to forestall any attempt by police to deny what happened.

Story continues

"I didn't do it for pity. I didn't do it for fame. I did so that the world knows that these police are not here to protect us," she said.

"They're here to assassinate us, they're here to kill us because we are black."

Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up.

"They're gonna tamper with evidence," she told reporters. "They're gonna do whatever they have to do to cover their butts."

But Governor Mark Dayton pledged to push for a full and independent inquiry by the Department of Justice.

"Justice will be served in Minnesota," Dayton said.

A federal civil rights probe has already been opened into the police shooting of a black man on Tuesday in Louisiana. Father of five Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned to the ground and shot at point blank range in Baton Rouge, in an incident also caught on video.

Obama, the first black US president, said it was clear the shootings were not "isolated incidents."

"All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota," he said in a statement on Facebook.

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."

America's debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, was further fuelled Thursday as a fourth officer went on trial in Baltimore in one of the highest-profile such cases of recent years.

Three officers so far have escaped conviction in the case of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died last year after suffering spinal injuries in the back of a police van.

- 'It's OK mommy' -

In a 10-minute video viewed more than three million times after it was streamed live on Facebook, Reynolds -- clearly in shock -- methodically narrates the shooting incident as an officer trains his weapon on her.

In the background, an officer is heard shouting: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up."

Castile can be seen in the driver's seat, blood stains spreading through his white shirt. Reynolds starts wailing as it becomes clear he is dying.

At the end of the video, as she sits in the back of a police car, Reynolds's daughter can be heard telling her: "It's OK mommy. It's OK, I'm right here with you."

Castile was later taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

"They did not check for a pulse... they did not check that he was breathing," charged the young woman, who said she was handcuffed after the shooting and separated from her child.

In both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases, the victims had a gun in their possession, but there is no indication they pointed their weapon at police.

In Sterling's case, police said they intervened after an anonymous caller told police they had been threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling's family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a Baton Rouge convenience store.

A peaceful crowd of about 100 people kept vigil through the night outside the store, where a mural has been painted in his honor.

A GoFundMe campaign has so far raised more than $400,000 for Sterling's children.

The two officers involved in the Sterling case have been placed on leave.
CIAA arrests Jhapa DAO Refugee Coordination Unit official

The Itahari regional office of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has raided an official of the refugee coordination unit of the District Administration Office, Jhapa on Thursday. The arrested is section officer Nirmal Raj Khanal.
By Irene Klotz (Reuters) - A three-member multinational crew blasted off aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan on Thursday for a two-day trip to the International Space Station, a NASA TV broadcast showed. NASA astronaut Kathleen "Kate" Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 0136 GMT on Thursday (9:36p.m. EDT Wednesday) and reached orbit nine minutes later. "We wish you good luck," a Russian flight controller radioed to the crew, an interpreter said. The crews Russian Soyuz capsule is scheduled to arrive at the station, which orbits about 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, at 0412 GMT Saturday (12:12 a.m. EDT) to begin a four-month mission. "Im incredibly excited about a lot of the biology experiments were going to be doing," Rubins, 37, said in a NASA interview before launch. Rubins, a cancer and infectious diseases researcher, plans to attempt the first DNA sequencing in orbit. She, Ivanishin, 47, and Onishi, 41, will join NASA astronaut and station commander Jeff Williams and two Russian cosmonauts who have been aboard the orbital outpost since March. Ivanishin has made one previous flight to the station. Rubins and Onishi are both rookie astronauts. Thursday's launch marked the debut flight of a next-generation Russian Soyuz capsule, currently the only vehicles capable of ferrying crew members to and from the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations. Upgrades to the Soyuz include better shielding to protect the spacecraft from micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts, additional batteries, improved communications and tracking equipment, new steering thrusters, larger solar arrays, an improved rendezvous and docking system and a GPS-equipped landing system. NASA hopes to resume flying station crew members from the United States in 2018 aboard capsules under development by Boeing Co and privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX. A docking system that the new commercial U.S. spaceships will need to park at the station is scheduled to be launched aboard a SpaceX cargo ship on July 18. (Reporting by Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, Fla; Editing by Olzhas Auyezov, Peter Cooney and Paul Tait)
A Baton Rouge furniture company on Wednesday, July 6, donated its wall next to where a man was shot by police so locals could create a mural ahead of a planned vigil.

Alton Sterling was shot by police outside the Triple S Food Mart early Tuesday morning. Video of the confrontation shows police pinning Sterling down before shooting him. Police named officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II as the ones involved in the shooting, according to reports. The Department of Justice, including the FBI, have taken over the investigation.

Protests first started on Tuesday night, and groups of protesters gathered at the site of the shooting on Wednesday. A vigil and prayer service was planned for Wednesday evening. Credit: Instagram/Denicolas Furniture
PIA08118

At first glance, Saturns moon Titan doesnt seem like the kind of place that could host alien life. The average temperature of this distant orange ball is a frigid -290 degrees Fahrenheit.

And while Titan is the only other place in the solar system where we know there are flowing liquids on the surface, its lakes, rivers, and seas are filled with methane and ethane (too toxic for any Earthly lifeforms to survive in). Any water on the planet would be frozen solid.

But what if there were a different form of life? What if there were one that didnt need water to survive  something weve never seen here on Earth?

A different form 0f life

According to a new study by scientists at Cornell University, theres a chance that life actually could exist on this distant moon.

Thats because when sunlight hits Titans toxic yellow atmosphere, it produces hydrogen cyanide (HCN)  a molecule that researchers believe was vital in pre-life, or prebiotic reactions that led to life on our own planet.

HCN reacts to form large molecules called polymers, including polyimine. And polyimine is able to absorb a wide spectrum of light  so wide that it's enough to capture light penetrating Titan's dense and hazy atmosphere, making it a possible catalyst for life, reports Science Alert.

The Cornell team looked at data collected by NASAs Cassini-Huygens mission. They were able to predict various compounds that could be made from HCN, and were able to calculate some of these compounds properties, reports Digital Trends.

In the end, the calculations suggested that the prebiotic reactions were possible and the resulting chemical structures were capable of functions like light absorption.

If life could exist there, it would need to function very differently from life as we know it, and offer clues to the limitations of life in the universe, Martin Rahm lead author of the study, told Digital Trends.

A hunting ground for alien life

This new research gives scientists even more reasons to take a closer look at Titan in their hunt for extraterrestrial life.

Story continues

"Scientists think that there is liquid water under the frozen surface of Titan, but locked away in a massive underground ocean  and there's a lot of speculation that these kinds of underground oceans located throughout the Solar System could hypothetically give rise to life," ScienceAlert reports.

Although this new paper does not actually predict life on Titans surface, it supports the idea that the moons environment might be capable of supporting prebiotic chemistry necessary for life to evolve.

The Cornell team hopes to continue investigating the moons ability to sustain life by conducting experiments on Earth modeled after Titans chemistry.

"If future observations could show there is prebiotic chemistry in a place like Titan, it would be a major breakthrough," said Rahm in a press release. "This paper is indicating that prerequisites for processes leading to a different kind of life could exist on Titan, but this [is] only the first step."

NOW WATCH: NASA can't explain why an island on this mysterious moon has disappeared





More From Business Insider


NATO members have indicated they will boost contributions to the Afghanistan security mission, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday, a day after Washington announced thousands of US troops would remain in the war-ravaged country.

Speaking to reporters aboard a military plane as he flew to the biennial NATO summit in Warsaw, which President Barack Obama will also attend,

Carter said alliance members have welcomed Obama's decision to keep 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan through the end of his term in office.

Obama had previously vowed to slash the troop numbers from the current level of 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of this year, but a resurgent Taliban -- coupled with an uptick in Al-Qaeda and Islamic State attacks -- made the reduction untenable.

Most US forces in Afghanistan are operating as part of NATO's Operation Resolute Support. In all, 39 NATO nations and partners contribute to the overall force of about 13,000.

Many NATO countries have "indicated the need to stick with the Resolute Support mission and to do more than they might have anticipated in past years," Carter said.

"A number of them have indicated they will be making those contributions, and I think the president will hear from other heads of state in NATO about what they are willing to do also in the future years. That's going to be an important outcome of the summit."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said he supported Obama's announcement.

Most of the NATO troops in Afghanistan are working as advisors to local Afghan security forces.

Despite having about 320,000 troops and police officers, the Afghan forces have struggled to control the Taliban and have at times buckled under institutional failings such as deeply rooted corruption.

Carter said the extra US troops will allow Afghan forces to "reset" at the end of this summer's fighting season and get extra training over the winter.

The Afghan issue is one of three main crises confronting NATO at this year's summit.

Leaders must also grapple with the ongoing jihadist threat in Iraq and Syria and its concurrent refugee crisis, as well as aggressive posturing by Russia along the border with Eastern Europe.
LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Nearly a third of euro zone government bonds are no longer eligible for the ECB's quantitative easing scheme because they yield less than the central bank's deposit rate, Tradeweb data showed on Thursday.

Just over 2.3 trillion euros of the 7.4 trillion euros of the bonds, equal to 31.45 percent, yield less than the minus 0.4 percent deposit rate, which marks the lower limit for ECB purchases under its bond-buying scheme.

This has risen from around 22 percent in mid-June, before the economic fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union prompted investors to seek refuge in top-rated bonds and speculate on easier monetary policy from global central banks.

Nearly 55 percent of these government bonds now yield less than zero, up from 43 percent last month.

Of the 2.8 trillion euros of the euro-denominated investment-grade corporate bonds available on the Tradeweb platform, around 22 percent yield less than zero, up from 16 percent last month.

(Reporting by John Geddie, editing by Nigel Stephenson)
After this Nebraska woman's last round of chemotherapy, her husband surprised her with 500 roses in an incredible gesture caught on camera.

Read: Woman Embraces Baldness Wearing 365 Silly Hats for Breast Cancer Awareness

Alissa Bousquet from Oakland received the heartbreaking news that she had breast cancer during a routine mammogram in December.

"They caught it early, thankfully," Bousquet told InsideEdition.com.

She underwent four painful months of chemotherapy, and expected a little celebration after her last round two weeks ago.

But she received the shock of her life when, in the middle of her final round of chemo, her four best friends paraded into the Omaha hospital an hour away from their hometown with 500 roses, a gesture orchestrated by her husband.

"I was shocked," she said.

"She has amazed me with her strength, courage, and positive attitude through it all," her husband Brad Bousquet wrote in a Facebook post. "I wanted to do something special during this last treatment to celebrate the end of her chemo and to show her the tremendous love and support she has from her friends and family."

And, to share the joy, the group handed out bouquets of roses to every patient receiving chemotherapy that day.

"There was a lot of sick people in that chemo room, and it really lifted everybody's spirits for the day," she said.

They attached a note to each bouquet with a picture of themselves and their four children, and an explanation of why the roses were special.

But, more importantly, the proceeds from each rose gifted to Alissa Bousquet that day were donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

According to the Facebook post, Brad Bousquet invited friends and family to send a rose to his wife for her final treatment. Each rose would cost $10, and proceeds would go to breast cancer research.

More than 170 families, all of whom knew the Bousquets personally, ended up buying roses for the cause, raising over $4,500.

Story continues

He wrote that they could have easily exceeded 500 roses, but instead asked for further donations to go straight to the foundation.

"Our community is really good," she said. "This little town has been amazing."

Read: Boy with Leukemia Sworn In as K9 Handler, One Day Before He Begins His 3-Year Treatment

Alissa Bousquet told InsideEdition.com that the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation was especially important to her husband because at the time of her diagnosis, he was able to turn to the foundation for answers and comfort.

Alissa Bousquet still has four more surgeries to go, including a double mastectomy later this month, but the celebration for a good cause and the support from her community was just what she needed to get through the difficult times.

Watch: Man Weds Girlfriend in Hospital Bed After Being Given a Week to Live: 'I'm Marrying My Best Friend'

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Education and publicity

Adopting the new grading system without ensuring quality will have serious consequences
Picture: Peter Macdiarmid/PA



Im a proud Londoner. Ive lived in a London Borough all my life and my family have strong roots in the East End.





Today, I stand united with people across the country in remembering the devastating loss of lives that took place 11 years ago.





You may be wondering what im referring to. The media havent done a very good job at remembering. Only a few people on my Facebook list seem to have commented on the event.





Today marks the 11th Anniversary of the 2005 London Bombings. Also known as the 7/7 bombings.





I remember exactly where I was on that day. I worked in the recruitment industry and the night before I had arranged for 100s of men to work in London that following morning. The feeling of horror and guilt has never really left me. I cried a lot that day. I had indirectly sent my employees in to a potentially deadly situation. I know it wasnt intentional, and i had no clue what was going to unfold that fateful morning but until every man was accounted for, I felt rotten inside. We also lost contact with certain friends. Luckily for us the only casualty we knew personally was in the car next to the famous bus explosion. A perforated eardrum was the worst of it for us.





Dougie Brimson, Author of Green Street, had this to say - The day after we finally saw the release of the Chilcott report, Londoners marked the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in which 52 people died. Yet even though the two are irrevocably linked, the latter received barely a mention in the mainstream media. One can only speculate as to why.



Whereas Stefan Thomas, Author of Business Networking for Dummies, was remembering those lost, and looking to a brighter, terrorist free future. "Im actually good with the media not doing it this year, as there has to be a point at which you stop looking back. For me it was a day that changed my whole outlook on life. My take is that we must stop everything which divides us in the world, so people stop throwing bombs at each other. Quite poignant in light of what has happened in Baghdad this week, what happened in Dhakar last week and the Chilcot report yesterday.

Story continues



I still hold fear and sadness in my heart all these years on, for an event that hardly touched me. Im disgusted that 11 years on our media have all but forgotten about those people who suffered and died in London. The event must have helped sell enough papers at the time and now we forget? We seem to remember the 9/11 attacks more than we do our own. Dont get me wrong, we should remember the 9/11 attacks, for that changed our lives in so many ways. I wont get in to my conspiracy theories here but shouldnt it be a sign of respect that the media post even a small article in remembrance? Im not talking about a full first page spread to stir up old feelings but a simple, tasteful black banner on the bottom of a page would suffice.

Whatever is happening in the media, To all those effected, some of us are still thinking of you.



Remember 7/7.


Here are just a few things the title character of Brahman Naman has sex with: a fridge, a ceiling fan and a fish tank. No, not an apple pie, but he might as well have. At first glance, Naman picks up where the teen sex comedy American Pie left off  except this film takes place on the other side of the world, in India.

And Namans director, known simply as Q, might say the stakes are a bit higher than those of the popular American comedy series. Thats because the main characters obsession with sex is matched by a fixation with his upper-caste pedigree. In an interview with Film Companion after the premiere at Sundance, Q dedicated the film to the memory of Rohith Vemula, the Dalit (untouchable caste) student who committed suicide and became a rallying cry, not unlike Trayvon Martin.

Which provides a snapshot of Q himself: He is one of Indias strangest, most experimental directors, with a sweet spot for blending the extremes of human sexuality with politics. Naman  launching today on Netflix as part of the companys months-long push to host new, international talent is Qs second major venture onto the global stage. Before, he was known for the black-and-white Gandu, which screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and takes its title from an Indian curse word meaning something like asshole. The film was banned in India, and newspapers even debated whether merely printing gandu was too provocative.

The weight of the past is too much. Film director Q

At home, Q is also known as Kaushik Mukherjee. He hails from Kolkata, birthplace of Indias best-known filmmaker, Satyajit Ray, and Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore. In other words, Q, born a Bengali Brahmin, operates within a tradition that most upper-crust, progressive Indians take for granted. People from the erstwhile Calcutta are supposed to be liberal, intellectual, artistic. What they are not supposed to do is announce at a Kolkata literary festival, while making a film of a beloved Tagore play, that youre not that into Tagore  which Q did while making a cinematic version of the drama Tasher Desh. Nor are they supposed to cast their girlfriends in raunchy sex scenes, as Q has done several times. Lots of people who make films here deal with Bengali nostalgia, says Ipsita Barat, head of film studies at St. Xaviers College in Kolkata. He doesnt  which makes him stand out.

Story continues

Oh, and they are not supposed to renounce their heritage, as Q does with me, sitting indoors with his sunglasses still on. Im totally done with Bengalis, and with being a Bengali, he says. The weight of the past is too much.

Which explains why he is making the future with such fervor, breaking free of the stranglehold of his upbringing. One way? Changing his name, for one, which he says happened while making his 2009 documentary, Love in India, which investigates the spectrum of affection and sexuality in the country, from resurrecting sexually liberated mythology to filming himself and his lover in a number of steamy scenes. Somewhere along the way, he tells me, Kaushik Mukherjee, the Kolkata kid turned successful ad man, died and was replaced by Q, the self-taught art director who at one point made videos and charged a joint for each.

Hes also chasing the future by breaking the language itself. Though Qs made many films in Bangla, Naman is in English  and the Bangla he used at first is hardly standard. Its crude, the stuff of streets, stuff no Bengali was prepared to listen to  the dirtiest fucking language, he says, meant to make people like Namans comfortably Brahmin protagonists feel uncomfortable. Then Q shares an extra secret: Dont trust his subtitles. He writes the closed captions himself and occasionally mistranslates the Bangla on purpose, using the subtitles as their own narrative device. The language, finally, is cinema, he says. Thats the trip.

Q grew up in the heat of Bengals leftist days, the son of a committed socialist. He seems proud of this, but then calls it a somewhat traumatic childhood, infused with the gloom of Russian literature and radical zeal. Im telling you, Im defective, he says.

On set, Q is a mixture of chaos and control, says Shashank Arora, the actor who plays Naman. Its brilliant to have someone whos just not bothered with the way things are perceived conventionally. But Q says he was relatively tame on the Naman set, insisting hes usually super hyper while shooting and doesnt use a chair. Gandu had no real script, Q and his crew once kidnapped the title character (with the consent of the actors mother) and the directors workshops with some of his favorite Bengali actors can involve extraordinary amounts of nudity.

A onetime raver who now lives in Goa, the mecca of psychedelic trance music, Q sees the experience of filming like a trip  time expands, your mind expands, your body expands, he says. I ask if he means this metaphorically or if hes actually on drugs while shooting. He looks at me almost pityingly, as if to say Ive missed the whole point. As if to say: Who needs drugs when my brain is this wonderland?

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(Reuters) - Nigerian militant group the Niger Delta Avengers denied responsibility for blowing up on Tuesday the NNPC pipeline in Eleme, adding it was closing all its social network accounts. The group issued a statement on its website on Wednesday saying that a fraudulent social media account had claimed the attack on its behalf. (http://bit.ly/29oEShH) It was reported on Tuesday that the group had blown up a pipeline operated by the state oil company NNPC. The group had also said on Tuesday that its only account on microblogging website Twitter was under suspension and all other accounts claiming to represent the group were imposters. (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)
This sneaky squirrel had a lucky escape after it leaped over a hawks head to escape becoming its next meal.

The agile animal adopted ninja-like relexes to escape certain death by jumping over the hawk to safety.

The whole episode, which happened in Jersey City, New Jersey, was caught on camera by nature fan John Dunstan.

Mr Dunstans video, taken on June 25, shows the hawk scouring the canopy of the tree hunting for prey.

The predator suddenly dives out of sight into the leaves to grab the squirrel.

But rather succumb to certain death, the plucky creature launches into the air with all four limbs splayed and jumps straight over the hawk, landing further down the tree to safety.



Mr Dunstan, who runs the Facebook page Wild Jersey City, said: I was recording the hawk as there is a nest hidden in the tree top and a chick had just fledged.



"I had no idea what I had recorded until I uploaded the card to my computer. I saw something fly out but did not know it was a squirrel at first.

The Jersey City resident, who has been recording urban nature for around 10 years, added: "It was absolutely fascinating seeing this escape.

"This is the first time I had seen a squirrel leap away from a hawk like this.

"Normally when I have seen them together, the hawks have been on the ground eating squirrels.

(Pictures: Caters)
Nissan's European business is celebrating a huge achievement. By using only Twitter to offer a potential customer everything from specifications and a virtual test driver to conducting market research it has become the first European car company to clinch a sale with a tweet.

The customer in question, a Mr. Escolano, had been challenging car companies in Spain to sell him a car using nothing but Twitter and its ecosystem of apps -- Periscope and Vine.

Nissan picked up the gauntlet, using Periscope to live stream a demonstration of the X-Trail crossover's features and then using Twitter itself to conduct a poll as to how the car stands up against its direct competitors.

When Escolano signed on the digital dotted line, the keys to the car were couriered to his home address. All of which meant that the only time the customer met any representative at Nissan was when he arrived at the company's Spanish HQ to collect the car.
Kim Jong-Il Funeral

On Wednesday, the US for the first time sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for "notorious abuses of human rights," a decision that prompted the hermit kingdom to call the sanctions a "declaration of war."

The sanctions affect 10 other individuals besides the North Korean leader, five government ministries and departments, and property within US jurisdiction, according to the US Treasury Department statement.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence said in a statement.

"Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic," Michael Madden an expert on North Korean leadership told Reuters. "There will be numerous official and state media denunciations, which will target the U.S. and Seoul, and the wording will be vituperative and blistering."

Here's some of the offenses outlined in the US Treasury Department statement:

The Ministry of State Security engages in torture and inhumane treatment of detainees during interrogation and in detention centers. This inhumane treatment includes beatings, forced starvation, sexual assault, forced abortions, and infanticide.

According to the State Department report, the ministry is the lead agency investigating political crimes and administering the countrys network of political prison camps, which hold an estimated 80,000 to 120,000 people, including children and other family members of the accused. In addition, the Ministry of State Securitys Prisons Bureau is responsible for the management and control of political prisoners and their confinement facilities throughout North Korea.

The Ministry of Peoples Security operates a network of police stations and interrogation detention centers, including labor camps, throughout North Korea. During interrogations, suspects are systematically degraded, intimidated, and tortured.

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The Ministry of Peoples Securitys Correctional Bureau supervises labor camps (kyohwaso) and other detention facilities, where human rights abuses occur such as those involving torture, execution, rape, starvation, forced labor, and lack of medical care. The State Department report cites defectors who have regularly reported that the ministry uses torture and other forms of abuse to extract confessions, including techniques involving sexual violence, hanging individuals from the ceiling for extended periods of time, prolonged periods of exposure, and severe beatings.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry called on China to urge North Korea to cooperate on human rights standards.

"China's engagement is critical," Kerry said during a news conference while visiting Kiev. Kerry also added that the US is "ready and prepared" to return to discussions of North Korea abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

NOW WATCH: Heres how North Koreas weird internet works





More From Business Insider


(Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it planned a tough response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States, after Washington blacklisted the nuclear-armed country's leader Kim Jong Un for the first time over human rights abuses. Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a "hideous crime," according to North Korea's official KCNA news agency. "What the U.S. did this time, not content with malignantly slandering the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is the worst crime that can never be pardoned," it cited the foreign ministry as saying. (Writing by Hugh Lawson)
Northrop Grumman Corp. NOC has received a U.S. Navy contract to continue its counter improvised explosive device support for the Navy. This is a modification contract valued at $103.4 million.

NORTHROP GRUMMN Price

NORTHROP GRUMMN Price | NORTHROP GRUMMN Quote

Per the contract, Northrop Grumman will start low-rate initial production of the U.S. Navys Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device or RCIED Electronic Warfare Joint Crew (JCREW) Increment One Build One system. The company will provide counter radio-controlled-IED systems, which protect combat troops against IEDs.



The first generation of Joint Crew systems is designed to provide protection for worldwide military operations. This particular version develops a common open architecture across all three capabilities, according to the Defense Department (DoD).



The DoD further added that the Naval Sea Systems Command oversees JCREW as a joint program in support of the requirements of the Navy and the Air Force.



Work will be performed in San Diego, CA, Beaverton, OR, Rochester, MN, Santa Ana, CA and Sierra Vista, AZ, and is expected to be completed in Sep 2018.



Northrop Grumman is the fourth-largest U.S. defense contractor after The Boeing Company BA, Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT and General Dynamics GD in terms of 2015 revenue, with a major platform-centric focus. The company has a strong presence in the Air Force and Space & Cyber Security programs. Northrops product line is well positioned in high-priority categories, such as defense electronics, unmanned aircraft and missile defense. The company continues to witness robust demand for its products from the Pentagon.



In late June, a Northrop Grumman unit, Aerospace Systems, won a modification contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide logistic and sustainment services for the Global Hawk program. The contract is valued at $203.6 million and contracting activity is the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, GA.



Earlier last month, another Northrop business unit, Space & Mission Systems, secured a modification contract from the missile defense agency to extend the period of performance of task orders. While the current contract is valued at $600 million, thanks to the extension, the total contract value will go up to $3.85 billion from $3.25 billion.



Currently, Northrop Grumman carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



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Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) reported that its members comprising employers have entered into a new wage deal with oil-well service workers, ending the ongoing impasse. With the tussle over wages, the industry was risking a strike right when crude prices have started showing a recovery.



Wage Deal Saves Norwegian Oil Industry



The deal is important for crude, the dwindling fortunes of which had earlier cast a pall over Western Europes biggest oil-producing nation  Norway. As per data compiled by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the strike would have hurt the nations output by about 7%. Five fields operated by energy majors Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM, Engie and BASF SE would have been the most affected.



Our apprehension stems from the fact that Norway is a major player in the oil and gas global arena. According to the Energy Information Administration, which provides official energy statistics on behalf of the U.S. Government, Norway is Europes largest petroleum liquids producer, the worlds third-largest natural gas exporter, and an important supplier of both liquids and natural gas to other European countries. The Baltic nation is also the largest oil producer and exporter in Western Europe. The country is also has a favorable geographical position to fulfill European needs via its extensive export pipeline infrastructure, while the rest is exported as liquefied natural gas.

Oils-Energy Sector Price Index

Oils-Energy Sector Price Index

Backdrop



The energy space in the Baltic nation also witnessed stiff wage negotiations from unions in the recent past that hurt the stability of the industry. To blunt the impact of receding returns, major players in the Norwegian space are steadily shifting their focus to another relatively unexplored area in the Arctic  the Russian maritime borders. Licenses are about to be doled out for this area known as Barents Sea Southeast. Experts believe drilling could begin in the area as soon as in 2017.



To add to the woes of oil and gas majors having a substantial stake in Norway, the country is witnessing political pressure to force offshore producers to power offshore North Sea projects from clean sources in land. This is greatly contested by the energy majors lobby Norwegian Oil and Gas Association comprising prime foreign names like BP Plc BP and Exxon Mobil which have a considerable stake in Norway. Our apprehension also rises from the fact that forcing offshore projects to procure power from land-based clean sources is bound to increase project costs.



Finally, we feel that the stable functioning of the Norwegian oil and gas industry is vital to the U.S. given that the fate of crude is still hanging in a balance. After all, in 2008, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures hit a record high of more than $145 per barrel. Currently, however, WTI is hovering around only $47 per barrel. Investors interested in the broader energy sector can profit in the near term from Zacks wisdom and invest in Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks like World Fuel Services Corp. INT and Tallgrass Energy GP, LP TEGP.

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Flood sweeps away 25 houses

At least 25 houses were swept away on Wednesday by a flash flood in Bhotekoshi River in Sindhupalchok district after incessant rains since Tuesday night. Road sections and hydropower projects have suffered severe damage.
By any measure, the televised statement from FBI Director James Comey provided a watershed moment in the presidential election. Never before in the agencys history had it opened a criminal investigation into a major-party nominee, and Comey understood that the results of the probe would put him and the FBI even more at the center of the political circus.

Instead of following a more traditional process of submitting the results of the probe to the Department of Justice and potentially allowing his advice to come through in leaks and spin, Comey decided to take his case directly to the people.

If the moment was a watershed, however, its impact turned out to be an anticlimax. Unfortunately for both sides, Comeys conclusions turned out to be entirely contradictory. The internal contradictions of the findings and Comeys decision to recommend no action left more questions than it answered.

Related: If Clinton Wins, Get Ready for Four More Years of GOP Investigations

Comey began with a powerful condemnation of the conduct from Clinton and her team at State. He refuted nearly every public claim made by Hillary Clinton about her use of a private, unauthorized, and unsecure e-mail server system. The refutation worked so well as a point-by-point rebuttal to Clintons assertions that media outlets, Donald Trump, and the Republican Party put together video mashups pairing her claims with Comeys findings. Media fact-checkers had a field day as well, cementing the conclusion that Clinton had repeatedly lied, especially about transmitting classified information.

Comey also demolished Clintons rationalization for using a private server for her communications. On multiple occasions, Clinton insisted that she made the choice for convenience, in order to use just one device. In reality, Comey explained, Secretary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department, and used numerous mobile devices to view and send e-mail on that personal domain.

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If the need for simplicity didnt drive her choices, then the obvious conclusion is that Clinton wanted to hide her communications from Congress and the courts  and succeeded until the House Select Committee on Benghazi uncovered the use of the home-brew servers.

That should have at least made clear the deliberate choice to eschew secured State Department systems, and the failure of Clinton et al to fulfill their explicit duties to protect sensitive data. It seemed that Comey might have concluded that, too, as he read his statement aloud to the press. More than once, Comey asserted that investigators had found evidence that Hillary Clinton and her aides had violated statutes governing the handling of classified information, which would include 18 USC 793  a statute that does not require intent for a felony prosecution, but only gross negligence.

Related: Can Anti-Clinton Anger Unify Republicans (Even if Trump Cant)?

However, Comey refrained from using that term, instead calling Clinton and her team extremely careless in their handling of sensitive information. Having drawn a line so fine that its definition escaped everyone else, and following a damning moral indictment on her actions and dishonesty, Comey announced that he would recommend no further action be taken. No reasonable prosecutor would press charges in this case  a point that several former prosecutors, and more than one defendant in an 18 USC 793 case, refuted later.

This decision ultimately left the argument hanging. Comeys forceful refutation of Clintons earlier claims demonstrated that she had corrupted the system and put national security at serious risk in doing so. However, the lack of recommended action allowed Clinton to claim that the matter had been settled, and that the country should move on.

And thats almost certainly what will happen.

Perhaps in earlier cycles, allegations that a national leader had proven at the bare minimum to be extremely careless in national-security matters would have ended his or her career. In this case, some wondered whether an indicting non-indictment would bury Clintons chances for the presidency. Chris Cillizza at The Washington Post was just one of many commentators to call Comeys remarks a wholesale rebuke, and predict a devastating impact. Its not the worst outcome (indictment), he wrote, but it badly disrupts her attempts to move beyond the email server story as she seeks to unite the party.

Dont bet on it. Most of what Comey declared had already been known from earlier releases of information, including the fact that Clinton had personally transmitted highly classified information marked as such at the time. The only real revelation was that the presumed server (singular) turned out to be multiple servers; even the fact that shed used multiple personal devices came out months earlier. Comey essentially corroborated that Clinton had repeatedly lied, but there has been plenty of evidence for that conclusion already.

Related: FBIs Comey Makes It Clear: Hillary Clinton Is Above the Law

Short of an indictment, this statement will barely rattle the narratives of the campaign. Even the media outlets that rushed to produce damning fact-checks of Clintons statements didnt bother to ask the deeper questions about what those lies, and the violations of laws and regulations by a Cabinet official said about her character or how she would approach the presidency if elected. It took almost no time for the media to contextualize this into the horse-race dynamic of the election alone  and for the same media to seize on a months-old Donald Trump trope about Saddam Hussein to balance the news cycle of the day.

By the next morning, the news that Republicans had called Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about the probe allowed another horse-race shift in the media. Instead of Hillary Clintons corruption, the central question morphed into whether Republicans would overreach.

In the end, this corruption and contempt for the rule of law will matter little to voters, even if it should. The values that would have made this scandal disqualifying with or without an indictment have faded, replaced by cynical utilitarianism for ones own hobbyhorses and an unrelenting obsession with the immediate over the timeless pillars of character and integrity. Its easy to blame the candidates, or even the media, but all they do is reflect the electorate and the consumer market of both. We have gotten what we deserve.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama left Thursday to take part in a NATO summit in Poland, amid tensions with Russia and in the wake of Britain's stunning decision to quit the EU.

Obama will be participating in his fifth and last summit of the world's mightiest military alliance. After that meeting, he will make his first official visit to Spain.

On Friday in Warsaw, Obama will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU President Donald Tusk.

"This will be a very timely opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Brexit vote and our continued, very strong support for the European project," said Ben Rhodes, a senior adviser to Obama.

Obama will also hold bilateral meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Before leaving for the summit, Obama announced Wednesday that 8,400 US soldiers will remain in Afghanistan until 2017, slowing down the timetable for the US withdrawal after nearly 15 years of war.

Stoltenberg hailed this news as a strong sign of NATO's commitment to fighting the Taliban.

Obama will hold a press conference Saturday after the summit in Poland.

In Spain, he will confer with King Felipe, outgoing prime minister Mariano Rajoy and other politicians.

Rajoy's conservative party won the most votes in June 26 elections held after a previous election in December failed to produce a government. Rajoy is now in talks again in an effort to form a coalition.

"Recognizing that we're in a fluid political moment in Spain as they are sorting through the aftermath of their election, we want to make sure that we are interacting with all of Spain's major political parties," Rhodes said.

Obama will also meet with Spanish youths in a townhall format that he often uses while traveling abroad.
MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed the Syrian war in a phone call on Wednesday and the Kremlin said both leaders confirmed they were ready to increase coordination of military action in Syria. The White House said Obama stressed the need for Russia to press the Damascus government to halt attacks on civilians and for progress to be made on a political transition to end the war in Syria. Relations between Russia and the United States have been strained by disagreements over the conflict in Syria, where Moscow and Washington are backing opposing sides in the civil war. The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin had used the call to urge Obama to aid the separation of the "moderate" opposition in Syria from the Nusra Front and other "extremist" groups. In its statement on the call, the White House said the two leaders confirmed their commitment to defeat Islamic State and Nusra Front. The Kremlin statement said the phone call took place on the initiative of Russia and that both sides also stressed the importance of United Nations-brokered peace talks restarting. "President Obama also stressed the necessity for progress on a genuine political transition to end the conflict in Syria, as well as sustained humanitarian access," the White House statement said. The two leaders also discussed the conflicts in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the two statements. Obama urged Putin "to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine" and stressed the need for full implementation of the Minsk agreements, the White House said. Putin reiterated the Minsk peace agreements on Ukraine must be fulfilled by Kiev and said Russia wanted a peace process over Nagorno-Karabakh to progress, according to the Russian statement. Obama said he was ready to intensify efforts together with Russia and France to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed separatists, the White House statement said. (Reporting by Alexander Winning in Moscow; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham in Washington; Editing by Toby Chopra and James Dalgleish)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An Ohio man pleaded guilty to charges involving a plot to kill U.S. government officers and employees at a military installation and a local police station in southern Ohio last year, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Munir Abdulkader, 21, of West Chester, Ohio, also pleaded guilty to providing material support to Islamic State, a designated terrorist organization, the department said in a statement. The charges and plea agreement were unsealed Thursday, it said.

(Reporting by Adam DeRose; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Govt begins preparation to set up army barrack at Korala border point

The government has started preparation to set up an army barrack and Border Out Post (BOP) at Nepal-China border point in Korala, Mustang district, government ministers said. Three Deputy Prime MinistersBijaya Kumar Gachhadar, Bhim Rawal and Top Bhadur Rayamajhivisited the bordering region on Thursday for the same purpose.
Accomplished and alluring, Olivia de Havilland dated her share of Hollywood's most dashing power players at the height of her career.



Now, the Gone with the Wind actress, who turned 100 last Friday, reflects on the high-profile romances that intrigued a nation, speaking to PEOPLE about her deep feelings for Errol Flynn, dalliances with John Huston and Howard Hughes  and passing on the role of George Bailey's wife in It's a Wonderful Life because she felt uncomfortable working alongside former love Jimmy Stewart.



"It would have meant playing opposite Jimmy Stewart, home from the wars. I knew it would be awkward to work with him because of our many months together in a sort of high school pre-war romance, which came to an end," she tells PEOPLE in the magazine's new issue.



Stewart and de Havilland shared "many months" together as a couple and at least one historic date when he accompanied her to the New York premiere of Gone With The Wind in 1939.







The couple's budding romance filled gossip columns with rumors of imminent elopement until their relationship ended around the time of Stewart's enlistment in March 1941, nine months before Pearl Harbor.



For more on Olivia de Havilland's life and lovers, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday



Olivia de Havilland Opens Up About Her Love for Married Errol Flynn  and Romance with Jimmy Stewart| Movie News, Jimmy Stewart, Olivia de Havilland



Five years later, having flown combat missions over Europe, the actor who had previously won an Oscar for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington returned to Hollywood a seemingly changed man. A Princeton graduate (he studied architecture before acting), Stewart's choice for his first post-war role was as George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life  a take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.



Before production began, de Havilland was offered the part of Mary Bailey, but turned it down, as did other stars including Ginger Rogers, Jean Arthur, Laraine Day, Martha Scott and Ann Dvorak. Donna Reed ultimately accepted the role.



Curiously, the film, which was rushed into theaters for Christmas 1946, failed at the box-office before earning its place in film history.



Nonetheless, Stewart's performance as George Bailey was recognized that year with an Oscar nomination  as was de Havilland (for her role in To Each His Own).



He lost. She won.



Meanwhile, de Havilland tells PEOPLE Stewart may have been more like George Bailey than we'll ever know.



"In retrospect, I think Jimmy was a very complex man and revealed himself to very few people," she says.



De Havilland did not have similar qualms about appearing alongside another actor close to her heart: Errol Flynn.



The pair ultimately starred in eight films together  including 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood  and their onscreen chemistry was undeniable.



Both have confessed to being in love with the other  despite Flynn's marriages to other women  and both have denied the relationship was consummated.



Today, de Havilland concedes, "there are no word to describe my feelings for Errol Flynn."



Nor, she says, "enough words to describe my feeling for a certain other Irishman." In 1941, John Huston directed de Havilland in In This Our Life, starting a lengthy wartime love affair.



Now, de Havilland praises him as an "extraordinary" man: "Wonderful to talk to and listen to, most of the time fascinating company."



The actress, who reportedly once rebuffed advanced from a certain Naval lieutenant named John F. Kennedy, also dated billionaire Howard Hughes at the height of his appeal.



The aviator/producer, she says, was "honest, fair; I never ceased to admire and like him."



De Havilland ultimately went on to marry Navy veteran, journalist and author Marcus Goodrich in 1946, although the marriage ended in divorce in 1953. Two years later she wed Pierre Galante, an editor at Paris Match. They amicably separated in 1962 and remained close until his death in 1998. She still resides in Paris.
Alton Sterling CNN

At a news conference on Wednesday, Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of the oldest child of Alton Sterling, the 37-year-old black man fatally shot during a confrontation with two white officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday, addressed the public for the first time since the shooting.

As McMillon gave her statement, part of which was published by The New York Times, Sterling's 15-year-old son, Cameron, stood by her side and wept.

"The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis," McMillon said. "As a mother I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father."

McMillon's tragic quote is emblematic of structural racism, a system in which a handful of policies and practices at the institutional level drive home the idea that one racial group is less deserving, less hardworking, or inferior to another.

Here's how the term is defined by the Aspen Institute, an internationally recognized global nonprofit:

"A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity. It identifies dimensions of our history and culture that have allowed privileges associated with 'whiteness' and disadvantages associated with 'color' to endure and adapt over time. Structural racism is not something that a few people or institutions choose to practice. Instead it has been a feature of the social, economic and political systems in which we all exist."

In this case, Cameron Sterling now grows up without a father, because of an incident involving the state, which perpetuates social and economic disadvantages related to his race, as well as coloring his view and interactions with the police and the government for the rest of his life.

Alton Sterling protest

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Such a statement might have less weight if the shooting of Sterling were an isolated incident or something that affected all Americans equally. But the data shows that to be far from true.

Data from The Counted, a project by The Guardian to document people killed by the police in the US in 2015 and 2016, "paints a dramatic portrait ... the US is not just some outlier in terms of police violence when compared with countries of similar economic and political standing," Guardian reporter Jamiles Lartey wrote. Rather, the US is "the outlier," Lartey said.

While The Counted focused on many aspects of police killings in the US, its data showed the phenomenon to be disproportionately affecting black people in particular.

"This epidemic is disproportionately affecting black people," Brittany Packnett, an activist who is a member of the White House task force on policing, told The Guardian. "We are wasting so many promising young lives by continuing to allow this to happen."

Data from The Counted further reinforces that the issue alluded to by McMillon is one that disproportionately affects African Americans:

In 2015, the rate of young black men killed by the police was five times as high as the rate of white men of the same age.

Young black men were nine times as likely as any other American to be killed by police officers that year.

Despite making up only 2% of the total US population, black males ages 15 to 34 made up more than 15% of all deaths recorded as part of a 2015 investigation into the police's use of deadly force.

Roughly one in every 65 deaths of a young black man in the US is a killing by the police, The Counted found after pairing its findings with official government mortality data.

NOW WATCH: Obama on recent police shootings: 'These are not isolated incidents'





More From Business Insider


Alibaba (Flickr / Charles Chan)

Oppenheimer analysts came away from Alibabas (BABA) investor day conference with increased confidence, raising their price target from $100 a share to $110 a share in a new note issued on July 6.

Currently, the stock trades at around $79 a share.

At first glance, Alibaba is essentially just the Amazon (AMZN) or eBay (EBAY) of China, allowing businesses to easily sell to consumers online. However, there is a great deal more to Alibaba than Internet retail, and Oppenheimer believes that investors are simply misunderstanding the value of the additional businesses that Alibaba owns.

For one, investors appear to be dismissing Alibabas potential 33% stake in Ant Financial, (AFG) one of the most powerful players in the Internet finance industry. Currently, Alibaba receives 37.5% of Ant Financials net income before taxes, but they have the option of converting that to a 33% equity stake once the latter goes public. Ant Financials most recent capital raise valued the company at $60 billion, which means Alibabas stake is worth around $20 billion.

Oppenheimer also believes that investors dont appreciate Cainiaos hyper efficient business model. Cainiao is the logistics network that Alibaba uses and owns 47% of. It can currently deliver 40 million packages a day (with a mere 1200 employees), but is aiming to reach 100 million packages a day in the long run. Oppenheimer notes that revenue grew by 229% year over year, while costs grew by 231%. However, the company is still efficient because these seemingly higher costs were driven by very high capex (as the company expands), and the associated depreciation, rather than inherent to its business model.

Lastly, Oppenheimer sees a lot of potential in Alibabas AliCloud, its cloud computing unit. While expectations are for 94% average growth over the next three years, Oppenheimer expects 126% instead. Essentially, AliClouds revenue will increase by 10x over the next three years. These projections are so high because AliCloud is already the lead cloud computing provider in China, with 62% of the total market share, with diverse customers (small businesses, big businesses, governments) and Oppenheimer sees the cloud computing in general to reach a tipping point in China, and grow rapidly.

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Oppenheimer also addresses investor concerns over wasteful acquisitions/investments, and counterfeiting. Oppenheimer argues that a lot of these acquisitions and investments are necessary, given how competitive the Chinese Internet space is, but still compromises by subtracting projected M&A spending from their cash flow projections. The analysts also believe that the counterfeiting is simply a legacy problem in China, and that Alibaba is being very aggressive in clamping down on it.

Overall, Oppenheimer believes that the Internet retail business is worth $232 billion, the Ant Financial business $20 billion, AliCloud $43 billion, Cainiao stake $3.7 billion, and investments/acquisitions at $18.7 billion. Therefore, the overall market cap should be $282 billion, which ends up at a value of $110 a share.

Yahoo, the parent company of Yahoo Finance, has an equity stake in Alibaba.



Rayhanul Ibrahim is a writer for Yahoo Finance.

Read more:

From biomass to nuclear: The evolution of American energy usage since 1776

Americas biggest companies are sitting on a $1.45 trillion mountain of cash

Experts agree: When the dust settles, there will be a clear main victim of Brexit

Why the timing of this Brexit mess couldnt be worse for the world economy

Heres what the future of EU-UK trade will look like
With the threat of a federal indictment behind her, Hillary Clinton will head to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 25 as the tarnished presumptive presidential nominee whom a majority of Americans dont like.

And with the usual swirl of controversy surrounding him (this time accusations of veiled anti-Semitism), Donald Trump will private-jet into the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 18 as the divisive presumptive presidential nominee whom a majority of American really dont like.

Related: Libertarian Party Is Burning Up the Polls, but Will It Matter in November?

Clintons unfavorability rating stands at 55.5 percent, according to the latest read from Real Clear Politics. But Trump has her beat with 61.1 percent.

Those negatives are one reason disenchanted voters, many of them independents, are starting to look around.

Support for former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate currently on the ballot in 33 states, is climbing but still in the single digits, with a Real Clear Politics polling average of 7.3 percent.

But a sleeper candidate, who happens to be the other woman running for president, is starting to get noticed.

While Jill Stein, the presumptive Green Party nominee, polls at just 3.8 percent in a four-way matchup with Clinton, Trump and Johnson, she could attract independents who Trump has turned off and disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters who cant bring themselves to vote for Clinton.

In fact, Steins agenda is a lot like Bernies  and a lot like the progressive positions taken by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Related: Cant Vote for Trump or Clinton? Here Are Some Third Party Options

As a Green candidate, Stein wants the U.S to take the lead on halting climate change, end fracking and offshore oil drilling, and declare a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until proven safe.

But she is also for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, a $15 minimum wage, free college, universal healthcare, putting a tax squeeze on Wall Street and the rich, breaking up too-big-to-fail banks, reforming the criminal justice system, legalizing marijuana and terminating unconstitutional surveillance.

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On militarization and foreign entanglements, Stein is considerably more to the left than Sanders or Warren. She would cut Pentagon spending by 50 percent and close some 700 U.S. military installations overseas.

Last April in an open letter to Sanders, the democratic socialist senator from Vermont, Stein suggested they join forces to provide a more powerful alternative to the two major parties.

She wrote, in part: You've proven that in todays rapidly changing America, a populist progressive agenda covered by the media and the televised debates can catch on like wildfire and shake the foundations of a political establishment that seemed invulnerable just a few short months ago.

As the neoliberal Democratic machine mobilizes to quash revolution in its ranks, I urge you to consider opening a window of historic possibility outside the Democratic Party, Stein went on. I would love to explore with you collaborative ways to advance that effort and ensure the revolution for people, planet and peace will prevail.

Related: Get Ready for a Third Party Run from Bernie Sanders

Sanders didnt bite and has said he will be voting for Clinton, although he has not yet endorsed her.

But the lack of real alternatives to the Democrats and Republicans is a theme that Stein keeps hitting hard.

People are hungering for more choices, but the American political system excels at suppressing the voices of opposition, she says in a video on her website, In fact, we are probably the only major developed country limited to two parties.

A Chicago-born physician with degrees from Harvard and Harvard Medical School, the 66-year-old Stein also shares more than a passing similarity to Warren. In addition to their progressive views, both Massachusetts residents are outspoken and highly articulate.

Unlike Warren, who was elected to the Senate in her first try at public office, however, Stein has been defeated in a string of state and national elections.

As the Green Party candidate in 2012, she pulled in a statistically insignificant 0.36 percent of the popular vote, and so far this year the Greens are on only 20 state ballots  although those ballots cover 55 percent of the population and the ballot-access campaign is far from over.

But the election of 2012 was nothing like 2016. And both Johnson, who won only 0.99 percent of the popular vote as the Libertarian nominee in 2012, and Stein see a chance to make a more significant showing.

Who would they help and who would they hurt?

In a two-way race, according to RCP poll averages, Clinton wins 44.9 percent of the vote to Trumps 40.3 percent. In a four-way race among Clinton, Trump, Johnson and Stein, Clinton takes 41.3 percent of the vote to 36.5 percent for Trump, 7 percent for Johnson and 3.8 percent for Stein.

That means if youre Clinton, youve got to love those third-party patriots.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
From Harper's BAZAAR

Long dismissed as old-fashioned and twee, Scotland's heritage fabrics are seeing a stylish resurgence thanks, in part, to a new guard of innovative young designers who are revitalizing and updating stale tweeds, cliche tartans and lackluster lace for a modern audience.

Audience is the key word here. The hit television series, Outlander-and its talented costume designer, Terry Dresbach, who sources local materials for authenticity-has played a large role in this new Scottish style-spotlight. Dresbach credits Scotland's "extraordinary" craftsmanship and the country's "real integration of nature into the work that's done here" for the long-awaited fashion reinvigoration. Here, HarpersBAZAAR.com looks at three female designers, who, with the help of groups such as Scotland Re: Designed and Scot Street Style, are putting a modern spin on traditional, and er, outlandish designs.

Judy R. Clark

Judy R. Clark was in the middle of a cafe shift in her Highland hometown of Fort William when she received a call from Alexander McQueen inviting her to London for an interview. After her six-month internship with the late designer, Clark returned to Scotland, where she was nominated for Young Designer of the Year, providing the momentum to launch her own brand in 2009. Elements of McQueen's influence, specifically that of his Highland Rape collection, are immediate in some of her work, most notably her dramatic Tartan Pheasant Feather Frockcoat.

Clark's love for Scottish textiles began when her grandmother gave her a bag full of Harris Tweed, a fabric often seen as stuffy, which now retains a strong presence in her feminine collections. "I think I've got quite a good eye for mixing up the textiles with different colors and fabrics and I think that has [created] a new market for me and for other people to see that it could be feminine and very wearable."

In Scotland, Clark says, people are starting to realize that the great fabrics are already on their doorstep. As well as Harris Tweed, Clark uses tartan sourced from the Scottish Borders and lace from MYB in Ayreshire, the last remaining lace mill in Scotland which produces Madras lace on 19th century looms. Romantic lace touches are a hallmark of Clark's-enabling other Scottish designers to realize they don't have to travel far to source fabric. "It's quite nice that people are starting to hone in on Scottish textiles and are starting to use them more."

Story continues

Like Rae's work, Clark's designs seem to take inspiration from the environment. Her Lace Noir collection particularly echoes the Renaissance architecture and Gothic spires of Edinburgh, where she is now based. Though lace, bustles, petticoats and high collars abound in Clark's theatrical bespoke tailoring, her ready-to-wear Regency Collection, with its frock coats and waistcoats, has a notably masculine edge. "All the bespoke pieces were so flamboyant and over-the-top that I tried to give women a ready-to-wear collection that they'd feel great in, in a business sense [so they would] feel feminine but quite powerful as well," she says. "I was trying to create a line women could go to work in and really feel like the boss."

Glasgow's storied Kelvingrove Museum recently bought a tartan frock coat, tartan skirt and a high-collared cream shirt from Clark's Regency Collection. And although the museum's curator tells us there are no current plans to put the outfit on display, it is possible that one day it may take pride of place next to the collection's famous tartan coat, worn by a rider in the army of Bonnie Prince Charlie, who features in season two of Outlander.

Siobhan MacKenzie

Kilt designer Siobhan MacKenzie, who heils from the Black Isle in Scotland's Highlands, claims a stronger link to Outlander than most. (Castle Leod, her clan's seat in the town of Strathpeffer, is assumed to have been the inspiration for Outlander's Castle Leoch.) Named the Best New Scottish Designer of 2016, MacKenzie looks to her Highland roots for inspiration for a modern take on the kilt. "I started experimenting with my heritage to give a 21st century spin on it," she explains "The kilt dates back to the 16th century but the contemporary kilt is untapped. Just presenting it in a way it has never been seen before is really getting people's attention; reinvigorating it and bringing it into a new era."

After training in traditional kilt making with Scotland's master kilt maker, Glenisla Kilts, Glasgow-based MacKenzie began developing techniques to redesign the traditional kilt and modernize it. Where a customary kilt is all one fabric, MacKenzie breaks with tradition by contrasting her pleats, moving between tartan and tweed, for example.

Currently focused on launching her women's ready-to-wear line, sourcing all of her fabrics and manufacturing within Scotland, provenance is on her mind. Prior to launching, MacKenzie noticed that a lot of what was on offer for women was mass-produced kilts that are not made in Scotland-the kind commonly seen in Scotland's many souvenir stores. "Cheaper kilts that are not made using Scottish fabrics or Scottish manufacturers, or even UK manufacturers for that matter, can be quite damaging to [the image of] our real kilts," she says.

Vixy Rae

Supporting Scottish craftsmanship is a cornerstone of the work of Vixy Rae, who has recently taken the reins at Stewart Christie & Co., Scotland's oldest bespoke tailor founded in 1804. Rae began her career in street wear, running stores in Edinburgh and Glasgow before taking on the design and tailoring for emerging label, Walker Slater, which, at the time, was catapulting tweed into mainstream fashion. "Although my creative urges were fulfilled, I never felt wholly comfortable with the fact that the production and tweed was increasingly taken away from the UK," she says. "The trend was for growing companies to look abroad to cut costs without looking at the long term effects on local manufacturing and craftsmanship."

It was with this renewed focus on heritage that Rae and her business partner, Daniel Fearn, heard Stewart Christie & Co. was coming up for sale. "Thankfully for us, more and more discerning customers and tourists do seek something that is actually created here-is authentic and rich in heritage."

Rae and Fearn are gradually refitting the shop in Edinburgh's New Town and will soon launch the label's first ever womenswear collection. A dedicated women's floor will be completed in August 2016. "It has been a very masculine-feeling shop, but that will soon be changing!" says Rae. "After 300 years, I think it is about time ladies had somewhere they could come and explore possibilities rather than being sold something disposable. For too long men have had exclusivity over quality fabrics and fine tailoring techniques." For inspiration, Rae says she has been looking back at women's tailoring from the '50s, "exploring form to give tailoring elegant and sexual lines, giving definition to the waist and hips for a more feminine shape while retaining a certain amount of structure."

Recalling a recent work trip to Harris where a client chose her tweed to match the landscape of Luskentyre beach, with its white sand and turquoise waters, Rae explains that the changing seasons and landscapes of Scotland "will supply endless inspiration for color, pattern and texture." As for the perception of Scottish textiles, Rae says: "My friends are now reaching an age where they are no longer rebelling against it, but taking it and putting their own slant on it. I have always loved color and tones, and now have found a renewed passion for tartan. It is part of our heritage but it doesn't have to be brash. I feel proud to be able to use the cloth in future collections."
Wine lovers and exporters around the Pacific Rim will have reason to pop the cork Thursday after officials slashed red tape on shipments in the region that will ease an expensive bottleneck.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group said in a statement that the 21 member economies had agreed on a standard, simplified certificate, replacing the multi-layered system that had led to losses of about $1.0 billion a year in the industry.

And while exporters such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the United States are expected to benefit from the simplified regime, wine drinkers will also have a reason to celebrate as it is should lead to a wider array of choices at cheaper prices.

"Easier, more inclusive wine trade can improve product availability and prices for consumers and improve job creation and growth," said Tom LaFaille, international trade counsel for the Wine Institute, the private sector overseer of the APEC Wine Regulatory Forum.

Jamie Ferman of the US Department of Commerce described the model certificate as "a win-win for the industry".

Rocio Barrios Alvarado, chair of the APEC sub-committee on standards and conformance, said the single certificate "will reduce administrative burdens for producers endeavouring to take advantage of the increasing taste for wine in the region".

APEC said the bloc's wine trade had more than tripled to over $23 billion since 2000, but "unnecessary non-tariff barriers" and overlapping certificates had mean companies were facing huge costs.

It said focus now is on having the certificate implemented. APEC agreements are implemented on a voluntary basis and results are achieved through dialogue, cooperation and peer pressure.

APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
Its no secret that before putting a house on sale, many homeowners try to boost the value of their property by removing clutter, tidying up the yard, and freshening up the interior with a coat of off-white paint.



Sellers might want give more thought to how the paint color they choose can affect the selling price.

If a seller decides to repaint before listing, she should consider shades that may be more likely to boost the closing price, says Kerrie Kelly, a home design expert with Zillow Digs, the home improvement business owned by real estate website Zillow.

Zillow examined photos from 50,000 home sales around the country to analyze how room colors correlated with selling prices. It found that some colors could help buyers to make a premium of as much as $5,000 on the sale of their homes, while other colors could actually depress the selling price.

Heres how colors affect selling prices, according to Zillow.

Kitchen: Yellow is, apparently, a great paint color for a kitchen. Homes with yellow kitchens sell for an average premium of $1,360 when compared with all other homes controlled for similar features, Zillow found. The key, says Kelly, is to choose a warm neutral yellow paint, such as wheat yellow. Avoid picking a shade thats too saturated, as deep shades may backfire with buyers.

One surprising find: Even though white kitchens are often featured in home decorating magazines, these colors come off as sterile or cold to home buyers, Kelly notes. In Zillows study, painting a kitchen white did not increase a homes selling price.

Bedroom: Choosing the right paint color here can be a challenge since the bedroom is the most personal room in the house. A bright red, for example, could be too stimulating, making it hard to rest. You might prefer a more soothing paint color. According to Zillow, painting a bedroom light green to khaki can boost a selling price by an average of $1,332.

Living room: Neutrals win the day when it comes to this high-traffic room. Zillow found that homes with living rooms painted with dove or light-grey paint sold for an average premium of $1,104. The worst shade is orange. Homes with terra-cotta-colored living rooms sold for an average of $793 less than other homes.

Story continues

Bathroom: The color of bathrooms didnt have a great impact on the selling price. Even so, Zillow says the best colors are tans, such as oatmeal or beige. Homes with bathrooms painted in those shades sold for an average of $283 more than other houses. Zillow found that dark-brown bathrooms think of Tuscan-style shadessell for an average of $469 less than other homes.

Dining room: Purple might be the best choice. Zillow found that homes with a dining room painted lavender, mauve, or eggplant sold for $1,122 more than other houses. You might want to stay away from grey paint, since the research noted that homes with slate or dark-grey dining rooms sold for $1,112 less than other similar houses.

Painting Tips

If you decide to repaint a room, you could probably do it over a weekend. Kelly says that if you hire a painter, rates typically range from $1.50 to $2.50 per square foot.



Consumer Reports recommends that you paint sample colors on large sheets of heavy paper so you can move them from place to place without having to paint the walls. Live with them for at least a few days. Observe how different levels of light affect the color throughout the day.

You can also turn to digital tools to upload their home photos and virtually test different paint shades. Check out the Sherwin-Williams Color Snap Visualizer or the Zillow Digs App.



More on Painting Your Home

Paint Buying Guide

How to Pick the Right White Paint

Room-by-Room Guide to the Best Paints

The Exterior Paint That Best Weathers the Elements





More from Consumer Reports:

8 Ways to Boost Your Home Value

Why your cable TV bill is going up

Get the Best Cell Phone Plan for Your Familyand Save up to $1,000 a Year





Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright  2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S.
Hospitalised Shashank Koirala critical

Condition of Nepali Congress General Secretary Shashank Koirala, who is undergoing treatment at Om Hospital after suddenly falling ill on Tuesday night, is critical but stable, doctors attending to him said on Wednesday.
Shares of The WhiteWave Foods Company WWAV were surging more than 18% in mid-morning trade Thursday after Paris-based yogurt maker Danone DANOY agreed to acquire WWAV for $12.5 billion. Danone will pay $56.25 per share for WWAV, which represents a premium of about 24% over the companys 30-day average closing price.

The WhiteWave Foods Company is a consumer packaged food and beverage company that manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells branded plant-based foods and beverages, coffee creamers and beverages, dairy products, and organic salads, and fruits and vegetables in North America and Europe. The company has been one of the fastest growing in the industry, as demand for healthy and organic food has continued to grow.

WWAV is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), and with todays huge jump, is now up over 45% year-to-date. The company is projected for sales growth of 11.35% this year, with revenues estimated to hit $4.31 billion. The acquisition will be a huge addition for Danone, as it is expected to double the companys US business.

The deal, which is subject to approval from regulators and WhiteWaves shareholders, is expected to close by the end of the year.

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House Speaker Paul Ryan is weighing in heavily on the reignited controversy surrounding Hillary Clintons private email setup as secretary of state, days before each party formally selects its presidential nominee.

Ahead of FBI Director James Comeys appearance before a House panel Thursday morning for an hours-long grilling on his investigation, Ryan sent out a photograph of himself at a desk, apparently writing one of two letters he sent to Comey and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

In the letter to Clapper, Ryan requested that Clinton not receive the traditional classified briefings after the Democratic Party officially hands her the presidential nomination, as expected at the partys convention in Philadelphia at the end of the month.

Ryan argued that such a move  which would severely hamstring the Clinton campaigns argument that it is presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump who fails to pass the commander-in-chief test  is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure.

Comey gave a scathing critique of Clintons security practices on Tuesday, saying the Democrat and her aides were extremely careless in their handling of sensitive information, but concluding they did not act criminally. Attorney General Loretta Lynch concurred, announcing on Wednesday that the the Justice Department had declined to bring charges.

But Ryan also requested in a separate letter that the FBI chief release all of the unclassified findings of his investigation, saying, The American public deserves to know.

In his Thursday testimony before the House Oversight Committee, Comey defended his recommendation not to press charges. But the hearing quickly devolved into a partisan spectacle.

Republican lawmakers attacked the FBI bosss credibility and used the bureaus investigation to go after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the chairman of the oversight committee, pressed Comey on whether Clinton had lied under oath while testifying before Congress. Comey told Chaffetz that the FBI had not examined the issue, as such an investigation requires a referral from Congress. Chaffetz, unaware that such a referral was necessary, promised that it would be forthcoming.

Story continues

In 2012, Clinton told Congress that there was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received. But on Thursday, Comey said that some information on her email server was marked with a (C). That symbol denotes confidential, the governments lowest classification level. Emails that included that mark did not, however, contain the standard header that usually accompanies classified information, Comey said, who added that it was unclear whether Clinton had understood what the (C) denoted.

The forthcoming FBI probe on that issue  and whether Clintons statement represented a lie under oath  will likely be the next front in the former secretary of states email saga.

Under questioning from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), Comey drew an interesting distinction between the Clinton camps mishandling of classified information and the prosecution of former Gen. David Petraeus, who fell from grace while leading the CIA when it emerged that he had shared top-secret notebooks with his lover and biographer, Paula Broadwell.

Unlike Clinton, Petraeus had acted with clear intent to share information that he knew was classified at the time he shared it, Comey said. Petraeus moreover lied to investigators looking into the matter.

Comey argued that Petraeuss clear demonstration of intent to share classified information and subsequent obstruction of justice made his case a perfect example of one that should be prosecuted.

Still, its unlikely that Republican sympathy for the former general and CIA director, or the Bush-appointed FBI directors testimony, will dampen GOP efforts to take further steps to sanction Clinton and reinforce perceptions that she is untrustworthy.

Theres also been plenty of concern, particularly in the intelligence community, about the GOPs own pick receiving classified briefings, given his extemporaneous speaking style.

Asked in a later press briefing whether hes comfortable with Trump handling sensitive intelligence, Ryan said, I am. He and reportedly hundreds of House members, along with Senate Republicans, met with Trump on Thursday morning in Washington in another attempt to show party unity just before the Republican convention in Cleveland.

Ryan expressed frustration when pressed on Trumps social media pugnacity and admiring comments on former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein, asking a reporter, You think Im going to comment on every Tweet?

With the ambiguity characteristic of his responses to questions about the bloviating New York businessman, Ryan said the get-together with Trump was a great meeting.

Photo credit: WIN McNAMEE/ Staff
ISIS Islamic State Fighter Flag Mosul

The Defense Department wants an extra $20 million to help fight back against a disturbing trend of ISIS increasingly utilizing drones for both reconnaissance and assault purposes.

According to Bloomberg, citing a budget document, the Pentagon is seeking the funding to "identify, acquire, integrate and conduct testing of methods that are able to counter the effects of unmanned aerial systems and the threats they pose to U.S. forces."

The budget document notes how ISIS is outfitting "small and tactical unmanned aerial systems with improvised explosives. Additionally, the terror group is making use of the drones to conduct surveillance of enemy positions in order to carry out both assaults and plan suicide bombings.

The drones pose a strong security risk for anti-ISIS forces throughout Iraq and Syria due to the ease of acquiring them. David Small, a spokesman for the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency in the Pentagon, told Bloomberg by email that ISIS utilizes quadcopters and fixed-wing type drones you can buy commercially for both a system for acquiring explosive and for reconnaissance.

These commercial drones further allow ISIS to strike beyond the territory that they currently control. The drones also provide the group with an asymmetric advantage for carrying out terror attacks throughout Iraq and Syria, which will become increasingly likely as the group continues to lose territory.

Indeed, the recent spate of terror attacks across the globe perpetrated by ISIS signals at the group's shifting of tactics away from holding territory towards conducting more asymmetric attacks.

And although the Pentagon's request for funds will only address the drone threat against Iraqi forces, any expertise that ISIS develops in using drones could then be passed along to operatives around the world.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: EX-PENTAGON CHIEF: These are the 2 main reasons ISIS was born





More From Business Insider


From Cosmopolitan

Rich Cohen's new profile of Margot Robbie in the August 2016 issue of Vanity Fair is turning heads today. Here, a sample of how he began describing the Australian actress, who graces the issue's cover:

America is so far gone, we have to go to Australia to find a girl next door. In case you've missed it, her name is Margot Robbie. She is 26 and beautiful, not in that otherworldly, catwalk way but in a minor knock-around key, a blue mood, a slow dance. She is blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character. As I said, she is from Australia. To understand her, you should think about what that means.

In the same sour tone, he goes on to describe her as a "second-semester freshman," her clothes "simple," and her eyes "painfully blue." There's also this:

Because Robbie is new on the scene, reporters are trying to fix her with a narrative. The job of the celebrity journalist: peg 'em so it's not only as if you know 'em but always have known 'em or someone just like 'em. But Robbie is too fresh to be pegged. Less being than becoming. The most recent theory has her as a celebrity uncomfortable with fame. A case of buyer's remorse.

Feminist writer Roxane Gay has my vote for explaining why this profile is just plain wrong.

But these wonderful tweets are tied for a close second.

Follow Peggy on Twitter.
Almost 24 hours after cops shot and killed a 37-year-old man named Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge on Tuesday (July 5) outside a convenience store, a Minnesota police officer fatally shot Philando Castile, 32, at a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on Wednesday night (July 6).

A heartbreaking video that was posted and streamed live via Facebook after the shooting by Castile's girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, showed that Castile was shot four or five times. Reynolds said that after the officer demanded to see his license and registration, Castile informed the patrolman that he was carrying a licensed firearm and was reaching for the documents. "Police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason," she is seen telling the camera.

Alton Sterling Killed by Police: Amy Schumer, Zendaya, Chuck D & Others React

According to the Daily Beast, Reynolds adds that Castile had complied, had no criminal record and was licensed to carry the gun. Toward the end of the clip, Reynolds is also seen crying and screaming in the back of a cop cruiser with her young daughter, who says, "It's okay, mommy. I'm right here with you."

While police have yet to release more information, celebrities weighed in on the Castile shooting on their timelines. See their reactions below.

Another day, another hashtag. You didn't deserve this, brother. You didn't deserve this. #PhilandoCastile

- NE-YO (@NeYoCompound) July 7, 2016

#FalconHeights Went to bed crying woke up crying #PhilandoCastille #PhilandoCastille #PhilandoCastille

- Chelsea Peretti (@chelseaperetti) July 7, 2016

Wow...... Back to back just like that. #PhilandoCastile.. RIP big bruh

- Diggy (@diggy_simmons) July 7, 2016

There are so many broken, backwards issues at play here it's numbing to digest. #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #blacklivesmatter

- josh groban (@joshgroban) July 7, 2016

Time to MOBILIZE!!! fuck this shit... They are blatantly killing black ppl!!! Att. All leaders I'm here for you I wanna fight...

Story continues

- Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) July 7, 2016

Black White Spanish Asian All ppl it's time to MOBILIZE!!! Police officers the so called good ones better stand up and call FOUL!!!

- Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) July 7, 2016

We're being hunted!!!

- Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) July 7, 2016

It hasn't even been fucking 48 hours since the last shooting...

- Ja Rule (@Ruleyork) July 7, 2016

He died .. His name is Philando Castile, he was 32 #FalconHeights shooting .. Two hours ago. https://t.co/nCg2IDYNRR

- Meagan Good (@MeaganGood) July 7, 2016

How is it before I lay down to sleep it happens again. #FalconHeights I HAVE NO WORDS.

- Danielle Brooks (@thedanieb) July 7, 2016

We should not have to jump through hoops to prove black people shouldn't be shot by police during routine traffic stops.

- John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

We have fucking video proof and some of you still are all "well, uh, he shouldn't have moved his left leg so provocatively".

- John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016

So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK

- John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016
Colleagues and parents on Thursday remembered Philando Castile as an ambitious man who served as a role model for hundreds of children before he was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota.

Castile, who was known by friends as Phil, was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in Saint Paul, Minn., where he memorized the names of the 500 children he served every day  along with their food allergies, his former coworker said.

He remembered their names. He remembered who couldnt have milk. He knew what they could have to eat and what they couldnt, Joan Edman, a recently retired paraprofessional at the school, told TIME. This was a real guy. He made a real contribution. Yes, black lives matter. But this man mattered.

A police officer shot Castile, 32, late Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, authorities said. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, captured the aftermath of the incident on video and streamed it on Facebook Live, where it went viral.

Reynolds told reporters Thursday that her boyfriend was complying with the officers instructors to put his hands in the air and get his license and registration. She added that he told police that he had a gun in the car and a permit to carry it. Castile did nothing but what the police officer asked of us, she said. Nothing within his body language said shoot me.

The shooting death shocked Edman, 62, who said Castile was a dutiful worker who adhered to rules strictly. Ive never seen anybody take that kind of role so seriously, she said. He followed directions carefully.

Castile graduated from Central High School in 2001 and had worked for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) since he was 19 years old, beginning in 2002 in the Nutrition Services Department, the school district said in a statement.

He was promoted to a supervisory position two years ago and was currently working at one of the schools during summer break. I am deeply sorry for his family and for their loss. Hes worked in SPPS for many years and he graduated from our district, so he was one of our own, SPPS Superintendent Valeria Silva said in the statement.

Story continues

Parents, several of whom rallied for justice outside the tight-knit school Thursday, said they felt safe knowing Castile was in charge of their childrens food and said Castile transformed the cafeteria into a positive and cheerful space.

He was a fixture. I was always happy to see him around school. The cafeteria was a pretty happy place. He was part of the community and an important one, Andrew Karre, whose 8-year-old son attends J.J. Hill, told TIME.

He was just a nice, caring person who worked at the school, who should not be dead, said Karre, 37.

March tonight 5pm at JJ Hill Montessori 998 Selby in St. Paul, sponsored by the parents there. #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/QV7rEXkqCk  Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) July 7, 2016

In the school districts statement, an unnamed coworker says Castile was smart and overqualified for his position, yet still took his job seriously. Kids loved him. He was quiet, respectful and kind. I knew him as warm and funny, the colleague said. He wore a shirt and tie to his supervisor interview and said his goal was to one day sit on the other side of this table.

Edman said Castile may have worked inside a kitchen, but he often taught children important lessons in the consequences of stealing and being respectful. He was much a teacher than any teacher in that building, Edman said. We had a calmer cafeteria this year, and I think it was because he was there.

Castile was someone who has that presence that people respect and they become more respectful too, Edman said.

I think he did that for kids, she said. Kids watch everything, and they saw that. He had so much going for him. He didnt have an axe to grind. It just doesnt make sense. This is a real person. Five hundred real children are directly impacted.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman wont have an embarrassing encounter with Vice Chair Shari Redstone this week at investment banker Herb Allens annual Sun Valley mogul gathering.

Redstones already there, and the Viacom chief was invited. But he now plans to skip the gathering.

Mr. Dauman had planned to join the Allen & Co. conference but is attending to pressing business matters, the company says.

The decision is sure to disappoint those who looked forward to seeing a Dauman-Redstone face off. He has accused the daughter of Sumner Redstone, 93, of serving as his puppet master  a charge that the family rejects.

The fight between Dauman and Redstone is very much on the minds of the moguls at Sun Valley. Viacom, or at least some of its assets, could be in play as Daumans position there looks increasingly precarious.

Today Liberty Media Chairman John Malone told reporters there that theres always M&A opportunities  adding that Viacom has some great assets and, right at the moment because of the turmoil, theyre substantially undervalued.

Shari Redstone has been seen talking in Sun Valley to CBS chief Les Moonves. Some analysts believe Redstone might merge Viacom with CBS and put the combined company under Moonves.

He would do a terrific job if they wanted to go that way, but I have no idea what Shari has in mind, Malone says.

Viacoms shares have lost 32.4% of their value over the last 12 months, but are up about 3% today after Malones comments. He helped to engineer Lionsgates agreement to buy Starz, which he controls, and Charter Communications acquisition of Time Warner Cable.

At Viacom, Dauman says Shari Redstone is manipulating Sumners efforts to oust him and Viacom director George Abrams from key positions in the family power structure. On May 20, Redstones lawyers told Dauman and Abrams that they were off the seven-member family trust as well as the board of his theater chain, National Amusements.

Story continues

The trust will control Redstones 80% interest in National Amusements when hes unable to do so. The exhibition chain owns 80% of the voting shares in Viacom and CBS.

Dauman and Abrams have asked a Massachusetts court to overturn the decisions, saying that Sumner is incompetent and being used by a power-hungry daughter.

The Redstone team says that Sumner is still calling the shots, and that they are fed up with Daumans mismanagement. In a separate, but related, case, Viacom and National Amusements have asked a Delaware court to rule on whether the theater company has the right to oust five Viacom directors including Dauman.

Related stories

Viacom Asks Delaware Court For Redstone Exam To Clear Way For Possible Paramount Deal

Sumner Redstone's Granddaughter Defends Mass. For Competence Case

Lionsgate Would Pay Starz $150M If Shareholders Reject Acquisition
Pink wrote a song for Celine Dion after her husband died and were having all the feels

Pink wrote a song for Celine Dion after her husband died and were having all the feels

For Celine Dion, 2016 began with not one but two devastating losses: first her husband, Rene Angelil, passed away on January 14th from throat cancer, then her brother Daniel succumbed to brain cancer just two days later. Celine handled her grief the same way she has handled every hardship in her long and ridiculously successful career: by reaching out to her fans for support (and supporting them, as was the case at Renes funeral in Montreal, where she comforted mourning fans for SEVEN hours straight), and expressing her feelings through music.

Through her tears, Celine returned to her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and embarked on a new tour.

Thanks to my fans and to the amazing Colosseum public, that night after night gave me the energy to go on and make a show that Rene would be proud of.  Merci a tous ceux qui sont recemment venus me voir au Colosseum. Vous avez su me donner lenergie necessaire pour continuer a faire de ce spectacle un succes dont Rene serait fier. A photo posted by Celine Dion (@celinedion) on Mar 13, 2016 at 9:56am PDT

Celine is currently back in the studio, in the process of working on what is sure to be her most emotional, honest album yet. In between rehearsals for her Paris concert on Wednesday, she revealed that one of the songs on the upcoming album came from a surprising source: Pink. Apparently Pink reached out to Celine with a song she had written after Renes passing, focusing on Celines strength moving forward. Heres what Celine told ET about the special track:

P!nk wrote me a song. She is phenomenal. I love her for her talent, for her strength, for her focus, the person she is. When I saw her [at the Billboard Music Awards], I said, For you to take the time to really write a song, to give me a tool, a piece of luggage to help me to move forward to walk to keep going Its called Recovering. Get ready.

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On our way for a fabulous evening at the #BBMAs! A photo posted by Celine Dion (@celinedion) on May 22, 2016 at 2:55pm PDT

We think we speak for all Celine fans when we say WE ARE SO READY, aka we have a huge box of tissues at hand and are counting down the hours until she releases this album. We love you, Celine!

The post Pink wrote a song for Celine Dion after her husband died and were having all the feels appeared first on HelloGiggles.
Pramod Mishra is a biweekly columnist for The Kathmandu Post. He is the department chair of English Studies at Lewis University in the United States.
Johannesburg (AFP) - Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is serving his six-year sentence for killing his girlfriend in a single hospital prison cell, an official said Thursday.

The disgraced paralympian is in the same cell in Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison he was previously incarcerated for one year.

Manelisi Wolela, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, said the special accommodation was due to his disability and that the prison had never had a double amputee inmate before.

"He is in the same facility in the hospital section of the Pretoria prison," Wolela told AFP.

Wolela said the hospital wing of the prison had a number of other prisoners, some of whom are sick or disabled.

"If you expose them to communal normal cells, they will be vulnerable," he said.

South Africa's often overcrowded prisons are notorious for gang violence and sexual assaults.

Pistorius, 29, began his sentence on Wednesday after he had his conviction of manslaughter was last year upgraded to murder for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago.

His lawyers said he won't appeal the sentence, which is just one year longer than his earlier jail term.

He is eligible for parole after serving between half to two-thirds of his sentence.
* May industrial output down 1.3 pct mth/mth

* Steepest monthly fall since August 2014

* Analysts point to special factors, weaker global demand (Adds analyst, background)

By Michael Nienaber

BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - German industrial output plunged unexpectedly in May, posting its steepest monthly drop since August 2014, data showed on Thursday, suggesting Europe's largest economy lost steam in the second quarter after its surprisingly strong start to the year.

The weak output figures followed data on Wednesday showed that German industrial orders were flat in May, before Britain's decision to leave the European Union, and were weaker than expected, pointing to an economic slowdown.

Economists have warned that Britain's June 23 decision to leave the 28-member bloc is likely to hit German exports and reduce growth by as much as half a percentage point next year.

Industrial output was down 1.3 percent on the month, data from the Economy Ministry showed, below the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for an unchanged reading.

May's slowdown reflected weaker production of capital goods and manufacturing while the April reading was revised down to a 0.5 percent increase from an initially reported rise of 0.8 percent.

"Even before the June data, one thing is clear today: Production will weigh on growth in the second quarter," Bankhaus Lampe economist Alexander Krueger said, adding the main reason for the poor reading were special factors such as the strong performance in the first three months of the year.

He also said there had been weak demand for German industrial goods due to a slowdown in emerging markets.

The ministry said May's poor reading also reflected an unusually high number of holidays in the month.

But even in the less volatile period from March to May, industrial output fell 0.5 percent, it said, adding the data pointed to slightly weaker industrial output in the second quarter.

Still, it said recently improved sentiment in the sector points to a continuation of an moderate upswing in industry.

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ING Bank economist Carsten Brzeski said the data increased the risk of a hard landing for the German economy in the second quarter.

"However, such an assessment could be too simple. In fact, the latest data only confirm the picture of a two-speed economy," he said.

"While the domestic economy is booming, the former growth engines -- exports and industrial production -- are weakening. With weaker industrial production, a traditional increase in investment also becomes less likely."

The German economy grew by 0.7 percent in the first quarter, its strongest quarterly rate in two years, with soaring private consumption, higher construction investment and state spending on refugees more than offsetting a dip in foreign trade.

For the second quarter, analysts expect German economic growth to slow to around 0.3 percent.

Separately, Germany's DIHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce on Thursday lowered its outlook for German exports to Britain after the Brexit vote.

DIHK sees a 1 percent drop in exports to the United Kingdom in 2016, down from its previous forecast of a 5 percent rise. In 2017, it expects German exports to Britain to drop by 5 percent.

A poll of some 5,600 firms commissioned by the DIHK showed that 26 percent of respondents were planning to cut jobs in their British units.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; editing by Madeline Chambers and Jason Neely)
(credit: angela n.)

(credit: angela n.)

This week, We the People travels to Aspen, Colorado, home of the 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival.

Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and host of We the People, hosted several programs there on constitutional topics, including the Bill of Rights and the tension between individual privacy and national security.

It was, without a doubt, an exciting and unpredictable year at the Supreme Court, with the sudden passing of Justice Antonin Scalia and several important rulings (or non-rulings) on hot-button issues.

In Aspen, Rosen was joined by several leading Supreme Court watchers to review the term and the state of the Court. All of the speakers have previously been guests on We the People or speakers at the Center in Philadelphia:

Neal Katyal, Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law, Georgetown University; Partner, Hogan Lovells

Judge Nancy Gertner, Lecturer on Law, Harvard University

Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, NPR

Geoffrey Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago

Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University



Download this episode (right click and save)

Attention, We the People listeners!

Become a Member of the National Constitution Center at the $125 Constitution Framer level or higher by July 31 and you will receive a signed complimentary copy of Jeffrey Rosens new book, Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet. Make your gift today! Please email membership@constitutioncenter.org and let Jeff know how you would like him to sign your complimentary book!

The National Constitution Center is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit, nonpartisan private organization.

This show was edited by David Stotz and produced by Nicandro Iannacci. Research was provided by Josh Waimberg, Lana Ulrich, and Tom Donnelly. The host of We the People is Jeffrey Rosen.

Get the latest constitutional news, and continue the conversation, on our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

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By Adrian Krajewski WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's government rushed an amended version of its constitutional court reforms through parliament on Thursday, apparently in an effort to reassure its Western allies over the issue hours before a NATO summit opens in Warsaw. Opposition critics said, however, the changes fell short of what was needed to keep from undermining democratic checks and balances, a concern expressed by the European Union and the United States. Diplomats say Washington has heavily lobbied the government of the Law and Justice party (PiS) to resolve the issue, which has fueled a heated debate in Poland, before the summit on Friday and Saturday. The government argues it is only trying to make the constitutional court more effective and transparent. Opposition critics see the efforts to overhaul the tribunal as part of a broader plan to take more control over state institutions. "We have shown enough good will to resolve the conflict, which we haven't created," senior PiS lawmaker Stanislaw Piotrowicz was quoted as saying by the Polish news agency PAP, referring to Thursday's amendments. PiS's main compromise was giving up an increase in the number of judges needed to pass rulings, which critics say would have paralyzed the court. But the bill, if enacted, would force the head of the constitutional court to fill disputed court seats with judges selected by the ruling party, a move the court's head has resisted so far. Looking to limit the share of judges picked by the previous parliament, PiS named its own members to the 15-strong body instead of allowing those named by the previous parliament to be seated. They were nominated just before elections in October. The changes proposed by PiS led the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and the Venice Commission, the advisory panel of the Council of Europe rights body, to question the rule of law in Poland, opinions largely denounced by the Polish government. But the upcoming NATO summit, where it will push for the alliance to station more troops on the eastern flank, increased pressure on Poland, with Washington lobbying for the government to soften its stance on the court. Several U.S. think tanks as well as New York Times newspaper urged President Barack Obama to press the issue in his discussions with Polish statesmen. Obama will meet with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, on Friday, during the first day of the NATO summit. The White House said the issue of the constitutional court will be touched upon during the meeting, scheduled to last some 45 minutes. "The Polish government must be told that and more: that the alliance whose protection they demand is not only about defending territory, but, perhaps more important, about defending shared values," New York Times said in a Wednesday editorial. "The bill is yet another try to subordinate the court to the executive power, and we fear that it will block all cases judged by the court," said Marcin Wolny, a lawyer for the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. "This bill will absolutely not end the row with the European Commission or the Venice Commission." (Additional reporting by Jakub Iglewski, editing by Larry King)
By Justyna Pawlak and Pawel Sobczak WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's eurosceptic government has long said it would like Poles living in Britain to return home, but it is now promising to fight for their right to stay after the British vote to leave the European Union. The roughly 800,000 Poles resident in Britain helped stimulate an emotive debate over record high immigration that helped the "Leave" side win the June 23 referendum on EU membership, and the conditions under which Poles may be able to stay in the UK will be subject to future Brexit negotiations. For Poland's ruling conservatives, a return of Poles from Britain could be seen as a vote of confidence in their government, in place since a sweeping election victory last October on a promise of more economic equality. But analysts say Prime Minister Beata Szydlo's Law and Justice (PiS) party is being pragmatic. With salaries in Poland a fraction of what they are in Britain, any returnees might turn sour on her government. Opinion polls also show the majority want to remain in the UK and expect the government to help them. "The Poles in Britain are an important part of the PiS electorate, so are their families," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at London's Centre for European Reform think tank. "It would be risky to use the situation to persuade the Poles to return." The vast majority of Poles in Britain have arrived since 2004 when Poland joined the EU, giving citizens the option of moving to one of the bloc's strongest economies, with plentiful jobs and relatively low taxes. Many of Britain's Poles came from economically deprived smaller towns in their homeland where PiS support is strong. Detailed negotiations between the EU and Britain over the exact terms of its split have yet to start. EU leaders have insisted Britain must continue to accept the free movement of EU citizens if it wants to enjoy unbroken access to the bloc's lucrative single market of 500 million people. Poland has said it will seek to preserve its citizens' status quo in Britain, which includes the right to work and access to welfare benefits. "My dream is that they return to Poland. These people have incredible experience ... and financial resources," deputy prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told private broadcaster TVN24. "(But) we will try to negotiate so that our citizens, Poles who have settled in well in Britain, are not treated worse than the Brits. That's obvious." COMPLICATED IMPACT Morawiecki said he expected Poland's labor market, where unemployment fell to eight-year lows of 8.8 percent in June, to be able to absorb many returnees, if needed. "I assume it would be possible for the Polish labor market to absorb them in the course of two or three years. I would like it very much if at least 100,000 to 200,000 people decided to return." That may be optimistic. An opinion poll by IBRIS conducted between June 29 and July 1 showed that two-thirds of Poles living in Britain wanted to stay but 20 percent would leave for Poland if this proved impossible after an exit from the EU. Less than six percent said the Brexit vote meant they wanted go back. Almost 16 percent said they would leave Britain but move elsewhere in the EU or outside the bloc. "Our research shows that most Poles who would be forced to leave Britain would go to countries such as Germany, France or the Netherlands," said Andrzej Kubisiak of the London-listed employment agency Work Service. "Salaries in many sectors are comparable to Britain there." Economically, a return home of a substantial number of Poles could have a mixed impact, analysts say. The amount of cash they send to families in Poland has fallen in recent years from about 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009 alone. Upward pressure on salaries would ease, as well. An influx of the mostly young migrants would help offset Poland's demographic problems. With one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, Poland faces increasing difficulties in making pension payments. Government officials hope a return of expatriates would also reverse an outflow of skilled labor. But analysts say thousands of Poles in Britain will probably now seek permanent residence status that is available to foreigners who have lived in Britain for at least four years. A study by the Polish Institute of International Affairs think tank indicates that some 120,000 to 400,000 Poles - about half or less - may not qualify for this now. "Of course we want them to return," a senior PiS official told Reuters. "But we need to have the ability to receive them. We will, when the economy is in better shape." (Additional reporting by Wiktor Szary and Marcin Goettig; editing by Mark Heinrich)
The Bangladeshi capital Dhaka came under attack by suspected terrorists for the second time in a week on Thursday, as a bombing by suspected Islamic militants killed three people and injured several others during a religious ceremony attended by thousands.

The victims include two police officers and a woman, while one of the attackers was also killed in the ensuing firefight, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper reports. Two other suspects, one of them wounded, have reportedly been captured as security forces continue to hunt for the rest.

Local sources said officers frisking people at the entrance to the religious site were attacked Thursday morning by a group of six or seven men. A huge congregation of some 300,000 worshippers, who had gathered less than a mile away to observe Eid-al-Fitr  the Muslim holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan  were trapped for hours as police engaged in a firefight with the attackers, according to the Daily Star newspaper.

Police cordoned off a section of the Kishoreganj district north of the capital, where the attack took place, and continued to comb the area for militants potentially still at large, the Associated Press reported.

We are still checking for other miscreants but after this incident, prayers were held peacefully and we have asked everyone to go home, Zillur Rahman, a district council administrator, told Reuters.

This is the second time terrorists have struck Bangladesh in less than a week. On July 1, gunmen attacked a popular restaurant in an upscale Dhaka neighborhood last Friday, where 22 people  including 18 foreigners and two policemen  were killed by gunmen. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group.
Police fatally shoot Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minn. People gather at JJ Hill Montessori school, where Philando Castile worked, on Nov.r 16, 2016 in St. Paul, Minn. Ramsey County Attorney John Choi filed charges today against St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez who shot and killed Castile during a traffic stop this past July. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

A Minnesota police officer has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Philando Castile, a black man whose girlfriend streamed the gruesome aftermath of the fatal shooting live on Facebook, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot the 32-year-old during a July 6 traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, was in the car along with her young daughter at the time. The woman said Castile was shot several times while reaching for his ID after telling Yanez he had a gun permit and was armed.

Yanezs attorney, Tom Kelly, has said Yanez, who is Latino, was reacting to the presence of a gun, and that one reason Yanez pulled Castile over was because he thought he looked like a possible match for an armed robbery suspect.

But family members claimed Castile, an elementary school cafeteria worker, was racially profiled.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi got the case from investigators in late September and began reviewing the evidence for possible charges. Choi resisted pressure immediately after the shooting to turn the case over to a special prosecutor, but added one to his team to get an outside perspective. He also enlisted the help of national use-of-force consultants.

Chois office has said a key question in his review was determining whether Yanez was justified in believing deadly force was necessary.

In Minnesota, second-degree manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter, carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

The shooting prompted numerous protests, including a weekslong demonstration outside the governors mansion and one protest that shut down Interstate 94 in St. Paul for hours. The interstate protest resulted in about 50 arrests and injuries to more than 20 officers, after police said they were hit with cement chunks, bottles, rocks and other objects. (AP)

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Correction Appended

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a mother of three by two sheriffs deputies in Yuma County, Ariz.

Melissa Ventura, 24, was shot to death by two Yuma County Sheriff Deputies who responded to a domestic abuse call on Tuesday evening, according to the Yuma Sun.

I dont know what happened. She was mother of three, and she lived for her kids, the victims sister Tiffany Ventura told KYMA. She was the heart and soul of my familyI dont know what we are going to do without her the only thing I can say is that her kids will know how much she loved them.

Sgt. Lori Franklin said that when the police arrived, Ventura attacked them with a knife, KYMA reported. Both deputies shot Ventura. She was transported to the hospital but did not survive her injuries. The Yuma Police Department is currently investigating this incident.

Court records show that Ventura had been arrested four times since 2011, including an incident in 2014 where she was convicted of aggravated domestic violence, according to the Sun. Those documents also show she has a history of mental illness.

The deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigations outcome.

Correction: The original version incorrectly included a description of Melissa Venturas race. That information was not immediately available. The original version also incorrectly described the state in which the incident took place.


Court orders police to register FIR

Janakpur Appellate Court has issued an order to the District Police Office (DPO) and District Administration Office (DAO) to accept a first information report (FIR) from Indu Yadav and investigate the killing of his son Rambibek Yadav.
From ELLE

Officials and family members of a Louisiana community called for a federal investigation Wednesday into the shooting death of a black man by police, saying they don't trust local law enforcement.

Speakers at a news conference said they want answers to why 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed outside a convenience store where he was selling CDs.

"It's a horrible thing, it's a horrible thing to happened to him," said Sterling's aunt, Sandra Sterling. "He didn't deserve that."

Police say they were called to the store Tuesday after an anonymous caller said Sterling had threatened someone with a gun.

A video that purported to show the killing further fueled public anger about the shooting on Tuesday, prompting hundreds to protest. The protest lasted into the night, with people chanting and holding up signs.

In the video, which appears to be shot from inside a nearby parked car, one of two police officers outside the store can be seen tackling a man in a red shirt and wrestling him to the ground. Then the other officer helps him hold the man down.

At one point someone can be heard saying, "He's got a gun! Gun!" and then one officer on top of the man can be seen pulling his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounds like a gunshot can be heard and the camera pulls away. Then another four shots can be heard. At one point, a person in the vehicle asks, "They shot him?" as a woman can be heard crying.

The Associated Press has not been able to authenticate the video. But the appearance of the store in the video matches the front of convenience store where the shooting occurred. The man being subdued by police was wearing a red shirt, matching the description given earlier by police.

Sandra Sterling said the video "made us realize what really happened. It shed light on everything we didn't know."

At the Wednesday news conference, the head of the NAACP in Baton Rouge called for the police chief to be fired.

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"What I'm calling for today is that the chief law enforcement officer to fire the police chief," Michael McClanahan said. "He must step down. We cannot have anybody who allows this type of action to take place."

The Advocate reported the crowd that gathered late Tuesday afternoon at the store where Sterling died grew to more than 200 people. They chanted "black lives matter" and "hands up don't shoot" and waved signs late into the night, according to the newspaper.

By dawn Wednesday, protesters and friends had created a makeshift memorial to Sterling on the white folding tables and fold-out chair he had used to sell homemade music compilations on CDs.

Arthur Baines came by to pay his respects. He said Sterling had stayed with his sister at some point.

"He never bothered nobody. He was just trying to make an honest dollar," Baines said. He said he thought Sterling was out late on July 4th because more people were out on the holiday: "That's really how he made all of his money."

Mufleh Alatiyat, a 25-year old employee of the store, described Sterling as generous and said he often gave away CDs or petty cash and bought food and drinks for people.

"He was a very nice guy," he said. "He helped a lot of people."

An autopsy shows Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, East Baton Rouge Parish coroner Dr. William Clark said.

Officers responded to the store about 12:35 A.M. Tuesday after an anonymous caller indicated a man selling music CDs and wearing a red shirt threatened him with a gun, Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said.

Two officers responded and had some type of altercation with the man and one officer fatally shot the suspect, McKneely said. Both officers have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard department policy, he said.

The store's owner, Abdul Muflahi, told WAFB-TV that the first officer used a stun gun on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. Muflahi said as Sterling fought to get the officer off him, the first officer shot him "four to six times."

The owner said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand at the time but he saw officers remove a gun from Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

McKneely said late Tuesday that he could not confirm Muflahi's description of the event or any other details of the investigation.

Kimberly Lang said she purchased CDs from Sterling on occasion and said he did not have a reputation for violence, according to a report by NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune. If Sterling did have a gun on him, Lang said, it was probably because he feared being robbed while peddling his CDs late at night, not because he wanted to threaten anyone.
Saint Paul (AFP) - For Ericka Cullars-Golden, one of hundreds of people protesting the fatal police shooting of a black man in Minnesota, the incident provoked a sadly familiar feeling of shock.

Cullars-Golden said her son Marcus Golden was shot in the head when Saint Paul police opened fire on him last year.

"I am so traumatized," she said of his death.

Like Philando Castile, the man fatally shot on Wednesday, Golden was black.

"I wanted to come out today to show my support today because many of you have been supportive of my family," Cullars-Golden said at an emotional protest outside the governor's mansion, joining a line-up of activist speakers.

Rallies in Minnesota on Thursday demanded justice for Castile, who was shot during a traffic stop.

At a vigil Thursday night that brought together 1,500 people outside the school where Castile worked, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman spoke of young black men "not knowing where to put your hands because any gesture can result in a shooting."

He asked that people of all colors "stand together in solidarity."

Castile's mother, Valerie, said her son lived by the law but also died by the law.

"Our nation is in trouble," she said. "Our black children are on the endangered species list."

The grieving mother then delivered a message to the officer who fired the shots: "You unholstered your weapon, and all he did was comply with your request!"

Some protesters were angry, others wiped away tears. Hailing from all backgrounds, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, chanting their demands for justice.

"Stop executing black people," read one sign at the governor's mansion protest. T-shirts bore slogans including "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" and the name of the national advocacy group, Black Lives Matter.

- Outrage -

Castile was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Story continues

Protests were multiplying Thursday night, with demonstrations in New York, Chicago Washington, Los Angeles and other cities.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her 4-year-old daughter, Dae'Anna, was sitting in the back seat.

Castile, 32, had been pulled over Wednesday in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

He was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

In the southern state of Louisiana on Tuesday, 37-year-old father of five Alton Sterling was pinned to the ground by police outside a convenience store and shot several times at point-blank range.

- 'Do better' -

Castile, known as "Mr. Phil," was remembered by tearful coworkers as the cafeteria supervisor who could calm rambunctious children, comfort others and make sure every student was fed even when the electricity was out.

He was described as exceedingly gentle, "one of the good guys."

At the governor's mansion, Jess Banks, 41, held a sign reading, "Philando Castile fed my sons lunch. Cops fed him four bullets. Black Lives Matter."

Tammi Curtis, a 50-year old grandmother, said her two grandsons, ages 8 and 11, were students at Castile's school. They were too heartbroken to attend the vigil and the younger boy even postponed his birthday party Thursday.

"It's a tragedy," Curtis said.

Hannah Lieberman, 32, said she could not bear to watch the video that shows Castile dying.

Her bottom lip trembled and tears welled as she expressed empathy for Reynolds's young daughter, who could be heard on the video comforting her mother.

"I'm concerned that that child's trauma is going to be preserved forever, and that made me refrain from sharing the video widely on social media," Lieberman said.

"I'm here because I think as Minnesotans we can do better," Lieberman said.
Fatal shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota reinvigorated national outcry over the treatment of black men at the hands of law enforcement and prompted some elected officials to call for action.

Al Franken and Keith Ellisonprogressive leaders from Minnesota in the U.S. Senate and House of representatives, respectivelyboth suggested the fatal shooting of Philando Castile Wednesday night was another injustice by law enforcement. Castile was pulled over in a traffic stop and shot while apparently reaching for his wallet. Video footage streamed to Facebook Live captured the aftermath of the incident.

The Minnesota shooting followed another shooting in Louisiana that received national attention as police fatally shot a black man after he was apprehended. That death promoted outcry from prominent officials including Hillary Clinton who called the death a tragedy and called for criminal justice reforms. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said it was disturbing to say the least.

We demand on justice for Philando Castile; it will prevail. Diamond, an amazing young woman, exposed truth. https://t.co/zzcO1v2UXb  Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) July 7, 2016

America woke up to yet another tragedy of a life cut down too soon. Black Lives Matter. #PhilandoCastile -H  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 7, 2016

The violence that killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile has become an all too common occurrence for people of color and IT. MUST. STOP.  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 7, 2016

Today African-Americans are almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police. #PhilandoCastille  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 7, 2016

We need real criminal justice reform so that people can walk down the street without worrying about whether they'll get harassed or shot.  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 7, 2016

If all lives matter SHOW US!!! Prove it! Show us our bodies hold the same value. There is no excuse for the slaughter. None.  Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) July 7, 2016

We haven't healed as a nation from the last senseless, unjust slaughter and here we are again, shaking and crying and angry, retraumatized  Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) July 7, 2016

Smh! What is the world coming to! A child in the car to? Really! If u have a heart u gotta feel this so many emotions!  Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) July 7, 2016

So many people work so hard to find a reason why executing a human being during a routine traffic stop is ok. IT'S NOT OK  John Legend (@johnlegend) July 7, 2016
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Debris apparently from the crash of EgyptAir MS804 was found on a beach north of Tel Aviv on Thursday, an official in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said. Netanyahu, who was briefed about the discovery during a visit to Ethiopia, instructed Israeli authorities to hand over the material to Egypt, possibly as early as Friday, for further analysis, the official said. The Airbus A320 plunged into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19. All 66 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown. Last week, debris from the jet was brought to Cairo airport, where investigators will try to reassemble part of the frame to help establish what might have caused the disaster. The Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "parts of an airplane" were discovered on the seashore in Netanya, a Mediterranean resort town about 30 km (18 miles), north of Tel Aviv. "They were collected and it turns out there is a very high probability that they are from the Egyptian plane," the official said, without elaborating. "In accordance with international procedures, France, the aircraft's departure point, and Egypt, were informed." On Tuesday, sources on the crash investigation committee said audio from the flight deck voice recorder indicates an attempt to put out a fire on board the aircraft before it plunged into the Mediterranean. (Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Toby Chopra)
PPG Industries PPG has wrapped up its acquisition of Lima, OH-based industrial coatings services provider, MetoKote Corporation and its affiliates from Platinum Equity.



MetoKote generated sales worth roughly $200 million in 2015. The financial terms of the deal, which was announced in Jun 2016, were not divulged.



MetoKote is a leading player in the protective coating applications space. It was acquired by Platinum Equity in Oct 2013. Since then the mergers, acquisitions and operating firm has boosted MetoKotes business, diversifying its customer base, strengthening its key customer relationships and positioning it for long-term growth.



PPG Industries shares ticked up around 0.3% to close at $102.97 yesterday.

PPG INDS INC Price

PPG INDS INC Price | PPG INDS INC Quote

MetoKote will provide PPG Industries with a platform to meet different customers critical coatings requirements. MetoKote, employing over 1,500 workers, provides on-site coatings services to numerous manufacturing facilities as well as regional service centers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic.



MetoKotes size, capabilities and geographic reach when combined with PPG Industries technology, will provide customers with efficient and innovative coatings operations.



PPG Industries looks to acknowledge and provide a solution for customers' need to streamline the purchasing, delivery and application of coatings with this acquisition.



PPG Industries is taking steps to grow its business inorganically by making a number of acquisitions. The company plans to deploy $2$2.5 billion cash in the 20152016 period toward acquisitions and share repurchases.



PPG Industries currently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).



Some other favorably ranked companies in the chemical space include Albemarle Corporation ALB, Asahi Kasei Corporation AHKSY and Axiall Corporation AXLL, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).



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Nepal proposes August date for meeting in India

Nepal has proposed a fourth meeting of Nepal-India Joint Commission at the Foreign Ministers level for August 22 and 23 in New Delhi.
Volcanic glass tools that are at least 3,000 years old were used for tattooing in the South Pacific in ancient times, a new study finds.

The skin-piercing tools could yield insight into ancient tattooing practices in the absence of tattooed human remains, the researchers said.

Research conducted over the past 25 years found 5,000-year-old tattoos on a mummy in the Alps. However, such exceptionally preserved human remains are rare, which makes it difficult to use them to learn more about the ancient history of tattooing. [8 Grisly Archaeological Discoveries]

One potential way to learn more about prehistoric tattooing is to unearth the tools used to make the markings. However, until now, archaeologists had discovered few ancient tattooing implements, likely because perishable materials were often used to make them, said study co-author Robin Torrence, an archaeologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

Torrence and her colleagues focused on prehistoric tattooing in the Pacific, in hopes of learning more about the practice in relation to wider social changes in the region. "Tattooing is a very important cultural practice in the Pacific even today," Torrence told Live Science. "In fact, the English word 'tattoo' comes from a Pacific Polynesian word: tatau."

The scientists analyzed 15 obsidian artifacts recovered from the Nanggu site in the Solomon Islands. (Obsidian is a dark natural glass that forms when lava cools.) The creators of these artifacts, which are at least 3,000 years old, reshaped naturally occurring obsidian flakes so that each possessed a short, sharp point on its edge, the researchers said.

To create a tattoo, the surface of the skin must be broken so that pigment can be embedded and thus remain under the skin permanently after the wound heals. In 2015, the researchers performed 26 tattooing experiments with pigskin, using black charcoal pigment and red ochre dye, over the course of about four months. They used obsidian tools that copied the size and shape of the ancient artifacts from Nanggu.

Story continues

When the scientists compared the ancient Nanggu artifacts with those used in the experiments, they found that both sets of tools had similar signs of wear and tear, such as microscopic chipping, rounding and blunting of the edges, and thin scratches. They also detected residues of blood, charcoal and ochre on the Nanggu artifacts.

"The research demonstrates the antiquity and significance of human body decoration by tattooing as a cultural tradition amongst the earliest settlers of Oceania," Torrence said.

Initially, the researchers thought these ancient Solomon Islanders might have used these tools as awls to make cloth and other items from animal skin and hide.

"However, this possible explanation faced the problem that there were extremely limited species of appropriately large animals in the tropical ecological zone that were hunted for the use of their skins," Torrence said. Previous research found that "possum and lizard skins have been used as the membrane of drums, but the skins require very little preparation beyond cutting off the tail and head of the animal," she said.

These findings may help researchers identify and learn more about how ancient obsidian tools elsewhere in the world might have also been used  "for example, in Mesoamerica, where obsidian was used in blood-letting rituals, or perhaps in other places where the practice of tattooing cannot be detected by any other means," Torrence said.

Torrence and her colleagues Nina Kononenko, of the Australian Museum, and Peter Sheppard, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, detailed their findings in the August issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Ronnie Cohen (Reuters Health) - State programs that monitor narcotic prescriptions help prevent 10 opioid-overdose deaths a day in the U.S., yet improvements could save another two people a day, a new study finds. States with the most robust programs - ones that tracked a greater number of potentially addictive medications and updated their databases at least weekly - saw the biggest drops in overdose deaths, the research showed. Implementing drug monitoring in all states and strengthening weaker programs could prevent another 600 opioid-overdose deaths this year, researchers calculated. Prescription drug-monitoring programs are a public health tool to ensure that were using opioids appropriately but limiting the negative health impacts we see in almost every community in the United States, lead author Dr. Stephen W. Patrick said in a phone interview. Our findings suggest that investments in upgraded prescription drug-monitoring programs will pay dividends in lives saved, he said. Patrick, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, specializes in treating newborn babies. He began studying the effectiveness of drug-monitoring programs after treating a spate of infants born struggling with the symptoms of withdrawal from opioids doctors had prescribed to their mothers. More than 40 Americans die every day from prescription opioid overdoses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prescribing and sales of opioids, including the painkillers oxycodone (Oxycontin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin), have quadrupled since 1999, fueling the epidemic. Pregnant women and their unborn babies have not been immune. The incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in the U.S. nearly tripled from 2000 to 2009, Patricks previous research showed. Many of the mothers of newborns Patrick treated said they had no idea that taking a doctor-prescribed pain reliever could lead them and their unborn children to addiction. Patricks new study in Health Affairs examined mortality data from 1999 through 2013 to evaluate the effectiveness of state prescription drug-monitoring programs. The programs are designed to prevent patients from shopping for drugs from multiple providers or doctor shopping and to identify physicians who prescribe abnormally high doses of substances or pill mills, the authors write. The programs also can facilitate conversations between doctors and patients and referrals to drug-rehabilitation programs. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a drug-monitoring program, and its opioid-related overdose death rate has grown faster than the national average, according to the study. The average opioid overdose death rate for the 34 states included in the current study rose from 1.4 per 100,000 in 1999 to 6.2 per 100,000 in 2013. Average annual death rates dropped by 1.12 per 100,000 in states that implemented drug-monitoring programs, the study found. A study last month in Health Affairs found that doctors in states that track painkiller prescriptions were nearly one-third less likely to offer patients dangerously addicting opioids. Other previous studies found drug-monitoring programs effectively reduced doctor shopping, opioid diversion and inappropriate prescribing, the authors of the current study write. Dr. Silvia Martins, a substance-abuse researcher at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said in a phone interview that she was not surprised by the new studys findings. I would expect prescription drug-monitoring programs to have an effect in reducing opioid deaths, said Martins, who was not involved in the current study. Thats what we hope they do. We need to have more data, and we need to have more time to understand how they work and to understand which characteristics work, she said. The new study lacked sufficient data to analyze the value of programs that order physicians to register for and use drug-monitoring programs. But Patrick and Martins both said they are eager to see research on the effectiveness of mandatory doctor registration in future studies. Nonetheless, Martins cautioned that prescription drug-monitoring programs are just one of the tools to curb the prescription-opioid epidemic. This may be a way to identify someone and get them to treatment. It can help facilitate a conversation with a physician, Patrick said. Were beginning as a society to think about pain in a different way, he said. Are we using these drugs appropriately? If not, what other strategies do we have? SOURCE: http://bit.ly/29iWr0P Health Affairs, July 2016.
President Obama said all Americans should be deeply troubled by the recent police shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in a statement released by the White House Thursday, emphasizing that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents.

The shooting of Sterling, a 37-year-old black man killed by Baton Rouge police earlier this week, is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice. Minnesotas governor called for a federal investigation into the shooting death of Castile Thursday, a black Minnesota man who was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. Both deaths were recorded in videos that have since circulated widely.

In the statement, Obama said that to admit weve got a serious problem does not contradict any respect or appreciation for police officers. Rather, the President said it accepts that as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement. He mentioned recommendations from the White House Task Force on 21st Century Policing as a guide for law enforcement reform. The task force was created after grand juries in New York and Ferguson, Mo., declined to charge two white police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men.

Regardless of the outcome of such investigations, whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents, Obama said in the statement. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

Obama urged people to recognize the anger, frustration and grief that so many Americans are feeling and expressing through peaceful protests and vigils nationwide.

Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, lets reflect on what we can do better. Lets come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter, the President said.
President Barack Obama released a statement on the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, that said all Americans should be deeply troubled by the brutal incidents.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost

We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss, he wrote in a statement posted to official POTUS social media accounts Thursday, July 7, two days after Sterlings death and less than 24 hours after Castiles.

The President commended the U.S. Department of Justice, along with the FBI, for taking over the investigation into Sterlings death. Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough and fair inquiry, he wrote.

PHOTOS: Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time

But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, what's clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents, he continued. "They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

According to a tally from The Washington Post, at least 509 people have been shot and killed by the police so far in 2016, and at least 123 of those people were black.

To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day, Obama continued. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.

Story continues

PHOTOS: Celebrity Injuries

He concluded the statement by asking people to express their anger in a peaceful manner. In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration and grief that so many Americans are feeling  feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils, he wrote. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do better. Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.

As Us Weekly previously reported, Sterling was selling homemade CDs and DVDs outside a convenience store on Tuesday, July 5, when police arrived responding to an anonymous 911 report of a man in a red shirt threatening people with a gun, authorities told The Associated Press. Sterling, 37, who happened to be wearing a red shirt, and the two officers got into an altercation, and one of the officers shot him multiple times in the chest and back. By the time paramedics arrived, Sterling was dead. At least two videos taken of the graphic killing have circulated online, and both show that Sterling did not appear to be threatening the police in any way.

PHOTOS: Celebrity Health Scares

The following day, Castile, a 32-year-old black man, was shot and killed after he and his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, were pulled over by police for a routine traffic stop. Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath in a Facebook Live video and was handcuffed by officers. In the video, she said that Castile went to reach for his license and registration but mentioned he had a pistol in the car, which he was licensed to carry, and the officer shot him multiple times. Castile was transported to a nearby hospital, but later died.




President Obama posted a message on Facebook expressing concern over the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile this week, saying that they are not isolated incidents and symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system.

All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, Obama said in the post. Weve seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities whove suffered such a painful loss.

Obama also was scheduled to deliver a statement on the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota when he arrives in Warsaw for the NATO summit on Thursday.

Obama said that he has full confidence that the Department of Justice will conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.

But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents, he said. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

The aftermath of the police shooting of Castile at a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn., was captured by a passenger in his car and streamed live on Facebook. A cell phone camera captured the shooting of Sterling in Baton Rouge.

Related stories

Mark Zuckerberg Addresses Philando Castile Facebook Live Video

Beyonce Pens Open Letter on Alton Sterling, Philando Castile Deaths: 'Stop Killing Us'

In All-Too-Familiar Narrative Between Police and Black Men, a Powerful Voice Emerges With Philando Castile Video
July 7 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

** Jason Kenney did not step down as a member of Parliament when he officially launched his bid to lead Alberta's Progressive Conservatives - a decision fiscal hawks say is an inappropriate use of taxpayers' money. (http://bit.ly/29yEQHX)

** Seven Generations Energy Ltd is taking advantage of the industry downturn to buy assets from Paramount Resources Ltd for C$1.9 billion ($1.47 billion), vastly increasing its land holdings in the prolific Montney natural gas region of Alberta. (http://bit.ly/29yFyoc)

** As part of a flurry of moves designed to reverse its sliding share price, Dominion Diamond Corp is getting out of Toronto real estate and going ahead with a key expansion to its Ekati mine in the Northwest Territories. (http://bit.ly/29yEsJt)

NATIONAL POST

** Canada Life has been forced to suspend redemptions at two of its real estate funds due to uncertainty about the value of commercial property in the UK following the Brexit vote. (http://bit.ly/29yF1D5)

** The original fast-track approval process of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union has since been expanded to give the 28 EU member states the final approval - but the new, longer track won't bring the process to a halt. The signatories would need to agree to the trade pact provisionally, and then work out the details later. (http://bit.ly/29yG8Tc)

** Indigo Books and Music Inc, buoyed by a year of solid financial results while other large book chains have suffered and shut down, is focused on the "phygital" future, says chief executive Heather Reisman. (http://bit.ly/29yGt8x) ($1 = C$1.29) (Compiled by Shalini Nagarajan in Bengaluru)
Prince Harry is taking a stance against the fight against HIV and AIDS by speaking out about the need for HIV testing.



"We need to normalize testing and smash the stigma," he said during a visit to a London hospital on Thursday.



Harry, who is hoping to use his influence to highlight the issues around the health issue, was told the rate of infection is on the rise in the U.K  and that a quarter of people with the disease in his country don't know of their positive status.



It is a major area of the princeas public work, and adds to the decade that he has spent helping those in sub-Saharan Africa through his charity Sentebale.







And he views his efforts as continuing the work of his late mother.



On Thursday, Harry visited King's College Hospital in south London, where he was told that early diagnosis is the key to living with HIV.



 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.



As he chatted with staff, Harry said, "People need to be reminded, particularly with numbers going up. Something needs to change. This is very much an issue that people look at and think, 'Oh, that's just sub-Saharan Africa.' Well no, it's not.





Prince Harry Hopes to 'Smash the Stigma' on HIV Testing: 'We Have a Responsibility to Ourselves and the People We Love'| The British Royals, The Royals, Prince Harry



"I'm not trying to scare people, but it's very much on your own doorstep. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to the people we are in a relationship with, the people that we love. You owe to yourselves, you owe it to them to just get tested. And I say just get tested. It is such a simple thing to do, but it is obviously a life-changing moment."





Prince Harry Opens Up About the Influence His Mother Diana Had on His Work





Frank Post, an HIV physician and researcher at the hospital, told Harry that of the 37 million people who had contracted HIV worldwide  with 110,000 people infected in the U.K. , two thirds are gay men. "The biggest issue for us is diagnosing the undiagnosed," he said.



Later this month, Harry will head to the World AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa.




A Change.org petition calling for Greys Anatomy actor Jesse Williams job has been getting a lot of media attention, including here on TheWrap. A deeper dive into the activist platform shows there are actually 78 pro-Williams petitions, however.

One, titled Dont let the racists win! Greys Anatomy, dont fire Jesse Williams addressed to show creator Shonda Rhimes has more than 26,000 supporters alone  about 5,000 more than the buzzier negative one demanding ABC can the man behind Dr. Jackson Avery.

Additional petitions in support of the 34-year-old activist boast a few thousand signatories, some have a few hundred, while others just a handful. But its clearly quite one-sided on the website.

Also Read: Petition to Fire Jesse Williams From 'Grey's' Nearly Quadruples Signatures in 24 Hours

A search of Change.org for Jesse Williams in quotations marks yields 81 petitions. Without the quotation marks, you get 1,117 results.

One of the unrelated petitions that pops up per the more-targeted search was written by someone (else, presumably) named Jesse Williams in January, and demands that Fiat bring back the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan.

The other straggler  No. 81  is a bizarre call for furniture maker Ikea to provide more seats to  someone.

Also Read: Jesse Williams Says There Is 'Not a Single Sane Sentence' in Change.org Petition

Last week Williams delivered an impassioned speech at the BET Awards that went viral, prompting the aforementioned Change.org petition seeking his dismissal from the show. During the address, he touched on themes of cultural appropriation, police brutality, consumerism and general exploitation involving the black community.

Earlier today, the actor ripped TheWrap on Twitter for what he called incessantly promoting the cowardly intolerance of the lone boycott.

Because you keep incessantly promoting their cowardly intolerance! Not a single sane sentence in their claim. NotOne https://t.co/18ZgrbfLnL  jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016

In the interest of fairness, we believe it is time for us to take an editorial stance. As such, Jesse Williams, consider TheWrap officially on the record in support of bringing back the Dodge Caravan.

Story continues

Related stories from TheWrap:

Jesse Williams' Outspoken History of Racial Activism (Photos)

Jesse Williams' BET Speech: Here's What Offended Some People

Petition to Fire Jesse Williams From 'Grey's Anatomy' for 'Racist' BET Speech Passes 6,000 Signatures

Stacey Dash Calls Jesse Williams 'Hollywood Plantation Slave' for BET Speech
By Chine Labbe PARIS (Reuters) - Paris prosecutors want France Telecom, the former monopoly now known as Orange, and its former boss Didier Lombard to go on trial for psychological harassment in connection with a wave of staff suicides in 2008-2009, sources said on Thursday. Lombard was head of the firm when more than 30 employees committed suicide during that period, a decade after privatisation. Unions said forced relocations and impossible performance targets were behind the deaths. Two sources close to the investigation and a judicial source said the Paris prosecutor had recommended magistrates send Lombard and the firm to trial to face accusations of psychological harassment. They said six other executives, three of them still with Orange, should face either the same harassment charge or lesser charges including aiding harassment. A judge will now decide whether to follow the prosecutor's advice or dismiss the case. The judicial source said the executives were suspected of creating a "climate of extreme stress" with the aim of making employees want to leave, constituting a "dangerous degradation of working conditions". Lombard's lawyer declined to comment. An Orange spokesman said the company had been notified of the prosecutor's recommendation, but declined to comment on the case. Lombard, who has denied any wrongdoing during the investigation, stepped down as CEO of Orange in early 2010 amid criticism of his handling of the crisis. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to one year in jail and a 15,000 euro ($16,600) fine. Frederic Benoist, a lawyer for one of the unions involved in the case, said he regretted that the prosecutor had not gone further by seeking to bring manslaughter charges. In February 2010, government inspectors said France Telecom had ignored warnings from doctors about the mental health of some employees. The report, seen by Reuters, concluded that a restructuring plan that sought to reduce headcount by 22,000 out of a total workforce of more than 100,000 and reassign 10,000 others had had a "pathological effect" on staff morale. France Telecom countered that the rate of suicides was no higher than in the general population. After he stepped down, Lombard, who was succeeded by Stephane Richard, said he regretted not taking measures earlier to boost morale. ($1 = 0.9013 euros) (Reporting by Chine Labbe; writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Nepal to investigate Indian police pair's Everest summit claim

Nepal's government is investigating two climbers who claim to be the first Indian couple to conquer Everest.
By Edward Krudy BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) - Baton Rouge community leaders on Thursday demanded a broad criminal investigation of two white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black man in Louisiana's capital in one of the mounting number of deadly encounters between U.S. law enforcement and black suspects. Representatives from the community organization Together Baton Rouge urged authorities to consider all possible federal and state criminal charges against officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake in the death of Alton Sterling, 37, on Tuesday. The 300-pound (136-kg) Sterling was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest outside a convenience store after the officers responded to what police said was a call about a black man reported to have made threats with a gun. "We don't want this to be a narrow investigation," Edgar Cage, a spokesman for the group, said at a Baton Rouge church. "We plan to use this tragic event as a tool, a stimulant to change the culture." The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday said it would conduct a civil rights investigation into Sterling's killing. The city's mayor and police chief welcomed the move, but community leaders said they worried the probe would be too limited. President Barack Obama said in a statement he had full confidence in the Justice Department's ability to conduct a "thoughtful, thorough and fair inquiry" into Sterling's death. Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, CNN reported on Thursday that a homeless man placed the 911 call after seeking money from Sterling, who was selling CDs outside the store. Sterling showed the man his gun and said to leave him alone, the official told CNN. Reuters could not independently confirm that account with Baton Rouge police spokesmen, who did not respond to a request for comment. Sterling, a father of five, had several criminal convictions since the mid-1990s for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He was a registered sex offender after spending nearly four years in prison on a charge that he had sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 20. PRAYER FOR SHOOTING VICTIMS Together Baton Rouge began its news conference with a prayer dedicated to Sterling and Philando Castile, a black man shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop on Wednesday near Minneapolis. The shootings and videos showing their bloody aftermath have sparked protests, including an overnight rally in Baton Rouge that drew about 300 people who stood in a peaceful vigil near the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed. Obama said that "all Americans should be deeply troubled" by the two deaths, which he said were indicative of wider problems in the U.S. criminal justice system. Video recorded by a bystander's cellphone showed an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackled him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at Sterling's chest. One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, another video recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot, showed. Police said Sterling was armed. Muflahi said in an interview that police took a gun out of Sterling's pocket after shooting him. Officers Lake and Salamoni have been put on administrative leave, police said. In Lake's three years and Salamoni's four years on the force, both have been cleared by the police department after prior complaints against them regarding use of force, the Advocate newspaper reported, citing records. The deaths of Sterling and Castile are the latest in a string of incidents in recent years involving police treatment of black men and boys in cities including Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Tulsa, Oklahoma and North Charleston, South Carolina. A group of black religious leaders said that Baton Rouge, like many cities, was troubled by racism and a distrust between the black community and the local police department that has simmered for years. "We're pushing that Alton's death will not be in vain, but we will use his death as a way of bringing that issue to the forefront and then beginning to work to eradicate it," said Joe Connelly, a pastor at the Wesley United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge. (Additional reporting by Brendan O'Brien and Bryn Stole; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Will Dunham)
Miami (AFP) - Zika virus is spreading fast in Puerto Rico, infecting as many as 50 pregnant women per day and raising the risk of birth defects, US health officials said Thursday.

Meanwhile, lawmakers continued to disagree about funding the effort to combat the mosquito-borne disease despite expert warnings that the virus -- which can cause microcephaly and other brain malformations -- will probably spread to other parts of the United States this summer.

"This is a great concern," Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters during a conference call.

"What we are seeing in Puerto Rico today is a very rapid increase in the level of infection," he added. "Such that we think each day dozens -- and potentially as many as 50 more pregnant women -- in Puerto Rico are becoming infected with Zika virus."

The US territories -- which include Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands -- have diagnosed and recorded 2,526 cases of Zika so far, which Frieden called "a very small fraction of the total."

The United States itself has already documented more than 1,130 travel-associated cases, meaning people acquired the virus outside the country or by having sex with a returning Zika-infected traveler, Frieden said.

A total of 320 US cases involve pregnant women, he added. Most of those pregnancies are ongoing.

Seven infants have been born with Zika-linked birth defects in the United States and five pregnancy losses with birth defects have taken place.

- Funding fight -

Lawmakers remained deadlocked over Zika funding, with some Democratic senators warning that the legislative session will soon go into summer recess without having approved the $1.9 billion President Barack Obama has requested to fight the virus.

Republicans put forward a $1.1 billion measure to fund the Zika response, but attached unrelated provisions including restrictions on funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides reproductive health services.

Story continues

Democrats say such additions make the bill certain to fail.

"This is irresponsible partisan behavior," said Florida Senator Bill Nelson, whose state is expected to be among the hardest hit by Zika because of its close proximity to the tropics.

"We have just one week," New York Senator Chuck Schumer said. "And Republican leaders have no plans to get a bill passed."

"This is not a day late and a dollar short," he added. "They are four months and 1.9 million dollars short."
This year marks the National Park Services 100th anniversary. The NPS manages 412 areas covering more than 84 million acres in the U.S., and has roughly 22,000 employeesalong with over 200,000 volunteersmaintaining its 412 sites and assisting those who visit them.

Bob Schuster has been a ranger at Montanas Glacier National Park, the founding of which was a personal dream of the naturalist George Bird Grinnell, for 50 years. Schuster is whats called an interpretive ranger, and even while he was a high school biology teacher in Portland, Oregon (he recently retired), he spent every summer working for the NPS at Glacier. Not only has Schuster had a long career with the NPS, but his son and daughter-in-law also work at national parks. I talked to Schuster about why he became a ranger, the changes hes seen in the park in the past 50 years, and how to stay safe around bears. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.

Bourree Lam: How long have you been working for the National Park Service?

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Bob Schuster: The summer of 2016 will be my 50th year with NPS, and all have been at Glacier National Park. I was at Oregon State University and dropped in on a government career day. I talked to a ranger from Crater Lake; I was immediately interested. The process has changed over the years, but at that time you applied to individual parks. I applied to every park in the West. My first offer came from Glacier, and I didnt realize it at the time, but this was my opportunity for a life filled with amazing adventures and a chance to share this awe-inspiring scenery with a multitude of visitors.

Lam: Do you remember what you and the ranger from Crater Lake talked about?

Bob Schuster at Glacier National Park (NPS)

Schuster: He explained that it's not easy to get into the park service. He recommended that I apply and get summer work, and then eventually become a full-time ranger. That was my goal at the time, and I applied. It's different nowit's on the computer of coursebut back then, this is 1967, it was the old-fashioned application where you wrote essays and so on.

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He basically talked about the things you would do, and I had a background in biology and fisheries and wildlifethat was what I was studying at the time at Oregon State. It sounded like something I'd really enjoy doing. I think the problem was, I watched too many westerns as a kid. They were on TV, and once I saw those mountains for real, I was hooked. I don't know if I'd even heard of Glacier National Park, to be honest. I was raised in Wisconsin, so I wasn't familiar with a lot of the parks. Glacier was the first one to offer me a job, and I took it.

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Lam: Youre an interpretive ranger. What does that mean youre responsible for doing?

Schuster: I take visitors on short and all-day conducted hikes, and give evening programs in the campgrounds. We will also do interpretive patrol [which can involve explaining park regulations] at the hotel and the local trails. We also can give short talks and spend time in the ranger station answering the visitors questions. My day will vary from a full day on the trail with visitors to spending shorter segments of time with the visitors doing some of the above. Interpreters are helping visitors connect with the intellectual and emotional aspects of Glaciers biology, geology, and its history.

Lam: Helping people connect with the park sounds like a hard job, even though nature is so awe-inspiring.

Schuster: Yeah, that's tricky, and it's different. It's everything, from very easy questions to themed conducted hikes when we're going to a particular location like Iceberg Lake or Grinnell Glacier. You stop along the way and talk about the things that they can see right in front of them, and of course in the distance in the mountains, and make connections with everything from historical figures that were there, the geology of the park, the wildlife, the plants, and the vegetation.

Lam: Whats your favorite thing about Glacier National Park?

Schuster: Living and working in this spectacular landscape and the opportunity to share the amazing diversity of Glacier with the visitors. I enjoy the all-day conducted hikes, because you get to spend most of a day with the visitors and that makes Glaciers experience much more meaningful for them as they get a little deeper into the heart of Glacier. There is so much to Glacier that it is hard to pick a favorite. You have the deep valleys and sharp peaks of this glaciated land, the diversity of animal and plant life. Glacier is one of the few places in this country that is truly wild with the presence of the grizzly, wolf, and wolverine.

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Lam: You don't sound like a person who would ever want an office job.

Schuster: That would be correct, yeah.

Lam: Is that a personality type, in your opinion?

Schuster: It seems that way to me, yes. I had someone help me with my taxes. I just went to the accountants office this morning to visit with my wife, and I had that thought, This is what she does all day. She had someone else coming in right after me. And you sit in the officeit wouldn't be for me.

Lam: How has the park, or the visitors to the park, changed in the 50 summers youve been at Glacier?

Schuster: The glaciated peaks, the ridges, and the U-shaped valleys are still there as evidence of the Ice Age and provide the spectacular scenery that amazes the visitors as they arrive in Glacier. The most startling change is the disappearance and shrinking of the glaciers. There were about 50 glaciers in the park when I arrived in 1967, and now we have about 25 glaciers. A computer-based model predicts our glaciers will vanish by 2030, or even sooner.

I take visitors on a conducted hike to Grinnell Glacier, and can point out places where I used to lead people onto the Glacier. Now the ice is gone, and it is covered with a deep lake. There are other areas that once were covered with glacial ice, deep crevasses, glacial wells, and ice caves that are now bedrock. Wolves had been eliminated from the park and started to move in from Canada in the late 1970s. And now several packs exist in the park. Grizzly-bear populations have increased. The number of visitors has increased from about 1 million to over 2 million per year. Backpacking in Glacier has increased so much that it is difficult to get a spot at the more popular backcountry sites. You didnt need a backcountry permit in 1967, and now most permits will be given out online. More people visit the park in late spring and fall. Interpreters now work several weeks after Labor Day.

Lam: So Glacier National Park has become a lot more popular over the years?

Schuster: I think it was in kind of a transition from 1967 and into the 1970s. Hiking and backpacking took over and got more popular. Our backcountry trails just got overwhelmed. You can ride horses on some of the trails in the park, and they had campsites in the backcountry where there may have been 30, 40, 50 people. Normally when you're backpacking, people are getting more of the solitude of the wilderness and a few people staying at a lake or place. Of course, it damaged the sites, too.

Lam: Do people really come to Glacier to see bears?

Schuster: Oh yes, people definitely come to see bears.

Lam: From far away or up close?

Schuster: Well, that's a good question. It should be from far away.

We actually have spotting-school programs in the evening where we'll set up a scope, and it varies from year to year. You don't always see bears, but there's a hillside parking lot where there's a small motel and above that on the slope we see bears quite a bit, but it varies from year to year. But we have people come to see bears.

Where I stay is called Many Glacier, and it's the area where I spent most of my summers. There's a little town called Babb, Montana, and it's about 13 miles from Many Glacier.* Half of that is outside the park, on the Blackfeet Reservation; the other part of it is inside the park. If I come back from Babb in the evening, I'll see cars driving slowly back and forth on that road looking for bears. In fact, I don't deal with this too much, but there are people who come on a regular basis and are sometimes getting too close to bears.

Lam: What can you do about that? Can you talk to them?

Schuster: Yes. We have other rangers that are called patrol rangers. They are law-enforcement rangers and they're the ones who would normally deal with that, and we actually have in our park a couple of rangers that are called bear-management rangers. They do other things, but their first priority is with the bears. At times, we close trails if there are too many bears or bears getting close to people.

You've got some visitors here, who if there's a bear on the trail, they're going to go up there. Other people are here, who if there's a bear on the trail, and they're going nowhere near there.

Lam: I just can't understand why anyone would want to be close to a bear.

Schuster: Well, I have been myself. Overall, bears are pretty tolerant of people. I sometimes use this comparison, but the bison in YellowstoneI hear so many stories and I'm not really familiar with their behaviorbut it sounds like they just charge people. Bears do, but it's mostly when they're surprised. They're pretty tolerant of people, overall, I'd say, but they're certainly dangerous. We have signs and programs. I do a program once a week on bears one evening in the summer about the things we advise people about bears. For hikers, we say be alert, stay on the trail, don't go off the trail, don't hike alone, don't go out too early in the morning or late in the evening, make noise. It's all based on avoiding surprising a bear.

Lam: Are there any funny or memorable visitors who have stayed with you?

Schuster: My best memories are those of sharing Glacier with the visitors: Their first sighting of a grizzly bear in the wild, their first view of a glacier, their joy at seeing a mountain meadow filled with Glaciers wildflowers, their amazement while enjoying the breathtaking view from a mountain pass.

My personal memories would include the opportunity to go with a research team under the Grinnell glacier and see the fascinating underside of the glacier. The fresh burst of flavor, as you taste the first ripe huckleberries of summer. Guiding a short flower walk and spotting four moose in Fishercap Lake and two more near Wilbur Falls. Pausing with a group in the Iceberg Cirque, and hearing what sounded like rifle shots as a series of small avalanches raced down the slopes of the Pinnacle Wall. Traversing Swiftcurrent glacier and spending my 40th birthday on Grinnell Mountain with friends and fellow rangers. Sitting on top of Mount Wilbur, astonished by the panorama of glacier-carved peaks on my 55th birthday with my sons and another ranger who was also experiencing his 55th year. Many nights of sitting on the balcony of the Many Glacier Hotel drinking in the view of the spectacular crimson sunset over the Pinnacle Wall and watching visitors find the cluster of sun rays that poke through the famous Hole in the Wall.

* This article originally misstated Many Glacier as Mini Glacier. We regret the error.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have more in common than both being wildly successful billionaires. Theyre also best friends.

In a sweet blog post and photo essay on his personal blog, Gates Notes, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist pays homage to his mentor and pal of 25 years, as this week marks the anniversary of their quarter-century of friendship.

I think the date stands out in my mind so clearly because it marked the beginning of a new and unexpected friendship for Melinda and meone that has changed our lives for the better in every imaginable way, Gates writes. Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and among the richest men in the world, is one of only two phone numbers that Gates keeps on speed dial from his office; he says he often asks himself What would Warren do? Buffett has also pledged the bulk of his substantial wealth to the Gates Foundation, Bill and Melindas charitable organization.

It turns out that Gates has even gotten a peek into the hedge funders unexpected quirks.

One thing that was surprising to learn about Warren is that he has basically stuck to eating what he liked when he was six years old, Gates says. He did move past baby food, of course, but he mostly eats hamburgers, ice cream, and Coke. For breakfast, he prefers Oreos. During one visit to McDonalds together, Buffett even paid for his fast food with coupons. Thrifty!

Gates goes out to Omaha, Nebraska  where Buffett lives  whenever I can, he says, and Buffett drives to the airport to pick him up; no limo service for these down-to-earth dudes.

Everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend who is as thoughtful and kind as Warren, Gates thinks. Happy friend-a-versary, guys! Read the full essay here.
Can fans of Bravos The Real Housewives of New Jersey walk and chew gum at the same time?

The NBCUniversal-owned cabler, for next Sundays premiere of season 7 of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, will test the multitasking powers of the reality franchises hardcore base with an unusual stunt: It will air a live talk show on Facebook Live about the episode concurrently with the TV broadcast on the East Coast.

Bravo Media is producing a two-camera livestream watch party with the networks The Peoples Couch hosts Julie Goldman and Brandy Howard during the RHONJ telecast, shot from the New Jersey home of cast member Melissa Gorga. The Facebook Live event also will feature Gorga and and fellow Housewives star Teresa Giudice discussing the episode following the TV airing.

The live-streaming special will be available to watch directly on The Real Housewives of New Jersey Facebook page and on bravotv.com, starting at 7:45 p.m. Eastern on July 10, before the season 7 premiere at 8 p.m. ET.

The 15-minute preshow will feature Goldman and Howard recapping where season 6 left off in 2014 and sharing teasers for the upcoming run. Then, the duo will watch the episode along with fans and comment throughout in the style of Peoples Couch.

Immediately following the episode, Bravo will live-stream a 30-minute chat with Gorga and Giudice, who will share their reactions to the episode and respond to fan questions.

Were making this premiere a big event, said Ellen Stone, executive VP of marketing for Bravo and Oxygen Media. Weve always been gung-ho about Facebooks video platforms  weve seen incredible stickiness with them.

Bravo has experimented with Facebook Live with Watch What Happens Live aftershows over the past several months, and has seen increased engagement each time, according to Stone, with hundreds of thousands of views.

As for whether Real Housewives of New Jersey viewers will be able to coherently juggle between two live video screens, Stone insisted that Bravo regularly sees dual-screen and sometimes even triple-screen usage among viewers.

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Everything is an enhancement to the show, Stone said. Its not meant to take away from the show at all. Were just giving everyone the experience they want to have.

For Facebook, which is spending millions to lure media companies and celebs to broadcast on the live-video platform, the Bravo event is right up its alley: Its another example of how traditional entertainment companies can tap into the social services massive user base with live programming. Facebook loves live video because users are generally highly engaged with it, and it keeps users on the platform for longer periods of time.

Bravo will promote the live-stream event across its 16 million followers on Facebook, which includes 1.4 million for RHONJ alone, as well as the Facebook pages of The Real Housewives of New Jersey talent.

Fans can visit the RHONJ Facebook page now to leave their questions for Melissa and Teresa to see if they get answered during the aftershow. They can also chime in live during the stream on Facebook or on Bravotv.com to ask them a question during the Facebook Live event.

Bravo does not have any advertising component for the live-streaming talk show on Facebook and Bravotv.com. We wanted to go pure social on this, Stone said. The goal is to get people into the show, but this is really about live tune-in.

In addition to reeling in fans in real time, Bravo will archive the live-stream so they can go back and watch (or rewatch) it later. More info on the RHONJ live stream is available on Bravotv.com.

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After FBI Director James Comey testified on Capitol Hill Thursday regarding the agencys investigation of Hillary Clintons handling of e-mails when she was secretary of state, Rep. Jim Jordan said Congress might take a new look at Clintons Benghazi testimony.

One of the places we may go is when Secretary Clinton testified in front of the Benghazi Committee last October... It appears very strongly that she said false things, he told the FOX Business Networks Charles Payne.

The Ohio Republican congressman pointed out what he said were inconsistencies between Comeys comments and former Secretary Clintons prior testimony.

She had one server. Mr. Comey and his investigation says no there were several servers. She said her legal team screened every single email. He said, in his investigation in his comments on Tuesday, they did not screen every single email -- and maybe most importantly, she testified under oath at that hearing that nothing she sent or received was marked classified, and Mr. Comey said yes in fact there were, Jordan said.

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Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Police in Rio de Janeiro state, which hosts next month's Olympics, killed at least 645 people last year and 8,000 over the last decade, a rights group said Thursday.

The toll includes dozens of execution-style killings in addition to the lethal violence used during standard police work in the state, the report from Human Rights Watch said.

The international rights group identified 64 cases in the last eight years in which Rio police allegedly tried to cover up extrajudicial killings of 116 people, including at least 24 minors.

"Killing criminals was a requirement from my superiors as a way of showing that we were performing well," one of 30 police officers interviewed for Human Rights Watch's study alleged.

The officer said he had been stationed in one of Rio's most dangerous neighborhoods where he took part in operations against heavily armed drug traffickers. The strategy was to kill them as a way to reduce crime, he said.

The officer, who is still on the force, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

He was quoted as saying that some police would capture suspected drug traffickers and kill them, sometimes to gain status as killers and to boost their own extortion rackets.

They would sometimes plant weapons or drugs on the corpses and intimidate witnesses, the report said.

It cited prosecutors as saying that in 2011 police tortured and killed the 14-year-old son of a woman who witnessed an execution.

The pressure to play along makes honest policing difficult in Rio.

"Illegal executions by police colleagues turn an already dangerous job into something even more dangerous" and stoke anger against the authorities, the report said.

- Who's to blame? -

Rio state's prosecutor general, Marfan Martins Vieira, told Human Rights Watch that a large proportion of shoot-outs reported by police are staged.

However, he said that his office had only taken on "a very small number" of cases involving murder by police.

Story continues

Vieira accused the Civil Police, which investigate homicides, of not fulfilling their task, but Human Rights Watch says the ultimate responsibility lies with prosecutors.

Only eight of the 64 cases investigated by Human Rights Watch have gone to trial and only four of those resulted in prison terms for police.

"Responsibility for putting an end to the impunity of recent times rests with the office of the prosecutor general of Rio de Janeiro, who has legal authority to supervise the work of police investigators, as well as to run its own investigations," the report said.

The findings come less than a month before Rio becomes the first South American city to put on the Olympic Games.

Security has become a major concern in the run-up, with the authorities drafting in soldiers and extra police to build up an Olympic security force of 85,000 people -- double the number used in the 2012 London Olympics.

Criticized over rising crime rates, police say their job has become too dangerous, with more than 50 officers killed in Rio state just this year.

Police in Rio are also angry over months of unpaid overtime and late salary payments. Emergency government funding was due to reimburse the police this week.

Police killed 24 civilians for every officer that died on duty in 2015. The ratio was twice that of South Africa and three times that of the United States.

Abuses by police undermine their efforts to bring order to Brazil's violent slums or favelas, HRW warned.

"If there are police officers killing members of the community, how are we going to have community policing?" said Cesar Munoz, the chief HRW researcher behind the report.
The ratings performance of Gretchen Carlsons Fox News program The Real Story is under scrutiny on the heels of the anchors lawsuit against Fox News chief Roger Ailes alleging that she was let go last month after rebuffing his sexual advances.

Carlsons suit pits the veteran anchor against one of medias most powerful executives. Carlson alleged Wednesday in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court of New Jersey that she was removed from the Fox News Channel morning program Fox & Friends in 2013 after speaking out about the way she was treated by colleagues on the show. After that she moved from the highly rated morning program to the lower-profile 2 p.m. slot.

In a statement, Ailes said the allegations were false and retaliatory because Fox News did not renew her contract. According to a source familiar with the matter, Fox News position is that Carlsons contract was not renewed because of the ratings performance of her 2 p.m. program The Real Story, which vies each day directly with an hour of CNN Newsroom anchored by Brooke Baldwin. Carlsons attorneys dispute that assertion and say Carlson held her own despite little support from Fox News.

There is no doubt that Baldwin has given CNN a boost. Since moving in 2014 to host her afternoon program from New York, she has been notching periodic ratings gains in adults 25-54, the news demographic most coveted by advertisers. While Fox News Channel remains the nations most-watched cable network, Baldwin has won recent victories in the ad demo.

In June, CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin won more viewers in adults 25-54 than Fox News (CNNs 190,000 to Foxs 186,000). Carlsons show did notch a 25% year-to-year gain compared to a 26% lift for Baldwin. Baldwins 2 p.m. hour almost beat Carlsons in the demo for the second quarter as well, according to Nielsen.

Since Carlsons departure last month, Fox News has filled Real Story with rotating hosts, which presents another programming challenge. Cable-news networks typically like to give viewers a name anchor to gravitate towards. Without a regular host, Fox News will have to rely on breaking news and scoops to carry the day and snare audience attention.

Story continues

A comparison of Carlsons ratings with CNNs is likely to play some role in the legal fight. Carlson alleges she was fired after rebuffing Ailes and bringing to attention the treatment of women at the network. Ailes may point to the recent ratings for Real Story and suggest he made a business decision not to renew Carlsons contract, not only due to the performance of her show but the impact it has as the lead-in for Shepard Smith Reporting, which follows at 3 p.m.

In a statement on Thursday, Carlsons lawyers said any attempt to place focus on Carlsons ratings was erroneous. Ailes claim that Gretchen Carlson was terminated because of bad ratings is demonstrably false, said attorneys Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman in a statement. At the time Fox did not renew her contract, the attorneys said, Gretchens total viewership was up 33% year to date and up 23% in the key demographic. After her firing from Fox and Friends for complaining about discrimination, Gretchen was moved to a challenging time slot and denied support and promotion. Despite this, she succeeded and was the number-one cable news show in her time slot in total viewers.

Total viewers, however, is not the measure by which Madison Avenue grades TV. Nor are households. Advertisers prefer to look at demographic ratings. For news, that demo is adults 25-54, a recognition that older audiences predominantly watch more TV news.

In addition to slipping behind Baldwin, Carlsons Real Story was facing other challenges: It was, according to Nielsen, Fox News lowest-rated program in the advertiser demo in both June and the second quarter. Carlson was given the chance to pick her own staff, according to the person familiar with the situation, and Fox viewed the timeslot as advantageous: It was previously occupied by Megyn Kelly.

The ratings dispute is unlikely to overshadow the broader issues being raised by Carlsons suit. Attorneys for Carlson intend to examine past allegations of sexual harassment at the network, such as those raised in the unauthorized 2014 Ailes biography, The Loudest Voice in the Room, authored by Gabriel Sherman. That book raises allegations of sexual harassment by Ailes as well as details of what is presented as a charged atmosphere for female employees at Fox News Channel. According to the book, Fox News has under Ailes placed great emphasis on showing bare legs of female anchors. The book also alleged that Ailes in past jobs made women uncomfortable during work conversations and interviews.

Regarding Ailes claims that Gretchens allegations are false, we challenge him to deny, under oath, that he made the statements attributed to him in the complaint, said Carlsons attorneys Thursday.

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Fox News chairman and CEO Roger Ailes has fired back at former host Gretchen Carlsons sexual harassment lawsuit, calling her claims false and offensive, and promised a vigorous defense.

Gretchen Carlsons allegations are false, Ailes wrote in a statement Wednesday. This is a retaliatory suit for the networks decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit. Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously.

The suit, filed in Wednesday in Bergen County, New Jersey, claims the Real Story host refused Ailes sexual advances and as a direct and proximate result her relationship with Fox News was severed nine months later.

Also Read: Fox News Launches Internal Review Into Roger Ailes Sexual Harassment Allegations

21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News, has launched an internal investigation into the situation.

The court filing alleges Ailes once said to Carlson: I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then youd be good and better and Id be good and better.

Carlson seeks a trial by jury with respect to all issues that are so triable [sic], according to the suit, adding that the loss of employment has caused significant economic, emotional and professional harm.

Also Read: Gretchen Carlson's 5 Most Shocking Allegations in Roger Ailes Sexual Harassment Suit

She further claims Ailes denied her fair compensation, desirable assignments and other career-enhancing opportunities in retaliation for her complaints of harassment and discrimination.

Story continues

The suit also alleges that Carlson complained in 2009 that Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy created a hostile work environment by treating her in a sexist and condescending way. According to the court documents, Ailes response to the complaint was that Carlson needed to learn to get along with the boys.

Doocy is mentioned in the legal papers but is not named as a defendant in the suit. However, Foxs internal investigation includes Doocy, who is still a co-host on the morning show.

During the second quarter of 2016, Real Story with Gretchen Carlson was the No. 24 show in all of cable news in the key 25-54 demographic. The show was more successful in total viewers, finishing No. 14 overall, ahead of any program on rival network CNN, averaging 1.15 million viewers.

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Moscow (AFP) - Russia has begun selling a 10.9 percent stake in the world's biggest diamond producer Alrosa as part of a privatisation drive aimed at raising much-needed funds to plug a widening budget gap.

In a statement released late Wednesday the mining giant announced it had started accepting offers for 802 million shares owned by the state.

The company said that the government would use the proceeds from the sale on "general budgetary expenses" as Moscow looks to bolster its cash flow in the face of falling revenue caused by the drop in oil prices.

On the basis of the company's share value on Thursday morning the stake is estimated to be worth some 54 billion rubles ($844 million, 760 million euro).

Sources cited by Russian media have said the results of the operation will be made public on Monday.

Currently the Russian government has a 44 percent stake in the group based in the far-eastern city of Yakutia, while a further 25 percent is held by regional authorities.

A 16 percent stake was already floated on the stock market in 2013 but the move failed to generate as much cash as the authorities hoped.

Alrosa's share have gone up by around 34 percent since last December on the back of an overall improvement in international diamond prices.

Moscow decided at the end of 2015 to launch a huge programme of privatisations to try to shore up its budget after the country plunged into economic crisis over the drop in oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine.

Stakes are also set to be sold off in oil producers Rosneft and Bashneft, with the state recently controversially grabbing back control of the latter.

President Vladimir Putin has called for the budget deficit to stay within three percent of gross domestic product but officials are struggling to meet that target.

Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Thursday that Moscow would look to trim back spending over the next few years in a bid to reduce the deficit as he confirmed a budget freeze.

"The main aim of the budgetary policy for the next three years is to lower the imbalance that has built up over the past few years due to our fall in revenues," Siluanov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

Siluanov said the budget was aimed at cutting the deficit to 3.2 percent in 2017 from a predicted 3.3 percent this year.
(Adds comments, context)

MOSCOW, July 7 (Reuters) - Russia's domestic borrowing programme will be completed as planned this year and the government is confident it will be able to quadruple its borrowings in 2017, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists on Thursday.

Russia's budget deficit has widened as oil prices fell sharply from the 2014 highs of $115 per barrel to around $50 currently and the West imposed sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

According to a finance ministry proposal, seen earlier by Reuters, the ministry plans to increase net domestic borrowing to 1.29 trillion roubles in 2017 from 300 billion roubles this year.

Siluanov confirmed the increase.

"Our (next year's) objectives envisage that the net borrowing will increase four times with limited spending from reserves funds", he said.

Siluanov also said he hoped there will be more foreign investors on the Russia's debt market buying domestic bonds.

Russia will exhaust one of its two sovereign funds next year while a third of another of state's funds will be spent over the next three years, according to a finance ministry proposal. The funds are aiming to cover a shortfall in the state budget and pension system.

Siluanov, speaking to journalists, said the cabinet cannot allow the depletion of Russia's reserves funds. He said the funds would run out if the government keeps on cleaning out state's rainy day coffers with a pace it has been doing it recent years.

"They (reserves funds) are not inexhaustible. Also, we cannot allow to substitute reserves fund spending for borrowing which are rising".

Siluanov also said that the government planned to slash the state budget deficit by 1 percentage point of gross domestic product annually in 2017-2019.

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
NTA amends frequency policy

The government is making preparations to allow telecommunication service providers start 4G (Fourth Generation) services by doubling the frequency fee for the existing 1,800 Mhz band.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday it had killed seven members of an armed group responsible for attacks on police, civilians and for what it said were terrorist acts, in a special operation in the volatile Dagestan region in the south of the country. Russia's anti-terrorist committee said one security officer had been killed and another three wounded during the operation against the so-called "Makhachkala gang" which was still going on. There were no civilian casualties, it said. A mopping up operation is underway in a nearby area of forests and mountains in central Dagestan to root out the possibly remaining "accomplices of the destroyed bandits", the committee said. Kremlin critics say that poverty and corruption help feed Islamist militancy in Dagestan. The tiny region borders Chechnya, where Moscow has led two wars against separatists and religious extremists since the 1991 Soviet collapse. (Writing by Dmitry Solovyov)
Paris (AFP) - Two former Rwandan mayors will appeal their conviction and life sentences for taking part in the massacre of hundreds of Tutsis during the country's 1994 genocide, their lawyers said Thursday.

"We shall appeal this conviction," said Francoise Mathe and Philippe Meilhac, criticising the motives of the Paris court in deciding it.

Octavien Ngenzi, 58, and Tito Barahira, 65, were Wednesday found guilty of "crimes against humanity", "massive and systematic summary executions" and "genocide" in their village of Kabarondo, where some 2,000 people seeking refuge in a church were hacked to death.

Ngenzi and Barahira denied the charges at an eight-week trial which found that they were "supervisors" and "executioners" in the massacre at the height of the genocide in which 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists.

Theirs was the stiffest genocide sentence ever handed down by a French court. In 2014, former Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa received 25 years in solitary confinement for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Ngenzi and Barahira, as well as Simbikangwa, were arrested in France and judged under universal jurisdiction which permits states to rule on serious crimes regardless of where the wrongdoing was committed or of the accused's nationality or residence.

Mathe criticised the verdict as "imprecise and vague and riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions 22 years on from the killings, a time gap sufficient in his view to mean reasonable doubt exists over the role of the accused.

Unlike the trial of Simbikangwa, an 11-page document setting out the evidence against the former mayors laid down the main elements of the case against them, but lacking details of specific witness testimony in a manner which preferred "quantity to quality" of evidence, the defence lawyers said.

They also argued the case had been conducted "chaotically" and "without a clear and complete vision of the situation", while the accused had been, in their view, "excluded from debates" to the extent that "they were treated as undesirable guests at their own trial."

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Meilhac decried what he said were "contradictions in chronology which were fundamental in that, according to declarations by different witnesses, the accused were sometimes in different places at one and these (contradictions) were unable to be examined."

Michel Laval, acting for a number of civil plaintiffs in the case, said he was satisfied with the guilty verdict and could not comment on the length of the sentence handed down as that was in the remit of the court.

By comparison, former army colonel Theoneste Bagosora, considered to have directed the genocide, was handed a life term commuted to 35 years on appeal by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The tribunal handed down sentences ranging from several years to life in jail to other mayors also found culpable of atrocities.
The last faint hope that Congress would do something this year to address gun violence in the wake of last months Orlando night club massacre may have been extinguished on Thursday as House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) put off votes this week on a package of anti-terrorism measures including a modest effort to keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.

The Senate struck out June 20, failing to reach agreement on four proposals advanced by Republicans and Democrats that would at least show some congressional concern about the spate of shootings and terrorist violence that have shocked voters and prompted increased calls for action. If anything were to happen this year, then it would be up to the House to jumpstart the process.

Related: Congress Prepares for the Next Gun Control Fight

But thats no longer likely to happen, as Ryan and other GOP House leaders pulled back under mounting pressure from the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus and other anti-gun control conservatives

Ryan originally was against bringing any gun-related bill to the floor, mindful of the dominance of the National Rifle Association among many of his members. He dismissed as a crass political stunt a House Democratic sit-in on the House floor more than a week ago to force a vote this year on expanded background checks for those attempting to purchase guns and a ban on gun sales to people who turn up on certain government lists of suspected terrorists.

The speaker had a change of heart late last week, after the Democratic sit-in led by Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, the civil rights icon, gained widespread notoriety and support. Ryan ordered up floor action this week on an anti-terrorism package including a relatively weak gun control proposal first advanced by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).

The Cornyn plan  which was turned down by the Senate -- would give federal authorities three days to justify blocking a gun sale by demonstrating probable cause the gun or rifle would end up in the hands of a terrorist. It stands in marked contrast to an alternative approach favored by moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and many Democrats that would block the sale of weapons to people whose names are found on no fly lists or other government terrorist watch lists.

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Prospective gun buyers barred from making purchases could appeal the decision to federal authorities and would qualify for reimbursement of legal fees if they prevail. But it would take the onus off the Justice Department to make the case for barring the sale.

Related: Supreme Court Boosts States Rights to Control Guns

Ryans change of heart caught many in his GOP conference by surprise. Over the July 4th holiday break, conservatives began pushing back, fearing the GOP-controlled House would end up going on record in favor of some new form of gun control, which could hurt them during their reelection campaigns this fall. Many conservatives raised concern about violating Americans Second Amendment rights to bear arms or their rights to due process.

The House Freedom Caucus, which frequently has had its way in arguments with Ryan and previously with former House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, declared on Wednesday that it would vote as a bloc against the gun proposal unless its heavily amended and watered down. On Thursday, as Democrats continued to demonstrate by reading the names of victims of gun violence on the floor of the House, Ryan and other leaders sought to break the impasse with the conservative activists, but to no avail.

With no choice, Ryan indefinitely postponed action on the package of bills, according to Politico, raising serious doubts that anything will be accomplished before Congress adjourns for the Republican and Democratic national conventions later this month. While a few senior Republicans are still holding out hope of working something out before the July 15 recess, prospects seem bleak.

Related: Heres Why Gun Control Isnt Going Anywhere in Congress

We want to get this terrorism legislation right," Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill in trying to put a good face on the delay. "Lots of our members when we posted the bill have given us many suggestions. So we're trying to get this legislation right. We're trying to reflect the consensus of our conference so that we can bring a bill to the floor that deals with this violence, that deals with terrorism, that deals with these issues. And we're not going to rush it. We're going to get it right."

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Paris (AFP) - Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho goes before a UEFA disciplinary panel in Paris on Thursday and will learn his fate for a doping infringement within a few days, the European game's governing body told AFP.

Sakho tested positive after a Europa League tie with Manchester United on March 17 after taking a product to reduce body fat.

The 26-year-old centre-back is said not to have known the composition of the weight-loss supplement and informed UEFA he acted in good faith.

"Some products entail an automatic ban and others not. In this case the player himself wanted the provisional ban and UEFA agreed to impose a 30-day ban," UEFA medical officer Marc Vouillamoz told AFP.

The player was eventually technically available for International duty at Euro 2016 and despite playing a key role for France these last two seasons Didier Deschamps left him out of the finals squad.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Police and federal agents converged on San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday after receiving reports of possible gunshots or explosions heard coming from the building, authorities said.

Members of the San Francisco Police Department's tactical operations unit swarmed the medical center on the edge of the city's Mission District and began a sweep of the hospital seeking to pinpoint the origin of the noise, police spokeswoman Giselle Talkoff said.

The hospital was not evacuated, but authorities sealed off the building to prevent anyone from entering or leaving as the search progressed, she said, adding that no injuries were reported

The investigation of possible shots fired was first disclosed by police in a message posted by the department's official Twitter account advising members of the public to avoid the area.

Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined local police in the sweep of the hospital, according to Prentice Danner, a spokesman for the FBI in San Francisco.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco, additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by G Crosse and Sandra Maler)
New York (AFP) - US senator Bernie Sanders, who battled Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, is expected to endorse her next week at a rally in New Hampshire, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Three Democrats involved in planning Tuesday's event, who spoke to the US newspaper on condition of anonymity, said the anticipated endorsement is the results of weeks of talks between the two campaigns aimed at unifying the party.

Clinton's campaign confirmed that the presumptive presidential nominee will appear in the northeastern state Tuesday, without providing further details or mentioning Sanders.

Sanders alluded to a potential endorsement during an MSNBC interview on Wednesday, when asked to confirm that talks about the possibility had occurred.

"That's correct," the 74-year-old Vermont senator replied.

Clinton clinched enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in early June.

But the feisty self-described democratic socialist has nevertheless refused to concede defeat to his more moderate rival, though he has said he will vote for Clinton and will do anything to help defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Sanders has been negotiating with the Clinton campaign to ensure that his ideas are part of the party platform presented at the Democratic convention later this month, when Clinton is formally nominated.

Sanders hopes to push Clinton more to the left, particularly insisting "that the Democratic Party becomes a party that represents working people, not Wall Street."

Clinton on Wednesday announced a proposal to offer free college tuition to students of families making less than $125,000 per year by 2021, a shift Sanders -- who championed eliminating public college tuition -- called "revolutionary."

Clinton won 15.8 million votes in the primaries, while more than 12 million Americans voted for Sanders.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse presidential rival Hillary Clinton on Tuesday at a campaign event in New Hampshire, The New York Times reported on Thursday. Citing three Democrats who have been involved in the planning, the Times said the endorsement was partly the result of daily talks between the candidates' campaign managers about bringing them together and advancing Sanders' policy priorities. The Sanders campaign declined to comment. Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, has resisted endorsing Clinton in a show of party unity since she clinched the Democratic nomination last month. Sanders chose to continue his campaign as leverage to win concessions on his liberal policy agenda and reforms to the Democratic Party nominating process. In a speech to supporters last month, Sanders vowed to help Clinton defeat Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election but did not end his campaign. Sanders risked being left behind, however, as other prominent Democrats have rallied around Clinton, including President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of the party's liberal wing. Clinton, who shifted to the left under pressure from Sanders during the campaign, adopted another of his issues on Wednesday when she proposed eliminating tuition at public colleges and universities for in-state students whose families earn less than $125,000 annually. Sanders endorsement is expected to ensure he has a prominent speaking slot at the Democratic convention later this month, the Times quoted the three Democrats as saying. (Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Leslie Adler)
Satya Nadella

It's taken two and a half years, but the last of Steve Ballmer's old guard  COO Kevin Turner  has finally left Microsoft.

CEO Satya Nadella, who took over the job in February, 2014, now holds all the pieces of Microsoft in the palm of his own hand.

That means he finally got his chance to reorganize one of Microsoft's most important groups: its massive sales and service organization, which had been reporting to Turner.

Turner left Microsoft to take a CEO role at Citadel Securities. He resigned on June 30, the last day of Microsoft's fiscal year and the news of his new job was announced on Thursday.

Nadella has taken direct control of Turner's organization, the Sales, Marketing and Service Group (SMSG), rather than appointing another COO to fill Turner's shoes.

The main reason why Turner left Microsoft is that he's an ambitious guy who wanted another CEO job, one source close to the company told us. He was CEO of Walmart's Sam's Club before joining Steve Ballmer at Microsoft 11 years ago. He had worked his way up from a cashier at Walmart to become the Chief Information Officer there before moving to that CEO job.

Turner had been on the short list to take on the CEO job at Microsoft before Nadella was offered the position. Typically, when an exec is passed over the top job, that exec hops on the phone to a headhunter, lines up some other potential roles, and hightails it out of the old company as quickly as possible.

But Turner apparently decided to stick it out for a bit, despite the fact that he's very different from Nadella: Turner is tough and hard charging (very much like Steve Ballmer) compared to Nadella's more contemplative and inclusive style.

Last of Ballmer's brain trust

Both Nadella and Turner were part of Ballmer's braintrust, along with Kurt DelBene (who was head of Office before leaving in 2013 after a re-org), former CFO Peter Klein (who also left in 2013), and current CFO Amy Hood.

Amy Hood Microsoft CFO

Story continues

Hood ran the finances of the cash cow Business division under Ballmer. Nadella made Hood his CFO and just gave her more responsibility. She's now responsible for worldwide licensing and pricing, which was previously one of Turner's jobs.

So Hood is the last remaining Ballmer old guard and the only one to have secured a place in Nadella's new braintrust.

Judson Althoff, who Turner hired in 2013, will take over responsibility for Microsoft's partners. We'll likely see his public debut soon when he presumably takes over one of Turner's signature duties: giving the keynote speech at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, points out Infoworld's Woody Leonhard. The WPC takes place next week in Toronto.

Sales pressure is on Nadella

In the past two years, Turner was helping Nadella shift the sales organization away from its classic roots of selling software, toward selling cloud services. That meant changing salespeople's incentives. And such changes were met with some resistance, people inside Microsoft told us.

Kevin Turner

For instance, at first, salespeople earned their commissions and bonuses for getting customers to agree to add cloud services to their broader Microsoft software contracts, whether or not the customers used those services.

Last year, Nadella put the focus on cloud usage and Turner came up with a plan to pay sale people based on usage, or "cloud active users."

In 2016, under Turner, salespeople had to get their customers to buy more different types of cloud services and to use them all, one person told us.

That's an important distinction because in the cloud world, customers pay based on usage. The more they use the cloud, the more they pay Microsoft. If they simply buy access to a cloud service, but never use it, Microsoft loses money.

Meanwhile, investors have been keenly aware that Microsoft's profit margins have been shrinking as it shifts its customers to the cloud. That's because, at Microsoft's scale and the way its business has historically been set up, it costs more on an ongoing basis for Microsoft run the data centers to deliver these cloud services than it does to build and ship packages of software every two to three years.

Microsoft has been compensating for that margin pressure by cutting expenses.

In April, Nadella promised Wall Street analysts that he will solve the shrinking margin problem by selling more old-school, high-margin software while also growing cloud services usage and selling more premium-priced cloud services.

So, the future of Microsoft hinges on its salesforce, and now Nadella has more direct control over it.

By the way, none of these changes have much to do with Microsoft's pending acquisition of LinkedIn  at least not yet, a source close to the company told us.

LinkedIn will operate as a mostly separate unit and the executives who are now in charge of sales, marketing and service have a few months to figure out how to integrate LinkedIn with Microsoft's salesforce.





More From Business Insider


Probe sought into MPs alleged role in forgery, human trafficking

Nepali Congress lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada on Wednesday demanded investigation into the alleged involvement of at least eight parliamentarians in human trafficking by forging government documents.
DOHA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked Prophet Mohammed's Mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse. Twelve Pakistanis and seven Saudis have been detained in relation to attacks that day. Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next to the prophet's mosque in Medina and detonated an explosive belt near a security headquarters, killing four soldiers, the state news agency SPA quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying. "When security guards intercepted him he blew himself up," said the spokesman. The statement also named three individuals who carried out bombings in the province of Qatif on Monday. It said none of them had obtained Saudi IDs. All of the men were in their early 20s and one had previously taken part in anti-government rallies. Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities on Monday in apparently coordinated attacks that targeted U.S. diplomats in Jeddah and Shi'ite Muslim worshippers in Qatif, jolting the kingdom as people prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan. A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman told Al-Ikhbariya TV that the Medina bomber had traveled outside the country several times, most recently early this year. He said nitroglycerin from the blasts in Qatif and Medina seemed to match those found at the Jeddah attack suggesting they may have been coordinated. The United Nations human rights chief described the bombing outside the Prophet Mohammed's Mosque in Medina as "an attack on Islam itself". No group has claimed responsibility but Islamic State militants have carried out similar bombings in the U.S.-allied, Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom in the past year, targeting minority Shi'ites and Saudi security forces. Militant attacks on Medina are unprecedented. The city is home to the second most sacred site in Islam, a mosque built in the 7th century by the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, which also houses his tomb. The Al Saud ruling family considers itself the protector of both sites. Islamic State has said the Saudi rulers are apostates and has declared its intention to topple them. Monday's attacks highlighted how young Saudi men are being drawn to Islamic State, which has launched attacks on Shi'ites in smaller Gulf Arab states and stepped up violence in the holy fasting month of Ramadan. King Salman, in a speech on Tuesday marking Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, said a major challenge facing Saudi Arabia was preserving hope for youth who faced the risk of radicalization. Salman said his country would strike with an "iron hand" against people who preyed on youth vulnerable to religious extremism. Saudi security officials have said Islamic State supporters inside the kingdom mainly act independent of the group in Iraq and Syria, its main areas of operation. (Reporting by Ali Abdelatti Writing by Tom Finn; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
JUBA (Reuters) - Sporadic gunfire was heard in South Sudan's capital Juba late Thursday evening and military vehicles were blocking some roads, residents and a Reuters witness said. Africa's youngest nation was devastated by a war that broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir sacked his vice president, Riek Machar. "I heard a sound of gunshots and people were running everywhere," Juba resident Ramdan Kazimiro told Reuters. Another resident who did not want to reveal his name told Reuters gunfire was heard in Gudele, a suburb in Juba's west, where Machar also has a residence. "The military put their cars in the middle of the road coming from Gudele...the whole area is (in) lock down by the government military," he said. A Reuters witness said there was apprehension in Juba, with terrified people hurrying to their homes, fearful major violence could break out again. Government officials could not be reached for comment. Earlier Thursday there was also shooting in Wau, a flashpoint town in South Sudan's northwest which forced at least 200 civilians to flee to a United Nations compound in the area for safety. South Sudan's last war, which largely pitted Kiir's Dinka ethnic group against Machar's Nuer, ended after a peace agreement was signed by the two sides in August last year. Shantal Persaud, spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told Reuters gunfire broke out south of the mission's compound in the town of Wau at around 9.00am. The capital of South Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal state, Wau has been the scene of renewed fighting between government forces and armed groups in recent days that has forced thousands to flee. Shooting continued on Thursday until around 10:00 am, Persaud said. "After the shooting started, some 200-250 civilians arrived at ...the UNMISS Wau base," she told Reuters. She said it was unclear what sparked the fighting or which groups were involved. South Sudan's economy has been struggling because oil production, on which the government nearly wholly depends for its revenues, plummeted during the conflict. Any renewed instability is likely to disrupt the fragile recovery process and keep the vast majority of its 11 million people mired in poverty. (Reporting by Denis Dumo; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Toby Chopra)
One of the hardest things about a breakup is saying goodbye to an entire relationship's worth of traditions.



In a sneak peek at Sunday's Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Scott Disick isn't quite ready to let go of his history with ex-girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian so he runs a surprising idea past Kardashian's mother, Kris Jenner.



"Kourtney and I have spent every birthday together, between mine and hers, for the past 10 years," he says. "And her birthday's coming up. Do I just say, like, screw it and just fly to Iceland and surprise her?"



Jenner seems wary of Disick's plan, choosing her words carefully before responding.







"The thing that I hear her say is that she just wants you to be a good person and a great dad and to do it first for yourself and then for your kids and then for her," Jenner says.





RELATED VIDEO: Kourtney Kardashian Hangs Out with Ex Scott Disick: 'People That Have 3 Kids Together Spend Time Togethera





But Disick, 33, who shares three children with Kardashian, isn't ready to give up.



"Let's say if, in a year from now or 10 years from now, we work things out  I would've hated to have missed a birthday," he says.



Jenner recommends that rather than taking any rash action, Disick simply tries to be "that fun dad and that responsible dad that she's always praying you will turn into," to which he glumly responds: "Yeah, I don't know."



He adds: "It's hard sometimes when you've had all these memories and then they are stopping one by one."



Keeping Up with the Kardashians airs Sundays (9 p.m. ET) on E!
Seattle Genetics, Inc. SGEN announced that its partner Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited TKPYY has received marketing authorization for the label expansion of its lymphoma drug, Adcetris.

The European Commission (EC) has approved the drug for a third indication  for the treatment of adult patients with CD30+ Hodgkin lymphoma, who are at increased risk of relapse or progression following autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

We note that the EC had granted conditional marketing authorization to Adcetris in 2012 for two indications in adult patients  relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma following ASCT, and relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL). Last month, the EC extended the current conditional approval of the drug. The drug is now approved for the treatment of adult patients with CD30+ Hodgkin lymphoma, who are at increased risk of relapse or progression following ASCT.

This January, the EC approved a type II variation to include data on the retreatment of adult patients with Hodgkin lymphoma or sALCL, who had responded to Adcetris but which relapsed later.

We remind investors that the drug is already approved in the U.S. for three indications related to lymphoma.

Meanwhile, Adcetris is being evaluated in more than 70 ongoing clinical trials which include ALCANZA trial (phase III), ECHELON-1(front-line classical HL), ECHELON-2 (front-line mature T-cell lymphomas), along with additional types of CD30-expressing lymphomas, including B-cell lymphomas.

SEATTLE GENETIC Price

SEATTLE GENETIC Price | SEATTLE GENETIC Quote

Both Seattle Genetics and Takeda are developing Adcetris under a collaboration agreement, under which Seattle Genetics owns the commercialization rights of the drug in the U.S. and Canada, while Takeda enjoys the same in the rest of the world. The companies are jointly funding the development costs equally, except in Japan where Takeda is solely responsible for development costs.

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We note that Adcetris is the growth engine for Seattle Genetics. Apart from Adcetris, the company is evaluating another antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) candidate, vadastuximab talirine (SGN-CD33A; 33A), in a phase III trial for acute myeloid leukemia.

Seattle Genetics carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). A couple of other favorably placed stocks in the healthcare sector include Pfizer Inc. PFE and Johnson & Johnson JNJ. Both the stocks carry the same rank as Seattle Genetics.

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Protests erupted in Minnesota on Wednesday after a man was fatally shot by police during a traffic stop in front of his girlfriend and a child in an incident that was streamed on Facebook Live.



Hundreds gathered outside the governor's mansion in outrage after 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot in Falcon Heights, a suburb outside St. Paul. The protest continued into Thursday morning with crowds chanting and demanding action from Gov. Mark Dayton, NBC News reports.



Police are investigating a widely-shared Facebook video, believed to show the aftermath of the incident. The nearly 10-minute video showed a woman in a car with a man wearing a blood-soaked shirt.



"We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back and the police just  he's covered. They killed my boyfriend," the woman said in the video.





Second Police Shooting Sparks Protests as Minnesota Man is Fatally Wounded  and His Girlfriend Streamed It on Facebook Live| Death, Murder, Shootings, True Crime, True Crime



"He's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket and he let the officer know that he had a fire arm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."



Police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are investigating the shooting, the Associated Press reports.



Family members who gathered at the scene of the shooting identified the man as Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school, according to the AP.



 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.



Jon Mangseth, interim chief at the St. Anthony Police Department, confirmed during a news conference that a man died in a police shooting, noting that the traffic stop was conducted at around 9 p.m. in the St. Paul suburb. He did not name Castile.



"During the stop shots were fired. One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased," Mangseth said.



He said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop or the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave, he said.



In the video, an officer is seen pointing a gun into the vehicle and is heard yelling, "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand off of it!"



The woman responded: "You told him to get his ID, sir, and his driver's license."



"Oh my God, please don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend went like that," the woman said in the video.



Soon, the woman was ordered out of the car and placed in the back of a cop car. A girl, who the woman identified as her daughter, is soon heard comforting the woman.



"It's okay, mommy," she said. "It's okay. I'm right here with you."



The incident is the second officer-involved shooting this week. On Tuesday, Alton Sterling, 37,was shot by police outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an incident captured on cellphone video.
Obama in Warsaw

President Barack Obama on Thursday delivered an emotional statement on the recent police shootings of two black men.

Speaking from Warsaw, Poland, where he is attending a NATO summit, Obama addressed the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota

"We have seen too many tragedies like this," he said.

"These are not isolated incidents," Obama added, before citing several disturbing statistics that paint a picture of police practices in the US:

African-Americans are 30% more likely than whites to be pulled over by the police.

African-Americans and Hispanics are three times more likely to be searched.

Last year, African-Americans were shot by police at more than twice the rate of whites.

African-American defendants are 75% more likely to be charged with offenses carrying mandatory minimums.

African-Americans receive sentences that are 10% longer than those handed down to whites arrested for the same crime.

"Because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts," Obama said. "This is not just a black issue or a Hispanic issue  this is an American issue."

Philando Castile Alton Sterling police shooting protests

The president also had words of support for police officers.

"We know you have a tough job, we mourn those in uniform that are protecting us, who lose their lives," he said.

Obama's words followed a statement released earlier Thursday on Facebook in which he said:

"All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota," the statement read. "We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss."

Story continues

Nationwide protests

Demonstrations have kicked off in cities nationwide following the latest police-involved shootings. Protesters have criticized the killings, which statistics show disproportionately befall black civilians during encounters with police.

The recent shootings follow a long list of fatal encounters involving civilians and the police. More than 500 people have been killed in police-involved shootings in 2016, as noted in an extensive report by The Washington Post.

As a result, civil-rights leaders, politicians, and community activists have called for greater oversight of police agencies nationwide  citing the need for body cameras for officers and pushing for independent reviews and prosecutions of officers involved in police killings.

Obama ended his speech on this note: "We can do better. And I believe we will do better."

NOW WATCH: Obama on recent police shootings: 'These are not isolated incidents'





More From Business Insider


Recently, a member of the House of Representatives from New York state proposed eliminating recess appointments from the Constitution, the latest of some interesting constitutional changes introduced in the 114th Congress.

Chris Collins, a Republican from New Yorks 27th District near Buffalo, cited the potential for a President to abuse Article II, Section II of the Constitution, which says the President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.

Two-hundred years ago, we had a part-time Congress and no rapid transit, they had to keep the country running, Collins told the Batavia Daily News. Clearly we have now seen potential for abuse and the issue doesnt apply. We could be back in a days notice  theres no way to justify it in 2016.

Collins told the Daily News his concern was that future President would interpret the clause to pack the Supreme Court with like-minded Justices during what was perceived to be a recess. His proposed amendment would mandate that the Senate, in all cases, approve officials nominated by the White House for confirmation.

Representative Collins faces long odds in the Congress, to start with, if his amendment proposal is to make it to a full vote in the House and Senate for approval.

Since 1789, just 27 amendments have been added to the Constitution, with 10 of those amendments arriving with the Bill of Rights ratification in 1791. (The 18th Amendment was also repealed when Prohibition ended.)

More than 11,000 amendments have been proposed in congressional history, according to the Senates historian and 37 of those proposed amendments were approved by Congress for submission to the states.

But that doesnt mean that every amendment cause is a lost cause. In 1992, the 27th Amendment, which was first proposed as part of the Bill of Rights, was finally ratified after a groundswell of support against congressional pay raises.

Story continues

So what is being proposed in the current Congress? Amendments about balanced budgets, term limits and campaign financing seem to be very popular in the current political environment.

Heres a quick look at a few interesting proposals when we recently checked Congress.gov, which lists resolutions offered in the current Congress.

1. An amendment to better define Article V, which allows amendments to happen

Rep. John Abney Culberson of Texas wants an amendment to confirm that the proper number of states, under Article V of the Constitution, can hold a constitutional convention restricted to just one new amendment to the Constitution. This would prevent a runaway convention scenario where a convention of the states could overhaul much of the Constitution.

2. No more federal income tax



Rep. Steve King is not a big fan of the 16th Amendment, which was ratified in 1913 and made it clear that Congress had the right to levy a national income tax.

His proposal is to repeal the 16th Amendment entirely. The resolution was sent to a House subcommittee in January 2015, where it has remained.

3. Another attempt to ban American flag burning

Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana reintroduced a proposed amendment to ban desecration of the American flag. If this sounds familiar, in 2006 the same amendment failed in the Senate by just one vote after the House easily passed it with a two-thirds majority vote. Since then, the proposed amendment hasnt gotten a full vote in Congress again.

4. The return of the Equal Rights Amendment

Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York is proposing another attempt at the ERA, which declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction and prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.

As youll recall, Congress easily passed a version of the ERA in 1972 that was also supported by President Richard Nixon. After an initial rush of states to ratify the amendment, it stalled after 35 of the 38 required states approved it. Congress extended the ratification deadline to 1982, but the proposed amendment was never approved by three-quarters of the states.

Other proposed amendments in this Congress include measures to protect the right to life and an amendment that would allow two-thirds of the states to negate a federal law.

Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.

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Quake-affected 223,830 families reach grant agreement with NRA

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has reached an agreement with the total 223,830 families till Wednesday to provide the grant amount of Rs 200,000 each family to reconstruct their houses damaged by the earthquake on April 25, 2015.
* Q2 operating profit likely $7 bln, highest since Q1 2014

* Analysts tipped $6.8 bln April-June operating profit

* Mobile earnings likely highest since Q2 2014 - analysts (Updates with comments from investor, analyst; background)

By Se Young Lee

SEOUL, July 7 (Reuters) - Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Thursday its second-quarter operating profit likely rose 17.4 percent from a year earlier, its highest in more than 2 years as Galaxy S7 smartphone sales propelled mobile earnings.

The world's top maker of smartphones and memory chips said its April-June profit was likely 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion), better than the average forecast of 7.8 trillion won tipped by a Thomson Reuters survey of 16 analysts. It was the highest since a 8.5 trillion won profit in the first quarter of 2014.

The mobile division likely was the top earner for the second straight quarter, raising the question of whether the South Korean company can sustain this strong momentum in the face of competition from Apple Inc and cheaper Chinese rivals.

"At this point it appears unlikely that we'll see stronger competing devices emerging (in the second half)," IBK Asset Management fund manager Kim Hyun-soo said.

Apple's new iPhones - likely to launch around September - would not offer any dramatic new features, Kim said.

While Samsung will not disclose detailed results until late July, its shares rose on the guidance. They were up 1.7 percent as of 0132 GMT, compared with a 1.1 percent rise for the broader market.

The Thomson Reuters poll tipped the mobile division's profit to have risen 54.5 percent from a year earlier to 4.3 trillion won, the highest since the second quarter of 2014.

S7 sales will likely ease in the second half, but Kim said Samsung should be able to maintain quarterly earnings of between 7 trillion won and 8 trillion won for the rest of 2016 with help from its chips business and the launch of its next premium smartphone, the Galaxy Note.

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BOUNCING BACK

Samsung's smartphone business shrank last year as Apple grabbed market share at the high end with its iPhone 6, and Chinese rivals like Huawei Technologies Co Ltd did well in the budget segment.

Things turned around this year, with the success of the Galaxy S7 and margin improvements from a more streamlined product lineup putting the business on track for its first annual profit growth in three years.

Looking further ahead, some investors remain sceptical about Samsung's long-term prospects in the cut-throat smartphone segment, which has seen slowing growth globally.

"For the medium term I think 4 trillion won (quarterly mobile) profit is the new normal," Nomura analyst C.W. Chung said.

Samsung said revenue for the quarter likely rose 3 percent to 50 trillion won.

($1 = 1,155.6900 won) (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Iron Man 3 UI

Snapchat has hired a top visual effects specialist in Hollywood to work on "augmented reality." It could be related to the company's secret project to build sunglasses that superimpose computerized images on the real world.

Raffael Dickreuter joined the Venice-based company in June as a "Concept and Augmented Reality Designer". On LinkedIn, he describes himself as "virtual reality specialist, director and creator of VR content".

Dickreuter did not respond to a request for comment for what he's working on specifically. Snapchat declined to comment.

His hire, though, fits into Snapchat's push into augmented reality. Snapchat has been working on secret AR sunglasses project for several years, and its CEO Evan Spiegel was photographed wearing an early prototype last fall. The app as most people know it now is also a "quiet introduction" into the world of augmented reality, thanks to the popularity of the Snapchat lenses.

Dickreuter's work could go towards designing scenes or concepts for the glasses, or he could start out work on imagining how 360-degree videos  like both Google and Facebook support already  would work inside Snapchat. Snapchat product designers have been seen using VR headsets like the Oculus in the company's LA offices, according to a source. The company has also brought on Oculus' user research lead, Gareth Griffiths, to head up Snapchat's User Research.

Dickreuter's hire is especially unusual given his extensive background in film. Dickreuter worked on special effects for films like "Iron Man", "The Martian", "Superman Returns", and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series.

Outside of special effects though, Dickreuter's also worked on virtual reality projects or 360 degree videos. His role in things like the Jack Black Goosebump's 3D experience was to pre-visualize what the VR experience would look like.

Story continues

Do you know more about Snapchat's plans? Email the reporter at bcarson@businessinsider.com or get in touch through WhatsApp, Confide, or Telegram.

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By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) - The daughter of the founder of South Korea's Lotte Group conglomerate was arrested on Thursday on charges including breach of trust and embezzlement, a judge told Reuters.

Prosecutors applied for a detention warrant earlier this week for Shin Young-ja, who is also a director of Lotte Group's hotel unit, a Seoul Central District Court judge said.

Shin is the first founding family member or high-ranking manager from South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate to be detained after prosecutors began investigating the group earlier this year.

Prosecutors targeted Lotte with their largest corporate raids ever in terms of manpower in June, looking into a possible slush fund as well as breach of trust involving transactions among the group's companies, sources said.

An initial investigation into Shin's affairs led authorities to publicly open the wider probe, two prosecution sources with direct knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.

Shin allegedly received bribes of about 3 billion won ($2.6 million) as requests for preferential treatment for brands in Lotte Duty Free stores, one of the prosecution sources told Reuters earlier this week.

Prosecutors also allege Shin embezzled about 4 billion won from an unnamed company that she de facto controls, paid out as salaries for her daughters, the person with direct knowledge said. The people declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to media.

Hotel Lotte directed questions to Lotte Duty Free. Lotte Duty Free declined comment.

The fallout from the broader probe into the Lotte business empire has already seen the derailment of a planned initial public offering worth up $4.5 billion for the group's hotel and duty free unit, as well as Lotte Chemical bowing out of bidding for a U.S. company.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin has said Hotel Lotte's IPO plans would be revived with an aim to list around the end of this year.

($1 = 1,155.6900 won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Warri (Nigeria) (AFP) - The Niger Delta Avengers militant group on Thursday said it attacked more oil infrastructure in southern Nigeria, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group said in an email that it hit manifolds RMP 22, 23 and 24 operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited in Delta state at about 1:20 am (0020 GMT). RMP 23 and 24 had previously been attacked on June 1.

RMPs or remote manifold platforms are where smaller oil and gas pipelines converge before being sent to larger lines.

It is understood the facilities had been repaired since the last strike.

A military officer said the attack happened in the Warri North area of Delta state, adding: "A controlled explosive device was used to carry the attack.

"These gives them (the militants) ample time to detonate the device even while they have long left the scene of the incident."

The spate of attacks claimed by the Niger Delta Avengers since February has hit oil production in Nigeria, exacerbating a financial crisis caused by low global crude prices since mid-2014.

The group wants international oil companies out of the region, whose people largely live in poverty despite the billions of dollars generated by oil extraction over decades.

It has also called for self-determination for the delta region.

Buhari on Wednesday appealed to militants to "give Nigeria a chance" at a time of economic hardship -- and that he would not stand for a break-up of the federation.
Serious business

EPG is a welcome mechanism, as Kathmandu and Delhi have major differences to overcome
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain will escape any sanction from the European Union for missing its deficit goals last year, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Thursday, adding that the country would agree on a new fiscal path with Brussels.

The European Commission began formal disciplinary procedures against Spain and Portugal on Thursday for their excessive deficits in 2014 and 2015, which may lead to fines for the two countries before the end of July.

"Proceedings for a potential sanction were opened, but I am convinced this sanction will not happen because Spain is the fastest-growing economy in the euro zone and it has passed more reforms than anybody else. It would be a nonsense," De Guindos told journalists at an event in Madrid.

"From there, a new fiscal path can be agreed and this is what is going to happen in the next few week," he added.

(Reporting by Jesus Aguado, writing by Julien Toyer, editing by Larry King)
If the U.S. presidential campaign has made one thing clear, its this: The United States is not Finland. Nor is it Norway. This might seem self-evident. But Americas Americanness has had to be reaffirmed ever since Bernie Sanders suggested that Americans could learn something from Nordic countries about reducing income inequality, providing people with universal health care, and guaranteeing them paid family and medical leave.

I think Bernie Sanders is a good candidate for president  of Sweden, Marco Rubio scoffed. We dont want to be Sweden. We want to be the United States of America.

We are not Denmark, Hillary Clinton clarified. We are the United States of America.  [W]hen I think about capitalism, I think about all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families.

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Opportunity. Freedom. Independence. These words are bound up with American identity and the American Dream. The problem is that theyre often repeated like an incantation, with little reflection on the extent to which they still ring true in America, and are still exceptionally American.

Anu Partanens new book, The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life, argues that the freedom and opportunity Americans cherish are currently thriving more in Nordic countries than in the United States. (The Nordic countries comprise Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland.) But she also pushes backalbeit gentlyagainst the trendy notion that Nordic countries are paradises.

Partanen is an unusual messenger. After all, her personal story is a testament to the Land of Opportunitys enduring magnetism and vibrancy; she recently became a U.S. citizen, after moving from her native Finland to the United States in part because she felt she was more likely to find work as a journalist in New York City than her American husband was as a writer in Helsinki. But her time in America has also convinced her that Finland and its neighbors are doing a better job of promoting a 21st-century version of the American Dream than her adoptive country.

Story continues

Partanens principal question is the following: Whats the best way for a modern society to advance freedom and opportunity? She explains that Nordic governments do so by providing social services that the U.S. government doesntthings like free college education and heavily subsidized child care. Within that big question, Partanen poses more pointed questions about contemporary life in the United States: Is freedom remaining in a job you hate because you dont want to lose the health insurance that comes with it? Is independence putting your career on hold, and relying on your partners income, so you can take care of a young child when your employer doesnt offer paid parental leave or day care is too expensive? Is opportunity depending on the resources of your parents, or a bundle of loans, to get a university degree? Is realizing the American Dream supposed to be so stressful?

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What Finland and its neighbors do is actually walk the walk of opportunity that America now only talks, Partanen writes. Its a fact: A citizen of Finland, Norway, or Denmark is today much more likely to rise above his or her parents socioeconomic status than is a citizen of the United States. The United States is not Finland. And, in one sense, thats bad news for America. Numerous studies have shown that there is far greater upward social mobility in Nordic countries than in the United States, partly because of the high level of income inequality in the U.S.

In another sense, though, its perfectly fine to not be Finland. As Nathan Heller observed in The New Yorker, the modern Nordic welfare state is meant to minimize the causes of inequality and be more climbing web than safety net. Yet the system, especially in Sweden, is currently being tested by increased immigration and rising income inequality. And its ultimately predicated on a differentand not necessarily superiordefinition of freedom than that which prevails in America. In Sweden, Heller argued, control comes through protection against risk. Americans think the opposite: control means taking personal responsibility for risk and, in some cases, social status.

Last week, I spoke with Partanen about what she feels Nordic countries have gotten right, where theyve gone wrong, and why, if Finland is really so great, shes now living in America. An edited and condensed transcript of our conversation follows.

Uri Friedman: You make an argument in the book that if you think about the American Dream in a certain wayif you define it in terms of opportunity, independence, and freedomit is actually flourishing in the Nordic region more than in the United States. Why?

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Anu Partanen: For a long time now, weve all, both in the United States and in Europe, thought that the United States is the land of freedom. For a long time, it was certainly true: American democracy was leading the way, the American middle class was the wealthiest. America was really the place where you could make your own life and you could decide who you wanted to be and pursue the dream.

When I moved to the United States in 2008, that was the idea I had. [But] when I came here, I was actually surprised [to learn that] people were very anxious. They were in many ways very dependent on their circumstances, the opposite of being a self-made woman or man. And a lot of this is related to family: if, [when] you were a child, your parents could provide opportunities, if they could offer you a life in a good neighborhood, offer you a life in a good school.

Americans are very dependent on their circumstancesthe opposite of being a self-made woman or man.

In my youth, [I] read a lot of American literature and admired American women as these feminist leaders. And I still think that certainly exists in America. But I was surprised to realize that in America, the gender roles are actually more traditional than in Nordic countries. This was partly because of the way society supports or doesnt support families. American women, [and] sometimes men, become much more dependent on their partners once they have children because [of] parental leave, day care.

What I concluded was that our notions [of the U.S. as a land of freedom] are trailing behind [reality]. Over the past 30 years, the United States has changed, Nordic countries have changed. The choices Nordic countries have made in arranging society have ended up bringing people a lot more freedom, a lot more equality of opportunity, than what people used to have. Now many of these polities [provide] support for women and men to work and take care of their families, and for children to be able to rise above their parents educational levels or income levels, which is traditionally what the American Dream [has been] about.

Friedman: Why do you think the Nordic approach is not just a better way to structure society than the U.S. approach, but a more modern way?

Partanen: Were all struggling with, in all countries, globalization and its effect on peoples lives. Theres this trend toward less stable relationships with employers; more people either want to become entrepreneurs or have to become entrepreneurs. They work for Uber, or they start their own company, or they are forced into short-term contracts. For this kind of world, old structures that rely on family support and employer support, such as health insurance in America, [dont] really work anymore.

In todays world, I think it makes a lot more sense, for example, [for] health insurance to be provided regardless of a specific employer. It supports this more mobile work environment and career path.

[What] young people in America today expect, when theyre in college, is that both partnerswhether theyre men and women or two women or two menwill take care of children. And then when these kids come out of college, they go to start their family, and all of a sudden it doesnt work that way. Women still are taking care of the family more, and the other partner ends up working more.

Friedman: What is parental leave and child care like in Finland, for example, and why do you feel, compared with America, that that approach provides more independence, opportunity, and freedom for people?

Partanen: In all Nordic countries, the minimum amount of paid parental leave that everybody gets is about nine months. You can share [that leave] between parents, and some of it is also earmarked for fathers, in order to encourage them to take more leave.

Companies are supposed to make money, not provide social services. Thats the governments job.

What does this do? Well, first of all, it allows families to have children and take care of their children and still have a job to go back to. But it also allows for men and women to share the work and share the home more equally. From an employers perspective, I think it also makes sense because when these [policies] are enshrined in a national law and every employer has to offer these benefits, then it levels the playing field for all employers.

In Nordic countries, you [also] have subsidized child care, which is regulated, often operated, by the public sector, sometimes with private providers. Its paid for generally on a sliding scale according to income. If you dont have any money, you get it for free; if you make more money, then you pay more. Again, this makes family life saner, it helps parents to work, it gives all children access to early-childhood education.

Friedman: How does health care work in Nordic countries?

Partanen: Health care is a taxpayer-funded service, [in the same way that the] police, fire department, or public schools are [in America]. Generally, the government runs hospitalsdoctors, nurses, they get paid [as] government employees. Americans often worry about not having any choice [in medical care]. Theres certainly private doctors as well that you can choose, theres private health insurance you can buy if you want to have it in addition to the public coverage. Many employers do offer some sort of primary-care-physician access as a benefit, but things like that are usually [provided through the] public sector.

When I moved [to the United States], I was shocked [by the health-care system]. Companies and businesses are supposed to make money, not provide social services. Thats the job of the government. From the employees [and] the familys perspective, it also seems really imprisoning, because the whole family, often, is included in one persons insurance. So it means that the person who is employed and who has the health insurance certainly has to think twice about whether they want to change jobs, whether they want to become an entrepreneur. When it comes to family, I think its also problematic that such a fundamental, basic social service that everybody needs [can require] you to be dependent on one person: your spouse. Even grown children are [often dependent] on their parents health insurance.

Friedman: One criticism people will have is that the histories of Nordic countries are so different than Americas, the populations are so vastly different, the demographic makeups of these countries are really different. But my sense of what youre arguing is less, Let's import X policy, and more that we should rethink how we define the terms independence, opportunity, and freedom. If Barack Obama is looking for beach reading this summer and he picks up your book, what would you want him to take away in terms of the way the U.S. government thinks about cultivating the American Dream?

Partanen: What I wanted to do with the book was discuss the philosophy, the ideas, behind these policies and how we can understand independence and equality of opportunitywhat it means today, what kinds of solutions can support that, and what the purpose of government [is].

Part of Americas problem is that government is unwieldy, but then it fails to offer basic services.

I think giving handouts here, handouts there, and one benefit here, [as in the United States], thats complicated. Thats inefficient. And thats actually problematic when you look at, for example, [Britains recent vote to leave the European Union]. Why do so many people who benefit from government policies vote against their own interest? In a lot of countries in Europe, for example, farmers who get a lot of subsidies from the EU are very opposed to the EU. The question is: Why? And I think partly it is that, of course, nobody likes handouts. Nobody likes charity. Even if it helps you, youre going to resent it. Thats logical, thats normal, and thats the idea that America has been built on toothat you want to [find] your own way.

I think the Nordic approach of basic universal social policiesthat allow everyone to fulfill their potential, allow everyone to work, allow true equality of opportunitythat makes sense, and people can accept that without feeling, Oh, this is something that is being given to me in particular and I have to be ashamed of it. And then after you give those basic services that help people to make their own way, you could step back and let commerce take over and businesses do business and people work.

Part of Americas problem now [is that] government is unwieldy and its everywhere and its complicated, but then it fails to offer these basic services that are really important and would make everyones life better.

Friedman: You talk about how the Nordic model seems particularly geared to the modern era. Now that youve lived in the United States for awhile, what era do you feel the American model was suited for?

Partanen: I think the American model still relies on family support. I love family. Everybody loves family. Im not saying at all that family is a bad thing. But I think it was better-suited for a time when people lived close together, [when] people didnt move around so much. The American system now has this very globalized economy [thats] very different from what it used to be. But it still relies on family to help people through problems. When it comes to family, I really think that the Nordic theory of love

Friedman: Can you define that?

Partanen: The idea that true love is really only possible if individuals are independent and equal. It means that they can love each other and be more authentic. Theres less resentment, theres less need to hide your true feelings because youre not dependent on the other person.

Friedman: Do you see that approach to love in the United States, or do you think theres an American theory of love thats starkly different?

Partanen: I think America has had more of this idea of a family unit where people have different tasks and then they work for the good of the whole. That sounds wonderful, and thats how it works in many Nordic countries still today. But I do see change as well in the younger generation: People get married less, people have children later, women and men both want to have careers, they both want to take care of children. The idea of how power in a family unit should work, and how love and relationships should work, has changed in the United States too. [That] requires society as a whole to adapt because peoples idea of what they want has changed, [but] the logistics do not help them do that or make it impossible to do that. No wonder marriage [rates are] declining.

There was a really interesting study that The New York Times just had an article aboutabout the happiness gap in families. These researchers have been studying the gap between people who dont have children and who have children, and how happy they are in different countries. In America, people who dont have children tend to be happier than people who do. There are other countries, like Nordic countries, where people who have children are happier than people who dont have children. The question becomes: Why is this? The researchers looked into it, and what they boiled it down to was affordable day care, paid sick days, and paid vacation days. These are the reasons that explain why American parents are unhappier than people without children.

I know [you might say], Relationships are so much bigger and happiness is bigger than access to day care, but these are the logistics that define our relationships and our everyday existence, and they should not be ignored. I think it really makes sense to at least provide for the basics and then after that, if people arent happier, they have to look inwards and try to figure it out.

Friedman: What do you think is the most misunderstood part of the Nordic model among Americans?

Partanen: As much as I think that [the policies] Bernie Sanders [is] advocating are the right ideas, Im not a big fan of him using the word socialist. Nordic countries are very much capitalist, free-market societies, and theres this very strong strain of individualism in them. The idea that these Nordic countries are these socialist collectivist countries where everybody thinks of the good of one anotherthats just not true at all.

Americans have huge faith in everyones ability. But they lose that faith when discussing something like affordable day care.

Friedman: How do you think about your own decision to move to the United States? I noticed in your explanation of why you decided to move to the U.S. in 2008, that part of it was you spoke English, and you thought thered be more opportunities for you as a freelance journalist in America than there would be for your American husband in Finland. Youre living now in the United States despite all these amazing things about Finland. Defined in one way, you personally felt there was more opportunity in the United States than there was for your husband in Finland. How do you make sense of that?

Partanen: There are so many things going for the United States. When people are pessimistic about the U.S. and its futurethat to me is just ridiculous. The United States is big, for one thing, [and] the English language is a language spoken all over the world. Thats a gigantic benefit that [you dont have] if you come from a small country with a strange language. If you start something in the U.S., and you do it in the English language and the whole world is interested in the United States, that alone gives you opportunity.

The diversity of the United States is phenomenal. Nordic countries have become much more diverse than they used to beSweden is one of the most diverse countries now in Europeand they have taken in huge numbers of asylum-seekers and refugees and immigrants over the years. But still, in the United States, the whole world is there and all these ideas are there, all these experiences are there.

One of the wonderful things about Americans is [they] have this huge faith in everyones ability. Its like, Lets go to the moon! The curious thing is Americans lose that faith immediately when they discuss something like affordable day care. Its like, Oh, no, if we give this to people they will never work again.

Friedman: What are the biggest drawbacks of the Nordic approach?

Partanen: One is [the failure of women to rise in large numbers] to management-level positions in private industries. Finns have this system where one person can stay home for three years [of parental leave] without losing their job. They dont get paid the whole time. The thinking has taken over [in] Finland that [children] should not go to day care until theyre at least two years old because they need to be able to talk and walk before they can comfortably be in a day-care center. In other Nordic countries, parents tend to go to work much quicker, after one year. I think this is a drawback for womens careers in Finland because even though men take parental leave, women do it more. Thats a problem, and you have to design [these policies] in a way that really encourages people to work.

In terms of immigration, if you have a situation like you have now in Europehuge numbers of immigrants coming in all of a suddenthats a very difficult situation for any country. But if a lot of these immigrants also [have] education levels [that] do not help them in this society to find work, then this puts strain on the system. The system is built on the idea that everybody works, everybody pays taxes, and then they get these things in return. Whereas in the United States you dont really have any [government-provided] benefits. Thats not so much of a problem in terms of immigration.

In higher education, the Nordic approach of offering everyone free tuition is a really good system for educating the whole population well. On the other hand, the U.S. has fantastic research institutes, leading Ivy League universities [that] are amazing, [and] their resources are very different from the resources that Nordic [universities] have.

Friedman: Many Americans might say, This all sounds great, but you guys are paying sky-high taxes. We dont want anything to do with that. How would you respond?

Partanen: First of all, the taxes are not necessarily as high as many Americans think. One of the myths I encounter often is that Americans are like, You pay 70 percent of your income in taxes. No, we do not. For someone who lives in a city like San Francisco or New York Citywhere you have federal taxes, state taxes, city taxes, property taxesthe tax burden is not very different [than the tax burden in Finland]. I discuss my own taxes in the book and I discovered this to be true: that I did pay about the same or even more in New York than I would have paid on my income in Finland. Ive talked to many Nordics in the U.S. who say the same thing.

The second thing is that theres no point in discussing the levels of taxes in different countries unless you discuss what you get for your taxes. Americans in many states, certainly, or citiesthey might pay less taxes [on] their income or [on] property than Nordics do. But then, on top of that, they pay for their day care, they pay for their health insurance, they pay for college tuitionall these things that Nordics get for their taxes.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Angourie Rice, who recently had a breakout performance in buddy cop movie The Nice Guys opposite Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, has been cast in Marvel and Sony's Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The Australian actress joins Tom Holland, who is starring as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a story that takes the character back to his high school roots. (Holland made his first big-screen appearance as the web-slinger in Marvel's Captain America: Civil War.)

Jon Watts is directing the film, which has put together a strong cast that includes Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Robert Downey Jr., Donald Glover, Logan Marshall-Green and Tony Revolori.

Character details for Rice are being kept under wraps, as has been the case with many of the roles in the film, which is currently shooting in Atlanta. Marvel and Sony had no comment on Rice's casting.

Amy Pascal and Marvel's Kevin Feige are producing the reboot, which is slated to hit theaters July 7, 2017.

Rice attended the Cannes Film Festival in May with Shane Black's The Nice Guys, where the film had its world premiere. She played the daughter of Gosling's character, who tags along as they try to find a missing woman. The actress also wrapped work on indie Jasper Jones with stars Hugo Weaving and Toni Collette.

Rice is repped by WME and Catherine Poulton Management in Australia.

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Angourie Rice attends London premiere of The Nice Guys on May 19, 2016 (Photo: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)



By Rebecca Ford, The Hollywood Reporter

Angourie Rice, who recently had a breakout performance in buddy cop movie The Nice Guys opposite Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, has been cast in Marvel and Sonys Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Related: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming Finds Another Villain With 'Fargo Actor

The Australian actress joins Tom Holland, who is starring as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a story that takes the character back to his high school roots. (Holland made his first big-screen appearance as the web-slinger in Marvels Captain America: Civil War.)

Jon Watts is directing the film, which has put together a strong cast that includes Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Robert Downey Jr., Donald Glover, Logan Marshall-Green, and Tony Revolori.

Related: Hannibal Buress Joins Spider-Man: Homecoming

Character details for Rice are being kept under wraps, as has been the case with many of the roles in the film, which is currently shooting in Atlanta. Marvel and Sony had no comment on Rices casting.

Amy Pascal and Marvels Kevin Feige are producing the reboot, which is slated to hit theaters July 7, 2017.

Related: Spider-Man: Homecoming Adds Trio of Newcomers

Rice attended the Cannes Film Festival in May with Shane Blacks The Nice Guys, where the film had its world premiere. She played the daughter of Goslings character, who tags along as they try to find a missing woman. The actress also wrapped work on indie Jasper Jones with stars Hugo Weaving and Toni Collette.

Rice is repped by WME and Catherine Poulton Management in Australia.

Watch Angourie Rice describe meeting Ryan Gosling for the first time for The Nice Guys:
james comey

FBI Director James Comey told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Thursday, on the subject of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information, that he was "a big fan of transparency."

When he was an executive at Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, from 2010 to 2013, he was enmeshed in a culture of "radical transparency" unlike that of any organization of its size.

In a new Politico article by Garrett M. Graff, Comey offers insight into his time at Ray Dalio's hedge fund, including a strange scenario where a 25-year-old employee confronted him after a meeting. Graff writes:

"It was just weeks after he joined Bridgewater  whose corporate culture of high-achieving intellectuals resembles a moneyed management cult that shares more in common with the 1970s personal-improvement fad est than it does with a typical Wall Street firm  that Comey was cornered by a similarly new 25-year-old employee. The junior associate interrogated the former Justice Department official on a seemingly illogical stance that Comey had taken in an earlier meeting. 'My initial reaction was "What? You, kid, are asking me that question?" ... I was deputy attorney general of the United States; I was general counsel of a huge, huge company. No 25-year-old is going to ask me about my logic,' he recalled. 'Then I realized "I'm at Bridgewater."'"

Dalio founded Bridgewater from his apartment in 1975 but didn't begin developing his intense management culture until the mid-1990s, he told Business Insider in March. He found that codifying his investment principles brought him success, and so he should do the same with the way he wanted his company run. It resulted in "Principles," a manual of 210 lessons that all Bridgewater employees must learn.

Here's a primer on what it's like to work at the hedge fund:

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bi graphics ray dalio principles final

Comey said it took him three months to adjust to Bridgewater, at which point he appreciated the hardline culture. In a video testimonial on Bridgewater's website, Comey said, "You combine that intelligence, the depth and the almost 360 [degree] vector of the questioning, there is no more demanding, probing, questioning environment in the world than Bridgewater."

NOW WATCH: Navy SEALs explain how your ego can destroy everything





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STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Officials from the cities of Strasbourg and Lyon are pressing France to wrest the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London following Britain's vote to leave the European Union. The EMA approves medicines for all EU countries and employs 890 people including temporary staff. The regulator says it is awaiting guidance from Brussels on its future, but many pharmaceutical executives believe it will have to move once Britain triggers exit negotiations. Philippe Richert, president of Grand Est regional council in eastern France, urged President Francois Hollande in a July 1 letter to call for the EMA to be headquartered in Strasbourg. Meanwhile, European Parliament lawmaker Francoise Grossetete made a pitch for Lyon, citing the presence there of several pharmaceutical laboratories and companies such as Sanofi. Their bids come hot on the heels of Milan, whose Mayor Giuseppe Sala travelled to London this week to persuade the EMA and the European Banking Authority (EBA) to relocate to the capital of the Lombardy region. Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw or Vienna are also in the race to grab one or other organisation in the knowledge that banks and drugmakers will want to maintain close ties with key regulators. Strasbourg is the official seat of the European Parliament but also homes the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare (EDQM) which is administered by the Council of Europe. (Reporting by Gilbert Reilhac; Writing by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Richard Lough)
It starts with the excitement of being accepted to college, and then the admissions packet arrives with the cost of attendance -- which can be a hefty amount if the family doesn't qualify for financial aid.

"Our daughter got into Boston College at $68,000 a year," says Kathleen Thometz, of Western Springs, Illinois, about the total cost of attending without any need-based aid and paying in cash. "She chose UConn's honors program because they gave her a nice $15,000 a year scholarship. So we are paying $30,000 a year."

The University of Connecticut charged out-of-state students $34,908 in tuition and fees along with $12,174 for room and board for the 2015-2016 school year -- which is much lower compared with Boston College, which billed students $49,324 for tuition and fees and $13,496 for room and board for that same year, according to U.S. News data.

Households similar to the Thometz family from suburban Chicago are turning to honors programs and schools that hand out non-need-based aid for value for money -- especially if they're "too rich for financial aid."

"I see this situation often, particularly in the D.C. area where salaries tend to be higher than the rest of the country, but the cost of living is much higher," says Melissa Sotudeh, a wealth advisor at Halpern Financial Inc. in Rockville, Maryland. "You're treated the same on the calculation, and there is no cost of living adjustment where you live."

[Read three conversation starters to kick off the financial safety school talk. ]

For a family of four in the District of Columbia, it costs $106,493 a year to maintain a "decent yet modest standard of living" for expenses such as food, child care and housing, according to the Economic Policy Institute's family budget calculator, released in August 2015.

Wealth advisors say qualifying for financial aid generally becomes more difficult when a family earns more than $150,000 a year or has lot of financial assets such as a high balance in a tax-advantaged college savings plan or lots of stocks and bonds.

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"For our folks, it's for those with income $150,000 or higher or $200,000 plus," says Houston wealth advisor Jim Waters from PartnersInWealth. "And it also depends on how many kids you have and other factors."

Many parents realize there's a shortfall in funds available as the cost of college continues to climb, college planning experts say.

[Discover the 10 colleges where merit aid is most common.]

"Thirty years ago, putting your kid through school was like buying a car. Now it's like buying a house," Sotudeh says.

Here are some strategies in choosing schools that may reduce the burden of paying for college.

-- Look at schools that grant merit awards: While financial aid is determined by income and assets, merit aid isn't.

Colleges use non-need-based aid -- institutional grants or scholarships that are not based on financial need -- to attract exemplary students to enroll at their school.

"This means looking at private universities," says Joseph Orsoloni, president of College Aid Planners Inc. in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. "Many families get scared off by the sticker price of private schools, yet these are the schools with the endowments to fund merit aid.

College planning experts say students and their families can look at websites that list schools where most students receive merit aid.

"Ideally you want your student to be in the top 25 percent of a school's student population," Orsoloni says. "Those are the kids that get the money."

-- Apply to schools that offer deep tuition discounts: The sticker price at schools can look staggering -- sometimes costing more than $50,000 in tuition and fees for one year.

But the average discounting of tuition and fees at colleges for grant-based aid was 48.6 percent for the 2015-2016 academic year -- so almost half the stated price, according to a recent National Association of College and University Business Officers study.



[Consider these 11 tuition-free colleges.]

"A 3.7 GPA might not stand out at Harvard, but could be eye-popping at other schools," says Brett Tushingham, a college financial planner at Tushingham Wealth Strategies in Wilmington, North Carolina.

College planning experts recommend applying to multiple schools for this reason.

"We've discovered that if your kids choose a school in one tier lower than they are capable, they often get offered more money," Thometz, the Illinois mother of four, says.

-- Consider an honors program at a National University: Many National Universities, institutions that offer a full range of undergraduate majors as well as master's and doctoral programs, offer these types of programs along with merit aid to attract high-achieving students to their campuses, college experts say.

Jim Waters from PartnersInWealth says his clients are turning down top-tier schools such as Rice University and Southern Methodist University for in-state honors programs at the University of Texas--Austin or Texas A&M University--College Station because it's better value for money.

"It's a better deal," Thometz says about her daughter Mary Jo, who chose to go to UConn for its honors program. "People are making their own way in the world, and I don't think you need to spend $70,000 a year on college to get ahead."

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.



Farran Powell is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at fpowell@usnews.com.
Berlin (AFP) - Berlin, the cash-strapped capital of Europe's top economy, has long tried to turn alternative culture into gold, but ambitious new bids to present underground art in museum settings could break new ground.

Street art and techno music took root across the city in the hothouse environment of post-Wall Berlin, drawing young creative types from around the world with cheap rents and disused industrial spaces ripe for the taking.

But as the city's trademark brand of gritty coolness became globally renowned and then gradually more mainstream, Berlin has tried to capture lightning in a bottle: capitalising on the best of its art and nightlife scene without losing the spark that made it so unique in the first place.

A prime example of that high-wire act is the legendary nightclub Tresor.

A former underground safe room for a pre-war department store that later languished in the Wall's no-man's land, Tresor in 1991 quickly became the top dance club in Berlin's budding techno scene.

Now celebrating its 25th birthday, it still attracts an international crowd of electronic music fans but has long since been supplanted by younger rivals such as Berghain, a hedonist temple frequently named the world's best club.

However Tresor's founder Dmitri Hegemann, 60, is ready to take his project to the next level with a museum dedicated to techno housed in the disused power station where the club moved in 2007.

He says such spontaneity and knack for reinvention have served Berlin well.

"None of the plans laid for the future of the city after the fall of the Wall worked out," Hegemann said.

"An 'economy of niches' ended up in its place: open a club or a gallery, a restaurant, a bar, etc. That economy of niches dictated what to do next, and it's what has made Berlin so attractive."

- 'Techno was the impetus' -

Hegemann noted that there were 30 million overnight stays in Berlin last year and he estimates that "50 to 60 percent" of the visitors were attracted by subculture.

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"Today 80 percent of our clientele doesn't speak German. But what all these people have in common is that they have been marked by this 'culture of renewal' that took shape here, which became a movement and has transformed Berlin up until today."

Hegemann, for his part, says "techno was the impetus" for all that upheaval and ferment.

Meanwhile Berlin's prolific street artists have long gone from being spray-can wielding outlaws to an accepted and even treasured part of the Berlin cityscape.

Perhaps the ultimate example is the Wall itself, which for those on the free, western side became a giant canvas for graffiti, angry political slogans and yes, museum-quality art.

The longest remaining stretch, the East Side Gallery, attracts smartphone-wielding crowds with its murals which were painted in 1990 and recently restored.

Abandoned lots, often the remains of residential buildings bombed out during World War II, also provide walls for artist murals although rapid gentrification is quickly eating up such spaces.

Enter the Urban Nation foundation run by former gallery owner Yasha Young, who at the end of May launched work on a museum devoted to "contemporary urban art" set to open next year.

Young, like Hegemann, is aware that showcasing alternative culture in a museum runs the risk of sapping some of its vitality but says it is one worth taking.

"I'm not trying to press the planet 'street art' through a keyhole into a house -- that would be defying the purpose," she said.

"It's named a museum because it will also do what a museum does: collect, research, archive and support (artists)."

- 'Delirious and mad' -

The project will include an interactive library and vast exhibition spaces along the Buelowstrasse, a traffic-clogged avenue running through an unfashionable stretch of western Berlin.

The complex also plans to have a cafe, artist residences and studio space.

"We hope that this will be an art mile and it will become a truly living hub," she said, adding that she plans to make the museum free to the public.

The city government, which provided the property, is enthusiastic about Young's vision.

"The project is delirious and mad at the same time which is why it's perfect for Berlin," the city's top culture official, Tim Renner, said.

Hegemann is also a bit ambivalent about calling his techno treasure trove a museum, which he says conjures images of "something that belongs to the past". He prefers the term "Living Archives of Techno".

So what will it look like? Hegemann said he of course wants to tell visitors about what techno is, how its influence spread, but also to "convey the feeling" to those who missed out on those heady days in dank Berlin cellars throbbing with bodies and music.

"I think of a place where visitors will come inside: suddenly, it gets dark, the fog machine gets going, a DJ appears in the distance, a bar rises up from the ground, the bass resonates and then the party's started. A museum of the senses for those who don't go to the club."
Hun Sen is only 63, but Cambodias Prime Minister is already one of the worlds longest-serving leaders. Since 1985, this former Khmer Rouge soldier  who defected and joined a Vietnamese-backed liberation force in the late 1970s  has clung to the top of his countrys politics, by hook or by crook. He technically lost the countrys U.N.-backed elections in 1993, but managed to engineer a situation in which the country had two Prime Ministers for a time. Hun Sen soon left his co-Prime Minister in his wake, and went on to lead the Cambodian Peoples Party to four subsequent elections. The victories were not without allegations of vote rigging and intimidation, but Hun Sen has also relied on a system of patronage, blood ties and marital connections that align the countrys business elites, media, police force and the military behind him.

That system is the subject of unique piece of research published on Thursday by Global Witness, the London-based watchdog that calls out grand corruption, environmental abuses and state crimes around the world. In Hostile Takeover: The Corporate Empire of Cambodias Ruling Family, the group dives into government data on businesses registered in Cambodia, and unearths a huge network of secret deal-making, corruption, and cronyism which is helping to secure the prime ministers political fortress. Altogether, the group claims, Hun Sens family have interests in at least 114 local companies with a combined share capital over $200 million (adding that the sum is likely a vast understatement of the familys true wealth).

Global Witness alleges that Cambodians who help to prop up his rule are more likely to be granted government contracts, and receive impunity from prosecution  for either the infractions of their companies or their criminality as individuals. In addition to the Hun family having complete control of the political apparatus of Cambodia, which theyve had for a long time, they are exploiting [that control] to gain almost total economic control of Cambodia, Global Witness co-founder Patrick Alley tells TIME.

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The reports real bite is in the details. Three of Hun Sens children jointly own a power company that sells electricity to the national grid. Two of the countrys biggest gas station chains are run by companies owned in whole or in part by members of the extended Hun family. Three popular TV stations, a radio station and one of the most-read Khmer-language newspapers are all run by Hun Sens eldest daughter, Hun Mana, who also has shares in the largest mobile phone network and owns a leading bottled-water firm.

A number of international brands have links to the Huns, according to Global Witness. The local distributors of Apples iPhone, Nokia products, Canon cameras and LG Electronics are all part of the family. Hun Sens niece operates the Australian franchise chain Gloria Jeans Coffees and the Hard Rock Cafe in Cambodia. The Prime Ministers younger sister, meanwhile, holds major stakes in the companies that import Johnnie Walker whisky, Hennessy cognac, Durex condoms and Nescafe. These foreign companies are not accused of breaking any laws, but are asked to consider whether it is wise to have dealings with the family of a ruler who is dogged by allegations of human-rights abuses.

Seen together, it becomes clear that the reach of the familys business mean that most Cambodians are buying from them, or using their services in some way, on a daily basis. Amongst the cruelest ironies of the Hun Sen model of dictatorship is that many Cambodians (particularly the countrys growing middle class) will struggle to avoid lining their oppressors pockets multiple times a day, the report says. This all goes some way to explain why Hun Sen, whose official salary is reportedly less than $14,000 a year, owns multiple palatial residences, and takes credit for making large personal donations to domestic causes.

Out of 27 Hun family members contacted by Global Witness, only one gave a substantial response. Sok Puthyvuth  a son-in-law of the Prime Minister who is also the son of Sok An, one of Hun Sens deputies and a major power broker  wrote to the groups investigators that, rather than abusing his connections to build his business, I take seriously the challenge of building a responsible and respected private sector group. He adds: I understand that I live in the shadows of my family.

The allegation that Cambodia is a kleptocracy is not new. Sustained economic growth and impressive figures for poverty relief have given Hun Sens rule a sheen of respectability on the world stage, however. He recently got his first official invite to the U.S., and shook hands with President Obama during a summit for Southeast Asian leaders in Sunnylands, Calif., in February. Last month, Hun Sen struck a statesman-like pose at a World Economic Forum event in Malaysia, where, in a fine tailored suit, the Prime Minister expounded on regional economic integration.

I would hope our report reminds people what were actually talking about here, says Alley. The fact is, Cambodia is a de facto dictatorship and its likely to be a dynastic one, he adds. Hun Sens eldest son, Hun Manet  already a lieutenant general in Cambodias army  is rumored to be set to succeed Hun Sen, although the elder has pledged to stay in power until hes at least 74.

Global Witness is calling for the Hun family to declare all its assets, and for Hun Sen to step aside from his controlling roles in Cambodias regulatory and investment bodies and its anticorruption unit  all of which means Hun Sen has the countrys economy sewn up, says Alley.

Despite the appearance of total control, however, Hun Sens grip has appeared to slip of late. The opposition, which formed a united front in 2013 to make big gains in national elections that year, is able to sidestep the ruling-party-dominated traditional media using Facebook. In response, more than 20 government critics, including opposition lawmakers, have been jailed in the past year, but Hun Sens winning streak could be coming to an end.

Interestingly, young Cambodians have increasingly discussed and vocally criticized the unfair and unjust practices in the society such as prevailing corruption, nepotism and power abuses since the last national election 2013, Ou Ritthy, a political blogger based in Phnom Penh, tells TIME. The young become the hopeful agents of political change in Cambodia and the ruling party is likely to lose the upcoming national elections 2018 if the electoral management is free, fair and genuine.

After the reports publication Thursday, Hun Mana responded on Facebook, accusing Global Witness of try[ing] to tarnish my Father reputation [sic] ahead of the elections. Anyhow, we thank you for your destructive efforts, which as a consequence will help my father in the coming election as they are all lies and deceitful to confuse the public about what my Father has accomplished, she wrote, warning that local media organizations could be liable for publishing the reports allegations.
NYC Mayor de Blasio Names 57th & 5th "Bill Cunningham Corner" for Late Photog [Twitter]

Last week, a Change.org petition urging New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to name a street corner for the late New York Times street style photographer Bill Cunningham gathered more than 6,100 signatures. On Wednesday, de Blasio honored that request, officially naming 57th Street and 5th Avenue - a favorite hangout of the on-street photog - as "Bill Cunningham Corner."

Kylie Cosmetics' "F" Rating From Better Business Bureau Changed to "No Rating" [WWD]

The Better Business Bureau has rescinded its "F" rating for Kylie Jenner's Kylie Cosmetics brand after fans "spoke out" about the unfair grade. Instead, the bureau gave the company "No Rating," despite a report of more than 134 complaints about the brand. Kylie Cosmetics' official Instagram account posted a statement from Jenner, in which she commends the bureau for changing the rating after they "looked at the facts." "I've sold millions of lip kits and any complaint we've received has been addressed in a timely manner," she writes. "I'm sick and tired of people coming for my business."

A photo posted by Kylie Cosmetics (@kyliecosmetics) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:22am PDT

Jaden Smith Covers Nylon [Nylon]

Jaden Smith landed the August cover of Nylon Magazine's annual denim issue. The eldest Smith offspring wore a woman's Isabel Marant top (the 17-year-old is no stranger to wearing women's clothes in magazines) and an embellished Gucci denim jacket (which already has the Beyonce and Rihanna stamp of approval) and was photographed by Jesse John Jenkins in Los Angeles. In the accompanying cover interview, Smith reveals his favorite emoji. (Spoiler: It's a square.)

A photo posted by Nylon Magazine (@nylonmag) on Jul 6, 2016 at 7:32am PDT
Shashank Koirala starts breathing without assistance

Doctors have turned off the ventilator of Nepali Congress General Secretary Shashanka Koirala after he began breathing on his own, Dr Harish Joshi, the Medical Director of Om Hospital said.
By Chris Prentice

NEW YORK (Reuters) - After a four-year bear market, sugar has found its sweet spot.

Its steepest bull run in years has seen prices of U.S. raw sugar, the global price benchmark, more than double in less than a year, making one of the smallest commodity markets one of the best performing so far this year, outpacing two of the biggest, gold and oil.

Investors who have ridden the market to 2012 highs, betting on expectations of dwindling supplies from key growers like India and Thailand, are now wondering how much higher prices can go, still awaiting a long-anticipated deficit.

"It's uncertain how much further the run-up can go ... The upside may be limited to another 10 to 15 percent," said David Martin, founder and managing member of Martin Fund Management LLC in New York which has $82 million of assets under management.

He placed bullish options bets when sugar, currently over 20 cents a lb, broke through 17 cents in May, reversing a longstanding bearish position. He said he is now positioned neither bullish or bearish.

World demand is expected to exceed supply for the first time in six years this year as drought in India, the world's second-largest grower, and unfavorable weather elsewhere in Asia threatens output.

But there is little sign yet of extreme nearby tightness to justify lofty prices above 20 cents, some say.

On Friday, data showing a drop in speculators' net long position offered the first sign appetite may be waning. The meager 270-lot decline marked the first time hedge funds have scaled back the record bullish bet they have held since May, worth some $6 billion.

"I imagine (a correction) could be quite violent," said Doug King, chief investment officer of Merchant Commodity Fund in London. "There is no reason to believe the market could go to 25 cents. We don't have a shortage of sugar now."

Still, some commodity trading advisors (CTAs) that typically rely on technical indicators see little in the charts to call an end to sugar's sizzling run just yet.

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Sameer Ahuja, founder and chief investment officer of Dera Capital Management in Harrison, New York, said he is watching for October futures to break a resistance at 21.25 cents, and then 24 cents, which would mark the highest since July 2012.

"We could be heading for levels seen in 2011," he said.

DRAMATIC TURNAROUND

For the CTAs that caught the run-up early, sugar's turnaround from seven-year lows around 10 cents per lb seen in August 2015 has been sweet.

Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge Ltd, an Iowa-based firm that tracks CTA performances, said Martin's was the best performer of the 51 agricultural funds he tracked through the end of May.

Martin attributes that to exposure to sugar and coffee markets. The fund was up 17.5 percent in the first five months of 2016, according to its website.

By any measure, June saw a spectacular rally as cash continued to pile into the market. Turnover for the month hit 3.74 million lots, worth 190 million tonnes of sugar, the third highest, according to records going back almost four decades, as prices hit their highest in almost four years.

Much now depends on top grower Brazil, where the harvest runs through December.

Martin said he is watching the premium of nearby futures over prices further out, an indication of supply concern. The premium of the second-month March contract over the third-month May spiked to a near five-year high this week.

"You could still put another three or four cents on this," said Jobe Moss, a broker with MCM Inc in Lubbock, Texas, whose interest in sugar has been renewed amid this year's rally. "(But) I'm not going to chase the market up right now."

(Additional reporting by David Brough and Maiya Keidan in London; editing by Josephine Mason and Marguerita Choy)
By Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Support for Ireland's main opposition party has surged since its decision to let Prime Minister Enda Kenny's minority government survive by offering qualified assistance in parliament, raising pressure on Kenny to announce when he intends to step aside. Kenny returned to office in May as head of a government that is due to run until the end of 2018. But he has said he will not lead his Fine Gael party into the next election - though without committing to when he will stand down. Lawmakers from the center-right party said planning for Kenny's departure was brought up for the first time at an internal Fine Gael meeting on Wednesday, a day before a poll showed it trailing rival Fianna Fail by nine percentage points. "There will be a time in the not too distant future, I expect, when leadership is going to have to be discussed in Fine Gael," Simon Coveney, Ireland's minister for housing and one of two clear bookmakers' favorites to take over, told reporters. One Fine Gael backbencher said he would like Kenny to give an outline of his intentions once the budget for next year is introduced in mid-October. After suffering heavy losses in February elections, Fine Gael returned to power with the backing of a group of independent lawmakers and facilitated by Fianna Fail. Fianna Fail, also center-right and a major political force which lost power over the 2008 financial crisis, agreed to help Kenny's government by abstaining on key votes while being able to hand the government embarrassing defeats in others. Backing for Fianna Fail rose to an eight-year high of 33 percent compared to the 24 percent it won at the election, the Irish Times/IPSOS MRBI poll showed. Fine Gael fell two points to 24 percent. Fianna Fail's surge came mostly at the expense of independent candidates who fell 8 points to 22 percent, which the survey's authors said may be partly due to Britain's vote to leave the European Union. "It is impossible to avoid the temptation to link the swing toward a more cohesive opposition, and away from a fragmented one, to the uncertainty created by the UK's vote to leave the EU," Ipsos MRBI's Damian Loscher said. "It would also be foolish to stop at Brexit in the search for an explanation. Independents are mavericks in opposition but can cause mayhem in government, and the precariousness of the current arrangement is not giving voters the added comfort they need in a time of uncertainty." (Editing by Richard Balmforth)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The latest UN peacekeepers accused of sexually abusing minors in the Central African Republic are from a Burundian contingent, a spokesman said Thursday.

The alleged abuse, which dates back to May and took place in the central region of Kemo, reportedly involved a 12-year-old and another minor under 18.

The United Nations announced Friday that it was opening an investigation into the matter.

"The troops-contributing country in question is Burundi," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday, refusing to rule out that the contingent would be sent home.

"We have to let the investigation go through on this particular case," he said. "All options remain on the table, including repatriation."

The UN has already withdrawn entire contingents of peacekeepers in similar cases. However, it falls to the countries of origin to investigate and punish offenders.

Some 12,000 people serve in the UN's Central Africa peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSCA.

The latest annual report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon counted 69 cases of sexual abuse by peacekeepers in 2015, half of which occurred in two missions: MINUSCA and MONUSCO in the DR Congo.
Warsaw (AFP) - Lakes, forest and villages dot the rolling hills along Poland's 65-kilometre (40-mile) stretch of border with Lithuania, but for NATO's top brass, this bucolic landscape gives cause for sleepless nights.

Sandwiched between Russia's highly militarised Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus, strategists dub the idyllic stretch of countryside the Suwalki Gap.

They warn it is the Achilles' heel of NATO's eastern flank: its capture would amputate the alliance's three Baltic members and so shatter its credibility.

Fears that Russia could attempt an attack surged after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move which sent East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.

NATO's biggest ever war games in Eastern Europe -- June's Anaconda manoeuvres in Poland -- focused partly on defending the Gap, amid what one analyst dubbed "sophisticated" and "intimidating" exercises in Kaliningrad and Belarus.

"Russia could take over the Baltic states faster than we would be able to defend them," the commander of US ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, admitted to Germany's Die Zeit weekly.

A Rand Corporation war games report issues the same stark warning: "The longest it has taken Russian forces to reach the outskirts of the Estonian and/or Latvian capitals of Tallinn and Riga, respectively, is 60 hours."

John Deni, a research professor at the US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, says the West's main concern "is that Russia would close" the Gap using a combination of ground forces from Kaliningrad and Belarus, or "air, tactical missile, or artillery assets based in Kaliningrad".

Such moves "would likely lead to a broader war between Russia and the West," he warns.

- New arms race? -

Leaders at NATO's landmark summit in Warsaw on Thursday and Friday want to prevent that.

As part of the largest alliance revamp since the Cold War, they are set to deploy four multinational battalions to the Baltic nations and Poland on a rotational basis.

Story continues

Dubbed NATO's "enhanced forward presence" and billed by the US-led alliance as part of a purely defensive "deter and dialogue" strategy, each battalion will have 600-1,000 troops.

"Polish forces are well prepared to effectively defend it (Suwalki Gap), but of course there aren't enough of them, given Russia's full mobilisation. This is why (NATO) battle groups are necessary," Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz told foreign press in Warsaw days ahead of the summit.

Macierewicz also said he was beefing up Polish forces in the area.

Unconfirmed local media reports say Britain will lead a battalion in Estonia, Canada in Latvia, and Germany in Lithuania, while the US is expected to do so in Poland.

"We have made a very clear link between the presence of the battle groups in Poland and in the Baltic states," Tomasz Szatkowski, Polish defence ministry undersecretary of state, also told foreign media in Warsaw.

"Most likely, it (battle group in Poland) will be in the proximity of the Suwalki Gap, in a location that allows them to very quickly secure it."

Separately, the Pentagon said in March it would deploy an additional armoured brigade of about 4,200 troops in eastern Europe from early 2017 on a rotational basis.

Moscow fiercely opposes Western expansion in what it sees as its Soviet-era backyard and in 1997, NATO formally agreed not to install permanent bases in former Warsaw Pact states.

The Kremlin has stepped up its presence in the Baltic Sea area and its jets frequently test the airspace of NATO allies such as Estonia.

It plans to create three new divisions in its southwest region and deploy new arms to meet what it described as a dangerous military build-up along its western borders.

- 'Cold War is history' -

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO of tearing up the military balance in Europe and triggering a new arms race, although alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg has long insisted "the Cold War is history and we want it to stay that way".

Poland's Szatkowski cast doubt on Putin's posturing, explaining that "the enhanced forward presence will not be something that by its own combat potential will be able to defend the whole theatre".

"The bottom line is that it will significantly increase our security and reduce the probability of some unwanted incidents," he added.

Minister Macierewicz also said non-members Finland and Sweden would attend the Warsaw summit to "deepen relations", something analysts note reinforces Baltic regional security.

Macierewicz also signalled a "deepening of cooperation" between NATO and the EU with the inking of a "joint declaration and mutual support especially regarding hybrid threats."

Poland plans to enrol volunteers in a 35,000-member paramilitary force intended to counter a perceived hybrid warfare threat from Russia.

Russia's tactic is based on deception rather than a formal declaration of war, NATO strategists say.

They suggest Russia used it to annex Crimea by covertly deploying unidentified troops and to engineer the pro-Moscow revolt in eastern Ukraine that followed.

Warsaw will use these new "territorial defence forces" to expand its armed forces next year to 150,000 men from the current 100,000.
STOCKHOLM, July 7 (Reuters) - Mobile payment solutions business iZettle's growth strategy is continuing apace, it said on Thursday, citing an 81 percent leap in revenue last year.

One of Europe's fastest-growing tech start-ups, iZettle is among a group of fledgling fintech businesses taking on traditional banks.

The revenue increase came at a cost, however, with its operating loss widening because of heavy spending to attract customers.

"The numbers are according to plan as we're fully focused on growth and are investing in expanding our product offering and customer acquisition," iZettle Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bendz told Reuters.

"We're growing revenue twice as fast as costs, so we're heading in the right direction."

The company reported 2015 revenue of 345 million Swedish crowns ($40 million), against 190 million crowns the previous year. The operating loss increased slightly to 258 million crowns, against 228 million crowns in 2014.

Established in 2010, iZettle offers small businesses and individuals a way to take payments using mini credit card readers that turn smartphones or tablets into cash registers. Last year it added France as a new market and launched new products such as iZettle Advance, a loan service for small businesses.

The company employs 275 people and is present in 12 markets in Europe and Latin America.

Its rival Square Inc, a U.S. mobile payments company that also offers a credit card reader and is run by Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, increased revenue by about 50 percent to $1.3 billion in 2015.

Square Inc went public last year and is trading flat to its IPO price. It reported a quarterly loss in May as costs surged.

Smaller Swedish rival iZettle has raised 140 million euros ($155 million) of funding to date from investors including Intel Capital, Northzone, American Express, Index Ventures and Banco Santander. ($1 = 8.5452 Swedish crowns) ($1 = 0.9025 euros)

(Reporting by Mia Shanley; Editing by David Goodman)
By Lisa Barrington and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces took a step toward completely encircling rebel-held parts of Aleppo on Thursday, capturing ground overlooking the only road into the opposition half of the city and effectively putting those areas under siege. The army's advance toward the Castello Road, which brought it to within its firing range, came during a 72-hour ceasefire announced by the Syrian army on Wednesday, which a monitoring group said had been a ruse. Rebels said they were fighting to retake lost positions and re-secure the road. Its capture brings the Syrian government closer to its long-standing objective of encircling rebel-held areas of the northern city. Aleppo, which was Syria's largest city before the civil war with a population of more than 2 million people, has been divided for years into rebel and government sectors. Heavy aerial and artillery bombardment had at times made the Castello Road impassable. But Thursday's advance brings government forces the closest so far to the road, making it even easier to hit and effectively cutting off the opposition-held sector of the city near the Turkish border. "Currently nobody can get in or out of Aleppo," Zakaria Malahifji of the Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim told Reuters. He said government-allied forces were being aided by Iranian fighters and that reinforcements on the government side had arrived from further south. A senior official in another Aleppo-based group, Jabha Shamiya, said the majority of the attacking forces were Lebanese and Afghan. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the advance by pro-government forces in the al-Malah Farms area had brought them to within one km (less than a mile) of the road. The army said what it described as terrorist groups had tried to attack army positions in the area, and that it thwarted this assault and had taken over the southern al-Malah farms, coming to within firing distance of the Castello Road. Pro-Damascus TV channels showed footage of tanks and troops firing and of the areas captured, which consisted of flat farmland and a number of buildings reduced to rubble. A second rebel official with fighters in the area said: "All the factions sent reinforcements and are trying to take back the positions taken by the regime, but the situation is very bad. There was heavy regime air cover in the night." A U.S. intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syrian and Russian forces appeared to be pressing their offensive to encircle some 250,000 people inside areas of rebel-held northern Aleppo despite the announced 72-hour nationwide ceasefire and an all-but collapsed cessation of hostilities declared by the United States and Russia in February. "Syrian regime forces with Russian firepower in recent weeks have intensified their efforts to isolate and encircle opposition forces in Aleppo," said the U.S. official. "The purpose of these attacks appears to be a campaign to sever opposition supply lines into the city through Castillo Road. This campaign exacerbates an already dire humanitarian situation and sets the stage for a humanitarian catastrophe." The Syrian Observatory estimates that between 250,000 and 300,000 people live in opposition-held parts of Aleppo. Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed at least 250,000 people, displaced more than 6.6 million inside the country and forced another 4.8 million to flee, many seeking refuge in Europe. CEASEFIRE U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday had welcomed the Syrian army's announcement of the truce, adding that discussions were underway to try to extend it. On Thursday, the State Department said it was deeply disturbing that Syrian forces were continuing attacks in areas such as Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs and urged Russia to exert pressure on the Syrian government to halt such attacks. France's foreign ministry said a three-day truce was not enough to start fresh peace talks, which broke down earlier this year in Geneva, and that it would judge the truce announcement by "concrete results on the ground." The Syrian Observatory said the truce was simply a way for Damascus ally Russia to show it supported a ceasefire, while the government side simultaneously took advantage of it to stage its assault near Aleppo. Aid agency Mercy Corps said the latest fighting and the almost immediate breakdown of the announced ceasefire had further constricted access to Aleppo residents, 75,000 of whom in the east of the city rely on its assistance each month. President Bashar al-Assad's military hand has been strengthened by Russian air strikes that have been underway since September. Last month, Assad's allies in the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said they would send more fighters to the Aleppo area. The group's leader said the defense of Aleppo was tantamount to the defense of Damascus. Earlier this year, pro-government forces including Shi'ite militias severed a separate important route north of Aleppo into opposition-held parts of the city. Assad's allies say they are battling the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front in Aleppo. Groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) say however that they control the rebel-held part of the city. Some of the FSA groups have received military support from Assad's foreign enemies, including Turkey and the United States. The Nusra Front has meanwhile played a significant role in fighting against pro-government forces southwest of Aleppo. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington and Tom Perry; Additional reporting by John Davison in Beirut and Jonathan Landay and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Tom Perry and Tom Brown)
noaa

Taiwan is bracing for the arrival of Super Typhoon Nepartak, which is expected to hit the island late Thursday afternoon or evening, local time.

The monster storm is expected to bring torrential rain, battering waves, and ferocious winds of 175 mph, according to Weather.com.

It poses a threat not only to Taiwan, but also to Japans southwest Ryukyu Islands and southeastern China. Southern and central China have already seen deadly flooding in the last week.

Nepartak, named after a Micronesian warrior, formed on Sunday and became stronger by Wednesday, prompting the Joint Typhoon Warning Center to upgrade it to Category 5 status.

It is the strongest tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere so far this year and the strongest typhoon since Super Typhoon Souldelor in August 2015. It may be the strongest to make landfall on Taiwan in 45 years of reliable records.

GOES-West thermal infrared animation of Hurricane Blas churning in the eastern Pacific. https://t.co/TU35w9EEZm pic.twitter.com/5wSapWxNcQ  NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 6, 2016

The eyewall of the storm will be impacting Orchid Island in the next few hours. It is also forecasted to cross Taiwans central mountainous county of Hualien. The island itself could see nearly three feet of rain from the massive typhoon, according to USA Today.

Typhoon warnings are posted for the entire island of Taiwan and "extremely torrential rain" warnings, the highest level of heavy rain alerts, have been posted for much of the mountainous central and eastern part of the island.

Potentially deadly flash flooding, mudslides, and rockslides are likely to occur due to these heavy rains in the mountainous terrain, reports Weather.com.

Taiwans military has mobilized troops in advance of the storm. Thousands of tourists have been evacuated from offshore islands, according to the BBC, including such popular tourist spots as the Green and Orchid Islands. Measures have also been taken to ensure that the Taoyuan Airport does not become flooded. Residents are also stocking up on food to get through the storm, which is impacting prices, according to the Taipei Times.

Story continues

The Himawari-8 satellite shows Super Typhoon #Nepartak churning through the Pacific Ocean. https://t.co/IXX2nuFNhM pic.twitter.com/iOBt2wfCNP  NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) July 6, 2016

Typhoons are not different than hurricanes, they are simply called typhoons when they occur west of the International Date Line. They become Super Typhoons when their sustained winds reach 150 mph (which is equivalent to a strong Category 4 hurricane.)

Storms of Nepartaks intensity are much more common in the western Pacific basin than the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific basins. Taiwan is often hit by typhoons. In 2015, Super Typhoon Dujuan killed three people and injured over 300. That same year, Typhoon Soudelor killed eight people in Taiwan and 21 in China.



NOW WATCH: The key to building strength has nothing to do with lifting heavy weights





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US provides duty-free access to travel goods

Nepal has received duty-free market access in the US for its travel goods such as luggage, backpacks, handbags and wallets under the Generalized System of Prefe-rences (GSP) programme along with various other least developed countries (L DC), the US Embassy said here on Wednesday.
LAS VEGAS  Tears rolling down his cheeks and dripping onto his dress shirt, his voice catching and at times so broken it was inaudible, Jon Jones, arguably the baddest man mixed martial arts has ever known, faced the media Thursday morning as an emotional mess.

This was hours after receiving word from the United States Anti-Doping Agency that he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. That cost him his headlining spot in Saturdays UFC 200, while potentially bringing a two-year ban from a sport and derailing a comeback story from recreational substance abuse and legal issues.

Ah, man, Jones said, before pausing for more tears.  I just want to apologize to everybody, sincerely. I really dont know what to say, Im really sorry that this is happening.

Jones maintained his innocence by denying that he knowingly took a banned substance. He argued that whatever triggered the positive test came without his knowledge. His agent, Malki Kawa, said they will fight the finding and are having the B sample tested Thursday, with results possibly coming as soon as Thursday night.

The UFC has officially pulled Jones light heavyweight title fight with Daniel Cormier off the card and even a clean B sample may not change that. Regardless, such a B sample bailout is unlikely, Kawa noted.

The chances of that happening is very slim but we are holding out hope, Kawa said.

Jones claimed he couldnt pronounce what he got popped for and would attempt to retrace his steps and see what he was taking through training camp to identify the problem. Kawa is well schooled on the details but refused to provide any, at this point sticking with a broad sweeping defense.

He didnt cheat at all, Kawa said. He didnt at least try to do anything wrong.

That distinction will do little to placate fans who already purchased Saturdays historic card expecting to see Jones and Cormier renew their rivalry. And it will do little to ease frustrations from Cormier, who lost a huge payday and opportunity, not to mention the UFC itself, which trusted Jones was clean, sober and organized enough to not blow up its high-profile, signature event.

Story continues

Jones should be afforded full due process and the appeals process of USADA, which engineers UFC drug testing. His explanation for what may have happened, however, speaks to his typically reckless behavior. He said he doesnt immediately know, and didnt record every substance or supplement he took during training camp because he didnt believe it was needed.

I never even thought I was in a gray area that I would need to write down what I was taking, Jones said.   I wouldnt cheat.

Jon Jones tears up at a NEWS conference Thursday. (AP)

Fair enough in theory, completely negligent in practice. This is big business and such a casual approach to what enters his body was foolhardy at best, self-sabotaging at worst. Jones camp said hes been tested randomly eight times this year, with the last, a June 16 test, coming up positive. He is also further tested for recreational drugs as part of his probation from a hit-and-run accident in New Mexico.

Theres a few things that have nothing to do with performance that Ive tried, Jones said.   Right now Im just going through and thinking about every single thing Ive taken before the fight.

This is an absurd position to put himself in. An athlete under that kind of microscope, with tens of millions to lose and a career, not to mention the publics trust, hanging in the balance, cant simply ignore the possible dangers of whatever he puts into his body.

Jones has the resources, both financially and professionally among his top-tier team, to guard against this. If Jones can afford a crisis management public relations professional (who apparently gets so much work she stood in front of the media and declared, I assume you all know who I am.) he can certainly have someone monitor this.

There are no excuses.

And thats if  if  this was accidental and not part of a purposeful attempt to skirt the rules. The UFC has taken a zero-tolerance stance against PEDs and for good reason. This isnt someone swimming or running faster than an opponent; this is a fight where serious injuries and even death can occur.

Jones (22-1) is as good of a mixed martial artist as the sport has ever seen, a gifted athlete who typically overwhelms opponents and energized the UFC with his performances. His one loss came all the way back in 2009 via a controversial disqualification.

He has fought just once in the past 18 months however, having continued personal troubles. Through his career there have been positive tests for a metabolite of cocaine, a car accident and later the hit-and-run that put him on probation for 18 months. The UFC stripped him of his title in 2015 and suspended him for six months. He has spent much of his career feuding with UFC management and fans.

This was supposed to be his redemption, a crowing comeback following a long-awaited return victory in April. Instead its one more knock against him, performance-enhancing drugs this time, but another pay-per-view card ruined regardless.

I want to first start by apologizing to all the fans, all the fans who came out to support me for UFC 200, Jones said through tears. Obviously the UFC [and owners Frank and Lorenzo] Fertitta  not being able to perform. I know theres been a lot to go into this event. All the staff of the UFC. Daniel Cormier  I want to apologize to him.

The fight meant a lot to him, Jones continued. The fight meant a lot to me. And the fight is not happening.

To his credit, he wanted to speak publicly as soon as possible, a hastily called Thursday morning news conference, so he could put himself out in front of fans. That took courage. It doesnt change reality.

Being labeled as someone who would ever cheat hurts me more than anything Ive ever been through in my career, Jones said.

The news conference was raw and at times uncomfortable to watch, a star laid bare. Jones, 28, had to leave the podium for a stretch and retreat to a back hallway here at MGM to collect his emotions. At other times he openly wept, wiped his face, fought through long pauses and tried to hold it together.

He promised it wouldnt derail his stated sobriety, believing he is strong enough to survive the test. He also began to face the reality that a two-year ban from the sport was a possibility.

If I do have to sit for two years, Ill definitely be back, he said.

There wasnt much more to say.

At the end of the day, Im a fighter, Jones said. Im a fighter. And even though I may seem broken up here, Im not broken. Im just really upset.

I just have to keep going, he said, wiping his eyes.

Just outside the news conference, MGM Grand workers were scrambling to pull down promotional banners featuring Jon Jones as UFC 200 main event.

They were trying to wipe away any sign he was ever here.
Sen. Ted Cruz told Donald Trump at a closed-door meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday that he would be happy to speak at this month's Republican National Convention.

We had a positive and productive meeting this morning with Donald Trump. Donald asked me to speak at the Republican convention and I told him Id be happy to do so, Cruz told reporters.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement that there was no discussion of any endorsement at the meeting.

Cruz says Trump invited him to speak at the convention and he accepted pic.twitter.com/vhbTsFjJ65  Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) July 7, 2016

Frazier added that Trump asked the Texas senator for his counsel on future judicial nominations.

Cruz responded he would continue to do everything he can to help ensure principled constitutionalists on the courts, Frazier said.

Trump defeated Cruz for the Republican nomination in a heated primary in which Trump, at times, personally attacked the senator and his family.

The Manhattan businessman repeatedly characterized Cruz as Lyin Ted on the campaign trail, posted an unflattering image of Cruz's wife on Twitter, and floated the idea that his father was somehow involved in the plot to kill John F. Kennedy.

NOW WATCH: OBAMA: 'I am worried about the Republican party'





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Forget readiness to be commander-in-chief. If beauty were the top job requirement for Vice President of the United States, Sen. Bob Corker and Eric Trump have just the candidate for Donald Trump  his daughter Ivanka.



Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker  who removed himself from the VP running on Wednesday  suggested that Trump pick his daughter Ivanka Trump as his running mate during an interview with NBC News.



"His best running mate by the way would be Ivanka," Corker advised. "I know that wouldn't pass muster probably but I don't know if I've met a more composed, brilliant, beautiful-in-every-way person."



Ivanka even has the support of her brother Eric, who told Fox & Friends on Thursday that his sister has "certainly got my vote."







"She's got the beautiful looks, she's smart, she's smart, smart, smart," he said, noting that Ivanka would make the constitutional age requirement of 35 by just a few days, as her birthday is Oct. 30. "She's amazing."





. @EricTrump: Ivanka certainly has my vote for VP, she's a machine https://t.co/q9oP4gzzWy a FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) July 7, 2016





Last year, Trump himself even joked about appointing Ivanka to the role while appearing on Live! with Kelly and Michael.



"I have to say I'm kidding because the press will then go with it: 'Trump wants to make Ivanka vice president,' " he said at the time. "They'll make a big deal ... Although she would be good, I will say."



If Trump were to tap his daughter, the move would be unprecedented. But it's not technically forbidden.



Joel Goldstein, a law professor at St. Louis University, told GQ, "The fact that they are father and daughter would not pose a constitutional prohibition to them being on the ticket together."





Related Video: Who Would Win in an Election: Frank Underwood or Donald Trump?

House of Cards' Frank Underwood or Donald Trump?" data-ad-channel="peoplenow" data-ad-subchannel="peoplepicks" data-auto-play="no">





Trump has met with several vice presidential candidates in the weeks leading up to the Republican National Convention, including Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.



Ernst has already removed herself from the running, though, explaining that she's "focused on Iowa."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is examining a crash involving Tesla Motors, Inc.s TSLA Model X that occurred on Jul 1 in Pennsylvania. The agency is keen to determine whether the vehicles Autopilot system was operational when the crash took place. This is the second time that the automaker will be facing an investigation by the NHTSA for its Autopilot function.



The Autopilot function is a semi-autonomous technology which facilitates driving in lanes. Tesla claims that when used properly, Autopilot reduces driver workload and enhances vehicle safety compared to manual driving.



The company confirmed that it had received an alert from the concerned vehicle about the airbags being deployed. However, there were no details about whether the Autopilot system was on or not. Tesla further stated that it had made many unsuccessful attempts to contact the vehicles owner.



The NHTSA has been gathering information from state police, Tesla and the driver for this investigation. The state police confirmed that the Model X hit a turnpike guard rail and then turned across several traffic lanes into the median. It finally landed on its roof in the middle of the roadway. The driver and a passenger were injured in this crash.



The previous preliminary evaluation by the NHTSA was started following a fatal crash involving a Model S. The evaluation was aimed at detecting whether the system was functioning properly at the time of the accident.



Teslas Autopilot is a new technology that is in a public-beta phase. Moreover, the Autopilot feature requires the driver to keep his hands on the wheels all the time to take over whenever required. Tesla is focusing on improving the feature as it is not perfect as yet and requires the driver to be attentive during usage.



The two recent crashes have raised questions about the safety of self-driving technology.

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Massive Tumor on Patient's tongue and jaw shrinks significantly two weeks after undergoing SonataPlus, a simple, non-surgical Tumor-Specific Immuno-Chemotherapy Protocol now available within the U.S.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 7, 2016 / Greg DiRienzo, CEO of New Life Cancer Centers (www.newlifecancercenters.com) announces that in December 2015, Dr. Larry Clapp was diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 cancer of the tongue, jaw and lymph node. The surgical procedure for this type of cancer would have been removal of his tongue and jaw after conventional chemo and radiation therapy had shown to be unsuccessful. Larry would never chew, swallow, taste or even eat again! According to his cancer center, Houston, Texas, surgery was his only option for survival.

By coincidence, Larry a prodigious businessman, and his longtime friend, Dr. Marlin Lance, had founded the Lance Institute of Personal Development some years ago. Their philosophy is dedicated to the introduction of holistic medicine and healing for the diseased state. Naturally, once diagnosed he was interested in a cancer therapy that was known to be safe and effective. A life of devastating side effects from conventional chemo and radiation was not an option. A positive attitude towards life and his unwavering faith in God would play a major role in his recovery but time was running out.

CT-scan of Larry's head showing the needle targeting the tumor on top of the tongue.

Dr. Clapp's initial approach to his diagnosis involved many holistic tactics to slow down the cancer growth. However, in June of 2016, his condition had worsened dramatically. It was at that point Larry reached out to New Life Cancer Centers in Southern California. Looking for a safe and effective cancer treatment that also avoided debilitating side-effects. His prayers had been answered, "I was instantly drawn to New Life's doctors and their like-minded thinking regarding health and healing."

International cancer researcher and clinical oncologist, Baofa Yu, MD, together with several New Life Cancer specialists, concluded that he was an ideal candidate for SonataPlus, an innovative intratumoral immuno-chemotherapy protocol. This new treatment is formulated to initially shrink then kill all three tumors within weeks, yet free of any of the side-effects generally associated with aggressive conventional cancer therapy. If SonataPlus was unsuccessful, Larry would soon be undergoing surgical removal of much of his lower face.



Story continues





Dr. Larry Clapp and Dr. Baofa Yu

SonataPlus is an FDA approved "off label" procedure that uses CT scan needle guidance to inject FDA approved medicines directly into a tumor once a week for three consecutive weeks , providing high concentrations of chemo to destroy the tumor but without causing any debilitating side-effects. Autologous tumor antigens released from destroyed tumor cells trigger an immune response, similar to a self-vaccination, tending to suppress and eradicate tumor recurrence and metastasis.

Dr. Yu and his fellow oncologists have administered SonataPlus to over 37,000 metastatic cancer patients since 1999.

Recently, Larry jubilantly learned that his cancerous tumors were in full remission and his life looked bright again.

For Further Information:

(www.newlifecancercenters.com)

NEW LIFE CANCER CENTERS

Newport Beach, CA

001.949.939.0050

info@newlifecancercenters.com

SOURCE: New Life Cancer Centers
(AUSTIN, Texas)  Texas intends to require aborted fetuses to be buried or cremated come September, adding new abortion regulations after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the states restrictive clinic laws.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state health officials to propose the changes, his office said Thursday, which were quietly put out for public comment this month.

Similar fetal remain rules in Indiana are on hold after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction last week against that states sweeping new anti-abortion law. That bill, signed in March by GOP Gov. Mike Pence, more notably also banned abortions due to genetic abnormalities.

Texas, however, isnt waiting for lawmakers to pass a bill regarding fetal remains. Abbott had been talking with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for months about making a change, Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said.

State agencies in Texas are allowed to adopt some rules on its own without legislative approval. Although the rules are expected to take effect in the fall, Matthews said Abbott hopes the Legislature will enshrine the rules into law next year.

Governor Abbott believes human and fetal remains should not be treated like medical waste, and the proposed rule changes affirms the value and dignity of all life, Matthews said.

Abortion-rights groups bristled at the new regulations, which were posted online for public comment July 1. That was four days after the nations high court struck down a pair of Texas restrictions that would have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to 10, down from more than 40 in 2012.

This is a new low for our states leaders who are committed to making abortion inaccessible and shaming Texans who have an abortion, said Heather Busby, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.

Texas now-dismantled clinic restrictions required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and all abortion facilities to meet hospital-level operating standards.

Rules surrounding fetal disposal are found in other states, too, including Ohio, where in June, the state agreed to pay Planned Parenthood more than $45,000 in legal bills as part of a dispute of such requirements. Ohio rules required fetuses to be disposed in a humane matter but didnt further define humane. Planned Parenthood accused the state of changing the interpretation and then unfairly targeting the organization.
Donald Trump recently talked about the possibility of naming some of his cabinet members before he even gets elected. Its not something that has really been done before, but thats basically the theme of Trumps campaign. Since the Donald has also said that hes his own most trusted adviser because he has a very good brain, Trevor Noah had the Daily Show staff fill out his cabinet for him.

In an animation of what looked like a boardroom with a bunch of Donald Trumps around a table, the main Donald Trump called the meeting to order. What followed was each of the animated Trumps arguing over different topics. Everything that they said were actual soundbites from the presumptive Republican nominee, so it was basically Trump contradicting himself over and over again.

At one point, one of the Donalds said, Gadhafi in Libya is killing thousands of people. Go into Libya, knock this guy out  very quickly. Which was followed by another Donald saying, I disagree totally. We would be so much better off if Gadhafi were in charge right now.

The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Watch Trevor Noah blast Trump for pandering to racist voters with anti-semitic tweet.

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Cynthia LuCiette, on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.


From Esquire

A week ago, Forbes informed us that the IBTimes was going through another brutal round of layoffs in its newsroom, cutting at least 30 people from a staff that already had lost 15 people only three months ago. This strikes me as a shame because the IBTimes, through the work of David Sirota, has been all over an interesting story of crony capitalism involving a massive $54-billion proposed merger negotiated between Cigna and Anthem, two giant healthcare insurance companies, and the involvement in that merger of a good chunk of Connecticut's political elite, including Democratic Governor Dan Malloy.

Rather than try to summarize all of Sirota's work on the subject, here are the links to the stories he's produced along with brief summaries of what each story is about.

Secret Records And Lack Of Hearings Raise Concerns In Merger Review (IBT, 7/5/16)

Increased Pressure On Malloy As Another State Democrat Demands Commissioner's Recusal (IBT, 6/30/16)

Groups Say Connecticut Controversy Requires Federal Intervention As GOP Demands Hearings (IBT, 6/29/16)

Controversy Over Gov. Malloy's Insurance Commissioner Creates Role Reversal For Republicans (IBT, 6/29/16)

Malloy's Regulator Told Ethics Officials She Was Not Involved In Cigna Issues, Even As Her Agency Was (IBT, 6/27/16)

Blumenthal Calls On DOJ To Block Merger While His Home State Spearheads State Reviews (IBT, 6/22/16)

Gov. Malloy's Administration Offered Cigna Help In Lead-Up To Merger Review (IBT, 6/21/16)

Connecticut Ethics Probe Spotlights Similar Conflict-of-Interest Charges From The 1990s (IBT, 6/17/16)

Connecticut Officials Vote To Launch Ethics Review Of Gov. Dan Malloy's Insurance Regulator (IBT, 6/16/16)

Anthem And Cigna Boost Spending On Lobbying As Lawmakers Review Merger (IBT, 6/16/16)

Connecticut Ethics Officials To Vote On Conflict-Of-Interest Controversy (IBT, 6/14/16)

Gov. Malloy Signs Secrecy Bill That Could Shield Insurance Information From Public Release (IBT, 6/13/16)

Story continues

Dem & GOP Lawmakers Demand Malloy's Regulator Be Removed From Controversial Merger Review (IBT, 6/10/16)

Obamacare Architect Kathleen Sebelius Questions Proposed Healthcare Insurance Mergers (IBT, 6/10/16)

Connecticut Rejects Request For Records About Anthem-Cigna Merger (IBT, 6/7/16)

Connecticut Groups Call For Dan Malloy To Remove Insurance Regulator In Anthem-Cigna Merger (IBT, 6/2/16)

Will Cigna And Anthem Merge? How Health Insurance Companies Pump Money Into Politics (IBT, 6/1/16)

Right now, in part because of the work that IBTimes has done, Connecticut politics are at something of a high boil as, around the country, people look with a baleful eye at a merger between two health insurance giants like Cigna and Anthem. On Tuesday, an editorial in the Connecticut Post deplored the lack of transparency that had attended the huge transaction, and the cozy culture within which the merger seems to have been accomplished.

Commissioner Katharine L. Wade's controversial refusal to recuse herself from ruling on the Anthem-Cigna insurance merger has provoked a reappraisal of ethics regulators, who heavily rely on the self-reporting of public officials, and an ethics code that may be clearer to lawyers than lovers of English. No one from the Office of State Ethics challenged Wade when she sought approval on Feb. 26 for her husband, Michael T. Wade, the associate chief counsel for litigation at Cigna, to sell company stock as his options vested from Feb. 25 to March 5-something he would be barred from doing if the commissioner was considering a matter involving Cigna.Wade, a former Cigna vice president of government affairs, did not try to hide the fact that her staff, at that very moment, was reviewing Anthem's 5-month-old "Form A application" to acquire Cigna for $54 billion, a massive transaction involving the second- and fourth-largest health insurers in the United States. "The application is currently under review by Department staff," Wade wrote in an email to the Office of State Ethics. "On behalf of the Department, I signed a contract with an independent economist to assist Department staff in their review of the Anthem Form A application. Presently, there are no Cigna matters before me." Wade declined to say Friday on what basis she concluded there were no Cigna matters before her under the meaning the state ethics code, given that she already has asserted her intention to rule on the merger.

In Washington, Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal, Democrat ofwait for itConnecticut, are looking to squash not only this merger, but another proposed one that would combine Aetna and Humana with a price tag of $33 billion. And the mergers also have drawn the attention of antitrust regulators as well. Per The Wall Street Journal:

In the meeting earlier this month, Justice Department officials outlined key areas where they say a combination of Anthem and Cigna could hurt competition, the people said. A major concern is the national employer market. The Justice officials said they believed the deal would shrink the number of competitors to three from four. In addition to Anthem and Cigna, that list includes Aetna and UnitedHealth Group Inc. Anthem said at an investor conference in May that the national-account business is more competitive than a simple calculation would imply because big employers often divvy up their business regionally among different insurers. Another area of concern, the people said, is the market for individual insurance plans, the coverage sold on the exchanges that are at the heart of the Obama administration's signature health law. Anthem is a major player in individual markets in 14 states. Cigna has a smaller presence but is participating in seven Affordable Care Act exchanges this year and said it plans to expand into new states in 2017.

Meanwhile, out there in the world, some healthcare professionals are getting nervous about what might occur if the merger goes through. In Missouri, for example, the heads of the state's hospital association and the state's medical association co-authored a cautionary letter to The Missouri Times.

An analysis by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation shows that Missouri is one of only five states in which Anthem already has at least a 33 percent share in the individual, small group and large group insurance markets. More specifically, in 21 of 28 Missouri metropolitan statistical areas, Anthem and Cigna would combine to hold more than one third of the total market share. And, in 23 of the MSAs, the merger would create a presumptively anti-competitive market. The same holds true in rural Missouri. Under federal metrics, Anthem and Cigna combined would control more than one third of the total market share in 44 out of 59 rural counties. In 49, the merger would create a presumptively anti-competitive market, and in two others it would result in a highly concentrated market.

This kind of consolidation needs to be regulated very carefully, and all indications from the IBTimes series are that the merger was being hustled through without even the minimal concerns for obvious conflicts of interest. Right now, healthcare is not a field that anyone ought to try to turn into the Wild Kingdom.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.
Luxury real estate development has flooded new housing inventory across the country, particularly in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

These upscale homes have not only transformed where people are living and who's buying, but they have also changed the way many real estate agents do business. For Jared Seligman, a licensed associate real estate broker and leader of the Seligman Team at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in New York, new development has taken the real estate market to new heights -- and buyers' expectations have risen along with it.

[See: The 20 Most Desirable Places to Live in the U.S.]

As the luxury real estate market evolves, more buyers at all price points expect move-in ready homes, or a fair enough price cut to make up for needed updates and changes. Seligman offers insight into how he does business -- and how a luxury broker's approach can serve you well when selling your home.

Create a profile of the buyer. With any home sale, you want to appeal to as wide a market as possible, but it's natural that you can rule out certain homebuyers because the home simply wouldn't fit into their lifestyle. Maybe the location isn't close enough to desired schools for their children, or for an individual who works long hours, a space might not be conducive to a focused working environment.

For the penthouse at 10 Sullivan, a new development nearing completion in Manhattan's SoHo district, Seligman worked with a team to determine the buyer demographic most likely to be attracted to the price range, number of bedrooms, prime location and other details about the space, building and neighborhood.

"We felt the buyer would either be a single or young trophy-asset buyer and/or someone with a large family and/or staff," Seligman says. "So we found it almost not being anywhere in between, so what we wanted to do is create a floor plan that would work for both, which is the hardest thing."

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He notes there are neighborhoods in New York that are attractive to such a specific type of individual or family that it allows agents to determine the most likely buyers, down to which preschool their children attend and which stores they frequent.

For your own home, consider staging and renovations that may cater best to a buyer likely to look in your neighborhood and the price point for the market value of your home. A home just down the block from an elementary school, for example, could easily appeal to buyers with young children who could walk to and from school. Staging additional bedrooms as kids' rooms and the finished basement as a playroom will help buyers to see the space's potential.

For a home centrally located near nightlife hot spots, single buyers or small families may be more likely to show interest in the area. Staging a spare room as a home office or home gym could paint the picture for the most likely buyer, without ruling out the possibility that it could be used as a child's bedroom or guest room.

[See: 10 Unorthodox Ways Your Real Estate Agent May Market Your Home.]

Understand what your home offers compared to others. As high-end development continues to enter the market in New York, pricey penthouses are no longer a rarity. Buyers have options, and they may not be pressed to relocate right away.

"When you're dealing with luxury and trophy assets, these are people who do not need to move. They are fine," Seligman says. "The buyer has a lot of power because now we're in market where instead of four properties in that price point, there's 12."

Negotiations can get complicated and drawn out as buyers see no need to make a purchase until they have everything they want out of the deal. Seligman says the key to a successful sale at top dollar is to offer something the buyer can't get anywhere else.

The penthouse at 10 Sullivan, for example, has extensive views of the city, including a glimpse of the Empire State Building from the tub in the master bathroom. "That's when buyers will bite the bullet and be willing to sign," Seligman says.

Adding something to an otherwise standard property could provide the distinction your home needs to stand out among others on the market. In Chicago's luxury market, Sheldon Salnick, a real estate agent for Dream Town Realty, says many high-end buyers are drawn to large lots -- more than 3,000 square feet plus an outdoor space. Sellers who may not have the yard space are furnishing roof space above the garage. "One of my clients did a pizza [oven] up there, and another landscaped it with plants and a tree," Salnick says.

If you're putting your home on the market, consider what features set your home apart from others nearby -- be it a functioning fireplace, solar panels or that it's walking distance to shops and restaurants -- and highlight those in the marketing materials.

Be a perfectionist when you can. Especially if you live in an area with a lot of new condos or housing developments or where many sellers are flipping homes, pay close attention to the competition as you prepare your own home for the market.

"In resale it's not uncommon you have paint chips everywhere. For a new development apartment, it's an entirely different story," Seligman says.

You won't always have the same buyers looking at both new development and existing homes on the market, but it can be fruitful to view your home with the same eye a person would in new construction: Nothing can be out of place. Salnick notes a seller should make the property look its best, highlighting the unique features that set it apart from competing homes on the market. "Lighting plays a big role in this," Salnick says.

Salnick adds that staging will help ensure that a buyer's list of must-haves, like a media room for many luxury buyers, doesn't have to be imagined when they tour the home.

[See: Weird Home Features That May Confuse Homebuyers.]

Compromise where it makes sense. Depending on your ability to make changes or renovations and the state of your local market, it may be more beneficial to expect a lower price for your home rather than spend additional time and money to prepare it for the market.

Seligman recently closed on the sale of a triplex in Tribeca where the seller chose to do minimal staging rather than overhaul the space, as it would have ultimately been more expensive and inconvenient to move everything to storage and live in a fully staged property while the space was on the market.

"If it had been fully staged, the price point would have been significantly different than what we got," he says.

The bottom line: When you're pressed for time or simply can't take on the work, it's OK to price your home slightly lower to attract a greater variety of buyers who may not have unwavering expectations.
Baikonur (Kazakhstan) (AFP) - Three astronauts blasted off into the early morning sky in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome Thursday, heading towards the International Space Station.

First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at around 0136 GMT.

"All is well on board!" said mission control in comments relayed by NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.

Footage also showed Ivanishin and Onishi giving each other fist bumps to celebrate the successful launch.

Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.

The trio's launch was delayed by two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.

The craft's journey to dock at the ISS will take two days -- longer than the usual six-hour flight -- to give ground control more time to monitor the tweaked system's performance.

NASA's Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.

The molecular biologist-turned astronaut will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission.

"Rocket is on the launchpad, crew is ready to go! " the NASA Astronauts Twitter handle tweeted prior to her launch.

Rubins' launch caps an exciting week for NASA as the US space agency's unmanned Juno spacecraft entered orbit around distant Jupiter Tuesday after a journey of nearly five years.

Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner, is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space.

His journey to the ISS, where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program, coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland.

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The last Japanese astronaut to spend time at the ISS, Kimiya Yui, returned to earth from the ISS in December alongside NASA's Kjell Lindgren and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko.

Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012 and has a background as a military pilot.

Following docking at ISS, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will join current ISS commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin.

The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,400 miles per hour) since 1998.

Space travel has been one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the West that has not been wrecked by geopolitical tensions over Ukraine.
Plenty of scholarships are available for aspiring artists or those with a creative streak. But many scholarship applications may require you to submit a portfolio, samples of your artwork.

Some scholarships will require you to submit physical copies of your artwork; many others will ask for digital copies on a USB flash drive or CD , or even request you upload the artwork to the internet and submit links to your work.

This sounds like a lot of work, but that doesn't mean you should skip applying for art scholarships that require a portfolio. A portfolio will be a significant part of your life as you pursue a fine arts degree too.

Here are four tips for creating your portfolio and positioning yourself as a strong contender for art scholarships.

[Target these scholarships that put an art degree within reach.]

1. Read the instructions thoroughly: All scholarships have instructions, and those that require portfolios may have additional requirements.

Do you need to submit any forms, essays or statements along with your portfolio? Does the scholarship require your portfolio to showcase a certain medium -- such as ceramics, painting or photography -- or can you include a variety of works?

The National YoungArts Foundation Visual Arts Scholarship asks applicants who are either ages 15 - 18 or in grades 10 - 12 and also U.S. citizens or permanent residents to submit at least five works that represent the same technique, theme or idea. Recipients can win up to $10,000 in cash awards.

If you don't understand the application or portfolio instructions completely, contact the organization awarding the scholarship and ask for clarification.

2. Choose your portfolio pieces carefully: Don't just gather your favorite pieces and put them into a portfolio -- give serious thought and consideration into why you're including each example of your work. Unless the scholarship you're applying for specifically asks for only a certain medium or subject, include a variety of pieces to demonstrate your versatility.

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Take care not to make your portfolio too sparse or too overwhelming. About 10 pieces should be enough -- unless the scholarship specifically asks for more or fewer -- to show off your skills and make an impression on the scholarship committee.

[Explore colleges that offer fine arts or performing arts degrees.]

For instance, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrators of the Future Contest, a scholarship for science fiction and fantasy artists, asks applicants to submit three illustrations for the chance to win a $1,500 prize every quarter and an additional $5,000 annual prize. Applicants should submit science fiction- or fantasy-themed illustrations.

3. Organize your portfolio: No matter how great your art is, you will not impress anyone with your portfolio if you do not organize it well. If you're concerned about some pieces smudging, laminate them or purchase portfolio sleeves that prevent pencil or charcoal from smearing.

Judges will want to be able to open your portfolio without dropping or losing any of your art, so make sure you have secured your pieces in folders or a binder, unless the application specifically states otherwise.

You may not be required to mat your work, but this can add a polished look and feel to your portfolio, especially if you're including photographs. Use neutral mat tones -- bright colors like neon pink or green will distract from your artistic abilities.

Your physical portfolio should be labeled with your name, school and contact information so the artwork once they have completed the selection process. can be returned to you after the contest.

Submitting a digital portfolio may seem easier, but this requires the same amount of work. Make sure copies of your art are well-lit, comply with size requirements and are in the correct format, such as JPEG or PNG. Your images should never be too grainy, dark or difficult to make out.

It's common to submit a USB flash drive or CD with copies of your best pieces, but some big scholarships may have a platform through which they would like you to submit your work.

Others may ask you to post your work on a free website -- such as WordPress, Wix or a similar platform. Make sure any links you are submitting work as expected before you finalize your application.

For some applications, you may have a choice on the type of portfolio you include. The Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art Scholarship, for instance, allows applicants to choose which format -- digital or physical artwork -- they are comfortable submitting. The scholarship is open to high school upperclassmen from certain Indiana counties who plan on continuing their art studies in college or other arts programs.

4. Prepare to present: Some scholarships may require you to present your work to a panel of judges or write an essay explaining your work. The presentation or essay is nearly as important as your portfolio.

[Explore scholarship awards for aspiring graphic designers.]

If you're presenting, write yourself a short script and practice your presentation in the weeks leading up to the event. If you're writing an essay, carefully consider what you want to say about your pieces and any specific topics you need to cover.

The $2,500 Young Artists Scholarship Fund for high school seniors in Ventura County, California, for example, requires applicants to write an essay on how their art shapes their responsibility to the local community. In addition to the essay as well as letters of recommendation, applicants must have a 3.0 GPA and plan to enroll in an undergraduate arts degree program.

Jessica Zdunek is the content marketing manager for Cappex.com, a free resource that helps match students with their best-fit colleges and provides thousands of scholarships. Cappex.com is also the parent company of College Greenlight, which helps traditionally underrepresented students achieve their educational goals.
On Monday July 11th, Alcoa Inc. (AA) will release its second quarter earnings results. The company is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and shares are down almost 7% year-to-date.

Join David Bartosiak at 2pm EST on Monday on our YouTube channel when he looks at Alcoas past earnings, what is currently going on with the company, and he gives us his thoughts on their upcoming earnings announcement too.

Furthermore, Dave will investigate some potential options trades for investors looking to make a play on Alcoa ahead of earnings.

Alcoa Inc. in Focus

Alcoa Inc. engages in engineering and manufacturing lightweight materials worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Alumina, Primary Metals, Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transport and Construction Solutions.

Alcoa is coming off of an earnings beat of 250% in its previous earnings report, posting EPS that was $0.05 higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Last quarter was the second in a row that Alcoa was able to beat on earnings. The prior two quarters however the company missed on earnings though, by 50% and 17.39% respectively.

ALCOA INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

ALCOA INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | ALCOA INC Quote

Heading into this earnings report, our Most Accurate Estimate for Alcoa is $0.10, which is $0.01 higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.09.

Alcoas aggressive cost-cutting and productivity improvement actions as of late are expected to continue to lend support to its earnings in the second quarter. Also, the aluminum pricing environment has somewhat improved as of late, due to a decline in aluminum inventories. Prices of the metal are still under pressure though, as overcapacity remains a problem.

Alcoa is also exposed to currency headwinds and weakness across some of its other markets. Weakness in non-residential building and construction in Europe is expected to continue, and the company expects a double-digit drop in the heavy duty truck and trailer market in North America this year. The North American packaging market also remains weak. Demand from the automotive market remains healthy though, with strong shipments of automotive sheet products expected to help the companys global rolled products business.

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Alcoa Inc. is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and has seen downward revision activity as of late from analysts, which can mean a poor earnings report is on its way.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified of future live streams and make sure to check out our other videos for more stock information.

Dave Bartosiak is the editor of the Momentum Trader and Home Run Investor service. He has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry. He has traded forex, futures, stocks, and options. Mr. Bartosiak is a frequent guest on popular business news TV channels such as Bloomberg TV. Hes also the host of a light-hearted, Millennial-minded series of videos called Trending Stocks.

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



ALCOA INC (AA): Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
Trevor Noah came to the conclusion on Wednesday night that maybe America just isn't ready for a presidential election, much like Rio is rumored to be not quite ready for this summer's Olympics.

"Rio, there comes a time when you have to take a step back, see the disaster that is unfolding around you, consider the consequences of this event ending as badly as it looks like it's going to," said Noah on Wednesday's Daily Show, "and admit, that despite your best intentions, everything has gone horribly wrong  which brings me to the 2016 presidential race."

Speaking about the FBI's decision that there would be no criminal charges brought against Hillary Clinton after the email scandal, Noah scolded the Democratic candidate, saying "your lies have besmirched the Clinton name  " before he caught himself: "You know what, that's not the point."

Noah added that her campaign had previously been based on the idea that she was the reliable, disciplined candidate, "the Volkswagen of candidates," but now it turns out "there's a whole lot of s - t she's been hiding from us!"

Read More: Donald Trump Responds to FBI's Decision on Hillary Clinton's Emails: "The System Is Rigged"

Noah then switched focus to Trump, playing back the speech in which Trump said, "Saddam Hussein was a bad guy  but you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good."

Noah was almost speechless after watching. "Is this, like, a prank?" he said. "What the f - , dude?" Noah asked Trump. "This was your time to bury Hillary. This is not the time to praise Saddam Hussein!"

"Yes, Saddam hussein killed terrorists," Noah said. "You know who else he killed? Everyone!"

Noah also said that it worried him that a presidential candidate "talks about war crimes like he's on an episode of Drunk History."

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The choices this election, in his eyes, come down to "Grandma Nixon, or a traffic cone soaked in raw sewage. A real Sophie's Choice  "

In the end, Noah was candid about his advice to the American public: "I'm going to be honest and say this: Maybe you shouldn't have an election."

"Because right now," he continued, "America looks like it's getting into a marriage it's going to regret, and everyone can see it's a bad idea!"

"But I'm gonna be that asshole friend that tells it like it is - maybe you need to call it off," Noah said, "because two years from now you're going to see your ex walking down the street and you're going to think to yourself, 'Man, I didn't know how good I had it.'"

Read More: Jessica Williams Bids Tearful Goodbye to 'The Daily Show'
Zero Days Magnolia Pictures

Alex Gibney has made a living making movies about topics that people don't want to talk about publicly.

He was nominated for an Oscar for his look at the downfall of Enron ("Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"), won an Oscar for a movie about the USs torture and interrogation practices during the war in Afghanistan ("Taxi to the Dark Side"), and recently gave us a peek into the Church of Scientology ("Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief").

For each, he was able to get important people related to the topic to get in front of the camera and talk candidly about it.

But for his latest movie, Zero Days (opening in theaters on Friday), which looks at the Stuxnet virus, Gibney could not get anyone to talk about the malware that America and Israel allegedly built to attempt to destroy Iranian enrichment centrifuges (the virus has since spread across the world).

Iran Nuclear

Especially at the National Security Agency.

For the first year [of production], we werent getting very far, Gibney told Business Insider. He said he had hundreds of email exchanges with people from the NSA, but those never led to anyone within the agency coming on camera to talk about Stuxnet.

At the same time, Gibney was building off-the-record relationships with sources in the NSA.

They were reluctant at first just saying, Oh, thats an interesting project, Gibney recently told Business Insider. It then turned into All the Presidents Men. We would go out and get information and theyd say, Okay, youre getting closer, but youre not there 100 percent.

Then a year ago, Gibney came up with an idea to get the insight in the film his NSA sources had while protecting their identities.

Instead of the traditional blackout-face-and-distort-voice method that TV news magazines have used for decades, Gibney decided to cast an actress to play a combination of all the NSA sources hed been talking to.

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This gave more source protection," Gibney said, since one person was speaking for multiple people. Gibney would not divulge to Business Insider how many sources he had. "But in the case of this script, we had to be careful to not include phrases used by the sources that might give them away."

Gibney had done something similar in his 2010 movie Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, in which he cast an actress to play a source who didnt want to go on camera. But for Zero Days, the filmmaker went a step further. To make a commentary about notions of secrecy, the film introduces the actress, Joanne Tucker, as an NSA whistleblower. Its not revealed until the end that she is an actress. To sell the whistleblower character, the scenes of her speaking were shot in a distorted, pixelated look, so it seems Gibney is trying to hide her identity.

Gibney said creating the digitally enhanced shots of the NSA whistleblower took a lot of "trial and error."

With the help of the Brooklyn-based media studio Scatter, Tucker was filmed with a regular camera for her interviews, but there were also data capture monitors in the room that scanned her 180 degrees.

Alex Gibney

Early on, Gibney said what he got back from Scatter was too clean.

"Often when people work with graphic companies, it's, 'Here's the movie, make it look good,'" Gibney said. "We didn't want that at all. The early versions were too perfect. It was sharp and all the lines were right, there were no flaws. We liked the flaws because it felt hacked to us."

So after months of back-and-forth, Scatter gave Gibney a very primitive version of Tucker that can best be described as a combination of how Neo saw The Matrix and Max Headroom.

"It enabled us to then work with these images narratively so we can change them and morph them over time because we wanted to create an uncomfortable impression for the audience," Gibney said. "Where the face becomes more and more revealed, the viewer is thinking, 'I think I recognize this person! Why are they showing so much of her face?' So everyone watching is reflecting on this issue of secrecy and openness."

Gibney admits that if this idea didn't come up, he wouldn't have been able to make the film the way he wanted. But he isn't calling this a revolutionary new way for filmmakers to protect their sources. To him, this was just the right method for his movie.

"At some point you have to grapple with, you're making a movie, you're not writing something on a whiteboard or presenting a report," Gibney said. "It's something people have to be engaged by. The aesthetic is a comment on the secrecy that you're talking about. So it's not just 'let's make it fun,' it's part of the storytelling process."

Watch the trailer for "Zero Days" below:

NOW WATCH: Kit Harington explains why he showed up to his 'Game of Thrones' audition with a black eye





More From Business Insider


MOSCOW (Reuters) - A foreign-policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump avoided all questions about how the United States should shape its policy toward Russia on a visit to Moscow on Thursday. Carter Page said at a lecture he gave to students and business figures organized by Moscow's New Economic School that he did not want to comment on the U.S. election campaign. Page declined to say whether he was planning to meet anyone from the Kremlin, the Russian government or Foreign Ministry during his visit. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential election, has made contradictory comments about Russia but made headlines with warm words for President Vladimir Putin. Putin called Trump "very talented", fuelling speculation the Kremlin would be pleased to see Trump in the White House, but later rowed back from those comments. In his lecture on Thursday, Trump's adviser Page said Western governments had often had a hypocritical focus on democratization, corruption and inequality in the post-Soviet world. He also accused the United States and its partners of "proactive steps to encourage regime change overseas". "This may understandably advance a certain level of insecurity," Page said. Relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated sharply under U.S. leader Barack Obama, undermined by disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. The Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and fights on the opposing side of the five-year-old Syrian civil war. Page worked in Russia for U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch in the mid-2000s and said in an interview with Bloomberg in March that he was an investor in Russian gas producer Gazprom. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Toby Chopra)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A foreign-policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump avoided all questions about how the United States should shape its policy towards Russia on a visit to Moscow on Thursday. Carter Page said at a lecture he gave to students and business figures organised by Moscow's New Economic School that he did not want to comment on the U.S. election campaign. Page declined to say whether he was planning to meet anyone from the Kremlin, the Russian government or Foreign Ministry during his visit. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential election, has made contradictory comments about Russia but made headlines with warm words for President Vladimir Putin. Putin called Trump "very talented", fuelling speculation the Kremlin would be pleased to see Trump in the White House, but later rowed back from those comments. In his lecture on Thursday, Trump's adviser Page said Western governments had often had a hypocritical focus on democratization, corruption and inequality in the post-Soviet world. He also accused the United States and its partners of "proactive steps to encourage regime change overseas". "This may understandably advance a certain level of insecurity," Page said. Relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated sharply under U.S. leader Barack Obama, undermined by disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. The Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and fights on the opposing side of the five-year-old Syrian civil war. Page worked in Russia for U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch in the mid-2000s and said in an interview with Bloomberg in March that he was an investor in Russian gas producer Gazprom. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Demonstrators from the immigrant advocacy group CASA march in hopes of a Supreme Court ruling in their favor, June 20, 2016. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

With Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican nominee for president, the topic of immigration will likely emerge as a major topic of debate during the general election.

Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton, has framed the need for immigration reform as a family issue and an economic issue while calling for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Indeed, many undocumented immigrants in the US already contribute a great deal to the countrys economy, according to a new report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML). That report noted that in 2014 unauthorized immigrants had a labor force participation rate of 70% compared to 62.9% for the overall population.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

BAML also cited research that refutes the notion that Americas roughly 11 million unauthorized immigrants might be taking jobs from US citizens.

[A] study from the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that immigrants are imperfect substitutes for native US workers due to different occupation choices and skills and immigration has a positive effect on the average wage of US-born workers overall, BAML noted.

Of course, new policies on immigration could change the economic situation for those who came to the US without authorization. The BAML report looks at two possible scenarios that could change the labor participation rate for undocumented immigrants  one of which Trump has proposed and the other of which Clinton has called for in the past.

The first scenario  which Trump has championed  would expand a program known as e-verify that lets businesses determine the eligibility of employees to work in US. If that program were mandated across the US for new hires, as Trump wants it to be, the labor force would shrink by 3.8 percentage points over the next 15 years, according to BAML. That would slice .1 percentage point from real GDP growth per year, and the federal debt-to-GDP ratio would be 1.5 percentage points higher at the end of a 15-year period.

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BAMLs second scenario would benefit the economy and would involve increasing the number of H-1B visas (which let US companies hire foreign workers) and employment-based green cards issued. (Hillary Clinton spoke out back in 2007 in favor of increasing H-1B visas.) Meanwhile, this proposal would eliminate both green cards for the siblings of US citizens and diversity visas.

This move would boost the overall labor force by .7 percentage points over a 15-year period; increase real GDP by .7 percentage points; and lower the debt to GDP ratio by 1.1 percentage points.

Regardless of what form immigration reform takes, there is a growing call for it. Thats partly because the Supreme Court recently blocked President Barack Obamas plan to help 4 million unauthorized immigrants live and work in the US without fear of deportation.

A 2009 report from the Council on Foreign Relations still seems relevant today, noting: The continued failure to devise and implement a sound and sustainable immigration policy threatens to weaken Americas economy, to jeopardize its diplomacy, and to imperil its national security.

Read more:

How the Supreme Court is hurting the economy by killing immigration reform

Undocumented immigrants pay billions in taxes: study

The profound business implications of that viral Chewbacca mask

5 times John Oliver exposed problems in corporate America

Americas brick-and-mortar banks are vanishing
Whether Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump lands in the Oval Office, the fist spouse will be a first.

Clinton herself would be a double first: the first woman elected president (but you knew that) and the first former first lady to hold the nations highest office.

Slideshow: 11 First Ladies Who Wielded Enormous Power

Bill Clinton, who was sometimes called the first black president (at least before there was a bona fide African-American commander-in-chief), will be a true first if his wife doesnt somehow turn what the website FiveThirtyEight says is a 79.2 percent chance of winning into defeat: the only first husband in history.

Should Trump, whose odds of winning keep plummeting  from 34.1 percent on June 8 to 20.7 percent today  somewhere find a civil tongue and overcome an increasingly vivid portrayal as a not-all-that-slick huckster, his wife Melania would also break new ground as the first first lady from a non-English-speaking country (Slovenia) and only the second to be foreign-born. Louisa Adams, wife of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams, was born in England, but she was first lady more than 190 years ago.

Hillary Clinton has said that former President Clinton would have a crucial role in her administration of revitalizing the economy. Such a position would arguably be even more critical than the one Hillary had when in an unprecedented official role for a first lady, she attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to reform the U.S. health care system. So another prospective first for Bill.

Since six former secretaries of state later became president  Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren and James Buchanan  Hillary wouldnt be the first. But she would be the first female former secretary of state to lead a cabinet.

Related: No, Hillary Wasnt First Woman to Breach the Presidential Glass Ceiling

And while the glamorous Melania Trump would be the first former model to be first lady, even at 511 she wouldnt be the tallest. She would be tied in that category with Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
Donald Trump Newt Gingrich

Amid speculation about who Donald Trump will choose as his running mate, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee promised at a rally Wednesday evening that Newt Gingrich would somehow be a part of the government.

The former Republican congressman, who ran for president in 2012, is rumored to be on Trump's vice-presidential shortlist.

During a Trump campaign rally in Ohio, the crowd starting cheering, "Newt! Newt! Newt!," to which Trump replied, "Wow. ... I like that too. We like Newt."

He continued: "Newt has been my friend for a long time. And I'm not saying anything and I'm not telling even Newt anything, but I can tell you, in one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government."

The crowd cheered.

"He's smart. He's tough. He gets it," Trump said. "And he says I'm the biggest thing he's ever seen in the history of politics."

Trump then joked, "Newt's going to be involved if I can get approval from his wife. That may be tough, but that's ok."

Later on, Trump praised Gingrich's debating skills.

"I'm not saying it's going to be Newt, but if it's him, no one's going to be beating him in the debates," Trump said.

Gingrich was at the rally with Trump and spoke at the beginning of the event.

Two other rumored Trump running mates, Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker and Iowa Sen. Jodi Ernst, all but ruled out the possibility of joining the ticket on Wednesday.

NOW WATCH: Obama had some incredible reactions while campaigning with Hillary Clinton





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Donald Trump is using Frozen to defend himself against charges of anti-semitism. Yes, he brought a fictional Disney movie into it.

The presidential candidate came under fire Saturday after he posted an attack graphic against Hilary Clinton on Twitter that appeared to use the Star of David over a pile of dollar bills. His team later defended the tweet, suggesting it was only a "sheriff's star" from Microsoft shapes, but Trump could not resist jumping back into the conversation.

SEE ALSO: Trump's son-in-law defends the Donald in his own newspaper

On Wednesday evening, he tweeted a picture of a Frozen book that included a similar star on the cover, asking "Where is the outrage for this Disney book?" Well, Mr. Trump, as always, the outrage is on Twitter.

Of course, the Internet could not handle it

Hilary Clinton clapped back with a song from the movie

While some clever people also left appropriate reviews on

the book's Amazon page

Image: Amazon

Yes, it's American politics in 2016

Speaking of, are there any other Disney films Trump would like to review?
Washington (AFP) - Like a victorious general, Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with Republican lawmakers scrambling to put up a united front behind him as the party convention nears.

But in a sign of the bad blood, if not outright disgust, that Trump still stirs as the presumptive presidential nominee, some key lawmakers found reasons to skip the meetings, one with House members and another with senators.

Scheduling conflicts were the most commonly stated pretext.

And in a statement issued after the meeting with House members, Speaker Paul Ryan had nothing positive to say about Trump -- other than to thank him for the visit and what Ryan called Trump's desire to unify the party.

"It was an important opportunity for our members to get additional information about Mr Trump's campaign and ask questions about the issues that matter to Americans," Ryan's statement said.

"It's clear that our party is committed to defeating Hillary Clinton and Democrats this fall."

Trump in turn tweeted: "Just leaving D.C. Had great meetings with Republicans in the House and Senate. Very interesting day! These are people who love our country!"

Trump answered questions for more than 40 minutes from around 20 House members on a variety of topics, said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

"The conversation this morning gave many members of the House Republican Conference the chance to share their policy ideas with Mr Trump and to ask questions to get to know him," her office said in a statement.

"For many, it was their first introduction, and it was a positive step toward winning in the fall," it added.

- Tense meeting -

The meeting with senators was tense, The Washington Post reported, quoting two Republicans with direct knowledge of the session.

Trump criticized three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their bids for re-election, the Post said.

Story continues

The no-shows for the day included Senator Marco Rubio, a formal Trump rival for the nomination, and respected Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose status as a war hero was famously derided by Trump early in the campaign.

Thursday's meeting with representatives was hosted by Ryan, who will also serve as chairman of the Republican National Convention July 18-21 in Cleveland, Ohio.

It is there that the billionaire real estate mogul -- criticized as bigoted, narcissistic, ignorant on foreign and defense policy, and altogether unfit to be president -- is scheduled to be anointed the party's candidate in the November election to take on Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.

Trump first met with Ryan in May in a highly anticipated meeting. It concluded with a joint statement in which each pledged to work towards unity, but Ryan did not endorse Trump at the time.

He did, eventually, and has stuck by it, even after describing Trump's behavior as textbook racist when the mogul said a judge overseeing a trial involving Trump University was biased because of his Mexican heritage.
Donald Trumps potential vice presidential candidates keep firing themselves. Or voting themselves off the Island. Or refusing to accept the rose. Or basically doing whatever it is they need to do to avoid being cast as sidekick to the former reality television star in his latest project.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee, was being considered for the post by the Trump campaign. He appeared with Trump on the campaign trail Tuesday, and was showered with praise by the presumptive nominee.

Related: Trump Is Looking at These 7 Republicans for His VP Pick

By Wednesday, though, Corker told The Washington Post that he had informed Trump that he was no longer interested in being considered. In a later interview with CNN, he said, I feel like Im better suited to other kinds of things and I think there are probably better suited people for this particular job for now.

Another potential candidate had been first-term Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who also campaigned with Trump this week. But on Wednesday, she, too, took herself out of the running. In an interview with Politico, she said that she sees her role in the presidential campaign as more of an advocate.

She added, I made that very clear to him that Im focused on Iowa. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is, Ernst said. Im just getting started here. I have a great partner with Chuck Grassley, weve been able to accomplish a lot. And I think that President Trump will need some great assistance in the United States Senate and I can provide that.

The truth is that most Republicans with a political future seem to regard the idea of serving as Trumps number two as unappealing at best and politically suicidal at worst. Vice presidents are often pulled from the field of also-rans in the presidential primary, but so far none seem interested.

Related: Trump Goes Overboard on Email Scandal as Clinton Sails On

Story continues

Not only has Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that he would take a pass, he has now backtracked on his statement that he would be willing to speak at the Republican national convention, where Trump is expected to be nominated next month.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, in whose state that convention will be held, has likewise said that he is not interested in serving with Trump in the White House.

So it increasingly looks as though Trump will be pulling from a field of hopefuls who see latching on to his coattails as their only hope at a political future. Embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is still in the running, and would probably appreciate the opportunity to spend less time in his home state, where both his popularity and his credibility are in the tank.

But as of Wednesday evening, if anybody looked to have the inside track, it was former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who appeared at a rally in Ohio with the former reality television star.

Related: Can Anti-Clinton Anger Unify Republicans (Even If Trump Cant?)

The 73-year-old former congressman from Georgia, who resigned his speakership and his seat in 1999 while under a cloud of ethics violations and facing a rebellion of his fellow Republicans, was well-received by a crowd that chanted his name when he appeared on stage.

Gingrich gave a forceful speech, attacking presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over the controversial decision by the Department of Justice not to prosecute her for the use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

In doing so, Gingrich showed much more discipline than Trump, who instead of focusing on Clintons vulnerability, careened off-script to revisit the controversy over a tweet sent out by his campaign last week that appeared to many to contain anti-Semitic imagery. The image accused Clinton of corruption, with the words most corrupt candidate ever written inside a Star of David and superimposed over a pile of money.

In remarks that frequently degenerated into a shouting rant, Trump at one point said that he was sorry that his campaign had removed the tweet before replacing the star with a circle. He would have preferred it if they had left it up and allowed him to defend it.

Related: Donald Trumps Latest White Supremacist Problem

When they told me the Star of David I said, Youve got to be kidding, how sick are they? Theyre the ones with the bad tendencies when they think that way, Trump said. These people are sick, folks. Im telling you, theyre sick.

At one point, Trump flailed at what he said was a mosquito near him on the stage, and said, Speaking of mosquitoes, Hello Hillary, how are you doing?

Trump, at least, seemed very pleased with his potential running mate.

Im not saying anything and Im not telling Newt anything, Trump teased the crowd. But I can tell you, in one form or another, Newt Gingrich will be involved with our government, okay?

He added, Ill tell you one thing folks, Im not saying its Newt, but if its Newt, nobodys going to be beating him in those debates, thats for sure, right? Nobody is beating our Newt in the debates.

How Gingrich felt about things by the end of the evening was unclear.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Can Sezer

SAN FRANCISCO/ISTANBUL, July 6 (Reuters) - After suicide bombers killed 45 people at Istanbul's main airport last week, the Turkish government appeared to take a step that has become increasingly common around the world in moments of political uncertainty: restricting access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, blaming outages last week and earlier this year on spikes in usage after major events. But technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda.

Countries such as China and Iran have long kept tight control over online media, but human rights and internet activists say that many more democratic governments are now using internet cutoffs to stifle free speech under the guise of fighting terrorism.

Government-ordered internet restrictions can include outright blocking or 'throttling' that slows certain websites to the point where they are unusable.

"It's becoming the go-to mechanism for governments trying to control the flow of information," said Peter Micek, global policy and legal counsel for Access Now, a group that campaigns for digital rights and monitors shutdowns. "It is still the Wild West in terms of what's acceptable behavior and what violates human rights online."

While there were about 15 internet shutdowns around the world in 2015, there have been at least 21 instances so far this year, according to Access Now.

The trend helped prompt the United Nations Human Rights Council last week to renew what has become known as the 'internet resolution,' effectively defining internet shutdowns as a violation of human rights. The resolution, which has been adopted by the more than 40 member states since its introduction in 2012, is not legally binding, but is meant to set standards for state behavior.

TURKEY IN VANGUARD

Turkey has emerged as one of the countries using internet shutdowns most aggressively in response to political events, according to human rights advocates.

Story continues

Turkey has shut down access entirely to certain sites, or throttled it, on seven occasions over the past year, according to Turkey Blocks, a group that monitors censorship in Turkey.

In such cases, including after the Istanbul attack last week, the Turkish government has invoked a national security law to publicly ban the broadcast of certain material. In the case of social media, that appears to have been effected by a throttling or shutdown of sites.

Speaking to Reuters, a senior Turkish government official denied that Turkey engages in internet throttling and said that the inability to access sites - including after last week's attack - was due to heavier-than-average traffic.

"In the wake of major developments, including terror attacks, more users try to access social media platforms and the increased demand inevitably slows down the Internet," said the official.

About three hours after the Istanbul airport attack, users across the country commented on social media that they were forced to use virtual private networks - which can access the internet via another country - to access Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, while many other sites were unaffected.

Around the same time, the Turkish prime minister's office imposed a formal media restriction and banned sharing images of the blast or the scene. As on previous occasions, that appears to have been carried out by restricting access to social media.

"If we would like to contain graphic images, we impose a formal restriction," said the Turkish official. "The formal restriction does not prevent the media from reporting the incident but limits the distribution of graphic and violent images such as body parts."

Alp Toker, project coordinator at Turkey Blocks, said his group's specialized software and statistical analysis gives him a "high degree of confidence" that social media sites were blocked in Turkey after the Istanbul attack, as they have been on other occasions this year, through throttling rather than an excess of traffic. Reuters was not able to verify his analysis.

Representatives of Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc's YouTube declined comment on the matter. But sources close to the companies said the sites did not experience technical problems on the day of the attack last week.

The massive server farms run by each of those companies are designed to handle spikes in traffic, and very rarely experience interruptions in service. When they do, the companies usually offer an explanation, even for very short outages, which did not happen last week.

Turkish internet service providers TTNET, a unit of fixed-line operator Turk Telekom, Uydunet and Turkcell did not respond to requests for comment.

BROADER FREEDOM ISSUES

The apparent restriction of access to social media at certain times is seen by some as part of a broader attack on the media by the Turkish government.

Under President Tayyip Erdogan, who has dominated domestic politics for a decade and a half, human rights groups decry what they call an unprecedented crackdown on opposition voices as the country faces multiple security threats.

Although he has an official Twitter account, Erdogan has said he doesn't like the platform. "As you know, I am against this social media. There have been many attacks on me because of this," he said when meeting taxi drivers last week.

In Turkey, a complete ban on internet services eventually requires a court decision, which site owners can appeal. Throttling - which is harder to detect - leaves uncertainty, meaning users or site owners cannot appeal the decision.

In more than 25 countries, laws could be interpreted in a way that allows governments to shut down the internet or take over telecom networks, said Micek at Access Now.

(Reporting By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Can Sezer; Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Daren Butler in Istanbul, Dustin Volz in Washington and Jeremy Wagstaff in Singapore; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Bill Rigby)
Actor Erik Estrada, better known as officer Ponch from the 80s show CHiPs, was recently sworn in as a real-life reserve officer in St. Anthony, Idaho, a town of 3,500.



After the ceremony, one reporter asked  apparently seriously  whether he had passed the physical fitness test. Estrada, either joking or misinterpreting the question, responded: Of course I did. I woke up this morning, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, blew it out, look, Im ready. Im ready to go.

But neither Estradas physical fitness nor his signature motorcycle will likely be needed for his new gig. Hell be working with the departments brand-new Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Protecting children from the dangers of life online is a passion project of Estradas, and he has previously assisted with the issue as a deputy sheriff in Virginia and as a reserve officer in Indiana.

Estrada isnt the first celebrity turned cop. He joins the ranks of people like Dan Aykroyd, whos a reserve sheriffs deputy in Mississippi; Shaquille ONeal, whos a reserve officer in Florida; and the late Elvis Presley, who was an honorary Denver cop.

WATCH: For more 80s nostalgia, check out this clip of Kelly Ripa:



Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.


(First a note on the title of this column  Twilight Ramble. It implies an author of considerable age, someone in "the twilight of his years" who still enjoys the odd ramble, an occasional scramble, short track, road or trail ride. A person who typifies that well-worn aphorism, "You don't stop riding because you get old. You get old because you stop riding.")

Like most riders, I spend a lot of time in the garage. Not because I can't afford a good mechanic (which I can't), or because I like to modify motorcycles or even pretend to enjoy maintaining them, which is why I can't call it a shop. No, for me the garage is the home of peace and solace, the refuge from the crazed world of commerce. The garage has a good stereo, a refrigerator always stocked with good beer, a small electronic piano keyboard, and a Micro Cube guitar amp in case anyone who can really play stops by. Also, it was in the garage that I wrote "Stairway to Heaven" back in '59.

I've found few reasons to leave the garage (dinner, sleep, "Ray Donovan" or "Shameless" on Showtime), but obviously the best motive is to take a ride. And while having a destination is largely unnecessary, the prospect of a good one is just hot fudge on the chocolate brownie a la mode. Which, in this case, was the North American Velocette Rally in Cambria, California  for me just a 50-mile ride up the coast.

Jim Romain's 1937 KTS is powered by a 350cc overhead cam engine. The touring model combines features of the KSS and MSS versions, with full fenders and 19-inch front wheel.

My fondness for Velos goes back a good ways, to when a '67 Thruxton provided my entry to road racing at Nelson Ledges in 1970. Veloce Ltd. was founded in Birmingham, England, in 1905 by German immigrant Johannes Gutjemann, who later anglicized his name to John Goodman. The family firm, in business until 1971, was a pioneer in two-stroke engine development, the first to build a reliable positive-stop foot shift mechanism, and against much larger manufacturers, won the 350cc World Championship in 1959 and '60. And more than a few titles at the Isle of Man. In 1961 the 500cc Venom set the world record at 100 mph for 24 hours at the Montilhery track in France. The Goodman family inscribed some good credentials in production racing.

Story continues

This 1949 KTT graced the lawn at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in May. The factory racer, which once won the Dutch TT, is owned by Paul d'Orleans, aka the Vintagent.

The North American Velocette Club schedules their annual meet in locales featuring enough good roads, in some proximity, to host 1000 miles of riding over five days. Cambria, on California's central coast, fits the profile with plenty of wine country back roads, high desert plains and scenic canyons. The region has a patchwork of microclimates, and temperatures can climb 50 degrees in 20 miles. Common to most vintage motorcycle groups, the Velo club members spend a good deal of time tinkering with the bikes.

Pete Young (left) and Steve Huntzinger sort out some fuel delivery issues on Young's 1913 Veloce 3.5-hp single. The veteran of the Pioneer Run from London to Brighton and the Irish National Rally, has direct belt drive, no gears or clutch, and must be bump-started at every stop.

Veteran vintage collector/fabricator/racer Fred Mork of Berkeley, California, rode his 1967 Velocette Venom in the rally. A respected source of information and advice on the care and fettling of classic bikes, Mork equipped the machine with cylinder head and exhaust temperature gauges.

"You have take some care with these engines," he said. "But they're quite durable when ridden properly, and kept in the right rpm range."

Mork also brought his 1939 Matchless X model, a 1000cc V-twin, which he acquired at the Mecum Auction in Las Vegas two years ago. After resolving issues with timing, refreshing the cylinders and a three-angle valve job, he found it roadworthy. "I think it's reliable," he said.

Fifty-some vintage motorcycles were gathered in the parking lot of the Cambria Pines Lodge, covering four decades of Velocette production. While some were obviously the products of considerable restoration, others carried their originality and proper patina of age and road wear. But all were riders as opposed to museum pieces, in common with most of their owners.

One that stood out among the road models was a tidy little roadracer built by Gary Roper of Medford, Oregon. The circa-1951 350cc MAC had been an incomplete basket case with "a very crooked frame." With the help of Washington's Ed Gilkison, Roper rebuilt the engine, made up controls and rear sets to match his height, and did the final plating and painting. When partner Dave Roper (who may or may not be a long lost cousin) gave the bike its first AHRMA race win at Utah's Miller Raceway against 500cc bikes, the mini-MAC was proved a winner.

Roper's 350 weighs 250 pounds wet and makes about 30 horsepower, with a Triumph piston, 10:1 compression and a 1.5-inch intake valve.

Roper is setting up a 1926 Indian Scout for vintage racing, while he and cousin Dave are considering bumping the MAC up to the class maximum of 500cc. The results will be revealed at the AHRMA race on Labor Day weekend in Tooele, Utah. More about that on a later date.

Bicycle shocks provide the rear suspension. Oil tank moved to the left to make room for the intake tract, which puts the bell mouth 13 inches from the valve face, good for a bump of 6 hp. Larger carb has a 380 main jet, opposed to the original 190.

Kim Young, wife of Pete and mother of son Atticus and daughter Sirisvati, has often carried one or the other offspring as passenger on her 1930 Velocette KSS. The 350cc model has completed about 10 club rallies in the western United States and Canada. Now and again, when she can't make an event, Pete is permitted use of the KSS and enjoys the opportunity to wear his Sherlock Holmes helmet.

Pete rode Kim's bike a few years ago at Steve Wright's Pre-16 Ride (the rules are flexible). This portrait was taken behind the lunch stop at the Pozo Saloon.

Kim hustles the KSS down the road. The racing version of the 350 collected several titles at the Isle of Man.

The Youngs are not a Velocette-only family by any means. Her first British bike was an Ariel Red Hunter, purchased as a basket case in 1998. Ten years later they restored it a second time for the Legends of the Motorcycle show in Half Moon Bay. This 1936 model is the Gentleman's (or Woman's) Express version of the Red Hunter 500cc single, with high pipes, speedo and oil pressure gauges in the tank, and shiny bits hither and yon..

Kim poses for the obligatory beauty shot at the Velocette Rally. She won Best British award.

For more information on the North American Velocette club, go to www.Velocette.org

Bonus shots:

Kent Bell's front fender plate pays homage to his father.

Revival Cycles of Austin, Texas, won the Quail's Design and Style award with this cafe racer. The 1960 Venom engine is housed in a period Rickman Metisse chassis.

Oil tank has been relocated on the left of the 350. Cutaway primary cover incorporates the sprocket/chain guard.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two Syrians accidentally blew themselves up while handling explosives in a house in the southern Turkish border town of Reyhanli, the privately owned Dogan news agency said on Thursday. A woman who was at the scene at the time of the blast late on Wednesday was later detained by police, Dogan said, without giving her nationality. Police were investigating whether the two Syrians had any links to militant groups or Syrian rebels, the agency said. A car believed to have been owned by the two had been seized for investigation. A senior Turkish official confirmed the blast in Reyhanli in Hatay province bordering Syria but declined to give further information. Security was tightened in the neighborhood and bomb experts examined the house, the news agency said. NATO-member Turkey has been on high alert since a series of suicide bombings by Kurdish militants and Islamic State across the country this year including the capital Ankara and the biggest city, Istanbul. Authorities have jailed a total 30 suspects pending trial over a triple suicide bombing at Ataturk Airport, which killed 45 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest of the attacks this year. The pro-government Yeni Safak daily said earlier this week Turkish authorities were seeking two suspected Islamic State militants thought to be linked to last week's Istanbul airport attack and believed to be in hiding near the border with Syria. The paper said two Islamic State suspects were believed to be hiding in woodland in the Yayladagi area of Turkey's southern Hatay province and could be planning to change their appearance and joint rebel groups in Syria. It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's incident was linked to the Istanbul airport attack. Turkish officials have not commented on reports about the investigation, although one government official has said the attackers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals. President Tayyip Erdogan has said Islamic State militants from the former Soviet Union were behind the attack. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by David Dolan and Ralph Boulton)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will provide nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine, the State Department said on Thursday. The funding, announced by Secretary of State John Kerry during a visit to Kiev, will bring the total amount of U.S. humanitarian assistance to Ukraine to more than $135 million since the crisis began, the department said in a statement. Citing recent United Nations estimates, there are more than 3.1 million vulnerable people in Ukraine, it said. (Reporting by Eric Walsh)
By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email while secretary of state is closed, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday, removing a legal cloud that threatened the presumptive Democratic nominee's presidential bid. Lynch said she accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recommendations that no charges be brought in the probe, as Republicans made clear they would not let Clinton's email headaches fade away easily. "I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation," Lynch said in a statement. With the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential and congressional elections beginning to heat up, Republicans called on the administration to make public key documents in the Clinton email case. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, speaking at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, accused Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent, of bribing Lynch to decide not to press charges. He was referring to reports, including in the New York Times this week, that Clinton, if elected president, might ask Lynch to stay on as attorney general. "She said shes going to reappoint the attorney general and the attorney general is waiting to make a determination as to whether or not shes guilty. And boy was that a fast determination, wow," Trump said, adding, "That's bribery folks." On Capitol Hill, Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 House of Representatives Republican, reacted to Lynch's announcement by proclaiming: "Secretary Clinton broke the law and lied about it." Senior Senate Republicans insisted that the FBI's investigation be made available to the public, including a transcript of the more than three hours Clinton spent last Saturday in an interview conducted by the agency. Shortly before Lynch's announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, "I think the next step...is to compare what Hillary Clinton said to the FBI with what Hillary Clinton's been saying to all of us over the last couple of years during this controversy." In a blistering attack on Clinton, John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said on the Senate floor: "The bottom line is Secretary Clinton actively sought out ways to hide her actions as much as possible" by using a private email account while heading the State Department. "And in so doing, she put our country at risk" by leaving those emails vulnerable to computer hackers. Democrats have questioned Republicans' motives and accused them of squandering taxpayer dollars with lengthy investigations that have failed to uncover illegal activities. "Republicans are in such desperate shape because of Trump (that) they would seize upon anything" to divert attention, said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. And Senator Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following Lynch's announcement: "This investigation is closed and that should be the end of this matter." On Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had been "extremely careless" in her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, but he recommended no criminal charges be filed in the case. Comey, who was deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush administration before becoming FBI director in 2013, is scheduled to testify on Thursday before a House committee, where Republicans and Democrats are expected to press him on his findings in the Clinton case. Lynch said she met on Wednesday afternoon with Comey and the career prosecutors and agents who had investigated whether Clinton broke the law as result of email servers kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home. One question is whether she mishandled classified information. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said on Wednesday it appeared Clinton received preferential treatment from the FBI. Asked whether a special prosecutor should be named to investigate the matter, Ryan said the House would not "foreclose any options." But Ryan did say that because of her messy handling of emails while serving as secretary of state, Clinton should be denied access to classified information during the campaign. Presidential candidates normally get such briefings once they are formally nominated. McConnell, Ryan's Senate counterpart, stopped short of calling for such action. Clinton's campaign was anxious to move on after Comey's announcement, saying in a statement on Tuesday it was pleased with the FBI decision. (Reporting by Eric Beech and Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney and Andrew Hay)
(Adds data, quotes and background) By David Morgan WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The White House and congressional Democrats pressured Republicans on Thursday for bipartisan Zika-funding legislation, saying efforts to combat the growing mosquito-born health problem are being undercut by partisan gridlock in Congress. In a media conference call organized by Democratic lawmakers, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the lack of funding has made it difficult for the U.S. health agency to ramp up mosquito-control and diagnostic testing and new research efforts. President Barack Obama asked the Republican-controlled Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika more than four months ago. But as Congress prepares to begin a seven-week summer recess on July 15, lawmakers are bogged down in partisan bickering over a $1.1 billion Republican measure that Democrats predict will fail. "We are at the 11th hour and 59th minute before Congress is gone all summer," said Democratic Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, which is among a number of southern U.S. states likely to be hard-hit by the Zika infection. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. Over the past few days, Obama has urged Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and top Senate Democrats to adopt a bipartisan approach to funding. Senate Democrats called on McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan to revive a bipartisan measure that passed the Senate in May. But McConnell's office had no immediate comment. The Kentucky Republican has said he would stick with the current legislation, which was agreed by House and Senate negotiators and has already passed the House. The CDC announced on Thursday that it is monitoring 320 pregnant U.S. women with laboratory evidence of Zika infection, as of June 30. The number is up from 287 a week earlier. In Puerto Rico, as many as 50 pregnant women are becoming infected every day, CDC Director Thomas Frieden said. Frieden said the CDC has spent most of the $222 million it has for fighting Zika in the United States on state and municipal efforts, funding, staffing and equipment. "It's frankly difficult to navigate with so many unknowns," Frieden said. "That's why we haven't been able to do things like begin ramping up centers of excellence to improve the performance of diagnostic tests, of mosquito control and to begin some of the really in-depth studies," he said. Additional funding would also aid vaccine research by the National Institutes of Health, and help community health centers in areas that are experiencing the highest rates of Zika transmission. The Republican measure failed in the Senate on June 28 when Democrats objected to Republican provisions, including one to prevent Planned Parenthood from receiving funds to combat what can be sexually transmitted infection. "They'll force yet another failed vote on this cynical legislation and then pack their bags for the longest Senate vacation since 1954," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said earlier on Thursday. Rather than providing new funding, the Republican plan would take money from battling the Ebola virus as well as from funds set aside for implementing the Obamacare health insurance program in U.S. territories. The World Health Organization has said there is strong scientific consensus that Zika can also cause Guillain-Barre, a rare neurological syndrome that causes temporary paralysis in adults. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has now confirmed more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly that it considers to be related to Zika infections in the mothers. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by James Dalgleish, Bernard Orr)
By Chris Prentice NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. policymakers are expected to vote as early as Thursday on legislation that would for the first time require food to carry labels listing genetically-modified ingredients (GMOs), which labeling supporters say could create loopholes for some U.S. crops. Drawing praise from farmers, Republican Pat Roberts from Kansas and Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan have sponsored a bill that is the latest attempt to introduce a national standard that would override state laws, including Vermont's that some say is more stringent, and comes amid growing calls from consumers for greater transparency. A nationwide standard is favored by the food industry, which says state-by-state differences could inflate costs for labeling and distribution. But mandatory GMO labeling of any kind would still be seen as a loss for Big Food, which has spent millions lobbying against it. Under the new law, GMO contents would be displayed with words, pictures or a bar code that can be scanned with smartphones, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture would decide which ingredients would be considered GMO. A successful vote in the Senate would push the measure on to the House of Representatives, where it is also broadly expected to be approved. Farmers lobbied against the Vermont law, worrying that labeling stigmatizes GMO crops and could hurt demand for food containing those ingredients, but have applauded this law. Critics like Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, say the bill's vague language and allowance for electronic labels for scanning could limit its scope and create confusion. "The American people have a right to know what they are eating," Sanders said at a press conference this week. He slammed the legislation, noting major food manufacturers have already begun labeling products with GMO ingredients to meet the new law in his home state. "Guess what: The sky didn't fall," he said. LOOPHOLES Food ingredients like beet sugar and soybean oil, which can be derived from genetically-engineered crops but contain next to no genetic material by the time they are processed, may not fall under the law's definition of a bioengineered food, critics say. GMO corn may also be excluded thanks to ambiguous language, some said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raised concerns about the involvement of the USDA in a list of worries sent in a June 27 memo to the Senate Agriculture Committee. In a letter to Stabenow last week, the USDA's General Counsel tried to quell those worries, saying it would include commercially-grown GMO corn, soybeans, sugar and canola crops. The vast majority of corn, soybeans and sugar crops in the United States are produced from genetically-engineered seeds. The domestic sugar market has been strained by rising demand for non-GMO ingredients like cane sugar. The United States is the world's largest market for foods made with genetically altered ingredients. Many popular processed foods are made with soybeans, corn and other biotech crops whose genetic traits have been manipulated, often to make them resistant to insects and pesticides. "It's fair to say that it's not the ideal bill, but it is certainly the bill that can pass, which is the most important right now," said American Soybean Association's (ASA) director of policy communications Patrick Delaney. The association was part of the Coalition for Safe and Affordable Food, which lobbied for what labeling supporters termed the Deny Americans the Right to Know, or DARK Act, that would have made labeling voluntary. It was blocked by the Senate in March. (Additional reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Kouichi Shirayanagi in Washington; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
The Department of Transportation announced the eight airlines it plans to approve for flights to Havana from 10 U.S. cities as early as this fall.

The tentative decisions allow flights between Cubas capital and Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa. The airlines conducting the flights will be Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines.

The government will allow only 20 roundtrip flights daily between the two countries, per the agreement to restore relations between the U.S. and Cuba a year ago, the Miami Herald reports.

Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obamas promise to reengage Cuba, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the announcement.

Most of those flights would depart from Fort Lauderdale and Miami. The DOT plans to have a final decision by the end of the summer, and then flights can begin 90 days after that.

[Miami Herald]
By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Seven suspected gang members who prosecutors say firebombed the homes of African-Americans in a bid to force them out of a government-funded housing development have been charged with a string of federal offences in an indictment unsealed on Thursday.

The seven defendants, who are all accused members or associates of the Big Hazard street gang, have also been charged in the 10-count federal indictment with running a racketeering enterprise that used violence and intimidation to control what they considered their turf.

"The defendants used firebombs to drive the victims from their homes because of their race, Vanita Gupta, chief of the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division, said in a written statement announcing the indictment. "This is a hate crime. Such violence and intimidation have no place in our society."

According to the indictment, the firebombing plot was directed by 31-year-old Carlos Hernandez, also known by the monikers "Creeper" and "Rider," who told the gang in May 2014 that he wanted to drive the African-American families from the neighborhood.

The attack was carried out at the Ramona Gardens housing development in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles in the early morning hours of May 12, 2014, after Hernandez distributed gloves and disguises to gang members and instructed them on how to maximize the damage of their firebombs, the indictment charges.

The other six defendants named in the indictment were Jose Saucedo, aka "Lil Moe," 22, Francisco Farias, aka "Bones," 25, Joseue Garibay, aka "Malo," 23, Edwin Felix, aka "Boogie," 23, Jonathan Portillo, aka "Pelon," 21 and Joel Matthew Monarrez, aka "Gallo," 21.

Each is charged with conspiracy to violate civil rights, attempted arson of federal property, committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering and other federal charges. If convicted on all counts at trial, they face maximum sentences of more than 100 years in federal prison.

Story continues

According to the indicment, the Big Hazard - or "Hazard Grande" - street gang has some 350 members and dates to the 1940s, claiming territory in East Los Angles that includes parts of Boyle Heights and the Ramona Gardens housing development.

Court documents say Big Hazard is part of a larger network of Latino gangs in greater Los Angeles controlled by senior members who are also associated with the Mexican Mafia or "La Eme."

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, editing by G Crosse)
By Caroline Humer and Diane Bartz

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has significant concerns about Aetna Incs proposed acquisition of health insurer Humana Inc, a source familiar with the situation said on Thursday, and shares of Humana fell more than 11 percent.

Aetnas purchase of Humana would combine two of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans for elderly people, and investors have long been concerned the deal might pose a competition issue for antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department is also reviewing Anthem Incs proposed purchase of Cigna Corp, and investors are worried it will fail because of its impact on competition in the employer insurance market. Together, the two deals will decrease the number of national health insurers to three from five.

News of the Justice Departments significant concerns come as the department is due to meet with officials from Aetna and Humana on Friday, as first reported by antitrust trade publication MLex.

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter, confirmed the departments concerns but did not expound on the exact nature of its worries.

However, the issue raised investor worries on both deals.

Jeff Jonas, portfolio manager for Gabelli Funds, which owns Humana and Cigna shares, said that he believes that the Aetna-Humana deal still has a chance to go through with divestitures because there are plenty of buyers for the assets.

Even after todays drop, I dont think people are totally ruling out Aetna and Humana, Jonas said.

Reuters reported last week that Aetna had begun a process to divest about $1 billion of Medicare Advantage assets to address antitrust concerns.

Antitrust regulators are mainly focused on whether the deal would limit consumer choices for Medicare Advantage health plans for the elderly.

Aetna has argued that Medicare Advantage competes not just with other Medicare Advantage plans but with traditional Medicare, according to a different source familiar with the matter.

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Aetna announced its plans to buy Humana Inc last summer in a deal now worth about $34 billion. Anthems deal for Cigna was announced a few weeks later.

Humana was not immediately available for comment.

Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford said on a phone call that the company continues to cooperate with the Justice Department.
LONDON  The U.K. and South Africa have inked a new television co-production agreement, which will aim to strengthen ties between the two countries broadcast industries, it was announced Thursday.

Under the new agreement, which builds on an existing treaty, both territories will be encouraged to share knowledge, ideas and drive economic growth through television co-production.

Terms for the agreement were negotiated by the British governments Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the British Film Institute with the Department for Arts and Culture for the Republic of South Africa.

TV co-pros that will qualify under the terms will be able to access benefits from each territory, such as a higher production-rebate rate in South Africa, which can range from 20% to 25%, while in Britain, qualifying co-pros will be able to access the U.K.s high-end television tax relief, the animation tax relief or the childrens television tax relief, all of which offer a rebate of up to 25%.

U.K.-South African feature films that have qualified under the existing co-production treaty include Kristian Levrings The Salvation, Deb Patersons Africa United, Thomas Daleys Tiger House and Pete Travis Dredd 3D.

British television is a tremendous success story, but we need to make sure the U.K. remains well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities that come through international collaboration, said British culture minister Ed Vaizey in a statement. This new agreement enhances our already strong relationship with South Africa and will help television production companies in both countries realize the benefits that come with co-production.

BFI CEO Amanda Nevill said: The inclusion of television in the existing, successful film co-production treaty represents exciting new opportunities for growth and collaboration between the U.K. and South Africa and will be of great mutual benefit to both countries.

Related stories

Eddie Izzard Comedy 'Whisky Galore' Among 13 Market Premieres at London Screenings

Story continues

London Film Festival Reveals Dates for 60th Anniversary Edition

Geena Davis: 'Give Female Characters More to Say ... Give Them More Clothes'
By Lesley Wroughton KIEV (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday that the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine was doomed to fail unless "real security" was restored in eastern Ukraine where government forces are pitted against Russian-backed separatists. The Minsk agreement was negotiated by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015 to end the fighting which broke out in eastern Ukraine after the fall of a Moscow-backed president and the arrival in power of a pro-Western leadership. But the ceasefire has failed to stop all fighting between Ukrainian government troops and the Russian-backed rebels while the two sides accuse each other of failing to honor the commitments made in Minsk. More than 9,000 people have been killed in the fighting. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors implementation of the ceasefire, reports violations on a daily basis. Fighting has increased in recent months and the Ukrainian military has reported over 90 of its soldiers killed since March. "Without real security in the Donbass (industrialized eastern Ukraine) and an end to the bloodshed on the contact line, the use of heavy weapons and blockading of OSCE access, Minsk is doomed to fail," Kerry told a news conference in Kiev after talks with President Petro Poroshenko. Kerry did not apportion blame, but he said without movement by Russia to implement the Minsk agreement Western sanctions against Moscow would remain. He praised Ukraine for making a "good faith effort" to implement Minsk and he announced an additional $23 million in humanitarian assistance to help thousands of people affected by the conflict. Kerry was due later to travel on to Warsaw for a NATO summit where the Ukraine crisis and Russia's military activities in the region were among topics to be discussed. He said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had indicated to U.S. President Barack Obama, in a phone call on Wednesday, that he wanted to see progress in the Minsk process. "We are hopeful in the days ahead we will in fact be able to translate those expressions of hope and words in a telephone call into real actions that will make a difference," Kerry added. Poroshenko, alongside Kerry at the news conference, placed the blame squarely on Moscow and the rebels, however. "There is a complete understanding  Russia and the fighters controlled by it bear sole responsibility for the stalling of the peace process in the Donbass  There cannot be a functional resolution if sustainable and comprehensive security is not guaranteed," he said. Kerry praised reforms by Ukraine's government to boost the economy and fight corruption, but he said more was needed to strengthen democracy since street protests in 2013-2014 brought pro-Western leaders to power. "Ukraine is undeniably moving forward but I think we all agree that the job isn't done and more has yet to be done to strengthen Ukraine's democracy," Kerry said. During discussions with Kiev leaders, Kerry said he stressed the need for further reforms to tackle graft in the state prosecutor's office and judicial system. He also emphasized the need to implement an IMF economic package in full and to privatize state-owned enterprises that are a drain on state coffers. (Additional reporting by Alexei Kalmykov; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized President Barack Obama's administration on Thursday over the disappearance of a former Guantanamo detainee, calling for an end to transfers from the prison because of fears former prisoners could launch attacks on Americans. They also raised concerns about reports that Jihad Diyab, a Syrian among six detainees resettled in Uruguay in December 2014, has disappeared and may now be in Brazil. Obama is working to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, where terrorism suspects have been held for 15 years, by transferring detainees not considered security threats to foreign countries. Republican lawmakers worry that the Obama administration is so eager to close the prison before he leaves office in January that it is sending detainees to countries that cannot ensure they will not return to the battlefield by joining militant groups that target Americans and U.S. allies. "You're talking about detainees who have every intent of killing American families," Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina said at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. The administration has considered sending Guantanamo detainees to a prison in South Carolina. The New York Times reported that Diyab said last month he was going on a religious retreat that would last into next week, and would be unreachable by telephone or email. Since then, some Uruguayan officials said they lost track of him and suggested he may have traveled to Brazil, the newspaper reported. "Many countries just aren't up to the job," said Republican Representative Ed Royce, the committee's chairman. "... Yet the administration has sent Guantanamo terrorists to these countries anyway." Republican and some Democratic committee members sharply questioned Lee Wolosky, the State Department's special envoy for closing the Guantanamo detention center, and Paul Lewis, his Pentagon counterpart. Representative Jeff Duncan, another South Carolina Republican, said Diyab, charged with forging passports for al Qaeda, could pose a threat to the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, if he were indeed at large in that country. The committee's ranking Democrat, Representative Eliot Engel, who backs the closure of the detention center in Cuba, said it was important to keep the issue in perspective. "Under no circumstances, in my opinion, is the Obama administration simply opening the gate and releasing dangerous terrorists onto the street," Engel said. FEW RETURN TO BATTLEFIELD Lewis and Wolosky said only 5 percent of detainees transferred since Obama became president have been confirmed to have returned to the battlefield. The percentage was higher for the over 500 released under President George W. Bush. There are currently 79 detainees at Guantanamo, of whom 29 are eligible for transfer. Wolosky acknowledged Diyab had been "difficult" from the time he was transferred to Uruguay. According to the Times, Diyab's friends and supporters say he is off praying and will re-emerge soon. Obama has been trying to make good on his 2009 pledge to close the facility. But Congress has passed laws making it more difficult to do so, chiefly by barring transfers to U.S. prisons. Lawmakers are unlikely to lift those restrictions, especially in an election year. They have proposed even tighter controls on transfers in a fiscal 2017 defense policy bill, one reason Obama has threatened a veto. Guantanamo opponents say holding prisoners for years without charge or trial goes against fundamental U.S. values and since they are Muslims, is a recruiting tool for Islamist militants. Many Republicans insist the prison is an essential tool for handling suspects who threaten the United States. Donald Trump, the party's presumptive 2016 presidential nominee, has called for the prison's expansion. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. private employers hired 172,000 workers in June, higher than economists' expectations, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Thursday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 159,000 jobs, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 209,000.

Private payroll gains in the month earlier were revised to 168,000 from an originally reported 173,000 increase.

The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.

The ADP figures come ahead of the U.S. Labor Department's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which includes both public and private-sector employment.

Economists polled by Reuters are looking for U.S. private payroll employment to have grown by 170,000 jobs in June, up from 25,000 the month before. Total non-farm employment is expected to have changed by 175,000.

The unemployment rate is forecast to tick up to 4.8 percent 4.7 percent recorded a month earlier.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(Adds congressional reaction, updates timing of House Cuba vote, paragraphs 16-20)

By Jeff Mason and Jeffrey Dastin

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - The United States has tentatively approved flights on eight U.S. airlines to Havana as early as this autumn, with American Airlines Group Inc receiving the largest share of the limited routes, the Transportation Department said on Thursday.

The decision, about a year after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations, includes 35 flights per week on American, the biggest U.S. airline in Latin America by flights. Its rival for Caribbean travel, JetBlue Airways Corp , was granted 27.

The department expects to reach a final decision on the routes later this summer. It also recommended flights to Havana on Delta Air Lines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc , Southwest Airlines Co, Alaska Air Group Inc , Spirit Airlines Inc and Frontier Airlines.

The flights to Cuba's capital would be the latest step closer for the former Cold War foes.

Last month, the Transportation Department gave airlines the green light to schedule flights to other cities in Cuba for the first time in decades. Until now, air travel to the Communist-ruled island has been limited to charter services.

Selecting carriers was a challenge for the Obama administration. Airlines applied for nearly triple the 20 daily round-trips that Cuba and the United States agreed to allow.

"The proposed slate of airlines will ensure service to areas of substantial Cuban-American population, as well as to important aviation hub cities," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

"The department also sought to offer the public a wide array of travel choices in the type of airline such as network, low-cost and ultra low-cost carriers."

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, which have the biggest Cuban-American communities in the United States, received the most flights at 83 per week among six airlines.

American won one-third of flights from South Florida. This may give it a leg up over rivals because it can offer corporate customers more convenient connections through Miami.

Story continues

"It's enough to make it a viable business-traveler schedule," said aviation industry consultant Robert Mann.

LUCRATIVE ROUTES

Over time, U.S. airlines anticipate a bigger payout from Cuba than is typical for Caribbean destinations.

Strong demand will come from Cuban-Americans visiting relatives, experts said, as well as from executives traveling in business class to evaluate commercial opportunities.

"These flights open the door to a new world of travel and opportunities for our customers," said Oscar Munoz, United's chief executive officer. United will fly from Newark and Houston under the proposal.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Tampa will also offer nonstop service.

While a ban on tourism to Cuba remains U.S. law, President Barack Obama has authorized exceptions. Citizens that meet one of 12 criteria, such as visiting for unspecified educational purposes, can now visit Cuba.

The House of Representatives was to vote as soon as Thursday evening on a spending bill amendment that would essentially lift travel restrictions to Cuba for a year.

But most Republicans, who control Congress, oppose easing the restrictions, and congressional aides said they could not predict whether the measure would pass.

Republican Representative Jeff Duncan, chairman of a House western hemisphere subcommittee, said the decision put Americans at risk because Cuba has limited airport security and was also inappropriate because of Cuba's poor human rights record.

But Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who has sponsored a bill to end Cuba travel restrictions, welcomed the news. "With U.S. airlines now poised to unleash the power of American travelers and their frequent flier miles, the time has come for Congress to eliminate the archaic restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba," he said in a statement.

American said it hopes to begin Havana service in November.

Its shares rose 2.8 percent in afternoon trade while JetBlue shares added 1.3 percent. Southwest rose 1.6 percent and Delta was up nearly 2 percent.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
By Jeff Mason and Jeffrey Dastin

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States has tentatively approved flights on eight U.S. airlines to Havana as early as this autumn, with American Airlines Group Inc receiving the largest share of the limited routes, the Transportation Department said on Thursday.

The decision, about a year after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations, includes 35 flights per week on American, the biggest U.S. airline in Latin America by flights. Its rival for Caribbean travel, JetBlue Airways Corp , was granted 27.

The department expects to reach a final decision on the routes later this summer. It also recommended flights to Havana on Delta Air Lines Inc , United Continental Holdings Inc , Southwest Airlines Co , Alaska Air Group Inc , Spirit Airlines Inc and Frontier Airlines.

The flights to Cuba's capital would be the latest step closer for the former Cold War foes.

Last month, the Transportation Department gave airlines the green light to schedule flights to other cities in Cuba for the first time in decades. Until now, air travel to the Communist-ruled island has been limited to charter services.

Selecting carriers was a challenge for the Obama administration. Airlines applied for nearly triple the 20 daily round-trips that Cuba and the United States agreed to allow.

"The proposed slate of airlines will ensure service to areas of substantial Cuban-American population, as well as to important aviation hub cities," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

"The department also sought to offer the public a wide array of travel choices in the type of airline such as network, low-cost and ultra low-cost carriers."

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, which have the biggest Cuban-American communities in the United States, received the most flights at 83 per week among six airlines.

American won one-third of flights from South Florida. This may give it a leg up over rivals because it can offer corporate customers more convenient connections through Miami.

Story continues

"It's enough to make it a viable business-traveler schedule," said aviation industry consultant Robert Mann.

LUCRATIVE ROUTES

Over time, U.S. airlines anticipate a bigger payout from Cuba than is typical for Caribbean destinations.

Strong demand will come from Cuban-Americans visiting relatives, experts said, as well as from executives traveling in business class to evaluate commercial opportunities.

"These flights open the door to a new world of travel and opportunities for our customers," said Oscar Munoz, United's chief executive officer. United will fly from Newark and Houston under the proposal.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Tampa will also offer nonstop service.

While a ban on tourism to Cuba remains U.S. law, President Barack Obama has authorized exceptions. Citizens that meet one of 12 criteria, such as visiting for unspecified educational purposes, can now visit Cuba.

The House of Representatives was to vote as soon as Thursday evening on a spending bill amendment that would essentially lift travel restrictions to Cuba for a year.

But most Republicans, who control Congress, oppose easing the restrictions, and congressional aides said they could not predict whether the measure would pass.

Republican Representative Jeff Duncan, chairman of a House western hemisphere subcommittee, said the decision put Americans at risk because Cuba has limited airport security and was also inappropriate because of Cuba's poor human rights record.

But Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who has sponsored a bill to end Cuba travel restrictions, welcomed the news. "With U.S. airlines now poised to unleash the power of American travelers and their frequent flier miles, the time has come for Congress to eliminate the archaic restrictions on U.S. travel to Cuba," he said in a statement.

American said it hopes to begin Havana service in November.

Its shares rose 2.8 percent in afternoon trade while JetBlue shares added 1.3 percent. Southwest rose 1.6 percent and Delta was up nearly 2 percent.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
By David Brunnstrom and James Pearson WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea warned on Thursday it is planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States after Washington blacklisted the nuclear-armed country's leader, Kim Jong Un, for human rights abuses. Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a "hideous crime," according to North Korea's official KCNA news agency. "... the U.S. dared challenge the dignity of (North Korea) supreme leadership, an act reminiscent of a new-born puppy knowing no fear of a tiger," the statement said. "This is the worst hostility and an open declaration of war against (North Korea) as it has gone far beyond the confrontation over the human rights issue." In response, the U.S. government urged Pyongyang to refrain from statements and actions that raise tensions in the region. The United States imposed its first sanctions targeting any North Koreans for rights abuses on Wednesday, blacklisting Kim along with 10 other people and five government ministries and departments. The action affects assets within U.S. jurisdiction. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, hopes China will urge its ally North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said on Thursday in New York. Dujarric said that Ban, who is currently visiting China, "believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula." China's foreign ministry, when asked about the U.S. decision, said it opposed the use of unilateral sanctions. China argues that the human rights situation in North Korea is not a threat to international peace and security, and has sought to prevent the issue being discussed at the U.N. Security Council. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he had spoken to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and hoped that Beijing would continue to cooperate with U.N. sanctions aimed at rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons program. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006. In March, the Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket in February. Some analysts and diplomats have warned that the U.S. action could limit cooperation with China on further action. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said last month that the United States would seek to identify people and entities linked to a series of recent ballistic missile tests by Pyongyang, in violation of a U.N. ban, who could be sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council. The cooperation of China and Russia would be needed for any further designations. Senior U.S administration officials said the new U.S. sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an issue long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. "Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in a statement. Inside North Korea, adulation for Kim is mandatory and he is considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim, 32, by name in connection with human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations. The U.S. Treasury Department identified Kim's date of birth as Jan. 8, 1984, a rare official confirmation of his birthday. South Korea, which cut all political and commercial ties with its own sanctions against the North in February, welcomed the U.S. move, saying it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record. (Writing by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Steve Orlofsky)
(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is examining Facebook Inc (FB.O) over its transfer of various rights associated with its worldwide business to a holding company in Ireland, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The lawsuit said the documents relate to an IRS examination of the company's tax liability for 2010, when Facebook's tax return reported royalty income from transfers of intangible property to Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement on Thursday.

Facebook transferred to the Irish company rights associated with its worldwide business, with the exception of the United States and Canada, the lawsuit said.

Facebook reduces its tax bill by having non-U.S. clients pay advertising fees directly to an Irish subsidiary called Facebook Ireland Ltd.

This subsidiary reported revenues of 4.8 billion euros (4.1 billion) in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

But Facebook Ireland Ltd reports low taxable profit, of just 13 million euros in 2014, because it pays a significant chunk of its revenue to another Irish-registered company called Facebook Ireland Holdings, in return for the use of the Facebook platform.

The lawsuit said Facebook retained accounting firm Ernst & Young to value the transfers for tax purposes, but noted that information gathered by the IRS to date suggested that the valuation approach was "problematic."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Tom Bergin in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)
(Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is examining Facebook Inc over its transfer of various rights associated with its worldwide business to a holding company in Ireland, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The lawsuit said the documents relate to an IRS examination of the company's tax liability for 2010, when Facebook's tax return reported royalty income from transfers of intangible property to Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement on Thursday.

Facebook transferred to the Irish company rights associated with its worldwide business, with the exception of the United States and Canada, the lawsuit said.

Facebook reduces its tax bill by having non-U.S. clients pay advertising fees directly to an Irish subsidiary called Facebook Ireland Ltd.

This subsidiary reported revenues of 4.8 billion euros in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

But Facebook Ireland Ltd reports low taxable profit, of just 13 million euros in 2014, because it pays a significant chunk of its revenue to another Irish-registered company called Facebook Ireland Holdings, in return for the use of the Facebook platform.

The lawsuit said Facebook retained accounting firm Ernst & Young to value the transfers for tax purposes, but noted that information gathered by the IRS to date suggested that the valuation approach was "problematic."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Tom Bergin in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)
LONDON, (Reuters) - Britain's economy looks set for a significant slowdown after a strong second quarter, a think tank said on Thursday, based on data mostly recorded before last month's decision by voters to leave the European Union. The warning from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) follows some early signs that businesses and consumers might be suffering from uncertainty created by the June 23 vote to leave the EU. NIESR estimated Britain's economy expanded 0.6 percent in the second quarter, up from a 0.4 percent increase in the first three months of the year. But it warned the acceleration was driven by a surge of activity in April, adding that gross domestic product likely stagnated in May and contracted in June. "What it does suggest is that when April drops out of the three-month calculation we should see a quick deterioration of growth, especially if the estimated contraction in June persists or accelerates into July and beyond," Jack Meaning, a research fellow at NIESR, said. The Bank of England has taken steps to ensure British banks keep lending as the financial consequences of the referendum decision began to materialize, especially in commercial real estate. Governor Mark Carney has said he expects the Bank to pump more monetary stimulus into the economy over the summer. Surveys of British firms published by Markit/CIPS, conducted mostly before the June 23 referendum, suggested Britain's economy is growing at a quarterly pace of just 0.2 percent. A YouGov/CEBR survey on Tuesday showed business confidence dropped sharply after the referendum result. NIESR warned before the June 23 vote that Britain's economy would likely end up around 1.0 percent smaller in 2017 in the event of a Brexit vote than if the country decided to stay in the EU, and would be 2.3 percent smaller in 2018. ((Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by William Schomberg))
LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices rose at their slowest annual pace in nearly a year in June, before the country voted to leave the European Union, mortgage lender Halifax said on Thursday.

Prices in the three months to June were 8.4 percent higher than a year earlier. That was the slowest growth since July of last year although it was stronger than a median forecast of an increase of 7.7 percent in a Reuters poll of economists.

In June alone, prices were up 1.3 percent from May, Halifax said.

"House prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate, but this precedes the EU referendum result, therefore it is far too early to determine any impact since," Martin Ellis, Halifax's housing economist, said.

Britain has been thrown into its deepest political crisis in decades by the referendum result. Prime Minister David Cameron has said he will resign and the future of the country's trading relationship with the EU is uncertain.

Confidence amongst consumers and businesses has fallen sharply since the vote, according to some surveys.

A British housebuilder, Persimmon (PSN.L), said on Tuesday that Britain's housing market had steadied after some deal cancellations immediately after the referendum.

Great Portland Estates (GPOR.L), a central London property and investment company, said on Thursday it expected the Brexit vote to take a toll on commercial property markets, echoing the view of the Bank of England.

(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Costas Pitas)
By Anjuli Davies and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Andrea Leadsom, a candidate to be Britain's next prime minister, has put her 25 years' experience working in financial services at the centre of her campaign to become leader.

Before entering parliament in 2010 she spent a decade working at Barclays Bank and Invesco Perpetual, one of the country's biggest retail fund managers.

In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Leadsom spoke about her past "running enormous teams, small teams," running a start up business and being part of a huge bank.

But some of her career credentials are being called into doubt. Reuters spoke to five former Invesco colleagues, including four in senior management positions, who said Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money.

A spokesman for Leadsom did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Responding to a report in a British newspaper on Tuesday that she had exaggerated her role at Invesco, the spokesman for Leadsom said in a press release that the assertions were "uncorroborated".

Leadsom came second in Tuesday's first-round ballot of Conservative lawmakers over who should be the next leader of their party, and was one of the leading members of the successful "Leave" side in Britain's EU referendum.

A second-round ballot on Thursday will decide which two candidates go forward to the final stage of the election involving party members.

Fellow leave campaigner and former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is backing Leadsom after deciding not to run himself as the party's leader, said she has a "better understanding of finance than almost anyone in parliament".

Lawmaker Bernard Jenkin, another backer, said her position at a "large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds" made her suitable for the role.

Leadsom said on her CV published by her spokesman after critics questioned her credentials she worked at Invesco Perpetual between 1999 and 2009, and was Senior Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Governance. Invesco declined to say what these roles involved. Typically in the UK financial industry, a senior investment officer manages client money.

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The five former Invesco employees said she did not manage a large team or look after client money.

"Everybody I've spoken to who does remember her says her CV doesn't match her role," said one of the sources.

The Financial Services Register in the UK is a directory, started in 2001, that lists people in financial services companies who carry out a "controlled function", which usually involves managing money, advising people on financial matters or holding a senior management role.

According to the register, Leadsom was an approved person for dealing with client money at Invesco Perpetual from December 2001 to February 2002. But there is no record of her on the register anytime after that.

That does not indicate she was not employed by the fund but suggests she was not in a position with large responsibility for managing client money or in senior management.

Invesco confirmed that Leadsom worked there between 1999 and 2009 but declined to comment further on what her roles involved.

One of the former Invesco colleagues, Robert Stephens, said he contacted her last week after seeing her Wikipedia entry which sourced the 2013 edition of Who's Who, a well known biographical compilation of influential figures, as saying that she had been listed as Chief Investment Officer at Invesco.

A Chief Investment Officer at a fund would usually have broad responsibility for looking after investor money and setting its investment strategy.

Stephens says he is an open supporter of Britain remaining in the EU. He said that, beyond his position on the referendum, he was angered by Leadsom's claims about her financial career.

Stephens said he approached Leadsom to clarify her role at the company.

Leadsom has subsequently corrected the Wikipedia entry. Stephens said she denied to him that she had written the passage.

Stephens and three sources said her work included assisting the then Chief Investment Officer Bob Yerbury. Stephens said this included negotiating salaries for fund managers and working on special projects for him.

Yerbury could not be reached for comment.

"People are being seduced into thinking oh wonderful 25 years in the City. She got to the top of the City," Stephens, who worked as a global investment specialist at Invesco Perpetual at the same time between 1999 and 2009, told Reuters.

"It assigns to her understanding of the way the financial world works which simply aren't so. The question is why she feels it necessary to self aggrandize herself in that way."

Before Invesco Leadsom worked at Barclays from 1987 to 1997 where she says on her publicly released CV that her roles included "managing investment banks business" and "deputy financial institutions director".

A source at Barclays bank said there had been emails sent around different departments in the investment bank in recent days trying to confirm her roles there.

Barclays confirmed the dates she worked at the bank but declined to comment further.

Some of Leadsom's supporters say the criticism from Stephens is uncalled for, even if there are questions about her career history.

"I think most people are realistic to know when you write a CV, you don't write it so that people don't employ you. We also know that when you write a CV a job title you have doesn't always reflect what you do ... you always make the most of it," said Anne Marie Morris, a Conservative lawmaker, who was part of the same intake as Leadsom at the 2010 election and is one of her supporters.

"The reality was that she wasn't making the tea, she was engaged in very serious deals and negotiations with very serious people".

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Alessandra Galloni, Janet McBride)
London (AFP) - Tony Blair pleaded with his critics to stop questioning his intentions over Britain's disastrous war in Iraq, after a blistering verdict by the Chilcot inquiry -- but commentators Thursday showed scant sympathy.

"For his own sanity he still has to tell himself the world is 'better and safer' for him joining George Bush's assault on Iraq. It is a monumental delusion," said an editorial in The Sun, Britain's top-selling paper.

It added: "Blair does admit the post-war planning was a calamity. That is his only concession. He sees no reason to apologise for his decision to go to war and insists he'd do the same again.

"He still believes he had no choice. You could have said no, Tony."

After the publication of the long-awaited inquiry report on Wednesday, Blair gave an emotional two-hour press conference in which he acknowledged mistakes but defended his intentions -- and said he would do it again.

Newspaper coverage on Thursday was scathing of the former Labour prime minister, who won three elections but stepped down in 2007, as Iraq collapsed into sectarian violence, with his reputation in tatters.

Appearing close to tears, Blair had said he felt more sorrow than anyone could imagine for the conflict.

In the left-learning Guardian, commentator Anne Perkins admitted that "it feels cheap at such a time to doubt someone's sincerity".

"But I have seen him look stricken before - and like millions of other voters, I don't trust him any more," she wrote, adding that he was guilty of "unbowed arrogance".

Michael Deacon, the sketch writer for the conservative Daily Telegraph, noted that Blair refused to apologise for the invasion.

"What to make of it all? An honest plea for understanding from a broken man? Or a performance, an immaculately executed impersonation of one?" he wrote.

John Crace, the sketch writer for the Guardian, said his performance showed sorrow mainly for himself.

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"Me, me me. The war hadn't been about the 179 British soldiers and several hundred thousand Iraqis who died. It had been about him all along," he wrote.

Drawing on Monty Python's comic film "Life of Brian", he added: "Tony's eyes burned with the conviction of martyrdom. He wasn't a naughty boy, he was the Messiah.

"And he was heaven-bent on carrying on fighting a war he lost long ago."

Trevor Kavanagh, associate editor of The Sun, said Blair "was always obsessed with legacy as prime minister".

"He may have hoped it would be as a US war hero with all the lucrative benefits associated with it," he wrote.

"Instead he will be remembered for inflicting a terrorist firestorm on a fragile and unstable world."
(Adds context)

By William James

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Finance minister George Osborne met senior Chinese officials in London on Thursday to discuss trade following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, agreeing to work to foster stronger ties between the two countries, a source close to Osborne said.

Britain's trading relations with the rest of the world have been thrown into sharp relief by the June 23 vote to leave the EU, through which it has negotiated its trade deals for decades.

Following the meeting between Osborne, Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming and other senior Chinese officials, the source said there had been "productive discussions on investment, financial services, and fostering stronger trading ties" when Britain is outside the EU.

The Brexit vote threatens to redefine Britain's growing financial services relationship with China, which has agreed to a number of joint projects as part of the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue programme to deepen economic ties between the two countries, based largely on the UK's membership of the EU.

Osborne used the meeting to restate a determination, first expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit to Britain last October, to sustain what both countries have called a "golden era" in bilateral relations.

The meeting formed part of the preparations for a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Chengdu later this month. Osborne will use that trip to visit several cities to promote UK-China relations in light of the referendum result.

Earlier this week he underlined the need to work on Britain's trading relations, saying in a newspaper interview: "We have got to get on a plane and sell Britain to the world." (Reporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Finance minister George Osborne met senior Chinese officials in London on Thursday to discuss trade following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, agreeing to work to foster stronger ties between the two countries, a source close to Osborne said. Britain's trading relations with the rest of the world have been thrown into sharp relief by the June 23 vote to leave the EU, through which it has negotiated its trade deals for decades. Following the meeting between Osborne, Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming and other senior Chinese officials, the source said there had been "productive discussions on investment, financial services, and fostering stronger trading ties" when Britain is outside the EU. The Brexit vote threatens to redefine Britain's growing financial services relationship with China, which has agreed to a number of joint projects as part of the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue program to deepen economic ties between the two countries, based largely on the UK's membership of the EU. Osborne used the meeting to restate a determination, first expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit to Britain last October, to sustain what both countries have called a "golden era" in bilateral relations. The meeting formed part of the preparations for a G20 finance ministers' meeting in Chengdu later this month. Osborne will use that trip to visit several cities to promote UK-China relations in light of the referendum result. Earlier this week he underlined the need to work on Britain's trading relations, saying in a newspaper interview: "We have got to get on a plane and sell Britain to the world." (Reporting by William James, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The United Nations' food agency said on Thursday it needed $730 million over the next 12 months for relief in seven southern African countries hit hard by a blistering drought and faced a $610 million shortfall. The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement the seven countries were Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Madagascar, Swaziland and Zambia. In Malawi, WFP said it needed $288 million but had only sourced $43 million, while in Zimbabwe - where drought has exacerbated an economic meltdown which has led to unrest - $228 million was required but only a tenth of that has been raised. An El Nino weather pattern, which ended in May, triggered drought conditions across the region which hit the staple maize and other crops and dented economic growth. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN special representative in South Sudan will travel to the country's west, where renewed fighting has prompted thousands to flee, the United Nations said Thursday.

Ellen Margrethe Loej said she will travel on Saturday to Wau, one of the country's largest cities, "to assess the situation for myself."

"I continue to call for an end to violence for the sake of the civilians, who have suffered far too much for far too long."

The situation in Wau -- around 400 miles (650 kilometers) northwest of the capital Juba -- remains tense after heavy mortar and machine gun fire was heard Thursday south of a UN base there.

The episode prompted some 200 to 250 civilians to join those already taking refuge there, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said.

The base is hosting some 19,000 civilians displaced by the fighting.

The UN has repeatedly asked President Salva Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to allow aid workers free access to the population and help encourage the return of internally displaced people.

More than 160,000 civilians are taking refuge in UN camps across the country.

Civil war broke out in 2013 after Kiir sacked his deputy Riek Machar just two years after the country seceded from Sudan.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands -- the exact death toll is unknown -- and left more than 2.3 million displaced.

As part of a peace deal signed last year, Machar returned to Juba in April to take up the post of vice president in a national unity government.

However, fighting continues in parts of the country between various groups that are often motivated by local interests and do not consider themselves involved in the peace agreement.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh. Photo: AFP

New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): In wake of him attending an event of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

If the speeches are to be bannedall provocative speeches on religion by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned, Singh told media here.

He said if the Government of India or the Government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naiks involvement in the ISIS, they should take action against him.

Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed, he added.

Zakir Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his hate speech was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved to indulge in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhakas Gulshan suburb.

The video shows Digvijay Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

Zakir should travel all over India.I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace, he said.

We need your message to reach the country, Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office bearers of his organization 'Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbais Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on July 11.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai based PR agency. (ANI)
UN cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

After the June 28 attack on Istanbul's airport that claimed 45 lives, security has been stepped up for the 11-day World Heritage Committee meeting -- the panel's 40th.



Though no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Ankara has pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic State group, which has wreaked considerable damage on World Heritage sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra and the citadel of Aleppo, both in Syria.



"What happened in Syria and Iraq as well as in Mali and Afghanistan were so shocking that the process of preparing UNESCO's lists has become of great political importance," said the body's director general, Irina Bokova.



Earlier this year IS blew up the ancient Nabu temple in Iraq. In 2012 a Malian jihadist blew up nine mausoleums and part of Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the Taliban destroyed the giant Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001.



Interest in threats to heritage has "grown tremendously in recent years because of these conflicts" but also new threats linked to climate change or urbanisation, she told AFP.



"Globalisation and connectivity have also seen the rise of a new spirit, a wish to present oneself to the world through one's culture," Bukova said. "Inscription on the World Heritage list is glorious, countries are proud."



- Three modern architects -

This year 29 dossiers are being considered by the World Heritage Committee, made up of 21 countries serving six-year terms.



A dossier for the work of architect Le Corbusier, after failed attempts in 2009 and 2011, has been revamped and comes with high marks from a committee of experts who evaluate the submissions.



It lists 17 sites across seven countries -- France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan and India -- to show the global reach of the work of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier.



The creations show the contributions of Le Corbusier to the Modern Movement that emerged after World War I with an emphasis on functionality, bold lines and new materials such as concrete, iron and glass.



Another architect in the same movement is also under consideration for a World Heritage nod, Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer, who laid out the country's capital Brasilia.



Brazil's dossier wants Niemeyer's modern ensemble of Pampulha, a leisure centre built in 1940 around an artificial lake at Belo Horizonte, to be inscribed on the prestigious list.



In the same vein, the United States is promoting the works of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, but the experts' assessment was not encouraging.



- Frictions -

Other dossiers reach far back in time, one to Canada's Mistaken Point reserve with its 560 million-year-old fossils.



Cave art dating from the 5th century BC in Zuojiang Huashan in China, the dolmens of Antequera in Spain and Gibraltar's Neanderthal grottoes are also in contention.



Among natural sites under consideration are Iran's Loot Desert and the Revillagigedo archipelago in Mexico.



The World Heritage process has often caused diplomatic friction, and this year is no exception.



Thailand has proposed its Kaeng Krachan forests for listing as a cultural site, angering neighbouring Myanmar, which fired off a letter to UNESCO stating that 34 percent of the site is in its territory.



For its part Britain annoyed Spain by proposing the Gibraltar grottoes, and Turkey has a dossier promoting the ancient ghost city of Ani, once the capital of neighbouring Armenia.



The World Heritage List today has 1,031 sites in more than 163 countries.



Apart from the prestige it accords, it can be a boost to tourism as well as a means for poorer countries to receive financial aid to preserve their sites.



The Heritage Committee will also review the status of 48 sites currently listed as "in danger".



Seven more sites have been proposed to be added to this list, including the Kathmandu valley, which suffered a devastating earthquake last year.
Three University of Texas Professors have filed a federal lawsuit in an effort to block a state law that would allow those 21 years of age and older with concealed handgun licenses to bring their weapons into classrooms on campus. The law is set to take effect on Aug. 1.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Austin on Wednesday, requests a federal judge block license holders from bringing their guns to one of the nations largest campuses, Reuters reports. The Texas law allows university presidents to enact their own rules regarding concealed handguns as long as those rules dont generally prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons on campus, and a 19-member task force at the University of Texas in Austin voted to recommend that concealed handguns be allowed in classrooms in December. The task force recommended concealed handguns be kept out of dormitories, however. Advocates of the law argue that it could protect students in the event of a mass shooting on campus.

In the suit, which named the states attorney general, the university president and the universitys board of regents as defendants, the professors argue that allowing students to carry concealed guns in classrooms chills their First Amendment rights to academic freedom by making it difficult for professors to discuss controversial or emotional subjects without fearing gun violence.

The law has already incited protest on the campus, with students staging a fake mass shooting in December, and an economics professor quitting over the risk that a disgruntled student might bring a gun into the classroom.

University officials are reviewing the lawsuit. The university president, Greg Fenves, approved properly licensed and concealed handguns in classrooms once the law takes effect earlier this year, though he has said he does not believe handguns belong on a university campus.

[Reuters]
By Jon Herskovitz

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Three University of Texas professors have filed suit in federal court in a bid to halt a state law that lets people with concealed handgun licenses bring pistols into classrooms, saying the measure would have a chilling effect on academic freedom.

The law, passed by a Republican-led legislature and signed by a Republican governor, is due to take effect on Aug. 1. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. district court in Austin on Wednesday.

The law permits concealed-handgun license holders 21 and older to bring handguns into classrooms and buildings throughout the University of Texas system, one of the nation's largest, with an enrollment of more than 214,000 students.

"Compelling professors at a public university to allow, without any limitation or restriction, students to carry concealed guns in their classrooms chills their First Amendment rights to academic freedom," the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit filed by professors Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter names defendants including the state's Republican attorney general, the school's president and the university's board of regents.

Attorney General Ken Paxton said the law is constitutionally sound and he will defend it.

"This lawsuit is not only baseless, it is an insult to the millions of law-abiding gun owners in Texas and across this country," Paxton said in a statement.

The professors argue that they discus controversial and emotionally laden subjects such as reproductive rights, and it would be inevitable for them to alter their classroom presentations because of potential gun violence.

There has been heightened concern about gun violence on U.S. college campuses after several mass shootings in recent years.

University President Greg Fenves in February approved plans for holders of concealed handguns to bring pistols into classrooms, saying he had been forced to do so by the new law.

University officials said they were reviewing the lawsuit and typically do not comment on pending litigation.

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said the law could prevent mass shootings because someone with a licensed concealed weapon could confront a gunman.

The so-called campus-carry law allows private colleges to opt out, and most of the state's best-known private universities have done so, saying the measure runs counter to protecting student safety.

Eight states allow people to carry concealed weapons on public post-secondary campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The Texas law takes effect on the 50th anniversary of one of the deadliest U.S. gun incidents on a U.S. college campus. Student Charles Whitman killed 16 people by firing from a perch atop the clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin in 1966.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Will Dunham)
The pace of U.S. job creation has been slowing, which is making it harder for people looking for a job.

But it's good news if you already have one. Why? It may be time to ask your boss for a raise.

With more than half a million unfilled jobs, and potential job candidates in a better bargaining positions, wages have begun to move higher. especially for workers in industries with the highest rate of unfilled jobs. The pace of wage growth has picked up as the gap between job openings and new hires has widened.

Jobs data out Friday will help investors and economists get a better read on recent weakness in the government's monthly status report on the job market. Last month, they were stunned by numbers showing the hiring all but ground nearly to a halt in May.

Only 38,000 net new jobs were created, much less than the nearly 160,000 that economists had forecast. It was weakest showing since September 2010. The Labor Department also cut its estimates for April and March to show that 59,000 fewer jobs were added in those two months.

With the jobless rate now hovering around 5 percent  roughly half the level in the depths of the Great Recession, some economist say the slowdown shouldn't be too surprising. That jobless rate is close to the level known as "full employment" - when almost anyone who can work and wants a job can find one.

There's additional evidence of a tight job market  where the demand for able workers is overtaking supply  in a separate monthly report from the Labor Department known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

The report shows that the number of new job openings each month has recently begun to exceed the number of newly-hired workers. Its also showing a steady rise in the number of people who leave a job because they decide to quit on their own, rather than getting laid off or leaving for other reasons.

A rise in the "quit rate" is usually seen as evidence that workers are confident enough in their job prospects to leave voluntarily. And when they do, it's often for a better job with a higher wage.

Story continues

Even as hiring seems to be slowing, so is the pace of layoffs. One measure is the number of new people who sign up each week for unemployment benefits.

After falling steadily since the end of the Great Recession, those claims have fallen to the lowest level since 2000. When adjusted for the size of the labor force, initial claims are at the lowest level on record.

A separate report, from the recruitment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, found that layoffs in June were down almost 15 percent from last June.

Workers in the greatest demand are necessarily those in highly-skilled industries, though. Job openings represent rough 5 percent of total employment for the leisure and hospitality sector. But they make up just 1.4 percent of open positions for state and local teachers and school administrators.





By CNBC's John Schoen. Follow him on Twitter @johnwschoen or email him.







More From CNBC


Norristown (United States) (AFP) - Disgraced US television star Bill Cosby lost another bid Thursday to have a sexual assault case against him tossed, clearing the way for a trial to eventually begin over the claims dating back to 2004.

The pioneering black comedian faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted in a Pennsylvania court of assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in the Philadelphia area. The actor's lawyers insist his relations with Constand were consensual.

His legal team tried to have the case thrown out on procedural grounds, saying that his rights had been violated when prosecutors did not call Constand to the stand at a pre-trial hearing, meaning she could not be cross-examined.

The judge in the Montgomery County court, Steven O'Neill, disagreed.

Cosby's lawyer Brian McMonagle vowed to appeal the decision to the state's supreme court.

"We are confident that our state's highest court will right this wrong, will reverse this decision and allow us to begin our journey to making sure that Mr Cosby is proven innocent," he said.

Cosby was present at Thursday's hearing, often whispering with his lawyers and nodding his head as the proceedings went on.

Going to trial will cement a brutal fall from grace for Cosby -- America's once-treasured father figure, apparent model citizen and award-winning comedian who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

But in recent years, more than 50 women have publicly painted the 78-year-old Cosby as a serial sexual predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to have sex and make them unable to resist his advances.

So far, the case brought over Constand's allegations is the only criminal case against him. Most of the other claims are too far in the past to be actionable.

For prosecutor Kevin Steele, Cosby's defense attorneys will have their chance to question Constand at trial.

"That's the stage where he will be able to do that," Steele said.
Washington (AFP) - US transport authorities nominated eight airlines to begin regularly scheduled services to Havana, Cuba, to end a nearly six-decade break.

The Department of Transportation said the airlines proposed for the service would share 20 round-trip flights a day already approved by the two governments, to link 10 US cities with Havana.

"Today we take another important step toward delivering on President (Barack) Obama's promise to reengage Cuba," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.

"Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes."

In recent years official charter services have multiplied serving a surge in family, cultural and business traffic as relations, frozen after the Fidel Castro-led communist takeover of the island in 1959, have slowly thawed.

The United States and Cuba restored diplomatic ties in July 2015.

The US airlines tentatively approved for scheduled Havana service are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines.

The arrangement between Cuba and the United States will also provide Cuban carriers with 20 daily round-trip flights, between Havana and US cities.

In addition, each side will be able to conduct 10 round-trip flights per day between US cities and each of Cuba's other international airports, aside from Havana.

That allows for a total of 90 round-trip flights a day between the two countries.

Six US airlines were chosen in early June to serve cities other than Havana.
Washington (AFP) - The United States said Thursday it is returning $1.5 million to Taiwan from the sale of two homes bought with alleged bribes by the family of disgraced former president Chen Shui-bian.

The Justice Department said it had sold a condo in Manhattan and a home in Virginia that were seized in 2012 under allegations that they were purchased with bribes paid to former first lady Wu Shu-chen in 2004 during her husband's administration.

"We are committed to rooting out foreign official corruption and preventing corrupt officials from enjoying their spoils in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell in a statement. "We appreciate the cooperation of Taiwan law enforcement in this matter."

Chen was arrested in Taiwan in November 2008, less than six months after he left office, on corruption allegations. Both he and his wife were subsequently jailed for corruption.

According to the US complaints in the case, Yuanta Securities Co. paid 200 million New Taiwan dollars (about $6 million) to Wu to ensure that her husband supported Yuanta's bid to acquire another company.

Wu used Hong Kong and Swiss bank accounts, shell companies and a St. Kitts and Nevis trust to transfer the bribe proceeds to purchase the two properties.

"After many years of collaborative work, we are happy to return these funds to their rightful owners," said Peter Edge, executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations in the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Saint Paul (AFP) - US President Barack Obama made an emotional appeal for urgent police reform after the fatal shootings of two black men by police, as protests over the deaths erupted in major cities across the country.

The deaths this week of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota -- both caught on video -- are once again fueling a debate about police use of lethal force, especially against African-Americans.

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the aftermath of Wednesday night's shooting in a Saint Paul suburb with an officer pointing his gun at her through the window as her four-year-old daughter sat in the back of the car.

The 10-minute video -- which shows Castile bleeding out -- prompted widespread outrage and has been viewed millions of times after it was posted on Facebook.

It prompted thousands to march and chant across Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Dallas and Atlanta Thursday evening, with more than 1,000 protesters gathered in New York's Time Square.

Obama, America's first black president, said it was clear the shootings were not "isolated incidents."

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve," he said in a statement on Facebook.

Obama urged Americans to work together to heal the divisions, while making clear that police officers should not be blamed wholesale.

"To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day," he said.

"When people say black lives matter, it doesn't mean blue lives don't matter," he said upon arrival in Poland for a NATO summit, referring to the color of uniforms worn by American police officers.

Story continues

"It's incumbent on all of us to say we can do better than this."

"This is not just a black issue. It's not just a Hispanic issue," he said. "This is an American issue that we should all care about."

- Nationwide protests -

Dozens of protesters -- mostly young people -- blocked traffic on a highway in Chicago. They marched with arms linked, chanting: "It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains."

About a thousand protesters clogged New York's iconic Times Square, at one point staging a sit-in. Police arrested some of them, loading them onto city buses they borrowed for the occasion.

Another thousand rallied in Washington at the White House, then marched to the US Capitol where veteran civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis stood on the steps and addressed the crowd through a bullhorn.

- 'Racism exists' -

In Minnesota, a visibly upset Governor Mark Dayton said Thursday there was "every indication" that police conduct in the Castile case was "way in excess" of what the situation warranted, and that race may have played a role.

"I can't say how shocked I am and how deeply, deeply offended that this would occur in Minnesota to somebody who got pulled over for a tail light being out of order," he told reporters, calling the situation "absolutely appalling."

"Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don't think it would have," Dayton said.

"So I'm forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists."

Dayton has urged a federal civil rights probe into the shooting, similar to the one launched in Louisiana over the death of Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five.

Speaking to reporters outside the governor's mansion after a night in police custody, Reynolds repeated what she said in the gruesome footage: that Castile was shot "for no reason."

After he was pulled over, Castile duly informed the officer that he possessed a licensed gun, she said -- and was shot as he reached for his wallet to retrieve his identification.

Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker described by relatives as a quiet, law-abiding citizen, had made no threat, Reynolds said.

She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands -- telling Castile both to keep his hands in the air and identify himself.

- 'It's OK, Mommy' -

Reynolds said she livestreamed the event to forestall any attempt by police to deny what happened.

"I didn't do it for pity. I didn't do it for fame. I did so that the world knows that these police are not here to protect us," she said.

"They're here to assassinate us, they're here to kill us because we are black."

Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up.

In the video methodically narrated by Reynolds, Castile can be seen in the driver's seat, blood stains spreading through his white shirt.

At the end of the video, as she sits crying in the back of a police car, Reynolds's daughter can be heard telling her: "It's OK, Mommy. It's OK, I'm right here with you."

- Guns in possession -

Although the victims in both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases had guns in their possession, there is no indication they pointed their weapons at police.

On Tuesday in Louisiana, Sterling was pinned to the ground and shot multiple times at point blank range.

Baton Rouge police said they had responded after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling's family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a convenience store.

A GoFundMe campaign has so far raised more than $500,000 for Sterling's children.
New York (AFP) - US tax authorities are asking Facebook to turn over documents for an investigation into the social networking giant's dealings with its Irish subsidiary, court documents show.

In a petition filed in federal court in San Francisco, the Internal Revenue Service said it is "conducting an examination of the federal income tax liability" for Facebook in 2010.

The revelation is the latest highlighting tax questions on big tech companies on global operations.

European officials have looked at tax liabilities of companies including Google, Amazon and Apple. Some of the firms have taken advantage of tax breaks offered from Ireland, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The petition said the IRS is looking into "certain agreements between Facebook Inc. and Facebook Ireland Holdings Limited purporting to transfer rights associated with Facebook's worldwide business to Facebook Ireland."

The IRS said Facebook has failed to turn over documents sought in the investigation and did not appear in response to a summons for the information.

Asked about the petition, Facebook said in an email that the company "complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," without elaborating.

The IRS is seeking a court order requiring Facebook to turn over the requested documents and to appear before IRS agents looking into the case.
Washington (AFP) - A video of the dying moments of a black man shot by Minnesota police after being pulled over while driving went viral on Thursday, a day after a video emerged of a similar incident in Louisiana.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me he's dead, please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... You shot four bullets into him, sir," a woman, identified on her Facebook page as Lavish Reynolds, is heard saying in the video shot on her camera phone.

Police confirmed the shooting by an officer. Family and activists identified the victim as school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, 32.

Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. Reynolds sat next to him and her young daughter was also traveling in the car.

- Series of shootings -

The shooting took place just one day after police in Louisiana shot dead a black father of five at point-blank range, in a incident being probed by federal investigators.

The shootings came on the eve of a closely watched trial in Baltimore on Thursday of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a broken spine in the back of a police van.

In the video of the Minnesota killing, broadcast on Facebook Live and already viewed more than 1.7 million times, Reynolds says the car was pulled over for a broken tail light. She later says there was also marijuana in the car.

Castile had a legal license to carry a firearm and was reaching for his license and vehicle registration when police shot him, she adds.

Police said the incident was being investigated and a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Castile "was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket, and he let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm. He just shot his arm off," Reynolds says in the video.

She says the police officer, who has not yet been identified, was "Chinese."

Story continues

With Castile moaning and gasping for air, the police officer pointed his gun through the car window.

"Fuck! I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up!" the officer shouted.

For much of the nearly 10-minute video, Reynolds can be heard wailing, off and on camera, as police apparently cast her phone to the side at one point and later handcuffed her, so she could not hold the phone up.

A Facebook page set up by supporters, Justice for Philando Castile, said: "Philando Castile was murdered by police on 7/6/2016. We demand justice!"

- 'It's ok, mommy' -

In a poignant moment toward the end of the video, Reynolds's four-year-old daughter can be heard reassuring her deeply distraught mother.

"It's ok, mommy," says the girl sweetly. "It's ok, I'm right here with you."

Activists said the girl was just four years old.
Lyft Glowstache

Lyft just unveiled Premier, a new high-end ride-hailing service designed to take a chunk out of Uber's luxury service.

In the process of ramping up the new service, though, Uber drivers accuse Lyft of adopting a controversial practice of hailing Uber cars to try to recruit and convert drivers to its platform.

Ironically, Uber drew criticism in 2014 for using the same type of aggressive tactic against Lyft drivers.

Christian Perea, an Uber driver and contributor The Rideshare Guy, first broke the news of the high-end Lyft Premier service in mid-June. Designed to attract an upper-end clientele, Premier requires drivers to have luxury cars like an Audi A6, BMW, or an Escalade.

On Thursday, Lyft announced it was starting Premier in the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles. Lyft will charge consumers a premium for the new Premier service, with pricing that starts at $2.66 a mile instead of the $1.16-a-mile starting price for Lyft's regular service.

In Lyft's quest to build a large fleet of vehicles and drivers for its Premier service, the company resorted to what Perea describes as a "smaller, gentler Operation SLOG."

Uber's infamous "Operation SLOG" saw recruiters, equipped with burner phones and pre-paid credit cards, requesting Lyft rides to try to convince drivers to work for Uber. Drivers hated the "slogging" because Uber's recruiters, who wanted to meet as many different potential recruits as possible, would leave drivers bad ratings to avoid being matched with the same person again.

This time around, internal Uber data obtained by Business Insider suggests Lyft recruiters are now using similar tactics, but without intentionally lowering driver ratings. After Uber's Operation SLOG was uncovered by The Verge, Lyft lambasted Uber for the practice, telling CNN Money that, "It's unfortunate for affected community members that they have used these tactics, as it wastes a driver's time and impacts the next passenger waiting for that driver. We remain focused on growing the business faster than any competitor through better customer experience and innovation."

Story continues

'Hand in the cookie jar'

A year later, Lyft appears to have started doing something similar.

"Uber is known for getting caught with its hand in the cookie jar," Perea told Business Insider. "But while its being yelled at in one room, Lyft will often run in and grab a cookie too."

Since last September, the leaked data shows more than 58,000 trips and 11,000 cancellations for Uber rides made from 800 fake rider accounts. Of the cancellations, many were made before Uber's cancellation fee kicked-in.

A source claims that these rides were all paid for by two corporate credit cards with the same ZIP code in San Francisco's Mission District, where Lyft's headquarters are located. Of those trips, at least 300 were requests for Uber's high-end Select cars, with the aim of recruiting for Lyft Premier.

Lyft operates an "Ambassador" program, which pays people hundreds of dollars for new driver referrals. But while Lyft has long criticized the practice of taking rides from rival services as a recruiting tactic, the leaked data shows that it is increasingly a part of Lyft's playbook.

A Lyft spokesperson did not deny the recruiting tactics, but said that cancelling rides from rival service was not a part of the program.

"The data is well under normal industry cancellation rates. We have a Lyft ambassador program and as part of the training process, we clearly instruct ambassadors never to cancel rides," the spokesperson told Business Insider.

Perea told Business Insider that he's heard from drivers in San Francisco that a lot of Uber Select requests were originating from Lyft's headquarters on Harrison Street. Many of those rides were being used to pitch drivers to sign up for the upcoming Lyft Premier as the company ran sign-on bonuses ranging from $500 to $1,000 to join the platform.

"I actually considered staking out Lyft HQ when I heard about this and logging into Uber Select to catch some of the pitches since it would be an easy $10-$25 dollars," Perea joked. "I was gonna be like 'Well ... I don't know ... do you mind if I ask you some questions about Lyft while I drive you around?'"





More From Business Insider


Many found Vanity Fairs profile of Margot Robbie disturbingly sexist. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)

A new profile of Margot Robbie in Vanity Fair magazine has been branded creepy and lecherous because of its portrait of the Australian actress.

Writer Rich Cohen, who is also a co-creator of the now-axed Martin Scorsese HBO series Vinyl, has also come under heavy criticism for referring to Australians as throwback people in the article.

Later, he somewhat reductively describes Robbie as one of Scorseses women, following her role in The Wolf of Wall Street.

The piece, titled Welcome to the Summer of Margot Robbie, appears in the August issue of the magazine and has been published to coincide with her new movies The Legend of Tarzan and Suicide Squad, and now Twitter is ablaze with people calling out Cohen on its tone.

He writes in the piece:

She is 26 and beautiful, not in that otherworldly, catwalk way but in a minor knock-around key, a blue mood, a slow dance.

She is blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character.

She wandered through the room like a second-semester freshman, finally at ease with the system. She stopped at tables along the way to talk to friends. I dont remember what she was wearing, but it was simple, her hair combed around those painfully blue eyes.

Many  including other journalists and writers  have taken to Twitter to express their views on the article, the majority being unflinchingly scathing.

And then theres what he says about Australia, portraying the Gold Coast in Queensland as an out-there backwater rather than a major city and tourist hot spot with a population of well over 500,000.

In an old movie, you might have seen a crossroad sign demonstrating just how isolated it was, just how far from the known capitals, he says.

Now and then, she stayed with cousins who lived in the hinterland of the hinterland, where there really were kangaroos and a dingo really will eat your baby.

Story continues

Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why you go there for throwback people, he writes, adding that Australians still live and die with the plot turns of soap operas.

He was, as you might expect, called out on this as well.

The article ends with Robbie just getting up and leaving.

So far, Cohen appears to be keeping his head down on Twitter.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Vatican court on Thursday cleared two Italian journalists who had been charged with publishing leaked documents that claimed the headquarters of the Catholic Church was riddled with graft. In a defeat for the prosecution, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi because they are not officials of the Vatican, a sovereign state in the heart of Rome. However, the court handed down guilty verdicts against two other defendants, Italian public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui and Spanish priest Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda. Vallejo was given an 18-month sentence and Chaouqui, who has a three-week-old son, was given a 10-month suspended sentence. The prosecution had asked for three years and nine months for Chaouqui and three years and one month for Vallejo. The fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, an assistant to Vallejo, was found innocent. The two reporters published books last year that depicted a Vatican plagued by greed and corruption, and where Pope Francis faced stiff resistance from the old guard to his reform agenda. Angered by the revelations, Vatican investigators accused Chaouqui, Balda and Maio of leaking confidential documents and said the reporters had tried to reap financial reward after knowingly receiving stolen documents. Media watchdogs accused the Roman Catholic Church of looking to stifle press freedom. The prosecution in the eight-month, so-called "Vatileaks II" trial had asked for a one-year suspended sentence for Nuzzi and for charges to be dropped against Fittipaldi for insufficient evidence against him. Fittipaldi said he was "totally surprised" by the sentence. "It was a trial that never should have taken place," he told reporters outside the Vatican. "This sentence recognizes the independence of journalists in telling the truth," said Nuzzi. "Public opinion has been with us on this, people have understood the value of these books." PRIEST AND WOMAN HAD AMBIGUOUS RELATIONSHIP The verdicts marked the end of a sometimes bizarre trial where the spotlight was often on the ambiguous relationship between Chaouqui and Vallejo, who were once members of a now-defunct papal reform commission investigating Vatican finances. In a final, rambling statement before the court retired on Thursday morning, a weeping Chaouqui said she did not want her child "to spend the first years of his life in a jail." Chaouqui and Vallejo had spent most of the trial hurling insults and accusations at each other. He claimed she was an ambitious and manipulative social climber who put him under a seductive spell and turned against him when she did not get a permanent position in the Vatican. She sent him text messages with insulting, unpublishable references to his alleged homosexuality. He said she led him to believe she was a spy who could reveal secrets about his personal life if she did not get a prominent Vatican job. In her final statement, Chaouqui accused Vallejo of lies and denied that she had ever been his lover. She apologized for some of the things she said during the trial. "I was full of rage. I can't hold back my tears. I never gave documents to journalists," she said. The Vatican made it a crime to disclose official documents in 2013 after a separate leaks scandal, which the media dubbed Vatileaks and which preceded the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Vallejo, blaming his confused state of mind, admitted giving Nuzzi access to password-protected documents of the now-defunct Vatican commission. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Hugh Lawson)
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government has lodged some 400 individual complaints over allegedly invalid signatures submitted in a bid to remove him from office, officials said.

The opposition MUD coalition had collected signatures representing dead and underage people and convicts in its effort to launch a recall referendum, according to Jorge Rodriguez, the socialist president's point man for tackling the drive to remove him from office.

"There will end up being thousands of citizen complaints against the massive fraud that was committed," he told reporters.

Venezuela is suffering a deep recession driven by falling prices for its oil exports. The crisis has prompted food shortages and deadly looting.

The opposition blames the socialist president's economic mismanagement.

Maduro meanwhile regularly accuses business elites of waging an "economic war" against him by hoarding supplies to aggravate the crisis.

The opposition launched its efforts to remove the president after winning control of the legislature in January. But Maduro has challenged his rivals through the Supreme Court, which they accuse him of controlling.

The government has already filed a case in the court against the referendum bid.

The national electoral board has said it will announce by July 26 whether enough signatures have been authenticated for the referendum drive to proceed.

If that happens, Maduro's opponents must collect four million more signatures to call a full referendum.

The opposition is rushing to complete the recall process by January 10, the cutoff date to trigger new elections.

After that date, a successful recall vote would simply hand power to Maduro's hand-picked vice president.
Caracas (AFP) - A Venezuelan court postponed a sensitive appeal hearing Thursday for a prominent jailed opposition leader, his lawyer said, sparking accusations of political interference.

The postponement came at a time of high political tension as President Nicolas Maduro resists opposition efforts to drive him from office.

Leopoldo Lopez, 45, was convicted in 2015 of inciting violence in deadly anti-government riots the year before.

A prosecutor in the case later fled the country and alleged Lopez's conviction was unsound.

Lopez is a senior leader of the centrist opposition to Maduro, a socialist.

He is one of scores of people the opposition says are being held by Maduro as political prisoners.

Lopez has appealed against his 14-year sentence and was scheduled to go before a judge on Thursday.

His lawyer Juan Carlos Gutierrez said the hearing was postponed because a protest blocked the route from the prison to the court.

"That was not the fault of Leopold Lopez or his defense team. In consequence, he should be immediately released," Gutierrez told reporters.

The leader of the opposition majority in the legislative assembly, Henry Ramos Allup, called the postponement a "ruse" to draw out a "political" legal process.

Lopez's family alleged this week that notes he had prepared for the defense hearing were confiscated from him in prison.
Viacom chairman, president and CEO Philippe Dauman won't attend investment bank Allen & Co.'s annual Sun Valley, Idaho, mogul get-together despite having planned to do so as of the beginning of the week.

"Mr. Dauman had planned to join the Allen & Co. conference but is attending to pressing business matters," Viacom said Thursday in a statement.

Viacom vice chair Shari Redstone arrived at the "summer camp" for media and technology moguls earlier this week. Media representatives have been looking for a possible encounter between the two.

Redstone - whose family trust owns Viacom and CBS Corp., where she also serves as vice chair - was spotted arriving at the Sun Valley Lodge on Tuesday. She and Dauman are in the midst of a legal battle over the future of the company and the potential sale of a major stake in Paramount Pictures as the health of her father, Sumner Redstone, has been deteriorating.

Also attending is CBS chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves. The gathered media saw him driving Shari Redstone to dinner on Tuesday. There has been speculation on Wall Street that she might look to merge CBS and Viacom again - with Moonves leading the combined media giant.

Read More: Sun Valley: Shari Redstone Takes Center Stage as Media Moguls Gather
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) said on Thursday it introduced a new system of scheduling working hours in July across its hypermarkets in China, and a majority of its employees support it.

Wal-Mart's remarks came in response to reports of unofficial strikes by its employees in China.

"We have communicated the new system to Walmart China associates and the majority of associates support it," spokeswoman Jo Newbould Warner told Reuters.

She said the system, which is unique to China, gives workers the flexibility to work additional shifts if they want to.

The Financial Times on Thursday reported that Wal-Mart's China workers had launched a series of strikes in some stores in Nanchang, Chengdu and Harbin against the new system.

Some workers demanded that Wal-Mart scrap a scheduling system that allows managers to flexibly schedule an unlimited number of hours per day, with no overtime pay. The report, which did not give details about the nature of the strikes, quoted a Wal-Mart employee in Nanchang saying that workers will continue the strike until they receive a satisfactory response from the company.

The Wal-Mart China employees also expressed solidarity with workers in the United States and their struggle for a $15 minimum wage, known as the Fight for Fifteen movement.

The report said the strikes were rapidly organized using the mobile messaging platform WeChat, with workers creating a group which has now reached 20,000 members, a fifth of the workforce of Wal-Mart China.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
(Adds details on worker demands according to a media report)

CHICAGO, July 7 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Thursday it introduced a new system of scheduling working hours in July across its hypermarkets in China, and a majority of its employees support it.

Wal-Mart's remarks came in response to reports of unofficial strikes by its employees in China.

"We have communicated the new system to Walmart China associates and the majority of associates support it," spokeswoman Jo Newbould Warner told Reuters.

She said the system, which is unique to China, gives workers the flexibility to work additional shifts if they want to.

The Financial Times on Thursday reported that Wal-Mart's China workers had launched a series of strikes in some stores in Nanchang, Chengdu and Harbin against the new system.

Some workers demanded that Wal-Mart scrap a scheduling system that allows managers to flexibly schedule an unlimited number of hours per day, with no overtime pay. The report, which did not give details about the nature of the strikes, quoted a Wal-Mart employee in Nanchang saying that workers will continue the strike until they receive a satisfactory response from the company.

The Wal-Mart China employees also expressed solidarity with workers in the United States and their struggle for a $15 minimum wage, known as the "Fight for Fifteen" movement.

The report said the strikes were rapidly organized using the mobile messaging platform WeChat, with workers creating a group which has now reached 20,000 members, a fifth of the workforce of Wal-Mart China.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Thursday it introduced a new system of scheduling working hours in July across its hypermarkets in China, and a majority of its employees support it. Wal-Mart's remarks came in response to reports of unofficial strikes by its employees in China. "We have communicated the new system to Walmart China associates and the majority of associates support it," spokeswoman Jo Newbould Warner told Reuters. She said the system, which is unique to China, gives workers the flexibility to work additional shifts if they want to. The Financial Times on Thursday reported that Wal-Mart's China workers had launched a series of strikes in some stores in Nanchang, Chengdu and Harbin against the new system. Some workers demanded that Wal-Mart scrap a scheduling system that allows managers to flexibly schedule an unlimited number of hours per day, with no overtime pay. The report, which did not give details about the nature of the strikes, quoted a Wal-Mart employee in Nanchang saying that workers will continue the strike until they receive a satisfactory response from the company. The Wal-Mart China employees also expressed solidarity with workers in the United States and their struggle for a $15 minimum wage, known as the Fight for Fifteen movement. The report said the strikes were rapidly organized using the mobile messaging platform WeChat, with workers creating a group which has now reached 20,000 members, a fifth of the workforce of Wal-Mart China. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Sigur Ros have condensed their 24-hour Route One project into a mesmerizing time-lapse video of them driving around Iceland's coastal ring to their new song "Oveur."

Sigur Ros to Debut New Music on Tour: 'Trust Us on This One'

The original event took place two weeks ago, on the longest day of the year. The video shows Sigur Ros cruising around Iceland at a very casual 60 kilometers-an-hour. The drive was set to a live generating soundtrack created in real time from "Oveur."

The full song now soundtracks the Route One time-lapse. The new clip captures the vibrant, varied beauty of the Icelandic landscape. The euphoric strangeness of "Oveur" perfectly complements the constant daylight.

Sigur Ros will also make an HD version of the full Route One journey available on Tuesday, July 12th, coinciding with a week of re-screenings on Icelandic television. During the first "slow TV" broadcast, Sigur Ros also premiered the official music video for "Oveur."

Despite the new music, Sigur Ros have yet to reveal any information about a possible album, which would be their first since 2013's Kveikur. This fall, the band will embark on a tour of North America and have promised new material for the intimate theater shows.

Related
The trailer for "Boy Howdy! The Story of Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," which tells the story of the iconic Detroit music magazine, has been released reports Rolling Stone.

The magazine is to be the focus of a new Kickstarter-funded documentary, with the film's Kickstarter page launching on Wednesday. The movie will only go ahead if the team behind the project reach their goal of $100,000 by August 5.

Founded in 1969 by Barry Kramer, Kramer's son J.J. is now producing the movie about his father's magazine.

"This is a story that I've wanted to tell my entire life," J.J. Kramer said in a statement. "Creem is more than a magazine; it's a living reminder of my father. This film is the perfect way to preserve the legacy that he, and the Creem community, created."

Scott Crawford, the director of "Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington DC", will be directing.

The documentary will feature interviews with Michael Stipe, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore, MC5's Wayne Kramer, and John Varvatos. If the film manages to reach and exceed its goal of $100,000, Crawford and the team are hoping to have the money to interview even more names.

The trailer can be viewed now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWpobeF-H8Y
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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By Curtis Skinner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A wave of anti-police protests since the 2014 killing of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Missouri, is creating strains at law enforcement agencies across the United States, forcing out some police chiefs and top prosecutors.

A driving force behind the change has been Black Lives Matter, a national organization whose name is a potent symbol for demonstrators railing against police violence, according to law enforcement officials and academics.

"What Black Lives Matter has been able to do is to maintain a focus on this issue and a persistence that has lasted for over two years now," said Jody Armour, a professor at University of Southern California's Gould School of Law.

Armour, who has expertise in police and racial profiling, called the movement "the power of democracy unleashed."

"Black Lives Matter" has again been used as a rallying cry in the cases of two unarmed black men shot dead by police this week in Baton Rouge and Minneapolis, and organizers have begun mobilizing.

Formed in 2012 after the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida, Black Lives Matter's national profile exploded in mid-2014 after white police officer Darren Wilson shot dead unarmed black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson.

Angry protests have roiled the country since, and police chiefs and top prosecutors in big and small cities have been ousted.

In San Francisco, the police killing of 26-year-old Mario Woods in December sparked months of protests and demands for the ouster of police chief Greg Suhr. In May, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee asked him to step down, saying tensions between police and people of color had "come into full view."

In Chicago, two-term Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez lost her Democratic primary bid by a landslide in March, after activists dogged her campaign over her handling of the 2014 police killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.

Story continues

Her loss came just months after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel ousted then-police superintendent Garry McCarthy, saying it was an "undeniable fact" that public trust in police had eroded. As evidence, he cited Black Lives Matter protests organized after a video of the killing was released.

BATON ROUGE AND MINNEAPOLIS

The group has used demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience to pressure police chiefs and elected officials. At times their lead has been followed by more established groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and local clergy, as was the case in Chicago.

Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said local politicians were much more responsible for the string of departures and firings than protesters.

"I know from being involved in this work for around 50 years, that (since Ferguson) we've seen more of these political terminations than we've seen in years past," he said.

Hundreds of demonstrators converged on a convenience store in Baton Rouge on Wednesday where two police officers fatally shot 37-year-old Alton Sterling, an unarmed black man who was selling CDs, early on Tuesday morning.

Protesters on Thursday also gathered at the mansion of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton in St. Paul, about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of where 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot by a police officer after a traffic stop on Wednesday.

Both of the killings were captured on video.

Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, said heightened media attention and the ubiquity of cell phones have fueled recent firings and resignations.

"There's a far greater public awareness that's going on and it's increased (protesters') ability to affect the process," Pasco said.

He said the attention has made police chiefs an easy scapegoat for politicians aiming to quell unrest.

"Whenever there is a problem, is Rahm Emanuel going to resign or is he going to fire the police chief?" Pasco said, referring to the Chicago mayor. "Is the mayor of San Francisco going to resign, or is he going to fire the police chief? That's the question."

Melina Abdullah, professor and chair of pan-African studies at California State University Los Angeles, said keeping the heat on elected officials has been critical to the movement's success.

"With sustained pressure there, we can make sure there is a response," said Abdullah, an organizer of the local Black Lives Matter chapter. "We know another murder is going to happen."

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Jason Szep and Richard Chang)
Can wearing perfume help ward off mosquitos and protect us from Zika?

Can wearing perfume help ward off mosquitos and protect us from Zika?

As we reach the height of summer, we reach the height of something else: mosquito season. No one likes the winged bloodsuckers (those of us who get bitten a lot like them even less) but this year, everyone is a little more afraid of getting bitten than usual. Concerns over the spread of the Zika virus are causing more people to seek out repellents in the hope that they will save them from a bite  and help halt the spread of the virus itself.

According to the New York Times, this year there has been an uptick in the sales of perfumes claiming to help ward off mosquitos; these luxury alternatives to Off! products and citronella candles claim to have the efficacy without the synthetic-chemical smell.

These include Coqui Coqui, a citrus-scented repellent packaged like a perfume, and two fragrances by Aromaflage. The Aromaflage blends were created by a New Jersey couple who noticed on a trip to Southeast Asia that locals blended essential oils to repel bugs. Melissa Fensterstock, the creator of the fragrances, stated: The thought was, Why cant we launch something that was beautiful and efficacious?

However, while these fragrances might include oils that mosquitos dont like, dermatologists like Dr. Dendy Engelman say that in terms of efficacy, those synthetic chemicals know no match: I always tell my patients these are the ones that have the studies to back them up, with DEET generally thought as being the most effective.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list DEET as one of four mosquito-repelling ingredients, along with icaridin, IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus.

There are ways to marry the desire for a good-smelling repellent with the most effective ingredients, though. Products like Mrs. Whites Unstung Hero Anti-Mosquito Eau de Cologne contain one of those four CDC recommended ingredients  in this case IR3535  but still smell good. Jessica Richards of Shen Beauty in Brooklyn imports the product, which is said to smell like lemon tea, and finds that this always-popular item is selling even better this year than in the past.

Though, if someone is dead-set on not using a synthetic repellent, one with lemon eucalyptus oil as its base is the best option. However, anyone looking to avoid bites should use a multi-step approach including citronella candles and keeping pulse points  mosquitos favorite feeding grounds  covered.

The post Can wearing perfume help ward off mosquitos and protect us from Zika? appeared first on HelloGiggles.
The Wendys Co. (WEN) announced Thursday that the personal financial information of its customers were targeted at a portion of its U.S.-based franchises. The fast-food burger chain stated that it is working with federal law enforcement authorities and contacts in the payment card industry in an ongoing investigation into the malicious cyber activity.

Earlier in June, Wendys had reported that it noticed and disabled additional malware following the initial activity. The chain said that the payment information attacked included card holder name, debit or credit card number, verification code and card expiration date. Credit card information was shared in the attack, but customers who reported any suspicious activity in a timely manner will not be held responsible for charges.

The company believes that the malware was sent to the franchisees point-of-sales systems remotely due to service providers credentials being compromised. Wendys also said that there is no indication as of now that company-owned restaurants were affected by any attacks.

A company spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that 1,025 franchised locations were affected by the attack. Theres no indication of exactly how many customers were affected, but the company continues to updates regarding the attack on its website.

Wendys joins a list of corporations affected by security breaches in the recent past, as companies by the likes of Walmart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), and Home Depot (HD) have all dealt with cybersecurity attacks of their own.

Bottom Line

The Wendys Company is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), which can be attributed to a great deal of positive EPS estimate revision activity from analysts, as well as to its B Style Scores for Growth and Value. If the company remains vulnerable to continued cyber attacks though, it could start to take a toll on its performance moving forward. Hopefully Wendys will be able to access these prior attacks and be prepared for any further attempted security breaches in the future to protect its customers, and its shareholders.

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President Barack Obama just made it even more difficult and expensive to drill for oil in the Arctic.

On Thursday, the White House rolled out a series of new regulatory standards that govern how energy companies can explore the frigid waters of the Arctic for oil. Theyre much tougher than similar standards that govern oil exploration and extraction in more developed offshore drilling areas like the Gulf of Mexico.

For instance, drillers will have to store backup drilling rigs close to Arctic operation in case theres a need to drill a relief well in case of a blowout in an effort to prevent what happened in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The biggest fear among environmentalists and many policymakers is that the months-long gusher of oil in the Gulf  located in the heart of the oil-services industry and right next to Coast Guard bases  could be repeated in an area 1,000 miles or more from the nearest airfield. Both President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have pledged not to allow Arctic drilling until the highest environmental standards have been met.

The regulations we are issuing today support the Administrations thoughtful and balanced approach to any oil and gas exploration in the Arctic region, Janice Schneider, Interiors assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a statement.

She added, The rules help ensure that any exploratory drilling operations in this highly challenging environment will be conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner, while protecting the marine, coastal, and human environments, and Alaska Natives cultural traditions and access to subsistence resources.

Industry leaders lobbied hard against the strict regulations, arguing that the added expense of Arctic exploration and drilling would discourage companies from trying to find an estimated 24 billion barrels of oil in U.S. Arctic waters. But after Royal Dutch Shell spent $7 billion in all, it pulled out of the Arctic in 2015, and other oil giants including Shell, ConocoPhillips, and Iona Energy Inc. abandoned leases worth $2.5 billion there.

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But that doesnt mean they wont want to return in the future, as more Arctic ice melts. A number of foreign companies, like Russias Gazprom and Rosneft, are bullish on the Arctic. Another Russian firm, Novatek, has a massive natural-gas project on the Yamal Peninsula, deep in Siberia. Other European firms, such as Italys Eni and Norways Statoil, have prospects in the Barents Sea.

This is an unfortunate turn by this administration and will continue to stifle offshore oil and natural gas production, said American Petroleum Institute Upstream and Industry Operations Director Erik Milito . We remain concerned about various regulatory activities related to offshore energy development including todays proposals for Arctic operations.

If oil companies were to get back into the Arctic game in U.S. waters, theyd face a shortened drilling season, because they would have to stop work well before ice is expected to encroach on the area. They must also be able to predict and respond to quickly-changing weather conditions. They would also be required to have equipment on hand to cap oil from a well in the event of a blowout.

In a statement, Eleanor Huffines, senior officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts Arctic Ocean-U.S. project, praised the new standards.

Mandating that capping stacks, second rigs, and containment systems be located near drilling operations will help ensure that if an accident should occur, the capability exists to respond quickly using the best available technology and practices, she said.

Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images
Congress must agree on a bipartisan bill to fund efforts to control the Zika virus before it adjourns for a seven-week recess next week, or risk irreparable harm to pregnant women and their babies, the White House said Thursday.

"The risk is growing every day," Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Amy Pope told reporters on a conference call. Without funding, "we know that we won't be able to begin the next phase of vaccine trials, that we cannot scale up manufacturing capacity."

President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion in Zika funds in February to support vaccine development, as well as efforts toward better diagnostic tools and mosquito control. In April, amid congressional gridlock, the administration allocated more than $500 million of funds from its Ebola budget to fight Zika, which public health officials say cannot be a permanent solution in efforts against either disease.

In late June, the House passed a $1.1 billion bill that was then blocked by Senate Democrats, who complained of "poison pill" provisions that made it untenable.

"It had all kinds of extraneous things in there, highly partisan provisions," Senator Bill Nelson of Florida told reporters Thursday. His state is expected to be among the hardest hit by Zika in the U.S. He highlighted restrictions to Planned Parenthood and diversion of Medicaid funds for Puerto Rico as two major concerns with the bill.

"This is how the Zika crisis is being treated, as a matter of partisan politics," Nelson said.

There have been 1,133 cases of Zika in U.S. states and Washington, D.C ., and 2,534 cases in U.S. territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zika is not yet spreading through mosquitoes in the continental U.S., though public health officials warn clusters of cases may arise in states including Florida and Texas, which have seen outbreaks of similar viruses, dengue and chikungunya.

Zika has been definitively linked not only to microcephaly, a birth defect that causes abnormal brain development, but also other severe brain defects, CDC Director Tom Frieden said Thursday. He said each day as many as 50 more women in Puerto Rico, which does have local Zika transmission, are becoming infected.

Story continues

"This is a great concern," Frieden said. "It has a devastating effect on pregnancy."

Nelson said he wrote to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to urge him to bring another $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, this one passed by the Senate and without the so-called poison pills, to the House for a vote.

"We are in the eleventh hour and 59th minute before Congress is gone all summer," Nelson said. "We have to get something passed."





More From CNBC


Clinton and Hillary Clinton

In November 1995, US President Bill Clinton infamously began an affair with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

For the next year and a half, America's 42nd president would engage in a dozen sexual encounters with Lewinsky, most of which took place in the Oval Office.

And while the nation wouldn't find out about President Clinton's scandal until January 1998, White House staff "witnessed the fallout from the affair and the toll it took on Hillary Clinton," explains Kate Brower, author of "The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House."

"You just felt bad for the entire family and what they were going through," White House maid Betty Finney told Brower. "You could feel the sadness."

According to Brower, the president slept on a sofa on the second floor of the White House for three months during the height of the Lewinsky drama.

"Some on the staff have said that Hillary knew about Lewinsky long before it came out, and that what really upset her was not the affair itself but its discovery and the media feeding frenzy that followed," Brower writes.

"It happened and she knew it happened and everybody was looking at her," former White House storeroom manager Bill Hamilton said of the first lady.

White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier recalled that in the late afternoons, Hillary would call down and quietly ask for her favorite dessert, "Roland, can I have a mocha cake tonight?"

"I made many, many mocha cakes. You better believe it," Mesnier told Brower.

Worthington White, a White House usher, described to Brower another encounter with the first lady during the dark days following the Lewinsky affair:

"One sunny weekend in August 1998, just before the president made his confession to the country, the first lady called Usher Worthington White with unusual request.

Story continues

'Worthington, I want to go to the pool but I don't want to see anybody except you,' she said.

'Yes, ma'am, I understand,' he replied sympathetically."

White arranged for the Secret Service agents to abandon the protocol in which one agent would walk ahead of the first lady and another would walk behind her. Instead, they just trailed her.

White met Clinton, who was wearing reading glasses and carrying a few books, at the doors of a White House elevator and then escorted her to the pool  just as she had requested.

"They didn't exchange a single word on the walk to the pool.

'Ma'am, do you need any butler service?' White asked her after she got settled in.

'No,' she responded.

'You need anything at all?'

'No, it's just a beautiful day and I want to just sit here and enjoy some sunshine. I'll call you when I'm ready to go back.'"

White then explained to the first lady that within an hour he would be heading home and therefore another staff member would come to escort her back to the White House.

"Clinton looked intently at him. 'I'll call you when I'm done.'

'Yes, ma'am,' White replied, knowing that that meant he would have to stay until whenever she chose to leave.

He didn't get the call until nearly three-thirty that afternoon.

When he returned, White accompanied the first lady on another wordless walk from the pool to the second floor. Before she stepped off the elevator, the besieged first lady let him know how much his efforts meant to her.

'She grabbed me by my hands and gave them a little squeeze and looked me directly in my eyes and just said, "Thank you."'

'It touched my heart,' White said of her gratitude. 'It meant the world to me.'"

In January 1998, the public found out about President Bill Clinton's affair. On December 19, 1998, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton for lying under oath and obstructing justice.

NOW WATCH: Heres the footage that Republicans suggest shows Hillary Clinton lied under oath





More From Business Insider


London (AFP) - Police locked down parts of Britain's Houses of Parliament on Thursday after a Muslim lawmaker was sent an envelope containing white power, sparking fears of a chemical or biological attack.

Nazir Ahmed's office in the House of Lords, the car park and the terrace were closed for an hour and a half after he found the powder in a letter containing racist abuse.

"They were treating it as a chemical or biological incident," the peer told AFP, adding: "Thank God it was not dangerous.

"I have received racist, abusive, insulting and Islamaphobic letters before, but never with white powder.

"This was frightening, as our colleague Jo Cox was murdered a few weeks ago."

The letter had been screened before it reached his office, but lawmakers are on heightened alert after Labour Party MP Cox was gunned down on the street in her constituency last month.

A local man, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, has been charged with her murder in the northern English village of Birstall, one week before the EU referendum.

Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union on June 23 came after a divisive campaign focused on immigration, and was followed by a surge in racist incidents.

Ahmed thanked the police and parliamentary authorities for their swift action.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers were alerted to reports of a suspect package at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT). The security alert ended around 2:00 pm.

"It was a suspicious package that had been delivered the Houses of Parliament. There are no reports of any injuries or illnesses," a spokeswoman told AFP.

A spokesman for the House of Lords added: "Peers' car park and parts of the terrace were closed temporarily but have now been reopened.

"The closure was put in place while a package containing a white powder was investigated by specialist police units, which is standard procedure.

"The powder was found to be non-harmful."
Hillary Clinton at a rally in Atlantic City, N.J., on Wednesday. (Photo: Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

Theres no more Joe Biden hovering on the periphery, waiting. Bernie Sanders is already a memory. And now the specter of a federal indictment, always remote but potentially catastrophic nonetheless, has finally, if noisily, been put to rest.

Sure, a race of zombie aliens could still beam down to Earth and inhabit the bodies of Democratic delegates in Philadelphia, and I guess theres a small chance wed actually notice. But if youre Hillary Clinton, you woke up yesterday and realized that, at long last, no earthly obstacle remains between you and the nomination.

Followed closely by a second thought: Ive really got to figure out whos running with me.

The first announcement about a running mate, of course, will come from Clintons opponent. Donald Trumps convention commences in about 10 days, which by my rough calculation gives him a pretty tight schedule:

Three days to settle on a top few choices, two more days to get rejected by them and find a suitable fallback (two senators, Bob Corker and Joni Ernst, took themselves out of contention just yesterday), one day to introduce his pick at a rally at which Trump does all the talking, one more day to totally insult that person in a thoughtless, late-night tweet, two days to walk back the tweet in a barrage of free publicity, and one additional day to blame the media for the whole thing and revoke the credentials of a few more serious news outlets.

Clinton, though, still has a few weeks to name her running mate, and the choice will test her steel as a potential president.

Shes under enormous pressure to go in one direction. She really should choose the other.

If you took any classes in political history, you were probably taught that running mates are chosen for the sake of regional balance, or to reunify a party riven along ideological lines. Times have changed.

Nobody really cares much about regional pride anymore; we all drink the same overpriced coffee and shop at the same Target. Most candidates cant even count on delivering their home states. Ideological factions tend to cohere, since the ideology is so muddled anyway.

Story continues

These days, nominees are more likely to choose their mates based on the signal they want to send about themselves.

Sometimes the pick is meant to reinforce the candidates core strength. The classic case here is Bill Clinton, who chose Al Gore because he was as close to a mirror image of youth and centrism as Clinton could get.

Other times, a nominee looks to reassure voters about some lingering liability. Gore, for instance, chose the upright and pious Joe Lieberman to help put some distance between himself and a scandalized president. George W. Bushs partnership with Dick Cheney was seen as a counterbalance to his own lack of gravitas.

Its a good bet that Clinton will use her own pick to help compensate for some of the doubts about her candidacy. The question is which ones.

The narrative on the left is that Clintons only real liability  the one existential threat to her candidacy  is the enthusiasm gap in her own party. The thinking here is that Democrats already enjoy a huge demographic advantage, as younger and nonwhite voters supplant older white guys, and Trumps candidacy only adds to the imbalance, since he cant seem to exhale without offending women or Latinos.

The only way Clinton loses, in this view, is if Democratic constituencies dont vote. And what the surprisingly robust Bernie Sanders rebellion tells you is that younger and more progressive Democrats are uninspired by her, at best.

And so the left is pushing hard for Elizabeth Warren, whos suddenly at Clintons side so much its like theyre remaking Thelma and Louise. Theres also a lot of talk about a Latino candidate like Julian Castro or Tom Perez, both Cabinet secretaries with unusually light resumes for the nations second-highest office.

The left has it half right. Clinton does, in fact, have a vulnerability that could sink her. Its just not the one theyre talking about.

Democrats arent going to stay home in November. The party isnt going to be short of door knockers or yard signs. Clinton could show up to debate in one of those plastic Reagan masks they sell at Halloween, and shed still turn out all the reliably Democratic votes any nominee can expect.

Thats because all politics is adversarial these days, and even if Clinton couldnt unify her own party, believe me, Trump would. All those Sanders voters arent going to sit out an election where some kind of Muslim ban  exactly which kind depends on the week  is on the ballot.

But that doesnt mean there will be enough of them to guarantee Clinton a victory. And herein lies her more pressing problem. Independent voters, and white men in general, really dont trust her.

Oh, I know, nobody needs a bunch of old, whiny white guys to vote for them anymore. Obama lost independents by 5 points in 2012, and men by 20, and he did fine. Ive heard the argument.

Except that Obama is a singular, electrifying figure who brought out unprecedented numbers of black and young voters in both of his elections; no other Democrat can count on that, no matter whos on the ticket. And Clinton could well do worse among white and independent voters than Obama did.

In the latest national polls, Clinton leads Trump by several points, at what could well be his nadir as a candidate. If Im Trump, thats the best news Ive heard since they actually found a buyer for the Taj Mahal.

For Clinton, the smarter move  and, I think, the one closest to where she really is politically, once you strip away all the artifice of the primaries  is to choose a more conventional running mate with a younger, more comfortable vibe. A swing-state senator like Virginias Tim Kaine or Colorados Michael Bennet could help reassure independents and maybe even draw some anti-Trump Republicans, too.

Or Clinton could do what shes pretty good at, which is to split the difference. She might gravitate toward Sherrod Brown, the populist Ohio senator, whos every bit the class warrior that Warren is, but with a less condescending touch and a proven ability to win working-class votes.

The larger point is that Clintons choice isnt just about winning in November. Its also a window into how she intends to govern.

The same liberals pushing her toward Warren now are the ones who, in the days after the lopsided 2008 election, insisted to Obama and anyone who would listen that Republicans had been washed away by historys tide, that Democrats would control Congress for the next 40 years, that now was the time to press their considerable advantage.

Two years later, and not coincidentally, they watched Republicans storm back into Congress and paralyze a presidency.

You can look at governing as an exercise in rallying your own raucous forces and writing off the rest, trying to get to 51 percent, imposing the will of a narrow majority because you dont believe in your own ability to make the case convincingly.

Or it can be about making pragmatic choices, trying to persuade some significant number of people you might be right, and building as broad a coalition as you can, in order to enact reform that lasts longer than the next election cycle.

The question is which way Clinton might go, now that shes finally in control of the party. Clintons not just choosing a running mate. Shes choosing a path.


From Popular Mechanics

The Iraqi government finally has banned fake British-made bomb detectors after an explosion in Baghdad killed more than 150 people. The British businessman jailed in 2013 for selling the detectors to Iraq, James McCormick, saw $10 million in assets (including a yacht) confiscated earlier this month.

In the judge's own words, McCormick was a "callous confidence trickster." But there's more to this story than just a device that can't do what it claims. They were just the latest version of a type of pseudoscience that just keeps turning up in the military, decade after decade.

McCormick was CEO of Advanced Tactical Security & Communications Ltd, whose products include the hand-held ADE 651. This simple device consisted of an antenna attached loosely to a handgrip. The detector has a "substance detection card" that supposedly could be tuned to detect anything, including explosives, banknotes, or human bodies. This claim ought to have aroused suspicion, but the Iraqi government bought thousands of them. Advertising material claimed the detector used "nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)." Later, though, McCormick admitted it worked the same way as water dowsing. Others agree, with the BBC describing the device as "a glorified dowsing rod."

Dowsing, which dates back centuries, is a supposed way of locating water or minerals underground using a divining rod. Traditionally this was a Y-shaped willow or hazel twig. The ends of the Y were held in each hand, and when the wand passed over water, it was supposed to move of its own accord. The practice, known as "water witching," was once common in the U.S. and still persists. There is even an American Society of Dowsers. Adherents claim that dowsing can find water, oil, gold or minerals, so it's not surprising they believe it can find bombs, too.

In 1966, Louis Matacia, an operations analyst at the Marine Corps Schools at Quantico, Virginia, suggested that dowsing would be useful for finding booby traps and Viet Cong tunnels. The New York Times reported that Marine Corps engineers trained in the technique had used it "with marked success" in Vietnam. A Major Hardracker showed reporters how two coat-hanger wires could be used to locate objects underground. The wires were loosely held, one in each hand, lying parallel. When there was an object of interest below, the wires crossed over. Asked to try his hand, the reporter found a tunnel himself, although another Marine officer said it did not work for him because he was "not psychic enough."

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"The Marine engineers at Camp Pendleton say they don't know why it works, but are convinced it does," was the reporter's conclusion.

In 1968, the Chicago Tribune carried a colorful account of Lance Corp D E Isgris successfully dowsing for Viet Cong tunnels in Khe Sanh using a pair of brass rods. The U.S. Army's Project Poorboy looked at several low-cost ways of improving military operations and this included some experiments with dowsing. The researchers concluded that dowsing remained unproven but showed "some feasibility and should be further investigated through a series of carefully controlled experiments."

Lots of other armies used dowsers; the British Army Engineers relied on dowsing to locate water up until WWII, after which it was replaced by more scientific methods. In some places, dowsing for bombs has never gone out of fashion. When George W. Bush visited Estonia in 2006, the local security forces checked his route for bombs by dowsing. In countries of the former Soviet Union this technique, cloaked under the name 'biophysical' detection, has a measure of respectability. Dowsing comes in and out of fashion in other fields. During the 1990's dowsing was fashionable and almost respectable in archaeology, though a rigorous scientific analysis suggested it was of little use.

And it proved popular in Iraq. When the initial complaints about the ADE 651 were made, Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani ordered the device to be tested. "We conducted several tests on them, and found them successful," al-Bolani told Associated Press.

The reason dowsing or divining just won't go away-the reason it just keeps hanging around and convincing people-is that it really can be better than chance. But the explanation for this has nothing to do with a divining rod or McCormick's phony detector.

Back in 1853, the great physicist Michael Faraday was investigating the psychic practice of "table turning." Sitters would place their hands on a table and ask questions, and the table would move, rapping out once for yes and twice for no. The implication was that these sounds were answers from the spirit world. Faraday, though, built apparatus to measure the forces involved, and soon proved that the sitters themselves were "quite unwittingly" moving the table.

In dowsing, as in table turning and Ouija Boards and countless other examples of this psychic smoke and mirrors, someone unconsciously provides the motive force as they anticipate the result of their action. If you expect the answer to a question to be "yes," then you nudge the Ouija planchette towards "yes" without even meaning to. A side effect of the ideomotor effect is that it can extract information you know, but do not know that you know. For example, a team at the University of British Columbia found that when subjects did not know an answer to a question like "What is the capital of Hungary?" but had to guess from among multiple choices, their guesses were 50 percent accurate. But when they used a Ouija board to answer, the ideomotor effect kicked in and their answers were 65 percent accurate.

This may explain why so many people believe in dowsing, and why it can work better than chance. If there are cues that you have not noticed consciously, but which have been tagged by your unconscious mind, dowsing may reveal that unconscious insight.

The British Colombia study results suggest that, in theory, dowsing might provide a marginal edge for detecting IEDs. By harnessing unconscious knowledge, a person might be slightly more likely to spot a bomb and save lives. In that sense, dowsing might be better than nothing, but it's an idea best left in the past. McCormick was a criminal because he charged up to $60,000 for a device that was no more effective than a pair of old coat hangers. For that price, you can get a real bomb detector that really saves lives.
The Republican daydream of replacing Donald Trump at the top of the ticket returned Wednesday, but its likely to end in yet another disappointment.

A report in the Wall Street Journal highlighting an internal Trump whip count of GOP convention delegates has reignited the hopes of the Never Trump crowd.

The count from Trump supporter and Republican National Committee member Randy Evans, confirmed by TIME, shows about 890 delegates firmly backing Trump and 680 opposing him. Both are short of the 1,237 necessary to win the nomination, with roughly 900 who havent firmly committed.

But conversations with delegates, RNC members and party and campaign officials made clear that the odds of such a coup are essentially nil.

Here are six major reasons why the effort would fail.

Theres no alternative candidate.

Its not enough just to dump Trump. The delegates would also have to pick someone else, but there is no clear heir apparent. Texas Senator Ted Cruzs aides have kept a close watch on the effort, and it is being led by many of his staunchest supporters. But a senior Cruz aide said, I cant envision a scenario where he would replace Trump atop the ticket, saying, theres no way to come out of that and win. And Cruz is polarizing in his own right, as failed efforts to unite the party around him as a Trump alternative this spring demonstrated. To many moderate Republicans, Cruz is as bad as, or worse than, Trump, owing to his hard-line social conservative positions and hawkish foreign policy. Save for Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Kentucky Senator Rand Pauls re-election campaigns, the 2016 contenders have no real political operations. Respected party leaders like Mitt Romney have repeatedly said they wont jump in unless they see a path to victory in November, and theres little chance of that when a large fraction of the GOP base will be upset their preferred candidate was undemocratically dumped.

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Getting rid of Trump would have its own consequences.

Riding on a wave of anti-establishment anger, Trump still rails against the efforts by his rivals to rig the system against him by outworking him in state convention delegate selections. Cutting Trump loose would only exacerbate that problem and likely irreparably split the GOP. As New Hampshire committeeman Steve Duprey explained Wednesday: I was neutral in our New Hampshire primary, but I dont think it is out of line for me to say that Donald Trump was not my choice. However, he ran his race according to the rules and followed those rules. I dont think I should substitute my views for those of all the voters who showed up and participated in our primary.

The Never Trump faction gave up too early.

Cruz quit the race on May 3 after losing the Indiana primary, and largely ceased his campaigns efforts to secure delegate slots and key convention committee positions for those opposed to Trump. Had that not stopped, the dump-Trump effort may have been in a position to succeed, but by giving up, they allowed the unpopular presumptive nominee to make up his deficits.

Theres little organization behind the plan.

Even if the will remained to try to unseat Trump, theres no defined effort to do so. For the past several weeks a loosely aligned network of anti-Trump groups have held conference calls to coordinate strategy and message for unbinding convention delegates in hopes of getting rid of him. No fewer than eight such groups exist with various levels of funding and sophistication. Kendal Unruh, the Colorado delegate who has served as the face of the conglomeration of efforts, told TIME, I cant micromanage all the [Facebook] groups. My proverbial answer to those who contact me all day long about so and so doing so and so to so and so is, deal with it. Everyone has a role to play and those who know our plan can be the outreach needed to keep everyone on track. We simply cant be distracted by it. The groups have been reaching out to individual delegates and rules committee members, but turning an organic movement into a coup requires more. The groups have not yet finalized a strategy and will face significant obstacles on the convention floor because they are not a sanctioned campaign.

The delegates are unlikely to be unbound.

Any hope to deny Trump the nomination starts at the convention rules committee, where the 112 members  one man and woman from each delegation  will formulate a draft of the rules for the convention and the GOP for the next four years. The anti-Trump contingent wants to undo the strict binding rules inserted in 2012, which require delegates to vote in accordance with the results of primaries and caucuses, rather than being faithless  or as the unbinding crowd prefers, voting their conscience. A majority of those 112 would be required to send such an amendment to the full convention floor, where the entire body of 2,472 would have to pass it by simple majority. Alternatively, if 25% of the committee, or 28 delegates, support it, they can send the amendment as a minority report to the full convention for an up-or-down vote. According to members of the committee, there is no majority support for unbinding the delegates, though the anti-Trump forces are on the cusp of clearing the minority-report threshold. Even so, they still lack the votes on the full convention floor, where they are still a vocal but clear minority.

Even if the delegates were unbound, Trump still has the votes.

Without a clear alternative, even if by some miracle the delegates were unbound, Trump would win a large plurality, if not an outright majority, on the first ballot, as the rest of the vote splits every which way. Hed still need a majority to win (assuming that rule doesnt change too), but hed be best positioned to do so.
Ed O'Brien is assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Nadav Klein is a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

As the Republican and Democratic national conventions draw near, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton find themselves among the most disliked presidential candidates in U.S. history. Americans have registered their negative views for the candidates in poll after poll, and their dissatisfaction runs deep. Why is the dislike for the leading presidential candidates so widespread? And is it possible to change voters' opinions?

While it may be tempting to point to the polarization of American politics as the answer, we think that more fundamental elements of human judgment are at work. Each candidate has a well-known past composed of both admirable actions and bad behavior. Our research suggests that people view these "mixed bags" in a systematic way: A bad reputation comes from doing bad deeds. A good reputation, in contrast, requires not only doing good deeds, but also not doing bad deeds. People tend to judge immoral behaviors harshly and judge moral behaviors with skepticism, according to our study recently published in the journal Social Cognition.

In a series of controlled experiments, we asked participants, mostly average Americans in their 30s and 40s, to read about and evaluate the actions of fictional people who behaved in either a moral or immoral way. We created the characters and the stories to reflect "small-dose" actions in everyday life.

As for Trump and Clinton, these findings help explain their stubbornly high negative ratings. Both candidates have impressive accomplishments: Clinton achieved top levels of public service as first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state, and Trump has been touted as a modern business tycoon. But no matter how many personal selling points they may offer to their constituents, our findings (along with many others in psychological science) suggest that the human mind gives preferential weight to the bad things. After making comments insulting Muslims, Latinos and women, Trump has been unable to fend off charges of racisms and sexism. Clinton is dogged by voter mistrust stoked by her handling of classified State Department information on a private email server, the Benghazi hearings, and the long-ago Whitewater scandal.

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Of course, people may think that some of these judgments are fairer than others. But regardless, our findings suggest that both presidential candidates will suffer from their past bad acts no matter how much good they advertise in the present, and therefore face an uphill battle in trying to change their reputations with voters before November.

It also explains why social stigmas are hard to shed. People who exhibit a few instances of socially unacceptable behavior are quickly labeled as deviant and have to commit disproportionately many more acceptable behaviors to restore their reputation.

In one experiment from our study, participants read about Barbara, who works in an office and behaves in a neutral manner--neither overly nice nor overly nasty. By the flip of a coin, some participants read that Barbara began engaging in small nasty behaviors, such as gossiping about others or cutting in line. Other participants read about a different Barbara, who began engaging in equivalently small, nice behaviors, such as holding the door for other people and giving compliments.

Participants could track Barbara for as long as they wanted, until they had "seen enough" to determine a meaningful change in her moral character. The results revealed an asymmetry in the point at which they tipped: people required about four unethical actions to decide that Barbara had appreciably changed for the worse, but about six equivalently ethical actions to decide that Barbara appreciably changed for the better.

This asymmetry proved consistent across a variety of situations, including generous and penny-pinching tipping in restaurants, and giving and taking money from strangers.

In another experiment, participants punished a hypothetical high school student after relatively few instances of bad behavior, but required markedly more instances of good behavior to grant the student an equivalent reward.

So understanding how people perceive moral tipping points is important because it illuminates how we as a society create different thresholds for rewarding versus punishing others. If it takes more evidence to accept a change for the better in someone's character than it requires to believe someone has changed for the worse, then equivalent behaviors will warrant punishment while not qualifying for reward.

In everyday life, this stringent threshold can lead us to refuse to give other people a second chance after a negative first impression, and explains why a well-evidenced positive impression can so readily evaporate with a single stumble.

See original article on Fortune.com

More from Fortune.com
Donald Trump 's and Hillary Clinton 's choice for vice president will be the most consequential decision that the candidates will make during the course of the presidential race.

Historically this selection has had only a small effect on the race, but by choosing a vice president, the candidate is making clear who they think should be a key advisor and worthy successor. It may not have been the goal, but modern-day vice presidents have become a crucial member of the president's policy team - the only one he cannot actually get rid of - and by far the most likely potential successor for the party's nomination.

While vice presidents were historically laughing stocks, over the last half century the position has changed. For 124 years, from 1836 until 1960, only seven vice presidents ascended to the presidency and they all did so based on the death of a president  and four of those seven could not even get their party's nomination for the presidency after they moved up. Not one vice president received their party's nomination for the presidency at the end of their term.

However, starting with Richard Nixon, seven of the last 12 vice presidents went on to win their party's nomination for the presidency in the next election. The five who didn't get the nomination all have their own reasons - Spiro Agnew, who resigned in disgraced; the unelected Nelson Rockefeller, who died before the next election; Dan Quayle, who never escaped ridicule; Dick Cheney, who had severe health problems; and Joe Biden, who didn't run this time due to Hillary Clinton's ability to cloak herself in the mantle of both of the last two Democratic presidents.

Biden's difficulty in mounting a primary race against Clinton points out why the VP is so important. Biden could have run, but he clearly thought that Clinton had established her credentials as Obama's and her husband's preferred successor. The reality is that in modern times the running mate is seen as the heir apparent. Any president leaving office still possesses a large degree of popularity at least with his or her own party's voters, enough that the candidate seen as close to the party leader has the best chance of grabbing that nomination. That person is generally the vice president. And presidents want their vice presidents to move up. This succession is a ratification of the president's own term.

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There are some real reasons for the recent change in VPs succession ability. During the political convention era, presidential candidates were selected by state leaders and machine bosses. The vice president was chosen at the last moment, and it was used a bargaining chip to get the presidency and a way to provide a consolation prize to the losers. The result was that many of the men who were taken as VPs were neither prominent nor powerful.

What has changed is that presidents are not chosen by a small group of leaders, but instead by the mass of voters in popular elections in primaries and caucuses. The nominee is no longer beholden to the convention, so he or she has the ability to choose their own running mate. There is no longer a focus on soothing losing factions, but instead the goal of the VP choice is to boost the chances of winning in November. The result is that vice presidential candidates are now, with a couple of glaring exceptions, prominent political figures by the time they are selected, with much higher name recognition and a better ability to form a political organization if and when they want to run for president.



Just as important, vice presidents are now key players in the president's governing team. For most of their history, the vice president was an ignored part of the administration. The rare exceptions  men like Martin Van Buren and Garrett Hobart, McKinley's first VP  are so rare that they can be listed. The vice presidency was famously called the "superfluous excellency" by John Adams and FDR's first vice president John Nance Garner stated that it was "not worth a bucket of warm spit"  at least that's the cleaned up version.

But starting with Harry Truman, who made his vice president a member of the National Security Council, VPs have become players in politics. The last three, Gore, Biden and Cheney all played central roles in their administrations. We probably can expect that to continue.

There's a good reason for this development. The president wants a vice president to have a real role, as an active and engaged VP makes the president look like he or she can make good choices. And unlike everyone else, the vice president is the only official the president cannot get rid of during an initial term. Presidents can fire the entire cabinet, replace all the generals, divorce a spouse and disown a child, but they have no power to act against the vice president. Not only do VPs retain their position, they may play an outsized role in critical policy. Since they break a tie vote in the Senate, they could pass judgment on the key legislation in a president's term. Better to have the VP in the tent than out of it.

For the country, this is actually a very positive development. Presidents are always seen as listening to powerful unelected individuals  from Jackson's kitchen cabinet to Obama's Valerie Jarrett or Bush's Karl Rove. The advisors are unelected and completely unvetted by the populace. The vice president is someone who will receive the full press attention and will need the tacit approval of the voters to start the job. For America it is much better to have this elected official serving as a chief advisor.

Right now, both candidates are looking to use the vice presidential selection to bolster perceived weaknesses in their campaigns. Clinton is looking at Senators who may help her with the aggrieved Bernie Sanders supporters such as Senators Sherrod Brown or Elizabeth Warren and Labor Secretary Tom Perez, assist with a particular ethnic group like HUD Secretary Julian Castro or Senator Cory Booker, or help with a specific state like Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia. For Donald Trump, the pick seems more designed to assist with his lack of electoral experience and proved further conservative bonafides, whether it is former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Governor Chris Christie, Governor Mike Pence or Senator Jeff Sessions.

The choice of running mates is not likely to swing an election. From an electoral standpoint, vice presidents have been a wash. But from a leadership, a governing and a legacy perspective, vice presidents are extremely important. In essence, the presidents must live with or live down their vice president. So they better do a good job in picking one.

Commentary by Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College in New York. He blogs at The Recall Elections Blog. Follow him on Twitter@recallelections.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.







More From CNBC


WME-IMG may host a week of fashion-related events happening in New York, but calling it "New York Fashion Week" is trademark infringement, according to a federal lawsuit filed last week.

Trisha Paravas claims she owns that trademark and is suing WME-IMG and the Council of Fashion Designers of America for at least $10 million in damages.

Paravas says she founded Fashion Week Inc. to produce fashion shows for consumers after realizing the current slate of fashion shows were invitation-only and designed for industry professionals and media. Her bi-yearly shows launched in December 2013 and were initially called "New York Fashion Shows." After her first few shows drew increasing interest, she decided it was time to rebrand.

"Ms. Paravas who was a savvy business executive with an MBA in business and marketing realized she had a hit concept on her hands," states the complaint. "However, she realized that she needed to change the name of her company and her branding as both were clunky."

At the time, Paravas claims there was no trademark filed for "New York Fashion Week," so she snatched it up, along with the abbreviation "NYFW."

By the end of 2015, her shows were turning a profit and drawing dozens of corporate sponsors including Ritz-Carlton, JP Morgan Chase and Dr. Pepper, Paravas claims.

That's around the same time Mercedes-Benz dropped its name sponsorship of the fashion week organized by WME-IMG and CFDA. That event rebranded as "New York Fashion Week," which much of the industry had been informally calling it since the early 2000s. (The event itself dates back to 1943.)

Paravas says their conflicting mark and the resulting dispute has caused her to lose designers and sponsors. She's suing for trademark dilution, unfair competition and trademark infringement and is seeking punitive damages and a permanent injunction.

U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl denied Paravas' request for a temporary restraining order and set a hearing on her motion for a preliminary injunction for Aug. 4.

Story continues

An IMG spokeswoman declined to comment on pending litigation.

Read More: How Fashion Week Has Changed Since WME Bought IMG
A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera "police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. Wednesday in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb that Mangseth's department serves. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where the man died and identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN early Thursday, Castile's mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children to that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive. Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but to say he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

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Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Philando Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight."

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. By daybreak Thursday, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite a light rain.

Dayton's spokesman didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appears to show the aftermath of a shooting like the one described by Mangseth. It shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man quietly slumped in a seat. The woman describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and her boyfriend being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol and was licensed. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The Associated Press couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Mangseth said he was "made aware there was a livestream on Facebook" but that he had not yet seen the video and didn't know anything about its contents.

The woman in the video says the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him.

Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

Clarence Castile spoke to the Star Tribune from the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said his nephew died minutes after arriving.

He said Philando Castile had worked in the J.J. Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, "cooking for the little kids." He said his nephew was "a good kid" who grew up in St. Paul.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Mangseth said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation. A spokesman for that agency couldn't immediately be reached.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men, including last year's killing of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. Levy-Pounds was a leading voice during the protests outside a police station that followed Clark's death, as well as during a renewed wave of protests after prosecutors decided not to charge the officers involved.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney, told the crowd as rain began to fall. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is Enough.'"
Quick: Take a guess where the only McDonalds is in Cuba? Downtown Havana, perhaps? Down by a popular beach, maybe?

Not even close.

Remember, relations between the U.S. and Cuba are only now beginning to turn around after a decades-long embargo. This means that no American-based companies have been permitted to set up shop in the Communist-ruled country (save for a handful), and vice-versa. This is slowly changing due to recently-restored relations, but youre still not going to be seeing American chains in Havana should you be permitted to visit.

So, with that said, care to guess again where that McDonalds is? Perhaps a part of Cuba thats been in American hands for a long time?

Thats right: Guantanamo Bay. The naval base, which is located on 45 square miles of land in southeast Cuba, has been leased by the United States since 1903, and is perhaps best known for its military prison, which has been in operation since 2002. In 1986, a McDonalds opened on the base, and its the only one in Cuba.

And by the way, McDonalds isnt the only American chain on the base. Baskin-Robbins was the first franchise to open there, in the early 1980s, and others include Subway, Pizza Hut, KFC, A&W, and a Taco Bell. These franchises are all owned and operated by the Department of the Navy, and Cubans arent allowed access to them.
Working Title Television, the small-screen arm of the British film powerhouse and a joint venture with NBCUniversal, has made two new additions to its U.K. development team.

Andrew Woodhead, who was named managing director in March of this year, announced Thursday that Surian Fletcher-Jones and Georgina Gordon-Smith have joined the London-based outfit.

Fletcher-Jones, formerly head of drama development at Channel 4, where she oversaw shows such as Indian Summers, has been appointed Working Title TV's head of development, while Gordon-Smith, who joins from United Agents, will be a development executive at the company.

The two will work with Woodhead to develop high-end scripted British programming, building on the TV unit's recent credits including You, Me and the Apocalypse and London Spy. The team also will work closely with Working Title's Film and U.S. Television's business, led by president Andrew Stearn, and in unison with NBCUniversal International Studios, led by Michael Edelstein and JoAnn Alfano.

"I am thrilled to have Surian and George joining me on this great adventure," said Woodhead. "I have worked with them both over the last few years in my role as an independent producer and was always so impressed with their creative instinct and generosity of spirit. They are both a great fit for the business and together we are excited about the opportunities and challenges ahead."

Read More: Working Title Television U.K. Names Andrew Woodhead Managing Director
LONDON  Working Title Television U.K. is bolstering its development team with the hire of Surian Fletcher-Jones as head of development and Georgina Gordon-Smith as development executive.



Fletcher-Jones was former head of drama development at Channel 4, where she oversaw a raft of leading scripted productions including Indian Summers, Cucumber and Banana. Previously, she was head of drama development at Scott Free Films, where she worked on an adaptation of author Kate Mosses Labyrinth for Channel 4. She has also acted as a script editor for BBC Drama on productions including Bafta and Golden Globe-nominated Blackpool Emmy-winning Little Dorrit.



Gordon-Smith joins from United Agents where she was a founding member and partner, representing a number of screenwriters whilst heading up the book to film department. Predominantly focused on selling books, scripts and treatments, she was also responsible for developing and managing the careers of a group of writers.



Based in London, the new hires will work with Woodhead to develop high-end scripted British programming with wide international and commercial appeal, building on the U.K. business existing credits including You, Me and the Apocalypse and London Spy. The team will also work closely with Working Titles Film and U.S. Televisions business, led by President Andrew Stearn. They will also work in unison with NBCUniversal International Studios, led by Michael Edelstein and JoAnn Alfano.



I am thrilled to have Surian and George joining me on this great adventure, said Woodhead in a statement. I have worked with them both over the last few years in my role as an independent Producer and was always so impressed with their creative instinct and generosity of spirit. They are both a great fit for the business and together we are excited about the opportunities and challenges ahead.

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Ray Dalio

Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund firm, is seeing multibillion-dollar swings in performance.

The firm's flagship Pure Alpha fund fell about 12% this year through June, The Wall Street Journal and Institutional Investor's Alpha reported Wednesday.

Different Bridgewater investors are seeing different permutations of that negative performance, since the mega hedge fund creates variations of the strategy for its investors.

For instance, one Bridgewater investor was down 4.6% in its Pure Alpha strategy for June and 7.5% year-to-date, according to a person familiar with the matter.

It's unclear exactly how Pure Alpha performed after the Brexit news last month, though some of its holdings may have helped, the person said.

Pure Alpha was short the British pound, which helped the strategy after the Brexit shock, but was also long European and Japanese equities, which declined, the person said.

Ryan Fitzgibbon, a spokesperson for Bridgewater at external PR firm Prosek Partners, declined to confirm the figures or comment.

It's unclear how much money Bridgewater has lost this year, especially since the firm's All Weather fund, another popular strategy, is up about 10% over the same period, according to The Journal and Institutional Investor reports.

However, Bridgewater has recently seen a slide in assets. A regulatory filing shows that last year, the firm's assets dropped from $169 billion to $152 billion.

To be sure, the hedge fund still trounces its competitors in size. Public pensions, some of the industry's biggest backers, are more likely to be invested in Bridgewater than any other hedge fund, according to data tracker Preqin.

The firm's founder, Ray Dalio, is one of the hedge fund industry's best-paid managers, and took home more than $1 billion last year.

NOW WATCH: Here are some incredible toys hedge fund boss Steve Cohen has bought with his billions





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From Esquire

I think Pipeline Watchdog might be a new federal job we think about having down here. Canada has one, and he's not happy with various extraction companies, many of whom seem to be buying their pipeline parts from the international pipeline parts firm of Shyster and Flywheel.

Of course, it took him eight years and one exploding pipeline to do something about it, as the National Observer explains.

Canada's pipeline watchdog has given two of North America's largest energy companies up to six months to fix what industry insiders have described as a series of "ticking time bombs." The National Energy Board waited eight years after U.S. regulators raised the alarm about substandard materials, finally issuing an emergency safety order in February. At least one Canadian pipeline with defective materials blew up during that period. Newly-released federal documents show that Texas-based Kinder Morgan and Alberta-based Enbridge are both looking into the use of defective parts purchased from Thailand-based, Canadoil Asia, that recently went bankrupt.

Enbridge is a great favorite on this side of the border, having introduced itself to America in 2010, when one of its pipelines dropped a million gallons of crude into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. (Just over the past two weeks, in Canada, an alliance of First Nations people whipped Enbridge in court, overturning the previous approval of the company's Northern Gateway pipeline.)

Ah, you say, but what about Nebraska's favorite international energy behemoth, TransCanada, which is currently suing the United States in a couple of venues for putting the kibosh on our old friend, the Keystone XL pipeline, the continent-spanning death funnel and current conservative fetish object?

Don't worry. Those nice folks are in there, too.

But the companies were not immediately able to say where they installed the dodgy parts. It's a problem that also struck Alberta-based TransCanada, which had defective materials in its own pipelines, including one that blew up in 2013.

Story continues

Cost of doing business, doncha know?

The abiding characteristic of these companies is that they lie about safety. They lie about the safety of their drilling operations. They lie about the safety of the substances they extract from the earth. They lie about the safety of their pipelines. They lie about the safety of their bomb-trains. And, when something goes wrong, as it inevitably will, their first resort is always the stonewall, the misdirection, the bribe, the pet politician, and the armored phalanx of faceless corporate lawyers.

Once any government accepts all this as being the irrefutable facts of the case, then it can decide whether to do business with these people. That's a political choice that a government has to make on our behalf. It is always helpful if they don't screw those up.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.
From Esquire

The president came out and gave a very depressing statement from the White House on Wednesday morning. In 2008, he campaigned on extricating the United States from its ill-designed adventures in southwest Asia. On Wednesday, he admitted that, yes, there will still be 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan when the next person takes the job in January.

This, I believe, has to be killing him. Per CNN:

Speaking from the White House, Obama said he would draw down troops to 8,400 by the end of his administration, from the initial target of 5,500. The current level of troops in Afghanistan is 9,800. "The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said. "I strongly believe it is in our national security interest ... that we give our Afghan partners the best opportunities to succeed."

Last October, you may recall, the president announced that the planned withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan would have to be slowed.

But the really depressing part of the statement wasn't the fact that he's been unable to accomplish one of the primary goals he had when he took office. The really depressing part was some of the language in which he couched his statement, much of which sounded sadly 1964 to anyone who was alive then. The American troops will be there merely to train the indigenous military to defend their own country, and we must keep our people there in order to honor the memory of our soldiers who already died there. It's like a Benjamin Button Vietnam, aging backwards.

From CBS News, we get an example.

"Even as we've maintained a relentless case against those threatening us, we are no longer engaged in a major ground war in Afghanistan," Mr. Obama said, pointing out that "fewer than 10,000" troops remain in the region to focus on the "narrow missions" of training and advising Afghan forces in counterterrorism efforts. "But even these narrow missions continue to be dangerous," he added.

Story continues

Of course, this statement had a substantial historical resonance because it coincided with the release in the UK of the damning report of the commission led by Sir John Chilcot that demonstrates quite clearly that the government of Tony Blair was fully complicit in making the fraudulent case for war in Iraq that was concocted for its own purposes by the late Avignon Presidency.

If there was anything left of Blair's reputation as an international leader, Sir John ate it for breakfast.

We have also concluded that: The judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction-WMD-were presented with a certainty that was not justified; despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated; the planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate, [and] the Government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

Certainly, the catastrophic decision to invade Iraq long before Afghanistan was anything close to stabilized has had something to do with the fact that the United States currently finds itself unable to extricate itself from its longest war. These most recent conclusions, of course, have not stopped the catastrophe's primary architects from blaming the Iraqis for the hell we unleashed upon their country:

Frum has not cleaned anywhere near enough bedpans at Walter Reed for him to be taken seriously on this subject ever again. We learned today that the United States will be involved in an open-ended military conflict in one of the world's most historic charnel-houses when the president who most sincerely promised to end that conflict no longer is president.

There's enough blame to go around, god knows.

Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page.
An Ohio woman plowed a car carrying her 2-year-old daughter into a lake, trying to kill herself and her child, according to police.

DeeAndra McGhee, 24, and her toddler were rescued from the sinking car by witnesses who said the woman drove straight into the lake and never slowed down, CBS affiliate WOIO-TV reported.

Read: 8-Year-Old Boy With Messy Room Killed By Mom's Fiance: Authorities

The mom, who has a history of psychiatric issues, did not have custody of her daughter and did not own the Chevrolet Cobalt she was driving, the Akron Beacon Journal said.

The daughter had been in the care of her grandmother, police said.

McGhee has been charged with attempted murder, child endangerment and criminal damaging.

Mother and daughter were treated for non-life-threatening injuries Monday evening. The toddler is back with her grandmother, police said.

Witness Amanda Teter screamed What are you doing? What are you doing? at McGhee as she saw the childs beaded braids in the backseat.

Read: 3 Boys Found Butchered To Death In Home, Mom Eyed As Suspect

Two men ran into the muddy water and pulled the woman and child from the car.

She didnt say a word, from the time it started until she was treated and taken away by paramedics, Teter said of McGhee, according to the paper. She acted like she was in another world, like she was in a haze.

McGhee is being held without bail, according to online jail records. It was not clear if she had entered a plea.

Watch: Mom Acquitted In Death of Daughter, 2 Nieces After Allegedly Texting Before Crash

Related Articles:
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  July 07, 2016  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Monsanto Company (MON), QUALCOMM Inc. ( QCOM) and Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS).

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Wednesdays Analyst Blog:

Microsoft/Monsanto to Invest in AgroTech Startups

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) has announced a partnership with a U.S. based biotech company Monsanto Company (MON) in a bid to invest in Brazilian agricultural technology startups.



Partnership in Details



Monsanto is reportedly expected to join forces with a Brazilian investment fund with a corpus of 300 million reais ($92 million). The fund will be managed by Microsoft. The objective of the partnership would be to evaluate feasible innovative ideas for new digital tools that could be applied to augment agricultural production in the country.



An initial funding of up to 1.5 million reais ($459,000) would be granted to selected ideas for facilitating early development. On the other hand, the project owners can choose to either pay back the investment after three years or convert the money into equity.



We note that, QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) is also interested in the partnership and is reportedly investing in the fund.



Smarter Agriculture



Today technology has given us the means to change the dynamics of the agricultural sector and tackle issues that were earlier thought to be inevitable. Increased accuracy in weather prediction along with timely availability of production and crop data has transformed the way agriculture is practiced in developed countries.



Given the huge scope for research and development in the agricultural sector, such partnerships are likely to gather momentum in the coming years, thereby backing new startups in this particular segment.

Story continues

Another Stock to Consider

Investors looking to buy stocks in the broader technology space can take a look at Citrix Systems, Inc. ( CTXS), which is currently in a favorable position.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  July 07, 2016 - Stocks in this weeks article include: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), Home Depot, Inc. (HD), Amgen Inc. (AMGN), United Parcel Service, Inc. ( UPS) and Intel Corporation (INTC).

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

5 Dividend Growth Stocks to Excel in Any Market

With uncertainty ruling the markets since the beginning of the year, its not surprising that dividend investing has emerged as one of the most popular investing themes. Dividends are always the major sources of consistent income for investors when returns from price movements of stocks are at risk.



In fact, stocks that have a strong history of dividend growth as opposed to those that have high yields form a healthy portfolio.



Why Choose Dividend Growth



Stocks with dividend growth generally belong to companies that outperform their peers and generate increased profits year after year. Thus, the dividend growth strategy has an edge over the steady dividend strategy in terms of increased year-over-year income. By investing in stocks with dividend growth investors can enjoy rising current income while waiting for capital appreciation.



Moreover, these stocks often have superior fundamentals compared to other dividend paying stocks as dividend growth speaks of a sustainable business model, a long track record of profitability, rising cash flows, good liquidity, a strong balance sheet and some value characteristics. All these make dividend growth a promising investment, particularly amid market turbulence.



Further, these are proven outperformers over the long term despite the fact that they do not necessarily have the highest yields.



Here are the screening parameters that could result in a winning dividend growth portfolio:



5-Year Historical Dividend Growth greater than zero: This selects stocks with a solid dividend growth history.



Most Recent Payout Ratio less than M-Industry: This is the measure of dividend payments as a percentage of earnings. A relatively low payout ratio indicates the companys ability to increase dividend in the future even in tough times.



5-Year Historical Sales Growth greater than zero: This selects stocks with a strong record of revenue growth.



5-Year Historical EPS Growth greater than zero: This shortlists stocks with a solid earnings growth history.



Next 35 Year EPS Growth Rate greater than zero: This represents the rate at which a companys earnings are expected to grow. Improving earnings should help companies sustain dividend payments.



52-Week Price Change greater than S&P 500 (Median): This ensures that the stock appreciated more than the S&P 500 over the past one year.



Zacks Rank Less than 2: Stocks having a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) generally perform better than their peers in all types of market environment.



VGM Style Score of B or better: This is simply a weighted combination of Value, Growth and Momentum.



Market Capitalization greater than $2 billion: We have eliminated small-cap stocks to ensure better flexibility and tradability.



Here are 5 of the 11 stocks that fit the bill:



Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) operates more than 11,500 retail units under 63 different banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 13 cents for fiscal 2017 over the past 60 days. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of A.



The Home Depot, Inc. (HD) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer. This Zacks Rank #2 company has an average four-quarter EPS surprise of 4.2% and a VGM Style Score of A.



Amgen Inc. (AMGN) is one of the leading biotechnology companies in the world, with extensive manufacturing, distribution and sales facilities. Its earnings are expected to grow at a rate of 7.5% this year. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of B.



United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including transporting packages and freight, facilitating international trade, and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. The stock has delivered a positive average earnings surprise of 6.0% over the past four quarters. It has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of B.



Intel Corporation (INTC) is one of the worlds leading producers of semiconductor components and digital platforms. Its earnings are expected to growth at a rate of 8.1% for the next 5 years. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Style Score of A.



You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.



The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.



Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today .



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Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks portfolios and strategies are available at:

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About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Each week, Zacks Profit from the Pros free email newsletter shares a new screening strategy. Learn more about it here https://at.zacks.com/?id=112

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Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Click here for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Every year, Apple fans around the world line up to buy the newest iPhone the minute it goes on sale. But Apples software updates for the iPhone, which the company usually reveals during its annual developers conference, are met with far less fanfare.

This is largely because Apples new software releases, as important as they may be for keeping your iPhone fast and secure, have recently been minor upgrades. Apples iOS 8 introduced iCloud Drive for accessing files across multiple devices and a new Health app to house fitness data from several fitness apps; iOS 9 brought Apples streaming music service and a slightly improved version of Siri.

While helpful, these additions didnt alter the overall iPhone experience in a significant way. But Apples iOS 10 software, coming this fall, offers a more dramatic change. Most notably, it rethinks many of the iPhones core apps and services, like Siri and iMessage.

If the rumor mill is to be believed, Apples next iPhone will offer only incremental upgrades in terms of hardware, a change from the companys usual pace of delivering an overhauled handset every two years. But after testing a beta version of iOS 10 for the past few days  available to the public starting Thursday  its become clear that Apples next big change is in its software.

Heres what its like to use iOS 10. Its important to keep in mind that we didnt use the final version of iOS 10; Apple is still fine-tuning the update for its fall release. Also, since iOS 10 is such a large update, we only focused on the most significant changes.

iMessage

Apples new version of iMessage adds lots of new features, including integration with third party apps, handwritten messages, and replacing words with emojis, among other upgrades. (The app integrations will let you do things like send money via an iMessage and more.)

Story continues

Many of these additions, like HUGE TEXTS, feel like features I would only use sparingly to add emphasis to my messages. Other features look more helpful for day-to-day communication, like the ability to replace a word with an emoji by tapping it, the new Tapback function, and rich media links. Tapback allows you to add a reaction to a particular comment in a message. If someone sends a message that says, I just ordered tickets for us, you could post a little thumbs up symbol or a heart on that message rather than typing a full reply. The rich media links, meanwhile, make links shared in conversations look cleaner.

My biggest concern before trying the refreshed iMessage was that it would feel too cluttered with new features. Thankfully, this isnt the case. Composing an iMessage or regular text message feels exactly the same as it did in iOS 9. The extra features, accessed by tapping an arrow next to the text field, dont interfere with typing.

Photos

Getting a big intelligence boost, the Photos app in iOS 10 scans your photo library to determine the subject matter of each image, letting you more easily search for specific images. Instead of just searching based on location or date, youll be able to type in specific queries to get results. It works like Google Photos, except the iPhone handles all of the computing on the device itself rather than working in the cloud.

In the beta version of iOS 10, this worked fairly well. Typing in cats yielded photos of my pet, entering sunset pulled up images taken of the horizon as the sun was going down. But some of Apples sorting categories were strange. One grouping called headgear, for example, included selfies and photos of people wearing glasses, headphones, or VR headsets. While the latter three make sense for the category, Im not sure how selfies got lumped into that section.

The other major addition to Photos in iOS 10 is the Memories tab, which organizes photos taken in certain places and at specific times into albums. This was generally pleasant to browse through; photos from my weekend trips to Atlantic City and the Poconos were all neatly packaged together. But since Memories are primarily sorted by location and date, many of my compilations had the same name. I had about five Memories called Manhattan, for example, which isnt particularly helpful.

Widgets, lock screen and other apps

As with Photos, Apples other apps are generally smarter in iOS 10. That has the effect of making the iPhone feel more like a true digital assistant.

Along those lines, one of the biggest changes youll notice in iOS 10 is that theSiri Suggestions feature, which surfaces app recommendations and nearby points of interest, has been merged with the Today tab, which shows upcoming appointments and other info via customizable widgets. The combined tab is now accessible by swiping to the right on the home screen, lock screen, or notifications panel. Each widget is the same size, resulting in a look thats more streamlined and digestible than the old Today view. At first glance, its reminiscent of Googles Android system. Indeed, the changes will be welcomed by iPhone users clamoring for more customization options, long a strong point of Android devices.

Eagled-eyed iPhone users will notice another big change, this one on the lock screen. The iconic slide to unlock animation, which previously had Apple and rival Samsung embroiled in a patent dispute, is gone. Sliding your finger over the screen will now pull up that aforementioned list of widgets rather than unlocking the device. Swiping in the other direction will launch the camera. (Apple has axed the tiny camera icon that previously sat in the lower right corner of the screen.)

Apple has also revamped some of its stock apps. Apple Music, for instance, has a slick new appearance that allows for quicker access to your playlists and music library. The Clock app now has a bedtime feature meant to help you develop healthier sleeping habits. I told the app what time Id like to wake up in the morning and how many hours of sleep I wanted to get, and it set a bedtime for me. The app can also send a notification to remind you to go to sleep 15 or 30 minutes before that time. (Though a bedtime reminder might be more stressful than its worth.)

Apple Maps, long past its initial launch hiccups, is also much improved in iOS 10. Developers will be able to plug their services into Apples navigation app, allowing users to book restaurant reservations or call a Lyft without leaving the app. Other tweaks, like the ability to search for gas stations and restaurants while driving, help Apple Maps keep up with rival Google Maps.

The new Apple Maps also proactively suggests places you might want to visit based on the events in your calendar, the time of day, and the places youve visited. In practice, the app only suggested places I had recently searched for  but I imagine it will improve before the official launch.

Conclusion

For the first time since iOS 7 was released in 2013, Apple has released a software update that almost feels like Im using a new iPhone. From the redesign of notifications and widgets to improved apps, iOS 10s enhancements make it easier to see relevant information with a quick glance. Most importantly, Apple is giving developers more access to its mobile platform than ever before, which should spark interesting new features yet to be designed.

In some ways, Apple is playing catch up with iOS 10. Companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google have made similar enhancements to their virtual assistants, messaging platforms, and photo apps. Still, its enough to make the iPhone feel exciting again. The average iPhone user will want to wait until later this year, when iOS 10 is officially released, to give it a spin. But the more adventurous can try it right away.
A real-life drama unfolded in Silicon Valley on Wednesday night and the aftermath continues to spill out across the media on Thursday morning.

In a war of words that could have far-reaching implications, Tesla and business news publication Fortune Magazine are at odds over a series of events that took place earlier this year. Fortune made some serious allegations against Tesla in recent articles, suggesting that the company intentionally waited to disclose a preliminary NHTSA investigation into a recent fatal accident until after it held a stock sale and raised more than $1 billion in fresh capital. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired back by suggesting that the Fortune articles were paid attacks before Tesla published its own official response, which was both lengthy and unconventional.

MUST SEE: This fully assembled iPhone 7 probably shows us exactly what the finished phone looks like

It was revealed back in June that Tesla included some curious language in non-disclosure agreements that might prevent Tesla car owners from approaching the government about safety issues. The NHTSA would later pressure Tesla into changing the wording in its NDAs, and the issue was covered by a number of news sites.

Elon Musk then suggested that some members of the media were attempting to impact Tesla's stock price and even personally profiting by reporting on the news. As a result, his reaction to Tesla's current predicament could be construed as crying wolf.

Tesla held a stock sale in May, raising nearly $1.5 billion. At the time of the sale Tesla knew that the NHTSA was holding a preliminary investigation into the death of Joshua Brown, a Florida man killed in an accident that occurred while Autopilot was engaged on his Model S. Tesla didn't disclose the investigation until June, long after the stock sale.

Fortune's articles drew attention to this potentially curious timeline of events. In fact, the articles flat-out accused Tesla of withholding information from investors that it knew was material.

Story continues

Musk wasn't pleased.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/750350191044259840

Tesla's CEO then went even further, implying that the Fortune articles were paid attacks:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/750820987676061696

As the article linked in Musk's tweet noted, Fortune has in the past run sponsored ads and articles that were part of a large anti-electric vehicle campaign financed by Big Oil and Koch Industries. One such article was written by Koch board member Jim Mahoney and published in Fortune back in March. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Fortune's more recent articles have anything to do with any earlier campaigns.

With all of the background out of the way, here are the articles you need to read in the order in which you should read them:

Drama!

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
A new type of ultrafast photography, called single-shot compressed ultrafast photography (CUP), can capture a picosecond laser pulse traveling through the air. The researchers recently upgraded their CUP camera to achieve (Liren Zhu, Jinyang Liang and Lihong V. Wang, Washington University in St. Louis)

One of the fastest cameras in the world can now take better pictures than ever, even capturing neurons as they fire, according to a new study.

This upgrade could help researchers learn more about how the brain works and how to improve combustion-engine fuel efficiency, the scientists said.

The researchers previously developed a "streak camera" that could image at speeds of 100 billion frames per second in a single exposure  quick enough to capture pulses of light zipping through space. This device was the fastest receive-only camera in the world, meaning it needed only available light for imaging, as opposed to additional illumination from a source such as a laser. [Photo Future: 7 High-Tech Ways to Share Images]

The scientists have now improved on this technique, called compressed ultrafast photography, boosting its resolution "by about 2.4 times," said study senior author Lihong Wang, an applied physicist at Washington University in St. Louis. "This is a step above something that was already exciting."

In their latest work, the researchers started with a streak camera  an extremely fast type of camera that measures how the intensity of a pulse of light varies over time. They next added a standard digital camera to their streak camera. Merging the data from the digital camera and the streak camera helped enhance image reconstruction, producing images with higher resolution, improved contrast and cleaner backgrounds, Wang said.

With the upgraded system, the scientists captured images of laser pulses each just picoseconds or trillionths of a second long as they traveled through the air. They also imaged the laser pulses as they swept across a printout of a toy car.

This camera technology could be coupled with microscopes or telescopes, Wang said. He and his colleagues are especially interested in using it to watch neurons fire.

"Neural signals can propagate along nerves at speeds of over 100 meters per second (223 mph)," Wang told Live Science. "That kind of speed is too high for any current cameras to capture. We hope we can use our system to study neural networks to understand how the brain works."

Story continues

The researchers also hope to use their upgrade to analyze ultrafast biochemical reactions that occur within cells, and to study combustion "in order to optimize fuel efficiency," Wang said. Washington University has applied for a patent for the technology and is looking for companies to commercialize it, he added.

The scientists detailed their findings online June 30 in the journal Optica.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations

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HONG KONG/SEOUL (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] has submitted a filing with a second court in China as part of a patent lawsuit against smartphone rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS>. Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court spokesman Wang Zhiwei told Reuters the court accepted the case recently but did not provide further details on what infringements Huawei is claiming in the lawsuit and when the suit was filed. In May, Huawei sued Samsung in the United States and China, seeking compensation for what the Chinese firm said was unlicensed use of fourth-generation cellular communications technology, operating systems and user interface software in Samsung phones. A Huawei spokeswoman said on Thursday its filing to the Quanzhou court, made in June, was for the same case as the one it started in May against Samsung. She said the nature of the case required Huawei to submit "technical filings" to two courts in its home country. The other court is in Shenzhen. A Samsung spokeswoman said the South Korean company would "thoroughly review the complaint" and take appropriate action to defend its interests. Huawei's patent challenge marks a reversal of roles in China, as phone makers there have often been on the receiving end of such lawsuits. Last year, Xiaomi Inc [XTC.UL] was forced briefly to halt sales of handsets in India after a patent infringement complaint from telecom equipment maker Ericsson . (Reporting by Se Young Lee in SEOUL and Lindsy Long in HONG KONG; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
As it does ahead of each quarterly earnings report, Samsung on Thursday announced earnings guidance for the second quarter of 2016. The company expects Q2 2016 operating profit to come in at about $7 billion, up a healthy 17% from the same quarter last year. It will mark Samsung's strongest profit performance in more than two years, and it's thanks in large part to strong sales of Samsung's new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge flagship smartphones. Samsung shares jumped 2% on the results.

Samsung warned six months ago that 2016 would be another difficult year for the consumer electronics giant after a disappointing 2015, suggesting that not even Samsung itself expected its new flagship smartphones to sell so well.

MUST SEE: Leaked Galaxy Note 7 renders may show us the iPhone 7 Plus worst nightmare

Samsung's latest flagship smartphone duo was well received by reviewers and fans alike. We have repeatedly called the larger and more expensive Galaxy S7 edge the most desirable Android phone in the world, and the handset's steeper asking price is clearly helping Samsung's bottom line. As great as these new flagship phones are on their own, however, a bigger story has developed over the past half-year.

Back in April, Apple worried investors when it announced that iPhone sales had declined for the first time ever. But sales hadn't just declined, they fell off a cliff. Apple sold 51.2 million iPhones in the March quarter this year, down from 61.17 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Even though that figure was in line with some analysts' expectations, selling 10 million fewer iPhones on-year is troubling.

Apple bulls pointed to two main factors when explaining away the steep decline. The first is accurate: sales were so astronomical in the iPhone 6 cycle thanks to pent-up demand for iPhones with larger screens that there was no way Apple could continue selling iPhones at that pace. The second, it turns out, was not: Analysts said that opportunities at the high-end of the smartphone market were vanishing as key regions became saturated.

Story continues

Guess what  Samsung's Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are just as expensive as the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (though Samsung sales are helped much more by discounts and promotions than iPhones), yet Samsung posted a 17% growth in profit following a strong first quarter. And both quarters were thanks largely to healthy sales of the company's high-end smartphones.

Apple is set to report its June-quarter earnings later this month and it will certainly be interesting to see if things picked up like they did for Samsung, or if the South Korean company really is taking a bite out of Apple right now.

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See the original version of this article on BGR.com
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a statement indicating that it will be investigating yet another Tesla accident involving the company's Autopilot software. The latest news stems from a July 1 incident involving a Tesla Model X that veered into a guard rail before ultimately crashing into a concrete median. When the dust settled, the driver was okay but the Model X itself was completely turned upside down.

DON'T MISS: Is Apple shooting itself in the foot with the boring iPhone 7?

Shortly following the accident, Tesla issued a statement which indicated that there is "no data to suggest that Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash. Curiously, Tesla has since changed its tune and has put out an updated statement on the incident. And as it turns out, Tesla hasn't even been able to take a look at the car's log which contains all sorts of pertinent vehicular data.

We received an automated alert from this vehicle on July 1 indicating airbag deployment, but logs containing detailed information on the state of the vehicle controls at the time of the collision were never received. This is consistent with damage of the severity reported in the press, which can cause the antenna to fail. As we do with all crash events, we immediately reached out to the customer to confirm they were ok and offer support but were unable to reach him. We have since attempted to contact the customer three times by phone without success.

That being the case, it's really hard to know what to make of this particular incident. For what it's worth, Tesla did make a point of noting that they currently "have no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident.

It will be interesting to see how this particular story plays out given that Tesla is still dealing with the ramifications of a deadly May 7 crash in Florida involving a Tesla Model S that ran into a tractor-trailer. Notably, if the tractor-trailer featured a side guard design -- as is common in Europe -- the tragedy may have been preventable.

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Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, pictured on July 14, 2014, will leave to become chief executive officer at global financial firm Citadel Securities (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb) (AFP/File)

San Francisco (AFP) - Microsoft on Thursday announced a shake-up in its top ranks, including the departure of longtime chief operating officer Kevin Turner for a new job.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said that five executives will divide the duties held by Turner, who played a pivotal role over the past decade as Microsoft shifted from packaged software to programs offered as services in the internet cloud to a gamut of connected devices.

Turner will remain at Microsoft to aid with the transition through this month, then leave to become chief executive officer at global financial firm Citadel Securities, according to Nadella.

"Kevin is a world-class business builder with experience managing large and complex organizations." said Citadel founder and chief Kenneth Griffin said in a separate release.

"Kevin is a proven innovator who brings expertise in technology and operations with a client-first focus."

Nadella praised Turner as having a tremendous impact at Microsoft during his 11 years with the software giant.

"I have learned a lot from Kevin over these past few years and wish him all the best," Nadella said in a blog post.

Turner's departure comes with shifts in the duties and responsibilities of Microsoft executives Judson Althoff, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Chris Capossela, Kurt DelBene, and Amy Hood.

The leadership changes come as Microsoft prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Windows 10 with a major update to the software powering more than 350 million computing devices.

The Windows 10 update is set for release on August 2.

Windows 10 operating system is designed to work on laptops, desktops, smartphones, Xbox One consoles, HoloLens augmented reality headsets and more.

Microsoft has been aggressively promoting upgrades from old versions of Windows, and has made Windows 10 available as a free upgrade until the operating system turns one year old on July 29.

After that, it will be sold pre-installed on new devices or available for purchase separately, with a home computer version priced at $119, according to the Redmond, Washington-based company.

Microsoft provoked ire by pushing people to upgrade to Windows 10 by automating the process and, for a time, modifying the red "x" in a corner of an upgrade notice pop-up box to approve the action, instead of simply closing the message.

Microsoft has set a goal of having the operating system in use in more than a billion devices by 2018, which would put it on par with Apple, which said this year it has one billion active devices running iOS.
internet_photo

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If youre at work and your boss is on your case for checking out memes, updating your various social media pages, and looking at your favorite website that has all of your news and cultural needs, you can now tell them that your internet usage is a basic human right and the United Nations said so.

Last Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that denounces countries that impede on their citizens internet access. Most countries were in favor of the resolution that states, the same rights people have offline must also be protected online, but of course, there were several countries adamantly opposed to the resolution. It is no surprise that China, Saudi Arabia, and Russia were against this push to expand freedom of expression to the online arena. These three nations are known for their extremely strict rules regarding internet access.

The Verge states that the U.N. cant legally enforce this new resolution, but it puts pressure on governments and gives credence to the actions of digital rights advocates around the world. Thomas Hughes, the executive director of Article 19, a charity which focuses on defending the freedom of expression, praised the latest U.N. resolution stating:

From impunity for the killings of bloggers to laws criminalizing legitimate dissent on social media, basic human rights principles are being disregarded to impose greater controls over the information we see and share online.

Hopefully, this resolution will put an end to government internet shutdowns. Access Now, a global advocacy group protecting internet rights said that there have already been 20 recorded internet shutdowns this year alone. A social media shutdown recently occurred in Turkey where information regarding the recent airport bombing was blocked for Turkish citizens. A lot of shutdowns revolve around government protesting, but Algeria even shut down social media access so children in school wouldnt be able to cheat on tests. This resolution could be a big step towards global internet freedom regarding information and access.

(Via The Verge)
Anderson Cooper doesn't just have a vacation home -- he has a full-on vacation compound.

The 49-year-old journalist owns Casa Anderson -- you haven't made it until your house has a name -- in Trancoso, Brazil. If you want serious real estate envy, Cooper allowed Architectural Digest to take what have to be the prettiest pictures of the prettiest home you've ever seen.

"Within a day I was fantasizing about buying a house there," Cooper told the magazine about a 2013 trip to Trancoso with his longtime partner, Benjamin Maisani, and best friend, Andy Cohen. "Ben thought I'd lost my mind, and Andy, who is encouraging about almost everything, thought I was nuts, too."

Architectural Digest

RELATED: Anderson Cooper Doesn't Like Being a Silver Fox: I Look Like a 'Game of Thrones' White Walker!

Architectural Digest

Just read this insane description of the property:

"The first cottage -- colonial in style -- contains the conjoined living and dining rooms, a kitchen, and a veranda for alfresco meals. The two center buildings are guest bungalows -- one of brick, the other built using pau a pique (or 'wattle and daub'), a process whereby clay is layered over a wood frame. The last structure, tucked away near the pool, is a two-story tree house of reclaimed timber planks that comprises a master suite above and an outdoor living room and bar below."

A tree house! There's also a pool set against the rain forest, mango trees and MONKEYS.

Architectural Digest

There's much ado about how "unpretentious" and "authentic" the Casa is. Such as: The compound was constructed using materials salvaged from an abandoned farmhouse! The outdoor shower is made out of a tree trunk! And a local Brazilian fisherman crafted the beds!

But fear not: There is a flat-screen TV in his bedroom -- it's just hidden in a "rustic trunk."

WATCH: Anderson Cooper Addresses 'Live!' Co-Hosting Rumors: 'It Would Be a Dream to Work With Kelly'

Architectural Digest

Story continues

"I've worked in 70 countries and traveled to even more, and I've never seen anything like Trancoso," the Anderson Cooper 360 host said in the issue, which is out now. "It's a real place not a Potemkin village for tourists."

Cooper will have even less time to visit his Brazilian getaway if he lands a permanent gig as Kelly Ripa's co-host on Live! He has said it "would be a dream" to work with Ripa, but ET previously learned that execs are "hesitant" to pick him.

Now, a source says Ripa's co-host will be announced before the new season premieres in September -- which could mean Cooper is no longer the frontrunner. Get the scoop on the situation in the video below.

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The chairperson of Makerere University Convocation, Tanga Odoi has blamed the University for keeping quiet about the sexual harassment issues that are on a rampant rise in the University.

The call is in response to a case of Dr Brian Musaga a Professor from the school of statistics over a sex scandal for marks which has been running in one of the tabloids.

While addressing journalists today at Makerere University, Tanga said the University has been indecisive about the matter and yet the vice is on a rise.

He called for justice to be applied to both girls and boys who are molested by lecturers and the victims to be expeditiously disposed without delay.
North Korea has sent about 300 security agents to China in a bid to strengthen monitoring on the North's overseas workers following a high-profile defection by over a dozen North Korean restaurant staffers, an activist claimed Thursday.

In late June, the North dispatched security agents in their 30s and 40s to the neighboring country in an effort to step up supervision on North Korean workers, according to North Korean defector Kim Yong-hwa, head of the NK Refugees Human Rights Associations of Korea.

"The agents were dispatched to North Korea-run restaurants, Chinese companies and trade missions where North Koreans are working," Kim told Yonhap News Agency, citing a source familiar with the situation.

"They are closely checking what North Korean workers say over the phone. Agents do not allow them to go out freely as well," he said. "North Koreans working in China would face difficulty in escaping their workplaces."

The move came as 13 North Koreans working at a Pyongyang-run restaurant in the Chinese eastern port city of Ningbo defected to South Korea en masse in April. In June, three more North Korean restaurant staff working in China escaped to Seoul.

Overseas restaurants operated by North Korea have served as one of the main sources of hard currency for North Korea. The North is suspected of using the money to bankroll its nuclear and missile programs.

North Koreans in overseas restaurants are among the 50,000 workers sent abroad by the regime to earn much-needed hard currency to help it tackle economic hardship amid the U.N. sanctions on the North.

North Korea handpicks workers who are loyal to the regime and sends them overseas to work at restaurants.

Kim said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the dispatch of security agents and rotates them every three months to prevent them from colluding with North Korean officials they are supposed to monitor. (Yonhap)
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WATERLOO  The DeKalb FFA chapter competed in several events at the 87th Indiana FFA Convention hosted by Purdue University June 13-16.

Winning their competitions in agriscience categories were: Leah Hefty and Brooke Evans with their social science experiment on grade-point averages and breakfast choices;

 Gabe Hefty with his animal science experiment regarding fish tank size and harvest potential; and

 Sydney Hefty with a wind turbine agriculture power experiment.

DeKalb FFA members Allison Marlowe, Caitie Taylor, Vivian Mettert, Ally Laker, Brooke-destinee Lockwood and Erin Sukala also competed with agriscience projects.

LeAnna Shearer and Ayshia Houser became state champions with a natural resource demonstration on fish processing.

Sydney Hefty won her plant and soil science demonstration on soil nutrient testing.

Gabe Hefty and Bree Doster finished third in the state with their food science demonstration. Montana Kummer and Kylee Stout also made the finals with their demonstration.

Also representing DeKalb were Gabe Hefty in discovery creed speaking, Hanna Harvey in freshman creed speaking, Lockwood in prepared speaking and Brooke Evans, Kummer, Mettert, Taylor in the agribusiness management contest.

Kummer, Stout and Sukala received their Hoosier Degrees.

DeKalb was represented in food science by Marlowe, Mettert, Sukala, Taylor, Emily Conn, John Gurtner, Harvey, and Natalia Martin; in ag mechanics by Colton Close, Matthew Fifer, Carson Frasier, Dylan LaRowe, Trevor Mortorff, Tyson Rowe, JD Shearer and Tyler Stuckey; in ag sales by Cole Althouse, Colton Clifford, Evans, and Lockwood; and in veterinary science by Hailey Fisher, Kylie Laderach, Laker and Sukala. The veterinary science team placed second overall.

Most of the first-place winners from state events will compete at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis this fall.
AUBURN - Judge Kevin Wallace sentenced eight people for criminal offenses during hearings in DeKalb Superior Court I Tuesday and Wednesday.

Chad D. Grigsby of the 300 block of South 1st Street, Albion, was fined $100 for driving while suspended, a Class A misdemeanor. His driving license was suspended for 90 days.

Zachary R. Ingram of the 200 block of Pennsylvania, Kendallville, was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all suspended except 20 days, for operating a vehicle with an unlawful alcohol concentration, a Class A misdemeanor. He received one year of probation and was fined $100. His driving license was suspended for 90 days.

Steven M. Steigerwald of the 800 block of Creek Drive, Bluffton, was fined $50 for invasion of privacy, a Class A misdemeanor.

Keara Jenkins of the 2200 block of Howard Avenue, Flint, Michigan, was sentenced to three days in jail, with credit for time served, for refusal to identify self, a Class C misdemeanor. She was fined $50.

Benjamin Barwiler of the 12000 block of Cross Winds Way, Fort Wayne, was sentenced to one year in jail, all suspended except nine days, for theft, a Class A misdemeanor. He received credit for time served in jail while the case was pending. He received one year of probation and was fined $1.

Jacob Zimmerman of the 400 block of West Lisbon Road, Kendallville, received a one-year suspended sentence and one year of probation for attempted unlawful sale of a precursor, a Level 6 felony. He was fined $100.

Jacob Cookenour of the 9200 block of Riverside Drive, Saranac, Michigan, was sentenced to one year in jail, all suspended except 120 days, for operating a vehicle while intoxicated having a previous conviction, a Level 6 felony. He was placed on probation through July 6, 2017, and was fined $100. His driving license was suspended for 180 days.

Laura Manzer of the 25000 block of Baker Road, Monroeville, was sentenced to one year of incarceration, all suspended except 90 days, for operating a vehicle while being a habitual traffic violator. The sentence may be served on community corrections. She was placed on probation through July 6, 2017, and was fined $100. Her driving license was suspended for one year.
HUNTERTOWN  Last month, the Huntertown Town Council voted to delay the Carroll Road reconstruction project until next summer, hoping to get more federal funding.

On Monday, the council voted to give its approval for another delay, which could see the project pushed to 2018 or 2019.

Jay Stankiewicz, project manager with DLZ, told the council on Monday night that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is gauging statewide interest from communities with projects funded by rural development funding  of which the Carroll Road Project qualifies  in delaying those projects in exchange of 100 percent federal funding.

At present, the project is set for letting in mid-July, 2016 with the town covering 20 percent of the project cost. Stankiewicz said by delaying the project between an estimated one to two years, INDOT would cover 100 percent of the base bid cost for the project. The towns share of the current estimated project cost is $460,000, Stankiewicz said.

Stankiewicz reiterated that INDOT has not made a formal offer, but is simply gauging interest. Should INDOT choose to move forward, the town would still be required to pay 20 percent of inspection costs and any change orders.

The roadway itself, wont go untouched.

Stankiewicz recommended the town seek bids for a temporary improvement project. He said the town could pay between $20,000 and 40,000 for mild repairs to allow the road to survive two or three more years of wear, namely harsh winters.

Council member Dave Garman said he was concerned that if the town elected to push the date back further, that INDOT would balk at providing the funding. Stankiewicz said the two sides would enter a contract, guaranteeing the project timeline.

In April, the town council voted to delay the letting date of the project from Dec. 9, 2015, to, at the earliest, July 13, 2016. That vote was made in an effort to acquire more federal funds for the project.

At the March 16 town council meeting, Stankiewicz said that available funds for the fiscal year 2016, to which the Carroll Road is assigned, are exhausted and the INDOT is already weeding out projects.

In December of last year, the town requested more federal funds for the project, but Stankiewicz said, through conversations with INDOT, that more federal funding seemed unlikely. Stankiewicz added that INDOT would not even guarantee additional federal fundings would be available in the fiscal year 2017.

During a town council meeting last October, DLZ presented the council with a variety of options that would change the scope of the project, should more federal funding not be made available.

DLZ recommended that the town partially reconstruct the roadway with curbing along both sides of the road. From Preserve Boulevard to approximately 1,000 feet east, milling, patching, and one-and-a-half inch resurfacing would overtake the distressed pavement.

From 1,000 feet east of Preserve Boulevard to east of Bethel Road, the roadway would be totally reconstructed since this is the most deteriorated section of pavement. Independent storm sewer would also be installed. A sidewalk along the north side of the road, traffic signal upgrades at both intersections and signs are also included.

(This option) provides the town of Huntertown with a project that is the closest to the original scope of the roadway improvements without phasing, Stankiewicz wrote in a budget analysis letter to the town council.

New to the project will be lighting upgrades at two intersections: Carroll Road and Bethel Road and Carroll Road and Carroll Creek Run, directly in front of Carroll High School.

The preliminary engineering phase for the project began in 2011 and construction was originally scheduled to begin in 2014. The original project cost was just over $2 million, with an 80/20 split with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

In a related note, Stankiewicz told the council that the Gump Road construction project is scheduled for letting in October. There are still some questions as to how much of this projects cost the town is responsible for. Town attorney Dave Hawk said he is working with the county to resolve the funding questions.
At Life in Harmony Music Therapy, aural experiences promote and sustain physiological and psychological wellness. LiH helps people with autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Downs syndrome or neurological disorders, among other challenges.

Music is what connects the dots, says Amy Schaack.

Schaack, a board-certified music therapist, established Life in Harmony in 2008. The program grew from a pilot project in the cancer ward at Gundersen Health System. Schaack opened LiH after seeing a need for a specialized music therapy service in the area. Before that, the closest facility was in Rochester.

I felt a calling to this profession, Schaack said. Its is an opportunity to use a musical talent to help others. Music can take something negative and give it a positive outcome.

Schaack stresses that music therapy is not the same as musical therapy. Music therapists uses instruments and vocals to address individual needs, whether cognitive, social, or physical.

There is a misunderstanding that our focus is on how the music sounds, but its really about the response of the body and the brain, Schaack explained. We look for a functional outcome, how to use music to process information. This is a worldwide profession.

LiH has a staff of seven, helped by volunteers, who serve clients ranging from birth to end of life. The team includes music therapists Sarah Kolander, Andrea Halvorson, Katherine Sherrill and Leanna Moore, and assistants Karla Korish and Bradley Schaack. The team develops individualized plans to help orient clients to sounds, people and places, increase mobility, decrease levels of frustration, and grasp social cues.

Clients are typically referred by La Crosse County Human Services, social workers, Childrens Miracle Network, or the Gundersen neurology department. State funding, grants and sometimes insurance help fund the therapy.

Clients typically come weekly and work with the same therapist each time. Sessions are conducted in increments of 15 minutes, building up to 45 minutes or an hour, based sensory and medical needs.

We focus on quality vs. quantity, Schaack explained. Some clients can become overly stimulated if a session goes too long.

The therapists encourage regular appointments to better gauge the effectiveness of the program and track progress. Standardized neurologic music techniques are used to put sound to the goal.

We use instruments in different weights, colors and sizes, Schaack said. We might try to isolate a finger or an arm by pushing the keys on the piano or plucking guitar strings with the opposite hand. Its about thinking through the purpose of the instrument to promote the desired movement.

Clients and therapists also create songs. A tune might be written about their surroundings, or used to memorize a phone number or address. Songs are usually client driven, with the therapist embellishing on the rhythm to make it a lesson.

We might have them write down the words, or take turns singing with us. We want them to learn skills that will assist them in the real world, Schaack explained.

LiH also offers music enrichment classes, group therapy and workshops. Rachael Pierces 9-year-old daughter, RubyAnne, has participated in both group and individual therapy sessions during the past six years. RubyAnne, who has Downs syndrome, works with Schaack on social skills, academic goals and enunciation.

LiH has been an amazing addition to her growth, Rachael Pierce said. Music therapy can be applied to anything. Songs help with her reading. She can recall information much better. I cant say enough good things.

Krista Gold also sings the praises of LiH and its effect on her 14-year-old son, Alex, who has autism.

Music therapy has bridged the gap between just having fun with music and using it as a way to work on overall goals and objectives, Gold said. Alexs goals in music therapy are very much tied to his goals in school, community and home settings. And it is also a lot of fun.

Amy has done a marvelous job being innovative with community participation, performances and other outreach, she added. I think being part of Life in Harmony in some way has really helped all of us develop a sense of pride and accomplishment.

LiH holds recitals for clients to showcase their progress. The show is not about the performance. Rather, its an opportunity for clients be a star for the day and show the community that music doesnt have to be polished and perfect.Schaack also created a traveling music bus, the Songbird Express, to serve clients in rural areas. It makes weekly trips to Mauston, Black River Falls and Whitehall. Having sessions aboard allows clients to be seen after business hours or in a less clinical environment. For some, boarding the bus is an achievement in itself.

It can be something new to overcome, Schaack said. We want to increase independence in some form.

Callie Reuteman says her son Sam, 17, waits at the door for the music bus. For Sam, who has autism, singing is a way to hold a conversation.

Music is his comfort zone, Reuteman said. It just clicks with him.

Reuteman asked Schaack to work with Sam on prepositions after noticing he struggled with the concepts of up, down and behind.

I have instruments placed in target areas on the bus, Schaack explained. He plays them when he hears me sing a functional phrase with those words included.

LiH also works to help clients effectively and safely manage and express their emotions. Julie Athnos enrolled her daughter in the program seven years ago, citing concerns about the trauma she experienced as a baby shuffled among multiple foster homes.

She didnt know how to handle strong feelings she had, Athnos said. It all came out in anger and huge meltdowns. She has always loved singing, and is actually really good, so when we met Amy we knew it was going to be a successful relationship.

Now 15, Shanda is a different child, according to her mother. She is able to tell us how she feels with words, sometimes putting them into a song, Athnos said. I would recommend music therapy to anyone with a child that is struggling or has special needs.

Shanda, who also plays piano, says music therapy has helped her become more comfortable talking with others and increased her self-esteem.

Ive learned you can move forward and move on from mistakes, Shanda said. I wrote a song called Dont Hide Yourself From Your Heart.

Empowering her clients and seeing them succeed is the ultimate reward, according to Schaack.

Its an honor to take these journeys with them, she said.
Deciphering peoples needs and evaluating facilities top the to-do list for Majors Jeff and Deb Richardson as the new leaders of The Salvation Army in La Crosse, entering an era that may require expansion or building.

Were pretty cramped just in meeting the needs of folks here, Jeff said during an interview Thursday at the corps headquarters at 223 N. Eighth St., a little more than a week since the couple assumed their roles.

Noting that Salvation Army workers and volunteers also jockey for office space, Jeff said the building, which includes an emergency shelter, gymnasium and chapel, has seen better days since it was constructed in the 1990s.

We have a planning association to check what the needs are, talk with other agencies and get community opinions. Hopefully, that will provide the basis of a strategic plan, he said.

The planning will be open-ended to encourage creative ideas, he said.

It may be time to expand, but the space here is limited, he said, adding, I suspect its going to call for moving or building.

Jeff, 59, is a third-generation Salvationist, tracing back to when his grandmother served in a branch corps local in Howell, Mich., so its in his blood, said Deb, 58.

When we were married, he dragged me along, she said in the jocular way of speaking the couple share.

After eight years at division headquarters, were glad to be back at home in the corps, Jeff said, with Deb observing, Weve served all over the Midwest, except Wisconsin, and now were here.

The Richardsons, who have two adult daughters and four grandchildren in Watertown, S.D., where they once served and worked most recently in the Twin Cities, have a goal of thriving in La Crosse until they reach retirement.

Their years at various headquarters sites, where Jeff was involved with business, facility and fundraising, and Deb was tasked with adult ministry and programs, are expected to serve them well in setting a course for the local corps, they said.

Are we helping? Jeff said, noting that the shelters accommodations for single men in beds in the gym are inadequate. We need to take people from where they are and help them  to the point where they are employable.

We dont want to be a Band-Aid, but a solution, Deb said.

Asked about the image some people hold that The Salvation Army forces religion on those who seek its services, Jeff responded, The church is available as another place to find help in an area people need it.

We believe thats at the center of what we do, but they dont impose it on people, he said.

The services here are amazing, Jeff said with the neutrality of a newcomer, with the Richardsons replacing Majors Jack and Nancy Holloway, who led the La Crosse operations for a year before being transferred to St. Louis for health reasons.

The services couldnt be done without the generosity of the community, Jeff said.

The agencys Thrift Store at 728 Copeland Ave. is a major contributor to the corps budget, which was $3.3 million for 2014-15, according to its annual report.

Locally, where the agency has expanded from serving just La Crosse and Onalaska to all of La Crosse County, and nationally, The Salvation Army has weathered the storm of the recession that began in 2008, with financial losses prompting some donors to pull back, Jeff said.

We weathered that storm, he said, although the annual Christmas Red Kettle campaigns have experienced downward ticks.

The technology age may be contributing to that decline, he said.

People dont carry change in their pockets anymore, he said in explanation of the clunk in the clang. People use credit cards.

Along those lines, the corps has experimented with credit card readers at some kettle locations, but the devices arent necessarily practical, especially outdoors in frosty conditions, he said.

Donor patterns also vary according to age groups, he said.

Responders to mail appeals are mostly our generation, Jeff said, with Deb noting that younger people are more attuned to online appeals and spending.

Regarding not only services but also fundraising, Jeff said, It is figuring out how we fit in this world.
Powerful storms that raked the Coulee Region Tuesday night packed winds clocked at nearly 70 mph, spawned four tornadoes, downed power lines and left residents and public officials clearing fallen trees from homes, streets and yards.

Onalaska, where Fire Chief Don Dominick said firefighters answered 21 calls in less than two hours, appeared to be hit hardest. The city is just under five miles from the La Crosse Regional Airport, where the National Weather Service clocked a top wind speed of 68 mph shortly before 10 p.m.

That was about the time Pat and Sue McFaddens home in the 300 block of Oak Forest Drive suffered what appeared to be one of the storms harshest blows when a gust uprooted a 50- to 60-foot evergreen tree in their backyard and shoved it onto their roof.

Initially believing the thump signaled something amiss in the neighbors yard, Pat walked to the patio door to check whether he could see through the torrential downpour.

Thats when a 10-foot-long, 6-inch diameter tree branch harpooned the ceiling of their TV room, right above where they had been sitting. Water and insulation gushed around the limb, onto the TV and across the floor.

I didnt know the tree had fallen on the house, Sue said. I thought it was just a branch that had gone through like a torpedo.

I said, Lets go to the basement, and dont be standing by the sliding door, but Pat said, We have to get buckets to clean up the water, she said.

After Pat unleashed an epithet uncharacteristic of his soft-spoken manner, Sue coaxed him to the basement stairway as rainwater continued to gush through the jagged hole.

Only after calling 911 and having Onalaska firefighters swarm outside like bees around a hive to assess the damage did the couple discover that the tree had fallen onto the house.

The firefighters were great, Sue said. They knew just what to do.

The tree also crushed the McFaddens chimney and broke off at the roof peak, leaving a twisted mass of limbs splayed across the front of the roof.

Because the top of the tree had flopped onto the roof above the couples bedroom, firefighters advised them to seek shelter elsewhere for the night and shut off electrical power.

After spending the night in a nearby hotel, the McFaddens returned Wednesday morning, power was restored and workers from Daves Tree Service in Holmen removed the tree in chunks and tossed branches into a wood chipper in the front driveway.

In what could have been a precursor to the severity of the storm that would hit the Coulee Region three hours later, a Delta Airlines plane en route from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Minneapolis-St. Paul was diverted to the La Crosse Regional Airport at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday because storms were walloping the Twin Cities region before angling southeast.

The Airbus A320 was near its capacity of 160 passengers, Delta spokesman Mike Thomas said in a phone interview from the airlines headquarters in Atlanta.

Most of the passengers probably stayed in La Crosse hotels overnight, and the plane resumed its route at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday.

Gusts in Onalaska jumped around, and damage was spotty, said Dominick, noting that areas with downed trees included Second Avenue, Green Street, 11th Avenue, Oak Avenue and Oak Forest Drive, among others, Dominick said.

The biggest concerns were loss of power and downed power lines, but most people stayed indoors after the initial onslaught, the fire chief said.

That lessened the chance of someone stepping on live downed wires before Xcel Energy crews were able to repair them, he said.

Chain-link fences also can be dangerous in such situations because a live wire resting on one part of the fence electrifies the whole thing, he said.

Firefighters used barricade tape around downed wires to guide Xcel crews, Dominick said.

Most residents affected by the 21 calls the firefighters responded to arranged to stay in hotels or with relatives or friends, Dominick said.

The storm also brought down a fireworks tent near Valley View Mall, trapping one person inside. The victim was not injured.

Some of the worst damage was reported in Wabasha County, Minn., where a tornado touched down around 8:30 p.m., snapping off trees. Winds brought down a barn and damaged a home near Zumbro Falls.

In Buffalo County, winds downed several trees and destroyed a machine shed on Hwy. 88, according to NWS reports.

A farm building was damaged when a tornado touched down near Cream, Wis. Another touched down several miles away near Waumandee, destroying a farm building and damaging trees.

No injuries were reported in any of the three EF-1 twisters, which had winds of 90 to 100 mph and were on the ground for less than a quarter mile, according to the NWS.

They were pretty much touched down and done, said NWS meteorologist Jeff Boyne.

A weaker EF-0 tornado touched down near the Vernon County community of Retreat, damaging trees and crops in a 1.5-mile path.

In La Crosse, sewage overflowed at a city lift station at 302 Hagar Street that became clogged, according to a report the city was required to file with the state Department of Natural Resources.

About 2,000 gallons overflowed during the 15-minute incident, and most of it was confined to the building, according to the report.

Rainfall amounts ranged from about a quarter-inch to 1.75 inches. Total rainfall at the La Crosse airport was 0.69 inches.

More thunderstorms were possible across the region Wednesday night, and severe weather may occur this afternoon and evening.
ROME  Pope Francis met on Wednesday with the parents of a U.S. college student whose body was found in Romes Tiber river this week, after apparently either being pushed or tumbling into the murky waters less than 24 hours after arriving in Italy for summer classes.

A brief Holy See statement said Francis expressed to Beau Solomons parents feelings of deepest sympathy and compassion, and his closeness in prayer to the Lord for the young man who died so tragically. The pope held the unscheduled, private encounter shortly before holding an audience with French pilgrims in a Vatican auditorium.

The mother, Jodi Solomon, appeared to be crying as her husband, Nick, put an arm around her while Francis tried to comfort the couple. Francis raised his hand in blessing.

Solomons roommate has told school officials he last saw him early Friday at a pub popular with U.S. students in the Trastevere neighborhood of cafes, bars and restaurants near the Tiber.

The 19-year-old Solomon, who had just completed his first year of study at University of Wisconsin-Madison, had arrived in the Italian capital on Thursday for study at John Cabot University, a four-year, English-language institution not far from the pub.

Initial autopsy findings indicated there was water in the young mans lungs, meaning Solomon would have been alive when he ended up in the water, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

Police on Tuesday detained a homeless Italian, Massimo Galioto, 40, whom they described as being seriously suspected of murder aggravated by futile motives.

Solomons body was found on Monday a few miles downriver from Trastevere.

A female companion of the Italian, who lived in an improvised camp set up along the Tibers banks and near the base of one of the rivers bridges, said the American accidentally fell into the water after a fight with Galioto, whom she calls Max.

Solomon attacked him, Max just defended himself, Alessia Pennachioli, told The AP in an interview Wednesday near the couples tent. From the fight, he accidentally fell into the river.

Pennachioli said she did not see the fight but police had shown her footage from a security camera, placed near a building on the street level on the other side of the river. I was in the tent, sleeping when the fight happened, she said.

Judging from the video images, Pannachioli said, it was clear that Solomon had arrived from Sisto Bridge, a pedestrian crossing over the Tiber where staircases lead to the bank where the homeless couple have their tent. She added that her companion was outside after cooking a meal when the American arrived.

In an interview a day earlier, with Italian RAI state TV, Pennachioli said Solomon had been robbed by two Moroccan men, and that after he descended from the bridge to one of the Tibers banks, he was agitated, and had a fight with Galioto. It ended badly, she said on RAI.

Solomon pushed, Max pushed back. He pushed a second time. Max pushed again, Pennachioli told RAI. Solomon was drunk and tumbled over into the water, she said.

Although most of the river winds through the city placidly during summer, just downstream where the alleged scuffle took place is a small rapid, and concrete and rocks line much of the Tibers banks.

Solomons credit cards were used on Friday in Milan, and police are investigating whether other, still unidentified people, had robbed him.
UW-Madison student Beau Solomon had arrived in Rome to attend a summer study abroad program at John Cabot University before he was killed.

Study abroad programs such as the one UW-Madison student Beau Solomon had arrived in Rome to attend before he was killed over the weekend dont disclose to parents or prospective students how often their participants are injured or die, according to an advocate for greater oversight of the programs.

UW-Madison officials, meanwhile, say they have long been working to ensure that students studying abroad  more than 2,200 in a recent year  are safe through orientation programs and a new position to coordinate safety and security efforts.

Solomon, who graduated from River Valley High School in Spring Green, was found dead Monday in the Tiber River, days after his roommate in a program at John Cabot University in Rome said he disappeared during a night out early Friday morning. Italian police have arrested a suspect in Solomons death.

Solomon was one of about two-dozen UW-Madison students enrolled in a summer study abroad program managed by John Cabot University, UW officials said Tuesday.

Founded in 1972, the school is an independent, four-year American liberal arts university in Rome that offers classes to English-speaking students from around the world.

Two other American college students taking part in programs at John Cabot University have died in the past three years; both students were killed in falls, according to WISN-TV and the Chicago Tribune. In one of those cases, the student also may have been robbed, the Tribune reported. A third student died from natural causes in 2008, according to The State in Columbia, South Carolina.

Because it operates abroad, John Cabot University says it is not bound by federal laws that require other American colleges to collect and report statistics on campus crime.

Sheryl Hill, founder and executive director of the travel safety group Depart Smart, has pushed to improve student education on how to stay safe abroad, and lobbied for legislation to require that programs such as John Cabot University make public data on how frequently participants are injured, hospitalized or killed.

Study abroad is awesome  but there is no standardized education that helps you identify and mitigate risk, and there is no transparent reporting about what happens to Americans when they are on (foreign) soil, Hill said.

On Tuesday, UW-Madison Vice Provost Guido Podesta, who leads the campus international division, said the university takes numerous steps to ensure that our programs operate in safe environments, and recently hired a new international safety and security director.

UW-Madisons description of the John Cabot University summer program says students take part in an orientation before leaving for Rome.

There is more attention and resources being given to safety and security issues for UW-Madison students going abroad than at any time in the past, Podesta said in a statement.
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.  A woman who watched as a police officer fatally shot her boyfriend during a traffic stop streamed the gruesome aftermath of the slaying live on Facebook, telling a worldwide audience that her companion had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet.

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

The latest shooting happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a community of 5,000 people that is also home to Minnesota's annual state fair and part of the massive University of Minnesota campus.

In the video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

As word of the shooting spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. They identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

In addition to seeking help from the Justice Department, Gov. Mark Dayton said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had opened its own investigation.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had underlined to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police did not release any details about the officer who fired except to say he had been placed on paid administrative leave. Reynolds described him as Asian.

It was the second fatal police shooting this week, coming only days after a black 37-year-old man was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's shooting, which took place after he scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that because Castile was a black man driving in a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it."

Relatives were outraged that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

William Moulder, a police consultant and longtime former police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, said all officers carry first-aid supplies in their cars and are instructed to start rendering aid as soon as it's clear there's no threat.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks calmly to the camera.

"That's time to start mitigating the damage," Moulder said.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Dayton, a Democrat. About 50 protesters stayed through the night.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Because of its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department. Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday from The Associated Press.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

It was unclear whether other footage exists. Kim Brazil, the St. Anthony Police Department's office manager, confirmed that their squad cars are equipped with dashboard cameras but said officers do not have body cameras.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the protest crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," said Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is enough.'"

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

The latest shooting happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights.

In the video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

As word of the shooting spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. They identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

In addition to seeking help from the Justice Department, Gov. Mark Dayton said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had opened its own investigation.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said early Thursday, adding that she had underlined to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police did not release any details about the officer who fired except to say he had been placed on paid administrative leave. Reynolds described him as Asian.

It was the second fatal police shooting this week, coming only days after a black 37-year-old man was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's shooting, which took place after he scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that because Castile was a black man driving in a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it."

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Dayton, a Democrat. About 50 protesters stayed through the night.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The interim police chief in nearby St. Anthony, Jon Mangseth, said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday from The Associated Press.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

It was unclear whether other footage exists. Kim Brazil, the St. Anthony Police Department's office manager, confirmed that their squad cars are equipped with dashboard cameras but said officers do not have body cameras.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the protest crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," said Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is enough.'"
Perusing the wires on a deadline morn, I was struck by a constellation of intellectuals struggling to translate the relative meanings of Brexit, Donald Trump and the Wests populist surge against elites.

At least three bright fellows caught my eye: columnist Ross Douthat of The New York Times; Daniel Drezner, professor of international politics at Tufts University and a Washington Post blogger; and New Yorker writer George Saunders. Im grateful to each for his contribution to this column.

Studying the indigenous peoples is chin-stroking, good fun, no doubt about it. I like to dabble now and then myself. But reading these dissections of the other  meaning not Muslims but the mostly white Americans who attend Trump rallies and who voted leave across the pond  suggests a clue in that the distilling process itself sort of explains what the writers are trying to articulate.

This reminds me of a question I was asked several years ago as a panelist at a national editors confab:

Kathleen, the moderator began in a mustache-tweaking tone, Do you think todays journalists are too elite for ordinary Americans?

Ahem, well, I think the answer is implicit in the question, I replied.

Of course, opinion writers have to write about something, dont we? Thus, Douthat got things rolling with a recent column observing that the left/right, liberal/conservative template is being replaced with a new cleavage, a word one must use at least once in a public writing career. In Western democracies, wrote Douthat, the divide will be between globalists (whom he labels cosmopolitans, even if, he says, theyre not really) and nativists.

Dissecting Douthats dissection, Drezner agreed up to a point, but suggested that one could as easily replace nativist with old and cosmopolitan with young.

True enough. Older folks tend to like things the way they were in the good ol days. But Drezners point about the cosmopolitan/young is true because young people generally tend to be more adventurous and open to a larger world. This may be more true, however, among urbanites and the educated class who have had greater exposure to diversity, have traveled to exotic locales, are fluent in ethnic food, and may be more amenable to a globalist perspective.

Indeed, Drezner refers to a YouGov breakdown of the Brexit vote: 75 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted to remain, while only 39 percent of over-65 voters did.

While were at it, why not break it down into educated vs. poorly educated, not that all Trump voters are uneducated. And certainly not that educated people are necessarily smart or wise. But it was Trump, referring to his fans, who said, I love the poorly educated. When was the last time you heard a presidential candidate say that?

Douthats main point, which Ive necessarily reduced to a mere teaspoon of sauce (or, God willing, a soupcon), was basically that cosmopolitans dont understand people beyond their circuit of fellow professionals and, crucially, talk only to each other in essentially non-diverse ways. Also true.

Wrapping up my morning menu was Saunders amusing romp through Trumpland to learn just who these people are who support Trump. He came as a reporter but seems more like an anthropologist on a virgin foray into the out yonder. He might as well have been studying the mating rituals of honey badgers. Perhaps he was!

Reeling from snarling confrontations between Trumpies and protesters, Saunders escaped across the avenue to an Old Mexico-themed mini-mall where, to his surprising solace, a wedding was about to begin, featuring bridesmaids promenading, each with a dog on a leash and wearing a tutu. As reality goes, Id take the latter, too.

Over the next many months, millions more words will be dedicated to summarizing the hearts and minds of Brexiters and Trumpists, none of whom will likely read the words they inspired. Or, if they do, theyll feel further validated in their mission to elect Trump. Besides, they know who they are and what theyre up to, which I can say with some authority having actually lived among ordinary Americans.

High on the list is sticking it to guys who like to ride their horses high, sneering down their moisturized noses, notebooks aloft and pens poised in the belief that you need a thesaurus and a graphing app to understand human nature.

Trump, by contrast, treats them with respect. He may be pompous, arrogant and bombastic ass, but they share a common enemy  the rest of us.

You can take that summation to the bank  and put a tutu on it.
Sunday, July 3, 1983, started out as many Sundays do with church services and family gatherings. The Fourth of July was just a day away. It was hot and humid that day and storms were expected in the evening. A severe thunderstorm watch and a tornado watch had been issued. But no one expected the kind of storm that did happen. The National Weather Service website does not record this date as a tornado event, but in news reports referred to it as a down burst with very strong straight line winds. How that accounts for some of the destruction that happened that day is not known, and is still questioned by many who experienced this storm because of the severe damage that it caused.

This storm, with winds of around 100 mph, came through Westby around 7:15 p.m. on July 3, 1983, and left a path of destruction throughout the area. Many homes and businesses sustained severe damage, several were destroyed, downed trees were everywhere, roofs were blown off of buildings and power and telephone lines were down.

The city of Westby was ordered sealed off to all outside traffic by the then-Vernon County Sheriff Geoffrey Banta. A 10 p.m. curfew was ordered to keep residents away from power lines. Power line crews from Westby, Bangor, Cashton and Vernon Electric were called in to restore power.

Mayor at that time, Harold Knudtson, said there was about $540,000 damage with about 47 buildings in the city sustaining damage. Total estimates of all the damage ended up at $1.1 million.

I recently sat down and talked with a storm survivor, Angie Larson Swenson. The storm destroyed the single family home of her parents, Art and Carolyn Larson, who were attending a movie in La Crosse. Before her parents left, Angie, who is their daughter, had joked with them saying, Sure, you go to La Crosse and leave me with the dog to get hit by a tornado. Her mother said, You know what to do. Go into the basement by the washer. Angie was just getting ready to do the dishes and laid her class ring on the counter, when she heard the severe thunderstorm warning. She did what her mother advised and started for the basement with the family dog, Yo-yo, just as the front picture window shattered.

Tucked in the basement next to the washer and dryer, Angie said, Everything was falling on me. I could see the walls coming down, and it was so loud, everything was so loud. She told me that she was very worried when the gas furnace close to her began making awful noises as it started coming apart. The stairs to the basement were blown across the basement, landing on Angie where she was taking cover. A heavy door fell in on the same stairway, trapping Angie underneath. With her knees and ankle hurt she managed to crawl out of the debris and over the foundation wall. To this day she doesnt remember how she did that. She commented, But I never let go of the dog.

She remembers seeing her dads truck sitting in the backyard where it had been tossed by the storm. It had been parked in the garage that was no longer there. Only the firewall between the garage and the house was standing. Almost everything else was gone. She ran to a neighboring house and pounded on the door, and said, We dont have a house anymore. She was treated for injuries to her knees and ankle and an eye injury caused by insulation that had gotten into her eyes.

The press across the country picked up on Angies story, which seemed to be straight out of "The Wizard of Oz." Instead of Dorothy and Toto, it was Angie and Yo-yo. Angie has kept a scrapbook of all the news clippings sent to her from people she did not know from as far away as Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida, along with before and after photos of her family home. I would have expected she would not want to talk about it but she did.

Angie said, Besides my class ring on the counter (her dad later found her ring on the counter exactly where she left it), Mom had flower pots out front, and they never moved either. The chains that Dad had in the back of his pickup truck ended up wrapped around a tree in the back yard as well. Crazy, I know. In a way it seems like it happened yesterday, but in a way it seems forever ago. I guess all that really matters in my book is that Im still here to look back on it!

In 1983, it was Mother Nature who provided the fireworks, albeit unwelcome fireworks. There was no Fourth of July celebration in Westby in 1983, as residents, volunteers from around the area, and city crews were busy cleaning up the damage from this storm.

Monday, July 18, 1983, the Westby Business Association and the city of Westby sponsored a We Survived It appreciation picnic and fireworks. This was for all Westby area residents and anyone else who assisted in clean-up after the unconfirmed tornado. This event was held at Davidson Park and featured a pig roast and all the trimmings. Fireworks were set off at dusk at Veterans Memorial Park. An article in the Westby Times, July 21, 1983, reported that there were about 700-800 people who turned out for the picnic, with the tongue in cheek comment that the number of folks turning out was unconfirmed, of course.
When local author Renae Schwemmer talks about writing, she cant help repeating the word fun. It comes up in her advice to young writers: Just write your own thing and have fun with it.

Schwemmer hopes to encourage young readers and writers to exercise their creativity, especially as new generations of children spend more time on electronics like smartphones and videogames. That goal was part of what led Schwemmer to write her first childrens book. She celebrated the books release at a launch party June 25 at the Tomah Public Library, meeting local kids and selling copies of her new book.

The whole process of that was extremely nice, Schwemmer said of the library hosting. Some proceeds from the launch were donated to the library.

Schwemmer self-published her childrens book, The Adventures of Natalie and Olivia, this spring. The story follows two chickens neighborhood adventure as they hunt for snacks. The inspirations for Natalie and Olivia are two real chickens who live at the home of Schwemmers mother, Sharon Schwemmer, and are treated like pet dogs  fed treats and allowed into the house.

And if your car door is open, theyll hop in, Renae Schwemmer said. They really are a couple of characters.

Schwemmer got the idea for the book last summer. By February 2016, Schwemmer had touched up final details and sent a draft to the publisher. She created the books illustrations herself using pieces of cut paper  bright red triangles form the chickens bodies and spiky paper tufts the feathers on their heads. Schwemmer is considering selling the book, which is geared to readers up to age eight, online through Amazon.

This isnt the first time Schwemmer has self-published  in 2012 she released a collection of poetry, Colors of My Life. She wrote the poems over a period of decades: some when she was only in middle school, others in her early 30s. The extensive range is partly due to Schwemmers hiatus taken in her 20s to focus on her marriage and family  husband Ryan Schoot and sons Brandon and Damon Schwemmer-Schoot. Getting into her 30s, Schwemmer realized it was time to rekindle her childhood dream of a writing career.

She first took an interest in writing as a 12-year-old student in Terry Keifers class at Warrens Elementary School. Keifer assigned students to write stories in pairs, and Schwemmers duo wrote Old Bones, a murder-mystery. Schwemmer remembered that Keifer wasnt overly impressed with the work and didnt award the A-plus she and her partner believed they had earned. Additionally, Keifer wanted to rename the story Murder Waters, which only deepened Schwemmers indignation.

She hasnt given up on the title, or the story, since. For the last 24 years she has developed the plot, but many elements remain the same: a Maine fishing town, mysterious drownings and a ghostly wolf named Old Bones. She considers Old Bones her masterpiece, and if published, it will contain a dedication page to Mr. Keifer. Schwemmer hasnt seen Keifer since sixth grade, but she remembers him as her favorite teacher.

He definitely encouraged the creativity, she said.

Keifer, since retired from teaching, remembered Schwemmer as a good student.

She was a really nice girl, he said, adding that it was very kind of Schwemmer to mention him.

Schwemmer is working on publishing two other novels, Promised and Outlaw. She may enter a three-year contract with Destiny Whispers Publishing of Arizona but is unsure of the conditions of the contract.

Those interested in purchasing copies of Schwemmers books may contact her online through her Facebook page, Renaes Book Shelf.
An educator with Tomah ties has been chosen for a cruise on the waters of Lake Superior this summer in the name of Great Lakes science literacy.

Deanna Erickson, daughter of Rita Erickson and the late Arnie Erickson of Tomah, will join others from around the Great Lakes as part of a Shipboard Science Workshop aboard the Lake Guardian that departs from Duluth, Minnesota, July 9 for six days.

The workshop, hosted by the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, is for fourth- through tenth-grade teachers and non-formal educators from the Great Lakes. The teachers will work with research scientists on projects, explore lake ecology, geology, geography, weather and water quality and learn about resources they can use in their classrooms.

Erickson is education coordinator for the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve in Superior. She plans to use the shipboard experience to connect teachers, students and communities to the Lake Superior coast through the programs she conducts through the reserve.

With real experiences in the place I teach about, I can better share what we have here  one of the greatest lakes on earth  in a way I never have before, said Erickson, who has worked as an outdoor educator the past 13 years. Besides understanding scientific concepts and processes, I would like to be able to speak to those I teach about the experience of the Lake Superior horizon, waves and the camaraderie aboard a vessel with a mission.

The Shipboard Science Workshop is coordinated by the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Great Lakes National Program Office. Funding comes from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. For more information, visit: cgll.org/opportunities.
America has some king-sized challenges. Economic insecurity born of simultaneous de-industrialization and globalization. Stagnant wages. Grotesque and growing inequality. Nagging fear that the nations children will end up worse off than their parents. Strained social relations. Political parties that offer empty promises and false choices when they are not pointing fingers of blame at the other side. Collapsing public confidence in those parties and the democratic process.

No part of the country is immune to these conditions, but Wisconsin is showing more severe symptoms than most states. Wage and job growth in Wisconsin is lagging behind the U.S. average. The states poverty rate has reached its highest level in 30 years. Wisconsin leads the nation in shrinkage of the middle class.

When major change came to America in the past, its fascinating how often Wisconsin led the way. Theres no time like the present for Wisconsin to get back out there in the lead. With the enormity of todays challenges, this is no time for pussyfooting.

Because most people have lost faith in the political system and are thoroughly disgusted with the politicians who continue to happily operate within that system, and because most of the general public sees big political donations as nothing more than legal bribes, the law should be brought in line with the broad public consensus that has formed. Any political donation over $200 should be legally defined as a bribe and therefore treated as a felony. Any spending by interest groups benefiting a candidate for office should be legally considered a donation.

Because wages are stagnant and economic inequality has reached alarming levels, the minimum wage should be turned into a living wage. The Fight for $15 is gaining traction in hundreds of cities across the country, the more the better, but it is far less likely to catch on in small towns and rural areas where the cost of living and average worker earnings are considerably lower than in big cities. So how about a Drive for 55, setting the wage floor at 55% of the average wage workers earn in a community or region? This would produce minimum wages at or near $15 an hour in large metropolitan areas and would substantially boost the minimum wage everywhere while flexibly accounting for differences in local economies.

Because the balance of power has been tilted against workers, rewrite the law to make forming a union a civil right for all employees in every sector of our economy.

Because the poorest of all Americans pay double the tax rate paid by the countrys richest few when all state and local taxes are factored in, taxes on the rich should be raised and taxes on the poor and middle class should be lowered until the rich pay taxes at a rate thats at least on a par with the rate paid by everyone else if not higher.

Because feed-the-rich policies inspired by the trickle-down economic theory have been a miserable failure, never producing more than a trickle for the masses and causing grotesque economic inequality and the slow but steady extermination of the middle class, Wisconsin should lead the way in ending crony capitalism and put the states corporate welfare office  the failed Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation  out of business. Use the tens of millions of dollars saved each year by abolishing the WEDC to far better use, like paying to bring high-speed Internet and mobile phone service to areas of the state without access to these 21st Century necessities.

Because education is our best hope for building a better and more prosperous future, and our best weapon against economic and social decline, Wisconsin should blaze a trail for the nation in making education as accessible and affordable for future generations as past generations made it for us. Such a lofty goal wont be reached overnight, but the state could fast-track the pursuit by ending the failed 25-year experiment with taxpayer-subsidized private schooling and using the savings to restore funding stolen from public schools and buy down college tuition in pursuit of the goal of debt-free higher education.

And because having government as close to the people as possible and having decentralized decision making at the community level is preferable to top-down rule with authority in just a few hands, Wisconsin should restore local control by repealing all 128 laws enacted since 2011 giving state officials more say and local communities less.

There you have it . . . seven ways to shake things up, starting close to home. And heres hoping they inspire 70 more and create a ripple effect across the country.

Mike McCabe, Madison, is the founder and president of Blue Jean Nation.
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!)
The fallout from Britains vote to leave the European Union is not limited to Britain.

There are new efforts to stop EU immigration quotas in Hungary. In addition, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia recently joined Hungary in arguing for less EU control over their nations.

In the Netherlands, some people are pushing for a vote to leave the EU, similar to the vote held last month in Britain. Half of Dutch voters support such a referendum, according to public opinion surveys.

In Hungary, voters will decide in coming months on whether to reject German Chancellor Angela Merkels proposals for accepting refugees. Germany is a leader of the EU and has Europes largest economy.

Attila Szigeti lives in the Hungarian town of Bicske, about 37 kilometers west of Budapest. He plans to vote against the migrant quotas.

At first, Szigeti said, he did not have a problem with immigrants. They did not do anything serious, just stealing corn from the edge of my cornfield, he said.

But as the number of new arrivals grew so did the problems, he noted. Szigeti recently cut off all the hair from his head, but denied he is a skinhead. With this look, I do not need to watch my back. I do not have to be afraid because this way, I appear tough, he said.

Refugees and migrants in a Hungarian camp are surprised some Europeans see them as a threat.

Why are we not allowed here in Europe, we are not human beings like you, asks Mano, a 22-year-old medical student from Afghanistan. He arrived at the camp last week.

He left Afghanistan after extremists killed his brother, who worked as a translator for French forces. Mano said he and others should not be seen as threats.

What can we bring with ourselves? Nothing. We also want peace. Thats why we leave our country, he added.

In the Netherlands, some people are pushing for a vote on leaving the European Union  just like Britain did in its vote last month.

Laurence Stassen is a former member of the European Parliament. As a nation state, we should have our own borders, our own courts, and to make our own laws  and not the people in Brussels or the European Union, she said.

Stassen was once a member of the Netherlands Freedom Party. She left the party after one of its leaders made what she called discriminatory comments about Moroccans.

In Rotterdam, there are concerns that leaving the EU would cost jobs. Rotterdam is Europes largest port. Four hundred sixty-five million tons of cargo pass through it each year.

With Europe, we are 500 million people, the largest trading zone, the largest market by itself, said a spokesman for the Rotterdam Port. And the Netherlands as a country is only 16 million people.

In Britain, there is talk of possible legal action to stop Britain from leaving the EU. Eight lawyers want to take the Brexit vote to the courts, hoping for a review by the countrys Supreme Court by September.

Im Bruce Alpert.

Henry Ridgwell, Luis Ramirez and Jamie Dettmer reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

fallout  n. The effects or result of some action or decision

quota  n. an official limit on the number or amount of people or things that are allowed

skinhead  n. a person with a shaved head, especially a young white person who belongs to a gang whose members shave their heads and have racist beliefs

translator  n. a person who changes words written in one language into a different language
A large model of the boat that many people believe saved Noah, his family and animals from the Biblical flood officially opened Thursday.

The boat, called an ark, is part of a religious theme park in the American state of Kentucky. The park is called Ark Encounter.

The wooden boat is said to be built to the height and length described in the Bible. It measures 155 meters long and 15 meters tall.

The ark is estimated to have cost more than $100 million to build.

Thousands of people are expected to visit the Ark Encounter. It is between Lexington, Kentuckys second largest city, and Cincinnati, Ohio.

The new Noahs ark has restarted the debate between supporters of scientific explanations of life and those supporting divine creation.

Four years ago, one study found that 46 percent of Americans can be described as creationists. That means they believe God created humans in their present form at some point within the last 10,000 years.

The 2012 Gallup public opinion survey was based on comments of 1,012 adults.

Ken Ham is the president of Answers in Genesis, the Christian group that built the ark. He believes the structure is going to be one of the greatest Christian outreaches.

His group believes that God created the world about 6,000 years ago. It also believes humans and dinosaurs were on Earth at the same time.

Scientists say dinosaurs died out 65 million years before human beings appeared on Earth.

Displays inside the ark include images of Noah's family and rows of cages containing replicas of animals, including dinosaurs.

Critics say the ark will hurt science education. They say the ark should not have received state and local tax breaks. News reports set the value of the tax rebates at $18 million. Another report valued the rebates at $80 million over 20 years. However, Ham disputes this.

His group hopes more than two million people will visit the ark each year. Answers in Genesis also built the nearby Creation Museum, which opened nine years ago.

According to the parks website, arkencounter.com, an adult admission ticket costs $40.

Im Pete Musto.

Smita Nordwall wrote this story for VOA News. Jim Dresbach adapted her report for Learning English. Mario Ritter 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

ark  n. the ship in which Noah and his family were saved from a great flood that God sent down on the world in ancient times

Bible  n. Christianity's holy book

theme park  n. an amusement park where the rides and attractions are based on a particular theme

divine creation  n. a religious belief that God created the universe and all life

survey  n. a public opinion study; an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

dinosaurs  n. one of many reptiles that lived on earth millions of years ago

display  n. an arrangement of objects intended to decorate, advertise, entertain or inform people about something

rebate  n. an amount of money that is paid back to you because you have paid too much


Cambodia will now be able to export luggage and other travel goods to the United States without paying some American taxes.

The U.S. trade representative, Michael Froman, announced the change this week. The change relates to the new U.S. Generalized System of Preferences, also known as the GSP.

Froman said the new trade preferences should be a big help to Cambodia and other countries that produce travel goods. Currently, the import market for travel goods is valued at $10 billion.

The U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia said the change could open a new market for Cambodian exporters and create thousands of new jobs for Cambodians.

The U.S. government hoped Cambodian manufacturers would use the change to diversify the countrys economy and reduce poverty, said Ambassador William Heidt.

Mey Kalyan, a senior adviser to Cambodia's Supreme National Economic Council, said the move was good for the economy.

"When we have the market, I believe that more investors will come to invest in Cambodia," he said. "It will allow our economy to progress, allow the people to have jobs and, more importantly, it will give more added value."

Cambodia exports more than $5 billion every year to its two major textile export markets; they are the United States and European Union.

Im Dorothy Gundy.



This report was produced in collaboration with VOAs Khmer Service. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it 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

duty  n. a tax, usually a tax on imports

luggage  n. the bags and boxes that a person carries when traveling

preference  n. an advantage that is given to some people or things and not to others

diversify  v. to produce or sell more kinds of products: to increase the variety of goods or services produced or offered


Parallelism is the repetition of similar grammatical forms. It is a powerful tool in public speaking and writing.

You may have heard this quote attributed to Julius Caesar:

I came, I saw, I conquered.

The repetition of I followed by a verb makes this an example of parallel structure. Parallelism helps make an idea or argument clear and easy to remember. It also shows that each repeated structure is of equal importance. And, it is a powerful tool for public speaking.

Throughout history, many famous leaders have used parallel structure to communicate with the public. Here is a famous saying by Abraham Lincoln:

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Lincoln repeats people and time in all three clauses. But he changes the order of the words some and all. The 28-word quotation is easy to memorize because of its rhythm and parallel structure.

Antithesis

One common type of parallelism is called antithesis. Antithesis simply means the opposite of something. Lets take a look at the first two lines of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . .

Notice how Dickens uses pairs of opposite words: best and worst; wisdom and foolishness. Writers and poets have long used antithesis to show the paradoxical  or opposing  nature of life.

English poet John Milton contrasted heaven and hell in this passage from Paradise Lost:

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.

I Have a Dream

Some of the most famous speeches in history also have examples of parallelism.

Martin Luther King fought for racial equality in the United States in the 1950s and 60s. In 1963, he gave an unforgettable speech on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. King and his supporters were pushing the U.S. Congress to pass a civil rights law. In his famous I Have a Dream speech, King uses several forms of parallel structure to communicate an uplifting message. Listen for repetitions and opposites.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

In the speech, King made many contrasts. King contrasts the sons of slaves and the sons of slave owners. Those were the people who made up most of his audience that day. He also contrasts heat with oasis, and injustice and oppression with freedom and justice.

The speech led to major changes in U.S. laws. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act the following year, which outlawed racial discrimination.

Parallelism in Academic Writing

Parallel structure is a useful tool for student writers. College professors expect a student paper to have a thesis statement. A thesis statement is a one-sentence summary of a papers main argument. A first-year student might write something like this:

Proposal X is not good.

A better thesis, using parallel structure, might look like this:

Voters should reject Proposal X because it is unfair to minorities, impossible to enforce, and unnecessary.

In this parallel thesis statement, the writer has set up a series of three adjectives: unfair, impossible, and unnecessary. These three adjectives can organize the structure of the entire paper  with one section for each adjective. A strong parallel thesis statement makes it easier for students to organize their thoughts and write their papers.

Problems with Parallelism

English learners and native speakers alike have difficulty with parallelism. Some writers mix different grammatical structures. For example,

I like running, biking and to swim.

The gerunds running and biking are mixed with the infinitive to swim. The mix breaks the rhythm of parallel structure. This is known as false parallelism. A better choice, then, is to use three gerunds in a series.

I like running, swimming and biking.

Another option is to use three infinitives in a series.

I like to run, to swim and to bike.

Lets look at an example of a more complex sentence.

My supervisor asked me to write my report quickly, in way that is accurate and he also wants plenty of details.

To improve this sentence, try to use a series of adverbs ending in ly. Do not be too attached to the original words. Here is an improved version of the sentence:

My supervisor asked me to write my report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.

The original phrase with plenty of details was changed to thoroughly with no change in meaning. The change creates a smooth series of three adverbs ending in ly.

Keep in mind that most people do not use long parallel structures in casual conversation. It would sound a bit unnatural and overly formal. But in writing and speeches it is hard to go wrong with parallel structure. It is the best way to make your writing more concise, clear, and memorable.

Im John Russell.

Im Ashley Thompson.

And Im Adam Brock.

["Turn, Turn, Turn" by The Byrds]

A time to gain, a time to lose

A time to rend, a time to sew

A time for love, a time for hate

A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

Adam Brock wrote this article for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.



____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

parallelism  n. the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

attribute  v. to say that (something) is because of (someone or something)

clause  n. a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb

antithesis  n. the state of two things that are directly opposite to each other

contrast  n. to compare (two people or things) to show how they are different

paradoxical  adj. a statement that seems to say two opposite things but that may be true

sweltering  adj. very hot

oasis  n. an area in a desert where there is water and plants

thesis statement  n. a statement that someone wants to discuss or prove

false parallelism  n. the incorrect use of successive verbal constructions

concise  adj. using few words : not including extra or unnecessary information

gerund  n. an English noun formed from a verb by adding -ing

infinitive  n. the basic form of a verb preceded by to


The United States ordered new economic restrictions against North Korea this week that directly answer human rights abuse.

The restrictions are expected to have limited impact. The United States has almost no direct business connections to North Korea.

But supporters say the measures send an important message to North Korean leaders.

The restrictions target North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, and other top officials as well as several government agencies.

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Powers, said the restrictions send a message to many in North Korea, not just its top leaders. She said it will be heard by prison camp managers and guards, secret police, interrogators and persecutors of defectors.

The U.S. Treasury Department said North Koreas Ministry of State Security and other agencies commonly torture people. Treasury officials said such acts include beatings, forced starvation, forced abortions, sexual attacks and the killing of babies.

South Korea said it supports the U.S. decision. The measures include a freeze on U.S. bank accounts belonging to Kim Jong Un and other North Korean officials.

Cho June-hyuck is an official with the South Korean Foreign Ministry. He said the restrictions will raise awareness internationally of the broad and systemic human rights violations in North Korea.

Among the agencies targeted is the Ministry of Peoples Security, which operates police stations and detention centers, including labor camps.

Phil Robertson is deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch. He said the restrictions show that the international community is increasingly concerned about the North Korean government abuses.

Restrictions against North Korea are nothing new. This year, the United Nations Security Council approved new measures that block North Korean money movement and the trade of minerals. Those restrictions followed North Koreas fourth nuclear test and a long-distance rocket launch.

North Korea reacted to the UN move with a declaration that it would continue its nuclear development program. It also test fired short and medium distance missiles.

Im Caty Weaver.

Brian Padden and Nike Ching reported on this story for VOANews.com. Bruce Alpert adapted this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

impact  n. a powerful or major influence or effect

interrogator  n. a person who questions people in a thorough and often forceful or violent way

abortion  n. a medical procedure used to end a pregnancy and cause the death of the fetus

persecutor  n. a person who treats (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious or political beliefs

defector  n. someone who tries to leave a country or movement
Audible is one of the biggest players in the audiobook space, and over the past year the company has been hiring a lot of radio and podcast professionals in an effort to expand into new territory.

Now Audible has taken the wraps off its new short-form digital audio service.

Audible Channels is basically a premium podcast network featuring ad-free programming and exclusive content that wont be available anywhere else.

Subscribers can pay $5 per month to access every show available from Audible Channels. But if you pay $15 per month for an Audible membership (which includes one audiobook per month), Channels is a free add-on.

The first season of Serial is often touted as a breakthrough moment for podcasting, and in recent years weve seen the rise of podcast networks including Earwolf, Gimlet, and Panoply. But podcasting has been around for well over a decade. Whats relatively new(ish) is how much investment were starting to see in original programming from audio professionals.

Still, most podcasters make money the same way: through advertising. While networks like Gimlet claim they want to be the HBO of podcasting by offering high-quality products, Audible is taking a similar approach and taking it a little more literally by charging a premium price for an ad-free experience.

Original programs will include series from comedian Eugene Mirman, advice columnist and radio host Dan Savage, Daily Show writer Elliot Kalan, and content from The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, The Onion, Smithsonian Magazine, Harvard Business Review and McSweeneys.

New programs will roll out over time, and previews of some upcoming shows are already available. Im particularly intrigued by a new show from Jon Ronson called The Butterfly Effect. While Im reluctant to spend $5 per month for new podcasts when I already have a hard enough time keeping up on my favorite freely available programs, Im totally tempted to pay to listen to Ronsons show alone.

For the most part, Audible Channels seems like a great perk for folks who are already paying $15 per month for Audible, or considering signing up.
This week, Checkers introduced its Little Shop Mini Collectables in stores across the country. The first 25 learners to complete their collections could win R10,000 for themselves and R10,000 for their schools.

The retailer has shrunk 29 of South Africas most recognisable brands, such as All Gold tomato sauce, OMO washing powder and Sunlight dishwashing liquid, which are given free on every R150 spent in-store.

The promotion is aiming to inspire South Africas young entrepreneurs through its Little Shop All Stars competition. It is encouraging learners to channel their inner business mogul by thinking of creative ways to complete their collections. Tips on how to develop their negotiation skills in order to swap and trade minis with their friends will all be available on the Checkers Little Shop website.

A range of Checkers Little Shop merchandise, such as mini trolleys, baskets and storefronts will be available for sale for customers wanting to create the complete Little Shop experience. There is even a unique collectables case to keep the collection in, so that it is easy to take it anywhere.
The price for avocados has dropped the past few weeks. The volumes from Peru are drastically decreasing. "The sale is quieter during the summer months anyway, but I expect that the end of August and throughout September it's going to be tricky. Closing the gap between two origins takes some creativity," says Evy van Gastel of Special Fruit.

shmuelsemeniuk via pixabay

She is visiting various avocado growers in Peru at the moment and talks about the avocado season. "The South African avocado season is at its end and Peru is halfway there. The harvest from Chile is expected to arrive in Europe at the end of September. Besides these three origins, there are some others, including Spain, Israel, Morocco, Kenya, Colombia, and Mexico. In South Africa, there are severe shortages, up to 40% less. The country had to deal with extreme droughts and a hailstorm in February in the region Tzaneen, which took the fruits of the trees due to the severity of the storm. Because of El Nino, Peru has a smaller harvest than expected. "There is less harvest per tree and the sizes are smaller."

Influence El Nino - negative in Peru, positive in Chile

She continues: "The weather phenomenon has caused high temperatures during the flowering of the trees, resulting in higher stress levels of the trees in Peru. The fruit developed less well than expected due to this. Because of the low dry matter content in the fruit, there was unequal ripening of the maturing cells." Not everywhere does the El Nino have a negative influence on production. "Chile had a good season last year and this year a positive impact of El Nino is expected. The first measurements of the dry matter content in Chile showed 18% already, so they are on schedule. The first shipping has been planned, the earliest somewhere half August."

Price of avocado more stable than mango

The prices are hard to predict. "The past few weeks there was a drop in prices, mostly the sizes 22-24 and the baby-Hass. South-Africa had more small sizes due to the drought this year, and these volumes overlap with Peru. This caused the drop in prices." Last year the avocado prices were quite stable. "There have been some changes, but the price of avocados is more stable in comparison with mangos. This year there were peaks in January and April due to the shortages."

Read the full article on Agri Africa.
Shah Rukh fans were in for a special treat on Eid this year as King Khan made a special appearance on his balcony with his youngest son Abram to greet his fans for the festival.

Like every year, hundreds of fans gathered outside his home Mannat in Bandra and SRK, not one to disappoint, stepped out to wave and greet them.

Have a look at a video shared by a fan on Twitter:

Shah Rukh Khan on Facebook

SRK: Eid Mubarak... Lots of love to you all! pic.twitter.com/hRh9n6fvVm  Deepak  (@Deepak_SRKian) July 7, 2016

SRK even shared a video on Twitter wishing his followers on Eid:

Eid Mubarak to everyone! pic.twitter.com/RcIMWC3xHt  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) July 7, 2016

Later in the day, SRK addressed the media, who were gathered at his residence, for his special message on occasion of the festival.
Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput have completed a year of matrimonial bliss on Thursday and the Vivah star has some lovely plans for the celebration.

Happy first anniversary my love. @mira.kapoor you are my sunshine. A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Jul 7, 2016 at 5:11am PDT

The couple are expecting their first bundle of joy in September and on their first wedding anniversary, Mira Rajput is in the hospital for regular check- ups. But Shahid is leaving no stone un-turned to make the day special.

Business of Cinema has quoted a source as saying, Special food and everything favourite of Mira has been arranged. Few close friends of the couple are expected to arrive. Shahid has arranged and planned everything."

The couple, who had an arranged marriage, had a much talked about wedding in Delhi last year on 7 July attended by his closest friends and relatives. This was followed by a star-studded reception in Mumbai, which had some of the biggest names in Bollywood in attendance.

Congratulations, guys!
In the midst of his triumphant Sultan run, a setback for Salman Khan.

The actor skipped, for the second time, his scheduled hearing with the Maharashtra State Commission for Women.

The National Commission for Women had asked Salman to issue a public apology after his infamous 'felt like a raped woman' remark.

When he did not comply, they issued a summons to the actor to appear before the panel.

In the meantime, the Commission's state wing had also asked the actor to explain his remarks.

Salman had sent a reply to the NCW through his lawyers, however, it was reported that his letter did not contain any apology.

The Commission had issued a fresh summons to the actor, for 7 July. However, news channels reported that Salman had defied the summons yet again.

A spokesperson for the Commission said they are not satisfied with Salman's response, and that nothing less than "Salman's personal appearance" before the panel would do.
National Award-winning director Hansal Mehta is currently shooting with three time National Award-winning actor Kangana Ranaut, in a film titled Simran.

There's not much available about the plot of the film, but all we know for now is that Kangana doesn't play Simran. Mehta hasn't revealed the inspiration behind the title of the film yet.

The first look of Simran was shared on Twitter by Taran Adarsh:

First look of Kangna Ranaut in #Simran, directed by Hansal Mehta. Produced by Bhushan Kumar and Shailesh Singh. pic.twitter.com/DUEuZvWJvm  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) July 7, 2016

In Simran, Kangana reportedly plays a Gujarati NRI nurse who gets involved in a situation of crime. The story is inspired by the life of a real-life US nurse Sandeep Kaur, who was sent to prison for robbing a bank to pay off certain debts, reports Indian Express. However nobody associated with the team has revealed details about the film.

What we do know, as reportedly by Times of India, is that Kangana's character is called Praful Patel, and the film also stars Rajkummar Rao. With this cast and crew, we are curious to know more about Simran.
With just a day to go for the 8 July nuptials of Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya, the buzz around the wedding is high indeed.

Fans of the duo have been busy posting photos from the pre-wedding rituals of the two actors, including Divyanka's haldi ceremony.

Fans were sent into a tizzy when a video was posted on social media, of Vivek hugging Divyanka goodbye at the Mumbai airport, when she left for her hometown Bhopal this Tuesday (5 July). The wedding is taking place in Bhopal.

Divyanka has taken a leave of absence from her show Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, in which she plays the popular character of Dr Ishita Bhalla. However, it will be a short break as she needs to return to the show soon.

On the other hand, Vivek is part of the recently launched show, Kawach, which also stars Mona Singh (of Jassi jaisi Koi Nahin fame).

Divyanka and Vivek met when he joined the cast of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein last year (they were not cast as each other's romantic interests). By February 2016, they were engaged.

In an interview with the Deccan Chronicle after their engagement, the couple mentioned that although they were co-workers, it wasn't until their fellow cast member Pankaj Bhatia (he plays Divyanka's character's brother-in-law on Yeh Hai Mohabbatein) set them up on a date that they considered initiating a relationship.

In the past few weeks, photos from the couple's pre-wedding shoot had been going viral on social media.

See all the photos from the pre-wedding festivities of Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya:

#CountDown #Begins! #PictureCredit: @sachin113photographer #DivNviV #DivekWeddingDiaries #TheWeddingStory @vivekdahiya08 A photo posted by Divyanka Tripathi (@divyankatripathi) on Jun 28, 2016 at 10:01am PDT

My friends.... Leaving no stone unturned to make me realise that I'm the #BrideToBe. #PartyAtSet with @rucheey22 Thankful to have friends with #NoStringsAttached. @shireenmirza.... Got your love too. A photo posted by Divyanka Tripathi (@divyankatripathi) on Jul 4, 2016 at 6:43am PDT

I'll sleep in my shadi. . For sure...  @divyankatripathi A photo posted by namrata (@namrata_bb) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:49am PDT

2 A photo posted by namrata (@namrata_bb) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:40am PDT

Bliss... A photo posted by namrata (@namrata_bb) on Jul 7, 2016 at 1:08am PDT
Taylor Swift is just a regular 26 year old who wants to have a great time with her friends (and then wants to document it on Instagram, because of this old adage 'if it's not on social media it didn't happen').

Her notoriously famous 4th of July bash has now become more of a mass celebrity publicity stunt and less about celebrating America's freedom with her friends. Or so we think.

Celebrities in attendance this year were Tom Hiddleston (ofcourse), Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Martha Hunt, Halston Sage, Alana Haim among others. Taylor Swift posted a few pictures of her party on Instagram which didn't feature Tom Hiddleston initially.

Here's a sneak peak:

Happy 4th from us  A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 4, 2016 at 6:14pm PDT

Taylor Swift also treated her friends to a concert with Ed Sheeran:

Just like old times @teddysphotos !! A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 5, 2016 at 2:41pm PDT

And had body paint readily available for faux 4th of July tattoos:

@estehaim  A photo posted by Martha Hunt (@marhunt) on Jul 4, 2016 at 7:41pm PDT

Apart from these 4th of July photos posted by Taylor Swift and her squad, what took the internet by storm was this picture that Britany Maack (Taylor's childhood best friend) put up. The photo has Swift sitting on Tom Hiddleston's lap, a pregnant Blake Lively seated with Reynolds and Lamanna on the lap of her husband, Ben Lamanna.

 A photo posted by Britany LaManna (@britmaack) on Jul 5, 2016 at 12:11pm PDT

The media though has been highly cynical of the 'Hiddleswift' romance, calling it a 'showmance'. One headline asked Tom Hiddleston is rumoured to be dating Taylor Swift  is it his toughest role yet? and The Atlantic's U magazine was left wondering if the romance is just "celebrity fan fiction" and if Swift and Hiddleston might be participating in a staged romance.

Though Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston have been receiving a lot of flack for their dizzying public display of affection, they seem to be determined to 'Shake It Off', and seem very much in love.

Till there is a final verdict on whats going on between Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston, we will leave you with Ryan Reynold's expression in the said Instagram picture (which created plenty of twitter buzz) that sums up how we feel about the 'Hiddleswift' romance.
New Delhi: The Government on Wednesday said it has set up a committee, headed by former CEA Shankar Acharya, to examine the feasibility of having a new financial year, replacing the existing April-March period.

The committee, which will submit its report by December, will examine merits and demerits of various dates for commencement of a financial year, including the existing dates (April-March), Finance Ministry said.

The ministry, in a notification said, the government has constituted a committee, headed by former Chief Economic Adviser Shankar Acharya, to examine "desirability and feasibility" of having a new financial year.

Besides Acharya, the members of the committee are former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former Finance Secretary Tamil Nadu P V Rajaraman and Centre for Policy Research Senior Fellow Rajiv Kumar.

The committee will have to provide reasoning for the suitability of the financial year from the point of view of correct estimation of receipts and expenditure of central and state governments.

It also has to state its effect on the different agricultural crop periods and the relationship of financial year to the working season. Besides, the committee will also have to analyse its impact on businesses, taxation systems and procedures, statistics and data collection and the convenience of the legislatures for transacting budget work.

The committee will also have to provide the government with the genesis of the current financial year and the studies made in the past on the desirability of change in financial year.

"The Committee may, after due examination of all relevant factors, recommend the date for commencement of the financial year which in its view is the most suitable for the country," the notification said.

In case a change in the financial year is recommended, the Committee may also work out modalities for effecting the change, which would include appropriate timing of change, determination of a transitional period, the change in tax laws during the transitional period.

It will also have to work out modalities for the amendments that may be required in various statues and changes in the coverage of the recommendations of the Finance Commission. The committee may interact with experts, institutions, and government departments for framing its report, the notification said.
New Delhi: IT company L&T Infotech said it is "actively" scouting for acquisitions to strengthen its offerings in areas such as analytics, consulting and Internet of Things.

The mid-sized IT company, which will come out with over Rs 1,200-crore IPO on 11 July, said it would be interested in buys in the US, Europe or even Indian market.

"We are looking at the US and European markets predominantly as the acquisition has to cater to that market by selling to our 250-plus customers. We will also look at Indian companies that serve customers in the US and Europe," Sanjay Jalona, CEO and MD of Larsen and Toubro Infotech said at a conference.

Besides, analytics, consulting and Internet of Things, another area of interest for the company is cloud-based infrastructure transformation. Put simply, Internet of Things links smart everyday objects to the net, allowing them to send and receive data.

"Acquisition is an integral part of a services company as it helps to further strengthen the offerings. Also, innovation is happening in pockets of excellence," he said.

The IPO comprises an offer-for-sale of up to 1.75 crore equity shares by L&T Ltd. It constitutes 10.3 percent of the post offer paid-up equity share capital of the company.

The IPO proceeds will not accrue to L&T Infotech as this is an offer for sale. The company further said it can utilise internal resources to fund acquisitions, can borrow from the market, or may even go for a primary issue in case of a sizable acquisition in future.

Ashok Sonthalia, CFO of L&T Infotech said that while the company is "actively" looking for buyouts, it had not closed anything. In October 2014, the company acquired ISRC from Otis Elevator Company US and Otis Elevator Company (India), units

of United Technologies Corporation. ISRC was a provider of software development work for Otis group companies.

In 2011, it acquired 100 per cent shareholding in a company from Citigroup Fund Services Canada. "This company is now known as LTIFST," said L&T Infotech's Red Herring Prospectus.
New Delhi: As consumers wait to see the cheapest smartphone (less than $4) at its scheduled launch in the capital on Thursday, its Noida-based makers have made another pitch for the government's support to make their loss-making venture "work for millions" who don't own such a phone.

According to Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd CEO Mohit Goel, he initially faced Rs 930 loss on each handset that cost him Rs 1,180 and for which parts were imported from Taiwan.

"I recovered Rs 700-800 from app developers and revenue generated through advertisements on Freedom 251 website. After selling the device for Rs 251 (cash on delivery), the total loss per handset is expected to be in the range of Rs 180-270," Goel told IANS.

The first batch of 5,000 'Freedom 251' devices will finally be out for delivery from 8 July and the receiver will have to pay Rs 291 (including Rs 40 as delivery charge) to get the unit, says Goel.

"In order to digitally-empower every Indian, if I can get government support under the Digital India programme, I can ensure timely delivery of 'Freedom 251' phone to all citizens at the same price," Goel said on the eve of the launch event.

In a letter written to the Prime Minister's Office dated 28 June asking for a meeting with Narendra Modi, Ringing Bells said: "We have brought 'Freedom 251' which we offer on 'Cash on Delivery' terms but we have a gap between the BOM (Bill of Materials) and the Selling Price. We, therefore, humble request government support to actualise the objective to cascade the availability and usage of smartphones all through the far reaches of our great nation".

Goel's ambition is huge. He says if the government is willing to dole out Rs 50,000 crore, he can ensure that 750 million of India's population would become part of digital India by owning a smartphone at Rs 251.

Bringing some modesty into the equation about the enormity of his demand, Goel says that the government need not give his company the money but can get it manufactured by another vendor.

"The government can make the phone -- under our Freedom brand -- from some other vendor. I have no objection to it. To make such phone for every Indian citizen, the government needs to allocate funds from its Digital India initiative," he said.

Having learnt his lessens from the controversial February launch when Ringing Bells invited senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, this time, Goel wants to play safe and is not inviting any politician for the launch.

"I want to keep this event controversy-free. I have proved that a smartphone is actually possible in this kind of investment. But to fulfil a mammoth handset order that runs in crores, we badly need government's support," he added.

To generate more revenue, he plans to go to iCloud (cloud storage and cloud computing service from Apple) and begin a software called "WhiteCloud".

"The aim is to make and provide at least 100 new apps online to 'Freedom 251' owners and charge them bare minimum -- to the tune of Rs 1 to Rs 3 per app -- to generate revenue," he said.

After delivering 5,000 phones in the first batch, Goel says he will wait for customers' feedback. "I am ready with 500 service centres pan-India to address people's queries," he claimed.

The company will also showcase a 32-inch high-definition LED television -- also called "Freedom" -- at the launch event.

"These will be the cheapest television sets in India and will be available for less than Rs 10,000. Online registration for the TV sets will be open from 25 July with delivery to be made from 1 August," Goel said, claiming that the company currently has one lakh such pieces in stock.

In comparison, the price of a 32-inch HD LED TV sets normally begins from Rs 13,000 in online markets.

In an earlier interview to IANS, Goel had also claimed that they are ready with nearly two lakh 'Freedom 251' handsets.

The company had in mid-February this year planned to deliver 25 lakh handsets before 30 June. However, it received over seven crore registrations before its payment gateway crashed within three days.

The 3G device has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory and supports external memory cards of up to 32GB.

The company has offered an 8MP primary camera with flash, a 3.2MP front camera and a 1,800 mAh battery. It runs on Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

The phone would be available in two colours -- black and white.

The device displays the Indian Tricolour when you switch it on. It will incorporate all the basic Google apps in the handset, according to Goel.
London: The British government's offer of financial aid to Tata Steel UK and to potential buyers of its assets here is still on the table, business minister Anna Soubry said on Wednesday, despite Britain's shock vote last month to leave the European Union.

Seeking to avoid thousands of job losses, the government had offered millions of pounds in support for the company and its potential buyers. It also pledged to take a 25 percent equity stake in Tata Steel UK and reform the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS).

Speaking at a special steel enquiry in parliament on Wednesday, Soubry said: There is no change, (the offer) is still there.

Reforming the deficit-laden BSPS, which has some 130,000 members, is a major stumbling block for any buyer of Tata Steel's UK assets, and Soubry said reforms will take time.

The business minister, who opposed Britain leaving the EU, said she was still confident a buyer could be found, even as some MPs referred to reports that Tata Steel had put the sale process on hold.

"The relationship we have with Tata, we should not be pessimistic. We turned them round from their position in March, which was they were going to close Port Talbot," she said.

Tata Steel will hold a board meeting in Mumbai this week, and Soubry said business secretary Sajid Javid may fly out to India to talk to the board about the sale.

In response to MP's suggestions that the British steel industry could benefit from leaving the EU, Soubry said Tata Steel did not even see a net benefit in a falling pound, as it makes exports cheaper but ramps up import prices.

Tata Steel, Britain's biggest steel maker, put its UK assets up for sale in March. Up to seven parties have submitted bids or expressed an interest, though some bidders are getting cold feet after the referendum.

Soubry said the government would still consider the option of nationalising the business, which includes the giant Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, if no buyer could be found.

"We have looked and will continue to look at all options," she said.
LONDON Actress Alia Bhatt says she wants to experiment with acting in Hollywood and a web series for a platform like Netflix after four meteoric years in Bollywood.

The 23-year-old says she would also like to work in Lollywood, Tollywood and even Nollywood, referring to the Pakistani, South Indian and Nigerian film indutries and admires Netflix for its variety of content and global accessibility.

"Definitely Hollywood is something, a destination that you really reach after, maybe a couple of years after kind of finding your feet in Indian cinema, in Bollywood," Bhatt told Reuters in an interview.

"Im going to step into it maybe a little slower, but definitely I have plans."

She is following a well-worn path, with Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan already making their mark in America. Chopra, who stars in the television series "Quantico", has also bagged a role in the upcoming "Baywatch" film.

Bhatt, who has just seven films under her belt, said she admired the work of Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence.

Jennifer Lawrence is somebody I really look up to because I really like the kind of choices she makes. Shell do the 'Hunger Games' but then shell also do the 'Silver Linings Playbook'," she said.

"So I probably want to start with like a 'Silver Linings Playbook', something more where theres more scope for performance, you know, because I feel like thats where Ill really learn."

Bhatt's most recent role was in "Udta Punjab", a crime drama which looks at the issue of drugs in Punjab region, and was widely celebrated for her performance in the film in which she also sang.

"You can say actings my husband and singing is my boyfriend. Its a long-term commitment with my acting. Singing is something that Im really, really fond of, but I dont know how far I can take that in my life," Bhatt said.

Her father is the renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and while she says it has been difficult to shake off her father's legacy, she feels she is starting to be recognised on her own merit.

Upcoming films include "Dear Zindagi", which stars Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, of whom Bhatt is a big fan.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
LONDON Indian film star Alia Bhatt says she wants to experiment with acting in Hollywood and a web series for a platform like Netflix after four meteoric years in Bollywood.

The 23-year-old says she would also like to work in Lollywood, Tollywood and even Nollywood, referring to the Pakistani, South Indian and Nigerian film industries and admires Netflix for its variety of content and global accessibility.

"Definitely Hollywood is something, a destination that you really reach after, maybe a couple of years after kind of finding your feet in Indian cinema, in Bollywood," Bhatt told Reuters in an interview.

"Im going to step into it maybe a little slower, but definitely I have plans."

She is following a well-worn path, with Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan already making their mark in America. Chopra, who stars in the television series "Quantico", has also bagged a role in the upcoming "Baywatch" film.

Bhatt, who has just seven films under her belt, said she admired the work of Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence.

Jennifer Lawrence is somebody I really look up to because I really like the kind of choices she makes. Shell do the 'Hunger Games' but then shell also do the 'Silver Linings Playbook'," she said.

"So I probably want to start with like a 'Silver Linings Playbook', something more where theres more scope for performance, you know, because I feel like thats where Ill really learn."

Bhatt's most recent role was in "Utda Punjab", a crime drama which looks at the issue of drugs in India's Punjab region, and was widely celebrated for her performance in the film in which she also sang.

"You can say actings my husband and singing is my boyfriend. Its a long-term commitment with my acting. Singing is something that Im really, really fond of, but I dont know how far I can take that in my life," Bhatt said.

Her father is the renowned filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and while she says it has been difficult to shake off her father's legacy, she feels she is starting to be recognized on her own merit.

Upcoming films include "Dear Zindagi", which stars Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, of whom Bhatt is a big fan.

(Editing by Louise Ireland)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
DOHA Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked Prophet Mohammed's Mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse.

Twelve Pakistanis and seven Saudis have been detained in relation to attacks that day.

Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next to the prophet's mosque in Medina and detonated an explosive belt near a security headquarters, killing four soldiers, the state news agency SPA quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying.

"When security guards intercepted him he blew himself up," said the spokesman.

The statement also named three individuals who carried out bombings in the province of Qatif on Monday. It said none of them had obtained Saudi IDs. All of the men were in their early 20s and one had previously taken part in anti-government rallies.

Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities on Monday in apparently coordinated attacks that targeted U.S. diplomats in Jeddah and Shi'ite Muslim worshippers in Qatif, jolting the kingdom as people prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan.

A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman told Al-Ikhbariya TV that the Medina bomber had traveled outside the country several times, most recently early this year. He said nitroglycerin from the blasts in Qatif and Medina seemed to match those found at the Jeddah attack suggesting they may have been coordinated.

The United Nations human rights chief described the bombing outside the Prophet Mohammed's Mosque in Medina as "an attack on Islam itself".

No group has claimed responsibility but Islamic State militants have carried out similar bombings in the U.S.-allied, Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom in the past year, targeting minority Shi'ites and Saudi security forces.

Militant attacks on Medina are unprecedented. The city is home to the second most sacred site in Islam, a mosque built in the 7th century by the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam, which also houses his tomb.

The Al Saud ruling family considers itself the protector of both sites. Islamic State has said the Saudi rulers are apostates and has declared its intention to topple them.

Monday's attacks highlighted how young Saudi men are being drawn to Islamic State, which has launched attacks on Shi'ites in smaller Gulf Arab states and stepped up violence in the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

King Salman, in a speech on Tuesday marking Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, said a major challenge facing Saudi Arabia was preserving hope for youth who faced the risk of radicalization.

Salman said his country would strike with an "iron hand" against people who preyed on youth vulnerable to religious extremism.

Saudi security officials have said Islamic State supporters inside the kingdom mainly act independent of the group in Iraq and Syria, its main areas of operation.

(Reporting by Ali Abdelatti Writing by Tom Finn; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
LONDON A Champagne cork popped somewhere on Centre Court four games into Serena Williams's Wimbledon semi-final and while it was a tad premature, her 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Elena Vesnina suggested she could celebrating something special come Saturday.

The top-seeded American will be taking nothing for granted, having seen her bid to match Steffi Graf's modern era record of grand slam titles stuck one short on 21 for a year, but it was a menacing show of strength, albeit against an overawed opponent.

She dropped only three points on serve in an embarrassingly one-sided 48 minutes -- crunching down one 123mph delivery that topped the women's speed charts at this year's tournament.

From the moment the 34-year-old nonchalantly broke serve in the opening game the writing was on the wall for a leaden-footed Vesnina who at least lasted three minutes longer than Dinara Safina did against Venus Williams in the previous shortest women's semi-final in 2009.

By the time the latecomers shuffled to the seats two games later Serena was 3-0 ahead and her place in a ninth Wimbledon final, barring a tumble, was already looking a done deal.

She will land a seventh Wimbledon title if she beats Germany's Angelique Kerber in a repeat of this year's Australian Open final that she surprisingly lost in three sets.

If any more incentive were needed there is family honour at stake after fourth seed Kerber beat older sister Venus in Thursday's second semi-final, denying the 36-year-old a first Wimbledon final since 2009 when Serena beat her.

FRESH PAIN

Serena also has the fresh pain of a French Open final defeat by Garbine Muguruza and there was a steely look in her eye as she spoke to reporters afterwards.

Finishing runner-up again clearly does not wash.

"I think for anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment (reaching three grand slam finals in a row)," she said. "For me, it's about holding the trophy.

"For me, it's not enough. But I think that's what makes me different. That's what makes me Serena."

World number 50 Vesnina briefly held up Williams in the first set, holding serve twice, but she managed only five points in the second as the match raced away in a blur.

Few of Williams's 85 singles wins at the All England Club could have been easier.

"I felt like the score was going fast," Vesnina, the first unseeded woman to contest a Wimbledon semi since 2011, said.

"I felt like I had no chance today."

While Vesnina, a three-times grand slam doubles champion, managed to raise a smile as she walked off, her performance clearly did not impress three-times men's winner John McEnroe.

"Let's be real, I'm guessing it's a combination of fatigue and her freezing. Her legs looked like they weighed 200 pounds each," was his blunt assessment.

As Vesnina pointed out though, it was all about Serena and if she replicates the form she showed on Thursday it seems the long-awaited 22nd major title will be her's this weekend.

"It will be great to see Serena compete for her 22nd grand slam title, but you always want more competitive matches," said 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport.

"It has been the tournament of Elena Vesnina's life but this was a tough day at the office for her."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Clare Lovell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Islamic tele-evangelist Zakir Naik is once again in the news. And it comes as no surprise that this time too it is for all the wrong reasons.

Investigations post the Dhaka attack revealed that two of the attackers were followers of the Mumbai-based preacher.

Naik founded Peace TV, a Dubai-based religious channel in 2006. It is through this channel that his sermons reach over 200 countries across the world. It also has two sister channels, Peace TV Urdu and Peace TV Bangla. It is reported that the Bangla counterpart is quite popular in Bangladesh.

Despite not having the licence to broadcast in India, Peace TV is widely available on cable networks across the country. However, with the latest revelations coming to light, the I&B Ministry has urged state governments to rein in cable operators and Multi Service Operators from broadcasting the channel. "Punitive action will be taken against those who are found to be in violation and are broadcasting unlicenced channels,'' The Times of India quoted a source as saying.

Concerned about the alleged influence of the tele-evangelist, the Bangladesh government on Wednesday requested the Indian government to examine the content as well as the context of the controversial preacher's sermons.

What he follows

According to a DNA report, Naik follows the Salafi brand of Islam, also called Wahhabism, after its founder Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It is a puritanical form of Islam opposed to any liberal reforms in Islam and certain spiritual sects like Sufism, The Week wrote in a piece. The ideology has gained notoriety since Jihadi outfits like Al Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State too follow the same brand of Islam.

At first impression, he seems to be a tolerant and a gentle preacher who allows non-Muslims to clarify their doubts about Islam. But dwell more and the signs of an Islamic supremacist are inevitable. The preacher even goes to the extent of claiming that all the scientific discoveries, inventions as well as many other wonders of the universe have already been mentioned in Islamic scriptures. However, what is disturbing is that he also uses his knowledge of non-Muslim scriptures to ultimately refute them and establish the "greatness of Islam" instead of taking a secular approach.

On Vande Mataram

The BJP and its ideological parent, the Sangh Parivar have always been sensitive on the issue of making Vande Mataram compulsory. On this question, however, he has claimed that even Hindus must not sing the song since few verses in the Hindu Vedas prohibit idol worshipping and bowing to the motherland is akin to it.

On Osama-bin-Laden

Quite familiar to controversies, Naik raged a storm when he once claimed that Al Qaeda chief Osama-bin-Laden was not a terrorist. He instead chose to put the blame on the United States. If Osama-bin-Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorising Americathe terrorist, biggest terroristI am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorising the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I dont know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong.

How he convinces people to embrace Islam

In 2015, during a meeting in Dubai, a non-Muslim man asked six questions about Islam to Naik, with a rider that if he gets his answers he will convert to Islam. After answering all his questions, Naik converted him to Islam after getting him to repeat the Kalima Shahada  the acceptance of Allah as the one god and Mohammed as his only messenger. With his soft tenor, he gets the job done. There was no force or threat intended.

On homosexuality

Zakir Naik has aired his opinion even against homosexuality. He claimed that it is not genetic and occurs due to "sexual boredom". He adds that homosexuality is forbidden in Islam and the punishment for homosexuality is death."

On keeping sex slaves

Although the world is outraged with the practice of having sex slaves that the Islamic State is adopting, Naik is however having a diagonally opposite view altogether claiming that it is permitted in Islam. "There are many verses in the Quran which say you can have sex with your wife and with whatever your right hand possesses," he said in 2010.

On other religions

While he allows non-Muslims to ask questions to him first, and often quotes from Hindu scriptures and the Bible, some of statements show his supremacist side. He is reported to have said, "How can we allow this (building of churches or temples in an Islamic state) when their religion is wrong and when their worshipping is wrong?"

On suicide bombing

He once controversially said that suicide bombing may not be "haraam" if the situation demands. He mentioned Palestine as an example and said that it may be the last resort.

On Thursday, a video surfaced which showed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sharing the dais with Naik at a 2012 event. He is also heard calling the controversial preacher as "messenger of peace who can help bring communities together in India." Though Digvijaya Singh later clarified that he spoke against terrorism and religious fundamentalism in the meeting, this may well be the start of a political slugfest between the Congress and the BJP. With the government saying that he is under the radar of intelligence agencies, tough days are ahead for Naik.
If the recent induction of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has received a muted welcome from the IAF, there are very good reasons for it. While the nation and the defence-industrial complex may celebrate a milestone in military indigenisation, the service, charged with the defence of our skies, has much more to worry about.

With obsolescence eroding its aircraft strength and the Rafale deal in limbo, there seem to be no inductions from abroad on the horizon; other than a few more Sukhoi SU-30s to attain the target strength of 272 heavy fighters. The IAF, while still seeking a medium fighter, may have to make do with the Tejas (and its future derivatives)  in terms of numbers as well as capability  till something else turns up.

Since much of the IAF's combat fleet is assembled, overhauled and supported in-country, this would make the service totally dependent on India's monolithic aerospace giant: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). This is a thought that would strike dread in the heart of any air warrior. Having flown many HAL products and been associated with its aircraft and helicopter projects, I can put my fingers on (at least) four good reasons for the IAF's leadership to be apprehensive in this regard. Most of them are attributable to HAL's public-sector work-ethos, nurtured by a protective Department of Defence Production.

Firstly, the lackadaisical approach of HAL's unionised employees that engenders low productivity. Secondly, poor production-engineering standards that create maintenance and inter-changeability problems on aircraft. Thirdly, the high failure rate of HAL manufactured components and systems with attendant safety implications. Lastly, sub-optimal product-support that frequently leaves HAL customers high and dry  without any options.

Given the acceptance of Tejas by the IAF  whether voluntarily or under duress  this aircraft now assumes a key role in India's national security matrix. It must, therefore, not only be inducted in sufficient numbers in a compressed time-frame but also be accorded Final Operational Clearance at the earliest, to enable combat exploitation over its full envelope.

Concurrently, improvements, upgrades and modifications have to be wrought in the Tejas to enhance its capabilities. Given low production rates and the other attributes of HAL, mentioned above, all this is unlikely to happen unless the Ministry of Defence (MoD) thinks out of the box, adopts an innovative approach and acts with alacrity.

Going by past precedent, it would be unrealistic to expect the MoD to undergo an overnight transformation in outlook and it would, therefore, have to be the end-users who must provide the initial impetus and sustain momentum of desired changes. At this juncture, a digression is necessary to highlight the Indian Navy's interest in the LCA and to illustrate the critical importance of customer involvement in project management.

Unbeknownst to many, the Indian Navy, in keeping with its commitment to indigenisation, has been a steadfast supporter of the LCA for decades. In its quest for a ship-borne version of the aircraft, the navy commenced discussions with the LCA's designer, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), in the early 1990s.

Initial feasibility of a naval version having been established, an engineering development programme was commissioned to seek thrust-enhancement, fitment of an arrester hook and extensive re-design of the undercarriage and fuselage for carrier operations.

Having drawn up Qualitative Requirements for the aircraft, the navy also contributed Rs 400 crore ($60 million) to the LCA (Navy) project, becoming the only potential customer to have done so. The level of the navy's commitment can be gauged from the fact that a naval test pilot deputed to the National Flight Test Centre rose to become its head, and the current ADA Director is a naval aeronautical engineer who was originally sent to oversee the LCA (Navy) a decade ago.

The prototype LCA (Navy) was rolled out in July 2010, and has been undergoing trials on a specially constructed carrier simulation facility at the naval air station in Goa. With three aircraft-carriers projected in its plans, the navy would need 100-150 ship-borne fighters in the next two decades.

While the LCA (Navy)  if successful  would make up some of these numbers, the navy (like the IAF) would also need a medium fighter to equip its carriers, but one which is carrier-compatible for catapult-launch and arrester-hook recovery. Currently there happen to be three such examples in the market  the US F/A-18 Hornet and F-35C Lightning II and the French Rafale.

Against the backdrop, of the latest dispensation permitting 100 per cent FDI in defence production, coupled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's passionate advocacy of Make in India and Make for India, the IAF and the navy need to make common cause and capitalise on new windows of opportunity. Given the historical inability of our public sector to reform itself, the two services should urge the government to form multiple public-private joint ventures (JV) involving ADA, divisions of HAL, the Indian private sector and foreign aerospace companies.

These initiatives, which will not only transform India's aerospace industry but also bolster national security, must include joint ventures for: (a) the modernisation and streamlining of HAL's existing production facilities; (b) creation of additional assembly lines to boost LCA production rate; (c) exploring, with ADA, upgradation of the LCA and design of LCA Mark II; and (d) setting up a new aero-engine production plant for the LCA.

Should the IAF and the navy be able to agree upon a common medium fighter, they would have a powerful lever to persuade the government to set up another JV for its collaborative production in India.

Any move to loosen the deadly grip of the PSUs and allow private sector participation in defence will see the dinosaurs of the Left (embedded in all political parties) as well as the status quoist Department of Defence Production up in arms against it. This is where the Service Chiefs and the techno-savvy Defence Minister could take a common stand and pull together  in the interest of national security.
Kozhikode: Kerala Health and Social Welfare Minister KK Shylaja Teacher warned on Thursday that action will be taken against those who are campaigning against vaccination for diphtheria despite a two-phase awareness programme on it.

The Health Department was trying to create an awareness about the benefits of vaccination after an enquiry on spread of communicable diseases like diphtheria which claimed lives of some children in Malappuram district disclosed that the victims had not been vaccinated, she told a meet-the-press in Kozhikode.

Discussions with religious organisations also showed they were not against the vaccination, the minister said.

She said legal action would be initiated against those disrupting health workers involved in the vaccination

programme.

Recently, the Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered the government to make immunisation mandatory for getting

admission in educational institutions, including schools.

The direction was given in the wake of return of diphtheria, a disease believed to have been completely eradicated in Kerala through vaccination, in Malappuram, where a section of people are reportedly reluctant to undergo immunisation drives.

Two children had died and eight others were affected with diphtheria in the last one month in Malappuram.

The commission had also said steps should be taken to examine if school-going children were fully immunised and

asked the government to take action action against the outfits campaigning against immunisation.
Mumbai: Maharashtra government has asked Mumbai Police to conduct a probe into controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.

"I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI on Thursday.

Everything, including Zakir Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar.

Zakir Naik has denied propagating terrorism in any way. "I totally disagree (with suggestion) that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged anyone to kill another persons - Muslim or non-Muslim," said Naik, who has been banned in a few countries.
Meet the latest headache for Indian security agencies: Zakir Naik.

Naik, a wiry man in his 50s, is an unlikely preacher of Islamic theology. He talks in English interspersed with Bombaiyya Hindi, wears a suit, tie, skullcap and several hats: That of a doctor, debater, preacher, televangelist, Salafist and a globally recognised Islamist scholar based in Mumbai.

Naik is caught in the middle of a controversy after investigations revealed his sermons and ideology inspired Rohan Imtiaz, one of the perpetrators of the recent terror strike in Dhaka.

Naiks name has been linked also to the alleged Hyderabad module of Isis that was recently busted by the National Investigation Agency. According to the Economic Times, the alleged modules head Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani told the NIA during his interrogation that his inclination towards violent outfits working to establish Shariah law was also because of Naik.

This has led to calls for not only banning his sermons but also arresting Naik for allegedly inspiring terrorists. Naik is already persona non grata in several countries, including Britain, where his entry was banned in 2010 by the then home secretary Theresa May, the current front-runner for the prime minister's post since David Camerons resignation.

Naiks speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken," Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday.

Is Naik a recruiter for terror?

According to Gatestone Institute, an international non-profit think-tank, although it is not suggested that Naik is directly involved in terrorism, the following known terrorists have reportedly been inspired by his preaching:

Najibullah Zazi, the Afghan-American arrested last year for planning suicide attacks on the New York subway;

Rahil Sheikh, accused of involvement in a series of train bombings in Mumbai in 2006 and;

Kafeel Ahmed, the Bengaluru man fatally injured in a failed suicide attack on Glasgow Airport in 2007.

The Mumbai resident runs Islamic Research Foundation and Peace TV, a channel, according to its website, dedicated to promotion of Truth, Justice, Morality, Harmony and Wisdom for the whole of humankind. He claims to achieve this by presenting Islam and removing misconceptions about Islam." His organisation claims Peace TV is broadcast in over 200 countries and has millions of followers, especially middle-class urban Indian Muslims.

But, Naiks acceptability even among Muslims is disputed.

Some years ago, his comments on Yazid, the Ummayad caliph whose army killed Prophet Mohammeds grandson Hussain in the Battle of Karbala, angered Muslims so much that they sought a ban on him.

On another occasion, Darul Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa against him, arguing that Naik was misleading Muslims and spreading mischievous things. Deobandi scholars called his lectures a fitna (rebellion) and labelled him an agent of Ghair Muqallideen (those who dont adhere to established doctrines of Islam).

On his part, Naik, who is trained in medicine, demolishes several stereotypes. Unlike a typical Islamic preacher, he gives his lectures in what others call machine-gun English, wearing a suit, tie, skull cap and the preachers beard. He quotes liberally from religious texts of several religions, compares their doctrines and, ultimately, much to the glee of his followers, argues Islams supremacy over everything.

Naik rejects the Islamic State as un-Islamic but, ironically, doesnt want to call Osama bin Laden a terrorist, instead blaming George W Bush for the 11 September, 2001 attacks. He says Islam prohibits the killing of even one innocent person, but argues that Muslim apostates (who start preaching another religion) and homosexuals can be put to death.

Some years ago he argued that every Muslim should be a terrorist, clarifying that to terrorise means to scare others. This sermon was reportedly shared by Rohan Imtiaz on his Facebook page.

Naik favours spread of Islam across the world but argues that in Islamic countries preaching of other religions should be banned. Other religions teach 2=2=3; they are fundamentally wrong, he once famously argued.

So, what does one make of Naik?

People who watch him closely assert that he is a smart salesman for Islam who combines modern tools  the English language, suit, tie, TV, technology  to disseminate his doctrine. His penchant for getting into televised debates with people of other religions, whom he loves to outwit and silence, endears him to Muslims who go home with a sense of religious supremacy.

He brings Islam to the living room of his followers and presents it as the only ideology that can save the world. Some of his arguments are valid, some childish and a few outlandish. The mullahs hate him for his combination of salesmanship and popularity and youth love him for giving their religion the aura of superiority. But, I wont call him dangerous, says a journalist who runs a blog on Islamic preachings.

But, the problem with terrorism today is that it is getting inspired more and more by preachers who interpret Islam in their own way. The fight against terrorism has quintessentially turned into a battle against ideas that have the potential to radicalise people.

Security agencies across the globe have become nervous since their experience with Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical preacher from the US, who was killed in a drone strike authorised by his own government while he was hiding in Yemen. The US believed Awlakis sermons had inspired several terrorists, a charge Awlaki denied.

Like Naik, Awlaki spoke on almost everything  from marriage to paradise, from Jesus to Mohammed and on tolerance, mixing Quranic verses with Americanised English. But, among thousands of his sermons scattered all around on social media were also calls for jihad and exhortations to Muslims to kill Americans as a religious duty.

Killing Awlaki didnt help the US. His sermons, spread on social media, continue to inspire followers, turning him into an immortal enemy in the war against terrorism.

The (US) government has a portentous euphemism  removed from the battlefield  for the targeted killing of terrorists. But Awlaki has by no means been removed from the most important battlefield in any ideological conflict, the battlefield of ideas(In July 2015), Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez, a troubled 24-year-old electrical engineer, opened fire at two military installations in Chattanooga, Tenn., killing four Marines and a sailor. F.B.I. investigators who examined his computer discovered that he had been watching Awlaki videos in the weeks before the shootings, the NY Times wrote in a piece titled The Lessons of Anwar al-Awlaki.

Naik may not be in the Awlaki mould. But, as recent events in Dhaka and Hyderabad suggest, he is a key player in the battle of ideas. A combination of ambiguity on terror, arguments that verge on anti- Semitism, notions of superiority of one religion and use of modern technology make Zakir difficult to ignore both for followers and security agencies.

A big headache.
Sydney: Australia's greyhound industry was reeling Thursday after the country's most populous state banned the sport following a string of scandals including "live baiting" and the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs.

New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said the industry appeared incapable of reform and his government would work toward a shutdown from 1 July, 2017.

"Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the US and is legal in only eight countries around the world. New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to ban it," he said on Facebook.

"I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals."

The Australian Capital Territory, of which Canberra is the capital, said it would likely follow suit, although the sport is on a much smaller scale there.

Australia has one of the world's largest greyhound racing industries and live baiting has been banned for decades.

But last year national broadcaster ABC exposed that animals such as piglets, rabbits and possums were used as bait to train some of the country's most successful dogs.

Greyhounds traditionally chase an artificial hare or rabbit and the revelations sparked raids across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland states that rocked the industry.

It prompted an inquiry by New South Wales, which uncovered the mass killing of dogs considered too slow to pay their way and widespread live baiting, Baird said.

The probe also revealed systemic deception of the public about the numbers of deaths and injuries.

"One of the issues we have had to wrestle with is the positive impact of the greyhound racing industry," said Baird, pointing out it employed more than 1,000 people in his state and contributed millions of dollars to the economy.

"Dog racing can be an important part of the social fabric of regional towns. And, of course, having a punt on the dogs over a few beers is good fun for many people."

But he said that having weighed up the benefits, the negatives were too great to ignore.

Inhumane practices

The RSPCA, which provided evidence to the inquiry, called Baird's decision "courageous".

"The inquiry has demonstrated that cruelty is intertwined into every level of this sport," said spokeswoman Jade Norris.

But Greyhound Racing NSW said in a statement it was "an extremely sad day", adding there were many responsible participants "who treat their greyhounds like family".

"These people were as dismayed as others by the exposure of completely unacceptable and inhumane practices within greyhound racing," it said.

The New South Wales probe is one of several into greyhound racing around Australia.

It revealed that in the last 12 years, up to 68,000 dogs were killed because they were seen as unsuitable for racing, while some 10 to 20 percent of trainers were suspected of live baiting.

The inquiry also found that an estimated 180 greyhounds a year sustain injuries such as skull fractures or broken backs during races that led to their immediate deaths, a statistic "deliberately misreported" by Greyhound Racing NSW.

And the abuse is not limited to New South Wales, with 55 dead greyhounds found dumped in Queensland last year with spent rifle cartridges nearby.

Just weeks later two men in the same state were charged with using kittens as live bait.

Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace told reporters the sport would not be banned in her state but it was on its last warning, while Greyhound Racing Victoria said it was "well advanced on fundamental and unprecedented cultural and operational reform".
Beyond the feverish media speculation over who was promoted or demoted following the Cabinet reshuffle, whose stock rose or fell, one point emerges loud and clear. Two and a half years into power at the Centre, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's clout has grown to the point that they now hold absolute sway over the functioning of the government and the party and no one, not even the party's ideological mentors, can arm twist the duo into making a decision.

The principle that guided Modi as he initiated sweeping changes of portfolios seems to be a straightforward one: perform, or perish. And the Prime Minister's ruthlessness in implementing this mantra during the Cabinet overhaul suggests that he finds nobody as indispensable. No reputation is big enough and no proximity is close enough if one has been found wanting in performance.

Tuesday's expansion also puts to rest conjectures that the PM is a weaker personality than previously assumed and restores much of Modi's mojo as a strong-willed, decisive, dynamic leader who places results and merit above all other metrics and commands unswerving obedience from colleagues.

It could point to media's fickleness but to understand how Modi triggered a sudden change in perception, a small digression is in order. During an interaction with a few journalists on Tuesday ahead of the cabinet expansion, Modi made an observation that his biggest challenge remains winning over critics and sceptics who could never fully reconcile with the idea of him as India's Prime Minister.

"Before and during the parliamentary elections, there was a section of the media which strongly hoped that we would not win. My regret is that in the last two years, I have not been able to convince or persuade that section regarding our point of view. My challenge is to win over these sceptics, and persuade them of our sincerity and good intentions," the Prime Minister was quoted, as saying by Indian Express while answering a question on his regrets after two years at helm.

As it happens, he didn't have to wait too long. Following the Cabinet rejig, Modi received grudging praise from a few of his consistently trenchant critics.

Abusing `secular' journalists considered a surefire way to gain Modiji's approval but now @PMOIndia signals performance matters too!  Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) July 6, 2016

He's been tweeting most furiously in praise of PM all these months. Good, mere chamchagiri doesn't work in Modi-Raj https://t.co/nTMcLCqDlB  Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) July 5, 2016

Or consider this paragraph from The Telegraph, which has found in Modi little to praise for in the past. "It (the portfolio shuffle) carried a single, hard-hitting message: mid-way through the NDA government's tenure, under-performance will not be countenanced, much less unbridled ambitions, notions of grandeur and delusions of "proximity" to the ruling brass and the RSS. Delivery on target would be rewarded conservatively.

The latest reshuffle also makes nonsense of idle speculations that BJP's enfant terrible MP Subramanian Swamy is the 'third-most' important person in terms of pecking order in the current dispensation, as historian and political commentator Mukul Kesavan recently suggested in an op-ed piece for The Telegraph: "It is clear now (or it ought to be) that this English-speaking extremist is the Anglophone face of the Bharatiya Janata Party. When Swamy joined the BJP in 2013, the media treated him as a kind of court jester, licensed to say outrageous things but not a real force in the new dispensation. It's an assessment that is being rapidly revised; on the evidence of Rajan's termination, Swamy is the party's most influential voice after Narendra Modi and Amit Shah."

If issuing consistently provocative statements and seeking publicity through media-based character assassinations were a surefire way to curry favour with the Prime Minister, then Swamy would've been sitting pretty with a Cabinet berth right now.

Not that he didn't try  by making finance minister Arun Jaitley the target of his thinly disguised attacks, labeling allegations against technocrats close to the FM or raising doubts about India's GDP figures  Swamy ran a guerilla campaign to get himself installed at North Block. His being cast in the cold, therefore, shows that Modi meant every word that he uttered during the Times Now interview, "people should conduct themselves with utmost responsibility. If anybody considers himself above the system, it is wrong.."

The spectacular nature of the changes, which left untouched very few ministers such as Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Manohar Parrikar and Suresh Prabhu, are indicative of a hard-boiled assessment preceding the exercise.

There have been reports of PM presiding over "an over four-hour-long meeting of the Council of Ministers" last week where he "reviewed the performance of all Union ministries to ascertain whether budgetary allocations have been spent wisely."

In his penchant for micro-managing minute details of administration, Modi has an unusual technocrat's approach towards his role as a Prime Minister. That came to the fore again in the way the portfolio changes were brought about. Power-point presentations by 100 top bureaucrats running into over 100 slides and threadbare analysis of how each department had fared against the budgetary and sundry allocations since 2014 are touches of professionalism the executive arm of the government badly needs.

From promoting Prakash Javadekar and handing him the HRD ministry; shifting Smriti Irani to textiles; divesting Arun Jaitley of the I&B portfolio and giving it to Venkaiah Naidu; stripping Sadanand Gowda of law and returning the portfolio to Ravi Shankar Prasad; trusting an extremely low-key minister such as MoS, railways, Manoj Sinha with independent charge of telecommunications, there is cold calculation at work here. MoS Jayant Sinha losing the finance ministry and getting civil aviation instead is perhaps the only move that has resisted easy analysis (dealt at length in an earlier piece for Firstpost here).

The biggest takeaway from an apparently complex exercise is simple. Ministers should keep their heads down and work. There shall be no rewards for picking fights or grandstanding, much less for claiming favouritism where there is none. And put your trust in Modi.
In the run-up to the historic post-Emergency elections in 1977, Babu Jagjivan Ram had come out with a one-liner that captured the imagination of the masses across the nation  There is a one and a half men rule in India. Babuji was referring to the reign of Indira Gandhi-Sanjay Gandhi.

Ask any old-timer and he will tell you that nobody except these one (Indira) and a half (Sanjay) men mattered in Government of India those days. And who else could have known the prevailing state of affairs better than Jagjivan Ram, the senior most minister under Indiras premiership? None perhaps.

Feeling suffocated, Babuji had resigned from primary membership of the Congress and founded a new party, Congress for Democracy that merged later on with Janata Party. The Janata Party registered a spectacular victory in the elections, re-established rule of law in governance for a brief period and then crumbled under the weight of what was described as too much democracy within less than three years. Indira and her son rode back to power triumphantly. The one and a half men rule was back with a bang. And rest is history.

A young, budding Delhi based journalist, Purushottam Naveen, who is fond of doing thorough research before putting pen on paper, has written an article recalling Jagjivan Rams caustic comment that had come like a bolt in the blue during those turbulent times. In fact, I had myself heard Babuji making that comment in course of his speech at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

But forget history for a while and please take a look at the present scenario in the Capital rather closely. Arent we witnessing one and a half men rule once again? Ask anybody who has access to the corridors of power in Lutyens New Delhi and he will tell you how things move in the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah era. Nobody, neither in the government nor in the ruling party, matters except this duo.

No minister, no party functionary and no civil servant are considered big enough to escape scrutiny by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). You have got to be on the right side of the probing eyes of the duo to survive and flourish. Prime Minister Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are not just individuals. As a duo, they have grown into an institution that forms the nerve-centre of the present day establishment.

Isnt it ironical that the good-old Congress culture of one and a half men rule is back with a bang, regardless of the fact that the present day masters are leaving no stone unturned to ensure emergence of a Congress-mukt Bharat?

Indeed, politics is the art of the possible. What else?

Why not ask members of the ruling partys margdarshak mandal (guidance committee) for their comments in this regard? They may or may not stand up and be counted at this point of time. In any case, their views are well known. Remember what the party veterans had said after the debacle in Bihar last year: A thorough review must be done of the reasons for the defeat in Bihar as well as of the way the party is being forced to kow-tow to a handful, and how its consensual character has been destroyed.

Arun Shourie, another fire-brand leader of the Atal Behari Vajpayee era, had warned two months ago that over the next three years he expected an increase in decentralised intimidation besides choking of inconvenient voices. Bracketing the Prime Minister with the likes of Indira Gandhi and J. Jayalalitha, Shourie had accused Modi of narcissism and Machiavellism. The PMs attitude to people is to use and throw them, he had further said during an interview on Karan Thapars show in India Today TV.

But there is always the other side to arguments against dictatorial leanings of the man on top at whose doors all bucks come to a stop. Can you handle things in this undisciplined, superfluously democratised nation without a strong dictatorial bent of mind? Perhaps, a big No. Indira Gandhi had learnt it the hard way after her fight with the famous syndicate consisting of big names such as K Kamraj, Morarji Desai, S Nijalingappa and Atulya Ghosh. And Prime Minister Modi has had to face difference of opinion vis-a-vis the likes of LK Adavani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Yashwant Sinha.

And Modi is not the only one who has fashioned himself precisely on the lines of the 'Iron Lady'. In fact, almost all political parties with the sole exception of communists have copied Indiras style and Congress culture. If Mulayam Singh Yadavs Samajwadi Party, Laloo Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal and Karunanidhis DMK are at best one and a half men shows, J Jayalaithas AIADMK and Mamata Bannerjis Trinamool Congress happen to be one man political outfits for all practical purposes. Uddhav Thakres Shiv Sena is no different. And last but not the least, Arvind Kejariwals Aam Admi Party is no longer a party with a difference. All the inconvenient men including Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav have been shown the door. And all those who remain within the party cant afford to raise their heads against the whims and fancies of their supremo. Like it or not, we are all living in Congress-yuktanot-muktBharat. Please dont mind, we have come full circle.
Despite Shiv Sena's perceived firmness, BJP showed no fear as the party stood its ground in allowing only two more minister of state berths for its regional ally as the Devendra Fadnavis-led government is set for an expansion on Friday. The Shiv Sena had also demanded for a cabinet portfolio.

According to sources, two Shiv Sena MLAs  Arjun Khotkar from Jalna and Gulabrao Patil from Jalgaon  will join the ministry as ministers of state on Friday.

This is for the second time the national party ignored the Shiv Sena within a week both at the Centre and the state level. After having offered a cold shoulder in the recent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, it was widely believed that the state unit of the BJP in Maharashtra might actually try to reach out to its ally.

Although there were indications of reigniting the flickering warmth from the BJP camp initially, the Shiv Sena had shown no excitement. The Shiv Sena in fact went into a huddle earlier in the day with its supremo Uddhav Thackeray, Sena leaders Subhash Desai, Diwakar Raote and Anil Desai in attendance. After the meeting that took place at Thackeray's residence Matoshree, the three leaders excluding the Sena chief met Fadnavis, sources told Firstpost. However, the meeting clearly did not help much as no cabinet berth was allotted to the regional outfit.

The Sena has five cabinet portfolios in the present Maharashtra ministry (and five MoS berths) while Thackeray is putting forward a demand for another cabinet berth. Although the chief minister is keen on reviving the thaw to ease tension in ties between the two allies, a section of the BJP is not in favour of giving another cabinet rank to its ally.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges in June. The 10 portfolios handled by Khadse are temporarily with Fadnavis.

"The cabinet expansion will be held on Friday morning at 9 am at Vidhan Bhavan," a senior government official said.

While the BJP is expected to get five berths, Shiv Sena is likely to get two and the other BJP allies two.

The expansion comes ahead of the Monsoon Session starting 18 July and two days before Fadnavis begins his four-day Russia tour on 10 July.

The Fadnavis government, which has 19 cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state, has 14 more berths to fill up. It is not known if all berths will be filled up on Friday.

BJP alliesSadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Pakshaare likely to be inducted in the upcoming reshuffle.

Despite all the preparations for the expansion of the state cabinet on Friday, the silence from the Sena quarters is deafening as it is not known yet if the party will stay content with the two minister of state berths or will stick to its demand of another cabinet seat.

Probably, there will be some clarity later as Fadnavis is likely to meet the to be inducted ministers at his official residence Varsha at 8 pm on Thursday.

With inputs from PTI
The only saving grace in the unmitigated arrogance of the largely forgotten Kanhaiya Kumar, advising and warning Prakash Javadekar about how to do his job as the new HRD Minister, is that India, per se, does not care that much anymore about his pronouncements.

Unlike Round One, when this not-so-young-student (he still is one, isn't he?) was anointed as the freshly minted saviour. Nearly every one of his utterances received thousands of responses. He actually had a glee club. He was lionised and placed delicately on a pedestal. Now, these reactions have dwindled down to tens and twenties. Talk about the quintessential example of diminishing returns and the plummet in credibility and hope that perhaps here was a youthful messiah on a mission.

Now there is a blur. Is he a student leader or a politician in the making?

But even though the flagpole is slippery, the visibly slithering student leader is still trying to cling to some sort of tattered and faded glory.

It is tough to quantify what he has achieved in the interim besides a few imaginably fiery speeches at various campuses and a Three Stooges type assassination attempt aboard a local flight but stabbing Smriti Irani and crowing about her being moved to another ministry is hardly mature and edifying.

Why is it such a matter of excitement in some quarters that Irani has been moved to a Rs 6,000-crore textile industry. She is not out by a long shot. There seems to be some nexus being created in the shift indicating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was compelled to move her because of pressure from students, what with the Uttar Pradesh elections skulking around the corner.

Ergo, he had to appease them.

Kanhaiya Kumars self deception knows no bounds and whether you are pro-Modi or not it is difficult to visualise him sitting with his colleagues, sweating bricks and saying we have to appease Kanhaiya and his cohorts, let's give them Smriti to satisfy their bloodlust. Get over it, please, it just does not happen this way and it is laughable that the JNU student president should slurp at that straw of self-delusion.

The volley fired across Javadekars bows by Kanhaiya that he better not follow in Smritis footsteps, a reaction to the newcomer saying the policies would continue is another example of personal PR, a sad attempt to propel oneself through what he sees as the misfortunes of others.

It is almost as if Javadekar is being advised to check up with the student leader before he makes any decision. To his credit. he has not gone for the baited hook and is saying nothing. Good, that's the right way to go.

Perhaps it is time to let the good people of Africa (?) take sustenance by defrosting the KK thesis and advise him to let us make up our own minds on how Prakash Javadekar will function and not be so crass in indirectly taking credit for Smritis departure.

Neither premises have wings.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has come under fire from the BJP after a video of his, sharing the dais with controvertial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, went viral.

The video, in which Singh is being seen heaping praises and lauding Zakir Naik, dates back to 2012. Singh had attended a conference which was organised by Zakir Naik, who has been in the news for allegedly inspiring attackers who carried out the gruesome Dhaka Cafe attack where 24 people were killed and 40 wounded.

The BJP has strongly condemned Singh's actions for having shared the stage with Naik. "Congress party's sympathies are always with terrorist organisations. So, this is not surprising for us," BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said.

In the video Singh is heard saying,

"I am grateful to Zakir Naik. Havent ever got an opportunity to address such a huge audience. I am happy to see him spread the message of peace to the world."

Singh has admitted to having attended the conference but defended himself by saying he spoke out against communal violence. He further added that had Naik said anything wrong back then, the government should immoderately start a probe.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Naik said, "It is totally illogical to say that I promote terrorism. Not a single investigative agency says Dr Zakir Naik promotes terrorism. The Home Ministry is most welcome to go through all my speeches,".

On the Dhaka cafe attack he said:

"I inspire many people because I have a large following. These people might have been inspired by me but I dont know them personally. I fear media and politicians because they might malign my image. There are people who are using my photographs and misquoting me to defame me. I welcome any investigation against me."

Naik, who is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speeches and is the president of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), had categorically denied having made any speech where he had urged Muslims to become terrorists.

Naik, who is very popular in Bangaldesh through his Peace TV, has often been found demeaning other religions and even other Muslim sects. Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper had reported that Rohan Imtiaz, one of the suspects in the Bangladesh attack had run a propaganda in Facebook last year quoting Naik.
Maputo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Africa is the land that shaped the identity of the Indian diaspora.

Africa was the land which started shaping the identity of the Indian diaspora, he said in a brief interaction with members of the Indian community at Maputo. Even as you assimilate with your local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness, he said in a brief speech on the occasion.

There are around 20,000 people of Indian origin in Mozambique.

Modi said Africa is the land that contributed to India being known internationally.

Indians in Africa contribute to India's status worldwide, he said

The community interaction was the last engagement of Narendra Modi here before his departure for South Africa.

He arrived here on Thursday morning on the first leg of his four-nation African tour.

Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

India and Mozambique signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, Modi will also visit Tanzania and Kenya.
BAGHDAD At least 20 people were killed and 50 others wounded on Thursday evening in an attack on a Shi'ite mausoleum north of Baghdad, security sources said.

The site, the Mausoleum of Sayid Mohammed bin Ali al-Hadi, is located in Balad, about 93 kilometres (58 miles) north of Baghdad.

A suicide car bomb blew up at the external gate of the mausoleum, allowing several gunmen to storm the site and start shooting at pilgrims on a visit on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr festival.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli, editing by G Crosse)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Dhaka: Radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with the police in Bangladesh on Thursday, killing a policeman and a terrorist at the country's biggest Eid gathering. The attacks happened a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka Cafe that left 22 people dead.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people

had gathered, police said. Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured.

One suspected attacker was also killed during the face-off with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off. Abu Sayem, Additional Superintendent of Kishoreganj police, said two  including a police constable and a terrorist  died at scene. "One suspect has been held and about 13 injured," he said.

Local reports said six-seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eid ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts had spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground,

but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported. "That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still

unclear," he said.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group on Wednesday had issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack

at Dhaka Cafe was just "a glimpse".

The video message, believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was

released on YouTube. Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday last week killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis who are still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.
Seven years after it began, the official inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq war was finally reported on Wednesday with former prime minister Tony Blair facing severe criticism. The Chilcot inquiry launched in 2009 as British troops withdrew from Iraq, tasked with investigating the run-up to the 2003 US-led invasion and the subsequent occupation.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis died during the conflict and the brutal sectarian war that followed, while 179 British soldiers also lost their lives  many of whose relatives are still searching for answers. The invasion was controversial at the time as it did not have explicit approval from the UN Security Council, while claims that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction proved unfounded.

Although he stepped down in 2007, Blair remains reviled by much of Britain for the conflict, which is viewed as at best misguided, and as worst a war crime. A 2004 official report into the intelligence case found he exaggerated the evidence when he presented it to MPs, although author Robin Butler on Monday said that Blair "really believed" what he was doing was right.

The Chilcot inquiry was not asked to rule on the legality of the invasion, but leaks suggest Blair will be heavily criticised over the decision-making process. His critics are already lining up against him, with former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond gathering cross-party support for an impeachment or possible legal challenge. Impeachment is a law that was last used in 1806 and is considered obsolete, but could be revived to put a symbolic mark on Blair's reputation in the history books.

Blair declined to comment before the report, but has previously expressed regret for the lives lost. However, he said he did not regret removing Saddam Hussein.

Chilcot inquiry: Some facts

The final report by career diplomat John Chilcot runs to 2.6 million words  more than four times the length of Tolstoy's War and Peace  and cost over 10 million (11.9 million euros, $13.3 million) to produce.

More than 120 witnesses gave evidence during months of public hearings, including Blair, his successor Gordon Brown, spy and military chiefs and ministers.

The inquiry was meant to take a year but took seven, longer than the war itself, and during which period one member of the five-strong panel died.

The report was delayed by wrangling over what could be published, including correspondence between Blair and the US president George W Bush, as well as the need to give key figures prior warning.

The inquiry was called under pressure from bereaved relatives, many of them angry at the poor equipment given to British troops.

Notable among these were the lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rover vehicles, which were nicknamed "coffins on wheels" for their lack of protection against roadside bombs.

Lawyers representing relatives of 29 British troops that died said they would scrutinise the report for evidence of neglect of duty or misconduct in public office.

This could form the basis of legal action against Blair, his ministers or the government in general, a spokesman for McCue and Partners solicitors told AFP.

The International Criminal Court, which was petitioned at the time to examine possible evidence of war crimes, said on Monday it will consider the report as part of its preliminary examination to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to open an investigation.

However, the legality of the war is outside its jurisdiction.

Major findings

The report, looks at close to a decade of decisions and policies by the UK and its involvement in the 2003 war. The report looks in why UK decided to go to war, if the troops were trained and what sort of planning ensued in the aftermath of the war.

The report found that UK joined the war even though there were other peaceful options still available, the inquiry report makes it amply clear that the military action taken by the UK was definitely not the last resort.

"In the absence of a majority in support of military action, we consider that the UK was, in fact, undermining the Security Council's authority". "We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort".

Iraq leader, Saddam Hussein, also didn't pose a threat, reveals the report. Among the documents to be published are reportedly 29 letters sent by Blair to US president George W. Bush, and some record of conversations between the pair. Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2002 told US President George W Bush that he would support him  a statement that has drawn sharp criticism from the media.

"I will be with you, whatever," said Blair's note to then US president George W Bush on July 28, 2002  nearly a year before the March 2003 invasion.

"By early January (2003), Mr Blair had also concluded that 'the likelihood was war'. At the end of January, Mr Blair accepted the US timetable for military action by mid-March," the report said.

The report concluded that Blair "set the UK on a path leading to diplomatic activity in the UN and the possibility of participation in military action in a way that would make it very difficult for the UK subsequently to withdraw its support for the US."

Blair "did not press President Bush for definite assurances about US plans, did not consider or seek advice about whether the absence of a satisfactory plan called for reassessment of the terms of the UK's engagement and did not make agreement on such a plan a condition of UK participation in military action".

Chilcot said spy chiefs "should have made clear to Mr Blair that the assessed intelligence had not established 'beyond doubt' either that Iraq had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, or that efforts to develop nuclear weapons continued".

But he was more cautious about the dossier on Iraq's weapons which was released by Blair's 10 Downing Street office in September 2002 and has become a focal point for criticism of the plan for war.

Turns out, there were no severe security threats posed by Iraq's 'weapons of mass destruction' either. "There is no evidence that intelligence was improperly included in the dossier or that Number 10 improperly influenced the text," the report found.

The US-led invasion was deeply controversial at the time as it did not have explicit approval from the UN Security Council, while claims that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction proved unfounded.

Chilcot was not asked to rule on the legality of the invasion, but leaks suggest Blair will be heavily criticised over the decision-making process.

His critics are already lining up against him, with former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond gathering cross-party support to bring legal action or symbolically impeach him.

Blair apologised last year for the fact the intelligence was wrong, and for mistakes in the planning, but said he did not regret removing Saddam Hussein.

In essence, the intelligence was inadequate on Iraq and yet the war plans were drawn.

However, responding to the report, Blair said, his voice breaking with emotion in a speech in central London. "I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe."

He added: "As the report makes clear there were no lies, parliament and cabinet were not misled, there was no secret commitment to war..The intelligence was not falsified and the decision was made in good faith."

"Despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power," Bush's spokesman Freddy Ford said in a statement.

"He is deeply grateful for the service and sacrifice of American and coalition forces in the war on terror. And there was no stronger ally than the United Kingdom under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair."

A long shadow over UK foreign policy

Jane Kinninmont, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the Chatham House think tank notes that Britain had moved towards working with military forces in the region, such as Jordan and the Gulf states, rather than taking action itself. "The problem is that these forces are still not very strong," she said.

But John Bew, reader in history and foreign policy at King's College London, said Iraq had had a paralysing effect, accusing Britain of having a "non-policy" in Syria for many years. "We stopped thinking seriously about how to manage down violence, how to stabilise the neighbourhood, how to do things like potentially humanitarian corridors, how to put more diplomatic pressure on the Assad regime," he said.

"There is a vacuum in Western foreign policy," he told AFP. "We haven't addressed Syria and Libya on their merits so much as having a re-run about debates over Iraq. And at some point that has to stop."

The neo-conservative think tank the Henry Jackson Society also warned against retreating further following the publication of the Chilcot report.

"There are many significant failings and lessons to be learned from the Iraq war, as with any conflict," said its executive director Alan Mendoza. "But one lesson that must not follow is that intervention is wrong, or that we are somehow responsible for the totality of the turmoil in the Middle East today." His comments echo those made by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair, the man who took Britain into the war and recently called for Western countries to send in ground troops to defeat the IS group.

Does the Chilcot Inquiry mean anything to Iraqis?
Baghdad: A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 292 people, the health minister said Thursday, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in a crowded shopping area early on Sunday, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Health Minister Adila Hamoud said the identities of 177 people killed in the bombing have yet to be determined, while 115 bodies have been handed over to families.

The attack also wounded 200 people, Hamoud said.

The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of failing to do enough to protect them.

And it has overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness.

The Islamic State group overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant territory from the jihadists.

In response to the battlefield setbacks, the group has hit back against civilians, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground.
Dhaka: The Islamist militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian girl, in the brazen assault at a cafe in Dhaka used five pistols and three AK-22 rifles, police said on Thursday.

Three knives, a machete, a white handkerchief and around 300 rounds of bullet shells were also found on the premises of Holey Artisan Bakery that was stormed by at least five gunmen on 1 July, sparking a 12-hour stand-off with police that saw 20 hostages murdered with machetes.

Police also found nine safety pins and suspect these are of the grenades used by the terrorists, the bdnews reported.

A police official said the bloodied handkerchief with something written on it in black ink, was found on a dead body.

Two police officers and 20 hostages, including 18-year-old Indian girl Tarishi Jain, nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis and one American were killed in Bangladesh's worst terror attack.

Thirteen hostages were rescued when security forces stormed the restaurant.
Washington: Donald Trump pledged adherence to basic Republican Party goals Thursday as he sought to win over rank-and-file GOP lawmakers skeptical he can beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the fall.

Trump arrived with his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet behind closed doors with House Republicans, his first such meeting with the full House GOP conference. Dozens of protesters awaited him, shouting slogans and waving signs that said Trump was "Dangerous, Divisive, Deceitful."

Inside, Trump offered some Republicans what they wanted to hear. He talked of repealing President Obama's health law, reducing regulatory burdens, overhauling tax laws and getting the Supreme Court to "be one that is more reflective of the values of the country," according to Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.

Trump delivered a "great unifying speech," Price said, and his listeners were "very receptive."

But Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an outspoken Trump skeptic, said there was a lack of energy in the room. "You could feel it," he said.

"I'm not a Never Trump guy, I've said I want to get there, I'm a Republican and I want to support the nominee," Kinzinger said after leaving the meeting early. "But things like the Saddam Hussein comment are not helping me get there," Kinzinger added, referencing Trump's recent praise for the late Iraqi dictator's terrorist-killing prowess, comments that Trump defended Wednesday night.

Trump was to meet later in the morning with Republican senators. The gatherings came less than two weeks before the GOP's national convention, which a number of leading Republicans are skipping, including some in Congress.

While Trump was greeted enthusiastically by a handful of lawmakers, many others have expressed skepticism, criticism or outright opposition to a presidential candidate who has flouted conservative principles and divided the Republican Party. A number of lawmakers planned to skip Thursday's meetings.

Trump's appearance came on the heels of a fiery speech in which he defended his retweet of a star symbol many saw as a Star of David, an image that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and others have criticised.

Instead of focusing on Clinton during his remarks Wednesday in Cincinnati, as Republican leaders would have liked, Trump mixed his attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee with a defense of the tweet as well as earlier remarks complimenting Hussein. Trump argues the star in his tweet was a regular star that a sheriff might use.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was quick to endorse Trump but has criticised him for going off-script and lagging in fundraising, said he looks forward to "a frank exchange."

"All of us are anxious to win the presidential election," said McConnell, who recently has said Trump's campaign is improving. "I think the one thing we agree on unanimously is four more years just like the last eight is not a good place for the American people."

Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, in a tough re-election race, told reporters she had to attend a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at the same time as Trump's appearance.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida said he needed to check his calendar. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said he was scheduled to preside over the Senate, but that others would benefit more anyway from seeing Trump.

"Obviously I'm very familiar with Donald and his positions, I just came off an 11-month campaign where he was one of my opponents," said Rubio, a former Trump rival who was often mocked by Trump as "Little Marco."

"So some of the other folks perhaps wanted to spend more time learning more about his positions."

The meetings come as two potential vice presidential picks  Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa  indicated that they weren't interested in running on the same ticket as Trump.

The meetings were taking place at the political headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, within blocks of the Capitol. Trump planned to meet first with House members.

Ensuring an overheated atmosphere on Capitol Hill, FBI Director James Comey was to testify before a House committee at the same time as the Senate meeting with Trump. Comey was summoned by House Republicans who are irate over his recommendation against criminal charges for Clinton's classified email handling.

Democrats are moving to find political advantage from Trump's appearance. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which tries to elect Democrats to the House, released a new nationwide ad campaign Thursday seeking to link Republicans to Trump. The ads, focused in the districts of 10 vulnerable lawmakers, will be running on cable networks; one of them, "Sidekick," likens Trump to a schoolyard bully and congressional Republicans to the bully's sidekicks and asks: "Shouldn't they really be standing up to the bully?"
The ousting of Islamic State fighters from Fallujah was supposed to make Baghdad safer, by showing that the jihadists could be defeated and deprived of a safe haven from which to attack the Iraqi capital, reports The Christian Science Monitor.

But at midnight on Saturday, just days after Iraq had declared victory in Fallujah, a truck bomb had detonated in the central Karrada district, killing 215 people in the deadliest single bombing Baghdad has seen in a decade.

For Baghdads embattled residents, the blast was revenge for the loss of Fallujah, and yet more tragedy at the hands of Islamic State, also known as Islamic State  which they were told was on the run and facing defeat.

The suffering of our neighbours is unbearable. They are in shock. Children are afraid, said Amal Hussein, a recent college graduate whose sisters family lives a block from the attack. Her sister, Zeinab, was inconsolable; four people died in their damaged building. We spent all night praying for these people.

While Iraqis mourned, again, analysts said the link between the Fallujah victory and the Baghdad bomb was a microcosm in Iraq of a broader phenomena. As the jihadist group lost ground in battlefields from Iraq and Syria to Libya, it demonstrated that it could morph its tactics to conduct spectacular suicide attacks with conventional terrorist tools, from the heart of Europe to southern Asia.

In the past week, as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan drew to a close, Islamic State claimed a string of high-profile events, including a triple suicide attack against Istanbuls main airport; a raid and hostage-taking in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and, as well as the Baghdad bomb, three separate suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

The Pentagon has said that more than 9,500 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in support of anti-IS fighters of all stripes have eroded the self-declared Islamic Caliphate by a third in the past two years. In late May, Islamic State spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani acknowledged the territorial losses and even presaged more to come, but called for attacks during Ramadan, especially by followers in Europe and America. He had promised that Islamic State would strike even if it is driven into the desert.

What we see right now is a lashing out of the group, said Shiraz Maher, deputy director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalism (ICSR) at Kings College London. They are losing ground, they are being squeezed, but I do not think they are suffering an existential loss of territory at this moment.

The variety of tactics should not be a surprise, he said, considering how Islamic State actions and calls to loyalists can spark local actions, creating a force multiplier that makes Islamic State different things to different people.

We tend to have a static view of what Islamic State is, says Maher, author of the newly released book Salafi-Jihadism: The History of an Idea.

If you are a Parisian drinking in the Marais, it is a terrorist group that guns you down when you are socializing with friends on a Friday night. If you are another Syria rebel  it is an aggressive and annoying insurgency that is acting against your interests. And if you are in Raqqa, Islamic State headquarters city in Syria, it is a proto-state, says Maher.

So the idea that it should be one or the other is wrong. It is a kaleidoscopic movement that can be all of these things at the same time.

Bid to push Iraqis to turn on each other

The changing nature of IS and how it generally strikes was one reason Baghdadis were so surprised at the scale of the weekend attack. The Karrada district was largely Shiite, like the militias who had controversially joined the Iraqi Army in pushing Islamic State out of Fallujah.

But military victory had created a sense of receding danger, on top of positive spin by politicians about marching on Mosul  Iraqs second largest city, held by Islamic State since June 2014.

Daesh is not losing on the security file, but on the military file only, says Hisham Alhashimi, a security analyst in Baghdad, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. They are changing their method from an ideological war to a secret, underground one. They are reactivating these [bombing] operations, and the tempo will sometimes be up and sometimes be down.

UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis had said Islamic State fighters who had suffered defeats at the battlefront were seeking to avenge their losses by targeting vulnerable civilians.

Yet in Iraq, there is another purpose, Mr. Alhashimi had said.

They are banking on sparking a sectarian war, he said. Ethnic cleansing swept Iraq in 2006-07, when Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents  under the name Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the precursors to IS  killed for their sect. We will see new, quality activities. They will increase their targeting of women and children more than before. Why? To make pressure on the government and the Iraqi army, to stop attacking them.

Despite military losses, IS not on back foot

The numbers of foreign recruits to Islamic State are reportedly down by 90 percent, and anecdotal information indicates dissatisfaction among many foreign jihadists, at least some of whom have contacted diplomatic missions in Turkey asking for safe passage home.

In Washington, on the operational side theres no illusion that theyre on the back foot, says Aaron Stein, an analyst at the Atlantic Council. So the planning for IS 2.0 is this exact question: What does ISIS turn into when its defeated territorially in these two places?

Weve already seen this movie, says Stein. He noted that despite AQI being largely defeated by US surge troops and Sunni awakening allies less than a decade ago, it doesnt take much to reconstitute themselves.

ISIS 2.0 will be an insurgent group, he says. Even in Kurdish areas where IS had been forced out there were frequent bombings, by left-behind [IS] guys, acting like insurgents.

When they lose, I just think they will bundle themselves up and find another way. And they will get smaller, and even more clandestine, says Stein. You destroy them and they just keep growing back.

He said Turkey, which is so close that you can "smell things across the border" in Syria, is particularly vulnerable to attacks  even though IS "cant bring down the government or gain territory in Turkey. Last week's Istanbul airport attack, perpetrated by three foreigners, killed 45.

What does victory look like?

One conundrum is how to define victory against such a flexible organization.

I am not entirely sure that inflicting a sudden and massive loss of territory on IS is desirable, says Maher at ICSR.

He noted that, from the day after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre, a really generous estimate of just 500 hardened Al Qaeda operatives have managed to perpetuate conflict ever since. By contrast, IS has an estimated 30,000 active fighters who are far better trained and capable in arms and making bombs  thousands of whom have Western passports.

If you just destroy their territory and these guys scatter into the wind  you have to find, and track, and keep tabs on them, and that is really difficult, says Maher. A few get through to Europe and regional countries, but in essence we know where the bulk of them are.
Dhaka: An eerie silence pervades the restaurants and shopping malls in Dhaka's diplomatic quarter, usually teeming with well-heeled urbanites, now standing empty since the killing of 20 hostages at a popular cafe.

Five days after the siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Bangladeshi capital, many establishments remain closed, with shaken residents of Gulshan too afraid to venture out.

"Our guest numbers have gone down dramatically so the management took the decision to keep it shut for a while," said Abdul Mazid, a guard at Meraki, a well-known restaurant in the neighborhood.

The run-up to Eid celebrations that mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan usually see shopping malls overflowing with crowds and millions of dollars changing hands in just a few days.

But this year Gulshan DCC market, usually bustling with Eid shoppers ahead of the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar, stand deserted.

The festivities, are likely to be subdued, with attendees instructed not to bring bags and high security at the National Eidgah Maidan in central Dhaka, where thousands will congregate for prayers in one of the largest such gatherings.

At least five gunmen stormed the bakery on Friday evening, sparking an 11-hour stand-off with police that saw victims murdered with machetes, most of them Italian or Japanese.

Around the corner from the site of the attack, Thai restaurant Soi 71 and neighboring Korean diner Suraon, which usually remain lively past midnight, were shuttered on Tuesday.

"Ours is a happening business, it's hard to believe how quiet it has become over the past few days," said Mohammad Farhan, manager of the upmarket Butlers Chocolate Cafe, where waiters were standing around.

"It has just turned upside down."

Britain was among countries urging its citizens to avoid areas frequented by foreigners, such as international hotels, large supermarkets or clubs, while Japanese firm Uniqlo restricted non-urgent travel for employees.

As Dhaka residents attempt to regroup, fears are mounting that the attack may herald an escalation of violence in Bangladesh.

Islamist militants have been blamed for a wave of murders of foreigners, religious minorities and secular writers over the past three years.

However, Friday's murders were on a totally different scale.
New Delhi: France has offered to help India revive the unsuccessful Kaveri engine project for indigenous Tejas aircraft and a host of other high-end collaboration as part of the offsets in the multi-billion Euro Rafale fighter plane deal, which is now in the final stages.

Defence sources said the file on the purchase of the 36 Rafale aircraft in a fly-away condition from France has been finalised and is likely to be put up before Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon.

The estimated cost of the deal is about 7.89 billion Euros and entails a 50 per cent offset clause.

Under the offset agreement, which was discussed last year, the French side has made a 30 percent offset commitment for military aerospace research and development programmes and the rest 20 percent for making components of Rafales here.

The offsets will be carried out by French companies Safran, Thales, MBDA and Dassault, all part of the Rafale project.

As per the initial agreed points, the French have offered to provide stealth, radar and thrust vectoring for missiles technologies besides others to DRDO and domestic defence firms.

"The French government has in principle agreed on these points under the offset commitments. Once a final contract for 36 Rafale aircraft is signed, the French government will give subject wise clearance and concrete talks will start," a defence source said.

The French have also agreed in principle to collaborate on the Kaveri engine which lacks the real power thrust needed to fly the Tejas.

An upgraded Kaveri engine with 90 kN thrust compared to the existing 72 kN can be developed with French cooperation which can eventually be used for Tejas which currently uses an American engine.

"The negotiations on offsets were carried out last year with DRDO and some other agencies. Once the contract for the Rafales is signed, there will be a six months window to finalise the offset," a source said.

The French are hoping that they will have a bigger share in the Indian defence market and see the Rafale contract as a great breakthrough. They are also hoping that India will eventually go in for more Rafale aircraft, possibly under the 'Make in India' route.
Beijing: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told China's leaders on Thursday that a flourishing civil society and free media are key to China's development, on one of his last visits to Beijing as UN leader.

Ban spoke while standing next to Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who last month berated a Canadian journalist for asking a question about China's human rights record during a news conference in Canada.

"As China continues along the path of transformation and reform, I encourage China's leaders to create the space needed for the civil society to play its crucial role," Ban said, as Wang looked down at his lectern or stared ahead, expressionless.

Ban added that environmental activists, human rights lawyers and defenders and others "can act as a catalyst for social progress and economic goals."

"Along with a free and independent media they can help ensure accountability, thereby helping the state to evolve better and strengthening its standing in the eyes of the people," Ban said during the tightly managed news conference, in which only two questions were allowed.

While China's news media have long been directed by the ruling Communist Party, President Xi Jinping signaled a further tightening of control in February when he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the media's highest priority.

This week marks the first anniversary of a crackdown in China on human rights lawyers and activists in which more than 200 were detained or questioned. One year on, around two dozen are still detained, including several who could face life imprisonment after being charged with subverting state power.

Ban, whose second term as UN secretary-general runs out at the end of the year, said, "The world will look to China to complement its remarkable economic progress by giving citizens a full say and a role in the political life of their country."

The pair also discussed tensions involving the South China Sea ahead of a ruling expected next week by an international arbitration panel on the validity of China's claims to virtually all of the sea. Beijing has not participated in the case, which was brought by the Philippines.

The UN leader said that all countries with rival claims to the South China Sea should settle their differences peacefully and "avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke about trade, investment and defence ties between India and Mozambique, during his visit to Africa.

Here is the full text of his speech:

"Your Excellency, President Filipe Nyusi

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Excellency, I am deeply touched by your kind words. Thank you also for your thoughts on the strength of the Mozambique-India relationship. I would like to thank you as well as the Government and the people of Mozambique for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.

Excellency, the relationship between our countries is not new. Thousands of Indian-origin people call Mozambique their home. I am told that most of the Siddi community that resides in parts of India is known to trace its ancestry to Mozambique. These communities are a living testimony to age old links that have connected our people, their ideas and traditions, and culture and commerce.

Excellency, both our countries suffered under the colonial rule. In the case of Mozambique, the struggle was much longer. Independent India was one of the leading advocates of Mozambican freedom from colonial rule. We were proud to see Mozambique join the ranks of free nations in 1975.

And, today, we applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades. Excellency, as two developing countries we face similar challenges. Our development and economic partnership, therefore, has been an essential part of our relationship.

Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years.We want to build further on it.For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Mozambican independence and of establishment of our diplomatic ties. It also saw a level of interaction between our nations, never seen before. Its high point was your own State Visit to India in August 2015. Later, your Prime Minister honoured us with his presence during the third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit. Excellency, I am aware that I am the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mozambique in 34 years. This gap should never have been so long. And, I am confident that it will not be so in future.

With these words, Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen, please join me in raising a toast: to the health, happiness and well-being of His Excellency, President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi; to lasting peace, progress and prosperity among the people of Mozambique; and to strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Mozambique."
Maputo: Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi at Maputo, a significant "long term" agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces amid Modi's vow to march with this African

country on its path of development and progress.

"We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

"Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said, in comments that come against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world, including Bangladesh as also Saudi Arabia.

He said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the "emerging

security challenges", including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence

cooperation.

India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.

"Our partnership is driven by convergence of capacities and interest...Mozambique's strengths are India's needs and what Mozambique needs is in India. We complement each other," Modi said.

He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.

Referring to the agriculture sector, he said India is committed to buy pulses from Mozambique, regarding which a

"long-term agreement" was signed on the occasion.

The agreement to buy pulses, he said, will meet India's requirements and help raise the farmers' income in Mozambique.

Noting that agriculture development is the top priority for Mozambique, Modi said India would be partnering this

endeavour through development of agricultural infrastructure and productivity in this country.

"We have agreed to put this on a fast track," he said.

Describing Mozambique as the "gateway" to Africa, Modi said one-fourth of India's investment in this continent is in this country.

He said the bilateral trade has continued to grow and there was a need to provide a "nurturing" environment.

He recalled the "sad struggles" and "sufferings" of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been

the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence. Modi said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like "shared vision" for the better future and partnership.

He said he had chosen this country as his first stopover in the four-nation tour that will also include South Africa,

Tanzania and Kenya, as Nyusi had also made India his first stopover during his Asian tour last year.

Modi presented to the Mozambique President a booklet brought out by the Indian High Commission in English to act as

a guide to the Indian business persons who intend to invest in this country.

With regard to the agreement in pulses, officials said that India will encourage greater production of the commodity in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price.

While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much

consumption locally, the officials said, adding the agreement will be a "win-win" for the two countries.

The two countries also signed a pact in the field of youth and sports.

Modi said 20,000 Mozambicans can trace their ancestors to India and that they are the bridge to economic ties between the two countries.

Later, addressing a banquet hosted by Nyusi in his honour, the Prime Minister said India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity with Mozambique in line with its priorities.

"Today, we applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades," Modi said.
Many in Bangladesh's ruling establishment seem to use terms terrorism and criminal acts interchangeably, and there seems to be continued refusal to accept that the countrys security situation has been in a downward spiral for long. Days after Dhaka cafe siege focused global attention on the alarming rise in terror strikes in the country, an Eid gathering in Sholakhia, close to capital Dhaka, was disrupted by bomb attacks.

The ground on seven acres of the bank of the Narosunda River in Sholakhia was originally donated by a descendent of Isha Khan, the ruler of Bengal of the Baro-Bhuiyan stock and Eid gatherings have been held here since 19th century. A larger number of security personnel were deployed in the wake of Dhaka attack but an attack on an Eid gathering was more than a criminal attack.

But, Dhakas political establishment seems more consumed by efforts to dispel any notion of the existence of either ISIS or Al-Qaeda in their country. For several months Bangladeshs ministers and security chiefs have discredited reports that linked killings of secular bloggers, non-Muslims and gay activists with these outfits. Instead they continue to blame it on local militant groups with prime minister Sheikh Hasina going to the extent of hinting at the involvement of Opposition BNPs partner, Jamaat-e-Islami.

Security situation in the country continues down the spiral in a politically polarized debate where the two leading party bosses, prime minister Sheikh Hasina of Awami Leage and former prime minister Khaleda Zia of BNP treat each other not just as political opponents but virtual enemies.

Such is the distrust and hatred for each other that Khaleda Zias first reaction on the Dhaka siege reeked of political opportunism in which she blamed the Awami League government of compromising on security. Zia subsequently tempered her response after her initial reaction came in for criticism as politically motivated at a time when Bangladesh faced its most serious security situation.

Only last month Sheikh Hasina referred to Khaleda Zias call for a Hasina-free Bangladesh as a threat to get her eliminated when speaking at a Iftar she remarked, she (Khaleda Zia) said she wants a Hasina-free Bangladesh. What does it mean? It means she wants to kill me, too.

A deep division between two leaders and their political outfits has made tackling the threat from terrorism more challenging.

Sheikh Hasina has for months treated individual attacks on bloggers and non-Muslims including an Italian and Japanese as unrelated security incidents. She held Jammats student outfit, Shibir, or groups connected with Jammat as responsible.

Scores of people have been arrested as part of a drive to tackle militants and terrorists but, many including the US believe that it was a ploy to get back at her political opponents. Sheikh Hasinas re-election in a widely contested parliamentary poll which saw a poor turnout has put a question mark on the legitimacy of the government with US trying for a political rapprochement between her and Khaleda Zia.

Attempts by US to help with Bangladesh's counter-terrorism efforts were met with much suspicion. In fact, in May after the visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, the US envoy in Dhaka announced that Bangladesh-US-India would form a coalition to work on counter-terrorism in the country. Her statement was not confirmed by anyone.

Many believe that Sheikh Hasina suspects that US would share information with Khaleda Zia and is therefore, going slow on any such tie-up.

But, Bangladesh needs help with capacity building to counter-terror. Speaking at a counter terrorism conference in Jaipur earlier this year, Bangladeshs minister detailed steps taken by Sheikh Hasinas government in countering terrorism through legal, administrative and educational initiatives only to admit later in his speech that the country had resource constraints.

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2012 and the Money Laundering Act of 2012 were positive steps as was the move to ban five terrorist groups but one of them, Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has managed to hoodwink authorities by continuing its organisational activities to distribute CDs, posters, leaflets that help radicalise young men. Once radicalised these men end up joining other terror groups.

However, the Bangladesh government continues to treat bomb attacks and killing of individuals like that of bloggers and non-Muslims including the murder of Hindu priest in recent days as criminal activities by domestic militant groups. Unless the government admits that the situation is grave and addresses these incidents as more than a politically-inspired action, the security landscape in Bangladesh is bound to worsen. Indian security agencies already believe that ISIS and Al-Qaeda have managed a foot-hold through their domestic groupings and sooner the Sheikh Hasina government recognises the problem the easier it would be to begin the process of addressing a looming crisis in Indias neighbourhood.

Earlier, exposing the link between JeI, the largest Islamist party of Bangladesh, and JMB, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam stated, on 26 November, 2015, "At least one-fourth of banned militant outfit JMB members are former Jamaat-e-Islami members and are now involved in acts of destruction across the country. The new members are also reportedly financing JMB's terror and criminal acts. JMB members are using the money to buy motorcycles, explosives and ammunition to commit crimes."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a five-day tour of Africa, when he is visiting Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. This is Modi's first official visit to continental Africa. He had earlier visited the island nations of Mauritius and Seychelles.

The prime minister's tour comes at a very opportune time. For one, India is looking for resources to feed its growth, while Africa has huge untapped potential.

"What Modi is doing now holds huge importance," Rishi Shah, economist, Deloitte India. "He is marketing India's abilities and the gains may not come immediately. It may take five years or even 10 years. India needs more markets to grow and Africa is one such, where the country can export its goods and services," Shah said.

It is to be noted that India's trade with Africa has been growing leaps and bounds from 2008. According to IMF, India's exports to Africa increased 100 percent during 2008-2013 and imports 80 percent. Notably, India has overtaken the US in African markets. Over the last, India's exports to Africa rose 14 times to $70 billion. The country has also disbursed $3.5 billion credit on concessional rate, which has supported 137 projects in 41 countries.

Viewed in this context, there are three reasons why Modi's tour is important for India:

1) Alternative to China: China has a huge presence in the continent. The country's total trade with the continent stood around $166 billion in 2013. But there have been problems. For example, take Nigeria, a country where China is the largest source of FDI ($1.79 billion in 2015). The Nigerians are not happy with the sloppy working conditions at Chinese companies and low quality of products imported. On the whole, as China aggressively expanded its presence in the continent, the people there started viewing the country with suspicion due to the undemocratic nature of its political system. The question was whether to view the country as a partner, colonizer or exploiter. "Africa needs alternatives to China. Therein lies the chance for India," an analyst says.

2) Cheaper land for Indians: Land is one of the most pricey things in India. In Africa, it is cheaper. This has prompted many Indian companies and individuals to migrate to African countries for farming. Karuturi Global is one Indian company with huge tracts of land in Ethiopia. Many farmers from Punjab too have migrated to the country eyeing cheap land. However, according to this report, their experience has not been good. There is strong local resistance and also lack of a viable market for their produce. The local resistance is mainly because of allegations that Indians are engaged in land grab there. The Indian government should take measures to address the problem. Only that can overcome the trust deficit Africans have about Indians. And land can be a point where both India and Africa have a common interest.

3) Abundant resources for India: Africa has abundant energy resources, while India is energy hungry. The continent has potential to fuel India's growth. Precisely that is the reason why companies like Jindal Steel and Power are exploring opportunities in countries there. Jindal operates one of the largest mines in the coal-rich Tete province Mozambique. However, it has to be kept in mind that India is tapping the resources at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc in the continent. Indian companies that are engaged in mining or exploring natural resources have to be sensitive to this issue.

As explained above for each opportunity that Africa offers to India, there are problem areas that need urgent attention. If Modi addresses them, it will send a message to Africans that India is different from other countries that are more exploiters than partners in development. That will help India become truly an alternative to China in Africa.
On Thursday, Narendra Modi embarked on a five-day visit to Africa with a view to increase cooperation and boost economic and cultural linkages, starting with Mozambique, where he will be and holding extensive talks with President Filipe Nyusi.

It's the time for Africa. 5 days, 4 nations - Heres the PM's itinerary over the coming days pic.twitter.com/xcBie6BWxl  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 6, 2016

Upon landing in Maputo, Modi tweeted:

Iniciando o meu periplo por Africa com uma visita a Mocambique, que vai reforcar os lacos da India com Mocambique.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 7, 2016

And on the occasion, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted:

A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit pic.twitter.com/3e4QtZMyCP  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

On his agenda is a meeting with Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana where he will be interacting with students. He will also be interacting with the Indian community briefly. Mozambique has a strong Indian presence with roughly 70,000 Indians currently living in the country.

On Thursday evening the prime minister will reach Pretoria in South Africa. "South Africa is an important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted. My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg."

"History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhis stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind," he added.

Modi will also be visiting Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhis stay in South Africa. It was in Phoenix Salement where Mahatma Gandhi used to reside during his stay in South Africa while Pietermaritzburg Station was where he was infamously kicked out for travelling a compartment which was reserved for 'Whites'.

"A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba," the prime minister said. He will be visiting the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where he will be paying his tributes to Nelson Mandela. During the visit, he will be meeting President Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president.

With strong historical ties and a population of more than one crore Indians and Asians living in South Africa, Modi is trying to reach out to this section. "In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet. South Africa is home to a vibrant Indian community, that has made South Africa their home for years. I will interact with the Indian community in a programme in Johannesburg on Friday. I invite you to share your ideas and inputs for my speech, through the Narendra Modi Mobile App," he said.

On Sunday, the prime minister will be in Tanzania for a brief but crucial visit to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania.

Modi said, "There will be extensive talks with President Dr John Magufuli where we will chalk out the road ahead for bettering India-Tanzania relations in a wide range of areas."

He will also be meeting Solar Mamas, a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under GOI-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.While he will also be interacting with the Indian community as well.

In his last leg of the African tour, the prime minister will be visiting Kenya on the evening of 10 July. "India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century," he said.

Modi added, "My deliberations with President Uhuru Kenyatta will revolve around how India and Kenya can grow their bilateral cooperation. I envision better trade, commercial and cultural exchanges between India and Kenya. The potential is immense and together we seek to harness it."

During his stay in Nairobi, the prime minister will be offering floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, who is widely revered in Kenya. He will also be paying tributes to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya and a towering political figure of Africa.

Like in other African states, Kenya also has strong Indian presence with roughly one lakh Indians currently staying."The meeting of the India-Kenya business forum will be an important forum to elaborate more on the economic aspect of our relationship with Kenya," the prime minister said.
Washington: Summoned before Congress and aggressively questioned by Republicans, FBI Director James Comey on Thursday strongly defended the government's decision to not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup. He said there was no evidence that she knew that anything she was doing was against the law or had lied to federal investigators.

Comey's appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked his first public statements since an FBI announcement that removed the threat of criminal charges against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee but also revived public scrutiny of her handling of classified information.

A number of Republicans suggested there was a double standard for charging everyday people accused of crimes as opposed to high-level people like Clinton. Lawmakers asked Comey if he had been hearing that, too.

"I've heard it a lot," he said. "It's not true, but I've heard it a lot."

"I totally get people's questions," he said, but the FBI was obliged to follow the law.

Comey gave his most detailed explanation to date about why the Justice Department concluded without charges a yearlong investigation that had dogged Clinton's presidential campaign and raised questions for voters about her trustworthiness.

"Our folks did it in an apolitical and a professional way," Comey said of the FBI's handling of the investigation.

Republicans said they were infuriated with the FBI's decision and confused by the way it was presented. Comey on Tuesday gave a scathing assessment of Clinton's email practices, followed by his conclusion that "no reasonable prosecutor" would charge her with a crime.

On Thursday, Comey said the legal decision came down to a simple lack of a criminal intent.

When agents investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing, they look for evidence not only that a statute was violated but also that a person knew that what he was doing was wrong. That evidence did not exist in this case, Comey said. Although there is a law that allows for felony prosecution for mishandling classified information due to gross negligence, that law has been used only once in the 99 years since it was enacted  and that was in a case involving espionage, Comey said.

"We don't want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldn't do," Comey said. "That is the characteristic of all the prosecutions involving mishandling of classified information."

Comey, a registered Republican for years though he said he now is not registered in a political party, served as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration. He was appointed in 2013 to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Barack Obama.

Committee chairman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Comey that the FBI's decision on Clinton showed a "double standard" for powerful people. Had the "average Joe" done what she had done, he said, he would go to prison.

"If your name isn't Clinton, or you're not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently," Chaffetz said, adding that the FBI had set a "dangerous precedent" in letting her off the hook.

Comey specifically rebutted a litany of GOP charges including that the FBI had been biased, ignored the law, applied it unjustly or coordinated the decision with Clinton's campaign. "We try very hard to apply the same standard whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all," he said.

The committee's top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, accused Republicans of politicizing the investigation. But he suggested that Comey had contributed to that by leaving "a perceived gap" between his public criticism of Clinton and his conclusion not to prosecute.

"I beg you to fill the gap. Because when the gap is not filled by you, it will be filled by others," Cummings said.

Comey said that prosecutions for classified material have historically been reserved for cases of intentional or willful wrongdoing, obstruction of justice or disloyalty to the U.S. He drew distinctions between the Clinton probe and last year's prosecution of former CIA Director David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to sharing classified information with his biographer.

Petraeus, he said, retained a "vast quantity" of classified information  hiding some under the insulation in his attic  and then lied to the FBI about it.

"He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do," Comey said. "That is a perfect illustration of the kind of cases that get prosecuted. In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case."

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday that she accepted the recommendations and findings of Comey and of her career prosecutors and would not file charges against Clinton. Lynch is likely to face questions of her own next week at a separate oversight hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has said "there are a lot more questions that need to be answered" and, in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, requested that Clinton be barred from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign  a move that "certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump complained that the system was "rigged."

The hearing served as a means to energize a conservative base that might be disillusioned with Trump, as Republicans are working to hold onto their majority in Congress. But privately, some Republicans question the decision to pick a fight with Comey, a Republican from the Bush Justice Department with a reputation for independence.

On Tuesday, in a stinging assessment of her email practices as secretary of state, Comey rebuked Clinton and her aides for being "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the defenses and explanations she's put forward for months. But he also said there was no evidence anyone willfully or intentionally mishandled classified information and that "no reasonable prosecutor" would pursue such a case.
WASHINGTON/SEOUL North Korea warned on Thursday it was planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States after Washington blacklisted the nuclear-armed country's leader Kim Jong Un for the first time over human rights abuses.

Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a "hideous crime," according to North Korea's official KCNA news agency.

The United States imposed its first sanctions targeting any North Koreans for rights abuses on Wednesday, blacklisting Kim along with 10 other people and five government ministries and departments. The move affects assets within U.S. jurisdiction.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, hopes China will urge its ally North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday in New York.

Dujarric said that Ban, who is currently visiting China, "believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula."

China's foreign ministry said it opposed the use of unilateral sanctions when asked about the U.S. move. China argues that the human rights situation in North Korea is not a threat to international peace and security and has sought to prevent the issue being discussed at the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he had spoken to China's foreign minister Wang Yi and hoped that Beijing would continue to cooperate with the United States U.N. sanctions aimed at rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006. In March, the Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket in February.

Some analysts and diplomats have warned that the U.S. move could limit cooperation with China on further action.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said last month that the United States would seek to identify people and entities linked to a series of recent ballistic missile tests by Pyongyang, in violation of a U.N. ban, who could be sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council. The cooperation of China and Russia would be needed for any further designations.

Senior U.S administration officials said the new U.S. sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in a statement.

Inside North Korea adulation for Kim, 32, is mandatory and he is considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

The U.S. Treasury Department identified Kim's date of birth as Jan. 8, 1984, a rare official confirmation of his birthday.

South Korea, which cut all political and commercial ties with its own sanctions against the North in February, welcomed the U.S. move, saying it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.

(Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: Ahead of the NATO summit, President Barack Obama spoke over the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the situation in Syria and Ukraine, in addition to IS, the White House said on Wednesday.

Obama and Putin, confirmed their commitment to defeating Islamic State and the Nusrah Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the White House said in a readout of the call.

"Obama also stressed the necessity for progress on a genuine political transition to end the conflict in Syria, as well as sustained humanitarian access, and expressed his support for the efforts of UN Special Representative for Syria Staffan de Mistura to make progress on those efforts," it said.

On Syria, Obama emphasised his concerns over the failure of the Syrian regime to comply with the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

During the phone call, Obama stressed the importance of Russia pressing the Syrian regime for a lasting halt to offensive attacks against civilians and parties to the cessation, noting the importance of fully recommitting to the original terms of the cessation.

"On Ukraine, President Obama urged President Putin to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine and stressed the urgent importance of moving forward with full implementation of the Minsk agreements," the White House said.

Obama also discussed with Putin his 20 June meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh Sargsian of Armenia regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"President Obama expressed his readiness to intensify efforts together with Russia and with France, as co-Chairs of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict," the White House said.
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama said on Thursday the fatal shootings of black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana in two days underscored the need for the nation to address "the appearance or reality of racial bias" in policing.

"These fatal shootings are not isolated incidents," Obama said in a posting on Facebook. "They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."

"We can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement," he said.

The deaths of Philando Castile at a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, and Alton Sterling outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were the latest in a string of shootings that have led to calls for a revamp in the way police interact with the black community.

"To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day," Obama said.

"All Americans should recognise the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling ... Michelle and I share those feelings," he added.

(Reporting by Adam DeRose; Editing by Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left for a four-nation tour of African countries aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

Modi will begin his five-day tour with Mozambique and then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

Focus of the visit will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India & Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit," he tweeted ahead of his departure.

"My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban & Pietermaritzburg," he added.

"In Tanzania I will hold talks with President Dr. John Magufuli, meet 'Solar Mamas' and interact with Indian community," Modi added.

With regard to his visit to Kenya in the last leg of his visit, he tweeted, "Talks with President @UKenyatta, deliberations on economic & people-to-people ties will be focus of my Kenya visit."

Giving details in Facebook posts, the Prime Minister said the aim of his visit to Mozambique is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages.

"I will meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him," he said.

Other programmes include a meeting with Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana, where he will interact with students. He will also interact with the Indian community briefly.

Tomorrow evening, Modi will travel to Pretoria in South Africa, a country he described as an "important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted."

He said, "History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind."

"I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa.

"A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba (Nelson Mandela). I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place," he said.

During his South Africa visit, he will meet President Jacob Zuma as also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President.

"In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," he said.

On 10 July, he will be in Tanzania for a "brief but crucial visit" to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi said.

Modi will then visit Kenya on the evening of 10 July.

"India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century," the Prime Minister said.
BATON ROUGE, La. The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing of a black man pinned to the ground and shot in the chest by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Captured on at least two videos, graphic images of the shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, early Tuesday stirred protests and social media outcry over the latest case of alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One of the two officers shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other removed something from Sterling's pants pocket as he was dying, according to images on a video recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy," said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store. He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.

Several hundred people gathered on Wednesday for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling was fatally shot, with speakers calling for peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of "excessive force" by police against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd that included families with children and filled the store's parking lot as well as nearby streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the crowd.

Overnight, about 200 protesters gathered outside the store chanting "Hands up, don't shoot" and "Black lives matter."

Local officials rushed to defuse tensions, saying there would be an independent investigation, after media showed a separate graphic video of the shooting recorded by a bystander.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel Edwards told reporters.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and local police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

GRAPHIC VIDEOS

A video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling in the parking lot of the store and ordering him to get on the ground. The two officers then tackle Sterling to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest.

Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells "he's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired. Three more shots are heard, then the camera shows one of the officers leaning over Sterling and taking something out of his pocket.

Police did not say how many shots were fired and declined to say whether a stun gun was used on Sterling. Muflahi said police Tasered Sterling before he was tackled.

The two police officers involved in the shooting, Blane Salamoni, a 4-year veteran, and Howie Lake, a three-year veteran, were both put on administrative leave, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said at a news conference.

The officers were responding to a call regarding a black man wearing a red shirt, who reportedly made threats with a gun, Dabadie said.

"When officers arrived Sterling was armed and the altercation ensued that resulted in the loss of his life," Dabadie said.

The body cameras of both officers became dislodged during the altercation, but continued recording audio and video, police said at the news conference. Those and other recordings will be turned over to federal investigators, police spokesman Lieutenant Johnny Dunham told reporters.

RAP SHEET

Relatives of Sterling and acquaintances from the neighbourhood described him as a local fixture who had been peddling copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.

According to court records, Sterling has multiple criminal convictions since the mid-1990s, for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He is a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Those who knew him described a funny, jovial and friendly person who worked hard.

"I'd never seen him get out of hand with anyone," said Elvina Scott, who lives nearby and said she had purchased a CD from Sterling a few minutes before the shooting.

Cameron Sterling, Alton's 15-year-old son, broke down crying at a news conference on Wednesday morning as his mother spoke. "He was killed unjustly and without regard for the lives he helped raise," said the mother, who did not give her name.

(Additional reporting by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Fla., Laila Kearney in New York City, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, and Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Writing by Fiona Ortiz and Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Matthew Lewis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday the Zika virus was spreading fast in Puerto Rico and urged the U.S. territory to conduct aerial spraying to control mosquito populations to reduce Zika-associated birth defects.

"Multiple independent data sources indicate that at current trends, thousands of pregnant women in Puerto Rico will catch Zika," CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement.

Aerial spraying is a safe and a proven approach to tackle mosquitoes that transmit diseases, such as, Zika, dengue and chikungunya, the CDC said. (bit.ly/29j4XkQ)

Since the start of the Zika outbreak late last year, 1,726 people in the U.S. commonwealth have been infected with Zika, including a total of 191 pregnant women.

Puerto Rico is facing debt problems as its government and healthcare industry struggle to contain the spread of the Zika virus, blamed for severe birth defects and other neurological diseases.

(Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Taipei: At least 21 people were injured in an explosion inside a train carriage in Taipei on Thursday night, RT.com reported.

A local TV news channel reported that just before 10 pm local time there was a loud bang in the sixth carriage of a crowded commuter train, which then quickly became engulfed in flames. The Straits Times and several other local media said there were three explosions.

A local newspaper cited eyewitnesses as saying that they saw a man in his 40s walk inside the carriage, put down a 15-20 cm tube-like object and quickly exit the train.

National Police Agency Director General Chen Kuo-en has confirmed that the explosion was likely caused by a "firecracker-like device".

However, police refused to call the incident a terrorist attack.
Radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh on Thursday that killed three people, including two policemen, and a terrorist at the country's biggest Eid gathering nearly a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead. Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

Police also said that one attacker has been captured alive and the anti-terror operation is almost over.

The B'deshi I&B Minister tells @CNNnews18: 1 terrorist has been killed, 1 captured alive, 2 cops killed, ops almost over.  Neha Poonia (@NehaPoonia) July 7, 2016

#Bangladesh Eid congregation blast UPDATE: 1 attacker gunned down, 1 captured alive by security forces-B'desh Information Minister tells ANI  ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2016

Bangladesh media: More police forces dispatched to Kishoreganj where Eid attackers believed to be holed up in a school.  ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2016

JUST IN | Bangladesh PM confirms attack near Eid meet, says these terrorists are enemies of Islam & aren't real followers of the religion  News18 (@CNNnews18) July 7, 2016

Bangladesh media: Locals say 6-7 youths led attack on Eid congregation of 30,000 people. Attacked cop with knife, exploded bombs.  ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2016

#BangladeshAttack | Maulana Farid Uddin Masud, who's the imam Masjid at Sholalkia, was the main target of the terrorists  News18 (@CNNnews18) July 7, 2016

Over 3 lakh people had gathered to offer prayers at the spot,culprits absconding & have not been identified yet-Bangladesh I&B Min tells ANI  ANI (@ANI_news) July 7, 2016

Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh. A woman was also killed during the shootout while she was witnessing the incident from the window of her house near the scene, the Prothom Alo newspaper reported.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off. "One suspect has been held and about 13 injured," said Abu Sayem, additional superintendent of police in Kishoreganj.

Another senior officer said that six of his men had been injured in the attack and one of the attackers had been shot dead, while home-made machetes had been recovered from the scene. "They threw hand bombs at us and we responded with gunfire. A gunfight ensued and they fired back and threw more hand bombs," Tofazzal Hosain, the northern district's deputy police chief, told AFP.

Azimuddin Biswas, the district administrator, told AFP the attack had taken place on the premises of a nearby school and not on the actual prayer ground. "The congregation was not affected by the clashes," he said.

The gathering in Kishoreganj is known as the Sholakia Eid prayers and is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim country that is home to around 160 million people. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, it came less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in Dhaka. All the victims, including 18 foreigners, were hacked to death with machetes.

Bangladesh has been on a heightened state of alert in the wake of the killings in Dhaka last Friday night and many Eid services included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground. Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said. The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed over 22 people mostly foreigners including a 19-year-old Indian girl.

The Islamic State terror group on Thursday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse". The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The Islamic State video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka. Police said two suspected attackers have been detained as a massive manhunt was underway to nab the militants in the neighbourhood with mobilisation of extra forces.

Sheikh Hasina condemns attacks

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Eid reception at her residence said, "Those who are carrying out assaults even in Eid congregations, are enemies of Islam and humanity". She urged parents and school authorities to report to police if their sons or students had gone missing since the Dhaka attack was carried out by youths who went missing several months ago.

"We will you to track them down using modern technology, if required they will be given treatment in specialised facilities," she said.

Meanwhile the imam of the Eid congregation which was attacked today Maulana Fariduddin Massoud, who is said to have earned the militants' wrath by spearheading a massive anti-Islamist campaign with Islamic scholars and imams, appealed for a "social resistance" against the militants. "Their (militants) aim is to create panic among the people to weaken the natural social resistance. But I call upon the people not to panic which will only benefit the militants' goal and instead wage a social resistance against the extremists," he said.

Bangladesh's Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu again portrayed the latest attack as being designed to topple Sheikh Hasina. "We don't know which group they belong to but they are suspected members of extremist terrorist group. They are against the normal religious practices of the country," he told AFP.

"They are anti-Islam, anti-religion and anti-government. They have a political as well as a religious agenda." Critics have said Hasina's administration is in in denial about the nature of the threat posed by extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic political opponents.

Last month authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000 people but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence political opponents. Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

Spate of violence

The violence comes just days after a deadly hostage crisis in which 28 people were killed, including 20 hostages, two police and six of the attackers. Most of the hostages slain during the Friday night attack on a Dhaka restaurant were foreign  from Italy, Japan and India  raising international concerns about escalating extremist violence in Bangladesh.

The ongoing spate of attacks begun in 2013 has generally targeted atheists, religious minorities and others considered by militants to be "enemies of Islam." There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack, but the government insisted it was carried out by domestic militants fighting to destabilize Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government and establish Islamic rule in the Muslim-majority nation.

"It is a totally political move. They are out to destabilize the government. It is a political attack to oust and topple the secular government of Sheikh Hasina," Inu said. Though many past attacks, including the hostage-taking, have been claimed by the Islamic State group, Hasina's government has dismissed those claims as opportunistic, and says none of the attacks have been orchestrated from abroad.

Instead, Hasina's government has accused her political opponents of backing the militant agenda in Bangladesh, an allegation the opposition parties vehemently deny. On Wednesday, the extremist Sunni Muslim group released a video warning of more attacks in Bangladesh, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity online.

Many Bangladeshis have said they were horrified by the attacks, but determined to stand against them. "The rise of such a minuscule militancy can be rooted out very soon," said Dhaka resident Mohammad Nizam Uddin Jitu. after participating in Eid prayers on Thursday at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital. "The people of this country are united," he said. "The people of this country are peace loving. The people of this country never support militancy."

Tears and prayers

"Allah, protect our country ... and protect our children from the evils of terrorism," Mohammad Sadequl Islam, the local imam, told a gathering of around 5,000 devotees at Dhaka's Mahakhali neighbourhood. Many of those who attended services in Dhaka could be seen weeping as clerics led prayers for a more peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh.

The biggest service in the capital was at the National Eidgah Maidan where more than 50,000 people, including Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid, took part in prayers under a giant canopy. Police brought in scanners and sniffer dogs to check for bombs as crowds were forced to wait for up to an hour before being cleared to enter the grounds where the service was held. No one was allowed to bring in bags.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a growing wave of attacks since the turn of the year, many of which have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda network. However Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has consistently denied international jihadist networks have gained a foothold and have said the weekend attack in Dhaka was carried out by a local Islamist group.

With inputs from agencies
MOSCOW A foreign-policy adviser to U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump avoided all questions about how the United States should shape its policy towards Russia on a visit to Moscow on Thursday.

Carter Page said at a lecture he gave to students and business figures organised by Moscow's New Economic School that he did not want to comment on the U.S. election campaign.

Page declined to say whether he was planning to meet anyone from the Kremlin, the Russian government or Foreign Ministry during his visit.

Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidential election, has made contradictory comments about Russia but made headlines with warm words for President Vladimir Putin.

Putin called Trump "very talented", fuelling speculation the Kremlin would be pleased to see Trump in the White House, but later rowed back from those comments.

In his lecture on Thursday, Trump's adviser Page said Western governments had often had a hypocritical focus on democratization, corruption and inequality in the post-Soviet world.

He also accused the United States and its partners of "proactive steps to encourage regime change overseas".

"This may understandably advance a certain level of insecurity," Page said.

Relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated sharply under U.S. leader Barack Obama, undermined by disagreements over the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria.

The Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region and fights on the opposing side of the five-year-old Syrian civil war.

Page worked in Russia for U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch in the mid-2000s and said in an interview with Bloomberg in March that he was an investor in Russian gas producer Gazprom.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Toby Chopra)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON The investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of private email while secretary of state is over, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday, removing a legal cloud that threatened the presumptive Democratic nominee's presidential bid.

Lynch said she accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recommendations that no charges be brought in the probe, as Republicans made clear they would not let Clinton's email headaches fade away easily.

"I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation," Lynch said in a statement.

With the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential and congressional elections beginning to heat up, Republicans called on the administration to make public key documents in the Clinton email case.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, speaking at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, accused Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent, of bribing Lynch to decide not to press charges.

He was referring to reports, including in the New York Times

this week, that Clinton, if elected president, might ask Lynch to stay on as attorney general.

"She said shes going to reappoint the attorney general and the attorney general is waiting to make a determination as to whether or not shes guilty. And boy was that a fast determination, wow," Trump said, adding, "That's bribery folks."

On Capitol Hill, Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 3 House of Representatives Republican, reacted to Lynch's announcement by proclaiming: "Secretary Clinton broke the law and lied about it."

Senior Senate Republicans insisted that the FBI's investigation be made available to the public, including a transcript of the more than three hours Clinton spent last Saturday in an interview conducted by the agency.

Shortly before Lynch's announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters, "I think the next step...is to compare what Hillary Clinton said to the FBI with what Hillary Clinton's been saying to all of us over the last couple of years during this controversy."

In a blistering attack on Clinton, John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said on the Senate floor: "The bottom line is Secretary Clinton actively sought out ways to hide her actions as much as possible" by using a private email account while heading the State Department. "And in so doing, she put our country at risk" by leaving those emails vulnerable to computer hackers.

Democrats have questioned Republicans' motives and accused them of squandering taxpayer dollars with lengthy investigations that have failed to uncover illegal activities.

"Republicans are in such desperate shape because of Trump (that) they would seize upon anything" to divert attention, said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.

And Senator Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement following Lynch's announcement: "This investigation is closed and that should be the end of this matter."

On Tuesday, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had been "extremely careless" in her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, but he recommended no criminal charges be filed in the case.

Comey, who was deputy attorney general during the George W. Bush administration before becoming FBI director in 2013, is scheduled to testify on Thursday before a House committee, where Republicans and Democrats are expected to press him on his findings in the Clinton case.

Lynch said she met on Wednesday afternoon with Comey and the career prosecutors and agents who had investigated whether Clinton broke the law as result of email servers kept in her Chappaqua, New York, home. One question is whether she mishandled classified information.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, said on Wednesday it appeared Clinton received preferential treatment from the FBI.

Asked whether a special prosecutor should be named to investigate the matter, Ryan said the House would not "foreclose any options."

But Ryan did say that because of her messy handling of emails while serving as secretary of state, Clinton should be denied access to classified information during the campaign.

Presidential candidates normally get such briefings once they are formally nominated. McConnell, Ryan's Senate counterpart, stopped short of calling for such action.

Clinton's campaign was anxious to move on after Comey's announcement, saying in a statement on Tuesday it was pleased with the FBI decision.

(Reporting by Eric Beech and Richard Cowan; Editing by Peter Cooney and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized President Barack Obama's administration on Thursday over the disappearance of a former Guantanamo detainee, calling for an end to transfers from the prison because of fears former prisoners could launch attacks on Americans.

They also raised concerns about reports that Jihad Diyab, a Syrian among six detainees resettled in Uruguay in December 2014, has disappeared and may now be in Brazil.

Obama is working to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, where terrorism suspects have been held for 15 years, by transferring detainees not considered security threats to foreign countries.

Republican lawmakers worry that the Obama administration is so eager to close the prison before he leaves office in January that it is sending detainees to countries that cannot ensure they will not return to the battlefield by joining militant groups that target Americans and U.S. allies.

"You're talking about detainees who have every intent of killing American families," Republican Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina said at a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearing. The administration has considered sending Guantanamo detainees to a prison in South Carolina.

The New York Times reported that Diyab said last month he was going on a religious retreat that would last into next week, and would be unreachable by telephone or email.

Since then, some Uruguayan officials said they lost track of him and suggested he may have traveled to Brazil, the newspaper reported.

"Many countries just aren't up to the job," said Republican Representative Ed Royce, the committee's chairman. "... Yet the administration has sent Guantanamo terrorists to these countries anyway."

Republican and some Democratic committee members sharply questioned Lee Wolosky, the State Department's special envoy for closing the Guantanamo detention centre, and Paul Lewis, his Pentagon counterpart.

Representative Jeff Duncan, another South Carolina Republican, said Diyab, charged with forging passports for al Qaeda, could pose a threat to the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, if he were indeed at large in that country.

The committee's ranking Democrat, Representative Eliot Engel, who backs the closure of the detention centre in Cuba, said it was important to keep the issue in perspective.

"Under no circumstances, in my opinion, is the Obama administration simply opening the gate and releasing dangerous terrorists onto the street," Engel said.

FEW RETURN TO BATTLEFIELD

Lewis and Wolosky said only 5 percent of detainees transferred since Obama became president have been confirmed to have returned to the battlefield. The percentage was higher for the over 500 released under President George W. Bush.

There are currently 79 detainees at Guantanamo, of whom 29 are eligible for transfer.

Wolosky acknowledged Diyab had been "difficult" from the time he was transferred to Uruguay. According to the Times, Diyab's friends and supporters say he is off praying and will re-emerge soon.

Obama has been trying to make good on his 2009 pledge to close the facility. But Congress has passed laws making it more difficult to do so, chiefly by barring transfers to U.S. prisons.

Lawmakers are unlikely to lift those restrictions, especially in an election year. They have proposed even tighter controls on transfers in a fiscal 2017 defence policy bill, one reason Obama has threatened a veto.

Guantanamo opponents say holding prisoners for years without charge or trial goes against fundamental U.S. values and since they are Muslims, is a recruiting tool for Islamist militants.

Many Republicans insist the prison is an essential tool for handling suspects who threaten the United States. Donald Trump, the party's presumptive 2016 presidential nominee, has called for the prison's expansion.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Paris: UN cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

After the 28 June attack on Istanbul's airport that claimed 45 lives, security has been stepped up for the 11-day World Heritage Committee meeting  the panel's 40th.

Though no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Ankara has pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic State (IS) group, which has wreaked considerable damage on World Heritage sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra and the citadel of Aleppo, both in Syria.

"What happened in Syria and Iraq as well as in Mali and Afghanistan were so shocking that the process of preparing UNESCO's lists has become of great political importance," said the body's director general, Irina Bokova.

Earlier this year IS blew up the ancient Nabu temple in Iraq. In 2012 a Malian jihadist blew up nine mausoleums and part of Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the Taliban destroyed the giant Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001.

Interest in threats to heritage has "grown tremendously in recent years because of these conflicts" but also new threats linked to climate change or urbanisation, she told AFP.

"Globalisation and connectivity have also seen the rise of a new spirit, a wish to present oneself to the world through one's culture," Bukova said. "Inscription on the World Heritage list is glorious, countries are proud."

This year 29 dossiers are being considered by the World Heritage Committee, made up of 21 countries serving six-year terms.

A dossier for the work of architect Le Corbusier, after failed attempts in 2009 and 2011, has been revamped and comes with high marks from a committee of experts who evaluate the submissions.

It lists 17 sites across seven countries  France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan and India  to show the global reach of the work of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier.

The creations show the contributions of Le Corbusier to the Modern Movement that emerged after World War I with an emphasis on functionality, bold lines and new materials such as concrete, iron and glass.
Vatican City: Two investigative journalists at the heart of a controversial leaks trial at the Vatican were acquitted Thursday after judges ruled they did not have the authority to examine their cases.

Italians Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, who had published books based on the documents at the heart of the trial, were not considered to have committed a crime on Vatican territory and therefore were outside the judges' territorial authority.

Spanish prelate Lucio Vallejo Balda, who had admitted to leaking secret papers, was handed a 18-month prison sentence while his assistant, who prosecutors admitted had had little to do with the scandal, was acquitted.

Italian PR expert Francesca Chaouqui, described as having inspired the leaks, was given a 10-month suspended sentence.

"Today is a historic day. This is the base of democracy, freedom of the press," Nuzzi told journalists outside the court house in the tiny city state.

Fittipaldi said the Vatican had been "courageous", adding that he had not expected to be acquitted.

The leaks scandal, the second to hit the Vatican, rocked the Roman Catholic Church with its accounts of theft and greed, along with publication of secret recordings of Pope Francis's private conversations.

The books published by Nuzzi and Fittipaldi depicted the Vatican bureaucracy on the verge of implosion due to a cocktail of chronic over-spending, feeble accounting systems and serious irregularities in several departments which may have masked corruption.

Balda, who may appeal the verdict, spent nearly two months in a police cell last year before being released to a state of semi-liberty ahead of the trial.
Silverstone: Troubled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya is set to make a rare public appearance in the United Kingdom on Friday when he is scheduled to attend the team bosses press conference ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.

Mallya, who has been in the UK since March, has been declared a 'proclaimed offender' by a special court in a money laundering case back home. The creditors in India have also been trying to recover dues of Rs 9,000 crore owed by his long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

It will be the first time this season that Force India boss Mallya will be seen in the paddock. Mallya is scheduled to address the press conference alongside fellow team principals Maurizio Arrivabene (Ferrari), Eric Boullier (McLaren), Dave Ryan (Manor), Claire Williams (Williams) and Toto Wolff (Mercedes).

The liquor baron is going through tough times but his team Force India has had a successful season so far.

Sergio Perez's third place finish in Monaco and Baku helped the team record two podiums in a season for the first time.

Force India, who had a forgettable last race in Austria, remain in the fifth place with 59 points are aiming to catch up Williams, who are fourth with 92 points.

The British Grand Prix is considered a home race for Force India, whose factory is a stone's throw away from the circuit.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Visitors who dress immodestly will not be allowed to enter Cambodia's famed Angkor temple complex, the agency that oversees the site said on Thursday.

Long Kosal, a spokesman for Apsara Authority, which oversees the archaeological complex, said that beginning 4 August, local and foreign tourists will be required to wear pants or skirts below the knees and shirts that cover their shoulders. Those not dressed appropriately will be required to change their clothes before being allowed to enter the temple site in northwestern Cambodia.

Long Kosal said the ban was implemented because "Wearing revealing clothes disrespects the temple's sanctity."

He said that his organisation had advised tour agencies, hotels and airport officials last December that all foreign visitors should be aware of what type of clothes they should wear when they visit.

Illustrations of what is considered inappropriate clothing and behavior are being posted on the organisation's website, an English version of which is still under construction.

Angkor Wat, the spiritual center of the Khmer empire that dominated the region from the 9th to 15th Centuries, is Cambodia's biggest tourist attraction, a Unesco World Heritage site and a symbol of national pride that is emblasoned on the Cambodian flag. About 2.1 million foreign tourists visited last year.

Immodest dress is not the worst breach of modesty the temples have suffered. Early last year there was a small spate of Western tourists who posed naked for snapshots, and those who were caught were fined and deported.
COLUMBIA, Mo.  An October trial date has been scheduled for a man accused in the death of Missouri Highway Patrol trooper who crashed his vehicle during a chase.

Serghei P. Comerzan, 21, of Mexico, Mo., is expected to go to trial Oct. 11 in the death of Trooper James Bava, 25.

Authorities have said Comerzan was traveling at 105 mph when the trooper tried to stop him on a highway in Audrain County in northeast Missouri. Bava's patrol car left the road, struck a ditch, fence and trees and caught fire. Bava's body was found later near his burning vehicle

Comerzan was charged in November with second-degree murder or an alternative of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. He also faces charges of resisting a lawful stop, resisting a member of the patrol, careless and imprudent driving, speeding and failure to register a motor vehicle, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported.

Comerzan has been free on a $100,000 bond since March. Circuit Judge Wesley Dalton also recently modified bond conditions for Comerzan, allowing him to drive to work in a car or truck.

No other court dates in the case have been set, according to a clerk with the Montgomery County Circuit Court.

Bava, of Audrain County, formerly lived in the St. Louis area, the patrol said.
Drummer, Cal Haines, who is currently a percussion mentor for middle and high school students in the Santa Fe Public Schools, has co-produced more than 80 jazz concerts and played with numerous ensembles throughout New Mexico since moving back from California in 2007. In 2010, he founded the Tribute Trio presenting a year-long series of performances that paid tribute to compositions by jazz piano legends. They released two CDs, Dedications, Volume I and Volume II, both of which received New Mexico Music Awards for Best Jazz CD. Tonights concert celebrates a fresh combination of musicians all of whom love to stretch their listening and playing skills with great jazz compositions and arrangements. Sam Reid, lead alto saxophonist in Super Sax New Mexico, returns from his new home base in Oregon for this concert. Along with Colin Deuble and pianist, Jim Ahrend theyll play everything from Strayhorn to Shorter; straight-ahead to Latin jazz. In his first jazz project as a leader since moving from Boston to New Mexico seven years ago, trombonist Ben Finberg has composed a set of modern, original compositions all of which are "contrafacts" or new tunes based on old tunes from the jazz repertoire something which has been a popular tool in the jazz toolbox from the beginning. Comprising some of the state's best post-bop musicians, the Contrafact Quintet plays with an exciting, contemporary energy which remains accessibly grounded in the jazz tradition. It's Ben Finberg, trombone; Kanoa Kaluhiwa, saxophone; John Rangel, piano; Colin Deuble, bass; and Paul Palmer III, drums. $15/$10 Outpost Members & Students
Western reaction to Britain's 6,000-page report on the Iraq war reflects the remorse of hindsight, but leaders who played a part in going to war are standing by their decisions.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the president and his staff have not yet read all the way through the lengthy document, but he said President Barack Obama "has been dealing with the consequences of that fateful decision for the entirety of his presidency." He also said it is important that the United States "learn the lessons of those past mistakes."

The decision to go to war was fueled by the belief that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had a store of weapons of mass destruction that could have been used on the United States and its allies. That intelligence assessment was later proved to be mistaken.

A spokesman for former U.S. President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, released a statement Wednesday saying, "Despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."

Expert: Not all alternatives exhausted

Public policy expert William Galston of the Brookings Institution told VOA on Wednesday that he agrees with the report that the international community had not yet exhausted all other options to eliminate the Iraqi threat.

He noted that U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix has maintained that the U.N. sanctions regime "was not as weak as was represented, and was not in eminent danger of crumbling, that the inspections regime was very robust, and that Saddam couldn't have done anything major without being detected or without expelling the international inspectors."

Galston says one of the big questions the report raises is "whether the status quo was as untenable as the international community said it was."

Paul Bremer, who led the occupational authority in Iraq after the invasion in 2003, wrote in Britain's The Guardian that the risks incurred by invasion were far less than those of leaving Saddam in power. He said the 9/11 attacks on the United States intensified pressure to confront international threats.

"After 9/11," he writes, "no American president could dismiss the possibility that a state sponsor would provide devastating weapons to terrorist groups, or use them itself." He notes that Saddam's government had used biological weapons against Iraqi Kurds in 1988.

Bremer concluded his piece with the assertion that "it was the correct, if difficult, decision to remove Saddam Hussein. Had we not done so, today we would likely confront a nuclear armed Iraq facing off against a nuclear armed Iran. Bad as the unrest in the region is today, that would be worse."

Threat estimates

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, now a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, wrote in London's The Telegraph Wednesday that the decision to invade was defensible. He said, "Intelligence can underestimate as well as overestimate a threat.  Saddam lied about his capabilities and about trashing them. Had he stayed in power, he would today have even larger chemical stockpiles."

But those opposing the decision to go to war at the beginning are also sticking to their positions. U.S. foreign policy analyst David Rothkopf of the journal Foreign Affairs tweeted his response to the report Wednesday, saying, "Somehow 'sorry' doesn't seem like enough, does it? OK after a small traffic accident maybe. A catastrophic war, no."

French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud tweeted, "May I remind everybody how France was abused and denigrated for opposing the war? France was right!" He continued, "Not only a geopolitical disaster, not only distortion and manipulation, but also a human tragedy."

And the Russian Embassy in London uncharacteristically made a joke. Playing on a British slogan from World War II, the embassy posted an image saying, "Keep calm, but I told you so."

And in Washington, the U.S. State Department renewed its travel warning on Iraq. The new warning tells U.S. citizens that travel in Iraq remains "very dangerous."
Americas long-simmering debate on immigration collided with election year politics Wednesday as the Senate blocked bills pertaining to undocumented aliens who commit crimes in the United States.

Democrats banded together to defeat two Republican proposals as lawmakers looked ahead to their national party conventions later this month.

One bill would compel local jurisdictions to cooperate with federal authorities in identifying and handing over undocumented immigrants who are taken into custody. Another bill would set mandatory penalties for aliens who repeatedly return to the United States after being deported.

We should come together and protect the American people, said Republican Senator Ted Cruz, a former presidential candidate. It is time to confront the sobering issue of illegal aliens.

Republicans are legislating [Republican presumptive presidential nominee] Donald Trumps vision that immigrants and Latinos are criminals and threats to the public, said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.

Near-unified Democratic opposition caused both bills to fall short of the three-fifths' backing required to advance.

The measures already had been blocked in the Senate last year, but majority Republicans revived them at the one-year anniversary of a grisly murder that focused national attention on violent crimes committed by some undocumented aliens.

Steinle murder

In July 2015, Kathryn Steinle was shot and killed in San Francisco, allegedly by an undocumented man who had several felony convictions and had been deported five times from the United States.



Weeks before the crime, the suspect was released from custody by San Franciscos sheriffs department, which ignored a request by federal immigration agents that the man be held for deportation.

Like many municipalities and counties across America, San Francisco is a so-called sanctuary city that does not flag undocumented immigrants to federal authorities.

This is madness, said Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, whose bill would cut federal funds to sanctuary cities. Its unbelievable that we have municipalities that are willfully releasing dangerous people into our communities.

Cruz, meanwhile, proposed mandatory prison sentences for repeated illegal border-crossers.

The sad truth is that Kate [Steinle] should be alive today, the Texas Republican said. But she isnt because the federal government failed her.

Democrats see election year politics at play, with Toomey waging a tough reelection campaign.

Senator Toomeys sanctuary cities bill gives him something to talk about [with constituents] when he goes home, and perhaps to give a speech about at the Republican [National] Convention, said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Polarizing issue

Immigration has long been a polarizing issue in American politics, but rarely with the intensity of the current presidential election cycle.

Donald Trump has described Mexicans as rapists, promised to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and questioned the impartiality of a federal judge of Mexican descent.

Many Republican lawmakers have distanced themselves from Trumps statements and bristle at any suggestion they are pushing an anti-immigrant agenda on Capitol Hill.

Were a nation of immigrants, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. We all appreciate the many contributions that immigrants have made to our country over the years.

He added that the legislation blocked Wednesday is really aimed at those who come to this country illegally and have criminal convictions. Extreme sanctuary city policies can inflict incredible pain on innocent victims and their families.

Democrats countered that the Toomey bill would undermine trust and cooperation between immigrant communities and local law enforcement, and that Cruzs proposal would lead to incarcerations on a scale the United States could not sustain or afford.

Democrats also noted that in 2013 the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that was never taken up by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
Republican Donald Trump's list of potential vice presidential candidates got a little shorter on Wednesday when one prominent U.S. senator withdrew

from consideration and a second said she wanted to focus on her home state.

The moves by Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa could complicate Trump's efforts to rally establishment Republicans behind his presidential bid.

With Trump looking at a self-imposed July 15 deadline to announce his pick, there was no indication that the wealthy businessman was anywhere close to reaching what is perhaps the most important decision he will make as the presumptive Republican nominee.

In New York, Trump met with a potential candidate, Republican veteran Newt Gingrich, and told Fox News he has 10 candidates on his list, including two generals.

One source said Indiana Governor Mike Pence is being pushed internally by some members of Trump's inner circle. A former congressman, Pence met with Trump on Saturday.

Corker, a Tennessee senator who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had privately wrestled with whether to be a contender for the No. 2 position, telling friends he had never been a surrogate for another politician.

Corker, who spent eight hours at Trump Tower on Tuesday then campaigned with Trump in Raleigh, North Carolina, told reporters he withdrew because "I just felt like I was far more suited for other types of service."

"You know, it's a highly political role for the next four months," he said. "I view myself as deep in substance and policy, and I just think there are better ways for me to serve in the public arena."

A fairly vocal supporter of Trump, Corker has not shied away from criticizing some of Trump's bellicose rhetoric. His withdrawal takes away an important party establishment figure as Trump tries to broaden his appeal with plans to visit Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

"Corker's withdrawal could be considered a canary in the coal mine with establishment Republicans who are convinced that Trump cannot stay on message and can't stay focused on attacking (Democrat) Hillary Clinton without doing some type of damage to his campaign," said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean.

Some Republicans felt Trump erred by not taking full political advantage of FBI Director James Comey statement on Tuesday that Clinton was "extremely careless" with classified emails.

In Raleigh, Trump sharply attacked Clinton but strayed from the message by saying the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had done a good job cracking down on militants.

Trump has been spending time with potential running mates to get a feel for them. One of his most loyal supporters has been Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives who has been an influential adviser to Trump.

Gingrich was to campaign with Trump on Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some in the Trump camp feel Gingrich would be the best choice.

Ernst, a rising figure in the Republican Party, spent part of the Fourth of July holiday meeting with Trump. She seemed to be leaning against the vice presidential position, and told Politico, "I made that very clear to him that I'm focused on Iowa. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is."
From Monday until yesterday, the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) held a cultural and creative camp for nearly 80 participants from 23 secondary schools.

Students who participated in the camp, entitled Macau Polytechnic Boat Midsummer Arts Cultural and Creative Camp 2016, held a creative fair where they sold the work they made during the workshop.

The students were introduced to cultural and creative activities during the workshop, which included printmaking, pottery and photography. The workshop aimed to raise local youth awareness about the protection of the old shipyards in Lai Chi Vun, Coloane.

Director of Macau Government Tourism Office Helena de Senna Fernandes told the Times that the project is an eye-opener for the youth in the region and should be further promoted.

Some of them may not know much about Coloane village and its history and you know, whats stored there. So this kind of activity [] should be promoted more in the future, she said.

There are plans to revamp the Lai Chi Vun area, which spans about 50,000 square meters. Authorities intend to transform what was once a center for Macaus boat-building industry into a cultural tourism product.

Senna Fernandes believes that the citys younger generation could become more aware about the history of Macaus districts, as well as the differences between them. She hopes that the project will be promoted to the various industries.

This time its more of a school project but I guess in the future, if the opportunity is there, of course this can also be promoted to other tourists and other sectors as well, she stated. Lynzy Valles

travel alert system to launch this year

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Senna Fernandes stated his expectation that a travel alert system will be launched within the year. She revealed to reporters that the tourism office has been discussing with the relevant tourism and insurance industry bodies, and is working on building a legal framework. The alert system will cover several destinations of significance in the territory. The MGTO head also said that the law regarding the provision of illegal hotel accommodation is going to be amendmended.
Hundreds of people attended an Eid al-Fitr event held at a site on Ramal dos Mouros yesterday to celebrate the end of a month-long fasting festival, Ramadan. Literally translating as the festival of breaking of the fast, Eid al-Fitr is an important holiday celebrated by Muslims around the world.

Eid marks the end of the month of fasting [Ramadan], and is an occasion for us to spend time with our family and friends, and to thank God for all we have received, explained Adnan Nasim, a member of the Muslim community in Macau, present yesterday.

The idea during Ramadan is that you skip the middle meal and dont eat for the entire day [during daylight hours]. And in this way you develop sympathy for those who are less fortunate than us. It creates an atmosphere of caring for each other, he said.

The area has a small prayer house that, according to Nasim, can only accommodate about 50 people at a time. On busy days such as Eid al-Fitr, members of the Islamic community must pray in shifts in order to give everyone an opportunity.

However that is expected to change in the near future, after approval was granted earlier this year for the construction of a larger mosque on the site. According to Nasim, the new prayer house will be able to accommodate hundreds of people at any one time.

We really need the mosque, he said. After experiencing today  the chaos and disappointment for some people of not having a place to pray  the new mosque will mark a new beginning for the Muslim community of Macau.

There are as many as 10,000 Muslims in Macau reckons Nasim, and many celebrated the important festival yesterday.

Each year, a full-day program is held at the mosque site, which mainly offers opportunity for prayer and a chance to get something to eat. Some Muslims book the day off work to relish the celebration.

Nevertheless, as many Muslims in Macau are not able to book the day off, it is necessary that the site remains open for the whole day to offer local Muslims the chance to pray and eat when they have the chance to do so.
Novo Banco SA, the lender that emerged from the breakup of Portugals Banco Espirito Santo SA, is in more or less advanced talks to sell its units in Macau, France and Cape Verde, Chief Executive Officer Eduardo Stock da Cunha said.

The Macau unit will probably be sold at a better price than the others, the CEO said in an interview at the banks headquarters in Lisbon. Its normal in these regions to pay higher market multiples than those we can get in a small operation like Cape Verde or in a European unit, where most banks are valued in the market at a discount to their book value, Stock da Cunha said.

A planned sale of the Cape Verde unit was halted in February by the Bank of Portugal due to investigations related to that units operation.

Stock da Cunha has been trimming Novo Bancos assets and focusing on its domestic market as the Bank of Portugal makes another attempt to sell the lender after last years effort failed because offers were too low. The central bank said last week it received four bids for Novo Banco.

Novo Banco is also trying to divest a real estate portfolio that includes stakes in restructuring funds. Sales have reached 40 million euros (USD44 million) to 50 million euros a month lately, and the bank sold real estate assets in the first half at an average discount to net book value of less than 5 percent, the CEO said. It aims to sell about 700 million euros of real estate assets this year.

The separate division set up for disposals had 10.8 billion euros of assets at the end of last year and Novo Banco aims to reduce that to about 4.5 billion euros in 2020.

Its something that takes its time, Stock da Cunha said. Rome wasnt built in a day. Bloomberg
Three flights from Macau to Taichung and Taipei are cancelled today and eight were cancelled yesterday due to typhoon Nepartak that is currently bearing down on Taiwan.

Another seven flights leaving for Taiwan today were rescheduled, according to information provided by the Administration of Airports (ADA) to the Times.

A total of eight flights departing from Taiwan to the SAR are also cancelled today. Air Macau cancelled two flights from Taipei, TransAsia Airways cancelled three of its flights from Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung, Tiger Air Taiwan cancelled one flight from Taipei and Eva Airways cancelled two flights from the Taiwanese capital.

Yesterday, three airlines, Air Macau, TransAsia Airways and Tiger Airways, cancelled eight of their flights departing for Taiwan. An Eva Airways aircraft was also rescheduled to depart Macau this morning.

According to a statement from Air Macau, the airlines will waive re-booking fees and refund the tickets of the cancelled flights.

Several reports said that the super typhoon has forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists and the cancellation of over 100 flights.

Taiwans Central Weather Bureau issued a statement yesterday reporting that winds of up to 245 kilometers per hour were blowing to the east of Hualien and Taitung, where it is due to make landfall early today (see page 11).
The University of Macau (UM) will start to charge fees for parking in any of the car parks located on its campus from July 17. UM announced yesterday that non-UM members, whose vehicles are currently parked within the school, are urged to vacate these spaces before July 17, otherwise they shall be dealt with in accordance with the law. The hourly rate will be roughly the same as that of all public car parks in Macau. Vehicles can stay parked at UM for a maximum of eight consecutive days.

Definition of special students to be clarified

An amendment to the special education system will feature a clearer definition of the term special students, Chow Pui Leng, head of the Centre of Psycho-Pedagogical Support and Special Education of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) said yesterday. According to Chow, the amendment will mainly attempt to provide subsidies to talented students and to offer financial aid to schools and members of staff that help students with special needs.

Macao Foundation appointments renewed

Wu Zhiling has been re-appointed to the position of president of the Administrative Council of the Macao Foundation, according to an Official Gazette notice published this week. Zhong Yi will be the vice-president. Zhong Yi has been appointed as a member of the Administrative Council of the Macao Foundation since July 2010. Vong Hin Fai will be the chairman of the supervisory board of the foundation. Appointments of several members of the trustee committee have also been renewed, including Anabela Fatima Xavier Sales Ritchie and Angela Leong. The new appointments will take effect from July 11.
Both of Idaho's U.S. senators voted on Wednesday for two bills that would have cut off federal funding to "sanctuary cities" that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and would have increased penalties for some immigration law violators.

Laws exist to keep our families safe, and all Idahoans should be able to trust local governments to uphold the rule of law, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said in a statement after the vote. Today, I supported two important pieces of legislation  the 'Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act,' to cut off federal funds for cities that encourage illegal immigrants to seek refuge in their communities, and Kates Law, to increase penalties for illegal immigrants who commit crimes when they reenter the United States. It is unacceptable that an estimated 350 cities across our nation are harboring illegal aliens, in complete violation of our immigration laws, and undermining the safety of our communities.

The "Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act" and "Kate's Law" passed the Senate by 53-44 and 55-42, respectively, which is short of the 60 votes needed for further debate on a bill. The latter, sponsored by U.S. Sen. and former presidential contender Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was named after Kate Steinle, who was killed in San Francisco last year by an undocumented immigrant who had previous felony convictions and had been deported several times.

The United States has a rich history of welcoming immigrants from all corners of the world, but we must ensure that we protect all Americans from those who enter our country with less than peaceful intentions," U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a statement Wednesday. "We have a nation of laws and we must enact and enforce laws to stop violent offenders from entering our country. There should have been no question or delay in taking up these common-sense bills in order to protect American citizens."

Democrats said both bills were political grandstanding that would leave the bigger problems with the American immigration system unaddressed.

Americans want a real solution to solve our immigration problem, not political games and dog-whistle politics, said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

There aren't any "sanctuary cities" in Idaho, according to data compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, and in the Magic Valley local sheriff's offices cooperate when it comes to complying with immigration holds and notifying federal authorities if an undocumented immigrant is arrested on a felony charge. However, local police here, as in most of the country, generally don't seek to enforce immigration laws and don't ask about people's immigration status unless they're a suspect.

In other Crapo-related news from yesterday, well known conservative author and commentator Ann Coulter floated the senior Idaho senator's name as someone presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump should pick as his vice president. In a column titled "My VP Prediction: Trumps First Mistake," Coulter wrote he should name someone who would back his views on immigration and who is "smart and courageous and not in love with his own press notices."

"Among the possibilities Trump ought to be considering are people like Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo (the latter two are up for re-election this year, but perhaps they can run for both offices simultaneously)," Coulter wrote.
The gun-rights group that played a major role in getting permitless concealed carry passed in Idaho is organizing a protest at actor Matt Damon's upcoming visit to Meridian, over his recent comments supporting stricter gun laws.

Damon is going to be at the Village Cinema on July 20, for the premiere of the latest Jason Bourne movie. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that was published on July 4, Damon praised Australia's gun-control laws and decried the gridlock over gun control in the United States and the fact that so many mass shootings haven't driven the U.S. to change its gun laws.

Australia has much stricter gun laws than the U.S.  some Australian states started to tighten their laws in the 1980s in response to some high-profile mass killings, and after the Port Arthur Massacre in 1996, semi-automatic rifles and shotguns were mostly banned in Australia and people who owned them were forced to turn them in for compensation. Tight licensing rules and waiting periods were imposed for many firearms that remained legal.

Australia's gun laws come up fairly regularly in American debates on the issue. Supporters of tighter gun control, including President Obama, have pointed to them as a success in reducing gun deaths in that country that the U.S. could learn from. For gun control opponents, what happened in Australia is exactly what they fear could happen here  the government taking people's guns.

"It's wonderful what Australia did because you guys haven't had a mass shooting since you went, 'No, we're going to be sensible about this,'" Damon told the Sydney paper. "And nobody's rights have been infringed, you guys are fine. I wish we could be sensible like that but I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime."

The Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, which is probably best-known for its lobbying to get permitless carry passed this year and has also directed a program to get cities and counties to repeal gun laws that conflict with state preemption, put out a statement Thursday announcing its plans to protest on the sidewalk outside the theater. ISAA President Greg Pruett accused Damon of hypocrisy in advocating "an Australia-like gun confiscation program" while appearing in so many films that feature firearms.

If Matt Damon wants Australia-like gun-control measures, wed invite him to move to Perth, or Sydney, Pruett said. Its pretty disingenuous for Mr. Damon to promote his gun-filled film in this gun-friendly state after calling for such sweeping and ridiculous anti-Second Amendment gun control.

Frank Marshall, the producer of the fifth and latest installment in the Bourne series, used to live in Boise and has a history of support for the Treasure Valley Family YMCA, according to the Idaho Statesman and the Meridian Press, and the premiere screening will benefit the YMCA's campaign to raise money for its new facility in South Meridian. Damon has visited Boise three times in the past to promote the Bourne movies.
ISLAND PARK  Henrys Lake is known by anglers throughout the country for one thing: fish you can brag about.

That fishery up there is renowned, said Henrys Lake State Park Manager John Sullivan. Opening day, which is Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, is out of control. But the fishing is excellent.

Opening weekend on Henrys Lake is legendary for a number of reasons. On the the one hand, it offers the first shot at catching a record-breaking trout. On the other, so many fishermen jump to the occasion that the lake is often so clogged with boats that solitary fly fishermen refer to it as combat fishing.

But even during the hectic times, Sullivan said, Henrys Lake isnt jammed to the gills with wake-boarders, jet skiers and other loud recreators as are some lakes in the state.

Its pretty peaceful, he said. Theyre all fishermen.

Fish in the lake have been getting bigger over time, the Post Register previously reported, because managers have begun putting greater emphasis on the size of the fish in the lake than on the raw number of fish. Another reason is that Henrys Lake is naturally high in phosphorus, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game regional fisheries manager Dan Garren.

Theyve got natural phosphorous in the geology out there, and it really promotes fish growth, he said. Its similar to fertilizing a farm field. If you have the right balance of nutrients, it promotes plant growth. That leads to more insects and ultimately bigger fish.

Assistant Park Manager Bert Mecham said he heard of an 11-pound cutthroat-rainbow trout hybrid caught this year.

Henrys Lake State Parks campground is always full opening weekend, Mecham said, and this year even in mid-June its regularly been booked.

Henrys Lake State Park was purchased by the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation in 1973, according to an online history put out by Idaho State University.

Henrys Lake State Park doesnt include the lake itself  thats handled by Fish and Game  but the park does include some of the best access and recreation vehicle camping near the lake.

Mecham said the park, which nearly doubled its camping capacity recently, includes 85 campsites with hook-ups for RVs. The park also boasts three rental cabins, a boat launch and a dock.

Those amenities make the park popular. Sullivan said the parks campground has one of the highest occupancy rates of any state park in Idaho  between 80 and 90 percent in most years.

In addition to lake access, Henrys Lake State Park includes about five miles of trails throughout the 800-acre park that are open to hikers and bikers  no motorized vehicles are allowed. For those who dont want to fish, there is still beautiful scenery to admire. And its less than a 30-minute drive from Yellowstone National Parks western entrance.

Its a jumping-off point for Yellowstone National Park, and it has spectacular views of the Centennial Range and the Madison Range, Sullivan said.

Shawn Quist and his mother, Tracie Smith, along with their family, were using Henrys Lake State Park for just that purpose recently. Hailing from the Boise area, the family often takes summer vacations in northern Idaho, but this year they decided to head east.

Quist said the family had spent the prior day exploring Yellowstone. The rest of the family decided to spend another day exploring there, but Quist and his mother opted for a more laid-back day of casting and waiting for the fish to bite.
BRUNEAU  Without water pumped from the Snake River every winter, Bruneau Dunes State Park wouldnt have the two lakes that attract waterfowl, coyotes and pronghorn and draw families for picnics, fishing and paddling.

For the sake of a bass and bluegill fishery, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game pays the power bill for those pumps  a partnership meant to benefit both the visitors and wildlife of Bruneau Dunes and the anglers who pay license fees to Fish and Game.

The problem? A carp invasion in Big Lake.

Thats devastating to a bass and bluegill fishery. While youll see a lot of kayaks and standup paddleboards on Big Lake, and family picnics on the shore, you wont see much fishing these days.

Youre just fishing for carp, thats really all it is, said Bryce Bealba, assistant park manager at Bruneau Dunes.

Is that benefit worth the cost of pumping, paid by fishing license dollars? Fish and Game has to ask that question, and that has some anglers fearful that the agency will walk away from Bruneau Dunes, said Doug Megargle, regional fishery manager for Fish and Game.

Instead, Fish and Game plans a major effort this fall to eradicate the carp.

Small Lakes recovery

All summer, the water in Big Lake and Small Lake evaporates and sinks into the sand.

Late each September, Fish and Game starts pumping river water to Small Lake, which overflows into Big Lake. Fish and Game pays a power bill of $800 to $1,100 a month, Megargle said, for the five or more months it takes to recharge the lakes.

By the hundreds, juvenile carp came with the river water.

The two state agencies modified the pipe delivery system to minimize carp introduction, then Fish and Game tackled the carp already in the lakes. In the early 1990s, it treated Small Lake with rotenone  a broad-spectrum insecticide, piscicide and pesticide  then reintroduced bass and bluegill.

And to our knowledge, there are no carp in there to this day, Megargle said.

So Small Lake is tremendously popular for fishing. The bass limit is two at Bruneau Dunes, and anglers cant keep any shorter than 20 inches.

Theres plenty of them in there, theyre hungry and theyre active, Bealba said.

Big Lakes troubles

People who frequent Bruneau Dunes State Park know to head for Small Lake if they hope for bass. But Big Lake, Bealba said, has better shore access, closer parking, a better boat ramp  and more visitors.

The park hopes to install boat docks at Small Lake eventually, or at least improve shore access by removing overgrown vegetation. But, like Fish and Game, it wants Big Lake back into production as a bass and bluegill fishery.

We contemplated mechanically removing fish to keep their numbers down and realized that that was not going to be a productive way to manage the carp, Megargle said.

The new plan: rotenone.

Megargles team is beginning now to line up the permits necessary to treat Big Lake in late fall, when the pond has less water and requires less of the chemical to kill its fish. Another reason to wait for fall: Fish and Game wants the ponds extensive marsh system to be dewatered before the rotenone application so it cant be a refuge to carp.

Of course, the lakes visual draw is important to the parks visitor numbers. So Fish and Game is exploring whether it can manually pump out water to shorten the window of substantial drawdown.

The likelihood it can banish the carp and rebuild the Big Lake fishery? Megargle is optimistic. And if this works, Fish and Game wont have to answer the question of whether the pumping cost is justified by the fishery its producing today.
JEROME  Two men helped a woman and baby escape a beating Saturday evening outside the Ridleys Family Market in Jerome, then became victims when the man threatened them with a knife, police said.

Juan Carlos Gomez-Cruz, 23, was arrested shortly after the incident. He was arraigned Tuesday on a felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor account of resisting or obstructing arrest.

Police responded to the Ridleys parking lot about 7:45 p.m. on Saturday for the report of an assault. When officers arrived in the area, the two men who had stepped in to help the woman explained what happened.

Hugo Hernandez and Victor Vega said they were in the parking lot when they saw Gomez-Cruz punching a woman inside a car.

They could hear the female yelling, and a baby crying in the back seat, a Jerome police officer wrote in a sworn affidavit. Hernandez approached the car in hopes to stop Gomez from hurting the woman any further.

As Hernandez approached, Gomez-Cruz jumped out of the car, pulled a knife and yelled what do you want mother (expletive)? court documents said.

Gomez-Cruz took a fighting stance toward Hernandez and started to come at him, court documents said. Vega called police and started his car because he could see Gomez-Cruz coming toward Hernandez with the knife.

The two men said their confrontation with Gomez-Cruz gave the woman time to drive away in his car.

Gomez-Cruz pulled his knife out and made threats a second time when he noticed Hernandez and Vega following him in their car, court documents said. But they continued following him until police arrived and arrested him.

Officers reported Gomez-Cruz had two knives when he was arrested. They also said he was combative, appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was yelling obscenities at police.

Gomez-Cruz is in custody in lieu of $7,500 bond, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 15.
TWIN FALLS  A Twin Falls chiropractor is charged with engaging in sexual contact with four women during massages that turned increasingly sexual and uncomfortable for his victims as he focused on their inner thighs and breasts and repeatedly brushed against their genitals.

Robert Max Johnson, 54, of Twin Falls was arraigned Tuesday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on four misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation by a medical care provider.

Johnson owned and operated Brain Core Therapy of Southern Idaho, 488 Blue Lakes Blvd. N. Police are still seeking other potential victims who Johnson may have touched inappropriately.

In court documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors laid out a pattern in which Johnson gave massages to women that often lasted much longer than theyd paid for and in which he gradually exploited the women, spending inordinate amounts of time massaging their inner thighs, brushing up against their genitals and fondling the breasts of two of his victims.

After interviewing four women who complained of the overly sexual massages, police contacted the dean of academic affairs at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa, where Johnson went to school. The dean told police there are no accepted chiropractic protocols or procedures similar to the massages the women described.

Gayla Nickel from the Idaho Board of Massage Therapy also told police the massages the women described are not accepted massage therapy techniques and that they appeared to be sexual in nature and not therapeutic.

Police launched their investigation in January when a woman complained Johnson improperly touched her during a December massage. The woman told police shed received nearly 100 Swedish massages in her life but had never had a massage like the one she received from Johnson.

The first woman and three others said Johnson spent the bulk of the time massaging their lower backs, butts and upper thighs without ever asking what areas were sore. At least three of the women reported Johnson also touched or brushed his hands against their pubic area, with one woman describing him doing it in a way that didnt feel accidental.

At least two of the women said they were scared because Johnson was much larger and they were the only two people in the office at the time.

The first woman to report Johnson said she never felt so dirty or sexualized during a massage and when she left, she realized it lasted 45 minutes longer than the hour for which she had paid. Two other women also reported their massages lasted 30 to 45 minutes longer than the hour for which theyd paid.

Two of the women reported Johnson fondled their breasts during the massage and that his breathing became much quicker and heavier while he did so.

His hands started shaking as he massaged her breasts, and his breathing became faster, the detective wrote of one encounter.

The woman said Johnsons hands only shook while he was massaging her breasts, but she said it felt more like he was fondling than massaging. She also described his breathing while touching her breasts as similar to what you would hear in a bad porno.

Another woman said Johnson asked if he could massage her chest, which she agreed to thinking he would massage above her breasts. But she said Johnson ended up fondling her breasts after hed already pulled down her underwear without asking and brushing his fingers against her vagina several times.

Johnson is being held in Twin Falls County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond, and a pretrial conference is scheduled for Aug. 16.
NEW PLYMOUTH  Farmers Tom and Marcia Roland look west across their fence at a humming industrial site with a producing natural gas well just 300 yards away.

Another producing well in the Willow Creek field, the center of Idahos developing oil and gas industry, lies just 500 yards to the south. The Rolands raise cattle and irrigated crops and operate a small dairy on their 500 acres in the rich Willow Creek valley. Theyre excited oil and gas production has begun all around them and resulted in royalty checks for them and their neighbors.

But they dont think the way Idaho structures its mineral rights, a process called integration, is fair. The way its done today, the state divides up mineral lands into 640-acre spacing units drawn along section lines.

Because were on the wrong side of the section lines on a map, we derive very little payment or benefit from these wells, said Tom Roland, standing at his fence. Proximity to a well doesnt really make a difference. Its what side of the section line youre on.

The Rolands concerns come as Texas-based Alta Mesa Idaho has invested $150 million in developing oil and natural gas in Idaho, discovered in commercial quantities for the first time in 2010. Production began in 2013, and became more intensive in August 2015, and many hope the discovery will generate revenues to help pay for Idaho schools and boost the Western Idahos largely agricultural economy.

But other oil and gas companies say Alta Mesa has steered Idaho decision-makers to write rules and laws that keep out competitors who would invest more in the state and who would bid up the prices of mineral rights owned by the state and Idahoans.

MANAGING MINERAL RIGHTS

Idahos default size for mineral rights units are 640 acres, which critics say make it easy for one company with history and infrastructure to dominate the industry. Units a fourth that size would make it easier for newcomer companies to get into Idahos fledgling gas industry, bid for drilling rights and avoid the expenses and complications of having to obtain permission from multiple rights owners  and then the state  to drill the big units.

At the heart of the issue is the process called integration, also called mandatory pooling, and is designed to protect mineral-right holders and ensure gas is not wasted. The process organizes how owners are paid for mineral rights by the company that owns the right to drill. Idaho generally divides drilling units by 640 acres along the legal section lines. If the company has agreement from all of the mineral right owners in the section, it can begin drilling without going through a formal integration process. It can also change the spacing units without going through the process if it controls all of the mineral rights in the area.

But if mineral rights holders object, the company needs to get 55 percent of the rights under its control and then go to a hearing before a examiner who decides on whether to permit drilling, which is then reviewed by the Idaho Oil and Gas Commission. This time-consuming and complicated process has slowed Alta Mesas development of wells in Fruitland; newcomer drillers want smaller units to reduce the need to get commission approval before drilling.

Jim Classen is an exploratory geologist for 50 years who serves on the Idaho Oil and Gas Commission. He took the unusual step of testifying in a hearing June 16 at the Capitol on two 640-acre units in Fruitland.

Classen, of Boise, said he decided to testify and recuse himself from deciding on the integration because he thought it was important to show why the state should offer leases in smaller units and not permit 640-acre units that are bigger than they need to be.

I reviewed submitted proprietary seismic data, logs, test data, pressure data and up to 10 months production, he said. The data clearly indicates that these wells are draining considerably less than 640 acres.

Classen told the hearing examiner that Alta Mesa has shown it knows a lot about about the subsurface geology by drilling six straight wells that turned out to be productive. Alta Mesas success is based on state-of-the-art seismic data, which cost the company millions, that mapped the subsurface geology of the Payette Basin of Southwest Idaho and into eastern Oregon.

Classen shared the Rolands view that the spacing of units should be calculated not by the section line but from the drill hole, which is aimed at an underground reservoir of natural gas, oil and other liquid petroleum products, such as condensate.

Oil and gas is found in porous and crackled rock formations, called reservoirs, thousands of feet below the surface. Classen explained that for a reservoir to be commercial, an underground trap, such as a fault, must exist to keep the oil and gas in place. That is the spot that becomes the target for the driller.

The spacing unit should be a box around the trap, said Classen.

DRILLING AND SPACING

Alta Mesas attorney Michael Christian said Classens proposal is outside of Idaho law.

I will submit to you that there is not evidence in the record to support downspacing, even if there was a process for doing it at this time. Christian said. We are equally concerned about making sure everybody who should be paid is paid.

He said Alta Mesa simply doesnt have enough data to do the spacing the way Classen advocates.

Alta Mesas success and sophisticated data suggests Alta Mesa has very specific data that would allow it to lease much smaller units, said former Idaho U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, who previously lobbied for a competing Montana-based oil and gas company and now is an independent consultant.

For any oilman who has run 3-D seismic to tell you he just doesnt know, just simply isnt telling the truth, said Craig.

His position is supported by other industry representatives who commented during recent Idaho Oil and Gas Commission negotiated rulemaking by the Idaho Department of Lands.

The Idaho Statesman examined all of the drilling permits issued by the commission to Alta Mesa and its predecessor, Bridge Resources. In many of the permits, the company applied to the commission and received waivers from the requirement to drill in the center of the unit and instead drill in exceptional locations.

Among these waivers were wells Kauffman 1-9, ML Investments 1 and ML Investments 2, which sit in adjacent Sections 9 and 10 along the Willow Creek Road (wells are named after the landowner and the investors). Usually, the specific target data is redacted in the drilling application so the public cant see whats beneath the surface.

But in the case of the ML Investment 2 drilling permit, the affidavit of petroleum geologist David M. Smith was in the file with his explanation why Alta Mesa wanted to drill a second well in the unit in an exceptional location. Specifically, he said, two faults combine to create traps and isolated the ML1 from the ML2 target reservoirs.

Idaho Department of Lands officials said the Smith affidavit and the seismic data were Alta Mesas proprietary information of made public by mistake.

One fault generally goes north and south and the other goes east and west toward the Kauffman 1-9 well location, just below the section line. Above the section line lie mineral resources owned by the Bureau of Land Management.

Alta Mesas success demonstrates the information is available to the company and the state to do more precise spacing, wrote C.J. McDonald, of Lone Tree Petroleum, a Wyoming company interested in competing in Idaho.

It defies logic for an operator to know precisely where to drill an exceptional location, but then claim it doesnt have the data to do so after the fact, wrote McDonald, whose company holds some Idaho drilling rights and commented on Idaho oil and gas rules. Not only does this affect their landowners and neighbors in a negative way, but it also affects any other operator in the state.

FRONTIER MENTALITY

Alta Mesa officials say it doesnt care how a unit is sized or spaced, since the company will pay the same in the end. But it doesnt want to have to change now, after spending more than four years of getting oil and gas into production under the current system.

As someone who has invested $150 million in this state, Ive got some real problems with that, said Richard Brown, owner of Snake River Oil and Gas, an Alta Mesa partner in Idaho.

But former Sen. Craig said that by buying sweeping 640-acre units and then picking where it wants to drill within the unit, Alta Mesa is seeking to keep companies like McDonalds from coming into the state and investing millions more to compete. He wants the commission to reduce the unit size to 160 acres.

When one well can control 640 acres, that is monopolistic in character, Craig said.

Idaho Department of Lands Director Tom Schultz said 16 out of 35 oil-producing states use 640-acre units based on section lines like Idaho as a default. Drillers have the option to use smaller units and Alta Mesa already has, he said.

Legislation passed earlier this year also requires a company that wants to use an exceptional location for drilling to go through a hearing and notice so interested parties can input on the decision.

Using oil-industry lingo, Alta Mesa Idaho spokesman John Foster said that Idaho is a wildcat, or frontier play, and the rules need to reflect that the industry is at the pioneering stage.

Companies operating in these sorts of plays in other states are afforded reasonable protections for their intellectual property and investments, he said.

But David Heinz, President of Trendwell Energy, which drilled one well in Canyon County in 2014, said the state should find a middle ground between protecting Alta Mesas investment and encouraging newcomers efforts to bring investment to the state.

Roland the farmer doesnt know how big a spacing unit should be, but logic and fairness dictate that units should be drawn as a circle with the well in the middle, he said.

I dont know if it would benefit me at all, Roland said. I dont know if it would make me a nickel or it might even cost me money compared to how Im paid right now.

If they do that way, it will be more right and more fair to the landowners, he said.
JEROME  The public will get a chance to take an inside look at the new Jerome County Jail before it opens.

The Jerome Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon cutting at the new facility at 2 p.m. Friday, followed by an open house running from 2 to 8 p.m.

The new jail is at 2151 South Tiger Drive, next to Idaho Milk Products.

Inmates will be moved to the new jail over the weekend, Sheriff Doug McFall said. The sheriffs office and driver's license office will be open for business in their new location on Monday morning.

The county had about 51 inmates Wednesday, McFall said.

The 135-bed facility was built with an $11.2 million bond county voters passed in May 2013. Most of the construction was finished in late May, but the opening was delayed a bit because the backup generator had to be in place to get an occupancy permit.

With a jail population that usually ranges from 40 to 80 inmates, the new jail gives the county enough space to let out beds either to the state or to other counties. However, thats not going to happen immediately. Jerome County doesnt have any agreements to board inmates in place with any other counties as of now, McFall said, and the state wont send anyone over right now since the state inmate population has fallen and it doesnt need the extra beds at the moment.

The states kind of on hold right now because their count went down, McFall said. (We) havent heard when the states planning on bringing inmates over.

There are 7,721 people in the Idaho state prison system as of Wednesday, IDOC spokesman Jeffrey Ray said, of whom 447 are boarded in county jails. That 7,721 is a drop of several hundred from last July, and a few months ago, the state brought the inmates it had boarded out of state back to Idaho.

The state pays counties $45 per bed per night to board inmates. Ray said he didnt know when, or if, the state would be sending inmates to Jerome.

Our inmate population fluctuates to such a degree that its impossible for us to speculate about whether or not well be moving inmates into the Jerome County jail, or any jail, in the near future, Ray said in an email.
Volunteers  The Twin Falls County Historical Society is seeking volunteers for various programs and general support. Volunteers are needed to paint, weed, clean or work on docent projects and fundraising. No minimum amount of hours, commitment is flexible. Fill out an application at the Twin Falls County Historical Museum (Union School at Curry), open noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Information: 208-736-4675.

Volunteers  Hospice Visions Inc. is looking for volunteer handy men and women for light home modifications, Light Touch Massage therapists, hair dressers, volunteers for meal assistance, and to visit with, play music and games with those on hospice services. Volunteers are needed with licensed certified therapy animals to love our hospice patients in their own homes or assisted living centers. Hospice Visions is looking for volunteers interested in doing art projects with our patients or filming and creating a Life Legacy Video, or can take someone to the store, run an errand or out for a drive. Veterans can become a Vet-to-Vet Volunteer and visit with other veterans. Volunteers are also needed to assist with fundraising events and provide office assistance Information: Nora at 208-735-0121 or nwells@hospicevisions.org

Volunteers  The Fifth Judicial District CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) Program is seeking community volunteers to become advocates for abused children. Advocates receive training and support to investigate, report, monitor and advocate for children involved in the child protection system. Advocates are needed in all eight counties of the district, but it is critical to the program to recruit volunteers in the Mini Cassia area. Information: Tahna, 208-735-1177.

Volunteers  The Senior Companion Program at the CSI Office on Aging needs volunteers, age 55 and older, to assist homebound seniors by providing friendly visits and transportation as needed. Information: Marisol, 208-736-2122, or toll free, 800-574-8656.

Volunteers  The Foster Grandparent Program at the CSI Office on Aging has openings for volunteers, age 55 and older, to read to children ages 2 to 9 and assist with their academic and social skills. Placements are available throughout the Magic Valley in Head Start programs and public elementary schools. Information: Marisol, 208-736-2122 or toll free, 800-574-8656.

Drivers  The Twin Falls Senior Center delivers meals to homebound seniors in the Twin Falls area Monday through Friday, and the routes take an hour or less to complete. Commitment is based on your availability; pick a day of the week or drive once or twice a month, pick a week to drive, or be a substitute driver. Volunteers must be 18 years of age with their own car, and have proof of liability insurance. Drivers receive 54 cents a mile fuel reimbursement. Information: Sandee Earl, 208-734-5084.

Volunteers  The Twin Falls Senior Center has a ladies group (The Crazy Quilters), who are looking for individuals to put finishing touches on quilts as a group while socializing at the same time. The group meets from 9 a.m. to noon every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All quilt project proceeds are given to the Twin Falls Senior Center. Information: 208-734-5084.

Volunteers  St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center is in need of volunteers for a variety of positions from shuttle drivers to care volunteers to gift shop volunteers and more. The medical center is looking for pleasant, and friendly individuals with a sincere interest in voluntary services offered to patients, visitors, employees and guests. Meet new people and learn new experiences and challenges. Information: Kim Patterson at 814-0861 or kimpa@slhs.org, or visit the Volunteer Services Office, lower level at St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center; 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. Applications are available at the Front Information Desk.

Volunteers/drivers  Habitat for Humanity of the Magic Valley and the ReStore are seeking adult volunteers. At the ReStore, volunteers are needed to provide general customer service, receiving, coordinate volunteers, fixing items to be sold in the store, and drivers to pick up donations. Information: 208-735-1233 or the Habitat office, 669 Eastland Drive S., Twin Falls.
Cairo Wednesday indicated it would retaliate against Italys decision to suspend the military deal between the two countries in protest to the suspicious death of an Italian student in Cairo in February.

Egyptian foreign ministry chided Italy for the senate last week vote.

We regret the decision and are considering taking similar measures that affect areas of cooperation with Italy, a foreign ministry statement said.

Last week, the Italian senate voted to halt supplies to Egypt of spare parts for F16 warplanes in protest against the killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni, who went missing on January 25 and whose body was found few days later.

The move was the first economic sanction adopted by Italy against Egypt known as one important economic partner of the EU country.

Italy has slammed Cairo and recalled its diplomat over what Rome deems refusal by Egyptian authorities to cooperate with Italian investigators for the truth to emerge about the death of Regeni.

The Italian PhD student was found dead in a roadside ditch on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital on February 3. He was half naked and his body was covered with bruises. Forensic tests revealed he was tortured to death.

Regeni who was doing research on Egyptian labor unions was last seen on January 25, date of the fifth anniversary of the Egyptian 2011 revolution which overthrew the countrys autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak. The day was marked by strong security forces presence across the city in a bid to thwart demonstrations calling for the overthrow of current president al-Sisi disavowed by many Egyptians.

Rome claims the student was murdered by Egyptian security forces but Cairo flatly rejects the accusations.

In the Wednesday statement, Cairo did not specify what kind of counter-reactions it will take but indicated that they would affect bilateral, regional and international cooperation between Italy and Egypt.

That would include a review of ongoing cooperation in combatting illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and dealing with the situation in Libya, reports say.
Libyas UN backed Prime Minister-designate has ruled out international military intervention in the anti-IS campaign taking place in the North African country.

FaiezSerraj in an interview with French paper Journal du Dimanche published on Sunday said despite the international rally behind his Government of National Accord (GNA) they dont need any foreign boots but rather need technical and logistical support.

Its true that we need help from the international community in our fight against terrorism and its true that this is something we have already received, he said in the interview.

But we are not talking about international intervention, Sarraj said.

Rather we need satellite images, intelligence, technical help not bombardments.

Last month, around 25 countries vowed their support for the GNA and accepted to ease the arm embargo imposed on the country since 2011 so that forces loyal to the unity administration purchase equipment needed to flash out IS out of Libya.

UK and other western countries recently indicated that they were ready to set foot in Libya to combat IS if Serraj requests it.

Loyal forces to the GNA have been tightening their grip around Sirte; hometown of the former ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The town has since 2014 become commandment center for the terrorist group which has been able to conquer swathes of the Libyan territory, mainly coastal regions where the group also operates migrant smuggling activities.

The GNA has established the operations rooms coordinating the fight. The forces made significant gains including takeover of al-Gordabiya air base, nine miles south of Sirte, the New Arab reports.

Serraj also told the French media, that win over the terrorist group is at hand even though he admitted it will take long.

(We hope) that this war against terrorism will be able to unite Libya. But it will be long. And the international community knows that, he said.

UNSMIL Chief Martin Kobler last week urged all forces and militias, combating IS, to unite as the UN fears competition between GNAs loyal forces and the Libyan National Army of Gen. Khalifa Haftar also thrusting at IS, plays in favor of the militant group.

The GNA now established in Tripoli has been struggling to assert its authority across the country, partly controlled by rival government in the East, answering to the House of Representatives known as Libyas sole legitimate parliament.
Libyan Former rulers son Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, also known as the second in command after his father, has been freed since April thanks to an amnesty deal despite calls by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to try him on crime against humanity charges, reports say.

Arrested in October 2011 following the fall of his father, Said al-Islam had been held in a secret prison in Zintan by the towns militia. He was sentenced to death in July last year along with 37 others but the sentence has never been executed.

His liberation has been confirmed by Khaled Zaydi, one of his lawyers, who told French reporters that his client was freed in April.

French Le Monde, citing Libyan sources, also reports that Saif al-Islam has been seen moving around in Zintan since September last year. Other Libyan sources revealed that he has been under house arrest and lives with his new wife and three- year old toddler.

Saif al-Islam was freed under an amnesty law voted by Libyas internationally recognized parliament, the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HOR) in September. The law provides for general amnesty even to members of Gaddafis circle in a move to promote peace and reconciliation.

In a sign of reconciliation, the parliament also allowed the return of Saif al-Islams mother, Safia Farkash.

The unity government known as the Government of National Accord (GNA) at odds with HoR has slammed the release of Saif wanted by the ICC. The Hague-based court has called on the United Nations sponsoring the GNA to put pressure on Libyan authorities to transfer Saif to the Netherlands.

Analysts argue that call will be difficult to heed as Misratan officials, who have been loyal to the GNA and have been at the forefront of the fight against the Islamic State militants in control Gaddafis hometown of Sirte, believe that reconciliation in needed to heal wounds created by the 2011 revolution.
Victim of UNM dies

By Messenger Staff

The former head of Georgias State Audit Office, Sulkhan Molashvili, died on Wednesday in Paris from liver failure.Molashvili traveled to France from Georgia several days before his death to receive treatment.Im very saddened by the death of Mr. Molashvili. I share his loss with his loved ones and stand by his family, President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili wrote.Molashvili was recognised to be a victim of Georgias previous United National Movement (UNM) Government, as the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) acquitted him in 2014 after the UNM government was found to have abused the ex-officials human rights.Molashvili was found guilty of abuse of power, concealing a crime and misappropriation of public funds on April 23 2004, shortly after the Rose Revolution which brought the UNM to power, and was sentenced to nine years in prison.He spent four years behind bars and was released in 2008 due to the influence of Patriarch Ilia II.Molashvili stated his human rights were badly violated in prison.When coming to office after the 2012 parliamentary race, the current Government of Georgia addressed the ECtHR and admitted the former governments violations in Molashvilis case and requested permission to re-investigate the incident.The Strasbourg-based court ordered the state to pay Molashvili 20,000 in compensation within three months and to complete a new investigation within one year.The current Government paid the compensation in January 2015, while the investigation into Molashvilis case is still in process.Georgias Chief Prosecutors Office said dozens of witnesses have been questioned and volumes of documental materials have been studied in order to bring the investigation to an end.The Prosecutors Office of Georgia is full of applications similar to Molashvilis case, and thousands of people who claim they were victims of the previous authorities are waiting for judgement by the courts.Investigating these cases and punishing those standing behind the crimes is of paramount importance, however each investigation must be transparent and fair and leave no room for speculations.If the current Government ignores such applications, some people may feel that the Georgian Dream party does not dispense justice in the way that it claims.
Hillary Clintons campaign held an event outside of a failed Donald Trump tower in Fort Lauderdale Thursday to criticize Trumps business practices and multiple bankruptcies a day before he speaks in Miami.

The event was held outside the Conrad hotel which was initially going to be the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Fort Lauderdale beach. The project collapsed and buyers lost millions and sparked multiple lawsuits. Trump said he was not the developer and hand only lent his name to the project.

Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam recounted how investors bought into the Trump name and then lost money.

As he runs out on them will he run out on this country? Messam said at the press conference.

Messam has been a longtime surrogate for the Clinton campaign including in South Carolina during the primary. Back home in Florida, he is seen as a surrogate to reach out to African-American and Caribbean voters. Messam is the son of Jamaican immigrants -- his father was a migrant worker who cut sugar cane. His parents eventually stayed in Florida and Messam was born here and grew up in Belle Glade, a black-majority city in Palm Beach County.

Messam was elected mayor of Miramar -- a minority-majority city -- in 2015 after serving for a few years as a city commissioner.

Messam said that if Trumps policies were in place when his father and other immigrants were trying to enter the U.S., we would not be standing here today.

The other speakers at the event were Monica Russo, president of the Service Employees International Union which has endorsed Clinton and Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich, a Democrat challenging Hialeah state Rep. Manny Diaz Jr.

We wanted to let you know Donald Trump we are going to fire you in November, Russo said.
@PatriciaMazzei

Hillary Clinton's campaign manager plans to inaugurate the presumptive Democratic nominee's first Miami office.

Robby Mook will be in Wynwood on Saturday for the opening, which will take place at 11 a.m. at 2215 NW 1st Pl.

He will also be meeting privately with local leaders. Among the people his campaign has reached out to is Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, a Republican in a non-partisan post who has said he won't endorse Clinton or rival Donald Trump. Gimenez has not confirmed he'll attend.
@JeremySWallace

A government watchdog group is calling for a pair of state investigations into whether Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi may have violated the law by not taking action on complaints related to Trump University in 2013.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed requests - but not formal complaints - with both the Florida Commission on Ethics and the Inspector General for the Attorney Generals office to dig into what they call murky details about Bondis decision not to investigate complaints against Trump University, the Trump Institute and related entities.

More than 20 complaints have been filed against Trump University, the Trump Institute and related entities in Florida. But CREWs executive director Noah Bookbinder noted that a month after New Yorks Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuits against Trump University in August 2013 based on similar complaints, Bondi received a $25,000 donation from the Trump Foundation into a political committee she controls called Justice For All.

In his letter to the Florida Commission on Ethics and the Inspector General, Bookbinder said the timeline of events suggests a line between the donation and the attorney generals offices decisions.

The apparent timing of decisions not to take legal action against Trump University or the Trump Institute are deeply concerning, Bookbinder said. The Inspector General and the Commission on Ethics should immediately commence investigations to get to the bottom of this.

Bondi has in past interviews denied her office was investigating Trump and that she dropped the investigation after the donation.

I never, nor was my office, investigating him. Never. I would never lie. I would never take money. I've been obviously devastated over this," Bondi said last month.

A spokesman for Bondi did not respond to request for comment in regards to CREWs actions on Wednesday.

In March, CREW also filed an IRS complaint against the Trump Foundation for making the donation.
@alextdaugherty and @doug_hanks

Carlos J. Gimenez, the son of Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, and one of his co-workers spent the past two weeks trying to persuade three candidates to leave a school board race and endorse opponent Maria Teresa Mari Tere Rojas  who happens to be his aunt, and the mayors sister-in-law.

Three of Rojas four opponents told the Miami Herald they received phone calls from the younger Gimenez or his colleague Luis Mata after they qualified for the ballot. The men took a really strong tone, according to one of Rojas rivals, Modesto Abety.

It did sound like bullying to me, said Abety of his conversation with an associate at the firm where Gimenez works. Sort of like, It would be better for you if you drop out. Days later, after Abety made it clear he was staying in the race, he said Gimenez called him and in a cordial chat asked him to meet with his aunt. He said no.
@doug_hanks

A campaign mailer by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez's reelection effort hits challenger Raquel Regalado over his body-camera program for police.

The mailer by Gimenez's Miami-Dade Residents First committee accuses Regalado, a two-term school board member, of fighting the NAACP and a civil-rights leaders over the mayor's body-camera effort. The program is spending about $1 million a year to outfit officers with cameras that monitor their interactions with the public.

"Despite national outcries from the NAACP and Civil Rights groups to force police accountability through the use of body cameras, Raquel Regalado has consistently dismissed our community's calls for justice," the mailer read. It quotes comments Regalado made on her radio show (discontinued once she qualified for the Aug. 30 ballot in June) calling body cameras "an example of poor spending."

"Why are we spending millions of dollars on these cameras?" the mailer quotes Regalado as saying. Regalado is counting on support from Miami-Dade's police union, which opposed Gimenez's body-camera effort.

In a statement, Regalado called the mailer a distortion, saying her opposition was more about a rush to widely distribute the cameras without thinking through how to implement them. "A pilot program would have been better," she wrote, "with the rest of the funds going to more officers and much-needed equipment."

"In a county where children are being killed in our streets, our priority must be more officers and resources to stop the violence," she wrote. "Then we can focus on body cameras."

"
via @learyreports

Sen. Marco Rubio will not attend the GOP convention, citing the need to stay in Florida and focus on his re-election campaign.

Rubio joins a list of prominent Republicans -- among them Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, John McCain andKelly Ayotte -- skipping the convention.

But Rubio's campaign said it did not have to do with Donald Trump.

"Florida has always been a competitive state and it will be this fall. Marco had planned to go to the convention before he decided to seek re-election. Since Marco got into the race late, he will be in Florida campaigning and meeting with voters instead of going to Ohio," spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas said.

In late May Rubio said he would attend, surprising some given differences with Trump. "I want to be helpful. I don't want to be harmful, because I don't want Hillary Clinton to be president," he said on CNN.

He later clarified that he wasn't sure if he would be asked to speak and if so, it would be about issues he believes in.

--ALEX LEARY, Tampa Bay Times
The Islamic Center of Boca Raton is no longer a polling site following a news report by Gossip Extra which stated that it had drawn complaints.

"The site has been replaced with a library," Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told the Miami Herald in a one-sentence email.

Bucher, who is a Democrat, didn't respond to other questions by the Herald including if her decision was driven by complaints. The site is still listed on the elections office's list of polling locations.

Jose Lambiet's Gossip Extra reported earlier today that dozens of voters had called Bucher to complain about the new site. Lambiet wrote that the center was co-founded by Ibrahim Dremali, an Imam who was known to openly raise money for the terror anti-Israel group Hamas. Dremali has since moved to Texas. Lambiet reported that Bucher was reconsidering whether to use the site for the Nov. 8 presidential election.

Representatives at the Islamic Center could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
The Florida Public Service Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a request from Florida Power & Light to take a one-year break from charging customers in advance for planning and construction of its proposed new nuclear power plant.

The decision is expected to save customers $22 million in nuclear cost recovery fees that regulators typically approve to allow the company FPL to charge customers for planning and construction of the company's proposed nuclear units at its Turkey Point site on Biscayne Bay. Since 2008, FPL has charged customers $282 million in advance for the construction, under the advanced nuclear cost recovery fee it helped to push through the Legislature in 2006.

The change translates to a savings of about 34 cents a month for customers that use 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, beginning on the January 2017 bill. Those savings, however, will be offset, if the commission approves a $1.33 billion, 26 percent increase, in base rates beginning in 2017, as FPL has requested.

The rate increase hearing is scheduled to begin in August. If approved, the customer who uses 1,000 kilowatt hours a month will see the base rate portion of his bill rise by $14.67 a month to $71.67, according to documents submitted to the PSC.
The Florida Supreme Court released its final round of rulings for the summer Thursday and issued a rare clarification of its workers compensation decision of last month, but it also left unresolved two of the most controversial issues to come before the court this year: the death penalty and expansion of slot machines.

The court postponed rulings on the constitutionality of the state's death penalty until its next term begins in late August, leaving the state's procedure and the 388 inmates on death row in limbo for potentially several more months.

The ruling is expected as part of a series of hearings the court held in May and June over cases challenging the state's death penalty law passed by lawmakers in March, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in in Hurst v. Florida that the states sentencing scheme was unconstitutional. The court has stayed two executions in the wake of the Hurst ruling, heard arguments in more than a dozen death penalty cases, and has not yet unanswered whether longtime Death Row inmates should be afforded new sentencing hearings.

The court also heard arguments in June about whether a 2010 state gaming law allows counties to expand slot machines without legislative approval.

Both decisions could have wide-ranging ramifications and could potentially provoke criticism, controversy and unleash an election-year debate over two highly-charged issues.

Three of the seven sitting justices on the bench are up for a merit-retention vote in November -- Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, Justice Charles Canady and Justice Ricky Polston.

The death penalty questions before the court were spawned by the January U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared the states death sentencing system unconstitutional because it gave too little power to juries. For decades, Florida jurors issued bare majority recommendations, with judges ultimately imposing the death penalty.

The opinion evolved from a similar ruling in a 2002 case, Ring v. Arizona, which held that juries in that state should have the sole authority to decide on aggravating circumstances that made someone eligible for the death penalty. Alabama, Florida and Delaware are the only three states in the nation that do not require an unanimous jury to impose the death sentence and Florida officials believed the jurys advisory role was sufficiently different to allow the court to differentiate Florida from the Arizona ruling.

The decision forced the Legislature to rewrite its death-penalty sentencing law to require juries to unanimously vote for every reason, known as aggravating factors, that a defendant might merit a death sentence. The decision to impose the death sentence requires 10 of 12 jurors.

The fact that the court went on its summer recess without issuing an opinion, however, doesn't necessarily mean there won't be one to come before the court issues opinions again in late August.

Martin McClain, a lawyer who has represented more than 250 defendants condemned to death and presented arguments before the court in June, said Thursday that in 2009 he was appealing the death sentence of an inmate issued its last opinions before it recessed for the summer one week, and the next week the opinion on his case was issued.

"We have no idea what they will do,'' he said in an interview. He noted that there are two people on death row in which juries recommended a life sentence but a judge overrode it with a death sentence and the court may be taking its time to consider the impact of those cases.

"We now have a statute that says you can't get a death sentence if three or more people voted for life and yet we are still going to execute people who have a life recommendation? It's very difficult to determine what we're going to do. It makes sense to me the ourt wants to do it right ...It's also clear from the oral arguments that they are not in agreement."

On the gaming question, the Florida Supreme Court heard argument from owners for Gretna Racing that the rural racetrack should be allowed to install slot machines because it has the approval of county voters.

The case hinges on what appears to be conflicting legislative intent stemming from a 2009 law that modified the implementing law relating to slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties by allowing Hialeah Park to be eligible for a slots license.

The race track was not an operating pari-mutuel facility when voters approved the statewide constitutional amendment allowing slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward in 2003 but, because Hialeah was located in Miami-Dade, legislators agreed to revise the law to include it among the casinos that could operate Class III slots.

The Legislature again changed the law in 2010 to allow counties to authorize slot machines. Gretna argues that the change applies to all counties but the state argues that the slots expansion is only allowed if it is first approved by the Legislature or the state Constitution.

If the court sides with Gretna, it could usher in the explosive growth of gambling across the state. At least five other counties  Brevard, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach and Washington  have already voted to bring casinos to their stressed horse and dog tracks and jai alai frontons. A statewide gaming expansion would also invalidate the $120 million-a-year gaming compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
via @learyreports

He made a "huge mistake" by getting involved in immigration, but Sen. Marco Rubio has the backing of the nation's largest tea party group.

Tea Party Patriots said its super PAC will back Rubio in his re-election bid.

When he first ran for the Senate in 2010, Marco Rubio had the courage to challenge a popular sitting governor, and Tea Party Patriots all over the state responded by flocking to his candidacy and forming the backbone of his support. Since winning that election, he has served ably and well, and  despite his huge mistake on comprehensive immigration reform (read: amnesty for illegal immigrants), from which he says he has learned his lessons  he is, clearly, the strongest conservative candidate for the Senate in Florida," Jenny Beth Martin said in a release.

Lets be frank: That mistake hurt him with Tea Party activists in Florida, and across the nation. But he now says he recognizes the difficulty of dealing with such an issue in a comprehensive fashion, and instead supports a one-at-a-time approach  first, implement real border security, and dont make any further moves until the public agrees that our borders are secure. Then, and only then, will we be able successfully to move on to other aspects of the immigration reform agenda. Tea Party Patriots believes that will be a successful strategy, and we support Sen. Rubios decision to follow that course.
Long-time residents and visitors to Montana like to have reference materials for outdoor activities and enjoy a good book set in the state.

Two new reference guides, one for serious birders and one for the amateur gatherer are:

***

Birds of Montana, by Jeffrey S. Marks, Paul Hendricks, and Daniel Casey; Sponsored by Montana Audubon

Birds of Montana is the first comprehensive reference on the state's birds since Saunders published A Distributional List of the Birds of Montana in 1921, and it is the only work that provides a thorough review of the status, distribution, relative abundance, ecology, and conservation of the 433 bird species that have been documented in Montana between statehood in 1889 through January 1, 2016.

A modern account of the status, biology, and conservation of Montana's birds is long overdue. Birds of Montana fills that need and will be a valuable reference that will increase the public's knowledge of the state's birds, enhance awareness of conservation issues affecting birds and their habitats, and establish a benchmark against which changes in Montana's bird populations can be measured in the future.

***

Mountain States Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alpine Sorrel to Wild Hops, by Briana Wiles

From alpine meadows to high deserts and lush forests, the mountain states are rich with wild edibles. Forager and herbalist Briana Wiles helps you find delicious plants for the pickingtreats like spicy wild onion flowers, tender spring asparagus, and sweet late-summer blueberries. This helpful guide features an A-to-Z guide for foraging year-round, detailed information for safe identification, collecting tips for sustainable harvesting, and ideas for preparation and use.

For foragers in Colorado, eastern Oregon and Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and southernmost Alberta and Saskatchewan.

***

Several new novels set in Montana include:

***

Yellowstone Standoff, by Scott Graham

Yellowstone Standoff takes readers deep into the backcountry of a wildly popular national park. When Yellowstone National Park's grizzly bears and gray wolves suddenly and inexplicably go rogue, archaeologist Chuck Bender teams with his old friend, Yellowstone Chief Ranger Lex Hancock, to defend the suspect members of a group scientific expedition. Soon, Chuck finds himself defending the lives of his family as an unforeseen danger threatens in the storied national park's remote wilderness.

This is the third book in the National Park Mystery Series. Canyon Sacrifice and Mountain Rampage, are books one and two in the series from Torrey House Press.

***

As Good as Gone: A Novel, by Larry Watson

Its 1963, and Calvin Sidey, one of the last of the old cowboys, has long ago left his family to live a life of self-reliance out on the prairie. Hes been a mostly absentee father and grandfather until his estranged son asks him to stay with his grandchildren, Ann and Will, for a week while he and his wife are away. So Calvin agrees to return to the small town where he once was a mythic figure, to the very home he once abandoned.

Calvin knows only one way to solve problems: The Old West way, in which scores are settled and ultimatums are issued and your gun is always loaded. And though he has a powerful effect on those around him in the changing culture of the 1960s, Calvin isnt just a relic; hes a wild card, a danger to himself and those who love him.

***

Buffalo Jump Blues: A Sean Stranahan Mystery, by Keith McCafferty

In Montanas Madison Valley just after the Fourth of July, Deputy Sheriff Harold Little Feather and Hyalite County sheriff Martha Ettinger are investigating a horrific scene at the Palisades cliffs where a herd of bison have jumped to their deaths in a ritualistic hunting practice. Also found dead is a young Native American man whose intestines are ripped out, and his leg pierced with an arrow.

Meanwhile, fly fisherman, painter, and sometime private detective Sean Stranahan is helping the beautiful Ida Evening Star  who swims as a mermaid at the Trout Tails Bar & Grill  to find her old flame John Running Boy. Seans search for John leads him right into the buffalo jump investigation.

***

Two for a younger audience, but great for all ages:

***

Bandit In The Bob Marshall Wilderness: A True Wilderness Adventure, by Donna Love with illustrations by Laura Mae Love

Alone in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and separated from his family by a forest fire, can Bandit find his way home? Follow Bandit as he races ninety-six miles across one of the wildest places in Montana. Along the way explore the majestic Bob Marshall Wilderness, learn about wilderness wildfire, and discover why wilderness is a rich legacy for us all.

Donna Love and her daughter, Laura Mae spent years in the Bob Marshall which gave them rich experiences in nature and wilderness skills. Readers will learn about wilderness, the wilderness act and forest fires in the informational text that accompanies each two-page spread. A glossary at the end of the book will help young researchers enjoy the book even more.

***

Crow Mountain, by Lucy Inglis

While on a trip to Montana with her mom, British teen Hope meets local boy Cal Crow, a ranch hand. Caught in a freak accident, Hope and Cal take shelter in a cabin, where Hope makes a strange discovery in an abandoned diary. More than a hundred years earlier, another British girl  Emily  met a similar fate. Her rescuer, a horse trader named Nate. In this wild place, both girls learn what it means to survive and to fall in love, neither knowing that their fates are intimately entwined.

This young adult novel was first published in Great Britain. The author did extensive research and tells a tale of love, legacy, and wilderness set between the present day and 1866 in the dramatic landscape of modern-day and territorial Montana.

Enjoy your summer adventures and remember, books always make life better!
This year, 272 complaints about fireworks went to the hotline  down from 474 in 2015  but no one in the city got a ticket for shooting them off.

City of Missoula communications director Ginny Merriam provided the data and noted the Missoula Police Department responded to 69 calls and issued 25 warnings; she also said that in 44 cases, fireworks had stopped before police arrived or they could not find the source.

"You would need the Russian army to respond individually and immediately to all the calls," Merriam said.

The figures came from the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management, which noted the county had shut down fireworks last year just before the Fourth of July as part of mandated fire restrictions.

The ban last year might have been the reason for the greater number of calls.

This year, police did not issue tickets, and Merriam said the response officers prefer is warning the public the first time around, especially on a holiday considered a shindig for the nation.

"They issue tickets if they're called back there a second time," Merriam said. "They have an understanding that it's difficult for them because fireworks are a quintessentially American way to celebrate our country's birthday."

***

A few years ago, members of the Missoula City Council pressed police to enforce a general citywide prohibition on fireworks after the department admitted it had not written any tickets to perpetrators despite a high number of calls to the fireworks reporting line.

Since then, police have increased patrols for the holiday weekend and given people warnings  as well as tickets in years past. According to data police provided to Merriam:

In 2015, the cops rolled on 25 calls, wrote one citation, issued five warnings, and were unable to locate 19.

In 2014, police responded to 50 calls, issued seven citations, gave out 11 warnings, and were unable to find 32.

"The police had extra overtime on both day shifts and night shifts Saturday through Monday," Merriam said. "They also had the full traffic unit working on Monday, and they had officers on each shift specially assigned to fireworks."

She said the Missoula Fire Department also had overtime shifts as well as an engine deployed to Fort Missoula Regional Park and another in the Playfair Park area. She said the presence of fire trucks seems to cut down on infractions.

"If people see a fire engine, they're much less likely to violate," she said.

***

All told, 911 took in some 451 calls on July 4 this year from people calling the emergency number instead of the fireworks line.

Of those calls, the Missoula County Sheriff's Office counted 11 fireworks reports from July 1 through July 4, according to Brenda Bassett, public information officer for the department. She said last year, from July 3 through July 5, the Sheriff's Office had 25 calls for service related to fireworks.

The number of times deputies responded wasn't immediately clear, but this year, the county did not have fire restrictions in place over the holiday weekend, and fireworks are more generally allowed outside city limits.

To address the prohibited explosions, Bassett said the agency relies on its partnerships with the Montana Highway Patrol and U.S. Forest Service.

"We don't increase patrols because our numbers are so small right now," Bassett said.

***

Last year, the countywide prohibition made a deep cut into fireworks sales at Pink Grizzly, said Shane Clouse, one of the owners of the nursery and fireworks stand. He estimated the loss at some 90 percent compared to a typical year.

This year, the numbers reached normal again, he said.

"I believe that our sales were stronger because the fire danger was much less this year," Clouse said. "It was only moderate."

So far, people aren't inundating City Hall or the Sheriff's Office with calls this year about law enforcement's responses, officials said.

Tuesday, one irate person called City Hall accusing police of failing to enforce the ban, and Wednesday, another caller wanted to know the reason fireworks aren't allowed, Merriam said.

To the latter, she noted concerns about public safety, property damage, and busy emergency rooms and animal shelters.

"In a dense urban environment, it just doesn't work well," Merriam said.
A rare opportunity for the public to pitch ideas for grizzly bear recovery takes place in Missoula on Thursday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has scheduled two listening sessions at the DoubleTree Hotel to hear what kinds of measuring sticks could confirm if the keystone predators have reached a population that no longer needs federal protection. The suggestions will help develop a final Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy for the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem.

Were looking for what specific habitat measurements should be monitored that are specific to grizzly bears, said Jennifer Fortin-Noreus, with FWS Grizzly Bear Recovery Program based at the University of Montana. For example, things like road density limits or secure habitat. It could apply to any public lands in the NCDE, including the national park.

This session is specific to the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which includes the mountains from Glacier National Park south to Interstate 90 near Missoula. About 1,000 grizzlies live in those mountains. They are separate from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem surrounding Yellowstone National Park, which has an estimated 700 grizzlies.

Grizzly bears received U.S. Endangered Species Act protection in 1975. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised its grizzly recovery plan in 1993, with recovery benchmarks set for six separate bear populations. In addition to the NCDE and Greater Yellowstone, grizzly bear populations are closely monitored in the Cabinet-Yaak Mountains of northwest Montana, Selkirk Mountains in Idaho and Northern Cascade Mountains in Washington. The Bitterroot Mountains south of Missoula also are monitored for future grizzly activity, although no bears are believed to live there year-round.

The last time such a listening session was held was in 1997, and it was specific to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem bears. Information from this session will help Flathead National Forest planners develop rules for grizzly bear management that affect three national forests along the Continental Divide.

Thursdays meeting is separate from a Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Helena that will review plans for locally managing and possibly hunting grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. That meeting takes place on July 13 starting at 8:30 a.m. at Montana WILD, located in Helena at 2668 Broadwater Ave., next to Spring Meadow Lake State Park off Highway 12 West.

The Missoula FWS session will have a stenographer to make verbatim records of comments offered. The listening periods are from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel, 100 Madison St.
Ride-share service Uber is coming to Missoula and other cities throughout Montana next month.

State Rep. Ellie Boldman-Hill Smith, a Missoula Democrat, said shes been invited to take the first ride in an Uber car here on Aug. 1.

They are calling me passenger zero, Smith said.

Smith was part of the bipartisan effort in the last years Legislature to allow the ride-sharing company to operate in the state. She credited some of her fellow Democrats, as well as Republicans like Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen of Culbertson, for working together to create more options for consumers.

Uber spokeswoman Taylor Patterson said the San Francisco-based company is seeking drivers as independent contractors, and they can sign up on the companys website.

Patterson also confirmed that Uber drivers would be insured for passenger transport on the smartphone app-based service. She declined to offer details, such as how insurance might be split between the company and individual driver.

Patterson also declined to identify where in Montana Uber will start operating, noting only that the rollout will take place in multiple cities next month. She said she will have more information within the next few weeks.

"At Uber, we know that every state and individual market requires a unique, thoughtful approach as we work to set up operations. Montana is certainly no exception, and we look forward to facilitating safe, reliable and affordable transportation options around Big Sky Country in the very near future," Patterson said in a written statement.

***

In addition to Missoula, Billings and Helena appear to be among the destinations. An Uber Billings Facebook page is already operating, and local auto shops have reported conducting Uber inspections for prospective drivers.

Similar inspections have been underway in Helena, according to published reports.

Coupons also have popped up online for Great Falls and Bozeman at UberRideGuide.com, a site designed for riders but unaffiliated with the company itself.

Most Uber riders use the service through the company's smart phone app, but the service can also be accessed through uber.com. Riders can connect with drivers online and request a ride, paid on a credit card.

***

The Montana Legislature approved a bill last spring allowing ride-share services to operate in the state.

In December, the Montana Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to approve the application of Raisier MT-LLC to operate an Uber network in the state. Its the first technology company to operate a ride-share program in Montana.

The company has faced criticism in Seattle and other places for its lack of worker rights in only hiring independent contractors, not employees. Ubers arrival in other cities has also faced protests from cab companies who say theyre being priced out because theyre under stricter licensing and other regulatory costs than Uber is.

It was a pretty heavy lift to finally break up the taxi cab lobby in the state of Montana, Smith said. Now consumers can make a choice of how they want to ride.

Smith said she had worked with the Missoula County DUI Task Force to support expanding Uber to the area.

Theres downtown business owners, fans after a Griz game and college students who all want this here, she said.

Smith said she will be keeping tabs on worker's rights issues regarding Uber's expansion to the state, including driver wages and their ability to unionize.

Just like I was one of the front lines for consumer choice, Ill be on the front lines for employees to have better wages, better conditions and supporting their right to unionize, she said.
The Department of Interior has placed a sweeping moratorium on new federal coal leases in the United States. The stated objective of the moratorium is to pause the leasing in order to conduct a programmatic environmental impact statement of this program.

But there are strong suggestions that the true aim of Interiors move is to simply place a permanent stop to all federal coal production. Even environmental groups, Interiors usual allies, agree that this is more than a temporary pause as they laud the decision as a means to kill coal jobs.

Interior recently completed a series of public listening sessions to collect comments on their PEIS process. They held sessions in a number of coal-producing Western states, but they conspicuously avoided Montana, arguably the state most impacted by their decision. Oh, but they did find time to hold a hearing in Seattlethough Washington produces no federal coal and is not impacted by the proposal.

Interiors snub prompted U.S. Sen. Steve Daines to hold his own listening session for Montanans, the comments from which will be put on the record with Interior. Hundreds of people turned out for Dainess hearing on June 21 in Billings, with opposition to Interiors decision outweighing the supporters by about four to one.

There was so much opposition to Interior because the elimination of federal coal leasing in Montana is a really big deal. Montana holds the largest coal reserves in the country, but more than half of that coal is owned by the federal government.

That means there are thousands of jobs in Montana directly dependent on federal coal. Interiors decision to stop coal leasing will eventually destroy all those jobsat the mines, on the railroads and in generating facilities.

This is going to be an enormous economic hit to the state of Montana. And though its centered in southeastern Montana in places like Colstrip, itll have a ripple effect that touches every community in the state.

Montanas budget depends a great deal on coal production. Federal coal is especially valuable because half of the royalty revenues collected by Interior are returned to the state, amounting to about $50 million per biennium for the state general fund.

That revenue is in addition to all the other taxes paid by coal companies on federal productiontaxes on property, business equipment, payroll and income. Simply put, our state budget is very dependent on coal productionespecially production of federal coaland undermining that industry will make it more difficult to fund education, law enforcement, infrastructure and other core functions of government.

Production of tribally owned coal is also put in jeopardy by Interiors decision. Already, the Crow have laid off hundreds of workers due to the political attacks that have undermined the industry over the last two years.

Interior has claimed that the leasing moratorium is necessary so they can determine if coal companies are paying their fair share for the federal coal they produce. That excuse rings hollow. Recent data indicate that coal producers pay five times as much in federal royalty payments as they make in profit from mining that coal.

The real objective of Interiors leasing moratorium is fairly obvious: put a stop to federal coal mining. When taken together with the plethora of other federal regulations aimed at killing coal, the picture becomes clear. The biggest threat to Montana coal is not soft marketsits entirely political.

And thats why we need our political leaders to fight back. Senator Daines deserves a big thank you from all Montanans for protecting their interests in this matter. Its a fight we cant afford to lose.
I had the pleasure of attending the pro 28th Amendment gathering at the University of Montana on June 23, with their keynote speakers being retired Montana Supreme Court Justice James C. Nelson and President of American Promise Jeff Clements. The Flathead Valleys own Rep. Frank Garner and former Secretary of State Bob Brown joined them in a support call for this measure.

The speakers staked their claim for veracity upon the 75 percent voter support in Montana of Initiative 166, a ballot initiative that called for Montana elected officials to implement a policy opposed to the Citizens United victory in the U.S. Supreme Court. The key language of I-166 being, With this policy, the people of Montana establish that there should be a level playing field in campaign spending

Yet the issue I found most informative at the event was the exclusion of vital facts for the edification of the audience. The fact that I-166 was challenged in court before the election for being legally insufficient, and was later overturned in 2013 (Rickert v McCulloch, Lewis and Clark County).

Another bothersome fact that was addressed in the subsequently abridged question-and-answer segment of the program was that although 17 states now support a 28th Amendment overturning Citizens United (their claim), there was never provided to the voters of those states the final language of this 28th Amendment. Clements admitted there were different drafts of the amendment on their website, yet their proud assertion that 17 states and counting supported the amendment could not point to a single one of the versions universally supported. In fact these states mostly just agreed with similarly vague written policy positions we find in the legally insufficient I-166.

My question was simply that if unfettered spending of money was the sin damaging the elective process in America, why was it wrong for corporations to do it, yet not so with associations and unions? Clements replied, that was in one of the drafts, yet I wonder why they need different versions? Why isnt there just one clearly written 28th Amendment, which we can all reference to determine if we support it, rather than all this smoke and mirrors of support for a policy? If, in their words, they have already begun the constitutional process on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, how can they assume support for a final amendment that was never put before the people?

Sen. Jerry ONeil suggested, with some great analysis, that this new amendment would weaken and damage the First. It would be difficult to analyze this definitively because we in fact do not have a single version of the proposed 28th Amendment to study. Not to mention, this has been deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court; money is free speech. It could be easily argued this amendment would infringe on free speech by that measure alone.

If you look at the groups sponsoring this event, including American Promise, Free Speech for People, Common Cause Montana, MontPIRG and others, just research their funding sources and you can readily assume the final version adopted would only apply to corporations (not unions), and thus not actually solve our problems. In fact, this would just perpetuate our problem more by allowing for unions and other associations to have unfettered access to political outcomes with spending money, while prohibiting just corporations from having the same. This was in fact the way it was before the Citizens United case corrected that problem.

The only dog I have in this fight would be that every group play by the same rules, and it seems that is what 75 percent of Montana would agree by reading the language of I-166. If youre trying to prevent the assumed evils derived from unlimited spending during elections, the only path must include associations, foreign governments, unions, corporations, nonprofits and even other states. It is unfortunate that such a respectable group of Montanans would support such a noble cause as a level playing field in campaign spending, yet taint it with such obvious illusion, questionable process and an outcome different than what the folks youre selling to expect.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke recently claimed that he was a Teddy Roosevelt Conservationist. He then voted for H.R. 2316, a piece of legislation that would transfer management of 4 million acres of national forests to state-appointed committees. These committees would be charged with stimulating commodity production and revenue. The multiple-use principle for American forests that Theodore Roosevelt championed would not apply.

Given the impact Roosevelt has had on Montana, its no wonder that our politicians want to lay claim to his legacy. A closer look, however, suggests Zinkes "conservation feet" are much too small to fit in Teddys boots.

Our Montana conservation ethic and our outdoor lifestyle owe a great deal to Roosevelt. During the time he spent living and hunting in the American West, he shot a buffalo in Montana, in 1883, experienced a conservation epiphany and, in 1887, established a club for the introduction of the sporting code and restoration of big game. That club got Congress to pass a provision allowing presidents to set aside forest lands for their protection. They called it the Creative Act. When Roosevelt became president, the Creative Act was in the hands of its creator.

As president, Roosevelt set aside more than 150 million acres as forest reserves and created the U.S. Forest Service. In Montana, new Forest Service lands included the Kootenai, the Custer, the Elkhorns, the Crazy Mountains, the Big and Little Belts, the Little Rockies, the Helena, the Lolo, the Big Hole, the Cabinets and more. When you also consider the wildlife refuges, game ranges, parks and monuments he protected, the total number of acres he protected exceeds 230 million acres. Those are some big conservation boots.

When Roosevelt left office, the assault on conservation was immediate. His successor, William Taft, began by obstructing an investigation into accusations of corrupt dealings by coal interests in Alaska. Roosevelts trusted friend and the first chief of the Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot, protested, so President Taft fired him. After the Great Fire of 1910 burned across parts of Washington, Idaho and Montana, lawmakers proposed selling the burned land to private interests. The assault on conservation continues to this day, and foes of conservation come by the generation, each with their own scheme. The latest scheme involves transferring American public lands to the states. Thats what Zinke voted for when he voted for H.R. 2316.

H.R. 2316 would allow local interests to exploit our national forests for maximum, short-term profit  the very thing Roosevelt wanted to prevent when he established the Forest Service. Under H.R. 2316, the Forest Service mandate to protect wildlife habitat, ensure clean water and provide for multiple types of recreation would be removed.

Politicians have been hacking away at the Forest Services maintenance and operations budgets for decades. They now whine about the bad management that results from those budget cuts and claim that local control of national resources can solve the problems those cuts have created.

The reality is that exploitive interests have never been able to accept the conservation ethic of our democracy and continue to find ways to undermine that ethic. H.R. 2316 is the latest attempt to undermine that ethic.

Instead of voting for bills that diminish Roosevelts conservation legacy, I would encourage Zinke focus his energy on adequately funding the Forest Service, so it can do the job that our former president intended for it to do.

There is a common cliche that says: If the shoe fits, wear it. I suggest that Congressman Zinke is not close to fitting Teddys conservation boots.
Catholic hospitals in Missoula and Polson are part of a new health system that spans seven states.

In a joint news release from Seattle and Irvine, California, Providence Health & Services and St. Joseph Health announced they are merging to become Providence St. Joseph Health, a not-for-profit health and social services system with 50 hospitals and more than 100,000 employees in Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

An Associated Press report said the merger creates the nation's third-largest nonprofit health system.

In Montana, the merger affects Missoula-based Providence St. Patrick Hospital as well as Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson. The clinics operated by Providence Medical Group also are included.

Jeff Fee, the regional chief executive for Montana, was out of town and couldnt be reached for comment Wednesday.

But Colleen Wadden, director of external communication for Providence St. Joseph Health, said no changes in staffing are planned.

Wadden said she didnt know how costs to consumers might be affected but said the system is looking at how to more effectively deliver care. And she said one intent with the merger is to try to increase access to health services.

For starters, the new chain announced in its July 6 news release that it will invest $100 million in a foundation and institute to look into mental health research, prevention and care around the country.

Wadden said that push for better mental health care reflects a common need among many communities. Better mental health care is frequently identified as a lack in many community needs assessments, she said.

For years mental health and wellness has been segregated from medical health. It definitely needs to be integrated, Wadden said.

The new system has created what it calls the Institute for Mental Health and Wellness, calling it a catalyst for change. It is supported by an initial $100 million investment that will be used to identify and advance innovative solutions in mental health.

An expert advisory panel will help create a blueprint for improving mental health care in U.S. communities.

The health system and its advisory panel will collaborate with national and local organizations with expertise and long histories of addressing mental health.

In its announcement, the newly formed health system said it has established the Foundation for Mental Health and Wellness to oversee the work. The initial $100 million fund will support research and startup operations for mental health awareness, diagnosis and treatment. Fund distributions will be made through a formalized grant process and be available internally to Providence St. Joseph Health entities as well as other organizations within the communities it serves.

The Institute for Mental Health and Wellness will begin operating immediately.
HELENA (AP)  Yellowstone National Park has been awarded a $250,000 grant to make repairs to historic stonework at one of 10 sites overlooking the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced grants to Yellowstone and eight other parks on Wednesday.

The Yellowstone Park Foundation will receive the grant by September on behalf of the park, which will use the money to rehabilitate the Brink of Upper Falls Overlook.

Twenty national parks participated in the grant program, which helped raise awareness about their preservation needs. An online vote determined the winning projects.
Thanks to a $75,000 allocation from the states Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund, 10 new high-paying jobs will be up for grabs in the Mining City.

In May Gov. Steve Bullock announced that MarCom, LLC  an Idaho-based company that does work in radiological controls, environmental remediation and cyber security and has an office in Butte  was among 12 companies to receive funding from the program.

MarComs grant will be allocated through Butte-Silver Bow. On Wednesday night, the Council of Commissioners agreed to dispense the funds on a voice vote.

Although MarCom is based in Idaho Falls, its chief financial officer and co-founder, Butte native Marc Murphy, said he wanted to locate the companys administrative office in his hometown.

Its where I was born and raised, said Murphy.

Its hard to describe the technical services that MarCom provides, but according to Murphy, the company ensures that people working in fields like nuclear engineering and remediation dont get exposed to too much radiation.

Anywhere there is either a working nuclear reactor or contamination of radionuclides, said Murphy, our guys make sure those individuals dont get an uptick in radiation.

The company, which has about 60 employees nationwide and does about $8 million in business per year, has worked with the U.S. Department of Energy in such locations as Idaho, Tennessee and Ohio, and its client list includes Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, and the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, N.Y.

The companys president and co-founder is Marcella Medor.

Medor  who is a member of the Abenaki tribe from Vermont  worked for 18 years in radiological controls before deciding to launch MarCom with Murphy in 2003.

In a phone interview, Medor said she and Murphy decided in 2010 to open the companys administrative office in Butte in the Hennessy Building, at Granite and Main Streets, because functions like accounting and human resources could be performed anywhere in the country.

And, she said, Murphy wanted to live in his hometown.

He really wanted to get back to Butte, said Medor.

Medor said that in 2014 the Small Business Administration certified MarCom as a Native-American- and woman-owned business, and a year later she and Murphy decided to broaden their services to include cyber security.

And thats where money from the Big Sky Economic Development Trust Fund comes in, said Murphy.

With the grant, Murphy said, the company will be able to grow its cyber-security division and add on 10 new employees for positions in human resources, accounting and network engineering, among others.

Murphy added that yearly salaries will range from $40,000 to $100,000 and the company is actively seeking a network engineer.

One of the latest additions to MarComs Butte staff is Advanced Technologies Manager Travis Crawford.

According to Crawford, theres a growing need for cyber security in an increasingly insecure world.

Almost every day in the news theres a new cyber breach, said Crawford. Were storing more data every year than we ever have.

Crawford said potential clients include anyone working in areas where sensitive information is present, especially in sectors like healthcare, banking and industrial systems (think electrical grids and water-treatment plants).

Murphy agrees.

We believe that it ... will be a new and emerging market for Montana, he said.

Another benefit of MarComs presence in the state, aside from better access to cyber security, Murphy said, is the companys ability to bring outside dollars to Montana and Butte.

As Murphy pointed out, most of MarComs contracts are from outside the state.

Our goal with these jobs is to derive revenue to pay both admin people and the direct IT people from outside the immediate community, said Murphy.

And MarComs expansion could also mean a few more professionals moving to the Mining City.

Were having to cast a wide net to try and find qualified people, he said.

As for Medor, she says shes honored to have received the grant.

Its fantastic news because we are going to have the opportunity to hire 10 new people, she said.

Murphy echoed Medor's sentiments.

"We (are) grateful for the opportunity, said Murphy. It will go a long way to help finance our expansion over the next year.

I like the ability to grow, added Crawford. Thats what were trying to do  grow something brand new.
The Mining Citys summer festival season kicks off Friday with the annual Montana Folk Festival, and police say they are ready.

Additional police officers from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. beginning Friday will see a doubling-up of law enforcement during the three-day celebration of music, Butte-Silver Bow Undersheriff George Skuletich said Wednesday.

Twenty officers on both Friday and Saturday nights will increase police presence to address potential incidents and provide good public relations for the county and sheriffs office, the undersheriff said.

Four officers each will be posted at the The Original and the Dance Pavilion, two of the festivals performance stages in Uptown Butte. The pavilion on West Park Street historically draws one of the largest crowds.

Patrolling will be done both on foot and in patrol cars, Skuletich said.

Police anticipate seeing additional DUI arrests as well as incidents of disorderly conduct. However, Skuletich said, the festival does not usually see the physical altercations or fights associated with Evel Knievel Days in late July and St. Patricks Day.

EK Days has a larger footprint, requiring law enforcement to be spread out. Citing the good planning for the Folk Festival, police know what to expect and although the crowds are large, theyre well-behaved, said Skuletich.

With (festival) security and our additional officers, its pretty peaceful, he added. Come to Butte and have a great time.
The Washington Examiner's Jim Antle recently noted that despite talk of a Republican "consensus" on trade, "three runners-up for the Republican nomination who received strong conservative support  Pat Buchanan in 1996, Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012  were to varying degrees protectionist." And that suggests the consensus isn't really as much of a consensus as some might think.

"It doesn't exist, as far as I'm concerned," Santorum told me in a phone conversation Wednesday. The former senator, presidential candidate and author of "Blue Collar Conservatives" has endorsed Trump and attended Trump's trade speech in Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania Tuesday.

"It was exactly what I think a lot of folks from my end of the state, and I guarantee you from all throughout the Rust Belt, have been waiting to hear from a presidential candidate for a long time," Santorum told me.

In 2012, Santorum, who as a member of Congress voted against NAFTA and urged George W. Bush to impose steel tariffs, won 11 primaries and caucuses with an economic message focused on Americans left behind in the changing U.S. economy. At times in the race, Santorum appeared on the verge of overtaking Mitt Romney, who, having made a fortune in private equity, seemed to represent everything Santorum did not.

"I was talking about the 74 percent of Americans who don't have a college degree, who are not benefiting from the globalization of the economy, and who ... see continuing globalization, combined with open borders, as not in their best interest," Santorum told me. And now, the current Republican nominee has taken a position on trade not far from Santorum's own. "Trump nailed it," Santorum said of Tuesday's speech.

Likewise, Huckabee, who won eight primaries and caucuses before losing to John McCain in 2008, went a long way on economic populism  with a Southern touch  from the beginning of his first presidential campaign to the book, "God, Guns, Grits and Gravy," that set up his 2016 run. Now, Huckabee, too, has endorsed Trump.

"Trump is saying what I said in 2008 and 2016  and the reactions were the same from the elites," Huckabee said in an email exchange. "I was called a protectionist and a populist and attacked with millions of dollars of TV spots. Trump recognizes, as did several of us, that the political, financial and media institutions have failed working-class Americans. I'm glad Trump is getting traction for the truth."

Finally, there is Buchanan, who 25 years ago sounded some of what are now thought of as Trump themes. When Trump said, "Our workers' loyalty was repaid with betrayal," Buchanan thought back to his own 1998 manifesto on economic nationalism, "The Great Betrayal."

"I think Donald Trump gave the best speech on trade from the standpoint of economic patriotism and economic nationalism of any candidate in this century," Buchanan, who won the New Hampshire primary and three others in 1996, told me Wednesday. "I've read it and re-read it, and I found it hard to believe at times  but there were echoes of my youth there."

Indeed there were. Buchanan saw Trump's trade speech as a "precise rejection" of a globalist economy philosophy embraced by Republican leaders over many years. "This is one of the basic tenets of Ryan Republicanism, Romney Republicanism and Bush Republicanism," Buchanan said. "And Donald Trump is saying this has led us to disaster."

Why did those themes work for Trump in the 2016 Republican race when they did not win for Buchanan in 1996? Of course there were other factors at play  money, Trump's celebrity, and more  but I asked Buchanan: What has changed between then and now?

"What has changed is the results have come in that we predicted would happen in the '90s," Buchanan said. "I was saying in '91, '92, this is what will happen. You will lose your entire manufacturing base. It will be gone."

"Those were predictions," Buchanan continued. "And now Trump walks out there and can point to the largest trade deficits any Western country has ever seen, the loss of 55,000 manufacturing plants since the turn of the century, six million manufacturing jobs, every state, every community has seen a plant that is gone. All the returns are in now."

Besides some of their positions, Santorum, Huckabee and Buchanan have at least one other thing in common: They did not become president. They didn't even win the Republican nomination. Trump has already won his party's top prize. In recent weeks he has been distracted, suffering from mostly self-inflicted wounds. But if he can stop administering those wounds  a huge "if" for anyone who has followed his campaign  Trump has an opportunity to test just how far economic nationalism can go in a general election campaign.
Employees who worked at the El Taco restaurant in Butte from 1978 to 1983 are gathering for a private reunion Thursday to honor their boss at that time, Doc Wheeler.

An estimated 20 to 25 people will gather for dinner with Wheeler at El Taco.

The reunion is organized by former Butte residents Julie (Jacobsen) Cassidy of Texas and Donna (Dishman) Monaco-Little of Oregon.

Cassidy said Wheeler created a positive work environment that left an indelible impression on the employees. And, the employees also made lifelong friendships with each other.

Wheeler, who started his career as a veterinarian, opened the Wheeler Animal Clinic in March 1961, according to information provided by his children. He opened El Taco on May 8, 1972, and had a second restaurant, El Taco Dos, for about 10 years in Uptown Butte. He operated the Gold Rush from August 1987 until August 2008. He also owned the Jet Car Wash on Harrison for a couple of years in the 1980s.

At 83, he still goes to work every day and does his books. (He) keeps busy reading with vitamins and health supplements. (Hes) interested in nature and wildlife photography and bird watching.

Cassidy said she started working at El Taco in October 1978.

Within a month of working there I had met my very best (girl) friend, Donna (Dishman) Monaco-Little, and also my other best friend, my husband David Cassidy. Two relationships that continue to flourish after 37 plus years!

Doc taught us the importance of hard work and the benefits of treating people (employees and customers) with respect and appreciation, Cassidy said.

Monaco-Little agreed.

Doc instilled in me, in all of us, the core values of honesty, hard work, dedication, and above all, genuine caring of your fellow man, be they your superior, peer, or customer.

To read what some of the other employees had to say, click on this story at www.mtstandard.com
On Jan. 16, 2016, in his home surrounded by family and friends, Fred Lester peacefully passed away, concluding his adventure in this life.

Fred began his adventure on Oct. 23, 1940, in Flinton, Pennsylvania. Growing up in a small town granted Fred unlimited opportunities for mischief  which he and his best friend Gene Gates enjoyed to the fullest. One important lesson Fred and Gene learned was to stay away from carbide.

Upon completion of his high school education, Fred enlisted in the U.S. Army. He spent most of his enlistment in Germany. When his military commitment was complete he joined his Uncle Paul McKee in Texas. Paul invited Fred to join him on a hunting trip and once Fred saw Montana, he never looked back. Montana was where he belonged.

His adventures continued in Montana where he worked as a plumber and where he met and married Judi (Weishaar-Campbell) Lester. With the encouragement of his wife Fred went on to achieve his Montana Master Plumbers License. In the course of Freds career he traveled extensively  allowing him to share many great adventures with his wife and children. From the beautiful mountains of Montana to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean; Fred ensured his family saw it all. No matter where he was, Fred always longed for home. In 1986, Fred and Judi finally returned to Montana to stay.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents, I.M. and Edna Lester, and two of his daughters, Kari Campbell and Kimi (Campbell) Robinson.

He is survived by his wife and best friend, Judi Lester; his children, Shane Lester, Craig Campbell, Kelly Campbell, and Mark Lester; and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His also survived by all of his brothers and sisters, Nancy Lingle, Shirley Watson, Paul Lester and Lee Lester.

To honor Freds wishes, there will not be a service, instead he asked everyone to remember him with smiles and laughter, not with tears. Any memorial donations made on Freds behalf should be made to The Friends of Hospice. Thank you Jackie from Frontier Home Health and Hospice; she and this wonderful organization helped his family bring him home where he wanted to be.

Express condolences at www.mtstandard.com.
About 65 percent of litigants in Montana divorce cases dont have a lawyer. Considering that 10,000 divorces cases are filed annually, and each case has two parties, thats a lot of people trying to navigate the legal system on their own.

Family law  divorce, parenting plans, child support, orders of protection  is just the tip of the problem of unrepresented litigants in our state. Landlord-tenant issues, guardianship and other civil matters may confront people regardless of whether they can afford an attorney. Its a problem that affects all of us as citizens and taxpayers.

Access to the court system is a fundamental right in the United States. But those who cant afford an attorney are at a severe disadvantage. If they do manage to file a case in court, they dont know how to proceed, and that slows down justice for other litigants who do have attorneys. Clerks and judges take extra time to provide information to the lawyerless, but they cant advocate for one party over another. Here in Montanas busiest judicial district, serving unrepresented litigants is a major challenge for the court system.

These are reasons why the Montana Supreme Court rules require and the Montana Bar Association encourages attorneys to provide pro bono  free or reduced fee  services to people who cant afford to pay more. The 2015 Montana Pro Bono Report shows:

1,799 attorneys reported providing 78,929 hours of free services to individuals or families of limited means or to organizations designed to assist people of limited means.

705 attorneys reported providing 35,214 hours of service at substantially reduced fees to people or limited means or to organizations that help them.

At $175 per hour for free service and $80 per hour for reduced fee, Montana attorneys gave $16.6 million in legal assistance to people who could not otherwise afford representation, according to the report.

Montana attorneys take seriously the professional responsibility to use their unique skills to assist those who cannot pay for legal assistance, Chief Justice Mike McGrath said in comments about the pro bono report. These contributions are vital to make our justice system fair and available to all and we are grateful to Montanas attorneys for their very meaningful volunteer service.

Montana Legal Services Association serves indigent clients, but its funding has been cut, said Patty Fain, state pro bono coordinator. The state funds a Court Help Program that includes a limited number of Self Help Law Centers that provide proper legal forms, but cannot give legal advice.

Over the past eight years, both the number of attorneys reporting pro bono work and the total number of hours donated has increased. Yet the average is below the 50 hours per year that Montana Rules of Professional Conduct says each lawyer should provide.

One hindrance to pro bono work is the rule that attorneys generally have to stay on a case till it concludes. Family law matters could easily require 150 hours of work, Fain said.

So five years ago, the Montana Supreme Court adopted an idea that is being embraced in other states: limited scope representation. The new Montana rule allows attorneys to agree to represent a pro bono client for certain matters, such as drafting a document or appearing at a court hearing  without being obligated to keep the case to the end.

The Yellowstone County Area Bar Association holds family law clinics every other week where local attorneys meet with about a dozen indigent clients, Fain said. Montana Legal Services screens applicants to assure the limited number of slots go to the neediest people.

We want to serve the needs of litigants so they come to court more educated, Fain said. Its helping everyone  judges, attorneys, paying clients.

Fain said the bar association is exploring ways to increase the frequency of these family law clinics.

Meanwhile, Justice of the Peace David Carter and Fain have started discussing a pilot project that could improve the process for individuals needing to obtain permanent orders of protection from the courts.

Taxpayers and anyone with business before Montana courts have a stake in improving access and representation. Thanks to the Montana Pro Bono project and nearly 1,800 Montana lawyers, justice moves faster for everyone. When state lawmakers consider funding for the Court Help Program, they should know that theres a tremendous return on this investment.

 The Billings Gazette
The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association fka The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. as successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Trustee for Residential Asset Mortgage Products, Inc., Mortgage Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2005-RS4

Plaintiff,

vs.

William R. Ramsdell; Tamara L. Ramsdell; Parties in Possession, et al.

Defendants.

You are notified that a petition has been filed in the office of this court naming you as a defendant in this action. The petition was filed on May 19, 2016, and prays for foreclosure of Plaintiffs mortgage in favor of the Plaintiff on the property described in this notice and judgment for the unpaid principal amount of $63,083.06, with 4.62% per annum interest thereon from June 1, 2015, together with late charges, advances and the costs of the action including (but not limited to) title costs and reasonable attorney's fees, as well as a request that said sums be declared a lien upon the following described premises from February 10, 2005, located in Muscatine county, Iowa:

Lot 20, in Block 4, of Brook Street Addition to the City of Muscatine, in Muscatine County, Iowa, commonly known as 112 Park Avenue, Muscatine, IA 52761 (the "Property")

The petition further prays that the mortgage on the above described real estate be foreclosed, that a special execution issue for the sale of as much of the mortgaged premises as is necessary to satisfy the judgment and for other relief as the Court deems just and equitable. For further details, please review the petition on file in the clerk's office. The Plaintiffs attorney is Emily Bartekoske, of SouthLaw, P.C.; whose address is 1401 50th Street, Suite 100, West Des Moines, IA 50266.

NOTICE

THE PLAINTIFF HAS ELECTED FORECLOSURE WITHOUT REDEMPTION. THIS MEANS THAT THE SALE OF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY WILL OCCUR PROMPTLY AFTER ENTRY OF JUDGMENT UNLESS YOU FILE WITH THE COURT A WRITTEN DEMAND TO DELAY THE SALE. IF YOU FILE A WRITTEN DEMAND, THE SALE WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL TWELVE MONTHS (OR SIX MONTHS IF THE PETITION INCLUDES A WAIVER OF DEFICIENCY JUDGMENT) FROM THE ENTRY OF JUDGMENT IF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY IS YOUR RESIDENCE AND IS A ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING OR UNTIL TWO MONTHS FROM ENTRY OF JUDGMENT IF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY IS NOT YOUR RESIDENCE OR IS YOUR RESIDENCE BUT NOT A ONE-FAMILY OR TWO-FAMILY DWELLING. YOU WILL HAVE NO RIGHT OF REDEMPTION AFTER THE SALE. THE PURCHASER AT THE SALE WILL BE ENTITLED TO IMMEDIATE POSSESSION OF THE MORTGAGED PROPERTY. YOU MAY PURCHASE AT THE SALE.

You must serve a motion or answer on or before 11th day of August, 2016, and within a reasonable time thereafter file your motion or answer with the Clerk of Court for Muscatine County, at the county courthouse in Muscatine, Iowa. If you do not, judgment by default may be rendered against you for the relief demanded in the petition.

If you require the assistance of auxiliary aids or services to participate in a court action because of a disability, immediately call your District ADA Coordinator at 563-326-8783. If you are hearing impaired, call Relay Iowa TTY at 1-800-735-2942.

By:Jeff Tollenaer

CLERK OF THE ABOVE COURT

Muscatine County Courthouse

401 East 3rd Street,

Muscatine, IA 52761

IMPORTANT:

YOU ARE ADVISED TO SEEK LEGAL ADVICE AT ONCE TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS.
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa  Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre will present a week-long class for adults on puppetry skills for use in and out of the classroom.

The class will take place July 25-July 29 at Owl Glass Puppetry Center in West Liberty.

Participants will learn to write a play with solid dramatic structure and to make and use several types of puppets and props. Teachers taking the class will also learn to incorporate puppetry into the curriculum. Others taking the class may use this time to create more puppets.

Participants will experience one or more performances by Eulenspiegel Puppets, and they will finish the week by participating in a group performance in West Libertys charming downtown pocket park.

The cost of the class is $400. This includes all materials and re-certification credits. Students who dont need credit may sign up to audit for a total of $250.

For further information, call 319-627-2487 or email monica@puppetspuppets.com. For more information about Eulenspiegel Puppets visit www.puppetspuppets.com.
MUSCATINE, Iowa As Muscatine prepares for thousands of bicyclists to visit during the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, cleaning the riverfront is one of the priorities.

An extended arm excavator could be seen dredging between the Mississippi Harvest Statue and Pearl City Station on Wednesday, the site where RAGBRAI riders will dip their tires at the end of their ride.

Jon Koch, the director of the Water Pollution Control Plant for the City of Muscatine, said dredging was necessary because without it, visitors coming to dip their bike tires in the river would see large amounts of sediment.

"The river level historically could be down to the point where you wouldnt see anything but mud for some 50 feet, it would really make our riverfront look bad," Koch said.

Brauns Excavating is operating the mechanical dredge, which Koch said will save the city time and money.

"It would take about a week to use our dredge, but this could be done in a day," he said.

Ron Lacina, the bio-solids lead worker for the city, is also in charge of dredging operations. Lacina said the extended-arm excavator is used for any kind of excavation, and is not unusual for this type of job.

"He cleans ponds out with it, anything that needs dug up that you need a longer reach," he said.

The city's dredge has a head that drives down into the mud, and arms churn the mud and suck it up into a pipe.

"It's kind of like a giant mud vacuum cleaner," Koch said.

Although the dredge works well for the boat harbor, the amount of mud being removed from the river would have filled the bags for the dredge, and the City would need to purchase new ones.

"That mud goes almost 70 feet out. We went out with a boat to measure the mud," Koch said.

The depth and amount of mud, Koch said, was caused by the water slowing as it passes the wall that juts out from the Muscatine shoreline.

"It slows down around that wall so it has a chance to settle. It happens in the harbor as well, with all the sediment," he said.

To dredge the area, permits are required, and Koch said permission was obtained from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources as well as the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Muscatine.

He said the impact to the environment will be minimal.

"We have had impact studies for mussels and we haven't seen that it's a major spot for them," Koch said.

Once the sediment has been removed, it is taken to the dredge spoils site, where it is placed in porous bags that allow water to seep out.

"We will fill the bags, let them dry and then cut them open and people come with earth movers and pick up the mud," Koch said.

He said the dirt is then used mainly for construction projects.

"It's very clean material, the city uses it mostly," he said.

The mud will probably be cleaned next week, after it dries. Public Works will move it to the dredge site.

"Then the Fire Department will come and hose it off, so the riverfront looks nice and clean," Koch said.

In addition to keeping boats from getting stuck in the mud, dredging can help make a good first impression, allowing the RAGBRAI visitors to dip their tires in water rather than mud.

"We want it to look nice for all the guests," Koch said.
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa  West Liberty officials hope they can resolve some drainage and sidewalk issues.

The City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved motions to improve storm water drainage from north of Prairie Street and to repair sections of damaged sidewalk along Prairie and Calhoun Streets.

The drainage problem stems from an intake that doesn't drain properly, feeding stormwater to a pipe under Prairie Street that apparently doesn't have enough fall for proper drainage, City Manager Lawrence McNaul reported. The council approved dredging a ditch where water collects and authorized Triple B Construction of Wilton to install a second drainage pipe. Triple B estimated the cost at $14,525.

City Engineer Leo Foley said the dredging and new pipe are a short-term fix. He suggested a long term plan of securing a Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to create a wetland area. "It's a problem that's not going to go away," Foley told the council.

The council also approved replacement of a section of sidewalk damaged by tree roots along Calhoun Street at an estimated cost of $3,498. And the council approved repair of sidewalks along Prairie Street that have been damaged by slow draining storm water drains. The cost will be allocated to the sewer department.

The council set a public hearing for Aug. 2 on the Spencer Street Improvement Project. The project involves resurfacing Spencer from Chesebro Road to Fourth Street. "It's basically an overlay project in which we'll also fix drainage," Foley commented.

The council also set an Aug. 11 bid letting date for the project estimated to cost $311,000.

It's now in West Liberty's city code that the City Manager must live within city limits, with the exception of current City Manager Lawrence McNaul, who lives outside the city. The council on a 4-1 vote approved the third and final reading of an ordinance amendment requiring the City Manager to live in the city but with a grandfather clause exempting McNaul.

Before the vote was taken, McNaul suggested voting down the third reading and making the residency requirement a contract stipulation for future City Managers. The only "no" vote came from Council Member Joey Iske.

In other action:

The council approved payment of claims totaling $729,545.

The council set a work session for 6:30 PM July 19 to discuss the recycling project and review additional information about a proposed new camera system for council chambers.

The council approved a request from the Chamber of Commerce to use Kimberly Park and shelter houses for the annual Picnic in the Park and the municipal pool for two hours of free swimming Sunday, July 17.

The council approved a request from St. Joseph's Catholic Church to hold the annual procession for the Feast of San Buenaventura on designated city streets Sunday, July 10.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Wild parsnip and poison hemlock are more prevalent this year, and with that has come concern about increased exposure.

David Bakke, naturalist with Muscatine County Conservation, said wild parsnip is popping up on roadsides all over Muscatine.

Its found just about everywhere now, Bakke said.

The plant looks like the yellow version of Queen Anne's lace, and is typically found near the road. Those spotted farther into fields, Bakke said, are typically the darker yellow Black-eyed Susan, which has a different texture.

Wild Parsnip looks kind of feathery from a distance, he said.

Toxic wild parsnip juices can cause rashes and sometimes blisters after coming in contact with skin. The juices react to sunlight exposure, a process called phytophotodermatitus.

The combo of sunlight and exposure to skin leads to the chemical changes that cause the rashes, Bakke said.

Although Bakke said people may have different reactions to the plant, almost everyone will have some kind of reaction.

Even just breaking that stem and you can be exposed. Youll know it, itll turn red like sunburn, but it can end up blistering or forming a sore that blisters over, he said.

Bakke said he has seen more of the plants this year, most likely due to ideal weather conditions, and even hikers should be aware.

Because brushing against the plant can cause the burn-like rash, he recommends avoiding tall grasses.

If there are mowed trails, stay on those trails rather than wandering with tall prairie grasses, unless youre super familiar, he said.

Wild parsnip is difficult to contain, especially because it grows among other plants, so sprays do not work well. Bakke said he recommends trying to catch it early and working from the edges in.

Water-repellant, long-sleeved clothing may help protect you from the plants toxic juices.

Once exposed, Bakke said immediate treatment is the best course of action. He said to go directly indoors, and wash the area with cool water.

Cool water will help pores of skin close. The oils can work deeper into the skin because of hot water, he said.

Poison hemlock, also in the parsnip family, has also been exposed to ideal growing conditions and is flourishing. Bakke said the plant is only harmful when ingested, and he recommends parents maintain awareness.

"Be vigilant," he said.

Wild parsnip and poison hemlock are both biennial, with a small rosette and basal leaves the first year of growth, followed by a larger plant during the second year.

The poison hemlock, which can grow to be 8-10 feet tall, can most easily be identified by the speckled stems, although Bakke said everyone is welcome to ask assistance from Muscatine County Conservation in identifying the plants.

The best way to kill the plants, Bakke said, would be to contact a company to spray them. Wild parsnip most likely will go away after being regularly mowed, which is why Bakke said hikers should stay on mowed trails.

"It's not something you need to stay inside to avoid, just recognize the plant and stay away," he said.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Gildas Club, is hosting a free "Mystery of Medical Imaging" workshop with speaker Lindsay Vittetoe, nuclear medicine technologist and PET/CT, at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 21 at at First Presbyterian Church, 401 Iowa Ave., in the second floor gathering room.

Participants are asked to use the Fourth St. entrance.

This free educational workshop will inform attendees about the purpose and differences in common medical imaging (CT, MRI, PET). Advanced registration is preferred since dinner will be provided by Trinity Foundation.

For more details and to register, please call Gildas Club at 563-326-7504 or email gc@gildasclubqc.org.

Free of charge, Gildas Club Quad Cities provides support, education and hope to all people affected by cancer. As a Cancer Support Community affiliate, we are part of the largest employer of psychosocial oncology mental health professionals in the United States. Our global network brings the highest quality cancer support to the millions of people touched by cancer.
Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi []
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 []
Two days after Eskom reported R4.6bn in profit for the year, the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) said it approved Eskoms application for an extension to submit a new tariff increase application.

The new application comes after Nersa approved a 9.6% electricity tariff hike on 1 March, which kicked in on 1 April this year.

Nersa said in a statement on Thursday that it had approved Eskoms application for an extension to submit the new Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD) application until 1 April 2017.

This new MYPD comes after it approved Eskoms MYPD3 Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) application for the financial year 2013/14 earlier this year.

Eskoms bottom line profit for the year ending 31 March 2016 was R4.6bn.

Revenue rose 10.6% to R163.4bn. The public utilitys EBITDA increased by 37.4% to R32bn, up from R23.3bn reported in the previous year.

Cost savings reached R17.5bn, above the R13.4bn target and surpassing the previous years R9bn, said Eskom CEO Brian Molefe. And 57% of funding for 2016/2017 has been secured.

Financial performance improved against the previous year, and all financial ratios showed improvement due to improved operating results, as well as the conversion to equity of the subordinated government loan and equity injection of R23bn, said Eskom CEO Brian Molefe. Operating results also improved due to stringent cost containment measures.

As part of its decision on Thursday, Nersa asked Eskom to submit a new MYPD application within three months based on the revised assumptions and forecasts that reflect recent circumstances.

Eskom applied for a RCA balance of R22.8bn, but the energy regulator only allowed R11.241bn. The larger part of this difference was because Eskom did not disaggregate the special pricing agreements and international sales when allocating the approved MYPD3 revenues to different customer categories, said Nersa.

Explaining the new application on Thursday, Nersa said: Eskom cited statutory consultation requirements and the revision of the MYPD methodology as reasons for the request.

The Energy Regulator also decided that Eskoms RCA applications for the second and third years of the MYPD3 (2014/15 and 2015/16) should be submitted together.

The two RCA applications will be processed simultaneously once they have been received.

In view of the above, the process of reviewing the MYPD methodology has been extended to allow further consultations with stakeholders.

Fin24

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South Africas law enforcement agencies only had a 4% success rate when it came to data requests sent to Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.

This is according to the online companies transparency reports.

Google said it regularly receives requests from courts and government agencies around the world to remove information from Google products.

We closely review these requests to determine if content should be removed because it violates a law or our product policies, said Google.

Facebook said each and every request we receive is checked for legal sufficiency, and we reject or require greater specificity on requests that are overly broad or vague.

Microsoft said government requests for data must comply with applicable laws.

South African data requests

Google, Facebook, and Microsofts recent transparency reports included data relating to South Africa.

The South African government and local law enforcement agencies have filed numerous requests for data  most of which failed.

Out of 47 requests sent to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, 2 of the requests were successful  which resulted in data being produced.

The table below provides an overview of the South African data requests sent to Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.

6-Month Period Ending User Data Requests Successful Requests Google Dec-13 2 0 Jun-14 7 0 Dec-14 3 0 Jun-15 1 0 Facebook Jun-13 14 0 Dec-13 3 0 Jun-14 2 0 Dec-14 2 1 Jun-15 3 0 Dec-15 1 0 Microsoft Dec-13 3 0 Jun-14 1 0 Dec-14 0 0 Jun-15 3 1 Dec-15 2 0

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The amounts that some of South Africas millionaire municipal managers earned in the 2014/15 financial year have been revealed in a parliamentary reply.

Salaries range from a modest R598 031 per year by the Mutale municipal manager, to the eye-watering R3 076 954 million a year for Tshwanes municipal manager, according to the thick document detailing pay and perks for that year.

The information was contained in a reply on Tuesday to a question on the salaries of municipal officials. The DA submitted it to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).

Out of line with performance

Comment was not immediately available from Cogta. DA MP Kevin Mileham said the partys MPs had been trying for some time to get the breakdown.

The party believed that in many instances, the salaries were out of line with the managers performance.

Many had not met minimum competencies and should not be in their position, he said.

He cited the legal dispute over the smart meter programme in Tshwane which the metro was advised against, but went ahead with anyway.

There is a lack of accountability in local government and the department and minister are not taking these things seriously, said Mileham.

Asked whether the R2.2m salary for the municipal manager in the DA-run City of Cape Town was justified given the housing and sanitation problems, Mileham said there was no denying the city had problems.

Make no bones about it. But it is still the best-run municipality, he said.

It had received awards, had a good credit rating, and a stable rates base.

A competent person was needed to run it, and the salary had to be market-related.

Disgusting

The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) was dismayed by the high salaries. It repeated earlier concerns that the amounts were out of proportion to the salaries of ordinary municipal employees.

It is disgusting, said Samwu spokesperson Papikie Mohale.

Samwu was campaigning for their salaries to be cut so municipalities could spend more money on services and increase general workers salaries. The money could go towards boosting staff numbers.

We believe they are overly and unnecessarily inflated to the point that the money that they get cannot be justified in any way, said Mohale.

In Mohales view there was no correlation between good remuneration, and good service delivery. He reiterated a call for a review of the determination of upper salary limits.

On the other end of the scale, Extended Public Works Programme workers earned between R50 to R70 a day. The sectoral determination for ordinary municipal workers was R6 700 a month.

The money should be spent on more staff and infrastructure, said Mohale.

Here are some of the salaries for municipal managers countrywide for that year.

Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality: R2.4m

Westonaria Local Municipality: R1.2m

Midvaal Local Municipality: R1.5m

Hibiscus Coast Local Municipality: R1.032m

Richmond Local Municipality: R930 815

Okhahlamba Local Municipality: R750 864

Ulundi Local Municipality: R1.029m

Nkandla Local Municipality: R820 000

KwaDukuza: R1.3m

Polokwane Local Municipality: R1.038m

Mogale City Local Municipality: R1.823m

Mutale Local Municipality: R598 031

Kannaland: R1.147m

Randfontein: R1.452m

Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality: R2.426m

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality: R2.295m

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality: R2.805m

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality: R2.690m

Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality: R1.909m

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality: R2m allocated, although the post was vacant for that period.

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Kate Rubins long-awaited journey has begun  with hundreds of thousands of pounds of thrust boosting the Napa-raised astronaut toward the International Space Station.

With the rumbling of rockets beneath a Russian Soyuz-FG spacecraft, Rubins, Anatoly Ivanishin of Russia and Takuya Onishi of Japan began their ascent from Launch Pad No. 1 at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:36 a.m. Thursday Kazakhstan time (6:36 p.m. PDT). Reaching speeds above 13,400 mph, the three-stage rocket powered the crew into Earth orbit within nine minutes, according to NASA.

Soyuz is slated to dock with the orbiting research platform on Friday, more than 200 miles above the Earth  the beginning of a space station term expected to last more than 3  months until the crews scheduled homeward flight on Oct. 30.

The 48th space station expedition marks the debut spaceflight for Rubins and Onishi, flight engineers working with commander Ivanishin, a cosmonaut on his second mission. Greeting them at the orbiting outpost will be Jeff Williams, Aleksey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka, who arrived in March and are scheduled to head back to earth in September.

For the 37-year-old Rubins, the space station journey is the culmination of a dream that began during her childhood in Napa with frequent stargazing nights and a trip to the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

Rubins scientific pursuits focused at first on the microscopic world of cells, rather than the cosmos. While still at Vintage High School, she attended a conference on recombinant DNA at the San Francisco Exploratorium. After graduating from Vintage and UC San Diego she embarked on a virology career with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, investigating infectious diseases such as Ebola, AIDS and smallpox with researchers as far afield as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

NASAs call in 2008 for a new crop of astronaut candidates would change the course of Rubins life. After a yearlong evaluation, she became one of the 14 new astronauts chosen from a field of 3,500 applicants, and in 2014 was selected for the 48th mission to the International Space Station. More than two years of intensive training followed, leading Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi through flight simulators, special pools to simulate zero gravity, and wintertime survival drills in Russian forests.

In the final week of May, the astronauts shifted their preparation from Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Star City facility outside Moscow for flight training and examinations. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, postponed earlier launch dates in May and June to allow more testing of capsule software that will guide the docking process with the space station.

Aboard the space station, Rubins and her crewmates will oversee more than 200 experiments, including tests to study the effects of weightlessness and combat the loss of bone and muscle mass during long-term space flight. Many of the tests are intended to prepare the way for a mission to Mars, a journey of several months with physical demands far beyond any manned flights to date.

Studies of human biology are of special interest to Rubins, a former geneticist.

Theres a lot of life science experiments that Im excited about, she said during a March phone interview from Houston. Theres going to be some DNA sequencing experiments, a lot of experiments to look at the behavior of cells in space as well as bone loss and muscle loss that we can actually correlate with some diseases on earth. So Im looking forward to a pretty hefty research component.

In addition, Rubins plans a series of educational videos that will guide students through the various experiments aboard the space station, with the features to appear on NASAs social media feeds and the agencys website, NASA.gov.
Almost one month after a new state law raised the legal smoking age in California from 18 to 21, local tobacco product retailers are coming to grips with what the change means for their businesses.

We are noticing an impact, said Josh Sundberg, manager of E-Cig 101.

Located on Old Sonoma Road in the Carneros Center complex, the store sells dozens of flavors or scents of liquids containing nicotine. It also sells electronic cigarette, or e-cigarette, products.

Sundberg said business has dipped more than 15 percent since the legal age was raised.

Its a bit of a struggle, he said. We lost a bunch of customers and sales are down compared to three or four months ago.

Purchases of vaping liquid make up about 80 percent of the stores sales, said Sundberg.

E-cigarettes or other vaping products heat and vaporize the flavored liquid, which the user inhales. The nicotine-infused vapor of e-cigarettes looks like smoke but doesnt contain all the chemicals, tar or odor of regular cigarettes.

If such a decline in sales continues to hurt the bottom line, we could rethink keeping the store open, he said. E-Cig 101 also has a store in Rohnert Park.

In addition to the new law, which went into effect on June 9, theres another problem, said Sundberg.

Effective Aug. 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will start regulating all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah and pipe tobacco, as part of its goal to improve public health.

This will allow the FDA to evaluate factors such as ingredients, product design and health risks, as well as products appeal to youth and non-users, said the FDA website.

According to the FDA, more than 3 million middle and high school students were current users of e-cigarettes in 2015, up from an estimated 2.46 million in 2014.

Sixteen percent of high school and 5.3 percent of middle school students were current users of e-cigarettes in 2015, making e-cigarettes the most commonly used tobacco product among youth for the second consecutive year, the FDA said.

With the new regulation, even mom and pop shop owners that mix or prepare liquid nicotine in house must now comply with all of the legal requirements for tobacco product manufacturers.

Sundberg said that smaller vaping liquid manufacturers who cant afford the estimated $1 million to undergo FDA testing and authorization of each liquid nicotine product may have to shut down.

Larger manufacturers could buy out others or consolidate production, meaning prices for the liquids could go up astronomically, he noted.

Robert Gomez, an employee at Cal E-Cigs on W. Imola Avenue in Napa, said that his 18- to under-21-year-old customers are kind of upset that they cant buy tobacco products at the store anymore.

Gomez explained that now that the rules have changed, hes quick to ask customers entering the store if they are 21.

If not, they just turn right around, he said. Since the word got out, the 18- to 21-year-old guys stopped coming around.

However, Gomez said that he doesnt think the store has seen much of a difference in sales since the new law was enacted. Many of his customers are older, he noted.

They didnt pay too much attention to the age change.

Theres no mistaking the new rule at the Mighty Quinn Smoke Shop on Soscol Avenue.

If you look under 30 years of age please HAVE YOUR GOVERNMENT ISSUED I.D. READY! reads a new sign on the front door.

John Hurley, longtime general manager of the Mighty Quinn smoke shop chain, said he doesnt think the new age requirement has impacted the business very much. However, its too early to say one way or the other, he said.

The new FDA regulations for vaping liquid may affect manufacturers and distributors but by the time it gets to us the dust will be settled, he said.

He didnt want to speculate how the price for such liquid could change. If anything, the FDA requirements will probably increase the quality of the product.

Unlike other local tobacco product shops, the Mighty Quinn will sell tobacco and tobacco products to those with a military ID who are age 18 or older.

Thats one exception, that the law allows, he noted.

When asked why other smoke shops seemed to be sticking to the 21 and older rule no matter what, Hurley said those shop owners may not be aware of such an exception or theyre erring on the side of caution.

In January, the city of American Canyon voted to ban smoke shops or tobacco stores. According to an employee at AC Food And Liquor in American Canyon, since the new age law went into effect, the store has seen a decrease in 18- to 21-year-old tobacco shoppers. Cigarette and tobacco products are not selling as much, said the staffer, who declined to give his name.

The liquor store is getting rid of their already limited supply of e-cigarette and vaping products, he said.

They carried more of these products in the past, but found they werent selling enough so theyre phasing out that inventory. The staffer expects the change in federal rules will decrease sales for e-cigarette and vaping products for other businesses.

Bill Shaw, owner of Calistogas Cal Mart, said that tobacco sales at his market are about the same.

We dont sell a lot of cigarettes anyway, said Shaw. The biggest change is that employees card more people than before, he said.

Noel Brinkerhoff of the American Canyon Eagle, Anne Ward Ernst of the Weekly Calistogan and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
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ST. HELENA  The citys newest affordable housing project is being named after a retired pastor who spent decades advocating for the rights of farmworkers and the poor.

Father John Brenkle, formerly of the St. Helena Catholic Church, was on hand June 29 for the ceremonial groundbreaking of Brenkle Court, an eight-unit sweat equity housing project on McCorkle Avenue.

Hes a unique blend of integrity, compassion and tenacity, and hes a constant inspiration to all of us, said John Sales of the nonprofit Our Town St. Helena, which is developing the project. Brenkle is on the board of Our Town.

Brenkle quoted St. Francis of Assisi, who advised believers not to seek honors or applause, but to graciously accept them when they come. He joked that Brenkle Court was on a dead-end street, which he said seemed symbolic for where I am in my life journey, and kidded about having his name displayed on the property in flashing neon lights.

Brenkle said hed been hesitant to join the board of Our Town because they were wonderful people, but they had no money. Ive been there and done that, and I know how hard it is to get anything done when you have no money.

He praised Our Towns Mary Stephenson for being the glue thats kept us together, and thanked the agencies that had contributed financially.

The ceremony was attended by elected officials including Rep. Mike Thompson, Mayor Alan Galbraith and Supervisor Mark Luce, and representatives of Our Town, the city of St. Helena, Napa County, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the nonprofit Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

Thompson called Brenkle one of my heroes, saying theres nobody whos done more for more people. Thompson said Brenkle understands the importance of dignity, community and loyalty. He has been a tireless warrior on the front lines to make sure that people are treated appropriately and that we have equal justice in our community, Thompson said.

During his 30 years at St. Helena Catholic Church, Brenkle advocated for immigrants, workers rights and farmworker housing. He helped start the Work Connection for day laborers, co-founded Napa Valley Ecumenical Housing, helped build Hunts Grove Apartments, Stonebridge Apartments and Vista del Valle, and served on a committee that established three farmworker housing centers Upvalley.

More than 60 percent of the construction labor will be done by the eight families who will own the houses. The eight units are split between two buildings, each with four two-story townhouses. Each will be 1,392 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms.

When the project was announced, 48 families applied to participate. They then underwent income and credit checks, and were screened for their willingness to do the work as part of a team.

Ten finalists will take part in a lottery this month to select the eight families. An official groundbreaking is expected toward the end of the year, with construction ending in early 2018.

The finalists earn an average income of $54,000, with an average family size of four. All of them live and work in St. Helena or Calistoga.

Were providing housing for people who are vital to St. Helena, who work in the wine industry, the hospitality industry and social services, said Stephenson, of Our Town. Theyre a part of our community, and for them to become homeowners is really going to benefit our community.

Stephenson said the St. Helena families are living at places like Stonebridge and Hunts Grove, so their departures will create vacancies for other families who are on long waiting lists for those two properties.

Galbraith represented the city along with City Manager Jennifer Phillips, Planning Director Noah Housh and Senior Planner Aaron Hecock. Galbraith praised Our Town for its tenacity and for forming partnerships with various agencies.

Weve stated many times over the years that we want and need affordable housing, but weve not done a good job toward getting there, Galbraith said. This is a very important first step.

He praised Planning Commissioner Bobbi Monnette, who lives just a few doors down from the site, for meeting with neighbors and hearing their concerns. Galbraith said Brenkle Court has avoided the NIMBYism  an acronym for Not In My Back Yard  thats affected other projects around town.

Supporters praised the project as a successful public/nonprofit partnership. Everybody pulled together, Thompson said.

The city of St. Helena provided the land for $1, waived various city fees and plans to subsidize two of the houses that will be designated for families in the very low income category. The other six families will be in the low income range.

Based on the lands appraised value of $900,000, Galbraith estimated the citys total contribution at $1.1 million.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided a $550,000 technical assistance grant through its Rural Development program, and will issue low-interest mortgages. The project received pre-development loans from Napa County ($280,000) and the Rural Community Assistance Corporation ($220,000).

Stephenson said Brenkle Court is a great achievement for Our Town, which formed in 2008.

Weve been working for eight years, and this is our first shovel in the ground, she said.
The entry period for competitive exhibits at the annual Napa Town & Country Fair closes July 21, though the livestock categories are already closed.

For rules and information, visit napavalleyexpo.com, click on Town and Country Fair, scroll down to Competitive Exhibits, find your group  adult, junior or special people to determine what to enter, then click on the big red click here button, set up an account, choose your entries and make payment.

The fair runs Aug. 10-14 at the Napa Valley Expo fairgrounds. Advance general admission tickets are $10 for adults, and $7 for seniors and kids. Tickets at the door will be $13 and $10. There will be special $8 tickets for seniors on Aug. 10. Kids 12 and under are free on Aug. 11.

Tickets are available at the Fair Office at 575 Third St.; Rabobank, corner of Trancas Street and Big Ranch Road; McDonalds restaurants on Imola and Jefferson Street; and the Vallergas Market at Solano Avenue and Redwood Road.

The fair will feature special judgings for oatmeal raisin cookies and for cupcakes.

For more information, contact the Town & Country Fair at 253-4900 or janderson@napavalleyexpo.com, rstockwell@napavalleyexpo.com or csanders@napavalleyexpo.com , or drop by the Fair Office at 575 Third Street near downtown Napa.
Bernie Sanders is preparing to endorse Hillary Clinton for president, as early as Tuesday at an event in New Hampshire, according to several Democrats familiar with the plans.

The long-awaited backing of Clinton from the runner-up in the Democratic nominating contest will follow weeks of maneuvering by Sanders to extract policy concessions from Clinton, on issues including college tuition and health care.

The Clinton campaign has announced a campaign stop Tuesday in New Hampshire, a general election battleground state, but provided no details about the event. The setting is the likely venue for Sanders endorsement, according to several Democrats, who requested anonymity to discuss the planning more freely.

Back in February, Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic primary convincingly over Clinton, and it is a state where she could use his help rallying his supporters for the fall election against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, Clinton announced her support for providing free tuition at public colleges and universities to families making up to $125,000 a year  a major nod to a free-tuition-for-all proposal pushed by Sanders during his campaign that was wildly popular among younger voters.

The two campaigns have also been in talks over health care policy and are expected to make an announcement in coming days related to that issue, according to aides to the two candidates.

Sanders has increasingly hinted in media interviews that he is preparing an endorsement of the presumptive Democratic nominee. That included an appearance Wednesday night on MSNBC, where Sanders said reports of a possible endorsement next week were accurate.

Clintons stop in New Hampshire on Tuesday comes during a week when she will also be campaigning with a potential vice presidential pick. She is scheduled to appear in Northern Virginia next Thursday with Sen. Timothy M. Kaine, D-Va., her campaign announced Thursday

The event with Kaine, a former Virginia governor and Democratic National Committee chairman, is planned two weeks after an appearance in Ohio with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., another name on Clintons list of possible running mates.

Aides to Clinton said that they have not nailed down a location yet for next Thursdays event with Kaine in Virginia, one of eight battleground states where the campaign is up on the air with television ads in the race against Trump.

Both Kaine and Warren are among the potential running mates being vetted by the Clinton campaign. Others include Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro.

Clintons joint appearance with Warrentheir first of the campaignwas viewed by many as an audition for the ticket. While Warren electrifies many of those on the partys left, Kaine is generally viewed as a safer pick. One knock against him is that hes seen as a relatively boring campaigner. Thursdays event will provide an opportunity for him to counter that notion.
More than 40 home winemakers will pour their wines  the best wines that money cant buy  at the 2016 Home Winemakers Classic on Saturday, July 9.

Often called The Ultimate Cult Wine Event, the event takes place at Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena and is the major fundraising benefit for the Dry Creek  Lokoya Volunteer Fire Department, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

Tickets are available at www.homewinemakersclassic.org. Tickets are $45 at the door. Charles Krug Winery is at 2800 Main St.

This 33rd annual tasting includes music, food and a silent auction. This year, the Napa Valley wines donated for silent auction include a bottle of Harlan valued at $750, which will be raffled off at the event.

What makes this a Classic event is the wine is judged by professional wine judges at the same level as commercial wine. Sometimes the only award in a category is second or third place, if that category did not have a flawless, commercial grade wine to be first place.

Most of the participants began winemaking as a hobby, with a goal of being awarded Best Of Show. These are people who get their grapes by either growing them themselves, picking other growers grapes, or purchasing the grapes. Some will even pick second crop because they can get the very best grapes available at a lower price, and occasionally for free.

Home winemaking is a labor-intensive process. Winemakers hand-crank the crusher/de-stemmer, calculate the formula for their nutrients during the fermentation process, and punch down the grapes twice daily. Many winemakers even have photos of themselves in the same position as the Grape Crusher Statue at the entrance to Napa Valley.

Every wine has a unique story. Home winemaking is about doing it the old way, with the love and energy and intensity that makes the wine so special. It is barreled for months, or even years, depending on the selection of oak, the variety, and the finished wine that gives a sense of pride to the people who made it happen. Often, friends are enlisted for bottling day. The entire process of filtering the wine, filling each bottle, using a hand corker that is owned or rented, heat shrinking a capsule and then putting on the label, designed by the winemaker. Come and listen to your favorite winemaker tell their story.

At the Home Winemakers Classic, guests can taste the wine, meet the winemaker  and perhaps one day be able to say one day, I knew her when...

The Dry Creek-Lokoya Fire Department response area covers 200 square miles in the western hills of Napa Valley. This area is steep and accessible by few roads, so the apparatus is located in strategic places to optimize the response time to any given location. Dry Creek-Lokoya firefighters responded to the Lake County Fires in 2015 as well as other major fires throughout California.

Since 1982, the Home Winemakers Classic has raised funds to build the current firehouse located at the corner of Dry Creek Road and Oakville Crossroad as well as two auxiliary garages to house the Departments remote apparatus. For details, visit DryCreek.org.
Most people are surprised to find that the president and CEO of Krug Champagne, perhaps the most prestigious of Frances Champagne houses, is a female engineer from Venezuela named Margareth Henriquez.

She is the first woman and the first South American to head a major Champagne house, but her father was the president of a wine and spirits production and distribution firm in Venezuela so she grew up around the business.

She introduced herself as Maggie at a Women of the Vine conference at the Meritage, where she explained how she turned around a former icon in decline.

About Krug Champagne

Joseph Krug created Krug Champagne  which has no relation to Charles Krug Winery in St. Helena  in 1843.

He wanted to make a superlative product with only the very best wines and make it consistent from year to year. He refused to produce lower-quality, less-expensive wines.

Krug Champagne produces mainly its prestigious Krug Grande Cuvee, plus a non-vintage rose, a vintage blanc, a vintage blanc de blancs from the Clos du Mesnil in the Cotes de Blancs and a vintage blanc de noirs from the Clos dAmbonnay.

Krug Grande Cuvee itself is a blend of more than 120 lots coming from 10 or more different vintages  some up to 15 years old  of the three grape varieties allowed in Champagne, pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier from numerous vineyards.

Its all that Champagne can give you in a glass, Henriquez says comparing each different wine lot to a member of a symphony creating music.

It takes more than 20 years to create a bottle of Krug Grande Cuvee, including at least six years in a bottle in the Krug cellars. It has a deep golden color and fine bubbles. It is consistently ranked as one of the worlds best Champagnes by wine critics.

In the early 1980s, Krug added the Krug Collection, Krug Vintage bottles aged at least 10 additional years.

In January 1999, the House became part of LVMH, the luxury firm that also owns Moet et Hennessey (and Domaine Chandon here) and Veuve Cliquot.

A global upbringing

Henriquez was born and raised in Caracas after her father arrived from the Dutch island of Curacao off Venezuela in 1954. Her mother was half Dutch and educated in the Netherlands, so Herriquez had a global upbringing.

She got a systems engineering degree in Venezuela and started her career in 1978 in her fathers holding company, which imported and produced wine and spirits as well as perfumes.

After seven years, she helped the president of another company and he asked her if he could help with her career planning. She was then 28.

He asked me what I really wanted and I said When I am your age [40], Id like to be president of a company, too.

He told her to go into the marketing or commercial side of business, not technology. I didnt know anything about it, so he gave me lists of books to read, she said. I read them all.

But when she asked her boss to transfer her into marketing, he said she wasnt a dreamer, since she worked on computers.

So she created a puppet show with story, voices and her playing guitar. That convinced him. She finally got a marketing job but only if she would take it without title or salary. She did and succeeded. Later, she left to become general manager of a company acquired by the Canadian group Seagrams in 1991.

She had arrived at her goal, but felt the advent of new technology made her dated, so she entered Harvards advanced senior management program in 1995. Coming out of the program, she was offered the presidency of the troubled Nabisco subsidiary in Mexico, which she turned around by re-connecting with customers.

Soon, Moet Hennessy asked her to oversee their operations in Argentina, which like Venezuela, suffered severe economic cycles.

On to Champagne

After her success in Argentina, Moet asked her to head its Krug subsidiary in 2009. It needed a skilled communicator to get out their message of quality, because what had once been a top brand had declined sharply.

She admits it was challenging at first, because she had worked with mass-market brands, and true luxury products are different.

She attended a seminar in luxury communication and hired an expert who helped her understand how to communicate the values of a luxury product like Krug. I realized that we cannot ever let people think that Krug is simply a non-vintage Champagne. Krug isnt non-anything, she vowed.

It is easy for me to understand the profile of the people who drink Krug because they are very much like me. They make their own decisions, said Henriquez, whose personal style exudes the quiet luxury Krug is all about.

True luxury is always elegant and discreet, she said. Luxury is the result of an emotional connection with the brand that comes from the way a brand behaves. That connection starts with the founder of the company, Joseph Krug, she added.

Her approach is inspired by one of the companys treasures, Krugs personal notebook. He had jotted down comments, advice and observations that continue to shape Krug Grandes Cuvees today. Its treated almost as a bible by the company.

One major change she made in the wines was adding an extra year of post-disgorgement aging to the Grande Cuvee.

She also brought more transparency to the composition of the products, including their disgorgement dates.

Since 2011, each bottle includes a unique ID number; each bottle of Grande Cuvee is equipped with an ID Code that, when entered on the Krug website, reveals the wines technical details, including year of base wine, the varietal composition and the number of base wines included.

She also took an unusual route to communicate, tying Krug Champagne to music. We invite world-famous musicians to the maison to taste our Champagnes, she explained. After the tastings, they chose music to pair with [the Champagnes].

Then Krug shares that information, including via the Krug ID on the bottle.

Henriquez now lives in Paris with her French husband and takes the fast train every day to the companys offices in Reims in Champagne. She is getting her Ph.D. from the Swiss Management Center.

According to Krug, with her efforts, the Champagne house is now doing well, including in America, although they would not release revenue numbers to support this.

As a last comment, Henriquez offered a piece of advice to wine lovers. Dont use a flute to drink Krug, she says, insisting it limits the potential aromas and flavors. Its like listening to a concert with earplugs.
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Ford Motor leaves Russian market by selling its stake in Sollers joint venture

Council of Lazarev Club considers ban on Konstantin Zatulin to enter Armenia outrageous trick

The New York Times: Saudi Arabia pissed off U.S. by derailing a secret deal

Samvel Karapetyan: Various forces are pushing Armenia away from Russia, this cannot be allowed

Dubai Silicon Oasis interested in cooperation with Armenia in IT sector

Jens Stoltenberg announces his intention to visit Turkey

Wiktorin: EU observation mission will ease tensions

Saudi Aramco: European embargo on Russian oil increases uncertainty in global oil market

Commander of Lithuanian Armed Forces against transfer of howitzers and air defense systems to Ukraine

Armenian Finance Ministry gives outlook on economic activity and debt ratio

Minister: Rehabilitation works after Azerbaijani Armed Forces' invasion continue

About 230 kilometers of roads are being built and repaired in Syunik

Bloomberg: Europe has more gas than it can use

Pashinyan says he would like to sign Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal before end of year

168.am: President of Artsakh leaves for Russian capital

Armenia's Pashinyan: I will attend trilateral meeting in Sochi

Bloomberg: China's budget deficit since beginning of year approached record trillion dollars

PM: There is expectation that CSTO will adopt roadmap to restore Armenias territorial integrity

Pope receives Armenian FM

Armenia ruling party convention to be closed to media

Dollar falls, euro rises in Armenia

Kremlin: Russia has information that Ukraine is preparing terrorist attack using 'dirty bomb'

Governor underscores EU envoy to Armenias efforts in returning of Shirak Province POWs (PHOTOS)

Putin: US is using Ukraine as battering ram against Russia, CSTO, and CIS

Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak leaves Russia

Russian military practices massive nuclear strike in response to nuclear attack of adversary

Germany restricts visas for Iranian passport holders

Belarus Foreign Minister visits Iran

Iran expands sanctions against EU

Zatulin says it is necessary to discuss relations between Russia and Armenia at different levels

Ardshinbank is the only company from Armenia with assigned ratings from the big three credit rating agencies

Armenia Security Council chief receives OSCE needs assessment mission members

Kremlin comments on deployment of American division in Romania

Iltalehti: draft bill on Finland's membership in NATO allows deployment of nuclear weapons

Kremlin informs about preparation for Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan leaders meeting

Armenia envoy briefs Costa Rica president on South Caucasus situation

Legislature head on chances of Armenia leaving CSTO: There is very little time left for us to make decision

Mercedes confirms intention to leave Russia

Armenia parliament speaker: No document on table

Air-raid alarm sirens to be installed in Estonia

Armenia legislature head: PM will go to Sochi on October 31, meet with Russia, Azerbaijan presidents

US State Department: Armenia, Azerbaijan should decide whether Putin's invitation would be useful to them

US transfers to Ukraine first 2 NASAMS complexes

Armenia National Assembly speaker: Phrase about signing peace treaty by years end is tacit deadline

Armenia parliament speaker: We have 240 casualties as result of Azerbaijan attack

Armenia FM in Vatican, meets with Substitute for Holy See Secretariat of State for General Affairs

Israel president gives US intel on Iran UAVs in Ukraine

Copper prices are rising

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

First sneakers for horses created in US

India fines Google for $113 million
12:34

US President Barack Obama reacts to the horror of an unarmed man in Minnesota shot by the police. Obama who is in Warsaw for the NATO summit, begged the nation to confront the racial disparities in law enforcement while acknowledging the dangers that officers face.



"When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our citizenry that feels as if, because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts, and that should trouble all of us," Obama said in a statement after arriving in Warsaw.



"This is not just a black issue, not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we all should care about."



He also said he felt compelled to follow up a Facebook message with a personal statement about the killings, though he said he could not comment directly on them. "But what I can say is that all of us, as Americans, should be troubled by these shootings, because these are not isolated incidents," he said. "They're symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system."



The president cited the nation's tortured racial history and current statistics on unequal treatment of the races. He added, "Maybe in my children's lifetimes, all the vestiges of that past will have been cured."



Four police officers have been killed by two snipers who targeted them during a protest at Dallas in Texas, United States over two recent fatal cop shootings of black men.



The snipers shot at 11 police officers, four of whom succumbed to their injuries, Dallas police chief David O Brown said.



The snipers shot from "elevated positions" during the protest. In addition to the four dead, two are in surgery and four are in critical condition, according to a Dallas Police statement.



Brown said three suspects were custody and officers were continuing to negotiate with one suspect, believed to be one of the shooters, who was cornered on the second floor of a garage.



He added that he did not have a "complete comfort level" that all suspects had been apprehended.



Officers were continuing to exchange gunfire with the cornered suspect.


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BENGALURU: ILOVEYOU! Code Red! Melissa! Sasser! Zeus! Conficker! Stuxnet! Mydoom! CryptoLocker! No, these are not some new internet slangs, and neither are we suggesting some new characters that can be casted in a Star Wars movie. These are some deadly malwares which have been affecting our lives.

Computers have been vulnerable to malware and virus attacks since its advent. From home desktops to the White House internal server, viruses have not spared anyone. The world has stood witness to the dreadful virus attacks for the last two decades. According to a security firm CheckPoint, another malware which has joined the aforementioned list is HummingBad. The malware has already affected almost 85 million devices running on Google's mobile operating system. The security company further claims that the majority of the HummingBad victims are in India and China, as reported by The Times of India. Almost all Android OS versions are being affected by this malware but Android KitKat and Android Jelly Bean versions are at the top of the most-affected version.

The virus attacks the users device when they try to visit certain malicious websites. The attack happens in two steps. First step involves trying to gain root access on the device of the user and exploit any possible vulnerability that is present. The first step is enough to give hackers full access to the device. But in case the first step is not successful due to none vulnerabilities present, the second step is initiated. This step tricks users to unknowingly grant system-level access to the HummingBad malware by showing a fake system update notification.

When the data of the users is being accessed by the hackers which data can not only be used to generate fake ad revenue, but also can be sold to other companies.

Google has yet to issue guidance regarding the detection and removal of HummingBad. We will update this story if it does.

Read Also:

Clueless About Your Data Speed? TRAI Launches New App Featuring Real-time Speed Check

Intel-Powered MyFreeTV Unveils Free Wi-Fi Entertainment System
BENGALURU: With a constant urge of monitoring network performance and boosting the quality of data services, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has introduced an instant speed check App (MySpeed), reports Yahoo News. The app effectively allows Indian users to check the internet speed on their smartphones and share the information with the regulatory in real time. TRAI will utilize the information collected from subscribers to stage new quality of service (QoS) norms. The new norms are expected to be effective within a month. Key motive of the app is to elevate the level of transparency and encourage a healthy competition in the telecom sector.

Through the application (Trai Myspeed App), we will get real- time data from customers. This will be put on TRAI Analytics Portal. It will show mobile data speed of each operator in a given area on a real-time basis, says R S Sharma, Chairman, TRAI.

Previously, TRAI had expressed concerns on the issue of call drops and asked telecom service providers across the country to offer compensation for customers. However, the TRAIs order was stated invalid by the Supreme Court. With telecom operators already having considerable differences with the regulatory authority over the monitoring of call drops, the quality of data services issue could create serious complications. Telecom companies have also been given a halt by the regulatory as they limited their investment on the voice services infrastructure and focused primarily on the blooming data services business.

Now we are saying that if you cannot provide minimum speed of data then at least average speed can be assured. In the consultation paper we will discuss what can be the average criteria, states Sharma.

Read Also:

Intel-Powered MyFreeTV Unveils Free Wi-Fi Entertainment System

TCS iON To Power Royal College Of Physicians Of Ireland
Ruplal Choudhary, a bioprocess engineer and associate professor of plant, soil and agricultural systems, is using infrared light in his nutrition lab to determine not only fats, proteins and carbohydrates but also the phytochemical, antioxidant and carotenoid protein make-up of produce. (Photo by Russell Bailey)

Researchers shining light on food waste, freshness

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill.  From the turnip that falls off the truck to the yucky stuff we scrape off our plates, food waste in the United States accounts for 30 percent to 40 percent of the food supply. Thats about 133 billion pounds of food or approximately $161 billion annually.

Ruplal Choudhary, a bioprocess engineer and associate professor of plant, soil and agricultural systems, and other researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are working at several stages of the farm to table (and beyond) cycle to find ways to reduce waste without sacrificing nutrition and taste.

Infrared light

Choudhary began looking at uses for infrared light in food processing when he was still a graduate student. Near-infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopes are becoming more common to determine fats, proteins and carbohydrates in nutritional analysis, but Choudhary also uses the spectroscopes to determine the phytochemical, antioxidant and carotenoid protein make-up of the produce.

Phytonutrients are health-boosting qualities of food occurring naturally in plants that have particular health effects. For example, glucosinolates, a class of phytonutrient, appear in cruciferous (green leaf) vegetables and give those vegetables their odor and flavor. Research suggests that glucosinolates are useful in slowing or stopping the development and growth of cancer.

Recently he was part of a research team funded with an Illinois Department of Agriculture specialty crop block grant to study Asian greens. Other researchers focused on growing 35 different varieties, including bok choy, bekana and Komatsuna, to determine which greens will grow best in Southern Illinois and which would prove most appealing to the local palate. Choudhary and a team of graduate student researchers handled the phytonutrient and antioxidant analysis of the greens.

Hes building a database of known analyses to train the spectroscopes in his lab. As the database grows, use of the spectrometer becomes more efficient.

In addition to the spectroscopes, he uses a camera to record the color and texture of fresh produce. Together with the spectroscope, he can even predict taste qualities such as sweetness or crispness. He hopes that the technology hes using in his lab will find its way to food processing, making sorting fresh produce more efficient.

In a study, conducted with Alan Walters, professor of plant, soil and agricultural systems, he used the spectroscope in the nutrition lab to help the research team determine how harvest-time affects the nutritional value of produce. The team harvested produce at various stages of ripeness and found that the more ripe the fruit or vegetable when harvested, the better its nutritional value. In addition, the team checked nutritional levels after harvest at same day, next day, and after a week. They found that post-harvest nutritional levels declined over time.

This study clearly indicates that for optimum nutritional value, produce should not be harvested early nor should it sit around for a long time in storage. However, thats a problem for major retailers of fruits and vegetables. It takes time to harvest produce and ship it -- which is why some produce is harvested early and allowed to finish ripening post-harvest. In addition, for a grocery store, quantity and choice is part of marketing  but that can contribute to fresh produce staying in the store longer than a day, two days or even a week.

The problem goes beyond declining nutritional benefits. The longer produce sits, the more likely it is to spoil. And that contributes to food waste. Chaudhary is part of a team of SIU researchers that is seeing a different kind of light when it comes to preserving food freshness.

Ultra-violet light

Ultra-violet light seems an unlikely ally in the quest to preserve the freshness of fruits and vegetables. However, UV sterilization or UV irradiation can kill a list of things that lead to food spoilage, including viruses, bacteria, molds and yeasts.

Ultraviolet light is classified by wavelength. UV-C has the shortest wavelength and is germicidal. It deactivates the DNA of pathogens, which prevents them from multiplying and spreading disease. Irradiation is already a common application to disinfect and sanitize drinking water and even to disinfect the air and food contact surfaces.

Food processors have been applying UV-C lights to reduce dangerous pathogens in food and beverages as well, particularly in dairy products and fruit juices, for some time. Researchers are finding applications with a wide range of other foods, including fresh produce. UV-C light, which kills E. coli and salmonella among other well-known bacteria, can also contribute to preserving freshness.

However, the technology can be costly and the research is far from complete.

Choudhary and Dennis Watson, associate professor of plant, soil and agricultural systems, are working now on cost-effective smart technology ways to implement UV-C irradiation at the retail level for fresh produce. Theyve tested the effectiveness of UV light on blueberries and strawberries and they know it works to kill the bacteria and germs that lead to fruit spoilage. But theres a problem  UV light is hot. Using UV light to keep berries fresh ends up cooking or drying them.

The team began working on a cooler that would use UV light to keep the produce fresh but also neutralize the heat the light generates. To make the cooler more energy efficient, Watson is working to build in smart technology. High humidity makes it easier for bacteria and other food nasties to grow. Watson wants the cooler to chill extra when humidity is high, and to take it easy when humidity is lower. Hes working on a humidity and temperature sensor that will automatically adjust cooling in relation to humidity.

Choudhary and Watson hope this combination of UV light and smart cooling will eventually be available to grocery retailers to use in their storage areas. If they can keep food fresh longer, certainly that ought to contribute to a reduction in food waste. And if the technology works well enough to allow for later harvest, consumers wouldnt miss out on the enhanced nutritional value of in-the-field ripening.

Meanwhile, Choudhary is exploring natural phenolic compounds to use with the UV light for freshness. In an experiment with strawberries and blueberries kept fresh longer under UV light, he also used limonene, a citrus-based compound that works as a natural anti-microbial. The limonene discourages fungus-growth on the post-harvest berries. With the UV light and limonene combination, the team kept berries fresh for two weeks and edible with some shrinkage for three weeks. This compares favorably to the one week of freshness for non-treated berries that is typical.

Choudhary hopes to see the UV light coolers and natural food treatments applied to large scale grocery store short-term food storage.

He may be able to assist artisan food producers now. Choudhary said he has helped local food producers meet FDA labeling requirements with proper nutrition analysis.
Police constable Jahurul Haque, 30, died in the blasts that occurred around 9 a.m., at Azimuddin School gate, a kilometre away from the prayer ground, bdnews24 reported.

The largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh was being held there on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan when the bombings occurred.

It was not known immediately who launched the bomb attack.

A police official told Xinhua news agency that security has been beefed up after the explosions.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official.

The explosions came about a week after a terror attack on a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulsan in which 20 people including 18 foreigners were killed.

--IANS ksk

( 162 Words)

2016-07-07-10:32:02 (IANS)
Officials from Japan's Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency and the Bank of Japan are planning to meet at 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) on Friday morning to discuss financial markets, government sources told Reuters. They are expected to exchange views including on how the government should respond to the yen's recent appreciation, the sources said. The last time they met was on June 25, after Britain voted to leave the European Union. REUTERS JW0755 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-823630.Xml
Aamir Khan, one of the most rational celebrities in the B-Town, today said terrorists have nothing to do with religion. "According to me, there's no comparison between terrorism and religion; they have nothing to do with religion. May they be Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian, they actually have nothing to do with religion, although they shout in the name of religion. If they would have actually loved their religion, they would have known that religion teaches us love," he told media here when quizzed on controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. For the unversed, according to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader and one of the perpetrators of last week Dhaka's diplomatic zone terror attack quoted the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Naik, during his lecture on Peace TV, reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists. Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia. Reportedly, Shiv Sena on today demanded a complete ban on his organisation. Members of Raza academy, a Muslim instituition, in Mumbai staged a protest against Dhaka attacks and Naik after morning prayers today. (ANI)
A man has allegedly killed his father-in-law in Salana Jiwan Singh Wala village of the district, police said today. The body of farm labourer Ramdas Singh(42) was spotted by villagers who immediately informed police. Singh's daughter Manjit Kaur had a love marriage with Angadpreet of village Manela(Khamano) around four years ago and the couple had a two-and-a-half-year-old son and a one-and-a-half year-old daughter from the wedlock. Bagh Singh, the father of the deceased, alleged that Angadpreet used to harass Manjit so she occasionally visited her parental house at village Salana Jiwan Singh Wala. Presently, she was living in the village for the past ten days. The accused contacted his wife on phone and came to the village to take her back. Police said that Angadpreet got annoyed with his father-in-law over some issue. When Ramdas was returning home after working in the fields, Angadpreet stopped him near the drain. They had a scuffle and during which Angadpreet killed his father-in-law and threw the body into the drain and put a stone on the body. After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to relatives of the deceased. A case was registered against the accused.UNI XC GS CJ SB 1039 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0094-823723.Xml
Thai shares vaulted to a near 1-year high on Thursday, buoyed by upbeat U.S. economic data that took some of the sting out of the Brexit scare, while Singapore slid, dragged down by financial stocks.Sentiment across the region got a lift from a survey showing activity in the giant U.S. services sector hit a seven-month high in June as new orders surged and companies hired more.The signs of underlying strength in the economy suggested it could withstand the financial markets turbulence, sparked by uncertainty following last month's stunning vote in Britain to leave the European Union, economists said. Most Asian markets opened firmer, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rising 0.8 percent.In commodity markets, oil prices recouped some lost ground on the better U.S. data and expectations for a sharp drop in crude stockpiles. The Thai index climbed more than half a percent at 0422 GMT, extending gains to hit its highest since July lastyear on strong performance by energy and financial stocks."We expect a more positive backdrop for the Thai market in 2H16 as economic indicators show signs of bottoming and improvement," James Griffiths, an analyst with Citigroup, said in a note."Political events, especially referendum in August, could be key and we expect positive developments to support 2H market."Thailand prepares to vote on a new constitution on Aug. 7 that critics fear will entrench the military's influence.Vietnam's benchmark index hovered near a more than 8-year high, driven by materials and utilities, which climbed on expectations of an increase in credit flows. Banks in Vietnam expect lending this year to surpass targets, growing 20.4 percent over 2015, fuelled by stronger credit demand and better business conditions, the central bank said on Wednesday. Singapore slid marginally, dragged down by financial stocks, which contributed to more than half the losses on the index.Malaysia and Indonesia were closed on Thursday for Eid-al-Fitr. REUTERS RSD RAI1038 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-823712.Xml
"A seventh batch of 1774 Amarnath pilgrims left the base camp in a convoy of 60 vehicles for the cave shrine," police spokesman here said.

They said that the batch including 1,266 male, 346 females, 138 sadhus, 7 sadhvis and five transgenders, left the base camp in 38 buses and 22 LMVs.UNI VBH DS SB 1302

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-823612.Xml
Members of Raza academy today staged a protest at Nagapada area condemning Dhaka terrorist attacks and demanded a ban on Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik and his organisation-- Islamic Research Foundation-- for giving controversial speeches, which creates unrest in the country. Its organiser Mohammed Rafiq Qadri Rizvi said, "today is the holy day of Eid-Ul-Fitr. What we have witnessed are many terror attacks in different locations. We are protesting against those who are spreading terror. Islam is a religion of peace. Those who are doing terror attacks are not Muslims. Zakir Naik should be banned as his speeches are very controversial," People were protesting by wearing the green band. Law and enforcement agency have tightened the security arrangement in the Nagapada area to tackle any eventuality. Security arrangement has also been beefed up across the city following intelligence alert in the city. Dr Naik, who is at the centre of a controversy after reports emerged that perpetrators of the Dhaka terror attack were inspired by him, has said that the term Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is "un-Islamic". Dr Naik's name cropped in Dhaka attack. During investigation, it came into light that two of the Dhaka attackers Nibras Islam and Rohan Imtiaz had said on their social media profiles that they were inspired by the speeches of Naik. He has been banned in Britain and Canada. Further he was not allowed to address a crowd in Mangalore recently. Dr Naik is presently in religious tour to Mecca, he will be back on July 11 and likely to hold the pressconference on July 12, here, sources said. Even Shiv Sena on Wednesday demanded a complete ban on this organisation. A banner condemning Dhaka attacks and banning of Zakir Naik, Party MP Arvind Sawant said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest. "People whose language propagates violence against nation's unity should be banned," Sawant said in the letter. "Islam teaches love and peace. But every day is a day of high alert now. I appeal to the Home Minister that action needs to be taken," he said.UNI ST CJ SB 1257 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-823629.Xml
Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states, E S L Narasimhan, for the first time, visited the new Secretariat building, which is under construction, at Velagapudi village in Guntur district, about 25 km from here accompanied by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and a host of ministers today. Talking to media later, the Governor said that he was visiting the new Secretariat building for the first time and it is being constructed with modern concept and proper planning. "I would like to come and see the place as frequently as I can. I too occupy some space in the Secretariat", he said. Commenting on shifting of Secretariat from Hyderabad to Amaravathi, he said that initially, there would be some problems while employees coming from Hyderabad but they would be sorted out. It is ensured that the life of Secretariat employees would be comfortable here. They would work efficiently, if they settle comfortably here, he said and assured that the education and other problems of employees, coming from Hyderabad, would be addressed. Mr.Narasimhan said that he had a fruitful discussion with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on various issues. Both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Chief Ministers should focus on development agenda and make the people happy. "By ten years from now, I am sure that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will emerge as most spoken states in the country", he predicted. The Governor said that conducting of Krishna pushkarams was a major event. There might be some inconvenience to the people, he said and appealed them to cooperate with the government. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Naidu said that he had explained about the construction of new Secretariat building and added that the guidance of Governor would be followed. He was making all efforts to overcome the bifurcation problems, the Chief Minister said.UNI DP CS 1455 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0275-823605.Xml
Muslim community in West Bengal today joined the rest of the nation in celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival to mark the culmination of the holy fasting month of Ramzan, with religious fervour and gaiety. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greeted the people on the occasion Eid-Ul-Fitr and urged for a peaceful celebration of the occasion The Governor wished for strengthening the secular fabric of the country and spirit of amity among all sections of society. "On the auspicious occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr, I convey my heartiest greetings to the people of West Bengal. May this joyous cultural heritage, strengthen the secular fabric of our country and spirit of friendship-fraternity among all sections of the society," he said, according to a Raj Bhawan release. The Chief Minister in her message said,''On this joyous occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr, may Allah bless you with happiness and grace your home with warmth and peace. Eid Mubarak." As part of the Eid festival, an estimated 20 million Muslim population in the state took part in numerous congregation held in different parts of the state in the morning. In one of the main such congregations on Indira Gandhi Sarani (formerly Red Road) in Central Kolkata, more than 100,000 members of the Muslim community took part and performed the namaz, conducted by the city's principal Imam, who called for peace, amity and brotherhood among all communities. Similar congretions were also held in at least six places in and around the city including the Nakhoda Masjid, Khidderpore, Rajabazar and Rajabagan areas where large number of people also participated under a festive atmosphere. Reports of similar peaceful celebration of Eid were also pouring in from all other districts of the state. After the prayer, the people exchanged greetings and distributed sweets to children and others as a mark of brotherhood and respect. After the month-long fasting during the Ramzan period, a sumptuous lunch also became a part of the celebrations. All the government offices, banks, business houses and educational institutions were closed for the day as holiday. Fairs and cultural programmes were organised in different pockets of the city where children donning traditional attires were seen revelling in festive spirit.More UNI BM KK AD SW AS1621 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-823842.Xml
The Board meeting was held in the city after a span of sevenyears. RBI Governor Dr Raghuram G Rajan chaired the meeting whichwas attended by Deputy Governors, Dr Urjit R Patel, Mr R Gandhi, Mr S S Mundra and Mr N S Vishwanathan.

The other Directors of the Central Board present at the meetingwere: Dr Nachiket M Mor, Prof Damodar Acharya, Mr N Chandrasekaran,Mr Bharat N Doshi and Mr Sudhir Mankad besides Government nomineeDirector on the Central Board, Mr Shaktikanta Das, Secretary,Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance,

The Board discussed issues relating to macro economicdevelopments and two other specific areas of operations of theRBI namely, the Reserve Bank's budget and constitution of MonetaryPolicy Committee. The Board also reviewed the activities of theBoard for Payment and Settlement System for the year ended March 2016.UNI CNR MSP ADB1552

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-823735.Xml
The education future of hundreds ofstudents was saved by the timely intervention of Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar who directed the Army not to recover the land whereGovernment Schools and a College is functioning and handover thesame to Karnataka Government which has agreed to give alternative land. There were four government schools and a junior collegefunctioning in Army land and the Defence officials had recently putbarricade in an attempt to recover their land. This had led toparents, students and teachers stage protest to prevent demolitionof the structures. Mr Parrikar, who was in the city to attend a function, held ameeting with local leaders and representatives of the Stategovernment, and agreed to not to pursue recovery of the land. Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation D VSadananda Gowda, who also attended the meeting said that "theschools will function forever. The state government has also agreedto give alternate land in return. Besides this, 16 other issuespertaining to land owned by the defence which is holding upinfrastructure projects around the city were discussed. The Ministerhad given an in principle approval to all of them, paving the wayfor the state to provide alternate land in return for the defence land." A total of 34 acres of land owned by the defence within the citylimits will be given up in return for around 400 acres of landoutside city limits if a proposal discussed is approved. Mr Gowda said that "the State Cabinet has to hold talks with thedefence authorities here and approve this plan. Once they send theirproposals to the Defence Ministry, the Minister has assured us thatthey will be approved."UNI MSP CNR ADB1625 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-823852.Xml
Special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray, opposing their bail pleas, argued that the probe into the case was underway and the drug barons from Pakistan and Sri Lanka were also said to be involved in the international racket.

They also had meetings with Vicky Goswami (the main accused in the case), he told the court.

Taking into consideration these arguments, Special District Judge H M Patwardhan rejected their bail applications.

Those whose bail applications were rejected include Manoj Jain, former director of Avon Life Sciences at Solapur; Punit Shringi, local head of factory; Rajendra Dimri, production manager; and Babasaheb Dhotre, transporter.UNI XR SS SW NS1840

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-824056.Xml
Founder of Islamic Research Foundation Zakir Naik, who is under NIA scanner following Dhaka terrorist attack, visited Muslim-dominated Kishanganj district in Seemanchal region of Bihar in 2012.Naik's visit to Kishanganj in 2012 assumes significance because of the government`s decision to verify his preachings across the country and outside.Naik has come under NIA's scanner after it was found in the investigation that one of the five young terrorists, who killed 20 innocent people at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, used to follow the Mumbai based preacher.He had visited Kishanganj, the nerve centre of the Muslim-dominated Seemanchal region to participate in Peace Convention which was held from March 30 to April 1 in 2012. The convention was organised under the aegis of Tauheed Educational Trust headed by Matiur Rehman. Besides people including non-Muslims from Seemanchal region of the state, a large number of people from Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand and other parts of the state had participated in the convention. A range of issues including religious teachings were discussed and question-answer sessions were held to clarify 'doubts' about Islam.However, his visit had led to huge protesters from local muslims who had presented Memorandum to District administration demanding ban on his programmes. While Ulemas and Social activist led the masses on the streets , youths and students had raised slogans like "We Sunni Muslims don't accept the Wahabi Faith of Zakir Naik"," Stop the Supporter of Osama Bin Laden", "Ban Praiser of Yazeed", "Ban Insulter of Hazrat Hussain","Ban Wahabi Gustakh" . Seemanchal region, close to Bangadesh, comprising four districts -- Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnea-- is considered as hotbed of Muslim politics. AIMIM Chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi from Hyderabad had fielded 25 candidates in the last Bihar Assembly election.UNI DH-IS KK RSA AE VN1822 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-824089.Xml
Claded in new drobes, Muslims exchanged greetings with Hindubrotheren and distributed sweets.

Police had made elaborate bandobust arrangements following alert from thecentral intelligence agency of possible trouble during the prayers.

In Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the festival was celebrated byoffering special prayers by members of the Muslim communityflocking mosques, shrines and prayer grounds.

In Kalaburagi city, hundreds of Muslims thronged the famousIdaga maidan in Hagaraga to offer special prayers. Among those whoparticipated in the prayer are former Minister Qanar-ul-Islam,Kalaburgi development Authority Chairman Ahmad Asgar Chulbula andothers.

In Raichur hundreds of Muslims thronged the famous Idga Maidan in the city to offer special prayers. Soon after the namaz was overat the mosques, people hugged each other and wished "Eid Mubarak"..

Among those who participated and wished the Eid Mubarak were MP B V Naiyak, legislator Sivaraj Patil and others. District DeputyCommissioner Sasikanth Senthal and Superintendent of Police ChitanSingh Rathod were also present.

In Bidar district Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated withtraditional fervour. Muslims offered a special namaz in Idga maidanon the outskirts of the city and wished Eid Mubarak after the prayers.

Meanwhile, Eid-ul-Fitr prayers, marking the end of Ramzan, wereheld across the taluk of the district like Humanabad, Aurad andBasavakalyan. A mass prayer was organised at the Idgah ground inwhich local MLA and others were also participated.UNI MSP/SD CNR CS 1825

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The Chief Minister will fill up the Revenue portfolio, whichis vacant following the resignation of senior BJP leader EknathKhadse, over the an alleged corruption charges last month.

In tomorrow's reshuffle, some senior ministers are like to getpromotion, new faces are likely to get Minister of State portfolios.

However, sources said that Shiv Sena is demanding for Cabinetrank ministry.

The Fadnavis government, which has 19 Cabinet Ministers and 10Ministers of State, has 12 more berths to fill. But, tomorrow hewill be filling nine berths.

The Chief Minister is burdened with additional portfolios,after the resignation of Mr Khadse, as the charge of all otherdepartments is with him in addition to his own departments.

The expansion of Cabinet comes ahead of the Monsoon session ofthe state Assembly, which is commencing on July 18.

BJP allies -- Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and MahadevJankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and Vinayak Mete -- are likely tobe inducted.

After the Cabinet reshuffle, Mr Fadnavis will begin his four-day tour of Russia from July 10.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena held a high-level meeting atparty president Uddhav Thackeray's residence 'Matoshree' in westernsuburb of Bandra this morning. Thereafter, two senior leaders,Subhash Desai and Diwarkar Raote, went to meet Mr Fadnavis at hisofficial 'Varsha' bungalow in south Mumbai, sources added.UNI ST SS RSA AE 1958

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: The Sainik School Imphal Alumni Association has urged President Pranab Mukherjee to direct the government for speedy decision regarding Brigadier L I Singh . Association Secretary Nirshan Phurai said here today the delegation of the Alumni led by President of the Association N Ibungochoubi submitted a representation on June 23. The President was informed that Brig L I Singh, YVS ,an alumnus of the School, was posted as the Deputy Director General, Discipline and Vigilance, Army Headquarters, New Delhi following his command of the Watershed Brigade in Sikkim. The fraternity of the school and the people are made to believe that he has become a victim of the clash of top brass of the Army. It was earlier reported in the media that the action against Brig L I Singh is being linked lo his handling of the vigilance ban against U Gen (now General) Dalbir Singh Suhag now Army Chief in May 2012, while he was GOC 3 Corps, currently the Army Chief. It was stated that Brig L I Singh, in his official capacity as DDG (DV), was responsible for coordinating administrative actions, including serving of show cause notice to Gen. Suhag, then 3 Corps Commander, as per legal provisions and under the directives of the then COAS Gen V K Singh. The Supreme Court had dismissed the plea of the Army to stay orders of Armed Forces Tribunal in respect of Brig L I Singh. The Special Leave Petition filed by the Army to lift the stay granted and restoration of original application of Brig L I Singh by the Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi was dismissed in the apex court in favour of Brig L I Singh. He is the first and only officer (till date) from Sainik School, Imphal, who has reached the rank of a Brigadier. He continues to be a source of inspiration for many in the region to join the uniformed services it was added. UNI NS SW AE BL1917 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0212-824213.Xml
Employees of the Suvidha Kendra held a protest, wearing black badges at the local Suvidha Centre here . The protesters bore black badges to protest against the anti-employee policies of the state government. They alleged that they were being made the victims of politics, due to which their own rights and needs were suffering. They said due to a lack of acknowledgement of their demands from the state government they are protesting. There are serving since 2004 so demands to regularise their services. Employees said if the government still failed to address their issues, they shall intensify their agitations and the government shall be solely responsible for it.UNI XC PY GC1959 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-824412.Xml
Festival of Eid-ul- Fitr was celebrated in the twin cities of Ambala by the Muslims who were joined by the people from other communities, exchanging greetings on the occasion today. The main function was held at the Chuna Chowk Eidgah Ambala Cantonment where Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij attended the function where all the Muslim brethren prayed for the welfare of the country.Mr Vij congratulated and gave the message of brotherhood. He said if the Muslim community managed to provide land for the dharamshala, he would grant a sum of Rs 20 lakh for construction. The state level function to mark the celebration of Eid was held at the Haryana Waqf Board Headquarters Sardar Patel Marg Ambala Cantonment. The festival was attended by all the priests from Mosques in the state. The Chief Administrator Mohammed Akil with other functionaries of the Board joined to celebrate the festival which was followed by the community lunch. The Eid prayers were held at more than half a dozen mosques in both the towns of Ambala. UNI XC VJ PY RSA 2026 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-824441.Xml
While authorities roped in one helicopter for mission to rescue five persons trapped in an area maroonedby Tamas river in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh, State Disaster Response teams were pressed intoservice for relief and help of people in the flooded areas of Guwahati.

Almost 300 villages were inundated in Assam affecting more than one lakh population, The Brahmaputra was flowing above the danger level at Nematighat, Tezpur and Dhubri, reports reaching here said.

At least three more deaths have been reported in rain related incidents--two from Madhya Pradeshand one from Assam -- and at least five persons were reported missing in Madhya Pradesh.

A report from Bhopal said monsoon is vigorous over Madhya Pradesh since past two days, affecting normal life in various regions.

Seven people were swept away at different places, of them the bodies of two were found.

Several rivers, including Narmada, Parvati, Chambal, Ken, Tawa, Tamas and Sunar and seasonal rivulets are in spate.

Heavy monsoon rains have been witnessed in Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Satna, Khajuraho, Rewa andJabalpur where normal life was badly affected. Flood-like situation is prevailing in Sagar and Satna districts.

Rewa Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar told UNI over telephone that several men went forfishing along the river this morning. Of them, five were stranded and were hanging on a tree. An Army helicopter has surveyed the area and rescue operations were underway.More UNI Team PY SS 2108

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RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, often described as best actor by Hindi film stars, is prepared to play a lead role in Hindi film to be produced by Irfan Khan who made debut as producer with 'Madari' to be released on July 22. Actor Irfan Khan, who is in Patna to promote his film 'Madari' called on Mr Prasad at his residence, expressed his willingness to produce a film, based on theme, "How a boy from nondescript village rose to zenith in political career and also commanded popularity among the artistes of silver screen.'' "Yes, it is a good idea to make a film on my life but only I would be hero if such a film is ever produced", Mr Prasad said and added with a smile,''Who could be a better hero than me.'' This is not the first time that Mr Prasad is poised to make his presence felt on silver screen as he had also made guest appearance in Hindi film "Padamshree Lalu Prasad Yadav" starring Sunil Shetty and also a Bhojpuri film. Interestingly, the elder son of Mr Prasad, Tej Pratap Yadav who is the Health Minister in Nitish's cabinet, has also played a lead role in Bhojpuri film 'Apaharan Udyog'. Mr Yadav is in role of Chief Minister in the film.UNI KKS PY RSA 2134 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824644.Xml
Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said that in the Punjab political arena, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is just a non serious fly by night political outfit, which has been hurting the religious sentiments of every religion for the sake of votes. Talking to media on the sidelines of a function here, Ms Badal warned the people of Punjab to beware of the destructive agenda of this political party, which has recently committed a most heinous crime by affixing their political symbol of broom on the picture of the most revered the Golden Temple. The Union Minister said these people were just out there to hurt the religious sentiments of the people and to create the religious discord among the people of Punjab. Ms Badal, who was here to flag off tankers of potable drinking water for 21 different villages of the Mansa district under Nanhi Chan campaign, said state government has fulfilled every promise they had made to the public before the election.UNI DB RSA PM2043 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-824485.Xml
Himachal Pradesh CITU General Secretary Kashmir Singh Thakur and two others, including CITU vice President, who had been on fast on to death before the state secretariat here for past six days, were rushed to hospital today.As the Medical team conducted check up, condition of three was reported to be critical and they had to be rushed to Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), police source said.Dr Kashimr Singh, Surya Prakesh Negi and Dev Krishan Negi were rushed in police van to IGMC who were sitting on fast unto death before the state secretariat here protesting against 450 Mega Watt Shong Tong Power project management, District Administration, Kinnaur and State government to support demands of project workers who were on strike for past 113 days.Five people were on fast unto death before the state secretariat since July 2 alleging that despite the High Court order, the Kinnaur district administration did not convene meeting to resolve the issue with the construction company after passing of order ten days before. On June 28, Himchaal Prdesh High Court ordered Deputy Commissioner Naresh Lath to be mediator in the talk to resolve the dispute as employees were not getting salary in HPPCL outsourced power project . Mr Singha alleged that the state government was insensitive towards sheer violation of labour norms by the project company directed by the High court to call the consultation with the protesting employees.About 400 Shong Tong workers are on indefinite strike from February this year alleging that they were not given three months salary and contractors were violating the rights of workers. Section 144 of IPC had been clamped on all the protesting seven sites from Shong Tongto Karcham Wangto and 36 FIRs has been registered against the workers and 276 arrests have been made.UNI ML RSA VN2204 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-824490.Xml
A small group country citizens from Congo, who assembled near the police station raised slogans by holding placards and sought justice for Cynthia Vechel who was murdered brutally by her husband Rupesh Kumar Mohanani on July 3.

The 36-year-old Rupesh was arrested by the police on Tuesday for allegedly throttling his wife Cynthia who worked as a club dancer and then chopping her body into pieces and setting them ablaze.

No one was taken into custody, according to RGIA Police Inspector M Mahesh.

Earlier, Officials from Congo Embassy, who met senor police officers at Cyberabad commissionerate, seeking to handover Cynthia body to enable them to take body to its country for performing final rites by her kin.

They also sought the custody of the eight-year old girl.

Mohanani had married Cynthia in Congo in 2008 and the couple lived there till 2012, before settling down at Gachibowli in Hyderabad.

While the couple used to fight frequently over financial issues, Mohanani was also suspicious about fidelity of his wife, the inspector added.UNI KNR PY RSA 2327

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Rallies and demonstrations were staged in different parts of the state, including Goalpara, Hojai and Golaghat, against rising activities of ISIS, underlining that Islam cannot be used as a tool for bloodshed and violence.

The people were united in decrying the violence in the name of religion and urged the public to be vigilant.

Namaz was offered at all mosques across the state with the participation of large number of devotees.

In main city Guwahati, heavy rains and artificial floods created problems in the morning hours but the festivities caught on as the day progressed and the weather cleared.

Praying for wellbeing of their near and dear ones, the people also used the occasion to appeal for universal peace and harmony.

Governor PB Acharya and chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal greeted the people on the joyous occasion.UNI SG AKM RSA 2340

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President Barack Obama shelved plans to cut the US force in Afghanistan nearly in half by year's end, opting to keep 8,400 troops there through the close of his presidency in January and let his successor determine the path forward.Acknowledging that security in Afghanistan remained precarious and Taliban forces had in some places gained ground, Obama put aside earlier plans to cut the US troop presence from its current level of about 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of 2016. But his plan still calls for a 1,400-troop reduction, and congressional Republicans criticized him for that.Obama took office in 2009 pledging to wind down the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, he has been forced to return U.S. troops to Iraq and keep thousands in place in Afghanistan after more than 14-1/2 years of war, altering his presidential legacy."The narrow missions assigned to our forces will not change. They remain focused on supporting Afghan forces and going after terrorists," Obama said during an appearance at the White House, flanked by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and the top US military officer, General Joe Dunford.Obama, whose presidency ends on January 20, said his move "best positions my successor to make future decisions about our presence in Afghanistan" and "ensures that my successor has a solid foundation for continued progress in Afghanistan as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism as it evolves."Obama noted he ended the US combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014. But he has repeatedly delayed pulling out the remaining US force.Twice last year, in March and October, he slowed the pace of the withdrawal, in the end effectively handing the task to his successor, who US voters will elect on Nov. 8. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are their parties' presumptive nominees.Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, according to recent UN estimates. The Islamic State group has also established a small presence in Afghanistan.Obama spoke in advance of a NATO summit on Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, where alliance members are expected to confirm their support for the Kabul government.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed Obama's decision, saying on Twitter it "shows continued partnership between our nations to pursue our common interests."In addition to US forces, there are about 3,000 other international troops in Afghanistan.US troops have been in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion launched by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, that toppled the Taliban leaders who harbored the al Qaeda organization responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that killed about 3,000 people. It is America's longest war.Obama noted that the United States once had 100,000 troops in Afghanistan.CRITICISM IN CONGRESSObama's decision followed a review submitted last month by the US commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson.Some Pentagon officials criticized Obama's move, saying it did nothing to address a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan."It's disappointing that the administration thinks that troop numbers are a substitute for a more comprehensive strategy," said a US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "This is neither the reduction that the White House seems to have wanted nor the current numbers that don't seem to be sufficient to deal with the security problem."Anthony Cordesman, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Obama's announcement lacked specificity and could create problems for the remaining troops."When you keep trying to keep levels to their absolute minimum, you inevitably increase risk, and when you increase risk, the chance of something unexpected going wrong also increases," Cordesman said.Senior Republican lawmakers made clear the Democratic president's plan would not have smooth sailing in Congress, where their party controls a majority of seats and which sets spending policy.Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said keeping 8,400 troops was preferable to cutting the force in half."That said, when the president himself describes the security situation in Afghanistan as 'precarious,' it is difficult to discern any strategic rationale for withdrawing 1,400 U.S. troops by the end of the year," McCain added.House of Representatives Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry said Obama was not being honest with the American people about operations in Afghanistan, and called on the president to submit a supplemental funding request to Congress immediately."The truth is that many thousands more Americans are performing military functions in Afghanistan than even the current troop cap authorizes. The president refuses to pay for them, and his budget does not have room for the troops he is committing," Thornberry said. REUTERS JW0612 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-823603.Xml
The United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the US jurisdiction. They include 10 other individuals besides Kim and five government ministries and departments, the US Treasury Department said in a statement."Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in the statement yesterday.North Korea's leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring US President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea. It had to address the role of Kim Jong Un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.Kim Jong Un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea. Many of the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children, the report said.The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People's Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.Senior US administration officials said the new sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.The report was "the most comprehensive" to date on individual North Korean officials' roles in forced labour and repression.They said the sanctions would be partly "symbolic" but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries "think twice" before engaging in abuses. "It lifts the anonymity," a senior administration official told reporters.The North Korea mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.South Korea, which has imposed its own sanctions against the North that cut off all political and commercial ties, welcomed the move and said it will encourage greater international pressure on the North to improve its human rights record.MORE SANCTIONS TO COMEUsing sanctions against a head of state is not unprecedented. In 2011, the United States sanctioned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and six other senior Syrian officials for their role in Syria's violence. Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was also sanctioned.Policymakers often worry that targeting a country's leader will destroy any lingering chance of rapprochement, say former diplomats. It is a sign "there probably isn't much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution," said Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser in the US Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.The new sanctions join a long list of measures that have had little effect in pressuring North Korean leaders to change, experts who study the North's political system said."The sanctions from today will do nothing whatsoever to alter North Korea's strategic calculus and only underscore their thinking that the US has a 'hostile policy' against their country," said Michael Madden an expert on the North Korean leadership."Considering the sanctions name Kim Jong Un, the reaction from Pyongyang will be epic. There will be numerous official and state media denunciations which will target the US and Seoul and the wording will be vituperative and blistering," he said.Peter Harrell, a former State Department sanctions official, said the measures would signal to companies in China as well as others doing business with North Korea that the US would continue escalating sanctions.Harrell added it was unlikely that any assets would be blocked, however "given the realities of where Kim Jong Un and his cronies likely hide their assets."In March, the UN Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to its nuclear and missile tests.That same month, Obama imposed new sanctions on North Korea after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a rocket launch that Washington and its allies said employed banned ballistic missile technology.Those steps froze any property of the North Korean government in the US and essentially prohibited exports of goods from the US to North Korea."The United States has maintained sanctions and pressure against the North for 65 years since the Korean War, but there's not been a single case where the intended result was accomplished," said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul."How much time is left in the Obama administration? There may be the wish to prove the policy of 'strategic patience' against the North has not failed, but when it comes to practical results, there won't be much to show," Yang said. REUTERS RSD PR1011 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0435-823684.Xml
Pakistan will do all efforts to protect the integrity and sovereignty of Afghanistan but it expects the same level of commitment from the neighbouring country, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said. The General's comment came during his visit to forward army bases in North and South Waziristan Agency to meet troops deployed at forward bases in North and South Waziristan Agency to share Eid festivities with troops yesterday, daily Dawn reported today. He offered Eid prayers along with other senior military brasses in Shawal area and interacted with troops and also read a statement. The statement issued to the media by the Inter-Services Public Relations, said that the army chief commended the morale and spirit of troops "fighting on the front line to protect their motherland", it read."As consolidation goes on and operational dividends optimised for Pak-Afghan border region, Pakistan will not allow anyone to use its soil against Afghanistan," he said and further directed all military commanders, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to take concrete measures against violators."Peace and stability along Pak-Afghan border remains our priority, towards which we will commit all our efforts," Gen Raheel said border management and dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees are important enablers for lasting peace."Our efforts for peace in Afghanistan have been acknowledged. While we are committed to facilitate the reconciliation process with sincerity, commitment and resolve, we expect that Afghanistan's territory will not be used against Pakistan." Later, during his trip to Datta Khel, Gen Raheel was briefed by the Corps Commander and the Formation Commander about the ongoing sanitisation and stabilisation operation as part of Zarb-i-Azb and post-operation security environment, ISPR stated. "Our nation and the valiant army have paid a huge price for eliminating terrorist and restoring peace in the country. We will not let these sacrifices go waste," the army chief asserted. Gen Raheel maintained that military operations against terrorists of all hue and colour will continue.The army chief said "with Fata cleared and terrorists being chased across the country, we are determined not to allow them to return and reverse our gains"UNI XC ADG SS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0404-823617.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday held restricted talks at the Presidential Office in Maputo in a bid to bolster bilateral ties between both countries. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM Narendra Modi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks." Prime Minister Modi was earlier accorded a warm and colourful ceremonial welcome, kickstarting his first engagement of the day here to deepen ties with the African nation. "A ceremonial welcome and discussions with President Nyusi...the Prime Minister's programmes in Mozambique begin," tweeted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). Prime Minister Modi reached Maputo as a part of his four nation tour of the African continent this morning. During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will high on the Prime Minister's agenda. He will later hold delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and an issue of a joint statement. The Union Cabinet had earlier on Tuesday gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters. The MoU is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and capacity building. The cabinet had also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by both nations. Prime Minister Modi's other engagement include attending a state banquet hosted by President Nyusi in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will visit the National Assembly, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome and will be introduced to the members, followed by a meeting with President of the National Assembly Veronica Macamo and signing of visitor's book. He will also visit the Maluana Science and Technology Park and the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD), where he will interacts with students. He will then interact with Indian Diaspora before departing for South African capital city of Pretoria.(ANI)
Four people, including two policemen, were killed in a bomb attack near an Eid prayers ground in northern Bangladesh district of Kishoreganj, which took place within a week of a terror attack in a Dhaka restaurant. The 20 people killed in the Dhaka attack also included one Indian student. The Islamic State (IS) terror group had yesterday issued a new chilling video in which it had warned the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the globe until Shariah law was established. The video said the last week's strike was just "glimpse''. Today, the police and the attackers traded gunfire for hours before one of the miscreant was shot dead, but in the process two policemen and a woman was killed. According to the local media, the police have held one person on suspicion of the strike at Shlokia prayer grounds where over 30,000 Muslims had gathered for Eid prayers. Besides four deaths, the blasts left around a dozen people injured. Bangladesh English Daily quoting local people said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the prayer ground. Following, the attacks in Dhaka, intelligence agencies have put the security agencies on high alert in India too, especially in states bordering Bangladesh. One of the attackers of the Dhaka restaurant attack of last week was said to be inspired by India Islmaic preacher Zakir Naik, about which the Bangladesh government had intimated India. Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu today said the government had taken cognisance of reports about Zakir Naik and it would analayse him speeches and role.UNI XC NAZ SW AE 1621 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0432-823835.Xml
India and Mozambique today signed three agreements, including a long-term pact on purchase of pulses from the African country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi witnessed the signing of the agreements after having restricted talks which were followed by the delegation-level talks between the two sides. The other two agreements were related to youth affairs and control of narcotic drugs. Addressing a joint media briefing after the inking of pacts, Mr Modi said both the sides recognised that terrorism was the gravest security threat facing the world today."Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally. The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans-national crimes. "Our agreement on prevention of drug trafficking is a testimony to our shared determination to combat this menace and these networks. Aware of the emerging challenges in the maritime domain, President and I have agreed to strengthen our defence and security relationship," he said. The Prime Minister is on a day-long visit to Mozambique as part of his four-nation tour of Africa, including Tanzania, South Africa and Kenya. He is accompanied by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.On his arrival, Mr Modi was received by the Mozambique President at Presidential Place. More UNI MK SW AE 1707 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-823976.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met President of the Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo and invited her to lead a parliamentary delegation to India. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Modi and Macamo exchanged views on the practices and procedures of their respective Parliaments. Prime Minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women, Swarup said. Modi alluded to the visit of a Mozambican Parliamentary delegation to study India's electoral system in general and electronic voting machines in particular. He invited Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both countries, the Spokesperson said. The Prime Minister also signed the visitors book in the National Assembly in which he wrote: India and Mozambique have shed colonial legacies to chart new democratic courses. The Assembly of the Republic plays a vital role in guiding Mozambique in this journey. I bring with me the best wishes of 1.25 billion Indians who share the democratic spirit with the people of Mozambique. India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister. Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour,. Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening. This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982. Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, he will also visit Tanzania and Kenya during his African sojourn. --IANS ab/dg ( 338 Words) 2016-07-07-19:38:02 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Mozambique National Assembly president Veronica Macamo and exchanged views on the practices and procedures of their respective Parliaments. The Prime Minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women. He alluded to the visit of a Mozambican Parliamentary delegation to study India's electoral system in general and electronic voting machines in particular. He invited Ms Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both the countries. Mr Modi also signed the visitors book in which he inscribed "India and Mozambique have shed colonial legacies to chart new democratic courses. The Assembly of the Republic plays a vital role in guiding Mozambique in this journey. I bring with me the best wishes of 1.25 billion Indians who share the democratic spirit with the people of Mozambique."The Prime Minister was on a day-long visit to the African country in the first leg of his four-nation tour that will take him to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. UNI MK SW AE 1946 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0090-824429.Xml
A former Rabobank trader from Australia pleaded guilty today to a US charge that he conspired in a huge scandal to manipulate Libor, the leading benchmark for pricing financial transactions.Paul Thompson, a former head of money market and derivatives trading in Northeast Asia for the Dutch bank who worked in Singapore, pleaded in federal court in Manhattan to one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. REUTERS PY VN2156 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824646.Xml
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes China will urge North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman said today, after the United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for rights abuses."The Secretary-General believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.Washington blacklisted Kim for the first time on Wednesday in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country. REUTERS PY PM2207 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824673.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for South African capital city Pretoria after having a brief interaction with Indian diaspora in Mozambique on Thursday evening. "Obrigado Mozambique! PM @narendramodi departs Maputo for Pretoria, the second leg of his African sojourn," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Vikas Swarup. "Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique," tweeted Prime Minister Modi after his departure. Earlier, interacting with the Indian community in Mozambique, the Prime Minister said, "Africa was the land which started shaping the identity of the Indian Diaspora. Even as you assimilate with your local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness." "I should have spent more time with you all. But, I assure you that when I come here next, I will give you all more time," he added. "Always a delight to meet and interact with the Indian community," tweeted the Prime minister after the interaction. From July 8-9 in South Africa, the Prime Minister will have meetings with President Jacob Zuma and other senior leaders across the political spectrum to further enhance relations with South Africa. With South Africa, India cooperates and works closely in multi-lateral fora like BRICS, IBSA, G20 and BASIC. The Prime Minister is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during the visit. Pietermaritzburg is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train compartment. Underlining that on the evening of 7th July, he will reach Pretoria in South Africa, which is an important strategic partner with whom India's ties are historical and deep-rooted, the Prime Minister had said before embarking on his four-nation tour: "My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind." "I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa. A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved 'Madiba'. I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation, where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place," said Prime Minister Modi in a statement, adding that during his visit, he will meet President Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. In an effort to boost economic ties between the two countries, the Prime Minister will speak at the India-South Africa business meet. His other programmes in South Africa include a meeting with the Alumni Network in Durban and a reception hosted by the Mayor of Durban, at Durban City Hall. Noting that South Africa is home to a vibrant Indian community that has made South Africa their home for years, the Prime Minister said: "I will interact with the Indian community a programme in Johannesburg on 8th July. I invite you to share your ideas and inputs for my speech, through the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'." The Prime Minister will have meetings with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in Tanzania on July10 to further enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest. The Prime Minister will be in Kenya the next day, where he will have bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta. Prime Minister Modi will also address students in the University of Nairobi during the visit. (ANI)
Donald Trump faced a tough crowd when he met Republicans in Congress today but several lawmakers, including past critics, emerged from the closed-door meeting with encouraging words about their presumptive White House nominee.Republican aides cited good attendance from both houses of Congress at the two meetings, although some lawmakers made a point of staying away, citing previous commitments. Trump drew 41 of 54 Republican senators to the US Senate meeting.At the first meeting, with members of the House of Representatives, Trump shared a hug with House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican who has often criticized Trump even while endorsing him, lawmakers said.They joked a bit about some of their past exchanges during an hour-long meeting, and Trump took questions.Representative Bill Flores said Trump told lawmakers there had been a few times when "I said this, and Paul had to react this way. And I understand it, I get it." Flores quoted Trump as saying: "I'm going to make you proud."Trump won grassroots support during months of state-by-state nominating contests with a pledge to ban Muslims temporarily from entering the United States and to build a wall on the US border with Mexico. He has managed to annoy party leaders with inflammatory remarks to this day.One of the questions for Trump came from Representative Cresent Hardy, a freshman from Nevada who asked whether Trump could help win the votes of minorities, including Hispanics, in his state.Hardy said he was satisfied with Trump's response. "He thinks he has the ability," Hardy said. He said Trump said "polls are showing he's doing well in the state of Nevada."Flores, a Texan who heads the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative grouping in Congress, had also criticized Trump, including for having questioned a US judge's motives because of his Mexican ethnicity. Flores had said he wanted to see "more vision and less trash talk" from the presumptive nominee.After today's session, Flores said he felt better about Trump. "Based on what I have heard today, I've got the confidence that you are going to see a lot more in terms of visionary messaging," Flores said.New York Representative Peter King, a past critic of Trump, had previously called the wealthy businessman a "gamble" at the top of the Republican ticket in the November 8 general election."Today was extremely positive," King told reporters after the House summit two blocks from the Capitol. "There was not one negative moment. There was no awkward moment."TENSIONS AT SENATORS' MEETINGThere were some reports of tension in Trump's meeting with Republican senators. Trump admonished three of them who had been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their Senate races on Election Day, The Washington Post said, citing Republican officials.Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said the issue of Trump's tone came up. "Frankly from my perspective I think we've been making progress in the right direction. I think you're seeing the process of unification start," Scott said.But not everyone was won over. "I need to be persuaded," said Representative Charlie Dent, a moderate Republican from Pennsylvania. He said he would not support either Trump or the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.Like some other leading Republicans, Dent said he would skip the Republican nominating convention in Cleveland starting on July 18."I've been concerned about the incendiary comments (by Trump) and the lack of policy specificity. That's where I've been, that's where I continue to be. I'm not planning on attending the convention," Dent told reporters.Dent did not appear to be impressed with Trump's response to questions about how he would appeal to Hispanics. "He said Hispanics love him," Dent said.Trump was last on the Hill in May, to meet Republican leaders. Since then, many Republican lawmakers have endorsed Trump, but others have not endorsed anyone, while comments from the Republican leadership about Trump have been mixed.Ryan, who earlier this week slammed Trump's Twitter post depicting Clinton against a backdrop of cash and a Star of David, said in a statement that Thursday's meeting with the candidate was "great."REUTERS PY PM2327 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824692.Xml
Mr Modi's remarks came as he interacted with the Indian community here in his last programme of his day-long visit to Mozambique where he had arrived early this morning on the first leg of four-nation tour of the continent.

There are around 20,000 people of Indian origin in Mozambique.

''Even as you assimilate with local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness,'' he said. Indian in Africa contribute to India's status worldwide, he added.

Address to the Indian community was the last programme of the Prime Minister here after he left for South Africa on the second leg of his four-nation tour.

India and Mozambique today signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.UNI NAZ RSA 2318

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824693.Xml
Astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other ever found, one that loops widely around one star that is locked in a gravitational embrace with two others in a triple-star system, creating a curious celestial ballet.The findings, published today in the journal Science, challenge current notions about what makes a planetary system viable.With three stars in the system, the massive planet would experience triple sunrises and triple sunsets during one season and all daylight in another. Since the planet's orbit is very long, each season lasts for hundreds of years."Depending on which season you were born in, you may never know what nighttime is like," lead researcher Kevin Wagner of the University of Arizona said.The planet, called HD 131399Ab, is about four times bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, and is orbiting in a three-star system located about 340 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.Scientists are not sure how HD 131399Ab came to exist. It orbits its parent star about twice as far as Pluto circles the sun, needing 550 years to complete a single orbit.Astronomers have previously discovered planets in multi-star systems, but never one that circles a parent star with such a wide berth. It also is one of the few extrasolar planets - those outside our solar system - to be directly imaged by telescope.The planet's orbit is akin to the distance more typically seen when a star orbits another star, not a planet orbiting a star."This is the first planet that we've found with an orbit that is comparable to that of the stars," Wagner said.If HD 131399Ab's orbit was just a bit wider, computer simulations show it could be gravitationally elbowed out of the system by the pair of smaller stars that orbit each other and the main star, which is about 80 percent bigger than the sun.Though the planet is relatively young, around 16 million years old compared to the 4.5-billion-year-old Earth, it likely has had an eventful life. Scientists suspect it may have started off in a much closer orbit around two parent stars before it was gravitationally bounced to its extreme distance.Scientists plan additional observations to determine if the planet's orbit is actually stable."It is not clear how this planet ended up on its wide orbit in this extreme system ... but it shows there is more variety out there than many would have deemed possible," Wagner said.The planet was detected using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in northern Chile.REUTERS PY PM2339 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0298-824696.Xml
BAGHDAD, July 4, 2016 (Xinhua) -- People gather at the site of explosion in Karrada-Dakhil district in southern Baghdad, Iraq, on July 4, 2016. Iraq began on Monday a three-day national mourning for victims of Sunday's car bombing attacks in the capital city of Baghdad, as the death toll rose to 166. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A long-awaited British inquiry into the 2003 invasion of Iraq on Wednesday revealed that Britain's decision to join the U.S.-led war is a blind action to follow its U.S. ally, which spares no effort to intervene in other countries under the cover of democracy.

Some Western countries, in particular the United States, have always tried to force their values on other countries without any respect for their own development paths. To protect their interests and maintain their dominance in the world, they can easily wage a war by fabricating an excuse in defiance of the United Nations' (UN) authority.

The Iraq War Inquiry report reveals that there was "no imminent threat" from Saddam Hussein in March 2003, who the United States claimed possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that have not been found to this day.

Britain's military role in Iraq went "badly wrong" and "ended a long way from success," the report said, adding that Britain went to war before all peaceful options had been exhausted. In fact, its U.S. ally regards military force as a permissible means to topple regimes that are not submissive, even at the cost of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and a country's destiny.

The same scenario happened in Libya and Syria, where conflicts are still raging and have caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee their homes. Many of those refugees have died in the Mediterranean during their migration to Europe.

The report also pointed out that "the planning and preparation for Iraq after Saddam were wholly inadequate."

That reminded people of U.S. President Barack Obama's reply when he was asked in a Fox News interview to name the "worst mistake" of his presidency -- "probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya."

Though the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair and current Prime Minister David Cameron have defended military intervention and planning for the aftermath of the intervention, the two British leaders and the Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama know better when it comes to the consequences of war and the preciousness of peace.

Looking around, the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups such as the Islamic State group should be blamed on the hegemonism and interventionism perpetrated by the United States and its Western allies.
NAIROBI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The socialist model that has sustained China's political, economic and social institutions since 1949 has unleashed huge benefits to the Asian giant and across the globe, Kenyan experts told Xinhua on Wednesday.

The experts said socialism with Chinese characteristics has stood the test of time thanks to its emphasis on practical benefits to individual, community and nation state.

Prof. Macharia Munene, a diplomacy scholar at Kenya's United States International University - Africa, said the Chinese socialist model has triggered a global consciousness on re-inventing system of governance, economic management and human relations while respecting the constitution and cultural diversity.

"Among the benefits of socialism with Chinese characteristics is releasing of potential for individuals and groups to develop themselves in materially productive ways in the context of general good as guided by the constitution," Macharia told Xinhua in an interview.

Munene, who has published widely on China, hailed the Asian giant for adopting a socialist model that fuelled its peaceful rise while unleashing huge benefits to the entire world.

"The internal energies harnessed through socialism enabled China to shoot up to the top of the world economic ladder without losing its essence as China," said Munene, adding that socialism underpins China's enviable stature as a global manufacturing and investment hub.

Chinese brand of socialism has a growing appeal in developing countries that are yearning to re-invent their political, social and economic systems.

Munene said socialism with Chinese characteristics is not only pragmatic but gives leeway to a sovereign state to determine their destiny without adopting foreign concepts that may have a backlash locally.

"There is need for every country to focus on its core interests while exploring models that can have greatest impact to citizenry. Legitimate national leaders should avoid being derailed by foreign experts whose perspectives could be at variance with local objectives," Munene said.

He hailed the time honored resilience, adaptability and pragmatism that has made Chinese socialist model unrivalled.

"The advantage that socialism with Chinese characteristics has over other types of socialism is its emphasis on nationalism as opposed to ideology. As a result, China's interests are not likely to be subordinated to the whims of other geopolitical entities," said Munene.

China has managed to integrate socialist ideals in all spheres of life since 1949 thanks to visionary leadership.

Dr. Gerishon Ikiara, a diplomacy scholar at the University of Nairobi, said that Chinese brand of socialism has served as a guiding tool for national renewal in the last seven decades.

"As for China, socialism is not just an ideology that is used as a tool to guide the country's political and economic affairs. The concept has been effectively used as a way of life that promoted the attainment of China's vision and goals," said Ikiara.

He added socialism with Chinese characteristics has weathered political, economic and social upheavals thanks to its resilience and adaptive capacity.

Ikiara said the Chinese brand of socialism has unleashed economic prosperity and political stability.

"China's socialist model has created a conducive environment for rapid socio-economic transformation," said Ikiara, adding that China's diplomatic clout has been on the rise thanks to the success of the Chinese socialist model.

Developing countries could emulate Chinese socialist model in a bid to promote economic growth, peace and cohesion, the expert said.

Ikiara said China has managed to spread prosperity evenly while strengthening peaceful co-existence among diverse ethnic groups courtesy of socialism.

"Chinese socialist model seems to have been an effective tool of managing ethnic and political diversity. It has created greater space for the top leadership to allocate resources to the identified priority areas," Ikiara said.

He said China has utilized its socialist model to foster its engagement with developing countries that have gained immensely from its peaceful rise. Enditem
ATHENS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Italy's state-owned company Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A was the sole candidate to submit an offer for the privatization of Greek railways operator TrainOSE, Greece's privatization fund announced on Wednesday.

"The procedure for the submission of binding offers for the sale of 100 percent stake in TrainOSE SA. and EESSTY SA. ("ROSCO"), the rolling stock maintenance company, was completed today," the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) said in a statement.

Despite initial expression of interest by the Russian railway company RZD, the second TrainOSE international tender in a year closed with one bidder.

HRADF had annulled the first tender although more expressions of interest had been submitted "in order to attract bigger interest by investors," according to an official statement at the time.

The fund's board of directors will convene to consider the next steps, as no binding offers were submitted for ROSCO.

Greece intends to raise at least 2.5 billion euros (2.77 billion U.S. dollars) from its privatization program this year as part of efforts to restore the growth of the ailing Greek economy.

The completion of the sale of the majority stake in Piraeus Port to China's COSCO Shipping this summer following a similar international tender is regarded as a landmark in the development of Greece's largest port.

Under the deal approved by the Greek parliament last week, a few hours before Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' official visit to China which ended on Wednesday, the Chinese investor will pay 368.5 million euros now and invest more over the next decades in infrastructure at the port.
WASHINGTON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton should not be given classified intelligence briefings, citing her reckless handling of classified information.

Speaking at a news conference, Ryan said he would like Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper to block Clinton from receiving full classified information on national security issues given to presidential nominees after the Democratic Party convention later the month.

As a common practice, U.S. presidential nominees will receive classified intelligence briefings from the DNI after the party conventions in the election year.

"I think the DNI Clapper should deny Hillary Clinton access to classified information during this campaign given how she so recklessly handled classified information," Ryan said.

Ryan was referring to Clinton's use of a private email server at her home to handle her electronic communication while she was Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013.

James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), told a news conference on Tuesday that the FBI will not recommend criminal charges against Clinton after a formal investigation.

But he said the FBI probe found that Clinton was "extremely careless" in handling her work-related information and it was possible that "hostile actors" had gained access to her email account.

It was found that 110 emails in 52 email chains that Clinton handled contained classified information, including eight email chains that contained top secret information, Comey said.

The FBI decision of not to charge Clinton has angered the Republicans in Congress.

Ryan said the decision "looks like" preferential treatment for Clinton by the FBI.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican, announced Wednesday his committee will hold a hearing Thursday to investigate the matter, where Comey was to testify and explain the FBI decision.

"The FBI's recommendation is surprising and confusing," said Chaffetz in a statement. "The fact pattern presented by Director Comey makes clear Secretary Clinton violated the law. Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable."

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who oversees the FBI, is also expected to appear next Tuesday for a hearing held by the House Judiciary Committee on the FBI investigation.

Lynch has already been criticized for holding a private meeting last week with Hillary Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, ahead of the FBI announcement of its probe into the Clinton email case.

The 2016 Democratic National Convention is to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 25-28, as Clinton will officially become the Democratic nominee. Enditem
TIRANA, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Albanian government presented on Wednesday the "Gas Master Plan for Albania," which is expected to be implemented until 2040.

Albanian Minister of Energy and Industry Damian Gjiknuri, noted the uncontested importance of gas as an alternative source necessary in the energy sector.

The master plan has identified the first beneficiary area in Albania that will be Ballsh Fier-Patos region, while Albania's gas sources should be used as there is growing interest in oil and gas in Albania.

"The master plan study takes into account the requirements for investment in the development of the gas transmission network, necessary for the gasification of the country expected for the period 2020-2040," Gjiknuri said, noting that Albania has enough gas sources to meet the needs of the domestic market.

He said that another immediate project is to put into operation the thermal power station in Vlora. "We are examining the scope for a Public-Private Partnership," he said.

Gjiknuri stated that according to the master plan, the first beneficiaries of the gas transmission network will be Fier and Ballsh areas and the second important area is the industrial area of Tirana-Durres.

According to the gas master plan, by 2020, gas consumption in Albania will reach 1.4 billion cubic meters, of which 551 million cubic meters will be used by families. The Gas master plan is funded by the World Bank in the amount of 1.1 million euros (1.2206 million U.S. dollars).

Albanian government said that the implementation of TAP will cost 1 billion U.S. dollars and is to bring 20,000 jobs. This investment is expected to encourage economy in general in the areas where it will pass. Enditem
SANTIAGO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government on Wednesday approved the sale of 42 missiles and various support systems to the Chilean army at a total cost of 140 million U.S. dollars, Chile's Radio Cooperativa announced Wednesday.

The report explained that the proposal had been approved by the U.S. Congress on July 1, involving 33 RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow (ESSM) missiles, six ESSM Telemetry Missiles and three MK41 vertical launching systems.

The deal also includes 10 MK25 Quad Pack canisters, five SeaSparrow shipping containers, five MK73 Continuous Wave Illumination Transmitters, and one Inertial Missile Initializer Power Supply.

Furthermore, the U.S. will provide spare and repair parts, train Chilean personnel to use the equipment as well as installation and technical assistance in the future.

The missiles will be applied to Chile's type 23 naval frigates and will be provided by Raytheon Missile Systems and BAE Systems.
By Raimundo Urrechaga

GUARDALAVACA, Cuba, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The thawing of the Cuba-U.S. relations is giving a boost to tourism of the Caribbean island known for its crystal clear sea, white sand, vintage cars, mojito cocktail and cigars.

Now the island wants to benefit from this opportunity and fully develop its tourism by diversifying the destinations beyond the famous Varadero beach and the capital Havana.

The eastern region of the country is looking to attract more visitors with its beaches, rich culture and history as well as Cuba's most impressive mountain range.

Guardalavaca, located in the northern tip of Holguin, has increased its tourism opportunities with top-notch resorts on one of the most exclusive strips of Caribbean beach.

"We love Cuba and this part of the island is exceptional. We've been to many places in the Pacific and the Caribbean but Guardalavaca's beach is spectacular and it's our favorite place," said Jenny Dulovitch, a Canadian tourist who has visited Cuba nine times.

In the high season from November to May, Holguin's resorts are full of Canadians avoiding the freezing winter temperatures and enjoying mojitos and the white sand.

Meanwhile, even in the low season, visitors from European countries like Germany, Britain and Italy as well as Cuban nationals still visit the developing tourist area.

Brisas Guardalavaca, a 437-room four-star resort, attracts visitors from all over the world every year with an all-inclusive service that leaves most of its clients satisfied.

"About 15 percent of our clients come back to the hotel and we thrive in providing a good service as well as updating our rooms, lobby area and restaurants," Yaima Suarez, sales manager at the resort inaugurated in 1994, told Xinhua.

Looking to relax and enjoy the sun of the Caribbean, visitors seem to enjoy Cuba's fourth largest tourist area and its most rapidly expanding beach zone.

"I've come to Cuba 50 times. Guardalavaca is one of the top beaches in the island because of its crystal clear waters and I will definitely come back," said Canadian tourist Clara Sozio.

In Holguin, located 735 kilometers east of Havana, tourists can also enjoy other attractions and activities such as mountain climbing, a visit to Fidel Castro's birthplace or a tour through the island's coal and nickel mines.

The Cuban province currently has 4,000 hotel rooms in over 15 beach and city resorts and Raul Castro's government is looking to build 57,000 new rooms in the next five years, particularly in Guardalavaca.

Havana's detente with Washington is expected to attract more U.S. visitors to the area particularly after direct commercial flights from U.S. were approved last month, although tourist activities in the island are still prohibited by the White House.

"We'll stay loyal with our traditional markets but we're also prepared to receive U.S. visitors in this hotel and any other resort in Holguin," said Suarez.

Flights to Holguin and other eight Cuban cities, except Havana, were already approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation and are set to begin this fall.

"When U.S. visitors start to come more, it would be good for Cuba and it will let them discover an exceptional country far from the image they've got in the past half-century," said Andrea Batista, an Italian tourist in Guardalavaca.

Last year 161,233 U.S. citizens traveled to the island, 76 percent more than in 2014 due to the elimination of restrictions by the Obama administration after the two countries decided to reestablish diplomatic relations.

According to Cuba's Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero, in the first four months of 2016, over 94,000 U.S. citizens had visited the Caribbean island, a 93 percent increase from the same period of 2015.

Air connectivity to Holguin has also increased with flights from various European countries, five Canadian cities and recently a new connection from Panama with Copa Airlines that links the Cuban city with Latin America.

"We see a very promising future and hope that with this new flight the connectivity of Cuba's eastern region would improve," said Claudia Zuluaga, Copa's commercial manager in the Caribbean.

Other cities of Cuba's eastern area, like Camaguey, Baracoa and Santiago de Cuba are also experiencing an important rise in tourism as the industry grows across the island.
CARACAS, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government on Wednesday expressed its solidarity with the Chinese people after heavy flooding caused human and material losses in large swathes of China.

In an official statement, Venezuela sends its "solidarity" with the survivors and the families of the victims "in these real moments of pain."

Intense rains have left at least 128 dead and 42 others missing in China. The rains, which have battered central and southern China, have also destroyed over 41,000 buildings and led to the evacuation of over 1.34 million people, especially along the Yangtze River.

"Venezuela expresses its deepest condolences to the Chinese government and people for the heavy human and material losses caused by intense rains and flooding," read the statement.

It added that "Venezuela sends its wishes for this regrettable situation to be quickly brought under control, thanks to the known efficiency and commitment of China's rescue service."
MINSK, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Belarus wants normalization of relations with the United States on mutually beneficial terms, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Wednesday.

Lukashenko said Belarus will not have a full-fledged foreign policy without normalization of its relations with Washington, Lukashenko made the remarks on Wednesday at the meeting with Scott Rauland, temporary charge d'affaires of the U.S. in Belarus.

However, the president noted the improvement of relations between Belarus and the United States, adding that "with the good will of the U.S. government we can do a great deal in the near future".

At the same time, Lukashenko noted that Belarus has certain obligations to the neighboring states, including close cooperation with Russia, as well as China and India. "These countries are our strategic allies, partners. We have made relevant agreements with them," he said.

Lukashenko also said that the independence and sovereignty for him as a president and for the Belarusian people - are sacred. "We will never agree to be a non-sovereign state, to be dependent on someone else", said the president.

Rowland said Washington sees the possibility of full normalization of relations with Belarus. The U.S. is pleased with the progress that Belarus has achieved in the past two years, he added.

The U.S. is ready to cooperate further with Belarus for a positive future, and the main thing is for the territorial sovereignty and independence of Belarus to be at the highest and strongest level, the diplomat said.

Belarus has no U.S. ambassador since 2008. The two countries mutually reduced staff of their embassies to five people in 2008 after the United States had imposed economic sanctions on Belarus.

In recent years, Belarus has improved relations with the West against the background of the role of Minsk in the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Earlier, the U.S. suspended sanctions on a number of Belarusian enterprises.
MARSEILLE, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Belgian rider Greg van Avermaet took a bold move on Wednesday, which led to his just second victory at the Tour de France and the overall leader's yellow jersey.

The 31-year-old raced clear to take the 216km ride of the fifth stage from Limoges to Le Lioran, leading France's Julian Alaphilippe of Etixx-Quick Step by five minutes 11 seconds and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Movistar by 5:13.

Van Avermaet was part of a nine-man breakaway after some 20km, shortly after going through Saint Leonard de Noblat, the home town of France's favourite rider, the 80-year-old Raymond Poulidor, who finished eight times on the Tour podium.

He, his compatriot Thomas de Gendt and Ukrainian Andriy Grivko went away with 85km left to the finish, before the Belgian of BMC Racing Team made his final move on the climb to the Col de Perth's 17km from the line.

"It's special for me, it's the best jersey in the world. It's my first time and perhaps the last so I will enjoy every moment," said Van Avermaet, who claimed his first Tour victory last year in the 13th stage.

"It's the best moment of my career. Winning a stage is already quite something but this takes it to another level," he claimed after finishing the 216km ride in 5:31:36.

De Gendt was second at 2:34 and Pole Rafal Majka of Tinkoff took third place with further 2:30, while big names Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali struggled.

Defending champion Chris Froome of Team Sky and last year's runner-up Nairo Quintana of Movistar lie fifth and seventh respectively, 5:17 off the pace.

The sixth stage on Thursday will be a mostly flat 190.5km ride from Arpajon sur Cere to Montauban before the Tour enters the Pyrenees.
SANTIAGO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Chile's President Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday ratified her government's goal of making free universal higher education a reality for Chilean youth.

"Free and good higher education for everyone is what we want, and it is possible," Bachelet said at an official event in Pedro Aguirre Cerda, a city within the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

"We have proposed a realistic mechanism that is ... gradual to make it universal little by little," Bachelet said, in a message apparently directed at those impatient to see the president come through on her fundamental campaign promise to provide free quality education.

"That is the best way to guarantee ... there be no turning back, even though we have to take a little more time than we would have liked," she said.

Her minister of Finance, however, warned against the expense.

In a statement that seemed to contradict the president, Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes said Chileans should ask themselves whether they wanted to earmark the significant funds necessary to make free universal higher education a reality, at the expense of other social "needs".

Valdes appeared to be addressing legislators, who are set to debate the government's education reform bill.

"If the education bill is passed, Chile is going to get free universal education," said Valdez, adding however it would be "irresponsible" to ignore today's economic reality, including lower prices for copper, Chile's main export.

Bachelet came to power in 2014 on the strength of a campaign platform that promised an overhaul of the education system, which had been largely privatized by her pro-business predecessor.
By Edna Alcantara

MEXICO CITY, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Mexico City began this week to hand out about 15,000 whistles, mostly to women who ride the subway system, in a bid to cut down the incidence of sexual harassment.

The program, called "Live Safe," aims to make it easier for women to draw the attention of police when they become victims of harassment or fear they might be.

On Tuesday morning, the city set up stands at several underground stations to distribute the whistles, which have been met with mixed reactions and even derision from some who say the measure doesn't go far enough to protect women.

High school student Esperanza Sosa told Xinhua she found the whistles impractical, since they would be difficult to use when the trains were full, which presumably is when they would be most needed.

"I think the intention is good, but ... when you are riding in the car during rush hours, sometimes you can't even move your hands. Things sometimes happen very quickly, and sometimes the men pass very close to you," said Sosa.

The city subway system has for years provided segregated cars for women and children under 12 on especially busy lines, though only the first two, or last two, cars are reserved, so those who don't arrive in time have no choice but to ride in the other cars.

When Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera first announced the Live Safe campaign in early June, many ridiculed the "anti-sexual harassment whistle" as a meaningless panacea.

Undeterred, Mancera said the negative comments had helped his campaign get wide media coverage, even abroad.

"I think (the criticism) made it much more powerful ... because everyone found out about it. It became known in Europe, it became known in the United States, it became known throughout the country," Mancera said.

However, he added, "we will have to see how effective it is, it has to be accompanied by police protocols."

Women who lined up for a whistle on Tuesday were asked to fill out a questionnaire and received, in turn, a whistle with a pamphlet that explains when to use it, and also has the telephone numbers of related city services, such as the sex crimes unit of the local attorney general's office.

"Blowing the whistle is the first step to asking for help," the city government said in a press release. "Afterwards, you can file a complaint, in the case of sexual harassment or abuse, and the perpetrator must be detained and taken to the specialized sex crimes unit of the attorney general's office."

The whistle, the city said, is just one of several measures designed to improve women's safety while in transit. Officials say they have also installed more surveillance cameras and panic buttons on buses and in other public areas.

"I think I feel a little safer" with a whistle, said Jimena Martinez, as she waited in line.

"Even though there are special cars for women, sometimes there's no space in there and you have to ride with men," she explained.

In April, a group of young women dressed in long black tunics (similar to the burqas worn in some Islamic countries) protested inside a subway station against sexual harassment, holding signs that said "the metro is public, my body is not."
NAY PYI TAW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi will hold talks with representatives of non-signatory armed groups to the Nationwide Cease fire Accord (NCA) in Yangon on July 17.

This was made known Thursday according to a decision taken at the second day meeting of the Preparatory Committee for Holding the 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference in Nay Pyi Taw.

The committee's Wednesday meeting decided to allow the NCA non-signatories to join the Panglong conference to ensure thier access to the political dialogue.

The non-signatory armed groups are represented by the United Nationalities Federal Council's Delegation for Political Negotiation.

The meeting reviewed the political dialogue framework and focused on agenda items to be discussed at the upcoming Panglong Conference and stakeholders' involvement.

On the first day meeting on Tuesday, Aung San Suu Kyi outlined the policy guidelines for the peace process which include allowing non-signatory groups to the NCA to join the Panglong Conference, relaxation of restrictions on inviting political parties, that do not hold a parliamentary seat, to the conference and functions of the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in dealing with international donors and their assistance to the peace process.

The committee set the 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference to be held in Nay Pyi Taw by the last week of August.

Myanmar former government and eight ethnic armed groups out of 15 signed the NCA on Oct. 15, 2015 and there remains seven other armed groups who are yet to sign the NCA.
YANGON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar government is working for ensuring the return of 105,000 Myanmar refugees taking shelter in Thailand, official media reported Thursday.

A consultation workshop on a strategic cooperation plan for the voluntary repatriation of the refugees, jointly organized by the Ministry of Border Affairs and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was held in Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday.

Minister Lt-Gen Ye Aung said the government is making arrangements to bring back the Myanmar refugees left in nine camps on the Myanmar-Thai border.

Ye Aung disclosed that the government will ink a memorandum of understanding with the UNHCR for it to provide the returning refugees with education, health services, clean water, infrastructure and vocational training.

Ye Aung called for collaborative efforts from the ethnic groups, civil society organizations and ethnic community for the refugees' return.

The Myanmar refugees, who fled domestic conflicts since several decades ago, will be covered by a short-and long-term program as part of the undertakings of Myanmar's national reconciliation and peace process, reports said.
by Edna Alcantara

MEXICO CITY, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Socialism with Chinese characteristics has contributed greatly to China's economic development and social progress and will continue to do so, Mexican experts have said.

There has been no single model for socialism and China has chosen a unique path based on its national conditions, which has helped it become the world's second largest economy, Armando Azua, a professor at the Center of Asian Studies at Iberoamerican University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"China's socialism is a revolutionary form of socialism which breaks with the traditional model we associate with socialist countries. No other model has been as successful as China's," he said.

Azua believes one of the factors behind China's success is its tradition of discipline at work.

"This could not happen in other countries. China has a collective vision, above an individualistic one, which puts the interests of the nation first."

China has seen socialism remain strong as the country continues to overcome obstacles, said Marisela Connelly, an expert in Chinese studies from the College of Mexico.

The Communist Party of China has been aware of how to keep the socialist model relevant to the country's evolution. The party is now focusing on developing China further by focusing on domestic consumption and services, Connelly said.

"This is an important step, leading to the reforms the country needs to continue moving forward."

China's collective spirit has allowed it to unite to tackle inequality, environmental damage and corruption, said Ignacio Martinez Cortes, a researcher on Chinese affairs from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

He suggested that China continue to focus on reforms and public policies to improve social well-being and reduce the income gap.

"China is a country which will continue to consolidate as an emerging power. Few countries have even tried to bring so many people out of poverty. However, the future challenge for the Chinese government is to cement a sustainable development model and encourage social equality," Cortes told Xinhua.

All the experts agree that the key to maintaining the vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics is to continue making steady political and economic progress, ensure broader participation by society in medium- and long-term development goals and continue listening to people's demands such as fighting corruption.
by Matt Walsh

CANBERRA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is "very confident" his Liberal-National Party coalition can secure a majority government, despite election analysts predicting that a hung Parliament is still the likely result of the tightly-contested federal election.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister traveled to Queensland to meet with independent MP Bob Katter, the most likely crossbencher to side with the coalition in the event of a hung Parliament, but according to Turnbull, it might not be necessary to secure his support.

Turnbull said he was confident of forming a majority government once the remaining votes in tight seats are counted, and his visit to Katter in Queensland was purely to 'cover his bases.'

"I am very confident that we will form government," Turnbull told the press on Thursday.

"We will form a majority government in our own right but I am talking to the crossbenchers as I would do regardless of what our own numbers in the House amounted to."

Tasmanian independent minister Andrew Wilkie agreed with Turnbull, despite stating he would not support the PM in the case of a hung Parliament.

Wilkie said it was "increasingly looking like" the coalition would retain governance with a majority.

"It's looking more and more like Malcolm Turnbull will have either a clear majority of seats or be in a position, perhaps not with my support but with the support of other crossbenchers, to form government," Wilkie told the press on Thursday.

But a hung Parliament - in which no major party secures enough seats (76) to secure a majority government - is still the most likely result according to election analysts, but Turnbull may only need the support of one or two independents to form a minority government if current trends continue.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the government has sewn up 73 seats - three short of forming a majority government - while there are five seats in doubt.

Despite the Prime Minister's claims, ABC election analyst Barrie Cassidy predicted the coalition would still fall short of the 76 seat mark.

"You need 77 (seats) because you have got to provide a speaker but 76 is the figure we are working on," he told ABC radio on Thursday.

"When you've got five doubtful (seats), the coalition could get to 77 but 75 is more likely."

ABC colleague Antony Green was equally as hesitant to declare a majority government was probable; he said he did "not particularly" expect the government to win 76 seats in its own right despite a number of electorates showing large swings to the coalition thanks to the arrival of postal votes.

Despite the uncertainty, Green said he expected a final election result to be known before the weekend.

"I would think (we would know before the weekend). I think nearly everything will be counted," he told the ABC.

"Everything they have on hand should be counted by Friday. What you're waiting for next week is postal votes from quite remote parts of the country."

Despite the result looking favorable for the Turnbull government, the Labor caucus is set to meet on Friday, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten expected to be reaffirmed as Labor leader.

After he managed to orchestrate major swings against LNP-held seats, he is tipped to retain the Labor leadership despite whispers earlier in the week that Anthony Albanese could challenge the incumbent leader.
DHAKA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- At least five people including several policemen were injured in a bomb explosion on Thursday morning at the entrance of Sholakia in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka, where the largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh is being held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan.
DHAKA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- At least five people, including several policemen, were injured in bomb explosions on Thursday morning at the entrance of Sholakia Eid prayer ground in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka.

The largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh was being held there on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan when the bombings occurred.

Witnesses described hearing several explosions at the scene at around 9:30 p.m. local time.

It was not known immediately who launched the bomb attack.

A police official told Xinhua from Kishoreganj that security has been beefed up after the bomb explosions in which three policemen and two people were injured.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official who did not like to be named.

The explosions came about a week after a terror attack on a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulsan in which 20 people including 18 foreigners were killed.
SYDNEY, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian prime minister John Howard speaks during a press conference in Sydney, Australia, July 7, 2016. Former Australian prime minister John Howard has said he does not regret his decision for Australia to enter the 2003 Iraq i War, despite the Chilcot Report's damning response to the U.S.-led invasion. (Xinhua/Zhu Hongye)

CANBERRA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Former Australian prime minister John Howard has said he does not regret his decision for Australia to enter the 2003 Iraqi War, despite the Chilcot Report's damning response to the U.S.-led invasion.

The report, a result of a seven-year British inquiry by Sir John Chilcot, found the legal justification for the war was inadequate, the allied intelligence was flawed, and the threat to Western society posed by Saddam Hussein was exaggerated.

On Thursday, Howard admitted he had not read the report in full, but said Chilcot had the advantage of being able to form an "opinion based on his subsequent, after-the-event judgment of events".

Prime minister of Australia from 1996 until 2007, Howard was in charge of the nation when the decision was made to join the U.S.-led coalition in the invasion of Iraq.

It was decision made on the intelligence advice that then-leader Saddam Hussein was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction - something which was later found out to be untrue.

"I shared the views that Tony Blair expressed, otherwise my government may have taken a different approach," Howard told the press on Thursday.

"There's been this constant claim that we went to war based on a lie. There was no lie. There were errors in intelligence but there was no lie."

"It was the judgment not only of the joint intelligence committee in the United Kingdom... (but the) views of all of the American intelligence agencies including the CIA was that Iraq did possess weapons of mass destruction."

"Yes, it was subsequently discovered there were no stockpiles, but the intelligence advice was that there were."

Howard criticized the report which he said imposed "a standard of 'beyond doubt'".

"Can I offer the view that when you're dealing with intelligence it's very, very hard to find a situation where advice is beyond doubt," Howard said.

"Sometimes if you wait for advice that is beyond doubt you can end up with very disastrous consequences."

Ultimately, he said, the loss of life and injury toll was regrettable, but he did not "retreat" from the choice made in 2003.

"I defend that decision. I don't retreat from it. I don't believe, based on the information available, that it was the wrong decision," Howard said.
MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Russia has allocated a special fund to encourage crop production in 18 regions across the country, the government said Wednesday.

Some 2.57 billion rubles (about 40 million U.S. dollars) has been distributed within the framework of a state program.

Russia is one of the biggest wheat exporters in the world. Last year, Russia exported agricultural commodities for a record sum of 20 billion U.S. dollars, which exceeded the country's revenues from arms exports, according to Alexander Korbut, vice president of Russia's Grain Union industry lobby.
DHAKA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A police constable was dead and 10 people, including several policemen, were injured as law enforcers exchanged fire with attackers on Thursday morning following bomb explosions at the entrance of Sholakia Eid prayer ground in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka.

The largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh was being held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan when the explosions occurred.

Witnesses described hearing several explosions and gunfire at the scene at around 9:30 a.m. local time.

It was not known immediately who launched the bomb attack.

A police official told Xinhua from Kishoreganj that security measures have been beefed up after the incidents of bomb explosions and gun fire in which one police constable was killed and 10 people including five to six policemen were injured.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official who did not like to be named.

It was not known immediately whether the attackers have fled the scene or have been arrested by police.

The incidents came about a week after a terror attack on a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulsan in which 20 people including 18 foreigners were killed.
HANOI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will send female officers to United Nations (UN) international peacekeeping missions in South Sudan and Central African Republic as proposed by the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, according to Vietnam Peacekeeping Center on Thursday.

Vietnamese female officers are capable of performing tasks in the UN's peacekeeping missions, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center Hoang Kim Phung was quoted by Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) newspaper on Thursday.

The center has held specialized training courses for female officers, Phung said, adding that Vietnam will send those officers on their missions after reaching consensus with the UN on the tasks and locations for them, possibly at the end of 2016 or at the beginning of 2017.

Since 2014, the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center has dispatched seven officers to UN missions in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Vietnam is also preparing to deploy a second-level field hospital and a company of engineers to engage in peacekeeping missions when required, reported Quan Doi Nhan Dan.
DHAKA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A police constable and an attacker were killed and 10 people including several cops were injured as law enforcers exchanged fire with unidentified gunmen after several explosions on Thursday morning at the entrance of Sholakia Eid prayer ground in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka.

Witnesses described hearing several explosions and subsequently exchange of gunfire between police and attackers at around 9:30 a.m. local time at the scene, where the largest congregation of prayer in Bangladesh is held on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Such attack on Eid day is said to be first time in Bangladesh. It was not known immediately who launched the attack.

A police official told Xinhua from Kishoreganj that security measures have been beefed up after the incidents of bomb explosions and gun fire in which a police constable and a gunmen whose identity was not known yet were killed, and 10 people including five to six policemen were injured.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official who did not like to be named.

It was not known immediately whether the other attackers have managed to flee the scene or arrested by police.

The incident of explosions came about a week after terror attack in a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulsan in which 20 people including 18 foreigners were killed. Enditem
WELLINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand opposition politicians said Thursday that they have been vindicated over their decision to refuse to join the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, after the release of a report that criticized the role of the then British government in the war.

The main opposition Labour Party, which was in power under Prime Minister Helen Clark in 2003, said it stood by its decision not to send troops to help overthrow Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The official Chilcot Report on the British government's role in the war showed the Iraq invasion had sparked regional instability and left a power vacuum that had been filled by the Islamic State insurgency, Labour Party leader Andrew Little said in a statement.

At the time John Key - the current Prime Minister - had said New Zealand was "MIA" when the country's "traditional allies" were involved, while Clark argued the decision to go to war was not justified without a mandate from the UN Security Council.

However, Key's government has since committed forces to Iraq to train Iraqi troops in the fight against the Islamic State, with Key saying it was the price of being "in the club" of New Zealand's allies.

"The lesson for us is that going to war should never be a gung-ho decision and should certainly never be made so New Zealand can be 'in the club' with its foreign allies," said Little.

The opposition New Zealand First party said Key's government had failed to learn any lessons from the 2003 Iraq invasion.

Had Key's party been in power at the time, "they would have gone into Iraq lured by the United States, even though the invasion was based on flawed intelligence," New Zealand First defense spokesperson Ron Mark said in a statement.
FLASH: CAR BOMBING KILLS AT LEAST 12 IN LIBYA'S BENGHAZI
BANGKOK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations between states directly concerned are the best way to solve the South China Sea disputes, while the coming ruling of the arbitration can only make things worse, a Thai scholar has said.

Natee Taweesrifuengfung, a professor of Thailand's Panyapiwat Institute of Management, expressed his concerns about the upcoming ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a recent interview.

The ruling may escalate disputes as well as threaten the fairness and authority of international conventions, according to the expert.

The tribunal has no right to rule on the case, which concerns maritime delimitation, Natee said, explaining that China made an optional exceptions declaration in 2006 pursuant to the Unites Nations Convention on the law of the Sea (UNCLOS), excluding disputes concerning, among others, maritime delimitation from the UNCLOS third party dispute settlement procedures.

The tribunal said last week that it will announce its ruling on the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea disputes on July 12.

In order to understand the disputes, according to Natee, it is of paramount importance that concerned parties understand the relevant history and background behind the issue.

Chinese people, he highlighted, came to know the islands currently at odds in the South China Sea as early as in China's Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and have ruled them since ancient times, long before the UNCLOS, which was signed in 1982.

Treaties, namely the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the 1900 Treaty of Washington and the 1930 Convention Between the United States and Great Britain, stipulate that the west boundary line of the territory of the Philippines is at 118 degrees east longitude, said Natee.

The Philippine Senate Bill 2699 passed in 2009, which incorporated part of the Nansha Islands in its territory, is utterly ridiculous as it is against those treaties that the Philippines has already accepted, he added.

China has reiterated that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the case and the relevant subject-matter, and that it should not have heard the case or rendered the "award."

China has also called on the Philippines to work with China to use the power of negotiation to solve disputes on the South China Sea.

Natee emphasized that it is in the best interests of the Philippines to return to the bilateral negotiating table with China in order to settle the disputes.
LHASA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Groundwater in and around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is on the rise thanks to increased runoff from glaciers, precipitation, and administrative actions to store more groundwater, according to a report by Chinese and Swedish researchers.

Groundwater has risen in the Jinsha River basin, Nujiang-Lancangjiang Rivers source region, the Yangtze River source region, Yellow River source region, Qaidam Basin and the Qiangtang Nature Reserve, said the report, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Swedish Land Survey Authority, and the University of Hong Kong's Department of Earth Sciences used satellites to monitor changes in groundwater storage in the plateau and its surroundings from 2003 to 2009.

"Understanding the changes in groundwater is key to the use and control of water resources in the plateau," said Wang Hansheng, a researcher with the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, under the CAS.

The government could use the research findings to plan farming, herding, engineering projects, prevent geological disasters and explore geothermal resources, Wang said.
KABUL, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed the decision of his U.S. counterpart to maintain American troops' presence in Afghanistan into 2017, Arg, the country's Presidential Palace said on Thursday.

"Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani welcomed decision of President Barak Obama to authorize extension of U.S. troops in Afghanistan," said a statement posted in Arg's website.

On Wednesday, Obama announced that he will maintain about 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan into 2017 through the end of his administration. His original plan was to draw down U.S. troops in the militancy-hit country to 5,500 by the end of this year.

The decision showed continued partnership between United States and Afghanistan to pursue common interests and strengthen regional stability, the statement added.

Obama said the new decision was based on recommendation of U.S. military leaders and following extensive consultations with his national security team, as well as the Congress, the Afghan government and international partners.

The NATO and U.S. forces completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces, including some 9,800 U.S. troops, are currently stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising and backing Afghan troops in the war on insurgents.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The top disciplinary arm of the Communist Party of China (CPC) named and shamed officials in 90 cases of misconduct on Thursday.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published on its website names of officials involved in accepting bribes, embezzling public funds, abusing power for personal gain and misappropriating state allowances or subsidies, among other violations.

Those on the list are mainly low-level bureaucrats, ranging from village chiefs to county heads. Punishments include warnings, demotions, dismissals, and expulsion from the CPC.

In one case, Yuan Weizhong, former Party chief of Xiguan Village of Jinzhou City in northeast China's Liaoning Province, was expelled from the CPC for misappropriating public funds and swindling state subsidies.

China has been working hard to rein in corruption and instill more discipline in its civil servants, in response to public complaints over officials' behavior.

The CCDI established a monthly reporting system in August 2013 to monitor nationwide implementation of the "eight-point rules," which were introduced on Dec. 4, 2012 by the CPC to reduce bureaucracy, extravagance, and undesirable work habits.
COLOMBO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan navy said on Thursday that it has arrested 16 Indian fishermen who were poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

Navy spokesman Akram Alavi told Xinhua that the navy assisted the coast guard to arrest the Indian fishermen at two separate locations.

He said that the fishermen were arrested south of Delft Islands and off Mannar, both located North of Sri Lanka.

The navy spokesman said that three boats used by the Indians were also seized.

The fishermen and boats were to be handed over to the Jaffna Fisheries Inspectorate and the Mannar Assistant Directorate of Fisheries once being brought ashore.

Akram Alavi said the latest arrest follows the arrest of 17 Indian fishermen two days earlier.

Sri Lanka and India are yet to find a permanent solution to the issue of fishermen poaching in the seas of both countries which has lasted for several years.
TOKYO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed in negative territory for a third straight day on Thursday as the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar zapped investor sentiment with broader concerns about the economic implications of Britain's vote to leave the European Union further compounding a dour market mood.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 102.75 points, or 0.67 percent, from Wednesday to end the day at 15,276.24.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, ended 8.11 points, or 0.66 percent, lower at 1,226.09.

Notable issues that retreated by the close of play comprised real estate, construction and chemical-linked issues.

The day's turnover was 1,857.7 billion yen (18.39 billion U.S. dollars).
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan will consider buying more crude oil from Brunei if it is able to supply more, said the Japanese ambassador to Brunei.

Japanese ambassador Noriko Iki was quoted by Brunei Times on Thursday that Japan is importing crude oil from Brunei, and buying more would contribute to the diversification of Japan's supply sources.

But the final decision will be made on a commercial basis and will be up to the private sector, she said.

"For Japan, Brunei is a country from which we have imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) for more than 40 years, and thus we see that the trade in LNG still remains the foundation of the relationship between the two countries today," she said.

She also noted that Japan has an interest in conducting joint research with Brunei in the energy sector and is considering the possibility of cooperation in the near future.

Speaking on renewable energy, the ambassador said Brunei's Tenaga Suria photovoltaic plant was granted from a Japanese company to the Brunei government six years ago.

"Since then, we believe that the Brunei government has made the most use of the plant as a showcase of renewable energy. When the Brunei government proceeds to the next stage of the practical introduction of photovoltaic generation based on the results from the experimental use of the plant, Japan is willing to make a contribution utilizing Japanese technology," she said.
NANJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) has called for increased compensation for intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement.

Compensation in IPR cases should be decided on the basis of the market value of the infringed intellectual property while taking into consideration the infringer's intent and behavior, said Tao Kaiyuan, vice president of the SPC, at a conference on IPR trials in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, on Thursday.

"Compensation should be increased when it comes to repeat offenders or those who have encroached upon IPR on purpose," Tao added.

Chinese courts received about 130,000 first-instance IPR cases in 2015, an increase of 11.7 percent year on year. Among them, 123,000 cases were closed, up 11.7 percent from the previous year.
DHAKA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- In a first-ever terror attack on Eid congregation, at least two constables and an attacker were killed and 11 others injured on Thursday morning at the entrance of Sholakia Eid prayer venue in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka.

Witnesses described hearing several explosions and subsequently exchange huge of gunfire between police and attackers at around 9:30 a.m. local time at the scene, where the largest congregation of prayer in Bangladesh is held on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Such an attack on Eid day is said to be first time in Bangladesh. It was not known immediately who launched the attack.

A police official told Xinhua from Kishorganj that security measures have been beefed up after the incidents of bomb explosions and gun fire in which two police constables and a gunmen whose identity was not known yet were killed, and 11 people including at least six policemen were injured.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official who declined to be named.

Two attackers have been detained with bullet wounds.

It was not known immediately whether there were any other attackers .

The incident came about a week after terror attack in a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulshan in which 22 people including 18 foreigners and two policemen were killed.
HOUSTON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people held on Wednesday night a vigil for Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, who was shot and killed by two white police officers on Tuesday in Baton Rouge, the capital city of the state of Louisiana.

The participants, including Sterling's family members, politicians and religious leaders, urged those who gathered for the vigil to stay peaceful even as their words spoke of the hurt, anger and frustration following news breaks with updates on the killing of Sterling.

Sterling was selling compact discs outside a food store when he was gunned down following an altercation with two police officers early Tuesday morning, according to the state's daily newspaper The Times-Picayune.

So far, two videos have been released to show the shootings that killed Sterling from two different angles, with the first one released on Tuesday night which immediately fueled protests.

The second video, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, shows two Baton Rouge police officers were struggling with Sterling just before he was fatally shot.

The new angle shows Sterling's left arm was moving slightly as an officer pulls the weapon from his right pocket. Sterling can be seen struggling as officers hold him down.

Footage confirms some of the claims made by the food store owner, who told local press that Sterling was shot several times.

The shooting incident has triggered protests in Houston, the largest city of the state of Texas.

About 150 people gathered on Wednesday night at Discovery Green, a public urban park in downtown Houston, and speakers expressed sorrow over the loss of Sterling.

"We need black cops," a speaker said. "We need black lawyers and we need black politicians."

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice began a civil rights investigation into Tuesday's officer-involved fatal shooting of Sterling while Louisiana state police also will supplement the investigation to determine if any criminal actions took place.
TRIPOLI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Twelve Libyan soldiers were killed on Thursday in a car bomb attack in the eastern city of Benghazi.

A spokesman of the Libyan marine said heavy clashes erupted on Thursday between Libyan army troops and extremist militants, who used mines and car bombs.

On Wednesday, four soldiers were killed and seven others injured in clashes with the Islamic State (IS) group in Benghazi.

The United Nations-backed unity government has formed a presidential guards service, a coalition of militias mostly from the city of Misrata, to fight the increased dominance of IS in the city of Sirte, some 450 km east of capital Tripoli.

Libya has been witnessing escalating violence since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

Also on Wednesday, an army MIG-23 aircraft crashed in western Benghazi, killing its pilot. No details were available about the crash.
BEIJING, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Guo Jinlong, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, presides over a ceremony to mark the 79th anniversary of the start of China's defence against Japanese invasion at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony was held in Beijing on Thursday to mark the 79th anniversary of the start of China's defence against Japanese invasion.

The ceremony was held at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and chaired by Guo Jinlong, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Around 500 people, including veterans of the war, families of military officers who fought in the war, officials, students and representatives from the military, attended the gathering and visited an exhibition on CPC members' heroism in the war.

Japan invaded northeast China in September 1931. However, historians agree that the full-scale invasion began on July 7, 1937, when a bridge that acted as a crucial access point to Beijing was attacked by the Japanese invaders.

The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was an important part of World War II.
People place rocks and burn tyres and tree branches to block a dirt road in suburban Harare, Zimbabwe, July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Stringer)

by Greitnah Machingura, Xu Lingui

HARARE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Business activity was severely subdued in Zimbabwe's capital Harare and other major cities on Wednesday after a social media-organized movement successfully persuaded many urban Zimbabweans to stay at home to protest against the country's economic decay.

Wednesday's mass action, a rare scene in more than a decade, coincided with the second day of the job strike by teachers, nurses and doctors over pay delays and two days after a violent clash between police and mini-bus drivers protesting administrative harassment in Harare.

The strike appeared to be initiated by online messages trending on social media #Thisflag and #ShutDownZimbabwe 2016 urging people not to heed calls of a "stayaway". Some other messages went further to warn people not to report for work or send their children to school as they risked having their cars and household properties burnt.

People place rocks and burn tyres and tree branches to block a dirt road in suburban Harare, Zimbabwe, July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Stringer)

While it was not immediately clear whether people had stayed away in response to the call or due to fear of possible violence, most shops, restaurants and business offices were closed in the capital while banks and government departments were among the few open.

Most commuter omnibus operators were not plying their routes, a situation that left many commuters stranded while there were fewer people than usual in the central business district.

Skirmishes broke out between police and residents in a few high density suburbs of the city. In Mufakose, to the west of the capital, residents burnt tyres and barricaded roads using cement blocks and rocks.

National Police Spokesperson Charity Charamba said about 40 people were arrested for disturbing the peace, including a Belgian tourist among others held in the resort town of Victoria Falls for staging "unlawful demonstrations".

Charamba, however, said the military was not called in to quell the protests.

"The situation has not deteriorated to warrant the presence of the military," she said.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers president Denford Mutashu said most retail supermarkets including OK Zimbabwe, Spar and Pick n Pay were open and did not heed the stay away call.

A branch of a financial institute is closed in centre Harare, Zimbabwe, July 6, 2016.(Xinhua/Stringer)

"Most of the retail shops opened and those that did not, it's not because they heeded to the stay away call but were afraid of possible violence that might occur," he said.

Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce chief executive Takunda Mugaga echoed similar sentiments by Mutashu, saying most of their members in the retail sector were open.

"We are yet to know if our members were open but those in the retail sector were open such as OK Zimbabwe," he said.

Meanwhile, there was no activity at public schools as teachers continued with their strike while limited staff and medical students manned government hospitals.

Zimbabwe last witnessed a mass stayaway of this magnitude between late 1990s and early 2000s, starting in 1997 when the then Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions secretary general Morgan Tsvangirai organized a two-day nationwide job stay-away against high government taxes.

In the years to follow, strikes were often called upon to protest rising prices of food and fuel but few heeded the calls in the years after 2004. Strikes were rare in more than a decade.

A factory closes its door in suburban Harare, Zimbabwe, July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Stringer)

Tension built up in the southern African country over the past few days as Zimbabweans were angered by a series of radical government policies to pump up the country's ailing economy.

Zimbabwe's economy slipped into near stagnation in 2016, suffering from low export income, liquidity crunch, and an ever tightening government budget. The authorities have resorted to rein in capital flows, impose cash withdraw limits, restrict importation of basic goods, and delay payments to civil servants including teachers, security personnel, and government workers.

Last Friday, protesters rioted at the Beitbridge Border Post protesting against a government decision to ban importation of basic goods, most of which come via South Africa, resulting in a warehouse belonging to state revenue agency being burnt down.

Three days later, a protest by taxi drivers against police harassment in Harare turned violent, resulting in the police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters.

Police say they have since arrested 95 people in connection with the violence.

Following the nurses and doctors strike, the Ministry of Health has appealed for army nurses, doctors and laboratory scientists to assist.

"Assistance is required from the defense forces to augment coverage for emergency services especially in central hospitals in Harare and Bulawayo," the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health Gerald Gwinji said in a letter to the Defense Forces Commander Constantine Chiwenga.

State news agency New Ziana reported that there was mixed reaction to the call for mass action in the towns Masvingo and Gweru, with most workers staying away from work while the majority of big businesses, including chain stores, banks and government departments opened and operated as normal.

However, most workers in Masvingo did not turn up for work while in Gweru the turn up was high, it said.

A local trader pushes his cart to leave an empty market in centre Harare, Zimbabwe, July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/Stringer)

The government had Tuesday urged people to disregard the stay away call.

For hours on Wednesday morning, there was disruption in internet services which affected communication through social networking sites such as WatsApp and Facebook.

This came after the telecommunications regulator POTRAZ issued a warning to the public against abuse of social media and telecommunications services to spread "messages that may be deemed to cause despondency, incite violence, threaten citizens and cause unrest".

The country's largest mobile network Econet also confirmed that WhatsApp was down in the morning but would also not give reasons.

"Econet would like to confirm that WhatsApp is currently down. We will notify you once it is working again," the private company said in response to queries by local blog Techzim.

#Thisflag, the campaign that led to Wednesday's stayaway, first appeared on WhatsApp in April by local pastor Mawarire to protest against corruption, injustice and poverty. It has gained thousands of followers over the past two months. The surging support emboldened Mawarire to organize such a stayaway in exchange for the government, under veteran President Robert Mugabe, to fire corrupt ministers, abandon radical economic policies, among other demands.

"We are not playing and we ask you to take us seriously," Mawarire wrote in his facebook page.

Charamba, on the other hand, said the police are urging members of the public to ignore social media messages inciting people to engage in violent activities. The authorities have previously denied a popular social media message saying a curfew was imposed on the eve of the strike.
SYDNEY, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Two Australian states have pledged to shut down their controversial greyhound racing industry after an inquiry found widespread evidence of animal cruelty, including mass killings and live baiting.

A New South Wales state inquiry found up to 68,000 greyhounds or at least half of those bred to race in New South Wales state were killed in the last 12 years because they were deemed uncompetitive. It also found 20 percent of trainers engaged in live bating, and that 180 greyhounds each year suffered "catastrophic injuries" that resulted in their immediate deaths.

Though there were recommendations from the inquiry's chair, former High Court judge Michael McHugh to allow the industry to continue under tighter regulation, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird on Thursday announced the industry would be shut down from 2017.

"As a humane and responsible government, we are left with no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down," Baird said in a statement.

"This is the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the appalling revelations in Mr McHugh's report and his considered view that any other measures are unlikely to protect animals from further cruelty."

The state government will also ban the breeding of greyhounds for the purpose of racing in the state and dictate significant penalties for anyone who tries to operate a black market greyhound racing industry.

The move prompted advocates to call for the racing ban to be implemented in whole Australia, however Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland states all rebuffed the assertions.

"In Queensland we have a greyhound industry that acknowledges its wrongdoing and is working very cooperatively to ensure animal welfare and integrity issues are at the forefront," Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace told local media.

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) however followed Baird's lead to end greyhound racing in the territory as they cannot "continue to support an industry that is turning a blind eye to the sort of behavior and cruelty uncovered by (the inquiry)," the territory's chief minister Andrew Barr said.

"It is untenable for the ACT government to continue allowing, and financially supporting the practice of greyhound racing," Barr said.
NYINGCHI, Tibet, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Tangde used to live up to its name, which means "empty, barren land" in Tibetan.

Nowadays, however, Tangde, nestled in mountains in Nyingchi Prefecture, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, is one of the region's most charming spots, commonly recommended in tourist handbooks.

Located near a stunning plateau lake in the Tsomo Gyiri Scenic Area, the village with a population of 243 is among the most developed in Tibet. After campaigns to develop tourism and local food sales, Tangde boasts a per-capita income of 14,380 yuan (2,151 U.S. dollars), on a par with some villages in China's wealthier east.

It has become a model for the Communist Party of China's (CPC) work to bring prosperity and stability to poor, troubled Tibet in the decades since the emancipation of its people from serfdom in 1951. As the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government host the Forum on the Development of Tibet in Lhasa this week, Tangde is in the spotlight even more than usual.

In the village, well-paved paths lead up to neat traditional Tibetan courtyard houses. Most of them offer guest rooms for tourists.

Visitors may find it hard to imagine what Tangde used to be like. With little agriculture possible in the "empty, barren land" and aristocratic families enslaving common people in old Tibet, this was a miserable place.

Zongba, 84, is one of only a few locals who can recall its transformation.

As a representative of Tibetan serfs, Zongba was received twice by Mao Zedong in Beijing, after Tibet's peaceful liberation in 1951.

"Chairman Mao told me that it was our [former serfs] duty now to rebuild Tibet," she said.

Zongba spends a lot of time speaking at official events, including at the village museum, where photos contrast the past and the present.

"We often take young generations to the museum to remind them how local life has become more modern," said Dawa Phuntsog, secretary of the village CPC committee.

The village leader, a graduate of the Tibetan College of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, said Tangde's development has been led by the CPC committee, which has 27 members, all Tibetans.

She recalled how the members took the lead to clean streets, treat garbage, and patrol the local woodland to guard against fire.

Led by the committee, a cooperative was established in 2006 to organize farmers to set up a food processing plant, chicken farms and a tourist center. In 2012, Tangde became the first Tibetan village to give locals access to the Internet.

On July 1, Dawa represented the village committee to accept an award at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the CPC held a gathering to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Party's founding.

The recognition gave her new resolve to organize for the cooperative to start online sales of its wares, including highland barley, Tibetan woven blankets and butter tea.

"We can not forget our past, as we walk on a new threshold to seek sustainable development," Dawa said.
BEIJING, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Peter O'Neill, prime minister of Papua New Guinea, in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) said on Thursday that it respected China's position on the South China Sea issue and supported consultation between parties directly concerned.

PNG upholds that relevant maritime disputes should be peacefully resolved by parties directly concerned through consultation and negotiation and in accordance with international law, according to a joint press release between China and the PNG, issued after the meeting between President Xi Jinping and visiting PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill at the Great Hall of the People.

China reiterated its principled position on the South China Sea issue and stressed its commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, its legitimate and lawful rights and interests in the South China Sea, and its right to independently choose the means of dispute settlement in accordance with law, the press release said.

O'Neill kicked off his week-long official visit to China on Tuesday. Besides Beijing, he will attend the Eco Forum Global in Guiyang in southwestern China and visit Shenzhen.
COLOMBO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it will not release boats seized from Indian fishermen who were arrested for poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Indian fishermen will also not be given fishing rights in Sri Lankan waters.

He made this announcement in parliament when the opposition questioned him about reports that Sri Lanka may allow Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters.

"We will not allow Indian fishermen to catch fish in Sri Lankan waters as they wish," he said.

The prime minister said that bottom trawling by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters is a serious issue.

He said this is affecting the livelihood of fishermen in the north and east of the country as bottom trawling causes extensive damage to fishing resources.

The prime minister said that talks on seeking a solution to the Indo-Lanka fishing issue has been held between the governments of Sri Lanka and India.

Wickremesinghe said several options are now being considered to resolve the issue and he hopes a final solution to the issue will be reached by the end of this year.
BANGKOK, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A huge fire that razed a 8,000-square-meter dormitory housing over 1,000 Thai and migrant workers killed a Thai worker in north Bangkok Wednesday night.

The fire broke out at about 10 p.m. local time. The flame fanned by the strong wind, raged for almost two hours, burning more than 450 rooms in the two-storey building, five cars and pickup trucks.

A charred body was later found in the wreckage. The dead worker was identified as Phanomphorn Jan-aksorn, 20, from the northeast Loei province.

At least 10 firetrucks were sent to fight the blaze. As the populated densely huts were packed too closely, vehicles of emergency crews were unable to enter the camp but only showered water outside around the area.

Some workers said most families were staying in the camp at that time when they heard a loud explosion. Then they saw the blaze. They fled and tried to save what they could.

Homeless workers were said to be arranged to temporary shelters, including nearby temples.

Police said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
BERLIN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- German industrial production fell in May, led by a drop in investment goods, official data showed on Thursday, adding signs that the German economic growth would slow down in the second quarter.

Compared with the previous month, production in German industry declined by 1.3 percent in May, following a downward-revised increase of 0.5 percent in April, according to German federal statistics office Destatis.

This was led by a drop in investment goods production which slumped by 3.9 percent. Consumer goods, meanwhile, gained 0.5 percent.

"Today's industrial production data have increased the risk of a hard landing of the German economy in the second quarter," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-DiBa bank.

"While the domestic economy is booming, the former growth engines (exports and industrial production) are weakening. With weaker industrial production, a traditional increase in investment becomes also less likely," he added.

The German economy expanded by 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2016, thanks to strong private consumption, government spending on integrating refugees and a boom in construction due to the mild weather.

However, economist expected that the economic growth would slow down in the second quarter as a usual spring recovery of construction would be subdued and foreign trade environment remained difficult.
NAY PYI TAW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar will host the 34th ASEAN Energy Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Nay Pyi Taw on July 12-15, according to an announcement of Electric Power and Energy Ministry Thursday.

Seven long-term energy projects (2016-2025) including cross-ASEAN gas pipelines and matters related to people-centered urban-use nuclear energy will be discussed in the event, an assistant official of the policy and legal affairs department of the ministry U Min Min Oo told Xinhua.

The ASEAN SOM will be chaired by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry U Htein Win and the discussions will be taken part by ASEAN dialogue partners of China, South Korea and Japan and other countries such as New Zealand, India, Australia, the United States and Russia.

The SOM's discussions will be submitted to ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting for adoption slated for Sept. 19-23 in Nay Pyi Taw, the announcement added.
by Matt Burgess

SYDNEY, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Australian grain farmers are in for a tough time as they eye bumper yields in a likely wet winter and spring.

Two years of solid global production has led to the world being awash with grain has sent prices falling to 10-year-lows. Adding further pressure, the Ukraine is currently harvesting their crops and the U.S. will enter their main wheat harvest in the next two weeks.

Australia's grain crop too is likely going to exceed expectations after Australia's national weather bureau forecasted a wet winter and spring season.

Known for its high quality and clean grains, that would be good news for Asian importers seeking fine product, however Australian prices remain at stubbornly high levels. When combined with depressed shipping costs, its cheaper for importers to source product in Europe, than Australia, despite significantly shorter at-sea times.

"When you compare prices on offer to the rest of the world, it's a lot more expensive in Australia," Mecardo grains analyst Andrew Whitelaw told Xinhua when comparing prices with non-traditional competitors.

Australian grain is fetching just over 200 U.S. dollars at store in Perth - before terminal/port costs - whereas similar protein grain at Russia's grain ports have been sold and placed on bulk carriers 167 U.S. dollars tonne, including terminal fees, Whitelaw said.

The fallout of the U.K.'s referendum to leave the European Union is also adding further competition to Australian producers.

The over 13 percent fall in the British Pound since Brexit to reach 31-year lows against the U.S. dollar - 1.29 U.S. dollars at 10:09 local time on Thursday (AEST) - has the United Kingdom becoming a player in the Asian region. 77,000 tonnes of wheat from the north of England is currently on route to Vietnam, while another 55,000 tonnes of grain is scheduled to leave for Indonesia in planned for the end of July.

"The Pound is enduring broad-based declines... (and) there is little to stop the pound's slide," Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency strategist Peter Dragicevich said.

"The headwinds of a weaker U.K. economy, Bank of England policy easing, political uncertainty and large current account deficits should continue to weigh on the pound over the medium-term."

A spokesman for Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce told Xinhua the Australian government is undertaking a number of measures to make its agriculture exports more attractive in the highly competitive market, including a push for better market access.

"We are currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Indonesia - our largest wheat export market," the spokesman said, adding reducing tariffs make Australia's wheat more competitive and attractive in its established markets.

Authorities are also directly assisting farmers to manage the commodity price variability by strengthening the Farm Management Deposits Scheme, a financial management scheme that assists with uneven income.

The offshore factors are likely to hit Australian producers in the short term due to the selling model they most likely are under, waiting to lock in prices at harvest rather than hedge, establish forward contracts and risk not making the crop.

"There's not much opportunity for anywhere else in the world to have any supply issues, so we'll be in this high supply period for (potentially) the next 12-months," Whitelaw said.

"At this point, there's nothing really on the radar that can help prices... we need a (crop) disaster somewhere."
MADRID, July 7 Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will become the first U.S. president to make an official visit to Spain in 15 years when he arrives in Seville on Saturday, local media said Thursday.

Obama will visit Spain after attending a summit of NATO leaders in Poland and will use his time to visit the U.S. military base in Rota, as well as to hold meetings with Spanish political leaders in Madrid.

Spanish King Felipe VI will meet Obama at Seville airport after which the latter will tour Rota, which houses around 1,300 military personnel and 1,700 family members.

Obama will be in Madrid for lunch with King Felipe at the Royal Palace on Monday. He will then hold meetings with acting prime minister and leader of the People's Party Mariano Rajoy.

Last week saw First Lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Sasha and Malia visit Madrid as part of Michelle's "Let Girls Learn" educational initiative aimed at raising educational levels for girls around the world.
ACCRA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Nine people died and several others injured in a stampede Thursday dawn at a social gathering at Asawase, a predominant Muslim community near Kumasi, some 270 km north of Ghana's capital.

It is not readily clear what caused the incident but one report said the victims had attended a party with between 200 to 300 revelers in attendance.

The party was as part of activities to celebrate the Islamic festival Eid ul Fitr when a power cut sparked confusion leading to the stampede.

Another report said there was an announcement that a fight had broken out inside the venue which caused people to panic thus headed for the only exit.

Six of the deceased are women, the reports said.

The police have already launched an investigation into the incident and are on the heels of the suspect who reportedly cut the power to the community center.
MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States is trying to encircle China under the cover of declarations about the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a Russian expert said Thursday.

"The United States continues its policy of encircling China in the southeast with the aim of minimizing the Chinese and establishing U.S. control over economic arteries," said Timofei Bordachev, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Higher School of Economics national research university.

Washington has always opposed the emergence of special areas of interest of any country but its own in the world, the expert, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The United States Navy staged this year a series of so-called "freedom of navigation operations" close to Chinese waters, ahead of a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over a dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Beijing would not recognize any ruling of the arbitration and will firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights, as well as peace and stability in the region.

Possessing the most powerful navy, said Bordachev, Washington is attempting to create legal conditions for its presence in all oceans and seas.

The militarization of the South China Sea will actually mean an increased presence of the U.S. Navy in the region, as well as of its allies, primarily Britain and France, he said.

However, the expert believed that the U.S. is unlikely to be drawn into a military conflict with China because of the ambitions of the Philippines.

The whole world, including Russia, is deeply concerned with the tension in the South China Sea, and Moscow hopes that China and the relevant countries in the region could establish a friendly dialogue, the expert said.
PHNOM PENH, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on July 7, 2016 shows counterfeit goods are set on fire in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Nearly 1,000 large cardboard boxes of counterfeit goods were burned down on Thursday at a dumpsite on the southwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh by Cambodian economic police. (Xinhua/Phearum)

PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 1,000 large cardboard boxes of counterfeit goods were burned down on Thursday at a dumpsite on the southwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh by Cambodian economic police.

The inferior quality products, mostly coffee and tea, were confiscated during a raid on a Vietnamese-owned warehouse in Phnom Penh in March, said Lieutenant General Chan Vanthoeun, director of the anti-economic crimes department of the interior ministry.

"Seven types of counterfeit products were burned down," he told reporters. "These items were illegally imported from Vietnam."

He said a Vietnamese man who possessed the products was arrested during the raid and had been sent to court for prosecution.

According to the official, hundreds of tons counterfeit products have been set on fire in recent years in a bid to improve the well-being of the Cambodians.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China said on Thursday that the decision of the South China Sea arbitration will not affect its territorial integrity or maritime rights in the South China Sea.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei reiterated at a routine press briefing that China would neither accept nor recognize any award in the South China Sea arbitration initiated by the Philippines.

China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and the adjacent waters, said Hong.

The Chinese Government has consistently and actively maintained its sovereignty over the islands, he said.

Both the Declaration of the Government of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea of 1958 and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone of 1992 expressly provide that the territory of China includes, among others, the Dongsha Islands, the Xisha Islands, the Zhongsha Islands and the Nansha Islands.

Under the relevant provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(UNCLOS), as well as the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (1992) and the Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the People's Republic of China (1998), China's Nansha Islands is fully entitled to Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and Continental Shelf, according to Hong.

All those acts affirm China's territorial sovereignty and relevant maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, he said.

Hong emphasized China's historical rights in the South China Sea are supported by historical and jurisprudential evidence.

During a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the Philippines' refusal of dialogue and its unilateral initiation of the arbitration violated the spirit of international rule of law and distorted UNCLOS, which are not conducive to the peaceful settlement of disputes.

He said the Philippines will further stoke tensions in the South China Sea and should be resisted by countries and people who uphold justice.

Related:

Backgrounder: Why dual-track approach the most effective and viable solution to South China Sea disputes?

BEIJING, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has said that it will issue an award on July 12 on the South China Sea case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines.

China has said that it does not accept and will not participate in the arbitration, and will never recognize the so-called "award," as it is illegal, null and void.H On the South China Sea disputes, China advocates a "dual-track" approach, namely peacefully and properly handling the disputes left from history through direct talks between the parties involved and jointly maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea with the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Full story

Commentary: U.S. needs to readjust attitude regarding South China Sea issue

BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea used to be a peaceful region before the United States poked its nose into the area. Instead of its "Rebalance to the Asia-Pacific" strategy, what the United States really needs is to "rebalance" its attitude toward the issue.

Small frictions in the South China Sea date back to the late 1960s when some American scientists reported the discovery of rich gas and petrol resources in the region. Some coastal countries started to occupy the islands for that reason since then. Full story

China reaffirms adherence to peaceful settlement of South China Sea disputes

BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday reaffirmed its adherence to dialogue and consultation in settling the South China Sea issue.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks at a routine press briefing in response to a question on whether a military confrontation is possible in the South China Sea. Full story

China committed to solving maritime disputes via dialogue with countries directly concerned: premier

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- China is committed to solving maritime disputes through dialogue and negotiation with countries directly concerned in line with international laws and on the basis of respecting historical facts, Premier Li Keqiang said Monday.

Li made the remarks at a China- Greece maritime cooperation forum held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Li and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras attended the forum and deliver speeches. Full story

Interview: South China Sea dispute suggests U.S. efforts to contain China: Italian expert

ROME, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines suggest the attempt by the United States to contain China's role as regional and global power, an Italian expert said.

"The United States needs China to be economically strong, but it does not want China to develop further as a geopolitical actor," Domenico Moro, an economist and member of the political committee of Italy's Communist Refoundation party, told Xinhua in a recent interview. Full story

Cambodia, Myanmar back negotiations over South China Sea by all parties concerned

PHNOM PENH, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Myanmar fully supported all parties concerned to negotiate with each other peacefully to resolve their disputes over South China Sea, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said on Monday.

The statement was posted on his Facebook page after a meeting with newly-designated Myanmar Ambassador to Cambodia Myint Soe at the Peace Palace in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. Full story

Spotlight: Arbitration case cannot deplete China's historical rights

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Looking into the Philippines' submission at the Arbitral Tribunal on the South China Sea, many confusing concepts aimed at denying China's historical rights have been found. But they only serve to expose the Philippines' ignorance and prejudice.

In its arbitration statement, the Philippines claimed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has never mentioned historical rights. Full story

Interview: U.S. has complicated South China Sea issue: Australian expert

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The United States has complicated the situation in the South China Sea instead of playing a constructive role, an Australian expert on maritime security has said.

Sam Bateman, a former commodore who is now a professorial research fellow at the University of Wollongong's Australian National Center for Ocean Resources and Security, told Xinhua recently that the controversial arbitration process initiated by the Philippines in The Hague is highly likely to produce "a lose-lose outcome." Full story

Spotlight: China never a bully in South China Sea: experts

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhua) -- At a time of heightened tension in the South China Sea, Washington and its allies have launched publicity campaigns against China, repeatedly using the "bully" tag to refer to China and its activities in the region.

The groundless accusation, however, has been refuted by experts, who pointed to the fact that China has never bullied any country in South China Sea disputes. Instead, it has exercised restraint to the greatest extent possible over this issue. Full story

147 civil society organizations in Cambodia backs up PM's stance over South China Sea

PHNOM PENH, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of 147 non-governmental organizations, associations and trade unions in Cambodia on Monday issued a joint statement, expressing their support to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's stance over the South China Sea issue.
BERLIN, July 7 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday defended the planned NATO presence in eastern Europe in her government statement on the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw.

It is not enough to be able to relocate troops in crisis situations quickly, she said at Bundestag,the lower house of the German parliament, adding NATO should have rather stronger presence in the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia as well as Poland.

Merkel stressed the importance of the rapid reaction force of NATO for the Baltic States.

Moreover, Merkel appealed for a continuation of talks between NATO and Russia.

"We agree that enduring security in Europe can only be reached with Russia, not against Russia," said Merkel.

NATO will decide at their summit in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday the deployment of one battalion with about 1,000 soldiers each into the three Baltic states and Poland. German Bundeswehr, the national defense force, will lead the battalion in Lithuania with several hundred soldiers.
LHASA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Tibet will remain committed to protecting the environment, a deputy director of the regional Environmental Protection Department, said at the Forum on the Development of Tibet on Thursday.

Zhang Tianhua said more than 7.1 billion yuan (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) has been spent on this area since 2009, when an ecosystem protection plan got central government approval.

A total of 15.5 billion yuan is earmarked for environmental protection measures before 2030, Zhang told the forum.

The funding so far has been used to conserve grassland, forests, wetlands and wildlife reserves, and for building monitoring facilities.

More than a third of Tibet's land area is covered by nature reserves, totalling over 412,000 square kilometers.

"Sandstorms have been contained, biodiversity increased, and the wildlife population has been expanding faster than ever before. Tibet has made great achievements in conserving the environment," Zhang said.

"The regional government has also spent heavily on compensating farmers and herders for their efforts in protecting environment," he added.

Last year, more than 4.3 billion yuan was paid to Tibetan farmers and herders who patrol and protect forest and grassland.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese appliances giant Midea is waiting to see if a new acquisition offer can win over the shareholders of German industrial robotics firm Kuka and allow it to buy enough shares to become the majority shareholder.

Midea is hoping to buy about 43.74 percent of Kuka's shares to go with its existing holding of 13.5 percent in the Augsburg-based company.

However, following public and official concerns in Germany that the takeover might lead to losses of technology and local jobs, Midea and Kuka unveiled an investor agreement which includes a commitment to keep its existing headquarters, factories and jobs earlier this week.

Midea made the acquisition offer to Kuka in mid-June. Under the initial arrangements, Kuka had until July 15 to decide on the bid, which values the company at more than four billion euros.

There is huge demand for robotics in China, where officials are trying to raise manufacturers' productivity. Since 2013, China has bought more industrial robots each year than any other country and it is expected to be the world's biggest operator of industrial robots in 2018. Many Chinese robotics companies have tried to raise their competitiveness through overseas M&As.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for foreign objectivity on overseas M&As by Chinese companies and "a reasonable and transparent business environment for them."

"Such normal business behavior should be granted fair treatment," said Hong Lei.
GENEVA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- European scientists have started to teach intelligent robots a new skill -- hunting prey, according to a report by online technology magazine Motherboard.

A team of scientists at the Institute of Neuroinformatics at the University of Zurich in Switzerland recently taught a human-controlled robot to act like a predator.

Applying new softwares, the robot is reported with the ability to track its prey while observing its environment.

Instead of a regular camera, the newly designed robot uses silicon retina to "see" what's around it in real time. Moreover, it has a deep learning neural network to process data, which works like a brain and helps the robot learn from experiences.

Therefore, the intelligent predator robot can better hunt prey next time it spots something similar.

However, the application of the new robot is not as bloody as the word "predator" looks like. Tobi Delbruck, professor at the Institute of Neuroinformatics explained that "one could imagine future luggage or shopping carts that follow you."

The future use of the new software, according to Delbruck, is more like "a parent and child" rather than "a predator and its prey" as its main technology is to track and follow.
Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte speaks during a dialogue on South China Sea issue in Washington D.C., the United States, July 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States is trying to encircle China under the cover of declarations about the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, a Russian expert said Thursday.

"The United States continues its policy of encircling China in the southeast with the aim of minimizing the Chinese and establishing U.S. control over economic arteries," said Timofei Bordachev, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Higher School of Economics national research university.

Washington has always opposed the emergence of special areas of interest of any country but its own in the world, the expert, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The United States Navy staged this year a series of so-called "freedom of navigation operations" close to Chinese waters, ahead of a July 12 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over a dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Beijing would not recognize any ruling of the arbitration and will firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights, as well as peace and stability in the region.

Possessing the most powerful navy, said Bordachev, Washington is attempting to create legal conditions for its presence in all oceans and seas.

The militarization of the South China Sea will actually mean an increased presence of the U.S. Navy in the region, as well as of its allies, primarily Britain and France, he said.

However, the expert believed that the U.S. is unlikely to be drawn into a military conflict with China because of the ambitions of the Philippines.

The whole world, including Russia, is deeply concerned with the tension in the South China Sea, and Moscow hopes that China and the relevant countries in the region could establish a friendly dialogue, the expert said.
DAMASCUS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army is now only 500 meters from a key supply route for rebels in the northern province of Aleppo, pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported on Thursday.

Government troops are very close to cutting off the Castello road, the only supply route connecting rebel-held areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo province and those in the eastern part of the city of Aleppo.

The fresh progress came amid an army campaign to cut off the road started in late June.

It also followed the army's success in regaining control over the sprawling farmlands of Mallah in northern Aleppo.

The TV aired footage of Mallah farmlands and arial view of the Castello road.

Aleppo, strategically located near the borders with Turkey, is Syria's largest city and once an economic hub. It has been a focal point of clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels.

In the summer of 2012, thousands of armed militants stormed residential districts of Aleppo from its countryside, striking the economic nerves of the Syrian government, which has repeatedly accused Turkey of supporting the rebels for undeclared interests in Aleppo.

The rebels captured several districts in eastern Aleppo city and tried repeatedly to expand their presence to government-controlled areas in the west.

The rebels laid siege to western Aleppo districts after cutting the international road to Aleppo in 2014, a siege broken later by the Syrian army, with the help of Hezbollah.

Military experts say the initial aim of the battles in Aleppo is to lay a siege on the rebel-held areas and cut off their supply lines to force a surrender.

Another aim is to ensure the security of government-controlled areas and to prevent the militant groups from blocking the main road connecting Aleppo with the Syrian coast and other provinces in central and southern Syria.

Observers say the Syrian military campaign also aims to recapture areas in the northern and southern countryside of Aleppo in the face of Turkey's perceived attempts to establish a safe zone in northern Syria.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China urged the United States to stop "sending the wrong signals" to Taiwan independence forces, as the island's new leader Tsai Ing-wen contacted several U.S. congressmen.

"We insist on handling Taiwan's external contacts in the principle of the one-China policy, and oppose any countries having diplomatic relations with China to conduct any official association or contacts with Taiwan," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on Thursday.

Hong told a daily press conference that China was very dissatisfied with contact between U.S. officials, congressmen and Tsai Ing-wen. China has already lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side.

Hong urged the United States to honor its commitment to the one-China policy, the principle of the three joint communiques, and to oppose Taiwan independence.

The United States should handle Taiwan affairs cautiously and stop official contact with Taiwan in any form, and sending the wrong signals to Taiwan independence and avoid harming China-U.S. relations, Hong said.

Tsai started an overseas trip to Panama and Paraguay on June 24, and made stops in Miami and Los Angeles.
PARIS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) following the unilateral application of the Philippines over its dispute with China in the South China Sea "would endanger the peace and stability" in the region, said French sinologue Pierre Picquart.

"What seems questionable is a so-called 'international arbitration,' unrecognized by China, trying to impose a settlement between Beijing and Manila," Picquart told Xinhua in a recent interview.

While the PCA is about to announce on July 12 its decision over the request of the Philippines, presented unilaterally in 2013 concerning the territorial dispute between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea, China has repeatedly stated that it does not recognize the legitimacy of the court in this case and therefore can not accept its conclusions.

According to him, "the interference, by one or more third parties with an indirect interest inviting other countries and organizations to express their opposition against China, would complicate and endanger the peace and stability in the South China Sea."

"The arbitration over the South China Sea demanded by former Philippine president Benigno S. Aquino III will not lead to a peaceful solution. However, the new president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte wants to have a conversation with China over the disputes in the South China Sea, in order to, presumably, to have a mutually beneficial relationship (with China)," Picquart said.

The China expert stressed that "China has always encouraged 'win-win' partnerships and the bilateral dialogue in solving border issues."

"This applies with the Philippines, just as in all other disputes in the South China Sea," and "is consistent and logical that Beijing legitimately preserves its historic interests," he explained.

Picquart hopes that the dispute between China and the Philippines "would be settled through bilateral negotiations based on respect for historical facts and in accordance with international law."

He also wishes Manila would work with Beijing to "appropriately find a balance in these disputes for the peace in the South China Sea."
BEIJING, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A ceremony is held to mark the 79th anniversary of the start of China's defence against Japanese invasion at the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Wang Liuzhu, 77, hopes he will live long enough to finish his second book on Chinese prisoners of war working as slave laborers in Japan during World War II.

The retired local history editor from Xiangcheng County, central China's Henan Province, plans to tell the stories of 100 POWs who were slave laborers in Japan.

"History should not forget them, whether they were Communist or Kuomingtang (KMT)," Wang told Xinhua on Thursday, the 79th anniversary of the July 7 Incident when Japanese troops attacked the Marco Polo Bridge on the outskirts of Beijing, marking the beginning of full-scale war.

Wang has finished the stories of 80 of them by interviewing themselves or their descendants and hopes to publish the book soon.

"The work is not to extend hatred but to educate people both in China and Japan," said Wang.

"One can only cherish peace if one truly knows the suffering of war," he said.

Around 40,000 Chinese were forced to work in Japan during the war, including prisoners of war. Of these slaves, nearly 7,000 died. Only nine still survive.

Wang began to dig up the stories in 1988 when he met Geng Zhun, a KMT army officer who was captured in 1944 and transported to work at a copper mine in Hanaoka, Japan.

Geng told Wang about the work they were forced to endure and the torture and humiliation they suffered. Geng led about 800 Chinese laborers in an uprising and was sentenced to death in 1945. Before he could be executed, Japan was defeated. He was freed and sent back to China.

They worked up to 15 hours a day in the freezing winter of northern Japan, with straw sandals on their feet and little more than buns and soup in their stomachs. Some dug trenches in freezing water to divert a river. Others struggled up steep slopes with 50-kg bags of cement on their backs. They had no days off, according to Geng.

Geng died in Xiangcheng County in August 2012.

Wang happened to obtain a Japanese army archive that contained the names and addresses of 40,000 forced laborers. He sorted out 4,193 from Henan and set about tracking them down. He interviewed 119 of the and published his first book in 2012.

"This is far from enough, we have 40,000 forced laborers," he said. "I am getting old and there will be a day I cannot walk." he said.

Wang is relieved now as three students from Henan Normal University and Xuchang University have joined him, helping him to find contacts and doing interviews.

"I hope they can continue my mission," said Wang.
People enjoy the scenery as their shadows are reflected in a puddle of water in the early morning at the Bund in Shanghai, the landmark of Shanghai, east China, Sept. 22, 2014. (Xinhua/Lai Xinlin)

by Edna Alcantara

MEXICO CITY, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Socialism with Chinese characteristics has contributed greatly to China's economic development and social progress and will continue to do so, Mexican experts have said.

There has been no single model for socialism and China has chosen a unique path based on its national conditions, which has helped it become the world's second largest economy, Armando Azua, a professor at the Center of Asian Studies at Iberoamerican University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"China's socialism is a revolutionary form of socialism which breaks with the traditional model we associate with socialist countries. No other model has been as successful as China's," he said.

Azua believes one of the factors behind China's success is its tradition of discipline at work.

"This could not happen in other countries. China has a collective vision, above an individualistic one, which puts the interests of the nation first."

China has seen socialism remain strong as the country continues to overcome obstacles, said Marisela Connelly, an expert in Chinese studies from the College of Mexico.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attend a rally marking the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

The Communist Party of China has been aware of how to keep the socialist model relevant to the country's evolution. The party is now focusing on developing China further by focusing on domestic consumption and services, Connelly said.

"This is an important step, leading to the reforms the country needs to continue moving forward."

China's collective spirit has allowed it to unite to tackle inequality, environmental damage and corruption, said Ignacio Martinez Cortes, a researcher on Chinese affairs from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

He suggested that China continue to focus on reforms and public policies to improve social well-being and reduce the income gap.

"China is a country which will continue to consolidate as an emerging power. Few countries have even tried to bring so many people out of poverty. However, the future challenge for the Chinese government is to cement a sustainable development model and encourage social equality," Cortes told Xinhua.

All the experts agree that the key to maintaining the vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics is to continue making steady political and economic progress, ensure broader participation by society in medium- and long-term development goals and continue listening to people's demands such as fighting corruption.
Image taken on April 14, 2016 shows tourists visiting Old Havana, in Havana city, capital of Cuba. (Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez)

By Raimundo Urrechaga

GUARDALAVACA, Cuba, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The thawing of the Cuba-U.S. relations is giving a boost to tourism of the Caribbean island known for its crystal clear sea, white sand, vintage cars, mojito cocktail and cigars.

Now the island wants to benefit from this opportunity and fully develop its tourism by diversifying the destinations beyond the famous Varadero beach and the capital Havana.

The eastern region of the country is looking to attract more visitors with its beaches, rich culture and history as well as Cuba's most impressive mountain range.

Guardalavaca, located in the northern tip of Holguin, has increased its tourism opportunities with top-notch resorts on one of the most exclusive strips of Caribbean beach.

"We love Cuba and this part of the island is exceptional. We've been to many places in the Pacific and the Caribbean but Guardalavaca's beach is spectacular and it's our favorite place," said Jenny Dulovitch, a Canadian tourist who has visited Cuba nine times.

In the high season from November to May, Holguin's resorts are full of Canadians avoiding the freezing winter temperatures and enjoying mojitos and the white sand.

Meanwhile, even in the low season, visitors from European countries like Germany, Britain and Italy as well as Cuban nationals still visit the developing tourist area.

Brisas Guardalavaca, a 437-room four-star resort, attracts visitors from all over the world every year with an all-inclusive service that leaves most of its clients satisfied.

"About 15 percent of our clients come back to the hotel and we thrive in providing a good service as well as updating our rooms, lobby area and restaurants," Yaima Suarez, sales manager at the resort inaugurated in 1994, told Xinhua.

Looking to relax and enjoy the sun of the Caribbean, visitors seem to enjoy Cuba's fourth largest tourist area and its most rapidly expanding beach zone.

"I've come to Cuba 50 times. Guardalavaca is one of the top beaches in the island because of its crystal clear waters and I will definitely come back," said Canadian tourist Clara Sozio.

In Holguin, located 735 kilometers east of Havana, tourists can also enjoy other attractions and activities such as mountain climbing, a visit to Fidel Castro's birthplace or a tour through the island's coal and nickel mines.

The Cuban province currently has 4,000 hotel rooms in over 15 beach and city resorts and Raul Castro's government is looking to build 57,000 new rooms in the next five years, particularly in Guardalavaca.

Cigar enthusiasts smoke at a cocktail gala marking the start of the cigar festival, in Havana, capital of Cuba, Feb. 29, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

Havana's detente with Washington is expected to attract more U.S. visitors to the area particularly after direct commercial flights from U.S. were approved last month, although tourist activities in the island are still prohibited by the White House.

"We'll stay loyal with our traditional markets but we're also prepared to receive U.S. visitors in this hotel and any other resort in Holguin," said Suarez.

Flights to Holguin and other eight Cuban cities, except Havana, were already approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation and are set to begin this fall.

"When U.S. visitors start to come more, it would be good for Cuba and it will let them discover an exceptional country far from the image they've got in the past half-century," said Andrea Batista, an Italian tourist in Guardalavaca.

Last year 161,233 U.S. citizens traveled to the island, 76 percent more than in 2014 due to the elimination of restrictions by the Obama administration after the two countries decided to reestablish diplomatic relations.

According to Cuba's Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero, in the first four months of 2016, over 94,000 U.S. citizens had visited the Caribbean island, a 93 percent increase from the same period of 2015.

Air connectivity to Holguin has also increased with flights from various European countries, five Canadian cities and recently a new connection from Panama with Copa Airlines that links the Cuban city with Latin America.

"We see a very promising future and hope that with this new flight the connectivity of Cuba's eastern region would improve," said Claudia Zuluaga, Copa's commercial manager in the Caribbean.

Other cities of Cuba's eastern area, like Camaguey, Baracoa and Santiago de Cuba are also experiencing an important rise in tourism as the industry grows across the island.
MAPUTO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Mozambique on Thursday to start his four-nation Africa tour aimed at strengthening ties between Asia's emerging power with the African continent.

Modi tweeted a greeting on arrival at Maputo in the country's official language Portuguese, translated as "starting my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique".

Modi held a talk with his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi. The two nations are expected to sign agreements which cover combating drugs, enhancing exchanges of youth and sports, as well as exporting Mozambican agricultural products to India.

"This phase constitutes a way forward, looking to the cooperation between the two nations, relations that are visible in different domains such as hydrocarbon, energy and health," Nyusi said.

Modi is the first Indian leader to visit Mozambique in 34 years. Nyusi, on the other hand, paid a visit to India in August 2015, eight months after he was inaugurated as Mozambican president.

Mozambique holds one of the world's richest off-shore natural gas reserves and massive deposits of coal. It is home to nearly a quarter of Indian investments in Africa, according to Modi.

The bilateral trade grew by five times over the past five years. Indian companies with operations in Mozambique include Coal India Limited, Coal Venture International, Tata Mozambique, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Essar Group, among others, according to High Commission of India in Mozambique.

After Mozambique, Modi will also visit South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya during the five-day tour.
SOFIA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev here on Thursday said that the terrorists, who blew up a bus with Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in 2012, would soon be brought to justice.

"We know who the perpetrators are, and we will bring them to justice," Plevneliev said at a joint press conference with his visiting Israeli counterpart Reuven Rivlin.

"We also know those who stood behind them, and they will be brought to justice too," Plevneliev said.

The chief prosecutor of Bulgaria assured him it was "a matter of days," Plevneliev said.

A bomber blew himself up near a bus packed with Israeli tourists at the Burgas airport car park on July 18, 2012, killing six people and wounding more than 30 others.

Plevneliev said the two countries were making every effort to ensure such tragedies are not repeated.

Cooperation between Bulgaria and Israel in the field of security and defense was at a very high level, he said.

Meanwhile, the two countries should encourage the implementation of more joint projects in sectors like information and communication technologies, food production and energy, as well as the tourism industry, Plevneliev said.

In turn, Rivlin said they would fiercely fight against terrorists and its supporters -- wherever they are trying to reach, and wherever they try to hide.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China has completed its work on its next-generation solar radio heliograph, which will be used to study solar activities such as flares and coronal mass ejections, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced Thursday.

The Chinese Spectral Radioheliograph (CSRH), built at Ming'antu, a radio quiet region in China's Inner Mongolia, consists of 100 antennas with different frequency spectra covering an area of 10 square kilometers. It can monitor solar activities on a wide imaging resolution spectrum.

The project was initiated in 2009 and has been funded by the Ministry of Finance.

Wang Enge, vice president of CAS, invited scientists from abroad to join in the CSRH project, saying it will enable China to better forecast solar activity and monitor space weather conditions.

On Sunday, work was completed on the world's largest radio telescope, the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope in Guizhou Province.
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Thursday ruled that Greek investment company Archangelos should pay 6.6 million yuan (1 million U.S. dollars) plus interest to a rescue bureau for having saved a stranded ship owned by the company in 2011.

An oil tanker ran aground near the Qiongzhou Strait in south China on Aug. 12, 2011 with 26 crew and 54,580 tonnes of crude oil on board. The stranded ship posed a severe threat to life, property and the environment.

Acting on the instructions of Archangelos, the Ministry of Transport's Nanhai Rescue Bureau launched rescue mission, but the tanker was towed out of danger by a third party.

Following the incident, the company refused to pay the bureau on the grounds that the two sides never reached any specific agreement on how to calculate the fee and that the amount claimed by the bureau was too high.

Guangzhou maritime court ruled in favor of the bureau and Guangdong Higher People's Court supported Archangelos on appeal. The bureau appealed to the SPC in 2015.

The court held that, as the International Convention on Salvage and China's Maritime Law allow parties involved to determine the rescue fees but offer no details on contracts, China's Contract Law should determine the rights and obligations of involved parties.

The two sides had a specific agreement that, regardless of the outcome of the rescue attempt, Archangelos should pay an amount based on the bureau's input of time, materials and manpower, the SPC statement said.

The court ruled that the company should pay 6.6 million yuan plus interest, less than the 7 million plus demanded in the first instance by the bureau.

The case is important in determining whether international conventions or domestic laws should be applied in similar rescue scenarios.
HARARE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Normalcy returned to Harare and other parts of Zimbabwe Thursday after a job boycott on Wednesday when civil society led the people in expressing discontent over the state of affairs in the country.

The hustle and bustle that characterizes Harare's Central Business during any other working day returned as shops reopened, vendors returned to the streets and vehicular traffic increased.

Thousands of workers heeded calls by civil leaders of shadowy organizations using social media to express themselves against the government and stayed at home to show that they were not happy with prevailing economic conditions and perceived corruption in the public sector.

The stay away coincided with a strike by civil servants who were protesting delays in the payment of their June salaries.

The security sector which usually gets paid mid-month was paid on June 27 while teachers got their salaries yesterday instead of the early 20s of the month, and the remainder of the civil service will get theirs on July 14 instead of at the end of June.

Pensioners remain the hardest hit with the government shifting their pay dates willy nilly, and will this time get theirs on July 19.

The government which has for a long time been running on a cash budget began deferring workers' salaries in March last year.

Teachers got their salaries on Thursday and lessons were scheduled to resume Friday but some who were interviewed by Xinhua said they would only return to their stations after accession all their money.

A teacher from Mashonaland Central Province said they would return to school after accessing all their money.

"The salaries are in the bank and not in our pockets. We are supposed to return to work but banks are giving only 100 U.S. dollars per day. So we will be queuing for four days," he said.

A health worker at the country's biggest referral center Parirenyatwa Hospital said junior doctors who had gone on strike last week had also returned to work after government announced that they would now be paid Friday instead of July 14 as had earlier been announced.

"We trust the government to live up to its promise and give us our salaries tomorrow," he said.

There were isolated skirmishes during Wednesday's stay away with the police arresting nearly 40 people, among them a Belgian, according to state media.

Home Affairs Minister and secretary for administration in the ruling Zanu-PF party Ignatius Chombo alleged interference by some western governments and said the party would not be moved by their actions and those of failed political parties.

"Zanu-PF is focused on what it wants to do and cannot be shaken by these activities. We are the ruling party, and we will not accept anything short of law and order," he told The Herald newspaper.

Chombo said the security organs were working round the clock and had the situation under control and those found on the wrong side of the law would be dealt with severely.

Among the leaders of Wednesday's stay away is Evan Mawarire, a pastor who has taken social media by storm and called for the fight against corruption and perceived government ineptitude.

He has started a movement called #ThisFlag which now commands a huge following with flag vendors making brisk business selling them to Zimbabweans identifying themselves with his cause.

Another group of youths calling itself #tajamuka (slang for we are protesting) and another fronted by a medical doctor whose political activist brother was allegedly kidnapped by state agents last year and has not been heard of since also participated, while opposition parties said they supported them. Enditem
by Larry Neild

LONDON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The report into Britain's involvement in the 2003 Iraq War dominated the front pages of every national newspaper Thursday as Fleet Street went into overdrive.

Tony Blair, the Labour prime minister who took the country to war, figured in all of the front page stories. Most zoomed in on a few words found on an official note Blair sent months before the war to the then U.S. President George Bush.

Those five words "I'll be with you whatever..." made up the banner headline in the tabloid Daily Mirror, which carried a sub-headline "Families call for ex-PM to be prosecuted."

The rival Sun newspaper headlined the story "Weapon of Mass Deception," featuring a large photo of Blair, saying in an editorial his reputation was in ruins.

The Financial Times went with the headline: "Chilcot report into Iraq War delivers harsh verdict on Blair."

The Daily Mail, popular with middle Englanders, said: "A Monster of Delusion," above a photo of a serious-looking Blair. "For two hours, Blair dissembled and denied in the face of Chilcot's devastating verdict. Then, with sickening egomania, he declared: I can't say sorry for Iraq... I'd do it again."

The broadsheet Daily Telegraph headlined the story "I'd take the same decision," using a quote by Blair from a briefing he made as the report by civil servant Sir John Chilcot was being unveiled."

"Blair's Private War" was how the London Times viewed the story, with sub-headings "Former PM is crushed by Chilcot" and "Secret pledge to back Bush in Iraq."

The Guardian's headline was: "Blair defiant as Chilcot delivers devastating verdict into Iraq War." The rest of the national press, The Independent, Daily Express, Daily Star and the Metro, all devoted their front pages on Blair and the war.

The Guardian, in an eight-page supplement, dissected the war and the Chilcot report, as well as Blair, saying "Looking tired, his voice sometimes croaking with emotion, Blair described his decision to join the U.S. attack as "the hardest, most momentous, most agonizing decision I took in 10 years as British prime minister."

The Times, in its editorial said "Saddam is no more, but the price of his removal has been immeasurable," reminded that a total of 179 British service personnel died in a mission never accomplished.

Related:

Blair says to "take full responsibility" for any mistakes over Iraq war

LONDON, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Former British prime minister Tony Blair said he will "take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse" over the Iraq war, after the publication of a long-awaited inquiry into the war on Wednesday.
KABUL, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Afghan president on Thursday left for Warsaw to attend a key NATO summit, said Arg, the country's presidential palace, in a written statement.

"Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, leading a high-level delegation, left this evening to Warsaw, Poland to take part in Warsaw Summit,"it said in the statement.

The leaders of the 28 NATO allies and other partner nations will meet for a landmark two-day summit, starting from Friday.

On Saturday, the NATO members will focus on its involvement in Afghanistan among other topics and will review their financial support for the Afghan security forces until 2020.

The Afghan leader besides addressing the NATO Summit, will also hold separate meetings with the leaders of NATO member countries on the sidelines of the meeting during his three-day trip, the statement added.

Among other officials, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, National Security Advisor Mohammad Anif Atmar, Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdullah Habibi, Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi and Mohammad Haroon Chakhansuri, presidential spokesman, are accompanying the president, according to the statement. Enditem
NAIROBI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese digital television networks operator StarTimes says it has concluded multi-year agreements with French-based Eutelsat Communications setting the stage for accelerated roll-out of digital broadcasting services across Africa.

StarTimes Group chairman Pang Xinxing said Thursday StarTimes had renewed capacity contracts on two Eutelsat satellites as well as agreements for uplinking services provided by a partner teleport operated by Slovenia-headquartered satellite telecommunications network in anticipation of continued expansion of Africa's TV market.

"StarTimes and Eutelsat are long-term strategic partners. Going forward, we will continue to work with Eutelsat to provide the best digital TV service to our African customers,"Pan said in a statement received in Nairobi.

Pang added the Chinese firm had also secured extra capacity and had plans to scale up its business this year.

"This expanded portfolio equips StarTimes to host more services, uplink channels from Europe and Africa and provide the highest levels of service continuity," he said.

StarTimes uses satellites to deliver its multi-channel TV platform to over seven million homes in 13 sub-Saharan African countries and is gearing up to expand into DR Congo and Zambia in August.

The platform transmits over 200 channels, including international channels, regional and country-focused channels as well as StarTimes' own branded content.

Content is offered both on a Free-to-View and pay-TV basis, with exclusive programming including frontline events such as the Bundesliga and the 2016 Copa America.

Eutelsat CEO Rodolphe Belmer said the company is fully engaged in the transformation of Africa's broadcasting landscape and is proud to work with its partners which he said are bringing the benefits of digital TV to viewers across the continent. Editem
BAGHDAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a suicide bombing attack in Karrada district in Iraq's capital of Baghdad has reached 292, the health ministry said Thursday.

"The government has handed over 115 bodies to their families and the identities of 177 people have yet to be determined," Health Minister Adila Hammoud said in a statement.

A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives in front of a shopping center in the commercial district in southern Baghdad on Sunday, which is the deadliest bombing attack since the U.S. invasion in 2003.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack that also left another 200 people wounded. "Most of the wounded are recovered and only 23 of them are still in the hospitals for treatment," she added.

The three-floor building was destroyed, when many people were inside. Many of the victims were women and children. Rescuers said the explosion and the following huge fire killed all members in some families.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced three days of national mourning for the victims after he visited the blast site on Sunday. His convoy was attacked by dozens of angry residents who accused the government of failing to protect its people.

He ordered an intensification of security measures on the entrances of Baghdad and in other Iraqi provinces.

During his visit to the explosion site, Abadi vowed to punish those behind the attacks, according to a statement issued by his office.

"The terrorist groups carried out such desperate deadly attacks as a result of being crushed in the battlefield," the statement said, referring to the government's recent victory of retaking Fallujah city from IS in the country's western province of Anbar.

Abadi also sent his condolences to the families of the victims and promised that "victory over these terrorist groups is very close."

The Iraqi government announced victory of retaking Fallujah, one of the last two strongholds of IS in Iraq, late last month, after almost a month of military operations.

The army is expected to be deployed to the northern Nineveh province, preparing to launch attacks against Mosul city, the country's second biggest city that fell into IS control two years ago.

The IS has frequently targeted security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques, across Iraq.

Observers said there could be more attacks against military targets and civilians in the future as the army advances to the last IS stronghold of Mosul.

Iraq has been hit by a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group seized large parts in Iraq's northern and western regions since 2014.

A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq estimated that 662 Iraqis were killed and 1,457 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in June this year across Iraq.
Sir John Chilcot presents The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster, London, Britain July 6, 2016. (Reuters photo)

KHARTOUM, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chilcot report on the Iraq War in 2003 constituted an explicit confession of the mistakes made by Britain and the United States, which shall take moral responsibility for the post-invasion mess, Sudanese politicians, analysts and media professionals said Thursday.

"The report clearly recognized the mistakes made by London in alliance with Washington," Rabie Abdul-Atti, adviser to Sudan's information minister, told Xinhua.

He was referring to the conclusions released Wednesday of an inquiry led by Britain's former civil servant John Chilcot, who said the invasion started before all peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted and that the planning and preparations for post-war Iraq were wholly inadequate.

Abdul-Aftti said the report did not go far enough, and that it should be followed by a correcting move -- backtracking the wrong polices and removing the impacts of the mistakes.

"The invasion into Iraq had huge negative effects that led to the disturbance of the new world order," he said. "If Britain is ready to admit what it has committed, it must seek, with its ally the United States, to remove those effects."

Abdul-Atti holds the United States and Britain responsible for the ongoing issues in the Middle East.

"The emergence of extremist groups such as Daesh was a reaction to the invasion," he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State militant group.

Abdul-Rahim Al-Sunni, a Sudanese political analyst, said that after 13 years, Britain reaffirmed the intervention was neither legitimate nor justified.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair speaks during a news conference in London on July 6, 2016, following the outcome of the Iraq Inquiry report. (Xinhua/AFP)

"This report is a complete condemnation of Britain and the United States, and they should take the moral and legal responsibility for their mistakes that have generated negative effects on the entire world," he said.

In the meantime, Hassan al-Saouri, a political science professor at the University of Khartoum, said the report was not a condemnation of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"The report is a condemnation of Britain and its polices but not of Tony Blair because he was then representing the country and its government," al-Saouri said.

He said the report reaffirmed the fact that Blair government had not exhausted the options for peaceful settlement, but had instead opted for an unjustified war.

Al-Saouri predicted that there will be further consequences of the report on Britain and the United States.

"The report will trigger formation of investigation committees," al-Saouri said.

Al-Fateh Al-Sayed, former secretary general of the Sudanese Journalists Union, stressed the need for Britain to fix the damage caused by its alliance with the United States in the war against Iraq.

"The entire world has been politically and economically affected by what happened in 2003, including the world financial crisis, the growing illegal migration and emergence of extremist groups," Al-Sayed said. "All these were the consequences of the Iraq War."

The investigation committee led by Chilcot was formed to consider British policy on Iraq from 2001 to 2009, including Britain's involvement in the 2003 Iraq War.

The report said Britain "chose to join the invasion into Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted."

According to the report, Britain's policy on Iraq at the time was built on false and inaccurate intelligence information.
Mourners carry the coffin of an Iraqi man, who was killed in a suicide bombing that ripped through Baghdad's busy shopping district of Karrada on July 3, during a funeral procession at the site of the attack on July 6, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP)

BAGHDAD, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a suicide bombing attack in Karrada district in Iraq's capital of Baghdad has reached 292, the health ministry said Thursday.

"The government has handed over 115 bodies to their families and the identities of 177 people have yet to be determined," Health Minister Adila Hammoud said in a statement.

A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives in front of a shopping center in the commercial district in southern Baghdad on Sunday, which is the deadliest bombing attack since the U.S. invasion in 2003.

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attack that also left another 200 people wounded. "Most of the wounded are recovered and only 23 of them are still in the hospitals for treatment," she added.

The three-floor building was destroyed, when many people were inside. Many of the victims were women and children. Rescuers said the explosion and the following huge fire killed all members in some families.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced three days of national mourning for the victims after he visited the blast site on Sunday. His convoy was attacked by dozens of angry residents who accused the government of failing to protect its people.

Lit candles sit on July 6, 2016, at the site of a suicide-bombing attack which took on July 3 in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood. (Xinhua/AFP)

He ordered an intensification of security measures on the entrances of Baghdad and in other Iraqi provinces.

During his visit to the explosion site, Abadi vowed to punish those behind the attacks, according to a statement issued by his office.

"The terrorist groups carried out such desperate deadly attacks as a result of being crushed in the battlefield," the statement said, referring to the government's recent victory of retaking Fallujah city from IS in the country's western province of Anbar.

Abadi also sent his condolences to the families of the victims and promised that "victory over these terrorist groups is very close."

The Iraqi government announced victory of retaking Fallujah, one of the last two strongholds of IS in Iraq, late last month, after almost a month of military operations.

The army is expected to be deployed to the northern Nineveh province, preparing to launch attacks against Mosul city, the country's second biggest city that fell into IS control two years ago.

The IS has frequently targeted security forces and areas where crowds of people gather, including markets, cafes and mosques, across Iraq.

Observers said there could be more attacks against military targets and civilians in the future as the army advances to the last IS stronghold of Mosul.

Iraq has been hit by a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group seized large parts in Iraq's northern and western regions since 2014.

A report by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq estimated that 662 Iraqis were killed and 1,457 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in June this year across Iraq.
PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia exported 268,190 tons of milled rice in the first half of 2016, down 5.8 percent from the 283,825 tons in the same period last year, according to the latest report released on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian country has exported its milled rice to 57 countries and regions around the globe, said the report compiled by the Secretariat of One Window Service for Rice Export.

Three top buyers are China, France and Poland, it said, adding that China imported some 47,024 tons of milled rice from Cambodia during the January-June period this year, France imported 37,463 tons and Poland purchased 36,164 tons.

Cambodia produced over 9 million tons of paddy rice a year. With this amount, it has over 3 million tons of milled rice left over for annual export. Enditem
Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo attends a press conference after a meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on May 13, 2014. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

GENEVA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Speaking ahead of the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in Shanghai this week, WTO's Director General Robert Azevedo on Wednesday urged ministers to enhance efforts seeking to find solutions for a number of key issues in view of boosting fledgling trade perspectives.

"What I have been trying to tell ministers every time I meet them is that there are many opportunities for the WTO," Azevedo told Xinhua in an interview.

"On the Doha round we are trying to find solutions and ideas... regarding non-Doha Development Agenda issues, many things have been mentioned such as electronic commerce, small and medium enterprises, facilitation of investments and services, but all at a very general level," he added.

The ministerial conference comes amid uncertain times for the global economy, with growth in the volume of trade forecast to reach 2.8 percent in 2016, the fifth consecutive year below 3 percent.

"With no economic growth trade suffers. Where we used to have a ratio of two to one between economic growth and trade growth, now it's about one to one," Azevedo explained.

He listed a number of factors that have been set in motion in a bid to catalyse global trade, such as Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the expansion of the information technology treaty.

The TFA, also known as the Bali package, lays out directives to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods so as to reduce the overall cost of trading.

This covenant is especially important since it was the first multilateral agreement reached by member states since WTO came into being over 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, the expansion of the information technology treaty is also a step towards facilitating trade, Azevedo explained, in line with the participants' pledge to eliminate tariffs on IT products covered by the agreement.

An additional 201 products valued at over 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars per year were sanctioned by over 50 members at WTO's 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi last year.

Efforts aiming to eliminate trade barriers on environmental goods and services were also welcomed by the Director-General.

Despite these concerted measures, Azevedo called for enhanced commitment to address some of the protracted stalemates marring WTO negotiations, namely the Doha round of talks considered inefficient and out of date by many pundits.

This long-standing impasse has seen a number of states opt for regional trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

"We need more specificity, and I need the ministers' particular attention and engagement to push these conversations forward. Without ministerial engagement it's going to be a lot harder," he said.

Brexit was also seen as dampener for global trade, with Britain's decision to leave the European Union (EU) clouding short and medium term perspectives.

With uncertainty stemming from lack of precedence, Azevedo highlighted that it is hard to tell what the negotiations will look like within WTO itself.

"If the UK leaves the EU, the process as far as trade implications in the WTO are uncertain. We don't know what negotiations will be necessarily," he said.

"As far as global trade is concerned, I don't think the uncertainty and turbulence that we experience today is going to be helpful," he added.

"In the short-run, I don't think that anybody wins, everybody loses other than possibly those who speculate," he concluded.
BEIJING, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for further cooperation with the United Nations when meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on his 10th visit to China.

Xi applauded Ban's efforts and contributions in safeguarding world peace, promoting sustainable development, dealing with climate change and enhancing the cooperation between the UN and China in the past decade.

He said China will continue to be a firm UN supporter, vindicator and participant.

Stressing that economic globalization not only brings opportunities and prosperity, but also poses challenges and problems, Xi called for a stronger global governance and commitment to building a "community of common destiny."

He underlined the importance of adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and advocated a global governance concept featuring mutual consultation, efforts and sharing.

"We must commit to resolving hotspot issues through political means, advocate dialogue and consultation, address both the symptoms and root causes and give full play to the central role of the United Nations," said the president.

Xi invited Ban to attend the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, scheduled for Sept. 4-5 in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

China will push the Hangzhou summit to prioritize development, he said, adding that China's Belt and Road Initiative will push forward the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ban extended his sympathies for the death of a Chinese peacekeeper in an attack on the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali last month and thanked China for participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

He said Xi's initiatives on supporting UN peacekeeping missions and South-South cooperation have had significant impacts on international cooperation.

Ban also appreciated China's efforts to resolve the Korean Peninsular nuclear issue as the chair of the six-party talks.

The United Nations is willing to enhance cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to boost infrastructure construction in developing countries, he said.

Ban said he was looking forward to the Hangzhou summit.

Ban's China tour lasts from Wednesday to Sunday and will also take him to Hangzhou and Suzhou in southern China.
VILNIUS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite on Thursday said she expected NATO leaders in Warsaw to approve the deployment of four multinational battalions in the Baltic States and Poland.

"If it materializes, what I really hope for, it will be a historic success which ensures the largest ever security for our country and our people," Grybauskaite said in an interview with local radio broadcaster Lrt.lt.

The head of state mentioned she already had preliminary knowledge that the decision would be approved at the NATO summit in Warsaw on July 8 and 9.

"It's time to move from additional security measures to real deterrence by military forces which includes personnel, weaponry, and clear coordination of actions," the president added.

Grybauskaite also said she expected a ground-based missile defense system operated by NATO to be based "close to the Lithuanian border" in the future as had already been launched in Romania.

"It has been launched in Romania, we hope for the same in Poland. This would mean that our region -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- will be defended from air threats as well," Lithuanian president said.

The NATO summit in Warsaw will focus on ensuring the security of NATO's eastern flank -- the Baltic States, Poland, and the Black Sea countries Romania and Bulgaria, the presidential press service said. Enditem




BEIJING, July 7, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Wang Qishan (R), secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, meets with a delegation headed by Bounthong Chitmany (L), president of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee's Commission for Inspection, in Beijing, capital of China, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Top graft-busters of China and Laos met on Thursday, agreeing to strengthen exchanges in anti-corruption.

Bounthong Chitmany, president of the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee's Commission for Inspection, met with Wang Qishan, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and his deputy Zhao Hongzhu.

In the working talks, Zhao said the CPC Central Committee has made relentless efforts to promote all-round party discipline under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping since late 2012 and has made substantial progress in improving party conduct and building a clean government.
WARSAW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- NATO will show its unity and take some concrete decisions, strengthening the security where it is most needed, especially in its southern and eastern flank, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Thursday.

Speaking a day prior to the NATO summit, Duda met with the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. During the press conference held after the meeting, Duda said: "The Alliance is about unity. Therefore, the safety of each and every member is equally crucial."

"NATO will show its unity, show that there is mutual understanding and solidarity towards all matters. The rule 'one for all, all for one' is still valid," he added.

He underlined NATO's role was to "bring and maintain peace", saying NATO can perform its tasks well, adequately to the changing circumstances and security environment.

"The Alliance has to and will take up specific decisions increasing the security where it is most needed. Today, it is mostly here, at the eastern flank of NATO and in the south. These two elements of decisions are most vital and they will also be a crucial point of discussion," Duda stated.

NATO is increasing its presence in Poland and Baltic countries with four international battalions and can increase these forces if needed," Stoltenberg said. "It is a clear signal that the Alliance is ready to protect any part of its territory," he said, adding it is just one of the elements of the NATO's multidimensional response.

"Our message is an attack on one of the allies is an attack on all of them," Stoltenberg said.

He also pointed out the challenges ahead of the NATO, saying it would have to face the risks and threats in the south, increase its resistance to cyber war risk and try to bring its cooperation with the EU on a higher level.

Duda and Stoltenberg announced that high-level meetings with Russia will be possible once both sides are ready.

The plenary talks included Polish Minister of National Defense Antoni Macierewicz, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski and the head of National Security Bureau Pawel Soloch.

After the meeting, NATO Deputy General Secretary Alexander Vershbow received honorary distinction from the Polish president.

The NATO summit will begin in Warsaw on July 8 with leaders from 28 member countries in attendance. Enditem
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gives a joint press before a Nato Defense Council meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2016. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Moscow expects to discuss at an upcoming meeting of the Russia-NATO Council the expansion of the military alliance to the east, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

"The central topic of the meeting will be the decisions of the Warsaw meeting to strengthen the eastern flank of the block and its consequences for all aspects of European security," the ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Wednesday that an agreement had been reached with Moscow to hold the meeting of the Russia-NATO Council at the ambassadorial level at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Stoltenberg said the discussions will focus on the Ukraine crisis and the security situation in Afghanistan.

The Council will meet on July 13, shortly after the NATO Summit in Warsaw on July 8-9.

Russia has repeatedly accused NATO of increasing its presence in eastern Europe, while NATO countries responded that Russia presented a threat to Europe, citing its involvement in the Ukraine crisis and rearmament of its armed forces.

Zakharova denied any aggressive intentions behind the rearmament of the Russian army, saying that it is "a proportionate response" to the increasing military activities of NATO, which is "moving its infrastructure toward Russia's borders with obvious persistence."
Patrol vessel Haixun-21 arrives in Yongxing Island of Sansha City on the SouthChina Sea, south China, April 22, 2015. (Xinhua/Guo Qiuda)

by Xinhua Writer Liu Fang

THE HAGUE, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A dozen of Chinese young scholars of international law in the Netherlands are preparing to launch an open letter to contest the erroneous exercise of jurisdiction and abuse of legal process in the South China Sea (SCS) arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines.

The open letter also highlights the significance of state consent as the very foundation of international judicial and arbitral organs and call for attention to the dangerous tendency towards the judicial and arbitral expansion in the field of the Law of the Sea, the drafters of the letter told Xinhua.

Peng Qinxuan, 29, Ph.D candidate of international law at Utrecht University, said the idea of writing an open letter hit her like a "natural reflex" to a "bizarre" case.

"A decade-long study on international law and international relations leaves its mark on me. I have always put faith in the international justice by international law. And I am always interested in examining international judicial and arbitral cases," said Peng.

Peng and her colleagues closely followed the highly controversial SCS arbitration case during the past months.

"Many of us share the analysis that no matter how smart the Philippines' disguise is, the real issue in this case is barely about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation. The UNCLOS does not deal with territory issues and China has excluded delimitation disputes from compulsory settlement procedures. Evidently the tribunal has no jurisdiction over this case," said the Ph.D candidate.

As the arbitration proceeds despite worldwide questioning, Peng felt an urgency to take action.

"How could such a bizarre case openly violating UNCLOS provisions keep advancing in The Hague, the capital of international law? How can we stay silent in face of such a lawfare which carries ulterior motives? The eyes of the arbitrators are blindfolded with the leaves of the Philippine claims, and they cannot see the mountain behind the leaves. But we lawyers of international law have the duty to pierce the veil," she said.

Peng, who is also head of an association of Chinese students and scholars in the Netherlands, was not alone in her drive.

Among 8,000-more Chinese students studying in the Netherlands, over 100 are scattered in faculties of law across the country. A dozen of them, specialized on international law and the Law of the Sea, set up a research group for the drafting of the open letter.

Xu Qi, a 26-year-old Ph.D candidate on the Law of the Sea at Groningen University, volunteered to contribute with his academic knowledge.

"After many rounds of discussions we decided to present our own analysis of problems of the tribunal's jurisdiction ruling based on the provisions of the UNCLOS and also on the historical facts," he told Xinhua.

Three months of brain-storming produced a 2,500-word document so far.

The young scholars tried to build their case on four aspects: state consent as the basis of compulsory arbitration; territorial disputes and maritime delimitation as real disputes of the SCS case; abuse of legal process and ultra vires acts in the SCS arbitration; the SCS arbitral awards being neither binding nor helpful.

"I wish to draw particular attention to the detrimental impact caused by the SCS arbitration to the inherent balance of the compulsory settlement procedures under the UNCLOS. The tribunal should have been more cautious when ruling on jurisdiction," Xu said.

"When doing research for this open letter, we noticed that a growing number of non-Chinese experts and scholars expressed their concerns over the tribunal's jurisdiction ruling, especially in relation to the real issue of the Philippines' claims. This is both inspiring and encouraging," he said.

"In the open letter we make it clear that China has a correct understanding of the UNCLOS compulsory procedures. China does not accept these procedures being abused for political purposes. By upholding state consent as the basis of compulsory arbitration, China made a right move to defend this fundamental principle of international rule of law. In the long run, more States will see the value of these efforts," added Xu.

Zhang Tong, 24, the youngest of the team, told Xinhua that the faith in the international law led her to join the open letter.

"Compared to the richly experienced arbitrators of the tribunal, I am only a beginner. But I have to say that the jurisdiction ruling is not convincing enough for me. I was particularly surprised by the circular arguments they exercised to substantively exclude the application of China's declaration about the compulsory jurisdiction under article 298," said Zhang.

The Leiden master student on international law believed that in the positivist tradition, compulsory arbitration and other compulsory procedures under the Convention, as agreed upon by more than 160 countries through nine-years' negotiation, are strictly consent-based in substance.

"Within the scope of such consents, an organ is legitimate; stepping beyond, the legitimacy will be highly arguable," said Zhang.

The State-consent principle maintains the balance of interests of all States in a subtle and sustainable way, which helps to maximize the common interests among States, Zhang argued.

"The life of international law comes from and should also serve for the common interests of the international community, which makes the principle of state consent indispensable. But the SCS tribunal seemingly prefers to expand its jurisdiction rather than protect the legitimate interests of the contracting State," said Zhang.

"The Tribunal is probably undercutting the States' already fragile trust towards international judicial and arbitral organs. It might seriously weaken the authority of itself and even of the international judicial bodies as a whole. I started to believe in international justice since high school when I participated and enjoyed Model United Nations activities. What the SCS tribunal did is really disappointing and hurting," she added.

As law students busied themselves with drafting the letter, Wang Zhili, Utrecht University master student in Public International Laws and Finance who has been studying in the Netherlands for more than six years, took up the outreach task of their action.

Together with Peng, they opened social media accounts on Wechat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter for this purpose and mobilized their friends and classmates to circulate the draft document and collect reactions.

"Most of reports in western media on the SCS arbitration follow the track of their old-style cliches and prejudices against China. You can hardly find any balanced and in-depth article here. I was really shocked by the ignorance of China's arguments when discussing this case with professors and fellow students. That's why we write our open letter in English, Dutch and Chinese. We will spread it far and wide to gather as much support as possible," Wang told Xinhua.

"We do believe that the voice of the truth must be heard," said Peng, the enthusiastic student leader, "One open letter criticizing one single case cannot drive out the shroud of darkness enveloping the world of the international law. Light a candle, you only get a dim light. Pass the candle on, the shadow has nowhere to hide."
Roberto Azevedo, the Director-General of World Trade Organization (WTO) holds a press conference on the 26th APEC Ministerial Meeting at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China, Nov. 8, 2014. (Xinhua/Wang Shen)

GENEVA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo on Wednesday highlighted the increasingly important role played by China in multilateral trade consultations since it became a WTO member in December 2001.

"China has always been a very strong supporter of multilateralism and of the WTO and has been very constructive in negotiations," Azevedo told Xinhua in an interview here.

Admitting that "China's weight in negotiations today is not the same as it was 15 years ago," he noted that "the system has to be thankful for a lot of what China has done."

As well as underscoring Beijing's ability to defend its interests while showing awareness of the systemic implications of its position, the Brazilian official also praised China's role in helping members ink important trade covenants such as the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).

Known as the Bali package, the TFA lays out directives to expedite the movement, release and clearance of goods so as to reduce the overall cost of trading.

It is the first multilateral agreement to be reached since the organization came into being over 20 years ago.

In the same vein, Azevedo lauded China's stance at the 2015 10th WTO ministerial conference in Nairobi, where ministers played a pivotal part in attempting to push negotiations in the right direction.

Commenting on the anti-dumping measures the European Union is mulling on steel imports recently, Azevedo said, "members are entitled to use anti-dumping measures, but you cannot arbitrarily impose anti-dumping measures."

According to the director-general, a number of factors must be taken into account before such actions can take place.

First it is necessary to determine whether dumping exists then decide if there has been injury to domestic interests, Azevedo said, adding that the third requirement is to establish whether there is a link between the two.
File photo taken on May 29, 2016 shows Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, addressing motorcyclists participating in Rolling Thunder parade in Washington D.C., capital of the United States. U.S. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan announced on Thursday that he would vote for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Amid a recent rash of terror attacks worldwide, U.S. presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton compete to claim he or she would tackle the terror threat better than the other.

Over the weekend, terror attacks struck several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Turkey, in the wake of the June 12 massive shooting in the U.S. state of Florida, as the terror group Islamic State (IS) targets civilians all over the world.

Though the area under the IS control has been shrinking under a barrage of U.S.-led air attacks, the group is exporting war to the West and other Muslim countries in a bid to remain relevant and boost morale and recruitment efforts.

The terror threat is emerging as a major issue in the U.S. race to the White House, with each candidate blasting the other over how he or she would handle the terror threat.

Republican presumptive nominee Trump is continuing his narrative that his Democratic rival Clinton is soft on terror, while Clinton continues to bill Trump someone who lacks her experience and credentials as a former U.S. Secretary of State.

Through one of his social media accounts, Trump on Monday slammed Clinton as too weak to handle terror threats, writing: "In Bangladesh, hostages were immediately killed by ISIS terrorists if they were unable to cite a verse from the Koran. 20 were killed! We do not have leadership that can stop this!"

Indeed, Trump is continuing his ongoing criticism of how the current U.S. administration is handling the IS threat, and tying Clinton to the administration, as she was Secretary of State in U.S. President Barack Obama's first term.

"Trump will put the attack into his narrative that grew out of (recent terror attacks in) Paris, Brussels, and Orlando - which is that the United States is unsafe from terrorists, and that Obama's policies, and, by extension, Clinton's policies, are leaving the American people and allies unsafe," Dan Mahaffee, an analyst with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, told Xinhua.

Trump will also try to tie this to the fact that Turkey and other allies haven't been pulling their weight in fighting terrorism, and thus the U.S. must be more willing to either go it alone or "pull up the drawbridge" to keep immigrants and refugees from entering the country, Mahaffee said.

While Clinton hasn't focused as much on national security as Trump, the attacks will fit her narrative of the importance of a steady, experienced hand during a time of global instability -- with her as the experienced hand and Trump as a dangerous variable, he said.

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)

Still, the challenge for Trump is to sway independent voters to his side of the issue, in a presidential race that may well be determined by those who do not belong to either party.

"Trump will be able to make that case to his ardent supporters, but that will be preaching to the choir," Mahaffee said.

Trump's recent unpredictable performance has sewed many doubts in the American people about his temperament for the office and dealing with issues of national security.

Clinton could continue to be seen as the safer bet in trying times, while Trump could be seen as the candidate tougher on fighting terror if there are new terror attacks, especially ones that target the U.S. homeland, Mahaffee said.
The U.S. Federal Bureao of Investigation Director James Comey testifiesbefore the House Oversight Committee over investigation into Hillary Clinton's email system, on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, July 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. FBI Director James Comey on Thursday defended his decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton, but refuted several of her statements to justify the use of private email setup as secretary of state.

At a congressional hearing that lasted nearly five hours, Comey told U.S. lawmakers that while the FBI found no basis to conclude that Clinton had lied to the agency, some of the former U.S. secretary of state's email defenses were false.

During her hearing last October at the House Select Committee on Benghazi, Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2016 U.S. presidential election, said there was nothing "marked classified on my emails, either sent or received."

"That's not true," said Comey during the hastily arranged hearing at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, two days after he announced the FBI's recommendation of not bringing any criminal charges against Clinton in her email investigation.

"There were a small number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents," said Comey.

However, Comey later acknowledged that all the three emails were not properly marked, which may lead to the impression that they were not classified.

Moreover, when asked by Trey Gowdy, a Republican member of the committee, whether Clinton's statement that no classified material was transmitted through her private email account to others was true, Comey replied in the negative.

During his announcement of the FBI recommendation on Tuesday, Comey in a rare step detailed major findings of the investigation, including the finding of 113 emails which contained classified information at the time they were sent or received through Clinton's private email system.

"Secretary Clinton said she used just one device. Was that true?" Gowdy, who also chaired a congressional panel investigating the 2012 deadly attack at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, asked at one point.

Again, Comey said Clinton's statement was false.

In his later exchange with Gowdy, Comey also confirmed that Clinton's insistence on having turned over all work-related emails and her statement about her lawyers having read the email content individually was not true.

On Tuesday, Comey revealed that apart from the approximately 30,000 work-related emails Clinton provided to the State Department in 2014, investigators later discovered several thousand work-related e-mails that were not among the group of 30,000 e-mails.

But, Comey said the FBI found no evidence that any of the additional work-related e-mails were intentionally deleted in an effort to conceal them in some way.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey testifies before the House Committee over investigation into Hillary Clinton's email system on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, July 7, 2016. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

"Our assessment is that like many e-mail users, Secretary Clinton periodically deleted e-mails or e-mails were purged from her system when devices were changed," he said on Tuesday.

The FBI's Tuesday recommendation dispelled some of the cloud the year-long FBI investigation into Clinton's use of private email servers has cast over her presidential campaign.

Immediately after the hearing, Clinton's campaign expressed satisfaction, saying that Comey's testimony had cleared up some of the concerns about the FBI's decision.

The testimony "clearly knocked down a number of false Republican talking points and reconciled apparent contradictions between his previous remarks and Hillary Clinton's public statements," campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

Thursday's hearing, however, was not the first time Clinton's email defenses were refuted by government officials.

A long-awaited report by the U.S. State Department's independent watchdog revealed in May that Clinton never requested permission to use her private email account during her stint in the State Department despite her repeated claim in the last 12 months that her practices were allowed by the department.

The 83-page report also added new details about her motivation for the setup of the private emailing system.

Clinton said previously on many occasions that her exclusive reliance on a personal email account for business was due to "convenience." However, newly disclosed email communications between her and one senior aide indicated otherwise.

In November 2010, Huma Abedin, her then deputy chief of staff discussed with her about "putting you on State email" to protect her email from spam. Clinton declined the suggestion, saying that she did not "want any risk of the personal being accessible."

The report also indicated inconsistency in Clinton's claim that there was no indication that hackers had ever managed to hack into her email account.

According to the report, two Clinton's immediate staff discussed via email in May 2011 that Clinton was concerned that someone was "hacking into her email" after she received an email with a suspicious link.

Neither Clinton nor her staff reported the incident to computer security personnel within the department as required by existing policies, said the report.
BUCHAREST, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The South China Sea dispute can only be settled by seeking positive and constructive methods, said former Romanian ambassador to China Romulus Ioan Budura.

Undoubtedly, the Philippines made a serious mistake by unilaterally initiating an arbitration case against China in 2013 over the dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Budura told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Budura believes the dispute should be tackled by diplomatic talks instead of arbitration.

The arbitration initiated unilaterally by the Philippines doesn't help solve the dispute, said Budura, adding that the intervention of outside forces will make the issue more complicated and lead to the escalation of unstable regional situation.

Budura pointed out that taking the South China Sea dispute to arbitration is against the consensus between China and the Philippines to settle disputes through friendly consultations and negotiations.

It is also against the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), signed by China and ASEAN countries in 2002, the former ambassador said.

He stressed that the disputes over the territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation in the South China Sea should be resolved through consultation and negotiation by sovereign states directly concerned, adding that peace and stability in the South China Sea should be maintained jointly by China and the ASEAN members.

Budura expressed his support for the position persistently held by China that territorial sovereignty disputes should be resolved through consultations between concerned parties.

According to him, China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands has been explicitly stated in the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation, both of which were signed by the allied powers including the United States. For a long time after World War II, none of the countries in the South China Sea area raised any objection to China's sovereignty over the islands.

Nor did the United States dispute China's sovereignty over the South China Sea islands between early 1970s, when the two sides began the process of the normalization of Chinese-U.S. ties, and 1979, when the two countries formally established diplomatic relations, said Budura.

He pointed out that as a sovereign state, China's building of infrastructure for civilian and defense use on its own territory in the South China Sea is incontrovertible, as many other countries had done the same before.

Budura was in China for study in early 1950s and was posted as Romanian ambassador to China between 1990 and 1996. He has long been engaged in China- and Asia-related work and research, and once served as an advisor to then Romanian President Ion Iliescu in 1990s.

Budura recalled that in summer 1964 when he, then a second secretary at the Romanian embassy in China, was tasked with drafting a document on the Romanian government's supporting China's territorial integrity, the document in particular stressed that China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands.

He told Xinhua that he hopes negotiations would resume between China and the Philippines earlier, in a bid to solve disputes bilaterally and within the framework of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC).

Even if some issues could not be settled satisfactorily for the moment, both sides still could work towards making the South China Sea a maritime area featuring peaceful development and common prosperity by upholding the principle of shelving differences while seeking joint development, Budura said.

Related:

Equatorial Guinean ruling party calls for peaceful solution to South China Sea dispute

MALABO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Jeronimo Osa Osa Ecoro, Secretary General of Equatorial Guinean ruling Democratic Party, on Thursday called for peaceful solution to the South China Sea dispute.

In an interview with Xinhua, Osa insisted that the disputed countries should solve their dispute through dialogues and negotiations. Full story

Interview: Unilateral arbitration will endanger peace, stability in South China Sea: French sinologue

PARIS, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Arbitration by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) following the unilateral application of the Philippines over its dispute with China in the South China Sea "would endanger the peace and stability" in the region, said French sinologue Pierre Picquart.

"What seems questionable is a so-called 'international arbitration,' unrecognized by China, trying to impose a settlement between Beijing and Manila," Picquart told Xinhua in a recent interview. Full story

PNG says respecting China's position on South China Sea

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Papua New Guinea (PNG) said on Thursday that it respected China's position on the South China Sea issue and supported direct consultation between parties concerned.
By Wang Yifan

The olive-shaped social structure of the American society has changed a lot for a long time as a result of the dwindling middle-class, which will lead to an enlarging gap between the rich and the poor, according to a report carried by the Global Times on Tuesday.

The underlying cause -- social transformation

For a long time, the Americans have been living in a society with the middle-class families as its main leading component in a shape of an olive with the poor and the rich at two ends. This kind of olive-shaped social structure symbolizes the economic abundance and also constitutes a foundation for a stable social system.

However, great changes have taken place in recent decades. According to a report released by the Pew Research Center in May, nearly 90 percent of the 229 American metropolitan areas have seen a decrease of middle-class families from 2000 to 2014. The proportion of middle-class families in some large metropolitan areas have dropped to less than 50 percent, such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Houston. American economy and its social structure have entered a transitional period. And a growing number of middle class cannot adapt to the process, said Yang Xiyu, a researcher at China Institute of International Studies.

In the 1990s, the revolution of financial industry brought about a violent transformation of social and economic structure. As a result, the makeup of workforce, income, and social distribution were unable to keep pace with the change of economic structure. That was the underlying reason for the shrink of middle class.

Where has the money gone?

According to agencies, with the ever growing wealth of the United States, most of the money has gone to the rich people. And 0.1 percent of the richest Americans were found to own nearly 90 percent of the American wealth.

It is reported by the Business Insider, one fourth of the American middle-class families have moved to higher rank since 2000 as shown by the IMF data. However, more than 3 percent of middle-class families have moved down to the lower-income group.

Yang noted that the main reason for the shrink of U.S. middle class is the huge gap between the rich and the poor. Recently, various social movements are more or less related to the discontent of the middle class, reflecting not only the polarization of the society, but also a deeper social discontent.

(Source: Global Times)
Business community commends former PM Manning

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Chamber) commended Manning for remaining resolute in his conviction that TT could one day stand as a model nation within the region and internationally.

We, the members of the business community, recall favourably that a modernised economy, coupled with commendable early attempts towards economic diversification became a reality during the former Prime Ministers tenure. Barring the vagaries of political life, the Chamber added, few can deny that Mr Manning managed to win the respect of many - both at home and abroad - through his astute leadership, his outstanding vision, and his unwavering devotion to Public Service.

In extending its members sincerest sympathies to Mannings wife, Hazel Manning, his sons, Brian and David, his relatives and friends, the Chamber expressed hope that after the initial shock and disbelief of his passing has dissipated, we the people of TT will continue to strive for excellence, buoyed by the exemplary model of the life of Mr Patrick Manning, a true patriot and a statesman.

Meanwhile the American Chamber of Commerce of TT (AmCham) and the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CCIC) remembered Manning as a formidable force in politics and as a man who was not only dedicated his life to public service but who was unflinching in his commitment to his visions and ideals.

AmCham said he was a formidable force in politics and our nation (who) played a significant role in the development of our countrys post-independence life.

It also praised Mannings commitment to greater cooperation amongst the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). He was a true Caribbean man who believed in the potential of the region and the benefits of regional cooperation. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and his loved ones.

Looking back at Mannings 44 years as San Fernando West MP (1971 to 2015), CCIC President, Richie Sookhai, said the veteran politician had etched his name into the history and memory of our nation for his dedicated service to this country and his unflinching commitment to his visions and ideals.

Referring to the PNMs massive loss in the 1986 General Election, during which Manning was one of only three PNM MPs to retain their seats, Sookhai said, few other politicians in our history have shown the mettle that Mr Manning did during his long tenure, helping to take the party from defeat to victory, becoming PM in 1991. Manning then went to serve as Prime Minister twice again between 2001 and 2010.

During his prime ministership from 2001 to 2010 Mr Manning notably achieved the hosting of both the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and the 5th Summit of the Americas, which saw both US President Barack Obama and late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on the same soil for the first time, Sookhai said.

He added that the nation has watched with deep concern and sympathy as Manning battled his illness over the past several years, having suffered a stroke in January 2012 and then being diagnosed one week ago (June 30) with Acute Myeloid leukaemia.

His dignity and courage in the face of these physical challenges have only served to cement his legacy as a man and a PM who stood tall against all challenges and remained unbowed until the end, Sookhai declared.

General Secretary of the National Trade Union Centre of Trinidad and Tobago (NATUC), Michael Annisette, spoke of the profound sense of loss felt by the union at the news that Manning had died.

To his wife Mrs Hazel Manning and his two sons, Brian and David and the rest of his family and close friends, be assured that our thoughts and heartfelt prayers goes out to each one of you...We can be comforted in the fact that as a past leader of this nation and of the PNM, Mr Manning steered TT through some of the most difficult periods in our history. He will most certainly be remembered as a true visionary and a Man for All Seasons.

Annisette declared the union would always remember Manning as someone who was always willing to meet and treat with NATUC in good faith and with the greatest of respect, notwithstanding the many differences of opinion we may have had on several issues.

He was a champion for the working class in his own particular style and we will always remember the efforts he made by encouraging NATUC to be independent and self-sufficient. He encouraged NATUC to make use of our entrepreneurial capabilities and to always look at the big picture, Annisette stated.

Farmers groups also expressed condolences to the Manning family earlier this week.

In a joint statement issued on behalf of the Tableland Pineapple Farmers Association (TPFA) and the Felicity Charlieville Fishing Association (FCFA), Agricultural Economist Omardath Maharaj said under (Mannings) leadership, the national development agenda progressed in all spheres.

Our standard of living and physical infrastructure saw unprecedented advancement through universal education, health care, rural and urban development, transportation, energy and other concentrated economic development policies and programmes which we continue to benefit from today.

Maharaj argued that few persons offering themselves for public office can claim to have had a greater impact on our country, the region and perhaps our global position than Mr Manning; a true visionary and an unparalleled leader.

He added that although the TPFA and FCFA observed a moment of silence at the Santa Cruz Green Market this past Saturday (the day Manning died), they will celebrate the 5th National Fruit Festival, August 12 to 14, in his honour.

The TPFA spoke of its interactions with the late PM in 2007 and his aggressive pursuit in meeting the needs of the agricultural communities in the south-eastern region of Trinidad.

With his support, there was an accelerated agricultural access road programme, reviews on subsidies relating to vehicles, fertilizers, land preparation and other inputs, as well as making more arable lands available to farmers, the TPFA said.
Seeing the world in 3D

With an extensive background in architecture that spans four decades, Fojo 3D studio, equipped with a team of architects, engineers and designers, is no stranger to innovation and creativity, possessing the design skills to do industrial design for the Caribbean.

Newsday spoke to Fojo 3D Printing Founder and Managing Director, David Fojo who was more than willing to share his insight into the limitless capabilities of 3D printing and the role that the novel technology could play in advancing Trinbagonian manufacturing and product development to the next level. Fojo believes that Trinidad and Tobago is positioned to become the 3D printing hub of the Caribbean, allowing us to take back work from China and the States. He hailed 3D printing as the third industrial revolution and the most profound of all three, While this might sound like a great deal of premature buzz creation for a service that has barely taken off locally, Fojo stands by his proclamation, explaining why the technology is the big deal that he makes it out to be. 3D printing is capable of completely revolutionising the way in which products are manufactured, Fojo predicted, outlining how this type of printing can offer major advancements not only to local manufacturing but to the prototyping and product development stages of the process of new product creation and production. However, based on our tendency to be perpetually behind by a decade or so where manufacturing trends and technology are concerned, Fojo fears that we may not catch the bus in time.

For starters, 3D printing can whittle prototype production time down to a quarter of its initial cost: due to this ease and fluidity, more alterations can be made to the product in development over a shorter period of time. Before, you would have to design the product in 2D, send it to China to be mass-produced, Fojo explained.

If it didnt suit the market or it wasnt as sophisticated as it should be, youd already have 10,000 units sitting on the shelves and youd be out of luck. With 3D printing, however, a small production run of the product is possible, allowing various members of the company to have access to their own prototypes. You can have, lets say, 10 units per store in about 5 stores and make adjustments based on [consumer response]. This fine-tuning of the product can continue until the best and most marketable version of the product is attained. When youre sure that its a fantastic product, youd then be able to order your ten thousand units. The increased scope for greater and more meticulous and tailored manipulation of a product in the development stage speaks not only to a higher quality of product in the long run but to a greater possibility for more impactful and efficient competition, positioning Trinbagonian firms to actually compete with the markets in Germany, Japan, China and the US at the same frequency. Furthermore, 3D printing can completely turn the way in which stocks are produced to be transported worldwide upside down, according to Fojo. He spoke of being able to manufacture products only when needed by cutting out the supply chain and inventory stages so the need for warehouses, forklifts and trucks could be vaporised. Fojo used the example of a shoe store to illustrate his aspirations for more efficient target marketing and therefore, increased consumer satisfaction. He suggests that, instead of having to play the guessing game to determine whether there might be 5,000 size 6s in red or blue, customers should be able to stick their feet in a scanner and have shoes made on the spot for them. That way, you eliminate extra manufacturing and transport costs, waste as well as offer consumers a custom fit feature.

Fojo adds that although this means of thinking with regard to the possibilities of 3D printing locally could take a few years to come on stream, the 3D printing revolution of itself is happening very quickly. Manufacturers specialising in the production and sale of smaller, highly customisable items arent the only ones who can benefit from 3D printing, as the technology can also be used to develop architectural models for a fraction of the current cost produced otherwise. An initiative used mainly for megaprojects, more widespread 3D printing services can make these architectural models accessible for the layman homeowner.

The fact that the most advanced 3D printers can produce in a range of materials, including clay and different types of metal--titanium, platinum, varieties of stainless and aluminum--broaden the scope of production possibilities even further. Easier creation of the bottles prototypes, figurines and even prescription eyewear is possible with this technology. Fojo even suggested harnessing 3D printing to create custom figurines for soca concert patrons and visitors at the zoo, allowing them to have their likeness featured beside their favourite artist or animal.

Furthermore, with 750,000 colours at the users disposal, the creative limits seem stretched even further still. When the printers are updated, Fojo 3D Printing ensures to acquire them within weeks of their initial release; additionally, the firms staff is regularly trained, sent abroad on instructional workshops in order to be kept abreast of the novel features of the ever-evolving technology.

Fojo urges that Trinbagonian manufacturers not miss the opportunity to quickly harness this technology. He stresses that during these recessionary times, we should be on the cutting edge. And with innovative and entrepreneurial talent like ours, who can honestly disagree with him?
Sans Souci: a cool place with not much to do

com, is popular with surfers in the winter and venue for surf competitions. Sans Souci is a relatively safe beach with two restaurants on the nearby road. The most popular beach is known as Big Bay. The north-eastern community rests along a string of villages passing Toco, Mission and LAnse Noir and then into Sans Souci along Paria Main Road.

For many, life there is laid back, relaxing even but this restful area has much to be improved upon.

As you enter San Souci, Big Bay beach greets you. Sitting on the beach at Big Bay, resident Lawrence Gonzales said, The road we want that fix and the next thing we want is the ferry that would have the place looking real nice. For many rural areas surveyed throughout Newsdays country wide, roads were among the greatest complaints.

Poor road conditions complained about in one article by another publication seems yet to be solved even as this is being written.

Right now it is not as I knew it before. Day by day it is coming slowly from what I knew it as a little boy.

I remember in San Souci going to school, as a little boy, there was a shop down the road down there where the Chine is down there and when we passing on Friday afternoons, old men used to be drinking and fighting but youre not seeing that again.

They come and they die out.

Those young boys and them not fighting, they using gun.

But here is not really no violent placehere is a cool, pleasant place.

The youths make employment for themselves by planting figs and plantainsthe police visit here often. They fixed the road part of the way from Matelot to Montevideobut we really want the road fixed, Gonzales from the area. We enjoy ourselves here. A lot of happiness, Gonzales said.

Do something for young men Wendy Phillip, 32 year-old food entrepreneur in the area, wants more to be done for the young men in the area.

Phillip has been running Wendys Caf? for the last five years. It is a sole means of employment.

For her, there is much improvement to be made in an area with a lot of potential.

During an interview Phillip said the roads needed to be urgently repaired. What might appear simple to most people, Phillip called for an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to be put in in the area since most residents had to journey to Toco to get access to one.

The areas young men, she said, needed access to employment.

She said while some of the areas young men got employment outside of the area most were employed, in bush life. Many of the areas young women, she said, were more productive and going out and acquiring jobs whereas the areas men did not.

For Phillip, one way of solving this problem is through the implementation of the proposed ferry from Toco. The Dr Keith Rowley-led administration proposed the construction of a port and A-class road in Toco. For some of the residents in the area, the ferry could well leave from Big Bay, Sans Souci, which would aid in employment in area. Phillip believes its construction is a good idea. She added that some booths constructed along the areas beaches would also do well to help generate employment in the area. Phillip said the beaches were not even properly equipped with toilet facilities for people visiting the beaches.

Similar views were expressed by resident Debby Dabreo.

Dabreo said that in addition to beach facilities, the areas beaches also needed lifeguards.

She said that many people had drowned in the waters surrounding Sans Souci and only untrained villagers were able to attempt to rescue them.

Dabreo, who owns a dry goods shop and parlour said that another necessity was an AT M or full service bank for the area.

According to Darbreo, the nearest bank to Sans Souci is in Sangre Grande and doing business there means closing her shop for the day and spending as much as $60 in taxi fare.

Refurbished the community centre Residents in Sans Souci are calling for their community centre to be refurbished. They describe their community as quiet and even wonderful, but some are disappointed by the lack of facilities for youth in the area. When Newsday visited, many residents expressed disappointment with the state of the community centre and lack of proper sporting or playgrounds for children and teens in the area.

One such resident, Judy Peters, said the dilapidated centre was one of the most pressing issues affecting a community with little to no crime. Peters said the centres toilets were not functioning and that the building had no electricity.

These among other issues, such as the necessary facelift, severely limit use of the centre.

She said that people in the area who hosted meetings and activities such as summer camps were forced to use the centre in its current state. She added that the centre has been deteriorating for over five years and that various authorities have made promises to fix it that were never followed through.

Peters also said that there has been a decrease in the assignment of CEPEP and URP jobs in the area, which many residents depended upon. She was one such URP worker. She now makes a living as a geriatric care provider.

Wholesale market vendor Sheldon Anderson agreed that the lack of a sporting or playground was a major problem.

He said there was no proper savannah or court for young people to use. Anderson said that there was a lot of talent in the area that was not currently being harnessed because of the lack of facilities.

Another resident, Christopher Guy, said he was looking forward to the proposed Toco to Tobago port, which he believes will help the tourism sector in Sans Souci to develop.

Guy owns D Surf Side Bar and says in the 45 years hes lived in the area nothing much has changed. According to Guy, Sans Souci has an environment similar to Tobago, however, beach facilities, accommodations and other attractions are lacking.

The port would bring needed employment opportunities to the area, added Guy.

Although Guy also expressed concerns about negative behavioural changes among todays youth, he believes that residents of Sans Souci live a better life than their urban counterparts.

We have a luxurious life here, our beaches, natural atmosphere.

We enjoy things here daily that people in other places long for and for we dont have to worry about the things they have to worry about in the city. Give us a market David Spring the Village Councils PRO as well as president of the Sans Souci Wildlife and Tourism Development organisation, an environmental group in the area, believes that a market would of great help to residents in Sans Souci.

We have a lot of farmers in this area.

In fact a lot of young people involved in farming in the area.

The challenges are that getting to the lands, the access roads are really bad. The road that is a half-of -mile from here was known as the road where every week you had a lot of provision coming from that road. Today we see an exodus because many people are unable to get out. They do other things like construction and other odd jobs, he said.

Spring said one of the areas main problems was one of access roads. Government representatives viisted some months ago and promised to look into proper access roads for the farmers but nothing has been done so far. Right now we are looking at how we can explore the cocoa presentation and preparing cocoa balls and going back to the land and that sort of thing.

So I think if we can have the access roads looked at in terms of cleaning, then that would be good, he said.

He said the area has quite a large number of youth, the areas Seventh Day Adventist Church has an approximately 75 percent youth membership, he said. The tourism grouphas been considering doing something to generate employment for the areas youth. The group, Spring added, was looking at seamoss production to generate employment.

Spring also commented on the dilapidated state of the community centre. He felt the proposed ferry from Toco would do the community and environs well.

Spring, like other residents, called for a market to be constructed in the area, to giving the many farmers an opportunity to sell their produce.

We have been talking about a market, right and we have been saying from Matelot to Balandra and even Cumana, if we could have a marketplace where we can ask the farmers to bring their product, because once there was a market right in Toco next to the fish depot and I remember as a child they would take the products from here [Sans Souci] to Toco. So we are saying, if we can have a system like that, where we can bring the products and people could come and buy it would be a great help.
Turn to Allah...not guns

This was the Eid-ul-Fitr message from Imam Yaseen Fernandez of the La Romaine ASJA (Anjuman Sunnat ul Jamaat Association) yesterday. Speaking before a large gathering, Imam Fernandez charged that too many youths in this country are desperate and looking for a way out of their financial difficulties. The easiest thing for them to do, he said, is to take up a gun and start to shoot and rob.

That is not the way! Do not turn towards the gun, turn towards God. This is my advice to all of them out there because I know they are desperate and they are looking for a way out. We are supposed to help them and guide them and make sure they do not go that way, but instead come to the way of the Creator, Allah Almighty. That is the only way peace will come about, said the Muslim leader.

People from all over the country attended the mosques 17th annual (open air Eid Salaat) celebrations yesterday. Imam Fernandez delivered the khutba (sermon) at the La Romaine High School at Church Street, La Romaine. During the sermon, Imam Fernandez urged Muslims to spread the message of peace as it is the, first step of softening their hearts.

The next step is food - share food. This is what brings the human race together, peace and food. Maintain family ties. The next thing is togetherness. The is his mission statement to them and world. The world has not followed the way of Prophet Muhammed.

The next step is prayer - embrace each other, the leader suggested to the congregation.

This, the Imam added, is what the world is lacking today. Speaking to reporters following the sermon, he emphasized the importance of doing the will of Allah, saying that, Allah will take care of us when we take care of His creations. He noted that God created both rich and poor people.

So the rich are supposed to help the poor because this is what Islam is about - to help those who are in need no matter how small it may be.

If we take care of Gods creation, God will take care of us, the Imam said. Where is the peace in Palestine, Syria and other parts of the world? he questioned.

Scores of less fortunate persons also gathered at the celebration yesterday when Muslims engaged in the giving of alms - which is a pillars of the Islamic faith.

Muslims in TT and other parts of the world celebrated Eid-ul- Fitr (depending on geographical location) yesterday which commemorates the end of Islams holy month of Ramadan
TT talks trade with Suriname

To this end Suriname will send a technical team to Trinidad and Tobago to further discuss these developments and work towards creating a business plan in a number areas of trade according to Rowley .

TT will also send a delegation to Suriname subsequently, Rowley said, to further trade and prosperity between the two countries. The Prime Minister is expected to return home today after attending the three-day 37th Regular Meeting of Caricom Heads of Government in Guyana .

Rowley will host a press conference at the VIP Lounge, Piarco International Airport today .

The bilaterals were held on the fringes of the 37th Regular Meeting and speaking with regional journalists yesterday at the Guyana Pegasus Hotel, Rowley said that during the meeting with Bouterse, they discussed a commitment to free trade among countries within Caricom .

Suriname raised some issues about the difficulty in getting their products into the (TT) market while they remain wide open to our products in Suriname, Rowley said .

The difficulty in accessing the TT market was due to non-tariff barriers in TT, he said, and we have to examine that to ensure that we are not necessarily impeding trade between our countries .

We have undertaken to ensure that the spirit of free trade between us is maintained. They also discussed the possibility of cooperation and collaboration on the potential for hydro carbon development in Suriname, and TT lending its technical expertise in this area .

Discussions were also held on the potential for Suriname wood products to be processed in TT for the external market, Rowley said .

On his meeting with Bachelet, Rowley said that while TT has increased trade with Chile for TT petroleum and petroleum products in recent years, TT was keen to open to its markets for Chile products .

In this regard, he noted that both countries were working on a partial scope agreement .

Hopefully that will allow us to expand our trade in areas which have the potential for growth between Chile and (TT), he said .

They also we discussed the role, he said, that Chile can play in furthering relations and bilateral cooperation between the Caribbean .

Asked if the setting up of a TT high commission in Barbados was to expand trade in Caricom, Rowley said, it is part of an engagement with Caribbean and particularly with Caricom to maximise our growth and development in this whole quest to ensure that we do the best that we can as a unified region. Asked about claims that TT was the only country in Caricom that benefits from the Single Market and Economy (SME) Rowley quipped, that sounds like Brexit. TT does not accept, he said, that it was the only country that benefits or that it was the super power of trade in Caricom .

What we do accept, he said, is that at an earlier time TT made the sacrifices that were required to be made by our business community to retool themselves and to look outside TT for markets for their invesments. He continued, Those were painful decisions taken. There were a lot of cynics at the time it was done, but having made the sacrifice, TT has put itself in a position to manufacture and to trade. TT will hold out that approach to the rest of their colleagues in Caricom, he said, and will continue to seek markets for its manufacturers .

We will assist as far as possible in the recognition that the Caricom markets are our markets and we will assist and progress together in this area, he said .

TT does not claim any extraordinary advantage without the sacrifices that are required to do so, he said .

If we are talking about Caricom being a single market, and we are moving to free trade, movement of capital and goods, he said, We cannot be distracted by who is getting more and who is not getting .

We simply have to work on regimes of fairness and their institutions, not the least of which is the Caribbean Court f Justice. On countries saying that getting what TT was getting and should leave Caricom, Rowley said, he would not encourage any member state to leave Caricom .

What the leaders of the region has to do, is to lead by emphasising what good there is and removing the impediments to the challenges, he said .
Patrick is with us

Mannings wife Hazel said she was overcome with emotion by the outpouring of love from persons from all walks of life, young and old who converged on the streets on Tuesday night. As I am listening to San Fernando East passing by and recognizing the music, I am sure that Patrick is somewhere here with us heading to the band stand (Harris Promenade), Mrs Manning said .

Music from a big truck echoed into the auditorium of the Presentation College, San Fernando where she was a guest at a memorial held in her late husbands honour. Supporters, many dressed in red and holding candles, waved large flags and balisier flowers as they walked alongside the music trucks blasting big band sounds of Pal Joey Lewis - Mannings favourite musician .

Participants chipped to popular hit songs from veterans of the calypso artform Black Stalin (Leroy Calliste) and David Rudder .

They made their way to the bandstand where many placed wreaths and lit candles in front of a large image of Manning which was on display. Manning, who died last Saturday, was remembered by supporters for his love of music, people and country .

Mannings sister Dr Petronella Manning, PNM stalwart Joan Yuille-Williams and other relatives and friends were also in attendance .

However, before leaving Presentation College to join supporters on the streets, Mrs Manning showed her strength in the face of her loss and addressed the old boys at her husbands alma mater .

Among others present were President Anthony Carmona, former Petrotrin executive chairman Malcolm Jones (a very close friend of Manning), Justice Anthony Lucky, former Central Bank Governor Dr Euric Bobb, Dr Norbert Masson and Dr Keith Clifford. They all delivered moving tributes to the former prime Minister and long-serving MP for San Fernando East. Lucky was very emotional when he took the podium .

Also speaking at the function was Monsignor Christian Pereira, parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, San Fernando who called on persons not to wait until someone dies to, say the best things about them. It is a constant reminder that you and I should not have to wait until our friend, our leader or even our enemy dies to say good things about them. Saying positive things can transform any environment. As I speak good things about you, I find myself being a better person and when you hear good things spoken about you, from somewhere in the depths of your life, you will find the courage to make those good things a reality, Msgr Pereira said .
Bodies of woman, baby found in an embrace of death

The babys father Wayne Phillander, 42, of Rumstill Avenue in Rousillac told police he made the discovery at about nine in the morning. Phillander, like police investigators, believe the woman may have first killed her child and then committed suicide.

However, autopsies are expected to be performed today at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Police reported that Phillander went to Gabriels house yesterday when he detected a foul stench emanating from the shack which is not wired for electricity. After calling out Gabriels name several times and getting no answer, Phillander peered through a louvre pane and saw the bodies on a bed. He contacted the South Oropouche Police Station. The mother was found hugging baby Sidney.

She used to say she would kill herself but I never thought she would actually do it. She proved now that she never really wanted the baby. That child was innocent.

When Anika was pregnant, she begged me to kill the child, Phillander said. Through his tears, he recalled that while living together with Gabriel at Rousillac, some months ago, he had returned from work to find her holding a cutlass and demanding he use it to kill the then unborn child. When he refused a scuffled ensued and he managed to take away the cutlass.

Phillander, a labourer with the Siparia Regional Corporation, said he last saw her alive about three weeks ago at the Siparia Magistrates Court where Gabriel went to file a report against him for assault. He added that a Justice of the Peace instructed him to avoid close contact with her.

As such, he delegated one of his brothers to drop off milk and other baby supplies for Gabriel.

Missing his daughter, he decided to pay her a visit yesterday.

When I pulled the curtain aside through the louvre panes and I saw her, I just started to bawl. I couldnt do anything. The shock alone could have killed me. I used a brick to stand up on to reach the window. The door was locked from the inside, Phillander said.

He added that Gabriel was in an on and off  relationship with him for about eight years.

During that period she left him, got married, divorced and returned to him. When she became pregnant with Sydney, Phillander said, they had already broken up. After the birth, mother and baby came here (Rousillac) to stay. After a while she took the baby and left to go and live there (South Oropouche). I knew she was unemployed so I bought bed and other things for them. I real worked hard to take care of my child. I tried my best. I loved my child, she was my only daughter, Phillander cried.

Phillander has an adult son from a previous relationship while Gabriel had six other children with different men. Police said that on August 22, the decomposing body Gabriels mother - Jenelle Gabriel - was found in a wooden shack at Agard Road, Point Fortin. She died of natural causes
Balgobin: Tax Amnesty a wise move

I think it is wise for him to do that. By all accounts, there is a significant degree of tax evasion in some parts of the business community.

It is a good thing to offer a final amnesty to people who missed the last one (2011 under then Minister of Finance, Winston Dookeran). This way, no one can justifiably scream when Government comes to collect the taxes they are owed after the amnesty ends on September 16, Balgobin told Newsday.

He made it clear however that TTMA members are very unlikely to be delinquent with filing their taxes. Balgobin said local manufacturers tend to be in good financial in order to qualify for VAT (Value- Added Tax) refunds and so on.

Also, our members export, so we tend to have a more intricate and intense relationship with the Board of Inland Revenue than most. Speaking in Parliament earlier this week (July 4) while piloting the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2016, Imbert warned that once the July 1 to September 16 window of opportunity has closed, there will be no leniency for those still in arrears. After September 16, the penalties, interest, further taxes and additional taxes which would have been payable will be revived and become payable as if the waiver had not been granted... I want to repeat this. After September 16 thats it...This amnesty is meant to give citizens the opportunity to honour their tax obligations to the State without penalties or interest accrued over the years, Imbert stated.
Caricom heads sign Manning condolence book

Manning served as a head of government in Caricom for 13 years and was described as a true champion of Caricom, a regionalist, an integrationist,and a titanic leader of both Trinidad and Tobago and Caricom. Also signing were representatives of associate members of Caricom attending the 37th Regular Meeting of the heads, which took place at the Guyana Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston Georgetown.

Meanwhile, the Caricom Secretariat opened another book on Tuesday afternoon , at its headquarters in Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown where members of the diplomatic community also began to sign. The book was also opened to members of the Guyanese public.
Deepen ties with other Euro countries

We still have some of them that have a lot of interest in the Caribbean, for instance the Netherlands; the French as well as Spain. So they will be interested probably in continuing some of the arrangements because they have overseas territories associated with us and who would like to continue that collaboration with us.

But there are others that do not have very much connection to this region  a lot of those in Eastern Europe that joined the European Community much later and weve never really had serious diplomacy towards them. Gonzales cited Latvia, the Baltic States, countries of Eastern Europe, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania as examples, saying, I think we need to get to know them better and we need to show them what our interests are, see what their interest is like and have some kind of dialogue going with them. We dont send diplomats to Hungary and Bulgaria and these places, as far as we are concerned they are really behind Gods back in terms of the EU, but we really need to engage with these countries and get out there. Dr Gonzales was one of the panellists at a forum on Tuesday titled, Brexit:Implications for the Caribbean Region and the World, by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES ) in collaboration with the Faculty of Law at The UWI. The forum was held in the Noor Hassanali Auditorium at the St Augustine campus.

Other panelists were Dr Roger Hosein, Head of the Trade and Development Unit of UWI; Marie-Louise Norton- Murray, President of the European Business Chamber in Trinidad and Tobago and Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Founding Dean of the Faculty of Law and Lead Negotiator, CARIFORUM College of Negotiators.

CARIFORUM is made up of the fifteen Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic.

Norton-Murray said what happens with or without Brexit is going to depend on how Trinidad and Tobago and the region addresses their business environment.

She said the European Business Chamber was not established by any development fund but was strictly a private sector initiative, showing that there are business interests between Trinidad and Tobago and Europe outside of any EU agreement.

She said the treatment of foreign investors was particularly important and the need for no less favourable treatment which, she said, was enshrined in every agreement entered into by this country although it is not necessarily enforced.

She added that access to specialised skills and the need to review the countrys work permit system were areas of keen interest to the chamber.

She said a significant amount of work had been done by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the TTBuslink Group which had resulted in great improvements in the ease of establishing companies, registering for Value Added Tax; and getting import licences, but said that more work needed to be done in terms of government procurement regulations and the need to modernise the countrys procurement which she said was one of the ways in which UK and EU investors and suppliers became engaged in the local economy.
Mark, Mahabir call for sanctions

In responding to their calls, as well as the other concerns raised by the other senators during the debate, Government Senator Foster Cummings said all comments made by senators would be compiled and duly considered by the JSC at its next meeting. In his contribution, Mark described the interpretation of government assurances as too narrow.

As he claimed that government assurances were not covered in areas such as private motions or government motions, Mark asked what sanctions would be implemented against government ministers or parliamentary secretaries who make assurances to the Senate but do not keep them.

Do we take them to lunch? he asked.

Mark answered his own question by suggesting that these persons be referred to the Senates Privileges Committee for contempt in such situations. In his contribution, Mahabir did not think referral to the Privileges Committee should be the immediate result in such cases.

In agreeing with Mark that without sanctions the JSC would be unable to enforce its own orders, Mahabir suggested the Senate President should call on the government minister or parliamentary secretaries to give an update on the relevant assurance before June 30 of a particular year. Mahabir added at that stage, the Senate could make a decision as to what the sanction should be.
Rambharat: Declare your interests

Rambharat said this dealt with, with the very important issue of declaration of interests. The Minister added, Before participating in consideration of any item of business in the Senate, a member should disclose the extent of their interest. Standing Order 46 (4) proposed to be amended to make it an offence to use offensive or insulting language against a member of either the Senate or the House of Representatives.

An amendment was also proposed for Standing Order 46 (6) to read that no senator shall impute improper motive against another senator.

Speaking later in the debate, Opposition Senator Wade Mark felt most of the amendments were appropriate.

However he took issue with amendments proposed to Standing 16 with respect to raising matters of definite urgent public matters Mark claimed the Opposition was restricted through the proposed amendments.

He quipped that should the ruling Peoples National Movement (PNM) end up in opposition, they would need flexibility on such matters.

Responding to a comment from Labour Minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus, Mark said, I like back in times parties. However he added that he does not go back in time.
Colorado consumers are fighting government regulators on the 16% THC-cap to keep weed strong

Expecting the government to stay out of the business of United States citizens is like expecting a fish to survive on dry land. You may really, really, really want it to happen, but theres virtually zero chance that it actually will.

Look no further than Colorado for recent proof of this, as the government is looking to regulate marijuana strains that are deemed too strong. Titled Amendment 139, the proposed ballot looks to limit THC levels to no higher than 16%. The current average is 17%, with many strains containing significantly more THC than that. If the government has their way, a large amount of strains will be outlawed, which would negatively effect the cannabis industry in Colorado.

This is the equivalent of banning alcohol products that are above a certain alcohol by volume. Its not going to work and youre going to be left with a bunch of people who are consuming more and more in order to feel the same effects that would normally be achieved from one strain with a stronger potency. Leave it to the incompetent government to believe that theres a chance of this having their intended effect.

Thankfully, the Colorado Health Research Council (CHRC) is actively combating these attempts. The organization claims to be a coalition of cannabis patients, caregivers, scientists, cannabis industry leaders, the business community and ordinary citizens, and are looking to prevent government intervention in the cannabis industry. At a time when it seems like big business and the government are one and the same, its relieving that there are some true patriots out there.

The whole situation is disheartening for logical, freedom-loving Americans out there. After all, cannabis has numerous health and economic benefits  especially hemp products  and should not be outlawed at all, in the slightest, under any circumstances.

This is yet another example of the government wanting complete control of the American people. We cant allow that to happen.

Sources:

High Times

Colorado Pot Guide

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Russia, U.S. trade accusations over latest naval near-miss in the Med

(NationalSecurity.news) [Reuters] Russia and the United States gave contradictory accounts on Tuesday of an incident involving the two countries navies in the Mediterranean Sea on June 17, each blaming the other for what they said were unsafe maneuvers.

The Russian Defence Ministry said a U.S. destroyer had approached dangerously close to a Russian warship, and protested at what it said was a flagrant U.S. violation of rules to avoid collisions at sea.

However, a U.S. Defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Russian warship had carried out unsafe and unprofessional operations near two U.S. Navy ships.Recent months have seen a number of similar Cold War-style incidents at sea and in the air, with each countrys military accusing the other of dangerous approaches in international waters and airspace.

In one such case, the U.S. military said in April that Russian SU-24 bombers had simulated attack passes near the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, with one official describing them as one of the most aggressive interactions in recent memory.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said at the time that the behavior of the Russian pilots was provocative and dangerous, adding that under the rules of engagement that could have been a shoot-down.

Russias Defence Ministry, uneasy about increased NATO activity close to Russias borders, said the latest incident shows that it is U.S. sailors who allow themselves to forget the basic principles of safe seafaring and not to think about the eventual consequences of this dangerous maneuvering in regions with intense navigation.

The incident involved the USS Gravely and the Russian Navy frigate Yaroslav Mudry, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. The Gravely approached the Russian vessel at a distance of 60-70 meters (65-75 yards) from the port side and crossed in front of it, it said.

At the time of the incident, the Russian ship was in international waters in the eastern Mediterranean, cruising steadily and without making any dangerous maneuvers, the Russian statement said.

But the U.S. Defense official said the Russian frigate had repeatedly crossed the stern of USS Gravely at close proximity and had repeatedly asked Gravely to maintain a safe distance, yet continued to maneuver in close proximity to Gravely.

The Russian ship came within 315 yards (290 meters) of Gravely and five nautical miles of the USS Harry S. Truman, the U.S. official said.

These actions have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries and could result in a miscalculation or accident that results in serious injury or death, the official said.

The Defense official added that the Truman and Gravely were conducting routine operations in support of the campaign against the Islamic State militant group.

The Pentagon was following up on the incident with Russia through military channels, U.S. Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov and Alexander Winning in Moscow and Idrees Ali in Washington.; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Frances Kerry)

More:

NationalSecurity.news is part of the USA Features Media network. Get caught up on ALL of the days most important news and information here.

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PM Modi statement prior to his visit to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya

New Delhi, Wed, 06 Jul 2016 NI Wire

Following is the text of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's statement prior to his departure for Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

On Thursday, 7th July I will be in Mozambique. The aim of my visit is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages. I will meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him.

My other programmes include a meeting with Ms. Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana where I will interact with students.

I will also interact with the Indian community briefly.

On the evening of 7th July, I will reach Pretoria in South Africa. South Africa is an important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted. My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind.

I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa. A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba. I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place.

During my visit, I will meet President Zuma. I will also be meeting Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President.

In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet. Other programmes include a meeting with the Alumni Network in Durban and a reception hosted by the Mayor of Durban, at Durban City Hall.

South Africa is home to a vibrant Indian community, that has made South Africa their home for years. I will interact with the Indian community a programme in Johannesburg on 8th July. I invite you to share your ideas and inputs for my speech, through the Narendra Modi Mobile App.'

On Sunday 10th July I will be in Tanzania for a brief but crucial visit to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa.

There will be extensive talks with President Dr. John Magufuli where we will chalk out the road ahead for bettering India-Tanzania relations in a wide range of areas. I will also be meeting Solar Mamas', a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under GOI-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.

I will interact with the Indian community as well.

I will begin my Kenya visit on the evening of 10th July. India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century.

My deliberations with President Uhuru Kenyatta will revolve around how India and Kenya can grow their bilateral cooperation. I envision better trade, commercial and cultural exchanges between India and Kenya. The potential is immense and together we seek to harness it.

In Nairobi, I will offer floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, who is widely revered in Kenya. I shall also pay tributes to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya and a towering political figure of Africa.

The meeting of the India-Kenya business forum will be an important forum to elaborate more on the economic aspect of our relationship with Kenya.

A programme that I am keenly looking forward to join is an interaction with students at the Nairobi University.

In order to deepen ties with the diaspora, I will address a community programme on 10th July. There is also a meeting with Bharatwallah Alumni Association during the visit. Another programme is the handing over of ambulances and a model of Bhabhatron.

Source: PIB
AN OPEN LETTER TO FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY



By Chuck Baldwin

July 7, 2016

NewsWithViews.com

FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday reported that his office recommends that no charges be filed against Hillary Clinton despite saying that he found evidence that she might have violated the law pertaining to classified information when she was Secretary of State. Here is the way Breitbart.com covered the story:

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey said Tuesday at a press conference that he will not recommend an indictment against Hillary Clinton, though he found evidence that she might have violated laws pertaining to the handling of classified information.

Comey announced a number of conclusions that support the findings of Breitbart News coverage of the Clinton private email scandal, including that she sent and received information on her private server that was classified. Comey said that 110 of Clintons emails were classified at the time they were sent.

Comey said that although there is evidence of potential violations, no reasonable prosecutor would take on the case.

Comey at least shared details about that damning evidence.

He also said that seven of Clintons email chains contained Top Secret information.

That is excluding any later up-classified emails None of these emails should have been on any unclassified system, but the presence of these emails is especially concerning, Comey said.

There is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that information, Comey continued.

There is evidence that they were extremely careless, he said, referring to Clinton and her aides.

Comey also noted that individuals in a similar situation would not necessarily be let off the hook with no charges, but would probably face penalties. But thats not what were deciding now, Comey said. We are expressing to Justice our view that no charges be made in this case.

Comey said that no outside influence of any kind was brought to bear on the investigation, even though Attorney General Loretta Lynch recently held a secret meeting with President Bill Clinton.

Comey said the investigation was conducted in an apolitical and professional way I couldnt be prouder to be part of this organization.

Then he walked off.

See the report: FBI Director James Comey: We Will Not Indict Hillary Clinton Even Though There Is Evidence Of Violations

As a result of Director Comeys reprehensible decision, here is my open letter to him:

Dear Mr. Comey,

Do you not realize that public distrust and disgust with the U.S. federal government is at its highest level since this nation was founded? And are you not willing to admit that there are very good reasons why so many Americans feel the way they do about their federal government?

We have watched the federal government cover up fiasco after fiasco. We have watched as our public servants in Washington, D.C., have allowed the privileged class (mostly those in the employ of the federal government) to walk away scot-free from crime after crime--crimes that had any of us ordinary people committed, there would have been absolutely no mercy shown us.

Sir, I believe you have attempted to conduct yourself honestly and admirably throughout your long and celebrated career. You have the respect and admiration of the vast majority (if not all) of the agents who serve under you. Many of us very much respected the way you stood on the Constitution and rule of law when President G.W. Bush tried to bully you into executing warrantless searches and seizures and you courageously refused to do so. And we were depending on you to once again speak truth to power and stand upon your oath to the Constitution as you examined the misdeeds of Secretary Clinton.

But you let us down. You failed the agency, the American people, the Constitution, the rule of law, and even yourself. You are better than that, and you know it. Im really not sure how you are going to live with yourself after all of the years of priding yourself as being a man of character, honesty, and integrity. The Clinton crime machine has claimed another victim: James Comey.

You said, No outside influence of any kind was brought to bear. You must know that almost no one outside the Clinton political machine believes that. And even they dont believe it; they just dont care. You have provided more reason for many Americans to say what they have been saying since Ruby Ridge and Waco: The rule of law no longer applies to the power elite inside the Beltway.

As you know, in 2015 General David Petraeus was sentenced to serve two years on probation and to pay an $100,000 fine . . . for sharing classified information with his biographer and lover, Paula Broadwell."

"Petraeus, who resigned as director of the Central Intelligence Agency in November 2012 after the relationship became public, avoided jail time as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors agreed to not send Petraeus to jail because the classified information was never released to the public or published in the biography of him that Broadwell wrote." (Source: CNN)

Yet everyone knows that the classified material that Hillary Clinton carelessly left unprotected (at the very least) did indeed make its way not only into the public but also into the hands of our enemies. And there is no doubt in any objective mind that Hillarys crimes resulted in the deaths of Americans overseas, including Benghazi. And this is not to mention the fact that the evidence to which you alluded proves Ms. Clinton committed perjury. And, as you know, there are thousands of Americans in prison today who are there for that same crime.

Plus, every single day across this great nation, prosecutors at every level prosecute people with evidentiary material that is far more circumstantial than the evidence you found against Ms. Clinton. You know this to be true. With the utmost respect, to suggest that no reasonable prosecutor would take on the case is downright laughable. The only reason that a prosecutor would not take on a case like this would be because of the fear of political and even vocational retaliation.

In your public statement you acknowledge that individuals in a similar situation would not necessarily be let off the hook with no charges but would probably face penalties. Sir, by your own admission, you have acknowledged that you have provided special treatment for Ms. Clinton.

From the creation of our Declaration of Independence, which we celebrated the 240th anniversary of this past Monday, our country was dedicated to being a nation of laws, not men. Granting special favors to officers of the Crown was one of the many reasons that our thirteen colonies fought a bloody revolutionary war to break free from Great Britain. But you know all of this.

You were given a position (by God and the American people) that has the authority (and responsibility) to show the world that America is still a nation of laws and not men, that the U.S. Constitution and rule of law is still held sacred in this country. But you brought disgrace to that position and made a mockery out of that uniquely American doctrine held sacrosanct from the days of our Founding Fathers.

Do you realize how difficult you have made it for patriotic Americans throughout the country? Whether you realize it or not, there are hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of American people from all walks of life who daily put their lives on the line for liberty and truth as much as any of your agents do. In fact, we help make America safer for your agents. We stand behind the rule of law. We oppose the militant hotheads who would use any misstep or misdeed by your agency (and other federal agencies) as an excuse to inflict bodily harm against the representatives of the federal government. We believe in the divine principles of Natural and Revealed Law. We are men and women of peace. We are willing to stand beside your agents as they serve the people in defense of our constitutional liberties. We believe in law and order. Whether you understand it or not, people like us are the last line of defense between your agents and those who believe that they are a law unto themselves and who refuse to acknowledge the laws of Nature and Natures God. And now you have slapped all of us in the face and made our jobs so much more difficult. Plus, you have made it much more difficult for your own agents and given fodder to those who are bent on lawlessness.

A majority of the American people (from both ends of the political spectrum) feel betrayed by their own government. And now you, Sir, have joined the seemingly ever-burgeoning cabal of betrayers.

I realize had you chosen the valiant and honorable course and rightly recommended that criminal charges be brought against Ms. Clinton that the Attorney General--the partisan lackey that she is--would have in all likelihood ignored your recommendation. You may have even experienced political and vocational retaliation yourself. But at least yours would have been the honorable part. Plus, know that many of your fellow Americans have suffered (and still suffer) such retaliation for being true to their convictions. So, you would have been in good company.

History will one day reveal the corruption of the Clintons. And as history has revealed the honesty and integrity of those brave men in Colonial America who were willing to stand courageously against corruption within their own government, so you, too, had the opportunity to have had your name forever inscribed among the august body of patriots who were willing to show the world that America is still a nation of laws, not men.

Mr. Comey, count me deeply saddened by your betrayal. I expected more from you.

[I also have many books and DVDs available for purchase online. Go to Chuck Baldwin Live Store]
Viral hepatitis is one of the leading killers across the globe, with a death toll that matches Aids or tuberculosis, research in the Lancet suggests.

The report estimates that hepatitis infections and their complications led to 1.45 million deaths in 2013  despite the existence of vaccines and treatments.

World Health Organization data shows there were 1.2 million Aids-related deaths in 2014, while TB led to 1.5 million deaths.

The WHO has put forward a global strategy to tackle hepatitis.

The WHO hepatitis strategy, which was put forward in May 2016, includes targets to reduce new cases of hepatitis B and C by 30% by 2020, alongside a 10% reduction in mortality.

The WHO says countries and organisations will need to expand vaccination programmes, focus on preventing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B and increase access to treatment for hepatitis B and C, to help ensure these targets are met.

Viral hepatitis refers to five different forms of virus (known as A, B, C, D, E)  some can be spread through contact with infected bodily fluids and others (A and E) through contaminated food or water.

Most deaths worldwide are due to B and C, which can cause serious liver damage and predispose people to liver cancer. But because people dont always feel the symptoms of the initial infection, they can be unaware of the long-term damage until it is too late.

WHO global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis 2016-2021

Dr Graham Cooke of Imperial College London described the findings as startling.

He said: Although there are effective treatments and vaccines for viral hepatitis, there is very little money invested in getting these to patients  especially compared to malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB.

We have tools at our disposal to treat this disease  we have vaccines to treat hepatitis A and B and we have new treatments for C.

However the price of new medicines is beyond the reach of any country  rich or poor.

The study suggests the problem is biggest in East Asia.

But unlike many other diseases, deaths from viral hepatitis were higher in high and middle income countries than in lower income nations.

Ending hepatitis epidemics as a major public health threat is feasible with the tools and approaches currently available and in the pipeline.

Opportunities exist for enhancing and expanding the response by investing in five core intervention areas:

Vaccines  Effective vaccines are available for preventing viral hepatitis A, B and E infections, with a range of countries already implementing large-scale and inexpensive hepatitis B virus childhood vaccination programmes; Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus  Timely hepatitis B virus birth-dose vaccination is a key intervention for preventing the transmission of the virus from mother to infant at birth, which could be enhanced through antenatal testing and the use of antiviral drugs; Injection, blood and surgical safety  transmission of viral hepatitis B and C in health care settings can be stopped through the rigorous application of universal precautions for all invasive medical interventions, promotion of injection safety measures and securing the safe supply of blood products; Harm reduction for people who inject drugs  Ensuring access to sterile injecting equipment and effective drug dependence treatment can prevent and control epidemics of viral hepatitis B and C among people who inject drugs, as part of a comprehensive package of interventions for the prevention, treatment and care of HIV, viral hepatitis and other blood-borne infections among people who inject drugs; Treatment  New oral, well-tolerated medicines and treatment regimens for people with chronic hepatitis C virus infection can achieve cure rates of over 90%. Effective treatment is also available for people with chronic hepatitis B virus infection, although for most people such treatment needs to be lifelong.

To have greatest impact, effective interventions should be combined and tailored for the specific population, location and setting. For example, for hepatitis B virus epidemics, in certain countries with high prevalence of this virus, the most significant public health benefits are likely to be achieved by focusing efforts on reducing deaths by the prevention of early-life infection through birth-dose and childhood vaccination, and the treatment of people with chronic hepatitis infection

Simple and effective hepatitis testing strategies and tools are lacking, with less than 5% of people with chronic hepatitis infection knowing their status. For this reason, diagnosis often occurs late and appropriate tests to assess liver disease and guide treatment decisions, including when to start treatment, are seldom available.

Birth-dose vaccination is a key intervention for prevention of hepatitis B virus infection in infants. However, its delivery can be a challenge in communities where a large proportion of births occur outside of health facilities. As a result, global coverage is only around 38%. This strategy calls for the expansion of interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus to achieve a coverage of 50% by 2020 and 90% by 2030.

New study findings published today confirm that antiviral therapy with tenofovir in late pregnancy can result in a 3-fold reduction in mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV), when used in combination with immunoglobulin and HBV vaccine at birth.

WHO currently recommends that all newborns be given timely HBV vaccine at birth, followed by 2 or 3 additional doses. Birth dose vaccination prevents HBV transmission to the infant in most cases, but some women with high levels of HBV may still transmit infection to their children.

The WHO Western Pacific Region, which includes China where the study took place, has particularly high rates of HBV infection. With only a quarter of the worlds population, the region bears 40% of global deaths from viral hepatitis, with more than 1500 lives lost each day due to hepatitis.

This recent randomized controlled trial enrolled 200 women with high viral load of HBV living at 5 sites in 5 geographic regions in China, between March 2012 and June 2013. They were in late pregnancy and were provided tenofovir therapy starting from 30 to 32 weeks of gestation until 4 weeks after the birth.All delivered infants in the study were given immunoglobulin and birth dose HBV vaccine, followed by two additional HBV vaccinations.

The study resulted in a 3-fold reduction in transmission for highly infectious pregnant mothers from 18% to 5%.

China is home to about 90 million people living with Hepatitis B, the largest number in any country worldwide. Approximately 6% of women giving birth are living with HBV. China has achieved extraordinary success in increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage among newborns over the last two decades, said Dr Bernhard Schwartlander, WHO Representative in China. The findings of this study show that adding cutting edge treatment for Hepatitis B of pregnant women to the package of interventions available today, will not only have health benefits for mothers, it will help China another step closer to the goal of a hepatitis-free generation.

The HBV infection rates in China dropped from 9.75% in the general population, including children aged 14 years, in 1992 to as little as 0.32% in children under the age of 5 in 2014. But with an estimated 15 million births occurring annually, 50 000 children are born with HBV every year, despite vaccination efforts.

SOURCES- BBC News, World Health Organization
Japan will launch a tender for fighter jets as soon as mid-July, the Ministry of Defence said, in a deal seen worth up to $40 billion as Tokyo seeks to bolster its air defenses amid creeping tension with China over disputed maritime borders.

In one of the biggest fighter jet contracts up for grabs in years, a ministry spokesman said Japan will contact foreign and domestic defense contractors soon after a July 5 deadline for expressions of interest in the tender for about 100 stealth fighters.

A final decision is likely in summer 2018, the people said, with deployment due at the end of the 2020s at the earliest.

The JASDF has three options, according to a Japanese official interviewed by Flight Global.

Develop an indigenous air superiority fighter. partner with a foreign defense contractor and license-produce a new aircraft import or upgrade an existing platform.

Japans F3 fighter

Lockheed Martin was denied an export license to sell its F-22 Raptor stealth air superiority fighter to Japan in the 2000s. As a result, Japans defense industry initiated the X-2 program in order to design a fifth-generation twin-engine stealth aircraft with long-range capability and an internal weapons bay.

As an interim solution, Japan decided to acquire 42 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, the first of which are slated for induction into the JASDF at the end of 2016.

Japan has a long-standing interest in acquiring a twin-engined stealth aircraft with long-range capability and internally-stowed missiles, according to the people with knowledge of the F-3 program.

The only aircraft now in service that meets those requirements was Lockheeds F-22 but the F-22 is no longer in production.

SOURCES- Reuter, The Diplomat
Nebraska has recently been hit by a statewide drought. Most of the state, but especially Northeast Nebraska, has experienced little to no precipitation within the past couple of months. Records are being broken as the days without rainfall continue. This drought, however, should not come as 
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The Daily News publishes death notices and obituaries on a daily basis for Norfolkans, area residents and former residents.

Death notices, which include information about when and where a person died, funeral services, burial and visitation for the deceased and memorial information, are published free of charge.

If families of the deceased desire to have an obituary printed, there is a fee charged for doing so. Because of that, families of the deceased can decide what information they want included in the obituary, as well as if they desire to have a photograph of the deceased published along with it. The Daily News reserves the right to edit.

Norfolk and area funeral homes have detailed information about placing an obituary in the Daily News. If individuals want to submit obituary information themselves, it can be emailed to funerals@norfolkdailynews.com or faxed to (402) 644-2080.

People needing additional information about death notices and obituaries can call the Daily News at 371-1020 or (877) 371-1020 and ask for the newsroom.
The Mauritanian President last week indicated he never planned to change the constitution to be able to run again for elections at the end of his current mandate ending in 2019, reports say.

Tension has risen since March between the opposition and the ruling party after some ministers and lawmakers suggested change of the constitution so that President Ould Abdel Aziz stands again in 2019.

Speaking in an interview with some international media, President Aziz denied harboring any such a wish.

I have never at any moment said that I would modify the constitution to run again. I took two oaths to respect it. They are stronger than what I will say in the future, he said.

His remarks come at the time the ruling party and the opposition want to renew dialogue in a bid to end the political standoff.

The ruling party argued that after the Presidents comments, the opposition has no reason to refuse to participate in the dialogue.

The opposition has accused the regime of autocracy and violation of the democratic values gained since independence.

Former army general Ould Abdel Aziz came to power following a military coup in 2008 which toppled former President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

He won elections and became President in 2009 after he headed the High Council of State which he established after deposing President Abdallahi. He was re-elected in August 2014 for another five-year term.
Algerias Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal announced recently a government plan to establish a helicopter production plant in a joint venture with a foreign partner that he did not name, the Algerian news Agency APS reported.

The National Investment Council (NIC) and the Council of State holdings (CPE) have agreed to create a high-end helicopter manufacturing plant and much of these will be for the export market. We have to seek growth elsewhere in the real economic sphere where public and private companies are the keystone, Sellal was quoted by the APS as saying.

However, he did not give a timeline or name the foreign partner in the project, which will be 51% owned by the Algerian government with 49% of the shares going to the foreign partner.

Algeria received the first two Mil Mi-26T2 heavy-lift helicopters as part of an order of six similar aircrafts, meant to strengthen its air force capabilities. The country has also ordered 42 examples of the Mi-28 attack helicopter with deliveries expected to commence this summer.

The Algerian navy, for its part, is due to receive six Super Lynx helicopters in the latter part of 2016, and deliveries of other Agusta Westland types are under way.
After the Netherlands decided to forfeit the Dutch citizenship from its dual nationality citizens who are fighting alongside terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, Morocco should brace itself for a possible return of Moroccan-Dutch Jihadists.

Several media reports say that Dutch authorities have established a list of 250 dual nationals fighting within the ranks of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, of whom 200 are said to be of Moroccan origin.

Faced with Dutch nationality forfeiture, these fighters are likely to head to Morocco or be deported to Morocco from the Netherlands.

Dutch MPs voted last May to withdraw dual nationals of their Dutch citizenship if they join terrorist groups, a move that sparked controversy and drew the support of far right movements.

Last March, the French Senate dropped a legislation to strip French citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism.
A possibly unfair image of Donald Trump. Photo: Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images

To watch Donald Trump rant and rave uncontrollably on the stump and on Twitter  praising Saddam Hussein for his disregard for civil liberties, insisting the anti-Semitic propaganda he inadvertently borrowed from neo-Nazis is as innocent as a Disney poster  is to ponder the psychology of a party that would entrust supreme executive authority to a racist, nationalistic, power-worshiping demagogue.

Like Hitler, Trump is a radical, authoritarian figure who lies outside the normal parameters of his countrys conservative governing class. Thus, there is a parallel between the two mens unexpected rise to power that is worth considering: Why would traditional conservatives willingly hand power to a figure so dangerous that he threatened their own political and economic interests? Why, having failed in their halfhearted efforts to nominate an alternative candidate during the primaries, dont they throw themselves behind a convention coup, a third-party candidacy, or defect outright to Hillary Clinton? Why do so many of them consider Trump the lesser rather than the greater evil?

Hitlers Thirty Days to Power, by the historian Henry Ashby Turner, describes the political machinations that allowed Hitler to seize the chancellorship of Germany. (I stole the idea to read it from Matthew Yglesias, via Twitter.) In January 1933, the Nazi partys vote share had begun to decline, and its party was undergoing a serious internal crisis, with dues falling, members drifting off, and other leaders questioning Hitlers direction. A widely shared belief across the political spectrum at the time held that Hitler would not and could not win the chancellorship, because Germanys revered conservative president, Paul von Hindenburg, had long vowed to deny such a position to Hitler.

Hindenburg and the German right viewed Hitler in strikingly similar terms to how Republican elites view Trump. Yes, they badly underestimated his fanaticism, which Hitler had downplayed in public. While they failed to anticipate that Hitler would launch a total war and industrial-scale genocide, they did consider him a buffoon. Alfred Hugenberg, leader of the German-Nationals, deemed the Nazis little better than a rabble, with dangerously radical social and economic notions, writes Turner. Hindenburg considered Hitler qualified to head the postal ministry at best. Hitler, in their eyes, was not a serious man, unfit to govern, a classless buffoon. His appeal, the German elite believed, came from his outsider status, which allowed him to posture against the political system and make extravagant promises to his followers that would never be tested against reality. Whats more, Hitlers explicit contempt for democracy made even the authoritarian German right nervous about entrusting him with power.

All this is to say that German conservatives did not see Hitler as Hitler  they saw Hitler as Trump. And the reasons they devised to overcome their qualms and accept him as the head of the government would ring familiar to followers of the 2016 campaign. They believed the responsibility of governing would tame Hitler, and that his beliefs were amorphous and could be shaped by advisers once in office. They respected his populist appeal and believed it could serve their own ends. (Hugenberg, writes Turner, recognized that [the Nazis] were far more successful than his party in mobilizing mass support and hoped to harness their movement to destroy the republic and establish a rightist authoritarian regime.) Their myopic concern with specifics of their policy agenda overcame their general sense of unease. (One right-wing landowner was hopeful of relief measures by a Hitler cabinet for the depressed agriculture of the east, and thus concluded the army and the forces of conservatism would suffice to prevent a one-party Nazi dictatorship.) Think of the supply-siders supporting Trump in the hope he can enact major tax cuts, or the social conservatives enthused about his list of potential judges, and youll have a picture of the thought process.

There is one more parallel between the events of 1933 and the events of 2016: Most of the complicit parties (the main exception being the scheming Franz von Papen) did not fully apprehend the extent of their actions until it was too late. In Germany, Hitlers ascent required complicated intrigue, the upshot of which was that conservatives believed they had parliamentary leverage that would restrain Hitler. They placed enormous faith in the power of this leverage, until the final two days, when the rumor of an impending military coup rushed their timetable, and the once-crucial terms of Hitlers chancellorship became forgotten details, discarded in a mad rush.

The Republican Partys timetable for ushering Trump into the Oval Office appears at first glance to be much more leisurely. Republicans may feel like they can endorse Trump now, avoiding the consequence of alienating their pro-Trump constituents, secure in the knowledge that he is likely to lose. It probably does not feel to Trumps queasy endorsers that they are actually helping to make him president. But appearances are deceiving. Betting markets give Trump better than a one-in-four chance to prevail. FiveThirtyEight, a more reliable forecaster, gives him better than a one-in-five chance. That is not negligible. If Trumps polls improve, the pressure for Republicans to support him will only grow. There is, realistically, little opportunity for Republicans to stop Trump once they have jumped aboard. Through Election Day, a Trump presidency will be a mere hypothetical. Afterward, if it happens, the reality will descend all at once.

That reality is stark. Trumps admiration for ironfisted dictators, not only in Baathist Iraq but Russia, China, and North Korea, is the ideological lodestar of his long history of political musings. Over the years, Trump has weaved left and right on health care, abortion, taxes, and even the issues currently central to his campaign, like immigration and trade, but has never wavered from his foundational belief that strong leaders are those who crush their enemies without restraint. Whatever norms or bounds that we think limit the damage a president could inflict are likely to be exceeded if that president is Trump. Those Republicans who publicly endorse Trump because he probably wont win may be making an error on a historic scale.
Photo: Hilary Swift-Pool/Getty Images

Mayor Bill de Blasios administration is facing a handful of federal, state, and local investigations, but at least one of those inquiries has been resolved in the mayors favor. The citys Campaign Finance Board concluded its probe into de Blasios nonprofit, Campaign for One New York, and found the group  which was set up in 2014 to advance the mayors progressive policy agenda, including universal pre-K  did not violate campaign-finance laws because its 2014 activities never overlapped with the mayors 2017 reelection campaign

The Campaign for One New York was formed to advocate for New York Citys progressive policy agenda, a mayoral spokesperson told the Times. It never engaged in any election campaign activity for any candidate and shut down more than a year and a half before next years election.

The Campaign Finance Board did say it would continue to monitor the nonprofits 2015 spending activities to make sure they dont factor into the 2017 election. The activities of Campaign for One New York are still under scrutiny in different probes, including an inquiry by the states Joint Commission on Public Ethics. The panel is looking into whether the nonprofit engaged in lobbying activities but failed to register as a lobbying group in 2015. (It did so in 2014.) Lawyers for the nonprofit are now refusing to obey a recent subpoena from the panel requesting expenses and meeting agendas, saying the probe is politically motivated  and by that theyre inferring to meddling from Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose tense relationship with the New York City mayor isnt exactly a secret. A judge will decide over the summer if the Campaign for One New York must follow the panels subpoena.
Paul Ryan. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

To ensure that U.S. presidents enter office fully prepared for their new gig, Americas intelligence agencies provide major-party nominees with classified security briefings throughout the fall campaign. But this year, House Speaker Paul Ryan would like those agencies to make an exception. In a letter released Thursday, Ryan calls on Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to deny Hillary Clinton access to classified information, as punishment for her extremely careless use of a private email account while serving as secretary of State.

As you know, the FBIs investigation of Secretary Clintons unauthorized personal e-mail found substantial evidence that Secretary Clinton and her staff were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, classified information, Ryan wrote. While declining to recommend changes, Director Comey stated that this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions.



Given the FBIs findings, the Speaker continued, denying Secretary Clinton access to classified information certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions.

Should Clinton become president-elect in November, shell gain a legal right to intelligence access, so Ryans ban would only be in effect until Election Day.

As a bid to keep the FBIs damning non-indictment of Clinton in the headlines (and the presumptive GOP nominees stubborn defense of a neo-Nazi meme out of them), Ryans letter makes perfect sense. As a sincere proposal, however, the suggestion is a bit odd. At present, Clinton is the overwhelming favorite to become the next president of the United States. Its hard to see how it could be in the interests of the American people to make a presidential front-runner less informed about national-security developments.
Political resolution. Photo: JEWEL SAMAD

Bernie Sanders is finally going to endorse Hillary Clinton. Probably.

On Wednesday evening, multiple outlets reported that the Clinton and Sanders campaigns were finalizing the terms of the Vermont senators endorsement, and discussing the possibility of holding a joint rally next week in New Hampshire. Later that night, Sanders confirmed those reports.

I think at the end of the day, there is going to be a coming together, Sanders told MSNBCs Chris Hayes. And were going to go forward together and not only defeat Trump, but defeat him badly.

So, youre not denying the report that there are talks about a possible endorsement? Hayes asked.

Thats correct, Sanders replied.

Sanderss confirmation of a possible endorsement came on the same day that he was booed by a few of his colleagues on Capitol Hill. According to Politico, after a House Democrat asked Sanders why he had yet to endorse the presumptive nominee, the Vermont senator replied, The goal isnt to win elections. The goal is to transform America. A few of his fellow lawmakers loudly disagreed.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton unveiled a new plan for college affordability that was, in essence, Sanderss plan for free public college, only limited to families that make under $125,000 a year. This resemblance was not coincidental. According to the Vermont senator and independent reports, the plan is the product of weeks of negotiations between the two campaigns. Sanders lauded Clintons plan as a bold initiative that would revolutionize the funding of higher education in America.

In his interview with MSNBC Wednesday night, Sanders suggested that he was hoping to extract a few more compromise proposals on health care and climate change before falling in line, promising, I am going to use all the leverage I have.

But theres reason to think Clintons capitulation on free public college will be her last major concession. Considering Sanderss dominance of the youth vote, it makes sense that shed glom onto the part of his platform most directly pitched at that demographic. And on health care, Clinton has already moved toward the Vermont senator, reiterating her support for the public option and proposing a Medicare buy-in program.

Regardless, it seems safe to assume that Sanderss endorsement is imminent, since Joe Biden already blurted out as much.
Almost exactly two days after a fatal police shooting in Baton Rouge that sparked a new round of Black Lives Matter protests, a woman shared video of the horrifying moments after her boyfriend was shot during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. In the video, Diamond Reynolds says the officer asked her boyfriend, 32-year-old Philando Castile to pull out his license, then shot him when he informed the officer that he had a firearm, and a conceal-and-carry permit. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket and he let the officer know that he had a firearm, Reynolds says. He was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm.

Castiles mother said he died at Hennepin County Medical Center, according to CBS News. Reynolds was in custody Wednesday night.

Reynolds posted the video on Facebook Live with Castile bleeding next to her in the drivers seat, and an officer still pointing a gun at her. The officer, who is very emotional, shouts, I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand out. Reynolds answers calmly, You told him to get his ID, sir, his drivers license.

Oh my God, please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that, Reynolds says. Then shes told to exit the car, and the video shows several officers pointing their weapons at her, and one standing back with her 4-year-old daughter in his arms. Its unclear if the girl was in the car during the shooting. Reynolds is handcuffed and the video focuses on the sky for several minutes. Then, Reynolds broadcasts again from the back of the police car. Shes handcuffed but the video shows her face, and her daughter in the car with her. My boyfriend, I dont know what condition hes in, I dont know if hes okay or hes not okay, she says.

The video was removed from Facebook, but was re-posted on various social-media sites. Warning: the video below is graphic and disturbing.

St. Anthony police issued a statement confirming that there was a fatal officer-involved shooting at about 9 p.m., and a handgun was recovered from the scene. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating.

Family members told the paper that Castile has worked in a school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years. They killed my son, Valerie Castile, his mother, said as she left the emergency room. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old. Philandos sister sobbed, They killed my brother. They held a gun on him while he was hurting, and did nothing to help him.

Castile did not receive any medical assistance for at least several minutes in the beginning of Reynoldss video, but a woman who lives near the scene did post video of an officer performing CPR:

Several hours after the shooting, dozens of protesters had already gathered at the site, and #FalconHeightsShooting was trending on Twitter.
Carol Steens painting Full View is an image of what she perceives when her acupuncturist removes the needles at the end of a session. Photo: Carol Steen

For most people, a bad toothache feels like a persistent throb or a sharp pain. But without a dentist visit, theres no way to tell whether it warrants a root canal. A synesthete, however, might wake up one morning and see the tooth glowing orange. For Manhattan-based artist and co-founder of the American Synesthesia Association Carol Steen, physical discomfort manifests as color (usually, a bright chrome orange). And in Steens case, much to her dentists surprise, she was able to diagnose a dying nerve before any clinical signs of tooth damage.

The word synesthesia means union of the senses, and synesthetes  roughly 4 percent of the population  are adults whose senses mingle in a sort of cross-wiring of the brain. Based on self-reporting and scientific case studies so far, there appear to be 80 varieties of these involuntary sensory perceptions. Shapes and sounds can have particular tastes, while letters or numbers can embody distinct personalities and genders. To take examples based on scientific literature, for one synesthete, the sound of a high C on a trumpet induces a flash of Ferrari red. For another, eating chocolate-covered raisins causes a sensation in the fingertips. For a synesthete with ordinal-linguistic personification, the number 9 might be a bearded hipster, while someone else swears 9 is a high-ponytailed blonde. Its that idiosyncratic. Greta Berman, a Juilliard art historian who studies synesthetic artists, explains synesthetes dont just think 9 is this or that. They know it is, and they will fight to the end that a number has a certain persona or is a specific shade. For Steen, five is cadmium yellow medium. Though her father, also an artist, insisted five was yellow ochre. And like most with synesthesia, Steen cant recall 5 ever being a different hue or not having joined senses.

These days, so many celebrities seem to be proclaiming their synesthesia, it feels, as best-selling novelist and radio host Kurt Andersen references in one of his Studio 360 podcasts, like a kind of neurological humblebrag. Kanye has it. So does Beyonce. And Lady Gagas got it, too.

In fact, a growing body of evidence shows synesthesia is more common among creative types and that some of the most imaginative minds  Hockney, Kandinsky, Nabokov  were indeed synesthetic. According to those who study the condition, cross-sensory experiences may offer a particular artistic advantage: a greater aesthetic sensitivity than the rest of us, and thus a greater likelihood to gravitate toward artistic fields. After all, synesthetes are able to express seemingly unrelated concepts in a variety of mediums: numbers with personalities, colors with pain, moving shapes with sound. And unlike their colleagues, synesthetic artists  those who use their neurological trait as a foundation of their practice  respond intuitively to what Steen calls the multimedia-like stimuli going on around them. An ordinary painter either captures a landscape before her or something she imagines. A synesthetic one paints what she actually visualizes when hearing a specific concerto  or as Steen explained, what she sees when she feels the jab of a tetanus shot.

There are times when the vision I have is great and I cant wait to run home to paint what Ive seen, said Steen, who is known for incorporating her synesthesia in her art. Her abstract painting Full View is what she perceived when her acupuncturist removed the needles at the end of a session. Still, not everything she experiences is synesthetically wonderful. I assure you that if I smell something really bad, she explained, its not anything anyone would want to see. Steen describes the reaction as an immediate physical response. In fact, she listens to music when she goes to the art-supply store, carefully removing the paint-tube cap to see if the color matches the sound shes hearing.

This sculpture by Carol Steen  called Cyto  is her representation of neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowics name. Photo: Carol Steen

But until fairly recently, synesthesia had its share of skeptics. In 1980, according to George Washington University neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowic, synesthetes were still often dismissed as looking for attention or just speaking metaphorically, such as bitter cold or loud tie. In his book, Wednesday Is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia, Cytowic recalls how colleagues joked about his research subject, Michael, who claimed he felt intense flavors running down his arm. According to them, Michael was either crazy or on drugs. Synesthesia couldnt be real, because it contradicted the dominant scientific paradigm that senses travel along five separate channels.

Since then, the science of synesthesia has come a long way, thanks to neuroimaging and the ability to connect somebodys sense of the reality of the world to her brains architecture. A person no longer has to claim that Wednesday is indigo blue; researchers can compare activity between her cortical areas when she sees the word to a non-synesthetes brain scan. To take a handful of studies, theres now a known genetic link in families, as well as a neurological basis for the most common form of synesthesia, grapheme-color, when numbers and letters have distinct colors. A 2013 paper in Cerebral Cortex also identified a neural link between feeling and hearing, showing that in rare instances, synesthesia can also be acquired after a stroke. Using MRI, neuroscientists found that, indeed, the body can mix up sound and touch even without brain damage.

We all have a little bit of synesthesia, said Tony Ro, CUNY Graduate Center professor of psychology and the articles lead author. Nails on a chalkboard make us cringe; a buzzing mosquito makes us itch. But today, Ro explained, scientists understand the anatomical basis for the seemingly random reactions, and how synesthetes have greater neural crosstalk than the rest of us. Still, for most people, its nearly impossible to grasp what intertwined senses are like; how it feels to live with chromesthesia  the sound-to-color that Steen has  or her experience of colored pain. But at least artists like Steen provide some visual equivalence for non-synesthetes. Steen works in three dimensions, too. Her twisted bronze and steel blue sculpture, Cyto, conveys the shapes and color of the first two syllables of Dr. Cytowics name. Even today, the synesthesia community feels tight-knit. In 1993, after hearing Dr. Cytowic on the radio, Steen reached out to discuss her synesthesia, which shed kept hidden for decades. They soon became friend-colleagues, and she gifted him Cyto as thanks for giving her knowledge and freedom.

Photographer Marcia Smilack is also known for using synesthesia as a cornerstone of her process. As a reflectionist  her term of art  Smilack takes trippy pictures of the oceans surface the moment she has a synesthetic reaction, some of which have a Screamesque quality to them. And Smilack appreciates the comparison, feeling an uncanny connection to Edvard Munch, and the sound waves she sees in his famous, distorted images. (Incidentally, Berman thinks Munch mightve been a synesthete too.) I think of my work as painting by camera, Smilack explained. The colors I see are more like colored light than paint pigment. For example, Cello Music illustrates Smilacks auditory perceptions of reflections one night, off moving water. I aimed my camera at the source and clicked the shutter the moment I felt satin against my skin, she said.

I aimed my camera at the source, Marcia Smilack says of her photo Cello Music, and clicked the shutter the moment I felt satin against my skin. Photo: Marcia Smilack

At the same time, synesthesia can lead artists awry. Sean Day is a musician who sees shapes, movements, and colors when he hears timbres. For 20 years, hes operated the Synesthesia List, an online forum, regularly cited by synesthesia experts and scientists. Day started scoring music in his early teens, composing by the colors he wanted to view and finding inspiration in fellow-synesthete Duke Ellington. In college, however, Day realized his synesthesia was actually hurting his creativity. I focused way too much on my synesthetic colors, he wrote in an essay for Oxfords Handbook of Synesthesia. I was ignoring what I was learning about balancing orchestration, Day explained, and my music sometimes was ludicrous, like mandolins and bagpipes.

So, by his mid-30s, when writing music, Day started either ignoring his synesthesia completely or, if the piece called for a solo, focusing only on that one color or texture, without trying to combine instruments. Synesthesia does not make you a better artist, he said (emphatically and multiple times). Synesthetes are just as likely to be crappy untalented musicians as anybody else. Excellence in any art form comes from talent, practice, and mastery  not from having different sensations as most people. But, he clarified, if music makes you see colors and shapes, you might be more likely to pick up a guitar or sit at a piano in the first place  since music feels so multilayered.

A survey of 358 fine-arts students at three large universities, published by the Creativity Research Journal in 1989, suggests synesthetes are more common on artistic turf. Twenty-three percent of respondents experienced synesthesia in a spontaneous and consistent mater over five times expected in the general population. The study also found that synesthetes scored significantly higher on four standardized creativity measures. For example, they had a mean score of 38.4 (40 being the creative gold standard, 20 the norm) on the Barron Welsh Art Scale, which asks respondents to like or dislike 86 designs, specially selected to distinguish between the typical judgments of artists and nonartists. As Dr. Cytowic describes, synesthetes see the similar in the dissimilar (music and color; pain and color; syllables and shapes), and people who excel at making metaphors are generally more creative. But far greater in number than famous artists who happen to be synesthetic,  he said, are ordinary synesthetes who happen to be skilled in literary arts, paintings, or playing a musical instrument.

Marcia Smilack describes her photo The Other Me as a self-portrait of my synesthetic self, who watches my experiences on an internal screen that is visible only to me. Photo: Marcia Smilack

And creativity has many guises. Marcos Lutyens is a cutting-edge artist who stages perceptual interventions at museums like Pariss Centre Pompidou and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He uses hypnosis and performance to challenge the way viewers respond to stimuli, and has worked with synesthetes, especially, to examine how they perceive reality. In San Francisco, Lutyens sent a group of individuals with synesthesia to McDonalds  the most ubiquitous American place he could imagine. One participant, who experiences words as color, said the Golden Arches symbol is wrong because it should be red. For another, the kitchen equipment sounds shuddered [her] neck and back in a softer, indescribable kind of shock. What we classify as artistic, Lutyens said, is just normal to them. And artists with synesthesia work outside of traditional venues, too. For instance, Lutyens describes how an award-winning mixologoist, a synesthete based in Manchester, England, Jody Monteith, mixes the color of drink flavors to tap into the perfect taste.

Do synesthetic artists have a common way of seeing even when they arent consciously using synesthesia in their process? asked Greta Berman, who co-curated (with Steen) the 2008 exhibit, Synesthesia: Art and the Mind, at the McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton, Ontario. According to the shows catalogue, she (and Steen) brought four recognized, genuine synesthetes together for the first time: David Hockney, Joan Mitchell, Marcia Smilack, and Carol Steen. Based on personal writing and his oeuvre, Berman suspects van Gogh was a synesthete too.

Heres the difference, Berman said. I dont think Monet had synesthesia. Hes trying to reflect a physical scene, looking directly at a landscape, and not a sensory vision he had. As an indication of synesthesia, Berman often searches artwork for Kluvers form constants geometric patterns (often lattice or spider-web-like), discovered by psychologist Heinrich Kluver in the 1920s, which regularly appeared during peyote hallucinations and synesthetic perception. Anyone looking at paintings by van Gogh, Charles Burchfield, Wassily Kandinsky, and David Hockney, for example, will surely observe these form constants repeatedly, according to Berman and Steens essay in Oxfords Handbook on Synesthesia.

Yet the true power of synesthetic art may lie in what the 96 percent of us who are non-synesthetes can gain from it. Synesthesia shows you how different sensory perception can be for everyone, said Day. He calls it a lesson in neural diversity and that synesthetic art strives towards a new understanding of whats normal for the human brain. Normal, he explains, is diverse. On the humanist side, Dr. Cytowic said in an email, synesthetic studies affirm subjective points of view: how two people can see the same objective thing quite differently  each equally valid  in a time when citizens are becoming increasingly polarized.

Most of us will never hear colors or taste shapes. But it is pretty common for a non-synesthete to get chills during an operatic crescendo or the high notes of the Star-Spangled Banner, or standing in the Sistine Chapel. These are dual-sensory experiences  auditory, visual, and physical stimulation  but more importantly, a way of deeply inhabiting a moment in time and the world more richly, which is, in the end, what it means to have a genuine connection to art.
Photo: Baris Onal/Getty Images

Earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of David Nosal, a man who used a colleagues log-in credentials to access the databases of research firm Korn Ferry. Nosals conviction falls under the archaic Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which makes unauthorized access of computers a federal crime.

If the idea of unauthorized access sounds vague to you, thats because it is. Prosecutors love the CFAA, written three decades ago, because they can classify a broad range of computer activity we now consider normal as criminal  activity like sharing passwords. Services like Netflix and HBO Go have taken a hands-off approach to account sharing, but every one of these court cases makes what is now normalized computer usage a more precarious concern.

Punishment under the CFAA can be severe. Threatened with the prospect of years in jail for downloading millions of articles from JSTOR, the nonprofit digital library, cyberactivist Aaron Swartz committed suicide in 2013. This past spring, journalist Matthew Keys was sentenced to two years in prison for providing his Tribune Media log-in credentials to vandals who changed a Los Angeles Times headline for less than an hour.

The thing about the CFAA vagueness is that, as Motherboard emphasizes, it doesnt specify who gets to decide what is and is not unauthorized. In Nosals case, his employer had not authorized his access, but the person who provided their own password instead did so willingly. An imperfect analogy: Your landlord says you cant list your apartment on Airbnb, but you do so anyway. Is your guest authorized to stay in your place?

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that the possible precedent is a dangerous one, given how people use computers today.

Take the case of an office worker asking a friend to log onto his email in order to print a boarding pass, in violation of the system owners access policy; or the case of one spouse asking the other to log into a bank website to pay a bill, in violation of the banks password sharing prohibition. There are other examples that readily come to mind, such as logging onto a computer on behalf of a colleague who is out of the office, in violation of a corporate computer access policy, to send him a document he needs right away.

He later added:

In the everyday situation that should concern us all, a friend or colleague accessing an account with a shared password would most certainly believeand with good reasonthat his access had been authorized by the account holder who shared his password with him.

It comes down to a question of who can grant access, the platform holder or the individual user? The answer is still up in the air. One thing thats definitely clear, however, is that courts shouldnt be making the decision using a law older than the World Wide Web itself.
Microsoft is looking for the best, the brightest, and the most bae. According to a recruiting email shared on Twitter by one potential bae, the company sent out a call to interns in the Bay Area with an invite to a Microsoft party in San Francisco promising hella noms, lots of dranks, and Yammer beer pong tables. An Internapalooza, the email promised.

My roommate received this email from a Microsoft recruiter today. pic.twitter.com/90Qwr78eGO  Patrick Burtchaell (@pburtchaell) July 6, 2016

Nearly 3,000 people have retweeted the colorful (literally, just check out those neon Microsoft Word fonts, thatll definitely bring in the cool interns) email since it was posted online Tuesday. For its part, Microsoft says the email was poorly worded and not in keeping with our values as a company and it is looking into how this occurred and will take appropriate steps to address it, Gizmodo reports.

But on the other hand, that email is grabby as hell and if I was an intern spending a summer in a new city, Im pretty sure Id be down for a free party courtesy of one of the largest tech giants in Silicon Valley. Internapalooza is scheduled for July 11 and Microsoft, if youre still having trouble filling the guest list, Select All would be happy to join you for some drinks and noms and pong.
New Zealand wine legend cites Albarino and Godello as grapes of the future

Villa Maria founder and New Zealand wine legend Sir George Fistonich believes varietals like Albarino and Godello can ensure a healthy future for the countrys wine trade.

He told OLN there is a slight danger of becoming too reliant on Sauvignon Blanc, but he is confident that New Zealands versatility will allow it to shine with other grapes.

I dont think we are ever going to stop growing Sauvignon Blanc but like anything you need to look at other varieties and try to expand them, said Fistonich. It also makes it more interesting for the winemakers.

Albarino is going extremely well. We need a popular variety that grows well in New Zealand and Albarino seems to be taking off. Godello goes very well too.

We have an ideal climate for Pinot Noir. Quite a lot of vineyards are now 25 years old and delivering great wines. We dont have to use a lot of oak. Previously our Pinot Noirs were quite oaky but now as we have got older and are only using maybe 20% new oak and one-year-old and two-year-old oak we are letting the fruit speak for itself. Our Pinot Noir is fantastic now. Its had a pretty good reputation for 20 years but in the past few years the quality has really increased.

But he added: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is so well established worldwide now and it seems to have really captured the imagination.

France and Australia do well too, but now we sell more Sauvignon Blanc than Australia and that says something about our maritime climate. We have hot days and cool nights. We have that extreme climate with days up to 28C and nights as low as -2C.

There definitely is a huge difference in the Sauvignon Blancs too. Ten to 15 years ago they were very green with a lot of asparagus. There is a lot more sophistication now. A lot of vineyards are very different. The industry is focusing on different styles, using a little bit of oak. Sauvignon Blanc has changed quite dramatically. There are some really good styles and theres more subtlety.

Related articles:
The Coli is seething.

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I'm team fuck gender roles but gender still has a place biologically speaking.



But I don't think anyone should be feel limited in how they act or dress, you know?







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Mte

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That would be sex, not gender.

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Well said, Hank.

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gender IS gender roles lol

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yep

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yup

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ia

edit: lol jfc people with the semantics

we all knew what you meant



Edited at 2016-07-07 12:03 am (UTC)

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gender still has a place biologically speaking



no

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i thought sex was biological and gender was characteristic based.

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do you mean sex, not gender? because if so, I agree

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there is no gender biologically speaking. wut. WUT.

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sex is also a construct based on the performance of anatomy. but it took me a whole entire 4 year degree to get there so im not even going to go there in a comment thread.



reading rec: Judith butler.



peace.

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you mean "sex", right?

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we knew what you meant bb. and IA.

i have no problem with how someone wants to identify, some times people want to cling to a gender identity. even as others want to argue over words and semantics. some even die trying to get there. I don't feel comfortable erasing that entirely.

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wat? gender has no place biologically speaking, you're thinking of sex

but i aint mad, it atleast shows youre critically thinking

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I mean, I'm pretty solidly cisgender female, and use feminine pronouns. And I try to go against the grain of prescribed gender roles, but it's still AS a woman. Like what would you call Mulan? She's solidly cisgender, but she flouted the social constructs of femininity.

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I knew what you meant and I agree.

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in my anthro class, we were taught that there was a difference between gender and sex. sex being the parts you were born with and gender being what you see yourself as.

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I say this everything he comes up, but nigga, where is your album?

I love his attempt at Ellie Goulding's voice here too





I'm making my way thru his mixtapes and releases.

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he's trash but "lifestyle" still goes tbh

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A bop that stands the test of time

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and "get tf out my face" like

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Crying at this gif

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yeah, weird construct. not sure about gender #larrydavidvoice

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I'm team Idgaf just identify however the hell you want.

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this

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I mean, even while talking about being in a dress, he still feels the need to reaffirm his masculinity with this whole 'gangster in a dress thing'. but cool @ him wearing whatever makes him feel comfortable

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Yaaas Miss Prada. I love her social media presence.

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fuck him, however gender fluid he is his music is still misogynistic as hell

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It's gender roles that are regressive, not necessarily gender in and of itself. When people (often well-intentioned cisgender allies) say that gender doesn't exist or isn't relevant, it really undermines the necessity of gender identity for a lot of trans folks.

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A+ comment

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gender is literally gender roles tho....

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Those are my exact feelings.

I was gonna write a long comment in response but won't force my feelings on you...

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yup. I tried to say that elsewhere, but idk if i worded it right. but lbr, most people forget transfolks until it's convenient for them to remember.

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Idk, I have seen trans and cis people alike find pride in and establish their gender identity by performing stereotypical gender roles. Some people can't have one without the other.



I've started to wonder if society's messages of what it means to be a man/woman play a part in a trans persons' dysphoria, but I am afraid if this is a transphobic line of thinking.









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ty, i was looking for the words to say this and you summed it up perfectly

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gender is so entrenched in society but as long as people are free to express themselves as they please idc



what i don't understand is people who think biological sex is a social construct like humans didn't invent reproduction or give purpose to the penis or vagina. it's just a body organ, you wouldn't say your respiratory system was a social construct so why would your reproductive system be?

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i mean it's pretty complicated, we think of it all as a binary but there's a gray area to everything from anatomy to hormones. when you think about how we really all have such different levels of hormones, the existence of intersex people which we so often overlook, etc., the black and white dichotomy we try to enforce becomes so ridiculous. it's the way we try to classify/categorize that's a construct



Edited at 2016-07-07 01:52 am (UTC)

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The concept that the "respiratory system" is comprised of x, y, and z organs doesn't naturally occur, lmao. At some point, scientists made a distinction between other organs. Like your pulmonary system is essential to breathing, but nobody's calling your blood part of the respiratory system. Many times, new science is encouraged to fit into existing paradigms instead of creating new ones.



Moreover...you realize what comprises a "penis" versus a "clitoris" is to a certain extent arbitrary? Intersex folks have to deal with the arbitrariness of some doctor defining their sex organs all the time. The line is absolutely man-made. It's just that the line seems reasonable most of the time.

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waiting for that super transphobic ONTDer to come and show their ass again

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hope so!

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we have a lot of those tbh

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they ain't shit

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which one

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I've seen two so far lol



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there is no such thing as gender. there should be no link between biological sex and how masculine or feminine you choose to present yourself. it's so suffocating

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suffocating is the right word. all of these new labels, pronouns, etc just all feel like too much. if you're a man who likes feminine things, great! if you're a woman who likes masculine things that's great too. i hate that society is so built around gender that we have people who feel the need to physically alter their bodies because of this but such is life under patriarchy i guess.

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did yall see the huffpost piece where it said that gay boys who are medically transitioned are just collateral damage in the effort to make sure actual trans people are able to transition

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huh?? can you link?

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why do people still read huffpost

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I think gender itself is important, gender roles are shit though.

I'm cis and queer and not particularly femme or butch and for me, that doesn't mean that I am transgressing gender...I am still a woman and will be a woman no matter how I present myself. I hate the rhetoric of "today I felt like a boy so I wore a tie, and today I felt like a girl so I wore pink," which reinforces stereotypes and essentializes identities.

And also, like, gender is important for trans people, as well. Which I think should be respected.



Edited at 2016-07-07 12:24 am (UTC)

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Sometimes I wear dresses and wedges or heels, other times jeans and T-shirts and Chucks. Sometimes I wear eyeliner, sometimes I don't. I don't feel any less like a cisgender heterosexual girl when I do the latter things. And if I decided to wear a boxy shirt with a tie, it wouldn't be because I "felt like a boy". I mean, those /are/ stereotypically masculine things, but I, maynardsong, am still a cisgender heterosexual woman. And this can segue into a discussion of Male Gaze and how it colors people's perception of feminine sexuality. I'm really over how I'm not seen as a sexual being just because what I have on isn't considered to be provocative. It's the flip side of "She was asking for it because she wore a short skirt."



Edited at 2016-07-07 01:39 am (UTC)

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Not one of them can actually sing. A mess...but it is for charity.

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charity vocals for a charity song, sis!

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Mary J Blige can't sing? Pink can't sing? You all should be more grateful if it wasn't for Missundaztood you wouldn't have Stripped.





Edited at 2016-07-07 12:30 am (UTC)

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I'm glad screaming banshees with no vocal control were banned from the song. 

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all the artists featured tweeted about it except Britney ! she is so unbothered, sis promote ur shit! her next post will probably be a picture of a cute kitten in a garden.

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ahahaha so true she posts things my great aunt posts



Edited at 2016-07-07 12:21 am (UTC)

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lmaoo yeah I was looking for her post on FB

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is that really what you find important in this

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yeah bc the most important part of this tribute to the orlando victims is propping up your robotic fave

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Mte that there are even stan wars about a single for charity and such a serious topic....ridiculous but not unsurprising for ontd.

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hf brit and selena gomez



questioning my taste



Edited at 2016-07-07 01:23 am (UTC)

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Britney is a STAH.



And none for Xtincta.

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Lmao so obsessed.

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Nobody is obsessed with ha.

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Kacey's just doing damage control





don't get me wrong, I love her, but damn...

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I'd like to apologise on behalf of the messy Brit stans who have no tact or class and are turning this into a penis measuring contest amongst other artists.



It's a great song for an important cause, I'm glad she was able to be apart of something that means so much to me, I'll leave it at that.

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bless you! you continue to be my 2nd favorite Britney stan on here <3

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This post is a mess so far. Can't you stans behave like grown ups for once? It's a serious and important topic but you have nothing better to do than being ridiculous with your stan wars.

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this movie is cursed

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OMFG THIS IS A JOKE

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How many times has this movie been delayed? will I ever see you on the big screen? 

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Harvey hasn't had a hit in like a decade, and he keeps doing shady shit like this. Why are people still venerating him?

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IKR?? Remember when he tried to make Burnt happen last year?? And later this year he apparently has HHhH (I saw him at the screening and just went >___________________<)...except Anthropoid with Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan is about the exact same story and that's coming out first, soooo...??? Get it together, man.

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oh shit, you've seen hhhh? it's one of my favourite books, how was the adaptation?

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He hasn't? Wasn't Jennifer Lawrence giving him credit for her Oscar win?

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He's gotten weirdly defeatist over the past couple of years: Between pushing The Immigrant & Snowpiercer to commercial obscurity out of spite to having The Hateful Eight & Carol essentially drop out of the awards cycle, it feels like he's either given up or lost his touch. He also spent millions and strong-armed half of Broadway to try and will Finding Neverland into a hit and it's still closing after about 18 months at a big loss. I have a feeling unless The Weinstein Company really turns it around, they may shut in the next 5 years or so, and Megan Ellison can reign supreme.

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Aw, man. I didn't know that about TLBO. :/

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LOL, you don't have to go to festivals to get Oscars. In fact, last year some of the films that premiered at Cannes didn't do well at all, awards-wise (I'm looking at you, Carol). I think Cannes was fairly lame this year as well. That said, I'm not holding my breath for ALBTO to win anything anyway.



February is the dumping ground for bad films, so Tulip Fever getting moved there is the kiss of death. Too bad.



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I mean IA that you don't have to do festivals to get Oscars but using Carol as an example is terrible. It got 6 Oscar noms!



Also usually it's the big budget end of year movies that can skip the fests.

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Good. That category fraud hack deserves nothing.

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It still might premiere at Venice though?

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what the fuuuuuuuck i was looking forward to this

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keep it tbh

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rip weinstein company

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I'm so bummed this movie is most likely crap. Alicia, Dane and Jack deserve a better film

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Feb. is where they send movies to die. Makes me wonder if it's bad or just a bad call. Execs have done this before to a movie that they thought had problems, but was a good flick they just didn't get behind.

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It's been delayed like three times lol. It's bad. OP is literally the first person I've come across who says they liked it.

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I mean, in my defense it took me like a good third of the movie to adjust to its weirdo tone. This is pretentious, but I ended up comparing it to the Canterbury Tales -- everything's really OTT and slapstick in its comedy, but I ended up kind of enjoying the bawdiness. And then I read the book and got through it in, like, three days, so that wasn't bad. [Kanye shrug]

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Early screening buzz said the film was hilariously awful, and Weinstein is no stranger to dumping a film.

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Alicia's such a good actress. She's in plenty of movies this year but I would love to see her do another Swedish film. She was fantastic in Pure.

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She's reuniting with her Pure director on a new movie with Eva Green but I think it's going to be in English.

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i'm allergic to tulips =(

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It's not a good sign for a movie to be delayed to February is it?

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Ugh I really wanted to see the movie for my underrated and ridiculously talented bb Holliday, as well for Alicia.

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I've heard the film is AWFUL lol. Weinstein might as well rip the bandaid off though. Delaying it won't make the movie any better.

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From overexposed with a category-fraud Oscar to a seven-month multiple-delayed movie. Adios.



I do feel bad for HGrainger and Dane, though.

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I've been tweeting away and hadn't even seen the excruciating news and footage of these murders. Outrageous. Devastating. Frequent. ENOUGH.  josh groban (@joshgroban) July 7, 2016





There are so many broken, backwards issues at play here it's numbing to digest. #PhilandoCastile #AltonSterling #blacklivesmatter  josh groban (@joshgroban) July 7, 2016





Edited at 2016-07-07 05:33 am (UTC) Josh Groban also just tweeted

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added

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I've been trying to sleep but this shit is haunting my very soul.



I dont even know what to say anymore.I'm so tired.

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if anyone is on wordpress, would love to hear your thoughts <3

https://abigailscott.wordpress.com/2016/07/06/all-for-one-and-one-for-all/ me too. i put some thoughts down and it has helped me map out what I am feeling somewhat. Then by the time i close my browser and publish to my blog another black man has been killed.if anyone is on wordpress, would love to hear your thoughts <3

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Haunting. So accurate.

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Are you fucking kidding me? Another shooting?



What really pisses me off more than this happening is all these racist bitches are gonna just pretend this isn't an actual problem, that its always justified and all that bullshit.



Terrible.

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I've already seen people be like "Well why wasn't she filming the moment they got pulled over?" or "Wait until the dash cam or body cam footage comes out before blaming the cop"



I can't even with these people, especially the first. People shouldn't HAVE to feel like the need to film traffic stops to make sure they're not killed!!! This is really what you're taking from this? My mind is blown.

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yeah, who the hell thinks OOH, traffic stop. Lemme periscope this bitch!



If any good can come of this, it's that she filmed something (which is crazy given what she just witnessed seconds earlier), so people can see what happened.

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It's pointless. They'll always find some excuse to defend the police officer.



Edited at 2016-07-07 06:00 am (UTC)

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i saw someone be like "why she didn't film when he shot his boyfriend? pointless"



i just...

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ridiculous. that cop's reaction speaks for itself

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Yeah people are trying it "she's lying! He's in the passenger seat so he wouldn't be reaching for license and resignation". do they not see the steering wheel in front of him? Is their racism and defensiveness making them blind?? also black passengers get asked for ID/papers all the time so they can sit the fuck down.

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I woke up this morning and don't even know what happened. It's too early tbh. Why didn't I find out last night?

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This is just too much.. leave twitter for 3 hours and again.. even here it seems kind of weird that we're talking about celebrities when there's real shit like this going on. What other topic is there? This IS the topic and we need to fucking talk about it. I'm so sorry to the black community that things are like this..I just feel the need to apologize and I'm not even white..and man I thought navigating the world as Mexican was tough.



Edited at 2016-07-07 05:37 am (UTC)

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i totally understand what you mean bb but sometimes we all need a form of escapism from the "real world" and celebrity gossip fills that for me when it seems like everything is too much

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the word "shooting" has become so commonplace, it's lost it's impact for me. Call it a public execution- call it something as shocking and grotesque as these acts actually are.

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I called the cops killers, flat out.

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I wish they'd just call it what is: murder.

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modern day lynchings is a more accurate term...

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mte

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It shocks me how white people make such a deal about terrorist and Muslims coming to America to kill them but fail to care about the mass shootings by the same white people and frequently murders of people of color by the people that are supposed to protect them.

I hope the best for the family and friends of the people affected.



Edited at 2016-07-07 05:39 am (UTC)

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of course they don't give a shit as long as it's not one of them getting executed in public on daily basis.

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shows how infantile their minds are

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They don't care because it never affects them personally. ugh

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It's different because cops are just ~~~doing their jobbbbbbs.



:|

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It doesn't help that the victims all have criminal backgrounds. :/



This chain needs to be unbroken so they can't dig around for excuses.

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I hate this country. Nothing will ever change. White people will never change. They will remain evil and bring this country down with them than give up their precious privilege. Fuck the cops.

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This officer was Asian but you aren't wrong.

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Asian, White, their anti-blackness is all the same.

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antiblackness is an infestation amongst everyone who isn't black. its all the same.

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Where does it say he is Asian? Not doubting you or anything but I want to read up on it

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All races are racist against eachother. People need to stop pretending this is white people vs everyone.



Mexicans make fun of blacks. Blacks make fun of Mexicans. Asians make fun of everyone. Ignorance isn't restricted to white people.

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this country is the worst

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her boyfriend told police the ID was in his wallet and that he was carrying a firearm, which he was licensed to do ."



http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/07/07/falcon-heights-police-shooting-traffic-stop/86790460/



Let's see that one fucking user in the Anton Sterling post try and defend this. "In the video, the woman says police shot her boyfriend after he reached for his ID, which was in his wallet. She says."Let's see that one fucking user in the Anton Sterling post try and defend this.

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What user? Would love for you to actually name them. Love to see closeted racists on here dragged..

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Right? This just proves that being calm and compliant won't save you. :(

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That one user can go fuck themselves.

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I unintentionally watched the video because twitter starts playing videos automatically and it was the first one on my feed. Jesus fucking Christ, that woman is incredible and that cop is a cowardly, racist piece of shit.

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Same it was on auto-play on my timeline and I was so horrified by it. I was so worried something would happen to the woman as she filmed...

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There's a good chance that something could still happen to her, honestly. Not sure if it's true, but there are people saying her Facebook (where she was livestreaming) was deactivated/reactivated.

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yeah she's apparently still in police custody so she's not safe :/

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configure your twitter so that won't happen again, i did it with twitter and fb :(

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Some people on twitter are actually questioning why she was so calm in the video....like she must of been up to something. So freaking gross.



If she had reacted in any other way, if she had been hysterical or reached over to help her boyfriend she would have been dead too. People are just awful.

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I haven't seen the video and I don't think I have the courage to watch it. But I'm amazed that the girlfriend had the courage and presence of mind to film the whole thing.

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Some dumb news site is saying the video is fake and that Castille was gang member, and posted his mugshot. Because of course cops are perfect and would never kill anyone who didn't deserve it anyway

._.

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goddammit all

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Why the hell would the cop feel that a person would tell him he has a gun in his possession and then think hes about to pull it out on him??

Cautious? Sure. A cop is probably always on edge while on the clock. But this is just nuts!



I wonder if this cop conveniently didn't have his body cam on either...

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I used to think Minnesota was better than other places, but we have just as many racist assholes as anywhere else, and many of them are our cops.

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Not pointed at you but I have seen soooooo many post on ONTD that have this delusion that the north is so great and all the racist are in the South. Like really?? Racist are in every city and state in all of the USA. In the south we just have laws that make it easier to get away with being a bigot.



You cant be black safely anywhere.

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yeah, i live in southern california one of the most diverse areas in the US and have had people yell out "nigger!" from their car windows when I was walking to high school.

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Racism is everywhere. But I've lived in CA/CO/PA/TX/Boston, and Texas was far FAR worse than any of the other places. People are open and almost proud of their racism there (at least in the area I lived in).

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Also, whites are a much bigger percentage of the population in the North, and our communities are way more segregated, so we can pretend there's less racism because it's neatly compartmentalized. If you grew up in an all-white neighborhood, went to all-white schools, and your workplace is all-white, or nearly all-white, I don't want to hear that you say you aren't a racist. You haven't had any experience to know whether or not you're a racist. But spoiler: If you're afraid to come into the city because it's "dangerous," you are.

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yeah, I live as north as you can get in NY and it's EXTREMELY racist here

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I remember studying racism in the Reconstruction Era and the breakdown of the Southern and Northern racist. Southern racists tend to hate black people as a whole, but will make individual exceptions, where Northern racists "accept" black people as a group, but will never deal with them on an individual level. I don't think much has changed, tbh.

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Yup. This is my fucking hometown and I just can't anymore

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We have some of the largest gaps in wealth, education, etc. between races in the country. Minnesota does very well, but only for some Minnesotans.

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We have a lot of Diet Racists here in MN. They like to do their shit in secret.

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black people have to deal with so much bullshit and stay calm through it its insane

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Part of my awakening from being an ignorant, privileged dumbass, was seeing the photo of Charles Belk after he was arrested for being black. He was so relaxed in the photo, it made me really get for the first time that unfair harassment is an ordinary, everyday part of life for a person of color in America. Same shit, different day.



I've seen so many assholes asking why Diamond Reynolds is so calm in the video. Duh, it's because if she freaks out, she will be shot, and she's painfully aware of that fact.

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Our handyman at my store is a black homeless man. He does handyman work for the store across the street too and one morning a group of cops walked into my store and spotted him on his phone in one of our chairs and stared him down and made him scared and nervous. They came over to tell me they were here for me and other shops and left. Only to come back and ask me if the man was hassling me.

Like no dude that's my friend we had coffee and were talking when you came in?!?! And they weren't slick about it either, they wanted him to know.

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that has happened to me, it's so fucked. i was at a restaurant (a nice one) and my bf (now fiance) got up to use the restroom, and the host took the chance to ask me if "everything was all right" and when I stared at him, confused, and said yes, he insisted, "You sure everything's ok?" Like yes, I am out to dinner with a black man willingly, thank you. (This was in NYC too)

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My dad's supposed to visit the US pretty soon because my sister's having a child ssoon and I'm honestly terrified something is going to happen to him. America is no place for black people, it feels like cops are just spinning a wheel of reasons or filling out a bingo card of why they feel like murdering someone that day.

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Visiting where? Not that anywhere is that safe, really... I'm supposed to be driving from Toronto to DC & Nashville with my mom and I am absolutely terrified.



Edited at 2016-07-07 05:54 am (UTC)

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Maine, but we have relatives in Texas so he'll probably go there too. :/

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my sister and i just cancelled our trip to florida. we were supposed to spend two weeks in miami, but fuck this. i want to live.

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ive always liked her.



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- Says she apologised to her mom for being such a bitch during her teenage years after her hormones settled at 21.



lmao I should apologize to my mom.

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I didn't really get it until I had foster kids on my case load. I was basically their legal guardian and had to make decisions for them about everything that didn't require a court order. It was then that I apologized to my mom for being such a bitch as a teen.

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I'm almost 28 and sometimes I revert back to my bitchy teenage self with my mom. Then I feel horrible about it and I apologize about a thousand times, lol. No one can get under your skin like a mom.

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sometimes just the way my mom says my name annoys the shit out of me. she says it all singsongy, but i know some day i'll give anything to hear her say it again. moms are fucking complicated stuff, man.

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I'm mostly Zen levels of calm and sweet to the outside world but my parents had a way of reverting me to late-teen RAGE/grump monster with just one patronising look or comment. They really know how to push my buttons, it's like some Jekyll/Hyde shit but I've got better at being less easily annoyed and they've got better at treating me like a person.

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lmao I apologized to my dad so many times and buy him whatever he wants now basically



least I could do tbh I was the devil's servant

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I apologized to my parents. I was such a bitch to them, and I still feel bad about it.

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I wasn't difficult at all when I was a teenager. I was boring af and stayed home/didn't make waves lol



However once I started uni I started to go out more and realize I had a life outside of family and that's when I started to be a little bitch oop. To this day I still argue with my parents on some stuff because they still expect me to be as complacent as I was as a teenager.



I wonder sometimes what our relationship today would have been like if I had my teenage rebellion earlier :x

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i sure af did when i was in college but learning about the pasts of so many in my current circle i called my mother and was like "actually you had it mad easy w me talk to so-and-so's parents and get back to me."

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Bad Moms looks.. eh.



I apologized to my mom too, I was a horrible teen, so dramatic and misunderstood~, it was like I had no idea my parents had feelings. Also one of the reasons I work with elementary school kids instead of teenagers tbh.

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she should apologize for the movie Bad Moms

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I love her but thare picture is throwing me off, it looks more like Nina Dobrev

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My friend and I watched the Bad Moms trailer the last time we went to the movies and our first thought was "well, talk about a white people/white parenting movie."

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she's very likable



i feel like her career should have blown up more after black swan than it did, she doesn't pick(/isn't offered) the best projects



oh and she and that girl from modern family need to play sisters at some point

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has she commented on if she liked ashton back in the that 70's show days?

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She said at the height of his career they had a "friend break-up" because she really didn't like him.

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I know she's commented on how she considers "how we first met" to be when they reconnected after 70s, since they were both very different people at the time of course

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not so much here but she once said something like "I'm marrying my movie star crush"

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i really like her, i just wish bad moms didn't look so awful

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I've always liked her but Bad Moms looks so basic and boring. Hopefully it turns out to be better than the previews appear.

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this sounds like a few people on ontd lmfao

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Ashton and her have no secrets and can't bullshit each other because they know each other so well, saying she got mad at him at the height of his career when he thought he was hot shit and how they had friendship breakups.



ngl i loved jackie/kelso growing up despite the fact that hyde/jackie was clearly the superior choice so hearing little tidbits about them over the years makes me so happy lmao.



when would you say the height of his career was? 2003-ish?

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uhm she didn't mention the timeline but I'd say 2003/2004 (Butterfly Effect was in 2004)

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She talked a bit about her parents learning English and working a million jobs to keep things running, never making her feel like she was in need of something. They sound pretty amazing.

That sucks, I'm sorry :( But tbh Eastern Europe is always in such a threatening spot with Russia and all, a lot of my friends in Lithuania apply for the Army because they know how things could get bad at any time. Plus Putin already invaded Ukraine once recently, it's such a tough spot to be in.

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this disrespect to queens sidney prescott and gale weathers

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Scream is a masterpiece imo

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It is! I was just reading the screenplay this morning, and it's so good.

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Scream should be top 5

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I still remember seeing Let The Right One In at our indie theater

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WTF Scream literally brought the horror genre back to life! It should be top 3 if not number one!

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That is some bullshit!

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Scream should absolutely be higher. The beginning of it will forever creep me out.

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I love let the right one in. Such a beautiful film. But yes scream needs to be higher.

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love The Descent!

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martyrs is the only horror movie i've given a fuck about in the last however many yrs

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make sure you watch the original and not the remake. the remake is goddawful terrible and i LOVE troian bellisario

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watch  it  now!!! 

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whatever you do, stick to the original. the remake is godawful. the original actually made me pause it a few times because it was so bleak that i couldn't stop crying (lmao @ me).

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that movie fucked me up good

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Maybe I should try it again. I remember watching it and being bored..idk.

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Always found that movie to be meh. To me it felt like two different movies and I enjoyed the 1st half more.

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It's a good list and you don't have to reload the page for every one; it's an actual slideshow.

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I love The Descent and The Others.

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horror movie rec post??



i just watched kristy which was a lot better than i expected, very similar to you're next/the strangers



some good modern horror i've watched lately: girl house, it follows, the visit, scream (tv series), the final girls, the innkeepers

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I'm really into the Scream TV series. Who do you think the Killer is? I would be so shaded out by the short dark haired girl if I was nerd boy.

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I think the killer is either Kieran, Kieran's cousin or cousin's mother, or that new teacher

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[ Spoiler (click to open) ] i think one of them is def the psychology teacher and if i had to guess that they had a partner, i'd probably say zoe because the crazy guy that brooke likes is way too obvious altho they did the same thing last season with the super obvious killer so idk tbh!! that's why i like the show, it's really hard to figure it out and i like that lol

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i love the series! I totally think Audrey is somehow involved, unfortunately. Are you all caught up? I didn't see this week's ep, if it aired yet.

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Kieran or Ms Lang, I think. I've been jumping around a bunch of people, but now I'm settled on those two.

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i love the fact that everyone in that damn town seems to have the killer's mask lmaoo. i think the new teacher is definitely sketchy but also i remember specifically that jake called emma girl interrupted at her welcome back hangout and then before he died he read that note that said boy interrupted so it has to be one of the remaining main characters. i think kieran/anyone related to him is a good guess as revenge for his dad. or emma if they go the routine split personality way. the thing i like about the show is they make everyone so obviously a suspect that you think hmmm it can't be THAT obvious so it could actually be surprising if they do something obvious and predicable.



also audrey is my bb always and forever. possible accomplice or not.

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The Final Girls is such a fun film.

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Have you seen Inner Demons? It's on Netflix. I wouldn't say it's scary, but it's an interesting take on the whole possession thing.



I fucking looovvvve You're Next. I'll have to watch Kristy!

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the stranger is a good english-language chilean horror film

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For recent movies I really enjoyed The Witch, it's mostly psychological horror so if you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it.

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if you liked the innkeepers, you might like the house of the devil. same director with a similar kind of slow burn quality to it.

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also i always have to recommend The Pact and Absentia. they look so b-movie based on their posters on netflix, but i was really, really pleasantly surprised when i gave them a chance.

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if you liked it follows - did you see the guest? i guess its more of a thriller with ~halloween overtones. but i loved it

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I do not understand the love for Only Lovers Left Alive. I also wasn't a fan of Sweeney Todd because constant singing was torturous (and yes I get that it was a musical). What We Do In The Shadows should be in the top 5

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Good list of movies, though I don't really consider From Dusk 'til Dawn and Only Lovers Left Alive horror

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Yeah, but it's still more of an action/crime thriller than a horror movie

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that movie is SO GOOD i can't stand it lol totally one of my favorites!

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One of my favourite movies ever, and the show is amazing as well.

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Only Lovers Left Alive is on the list? Tf...

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My favourite horror movies are the Final Destination ones. Obviously not scary but they're a lot of fun to watch

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The first one made me paranoid af. I had just graduated high school and went to see it with a hs friend late at night. I was convinced we were going to die in some domino effect car accident or something on the way home.

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I wouldn't call any of these horror movies:



Only Lovers Left Alive

Sweeny Todd

Zombieland

Shaun of the Dead



Fail list is fail.

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shaun of the dead and zombieland are definitely horror movies imo, they just rely more on the comedic aspects than horror

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We can agree to disagree but I honestly think of them more as comedy/action.

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The only one out of these that iaw you on is OLLA. The rest are definitely horror movies imo, even if they're also comedies or musicals. Those three still have plenty of gore and blood and other elements of horror even if they have jokes or singing. OLLA is more of a straight up drama/romance that just happens to have vampires as the leads.

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The Wailing was just playing here in NYC and I totally missed it... I dont know if it's stil playing but I realyl want to see it!

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I really want to see the wailing but the closest cinema it's playing in is like 400 miles away D:

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I had to Wikipedia the ending to the Wailing because I was so confused at who was doing what at the end.

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Yas @ 28 Days Later. My favourite Horror/Zombie film ever. I was way too young when I first watched it and then made the additional mistake of also watching 28 Weeks Later right away lmao I had nightmares for weeks.

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Halloween and Suspiria are tied for number 1 for me always tbh (ignoring the 25yr thing here lol) I can't wait for October so I can bring my Suspiria icon back yessss susssssppppiiiriiiiiiaaaaa



I watched Scream 3 last night and Parker Posey remains one of the best things abt it



Edited at 2016-07-07 09:17 pm (UTC)

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love those two. It may sound silly but Suspiria honestly changed my life lol it was one of the first movies I saw that was so beautiful but violent and everything from the soundtrack to the production is just amazing. it made me really want to become a filmmaker and solidified my love for the genre. like it's a masterpiece of horror, probably Argento's best film for sure.

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I think Suspiria is just so perfectly executed that it edges out the others but I love them all sfm. Inferno took like 4 viewings for me to love it completely.



Come to think of it, I need to rewatch all my Argento movies again lol. I actually kind of waffle about Suspiria, Inferno, Tenebre, and Opera as my favorite Argento film.I think Suspiria is just so perfectly executed that it edges out the others but I love them all sfm. Inferno took like 4 viewings for me to love it completely.Come to think of it, I need to rewatch all my Argento movies again lol. #stan

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suspiria is perfection

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what kind of iconic taste



(altho halloween has moved to a top 10 from a top 5 over time for me)

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I absolutely loved Suspiria when I first saw it. So beautiful on the eyes.

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'You're obsessed with her and you're obsessed with her daughter!'



Bless Judy Jergenstern.

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Suspiria is awesome and the cinematography is pretty.

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this movie fucked me up but i've seen it like 5 times, it's so good imo One of my favorite Horror films in the last 25 years is "The Loved Ones"this movie fucked me up but i've seen it like 5 times, it's so good imo

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i really want to watch this but i don't have the stomach for torture porn horror movies. how bad is it?

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and this gif isn't even the worst of it the torture is pretty badand this gif isn't even the worst of it

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Did someone say torture porn? I'm in.

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this has been on my list forever

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I always bring out my Loved One icon for Halloween season...

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Was surprised with this one. Really enjoyed it!

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my boyfriend Xavier Samuels is in it, I should really watch

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I love that movie. Chiller channel or FearNet used to play it all the time.

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Yass! I have to re-watch this.

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This movie is one of my favorites as well, so good!

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Mine was definitely The Ring, I think I was only 11/10 when I saw it for the first time :P

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Scream, lol. It took me a full decade to make it past Drew's opening because I was a dumb kid and tried watching it when I was 9

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honestly this probably doesn't count but The Witches gave me more nightmares than The Exorcist or Halloween ever did. it was the first movie that scared the SHIT out of me



legit horror film wise I think it was Funny Games (the US version) that was brutal

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the witches was on a few months ago & i watched part of it and it's still fucking scary tbh

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Omg I just watched The Witches yesterday again. Just the idea of being stuck in a painting and no way to get out of it. Or being stuck as a mouse.

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It. I was 13. It was actually the first horror movie I ever saw, and after that no horror movie has terrified me like that.

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child's play smh my dad made me watch the first 3 in a row when i was like 5-6 lol

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Can't say I've ever had one that scared me. I had to stop Cannibal Holocaust because I was dumb and thought I could stomach it. Nope.

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the witches :( even though it's a kids movie we all know how fucked up it was

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Blair Witch



oh, and the witches from The Wizard of Oz really scared me as a kid



Edited at 2016-07-07 09:26 pm (UTC)

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Saw. I had seen others before that that gave me the usual heebie-jeebies but Saw was one that made me afraid of EVERYTHING for like two days. I remember my dad picking me up afterwards and I was paranoid that he was going to murder me for no apparent reason.

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child's play. my family loved to watch them because they thought they were funny. i watched the first when i was like 4 or 5 and was terrified. my siblings/cousins thought this was hilarious and bought a doll to scare me with. i'm still scared of it to this day :|

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Poltergeist II

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Child's Play. I was 8 and my mom almost killed the uncle who let me watch it.



Gave me a lifetime fear of those My Buddy dolls.

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I watched The Ring with my college roommate back when it first came out. As we left the theater, she admitted that it scared her a little. Our dorm rooms all had university land lines set up, so I stepped away for a minute, called the landline, and whispered "seven daysssss." I knew she'd listened to her messages when we got back to our dorm room because she shouted from the other room, "goddamnit, was that you?!"

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The Exorcist, I saw it as a young child because my dad would always have horror movies on. or Nightmare on Elm St.

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yeah I loved watching horror movies growing up, but there was something about watching the ring in the movie theaters for the first time that fucked me all the way up. i was young plus it was a new concept and all around disturbing for 11 y/o me

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The 1980 Changeling. Saw it when I was a kid, so it was horrifying then, not so much now, but still.

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jaws

i was 8 and was scared to put my feet on the floor because i thought jaws was gonna get me from under the sofa

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Child's Play, for sure.

i was so young when my parents put it on one night and my only option was to stay downstairs and watch or go upstairs and hang out alone. i chose 'safety in numbers' and endured the terror.

even to this day i have to make sure my closet doors are shut TIGHT before bed. he's probably in there.



(disclaimer: my mom and dad are extremely nice people and they feel bad about this now) haha

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Pet cemetery

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Idol hands.



It fucked me up big time as a kid. I used to get these violent shakes when it was nightime and I was lying down to sleep. And I was 100% convinced that my sister was going to kill me.

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It was between Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, and Gremlins. I still can't watch Nightmare tbh

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Nightmare on Elm Street, the fact that Krueger could show up in my dreams was way too much to handle to my young self.

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john carpenter's village of the damned and scream

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Child's Play and The Ring. I still have nightmares about The Ring to this day lol

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Idk. I've been watching horror movies since I was super young, so I can't even remember the first that probably scared me. The one that probably stayed with me the longest would have to be Nightmare on Elm Street. Up until a couple of years ago, I was still having nightmares about Freddie.

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Lmfao Tremors.

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Candyman

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The Exorcist still.



FOREVER

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I want to say the original Halloween but I think I watched The Witches first. I never got past the part when the Grand Witch takes off her disguise because it freaked me out.

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the exorcist. i don't do well w/ the whole demon thing, and i know people find the special effects funny but i did (and still kinda do) found them terrifying lmao i was 12 tho, also i watched the version that had those subliminal demon faces and that scared me the most i think

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A movie called The Legacy. My grandma was watching it and I was like 8 and she let me watch it too and there's this scene where a woman is swimming and then glass slides over the top of the pool while she's underwater, so she can't surface but she can't see the glass so she doesn't know why. I was too scared to put my head underwater in a pool for YEARS. It legit fucked me up.



Also my dad let me watch the Lady in White when I was a kid and I remember being terrified by it. I re-watched it as an adult and it's so fucking boring LOL

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Nightmare on Elm Street. I saw it as a kid and had so many Freddy nightmares. Recently I think I had a sex dream. My subconscious is weird.

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1. Scarlett Johansson

We all know it can be hard to put food on the table, so in this list we're only looking at actors that were already well established and had successful careers when they chose to accept a whitewashed role.Starting of course with...

Role: Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell.



Original race/ethnicity: Japanese.



What's the excuse? Producer Steven Paul tried to justify the casting decision: "There [are] all sorts of people and nationalities in the world in Ghost in the Shell. Were utilising people from all over the world. (...) Theres Japanese in it. Theres Chinese in it. Theres English in it. Theres Americans in it. I dont think it was just a Japanese story. Ghost in the Shell was a very international story, and it wasnt just focused on Japanese; it was supposed to be an entire world. Thats why I say the international approach is, I think, the right approach to it."



By Paul's logic, you can take a specifically Japanese story, make all the leads and a good deal of the background characters white, and voila! You have an international story!



Funnily enough, Johansson's character will only be referred to as 'the major' rather than her actual name, Motoko Kusanagi, and yet her mother will be played by a Japanese actress. Rumors have started to circulate that the film team has attempted to use CGI to digitally alter white actors so they could portray Asian background characters.



Scarlett Johansson as 'the Major'



her eyes are taped back. Wasn't this project enough of a travesty already





The original Motoko Kusanagi

2. Gerard Butler and the entire cast of Gods of Egypt

Role: The god Set.



Original race/ethnicity: Egyptian.



What's the excuse? You'd assume that a movie titled 'Gods of Egypt' would give you clue as to who should be cast, but as usual in Hollywood, you'd be wrong.



After the movie tanked, Lionsgate pulled their generic apology #27 out of the drawer and tried to appease the public: We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize. Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of our audiences. We have, can and will continue to do better.



Well. We're still waiting.



The cast of Gods of Egypt

3. Emma Stone

Role Captain Allison Ng in Aloha.



Original race/ethnicity:: Chinese (1/2) and Hawaiian (1/4) as well as Swedish (1/4).



What's the excuse? Despite Hawaii being the most diverse US state, the cast of Aloha was overwhelmingly white. Stone's character was heavily ridiculed.



Director Crowe responded to the whitewashing backlash: "I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice. As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud one quarter Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one. A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii. Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that."



Emma Stone later said that she regretted taking the role. She also went on record that the controversy taught her about whitewashing in Hollywood. Because otherwise she'd never have known she's not the right choice for a character named Allison Ng.



Emma Stone as Allison Ng

4. Liam Neeson

Role: Ra's al Ghul in Nolan's Batman series.



Original race/ethnicity:: Middle Eastern.



What's the excuse? Again, the name of the character offers a subtle clue that it's perhaps not appropriate to cast the most Irish of Irish actors. Nolan didn't explain why he didn't open the casting call for Arab actors. If Neeson hadn't taken the role, it would have gone to Guy Pearce or Viggo Mortensen. Ra's al Ghul was born over 600 years before his first appearance in Batman comics, to a tribe of nomads in a desert somewhere in Arabia.



And while we're at it: it's just as inappropriate to cast Marion Cotillard as Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia, who is supposed to be have both Arab and Chinese ancestry.



The original Ra's al Ghul and Neeson as Ra's al Ghul







Talia in Batman: Under the Red Hood and Cotillard as Talia

5. Tilda Swinton

Role: The Ancient One in Dr. Strange and Eva Katchadourian in We Need to Talk About Kevin



Original race/ethnicity:: Asian; Armenian.



What's the excuse? Tilda Swinton is a thespian goddess and I love her unapolegetic weirdness as much as the next person, but she's also whiter than a Yeti in a snowstorm (according to John Oliver) and a double offender when it comes to accepting whitewashed roles.



In the Marvel comics, the Ancient One was born in Kamar-Taj, "a hidden land high in the Himalayas", and becomes a mentor to Doctor Strange. Swinton tried to justify her casting, saying that the script that I was presented with did not feature an Asian man for me to play, so that was never a question when I was being asked to do it. () There are very great reasons for us to feel very settled and confident with the decisions that were made.



Marvel also defended the decision: The Ancient One is a title that is not exclusively held by any one character, but rather a moniker passed down through time, and in this particular film the embodiment is Celtic.



Screenwriter Cargill went on record saying, The Ancient One was a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in a very weird political place. You know, he originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that hes Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people.



In We Need to Talk About Kevin, Swinton plays Eva Katchadourian, the child of Armenian immigrants. While Armenians are often considered white, it seems highly inappropriate to cast a practically albino woman from Scotland when an Armenian actress could have been cast instead.



Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One in Doctor Strange





Tilda Swinton as Eva Katchadourian; Tilda Swinton and Ezra Miller, who plays her son in We Need to Talk About Kevin

6. Christian Bale and the entire cast of Exodus: Gods and Kings

Role: Moses.



Original race/ethnicity: Hebrew/Egyptian.



What's the excuse? For some reason, actors from the British Isles are seen as the natural go-to choices for characters who hail from North Africa, the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings was no exception. The director went on record saying, "I cant mount a film of this budget, where I have to rely on tax rebates in Spain, and say that my lead actor is Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such. Im just not going to get it financed. So the question doesnt even come up."



Translation: I never tried and I don't ever want to. But this is also the guy who thought that casting an Italian(-American) actor to play a Roman posed too much of a risk, so who is surprised.

7. Anthony Hopkins

Role: Coleman Silk in The Human Stain.



Original race/ethnicity: African-American.



What's the excuse? None given. Hopkin's character is an African-American man who passed as white for most of his adult life. That doesn't justify why they actually cast an Caucasian man though.

8. Carey Mulligan

Role: Irene in Drive



Original race/ethnicity: Latina.



What's the excuse? Mulligan's vulnerable character was originally written for a young Latina. The director Nicolas Winding said, "I couldnt find any actress that would click with me personally. I couldnt make a decision for some reason. I had all this talent in front of me and out of the blue I get a call from Carey because she wanted to meet me about doing a movie. She came by the house and she walked in and I realized, Oh my God, this is what I was looking for. I wanted to protect her ... And I knew that was the Drivers motivation."



In other words, Mulligan campaigned for a role that otherwise could have gone to woc actresses.

9. Jake Gyllenhaal and the entire cast of Prince of Persia

Role: The title character.



Original race/ethnicity: Persian.



What's the excuse? None given, even though the cast was almost exclusively white (I don't want to know how big the spraytanning budget for this movie was). Jehanzeb Dar, an independent filmmaker, said: "This part really needed to go to someone whos Persian. Its not only insulting to Persians, its also insulting to white people. Its saying white people cant enjoy movies unless the protagonist is white."



Disney didn't respond. I guess real life really is more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker.

10. Rooney Mara

Role: Tiger Lily in Pan.



Original race/ethnicity: Native American.



What's the excuse? Mara told reporters: "I feel like there really hasnt been a proper interpretation of the character." (...) "I always thought of Tiger Lily as a Native American." (...) "[Joe] showed me all of these images that he had of all of these different cultures around the world, and he explained to me what his vision was for the native village. It made sense to me. They are natives of Neverland, a completely made-up place. Then it made sense to me."



Director Joe Wright stood by his decision to cast Mara: "I thought about the idea of having a Native American tribe, and that worried me actually. What would I be saying with that choice? So then I thought, well, where should they be from? And I couldn't decide, so I felt like picking just one race would be an unwise choice. So then I thought about the potential of them being the indigenous people of the (entire) planet."



Mara as Tiger Lily and the original Tiger Lily

11. Johnny Depp

Role: Tonto in The Lone Ranger.



Original race/ethnicity: Native American.



What's the excuse? Jacqueline Keeler, a Navajo/Yankton Dakota Sioux mother and one of the founders of the EONM (Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry) group said: There is a double standard regarding Native people and this dehumanizes us to our fellow Americans and reduces their actual knowledge of who we are today. As part of our continued focus on Redface and its continued acceptance by Americans, we are conducting a social media protest of 'The Lone Ranger's' Oscar nomination for Redface."



In contrast, Johnny Depp claimed that he considered the role a personal attempt "to try to right the wrongs of the past". He believes he has Native American ancestry, possibly from a great-grandmother.

12. Russell Crowe and the entire cast of Noah

In other words, Depp is about 1/328th Native American, soooo....

Role: The title character.



Original race/ethnicity: Middle Eastern.



What's the excuse? Screenwriter Ari Handel said, "From the beginning, we were concerned about casting, the issue of race. What we realized is that this story is functioning at the level of myth, and as a mythical story, the race of the individuals doesnt matter. Theyre supposed to be stand-ins for all people... You either try to put everything in there, which just calls attention to it, or you just say, 'Let's make [race] not a factor, because were trying to deal with everyman.'"



could he make it more obvious that he believes American viewers can't empathize with brown people and white is the default race JFC

13. Angelina Jolie

Role: Fox in Wanted and Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart.



Original race/ethnicity: African-American.



What's the excuse? None given. The creator of the original Wanted comic, Mark Millar, was enthusiastic about Jolie being cast. "The only way they could have got a bigger star to play this role is if they'd hired Tom Cruise in drag!" Screenwriter Dean Georgaris rewrote the screenplay to tailor the role of Fox specifically to Angelina Jolie, even though the original character was modeled after Halle Berry.



In A Mighty Heart, Jolie plays the role of Mariane Pearl, the wife of the kidnapped and later beheaded journalist Daniel Pearl. In real life, Pearl is a bi-racial woman of Afro-Cuban heritage with her mother Marita Van Neyenhoff being black. In response to casting complaints, Pearl said "I have heard some criticism about her casting, but it is not about the color of your skin. It is about who you are. I asked her to play the roleeven though she is way more beautiful than I ambecause I felt a real kinship to her. She put her whole heart into it, and I think she understood why we should do this movie. We had something to say that we knew we should say together."



Critics of the casting noted that Pearl seemed ambivalent about her black heritage and that Jolie's portrayal constituted blackface no matter what the intentions might have been.



The original Fox character and Jolie's portrayal





Jolie as Mariane Pearl

14. Benedict Cumberbatch

Role: Khan Noonien Singh (John Harrison) in Star Trek Into Darkness.



Original race/ethnicity: Indian.



What's the excuse? Once upon the time, Star Trek was a progressive series that displayed Gene Roddenberrys vision of a humanistic future. The show broke boundaries for poc actors and actresses and was notably feminist and anti-homophobic. While it was by no means perfect and still a product of its time, Star Trek made a point of treating all crew characters as individuals rather than stereotypes, going well beyond the usual restrictions of gender and race.



The rebooted Star Trek franchise has been, uh, somewhat less enthusiastic about its philosophical roots. In fact, Abrams described the old Star Trek as boring and unwatchable and made his version a dudebro's wet dream, complete with exploding planets and funny sexism.



When Cumberbatch was cast for Star Trek Into Darkness, the internet was teeming with rumors that the British actor might play the iconic character Khan Noonien Singh from the original series. This was immediately and strictly denied, although the fans were baited for months into guessing the identity of Cumberbatch's character.



Marissa Sammy from racebending.com notes: In the original Trek, Khan, with his brown skin, was an Ubermensch, intellectually and physically perfect, possessed of such charisma and drive that despite his efforts to gain control of the Enterprise, Captain Kirk (and many of the other officers) felt admiration for him. And thats why the role has been taken away from actors of colour and given to a white man. Racebending.com has always pointed out that villains are generally played by people with darker skin, and thats true  unless the villain is one with intelligence, depth, complexity. One who garners sympathy from the audience, or if not sympathy, then  as from Kirk  grudging admiration.



In 2015, Cumberbatch made headlines went he said, I think as far as coloured actors go, it gets really different in the UK, and a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here [in America] than in the UK, and thats something that needs to change.



Cumberbatch as Khan and the original Khan (played by the Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban)

15. Ben Affleck

Role: Tony Mendez in Argo.



Original race/ethnicity: 1/2 Mexican.



What's the excuse? Ben Affleck was criticized for playing Mendez despite having Irish roots.



The real Tony Mendez said: "I was born in the U.S. My family came there, to this location, Eureka, Nevada, during the time of the gold rush. (..) My great-grandfather came from Italy and he married an Irish woman and there was a French connection there. So, thats my mothers side. On the other side, on my fathers side, his family was originally from Mexico. (...) I dont think of myself as a Hispanic. I think of myself as a person who grew up in the desert. If I had been in a different family circumstance, I might have felt that way. But, mostly, my family was at odds with each other in a playful way, they werent talking about heritage in that regard."



The real Tony Mendez
Oil prices jumped on Wednesday in early trading as global stock markets rose and crude oil inventories were expected to fall sharply in the U.S., but as the trading day wore on, the gains were quickly erased.

Since the Brexit vote on June 23, the oil markets have seen renewed volatility after weeks of relative calm. Rather than necessarily moving on changes in fundamentals, crude prices have moved sharply with other key financials, including stocks, commodities, and currencies. Wednesday saw a continuation of that trend, with stocks rebounding while investors also moved out of safe-haven assets like the U.S. dollar and gold. Meanwhile, crude oil jumped by 1 percent during early trading.

My guess is that is pretty much done, Mark Waggoner, president of brokerage Excel Futures, told The Wall Street Journal, referring to the effects of the Brexit. Its run up. Its overdone. This whole Brexit thing is going to be (headed) to the sideline.

But crude also got a lift from new data that showed oil storage levels would continue to decline. A WSJ survey of analysts predicted U.S. oil inventories would fall by 2.3 million barrels last week. The American Petroleum Institute expected storage levels to decline by a much stronger 6.7 million barrels, a figure that appeared to be largely responsible for the oil price rally in early trading on Wednesday. But late Wednesday morning, the EIA revealed a more modest drawdown of 2.2 million barrels for the week ending on July 1. Following the release of the EIA numbers, crude oil pared back some of its gains and by midday, both WTI and Brent moved back into negative territory. Related: Lockheed Tech Breakthrough Is About To Revolutionize Oil Exploration

Elevated levels of gasoline stocks are also weighing on crude prices. After peaking in February at 258 million barrels, U.S. gasoline stockpiles fell sharply to 242 million barrels in March. But since then, gasoline storage levels have remained nearly flat. That is because refiners ramped up supply in expectation of scorching summer demand. U.S. motorists are indeed hitting the roads at record levels, but there is simply too much supply of refined product right now. That will keep a lid on any crude oil price rally.

China is also not providing a large demand stimulus to the market. "Growth is slipping again ... and things don't seem quite so rosy," HSBC said in a note to clients.

By Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
First Nation tribes in Canada secured a court victory against oil major Enbridges plan to build a pipeline transporting crude from Alberta to British Columbia, according to a report by Grist.

The company had been granted government approval for the US$7.9 billion project, but the court ruled on Wednesday that regulators failed to consult with First Nation tribes while mapping out the route of the pipeline, affecting their subsistence and well-being, entirely ignored.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized the Northern Gateway pipeline while running for his current position.

"On the Northern Gateway pipeline, I've said many times, the Great Bear Rainforest is no place for a crude oil pipeline," Trudeau told reporters in Montreal on Tuesday, after the court revealed its verdict.

Calgary-based Enbridge said it remains "fully committed" to completing the pipeline as it works with partners to determine the next steps.

Canada produces 2.3 million barrels of crude oil from tar sands every day, but the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline by U.S. President Barack Obama and the shutdown of the Northern Gateway line could lead oil and gas firms to abandon disconnected projects.

It definitely puts Canadian oil sands projects at risk, Abhishek Deshpande, an oil and gas analyst and expert, told CNBC.



Related: Why An Oil Price Crash Remains Unlikely

Two other pipeline projects  the TransMountain pipeline extension through British Columbia and the Energy East line through New Brunswick  have yet to begin construction. First Nation and environmental activists have vowed to demonstrate their opposition to both initiatives.

The TransMountain extension lies close a tributary river for the Fraser River  the most productive salmon-bearing stream on Earth, according to the native Canadians.

TransCanadas Energy East line would connect crude from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada at a rate of 1.1 million bpd.

By Zainab Calcuttawala of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The Energy Information Agency repored that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories declined by 2.2 million barrels in the week to July 1, standing at 524.4 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported that according to its calculations commercial inventories had dropped by 6.7 million barrels.

While the API figures sent WTI higher, the official data compiled by the EIA immediately weighed on the U.S. benchmark. WTI was trading at US$46.82 a barrel within an hour of the release of EIAs report.

The EIA remarked that the current level of commercial stockpiles is record-high for this time of year, when driving season is in full swing. Related to this, gasoline inventories were down by a meager 100,000 barrels, with the total remaining also above average for the time of year, and considerably. Gasoline production, on the other hand, went up by 10 million barrels daily.

Refineries in the U.S., operating at 92.5 percent of capacity, processed 16.7 million bpd last week, which was 8,000 barrels lower than the week before, on average.

In production, preliminary figures revealed a 194,000-barrel draw in the week to July 1.

The continuing record-high levels of crude and fuel stockpiles are worrying analysts, especially coupled with data about the addition of more active rigs across the shale play. As many as 11 oil rigs were added to the total in the week to July 1, Baker Hughes reported, indicating a returning confidence among shale oil producers, encouraged by the rally in oil prices. The sustainability of this rally is questionable, however, as international prices took a sharp plunge after Brexit on renewed worry about the state of the global economy.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The OnMilwaukee Summer Festivals Guide is presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Create your summer story by participating in casino wide promotions with the chance to win big. This summer I will own it! Click here for more details.

Andra Day may not yet be a household name, but after her Summerfest debut Wednesday evening at the BMO Harris Pavilion, theres little doubt in my mind that her time is coming.

It helps that shes had support from legends like Stevie Wonder, whose (now ex-) wife Kai Millard Morris passed along a YouTube video to him of Day singing in front of a strip mall, setting off a chain of events that would lead  albeit six years later  to a Grammy-nominated debut album, "Cheers to the Fall."

Days sound is both classic and contemporary. Her passionate vocals evoke the spirit of greats like Aretha Franklin, as well as contemporary revivalist acts, including the late Amy Winehouse and Adele. And her dedication to her craft has landed her key performances, such as a stint at the White House, a spot in an Apple commercial with Stevie Wonder and a performance alongside Ellie Goulding at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

And despite a relatively sparse crowd at the Pavilion, her hour-long Summerfest set offered Milwaukeeans a solid look at both her vocal chops and inviting personality.

Decked out in a gold jumpsuit and a Chieftains team jacket, the 31-year-old opened the night with the soaring "Forever Mine," a sirenic anthem that offered up a pleasant juxtaposition against the roaring sounds of classic rock pouring out of the Marcus Amphitheater.

From there, she moved easily into the equally emotional "Gold," in which she frankly depicts the shadows of her past infidelities.

"I like to pay tribute to artists who paved the way before us," she noted. "And this song is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago."

And with that, Day launched into a passionate version of Nina Simones "Mississippi Goddamn." Taking it on as her own, she tackled the pivotal civil rights anthem with a mixture of passion, respect and righteous anger.

Throughout the evening, Day's voice was deeply expressive and masterfully controlled. Maybe more notably, she exhibited the rare ability to transition from soulful R&B masterpieces into hip-hop cadences and jazz improvisation all in the same show.

But her singing wasnt the only aspect of her performance that deserves mention. Naturally charismatic, she was also eloquent and genuine in her dealings with the crowd, her stage presence creating an intimacy rarely found between performer and audience.

Day describes her album as autobiographical, a claim that might seem trite if it werent for the beautifully raw vulnerability evident in the performance of songs like "Rearview" and "Red Flags," which conjured her darkness and pain in a manner reminiscent of Billie Holiday.

In between original compositions, she entertained the crowd with well-executed covers that artfully conjured the spirits of their original artists while bearing a distinctive "Andra Day" stamp. Her talent for creative arrangements came through in a medley of Bob Marley hits. Meanwhile, her jazz-inspired cover of Kendrick Lamars "No Make-Up (Her Vice)" took on new meaning as she deftly tackled the topic of self-acceptance.

"I always felt more comfortable with a full face of makeup," she said, describing fears about her self-image as a younger woman.

"But the more secure I became, the more I set aside those things," she went on, rubbing off the remains of her makeup right there on stage.

"I hope these wipes work, cuz this stuff is crazy," she noted with a chuckle.

The emotional centerpiece of her set was her hit "Rise Up," before which she set the crowd in motion with a direct appeal.

"Music is a gift from God and can be a tool, an entity for healing," she said. "People struggling with hopelessness, anxiety, depression  these are real issues. Let's commit to joy. Don't just sing this song to uplift yourself. Uplift others."

And as she spoke and then began to sing, people stood up from their seats. Men and women cheered. And I found myself growing bleary-eyed as those clean, clear notes rang from her vocal chords, prompting the raising of arms and the swaying of collective hips.

I rise up! #AndraDay #Summerfest A photo posted by Vivian King (@vivianlking) on Jul 6, 2016 at 8:54pm PDT

Of course, theres nothing like a Queen cover to end just about any concert  though show me a performer who can knock out a version of "I Want it All" with more effect than Day, and Id be shocked.

"I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now," she growled, prowling across the stage, belting out each phrase with abandon before collapsing backwards onto the floor in a dramatic flourish straight out of the Freddie Mercury playbook.

A crowd that was formerly sedate and serious had become a cheering mass. And Day smiled wide and genuinely as she exited the stage, leaving a frenzy of guitar licks and percussion in her wake.

Set list

"Forever Mine"

"Gold"

"Mississippi Goddamn" (Nina Simone cover)

"Honey or Fire"

"No Make Up" (Kendrick Lamar cover)

"Only Love"

"Rearview"

"Red Flags"

Bob Marley Medley

"Mistakes"

"Goodbye Goodnight"

"Rise Up"

"Cheers to the Fall"

"City Burns"

"I Want it All" (Queen cover)
Reprinted from Truthdig

British voters' decision to leave the European Union last week caused panic in world financial markets, with stocks dropping like a stone around the world. The British pound and the euro sank, and many "experts" lamented the beginning of the end of the EU. Maybe it's true that Brexit will lead to a period of instability in stock markets, currencies and European politics. But there's a bigger issue at play -- European foreign policy in support of U.S. interventions around the world.

As Chris Hedges eloquently noted in a recent Truthdig column, the U.K. is generally viewed as the closest ally of the United States. Washington uses that relationship to push its foreign policy under the guise of European and Western unity.

Is Libya falling apart? The U.S. and EU intervene, and it's all a show of unity.

The U.S. identifies a ragtag handful of Syrian "moderates," and the next thing you know, the entire alliance is wasting its resources arming them.



The U.S. wants to put a yes-man in power in Ukraine, and the EU nods silently in assent.

But that's not a working alliance. That's neoliberalism run amok. That's Washington using its big stick on its friends.

The mainstream media has made a great deal of Brexit being the result of British reaction against immigration. That's a shallow and not terribly analytic assessment. The truth is that Washington selfishly needs a unified EU to help fight its wars around the world. It needs the British to lean on other European countries to do its bidding.

But many Brits said no. They no longer want their troops committed to fighting in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. They no longer want to intervene in places like Libya, Syria and Ukraine. They no longer want to be the U.S. mouthpiece in Europe. They no longer want to take their marching orders on defense and foreign affairs from Washington.

Now they don't have to. The "special relationship" notwithstanding, the EU no longer will have to follow Brits down the rabbit hole when the White House says to do so. Now the Germans, Italians, French, Spanish, Greeks and other EU members can tell Barack Obama and whoever comes after him to go fly a kite when it's time to wage war on somebody new.

The only shame is that, at least in this election cycle, Americans won't have the same choice. Donald Trump already has promised the American people that he will bring back torture and that he will "get tough" with friends and enemies alike. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has never seen a war she didn't love and want to fund. Both a Trump and a Clinton foreign policy would be an extension of the Obama foreign policy, which, frankly, has been nothing more than an extension of the George W. Bush foreign policy.

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein are fighting the good fight. Johnson especially may have an opportunity to be a player in this election. His anti-interventionist campaign is consistently pulling 10 percent or more in major national polls. But our next president is going to be Trump or Clinton.

This year was the end of politics as usual in the U.K., whether or not one agrees with the decision to leave the EU. Americans will have to wait until 2020 or later for a chance at real change.
by Sen. Doug Whitsett

Oregon has been spent into a monumental, multi-agency, multi-billion dollar budgetary hole during the past several legislative sessions. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is among the state agencies facing the worst financial challenges for the 2017-19 biennium and beyond. Most of the agencys financial woes are the result of legislative and agency management decisions made over the past dozen years.

The lions share of ODOTs state highway division funding is raised by the fuel and weight-per-mile taxes, as well as certain vehicle license and registration fees. That highway fund revenue is constitutionally dedicated to the maintenance, preservation and construction of Oregon highways and bridges.

ODOTs budget has traditionally been done on a pay-as-you-go basis. Prior to 2002, the agency was not authorized to spend more revenue than it collected during each budget cycle.

That all changed during the administrations of former Governors John Kitzhaber and Ted Kulongoski. An undeniably large backlog of much-needed highway and bridge improvements had accumulated. At the time, the amount of money needed to pay for those deferred highway construction projects would have required very significant increases in fuel and weight-per-mile taxes. Rather than taking potentially unpopular actions to raise the necessary revenue, legislators began approving a series of laws authorizing borrowing the money to pay for the needed highway projects.

Legislators were told the agency would be able to immediately spend about six dollars, on highway and bridge construction projects, for each dollar borrowed and bonded against future income from newly enacted highway taxes and fees. The principle and interest on the new highway revenue bonds would be paid by future revenue raised from the new taxes and fees.

A super-majority of the Legislative Assembly allowed themselves to be repeatedly convinced this was good fiscal policy. They enacted smaller tax and fee increases, and bonded a lot of the future revenue from those increases, to get a much greater bang for the buck.

Beginning in 2003, the Legislative Assembly enacted a series of Oregon Transportation Investment Acts as well as the 2009 Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act to help address the backlog of bridge repairs and the expansion of Oregon highway capacity. The preponderance of the new highway and bridge construction projects were funded by issuing highway revenue bonds.

The new laws required the debt to be repaid with fuel and weight-per-mile tax receipts collected over the next 25 years. I voted against these bills because I was concerned they would diminish the state highway fund and negatively affect ODOTs future ability to maintain highways throughout Oregon.

The Legislative Assembly also authorized borrowing several hundred million dollar in lottery revenue bonds to fund a series of Connect Oregon bills. Originally, the funding was to be used for needed multimodal freight and public transit projects. Most of those projects have already been completed. They will be paid for out of the states share of future lottery earnings over the next 25 years. I voted for these bills because they did not negatively impact the capacity of the state highway fund.

The ODOT highway division has been spending nearly half a billion dollars of this borrowed money during each two-year budget cycle for more than a decade. The projects funded with borrowed money did pay for improvements to bridges and other key aspects of our state highway, transit and freight infrastructure. However, the debt accrued to fund all that work is now jeopardizing the agencys entire budget.

As previously stated, the principle and interest on all highway revenue bonds must be paid out of future state highway funds. The debt service on currently outstanding highway revenue bonds will cost nearly half a billion dollars per budget cycle until the year 2034. Additionally, the principle and interest on lottery revenue bonds must be paid from the states share of future lottery earnings.

ODOT has already spent all but about $100 million of the bonded money. Between four and a half billion and five billion dollars of future highway fund and lottery revenue will be required to pay the total principle and interest on all of that borrowed money. Not a single dollar of that enormous amount of money will be available to maintain, preserve or build Oregon highways until after the year 2034.

In short, a future generation will be forced to pay for the roads and bridges and other facilities constructed with the proceeds from these highway and lottery revenue bonds. That infrastructure will largely be deteriorated by the time the debt is repaid.

The story being told to Oregonians is that revenues derived from the fuel taxes are declining and are now inadequate to meet the agencys needs. Further, the alleged revenue reduction is supposedly due to increasing fuel efficiency and the advent of more electric and hybrid vehicles.

These allegations simply are not accurate. Both fuel tax and weight per mile tax revenues coming into Oregon state highway fund coffers have continued to increase each biennium in an almost linear fashion. Receipts from vehicle license and registration fees have continued to grow in a similar manner.

The number of electric and hybrid cars registered in Oregon is hardly a rounding error compared to the total number of automobiles registered in the state. Their cumulative effect on either highway wear and tear or highway fund revenue is insignificant and is likely to remain negligible into the foreseeable future.

The real reasons for ODOTs budget shortfall are significantly more complex. The monumental budget deficit is caused by a combination of the agencys growing and prolonged debt payments, the reality that there is no more borrowed money to spend, the impending huge compensation increases for its approximately 2,500 highway division employees and its propensity for spending too much highway fund revenue for highway-related purposes. The states own graphics demonstrate both the causes and the immense size of that fiscal cliff.

ODOT spends an enormous amount of highway fund money on agency administration, land use and environmental mitigation planning, as well as other non-highway motor vehicle services, including certain funding for public transit, highway and bridge art, extensive landscaping, facilities for bicycle and pedestrians, solar installations and electric vehicle charging stations. Much of this spending could, and I believe should, be refocused on the actual preservation, maintenance and construction of highways and bridges.

ODOT leadership and some legislators appear to be promoting the enactment of a vehicle mileage tax (VMT) to raise the money needed to continue funding its operations. According to this recent article in the Oregonian, the VMT may be among the options considered by lawmakers in the upcoming 2017 session to help ODOT fill its ever-growing budget gap.

Make no mistake, simple math demonstrates the proposed 1.5 cent per mile VMT is anything but a revenue neutral shift in how Oregonians are charged to use their highways. It would create a massive tax increase for vehicles that are designed to comply with the federal Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards.

Oregon currently charges a 30 cent per gallon tax on motor fuel. An automobile making 20 miles per gallon (MPG) would break even at the proposed level of taxation and vehicles making less than 20 MPG could actually pay less. However, for vehicles designed to comply with CAFE standards, the proposed VMT will amount to a 50 percent increase for cars making 30 MPG, a 100 percent increase for cars making 40 MPG and a 200 percent increase for cars making 60 MPG.

Trucks currently pay a commensurate weight-per-mile tax based on their calculated share of wear and tear they cause to Oregon roads. The proposed new tax would equitably increase the weight-per-mile tax to maintain that balance of shared cost.

Moreover, the VMT will unfairly tax rural Oregonians who must drive further for virtually every daily activity. For instance, a five-mile round trip to the grocery store would tax an urban dweller seven and a half cents, while each 70-mile round trip to town will tax the rural Oregonian $1.05, regardless of vehicle fuel mileage.

As is often the case in Oregon, ODOT officials began their attempts to implement a VMT through voluntary means. A pilot project, OreGO, was launched in the hopes of demonstrating Oregons success in being the first state in the nation to fund its highway division with a VMT.

ODOT spent more than $6 million attempting to convince a minimum of 5,000 Oregonians to volunteer to sign up for the pilot program. Agency expenses included extensive travel to other states and nations to convince their governments to enact similar taxes. Thus far, no other jurisdiction within the United States has enacted a VMT.

The lack of public support among Oregonians for either the VMT or the pilot program is also apparent. To date, fewer than 900 Oregonians have volunteered for the demonstration project. The bleak, less than 20 percent participation rate, was achieved only after the agencys staff mounted a statewide promotional campaign and ODOT paid a public relations firm more than half a million dollars over two years to promote the pilot project.

In order to bolster those dismal volunteer numbers, the aforementioned Oregonian article states that ODOT appears to have leveraged the inclusion of about 50 more vehicles from the fleets of four private firms that contract with the agencys highway construction division. Still, basic math shows how this social engineering experiment has cost taxpayers nearly $7,000 per vehicle registered in the program.

The use of borrowed money, and other budgetary ploys, is far too often instrumental in the legislative process. The gimmicks are routinely used for building political and public support for programs that would not otherwise pass scrutiny or gain approval. The long-term consequences of such approaches are proving to be both prohibitively expensive to the public and severely limiting to the ability of our public agencies to function effectively. Oregon voters should expect, and demand, better use of their tax money.

Political leadership assumes that someone is actually following. Oregons elected and bureaucratic elite have a long history of attempting to be first, regardless of precedent, fiscal confidence or widespread public support. Ironically, we were the first state in the nation to implement a gas tax!

Another good example of this includes our statewide, comprehensive land use system that we started in the 1970s that no other state has emulated to date. More recent examples include our motor voter automatic voter registration program, a three-tiered minimum wage that perpetuates income inequality based on geography and an anti-coal bill that will nearly double Oregonians utility bills, do very little to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and, at best, subsidize green energy jobs in other states.

Too often, these well intended we know better than the voting public schemes have been enacted at the expense of their constituents. In my opinion, it is time for ODOT management and legislators alike to abandon their VMT concept that virtually no one else appears to like or want.

Senator Doug Whitsett is the Republican state senator representing Senate District 28  Klamath Falls
Buying a smartphone can be challenging these days. Not because you don't have options to choose from because today you have a plenty of options to choose from. There has been a lot of action in the sub Rs 15,000 price category as not only the Chinese smartphone players but also Indian manufacturers are focusing on this price category and have launched some great devices in the market. Here is our pick of the top five smartphones under Rs 15,000 in no specific order.

Redmi Note 3: Rs 9,999/Rs 11,999

After keeping quiet for a few months, Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 3, which is a fine piece of hardware. With a metal body and curved edges, the Remdi Note 3 has got a 5.5inch full HD display which offers great coloured reproduction. It is available in two variants - 2 GB RAM along with 16 GB of internal storage and 3 GB RAM with 32 GB storage. The former is priced at Rs 9,999 and the latter configuration comes at Rs 11,999. Both the variants are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset. It features a 16-MP rear camera and a 5-MP front facing camera. This is a dual-SIM phone and connectivity options include Wi-Fi, LTE and more. It packs in a 4,050-mAh battery that can easily last a day. There is also a fingerprint sensor at the rear where the hand rests naturally and it is quick to unlock the phone.

LeEco Le 2: Rs 11,999

LeEco, yet another Chinese brand, entered the Indian market in January this year. It's LeEco 1s was in direct competition to the Redmi Note 3. Just six months down the line, the company has introduced the successor to the Le1s, Le 2. Having a same metal body with curved edges, the Le 2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor and is paired with 3 GB of RAM. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system and is a dual SIM smartphone. Even one this one packs in a 16-MP rear camera with features such as HDR, auto focus, face detection, etc. It is equipped with an 8-MP front facing camera.

Motorola G Plus: Rs 14,999

Motorola's Moto G smartphones gave a new lease to mid-budget segment when launched in India in 2013. Since then, it has been the favorite mid-budget smartphone for many. While the company might be losing to the competition on the specification war, the overall built quality and hardware is worth praising. Ther Moto G Plus looks identical to the Moto G 4th generation and has got a fingerprint sensor. It features 5.5-inch full HD display and comes with Snapdragon 617 processor. The Plus model is available in 32 GB storage paired with 3 GB of RAM for Rs 14,999. There is also a 16-GB variant with 2 GB of RAM. It features a 16-MP rear camera with a 5-MP front facing camera and has a 3,000-mAh battery onboard.

Samsung Galaxy J7: Rs 13,500

After facing heat from the Chinese players, Samsung is also focusing on the mid-budget smartphone space and the Galaxy J7 is the company's best offering at this price. It is powered by Samsung Exynos Octa-core processor and is paired with 1.5 GB of RAM. It features a 5.5-inch display and has a 13-MP rear camera a 5-MP front facing camera. It has a 3,000-mAh battery onboard.

Lenovo K4 Note: Rs 10,999

It has been some time since this device was launched but the K4 Note is the best offering from Lenovo till date. It is powered by Mediatek Octa-core processor with 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB of expandable memory. It runs on Android 5.1 operating system and packs in a 3,100-mAh battery. It is a dual-SIM device with a 5.5-inch full HD display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. There is a 13-MP rear camera and a 5-MP frontfacing camera. The device has decent build quality.




Presidential staffer Kojo Adu Asare says he finds it hypocritical on the part of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for their uncharitable stance on the Montie fm incident. He said the NPP does worse things on PRO NPP station Oman fm.



Mr Adu Asare said this on Accra based TV3s New Day programme.



The posture of the NPP is nauseating to say the least. They do worse things on Oman fm. Its outrageous the sort of things that are said on that program called Boiling point or whatever. That program has been created to just insult, denigrate and malign the NDC and anybody else who shares a dissenting view with the NPP. You remember it was on that programe that Sir John said those nasty things about the Supreme Court judges that got him into trouble? And guess what it is owned by Kennedy Agyepong. So lets not focus only Montie fm but also all other stations or presenters at radio stations who have said some really nasty things about prominent persons in our society and criticize them as well or possibly bring them to book. Werent we in this country when Kojo Yankson of Joyfm said that the president is an armed robber? What happened to him? We are told hes been suspended. Interestingly the station which Kojo Yankson said this outrageous matter on is today riding on the moral high horse and saying Muntie fm is doing amounts to the lowest ebb of journalistic practice he added



The former Adenta MP was reacting to calls by the opposition for Montie fm to be shut down and its management punished for allowing abusive language to be used on the station. The call follows statements by two panelists, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn during a current affairs programme on the radio station, threatening to finish the Supreme Court and High Court judges if they made any judgment against the Electoral Commission in the ongoing court case challenging the validity of the voters register. The two commentators are said to have been angered by the courts orders for the EC to submit all the names of person who registered with NHIS cards prior to the 2012 elections last week.



The Management of the station has described the incident as unfortunate and have gone ahead to ban the two panelists until further notice. It came barely a day after the Supreme Court cited the owners of the station, the host, and the two panelists for contempt. The radio station, in a statement signed by its General Manager, Mutala Mohammed, also apologized to the Chief Justice and Justices of the Supreme Court over the seemingly incendiary comments.



Mr Adu Asare has commended the station and the culprits for apologizing to the supreme Court Judges. He however urged the party followers not to leave them in the cold because of one unfortunate incident.



Montie fm is owned by one of our own. The station has been sympathetic to our course. The station was not set up to denigrate people. It was set up to serve as a mouth piece for our partys grassroot supporters to also get the opportunity to contribute to national discourse. So if today something untoward has happened, this is not the time for us to disown them and treat them like the black sheep. We all know Montie has also done some fantastic things also which the public can attest to. The have apologized and it is our since hope that our learned Justices will show some mercy and accept the apology and mitigate whatever punitive measures they have for them he said.



Alistair Nelson, one of the panelists, has since apologized for his comment, whereas the other, Godwin Ako Gunn, has denied being part of the radio programme during which the comments were made.





Source: Peacefmonline.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
Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Initiate Phase III Trial to Evaluate Avelumab as First-line Treatment for Ovarian Cancer

Details Category: Antibodies Published on Thursday, 07 July 2016 08:38 Hits: 2075

First Phase III trial evaluating the addition of an immune checkpoint inhibitor to standard of care in first-line ovarian cancer New investigational regimen will evaluate avelumab in extending progression-free survival in treatment-naive women

July 6, 2016 I Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) today announced the initiation of a Phase III study, JAVELIN Ovarian 100, to evaluate the efficacy and safety of avelumab* in combination with, and/or as follow-on (maintenance) treatment to, platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease (Stage III or Stage IV) with previously untreated epithelial ovarian cancer. JAVELIN Ovarian 100 is the first Phase III study evaluating the addition of an immune checkpoint inhibitor to standard-of-care in first-line treatment for this aggressive disease.

In an early ongoing study, avelumab showed encouraging tumor response rates in patients with recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer, said Alise Reicin, M.D., Head of Global Clinical Development at the biopharma business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which in the US and Canada operates as EMD Serono. Historically, ovarian cancer presents as an advanced disease with poor survival rates. The hope is that avelumab can change the natural history of the disease and potentially take the survival rate beyond the current five year estimate.

JAVELIN Ovarian 100 is an open-label, international, multi-center, randomized (1:1:1) Phase III trial in treatment naive patients with locally advanced or metastatic ovarian cancer (Stage III or Stage IV). This study is designed to evaluate the potential superiority of two first-line therapies with avelumab and platinum-based chemotherapy versus platinum-based chemotherapy alone, as assessed by progression-free survival. The study will enroll approximately 950 patients, who will receive concurrent avelumab and chemotherapy, avelumab following chemotherapy, or chemotherapy alone.

Patients with ovarian cancer need additional treatment options. We believe there could be synergistic activity in the combination of avelumab and established treatments such as platinum-based chemotherapy, said Chris Boshoff, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Early Development, Translational and Immuno-Oncology, Oncology in Pfizer Global Product Development. With two studies now underway of avelumab in ovarian cancer, we look forward to receiving the results from these trials and continuing to break ground in this hard-to-treat cancer.

The alliance aims to build a strong foundation in ovarian cancer. In December 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer announced the initiation of an international Phase III study of avelumab as a treatment for platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer. As of May 2016, the complete JAVELIN clinical development program for avelumab includes approximately 2,200 patients enrolled, being treated across more than 15 tumor types.

For more information about avelumab, please visit www.powerofcombination.com (link is external).

*Avelumab is the proposed nonproprietary name for the anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (MSB0010718C). Avelumab is under clinical investigation and has not been proven to be safe and effective. There is no guarantee any product will be approved in the sought-after indication by any health authority worldwide.

References

1. GLOBOCAN2012. International Agency for Research on Cancer. World Health Organization. http://globocan.iarc.fr/Default.aspx (link is external). Last accessed June 1, 2016.

2. Ovarian Cancer Statistics. World Cancer Research Fund International. http://www.wcrf.org/int/cancer-facts-figures/data-specific-cancers/ovarian-cancer-statistics (link is external). Last accessed June 1, 2016.

About Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer causes more deaths than any other gynecologic cancer globally. Each year, nearly a quarter of a million women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer worldwide.1 Women in Europe and Northern America have the highest incidence rates of ovarian cancer.2 Patients are said to have 'platinum-resistant' disease if the disease worsens within 6 months of completing platinum-based chemotherapy. One quarter of those who relapse after initial treatment, more than 4,300 women, will have platinum-resistant cancer, the most difficult-to-treat form of the disease.

About Avelumab

Avelumab (also known as MSB0010718C) is an investigational, fully human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody. By inhibiting PD-L1 interactions, avelumab is thought to enable the activation of T-cells and the adaptive immune system. By retaining a native Fc-region, avelumab is thought to potentially engage the innate immune system and induce antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). In November 2014, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer announced a strategic alliance to co-develop and co-commercialize avelumab.

Alliance between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Inc., New York, US

Immuno-oncology is a top priority for Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Inc. The global strategic alliance between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and Pfizer Inc., New York, US, enables the companies to benefit from each others strengths and capabilities and further explore the therapeutic potential of avelumab, an investigational anti-PD-L1 antibody initially discovered and developed by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The immuno-oncology alliance will jointly develop and commercialize avelumab and advance Pfizers PD-1 antibody. The alliance is focused on developing high-priority international clinical programs to investigate avelumab as a monotherapy, as well as in combination regimens, and is striving to find new ways to treat cancer.

About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to www.emdgroup.com/subscribe (link is external) to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service.

Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life  from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of  12.85 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials in the United States and Canada.

For further details and press materials about Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany products please visit http://www.emdgroup.com/emd/media/media_center_oncology.html (link is external).

SOURCE: Pfizer
QUEENSBURY  A New York City man who was arrested last spring for using stolen credit cards at local businesses pleaded guilty recently to a felony charge.

Davante A. Williams, 29, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to second-degree identity theft for use of cards at stores in Queensbury in May 2015.

He paid $1,461 restitution, and likely faces 5 years on probation when sentenced Aug. 3 by Warren County Judge John Hall.
BALLSTON SPA  The Corinth man who was on trial in recent weeks for repeatedly sexually abusing two children was convicted of all charges Thursday.

The Saratoga County jury found Arthur A. Gannon, 48, guilty of 10 felony charges for sexual abuse of two young girls with whom he was acquainted, including counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, attempted rape, sexual abuse and criminal sexual act.

The jury found Gannon guilty after little more than 2 hours of deliberations.

The verdict wrapped up a trial before Judge James Murphy that has stretched over 7 weeks, according to The Post-Star's newspartner WNYT-TV NewsChannel13. Murphy instructed the jury on the charges Thursday morning, and deliberations started Thursday afternoon.

He faces counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, sexual abuse, use of a child in a sexual performance and promoting a sexual performance by a child.

Gannon and his wife, Heidi L. Gannon, 39, were arrested by the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office last July for alleged repeated sexual abuse of the two girls, with whom they were acquainted. Charges are still pending against Mrs. Gannon, and her trial will be held separately from her husband's.

Mr. Gannon faces up to 25-years-to-life in state prison on the predatory sexual assault against a child count, the weightiest charge against him.
HARTFORD  An angry ex-boyfriend has turned his farm business sign into a series of rants against his ex-girlfriend, pushing the limits of free speech in a very public way.

The sign, outside Horny Hill Farm on Route 196, used to advertise the price of beef that William Donaldson raised and sold. Currently, it calls Robin Dibble a town slut and adds, wish someone told me.

Previously, it said Dibble was pure evil. In both cases, the sign included her name in large capital letters.

Donaldson did not return calls seeking comment on his sign. But Dibble is speaking out.

I am humiliated. Me and my family have to live here, she said.

She said Donaldson has also repeatedly texted her, warning her in obscene language that she messed with the wrong man. Recently, he began contacting her business associates, alleging that she commits incest and is a sexual predator, Dibble said.

State Police are investigating and may discuss the case with the district attorneys office. They are investigating whether Donaldson can be charged with second-degree harassment, a violation. But charging him is tricky, because of free speech protections.

I could see where they might not be sure whether it fits the harassment statute or not, said District Attorney Tony Jordan. You do have that element of what is protected and unprotected speech.

He noted the Supreme Court said free speech includes hurtful and mean-spirited speech.

Hurtful alone is not enough to ban the speech, Jordan said. It will depend on where and how and in what context.

Free speech has also stopped the town of Hartford from taking action. Hartford has regulations on signs, but only on size.

The town is powerless to influence the content of the sign, said Hartford Supervisor Dana Haff. I think that the sign is offensive and vulgar but allowed by the First Amendment.

Haff contacted State Police and helped Dibble connect with resources for pro bono legal help.

I think Robin has some legal recourse, he said. In my opinion, its defamation of character.

The whole situation began on May 18, when Donaldson told Dibble to leave his house, Dibble said.

It wasnt the first time.

He would say, You need to leave. He was drunk. And then when he was sober the next day hed tell me to come back, she said.

But on May 18, she said enough was enough.

He went back to drinking and Im not dealing with that, she said.

Instead of just leaving, she also moved her horses out.

He started texting angry rants at her before she even arrived at the boarding facility she had arranged for her horses, she said.

She thought that would be the end of it. Then the messages went up on his farm sign.

I was shocked. I was completely floored, she said. He lost it. He needs help. I really sort of felt sorry for him.

But then came the Facebook posts and messages to business associates, alleging ever more dramatic sexual misdeeds. Thats when she started pushing for police help.

Its got to a point its affecting me and my family, she said. This is humiliating and I cannot believe nothing can be done.
The celebration weekend of the Declaration of Independence has passed. Time for some serious thinking for many of us. Your full page publication dated July 3, page A6, is without doubt, in my opinion, the most impressive reading I have experienced reading your paper for 40 years plus. This page contains a well written editorial by your board and the printing of the Declaration of Independence as authored by John Adams early in July 1776.

I compliment you and congratulate you. The Declaration lists several, to say the least, acts by the British Empire in extending unwarranted jurisdiction of the 13 United Colonies of the United States. In today's modern language, Congress on July 4 sent this message, "Enough is enough." Thus the birth of an independent nation, the birth of the greatest country on Earth. We intend to, and will, keep that rating!
Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

Read more
Ghanas agricultural sector is still very dependent on rainfall and general weather patterns. The consequence, however, is that in years when rainfall patterns have not been favourable, food production is drastically hampered.

The farmers made the call at a one-day regional consultative forum organized by the Coalition of Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (CSADA), a group of Civil Society Organizations in Tamale, in partnership with the Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) and the Concerned Citizens Association of Tamale (CCAT).

READ MORE: General Agriculture Workers Union GAWU raises alarm on looming food shortage

A low hanging fruits plan to address immediate needs in terms of extreme poverty reduction, social development and protection, the environment and infrastructure gaps among others has been put in place, he said.
This has been attributed to a reduction in investment in exploration, coupled with reforms in the mining code and security issues posed by illegal mining activities.

According to recent research by the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Burkina Faso and Cote dIvoire have overtaken Ghana in the volumes of investments in new exploration.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Suleimana Kone says Ghanas reputation as the second biggest mining hub in Africa is fast declining.

Ghana has a reputation, worldwide, of being the biggest mining hub in West Africa, and the second in Africa. However, latest developments have gradually eroded this standing and we cant take it for granted.

Mr. Kone expressed worry about the declining levels of new investments and exploration. According to him the future of mining in Ghana is currently unclear.
A drone is a small aircraft piloted by computers on board or by remote controls on the ground. They are often used for military purposes because they don't put a pilot's life at risk in combat zones. However, with the advancement of technology, drones can now be produced for commercial use.

READ MORE:10 emerging technologies shaping African tech

At a stakeholders forum to discuss drone usage and its integration in Ghanas airspace, a number of measures were proposed to ensure air safety.

The proposed restrictions is that RPAS or drones should not be flown within 10 km radius for instrument airports and 5 km for non-instrument airports. It should also not be flown 400 feet high, Mr. Kofi Danso, Air Traffic Control, GCAA said at the forum.

The GCAA in June rolled out new guidelines for the use of drones, because of the threats they pose to humans, property and other aircrafts.

The new guidelines are meant to serve as supplementary to the Ghana Civil Aviation (Safety) Regulations, 2011, L.I. 2000.

The guidelines are also to ensure safety in the operations of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

The new guidelines are as follows:

1. No person shall operate an RPAS without a license issued by the Authority.

2. No RPAS pilot shall operate an RPAS except in accordance with the ratings, limitations or endorsements of their license.

3. The exercise of the privileges granted by a remote pilot license shall depend on the validity of the license, the medical certificate and if applicable, of the ratings contained in the license.

4. An RPAS piloting license shall be valid for a period of five (5) years, renewable every year upon proof of a valid medical certificate.

READ MORE: Aviation Authority takes strict stance on use of drones
There have been many improvements in health care for Ghanaians but they still face most of the common diseases that are endemic for sub-Saharan African countries. Malaria is still the biggest cause of mortality in Ghana with a third of hospital admissions being due to this insect borne disease. The course and community internship will provide students with a view to both the biology and practical challenges of managing disease from a healthcare policy and delivery perspective.

Due to the increasing interest with health care, Lancaster University Ghana is set to host a health conference on 8th and 9th September under the theme Current and Future Challenges for Medical Management in West Africa.

The summer school is open to current students at Boston University and Lancaster University who have completed at least one year of undergraduate studies including at least one undergraduate course in biomedical or biological sciences. Boston University and Lancaster University will select their own students to take part.

Students will live in modern style dorm rooms within a short walk from the LUG campus. Lancaster Universitys Accra-based branch campus was launched in 2013 and is the only one of its kind in West Africa. It is committed to producing graduates who have the skills and knowledge to meet Africas industrial, societal and governmental needs.

Students across Africa now can access Lancasters academic excellence in teaching and research on the African continent. A key element of Lancasters global strategy is to forge closer teaching and research collaborations with international partners.
He delivered an address about the cooperation between his country and Ghana in the area of youth development and education. The trip had been largely uneventful until that visit to the university.

That is because, after the address, Mukherjee unveiled a statue of Mohandas Karamchand; widely known as Mahatma Gandhi; Indias independence hero.

The statue is on the Accra campus, at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research.

This has led to agitations from many students, alumni and ordinary Ghanaians who have expressed dissatisfaction.

With the slogans Gandhi Must Fall and Gandhi For Come Down (pidgin for Gandhi must come down), the agitators are calling for the immediate withdrawal of the statue because they do not believe Gandhi is worth celebrating and emulating.

It is inspired by the Rhodes Must Fall movement started by South African students and led to the felling of the statues of many colonialists and apartheid supporters including that of Cecil Rhodes on the campus of the University of Cape Town in 2015. There has since been efforts to get Rhodes statue at Oxford University; where his estate left behind large sums of money to be used as scholarships, also downed.

But why has Gandhis life proven so controversial?

In a blogpost, a student at the university, Kofi Opare Hagan, said he (Gandhi) believed Indians across the country were equal to one another  in the eyes of their creator- and equal to their British colonial masters; but his charity didnt extend to blacks.

Gandhi was an unrepentant racist whose low and contemptuous view of blacks is well documented, both by himself and by historians.

Campaigners cite quotes from Gandhi made during his two decade life in South Africa. In 2015, two South African academics published a book that explored Gandhis life in the country.

Goolam Vahed and Ashwin Desei argued that during the lawyers time in southern Africa, he was satisfied with the treatment of black Africans but could not understand why Indians were treated the same. He argued for improved rights for Indians because they were better than the kaffirs; a derogatory term to refer to black people.

Quotes attributed to Gandhi

It was a gross injustice to seek to place Indians in the same class as the Kaffirs. - May 22, 1906

Ours is one continual struggle against a degradation sought to be inflicted upon us by the Europeans, who desire to degrade us to the level of the raw Kaffir whose occupation is hunting, and whose sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with and, then, pass his life in indolence and nakedness. - Sept. 26, 1896

Your Petitioner has seen the Location intended to be used by the Indians. It would place them, who are undoubtedly infinitely superior to the Kaffirs, in close proximity to the latter. - Before May 27, 1899

These quotes challenge the dominant Indian historiography of Gandhi which depict him as an icon of tolerance and nonviolence.

Gandhis statues around the world have been controversial. In 2015, the bronze statue in Johannesburg was defaced with white paint.

The importance of statues?

Statues are important aspects of history and serve as a way of commemorating an individual deemed to have done great things. Like symbols such as street names and buildings, they immortalise an individual and his achievements.

The universitys response

Pulse News reached the University for a comment on the concerns raised by Hagan. Its public relations officer agreed to an interview but did not respond to numerous calls at the agreed time. We also reached the Indian High Commission for a comment and were told there was nobody to speak to.
"Management condemns absolutely the said statements which it considers regrettable and dissociates itself from those statements.

"Management wishes to assure all Ghanaians of its resolve not to condone any action that will in any way tend to undermine the administration of justice in our country, nor shall management condone any action that will tend to compromise the safety and security of members of the judiciary or the peace and stability of Ghana," the station said in a statement.

The station further noted that it has initiated the necessary disciplinary proceedings against the host and the producer of the programme, as well as banned the said panelists from appearing on any programme of the station until further notice.

The judges subsequently issued a warrant for them to appear before them and answer to the charge of contempt.

This was after two political commentators; Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn appeared on the radio station and tried to incite people against the Supreme Court judges for their judgment on the voters register.

An audio recording of their comments have since gone viral on social media with the Media Foundation for West Africa condemning their conduct.

The host of the show Mugabe Maase is being accused of allowing the two men to go ahead with their comments uninterrupted.

Below is the apology letter from Montie FM

The management of Montie FM wishes to render its sincerest apologies to Her Ladyship the Chief Justice, Justices of the Supreme Court and the Bench in general for the use of its platform by certain panellists recently to make statements that appear to threaten the safety of the Supreme Court Bench.

Management condemns absolutely the said statements which it considers regrettable and dissociates itself from those statements.

Management wishes to assure all Ghanaians of its resolve not to condone any action that will in any way tend to undermine the administration of justice in our country, nor shall management condone any action that will tend to compromise the safety and security of members of the judiciary or the peace and stability of Ghana.

Management will ensure that in future, panellists who appear on the programmes of the station are circumspect in their diction to avoid a repeat of the regretable occurrence.

We will continue to operate as a law abiding corporate citizen of Ghana and will not condone any action that will tend to undermine the administration of justice in the country that we all love so much.

As a sign of our disapproval of the conduct of the panelists, Management decided to ban the said panelists from appearing on all our programmes until further notice.
Nine people died during a jam to climax the Eid celebrations at Asawase in the Ashanti region. Usually the police are informed of such programmes and the venue before they happen, but the police say they did not have prior knowledge about such an event in the community.

Speaking on Accra based Unique FM Supt. Ameyaw said the organizers agreed with the Asokwa-Mampong Municipal Assembly to hold the event at a different venue, where it was agreed for them to close at 7:30pm. He said according to the arrangement with Asokwa-Mampong Municipal together with the other stakeholders of the program, they said they should close by 7:30pm and by 8pm they should have removed all their instruments so that there wont be any problems.

But the organisers and patrons of the programme did not adhere to the agreement they had with the Municipal Assembly, they stayed on at the original venue even after 8pm. It took the police to disperse the group at about 9pm.

Supt Ameyaw said the police and the Municipal Assembly had no idea they were relocating to the Asawase Commuinty Center.

Even the police did not know that they were relocating to that place (Asawase Community Center). Because earlier on they had some canopy where they were doing it. They were asked to close by 7:30pm, but they did not listen to that, they went beyond that and they wanted to stay till whatever time. Again the Municipal Assembly is also crying wolf this morning that they did not have any program to be done at the Asawase Community Centre as far as they know as authorities.
READ MORE: Nine die in Eid stampede

Reacting to the incident in an interview on Accra based Citi FM, the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament explained that a meeting was organised between rival groups, opinion leaders and security chiefs after he got intelligence reports of likely clash between rival groups.

Mubarak said during Eid festivals, the community organises dance jams in the evening and rival fun clubs and groups compete. "During midnight then the groups fight."

"We did everything for this not to happen," Mubarak said. "This is a sad day for us. This has never happened."

Six of the dead are females and three males. Those injured are receiving treatment at the Manhyia hospital with one person in a critical condition.

Earlier, the Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Shiek Abdul Moman confirmed the incident on Kumasi-based Angel FM sent out his condolences to families of the bereaved.

He expressed worry that Muslims in the country have refused to heed to calls to show restraint while they feast and celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The Chief Imam added that such activities as reckless use of motorbikes, cars, drinking, erotic dancing, among others as forms of celebrations of Eid did not convey a good perception about Muslims.
Nine persons died on Wednesday July 6, 2016 at the Asawase Community Center when a jam to mark the end of Ramadan turned fatal after a false alarm ended in a stampede.

Six of the deceased were females and three males.

We would be very much interested to examine to what extent the Community Centre in question complied with the LI 1724 of the Ghana National Fire Service and other local authority regulations with regards to occupancy limits, among others, Nana Yaw Akwada, Executive Director of the group said.

Read statement below:

TO ALL MEDIA HOUSES ASAWASE STAMPEDE: NOT UNFAMILIAR TO GHANAS PUBLIC SAFETY MISHAPS

We are saddened by the loss of lives in this incident and we wish to call on the Minister of Interior to investigate circumstances leading to this incident and cause recommendations arising out of same to be implemented across the nation.

Indeed, we, at the Bureau of Public Safety, are very indignant that as a nation with public safety institutions and elaborate laws and regulations, Ghana still finds a place in the news for reasons not unfamiliar.

If appointing authorities cannot hold individuals tasked to ensure public safety accountable; the citizens should not be denied the benefit of non-recurrence through investigation and publication of reports.

We would be very much interested to examine to what extent the Community Centre in question complied with the LI 1724 of the Ghana National Fire Service and other local authority regulations with regard to occupancy limits, among others.

We would also need to understand circumstances that led to the celebrants defying police orders to end the program at a certain time, and furthermore what exactly happened in the course of the program leading to that stampede which proved fatal for some nine persons and other injured persons.

The Bureau of Public Safety wish to commiserate with families who lost their loved ones in this stampede in the early hours of Thursday 7th July, 2016 and encourage same to join in the call for proper investigation into the disaster, publish findings and cause recommendations to apply to all event centre across the country.

We trust that the Minister of Interior will show commitment to public safety by heeding our call this time around.

Nana Yaw Akwada
Six of the dead are reported to be females and three males. Those injured are receiving treatment at the Manhyia hospital with one person in a critical condition.

The Ashanti Regional Chief Imam, Shiek Abdul Moman who confirmed the incident on Kumasi-based Angel FM sent out his condolences to families of the bereaved.

He expressed worry that Muslims in the country have refused to heed to calls to show restraint while they feast and celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The Chief Imam added that such activities as reckless use of motorbikes, cars, drinking, erotic dancing, among others as forms of celebrations of Eid did not convey a good perception about Muslims.
The defendants have been asked by the Supreme Court to put up a defence as to why they should not be jailed for contempt of court.

The court describe their actions as amounting to scandalizing the Supreme Court as well as defying and lowering the authority of the court.

Their comments have also brought the authority of the court into disrepute, the courts letter said.
But the family in a statement signed by the brother of the deceased, Dr. Koshie Dumor on behalf of the Dumor family, indicated that what Nana Konadu said is patently false.

However the presidential hopeful of the National Democratic Party (NDP) told Graphic online that she was provoked by the interviewer of Starr FM to reveal this. As I told you earlier, my intention was not to speak about Komla Dumor; it was provoked by a question from the Starr FM interviewer. It is not my intention to bring Komla Dumor into disrepute, but just setting the records straight by bringing out a fact. Komla Dumor reached out to me at a particular time in his life, and I helped him where I could. This is the fact.

She mentioned that Komla Dumor is not the only person she has helped. Through my role as First Lady, President of the 31st December Womens Movement and a mother, I have come into contact with countless number of persons from different backgrounds, who have reached out to me.
On Monday July 4, 2016, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) issued a statement announcing the implementation of Utility relief to consumers.

The new reckoner incorporates the directive for ECG to make the applicable electricity rate for 0-50 units of consumption inclusive so that all residential customers will enjoy the rate for lifeline customers. It also provides a subsidy which is energy based for industrial and commercial customer, the statement added.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Independent Square to mark this years Eid al-Fitr, president Mahama said the ECG is merely realigning the billing system to make it easier for consumers to know the amount of power they are consuming.

He says the new directive will ensure transparency in the billing system and bring some relief in terms of bills consumers pay.

It is not a subsidy, president Mahama said. It is a realignment of the billing system that makes it possible for us to be able to know how much we are spending on electricity.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
ALSO READ: Police arrest 3 bandits

The suspect identified, Mba Akachukwu, who has reportedly been posing as a lawyer, was arrested for possession of fake Nigerian currencies.

Mr Akachukwu is reported to have defrauded a number of people with the fake currencies, as well as using a fake identity card to bail several suspects from police custody.

The Nation reports that the police, going by a tip off, stormed his location and arrested him while recovering the counterfeit currency papers in his posession.

The currencies are reported to have been in five hundred Naira and one thousand Naira denominations, while several deeds of agreements and invoices, a letterhead paper of the Aba North Local Government Area of the State, and two fake identity cards of a litigation officer and Aba North Task Force ID card, were also recovered.
Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers, 35, reportedly welcomed the first born children into the world on June 30, 2016 at exactly 1:18 a.m in their respective cities.

The babies were born at the same time in their respective time zones as Rodgers gave birth first, welcoming a baby boy at 1:18 am in Denver, Colorado while Mariuz welcomed a daughter at 1:18 am in La Jolie, California.

Speaking with The People, Mariuz says:

"It's that magical twin connection I suppose. There have just been certain things in our life where things just match up  it's odd.

"We didn't plan being pregnant at the same time. But our journeys aligned, even giving birth! Twins have a special bond, it's hard to explain."

Rodgers said:

"We were at our older sister's wedding recently, and, well, two pregnant chicks together, people couldn't stop talking about this.

"They kept asking us, 'Was it planned?' No! It was kind of entertaining."

ALSO READ: Drug addict stabs pregnant woman to death in Kogi
This information was contained in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Enugu by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Ebere Amaraizu in the state.

``The Enugu State Police Command in its bid to ensure that the entire state is rid of crime, on Wednesday through its operatives in Nsukka, caged a- three-man notorious armed robbery gang.

``The police recovered a gun (pistol) from them, which they used in robbing their victims at Owerre-Obukpa community in the council area early that morning.

``The police succeeded in arresting the suspects, following the timely information they got from the public and the partnership of Owerre-Obukpa neighbourhood watch, it said.
This is following several criticisms of Buharis recent appointment of Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The OYC President, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro said the unity of Nigeria should be constantly reviewed.

Isiguzoro also said only those being favoured by the current scheme of things will want the status-quo to remain.

He said We (Ohanaeze Ndigbo) believe that Nigerias unity is negotiable. The principles and structures on the co-existence of the various nationalities that make up the country should be reviewed periodically.

At the moment, the structure that is in place is not in favour of everybody.

Those that it is favouring are the ones who want the status quo to be maintained, but those it has not favoured, like the Igbo, are open to a negotiation of the countrys unity.

The OYC leader also said The Igbo demanded restructuring at the last constitutional conference and we are still holding on to that demand. We believe Nigerias unity should be subject to periodic review.

We are not calling for secession, but a periodic review of the terms of the countrys unity is necessary for peaceful coexistence, otherwise agitations for separation would continue to grow.

Senator Eta Enang, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Buhari on National Assembly Matters (Senate), has debunked claims by some Nigerians that federal appointments in the country are lopsided.
The group, through its National Publicity Secretary , Yinka Odumakin, said Nigeria has already broken up.

The current situation in the country has the Niger Delta Avengers asking that their region be recognised as an independent entity, the people in the South-East also agitating for a sovereign state of Biafra and the Boko-Haram terrorists violently pushing for a Sharia state.

Odumakin also said I think the President is a sincere man but he may not be reading the mood correctly.

The country is divided under him than before. Amalgamation and armed dialogue are going on all around us over the unity of Nigeria which many sections perceive has treated them unfairly.

To continue to insist that the unity is not negotiable is aping that bird which buries its head in the sand and believes, because it is seeing nobody, it has become invisible too.

Some Nigerians have criticised the recent appointment of Dr Maikanti Kacalla Baru as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by President Buhari.

They say it as another selective appointment in favour of Northern Nigeria, adding that it is contrary to the Federal Character Principle.
As contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 6, by his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, the Governor said the said the President must start his anti-corruption from his inner circle - the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The EFCC leaders opinions remain their opinions and if they are so sure of whatever information they have, they should go to court and stop subjecting Nigerians to media trial and that no amount of media trial from the same elements that orchestrated my removal in 2006 can erode my popularity among Ekiti people, Fayose said.

On the various properties linked to him, he said he legitimately bought them and duly declared them in his assets declaration form, stressing that the properties were not purchased with illicit funds.

Contrary to allegations that his election was funded by the Office of the National Security Adviser headed by Sambo Dasuki, he maintained that Zenith bank, plus friends and associates funded his election.

As a promising candidate of my party, I cannot stop Nigerians from supporting my election like every other candidate of other political parties, including President Buhari, he said.

Fayose said since the money used in sponsoring his election was not from illegitimate sources, how it spent it is his prerogative and no one's business.

Also addressing the EFCC allegation that he received bribes from some Ekiti contractors, the Governor said the anti-graft agency is just desperate to nail him.

He said: If they have anything against me, they should keep their gun powder dry, because in 2006 when they took me to court, their allegations crumbled like a pack of cards because court decisions are founded on facts and law, and not on media trial as currently being done by the EFCC as tele-guided by the APC leaders in their desperation to set the people against me knowing fully that they are not on the ground.

Having failed to buy the conscience of the Ekiti House of Assembly members, the APC people have become increasingly afraid of 2018 and the agencies of the Federal Government should know that no matter how hard they try, Ekiti electorate will not be deceived by their blackmail and media trial.

The EFCC should be told in clear terms that this is 2016 and not 2006 when impeachment notices against governors were signed on the table of the EFCC operatives. Those who are tele-guiding the EFCC now should also be reminded that they did more than what they are doing now in 2006, yet I was overwhelmingly voted for by the Ekiti people eight years after the orchestrated impeachment which the Supreme Court declared illegal.

Should Nigerians now conclude that the EFCC is an appendage of the APC? Is the EFCC for investigation of corrupt practices among all Nigerians or members of opposition parties alone? Fayose queried.
According to a report by Sahara Reporters, the protesters stormed streets in the State capital to demand the resignation of the Governor over the fraud charges as well as corruption case under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Addressing the protesters, Kemisola Olaleye, the Ekiti State APC deputy chairperson, said residents of the state were tired of the Fayose-led governmen.

In her words, We are tired of the one day, one problem of [the] Ayodele Fayose-led administration in Ekiti State and we also dont want him as our governor anymore. We are raising our support for President Muhammadu Buhari for his war against corruption.

In the same vein, an official of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) at the protest asked Fayose to submit himself for investigation while demanding the submission of members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly accused of certificate forgery for prosecution.
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Eyewitnesses told journalists in Calabar on Thursday that the former legislator was abducted by the gunmen on Wednesday in his herbal farm in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of the state.

Ani is the brother of a former Minister of Finance, Chief Anthony Ani.

However, ASP Irene Ugbo, the Police Public Relations Officer of Cross River Police Command, told reporters that although the incident had been reported to the police, she had yet to confirm it.

A man working in Anis farm, who preferred anonymity, also confirmed that his boss was kidnapped.

He said that policemen came to the farm and promised to investigate the matter.

He could not, however, ascertain the exact time of the abduction.

The abducted persons were released some days later after a ransom was reportedly paid.

In the meantime, the state government has decided to establish a security outfit to complement the efforts of the existing security agencies in the state.

Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River said that the establishment of the security outfit was part of his administrations proactive approach, aimed at ensuring peace and security in the state.

The governor gave the assurance he received the Consul-General of France in Nigeria, Amb. Laurent Polonceaux, and his entourage in his private residence in Calabar.

He said that the operations of the outfit, the Homeland Security Service, which would not be armed, would be a complete departure from the traditional methods of policing.

Ayade said the Homeland Security was also expected to provide about 3,000 jobs for the citizens of the state.

He said that the duties of the outfit would involve intelligence gathering and profiling of persons coming into the state and going out of the state, among others.

He, however, solicited the technical and logistics support of the government of France for the security organisation.
The militants who normally post details of their attacks on Twitter, could not do this anymore as their account was suspended by the micro-blogging site.

Reports say the Niger Delta Avengers bombed a Chevron offshore facility on Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

According to a statement obtained from their website, the militants spokesman, Brig. Gen Mudoch Agbinibo, said Between the hours of 10:50pm to 11:10pm our (Niger Delta Avengers) strike team blew up Chevron Manifolds. The manifolds are RMP 22, 23 and 24.

Punch reports that the attack was confirmed by security agencies in the troubled Niger Delta region.

The Niger Delta Avengers recently undefinedand see the damage that oil companies are causing.
According to Punch, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry of labour and employment, Samuel Olowookere said the governments delegation will include the minister of labour and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige and the minister of state for petroleum resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

PENGASSANs Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojugbana, said the Federal Government has done nothing to address the issues which the union raised.

He said The strike will hold. Actually, it is going to be a total shutdown and, of course, will cause fuel scarcity. Our members at the depots have all shut down and nothing will work once we start the strike in full; you will see. It is going to be another serious shutdown of activities across the country.

There were series of meetings between us and the government, but these meetings did not yield the desired results. The meetings did not meet our expectations; they were not fruitful; they were not productive.

Ojugbana also said In fact, up till now, we have not seen any visible commitment on the part of the government to addressing the critical issues that were put on the table. The worst of all was that we were to have a meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, on June 30, 2016 after two postponements.

All of our members flew into Abuja for this meeting only for us to be told that the minister was not available. So, we felt they are not taking the issue as seriously as we had discussed in our previous meetings. Therefore, we have no option but to embark on the strike; perhaps they will see reasons with us.

On Wednesday, July 6, 2016, PENGASSAN threatened to bring all activities in the oil and gas sector to a halt, today, July 7, 2016.
The duo clashed in a sizzling on-screen confrontation in front of millions of TV viewers across Africa, dissing each other in comic mockery.

ALSO:

Basketmouth came out in his wig and he brought it on with his performance of Justin Bieber's 'Baby,' which can be watched below.

Other celebrities who have featured on the Lip Sync Battle Africa include Tiwa Savage, Uti Nwachukwu, Joselyn Dumas, Ini Edo, Funke Akindele among others.

ALSO READ:

The African version of the global TV hit, Lip Sync Battle Africa is hosted by South African actress and TV presenter Pearl Thusi, alongside Nigerian superstar,
He said he was validly victorious in court and not a hurriedly executed legal ambush for the acquisition of political power as being insinuated by some persons.

My case is strongly anchored on facts, and the refusal of Ikpeazu to respond to the core issues and his resort to propaganda speaks volumes, Ogah said at briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, July 6, through his lawyer, Mr Monday Ubani.

Ubani said Ogah is an oil magnate, entrepreneur, investor and President of Master Energy Group, a conglomerate with over 15 subsidiaries and interests across a variety of industries with over 40,000 employees.

According to him, the incumbent Governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu, was not eligible to participate in the PDP primaries because he failed to pay his taxes as required by the 1999 Constitution, PDPs Guidelines, and the Electoral Act of 2010, adding that his tax clearance was questionable.

The Tax Clearance form (Code PD002/G), dated November 4, 2014, and sworn to at the High Court Registry, Aba, shows that Ikpeazus tax receipt number for December 2011 is 0012849; that of December 2012 is 0012846 and that of December 2013 is 0012847 and 0012848.

Did he use one booklet to pay tax for three years? Is he the only one paying tax? How come the tax number which ends in 49 came first rather than last?, Ubani asked.

Ogah, according to his counsel, dragged Ikpeazu to court after the primaries due to the failure of the PDPs appeal panel to address his complaints about Governors alleged non-qualification.

Ubani said when his client filed the suit in 2014, Ikpeazu challenged the courts jurisdiction. The appeal process got to the Court of Appeal until it was decided by the Supreme Court which ruled that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.

It was learnt that the first judge handling the case, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, after he was accused of being bias and returned the file to the Chief Judge, which was later re-assigned to Justice Okon Abang.

If Ikpeazu is convinced about the rightness of his cause, he should vacate the seat, plead his case in a court of law and when granted victory come back rather than resort to propaganda, Ubani said.
Ubani, a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, made the call while briefing newsmen on Wednesday, July 6, in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja had on June 27 sacked the state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, for failing to pay his taxes as required by law.

In his judgment, Abang ordered the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue a certificate of return to Ogah as Governor-elect, a directive which INEC had complied with.

Ubani noted that the suit was instituted by Ogah in 2014 after the state's Peoples Democratic Party gubernatorial primaries to challenge Ikpeazu's eligibility.

According to him, election petitions tribunal's decisions are different from pre-election matters and a party does not have to wait until 21 days to file an appeal.

He said: "The order of the court was that INEC should immediately issue a certificate of return to Ogah and that he should be sworn-in by the Chief Judge of Abia State.

"So, the order of the court must be obeyed until it is upheld or reversed by a superior court. Such an order cannot be arrested by a court of coordinate jurisdiction.

"The law today is that Ogah has been issued with the certificate of return.

"I am, therefore, calling on the AGF and the I-G to ensure that Ogah is sworn-in since there is no stay of execution from a superior court or any other order contrary to that effect."

Ubani said Nigerians must appreciate INEC for immediately obeying the judgment after the commission was served with an enrolled order from the court.

"INEC was right for complying with the judgment of the court. Let us begin to appreciate government agencies when they comply with orders of court.
Ojougboh, who is also the newly appointed acting National Deputy Chairman of the party by the disputed National Chairman of PDP, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, disclosed this during a press conference on Thursday in Abuja.

He said both the Sheriff, and the Chairman of PDP National Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, led-groups were discussing for a common ground.

"We have made our points for peace very clear and the two groups are working on it.

"There are some intermediaries that are looking into it and I am very sure that very soon we will let you know what is happening.

"But we are insisting Sheriff must be recognised as Chairman. That is the basis for reconciliation.

"And that Sheriff must look at the congresses in all the states again and bring out correct and acceptable people who will run the affairs of the party not the caucus, not governor," he said.

Ojougboh also condemned a statement attributed to a member of the national caretaker committee in charge of publicity Mr Dayo Adeyeye calling for the arrest of Sheriff for parading himself as the PDP national chairman.

He said that a recent judgment from a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had ordered that Sheriff was the recognised chairman of the party.

Ojougboh added that the judgment also gave Sheriff the power to submit the names of PDP candidates for Edo and Ondo states governorship elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

" The judgement they are celebrating in Port Harcourt, of course, is the judgement of Emperor of Ikwere. We have appealed it and we have also called for a stay of execution. So, it is neither here nor there.

"But the chairman of PDP, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff has some other subsisting judgements in his favour, and if anybody is to be arrested, it is Adeyeye who is making allusion that people arrested."

Ojougboh said all that Sheriff wanted was to return the party to the people from few individuals controlling it.
The former President also denied reports saying he is making consultations with some influential Nigerians to strengthen his presidential ambition.

Speaking to The Daily Sun, GEJs spokesman, Ikechukwu Eze said the ex President is not interested in returning to Aso-Rock.

Adding that Jonathan has never made any declaration in private or publicly to any person or group.

GEJ also revealed that he is aware that the Buhari-led administration is investigating him for corruption.

The former People's Democratic Party (PDP) Secretary in Ekiti State, Tope Aluko alleged that Governor Ayodele Fayose blackmailed former President Goodluck Jonathan to help him win the 2014 governorship election in the state.
Speaking to some Muslim faithful on Wednesday, July 6, the Governor said the "hand of God" brought confusion into the party that grounded the country in its 16-year rule.

Today, you can see confusion inside the party that brought Nigeria to its knees. Can you not see the hand of God? They said they would rule for 60 years. Now 16 years later, they are out, Oshiomhole said.

He said: At a time when the whole country was afraid and being attacked, both Muslims and Christians were being attacked by Boko Haram, even the money that was voted by the National Assembly to secure Muslims, to secure Christians, to secure our country, against these hooligans (insurgents), this money was stolen and shared by the PDP leaders.

While assuring that Nigeria will be great again, the governor commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts in recovering some of the funds shared by the PDP leaders.
The Makarfi faction dismissed Justice Okon Abangs ruling of Thursday, June 30, 2016, saying it was attempt to confuse the public.

A statement signed by the factions spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye said:

The former national chairman of our great party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has become an authority in the country with flagrant disobedience of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP Constitution without being arrested or detained by security agencies. Is he above the law, if we may ask?

You will recall that Senator Sheriff in collaboration with some APC governors and members invaded our party secretariat on Monday June 13, 2016, laying claims to a non-existing court order.

He has started again after a competent court issued a judgment upholding the decision of our National Convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which constituted the PDP National Caretaker Committee to pilot the affairs of the party for 90 days, and to conduct another convention that will elect new officers of the party.

Following this, we are calling on the Police to do the needful by arresting Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, his co-travelers and Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen for disobeying court judgment.

The Makarfi led faction also said Ali Modu Sheriff an the partys enemy.
But the embattled chairman of the party, Ali Modu Sheriff, insists the handover is illegal, saying his judicial actions against Makarfis caretaker committee stands.

The party's National Secretary under Sheriff's leadership, Prof. Wale Oladipo and the Deputy National Legal Adviser, Bashir Maidugu, said the Makarfi committee does not have the power to run the party.

The PDP at its May 2016 National Convention had appointed a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the party after Sheriff, Oladapo and the party's National Auditor, Alhaji Fatai Adeyanju, obtained an order restraining the party from conducting any election into the offices of the national chairman, national secretary and national auditor, which they occupied, pending the hearing and determination of their substantive suit before Justice Ibrahim Buba.

It gathered that the handover at the PDP national secretariat was attended by all PDP governors and the party's leaders in the National Assembly.

In his remark at the handover, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekeweremadu, said that the development means the party is set to take over power in 2019.

Also, the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, who formally handed over the party to the Makarfi leadership urged the new team to prioritise grassroots mobilisation, so as to win back the people's confidence.

Secondus was deputy to Sheriff and agreed to the party's decision to appoint a new caretaker committee at its last convention - but the decision did not go down well with Sheriff.

This party is strong and capable of resolving its problems. This party is not divided. This party will move forward. This party is ready to capture power in 2019.

"On behalf of the former National Working Committee, we are here to formally hand over to the national caretaker committee, who will midwife the national convention, Secondus said.
The partys Chairman in the state, Akogun Iyiola, made the call on Thursday in Ilorin in his message to the people of the state on the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitri celebration.

`` The executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) facilitate with the entire people of Kwara, particularly our Muslim brothers and sisters, on the occasion of the Eid-el-Fitri celebration.

We equally call on the governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, to let the lessons of the Holy month of Ramadan reflect in his dealings with the people of the state.

 A vast majority of the people of the people in Kwara are hungry as salaries, pensions and gratuities are not paid, the chairman said.

Oyedepo appealed to the state government to pay the salaries of workers as well as pensions and gratuities of retirees in the state.

He also used the occasion to appeal to the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) to give notice for the local government election in the state.

Oyedepo said the electoral body by law should give four months notice for the election, adding that the term of the present local government council officials would expire on Oct. 26.

If the local government election is to hold by October this year, KWSIEC ought to have given out notice for the election by June.

Statutorily, elected chairmen and councillors in the state have three-year tenure and that tenure will expire by Oct. 26, 2016, Iyiola added.
As such, religious leaders are offering words of advice to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan fasting, Vanguard reports.

On Wednesday (July 6, 2016), the Sultan of Sokoto,

1. He urged Nigerians to embrace farming, rather than importation.

Nigerians are really facing difficult times, occasioned by the global financial crunch, due to the falling prices of oil. But happily, God, in His infinite mercy has endowed Nigeria with vast fertile land, with each region having its own peculiar comparative advantage. We should, therefore, collectively go back to the farms, and engage in both rain-fed and dry season farming. With this, we can produce adequate food to be locally self-sufficient and even export the surplus", he said.

2. The Sultan encouraged Muslims to acquire both Western and religious education.

Education is the only key to success and no nation can fully develop without according it the priority attention it deserves, he said.

ALSO READ: Sultan of Sokoto directs Muslims to continue fast

3. Alhaji Alkali Pindiga, the Chief Imam of the Gombe Central Mosque, called on believers to pray for peace.

We need to continue to pray for peace to reign in Gombe and the country at large, he said.

ALSO READ: Pope Francis urges Osun state residents to live in peace

4. Lt. Col. Abubakar Tahir, the Imam of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, advised wealthy Muslims to help the under-privileged.

God created the rich and the poor for the purpose of those that are rich to use their wealth to help the poor ones. Be contented with what you have and be a source of happiness to others. Be mindful of God and do not follow your hearts desires, he advised.

5. The Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, spoke against rumour peddling.
The church also distributed food and drinks at the Mallam Nigger Skill Acquisition Centre in Rigasa and to drugs addicts, undergoing rehabilitation in the centre.

Mamam Aisha Gamborin Gala, a recipient of the food and drinks, appreciated the church for the kind gesture.

Gala, who is an IDP and a mother of seven said, No one has brought us food except you. We are grateful and call on good Samaritans in the state to remember us while eating their delicious meal."

The distribution was carried out by the church's General Overseer, Pastor Yohanna Buru, a team of Christian and Muslim youths.

According to him, the distribution was a way for the church to partake in the Sallah celebrations.

We see it as a duty to support our brothers with food so that they can join other Muslims around the world to celebrate Eid-El-Fitr.

The bible teaches us to love our neighbours as we love ourselves; as such, as Christian clerics we are simply obeying the teaching of the holy book.

This is the fifth year we are distributing food and drinks to the less privilege, inmates and widows during Sallah period as well as donate clothes to orphanages," Buru said.

He was supported by Pastor Maxwell Sanda, who said, "Today we are here to extend hands of love to the needy and those in distress as God will expect of all humanity."
ASUU chairman at the university, Dr. Deji Omole, said that only the Senate in Nigerian Universities can create admission modalities and determine which suits their institution.

Reacting to the 2016 admission guidelines recently released by JAMB, Omole said that Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, and JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, are confused and inconsistent. The reason being that, at first a decision was made to ban the collection of payment through the conduction of Post-UTME, but these new guidelines involve a structure which requires payment of screening fees that is designed favour the children of the rich against the poor.

ALSO READ: 10 ways the new guidelines affect students seeking admission into tertiary institutions

He said, JAMB is acting beyond its mandate which is to conduct and release results. The Senate of universities has the right to determine the model or guideline to adopt to admit their students from the pool of candidates sent to it by JAMB.

Each university has standards which are not subjected to the whims and caprices of any government appointee. JAMB does not have the powers to tell universities how to conduct their screening. It is a way to cover up their inadequacies because JAMBs credibility as an examination body is yearly being queried.

JAMB and its handlers are confused. Last year, they arbitrarily placed students in private universities to satisfy the needs of their cronies. These were mainly children of the poor who had not chosen those institutions. In the just concluded JAMB examinations, they awarded candidates with extra 40 marks without any justification.

Now, those with two sittings results will be shortchanged and those awaiting results will be disadvantaged. There will be rise in result racketeering at WAEC again as people will be purchasing grade A since that is what will guarantee admission.
ALSO READ: Nigerians on Twitter react to the renewed enforcement of hawkers policy

The renewed enforcement of the hawkers policy was announced on live TV [Television Continental] by Ambode, following the death of a Lagos hawker who was trying to escape arrest from the KAI [Kick Against Indiscipline]in Maryland bus stop, Lagos.

Ambodestated that the enforcement of this law was part of its strategy to create a mega metropolitan city and eliminate traffic in Lagos state.

See Oby Ezekwesili tweets below;

With these long tweets of hers, we hope she has been able to highlight the Lagos Hawkers policy and not to confuse you.
Lieutenant Brian Rice, 42, is the fourth to be tried of six officers charged in Gray's death in April 2015. Gray died from a broken neck suffered in a police transport van.

His death a week after being arrested triggered rioting in which nearly 400 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the majority black city of 620,000 people.

Gray's death stoked a national debate that had been spurred by the deaths of unarmed African-Americans at the hands of police in cities including New York, Cleveland and Ferguson, Missouri.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams will hear the case in a bench trial. Williams has acquitted Officers Caesar Goodson Jr. and Edward Nero, and a third officer, William Porter, faces retrial after a jury deadlocked.

Rice is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Rice ordered Nero and another officer in a bicycle patrol to pursue Gray when he fled unprovoked in a high-crime area. Prosecutors allege that Rice failed to secure Gray, 25, with a seat belt when he helped put him into the van while shackled.

Prosecutors' case against Rice was dealt a blow at a pretrial hearing on Tuesday when Williams ruled that neither they nor the defense could use 4,000 pages of documents related to Rice's training.

The team headed by prosecutor Michael Schatzow turned over the material to the defense only last week, and Williams scolded Schatzow about the delay. Williams already had sanctioned him for failing to turn over evidence in a previous trial.

Training has been a major part of the cases against the officers. Prosecutors allege that they knowingly violated department protocol when they arrested Gray and put him in the wagon without securing him.

But defense lawyers have argued in previous cases that officers had the discretion not to use a seat belt if a detainee was combative.

Asked about the pressure prosecutors were under, Tim Maloney, a Maryland lawyer who has handled police misconduct cases, said: "It's hard to see after the acquittals of Goodson and Nero how this is going to fare any better."
In a report to the U.N. Security Council released on Tuesday, Ban said that under those plans peacekeepers in Congo might need to ask for help from other U.N. missions.

"I am concerned that in the absence of a credible and meaningful political dialogue among Congolese stakeholders, tensions could degenerate into a severe crisis, with a high risk of relapse into violence and instability," Ban said.

The Congolese government has said it is unlikely it will be able to hold elections in November for logistical reasons but opponents of President Joseph Kabila accuse him of trying to cling to power. The government has denied the claim.

Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, is barred by the constitution from standing for a third term. But a Kabila ally has raised the prospect of a referendum to allow him to run.

Dozens of Kabila's critics have been arrested since last year as part of what the United Nations and rights groups say is an escalating crackdown on political dissent ahead of a presidential election.

"I urge the government of Democratic Republic of Congo to respect freedom of expression, assembly and information as fundamental rights that are essential to the conduct of free and fair elections," Ban said.

"(The U.N. peacekeeping mission) MONUSCO is developing contingency plans in the event of widespread violence in the context of the electoral process," Ban said.

The U.N. Security Council is due to be briefed on the U.N. peacekeeping mission on Thursday.
Italy's Senate voted last week to halt supplies to Egypt of spare parts for F16 warplanes, the first commercial steps taken against Cairo since the death of Giulio Regeni.

Regeni, who was doing postgraduate research on Egyptian trade unions, was last seen by his friends on Jan. 25. His body, which showed signs of torture, was found in a roadside ditch on the outskirts of Cairo on Feb. 3.

Italy has repeatedly complained that Egyptian authorities have not cooperated to find those responsible for the 28-year-old student's death. In April, it withdrew its ambassador to Egypt for consultations.

Egypt's foreign ministry said the senate vote would hurt cooperation between the two countries.

The statement did not specify the exact measures, but it said they would "affect bilateral, regional and international cooperation between Italy and Egypt". That would include "a review of ongoing cooperation in combatting illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and dealing with the situation in Libya."
Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were tried over attacks against ethnic Tutsis in the town of Kabarondo, where they both have been mayor. They denied any wrongdoing.

Ethnic Hutu extremists killed more than 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in a three-month rampage in 1994 while the world largely stood by.

A number of Rwandan genocide-related crimes have been tried in recent years in Rwanda and other countries. This was the second such trial in France, which can rule on such cases since parliament adopted a law that gives it universal jurisdiction over cases of crimes against humanity.

Rights groups welcomed the decision but called for faster trials in other, ongoing investigations. "We need to speed things up, it's high time, it's been 22 years," said Dafroza Gauthier from CPCR, a rights groups of Rwanda victims. "We need procedures to accelerate while there are still witnesses."

Philippe Meilhac, a lawyer for Barahira, said the accused were likely to appeal the decision.
The spokesman for Ibrahim Jathran's PFG forces did not give any details of whether that would include reopening the two ports soon; starting shipments there would restore a potential 600,000 barrels per day of crude export capacity.

Militant attacks, fighting between rival factions and strikes have kept Libya's oil production at around 350,000 bpd, or less than a quarter of its output before the 2011 revolution that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and began years of instability.

The National Oil Corporation (NOC) is working with the U.N.-backed government of national accord, led by Prime Minister Fayaz Seraj, who is trying to bring together rival factions whose armed backers have fought for control and oil resources since 2014.

"The commander of Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG), Ibrahim Jathran, has announced that oil will be pumped soon and oilfields of the oil crescent (region) will be also prepared to resume work," PFG spokesman Ali Hassi said.

The NOC announced this week that it would merge with a rival energy company set up in the east by Libya's eastern government, a move seen by analysts as a step towards restoring order to the industry.

The NOC in Tripoli, recognised by the international community, and the eastern NOC had operated in parallel as the rival governments struggled for control. The U.N.-backed government now in Tripoli is meant to supersede those administrations, but hardliners on both sides are holding out.

The NOC has an ambitious plan to bring Libya's oil production back to pre-revolution levels. But damage to oil pipelines left closed for months, and to ports that have seen fighting, may take years to fully repair.
More than 11,000 soldiers are serving in the Mali mission, which aims to support the Bamako government in its fight against Islamist militants in northern Mali, who have staged assaults in the capital, as well as in Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

Corporal Kevin Roggeveld, 29, and sergeant Henry Hoving, 24, were killed by an exploding mortar shortly after 1130 GMT, the acting head of the Dutch armed forces told a news conference. At least 103 peaeckeepers have died since the start of the mission in April 2013.

"A terrible accident took place in Mali where our soldiers are participating in the U.N. peacekeeping mission," vice-admiral Rob Bauer told reporters. A 23-year-old soldier was operated on in a field hospital before being evacuated.

Some 450 Dutch soldiers are participating in the mission to the West African country, which is meant to help implement a peace deal signed last year between Mali's government and separatist groups.

Last month, the Security Council voted to increase by 2,500 the number of peacekeepers deployed to the country, with European countries promising to send special forces and intelligence experts to support the operation.

French forces intervened in 2013 to drive back Islamist fighters who had hijacked the Tuareg uprising to seize Mali's desert north in 2012. But it has since proved difficult to prevent Islamists staging deadly attacks.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, and the Geneseo Public Library will host 10 local employers with nearly 200 job openings at a hiring event Tuesday.

Employers will include Mediacom, Hillcrest Home, Springfield Armory, Good Samaritan Village, Geneseo Farm & Fleet, Hammond-Henry Hospital, Timberlyn Lighting, Geneseo Food Pantry, Wyffels Hybrids and Tyson Foods.

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Geneseo Public Library, 805 N. Chicago St.

Libraries across the state have been assisting patrons who need to apply for unemployment insurance. IDES has improved efforts to connect job-seekers to employers through its employment services at its website, ides.illinois.gov.

For unemployment insurance claims filed on or after July 17, job-seekers must have registered and posted at least one resume with IllinoisJobLink.com before unemployment insurance benefits will be issued.

 Times staff
As Northwest Bank & Trust Co. marks its 75th anniversary today, it does so with a fourth generation of the Slavens family on the leadership team and with the same innovative spirit that has guided the bank.

"The bank has navigated through many changes over the years, but we've never changed our commitment to serving the people and businesses of this area," said Joe Slavens, the bank's president and CEO and third generation.

Founded by German immigrants in northwest Davenport, the Slavens family has been part of the bank's leadership for nearly 60 years. Their involvement began with Joe Slavens' father, Bob Slavens, who began as the bank's attorney in the late 1950s.

Slavens' grandfather and namesake, Joe Slavens, was asked to join the bank's board in the early 1960s, but died of a heart attack before serving. His sons, Bob Slavens and Jim Slavens, became majority owners in the early 1970s and assumed management.

Today, the bank is owned entirely by the Slavens family and Northwest employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

Earlier this year, the bank welcomed a fourth generation with the addition of Joe Slavens' son-in-law, Adam Pelzer. Married to Shelby, Pelzer is the bank's special projects manager.

A native of Tipton, Iowa, he graduated with honors from Brown University and worked at several corporate advisory and investment banking firms in Chicago and Cedar Rapids.

"The best part is working for a family-owned and community-based company," said Pelzer, who leads the bank's IT division. "That is something I'm familiar with growing up on a family farm. Seeing Joe and his team problem solve has been fun."

Slavens said two major influences impact a company's ability to transfer to the next generation. "One is the industry itself has to be an industry that has legs ... Second, it takes the next generation having the desire and capability to continue to manage the business. We've been very fortunate in respect to that."

In the future, the fourth generation also could include Slavens' son Bobbie, a recent college graduate, who has expressed interest in the family bank. "I want him to work and get experiences somewhere else first," Slavens said who was pushed to do the same. He earned a law degree and worked in Chicago before joining the bank as attorney in 1988.

According to Slavens, Northwest Bank has been known for its entrepreneurism and innovation. The bank at 1454 W. Locust St. was the first area bank to open a drive-through. Northwest then opened the area's first drive-up ATM at its Northwest Bank Tower in Bettendorf.

"When experience is combined with the passion to innovate, new solutions emerge that mutually benefit our customers and the bank," he said.

That philosophy was behind the Bettendorf bank's tower's OffiCenter, a floor of office suites that allow for month-to-month leases and shared services. The OffiCenter provides tenants with a professional office address, meeting space to use, a receptionist and clerical support.

"It allowed people an affordable alternative for office space for over 30 years," Slavens said. "There are large national companies in that business, but we were certainly the first to provide it in the Quad-Cities."

He said the bank's Investment Management Group also is unusual, in that, "it has more assets under management than we have in the bank." The group manages more than $215 million in assets and another $500 million in custodial assets.

The bank's ability to respond to needs also is evidenced by its in-house software division, Stratman Solutions. Created in 1996, the division develops, sells and maintains specialized banking software to banks across the country.

The division began in the bank's accounting department to handle in-house sweep accounts for commercial deposit customers. But it later became known for its expertise and at the urging of another banker, began selling it to other banks. More than 500 banks across the nation have licensed its software.

Slavens said the bank is poised for more growth in the future. "With the next generation on board, we get to look not just into the years to come, but decades ahead."

As the oldest community bank headquartered in Davenport, he added "We want to be entrepreneurial and fill gaps."

"We do as well as the Quad-Cities does and the Quad-Cities has been very good to our family," Slavens said. "We certainly want to pay back the community."
The community will have two opportunities next week to get to know the three finalists for Davenport City Administrator.

A public meet-and-greet will be 5-6:30 p.m. Monday at the River Music Experience in downtown Davenport.

The public also is invited to observe the final interviews of the candidates Tuesday as the citys search committee asks questions in separate sessions at Davenport City Hall.

The finalists are Stephen Riley, Corri Spiegel and Kevin Woods.

Riley is the town manager in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he has served for the past 25 years. Before becoming town manager, he served as the director of community development within the town. He holds a bachelors degree in urban studies from the University of Nebraska and a masters degree in urban planning from the University of Iowa.

Spiegel is Davenport's interim city administrator. She was the assistant administrator from August 2014 through June 2015. Before coming to Davenport, Spiegel was the economic development manager for the Centennial, Colorado. She earned a masters degree in organization leadership from Colorado State University and a masters degree in public administration from Arizona State University.

Woods is the town manager in Stallings, North Carolina. He previously was vice president of Versar Inc., a global engineering and construction management firm. Woods served in the Army and holds a masters degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He also earned a masters degree in operational planning from the U.S. Army Advanced Studies Program.

Spiegel's interview begins at 8:30 a.m. Riley will be interviewed at 10:15 a.m. and Stallings will be interviewed at noon.

While residents may attend and observe the interviews, only the search committee will be allowed to ask questions.

Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch said he likes the open interview process, calling it another step in making Davenport City government more transparent.
Jessica Rife, 39, was charged with one count of possession of contraband in a correctional institution and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

Rife was found inside a vehicle in a parking lot with three pipes, and when taken into custody allegedly failed to advise officers of the 3.1 grams of methamphetamine in her pockets, according to the criminal complaint.
Col. Robert Sinkler couldn't pick a better time to make his return to the region. Iowa's water quality debate could use another passionate, knowledgeable voice.

Sinkler hung up his U.S. Army beret. The former director of Rock Island District Army Corps of Engineers is, instead, bringing a branch of The Nature Conservancy to Hampton.

Sinkler spent years designing infrastructure on the Mississippi River. He's monitored watersheds. He's overseen transformative projects. Sinkler knows, as well as anyone, how human habitation is shaping the ecosystem, and the negative effects of human activity are posing very real challenges for the state.

A Des Moines Water Works' lawsuit, filed against several ag-heavy counties in north-central Iowa, continues to give Iowa's elected class fits. Gov. Terry Branstad, earlier this year, unsuccessfully pitched grabbing cash meant for schools to fund projects that would, in theory, clean the streams and rivers succumbing to farm-field runoff. House Republicans ran a rerouting of taxes on metered water up the flag pole. Senate Democrats debated a few funding ideas. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is touring the state pitching a sales tax increase, paired with some form of private sponsorship.

Water quality isn't isolated in central Iowa. Nutrient loading is a problem throughout the Midwest. Algae blooms. Oxygen levels plummet. Other life dies. Drinking water is tainted. Taxpayers foot the bill for bolstered scrubbing facilities.

The will to do something crosses party and ideological divides. The threat of Environmental Protection Agency crackdown has unified Iowa's urban, rural, liberal and conservative factions at a philosophical level. That union, however, falls apart when it comes down to paying for the needed fix.

The Nature Conservancy is a huge international green group. It's land acquisition focus has made it controversial in some parts of the country. That said, going forward, the organization's history of farmland preservation could be impactful in Scott County, where issues such as floating zoning continue to raise questions about the potential loss of acres of rich top soil.

But Sinkler, a Bettendorf resident, is a man of the water. And that's his mandate. His title, after all, is director of the national organization's water resources infrastructure programming.

The timing couldn't be better for Sinkler's return to the area. A new perspective from a man the region knows and respects might just be the spark needed in the stalled debate on water quality.
Whatever happened to the good old days when our worst worries on the Fourth of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?

A well-warranted worry, according to the Department of Agricultures Meat and Poultry Hotline, is food poisoning by nasty E. coli and Salmonella bugs hiding in hot dogs and hamburgers at millions of backyard barbecues. The hotlines advice is to grill them longer and hotter. Of course, they avoid mentioning that the high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs, also happens to form cancer-causing compounds.

Fortunately, some forward-thinking U.S. food manufacturers have solved these issues by creating an amazing assortment of healthy and delicious veggie burgers and soy dogs. No nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds in these tasty plant-based foods. They dont even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, antibiotics, or pesticides. And, they are conveniently waiting for us at almost every supermarket.

This past Fourth of July offered a great opportunity to declare our independence from the meat industry and to share wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs with our family and friends.

Dan Tawney

Davenport
SPRINGFIELD  One of the first effects of last year's state budget impasse to hit home for many Illinoisans was the secretary of state's decision to stop mailing out reminders that license plate registration stickers were about to expire.

The stopgap budget deal that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed last week provides $35 million to cover operations in Secretary of State Jesse White's office through December, but a spokesman said the office has yet to decide whether it will once again begin mailing notices to drivers.

"We're still reviewing whether there's enough in the stopgap budget to resume sending out license plate sticker renewal reminder notices," said Henry Haupt, a spokesman for White's office.

Haupt said the office has many other expenses to consider in determining whether to send the notices by mail.

When the Secretary of State's Office announced in September that it would no longer mail out the notices because of the budget standoff between Republican Rauner and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, it estimated that the practice cost $450,000 per month. The change allowed the office to continue mailing out the license plate stickers themselves, along with other important documents.

Once the reminders stopped going out, there was a spike in the number of drivers being charged a $20 late fee for failing to renew vehicle registrations on time.

From Jan. 1 through June 20, 2015, 214,467 drivers were charged the late fee, bringing in nearly $4.3 million in revenue to the state. During the same period this year, the number more than doubled to 476,551 drivers, bringing in $9.5 million.

The Secretary of State's Office can't use the additional revenue to cover the cost of mailing renewal notices because it goes into the state's general fund, not to the office itself, Haupt said.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly passed a bill on the last day of its extended spring session that would waive the late fee until the Secretary of State's Office resumes mailing notices or after June 30, whichever comes first.

The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Jaime Andrade, D-Chicago, has yet to be sent to Rauner's desk, but the governor's office said it's under review.
Authorities are investigating whether a woman should be charged for the alleged improper disposal of her stillborn child, found by Rapid City police Sunday in an alley behind a motel.

Police said the discovery happened after a witness reported a woman who miscarried planned to discard of the dead body. It was found wrapped in a cloth behind the Colonial Motel on East North Street, a police news release said.

The mother, whose identity has not been released, has not been arrested, said Rapid City Police Department spokesman Brendyn Medina. He said police have spoken with the adult woman and do not believe the death was a homicide.

Were trying to determine the timeline of what exactly happened, what she did with the body, Medina said Wednesday afternoon.

He said police detectives and Pennington County Sheriff's Office investigators were trying to determine if she purposely dumped the body and why.

Doing so would violate a South Dakota law that requires individuals to obtain a permit before they can dispose of a dead body or fetus, Medina said.

The permit can be obtained electronically from the state Department of Health, or on paper from the register of deeds in the county where the death occurred or where the body was found. The permit is required for fetuses that are at least 20 weeks old, and covers burials and cremations.

An autopsy confirmed the baby was stillborn and that there likely was no foul play involved, Medina said. He did not know when the birth happened.

Medina declined to reveal the relationship between the woman and the witness, saying only that the person knew of her plans.

The joint investigation by city police and county sheriff's office is standard procedure for unattended deaths, he said. It is also the practice in homicide investigations, he said.

The state health department advises women who miscarry or who have stillbirths outside a hospital to immediately seek medical help.

Regardless of ability to pay, if a person requires emergency medical care, they should go to an emergency room or call 911, said health department spokeswoman Barb Buhler.

Medina said hospital personnel would know the legal procedure to follow in case of miscarriages or stillbirths.

Buhler said women or families looking for information or guidance following the loss of a baby can find support groups through the South Dakota Parent Connection website, sdparent.org.
The biggest task for the three young women vying for Miss Rodeo South Dakota at this years Black Hills Roundup was remembering to keep smiling and carrying on, no matter what happens.

Carietta Schalesky, Faith, Brielle Yackley, Onida and Sonya Clifford, Rockyford, each competed for the Miss Rodeo South Dakota honor July 1-4 in Belle Fourche. Clifford, 24, claimed the title July 4 at the Roundup Grounds.

She will compete next year in Las Vegas to represent South Dakota, following in the footsteps of Mikayla Sich.

The long days of competition away from family go by fast, but the contestands agreed its worth the friendships that develop.

Contestants compete in several activities, including carrying flags for each event. It takes a considerable amount of horsemanship to handle horses and flags in the arena.

Contestants learn to ride many different horses, not just their own. Horses are furnished for the horsemanship contest in order to show how each contestant can handle an animal.

Behind the scenes, the cowgirls dress to impress, and more importantly, must remember all theyve learned about livestock health, Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rules, current events and anything that may come up.

People dont realize half of what we need to know, Schalesky said.

Yackley looks forward to educating people about the sport of rodeo.

I look forward to someday going to other states and comparing the culture with South Dakota, she said.

Clifford hopes to get young people involved in the sport of rodeo.

The youth are the future of rodeo, she said.

The three young cowgirls who were part of the Jr. Miss Rodeo South Dakota competition were eager to share their insights to the world of rodeo.

The contestants were Adrianne Schaunaman, Aberdeen, Trinity Flowers, Wessington Springs, and Mickeala Boyd, Hayti.

Each cowgirl made a scrapbook that told a little bit about herself.

Schaunaman, this year's winner, said she had a photo of the horse she still uses at home. She was three and he was four. It's been a long friendship, she added.

The 2016 Jr. Miss Rodeo South Dakota Bailey Bosworth wrote each of them a letter telling what to expect during the contest. She said she tried to encourage them to let their love of rodeo carry them through the competition.

Above all, the cowgirls agree to, Keep smiling and enjoy it.
PIERRE | The city of Custer can build a larger version of its local dam and the Rockport Hutterian Brethren can get new irrigation rights from the James River that previously belonged to the city of Huron, the state Water Management Board decided Wednesday.

Reconstruction of the Custer West Dam, which has water rights on French Creek dating to 1943, was not opposed. The city wants to more than double the dams capacity as part of replacing the dam and the outlet structures.

Mayor Jared Carson told the state board the dam has been a cornerstone for fishing, recreation, swimming lessons and fire protection, including for fighting the Jasper forest fire in 2000.

Having the additional 47.5 acre-feet of water would be critical for fire protection, Carson said. He said theres been a huge amount of public support throughout the wider Custer-area community.

He wants the dam rebuilt as a protection for the community during the next 50 to 100 years.

Banner Associates consulting engineer David LaFrance of Rapid City testified the facilitys capacity is quite small for the drainage area. Its kind of inconsequential. Theres not a whole lot of flood mitigation associated with this facility, he said.

Currently, the dam is about 20 feet high. He said it would be rebuilt at 13 feet, but the basins capacity would more than double to 77.5 acre feet because the bottom will be lowered.

The state Game, Fish & Parks Department holds a water right to 400 acre-feet for Stockade Lake that is downstream on French Creek. GF&P officials did not object to the Custer city dams expansion.

In other action, the state water board canceled 14 water-rights permits because of discontinued use by landowners in different parts of South Dakota. The canceled permits include one on the Big Sioux River dating to 1907 for a hydro-electric dam, now rubble near Dell Rapids.

Of the 14 permits, the city of Huron relinquished two licenses. That freed enough water in the James River for the Rockport brethren to receive two irrigation permits that the state board deferred in spring 2015 because the river was nearly fully appropriated.

The board observes a maximum appropriation of 300 cubic-feet per second from the James River in South Dakota between the North Dakota border and the Hutchinson-Yankton counties line.

The Rockport brethrens two applications totaled 8.31 cubic-feet per second from the James River in Hanson County. That amount was met by the Huron cancellations and 1.71 cubic-feet per second that hadnt been appropriated that total 8.55 cfs.

The state board also decided to allow the Huron Hutterian Brethren to irrigate an additional 50 acres from the James River without a change in the organizations water rights. The Huron brethrens operation is about 15 miles north of Huron. Changes to the irrigation system make the additional acres possible to reach.

Lynn Beck, a staff engineer for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said there have been 12 shut-off orders on the James River since 1965 for insufficient flows.
The U.S. District Court for South Dakota has upheld the conviction and death sentence for a man convicted in the 1992 murder of a 22-year-old Rapid City man who was stabbed to death at a doughnut shop.

According to state Attorney General Marty Jackley, the motions filed by Charles Russell Rhines were denied by the federal court. Rhines had sought a motion for habeas corpus relief and to amend the penalty he received.

Rhines was convicted in the murder of 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer in Rapid City on March 8, 1992.

Rhines, now 59, was charged with fatally stabbing Donnivan Schaeffer, 22, during a burglary at a Rapid City doughnut shop in March 1992. Schaeffer, a part-time employee at the shop, walked in on Rhines while he was robbing the shop.

The Federal Courts ruling affirms that Charles Russell Rhines murder conviction and capital sentence for the horrific murder of Donnivan Shaeffer are constitutional. My thoughts and prayers are with the Schaeffer family, who have waited 24 years for justice in this case, Jackley said in a news release on Thursday.

A Pennington County jury convicted Rhines of first degree murder in 1993 and returned a sentence of death. Rhines conviction and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the South Dakota Supreme Court in 1996. Rhines conviction and sentence were also affirmed on state habeas proceedings by the state trial court and South Dakota Supreme Court.

With the conclusion of his federal trial court habeas corpus proceedings, Rhines can file a notice of appeal within 30 days to the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit and, ultimately, to the United States Supreme Court. Rhines must obtain permission from the federal court to pursue an appeal.
A local charitable organization that has supported the Mount Rushmore National Memorial for 86 years will soon lose its multimillion-dollar parking contract to a Colorado-based company.

The National Park Service announced Wednesday it had selected Xanterra Parks and Resorts Inc. for a new 10-year contract beginning Oct. 15. The contract will combine the food and beverage services, merchandise and souvenir sales, and parking services at Mount Rushmore.

The new, consolidated contract will replace two expiring contracts: one held by Xanterra for food, beverage and retail operations, and the other held by the Mount Rushmore Society to manage the memorials parking garage.

Xanterras gross receipts from its existing contract were $12.6 million in 2014, according to the Park Service prospectus issued last fall. The Mount Rushmore Societys 2014 gross receipts from parking were $4.1 million. That means Xanterra's combined gross receipts from the new contract will likely exceed $16 million.

The prospectus said the winning concessionaire will pay a minimum of 19.4 percent of gross receipts to the Park Service as a franchise fee and reserve another 0.3 percent for repair and maintenance.

We congratulate Xanterra Parks and Resorts, Inc., and look forward to continuing to work with them in providing unique visitor experiences at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Mount Rushmore Superintendent Cheryl Schreier said in a Park Service news release. At the Memorial, all visitors interact with the concession operations making the selection of a company with the qualifications and experience of Xanterra especially important.

The Mount Rushmore Society issued a news release Wednesday afternoon that, among other things, outlined the history and success of the society's involvement with parking at Mount Rushmore and congratulated Xanterra on its new contract.

The society funded the construction of Mount Rushmore's parking garage in 1996 by shouldering $17 million of debt. The society used the parking fees it collected to make payments on the debt, and the debt was fully paid off last year.

Over the decades, the society has raised millions more for the memorial through other fundraising efforts. The Rapid City-based society was founded in 1930 while the memorial was being carved.

Xanterra officials did not respond to Journal requests for comment by news deadline.

Xanterra has numerous contracts throughout the National Park Service system. Besides Mount Rushmore, the locations of those contracts include Yellowstone National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park and Zion National Park.

The Park Service declined to release a copy of the new Xanterra contract until the contract's October execution. However, the Park Service said the contract will require improvements to customer flow in the food, beverage and retail area and the addition of self-pay parking stations.

The contract will also include a 50 percent discount for seniors on the standard parking rate and free parking for active-duty U.S. military members. The standard parking rate will be reduced from $11 to $10 for the life of the contract, and the parking pass will continue to be valid for one year from the date of purchase.

The new contract results from a solicitation process required by the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998. The Park Service released a prospectus on Sept. 29 and accepted proposals through Jan. 13.
Homes, businesses and county offices saw water service restored Wednesday after unknown problems caused two water main breaks Tuesday afternoon.

Trenching for repairs still blocked through-traffic at Dakota Drive and West Main Street, but street crews expect to open the intersection today.

Repairs were completed Wednesday to a water line break off Third Street that disrupted water supplies in the area of the former National American University and Pennington County Courthouse.
After months of working on an innovative plan to expand Medicaid at virtually no cost to South Dakota, Gov. Daugaard has declined again to bring his proposal to the Legislature.

In June, the governor announced he would not call a special session to consider the Medicaid expansion plan. He also declined to introduce a bill in the last legislative session even though the expansion plan was part of his budget address. Now, we are hearing reports that it might not make the floor in the 2017 legislative session either.

Every time Gov. Daugaard kicks the can on his plan, we hear a different justification.

Now, he cites the upcoming presidential election. Before, he was waiting for the federal government to agree to his proposal to have Indian Health Service pick up 100 percent of the cost of Native American health care, which the state now pays around $67 million annually for, money he wants to use to cover expanding Medicaid to an estimated 48,000 residents.

The federal government has agreed to that plan, but Gov. Daugaard still chooses to play the waiting game, which is looking more like a slow death for a proposal that has yet to see the light of day.

The problem with this political cat-and-mouse game is that we are being denied an opportunity to hear an important public policy discussion, one that has been held in the 32 states that have expanded Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income adults, pregnant women, children and those who are disabled.

Many of us want to hear lawmakers' positions on Medicaid expansion and then have their votes recorded for all to see and consider when the next election is held.

While we hear that the majority of Republicans in the Legislature are opposed to Medicaid expansion on any terms, we cant be certain until they vote and explain their position.

At the same time, we know many South Dakotans support expanding Medicaid, which for a relatively small cost would pump millions of dollars into the states economy.

In poll conducted in October 2014 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, 45 percent said they supported Medicaid expansion and 18 percent were undecided. Many if not all of those who manage our hospitals, clinics, assisted-living facilities and work with developmentally disabled adults support expanded Medicaid in this rural state where having access to health care can be a life-and-death matter.

In December 2015, the governor met with the Rapid City Journal editorial board and shared his ambitious plan to have the federal government essentially pay all our costs for Medicaid expansion. He also explained the political challenges of getting support for President Obama's initiative.

It is time, however, to close the door on these fruitless backroom discussions and let the public judge the merits of the plan and the votes of their lawmakers. The governor should introduce his bill at the beginning of the next session and demand the entire Legislature votes on it.

To do other otherwise denies the public a discussion we are entitled to hear and that is not what we expect in a democracy.
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Russian mayor convicted for abuse of office

MOSCOW, July 7 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko)  The Taganrog City Court in the Rostov Region has sentenced former mayor of the city Vladimir Prasolov to one year in prison for abuse of office, the press-release by the Prosecutor Generals Office reads.

According to the press-release, Prasolov will be restricted from right to hold a position in government and municipal offices for two years. He is going to serve his sentence time in a regular penal colony.

In winter of 2014, during his time in office Prasolov unlawfully ordered to provide his acquaintance with 5.6 million rubles ($86,000) as a payment for cleaning citys streets from snow. Expertise showed that real cost of works was estimated at only 800,000 rubles ($12,300).
ECHR recommends France not to send Chechen deportee to Russia

MOSCOW, July 7 (RAPSI)  The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that the rights of a Russian national from Chechnya living in France may be violated in case he is deported to the Russian Federation after a French court dismissed his application for asylum.

The applicant, whose name is not disclosed and who is indicated as R.V. in ECHR materials, was born in 1987, and lived in the Chechen Republic until 2007. In August 2005, a friend of the applicant was killed by security forces as a member of a Chechen armed rebellion group. The applicants name was listed in the mobile phone of this friend, what resulted in several arrests and, as alleged by R.V., threats making him to flee first to Poland and later, for the same security reasons, to France, where he has lived since 2008.

French authorities dismissed R.V.s application for asylum he filed on arriving in France. In 2014 he was issued with an order to leave France and placed in a detention center. The decision to expel the applicant was confirmed by several French courts, last time by the Administrative Court of Appeal in May 2016.

In December 2014, ECHR indicated to the French Government not to return R.V. to the Russian Federation for the duration of the proceedings before it.

The applicant relied on Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) alleging that if expelled, he may be exposed to a risk of treatment in breach of this Article.

ECHR held that in the event of R.V.s removal to the Russian Federation his rights under Article 3 would be violated and, therefore, the interim measure by the Court  not to expel R.V.  should be still in force until judgment becomes final or until further order.

In its judgement, the Court specifically noted that during the three-month period following a judgments delivery, any party may request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber of the Court, which will hear the case and deliver a final judgment. If the referral request is refused, the Chamber judgment will become final on that day.
Orthodox activist charged in exhibition attack case pleads not guilty

MOSCOW, July 7 (RAPSI) - Lyudmila Yesipenko, an activist of ultra-conservative Orthodox group Bozhya Volya (Gods Will), who stands charged with vandalizing an art exhibition, has pleaded not guilty, RAPSI reports from the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow on Thursday.

Yesipenko has described her trial as unfair because she was subjected to administrative liability for damaging property of another in September under a court decision. According to the Russian Constitution, double jeopardy is prohibited, she said.

Yesipenko has been officially charged with causing damage to cultural valuables, a crime punishable by imprisonment for up to three years under the respective article of Russia s Criminal Code.

The damage allegedly caused by Yesipenko to the Moscow Government, which is the aggrieved party in the case, amounts to 196,000 rubles ($3,000).

The Gods Will leader Dmitry Tsorionov, aka Enteo, together with his followers attacked an art exhibition held at the Manege space in central Moscow on August 14, 2015.

Tsorionov accused organizers of the exhibition of violating the Russian law that protects the feelings of believers.
Clay Works! In the Bitterroot is a new cooperative that is bolstering artists who want to work with clay. It provides a creative workspace and kilns for co-op members.

The idea for a cooperative started last January when Bitterroot Valley artists on Facebook shared the idea for a clay co-op with shared studio space. Fourteen people responded and began to meet above Art Focus. In just over six months, they have become a cooperative, developed a mission statement, created a membership handbook and found a suitable studio.

The 2,000-square-foot space on South First Street in Hamilton has a pottery workspace and a kiln room. The old building was used as a pea warehouse for a train spur before being used for honey extraction. It has a drain through the floor, which the potters say is perfect for their needs.

The membership is comprised of students, teachers and a variety of people from various backgrounds, skill levels and occupations.

Instructor Vivian Yang said that variety of abilities confirmed for her that the co-op could happen.

Often these groups start with a lot of artists but this group has other skills to offer too, Yang said. This is people with different skills but who all want to make pots.

Sidney Mehlschmidt came up with the idea initially. He retired from his profession, took a pottery class in Anchorage, Alaska, learned the craft, built his own pottery studio and then moved to Montana.

Ive been going out of my mind not having a place to work, Mehlschmidt said.

Robin Ireland is one of the key organizers and a student excited about this member-owned cooperation.

Im excited because otherwise I dont have a place to do it, Ireland said. I want to learn as much as I can. I love that I am able to come in any time of day or night.

Beyond access to clay, workspace and equipment, members share the expense of materials on clay and firing fees, receive class discounts and have their own space in the gallery. There are opportunities to learn wheel throwing, hand building, glazing and firing.

Yang praised Art Focus for the support of community artists.

Also, at our first meeting we received valuable information from Clare Ann Harff, Yang said. She is now the executive director of MAPS and 20 years ago she started the Clay Studio in Missoula and she shared why she started it and how she got it going.

Yang said pottery studios are a very messy industrial process and artists make difficult choices each step of the way.

Just sitting down at the wheel and making pots is a tenth of what making pottery is all about, she said. After you learn to make pots then you need to decorate them and glaze them. The temperature is critical. What clay you choose determines what glazes you can use. There are recipes for glazes and they have to match the clay youve chosen and what type of firing youre doing. All those choices are very technical and require experimentation or instruction.

Yang initially limits the choices for her students and allows them full creativity within those parameters.

Potter Eve Meng said the Clay Works! studio will do something similar.

We will find our own glazes through recipes and what works for this studio, she said.

There are famous potters in Japan who use one glaze all their life and they get a variety from their firings, Mehlschmidt said.

The Clay Works! studio has selected clay from the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena.

Its a good throwing clay. Its a good hand building clay. It has a good color to the clay body, Yang said.

Another advantage to the studio is access to the projects when they are ready.

Pottery is a lot about timing, Yang said. You have to be able to get to your pot at the right time to take it to the next stage.

This is a wonderful space where you dont have to wait a whole week to go back, said Meng. You can come 24 hours later when it is ready to be trimmed or modified. It takes a certain amount of time to set-up so you can work with it in a different manner.

The main teachers will be Yang, Kevin Silkwood and Kelly Price.

The creative process is a wonderful thing to share, Yang said.

Clay Works! In the Bitterroot has scheduled an open house 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on July 8. The current membership invites the community of interested artist to see the work in progress, meet some of the members and organizers, watch pottery teachers Yang and Kelly Price demonstrate making wheel-thrown pots and get a chance to win the finished pottery. It will also be a time to check out the current listing of classes. Mehlschmidt will have his collection of beautiful pottery on display.

Yang said everyone is welcome to come including students and potters who are looking for studio space.

The open house will be great for people who are interested in making pottery, interested in learning about clay and the process and interested in arts in general, she said. The owner of this building, Marilyn Morris, is very interested in developing the building as art studios. She has a vision of a large art center with multiple workspaces. This is only the beginning.

The community of potters was the impetus of creating a mutually shared workspace.

We can help each other, Yang said. Potters love to talk shop. They are willing to share everything that they know and all their tips and tricks. It is a sharing community and it is so technical with so many variables that we need a community.

Clay Works in the Bitterroot is located at 808 S. First St., Suite B, in Hamilton. Like the new cooperative on Facebook: Clay Works in the Bitterroot.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Major three political parties- Nepali Congress, CPN UML and the CPN Maoist Center organized a meeting at Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis official residence, Baluwatar on Thursday evening.

During the meeting senor leaders from the three major parties were attended. It is said that the meeting, called by the Prime Minister Oli, was concentrated on the issue of national consensus to tackle the present crisis of the country.

The tripartite meeting is called at the time when the CPN Maoist Center, a major ally of the incumbent government, has been lobbying to form a government under its chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahals leadership.
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Jul-06-2016 20:24 TweetFollow @OregonNews Oregon State Police Continuing Officer Involved Fatal Shooting Investigation The suspect was fatally injured and died at the Salem Hospital.

Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Monmouth City Police Department responded to a call the evening of July 5th, at an apartment complex in regard to a male suspect who was allegedly trespassing and harassing an ex-girlfriend at that location. When Police officers arrived at the scene, they learned that the male suspect had been involved in a confrontation with a male tenant of the apartments in which the suspect pulled out a knife, but the suspect had already left the area. The Monmouth Police Department sent an attempt to locate (ATL) to the local agencies in the area with the suspect's information and a description of his vehicle. They told the local agencies they had probable cause to arrest the suspect for Trespassing and Menacing and the suspect was believed to be armed with a knife. Polk County Sheriff's Office Deputies then set up on Highway 22W near Doaks Ferry Rd. looking for the suspect and his vehicle. About 9:45 p.m., Polk County Sheriff's Deputies stopped the vehicle on Highway 22 near milepost 23 (Holman Frontage Road), and began giving commands to the suspect in an attempt effect an arrest. A Polk County Deputy fired shots and the suspect was injured. They requested backup. An Oregon State Trooper also responded to the scene to assist after shots had been fired. During the continued confrontation, the OSP Trooper deployed less-lethal force options. Medical aid was rendered to the adult male suspect and he was transported to the Salem Hospital where he was treated, but later died from his injuries. Following the Polk County Senate Bill 111 Officer Involved Shooting protocols, the Polk County Interagency Major Crimes Team was contacted and it was decided the Oregon State Police would be the lead agency for this investigation. Highway 22 was closed for several hours while the investigation was conducted, reopening early Wednesday morning. Agencies who assisted on scene were Salem Fire, Flack Ambulance, Polk County District Attorney's Office, Independence Police and Monmouth Police. As this is an ongoing investigation, more information will be released when it becomes available. At this time, neither the identity of the suspect or the deputy involved in the shooting have been released. Sources include: OSP news release _________________________________________

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Articles for July 6, 2016 | Articles for July 7, 2016
A well-known Japanese director, whose characters often prefer to run than talk, has just completed post on his latest film. It's a deceptively simple but powerful return to form, which I'm hoping is granted an auspicious international premiere later this year. The team recently wrapped an unusually long (by Japanese standards) post-production period in Western Europe. "Doing post there was fantastic. I'll go back for my next film, too," he enthused.

Doing post overseas is not unheard for Japanese co-productions. Naomi Kawase has done full or partial post in Paris for her France-backed work. Then there's Kiyoshi Kurosawa's upcoming The Woman in the Silver Plate, which also posted in France (less surprising as it's a fully French production in terms of location, cast, and language). Going back in film history, Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses had to be posted overseas to bypass censorship (France to the rescue again!) Having just completed our own Europe-Japan co-prod a few months ago, there was an involved discussion early in the year about where post should be carried out. The Baltics? (The best facilities and people seem to be scattered among the region's three nations). Thailand? (Where Wong Kar-wai does his films). Japan? (Not with all the travel and accommodation costs it would entail). We eventually settled on Czechoslovakia, which offered Hollywood quality colour and sound work for realistic prices. Indeed, HW productions often descend on Prague to put the ribbons on their tentpoles.

Nonetheless, it's still relatively rare for Japanese-language live action features to post in the west. Why would they? The workflow here runs like a well-oiled machine, founded on strong business relationships and loyalties. The facilities themselves (Imagica, Toho, Toei Digital Center etc.) are excellent, and fully equipped. The staff are very helpful -- they've saved our ass on occasion. But as is true of the J-film industry itself, the post sector hasn't had to fiercely compete for domestic business, nor try to match some perceived global standard. It's also pretty expensive.

"Why do [modern] Japanese films look cheap?" is not an uncommon criticism. There are certainly directors who pay great attention to color (Sion Sono and Tetsuya Nakashima being two easy examples), sound design (Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinya Tsukamoto are two exemplars) and mise-en-scene (Kawase, Yamada, Kore-eda, Obayashi, Iwai and many others) but frankly lots of dramas and comedies just look and sound...anemic. It's not usually the fault of equipment or art direction, but rather lighting setups, camera settings, and colour correction that heavily favour flatter, brighter TV standards. The crews often come from TV backgrounds anyway. Those inky blacks you love so much in anamorphic 60s productions? No go. Perhaps not as many days are spent on sound design, either. Do we need to hear Godzilla's toenail scraping against concrete? Maybe that level of resolution isn't necessary, but seeing the Parasyte series outfitted with Hollywood-style foley work (courtesy of Goro Koyama) was an ear-opener. We were lucky to have our friend Goro work on our humble production, and damn if it didn't make a difference.

Should comparisons to Hollywood even be made in the first place?

Is the quaity of modern Korean cinema outshining Japan's (indeed, channeling what used to make J-cinema great)?

Is it fine the way it is? Are there examples of Japanese post (particularly in animation) that are to be admired?

Does it just come down to the film-maker?

I'm looking forward to the dream-like imagery and sound in the movie mentioned at the outset. I wonder if spending that much time and effort in a different work environment will give it that something extra...
For several years now, I've been planning my autumn around Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, my favourite genre fest in one of my favourite places. And as the first wave of film and awards is announced, we can begin the countdown!

Some of the highlights include Mateo Gil's latest Project Lazarus, about the first person to be awoken from cryogenic sleep; The Girl with All the Gifts, from Isaki Lacuesta; The Next Skin, about a disappeared boy who returns to his family, who begin to doubt his identity; and Salvation, the directorial debut of Catalan filmmaker Denise Castro. Other interesting screening include Before I Wake (Mike Flanagan), Desierto (Jonas Cuaron) with Gael Garcia Bernal, Neon Demon (Nicholas Winding Refn), Hell or High Water (David MacKenzie), and Dog Eat Dog (Paul Schrader).

Sitges has always been known for its great Asian selection; this year will see screening of three of the top Korean films, The Handmaiden (Park Chan-wook), The Wailing (Na Hong-jin), and Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho). From Hong Kong comes the new Johnnie To, Three, and from Japan, Terraformars (Takashi Miike), and While the Women Are Sleeping (Takeshi Kitano), based on a short story by Javier Marias.

The festival theme this year is all things Star Trek; there will be a Star Trek Walk, exhibits on the iconic series, and a screening of the documentary For the Love of Spock, directed by Adam Nimoy.

Max von Sydow will receive the Grand Honourary Award, and Paul Schrader, Bruce Campbell, and Barbara Crampton will be this year's recipients of Time Machine awards.

I might be most excited about a retrospective on Soviet-era science fiction films, Red Planet Marx: The (Soviet) Conquest of Outer Space, which will include a screening of Ikari XB-1 (Jindrich Polak).

(And if you're a fan of Italian Cannibal films, in the Brigadoon section, you can see an amazing documentary, Mei Mei Lai Bites Back: Resurrection of the Cannibal Queen, about the iconic star. And you can see me talk about about the films and the actress).

Full details of further titles, along with information on Sitges FilmHub, passes and tickets, are in the press release below.

The worlds most important genre movie showcase is preparing its 49th festival with a collection of titles and guests representing the best and most varied in fantastic film. Pure horror; explosive thrillers; futuristic science fiction; reinterpreted zombies and vampires, and the most unclassifiable films will complete the lineup at the Sitges  International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, to be held from October 7th to 16th. In addition, this year the Festival arrives with the Trekkie spirit as a backdrop, including a handful of events to celebrate the sagas 50th anniversary.

Swedish actor Max von Sydow, with an extensive filmography full of memorable titles, will be visiting Sitges 2016 to receive the Grand Honorary Award. Von Sydow was a pet actor for Ingmar Bergman his mentor- in films like The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries or The Magician; he played Jesus Christ in The Greatest Story Ever Told and hes known worldwide for his role as Father Merrin in The Exorcist. In a career spanning over 60 years, he has worked under the orders of great directors like David Lynch (Dune), Lars von Trier (Europa), Dario Argento (Sleepless), Steven Spielberg (Minority Report), Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island) or Ridley Scott (Robin Hood), among an endless list of others. He has currently participated in the sixth season of Game of Thrones.

Rob Zombie, the multifaceted cult director and artist among horror movie fans, will be a very eagerly awaited guest at Sitges 2016, along with his wife and muse, actress Sheri Moon Zombie. The director and musician, who received the Grand Honorary Award at Sitges 2014, will be presenting 31, a slasher movie set in the 1970s programmed by Sundance. Another illustrious guest this year will be actor and director Bruce Campbell, a fantastic film and TV icon, known worldwide for his role as Ash Williams in the Evil Dead trilogy. Campbell will receive the Time Machine Award at Sitges 2016.

One of the most eagerly awaited and controversial films following its screening at Cannes is The Neon Demon, the latest creation from Nicolas Winding Refn (Time Machine Award winner at Sitges 2015). A radical, thought-provoking horror thriller about the fashion world, starring Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves and Christina Hendricks, which fans will be able to enjoy in Sitges. Another high voltage thriller in this years lineup is Dog Eat Dog, a neo-noir film directed by veteran Paul Schrader, starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe in the role of ex-cons hired to pull off an abduction in the city of Los Angeles. Schrader will also be receiving the Time Machine Award in Sitges.

The lineup will also include the dystopian The Girl With All the Gifts, directed by Colm McCarthy, that addresses the zombie issue from a different angle, with its recreation of an apocalyptic London. The Void, one of the best independent horror films of the year, directed by Jeremy Gillespie and Steven Kostanski, will also be at Sitges. The director of Oculus, Mike Flanagan, will be presenting Before I Wake, continuing with the supernatural horror theme, and this year David Mackenzie, who presented Starred Up at the 2014 Festival, will be bringing the dark thriller Hell or High Water, starring Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine.

Catalan Cinema

Catalan fantastic cinema will making a big impact at Sitges 2016. Well be presenting Proyecto Lazaro, directed by Mateo Gil, a futuristic film with an international cast about a group of doctors who manage to revive a man frozen cryogenically 60 years ago. One of the most active Catalan directors currently in the United States is Carles Torrens, who presented Emergo at Sitges 2011 and won the Cine 365 Film Award at Sitges 2014 with his short Sequence. Now Torrens returns with Pet, a stifling, obsessive thriller starring Dominic Monaghan. Well also be screening The Next Skin, directed by Isaki Lacuesta (who presented Cravan vs. Cravan at Sitges 2003) and Isa Campo, a film that picked up four awards in Malaga, including the Special Jury Award. Completing this preview of Catalan cinema are the directing debuts of Ivan Morillo and Denise Castro, entitled Vestigis and Salvacion, respectively.

Fantastic geographies: Asia and Latin America

Asian cinema will be hitting hard at Sitges 2016, becoming, as usual, one of the cornerstones of the Festival. From South Korea, Park Chan-wook will be presenting The Handmaiden, a sublimely morbid erotic thriller that the director of Oldboy premiered at Cannes and which was very well received by the critics. Also screened at Cannes and from Korea The Wailing and Train to Busan, directed by Na Hong-jin and Yeon Sang-ho, respectively. A murder thriller by the director of The Yellow Sea, in the first case, and a frenetic zombie horror film in the second. From Hong Kong arrives Three, directed by Johnnie To, action and psychological intrigue from an expert genre director. Japan will be bringing Terra Formars, by Sitges regular Takashi Miike, on this occasion with an adaptation of the cyberpunk manga of the same name. Another live action Japanese manga adaptation will be Assassination Classroom: The Graduation, the sequel to Assassination Classroom, directed by Eichiiro Hasumi.

Young Mexican cinema included under the Blood Window label will be represented by We Are The Flesh, directed by Emiliano Rocha, a feature debut without taboos or prejudices that takes place in a dark and desolate post-apocalyptic Mexico, and by Desierto, directed by Jonas Cuaron Alfonsos son, that portrays the obstacles that must be overcome by people trying to cross the border with the United States in search of a better future, in a film starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

Midnight X-Treme

As usual, Midnight X-Treme will be offering the wildest, most festive screenings, with films like Sadako vs. Kayako, a supernatural Japanese horror film directed by Koji Shiraishi; Karate Kill!, by Kurando Mitsutake, an action movie also from Japan ; Dont Kill It, a film directed by Mike Mendez where Dolph Lundgren battles demons, or the feature debut by Jackson Stewart, Beyond the Gates, a horror film that pays tribute to the decade of the 80s and that stars a horror movie legend, Barbara Crampton, who will receive a Time Machine Award. Lundgren, actor and director, and one of the maximum exponents of action and martial arts films, will also receive a prize at Sitges: an Honorary Maria Award.

New ways to treat genre

A large handful of films offering different visions of fantastic genre will be landing at the Festival to show that genre is in one of its very best moments. The Eyes of My Mother is Nicolas Pesces debut film, a realistic, adventurous, tiny black and white horror gem, with Lynchian touches presented at Sundance and Cannes. Vampires seen in a new light are featured in The Transfiguration, Michael OSheas feature debut. A new, future society where human emotions have been eradicated is the one set out in Equals, directed by Drake Doremus and starring Kristen Stewart and Guy Pierce. The Greasy Strangler, directed by Jim Hosking, considered one of the most disgusting comedies of the year at Sundance; and the surprising documentary Tickled, directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, are two clear examples of new genre perspectives.

Retrospectives and tributes

As it visible figure, the Star Trek universe boasts the character of Chekov from the original series, played by Walter Koenig, who will be visiting Sitges 2016 on the occasion of the celebration of the sagas 50th anniversary and who will receive a Time Machine Award. The documentary For the Love of Spock, directed by Adam Nimoy, an approach by Leonard Nimoys son to the point of view of his father, the legendary Mr. Spock, will also be at the Festival. Trekkies are in for a treat because Sitges 2016 will be celebrating the Star Trek Walk, a parade through the streets of Sitges in honor of this cult saga, on Wednesday 12 October. The Festival will rely on the collaboration of the Star Trek Club Association.

There will also be two exhibitions dedicated to Star Trek, distributed between the Miramar Building and Maricel Palace. The first will be composed of all sorts of different material from private collections: figures, comics, models, props, autographed photos, books and assorted merchandise. The second will be a compilation of illustrations created by different artists from around Spain, paying tribute to the sagas universe.

As previously announced, Sitges 2016 will be presenting a retrospective on the Communist bloc, under the title Red Planet Marx: the (Soviet) conquest of outer space, which will include a selection of fantastic genre films from 1957 to 1978 produced in currently non-existing states, like the USSR and Czechoslovakia. Ikarie XB-1, directed by Czech Jindrich Polak, is one of the selected films. Each screening will be presented by a specialist on the subject and will include a post-screening.

The Festival will also be celebrating the 30th anniversary of Aliens (James Cameron, 1986), with a very special screening of this terrifying sequel that thrilled fans of the original film.

Brigadoon and Sitges Zombie Walk 2016

The Brigadoon section, with adventurous, independent, screenings always free of charge offers a preview of a good selection of its trends. Among the feature films, it will be screening Peelers, directed by Seve Schelenz, the story of the owner of a strip club in a small town in the U.S.A. that has to face a strange, infectious disease. You can also see Therapy, a found footage movie directed by a young Nathan Ambrosioni, just 16 years old.

Documentaries will have a significant place in Brigadoon, with the most wide-ranging stars from the fantastic universe. Sitges 2016 will be remembering the deceased Italian filmmaker Joe DAmato with the documentary Joe DAmato Totally Uncut: the Horror Experience. Several films by the Italian director will also be screened. Actress Me Me Lai, who was a jury member at Sitges 2015 in the Focus Asia section, is the star of the documentary Me Me Lai Bites Back: Resurrection of the Cannibal Queen, directed by Naomi Holwill.

Brigadoon will be paying tribute to filmmaker Joan Bosch, who passed away last November, with the screening of some of his films, like A sangre fria or La muerte llama a las diez.

As usual, the traditional Sitges Zombie Walk will take place on the Festivals first Saturday, which will be October 8th and that will once again fill the center of town with zombies from all corners.

The Festival supports the industry: Sitges FilmHub

Sitges is an essential meeting place for sector professionals, who come together in an ideal venue for networking, for the purpose of sharing their projects and analyzing new channels of collaboration.

For the second year running, the Festival will be holding the Sitges Pitchbox, a session coordinated along with the Filmarket Hub platform offering genre feature film projects a chance to make a pitch to producers. It will be on Friday, October 14th. The big news this year is the collaboration of the Barcelona Diputacio (City Council), through its Department of Culture, with the endowment of three prizes that will be awarded by a jury of experts from among Sitges 2016s guests (Sitges Pitchbox 2016 Winner: 6,000 Euros; Sitges Pitchbox 2016 Finalist: 4,000 Euros), and an international collaboration with the NAFF (Network of Asian Fantastic Films). The winner will receive 5,000 Euros and will visit the 2017 BIFAN (Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, in South Korea), where his or her project will be invited to be presented to possible Korean co-producers. On behalf of the NAFF and the BIFAN there will be a reciprocal prize, the Sitges Pitchbox Award, which will allow the winner to visit Sitges 2016 as a guest of the Sitges Pitchbox.

Sitges Cocoon

The Festival is attuned to the current climate and is committed to new, experiential audiovisual narratives, which are presently experiencing rapid progress thanks to virtual reality. Sitges will reinforce its commitment to innovative technologies and formats in film production and consumption with the new Sitges Cocoon section.

Passes, tickets and accreditation

The sale of passes for Sitges 2016 will begin this upcoming Thursday, July 21st via the Festival website. New this year, tickets for the opening and closing galas can also be purchased.

The period to apply for press passes starts on Monday, July 25th, also via the website.
If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE).
 "Implementing Proportionality" | Main | Sharp criticisms of bladerunner Oscar Pistorius being sentenced only to six years for murdering his girlfriend 

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Boston Globe article headlined "Dozens of convicted rapists in Mass. have avoided prison. " Here are excerpts:

More than three dozen people convicted of rape in Massachusetts in recent years have received no prison time for their crimes, state data show, including several who had lengthy criminal histories. A Globe review of Massachusetts court system statistics on 305 rape convictions in the 12-year period that concluded at the end of June 2013 found that in 42 cases, or about 14 percent of the time, defendants received no prison time.

They included two defendants who had a record of either repetitive or violent convictions, and three had a serious record. Seven had a moderate record of convictions, while 30 had either never been convicted of a crime or had been convicted of what the court system considered minor offenses. The figures come from annual reports by the Executive Office of the Trial Court.

If you look at any other violent, serious felony, this would never happen, said Colby Bruno, an attorney at the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston. Rapists should not be given leniency when it comes to sentencing, Bruno said.

In Massachusetts, state sentencing guidelines call for anyone convicted of certain serious crimes, including rape, to be sentenced to some period of incarceration. For rape, the minimum recommended sentence is five years. But judges arent required to follow the guidelines. The Massachusetts data reviewed by the Globe showed that convicted rapists who were incarcerated were typically sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison, and that defendants with more troubling criminal histories usually received lengthier sentences....

National statistics on criminal sentencing are limited. But a federal study on cases that began in 2009 in large urban US counties found 11 percent of convicted rapists were not sentenced to jail or prison time. For those who were incarcerated, the median prison sentence length was 10 years....

The Globes review of the data focused on convictions under Massachusetts definition of rape, which is described as nonconsensual sex with someone by using force or the threat of bodily injury. The review did not look at other classifications of the crime, such as aggravated, statutory, or child rape. The reports did not detail specific cases. The state trial court office, which is exempt from public record disclosure laws, declined to release further details. The most recent year for which data was available was fiscal year 2013.

Defense attorneys, as well as former judges and prosecutors, offered several potential reasons why someone convicted of rape might not get prison time. One of the most likely scenarios, experts said, would be a plea bargain. A prosecutor with a weak case could offer, in exchange for a guilty plea, to recommend a lesser sentence such as probation to the judge.

Getting a conviction and at least some punishment for the defendant is sometimes viewed as a better option than risking losing the case at trial. It also removes the possible need to bring a traumatized victim to testify. The ultimate goal is to decrease crime and hold people responsible, and sometimes that can come in different forms and packages, said law professor Mary G. Leary, a former prosecutor whose focus included sexual assault cases.

In another possible scenario, a victim might ask the judge not to incarcerate the assailant. Sometimes, when you have parties who know each other, they want the person convicted, but they dont want them to be incarcerated, said Christine Cole, executive director of the Crime & Justice Institute, part of the Boston-based nonprofit Community Resources for Justice.

In addition, judges carefully weigh many factors when making sentencing decisions. Factors can include the specific facts of the crime, and whether the defendant cooperated with prosecutors, showed remorse, has a criminal past, and is likely to reoffend, specialists said. The details of each case are critical, said Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge in Boston and a former defense attorney. For example, Gertner said, she routinely encountered cases where defendants, particularly those with drug addiction problems, wound up with these very long rap sheets, but of relatively minor offenses.

Some observers, including Cole and Gertner, said they believe judges sentence appropriately in the vast majority of cases. Martin Rosenthal, a longtime criminal defense attorney and Massachusetts Sentencing Commission member, agreed, saying that while its certainly unusual for someone to be convicted of rape and not get incarcerated . . . I dont think that rape is being diminished in any way by judges or the justice system. The idea that were being soft on rape as a society is just not true, he said.
French fries are a near ubiquitous item on SF restaurant menus in all but the most high-end, Michelin-starred establishments  and even newly Michelin starred AL's Place has their own unique and delicious version, and one-star Spruce serves a burger and excellent fries too. And while the classic American accompaniment to the hamburger took on wide popularity in the long, thin, McDonald's-esque shoestring version, the OG fried potato from which those "French" ones derive are most likely from 17th century Belgium, where fried fish and frites  double-fried at two different temperatures to create the most perfect texture contrast of creamy inside and crunchy outside  were a staple in the Meuse valley, in what was then part of the Spanish Netherlands. Many of the best fries you'll find in SF still use this method and make fries that are more Belgian than they are French  and while the French have long fried potato wedges and little potato coins and called them pommes Pont Neuf and pommes landaises, respectively, or just pommes frites, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote of frying potatoes in general in 1802 as "the French way," even though it's probably the Belgian way, by way of France. Below, our picks for the finest examples around town, though there are many, many more.



4505 Burgers & BBQ

The "spicy fries" on the menu at 4505, which also make appearances at their Ferry Plaza farmers' market booth, are some of the best dressed and uniquely seasoned fries you'll find anywhere, topped with a one-two punch of herbal chimichurri dressing and spicy chili oil. They've been a hit for years at Outside Lands and the farmers' market and are now a staple at the Divisadero restaurant, where you can also order your fries plain  though that is not recommended.  Jay Barmann

705 Divisadero at Grove







Absinthe Brasserie & Bar

Back in 2014, SFist commenter Heather C called us out for failing to laud Absinthe's "super thin fries," calling them "amazing." Heather was likely hit with disappointment since then, as Absinthe has ditched their aiguillettes for a more substantial, traditional fry, now served with "smoky" ketchup and sweet-onion aioli. And in my opinion, that was the right call  thin fries never seem that great to me, but their current offerings are crispy, salty, and just substantial enough to hold their own next to a burger (or by themselves).  Eve Batey

398 Hayes Street At Gough Street





Photo: AL's Place/Instagram

AL's Place

The pickled French fries  yes you read that right  at AL's Place were enough of a revelation to Bon Appetit restaurant editor Andrew Knowlton that he named the place the Best New Restaurant in the country last summer (among more than a few other reasons). 7x7 named the fries their #1 thing to eat "before you die" in SF earlier this year, on a list of 100 things. And I can attest that the fries, fermented in 68-degree water with salt and cabbage leaves for 96 hours before being double-fried and served with smoked apple barbecue sauce, are one of the finest and most craveable SF creations of this decade. Chef Aaron London knows his way around a vegetable, and these potatoes are no exception.  Jay Barmann

1499 Valencia Street at 26th





Beachside's House Cut Fries wait for you at the end of the N. Photo: Eve Batey

Beachside Coffee Bar and Kitchen

There's nothing crazy about these fries: they're freshly cut potatoes, cut medium thick, fried, and salted. Heinz catsup and Sriracha are provided as condiments, you can ask for mayo if you're feeling Junior Year Abroad about things. The real differentiator is the setting: you're two blocks from the beach, and it's gorgeous. Sit outside, get a beer, split a bowl of these with a pal, and watch Outer Sunset life unfold. Anyone who tells you that it gets better than this is selling something.  Eve Batey

4300 Judah Street, between 48th Avenue and La Playa





Belga via Facebook

Belga

Served with garlic aioli and house-made ketchups including curry ketchup, the fries  or, rather, frites  at Cow Hollow's Belga are plenty good on their own, though they do lend themselves particularly well to their traditional Belgian counterpart, mussels. That latter combination, moules frites, allows you to soak up the mussels' broth of butter and beer with the fries, as God intended.  Caleb Pershan

2000 Union Street between Webster and Buchanan Streets





Photo: Jay Barmann

Fog City

Not satisfied to offer up plain old fries at the revamped Fog City Diner, chef Bruce Hill (Picco, Zero Zero) decided when revamping the menu three years ago to dress them with the umami-rich Japanese condiment known as furikake, which includes toasted sesame seeds, seaweed, and bonito flakes. The result is some unique, hand-cut, French fried goodness with some Asian flair, served with garlic aioli, and they go well with just about anything else on the menu  including the excellent burger and the newer Nashville hot fried chicken.  Jay Barmann

1300 Battery at Embarcadero





Hog & Rocks fries both ways, photo by Elise T. via Yelp

Hog & Rocks

Hog & Rocks knows how to do bar bites, and their fries are no exception. They come either glazed with egg yolk, spiced, or both, which is best, but you can also go half-and-half. The potatoes are Kennebec, a Maine breed that chefs know to stay sturdy on the outside and soft on the inside when fried. Caleb Pershan

3431 19th Street Between San Carlos and Mission Streets





Photo: Jamber/Facebook

Jamber Wine Pub

Sure, we could probably make a whole separate list of the best poutines in town, but SoMa's Jamber can boast some nicely fried, standard fries as well as some delicious, gravy-and-cheese-curd-laden poutine in true Quebecois style. Added bonus: You'll occasionally find them serving special poutine variations, like this brunch poutine topped with a fried egg and bacon bits.  Jay Barmann

858 Folsom Street near Fourth





Photo: Jasper's/Facebook

Jasper's Corner Tap + Kitchen

Speaking of poutine (sometimes called "disco fries"), the excellent version at Jasper's made it on SFist's list of the finest stoner foods in town, and it should have a place on this list as well. Recently installed chef Adam Steudle, who's brought a bit of Southern flair to the British-inspired menu, uses the traditional cheese curds along with braised short rib, a delicious red-wine gravy, and tops it with a sunny-side-up egg that stirs nicely into hand-cut fries. Needless to say, you will want these while drunk near Union Square.  Jay Barmann

401 Taylor Street at O'Farrell





Photo of La Trappe's Belgian Fries: Julia Z/Yelp

La Trappe Cafe

If you knew how many SF restaurants got their fries pre-cut, in a bag, you'd likely drop your ketchup. Not so at La Trappe, where their Belgian fries are fresh cut on site and twice cooked like they're supposed to be. They're substantial fries  not the little crispy things you might expect from a Euro-influenced place  that are set off well by the duo of dipping sauces with which they're served, and are excellently complimented by pretty much anything on La Trappe's extensive list of draft and bottled beers.  Eve Batey

800 Greenwich Street at Mason Street





Photo: Mikkeller Bar/Facebook

Mikkeller Bar

Speaking of La Trappe and their authentic Belgian frites, fans should really head to the Danish-born emporium of beer geekery which make another example of perfectly double-fried, crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside, delectably potato-y frites on their all-day menu. They come with the perfect dipping sauce, malt vinegar mayo, as well as ketchup, and of course they pair perfectly the bar's extensive, international beer selection, which keeps the place packed most nights of the week.  Jay Barmann

34 Mason Street near Market





Photo of Monsieur Benjamin's Pommes Frites: Diane M/Yelp

Monsieur Benjamin

What's the difference between pommes frites and French fries? "About 6 bucks," says one Chowhound wag (and they might not be wrong). Some will argue that it's just a language issue, that if you order "pommes frites" in France you'll end up with familiar-from-home french fries, while others say that pommes frites must always be twice-fried (as opposed to french fries' traditional single fry). I don't know the process behind Monsieur Benjamin's offering, as when contacted by phone they were reluctant to divulge it  but I do know that whatever you call 'em, MB's $7 offerings are pretty damn good.  Eve Batey

451 Gough Street between Grove and Ivy





Photo courtesy of Namu Gaji

Namu Gaji

Available, officially, only the brunch and happy hour menus at this Dolores Park-adjacent Korean-fusion spot, Namu Gaji's to-die-for Gamja Fries are a must have. They come, poutine-style, topped with bulgogi beef, kimchee relish, gochujang, Kewpie mayo, teriyaki, and green onion, and if you ask nicely, sometimes, at dinner, they'll serve them as an off-menu treat.  Jay Barmann

499 Dolores Street at 18th





Nopa's fries, photo by Eva O. via Yelp

Nopa

If you thought the thick cut fries at Nopa were just a sidekick for their famous burger, you'll change your mind after eating one (best when dipped in housemade basil parmesan aioli) After that, you'll be ordering fries on their own at Nopa, and everything else will be a side.  Caleb Pershan

560 Divisadero Street at Hayes Street





(Photo credit: Jeffrey Chiang)

Park Tavern

With this $14 side item, Chef Jennifer Puccio reflects the homey, but extravagant clientele at her Washington Square gathering place. The fries bear some resemblance to the ones Michael Bauer celebrated at Marlowe, but here the bowl of fries comes on a piece of slate and topped with shaved black truffle. Skip the quotidian condiments like ketchup or mayo and dip them straight into the accompanying soft-cooked egg, which comes cracked open with a dollop of caviar. Best enjoyed with a cocktail at the bar while you watch San Francisco's political powerhouses rub elbows over roast chicken. Andrew Dalton

1652 Stockton Street (at Filbert)





Photo via Yelp.

PianoFight

The Cajun curly fries at PianoFight are more than just the perfect bar snack (though they are that, too). Spicy, salty, and crispy  the huge basket of fries is enough to share with a table, or, if you're feeling unhealthy, make a meal of (we've done this). Also, they go well with pretty much any beer and will only set you back $6.  Jack Morse

144 Taylor Street near Eddy Street





Photo via Yelp.

Spruce

Fried in duck fat, the fries at Spruce appeal to those looking for the flavor of meat with a classic French-fry crunch. Though the place has a bit of an upscale vibe, many patrons make the trek especially for the burger and fries  even at $19 for the two. Oh, and as an added bonus, you can order them at the bar.  Jack Morse

3640 Sacramento Street between Spruce and Locust Street





Photo: Matt Y./Yelp

Starbelly

Still one of my go-to spots for a burger and fries is Starbelly in the Castro, but the fries alone are something almost everyone orders to share anyway, at brunch or dinner. They're hand-cut from Kennebec potatoes, thin and crisp, never soggy, and even fry critic Michael Bauer called them "some of the best Bay Area french fries." Bonus: They come with a trio of great dipping sauces: Old Bay mayo, basil aioli, and house-made ketchup  Jay Barmann

3583 16th Street at Market/Noe





Photo: Janice C./Yelp.

Wayfare Tavern

Served with the Tavern Burger, the fries at Wayfare Tavern hit all the right notes: crunchy, right amount of salt, and flavorful. They're delicious, but at $22 for the burger/fry pair they're not a drunken late night treat. No, these are for savoring. (Also don't miss the tater tot poutine with oxtail gravy.)  Jack Morse

558 Sacramento Street at Leidesdorff Street
A San Francisco man's quiet evening at home was abruptly shattered Wednesday, when a bullet tore through his ceiling and struck him in the leg.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, a 24-year-old male resident of the 200 block of Serrano Drive (which borders the campus of San Francisco State University) made the decision to clean his handgun at 10:30 Wednesday evening.

Unfortunately, police say, the gun owner made the classic error of failing to check the weapon's chamber for ammunition before he began the cleaning process.

And there was indeed a bullet in the chamber, according to the SFPD! As the weapon washer began his task, he allegedly discharged the gun. The bullet ripped through the floor of his residence and into the home of his 63-year-old neighbor, striking the latter man in the leg.

The shooting victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, police say, with injuries that aren't considered life-threatening. An SFPD spokesperson says it's "unknown" if the alleged shooter was arrested, and declined to comment on what, if any, consequences he might face.


An official alert and multiple tweets went out announcing major police activity at SF General Thursday afternoon, and an anonymous tipster wrote to SFist saying, "My friend works at SF General and says that they 'are getting hardcore evacuated right now,' have been for 15 mins. Currently in the parking lot of main building. Heard a loud bang and reports of shots fired. Deputies ran into new ER."

Initial reports and SFPD's spokesperson Ofc. Grace Gatpandan suggested there were possible shots fired, however subsequent reports of a loud bang, like an explosion, complicated the story.

NBC Bay Area reported that "The San Francisco Police Department and Sheriff's Department are searching parts of the San Francisco General Hospital after a fire alarm went off and a loud bag was heard. Nothing has been found yet."

The bomb squad arrived, and ABC 7 reported the FBI is on the scene as well, for reasons that were not clear.

As of 2:44 p.m., the SFFD public information officer tweeted that no one had been injured. CBS 5 reports that the situation began at 2:15 p.m., and while some hospital employees "self-evacuated," no patients have been evacuated.

Update 1: Via the police scanner, second-hand on Twitter, we have mention of a possible explosive device found on the 5th floor of the hospital.

Per #SFPD scanner: What looks like "remnants of a barrel bomb" discovered on 5th floor of SFGH building. Possible shots fired, explosives.  News This Second (@NewsThisSecond) July 7, 2016

The new wing of the hospital, now officially known as the Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, opened to patients just six weeks ago.

Update 2: Officials are now saying that the "barrel bomb" described on the scanner was actually just an illegal firework. Everyone calm down.

The Chronicle confirms that, saying illegal fireworks have been found (an M80), and that the earlier evacuation occurred in "the outpatient area of the hospital that contains the family health and urgent-care buildings."



Below, the original breaking tweets.




 Expand Photo credit: Maggie Vaughn/Shepherd Express

The Beastie Boys were among the great tastemakers of their time, introducing an entire generation of skateboarders and alternative kids to strains of hip-hop, funk, electro and miscellanea that they otherwise might never have discovered. One of the tragedies of Adam Yauch's premature death was that we never got the chance to witness how the group might have aged, and where those tastes might have taken them next. Even if it's unlikely they had another Paul's Boutique (or even another Hello Nasty) in them, it would have always been interested seeing what they were up to, and catching up with whatever new or old sounds had been capturing their imagination.

That's part of the reason Mike D's DJ set was such an exciting Summerfest booking. Not only was it a novel break from the usual suspects that dominate the festival's hip-hop lineup, but it offered a reassurance that at least one of the Beastie Boys is still out there, still excited by music, and still interested in contributing to it in his own small way. And to judge by his set Wednesday night, Mike D has kept with the times. He opened with a dubstep remix of Kanye West's Mercy, and the set didn't get any less drop-intensive from there. With its dual fixations on dubstep and Atlanta rap, much of it could have been ripped from a recent Certified Clubtapes compilation. All those screeches and wobbles must have come as a shock to anybody expecting a return trip to the soul-funk of the Beasties' Ill Communication era.

The other takeaway from the set: DJing doesn't come naturally to Mike D. At all. For a guy who used to routinely headline arenas, he didn't have much of a stage presence. He spent more of his set squinting at his MacBook than working for the crowd. What exactly he was concentrating on wasn't clear, since he was rarely mixing anything. He didn't even fade songs into each other so much as he smashed them together, often with jarring gaps and pauses between tracks. For all the derision Paris Hilton's Summerfest booking attracted last year, she was by far the more technically proficient DJ.

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He also struggled to read the crowd, which was modest by Summerfest's usual sardine-can standards and thinned considerably throughout the set. Though almost completely avoided deep cuts in favor of obvious choices, even many of his safe picks didn't land. Early in the set he misjudged the crowd's interest in hearing Desiigner's Panda for the trillionth time, and other tracks that should have killed on paper, including iLoveMakonnen's Tuesday and DJ Funk's immortal Ass N Titties, similarly bombed. Even when he started blending some Beastie Boys classics midway through his set, the rush was fleeting. He pasted snippets of No Sleep Til Brooklyn over Wiz Khalifa's You and Your Friends, but the beats didn't match at all. He set Sure Shot to Biggie's Juicya surefire beat that always hits like an applause linebut he let the mashup ride for so long that the crowd got bored.

At times it was actively hard to watch. Though it should have been a minor, low-pressure gig, a way of playing for some fans without the expectations tied to releasing new music, Mike D still looked over his head, and he rarely seemed to be enjoying himself. Let there be no doubt about it: DJing is a lot harder than it looks.
One look at the title and I though, Zeus, right? Thats Zeus. Sure enough, Greece Lightning is about Zeus...and all of the rest of the gods on Mt. Olympus. Theyre upset. Theres a bunch of unruly mortals at the base of the mountain that are upsetting things. Sounds like potentially fun pseudo-domestic comedy with gods, which has a chance to be ever-so-slightly subversive if placed in the right hands.

The hands in question are Waukesha Civic Theatres ACAP PlayerMakers. Join Zeus, Apollo, Athena and more as they confront the Greeks in a comedy that also features music from the 50s. The show has been put together with a script by Mark Cage and is being directed by Patty Chones.

Greece Lightning runs Jul. 15 - 17 at Waukesha Civic Theatre on 264 W. Main St. in Waukesha. For tickets and more, visit Waukesha Civic Theatre online.
One sip of this soup is like getting wrapped in your warmest, coziest sweater. Between the thick chunks of vegetables, tender cubes of potato, juicy shreds of chicken (take your pick of boneless breasts or thighs), and thick, creamy broth, it truly doesnt get more comforting than chicken potato soup.

As the temps begin to dip, this is a family-friendly soup to keep on repeat all through fall and winter.
STORM LAKE, Iowa | Agents from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's Special Enforcement Operations Bureau are assisting the Iowa Lottery to review a possible fraudulent claim of a winning lottery ticket in Storm Lake.

According to an Iowa Department of Public Safety news release, the ticket, which claimed to have won a $250,000 prize in one of the lottery's instant-scratch games, was presented at the Storm Lake Regional Lottery Office on June 17.

The prize has not yet been paid, the release said.

The investigation is ongoing. The DCI said no further information is being released at this time.

Assisting in the investigation are the Iowa Lottery and the Buena Vista County Attorney's Office.
SIOUX CITY | Author Cindy Challed can trace her writing career back to Sioux City  fifth grade at Bryant Elementary to be exact.

It was in the classroom of Mrs. Muriel Rickard in 1963 where Challed, who publishes under the name Cynthia Wright, penned her first book, Herbert the Talking Diary.

Mrs. Rickard encouraged my writing and had me read a new chapter to the class every week, she recalled. That positive feedback was really important to me.

For 125 years, students received that kind of support from teachers at Bryant. Lifelong friendships were formed, countless memories made and educational careers shaped at 821 30th St. throughout the years.

But now Challed and the thousands who attended Bryant must say goodbye as the school will be torn down this week and a bigger structure will be built where it once stood.

As long as we have pictures to remember it by, Ill be happy, said Nancy (Levin) Geyer, now of Dallas, Texas.

Geyer, who attended Bryant from 1960 to 1964, said memories of Bryant have stuck with her and shes maintained friendships for more than 50 years since her last year at the school. That, she said, is a product of the community.

For some reason, Bryant was a very close-knit elementary school, she said.

The end of the oldest school building in the Sioux City district is difficult for former and current teachers, students and staff. But once the old, dark brick is cleared from the grounds, a foundation can be set for the $22 million replacement.

I figure its about time, said Geyers father, David Levin, who started attending Bryant in 1930.

Brian Fahrendholz, Sioux City School District operations and maintenance director, said the majority of current Bryant Elementary students will attend the former Crescent Park Elementary next year, as students from that school will join Lincoln and Clark Elementary students at the new Perry Creek Elementary next school year.

Levin attended Bryant at a time where students were called to do tasks around the school. As a sixth-grader, Levin would look out the window and ring the bells when the buses arrived.

Id go to the principals office and look out the window, and when the buses would go through the alley to pick up the kids, I would ring a bell, he said. One bell would be the Jackson Street bus, two was the Sunset bus.

He added he was patrol boy at 31st and Jackson, where he would stand with a stop sign after school let out to help students cross the street safely.

Geyer said she helped in the nurses office from time to time.

There were times (the nurse) let me help with a skinned knee, she said. It was just getting involved in the everyday tasks with the administrators ... they looked to students to help them.

Since its construction in 1890, Bryant has undergone some changes, including additions in 1910 and 1916, a remodeling project in 1932 and the most recent addition in 1957.

Levins sister, Helen (Levin) Glazer, who also attended Bryant in the 1930s, said she has noticed a major change in personnel.

All the teachers were Miss somebody. There were very few married women, she said. They stayed for many years. Teaching was their whole life.

While the face of education has changed since Bryant opened as a four-room schoolhouse, two things have remained constant -- students worked and, once in a while, students created a little mischief.

I brought a garter snake to school in third grade, said Sioux City attorney Steve Kohl. Someone ... opened the cage, the snake slithered out and went behind the radiator and was never to be seen again.

Challed said sometimes she was sent to the hallway as punishment for talking too much. To avoid more trouble, she had to get creative.

If (principal) Mr. (Robert) Young came by, I would hurry to the drinking fountain so he wouldnt guess why I was in the hall, she recalled.

Memories of success and mischief will be long remembered, even after the old Bryant building comes down. But those looking for a physical keepsake from the elementary school after demolition can contact Sioux City Engineering Company for information.
DES MOINES | Senior Judge Brian Michaelson, of Le Mars, Iowa, recently received the 2016 Iowa Judges Association Award of Merit at the annual Iowa Judges Association meeting.

The award recognizes "dedication, skill, distinguished service and extraordinary efforts for the betterment of the Iowa judiciary," according to a news release.

"Iowa has a better court system today because of the work of Judge Michaelson in the area of family treatment courts," Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said. "His efforts have improved the lives of countless Iowans and given justice greater meaning."

Michaelson served as an associate juvenile judge beginning in 1985, and was appointed a senior judge in 2012.

Since becoming a judge, he has been a trainer/presenter for foster parents, child protective investigators, case managers, service providers, tribal representatives/social workers, guardian ad litems, attorneys and judges on local, state and national juvenile justice issues.
LE MARS, Iowa | A Le Mars mobile home is a total loss after an early Thursday fire that brought several local law enforcement and rescue agencies to the scene.

Le Mars Assistant Fire Chief Mike Wise said firefighters responded to a fire call at Armel Acres Mobile Home Estates at 1:50 a.m. Thursday. Firefighters were on scene until 6 a.m.

Wise said there were no injuries to the mobile home's three occupants or to firefighters, and no other structures were damaged.

Wise said firefighters believe the cause of the fire to have been a flammable vapor ignited by a discarded smoking material.

Le Mars Fire Department was assisted by the Le Mars Police Department, Le Mars Ambulance and the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office.
ONAWA, Iowa | The Onawa Police Department is requesting help from the public in identifying two men believed to have stolen cash from an area convenience store.

According to the Monona County Sheriffs Office, police were told that two men entered Petro Mart, 2650 Iowa Ave. N., at 1:43 a.m. June 27. Authorities say one of the men, wearing a red shirt, entered the store managers office and took cash while the other man, wearing a blue shirt, stood watch outside the office.
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City man has been charged with assault of a police officer after advancing on a local officer with a knife, authorities say.

The incident occurred at 5:44 p.m. Wednesday.

According to court documents, 18-year-old Anthony Orlando Holeyfield, of Sioux City, "advanced aggressively" toward an officer in the 1500 block of Ingleside Avenue while displaying a black folding pocket knife with the blade extended.

Documents say Holeyfield advanced to within approximately 12 feet before dropping the knife on the ground after receiving verbal commands by officers.

Holeyfield has been charged with assault of a police officer, a class D felony. He is being held in the Woodbury County Jail on $5,000 bond. His next court date is July 18.
DAKOTA CITY | A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to assaulting two men by ramming his sport-utility vehicle into a parked vehicle.

Ruben Vela, 47, entered his plea Thursday in Dakota County District Court to first-degree assault, second-degree assault, failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death and two counts of criminal mischief.

According to court documents, on June 6 Vela drove his Ford Explorer into a parked car after getting into an argument with other men at the Budget Host Inn, 1201 First Ave., in South Sioux City.

Vela forced the parked vehicle up against the wall of the hotel and injured two men who had been standing behind the vehicle. One of the men had to have his lower left leg amputated, court documents said.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | Oddly enough, Dawn Habhab can make a connection between Macaulay Culkin and Camp Goodwill.

Much like the actors 1994 film Pagemaster," lessons learned in school books come to life at the camp, she said.

We look at camp as an outdoor living classroom," said the camp director.

Camp Goodwill, located off U.S. Highway 20 outside of South Sioux City, has been a presence in Siouxland for about 100 years. Habhab said it started as a way to provide learning opportunities in an outdoor environment.

That element of outdoor learning is still prevalent nearly a century later, with camp activities focused around Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM), with a little history sprinkled in.

Habhab said the shift toward STEAM-related activities has been building for a couple of years. She emphasized that camp is the perfect opportunity to open a childs mind to the possibilities of not only recreation and fun, but also potential careers.

We wanted to make sure opportunities are given to children that will be relevant the rest of their lives, she said. Camp has every possibility of doing that without ever taking out the fun.

Bake cupcakes? Yes, STEAM is involved there, said Habhab. Baking includes measurements (math) and decorating (art). And, at Camp Goodwill, campers turn cooking into a television show, which requires technology and science.

What this helps, Habhab said, is to decrease learning regression during the summer months.

When they take this learning home, it gives them a little more of a bump when they return to school, she said. Theyre learning through play, which, in my opinion, makes it stick a lot better.

Does it seem like learning though? Hardly, according to 10-year-old Petra-Zlata Iva, of Sioux Falls.

Petra-Zlata recalls one of her three years at camp when campers made salsa. The following fall, she said, her class had a test on food and her experience with cooking allowed her to identify different foods  including salsa.

Its learning, but its having fun while youre learning, she said.

Each of the camps six weeks has its own theme that presents its own unique STEAM opportunities.

This week, campers are exploring Passport to the World," which allows them to travel around the globe and sample games, music, foods and crafts of different cultures.

An origami lesson allows students to exercise their understanding of arts and angles while learning the history of the paper-folding art and Japanese culture.

Additionally, campers participate in physical activities and have the chance to explore ecosystems while canoeing and aquascopes - devices to view life under water.

Sometimes, as Chaz Clausen, 11, of Sioux City, found out, more than one lesson can be combined into a single activity. The challenge: To build your own smoothie and combine the ingredients with power generated from pedaling a bike. Nutrition, science and engineering all in one.

It was pretty cool because I like to ride my bike, he said. It was like that, but I just wasnt going anywhere.

Each week's session costs $20, and, Habhab said, scholarships are available for those in need. Registration for the remaining weeks is still open and can be done at https://www.goodwillgreatplains.org/camp-goodwill.

Eight-year-old Anna Henderson plans to attend all six weeks. While shes most anticipating learning about dinosaurs, the Wakefield, Nebraska, resident is having fun learning about stars and the music of other countries.

I like to go swimming, arts and crafts, sleeping in the cabins and spending the night at camp, she said. Its going super good.
SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City church has become the second in Iowa this week to challenge an Iowa Civil Rights Commission position on gender identity protections that the church believes infringe on religious freedom.

Cornerstone World Outreach, located at 1625 Glen Ellen Road, has enlisted the aid of First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit legal firm dedicated to faith-based cases, to write to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission asking it to retract wording in one of its brochures.

Cornerstone's action comes on the heels of a federal suit filed Monday by attorneys with a separate legal organization, the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, on behalf of the Fort Des Moines Church of Christ.

The commission brochure in question outlines the states sexual orientation and gender identity law as it relates to public accommodation providers, which the brochure says "sometimes" include churches.

Chelsey Youman, First Liberty's chief of staff and counsel, said classifying churches as public places could potentially cause government interference with pastors' free speech regarding sex and gender issues, as well as require them to allow restroom usage based on gender identification. She said it could potentially affect the worship of many faiths.

"Its really, really egregious," Youman said. "We don't think it would be advisable to wait and hope and pray you don't get sued by your government."

In its letter sent Tuesday, First Liberty requested the commission amend the brochure in order to clarify that Cornerstone is exempt from the code. It also requested a public acknowledgement of Cornerstone's exemption.

If the conditions are not met by Aug. 5, the letter says, attorneys are prepared to pursue "all available legal remedies."

"In an ideal world, we would have the CRC clarify that churches are not places of public accommodation just because they have a public worship service," Youman said.

The portion of the brochure at issue with both Cornerstone and Fort Des Moines Church of Christ is part of a Q-and-A section that addresses whether the law applies to churches.

The brochure answers by saying: "Sometimes. Iowa law provides that these protections do not apply to religious institutions with respect to any religion-based qualifications when such qualifications are related to a bona fide religious purpose. Where qualifications are not related to a bona fide religious purpose, churches are still subject to the law's provisions (e.g. a child care facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public)."

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's office issued a statement earlier this week that no cases dealing with Iowa churches have even been brought to the state's civil rights commission. The Iowa law has been in place since 2007.
That's an odd place to store drugs

SIOUX CITY | A Sioux City woman is facing several drug charges after police found her concealing drugs during a traffic stop Wednesday evening.

According to court documents, officers stopped a white 1994 Chevrolet S-10 truck for a broken windshield at the intersection of 13th and Douglas streets around 5 p.m. Wednesday. At that time, the passenger, 36-year-old Kimberly K. Sweet, of Sioux City, began making large movements.

Documents say the vehicle's driver, Tony Smith, who documents say is a well-known drug dealer in the area, told officers Sweet was hiding drugs on her person. After searching Sweet, documents say officers found her in possession of 14 small plastic bags of crystal meth with a total weight of 6.3 grams, three rolled marijuana cigarettes, several pills and a digital gram scale.

Sweet was charged with possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, carrying a weapon, possession of prescription drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Isn't. Real. Suckers.

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa | Reports of scammers posing as Internal Revenue Service employees have surfaced in Lyon County, prompting officials to warn residents against giving personal information over the phone.

According to a Lyon County Sheriff's Office news release, authorities have received reports that someone pretending to be from the IRS has been calling residents regarding a lawsuit.

The release advises residents not to give out personal information, including banking information, over the phone.

According to the IRS, those questioning the validity of any call are encouraged to record the employee's name, badge number, callback number and caller ID if available, then call 800-366-4484 to determine if the caller is a legitimate IRS employee who needs to contact them.

If the call is not legitimate, officials encourage residents to notify local law enforcement and the IRS field office.
Small businesses today are prone to a lot of the same hazards as yesteryear. But theyre largely unprepared to handle 21st Century threats to their companies.

Floods, fire or any other type of natural disaster could spell doom for a lot of businesses but for a lot of those events, having a good insurance policy and a plan for dealing with them could help keep the business going through the difficult time ahead.

But small businesses are not preparing themselves in the event of a new kind of potential disaster, a cyber attack.

Three-quarters (a full 75 percent) of small businesses in the U.S. do not have cyber risk insurance or arent sure if their policy covers a cyber attack.

Lack of Cyber Risk Insurance a Concern

Thats according to the identity protection firm IDT911, which just released a new report showing most small businesses in the U.S. are highly unprepared in all phases for a cyber attack and have no plan in place if such an event were to occur.

So, maybe knowing how vulnerable they could be to an attack would change the collective tune of businesses toward cyber security? Not quite.

Businesses arent really willing to shell out any more money in the name of cyber security, either, despite their vulnerability and the despite the meteoric rise in cyber attacks against businesses of all sizes, but especially against small businesses.

Sixty-five percent of the small businesses surveyed by IDT911 said they dont have funds budgeted for cyber security and have no plans to make any funds available for it.

This data really underscores American businesses lack of preparedness for a cyber attack in all facets, not just a lack of a proper cyber risk insurance policy.

And this is startling because 1 in 3 businesses told IDT911 that they really would have a hard time sustaining company operations without access to critical business systems that would be compromised during an attack.

Knowing this, youd figure that the first reaction on the part of businesses would be to pay off hackers in a desperate attempt to save their business. Nope.

A whopping 84 percent of small businesses say they wouldnt pay any amount of money to hackers who held their sites for ransom. And only 3 percent of those responding to IDT911 say theyd pay more than $10,000 to alleviate a ransomware attack.

Thats probably a good reaction but likely not being done for the right reason. It seems money and a lack of knowledge are the driving factors behind the lack of a grasp of the severity of this situation.

Apart from checking into cyber security insurance plans and what theyd really cost your business  remember the possibility of being held for ransom and what that would cost when youre considering a policy  one of the simplest steps you could take is to back up your data.

By doing this, youre already ahead of nearly 80 percent of your contemporaries. Backing up systems and files is an important step in preparing for the likelihood of a cyber attack but only 22 percent of small business owners have gone even this far.

Dont think that just backing up files is enough, though. Its the least you could do, according to IDT911 founder and chairman Adam Levin. He says, Training alone isnt enough. Cyber risk insurance isnt enough and, sure as heck, backed-up data alone isnt enough.

Small businesses need a cyber risk insurance policy in place today but most dont know the first thing about the subject and really arent dipping further into the coffers to change that.

A proper plan includes making yourself and your team aware of the threats and how to prevent a cyber attack or prevent one from going beyond, say, a suspicious email that stays unopened. It also includes constant monitoring of all systems to prevent an attack and being made aware the second a threat is detected. And lastly, the plan should include a comprehensive response to the What if .

Levin says, Were talking about complete and utter paralysis of systems that could spell lost revenue, viciously impacted customers and a potential near-extinction level event for a business.
By now, most small business owners and entrepreneurs have probably heard of the importance of social media for marketing your business. But social media can be a real time sink and many small business owners simply dont have the time or energy to it themselves.

Enter the social manager. Hiring the right social media manager can free your time while building your brand. But how can be sure youve chosen the right one? Different companies require different things from social managers. But there are a few warning signs you should look out for that could mean youve hired the wrong social media manager. Here are some of them.

Attributes of a Bad Social Manager

They Have No Social Media Presence

It should go without saying that your social manager should be good at managing social media. But too often, businesses rely on the fact that someone claims to be an expert, rather than looking at actual results. So if your social manager has about 40 followers on Facebook and no presence on any other platform, they should at least have some examples of work theyve done with clients on social media. If they dont, then how can you expect them to run your social media presence successfully?

They Dont Focus on the Right Social Networks

Even if someone is generally good at social media, that doesnt mean that theyre going to be the right fit for you. If youre trying to market to millennials on social media, you probably shouldnt go with someone whos really good at Facebook marketing but has limited experience with Instagram and Snapchat. There are social managers who focus on all different types of platforms, and some that have more experience in all of them. So consider your businesss needs and your target market carefully when looking into social media managers.

Their Strategy Isnt Aligned with Your Business Goals

Growing a social media following isnt just about numbers or a few set objectives. Different businesses have different goals for their social media marketing. And your social media manager should constantly have those goals in mind. So if your goal is to grow a following so that you can nurture those potential customer relations over the long term, but your social manager only ever posts links to try and get immediate traffic to your website, theres something wrong. If youre unsure about how something theyre doing relates to your businesss goals, ask them. And if they cant answer, they might just not know what theyre doing.

They Dont Communicate Effectively

Social media is all about communication. Although its a format that differs from many more traditional marketing channels, your social media manager still needs to be able to get messages across clearly. So if they communicate in a way that is confusing, unprofessional or just not on-brand, theyre probably not going to work for your social media strategy.

Their Voice is Off

In addition to just being able to get a point across, your social manager should be able to do so in a voice thats likely to resonate with your target audience, writes Nichole Beckett of Premier Content Source. So if youre trying to get a message across to moms, dont speak to them like they are children. And if youre marketing to millennials, you dont need to write like youre composing a term paper. If your social media managers voice is disconnected from whats going to appeal to your target audience, youve probably chosen the wrong manager.

They Make All Kinds of Spelling/Grammatical Errors

Regardless of who your social manager is talking to, their messages should usually be free of outright errors. In some cases, they might be able to get away with things like fragmented sentences or abbreviated words. But if they just constantly make errors that arent intentional, your audience is going to notice and not take your business as seriously.

They Dont Listen

Social media is a two-way street. So your social media manager shouldnt just be good at posting on social media, but they should also be good at listening to others on those platforms. For example, many customers use social media as a way to reach out to companies with questions or concerns. If your social manager ignores those posts or just deals with them in some generic way without actually listening, thats a bad sign.

They Only Do What You Tell Them to Do

Of course, you want your social manager to listen to your goals and requests for your companys social media strategy. And they should absolutely take that input seriously. However, if they only ever do what you tell them to do, then they arent actually adding anything to the position. A good social media manager should come with their own ideas and ways to turn your goals into actions. But if they only do exactly what you tell them to do and nothing more, they probably arent right for the job.

They Dont Bring You Results

Social media marketing is an ever-changing process. So its not necessarily going to bring your business overnight success. But over time, your social managers actions should bring you some kind of results, whether thats increased engagement, website traffic or even sales. And if they arent, then their efforts may not be worth the investment.


Regina Rochelle Jackson, age 47, of Washington, D.C. Regina Rochelle Jackson, age 47, of Washington, D.C.

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md.

Bank surveillance photo of Troy Tyrone Wertz at the time of the robbery for which he is serving 15 years in prison.

(July 6, 2016)A second person has been charged and arrested in connection with the Oct. 15, 2015 robbery of the PNC Bank in Charlotte Hall . Regina Rochelle Jackson, age 47, of Washington, D.C., was identified as the primary robber's girlfriend and as the driver that drove him away from the bank after committing the robbing. On May 20, Troy Tyrone Wertz, pled guilty to the robbery for which he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.After further review of the investigation with the State's Attorney for St. Mary's County, investigators from Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region were instructed to apply for and subsequently received an arrest warrant, charging Jackson with, one count of armed robbery, one count of assault first degree, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of theft less than $1,000.On June 29, Jackson was apprehended without incident by Metropolitan Police Department's Fugitive Apprehension Unit at her residence in Washington, D.C. During Jackson's processing, she freely waived extradition proceedings.On July 1, local investigators travelled to the District of Columbia's jail, located in S.E. Washington, D.C. and brought Jackson back to St. Mary's County to stand trial on her charges.If convicted on the charge of armed robbery, Jackson could be incarcerated for more than 20 years.Anyone having information pertaining to criminal investigations and/or major drug trafficking, is urged to contact investigators with the Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region at 410-535-1400 or "TIP" Line: 1-888-210-1450 or email at: msp.centralsouth@maryland.gov.
WASHINGTON

(July 6, 2016)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is being awarded amodification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-13-C-0008) for procurement of diminishing manufacturing sources electronic components. The modification will support aircraft production through Lot 14 for U.S. facilities, and Lot 15 for international facilities for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. Work will be performed in Richardson, Texas (98 percent); and Fort Worth, Texas (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2017. Fiscal 2014 aircraft procurement (Air Force, Navy); fiscal 2015 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps); foreign military sales; and international partner funds in the amount of $66,720,487 are being obligated at time of award, $34,353,278 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($30,048,367; 45.04 percent); Navy ($5,739,879; 13.61 percent); Marine Corps ($12,777,583; 6.12 percent); foreign military sales customers ($15,460,736; 16.47 percent); and the international partners ($29,835,914; 31.79 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program. The, is the contracting authority., is being awardedfor modification P00016 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00421-15-C-0027) to exercise an option for an estimated 137,035 hours of services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's Special Communications Mission Solutions Division. Services to be provided include engineering, research, design, development, integration, installation, test and evaluation, fielding, analysis, maintenance, material procurements, training, and logistics services for communications-electronics advanced technology systems. Work will be performed in Lexington Park, Maryland (98 percent); Bethesda, Maryland (1 percent); and Richmond, Virginia (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in March 2017. Fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance funds (Marine Corps) in the amount of $750,000 are being obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity.
Boyd Corbin has a long list of issues he wants to address if elected mayor. Crime, taxes, spending, bar safety, pedestrian safety, increasing parking and more.

But at the top of the list is the planned lane reduction of Wilton Drive. Hes firmly against it.

Since the lane reduction was first proposed, most of the public opinions expressed have been in favor of reducing the street from four lanes to two. But Corbin is so far the most vocal opponent of the project since it became public several years ago.

Proponents of the reduction say it would make the street safer, add additional parking spaces and benefit business owners. Essentially, the idea is to make Wilton Drive more like Las Olas Boulevard.

Corbin has spoken against the reduction at commission meetings, on social media and his campaign website. Hes also started a petition drive, with some of the signatures coming from the booth he set up during the Stonewall festival last month.

If the lane reduction is approved by the state, city officials have stated the Florida Department of Transportation [FDOT] would pay for the costs association with altering the physical structure of the road. But, said City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson, any additional landscaping or beautification would have to be paid for by the city.

But Corbin, who is challenging Mayor Gary Resnick, is against the reduction for reasons that dont include money.

This insane project will only benefit some business owners on the Drive. They want wider sidewalks for putting tables and chairs on. Let the residents vote. Last year, Mayor Resnick mentioned having a referendum to let residents vote on the issue. This needs to be done before continuing with this bizarre project that will create huge traffic jams not only on Wilton Drive but also on Andrews Avenue, Powerline Road and Northeast 26th Street.

Related: Mayoral Candidate Boyd Corbin Cleared Of All Charges

In November of last year, Resnick promised public hearings would be held on the issue and suggested a referendum be held. A consultant will be at the next commission meeting on July 12 to present scenarios for the Wilton Drive redesign.

The current commissions support for reducing Wilton Drive is predicated on the financial burden being borne by FDOT. Until recently, officials resisted calls to take on the project because they said the city could not afford to do so on its own. Fort Lauderdales request to narrow Northeast 4 Avenue from Sunrise Boulevard to Wilton Manors prompted city officials to request the same for Wilton Drive.

If elected, Corbin, who unsuccessfully challenged Resnick for mayor in 2014, would most likely still face a majority of commissioners in favor of moving forward with the lane reduction.

Commissioners Tom Green and Julie Carson, both candidates for re-election this November, voted to apply to FDOT for the reduction. In April, Green said a two-lane Northeast 4 Avenue and a four-lane Wilton Drive could cause problems on Wilton Drive. The sudden expansion from two to four lanes, said Green, could encourage drivers to speed up once they get into Wilton Manors. That is something that would run counter to the efforts by city officials, residents and business owners to make the street safer for pedestrians.

Paul Rolli supports the lane reduction and agrees with Green, saying that traffic problems could cause arise from not altering the road. Celeste Ellich, the other candidate for commission, said she needs to study the issue further before forming an opinion.
With only a few weeks to go before the Republican Convention in Cleveland, followed by the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, thought I would take the opportunity to talk politics on a more local level, right here in good ole Wilton Manors.

This year we have a local election for Mayor and two City Commission seats. For those accustomed to seeing my name on the ballot, I am not running in this election, but remain involved in our city as President of the Westside Association of Wilton Manors, Chair of the citys Budget Review Advisory Committee, and Secretary of The Friends of The Wilton Manors Library. I will enjoy watching from the sidelines, while our field of very qualified candidates race to the finish line.

The race for Mayor has two candidates running, our incumbent Mayor Gary Resnick, and his opponent Boyd Corbin. In the race for two commission seats, we have the two incumbents, Tom Green and Julie Carson, and two challengers, Paul Rolli and Celeste Ellich.

The mayoral race will probably be an easy win this time for our long-serving mayor, Gary Resnick, lacking former challenger, Doug Blevins, who is currently busy with the Wilton Drive Business Improvement District.

Perhaps an easy win, but with Boyd Corbin as your opponent, theres sure to be plenty of drama and excitement along the way. Ive always had an underdog appreciation for Boyd, listening to his speeches at City Commission Meetings on how he was treated unfairly by Police and city officials dating back to an incident one Halloween when his tiki torch set fire to a drag queens wig. Yes, accidents do happen. However, wearing a KKK outfit and carrying a lit torch around drag queens with big hairdos is probably not the best choice one could make.

In the race for two Commission seats, it was a cliffhanger waiting to see if Commissioner Carson would decide to run for re-election. In the end she decided to throw her hat into the race, along with another last minute surprise, Celeste Ellich. Name sounds familiar? You are correct, it is the same Celeste Ellich who, as President of the Wilton Manors Business Association, thought it would be a great idea to invite and host then Congressman Alan West to Wilton Manors. Talk about not making the best choice. Celeste, did you really think the residents of Wilton Manors would roll out the red carpet for Allen West after his ferocious attacks on the LGBT community? After a five-year retreat from city politics, perhaps Celeste, who also serves as Vice Chair of the Broward Republican Executive Committee, thought it a good year to ride in on Donald Trumps coattails and go after the angry white vote here in Wilton Manors. Perhaps she is on to something and, come this time next year, we will be calling Donald, Mr. President and Celeste, Madam Commissioner. Oh god, its too late for April Fools jokes!

Now to the other candidates in the Commission race, Tom Green and Paul Rolli, my favorites to win. Commissioner Tom Green is running for re-election, and this city will be all the better if he is voted to serve another four-year term. Commissioner Green is passionate about Wilton Manors and about improving the quality of life for all here in our city. Commissioner Green is frequently spotted at various city board and committee meetings, is proud to serve on the Metropolitan Planning Organization and on the Florida League of Cities. He is also the major voice for our environment and green building practices. Tom Green is a true asset to our City Commission and our residents.

Paul Rolli, my second choice for the two commission seats, would also be a real asset to our City Commission. Paul has served two terms as Chair of the very important Budget Review Advisory Board, helping steer this city on a sound financial path. Pauls background and thorough understanding of our citys budget makes him a perfect choice to serve as one of our next City Commissioners. Residents can have the comfort of knowing that Paul Rolli is watching out for them now and into the future when it comes to the citys tax base, spending, future planning and security.

As for Commissioner Carson, she has definitely served our city well and deserves our heartfelt gratitude, but not for re-election. I would urge Commissioner Carson to look beyond our small citys borders if she desires to remain in public service. Julies passion and commitment deserve a much larger audience. Unfortunately, her vision looks beyond our residents, our tax base, our hometown needs, and limited resources.

So the race is on. Lets keep it civil and professional, and lets all be respectful of our fellow residents decisions about who they choose to support. After all, that is what makes us a democracy!

And having that choice makes life just better here.
Its a momentary lapse of memory that can have a lifetime of repercussions. To help prevent the deaths of children and pets because they were left in hot cars, the Wilton Manors Police Department is providing free stickers and pamphlets to remind parents and pet owners not to leave their precious cargo behind.

According to the WMPD, 10 children nationwide have already died in 2016 due to vehicular heatstroke deaths. There have been 77 in Florida between 1990 and 2015, but that number is probably an underestimation because of unreliable data collection.

Related: BSO Searching for Hit-And-Run Driver Who Killed Pedestrian

NBC 6 reported on one of those deaths in May, an 11-month-old girl in Hialeah who was left in a car for an unknown number of hours. In 10 to 15 minutes, the temperature of a car which is parked and not running, could go from 80 degrees to 130 degrees, said Hialeah Fire Chief Miguel Anchia in an interview with NBC 6. Even cracking the windows doesnt prevent a significant rise in temperature.

State law penalizes individuals who leave children unattended or unsupervised in a vehicle for more than 15 minutes. The penalty ranges from $50 to $500 if the child is unharmed and becomes a third degree felony if the child is seriously hurt, disabled or disfigured.

The state also allows individuals to break vehicle windows to help unattended children and pets.

Individuals cant be sued as long as they make sure the vehicle is locked, call 9-1-1, notify law enforcement before or immediately after they break the window, use no more force than is necessary and remain with the child or animal until emergency responders arrive.

Stickers and pamphlets can be picked up at the police department, 2020 Wilton Drive; Wilton Manors Library, 500 NE 26 St., and at various animal hospitals and dog-related businesses.
Dr. Stephen Flanagan, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, which is a public policy think-tank, agreed that the deployment was unlikely change the balance of power in the region.

"It will, however, enhance the capability of Allies to maintain, and if required, implement their collective self-defense commitments," he added.

Dr. Flanagan denied that NATO was planning to establish permanent bases in Central and Eastern Europe, saying the allies were expected to approve an "enhanced rotational presence of forces who would conduct training and exercises."

Nevertheless, Dr. Nitoiu said Russia was certain to see this as a provocation and beef up its defenses accordingly, despite both sides apparent unwillingness to slide back into a cold war.

"The willingness to engage in a confrontation similar to the Cold War is largely absent in both Russia and the West," he told Sputnik.

Dr. Flanagan reminded that NATO and US leaders had all previously made clear that the 28-nation bloc did not seek a confrontation with Russia or a new cold war.

In February, NATO defense minister approved the deployment of NATO troops to Eastern Europe. The July 8-9 summit is expected to finalize the exact contributions from member states amid what NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has described as a challenging regional security situation.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, the Kremlins press service said Putin and President Barack Obama reaffirmed their readiness to increase military cooperation in Syria and to resurrect UN-mediated negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition representatives.

"President Putin could help the United States find a face-saving way out of its disastrous interventions in Syria," Sydney University professor Tim Anderson told Sputnik.

Anderson, author of "The Dirty War on Syria," noted that the Russian president might be able to persuade the "mastermind of the war" in Washington to retreat from its ambitious in the region.
Washington still supports the al-Nusra Front in Syria even though it is an affiliate of al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization that killed more than 3,000 Americans in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

"The proposal can none the less be interpreted as an acknowledgment by Washington of the importance of Russia and Assad's recent victories against it," Dal Santo observed.

The reported proposal could be a trial balloon to explore expanded talks to end the Syrian civil war, he noted.

"If Washington is thinking about a political settlement, it's essentially an opening round in negotiations, indicating to Moscow which groups it wants involved in a post-civil war Syria and which it is prepared to see go," Dal Santo stated.

The reported US offer could also be a sign Obama wanted to revive the peace process on Syria with Russia, Dal Santo maintained.

"Moscow will find the political ramifications of the proposal attractive: this is after all a sign of the emergence of that 'grand alliance' Putin called for when he first dispatched Russian forces."

AntiWar.com senior analyst Jason Ditz pointed out that that President Assads revelation of secret talks with Western allies in an interview with Australias SBS network on July 1 could be a similar diplomatic maneuver.
At a turning point in the play's narrative, Blair calls Bush: "I've worked now for over eighteen months to help you on this, George, I've risked everything, I've been at your side from beginning to end"

Sir David said that the dialogue is not "knowingly untrue," but he had to sometimes "use his imagination" to cover events that were not recorded verbatim. How on earth did he manage to come so close to reality?!

"At one level people think they know the story," Hare said back 2008, "but when they see 'Stuff Happens,' they realize they didn't."

The play presents a mix of viewpoints, including arguments for and against the invasion of Iraq, mixing verbatim re-creations of real speeches, meetings and press conferences with fictionalized versions of private meetings between the main players.

There is a bit of a gap in the narrative, as President Putin is not represented. However, he was the first to call President Bush to express his condolences and offer help in fighting international terrorism. And Russia did support the West in its military operations in Afghanistan, offering even more help than the West was willing to accept.

Iraq was another story though. And here's a suggestion of how Putins role could have been reflected in the play:

On a foggy October day in 2002, Prime Minister Blair stands next to President Putin in front of the assembled press at the Russian president's country residence of Zavidovo.

Blair has come to Zavidovo, 60 miles outside Moscow, to try and win Russias support for the overthrow of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Facing the international press pack (including the author of these notes); Blair looks excited and speaks very eloquently about the threat that Iraq's WMD, especially the chemical weapons, present to the world.

He refers to a dossier on Iraqi WMD prepared by British intelligence at his behest, and he appears to passionately believe in the dossier's claim that Saddam could deploy weapons of mass destruction against the West within 45 minutes if he wanted to.
Branding of livestock with hot iron rods for identification purposes is a practice prevalent in many parts of the world. But have you heard of branding of infants with hot metal to cure them of ailments?

A 14 day old baby in the Boudh district of India's eastern state of Odisha is fighting for its life after a local healer branded his abdomen several times with hot metal to cure him of an unknown ailment. According to a local health worker, the infant had not been feeding properly and had developed a swollen belly. Instead of taking him to the hospital, the infant's grandmother called a healer to provide a traditional therapy of branding the infant's belly with a hot iron rod.

The health worker, during a door-to-door inspection noticed the ailing child and immediately took him to a hospital, where it was revealed that he had developed a serious infection due to the branding.
In his book Basti refers to statements of the witnesses who communicated with Stroessner and who could prove that Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials had really lived in the country.

According to Basti, Hitler died on February 3, 1971 in Paraguay.

"Wealthy families who helped him over the years were responsible for the organization of his funeral. Hitler was buried in an underground bunker, which is now an elegant hotel in the city of Asuncion. In 1973, the entrance to the bunker was sealed, and 40 people came to say goodbye to Hitler. One of those who attended [the funeral], Brazilian servicemen Fernando Nogueira de Araujo, then told a newspaper about the ceremony," the historian told Sputnik.

Basti argues that it might have been another person left in the bunker instead of Hitler, while the Nazi leader himself escaped through a tunnel that led to the Tempelhof Airport, where there was a helicopter waiting for him. After that, he took plane to fly to Spain, and then  to the Canary Islands, where he got on the submarine on the way to Argentina.

"There was an agreement with the US that Hitler would run away and that he shouldn't fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. This also applies to many scientists, the military and spies who later took part in the struggle against the Soviet regime," the historian said.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The US authorities noted that the Daesh has claimed responsibility for the June 28 explosion at a nightclub in Kuala Lumpur, but underscored that it is currently unaware of any specific threat in Malaysia.

"In view ofthe recent incidents in Bangladesh, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reminds US citizens of the need for caution and awareness of personal security," the embassy stated.

Earlier on Wednesday, the US Bureau of Diplomatic Security warned of possible new terrorist attacks in Bangladesh after the deadly attack in a Dhaka restaurant.
As of late June, the total number of North Korean defectors hit 29,543. The number is predicted to possibly pass 30,000 people in 2016.

The pace of the growth of the number of defectors in North Korea is said to have slowed down since 2011 amid boosted border controls.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Sir John Chilcot published his report on the UK role in the 2003 war in Iraq. The report concluded that the UK decision to join the war was based on flawed intelligence data and assessments.

"In the years that have gone by theres been this constant claim that we went to war based on a lie. There was no lie. There were errors in intelligence but there was no lie <> I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I dont resile from that because I thought it was the right decision," Howard was quoted by The Guardian newspaper as saying.

Australia was part of a US-led coalition that invaded Iraq in 2003 without a UN mandate after accusing then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction. Such weapons were never found in Iraq but Hussein was toppled in 2003 and captured by US troops, charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, and was eventually executed in 2006.
"He would randomly dial any number and if the caller turned out to be a female then he used to send obscene clips and texts to them. Khalid has been sending such texts to women for the last one year," Delhi Police Dy Commissioner of Police, Vijay Singh told media.

Mr Singh further told that, "Khalid also used to threaten to upload their mobile numbers and pictures on facebook and twitter."

According to police, Mohammad Khalid obtained the SIM cards using a fake identity.

Delhi prosecutors have levied charges of sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, at least 12 people were injured and one policeman killed in an explosion at Eid celebration, marking the end of the Islamic holy month Ramadan, in Kishoreganj district in central Bangladesh.

"The US government assesses that the terrorist threat is real and credible," the warning stated.

The State Department also added that the US government officials in Bangladesh are not allowed to visit public places in the country, travel on uncovered means of transportation and attend large gatherings.
Following the arrest of five Daesh suspects by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week, the Hyderabad police have banned the flying of drones, para-gliders and micro-light aircrafts in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahendar Reddy issued a fresh order that all non-government agencies, organizations and or individuals would be banned from launching unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned aerial survey (UAS), etc.

Government agencies and organizations should obtain appropriate clearance from local police and aviation authorities before launching any UAS or UAV. Any person contravening this order shall be punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. The order will be imposed from July 8 to August 7, a note by city police commissioner said.
Prices are no longer their primary concern; instead, they are more interested in buying brands and products with high quality and character, the report said.

Many wealthy Chinese tourists are staying away from the Hong Kong market, the report said. The middle class consumers who used to visit Hong Kong mainly for shopping are now turning to overseas markets or cross-border e-retailers for better prices.

On the Chinese mainland, the slowing economy has resulted in reduced spending; the government measures against luxury gifts in the corporate sector have also had an impact.

"There is a shift in the luxury path-to-purchase. Empowered by social networks and digital devices, luxury goods consumers are dictating increasingly when, where and how they engage with luxury brands," said Patrizia Arienti, Deloitte Global's fashion and luxury sector leader, EMEA region.

"They have become both critics and creators, demanding a more personalized luxury experience, and expect to be given the opportunity to shape the products and services they consume."

Ira Kalish, chief economist, Deloitte Global, said, "The global luxury goods sector is expected to grow more slowly this year, at a rate many retailers may find disappointing."

"The growth rate is slowing in important markets such as China and Russia, although some markets continue to perform well and there are pockets of opportunity across the globe. India and Mexico, for example, are growing quickly, and the Middle East offers further growth potential."

The key findings of the report also include luxury's new normal  that the luxury goods sector has now passed the mid-point of the "decade of change". The first half was characterized by the Chinese consumer and the explosion in the use of digital technology. The second half of the decade is expected to be characterized by discipline.
During the dry season Indian elephants migrate to eastern Nepal, passing through the plains of Darjeeling district in West Bengal in search of food and shelter.

In 2015, an 18-km-long electric fence was put up on the Nepalese side, which prevents Indian elephants from going to Nepal and upsets their seasonal migration.
Designed and manufactured by state-owned aviation giant the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the Y-20 made its first flight in January 2013 and made its debut at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in November 2014.

The Y-20 relies on four Russian-made Soloviev D-30 turbofan engines. With a payload of 73 short tons, the aircraft can carry heavy military hardware, including the ZTZ99, Chinas largest tank.

The newest Chinese heavy transporter has a length of 47 meters and a wingspan of 45 meters. With a maximum takeoff weight of 220 tons, the freighter can carry a payload of 66 tons. The vehicle can reach a maximum speed of 830 kilometers per hour.
Security forces have been deployed outside the house of Islamic preacher and scholar Zakir Naik following a protest outside his residence in Mumbai.Zakir Naik has been caught in the middle of a controversy after Bangladesh alleged that his preaching and ideology inspired Rohan Imtiaz, one of the terrorists of the recent terror attack in Dhaka in which 20 people were hacked to death.

Zakir Naiks name has also been linked to the alleged Daesh suspects arrested recently in Hyderabad by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The leader of the terror module Mohammad Ibrahim Yazdani had revealed to the NIA during interrogation that his inclination towards Daesh was also because of Zakir Naik.

This has led to outcry for the arrest of Naik for his alleged role in inspiring terrorists in the South Asian region.
Robert Haddick, a contractor with US Special Operations Command, has documented 12 increasingly-severe response options at Chinas disposal.

The first four involve Beijing issuing a statement condemning the ruling and expanding military exercises in the region. Further possibilities include the government boosting its military presence in the South China Sea and installing new missile systems on the disputed islands.

Options eight and above, however, offer serious signs of escalating tensions.

"8. An ADIZ [air identification defense zone] is declared with a detailed explanation of how it will be enforced.

9. Dredging and island-building takes place at Scarborough Shoal.

10. Permanent installations of HQ-9 SAMs and ASCMs are set up in the Spratly Islands.

11. A naval exercises kicks off in the Spratly Islands that includes live missile shots from ships and the Hainan island.

12. Live-fire tests of DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles take place against underway target ships in the Philippine Sea."

If any of the above actions are taken, it could be a sign of Chinas confidence in its military dominance.

"I say this because I have read that the US government has privately warned Beijing that number nine and maybe number eight would lead to unspecified US responses," Haddick said, according to Defense News.

James Holmes, co-author of "Red Star over the Pacific: Chinas Rise and the Challenge to US Maritime Strategy," suggests that Beijing cannot allow a tribunal heavily influenced by Washington to strip away its territorial claims.
MEXICO (Sputnik)  The discovery of new gas fields was announced jointly by the Spanish company Repsol and the Bolivian state-owned oil and gas company YPFB this February, which increased the country's gas reserves by 40 percent.

"The total gas production now is approximately 60 million cubic meters per day. By 2020, through putting important projects into operation aimed at preventing a drop of gas fields reserves and guaranteeing supplies to domestic and foreign markets, the production is expected to grow for more than 20 million cubic meters," Sanchez said as quoted by ABI News Agency.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The meeting was attended by senior executives of Standard Chartered, Goldman Sachs International, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley International and JP Morgan.

"Britains decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet. We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business. Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre," the statement reads.

On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  The decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union will lead to setback in German-UK trade and economic contacts, Eric Schweitzer, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), warned on Thursday.

"The companies will cut exports to the United Kingdom, reduce investments and curb business plans on the island, as potential protraction in trade raises fears," Schweitzer said.

Every fourth enterprise plans to cut its exports due to uncertainty, Schweitzer added, citing a survey conducted by DIHK.
"There is some construction that needs to be done for the communication bandwidth requirements that we dont have here, and there are some infrastructure improvements, power wise, because theres going to be a lot of demand on the power system," he said.

New housing and living facilities will also be needed for some 1,200 new military personnel needed for the fleet.

But while the RAF needs to spend roughly $200 million in making upgrades to base facilities, Novotny isnt sure the money will be provided in time. Additionally, he expressed concern that a number of other military bases in the region are also in need of upgrades, and Lakenheath may not get priority.
Last year hundreds of asylum-seekers poured into Norway through the so-called "Arctic route" via Russia, using the border station Storskog as an entry point. The sheer numbers spurred the Norwegian authorities to establish a large arrival center for 600 places in the border town of Kirkenes. Today, the situation has become unrecognizable compared to last year's chaos.

"We terminate the operating agreement with the Arrival Center Finnmark. The reason for the dismissal is that we have not had any arrivals from Russia since November last year," Christine Wilberg of the Norwegian Migration Board UDI told the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.

The last 48 asylum-seekers left the camp earlier this week. The contract with operator company Hero Norge, however, runs until November, with some 60 employees working in an empty center. Despite the termination of the operating agreement, possibilities will be left for the center to be used if needed in case of contingency. Hero Norge is today Scandinavia's largest reception operator and has dozens reception in Norway and Sweden. Last year, the company had a record turnover of 852 million kroner (101 million USD), Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union delivered a shock that served as a reminder that the bloc should return to its core value of European unity and continue the road to enlargement and closer ties between nations and economies, the president of the Liberal Party of Montenegro, Andrija Popovic, told Sputnik on Thursday.

"We believe that the plebiscite of British citizens will be a powerful impulse that Europe and its political leadership lacked. It seems that some have forgotten what is the main mission and vision of [the] EU, and I believe that Brexit was a sobering shock," he said, adding that the EU leaders will probably realize that "the EU needs to continue [on] the road to enlargement and strengthening of relations between the peoples and economies throughout Europe.

As a would-be-NATO member country and the fastest growing economy in the West Balkan region, Montenegro has very good chances of joining the European Union in five years, Andrija Popovic said.
A year after the invasion, Blair made a controversial visit to Libya to meet Colonel Gaddafi, who had been linked with the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which killed 259 people, as well as the murder of Yvonne Fletcher, a British police officer fatally shot during a protest outside the Libyan embassy at St James's Square, London, in 1984.

Blair intended to warm up relations and the visit precipitated a number of trade deals, including oil contracts.

"There are a lot of inconsistencies in the way in which Tony Blair conducted his relations in the Middle East, both as prime minister and afterwards. He is famous, of course for the toppling of one dictator, Saddam Hussein, but then [for brokering] also this deal with Gaddafi, which also led on to various dealings with the Gaddafi regime [when Blair was] out of office," Doyle told Sputnik.

"He would argue  and there's some truth in it  that the deal with Gaddafi led to the removal of chemical weapons from Libya and the disarmament of what weapons of mass destruction it had. Therefore, it was worth it. But, did too much happen? Did too many business deals flow from that? The normalization of relations with the Libyan authorities was perhaps too fast?"

#Chilcot offered few lessons for the future despite damning verdict  My take https://t.co/fWUP57d0nY pic.twitter.com/Vg1gt8ZBey  Chris Doyle (@Doylech) 7 July 2016

"Did Europe and the US not play their hands wisely enough to ensure there was real and lasting change in Libya that might have meant that there wasn't the obvious disastrous intervention in 2011?"
Slovakia took over the rotating presidency of the EU on July 1 and Fico was giving his first address to parliament. His major issues are dealing with Brexit, gaining agreement on a common immigration policy, economic stability amid troubles in the Eurozone and restoring faith in the Brussels machine, amid rising euroskepticism.

"We have arrived at a stage where we have to overcome fear. The fear of our citizens, fear of migration, (), the fear of terrorism () and the fear of economic problems, [but also] fear of political leaders that we will not be able to overcome the crises, which leads to loss of citizens' confidence in the EU and strengthens extremists and nationalists in Europe", Fico told the European Parliament."

"The European Union of the 21st century is in need of a wind of change it needs openness, honesty and simplicity, and obviously responsibility for actions and thoughts that result from it. We need a discussion on how to make the EU better and more efficient. The outcome of the British referendum is the proof of that."
They paid a small amount of rent but over the years have seen how their surroundings have been transformed from a rough council estate to plush flats where the market value of the average flat soured by 3,000 percent to US$1.04 million.

Now the new housing bill means that those tenets earning more than US$51,812 have to pay the market rent for the property they live in, which could see their monthly rental costs increase from US$600 to US$1,700 per month, something which most residents living in social housing cannot afford.

One such tenant who has been impacted by these changes, is a lady named Jan Sweeney, who first got her keys to her Kensington apartment, 35 years ago.

"It was a rough area but people were friendly," Jan Sweeney said.

Fast forward to 2016 and much has changed, now being forced to pay the market price for her house, her dreams of remaining in her home are looking slim. The British Government is also considering bulldozing her council house to make way for swankier looking homes.

Housing associations press ahead with pay to stay, reports @harryph on @ConHome https://t.co/ymHLZtEnnv  Paul Goodman (@PaulGoodmanCH) 4 July 2016

The Conservative government has placed immense pressure on local authorities to build new homes and this is leading planners to claim land for redevelopment. Britain's government has revealed plans to build 400,000 affordable new homes by 2020.

"The (housing) act will contribute to transforming 'generation rent' into 'generation buy' helping us towards achieving our ambition of delivering 1 million new homes," said Brandon Lewis, housing and planning minister, in a statement.

However, for tenants such as Mrs Sweeney, the laws are more about removing the poorest people from the capital and leaving the rich to take credit for the all the work of the middle class.

"With these new laws, London will soon be rid of working class people; the shop keepers, the park attendants, the postmen  and we won't be able to afford to stay," she added.

Jan Sweeney believes that the communities are being destroyed and this is bringing council homes to their knees. Something must change.

"We need social housing more than ever before and your government is selling off what little we have," Mrs Sweeney said.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday that a meeting on Ukraine with participation of the United States, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom would be held on the sidelines of the forthcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw.

"Within the framework of this summit a meeting in a unique format, in a format of 'The Great Five,' which includes the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy, will take place, just as we already met in Wales in 2014. And enough time is reserved to discuss the issues of security and reforms in Ukraine in this format with the leaders of 'The Great Five,'" Poroshenko said.

On July 8-9, NATO will hold a Summit in the Polish capital of Warsaw to discuss boosting the Alliances military presence in Eastern Europe, counterterrorism, Afghanistan and defense budgeting, among other topics.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, a report into UK role in the 2003 Iraq War passed by Sir John Chilcot revealed that threat coming from the Iraqi regime had been exaggerated by Blair to drag the United Kingdom into the US-led war which had not been a last resort and ended far from success.

"Rather than focusing on doing a good job as Prime Minister he was more focused on getting a good headline in the newspapers <> Tony Blair's approach was I want people to support me today. I don't care what they think in the future,'" Sidney Cordle, the party leader, said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  RSF notes that the proposed German legislation grants German, EU and non-EU citizens different status. Under the draft law, the BND will have no right to spy on German citizens and a limited right to carry out surveillance on citizens of EU member states. At the same time, the proposed bill will pave the way for unrestricted spying on non-EU citizens  without any exceptions such as those for media employees.

We are dismayed to see that Germanys politicians want to allow our intelligence agency to spy on foreign journalists Until now, Germanys intelligence laws have spared journalists but the BND bill no longer includes any provision exempting them from surveillance. The BND has journalists from non-European Union member countries in its sights. The German authorities seem to regard media freedom as an exclusively German right and to be unconcerned about what happens to this freedom beyond their borders, Christian Mihr, the executive director of RSFs Berlin bureau, was quoted as saying in the organizations statement.

Instead of depriving foreign journalists of the protection enjoyed by their German colleagues, the government should have addressed the shortcomings and omissions in Germanys legislation, the organization urged in the statement.
Earlier this week, the much-desired words of warning were delivered by Estonia's Stockholm-born president Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who remains one of the most vocal opponents of Russia of all NATO head of states. According to Ilves, Sweden's security is about to be weakened substantially by Brexit.

During his guest appearance at the Almedalen Week, a major political event in Sweden, traditionally held on the Island of Gotland ever since the Olof Palme days in the 1960s, Ilves pointed out that Sweden, together with other non-NATO members, risks serious security breaches by forfeiting Britain's protection, granted by the EU solidarity clause.

Today, Sweden and other EU members share a mutual responsibility to stand up in the event that a fellow member state face a severe attack.
#TaxEvasion is looting the vital funds for education & jobs from society! Now is the time to act for #TaxJustice pic.twitter.com/T8ZHIrPJzF  S&D Group (@TheProgressives) 5 July 2016

Global Financial System Shaken

In a statement, TI said: "The Commission must also propose EU-wide laws on whistleblower protection. Part of the package the Commission released also made reference to the vital role that whistleblowers play in bringing about transparency in the global financial system.

"The Panama Papers, which have shaken the global financial system and pushed the EU into action on money laundering and tax transparency, were revealed by a whistleblower. Whistleblowers need to be able to come forward to expose wrong-doing and the Commission recognized this yesterday in its communique.

"The unnecessary sentencing of Antoine Deltour last week proves that in the current climate whistleblowers face punishment for doing the right thing. If the Commission is serious about protecting people who wish to expose wrong-doing, then it cannot delay any longer proposing EU-wide whistleblower protection rules."

The guilty verdict for #Deltour & the #LuxLeaks #whistleblowers is appalling & they should never have faced trial pic.twitter.com/FJ0r6oYv6C  Transparency Int. EU (@TI_EU) 29 June 2016

This is the first time the Commission has considered, in writing, the possibility of EU-wide whistleblower protection. Following the sentencing of Deltour and Halet, Pervenche Beres, Socialists and Democrats spokesperson for economic and monetary affairs, said:

"People who expose illegal activity, government or employer misconduct should be celebrated not prosecuted. They help to ensure that even the rich and powerful can be held to account for any wrongdoing. In doing so, they often put their own careers, personal freedom and entire future at risk."
ATHENS (Sputnik)  The Parliament of Cyprus has adopted a resolution to lift EU sanctions against Russia, secretary of a parliamentary group of Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) Maria Pelekanou said Thursday.

A total of 33 lawmakers voted for the resolution, while 17 abstained, Pelekanou told RIA Novosti.

"Members of Democratic Rally party abstained," she noted.
The long-awaited release of the Chilcot report has led to many questions finally being answered. Consequences of the invasion and of the conflict within Iraq which followed are still being felt in Iraq and the wider Middle East, as well as in the UK. The war left families bereaved and many individuals wounded, mentally, as well as physically. After harsh deprivation under Saddam Hussein's regime, the Iraqi people suffered further years of violence.

The decision to use force led to profound controversy in relation to Iraq and became even more controversial when it was subsequently found that Iraq's programs to develop and produce chemical, biological and nuclear weapons had been dismantled.

There were many people who spoke out against the war, the public protested, alongside leading figures and politicians from the Labour, Conservative parties and the Liberal Democrats, who all voiced their opinion against a war that was not based on the correct intelligence and has since been recognized as such by Sir John Chilcot, who was critical of Tony Blair's government, which accepted flawed intelligence reports of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.
One of the most devastating passages in #Chilcot  Were there any plans for reconstruction at all? pic.twitter.com/SwTko7oAuI  Chris Doyle (@Doylech) July 7, 2016

Paul Flynn consistently voted against the Iraq war in parliament.

"I wrote Blair a letter at the time; I said if this war goes ahead, it will deepen the sense of injustice felt by Muslims in my local mosque to the far corners of the world and increase terrorism," Flynn said.

"There were so many people and MPs opposed to the war  139 Labour MPs voted against a three-line whip, more than 20 Tories voted against it  and more than a million people marched in protest."

Flynn praises all the soldiers involved, and says they "did what parliament commanded them to do."

"Britain has among the bravest and the best  and they deserve our praise. But the burden has been placed upon those who lost their loved ones, who with this report, have had to revisit their grief  with the additional pain that their relatives died and unjustified death."

"I thoroughly sympathize with the families' anger at having their grief churned up again. They've been treated badly for the last seven years."

'Manufactured Denial and Delusional Speeches'

After listening to Tony Blair's statement following the publication of the 2.6 million word report and his interviews with British media, Flynn thinks he's a pretty poor actor.

"You could hear the tremble in his voice when he has to talk about his sorrow, it was highly suspicious."

"Blair and Straw had had copies of the report months ago  it was have been hauled over by their advisers and the result was that what came out of Blair's lips was manufactured denial and delusional speeches  the same was what he said in 2003."

"It is quite clear Blair ignored the sensible advice he was given and was hell bent on becoming best buddies with George Bush."

In a speech to supporters, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn apologized on behalf of his party for the Iraq war. "I think it's absolutely right Jeremy Corbyn apologized for the Iraq war on behalf of the Labour party," Flynn said.

"I voted against it  I marched against it  but parliament approved it at the end of the day and we've got to get parliament right in the future so we don't blunder into yet another futile war again."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A 20-year-old identified as Bilal C. was detained last Wednesday in relation to a number of petty thefts. However, on Thursday the German Constitutional Court in Karlruhe issued a court order for his arrest on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization, the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.

He reportedly was tasked by the mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, to gather information about the Balkan route used by migrants and refugees so that Daesh terrorists could reach Paris to carry out the attacks.

The Algerian suspect apparently made a three-month journey from Syria to Western Europe, passing Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, and informed Abaaoud about opened border crossings and wait times.
In a speech she made on June 30 (2016), she called for strong leadership.

"Under my leadership the Conservative Party will come back together in the interests of the whole country," she added.

Betfair give Theresa May an 82 per cent chance of winning. That confirms it, Leadsom's definitely won  Michael Deacon (@MichaelPDeacon) 7 July 2016

With 199 votes, Theresa May is currently winning the popularity contest as her and Leadsom go head to head for the role of PM. However, one thing is certain, May has no time to be complacent. As a leader who voted to remain in the EU, she is closely being followed by keen competitor Leadsom, who voted to leave.

So @TheresaMay2016  full final MPs ballot victory statement as she faces @andrealeadsom in members ballot: pic.twitter.com/9lXUl3L7kv  Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) 7 July 2016

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom, entered the race for PM by tweeting that she will be leading the UK towards a fresh start.

Delighted to say I'm running for the @Conservatives Leadership.



Let's make the most of the Brexit opportunities!#FreshStart  Andrea Leadsom MP (@andrealeadsom) June 30, 2016

However, she has faced harsh critique as opponents draw reference to her background in banking, claiming she was a hedge fund manager  a claim she fiercely denies.

After a round of TV interviews of excruciating incompetence, 84 Tory MPs think Andrea Leadsom should be PM. Extraordinary.  Philip Collins (@PCollinsTimes) 7 July 2016

As the title race draws to a close this week with the next Tory leader and British PM to soon be announced, it is clear that feminists and women across the country will be delighted that a woman will once again grace the offices of Downing Street and Houses of Parliament. Joining Angela Merkel in Germany and with the US presidential elections and Hillary Clinton's high chances of winning, it appears there is no better time to be a woman in office.
Warsaw will host the NATO summit on July 8. At the summit, the alliance is expected to deploy troops to the eastern flank on a rotational basis, including four international battalions to Poland and the Baltics. The units will be under the command of the United States, Britain, Germany, and Canada. A separate brigade will be deployed near the Polish border with Russias Kaliningrad Region.

The Polish ruling Law and Justice party has long insisted that Warsaw should be a full-fledged NATO member, Stanislav Stremidlovsky, observer of Regnum information agency, said.

"Poland wants to decrease Berlins influence on its policy, especially when it comes to defense. Warsaw wants to cooperate directly with Washington," he told Svobodnaya Pressa.

According to him, Poland and the Baltics have cited the "Russian threat," making an enemy of Moscow, in a bid to justify to NATO their inaction in other fields, including fighting against Daesh in the Middle East and against terrorism in Europe.

"They are portraying Russia as a threat to their existence regardless of the level of relations between Moscow and NATO at the moment," he added.

Antoni Macierewicz is known as an avid russophobe, but even in Poland his ideas are not popular, Vadim Trukhachev, a lecturer at the Russia State University for the Humanities, noted.

According to him, NATO will deploy temporary contingents to Poland and the Baltics.
The hotel staff gets an additional 100 zlotys ($ 30) for a girl. So this three hundred is complete nonsense, Borowiecki said. 12 years ago we had an office on Novogrodski. The girls were on the floor below. It was 100 zlotys per hour for full service  drinking, foreplay, sex or blowjob.

Talking about the actual price of such services, Borowiecki said that only in Mokotow (one of Warsaw districts), there are more than 6,000 such proposals, so no one in their right mind would pay so much.

According to the former erotic magazine editor, the military officials and diplomats are not going to seek happiness in apartments.

Partly the reason for that is because half of the girls who work in the center are either Ukrainian or Belarusians. As Borowiecki pointed out it is too close to the eastern front line. No sane person would allow himself to run into blackmail, especially now that NATO is careful not to mess up in the east.

However, as the editor said demand is not a sin and those who want, can find a way. There is always the internet and portals such as odloty.pl, roksa.pl and x-foczki.pl, which can provide ladies across Warsaw and individually negotiate prices and service packages.
Tuscany has become Italy's forth region, along with Lombardy, Liguria and Veneto, urging the national government to work toward lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia. The draft project of the document reads that if it is adopted, the regional government will activate the work with the Italian authorities in order to take any initiative which will help to overcome the issue of anti-Russian sanctions.

"The chain of regional resolutions against the sanctions will be continued and pressure on the government, too, until Europe undertakes some measures. It is crazy to distance ourselves from Russia because Russia won't wait, but will look for other markets," Vescovi said.

"If we lose these connections, then it will be difficult to restore them again. Russia is Tuscany's main partner in the field of tourism, exchange of goods and culture. It is a partner we shouldn't lose," he concluded.
The expert further said that the Iraq War earned British firms a lot of money. There was evidence that in the first year reconstruction in Iraq, these companies received 600 billion dollars.

Even if the amount was a hundred times smaller still, the money was earned based on the fact that Blair, under US leadership, destroyed a sovereign state without any reasons, Drecun said.

There is a lot of doubt that Blair will ever face justice. It depends on the political influence of the structures that were behind the intervention in Iraq.

Drecun further stated that in addition to the structures associated with business, there's also a project of actually reconstructing the Middle East, where Iraq's stability has no place. Blair is being protected from carrying any responsibility and his involvement in reconstruction which was aimed at snatching all natural resources from the country.

The expert also mentioned that after NATOs aggression against Yugoslavia, reports started appearing from the deputies in the British Parliament, in which they openly stated that it was an illegal operation and resulted in killings of peaceful civilians. However, no one paid attention to these reports, Drecun concluded.

The UK government released a report by Sir John Chilcot devoted to the UKs role in the 2003 Iraq War.

Blair has been criticized for the United Kingdoms involvement in the conflict that stretched throughout 2011. The campaign was to topple then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on suspicion that he had weapons of mass destruction. The operation killed 179 British soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, many of them civilians.
YEREVAN (Sputnik)  On July 8-9, NATO will hold a Summit in Warsaw, Poland to discuss boosting the alliances military presence in Eastern Europe, counterterrorism, Afghanistan and defense budgeting, among other topics.

"On July 8, President Serzh Sargsyan will conduct a working visit to the Republic of Poland where he will participate at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the NATO member and non-member states related to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. The meeting will be held in framework of the NATO Summit," the statement read.

The Armenian president is also going to hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit.
CHISINAU (Sputnik)  Romania's President Klaus Iohannis is expected to take part in the alliance's summit, that will take place in Poland on July 8-9.

"Romania supports NATO's efforts to strengthen the defense capability of the alliance's partners. In this context, within the framework of NATO summit, a special attention will be paid to the expansion of NATO cooperation with eastern partners, in particular, with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova," the statement said.

The NATO summit is expected to endorse the decision made at the alliance's defense ministers' meeting in June to deploy four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with some 800-1,200 troops in each unit.
"Its this small coterie; its the Victoria Nulands of Washington who are driving this policy."

"If you were to actually corner a member of the [US] House of Representatives without his staff and ask him anything even vaguely specific about what Russia has specifically done, they would not be able to answer. They probably wouldnt even get the dates of the coup, or even the year of the coup in Ukraine right," McAdams says.

Kerrys trip coincides with an upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw. The military alliance has been rapidly expanding eastward, citing "Russian aggression," even as many point out that the bloc is no longer relevant following the fall of the Soviet Union.

Instead, NATO is widely considered to have become a tool of US hegemony.

"The US pays three quarters of the entire NATO budget. This really is a US operation in Europe, and it really puts the truth to the lie that the countries of Europe, the NATO countries of Europe, feel threatened by Russia, because if Russia were truly an existential threat to Europe they would be spending more than 1% of their GDP on defense," McAdams says. "They dont. They refuse to."

"Very clearly," he says, "this is the US subsidizing these countries to provoke Russia."
Loud & Clear host Brian Becker asked, "So whats the point of the Chilcot Report? The war in Iraq was a war of choice," while pointing out that "Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government did not pose any kind of threat to the United States or Britain. Iraq was technically at peace with the United States and the UK, the March 19th shock and awe bombing was breaking the peace. It was, by all international law definitions, a war of aggression."

 Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) July 7, 2016

Shaheen responded by saying that the British governments belated understanding of the Iraq Wars implications stems from its unwillingness to listen to popular opinion and common sense.

"I dont think governments tend to listen to protesters, no matter how many of them there are" he reasoned. "But the benefit of history being on our side is not really enough, if theres ever going to be any lessons learned from the Iraq War, these reports have to inform future foreign policy decisions."

Becker noted that the report cant speak to the legality of Blairs decision to get involved in Iraq, and asked whether former Prime Ministers could be held accountable for their actions.

"I doubt hell be held accountable in any legal sense." said Mercouris, "[Chilcot] has said that he is not conducting a legal investigation, it is not for him and the inquiry team to come to that kind conclusion. When he says that the war was not a last resort, hes essentially saying it was an act of aggression, and that kind of aggression is a war crime."

Mercouris added that the current political climate in Britain isnt conducive to impeachment.

"If you look at people who are sitting in the House Of Commons at the moment, I dont get the sense that many of them want to go down that road. The present Prime Minister, [David] Cameron, is an admirer of Tony Blair. Most of the Labour Party are former supporters of Tony Blair and there is great support for Blair across the conservative benches."

A memo dated July 28th, 2002, from Tony Blair to George W. Bush stated, "I will be with you, whatever."
MEXICO (Sputnik)  Venezuelan-Colombian border, stretching for over 1,300 miles, has been closed by the order of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro since August 2015 amid crackdowns on migrants and smugglers who brought cheap petrol to Colombia. However, food and other essential shortages made 500 Venezuelans cross it anyway. The group was allowed to pass and soon returned with purchases.

"We will not let our Venezuelan brothers have problems with hunger or medication. If it is necessary to expand the humanitarian corridor, it will be expanded," Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Olguin said as quoted by Globovision TV channel.

Venezuela has been in a state of an economic emergency since January and shortages has become widespread. Up to 96 percent of Venezuelas budget depends on oil which price is in the lowest in years. Venezuelas opposition has blamed Maduro for the economic crisis in the country, having gathered enough signatures in favor of a recall referendum.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The measure comes following claims by lawmaker Margarita Stolbizer that the ex-president and her family held "millions of dollars" in deposit boxes.

According to the La Nacion newspaper, federal judge Julian Ercolini issued an order to carry out searches of deposit boxes registered in Kirchners name at the Banco de Santa Cruz branches on Thursday. In case bank officials refuse to cooperate with the authorities, the law enforcement personnel will be allowed to storm the banks facilities in order to retrieve the documents with regard to the former president, the paper reported.

On Wednesday, Argentinas federal judge Claudio Bonadio ordered to arrest all assets of former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
"[The Transportation Department] proposed to select eight US airlines to begin scheduled flights between Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa and Havana as early as this fall," the release said.

In February, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin signed an arrangement with their Cuban counterparts to resume scheduled air service between the two countries.
For its mission in Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, Sweden hired around 40 Afghan interpreters. Half of them were rewarded with residence permits and flew to Sweden with their families. Yet the other half, who for some reason received no such benefit, are now left defenseless against the local radicals' retaliation measures for cooperating with the West, Swedish national broadcaster SVT reported.

The Swedish embassy in Kabul would not offer the interpreters any protection, whereas the Swedish Migration board would not accept their applications. The "discarded" polyglots remain thus in their home country, where they are seen as traitors by the Taliban and other rebels for working for a foreign occupation force.

The Swedish unit Northern Lights was discontinued in June 2014. Personnel from the Swedish Migration Board flew down to the base and gathered on-site applications from the local staff who loyally served Sweden. Due to a lack of resources, however, neither the Defense nor the Migration Board had enough staff to investigate the interpreters, who had worked for Sweden since 2006.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The military service personnel were deployed to the area in the past few days as part of the US-led international operation to defeat Daesh terrorist group.

Syrian television reported last month that Germanys commandos had entered Syria to join French and US military forces in their offensive against the Daesh-controlled city of Manbij.

Manbij, located between Daesh's de facto capital of Raqqa and the Syrian-Turkish border, is a strategically important area for the terrorist group.
Hopefulness has spurred exiled Iraqis to voluntarily return to their home country. Last year alone, the International Organization for Migration saw three times as many applications from returning Iraqis as before. Even among Iraqis in Sweden a desire to return home has become manifest.

The Iraqi Embassy in Stockholm reportedly receives applications from would-be returnees every day. At the same time, a large number of Iraqi asylum-seekers chose to withdraw their applications from the Migration board. During the first five months of the year, nearly 1,500 Iraqis withdrew their applications, which is twice as many as during the whole last year, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported.

Iraqis from across the country are flocking to the Iraqi center in Malmo for support and assistance. The center's project manager Muhammed Khorshid told Dagens Nyheter that for many the homesickness is stronger than the fear of being subjected to violence.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, a Yemeni military source told Sputnik that clashes were ongoing in the provinces of Marib, Al Jowf and Taiz, while the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes continue in the provinces of Sana'a, Al Jawf and Taiz. The source claimed that several districts in Yemen's Hajjah province near the Saudi-Yemeni border had seen artillery and rocket fire from Saudi Arabia.

"We stick to achieving success in negotiations, the ceasefire regime and continuous control over its observance, so I think that the information [on clashes near the Saudi border] is inaccurate," Asiri said in answer to a question on whether the reports on clashes in Yemen's Hajjah province were valid.

Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels supported by army units loyal to former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"There were about 90 illegal attempts to gain access to equipment that would be used for nuclear weapons and launchers," the newspaper wrote.

According to Beheshtipour, such statements that Iran is allegedly secretly trying to get the materials needed to build nuclear warheads sound "absurd".

The expert stated that Iran is acting in accordance with the principle of transparency, which is strictly controlled by the IAEA. Moreover, the country voluntarily signed the Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement with the IAEA and continues to comply with all the conditions with regard to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

"The publication of such articles primarily targets an unprepared audience that is not fully aware about all the details of the documents signed on the Iranian nuclear program, in particular JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]. Do all readers know that this important document has a section which describes the tiniest details of a monitoring mechanism on Iran's purchases of materials, substances, equipment and technology, even dual-use items, in the framework of the Iranian nuclear program?," Beheshtipour asked.
At least 15 fighters of the US-backed New Syrian Army were killed and one was captured as a result of a powerful Daesh attack near the Syria-Jordan border.

It has been the second major defeat of US-trained rebel forces, after they were defeated outside Abu Kamal, in Deir ez-Zor. The New Syrian Army lost 40 fighters and the bulk of its weapons and ammunition. However, initially the situation was positive when New Syrian Army fighters conducted an offensive along the Syrian-Iraq border and took control over Abu Kamal and the Al-Khamdan airbase.

It was reported that the operation was conducted with the use of US and Jordanian helicopters based in Jordan. Airborne units landed from helicopters behind the enemy lines.
The demonstrators shouted slogans demanding the government to take urgent measures to ensure the safety and protection of civilians.

In the published video and photos on social networks from the demonstration it can be seen that Shaymaa Qasim, who later suffered from tear gas dispersed by the security forces, was also taking part by in the protest.
BEIRUT (Sputnik)  A cessation of hostilities in Syria, brokered by Russia and the United States, took effect on February 27. The ceasefire does not apply to terrorist organizations, such as the Daesh and the al-Nusra Front, outlawed in Russia and numerous other countries worldwide.

"As a result of terrorists' mortar and rocket shelling 25 local residents were injured, all of them are in hospitals," the source said.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On July 8-9, NATO will hold a Summit in Warsaw, Poland to discuss boosting the alliances military presence in Eastern Europe, counterterrorism, Afghanistan and defense budgeting, among other topics.

"[NATO] will be announcing initial operating capabilities, capacities on the BMD, which is being positioned in Romania and eventually in Poland," Kupchan told reporters on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The contract combines purchases for the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, foreign military sales customers and international partners under the Foreign Military Sales program, the Defense Department said.

"Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company [of] Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $93.8 million contract for procurement of diminishing manufacturing sources electronic components," the announcement stated on Wednesday.

The problem-plagued F-35 program has already cost more than $1.5 trillion with recent estimates indicating that its cost may further increase as a result of an embarrassing array of mishaps since the effort began to construct the jet in 2001.
"URS Federal Services [of] Germantown, Maryland, is being awarded a $24.6 million contract to provide continued services for the Submarine Command," the announcement said on Wednesday.

The new contract brings the total value of the services being provided by the company to $129.4 million, according to the announcement.
"We were on the Bus to Abilene, so to speak."

The "Bus to Abilene" refers to "groupthink" and is a common frame of reference in the US Army, indicating caution.

Chilcot headed the committee that examined the case for war presented by then-UK Prime Minister Tony Blairs government. Blair claimed the 2003 conflict was necessary to prevent the development of weapons of mass destruction by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

The Chilcot report is 12 volumes long and took seven years to complete.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, Sir John Chilcot revealed a report on the United Kingdoms role in the 2003 war in Iraq. The report concluded that the UK decision to join the war was based on flawed intelligence data and assessments.

What we [the United States] can learn is that you need to challenge the assumptions that people have before you act and that you basically also need to look at the [intelligence] sources, Korb said on Wednesday.

One of the problems in Iraq, Korb continued, was that US intelligence relied on unverified sources like Curveball, an informant who provided false information regarding Saddam Husseins weapons program.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A minimum rotation term for the NATO soldiers to be deployed will amount to six months, while the US troops will stay for longer periods, according to the minister.

"We can say that in Poland there will be several thousand soldiers from the United States and NATO, it is quantitatively greater than battalion in the Polish structure," Macierewicz told Polskie Radio.
"Russia is also building the system which is called in NATO 'anti-access area denial' by exerting the coverage of all the region within the reach of their weapons. Such a capacity in itself is not an offensive measure, but may be potentially limiting the freedom of maneuver in international waters, international airspace," he said.

According to Pavel, countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey "feel such a development threatening their security interests" and call on NATO to increase its presence to the region.

"We can again take it as a kind of military competition in the region and building more and more capabilities  or we can take a similar approach to the Baltics creating a platform for building more transparency and reducing force levels to the necessary minimum to assure each other that there are no hostile intentions, that there is no threat to each others territory. And that is, in my view, the way ahead," he concluded.

Strengthening military presence is not in the interests of neither NATO nor Russia, the chairman said.

"I don't think that it is in the interest of Russia or NATO to start a military buildup of forces on both sides. I believe it is just the opposite  it is in common interest to defuse this tension and to start rebuilding the trust," Pavel noted.

According to Pavel, the permanent representatives of the NATO-Russia Council are unlikely to agree on a risk reduction document that would remove all tensions between the sides during the next meeting on July 13.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to Petr Pavel, the alliance needs to "satisfy the call of population for more security by responding even to potential threat."

"Wherever there are components of threat, whenever there is concern of population which we have to protect, we have to take the measures. I repeat again: we are doing our best to keep these measures appropriate, to keep these measures balanced and not to overreact," Pavel told RIA Novosti.

"At the same time not to create the situation which would lead Russia to perception of threat from NATO and the need to create even more forces in region. So, we believe that the level we have opted  which means battalion level for each country  is well below threshold of any military threat to Russia," he said.
According to US military spokesman Col. Chris Garver, cited by the newspaper, the planes in the Al Bukamal offensive were diverted to tackle a Daesh convoy attempting to escape the Iraqi army that had recaptured Fallujah. The convoy is said to have been destroyed with the help of the US, UK and Iraqi aircraft.

Meanwhile, the New Syrian Army fighters were driven away by the Daesh terrorists, outlawed in many countries including Russia, to the Syrian-Iraqi border.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the next Russia-NATO Council would be held in Brussels on July 13 and would be focused on the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in Afghanistan.

"We are unanimous in the position that continuous security in Europe is only possible with Russia, and not in opposition to it. The central place for dialogue with Russia remains the NATO-Russia Council," Merkel told the Bundestag.

NATO is also interested in holding another NATO-Russia Council after the Warsaw summit on July 8-9, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.
WARSAW (Sputnik)  According to Braun, they advocate having "no troops and maneuvers at Russias western border, no further armament in the NATO member states, no new nuclear weapons, no missile defense system in Eastern Europe and no NATO operations against refugees."

"The events against NATO summit that are taking place on July 8-10 in Warsaw, organized by the Polish and international organizers and activists of the peace and anti-war movements, will have an opportunity to discuss and debate alternatives to the policies of militarization and war being proposed by NATO at the counter NATO summit which is due to open on July 8," Braun, who is also a co-president of the International Peace Bureau (IPB) disarmament NGO, said.

The "No to NATO" website says that on July 9 activists plan to take their protest to the streets of Warsaw to express opposition to the NATO summit. The organizers are expecting Saturdays march to be a major demonstration.
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 it became clear that the threat from the Soviet Union overinflated, but it was used to justify increased military spending in the West, Belgian lawmaker Dirk Van der Maelen wrote in an article for the newspaper De Morgen.

"But history may repeat itself on July 8-9 during the NATO summit in Warsaw. During the summit, a decision is expected to be made to increase military spending by European NATO members. Lobbying groups have again brought up the Russian threat to politicians and the European public," the lawmaker wrote.

NATO is expected to demand of all its members an increase to their military budget to at least two percent of GDP. And they are likely to follow the demand.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The 2016 International Army Games are expected to take place between July 30 and August 13 with 19 participating countries. As many as 23 competitions will be held during this time at military training grounds, as well as in the Caspian and Black seas.

"As a part of [Chinese] echelon, over eighty servicemen of the People's Liberation Army and more than twenty military vehicles have arrived, including tanks, armored carriers, boats, which will be used for participation in the competitions of the International Army Games," the statement said.

The first International Army Games competition was held in August 2015 at the initiative of the Russian Defense Ministry, and attracted more than 2,000 participants from 57 teams of 17 countries. Eleven different locations across Russia hosted stages of the contest.
"In turbulent and difficult times when support of the Euro-Atlantic integration is decreasing across Europe, it remains strong in Poland That is why we are ready for active participation in reforming the European Union and creating a new strategic NATO doctrine," Macierewicz said at the Warsaw NATO Summit Experts' Forum.

The forum under the auspices of the Polish Institute of International Affairs will take place along with the NATO summit scheduled to start in Warsaw on Friday.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The meeting will be the fourth round of deputy-level trilateral consultations to maintain close coordination with the two main US allies in the Northeast Asia on shared regional and global priorities, according to the State Department.

"Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host a trilateral meeting with his counterparts, Republic of Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama, July 14 in Honolulu, Hawaii," the note stated.

Japan and South Korea continue to express strong distrust of each other dating back to Japans harsh occupation of the entire Korean peninsula as a colonial power from 1910 to 1945. The US government has stated it continues to try to reduce tensions between its two allies.
"The minister [Freeland] will hold bilateral discussions with her counterparts and meet with business leaders to advance Canadas commercial interests and reinforce bilateral ties with that country [China]," the release stated.

China is Canadas second largest trading partner after the United States.
The two leaders agreed on the importance of resurrecting the UN-led negotiation process, to achieve a peaceful resolution to the five-year civil war.

The two presidents discussed Ukraine, and both sides stressed the urgent importance of moving forward with the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. The Kremlin website elaborates that this must include a direct dialogue between the current Kiev administration, and the representative governments of Donetsk and Lugansk, granting a special status to the two latter regions and the implementation of local elections.

This was the second recent interaction between the two presidents, as on Monday Putin sent an Independence Day greeting card to Obama in which the former urged the two countries to mend ties and "act as equal partners and respect each other's legitimate interests."
Macgregor was particularly critical of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blairs efforts to justify his support then-US President George W. Bushs war policy against Iraq in 2003 following the publication of the Chilcot Report.

"I have just listened to Tony Blair defend his unconditional support for Dubya [Bush]s stupidity. The only thing Blair has done is reveal how deceitful and irresponsible he was," Macgregor, combat hero of the 1991 Iraq war, noted.

The Chilcot report confirmed that the United Kingdoms decision to join the war in Iraq was based on false intelligence provided by Bushs administration, Macgregor added.

The long-term effect of the report was likely to make future UK leaders far more reluctant and cautious to yield to Washington pressures to follow the United States into more military interventions, Macgregor concluded.

Doug Macgregor holds a doctoral degree in international relations from the US Military Academy at West Point. He commanded in the Battle of 73 Easting, a decisive tank fight during the 1991 Gulf War.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The decision to relaunch the strategic group, despite sanctions, has been made in February at the meeting of the Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukaev and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel.

"On June 24, the first in almost two years meeting of the strategic group for economy and finance has happened. We now hold talks on the revival of the Subgroup on Finance, simultaneously, a question on filling of this block with further subgroups, in particular, for the pharmaceutical industry, has been raised," Grinin told Izvestiya Newspaper in an interview.
"While the contents and conclusions of the inquiry are chilling  a government pressed into war with no aim or mission, and a war machine unleashed against mostly civilians  it at least shows that Britain has the courage to look into its own actions," Van Buren stated. "I only wish my own country [United States] would be so brave."

Van Buren noted that the Chilcot report was justifiably critical of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for being willig to be manipulated by US President George W. Bush into joining the war in Iraq.
In 2014, the European Union signed an agreement with Ukraine to deepen political association and economic integration. Ukraine has to implement a series of political and economic reforms to gain free-trade access to the EU market.

Currently, the Netherlands is the only EU state, which has not yet ratified the agreement.
In a phone conversation on Wednesday, Wang slammed the upcoming decision saying, as quoted by Xinhua News Agency, that "the arbitral tribunal which clearly has been expanding and over-stretching its jurisdiction beyond the limit has no jurisdiction at all [over the South China Sea disputes]. Any award it makes in disregard of the laws and facts is naturally not legally binding."
We need a similar inquiry here. Chilcots report has revealed so much about what was going on behind the scenes, between Blair and his advisers, Blair and his cabinet, Blair and Bush. Australia needs a similar comprehensive independent inquiry into how the decision was made to commit Australia to this war," Barratt told Guardian in an interview.

Australia was part of a US-led coalition, which also included United Kingdom and Poland, that invaded Iraq in 2003, without a UN mandate, after accusing then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein of possessing weapons of mass destruction, which were never found.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The visit will last between July 7-10 and will include Salyukov's acquaintance with the organization of combat training and daily activities of one of the compounds of Argentine Army, visit to the National Military Academy of Land Forces.

"During the visit Col. Gen. Oleg Salyukov will meet with the Minister of Defense of Argentina Julio Cesar Martinez and the Chief of Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Argentina Maj. Gen. Bari Del Valle Sosa. The main theme of the meeting will be issues of bilateral cooperation for the development of land forces of the two countries," the press release read.
"After reaching a comprehensive agreement, Iran and the P5+1 group has been actively carrying out their obligations. In general, the implementation is progressing very positively. We hope that all parties will continue to adhere to such a responsible position, continuously enhancing mutual trust and fulfilling the provisions of Resolution 2231, including speeding up the reconstruction of the nuclear power plant in Arak," Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart.

The Chinese minister said China will continue to play a constructive role in the matter. The conversation took place on Wednesday at the initiative of the Iranian side.
"We agree with what [Frank-Walter] Steinmeier said," she told one of Italy's leading newspapers Corriere della Sera. Last month, the German Foreign Affairs Minister warned NATO against "loud saber-rattling and warmongering" that would only put extra strain on relations with Russia.

Pinotti pledged to "maintain a dialogue [with Russia], that we will necessarily intensify." She also said that Italy will fulfill all its responsibilities as a NATO member, but added that it "is a mistake" to think that the bloc's eastern border is "only a source of risks and threats." It is "actually a frontier where bridges should be built" at a time when the world has to deal with the challenges posed by international terrorism.

"It would be foolish to revive the war of the past, considering that we face the risk of terrorist attacks at home and in the whole world," she added, referring the Cold War era confrontation between the West and the Soviet bloc.
TOKYO (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, the United States slapped sanctions on Kim and ten more North Korean senior officials as well as five entities, including the Ministry of People's Security, for their role in human rights abuses.

"The government [of South Korea] appreciates and welcomes the US decision to impose sanctions against those involved in human rights violations in North Korea. This move demonstrates our commitment to strengthen the sanctions regime against the DPRK in various directions," the ministry said in a statement.
Swedish authorities' claims that Russia poses a "threat" to the country is part of an information campaign, the foreign ministry spokeswoman said. She added that Russian military activity is transparent.

She emphasized that the modernization of the Russian army is a symmetric response to NATO's activities and does not mean that Moscow has aggressive intentions.

"It is regrettable that the Swedish military's Russophobic statements have become a routine practice, they [Swedish authorities] imagined some Russian military threat. We have repeatedly stated that the modernization of the Russian army, which has nothing to do with any aggressive intentions. It is a symmetric response to the boosted military activity of NATO, which expands its infrastructure closer to Russia's borders."

Moscow is ready to discuss the issue with Sweden, however, Stockholm is skipping direct dialogue.

Since 2014, NATO has been building up its military presence in Eastern Europe, using Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine as a pretext for the move. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup near Russias borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power.

Zakharova said that Russia's military activity is conducted only on its territory, while NATO continues expanding its presence near Russian borders.

Russia-NATO Council
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, the 2.6-million-word report on the UK role in the 2003 Iraq War was released, seven years after it was announced. The long-awaited inquiry by Sir John Chilcot concluded that the United Kingdom under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair made a decision to invade Iraq before all peaceful options had been exhausted, whereas the entire policy on Iraq was based on flawed intelligence and assessments.

"We've known that all along. Even during the discussion of this issue in the UN Security Council it was clear that they fabricated facts to convince the Security Council that there were stocks of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and, thus, gain its approval for the military action against the regime of [then Iraq leader] Saddam Hussein," Gatilov said.

He added that the fact that the information Moscow knew was finally revealed in the Untied Kingdom proved that Russia was right.
On July 8-9, NATO member states will gather at a major summit in Warsaw. The choice of venue is no coincidence. In recent years, Poland has, together with the Baltic states, pursued perhaps the hardest line against Russia of all NATO members, Stefan Hedlund, Professor of Eastern European Research at Uppsala University, noted in an opinion piece in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet

The Warsaw Summit will take place against the background of the most extensive military exercises Poland and the whole Baltic region has experienced ever since the Cold War. This has forced Russia to step up its training activities, which is perceived as "possible aggression." Therefore, there is no surprise in that the agenda for the Warsaw Summit will be dominated by demands for a return to the Cold War deterrence policy.

Practical steps in this direction include a NATO force of four battalions and 4,000 men to be rotated through Poland and each of the Baltic states to put off "aggressive" Russia. What's even more important than the actual presence, however, is that it is no longer forbidden for NATO to plan military interventions. Many states, above all Germany, have earlier resisted such planning, which was considered likely to provoke Russia. Now this taboo is gone. Today, the only remaining question is how to place enough forces to ward off Putin's Russia.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  EU lawmakers voted by a wide margin to adopt three opinions that said the three countries had made headway in meeting EU benchmarks for lifting visa requirements.

"Ukraine has made a great progress on its European path since the EuroMaidan protests two years ago," rapporteur on Ukraine Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, of Poland, was quoted in the parliaments statement as saying.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the foreign secretary, the United Kingdom was the main supporter of the European Union's anti-Russian sanctions.

"The UK has been, perhaps, the driving force in maintaining the unity of EU on sanctions against Russia <> and I fear that, in future such situations, an EU without Britain as an influential member will be less likely to take a sustained robust action against Russia," Hammond said.
KIEV (Sputnik)  In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between Ukraines conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, after talks of the Normandy Four countries, comprising Russia, Germany, Ukraine and France. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, an all-for-all prisoner exchange and constitutional reforms, which would give a special status to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics.

Both sides of the conflict, however, are constantly accusing each other of violations of the ceasefire.

"We, Ukrainians, are devoted to the implementation of the Minsk agreements, which we consider to be a roadmap for peaceful settlement in Donbass. But we underline that there can be no true settlement without ensuring permanent, comprehensive security," Poroshenko said.
London was part of the coalition that carried out the military operation which was not specifically authorized by the UN Security Council.

"Britain's engagement in Iraq was a mistake in every possible sense," director of the Center for Political and Strategic Studies at the Baghdad-based al-Mustansiriya University said. It has already been costly and could become even costlier.

Following Brexit, "the UK will not receive support from the international community, if Iraq demands compensation," he added. "Baghdad must use the Chilcot report to file a claim against Britain and demand compensation for everything that was devastated during the invasion."
Since 2014, NATO has been increasing its military presence in Western Europe close to Russia's western borders, using Moscow's alleged interference in Ukraine as a pretext for the move. Moscow has repeatedly denied the claims and warned NATO that the military buildup on Russia's borders is provocative and threatens the existing strategic balance of power.

According to Oppermann, Steinmeier "is on the right track" trying to normalize Germany's relations with Moscow. The head of the SPD parliamentary faction also noted that "it is very important" for Germany "to once again become a partner with the Russian Federation."

The confrontation between CDU member Schauble and former SPD leader Steinmeier seems to signify a new division in Germany's ruling coalition. The last major crisis in the ruling coalition broke out in autumn 2015, when politicians from the two major German parties were struggling to resolve the dispute regarding the government's refugee policy, German magazine Spiegel Online wrote.

For many months, the European Union has been struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis dubbed by Frontex as the worst refugee crisis since World War II, with hundreds of thousands of people leaving conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty and seek asylum in Europe. The refugee crisis has gradually become a political crisis, with many German politicians criticizing the open-door policy toward migrants introduced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The state secretary pledged US support for a transparent political process in Georgia, according to the release.

"Secretary Kerry met this morning with the leadership of Georgia's opposition parties and the Speaker of Parliament to hear their priorities for Georgia in advance of October's parliamentary elections," Toner stated.

On Wednesday, the United States and Georgia have signed a memorandum on deepening the defense and security cooperation.
By keeping sanctions in place the EU "has maintained solidarity with the pro-West government in Ukraine and kept pressure on Russia for more than two years," according to the report.

However, there is a growing number of those who want Brussels to ease or completely remove sanctions. Even before the Brexit vote, some "Russia-friendly countries," including Italy, Greece, and Hungary, called for greater discussion on extending sanctions against Moscow.

The leaders of those countries opposed the automatic prolongation of sanctions, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi even co-hosted a recent international economic forum with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

"Of course, the pro-Russia sentiment has not sufficed to break the EU unanimity in an actual vote. Nonetheless, it reveals growing uncertainty over the future of the sanctions  regardless of whether Moscow complies with the Continent's demands to implement the Minsk accords," the article read.

According to the author, "nothing will test EU unity more than negotiating Britain's exit from the bloc." As the EU has already agreed to prolong sanctions until the end of the year, discord within the bloc will not affect Russia immediately.

However, there is the possibility that the EUs "long-standing consensus" may break up during the next vote in 2017, according to Stratfor.

Britain has been one of the most active supporters of tough measures towards Russia, but now its status in the EU is uncertain and other members may be ready to abandon such a position.
In addition, the UK did not have enough resources to sustain two "enduring" campaigns, in Afghanistan and Iraq. The operation in Afghanistan was a priority. As a result, essential hardware, including helicopters and surveillance equipment, was not readily available for British troops deployed to Iraq.

An ill-prepared and underequipped British force was compelled to make an agreement with its adversary, a powerful militia in Basra. "It was humiliating that the UK reached a position in which an agreement with a militia group which had been actively targeting UK forces was considered the best option available," Sir Chilcot noted.

Needless to say, the British people could not have been happy about these findings.

"The Brits love their army. There is almost no anti-militarist sentiment in the country," Huyghe, research director at the IRIS think tank, said. "This is a huge disappointment for [the people], at least when it comes to the army's command and those responsible for planning."

The inquiry, led by Sir John Chilcot, also found that then British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a decision to invade Iraq by exaggerating the threat that the country under Hussein posed to its neighbors and beyond at a time when all diplomatic means of resolving the issue had not been exhausted. In addition, the entire Iraq policy was based on flawed intelligence and assessments.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  According to the statement, the embassy in Brazil is due to be closed on January 1, 2017. However, three honorary consuls will continue to work on Estonia's behalf in the country.

"Our diplomats have been doing a good job, protecting the country's interests in the fields of security, economy <> However, if the country has to cut spending, we should do it as well," Estonian Foreign Minister Marina Kaljurand said.

Kaljurand noted that for Estonia it was especially important to keep its embassies in EU countries and in NATO member states open.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Warsaw NATO Summit 2016 will take place on July 8-9, with members of the alliance set to discuss increasing military activities on NATO's eastern flank.

The next Russia-NATO Council will be held in the Belgian capital of Brussels on July 13

"We have met with Russia at ambassadorial level, we did that in April we will do that next week I think now we have to focus on our next meeting at ambassadorial level and then we have to take this step by step assessing whether we also should aim for a meeting at higher level, at ministerial level," Stoltenberg said during a press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda ahead of the NATO Summit in Warsaw.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Tuesday, the UK parliament's Defense Committee issued a new report, in which it called for the renewal of EU anti-Russian sanctions as well as for introducing individual sanctions against a larger number of Russian officials.

The sanctions should act as an incentive for the Minsk Agreements [on Ukrainian reconciliation] to be fulfilled, and we hope to be able to formulate a future environment in which UK-Russia dialogue is enhanced, and to work to improve relations between the two nations, Alex Paterson said.

The report strongly advocates this, and the Committee hopes for better dialogue and understanding between the UK and Russia in future, Paterson added.
WARSAW (Sputnik)  The European Union is currently struggling to manage a massive refugee crisis with hundreds of thousands of people leaving conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty and seek asylum in Europe.

"What can NATO do about migration? Migration is a big challenge for the European Union and the European society. What is NATO as a military alliance has to contribute to that? And I think we have large military capabilities that could be applied alongside mainly the EU, which has the lead here, not supplant the EU, not to take over the job, but simply compliment the EU. And I think on Saturday you will hear some announcements of how NATO can get into that effort alongside the EU as a complimentary force," Doug E. Lute said at the 2016 NATO Future Leaders Summit in Warsaw.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) about 200,000 people have arrived in Europe since the beginning of 2016.
Steinmeier described NATOs increased presence in the east and its dialogue with Moscow as "two sides of the same coin."

"It is great that Moscow is ready to take on such an urgent issue as confidence-building in the Baltic Sea region and the East Ukraine conflict right after the Warsaw summit," he said.

Steinmeier added NATO allies must take care not to distort their message to Russia and "ruin our efforts, which would mean less security for Europe, not more."

Last month, Steinmeier slammed NATO's "saber-rattling" after it staged unprecedented war games in Poland, saying parading tanks on the Russian border undermined security in the region.
SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik)  According to Crimea's head, Russia has nothing to worry about with respect to any military threat, as the country is able to resist any aggression.

"Here we have plenty of units of the Russian Defense Ministry to perform any combat task. The citizens of Crimea are not afraid but at the same time rely on the common sense of Western politicians," Aksyonov told reporters.
"The Iraqi economy has been hit hard by the double shock arising from the ISIS [Daesh] attacks and the sharp drop in global oil prices," IMF Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the Board Min Zhu stated on Thursday. "The policies put in place by the authorities to deal with this double shock are appropriate."

Iraqs Stand-By Arrangement-supported economic reform program will seek to balance payments and bring spending in line with lower global oil prices.
"This is part of an ongoing effort by HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] to identify and seize illegal assets in the United States obtained by corrupt foreign leaders who abuse our financial systems in order to conceal the illicit proceeds of their crimes," HSI Executive Associate Director Peter Edge stated.

According to court documents, Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. paid approximately $6 million in bribes to Chens wife, then-First Lady Wu Shu-Jen, to ensure the presidents support for the company.
Seven years in the making, the Iraq Inquiry has finally been released in Britain, containing over 2.3 million words. It is a scathing indictment of Tony Blair for going along with George W. Bushs shock and awe invasion of Iraq, but will Blair be prosecuted for his role in the destruction that followed the 2003 occupation?

Secretary of State John Kerry is in Ukraine today ahead of the NATO Summit that opens in Warsaw on Friday. Two and a half years after what some call the most obvious coup in history that took place in Kiev, is it all going as planned for the United States? Becker is joined by political analyst Daniel McAdams to discuss what Kerry is seeking in Ukraine.

Ahead of the national convention, the Republican Party is still in chaos  Trump goes to Capitol Hill to win over the Republican leadership. Is Trumps extreme bigotry simply a case of the chickens coming home to roost after years of racism and anti-immigrant scapegoating? Kevin Akin, Secretary of the California state Peace & Freedom Party, joins Becker on the show.
Also, The Intercepts Lee Fang joined us to talk about 2016, and the many ways through which corporations try to get their way in Washington.

And, Hillary Clinton released a plan on college debt that isnt a total joke. We chat to progressive journalist Paul Blest about it. Plus, the latest on troop withdrawals in Afghanistan  or lack thereof.
Elena Ovchinnikova, a senior instructor and research fellow at the New Economic School, confirmed to Sputnik Pages arrival in Moscow on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he had no information on whether Page would be received for consultations in the Kremlin.
The former NSA contractor, who leaked thousands of classified documents revealing, among other things, large-scale US government surveillance programs in 2013, expressed his concern with what he called "Russia's Big Brother law".

#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia. https://t.co/J4I2SQ9VCe  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) July 7, 2016

The bill, signed into effect by President Putin on July 7th, includes a number of hotly-debated points, including an obligation for all communication companies and internet providers to store traffic information. Social networks and messenger services would be required to retain traffic information for at least a year, and keep records of phone calls and texts for six months.

Telecom companies would also be required to hand over encryption keys to state security agencies, and face fines if they refuse to comply. Russia's three major communication companies seem to agree with Snowden, calling the measure 'extreme'.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, it was reported that seven militants and one law enforcement officer were killed in a special operation in Russia's Dagestan.

"Seven active members of the so-called Makhachkala gang  which has repeatedly carried out killings of law enforcement officers and civilians, and other terrorist crimes  were eliminated," the committee said in a statement.

"One FSB officer was killed and three sustained injuries," the statement reads.
"If we continue to spend them [the Reserve Fund and the National Wealth Fund] in the same volumes as in previous years, they will be quickly exhausted. We cannot allow that," he stressed.

The Finance Ministry planned to spend 2.1 trillion rubles ($32.8 billion) out of the Reserve Fund to cover budget shortfalls this year, with approximately 1 trillion rubles projected for next year.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Ivanov visited the city of Tiksi in Russia's north to overlook progress of the construction.

"General work in Arctic is to be completed by the end of the current year," Ivanov said.

Ivanov stressed that building military facilities in Russia's north was a unique project in terms of extreme weather conditions.
Twitter user Patrick Burtchaell shared a hilarious, at times puzzling and definitely embarrassing email that his roommate received from a Microsoft recruiter, Kim. The message is addressed to "bae interns" inviting them to hang out together at Internapalooza, a large gathering of college students who hope to land an internship in some of Silicon Valley's biggest companies. It will be held on July 11.

My roommate received this email from a Microsoft recruiter today. pic.twitter.com/90Qwr78eGO  Patrick Burtchaell (@pburtchaell) 6  2016 .

"Bae" is a shortened version for babe that could also describe a significant other. But in this case it could have been a typo, because the letter was sent out to interns located in San Francisco Bay Area. In any case, the letter does not stop there and the rest of the message is peppered with similar words.

If you aren't a bae intern in San Francisco, you're missing out on one hell of an afterparty. https://t.co/S8UJKxmIQc  Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) 6  2016 .

"There will be hella noms, lots of dranks, the best beats and just like last year, we're breaking out the Yammer beer pong tables," the letter said, describing the "exclusive after party" following the main event. "Hell yes to getting lit on a Monday night."
According to media reports, the girlfriend and daughter of the man, Philando Castile, were in the car at the time of the shooting. Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, is said to have been taken into custody.

Reynolds began streaming a video of the incident to Facebook shortly after the shooting. It shows a heavily bleeding Castile and a police officer pointing his gun at the unconscious man. The girlfriend says that the car they were in had been pulled over for a broken tail light, then an officer asked Castile for his driver's license, and Castile informed the law enforcer that he had a firearm and a permit for it.

According to Reynolds, the officer then shot Castile four times. In the video the same officer is shown shouting "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand out!

WARNING! The video below contains disturbing scenes. Viewer discretion is advised.

Breaking News in Minnesota. Family pulled over and officer open fires on driver for reaching for his license. pic.twitter.com/qu6WUKRrR8  MarQuis Trill (@6BillionPeople) July 7, 2016

This incident follows a Tuesday shooting of another African-American man, Alton Sterling, by two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which prompted protests.
When an ambitious businesswoman, Susan Bernard, attended the NASA Technology Days in Cleveland, Ohio, and learned about the latest NASA sensors, the idea of creating Textile Instruments was born. The project was about integrating a novel sensor technology into a fabric that would be able to monitor the condition of living beings.

The technology called SansEC, which is short for "without electrical connection," is a sensor that functions using electromagnetic vibrations in the air and does not need to be plugged in or use batteries. Originally developed by NASA Langley researcher Stanley Woodard, SansEC can simultaneously measure different physical phenomena, like temperature and fluid level, and functions even when badly damaged. A remote antenna "interrogates" the sensor and collects the measurements.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  A police officer opened fire on Castile on Wednesday evening. Later, the 32-year-old man died at a hospital in the city of Falcon Heights.

"The Justice Department is aware of the incident and is assessing the situation," the spokesperson stated as quoted by NPR radio.

Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and their daughter were in the car at the time of the shooting.
"Just because someone is not prosecuted for mishandling classified information, that does not mean, if you work in the FBI, there are no consequences for you," Comey stated when asked if there should be any consequences for Clinton. "There are often very severe consequences in the FBI, involving their employment, involving their pay, involving their clearances."

Lawyers of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton likely deleted a number of emails containing classified information, he said.

"Surely, it is a reasonable assumption that some of the ones they [attorneys] deleted contained classified information," Comey stated when asked if he was confident that none of the 30,000 emails destroyed by Clintons attorneys was marked as classified.

Clinton did not know her lawyers deleted emails that were not turned over to Congress or the State Department, he said.

When asked if Clinton knew her legal team deleted emails that had to be turned over to Congress, Comey responded, "I dont believe so."

On Tuesday, FBI Director James Comey announced that the FBI would not recommend charges against Clinton based on a criminal probe into her use of a private server and email account. Comey said, however, that the FBI found evidence that Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless" in handling highly classified information.

On Wednesday, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said she had accepted FBIs recommendation to bring no charges against Clinton.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Comey also noted that while the FBI did not know if Clintons server was hacked, they could not prove that it was.

When asked if Clintons private email servers were less secure than Gmail, Comey told the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee, "Yes."

On Tuesday, FBI Director James Comey announced that the FBI would not recommend charges against Clinton based on a criminal probe into her use of a private server and email account. Comey said, however, that the FBI found evidence that Clinton and her staff were "extremely careless" in handling highly classified information.
Replying to the question of how impartial the subsequent decision was by Attorney General Loretta Lynch to not bring charges against Clinton, Schultz said: "The whole investigation is clearly tainted."

According to him, the investigation can't be considered impartial because of two factors.

"First is that Bill Clinton's visit by Loretta Lynch clearly taints the entire investigation," Schultz said.

The expert referred to Bill Clinton's recent meeting with Lynch which was harshly criticized by Republicans. For instance, Trump said that Lynch had been bribed and promised that she would keep her job if she allows Ms. Clinton to escape prosecution. Other Republicans also criticized the FBI's investigation, with House Speaker Paul Ryan saying it defied explanation.

"The second is that even though the FBI said they did a clean investigation in terms of looking at what she did here, we have to remember that the FBI director appointed by the President of the United States is a Democrat; he is accountable to Loretta Lynch who is the head of the Justice Department. So there's gonna be lots of people who can raise a question saying that even if there wasn't explicit pressure to not prosecute, there still was a whole bunch of sort of unofficial pressures," the expert concluded.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, FBI Director James Comey told a congressional oversight committee that the private email server and email account used by Clinton when she served as secretary of state were less secure than the email service Gmail.

Contrary to the baseless speculation and conspiracy theories, there has never been any evidence found to support the allegation that Hillary Clintons server was hacked, the release noted. However, the same cannot be said for the State Department and other government email systems.
A threat to national security, highly enriched uranium or plutonium, illegally shipped to the US, can be used to build an improvised nuclear device. Radiological materials, including cesium-137, cobalt-60, and strontium-90, can be combined with conventional explosives to build a radiological dispersal device  a so-called dirty bomb.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, and the House Homeland Security Committee's Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security met on Thursday to evaluate the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to prevent nuclear smuggling, and other port security risks.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Valls visited Israel on May 21-24 for talks with President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a bid to revive the reconciliation process between Israelis and Palestinians.

The prime minister and his staff were asked to submit their cellphones before attending the high-level talks, according to the French newspaper LExpress.

Upon retrieving them, French officials were "shocked" to find that many devices showed signs of an "anomaly," the outlet claimed. One of the phones later broke down.
Not all NATO members bordering the Black Sea are expected to support the buildup in the region. While Romania is likely to support the move such countries as Bulgaria and Turkey may be more reserved because they do not wants tensions with Russia, the report read.

According to Stratfor, until recently Turkey was a strong supporter of the initiative in the Black Sea. However, in the past few weeks, Ankara has taken steps to normalize ties with Moscow.

Stratfor analysts also compared the balance of naval powers in the region. NATO has superiority over Russia in the number of warships. But Russia has some other advantages, including in aviation. In addition, Moscow has been modernizing the fleet, including submarines.

To sum up, Moscow will not be able to rely on the Montreux Convention because NATO will find ways to bypass the restrictions and take the naval leadership in the Black Sea. However, Russias positions in the Crimean Peninsula give Moscow a serious advantage over the alliance, according to the report.
Lawbook Larry Farley, a recently retired attorney from Toledo, Ohio, scored his first driving victory in this seasons C.K.G. Billings Amateur Driving Series on Wednesday night (July 6) when he guided Patient I D to a 2:00.1 wire-to-wire triumph in a Midwest region trot at Northfield Park.

A veteran of over three decades of amateur driving, Farley, like many others in amateur racing, also owns his stock and employs a professional trainer when he was doing due-diligence in his chosen profession.

In the Billings trot on Wednesday night at Northfield Park, Farley took advantage of starting from the pole position and gunned his trotter to the lead when the wings of the mobile gate folded.

It appeared that a few others were good on the front-end so I wanted to leave and make sure I had a good position as we headed to the first quarter, Farley said by telephone after the race. We got a good assist when Heza Rube [the odds-on favourite] made a break as we headed to the quarter.

Still Farley and Patient I D didnt have a cakewalk of it when the favourite went off stride. Celtic Merchant and Steve Youre Never Too Oldford supplied relentless pressure from the get-go, but Patient I D was up to the test and although she needed to trot to a :58.3 half to keep all comers at bay, the veteran four-year-old Bands Gold Chip mare hung tough along the pylons turning back a multitude of challenges.

As the field rounded the clubhouse turn and headed for the three-quarters, the parked-out trotters began looking for positions along the pylons as Patient I D kept going forward.

I got a bit concerned on the last turn because my mare wasnt strong on the bit, Farley said. "As we headed for home, I was closely watching Ned [Hodkinson with Mutinyonthebounty], who was making a move at me on the outside, and I hardly noticed Tim Miller [with Vaya Con Dios] charging on the far outside as we headed for the finish line. Luckily, Tims horse ran out of racetrack and my mare was a one-length winner over Tims.

Although Patient I D had three previous seasonal victories, this was the first time Farley drove her to victory.

Shes a nice mare, good gaited, and a pleasure to drive, Farley said referring to Patient I D. Shes a real sweetheart.

Farley owns Patient I D, who paid $19.20 to win. Shes trained by Calvin Holler. For Farley, it was his 54th amateur driving victory.

Next Billings action will be in the eastern region at Monticello Raceway on Friday afternoon, July 8.

(C.K.G. Billings Series)
This week, the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey will host Grand Circuit harness racing action, including the Graduate Series finals, Meadowlands Pace elimination, and W.N. Reynolds Memorial.

Schedule of Events: Grand Circuit races will be contested this Saturday (July 9) at The Meadowlands. The stakes heavy card features the $250,000 Graduate Series finals for four-year-old pacers and trotters; two divisions in the $56,486 W.N. Reynolds Memorial for three-year-old filly trotters; and a $50,000 Meadowlands Pace elimination for three-year-olds.

Last Time: This past weekends Grand Circuit action was highlighted by four lucrative events on the Sun Stakes Saturday (July 2) program at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Trainer Jimmy Takter says Always B Miki is a horse that will be long remembered in the future. For now, Takter and the five-year-old pacers connections are more than enjoying the stallions present.

Always B Miki won his highly anticipated showdown with Wiggle It Jiggleit and Freaky Feet Pete in Saturdays $500,000 Ben Franklin Pace at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Always B Miki defeated Freaky Feet Pete by three-quarters of a length in a stakes and world-record-equalling time of 1:47, with Wiggle It Jiggleit finishing third.

The time equalled the fastest mile in history on a five-eighths-mile racetrack. Always B Miki, who also won in 1:47 last week at Pocono, shares the record with Sweet Lou.

Always B Miki has won five of seven races this year and nine of 11 since returning from injury last October. He is owned by Bluewood Stable, Roll The Dice Stable, and Christina Takter. For his career, Always B Miki has won 23 of 42 starts and earned $1.64 million.

Driver Yannick Gingras tucked his whip and breathed a sigh of relief at the wire as he and Southwind Frank won the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial in 1:52.4.

Southwind Frank led the field through the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:24.4 before coming home in :28 to win by two and a quarter lengths. Trolley was second with Bar Hopping third. A son of Muscle Hill out of Flawless Lindy, Southwind Frank is trained by Ron Burke for Southwind Frank Partners.

As fireworks popped overhead, Racing Hill made some fireworks of his own in winning the $500,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial final in a rated 1:49.

Sent off as the 3-5 favourite off a 1:49.1 elimination win last week, Racing Hill took the lead from Boston Red Rocks shortly before the quarter in :25.4. Driver Brett Miller then took the son of Roll With JoeChasing Ideals through a second quarter in :29. No one was catching Racing Hill as he led the field to the three-quarters in 1:22 and sprinted home to win by two and a half lengths. JK Will Power was second with Boston Red Rocks third.

Tony Alagna trains Racing Hill for owner/breeder Tom Hill. He now has two wins, three seconds and a third in six starts this year, good for over $500,000 in seasonal earnings.

Pure Country and driver Brett Miller made their way to the front near the midway point and never relinquished the lead from there, winning Saturdays $300,000 James M. Lynch Memorial for three-year-old female pacers by a half-length over Blue Moon Stride in a stakes record-equalling clocking of 1:49.2.

I Said Diamonds led the field to the opening quarter-mile in :27, but soon gave up the top spot to Darlinonthebeach. Pure Country was on the move ahead of Blue Moon Stride in the outside flow and made her way to the lead as the group reached the half in :54.2. Darlinonthebeach slowed on the backstretch and did not finish.

Pure Country reached three-quarters in 1:22.1 and paced home from there to win for the fourth time in seven starts this season. Blue Moon Stride was followed by Lindwood Beachgirl in third and I Said Diamonds in fourth.

It was Pure Countrys third major victory of the campaign, having captured the Miss Pennsylvania and Fan Hanover earlier this year. A daughter of Somebeachsomewhere out of the mare Western Montana, Pure Country has won 14 of 17 career races and earned $1.33 million. She is owned by Diamond Creek Racing.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2016, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farm is the sponsor for the 2016 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the current leaders:

Drivers: 1. Jordan Stratton  221.5; 2. Yannick Gingras  202; 3. David Miller  190; 4. Tim Tetrick  176; 5. Matt Kakaley  165.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke  318; 2. Jimmy Takter  188; 3. Jeff Bamond Jr.  170; 4. Peter Tritton  139.5; 5. Rene Allard  125.

Owners: 1. Harry von Knoblauch - 139.5; 2. Bamond Racing  112; 3. Burke Racing Stable  80.9; 4. Weaver Bruscemi  66.15; 5. Courant A B  60.

Looking Ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next weekend at The Meadowlands and Yonkers Raceway. The massive Meadowlands card will feature the Meadowlands Pace final, the William Haughton Memorial, the Hambletonian Maturity, the Stanley Dancer Trot, the Del Miller Memorial, the Mistletoe Shalee, the Golden Girls and a leg of the Miss Versatility. Yonkers will host the Lawrence B. Sheppard for two-year-old pacing colts.

(With files from Grand Circuit)
It has come to light that a horse racing announcer is having to be escorted to and from his perch atop the raceway due to having received death threats in relation to his job.

Michael Wrona is the man that has replaced legendary race caller Trevor Denman, who announced his pending retirement from Santa Anita Park late last year.

It is Wrona who is the target of the death threats, according to an article by the Los Angeles Times.

The LA Times piece states that the threats directed at Wrona were made by a fan of Denmans via a horse racing blog. In turn, the racetrack contacted police, who touched base with the individual. Who was not arrested or detained. According to the article, the police do not believe that the individual is a threat to Wrona at this time.

The piece has cited Arcadia Police Lt. Roy Nakamura as saying that Based on the information weve been able to gather, we are comfortable that he is not a threat at this time. Hes enamored with Trevor Denman and hes upset with the fact that Trevor is no longer going to be announcing the races. Hes fixated on Trevor.

The individual has been barred from the racetrack, and raceway security has been very close to Wrona since the whole situation began

When contacted, Denman said that the situation is really, really strange. He went on to say, hopefully nothing will ever come of it. And hopefully it will never happen again. But its still a terrible thing to have hanging over your head.

Its certainly unfortunate that Ive been encumbered by this situation, Wrona was quoted as saying. Its not been pleasant. At the same time the security people at Santa Anita have been first class in their handling of this.

(With files from the Los Angeles Times)
Drawing Post 10 for Saturdays $250,000 Graduate final at The Meadowlands didnt change Claude Hamels travel plans.

Hell still be on hand to watch four-year-old trotter Musical Rhythm, the best horse to come his way in more than 30 years as an owner.

A horse like that makes you dream. And I like that hes a stallion too, said Hamel, 56, a farm-equipment dealer in Coaticook, Que., who has interests in about a dozen racehorses (including the good older trotter Etruscan Hanover) and also does some breeding at his 104-acre farm in nearby Ayers Cliff.

Hamel has enjoyed success in his home province with Quebec-bred stakes stars like Canbec Mustang and Canaco Runner, but Musical Rhythm raised the bar by competing against top-level trotters in Ontario and the U.S.

Purchased by trainer and co-owner Benoit Baillargeon at the Harrisburg auction last fall for $33,000 (U.S.), the son of Cantab Hall has since won 15 of 18 starts and more than $200,000 for his new connections and lowered his mark to 1:52.

Benoit liked the bloodlines and thought he had good potential. He was right. Team Baillargeon has done a good job with him, said Hamel.

The horse's only losses in 13 starts this year came in his two U.S. appearances, a fourth and sixth in legs of the Graduate at Meadowlands and Tioga Downs, but that doesnt dissuade Hamel any more than Saturdays post position.

Its not the position we wanted but he can race from behind, so if the mile unfolds well, he can be right there. But the competition is tough, said Hamel, who owns 40 per cent of the horse.

After the Graduate, Musical Rhythm is scheduled to start in the Hambletonian Maturity at The Meadowlands, then return to Ontario, where hes nominated for September's Maple Leaf Trot.

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)
In a pretty bizarre case of truth being stranger than fiction, an injured horse racing participant suffered further agony this past weekend when an ambulance drove over his leg and broke it as he laid in pain on the racetrack.

An article by the BBC is one of multiple reports about Northern Ireland jockey Chris Meehan, who was injured in a Sunday, July 3 accident during a race at an Italian track.

The 22-year-old Thoroughbred rider had gone down due to the racing accident, which saw him break his nose, get knocked unconscious, and suffer a laceration along his jaw that required 27 stitches to seal.

The on-track ambulance was dispatched to come to Meehans aid. The rider explained to BBC Radio Foyle that the starter had come to his aid and placed him in the recovery position, with his right leg out straight.

Meehan explained how the racetrack was not that wide and the ambulance had to reverse to turn around. It was then that the ambulance reversed over the riders outstretched leg.

"After I [let] a roar out of me, everybody realized that the ambulance was on top of me and they all jumped up and pushed it off me," Meehan said.

What makes the situation even stranger is that Meehans father is an ambulance driver, and, of course, he has many family members that are also in the business.

"My father in Northern Ireland has been in the ambulance service for 30 years and he wasn't too happy at the sound of what went on."

(With files from the BBC)
Sandra Merritt Argues in Court to Dismiss Planned Parenthood Suit

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 7, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Liberty Counsel's Chief Counsel Harry Mihet presented oral arguments in a San Francisco federal court requesting dismissal of the lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood against Sandra "Susan" Merritt. Liberty Counsel argued that Planned Parenthood has no standing, no damages, no legal basis for the suit, which is only designed to silence Merritt's First Amendment rights. It also asks for Planned Parenthood to be held responsible for the fees and costs incurred by counsel.

Liberty Counsel is defending Merritt in both the criminal indictment in Texas and against Planned Parenthood's lawsuit in San Francisco. In the San Francisco suit, Planned Parenthood is using the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations" (RICO) law as a weapon to stop the undercover videos produced by the Center for Medical Progress that exposed Planned Parenthood's gruesome trade in baby body parts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled several years ago that RICO cannot be used against pro-life picketers to silence free speech. Yet, that is the motive of Planned Parenthood in this case.

Planned Parenthood has unleashed a 15-count federal lawsuit in which it claims that Merritt and other pro-life activists are legally responsible for its loss of taxpayer funding and for $10 to $16 million in other losses. In one of the motions filed under California's law designed to protect citizens from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, Liberty Counsel points out the ridiculous nature of Planned Parenthood's claims and demonstrates that Planned Parenthood's losses were caused by its own gruesome, barbaric, unethical, and potentially unlawful practices  not by the courageous and constitutionally protected acts of a truth-teller who exposed those practices.

"Planned Parenthood is obviously abusing the law in a desperate attempt to silence Sandra Merritt. The Supreme Court has ruled that RICO cannot be used to silence free speech and that is precisely what Planned Parenthood is seeking to accomplish. Planned Parenthood will not succeed. This case should be dismissed," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
Currently there are no public schools in your area. However, there are private school options available.
It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here.
Kalama City Council Wednesday night delayed asking voters to approve a slight sales tax hike to raise money for a new police station. The decision will be made during the next city council meeting on July 20.

The proposed 0.1 percent tax would add a penny to the cost of a $10 purchase. The measure will appear on the November general election ballot.

Kalama police is currently housed in the Kalama Community Building, where the agency has been based since the December flood damaged the Kalama police station.
Kalama will not hold its annual August blues festival this year as a result of Decembers flooding.

Mayor Pete Poulsen expressed regret that Kalama would have to miss out on the event. The community is too preoccupied by the recovery from the flood, which inundated most of the downtown area.

To make up for the absence of the blues festival, Poulsen said that he hopes the town might be able to hold another street event during the weekend of the Untouchables Car Show.

The car show will take place this year, on Sunday, Aug. 21 in downtown Kalama.
The Clatskanie Fire Department and Oregon Department of Forestry are still on the scene and investigating a brushfire that spread to about an acre Wednesday afternoon.

The fire crews were dispatched to Geraldine Drive and Sunset Court in Clatskanie at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Kelly Niles, wildland fire supervisor at the Oregon Department of Forestry. There were no injuries.

The brushfire spread to about an acre, and a couple trees were burned, Niles said. He said the fire quickly spread but slowed down when it hit some wetter grass. He said the situation could have been worse if the fire had occurred further into the summer when the grass is drier, but in this case the flames were far enough away from buildings.

Were lucky, Niles said. We probably dodged a bullet because we had that rain here not too long ago.

Niles said the fire was man-made but is unaware of the exact cause. Fireworks have not been ruled out.

Whatever youre going out to do for recreational activities ... just please be careful, Niles said.
A legal battle is brewing between a national pipeline company and four Cowlitz County landowners trying to block construction of a natural gas pipeline for the Kalama methanol project.

Northwest Pipeline, a subsidiary of Williams Co., filed a lawsuit against Cowlitz County Cemetery District No. 6 and several private landowners to get access to their properties for survey work.

A hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Cowlitz County Superior Court was moved to July 20 to give the landowners more time to prepare a defense.

Northwest Pipelines attorney said the lawsuit is a last resort after months of failed talks with the landowners.

Theyre opposed to the project and theyre trying to find any way to delay it, attorney Jessica Skelton said.

But the landowners say the project is an invasion of property rights and would degrade their property value. In addition, the cemetery district says the pipeline would cross land designated for future grave sites.

The endgame for NW Pipeline is to use the power of eminent domain to take our private property to build their pipeline, the landowners said in a joint letter to The Daily News. If built, the pipeline would create a permanent 50-foot-wide easement restricting the future use of our property, surely negatively affecting the aesthetics, current value, and future sale potential for the private landowners.

The company will need to buy some private land or obtain easements to build the 3.1 mile pipeline. For now, it just needs access to private land to do survey and engineering studies, but the landowners have refused. Northwest is asking the courts to order the landowners to allow survey crews on their land.

The defendants include the cemetery district, Daryl and Tina Linnel, John Mashino, and Kathleen McNeil. Three other defendants were dropped from the case after reaching an agreement with Northwest, Skelton said.

Northwest wants to build the pipeline late this year to supply 320 million cubic feet of natural gas to Chinese-backed Northwest Innovation Works proposed methanol plant at the Port of Kalama. In April, a federal agency issued a certificate authorizing the pipeline project, which the cemetery district appealed.

Under state law, pipeline companies have the power of eminent domain  authority to take private property for public use as long as they pay a just price  for building and operating pipelines that carry oil, gas or other petroleum products.

Currently, Northwest isnt seeking to take over the property, just to access it for three to four days of surveying, possible vegetation removal, soil samples and leaving stakes and ribbons in the ground, the company said.

Thats a situation that is not going to cause any grievance or harm, Skelton said.

But the landowners disagree.

Our property is threatened by for-profit motive of a private corporation who will build the pipeline, a foreign corporation who will make the methanol, and the country of China who will receive it, the defendants wrote in their statement.
When Longview schools recently began creating a list of notable alumni for their new Longview Luminaries blog, the first choice was an easy one.

Kent Weeks, a 1959 graduate from R.A. Long High School, was selected as the inaugural candidate for the school districts new project, which aims to educate Longview visitors and natives alike about the outstanding individuals the community has produced.

A world-renowned Egyptologist, Kent Weeks made headlines in the 1990s with his discovery of KV5, the tomb of the dozens of sons of Pharaoh Ramses II in the Valley of the Kings. The find was so significant it was on the cover of Time magazine.

The Longview Luminaries project consists of a 12-person task force dedicated to sharing the accomplishments of those raised and educated in Longview.

Its not a hall of fame or awards ceremony, said Sandy Catt, director of Technology and Communications for Longview Public Schools. The criteria are intentionally loose, Catt said, because the ultimate goal is to create a database of alumni that can be sorted by school, graduation year, or field.

The project aims to identify alumni, like Weeks, who have made outstanding contributions to their field on a state, national or international level.

Though he made his discovery thousands of miles away, Weeks got his start right here in Longview. He was born in Everett and moved to Longview in the seventh grade. He still remembers several of his instructors fondly.

My history teacher, Maclyn Burg, was a very strong influence in my youth, Weeks said in a phone interview from his home in Connecticut. He accepted my interest in ancient Egypt enthusiastically.

Burg also made himself accessible outside of the classroom as well.

I remember he had at home a small library of Egyptology books. I also remember that his wife made very, very good chocolate chip cookies, Weeks said. Weeks would spend hours in Burgs library, learning about discoveries a world away.

Weeks recalls that all of his teachers supported his dream of becoming an Egyptologist.

Weeks was a keen learner, and his interests didnt constrain themselves just to the history of Egypt. The sciences fascinated him as well.

I had a chemistry teacher, whose name I have forgotten now, who got me extremely interested in chemistry, due mainly to the fact that he was just an excellent teacher, Weeks said.

It wasnt always about academics for Weeks. The Egyptologist describes his younger self as a hellion.

I wrote letters to the editor of The Daily News at the time, complaining about the inability of the R.A. Long administration to keep students in line at the auditorium, Weeks recalled. That got me in some trouble.

In response to the school, Weeks ordered anonymous Playboy magazine subscriptions and had them sent to the school library as a practical joke. The interview was the first time he revealed the scheme.

I think theres a statute of limitations on pranks like that, Weeks joked.

After graduating from R.A. Long in 1959, Weeks enrolled in the anthropology program at the University of Washington. He graduated in 1965 with a bachelors and masters degrees in anthropology. He traveled to the African continent shortly thereafter to work on archaeological sites in Egypt and the Nubian region.

On one of his many return visits back to Washington, Weeks recalls, he ran into Burg in Seattle.

I went back to the UW to have lunch with the chair of the history department, and lo and behold [Burg] was there. He had become a graduate adviser to the graduate students at UW, Weeks said.

The two were able to catch up and share stories from their respective careers, Weeks recalled.

Ive always been grateful for him and his encouragement, Weeks said. Burg died in 1994.

Its stories and memories like these that make the project worthwhile, organizers say.

R.A. Long alumnus Gerald Flaskrud, a member of the task force, thinks that it might take a while to get the project off the ground. Theres no set schedule to how often Longview school graduates are added to the blog. But he believes that the effort is worth it.

Its interesting, Flaskrud said. Names are popping up and were going Oh yeah, I remember that person. Wow, they did that?
tech2 News Staff

Google released its July Security Bulletin in two parts  Security Bulletin July 1 and Security Bulletin July 5, fixing a total of 108 security bugs. A detailed breakdown is provided on the android security bulletin website. The fixes range from issues in the operating system to vulnerabilities on chipset level. July 1 bulletin includes partial security fixes while the July 5 bulletin, in addition to new fixes, includes the fixes from July 1 bulletin.

Tech2 recently covered the major Android security vulnerabilities after the Full-disk encryption flaw was unveiled. Things look a lot better after going through the details of the flaws fixed included in the comprehensive list. The first part of security bulletin focuses on a range of bugs, right from remote code execution in Mediaserver to OpenSSL and Boring SSL and elevation of privilege attacks. The second part focuses on vulnerabilities in drivers that range from Nexus, Pixel, Android One hardware to drivers by Qualcomm, Mediatek, and Nvidia.

Google has been leading the Android security landscape with an example. After introducing Android Security Bulletins last year, the company has religiously posted monthly security bulletins fixing the security flaws. Many of the flaws and bugs are reported through the Bug Bounty Program while some of them are reported by independent security researchers. The company did not find any trace of active exploits using the issues fixed in July Security Bulletin. At the time of writing Samsung is the only OEM that has rolled out the July Security Bulletin even before Google officially rolls it out to its Nexus and Android One lineup as reported by Android Central.
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Amazon has not seen a British sales dip since the vote to leave the European Union, its new UK boss said on Wednesday, after announcing the online retailer would create a further 1,000 jobs across the UK this year. "Our sales are in line with expectations... It's business as usual as far as we are concerned," UK country manager Doug Gurr told reporters on Wednesday. He declined to say what those expectations were. Gurr, who became Amazon's UK head in May after a stint in China, said it was too early to say what the impact of the June 23 Brexit vote would be.

"There's a lot of details to be worked out ... We don't know exactly what the regulatory environment will be, we don't know exactly what the terms of the new separation will be," he said. A survey published last week showed confidence among British consumers fell sharply in the days after the referendum, while on Tuesday department store retailer John Lewis said its sales grew more slowly last week. On Tuesday the boss of Sainsbury's, Britain's second largest supermarket group, said there was a danger of Britain talking itself into another recession.

Gurr said Amazon's plans for the UK had not changed on the Brexit vote. "We're continuing with the plans, we haven't suddenly invented new plans," he said. Amazon said on Wednesday it would create a further 1,000 jobs across the UK this year. These jobs are in addition to 2,500 announced in January and will span its head office, research and development centres, the customer service centre, fulfilment centres, a fashion photography studio and Amazon Web Services.

The additional jobs will take Amazon's full time permanent employees in the UK to over 15,500 by the end of the year. The status of EU nationals currently living in Britain has been clouded by the Brexit vote. "What we've said to all of our teams is: 'As far as we're concerned nothing changes. We're still part of the EU as of today, we'll continue to operate on that basis," said Gurr.

Reuters
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WayRay has everything you might expect from a Silicon Valley start-up: a high tech product it says can change the world and a business plan that foresees growing from zero to a billion dollars, roughly by its founder's 30th birthday. Its invention sounds so ingenious you'd wish you thought it up: a sleek-looking holographic projector that sits on a car dashboard and beams what look to the driver like 3D arrows glowing over the tarmac, pointing the way to go.

In one room of the 19th Century Moscow town house where it has its research center, a laser beam is refracted through lenses, creating the holograms car drivers will see. "In three years we will be for sure a billion-dollar company," Two-year-old founder Vitaly Ponomarev says with an effortless cockiness that sounds more at home in Northern California than the Russian capital. President Vladimir Putin says cultivating high technology is a central goal for Russia, to diversify the economy away from commodity exports and create world beating companies from the talented workforce that once put the first man in space.

But as Ponomarev has discovered, in a country where most billionaires earned their fortunes by privatizing companies rather than building them, there is no navigation system pointing the road to start-up glory. The Kremlin has created various state-funded schemes designed to promote tech start-ups, but meager results so far mean officials are now at odds over the next steps to reform the stalled economy. Ponomarev said he never applied for government funds, deterred by the bureaucracy. It typically takes at least nine months and requires reams of paperwork to get a grant from Skolkovo, a flagship high tech office park outside Moscow that acts as a hub for government support.

"This doesn't work with high tech  you don't have this amount of time and this amount of resources," he said. His chief technology officer, Mikhail Svarichevsky, said the bureaucracy involved in getting government finance reflected a more fundamental problem holding back new companies: "In Russia it's habitual not to trust people who ask for money." Instead, WayRay set about raising money privately. But the first investors Ponomarev found tried to steal his idea, he says.

"I chose the wrong people to try to start the company," he said. "They tried to sell (the intellectual property) to another company... It was a big scandal and I told them we were finished." He has now incorporated the company in Switzerland, with a stronger reputation than Russia for upholding the rule of law and protecting intellectual property. "It helps a lot with selling goods and with fund-raising and everything," Ponamarev said.

Russia's technological prowess has produced a degree of success in software -- exports reached $7 billion last year, doubling over five years, though this is still a fraction of the $216 billion Russia earned from energy exports. But when it comes to manufactured high tech consumer products, Russia has little to show. Since there are so few examples, that makes it hard to present a case to investors. "The whole venture capital industry in Russia is based on investing into copycats  something proved in the West  and it's mostly IT, not hardware and not high-tech," Ponomarev said.

"Actually there is no secret recipe on how to raise money for hardware projects in Russia. I think this is almost impossible," he said. Svarichevsky said too many of Russia's wealthy were content to spend their money on extravagant lifestyles, rather than look for new products to back or companies to build. "There are people who have money in Russia, but they don't want to be involved in anything complicated," he said. "In the U.S. there aren't that many people who just want to spend money on women and holiday resorts. They want to build something."

Ponomarev said he had around 500 investor meetings before finally finding backers, which now include Sistema, a Russian conglomerate, and U.S. and Chinese investors whose names he cannot yet disclose. So far, WayRay has invested $10.6 million in development and signed deals for $15 million more. The amount would be small by Silicon Valley standards at this point in a company's development, but Ponomarev says the cash goes further in Russia.

In America, "wed need to spend $50 million to get the same results. Here we have much less expensive labor, we have access to materials, easier than in the U.S. and so on. But still for Russian investors thats a huge amount of money." "Usually (investors) just don't believe that Russian people in modern Russia can create something that is not only competitive in Russia but could be competitive in the world."

Reuters
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Supporting net neutrality, telecom and internet service providers have sought net equality with common rules for the same services to connect a billion citizens across India. "We fully support net neutrality but seek equality to provide an open, inclusive and affordable access to internet with common rules for the same services," the telecom industry's associations COAI and AUSPI said in their joint response to the pre-consultation paper on net neutrality, regulator TRAI issued on May 30. Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) and Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) represent the telecom and internet service providers across the country.

Noting that the country ranks very low globally in terms of broadband connectivity, the industry said a public policy on net neutrality should enable affordable, equitable and universal broadband services to all citizens. "The regulator should address the needs of OTT (Over The Top content providers) communication services to ensure a level-playing field as they offer the same services as licensed telecom service providers," the statement asserted. Though telecom operators also support OTT communication services, the regulator should address their non-level playing field as they also offer similar services as the telecom service providers.

"Even DoT (Department of Telecom) has acknowledged that in case of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) OTT communication services, regulatory arbitrage existed, bypassing the licensing and regulatory regime and creating a non-level playing field between TSPs and OTT communication services providers," the associations pointed out. Asserting that the regulatory framework on net neutrality should not be limited to TSP but apply to all stakeholders such as website, content/applications providers and handset manufacturers, the trade organisations said while telecom providers were subject to strict data privacy rules and consumer information confidentiality provisions, OTT service providers were spared.

"Telecom service providers are in a quandary when they are treated at unequal and lower footing than unlicensed players," they noted. Seeking re-definition of net neutrality in the Indian context, the associations asked the regulator to consider affordability and proliferation of the data network to achieve the set targets. "Net neutrality regulation should provide non-discriminatory internet access to every citizen, implement same service and same rules for all providers, assess and mitigate the potential revenue loss to the government owing to non-regulation of the content or application developers offer as licensed telecom operators," they said.

The industry also agreed to the DoT's principles on net neutrality such as no blocking or throttling and improper paid prioritisation. Both the associations endorsed the users' right to expression and non-discriminatory access to internet, content, application and services and freedom to connect tp any device, network and service. Observing that national security and privacy issues were paramount, the associations said the regulatory framework for net neutrality must ensure their primacy and no exception should be made for any service provider, including the OTT players.

Concerned over re-commencement of de novo consultations on net neutrality and OTT players, TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) issued the paper on regulatory framework for OTT services in March 2015 after holding an interactive session with all stakeholders in January 2015. "We believe that once the government takes a decision on the subject of net neutrality, all the interim/in-between consultation/decisions on differential pricing, free data, etc., will get subsumed into the final decision," they added.

IANS
tech2 News Staff

Trai has been conducting drive by tests in various telecom circles around the country, to transparently report quality of call information by various operators across different technologies. A specific point of interest is to measure if telecom service providers meet the call drop rate benchmark, which has been a bone of contention between Trai and TSPs. Most operators met the call drop benchmarks in Kanpur, Lucknow and Ahmedabad. However, most operators did not pass the test in Mumbai. Here is how the operators performed in Ranchi, as well as Darjeeling and Sikkim.

Ranchi

In Ranchi, the drive tests were conducted over 320 kilometers. Except for Telenor 2G, all the operators failed the call drop test. Most operators passed the call setup success test in Ranchi. Aircel 2G, Telenor 2G, Airtel and BSNL did not meet the call setup success benchmark. Only MTS CDMA failed the blocked call rate benchmark. Only Airtel 3G and BSNL 3G passed the call quality test, all other operators failed. The entire table of results are below.

Darjeeling and Sikkim

The drive tests were conducted over 302 kilometers in Darjeeling and Sikkim. The most important finding here is that all operators, without exception, failed to meet the call drop rate benchmark of less than 2 percent. Only Aircel 2G/3G, MTS CDMA and Vodafone 3G passed the call setup success rate benchmark. MTS CDMA was the only operator to pass the blocked call rate test. Except for Vodafone 3G and BSNL 3G, all operators did not meet the requirements for call quality. The results are tabulated below.
2 cops among 4 killed as terrorists strike near Sholakia Eidgah

Kishoreganj, July 7 (UNB) - At least four people, including two policemen, were killed and 12 others injured in a bomb attack coupled with an exchange of gunfire after terrorists attacked a temporary police check post near Sholakia Eidgah in Sadar upazila on Thursday morning. The deceased policemen were identified as constables Jahirul Islam and Anwarul Haque, said police super of the district Anwar Hossain Khan. The two other deceased include Jharna Rani Bhowmik, a resident of the area, and an attacker who could not be identified yet. Witnesses said the attackers exploded several crude bombs targeting the policemen deployed near Azimuddin High School adjacent as part of the security measures for ensuring smooth Eid congregation at Sholakia Eidgah. The attack was carried out just after a helicopter carrying Maulana Farid Uddin Masud, who was scheduled to conduct the Eid congregation at the Eidgah, landed at nearby Kishoreganj Stadium around 9:15am. Apart from exploding bombs, the attackers went on a chopping spree, hacking the policemen with machetes, said Deputy Inspector General (Dhaka Range) of Police SM Mahfuzul Haque Nuruzzaman. Before the law enforcers coming in terms with what had happened, the attackers retreated towards a lane. However, additional policemen, and members of Rapid Action Battalion members and Border Guard Bangladesh rushed in and surrounded the entire area. Later, a gunfight broke out between the militants, who finally took shelter in the house of local Awami League leader Abdul Hannan Bhuiyan Babul, and the law enforcers. An attacker was killed during the exchange of gunfire that continued for two hours. Besides, a bullet hit Jharna while she was staying at her residence. Police claimed that the bullet was fired by the militants. After the exchange of shots, the law enforcers recovered the body of a terrorist and arrested another injured one, Abu Mukaddil. They also detained another suspected attacker, Ahsanullah, son of Abdul Hai of the district town. Besides, police detained Awami League leader Babul for interrogation. Police recovered three 9 mm pistols and some sharp weapons during a drive in the surrounding locality immediately after the attack. Meanwhile, a crime scene unit of Criminal Investigation Department visited the spot. The injured were first taken to Sadar hospital from where some of them were shifted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. Meanwhile, six of the injured policemen were then airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka for better treatment, Nuruzzaman said. DIG (Media) of the Police Headquarters AKM Shahidur Rahman said around 9,000 members of law enforcement agencies remained deployed in and around the Sholakia Eidgah to ensure smooth Eid congregation. The terrorists carried out the attack while policemen at the Azimuddin High School check post, nearly 1 km off the Eidgah, were searching their bags. The terrorists might have had a plan to carry out a massive attack on the Sholakia Eidgah, he said. Mukaddil, hailing from Ghoraghat of Dinajpur, said at the hospital they were five in number who took part in the attack. He also claimed they do not know each other. Despite the attack, the Eid congregation was smoothly held at Sholakia Eidgah. The prayer was conducted by Maulana Shoyeb Ahmed instead of Maulana Farid Uddin Masud.
Local Catholic school closes amid insufficient number of families paying tuition and inadequate "resources to sustain its operations despite being subsidized by the Diocese and the Parish."

Street view of Immaculate Heart of Mary School Photo by Google Maps

The Immaculate Heart of Mary School has closed, according to a statement from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Parish and the Diocese of Lafayette.

The statement was released on the Diocese of Lafayette website and cited inadequate resources and an insufficient number of families paying tuition for their children to attend the school.

The school has educated thousands of children from around the parish and surrounding community since its inception in 1934 but has recently faced several challenges, including low enrollment, poor academic performance, and inadequate finances. While the school began accepting scholarship and voucher funds from the state in 2012, in addition to its many scholarship programs, these have not made up for the dwindling number of families paying tuition to the school.

The statement also cites numerous town hall meetings and consultations held since the beginning of the year to try to increase enrollment and stabilize the school's finances. None of those efforts proved fruitful.

The statement says that only 60 children were registered for the 2016-2017 school year, far short of the 150-160 students needed to keep the school going. Officials also cited low test scores and a deficit of more than $250,000 as contributing factors for the decision to close the school.

Immaculate Heart of Mary School at this time falls short of the essential elements necessary for a healthy Catholic school: strong Catholic identity, academic excellence, and financial viability, the statement reads.

It is with great regret that Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, and with permission of Bishop Deshotel, informs the community of the closing of Immaculate Heart of Mary School. The school does not have adequate resources to sustain its operations despite being subsidized by the Diocese and the Parish. Though the decision is very painful, available facts and numbers call everyone to be prudent and focus on the best interests of our children. Pastors and principals of neighboring schools have agreed to give special consideration towards the acceptance of Immaculate Heart of Mary students for the fall. The Office of Catholic Schools of the Diocese of Lafayette will likewise do its best to help teachers and staff find employment in other Catholic institutions. At this moment in history we must express gratitude to all who have been a part of Immaculate Heart of Mary School for the past 80+ years particularly the Divine Word Missionaries, Holy Family Sisters, and all the lay people who have given of themselves. The value of their work has been written with the indelible ink of God's grace.

Read the full statement here.
Despite advice from legal counsel that its policy requiring students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance is unenforceable and unconstitutional, the Lafayette Parish School Board voted 8-1 Wednesday to keep the policy on the books.

Despite advice from legal counsel that its policy requiring students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance  regardless of whether they join in its recitation  is unenforceable and unconstitutional, the Lafayette Parish School Board voted 8-1 Wednesday to keep the policy on the books. The policy review came a few months after the legal arm of the American Humanist Association contacted Superintendent Donald Aguillard to express concerns over the alleged harassment of an Acadiana High student by his teacher after the student, an atheist, declined to stand for the pledge.

Despite voting with the majority, board member Tehmi Chassion observed the obvious leading up to the vote, according to an Associated Press account: When the kid decides not to stand, we cant punish that kid, Chassion said. Do I want them to stand? Yes, I want them to stand. I want them to recite it proudly. But no principal, or anyone, can discipline a kid for not standing. Thats the law from the land.

The policy at this point is purely symbolic.

The lone dissenting board member, Dawn Morrison, noted ahead of the vote what is evidently less obvious to fellow board members: One of the things our military fights for is the United States Constitution, she said. While many of us have personal beliefs, we have to look at the core of what our country is based on.

The AHA issued a press release at 8 a.m. Thursday criticizing Wednesdays vote.

Students have a First Amendment right to refrain from participating in the Pledge of Allegiance exercise, said David Niose, legal director of the American Humanist Association, in reference to the 1943 ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. The school district had the opportunity to reflect this settled law in its policy but instead chose to continue unjustly requiring students who object to the words under God to stand for the Pledge.

The AHA notes in the press release that its promoting a national boycott of the Pledge of Allegiance to encourage students who object to the under God wording of the Pledge to exercise their right to remain seated during its recitation. The American Humanist Association has advocated for the removal of under God from the Pledge because the phrase, added in 1954 during the McCarthy Era, conflates patriotism and belief in a god, encouraging prejudice against atheists and humanists.

We now brace ourselves for the why dont you go live in Russia? comments on social media.
President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war?

You voted:
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
For one West Frankfort teen, acting is much more than an extracurricular activity.

Its not really a hobby; its more of a lifestyle, 17-year-old Brax Melvin said.

This year, Brax will perform at The Muny in St. Louis for the third year in a row.

Ill be in Aida with Michelle Williamson from Destinys Child, Brax said.

Brax will also join stage veterans Ken Page, who has appeared in many roles in New York, London and Paris, including the narrator in Into the Woods and Old Deuteronomy in Cats; and Tony Award nominee Lara Teeter, who has been with The Muny for more than 25 years and is head of the musical theater program at the Webster Conservatory.

The Muny, located in Forest Park, is the largest outdoor musical theater in North America, according to its website. It is a professional theater and produces seven Broadway-style musicals every summer.

Brax also has appeared on The Muny stage in Grease and My Fair Lady.

One of the best things about performing is meeting others who share an interest in the stage, he said.

The Muny is incredible. There are a lot of kids up there who do the same thing I do, Brax said. The number of kids who come to auditions is remarkable.

Brax is by no means new to the stage. His first role was a teacup in Beauty and the Beast when he was in second grade.

Peter Pan takes flight during June theater camp in West Frankfort WEST FRANKFORT  Seventeen-year-old Brax Melvin has known since he was a preschooler what he

I ran with it and got the bug, Brax said.

There was a period of time when Brax did not seem to get any roles, but he kept auditioning. Now, he does four or five shows a year and turns down opportunities to perform.

We are always going. I dont think we are home for an hour, Brax said.

In addition to acting, Brax is a busy high school student. He will enter his final year at Frankfort Community High School in the fall. He definitely wants to pursue other opportunities in acting, but has not decided on a college or university. He still has those decisions ahead. For now, he will focus on Aida.

This year, Brax raised money for his living expenses by teaching children about musical theater at a camp in West Frankfort City Park. He wanted to bring a taste of his experiences in professional theater to local children by creating a mini MUNY. He said he really did not know how much goes into a production until he was in his first show.

Also, he believes he should help bear the cost of performing as he gets older.

We were up there (in St. Louis) four and a half weeks last year, Brax said.

Brax and his mom will rent an apartment for the time he is required to work at The Muny.

Aida opens Aug. 8 and runs through Aug. 14. It is the final show of the 2016 Muny season. Tickets are available and can be purchased online at www.muny.org.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
Last weeks stopgap compromise is offering some local service providers more relief than others.

The deal struck by Gov. Rauner and leaders of the Illinois General Assembly last Thursday allows the state government to continue operating through December.

The measure also funds K-12 schools for a full year and provides funding for some social services and state health agencies.

Williamson County Airport

At the end of June, the Williamson County Airport was ordered by the Illinois Department of Transportation to halt construction on a $14 million, 23,000-square-foot facility.

In the end, construction crews only missed out on one day of work. The project is still on schedule for completion in September, said Airport Operations Specialist Sandra Shore.

The project is funded by two federal Airport Improvement Grants from the Federal Aviation Administration along with local funds. Although there are no state dollars involved, any federal funds designated for airport improvements outside of the O'Hare modernization project in Chicago are required to pass through IDOT.

Jackson County Health Department

Before the stopgap measure passed, the Jackson County Health Department had already received 75 percent of its annual funding from court decrees.

We werent in nearly as desperate a situation as some people were, said Miriam Link-Mullison, Jackson County Health Department administrator.

Link-Mullison said the stopgap measure provides cash for 2016 that she thought the department would never see. It looks as though some programs will be fully funded in 2017, although shes still not sure about the exact numbers.

Link-Mullison, who started reviewing the 800-page document herself on Tuesday, said shes still coming to understand how operations will be affected, as services are provided under many different grants that are funded separately and to varying degrees.

Its a mixed bag of information, Link-Mullison said. Its hard to weed through it to assess exactly what weve gained.

While shes grateful for the short-term solution, Link-Mullison said shes still anxious to see a more comprehensive budget passed.

Its a reprieve from the constant uncertainty, but uncertainty lingers starting in six months or so, Link-Mullison said. This only gets worse as the can gets kicked farther down the road.

Last May, the Jackson County Board of Health voted to reduce the hours worked by Health Department employees and to cease operations on Fridays, due to the lack of state dollars coming in. The board will be hearing recommendations to reverse that decision at its next meeting.

But the states ongoing budget crisis has sent administrators a clear message: that state funding isnt reliable. The agency will be taking steps to reduce its dependence on state funds in the future, Link-Mullison said.

Agencies all over the state are having to make this decision. Theyre asking, How can I position myself to not be so vulnerable in the future? she said.

The Womens Center

The Womens Center, a safe house for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, is also sorting out what the stopgap measure means for the future.

The centers Rape Crisis Services program will receive 46 percent of funding for fiscal year 2016, said Executive Director Cathy McClanahan. The organization is still waiting to hear about funding for fiscal year 2017 from the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which allocates the funds.

We are on pins and needles waiting for that decision to come through, McClanahan said.

Although 80 percent of the Womens Center's $1.4 million operating budget comes from the state, McClanahan said the organization is looking at options to receive more of its budget from other sources.
John Markley, CEO of Centerstone, said the six-month stopgap budget passed by the Illinois legislature is not enough to save critical psychiatric and social services cut by the agency in June. Centerstone announced the elimination of several state contracts in Franklin, Jackson, Perry and Williamson counties. Programs include crisis stabilization, juvenile justice, community-based youth services, homeless youth services and teen pregnancy prevention, as well as funds for psychiatric medication.

We had already made arrangements in those programs and closed them down. We did that in anticipation that there would not be a budget deal that would secure full funding, Markley said. As it turns out, there is a six-month budget.

The problem with a six-month budget goes beyond the cost of restarting the programs. There also is a cost to the people involved, both employees and patients.

Centerstone would have to hire people with no guarantee that they would have jobs in six months. He said most people are not interested in giving up a current position for a job that may not last beyond six months. The people hired by Centerstone are looking for full-time, long-term employment.

It really puts us in a very difficult position in terms of offering those services or restarting those services because it doesnt give any assurance that there is going to be a priority to fund those services going forward, Markley said. Thats really where were at related to the recent announcements. It just enough not to change anything. So, we have to still move forward with what we anticipated doing at this point in time.

Markley called state budget negotiations a very ugly fight. Legislators are deciding politically what to fund instead of asked what services are needed. As a result, Markley does not have much confidence that funding for the services will prevail, or prevail at the levels needed to support staff employed in the programs.

They [programs] would be at risk  Id say significant risk. So, until there is some commitment on behalf of our partners, i.e. the state, to these services and some commitment on the part of the legislators and governor to fund them, we dont feel like we can put any confidence into providing those services. It would put people at risk to do that, Markley said.

He added that the really hard part of the budget mess is that there is no long term solution.

That is really the real difficulty for not only Centerstone, but every agency around the state. Markley is still in the process of trying to translate what the budget means in terms of services and what it will fund. Does it fund all of FY16? Are there services Centerstone provided that will not be reimbursed? Markley feels like that will be the case, and he calls it the hazard of performing services without a state budget.

Right now, Centerstone management is pretty apprehensive about what they do. Markley added that the services that are being funded are put at risk by performing services that are not being funded. He called the decision to cut programs and services very difficult.

They were very needed services in our community and very necessary for our law enforcement officials, hospitals and other stake holders. Yet, if we continue to do them without any assurance that theres going to be payment for them, its going to put us at risk in areas of our agency, Markley said. Also, its going to be a larger burden on for our law enforcement and a larger burden for our hospital emergency rooms.

Markley stressed that Centerstone is going to be here in the long run for services, but some services and programs have been cut.

We need to be able to make long term plans because people seek services based on the opportunity to get help long term, Markley said. Thats really what we are looking for from the legislature and the governor -- a foundation that will allow us to make a long term plan related to these services. We dont have it right now.
MARION  An American Staffordshire terrier named Chief was central to testimony on Wednesday afternoon in the opening day of a bench trial for Elisa Kirkpatrick, a one-time popular local veterinarian facing a laundry list of charges related to animals under her care.

The charges stem from a visit by authorities to her rural Creal Springs home on May 22, 2015, which began as a "wellness check" prompted by an individual attempting to serve civil papers who noticed a strong odor, and that led shortly thereafter to the seizure of dozens of domestic, farm and wild animals from her home, according to testimony.

Chief reportedly died within 24 hours of being taken by authorities from Kirkpatricks home. According to the testimony of several witnesses called by prosecutors, Kirkpatrick operated on Chief not long before, removing a tumor from that was described as the size of a fist.

Authorities said and state records confirm that Kirkpatricks veterinary license was suspended on the date she is alleged to have performed the operation on Chief, and that additionally, the conditions under which she performed the operation were unsanitary.

The indefinite suspension of her license was related to a complaint from a former client at her Kitty Klinic on Giant City Road, and Kirkpatricks failure to respond to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Numerous authorities who took the stand Wednesday described the conditions of the home when they responded as being overgrown with tall grass, the inside of the home covered in feces and urine, domestic and wild animals inside, primarily in crates and cages, but some loose, including a pig that was running free in the basement. Firefighter Shawn Galloway with the Wiliamson County Fire Protection District, who was charged with photographing the inside of the home after a search warrant was executed -- and did so wearing precautionary HAZMAT protective gear and a breathing apparatus -- said he also observed surgical tools in the kitchen.

It was chaos, he said. Among the items he identified in court from photos he took was the tumor Kirkpatrick is alleged to have removed from Chief. He said it was lying on the kitchen floor, near the island kitchen counter where the operation is alleged to have taken place.

On the allegations as it relates to Chief, Kirkpatrick faces two charges, a Class 4 felony charge of aggravated cruel treatment of an animal -- alleging she operated on a companion animal in an "unsterile manner" -- and a Class A misdemeanor charge of practicing veterinary medicine without a valid license.

Kirkpatrick faces an additional 10 misdemeanor charges.

Among those, the most recent charging documents show she faces three additional Class A misdemeanor charges of practicing veterinary medicine without a license. Though, Joe Cervantez, the assistant states attorney handling the case, said one of those charges is expected to be dropped.

She also faces a Class B animal cruelty charge alleging she knowingly failed to provide veterinary care to Shane, a dog that due to a serious infection, chewed its leg off, exposing its flesh and bone.

And she faces five charges of neglecting owners duties alleging she failed to provide humane care and treatment to various dogs living in her home surrounded by animal carcasses and feces, without sufficient ventilation or air conditioning.

Sgt. Carl Threlkeld, from the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, testified that he was the first to respond to the scene. He said the very strong odor immediately raised alarm because he recognized it.

There is a smell of death. It doesnt matter if its an animal or a human. They smell the same, he said.

Upon observation inside the home through windows, Threlkeld testified that he saw dogs and cats in kennels, as well as the pet excrement, and felt that it was necessary to call Williamson County Animal Control. Sometime after an animal control officer reported to the scene, a search warrant was executed and the animals were removed in the early morning hours of what was then Saturday, according to various testimonies.

Captain Brian Thomas testified that Kirkpatrick willingly agreed to a taped and recorded interview at the sheriffs office that night. Thomas said Kirkpatrick told him that she had recently performed two surgeries in her home, the one on Chief and a neutering procedure on a Great Pyrenees named Max. The owners of both dogs testified on Wednesday, and both said that Kirkpatrick was their longtime veterinarian and that they were under the impression that care was being provided in a sterile clinic-like environment even if it was at her residence.

According to Thomas, Kirkpatrick described the operations as nightmare surgeries. When he asked why she was operating while her license was suspended, Thomas said Kirkpatrick told him she was desperate for money. When he asked if she thought it was a good idea, Thomas claimed that Kirkpatrick said no, but that it was the best she could do. Her electricity had been shut off, and she had taken in so many animals that she couldnt afford to care for them without money, so she was trying to work enough for that, as well as save enough to address the situation with her license, Thomas said in court that Kirkpatrick told him during the May 2015 interview.

It just became a spiraling effect, he said. Thomas also said he asked her about the three deep freezers filled with dead animal carcasses in the basement, as well as the bags sitting on top of the freezer, as was reported to him by responding officers. She said her intent had been to take the animals and have them cremated, but again, she didnt have the funds to do so, he said. Authorities said that part of the smell was related to the dead animals, in varying stages of decay, exacerbated by the fact that the freezers were off along with the electricity.

Thomas said Kirkpatrick reiterated on several occasions her desperation while stressing that she loved her animals more than anything.

Chief is reportedly the only animal taken from the home that was alleged to have died related to Kirkpatricks actions and/or neglect.

Dr. Allen Hodapp, a veterinarian employed by Pet Wellness Center in Marion who treated Chief, said the dog when he arrived at the clinic was lethargic, depressed, minimally responsive and vomiting when he arrived. Hodapp said he knew the prognosis was not good, and the dog was kept under hospital care, and died within hours.

Hodapp said at trial that it was his professional opinion that cause of death was peritonitis, an infection in the dogs abdominal cavity. He testified it was his belief that the root cause of the deadly condition was the poor operating technique and unsanitary conditions related to the dogs tumor removal surgery, which had just recently been performed by Kirkpatrick.

In cross-examination, John Clemons, Kirkpatricks attorney employed by the Southern Illinois Law Center, asked Hodapp if he had ordered a necropsy upon Chief's death, the animal version of an autopsy. Hodapp said he had not, as the owner declined, and he does not have the authority to do so without the owners consent. Clemons then asked him a string of questions about how he could be sure of Chiefs cause of death without a necropsy or other forensic examinations.

The state having laid out its case on Wednesday, the defense is expected to call its witnesses in the case on Day 2 of the trial, expected to begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday. When authorities first raided Kirkpatricks home, many people wrote to and called the newspaper saying that she was for years their trusted vet, and they were shocked by what is alleged to have transpired.

Cervantez, the assistant states attorney, said that although Kirkpatrick could face jail or prison time if she's convicted of some or all of the charges, Cervantez said he thinks that Kirkpatrick needs help, and he would be more inclined to recommend probation and counseling.
The following editorial appeared in Wednesday's Washington Post.

A string of horrific suicide bombings linked to the Islamic State, all in Muslim nations, underline a crucial truth that has been ignored by Donald Trump and many others in the West: Terrorist jihadism is above all a war within Islam. Muslims have been its first victims - and they are the only force that can bring about its definitive defeat.

Though it is losing territory and leaders in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has managed to mark the last days of the holy month of Ramadan with a formidable offensive. Successive attacks in Istanbul, Dhakaand, Baghdad and in three cities of Saudi Arabia since June 28 killed at least 290 people and seriously injured hundreds more. In the cases of Istanbul and Saudi Arabia, there were no formal claims of responsibility. But the assaults bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State, which has made clear that it regards all Muslims who do not share its extreme ideology as enemies.

The terrorists' targets included places frequented by foreigners - the Istanbul airport, a cosmopolitan cafe in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the U.S. consulate in Jiddah. But one bombing also targeted the mosque complex in the Saudi city of Medina, where theprophet Muhammad is buried - one of Islam's holiest sites. It's hard to imagine a more direct challenge to Saudi political and religious authorities, who have fought both the Islamic State and al-Qaida and tried to curb the spread of their religious influence.

To be sure, the Saudi and Turkish regimes have been far from ideal allies of the United States. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was slow to move against the flow of extremist recruits to the Islamic State through Turkey, while Saudi Arabia's sponsorship of mosques and charities promoting its own fundamentalist ideology has been a toxic influence in both Islamic and Western countries. Both have grown less tolerant of domestic opposition, including liberals advocating for free expression and minorities - whether Kurd or Shiite - with legitimate grievances.

The events of the past week nevertheless ought to make it clear that Sunni Muslim governments face a mortal threat from the Islamic State - and consequently are critical allies in the fight against it. A policy that regards the two sides as indistinguishable - that, say, bans all Muslim entrants to the United States - could have the devastating effect of weakening the very forces that are, for now, the only alternative to the jihadists.

Trump's camp is suggesting that he would not ban all Muslims from U.S. entry, only those from "terror countries." Would that not include Saudi Arabia, homeland of most of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers? Would a Trump administration retreat from U.S. commitments to defend the Persian Gulf states, or NATO member Turkey, as the candidate has suggested? If it did, how would it partner with the intelligence and counterterrorism officials in Riyadh now attempting to track down those who carried out the attack on Muhammad's grave as well as the U.S. consulate? To consider those questions - which Trump has shown no sign of having done - is to understand how damaging his presidency could be to the anti- terrorism cause.
To the Editor:

Whoever, being entrusted with ... national security documents ... through gross negligence (Please stay with me) permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody ... shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

So reads US Criminal Code 18USC93, Sub Section f. Despite having violated this criminal code, presidential candidate, Mrs. Clinton, walked away with a mild scolding.

So what of other government employees who were disgraced, served hard prison time and paid fines for violating the same criminal code? Clearly, and unlike Mrs. Clinton, those were ordinary Americans  rabble if you will. They dearly paid for their crime.

Translation: America now has 2 systems of justice. One for ordinary Americans, the other for "American Royals."

This judicial flim-flam took place mere hours after we celebrated America's Independence Day, a day when Americans told King George III to "stuff it." Fast forward from the 4th of July 1776 to 5th of July 2016. A newly minted American Royalty has been created, not by our Creator, but by the Washington's ruling class.

Long Live The Queen.

Gus Maroscher

Marion
The death of a Baton Rouge man at the hands of police was a wholly unjustified shooting, Rep. Justin Bamberg says.

The attorney, who works in Orangeburg, was in Louisiana on Thursday following the death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

Sterling, a black man, was shot and killed Tuesday as he wrestled with two white officers in a store parking lot. The Baton Rouge Police Department officers are on paid administrative leave.

Bamberg and Atlanta attorney Chris Stewart are representing Alton Sterlings 15-year-old son, Cameron Sterling, and the teens mother, Quinyetta McMillon.

The two attorneys also represent the family of Walter Scott, a black man who was shot and killed by a white North Charleston police officer.

Bamberg said McMillon reached out to the attorneys shortly after Sterlings death.

Bamberg is convinced that Sterling was not holding a firearm when two officers used a stun gun on him and then used what he described as a WWE tackle, pinning Sterling to the ground.

Officers ultimately shot Sterling multiple times, Bamberg said.

I do not believe he ever had a firearm in his hand, he added.

Bamberg said, After hed already been killed, an officer dug into (Sterlings) pocket and located a gun.

Two cellphone videos captured Sterlings death.

There are multiple issues, the first of which we must look at what happened when officers arrived as far as de-escalation versus escalation, Bamberg said.

Bamberg said Sterlings arms were out and he wasnt exhibiting any aggressive movements.

As always, theres the concept of the powerful taking on the powerless, Bamberg said.

Changes are necessary systemwide, he said.

In the case of Dylann Roof, when law enforcement officers apprehended him, he was taken into custody without incident, put in a bulletproof vest, given a bag of Burger King and a private plane flew him back to South Carolina, Bamberg said.

Roof is awaiting trial in the deaths of nine parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in June 2015.

We want policy changes, Bamberg said.

He also said, We want officers to know that not everyone is their enemy.

Bamberg said that most law enforcement officers are good people.

My whole family is in law enforcement, he said.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the case.

Citizens need to be aware that the federal government is finally putting its foot down, Bamberg said.

We want justice for Mr. Sterling and his family, Bamberg added.

Speaking by phone from Baton Rouge, Bamberg said People are angry. It's understandable."

"I haven't seen any bricks thrown or buildings set on fire and that's a good thing," he said.

"They want answers and they want changes," Bamberg added.
South Carolina State Universitys new president says his life experiences have prepared him for the position.

James Clark says the lessons he learned at home and in school have given him the passion, drive and determination to turn S.C. State into a nurturing environment that will enhance the brand of S.C. State, the value of its degrees and the educational experiences of its students.

Clark wasnt the first in his family to go to college. Two older brothers went to colleges, but one had to drop out because his school was struggling financially. He was never able to go back and earn his degree.

That really struck me, how a schools failing could change someones life, Clark said.

Thats his answer when people ask why hes so passionate about improving S.C. State and its programs, he says.

Clark said his parents, who were farmers in rural Florida, instilled in him from the beginning that his success depended on how he applied himself.

Times were hard and his parents had to leave school to work. His mother left school after sixth grade and his father after second grade, he said.

But the smartest people I knew were my mom and dad, he said. They instilled in him a strong work ethic and the realization that he was responsible for the direction his life would take.

He wanted to go to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but his parents wanted him to go to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

His mom told him that theres more at A&M than youll ever learn, Clark said.

That was a deep statement that he took to heart, he said. She was telling him theres a warehouse of knowledge available at A&M and elsewhere. It doesnt matter where you go. Its how you apply yourself.

He also came to realize that his education at MIT wouldnt mean much if he couldnt break down ideas and share them with others, Clark said.

Even though I went to MIT, no matter what I learned, if I could not explain it to my mother, then the problem was my problem, he said. My mother was not stupid. She had just not had the opportunity to get a formalized education.

Clark said he ended up at MIT because of its simple application process and the support the school offered him.

He got an acceptance letter from A&M saying he needed a down payment. The cost didnt really matter, he said. His parents didnt have it.

On the other hand, MIT responded to his application with a letter telling him if he was admitted, theyd help him build a financial aid package.

MIT looked at a students capacity to learn and not the less than top quality high schools theyd attended, Clark said.

The university also worked at making sure freshmen had no worries that first year by providing tutorial programs and free summer classes to acclimate students coming from schools that were not high caliber schools, he said. He took those classes and got a sense of what hed be facing in the fall.

It will take some time, but he wants to see all those things implemented at S.C. State, Clark said.

Clark said he learned early that students need a nourishing environment and support from the community to do their best in school.

One of the strengths at S.C. State is the professors really care about their students, Clark said.

Another of the university's strengths is the alumni support, he said. He values their support and will be reaching out to them.

But we cant rest on any laurels, Clark said. We have to provide that for all of the students so that the parents can be sure that the best possible educational outcome is available for their children.

Clark said he plans to put best practices in place in every area at the university.

My goal is not to come there thinking I know everything, he said. Im going to be on a steep learning curve.

He says his areas of expertise involve team and consensus building and problem solving, and hell depend on people who are experts in other areas to put best practices in place.

Hes already reaching out to people to fill those spots, he said.

Clark was an S.C. State trustee, but resigned last week and was immediately named president by the board. He says he never sought the position, and had to step back and think when he was asked to do so.

While there have been complaints that the board failed to follow the regular hiring process by selecting a search team and accepting applications for the position, Clark says the board has the authority to make a decision at any point in time about the selection of a president.

When the board first took over in May 2015, it got beat up for not making the acting president the permanent president, he said. Another group of people beat us up for not removing him.

But everything we did was very deliberative in nature, Clark said. The board has the authority to take a decision and this board is one thats not going to dilly dally around. It looked at all the facts. It laid all the facts on the table and said we need to make a decision. It made that decision and it moved on.

I absolutely push on anyone that implies anything underhanded about this board, Clark said. This board is a hundred percent committed to this university.

He said the board, has done a thousand times more for this university than anyone will ever know.

As president, Clark says he plans to uncover some of the universitys hidden gems such as its speech pathology and biology departments. Everybody knows about its sports, but there are many jewels that people dont know about, he said.

Another focus will be building articulation agreements with other colleges and partnerships with businesses and the community, Clark said. He has the business background and says he knows people who he can pull in to help with the community.

Clark has served on numerous boards and committees, including the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Board, the S.C. Technology Alliance Board, the EngenuitySC Board, the Lexington Medical Center Board, the Columbia Urban League Board and Black Alumni of MIT.

Hes also served on the board of the Experimental Aircraft Association and, along with a friend, built a Vans Aircraft RV-6.

Its fully aerobatic, he said. Its faster and stronger than the store-bought plane I had before.

Clark has his pilots license and is rated to fly commercially and with instruments.

He has flown his plane in numerous shows.
A man convicted of robbing an Orangeburg bank will get a new trial because officials never claimed he had a weapon or fake weapon during the crime.

Didier Van Sellner pleaded guilty to armed robbery in 2012 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Authorities say Van Sellner entered the then-S.C. Bank and Trust in September 2011 and waited in line to speak with a teller.

Van Sellner handed the teller a note requesting her to give him ($3,000) in used bills, indicating to her not to give him any dye packs, and that if she did not comply, he would shoot her, according to the Supreme Court. The clerk gave him $492 and he fled.

When police arrested him, he was wearing the same clothes he had on during the robbery, the court said. He reportedly confessed to police and the FBI.

During his bond hearing soon after his arrest, Van Sellner told the judge, "I just want to say guilty' and get sentenced and get it over with. I have no reason to go to trial. I don't need no bail, I just ... I just want to plead guilty, in a desperate move."

He said hed been eating out of garbage cans and smoking old cigarette butts while awaiting access to a $300,000 estate.

In his appeal, Van Sellner said his attorney told him he was stuck with the armed robbery charge and advised him to take a deal offered by prosecutors. He faced the possibility of life in prison if he refused the deal because of his past robbery and drug convictions in New Jersey and New York.

He took the deal.

After going to prison, Van Sellner began to research his case and applied for post-conviction relief. He said his attorney should not have advised him to take the plea deal since the crime did not meet all the elements required for an armed robbery.

While the post-conviction relief court allowed his conviction to stand, he appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said he should be given a new trial because he received ineffective counsel.

Under state law, a person can be convicted of armed robbery if armed with a deadly weapon or claiming to be armed with a deadly weapon while using a representation of a deadly weapon.

The court said prosecutors did not allege Van Sellner was armed, nor did it allege Van Sellner took any type of action which would allow a witness to reasonably believe he was armed.
WASHINGTON -- He can't do it, Republicans. It's time for you to admit that Donald Trump is incapable of even pretending to be an acceptable candidate for president. The question is which side of history you want to be on.

Are you going to stand with him as the balloons drop on the last night of the convention, knowing he shares neither your views nor your values? Are you going to work your hearts out this fall to put an unstable bully in charge of our national defense? Is party unity so much more important to you than trifles such as responsibility, duty and honor?

Leading Republicans should pay attention to what Sen. Mike Lee told a reporter for the conservative Newsmax website: "What I am saying is Donald Trump can still get a vote from a lot of conservatives like me, but I would like some assurances on where he stands. I would like some assurances that he is going to be a vigorous defender of the U.S. Constitution. That he is not going to be an autocrat. That he is not going to be an authoritarian. That he is not somebody who is going to abuse a document that I have sworn an oath to uphold and protect and defend."

Lee, who has not endorsed Trump, specifically mentioned "the fact that he accused my best friend's father of conspiring to kill JFK" -- referring to Trump's scurrilous and unfounded charges about the father of Sen. Ted Cruz -- and also Trump's history of making "statements that some have identified correctly as religiously intolerant."

My only question for Lee is why Trump might still get his vote. I realize that Hillary Clinton is a Democrat, but no one has suggested that she might shred the Constitution or that she is a religious bigot. I thought the oath to "protect and defend" meant putting country before party.

To be sure, some leading Republicans are doing just that. Mitt Romney, the party's 2012 nominee, is one of the loudest and most consistent Never Trump voices. The Bush family, which incarnates the GOP's recent history, is boycotting the convention. My colleague George Will, a principled conservative if ever there was one, said he has left the Republican Party because of Trump.

But most GOP luminaries are like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has obvious reservations about his party's presumptive nominee but supports him nonetheless. McConnell said this week that "people are looking for a level of seriousness that is typically conveyed by having a prepared text and Teleprompter and staying on message."

In other words, McConnell hopes Trump can at least pretend to be serious and stable long enough to make it through the general election campaign.

Asked if he agreed, Romney said no. "I think Mr. Trump has demonstrated who he is by virtue of what he said in the process to this point," he explained. "What he says from this point forward may paper over that."

I've had the same worry -- that Trump would appear to be more statesmanlike and fool voters into thinking he had changed. With every passing week, however, I become less concerned about this scenario. Trump is who he is.

Every time Trump gives a prepared speech in which he manages to stay on message, drawing praise from the party establishment, he negates it by reverting to his old self. His address on foreign policy a couple of months ago, for example, was wrongheaded but basically mainstream. This week, however, he has been ranting about how the United States needs to use waterboarding and other torture techniques against suspected terrorists.

And you're going to vote for this guy, Sen. John McCain? You, a former POW who was tortured by the North Vietnamese? You, the Senate's most outspoken opponent of the practice?

McConnell said he hoped that Trump "is beginning to pivot and become what I would call a more serious and credible candidate for the highest office in the land." Asked whether this was happening, McConnell replied, "He's getting closer."

But he's not, and McConnell surely knows it. So does House Speaker Paul Ryan, who will preside over the convention at which Trump is set to be nominated. So do many Republicans who, when I ask them about Trump, either sigh, shrug or run away.

We are talking about the presidency of the United States, Republicans. You are about to nominate and support a man you know to be dangerously unworthy. Some loyalty.

Orangeburg native and Pulitzer Prize winner Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com
Hillary Clintons email scandal is not likely to go away even with the recommendation by FBI Director James Comey that the U.S. Justice Department not pursue charges against the former secretary of state and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee.

Despite Comeys record as a former prosecutor and a Bush administration appointee, there will continue to be allegations that Clinton is getting special treatment. Former President Bill Clinton made matters worse recently with his impromptu session with the U.S. attorney general.

A sample of Republican reaction after Tuesdays announcement came from South Carolina 3rd District Congressman Jeff Duncan: The blindfold has been removed from the arbiter of the scales of justice, forever tilting the scales of justice in favor of the politically powerful. The blindfold reflected that it didn't matter your race, sex, social status or political affiliation as the facts were weighed in the American justice system. The blindfold kept the justice system from seeing those factors as the evidence and facts were weighed.

From President Obama giving his opinions on an ongoing investigation, to the refusal to appoint an independent counsel to lead the inquiry, to delays in turning over evidence, to the attorney generals inappropriate secret meeting with former President Bill Clinton, this entire process has been tainted.

As much as Comey's announcement likely spares Clinton from prosecution, it wont help her politically.

The FBI agency's yearlong investigation found Clinton did not, as she claimed, turn over all her work-related messages for release. It found that her private email server did carry classified emails, also contrary to her past statements. And it made clear that Clinton used many devices to send and receive email despite her statements that she set up her email system so that she only needed to carry one.

As reported by Stephen Braun and Jack Gillum of The Associated Press, here is a look at Clinton's claims since questions about her email practices as secretary of state surfaced and how they compare with facts established in the FBI probe:

CLINTON: "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material." News conference, March 2015.

THE FACTS: Actually, the FBI identified at least 113 emails that passed through Clinton's server and contained materials that were classified at the time they were sent, including some that were Top Secret and referred to a highly classified special access program, Comey said.

Most of those emails  110 of them  were included among 30,000 emails that Clinton returned to the State Department around the time her use of a private email server was discovered. The three others were recovered from a forensic analysis of Clinton's server.

CLINTON: "I never received nor sent any material that was marked classified." NBC interview, July 2016.

THE FACTS: Clinton has separately clung to her rationale that there were no classification markings on her emails that would have warned her and others not to transmit the sensitive material. But the private system did, in fact, handle emails that bore markings indicating they contained classified information, Comey said.

CLINTON: "I responded right away and provided all my emails that could possibly be work related" to the State Department. News conference, March 2015.

THE FACTS: Not so. Comey said that when his forensic team examined Clinton's server it found there were "several thousand work-related emails that were not in the group of 30,000" that had been returned by Clinton to the State Department.

CLINTON: "I thought it would be easier to carry just one device for my work and for personal emails instead of two." News conference, March 2015.

THE FACTS: This reasoning for using private email both for public business and private correspondence didn't hold up in the investigation. Clinton "used numerous mobile devices to view and send email" using her personal account, Comey said. He also said Clinton had used different servers.

CLINTON: "I opted for convenience to use my personal email account, which was allowed by the State Department." News conference, March 2015.

The FBI report has discredited much of Clintons account and will add further to questions of trust that surround her.
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A meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states will be held July 12-13 in Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss the legal status of the Caspian Sea, said Russian Foreign Ministrys spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova July 7.

At the meeting, the foreign ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran will discuss cooperation between the Caspian states in determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Zakharova added.

It is planned to summarize the implementation of the decisions adopted earlier by the presidents of the five Caspian littoral states and outline a plan for further work, Zakharova added.

She noted that determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea is a priority for all the littoral states.

The Caspian states  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran  signed a Framework Convention for Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian seabed in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to this agreement in May 2002.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on delimitation of the Caspian seabed and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.

Additionally, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
Construction work on Dubai Opera, the citys first purpose-built multi-format performing arts theatre, is set to be completed in August, developer Emaar properties said in a construction update.



According to an update on its website, the project is "showing good progress" with the concrete and steel structure works completed.



Ongoing works are vertical transportation, interior fit out, stage engineering, joinery, facade, roofing and metal. There are also other installations such as water features, kitchen equipment, auditorium seating, fit out, MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) and finishing, the company said in its update.



Located at the foot of the iconic Burj Khalifa, the worlds tallest building, within Burj Park and opposite The Dubai Fountain, the opera will form the centerpiece of The Opera District, comprising the UAEs first opera house, and homes within the surrounding arts hub development in Downtown Dubai.



The design of Dubai Opera is deeply rooted in Dubai's maritime history, with the Arabian dhow becoming the inspiration behind the architecture of the building.



The opera is expected to cover 2,000 sq m with a seating capacity of up to 2,000 guests. - TradeArabia News Service
Eng Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, Bahrain's Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs & Urban Planning, held a meeting with Yousif Ebrahim Al Sabagh, chairman to the Services & Public Facilities Committee, to discuss road projects at the Southern Governorates fourth Constituency.



During the meeting, Khalaf and Al Sabagh, who is also a representative to the Southern Governorates fourth Constituency, discussed a number of proposals including revamping the intersection located between Hajiyat Avenue and Jeddah Avenue; re-paving roads in Block 929, planning lands in Blocks 643, 645 and 646; revamping the intersection between Al Mohazwara Avenue and Avenue 77; creating an access and exit to the educational area via Estiqlal Highway; constructing parking spaces along Al Mohazwara Avenue and Road 3953, and other developments.



The meeting also referred to the issue of storm water drainage in Hawrat Sanad and sewerage in Blocks 643, 645 and 646. - TradeArabia News Service


Libya will resume crude exports from two of its biggest oil ports within one week after clashes that forced Islamic State militants to pull out of the area, according to the commander of the petroleum guards in the region, said a report.



According to a report in Bloomberg, crude exports will resume from Es Sider, the countrys biggest oil port, and Ras Lanuf, the third-largest, and which have been closed since 2014, Ibrahim al-Jedran, a regional commander of Libyas Petroleum Facilities Guard, said in a phone interview. The exports will be under the authority of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, which is seeking to reunify the divided country, he said.



Some minor technical problems related to the transportation network between the oil storage tanks and the Es Sider and Ras Lanuf oil ports due to damage, inflicted during clashes since last year, will be fixed within a few days, al-Jedran said.



The oil ports are now safe after Islamic State pulled back away from them toward Sirte, he said. The petroleum guards are now capable of guaranteeing the safety and security of oil tankers seeking to use the ports.



News of the reopening of the ports that had been exporting more than two thirds of Libyas oil comes after the Petroleum Facilities Guard captured towns from Islamic State militants last month. Rival leaders of Libyas National Oil Corp., reached an agreement last week to unify the state company under a single management, a step meant to help end the conflict over who can control the divided countrys crude exports and revenue.



Libyan oil officials have made multiple predictions over the past few years that crude production or exports were poised to climb only for those increases to fail to materialize. The nation pumped an average of about 330,000 barrels a day this year, on course for the smallest annual supply in decades, data compiled by Bloomberg show.



Oil Production



Libya, with Africas largest proven crude reserves, split into separately governed regions in 2014, leading to the establishment of rival NOC administrations. The Government of National Accord is trying to extend its authority over the country. In the five years since the ouster of the countrys longtime ruler, Moammar Al Qaddafi, Libyas oil installations have been attacked and its crude output has slumped.



The NOC competing administrations also reached an agreement that allowed crude exports to resume from the port of Hariga in the east in May, easing a bottleneck and allowing for oil production to increase slightly to about 320,000 barrels a day.



Libya pumped about 1.6 million barrels a day before Qaddafi was ousted from power in 2011. Its now the second-smallest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The ibtm events portfolio, uniting global and regional communities of suppliers and buyers on five continents, has confirmed that it has secured a global partnership with Event Manager Blog (Event MB); the go-to online resource for Trends, Technology, Innovation and Education for the event industry.



Julius Solaris, Event MB said: "ibtm events and Event MB joining forces in this exclusive partnership is amazing news for the industry. Innovation is at the centre of the development of the meetings and events industry and we are very much looking forward to collaborating.



The portfolio partnership will launch at ibtm world 2016, which each year unites the global meetings industry community with over 15,000 industry decision makers. The event provides a platform for attendees to meet and create global business connections in the award winning city of Barcelona.



For the first time, ibtm world will run their highly acclaimed Technology and Innovation Award in partnership with EventMB, where together they will showcase the most innovative companies shaping the future of events.



Solaris added: There has been no better moment to learn about how can we transform events through technology. Event MB and ibtm events are giving an unprecedented opportunity to event professionals from around the world to touch and experience first hand what the near future looks like.



Graeme Barnett, senior exhibition director, ibtm world said: Supporting the event technology community is vital to the future of the events industry and this year at ibtm world, live demonstrations, hands on sessions and education will be part of the showcase of products and services in our dedicated Technology Zone on the show floor. The Tech and Innovation Award with Event MB will also identify 10 of the latest start ups in the industry and support them towards a greater industry presence and potential. - TradeArabia News Service


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A federal bankruptcy judge approved Alpha Natural Resources restructuring plan Wednesday, confirming a proposal that will split the mining firm into two companies and replace all its unsecured reclamation obligations in Wyoming.

The approval represents a victory both for the bankrupt coal company and environmentalists, who had long warned about the dangers posed by its form of cleanup insurance. The plan also calls for $13 million to fund 4,580 former employees health care benefits.

Confirmation of Alphas plan represents the final court milestone in a complex, one-year restructuring process, Alpha Chairman and CEO Kevin Crutchfield said in a statement.

Alphas marginal mines in Appalachia will remain with the Bristol, Virginia-based company. Its best properties, including its two Wyoming mines, will be sold to Contura Energy Inc., a new company backed by its senior lenders.

Those mines will no longer be allowed to use self-bonds, as unsecured reclamation bonds are known. Alpha had $411 million in self-bonds in Wyoming. Under a settlement negotiated with the Department of the Interior, Alpha will replace its self-bonds with secured financing.

The agreement was cheered by conservation and environmental groups, who applauded the Interior for intervening aggressively. Interior officials had threatened to block the transfer of federal mining leases unless the company agreed to replace its self-bonds with secured financing.

I think it is a victory in the sense we seem to get to the end of the situation here, said Shannon Anderson, a lawyer at the Powder River Basin Resource Council, a landowners group in Sheridan.

The agreement should set an important precedent in the bankruptcy cases of both Arch Coal and Peabody Energy, which have a combined $1.2 billion in self-bonds in Wyoming.

I think it is clear that Arch and Peabody have been playing from Alphas playbook, said Peter Morgan, an attorney for the Sierra Club. This should make it harder for them to continue self-bonding in other western states.

Questions nevertheless remain. State regulators will determine the amount of the companys reclamation obligations.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality has instituted a series of policies in recent months aimed at reducing estimated bonding costs.

Wyoming was not party to Alphas settlement with federal regulators. A DEQ spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Wyoming Mining Association, an industry group, declined to comment on the deal.

Alpha had initially sought to eliminate retiree benefits, arguing the move would save the company $3 million annually and remove a $125 million liability from its books.

The restructuring plan calls for the creation of a voluntary employee beneficiary association. Contura will provide $13 million to be paid over a five-year period: $3 million following the companys emergence from bankruptcy, $3 million in 2017, $3.5 million in 2018, $2.5 million in 2019 and $1 million in 2020.

Of the 4,580 employees, 366 worked for Alpha in Wyoming.
A Casper man who exposed himself to a young girl as she visited her mailbox in 2008 should continue supervised probation, a judge decided Thursday.

Aaron Ridley, through his attorney, requested to be placed on unsupervised probation. Ridley, who pleaded no contest to indecent liberties with a minor, served two years in prison before being placed on 15 years of supervised probation.

Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking said Ridley already has minimal supervision  he is visiting his probation officer every other month  and should continue to be monitored.

Theres always a risk with this particular defendant, prosecutor Mike Schafer said before Wilking made her decision. I want to monitor his use of alcohol and controlled substances.

Tests following Ridleys arrest showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.28 percent  more than three times the legal driving limit. Schafer said he worries Ridley could reoffend if he begins to drink alcohol or use drugs again.

The prosecutor called the case a parents worst nightmare. He highlighted the random victimization of Ridleys actions.

Defense attorney Kerri Johnson said her client has been sober since his arrest. He has been undergoing sex offender counseling since 2011 and is now married.

His actions were inexcusable, Johnson said. But it didnt seem like Mr. Ridleys character to do something so terrible.

She said a psychologist at Central Wyoming Counseling Center, who has worked with Ridley on his counseling, believes Ridley is at a low risk to reoffend.

The victims mother was present during the hearing but did not speak before the judge.

Police arrested Ridley at his fathers Paradise Valley-area home after the girls mother reported a man had grabbed her daughter. The 9-year-old girl said she had dropped off some mail at a mailbox when a man approached her, said he was looking for his dog and asked to walk with her. She agreed and they had just begun walking when he placed his hand on her shoulder and asked her to go inside a home.

Once inside the house, Ridley exposed his genitals to her and asked her to touch him. The girl screamed and Ridley grabbed her coat as she tried to leave. She managed to run out of the house and back to her own home.

Authorities also charged Ridley with kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a child. Those charges were dropped as part of Ridleys plea agreement with state prosecutors.

Former district judge Scott Skavdahl sentenced Ridley to six to 15 years in prison. However, Skavdahl ordered Ridley be released from prison in 2010 after Ridley requested a sentence reduction.

Ridley will continue to register as a sex offender.
Investigators found two handguns and 3.5 ounces of methamphetamine in a vehicle near where a fugitive was shot and killed by a U.S. marshal last week, authorities said Wednesday evening.

A half ounce of methamphetamine was also in Jasen Scott Ramirez's possession when he was killed June 30 in the St. James Catholic Church parking lot, according to a statement released by the Converse County Attorney's Office and the county sheriff. Ramirez, who was wanted on drug charges, was attending a family member's funeral, according to the church.

Authorities have until now shared relatively few details about the shooting -- including whether Ramirez was armed. The U.S. Marshals Service released a one-paragraph statement last week, but said it could not provide additional comment.

The statement, released at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, says authorities found the guns after obtaining a warrant to search the vehicle near where Ramirez was shot. The release did not offer additional information about the weapons, including whether they were loaded or whether Ramirez appeared to be going for them at the time he was shot. Nor does the release identify the owner of the vehicle.

Authorities had previously said agents were attempting to arrest Ramirez when the shooting took place. The 44-year-old Colorado man was wanted on drug charges and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Ramirez was indicted on May 18 in U.S. District Court for Wyoming, court records show. An arrest warrant was issued the next day.

A statement released last week by the Diocese of Cheyenne said Ramirez was attending a family member's funeral at the church and that authorities tried to apprehend him outside.

In the statement, Bishop Paul Etienne said the church hoped for a speedy explanation of the events that led authorities to try to apprehend Ramirez on church grounds, following a funeral service.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is heading up the review of the shooting. He told the Star-Tribune Tuesday that it could take five to seven weeks for DCI agents to conduct interview and assess evidence.

The Converse County Attorney's Office will then be responsible for reviewing the case.

In Wednesday's statement, Converse County authorities say sheriff's deputies responded to the church at 2:43 p.m. for an officer-involved shooting call. Local officers provided aid to Ramirez outside the vehicle where he had been shot.

Authorities have asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the Converse County Sheriff's Office at 307-358-4700 or DCI at 307-261-2194.
Gas levels in the halls of Midwest School have decreased since a well next to the building was properly plugged, according to a news release issued Wednesday evening.

Experts are also testing to identify any contaminants that were in the air in the school, which closed for the year May 26, a day after school staff reported a suspicious odor. In the days after the closure, parents of students at the school said their children had complained of mysterious ailments, such as headaches, grogginess, hives and lack of appetite. At the time, state and local officials maintained there was no threat to public health.

According to the release, test results from the school are being reviewed by the Agency of Toxic Substance Disease Registry. Environmental testing has already revealed the presence of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds. Some symptoms of exposure to those materials include: respiratory and mucous membrane irritation (throat, nose, sinus, eyes, lungs), gastrointestinal irritation, headaches, skin rash, loss of sense of smell, cough, nosebleeds, nervous system disorders and an increase in cancer risk. The release noted that hydrogen sulfide has not been found to be in the air.

The release also said that the school is the only place in Midwest at which high gas levels were detected and that FDL Operating LLC, the owner of the Salt Creek oilfield, had installed a vapor extraction system there to speed the process of soil off-gassing. FDL is also offering assistance to Midwest residents who do not wish to remain in their homes.

The Natrona County School District, meanwhile, has sent a health survey to students and staff. Collecting that data is expected to take several weeks. The district is also working with other agencies to determine when the school will reopen.

FDL has established an information hotline at 307-462-9112. Residents who would like areas checked for abnormal gas levels can call 307-462-9112 or 307-437-9500. Inspectors are available around the clock.
I would like to represent you in the Wyoming Legislature because I believe Wyoming needs a representative that will stand up for conservative values that are important to the residents of House District 56 and the rest of Wyoming. I also know that our friendly business climate needs to be protected and further enriched in order to get the people of Wyoming back to work in the energy sector. I understand the importance of working strategically and coordinating with city, county, state and federal governments in order to bring diverse job opportunities to Wyoming homes and communities.

I was raised in the city of Casper by a loving mother who taught me the value of hard work and service. Along with my mother my sister, aunts, and grandparents have taught me much about what it means to be honest and the importance of looking at many sides of the issues affecting Wyoming today. I am grateful to teachers, religious instructors, and other good people in Casper that have given me the opportunity to grow and prosper.

I graduated from Casper College with an associates of Arts in Political Science while working as a Supervisor at the west side Walmart. As I continue my education and work I learn fundamental things regarding how government can unburden the business community so they can provide jobs.

I believe that the constitution of the United States is under attack and we the people must stand up to defend our God given right to live free, enjoy liberty, and pursue happiness. With these rights comes a responsibility to elect leaders and representatives that will uphold and live up to what the founders intended for our country. As your representative I pledge to uphold the constitution.

Wyoming is blessed with an abundance of natural resources. I will fight unnecessary government regulations that are preventing job growth in our energy sector. I commit to not raising taxes during these tough economic times but instead using some savings to offset some of our budget shortfalls. I want to protect our 2nd amendment rights enshrined in the constitution. I also believe that we must help the 20,000 poor and disabled who are currently uninsured and are paying the Obama tax penalty. Since we cannot fund our own health care program at this time medicaid expansion is the only viable path. In the future I would like to see a state funded health care plan. Our state has already cut vital health care programs that the disadvantaged in our community use as a safety net. I also want to continually invest in the future of Wyoming through the adequate funding of our education sector and by not burdening the progress being made in homeschooling and charter schools.

I would like your support in the August 16th Republican Primary so we can put the people of Wyoming first ahead of any special interest group or lobby. Please stand with me to support the future of Wyoming.
CHEYENNE  A Wyoming legislative task force is recommending that Gov. Matt Mead approve spending $3.5 million for emergency improvements at the state prison in Rawlins.

The Task Force on State Penal Facilities voted Wednesday to request that Mead approve the money to build a new electrical services building at the prison and to make repairs to a crumbling wall.

The vote came after Robert Lampert, director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections, warned lawmakers that all electrical and security systems at the prison run through a single room. He said the roof is leaking and that its possible that the shifting elements of the building could cut cables running to the room, resulting in loss of power to the entire prison.

Lampert told the task force he recommends spending $1.6 to $2 million to construct a new modular building to house electrical and security systems.

It would take up to 72 hours to relocate inmates from the Rawlins prison in the event of a power failure, Lampert said. He said that a power failure could also lead to liabilities for the state that would make the money for the new modular building look like pocket change.

Another pressing problem at the state prison involves cracking in a gymnasium wall, Lampert said. He said it would cost $1.5 million to address the 30-foot, load-bearing wall.

The task force accepted Lamperts recommendation for the emergency funding. The group also called for spending another $133,000 to retain a consultant study over the next two months that will examine options for repairing the crumbling Rawlins prison or possibly scrapping it entirely and building a new prison elsewhere.

Lampert told state lawmakers earlier this year that the prison, which only opened about 15 years ago, needs $85 million in repairs. He said it would cost about twice that to build a new prison. The troubled Rawlins prison replaced an earlier prison nearby called the North Facility, also south of Rawlins, that the state had to abandon because of similar structural problems.

Both prisons were built on unstable soils, resulting in wall movement and cracking of walls and floors. A consultant recently reported that foundations in the newer prison werent built according to specifications, allowing movement in the foundations to lift floor slabs that had been intended to move independently.

Several lawmakers said Wednesday that they dont want to put any more state funds into prison facilities near the existing facility.

Rep. David Miller, a Republican from Riverton, said he would favor doing only minimal repairs at the existing facility, and begin looking for a stable site for future construction somewhere down the road.

Sen. Eli Bebout, a Republican from Riverton, said he agreed. Im not going to make a decision to go to a site next to it and try to make a design thats going to work, he said. Weve already done that. It didnt work.

House Speaker Kermit Brown, a Republican from Laramie, said after the meeting that task force members expect to meet with Mead on Friday to request approval of the funds. The Legislature set aside $7 million for work at the prison in the budget session earlier this year.

The task force is set to report recommendations on how to address problems at the prison this fall. In the long run, Brown said lawmakers are faced with a difficult decision, given the states deteriorating financial picture, of whether to recommend repairs at the existing prison or spending more money to build an entirely new prison.

Brown said hes inclined to look at building new facilities north of Rawlins. He said its possible the state could continue to use kitchen and laundry facilities at the existing prison to serve new buildings constructed elsewhere.

Brown, whos leaving the Legislature after this year, said he cant speculate how the state will pay for overall prison improvements. I cant tell you how its going to be done, he said. Its going to be up to a future Legislature, but its going to be brutal, he said.
PHOENIX  The FBI may be interested in pursuing the deleted texts of a state utility regulator that an Arizona judge has ruled are not public record.

Scott Peterson, executive director of the Checks and Balances Project, a self-described watchdog group interested in energy policy, said Wednesday that federal agents interviewed him for nearly an hour and a half last week about what he knows about the 2014 Arizona Corporation Commission election.

Peterson said he turned over data he already has, including a log of texts between Commissioner Bob Stump and others, and why he filed suit to try to get the actual texts.

They were interested in what I had to say, he said.

A judge rebuffed Petersons lawsuit, saying what little was recovered from Stumps phone was not public.

But if the FBI takes an interest, it could subpoena the phone. And its forensic experts may be able to recover more than those hired by the Attorney Generals Office.

The interview comes on the heels of the FBI interviewing former Commissioner Gary Pierce about the 2014 race for secretary of state.

Pierces son, Justin, was a Republican hopeful for that post. Allegations were made  denied by both  that the elder Pierce used his position on the utility panel to get financial support for his sons campaign from companies that are regulated by the commission.

There is no doubt the FBI is taking a look at what happened that year.

The FBI is currently conducting a longterm investigation related to the financing of certain statewide races in the 2014 election cycle, agent Matthew Reinsmoen said last month.

The FBI already has subpoenaed documents from the commission. And officials at Arizona Public Service, the states largest electric utility, acknowledged they have been asked to cooperate.

But the information Peterson said he provided to agents relates not to the Justin Pierce campaign but to the successful 2014 bid for the Corporation Commission by Republicans Doug Little and Tom Forese.

Whether the FBI actually is interested in the commission race, though, remains to be seen: Peterson acknowledged he contacted the FBI, versus them reaching out to him.

Peterson has been harping on questions of whether Stump, then chairman of the commission and not up for re-election, was coordinating spending on behalf of Little and Forese by outside groups, including APS.

His main evidence to date consists of a log of the texts to and from the commission-owned phone that Stump was using around the time of the 2014 election.

That log showed dozens of messages between Stump, Little and Forese, who were in a four-way race for the two slots on the GOP ticket. Their Republican foes, Luci Mason and Vernon Parker, were running on a platform of wanting to protect and mandate the use of more solar power.

There also were a series of texts with the campaign manager for Little and Forese, who were running as a team, and with Scot Mussi, the head of the Free Enterprise Club, which was spending more than $300,000 on behalf of the two candidates backed by Stump.

Stump also was texting at the same time with APS executive Barbara Lockwood.

Neither APS nor its parent Pinnacle West gave money to Little or Forese; Arizona law prohibits such direct donations. But APS has refused to confirm or deny that it funneled money into that race through contributions to independent expenditure committees which are not required to report their donors.

Little and Forese won the GOP primary and eventually bested their Democrat foes.

Peterson filed suit to find out what was in the messages, but was thwarted after Stump said he routinely deleted texts and subsequently discarded his state-issued phone.

Forensic investigators retained by the Attorney Generals Office were able to recover some information.

A judge later ordered what was found to be sealed from public view.

Stump said Wednesday he has not spoken with the FBI. He emphasized that Peterson called the FBI and not the other way around.

Im sure they get many wacky calls, of course, from fringe groups like Checks and Balances, Stump said in a statement.

After losing in court every single time, Peterson still clings to his conspiratorial fantasies in an effort to remain relevant and keep his dark-money funded job, Stump said. The dark money reference is to Petersons group getting some of its money indirectly from SolarCity, which has been in an ongoing battle with APS over rules and charges for customers with rooftop solar units.

The Attorney Generals Office still has an open investigation into the original probe of Gary Pierce.

Those stem from allegations that Pierce, then on the commission, had met secretly with Don Brandt, chief executive officer of APS, and Don Robinson, his predecessor, while the utility was in the middle of a rate case before the agency. Those were laid out in a letter from a whistleblower, later identified as a former commission staffer, to Attorney General Mark Brnovich and others.

That same complaint said Pierce used his office to coerce commission staffers to expedite the formation of a corporation that later spent $186,000 in the 2012 election on mailers to drum up support for Stumps re-election and to help elect fellow Republicans Bob Burns and Susan Bitter Smith.
PHOENIX  The campaign is on over whether employers will be required to give an estimated 770,000 Arizonans a raise next year.

Backers of boosting the states minimum wage, in steps, to $12 an hour by 2020 turned in petitions Thursday which they say contain more than 270,000 signatures. Thats far more than the 150,000 that now need to be verified as valid to put the measure before voters in November.

If approved, the measure would immediately increase the state minimum wage to $10 an hour. The minimum now in Arizona is $8.05 an hour.

Tempe City Councilwoman Lauren Kuby said businesses clearly can survive paying more than the minimum. She cited Tempes Changing Hands Bookstore.

Their competition is intense, she said, as they have to fight for customers with online giants like Amazon. And, somehow, they find a way to not just give workers sick days, a higher minimum wage, paid time off, they give vacation days. And, lo and behold, they dont have a problem with retaining workers.

But Kuby said the initiative is about more than cash. She said about 45 percent of people employed in Tempe, as one example, are at jobs where there is no paid time off, even for sick leave.

This measure, if approved, would require companies to provide at least three days of paid sick time a year to employees who work at least 30 hours a week, with five days for companies with more than 15 workers. Kuby said that benefits everyone.

After all, who really wants to have food served by a worker thats sick, she said. Thats not good for the public Its not good for business.

Even as the petitions were being filed, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry fired off the first salvo.

Businesses faced with the extreme hike in costs and the additional workplace mandates called for by the initiative will be left only with bad options, said chamber president Glenn Hamer in a prepared statement. Those options, he said, range from laying off workers and raising prices to investing in automation that will make employees unnecessary.

And some, he said, might go out of business.

But Tomas Robles, the initiatives deputy campaign manager, said theres no basis for the dire predictions.

In fact, theres research that increasing minimum wage and adding earned sick time reduces costs and other forms of turnover, like employee training, said Robles. Employees will stick to companies because they feel like theyre being treated with respect.

Robles said Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show that about 770,000 Arizonans  about a quarter of the workforce  are making less than $10 an hour and would get an immediate boost.

That doesnt count those who already may be earning that figure or slightly more, people with some experience: If employers have to start workers at $10, then they would need to pay more to retain those with training.

All that could drive up the median Arizona wage, the number at which half of those employed are making more and half are working less. The most recent BLS figures put that at $16.67 an hour.

By contrast, the median federal wage is $17.40 an hour, or about $1,500 a year more.

Separately, Robles estimates that 934,000 Arizonans are in jobs where employers provide no paid sick leave.

Like current law, the proposal includes a $3 tip credit, meaning employers could pay $3 an hour less to their workers who get tips. They would have to show that the workers actually earned at least $3 an hour in tips.
Tucson-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization with plans to sell all of its assets to a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm.

SynCardia, maker of the only FDA-approved temporary artificial heart, will continue operations without interruption, as an affiliate of Versa Capital Management LLC seeks court approval to buy the assets out of bankruptcy and recapitalize the company.

Our first priority has been and will always be the relationship with our hospitals and the care of their many patients, none of which will be adversely effected by this sale process, SynCardia CEO Michael Garippa said in a news release, adding the asset sale will free the organization from substantial liabilities and maximize the value of our business.

Versa specializes in buying and recapitalizing troubled companies. Its portfolio of turnaround projects includes retailers The Wet Seal, Avenue Stores and Black Angus Steakhouses; community newspapers under Civitas Media; and manufacturers Bell and Howell and Polartec.

SynCardia officials would not comment on the filing, referring to a news release issued by Versa.

To fund operations, Versa has agreed to provide the company with financing as it reorganizes in bankruptcy court. Under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code, debtors are protected from legal action while a plan is worked out to pay off debts.

Versa said in a news release the deal will ensure that SynCardia has adequate liquidity to continue to provide products and services to more than 120 SynCardia-certified implant centers worldwide during the sale process.

SynCardia filed a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where the company is incorporated.

The Versa asset purchase will require court approval, subject to higher or better offers, and the company has proposed that the sale process be completed in about 45 days, Versa said.

On Wednesday, a bankruptcy judge entered interim orders approving SynCardias bankruptcy financing plan and its use of cash to fund operations, subject to a final hearing on Aug. 1. The company also won interim approval to pay its employees and fulfill certain customer obligations.

In its bankruptcy petition, SynCardia said it did not expect to have funds available to repay its unsecured creditors, such as vendors.

It filed a list of more than 400 creditors, including current employees.

The company listed both its assets and debts in the range of $10 million to $50 million. It will be required to file more detailed financial statements in the coming weeks.

According to a list submitted with the bankruptcy filing, the companys largest unsecured debts include $556,250 owed to an affiliate of Trinity Capital Investment and about $312,500 owed to University Medical Center Corp., which along with University of Arizona faculty members had supported SynCardias development.

In its stock registration filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last September, the company said it had never been profitable on an annual basis. The company reported a net loss of $18.6 million in the first six months of 2015, after posting net losses of $10.6 million in all of 2013 and $18.1 million in 2014.

SynCardias temporary Total Artificial Heart is the only artificial heart approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a temporary bridge to transplant.

SynCardia says more than 1,500 of its artificial hearts have been implanted since the company was formed in 2001 with technology from the original Jarvik-7 heart, including nearly 500 since January 2012.

The company is working to win FDA approval of the use of its heart as destination therapy for patients who arent candidates for transplant, and it is developing a downsized heart to fit smaller patients, including women and youths.

Last year, SynCardia won FDA market approval for a smaller, portable pneumatic driver for its artificial hearts. The company issued a voluntary recall of its Freedom driver in August after one patients unit stopped pumping and his backup driver had to be turned on.

SynCardias Garippa said the proposed sale provides a strong foundation for future growth and development of the companys next-generation heart driver system, the Freedom 2.

We are acting to ensure that SynCardia will be in the best position to provide lifesaving treatments for end-stage heart failure and to adapt our business to meet the changing needs of the health-care industry, he said.
Edward Moreno likes to say he and his wife/business partner Megan evolved in their coffee drinking.

Like most young college kids, the former high-school sweethearts and Benson natives started out drinking Starbucks while attending the University of Arizona. As their palates became more refined, they drifted to boutique coffee roasters including Savaya Coffee Market and Yellow Brick Coffee.

And when the couple returned to their hometown and settled into married life, they started roasting their own beans.

They shared their newfound coffee roasting hobby with friends and family to rave reviews. And then it hit them: Lets do this on a larger scale.

They opened Mo Coffee Roastery earlier this year. The couple run their boutique coffee roasting business in between their full-time jobs  hes an engineer, shes a stay-at-home mom to their 2- and 4-year-old kids.

The couple sources the beans from an importer who deals directly with farmers, and sell their coffee at a Benson coffee shop and ice cream parlor. Its available for retail sale at a Benson gift shop.

In June, the couple tip-toed into the Tucson market, setting up a table at Trail Dust Town on the east side for the weekly farmers markets. They sell hot and cold coffee drinks and roasted whole beans from 8 a.m. to noon Fridays.

Edward Moreno, 33, said he and Megan, 30, would love to turn Mo Coffee into a full-time venture.

We want to see (Mo Coffee) grow, but we never want it to grow beyond what we can be a part of, he said. We would love to eventually have a brick- and-mortar location.
Draft Magazine gives Tucsons own Tap & Bottle props on its 2016 100 Best Beer Bars list.

The tasting room and bottle shop, having just celebrated its third anniversary, is the only Arizona beer bar on the website version of the list, which spreads the love from California to Colorado and all throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The national publication (based in Phoenix) notes Tap & Bottles 650-bottle-strong cooler section and 21-tap lineup, noting rare is a bar more sincere in its love of beer than this 3-year-old (bar) located a few blocks from the University of Arizona.

Rebecca Safford, who owns and operates the business with her husband Scott, said inclusion on a list created by such a well-respected magazine is an honor.

Being recognized by a publication that shares similar ideals, after three years of being open, really helps put Tap & Bottle and Tucson on the radar of beer lovers who travel to visit great beer bars, Rebecca said.

Beer and Whiskey Tour

If locally produced beer and whiskey sound like the ideal ingredients for a fun night out, head to Grant Road west of Interstate 10 this Saturday for the Westside Brew House District Tour.

The tour is a collaborative effort between Hamilton Distillers, makers of Whiskey Del Bac, 1912 Brewing and Dragoon Brewing, all conveniently located within a mile of each other on West Grant Road.

For $15, you start at Dragoon, 1859 W. Grant Road, at 5 p.m. for a beer, head to Hamilton Distillers for a pour at 6 p.m. and cap things off at 7 p.m. with another beer at 1912.

Its an idea that could easily be repeated in other parts of town. Downtown is packed with breweries and craft beer providers.

And East 44th Street now has three breweries, Green Feet, 1055 and Nimbus, in addition to Three Wells Distilling.

The crews on West Grant have the right idea.

Tickets can be purchased at Dragoon or through eventbrite.com

Other events of note this weekend:

 Hear a free lecture on the physiology of beer at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 7, at Tucson Hop Shop, 3230 N. Dodge Boulevard.

 Sample some sweet treats made with Pueblo Vida beer by the Beer Geek Bakery, starting at 5 p.m. Friday at Pueblo Vida, 115 E. Broadway.
Knock knock, who's there? Yet another national publication singling out Tucson as a great place to eat.

This time we're in a list of five "oft-overlooked locales" that prove "top-tier dining isn't just limited to New York and Los Angeles anymore." A recent Wine Enthusiast article places Tucson at the top, above the "sophisticated eats" of Madison, Wisconsin and the "thriving bar-bites scene" in Baltimore.

The article does start off by saying that Tucson was "once a desert for great eats," but it's hard to get too mad about it. Because today, "Tucson blooms with enough unique restaurants to justify a food-focused trip."

Read the full article at winemag.com

But that's not all ...

Also this week, the Tucson bar scene made the pages of Phoenix New Times, Draft Magazine and even Food & Wine.

 Draft Magazine included Tap & Bottle in its list of "America's 100 Best Beer Bars." (Due out next month.) The article praises the "chalkboard menus, exposed beams and raw brick walls" that mark the "650-bottle strong cooler section" and the "21 tap lineup" in the bar.
25 RAID VICTIMS PLEAD NOT GUILTY

Cases Set for trial Before Judge OConnor Week of July 19

Pleas of not guilty were entered in the superior court yesterday by the 25 persons charged with violating the prohibitory law, arrested in the recent raid by Sheriff Forbes. Their trials on more than 40 charges were set by Judge OConnor, of Santa Cruz county, beginning July 19.

C. C. Roller, charged with gambling also pleaded not guilty and his trial was set for July 27. Several other cases for other charges were also set.

Attorney J. D. MacKay, representing one of the defendants had not yet had a preliminary hearing. The motion was overruled. The defendants were arrested on bench warrants from the superior court and their cases were not tried in justice court as usual.

The cases were set as follows: July 19: John Baker (six cases). July 20: C. and H. Phillips (four cases), Felix and Joe Mendibles (two cases). July 21: Ed Miller (two cases), Rico Sarraco, Joe Sarraco, John Green and Joe and Rico Sarraco (two cases). July 22: Pedro Juarez, Jesus Salcedo, Chas. Van Width, Jack Anderson and R. O. Nailor and W. Pearce. July 24: Tom Dorrell (two cases, Bascom Reed, Henry Meyers and Leonardo Corrella. July 25: Al Williams (three cases), A. A. and Geo. Lames (two cases). July 26: Lee Durnell, Ed McFarland, Minnie Davis (two cases, Minnie Davis and Ed McFarland. July 27: C. C. Roller (gambling), Ramon Bufando, Mariano Pacho.

Cases on charges other than violating the prohibitory law will be tried as follows: July 28: L. R. Staehle, forgery; Sylvestre Romero, grand larceny; C. K. Crawford, passing bad checks.

In the case of the State vs. Jimenez, the defendant pleaded guilty and was given a sentence of one year in the state penitentiary.

The trial jury for the trials will be drawn Monday according to an order made by Judge OConner yesterday.
A Tucson man arrested on terrorism charges called himself an "American jihadist" who supports ISIL (also known as ISIS) and wanted to perform "a MO," likely meaning a martyrdom operation, according to newly released court documents.

Mahin Khan, 18, was taken into custody Friday. In a court document released Wednesday, authorities allege that Khan stated in an April 16 telephone conversation that Mission Bay, California, would be "a pretty good target," and also mentioned an Air Force recruitment center in Tucson.

In the same call, Khan said he had reached out to a foreign terrorist organization, TTP (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan) asking for a pressure-cooker-bomb recipe, according to the document.

The court document is a statement from the FBI to the Arizona Attorney General's Office laying out probable cause to justify filing terrorism charges against Khan.

In other communications, via texts and emails on other dates in 2016, Khan asked a correspondent named Abid Mansoor for weapons, saying he needed assault rifles and pistols  "wanna take out marines and jews," according to the court document.

He also asked for "cookie recipes," likely meaning construction instructions for an improved explosive device, the court document alleges. He described himself as 17 and wrote that he was "no jok," and attached a photograph of himself wearing sunglasses, the document states.

Mansoor isn't described in the document. One full page of the three-page document was blacked out before a judge authorized its release to public view.

Khan was arrested after a joint operation between the Arizona Attorney Generals Office and FBI, said Mia Garcia, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.

Khan allegedly conspired to commit acts of terror against government buildings in Pima and Maricopa County, Garcia said Friday.

He was being held in the Maricopa County jail on no bond on one count each of conspiracy to commit terrorism and terrorism, she said.

His next court appearance is set for Tuesday.
The FBI alleges a Tucson man arrested on terrorism charges claimed to have reached out to a foreign terrorist group for a pressure-cooker-bomb recipe, and that he named potential targets including an Air Force recruitment center in Tucson.

Mahin Khan, 18, was taken into custody Friday. In a court document released Wednesday, the FBI alleges that Khan called himself an American jihadist who supports ISIL (also known as ISIS) and said he wanted to perform a MO  likely meaning a martyrdom operation.

Khan stated in an April 16 telephone conversation that Mission Bay, California, would be a pretty good target with a lot of residents, and, asked if he had chosen a target closer to where he lived, mentioned the Tucson recruitment center, the document alleges.

In the same call, Khan said he had reached out to TTP (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan) asking for a recipe to build a pressure-cooker bomb, according to the document.

The document is a statement from the FBI to the Arizona Attorney Generals Office, laying out evidence, or probable cause, to justify the filing of terrorism charges against Khan.

In emails on other dates earlier in 2016, Khan asked a correspondent named Abid Mansoor for weapons, saying he needed assault rifles and pistols  wanna take out marines and jews, according to the court document.

He also asked for cookie recipes, likely meaning instructions for building an improvised explosive device, the court document alleges. He described himself as 17, wrote that he was no jok (one of many misspellings in his emails) and attached a photograph of himself in sunglasses, the document states.

Mansoor is not described in the three-page document, a full page of which was blacked out before a Maricopa County judge authorized its release to public view.

Khan was arrested after a joint operation between the Arizona Attorney Generals Office and FBI, Mia Garcia, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, said Friday. Khan allegedly conspired to commit acts of terror against government buildings in Pima and Maricopa County, Garcia said then.

He was being held in the Maricopa County jail without bond on one count each of conspiracy to commit terrorism and terrorism, she said.

Khans next court date is a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday, July 12.
Any weapon capable of firing 10 or more rounds can no longer be sold at the Tucson Convention Center.

The Tucson City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to add more restrictions on private gun sales at the city-owned venue.

Gun-control advocates, including several victims of the Jan. 8, 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, were in the audience, some wearing orange shirts and holding signs that read we can end gun violence.

Former U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who was among those injured in the mass shooting, said Congress has failed to enact sensible legislation. He thanked the council for taking the steps to ban the sales on city-owned property.

It is unlikely the new regulations will make a dent in local gun sales  it has been more than three years since there was a private gun show at the TCC.

More likely is the possibility that the new restrictions will be challenged in court, as a new state law going into effect next month states that no city or other municipality can enact restrictions on gun sales that are tougher than state laws.

In other action: Rainwater harvesting

The City Council also voted Wednesday to create a $150,000 pilot program aimed at low-income families to encourage rainwater harvesting as well as reuse of gray water.

The program, to be run by Tucson Water, would include Spanish-language ads to encourage families to install systems to irrigate fruit trees, landscapes and lawns without using potable water.

Many low-income families cant afford the costs, even with rebates, officials said earlier this week.

One estimate suggests the costs for a single family to buy cisterns and modify landscaping can easily exceed a few thousand dollars.

TEP rates

The council also sided with local residents with solar panels on their roofs, opposing a proposed rate plan from Tucson Electric Power.

TEP has asked the Arizona Corporation Commission to make significant changes to the costs associated with rooftop solar arrays, cutting the price paid for excess energy while increasing the monthly charge.

Home owners, as well as representatives from the solar industry, told the council that TEP was being hypocritical  paying less for energy created by solar panels on private homes while at the same time charging customers more for energy harvested by TEP-controlled solar farms. No TEP officials spoke, but the utility has said in the past that it must recover its costs.

The council resolution will be forwarded to the ACC, which will decide whether to approve the rate increase.
Amakye Andersens bedroom is not quite like that of a typical 13-year-old.

Sure, its got the boys favorite posters and little toys here and there. But the room is engulfed by oodles of trophies; they are above his bed, stacked up against the wall and piled into his closet.

The teen figures he has about 200 of them. His mom thinks not. Thousands, she says.

Andersen may be just 13 years old, but hes already a 10-year veteran in competitive BMX. The piles of trophies are evidence of his career as a rider.

In fact, hes just returned from Utah, where he competed in the Great Salt Lake Nationals. In four different categories, he placed third twice as well as fourth and sixth. Earlier this summer, he competed in Medellin, Colombia, where he walked away with more trophies.

I like to win, he said.

Andersen began riding when he was just 2 years old. His dad and older brother, Damen, also rode. By the age of 3, he was already competing, and BMX has taken him all around the world, including South Africa, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. Its so much to even remember, says Tina Andersen, his mother.

Outside of BMX, Andersen said he goes to Gridley Middle School, likes to ride around the neighborhood with his friends and make other people laugh. Hes a good kid at school, his mother said; he does his work and gets good grades. But the boy does spend most of his time competing, practicing, riding for fun or thinking about BMX.

He has no plans to stop, though he eventually wants to study mechanical engineering and build his own BMX bicycles. For now, hes got a big ambition for his BMX career.

I want to make it to the Olympics, he said. At 13, hes too young to try out. When hes 16, he can start training for the Olympics and maybe one day qualify, as did his mentor, Corben Sharrah, another local BMX rider who qualified for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Andersens favorite thing about competing in BMX is all the friends he makes around the world, he said. I like them all.

He makes about 10 trips a year to competitions. His busy traveling schedule can take a toll on his family, his mother said. It can also get quite expensive.

Sometimes, when she is not able to accompany him on his trips, she said she spends a lot of time being worried that he will crash and get injured. But BMX has made the boy a good kid, she said. It keeps him out of trouble and teaches him to work with other people.

Im proud, Tina Andersen said. How can you not be?

On the tracks, the teen is a helper for sure, said Teri Meeks, one of the owners at Tucson BMX, one of the venues he practices at.

Andersen is always helping younger kids on the track, she said.

Not only is he a sweet kid, hes also incredibly talented, she added.

If he wanted to ride in the Olympics, I could see him making the Olympic team, she said.
The National Institutes of Health is giving the University of Arizona more than $40 million to help identify new ways to treat and prevent disease, UA officials announced Wednesday.

"This is huge for Arizona. Only four academic medical centers across the country were chosen," said Elizabeth Calhoun, one of the grant's principal investigators and executive director of the Center for Population Science and Discovery at the UA's Arizona Health Sciences Center.

"Arizona will now have the ability to partake in the next generation of science in a way that they have never had an ability to do."

The university says the $43.3 million award over five years is part of the Precision Medicine Initiative that President Obama introduced in his 2015 State of the Union Address. The White House describes the initiative as, "a bold new research effort to revolutionize how we improve health and treat disease."

"I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to lead a new era of medicine  one that delivers the right treatment at the right time," Obama said in his address last year.

The initiative calls for finding a million or more Americans who volunteer to participate in research. The UA will be part of a team of research institutions building that national research cohort, NIH officials announced Wednesday.

In addition to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he NIH announced four health provider organizations in the team so far: Columbia University Health Sciences, New York City; Northwestern University, Chicago; the University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh; and the UA.

Arizona has not been a part of national research initiatives at all," Calhoun said. "It's a fabulous tribute, a super big deal."

The other local principal investigator is Dr. Akinlolu O. Ojo, who is the associate vice president for clinical research and global health initiatives at the UA's Health Sciences Center.

More institutions may be added as the project moves forward, federal officials say.

"This range of information at the scale of one million people from all walks of life will be an unprecedented resource for researchers working to understand all of the factors that influence health and disease, NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins said in a prepared statement.

"Over time, data provided by participants will help us answer important health questions, such as why some people with elevated genetic and environmental risk factors for disease still manage to maintain good health, and how people suffering from a chronic illness can maintain the highest possible quality of life.

"The more we understand about individual differences, the better able we will be to effectively prevent and treat illness."

The awardees have sub-awards with organizations that extend the geographic reach of the network, according to the NIH. The UA's sub-awardee is Banner Health in Phoenix, which has an affiliation with the UA and since a merger last year has owned Tucson's two academic medical centers  Banner University Medical Center  Tucson and Banner University Medical Center  South.

The official name of the local program will be the UA Health Sciences  Banner Health PMI Cohort Program.

In an op-ed in the Boston Globe on Wednesday, Obama further described the initiative:

"The powerful and exciting field of precision medicine goes a step further and asks: What if we could just as easily match a cancer cure to a patients unique genetic code? Instead of trying a one-size-fits-all treatment, what if medical experts could tailor one specifically for everyones body?," he wrote.

"By bringing together doctors and data like never before, precision medicine aims to deliver the right treatments in the right dosage at the right time  every time."

Obama designated $215 million in the 2016 fiscal year to support the initiative, including $130 million allocated to the NIH to build the national, large-scale research participant cohort.

According to a White House description of the cohort program, participants will have the opportunity to contribute diverse sources of data including medical records, profiles of the patients genes, chemical makeup, microorganisms in and on the body; environmental and lifestyle data; patient-generated information; and personal device and sensor data.

"This ambitious project will leverage existing research and clinical networks and build on innovative research models that enable patients to be active participants and partners," the White House says.

"The cohort will be broadly accessible to qualified researchers and will have the potential to inspire scientists from multiple disciplines to join the effort and apply their creative thinking to generate new insights."

The overall aim is to advance understanding of health and disease and to, "set the foundation for a new way of doing research through engaged participants and open, responsible data sharing," the fact sheet says.

Another $70 million was allocated to the National Cancer Institute to lead efforts in cancer genomics. The remaining $15 million was allocated to the Food and Drug Administration ($10 million) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology ($5 million).
A team of astronomers led by University of Arizona graduate student Kevin Wagner has discovered a planet with three suns, using a new planet-finding instrument on the Very Large Telescope in Chile.

The planet, about four times the size of Jupiter, orbits the main star in the system at a distance about twice that of Pluto from its sun  80 times the distance from the sun to Earth.

An observer on the planet would see three suns rising and setting each day. For about a quarter of its 550-day orbit, it would be in perpetual sunshine.

The planet is located about 320 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus. Its discovery was reported Thursday in the journal Science.

Wagner, a first-year graduate student at Steward Observatory, leads the Scorpion Planet Survey, which is looking for planets around 100 young stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Directly imaging planets is difficult. The light from a star makes it impossible to see small, faint planets, so the survey looks for giant planets in young solar systems that move in wide orbits around their stars.

Were looking for planets with heat left over from their formation that we can image, Wagner said, trying to constrain the population of giant planets.

Most surveys target single stars, said Wagner, but he is looking at a mix of single and binary stars. Wagner thought he was looking at a known binary star system during his observing last June, but found that the smaller point of light was actually two stars.

In that first observation, we resolved stars b and c for the first time, but also discovered a planet.

It was the first planet discovery for SPHERE, which can erase the blur of the atmosphere with what it calls an extreme adaptive optics system and can mask the overwhelming light of the star with a coronagraph, allowing the much dimmer planet to be imaged.

SPHERE, which stands for Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch, also takes spectra of the planets emissions, which made it possible for Wagner to determine with that first look on June 12 last year that he was observing a planet and not some distant star in his field of view.

It has a spectrum that a planet would, he said, with the signature of methane and water vapor.

The signal was a little noisy at first, Wagner said, and it wasnt the first time he thought hed seen a planet, so he didnt jump up to spread the news.

Wagner works from home most days, receiving data from Chile, where telescope operators point the telescope at his selected targets.

Its kind of the surreal experience of exploring space from your couch, Wagner said.

The planets existence was verified in subsequent observations of its movement with the triple-star system, and better spectral data.

Information gathered in the planet hunt will be useful in Wagners other tasks at Steward Observatory, where he is part of a NASA-funded team called Earths in Other Solar Systems, headed by astronomer Daniel Apai, Wagners adviser and a co-author on the paper.

Apai is currently in Europe meeting with other exoplanet hunters. He said in an email that understanding how giant planets such as this one form will guide the search for habitable planets.

Giant planets have very powerful impact on any habitable Earth-like planets: it is important that we understand how they form and in which system we can find them, he wrote.

Most of the discovered exoplanets orbit single stars, Wagner said, because that is where astronomers have looked for them.

The paper argues that it is due to the assumption that such planetary systems would either be disrupted or never form, as well as the increased technical complexity of detecting a planet amongst the scattered light of multiple stars.

This new planet apparently prevails in its orbit despite those disruptions, Wagner said, suggesting that binary systems may be a fruitful target for exoplanet searches.

If we need to revise our giant planet formation models, that will also lead to changing the strategy for searching for habitable planets, Apai wrote.

Apai noted in his email that this is Wagners second major discovery in the first year of his doctoral program. Last fall, in the same survey of young stars, Wagner imaged a two-armed spiral disk around a young star.

This is extremely rare, even at the forefront of astronomy, Apai wrote.

For me, one of the highlights of working as a professor at the University of Arizona is that I get to work with some of the smartest and most motivated young astrophysicists and planetary scientists in the world  and Kevin is clearly among the very best.
PHOENIX  A computer problem  possibly a hack  has resulted in more than a dozen candidates for statewide and legislative office facing an unexpected hurdle in their bid to get public financing.

The computer link to statewide voter registration records was shut down last week after the FBI said there was a credible and serious threat to the integrity of the system, said Matt Roberts, spokesman for the secretary of states office.

Roberts said state officials thought the problem was minor and had hoped to have it fixed by the end of last week. But now, he said, the goal is the end of this week.

What makes taking down the site most critical is that it is where individuals can log in to make $5 donations to candidates to qualify them to get public money for their campaigns.

Candidates can still get donations individually, whether face-to-face or through the mail. But the ease of soliciting funds online eases the burden.

Legislative hopefuls need at least 250 of these $5 donations. That qualifies them for $16,044 for the primary and $24,066 if they make it to the general election.

For those running for Arizona Corporation Commission, the only statewide race this year, it takes 1,700 qualifying donations to get $102,711 for their primary bid and $154,067 for the November race.

Officials at the Citizens Clean Elections Commission recommend getting 20 percent more in donations just to be sure to have enough from qualified donors.

Tom Collins, the commissions executive director, said most of the nearly five dozen candidates hoping to run with public dollars already had turned in their signatures before the online system was shut down. But he said more than a dozen are still outstanding.

One of them is Rick Gray.

Its been a definite setback for us, Gray said. The Republican state representative from Sun City is vying for one of three seats at the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Five Republicans are running in the primary. Gray and former state Sen. Al Melvin hope to get public dollars; former Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn and incumbents Bob Burns and Andy Tobin all are collecting private donations.

Melvin said he has turned his in.

Gray said Tuesday he believes he has enough to meet the minimum threshold. But he was counting on the website to make sure he has a cushion in case some of those who donated turn out not to be qualified electors.

The most recent campaign finance reports show Dunn with donations of $61,000, though $50,000 of that is his own money. Burns has $33,829 and Tobin has $30,200.

Democrats were not exempt from the problem with the website.

Its more than irritating, said former lawmaker Tom Chabin, especially when youre trying to get your last 30 or 40.

Chabin said he had hoped those would have come in online last week. Instead, he made a special trip on Monday to Sierra Vista to press the flesh  and come away with some $5 donations and the forms that go with it.

That, he said, should put him over the top.

But those hand-carried donations with the paper forms require verification, meaning some could be disqualified. Chabin said those made online are immediately verified as valid, as they are compared against the voter registration database.

It is that link that led to the site being taken down in the first place.

The FBI spoke with the Arizona Department of Administration and indicated to them that there was a credible and serious threat to our voter registration system, Roberts said.

He said there has also been an infiltration of a piece of malware to the computer of one of the counties. Roberts, who declined to identify which county, said efforts are underway to see if that computer, which is linked to the state voter registration database, is the cause of the threat or simply a coincidence.Roberts said there is absolutely no link between the decision by the Department of Administration to take the system offline and the opposition by Secretary of State Michele Reagan to public financing. In fact, he said, the FBI characterized the seriousness of the threat as 8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Obviously when somebody tells you that you could have a credible threat to your voter registration system, that is a serious thing, Roberts said.
SALT LAKE CITY  Salt Lake City police has opened an investigation into a 2014 incident in which an officer is shown on body camera video striking a woman in the face and yelling expletives at her with her young daughter watching after she allegedly spit on him during an arrest for public intoxication.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said Wednesday at a news conference that the actions seen on the video are abhorrent and not reflective of how officers are taught to handle situations.

Brown said he became aware of the video Tuesday evening when asked by a reporter. KSL-TV first reported the story. Brown said he believes the woman's attorney released the video, which her daughter posted online.

"It was tragic. That was a terrible situation," said Brown, who was named chief in May after serving as interim chief for nearly a year. "We should have been much better at controlling the situation."

In addition to an internal affairs review, Brown said he's made Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill aware for possible criminal charges.

Brown said Michelle S. Anderson, 43, was being arrested in October 2014 for public intoxication. Anderson was charged with public intoxication and for spitting at the officer, but those were dismissed, online court records show.

Brown said he has not yet talked with the officers involved and isn't releasing their names. The officer seen striking the woman has since retired, Brown said. The other still works for the agency and remains on duty pending the investigation, he said.

Charging documents show it was the second time officers went to the home that night. The first time, neighbors called after hearing screaming and crying inside the Anderson residence. Her 9-year-old daughter told police that her mother had called her expletive-laced names and said she didn't want to stay with her. Arrangements were made for another family member to get the girl, and police left.

The second time police came after a neighbor said Anderson was drinking too much and trying to fight a neighbor.

The video, posted on YouTube by Anderson's 22-year-old daughter, Jasmine Anderson, shows Michelle S. Anderson being calmly handcuffed by a police car while her 9-year-old daughter watches. When she asks why she's being arrested, the officer tells her, "Remember the warning I gave you? That if you came out and harassed them."

The calm in the video is broken when the officer suddenly spins around and strikes the woman in the face. It's not clear if it was a punch or done with an open hand.

"Oh my God," she says, crying and lying face down.

"You spit on me," the officer says, followed by a series of expletives and later, "You're an idiot."

With her daughter wailing in the background, Anderson says, "Please stop, I can't breathe," with her face in the grass, her arms handcuffed.

"Shut your hole," the officer says. "When you go spitting on somebody, you deserve to have your (expletive) kicked. You lose all respect."

The spit can't be seen in the footage. The officer tells his partner in the video that Anderson "splattered all over the back of me."

Jasmine Anderson told KSL-TV that she didn't believe her mother's story of what happened since her mother has had several run-ins with police. But when she received an email this week with the 8-minute video attached her opinion changed.

"I really thought my mom was exaggerating," Jasmine Anderson said.

Brown said he's troubled that that it took two years to come to light, considering sergeants are supposed to review every arrest made by the agency.

He plans to evaluate how the agency reviews arrests and body camera videos. Most patrol officers wear body cameras, leading to massive amounts of footage. Brown said there's more body camera video of the incident, but said nothing noteworthy happens besides what's seen in the YouTube click.

"The review process failed us that night," Brown said. "Why are dealing with this now instead of Oct. 11, 2014?"
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Each morning Mastora Bakhiet, a refugee born in Darfur, watched her kids board a school bus with a driver she couldn't communicate with. The unfamiliar driver would take her children to an unfamiliar place. She spent the day anxious, just waiting for them to return home from school. They always did, but the worry was still there.

Bakhiet said she faced many challenges after moving to the United States in 2004, but being a parent of school-age children provided her with even more. Though she didn't live in Indianapolis when she first came to the United States, Bakhiet now has a chance to help immigrant families in Indianapolis Public Schools deal with the struggles of adapting to American schools.

IPS is creating a program that allows students who know little to no English to attend classes catered to their limited English language knowledge, every day for their first year in America. The program not only will help students, but it'll also provide resources to parents to help them adapt and communicate with the school, said Jessica Feeser, the English as a Second Language coordinator for IPS.

Starting in August, parents of seventh- through ninth-grade students who scores below a certain level on an English language test can enroll their children in the year-long program, housed in the Gambold Preparatory Magnet High School building along with Enlace Academy, a charter school.

Feeser asked Bakhiet to be the parents' involvement educator at the new school, a fitting job for someone who understands the struggles of refugee parents.

The new program will help a population of the district that has increased by 50 percent in the past 10 years, according to the Department of Education. In the 2015-16 school year, the district served more than 4,300 students who were learning English.

The immigrant and refugee population of the state is growing as well. In 1990, just 1.7 percent of Indiana's population were immigrants. In 2013, that number rose to 4.8 percent, according to the American Immigration Council.

Previously, students learning English at IPS took one English as a Second Language (ESL) class for one period each day.

"What we found is by the time students who are new to the U.S., by the time they get to the (higher grade) levels, especially seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders, teachers are not really teaching students how to read and write in English. It's all based on the content," Feeser said. "This program will teach the content while teaching the language, to make sure we're reaching students at a level they are."

IPS' goal for the first year of the program is to serve around 80 students, and double that number the following year as IPS adds grades 3-6. They'll also implement a summer bridge program for upcoming 10th graders who came to America in the middle of the year.

Superintendent Lewis Ferebee encouraged the curriculum office to do some research on better ESL methods when he came to IPS. Tammy Bowman, curriculum officer, and Feeser traveled the country searching for the best fit for IPS.

They ended up taking bits and pieces of other schools' plans such as Columbus Global Academy in Ohio, Doris Henderson Newcomers School in North Carolina and Oakland International High School in California.

The new newcomer program stresses the importance of the family in the success of the children. IPS is partnering with faith-based organizations and the Immigrant Welcome Center to help parents adapt to American schools.

Terri Downs, the executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Center, said the newcomer program was a great idea, and fit in with her organization's goals.

"What entices us for being included in (the newcomer program) is so many of the newcomer families, both immigrants and refugees, will have more wrap around support to integrate faster into our community," Downs said. "Having a branch at newcomer school makes complete sense to us. It helps us reach a very vulnerable population (to help them) learn English, find jobs, make sure the family needs are taken care of."

Bakhiet, also the executive director and founder of the non-profit Darfur Women Network, mentioned a long list of problems immigrant families could have, simply because of cultural differences. For starters, many people struggle to figure out what's actually in American food, and food labels are no help, Bakhiet said. For people like Bakhiet whose religion requires her to abstain from eating certain foods, this was challenging.

The language barrier also could present problems. If a child was ever sent home with a note about poor grades or behavioral issues, non-English speaking parents couldn't read it..

Bakhiet said much of her own success adapting to America came from the help of others, such as an ESL teacher in Ohio. The teacher bought her daughter her first coat, a blue and purple Columbia brand, and would drive the family places when they needed it.

She thinks the newcomer school could provide those same benefits for other immigrants in IPS.

"I walked in their shoes," Bakhiet said. "Families are my passion."

The program will cost the district about $1.25 million for the first year and $1.53 million for the following year, according to information provided by Feeser.

Even in the second year when the program becomes more cost effective, the school system would be paying about $9,593 per student in the newcomer program. The median amount the school system spends on each student currently is $7,200 for elementary and K-8 schools and $8,000 for secondary schools, said IPS spokeswoman Kristin Cutler.

The district did not have data for how much they spend on English language learners outside the newcomer program.

The additional money will come from a non-English speaking grant from the state, the Federal Tittle III Grant and the general fund.

Feeser said that while the short term costs will be more, it could improve graduation rates of ESL students.

___

Source: The Indianapolis Star, http://indy.st/29fhu4f

___

Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com

This is an AP-Indiana Exchange story offered by The Indianapolis Star.
Help India!

By Firoz Bakht Ahmed, IANS

On behalf of all Muslims who believe in reason and sanity, I declare that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) affidavit (since withdrawn) questioning the existence of Hindu god Ram was vitriolic, scathing, unfortunate and blasphemous -not just to Hindus but to all those who cherish our pluralistic cultural heritage. How can a government decide the veracity of a figure like Ram?

Support TwoCircles



He Ram ke wajood pe Hindostan ko naaz/Ahl-e-nazar samajhtey hein usko Imam-e-Hind!

Iqbal, the poet of the East, has written a wonderful and moving poem on the authenticity of the existence of Ram. Logic and science have their say but not in matters of faith. In a nation where religion percolates to all levels of culture, secularism and modernity, themes like Ram, Mohammed, Mary and Moses are all interwoven within the existence of the people. A denial can drive people into a frenzy.

As Sri Sri Ravi Shankar rightly puts it, one cannot dismiss Sri Ram as a mythological character just because a lot of miracles were reported in his life and there are no scientific evidences to prove them. There were unproven miracles in the lives of the religious figures of every faith. Just because we cant prove the parting of the Red Sea, we cant say that Moses was a fictitious figure. Just because there were miracles in the lives of Jesus, Moses and Mohammed, you cannot call them as mythical figures.

Historical evidence of most of the eminent religious figures would be difficult to find. Nevertheless, the authenticity of Rams reality cannot be doubted as most legends and myths have their roots in real incidents and actual happenings of religious figures. So far as Ram is concerned, there are numerous places in India and Sri Lanka closely linked to his life including Ayodhya, Janakpuri, Dhanushkodi and Rameswaram.

The whole debate about whether or not Lord Ram existed or not is redundant. Even if he did not exist, this is not going to diminish his importance because he actually exists in the hearts of not only Hindus but also Muslims. According to Islam, 120,000 messengers were sent to the earth. According to Muslim belief, Ram not only exists but also is part of the communitys religious legacy.

Nearly a billion Hindus believe that Ramayana happened and that Ram existed. If there is no archaeological evidence to this effect, it is something for ASI to keep in their records, not for a secular government to pronounce from rooftops.

To a Muslim it is a surprise that it is only the Hindu groups that have taken umbrage at this affidavit. The average Hindu is by and large silent. In contrast Muslims would have risen en masse in protest against such blasphemy.

Ram is entrenched deeply in the minds of a vast majority of people of all faiths, including Muslims of Indonesia. Ram is the Maryada Purushottam to all irrespective of caste, creed or faith.

Questioning a largely tolerant and pluralistic people to provide proof that their god actually exists is driving them to aggression. The weakness lies here with the Congress party, which time and again has failed to handle sensitive issues pertaining to faith.

However, the Congress was able to salvage some ground by withdrawing from the Supreme Court the offending affidavit questioning the existence of Ram. But the secular credentials of this government have been sacrificed.

(The author is a commentator on social, educational and religious issues and the grandnephew of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He can be reached on [email protected])
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China urges objectivity on maritime drills Updated: 2016-07-06 18:53 (Xinhua)

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BEIJING -- A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry has called for objectivity on Chinese military drills in the South China Sea after official Vietnamese protests on the matter.



Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh said in a statement posted on the ministry's website late on Monday that a recent drill had seriously violated Vietnamese sovereignty. He demanded that China stop the activity.



Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a daily news briefing on Wednesday that the drill was a routine exercise under the Chinese navy's annual plan.



The drill was not targeted at any country, said Hong, without giving its date.
Xi orders more troops to join flood control Updated: 2016-07-07 06:27 (Xinhua)

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BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) and armed police will send more troops to support flood control and disaster relief on the direct orders of Chinese President Xi Jinping.



While praising the role of the military in recent disaster relief, Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), urged the CMC to immediately send troops to the affected areas.



The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday that five days of heavy rain along the Yangtze River and its tributaries had left 128 people dead and 42 others unaccounted for.



The rain has led to the collapse of 41,000 houses and forced the evacuation of more than 1.34 million people. Nearly 600,000 people are in urgent need of basic living assistance.



Following Xi's order, the PLA Rocket Force Command College immediately dispatched a rescue team with 183 servicemen and 16 pieces of rescue equipment.



After hours of work in torrential rain, the rescue team prevented a dike breaching in Daokou Lake, Qingshan District of Wuhan City, capital of central China's Hubei Province.



Armed police in Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other areas also took part in the work.
Victims can seek State help under new rule Updated: 2016-07-07 07:51 By Cao Yin(China Daily)

When offenders can't pay compensation, money can be provided by judicial action

Victims of harmful behavior, including negligent or criminal conduct, whose lives have become more difficult as a result of the offender's inability to pay compensation, can ask the courts to provide relief money from the State, under a new legal guideline issued by China's top court.

The guideline, which was issued by the Supreme People's Court on Tuesday, allows litigants in eight circumstances - including those who sustained physical injuries or whose lives have become more difficult as the result of a harmful act - to be given the equivalent of 36-months' pay based on average local wages.

People who have been disabled or who require urgent medical treatment or suffer economic loss for offenses are also allowed to apply for relief in court, it said.

The top court said the guideline is designed to efficiently help litigants who suffer problems due to an inability to get compensation and to solve their urgent troubles in a timely manner.

Zhao Li, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, applauded the guideline, saying it provides a kind of humanitarian care from the country, and is good news for victims who cannot be compensated for offenses in a timely manner.

"I handled a robbery case in Henan province in 2012, in which the victim died after the attack and left two young children, one of whom was under 2 years old," Zhao said. "The family has carried a big burden to live since then, even though the offender's death sentence brought them some relief."

"The victim's family couldn't get timely economic compensation from the offender at the same time, and the criminal's family was unable to pay," he said.

"In the past, some provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions had money available to help litigants in trouble, but the public was not informed about the funds," he said.

The new guideline represents the first time the top court has ruled on the matter, clarifying under what conditions a litigant may apply for relief, Zhao said.

Ruan Chuansheng, a criminal lawyer in Shanghai, said a judicial remedy also shows that the country shoulders its responsibility to help the victims of offenses.

"It is very common that victims find it difficult to get compensation when they are injured," Ruan said. "It's often not practical to ask criminals to pay everything. Some of them are incapable of paying."

But Ruan added that the judicial remedy is aimed solely at helping litigants cope with economic emergencies. "After all, this money is not for helping the poor," he said.

The guideline also stipulates that litigants who falsify evidence to prove his or her injuries or life difficulties will be denied, as will those who interfere with lawsuits or whose damages are not the result of the offense at issue.

Court spokesman jumps to business

The high-profile spokesman of China's top court will soon join e-commerce giant Alibaba, adding to the rising number of legal officers who have resigned from courts in recent years.

Sun Jungong, who became spokesman for the Supreme People's Court in April 2009, will become vice-president for public affairs and report directly to Jin Jianhang, president of Alibaba Group, according to a source inside the company.

In a work report from the top court issued in March, the drain of judicial talent is a serious problem in the court system.

About 1,000 judges left the courts last year, including chief judges, according to Chinese media reports. Some resigned for economic reasons and some because of pressure brought on by an increasing number of cases, the reports said.

Beijing High People's Court said last year that more than 500 legal officers in the capital had quit in the previous five years.

Sun declined an interview request on Wednesday.
Xi promises foreign NGOs an improved working environment Updated: 2016-07-07 07:51 By Chen Mengwei In Qingdao, Shandong(China Daily)

China welcomes foreign NGOs to China and will offer them a better working environment, senior officials said.

"The Chinese government supports the participation of Chinese social organizations in the economic and social development of the country. In the same vein, the Chinese government welcomes the conduct of friendly exchanges and cooperation in China by foreign NGOs," President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to the Civil Society 20 China 2016.

"Efforts are being made to facilitate their operation in China and protect their legitimate rights and interests through creating an enabling legislative environment," Xi said.

More than 200 NGO representatives and experts from 54 countries and regions attended the C20, themed "Poverty Eradication, Green Development, and Innovation: Role of Civil Society", which was held in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who delivered Xi's message at the opening ceremony, said China is actively reducing poverty through green development and innovation, and will continue to support both domestic and international civil societies in these fields.

Yang added that foreign NGOs should feel assured that the new regulation will give them more access to government services.

"The open door of China will never be closed," Yang said. "Some of you who came to work in China in the early days might have met inconveniences due to the lack of law and supervising government organs. As the new law goes into practice, these problems will be solved gradually." Yang also said that government officials' awareness and ability to serve the public are improving.

Earlier in April, China approved new regulations on foreign NGOs operating in China while guaranteeing better services from the government.

The law forbids foreign NGOs from taking part in or paying for profitable or political activities. It also requires these NGOs to register with public security bureaus. Meanwhile, local government organs are obliged to provide services to foreign NGOs to facilitate their legislative activities.

The new law will take into effect on Jan 1.

"In addressing poverty eradication, green development and innovation, the government bears important responsibilities, while civil societies have a role to play as forerunner, communicator, supervisor and facilitator. In this regard, the two stakeholders will make concerted efforts to forge ahead in tandem," said attendants at the meeting in a joint communique.

A total of 30 suggestions were raised in the communique, covering education, tax reform, environmental protection and medical service, among other fields.

You Jianhua, secretary-general of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, which co-hosted the event with the United Nations Association of China, said that there are 660,000 NGOs registered under China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, and they have played a key role in international exchanges.

chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page5)
'Rotten legs': a lifetime of suffering Updated: 2016-07-07 07:52 By Zhao Xu(China Daily)

Researchers say residents of villages in the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi were probably infected with anthrax by the Japanese army during WWII. Zhao Xu reports.

Situated in the center of Quzhou, Zhejiang province, is the Quhua Hospital, affiliated with Quzhou Chemicals, one of China's largest producers of industrial chemical products. The hospital has a reputation for treating chemical burns. Zhang Yuanhai, a wound specialist and the hospital's deputy director, has personally operated on many of the patients with the condition.

"'Rotten-leg disease' - that's how it's known here," the 49-year-old said. "Our treatment basically has two stages. First, the ulcers on the patient's legs are thoroughly removed and the area is cleaned. All the relapses over time have produced a thick, hard layer of tissue, like a board, within the damaged area. This has to be thinned to prepare for the skin graft that usually takes place 10 days after the initial surgery."

Skin from the head is used for the graft. "Skin from the scalp is preferred because it's thicker, more elastic and easier to grow. This gives the skin graft a higher success rate," Zhang said. "It usually takes about a week for the skin on the patient's head to grow back together and repair itself."

Five months after surgery, 79-year-old Chen Chunhua was recovering well. But for her children, the memories are still raw. "At one time, my mother's legs were rotting so terribly that the bones were almost visible," said Zheng Zhongguang, 56, Chen's oldest son. "The rotten part, so unsightly as to be almost beyond description, reminded me of the dregs left on a millstone after beans have been ground."

For many years, Chen relied on a herbal remedy for relief, using leaves picked from the nearby mountains. In the 1980s and 90s, she twice sought a cure in hospitals in Zhejiang and elsewhere, but was told that the only possible solution was amputation. She baulked at the idea, resorting instead to regular injections of antibiotics to battle the constant inflammation and occasional bleeding.

When the nightmare began, Chen had no idea what was happening. "I remember noticing a little red dot on my left leg. It soon turned into an itchy but painless blister which, after some scratching, bled and burst to form an ulcer with a hard center," she said. "That was really the beginning of my ordeal. I was about age 6 or 7 at the time, and my job was to tend the cattle every day."

For Wang Xuan, a long-time researcher into the Japanese army's use of biological weapons during World War II, Chen's words were the key that opened a door into the darkest chapter in the contemporary history of Zhejiang and neighboring Jiangxi province.

Between May and September 1942, Japanese troops launched a well-planned campaign against civilians in the two provinces as retaliation for a US Airforce bombing raid on Tokyo and other large Japanese cities.

The Japanese aimed to take control of the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Railway and also to destroy several airfields in the area that were used as Allied bases.

"Throughout the Zhejiang-Jiangxi campaign, the Japanese engaged in full-scale biological warfare. That operation was one of the largest germ warfare attacks they mounted in China during WWII, but there were also lots of ground troops," said Wang, whose interest in the subject dates back to 1994, when she was working for a company in the Kansai area of Japan and paid a visit to her hometown in Jinhua, Zhejiang.

"They used everything, from bombs containing germs and plague-infected fleas, to food and clothes carrying the same bacteria. The result was the outbreak of deadly diseases including bubonic plague, typhoid and cholera," she said.

Trail of devastation

By mid-August 1941, the Japanese, having accomplished most of their goals and lacking the troops to guard the entire region, began to move out. They left a trail of devastation.

"Locals who had gone into hiding in the mountains returned to their homes, only to discover little black or red dots similar to Chen's, usually on their legs. What happened in the following years was a heartbreaking yet familiar story in that part of Zhejiang. The cause of their suffering was a bacteria called bacillus anthracis, or anthrax," Wang said.

"Although ulcers were seen on other parts of the body, in most cases they appeared on the legs. That's because cutaneous anthrax, where the bacteria makes a breach through an opening in the skin, constitutes the most prevalent form of anthrax infection. Imagine a farmer working barefoot in the paddy fields of southern China - it would be virtually impossible for them not to have some minor injuries on their feet or legs. That's as true today as it was 70 years ago," she added.

"Compared with victims of bubonic plague, a large number of those infected with anthrax survived, only to live in an ever-worsening nightmare, that followed many of them into their graves, many years after the war. It's a nightmare for which no explanation has been offered, at least until very recently."

Eight years into her investigation, she took three internationally renowned scholars from the US to her hometown in Zhejiang: Sheldon Harris, author of Factories of Death, the definitive book about the activities of Unit 731; Michael Franzblau, professor of dermatology and medical ethics; and Martin Furmanski, a medical scientist of pathology and expert on the prevention of biological warfare.

Historical documents

Last year, Furmanski returned to China to deliver university lectures about rotten leg infection and Japan's use of germ warfare.

"There is ample historical documentation and epidemiological evidence to confirm that these attacks (using biological weapons) had occurred," he wrote in an email to China Daily. "The onset of this large body of rotten leg victims begins dramatically in the summer of 1942, with essentially none before that time."

According to Furmanski, although other conditions - diabetes and vascular diseases for instance - can also cause ulcers that won't heal because of poor circulation, they almost always occur in older adults, while almost all of the people with rotten leg ailments who are still alive were teenagers or even toddlers when they first developed the symptoms.

Reflecting on the fact that many people were infected not in the summer of 1942, but in the years that followed, Furmanski said: "This is not unexpected: anthrax spores can survive for many years in soil or on objects."

Over the past two decades, Wang and her team of volunteer researchers have interviewed more than 1,000 men and women believed to have anthrax. Most of the victims have since died. "One can only get a glimpse of their tortured lives through a few interview notes and photographs in our research database," said Wang, who has concentrated on raising social awareness of this "disease from history", as she calls it, and providing medical aid to patients.

Since 2014, when she began launching programs to help people with rotten legs, several hospitals in Shanghai have provided effective treatment - some for free - for elderly patients from Zhejiang, and moves are in progress to also help patients from Jiangxi in the near future.

In March last year, the 64-year-old launched a project to raise funds on the micro blog platform of Tencent, one of the world's biggest internet companies. So far, more than 1 million yuan ($152,400) has been collected. The money pays for treatment at four participating hospitals: the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, the Shanghai TCM-Integrated Hospital, the Quhua Hospital and the Jinhua Central Hospital. Some of the country's leading wound experts are also involved, providing the project with much-needed medical guidance.

"Zhejiang has a higher per capita GDP than France. The government should be doing more," Wang said.

The project started at the Quhua Hospital in September, 85 years after Japan invaded Northeast China.

"I can clearly remember a patient called Tu Maojiang," said Zhang, the head doctor at the Quhua hospital. "When I first saw him at the hospital, his wounded legs were wrapped in dirty cloths and cardboard. When he left the hospital a month later, having undergone the operation, he told me that for the first time in his life, he could wear leather shoes and visit his relatives," he said.

"Patients who have had the surgery must wear elastic bandages to increase blood flow. And to prevent a relapse, they must safeguard the healed wound from damage or contamination," he continued. "It still takes some time, a year probably, before we can declare victory."

Persistent memories

Since the start of the project, Wu has traveled around Quzhou trying to persuade people to visit the hospital. He said his biggest thrill came when he saw two men, both in their 80s, who were having their rotten legs treated. "They were walking towards the door at the end of the hospital's long corridor, arm in arm," said the 54-year-old, whose paternal uncle and aunt died from bubonic plague after an airborne attack by Unit 731's Biological Warfare Unit in 1940.

Dramatic and disastrous, the bubonic plague started in Quzhou, continued to spread across Zhejiang during the war and reached Wang's own village, Chongshan, in Jinhua, in 1942.

About 400 people - one-third of the village's population - was wiped out. "We all share the same surname," Wang said.

After seeing so many rotten legs, she still finds it hard to shake the memory of a man who had lost his legs. "I met him in 1996 in Yushan, Jiangxi, in a village near a wartime air base. He 'walked' up to me with his hands, his body supported by a wooden board. He told me that the whole village had rotted to death and he was the only survivor," she said.

"Once you see that sort of suffering, it's impossible to turn your back on the victims."

Contact the writer at zhaoxu@chinadaily.com.cn

Xu Yusheng's legs began to rot when he was age 13. The 88yearold's left leg had to be amputated. Photos By Zou Hong / China Daily And Provided To China Daily

Wei Hongfu, 88, first developed rotten legs in the summer of 1942.

Zhang Yuanhai, a wound specialist, inspects the legs of Chen Chunhua, who had an operation at the Quhua Hospital in Zhejiang in January.

Wang Xuan visits patients with rotten legs at the Quhua Hospital in April.

Following treatment on his rotten legs, 79yearold Tu Maojiang can finally wear leather shoes.

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page6)
US must fight terrorism not meddle in South China Sea Updated: 2016-07-06 18:52 By Wang Hui(chinadaily.com.cn)

File photo of South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua] Its involvement in the regional dispute is distracting international attention from the campaign against the Islamic State

The frequency and destructiveness of terrorist attacks has increased. The world was still reeling from the devastating Istanbul airport attacks  which killed at least 43 people on June 28  when just a few days later, Baghdad became the target of terrorists again as suicide bombings killed some 250 people and wounded 200 more.

The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, which is rampant in Iraq and Syria and responsible for a great number of terrorist attacks across the globe this year, has claimed responsibility for both.

At present, IS has replaced Al-Qaeda at the core of international terrorism and the sole instigator behind large-scale terrorist attacks. It has also become a major disseminator of extremist ideology worldwide, and the rallying point for extremist groups around the world to pledge loyalty to.

A stronger political will and greater cooperation from the international community have become the only hope for the world to eliminate IS, or at least to keep its threat at bay.

Last month, Iraqi officials announced they had retaken the city of Fallujah from IS fighters after a month-long military operation backed by US-led coalition airstrikes. The battle marks a turning point in the international campaign against the terrorist group.

In Syria, progress has also been made, although not as much as in Iraq, supported by the Syrian governments efforts to reduce the sphere of influence of IS.

Yet, recent events reveal the hard truth that although IS terrorists may be contained in Iraq and Syria, they are capable of wreaking havoc elsewhere and sowing the seeds of fear and panic in many places around the world.
'Sledgehammer' speech to crack US intransigence Updated: 2016-07-07 07:07 (China Daily)

Former State councilor Dai Bingguo delivers a speech at China-US Dialogue on South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks on July 5 in Washington. Photo by Ji Tao/China Daily

Former Chinese State councilor Dai Bingguo's recent speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace touched a raw nerve in Washington D.C.

Taken out of context, some lines, such as his comment that the upcoming ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague "amounts to nothing more than a piece of paper", may be considered handy footnotes to China's alleged "assertiveness" in the South China Sea, or its supposed ambition to challenge US dominance.

"Sledgehammer-subtle PR" or not, unpleasant as they were to the ear, his blunt remarks were the former top diplomat's own way of delivering a message China has oft-repeated: Beijing will disregard the ruling and Washington's current approach to the South China Sea issue will not work.

If those remarks were "provocative", they were only meant to provoke deeper thought and reflection.

For Dai's core message was: Take a fair look at the South China Sea, and at China; stop judging China from the traditional Western perspective of big-power dueling. Indiscriminately applying traditional Western theories to present-day China is not only misleading, it could also lead to damaging geopolitical outcomes.

A historically introvert nation, China has seldom been good at explaining itself. That did not matter much when the country was less connected with the rest of the world. But it is proving to be a handicap these days.

What in Chinese eyes is safeguarding the country's historical rights and interests is now evidence of a rising China bullying its smaller and weaker neighbors. But one key truth that has been neglected is that, unlike other claimants, in all the active disputes, in both the East and South China seas, China has never gone beyond what it has persistently historically claimed.

Dai's speech was constructive in seeking to distinguish what is happening now in the South China Sea, as well as between China and the United States, from what happened in the past between traditional powers.

But he was correct in proposing that the temperature must be cooled down in the South China Sea, and the US must tune down its forcible intervention.

"We in China will not be intimidated by the US, not even if the US sends all 10 aircraft carrier battle groups to the South China Sea," Dai warned.

However, rather than a last-minute show of defiance before The Hague tribunal ruling, Dai's speech was an overture for more, in-depth communication.
Let cooler heads prevail on sea: US observers Updated: 2016-07-07 11:19 By Dong Leshuo And Niu Yue In Washington(China Daily USA)

Some American observers said they agreed with what former State councilor Dai Bingguo emphasized in a speech on Tuesday that China and the US should turn down the heat on the South China Sea issue.

"I think State councilor Dai made a very good statement yesterday, especially said that we need to lower the temperature, to cut back on the rhetoric, to continue to talk friendly," said Brendan S. Mulvaney, associate chair of the Languages and Cultures Department at the US Naval Academy.

He made the remarks at a press conference at which experts from China and the US shared the outcomes of a one-day dialogue on the South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks on Wednesday in Washington.

In his keynote speech at the dialogue on Tuesday, Dai said he would explore ways to genuinely "cool down" the South China Sea issue and "restore calm to this part of the world".

"We just need to be able to discuss when we have different opinions to solve these problems," Mulvaney said.

Chinese scholars including Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies; Zhu Feng, director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University, and Huang Renwei, vice-president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, talked about the history of South China Sea, why it is pressing to stop the arbitration case initiated unilaterally by the Philippines, and how the US and China should work together on the issue.

American experts, including J. Stapleton Roy, former US ambassador to China, and John Negroponte, former deputy secretary of state and professor of international affairs at George Washington University, shared views from the US side.

Both sides agreed that the two sides to carry out more direct exchanges and communication.

"Yesterday, we had very meaningful exchanges with scholars and experts from US think tanks and discussed how to view the disputes and the future of South China Sea issues form multiple perspectives and in a comprehensive way," Wu said.

"We also discussed the approaches and recommendations on resolving the South China Sea issues in a pragmatic way."

"We don't need to accept China's position, and China doesn't need to accept the US' position, but we do need to understand each other's position, and they have doubts and concerns on things then we can work to understand, to find ways to solve these issues and to manage them, most importantly, to prevent a crisis or a conflict from exploding," Mulvaney said.

William Jones, Washington bureau chief for Executive Intelligence Review, said: "We really hope given some sort of oversensitivity of this ruling issue at this moment - all the sides cool off.

"We should reasonably and objectively handle the ruling and use this moment to boost understanding of China's claim over the South China Sea, then also use this opportunity to craft in some sort of way good will and even the hospitality between a different country, ultimately, facilitates all settlement of this dispute on rocks and reefs," Jones said.

"I hope think tanks from both countries would keep exchanges on a regular track and provide intellectual support for bilateral decision makers to manage the China-US relationship and formulate policies that are beneficial to bilateral interests in the new international order," Wu said.

"It's very important that these dialogues occur because this is the only way that each side can really understand what the others are talking about.

Contact the writers at leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com
Full veil banned for Rwandan Muslim women Updated: 2016-07-07 10:01 (Xinhua)

KIGALI - The Mufti of Rwandan Muslims Salim Hitimana announced Wednesday that they had reached a decision banning wearing of the Muslim full-face veil - the niqab.

Speaking during Eid celebrations at Kigali regional stadium, Hitimana said the ban on wearing veil is for security reasons because it conceals the face.

Niqab has been used by terrorists to compromise security, "not only in Rwanda but across the world," he said.

He stressed that the Quran asks, "Women to cover all parts of the body but not their faces and the hands."

For the goodness of our faith and for security reasons, he said, we concluded that niqab should not be used in our country, because some people have abused this dress code to carry out terrorism in the name of Islam across the world.

Though some Muslims who spoke on condition of anonymity say the ban violates their religious freedom, Sheikh Musa Sindayigaya, the spokesperson of Muslim community in Rwanda, says the ban has wide support.

Muslims constitute about 4.6 of Rwandan population. But it's not clear how many wear the veil.

The Mufti warned the Muslim community in Rwanda against extremism.
Chinese company interested in relocating fertilizer production to Russia Updated: 2016-07-07 11:03 (Sputnik)

VLADIVOSTOK - China's Wang Yu He Corporation, based in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Wednesday expressed readiness to transfer its fertilizer production facilities to the Russian Far East.

The East Russia Oil and Gas Forum kicked of in Vladivostok on Wednesday and will take place on July 6-7 and is dedicated to major energy projects in Eastern Siberia and Russia's Far East, chiefly focusing on the Russian government's development strategy for the region and the far eastern Advanced Development Territories (ADT) aimed at attracting foreign investment.

Participants will also become familiar with opportunities available to Asian investors and promising energy projects, such as the Irkutsk and Yakutsk gas fields, the Vankor oilfield, the Chonsk oil and gas project and the Sakhalin gas fields.

"We would like to start by transferring the production of mineral fertilizers," the company's consultant in Russia, Elena Kholod, said at the East Russia Oil and Gas Forum.

The company has its own production system that it wants to bring to Russia's territories bordering China, she added, stressing that the unique system should distinguish Wang Yu He from its competitors.
China invests over $2.4 billion in Russian Far East Updated: 2016-07-07 13:26 (Sputnik)

KHABAROVSK - Russia's mechanisms for developing its Far East have attracted 16 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) worth of Chinese investments to the region, Russian Far East Development Minister Alexander Galushka said Tuesday.

Chinese investors have invested in a cement plant and plan investing in an oil refinery in the Amur Region's Belogorsk ADT, as well as working in the Sakha Republic's Kangalassy and Primorsky Territory's Nadezhdinskaya ADTs. Chinese businesses also became cornerstone investors in the new Amuro-Khinganskaya ADT in the Jewish Autonomous Region, providing some 10 billion rubles ($157 million) in funds, according to the statement.

"Due to new Far East development mechanisms, such as Advanced Development Territories [ADT], the Vladivostok free port area, the Far East Development Fund and targeted infrastructural project support, the volume of investments that was attracted came to 1.1 trillion rubles, or around 110 million yuan. All of these mechanisms are popular with Chinese businesses. The volume of Chinese investments came to 163 billion rubles, or 16 billion yuan," Galushka was quoted as saying in a ministry statement.

Chinese investments have also gone into projects located outside of the Russian Far East's special zones. Over seven billion rubles have been invested in a timber plant in the Berezovyi village located in the Khabarovsk territory, while a joint Russian-Chinese agroindustrial development fund has generated 10 projects worth 80 billion rubles that are ready for investment and will be presented at the Eastern Economic Forum due to be held in Vladivostok in September.

In March, the Far East Development Ministry told Sputnik that Chinese investors have injected more than $1.9 billion in Russian Far East development projects, which include an oil refiner and a logistical center, as well as a cement factory and a plant for reworking ferrous scrap metals.
Ankara prepares shift in strategy: Turkish lawmaker Updated: 2016-07-07 13:55 (Sputnik)

Last week, the Turkish government took steps to mend relations with both Israel and Russia. Now, Turkish People's Democratic Party (HDP) parliamentary group leader Idris Baluken suggests that Ankara may very well be carrying out secret negotiations aimed at mending ties with Syria as well.

Last Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Moscow over the Su-24 pilot who died after being shot down over Syria by a Turkish warplane in November 2015; the same day, Ankara and Tel Aviv agreed to mend relations, ruined in 2010 following an Israeli raid on a Turkish humanitarian aid ship destined for Gaza which resulted in the deaths of 10 Turks.

Now, according to HDP parliamentary group leader Idris Baluken, Ankara may be trying to mend relations with Damascus as well. Late last month, the lawmaker tabled a parliamentary question on the secret talks allegedly being held between Syrian and Turkish officials in third countries.

Speaking to Sputnik Turkey, Baluken explained that "according to available information, secret negotiations are being conducted between Syria and Turkey, in Algeria and several other countries."

"At the plenary session of parliament, I appealed to the government to clarify the situation regarding information of secret talks between Syria and Turkey. However, we have not received a response officially refuting this information, nor a declaration explaining the details [of such negotiations]."

The lawmaker emphasized that Turkish lawmakers, including members of his party, "have the full right to receive detailed information on changes in the government's strategy on Syria, as we are the ones to feel the brunt of the leadership's misguided Syrian policy."

"The results of this policy include the explosion at the Ataturk Airport, which claimed dozens of lives," Baluken said. "In this connection, the Justice and Development Party is obliged to inform the Turkish public about what changes are envisioned in policy on the Syrian track."

Commenting on Ankara's broader foreign policy, Baluken pointed to several other major policy reversals that have already been made. "Based on the examples of relations with Israel, with Russia and with Egypt, we have seen the kinds of changes that are occurring in the government's foreign policy strategy; they are aware on the need to change tactics in order not to lose power. To that end, the ruling party is ready to do anything, and so we assume that the information on the negotiations with Syria is true. If the government insists that this information is false, let them make an official statement to the effect that such negotiations are not being conducted."

Asked about the likely main theme of the talks, the lawmaker suggested that it may very well be the Kurdish issue, "specifically [Ankara's] desire to challenge the status of the Rojava, [the area of northern Syria inhabited by Syrian Kurds]. Erdogan wants to establish contact with the Syrian government using anti-Kurdish rhetoric. We believe that this approach is fundamentally wrong. In doing this, Erdogan and the AKP are again committing the same mistakes again."
Let cooler heads prevail on sea: observers Updated: 2016-07-07 14:38 By DONG LESHUO and NIU YUE in Washington(chinadaily.com.cn)

Brendan S. Mulvaney, associate chair for the Languages and Cultures Department at the US Naval Academy, and William Jones, Executive Intelligence Review Washington bureau chief, agreed with what former State councilor Dai Bingguo stressed in a speech yesterday that China and the US should dial down the rhetoric on the South China Sea issue.

Some American observers said they agreed with what former State councilor Dai Bingguo emphasized in a speech on Tuesday that China and the US should turn down the heat on the South China Sea issue.

"I think State councilor Dai made very good points yesterday, especially said that we need to lower the temperature, to cut back on the rhetoric, to continue to talk friendly," said Brendan S. Mulvaney, associate chair of the Languages and Cultures Department at the US Naval Academy.

He made the remarks at a press conference at which experts from China and the US shared the outcomes of a one-day dialogue on the South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks on Wednesday in Washington.

In his keynote speech at the dialogue on Tuesday, Dai said he would explore ways to genuinely "cool down" the South China Sea issue and "restore calm to this part of the world".

"We just need to be able to discuss when we have different opinions to solve these problems," Mulvaney said.

Chinese scholars including Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies; Zhu Feng, director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University, and Huang Renwei, vice-president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, talked about the history of South China Sea, why it is pressing to stop the arbitration case initiated unilaterally by the Philippines, and how the US and China should work together on the issue.

American experts,including J. Stapleton Roy, former US ambassador to China, and John Negroponte, former deputy secretary of state and professor of international affairs at George Washington University, shared views from the US side.

Both sides agreed that the two sides to carry out more direct exchanges and communication.

"Yesterday, we had very meaningful exchanges with scholars and experts from US think tanks and discussed how to view the disputes and the future of South China Sea issues form multiple perspectives and in a comprehensive way," Wu said."We also discussed the approaches and recommendations on resolving the South China Sea issues in a pragmatic way."

"We don't need to accept China's position, and China doesn't need to accept the US' position, but we do need to understand each other's position, and they have doubts and concerns on things  then we can work to understand, to find ways to solve these issues and to manage them, most importantly, to prevent a crisis or a conflict from exploding," Mulvaney said.

William Jones, Washington bureau chief for Executive Intelligence Review, said: "We really hope given some sort of oversensitivity of this ruling issue at this moment - all the sides cool off. We are strongly calling for some sort of cool-its."

"We should reasonably and objectively handle the ruling and use this moment to boost understanding of China's claim over the South China Sea, then also use this opportunity to craft in some sort of waygood will and even the hospitality between a different country, ultimately, facilitates all settlement of this dispute on rocks and reefs," Jones said.

"I hope think tanks from both countries would keep exchanges on a regular track and provide intellectualsupport for bilateral decision makers to manage the China-US relationship and formulate policies that are beneficial to bilateral interests in the new international order," Wu said.

Jones also said that if more exchanges of opinion like this weeks are held not only between the governments but also between the people of the two countries, the public opinion in the US mainstream about China's position in the South China Sea issue will be somehow different.

"It's very important that these dialogues occur because this is the only way that each side can really understand what the others are talking about. It doesn't necessarily change people, but for the long term, I think it has a positive effect on the mainstream in the US," Jones said.

Contact the writers at leshuodong@chinadailyusa.com
Ambassador Liu Xiaoming gives interview to Reuters on the South China Sea Updated: 2016-07-07 18:56 (chinadaily.com.cn)

Screenshot of Reuters' report on South China Sea. [Photo/Web]

On July 4th, the Reuters website carried an article based on a joint interview with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming on June 9th by the Reuters' global news editor Alessandra Galloni, business and news investigation editor Simon Robinson, Breakingviews' editor John Foley, European Politics and Economics editor Mark John and Asia Top News editor Mike Collett-White. The article is entitled "Ahead of key court ruling, Beijing in propaganda overdrive".

The following is the transcript of the interview.

Alessandra Galloni: Maybe we could start with if you could tell us where we are now in terms of what your position is vis-a-vis the ruling that is about to happen?

Ambassador Liu: Our position had been reaffirmed by the statement just issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this arbitration initiated by the Philippines: China will not participate in the arbitration. From day one, China strongly opposed this arbitration case. We believe it is illegal for a tribunal to handle this case.

First of all, the Philippine's arbitration case is against UNCLOS, because sovereignty and territorial disputes are not under the jurisdiction of UNCLOS.

Secondly, Philippine's case is also related to maritime delimitation. China, like 30 other countries, made a declaration in 2006, that China will not take part in third party arbitration when it comes to maritime delimitation. UK is one of the 30 countries. UNCLOS provides that sovereign countries have their sovereign right to make these declarations on optional exceptions.

Thirdly, China has always been calling for bilateral consultation and negotiations with neighboring countries, including the Philippines, when it comes to maritime disputes. And a series of documents can show that the Philippines agrees to this practice. There are a series of statements between China and the Philippines on how to resolve disputes. It was until 2013 when they submitted this arbitration case. In our view, the Philippines have turned their back on their promise and that is against international practice. Once agreed, you have to follow your commitment.

It is also part of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) reached by China and the ASEAN countries that disputes should be resolved by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned. The Philippines agreed to it but turned their back on it.

Fourthly, this arbitration, according to UNCLOS, is only a supplementary means to resolve disputes. Bilateral channel is regarded as the main means to resolve a dispute between countries.

The Philippines had never come to China to talk about this arbitration. And China and the Philippines had never had serious negotiations on this subject back then. That means the main channel had never been used, to say nothing about being exhausted before the Philippines went to arbitration. That is against the spirit of UNCLOS.

So we have many reasons to oppose this arbitration case. We also hold the position that if this arbitration goes through, it will set a very bad example. That concern has been expressed not only by Chinese legal experts, but also by British and Dutch experts on the Law of the Sea. China's position has been supported and appreciated by many countries and international organizations, many legal experts, not only in China, in Asia, but also in Europe and America. That is our basic position.

Some people try to label China as not respecting international law if we reject this arbitration.

But that is totally wrong. What China is doing is exactly safeguarding the authority and seriousness of international law, safeguarding the letter and spirit of UNCLOS. We do not know and do not care when this arbitration decision will be made. No matter what decision this tribunal is going to make, we think it is totally wrong. It has no impact on China and China's sovereignty over these islands and reefs will not be bound by it. It will set a serious, wrong, and bad example. We will not fight in the court, but we will certainly fight for our sovereignty.

Alessandra Galloni: You mention that there are countries supporting China's position. How many countries are on your side on this matter?

Ambassador Liu: There are many. Some countries issue statements. During China-Russia-India Foreign Ministers Meeting, a joint statement was published, endorsing China's position. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization supported China's position. Some ASEAN countries, African countries, European countries, dozens of them  quite a few countries appreciate China's position.

Mike Collett-White: When you talk about support for China's position, you mean the position that this arbitration process is not legitimate?

Ambassador Liu: In different countries, they have focus on different parts of this case. But on the whole, they appreciate and support China's position that this should be resolved through bilateral channels rather than put up for arbitration by the tribunal. Because according to international law, that tribunal cannot handle that case without the consent of both sides of the dispute. The Philippines unilaterally submitted this case to the tribunal. They never consulted with China before they submitted it to the so-called tribunal. They did it at our surprise. They did it at the expense of China's national interests. It is a serious damage to the national interest of China. So China is fighting for its sovereignty and its national interests. What is more, we are fighting for justice. In terms of essence and procedure, it is wrong for the tribunal to handle this case.

Mike Collett-White: If the diplomatic machinery is used and does not produce agreement, what is the correct mechanism for reaching consensus?

Ambassador Liu: If you have not tried the diplomatic negotiations, how can you prejudge the outcome? You know, we have differences with several neighboring countries. Take for example, China has 14 neighbors. We reached treaty and agreements on the border arrangements with 12 of them.

That means diplomatic negotiations are effective, and we can resolve disputes through bilateral negotiations. China has disputes with Vietnam, yet through friendly and time-consuming process of negotiation, we reached an agreement with Vietnam on the Beibu Gulf, with regard to maritime delimitation and how to manage disputes. China has been working for peaceful settlement of dispute.

We understand these are difficult issues, as different countries have different claims. But first of all, we should make it clear that it is not that China is claiming these islands now; China was the very first country to name the islands, to develop the islands and to manage the islands.

Before 1970s, of all the neighboring countries, no one had challenged China's sovereignty over those islands. Only when oil and resources were found did they start to scramble to claim rights.

Up to now, 42 islands and reefs had been illegally occupied by Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. We are not going to war with these countries. We do not want to have a fight with them, but we stand firm with regard to China's sovereignty over these islands. We believe what they are doing is illegal occupation of the islands.

And we propose that we can shelve the disputes. We can have negotiations to try to find a solution as to how to handle the disputes. At the same time, we can have joint development. So our position is: shelving disputes and common development. So that has been our position all along and is still our position.

Alessandra Galloni: And this will count for the Philippine's claims as well, in other words to jointly develop

Ambassador Liu: Yes, of course. You know, we are open to negotiations. The Philippines, they can put forward their proposals. And we can have our proposals and we'll meet half way. Any negotiation is a process of compromise. And the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday is still calling for negotiations with the Philippines. Now they have elected a new government. We do hope that they will change their course, return to the negotiation table, return to the bilateral talks with China. The door is always open.

Alessandra Galloni: Has there been any indication from the new Philippine government that they would like to return to the table?

Ambassador Liu: We do not have specifics with regard to their response regarding the arbitration case, but we read some positive signal from the Philippine government that they want to have a good relation with China; they still believe good relation between China and the Philippines is in the Philippines' interest and they would like to have friendly discussions with us, but so far we haven't heard anything about their official position on the arbitration, or any change of their position on the arbitration case.

Simon Robinson: There are very strong arguments why China would have the claim to those islands and why the process that's going through in The Hague is not right. Why do many parts of the world still see China as the "bad player" in this?

Ambassador Liu: When you say "many", I'm not so sure about "many". I've been very straight forward in my Q&A at IISS not long ago. I think before America's so-called rebalancing in Asia Pacific', the South China Sea was very quiet, very peaceful. China was talking to the neighboring countries.

We had a Declaration of Conduct. And the Philippines was talking to us. Once the Americans came in, so-called "rebalancing", things changed dramatically. The Vietnamese changed their position with regard to talking to China. The Philippines changed their position. I think the American move in the Asia Pacific emboldened those countries to change the traditional channel of negotiation with China. And they probably believe that they have the Americans behind them, and they can get a better deal with China. So I'm very suspicious of American motives.

America openly supports the Philippines in this case. And they got Japan. America is the superpower. America has some allies. I don't know what kind of influence they try to exert on their allies. So we've heard this chorus of countries, but I don't think there are many. There are some. They might be the minority but they can make a big noise. I heard that the G7 made a noise, but the G7 is not the world. I think the G7 should realize their influence on world affairs is history or yesterday's story. But they still believe they are the most influential power in today's world. We are strongly opposed to the statement by the G7 with regard to the South China Sea issue, with regard to the tribunal case. We don't think they are on the right side of the arguments.

John Foley: Speaking of the large developing countries, India recently said it's been approaching Vietnam to supply missiles that it makes. Now this is a tiny, tiny incremental step in the bigger picture that we are talking about here, but it is a step nonetheless. And Indian defense officials, they are not on the record, but they made no secret of the fact that this is with a view to trying to dilute, perhaps, China's influence over disputed waters. I don't want to focus just on that but basically it's an example of how other countries are sort of getting involved.

You might say it's unwelcome but it's becoming not just traditional countries that have been locked in the dispute. It seems to be spreading. Is that something that you are concerned about?

Ambassador Liu: Not to my concern. I think for the Vietnamese Government and Party, to have a good relation with China is in the national interest of Vietnam. Their President, their Party Secretary have visited China very often. It's always China's position to have a good neighborhood policy. No foreign relationship is more important than the relationship with your neighbors. That applies to any country. So we attach great importance to our relations with Vietnam.

You know relationship goes up and down, back and forth. During Vietnam's war against the Americans, China and Vietnam were allies. We fought shoulder to shoulder. And after the war, China and Vietnam fought each other. It's not because of us. I think the Vietnamese made a wrong judgment. They were on the wrong side of history. Now I think people reflect on what was happening in the past and realize what are in the best interest of the two countries. We are both developing countries. I think we have more in common. The commonality between China and Vietnam is greater than the differences between us. I'm confident about the relation between China and Vietnam.

We also have a good relationship with India. When Prime Minister Modi came to office, the relationship has grown stronger and stronger. President Xi Jinping visited India and Prime Minister Modi also visited China. Prime Minister Modi even took our President to his hometown and, you know, that's a very special arrangement. India is one of the largest neighbors of China. We have very good cooperation in the BRICS. India and China are really the two largest developing countries. There is more common ground, more common interests that bind our two countries together than the differences that divide us.

To answer your question about missiles, we do hope that countries in the region will do more positive things  things that are conducive to stability, prosperity  rather than the opposite.

Mark JohnFrance has proposed to European countries to take part in joint South China Sea patrol. Is China open to that?

Ambassador Liu: I would say now the situation in the South China Sea is calm and peaceful. There is no reason for military involvement from outside power at all. Americans said they are there for so-called safeguarding freedom of navigation. We think this is a false argument. As I said, before their "rebalancing", the South China Sea was very quiet, very peaceful, and very stable.

One of China's long-term position with regard to the dispute of the South China Sea is what we call "dual-track approach". One track is bilateral negotiations. We realize there is a dispute. We engage with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia  countries that we have a dispute with bilaterally. The other track is China and the ASEAN countries  10 countries  working together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. As a result of this work, we have the Declaration of Conduct to guide how we should behave, how to operate in the South China Sea. Three years ago, we started the process of working on a "code of conduct". The Declaration sets the principle. And the "code of conduct" will be more detailed guidance about how countries should behave, how they should work together; when it comes to a difficulty, a problem, a contradiction, how we should work together, coordinate, and try to find a solution. So we believe this region  because of China's proposal, because of the collaboration between China and ASEAN  it has been peaceful and quiet.

Yet Americans now send more reconnaissance planes and warships. What they are doing is not for safeguarding free navigation. They are there to challenge China's sovereignty over the islands and reefs. And they make a dangerous provocation. China has a legitimate right to check what they are doing. The South China Sea is very wide. There is a lot of space and area for American warships and planes to go through. Yet they are not interested in the open sea. They are more interested in areas close to China's islands and reefs. What are their intentions? If they do not try to provoke, I think the area and the region will be very peaceful, very stable. So there is no reason for foreign fleet to go to the South China Sea to patrol, to protect the free flights, the freedom of navigation.

So far we have not heard a single case that a merchandise vessel or whatever run into problem, or was restricted with regard to their freedom of navigation. Not at all. The Lloyds, a very prestigious insurance company, never regards the South China Sea as a risky area. If they found it risky, they would raise the insurance premium. They think the risk is very low and there is no reason at all for them to give any warning to their ship owners. So I think this issue is really of Americans' making. They want to make an excuse so that they can have more military presence.

Mark John: And can you reassure the Americans therefore that there aren't any plans by China to reclaim and build on the Scarborough Shoal?

Ambassador Liu: Why should we give Americans reassurance of that? I think there is a misperception of why China is doing this. First you have to realize that is Chinese territory. China has sovereignty on the territory. Likewise, foreign countries cannot tell the British government what to do, or not to do, on your territory or on the islands that belong to you.

Before the Americans made up this things, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia  countries that have claims on the islands that they illegally occupied  have had constructions long since. Yet the Americans turned a blind eye to this. The Philippines and Vietnam all have deployed military forces on these islands. It is not China who did all this construction. China is a late comer.

Some people say that China has done it on such a big scale, so that's why they are concerned about this. China is a large country and our islands are bigger. Big or small is not the base for an argument, but whether it is right or wrong.

First of all, if construction on the island is wrong, why do Americans and Europeans turn a blind eye to the Philippines and Vietnam? Secondly, the Philippines and Vietnam are doing all these things on illegally occupied territories, whereas China is undertaking constructions on our own islands, not illegally occupied islands, and also mostly for civilian purposes.

China is not doing this construction for our own interest. We are also providing public service. We build lighthouses, rescue centre, and maintenance service center. I read some reports, in fact by you, Reuters, that some ship owners from Singapore, Southeast Asia, give us a big hand for these constructions. They said that because of the facilities built by China, when it comes to rescue efforts, it saves more time and increases chances of survival. So it has been welcomed by ship owners and by neighbouring countries. So we are doing the right thing.

Simon Robinson: Why does Washington want to challenge China's sovereignty in the South China Sea?

Ambassador Liu: They want to find an excuse to have their strong military presence in the South China Sea and in the Asia Pacific. If it is so quiet, what is the reason for them to be there?

Alessandra Galloni: Going back to your lighthouses, and this mention of the rescue efforts that have helped other countries, one of the things China has said is that this reclaiming, building lighthouses and other initiatives, are to the benefit also of the international community. Could you explain that a little bit better? You mentioned certain rescue efforts which take less time. What else exactly?

Ambassador Liu: There are many. I have a laundry list of all the services available, such as water supply, lighthouse, environmental reservation, and scientific research.

Alessandra Galloni: And this would benefit specifically the international community?

Ambassador Liu: Yes, of course. And we are open also. We may have some joint research in the future with British scientists with regard to marine conservation. When asked if there is a possibility for foreign journalists to land on some of the reefs and islands, our foreign minister responded by saying when conditions are ripe, we certainly would welcome foreign journalists.

Alessandra Galloni: Because there is the sense that the inability of doing that, not letting journalists in, there is something to hide.

Ambassador Liu: We want to make your trip more comfortable.

Alessandra Galloni: We are journalists. We don't need comfort.

Ambassador Liu: China is a very hospitable country. I hope you will not be faced with the situation as in Iraq, Syria.

Alessandra Galloni: So it is for our protection.

Ambassador Liu: For your safety. I just received a delegation from Chinese military. They are here for consultation with British military. I asked them when they would be ready to receive foreign journalists. We really would like to have some British journalists, especially for those who are open-minded, not biased against China, doing good reporting. I would include a reporter from Reuters in the pool. He said in due course, we will get journalists in. But now construction is still going on. I don't think your journalists will be happy when there are cranes over their head.

Alessandra Galloni: The decision is a military one. I thought they are civilian projects. Why is it up to the military to decide?

Ambassador Liu: The majority of them are civilian. But there are some military facilities. As for the question why China is building military facilities, you should ask the Americans. They made us feel threatened. It is not we who are threatening the Americans. They sent their warships and military aircrafts so close to us. We need to do something to protect ourselves.

John Foley: One of the things that always puzzled me when I lived in China, this may sound very naive, but I am just trying to think about this with no cultural baggage. The things that give China the legitimacy as a growing, maybe adolescent superpower, or future superpower, they are things like a huge population, rising wages, rising standards of university education and a very globalized approach to things like trade and finance. They are not land borders. I've always wondered given that China has so much legitimacy through showing other countries how to overcome traditional restrictions and borders, why do you care so much about some uninhabited islands when really what makes China a superpower is things that have nothing to do with borders and sea?

Ambassador Liu: I think that is in China's DNA. China has been suffering badly in the hands of foreign powers in the past hundred years. The other day I was with a Chinese delegation touring British parliament. And there was a senior official who asked me whether that was the room where the British parliament debated about launching the opium war against China. I said "exactly". The Chinese people have a long memory of what we suffered, when many unequal treaties were imposed on China.

I often share one story with visitors from China and with my staff. This Embassy is the very first Chinese mission overseas. While we should feel proud of the tradition, we are not proud of the reason why this has become China's very first mission abroad.

That's a result of the Treaty of Yantai (a city in Shandong Province) imposed by the British Empire. A translator of the British legation in China was killed in a fight with local people in Yunnan after he had shot dead a local resident. The British Empire took advantage of this incident and imposed this Treaty of Yantai on China. It contains three basic articles: one, pay compensation of 200,000 taels of silver; two, open up four more ports along the Yangtze River; three, and the most humiliating, send a minister to Britain to make apology, face to face, to Queen Victoria.

China was weak then after the Opium War, could do nothing but pay the money, open up the ports, and send this poor minister, my very first predecessor to Britain. But the Emperor realized it was a very humiliating mission, and that since there were many ministers in China from many countries, from Britain, France, Italy, and many other European countries, he decided to turn this minister with one mission of apology to a resident minister in order to save face.

So the first resident Chinese minister was sent overseas. His mission was to make apology. The first letter presented by a Chinese resident minister to a foreign head of state was not the letter of his credential but a letter of apology. This was a humiliating past. It's always remembered.

John Foley: Do you think the young people in China, who have Taobao, Weixin and holidays in Thailand, do you think they would care about this, what the government talks about all the time?

Ambassador Liu: I think the majority do. From time to time, I receive invitations to talk to the students in Beida (Beijng University) and other universities, and to Chinese students in many universities here in the UK. Many of them see me as a hero because of my interview on BBC Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman, defending China's position on Japanese Prime Minister Abe's visit to the war shrine, on Diaoyudao and other issues. And I was told that I have millions of fans in universities and colleges. So there is a high enthusiasm and patriotism among young people. They care about what China should be today and what China will be in the future.

We have lost so many territories, so people care about the territory we have. In China, there's an old saying, "one inch of land is worth the same amount in gold". We are not asking for any territory that does not belong to us, but we'll defend every inch of our land at any cost. I hope that answers your question.

Alessandra Galloni: Thank you, Ambassador Liu, for giving the interview.

Ambassador Liu: I look forward to meeting you again.
Chinese police take up counter-terrorism training in Russia Updated: 2016-07-07 19:58 By Wang Qingyun(chinadaily.com.cn)

China's armed police force is joining Russia's National Guard in a counter-terrorism drill in Russia.

The drill, coded Cooperation-2016, was launched on Sunday. It will last for two weeks and be held in the Russian Oblasts of Smolenskaya and Moscow.

Liu Zhijun, leader of the Chinese troops attending the drill, said it was the third cross-country cooperation between China and Russia since Cooperation-2007 and Cooperation-2013, and would focus on specific technical and tactical issues in counter-terrorism operations.

Liu told China Central Television that many of the Russians taking part in the drill had combat experience, and having members from both countries training together could quickly improve Chinese troops techniques and tactics.

China sent members of the commando units of Falcon and Snow Leopard to take part in the drill. Falcon and Snow Leopard are China's two leading counter-terrorism forces.

All the weapons used in the drill are provided by Russia, according to a report by China News Service.
Hainan Airlines adds connection from Alberta to China Updated: 2016-07-08 01:22 By NA LI in TORONTO(chinadaily.com.cn)

Hainan Airlines hostesses along with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer celebrate the inaugural Hainan Airlines flight between Calgary and Beijing on June 30 at Calgary International Airport. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

The first direct air connection from Alberta province to China was celebrated by the Calgary Airport Authority and Hainan Airlines. The non-stop route connected Calgary International Airport (YYC) with Beijing on June 30 in Calgary.

This new service  the result of close collaboration involving a dedicated team of airport, tourism and government partners over many years  opens our region up to a huge global market, said Stephan Poirier, senior vice-president and chief commercial officer for the Calgary Airport Authority. This new non-stop service not only provides travellers here with direct service from Calgary to China, but represents a significant amount of tourism revenue and other economic benefits to the province of Alberta.

The new route solidifies YYCs position as a major transportation hub, and highlights the role that Calgary International Airport plays in diversifying Albertas economy. When fully implemented, the new service connecting Calgary and Beijing is expected to create the equivalent of more than 625 full-time jobs, $31 million in wages, and generate $76.24 million in gross domestic product each year.

We know the first impression of Calgary for arriving travellers comes from right here at the airport, added Stephan Poirier. The entire airport community has been working together to ensure our visitors from China have a great experience.

Airport and tourism partners also joined the celebration, ensuring inbound passengers from China receive the warm welcome that travellers to Calgary are so familiar with.

We are delighted to announce our latest non-stop flight from Calgary to Beijing, said Hou Wei, vice--president of Hainan Airlines, Calgary is the second city in Canada that Hainan Airlines will serve, having launched Toronto to Beijing in 2010. This route will further enhance cross cultural and economic exchanges between China and Canada, and will provide excellent service for our valued passengers.

As a new member to the airport and Alberta community, Hainan Airlines recently made a generous donation of $37,500 to the Fort McMurray Canadian Red Cross Relief Fund. When we enter new markets, we believe it is important to connect with the community we are serving, and in light of the recent tragedy that took place in Fort McMurray (wildfire), we thought this would be the most important place to give back to Albertans, Hou added.

Hainan Airlines will operate three days a week from Calgary to Beijing Capital Airport. Flights will depart Calgary at 1505 local time and arrive at 1710 local time the next day. Return flights depart Beijing at 1600 local time and arrive at Calgary at 1305 local time the same day.

renali@chinadailyusa.com
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HA NOI  Australia has still suspended livestock supply to some facilities in Viet Nam for investigation due to missing international animal welfare standards, said the Australian Embassy in Ha Noi.

While other facilities are able to receive Australian cattle, Australias Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has begun a thorough investigation and directed exporters to suspend supply to 16 abattoirs and two feedlots in Viet Nam after having sufficient evidence that ESCAS control and traceability requirements and animal welfare requirements were not being met for Australian cattle at the facilities, Amy Guihot, agricultural counsellor from the Australian Embassy in Ha Noi told Viet Nam News via email.

Australia implemented the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) to ensure that exported Australian livestock are handled in accordance with international animal welfare standards and to provide a mechanism to deal with animal welfare issues when they occur.

"The suspensions at this stage apply only to the above mentioned facilities. Other ESCAS approved facilities in Viet Nam are still able to receive Australian cattle," the Australian Embassy said.

"The suspensions will remain in place until the investigation is complete or there is enough information available to make informed decisions about various supply chain participants, (including exporters, importers, facilities and independent auditors)," it said.

Tong Xuan Chinh, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments Animal Husbandry Department, said the department would increase awareness on the standards while abattoirs must have a slaughtering certificate to meeting regulations of cattle exporting countries.

Meanwhile, the department and the Veterinary Department would work with Australia to get information about ESCAS for local businesses, abattoirs and feedlots, Chinh said.

Viet Nam has regulations on humane animal slaughter at the Law on Veterinary that came into effect from July 1, 2016. The law has general regulations so the state should have specific regulations like ESCAS and regulations on conditions for abattoirs.

The state should promote inspection and supervision of abattoirs and if the abattoirs having Australian cattle must ensure to meet ESCAS standards.

According to the Australian Embassy, Australias agricultural exports to Viet Nam were valued at US$2.1 billion in 2015, including $346 million from live cattle exports.  VNS
Ha Noi  Ha Nois plan to beautify its major streets with flamboyant trees in an attempt to have an eco-friendly image was met with mixed reactions from environmentalists and biologists.

Nguyen Xuan Hung, deputy director of Ha Noi Green Tree Park company, said up to 300 flamboyant trees have been planted on the median strips of major streets such as Tran Khat Chan, Xa an, Kim Lien-Hoang Cau, Lang Ha and Tay Son.

He said the company will plant more trees as part of its goal to fill all vacant spaces in town that are suitable for tree growth.

However, Pham Ngoc ang, vice chairman of the Environmental and Natural Protection Association, voiced concerns over the choice of tree type and planting location.

ang said median strips are not suitable for planting flamboyant trees.

As a tree with a big root, flamboyant trees need ample space to grow, he said. The space on median strips is often limited and may be reclaimed for road widening or other purposes at any time.

The trees leaf canopy is also quite wide, which threatens to block commuters view when trees grow, he said.

Trieu Van Hung, an official from the Viet Nam Forestry and Technical Science Association, agreed with ang.

Planting flamboyant trees on pavements would be a better choice, he said.

Nguyen Xuan Hung from Ha Noi Green Tree Park company, addressed the concerns by saying that the company had carefully considered all facts before carrying out the plan.

The flamboyant tree is listed under the urban green tree category, so there is no problem in planting it, he said.

He said it was not the first time flamboyant trees were planted on the citys streets.

He said the company is equipped with the most advanced machinery to prune tree branches in order to avoid obstructing commuters vision, and to prevent trees from breaking during storms, while also maintaining their beautiful appearance at the same time.

Doctor Nguyen Lan Hung, general secretary of the Vietnam Society for Biology, also supported the citys plan, citing several points in favour of the tree.

He said the flamboyant tree is resilient to windy and stormy weather, and offers a beautiful display of flowers in summer and green leaves in winter.

Flamboyant trees  also called royal poinciana and flame trees  are familiar to many Vietnamese, and are often called the flower of school age because it starts to bloom when the academic year ends. It is also planted in large numbers in cities like Hai Phong and a Nang.

The planting of flamboyant trees in Ha Noi is part of a bigger plan to beautify the city by growing one million new trees by 2020, which Chairman of Ha Nois Peoples Committee Nguyen uc Chung unveiled late in May.  VNS
QUANG NINH  Local authorities, enterprises and communities in northern Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City must strengthen co-operation to protect the environment in Ha Long Bay, a conference heard yesterday.

This is especially important for the development of sustainable fish farming cages on Cat Ba Island.

The conference, which was held for the third time by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, aimed to help leaders of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island, two popular tourist destinations, to discuss the impact of waste being discharged by nearly 500 tourist vessels and more than 530 floating fish farming sites in these two areas.

Ho Quang Huy, deputy chairman of the Ha Long Citys Peoples Committee, said the management of waste being discharged in the bay faced difficulties because of low awareness of environmental protection among some vessel owners.In addition, the bay is adjacent to Cat Ba Island, where many floating restaurants and fish farming cages are located, and they also discharge waste. As a result, large volumes of waste would wash into the bay at high tide, seriously affecting the environment, he added.

To resolve the problem and protect the marine ecosystem, both sites must work together.

Nguyen Van Tuan, deputy director of the Management Board of Cat Ba Island, agreed, saying there were 486 fish farming sites on the island, with more than 8,600 cages, affecting the ecological environment and polluting the seawater, causing a decline in the coral reefs.Tuan said the major hurdle was that the island had not attracted businesses that invest in wastewater and waste treatment, such as by expanding or building waste collection sites.

He said the number of ships would rise over the next few years, so a better plan for waste treatment was necessary, or the current waste treatment sites would soon be overloaded.

Leaders of both areas agreed that the two sites must work together to chalk out effective measures, such as applying fees to enterprises and local residents using nylon bags and reducing and gradually curbing the use of foam instead of composite materials at floating restaurants, as foam would quickly decompose, polluting the seawater.

The US-funded Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance was established in 2014 to build partnerships between the government, businesses and rural societies to improve environmental management of the bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh and the Cat Ba Archipelago, which is part of the port city of Hai Phong.  VNS
Viet Nams avant-garde electronic musician and sound artist Tri Minh, together with violinist Trinh Minh Hien and a special guest, visual artist ao Anh Khanh, will present an ambient live performance on Sunday at Manzi Art Space.

"One day, the sounds of our neighbourhood shall reach us, not merely through the noises that are present, but also in its silence and subtlety, in the way we look at each other, the way we think about each other," Minh said.

The performance, entitled The Other Side of Beauty, will start at 8pm.

The concert is part of Manzis art programme supported by CDEF of the Danish Embassy.

Manzi Art Space is at 14 Phan Huy Ich Street.

Surcharge: VN300,000/person (including one free drink).

Due to the concert format, please email manzihanoi@gmail.com before July 7 to reserve seats.

 VNS
HA NOI  Hanoi Social Club will host a hang drum performance by Marco Selvaggio on Saturday.

Selvaggio was born in Catania, an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. Since his childhood, Selvaggio has immersed himself in the world of music and percussion.

He began to study African traditional music in 2000. He also began to accumulate knowledge of new African musical instruments in 2005. Over the years he continued to study African traditional music and he had the opportunity to play in several countries all over the world.

Selvaggio has been called hang maestro, the enchanter and sound hunter by the international press.

His performance at the Hanoi Social Club (6 Hoi Vu Street) will start at 8pm. Tickets are VN100,000 at the door.  VNS
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung (R) receives General Director of Doosan Vina in Viet Nam Jung Yeon-in yesterday.  Photo chinhphu.vn

HA NOI  Environmental protection must be the top priority of businesses, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung said at a reception yesterday for General Director of Doosan Vina in Viet Nam Jung Yeon-in.

He said Viet Nam welcomes and creates optimal conditions for foreign firms to do business in the country. However, he noted that overseas firms need to pay attention to protecting the environment and fully implementing commitments and regulations in the field.

The Deputy PM also urged foreign companies to ensure labour safety, take good care of workers, carry out humanitarian and charity programmes, and contribute to Viet Nams social welfare policies.

He hailed Doosan Vinas investment in Viet Nam, which helps increase the rate of locally-produced components and fuel the development of some industrial sectors, including electricity.

Director General Jung Yeon-in reiterated his groups motto of observing environmental commitments, standards and regulations in Viet Nam.

It also has strict criteria on labour safety and care for workers, he added.

He expressed his wish to cooperate with Vietnamese partners to develop mechanical engineering and increase the responsibility of the business community for social affairs and environmental protection.

At a meeting with President and CEO of SCG Group Roongrote Rangsiyopash on the same day, the Deputy PM said Viet Nam will create the best conditions for the Thai enterprise to carry out investment projects in the country as scheduled.

Dung said that Viet Nam welcomes foreign investors and hopes they will pay special heed to labour safety and environmental protection.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has made significant progress in saving childrens lives, getting children into school and lifting people out of poverty, but this progress has been neither even nor fair, according to the latest United Nations Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) annual flagship report, released yesterday in Ha Noi.

The report, The State Of the Worlds Children 2016 - A Fair Chance for Every Child, notes that in Viet Nam, poverty rates declined from 58 per cent to 10 per cent between 1993 and 2014. The child mortality rate fell from 36 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 10 per 1,000 in 2014.

But due to poor nutrition, the stunted growth rate among children in rural areas of Viet Nam is twice as high as the stunting rate among their peers in urban areas, which can explain why infant mortality rates have worsened among ethnic minority groups despite the overall improvement.

Maternal mortality remains four times higher in mountainous areas than in lowland areas.

More than 60 per cent of ethnic minority households do not have access to adequate sanitation.

Education plays a unique role in breaking the intergenerational cycle of vulnerability. The percentage of children who have never attended school is relatively high in Viet Nam, especially among some ethnic minority groups. For example, almost one quarter of school-aged Mong ethnic minority children have never attended school or received any form of formal education.

Denying millions of children a fair chance in life fuels the intergenerational cycles of disadvantage; it imperils the future of the society, said UNICEF Representative Youssouf Abdel-Jelil.

Viet Nam has the choice to invest now to give a fair chance to every child and to make the country more equal and inclusive, he said.

He said UNICEFs support would look at addressing barriers and bottlenecks that kept children away from the support and services they need. Laws like the recently adopted Child Law set the tone for positive transformation, but the nation should continue to translate this commitment into action through equity-focused programmes and public spending, he said.

The country also must shift public spending in order to better serve the most excluded, he added.

Inequity is neither inevitable nor insurmountable, the report argued.

Chau Thi Tao, 17, a Mong ethnic minority who has been brought up at the Lao Cai Centre for Social Work Services, asked concerned ministries and agencies to consider the best interests of the child in every decision and policy directly related to children, which helps ensure the realisation of childrens rights.

Schools and communities should provide children with opportunities to express their ideas on issues that affect them, especially childrens rights, she said.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said that after 25 years of implementing the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, Viet Nam reached its Millennium Development Goals on gender equality, making primary education compulsory and improving childrens and mothers health.

Strong support from international organisations, especially UNICEF, and the countrys efforts to complete its system of laws and policies, will help improve the care and protection of children, ensuring an equal chance for every child, he said.  VNS
HCM CITY Twenty three schools in HCM City will adopt an advanced model that meets international standards this academic year, according to the city Department of Education and Training.

They include 11 public kindergartens, eight primary schools and four secondary schools, Le Hoai Nam, deputy director of the department, said.

It follows a 2014 decision issued by the city Peoples Committee on improving schools to reach regional standards.

It envisaged one or two schools in each district piloting the new state-of-the-art learning model to meet rising demand for high-quality workers amid the countrys international integration.

They have to meet certain criteria, including teachers qualifications, number of classrooms, number of students per class, and area of greenery.

For instance, kindergarten teachers have to have graduated from pedagogical colleges or above, the number of classrooms in a kindergarten should not exceed 30, the same as the number of children in a class.

Last year three city schools - Le Quy on High School in District 3, Nguyen Hien High School in District 11 and Nguyen Du High School in District 10 - applied the new model.  VNS
HCM CITY  Viet Nams national action plan for prevention and control of hospital infections between 2016 and 2020 will focus on improving effectiveness at health facilities to ensure patient and staff safety.

The plan, issued yesterday at a conference held in HCM City, aims to improve policies, technical processes and professional documents.

Accordingly, more than 80 per cent of hospitals in the country will have standard sterilisation units by 2020. Currently, 46.5 per cent lack the units.

Software, tools and a database for a national surveillance system on control of hospital infections will be set up in 2017.

More than 50 per cent of provincial-level hospitals will carry out surveillance and will quarantine patients with microorganisms that are resistant to antimicrobials.

They will report periodically to the national surveillance system in 2018.

Under the plan, more than 70 per cent of hospitals in the country will keep watch on microorganisms in water, air and surface at areas with a high risk of transmission such as rooms for surgery, drip feeds and dialysis in 2018.

At least three centres on training for control of hospital infections will be established at hospitals in the northern, southern and central regions.

Dr Luong Ngoc Khue, head of Health Examination and Treatment Department, told Viet Nam News that the implementation of more and more medical techniques required an increased control of infections.

Hospital infections occur in not only Viet Nam but around the world. However, the rate of hospital infections in the country is still higher than in other countries, Khue said.

A study conducted by the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in 2013 among 3,671 patients at 15 intensive care units in 15 hospitals in the northern, southern and central regions showed that the rate of hospital infections was 27.3 per cent.

The central-level hospitals had a higher rate of such infections.

Tran Minh Hiep, deputy head of Nguyen inh Chieu Hospital, complained that the hospital had an Infection Control Ward, but the controls effectiveness was still low.

Because the hospital was built tens of years ago, the building and its facilities do not meet the Ministry of Healths regulations on hospital infection control, Hiep said.

Le Van Tuan of the World Health Organisation in Viet Nam said that each hospital should create a detailed plan according to its conditions and seek sources for funds to implement the plan based on the national regulations.

Roles of patients and care givers

Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha, deputy chairwoman of the HCM City Infection Control Society, said that patients and their relatives who take care of them during their stay at hospitals should join hands with health staff to prevent infections.

Hospital infections could worsen diseases, prolong hospital stays and, most importantly, create microorganisms resistant to antimicrobials, Ha said.

Patients and their relatives have low awareness of maintaining hygiene at hospitals, leading to an increase in bacteria.

It is vital to improve education and encourage them to follow hospital regulations on infection control, especially regularly washing hands, she said.

Sharing of beds and patient overload at Viet Nams hospitals offer a conducive environment for infection to increase.

The Ministry of Health uses infection criteria to assess hospitals as safe for patients or not.

It has also organised many campaigns to reduce the risk of hospital infections -- such as one to wash hands among health staffs and patients.

Thu uc Hospital in HCM City, for instance, organises these campaigns every year. On Tuesday, the hospital called on staff and patients to sign commitment for hospital infection control.

Ha said one of the challenges to controlling hospital infection in Viet Nam is the shortage of professionals specialising in this issue.

These professionals are required to have a deep understanding of environmental hygiene, care and treatment of patients and hospital architecture appropriate for infection control, she said.

Public hospital fees were increased by 30-50 per cent last March, with 30 per cent of the hikes to be earmarked for infection control, meaning hospitals would have more resources to combat infection, she said.

Another benefit when hospital infections do not occur is that the cost of antibiotics for treatment reduces.

According to the health ministry, five years after it sent a circular on hospital infection prevention and control, 20.8 per cent of hospitals around the country had not set up an infection department as of last year.

More than 93.2 per cent had been irregular with surveys on hospital-acquired infection since 2010.  VNS
The government has approved an agreement on mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders between Viet Nam and the Republic of Cyprus.  Photo vneconomy.vn

HA NOI  The government has approved an agreement on mutual visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders between Viet Nam and the Republic of Cyprus.

The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister of Cyprus Ioannis Kasoulides and Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son on September 11, 2015, during Sons working visit to Cyprus.

The two sides agreed to increase exchanges of delegations at all levels; to strive to promote bilateral relations in trade and investment; to take specific measures to encourage and create conditions for businesses of the two countries to meet; and to share experience and co-operate in various areas, including labour force supply, trade, tourism services and forestry and fisheries processing.  VNS
The World Bank (WB) yesterday approved a US$150 million credit for the Improved Land Governance and Database project of Viet Nam.  Photo bnews.vn

WASHINGTON DC  The World Bank (WB) yesterday approved a US$150 million credit for the Improved Land Governance and Database project of Viet Nam.

The project will develop a national Multi-Purpose Land Information System (MPLIS) and make a National Land Database available to the government and the public. It is designed with an emphasis on building sustainable databases that are accurate, user-friendly, and accessible through a gradual approach to developing Land Information Systems and land databases.

The project will also help the Government simplify procedures and business processes for Land Registration Offices operating at sub-national levels, provide better-quality land services, and increase public awareness of land information and land services.  VNS
Illustrative Photo baohaiphong.com.vn

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered a probe into allegations that the Peoples Committee of Vinh Phong Commune in Hai Phong Citys Vinh Bao District has held the red books (home ownership certificates) of 150 households for 19 years.

The city administration has been tasked with urgently investigating the claim, Phuc said.

Without their red books, locals who want to perform transactions related to their houses have met with troubles.

The allegation was made in reports by Viet Nam Television on June 29 and July 4. According to the reports, in 1997, 175 households in the commune were listed as having been issued red books. However, only 25 of these households have received their red books so far.

Local residents said those who received the red books were relatives of the community officials.

Prime Minister Phuc has given the citys administration 10 days to investigate and deal with any violations. The city administration is required to present a report to the Prime Minister before July 16.

According to the Peoples Committee of Vinh Bao District, in April 2013, the committee dismissed Chairman of the communal Peoples Committee Bui Anh Duong for violations related to land management after local residents complained about the commune administrations delay in issuing red books.

In May and June 2013, the district fired two other communal officials for the same violations and ordered the commune to quickly issue the red books for 150 households, the committee said.

However, complaints were still sent to the district until March 2016.

The district decided to set up a team to re-measure the land area of 150 households and then issue red books to them in March.

The district committee said measurements have been finished for 112 households so far. Other households have not agreed to re-measurement, instead requesting their red books from 1997, causing headaches for the team as well as the district committee.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Information and Communications has revoked the press card of Le Truong Son, deputy-in-chief of Doanh nghiep va Trang trai Viet Nam (Viet Nam Business and Farm) Magazine.

The action was taken after Son violated journalism practice.

A decision signed by Minister Truong Minh Tuan yesterday said Son gave reporter cards to collaborators of his magazine. The reporter cards were found to be designed similar to the press card -- printed with the national emblem -- which can be issued only by the ministry.

The ministrys decision was based on the 1998 Press Law and the Government Decree No 51, issued in 2002, that regulates the implementation of the Press Law.

Tuan ordered the magazine to withdraw Sons press card and return it to the ministrys Press Department before July 20.  VNS
HA NOI  Ha Noi police in co-ordination with police in the central Quang Nam Province have arrested a group of people who set up fake websites to appropriate property.

Yesterday, Ha Noi police transferred the seized items to Quang Nam police to further investigate the method of using the Internet, telecommunications networks or digital devices to appropriate property.

Quang Nam police will continue to investigate and find other people involved in the scam.

The arrested people include Nguyen Ngoc Van Sy, Trinh Duy Hung, Tran Quang, o Thanh Sang and Tran Quang Long. Their ages ranging from 16 to 21.

At the police station, the arrested persons confessed that they had not finished secondary school and often gathered at the Internet shop in Duy Xuyens Districts Nam Phuoc township to set up fake websites to cheat other Internet users.

The group provided an application form on their website and required customers to reveal their personal information such as phone numbers, accounts and identity cards to receive a bonus.

The bonuses offered included motorbikes or cash from large companies and organisations.

The cheaters set up some fake websites such as trianquahot.com and vongquayquy3.com to defraud Internet users of their money through their card codes.

After receiving personal information from customers on the Internet, the cheaters then phoned the customers to guide them through more steps to receive their bonuses.

According to initial statistics available with the police, thousands of people were cheated of money totalling VN600 million (US$27,000).  VNS
HA NOI  The Drug Crime Investigation Department under the Ministry of Public Security yesterday announced that they has seized about 2.5 tonnes of khat leaves, smuggled from Africa to Viet Nam for re-exporting to other countries.

The countries that these leaves were being sent included the United States, the Netherlands and Australia, via the international postage service.

Khat leaves contain the stimulant cathinone, which are similar to amphetamines, and are prohibited in Viet Nam.

According to the Ha Noi Customs Department, the agency that closely co-operated with the Drug Crime Investigation Department to smash the khat-leaf trafficking ring, the two agencies had established a special task force in March after they were informed about the case.

In April 15, the task force discovered 36 packages of khat leaves, weighing about 545 kilos, imported from Ethiopia to Viet Nam. The task force started identifying nine persons named as receivers of the packages.

Between May 23 and June 28, the force continued to strictly monitor packages imported to Viet Nam declared as dried tea or herbs and found more khat-leaf packages.

A representative from the Drug Crime Investigation Department said the smuggling ring was very intricately managed.

The criminals took advantage of the fact that Viet Nam was a large exporter of tea leaves to declare khat leaf as tea to avoid attention of the police as well as customs, he said.

Earlier also, police from HCM City had confiscated 1.2 tonnes of khat leaves imported into Viet Nam from Africa.  VNS
A NANG  The central city of a Nang officially decided to fine six Chinese nationals for the illegal operation of tourist services and violations of resident laws in the city with VN20 million (about US$890) each.

The city administration said the six Chinese tourists, who temporary live in a rented house in Ngo Thi Si Street in Ngu Hanh Son district, had violated regulations on immigration, residence and labour.

These Chinese tourists, 15 days after entering Viet Nam, did not declare to the local administration their intention to reside and worked in the country without permission.

They (Chinese nationals) had entered Viet Nam as tourists, but they worked as tourist guides serving Chinese tourist groups visiting the city and destinations in central Viet Nam.

Following the decision, the city assigned the immigration public security force to supervise the legal enforcement on the Chinese nationals Huang Wei, 26, Yang Chuan, 44, Xu Zhenghua, 37, and Wu Mengxing, 24, in addition to Yang Chuan, 24, and Li Guangping, 37.

Their working illegally as native language tourist guides was discovered by local Vietnamese guides, who recorded a video clip and photo of a Chinese guide, Xue Chun Zhe, distorting the history and culture of Viet Nam during a tour of the Linh Ung Pagoda and My Khe beach.

Vice Director of the citys tourism department Tran Chi Cuong said the department had received a review from Vietnamese tour guides (Chinese speaking guides) on the illegal operation of Chinese guides and the incorrect presentation of culture and history of Viet Nam.

The Vietnamese guides also said that at least 60 such Chinese guides were working illegally in the city, and most of the Chinese travel agencies serving Chinese tour groups disguised operations with a Vietnamese licence, which were directed by Chinese managers.

In a meeting in January, the citys tourism association, Huynh Tan Vinh warned that illegal operations of Chinese and Korean travel agencies in a Nang would spoil the tourist trademark of the city and spread chaos in tourism.

He said local guides would face unfair competition against native language guides.

According to the latest report from the a Nang tour guide club, there are over 2,000 local guides working in the city, of whom 300 are Chinese speaking.

Deputy General Director of the Viet Nam Tourism joint-stock company (Vitours) Le Tan Thanh Tung also said that inbound services in a Nang had been occupied by travel agencies from China and Korea.

Earlier, the citys tourism department revoked the business licence for nine months of a local travel agency after one of its Chinese tourists burnt Vietnamese money at a bar in the city downtown. VNS
Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell.  File Photo

GEORGETOWN, Guyana  Caribbean island nations on Wednesday discussed boosting security to ensure terrorists and other criminals do not gain citizenship by posing as investors.

Grenadas Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said that although the islands citizenship-by-investment program has provided a major source of revenue, the government is not prepared to sacrifice its national security.

"We have to come to terms with that, that in this global terrorism atmosphere that we are now dealing with, we have to be extremely careful that one incident, one person being allowed in our region can in fact create havoc," he told reporters at a Caribbean leaders annual summit being held in Guyana, where the topic has been under discussion.

Having tightened its screening process, Granada has rejected even some applicants approved by international partners based on anecdotal information, he added.

One countrys policies affect the others because the European Union-style free-movement regime of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) allows Caribbean nationals to travel freely throughout the region without visas.

St Kitts and Nevis  which pioneered selling citizenship to investors for as much as US$500,000 per applicant, but whose economy depends chiefly on tourism  credited the revenue source with funding the construction of internationally recognized hotels.

"It has been a positive development," the twin-island federations prime minister, Timothy Harris, told reporters. "What is equally true is that it has to be managed well, and we are committed as a government to ensure that we have the most robust due-diligence program because of the reputational downside damage that could occur and because of the evolving security arrangement in which we live."

Canada enacted a visa regime for St Kitts and Nevis residents almost two years ago because of concerns about its citizenship-by-investment program.

Dominica, St Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda have also cashed in on citizenship-by-investment programs that have helped them weather declining tourist numbers during economic downturns in Europe and the United States.

Elsewhere, Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, the United States and Canada offer similar citizenship programs.  AFP
Brexit is proving to be an additional hurdle for Tata Steels plans of selling its loss-making UK assets.



Sources close to developments told Business Standard on Thursday Tata Steel, the largest steel maker in the country, is expected to temporarily halt the sale process, amid uncertainties over trade ties between the UK and the European Union (EU) countries.



The companys board of directors will meet in Mumbai on Friday. The meeting would also be attended by Sajid Javid, a member of British Parliament and secretary of state for business, innovation and skills.




US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday expressed hope that an end to the Ukrainian conflict was possible and praised Kiev's pro-Western leaders for their commitment to peace.

Meeting President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev, Kerry said had made a "good faith" effort to implement its side of the February 2015 truce agreement it signed with Russia in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

Fighting would only stop, however, if Russia halted support for the eastern separatist rebels and allowed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to fully monitor and enforce a truce, Kerry said.

Washington's top diplomat stressed that President Barack Obama had made this point "very frankly" to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a telephone call yesterday.

"And President Putin indicated that he does have a desire to try to have this process move forward," Kerry said.

changed the course of its post-Soviet history by ousting its Kremlin-backed leader in a pro-EU revolution in 2014 that led to a Western-leaning administration.

This was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of one of Europe's bloodiest conflicts since the 1990s Balkans wars.

Russia denies either backing the insurgents or plotting their 26-month revolt in a bid to keep the new leaders in Kiev off balance and dependent on Moscow's good will.

Kerry's visit came on the eve of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Warsaw where Poroshenko will seek new military and diplomatic assistance from his Western friends.

And it follows a similar visit to Georgia to express support for another Kremlin foe that has also lost parts of its territory to Moscow-backed separatists.

"The US is and remains Ukraine's key ally on the arena," Poroshenko told reporters.

"There is a full understanding between us that Russia and the rebels it supports bear sole responsibility for the stalled peace process in the east."



The approaching NATO summit appears to have only further frayed relations between Moscow and the West.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Russia's actions in meant that "trust is lost" between the two formed Cold War foes.

Russia's foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova countered that it was NATO's recent spike in military activities near its borders that were the main concern.

"There will obviously be an adequate response from us to this, even though this is not our choice," Russian news agencies quoted her as saying during a visit to Crimea.

Kiev hopes to agree new assistance in Warsaw that could upgrade its outdated and underfunded armed forces.
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500,000 hoverboards recalled after fires

NEW YORK (AP)  More than 500,000 hoverboards are being recalled after some of the motorized scooters overheated, burned riders and damaged property.

There have been 99 reports to the Consumer Product Safety Commission of hoverboard battery packs that exploded or caught fire, the U.S. regulator said Wednesday. At least 18 injuries were reported, such as burns to the neck, legs or arms, according to the CPSC. Property damages were also reported.

Many airlines, railroads and college campuses have already banned hoverboards.

McDonalds expands all-day breakfast

NEW YORK (AP)  McDonalds plans to offer McGriddles sandwiches around the clock after testing the addition of the sandwich to its all-day breakfast menu in select markets.

When McDonalds launched a limited all-day breakfast menu in the fall, stores offered sandwiches made with either English muffins or biscuits depending on local preferences.

Now, the company says U.S. stores will offer both, and McGriddles, which are made with syrupy pancake buns.

The rollout will start in late August and spread to other markets throughout September.

FBIs Clinton email

decision angers GOP

WASHINGTON (AP)  Irate Hillary Clinton will not face criminal charges over her emails, House Republicans are summoning FBI Director James Comey to Capitol Hill to answer their questions.

Comey will testify today before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the panels chairman, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, announced Wednesday. The announcement came a day after Comey rebuked Clinton for extremely careless behavior in her handling of classified emails as secretary of state, but declared no charges are appropriate in the case.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday evening she was accepting Comeys recommendation and the case would be closed.

House GOP gun bill

in trouble

WASHINGTON (AP)  Conservative opposition put a House Republican gun and anti-terrorism bill in jeopardy Wednesday, delivering an embarrassing slap to Speaker Paul Ryan and his effort to mount a legislative response to last months Orlando mass shooting.

Even as Democrats castigated the election-year GOP measure as ineffective and demanded votes on their own gun plan, the often defiant House Freedom Caucus said it opposed the Republican package. The group has around 40 members, and with solid Democratic opposition, GOP leaders would lack the votes to move the bill forward.

Despite the National Rifle Associations endorsement of similar GOP legislation in the Senate, the Freedom Caucus complained the House bill did not adequately protect gun owners rights.

Philly archbishop:

No sex for divorcees

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia is closing the door opened by Pope Francis to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion, saying the faithful in his archdiocese can only do so if they abstain from sex and live as brother and sister.

Archbishop Charles Chaput, who is known for strongly emphasizing strict adherence to Catholic doctrine, issued a new set of pastoral guidelines for clergy and other leaders in the archdiocese that went into effect July 1. The guidelines reflect a stance taken by St. John Paul II.
WEST UNION  A defendant in Fayette County accused of transmitting an infectious sexual disease is out of jail because he is HIV positive and prescribed expensive medications.

According to the Fayette County Sheriffs Office, Ismael Alfaro, 34, is under house arrest in Franklin County and wearing an ankle bracelet monitored by Fayette County Jail staff around the clock. He also receives periodic in-home and phone checks.

Bond for Alfaro, of Hampton, was set at $50,000 cash only in May by Magistrate Larry Woods.

But Assistant Fayette County Attorney Nathan Lein about a month later asked the court to place Alfaro under house arrest.

According to Leins motion, Alfaros HIV medication costs $3,000 a month. Under home detention, Alfaro, not the county, will pay for his medication.

Alfaro is charged with criminal transmission of HIV and third-degree sexual abuse, both felonies. He was taken into custody in May in Franklin County, and a jury trial is scheduled to begin July 27.

Alfaros alleged victim was a girl younger than 18 years old, according to court documents. The pair met online and later visited the Parkview Motel in Oelwein.

Court documents describe the girl as mentally incapacitated.

The decision to place Alfaro on house arrest runs contrary to a recommendation made earlier by Seth Bonnette, a probation and parole officer with the Iowa Department of Correctional Services. He called Alfaro a danger to the community.

In court documents, Alfaro said he is a contractor, but Bonnette described him as unemployed and living with his mother in Franklin County.
DES MOINES  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will make stops today in Franklin and Butler counties.

Northey will visit the REA Power Plant Museum, a Silos and Smokestacks location, in Hampton and then meet with Butler County Development Corporation members in Allison.

The stop at the museum will begin at 2 p.m. at 1008 Central Ave. W in Hampton. The meeting will start at 3:30 p.m. at 422 N. Main St. in Allison.

Northey, a corn and soybean farmer from Spirit Lake, is serving his third term as Iowa secretary of agriculture.
PLAINFIELD  The search for a missing Plainfield woman entered its third day with authorities searching a pond on the edge of town Thursday.

Cloris Mehmen, 76, suffers from Alzheimers and dementia and was last seen Tuesday morning at her home on Fairview Avenue. In the following days, firefighters, law enforcement and some 100 volunteers have been scouring the farm fields and wooded areas around the home and traveling rural roads.

We are very fortunate to have these people. We have a great group of people, and its nice to know in these situations that you have these people, said Bremer County Sheriff Dan Pickett. He noted a lot of people are taking time away from their jobs to assist.

On Thursday, authorities began searching a pond north of Plainfield with the help of a patrol boat equipped with side-scan sonar courtesy of the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office.

Pickett said Mehmen had lived in town before she and her husband moved to the rural area northeast of Plainfield. In the recent past, when she has wandered off, she had been found heading to the west in the direction of the pond, he said.

Earlier this week, authorities used a dog to partially track her route, the sheriff said. He said the dog followed her scent down a gravel road heading to the south before efforts were hampered by a passing storm. When the rain quit, they resumed the K-9 search but eventually lost the trail, he said.

Two aircraft also have been used in the search. An Iowa State Patrol plane equipped with forward-looking infrared has participated, and a friend of the family who owns an airplane has assisted, searching west of Highway 218.

Deputies also investigated leads in the Waterloo area and concluded a suspected sighting at a Waterloo craft and fabric store likely wasnt Mehmen, Pickett said. He said deputies also are looking into a possible sighting at a Cedar Falls restaurant.

Pickett said people should notify authorities as soon a possible if they believe they have seen Mehmen.

If anybody sees her, if they have a cell phone, call right away, Pickett said.

Pickett is described as a 76-year-old white female, 5 feet tall and weighing about 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a mens short-sleeved shirt, although it is possible she could have changed clothes before she left the house, Pickett said.

Anyone with information on Mehmens whereabouts is asked to call the Bremer County Sheriffs Office at 352-5400 ext. 3.
Every president since Richard Nixon has promised to make America energy independent, but we still import 9 million barrels of oil a day, much of it coming from the Middle East and OPEC. Now, for the first time in a half-century  thanks to the shale oil and gas revolution  true American energy independence is not just a pipe dream. Its easily achievable  if the next president takes the right steps.

Such an energy strategy means we could stop draining our economy of about $200 billion a year, which we could really use here at home.

But this isnt just about the economy. We know from intelligence reports as much as $500 million finds its way into the coffers of terrorist networks, including ISIS, from illegal oil sales.

Achieving American energy self-sufficiency doesnt require building more windmills (sorry, Hillary Clinton). We only get about 5 percent of our energy from windmills and solar panels.

Instead, this is about taking the strategic steps necessary to make the United States the energy dominant force on the planet within five to 10 years by using our super-abundance of fossil fuel resources. Thanks to the amazing made-in-America technological breakthroughs of the last decade  including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to get at shale oil and gas reserves  the United States now has at least 150 years of oil and natural-gas resources on top of 500 years worth of coal.

Consider what has happened in less than a decade with oil production. In 2008, the United States produced about 5 million barrels a day. We hit 8.7 million in 2014 and could double that by 2025.

As we tap into the full potential of our tens of billions of shale oil and gas we can become the No. 1 export nation on the planet. This could easily mean more than $1 trillion a year in oil, gas and coal exports each year  perhaps exceeding 5 percent of GDP. This would mean as many as 6 million new jobs, according to the Institute for Energy Research.

Lets not forget about coal. America was built on coal, and our nation has far more of it than any other nation. And we burn it cleanly and efficiently, unlike China and India, which build hundreds of coal plants every year but spew out dirty emissions.

I estimate with five simple steps taken by the next president, America will gain its energy independence:

1. Allow drilling and mining permits on federal lands. So far at least 90 percent of the shale-gas and shale-oil revolution has happened on private land. But around half of all the land west of the Mississippi is government-owned. There are an estimated $50 trillion of energy resources stored underneath non-environmentally sensitive federal lands. This is the biggest treasure chest in the world.

2. Build a national network of pipelines across the country by allowing the permitting for projects like Keystone XL and many others. Right now, the federal government is holding up as many as a dozen necessary pipelines to get the oil and gas across the country and then shipped across the world.

3. Build refineries and liquefied natural gas terminals in the United States. The Energy Information Agency says the latest refiner began operating in 1977  almost 40 years ago  even though the U.S. population has nearly doubled since the mid-1970s and our energy production has doubled as well.

4. Stop Obamas war on coal. Environmentalists have tried to shut down coal production; the next president should revive it. This means putting a muzzle on the EPA to allow our energy resources to be harnessed and used in an environmentally responsible way. Complying with basic environmental rules doesnt make coal production impossible, and we shouldnt pretend it does.

5. End all subsidies for all forms of energy. The left complains about taxpayer subsidies for oil and gas. The best way to promote efficient energy is to let the free market work and remove government handouts  particularly to the green-energy sector.

If we get this right, America can declare its independence from OPEC and Middle Eastern oil. We can become the Saudi Arabia of the 21st century.
The U.S. Supreme Court knew back in 2010 its ruling in Citizens United opened the door for corporations to have greater influence over elections.

But from the available evidence it did not know it was allowing corporations and wealthy Americans to sway election results anonymously.

In fact Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion, With the advent of the Internet, prompt disclosure of expenditures can provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elections officials accountable for their positions and supporters.

Last year Kennedy, in an interview with Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow, admitted disclosure is not working the way it should.

Thats an understatement.

In 2014 only 29 cents of every $1 of independent political spending could be easily tracked to its original individual donor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

Anonymous forces are playing an increasingly large role in politics. In the May primary in Nebraska, Americans for Prosperity and Trees of Liberty, independent political organizations with ties to the Koch brothers, ambushed incumbent state senators with innuendo and exaggeration in direct mailings, radio ads and robocalls.

In some races spending might have been as high as $50,000, as much as double or triple the amount spent by the incumbents.

The amount of political dark money from nonprofit advocacy groups went from less than $600,000 in 2006 to nearly $22 million in 2014 in states covered by the Brennan Center study.

A recent Associated Press story on the study also reported on the rise of gray money in campaigns. The term describes another tactic used by donors who want to hide their identity. Gray money is routed through political action committees before it reaches its final destination at a super PAC, which is supposed to be independent of a candidates campaign organization. The donors are required to report their contributions, but anyone who wants to track the money is forced to dig through multiple reports.

In the six states covered by the Brennan study  California, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts  gray money tripled from $42 million in 2006 to $129 million in 2014.

Requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once wrote.

Congress and state legislatures need to pass laws to force quick disclosure of the identity of campaign donors. The American political system should not be controlled by cowards hiding in anonymity.
Vote for Power

WATERLOO PROFESSIONAL FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION

WATERLOO -- The Waterloo Professional Firefighters Association is pleased to announce our endorsement of Tom Powers for Ward One City Council.

Powers is a retired 29 year veteran of the Waterloo Fire Department. In his years of dedicated service to the citizens and Fire Department Powers was the driving force in initiating the Fire PALS program. This program was in our community for several years thanks to Powers and there was great success in teaching school children, adults, elderly and those in the community with special needs, the skills necessary to protect themselves and their families by responding promptly and effectively when confronted with a fire or life safety hazard.

Powers has always been a great advocate to Waterloo. He has served the city in many ways. Not only does he have the knowledge and passion to make Waterloo an even better place to live and work, he knows the importance of crime reduction and quality fire and EMS.

These are just a few of the reasons that the Waterloo Professional Firefighters Association is proud to announce our endorsement of Mr. Powers. Vote for Tom Powers July 12.
Powers for council

MARTY McCONVILLE

WATERLOO -- Ward 1 folks, the ball is in your court and your vote will decide the direction the city of Waterloo takes. If you want more jobs, safer neighborhoods and quality revitalization then you ought to elect a staunch competitor like Tom Powers. Hell go to the nth degree to do whats right. There is no quit in Tom Powers as exemplified by his high school wrestling, his service to our country in Vietnam, his firefighting and his volunteerism.

We need that kind of competitor to fill the final City Council seat from Ward 1. Tom will help put the City Council into forward gear and move Waterloo in a positive direction. Tom Powers is the right person and he will get the job done. His love for this community is unsurpassed and he wants Waterloos future for its citizens to be reflected with his can-do attitude!

Ward 1, this is your moment. Vote for Tom Powers and win it for all of us.
WATERLOO  Waterloo firefighters rescued a woman after her minivan rolled onto its side in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday morning.

The collision happened around 9 a.m. at the intersection of Williston Avenue and Baltimore Street. Details werent immediately available, but authorities said the van and a passenger car collided in the intersection, and the impact tipped the van and knocked it into a construction pickup truck that was parked on the curb.

The van driver was trapped inside her vehicle, and firefighters chopped out the windshield and removed her through a sunroof. Her identity and condition werent available.

2 teens injured in pit bull attack

WATERLOO  City officials have cited the owner of a dog that bit two teens after escaping from its home on Tuesday.

The owner was cited for dog at large and dog causing injury, and the dog, a 9-month-old pit bull named Remy, is currently undergoing quarantine because he wasnt up to date on his shots, said Officer Ryan Doland with Waterloo Animal Control.

He said authorities have never had a problem with Remy in the past, so the dog can be returned at the end of the quarantine period if the owner pays impound and quarantine fees. Remy will also receive shots before he is returned.

The attack happened at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the area of West Sixth Street and Bertch Avenue. Bailey Jones, 13, and a 13-year-old boy suffered minor injuries, according to Waterloo police. Jones was taken to the hospital for a bite that broke sink, and the boys injury didnt involve broken skin, Doland said.

Remy lives around the corner from the scene. He had been at home and somehow escaped when the residents werent home, Doland said. He said the family has two other dogs that didnt escape.

Waverly woman hurt in car crash

JANESVILLE  A Waverly woman was sent to the hospital following a crash on Highway 218 Tuesday afternoon.

Agnes Proctor, 77, was driving a car northbound in the southbound lane about 1:20 p.m., according to the Iowa State Patrol. The crash was just north of the C-50 interchange.

Her vehicle collided with a southbound vehicle driven by Megan Holm, 36, of Minneapolis.

Proctor was transported to Waverly Health Center. Holm was treated and released for minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation.

July 4 shots hit Waterloo home

WATERLOO  Police have seized a number of firearms in connection with the investigation into Independence Day gunfire that damaged two homes.

Details of the seizure werent available, but authorities said several guns were seized during the search of a home stemming from the shooting. No arrests have been made in the investigation.

Neighbors began calling police about 8:35 p.m. Monday after hearing gunfire.

Officers said one bullet struck a home at 803 Marsh St., and a second bullet appears to have grazed 315 Campbell St. Investigators found spent shell casings in the area.

Witnesses told police a person on a motorcycle had fired at a passing car.

Woman hurt in rear-end crash

HUDSON  -A Waterloo woman was transported to the hospital following a rear-end crash near Hudson on Tuesday morning.

The Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office said a car being driven by Krystal Monroe, 30, of Waterloo, rear-ended a car being driven by Mary Turner, 63, also of Waterloo, at the intersection of Schrock Road and Kimball Avenue.

A passenger in one of the vehicles, Rose Pierce, 85, of Waterloo, received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Monroe was ticketed for failing to stop in a clear assured distance.

Implement store reports burglary

DECORAH  On Sunday at about 3:30 p.m., an employee of Bodensteiner Implement on Highway 9 stopped at the business to assist with an after-hours customer call regarding a needed part.

The employee noticed several items missing from the business inventory, including Stihl power tools, Stihl accessories and parts, along with other power equipment such as air compressors, power washers and tractor cameras.

In addition, Bodensteiner Implement in Waukon was also found to have several of the same items stolen, Stihl power tools, from their store inventory as well.

The Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office is currently investigating, and anyone with information regarding this or the Waukon burglary is encouraged to call the Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office at (563) 382-4268 or the Allamakee County Sheriffs Office at (563) 568-4521.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 06, 2016 | 12:13 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A book signing for Janett Blythe's new book will be held Thursday from 4-6pm, at the Ford Gallery in the 2D and Graphic Design Building at West Kentucky Community and Technical College. The college is located at 905 Harrison Street in Paducah.

Blythe is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at WKCTC. Her new book, entitled, West Kentucky Community and Technical College: Formative Years 2000-2016 provides a glimpse of the colleges journey from newly consolidated college to one of the best community colleges in the nation. The 144-page book features more than 200 photographs and celebrates the colleges upward strides as well as its continuing transformation.

During the book signing, there will also be an opportunity to meet WKCTC interim president Dr. Charles Chrestman.



For more information, go to: wkctcformativeyears.com.
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Japan Atomic Power Company to assist UK new build project

07 July 2016

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Horizon Nuclear Power, the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) and Hitachi have signed a technical services contract for the proposed Wylfa Newydd nuclear power plant in North Wales. JAPC is to support Horizon in areas including construction costing, licensing, and planning for commissioning.

Muramatsu, Hawthorne and Nagasawa after the signing of the contract (Image: Horizon)

Horizon plans to deploy the UK ABWR (Advanced Boiling Water Reactor) at two sites - Wylfa Newydd, which is on the Isle of Anglesey, and Oldbury-on-Severn, in South Gloucestershire. It will be the first BWR in the UK, which currently only has pressurized water reactors and advanced gas-cooled reactors in operation.

"A pioneer of nuclear power generation, JAPC will work with Horizon as it grows its own operational capability in readiness to run Wylfa Newydd," Horizon said today. "Under the deal, Horizon will draw on JAPC's experience and know-how gained from many years of involvement with boiling water reactors," it added.

Horizon announced last month the formation of consortium Menter Newydd to prepare for the construction phase of the new plant. Menter Newydd comprises Bechtel, JGC and Hitachi Nuclear Energy Europe.

Horizon CEO Duncan Hawthorne said JAPC has "highly professional people who've had direct access to BWR technology" and that the cooperation agreement is "another strong sign of the progress we're making".

JAPC president Mamoru Muramatsu said the company's Tokai nuclear power plant - which was Japan's first commercial nuclear power plant - was "introduced from the UK". Taking advantage of many years of operating experience, beginning with the Tokai plant, and including Tokai 2 (a BWR) and Tsuruga 1 and 2 (a BWR and PWR, espectively), JAPC will "help to ensure that Wylfa Newydd is built successfully".

Katsumi Nagasawa, CEO of nuclear power at Hitachi Ltd, added that Hitachi will play an important role in helping the UK achieve its objective of using "safe and realiable sources of electric power to achieve a low-carbon society by supplying the latest ABWR design, which has already been proven in operation".

JAPCs overseas operations include providing technical assistance and training in Vietnam and Kazakstan, which are planning to build nuclear power plants.

Horizon also said today that it is in "active discussions" with a range of other companies for further operational support and advice, such as training its own workforce.

The UK ABWR began the Generic Design Acceptance process in January 2014 and Horizon and the regulators have said it remains on target for completion at the end of 2017.

In an interview with World Nuclear News last month, Hawthorne said Horizon's conversations with government are "lively, frequent and engaged", and that "there is a range of financing options and we're going to look at all of them, with the intention of offering a competitive project". The debt-equity structure and cost of capital are a "direct function" of the contract-for-difference element to a nuclear new build project in the UK, he added.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Jul 7, 2016 | By Alec

3D printers are increasingly finding their way to academic hospitals, for the production of fantastic surgical models that can be used to prep for operations before patients are actually on the table. But as Spanish startup Xkelet reminds us, 3D printers are also perfect tools for guiding the healing process. They have developed the Xkelet orthosis, which can replace the stinking, uncomfortable and itchy casts used to heal broken bones. Made from iPad 3D scans, they are lightweight, custom-made and comfortable, and can be worn in the shower for optimal hygiene. This fantastic concept has also gained recognition from the international design community, having just won a Red Dot award in Germany.

The Red Dot award, of course, is one of the most respected design competitions in the world. Organized by Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, its been around since the 1950s and is known for giving a stamp of approval to very promising innovative products. As a result, more than 17,000 designers seek a Red Dot award every year.

This makes it even more remarkable that Xkelet caught their attention, especially as their product isnt ready yet. This new orthotics concept has been developed by Girona, Spain-based Jordi Tura and Ricardo Veiga, and their startup currently also includes Roberto Sancho and Daniel Oliver. As they revealed, it grew out of a frustration with outdated bone healing procedures. When Tura broke his left leg, he had to endure the lengthy discomfort associated with plaster casts. It becomes very difficult to take a shower, while the cast is uncomfortable, itchy and smelly. And when you remove the plaster you find you've lost all muscle tone and need to start a slow and costly recovery, they said.

In an attempt to change all that, they began looking for ways to improve comfort, functionality and hygiene through 3D printing. Fortunately, the entrepreneurs had plenty of experience with industrial design and over the past four years they came up with a fascinating product, partially made possible through backing by the PUSH 2015 acceleration program.

In a nutshell, the Xkelet is a custom-fitting orthosis that immobilizes injured bones, replacing the casts of old. To ensure a perfect fit, the Spanish entrepreneurs developed the XKSS-Xkelet 3D scanning app, which can run on an iPad and scan the affected limb. The gathered data is used to form a 3D model, which can be sent to 3D printing services online. Whats more, that data can also be stored by healthcare providers, giving them access to information on how the limb is healing. Once 3D printed, the Xkelet is easily attached and provides the wearer with comfort, mobility and hygiene. Its no wonder that the Red Dot jury was impressed. The Xkelet translates cutting-edge technology into an unusual orthosis design that hardly restricts the user and looks fashionable, they said.

Of course this is not the only custom-made 3D printed cast that relies on 3D scans; the Osteoid Medical cast relies on the same principles, and was first pioneered two years ago. But the Xkelet stands out for its scalability and the reliance on an iPad app. Where most other concepts rely on costly 3D scanning equipment  a serious hurdle for commercialization  the app takes care of all of that. The iPad is simply rotated around the limb in question for about 15 seconds to gather all the necessary data. 3D printable models can thus be realized relatively quickly.

Only 3D printing itself obviously takes a bit longer. The Xkelet casts are 3D printed using a SLS 3D printer in the completely waterproof and hypoallergenic PA2200 plastic, which has a ISO10993-1 certification for being biocompatible. We cant yet tell you which 3D printers we use, but we can say theyre not cheap, they tell us. 3D printing takes about eight hours right now, but they hope to considerably cut down production times in the near future. Right now, the patient would only have to wait four days to receive their custom cast. They are also lightweight, with a wrist cast weighing less than 100 grams.

Whats more, the Xkelet also stands out from others for its scalability and adaptability. The same principles can be applied to just about every part of the body, and a large variety of locking systems and customized mesh openings can be integrated into the design  accommodating a variety of treatment procedures. Of course there are also plenty of color options.

But it took a long time to get to this point, having taken four years to develop. In truth weve looked at so many software versions, I could not tell you. We used Maya, Rhino, Solid Works, Fusion, and a lot more, they say to 3ders.org. Finding the right materials and scanning solutions were also big challenges. But the prospects are good. Their software is almost completed and the Spanish entrepreneurs are working together with doctors to verify their products. So far, the feedback is great. While their agenda is still shrouded in mystery, more can be expected in a few months from now. We cant wait for the plaster cast to become a relic of the past.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Lisa wrote at 10/20/2016 1:53:31 AM:How do I get one of these?Paul Dutch wrote at 9/9/2016 12:08:49 AM:Excellent. 8 hours to print. I can't see this being used in ED at the moment. If only CLIP tech was cheaper..




Bo Winegard with Ben Winegard and Brian Boutwell in Quillette:

Most people believe that race exists. They believe that Denzel Washington is an African American, that George Clooney is a Caucasian, and that George Takei is an Asian.* Many intellectuals, however, contend that this belief results from an illusion as dangerous as it is compelling. Just as the sun appears to orbit the earth, so too do humans appear to belong to distinct and easily identifiable groups. But, underneath this appearance, the reality of human genetic variation is complicated and inconsistent with standard, socially constructed racial categories. This is often touted as cause for celebration. All humans are really African under the skin; and human diversity, however salient it may appear, is actually remarkably superficial. Therefore racism is based on a misperception of reality and is as untrue as it is deplorable.

With appropriate qualifications, however, we will argue that most people are correct: race exists. And although genetic analyses have shown that human variation is complicated, standard racial categories are not arbitrary social constructions. Rather, they correspond to real genetic differences among human populations. Furthermore, we believe that scientists can and should study this variation without fear of censure or obloquy. Racism isnt wrong because there arent races; it is wrong because it violates basic human decency and modern moral ideals. In fact, pinning a message of tolerance to the claim that all humans are essentially the same underneath the skin is dangerous. It suggests that if there were real differences, racism would be justified. This is bad science and worse morality. Promoting a tolerant, cosmopolitan society doesnt require denying basic facts about the world. It requires putting in the hard work and effort to support the legal equality and moral dignity of all humans.

More here.
David Runciman at The London Review of Books:

So who is to blame? Please dont say the voters: 17,410,742 is an awful lot of people to be wrong on a question of this magnitude. They are not simply suckers and/or closet racists  in fact, relatively few of them are  and they are not plain ignorant. You cant fool that many people, even for a relatively short period of time. And yes it was close, but it wasnt that close. The margin between the two sides  3.8 per cent  was roughly the same as the margin by which Obama defeated Romney in the 2012 presidential election (3.9 per cent), and you dont hear a lot of people complaining about the legitimacy of that, not even Republicans (well, not that many). Plus, turnout in the referendum, at 72.2 per cent, was nearly 18 per cent higher than in the last presidential election. The difference, of course, is that a general election is a constitutional necessity whereas the EU referendum was a political choice. If you dont like the outcome, dont say it was the wrong answer to the question. It was the wrong question, put at the wrong time, in the wrong way. And thats the fault of the politicians.
Summer activities are in full swing at Lake Tahoe and they range from drive-in movies by the lake and interactive art in the forest to flying through the air with your best friends.





Heavenly Zip Lines and Adventure Ropes Courses

Taking the gondola up to the top of Heavenly is not just for skiers anymore. Heavenly Lake Tahoe has extending their summer activities with exciting new rides at Epic Adventure, including the Hot Shot Zip Line. The Blue Streak Zip Line still sends people flying 3,300-feet between two peaks above the lake, but the 1,000 foot-long, 40-mph Hot Shot can be enjoyed along with three of your friends. Even more friends can enjoy the harnessed Adventure Ropes Courses just below the zip lines.While you're there look out for Heavenly's new alpine coaster and a tree canopy tour, both offering unparalleled views of Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness.





COST:

Hot Shot, $29 per person

Blue Streak, $60 per person

Boulder Cove Ropes Course, $45 per person

Discovery Forest Ropes Course, $60 per person















Trails and Vistas Art Hike & World Concert

Local and regional artists incorporate their creativity into the Tahoe forest during the Trails and Vistas Art Hike at Spooner Lake and Donner Ski Ranch. Attendees will watch and interact with dancers, musicians, and performance artists along a three-mile route.





COST:$35 (age 11+), $12 (age 4-11)









Tahoe Star Tours at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe

The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe at Northstar California will still be offering peeks of the universe with Tony Berendsen of Tahoe Star Tours. Every Friday night, participants will enjoy access to a private viewing area, blankets, and cocktails while learning about the cosmos. High powered Celestron telescopes will be available for viewing various events throughout the rest of the summer.





COST:$35 for adults, $20 for children 12 and under









Emerald Bay Trolley

If you want to get to Emerald Bay and Desolation Wilderness without having to fight for parking, Emerald Bay Trolley will get you there in San Francisco style. The red trolley runs from Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe up to Homewood, stopping at various locations like Pope Beach, Taylor Creek, the Vikingsholm trail and Sugar Pine Point State Park. This year the trolley will have a $5 hop-on, hop-off fee for the whole route.





COST:One-way fare, $2









Yoga Squaw'd

The Village at Squaw will be filled with yogis every Wednesday this summer. Taught by well-known yoga instructors, this free yoga class will be held through the end of August. If you forget your mat, Yoga Squaw'd will lend you one. Afterwards, head to the Village's Wanderlust to shop for gear and listen to soothing music.





COST:Free









Squaw Valley High Camp and Northstar California Village Roller Skating

Both Squaw Valley USA and the Village at Northstar are offering roller skating this summer. The High Camp Roller Rink is accessed by Squaw Valley's Aerial Tram, the roller skating arena offers panoramic views of Squaw, Lake Tahoe and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains. The Village at Northstar's 9,000 square foot skating rink is flanked by outdoor fire pits where you can enjoy an apres-skate cocktail.





COST:Squaw Valley: Adult (23-64) $44 for the tram and skating. Purchase online for $38. Northstar: Free, skate rentals for $10









Kayak Tahoe East Shore Tour

The East Shore of Tahoe tends to stay hidden away if you don't have boat access. Kayak Tahoe is offering tours of the hidden beaches and rocky coves of the Nevada side of the lake with lunch at a secluded sandy beach. This tour is best for people who have kayaking experience.





COST:$80 per person









Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center

Donner Memorial State Park has a brand new visitor center that features a state of the art facility with innovative and engaging programs. The Multipurpose Theater includes state-of-the-art audiovisual systems for presentations.





COST:Free









Sorensen's Resort Geology, Wildflower and History Treks

The charming Sorensen's Resort in South Lake Tahoe has several tours and treks around the beautiful area of Hope Valley. Their newest treks cover everything from Central Sierra Nevada geology, wildflowers and medicinal plants, and photography and historical walks.





COST:Varies per activity. Deals are available for resort guests.
A group of go-karters took over the freeway, Kevin Durant is leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State Warriors, there's a commune that require 1,330 hugs per week, and other news from the past week.







Anaheim Flat-Out Bans Airbnb and Other Short-Term Rentals, Curbed LA

The Anaheim City Council voted yesterday to outlaw all short-term rentals, the type made popular through such websites as Airbnb and Vrbo, CBS2 reports. The rules are super strict. They're tougher than Santa Monica's stringent regulations, as they even ban home-sharing, meaning renting out a room instead of an entire home or apartment.Read more.





San Francisco Passes Most Expansive Styrofoam Ban in US, NBC Bay Area

San Francisco on Tuesday adopted the nation's most extensive ban on Styrofoam, according to the supervisors who sponsored the legislation. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to outlaw polystyrene foam, better known by its brand name, as it relates from everything from egg cartons to buoys as of Jan. 1, 2017. The old legislation, enacted in 2007, banned the product as it related to food packaging. Now most every product made of Styrofoam  down to the beach coolers sold at the grocery store  are now forbidden in San Francisco. Penalties range from $100 for the first violation to $500 for the third and each subsequent violation, according to the board. The hope, city leaders say, is that more companies will begin using organic and compostable packaging materials. Read more.









Kevin Durant to Sign With Warriors, ESPN

Kevin Durant is joining the Golden State Warriors. Saying he has experienced "by far the most challenging few weeks in my professional life," Durant announced his decision to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in a post on The Players' Tribune. Durant is expected to sign a two-year, $54.3 million contract, sources told ESPN's Marc Stein. The deal will include a player option after the first year.Read more.





10-Bedroom SF Mansion Offers Nightmarish Hug-Based Communal Living, SF Gate

Are you looking for a furnished room in a San Francisco mansion for just $650 a month? The good news is that it exists. The bad news is that it's in a house that shares 1,330 hugs per week. People who use the word "mindfulness" unironically may find their perfect accommodation in Chateau Ubuntu, a 10-bedroom, 38-person mansion near Alamo Square that's seeking new residents.Read more.





Man Evades Police on Go-Kart on California Highway as Crowd Cheers, CBS Local

A go-kart was caught on camera racing down an Oakland freeway as a black SUV with police-like lights chased it Sunday. Witnesses cheered as the go-kart raced down I-880. Read more.
Clear-eyed about the situation, by contrast, is Ben's father-in-law, Jack. Until we meet the man, we've had only Ben's angry, resentful take on him. Indeed, when the two come face to face, the older man's seething anger seems to confirm our worst fears. But then Langella (Frost/Nixon, Robot & Frank), the craftiest of actors, disrupts all expectations the minute his character turns his attention to the grandchildren. Erupting with tender sympathy, Jack seems to embrace all of them at once, his voice softening to a lullaby of affection. As his wife, Abigail, Dowd tries to bridge the chasm between the two, but it's clear she's been toiling at this span for decades without success. She remains dedicated to the task but exhausted by its futility.

The complex dynamics that unfold once the clan arrives in New Mexico make it clear we've left the dirt-and-grit simplicity of forest life far behind: To highlight his disdain for the comfort and consumerism he finds at every turn, Ben embarks on progressively more outlandish behaviors. It doesn't help that his in-laws live in a virtual palace, with furnishings just this side of Liberace's digs.

Ben is clearly flailing  and, from here on, so does filmmaker Ross, who chooses to end the film with an outrageously impractical  and likely impossible  family caper that I won't detail here. I can reveal that the film's final quarter is custom-crafted to enable a particular closing shot, and that Ross takes whatever liberties he must to achieve it.

And what of the film's young cast, who range in age from 7 or so to their late teens? Though saddled with trippy character names such as Kielyr, Vespyr, Rellian and Zaja, they are all called upon to convey some fairly complex emotions  from fierce loyalty to extreme mortification  that illustrate their complicated relationship with their Jeremiah Johnson dad. Two of the oldest, in particular  George MacKay and Samantha Isler  bring an endearing vulnerability to their performances.

It's easy to imagine, several years from now, seeing these two in grownup roles and blurting out, "Hey, remember them? They were in that movie about the weird family in the woods. The one with the stupid ending."

Bill Newcott is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media.
Wolves face Moorhead with no room for error in NSIC North race

While Northern State is still in the running for the NSIC North division championship, the Wolves will have to win their remaining three games.


Transition of Board of Directors and Company Secretary for the Next Stage of Development

Sydney, July 7, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Traditional Therapy Clinics Limited ( ASX:TTC ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Geoffrey Ross and Mr Christian Drysdale as non-executive directors.



Mr Ross has over 30 years of experience working in China and has developed a strong network of Chinese partners that have supported his many ventures in China. He has broad industry experience and has built close contacts with Chinese Government and the broader Chinese business and investment community. He has a large team that support his Chinese business ventures and through this team has developed a deep understanding of both western and Chinese cultures. Mr Ross also has ASX listed company experience, most recently in relation to SecureNet Limited, where he was the Managing Director. Mr Ross spends considerable time in China; in particular Chongqing where TTC's head office is located. He permanently resides in Sydney and he is one of Australia's leading ocean yacht racers and has won the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.



Mr Drysdale has considerable financial services experience including wholesale banking, asset management, trading, derivatives, structured products and corporate finance. He spent 14 years at the Macquarie Group where he was Managing Director for Strategic Development in Asia. He developed strong expertise in strategic planning with a deep focus on growth and market entry strategies via acquisition including work experience in China, Hong Kong and India. He has had responsibility for multicultural teams across Asia.



Mr Ross and Mr Drysdale have both spent time meeting and developing a strong working relationship with the TTC Chinese management team in Chongqing.



TTC Chairman, Andrew Sneddon, welcomed Mr Ross and Mr Drysdale to the board. "TTC is fortunate to be able to gain access to the extensive and very relevant Chinese experience of our new board members. The Board looks forward to their contributions to the future development of TTC."



As part of the transition:



- Mr Jeff Fisher and Mr Glen Lees have resigned from the Board;



- Mr Andrew Sneddon will step down as Chairman but remain as a non-executive director for a period of up to one month to support the smooth transition of existing relationships before he also resigns from the Board;



- Mr Geoff Ross has assumed the role as Chairman of TTC and has been appointed as a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Nomination and Remuneration Committee;



- Mr Christian Drysdale will take over the role of acting CFO from Mr Lees until a full time CFO is recruited and has also assumed the role of Chairman of the Audit and Risk Committee and Chairman of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee; and



- Mr Nicholas Ong will replace Ms Lisa Dalton as Company Secretary.



TTC Managing Director, Zhirong Hu, on behalf of the Board and all the Chinese management team wishes to express their thanks to Mr Fisher, Mr Lees, Mr Sneddon and Ms Dalton for their considerable contribution and effort in achieving the establishment of TTC as a very successful, Chinese based ASX listed company.



During its first period as a listed entity (to 31 December 2015) TTC mostly met or exceeded all financial and operating targets outlined in it's Prospectus and the Board and Chinese management team are very proud of this accomplishment.



Both the Company and the Board see the appointment of Mr Ross and Mr Drysdale as a significant milestone for TTC which will be of substantial benefit to the ongoing development and success of the company and its many shareholders.



Operational Update on TTC



TTC continues to be on track to achieve its goals previously announced to the market of up to a minimum of 35 new franchises in 2016, a buyback of a minimum of 10 existing franchises and achieve EBITDA growth of between 25 and 30%. To date 21 new franchises have been signed in 2016 and as well as the 3 acquisitions already completed in 2016, due diligence on the next series of acquisitions is expected to be completed in August.



Additionally, the Board is pleased to confirm that the second payment in relation to the refund of the building (RMB 25,600,000 which equates to A$5.16 m using an exchange rate of 4.96 has been received on time and in accordance with the contracted agreement with the developer which provides for a full refund of RMB 128,000,000 in four instalments, by 31 December 2016 (which equates to A$ 25.81 million using an exchange rate of 4.96).



About Traditional Therapy Clinics Ltd





Traditional Therapy Clinics Limited (ASX:TTC) is a franchisor and the owner of one of the largest chains (by number of clinics) of traditional therapeutic health and wellness clinics in China. It currently has 343 franchised clinics and 35 owned clinics in operation. It is a well established business with a strong growth profile, employing a repeatable and scalable business model.

TTC has a highly recognised and respected brand, having received the prestigious Chinese Well-Known Trademark designation from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. It operates within a strongly regulated industry sector of significant scale, which offers opportunity for further growth.

TTC is an ASX listed company employing around 1,000 staff across 27 of the 33 administrative divisions in China. More information is available at https://www.ttc-ltd.com/


XM.com to implement iSignthis Digital KYC

Melbourne, July 7, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with one of the industry leaders in online Forex and CFD trading, XM.COM.



Highlights:



- iSignthis executes agreement with leading global online currency trading platform, XM.COM



- iSignthis Digital KYC service to be made available to all XM.com customers from mid to late 2016



- iSignthis service provides enhanced due diligence per EC 4th AML Directive requirements, June 2016 CySec regulatory update and other FATF model jurisdictions



iSignthis will integrate with XM.COM to deliver its enhanced due diligence Digital KYC service. The iSignthis service will provide XM.COM with a user friendly, automated customer onboarding system, allowing XM.com to meet the stringent KYC requirements of CySec and the EU's 4th AML Directive ("4AMLD"). The 4AMLD is set to come into effect in June 2017 within the EU.



The iSignthis service opens up the potential customer market for XM.COM to any of the worlds 3.5Bn financially included persons, with XM able to onboard customers who elect to pay by credit or debit card within minutes.



With over 500,000 clients since it was founded in 2009, XM has grown to a large and well established international investment firm, and has become a true industry leader. XM is headquartered in Cyprus with global operations.



iSignthis Managing Director Mr. N J (John) Karantzis commented "We are delighted to reach agreement with XM.COM, enabling XM to take advantage of iSignthis' world best practice online identity services."



About XM.Com



With over 500,000 clients since it was founded in 2009, XM has grown to a large and well established international investment firm and has become a true industry leader.



XM currently employs more than 200 professionals whose combined expertise represents the greatest talent pool to be found at any forex broker.



Our extensive experience combined with support in 24 languages, makes XM the broker of choice for traders of all levels, anywhere. Read more about the company at their website http://www.xm.com



About iSignthis Ltd





iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions.

By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard.

iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia.

ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others.

Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service.
TOKYO  A woman injured by a faulty Takata Corp. air bag has settled her case and withdrawn her complaint, Japanese media reported Wednesday.

The case was filed May and was the first in Japan related to the unfolding massive global recall due to air bag problems. The woman was in the front seat passenger of a 2006 Nissan X-Trail sport-utility vehicle when the vehicle crashed on a freeway in October and the air bag burst improperly, although the one for the drivers seat worked properly, according to Nissan Motor Co.

Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday that the woman settled with Takata. NHK TV said the settlement totaled 12 million yen ($119,000).

Takata declined to give specifics, giving as the reason that another party, the woman, was involved. Nissan declined to comment.

The woman was injured in the face, the left arm and right hand, Nissan said.

The car model involved in the crash was part of a recall announced in May last year. The vehicle had been brought in, but no parts were replaced after a check to see if the bags inflator was airtight, which at the time Nissan thought meant it was safe.

After the accident, Nissan decided to replace all inflators, regardless of whether they are airtight. If a replacement part isnt ready, the passenger side air bag will be turned off, Nissan has said.

Takata has expanded its recalls because of possible defective inflators that can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel flying into passengers.

The number of recalled vehicles now likely tallies more than 100 million. Faulty air bags have been responsible for 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide. Three more deaths are under investigation in Malaysia.

The recalls involve almost every major automaker, including Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and BMW. It has developed into the biggest recall in U.S. history, with 69 million vehicles being recalled there.

Takata uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time when exposed to high heat and humidity and burn faster than it is designed to.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/yuri-kageyama
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  A 44-year-old New Mexico man is charged with violating a migratory bird law by allegedly trying to sell hawks without federal permission.

Wayne Martin of the Cochiti (COH-cheh-tee) Pueblo in Sandoval County pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Albuquerque.

The indictment accuses Martin of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act on Feb. 29, 2012. The law makes it illegal to possess, offer for sale, or sell migratory birds or parts or products of migratory birds.

John Van Butcher, a federal public defender appointed to represent Martin, did not immediately return a call for comment on the allegations against Martin.

The U.S. Attorneys Office says the case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

___

The spelling of Cochiti has been corrected in this story.
SAN FRANCISCO  A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Homeland Security officials must quickly release immigrant children  but not their parents  from family detention centers after being picked up crossing the border without documentation.

The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said that lengthy detentions of migrant children violated a 19-year-old legal settlement ordering their quick release after processing. Government lawyers had argued that the settlement covered only immigrant children who crossed the border unaccompanied by adult relatives. But the three-judge panel ruled that immigration officials arent required to release the parents detained along with the children, reversing U.S. District Judge Dolly Gees ruling last year.

Advocates seeking stricter immigration controls said they hoped the ruling would discourage adults crossing the border illegally from exploiting children as a way to stay out of custody in the United States.

Mark Krikorian, Center for Immigration Studies executive director and an advocate for stricter border controls, said allowing the parents to be released may have encouraged illegal immigration of adults traveling with children.

It makes using children way less attractive, he said of the most recent ruling.

The Department of Homeland reported that more than 23,000 families have been apprehended in the first five months of the year compared to about 13,400 in 2015 and around 30,600 in 2014. Most are from Honduras, El Salvador or Guatemala.

Melissa Crow, legal director of the American Immigration Council, said she was somewhat disappointed with the ruling because the goal of the litigation was to shield the children from unfair and inhumane treatment. Separating children and parents still treats the children unfairly.

The court misses the point, Crow said.

Since Gees ruling, immigration officials have released hundreds of families and have been holding newly arriving families for only short durations. Following that earlier ruling, the number of immigrant families has again been on the rise.

At issue are two detention centers in Texas that were built after a flood of immigrants in summer 2014 overwhelmed border authorities. The government poured millions of dollars into the two large detention centers after tens of thousands of immigrant families, mostly mothers with children from Central America, crossed the Rio Grande into the U.S. that year. Many have petitioned for asylum after fleeing gang and domestic violence back home.

A Homeland Security official told a group of immigration advocates in September 2014 that the jails were opened in part because roughly 70 percent of immigrant families released after being caught at the border didnt report to immigration authorities as ordered.

Critics of the jails complained that they were not suited for children and later went to federal court to argue that the government was violating a decades old agreement about how immigrant children would be treated.

The Department of Homeland Security didnt return phone and email inquiries over how it planned to proceed.

If the government decides to start detaining parents after releasing their children, the children would be treated as unaccompanied minors. That means they would be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services and placed either with relatives or possibly a foster family in the United States while they wait for DHS or a judge to decide if they will be allowed to stay in the United States.

Career law enforcement officials within DHS have long recommended detaining parents if their children must be released to ensure that the adults can be quickly deported, according to a U.S. official briefed on those recommendations.

The official said that detaining parents would also likely serve as deterrent to other people considering crossing the border illegally with their children.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to disclose internal government discussions.

___

Associated Press reporter Alicia Caldwell in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.
SANTA FE  A former Santa Fe emergency room physician and one-time congressional candidate pleaded guilty Tuesday to a March DWI.

Before his arrest, Miles Nelson asked Santa Fe County deputies to let him off the hook because he had responsibilities as a doctor.

Nelson, 58, pleaded guilty to first-offense DWI and had a charge of reckless driving dropped by prosecutors, according to records from Santa Fe Magistrate Court. Nelson was charged the night of March 14 after he flipped his Toyota Tacoma on Old Santa Fe Trail after drinking at Harrys Roadhouse and was found hanging upside down near Camino Monte Feliz. Deputies had to use a knife to cut Nelsons seatbelt, but he was not injured.

Nelson  who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 1st Congressional District as a Democrat in 2004  will serve one year of supervised probation and will undergo alcohol screening and treatment as well as be subject to random urine tests, according to his plea agreement. Nelson also must have a breath interlock device installed in his car for a year, provide 24 hours of community service and attend DWI school and a victim impact panel.

According to a sheriffs office report from March, the staff of Harrys Roadhouse on Old Las Vegas Highway called deputies and told them a drunk customer was trying to leave. The staffers said they tried to call a cab for Nelson and even tried to feed him soup after the kitchen closed, and they said Nelsons truck kept stalling out as he was trying to leave. A 16-year-old witness at the crash scene said Nelson turned wide into his oncoming lane before Nelson over-corrected and rolled his truck off the road. Nelson told officers that hed only had two beers, but he can be seen on lapel cam video slurring his words and not being able to stand on his own. Nelson then tried to persuade deputies to let him go because he was close to home, saying, I am like two minutes away from my house. Im a physician, and I have responsibilities.

Nelson is a former emergency room contract doctor with Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and Lovelace Health System and is a co-owner of home health care agency A Nurse in the Family. The New Mexico Medical Board website says Nelsons medical doctor license is inactive.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.  Standing on Atlantic Citys famed Boardwalk, Hillary Clinton ripped Donald Trump as a shameful businessman who contributed to the decline of the oceanfront resort town and would be just as disastrous for Americas workers as president.

What he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what hell do if he wins in November, Clinton warned Wednesday, the faded facade of Trump Plaza, a shuttered hotel formerly owned by the presumptive Republican nominee, just over her shoulder.

Clintons remarks were part of a growing effort by her campaign to undercut Trumps business reputation, which Democrats believe is greatly overhyped and based more on his ability to attract publicity than actual private sector skills. In the coming weeks, she is expected to highlight victims of Trumps business ventures, including contractors who went unpaid  echoing a strategy Democrats employed successfully against 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Clinton made no mention of the FBIs withering criticism Tuesday accompanied its recommendation that she not face actual charges for her email practices as secretary of state. She ignored reporters shouted questions about the matter later in the day as she greeted striking workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, another property previously owned by her GOP opponent.

In clearing Clinton of breaking the law, FBI Director James Comey was scorching in his criticism of the Democratic nominee, saying she was extremely careless in handling classified information on a private email account and personal internet server.

Even with Comeys tough rhetoric, Clinton aides were relieved to have the investigation closed so they can fully turn their attention to the fall faceoff with Trump. Campaign aides say that while Trumps comments about minorities and women weaken his prospects of winning the White House, he is still viewed favorably as a businessman by many Americans.

For Clinton, Atlantic City provided a picture-perfect backdrop to try to undermine that reputation.

Once a casino-lined coastal jewel, the city has struggled in recent years, losing more than half of its gambling revenue during the past nine years. The casinos struggles have led to job losses and credit downgrades.

A quarter-century after Trump sought to build a casino empire, he owns not a single hotel here. His name is still atop the Taj Mahal, but the property belongs to his friend Carl Icahn, the billionaire businessman magnate.

Trump has defended his record in the gambling town, saying he created thousands of jobs and made a lot of money in Atlantic City, which was what, as a businessman, I am supposed to do for my company and my family. Earlier Wednesday, he blamed Atlantic Citys troubles on politicians big mistakes.

Even in the years when other Atlantic City casinos were growing, those carrying the Trump name werent. When his publicly traded company, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., went bust in 2004, Atlantic Citys casino revenues were on their way to an all-time high. In fact, two of his casinos three bankruptcies occurred in years when overall Atlantic City gambling revenue was rising.

Isnt he supposed to be some kind of amazing businessman? Clinton said. So its fair to ask, since he is applying for a job, what in the world happened here?

She also placed blame for Atlantic Citys troubles on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of Trumps biggest supporters and a possible vice presidential pick.

If your governor would start doing his job instead of following Donald Trump around holding his coat, maybe we could really get New Jerseys economy moving again, she said.

After a months-long fight over Atlantic Citys future that included threats of a state takeover, Christie signed legislation in May that kept the city solvent and staved off immediate bankruptcy. The city now has until the end of October to formulate a plan for balancing its budget in order to avoid being taken over by the state.

Christie, meanwhile, has blamed the citys issues on Democrats as well as larger structural forces, including increased competition from new gambling centers and the citys failure to rebrand itself and expand its attractions.

As Clinton campaigned in New Jersey, Democrats on Capitol Hill were pushing her primary rival Bernie Sanders to join them in backing the former secretary of state. Sanders challenged Clinton vigorously in the Democratic primary and has yet to endorse her  although there were reports that he may do so at an joint event next week.

A Democrat familiar with the discussions said Wednesday if the two campaigns continue to make progress, Clinton and Sanders would appear at the event Tuesday in New Hampshire. The Democrat spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the plans.

During their private meeting, House Democrats voiced frustration with Sanders slow-moving support for Clinton, shouting timeline, timeline at the Vermont senator. Sanders never clarified when he would endorse Clinton, though at one point he said, Our goal is not to win elections, then paused. During that pause, Sanders was booed, according to a Democrat who attended the session and spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the discussion.

___

AP writers Ken Thomas, Jill Colvin, Jeff Horwitz, Chad Day, Alan Fram and Erica Werner contributed to this report from Washington.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
EUGENE, Ore.  Courtney Frerichs competitive nature has helped her become an NCAA steeplechase champion.

The former New Mexico Lobo will face the stiffest competition of her young life Thursday night when she competes in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals at the U.S. Olympic trials.

The top three finishers in the 8:48 p.m. race earn a trip to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

I dont want to put a cap on it and say that Im just vying for the third spot, Frerichs said before leaving for Eugene. Im going to put myself in the mix and see what will happen.

Frerichs set the collegiate record (9:24.41) in winning the 2016 NCAA steeplechase title last month on the same Hayward Field track that hosts the trials.

In that race, she went against her usual routine and pushed to the front. In Mondays Olympic trials preliminaries, she settled into an easy pace and finished second in her heat.

On the homestretch I was able to shut it down, she said after the race. It was the easiest 9:40 Ive ever run.

Frerichs said she has always been a very competitive person.

Id say my parents are very competitive people also, she said. Just having been in competition in gymnastics at such a young age, Ive always strived to perfect things.

UNM assistant James Butler said she comes by her competitiveness naturally.

She had a great home environment in that her parents and family supported her, but didnt push her, he said. So that drive came from herself. It wasnt from a parent or a family member saying you have to do this. It was her, learning she wanted to do it. I always find if you get college athletes who develop that drive themselves, those are the ones who succeed in the end.

Frerichs figures about six women have a shot at the three Olympic spots.

I dont have a time in mind, she said. You dont know if its really hot that day, or if it turns into a tactical race. Its just mentally staying strong, staying engaged the whole time.

Thursdays final will be a champions reunion of sorts. Every NCAA steeplechase winner since 2010 advanced to the final.

Emma Coburn was on the 2012 U.S. Olympic team at age 21 and ran ninth. She holds the American steeplechase record (9:10.76) and won NCAA titles in 2011 and 13 for Colorado.

Shalaya Kipp (NCAA champ for Colorado in 2012) made the 2012 Olympic team after finishing third in the trials.

Leah OConnor won the 2014 NCAA title for Michigan State. Her season-best time is 9:18.85.

Colleen Quigley, who gave up a modeling career to pursue track, won the 2015 title for Florida State.

Bridget Franek, who edged Frerichs in Mondays heat, won the 2010 NCAA title while at Penn State.

CAMPBELL: Amber Campbell, who lived in Tucumcari from age 2 to before high school (1983-1995), won the womens hammer throw Wednesday in Eugene. She will be a three-time Olympian.
Whoever said crime doesnt pay hasnt talked to the family of a Palestinian terrorist. For the Palestine Liberation Organization and the related Palestinian Authority, the killers of Jewish Israelis are considered martyrs. And as such, their families are paid for the service these murderers have done for the Palestinian cause.

This came to light last week after a Palestinian, Mohammed Tarayra, stabbed Hallel Yaffa Ariel, a 13-year-old Israeli girl, as she was sleeping in her bed. The stabbing was part of a wave of attacks by Palestinians who have for nearly eight months been shooting, stabbing and running down Jews with the encouragement of social media and popular songs.

According to the latest report of the Russian, European, U.S. and U.N. group known as the Quartet, there have been 250 of these kinds of attacks since October. It says, These terrorist attacks, which have been carried out mostly by young, unaffiliated individuals, contribute to the sense among Israelis of living under constant threat.

But this misses important context. The Quartets report, which is even-handed to a fault, makes no mention of the martyrs fund, through which the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization pay the families of all Palestinian prisoners and the families of martyrs. So while there is no evidence that the Palestinian government plans these killing sprees, it encourages them as a legitimate act of resistance.

As Commentarys Evelyn Gordon wrote last week, the prisoners and the families of the prisoners themselves are actually paid a higher wage than what most Palestinians earn for nonviolent work.

The origins of these payments goes back a long way. Before the Palestinian Authority was established in the 1990s through the Oslo peace process, the Palestine Liberation Organization paid the families of martyrs and prisoners detained by Israel. That practice became standardized during the Second Intifadah of 2000 to 2005. The Israelis even found documents in the late Yasser Arafats compound that showed payments to families of suicide bombers.

For years the Israelis and the Americans didnt do much on this issue. The Israel Defense Forces work closely with Palestinian security services to keep the peace in the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Bush and Obama administrations have pressed both sides to restart negotiations over a final status.

This is starting to change. On Friday, Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that he would begin withholding part of the tax revenue that Israel sends to the Palestinian Authority  equal to the amount paid to martyrs.

Frank Lowenstein, the U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, told me the U.S. government has recently started withholding funding for the same reason. We have robustly complied with legislation passed in 2014 that requires us to deduct from development assistance to the Palestinian Authority for Palestinian payments to individuals imprisoned for acts of terrorism, he said. The amount of development assistance that has been withheld is classified.

The Palestinian Authority seems to be aware of this and has figured out ways to hide these payments to the families of murderers, by creating new accounts. Sen. Dan Coates, a Republican from Indiana, has introduced new legislation aimed at closing this loophole.

One problem is that the payments to terrorists families are exceedingly popular these days. Ziad Asali, the president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine, told me that in recent years the media and politicians have elevated these payments to something sacred in Palestinian politics.

Asali said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and others are too weak to stop it. This is where we find ourselves now. The vast majority understand there has to be an end to violence; its not serving the Palestinians in any way, Asali said. But I think nobody really has the stature and clout to confront these issues publicly.

Asali is getting at one of the many tragedies today for the Palestinians. Abbas came to power initially after he condemned suicide bombing and terrorism during the Second Intifadah. His bravery at the time to confront Arafat earned him a reputation as a peacemaker and is one reason President Barack Obama has never publicly criticized him with the same ferocity he reserves for Netanyahu.

But today Abbas is in the 11th year of a four-year term as president. He has made some vague statements opposing the recent wave of violence. But he never condemns the murderers by name. Meanwhile, his own Fatah Party glorified Tarayra on its official Facebook page.

No wonder the killers family is proud of him. His mother told a local news outlet: My son is a hero. He made me proud. My son died as a martyr defending Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to a translation from Palestinian Media Watch.

Israels alleged peace partner appears to agree. If the past is precedent, she will receive a steady check to honor her sons murder of a 13-year-old Jewish girl in her sleep.
FBI Director James Comey held a press conference Tuesday morning to announce the results of an investigation into Hillary Clintons private e-mail server.

Sorry  make that servers, for one of the revelations of todays announcement was that there was actually more than one server, more than one administrator, and an attitude towards data handling and records preservation that was, to say the least, breathtakingly insouciant.

Nonetheless, there will be no indictment recommended, for while the FBI found that the individuals involved were extremely careless, Comey says: In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts.

What else did the inquiry find?

That Clinton sent and received emails about information classified Top Secret/Special Access via her private server. That we dont really know whether the server(s) was (were) hacked. That normal people caught doing this sort of thing would often face administrative or security sanctions  i.e., having their security clearance stripped and/or getting fired or otherwise punished for the violation.

So there we are. Hillary Clinton displayed colossally poor judgment and a breathtaking disregard for the rules that apply to everyone else.

Shed be punished if she were not Hillary Clinton, but instead all she gets is a politically embarrassing scolding by the FBI.

Republicans can stop hoping that the FBI is going to ride to their rescue with an indictment. And it looks very like we are going to hand the keys to the Oval Office to someone who would have had the book thrown at her if shed been a GS-11.

Could this mean that Donald Trump now has a serious shot at the presidency? Um  no. Perhaps this helps Trump a little bit, on the margin. But I doubt that it does any more than confirm what everyone already thought.

Democrats will continue to stick their fingers in their ears and say Lalalalala-I cant-hear-you-and-anyway-Colin-Powell-did-it-too (he didnt).

Republicans already thought she was a crook.

Low-information voters, aka the people who swing elections, will not follow this closely enough to take subtle new insights from the wording of Comeys statement; they will go forward with the same vague sense that the Clintons are not very ethical people.

When they weigh this against their similarly vague sense that Trump isnt very ethical either, its probably a wash.

Especially since Trump is the Republican worst positioned to take advantage of this opening. How many people are going to think that if Trump had been in Clintons place, he would have said: Heavens no, we cant go having a private server! That would be unethical and strictly against the rules! Put my e-mails on the State Department system so that it will be open to FOIA!

Were talking about a man whose dubious real estate seminars targeted parents with hungry kids, who has been sued for fraud more than once, who bans news outlets from his campaign events if he thinks theyve been too mean to him.

This is the man whos supposed to deliver hard-hitting attacks on Clintons honesty and transparency?

In fact, rather than helping Trump, I wonder if this hurts him.

The indictment was never very likely, and now that it has been put to rest, Republicans are going to have to look at Trumps chances without a deus ex machina to turn the tables for them.

I dont rate the chances of a Dump Trump movement all that highly, but I have to think that theyre higher today than they were yesterday, simply because Republicans now know that this is all theyve got.

The cavalry is not coming to the rescue. And the infantrys too busy fighting within their own ranks to mount a successful attack.
WASHINGTON  Law enforcement officials tend to inhabit a universe that is both binary and terse: Prosecute or dont prosecute. Let the facts in the indictment speak for themselves. No further comment.

So the remarks by FBI Director James Comey accompanying his announcement that he would not recommend bringing charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were, as he acknowledged, unusual. Indeed, that word scarcely captures what happened. Comeys comments were an extraordinary, important and, on balance, justifiable departure from normal practice.

Clinton may not be better off for them, but the country is.

The decision not to bring charges was the correct one, but a simple announcement to that effect would have deprived the public  deprived voters who are being asked to choose a president  of any understanding of the judgment underlying that determination. It would have kept hidden from public view information that is insufficient to support criminal charges but that many voters may deem relevant to their assessment of Clintons fitness for the presidency  and that they can test against Clintons own, often contradictory account.

Some Democrats will grumble privately  they already are  about Comeys commentary, even as they publicly celebrate the announcement that Clinton is effectively in the clear. Some Republicans will assert, without justification, that it shows Comey somehow taking a dive for Clinton; it took no time for Donald Trump to tweet that the outcome represented further proof that the system is rigged.

Actually, it showed evidence of a system under stress  a presumptive nominee facing criminal jeopardy; an investigation conducted under the tense deadline of an impending election; an inevitable cloud of partisan distrust made even darker by the unfortunate tarmac meeting last week between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Comey took this bad situation and  acting on his own  made it better.

Let us count the ways that Comeys behavior was extraordinary:

That he made the statement at all, given that charging decisions are left to the prosecutors, without an interim assessment by investigators  even the FBI director himself  pre-emptively asserting that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.

That he provided a synopsis of both the facts of the case and the legal analysis underlying his no-go conclusion, that previous prosecutions presented situations involving clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice.

And that  here I become slightly queasy about Comeys self-appointed truth-teller role  he engaged in extensive editorializing: Clinton and her colleagues were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.

Seven of the email chains concerned such top-secret, sensitive information that any reasonable person in Secretary Clintons position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation.

Theres more. Comey took a barely disguised slap at President Obama, noting that there were many opinions expressed by people who were not part of the investigation  including people in government  but none of that mattered to us.

Gee, what people could Comey be referring to? Maybe the one who asserted in April that I continue to believe that she has not jeopardized Americas national security? (Note that Comey said it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clintons personal email account and in fact penetrated the private commercial email accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account.)

He undercut Clintons self-congratulatory assertion that her team had provided all work-related emails from her private server, observing that the FBI unearthed several thousand additional such emails.

And Comey suggested, rather pointedly, that the decision not to prosecute might not be the end of the matter, raising the prospect of yanked security clearances or other administrative sanctions.

Comey proved his independence during the George W. Bush administration when, as deputy attorney general, he headed off White House officials hospital room efforts to convince then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to reauthorize a domestic surveillance program. On Tuesday morning, Comey proved the point again. He is no team player, which in this setting is no criticism  it is a high compliment.
There are wonderful charities in the metro area that work to help those residents who find themselves homeless, a blessing as the causes and the fallout are so varied. But one of those charities, in fact the largest shelter in the state, stands out because:

1. It keeps families  husbands and wives, partners, parents and children  together;

2. It does it without accepting government money.

Consider how awful it would be to not have a place to call home. How terrible it would be to be torn from your family, however you define it. Now put those together.

Jeremy Reynalds did 30 years ago this month. The Bible college student, failed corrections officer and one-time Christian coffee-shop owner wanted to provide a safe place where an entire family could stay together during one of the worst times in their lives.

And while not every person who finds themselves homeless and needing help will want to avail themselves to Reynalds Christian proselytizing, Reynalds fills an important need without furthering a nanny-state mentality in which tax dollars and their resultant bureaucracies are the only way to help people.

Apparently many donors agree. Joy Junction started as a renter of a closed Catholic boarding school. It now owns a 52-acre site that can shelter up to 300 people and spends all but 4 percent of its annual $4.5 million budget  that is based primarily on in-kind donations  on its clients.

Joy Junction will celebrate serving the community for 30 years from 4-7 p.m. July 14 in the Casa Blanca Room at Hotel Andaluz. Reservations, required by noon today, can be made by calling 217-9586.

Homelessness is a difficult problem for society to solve, in great part because its causes are so diverse. Having a shelter that has not only survived but thrived in the Metro area for three decades without government assistance sets a positive example for clients and critics alike.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
I interviewed Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry decades ago. I warned him I had no original questions and that like everyone else I wanted to understand how a television series that lasted only a few years had become such a touchstone in our culture.

Roddenberry said that one day he was watching his kids play in the backyard sandbox. Some silly dispute had erupted, and one kid was whacking the other with a plastic bucket. Roddenberry said he thought, What a normal, healthy childhood this is. They are going to be something when they grow up.

That was Star Trek, he said. Humanity had grown up and it was something. Earthly civilization had finally outgrown nationalism, tribalism, chauvinism and racial and religious prejudices. Humanity was freed to explore, improve and learn.

It was, in short, the culmination of liberalism, and not the liberalism that right-wing propagandists have managed to turn into an expletive. Were talking about the liberalism that the great English philosopher John Stuart Mill described in his masterwork, On Liberty, published in 1859.

If people can spin in their graves, last months vote of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union must certainly have Mill spinning in his.

Mills approach to politics and economics was based in metaphysics. In his view, it is human nature to strive and improve.

Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing, Mill wrote.

The job of government is to let that improvement take its course. As Mill put it, The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.

He imagined a world where reason prevails and, while people could strive to accumulate great wealth and power, they would see no appeal in doing so.

Liberalism was the defining political and economic philosophy in the western world for generations. It was the force behind universal suffrage. It was the reason Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty. It was why Martin Luther King Jr. believed The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. It was the triumph of liberalism over communism that prompted Francis Fukuyama to proclaim the end of history.

The European Union is the embodiment of Mills liberalism. Trade barriers among member nations disappeared. People were free to move anywhere within the union in order to pursue education, cultural opportunities and work. People could find the best school and the best job for themselves, and by pursuing their own goals, they improved society.

The countervailing philosophy has always been conservatism, and not the sanctimonious conservatism of Ted Cruz or the xenophobia of Donald Trump. Were talking about the conservatism of Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman who died in 1797.

Human nature does not always tend to the just and good in Burkes world. Human nature needs restraint and guidance. Liberty without wisdom and virtue is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice and madness, without tuition or restraint.

When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service, Burke wrote. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of the people.

A rather large number of people no longer buy Mills premise. They do not observe a human nature that seeks to grow and improve. They do not see a world of promise. They do not find themselves rewarded for striving. Instead, they see a system that rewards a few. They find themselves under attack from people whose traditions are anything but liberal. Rather than the future promised by Star Trek, they see that tribalism, nationalism and racism are as virulent as they ever were.

Worse, liberalism has evolved in ways Mill would probably find unrecognizable. Mill argued that liberty works best when every opinion is protected, but he could not have meant that to protect the sensitivities of certain college students the views of other people must be kept off campuses. I cant imagine what Mill would think of a liberalism that requires the federal government to dictate bathroom use across the nation.

By the same token, Burke would not recognize a conservative leader whose method of argument is insult, whose positions have no basis in fact, whose personal life is one of self-regard and self-indulgence, who practices the politics of pandering.

Maybe the great twin pillars of western political thought have run their course. Or, maybe the inheritors of those traditions are pygmies in a time that requires giants.

UpFront is a daily front-page opinion and news column. You can reach Journal columnist Winthrop Quigley at wquigley@abqjournal.com.
Prosecutors on the second day of hearings in the public corruption case against former Sen. Phil Griego attempted to show the longtime lawmaker cashed in some favors owed and exploited the trust of his busy legislative colleagues to slip a resolution through the Roundhouse that later earned him a $50,000 brokers fee.

Making their way through a long list of witnesses  which includes some of the most highly placed politicians and lawyers in the state  prosecutors with the Attorney Generals Office on Wednesday called to the stand the former Speaker of the House Ken Martinez, D-Grants, Cabinet Secretary Ed Burckle of the General Services Department and Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe.

Those three and two other men, a real estate broker who felt cheated by Griego and a state lawyer who was forced to testify, took the stand in the second day of the four-day preliminary hearing in the fraud and perjury case against Griego. District Court Judge Brett Loveless in Albuquerque will use the hearing to determine whether the state can proceed with its case to trial.

Griego is accused of pushing the Legislature to authorize the sale of a historic state building, then pocketing $50,000 from the sale in 2014. He faces 28 years in prison.

His defense attorney, Thomas Clark, on Wednesday continued to argue that while Griego profited from the sale, it was from an arrangement Griego made as a real estate broker after the 30-day legislative session. That, Clark said, is not illegal.

Each witness Wednesday said Griego never directly pressured or directed him to push through or give a free pass to House Joint Resolution 8, which in the 2014 session authorized the state to sell the downtown Santa Fe building.

But most of the witnesses did testify that Griego put unusual requests to them that they overlooked, partially, they said, because of his reputation and position as a longtime senator.

That doesnt reach the criminal level, Clark said.

Still, prosecutors relentlessly questioned Rep. Trujillo about his dealings with Griego on HJR8.

Trujillo, who was the official sponsor of the resolution, testified that Griego approached him in August 2013  three months before the legislative session  to ask whether he would help carry a bill for him and Brett Woods, the deputy cabinet secretary for the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Woods was Trujillos former boss.

He said, Jim, uh, Energy and Mineral and Brett Woods want to sell a piece of property and would you be willing to carry a resolution,  Trujillo said on the stand. He told me he was busy, quite busy both of us being from Santa Fe County I figured it would be appropriate.

And he figured it would be routine, so he didnt question the transaction much.

He even didnt know until his time on the stand Wednesday that during the session Griego had, without telling him, presented the resolution to the Senate Rules Committee. Trujillo testified that he had given the resolution to Sen. Carlos Sisneros, D-Questa, to shepherd the bill through the other chamber of the Legislature, a common occurrence.

We do a lot of things in the Legislature that Im not going to question, Trujillo said.

But he also told Clark and the court that after approaching him to carry the bill, Griego never called or talked to him about it and he didnt feel pressured.

The resolution passed with only three no votes and moved on to a required hearing before the states Capitol Buildings Planning Commission. The commission oversees state government facilities, which included the building that was intended for sale.

The Legislature is such a fast pace that you dont have time to go calling to research your bill, he said. You kind of take parts of it at face value.

But then-Speaker of the House Martinez, who at the time sat on the state Capitol Buildings Planning Commission, testified that he and Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces, did question the resolution and proposed transaction when it came before them on the commission in April, after the session ended. Martinez testified Wednesday that he found several elements of the resolution and accompanying land deal documents unusual.

And he was also surprised when  after the April commission hearing at which the resolution was discussed but not approved  Griego showed up to talk to him about why the resolution hadnt passed.

It was clear he was representing the deal in some capacity, Martinez said. I said, I had no idea you had anything to do with it, and he said, What can we do to make it happen today?  He had indicated that he was the Realtor on it, and he had a personal stake in it, so he could get the deal done so he could be compensated.

Griego wanted the commission to reconvene that same day to get it done  a request Martinez denied.

Plus, Martinez said, there were concerns about Griegos role.

We should be careful how we proceed because a member of the Legislature is set to benefit from a sale and we should be careful about how we proceed, Martinez testified of his and Papens conversation at the time.

Defense attorney Clark said Griego wasnt hiding that he had a role in the sale, and he emphasized that Griego took that role as an official real estate broker after the session closed.

That deal, though, one witness said, cheated him out of $2,500.

Phillip Garcia, a real estate broker, testified that he agreed to take Griego on as an associate broker with an agreement to discuss profit splits on transactions with Garcia taking a minimum of 10 percent.

But when Griego closed on the state building and earned $50,000 profit, he only shared about 5 percent with Garcia.

Near tears, Garcia told the court Wednesday that he felt cheated but he turned his cheek because years ago Griego pulled some strings and got a Veterans Administration hospital bed secured for his dying father.

I thought of my father, he said. And a lawyer is expensive. I took him at his word  and I felt cheated.

The hearing continues today with Loveless traveling to Santa Fe to hear the remaining testimony.
Copyright  2016 Albuquerque Journal

Crime continued to rise in the Duke City in 2015 with significant increases in categories ranging from auto theft to murder.

According to statistics compiled in an annual report from the Albuquerque Police Department, both violent crime and property crime numbers were at 10-year highs  both increasing by around 10 percent from 2014.

While the FBI reported that violent crime was up slightly across the country in the first half of 2015, that wasnt the case in cities of Albuquerques size. Violent crime in cities with populations between 500,000 and 999,999  which encompasses Albuquerque  fell by 0.1 percent. A report for the full year of 2015 has not been released.

Albuquerques numbers for the entire year of 2015 do not mirror that. Violent crime, which includes homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery, jumped by 9.6 percent while property crime, such as burglary, auto theft larceny and arson, was up 11.7 percent.

Mayor Richard Berry said in a Journal interview that hes concerned by the numbers and has hired an outside consultant, Peter Winograd, to analyze the data and try to see what may be causing the spike. Berry said he expects Winograds report to be released in a month or two.

Winograd is working under a $60,000 contract, Berry said.

APDs report, initially released in May, shows a spike in murders from 30 in 2014 to 46 in 2015, which is above average over the last 10 years.

There was also a significant jump in auto theft, which increased 45.6 percent year to year. And while APD said it recovers 84 percent of the total value of stolen vehicles, clearance rates for auto theft are low with only 9 percent of those crimes solved, according to the data. The national average is 13 percent.

APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza said auto thefts are considered cleared when someone is arrested on auto theft or receiving or transferring a stolen motor vehicle charges.

She attributed the rise in auto theft to warmup thefts, which is when thieves take advantage of people warming their cars up in winter. She said the department has tried to combat that with a public information campaign.

She attributed the low clearance rate to officers charging offenders for more serious offenses in cases that not only include stealing a car but more serious crimes.

Burglary was the only other crime with a clearance rate of 9 percent. It was also the only crime in Albuquerque that decreased, falling 2 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the numbers.

Robbery was up 22 percent, with a 20 percent clearance rate.

Meanwhile, the report also said officers made 10 percent fewer arrests in 2015 than in the previous year.

Espinoza said thats because officers are referring more people to social services or drug treatment programs rather than arresting them.

When it comes to trespassing or drug offenses, we are really hitting the problem from a different angle for a more results-oriented effort as opposed to arrest, arrest, arrest, she said.

That comment comes on the heels of a controversial narcotics unit operation that appeared to target homeless drug addicts. Officers posed as drug dealers and locked up multiple people on felony charges, a practice they have said they will continue.

But Espinoza said that operation was not indicative of the departments larger strategy. That one sting does not play into that overall picture, she said.

Mayor Berry acknowledged that low staffing levels could contribute to lower arrest numbers.

He also cited recent changes in the criminal justice system  primarily a New Mexico Supreme Court ruling mandating speedier prosecutions and a decreasing jail population  as possible reasons as to why crime has increased in the most recent two years of his term.

He said Winograds report should shed more light on the problem.

Weve seen this uptick, now we need to address that through studying the data, he said. I can tell my boss the taxpayer that is something we have noticed and were looking into why that is.
DURANGO, Colo.  Wildlife officials are reminding people to leave wildlife alone after someone who thought a fawn was abandoned picked the animal up and it had to be euthanized.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski told the Durango Herald (http://bit.ly/29vsFeM) that the unknown individual took the animal to the Humane Society.

Lewandowski said the fawns mother had hidden the animal in La Plata Canyon while she went to forage.

He said fawns cannot be rehabilitated and that picking one up is essentially a death sentence.

The fawn was euthanized Saturday.

Lewandowski said this is the worst possible outcome of people negligently interacting with wildlife.

He said anyone concerned about an animal should call Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

___

Information from: Durango Herald, http://www.durangoherald.com
JPMorgan Chase patted itself on the back earlier this year after announcing plans to close hundreds of branches and increasingly shift customer transactions to ATMs and online banking.

A deposit involving a human teller, the bank noted, costs it about 65 cents, whereas an ATM deposit costs just 8 cents and using a smartphone app lowers the transaction cost to a mere 3 cents. Chase figures these moves will save the bank about $1.4 billion.

And how much of those savings can customers expect to see?

Probably none, said Alfred E. Osborne Jr., a UCLA economist and senior associate dean of the schools Anderson School of Management. Prices only fall when theres reasonable competition or reasonable alternatives, and you dont see that in many industries.

Banking isnt unique on this score. U.S. airlines are raking in record profits thanks to near-full planes and way-low fuel charges. Carriers pocketed $25.6 billion last year, up 241 percent from the year before, according to the Department of Transportation.

The average domestic airfare, meanwhile, slipped just 8.3 percent to $363 last year from $396 in 2014.

According to Moodys Investor Service, U.S. companies hoarded almost $1.7 trillion in cash last year  more than twice the amount they had stashed under their corporate mattresses before the Great Recession. Nearly three-quarters of all that money was kept overseas for tax-avoidance purposes.

Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Without us, business gets bupkis.

So its fair to wonder: Wheres our piece of the action?

Absolutely, consumers are due for their share, said Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group. All that profit comes from our pocketbooks.

She pointed a finger at tech giant Apple, which was dubbed the cash king by Moodys for sitting on $216 billion last year  almost all of it squirreled away overseas.

Has the price of an Apple product come down in the last 10 years? Balber said. Not a dime.

Apples chief exec, Tim Cook, has said he wont be bringing any of that money back to the United States until the country makes the tax system friendlier  for Apple, that is. In the meantime, a top-of-the-line iPad Pro will run you more than $1,000.

I asked Chase about the bank steering customers to cheaper-to-use automated devices. Will the hundreds of millions of dollars saved result in, say, lower overdraft fees?

Suzanne Alexander, a Chase spokeswoman, had an easy answer to that: No.

Well be reinvesting the money, she said. New technology. New cybersecurity.

And more money for shareholders. In May, Chase raised its dividend by 9 percent.

As for customers? No soup for you.

Alexander said Chase customers shouldnt expect any reductions in fees as a result of all the cost savings.

Bank of America is being similarly aggressive in saving itself a buck. The bank announced last month that it plans to reduce its consumer banking workforce by thousands more employees and will focus on mobile and online technologies.

Citigroup predicted in a recent report that an industrywide shift to automation could lead to a 30 percent decline in banking jobs in the United States and Europe over the next decade. That would translate to roughly 2 million bank workers being handed their hats.

The future of branches in banking is about focusing on advisory and consultation rather than transactions, the report says. Around 65 percent of banks staff are doing processing work that could be automated in the long term.

All businesses experience change. I work for a newspaper  believe me, this is something I know a little something about.

But its striking to see so much corporate wealth being generated on the backs of consumers with so little prospect of consumers sharing in companies good fortune.

UCLAs Osborne pointed out that some companies, such as Amazon, routinely pass along cost savings to customers.

But these tend to be the companies that are disruptors, he said, the ones that are changing their industry with technology.

Less-disruptive businesses seem content to keep the gravy to themselves.

Osborne said this likely wont change as consolidation remains a mantra among business leaders. Telecom, healthcare, airlines, insurance  a dwindling number of players means fewer choices for consumers.

Consolidation leads to oligopolies, Osborne said. Without competition and alternatives, companies know that they dont have to share with customers.

What can you do? Id suggest you call the companies you favor with your hard-earned pay and ask why their profits keep going up but their prices never come down.

But we know what the response to that would be, dont we?

We are experiencing unusually heavy call volume. Please try your call later.

Call centers and service reps cost money.

And this isnt about your needs anyhow.



ABOUT THE WRITER

David Lazarus, a Los Angeles Times columnist, writes on consumer issues. He can be reached at david.lazarus@latimes.com.



2016 Los Angeles Times

Visit Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____
BERLIN  German exports to Britain are forecast to fall both this year and in 2017 due to the countrys vote to leave the European Union, a business group said Thursday.

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry is forecasting that exports from Germany, Europes biggest economy, will slip 1 percent this year and 5 percent in 2017.

It had previously predicted a 5 percent increase in exports to Britain this year but revised its assessment because of the fall in the British pound, which makes German exports priced in euros more expensive in Britain, as well as the prospect of weakening investment.

Britain was the no. 3 destination last year for German exports, taking goods worth 89.3 billion euros ($98.8 billion).

The group said most businesses expect bilateral trade to remain constant during the upcoming negotiations on a British exit but many predict it to fall once Britain has left the EU, with extra bureaucracy and legal differences a concern.

Meanwhile, Britains Treasury chief and senior figures in five international banks pledged to work together to ease concerns about the future of the huge financial sector based in Britain.

George Osborne met with top officials from Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In a joint statement Thursday, the group stressed the need to join forces to help London retain its position as the leading international financial center.

It was the second time this week that Osborne met with senior officials in the banking sector, hoping to ensure confidence in markets rattled by the June 23 vote to leave the 28-nation bloc. He met bank leaders from domestically based banks on Tuesday.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.  The former head of Colorados wildlife agency has pleaded guilty to a hunting-related trespassing charge that happened while he was in charge of the Department of Natural Resources.

The Steamboat Today newspaper in Steamboat Springs reports (http://goo.gl/qISF3i ) that a judge signed off Wednesday on Mike Kings plea of guilty to hunting in a closed area. As part of a plea deal, a hunting-out-of-season charge was dropped.

King did not appear at Wednesdays hearing. He was allowed to mail in his guilty plea.

King was fined $90 and had to pay $194.50 in other fees. He also could be assessed points on his hunting license.

King was cited in September 2013.

King left DNR in January and took a job as planning director with Denver Water.

___

Information from: Steamboat Pilot & Today, http://steamboatpilot.com/
It might be time for a toast: Wine Spectator has unveiled its newest list of Restaurant Award recipients, and it includes 17 New Mexico eateries.

Billy Crews Dining Room in Santa Teresa continued its 30-year run on the list, earning the magazines most prestigious distinction: the Grand Award. Only 88 restaurants landed in the Grand category, which the magazines website notes is for those with an uncompromising, passionate devotion to the quality of their wine programs.

A pair of Northern New Mexico spots  Doc Martins in Taos and La Casa Sena in Santa Fe  made it in the next category, Best of Award of Excellence.

Another 14 restaurants from around the state earned the Award of Excellence.

That includes three from the Albuquerque metro: Bien Shur at Sandia Resort & Casino, La Merienda at Los Poblanos and The Ranchers Club of New Mexico.

The other New Mexico recipients are: Dinner for Two (Santa Fe), Elements (Angel Fire), Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Kitchen (Santa Fe), La Plazuela (Santa Fe), Osteria dAssisi Restaurant & Piano Lounge (Santa Fe), Pranzo Italian Grill (Santa Fe), Red Sage Restaurant at Buffalo Thunder (Santa Fe), Restaurant Martin (Santa Fe), Sabroso Restaurant & Bar (Arroyo Seco), The Compound Restaurant (Santa Fe) and The Pecan Grill & Brewery (Las Cruces)

The Wine Spectator awards recognize restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to their cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers, according to the magazines website. The awards honored a total of 3,595 restaurants around the world this year.

Restaurants apply for the honor.

All will be named in Wine Spectators August issue.
M Venkaiah Naidu has assumed charge as Minister of Information & Broadcasting, the third I&B Minister in two years of the Narendra Modi Government. Naidu was given the additional charge of the I&B Ministry in the recent Cabinet reshuffle. He already holds the portfolio for Urban Development.

After assuming charge as Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Naidu said that the Governments mission would be to enable public communication for the development of the country and the community.

Meanwhile, the previous I&B Minister, Arun Jaitley, has been appointed Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs.

Talking to the media later, Naidu said that he would be guided by the principle of communication for development of the community and the country. This was based on the basic principles of Reform, Perform, Transform and Inform. The Government was a Reservoir of Information relating to various aspects of a common mans life. In this context, it was important to ensure proper flow of such information for broadening common mans understanding of key policy initiatives of the Government. This would facilitate the task of information empowerment, thereby creating an enabling environment for key stakeholders.

Elaborating further, the Minister said that it was important to position various media units as credible brands for effectively serving the information needs of the people. He referred to the process of change ushered in by the Prime Minister, which touched upon the attitudes of key stakeholders thereby reorienting our approach and understanding towards the concept of development. In order to achieve this goal, it was important to mainstream effective communication as an input to realise this change. Communication processes were critical for empowering people with information that would enable them to fulfil their aspirations.

Naidu also thanked outgoing Minister, Arun Jaitley, for his unrelenting efforts in taking forward the mandate of the Ministry of I&B.
AF releases candidate bases for Battlefield Airman training

Today the Air Force announced eight installations as candidate locations where it will potentially consolidate its Battlefield Airman training.



The installations include: Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Hurlburt Field, Florida; Joint Base San Antonio, Texas; Keesler AFB, Mississippi; Little Rock AFB, Arkansas; Patrick AFB, Florida; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; and Vandenberg AFB, California.



The Air Force is committed to a deliberate and open process to address Battlefield Airman basing, said Jennifer A. Miller, the deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations. As we progress through the basing process, we will share information so interested communities are aware of what to expect.



Last year, the Air Force reviewed its Battlefield Airman training. The review determined grouping training at consolidated locations may lead to improvements and synergies in the current training processes. As a result, the Air Force is investigating potential locations to consolidate training.



Over the last several months, the Air Force gathered information from all Air Force installations in the continental United States and assessed it against mission requirements, capacity, environmental considerations, and cost to determine options for consolidating Battlefield Airman training, if the Air Force indeed chooses to consolidate Battlefield Airman training at fewer locations.



The Air Force will now conduct detailed, on-the-ground evaluations (site surveys) of the candidate bases covering the full range of operational and infrastructure requirements. The results of the surveys will be briefed to the secretary of the Air Force and chief of staff of the Air Force, who will then select preferred and reasonable alternatives. The Air Force will analyze the potential environmental impacts at each location before a final basing decision is made.



The preferred and reasonable alternatives are expected to be selected in early 2017.



Currently, Battlefield Airman training is conducted at eight primary training locations across seven states.
315th wins best in show at U.K. airshow

As jets thundered overhead, nearly 40,000 people crowded into the small British Navy base in order to get peek at aircraft from all over the world, including a Charleston based C-17.



Reservists from the 315th Airlift Wing, participated in the annual Yeovilton Air Day on July 2, while also bringing home the shows top prize, the best static display award.



Along with the C-17 Globemaster III, the crew also brought the wings miniature C-17 replica, marking the first time the converted John Deer Gator has been out of the country. It felt good to be recognized by the British, said Maj. Ed Sutton, the chief of tactics with the 315th Operations Support Squadron. They were amazing and fantastic hosts who just wanted to see what we do.



Proving to be the most popular display at the show; for most of the day, the wait time to get a tour of the C-17 flight deck was upwards of two hours. We didnt mind waiting, said Donna Speckie, one of the airshow attendees. The C-17 is just massive and we dont normally get to see these here in the U.K., she said.



For Capt. Mike Murphy, a traditional Reserve pilot with the 701st Airlift Squadron and international sales manager for Piper Aircraft, attending airshows is a common occurrence. I attend many aviation related events worldwide, but coming as a C-17 crewmember is all about diplomacy. Several thousand people walked through our jet and the image that is imprinted in their minds is both of the magnitude of the C-17 and the crewmembers present. That image is invaluable, he said.



But, for the C-17 crewmembers, there were multiple reasons for displaying their massive aircraft at the show. For us, training is always important and thats the real reason we were here, said Sutton. We were able to fly overseas sorties with a complicated load with over 16,000 pounds of shoring and some rolling stock vehicles.



The entire mission was a team effort according to Capt. Murphy. Kudos to our loadmasters and crew chiefs; they were able to take a two day off-station training mission and compliment our static display with the mini C-17 in order to win the shows top prize.



Everyone worked hard this weekend, said Chief Master Sgt. Ben Alexander, 701 AS chief loadmaster. The effort everyone put in to making this show a success made it worth while.






Seated at his station, he dutifully continues his work collecting and double checking data despite the shaking, sometimes violently, of everything around him. Then suddenly, theres a calm. The engines are still humming along, but the shaking has stopped. He looks out of the window, down to the surface of the ocean. He is now inside the eye of yet another hurricane.

The experience of penetrating a hurricanes eyewall is one Lt. Col. Jonathan Talbot, chief aerial weather reconnaissance officer for the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, has had more than 150 times over the past 27 years here as a Hurricane Hunter in the squadron. This July, he will be retiring from the Air Force with over 5,600 flying hours and 34 years of service.

Over the years, Talbot said he has seen many changes. From flying on WC-130E models and having to hand write information gathered visually before sending it via radio to the National Hurricane Center, to working on the WC-130J with all new automated systems that gather far more and better quality information and send it every 10 minutes, he has been through many updates and even helped facilitate some of those upgrades.

One of Talbots proudest moments was getting all 10 of the 53rd WRS WC-130J aircraft outfitted with the Step Frequency Microwave Radiometer, he said. Before the SFMR, called the smurf, aircrew would have to look down at the surface of the ocean and try to determine what the surface wind speeds were, said Talbot. If they werent able to see the surface theyd estimate based upon the flight level winds.

Surface winds are one of the most important pieces of information to know, because those are the winds that cause the storm surge and other damage on shore, said Talbot.

With all new automated systems comes the challenges of keeping people trained and up-to-date with the latest software on the plane. We get upgrades every year, said Talbot, and, we have to figure out what bugs may be in the programs and how to work around them. Talbot said those bugs are then reported back up to the programmers to fix for future upgrades.

Talbot has a long history of flying. His first assignment in the Air Force was at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, as a weather officer.

I got to fly in the Command Post planes that would go with fighters and tankers crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, said Talbot.

There, he would keep the mission commanders posted on the divert bases for the fighters and forecast the tracks, he said. His second assignment brought him to Keesler AFB and the Hurricane Hunters. All of those years of flying has given him a good knowledge of flight.

He understands aviation, which gives him good air sense making it really easy to work with him, said Lt. Col. Troy Anderson, 53rd WRS pilot. Anderson was with the 53rd WRS when Talbot was first assigned there in 1985 and has been there ever since. His knowledge of his job makes him very reliable and allows him to make the mission run smoothly, said Anderson.

I really fell in love with doing this when I was here on active duty, said Talbot. After about four years away on other assignments overseas, he was asked to come back in 1992 since the Air Force Reserve was taking over the mission and was looking for people with experience doing this mission. He said he voluntarily left active duty and returned because its a lot of fun, but more importantly helps the public, and is a humanitarian mission.

Over the course of his career, Talbot has become a leader in the field and was honored in February at the annual National Hurricane Conference in Orlando, Florida, with the Distinguished Service Award. The award acknowledges his contributions not only in the air, but on the ground as well. He has been a major contributor at scientific forums and conferences, as well as his recruiting and training of the majority of the current weather officers in the squadron. Talbot also has coordinated and participated in the Caribbean Hurricane Awareness Tour and East Coast Hurricane Awareness Tour to inform families in hurricane prone areas how to prepare for these storms on an annual basis.

When he isnt flying into hurricanes, Talbot enjoys practicing astrophotography. The night sky is absolutely beautiful, the problem is we typically cant see much with our eyes so we dont appreciate what we are missing. Once hes fully retired, he plans to travel and teach other aspiring photographers how to capture the night sky.

Its currently a hobby, but Im going to try to get more involved with showing people how to do that type of stuff, said Talbot.
Radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh today that killed a policeman and a terrorist at the countrys biggest Eid gathering nearly a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured.

One suspected attacker was also killed in an exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off.

Abu Sayem, additional superintendent of Kishoreganj police, said two? including a police constable and a terrorist ? died at scene. One suspect has been held and about 13 injured, he said.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear, he said.

The incident comes after last weeks deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed over 20 people mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last weeks gruesome attack here was just a glimpse.

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhakas posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.


By Anne Dachel



Top researchersall respected scientistsare saying that we are poisoning the brains of our children with the industrial/consumer products that they are exposed to everyday. Consensus Statement HERE.

Take note of the chilling words: The vast majority of chemicals in industrial and consumer products undergo almost no testing for neurotoxicity or other health effects." While they dont talk about vaccines, the same thing is true when we talk about the neurotoxic effects of the chemicals and combined viruses we use in vaccinesthey have not been studied.

Dr. Wakefield announced the publication of this consensus statement at the 2nd Annual Health Freedom Rally and Candlelight Vigil at City Hall, in Santa Monica, Califiornia on July 1st, 2016.

Andy was introduced by Wendy Silvers, Founder, MillionMamasMovement. He began his brief talk by asking who in the audience had NOT seen VaxXed.

He continued:

There are times in history when change occurs, there are times when change becomes inevitable, when change becomes unstoppable. The camera rolls and the world bears witness. A single voice cries out against the many voices of corruption and is heard. A time when the government sells the lives of your children to corporations in order to line their pockets.

That time has come. That time is now. We must make that time, now you must make that time now.

In VaxXed the camera rolled and the world is bearing witness. VaxXed brought you the single voice, the lone voice of Dr. William Thompson, and that is changing everything. He is silencing the lies and the corruption of all those who have gone before.

So now is the time. Now is the time to overthrow the corporate rule of this country and to bring the power back to the people.

I want to share with you one thing, amazing news that came through this morning. I just want to read this to you.

An unprecedented alliance of leading scientists, health professionals, and childrens health advocates agreed for the first time that todays scientific evidence supports a link between exposure to toxic chemicals in food, air, and everyday products, and childrens risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. The alliance, known as Project TENDR, is calling for immediate action to significantly reduce exposure to toxic chemicals to protest brain development for todays and tomorrows children.

And let me just add a caveat to that. In this article, they talk about mercury, they talk about pharmaceuticals, they come within a hairs breath of saying what you have known all along, of saying vaccines. You and I know because weve witnessed this for twenty or more years, and that is where this is going. And they know it. The people that wrote this paper wrote it in large part because they do not want to end up on the wrong side of history.

This is something that you have known for a very, very long time, and you have been telling them And kicking and screaming, they have now been brought to the table and decided that its politic, that its scientifically the correct time to get onboard and say what? That this is what we believe. Will they say that parents were right all along?

No, they wont. No they wont, because that would be an indictment of them. But believe you me, this is being written because many NIH scientists, EPA scientists on here do not want to end up on the wrong side of history.

But believe me, I will not let them forget where they stood. I will not let these agencies forget where they stood barely one year ago. They do not absolve their consciences that easily. All of this has been known during the writing and the passage of this insidious and most dangerous bill, SB277. And it must be destroyed for the children of California and the children of the world.

America has been warned. We must take immediate action. We cannot say that known neurotoxins in vaccines have been exonerated. Like all these other products allowed by government oversight agencies, vaccines have not been thoroughly studied. THIS HAS TO BE A MAJOR ISSUE IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016  France-based Danone has agreed to buy WhiteWave Foods and its health-based brands like Silk and Horizon Organic in a deal valued at about $12.5 billion.

In a statement, the two companies said Danone will pay $56.25 a share, a 24 percent premium over WhiteWave's 30-day average closing price of $45.43. That would value WhiteWave at $10.1 billion based on 180.2 million shares outstanding at the end of last year. The transaction, which also includes debt and certain other WhiteWave liabilities, is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to the approval of WhiteWaves shareholders and regulatory approvals.

Danone Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Faber said the deal will allow his company to enhance its growth profile through a broader platform in North America, adding, We are convinced that combining with WhiteWave will create significant value for all of our stakeholders.

Greg Engles, CEO and chairman of Denver-based WhiteWave, said the deal will bring together two leading companies with a shared mission of changing the way the world eats for the better.

Like what you see on the Agri-Pulse website? See even more ag, rural policy and energy news when you sign up for a four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





WhiteWave reported net income of $168 million last year on sales of about $3.9 billion. Brands distributed in North America include Silk, So Delicious and Vega plant-based foods and beverages, LAND O LAKES coffee creamers and beverages, and Horizon Organic and Earthbound Farm organic salads and vegetables. Its plant-based foods and beverages brands in Europe include Alpro and Provamel.

Danone said the transaction further diversifies its portfolio and broadens its presence in North America, creating a leading U.S. refrigerated dairy player, as well as one of the top 15 largest U.S. food and beverage manufacturers. When the deal closes, Danone said its North America footprint would increase from 12 percent to 22 percent of Danones total portfolio.

# 30
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 - In the search for clean energy solutions, one of the worlds largest dairy companies announced that it was switching to new Z biodiesel.

Fonterra Chief Operating Officer Global Operations, Robert Spurway said the shift to biodiesel is part of a move towards greater efficiency and sustainability across all operations, and helping Z make cleaner burning biofuel available in New Zealand.

With more than 550 tankers, our fleet can travel hundreds of thousands kilometers every day on New Zealands roads, Spurway said in a release. Our commitment as foundation partners for Z Energys biodiesel project means the product will not only be available for our fleet, it also means Z can bring this innovative fuel to the pump for New Zealanders.

Fonterra will be the first company in New Zealand to adopt the new fuel.

Z Bio D is made from up to 5% biodiesel blended with ordinary diesel (called a B5 blend) that meets the same New Zealand fuel specifications as ordinary diesel.

Spurway said the move to biodiesel has the potential to reduce emissions for the tankers using it by up to four per cent each year and play a key role in the firms sustainability efforts.



Our sustainability strategy addresses key efficiency and sustainability improvements, and sourcing clean energy alternatives is a big part of that. We also want to show our support for this kind of innovation so other New Zealanders can make good energy choices, added Spurway.





Keep up with ag and rural policy and energy news as it happens. Sign up for a four-week free trial of Agri-Pulse.





Fuel burned for transport contributes up to 20 per cent of New Zealands total greenhouse gas emissions, so given our scale, its important we play our part to help the environment. Moving to biofuel is one of the many projects were engaged in, like our planting, water quality projects, and energy efficiency programs - which all focus on environmental sustainability.

#30

For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
European airports continued to see improvements in freight traffic in May, but demand improvements did slow from the April level.

Airports Council International (ACI) Europe figures show that airfreight demand at European airports increased by 2.8% year on year in May.

This compares with the April increase of 5.5% as the region benefited from an extra weekend and an earlier Easter during the month.

Of the regions busiest airports, the strongest increase in cargo demand came at Rome, up 16.2%, London Gatwick, up 12.8% and Paris CDG, which reported an 11.5% increase.

Frankfurt, Europes largest cargo airport, recorded a 1.7% decline in demand to 167,513 tonnes.

Elsewhere, Istanbul Ataturk registered a 9.2% decline as the political situation and terror attacks continued to take their toll.

The association also warned of the possible impact of the Brexit vote to business.

ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec said: The recent Brexit vote is mainly about medium to long-term risks concerning the integrity of the European single aviation market.

We do not expect it to have a significant impact on overall European air traffic levels this summer.

However, the political instability and uncertainty it has created in the UK and beyond, is already hurting business confidence and might end up doing the same for consumer confidence  this could affect demand for air transport later in the year."



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July 6, 2016

During a meeting with a delegation from the US Congress on June 26, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the Egyptian Constitution includes unprecedented provisions regarding the rule of law and democratic practice. This is the same constitution that, during a meeting with Egyptian university students in September, Sisi described as a constitution written with good intentions," but then added, "States are not built with good intentions.

During a November BBC interview, Sisi said his statements about good intentions had been misunderstood, and he pledged not to seek amendments to the constitution or exercise more power than it affords him.

Mustafa Kamel Sayed, a professor of political science at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor the presidents statements about the constitution differ depending on whether he is addressing the West or Egypt. He said this is common in Arab politics in general and added that, in his view, the presidents statements to the Egyptians on the constitution are more indicative of what is going on in his mind.

According to Sayed, Sisi thinks the constitution limits his authority and is worried by the powers it grants parliament. For example, parliament shall give its vote of confidence to the prime minister appointed by the president, and parliament can withdraw confidence from the president.

However, Sayed claims parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal is not fully committed to the articles of the constitution. As an example, he noted parliament's approval of the fiscal 2016-17 budget despite the budgets apparent violation of the constitution regarding health, education and housing spending.

Sayed said the current Egyptian administrations way of developing and implementing the states general policies is unconstitutional, adding that Article 150 of the constitution stipulates that, jointly with the Cabinet, the president shall set the states general policy. This has not been achieved, according to Sayed, as the president did not set a program that defines the general policy of the state when he ran for office. Sayed said that had the prime minister enjoyed the autonomy guaranteed by the constitution, he would have asked for a role in the setting and implementation of the states general policy.

Egypt is not a constitutional state, Sayed said. He noted that a constitutional state respects constitutional provisions and strives to achieve the separation of powers, all while preserving citizens' rights and freedoms, freedom of the press and the circulation of information. Sayed expects talks to start near the end of Sisi's first presidential term about amending Article 140 of the constitution. Article 140 sets the presidential term to four calendar years and permits the re-election of the president only once.

Fouad Abdul Nabi, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Menoufiya, talked to Al-Monitor about what he described as Sisis ongoing violation of the constitution. As an example, Abdul Nabi noted that the president agreed with Cyprus and Greece on the delimitation of the maritime border in the eastern Mediterranean region, and signed the Renaissance Dam document of principles. Sisi prompted the prime minister to sign the maritime border demarcation with Saudi Arabia, under which Egypt ceded to the kingdom the islands of Tiran and Sanafir  without referring to the legislative authority in accordance with Article 151 of the constitution. This article allows the legislature to represent the state in its foreign relations and conclude and ratify treaties upon the approval of the House of Representatives.

Abdul Nabi also accused Sisi of circumventing Article 216 of the constitution by dismissing the former head of the Central Auditing Authority (CAA) Hisham Geneina in a controversial move. The article prohibits the dismissal of heads of regulatory bodies except in specific cases. Abdul Bani stressed that Sisi issued Law No. 89 of 2015 before the parliament was formed to grant himself the authority to dismiss the heads and members of regulatory bodies.

According to Abdul Nabi, the former CAA head had not violated the constitution, as Article 219 stipulates that the CAA is responsible for monitoring the funds of the state, implementing the state budget and independent budgets, and auditing final accounts.

Abdul Nabi said Sisi's decision to impose a state of emergency in the north of Sinai Peninsula  issued April 28 and submitted to parliament May 8  is a clear violation of Article 154 of the constitution. That article says the president, after consulting with the Cabinet, must submit a state of emergency declaration within seven days to the House of Representatives, which can then act on the proposal as it deems fit.

The Egyptian administration is only using the constitution to boast in front of the West that Egypt has a constitution that elevates freedom, democracy and the values of citizenship, Abdul Nabi said.

The current constitution can theoretically be described as the most fascinating in the modern era, he said, but the Egyptian administration, and especially the executive power, are systematically breaching the constitution, especially the articles that preserve the rights of citizens and safeguard their freedoms.

Mohamed Abla, who was on the 50-member committee tasked with drafting the constitution, told Al-Monitor he is disappointed by the House of Representatives failure to act on what he described as the executive branch's ongoing violations of the constitution.

Abla, like Sayed, believes Sisi shifts his statements about the constitution depending on his audience, especially when he is seeking to improve his image with foreign countries. But the truth, Abla said, is that some provisions worry the president, especially those that relate to the period of his term and the powers granted by the constitution to the parliament and government.

Abla also agreed with Sayed's assessment that Abdel Aal violated the constitution to pass the budget of 2016-17, which did not meet constitutional mandates on how much must be spent on education and health. He criticized the parliament speaker's assertions that the spending proportions for these sectors were set by the 50-member committee and that the constitution was written in a transitional stage.

Abla added that the consensus among the authors of the constitution is positive  not negative as the parliament speaker thinks  and stressed that members of the committee reviewed the history of Egypt's constitution to draft the current version, knowing that this constitution garnered the confidence of more than 98% of Egyptians.

We lack serious partisan work and freedom of the press. So who is monitoring the implementation and respect of the constitution? Abla asked. He also said that at the end of Sisis current presidential term, Sisi will seek to amend some articles of the constitution, as he believes he can pass any amendment he wants in the absence of any opposition or partisan work.
July 6, 2016

On the outskirts of Fallujah, the commander of the Fallujah liberation operations, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Wahab al-Saadi, stood smiling and surrounded by troops from the Counterterrorism Service. He talked to them about the city, long touted as impregnable to any outside force. His men laughed heartily and shared stories of the storming of the city.

He exchanged bits of conversation with them, agreeing with some and disagreeing with others. He joked with them all, as they stood by him taking pictures. Since the Fallujah offensive was launched, social networking sites have been awash with smiling selfies showing Iraqi army soldiers and members of the Federal Police and Counterterrorism Service standing next to Saadi.

Saadi was in a positive mood this day as he patted his soldiers on the back, praised their efforts in the battle to liberate Fallujah and spoke to them about the importance of maintaining absolute readiness to fight the battle for Mosul in a few days.

As he stood on the outskirts of Fallujah, Saadi told his troops, Iraq is more important than anything else, and your role in combating terrorism must rise to the level of your, and our, great responsibility toward this country and its need to banish terrorism.

Saadi led the three most prominent Iraqi offensives of the last two years: the battle to liberate Tikrit in 2014-15, the battle to liberate the Beiji refinery from the Islamic State (IS) and the battle to liberate Fallujah, which was concluded a few days ago. Saadi, in addition to his post as commander of the Fallujah liberation operations, is also the deputy commander of the Counterterrorism Service.

As the offensive to liberate Fallujah came to an end, Saadi set up temporary headquarters at the Tareq base and the headquarters of the Iraqi armys 1st Division on the outskirts of Fallujah. Al-Monitors reporter arrived at the encampment June 30 and conducted the following interview.

Al-Monitor: Was Fallujah really a purely Iraqi operation?

Saadi: The battle to liberate Fallujah was a tough battle fought by Iraqi security forces and other affiliated factions to purge the city from the terrorist scourge that spread through it for years. But the hard and effective efforts of our heroic security forces to eradicate terrorism succeeded in surrounding Fallujah and subsequently storming it within days.

We received aerial support from the international coalition and Iraqi army aviation units, but the battle on the ground was fought by Iraqi forces composed of Iraqis. We did not receive any American or Iranian counsel with regard to the ground battle, and I personally did not meet with non-Iraqis during this battle.

Al-Monitor: What role did American and Iranian advisers play in the operations to liberate Fallujah?

Saadi: The plan to liberate Fallujah was drawn by Iraqi military commanders, and it was perfectly executed, leading to the liberation of a city that [IS] long thought would be impossible for Iraqi military units to approach and penetrate. But we surprised this terrorist organization, reached Fallujah, and liberated it thanks to a purely Iraqi plan.

Neither American nor Iranian advisers had any role to play in the planning of the operation to liberate Fallujah. Only troops from the Iraqi joint forces and the Counterterrorism Service took part in the storming and liberation of Fallujah.

Al-Monitor: What was the contribution and effect of formations that supported Iraqi security forces in the battle for Fallujah?

Saadi: Naturally, the Counterterrorism Service is considered to be the most experienced, knowledgeable and best trained to wage urban battles. Other military units that took part in the operation to liberate Fallujah lacked such experience and were assigned tasks commensurate with their abilities. Though, on a positive note, we found out that the Ramadi police special contingent had gained experience in the battles that they fought alongside our forces in the Ramadi and Heet sectors of Anbar province. In truth, when it comes to urban warfare and combat skills, these contingents possess experience that surpasses that of some Iraqi army units.

Al-Monitor: What role did the international coalition play in this battle?

Saadi: There is no doubt that the international coalition aviation played a positive role in the battle, thanks to the high level of coordination between it and Iraqi security forces. Warplanes bombed [IS] positions for 24 hours straight and responded very quickly to our units calls for support.

Al-Monitor: Is there any truth to claims of abuses against civilians perpetrated by the Popular Mobilization Units? And what measures will the military establishment take in that regard?

Saadi: Warfare is conducted with weapons, and violence is commonplace in such situations. Unfortunately, in some instances, civilians fall victim to the fighting, for no battle is ever completely devoid of infractions. But I personally have not witnessed any action that rises to the level of being characterized as abuse of civilian human rights. I regret the medias focus on minutiae while ignoring the issue of this important battle against terrorist forces that spilled the blood of Iraqi martyrs.

Al-Monitor: Who will take charge of security in liberated areas? Will Iraqi forces not native to the city be entrusted with this task, or will local forces composed of clansmen and others assume that role?

Saadi: Cities liberated from terrorism require highly efficient plans to maintain security on the ground. We, at the Counterterrorism Service, are not responsible for security, but I think that, in each city, local forces will control the ground with some potential support from Federal Police forces. In Fallujah specifically, I believe that maintaining security on the ground will fall upon the Baghdad Operations Commands west Baghdad units, in cooperation with the Federal Police.

Al-Monitor: Was the battle to liberate Fallujah an easy or difficult operation?

Saadi: A battle such as that can only be difficult as it aimed to liberate a city that has completely been under the control of terrorists for the past two years, during which [IS] maintained a large presence, with its militants planning, training and preparing for all aspects of this battle, particularly by digging trenches and tunnels, as well as mining the land, government institutions and other buildings. But this battle was decisive for [IS], whose defeat was an important setback and sign that the battle for Mosul will be decided in favor of Iraq and the Iraqis.

Battles raged in Fallujah for days. Yet sparing civilian lives remained atop our priorities, despite the fact that it delayed victory and caused us untold difficulties because [IS] used Fallujah civilians as human shields.

The civilians that I was in contact with inside Fallujah always maintained that entering the city would be impossible for us to achieve, due to the fact that [IS] was strongly entrenched and highly prepared for the fight. Even when I reached the outskirts of the city, people inside Fallujah continued to inform me that breaching its defenses would be impossible. Still, in the end, we succeeded in completely liberating the city, with everyone surprised that Iraqi security forces managed to enter this city, considered to be the second most important stronghold for [IS] after Mosul.

The most difficult phase was when we encircled and stormed Fallujah, with the period extending from May 30 to June 10 witnessing the harshest fighting, as the Counterterrorism Service single-handedly killed some 750 [IS] militants.

Al-Monitor: Does [IS] still have a presence in Anbar, and are their numbers truly as high as indicated by news of their convoys being targeted in Amiriyah Fallujah?

Saadi: Hundreds of vehicles attempted to flee Anbar toward Karbala and the desert. But the Iraqi air force successfully bombed and destroyed them. These were the remnants of [IS] troops in the Khalidiya Island, and I think that their presence there is nil, or that small numbers remain that will be dealt with shortly.

Al-Monitor: What are your expectations for the Mosul battle? Will it differ from those of Tikrit and Fallujah? And who will take part in it?

Saadi: The battles underway in southern Mosuls Sharqat and Qayyarah are progressing positively. But the battle for Mosul is peculiar, in that the city is home to a large number of civilians. Our aim is to kill all the terrorists in one stroke, but we are worried about, and concerned for, the lives of civilians there.

I think that the battle for Fallujah determined the identity of forces that will participate in liberating Mosul. These decisions shall be made by the commander in chief of the armed forces, and we, in the Counterterrorism Service, stand ready to wage the battle, achieve victory and exterminate [IS] from the city.

Al-Monitor: Are political disputes and statements concerning the progress of battle affecting your task?

Saadi: I leave politics to the politicians. With regard to military matters, I have not, nor will I allow any politician to meddle in our affairs. We pay no regard to political disputes because our task is to cleanse Iraq from terrorism and terrorists, while refraining from interfering in other matters.

Al-Monitor: Will you lead the operations to liberate Mosul?

Saadi: It would be good to command operations aimed at liberating the two largest [IS] controlled cities. I hope to be tasked with leading the liberation of Mosul, and it would be wonderful if I did so, but the final decision will be taken by the commander in chief of the armed forces, Haider al-Abadi.
July 7, 2016

TEHRAN, Iran  Irans defense minister, Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, unveiled new military equipment during a June 1 event at the Defense Ministry-affiliated Malek Ashtar University of Technology. The most significant of these products was Hoda, the transmitter for a local positioning system (LPS). Dehghan said that Malek Ashtar had succeeded in building the 1 megawatt, half-cycle transmitter in the first phase of designing the system. Five ground stations equipped with the systems are expected to be built in different regions of the country. These will serve as stations for positioning guided missiles as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), warplanes and other military aircraft.

Iran is trying to develop an alternative to satellite positioning systems, in particular the Global Positioning System (GPS), to guide military hardware during battle. Within Iran, GPS systems have a margin of error of about 30 meters (98 feet), so the Islamic Republic is trying to decrease the distance to about a meter (some 3 feet) by improving its homegrown LPS system.

The current Iranian LPS has an accuracy of a few centimeters within a radius of 30 kilometers (19 miles) and an accuracy of about a meter within a radius of 150 kilometers (93 miles). A few years ago, Iran developed a similar program, the Persian Gulf Network Beacon that focuses on the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to assist the navy with navigation of its aerial fleet and positioning.

The Iranian LPS is also designed to guide long-range drones, including combat and reconnaissance UAVs. Although this navigation system is outdated  many Western countries began developing LPS in the 1950s  it addresses the country's immediate needs in terms of positioning and thus can be considered to have been an important step forward.

At present, however, Iran's missile program suffers from three main weaknesses. It has issues of accuracy and guidance stemming from not utilizing satellites. As a result, key military targets cannot be targeted from afar. Moreover, there is the matter of destructive power. Irans most powerful missiles have warheads that are only slightly more destructive than laser-guided bombs. Thus, absent nuclear or chemical warheads, these missiles lack a high destructive capability.

At this stage, utilization of navigation and positioning systems is vital in Irans efforts to develop its missiles and UAVs. Short-range ballistic missiles  such as the Persian Gulf, Fateh A-110 and Hormuz  can be guided with a high degree of accuracy optically and via radio. Moreover, considering their payloads, these weapons have a relatively high destructive capability. Indeed, these pieces of military hardware are Irans most important weapons against the fleets and military bases of the United States and its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz. Irans medium-range ballistic missiles, with ranges of 1,300 to 2,300 kilometers (808-1,430 miles), are less accurate, however, due to exceeding radio range.

Iranian officials are well aware of this problem, and President Hassan Rouhani and his Defense Ministry have been doing their utmost to solve it. During the past three years, the Defense Ministry has designed guided warheads and unveiled optical warheads. Furthermore, there were reports in June of the initial testing of the Simorgh space-launch vehicle in the deserts of Semnan, in central Iran, in Rouhani's presence. Analysts disagree on whether Iran had tried to utilize this North Korean missile platform for military purposes during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-13). It is clear, however, that the Rouhani administration is not looking to expand the range of Irans ballistic missiles, but is planning to use the Simorgh program for space and reconnaissance purposes.

The big picture is that the Iranian missile program is becoming more complex. On the one hand, now that Irans nuclear program is no longer a source of international concern, Western countries and Irans regional rivals are increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic over its missile program. On the other hand, there is now a domestic dialogue and a deep dialectic over the missile program, including how and to what degree it should be expanded. Although Iranian political and military elites arrived at a clear consensus that the countrys missile capabilities must be maintained, disagreement remains over whether missile ranges need to be expanded or accuracy and guidance need to be improved. It appears that the Rouhani administration prefers the latter.

In addition, during the past year, there has been news of Iran using long-range combat UAVs in Syria. Images that have surfaced reveal these UAVs to be of the Shahed-129 type, guided in operations in northern Aleppo from the Konarak military base, near the Makran coast. The images, coupled with the announcement that a radio LPS station has been set up in Chabahar, strengthen speculation that the southern part of Irans Sistan and Baluchestan province has become the center for guiding combat UAVs.

Iran has invested heavily in its missile and space programs and is making every effort to make them more effective and operational, including through the use of older technology, such as LPS. With international concern over Irans missile program growing as it expands, however, one must consider what Iran can depend on to protect itself in the worlds most heavily armed region. Its outdated aerial and naval fleets, in addition to its huge but worn out ground forces, cannot be considered the solution. Rather, it is Iran's missile program that provides it relative deterrence.

At the end of the day, one should also ask, would the Islamic Republic have sought to expand its ballistic missile program had the international community not refused to sell it conventional military equipment, including conventional warplanes? It appears that the missile program, which has become one of the main points of contention between Iran and the West, will soon  like the confrontation over Irans nuclear program  become the most important political challenge for the two sides.
July 6, 2016

The Facebook page of Muhammad Taraiyre, 17, from the West Bank village of Bani Naim, who murdered Hallel Yaffa Ariel, 13, in her bed in the neighboring settlement of Kiryat Arba June 30, has set off a war between the State of Israel and the Facebook empire. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who has accused the management of the popular social network of failing to cooperate with the State of Israel in monitoring inflammatory content, told my colleague Ben Caspit in an interview with Al-Monitor, The Taraiyre case is a classic example [of Facebook posts that] should have been monitored in time, and [the murder] should have been averted. The youth wrote on his page that death is a right, before breaking into Kiryat Arba and murdering the girl. He added a sentence to his post that leaves no room for doubt about his heartfelt desire: Grave, where are you, arent you asking about me? Angel of death, have you not missed me?

One can assume that the new cyber units in the intelligence branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet have conducted a thorough investigation to examine why Taraiyres post slipped through their monitoring gatekeepers. These agencies will have to figure out how a publicly posted message that was supposed to set off alarm signals managed to sneak under the virtual defense fence erected by Israeli intelligence.

This is indeed a classic case of a post that indicates harmful intent, Nimrod Kozlovski, a world-renowned expert on cybersecurity, the internet and cyber law, told Al-Monitor. Regardless of the immense progress made by Israel since the start of the current terror cycle, cyberwarfare does not guarantee total success. Despite developing monitoring engines, upgrading algorithms, constantly adding new data and allocating vast resources for a state-of-the-art, digital-era intelligence system, the huge volumes of traffic on the internet cannot ensure total control by the worlds intelligence services. It is only the managers of the social networks  Facebook, Twitter and others  who have the appropriate tools for comprehensive monitoring that could, perhaps, prevent the next terror attack.

In the past, for example during the second intifada (2000-2005), Israels counterterrorism intelligence network was mostly based on information gleaned from intercepting electronic signals, intercepting communications between people and running agents and collaborators in the field. This time around, due to the nature of this intifada and the different profiles of the assailants  independent and spontaneous rather than organized and premeditated  these methods of intelligence collection are less effective.

The individual intifada, a term coined for the terror attacks of recent months, has presented Israels intelligence community with more complex and complicated challenges than infiltrating the clandestine cells of Hamas or other armed Palestinian organizations. While in the past one could target such organizations, today every Palestinian male and female aged 13-30 can be considered a potential terrorist. This age group consists of more than 1 million people, and no intelligence service can monitor such masses with guaranteed success.

We can identify a profile of freely expressed enthusiasm and overexcitement on social networks, which are often followed by a call to action, said Kozlovski. That social networks are open and almost all their members can be identified by name and even located enables the collection of a lot of high-quality, current intelligence data in real time, he said. In this regard, Kozlovski stated, We understand the groups being formed, understand the geography of the cells being organized, know what their hierarchical structure looks like, who has viral and influential impact on all the members of the active group and the resonance they create.

Kozlovski added that there are advanced technologies, which are activated according to certain indices, that can predict with a high degree of certainty whether the resonance of a certain post is likely to result in violence. It can be a violent expression on the web, which is considered incitement to commit a terror attack, or an expression of an imminent physical action. There are algorithms that can make an almost exact prediction, he said.

The IDF and Shin Bet cyber units, which were recently significantly expanded, have not taken the place of the veteran intelligence networks. Due to the nature of the current intifada, however, they are spearheading the intelligence efforts, and their development is now a top priority. These units employ dozens of experts who invest most of their efforts in developing monitoring engines capable of scanning thousands of messages a second. These engines are fed thousands of key words and verbal codes in order to scan traffic on social networks. They identify unusual activity in the content itself as well as significant increases in message traffic.

Virtual warriors, agents whose job it is to collect intelligence information, infiltrate active social media groups and glean priceless information. Its quite common to activate avatars on the web using a fake identity, Kozlovski revealed. They infiltrate an active group, pick up information, learn the composition of the group and identify the most active members.

The social profiles of every terrorist who carried out an attack in Israel in the recent cycle of violence have been thoroughly studied, and the key words they used on Facebook have been loaded into the monitoring engines. Thus, for example, Ibrahim Alan and Hussein Abu Ghosh, the two men who killed Shlomit Krigman in the West Bank settlement of Beit Horon, wrote on Facebook that they intended to hunt porcupines. Four days before the murder, Alan wrote, I feel like sampling the taste of a porcupine, adding that he would go hunting on Monday, the day the attack occurred.

The word porcupine was fed into the monitoring engines on the assumption that some young people might gain inspiration from the popular post and emulate its phrasing. It is safe to assume that the intelligence agencies will be apprised of the words used by Taraiyre, the killer from Bani Naim. His name will be included in the database so that anyone citing it or the words he wrote will set off a warning signal. Nonetheless, all the monitoring engines in the world cannot thwart the motivation for terrorism. That is something Israel will have to deal with using other means.
Goat.jpg

"Goat," starring Nick Jonas and James Franco, tells the story of two brothers who pledge the same fraternity and the hazing that tests their loyalty to each other in brutal ways. (MTV)

Filmmakers find fraternity hazing fascinating, but it's too rare we actually see movies about the collegiate initiation.

One of "Old School" director Todd Phillips' first films, a documentary called "Frat House" depicted hazing at a New York college in the late 1990s, earned high praise but plenty of controversy due to its subject matter.

Before last year's Sidewalk Film Festival, we interviewed filmmaker David Burkman about his new film "Haze," which wanted to show how the process actually all goes down behind the walls of fraternities across the U.S. That film won the Sidewalk Programmers Award.

Each film attempts to go behind the scenes to show audiences the true nature of fraternity pledgeship and the toll it takes on the young women who endure it for the perks that their future brothers promise them.

That brings us to director Andrew Neel's new drama

"Goat,"

which tells the story of two brothers who pledge the same fraternity and the hazing that tests their loyalty to each other in brutal ways, all in the name of 'brotherhood.'

Neel wrote the screenplay with Mike Roberts and "Pineapple Express" director David Gordon Green, an Arkansas native who might bring some perspective of how it works in the South.

It co-stars Nick Jonas, James Franco, Virginia Gardner, Danny Flaherty and Austin Lyon.

Paramount Home Media will release "Goat" on Sept. 23 in select cities while also releasing it digitally and on demand.

Watch the trailer below:
Karin Wolff Wilson and Kelley Wolff Lyons are identical twins whose lives parallel each other: Both sisters own popular businesses next door to each other in downtown Fairhope; both live in apartments above their businesses; and both work with their husbands. But while their living spaces are similar in many ways, they are also - like the sisters themselves - unique.

Karin and her husband, Kiefer, and their teenage daughters, Tyler and Tanner, live above Page & Palette bookstore. Last October, they moved into a spacious two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath apartment. Separate entrances lead to a bedroom and bathroom for their oldest daughter, a college student, as well as a mother-in-law suite for Karin and Kelley's mom.

In the building next door, Kelley Lyons and her husband, Mike, live with their teenagers, Olivia and twins Ethan and Emily, above Lyons Share Custom Framing and Gallery. The building was designed by Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects and built in 1998, with an attached two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath apartment as part of the plan. Over the years, the Lyonses have moved out, moved back in and reconfigured the space again and again as the family's needs change.

Stories to tell

Karin's grandmother, Betty Joe Wolff, and her friend, artist Jo Patton, bought then-tiny Page & Palette - which had sold books and art supplies since 1968 - in 1974. After graduating from college and living in Colorado, where she worked in finance, for several years, Karin was terribly homesick and returned to Fairhope, where she bought the shop from her "Granny" in 1997.

At the time, Karin's husband Kiefer worked in telecommunications. "He started helping out here (at Page & Palette), and it never ended," Karin said. "This store will swallow you, in a good way."

Since the 1980s, Betty Joe had lived in a small apartment above Page & Palette, one of the last remaining independent bookstores in coastal Alabama. Built in 1950 to house a department store, the two-story Clay City tile building is located at the corner of Section Street and De la Mare Avenue in the heart of downtown Fairhope.

Over the years, the upstairs had been used for, among other things, art and dance classes (in fact, Karin was one of Creative Dance Outlet's first students as a child), as well as author readings. The bookstore itself expanded little by little, with Karin's Granny acquiring other businesses as their leases expired.

When Karin bought the business, she did so with the agreement that her grandmother, who will celebrate her 90th birthday in January, would continue to live upstairs as long as she wanted. After she suffered a fall and moved into a one-story residence a few years ago, Karen and Kiefer, who lived in a ranch-style house in a nearby Fairhope neighborhood, decided it was time to figure out how they could convert the upstairs into a home for their family.

Working with architect Melissa Nolte of WHLC Architecture in Fairhope, as well as builder David Martin of SCC Group in Point Clear, the Wilsons had plans drawn up for the 3,800 square feet of space above Page & Palette. Because they had to bring the building up to code, including a sprinkler system, they decided to re-do the ceilings and lighting downstairs, and to remodel the bookstore, its Latte Da coffee shop and the Book Cellar event venue and bar.

"It had a domino effect," Karin said of the renovation process.

A wide set of stairs leads up from the area between the coffee shop and the bar to a landing outside the Wilsons' apartment. The frosted-glass front door opens into a foyer, with bedrooms to one side and the living space to the other. The kitchen overlooks the dining area and living room beyond, with the curved window in the corner still painted with the words "Page & Palette Art Supplies Upstairs."

The ceiling in this large area and in the master bedroom have open rafters painted white for a distressed effect. Karin said she painted six colors on the wall before she found the perfect, lightest shade of gray. "I like neutral colors," she said.

She did all the decorating herself, including picking out the two different types of countertops and two cabinet colors. "I did the kitchen based on what I like," she said. "I've been picking out stuff for about 21/2 years, since Pinterest started."

The space is perfectly planned to give Karin and her family "a place for everything." She wanted, and got, "the biggest closet you can imagine, and it's all mine" - and the closet conveniently connects to the laundry room.

The cozy master bedroom has two brick walls painted white, and three large windows with shades for privacy. The spacious, ultramodern master bath features a luxurious double shower.

Just off the kitchen, a door provides access to the balcony that curves around both sides of the building. "In our second phase, we're going to do outdoor living," Karin said. She and Kelley hope to eventually extend their balconies to meet their mother's balcony in the center. Karin also hopes to create a covered deck off the Section Street side of the apartment.

Her mom, Marcia Mathis, lives in a loft-style mother-in-law suite with its own entrance across the hall. The Wilsons' oldest daughter also has her own separate bedroom and bathroom, which will one day be used as sleeping quarters for visiting authors.

"This is a dream," Karin said of her beautiful space above the Fairhope landmark she has helped to build. "Everything is exactly how it was supposed to be."

Art and soul

Karin and Kelley both worked in the family businesses from an early age. While Karin gravitated toward her grandmother's bookstore, Kelley worked for her father, Robbie Wolff, who had started Frame Outlet in 1979 inside his mother's Page & Palette.

"Both of us can't imagine doing anything else," said Karin.

Kelley and her husband, Mike Lyons, bought a lot on De la Mare Avenue next door to the bookstore and built a home for the renamed frame business, which became Lyons Share Custom Framing and Gallery. Designed by Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects, the building included an upstairs apartment accessible from a door at street level, just next to the main entrance to the gallery.

The Lyonses weren't planning to live in the apartment - they were going to rent it out - but when their house on Fish River was flooded during Hurricane Danny, they were thankful to have the space to live in.

"When you want to make God laugh, you tell him your plans," she said.

Kelley was pregnant when it was being built, so "the guest room turned into the baby's room," she said. Then she had twins. "We keep chopping it up for everyone to have space."

The family moved into a house when the twins were two, but four years ago they moved back in. "The kids like living downtown," she said. "It's so convenient to everything, and everybody pretty much knows everybody."

The apartment is accessible via the entrance from De la Mare, marked "Private Residence." The stairs are lined with an intricately detailed, custom-designed iron banister hand-made by Hinmaton Hisler, who worked on it for three months. He later added a matching baby gate at the top of the stairs.

The stairs lead up to the elegant yet comfortable living room, which is open to the dining area and kitchen. A curving hallway leads to the bedrooms in the back of the apartment.

Throughout the home, the curtains and pillows were designed and created by Elizabeth Goree of Lulu & Me. "She's a godsend," Kelley said. Goree's work is also represented at Lyons Share.

Because of the firewalls required in the commercial building, the only natural light comes from windows at the front and back of the apartment, as well as skylights in the half-bath and in Olivia's room. Glass blocks also help disperse the light.

The kitchen has sealed concrete countertops, black cabinets and sage green subway tile backsplashes. Though the dining area is small, it can seat up to 10 people. "We've had Thanksgiving here, and parties," said Kelley, a master of living large in a limited space.

While Mike runs the gallery and custom frame shop, Kelley helps clients with interior design by providing original artwork. Art is, of course, an important part of her home, as well.

As gallery owners who represent some 50 local artists, the Lyonses display as much of their work as possible throughout their home. The living room features a gallery-style hanging system that displays a large canvas by Erin Gregory at the top of the stairs and an Amber Ivey original over the sectional sofa. Randy Moberg portraits of the children hang in the hall, and a Holly Irwin painting is a focal point over Olivia's bed. Graceful nudes by Kelley Ogburn are found in the master bathroom.

The first bedroom, which was originally intended to be the guest bedroom, is now Kelley and Mike's room, with steps leading up to a nook for their daughter, Olivia. Kelley described the arrangement as "musical chairs."

At the rear of the apartment, the former master bedroom is now divided into a living space for the teenagers, as well as two 6-foot-by-6-foot "cubbies" for the twins, separated by sliding barn doors. Ethan and Emily store their clothing in baskets hidden beneath their twin-size beds.

Among Kelley's favorite paintings is one by Jo Patton, her grandmother's friend, of a pier in Mobile Bay. "My dad carried her work when he first opened the gallery," she said. "And now she's doing a show coming up in October."

Even as businesses and buildings change, relationships, and beauty, remain.
On the day Gay Rogers got her second foot amputated, she was characteristically upbeat.

"All I could think about was I'm going to get to walk again," she said. "I'm going to get new feet."

Rogers is a 63-year-old mother and grandmother from Centre, Ala. In 2012 she was diagnosed with Charcot neuropathy, a condition that causes fracturing and degeneration in the bones and joints - in Rogers' case, in her feet.

"People may think I'm crazy, but I never felt bad about it," she said of her diagnosis, or the life-altering surgeries that followed.

In September 2014 - three days before her birthday - doctors had to amputate her left foot. Two years later, after a life-threatening infection, they amputated her right foot.

Just two weeks after the second amputation, she was in the gym, determined to walk again.

"It would be easy to sit in a wheelchair," she said. "But I can't afford to do that because then I won't walk for sure."

Working it out

While she may not fit the stereotypical image of a gym rat, more often than not Rogers can be found working out at The Odyssey Health Spa & Fitness Center in Centre.

Initially after the surgery, her focus was on building upper-body strength. She worked with trainer Eva Garner to improve her strength so she could maneuver herself in and out of her wheelchair.

"You've got to keep on keeping on," Rogers said. "It gets bad sometimes, but you've got to keep going. That's my thing."

She trained three times a week, even before she got her second prosthetic foot two months after the second amputation.

When the new prosthetic foot arrived, the first place she went was to the gym, to show both feet to her trainer.

"She's just a little ball of energy," said Eva Garner, her trainer. "She didn't come in here walking; she was basically running to show me she got her other leg."

They started working out with weights and machines. Rogers quickly realized the prosthetics wouldn't be a walk in the park, so to speak.

"My right foot slid right off my leg," she said. "The hotter I got, the more slippery it got til it slid right off."

Garner recalled an experience when they were doing an ab exercise. When Rogers maneuvered into position for the exercise, both her prosthetics fell off. Others in the gym were horrified until Rogers started laughing.

"She said, 'She's working my legs off!'" recalled Garner. "She makes jokes about her feet all the time. She's always positive and laughing."

Rogers joined the Silver Sneakers, a fitness program for senior citizens that's offered at her gym through Blue Cross Blue Shield. She got to where she could go 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer.

"My biggest goal right now is to learn to walk with no pain," she said. She's only had the prosthetics about five months. "Then the goal is to start working more and more."

Garner said Rogers always tells her, "I'm not handicapped, I'm handicapable."

"She won't use her cane," said Garner. "She's bound and determined to walk like normal."

Surrounded by support

A few months ago, Garner nominated Rogers for an award through the SilverSneakers program. A few weeks later, Rogers learned she was one of 10 finalists nationwide for the SilverSneakers Richard L. Swanson Inspiration Award, which honors a senior for his or her dedication to fitness and well-being.

"I like being a little bit of an ambassador," she said.

Rogers' daughter Kim posted the link on Facebook, encouraging the Centre community to vote, saying "she has been brave, tenacious and determined to walk again! She has far exceeded all expectations! We, her family, couldn't be more proud of her and her stubbornness!"

Anybody can vote for Rogers online, through July 15, at SilverSneakers.com/SwansonAward.

Rogers said she has been "blown away" by the support she's received from her family and the Centre community.

"I have been on every prayer list in our area, honest to goodness," she said. "People are so nice. We go to Walmart and we're there two hours because people want to stop and see how I'm doing."

She calls her family her "happy place." She and husband Ronnie will celebrate 45 years of marriage in August.

"My husband has been my rock," she said. "When I walk with him, because my balance is off he holds my arm and escorts me around. People think we're a sweet little old couple," she joked.

They have a son and daughter, and an 8-year-old grandson. Rogers loves spending time with them and with her brother and his daughters, who she considers like her own grandchildren.

Learning to walk again hasn't slowed Rogers down. Her son has taken her riding on his four-wheeler and she's gone out on the lake with family. She loves to travel.

Recently, she and her husband traveled with their children to Wisconsin and Chicago.

"It was so much fun," she said. They visited the Willis Tower - commonly called the Sears Tower - and Rogers said she stood on the glass ledge at the top, on her "two skinny posts," and enjoyed the view.
love stuff 004.JPG

Love Stuff will be opening a location inside an old ABC store in Sardis off U.S. 431.

(William Thornton / wthornton@al.com)

A little more than week after vowing to take a fight to open an adult store in a small northeast Alabama town all the way to the Supreme Court, the owner of Kalli's Love Stuff has a business license.

Ross Winner confirmed he has received a license for the newest location of Love Stuff in Sardis City, a town of 1,700 outside Boaz in Etowah County. Winner already owns Love Stuff stores in Hoover, Oxford, Auburn, Montgomery and Dothan. Love Stuff specializes in lingerie, vibrators and other sexual devices.

Earlier this month, the town council failed to approve a business license. Winner said it was due to town council member's religious beliefs.

However, Winner's accountant applied for the license through Revenue Discovery Systems. RDS is the firm that handles Sardis City's business license application process, along with scores of other Alabama cities. The application came through the company website. Winner said it was approved June 27.

"They're gonna whine like little bitches, but I got my business license," Winner said.

Winner said the store has already begun selling some items, making about $400 in sales. He plans a grand opening Aug. 1.

"We've had a tremendous response, probably more than any other store," he said. "Usually we give out 50 T-shirts. I've ordered 150. We've hired four people from Sardis, and we've been really impressed with the quality of people who have applied."
An Alabama appeals court has upheld the conviction and sentence of a man linked to the Sovereign Citizen Movement who was found guilty last year on charges that he filed fraudulent documents seeking $89.2 million in silver coins from judges and other public officials.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday upheld the conviction of William Peter Witwicki, 71, of Slocomb. The court's memorandum was not available in online court records until this week.

Witwicki had been convicted in Covington County on four counts of offering a false instrument for recording against a public servant. He was sentenced to serve concurrent 10-year sentences, but split to serve 10 months in jail. The judge then suspended the remainder of the sentence and ordered Witwicki to serve 5 years on supervised probation.

According to the appeals court memorandum:

Witwicki had defaulted on a loan for property he owned. The bank foreclosed and the property was sold at a courthouse auction. Witwicki refused to vacate the property and claimed he was still the rightful owner. A circuit judge found in favor of the buyers and ultimately law enforcement had to remove him from the property.

Witwicki filed a federal lawsuit against those involved in the foreclosure and his ejectment from the property, including judges, lawyers, and the buyers. He alleged larceny, theft of property "and other acts of malfeasance," according to the memorandum.

A federal judge dismissed Witwicki's lawsuit.

Witwicki then filed and had recorded in the Covington County Probate Judge's Office a document styled "Notice of Default Notice of Final Determination and Judgement in NIHIL DICIT Silence Is Acquiescence, Agreement and Dishonor," the appeals court memorandum states.

The document was made to appear as if it was an order from the federal case Witwicki had filed, according to the memorandum. The probated document listed the names of "wrongdoers" as three judges (Shannon R. Clark, Thomas Head, and John McLean), Coffee County Sheriff David Sutton, the Houston County SWAT team, the memorandum states. Witwicki claimed the "wrongdoers" had been indicted for larceny, theft and other crimes.

The indictment against Witwicki also lists Circuit Clerk David Counts as someone named in the probated document.

When naming each of the judges and the sheriff in the probate document, Witwicki also wrote "D.B.A. Judge" or "D.B.A. Sheriff," according to the memorandum. The D.B.A. stands for "doing business as" and according to testimony at Witwicki's trial is used by the Sovereign Citizen Movement "as a way of saying that the judge does not have jurisdiction over the sovereign citizen."

The purported order also claimed to assess a penalty and punitive damages against the "wrongdoers" in the amount of $89.2 million to be paid in silver coins (99.9 percent pure).

A Covington County recorded the document under each of the public officials' names. She testified that anyone looking in probate court for things such as a title search or credit report would find the document under the public officials' names. The judges testified they successfully petitioned to have the probate judge expunge the document filed by Witwicki.

"Each of the alleged 'wrongdoers' testified as to the damages, prejudice, and harassment suffered as a result of the recordation of Witwicki's document," the appeals court memorandum states.

An FBI agent also testified at Witwicki's trial that members of the Sovereign Citizen Movement claim they are separate from the U.S. and state governments "and that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution turned everyone into federal citizens and made them slaves to a corporate government."

Sovereign citizens also dispute the legitimacy of courts.

The FBI agent testified that sovereign citizens engage in tactics such as filing frivolous lawsuits or liens against a public officials' property to intimidate them and cause problems such as delays in selling a house, which requires the public officials to take legal action to get the lawsuits and liens expunged, according to the memorandum.

Travis Lambert, of Covington County, also was convicted on the same charges as Witwicki in the case, but the appeals court stated it was only dealing with Witwicki's appeal at this time. Lambert had certified Witwicki's signature and mailed the documents to the parties named in the probate document.

"The actions of these men were an attempt to intimidate and defraud public officials and to interfere with their carrying out their sworn duties," Attorney General Luther Strange stated in a press release issued Thursday. "These are serious crimes that warrant a stern penalty. The State of Alabama will not allow so-called 'sovereign citizens' to impede our lawful government."

Strange also commended Assistant Attorney General Robin Scales of the Attorney General's Criminal Appeals Section, as well as Assistant Attorneys General Ternisha Miles Jones and John Hensley of the Criminal Trials Division, for their work in the case.
AltonSterling1.jpg

A white teenager walks into a police station in Arab, Alabama--a tiny town 32 miles south of Huntsville and 70 miles north of us in Birmingham--with a loaded assault rifle strapped to his back, asks about the open-carry gun laws in our state, then trapes to a local McDonald's, Walmart, Tractor Supply, Dollar Tree and Marvin's--some of which do not allow him inside with the weapon--all while doing a selfie video, and he's...

...alive.

A 37-year-old black man, selling CDs in front of a store in Baton Rouge, La., is body slammed over the hood of a car by two police, who were summoned when someone allegedly said they allegedly saw him "brandishing" a gun. Then, as he's laying on the ground, someone shouts "He's got a gun".

Seconds later--pop! pop! pop! pop!--Alton Sterling, father of a son not much younger than the white teenager in Arab, is...

...dead.

I don't even know what to say anymore. Or what to feel.

Except hurt. Just plain hurt. Real hurt.

Yeah, I'm angry. Damn angry.

But it's difficult to describe my emotions after watching the videos circulating today.

First, I saw the press conferences in which Sterling's oldest son, 15-year-old Cameron cried uncontrollably as his mother calmly demanded justice for his father.

Then later, I saw the two harrowing videos showing a white public "servant" pointing the barrel of a pistol onto Sterling's chest then murdering him (sorry, I'm not doing "allegedly" today) in frigid, cold blood; then watching the man twitch as life slipped from his grasp (what must Sterling have been thinking just then, about his soon-to-be-grieving son? About the brave mother? Or, maybe, he was simply thinking, "I was just sellin' CD.."); then seeing that cop roll onto his back like, what...?

Whew!? Or oh, my what have I done? Or whatever..

Yeah, officer, you murdered a man. You murdered a man who looked just like me. A man whose red, collared shirt could have been hanging in my closet--minus the lake of blood on his chest from your bullets. [Officers Blane Salamoni and Howie lake have been put on the proverbial "administrative leave".

As a son of the civil rights struggle, I've long known that no matter how "successful" I may be, no matter what college degree I possess, no matter what model car I drive, no matter what neighborhood I can afford to live in, no matter....I am one crazy-a cop away from being the lead story on the nightly news.

And as the father of a now 22-year-old college-attending, church-going well-spoken young black man, whom I taught early, early, early--before any young boy should have to fret about such things--how to respond when confronted by a police officer: hands visible (lots of 'sirs" and ask before reaching for you wallet or insurance card or registration), I pray every day for a hedge of protection around him from the weapons that will undoubtedly be formed against him.

Some of which may be wielded by police.

What I, and many people (not just African Americans), felt Wednesday after watching the viral videos of Alton Sterling's murder was not really the "outrage" that so many headlines declared were sparked by its evil. No, it was something else...

It was numbness. It was emptiness. It was (let's be for real here) WTH?!

Not another one. Not another Michael Brown. Not another Eric Garner. Not another Walter Scott. Not another Freddie Gray. Not another Michael Moore. Not another other African American killed by a cop.

Really?!

What do you really want? Why is our mere presence such a threat to you? Such that you eschew your bodycams (conveniently "dropped") and simply murder us without nary a concern that somebody, in this eyes-everywhere age, just might be pointing a video lens at you?

I also felt: Who cares about some emails? Who cares about a presidential election where voters have already decided for whom they will vote and all the debates, digital alerts and polls that we'll be subjected to over the next five months don't matter one damn bit.

Not while cops keep killing black kids.

(As of tonight, here's how the two people who want to "lead" our nation weighed in on Sterling's murder: Presumptive Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton tweeted the predictable "prayers" and "tragic" statement; the other guy didn't say squat.)

Now, everyone should know that our lives really, really, really don't matter to the police in this nation--that they matter even less than they did to the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the 1990s, whose outright and overt disdain for the black citizens of that city (and the local justice system that backed them up) led to the ironic galvanizing of African-Americans nationwide around a man who declared he was "not black, I'm O.J."

I've long held tight to the reasoned--and journalistically prudent--mantra: not all cops are bad. But right now, like the radio disc jockey (who is white, by the way) whose rant went viral, I'm waiting for one good cop--one good cop anywhere, even in Birmingham, or Arab (lol)--to stand up and say: This is bad. Really bad.

But I'm not holding my breath because there's still that thin blue line, that "fight club" code that says: don't even hint that a fellow officer may have screwed up, let alone that he may be a murderer--even though you saw it with your own eyes.

Silence.

I spoke to several friends, colleagues and acquaintances today. Some were so struck by what they had seen that they wondered whether black people should build our own damn walls and recreate a 2.0 version of that time--yeah, that segregated time--when we owned our own businesses, educated our own children, trained and uplifted our youth and felt safe on our own streets.

Is that what white people want?, asked more than one of them.

What message are [white people] trying to send us today?, asked another, as she struggled to make sense of the senselessness: "I'm trying to find some rationale because in our minds we just can't figure out why you want us dead."

Media colleague and friend Keith Clinkscales, the CEO of Revolt TV, posted lyrics from Public Enemy's Don't Believe the Hype (which was released in 1988, almost 30 years go):

The minute they see me, fear me

I'm the epitome - a public enemy

Used, abused without clues

I refused to blow a fuse

They even had it on the news

Another friend, Dr. Nyesha Black, a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at UAB, crystallized, in my view, where we are now, that if we do not simply implode the police institution in this nation, more black men, women and children will die at the hands of the police:

"We continuously circumvent the root cause of the issue," she said. "We call for the prosecution of these individual cops, but that will not yield systemic changes. The actions of these officers are embedded in the organizational culture of police departments, which fail to properly train officers about communication and de-escalation tactics.



"I don't believe we will see changes, in the policing or the disproportionate level of force used against residents of black communities, until we demand changes in law enforcement at the institutional level.



"We have to dismantle the institutions to garner genuine progress."

The Arab police today announced that no charges will be filed against the white, loaded-22-caliber-assault-rifle-bearing teen. Chief Ed Ralston said the 18-year-old from Missouri "was doing it just to see the reaction."

Funeral arrangements for Alton Sterling are, as of now, pending.
Moses Siedlik.jpg

Moses Siedlik, left, is charged with capital murder in the death of Daniel Wideman, right.

(Birmingham Police/Special to AL.com)

A teen who was convicted of armed robbery when he was just 16 years old is now charged with capital murder in the June shooting death of 19-year-old Gadsden native found dead in Ensley's Central Park community.

Birmingham police this evening announced the arrest of 18-year-old Moses Siedlik. He is charged in the June 17 slaying of Daniel Wideman. The charge is capital murder because Wideman was killed in a drive-by shooting, according to Jefferson County Jail records.

The shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. that Friday night in the 4800 block of Avenue R. Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Bryan Shelton said at the time of the shooting that Wideman was shot in the head.

He was found lying in the street and was to taken to UAB Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Wideman's mother, Debbie Wilkins, told AL.com shortly after son's death that for the past three years, Wideman had worked with a group of friends and fellow rappers in Ensley. Although Wideman had been living in Gadsden and working at a McDonald's there, he came into Birmingham on the weekends to see his mother, who lives in Birmingham, and play music with his friends in Ensley.

Police have not released a motive in the slaying.

Siedlik was convicted of first-degree robbery in 2014. According to court records, he was armed with a pistol when he robbed a woman of undisclosed property. Siedlik was convicted of a felony and sentenced to 20 years in prison with two to serve.

Siedlik, arrested on July 4, is being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.
Ronnie Gipson Shot.jpg

Ronnie Lee Gipson is recovering after he was shot leaving a show at Saturn in Birmingham's Avondale community.

(AL.com/GoFundMe)

A well-known local musician was shot and wounded early this morning during a possible robbery attempt in Avondale.

The incident happened at 12:49 a.m. in the 200 block of 39th Street South. Ronnie Lee Gipson, 28, had just left a show at the venue Saturn, which is at 200 41st Street South. Birmingham police say Gipson and his girlfriend were walking to their car when they were approached by a dark sedan.

Birmingham homicide detective Sgt. John Tanks said the suspects told Gipson to stop, but he kept walking. That's when one of the suspects fired one shot, hitting Gipson in the back. Gipson's girlfriend, Amber Ritchie, wasn't injured.

The suspects fled in a dark-colored Impala. Tanks said investigators believe two people were inside the vehicle. A description wasn't immediately available. No arrests have been made, but Tanks said it apparently was a robbery attempt.

Gipson remains hospitalized but is expected to recover. Among his injuries is a collapsed lung.

His girlfriend recounted the frightening moments for AL.com. Ironically, she said, on the way to the show Gipson had lectured her about walking alone in the area. After the show, they walked together when the sedan approached them.

"This car pulled right up next to us, the driver pointed a gun out of the window and said,' Stop moving.''' Ritchie said. "I stopped and assumed they were going to take my cell phone or whatever but Ronnie kept walking."

"Then they said, 'If you don't stop moving, I'm going to shoot you in the head,''' Ritchie said. That's when the shot was fired.

"I ran over to him,'' she said. "I didn't know if he'd been shot. I was so afraid they had killed him." Gipson and Ritchie got back into their vehicle, and that's when they noticed he had been wounded.

"I was like, 'Oh my God, you're bleeding all over your back,'' Ritchie said. They drove back to Saturn for help. "It was really scary."

Known to many as "Lil Bo," Gipson is from Tuscaloosa but he plays in bands all over the southeast. He is a bass player for Golden Monica and Thee Crown Imps and member of about 10 other bands in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham and elsewhere, he told AL.com in a 2015 interview and podcast. The southern rock musician plays or has played guitar or bass in these bands: Golden Monica, Model Citizen, SDX, Rattler, Black Willis, The Original Shake Charmers, The Necronomikids, Silver Lion's 20/20, The Quiet Ones, Druid City Rockers, Thee Crown Imps and Dan Turner and the Agitators.

Friends said Gipson doesn't have insurance and they have started a GoFundMe account to help with medical bills. This is that post from Facebook: "On 07/06 Ronnie Lee Gipson was shot in downtown Birmingham outside of Yellowhammer. Ronnie is expected to be ok, but the cost of his medical bills will undoubtedly be staggering. Ronnie is due to move out of his apartment on the 25th of this month and already has enough on his plate. Ronnie works his ass off at his day job and playing music and this injury will likely keep him out of work for quite a bit. He doesn't have insurance to help cover his medical expenses. Please help ease the burden off Ronnie so he doesn't have to stress any more while he focuses on recovering from his injuries. Every single penny donated to this page will go directly to him."

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

Updated at 12:54 p.m. with comments from Gipson's girlfriend, Amber Ritchie.
A judge on Wednesday dismissed a murder charge against a man in the Jan. 29 shooting death of Kendrix Smith in southwest Birmingham.

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Tracie Todd dismissed the murder charge against Michael Givan, 32, of Birmingham at a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning. Todd stated that "no probable cause was found" in an order issued after the hearing.

Smith, 27, was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in the backyard of a home in the 1700 block of Pearson Avenue at around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 29. He was later pronounced dead at UAB Hospital.

A witness had reported hearing gunshots from the back of the home and later discovered Smith.

Police announced in February that warrants had been issued for Givan's arrest in connection with Smith's death. Givan was arrested on April 28, according to court records.

Givan's attorney, Sammie Shaw, said Wednesday that according to testimony at the hearing two witnesses - a mother and son - initially identified another man as the shooter. Police, however, charged the son with hindering prosecution, he said.

Police then showed a photo lineup to the son and he still didn't pick Givan, Shaw said. But the son did pick Givan out of a second lineup, he said. The mother also picked Givan out of a lineup, he said.

"We respect and appreciate Judge Todd's ruling and we hope this is the last Michael Givan has to deal with it and he can get on with his life," Shaw said.

While the murder charge was dismissed Givan still remained in the Jefferson County Jail on a failure to appear writ issued by Jefferson County Circuit Judge Laura Petro. She issued the writ on April 14 after Givan failed to show up for a court appearance related to a domestic violence charge. Petro ordered Givan to be held without bond.

Court records show Givan was indicted in November 2015 for domestic violence strangulation/suffocation and third-degree domestic assault of his girlfriend.

Givan was also previously charged with possessing a controlled substance.
Savana1.jpg

(Courtesy S. Hartman)

Savannah Hartman is a wife, mother and pastor of banner church in Tampa, Florida, according to her Facebook page.

It could happen to me.

After the murder of Alton Sterling by two police officers Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, LA, she posted a powerful and passionate video that implores whites to hear the truth about the treatment of African-Americans, historically and today.

Check it out:
A well-known civil rights advocate in Huntsville died this morning.

Dr. Sonnie Hereford, III, was a retired physician who made history in September 1963 when he and his 6-year-old son, Sonnie Hereford IV, returned home after being turned away from Huntsville's Fifth Avenue School.

His son became the first black child enrolled at a white public school in Alabama six days later. Arts Huntsville recognized Hereford's and Dr. William Hooper Councill's contributions in October with a new public art display at Twickenham Square.

"Sonnie was a quiet, servant leader who led by actions rather than words," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle. "We will remember his courage as a civil rights pioneer. He will be truly missed in our community."

A new school in his honor, Sonnie Hereford Elementary, broke ground in 2014 and will open later this year at the former Terry Heights Elementary property.

Check AL.com later for more details.
In the end, the Republican candidate may simply want to choose the person he likes the most.

Donald Trump spent the July 4 weekend in his apartment in New York, huddled with advisers, pouring over papers, ready to make a decision on who will become his vice presidential pick.

In the end, it will come down to who he feels most comfortable with; who he likes most. He will want someone with legislative experience, someone who is a traditional politician, maybe even a Washington insider.

Hell also want someone who can help him to pull together the various strands of the Republican party, something hes conspicuously failed to do this far into the campaign.

But he has a problem. Political wisdom suggests no one turns down the vice presidential slot.

While John Nance Garner suggested the office he held under Franklin D Roosevelt was not worth a bucket of warm piss, Sam Rayburn, a legendary former Speaker of the House of Representatives, remarked theres always the chance of being president.

READ MORE: Donald Trump is the real deal

There are many Republicans who have told me they dont want to be touched by the Trump campaign. They fear he is heading for defeat and theyll be dragged down. Or theyll be too closely linked with such a divisive, unrestrained character, and their future in the Republican politics will be at an end.

George McGovern, a Democrat, was rejected by three or four of his choices back in 1972, while Colin Powell has walked away from the warm embrace from three presidential candidates from both main parties.





So it leaves an interesting field.

Thought to be close to the top of the current choices is Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker and a presidential candidate himself, four years ago. While he has never publicly endorsed Trump, he also defended him from attacks from inside and outside the party.

There is no doubt his selection would add intellectual weight to the ticket, and he has deep ties to Washington. But hes also deeply unpopular in the country.

The man behind the longest US government shutdown, in 1996, has consistently low approval ratings. Added to the fact he has as many ex-wives as Trump and is older than the candidate, he would be a fairly controversial choice.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence would help Trump with the conservative wing of the party. Hes well-liked and respected and knows how Washington works. But he perhaps holds presidential ambitions of his own and could easily sidestep the question by insisting that he wants to continue serving the people of his home state where he is running for re-election.

Into the mix

Almost inevitably, Sarah Palins name has been thrown into the mix, but her increasing erratic speeches have seen even some of her most ardent supporters reconsider what they ever saw in the former Alaska governor. And while shell be wheeled out on the campaign, it wont be as the vice presidential pick.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been put in charge of the Trump transition team and stands out as one of the first establishment Republicans to back Trump. He himself had hopes of a presidential nomination, but his chances in the snow of New Hampshire.

Picking Christie would mean the Republican ticket was essentially two angry white guys from the north east. And with such low approval ratings, theres no guarantee he could even carry his home state. Hes still more likely to end up as attorney general or even chief of staff in a Trump administration.

READ MORE: Donald Trump says halting radical Islam must be US priority

Ben Carson was given the job of vetting the VP candidates. And its not impossible that he could end up on the ticket. Remember Dick Cheney did the same job from George W Bush end ended up in the White House.

But Carson has never run for elected office, and was cruelly exposed in the debates for lacking policy and foreign policy experience even if he would help to marshal evangelical Republicans.

One strong possibility is Jeff Sessions from Alabama, the first senator to endorse Trump. But while Sessions would delight those in the right wing of the party, hes been accused of racism and bigotry during his political career.

Another piece of Washington wisdom is that no one really cares who the vice presidential pick is. Thats not true. It can affect the ticket when its a bad choice and can make it more attractive when its good.

Its also the first really big decision of any would-be president. And that counts for something.
About 400 Adivasi families once lived near the Chaal coal mine but were forced out by blasting and water contamination.

The earth-shattering sound of dynamite welcomed us to the small village of Lath, which sits on the edge of an open-cast coal mine.

The 30 or so people gathered around the centre of the village didnt flinch, though, not even the small children. Theyve become used to the sound of explosives blasting the earth open since Indias largest coal producer, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), built the mine on their land in 2003.

It was hard to believe looking at the layers of black pits that sink deep into the earth that this land used to be rice fields where cows roamed before the trucks transporting coal arrived.

Lath village also used to be home to 400 Adivasi families. Adivasis are Indias indigenous people, of which there are many different tribes. People in Lath are from the Kawar tribe. We could see signs of Adivasi culture. The older women wear the traditional Indian sarees without a blouse, using only the shawl of the saree to cover their chest. Their arms and faces are often covered in tattoos of tribal patterns, depicting trees, nature, animals  all things they consider sacred.





Families face displacement in Indias coal mining belt

The huge tree in the centre of Lath that serves as the villages meeting place has many colourful threads tied around the base of its trunk. The villagers worship the tree. Adivasis make up 8 percent of Indias population of 1.25 billion, but more than 50 percent of the more than 20 million people displaced by mining and other industrial projects since Indias independence in 1947.

Thats because they live in Indias forests, which we now know to be rich in minerals. Only 56 families remain in Lath after losing their land, livelihood  they were farmers  and access to clean water, which the coal mine has cut off.

Lath resident Omkhar Singh Rathia, 22, guided us on motorbikes to get to the river thats now on the other side of the coal mine. When we arrived at the point at which we had to walk, so too had SECLs security guards. Only they didnt seem eager to wade through the long muddy path to stop us. We were thankful the monsoon rains hadnt started for the day, but it meant we were drenched in sweat from the humidity.

We walked for 30 minutes before we found the long metal pipes carrying waste from the mines. They end abruptly at the cliff that drops into the river. We could see the muck along the rivers edge.

Half our life is dependent on the river. We catch fish in the river. We use the water for washing, cleaning. Its basically our lifeline, Rathia said.

Many people left the village because of that [losing access to clean water], but we stayed on and were still fighting.

Indian law requires consent, compensation and rehabilitation in the case of displacement. There are additional laws to protect Adivasis rights to land, given their special status as Indias indigenous people who have historically been marginalised. When we went to meet Chhattisgarhs mining secretary, Subodh Singh, in the state governments building, we walked through open spaces and corridors filled with sculptures and statues of Adivasis in their natural environment  men wearing loin cloths with horns on their head, beating drums; the women with chests exposed.

We have one of the best rehabilitation policies in the country, Singh said.

People in Lath showed me paperwork from SECL listing them as working at the mine  providing rehabilitation. But its only on paper, they tell me. They dont have jobs or an income.

Elsewhere in Raigarh district, we met another Adivasi, Fuleshwar Singh Sidar, 33, and his family, whose home was demolished by the Hindalco mining company in April for the expansion of a coal mine. His two-year-old daughter, Pihurani, was distraught when we arrived at the basic concrete structure that they are renting as their home. She thought we were from the mining company. Pihuranis mother Gita said the toddler has become afraid of strangers, as she boiled spinach for lunch, with a few browned onions for garnish. The Sidars told me they didnt consent to their home being demolished and they werent compensated for it.

When I asked Sidar if Hindalco had offered him a job, he said, No, but even if they did, how can I work for someone after they demolish my home? Where is the dignity in doing that?

Sidar and his cousin Gopichand took us to where they used to live, a few kilometres away. We drove through farmland and rice paddies before we arrived at what is now a site thats being cleared for mining. Two female private security guards paced the area and got on their phones after seeing us.

Thats where our house used to be, to the left of where that mango tree is, Fuleshwar pointed out. Gopichands home was further, where those coconut trees are.

Its his first time back to the land his family had lived on and farmed for generations. It feels very strange to be here, he said. Its very sad.

Sidar spoke a lot about fighting for justice, holding the government and the mining company to account, and about the governments talk of development when theyve never had electricity. He was quiet on the way back.

Despite the growing number of mines, steel plants and power stations in Chhattisgarh, most of it is breathtakingly beautiful. We spent many hours every day driving through lush green forests and rice paddies; roads lined with poplar trees, mud houses with thatched roofs, road signs in Hindi reading Beware of Bears and Elephants Cross Here.

But the industrial presence is impossible to ignore. Jindal is the most visible word in the state. Signs everywhere carry the name of the multibillion dollar steel and power conglomerate.

Ive never seen as much public art featuring Adivasis as I did in Raipur. But away from the city, we didnt see the lifestyle thats depicted in the art  living off the land, festivals celebrating the rain or seeds, traditional music and dance.

We were told wed have to go to Bastar district in the south to see real Adivasi life and culture. Thats where Indias Naxalites, or Maoists, are running whats essentially a parallel government to the Indian state.

On my last day in Chhattisgarh I met Rajendra Kawasi, 21, in Raipurs Purkhauti Muktangan Museum. The Adivasi art student from Bastar was painting murals of tribal life on the museums walls. When I asked him if the museum was representative of life in Bastar, he responded: The real Adivasi life is in the villages. This is for visitors.

But with the Indian government and mining companies encroaching on Adivasis land and culture, we saw much more of their way of life in the citys museums and sculptures than in what was once their land.
The British actress explains why she decided to narrate the documentary A Very Sicilian Justice.

I am passionate about Italy  in particular the people and places of South Italy  and I have a much-loved home there.

Italy has a dark history of mafia violence and political corruption. But it also has many incredibly brave and brilliant public servants  police, magistrates and politicians  who risk their lives and careers day in, day out to fight this enemy within. The threats they receive also put their family life under terrible strain.

These largely unsung heroes need to be recognised and supported.

Mafias worldwide have changed their modus operandi. They operate more quietly than before through political corruption and by infiltrating the business and financial worlds. by Helen Mirren, actress

At the heart of the documentary A Very Sicilian Justice is the astonishing and shocking story of one man  a public servant  who lives in fear and whose freedom is severely restricted simply because he is doing his job.

I also have a personal connection to the events described in the documentary. A close friend  the architect we employed to build our house in Italy, Brizio Montinaro  lost his brother in 1992 in the explosion of mafia violence described in the film.

Antonio Montinaro was a police bodyguard who died alongside the famous anti-mafia prosecutor, Judge Giovanni Falcone, in a bomb attack as he escorted the judge along the Palermo motorway. Falcones wife and two other bodyguards were also killed.

Today, almost 25 years later, Judge Antonino Di Matteo is investigating the criminal and political context behind these and other killings and, incredibly, finds himself under tremendous threat for doing so.

The murder plot and threats against Judge Di Matteo show that these events from the past are still very much alive today.

As Di Matteo says in the film, unless Italy faces up to and uncovers the truth behind this tragic period in its recent history, the events of this terrible season of terror will continue to poison and polarise Italys body politic for ever.

In Italy, the ongoing trials and investigations into this period are little reported. Internationally, this story is virtually unknown.

I hope that A Very Sicilian Justice, by bringing these important events to a worldwide audience, will give added support and recognition to Judge Di Matteo and his colleagues.

READ MORE  The Mafias war on Italys journalists

Many think Italian organised crime and corruption are confined somehow within Italys borders, but this is a dangerous misunderstanding of what mafia is.

The proceeds of crime are not only invested abroad and hidden in international tax havens. According to Italian investigators, mafias worldwide have changed their modus operandi. They are increasingly sophisticated, work together and operate more quietly than before through political corruption and by infiltrating the business and financial worlds.

Despite the recent referendum result in the UK and the potential knock-on effect of a severely divided Europe, I passionately believe countries, now more than ever, need to be vigilant, cooperate and unite if we are to win the battle against organised crime and political corruption.
Since Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, relations between NATO and Russia appear to have reached an all-time low.

This Friday and Saturday, Poland will host a NATO summit in Warsaw. Twenty-eight heads of state and government will gather to discuss possible measures to deal with what the secretary-general of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, calls the unprecedented security challenges facing the alliance.

One of the main points on the agenda will be the deployment of four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, all of which border Russian territory.

Tensions have been rising in the region since Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, in which Moscow has been accused of meddling.

INTERACTIVE: Is Eastern Europe entering a new Cold War?

There seems to be a growing fear in the Baltic countries and Poland that Russia could also interfere in their countries, particularly after the Russian foreign ministry warned in 2014 that it would protect Russian speakers in the three Baltic states  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which are all NATO members.

In 2015, Lithuania reintroduced compulsory military conscription, which it had scrapped in 2008.

All four countries  the Baltic states plus Poland  have urged NATO to bolster defence on the eastern flank.

We need a credible deterrence policy in the Baltic region to influence the Russian calculus to make the costs of interference too high, Estonias President Toomas Hendrik Ilves warned in May.

An increasing number of NATO military exercises have been taking place in the region, with the most recent one in Poland, Anaconda-2016, involving 31,000 troops from 24 countries  the largest war game since the Cold War.

Russia has also been holding an increased number of military drills in recent years. Ninety-five thousand troops participated in its largest military exercise of 2015 and, this month alone, it has conducted at least six military training exercises on the European side of the country.

NATO and Russia: Who is threatening who?

The Baltic countries may be feeling particularly vulnerable because of their sizeable ethnic Russian minorities. In Latvia, ethnic Russians make up roughly 27 percent of the country, in Estonia it is about 24 percent and in Lithuania it is nearly 6 percent.

As Russian speakers are often exposed to Russian state media, fears have been expressed that Moscow may seek to stir unrest among them. Propaganda and information attacks are part of [Russian] hybrid warfare. They seek to provoke social and ethnic tensions, promote mistrust in government, discredit our history, independence, and statehood, and demonstrate that Western democracy is functioning on dual standards, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite in March.

Beyond unconventional warfare, there has also been talk of the threat of a direct invasion. But Peter Duncan, a senior lecturer in Russian Politics and Society at University College London, told Al Jazeera: There is no reason for Russia to want to threaten the sovereignty of the Baltic states in the sense of trying to force them to leave NATO or still less to invade them.

Military plans always  unfortunately, work on the basis of making the worst scenario assumptions on the basis of capabilities rather than  intentions. And the problem with that is the old security dilemma that you  [end up increasing] your insecurity; say, you think [that] by having more troops or putting them closer to the enemy  or to [a] potential adversary [that you will be safer]  [but] the potential adversary feels their security upset, he explained.

But Agnia Grigas, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC-based think-tank, said that while Russia is unlikely to resort to direct aggression, it does not mean that these countries are not at risk. Russia could resort to fomenting separatists, training local radicals or militants, sending its own activists and volunteers over the border. Potential conflicts could spill over the border so Russias frontier states are right to bolster their defences when the security environment in Europe has been transformed, Grigas told Al Jazeera.

The Russian president, however, has insisted that he has no intention of attacking a NATO member country. I think that only an insane person and only in a dream can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack NATO, Vladimir Putin said last June.

Putin also said that the increase in Russian drills was in response to NATO increasing its activity in the region and questioned why the latter wasnt perceived as aggressive behaviour on the part of NATO.

A missile defence system is being deployed under the far-fetched pretext of countering the Iranian nuclear threat after this threat has been eliminated and a treaty with Iran has been signed  Next comes an announcement that NATOs force in the Baltic countries will be enlarged, Putin said during a a press conference.

Cold war, hot war or neither?

During the Munich Security Conference in February, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said: We have slid back to a new Cold War.

But not everyone agrees. In February, Ilves said it is less a cold war than a hot war that is taking place in Europe. Id rather have a cold war in that case, because during the Cold War we werent having live fire on a daily basis, which we have today [in Ukraine], he said.

But Duncan told Al Jazeera that he does not think a Cold War is approaching. With the rise of China, in particular, and to a much lesser extent India, Brazil and so on, international relations are very different [to how they were during the Cold War]. The hostility between Russia and the West is not something that threatens the existence of either party. Russia certainly doesnt want to cause unnecessary problems for the West; rather the Russian economy depends on a prosperous Western European economy.

Maxim Starchak, a fellow at the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queens University in Canada, however, says that the new Cold War is already under way and will only continue to grow. Today, the Cold War is a war of values, a war where the goal is not the death of the enemy, and the victory of [the winners] values, [but] the victory of its policy, Starchak told Al Jazeera.

The sides show all their strength and confrontational intentions, which makes their policy similar to the policy of the Cold War times. The only difference is that the army and the number of arms are now smaller than they were back then.
The sociologist and womens rights activist was born in Italy to Jordanian and Palestinian parents.

Milan, Italy  When she is told that she is Milans first consigliere comunale  female city councillor  to wear the hijab, she is quick to point out that hers is neither the first nor the only such case in Italy. But what Italian-born Sumaya Abdel Qader, a 38-year-old sociologist and womens rights activist, has achieved is unique.

The Milanese municipal election, held on June 5, saw the second ballot victory of the centre-left coalition. Abdel Qader, a member of the centre-left Democratic Party, obtained more than a thousand votes, which has granted her a place in the new town hall.

She may shrug away those who put a historical emphasis on her election, but she has made it to the top in a town which has long been the stronghold of the conservative Italian right. When outgoing mayor, Giuliano Pisapia, a leftist, suprisingly managed to win the municipal vote in 2011, Milan had been ruled by centre-right mayors since 1993.

Milan, is the capital of the northern Lombardy region, where just last year, legislators had attempted to implement anti-mosque laws. These regulations were struck down by Italys highest court, but anti-immigrant, and anti-Islam politicians remain vocal.

During the election campaigns, candidate Stefano Parisis centre-right coalition targeted Abdel Qader directly. The 59-year-old business executive, Parisi made a statement that Abdel Qaders ties with the Muslim Brotherhood could make her a serious threat to Milan.

Abdel Qader, who is of Jordanian-Palestinian origin, denied such ties and went on to run a successful campaign. She said she would be happy to shake hands with conservative politicians. That, to me, is what democracy means.

And, she has vocal supporters as well. Daniela Pistillo, who heads the Democratic Partys Immigration Forum in Milan, told Al Jazeera that Sumaya is an open and communicating person, a bridge-builder.

Al Jazeera spoke with Abdel Qader about her personal journey in Italian politics, the challenges she has faced, and the rewards she has reaped.

Al Jazeera: Did you take offence at how some rivals depicted you during the election campaigns?

Sumaya Abdel Qader: I knew my candidacy would cause debate and that I would be an easy target for some and a tool to exploit for others. This kind of libellous propaganda has largely played on half truths, allusions and lies, ramping up the Islamophobic sentiment of certain circles to hit me and the centre-left coalition.

Al Jazeera: What was it like growing up as a Muslim child in central Italy?

Abdel Qader: I was born in Perugia, to Jordanian and Palestinian parents. As a girl I suffered the absence of grandparents, in-laws and cousins near me. I used to go to my friends homes to stay with their grandparents and listen to their stories from a far past. I loved to hear them and make them part of my own story.

I remember my first day of high school. I had just begun to wear my hijab and I stepped into class with a lot of fear to be mocked for this reason. But instead, I found lifelong friendships.

Al Jazeera: The hijab can evoke debate over Islam and secularism in Italy. How do you perceive and reconcile this matter?

Abdel Qader: This is a very complicated topic. It is the most obvious sign of difference that brings about barriers, concerns, and mistrust. It often instigates the worst colonialist and racist attitudes towards Muslim women.

Some deem the hijab inconsistent with a secular state. [But] the hijab cannot be reduced to just a religious symbol. It is an act of faith, a free and personal act in a path followed by those who abide by the norms of the Quran. Fulfilling them or not should depend on a choice, freely made by the woman.

Al Jazeera: Why do you think so many people see the hijab as a threat?

Abdel Qader: Some reduce the hijab to a symbol because they connect it to improper meanings, such as the subjugation of women, their absence from the social sphere or the denial of their freedom. Moreover, sometimes it is seen as an invasion of Islam in the public space, which in turn, is seen as a threat because Islam is more and more associated with ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, also known as ISIS).

But it is wrong to compare a religion that has nothing to do with those criminals.

People want to exclude the veil from public spaces because they see secularism as the total absence of religion in that sphere, but what they dont think of, for example, is the presence of crucifixes in the Italian courtrooms. This all just speaks to double standards.

Al Jazeera: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

Abdel Qader: Last March, I started Aisha, a project that aims to teach young Muslims about sexual education and the importance of womens rights.

I do not consider myself a feminist, however, because labels are always reductive. I see myself more as a defender of civil rights and freedom.

Al Jazeera: What do you think of how the Palestinian issue is perceived on a political level, in Italy and elsewhere?

Abdel Qader: There is much misinformation and propaganda propagated, which damages the quest for peace in Israel and Palestine.

Al Jazeera: What are you going to do as a councillor in Milan? What are your goals?

Abdel Qader: I will stive to contribute to the improvement of the outskirts of the city and make them new hubs of a policentric Milan. I will apply myself to make Milan more appreciated by Milanese people and foreigners alike.
Palestinian Muslims celebrated the end of Ramadan this week, despite ongoing violence and an increased Israeli military presence in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

After a deadly attack in Tel Aviv at the start of the holy month, Israeli authorities initially froze more than 80,000 permits for Palestinians to travel outside the West Bank, although some were later allowed to cross into Jerusalem to visit holy sites and family.

While heightened tensions kept many at home, the Old City was still flooded with Muslim pilgrims and Palestinian worshippers as thousands gathered at Damascus Gate, the main entry point to reach the revered al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

INTERACTIVE: Inside al-Aqsa  A 360-degree tour

As youths, packed shoulder-to-shoulder, cheered and set off fireworks from the steps of the iconic gate, Israeli forces stormed the area several times on a recent night.

If the army didnt come here, there wouldnt be so many problems, an elderly Palestinian man told Al Jazeera after watching Israeli police detain a youth.

Israels Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories told Al Jazeera that nearly 300,000 people crossed through military checkpoints across the West Bank during the four Fridays of this years Ramadan. The Old City remained busy throughout, until Eid al-Fitr brought Ramadan to an end on Wednesday.
If future military disasters are to be avoided, the media must also face up to its mistakes.

John Chilcots massive report on the calamitous invasion and occupation of Iraq is now out. While the report is comprehensive and unflinching in its criticism of former Prime Minister Tony Blairs government, there is one major omission.

It does not blame the British (and US) media for the critical role it played in galvanising public support for the war. Downing Street complained at the time that the BBC, for example, had an anti-war bias, but evidence strongly suggests that the UK media coverage of the Iraq experience was generally aligned with the government.

Public opinion in Britain was less favourable to the war than it was in the US and ministers were acutely aware of the need to secure backing for their cause. According to a document quoted in Chilcots report, Blair told Bush in 2002 that he would support regime change in Iraq if efforts were made to shape public opinion.





In July of that year, former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw appeared to call for an aggressive public opinion campaign, the report shows, while Jonathan Powell, Blairs former chief of staff, recommended a Rolls-Royce information campaign.

A sceptical public

The British press stepped up to the plate and, in many cases, helped sell the war to a sceptical public. One survey, conducted for Peter Obornes book The Triumph of the Political Class, found a pro-war bias among British media organisations.

Much of the detail given to readers was wrong or fabricated, according to the survey, and all of this invented material was helpful to the pro-war case.

READ MORE: Tony Blair is rubbing salt into Iraqs wounds

Most of the British press strongly supported the governments stance, including the Telegraph, The Times, the Daily Mail, and The Sun (Oborne does not include The Economist  a magazine  which also backed the invasion).

On news pages there was more space given to pro-war material, much less to anti-war articles, Oborne writes, which were usually shorter and appeared further back in papers.

Media coverage of a notorious government dossier from September 2002, which contained false intelligence about Iraqi weapons, was gullible and over-hyped.

Papers bought into the spurious claims, as headlines show: the Evening Standard ran a story titled 45 minutes from attack, while The Sun, a popular and influential tabloid, had Brits 45 mins from doom (and later, on March 19, Fiend to unleash poisons).

The Times, one of Britains most respected papers, ran material showing that Saddam was trying to acquire nuclear weapons. According to the dossier, Iraq attempted to obtain uranium from Africa (a claim soon to be discredited and withdrawn by the US government).

Public opinion in the UK was less favourable to the war than it was in the US and ministers were acutely aware of the need to secure backing for their cause. by

False reporting

The Times took this further, and not only regurgitated those details but claimed Iraq was actively seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The Guardian also ran claims that African gangs were planning to sell uranium to Iraq, Oborne tells us.

False reporting was not limited to the dossier, however. Oborne shows how in early 2003 The Sunday Telegraph reported, erroneously, that UN weapons inspectors had found evidence of an ongoing Iraqi nuclear weapons programme.

Moreover, The Observer turned out a long story based on evidence from an Iraqi defector and former building contractor that showed Saddam was reconstituting weapons sites. The contractor was associated with the Iraqi National Congress (INC), a group of Iraqi dissidents founded by Ahmed Chalabi which supplied much of the material reported in the press at this time.

Indeed, the US media was saturated with uncritical reporting based on defectors: CBS and PBS Frontline produced stories, as did The New York Times, which ran several such articles. These outlets rarely, if ever, acknowledged that sources were linked to the INC, which had a political agenda.

READ MORE: Blair, the Iraq War and me

Many American papers, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, lined up behind the Bush administration. The Times coverage by Judith Miller and others repeatedly parroted phoney intelligence, leading to Millers disgrace as a journalist.

One famous article she co-wrote alleged, incorrectly, that Saddam was seeking parts for a nuclear bomb.

In 2004 the paper acknowledged its failure in an editorial, stating that we have found a number of instances of coverage that was not as rigorous as it should have been. The Washington Post also issued a mea culpa in 2007, admitting it had been insufficiently sceptical.

Critical coverage

Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy) was one of the only American papers to consistently question government claims. James Risen, of The New York Times, also produced critical reporting, but some of his stories were held, cut, and buried deep inside The Times, he tells us in his recent book, Pay Any Price.

In all fairness, there was probably more critical coverage in the UK media than in US outlets. Indeed, some papers, such as The Guardian, the Daily Mirror and The Independent, opposed the war. But, once the invasion had started in March 2003, British reporting became more propagandistic.

One research study, led by Piers Robinson of Manchester University, showed that 50 percent of quotations in TV channels came from coalition sources, with far fewer attributed to the Iraqi regime.

Furthermore, Downing Streets position on weapons of mass destruction was accepted in 54 percent of television coverage and 61 percent of press reporting. According to another study, from Cardiff University, the BBC was the most pro-war broadcaster, quoting more coalition sources, and fewer Iraqi sources, than other outlets, while focusing less on Iraqi casualties.

The Frankfurter Allgemeine, in a study of coverage in five countries, found that the BBC devoted only 2 percent of its airtime to opponents of the war, the lowest of all broadcasters (ABC was next, with 7 percent).

Tony Blair, Jack Straw and other officials associated with the lamentable invasion of Iraq deserve criticism. But, if future military disasters are to be avoided, the media must also face up to its mistakes.

Rupert Stone is an independent journalist working on national security and counterterrorism.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Ethiopias support for observer role comes as Benjamin Netanyahu visits four East African nations.

Ethiopia backed an Israeli bid for observer status at the African Union (AU) as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the country as part of a four-nation tour of East Africa.

Israel is working very hard in many African countries. There is no reason to deny this observer position to Israel, said Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, as Netanyahu began the last leg of his tour this week.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has also offered his support for the proposal.





Observer status is granted to some non-African countries that wish to engage with the AU, allowing them to follow proceedings and address its gatherings.

Several countries including Palestine, Turkey, Haiti, Serbia and Ukraine currently hold the status.

Israel had been an observer at the AUs predecessor organisation, but its status was not renewed at the AUs founding in 2002.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has used his countrys observer status since 2013 to attend AU summits, deliver addresses and shore up diplomatic support in the long-running dispute with Israel.

The 54-member organisation, headquartered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, would be an important diplomatic ally for Israel, as is Ethiopia which begins a two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Netanyahu bemoaned the gap between what is happening in practice  and in multilateral institutions.

READ MORE: Benjamin Netanyahu begins East Africa trip in Uganda

Africa for us is a major strategic effort, he said, repeating a mantra heard in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda in recent days.

All African countries can benefit from renewed cooperation with Israel. Israel is coming back to Africa.

Relations between several African nations and Israel have previously been strained. In the 1960s the Arab-Israeli conflict drove a wedge between some African countries, many of which were embroiled in liberation struggles, and Israel.

Later, wars between Israel and its neighbours in 1967 and 1973 led North African nations to urge sub-Saharan African states to cut ties with Israel, which many did.

Israels support for the apartheid regime in South Africa  which ended in 1994  also soured relations with much of the rest of the continent.

Though their relations later deteriorated, Israel helped establish the rule of Idi Amin in Uganda in the 1970s.

Hailemariam said differences could be overcome by engagement, not isolation.

Israel needs to come to Africa, and we need to engage with Israel, he said.

Netanyahu, who was accompanied by a 70-strong Israeli business delegation, praised the economic potential of Ethiopia and the continent.

For too long Africa was treated like an afterthought by much of the world, he said. Many focused on its problems, few saw its opportunities. No longer. We are clearly seeing Ethiopias potential and Africas potential.

At least 17 people were arrested on Sunday as hundreds of Ethiopian Jews protested against Israeli police brutality in Tel Aviv, according to local media reports.

Last year, Israeli Ethiopians staged massive protests in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere after a video emerged of an Ethiopian soldier in the Israeli army being beaten by several officers.
Fighting between military and armed group in the jungles of Mindanao left at least 10 dead and dozens injured.

At least nine fighters of the Abu Sayyaf group and a soldier have been killed following heavy fighting between the armed group and government forces in southern Philippines.

The fighting on Thursday in the jungles of Patikul in Sulu Province also left at least 19 armed fighters and six government personnel wounded, according to Major Filemon Tan, a military spokesman.

Tan said that the fighting began when troops encountered suspected members of the armed group during an operation to track down hostages being held by the group in Sulu.

Abu Sayyaf group beheads second Canadian hostage

Clashes have also been going on in the neighbouring island of Basilan, where an estimated 200 Abu Sayyaf fighters carried out attacks on a military headquarters, according to local news reports.

It was not clear if there were casualties from that fighting. But many residents have been forced to flee.

The Abu Sayyaf are holding captive a Norwegian, seven Indonesian sailors and other Filipinos.

They have threatened to execute Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad if a ransom is not paid for him.





Sekkingstad was abducted with two Canadians and a Filipino woman in September from the southern island of Samal.

Following the swearing in of President Rodrigo Duterte on June 30, the Philippines new military chief warned of a shock and awe offensive to wipe out the armed group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

Earlier in June, the group claimed they had beheaded Robert Hall, a second Canadian man who had been held captive since September 2015. Another Canadian hostage was beheaded in April, after a ransom was not paid.

On June 24, the Abu Sayyaf freed Filipino Marites Flor.

The group initially demanded a ransom of $21.7m for each captive, but they lowered the amount to $4.2m for each before Hall was killed on June 13.

The United States and the Philippines have blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organisation.
TRANSCRIPT OF THE FIRST FOUR MINUTES OF REYNOLDS VIDEO:

Reynolds: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail-light in the back and the police just  hes covered  he killed my boyfriend. Hes licensed, hes carried to, hes licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket and he let the officer know that he was, he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm. Were waiting for a back.

Officer: Keep your hands where they are.

Reynolds: I will, sir. No worries. I will.

Officer: F***!

Reynolds: He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over on Larpenter.

Officer: I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands open.

Reynolds: You told him to get his ID, sir, his drivers licence. Oh my God, please dont tell me hes dead.

Officer: Oh f***.

Reynolds: Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that.

Officer: Keep your hands where they are please.

Reynolds: Yes I will, sir. I will keep my hands where they are. Please dont tell me this, Lord. Please, Jesus, dont tell me that hes gone. Please dont tell me that hes gone. Please, officer, dont tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his licence, his registration, sir.

Officer: Get the female passenger out!

Second officer: Get out the car right now with your hands up. Let me see your hands! Exit now  keep them up, keep them up!

Reynolds: Wheres my daughter, you got my daughter?

Second officer: Face away from me and walk backwards. Walk backwards towards me. Keep walking, keep walking, keep walking, keep walking. Get on your knees. Get on your knees.

[Reynolds daughter can be heard crying. Handcuffs are heard being fastened]

Reynolds: Why am I being arrested?

Second officer: Maam. Youre just being detained right now until we get this all sorted out, OK.

Reynolds: They threw my phone, Facebook. Please dont tell me, Lord Jesus, please dont tell me.

Second officer: Were going to get your purse, here [inaudible]

Reynolds: Please dont tell me my boyfriend is gone. Take it out my hand. Please dont tell me hes gone. Please, Jesus, no. Please no! Please no. Dont let him be gone, Lord!

Officer: F***!

Reynolds: You started shooting for no reason.

Officer: F***! F***!

Reynolds: His wallet, his licence and registration, you told him to get it, sir  Please dont tell me my boyfriends gone. He dont deserve this, please. Hes a good man. He works for  public school. He doesnt have no record or anything, hes never been in jail or anything. Hes not a gang member or anything.

Reynolds can then be heard saying a prayer for her boyfriends life.
As probe into death of black father of five gathers pace, more footage emerges of moment he was killed by police.

Protests have grown in the United States over the killing of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot dead by white police in Louisiana, as an investigation into his death was announced.

Hundreds gathered in Baton Rouge on Wednesday night, a day after Sterling was wrestled to the ground by two officers and killed outside a shop as he sold CDs  an incident filmed with a mobile phone.

The rallies came as more mobile phone footage alleged to be of the incident emerged, and as the US Justice Department said it would investigate the killing.

Many carried signs to express their anger and demand for justice, blocking streets near the shop where Sterling, a father of five, died.

Demonstrators chanted black lives matter and hands up dont shoot.

Protesters and friends of Sterling had earlier erected a makeshift memorial on the white folding tables and fold-out chair he had used to sell mixtape CDs.

WATCH: Do black lives matter in the US?

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped to raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds with a broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged on Wednesday showing the moments before her nephew was shot had left her angry.

She pleaded for protesters and those gathered not to allow the vigil to be marred by violence.

Shortly after speaking, Augustus and another aunt of Sterlings fainted in the heat and commotion. They were carried away by family members.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards and the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday afternoon that there would be an investigation by the departments civil rights division.





Man with a gun

Baton Rouge police spokesman, LJean McKneely, told local media that officers had responded to an anonymous call that said there was a man in the area with a gun.

Louisiana is an open carry state, meaning that with some exceptions adults can be armed if the gun is visible.

The owner of the shop outside which Sterling worked, Abdul Muflahi, told local TV that the first officer to arrive at the scene had used a stun gun on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. As Sterling fought to get the officer off him, the first officer shot him four to six times.

In the footage circulated online five shots can be heard.

The store owner said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand at the time, but he saw officers remove a gun from Sterlings pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr called Sterlings death a horrible tragedy and said there were still questions about what happened.

Quinyetta Mcmillon, the mother of Sterlings 15-year-old son, addressed media, saying: As a mother, I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father.

Community leaders said they did not trust the police and demanded answers.

The head of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People in Baton Rouge, Michael McCalahan, called for the police chief to be fired.

We are going to turn the entire case over to the US Attorneys office and the FBI to conduct the investigation from this point, he said, shortly after the announcement.

What were going to do today is root out the 1 percent of bad police officers that go around becoming the judge, the jury and the executioner of innocent people. Period. But more specifically, innocent black lives, McCalahan said.

Mobile phone footage

Footage of the moment Sterling was killed, which cannot be verified by Al Jazeera, contains images some readers may find distressing.

The 48-second video shows two police officers pushing Sterling down to the ground. One officer is seen pressing his head against the ground. There are shouts of Get on the f*****g ground! and If you move, I swear to f*****g God!. Then, at least five shots can be heard.

Seconds after the gunshots end, as blood pours from Sterlings ailing body, an officer can be heard saying F***! and, speaking into a radio, Shots fired! Shots fired!.

Reports said Sterling died minutes later, as paramedics arrived on the scene.

An autopsy showed that Sterling died of multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr William Clark.

Edwards, the Louisiana governor, announced that the US Justice Department investigation would be carried out by the departments civil rights division. Edwards said the video of Sterlings death is disturbing, to say the least.

The Justice Departments investigation will look into whether the officers willfully violated Alton Sterlings civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Here is how some on social media have reacted to the killing of Alton Sterling:

"The death of Alton Sterling is a tragedy, and my prayers are with his family." Hillary pic.twitter.com/Yky4ZxfbLN  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) July 7, 2016

1) In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!  jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016

STOP telling Black people to calm down & let justice take its course. There is NO justice. You are not listening.  Linda Sarsour (@lsarsour) July 7, 2016

1. Alton Sterling was killed because we refuse to acknowledge the fact that our police forces protect selectively and harm enormously.  Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) July 6, 2016

You can't just go on with your day, you must watch this & we must face this continual outrageousness #ALTONSTERLING https://t.co/NqW3aVSZ1j  KATY PERRY (@katyperry) July 6, 2016

https://twitter.com/KhaledBeydoun/status/750751540978257920
Bombs hurled and gunfire exchanged at gathering of 200,000 people in the northern Kishoreganj district.

At least two policemen and a female civilian have been killed and nine police officers wounded when bombs were hurled near a huge Eid prayer meeting in northern Bangladesh, officials said.

At least 200,000 people were gathered near a school in the northern Kishoreganj district when the bomb exploded on the premises on Thursday, according to police and local media.

There were exchanges of gunfire at the scene. One of the attackers was shot dead.

Two policemen, an attacker and a woman who was shot during the gunfight were killed, national police spokesman AKM Shahidur Rahman told the AFP news agency.

Nine policemen were also injured. They are in a critical condition and have been shifted to a military hospital in Dhaka.

Two suspected attackers were arrested, including one who had been shot and injured, while a pistol and machete were recovered from the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Protected events

Al Jazeeras Maher Sattar, reporting from the capital Dhaka, said large gatherings for Eid prayers were usually organised with donations from organisations and wealthy business people.

They usually have very good security because they are such large gatherings, he said. They are one of the best protected events in the country.

READ MORE: Divisive politics set the stage for Dhaka attacks

The incident comes days after 20 hostages were killed  many of them hacked to death  during a 12-hour siege at a popular restaurant in an upmarket suburb of Dhaka.

It was one of the deadliest attacks ever in Bangladesh, where al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group have made competing claims for a series of killings in the past year.

The government has dismissed those statements and insists that the violence is homegrown.
Resolution calls for free and unimpeded access in Rakhine State, where thousands of Rohingya remain in refugee camps.

The European Parliament has urged Myanmar to end what it termed as the brutal repression and systematic persecution against the countrys Rohingya Muslim minority.

In a resolution on Thursday, European politicians expressed deep concern about the stateless ethno-religious group, which they said is one of the worlds most persecuted minorities.

The parliament said Myanmar must as a matter of urgency ensure free and unimpeded access for the United Nations and rights groups in Rakhine State, where some 120,000 Rohingya remain in more than 80 internal displacement camp.

Myanmar bans officials from saying Rohingya

Myanmar should condemn unequivocally all incitement to racial or religious hatred and implement specific measures and policies to prevent direct and indirect discrimination against the Rohingya in the future.

In recent weeks, violence has erupted in the region, with reported attacks on mosques and individual Rohingya.

There are an estimated one million Rohingya in Myanmar.

They are considered stateless, according to the 1982 Burmese Citizenship Law, and unwanted by neighbouring countries.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi insisted in May that her new government was determined to address deep hatreds in Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of Rohingya are confined to squalid camps after waves of deadly unrest with local Buddhists in 2012.





Aung San Suu Kyi, however, has refused to use the term Rohingya, which she said only risks inflaming tensions.

She and her administration have been widely criticised for not speaking up sufficiently for the group, which ultra-nationalist Buddhist group call Bengalis.

A recent UN report expressed concern on the Rohingya, citing denial of citizenship, forced labour and sexual assault.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also warned that the Rohinya may be victims of crimes against humanity.

Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyis pro-democracy party took power in April, ending nearly half a century of military domination.

Suu Kyi is a winner of the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought, which the EU awarded to her in 1990 and which she picked up only three years ago following 15 years of house arrest.
No means No legislation classifies groping as sex crime, makes it easier to report rape and deport foreign offenders.

The German parliament has passed a new law by unanimous vote broadening the definition of sex crimes to cover cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back.

Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must not only demonstrate that they verbally declined sex but also that they physically resisted their assailant.

The new legislation, dubbed the No means No law, will cover the actual situations in which most attacks occur, Justice Minister Heiko Maas said.

These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence, for example in an abusive relationship.

It is crucial that we finally embed the principle No means No in criminal law and make every non-consensual sexual act a punishable offence, Eva Hoegl, a Social Democrats MP and one of the laws sponsors, told the AFP news agency.

Tougher laws

The new legislation, which was adopted on Thursday, also classifies groping as a sex crime punishable by a two-year prison term or a fine.

It also lowers the bar for deporting foreign nationals who commit sexual offences.

The conservative parliamentary group included a stipulation making it illegal to be part of a group committing assaults in a crowd  rather than requiring proof that a specific person attacked a victim.

Anyone who at least tacitly accepts that crimes are committed by a group they are a part of can now be prosecuted.

READ MORE: Germany weighs deportations after sexual assaults

The latest reform drive began in 2011 with the passage of a Council of Europe convention on preventing and fighting violence against women, requiring signatories including Germany to penalise all non-consensual sexual acts.

German Chancellor Angela Merkels cabinet signed off on the measure in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Years Eve.

The alleged attacks were largely blamed on foreigners and heightened tensions over Germanys migrant influx.

In January, Merkel proposed tougher laws, which include expelling asylum seekers convicted of committing crimes in Germany, in response to the assaults.

The German DPA news agency cited figures that 8,000 rapes were reported in Germany each year but that only one in 10 victims filed charges. Moreover, only one in 10 rape complaints led to a conviction.
A growing build-up of refugees on Hungary-Serbia border follows tight border control measures introduced by Hungary.

Hundreds of refugees and migrants are stuck in no mans land on the Hungarian-Serbian border following tighter border controls and several deportations from Hungary.





The conditions are unacceptable here, Balint Bardi, an independent Hungarian journalist, told Al Jazeera by telephone from the Serbian side of the border.

Because the razor-wire border fence is built within Hungarian territory, the refugees and migrants are stuck in camps in no mans land, an area which is not Serbian territory and that Hungarian authorities do not administer.

There is a huge queue of people waiting for entry to the transit zone to request asylum [in Hungary], Bardi added, estimating that around 500 people were stuck in two camps on the border.

The crisis on the border comes days after Hungary introduced stricter border controls that allow police to effectively deport refugees and migrants found in Hungarian territory within eight kilometres of the border fence erected last September.

The goal of the new border protection system introduced along the Hungarian-Serbian and Hungarian-Croatian borders on Tuesday is to prevent illegal immigrants from being in Hungary, but to allow those who wish to submit requests for asylum, Gyorgy Bakondi, chief adviser on homeland security to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said in a statement on Wednesday.

At least 151 people were caught within the 8km area and returned to Serbia on Tuesday morning, he said.

READ MORE: Hungarys border war on refugees

Speaking to local media, Bakondi said some 350 people were waiting for their asylum applications to be processed in transit zones on the border.

He added that more than 6,000 police officers have been deployed along the border, and that an estimated 1,060 refugees and migrants had attempted to cross the border since the new measures were implemented on Tuesday.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Major-General Tibor Benko said the Hungarian army is carrying out patrol duties and air and land reconnaissance, medical duties in transit zones, and are also prepared to perform crowd control tasks.

Not easy

Bardi said the huge amount of police on the border have made it nearly impossible for those who intend to breach the fence  which spans the length of the 175km border with Serbia  and enter Hungary.

The area is full of police on the Hungarian side, he said. Its not easy for people who are trying to cross irregularly.

Lydia Gall, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the Hungarian measures allow police to effectively carry out push-backs, a practice which violates international law.

READ MORE: Europe shuts its doors to Afghan

These are basically summary returns because there is no [legal or judicial] procedure involved, she told Al Jazeera. These measures are illegal under refugee law and international law.

More than a million refugees and migrants reached European shores by crossing the Mediterranean Sea last year, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency. More than 231,000 have made the dangerous journey so far this year.

The number of those arriving in Western Europe via the Balkans route has decreased since March, when borders were sealed across the region following an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to halt arrivals.

While the Hungarian government formally considers asylum claims at transit centres on the border, applicants are overwhelmingly rejected.

Of the more than 18,000 asylum applications in Hungary, only 76 people were given refugee status between January and May of this year, said Nora Koves, a human rights expert at the Budapest-based Eotvos Karoly Policy Institute.

The government has absolutely built a legal fence in addition to the physical fence on the border, she told Al Jazeera, explaining that authorities accept only 15 asylum applications a day.

The process is very slow, and there is basically no chance to get asylum.

Refugee referendum

Earlier this week, Hungary announced it will hold a referendum on October 2 to decide whether the country will honour an asylum seeker quota decided by the EU.

PM Orbans right-wing government and one of the leading opposition parties  the ultra-nationalist Jobbik  oppose the EU programme to relocate 160,000 refugees across the union.

READ MORE: Hungary sentences refugees for breaching border fence

In a statement released earlier this week, President Janos Ader said voters will be asked: Do you want the European Union to be entitled to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the consent of parliament?

Koves argued that the referendum is part of the governments politicisation of the refugee crisis. Its a referendum against refugees and migrants, but they also view it as a kind of freedom fight against the EU.

Serbias B92 news agency reported earlier this week that Hungary plans to deport up to 17,000 refugees and migrants back to Serbia.

Serbia will not imitate Hungary and will not stage a show on its borders, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said in Belgrade on Wednesday, as reported by the regional BalkanInsight news site.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_
Thousands from Cuba and Haiti, as well as Africa and Asia, seeking to reach US are stranded on Colombia-Panama border.

Turbo, Colombia  Thousands of refugees and migrants from Cuba, Haiti and as far away as Africa and Asia are stranded on the Colombia-Panama border, where they are seeking an overland route to the United States and the possibility of a better life.

We sold everything we had in Cuba. Our house and everything in it, Lisbet Franco, one of more than 1,000 Cubans stranded in the small Colombian port town of Turbo, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

Coyotes [people smugglers] cheated us along the way and now with the border shut off we cant continue our trip, said Franco, who, with her family, has spent two months travelling in a bid to reach the US.

Migrants from Latin America have long travelled overland to reach the US border. More recently, they have been joined by a surge in migrants from Cuba, as well as from Africa and Asia.

With the numbers of migrants increasing, Panamas President Juan Carlos Varela announced in May that key border crossing with Colombia would be sealed.

Thousands of are now stranded in Turbo  their last stop before Panama.

Danger in the Darien Gap

Unable to move forward and with little to return home to, many migrants are attempting to enter Panama though the Darien Gap, one of the most forbidding stretches of mountainous jungle and swamplands in the Americas  as well as an operations base for Colombian FARC rebels and drug traffickers.

Boarding boats in Turbo, the migrants  men, women and children  are dropped off near the border where they continue their journey on foot through the Darien Gap. It is a journey that takes days, and Cuban migrants in Turbo told Al Jazeera that people get lost in the inhospitable jungle and can die there.

Raicel Rosaval was among a group of Cubans who attempted the trek but were intercepted by Panamanian soldiers and sent back to Turbo.

We asked for help but the soldiers told us no one could cross into Panama, Rosaval said.

They gave us a little water and we started walking back. When we reached a small  village one of our companions fainted and started shaking  we thought he would die.

Nicaragua was the first country to close its borders in November, following an influx of Cuban migrants attempting to reach the US. Though initially facilitating the transit of several thousand Cubans migrants through its territory, Costa Rica also closed its borders in April as numbers grew.

Unlike migrants from other countries, Cubans who make it to US borders have special entry privileges under the Cold War-era Cuban Adjustment Act, which gives them special welfare benefits and allows them to apply for permanent residency after 366 days in the country.

The surge in Cubans taking the land route to the US coincides with the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Havana, and fears among ordinary Cubans that they will lose their more privilieged migrant status.

We are just trying to find a place to better our life

Running short of food and camped in warehouses in Turbo, hundreds of Cubans risked deportation when they took to the streets of the port town this week to protest about their situation. They held banners calling on US President Barack Obama to help and demanding that Colombia airlift them to Mexico.

In May, Panama struck a deal that allowed around 4,000 Cubans inside its borders fly directly to Mexico.

The Colombian government is refusing to help the migrants, saying doing so would encourage more to travel to the area and play into the hands of human traffickers.

Giving them food would turn into a bigger problem, increasing the number of people coming to Turbo and staying here, Emelides Munoz, Turbo government secretary, told Al Jazeera.

The migrants say they only want to continue their journey, and with more people arriving in Turbo every day, they believe it will be difficult for Colombia to avoid finding a solution as the situation deteriorates.

We are just trying to find a place to better our life, said Chaly Luma, a migrant from Haiti.

To make a living, you know.
North Korea vows a tough response to new US sanctions on leader Kim Jong-un and other top officials.

North Korea has promised a tough response to what it deemed a declaration of war by the United States, after Washington blacklisted the countrys leader Kim Jong-un for the first time over human rights abuses.

Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a hideous crime, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Thursday.





What the US did this time, not content with malignantly slandering the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, is the worst crime that can never be pardoned, it cited the foreign ministry as saying.

In announcing the sanctions on Wednesday, the US Department of Treasury said Kim and 10 other top officials were behind the killing and torture of political prisoners in the countrys system of political prison camps.

Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture, said Adam Szubin, the acting Treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The Treasury said Kim, North Koreas Supreme Leader, was responsible for abuses in his roles as head of the countrys Ministry of State Security and Ministry of Peoples Security.

According to officials in Washington, North Koreas Ministry of State Security holds between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners in political prison camps where torture, execution, sexual assault, starvation and slave labour are common.

OPINION: Kim Jong-un  What we know about the North Korean leader

The US also alleged that another ministry overseen by Kim runs a network of police stations, detention centres and labour camps, where suspects under interrogation are systematically degraded, intimidated and tortured.

Authorities in Washington for the first time identified other top officials directly involved in rights abuses, including Choe Pu Il, the minister of peoples security, Ri Song-chol, a senior official in the Ministry of Peoples Security, and Kang Song-nam, a bureau director with the Ministry of State Security.

Treasury official Tom Malinowski, who oversees human rights and labour issues, said that many of the people on the list had not been previously known.

This wont bring any sort of dramatic change, but lifting anonymity of these functionaries will make them think twice when they consider an act of cruelty or oppression, Malinowski said.

Another senior US official said that naming the specific officials involved would help strip the anonymity under which they carry out systematic abuses.
Hun Sens relatives control stakes in companies valued at more than $200m, many connected to international brands.

Cambodias ruling family has built a vast corporate empire through cronyism and corruption that has allowed Prime Minister Hun Sen to cement his decades-long grip on power, a report released on Thursday by NGO Global Witness says.

Using records obtained from a government database, the report Hostile Takeover shows the Hun family has controlling stakes in companies valued at more than $200m, with a footprint in the countrys most profitable and corrupt sectors and links to international brands including Apple, Nokia, Visa, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Durex and Honda.

Cambodia vote revives political tensions

The investigation is the first time evidence hinting at the scale of the familys finances has been published, and is likely to cover only a fraction of their true business holdings, which the report suggests are masked by nominee owners and shell companies.

The extent of the Hun familys private sector holdings, their apparent access to lucrative state resources and their immunity to Cambodias legal system, point strongly to the fact that Hun Sens Cambodia is built on grand corruption, the report says.



Archaeologists in Cambodia discover ancient city near Angkor Wat temple

The revelations come at a time when the Cambodian government is courting foreign investment from the US and EU, and is in the running to join the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

While Hun Sen claims to have no income beyond his prime ministerial salary, the business interests of his wife, children and other close relatives  many of whom hold senior roles in politics, the police, media and the military  help to explain how the family has amassed an estimated net wealth of between $500m and $1bn.

These revelations point to a cruel irony of Hun Sens model of dictatorship  his family has Cambodias economy so sewn up that Phnom Penh residents are likely to struggle to avoid lining the pockets of their oppressors multiple times a day, said Global Witness co-founder Patrick Alley.

Political tensions in the country have been running high in recent months amid a crackdown on dissent that has seen numerous opposition members and several rights workers jailed on questionable charges, prompting condemnation from the international community.

Sam Rainsy, leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, who is currently in self-imposed exile in France to avoid what he says are politically motivated defamation charges, dubbed the familys economic interests the result of systematic corruption.

Rather than pursue the most corrupt in society, the countrys Anti-Corruption Unit has instead been designed to hide government corruption and to target those who do not support the current regime, he said.

Hun Sens immediate family has declared interests in 114 private domestic companies spanning 20 economic sectors. In 90 percent of these, a family member is registered as the chairperson, director or has a shareholding of more than 25 percent. Trading companies, operating in one of the countrys most corrupt sectors, make up the largest share of the firms.

As head of the government, Hun Sen also controls the Commerce Ministry and chairs the Council for the Development of Cambodia, through which large private investments are authorised, while his friend and business associate Kith Meng presides over the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce.

The question of genocide and Cambodias Muslims

Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sens Cambodia, said the familys wealth could be traced to the 1980s, when the ruling party established patron-client ties to consolidate a state from the ashes of the Khmer Rouge.

These links were then supercharged during the free market reforms and foreign investment boom-times, after the UN-administered elections of 1993, he said. Since then, the Hun family and its close allies have been in a prime position to cream off economic rents as the Cambodian economy has expanded.



Cambodia jails three commandos over attack on opposition MPs

Hun Mana, Hun Sens eldest daughter and wife of the director of central security, has the most extensive portfolio of anyone in the immediate family, with registered interests in 22 companies and a listed share capital of more than $66m.

The often illicit interests detailed in the report are far from victimless crimes, with ramifications for ordinary Cambodians not difficult to find.

In one example cited by Global Witness, between 2009 and 2012 Mana directed WS Mining Industry Holdings, which was granted a 97,000-hectare exploration licence on Kuy indigenous land in northern Cambodia. WS reportedly enlisted soldiers, including members of Hun Sens bodyguard unit, to guard the land from local residents, while using cyanide to leach gold from the ground, illegally contaminating the water supply.

Chim Sophal, a 39-year-old Kuy villager, recalled an undiagnosed illness that spread among villagers, which was believed to have been caused by water contaminated by the companys activities.

While no one has fallen ill in recent years, he said chemicals still leak out from the site during the rainy season, which he fears could cause further negative effects.

Sophal also raised concerns about the use of soldiers to guard the site.

It is not right for state soldiers to safeguard a private company. It is against the laws of the nation, he said.

In 2010, Hun Sen formalised a sponsorship pact between private companies and the security forces, through which the countrys powerful class of tycoons could fund military and police units in exchange for protection and an on-call labour force for their development projects. Some 100 Hun family-linked firms have since taken part in the scheme.

Despite numerous criminal allegations against their companies, there are no recorded cases of a member of the family being prosecuted for wrongdoing.

Cambodias beating heart and climate change disaster

Repeated requests by Al Jazeera for comment from aides of Hun Sen and Hun Mana were not answered. WS Mining Industry Holdings was also asked to respond but did not.

One member from the family, Soma Group CEO Sok Puthyvuth  husband of Hun Sens youngest daughter and son of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An  told Global Witness he took seriously the challenge of building a responsible and respected private sector group. I admit it is a work in progress.

To avoid possible litigation under foreign anti-corruption laws, Global Witness called on potential investors to use the data it obtained to conduct thorough due diligence.

Alley of Global Witness said the wealth of the family comes at the expense of Cambodian citizens, the majority of whom still live close to the poverty line.

This preferential treatment must be brought to an end and the law be applied equally to everyone, even relatives of the prime minister.
The bombing at the prophets mosque killed four security officers and came on same day as attacks in Qatif and Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 12 Pakistanis and seven Saudis in connection with the suicide bombing on the prophets mosque in the city of Medina and other attacks in Jeddah and Qatif.





Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked the prophets mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse.

Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next to the mosque and detonated an explosive belt, killing four soldiers, the state news agency SPA quoted an interior ministry spokesman as saying.

The statement also named three individuals it said carried out attacks on Monday in Qatif. It said none of them had obtained Saudi IDs.

Saudi Arabias King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has vowed that his government will strike with an iron fist.

READ MORE: Is ISIL embracing a new approach?

The kingdom is fully determined to strike with an iron fist all those who aim at the minds or ideas of our dear young people, Salman said on Tuesday, in an address to the nation for the Islamic feast of Eid al-Fitr.

The Medina attack, 24 hours before the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, drew condemnation from Muslim leaders worldwide.

A bombing near the US consulate in Jeddah on the same day killed only the attacker, and no casualties other than the bomber have been reported in Qatif.

The Saudi interior ministry identified the Jeddah attacker as Abdullah Waqar Khan, a Pakistani national in his early 30s. In a tweet, the ministry said that Khan, a driver, had moved to Jeddah 12 years ago to live with his wife and her parents.

OPINION: ISIL turns shock and awe doctrine against Islam

Pakistan said on Tuesday that it was going to investigate whether the suicide bomber in Jeddah was one of its nationals.

Many observers suspect the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) of being behind the bombings.

The armed group, which controls areas of eastern Syria and northern Iraq, has frequently denounced the Saudi monarchy and has claimed previous attacks on Shia mosques in Qatif and elsewhere in the kingdom.

The group has claimed responsibility for Sundays car bomb attack on a shopping street in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, in which more than 200 people were killed.
Tens of thousands flee as fighting hits large city, prompting fears that last years peace agreement could collapse.

Renewed fighting in one of South Sudans largest cities, Wau, has forced tens of thousands of people to flee.

As the sound of gunshots rang out in the background, Al Jazeera interviewed civilians, military officials and doctors working in the area.

South Sudan erupted into civil war in 2013 when President Salva Kiir sacked his deputy Riek Machar barely two years after it seceded from Sudan. Machar has since been reappointed as part of a peace deal.

Dozens of people have been killed and more than 120,000 forced to flee their homes, though, in a wave of fighting in Wau, almost a year after the deal was was signed.

Clashes between President Kiirs Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) and members of the Fertit tribe began on June 24, sources in the city said.

The SPLA is predominantly made up of members of the Dinka tribe, the largest in the country.

Families told Al Jazeera that they were unable to sleep out in the bush any longer, where they have been hiding, but added that they would go back into hiding if their new homes witnessed similar violence.

READ MORE: South Sudan  Dozens killed as violence flares in Wau

There was fighting. They were killing women, they were killing children. They destroyed houses and looted everything, said Bakhita Tagia, who left her home.

Soldiers loyal to President Kiir said fighting was fierce in Wau, adding that repelling armed groups while protecting civilians is difficult.

Gabriel Jok Riak, a lieutenant general, said: Instead of ceasing fire, they [armed groups] are increasing hostilities and aggravating it more. We want the international community to advise them.

Guns are silent elsewhere, but in this particular state, things are deteriorating and furthering the catastrophe.

READ MORE  South Sudan: The 3-year-old victim of renewed fighting

But soldiers loyal to Vice President Riek Machar say President Kiirs forces will not let them set up bases in Wau. They insist that they are the ones being attacked.

They dont think other people have rights in this country. We all worked together to bring independence of the country. But they have turned against the rest of the people. They think they are born to rule. We will not accept that, said Major General Ashhab Khamis Fahal Ukanda.

Thousands were displaced when the new fighting started. Some sleep at a UN compound, others are in churches and schools. Many more are hiding in the bush.

The estimate is around 150,000 people. The entire town has been deserted. Most of the diseases are malaria, said Vincent Taban, a local doctor.

Riek Machar moved back to the capital Juba in April, after two years in the bush, which was a requirement of the peace deal he signed. Some of his forces, though, say they will remain in the countryside.

READ MORE: Exclusive interview  Machar on South Sudan peace deal

Ukanda, the major general loyal to Machar, did not say how many troops were fighting under him. But Al Jazeera saw several soldiers leave a camp in the city and head to the bush carrying weapons, machetes and food.

The renewed fighting has fuelled rumours of further attacks, with Sudanese people fearful that the peace deal could easily fall apart.
Pro-government forces cut the strategic Castello Road, bringing them close to encircling rebel-held areas of the city.

Syrian government troops have made major advances in Aleppo despite a three-day ceasefire announced by Damascus, cutting off the only road in and out of rebel-held areas of the city.

Pro-government troops advanced to within 1km of the strategic Castello Road on Thursday, putting it within range of light weapons and effectively cutting the northern city off from the surrounding countryside.

If government forces can hold their positions there and fight back the counteroffensive, then the opposition neighbourhoods will be completely besieged, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian rebels said a push was under way to take back lost positions and secure the strategic road. Up to 300,000 people live in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo.

They [the regime and its allies] have been hitting the road for a long time, but we havent seen fighting like these months, Aleppo-based journalist Tamer Osman told Al Jazeera. There has been constant shelling. No one can get in or out of the city now.

READ MORE: Syrias Civil War Explained

Osman said pro-government troops were battling to take control of al-Mallah Farms and Handaret refugee camp alongside the Castello Road.

Before, it was possible to pass quickly, but you never knew if a barrel bomb or a shell was going to come down on your head. But now, its impossible.

The government advance came just one day into a 72-hour ceasefire announced by the Syrian army on Wednesday. Government forces, backed by heavy Russian air strikes, have been trying since February to encircle the rebel-held areas of the city.

Aleppo, Syrias largest city and economic hub before the civil war, has been divided for years into rebel and government held sections.

All factions sent reinforcements and are trying to take back the positions taken by the regime, but the situation is very bad. There was heavy regime air cover in the night, an anonymous rebel official told Reuters news agency.

Rebel group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) said four of its fighters were killed during the fighting.

Rebel fire on the government-held Sayf al-Dawla district of the city killed three people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

READ MORE; Meet Hadi al-Abadallah, the man documenting Syrias Civil War

According to the Syrian army, a terrorist group had tried to attack army positions in the area, and that its forces had thwarted the assault and taken control over the southern al-Malah Farms alongside the Castello Road.

Syrias civil war, now in its sixth year, has killed at least 250,000 people, displaced more than 6.6 million inside the country and forced another 4.8 million to flee, many seeking refuge in Europe.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry had welcomed embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assads announcement of a ceasefire on Wednesday, saying discussions were under way to try and extend it.

Last month, Assads allies in the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said they would transfer troops to the Aleppo area. The groups leader Hassan Nasrallah said the defence of Aleppo was tantamount to the defence of Damascus.

Earlier this year, pro-government forces and allied Shia militias severed a separate important road north of Aleppo.

Assad and his allies say they are battling the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front in Aleppo  neither group is included in the temporary ceasefire  but rebel groups fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army say they are in complete control of the citys rebel-held areas.
As part of UFs Creative B summer program, the Florida Museum of Natural History will start a series of free movies and panel discussions this weekend.

The series will start Friday at 6 p.m. with a meet-and-greet featuring artist Nobuho Nagasawa, followed by a discussion and the movie Mothra, according to a press release.

Elizabeth Brown, a marketing and public relations assistant for the museum, said exhibits will stay open until 7 p.m. on movie nights.

Tiffany Ireland, an educator at the museum, said the topics will focus on the balance between art and science.

Its a really great program to go to if you like movies and you like science and you like fiction, she said.

Tim Lawrence, a special effects artist who worked on movies such as Ghostbusters and Jurassic Park, Ian Breheny, a museum designer and cult movie aficionado, and Terry Harpold, a UF associate professor of English and film and media studies, will lead the panels, according to the release.

Stacey Steinberg, a UF law professor, said her photography is currently featured in the Harn museums Shared Hope  Art and Healing exhibit.

Creative B gives students, faculty and staff, as well as community members, an opportunity to engage in the arts during the summer months, she said.

Information on other Creative B activities is found at creativeb.aa.ufl.edu.

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A program that started across the Pacific Ocean has made its way to Gainesville.

Plastic Free July began as an environmental program in the suburbs of Perth, Australia, in 2011 and has spread to 69 countries since 2014.

The Alachua County Office of Waste Alternatives joined forces with Curia on the Drag, located at 2029 NW Sixth St., to promote the challenge for the first time.

Residents who bring a refillable cup to the restaurant will save 25 cents on their drink, and We Are Neutral, a local nonprofit, will plant a tree on their behalf, said Anna Sampson, the general manager of We Are Neutral.

(As) individuals or (as a) business, we can all improve our habits, said Kelley Taksier, the operations manager for Curia on the Drag.

Shelley Samec, a waste alternatives specialist for Alachua County, said the challenge encourages residents to give up plastic items that are generally used once.

She said it mostly targets plastic bags, straws, bottles and takeout containers.

Its a lot easier than people think, Samec said. You dont need a Styrofoam container in a restaurant; you can take a container with you.

The county will host two Plastic Free workshops: one on July 20 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Millhopper Branch Library, located at 3145 NW 43rd St., and another on July 21 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Headquarters Library, located at 401 E. University Ave.

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Some of you have reached out to the Alligator asking our position on the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Weve refrained from making a statement because we want to gather more information on the situation and how it affects the Student Body before taking an official stance. So, in the meantime, please keep up to date with our reporting of Senate meetings and the latest developments. Now, onto the latest fad

Darts & Laurels

To indict or not to indict: Tis the question. Well, it was before FBI Director James Comey stated Tuesday that Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges based on her mishandling of classified documents through her use of a private email server. Though, he certainly did not shy away from characterizing Clintons behavior as extremely careless and dangerous.

So it was basically like bumping into your ex at a mutual friends party: Youre a liar, and I hate you forever, but I dont think charges are appropriate today because I cant prove you actually intended to ruin my evening like this. We give a laurel to Comey for not holding back his punches despite the final no-charges recommendation to the Department of Justice.

Intention is key here, and you can agree or disagree with the standard by which Comey and the FBI defined criminal intention during their investigation. But, regardless, the decision has been made.

As far as we know, however, Comey made one statement that doesnt add up. In comparing Clintons case to previous investigations, Comey stated, We cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges based on these facts  facts that include, as he outlined, clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information.

So  in English  the FBI, according to Comey in this Tuesday address, has never pressed criminal charges in cases where intent was not evident or inferable.

Thats not true. According to FBI records, which journalist David Sirota resurfaced and The Young Turks discussed, in July 2015, the FBI sentenced Bryan H. Nishimura, a former Navy reservist. Nishimura had access to classified documents while stationed in Afghanistan, which he downloaded and kept on his personal devices and later, unsuccessfully, tried to destroy.

Although the subsequent FBI investigation did not reveal evidence that Nishimura intended to distribute classified information to unauthorized personnel, he was given a criminal sentence.

Now, again, you can dispute the Nishimura case, but the fact of the matter is, we have a clear example from less than a year ago that looks exactly like Clintons case but yielded an entirely different outcome. So, when Comey said, We cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges based on these facts, he was either lying to the entire country or at least being disingenuous.

Of course, its completely reasonable that Comey just had a memory slip. You know, like when you draw a blank during your calculus final  it happens to the best of us. Or perhaps Comey was speaking in some secret FBI code in which, We cannot find a case actually means, We absolutely know of a case from less than a year ago, and we will continue to act in full transparency, as we always do with cases this serious. The world may never know.

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So, we give a dart to Comeys memory or verbal slip-up. Maybe hes suffering from the same condition that caused President Bill Clinton to say, I did not have sexual relations with that woman. Expect Comey to bring the sax solos back around town.
Hey Gators,

I am a rising eighth-year Gator, professional student and second-term senator who commutes from Jacksonville every Tuesday to Student Senate meetings in an effort to make our university better.

In case you missed it, our Student Body president and Supreme Court recently held a very important meeting regarding overturning amendments, including online voting. This meeting was held during intersession, when the majority of students werent in town and was supposedly advertised on a lone bulletin board. The announcement came from our executive branch, representing our judicial branch, which is somewhat alarming in and of itself. This iconic timeline happens annually, when powerful leadership waits for new unsuspecting students on campus to gleefully enjoy the summer weather and not notice its hidden agenda.

On June 28, I was ready to drive my 90-minute commute to Student Senate. I was ready to provide evidence that the Supreme Court and our current Student Body president have knowledge on how to advertise such vital meetings by showing past emails, Alligator articles and announcements from them of other events and meetings.

I was ready to present Florida history and relevant cases  State v. City of Miami Beach and Grapeland Heights Civic Association v. City of Miami  showing that abstaining ballots do not count as participation in voting and the Supreme Courts decision of analyzing the UF Constitution statement, A three-fifths approval vote of those voting in the spring general election is necessary to ratify all constitutional amendments, was wrong.

I was ready to show that the Student Senate presidents decision to dismantle the ad-hoc online voting committee was premature, and she contradicted herself when discussing what information from the meeting she had access to.

But then I realized: Its someone elses turn. Soon, Ill be representing our university in different states on clinical rotations and unable to stand in those chambers and fight for our voices. We need new leadership. We need someone whos ready to represent our Student Body with honesty and integrity for the next few weeks, months or even years. So Gators, I challenge you. Get involved. Speak at Student Senate. Voice your opinions. Show up to meetings. And please, stop letting them pull fast ones.

Aimee Dolan is the current District E Senator and a rising fourth-year professional student at the UF Jacksonville campus.
The Paris couture shows ended last night with the final Valentino show designed by the team of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.

The brand has officially confirmed the departure of Chiuri, appointing Piccioli as its sole creative director.

"After 25 years of creative partnership and of professional satisfactions, we gave ourselves the opportunity of continuing our artistic paths in an individual way with the reciprocal desire of further great achievements," the former design partners said in a joint statement.

In the release, Chiuri offered her gratitude to the brand and said she has left "to embark on a new professional challenge." That challenge may be the house of Dior: According to unconfirmed reports two weeks ago, the French brand has chosen Chiuri as its new creative director.

Together, Chiuri and Piccioli reinvented Valentino, propelling the brand to success with fairy-tale-inspired, romantic designs. Earlier this year, the Rome-based label surpassed $1 billion in annual sales. But most importantly, the partnership proved that a brand known for its single founder could have an easy transition and grow under a new leader (in this case, two leaders).

The design duo first worked together at Fendi for ten years. Valentino Garavani handpicked the team to help rejuvenate his brand's accessories category in 1999. When Garavani retired in 2007, they were promoted to creative directors of accessories while Alessandra Facchinetti was selected to head ready-to-wear. They succeeded Facchinetti as co-creative directors of the brand the following year.

If her new role at Dior is confirmed, Chiuri will be the first female creative director in the company's 70-year history. The appointment will end months of speculation over who will take the creative helm at the brand after the departure of Raf Simons last year.
           2005     ..        
Is the answer to recent woes in fintech  more fintech?

Recently allegations of fraud against Lending Club and several Chinese marketplace lenders have some observers calling for more daylight on the loans sold on these marketplaces. Specifically, they're floating the idea of a technology and service that would register and track ownership of the loans and validate basic facts about them and the borrowers.

This could not only prevent marketplace lenders from altering loan dates the way Lending Club allegedly did (to fit a buyer's preset criteria), but prevent fraud of all kinds, bring transparency to the market and calm investors' rattled nerves. BlackRock and Citigroup are among major investors that have reportedly backed out of the market.

"To restore a high degree of confidence from investors in marketplace lending, some kind of independent data repository is essential," said Cormac Leech, founder and director of Liberum Alternative Finance, the fintech incubator subsidiary of the London and New York-based investment bank Liberum (it's a Latin word meaning "freedom of expression"). "It's one thing to say 'If we do all this lending without banks we can save a lot of cost.' But you need to be sure it's happening in a robust way."

Without central data repositories and third-party validations, he said, you're relying on the platforms to do what they're supposed to be doing.

"The concept is sound," agreed Bo Brustkern, managing director of Denver-based Arcstone Partners, which values complex securities and peer-to-peer loan portfolios. He's also co-founder and CEO of NSR Invest, a peer-to-peer lending tech company that provides access to online lending marketplaces for financial advisers, institutional investors and individuals. "It would provide a valuable service for the industry."

Brustkern said he hasn't had grave concerns about the validity of loan data up to this point. But "it was [lack of] data validation that got us into a great deal of trouble in the subprime mortgage crisis," he said. "Avoiding any possibility of that happening in this industry is insurance against that potential dark future."

A validation platform would verify the fundamental data points Arcstone uses to assess loans  "everything from 'Does this borrower exist?' to 'Is this person employed in the way they've stated?' and everything in between," Brustkern said.

Recent events have caused investors to cast a wary eye on marketplace loan portfolios.

"In fintech there's a substantial risk of attracting the greediest or the less-scrupulous people because it's a Wild West at the moment and it's very susceptible to fraud," Leech said. And because investors don't expect to get their cash back for several years, it's the perfect raw material with which to create a Ponzi scheme.

In some cases, marketplace lenders based overseas have posted fake loan deals and spent investors' money on luxury items for themselves. This was the case with the Chinese online lender Ezubao, which stole $7.6 billion in a Ponzi scheme reported in February and whose leaders bought a $20 million Singapore villa, a $1.8 million pink diamond ring, luxury limousines and watches.

A Swedish peer-to-peer lending company, ironically called TrustBuddy, declared bankruptcy in October, after management revealed that millions were missing from client accounts.

Marketplace lenders could also subsidize existing investors' not-so-good returns with new investors' money, the way Bernie Madoff did in his early days, Leech theorized.

There's also the practice of "stacking" in which borrowers obtain loans from multiple online lenders at the same time, slipping through their automated systems due to hasty algorithmic underwriting and patchy reporting of the resulting loans to credit bureaus. This can result in marketplace lenders making loans without the full picture of the borrowers' obligations and deteriorating ability to pay.

And then there's the potential for fraudulently changing loan information, as Lending Club allegedly did to make its aging loans appear fresh. An internal investigation found that Lending Club falsified the documentation on a package of loans worth $22 million.

"The Lending Club thing focused on people's minds that the whole thing is wide open to fraud," Leech said. "Lending Club was the flag-bearer of the space, seen as the highest-quality player. If they're seen to be doing fraud, then imagine what the third-rate guy who's really desperate is doing."

Despite the black eyes, marketplace lending will continue to flourish and will be a substantial, profitable business 10 years from now, Leech predicted.

"I think the genie is out of the bottle," he said. "But to get from here to there, we do need to put infrastructure in place and the challenge is to do it in a way that's cost-effective." Rather than hire an army of compliance and audit people, the market needs a fraudproof, automated system of checks and balances.

"Effectively what we need to do is create very efficient, low-cost robots that go around checking to see that everybody is doing what they say they're doing," Leech said.

One option was launched in May by Global Debt Registry, a company that was originally created to verify and track consumer debt, to bring order and transparency to the rough-and-tumble world of consumer debt collection. It called itself the Carfax of accounts receivable management. (It's still doing this and has several clients, but it's waiting for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue rules about debt buying that it hopes will free banks to use it.)

GDR has rebuilt its technology to serve a second purpose  validating and tracking marketplace loans. The platform captures loan data at the time the loan is made and registers it, so it can't be altered later. It verifies the identity of the borrower, checks her Social Security number, FICO score, and credit profile, and makes sure she's not on a deceased list. ("Dead people don't pay," noted Mark Parsells, GDR's chief executive.) It makes sure the loan is real and hasn't been bought by someone else, and that the collateral hasn't been pledged elsewhere. Most of the validation happens by pulling data from credit bureaus, anti-money-laundering/know-your-customer databases and LexisNexis.

The ability to verify the flow of money would be critical to such a platform, Leech said, to prevent a marketplace lender from pocketing funds that a borrower is supposed to receive and deviously telling the borrower his loan was not approved. Or from stealing the principal and interest borrowers repay and telling investors the borrowers missed their payments. A service might need to do screen scraping to conduct such checks. For its part, GDR says it is working with banks to have them verify the borrower actually received her loan.

GDR's pivot preceded Lending Club's woes. It came about nine months ago, when a large private equity investor asked it to look into creating an independent service to bring transparency to the consumer loan space, according to Parsells, who in previous work lives was president of Citibank online, chief privacy officer of Bank One and chief compliance officer of the U.S. merchant division of American Express. GDR hired a compliance consulting firm, Bridgeforce, to talk to all the players in the marketplace lending ecosystem.

Investors and warehouse lenders told GDR and Bridgeforce they wanted to know if the loans are real, if the borrowers are real, and if the loan-level data is accurate. "Particularly the warehouse lenders wanted to know, is the collateral being double-pledged?" Parsells said. "They want to have some kind of central place to ensure the collateral being pledged to them is not being pledged to someone else."

Marketplace lenders support GDR's approach, Parsells said, because they want to attract more permanent capital. The company is in pilots with three of the largest ones.

"Our mission in this space is to drive confidence in the underlying assets in the ecosystem," Parsells said. "In the evolution of marketplace lending, this is the next natural step  to put in place new structures that increase confidence and trust in this new asset class."

GDR's work is a start. Others will probably offer other versions of this approach. Like the debt registry idea, this is a common-sense concept that could benefit the industry, including the banks that underwrite and purchase many of these loans.

Editor at Large Penny Crosman welcomes feedback at penny.crosman@sourcemedia.com.


Ripple has launched multisignature capability on the Ripple Consensus Ledger.

The feature allows users to request cryptographic signatures by more than one user  a device or institution  to validate a transaction. The idea is that bad or malicious actors would have to breach multiple machines to transact on one user's behalf, Ripple said in a blog post.

Multisig capability will also be available to banks that implement Ripple's Interledger Protocol, which lets banks require cryptographic signatures to prevent individual bank employees from transferring customer funds on their own. Ripple revealed Interledger in October, saying it would offer banks the same speed and cost benefits as the three-year-old Ripple network but with improved privacy and scalability.

In a separate blog, the San Francisco-based distributed ledger technology startup called the multisignature offering a more "robust and distributed security architecture for banks" and cited the February cybertheft of $81 million from a Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The bank heists in Bangladesh and around the world have demonstrated that the weaknesses that exist today at the periphery of payment networks are partly due to outdated single signature methods, Ripple said in the blog post. Features like multi-signing, are not available in traditional systems like Swifts. Blockchain technology delivers a more robust and distributed security architecture for banks.

Ripple did acknowledge the existence "to some extent" of multisig capability in traditional banking.

"The difference with distributed financial technology is that the rules are enforced by" the Ripple Consensus Ledger, it said. "This creates a better safety net so that even if banks internal controls break down, theyre more likely to catch fraudulent transactions."
Americans who acknowledge the Constitution as our supreme law -- indeed, the fundamental and paramount law governing government itself -- are entirely justified in saying that government is the biggest and most frequent lawbreaker in our society -- with no close second.

Liberals who instinctively rely on big-government overreach for much of their agenda, and some conservatives perhaps hewed by political correctness and their own adherence to big government, may not agree. However, when adding up the number of daily constitutional and statutory violations by government at all levels, including those that never get to court for various reasons, no entity compares to government in committing illegal acts.

Recent clashing judicial opinions between conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a case involving the Fourth Amendment and the controversial exclusionary rule help illustrate the point.

In Utah v. Strieff Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion overriding the exclusionary rule under the facts, but it was Justice Sotomayors dissent that correctly and repeatedly articulated the governments conduct was not just unconstitutional, overreaching, or lawless, which are terms more frequently used to describe constitutional violations, but illegal.

Edward Strieff was stopped by a Utah police officer after leaving a house that was under surveillance for potential drug dealings. Strieff showed no conduct indicating that he himself had engaged in illegal conduct. Even the State of Utah admitted the officers stop of Strieff was illegal under the Fourth Amendment, which reads:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

During the stop, the Utah police officer called his dispatcher and received information that Strieff had an outstanding warrant for a traffic violation. The officer then conducted a search of Strieff and found a baggie of methamphetamine on his person. The majority Supreme Court opinion concluded that possession of the drugs could be admitted into evidence over objections that it should not under the exclusionary rule, a judicially created doctrine that serves as both a deterrent and remedy for Fourth Amendment violations by keeping fruit of the poisonous tree out of evidence.

As noted well by Evan Bernick writing about the case at The Federalist Society Blog and citing the influential founder Chief Justice John Marshall, a fundamental premise of the American rule of law is that there must be a remedy whenever a right is violated. The exclusionary rule, however, can be hard medicine and not fair to victims of crime, especially depending on the nature of the criminal evidence excluded from trial.

The Strieff case has lessons not just for the Fourth Amendment, but the rule of law over government as well. The majority opinion notes that the exclusionary rule has essentially replaced the historical remedies of tort suits and self-help for Fourth Amendment violations. Those are remedies for trespass. The Fourth Amendment has been construed by the courts to protect privacy, but its history and express language are based in prohibiting government trespasses against our persons, houses, papers, and effects, which of course have important privacy implications. But our persons and property may be protected from trespasses even absent privacy considerations, hence the Fourth Amendment protects more than privacy.

For example, a person walking in public may not be held by other people against his will. That is a trespass against the person. A dinner guest at your home may not remove the silverware, your books, computer, letters, pictures, or other items clearly visible to the guest. That would be the trespass of asportation, the removal of personal property without consent of the owner, otherwise known as larceny.

Through the frequent and growing use of administrative subpoenas, which are warrants issued by federal, state and even local government officials without prior approval of judges or magistrates, the government trespasses on papers and effects. Courts and legislatures have eliminated the probable cause and other Fourth Amendment standards for these judge-less warrants, giving great deference to government trespasses. Federal bureaucrats, state attorneys general, and even police now may trespass nearly at will on a wider swath of papers and effects even where no outstanding warrants exist as they did for Mr. Strieff.

Justice Thomas also notes that a warrant is a judicial mandate. English jurist Sir Matthew Hale, a significant influence on the Founders, was even clearer: They are judicial acts, he wrote in his History of Pleas of the Crown. This concept was well known to those who drafted and adopted the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and its similar original state versions. Judge-less warrants issued by bureaucrats and other executive branch officials violate the separation of powers inherent in the Fourth Amendment, which is a constitutional check on arbitrary trespasses by government absent exigent circumstances justifying the search.

Many on the left have an animus towards police, which may account for their heightened attention to the Fourth Amendment when police are involved. Administrative subpoenas, though, are used to violate privacy, intimidate the exercise of First Amendment rights (as with subpoenas issued by liberal state attorneys general against climate change skeptics), suppress business innovation, and foster crony government. Administrative subpoenas have become institutionalized violations of the Fourth Amendment. Americas biggest lawbreaker loves administrative subpoenas.

Government violations of the Constitution happen every day across the country. As with the Strieff case, such conduct is properly called illegal. Through court opinions and legislative acts, these illegal government acts have supplanted the supreme law over government, and have helped make government Americas biggest lawbreaker.
Europeans are revolting against their transnational elites, with Austria now throwing out its presidential election that cheated the nationalist candidate of victory. Friday last week took Austria through a roller-coaster of emotional news -- alarming, then exhilarating or depressing, depending on ones perspective.

It was first announced that Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen Istanbul airport terror suspect, had been given asylum in Austria since 2003, then an Austrian passport that allowed him free travel within Europe and beyond. Yet, at the same time, he was on Russia's wanted list. In multiple incidents that took place in various countries between 2003 and 2015, Chatayev was caught with explosives and ammunitions, or photos of victims killed in a blast. Astonishingly, he would either be acquitted, or released on humanitarian grounds. Just once, he served a brief one-year jail sentence in a Swedish prison.

Russia repeatedly demanded his extradition, to no avail. The European Court of Human Rights and Amnesty International advocated twice on his behalf, fearing he would face torture. It is only when Chatayev entered Syria to join the Islamic State in 2015, that he was finally placed on the terror list of both the US and UN.

Chatayevs case was by no means an isolated one. Austria had for years been a hub for global jihad -- a de facto base for Islamist extremists from southeastern Europe, a place to radicalize, recruit, raise and hide funds, thanks to Austrias permissive laws and weak enforcement mechanisms.

But a corner was turned with the 2014 serial arrests of nine Chechens who were legally present in the country as refugees and asylum seekers, planning to wage jihad with ISIS in Syria.

One also remembers the media sensation stirred in the same year by the Jihad poster girls, two blue-eyed Austrian teenagers of Bosnian heritage who had run off to Syria to marry jihadists, after undergoing sudden radicalization.

Austria could no longer look the other way, with terror getting so close to home. Its domestic intelligence agency BVT pointed a direct finger at the Western Balkans in its annual report for 2013 issued in 2014: The Western Balkans have special relevance for Austrias security, due to the growth of Islamism in the former Yugoslavian Republics, especially in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

In this context, John R. Schindlers remarkable book Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad offers fascinating insights into the Bosnia war, and the Vienna connection -- the important role it played on the jihad trail.

The disastrous international handling of the Balkans problem in the 1990s contributed to the creation of a jihad hotbed in the heart of Europe. The author, a former NSA agent and top Balkan expert, details the manipulation used to sell the Bosnian story to gullible Americans and Western Europeans. The civil war was presented

not as a struggle between three warring factions, all of which were fighting for their ethnic and religious interests and frequently used unpleasant methods to do so, but rather as the stand of a democratic and multicultural Bosnian state against barbarian hordes of murderous Christians. Few bothered to ask the crucial question if Sarajevos claims were actually true. (p.89)

The wishful thinking of Western liberals fueled heated rhetoric, lacking in any historical perspective. This, argues the author, happened amidst a complete media blackout, if not downright obfuscation. Schindler points out the responsibility of a Clinton administrations favorite, academician John Esposito of Georgetown University (p.93-4). The chattering class managed to overlook facts so obvious that, to paraphrase Orwell, you had to be an intellectual not to notice them. (p.19)

This collective blindness allowed Bin Ladens mujahidin to flock to Bosnia, where they were funded by corrupt financiers. The supposedly secular and democratic forces fighting on behalf of Bosnias Muslims came to include large numbers of imported Islamists. (p.147). According to Schindler, the Clinton administration, in covert alliances with radical regimes, supplied Bosnias and al-Qaidas mujahidin with millions of dollars in weapons.

Funds going to Sarajevo were funneled through the Vienna circuit. Dr. Fatih al-Hasanayn, a Sudanese doctor with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood who had spent most of his life in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Vienna, was the biggest financier of the Bosnian jihad through his Vienna-based Third World Relief Agency. The TWRA channeled the funds, guns and men sent by various Islamist players who were lining up to fill the void that the impending demise of Communism would leave in the region. Every week, this medical doctor drove from Vienna to Zagreb with suitcases of $3 to 5 millions of cash, stowed in the trunk of his car bearing Sudanese diplomatic tags, to hand them over to Sarajevos representatives. His diplomatic credentials were courtesy of his close friend, leader of the Khartoum regime, and he also had a Bosnian diplomatic passport given by another friend,

Alija Izetbegovic, the Bosnian President. At the end of the war, it was discovered that $2,5 billion in Islamic aid had been laundered by TWRA. (from p.147)

On the same Friday that the news broke about Chatayev, Austria's Constitutional Court overturned the results of last May's Presidential election and ordered a complete re-run for next September. This unprecedented move, motivated by massive irregularities, may well secure the populist candidate the margin he lost to his Leftist adversary after the counting of some 700,000 postal ballots.

Mr Van der Bellen, a former Communist turned Green, then Independent, is strongly pro-EU and has spoken of his dream of a border-free "United States of Europe." This term was first coined in the 1920s by another Austrian, Count Coudenhove-Kalergi, a globalist and miscegenation ideologue whose Pan-Europeans were expected, in time, to "in-breed" with African and Asian immigrants, and produce a "hybrid race." He later got his plan adopted by the CIA, which saw potential in European integration to counter Soviet expansion during the Cold War.

But could this kind of European utopia, already questionable when it was first devised, and which does not appear to have had European nations best interests in mind, serve them better now in this era of global jihad?

Mr Hofer, on the other hand, had campaigned on an unabashedly Austria first platform, calling for stronger border defense and tough controls on immigration

and asylum seekers. Only 20% of applicants were real refugees, he said -- others mere economic migrants lured by Austrias generous welfare laws or jihadists

posing as refugees. While his party did not necessarily want Austria to follow Britain out of the EU, Mr. Hofer said in an interview with the Oesterreich newspaper that Austria should hold its own Auxit if the bloc failed within a year to refocus on its original role as an economic and trade alliance and took further steps towards a centralized union.

Mr. Hofners election would carry huge symbolism and could create a domino effect for other anti-establishment movements currently surging across Europe. As for Austria, she would come full circle, back from the debilitating Pan-European scenario conceived by one of her sons, to simply putting herself first.
Hillary Clinton's selection of Elizabeth Warren as her running mate would offer an outstanding opportunity to derail the Clinton Campaign simultaneously with affirmative action. Even if Clinton does not select Warren, Warren's example can and should undermine race preferences at universities, employers, and elsewhere.

Names like "Fauxcahontas" and "Lieawatha," along with photomanipulations of Warren in Native American headgear, are entertaining, but they send a counterproductive message. We should instead promote Warren as a role model for college applicants and job applicants confronted with the prospect of discrimination against majority groups. This will undermine the race preferences in question and make Warren serious distraction for the Clinton campaign during the home stretch to November. The principal talking point is that Warren's successful evasion of affirmative action shows that it is socially acceptable to use the same approach to defeat racist preference systems.

By her own admission, Warren had no connection to the Cherokee community when she applied to Penn and Harvard. Thus, it's hard to imagine that either school thought she could provide their students with the benefits of diversity. But neither school cared; checking the Native American box was enough to get the job.

"The Box" Is Not a Job Qualification

The phrase "box-checking" refers, in fact, to checking off whatever box is most convenient in a job or college application, or not checking it if you are an Asian. It is ethically not at all different from what some gay people once did to join the Armed Forces; they did not check the box that would have identified them as homosexuals and therefore ineligible. At least one did not check the box even though he could have legally avoided service in Vietnam by doing so. Their subsequent honorable discharges show that their sexual orientation did not affect their abilities to perform their duties.

Race, ethnicity, and gender (except in acting jobs, in which a character must be of a particular race or gender) are similarly not job qualifications, and questions about them can and should similarly be evaded. Elizabeth Warren has shown every job applicant and college applicant in the country how to do it, and her serious viability as a vice presidential candidate underscores the social acceptability of box-checking.

Talk show host Michael Savage complains that he had to abandon his first career because "white males need not apply." This is another strong argument for college and job applicants to imitate Elizabeth Warren's example as long as they can do it with even some credibility. The Obama administration's recent edict to the effect that you can use the bathroom that matches your "gender identity" is an open invitation to select a convenient "ethnic identity" as well.

You Never Knew You Were Hispanic, Did You?

A wide variety of people can, to one extent or another, legitimately self-identify as Hispanic simply because the Spanish Empire was once the largest in the world. It included a large part of North as well as Central and South America, and even parts of Europe outside the Iberian peninsula.

Anybody whose ancestors were from Spain or its extensive colonial possessions is Hispanic. If you're from a multigenerational family in California, the Southwest, the Mountain States, Texas, or Florida, who is to say there is not at least one Mestizo or hidalgo in your ancestry? It might be useful to take Spanish as a high school elective and learn about the Spanish heritage of your part of the country if you want to pursue this course of action.

Nobody of Benelux ancestry who cannot account for every one of his or her ancestors can claim that there might not be one or more Spaniards in there somewhere.

Sephardic Jews are Hispanic by definition. (This would admittedly not have helped Michael Savage, because his ancestors were Ashkenazi, or Eastern European, Jews.) Moroccans also might be able to claim Hispanic status because of the large number who were driven out of Spain with the Jews in the late 15th century.

Most people of Italian origin can self-identify as Hispanic not only because Spain was once part of the Roman Empire, but also because Naples, Milan, Sicily, and Sardinia were once parts of the Spanish Empire.

Portugal also was once under Spanish rule, and the ancient peoples of the Iberian peninsula (e.g., Lusitanians and Celtiberians) doubtlessly intermingled. This would of course encompass Brazilians as well.

Here are some well known Hispanics, only some of whom (e.g., Cameron Diaz) have Spanish surnames. Rita Hayworth and Martin Sheen are, for example, of at least partially Hispanic origin.

The "One Drop Rule" Makes You Almost Certainly Black

The "one drop rule" says that even a trace of black ancestry makes you a person of African origin. "As we shall see, this American cultural definition of blacks is taken for granted as readily by judges, affirmative action officers, and black protesters as it is by Ku Klux Klansmen." Robert A. Heinlein's Farnham's Freehold elaborates as to why the Klansmen in question should think about this rule carefully before they use it to justify their racism. They might easily discover that they are personally what they despise.

Many Roman citizens had been "black as the ace of spades" and many slaves of the Romans had been as blond as Hitler wanted to be--so any "white man" of European ancestry was certain to have a dash of Negro blood. Sometimes more than a dash.

Heinlein then adds of a Southern politician who had built his career on the premise of white racial supremacy, "[A]nd his blood type was such that the chances were two hundred to one that its owner had not just a touch of the tar brush but practically the whole tar barrel." This is probably true of many multigenerational families in the Old South, and even people with blue eyes are not exempt.

People of Greek ancestry can doubtless make the same claim, noting especially that people of that era seemed to have few prejudices against intermarriage with other races. Greek mythology reports, for example, that the hero Perseus married the Ethiopian princess Andromeda, who would of course have been a black person despite her depiction as a Caucasian in numerous works of art. At least one Asian Indian, meanwhile, circumvented a racial preference by passing as black.

I cannot give legal advice, but people who contemplate "box-checking" should be far more circumspect on anything that involves a federal contract. It is actually illegal to provide false information to the federal government despite numerous successful efforts to evade set-aside requirements.

The bottom line is, however, that the same progressive Democrats who support affirmative action goals and quotas do not have a problem with Elizabeth Warren's prospective vice presidential candidacy despite her successful use of "box-checking" to circumvent, evade, and defeat affirmative action. If it is socially acceptable for Warren, it is socially acceptable for anybody else.

William A. Levinson is the author of several books on business management including content on organizational psychology, as well as manufacturing productivity and quality.
Roughly 150 FBI agents were assigned to the Hillary Clinton email case. It was a criminal investigation to determine if the Secretary of State violated any laws when she a) installed an unauthorized email server in her home, b) conducted State business on that server, c) sent and received classified information on that server, and d) stored classified information on that server. If it was determined that any of the above were crimes, then a criminal indictment would apply.

Tuesday, FBI Director James Comey, announced that no charges would be sought.

Where are the FBI agent resignations?

I dont ask this because this is a politically charged event where I can score points. Others are doing that and they dont need my help. I ask because I am passing judgment on the agents who saw a crime, are now associated with the cover-up, and are now doing nothing.

I can pass this judgment because I once faced a similar decision.

After fourteen years in the Army Reserves, I had achieved my career goal of becoming a company commander. I made that goal in the mid-80s when I was a private (E-1) in basic training.

In the late 90s I took command of a company. The primary responsibility of an incoming commander is also the least glamorous: master all the paperwork. In doing so, I discovered that my First Sergeant had been falsifying pay records for several months. He was getting paid for work he wasnt doing. I went immediately to my boss, the Battalion Commander, with the evidence, which consisted of signatures, pay receipts and proof that no duty had been performed. It was a slam-dunk case. My commander was a fellow MP officer and a lawyer in the civilian world. He knew what to do. First, he pulled his copy of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and identified the three felonies that applied to my First Sergeant. He then consulted the two Sergeant Majors in the Battalion and his 2nd in command for their advice. They agreed with the evidence and the need for action. The Battalion Commander then told his new company commander, Select the proper punishment, and I will support you.

After some research I chose the least bureaucratic of the punishment options: show the First Sergeant what his annual review would look like if he stayed in the unit. This is a common procedure in the reserves. Unlike a court-martial, a bad review costs nothing. It is also a private matter between superior and subordinate. I showed him a career-ending review that identified his need for supervision when it came to pay matters, and I offered to write a good review if he were to leave immediately. He, in turn, energized his network at Brigade (over the battalion), and found a sympathetic ear with the Brigade Commander. That same Battalion Commander who told me Ill support you said several weeks later, We are not going to punish the First Sergeant.

A common training item in the military is the subject of ethics. I would venture the FBI trains on this topic too. For 14 years I was trained, or I trained others, to know the difference between a legal order and an illegal order. And part of any good ethics review is integrity. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and the importance of having strong moral principles. These are universal values at the FBI.

Integrity also comes into play when you see a wrong.

After basic training -- still a Private (E-1) -- I stood outside my platoon sergeants office at parade-rest waiting to meet him and join the platoon. I waited there a half-hour while he finished his coffee. A yellowed mimeographed copy of a copy was taped to the lime-green hallway wall. It was the only thing I could read from where I stood, so I read it over and over again. I remember every word after 30+ years. It said:

If you see something wrong and dont do anything, youve just set a new standard.

There was something wrong when my Battalion Commander told me to ignore my First Sergeants crimes. My commander ignored his oath and put his career before the Army. I resigned my command that day, and my Army Reserve Commission shortly thereafter.

Changing gears like that mid-career is rough. It is a big decision. But one lesson I can share, the big decisions in life are the easiest. Assuming you are true to yourself.

As many as 150 FBI agents face the same large, yet simple, decision. (I think they should have already made the decision over a year ago.) Did any of them see anything wrong Tuesday when Director Comey ignored his oath and put his career before the FBI? Because if they did, and because no resignations have been reported, each agent on this case who went back to work today has set a new standard.

Karl blogs at Ushanka.us. He is pictured above taking command of his Army Reserve company.
American cant be great again until its government becomes honest.

When Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech in Cleveland as the Republican Nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America, he will repeat his campaign mantra, several times, saying how he will Make America Great Again.

Before the echo of his words have finished reverberating off the walls of the convention hall, Democrat pols, media pundits, and his distracters inside the Grand Ole Party, all sounding remarkably like Elizabeth Warren, will cynically challenge him for details concerning how hell do that  make America great.

How he answers can start with words hard to say, though they shouldnt be. Their voicing was made easier after our last Independence Day.

On July 5, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation paved the way for the truth. And that truth is that our government is thoroughly corrupted.

In his fifteen-minute address to the nation, James B. Comey did us a great service, although he perhaps irreparably damaged his once stellar reputation as the reincarnation of Eliot Ness.

The final minute of his articulate and compelling account of the methods and results of the Bureaus investigation, cut the legs out from under his image as the lone remaining role model for high-profile fidelity to duty, honor and country in federal government service.

The clock struck thirteen, and we gasped as Comey became the bookend to the fall of General David Petraeus.

It hurt us to watch, on both occasions. But we needed to see it, remember it, and learn from it.

American cant be great until its government becomes honest.

Thats what Trump needs to say  in one way or another.

One can argue that honesty in government has always been in short supply. And, that government dishonesty has only become apparent due to the advent of the internet and its rapid and wide dissemination of information that makes dishonesty merely appear to be more prevalent today than in past times.

That may be true. In fact, its probably true that government dishonesty is only perceived to be worse now than ever. But, as some like to say, perception is reality. And the reality is that Bill and Hillary Clinton are, for half the nation, the poster couple for a legion of professional grifters who siphon wealth out of a cascading waterfall of government levels  from city, to county, to state, and on to the big money pool in D.C.

The special genius of the Clintons is that theyve expanded their unique style of corruption by marketing their influence across the globe. They can be bought because theyre for sale.

On the campaign trail with Hillary Clinton on the day of Comeys speech, President Obama said, no one has been more qualified to be president than Hillary Clinton. And so it seems that Dwight David Eisenhowers role in bringing freedom from Nazi horror to Western Europe is eclipsed by Bill and Hillary Clintons global selling of influence.

The Clinton Global Initiative brings a shame on the nation that should embarrass us all, but doesnt.

Meanwhile, three-letter acronyms in D.C. have become brands renowned for incompetence and/or corruption: IRS, TSA, EPA, CIA, DHS, HHS, BLS (Bureau of Labor Statics), etc. Plus, we must not forget the one, two-letter acronym that represents the ultimate insult to those Americans who have most selflessly offered themselves for genuine service to the nation: VA.

Its hard to type veterans and Veterans Administration in the same sentence.

Now, as of July 5, 2016, we can add FBI to the list. It hurts to do that. Those postponing the pain by awaiting the mass resignation of agents from the Bureau, something they predicted in the event it dodged its duty to be fair and impartial, are waiting in vain for Godot. Hes not coming because he doesnt exist.

Making American great requires honest government. We cant wait for that.

Those would be hard words for Trump to speak to the GOP convention, because they also apply to the political party hell address, and then attempt to lead.

Not since 1861 has the nation been as divided as it is today. If the division was demarked by a Mason-Dixon Line, things might well have turned violent by now. But its a different type of civil war. Its one between two, irreconcilable, political ideologies. Not among the parties, but among a geographically integrated citizenry.

It would be easier if the split were along clearly-marked political party lines. But because there is no clear differentiation between the two major parties, there is a desperate truth that the GOP Presidential nominee needs to speak in Cleveland; hes the only one who can say it aloud, and have a chance of making it stick.

To make America great again, the Republican Party must be honest about that for which it stands, because, to date, it has not collectively stood for much of anything beyond the National Anthem.

It must now stand for honesty in government because todays government is thoroughly corrupted.

Say it Donald. We are Americans. We can handle the truth.
Abortion remains a sacred cow to a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices. The Supremes just gave abortion advocates a major victory by overturning a couple of provisions in a Texas law that had placed safety limitations on abortion. This was the Hellerstedt decision, a 5-3 ruling by the court against what are described as "clinic shutdown" laws.

Democrats used to want abortion to be "rare." How rare is it? Let's use a common surgical procedure as a basis of comparison. Cataract surgery is the most common operation performed in the U.S. The American Academy of Ophthalmology reports about 2 million cataract surgeries done each year in the U.S. The vast majority of those getting their cataracts removed are in the 60-90 age group, an age group that often has other medical problems.

Abortion is also quite common, occurring at a rate of over a million procedures per year  hardly "rare" at only half the rate of cataract surgery, the most common U.S. surgery. Gallbladder removal is another common operation. Each year, about 460,000 Americans part with their gallbladders  half the rate of mothers parting with their unborn babies. Heart bypass surgery is performed in 395,000 people each year  another common operation, occurring less than half as often as abortion.

It's fair to say that abortion is hardly "rare"; in reality, it is one of the most commonly performed operations in America.

What about "safe"? Like any surgical procedure, abortion carries risk, estimated to be 1 percent in first-trimester abortions and 2 percent in late-term abortions. These risks include heavy bleeding, infection, perforation of the uterus, damage to other organs, and death. While infection is a delayed complication, bleeding, perforation, and organ damage occur at the time of the procedure, and if they are not recognized and managed appropriately, they can lead to the ultimate complication of death.

These complications are more likely to occur in "back-alley abortions" such as Kermit Gosnell's Philadelphia clinic, where, in 2009, a 41-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest and coma, dying the next day. Described as a "House of Horrors," Gosnell's clinic was "filthy, wretched and macabre"  exactly how one would describe a "back-alley" clinic. Gosnell, by the way, is serving three consecutive life terms for the death of his patient as well as the murder of three newborn babies born after late-term abortions.

Could these deaths have been prevented if Gosnell's clinic had been as clean, safe, and well-regulated as a cataract surgery clinic?

Cataract surgery is typically performed in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC). With federal and state oversight, ASCs offer a variety of outpatient surgical procedures, from eye surgery to orthopedics, plastics, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and a variety of other surgical procedures. Surgery in an ASC is far less expensive than in a hospital setting, but since most ASCs are free-standing, meaning not physically attached to a hospital, safety concerns are paramount.

ASC safety is evaluated by three processes: state licensure, Medicare certification, and voluntary accreditation. In order to meet certification, "[a]n ASC must comply with standards developed by the federal government for the specific purpose of ensuring the safety of the patient and the quality of the facility, physicians, staff, services and management of the ASC"  not only when the center opens, but on an ongoing basis.

Because complications can and do occur in an ASC, similar to the potential complications of an abortion, the federal government requires specific safety measures, such as the availability of CPR and "an effective means of transferring patients to a hospital for additional care in the event of an emergency." ASCs have a "partnership" with a nearby hospital and the additional requirement that "all physicians performing surgery in the ASC must have admitting privileges at the designated hospital."

My personal experience as a retina surgeon is that the ASCs where I work are indeed safe. I sit on committees that review all aspects of patient and staff safety, constantly tweaking rules and policies to maintain the highest levels of quality and safety. My patients are elderly, many with concurrent medical problems such as diabetes. On rare occasions, patients may need prompt transfer to the hospital  not because of their eyes, but because of heart or breathing problems requiring hospital care. Having these standards and transfer policies is common sense.

All this is what makes the Supreme Court ruling all the more bizarre. Justice Breyer believes that the safety measures that apply to all other types of surgery somehow burden women seeking abortions. Is it a burden for those seeking joint arthroscopies, eye surgeries, or colonoscopies to have their procedures performed in a safe and clean environment, with protocols in place for hospital transfer in the unlikely event that something bad happens? And something bad can and does happen  ask Joan Rivers, who went into cardiac arrest after minor throat surgery in New York City. Or ask the Chicago woman who died after an abortion gone bad at a downtown Chicago Planned Parenthood clinic due to uterine perforation and extensive blood loss.

Without arguing the ethics of abortion, it is still a surgical procedure with potential serious risks. Why would these women not be granted the same safety protections as they would have if they were undergoing a retinal detachment repair or knee arthroscopy? Instead, the Supreme Court is happy to turn a blind eye to the safety concerns, allowing abortions, but no other surgical procedures, to be performed in unsafe, unregulated, "back-alley" facilities.

Justice Breyer wrote, "The surgical-center requirement, like the admitting-privileges requirement, provides few, if any, health benefits for women, poses a substantial obstacle to women seeking abortions, and constitutes an 'undue burden' on their constitutional right to do so."

Women should be outraged. This is the real "war on women"  declaring that their right to an abortion is so sacrosanct that universal safety measures don't apply. It's like saying that if a woman is driving to have an abortion, it's OK that the driver be intoxicated, texting while driving, speeding, and driving through red lights, as legislating against these only presents "obstacles," amounting to an "undue burden" to her getting to the abortion clinic.

The cost of the Supreme Court decision will paid not only by the children dispatched in subsequent abortions, but also now by women suffering injury or death as a result of having an abortion in a facility without a backup plan for hospital transfer and care if something goes wrong. These standards, which any person would demand for his mother about to have cataract surgery, have been declared unnecessary for an abortion. It's a ringing endorsement from the Supremes for "back-alley abortions."

Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based retina surgeon, radio personality, and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Captain Fantastic

Directed by Matt Ross

Exalted literary icon Mary McCarthy had a years-long feud with literary avatar and non-capitalist Lillian Hellman. Said McCarthy of Hellman's oeuvre: "Every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'"

While Captain Fantastic is not wholly meretricious, it is filled with so many pretentious assumptions and memes that McCarthy could have had a field day.

Viggo Mortensen, for instance, usually a sexy, serious portrayer of classic males in some distress, future or past, in one genre or another, plays the strict, affect-deprived father of six lively children. Early in the film, their mother, stricken with bipolar or some other mental disorder, dies, a suicide.

The father is living the Walden Pond life, homeschooling his active troupe of kids in the woods, raising them with what used to be a classical education in science, philosophy, medicine (sort of), literature, and languages. Esperanto is apparently one of the latter, a tongue for some reason taboo on one of the family's rides on the rickety converted school bus they ride when they need groceries or city contact.

But though the sprach is all Trotskist (as opposed to the verboten Trotskyite) sloganeering, and the father wears a faded T-shirt reading Jesse Jackson 1969 or something, and he is too young to have even worn such a T when Jackson rode the racialist bandwagon, the kids do not  contrary to what they sprout and the father hectors anyone who asks  wear homespun, but store bought'n clothes, trendy if dowdy city folks' notions of what hicks in the woods might wear. They don't know what Nikes or Adidas are, but they make stealing food from grocery emporia a fun regular event, after staging faux heart attacks. Though they make a thing of organic food, and Mortensen rejects a greasy spoon diner because "they don't serve any real food here, kids, so let's go," the truth is, minutes later, he's celebrating the odious Noam Chomsky's birthday (instead of Christmas) with a sprinkle-covered store-made cake and  here's the thing  Redi-Whip, which is completely artificial and damaging, one figures, to the chromosomes of all concerned. He spritzes it joyously into his mouth, as if it were nectar of the gods. Fake, fake, fake.

The kids sport nice clothing and rough-hewn haircuts, or none, but they know how to shoot game for supper and get knives for fun gifts and are unacquainted with normal politesse. They visit cousins and drink wine and shock the cousins with the same four-letter words that are so hot and trendy among city-dwellers. They curse often, in fact, which somehow cuts against the idyllic life they are supposedly leading. They climb pitches far too tough for some of the younger kids, but their father keeps at it, whatever injuries obtain. They are being led to toughness, and they sleep outdoors, even when given guest room privileges. They don't complain when they have to sit with dad in the pouring rain, soaked to the skin for no particular reason.

Though the frequent invocation is "Stick it to The Man" and suchlike rubbishy left-wing slogans, they love the benefits of comfort, play videogames whenever they can find them, and paste a dollar bill atop the driver's seat in the claptrap bus. This is a Maoist crowd that feigns disgust for capitalism but takes in all the goodies it can when available. They lie at a whim. They connect Dr. Spock with the child care professional, of course, not Star Trek, the TV series or movie franchise.

Filmed in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, New Mexico and Lake Stevens, Washington, there is a fair amount of lovely scenery and road-crunching of country miles.

There's some unnecessary frontal nudity, male, for shock value against city folk, but it could just as easily be excised  still leaving the excessive four-letter vocabulary of distress or annoyance.

The plot demands they come face to face with both Steve Zahn, playing a subdued conservative, lowercase "c," and his two loutish (of course) sons, who are far more ignorant but likely representative of the average teens today (alas), and the representative psychologically advanced mother, who thinks Mortensen slightly cruel and out of his head in the way his kids are being manipulated out of the culture (yet really, far in). The family is faced with the film's truest and most believable character, played by the marvelous Frank Langella, who seems a cherishable True North in this film of crazy contrasts that are more bad scripting and seething anger by writers than actual Thoreau-esque country living. Langella dislikes what Mortensen has done to Langella's (now dead) daughter and reviles his son-in-law's outlaw childishness. Their conflict seems reasonable, given the provocations sustained.

Kathryn Hahn does a good job of being the worried wife and mother. Zahn is so subdued, I kept waiting for him to break out into some sort of DMSV malady, but he kept a tight rein on his acting. The children, aged about 7 to about 18, are not annoying or cutesy.

There is a depressingly stupid scene in which the kids dig up their buried mother so they can burn her on a pyre (yes) and then obey her other loony tunes last will and testament. What the unstable mother has asked for is too grotesque and down-concept to characterize, but though we are given to understand that the kids loved their mentally unstable mother, they seem to revel in disposing of her ashes in the unholy way demanded. Even these feral-ish kids could not have gone along with the writers' fond nonsense, however.

Aside from Langella, again, there is nary a true scene or narrative in the two hours. Alas. Even the movie's title is arch and assumes too much and is not tongue in cheek. Somebody at a Hollywood meeting came up with the title, and no one thought, Hey, that is a bit of a reach, and it will set the viewers up for far more than they get.

It is a film that had promise. Unfortunately, it was waylaid by writers too keenly set on spouting their socialist rants than being accurate to a fair dichotomy of city-bred life and community versus homeschooled bucolic upbringing.
Now that the State Department has released the emails Hillary Clinton didnt comprehensively scrub, and Wikileaks has released a trove of State Department cable traffic, it is possible to compare the two records. Peter Schweizer, author of Clinton Cash, has done an analysis of the two archives and writes in Politico about The Strange Gaps in Hillary Clintons Email Traffic. He discovers that in some instances, the volume of State Department and Clinton email traffic rose in tandem during certain important occasions. For example, the earthquake and aftermath in Haiti or the military coup in Honduras.

But there are a couple of very interesting surges in State Department traffic accompanied by near silence in the Hillary Clinton record:

 the case of Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Agency: Clinton and senior officials at the State Department received dozens of cables on the subject of Rosatoms activities around the world, including a hair-raising cable about Russian efforts to dominate the uranium market. As secretary of state, Clinton was a central player in a variety of diplomatic initiatives involving Rosatom officials. But strangely, there is only one email that mentions Rosatom in Clintons entire collection, an innocuous email about Rosatoms activities in Ecuador. To put that into perspective, there are more mentions of LeBron James, yoga and NBCs Saturday Night Live than the Russian Nuclear Agency in Clintons emails deemed official.

Rosatom, of course, is one of the most controversial beneficiaries of Hillarys term in office:

Remember that a major deal involving Rosatom that was of vital concern to Clinton Foundation donors went down in 2009 and 2010. Rosatom bought a small Canadian uranium company owned by nine investors who were or became major Clinton Foundation donors, sending $145 million in contributions. The Rosatom deal required approval from several departments, including the State Department.

Another gap: Bubba.

Equally bizarre is the absence at certain times of basic logistical emails pertaining to Hillary Clintons husband, former President Bill Clinton. In general, Bill gets plenty of mention in the official emails released by the State Department, emails covering everything from travel logistics to press releases about Clinton Foundation work. But theres an email silence in June 2010, when Hillary Clinton was in South America for a series of high-level meetings. According to her memoir, by coincidence Bill was in Bogota, Colombia, apparently for Clinton Foundation work, at the same time she was in the country. Also there with Bill was Frank Giustra, one of the Clinton Foundations largest contributors. Bill, Hillary and Giustra reportedly had dinner together, and the next morning, Bill met with Colombias President Alvaro Uribe, followed immediately by Hillarys meeting with Uribe. In the weeks that follow, Giustras companies scored concessions from the Colombian government on matters ranging from oil to timber.

The actions of Team Hillary in carefully and comprehensively deleting email records after what Director Comey described as a recklessly hasty process of review  checking only subject lines, not the bodies of emails  ought to be prima facie evidence of obstruction.

Hat tip: Ed Lasky
On Tuesday, I listened to FBI director James Comey on the radio. They broke with the flash that Director Comey would address the media, and I did not want to miss it. I even waited for him to finish before going into my appointment. (I was early, so I had the luxury of 10 minutes.)

My initial reaction to the director's words was to say to myself: "She's in bigger trouble than I thought..."

Then came the finish, and I got mad. Yes, I am angry, because the country deserves better. I found this editorial at the Wall Street Journal just right:

So there it is in the political raw: One standard exists for a Democratic candidate for President and another for the hoi polloi. Were not sure if Mr. Comey, the erstwhile Eliot Ness, intended to be so obvious, but what a depressing moment this is for the American rule of law.

No wonder so many voters think Washington is rigged for the powerful.

No wonder, indeed! No wonder people feel that some can get away with something and some can't.

Some Democrats may cheer and say that the whole thing is over, but it is not. In fact, it is just beginning.

It does not take a partisan person to understand that people have suffered serious consequences for doing a lot less. Can you say General Petraeus?

Furthermore, how is the federal government going to prosecute the next person who decides to be sloppy with communications or emails? Will that person claim the Hillary Exemption? I'd bet that there are some defense lawyers out there thinking about new defense strategies.

Of course, it is now up to Mr. Trump to lead the political prosecution of Hillary Clinton. He will have to make the case that Mrs. Clinton cannot be trusted, and Director Comey gave him all the material he needs to put in the teleprompter.

Unfortunately, Mr. Trump wasted the opportunity yesterday by getting into another explanation of how he opposed the Iraq War and Saddam Hussein killed terrorists.

Someone needs to hold a sign at the Trump rallies with a simple message: "The jobs report, FBI, and mess in Middle East, and say nothing else"!

Sorry, but it's time for Trump to get message discipline or let the delegates choose someone else!

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard expert testimony detailing the Palestinian Authority's payment of funds from its budget in assistance to imprisoned and dead terrorists and their families.

Yigal Carmon, the president and founder of the Middle East Media Research Institute, says most of the funds come from donor countries like the U.S. and Western Europe, making them virtually complicit in attacks on Israeli citizens.

Washington Free Beacon:

The Palestinian Authority has also furnished terrorists and their families with financial support weighted by the severity of the attack, a matter over which congressional lawmakers expressed outrage on Wednesday. These terrorists are not, in fact, lone rangers. They are not lone wolves, said Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), who chairs the committee, in opening remarks during the hearing. Instead, these terrorists are the product of the programming done by the PAs perverted culture that glorifies the willingness to die or to spend time in prison in pursuit of killing or maiming Israelis. According to Carmons testimony, which was informed by an analysis of the Palestinian Authoritys budget and years of research, the Palestinian Authority transfers funds to terrorist prisoners in Israeli or their families using two Palestinian Liberation Organization funds. The financial support of these individuals is mandated by law. Prisoners must be provided a monthly salary ranging from $364 to over $3,000 during their detention, and salaries or jobs upon their release. Those who commit the most grievous attacks receive the most substantial monthly payments and are also entitled to jobs in the Palestinian Authority institution upon their release. Carmon said that it is difficult to determine exactly what percentage of the Palestinian Authoritys annual budget is put toward this cause because of a lack of transparency, but estimated that it amounts to about 10 percent. It is just outrageous that they pay cold-blooded killers who murder innocent people and call them martyrs, Rep. Eliot Engel (D., N.Y.), the committees ranking member, said during the hearing. I cannot think of anything more disgusting. While Abbas two years ago ordered that these salaries not be paid by the Palestinian Authoritys Ministry of Prisoners Affairs but instead by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Carmon described this as a deliberately misleading move to assuage concerns from donor countries worried about their money being funneled to terrorists.

This fig leaf is exactly what the Obama administration and the pro-Palestinian governments in the west need to absolve themselves of responsibility for the attacks. But we should have no illusions that the campaign of violence against Israelis is inspired by P.A. rhetoric. There are also planned attacks approved at the highest levels of the P.A. And since the terrorists know that their families will be well taken care of, suicide attacks are common.

Not surprisingly, there have been no calls to defund the Palestinians for this outrage. But the BDS movement has no trouble trying to punish Israel for fighting back.
Evidently, the American public  except for three quarters of Democrats  does not like it when the powerful are judged by a different standard from what the rest of us are held to. A brand new Rasmussen poll reveals considerable disagreement with FBI director Comeys decision not to seek an indictment of Hillary Clinton.

A Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey  taken last night - finds that 37% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the FBIs decision. But 54% disagree and believe the FBI should have sought a criminal indictment of Clinton. Ten percent (10%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Thats a solid majority: 54 to 34. But even more important:

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats agree with Comeys decision not to seek an indictment[.] ... 63% of voters not affiliated with either major political party and 25% of Democrats disagree with the decision.

Almost two thirds of independents, and a quarter of Democarts! That latter figure is a solid shadow of doubt within the heart of Hillarys base. Would you vote for a candidate you otherwise liked but believed ought to have been indicted? If 5 or 10 percent of Democrats stay home or leave the president selection blank as a result of their doubts (and resentment), that could swing the election. But:

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats  and 50% of all voters  said in late May that Clinton should keep running for the presidency even if indicted  until a court determines her guilt or innocence.

Almost 30 percent of Dems did not want her to keep running if indicted. No doubt there is some overlap with the 25% who think she should have been indicted. But even so, that leaves a solid percentage who might not vote for her over this issue.

(58%) of blacks agree with the FBIs decision not to pursue a criminal indictment against Clinton; 57% of whites and 60% of other minority voters disagree.

This leaves 42% of blacks disagreeing or not sure. Hillary absolutely needs a 90%+ turnout among blacks to win. Generating this level of enthusiasm may be a challenge.

However, leaven all of this with the publics view of the possibility of a fair trial:

If Clinton had been indicted, however, only 46% of all voters think it would have been possible for her to get a fair trial. Thirty-three percent (33%) say a fair trial would not have been possible, but 21% are not sure.

Unquestionably, Hillarys prospects have been damaged. Dems will stick with her, but a critical minority may peel away.
James Comey, the director of the FBI, said in his statement detailing reasons why Hillary Clinton should not be charged for mishandling sensitive emails, that Clinton was "extremely careless" in handling classified information.

The inference is plain: Hillary Clinton can't be trusted with classified information.

Speaker Paul Ryan thinks based on the FBI's conclusions, Hillary Clinton should be denied access to classified briefings as a presidential candidate.

But despite the director of the FBI believing that classified information would be at risk in Clinton's hands, the White House is going ahead with the briefings anyway.

Washington Times:

We should leave those decisions in the hands of our intelligence professionals, said White House press secretaryJosh Earnest. Theyll provide the same information to both candidates. Mr. Ryan said Mrs. Clintons access to secret government information should be denied, in the wake of FBI Director James B. Comeys finding that Mrs. Clinton was extremely careless with classified information on her private email system during her tenure as secretary of state. Mr. Comey is recommending that no criminal charges be brought in the probe. The speaker said if Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper doesnt deny access to Mrs. Clinton, Congress should step in. But Mr. Earnest said the White House expects both Mrs. Clinton and Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, to receive the classified national security briefings after they are formally nominated at their respective party conventions later this month. Theres a longstanding tradition of providing briefings to the major party nominees to make a smooth transition much more likely, Mr. Earnest said.

So we should risk exposure of classified information because of "tradition"?

He also said Mr. Obama didnt talk about the situation with Mrs. Clinton on Air Force One as they flew to North Carolina for their first joint campaign rally. It didnt come up, he said. The presidents spokesman also ducked questions about whether anyone on Mrs. Clintons staff at the State Department should be punished or have their security clearance revoked. Im not going to render any judgment on that, Mr. Earnest said, noting that the Justice Department is still considering Mr. Comeys recommendation.

Hillary aides Huma Abedin and Cheryl Mills were, if anything, even more careless with classified information. They too, apparently, are in line for classified briefings.

It's been said before but bears repeating: if Hillary Clinton were anybody else at any level of government, she almost certainly would have been indicted and convicted. Instead, by election day, the entire affair will have been forgotten and swept under the rug.

It's good to be a Clinton in America in the 21st century.
A study posted by a researcher at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice shows that more whites are killed by police than blacks or Hispanics but that blacks are three times more likely to die if the racial breakdown of the population is taken into account.

The study comes out as two more high-profile deaths of black men at the hands of police have generated outrage across the country. A video showing police in Baton Rouge shooting an unarmed black man outside a convenience store is already being investigated by the Justice Department. And a Facebook video of the aftermath of the shooting of a Minnesota black man is also roiling the black community.

Washington Times:

As researchers are quick to point out, FBI data on police shootings by race is notoriously incomplete, which may explain why Peter Moskos, assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, decided to use figures from the website Killed by Police. Based on that data, Mr. Moskos reported that roughly 49 percent of those killed by officers from May 2013 to April 2015 were white, while 30 percent were black. He also found that 19 percent were Hispanic and 2 percent were Asian and other races. His results, posted last week on his blog Cop in the Hood, arrived with several caveats, notably that 25 percent of the websites data, which is drawn largely from news reports, failed to show the race of the person killed. Killed by Police lists every death, justified or not, including those in which the officer had been wounded or acted in self-defense. The data doesnt indicate which shootings are justified (the vast majority) and which are cold-blooded murder (not many, but some). And maybe that would vary by race. I dont know, but I doubt it, Mr. Moskos said on his blog.

While not a strictly scientific approach to an analysis, as a look at raw data, it's convincing.

Mr. Moskos listed two possible reasons for the racial disparity. The first is that police assigned to largely black neighborhoods face more political fallout when they shoot, and thus receive better training and are less inclined to shoot. The second is that police assigned to black communities with high crime rates are more accustomed to dangerous situations and thus are more likely to be able to resolve them without resort to lethal force.

The study confirms similar conclusions from studies done by the interest group ProPublica and by Politifact.

We know all this intuitively, but in order to crack the false narrative from Black Lives Matter, facts must be uncovered. And the facts in this case are plain: whatever racial disparity there is in police shootings, neither side appears to be targeted.
As another election cycle rolls around, yet again are far too many commentators failing to understand the composition of the electorate.

If you are the nominee for the party on the right side of the spectrum, social conservatives are your bread and butter. You cannot win without them, and if they are displeased, they will have no reservations about either staying home or voting for the opponent.

Social conservatives cannot, in general, be blackmailed by the threats from right-of-center leaders that policies and individuals who are not socially conservative must be accepted in order to avoid defeat. The social conservatives also value social conservatism more than they do fiscal conservatism, which is why they are not persuaded to sacrifice these principles in order to partner with libertarians and the LGBT bloc.

Whatever your feelings on the matter, many social conservatives adopt a "my way or the highway" view of social conservatism. To them, there is no difference between driving off the societal cliff Thelma and Louise-style and gently toppling over it. Either way, they lose, and so does the civilization around them. So if the only two choices are a slow and a fast death, the social conservatives often choose not to willingly participate in, never mind go so far as to sanction in no small measure, the civilizational suicide well underway.

Well over half of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters consider themselves social conservatives, making up about one third of the total population. Just 2% of the overall public is LGBT. From a practical perspective, the LGBT vote is irrelevant compared to the social conservatives. If you lose just 10% of the social conservatives, that is more than can be made up by garnering 100% of the LGBT vote.

Want to win elections on the right? Ignore LGBT issues entirely, and focus on running a campaign, with campaign personnel, that captures as much of the social conservative vote as possible.

Imagine a Trump-Gingrich ticket: two men with six marriages between them. For all the other positives among the personnel involved, this is a non-starter for many social conservatives.

On to the polling data, which, although flawed across almost all pollsters when it comes to the Democrat vs. Republican composition, is likely fairly solid within the various sub-groups that can give us a handle on how the social conservatives are trending.

We'll start with Reuters's ongoing polling that has Trump picking up only 9% of the LGBT vote, compared to 55% to Clinton. Less than 10% of the LGBT vote, despite all the outreach Trump made in the aftermath of the Orlando attacks, translates to about 0.2% of the total popular vote potential. There is no room, nor desire, to maneuver on this front if you are Trump. Let the miniscule LGBT voting bloc, which is already 90% liberal, go 100% for Clinton, and sacrifice the whopping few tenths of a percent in the popular vote it may cost you.

All power from here forward should, and must, go toward getting as much of the social conservative vote as possible.

According to a Fox News poll conducted June 26-28, Trump is getting only two thirds of the "very conservative" vote in the Trump-Clinton head-to-head, and only 64% when Gary Johnson is included. Similarly, only two thirds of white evangelicals are voting Trump when the matchup is Trump-Clinton, dropping to 61% in the Trump-Clinton-Johnson race.

A poll by The Economist/YouGov from June 24-27 shows similar results. In the Trump-Clinton-Johnson three-way, Trump gets just 64% of the "conservative" vote. An ABC News/Washington Post poll on June 20-23 reinforces the consensus. Trump sits at just 63% among conservatives, down from 74% in May. Among white evangelicals, his support has declined from 76% in May to 68% in late June. White Catholics, many of whom resent the moves of their church leadership toward more liberal social policies, are heading out as well, with support for Trump tanking from 64% in May to 48% at present.

It isn't getting better for Trump among likely social conservatives. It appears to be deteriorating.

Americans simply don't care about gay rights issues. The most recent poll by The Economist/YouGov conducted July 2-4 shows this with crystal clarity. Respondents were asked to describe how important 17 separate issues were to them, ranging from the economy to immigration to the environment to the war in Afghanistan, taxes, Medicare, abortion, globalization, and so on. A full 26% of those surveyed said gay rights were unimportant to them. Among all 17 issues, the 26% that indicated that gay rights are unimportant is the largest percentage by a country mile. The next nearest issues with a significant percentage saying unimportant were abortion and gun control, each at just 9%. Half of all respondents (49%) said gay rights are either somewhat or entirely unimportant, far more than any other issue when it comes to unimportance. Only 24% said gay rights are very important, which was  by a long shot  the lowest value among all issues.

For each vote gained in the LGBT bloc, ten are lost among social conservatives. This is hardly a wise political strategy. The size of the electoral pie is fixed. Either you climb in bed with the social conservatives and win, or you bed down with the other side and lose. There is no middle ground.
Donald Trump has stressed that he wants to pick a vice presidential candidate with close ties to the Congress, believing that this would be the best way to get his agenda passed into law.

He may have to alter that notion.

Two more top V.P. prospects have withdrawn their names from consideration, leaving a short list of potential V.P. candidates that might have the stature to assure congressional Republicans. Freshman Iowa senator Joni Ernst and Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee took their names off Trump's list in the last 48 hours, narrowing Trump's choices.

Politico:

The withdrawals Wednesday further depressed Senate Republicans who are still looking for some measure of reassurance from Trumps unrelenting campaign controversies and who thought his choice for running mate could be a soothing gesture. I dont need to say any more about the campaign, said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who added that it was disappointing Corker and Ernst declined to be considered. I understand their reluctance, Ill put it that way. Trump and his GOP critics agree on one thing: A vice-presidential candidate familiar with Congress and the ways of Washington would be a major boost to his campaign. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich would meet that threshold, though its been nearly two decades since he left Congress. Republicans on Capitol Hill are pushing harder for an active legislator, which is why Ernst and Cotton found themselves the subject of intense public lobbying by their colleagues. The fact that Trump met this week with Ernst and campaigned with Corker was enough to buck up some Republicans, but their encouragement lasted barely a day. Before Ernst all but withdrew from the veepstakes in an interview with Politico, Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada posed a question to her that underscored his and other Republicans current reluctance with Trump. I asked her today if I could vote for her and against Trump. Because Im for her, Im for Cotton, said Heller, who has not endorsed Trump. Who he selects for vice president does make a difference. But Republicans being floated for the No. 2 post  particularly those who could run for president themselves in the future  face a tough call. Theyre weighing the call of duty to the Republican Party against stepping into the great unknown of being forever associated with Trump. Corker alluded to that challenge on Wednesday. The Tennessee senator noted that he has offered some constructive observations publicly for Trump throughout the real estate moguls unpredictable campaign  an advisory role that Corker acknowledged would not be possible as his running mate. Everybodys going to be thinking about that. And they should be, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said. But I think ultimately the question is going to be, in the minds of people who are probably on that narrow list: What can I do to help the country? What can I do to elect a Republican president in November?

The impact of a vice presidential pick is overblown, in my opinion. It never rises to the level of the hype generated and ends up being a media-driven story more than a genuine indication of how a candidate thinks.

Unless the presumptive nominee has trouble filling the second slot with the person he wants. Then it becomes a legitimate issue.

There is no lack of candidates eager to run with Trump, so it's not as though he's going to be picking from the bottom of the barrel. But the reluctance of sitting politicians to have their names so closely associated with the nominee does not bode well for GOP unity or for victory in November.
Ever since the HTC 10 was launched earlier this year, conflicting reports have emerged about its sales. While some reports have claimed that the device hasnt really sold as well as HTC would have liked, others have claimed that it has been doing brisk business in some part of the world or another. The latest report regarding the sales of HTCs 2016 flagship comes from Japan, where the device was launched in association with local telecom operator KDDI. According to a claim made by a senior HTC executive, the device is apparently the second most popular premium Android smartphone in the country currently after Sonys new offering. Thats according to the president of HTC North Asia, Mr. Jack Tong, who revealed this information to the Taiwanese media earlier on Thursday. While HTCs smartphone business has been in the red for several quarters now, the relative success of the HTC 10 in the country must be a huge shot in the arm for the Taiwanese tech firm.

Of course, as alluded to earlier, it hasnt been smooth sailing for HTC with its latest flagship smartphone. Reports out of China within days of the phones release claimed that only 251 units of the device were pre-ordered in the first eleven days after being listed on local e-commerce outlets, TMall and Jingdong Mall. Other reports have also indicated that HTC is apparently only looking to manufacture only about a million units of the device this year, which would be significantly lower than what competitors like Samsung or Apple would expect from their flagship devices. Either way, now that the device is seeing some momentum in the Land of the Rising Sun, HTC believes that it can leverage the brand image the company enjoys in the country, to promote its products in other markets in the region.

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With HTC managing to shift close to 100,000 units of its Vive virtual reality headset already, the companys overall revenues in Q2, 2016 came in at NT$18.86 billion (US$582.17 million), which represents a 27% sequential growth over its revenues in the previous quarter. Sadly for the companys shareholders, though, the immediate outlook for the company continues to remain grim, and in spite of increasing revenues, analysts expect the company to remain in the red in the foreseeable future.
Meizu had been sued by Qualcomm quite recently, the company has, allegedly, infringed on Qualcomms 3G and 4G patents. This lawsuit applies only on Meizus MediaTek-powered smartphones, and unfortunately for Meizu, thats the vast majority of their lineup. Now, this is not the only lawsuit case weve seen lately, Huawei had sued Samsung back in May, the company had sued the Korea-based tech giant in both China and the US. Back then, Huawei said that Samsung used their fourth-gen cellular communications technology, operating systems and user interface software in Samsung phones, and the company was apparently not licensed to do so.

Having that in mind, it seems like Huawei opted to sue Samsung yet again. According to a report from Reuters, Huawei has filed yet another patent lawsuit against Samsung, this time theyre suing Samsung in China only. The court has already accepted this case, but the courts spokesman did not elaborate on it. We do know that this is yet another patent lawsuit, but we do not know to what it relates to, though were sure more info will be shared by Huawei in the near future. It seems like Huawei is fed up at this point and is going to push Samsung to pay for the alleged unlicensed use of their technology. Were quite interested to see what is the second lawsuit all about, but well have to wait a bit in order to do that. Samsungs spokeswoman said that the company will thoroughly review the complaint, and after doing that, they will take appropriate action.

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As most of you know, Samsung and Apple have been suing each other for a long time now, and even though they managed to resolve the vast majority of cases, the tension is still here. Xiaomi was also a company that was aimed by quite a few companies in the past, Ericsson sued this China-based company for patent infringement a while back, and thats only one example. Huawei has sued Samsung twice in two months, will we see a third lawsuit? Well, you never know, but do stay tuned, well report back as soon as we get more info regarding this case, and we do hope that will happen soon.
As a company, Ringing Bells is yet to celebrate its first birthday, but it has already seen enough controversies and experienced enough media exposure to feel a little older than that. However, not to succumb to the pressures and politics of it all, the newly-incorporated Indian tech company has now announced a bunch of new gadgets as promised earlier this month. While none of the devices the company announced on Thursday are likely to have the same eye-popping effect as the controversial Freedom 251 smartphone, they do, nonetheless, offer some very interesting choices for buyers looking to get some stuff for not-too-much cash. The extensive lineup include 4 feature phones, 2 Android smartphones, 3 power banks and a 31.5-inch Hi-Definition LED TV that comes with a Rs. 9,990 ($150) price tag.

Taking a slightly more detailed look at the devices unveiled today, the two smartphones, named Elegant and Elegance, are priced at Rs. 3,999 ($60) and Rs. 4,499 ($68) respectively. They have identical specifications except for two key differences; while the $60 Elegant comes with 3G connectivity and a 2,500 mAh battery, the higher-priced Elegance carries a slightly larger 2,800 mAh battery and comes with LTE connectivity with support for VoLTE (Voice over LTE)  a feature thats lacking in many a high-end handset. Apart from that, the rest of the specs, as mentioned, are identical, including a 5-inch 720p display, a 1.3 GHz quad-core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of expandable storage, dual-SIM connectivity and preinstalled Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Imaging options include an 8-megapixel primary camera with LED flash and a 3.2-megapixel selfie-cam. Other connectivity features include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.

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The rest of the gadgets include 4 feature phones named Hit (priced at Rs. 699 / $11), King (Rs. 899 / $14), Boss (Rs. 999 / $15) and Raja (Rs. 1,099 / $16.5). The company also unveiled 3 power banks  The RB Power is rated at 4,000 mAh and is priced at Rs. 399 ($6), the RB Power Plus comes with a 5,500 mAh battery and will cost Rs. 499 ($7.5) and the RB Smart 8,000 mAh power bank will carry a price-tag of Rs. 699 ($11) on release. None of the gadgets, however, will be available for purchase with immediate effect, and while theres no word on when the handsets or the power banks will go on sale, the company says that the TV will start shipping from August 15th, Indias Independence Day.

Meanwhile, as for the much-hyped Freedom 251 handset, the device will start shipping from tomorrow, July 8th. While as many as 200,000 units were pre-ordered before the company had to stop the process because it was overwhelmed with the response, Ringing Bells will only be shipping 5,000 units tomorrow and wait for customer feedback before proceeding with the rest of the orders for the now-famous smartphone. The company has also denied reports that it is yet to refund the booking amount to those whose orders were cancelled, saying that it has already refunded Rs. 8.4 million ($130,000) to everybody who had booked the Freedom 251 on February 18, 2016.
Snapchat is a social and messaging app at heart, but its also an intro of sorts to augmented reality. Snapchats developers are not only well aware of this fact, they relish it and plan to leverage it to break into the augmented reality market in earnest. Though they have yet to make any announcements, leaks have pegged them as working on augmented reality content and even a special pair of augmented reality shades, seen on their CEOs face in the wild about a year back. Insider reports have even revealed that employees have been spotted using virtual reality equipment like the Oculus Rift in the office. While they could be using them for break time recreation, the more likely scenario is that they are working on VR and AR content, and using the Oculus headsets to test that content.

Presumably, thats exactly the sort of thing that Raffael Dickreuter, of Iron Man fame, will be working on. The special effects ace came straight from Hollywood to become a part of the Snapchat family and has been spotted on LinkedIn with his job title under Snapchat listed as Report: Hollywood Effects Pro Becomes Snapchats AR Designer. Gareth Griffiths, the head of User Research for Oculus, was also brought on board recently, to lend his user research expertise to Snapchats product team and aid in creating the most appealing product possible. Dickreuter has also worked on VR content and 360 degree video in the past, such as the VR Goosebumps Experience with Jack Black. Thus, while the nature of what hes set to be working on has not been officially announced, theres not much room for doubt.

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Dickreuter and Griffiths previous bodies of work lend themselves quite nicely to a break into augmented reality and 360 degree media for Snapchat, though exactly how they will approach these new forms of media is a mystery. Original content thats exclusive to Snapchat is one possibility, having it compete with the likes of YouTube and Facebook, or they could allow augmented reality and 360 degree usage in user-generated content. Both, of course, are possible, but for the time being, we dont know much; Snapchat and Dickreuter did not comment when asked by our source, Business Insider.
Its not that modern microSD cards are horrendously slow, but surely no one would complain if someone finally decided to make a card that puts their current average speeds to shame? As it turns out, someone just did. Not unexpectedly, that someone was Samsung as the tech giant has just announced the worlds first Universal Flash Storage (UFS) microSD memory cards. Based on the technology used to produce the recently unveiled 256GB Universal Flash Memory, the standard featured in the latest Samsung Galaxy flagships, these new microSD cards boast speeds that even outperform a lot of Solid State Disks (SSDs) on the market.

More specifically, Samsungs latest memory cards have five times the reading speed of a typical UHS-1 microSD storage device as they can theoretically read up to 530 megabytes per second (MB/s). As for the writing speeds, theyre twice as fast as the currentor better saidprevious top tier of microSD cards on the market, boasting the speed of up to 170MB/s. All of that is possible because the new cards process 35,000 random Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPs) when writing data, which is 350 times more than what an average modern storage device in the microSD format does. The Suwon-based consumer electronics manufacturer has currently revealed the 32, 64, 128, and 256GB versions of the new UFS microSD cards, though the wording of the announcement makes it sound like more iterations could be released in the future.

Samsung is claiming this new set of UFS cards is perfect for usage in high-resolution portable shooting devices such as DSLR, action, and VR cameras, as well as drones. Of course, nothing is stopping you from putting them in your phones and enjoying their insane speeds on your most commonly used device. Well, nothing except for the price which still hasnt been announced but will almost certainly be pretty spicy. For comparison, Samsungs recently released 250GB Evo Plus microSD card which is marketed as a top-tier storage solution is priced at $249.99 and has significantly lower writing and reading speeds than the new UFS standard. We should know more in the coming months as Samsung is expected to reveal the exact price tags and release date of its latest microSD cards before fall.
Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world at the moment. The company had issues increasing their profit a couple of years ago, basically until they decided to turn to premium build materials for their mid and high-end smartphone lineups, and revamp their Android-based TouchWiz UI. This change started with the Galaxy Alpha which was announced back in 2014, but the companys Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were definitely tie-breakers for the company. The companys 2015 flagships received a lot of praise initially, and with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Samsung refined their premium smartphone offerings even more, so its not exactly all that surprising the company has managed to sell quite a few of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge units thus far.

Bloomberg reported yesterday that Samsung could increase investments following the Q2 earnings report, which suggested that the company is expecting to increase their profits quite a bit. That being said, the company has announced earnings guidance for the second quarter of this year, and they basically predict the strongest operating profit in two years. Samsung said that theyre expecting an operating profit of 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion) for the Q2 2016, and theyve also mentioned that the Galaxy S devices are the main reason why, it seems like the sales have been off the hook. This is a 17% increase for Samsung YoY, and the company is expecting the revenue to go up by 1.5%, so it will jump from 48.5 trillion won to 50 trillion won.

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It seems like Samsung is in for a treat as far as Q2 2016 goes, though do keep in mind these are still not official results by the company, only their official projection. Samsung will release the official numbers soon, their report will follow later this month. All in all, it seems like both the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have been selling more than well for the company, and on top of Samsungs quarterly results, it will also going to be interesting to see some official sales numbers from the company. Samsung will almost certainly not going to disclose that information anytime soon, but it will be interesting to see how many will they be able to sell by the end of this year, but by the looks of it, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will definitely outsell their predecessors.
Jamoji is an Android app that gives users the opportunity to express themselves with a little Jamaican charm. For those of Jamaican heritage and culture, theyll be able to communicate with their friends and family in a familiar and fun way using the wide range of emojis, photos and GIFs that are available in Jamoji. With free and paid emoji packs available. Jamoji is an app for those that both love emoji as well as Jamaican culture an the carefree way of life. Lets take a closer look, shall we?

As with other emoji apps and keyboards, users will need to download Jamoji from the Play Store. It isnt a free app however, which might put off some users, but its at least worth giving a try.

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Theres an end user agreement that people have to sign, which is a little strange in an app like this, but its nothing to be worried about, either way. After that, there is some explanation on how to install and then use the keyboard.

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Once this is all setup, users can access the Jamoji keyboard by switching their input methods just as they would any other time. Here I am testing this out inside of the messaging app.

Once a user changes there input method to the Jamoji keyboard theyll be able to choose from the many emoji and pictures that Jamoji has to offer.

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Now, whats important to remember with Jamoji is that the app simply sends these emoji and pictures as MMS messages. This has its good and bad sides. For one, it means that anyone with a phone capable of taking picture messages will be able to see these, regardless of how old the phone is. However, this also means that each emoji sent via the Jamoji app will incur some sort of charge, as MMS messages arent usually included in most peoples packages and can be quite expensive.

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Whether or not this is too expensive will be down to the user, but there is a wide variety of different emoji, images and quick messages for people to choose from.

This variety of different emoji come in different categories, which are separated by the icons at the bottom of the app. One thing that the Jamaicans are rightly proud of is that well-established sporting prowess and this is just one area that Jamoji allows people to express themselves in.

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Theres a selection of emoji, or should that be Jamoji, for everyone including the boys as well as the girls.

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And of course Jamoji for the girls as well.

Jamoji is, perhaps, an app that is simply trying to ride the wave that is the emoji. There are countless other emoji keyboards in the Play Store and if you look hard enough theres an emoji keyboard for practically everything. Keeping that in mind, whats wrong with Jamaicans and Jamaican culture being represented here? Nothing at all. In fact, Jamoji is a good bit of fun with some quirky and helpful emojis that get across small messages as well as bring a smile to your face. The app itself however, could do with some work, despite promises there is no actual keyboard, and instead you have to zip between the Jamoji keyboard that just handles emoji and then your preferred ABC keyboard to get any real typing done. It does however, get the job done and will send the emoji to anyone and everyone that you want. Its just a shame that the MMS way that Jamoji does this also ends up creating more charges for people, but at least it means that anyone and everyone will be able to see them.

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Ratings

Speed (4/5)  Everything here runs nice and smoothly and the keyboard always loads quickly, too.

Everything here runs nice and smoothly and the keyboard always loads quickly, too. Theme (4/5)  The wide variety of different Jamoji and the overall high quality of the characters gives Jamoji good presentation overall.

The wide variety of different Jamoji and the overall high quality of the characters gives Jamoji good presentation overall. Features (3/5)  While Jamoji is ultimately designed just for fun, its expensive upfront for an emoji keyboard and each MMS message for each emoji sent will also cost you money as well. With no QWERTY keyboard included either, the functionality of Jamoji starts to seem slim.

While Jamoji is ultimately designed just for fun, its expensive upfront for an emoji keyboard and each MMS message for each emoji sent will also cost you money as well. With no QWERTY keyboard included either, the functionality of Jamoji starts to seem slim. Overall (4/5)  Jamoji is the sort of app that is a good bit of fun, but shouldnt be taken too seriously. Despite the fact that it can be expensive, fans of both emoji and Jamaican culture will find this good fun.

Pros

Doesnt need other friends and family to have the Jamoji app on their device, the MMS system is universal.

Has a lot of different Jamoji included as well as those for boys, girls and the whole family.

More Jamoji and extra content is added to the app all of the time and it stays fresh well beyond the initial download.

Gives Jamaicans a way of communicating with each other through in-jokes and other common ground.

Cons

Only works in apps that support MMS or image attachments.

Could be considered a little pricey for an emoji app like this.

Overall, Jamoji is a fun little emoji app that will certainly please a small group of users, but without a proper keyboard included and an MMS system that will cost users every time they send one, it could do with some work. Its a good bit of fun and will put a smile on your face, while it wont appeal to everyone there is an audience out there for this sort of thing and Jamoji serves that audience well.
On Wednesday, Verizon announced their new data plans that went into effect today (July 7th). While Verizon said they were not raising prices, they actually did raise them. However, as analysts have pointed out, Verizon lowered the cost of data per gigabyte on these plans. While all the plans went up in cost, they did also add more data. Making it a slightly easier pill to swallow, for customers. Verizon also added some other features like Safety Mode and roaming in Canada and Mexico to these plans. Something that their competitors already offered. As expected, T-Mobiles CEO, John Legere and Sprints CEO Marcelo Claure were not quiet on the topic.

Yesterday, we noted that Legere was not a fan of Verizons new plan  other than the fact that itll drive more customers into T-Mobile stores. But now, Sprint has also joined in on the fun. Claure tweeted GREAT strategy @Verizon: Step 1: Raise Prices Step 2: Tell them you arent raising prices Step 3: Tell them to be thankful #SwitchtoSprint. Now everything that Claure and Legere said in their tweet storms were completely true. Verizon also decided to promote the #IGotVerizon hashtag on social media to promote their new plans. Although, the campaign didnt go as well as they had hoped. With many users tweeting about their bad experiences with the company, and wanting to switch to a competitor.

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Analysts see this move from Verizon as a way for the company to better monetize their customers. Especially when it comes to Safety Mode, which is a way to avoid overages if you are on Verizons two larger data plans. If not, thats another $5/month, and Verizon will throttle your speeds to 128Kbps. Wells Fargo Securities wrote in a research note that the new plans from Verizon is acting more me too to meet some of the perks which Verizons competitors are already offering. One of the big me too features that Verizon added was Carryover Data. Although they basically copied AT&Ts version, where the data is carried over for one month. Just one month. Unlike T-Mobiles Data Stash which carries for up to a year. The Wells Fargo Securities analysts continued in their research note stating that while an increase in the monthly recurring charge is a positive for APRU  with things like Data Rollover [Carryover Data] and Safety Mode offered  there are more opportunities for customers to be smarter with their data usage and limit the upsell capability of this ARPU. ARPU or Average Revenue Per User is a really popular metric for wireless carriers. It helps them see what their average revenue is, and by raising that amount, it keeps shareholders happy, especially when they add a million or more customers in a quarter.

Verizons new data plans and new My Verizon app went live today. So far Verizon hasnt shared any numbers about how many have switched versus those that stayed on the old plan. We likely wont hear about that until the Q3 2016 conference call, which is slated for sometime in late September or early October.
Divorce watch: Christina Estradas handbag allowance was made in Britian

Natalia Potanina, who claims to be exiled in Britain, wants 5 billion from the pockets of Russian Vladimir Potanin. Christina Estrada, 54, would like 196 million off her ex-husband Dr Walid Juffali, 61. Estradas claim includes 58,000 for two luxury handbags  every year. Seems reasonable.

Frances Gibb suggests that such claims, if approved, would cement the UKs reputation as the country favoured by the ultra-rich for their divorce disputes. Well, not quite. The party who seeks the massive pay-off for martial services surely would give consideration to making a claim in a British court. The wealthy party would most likely prefer the case was heard elsewhere, like in, equal opportunity, Saudi Arabia, perhaps, or Russia.

Anorak

Posted: 7th, July 2016 | In: Broadsheets, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Brexit: expert calls for coffin dodgers to have less votes

Democracy Watch spots Dr Piero Moraro, a lecturer in justice studies at Charles Sturt University. Dr Moraro has a fairer way to conduct elections:

We think that one person, one vote is the hallmark of any democratic election. However, the EU referendum and the Australian election suggest that, in the interest of democracy, we should grant more votes to younger citizens, and fewer to older ones.

Hows that for justice?

One magazine even suggested that the pensioners right to vote should be taken away, just as their drivers licenses are, after they reach certain age, says Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, the UN independent expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

You can call an old git a bigot and demand they be shut in a box and ignored and be a bigot. Who knew?

That was George Chesterton in GQ:

With the abject failure of Britains youth to rise to the democratic challenge (ie, to pull their fingers out in time to register to vote), I am advocating a total ban on anyone of retirement age voting in the EU referendum as the only effective way stopping the Leave campaignWe take pensioners driving licences away why not their right to vote?

Mark Piggot:

More appalling than the predictable racist claim has been the dismissal of older voters as reactionaries, wreckers of our childrens future. As if older people, whove worked, paid taxes, brought up children in far tougher times, shouldnt have a say and that the young, many of whom couldnt be bothered to vote, should have their non-votes registered.

Ah, the wisdom of youth

Anorak

Posted: 7th, July 2016 | In: Politicians, Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Milan, July 7 - Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Italy must respect the EU bail-in rules as it seeks to support some weak lenders laden down by bad loans.

"Other countries managed to restructure their banks with public means and the Italians did not do so at the time," Bloomberg quoted Dijsselbloem as saying. "But now the rules are stricter".

Premier Matteo Renzi's government is in talks with the European Commission on how to help the Italian banking system, which has come under intense pressure on the financial markets since the Brexit vote, without breaking rules against State aid and complying with the bail-in regulations, designed to stop public money being used to save lenders.

"Continuous talks are ongoing with Italy," said a spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

"Our position has not changed". Giovanni Sabatini, the director general of Italian banking association ABI, said the nation's lenders should not face any major problems due to Britain's vote to leave the EU.

"The exposure of the Italian banking sector to financial institutions and the private sector in the United Kingdom is limited and below that of Germany, France and Spain," he said. "The Italian banks are among those least exposed to the Brexit risk and yet it seems like Italy has been overwhelmed after the vote". Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini said the EU must help Italy find a solution.

"The banks problem does not just regard Italy. It concerns many other countries that have it the same, or have had it, because the European rules of today don't seem capable of managing the problem in many countries, including Italy," she said. "The solution cannot be national. It must be European. I'm worried".


(ANSAmed) - Rome - Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on his Facebook page Thursday announced that Apple plans to open an iOS Developer Academy on the San Giovanni a Teduccio campus of the University of Naples Federico II on the city's eastern outskirts.

"(The Academy) will involve the entire university system, opening the doors to hundreds of students. The Academy courses will be free and there will be scholarships for some of the students," Renzi wrote.

"We're very satisfied. Naples and Italy's south are fantastic places for training and investment".

Renzi recalled that the initial announcement of Naples as the location for Apple's first Developer Academy in Europe came in January when Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Palazzo Chigi.

"After months of site inspections, Apple has finally chosen its institutional partner and place: the Federico II university campus. My compliments above all to Rector Gaetano Manfredi," Renzi wrote.

"I'm certain that the local business structure will know how to support and sustain this great opportunity".
Archaeology prize named after Palmyra director to be awarded Palestinian tombs among candidates for award

(ANSAmed) - NAPLES, JULY 7 - Recent archeological finds including the prehistoric Khalet al-Jam'a necropolis in Palestine are among the candidates for the International Archaeological Discovery Award named after Khaled al-Asaad, the archeologist and director of Syria's Palmyra site who was killed by ISIS militants in 2015.



The winners of the prize will be announced on October 28 at the Mediterranean Exchange of Archeological Tourism (BMTA) due to be held in Paestum through October 27-30.



Other sites in the running include the celtic tomb of Lavau in France, the shipwrecks in the Fourni archipelago in Greece, the underground monument near Stonehenge in England and the Etruscan tomb in Pieve, Italy.



The prize is awarded by BMTA and Archeo, the leading Italian archeology publication, and other international media partners including Britain's Current Archaeology, Germany's Antike Welt, and France's Dossiers d'Archeologie. (ANSAmed).




(ANSAmed) - Rome, July 7 - Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Thursday that Italy would pursue ISIS unrelentingly as he reported to the Senate on last week's attack on a Dhaka restaurant in which nine Italians were among the victims. "When they kill nine of your compatriots, Italy responds with unity," he said. "This message must be very clear, it must be a decisive response. We have to firmly say that Daesh, fundamentalist terrorism, will have no rest from us, all the more so after this attack". Gentiloni called on Italy's Muslims to be part of the effort to stop Islamist terrorism as he reported to the Senate on last week's attack on a Dhaka restaurant. "I make an appeal to the vast Muslim community, the majority of whom live in peace in Italy," he said. "Openly work together against these terrorists who abuse your religion, defacing it. Your effort will be decisive in defeating terrorism and radicalization".


Not at all. It just seems like a lot of back-and-forth talk.

Yes. I'm growing very worried over what might happen.

If it keeps up, I might be a little more concerned.

I think there are much larger things to concern us as a country.

It's hard to tell; I can't take the leader of either country seriously.

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The Airbus A330-300 offers Lufthansa passengers the latest cabin facilities including Premium Economy with 21 seats. With this new connection the Lufthansa Group is expanding its daily offer with a Boeing B747-400 from Frankfurt. Moreover, Austrian Airlines is flying up to twice a week from Vienna with an Airbus A320.

Due to increasing business relations, we are expecting a significantly higher demand in the future. Iran has also gained greater significance with culture tourists, said Thomas Winkelmann, CEO of Lufthansas Munich hub. The connection between Munich and Teheran had already been offered from spring 2004 to summer 2006.

The Iranian capital is situated at an altitude of around 1,100 metres above sea-level and boasts a wealth of attractions including three ski resorts. The metropolis has more than 10 million inhabitants. Half of the Iranian industries are located in Teheran, especially the oil and gas industries. Other economic sectors are the textile, agriculture and building materials industries.
Guangzhou (China), Geneva (Switzerland) and Warsaw (Poland), all received new aircraft types on their respective daily flights from Dohas Hamad International Airport, in recognition of continued demand for Qatar Airways service, operated by the worlds newest aircraft types and expanding fleet.

Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: Qatar Airways is delighted to enhance the aircraft that serve the important destinations of Guangzhou, Geneva and Warsaw, almost doubling the daily capacity across all of these routes from Dohas Hamad International Airport. This is testament to our commitment to provide our passengers with the greatest comfort on board the worlds most modern and efficient aircraft, while illustrating our confidence in the popularity of these cities as a place to visit and do business.
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In a phone call with Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Wang Yi calls on US to take prudent behaviour in the disputed waters. On July 12, the Hague Tribunal will issue the sentence that will condemn China. Beijing calls the trial a farce. The US prepare patrols to ensure freedom of navigation.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Chinas foreign minister spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry by telephone on Wednesday ahead of The Hague international court ruling on Chinas South China Sea claims and warned Washington against moves that infringe on its sovereignty.

In the call initiated by Kerry, Wang urged the United States to honour its commitment to not to take sides on issues related to sovereign disputes, to be prudent with its actions and words, and not to take any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of China, Xinhua agency said.

The Chinese government claims most of the South China Sea, including sovereignty over the disputed Spratly and Paracel Islands, in opposition to Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia. Some US$ 5 trillion in trade goes through the sea. Beijing has started to build artificial islands with military installations.

To counter Beijings militarisation of the South China Sea, the Philippines have turned to the United Nations tribunal.

China has refused to take part in the proceedings saying the tribunal has no jurisdiction in the matter. It argues that territorial disputes in the region should be settled by direct negotiations between the two nations involved.

Wang Yi repeated Chinas rejection of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Arbitration in the case, calling it a farce. Two days ago Dai Bingguo, former State Councillor and top diplomat in Washington, claimed that the international court ruling on Chinas claims in the South China is only a piece of trash paper.

The US State Department confirmed that Kerry had spoken by phone to Wang. The two discussed issues of mutual interest. We are not going to get into the details on this private diplomatic conversation, State Department spokeswoman Gabrielle Price said.

US officials say the American response, should China stick to its vow to ignore the ruling, could include stepped up freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese claimed islands in what is one of the worlds busiest trade routes.

Others say they fear China may respond to the ruling from The Hague by declaring an air defence identification zone in the South China Sea, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013, and by stepping up its building and fortification of artificial islands.
by Melani Manel Perera

The books author, Wijith Rohan, a Catholic, teaches Western classic culture and Christian culture. His book, which contains 16 articles centred on the countrys political history, was presented by a Buddhist scholar, who stressed its importance for todays society. Catholicism, the latter said, teaches about the freedom of the oppressed.

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Wijith Rohan, a Catholic who teaches Western classical culture and Christian culture at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, just published Christian vision of Sri Lankan politics, a book that provides an interpretation of Sri Lankan politics from a Christian perspective, one that emphasises the importance of Jesus's mission on the side of the oppressed.

The book launch was held at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Maradana, Colomob, on 30 June. For Dr Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri, who presented the tome, It is a very useful book for today's society. It should be read by people of every religion, because it is an essential tool to learn how to live peacefully and without problems."

The presenter, a Buddhist, added: As I went through the books chapters, I realised that it is not only good for Catholics but also for everyone. The authors vision is useful for the whole country."

Christian Vision of Lankan Politics consists of 16 articles on various political issues faced by Sri Lanka seen through biblical interpretation, the author told AsiaNews. This touches Sri Lankas Civil War, the Church, Christianity and politics, law, human rights, freedom, and a Biblical vision of economics.

Christian political theology goes back to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. This was followed later by the Church of Rome in the Second Vatican Council. In the recent past, theologians became politically engaged, like those who challenged Nazi Germany, or those who promoted liberation theology in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

"None of them took a path of violence, Rohan explained. On the contrary, they were victims of the violence of the state or of the ruling regimes.

The roots of Sacred Scriptures call on people of good will to bear witness to the Kingdom of God on earth. People with such a political vision, with a perspective of liberation, can face risks and positively meet the radical vocation of Jesus of Nazareth.

For the scholar, it is not possible to live on this earth, and think only about ones own liberation. We have to think about the liberation of the whole human race.

No one can say that religion is unnecessary because without it we cannot lead a good life, said Dr Nirmal Ranjith. Religion cannot be separate from human life. In this sense, Catholicism is really important because it speaks and teaches about the freedom of the oppressed.
by Sumon Corraya

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Christians and Hindus owners of shops, restaurants, hotels and other businesses are being threatened with death if they do not comply with a list of eight Islamic rules. The death threats, contained in a leaflet, were delivered to dealers by members of the Islamic Khalafot Mojahidin Bangladesh (Ikmb), an Islamist group banned in Bangladesh.

Following the intimidation and attack in the Dhaka coffee shop, non-Muslim traders are now living in fear, but say they are not going to surrender. Albert Prodip Baperi, a Catholic who manages the Sino-Thai Yean Tun restaurant, told AsiaNews: "I will die, but I will not comply with the militants rules.



The Catholic says: "A stranger handed me this flyer and then moved away from our counter. We reported the incident to the local police station. "



The letter was delivered a few months ago to his restaurant, which also organizes wedding receptions and birthday parties, as well as to some five-star hotels and other shops run by non-Muslim staff. Since that time the stores have placed high security measures and hired private security guards.



The directives are clear. Commercial establishments must comply with eight rules: their entrance must bear the inscription "Bismillah Rahman Rahim" [the invocation "In the name of Allah, the Clement, the Merciful" the opening lines of the Korans surahs, ed]; have a copy of the Koran; have an image of Kaba Sharif [the cubic building in the center of the mosque in Mecca, considered the holiest place of Islam - ed]; remove paintings or sacred statues of their own religion; have a dedicated space for Muslim customers to pray; not serve haram (forbidden) food such as pork and if Muslims customers order beef in a Hindu restaurant [considered sacred by Hinduism], they must be served beef; closure of restaurants during the month of Ramadan; no music of any kind, except Islamic songs; women forbidden to work and, if they must then they must wear a hijab [headscarf] or bhurka [the dress that covers from head to toe, leaving only the eyes uncovered].



The penalty for those who contravene these guidelines is one: death at the hands of Ikmb militants. A Catholic restaurateur reports: "In our restaurant there are images of Jesus and Mary, and they will remain where they are."



Even the Christian Co-Operative Credit Union Ltd, the largest cooperatives of micro-credit in Bangladesh, run by Catholics, has received threats. Hemento Corraya, the secretary, says: "We have been the subject of threats. We have raised the alert levels in our offices. It is very sad that the Islamic fundamentalists are trying to control us by force. We have sought police help to guarantee our security".
The attackers threw bombs targeting police in front of a school. At least 200,000 people gathered close by. It is the second terror attack in a week, following the Dhaka massacre. The reported target was the local imam, who is known for his liberal views.

Dhaka (AsiaNews/Agency) - Four persons including a policeman were killed and seven were wounded in a bomb explosion and gun-battle on Thursday morning near a mass Eid prayer gathering celebrating the end of Ramadan, in Sholakia Kishoreganj district. It is the second terror attack in a week in Bangladesh, following the bloody Dhaka massacre on July 1st, in which 20 people were killed.

A group of attackers threw homemade bombs at the Azim Uddin High School about a kilometer from a prayer ground where at least 200,000 people were gathered to mark the start of Eid. "They threw a bomb at a police checkpost. A police constable was killed in the explosion. One attacker was killed and another was arrested," reported local police officer, Mahbubur Rahman.

Tofazzal Hosain, the district's deputy police chief, stated that they first threw a small bomb targeting police and then attacked them with machetes. Some reports suggest that the real target of teh attack was the imam of Kishoreganj, who is known for his liberal views. The Islamic leader had reportedly started a signature campaign to condemn terrorism in the name of Islam.

Bangladesh has faced a growing wave of attacks over the past several months, many of which have been claimed by the Islamic State or groups linked with the Al-Qaeda network. Even though the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has denied the presence of the Islamic State in the country, yesterday the terror group issued a chilling video threatening more attacks, saying: What you witnessed in Bangladesh was a glimpse. This will happen again and again until you lose and we win and sharia is established throughout the world.
by Christopher Sharma

The lawmakers are accused of providing their assistants identity to the victims to travel to Spain. The case broke when the Spanish Embassy in Delhi found irregularities in the travel documents. Nepal is becoming an international hub for human traffickers.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  Eight Nepali lawmakers have been charged in connection with a human trafficking case.

The eight, who are members of the countrys Maoist party, are accused of providing eight people with fake papers to travel to Spain as their personal assistants. This included a request for diplomatic passports for such assistants, Nepals Foreign Ministry said.

When the Spanish Embassy in Delhi (India) checked the travel documents it found irregularities. The documents did not match, said Jagat Man Shrestha, a senior police officer. For now, the investigation is to continue.

At least one lawmaker acknowledged what happened. My personal aide is a different person and the documents were managed in the name of another person to go to Spain, she said.

However, the others denied responsibility, saying they did not know why the victims were connected to them.

One of the people that was supposed to go to Spain said that "Communist parliamentary have now begun to traffic innocent citizens. This is bad luck for poor Nepalis."

Pankaj Gurung admits he was the victim of a scam. "I do not know how it happened, but I paid money to be sent abroad for work."

This is the second scandal to hit Nepal in recent days and puts the spotlight again on human trafficking.

On 26 June, Punya Prasad Dangal, a 75-year-old teacher and guru, was arrested on charges of cheating a large number of young people out of their money by convincing them to pay him so that he could get them abroad (mainly to Japan, the United States and Canada) as earthquake victims.

Last year, following a massive quake in April, thousands of Nepali children disappeared, reportedly taken by human traffickers.
AIDA, an NGO, releases a report complaining that reconstruction is painfully slow. It took the UN over a year to start rebuilding the first bombed out homes. Those accused of war crimes have not yet been prosecuted. Israels blockade against Gaza remains an obstacle.

Gaza (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Two years after Gaza's last devastating conflict with Israel, rights groups in Israel and Palestine vented frustration Thursday over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and the failure to prosecute war crimes. The coalition of NGOs urged Israel to lift its blockade on the impoverished Gaza Strip

The 51-day war in July-August 2014 war between Israel and Gaza militants killed more than 2,251 Palestinians (including 1,462 civilians, one third of whom children) and 74 people on the Israeli side (including seven civilians), and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes in Gaza.

According to a report by the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), two years since the war (which began on 8 July), reconstruction has been "painfully slow". It took the United Nations over a year to rebuild the first bombed out house.

Israel has maintained a blockade on the enclave, limiting the entry of many goods essential for construction.

The AIDA statement called on "world leaders to live up to their commitments and press for an immediate end to the blockade."

In a separate report, Amnesty International said only three Israeli soldiers have been charged over the war, all for minor offenses.

In Gaza, many areas remain desolated and the economy has ground to a standstill. More than 120,000 homes were at least partly damaged, while around 20,000 were left totally uninhabitable in the war.

Local unemployment rate of 45 per cent is one of the highest in the world, while child labour has doubled over the past five years.

Fears of another conflict with Israel, which would be the fourth since 2008, have grown in recent months.

Meanwhile, leaders on both sides say they are ready for a new war, fuelling fears among hopeless civilians.
For the first time, the US government imposes unilateral sanctions on the Stalinist regime and its dictator for inflicting intolerable cruelty on their own people. Such sanctions were imposed in the past on Gaddafi, Mugabe, Assad and Saddam Hussein.

Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies)  For the first time, the US government has imposed direct economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-un for abuses of human rights.

The decision to blacklist the North Korean dictator comes after a long investigation by the Treasury Department. Congress had already enacted the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act to sanction Pyongyang.

In the past, sanctions were also directed at Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Iraqs Saddam Hussein.

For the first time, officials responsible for forced labour camps, extrajudicial executions, torture, violence and persecution, have been identified.

The removal of the veil of anonymity from the perpetrators of abuse will have a major impact. It is a message to middle-level officials who now know that their identity will be exposed if they commit abuses. Human rights and civil society groups helped in preparing the black list.

For the US, Kim Jong-un is directly responsible for human rights abuses. Under his rule, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," said Adam J. Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Aleppo (AsiaNews) - The situation in Aleppo "is still rough", with fighting and the ceaseless firing of rockets and mortars on civilian neighborhoods; people fear "to take to the street to celebrate the feast of Eid al-Fitr", which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and prayer, says Msgr. Georges Abou Khazen, Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo of the Latins.

Speaking to AsiaNews he describes a reality marked by years of war and violence, a place that has become the epicenter of the Syrian conflict. However the bishop also speaks of some (small) improvements: "We now have electricity for two or three hours a day - he explains - and almost all districts have water, this is good news given the hot summer period".



Yesterday afternoon, in a surprise announcement, the Syrian army declared a unilateral cease-fire of 72 hours across the country, in conjunction with the celebrations for the end of Islam's holy month. It will remain in force, according to the military report, "until midnight on Friday, July 8".



Previously, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad made a rare public appearance outside the capital, participating in a prayer for the Eid al-Fitr held in Homs. This city has been one of the most bitterly fought over in the five-year conflict, which has so far caused over 250 thousand deaths and millions of displaced persons, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in history.



The announcement of the truce, says Mgr. Georges Abou Khazen, "is good news, we really hope it will last. It is an opportunity to give a little 'breathing space to the population, allow people to celebrate, although in Aleppo and surrounding areas the fighting and bombing of cities continue unabated. "



The so-called rebels, who control the eastern sector of the northern capital of Syria, "continue bombing civilian neighborhoods," the prelate said. They are "individual attacks", but frightening, and have continued "around the city" until late afternoon yesterday with "heavy fighting. The rebel groups and extremist factions carrying out these attacks include the militia of al-Nusra Front (Al-Qaeda in Syria); the jihadists of the Islamic State are still about 20km from the metropolis.



Meanwhile, the Muslim community in Aleppo is trying to celebrate the feast of Eid al-Fitr. "The poor people have waiting for feast - says the apostolic vicar - to buy clothes, food, cook the best dishes. However, the high cost of living, poverty, the danger of violence are constant and affect everyone, regardless of faith. " In this festival, he said, people usually "celebrate out in the street, in parks, but today it is not possible, because the risk of being hit is too high. People move as little as possible and try not to get caught up in the fighting".

In this context Christians "trying to carry out their activities" in the parish in their groups, with families, children", says Msgr. Abou Khazen. The various initiatives include group trips - families, children, etc - to a town near Latakia, which has recently reopened, "to spend a few days off and unwind from the city violence." And again, "summer camps open to students with the Salesians," during which "we entertain the children, we give them a hot meal, help them play, study, have fun...".



The Vicariate of Aleppo has also set up a pool and some playing fields "for families, but especially for the little ones", which are the first to suffer the trauma of war and in many cases "have nowhere to go, and certainly cannot afford a "holiday.



The Vicariates youth will not be able to take part in World Youth Day, to be held later this month in Krakow, Poland. So the Church is organizing events to celebrate in conjunction with the World Youth Day, again with the help of the Salesians. Our goal - said the vicar - is to help our young people feel as if they are taking part".



The Church leader concludes with special thanks addressed to Pope Francis, who has shown his closeness to Syria and its people in recent days. In a video message on the occasion of the campaign for peace in Syria promoted by Caritas Internationalis on the theme "Syria, peace is possible," the Pope pointed out that "everyone must recognize that there is no military solution", but only a political one.

"Francis - emphasizes the Vicar of Aleppo - cares about our condition and is aware of all that is happening. We hope the international community, the great powers, heed his message and find the will to make a change". In this context the bishop once again stresses what is the real root cause of the problem, the sale of weapons: "Stop selling them! Stop trafficking arms!- he pleads  they are nothing other than a means of destruction. Coexistence is possible, but only through peace and reconciliation. "(DS)
Food Delivering Robots Are Rolling Out In 4 Cities This Month

Trending News: Your Next Delivery Pizza Might Be Delivered To You By A Robot

Why Is This Important?

Because they're adorable and they're here for your job, if you're a delivery guy.

Long Story Short

Autonomous robots are being rolled out in London, Bern, and a couple German cities this month as a pilot project to deliver food and parcels.

Long Story

The day has finally come when man walks the same sidewalks as robots. But it's hard to be scared when they look as cute and harmless as these little guys.

Little R2D2-like droids with the capability of hauling as much as 20 pounds and holding the size of two shopping bags are being tested in four European cities London, Bern, Dusseldorf and Hamburg. They'll deliver food for delivery services Just Eat and Pronto, packages for courier service Hermes and groceries for supermarket Metro Group.

How it'll work is quite simple. The robots will be dispatched from the kitchen, delivery hub or grocery store where it's held, weave past hundreds of people along the sidewalk (how this'll work in downtown London is beyond me), and arrive at your door. You'll then be able to open it up using a code on the smartphone app and grab your goods.

The bots do have a bunch of limitations, as you might've expected. They're only meant to roll on sidewalks as far as three miles away and need to be piloted remotely by employees of the company who look through the droid's nine cameras. The robots eventually improve and get quicker at their route by remembering the way they've gone and sharing that info with the other bots in the fleet, but it's not like they'll ever be smart enough to, say, lead a robot takeover (fingers crossed). It's also hard to imagine they'll do too well with stairs, doors and elevators.

The drones were invented by a couple of former Skype founders and have been testing for the past year. The company, seriously called Starship Technologies (Star Trek fans gon' be pissed), says its bots have already covered 5,000 miles of ground and navigated its way to 400,000 humans without fault, according to Quartz. But they do admit that something bad is bound to happen sometime.

The goal of all this, according to Starship, is to seriously bring down the cost of "last-mile" logistics. So pretty much cutting out the cost of sending out a delivery guy and paying them to wait in traffic.

So should we be scared of these cute little bots? Probably if you're a delivery person, which is a job doubly at risk due to Uber Eats. But otherwise, they're kinda like the toy monster truck you had as a kid, but instead of delivering a dead mouse to your sister, someone else is going to whip you over a hot and fresh pizza.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Will these little droids even be able to fit a large pizza in its cargo?

Disrupt Your Feed

People are definitely going to trip and die over these while they're wexting.

Drop This Fact

Starship estimates that it'll cost you up to 12 British pounds to have a package delivered on-demand in the middle of London. With these little bots, it plans to shave that cost down to 1 per delivery.
Wait List For $230 Toaster Reaches 3 Months

Trending News: There's A 3-Month Wait List To Buy... A Toaster?

Why Is This Important?

Because how long have we been trying and still we cant make a decent toaster?

Long Story Short

Theres a three month wait for this device. Why? Because it just might produce the Holy Grail of breakfast: the perfect slice of toast (and a whole lot more).

Long Story

The toaster has to be up there among humankinds greatest inventions. Slice some bread, stick it in the slot, and two minutes later (or three, or four  how many is the subject of much research and debate) you receive in return a piping hot, crispy snack perfect for your favourite berry preserve.

Thats how its meant to go anyway. Because as brilliant as the toaster is in concept, its implementation leaves much to be desired. Even in 2016 your typical toaster does the job unevenly, or not at all, or breaks after three months, or blows the fuse box, meaning you have to wander outside in your pajamas at 6am on a January morning.

Until now, that is. Because Japanese company Balmuda has made a toaster so good, theres a three month waiting list to buy one. Not even a $230 price tag is putting people off. Its secret? Steam, and some very carefully calibrated heat cycles.

The device is the invention of  surprise, surprise  an ex-rocker and high school dropout. Gen Terao, now 42, was at a company picnic when a rain shower forced he and his colleagues to huddle around a grill, warming bread. What resulted was the best toast any of them had ever experienced.

Related: How To Prepare A Meal In A Toaster Oven

After trying in vain to replicate the perfect toast in a carpark, Terao and his coworkers figured out the humidity from the rain shower must have been key. Steam would trap moisture inside the bread while it was warmed at a low temperature. Right at the end, the heat on the grill would be cranked up to produce a perfectly crisp crust.

The Balmuda toaster replicates all this but in a tiny box that looks more like a CD player (and costs about as much, apparently). The result is being compared to something that comes out of a bakers oven (which were sure bakers the world over are really pleased about).

Balmuda hasnt marketed the toaster at all. And yet the 10,000 units it's producing a month cant keep up with demand. "The best results are with croissants," Mark Oda, a Tokyo-based web developer, told Bloomberg. "I can never go back to 5,000-yen ($50) toasters."

Only bad news? There are no plans to sell this thing in the United States just yet. Dammit.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

But will it last longer than three months?

Disrupt Your Feed

Can we do this with the juicer now, please?

Drop This Fact

A bolt of lightning has enough energy to toast 10,000 slices of bread.
To reduce the length and cost of legal proceedings, groups are calling on the Australian government to adapt technologies already in use in countries like the Netherlands, UK and Canada.



Lets face it: lawyers can be expensive, and court proceedings can be slow, confrontational and painful, said Bevan Warner of National Legal Aid.



He pointed out that Australians have embraced technology for shopping, communicating, dating, house hunting, work and leisure. Why not for legal proceedings?



DIY divorce and more



One such technology is being showcased tonight at the RMIT University Storey Hall Building and it is helping couples in the Netherlands negotiate their own divorce and only call in lawyers when needed.



Call it DIY divorce, if you will.



However, it may also be applied to bring about DIY processes for legal issues relating to debt and consumer matters, landlord-tenant disagreements, family law, and employment disputes.



Being exhibited is the Dutch government-operated Rechtwijzer (Roadmap to Justice, pronounced wrecked-visor) which has been online since 2007 and costs a nominal 100 to use.



It could help reduce the cost of and duration of over 45,000 divorces that happen in Australia every year, according to data from the ABS.



Though it allows for mediation, legal review and adjudication if needed, the system enables couples to comprehensively deal with their legal problem via a mediated settlement process, Warner said.



Rechtwijzer asks about the couples details such as age, income, occupation and education and then finds out their preferences and options as part of a negotiation involving both parties.



Agreements reached through collaboration tend to be more effective than decisions imposed by judges, Warner noted.



Bridging the justice gap



The service  developed in cooperation with various companies including those who made the dispute resolution system at eBay which deals with about 60 million disputes every year  is seen as a tool to bridge whats being called the justice gap.



Technology offers the opportunity to help Australians who fall into the justice gap, said Rob Hulls, director of RMITs Centre for Innovative Justice.



Those who often fall into this justice gap are people who cannot afford to pay a lawyer but arent poor enough to qualify for legal aid, Hulls explained.



It is time to think differently. We must draw on innovative design, and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, to dramatically improve access to justice. This will not only make existing services more efficient and effective, but empower people to resolve their own disputes, he said.



Over the years, there have been numerous inquiries to find ways to improve access to justice - with little overall impact. And we know that while there is no shortage of legal information, information is often not enough to help those in need.



The forum at the RMIT University organised by National Legal Aid and RMITs Centre for Innovative Justice will be attended by leading figures from the fields of law, technology and design. The event also includes participants from Dutch Legal Aid and The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) which is based in Tilburg University Law School in The Netherlands.



The challenge to Australia



I see no reason why well educated people of goodwill, operating in the sixteenth largest economy in the world, with a proven record in oil and gas and mining innovation, cannot lead the world in rethinking how we use adaptive technologies to close the justice gap, Bevan Warner said in a statement sent to Australasian Lawyer.



He did note, however, that one technology alone wont solve access to justice, but it will greatly contribute to broaden access to legal processes.



Put simply, our future success demands that we design services with modern and adaptive technologies to suit the needs of ordinary people including low-income and disadvantaged Australians, he said.



We must be alert to the potential for injustice, but we must also be alive to the potential for these technologies to bring the law to the very people it exists to serve.


By Robert Merkel, Lecturer in Software Engineering, Monash University

Several advantages of online voting were identified in a recent post by Conversation columnist and software researcher David Glance who backed the introduction of such a scheme in Australia.

He is correct that an online voting system would be faster, more convenient and have fewer accidental informal votes. It would also reduce the donkey vote problem (though the donkey vote bias can also be dealt with by the use of Robson rotation on printed ballots).

But in my view he dismisses the very real risks not only of actual election tampering, but something equally important  the confidence that Australian elections arent being tampered with.

A vote-counting system not only needs to be secure against threats to its integrity, it needs to be seen to be secure against such threats.

The right technologies, deployed in the right way, can assist with speeding up vote counts without putting the integrity of our voting system at risk. The place for that technology is not as a replacement for the paper ballot.

Voting is not like paying your bills

Most Australians conduct many financial transactions online, such as paying bills or online banking, with a reasonable degree of confidence.

But while these systems do work acceptably well most of the time, there is a steady stream of fraud committed against them. Some estimates put the cost of cybercrime in Australia at around A$2 billion annually.

Furthermore, there are some key differences between voting and financial transactions which will make electronic voting harder to secure.

For example, financial transactions are private, but not anonymous, and they are conducted on a continuous basis, not once every three years or so.

The two parties to a financial transaction can see how the transaction is interpreted by the financial institution involved, and can report any problems.

Any fraudulent financial transactions can often be reversed or compensated for on an individual basis. If an online election is found to be unsound, the only remedy may be to rerun the election.

Further concerns over online voting have been raised elsewhere on The Conversation.

Confidence in elections is social, not just technical

If we propose to radically change Australias vote-counting system, we should at least do so only after fully considering the nature of the existing system.

Its pretty widely acknowledged that Australias vote counting system is generally accurate and not subject to widespread tampering. So lets ask the question: why do we have confidence in Australian elections?

Partly, its by direct observation as voters: as we vote, we also observe the process. We see the ballots, we see them being placed in the ballot box. But its also through our network of relationships.

Many Australians would probably know one of the 75,000 temporary poll workers. Those more interested in politics are likely to know a scrutineer, a representative of a party on the ballot who directly observes the vote counting.

Confidence in Australian elections is therefore the result of the observations of a large fraction of the Australian population. The confidence that a conspiracy to rig a vote involving many ordinary Australians is beyond the realms of plausibility.

While all manner of other conspiracy theories circulate on social media, election-rigging conspiracy theories are almost unknown in Australia.

An online, or even an electronic voting system in polling booths, would shift the responsibility for electoral integrity to a tiny technical elite with the time and skills to audit the voting technology used.

We are supposed to trust both their personal incorruptibility, and their competence. Serious security flaws are often missed by such professionals until they have been systematically exploited by criminals.

Automate the count, not the recording

People with disabilities have been among the strongest advocates for electronically aided voting, for good reason. But that does not mean that paper ballots should be discarded to this end.

With the right technology, instructions expressed by voice commands, a touchscreen, or whatever interface the voter can use unaided can do the job of marking their ballots. That way voters with disabilities will be able to vote with the same level of privacy and autonomy that others take for granted.

Regardless of how they are marked, paper ballots do not necessarily need to be counted by hand. Senate ballot papers are currently being counted with the assistance of handwriting recognition systems similar to the ones used to read postcodes on hand-addressed envelopes.

The present system is only semi-automated, in that every ballot scan is then checked by a human operator.

In the future, it is likely that the system can be refined so as not to require every vote to be human-verified. For instance, using two or more independently implemented automated counting systems, combined with randomised spot checking by AEC staff and scrutineers, may be sufficient to ensure an accurate count.

This would allow much faster initial Senate counts but, if there is any doubt, a hand recount is always possible.

In the United States, which uses a wide variety of vote-counting technologies, the one most favoured by academic experts is optical scanning ballots. Many people would have come across these in multiple-choice tests such as driving tests: you fill in the box corresponding to your choice.

These work very well in the American context. They are fast, accurate and can be hand-counted in case of a technical problem or dispute. But American elections do not use the preferential voting system.

Designing a system and educating Australians to use this kind of ballot for preferential votes would present a significant challenge and would probably result in a high informal vote.

In any case, expert opinion is clear  no voting system that relies on electronics to record votes, including systems that produce some kind of human-readable audit trail, has any substantial advantages over paper and pencil (or, perhaps indelible pen).

Even the inventor of the voter-verified paper audit trail, Dr Rebecca Mercuri, has concluded that such systems are inferior to paper ballots marked by the voter.

Robert Merkel has donated to and volunteered for the Australian Greens.

Originally published in The Conversation.
By Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer, Postdoctoral Fellow, Astrophysics Researcher, UNSW Australia

NASA/JPL-Caltech

After a five-year journey, NASAs Juno spacecraft this week reached Jupiter and was successfully inserted into its orbit.

This is only the second spacecraft after the Galileo mission in 1995 to enter into orbit around the planet, the largest in our solar system.

Over the next eight years Galileo gave us an unprecedented view of the turbulent and stormy Jovian atmosphere. It detected intense lightning activity over regions much larger than typical storms on Earth.

Observations with its Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) and imaging camera revealed the movement of clouds that resembled streaming jets along the banded structure of the planet. It found billowing updrafts and downdrafts and led to the discovery of ammonia clouds forming in the lower layers of the thick atmosphere of the planet.

One of the highlights of the Galileo mission was a release of a probe that descended into the swirling abyss of clouds. It was able to map the vertical profile of atmospheric pressure, temperature and composition until it melted and vaporised under the crushing pressure of the planetary interior.

Time for Juno

The Galileo mission observations shed some light on Jupiter, its moons and rings. Junos visit promises the next step in the planets exploration. It picks up on many of the unsolved mysteries that still remain in our understanding of the Jovian system.

Juno is the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter by passing above both poles of the planet on each revolution. It will cover different planetary longitudes on subsequent orbits.

This strategy takes the spacecraft into regions of high radiation that require additional shielding of on-board electronic equipment.

But it allows the most efficient mapping of the whole planet and will enable the monitoring of the most spectacular aurora displays in the solar system.

The auroras of Jupiter

Auroras on Earth and Jupiter can have a similar appearance but are both formed due to different processes. An aurora on Earth is light emitted from collisions between atmospheric molecules and energetic particles ejected in solar flares, the latter of which spiral down the Earths magnetic fields.

Jupiter has a much more powerful and rapidly rotating magnetic field that extends over the orbit of its tidally tormented moon, Io, which spits out energetic particles in volcanic eruptions.

The Jovian magnetosphere is rich in energetic charged particles that collide with molecular hydrogen, the main component of its atmosphere, thus generating auroral emission.

It is still not clear how Jupiters aurora is affected by the interaction of the planets magnetic field with charged particles from solar flares. Juno may be able to solve this mystery by making observations from within the planetary magnetosphere during times of increased solar activity.

Junos sensitive instruments (JEDI and JADE) can measure the flux of energetic particles and determine magnetic field, in situ, to characterise its strength and connections with lower layers of the planetary atmosphere.









NASA/JPL





How Jupiter formed

Prevailing models of Jupiters formation suggest that the planets bulk composition should be similar to the composition of the sun, as both originated in the same solar nebula.

Instead, the Galileo probe that descended into deeper layers of the Jovian atmosphere found much lower amounts of helium and heavier elements than expected.

This was not the only surprise. The planet was thought to contain a substantial amount of water that, according to models of the Jovian atmosphere, should be detectable in the form of icy clouds below the layers of ammonia and ammonia hydrosulfide.

The Galileo probe did find some evidence of ammonia ice clouds but no traces of water ice were detected below them. One explanation suggests that the probe may have simply sampled one of the least clouded regions of Jupiter that was surprisingly windy and dry.

Junos Microwave Radiometer will be able to probe deeper layers of the atmosphere in many different locations to paint a clearer picture about the water ice concentration and its distribution.

Understanding exoplanets

Understanding the bulk composition of Jupiter, its atmospheric constituents and dynamics has implications that reach beyond our solar system.

In 1995 the first planet around a sun-like star was discovered and today there are close to 4,000 planets known that orbit other stars.

Many of these planets are so-called hot Jupiters that are as heavy and sizeable as Jupiter, but are located much closer to their parent star than Mercury is to the sun.

These planets are thought to have formed at larger distances from their star otherwise they could not have maintained thick hydrogen-dominated, Jupiter-like atmospheres. They probably migrated towards their star some time after formation.

Conditions on such hot planets are, of course, very different from what we are familiar with on Jupiter. But models that allow us to characterise hot Jupiters have to also work in the limit of the low temperatures found on Jupiter.

Juno will be able to map the internal structure of the planet by measuring its gravitational field. This will help us to answer questions about planet formation, whether it migrated from its original place and what halted this migration.

There are still many questions about the planet that remain unanswered including the one asked often by primary school children: What gives Jupiters bands their colours?

Juno has the best chance of answering this one too.

Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer receives funding from Australia Research Council and the University of New South Wales. She is affiliated with the Australian Centre for Astrobiology.

Originally published in The Conversation.
I am from India and will be relocating to Melbourne shortly for work. Glad to meet you all..regards...
Hi there,



We are going to apply for our defacto visa in August with the goal to get PR in a few years. Yet we are not sure if we wanna stay in Australia for the entire time. Is it possible to move overseas once the TR is approved and still apply for the PR? Does the entitlement to apply for the PR (in a few years time) expire?

Thanks,

xx
NHTSA

The problem is related to a manufacturing mishap caused by the application of adhesive on the glass of the sunroof.Audi has learned that the glass part of the sunroof may detach from the frame that holds it, and it risks flying away while the vehicle is driving. Along with leaving a hole in the roof of the vehicle, it can also create a road hazard for other users.The carmaker has received several complaints about the issue from owners, and it investigated the situation. The German brand has filed the necessary paperwork with theto enable it to perform a recall.All the known affected owners will be notified by mail in July. Those that have not been informed in the current month and have the model year 2007-2009 Audi A8/S8 can contact authorized dealers to inquire if their cars will require a fix.Audi has not made a statement regarding the European version of the same models, which might also be affected by the problem.The fix involves adding extra adhesive between the glass and the sunroof frame, to enable extra security. Audi has no knowledge of injuries or crashes related to this potential problem. According to the papers filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, 536 vehicles affected by the issue were sold in the United States of America.They were manufactured between April 27, 2007, and June 18, 2008, for both A8 and S8 models. Audi has explained that it discovered that the issue appeared because of a supplier, which did not perform the cleaning procedure during sunroof production.Webasto, the company that provided Audi with the sunroofs for the A8 and S8, changed a two-component process into a one-component process. The company that made the sunroofs changed the manufacturing procedure in June 2008 to prevent the issue from reappearing.
However, when the slated lifecycle of the 4.0-liter V8 unit from Audi reaches its deadline, the automaker will not have another engine of this kind in its range.The decision is linked to investment costs related to the development of a V8 unit in 2025, which will have to comply with even stricter emission standards, and prospective sales will not justify its existence.Currently, the V8 unit developed by Audi is planned to be used in Porsche and Bentley models, along with the Audi SQ7 , and other models from the Ingolstadt brand.The V8 engine family from Audi will be available in both diesel and gasoline versions, and it is compatible with electric supercharging and hybrid systems. Audis leaders plan to build more battery-electric vehicles in the future, with a goal of 25 to 35% of 2025s output to use this propulsion solution.Instead of developing new V8 units a decade from now, Audi will invest in new hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric drive solutions. The decision was explained by a source inside the German company to the Brits at Autocar. It is easy to understand why the Ingolstadt brand might want to ditch V8 power in 2025 or earlier, as this kind of engine does not achieve massive sales figures and is hard to outweigh concerning CO2 emissions.As you know, the European Union will force automakers to comply with an average emission target for their ranges, and it is pretty strict. Engines with large displacements and high cylinder counts are not great performers when considering their emission figures, so this kind of propulsion option could be removed from the companys portfolio in less than a decade from today.
Nolan and Stoner have been together through the Aussie's career and it looks like the two never actually parted. Even though Stoner retired from professional motorcycle racing years ago, it appears hat he is still fond of Nolan helmets, whereas the Italian manufacturer is also quite happy with having one of the best-loved riders in its roster. Be it with Ducati or Honda , Stoner stuck with Nolan and this is only natural; remember what we told you about riders rather changing factories than helmets Now that Stoner is, in a way, back in MotoGP albeit as a Ducati test rider and brand ambassador, it's a great opportunity for Nolan to capitalize and they didn't miss it. Stoner received a one-off SuperHero version of the X-Lite X-802RR Ultra Carbon lid presented to him in an almost festive event.The big news here is not the fact that Stoner got yet another helmet from Nolan but the helmet itself. Nolan's newest design might be an indicator of how the upcoming premium model might be, and if the Italians plan to take this approach for production models, we're looking at one of the coolest designs we saw in quite a while.Stoner's carbon fiber helmet may look peculiar from afar but examining it in detail, you'll most likely fall in love with it. Nolan went for a translucent finish that allows the carbon fiber layer structure to be seen, while the colors are also transparent shades that blend into the clear varnish.The looks of the new X-Lite lid are spectacular, and Stoner's tricolor carbon helmet makes everything even better. There is no info as to whether a similar finish will make it into production for either Nolan or their sub-brand X-Lite, but we certainly hope it does.Now, all that's missing is seeing Stoner wearing this helmet in a wildcard race, right?
More on this:

1 Volkswagen's Diesel Cheat Was "Open Secret," Says Volvo Executive

2 EU Official Thinks VW Should Compensate European TDI Owners Just Like US Clients

3 2.0 TDI Has More Power, Smoother Torque Curve after Recall, Says ADAC

4 VW Agrees to Pay $14.7 Billion In the U.S. Over Dieselgate, More to Follow

5 Volkswagen Also Wants To Fit Particulate Filters To Gasoline Engines
The FAA will get a 14-month funding extension that includes third-class medical reform as part of joint approvals announced Wednesday by House and Senate transportation committees. The extension (PDF) would take effect when the FAAs current authorization expires on July 15 and continue through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2017. Medical reform, which would permanently remove the private-pilot medical for those flying light aircraft, has been passed multiple times by the Senate as part of other legislation. The announcement indicates there will be bicameral support for the funding extension, giving GA organizations confidence that the change will make it to President Obamas desk for signing before Congress adjourns next week.As worded, the FAA will be given one year to put the third-class medical changes into effect.

Medical reform is long overdue and we look forward to seeing the House and Senate pass this legislation in the coming days, AOPA President Mark Baker said. Including third class medical reform in this package is great news for general aviation and were very pleased to see it moving forward as part of the FAA extension. Jack Pelton, CEO and chairman of EAA, said, This has been slow, painstaking work, but important work, as EAA members have told us this is the top legislative priority. As we mentioned often since the beginning of this effort, bringing change through legislation is not quick or easy. EAA and AOPA have fought every day to overcome significant hurdles in Congress and will continue to do so until aeromedical reform is signed into law.

Other regulations in the bill call for the FAA to develop tighter monitoring of unmanned aircraft systems breaching airspace and other safety-sensitive sites, as well as up to $20,000 in penalties for drone users who interfere with emergency response operations such as wildfire fighting. There also are provisions addressing issues arising from two high-profile airline crashes. The FAA would enhance mental health screening for pilots undergoing first- and second-class medical exams, as had been discussed following the 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 crash in France. The agency also would be required to review its guidance on flight crew training for cockpit automation and manual flying skills, following the 2013 crash of an Asiana Boeing 777 in San Francisco.
7 July 2016 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli



It is already 23 year that Agdere region of Azerbaijan is under the occupation of Armenia.

Agdere was captured by the Armenian armed forces during the beginning of the Karabakh war along other regions in Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Located in a strategically important position Agdere city was always a high priority for Armenian invaders. Although Azerbaijani troops liberated from the Armenian invaders on July 4, 1992, Armenian forces re-occupied it on July 7, 1993.

Agdere was formed as a regional administrative unit during the Soviet rule in 1930. In October 1992 the Azerbaijani government divided the region of Agdere among three regions outside of Karabakh -- Tartar, Aghdam, and Kalbajar.

Agdere, which consists of mainly of rock, and the lowland areas in east, is rich in minerals -- deposits of polymetallic ores, limestone and gypsum.

Before the occupation of Agdere with 1,705 square kilometers of area, the region has the population of 44.400 people.

The region had two districts, 57 villages, 67 clubs, 51 libraries, 30 secondary schools, seven hospitals and one professional lyceum. Unfortunately, all of these were destroyed by the Armenian occupants after it was invaded.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended after signing of a precarious ceasefire in 1994. Since then, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh, defying international calls and UN resolutions.

Now refugees from this region live in different cities and regions of Azerbaijan and surrounded by care of the state. However, nothing can replace the native land to these refugees, who still believe and hope that they can return to their birthplace, where they lived in peace and friendship.



During the recent tension in the frontline on the night of April 2, when Armenian armed forces intensely fired on Azerbaijani positions and settlements along the contact line, the national army went to the counter attack.

The Azerbaijani Armed Forces liberated important heights and territories of strategic significance in Agdere, as well as in the Fizuli and Jabrail regions during the counter-offensive following the enemy's attack.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 12:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasov

The first model of the Eurabus electric busses will be delivered to Azerbaijan soon, Khanlar Fatiyev head of the Ganja automobile plant production unit said.

He also mentioned that the memorandum on the delivery of the bus was signed with the representatives of the German Eurabus GmbH in Berlin.

The document envisages delivery of the first Eurabus within the framework of one month. The bus will be subjected to approbation process. We will test the vehicle in Baku, Sumgait and Ganja. We should define the type of rechargeable battery, taking relief of the city into account. Mileage mainly depends on the workload. Driving distance of buses for one charging ranged from 250 to 800 kilometers, depending on the type of the accumulator, Fatiyev said.

Head of PU also emphasized that accumulator is considered to be the most expensive detail of vehicles, which necessiates finding the most optimum alternative.

Fatiyev said that Azerbaijan pays a huge attention to the environmental issues both at the state level and within the framework of different projects implemented in the country.

Ganja automobile plant is capable of producing thousands of similar vehicles. Nevertheless, everythind depends on the demand and the number of orders that we get. The bus is environmentally-friendly. Majority of filling stations in Azerbaijan possess relevant charging devices. Basic structure of the bus is made of aluminum which allows economizing and provides for lightweight of the bus.

He underlined that one of the main objectives is promotion of the know-how in the neighboring countries to improve its export potential.

We have certain plans on the export of the vehicles. One of the main targets is competitiveness of busses. We consider the countries of the near abroad as the main export destinations, he added

Previously, Trend reported that Ganja automobile plant and German Eurabus Company have signed an official agreement on assembly of Eurabus electric buses in Azerbaijan and third countries.

The second generation electric bus, Eurabus 2.0 was presented in Belgium, 2013. The vehicle is considered to be more economic than a classic diesel bus and drives with zero emission. The buses with the length of 12 meters are being set in motion with the help of in-wheel electric motors ZA-wheel with the capacity of 130 kilowatt.

Ganja Automobile Plant which was established in December 2004 is capable of assembling up to 1,000 trucks and 2,000 tractors each year. The plant also produces tractor trailers, communal machinery, and snow removal equipment. Currently, the plant is engaged in the assembly of Belarus tractors and MAZ, KAMAZ and Ural vehicles.

--

Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 12:38 (UTC+04:00)

By Nigar Abbasova

Majority of Turkish carriers will continue to transport freights through Azerbaijan to the Central Asian region regardless mending ties between Russia and Turkey, Trend quoted Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asias National Secretary in Azerbaijan Akif Mustafayev as saying.

Mustafayev underlined that within a short period of time the carriers that transported their goods to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through the territory of Azerbaijan have received evidence that the route is totally safe and reliable.

In my opinion, majority of Turkish carriers will not refuse using of the route which runs through Azerbaijan. The reforms that have been adopted by the government of Azerbaijan including facilitation of a number of customs procedures as well as tariff reduction have yielded certain results. The reforms convinced the fact that the route is safe and economically advantageous. Of course, certain portion of goods will be transported from Russia as the transportation of the whole volume is impossible due to the fact that there is also influx of goods coming from Europe and Ukraine and potentially from Iran to Central Asia, he said.

Crisis in relations between the two countries resulted in Russias economic sanctions, which are considered to be an effective tool of foreign policy making, against Turkey. The sanctions have entered into effect on January 1, 2016. After deterioration of relations Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order ensuring of national security and special economic sanctions against Turkey, which included a ban on the entry of freight vehicles from Turkey to the territory of Russia.

Mustafayev underlined that the normalization of relation between Russia and Turkey will positively affect Azerbaijan. Good relations between the neighboring countries of Azerbaijan is crucial from the economic and political point of view. Trade turnover in the region has recently decreased by 30-40 percent. Trade and economic relations will trigger restoration and further improvement of the rate, he said.

Previously, Azerbaijan's Deputy Economy Minister Sahil Babayev said that over 1,500 trucks were sent to Central Asia from Turkey through Azerbaijan in January-February 2016. The figure was 7.3 times more than in the same period of 2015.

Azerbaijan has recently introduced a number of reforms in the sphere. The terms of use of the green corridor is expected to come into force starting August 1, 2016. The corridors were introduced to stipulate rapid and transparent implementation of a number of customs procedures as well as create opportunities for the removal of restrictions on trade with the countries of the region.

Diplomatic relations between Russia and Turkey soured after a Russian SU-24 trespassed Turkish airspace and was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighters on November 24, 2015. The incident negatively affected friendly ties between the nations both politically and economically.

Recently, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin June 27 over the death of Russian Su-24 pilot and expressed regret over the incident. The two countries are expected to bring the relations to their previous level soon.

--

Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 12:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani parliamentary representative to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has voiced its concerns over the tolerance for the violation of the Helsinki Final Act

"We are concerned over the tolerance for the violation of Helsinki Final Act principles," said head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE PA, deputy speaker of the Milli Majlis Bahar Muradova while addressing the final plenary session of the OSCE PA, Azertac reported.

Bringing together nearly 300 parliamentarians from 54 OSCE participating States, the 25th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly took place 1-5 July 2016 in Tbilisi.

She regretted that the organization failed to establish a unified network for combating terrorism. However, we have unchanging principles of the Helsinki Final Act which are always topical and important," she said.

Muradova also stressed a serious concern on the protracted conflicts in the region, which are big threat to Europe, as well. "Azerbaijan also faces such a problem and this has continued for 25 years," she emphasized.

Muradova underlined the resolutions reflecting the challenges facing Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.

"We have always supported sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. We are against changing these principles by force, and support the resolution of all conflicts, including in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova on the basis of international law and the principles of the Helsinki Final Act," she added.

The Session was held under the theme "25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue," commemorating the quarter-century anniversary of the Assembly's work.

At the close of the Session, the Assembly adopted the Tbilisi Declaration and elected its new leadership. Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected President for a one-year term, renewable once. Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene (Lithuania), Azay Guliyev (Azerbaijan), and Isabel Santos (Portugal) were elected to three-year terms as Vice-President, and Victor Dobre (Romania) was elected to a one-year term.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 13:00 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan and Israel have discussed cooperation between law enforcement authorities as Interior Minister Ramil Usubov met with Ambassador Dan Stav, Azertac reported.

The minister said relations of both countries have rich historical and deep roots.

Usubov highlighted the socio-political developments after the country gained its state independence, the enormous efforts the Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev made for construction of legal-democratic state, the socio-economic reforms conducted under his leadership, as well as the reforms in the law-enforcement bodies to establish stability in the country.

He underlined that after the restoration of Azerbaijan's independence national leader Heydar Aliyev laid the foundations of fraternal relations between the two countries. These ties are today being expanded thanks to the heads of state.

Usubov spoke about the activities done to strengthen the protection of human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan, underscoring the ministrys role in this regard. He also highlighted legal, democratic and socio-economic reforms in the country. Usubov stressed the vital role of international cooperation in improving the ministry`s activity in line with international standards.

Stav said Azerbaijan is one of the most stable and secure countries in the world.

Stav stressed that he would take his utmost for further deepening the bilateral ties between the two countries.

Israel recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan very shortly after the official dissolution of the Soviet Union. Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Israel were established in April 1992.

The strategic relationship included cooperation in trade and security matters, cultural and educational exchanges.

Azerbaijan and Israel are focusing on many areas, and the four areas that relevant are telecommunications, agriculture, water supply and medical technologies.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 15:15 (UTC+04:00)

Three people were killed in an armed attack on a restaurant in Turkeys Diyarbakir, the Anadolu Agency reported July 7.

Three more people were wounded in the attack. All of the casualties are Turkish nationals.

The report didnt elaborate on the attackers identity.

The Diyarbakir police started searches for the attackers, said Anadolu Agency.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 July 2016 11:12 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijans Ministry of Culture and Tourism has urged the hotel managers to correctly indicate category of hotels determined in accordance with the hotel star system, the ministry told Trend.

The ministry said some hotels operating in the country, without having the official certificate for a particular category, indicate illegal star category in print ads, commercials, on web pages, and at hotels, thus, providing consumers with false information.

The certificate of conformity for a particular star category of hotels is issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for three years in accordance with the state standard, said the ministry adding that at the end of this period, hotel management should apply to the ministry to pass the classification.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism requires hotel managers to meet legal requirements and to provide full and correct information to consumers, abstaining from any illegal star category.

So far, 106 hotels and hotel-type facilities have passed the classification in Azerbaijan to obtain the certificate of conformity for a particular star category.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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Fresh prepared foods manufacturer the Bakkavor group has agreed the sale of Belgian fresh prepared food business, Vaco, to Culinor Food Group.

Culinor Food Group is a producer of fresh prepared ready meals for retail and foodservice operators across Belgium. The sale is expected to complete by early autumn.

Agust Gudmundsson, chief executive of Bakkavor, said: This sale marks further progress for the group as we focus on our core strategic growth markets of the UK, the US and Asia.

Last month Bakkavor announced it plans to create 470 new roles in its deli and desserts businesses.
Coffee shop chain Pret A Manger will be opening its first motorway service shop, as part of a trial partnership with Welcome Break.

The Pret shop is scheduled to open at the end of summer at the South Mimms Services on Junction 23 of the M25. The menu will include a large selection of Prets freshly-made sandwiches, salads, wraps, baguettes and hot options, alongside organic teas and coffees, cold drinks, fruit and snacks.

Clive Schlee, Pret A Mangers chief executive, said: This is a new area for the Pret business, and one were looking forward to exploring. Well obviously have our own kitchen on the premises, allowing us to serve motorway customers with fresh, natural food, handmade throughout the day. Im sure this natural food, and our organic coffee, will be well-received by motorway customers.

Rod McKie, chief executive of Welcome Break, said: "Welcome Break is very excited about the prospect of working with Pret on the UK motorways and, indeed, putting the much loved Pret brand on the header boards for the first time.

The first shop will be a 12-month trial with Welcome Break and, if successful, will lead to other Pret shops opening in Welcome Break Service Stations.

Last month Pret decided to extend its Veggie Pop Up trial in Londons Soho.
A recent rebrand across its outlets has earnt The Cornish Bakery a Gold Design Business Award from the Design Business Association.

The Cornish Bakerys rebrand has been named Cornish Moment and, as well as the Gold DBA, it has also won an international FAB (Food & Beverage) award for Interiors & Retail Environment.

Steve Grocutt, founder of The Cornish Bakery, said: We are thrilled that The Cornish Bakery has been recognised for its innovation in products as well as design and service.

Cornwall is globally known for its top-quality produce, as well as being a beautiful place to live, work and holiday. Our new interiors convey this Cornwall state of mind, via huge images of contemporary Cornwall, with staff briefed on how to relax customers and provide optimum customer service.

In March The Cornish Bakery received a seven-figure funding package, which it said could create up to 180 jobs and eight new stores.
North east bakery chain Bakers Pantry has partnered with Lakes & Dales Co-operative, a northern co-operative group.

Ashington-based Bakers Pantry signed the deal with Lakes & Dales as part of its ongoing expansion plan. The agreement is for Bakers Pantry to supply bakery products for the co-operatives food-to-go in-store bakery counters across the north of England.

Bakers Pantry will initially be available in two Lakes & Dales stores in Seaton Delaval, which will sell a wide range of savoury and sweet products, including the companys famous Andersons steak pie.

Lakes & Dales Co-operative is part of Scottish co-operative group Scotmid, which operates 350 retail outlets across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England. Bakers Pantry was founded in 2015, when it bought and rebranded historic bakery business Donkins of Ashington.

David Crook, managing director of Bakers Pantry, said: Were delighted to be partnering with Lakes & Dales. They place a strong emphasis on providing customers with local products like ours and we share the same passion for quality, freshness and customer service.

Stephen Brown of Lakes & Dales Cooperative said: Fresh bakery items are a really important part of our offer  our customers value the convenience of buying their favourite baked goods, savouries and cakes at their local grocery store.
Catalyst Live 2016 speaker awarded civic leadership honour

Co-ordinating a festival alongside a Catholic priest to help unite Belfast has led to acclaimed poet, Presbyterian minister and Catalyst Live 2016 speaker Steve Stockman being awarded a prominent community award in Northern Ireland



At Catalyst Live 2016, you will get to see and hear fascinating speakers from around the world. Now one of them is more than just scintillating to listen to: hes award-winning too.



Steve Stockman, a poet, social commentator and Presbyterian minister in Belfast, has just been jointly honoured with his friend Father Martin Magill in the Community Relations Council of Northern Irelands Annual Award for Civic Leadership 2016.



They were both recognised not only for their writing, broadcasting and individual community work but also for their collaboration on the 4 Corners Festival which encourages the Catholic and Protestant populations to experience cultural events in areas of Belfast they would not normally venture into and, by doing so, break down barriers and foster new relationships.







For Steve Stockman, the award is a recognition of the role the Church in Northern Ireland is now making in bringing communities together, something it had not always done in the past. I think when it comes to peace and reconciliation, we were slow to get involved during the troubles, he says. There was a war happening in the street that people perhaps would say was not a religious war, but there was a cold war happening between the churches underneath that that I dont think helped what was going on in the street. Certainly, it did not bring peace and reconciliation as a result.



When I read the scriptures in the context of Northern Ireland and hear Jesus saying Love your enemy, I dont have much thinking to do to work out where that happens. It happens when we cross those barriers that are historic.





Book your ticket now to see Steve Stockman and a diverse range of inspiring speakers at Catalyst Live on 16 November (Birmingham) and 17 November (Reading).



Photos taken from Steve Stockman's blog Soul Surmise



This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission.

BMS World Mission, 07/07/2016
Sept. 15, 2022

Even though some states have decriminalized or legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, under federal law, Marijuana remains an illegal Schedule I Controlled Substance, with a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use.
The latest on the presidential campaign ahead of the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions (all times EDT):

___________________

12:33 p.m.

FBI Director James Comey is emphatically denying that he coordinates his decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton with the White House or anyone else.

Comey says no one influenced his decision in any way.

Republican Rep. John Mica of Florida said the timing of Comey's announcement was suspicious and compared the decisions "choreography" to the Broadway musical, "Hamilton."

The decision came just a week after former President Bill Clinton met privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and a few days after Clinton testified for 3 1/2 hours to the FBI.

Clinton campaigned with President Barack Obama a few hours after Comey's announcement.

Mica said, "This is rapid fire. My folks have questions."

Mica said he was "not a conspiracy theorist," but the timing raises questions.

Comey said the agency tried hard to make a case against Hillary Clinton but ultimately concluded there was no case.

Comey tells the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that, "We went at this very hard to see if we could make a case."

___________________

12:30 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he has written to FBI Director James Comey asking him to release all unclassified findings of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email use.

Ryan said of Clinton: "She has just been proven to be dishonest about what she said she did, and she's been proven to mishandle it very recklessly."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ryan reiterated that he has asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to bar Clinton from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign.

Ryan says "it stands to reason that individuals who are 'extremely careless' with classified information should be denied further access to that type of information."

Ryan added that he was confident that Donald Trump could handle classified information.

___________________

12:15 p.m.

The Senate's No. 2 Republican said presidential candidate Donald Trump and GOP senators had a "good exchange."

Texas Republican John Cornyn tells reporters that he sensed encouraging signs that Trump is learning from his experience as a presidential candidate and that he's willing to listen to "those of us who've made some constructive suggestions."

Cornyn also said his colleagues "were candid about some of the reasons for concern in terms of (Trump's) tone and style." Cornyn said. He added that Trump made "an interesting point" that he's generated a lot of enthusiasm and tapped into something that no Republican nominee for president has done before.

Trump met with House Republicans before heading over to meet with the senators.

___________________

11:47 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey is suggesting that it's possible Hillary Clinton may not have been able to identify classified markings on emails.

Comey's investigation found that there were 113 emails that were sent or received by Clinton containing classified material, contradicting Clinton's previous statements.

Comey says under questioning from a Republican lawmaker that they asked Clinton about three emails that bore "C'' markings indicating that the documents are classified. He says there's a question of whether Clinton was "sophisticated enough" to understand what the C markings meant.

North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows says a reasonable person would think someone who is the secretary of state would understand what that means. Meadows says after Clinton's time in the Senate and at the State Department, "that's hard to believe."

___________________

11:40 a.m.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says nothing in FBI Director James Comey's report on Hillary Clinton's emails causes President Obama to "reconsider his enthusiastic support for her campaign."

Earnest accused Republicans of politicizing Congress' oversight role by hauling Comey before a House panel to explain his recommendation to not bring charges against Clinton.

The White House had sidestepped questions about the investigation while it was ongoing, citing the need to preserve the Justice Department's independence. With the probe now closed, Earnest said the results of the investigation hadn't had any impact on Obama's determination about who should be the next president.

___________________

11:41 p.m.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is dismissing the emergency hearing House Republicans called with FBI Director James Comey about Hillary Clinton's handling of emails.

Pelosi told reporters Thursday: "We have an investigation of the investigation of the investigation. How long can this go on?"

The minority leader spoke as Comey testified before the House Oversight committee on why he did not recommend charges against Clinton over her home email server. Comey said his team found no evidence that she lied under oath or broke the law by discussing classified information in an unclassified setting.

___________________

1:19 a.m.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says he is going to refer Hillary Clinton's testimony before the House Benghazi Committee to the FBI to investigate whether she lied to Congress.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah cited comments by Clinton in which she said she did not send or receive any emails marked as classified.

Clinton testified for nearly 11 hours last fall before the Benghazi panel, which was investigating the deadly 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Clinton was secretary of the state at the time and now is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

FBI Director James Comey told Chaffetz at a hearing Thursday that he had not reviewed the testimony because it has not been referred to him by Congress.

Chaffetz told Comey he would have a referral "in the next few hours."

___________________

11:12 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey is backing up Hillary Clinton's long-stated reason for setting up a private email server when she became President Barack Obama's secretary of state.

Comey tells a House committee that the FBI's "best information" is that Clinton set up the private server "as a matter of convenience." Those comments are in line with what Clinton has told the public.

Comey says under questioning from lawmakers that the investigation did not establish that Clinton was "particularly sophisticated" with the use of electronic information. That prompts Florida Congressman Ron DeSantis to reply, "Good grief."

___________________

10:54 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey says he did not hold Hillary Clinton to a different standard when he recommended no charges over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Comey is telling a House committee that the FBI tries very hard to apply the same standard "whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all."

Comey told the panel that Clinton did email classified material and used multiple devices during her four years as secretary of state, contradicting her public statements.

Republicans are pointing out that a rank-and-file government worker who used an unclassified email system to conduct classified government business would have been charged with a crime.

___________________

10:49 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey says then-CIA Director David Petraeus hid material in the insulation in his attic as the agency pursued its case.

Testifying about Hillary Clinton's emails on Thursday, Comey was questioned about the case of Petraeus in which he was prosecuted for mishandling classified information.

Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to knowingly sharing binders of classified information with his biographer, a woman with whom he was having a sexual relationship. The Justice Department made clear that the retired Army general knew the material was top secret when he divulged it and had lied to the FBI about it.

Comey made the surprising disclosure about the Petraeus case during questioning.

___________________

10:35 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey says of Hillary Clinton there is, "no basis to conclude that she lied to the FBI."

Comey is being questioned by the Republican-led House oversight committee on his decision not to recommend charges against the Democratic presidential candidate for blending personal and official business on a home email server while she was secretary of state.

___________________

10:34 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey is telling the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that his investigation found evidence of "great carelessness" by Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information but no evidence that she or her staff illegally discussed classified information.

Comey says there was only one precedent in the past 100 years for prosecuting on a "gross negligence" item and "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring this case.

___________________

10:24 a.m.

Donald Trump is blaming the media for the uproar over his comments complimenting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as a killer of terrorists.

Trump sought to explain his comments a Tuesday night speech in North Carolina when he met with House Republicans on Thursday.

According to Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Trump said he was very critical of Saddam "saying he's a very, very bad guy, evil guy. And I wake up and I look at the media and they say I love Saddam Hussein."

Cramer said Trump used the incident as an "an example of how his words were twisted or taken out of context."

___________________

10:10 a.m.

The chairman of the House committee probing why Hillary Clinton was not indicted this week is telling FBI Director James Comey that the decision is a mystery.

The Utah Republican, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, tells Comey that the "fact pattern" he laid out in a scathing report this week about Clinton's use of a private email server does not match his conclusion not to indict her.

Chaffetz says he can't explain why there was no consequence for Clinton when an average American would likely be in handcuffs.

He adds that Clinton's blending of private and official business on an unsecured private email server "not an innocent mistake."

"There does seem to be two standards," Chaffetz said.


A speedster is all smiles in her arrest photo after leading officers on a chase Sunday through Houston.

In a release from the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, 26-year-old Yvette Balderas has a wide smile, as if she's taking a school photo rather than being arrested.
Cigna and San Ramon, Calif.-based Hill Physicians Medical Group are teaming up to enhance access to quality healthcare and care coordination services.

Here are five points:

1. The program will begin July 1 and offer services to more than 12,000 consumers with a Cigna health plan.

2. These consumers will receive care from 1,300 Hill Physicians Medical Group physicians who are involved in the partnership.

3. The partnership is under the Cigna Collaborative Care umbrella, which is a value-based delivery model. The initiative aims to accomplish goals similar to accountable care organizations, including better health, affordability and patient experience.

4. Cigna Collaborative Care programs are closing care gaps; emphasizing appropriate use of emergency rooms; and encouraging preventive health appointments.

5. Hill Physicians Medical Group will hire registered nurse clinical care coordinators who will assist patients with chronic conditions through the care process. These care coordinators will work closely with Cigna case managers to advance physician and Cigna coordination.
Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center will open a $36.2 million outpatient health center in the South Loop, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

Here are five highlights:

1. According to Michael Dandorph, vice president and COO of Rush University Medical Center, the healthcare facility's development aims to increase accessibility to more Rush healthcare providers.

2. Once it gains state approval, the 40,000-square-foot center will open in the summer of 2018.

3. Around 30 physicians to 35 physicians will staff the center.

4. The center's services will include primary care, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, endocrinology, otolaryngology, cardiology, dermatology, gastroenterology and rheumatology.

5. Recently, Rush opened a 10,000-square-foot facility in the River North neighborhood.
Here are seven updates:

AmSurg's Sheridan acquires AllegiantMD

Sheridan, the physician services division of AmSurg, acquired AllegiantMD, a provider of radiology services in Tampa, Fla. Sheridan's current radiology profile consists of more than 300 radiologists at 150 facilities throughout the United States.

Cleveland Clinic anesthesiologist Dr. Marc Feldman found dead in motel

Cleveland Clinic anesthesiologist Marc A. Feldman, MD, was found dead in a motel room on June 29. When first responders arrived on the scene, he was not breathing, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Industry pays optometrists $18.2M under Physician Payments Sunshine Act

During the first year of mandatory reporting under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, optometrists accepted cash, cash equivalents or in-kind payments surpassing $18.2 million, $13.2 million of which the industry paid to the top 10 percent of payment recipients. The researchers found the average transaction value reached $111.

Seaside Surgery Center checks off its 1st outpatient spinal surgery

James B. Manzanares, MD, performed the first outpatient spinal surgery at Naples, Fla.-based Seaside Surgery Center. Dr. Manzanares performed the one-hour minimally invasive spine surgery with the iO-Flex system.

Oakland A's Josh Phegley has knee surgery at Presidio Surgery Center

Jon Dickinson, MD, performed knee surgery on Oakland A's catcher Josh Phegley at Presidio Surgery Center in San Francisco. Opened in 1989, Presidio Surgery Center is a California Pacific Medical Center-affiliate that offers general surgery, orthopedics, ENT, pain management and urology services.

Aetna to sell billion-dollar assets to minimize regulatory concerns

To stifle regulatory concerns over its $37 billion Humana merger, Aetna plans to sell billion-dollar assets. Sources claim Aetna and advisers are working on an asset portfolio that could limit any substantial overlap between Aetna and Humana's operations if the assets are divested.

Connecticut co-op faces steep financial troubles, begins 'wind-down' process

After facing financial struggles, Connecticut's co-op, HealthyCT, is under supervision and will start a wind-down process. The state said, although it filed a supervision order, HealthyCT's shut down is not definite, and the co-op may cease being under supervision if it does better financially.

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Chicago-based Cook County Health and Hospitals System has applied with state regulators to build a new outpatient center. The new facility, equipped with a sleek exterior, is designed to attract a broader population of patients, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

Cook County Health, one of the nation's largest public hospital networks, plans to replace its 60-year-old Fantus Clinic outpatient facility with its proposed nine-story Central Campus Health Center. Replacing the outdated clinic is part of Cook County Health's broader strategic goal to enhance its outpatient footprint, according to Crain's.

The $137.7 million project would consolidate services and administrative offices that are currently divided between Fantus Clinic and two other buildings on the health system's Near West Side campus, such as dental services and cancer care, according to the report.

"Everyone has a choice today," said Doug Elwell, deputy CEO of finance and strategy at Cook County Health, according to the report. "We want to make sure we have the facilities that match our expertise."

Health system officials hope the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, which oversees approval of healthcare projects to prevent duplicative services, will vote on the project in September.
CMS has released its 2017 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule, which implements site-neutral payment provisions of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and removes questions about pain management from Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Program.

Here are 12 things to know about the 2017 proposed rule.

Site-neutral payment provisions

1. CMS proposed implementing the site-neutral payment provisions of Section 603 of the Bipartisan Budget of 2015, which states that off-campus provider-based departments (PBDs) that began billing under the OPPS on or after Nov. 2, 2015 would no longer be paid for most services under the OPPS. Instead, beginning Jan. 1, 2017, these facilities would be paid under other applicable Medicare Part B payment systems. CMS proposed that the physician fee schedule be the applicable payment system for the majority of services provided in new off-campus PBDs in 2017.

2. Under the proposed rule, services provided in a dedicated emergency department would continue to be paid under the OPPS.

3. CMS proposed certain restrictions on off-campus PBDs that began billing under the OPPS prior to Nov. 2, 2015. For instance, these departments must continue to offer the same services and bill from the same physical address as they did on Nov. 2, 2015 to be excepted from the site-neutral payment provisions. However, CMS is requesting comment on whether there should be exceptions to this proposal for extraordinary circumstances that are outside the hospital's control.

4. The American Hospital Association issued a statement Wednesday, expressing its disappoint with CMS' "short-sighted" proposal.

"Hospitals and health systems and more than half of the House and the Senate requested that CMS provide reasonable flexibility when implementing Section 603 of the Balanced Budget Act of 2015 in order to ensure that patients have continued access to hospital care," Tom Nickels, executive vice president of government relations and public policy at the AHA, said. "Instead, the agency is actually proposing to provide no funding support for outpatient departments for the services they provide to patients. This does not reflect the reality of how hospitals strive to serve the needs of their communities. In addition, CMS' refusal to continue current reimbursement to hospitals that need to relocate or rebuild their outpatient facilities in order to provide needed updates and ensure patient access is unreasonable and troubling."

Payment update

5. CMS has proposed updating the OPPS rates by 1.55 percent in 2017. CMS arrived at its proposed rate increase through the following updates: a positive 2.8 percent market basket update, a negative 0.5 update for a productivity adjustment and a negative 0.75 percent update for cuts under the Affordable Care Act.

6. After considering all other policy changes included in the proposed rule, CMS estimates OPPS payments would increase by 1.6 percent and ASC payments would increase by 1.2 percent in 2017.

Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program

7. Beginning with the fiscal 2018 program year, CMS has proposed removing the pain management dimension of the HCAHPS survey for purposes of the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program.

8. CMS decided to remove the pain management dimension after receiving feedback from industry stakeholders who believe linking patient satisfaction on pain management to VBP Program payment incentives puts pressure on hospital staff to prescribe more opioids. CMS said it is not aware of any scientific studies that support the belief that opioid prescribing practices are linked to the pain management dimension of the HCAHPS survey. However, CMS said it is proposing to remove the pain management questions in an "abundance of caution."

Electronic Health Record Incentive Program

9. To offer greater flexibility in the meaningful use of EHRs, CMS has proposed a 90-day EHR reporting period in 2016 for all eligible professionals and hospitals. The reporting period would be any continuous 90-day period between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016.

10. Regarding meaningful use, CMS said it is not feasible for physicians and hospitals that have not demonstrated meaningful use in a prior year to attest to the Stage 3 objectives and measures in 2017. Under the proposed rule, these new participants would be required to attest to Modified Stage 2 by Oct. 1, 2017.

Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program

11. For 2017, CMS has proposed adding seven measures to the Hospital Quality Reporting Program for the 2020 payment determination and subsequent years.

Comment period

12. CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until Sept. 6.

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Drug, device makers shelled out $7.5B to physicians, teaching hospitals in 2015: 6 things to know

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Connecticut hospitals received withheld payments totaling $150 million June 20, following a rift between the hospitals and Gov. Dannel Malloy's administration, the Hartford Courant reported.

Gov. Malloy suspended the payments after Connecticut's Office of Fiscal Analysis projected declining income tax receipts. Anticipated income tax revenues have decreased by about $200 million this fiscal year.

Throughout the rift, Connecticut hospitals ran campaigns in retaliation of the withholdings, the Hartford Courant reported. Gov. Malloy said large hospitals reel in huge profits each year, and released a list of hospital CEO salaries and benefits, the highest at $3.5 million a year.

Withheld payments have been released incrementally throughout the clash. In October, Gov. Malloy restored $14 million in funding to six small Connecticut hospitals.

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CMS recently published 2015 Open Payments data, which shows payments from drug and device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals increased to $7.52 billion last year, up from $7.49 billion in 2014.

The Open Payments program, also referred to as the Sunshine Act, requires manufacturers to report payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals for research, travel, food and beverage, lodging, licenses and investments.

Here are six takeaways from the 2015 Open Payments data  the second full year of data available.

1. Nearly 619,000 physicians and more than 1,100 teaching hospitals received the $7.52 billion in payments and ownership and investment interests from 1,456 companies in 2015.

2. Healthcare manufacturers made $2 billion in non-research related payments to physicians last year and $605 million in non-research related contributions to teaching hospitals.

3. Physicians received $86.39 million in research payments from manufacturers in 2015, while teaching hospitals received $724 million.

4. Healthcare manufacturers made $1.03 billion in payments related to ownership or investment interests held by physicians or their immediate family members last year.

5. For program year 2015, 2.26 percent of all financial transactions between physicians and pharmaceutical companies were related to opioid medications, according to CMS.

6. Following the release of the 2015 data, the American Medical Association issued a statement criticizing the accuracy of the information.

"While we appreciate the efforts of CMS to verify the data submitted by industry, continued data errors and registration challenges during the previous two years have thwarted many physicians from participating in the review and validation process. The integrity goals of the Open Payments database will not be met as long as physician review is obstructed by a registration procedure that is confusing, time consuming, and overly burdensome," said the AMA.

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Profit margins at St. Louis-area hospitals rise as charity care levels fall

Ohio hospital files for bankruptcy in anticipation of sale to Prime

Tennessee hospital forced to close after negotiations fall through
New Jersey hospitals face a $200 million reduction in charity care funding for fiscal year 2017, the second significant funding cut since 2014.

Below are five facts about the charity care funding reduction.

1. In 2014, New Jersey hospitals provided $570 million in charity care to uninsured patients, down nearly 50 percent from $1 billion in 2013, according to a report released by Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett.

2. In response to declining charity care levels, New Jersey lawmakers began to reduce charity care funds to match the lower demand for charity care services. The budget for fiscal year 2016 provided hospitals with $502 million in charity care support, a $148 million reduction from 2015, according to NJ Spotlight.

3. New Jersey's fiscal year 2017 budget, which Gov. Chris Christie signed July 1, reduced charity care funding by another $200 million, allocating $302 million in funding to be distributed between 64 state hospitals. Gov. Christie line-item vetoed what would have been an additional $25 million in state charity care funding  and a matching $25 million in federal funding  before signing the budget this month.

4. In 2017, only 13 hospitals will receive more charity care funding than they did in the year prior, according a hospital funding summary from the N.J. Department of Health. These facilities include four Hackensack (N.J.) UniversityMedicalCenter campuses.

5. Many hospital leaders have criticized continued decline in charity care funding, arguing that Medicaid reimbursements are insufficient to cover the costs of care and that charity care funding is still necessary to support safety-net hospitals.

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Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health will close Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley, Calif., in 2030.

California law requires hospitals to meet certain seismic standards by Jan. 1, 2030, and Alta Bates currently does not meet the required standards. In a recent letter to Berkeley City Council, Alta Bates CEO Chuck Prosper said it is infeasible for the hospital to be retrofitted by the last day of 2029, according to a KRON news report.

The acute care and emergency services offered at the Berkeley hospital will be consolidated at Sutter's hospital in Oakland, Calif.

Mr. Prosper indicated in his letter that shutting down the hospital makes sense even without the seismic standards compliance issue.

"Regardless of the seismic deadline, we must adapt to changes in healthcare if we are to survive in today's world. Operating two full service hospitals less than three miles apart is inefficient and inhibits our ability to be most affordable to patients," said Mr. Prosper.

Sutter plans to offer certain services in Berkeley after 2029. "We envision Berkeley as our center for outpatient care in the East Bay," wrote Mr. Prosper in the letter.

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Profit margins at St. Louis-area hospitals rise as charity care levels fall

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Tennessee hospital forced to close after negotiations fall through
There's a school of thought about EHR adoption that suggests physicians experience an initial decrease in their positive perceptions of the technology, but over time those levels creep back up and ultimately surpass their pre-implementation perceptions. But does that J-curve actually exists for EHRs? A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association says no.

"[W]e did not find evidence for a J-curve pattern with respect to positive perceptions eventually exceeding baseline measures," the authors concluded. "Some measures followed a U-curve (returned to baseline), or flatlined, while most followed an L-curve (fell and remained below baseline)."

The study is based on a prospective longitudinal survey of Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Health System physicians over the course of two years, from when they dropped their homegrown CareWeb EHR, for Epic's. Although all physicians received training on the new system and the system "invested substantial resources developing customized content," according to the paper, the only significant increase over baseline perception after two years of the new EHR was for documenting while in the exam room with patients.

"Future research is warranted to determine if positive perceptions eventually surpass baseline, and what interventions can help physicians use EHRs more effectively," the authors concluded.
Cheyenne (Wyo.) Hospital is searching for its new CEO, according to KGAB radio.

Patrick Madigan, president of the board of trustees and interim CEO, told KGAB radio the search will take about nine months.

Mr. Madigan said the hospital decided to hire a corporate "headhunter" to conduct the search. Once a company is chosen, the hospital will nationally advertise the position. Mr. Madigan said he is not interested in the permanent CEO role.

The board recommends that each candidate be familiar with the day-to-day operations and managing a large-scale health facility like CRMC. While the search will be national, Mr. Madigan said a regional or "homegrown [background] would be a bonus."

The most important characteristic of the new CEO, Mr. Madigan said, is someone who will strive to improve patient care and be able to deal with the changes the hospital must undergo as specified under the Affordable Care Act.

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Cloud-based services company PrescribeWellness appointed Todd Plesco as its new chief information security officer and Rob Gerger as CFO.

Mr. Plesco joins the Irvine, Calif.-based company from Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in Los Angeles and over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity. He completed his post-graduate studies at both the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of London. Mr. Plesco also served as a U.S. marine during the Cold War and Desert Storm.

With over 30 years of experience as a healthcare administer, Mr. Gerger has worked at a variety of healthcare-related companies, including Beech Street Corp. and TKB International/Newport Medical Instruments. Prior to his tenure at PrescribeWellness, Mr. Gerger provided financial expertise and strategic business leadership as CFO and COO at TC3 Health/Emdeon. He obtained his finance degree from CaliforniaStateUniversity  Fullerton.

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A 36-year-old woman whose body was discovered with a dismembered arm and severe head injuries was discovered at the construction site of an apartment building in San Francisco's Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood on May 1, 2015. Little was reported on the circumstances of her death at the time, but a federal lawsuit filed today says hospital staff at San Francisco General Hospital reported her missing about 12 hours before she was found dead, according to an SF Bay report.

The woman, Haneefah Nuriddin, had a long history of mental illness and had been treated at SFGH  which has since been renamed Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital  multiple times before her death, according to the lawsuit, which was filed July 6 on behalf of her father, according to the report.

Before Ms. Nuriddin was reported missing, she was hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold. Hospital staff reported her missing to San Francisco police at 7:13 p.m. on April 30, 2015. SFGH workers told Ms. Nuriddin's father, Benjamin Nuriddin, that his daughter was "lost" when she was transported from the hospital's main psychiatric facility to another facility for an appointment, according to the lawsuit.

Ms. Nuriddin's body was discovered the next morning with a missing arm and severe injuries to her face and skull under the scaffold of a 67-unit condominium tower that was under construction, according to the report.

Hospital spokesperson Brent Andrew said he couldn't answer questions regarding Ms. Nuriddin's case because of privacy laws, and he also couldn't comment on pending litigation, according to the report.

Mr. Nuriddin's lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for negligence in not providing his daughter proper medical or custodial care, leading to her death, as well as other allegations, according the report.

SFGH and the San Francisco Sheriff's Department came under fire in 2013 when the body of Lynne Spalding, a patient who was admitted to the hospital for an infection, was found in a rarely-used exterior stairwell two weeks after she was reported missing. In March 2014, her family filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Ms. Spalding's death was the result of "reckless neglect of her care, professional negligence by her healthcare providers; negligence; and the creation and maintenance of a dangerous condition of public property." Ms. Spalding's family entered a $2.9 million settlement with the City of San Francisco in December 2014.
The Connecticut Insurance Department placed Wallingford, Conn.-based health co-op HealthyCT on an immediate order of supervision, prohibiting the insurer from selling or renewing health plans and leaving 40,000 policyholders uninsured.

Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade announced Tuesday the co-op was in "hazardous financial standing" after HHS required HealthyCT pay $13.4 million under the Affordable Care Act's Risk Adjustment Program. The program aims to temporarily level the financial playing field for payers absorbing newly insured, costlier members.

"This is not an action that we take lightly but did so in order to immediately protect the company's 40,000 policyholders in Connecticut and make certain that their claims will be paid under the terms of their policies and for the duration of those policies," Ms. Wade said. "As regulators, consumer protection is our prime mission and an essential part of that is ensuring that carriers can honor their promises to their policyholders."

The order of supervision placed HealthyCT under Ms. Wade's oversight, requiring the insurer to submit a comprehensive payment plan for the risk adjustment payment by July 15.

Most affected policyholders will be fully covered through the end of the year, but coverage will end for 13,000 individual policyholders and 27,000 large and small employer plans next year. For HealthyCT group plans renewed on July 1, coverage will continue until June 2017. However, individuals on group plans slated for renewal on Aug. 1 will need to move to a different plan.

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On four legs and covered in fur, Angus isn't the typical hospital employee. But the two-year-old English springer spaniel is working at Vancouver General Hospital in Canada to stop the spread of Clostridium difficile.

Angus has been trained to detect reservoirs of C. diff. He started working at the Vancouver hospital this month.

"We're thrilled to have Angus join our infection fighting team in the battle against C. diff," said Elizabeth Bryce, MD, regional medical director of infection control for Vancouver Coastal Health.

Dr. Bryce told the Vancouver Sun Angus can find reservoirs of C. diff in areas like unoccupied rooms, bathrooms and hallways. When he finds an area with C. diff, he is trained to sit and tap the area with his paw. Then, infection control team can do more cleaning, even using ultraviolet light disinfecting robots to kill C. diff spores.

Angus is owned by Teresa and Markus Zurberg. Mr. Zurberg is a quality and patient safety coordinator with Vancouver Coastal Health, and Ms. Zurberg is a certified trainer of bomb- and drug-detecting dogs.

Angus is not the first dog in history with C. diff-sniffing capabilities. That title goes to Cliff, a beagle in the Netherlands. A study published in 2012 in The BMJ detailed Cliff's capabilities  he was able to detect C. diff "with high estimated sensitivity and specificity, both in stool samples and in hospital patients," the study concluded.

As for the unconventional hire, there were "no naysayers" at the Vancouver hospital, Dr. Bryce told the Vancouver Sun.

"We strive to continue to find ways to provide better care, and sometimes the answer is not more technology, but instead, man's best friend," said Health Minister Terry Lake.

Keep up with Angus on his Facebook page.
Even cream-of-the-crop heart surgery centers have performance limits. On June 15, those limits were tested for Boston-based TuftsMedicalCenter, where hospital surgeons had to perform four heart transplant surgeries in just one day, The Boston Globe reports.

Frederick Chen, MD, chief of surgery at Tufts, told The Boston Globe, that the huge surgical undertaking wasn't ideal, but it is the duty of the hospital to make transplant surgeries work for patients as hearts become available.

"It was a very busy day," Gregory Couper, MD, a Tufts cardiac surgeon, told The Boston Globe. "We didn't want our patients to lose out on transplants that could be a once-in-a-lifetime offer."

Dr. Couper said heart transplant procedures require two surgeries, one to remove the donor organ, and a second to implant the donor organ into the recipient. At most, there is a four or five hour window between the two surgeries, he said. One patient who received a heart transplant due to a condition called cardiomyopathy, also had surgery to receive a donor kidney the same day, according to The Boston Globe.
Pfizer has vowed to follow a written code of conduct for the marketing of opioids, according to The Washington Post.

The terms of the agreement were reached with the city of Chicago on Wednesday. Pfizer will disclose addiction risks in its promotional material for narcotic painkillers and acknowledge the lack of research regarding opioid's effectiveness after 12 weeks of use. Pfizer also vows not to advertise opioids for unapproved uses, like long-term back pain.

Currently, New York City-based Pfizer only promotes one opioid, Embeda.

Chicago's fight against the national opioid epidemic ties back to two years ago, when the city sued five opioid manufacturers, citing their use of deceptive marketing tactics. Pfizer was not named in the lawsuit and has helped the city's investigation efforts.

"We hope that this trailblazing agreementwill set the bar for others in this industry," said Stephen R. Patton, Chicago's corporation counsel.

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Sanofi, U.S. Army partner to speed up Zika vaccine development

NuVasive acquires Biotronic NeuroNetwork for $98M
Scott Bruder, MD, PhD, Amendia's board of directors' chairman, will speak at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Harvard Business School summit from July 11 to July 13 at Harvard Business School in Boston.

Here are five notes:

1. At the "The Business of Regenerative Medicine: How to Build a Company" conference, Dr. Bruder will sit on a panel to discuss the business of regenerative medicine.

2. Topics will cover biopharmaceutical, device, manufacturing, tissue bank, regulatory and investment sectors.

3. Dr. Bruder will also present on cell therapy and regenerative biomaterial trends, touching on decision-making about bringing biologic products to the market.

4. Dr. Bruder serves as an adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

5. Business executives, investors, analysts, technology transfer and development personnel, scientists and government professionals will attend the summit.
Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University researchers created the company, NeuroTargeting, which offers a database for fighting neurological disorders, according to The Tennessean.

Here are seven insights:

1. In 2007, engineers Pierre-Francois D'Haese, PhD, and Benoit Dawant, PhD, joined forces with neurosurgeon Peter Konrad, MD, PhD, to create NeuroTargeting.

2. At first, the company established brain geomapping software. Now, with a decade's worth of data, they are focusing on the neurological database.

3. NeuroTargeting's CranialCloud offers physicians access to a patient population beyond their walls, connecting centers around the word.

4. Patients may also access CranialCloud to achieve a better understanding of their conditions and be more immersed in their treatment options.

5. NeuroTargeting received a National Institutes of Health Small Business Technology Transfer grant of $700,000.

6. The company has partnerships with Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest University, University of California San Francisco, Columbus-based Ohio State University and the Richmond, Va.-based VA Medical Center.

7. NeuroTargeting also entered into contracts with Medtronic and FHC.
Here are eight spine surgeons and neurosurgeons who recently received awards or promotions.

SUNY University at Buffalo (N.Y.) Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences named Kevin J. Gibbons, MD, senior associate dean for clinical affairs and executive director of UB Associates/UBMD Physicians Group.

Oneonta, N.Y.-based A.O. Fox Hospital named orthopedic spine surgeon, Reginald Knight, MD, MHA, vice president of medical affairs.

Baltimore-based MedStar Health appointed Zeena Dorai, MD, the new chief of neurosurgery at MedStar Union Memorial and MedStar Good Samaritan hospitals, both in Baltimore.

The Leading Physicians of the World added neurosurgeon Sean Logan, MD, to its organization.

Last July, NY Top Doc named orthopedic spine surgeon Saad Chaudhary, MD, to its "NY Top Doc" list.

Erich Anderer, MD, is now chief of neurosurgery at New York City-based NYU Lutheran Medical Center.

University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria named Jeffrey Klopfenstein, MD, head of the neurosurgery department.

New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital's spine center named Sheeraz Qureshi, MD, associate director.
Northern Ireland's exporters will benefit from the continued fall in sterling's value, it's been claimed. The pound's post-Brexit freefall continued yesterday as it tumbled against the US dollar amid mounting fears over the impact of the vote to leave the EU.

At one stage sterling slumped below 1.28 US dollars for the first time since 1985 and also dropped as low as 1.16 euros before paring back losses slightly.

Andy Scott, economist at HiFx, warned there would be further falls for the pound, predicting a drop to 1.25 US dollars and 1.10 euros.

Ann McGregor, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, said: "The devaluation of the sterling will be a welcome boost to our exporters - anything that helps our competitiveness, even in the short-term, can only be a good thing.

"However, firms are also finding that imports cost more and this will affect different businesses in different ways. We will have to wait and see how sterling recovers to gauge if there are any longer term impacts."

William Barnett, the chief executive of Belfast-based trading giant WR Barnett, said the currency fluctuations threw up dilemmas. "I think many businesses are pricetakers - they will now get the same world price in dollars or euro, which is higher in sterling now than it was two weeks ago."

Firms would be deliberating if investment was worth it at a time of uncertainty or if they could expand production and take market share at lower prices. But currency was "the least of the issues" facing firms, he said. "Longer-term, surely the path of exit from the EU is the critical variable for many business decisions."
Bombardiers new CSeries plane takes its first passenger flight over the Swiss Alps yesterday

Bombardier's CSeries jet - the wings of which are made in Belfast - took to the skies over Europe for its first passenger flight yesterday.

The CS100 is the first in a range of planes by the Canadian company to be delivered to a customer.

Swiss International Airlines chief executive Thomas Kluehr joined Bombardier bosses Fred Cromer and Bob Dewar as the maiden flight on Belfast wings took them over the Alps.

Hundreds of workers among Bombardier's 5,000 staff in Northern Ireland have worked on production of the CSeries' wings, which are made of a special composite material.

The company's 520m project to build the wings in Belfast marked the biggest-ever investment by a foreign company in Northern Ireland. But the CSeries had a turbulent start to its existence, and is entering service around two years behind schedule - and approximately $2bn (1.55bn) over budget.

Sales have also been below expectations. However, an order for 125 jets from Delta Air Lines earlier this year buoyed hopes that the plane has a secure future in a market dominated by Airbus and Boeing.
Nick Coburn, president Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton, John Healy, managing director of Allstate Northern Ireland and Ann McGregor, chief executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton has said plans to cut corporation tax in Northern Ireland to 12.5% will go ahead. And he also sought to reassure businesses that there would be no "crash landing" for the economy here following the EU referendum.

Stormont's grand plan to bring Northern Ireland into line with the Republic of Ireland's 12.5% levy were thrown into disarray earlier this week when George Osborne announced he is planning to make a similar move following the Brexit vote.

At a gathering of business leaders in Belfast yesterday, Simon Hamilton said Stormont remains committed to its original plan.

"We don't know how long it will take Westminster to introduce a new rate," he said.

The DUP MLA also said he could not rule out the possibility that Stormont will cut corporation tax further in the event Mr Osborne goes ahead with his proposal to decrease corporation tax to less than 15% across the UK.

Mr Hamilton made the remarks after making his first major speech since taking up the post of Economy Minister.

He said the Brexit would be a "managed process". "Yes there is much to do . But it will be done and it will be carefully managed."

During the address in front of hundreds of businesspeople at Allstate's headquarters in Belfast city centre, he set out his vision for transforming the province into a globally competitive economy.

"I want us to develop an economy that we are proud of and that is the envy of others.

"I want us to become a breakout nation. A truly emerging economy on the world stage. The very model of a modern regional economy.

"That will require a continuation and indeed an acceleration of the economic reforms the Executive have been pursuing.

"Our vision for Northern Ireland is of a rebalanced economy. Ending our over reliance on the public sector for employment and growth. It was ambitious. But our plan is working."

Mr Hamilton said he is determined that, despite its size, Northern Ireland can deliver on the same level as nations such as Singapore, Sweden and Finland.

"They are nations that aren't without their challenges either, but in many respects they are, structurally, everything we should aspire to have in our economy," he said.

"Small, but open, innovative, dynamic, export-driven economies."

Mr Hamilton said improving Northern Ireland's competitiveness will help to improve the economy.

As a result, he has tasked officials to examine the province's performance against nations like Singapore, New Zealand and Estonia. He also said investment to ensure Northern Ireland has a skilled workforce is also crucial to ensure its success on the global stage.

Meanwhile, Nick Coburn, the recently elected President of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber), said it is vital that business remain positive and demonstrate leadership in the wake of the Brexit vote. Mr Coburn said it is business as usual at Ulster Carpets, where he is managing director, despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the UK leaving the EU.

He also said freedom of movement of the workforce and the UK's inclusion in the European single market are crucial for the economy.

"Certainly within the chamber, we are saying to all of our members that whilst there are quite a lot of questions, business is carrying on, we're continuing to invest and continuing on with our current plans," he said.

Ulster Carpets is pressing ahead with plans to extend into Germany despite the Brexit vote.

"I have had a meeting with the sales director to go through the final plans," he said. "All our investment plans remain the same as they were before June 23."
George Osborne has met senior Chinese officials to boost trading links between Britain and the Asian economic giant in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.

Britain could find trading relationships with economies outside the EU increasingly important after the historic Brexit vote left the country's position in the European single market unclear.

A source close to the talks said the Chancellor had "productive discussions on investment, financial services, and fostering stronger trading ties" with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming and other senior officials at Downing Street.

Mr Osborne restated his aim of extending the "golden era" in UK-China relations in advance of a four day visit to the country later this month, based around the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Chengdu.

He is expected to visit several cities in an attempt to boost ties after the referendum result.

Both candidates to succeed David Cameron as prime minister - Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom - have spoken of the need to continue free trade with the EU but also control immigration.

But some have warned the two positions are incompatible, with membership of the single market potentially contingent on allowing the free movement of EU citizens, suggesting farther-reaching economic ties could become more important in the years ahead.
Malaysia Airlines is on track for the "biggest turnaround" in aviation history, according to its new Irish chief executive.

Peter Bellew has also said that it's time for the airline to put the two disasters of 2014 behind it.

Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft that year - one that mysteriously went missing over the South China Sea, and another that was shot down over Ukraine.

"I don't think you can ever forget," he said. "But I don't think we can dwell on it forever and we need to go forward from there."

Mr Bellew, a former Ryanair executive, has taken over as chief executive of Malaysia Airlines from former Aer Lingus boss Christoph Mueller, who finished up at the Asian carrier last week. Mr Bellew joined Malaysia Airlines last year as its chief operations officer.

The airline has been losing money for years, but has axed 6,000 of its 20,000 workforce as part of a plan to return it to profitability. Mr Bellew will continue a $1.5bn turnaround plan hatched by him and Mr Mueller. "There's still lots to do," he said.
The Chancellor stressed the need to ensure London remained one of the globe's key financial centres

George Osborne has moved to try to calm post-Brexit jitters in London's economically pivotal banking sector.

After meeting senior figures from Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Chancellor stressed the need to ensure the capital remained one of the globe's key financial centres.

A joint statement from Mr Osborne and the bankers said: "Britain's decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet.

"We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business.

"One of Britain's key economic strengths is that it is a world-leading financial centre.

"It has one of the most stable legal systems in the world, a brilliant workforce and deep, liquid capital markets unmatched anywhere else in Europe, all of which are underpinned by world-class regulators.

"In recent years it has established itself as a global hub for renminbi, rupee, Islamic finance and green finance, as well as leading in new markets such as FinTech.

"Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre."
Dublin Airport's future development, including its 320m runway plan, is to reviewed by Fingal County Council. Experts being hired by the council will also assess how conditions imposed on the existing planning permission for the new runway will impact its efficiency and operability.

They're also being asked to determine what the benefits would be of a runway longer than the 3.1km one that's currently proposed.

Planning permission for the runway was granted in 2007 and the project was put on hold during the downturn.

The DAA, which controls Dublin and Cork airports, announced earlier this year that the new runway project at the capital would go ahead.

Construction is to start next year and be completed by 2020, as the airport aims to capitalise on its increasing attractiveness as a secondary hub serving North America. The airport is one of the fastest-growing in Europe. It handled 25 million passengers last year, 15% more than in 2014. This year's figures are expected to exceed 27 million.
This is the first full-length clip from Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy new assassination war drama film Anthropoid.

Fifty Shades of Grey and The Fall star from Holywood, Co Down stars alongside Peaky Blinders' Cillian Murphy in the movie which centres on the plot to kill SS beast Reinhard Heydrich, one of the architects of the Holocaust.

Read more:

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Two soldiers (played by Dornan and Murphy) from the Czech Army in exile were trained by the British and parachuted into their homeland on a mission - codenamed Anthropoid - to assassinate Heydrich.

Jamie's character Jan Kubis is one of the two assassins who fatally wounded Heydrich in 1942. They took their own lives later after being cornered and besieged in a church.

The Nazis took revenge and slaughtered 5,000 people from two villages in the aftermath.

In this clip Murphy and Dornan are met with skepticism as they lay out the challenge ahead of them.

The film had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival earlier this month.
A 34-year-old Belfast man who attempted a "rather shambolic" armed robbery at a city centre bookmakers has been jailed

A 34-year-old Belfast man who attempted a "rather shambolic" armed robbery at a city centre bookmakers has been jailed.

Paul McWilliams went into the Ladbrokes shop on Union Street on July 7 last year - but only covered his face with a balaclava after entering.

Despite demands for money, he left empty-handed and was arrested less than an hour later.

After admitting two offences arising from the incident - attempted robbery and going equipped for theft - the Antrim Road man was handed a 42-month sentence at Belfast Crown Court.

He was informed by Judge Gordon Kerr QC that he will spend 18 months of his sentence in prison with the remaining two years on licence when he is released from custody.

Crown prosecutor Gareth Purvis said that McWilliams targeted the bookmakers and took four or five steps inside the premises before pulling a balaclava over his face.

A member of staff was able to get a look at him before he covered up, and was able to provide a description to police.

McWilliams approached the counter, produced what appeared to be a black gun and shouted at the female employee to give him money.

As he repeated the demand the member of staff hit the alarm.

She then told him she didn't have any keys, she couldn't give him any cash and that the police were on their way.

Mr Purvis said McWilliams left the bookmakers and was arrested 55 minutes later on the Antrim Road. When apprehended he was carrying a plastic bag that contained a black balaclava and an imitation firearm.

During police interviews McWilliams admitted his guilt but said he was forced to carry out the robbery by a paramilitary. He made the case that he was attacked by a man associated with paramilitaries, he retaliated, and as a result of this he had to carry out a robbery as penance. If he didn't do this he was told he would be subject to a beating, he claimed.

Mr Purvis told Judge Kerr that the attempted robbery was "rather shambolic in its execution", adding McWilliams came before the court with a clear criminal record.

Defence barrister Greg Berry QC also branded the incident as "a completely amateurish operation, carried out with no planning whatsoever".

The barrister said McWilliams "goes in with his face uncovered... anyone with any wit would know there are security cameras".

Confirming his client's claims that he was threatened into doing what he did, Mr Berry said those behind the threats even supplied McWilliams with the items he was subsequently caught with.

The barrister described McWilliams as "vulnerable" due to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, which he said made him "easy prey for some people".

Judge Kerr said: "I accept there may have been a degree of pressure on this man to offend."

The judge also ordered that the balaclava and imitation firearm be destroyed.
A businessman is to stand trial accused of sex offences against a teenage boy following social media contact, a judge ruled today.

Laszlo Futo appeared before Belfast Magistrates' Court charged with four offences against an alleged victim he met through his car valeting operation.

The 31-year-old Hungarian national, with a previous address at Inverary Drive in the city, faces two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He is further accused sexually touching a boy aged under 16 and inciting the child to engage in sexual activity.

The alleged offences were committed at locations in Belfast between December 2013 and August 2015.

It was previously claimed that the defendant and the boy exchanged messages on Facebook and traded photographs through Snapchat.

As Futo entered the dock for a preliminary enquiry, prosecutors applied to have him returned for trial.

Defence counsel Declan Quinn raised no objections when it was submitted that his client has a case to answer.

Speaking through an interpreter, Futo declined to call witnesses or give evidence at this stage in the case.

However, Mr Quinn argued that the accused should be represented by two barristers due to the seriousness of the allegations and risk of imprisonment if convicted.

"It involves alleged offences against a child," he said. Mr Quinn also referred to issues about computer material in the case, saying there had been "a potential loss of evidence from Facebook and Snapchat".

Deputy District Judge Laua Ievers said she would consider the bid for two defence counsel.

However, she confirmed that Futo is to be committed for trial at Belfast Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

The accused was released on continuing bail to return when those proceedings get underway.
Sir Tony McCoy has likened the end of his racing career to dying.

The 20-time champion jockey added that trying to forge a new life after retirement was akin to starting off like an infant again.

The recently knighted Northern Ireland sporting legend said all talented people had flaws and he was no different, but he has learned how to control them.

The 42-year-old who brought his record-breaking career in the saddle to an end two years ago, said he sympathised with fellow jockey Kieren Fallon, who has had to retire prematurely because of depression.

Ive not had depression, but there are times since I retired when I found it really tough, said the star, from Moneyglass.

When you have those massive highs, like he did, finding what you do next is very hard.

McCoy, who lives in England with wife Chanelle (39) and their two children  Eve (8) and two-year-old Archie  has been doing media work since he brought the curtain down on a career that yielded a massive 4,358 winners, including the Grand National, the Gold Cup, the Champion Chase, the Champion Hurdle and the King George.

He said it did not surprise him that a recent survey discovered that 49% of Irish jockeys had shown some signs of depression during their careers.

When you have those ups, which Kieren had, there are also downs  and they are just as bad, he told the Times.

A sportsman is the only type of individual who dies twice in life. Not everyone has that excitement of a job that is really your hobby. When that ends, you are starting off like an infant again.

How will you cope? We are all flawed.

Id like to tell you I dont have any flaws, but I do. It is about how you control them. I havent met a talented person who isnt flawed.

Six-times champion jockey Fallon (51) announced his decision to quit the sport earlier this week following a hugely successful career that has seen him ride 16 British classic winners, including three Epsom Derbies.

But there were also his well-documented bans because of drug use, allegations of race fixing  of which he was cleared  and controversial departures from the stables of leading trainers, including Sir Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan OBrien.

Although McCoy admitted that he did not know Kieren that well, the Berkshire-based athlete had nothing but kind words for his fellow sportsman.

Whatever anyone says about him, he was a really kind person and very likeable, the Co Antrim man said.

For all the good and the bad you might read about him, I only have good things to say about him. He was a brilliant jockey.

For seven or eight years, he was as good as there has been. He has experienced everything. I wish him well.

Referring to his own decision to hang up the reins  which was heavily influenced by Chanelle  McCoy acknowledged that it took enormous strength to see the choice through.

I have been very lucky  I still have direction, he said. I had a structure and a plan  that retirement had to be done, hopefully at the top of my game. It didnt suddenly come upon me. For Kieren, it is different. He has suddenly decided to do this.

Shortly after McCoys retirement in 2014, Chanelle told a newspaper that life was less stressful since she no longer had to worry about Tony  who sustained more than 700 falls and broke more than 40 bones  coming a cropper on a horse. Theres certainly relief about that, and the kids adore him being around a lot more  our daughter, Eve, has certainly noticed it, she said.
An ambitious plan to erect a permanent memorial to security forces personnel killed during the Troubles in Armagh is in doubt over funding concerns

An ambitious plan to erect a permanent memorial to security forces personnel killed during the Troubles in Armagh is in doubt over funding concerns.

The Co Armagh Phoenix Group still needs to raise 39,000 towards the 80,000 cost of erecting a special wall in the grounds of St Mark's Church in the city.

It has taken the group more than five years to secure planning permission for the project, which if completed will serve as a tribute to the 350 men and women from Co Armagh killed while serving in the RUC, UDR and Prison Service.

The Phoenix Group charity was formed in 2007 to support ex-members of the security services and their families who were victims of terrorism in Armagh.

The group has more than 800 members drawn from Co Armagh RUC GC, police welfare associations from Armagh, Lurgan and Newry and Mourne, 2 UDR Association, the Armagh Association Voluntary Welfare Group, the Association of Retired Prison Officers and Richhill Royal British Legion.

Ronnie Quigg from Warringstown, who served in the RUC for 35 years and who is chair of the memorial fundraising group, said: "With so many illegal memorials being erected in south Armagh and recently in Lurgan, we decided it would be nice to have a legal one to mark the sacrifice of security force personnel.

"Armagh had a higher percentage rate per population killed than anywhere else in Northern Ireland, and we felt that we needed something to remember people with.

"The wall will contain the names of all security forces personnel who were murdered in County Armagh or who were born in County Armagh and murdered elsewhere during periods of trouble right from the formation of Northern Ireland in 1922 until the end of Operation Banner in 2007.

"We have raised 41,000 and we know that the next 39,000 is going to be the hardest, so we really need the public to get behind us and help us raise this money."

The group has secured permission to erect the memorial wall close to the cemetery in the grounds of St Mark's Church of Ireland in Armagh.

"When it is finished, we hope that it will be a place to reflect and remember the supreme sacrifice made by those persons whose names will be engraved upon it," Mr Quigg told the Belfast Telegraph.

"We hope it will leave a lasting memorial that is fitting for families, relatives, ex-colleagues and friends of those brave members of the security forces who were murdered in the execution of their duty.

"We have put out leaflets to different organisations asking them to help with fundraising, and we hope people will get behind us and help to ensure these people are remembered."
Stills from flat in Obel Tower, Belfast - clear plastic bags containing ketamine, cocaine and amphetamine.

Police have dismantled a South East Asian organised crime group which was using an upmarket apartment in Belfast as a hub to distribute drugs across the UK.

The drugs, mainly herbal cannabis, were posted into Northern Ireland from outside the UK and then re-distributed to other parts of Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Detectives from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch swooped on an apartment in Belfast city centre in October 2014 and seized 560,000 worth of herbal cannabis, smaller quantities of other drugs, cash and equipment used in cannabis cultivation.

A number of cash and drugs seizures were made subsequently in other parts of Northern Ireland including Carrick and Portadown.

Cars were seized and restraining orders were imposed on bank accounts.

Police conducted a total of 12 searches, made seven arrests and interviewed 13 people during the investigation which was codenamed Operation Karhold.

Today at Laganside Courts, three gang members, who admitted their roles in the operation which distributed drugs and laundered the proceeds from their sale, were sentenced.

Illegal immigrant Hui Lin (41) was sentenced to five years in prison after he admitted possession of Class A drugs, possession of herbal cannabis with intent to supply and importing cannabis.

He was also sentenced to a total of three years, to run consecutively, for various money laundering offences.

Juan Guan (38) from Jerusalem Street in Belfast was sentenced to three years after he admitted possession of herbal cannabis with intent to supply.

Illegal immigrant 3Yu Li (32) was sentenced to three and a half years after he admitted importing herbal cannabis and intending to supply it.

On Friday, two women were also sentenced at Laganside Courts for their roles in the operation.

Haixia Guo, (31), with an address in Sheffield, was given a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years after she admitted a number of money laundering offences.

Student Ying Han Zhao, aged (25), with an address in London, was also given a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years after she admitted three money laundering offences

The officer leading the investigation, Detective Inspector Andy Dunlop, said: "This has been a lengthy and detailed investigation which began when we became aware of packages being sent from Spain in October 2014 and culminated in todays sentencing.

We have worked with colleagues in South Yorkshire Police and the Metropolitan Police along with the National Crime Agency to progress our enquiries and secure evidence to put before a court. The evidence was such that the defendants admitted the offences.

Our investigation identified several bank accounts into which substantial amounts of money had been paid and then transferred. One account in the name of London student Ying Han Zhao had more than 66,000 lodged from Belfast in three months.

Although this crime group based their activities in Belfast, their criminal reach spread to Great Britain and beyond. We believe we have taken down a major drugs supply network. The investigative reach by law enforcement has been extensive and effective.

He added: "We are committed to making Northern Ireland a hostile environment for criminals. We will work to put criminals before the courts and have them convicted on the evidence we collect. We will also seek to ensure they do not derive any material benefit from their illegal activities.

To a large extent, we rely on information to progress investigations. When we get information, we will act on it. We will continue to police the threat posed by drugs as part of our commitment to keep people safe. I would ask anyone with information about drugs or suspicious activity to contact either the police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Confiscation proceedings are now being pursued which may result in the seizure of substantial assets.
A paedophile film-maker worked with young people while awaiting trial for a string of child sex attacks, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

Aiden Patrick Molloy was last week jailed for two years after he was found guilty of a six-year campaign of sex abuse against a young schoolgirl.

The girl was molested by Molloy several times between 1998 and 2004, when she was aged between 13 and 19.

Concerns have been raised that the 55-year-old worked with children after being charged with sex offences.

Molloy, from Loughbracken Road, Pomeroy, described himself on business websites as a film-maker.

He owns his own production and filming company called Molloy Films. Before his conviction, a large portion of his work involved filming weddings, Christenings, school, sporting and community events.

Following a complaint to police, Molloy was charged more than 18 months ago with indecently assaulting the schoolgirl on a number of occasions.

He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. But despite the nature of the charges against him, he continued to work with youngsters.

It is understood that those who commissioned him were unaware of the allegations.

Earlier this year, just a few months before he was due to stand trial, he filmed a number of schoolgirls for a charity event.

And in December, he filmed a Christmas Santa run featuring several children.

A source close to the case said: "It is indefensible that this man was working with children and young girls while awaiting trial on extremely serious sex abuse charges.

"To make it worse, no parents were notified that the man working with their children was accused of child sex offences.

"This man is extremely manipulative. He is not a nice man, but for many years was able to fool so many people."

In May, Molloy was found guilty by a jury of three charges of indecent assault on the girl that he molested.

Last week, a judge jailed him for two years and placed him on the sex offenders' register.

The judge said, however, that he would not make an order banning the defendant from working with children upon his release from prison.

He explained the court was satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that it was unlikely Molloy would commit any further offences against a child.

The judge added that it was therefore unnecessary to disqualify the defendant from working with children under the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Order.

He did, however, impose a Sexual Offences Prevention Order prohibiting Molloy from having contact with children under the age of 16, apart from unavoidable contact taking place in the course of everyday life, for a period of five years.
Bobby Sands's own words form the heart of the documentary-style work

A film on the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands has used his diaries to portray a determined and sincere man who fasted to death.

Sixty Six Days was produced to give younger people a sense of the emotions and political tensions surrounding one of the defining episodes of the Troubles.

It is 35 years since the Maze prison inmate starved himself as part of a republican campaign for political status.

Sands was hailed a martyr by his supporters while Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher vowed never to bow to the demands of terrorists, and unionists recalled IRA attacks on prison officers and killings committed even while Sands stood for election to Westminster.

Beginning his action the prisoner recorded: "I am standing on the threshold of another trembling world. May God have mercy on my soul."

Sands' own words form the heart of the documentary-style work, through his many poems, letters and communications penned inside prison, and in particular, his personal diary which he kept for the first 17 days of his hunger strike.

He wrote: "Human food can never keep a man alive forever and I console myself with the thought that I will get a great feed up above if I am worthy."

The film by Irish director Brendan Byrne will premier in Belfast at the West Belfast Festival later this summer and will be aired at the Galway film festival this weekend.

Mr Byrne spoke to prison officers, Mrs Thatcher's biographer Charles Moore and Conservative MP Norman Tebbit.

He also interviewed many republicans who shared the H Blocks with Sands and dwelt at length on the reaction to the hunger strike outside the prison.

Mr Byrne said: "I have tried to make it more than just about Bobby Sands, really an exploration of the republican tradition in Ireland through the lens of Bobby Sands."

Sands was sent to prison for possession of a gun. The programme portrayed him inside his cell, hearing the birds outside and thinking of his childhood.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described Sands as a modest man who was troubled by the sectarian nature of society.

He read Irish republican history, when others inside were dreaming of Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara or China's Mao Tse-tung.

By 1981 he had become officer commanding of an IRA which maintained its structure inside prison and became the first to go on hunger strike to death, which followed an abortive action some months earlier.

It came after a dirty protest in which excrement was smeared on walls and urine thrown at warders.

In the words of one prison officer: "We were working in an open sewer with 40 people who wanted to kill us."

Maze governor Albert Miles had been killed by the IRA a few years previously.

Every day, prison officers brought Sands food, sometimes pie and beans, the beans falling off the plate.

In the words of one warder if he wanted to commit suicide it was up to him but they were not going to help him.

Fintan O'Toole, literary editor at the Irish Times, said Sands' was a moral action grounded in sincerity, an "old fashioned, almost Victorian, sense of duty".

Mr Byrne invited viewers to explore the different narratives and challenge themselves.
Loan debt is only written off if the student has not repaid within 25 years of ending their studies.

Students who have attended Northern Ireland's universities owe an eye-watering 2.7billion in tuition fees and maintenance loan debts.

In Northern Ireland, students can borrow the cost of their 3,925 tuition fees and also take out a maintenance loan for living costs.

That is 3,750 if living at home and 4,840 if away from home.

Loan debt is only written off if the student has not repaid within 25 years of ending their studies.

The total for 2015/16 calculated by the Student Loans Company marks an 11% rise from the previous year's figure of 2.5billion.

Those students who had to start repaying their loans this year owe almost 19,270 on average.

Out of 210,000 students who have taken loans in Northern Ireland only 24,000 have repaid them all.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the planned visit by business executives had been delayed because of the Brexit vote

A US investment mission to Northern Ireland postponed in the wake of the vote to leave the EU is set to go ahead next year, the region's US consulate has said.

Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said the planned visit by business executives in October had been delayed as a direct consequence of the Brexit vote.

The delegates considering Northern Ireland as a potential location for expanding their operations are involved in growth industries such as cyber-security and bio-medical sciences.

It is understood the uncertainty created by the vote was one of the factors that influenced the decision to postpone the mission.

Mr McGuinness, a Remain campaigner, said the move indicated a "considerable slowing up" of Northern Ireland's prospects of attracting foreign direct investment following the Brexit vote.

"Plans were in place for an economic mission of considerable size for October of this year and that was on the basis they hoped the vote on Brexit would be a remain vote," he said.

"Now since that is not the case I have been told yesterday at a meeting that that visit has now been postponed, directly as a result of the vote.

"That is of considerable concern."

A US Consulate spokesman in Belfast said: "We are strongly committed to bolstering two-way trade and investment with Northern Ireland.

"We anticipate that a US trade and investment delegation will visit Northern Ireland in the first half of 2017."
A farmer at the centre of a bankruptcy case has said his cattle did not deserve to be shot dead by army marksmen.

The cows, owned by Co Monaghan farmer John Hoey, were killed by the Irish army after unsuccessful attempts by officials to recover assets.

Mr Hoey, who lives at Annacroft farmhouse outside Carrickmacross, said the incident "destroyed him".

"They're supposed to be helping me sell off my assets, not gunning them down in front of me," Mr Hoey added.

Bankruptcy official Chris Lehane said that Irish Defence Forces were called in to assist with the cull after all other possibilities were "exhausted". He also said there had been extensive TB testing carried out at the farm.

"The results of those tests proved positive in the herd, greatly restricting what I could do with the animals," he added.

However, Mr Hoey said he never saw any paperwork to state the animals had tested positive for TB.
Sinn Fein TD Martin Ferris is expected to act as a character witness for a former IRA member who is appealing a decision by Garda to refuse him a shotgun licence.

Former IRA member Angelo Fusco (59) is appealing the decision of a Co Kerry Garda Superintendent on the matter.

Fusco, of Knocknacaska, Kilflynn, Tralee, was accompanied to court in Co Kerry yesterday by former IRA gunrunner Mr Ferris.

The matter, which had been adjourned, came before Tralee District Court, and was set for hearing in what was expected to be a full contest.

At least four character witnesses were to be called, Fusco's solicitor Padraig O'Connell told Judge James O'Connor.

Fusco was one of eight men who broke out of Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast in 1981.

Days later he, along with two others, were convicted in their absence for their part in the murder of Captain Herbert Richard Westmacott. He was shot dead by an IRA unit in north Belfast in 1980, and was the highest-ranking member of the SAS killed in the Troubles.

In 2000 Fusco and a number of associates were given a special dispensation by the Queen to return to Northern Ireland without fear of prosecution.

After being told by a State solicitor the matter would take some hours, the judge said it would require a special day and adjourned the matter to a civil court day in October. There will be a full appeal against the decision Mr O'Connell stated.
Tony Blair was "drunk on his own self-importance" when he ordered the invasion of Iraq, one of the highest ranking officers in the Army at that time has claimed.

Colonel Tim Collins told the Belfast Telegraph that the Chilcot report was more candid than he had expected, but that its contents had not surprised him.

The Belfast-born commander led the Royal Irish Regiment into Iraq in March, 2003.

He said at the time they believed there had been a plan in place for the aftermath.

In the wake of the findings of the Chilcot report, he offered a damning assessment of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"It may well be he was actually drunk on his self-importance having had successes in Kosovo and Sierra Leone, and having brokered the Good Friday Agreement, he genuinely believed he could do no wrong," he said.

"He is clearly not going to apologise, I think that if I was his solicitor I would caution against doing that because I would say that this is by no means over. This is just the beginning of it."

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Chilcot report has found that former PM Tony Blair's Iraq policy was 'based on flawed intelligence' PA Anti-Blair protesters outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre / Facebook

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Whatsapp Chilcot report has found that former PM Tony Blair's Iraq policy was 'based on flawed intelligence'

Colonel Collins said he believes the Chilcot report will help to address the issues raised by the invasion of Iraq.

"It was much more candid than I was expecting. I think that while it will be cold comfort to the families of people who were killed, I think it goes a long way to addressing things we knew were a problem," he said.

When asked if any of the report surprised him, he simply replied, "No".

"We were not aware of it at the time, obviously. We were under the impression there was a plan and it is now clear there was no actual plan for the aftermath," he said.

"There was a plan for the invasion but no plan for the aftermath. That was unclear at the time, we simply assumed there would be a plan."

Colonel Collins said he was "astonished such a thing could happen in the modern world".

"But clearly it did, and while one quickly became aware there was no plan, I found it amazing that within the Government no one was saying you should have known better, you should have been doing something," he said.

"The military had their opportunity to make their minds known to Tony Blair.

"I haven't read the report in detail yet, but I am curious to see whether they did or didn't tell Tony Blair.

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"It is clear now from the Chilcot report that not all the options for peace were exhausted when they decided to go to war.

"That would suggest he had an intention to go to war." Colonel Collins famously gave a rousing speech to the Royal Irish before they deployed to Iraq.

He revealed one of the motivations for it was to "fill the gap" of information.

"Most of them, to my knowledge, had never been to war before. It was a very young battalion which I had more or less recruited during my time in office," he said.

"With large numbers of fathers and sons in the battalion I wanted them to understand really what was about to happen.

"I felt that someone owed them that explanation and as the war had begun I was the only one who could give them that explanation.

"There was no one else around to do so.

"I don't think there was any information at the time."

Colonel Collins added that war should always be the last resort.

"I think that there is no doubt for anyone who has ever been to Iraq or had any dealings with Iraq or Saddam's regime that it was a very bad thing and had to be dealt with," he said.

"But as Chilcot said, there were other options which were not fully explored, so those should have been exhausted before going to war. War should be the very last resort."
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives his reaction in a speech at Church House in Westminster

Tony Blair arrives back at his home in the wake of the publication of the Iraq Report

Tony Blair is facing the threat of legal action over his decision to take the UK to war in Iraq after a long-awaited official report delivered a damning verdict on his government's justification, planning and conduct of the military intervention in 2003.

The Iraq Inquiry report said war was launched on the basis of "flawed" intelligence at a time dictator Saddam Hussein presented "no imminent threat" and diplomatic options had not been exhausted.

The intervention ended six years later "a very long way from success", with the "humiliating" spectacle of UK troops in Basra making deals with local militia who had been attacking them.

Families of some of the 179 military personnel killed in Iraq branded the former prime minister a "terrorist", while Jeremy Corbyn offered an apology on Labour's behalf for what he described as "a stain on our party and our country".

Mr Blair said he took responsibility for shortcomings identified by Sir John Chilcot's report and felt "more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know" for the grief of those whose loved ones died.

But he said he still believed he was right to remove Saddam and insisted that the inquiry's findings should "lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit".

Unveiling his report into the UK's most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War, inquiry chairman Sir John said the intervention "went badly wrong, with consequences to this day". He made no judgment on whether military action was legal, but said then attorney general Lord Goldsmith's decision that there was a legal basis for UK involvement in the US-led invasion was taken in a way which was "far from satisfactory".

The report did not support claims that Mr Blair agreed a deal "signed in blood" to topple Saddam at a key meeting with George Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2002.

But it revealed that in July that year - eight months before Parliament approved military action - the PM committed himself in writing to backing the US president over Iraq, telling him: "I will be with you whatever."

And Sir John rejected Mr Blair's claims that the bloody insurgency and terrorism which erupted following Saddam's fall could not have been foreseen.

"We do not agree that hindsight is required," said Sir John. "The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability and al-Qaida activity in Iraq were each explicitly identified before the invasion."

Tearful families responded with fury to the details of shortcomings uncovered by the seven-year inquiry.

A military policeman's father, Reg Keys, said it was clear that the prime minister "deliberately misled" the country and his son Tom "died in vain", while Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb, said families reserved the right "to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts".

Sarah O'Connor, whose brother Bob died when a military plane was shot down near Baghdad in 2005, branded Mr Blair "the world's worst terrorist".

In a statement summarising his findings, Sir John said: "We have concluded that the UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.

"We have also concluded that the judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction - WMD - were presented with a certainty that was not justified."

The report was critical of intelligence agencies, which had an "ingrained belief" that Saddam retained chemical and biological warfare capabilities which he was hiding from UN inspectors and that he was determined to acquire nuclear weapons.

Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) chairman Sir John Scarlett should have made clear to Mr Blair that suspicions about WMD had not been established "beyond doubt".

In a press conference in London, Mr Blair said he would never agree that those who died and were injured in Iraq "made their sacrifice in vain".

"They fought in the defining global security struggle of the 21st century against the terrorism and violence which the world over destroys lives, divides communities," he said.

Shadow cabinet minister Paul Flynn said prosecution of Mr Blair should be "seriously considered", but Labour leader Mr Corbyn stopped short of calling for his predecessor to be tried for war crimes.

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced there will be a two-day parliamentary debate on the report next week.
Sir John Chilcot presents his report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London

Sir John Chilcot's long-awaited report into the Iraq War has been scathing of those who took the UK's armed forces into battle.

Ministers from Prime Minister Tony Blair downwards, Whitehall mandarins and senior army officers all came in for criticism in Sir John's seven-year inquiry into the conflict.

Here are the key points:

 The UK chose to join the invasion of Iraq before "peaceful options for disarmament were exhausted" and "military action at that time was not a last resort".

 Saddam Hussein posed "no imminent threat" at the time of the invasion.

 No support for Blair critics' claim that he agreed a deal "signed in blood" to topple Saddam with US President George W Bush in April 2002.

 But in July 2002 Blair wrote to Bush: "I will be with you whatever."

 The UK's decision to act despite no second UN resolution backing military action in March 2003 had the effect of "undermining the Security Council's authority".

 Attorney General Lord Goldsmith's decision that there was a legal basis for UK involvement in invasion was taken in a way which was "far from satisfactory".

 Tony Blair's September 2002 Commons statement and dossier on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) made judgments that "were presented with a certainty that was not justified".

 The Labour Government's policy on Iraq was made on the basis of "flawed intelligence and assessments" that should have been challenged.

 The consequences of invasion "under-estimated", and preparation for after the overthrow of Saddam "wholly inadequate".

 War preparations "failed to take into account the magnitude of the task of stabilising, administering and reconstructing Iraq".

 Problems after the invasion, including internal fighting, Iranian influences, regional instability and al Qaeda activity, were flagged as risks before the invasion.

 Whitehall and ministers "failed to put their collective weight behind the task" of stabilising British parts of post-war Iraq.

 Ministry of Defence slow to respond to threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to troops.

 Delays in providing better-protected patrol vehicles "should not have been tolerated".

 It was "humiliating" that by 2007 British troops in Basra had to use prisoner exchanges to get militias to stop targeting them.

 Tony Blair "overestimated his ability to influence US decisions".

 The US/UK special relationship has proved "strong enough to bear the weight of honest disagreement" and "does not require unconditional support where our interests or judgments differ".
A Muslim taxi driver has admitted murdering a shopkeeper who claimed to be a prophet in messages he posted on social media.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Yorkshire to Glasgow and confronted Asad Shah at his store counter before pulling out a knife and stabbing the 40-year-old.

Ahmed, who did not know the shopkeeper, claimed to have been offended by clips Mr Shah posted online which the Bradford father-of-three said "disrespected the Prophet Muhammad".

Popular businessman Mr Shah, described as a "pillar of the community", suffered multiple wounds in the attack at his store in the Shawlands area of the city on March 24.

CCTV footage of the murder was shown to Lady Rae at the High Court in Glasgow, who condemned the "despicable" crime.

The judge told Ahmed: "There's no justification whatsoever for what you did.''

The court heard he watched an interview with Mr Shah on his mobile phone as he travelled to Glasgow and was heard in a phone message to say "listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud".

When he arrived at the shop, Ahmed said he warned the shopkeeper he was there to kill him and asked him to stop claiming to be a prophet.

Mr Shah's brother, who is a personal trainer, and a shop assistant tried to fend Ahmed off as he launched his attack.

The killer, who was not found to suffer from any mental disorder, said afterwards: "If I had not done this others would have and there would be more killings and violence in the world."

Members of Mr Shah's family, who moved from Pakistan to Scotland in the 1990s to escape persecution, did not attend the court hearing due to fears for their personal safety.

They belong to the Ahmadi sect of Islam whose beliefs differ from the majority of Muslims, prosecutors said.

The court heard their belief that Prophet Muhammad was not the final prophet was a view many consider blasphemous.

Police examined messages and clips posted by Mr Shah on Facebook and YouTube "and there appears to be little doubt that he was claiming to be a messenger of God and a prophet", the Crown said.

Ahmed said he was not motivated by malice towards Ahmadi Muslims as a group, but by his offence at Mr Shah's comments.

However, a victim statement from the shopkeeper's family - his wife, parents and six siblings - said they could no longer live normal lives and some intend to leave Scotland.

His parents said: "We brought our children to this country to seek refuge from Pakistan in 1991 fleeing persecution, religious hatred, discrimination and a danger to our lives because we were Ahmadis.

"We never thought that we could be in danger here.

"We feel imprisoned by our pain and suffering and we have little hope of ever having a normal life again.

"Most of the family, unable to live with this turmoil, pain and fear, has taken a decision to leave Scotland forever."

Ahmed will return to court for sentencing on August 9.

Police Scotland said crimes of this type are rare in the country's diverse communities which typically enjoy a "proud tradition of unity, tolerance and understanding".

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: "Asad Shah was a peaceful family man, a hard-working businessman and well-loved member of the Glasgow community.

"His death in such terrible circumstances impacted on those closest to him as well as communities throughout the country.

"There is a consensus across all of our communities that there is no place in Scotland for religious or cultural intolerance which generates crimes of hatred, intimidation or violence.

"Religious or cultural beliefs, no matter how strongly held, do not entitle anyone to commit murder or acts of aggression."

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Smith added: "I would pay tribute to the witnesses who spoke of the events of that night. A number of them went to Mr Shah's assistance but the swift and ferocious nature of the attack meant there was little they could do to save him.

"Ahmed's compliance in the immediate aftermath of the attack was in stark contrast to the level of violence shown during the confrontation."
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the public inquiry at Bristol Royal Infirmary, said it was "good news" there was a consensus on standards

The number of hospitals in England allowed to perform children's heart surgery is to be cut in a controversial move.

NHS England has published what it hopes will be the final decision on the matter after previous reviews led to some NHS trusts launching legal action.

The plans cover units performing both adult and children's congenital heart surgery (CHD), and those providing cardiac specialist care for CHD.

Around 80% of the CHD work undertaken at these units relates to children.

Under the plans, 13 level 1 centres that perform surgery will be cut to 10, and nine level 2 specialist cardiac centres will be cut to four.

Some NHS trusts said they would fight the decision, with Leicester saying it would not sit by while officials at NHS England " destroy our fabulous service".

It said its results were among the best in the country and that closing its service would threaten other key children's services in the region, including intensive care.

Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London, which lost a legal challenge over plans to close its unit in 2012, described the decision as "extraordinary" and "ill-conceived".

It also criticised NHS England's handling of the announcement, saying it asked the trust to submit extra detail but then took no notice of it.

Level 1 units set to lose services are those at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London.

Those level 2 units that will lose services - none of which perform surgery - are Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

All units providing adult and children's congenital heart surgery in England were assessed against new standards to work out if they were providing good care.

They were all found to be providing safe care - with death rates within acceptable limits - but NHS England said some saw too few cases to maintain standards.

Some evidence suggests surgeons should see 125 patients per surgeon per year to ensure surgeons remain competent and highly skilled.

Officials at NHS England believe that while units in England are safe, not all are providing excellent care.

They hope that by centralising services, outcomes for patients will continue to improve, with more patients surviving and those children born with congenital heart defects living longer into adulthood.

The changes are due to be brought in from April next year.

Congenital heart disease services have been the subject of a number of reviews since the public inquiry at Bristol Royal Infirmary in 2001.

In 2015, NHS England published new standards that units must meet for the organisation to continue commissioning their services.

Dr Jonathan Fielden, NHS England director of specialised commissioning, said: "Patients, families and staff need to be assured of sustainable, high quality services now, and into the future.

"There has been a great deal of uncertainty over the future of congenital heart disease services over the past 15 years.

"We owe it to patients, families and staff to end that uncertainty, and to provide clear direction for the safety and quality of this specialist area of medicine going forward.

"A great deal of work has gone into achieving consensus across the board on the standards that providers should meet.

"We are determined to take all actions necessary to ensure that those standards are met, so that patients get the high quality and safe services that they expect and deserve."

Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, who was chairman of the public inquiry at Bristol Royal Infirmary, said: "These are vital services and we have waited 15 years to arrive at a solution which delivers quality and consistency for current and future generations.

"It is good news for patients that there is finally a clear consensus on the standards that need to be met, and that we are now seeing decisive action to make those standards a reality for every patient in every part of the country."
The Queen was all smiles during her visit to Scotland

The Queen was all smiles during her visit to Scotland

The Duchess of Cambridge is greeted by the director of the Natural History Museum, Sir Michael Dixon, (left), and Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar

The Duchess of Cambridge at the Natural History Museum

The Duchess of Cambridge arrived in a risque cream off-the-shoulder dress for a night at the museum yesterday.

Kate joined guests from the arts and culture world at the Natural History Museum in London for the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award.

The Duchess, who made the short journey from Kensington Palace, the Cambridges' London home, wore a dress by Barbara Casasola, with strappy sandals and a sparkly clutch bag.

Kate, who is patron of the Natural History Museum, was greeted by its director, Sir Michael Dixon, and Dr Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund.

A 100,000 award, the largest museum prize in the world, is given annually to one outstanding museum for showing exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement.

Among the artists in attendance were Cornelia Parker, Antony Gormley and Grayson Perry, who arrived in a purple, yellow and orange dress with flared sleeves, designed by Claire Cooper, one of his students at Central Saint Martins.

Kate spoke to representatives from the five museums shortlisted for this year's prize.

Nicky Wilson, of Jupiter Artland, West Lothian, said she was delighted to meet Kate, who told her Prince George has loved the museum. Ms Wilson added: "He comes here often."

The toddler, who will celebrate his third birthday later this month, has been previously spotted at the museum, admiring the dinosaurs.

Earlier, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were welcomed by workers at the Michelin tyre factory in Dundee. The Queen, who wore a turquoise Stewart Parvin coat with a silk dress and matching hat by Angela Kelly, also spoke with staff.

The Queen and Prince Philip additionally visited the Michelin Training School and workshop to meet apprentices, before touring the BNS Auto Technology Centre and tyre warehouse, where the Queen officially opened the facility.

Shaun Robertson (18) an apprentice from Dundee, said the meeting was "great".

Mark Jackson (47), a Michelin deputy steward, also from Dundee, added: "It was good to see someone like the Queen visit here. All the hard work we've done in Dundee... it's good to see someone like her come here.

"I think we've known for about a week she was coming, so it has been exciting. It's not the first time I've met someone from the Royal Family, but it was the first time I've met the Queen."
Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom have started campaigning for the votes of around 150,000 Conservative members who will decide the identity of the next PM

Andrea Leadsom has suggested that having children gives her an advantage over Theresa May in the race to Downing Street, as the Home Secretary urged her rival to sign a pledge committing to a clean campaign.

Energy minister Mrs Leadsom said being a mother "means you have a very real stake in the future of our country" but insisted she was not trying to make it an issue in the Tory leadership election.

Mrs Leadsom, who has two sons and a daughter, said being a member of a "huge family" was an important part of who she was.

Her comments come just days after the Home Secretary spoke about how her and husband Philip were affected by being unable to have children.

The energy minister said: "I am sure Theresa will be really sad she doesn't have children so I don't want this to be 'Andrea has children, Theresa hasn't', because I think that would be really horrible."

But she spoke of the extra perspective she had from being a mother: "It means you don't want a downturn but, never mind, 10 years hence it will all be fine. My children will be starting their lives in that next 10 years so I have a real stake in the next year, the next two."

In a highly personal interview with The Times, Mrs Leadsom said: " Genuinely I feel that being a mum means you have a very real stake in the future of our country, a tangible stake."

Asked to contrast herself with Mrs May, she said: "I see myself as one, an optimist, and two, a member of a huge family and that's important to me. My kids are a huge part of my life."

Mrs May told the Daily Telegraph she likes to keep her "personal life personal" but says that she and her husband "dealt with" the fact they couldn't have children and "moved on".

"I hope nobody would think that mattered," she said. "I can still empathise, understand people and care about fairness and opportunity."

Mrs Leadsom's comments came as the Home Secretary urged her to sign up to an agreement to campaign within "acceptable" boundaries and not to work with other parties after the energy minister attracted the support of prominent Ukip figures.

The energy minister, who backed a vote to leave the European Union, has received the endorsement of both Nigel Farage and Brexit campaign Leave.EU, which is led by Ukip donor Arron Banks.

Mrs Leadsom told The Times: "I'm no Ukip sympathiser, they don't advise me, I don't know them, I've never even met Arron Banks.

"My big hope in this campaign is that when we leave the EU that Ukip will be a thing of the past. Hate crimes? It's absolutely appalling. I reject the premise that it's to do with the campaign."

Mrs May's "clean campaign pledge" commits the two candidates to:

:: Stick to the spending limits set by the Conservative headquarters

:: Not co-operate "in any way" with other political parties, their donors, members or active supporters

:: Do "everything in our power" to ensure that supporters' campaigning on social media is "in good taste"

:: Ensure the campaign stays within "the acceptable limits of political debate"

:: Do "what is right for our party and the country as a whole"

Mrs May used the interview with the Daily Telegraph to try to reassure Brexit-backing Tories that she was committed to leaving the EU, despite backing a Remain vote.

She said: "If I am prime minister we will come out of the European Union and part of that will be control of free movement.

"But alongside that it's important to show how we can come through what will be I think some difficult times with a better, brighter future.

"It is very important that people see there is at bright future and we can re-engage that entrepreneurial spirit of the trading nation for which the UK has always been known - that dynamic, creative spirit."

She added: " I am very clear that Brexit means Brexit. But I don't think we should see people as Brexiteers and Remainers now.

"We have a job to do in making the best deal we can in coming out of the EU and I am very clear that I will deliver Brexit."

In a reference to former cabinet colleague Ken Clarke's unguarded description of her, Mrs May said: "Politics can do with some bloody difficult women."

Supporters of Mrs May lined up to attack Mrs Leadsom over her Times interview, but the energy minister accused the newspaper of "gutter journalism" and "despicable and hateful reporting" and demanded a transcript.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson highlighted the lines that Mrs May's supporters had been given to say about Mrs Leadsom - "Andrea is clearly a talented politician and she has a bright future" but "doesn't have the experience the country needs" - and contrasted them with the energy minister's comments.

Ms Davidson tweeted: "In seven years, I've never once disclosed an internal briefing, but here's the TM campaign's brief on AL. Gulf in class."

She seized upon Mrs Leadsom's comment that Mrs May "possibly has nieces, nephews, lots of people. But I have children who are going to have children who will directly be a part of what happens next".

Ms Davidson said: "I am childless. I have nieces and nephews. I believe I - like everybody else - have a very real stake in our country."

Tory MP Sir Alan Duncan said: "I'm gay and in a civil partnership. No children, but 10 nieces and nephews. Do I not have a stake in the future of the country? Vile."
A woman who has accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her will not have to testify before his trial in a preliminary hearing.

Trial judge Steven T O'Neill denied Cosby's effort to compel Andrea Constand to attend a preliminary hearing where the comedian's lawyers would have cross-examined her.

They had asked the judge to dismiss the case or schedule a new preliminary hearing, arguing that they needed to cross-examine Ms Constand before trial because her statement to police raised more questions than it answered.

After Thursday's ruling, Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle said he was confident Pennsylvania's Supreme Court will reverse the decision.

"Once again the prosecution in this case had the opportunity and the obligation to place this witness under oath so that we could conduct a search for the truth. And, once again, they refused to do so," Mr McMonagle said.

"Today, someone who has given so much to so many had his constitutional rights trampled upon once again."

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele countered that the right of defendants like Cosby to confront their accusers in court does not apply at Pennsylvania preliminary hearings.

He told the judge he was using a 2013 rule change to spare Ms Constand and other sex crime victims from multiple cross-examinations.

"It's our position that we're not going to re-traumatise victims at preliminary hearings," Mr Steele told the judge, adding that he is using the rule change in a variety of sex assault cases, not just Mr Cosby's.

Cosby, 78, was held for trial in May based on his and Ms Constand's police statements from 2005.

Cosby is charged with felony indecent assault and accused of drugging and molesting Ms Constand in 2004.

The authorities reopened the case last year after learning he had acknowledged in a deposition that he had given Ms Constand pills and then engaged in sex acts with her.

They also considered the dozens of other women who have raised similar claims in the decade since Ms Constand went to police in 2005.

Cosby calls their encounter consensual and describes the blue pills he gave her as Benadryl.
The cover of Invincible Ironman, featuring the character Riri Williams, a science genius, who will replace Tony Stark in the superhero role (Marvel Entertainment/AP)

Meet the new Iron Man - a black female teenager.

Marvel Comics veteran writer Brian Michael Bendis said in an interview with Time that Tony Stark will step away from his superhero alter-ego and a new character named Riri Williams will assume the laser-blasting role.

Mr Bendis described Williams as a science genius who enrolled in Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 15. She comes to Stark's attention when she builds her own Iron Man suit in her room.

Marvel has bestowed several diverse characters in recent years with long-running superhero mantles, including a biracial Spider-Man, Muslim Ms Marvel, female Thor, African-American Captain America and Asian-American Hulk. However, those characters have yet to appear in Marvel film or TV adaptations.

Williams will make her debut in Marvel's Invincible Iron Man comic book this autumn.

AP
Cameron Sterling, son of Alton Sterling, is comforted by the crowd at a vigil in Baton Rouge (AP)

Protesters stand on cars in Baton Rouge after Alton Sterling was shot and killed by police (AP)

Hundreds of mourners have gathered in Baton Rouge for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance following the death of a black man who was fatally shot as he scuffled with two white police officers.

Alton Sterling, 37, was shot early on Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside a small supermarket where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed.

Mobile phone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against black people.

In the latest death, a Minnesota officer shot a black man in a car with a woman and a child about on Wednesday in an incident where the aftermath of the killing was streamed on Facebook Live.

Moving quickly to keep tensions from boiling over in Louisiana, Democratic governor John Bel Edwards asked the US Justice Department to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," the governor said at a news conference.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Mr Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds on Wednesday night with a tearful, broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged showing the moments before her nephew was shot left her angry.

"I'm angry, but I'm not angry enough to hurt nobody," Ms Augustus said. "I'm not angry enough to go into the street. I'm not angry enough to curse the police out. But I'm angry and I'm mad because they took something from me that I never ever will get back."

Terrance Carter, Mr Sterling's 28-year-old nephew, wore a t-shirt with his uncle's image printed on it. He said the police went too far.

He said: "They did it wrong. They could have handled it better than they did. They didn't have to shoot him."

But he added that the family was not condoning violent protests.

"The family just wants it to be peaceful," he said. "I understand right now it's bigger than us, but at the same time we're just trying to work through this and be smooth with it."

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the colour of their skin," Mrs Clinton said.

Police said a gun was taken from Sterling after he was killed early on Tuesday.

It was not clear from the footage whether Mr Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Mr Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr said Mr Sterling was armed but that there are still questions about what happened.

Mr Dabadie, who called the shooting a "horrible tragedy", said: "Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers."

Mr Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with gun outside the store, authorities said.

In the video, one of the officers tackled Mr Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone shouted: "He's got a gun! Gun!"

One officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a member of the department for four years, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave, which is standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting on Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Mr Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterwards. His video shows an officer reaching into Mr Sterling's pocket to grab an object.

Mr Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Mr Sterling's chest.

The street protest continued into the night on Wednesday. People danced on cars and trucks, blocked traffic, and demanded justice. The protests were peaceful, and there was no sign of police even as the protests blocked a thoroughfare through that section of Baton Rouge.

Kristen George, a 25-year-old restaurant manager, came to the protest with her two-year-old son Amazen and her wife and her nine-year-old son. Ms George said she wanted to show her children the meaning of a civil rights protest.

"It's hard out here for a black man in 2016," she said. "I don't want them to feel scared to stand up for their rights."

Nefertiti Queen, a 34-year-old activist, predicted the protests in Baton Rouge would continue and remain peaceful as long as the authorities take the right steps in the investigation.

"It's peaceful right now, but if the people don't get what they want, it might get like Ferguson," she said.

She said she spent some time protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, after the controversial police shooting of Michael Brown, a black man who was unarmed.

"People will get frustrated if they don't get answers," she said.

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54% black, according to census data, and more than 25% of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dash-cam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers willfully violated Mr Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Mr Brown's shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garner's chokehold death in New York City.

AP
The Chilcot Report into the Iraq war, which took seven years to compile, makes the point quite clearly that former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to invade that country with the US was based on a false premise

Sending men and women to war in the knowledge that many of them may die is a decision that should never be taken lightly or rashly. There are many today who feel that the death of more than 200 soldiers in Iraq could have - and should have - been prevented.

The Chilcot Report into the Iraq war, which took seven years to compile, makes the point quite clearly that former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to invade that country with the US was based on a false premise. The intelligence suggesting that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction and could deploy them in a very short period of time was simply wrong.

While the report is more candid in its findings than many expected, it does not do what many of Blair's fiercest critics would have liked - his head on a plate leading to possible legal action against him

Looking back, it is easy to see the mistakes that were made and that Parliament perhaps would never have sanctioned the decision to go to war if MPs had been more enquiring. The military's highest echelons also seemed keen to go into battle, too keen in the opinion of some who actually served in Iraq.

While Blair has apologised for the mistakes which were made, he has refused to apologise for his decision to go to war. It has been suggested that he felt invincible, having brokered the Good Friday Agreement here and after successes in Kosovo and Sierra Leone.

Yet he has to live with Sir John Chilcot's damning assessment that he went to war before all the alternative options were explored, never mind implemented.

The views of Northern Ireland veterans of the war reported in this newspaper today should also make uncomfortable reading for Blair. They speak of an armed force ill-prepared for war and ill-equipped. Yet we can have nothing but admiration for those who went to war believing they were doing the right thing and were defending their country from imminent danger. They deserve an apology for being so misled.

It is evident that public reaction to the Iraq war will be a bitter legacy for the former Prime Minister. Like many who serve in the highest office it is their failures, rather than their successes, which are remembered. Ironically, his greatest success in brokering peace here - for which we are grateful - may have so inflated his self-opinion that he made a devastating misjudgment on Iraq.
After Thursday's deadly attack by suspected extremists near a mosque in Bangladesh where hundreds of thousands had gathered for Eid prayers, the country's information minister says the government is not ruling out the possibility of a link between home-grown militant groups and transnational terror outfits.



So far top Bangladesh officials have dismissed claims of responsibility by Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida for a surge of militant violence in the past year that has mostly targeted liberals and minorities, instead insisting that local militants or political opposition groups are responsible.



The latest attacks occurred Thursday during Eid celebrations when suspected militants, armed with crude bombs and machetes, attacked a security post near a mosque that hosts the largest congregation in the country.



Two police officers and a woman were killed and at least nine others were injured in the attack in Kishoreganj district. One militant was killed and three were arrested.



The strike came just days after the countrys worst-ever terror attack in which gunmen killed 20 people they took hostage in a bakery in Dhaka.



That assault had targeted mainly foreigners, but Thursdays attack was unusual in targeting a Muslim gathering on one of Islams holiest days.

Who's responsible?



Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu told Voice of America, a sister entity of BenarNews, that it was too early to say who was responsible for the latest attack.



As far as our information goes, as far as our interrogation with arrested terrorists there is no such organizational evidence of Bangladeshi terrorists and the IS, that is our position. But we are looking into the option of a link between IS, Pakistan, Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh, Inu said.



The ministers disclosure that the government is not ruling out links to transnational terror groups is quite surprising, said Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South and Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center for Scholars.



Up to this point the Bangladesh government has stridently denied any possibility that Islamic State (IS) or al-Qaida for that matter could have links to local terror groups in Bangladesh or that transnational terror groups could be responsible for staging any of these recent attacks including the one in Dhaka on Friday. So the fact that a top government official in Bangladesh is saying we cannot rule out that possibility is certainly a step in the right direction.

The government has arrested thousands of people in recent weeks, even while denying that international terror groups are involved. IS has claimed its fighters carried out the assault on the bakery and threatened more strikes in a video on Tuesday.

The growing violence in the country has raised fears of rising radicalism in a traditionally moderate Muslim country of 160 million people, however top officials continue to deny that such a threat exists.

The information minister insists the attackers are targeting the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and do not have an Islamist agenda.



It is a political action. It is no relation with religion, they are actually politically motivated to create a situation in Bangladesh so that the government becomes, feels disturbed, he said.



Possible global terror link



Analysts say Thursdays attack did bear the hallmark of local militant outfits, but point out that the recent strikes demonstrate that these groups have established links with global terror groups.



The head of Dhakas Institute of Conflict, Law and Development, Abdur Rashid, says there are fears of growing involvement of IS elements in Bangladesh as they get squeezed in the Middle East. The Bangladeshi radicalized elements were trying to communicate with IS elements for the last six months. They have somewhat succeeded. Now it is very difficult to differentiate who is IS and who is not IS because it is a syndicated effort, says Rashid.



Information Minister Inu said his government is increasing counter terrorism cooperation with countries like India, Europe and the United States to tackle the terror threat.
Bangladeshi policemen surround the body of a suspected militant following an attack near Bangladeshs largest Eid gathering in Kishoreganj district, July 7, 2016.

Updated at 3:35 p.m. ET on 2016-07-07

Two policemen were killed and nine others wounded when militants set off explosives at a security roadblock near a site in northwestern Bangladesh where hundreds of thousands of worshipers gathered Thursday for the countrys largest Eid-ul-Fitr prayer service, authorities said.

A civilian and a suspected militant were killed in a shootout during the attack in Kishoreganj district, which marked the second deadly terrorist strike in Bangladeshi in a span of six days, officials said.

The latest attack came as Bangladeshi Muslims were celebrating the end of Ramadan and a day after a video surfaced online in which Bengali-speaking members of the extremist group Islamic State (IS) warned of more attacks to come in Bangladesh, after last Fridays IS-claimed attack on a restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic quarter killed 28 people, including 20 hostages.

As many as eight suspected militants took part in Thursdays attack on a roadblock about a kilometer from the Sholakia Eidgah, an open field that has served as a venue for the mass prayer service for decades, police said. They said the militants attacked the police post with machetes and home-made bombs. Two suspects were arrested and five other people were taken in for questioning.

Some of the suspects may have escaped, A.K.M. Shahidur Rahman, a deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police in Dhaka, told BenarNews.

The police counter-fired, encircling the whole area. One of the attackers died while the others entered into the nearby houses and started shooting at the police. One woman, Jharna Rani Bhowmick, received a [fatal] bullet wound inside her house, he said.

The two slain officers were identified as Zahirul Haque and Md Ansarullah. The nine injured officers were taken in critical condition to a military hospital in Dhaka, about 130 km (80 miles) away, according to reports.

Rahman said police were investigating the latest attack but had no information about whether it is linked to the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery cafe in Dhaka.

Cleric Farid Uddin Masud, who was to serve as the imam for Thursdays prayer service in Kishoreganj and who had led a recent drive to collect 100,000 signatures from fellow clerics and religious scholars for a fatwa  or religious decree  denouncing militancy in Bangladesh, might have been potentially targeted for assassination in the latest attack, according to Rahman.

The police have told me that I was the target of the militants. I am not afraid of it. I will continue to fight against militants through the peaceful message of Islam, Masud told BenarNews.

I want to make this call to the militants: the path you have chosen is not the path of heaven; it is the path of hell. Please shun the destructive path and come to the path of peace. Islam is a path of peace, not violence, the cleric added.

There was an explosion

The annual Eid service at the Sholakia Eidagh grounds, near the town of Kishoreganj, is the countrys largest Eid festival and draws hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Attendance at the prayer service usually ranges from 300,000 to 500,000 worshipers, Masud said.

The attack occurred at around 9:45 a.m. (local time)  15 minutes before the service was scheduled to start  when militants with explosives and machetes attacked the two policemen at the security post, DIG Rahman said.

Liton, a man from Dhaka who was among the throng of worshipers, witnessed the attack.

I was just 100 meters [328 feet] from the spot. Some six to seven youths suddenly attacked the group of police posted near the Mosque adjacent to the Azimuddin School. There was an explosion and people started dispersing in all directions for safety. Some of the bearded attackers carried machetes with them, Liton told BenarNews, adding that he dropped to the ground to protect himself and later fled the scene.

Threat is real and credible

The attack occurred as Bangladeshis were still reeling from Fridays deadly siege at the cafe in Dhakas exclusive Gulshan 2 neighborhood, which was the nations worst-ever terrorist attack. The death toll in the overnight standoff that ended on Saturday morning with security forces storming the building included two senior police officers, at least five militants, and 20 hostages.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian, two Bangladeshis and a dual U.S.-Bangladeshi citizen were among hostages who were hacked to death by the attackers, most of whom turned out to be educated young men from Bangladeshs elite.

One of the attackers was captured alive and a sixth man was shot dead by police as they stormed the cafe on Saturday. Earlier this week, police said that the sixth man, Saiful Islam Chowdhury, who was employed as a pizza maker at the restaurant, may have been mistaken for one of the terrorists when he was shot. But on Wednesday, police announced that Chowdhury may have in fact collaborated with the attackers.

On Thursday morning in Washington, the U.S. State Department issued an alert for its citizens travelling to or living in Bangladesh.

The U.S. government assesses that the terrorist threat is real and credible, said the alert, which mentioned last weeks attack but not the one that took place near the site of the prayer service on Thursday.

Later on Thursday, the American embassy in Dhaka posted a message on its website notifying U.S. citizens of the attack in Kishoreganj and warning them to stay away from that area.

Economic fallout

Apart from the human toll, last weeks attack may have also harmed Bangladeshs economy, which relies heavily on garment exports and on foreign aid for the countrys development, according to reports.

Some of the victims of the attack included a group of Italian designers and buyers for European stores, and apparel companies have been rethinking travel plans to Bangladesh, the Associated Press reported.

The seven Japanese who were among other diners slain in the attack were aid workers, reports said. Japan represents the single biggest donor of foreign aid to Bangladesh.

The cafe attack and a spate of attacks by religious extremists who have killed dozens of secular writers, intellectuals and minorities in Bangladesh since early 2013 could have a significant economic impact  which may well have been in part, the intention, Gareth Price, a South Asia expert with Chatham House, a think-tank in London, wrote in an op-ed piece published in the Indian Express newspaper on Wednesday.
This screenshot from social media shows a photo of five former members of a Muslim student association in the Deep South wearing T-shirts that have led authorities to summon them for attitude adjustment, July 7, 2016.

Updated at 8:55 a.m. ET on 2016-07-08

The Thai military has summoned five Muslims from Thailands restive Deep South for so-called attitude adjustments after a group photo of the men appeared on social media showing them in T-shirts that might be seen as promoting regional independence, officials said Thursday.

The men (pictured) were summoned for indefinite interrogation and detention sessions for wearing shirts that featured a map of Thailands five southern border provinces and a Malay-language message that read The Great Land of Northern Malayu, according to officials.

Authorities said they were also looking for people who flew a banner outside a mosque in Pattani province that called for self-determination for the predominantly Muslim and Malay-speaking region, where a separatist insurgency has lasted for decades. More than 6,500 people have died in violence linked to the conflict since it re-ignited in 2004.

Col. Pramote Prom-in, a spokesman for the forward office of Internal Security Operations Command Region 4 (ISOC 4), told reporters that government lawyers were considering whether the T-shirts and the banner could be construed as rebellious.

The ISOC 4 has asked its legal section to see if the actions have violated any Thai laws or if they have instigated acts of rebellion, Pramote said.

The security forces know all five [men pictured wearing T-shirts]. Initially we have ordered the field units to summon them to talk because the actions are close to offending laws, he later told BenarNews, adding, We called them for attitude adjustment.

The five men in the photo are former members of PERMAS, an association of Muslim students in Thailands Deep South region, sources said.

Hundreds summoned since 2014

Since seizing power in a military coup in May 2014, Thailands junta has rounded up government critics and journalists for attitude adjustments.

Those adjustments began the day after Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha  the current prime minister  took power, and 22 members of Pheu Thai  the party of deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra  were summoned for such sessions.

Since then, more than 900 people have been ordered to undergo adjustments at military camps or through home visits, according to iLaw, a human rights advocacy group.

Provocative banner

In the incident in which authorities were looking for the perpetrators, unidentified men flew the banner at the Thadan Mosque in Pattanis Yaring district.

The banner said self-determination and included an Arabic excerpt from the Quran that translated into Allah shall not alter the status of any human races until they changed theirs.

Thadan Mosque is in the same village as the former Jihad Witaya School. Authorities seized the school in 2005 over allegations that it had served as a training center for local insurgents. The allegations led to its headmaster, Doonloh Wae-mano, fleeing the country.

His family is now challenging government plans to turn the property into an Islamic educational center.

Banyan Wae-mano, whose family owned Jihad Witaya before losing it to the government, told BenarNews that he did not understand why the banner was considered illegal.

Constitutionally indivisible

The creator of the T-shirt, who asked to not be identified, told BenarNews that the map of five provinces showed the five jurisdictions of Tadika (primary-grade schools) in Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala, Songkhla and Satun, and it was not a call for these five provinces to separate from the rest of Thailand.

MARA Patani, a panel representing southern rebel groups and factions in peace talks with the junta, originally included the five provinces but later dropped Satun in its negotiations with the government, former key negotiator Lt. Gen. Nakrob Boonbuathong had told BenarNews. The most recent negotiations stalled in April just weeks after Nakrob was removed from his role.

The T-shirt creator said he and others were merely promoting education in the five provinces.

However, according to according to Col. Peerawat Sangthong, the spokesman for Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) based in Bangkok, the design on the shirt goes against Thailands constitution.

To share those pictures is not appropriate as Thailand is constitutionally indivisible. Such incidents cause negative impact to Thai society, he told reporters.

An earlier version incorrectly identified the ISOC 4 spokesman in Pattani.
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First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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For Immediate Release, July 7, 2016 Contact: Jonathan Evans, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7118, jevans@biologicaldiversity.org

Caroline Cox, Center for Environmental Health, (510) 655-3900 x 308, caroline@ceh.org Lawsuit Challenges EPA's Failure to Update Sulfur, Nitrogen Pollution Standards Groups Push for Improved Clean Air Rules to Protect Public Health, Environment OAKLAND, Calif. Conservation and public-health groups filed a legal challenge today to the Environmental Protection Agencys failure to update air-pollution thresholds for sulfur and nitrogen. Standards for the dangerous air pollutants known as sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides must be reviewed and updated every five years to take into account new scientific research on the threats they pose to public health and the environment. Theres no reason to delay stronger protections for millions of Americans suffering from dirty air linked to coal and gas pollution, said Jonathan Evans, environmental health legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Clean Air Act saves lives and cleans up our skies, but it only works when there are strict protections in place to hold polluters accountable and protect the most vulnerable people in our communities. The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to identify and set national ambient air quality standards for pollutants such as sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, produced from the manufacture and burning of fossil fuels. Since the EPA last set air-quality standards for those pollutants in 2010, the research linking sulfur and nitrogen oxides to lung and heart disease, asthma, diabetes, birth problems, deaths and cancer has only become stronger. Updated standards were due before July 2015. Children are especially vulnerable when they breathe in these toxic chemicals, so its essential to use the latest science in setting safety standards, said Caroline Cox, research director at the Center for Environmental Health. Thats why its disturbing that EPA is still relying on an outdated approach that fails to protect millions of American children. Over half of the people living in the United States  more than 166 million Americans  are at risk from the harmful effects of unhealthy air. Studies have found that air pollution causes about 200,000 early deaths each year; California suffers the worst health impacts from air pollution, with about 21,000 early deaths annually. Disadvantaged communities in poorer or minority areas often suffer the worst from air pollution. Sulfur oxides are primarily produced from coal burning at power plants. Measured as sulfur dioxide, sulfur pollution causes a range of public-health and environmental problems. Sulfur oxides contribute to heart and lung diseases, particularly threatening children and the elderly; EPAs updated scientific studies show a link between sulfur oxides and reproductive and developmental effects in children. Sulfur oxides also contribute to acid rain and haze, damaging lakes, streams and ecosystems throughout the United States and decreasing visibility in national parks. Nitrogen oxides are created by burning fossil fuels and contribute to the formation of ozone and soot. Measured as nitrogen dioxide, theyre linked to a range of health problems including increased lung and heart disease, diabetes, birth problems, increased deaths and cancer. They also lead to excess nitrates in drinking water supplies and soils, causing toxic algal blooms and harmful changes to ecosystems. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. The Center for Environmental Health works with parents, communities, businesses, workers, and government to protect children and families from toxic chemicals in homes, workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods.


For Immediate Release, July 7, 2016 Contact: Miyoko Sakashita, (510) 844-7108, miyoko@biologicaldiversity.org New Arctic Drilling Regulations Won't Protect Wildlife, Climate WASHINGTON U.S. Interior Department officials announced final rules today governing offshore fossil fuel exploration in the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf. The new regulations are similar to the requirements the government placed on Shell Oils controversial drilling operation in the Chukchi Sea last summer, and will not protect oceans, wildlife or coastal communities from disastrous drilling-related harm. Environmental groups have strongly opposed new Arctic drilling as inherently dangerous and are awaiting a decision by the Department on whether to issue new fossil fuels leases in the region as part of its five-year offshore energy plan  a decision expected by the end of the year. Arctic drilling cant be made safe, period. These rules endanger wildlife and people both, with the false hope that companies can drill in these treacherous waters without spilling, said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. President Obama should take his cue from the history of major, destructive oil spills during his tenure and protect Alaskas coast and our climate by halting all new offshore oil leases. Todays rules would require oil companies to develop a drilling plan that takes into account harsh Arctic conditions and to have a containment dome and separate rig available to drill a relief well in the event of major oil spill. The Interior Department found there was a 75 percent chance of Shells project causing a major oil spill; it approved the project anyway. Shell and several other oil companies have since pulled out of the Arctic because the currently low oil prices dont justify expensive drilling operations there. Just this week the Center released a study showing that burning oil and natural gas reserves that are already under lease would push global temperatures beyond the targets set by the United States and other countries last year at the global climate summit in Paris. To protect our climate and honor our international commitments, we shouldnt be expanding drilling in the Arctic or anywhere, Sakashita said. These regulations are a step in the wrong direction. Details on the Interior announcement can be found here. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
A photo of three microfluidic devices filled with food color dyes. The device, about the size of a credit card, is designed to help scientists narrow in on safe ranges of electric fields that might be used to noninvasively treat breast, lung, and other forms of cancer.

Researchers at MITs research center in Singapore have developed a new microfluidic device that tests the effects of electric fields on cancer cells. They observed that a range of low-intensity, middle-frequency electric fields effectively stopped breast and lung cancer cells from growing and spreading, while having no adverse effect on neighboring healthy cells.

The device, about the size of a U.S. dollar coin, is designed to help scientists narrow in on safe ranges of electric fields to noninvasively treat breast, lung, and other forms of cancer.

The papers co-authors include Roger Kamm, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Biological Engineering at MIT, as well as research scientists Andrea Pavesi and Giulia Adriani, postdoc Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani, and student Andy Tay of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). Senior research officer Wei Hseun Yeap and associate professor Siew Cheng Wong of the Singapore Immunology Network also contributed to the report.

We hope this device will increase interest by researchers who are exploring the effect of electric fields on different types of cancer, Adriani says. In our study, we noticed the effect was limited to the cancer cell at the tested frequencies and intensities, but we really need to explore other cells and parameters.

An electric recipe

For the past decade, scientists have been experimenting with the use of electric fields to treat malignant cells, in an alternative cancer treatment called tumor treating field, or TTF. The therapy stems from the interaction between key cellular structures in tumors, and an external electric field.

In general, an electric field is a field of forces that act on objects that have an electric charge. An electric field can also influence the alignment of polar molecules in tumor cells, such as microtubules. Normally, these molecules are crucial for cell division, which, when it goes into overdrive, leads to tumor growth. When microtubules line up end to end to form a mitotic spindle, the cells genetic material attaches to the spindle fibers, pulling and splitting the cell into two cells.

In the past, scientists have observed that these charged molecules respond to a low-frequency electric field, between 100 and 300 kilohertz and with an intensity as strong as the field strength of a mixer or toaster. Instead of forming mitotic spindles, the microtubule alignment is disrupted in such a way that it prevents cell division and tumor growth.

Scientists have been trying to figure out a lot of different recipes to try to stimulate the cell with an electric field, Pavesi says. By tweaking the intensity and frequency, you can have an effect only on the cancer cells, leaving the other type of cells unaltered, without destroying them. Thats the key concept.

A company, Novocure, has since been founded to develop TTF therapies for people with brain and lung cancer. Pavesi, who has been helping to design microfluidic devices with Kamm, came up with the idea for a device to test TTF after watching a TED talk by Novocures founder.

Immediately, I was thinking to myself, This is an easy thing I can replicate in one of my devices, Pavesi recalls.

Gaining time

The researchers fabricated the device from PDMS, a widely used, gel-like polymer, and patterned small channels across the device. They then developed a conductive mixture made from micron-sized silver flakes and PDMS, which they cured, then injected into two channels in the device to form two tiny, separate electrodes. In the region between the electrodes, they injected hydrogels with breast or lung cancer cells as well as small tumor masses. The researchers also injected healthy human endothelial cells. The hydrogels created a three-dimensional matrix to mimic the extracellular environment.

The team subjected each cell type in the 3-D matrix to alternating electric fields at frequencies of 150 or 200 kilohertz, continuously, at an intensity of 1.1 volts per centimeter.

In the absence of an electric field, Pavesi says the cancer cells begin to proliferate and spread within two days. However, he and Adriani observed a significant slowdown in tumor progression after three days of continuous electric field stimulation: Proliferation was markedly reduced, while small masses of lung cancer cells did not disperse indicating an inhibition of their metastatic potential. Whats more, healthy endothelial cells in the same device were left unaffected. The researchers hypothesize that healthy cells may require different frequencies to be influenced by an electric field, as their size and electrical properties are far different from that of cancer cells.

Adriani hopes the microfluidic device can help scientists test a wide range of electric field intensities and frequencies on other cancer cell types. While TTF therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating brain tumors, that approval process took years to test electric fields, first in vitro, then in animals and in humans. Pavesi says a microfluidic device could speed up that process.

Maybe by screening TTF to optimize frequency and intensity, you can at least reduce the time it takes for in vivo studies, Pavesi says. There may be thousands of variables, but you could first try them in this device. If you find 10 that work, you can go ahead and try those 10 in the animal model.

Ultimately, the device may be used to identify the most effective electric field to treat cancer cells taken directly from a patient, says Chwee Teck Lim, a professor of biomedical engineering at the National University of Singapore, who did not participate in the study.

One step forward that the group can take is to start testing on cancer patient-derived cells either obtained from tumor or liquid biopsy, such as circulating tumor cells, and to see if there are particular types of cancer cells that will succumb to or be more resistant to such TTF treatment, Lim says.

For personalized medicine, you can test if a recipe works for a specific person, Adriani says. In three days, you can have an answer. And for many cancer patients who are dying of metastasis, time is everything.
30 suspects detained in connection to the terror attack at Ataturk Airport

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In connection to the suicide bomb attack at Ataturk Airport last week, which caused 47 people to lose their lives, 17 suspects were detained and taken to Bakrkoy Courthouse on July 4th. Among them, 11 were with foreign citizenships.

After their testimonies, Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhuyuk referred, 2 of the suspects directly through the current files and 15 of them with charges of being a member of an armed terrorist organization, to the Criminal Court of Peace on duty with the request for their detention.

The suspects who are Turkish nationals are Seyhun Ali A., Ahmet K., Cengizhan C., Halil D., Ahmet D., and EyubD., while Murad M., Smail M., Bilal A., Ramazan I., Adam R., Smail A., Gulmakhmad S., Kamil D., Smail A., Gadjimed A., and Edelkhan I. are citizens of Russia. Their interrogation lasted until midnight.

Suspects were detained

The court gave its verdict after a 90 minutes long break at midnight. Based on the nature of the accused crime; drawings of the scene of crime; reports of crime labs, voice recordings, telephone and other informatics sources  such as, data storage units and cameras; request of detention being in proportion with the accused crime; and the judicial control being insufficient, along with the verdict that the crime falls under the CMK 100 / 3 (Code of Criminal Procedure), the court issued an order for the detention of all 17 suspects.

11 suspects of the suspects, who are foreign nationals, were sent to Maltepe prison while other 6 were jailed in Silivri prison.

13 other suspects were detained previously

Previously, 13 other suspects had also been detained with the accusations of being a member of an armed terrorist organization and partaking in intentional homicide. Within the first week following the horrifying suicide attack at Ataturk Airport, the total number of suspects detained raised up to 30.
GeoPoll, the mobile survey company and media measurement provider in Africa, has hired Arjun Dhillon to oversee and expand its sales team across the continent.

Arjun Dhillon

Dhillon comes to GeoPoll with over 15 years experience in the FMCG and Telecom sectors in Kenya and India; most recently, he was the head of sales and retention at Safaricom Kenya, Kenyas largest telecom company.

He has experience in building and leading high-performing sales teams and will be based in GeoPolls Nairobi office, which has grown to over 30 staff since GeoPoll began its expansion on the continent in 2014.

Under his guidance the team will bring GeoPolls mobile survey capabilities to new clients and sectors that lack reliable, up-to-date consumer data.

The sales team will continue to grow in Kenya and other key countries in Africa including South Africa, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Ghana. By the end of 2016, GeoPoll expects to add over 20 sales representatives across the continent who will work with partners such as global media companies and brands to integrate mobile surveys into their data collection projects.

This diverse team of individuals will come from the market research, telecom, and media sectors and will assist GeoPoll in selling its core product, Kantar-GeoPoll Media Measurement, along with On Demand survey projects that measure brand health, track retail habits, and more.

As demand for GeoPolls market research and media measurement solutions has picked up across Africa weve continually grown our team, and now we are excited to enter a new phase with Arjun leading a continent-wide expansion of our business development efforts. Under his guidance the team will bring GeoPolls mobile survey capabilities to new clients and sectors that lack reliable, up-to-date consumer data, said Steve Gutterman, president of GeoPoll and parent company Mobile Accord.

In 2015, GeoPoll conducted over 90 million mobile surveys, partnered with research companies TNS and Kantar Media, and expanded its service to 23 countries. This year the company has launched GeoPoll On Demand, a self-service portal that allows anyone to tap into GeoPolls respondent database and mobile survey capabilities; introduced Pan-African OOH, a data product which measures reach and effectiveness of out of home media across Africa; and expanded its user database to 300 million people in Africa and Asia.

By the end of 2016, GeoPoll expects to expand coverage to an additional 10 countries and reach 500 million users.
This morning, an activist in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, called to say that the authorities have done the unthinkable and unprecedented: blocked internet access and WhatsApp text messaging to obstruct people protesting traffic police corruption, widespread poverty, and lack of jobs. "Please tell the world that we have been shut down," she said.

Source: The Herald/AllAfrica

The Zimbabwean government's brazen internet blockade, which lasted for several hours, comes just days after the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a resolution on the protection of rights online and called on countries to refrain from disrupting Internet service.

Originally peaceful protests in Zimbabwe turned violent this week, with protesters blocking roads, stoning vehicles, and physically assaulting the police. The local media and social media platforms have been awash with images of anti-riot police cracking down on hundreds of demonstrators in Harare with water cannons, teargas, and batons. At least 50 protesters have been injured, and many arrested.



At least one police officer is reported to have died after being attacked by a group of protesters. Activists, trade union leaders, and opposition parties have said they will intensify the protests until Zimbabwe "shuts down." They should also speak out strongly against protesters using violence.

Many fear the police may use the violence as a pretext to ratchet up their use of force, including lethal force. On Monday, the police warned they would deal with violent protesters "severely." The police have a duty to maintain public order and protect life and property. However, international standards provide that law-enforcement officers use nonviolent means before resorting to force, which should only be used in proportion to the seriousness of the offense and to achieve a legitimate aim. Lethal force should only be used when necessary to protect life.

The chilling images of police beatings are a reminder of the country's ugly past of heavy-handed police action against largely peaceful protesters. As Human Rights Watch investigations in the past have shown, police abuses and partisanship have contributed heavily to Zimbabwe's disastrous human rights situation.

Zimbabwe's authorities should transparently and fairly investigate police brutality and discipline or prosecute those responsible. The country's constitution establishes an independent body to investigate complaints of police and military misconduct, but the government has yet to set it up.



Blocking the internet will not resolve the country's problems. Neither will police abuses. The authorities need to make a clean break with the country's violent past: they should allow peaceful protests, respond appropriately if protests turn violent, and hold all those who violate the law to account. Then it will be up to the government to engage the protesters' concerns.
A new platform has been launched by MTN SA in partnership with Kagiso Media's Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio to acknowledge and celebrate contributions made by female professionals to the growth of South Africa's information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

The initiative will be known as Women in ICT  Partnership for Change Awards. The platform seeks to not only recognise the role that women are playing to the development of the ICT sector, but is also geared at attracting female professionals to the ICT sector by showcasing available career opportunities in the industry that is still male dominated.

The annual awards are targeted at female professionals across the broad spectrum of the ICT sector, and the winners across various categories will be announced on 31 August. The nomination process started on 5 July 2016 and eligible nominees can be nominated on the website. The judging process will be done by a team of professionals in the ICT sector, business executives, renowned entrepreneurs and leading public servants.

Award categories

The award is segmented into nine categories to cater for female contribution across the broad spectrum of the industry. The award categories are as follows:

Leadership Recognition Award: This category aims to recognises senior female executives in the ICT sector whose proven depth of experience in leading change, influencing business outcomes and leading teams has impacted positively on the organisations they lead.

Innovator Recognition Award: This category recognises women that have introduced new methods, ideas or products that are contributing in one way or the other to the delivery of a bold, new, digital world.

Entrepreneur Recognition Award: This aims to recognise wholly-owned women-run enterprises that are viable businesses that are making inroads in the ICT sector.

Graduate Award: Aims to recognise a top ICT graduate from a tertiary institution that finished top of their class. The award is open to females who graduated in the immediate year preceding the awards ceremony.

Outstanding Woman ICT Professional: This recognises an extraordinary professional who has demonstrated proven results in their area of work within the ICT sector.

Policy maker/Public Sector Awards: Recognises women in the public sector who have used ICT to improve government service delivery and/or recognises women policy-makers whose work through legislative processes has had a positive impact in ICT or has led to greater access for women.

Excellence in ICT Journalism Award: This category seeks to recognise a journalist who has contributed immensely to creating a better understanding of the ICT industry through their reporting.

Community Builder: Recognises a woman who has made a considerable difference in her community through ICT or use of an ICT tool to make a difference in the community.

Lifetime Achiever Recognition Award (Women Pioneer): Recognises a woman who has longstanding success in the ICT industry, has demonstrated a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and has continually stayed ahead of the curve.

Says Mteto Nyati, MTN South Africa chief executive officer: The Women in ICT  Partnership for Change Awards gives expression to the need to change the gender demographics of the sector and to ensure that womens contribution to the growth of the sector is acknowledged and celebrated. We hope that these awards will grow in stature to become one of the flagship events in the ICT calendar and will further serve to heighten awareness of the transformative role the sector is playing in many areas of the economy.

The winners in the inaugural edition of the Women in ICT  Partnership for Change Awards will be announced on 31 August 2016 at a gala function to be held at Hyde Park in Johannesburg.
LONDON - Edcon Holdings is seeking consent from senior creditors to obtain as much as R1.5bn from banks and bondholders in a new facility as SA's biggest clothing retailer restructures its debt.

The company, owned by US private equity firm Bain Capital Partners, asked holders of notes due in 2018 and 2019 to amend debt terms to allow for the new bridge financing in US dollars and euros, Johannesburg-based Edcon said in a statement late on Tuesday. More than half of the bondholders have already consented to the changes, with the remainder due to reply by July 8.

Edcon won support from its creditors in April to defer cash-pay interest obligations as it bought time to negotiate a debt restructuring and turn around its operations. The unprofitable retailer is the owner of chains including Edgars, Jet and CNA.

Junior creditors agreed to take losses last year as the company struggled to meet debt commitments due to a weaker rand and slower sales. The retailer was loaded with foreign-currency debt through a 2007 acquisition by Bain.

Bloomberg
The MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Hon. Sakhumzi Somyo welcomed HE Mikhail Petrakov, the Russian ambassador to the Coega IDZ - the visit served to establish a mutually beneficial business relationship between the Coega Development Corporation, Eastern Cape, and Russia. Petrakov is on a week-long visit to explore the Eastern Cape.

(Left to Right) MEC for Economic Development, Environmental Affairs

and Tourism, Hon. Sakhumzi Somyo, and the Russian Ambassador, HE Mikhali Petrakov, on a milestonevisit to Coega Development Corporation (CDC).

Russias relations with South Africa have been in place for many years, especially at a political level, now the Russia  South Africa relationship is in the BRICS format. We would like to expand this relationship to an economical level with opportunities of unlocking critical projects that would benefit both countries, says Petrakov, Russian Ambassador Federation to South Africa.

Bilateral trade between Russia and South Africa

The following bilateral trade between Russia and South Africa has been noted. In 2002, bilateral trade between Russia and South Africa amounted to 138.1 million US dollars, 92% more than in 2001. In 2002, Russian exports to South Africa increased by 147.5%, while South African exports to Russia, on 25,7% compared with the previous year.

In subsequent years the trade turnover between Russia and South Africa continued to grow in 2007, it amounted to 284.4 million US dollars, and in 2008 had reached 484.1 million. The import of the Russian Federation of South Africa amounted to 443.8 million (in 2007  270.0) and South African imports from Russia 40.3 million (vs. 14.4). Despite the crisis in 2009, bilateral trade approached $ 500 million.

For the first time, the growth of trade occurred due to a substantial increase in Russian exports. South Africa is one of the leading Russian partners in Africa with bilateral trade amounting to almost $1 billion in 2012. Russian exports in 2012 constituted $278.7 million. The bulk of these exports were oil products, production of chemical industries, equipment, transport, machinery, food and agricultural products, and wood.

Russian imports in 2012 were $685.6 million, comprised of metals, aluminium, wood, and fertilisers. Imports from South Africa consist of foods, in the form of fruits and vegetables, raw materials, metals, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, said Dr Ayanda Vilakazi, CDCs head of marketing and communications.

Nelson Mandela Bay a key pillar to facilitate growth

Petrakov also met with the NMB executive mayor, Dr Danny Jordaan. The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) is a key pillar to facilitating growth in the Metro and EC economy as highlighted by the Coega IDZ and Bays potential  theres a unique offering that the City has, that no any other city can measure up to, and that is the fact that we have two world-class ports, i.e. the Port of Port Elizabeth and Port of Nqgura. This, on its own, positions the Metro as the most unique investment destination for local and international manufacturing-orientated investors with an interest in both imports and exports.

Discussions: NMB Executive Mayor  (left) Dr Danny Jordaan and Russian Ambassador HE Mikhail Petrakov (right) having a one on one meeting to explore relations with the Russian Embassy.

Our focus on the Blue Economy is strengthened by the fact that we have a coastline that stretches up to 800 kilometres. This, on its own, provides us with an opportunity to interlink with countries with expertise in the Oceans Economy, adds Dr Jordaan.

In a presentation done by Maxim Bureev, Trade Representative from the Russian Federation, he highlighted Russias current trade relations with SA. Russia currently exports a number of products like grain and cereal, equipment, fertilisers, chemical and aluminium products to South Africa as an example of our commitment to the developmental growth of the country.

Furthermore, we see opportunities where we would want to increase our trade relations with SA in a number of strategic sectors like international best practices in nuclear power technologies, armaments exports and civil aviation as an example.

We have a population of 143 million people which is an attractive market base for any potential investor especially on the consumer markets.

Somyo emphasised the provinces potential in attracting business. Investment attraction hotspots like the Coega IDZ are some of the strategically positioned institutions that the government has purposefully set up to drive economic development in the province, says Somyo. We are proud of the progress that the likes of Coega have achieved over the years. We have no doubt that your interaction with Coega will bear fruits, adds Somyo.
Bunny McDiarmid, executive director of Greenpeace International recently visited its Africa office in Johannesburg to gain further insight into key issues on the continent.

Greenpeace Africa is concentrating its efforts on promoting sustainable development with particular emphasis on policies that support investment and development in clean renewable energy.

Bunny McDiarmid, executive director of Greenpeace International

I came to meet and support my colleagues here in Africa. Promoting sustainable development is the most viable option for not only driving sustainable social and economic changes, but important for protecting our common climate. Keeping dirty fossil fuels in the ground in every corner of the world is no longer a choice it's an imperative," said McDiarmid.

"What I heard is achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050 is absolutely possible in Africa. However, it will require a shift in understanding that renewable energy is already a viable solution, but it needs to be backed by the policymakers, she added.

Collective action is key

Greenpeace Africa is also working, as part of a global effort, for a stronger response to stop illegal and unregulated plundering of its natural resources.

"Just as collective action on climate change is key to resolving a global problem, Greenpeace Africa is calling on African nations to work together to manage and protect these precious resources so that they are there for future generations," McDiarmid said.

Greenpeace International recently appointed two female international executive directors. Jennifer Morgan and Bunny McDiarmid took up the reigns in an innovative shared-leadership role on 4 April 2016. They succeed South African-born Kumi Naidoo who had been at the helm of the organisation for five and a half years.

Bunny McDiarmid is a 30-year veteran of the organisation as an activist, ships crew member, and most recently, the executive director of Greenpeace New Zealand.
The final Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Regulations, in terms of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (BEE Act), were gazetted by the Minister of Trade and Industry in early June 2016. The Regulations came into effect the same day.

According to Ashleigh Hale, partner and co-head of Bowman Gilfillan Africa Groups Corporate Department, two key aspects addressed by the Regulations are the registration of major BEE transactions and annual BEE reporting requirements for listed companies and government entities.

Registration of a BEE Transaction

Hale explains that the B-BBEE Commission (Commission) must maintain a registry of major BEE transactions, being those that fall above a certain threshold. The Minister is required to publish this threshold notice in the Government Gazette but this has not yet happened.

Because the threshold for a major BEE transaction has not yet been determined, it is not currently possible to comply with this registration requirement, despite the BEE Regulations having taken effect.

Further, it is not clear what a BEE transaction is for the purposes of the Regulations because a definition of a -BBEE transaction has not been included in the Regulations.

According to the Regulations, a party that enters into a major BEE transaction is required to register the transaction with the Commission by completing and submitting a prescribed form. No underlying transaction documents are required to be submitted.

Once the form has been submitted, if the Commission is of the view that the transaction does not adhere to the BEE Act (for example, if it is of a view that the transaction amounts to fronting), it must advise the submitting party of its concerns in writing. The submitting party must take steps to remedy the issues identified within a reasonable period.

If the submitting party fails to remedy the issues to the satisfaction of the Commission, the Commission may proceed to initiate an investigation. This investigation will presumably focus on the possible fronting practices.

It is not clear how adherence to the BEE Act will be assessed by the Commission prior to any investigation being conducted, given that the information required to be submitted to the Commission is very limited, with no underlying transaction documents required.

In addition, while the Regulations specifically state that the registration requirement does not constitute a requirement to obtain approval from the Commission before the transaction can be implemented, it is recommended that the parties to a major BEE transaction take steps to seek appropriate advice prior to concluding the transaction, including through the advisory services of the Commission.

The Commissions role in assessing the BEE transaction thus appears to amount to an indirect approval process.

BEE reporting for listed companies

The Regulations also provide that JSE-listed companies and government entities must submit a compliance report to the Commission on an annual basis.

A company listed on the JSE must either submit its compliance report to the Commission within 90 days of the end of its financial year, or within 30 days of the approval of its audited financial statements and annual report, where the annual compliance report is included in its annual report.

Government entities have to submit their reports within 30 days of the approval of their audited financial statements and annual reports.

Reporting companies have to detail the score obtained by the company for each of the BEE elements, whether they are an empowering supplier and whether they have achieved the priority element thresholds of ownership, skills development and enterprise and supplier development.

Once the Commission receives the compliance report, it must respond within 90 days describing the state of compliance with the BEE Act and highlighting areas of improvement.

If the Commission finds non-compliance with the BEE Act, it will notify the company and the company will be required to correct its report and ensure compliance with its reporting duties under the BEE Act within 30 days. If a company fails to comply with its reporting duties, the Commission must reject any submitted compliance report and indicate the reasons for its decision. They will then be considered not to have complied with the requirements of the BEE Act.

The Commission may allow a company that has submitted a report to appear before it in either an open or closed meeting, to respond to any questions the Commission may have in relation to its report, concludes Hale.
The current situation at the SABC brings into question the rights of employers to issue commands and the duty of employees to obey and carry out such instructions.

The public broadcaster suspended three journalists from duty because the employer appears to feel aggrieved by the journalists' refusal to conform in respect of the broadcaster's policy decision in respect of broadcasting public protests. This follows the reported dismissal of eight journalists (and issuing of final written warning to 12 others) for chasing away a political youth leader who wanted to address journalists at their workplace.

Around four out of five dismissal disputes referred to the employment tribunal Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) relate to dismissals for misconduct. A valid misconduct dismissal requires proof that the employee breached a valid or reasonable workplace rule or standard.

Adhering to lawful instructions

Inherent in the common law duties of the employee is the obligation to submit him or herself to the directions of the employer. The employee is subordinate to the employer and has to adhere to lawful instructions issued by the employer. Even under common law, an employer may not issue unlawful instructions and expect the employee to follow it blindly. An employer may not instruct an employee to break the law, whether it is to commit murder, cook the books, assault a colleague or fail to adhere to a statutory obligation.

In Maneche & others v CCMA & others, the Labour Court confirmed that an instruction to employees to work overtime was unlawful where the employees had not agreed to work such overtime. Whilst such consent is normally captured in an employment contract or collective agreement, in the absence of prior agreement, the employees have to consent as and when required. The court held that the instruction was not lawful as it contravened the protection offered to employees in the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (that requires an employee to consent to working overtime).

Unreasonable instructions

Issuing instructions that are unlawful are thus clearly wrong and would offend public morals. However, what about instructions that do not contravene legal duties or obligations, but may otherwise be unreasonable? When can an employee refuse to carry out an instruction because he or she feels it to be unreasonable? Will conflicting obligations owed to society or an industry body meet the test for refusing an order issued in contravention with such a duty?

Many professions are answerable to an industry body, code or greater societal oversight. Pilots are not only subject to the instructions of the airline employing them, but they also have to adhere to the prescripts of civil aviation legislation and regulations. Doctors and health professions have to act in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the Health Professions Council. Attorneys are bound by the rules of the Law Society, advocates by the same issued by the Bar Council, teachers owe a duty of care to the learners they teach.

In all instances, the employees employed in such a position may be faced with a conflict where their employers may issue them with instructions that contrast with their obligations to society or an industry body. When, if ever, may an employee disregard an employer's instruction and act in accordance with a wider responsibility owed?

The short answer is that employees should act with care and diligence in determining whether they may disregard or refuse an instruction issued by their employer. Employees who indicate that they are not willing to be bound by the rules or prescripts of their employer run the risk of dismissal.

Many employers will swiftly terminate the service of an employee who blatantly refuses to follow orders. Allowing employees to select which instructions demand adherence is a shortcut to anarchy in the workplace. Courts are unlikely to have sympathy for employees who give the employer the two-finger salute, unless the employees can convince the court that the instruction was so unreasonable that no reasonable person in their position should have been expected to act differently.

The steps taken by employees prior to (or short of) refusing to carry out the instruction may also be telling in determining the rationality of their decision. Where possible, it is always better to engage the employer in discussion in explaining why the rule will impugn the employees' or industry's standard of reasonableness. Appeals to higher levels of management, filing grievances and declaring disputes at the employment tribunal, whilst doing the work under duress, are usually likely to offer the employees better protection in subsequent legal proceedings. Refusal to implement an unreasonable instruction should be a last-resort measure for employees at their wits end or who are confronted with morally repugnant choices.

Journalists, news reporting

Journalists have a duty to report news and events accurately and fairly. In terms of the code of conduct of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, employers (broadcasters) have to ensure that their employees understand the importance and significance of the code. The same code obliges licensees (the broadcaster) to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly. It further provides that news must be presented in the correct context and in a fair manner, without intentional or negligent departure from the facts, whether by distortion, exaggeration or misrepresentation, material omissions; or summarisation.

It may be that a court would be willing to accept that an instruction issued by a broadcaster that will prevent a journalist from doing so is unreasonable. The constitutional rights to freedom of opinion and expression may come into play when a tribunal or court has to consider the reasonable of an instruction or workplace rule. The importance of the role played by journalists in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom may also convince an arbitrator or judge that the employees acted within the interests of society in disobeying the instruction.

Employees in the horns of such a dilemma may consider the protection offered in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) should they suspect that there is unlawful or wrongful conduct in the workplace. The PDA protects employees from occupational detriment where they act in good faith to report wrongdoing and then suffer as a result. Whilst it does not protect disclosures made for an ulterior motive, reporting wrongdoing that falls within the scope of the PDA could provide an additional level of protection against employees in vulnerable positions. Dismissing employees who made protected disclosures will probably be an even more sensational news story, but employees should ensure they could rely on this protection before making decisions that could negatively affect their employment.
When Nteseng Mogorosi finished matric in 2004, he always knew that he wanted to be in business because he believed it would give him the freedom to own his life.

He didnt want to be limited in what he could achieve in life, based on what someone else had to offer. So he enrolled at the University of the Witwatersrand to study for a Bachelor of Accounting Science.

He chose the course because he knew it would help him in business. But unfortunately he did not complete his studies as he had to drop out because of financial challenges.

As luck would have it, power utility Eskom gave him a second chance to study for a National Diploma in Financial Management at the Central Johannesburg College, through a learnership by the entity.

When he completed his studies, he was offered a permanent job as an accounts payroll officer at Eskom in 2009.

As much as he was doing well at Eskom, he never let go of his dream of starting his own business, so in 2011, Mogorosi resigned from his job to start a transport business.

His family discouraged him from starting his own business because they did not believe he was going to be successful in his endeavour.

Even though quitting his job was a huge risk, Mogorosi continued to pursue his dream. He bought a truck which he used to deliver goods to Zimbabwe from South Africa.

As his family had anticipated, Mogorosis business failed after his truck was involved in an accident.

It was a terrible time when the business failed. It was one of the hardest times of my life. But, I could not give up because I had a child to support.

During that time, I read a lot of books about successful people and most of those people who are successful had failed once or twice. Knowing that, pushed me not to give up on my dream. I was 25 years old at the time so I thought that I had plenty of time to recover because I was young, Mogorosi says.

City of Tshwane Tshepo 10,000

In 2013, he found out about the City of Tshwanes Tshepo 10,000 youth skills and entrepreneurship programme and grabbed the opportunity to be part of the programme with both hands.

The programme was conceptualised with the purpose to empower the youth from Tshwane to create opportunities to make a living for themselves.

The programme comprises skills development through entrepreneurship and financial literacy training as well as the formation of co-operative entities.

The programme also provides work on procurement opportunities through the Citys supply chain management initiatives and provides mentorship to increase the survival rates of a co-operative and ensures sustainable job creation.

After Mogorosi completed the training, he and his business partners, which he met through the programme, applied for the registration of a co-operative known as Mokopu Group.

In March 2014, the business which offers services in industrial cleaning, grass cutting, pest control as well as supplies cleaning products, was registered.

The business currently employs 17 people full time and 60 people are employed on a temporary basis.

The biggest challenge that the co-operative faced in the beginning was funding. It was a problem because when we got a purchase order, the city of Tshwane expected us to deliver with our own money and we would only get paid after 30 days.

Also, the bank does not recognise co-operatives, they do not have policies to fund cooperatives so from the banks side of things we never got funding, Mogorosi says.

He says the partners in the business would loan money from family members so they could deliver on purchase orders.

When we started, each member had to contribute R100 a month towards the business which we used for transport, doing business related activities such as acquiring a BEE certificate, a tax clearance certificate and to register the business, Mogorosi says.

Initially, when the business was registered, there were nine people who were part of the co-operative but four of them quit when challenges of starting a business became too much to bear.

As the country marks the 40th anniversary of the June 16 student uprising, the 30-year-old now encourages young people to start their own businesses.

If you look at the successful economies in the world, most of the economic activities in those countries come from small businesses.

The Tshepo 10,000 is a brilliant initiative because many people who joined the programme at the time were unemployed and looking for a job.

With the education that the programme offered, a lot of people were able start their own businesses because they realised they did not have to sit at home and wait for someone to employ them, he says.

More than 50,000 apply for the programme

When the programme was launched in July 2013, the city received 52,000 application forms from all seven regions in Tshwane but only 10,000 people were selected to be part of the programme.

According to City of Tshwane Mayoral spokesperson Blessing Manale, the co-operatives that have been provided with technical work have created more than 2662 contract jobs.

The City has also provided 279 co-operatives with opportunities at a total of more than R247,809,696.71, Manale says.

These opportunities include the supply of goods and provision of technical work by the co-operatives.

The technical work includes cemetery maintenance, road markings, cleaning services in council buildings, grass cutting services, installing meters, painting and building renovations.

Mogorosi says his co-operative is planning on venturing into franchising and property.

We are working on starting a business that does not depend on government contracts. If you have a good franchise you make money every day, you dont have to wait for a tender to make money and in that way we will be securing the future of our business, he says.
Key facts about the South African prison and judicial process after Oscar Pistorius was jailed on Wednesday for six years for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He was taken from court in Pretoria to Kgosi Mampuru II prison to begin his jail term, and his lawyers said they won't appeal the sentence.

Prison routine

After arrival in prison, he is registered by officials and has his fingerprints taken.



Within six hours of arrival, he undergoes a medical examination to determine suitable conditions for imprisonment.



After the initial assessment, a longer-term programme is developed to shape the rest of his incarceration period. It is regularly reviewed.



During his earlier jail term in the same prison, he was kept on the hospital wing.

"We have to cater for special categories of offenders," correctional services spokesman Manelisi Wolela told the ENCA channel. "Those with disabilities may be abused by other offenders if you mix them in one place."

A state appeal?

The National Prosecuting Authority may well appeal, seeking a longer sentence, though they made no immediate announcement.



It has 14 days to lodge an appeal.



The High Court would hear the application and decide to grant or reject the bid.



Trial Judge Thokozile Masipa or another judge could hear the application.



If granted, the full bench of five Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judges will review the case.



The prosecutors could also directly petition the SCA without going through the trial court.



Pistorius would remain in prison during the process.

Parole

Pistorius will be eligible for parole after serving between half and two-thirds of his sentence.

Source: AFP
Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Obed Bapela has slammed illegal initiation schools that coerce and kidnap young children.

The Deputy Minister visited the Eastern Cape on Tuesday and Wednesday to get a first-hand account of the situation on the ground.

Winter and summer are the prime initiation seasons in South Africa. While the age-old tradition is honoured among the cultural groups who practise it, unscrupulous individuals have taken the gap by setting up illegal schools where many young men have been maimed with life-long effects. Each year, scores of boys hoping to transition into manhood lose their lives at these suspect schools, where the owners, who are often unregistered, are looking to make a quick buck.

These syndicates have no respect for our culture and the life of black South Africans. We are saddened by the senseless increase of young men who lose their precious lives while undergoing this important cultural practice.

We have currently lost 22 precious young lives since the beginning of the winter initiation season and the Eastern Cape remains our main concern, said Deputy Minister Bapela.

The Deputy Ministers visit is part of the winter initiation season monitoring outreach programme. He visited St Barnabas Hospital in Libode and Canzibe Hospital in Engqeleni, where some rescued initiates are being treated.

The rescued initiates the Deputy Minister met sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of botched circumcision. Some of them had also been assaulted and dehydrated, while others were not screened before going to initiation school. There was generally a lack of proper aftercare for the initiates.

The Deputy Minister was also informed by the traditional leaders in the Eastern Cape that a syndicate leader, popularly known as Mchayina, was arrested by the police but released due to lack of evidence. The families of initiates refuse to come forward or even work with the police to bring him to book.

We are saddened that young men still continue to die, even with increased efforts by government to sensitise communities about the need to ensure that before they release their children to attend initiation schools, all key processes are followed as outlined by the department, said the Department of Traditional Affairs.

Law gets tough on illegal schools

According to the department, about 16 initiates died in the Eastern Cape. Two died in Limpopo, one in the North West, two in Mpumalanga, and one in Gauteng.

The Deputy Minister indicted that Parliament will before the end of the year pass the law to criminalise operations of illegal schools and this will carry a minimum sentence of not more than five years.

This law will send a strong message and ensure that these cruel heartless criminals and syndicates to go to jail for a long time, said the department.

The Deputy Minister also visited a family whose son died because of severe dehydration.

Once again, the Deputy Minister lamented this myth and urged parents to ensure that their children drink lots of water ahead of and during initiation.

The Deputy Minister continues to urge communities to report illegal initiation schools through this hotline number - 0800 111 166 or #InitiationDTA, said the department.
South African Airways (SAA) is celebrating 20 years of flying to Accra, Ghana, which is a key route in a country that is strategic for South Africa. In a statement on Tuesday, the national carrier said the 20-year milestone of flying to Ghana is important, as Ghana is South Africa's second-largest trading partner in the West African region.

"It presents a key growth market for South African goods and services, as well as an investment destination for South African companies," said SAA.

SAA first landed a B767-200 aircraft at the Kotoka International Airport in April 1996. The route has grown from three frequencies to eight frequencies per week.

"High service standards and attention to customer service delivery have resulted in growing frequent flyers and high load factors. Our customers enjoy Africa's warmest hospitality on board and the reliability of our flight schedules," said Gloria Mensah, SAA country manager in Ghana.

In October 2013, more South African companies showed an interest in Ghana. This, in turn, stimulated further growth, which directly resulted in the introduction of a daily flight service.

As a further investment in the route, SAA introduced flights between Accra and Washington DC in the United States in August 2015. The airline was granted traffic rights, making it the first African carrier to offer a direct service between Accra and Washington. "The Accra to Washington DC route is tremendously popular and has shown steady growth. It received favourable customer ratings for excellent onboard service and on-time departures. We thank our loyal customers for their patronage and our dedicated team at the South African Airways Ghana office," Mensah said.

South Africa and Ghana established diplomatic relations in 1994. To date, the two countries have signed 19 bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding.
Anonymous Africa's recent Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the SABC and Oakbay Investments aimed to flood the websites of both companies with tons of information, eventually rendering the sites virtually unusable. These incidents demonstrate the alarming rate at which local organisations are falling victim to cyberattacks. They also show the extent to which companies are unprepared to protect themselves.

Dmitriy Shironosov via 123RF

The attacks on the SABC and Oakbay were meant to just cause inconvenience, but these types of attacks can be far more damaging and, not to mention, financially draining. Although it may be tempting to say that companies must work harder to not make themselves obvious targets, this is not always feasible or even in a companys direct control. And this approach doesnt account for intentional internal leaks, orchestrated by disgruntled or unethical employees.

Organisations are facing a growing number of cyber security attack vectors. Weve seen a dramatic rise in the number of exploits that seek to overwhelm servers with requests, and those that use encryption to target networks and applications in ways that leave traditional security methods struggling to detect and defend as required. Although these two types of threats diverge in their methods, their unifying factor is how targeted they have become.

Not only that, but as security professionals, we cant fall into the trap of romanticising the motives of 'hacktivists'  no matter where our political or social sympathies lie. Instead, the cyber security industry needs to evolve to be able to best counter the new trends in this sphere.

Denial of service attacks

A DDoS attack is one of the more popular methods employed recently. These attacks typically attempt to overwhelm a network or website to make it unavailable to users. Naturally, this is a big reputational and operational risk for businesses. DDoS is not a new method of attack, but certainly one that is enjoying prominence again. In the case of the SABC, Anonymous Africa executed a reflection attack that makes it appear as if the traffic is internal. Hybrid DDoS defenders offer a solution to these kinds of attacks, facilitating offsite cloud scrubbing to remove illegitimate requests.

According to Akamis State of the Internet Security Report Q1 2016, there was a 125% increase in DDoS attacks compared to the previous year. The research also revealed that the largest DDoS attack during the quarter measured 289 Gbps. As security practitioners, we've also seen a lot more attention given to this method in the last six to eight months, and recently encountered  and defended against  an attack of 448 Gbps.

Visibility in the face of rising encryption

Another trend in targeted attacks is the exploitation of increased encryption. Since the now-infamous Edward Snowden data leak in 2013, there has been a paradigm shift in encryption, especially across enterprise networks and applications.

There is more and more encryption happening on the internet today. Consumers and users are generating encrypted traffic both into and out of enterprise networks. Yes, encryption offers a degree of security, but for the cybersecurity industry, SSL may also create loopholes or gaps in the visibility of traditional security tools, and could actually negate some of the security measures that companies currently have in place.

This is especially pertinent for data leaks, such as outgoing information that is deliberately or accidentally shared from within the organisation. People may use encryption to try hide their sharing of sensitive information. An intrusion prevention device is able to inspect the packet that is coming in and out of the network, and flag potential issues, but if all of the traffic is encrypted, this device is rendered ineffective.

What is needed is something that can fit seamlessly into the flow, while decrypting, inspecting and re-encrypting, before sending on, or stopping the leak in its tracks. There are recently launched products that are able to do this, and pass the necessary information out to other security applications (service chaining), as well as traffic steering and load distribution.

New solutions like these will give businesses visibility into the areas of the network that are otherwise rendered inaccessible to their current security measures, and help them manage DDoS-type attacks. Integrated into existing security, these types of solutions offer simple remediation and eliminate blind spots. It is another indication of the sophistication security practitioners are having to adopt as the threats we face evolve at an ever-increasing pace, and becoming increasingly targeted.
Olmeca Tequila and Red Bull Studio presents Grietfest, set to take place on 27 August at The Container Yards, Johannesburg. This will be the sixth year running for the one day urban underground dance music festival.

Line Up

The line up includes headliners Dimension (UK), Lektrique (Kannibalen Records / BEL) and Proxy (Turbo Records / RUS) as well as one of SAs well-known beat musicians SIBOT & TOYOTA.

Olmeca Main Stage

- Lektrique (Bel)

- Sibot & ToyotaI

- Narch

- Pop Art

- Thor Rixon

- Danalog

- Bombardier

Science Frikshun Main Stage Take Over

- Dimension (UK)

- Niskerone

- Mr Green

Science Frikshun Stage

- Hyphen

- Rudeone

- Xane

- B-Wise

- Reepa

- Benson

- Thacutt

Fiction Nights Take Over Stage

- Proxy (Russia)

- Grimehouse

- White Nite

- Ang

Red Bull Studio Live Stage

- Killer Robot

- Stab Virus

- Yeti

- Mvelo

- Leeu

- Thibo Tazz

- Omar Morto

- Buli

After Party Stage at AND Club, Newtown

- Haezer

- Ella G

- Ang

Free entrance to the after party for everyone with a GRIETFEST armtag, and R100 without.

Ticket info

You are able to purchase tickets online via: www.grietfest.com. (Tickets are unavailable elsewhere, as the organisers cannot vouch that such tickets are legitimate.)

Tickets will be released in phases ranging from cheapest to more expensive closer to the event.

Phase 3: 13 July-26 July R240

Phase 4: 27 July-9 Aug R260

Phase 5: 10 Aug-27 Aug R280

Olmeca Student Ticket

Available only via www.switchonthenight.co.za.

Rules of the R200 Student Ticket:

Only one ticket purchase per student.

A valid student card number must be entered.

You must bring your student card that bares your name, image and student number with you on the day of the event for verification at the gate. You will not be granted access if you do not have your card with you. Your student ticket will have your student number on it and will need to match your student card.

Olmeca VIP Experience Tickets

R480 - Early Bird VIP Ticket (Limited)

R520 - VIP Ticket (Limited)

The VIP experience offers:

VIP toilet access

VIP R10 bar access with artists

Viewing deck access

Heaters

Hotbox Express from Pretoria

Party busses from Pretoria will be provided and the organisers strongly suggest those considering drinking should use this option.

The Hotbox Express pricing options are as follows:

R350 Including Festival Ticket

R150 Excluding Festival Ticket - transport only

Festival info

Venue: The Container Yards, Impex Avenue, Johannesburg

Entrance: From R240/R300 at the Gate

Time: Gates open at 1PM

Buy: http://www.grietfest.com

Facebook event: http://tinyurl.com/h274w8t

ROAR | No U18s | ID required | No drugs | No weapons
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) has identified more than 40 companies with contracts totalling R1.5bn that it says were awarded improperly. This discovery forms part of Prasa's year-long forensic investigation into a number of contracts awarded under former CEO Lucky Montana and other Prasa officials.

Prasa's forensic investigation was initiated following a report by the public protector, released in August 2015, which revealed Prasa had improperly extended tenders, contravening its supply chain management policy, the Public Finances Management Act and the Constitution. In her recommendations, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said the Treasury should commission forensic investigations into contracts and tenders above R10m at Prasa.

The Treasury, through its chief procurement officer, would work independently but the public protector would "determine the terms of reference so that they don't go too shallow", she said. Treasury procurement official Mbulelo Gingcana, working under the Treasury's chief procurement officer, Kenneth Brown, was seconded to Prasa to strengthen the agency's supply chain management process.

Appointment of CEO

Last week, Prasa announced that it had appointed the chief financial officer at the Department of Transport, Collins Letsoalo, as acting CEO to replace acting CEO Nathi Khena.

Prasa chairman Popo Molefe said on Wednesday that the board had not appointed a permanent CEO as the appointee would come into a "detrimental environment", including "disciplinary actions against suspended employees and concluding the ongoing forensic investigation instituted by the board".

Abusing confinements

Molefe said the forensic investigation had revealed that the "previous management" had been appointing suppliers by way of "confinements". According to Prasa, confinements are used to appoint suppliers under emergency situations or where the supplier is deemed to be the only one capable of providing the service, instead of going through a tender process.

Contracts with more than 40 companies had been identified as being awarded and then extended by abusing confinements. "The practice of appointing of suppliers by way of 'confinements' under the previous management now stands revealed as an unlawful enrichment scheme for suppliers that are allegedly connected to, among others, former senior Prasa officials," Molefe said.

Contracts under scrutiny

"On the face of it, the services provided could have been procured through the normal (supply chain management) processes." Molefe said other entities that had been awarded contracts on an "ad hoc basis" had been identified as part of the rolling stock and infrastructure programmes. Payments to these entities had been stopped while the validity of the contracts was investigated.

The agency had asked the courts to review and set aside long-term contracts to the value of R7bn in five civil actions filed in the high court to "prevent further irregular and potentially unlawful expenditure", he said. This includes a R3.5bn contract for 70 locomotives procured from Spanish manufacturer Vossloh Espana through empowerment group Swifambo Rail Leasing. The locomotives had been procured to improve the Shosholoza Meyl service.

Prasa also wants R2bn worth of security work by Siyangena Technologies set aside, on the grounds that the company had won the work irregularly by rigging the bid. However, Siyangena argued in court papers that the contracts granted to it were of an "extremely specific nature", and Prasa could not have chosen contractors from a list.

In her report last year, the public protector found Prasa improperly extended a tender initially awarded to Siyangena to supply and install high-speed gates at Doornfontein Station.

Source: Business Day
On Thursday, 7 July 2016, Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show host Warren Harding ( @bizwazza ) took a closer look at new kid on the block, content-first digital marketing agency, Barbarossa Media, who creates engaging content for brands to connect to their customers in an impactful way.

We were joined in studio by the agency founding partners, Hendri Lategan, CEO and Kyle Hauptfleisch COO.

We spoke to Barbarossa Media about:

 The history of the agency and why it started.  The services offered by the agency.

 Content marketing as a marketing foundation.

 The measuring of content marketing.

 The sales cycle of content marketing plus value and relevance.  The state of content in south Africa right now.

We end the show by looking at the future of content, the trends we can expect and the future of Barbarossa Media. All this and so much more is covered in the podcast this week.

An Introduction to Content Marketing by Barbarossa Media.

Episode 180: Hendri and Kyle from Barbarossa Media chat content







Date: 7 July 2016 Length: 26:36min File size: 25MB Host: Warren Harding





The news roundup from Bizcommunity:

If you are interested in getting interviewed on Biz Takeouts, or want to suggest a show topic, email Warren Harding (@bizwazza) on moc.ytinummoczib@stuoekatzib.

Bizcommunity.com's Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media Show takes South Africa's biggest online marketing, media and ad industry platform to the airwaves and gives relevant, useful and interesting insights into all aspects of marketing in SA, Africa and beyond. Each week, the show features the movers and the shakers of the industry, current media trends, upcoming events and brand activities.

For more:
Between 1950 and 2000, 80% of the world's armed conflicts took place within biodiversity hotspots. These are places that contain unusually high concentrations of animals and plants. The correlation between biodiversity hotspots and conflicts is striking. It has complex beginnings, and gives rise to both opportunities and challenges.

By Dave Proffer, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

There is a high prevalence of conflict in biodiversity hotspots for a variety of reasons. Biodiversity hotspots are often expansive areas of forest in remote places. Here, it is possible for militias to remain hidden from government control.

Many of these hotspots also house valuable species that can be harvested to fund paramilitary activities, including those of some high-profile groups like the Lords Resistance Army, for example. This is a rebel group that is known to operate in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is believed to have acquired funds from the ivory trade.

The isolated nature of biodiversity hotspots may also mean that the impact of the conflict is magnified. Refugees may be forced to rely heavily on natural resources for subsistence. This is demonstrated by the deforestation of 113km near Goma, at the edge of the Virunga National Park in the DRC, after the settlement of refugees.

The potential for conflict to affect biodiversity necessitates strategic planning, active intervention and good management. Understanding the spatial overlap between high conflict risk and high biodiveristy is important to achieve this.

Edward Hammill

Successful conservation is possible in conflict zones

Conflicts and effective biodiversity conservation are not mutually exclusive.

The eastern side of the Virunga National Park  one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet  is home to the worlds critically endangered mountain gorillas. The area has experienced sustained instances of armed conflict over the past 40 years. Yet it has managed to sustain African elephants and seen an increase in mountain gorilla numbers, despite the conflict.

The most crucial factor in Virungas continued success has been the willingness of staff to maintain operations in times of conflict. Park rangers have vowed to continue working despite mortal danger. Director Emmanuel de Merode, a high-profile conservationist, anthropologist and Belgian prince remains dedicated to working within the park, despite an attempt on his life.

From a government perspective, managing conflicts can reduce the relative priority of biodiversity conservation. During times of conflict this can lead to domestic spending being diverted away from conservation and towards military activities or protecting vital infrastructure. But during ongoing conflicts within sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan, provision of resources by the Wildlife Conservation Society, USAID and the United Nations Environmental Programme enabled effective biodiversity conservation to continue. It also aided rapid post-conflict development.

Providing financial support can also lead to positive outcomes beyond saving species, and in some cases provide a pathway to peace. This can be seen in the success of transboundary protected areas. These areas can foster communication between separated communities, and provide a common goal that allows conflicting factions to work in partnership.

Given the increased impact of armed conflict globally, it is prudent to explicitly account for this type of risk in conservation decision-making.

Incorporating conflict risk

The resources available for biodiversity conservation are limited. They must be used wisely. A basic requirement is data, particularly data that looks at where threatened species occur, how much conservation would cost in these areas, and what risks are associated with conserving those areas.

There are examples of how conflict data have been used effectively in the past. Several national-scale conflict risk maps have been created showing where conflicts have taken place before and where theyre happening now. These mapping exercises have been done by the Institute for Economics and Peace and work led by Havard Hegre, a professor of peace and conflict research.

But conflicts are not distributed evenly across nations. The Armed Conflict Location Event Data Project shows how conflict risk varies substantially within countries. For example, the DRC has experienced some of the highest levels of conflict within Africa. But the majority of these conflicts occur along the eastern border, leaving a comparatively safe area to the west.

An expensive process

Edward Hammill

High conflict risk areas in Africa could be avoided entirely when planning and implementing conservation. But this will lead to the avoidance of many highly biodiverse areas, which is far from ideal. So if the placement of new African protected areas were conducted without accounting for the dangers posed by conflict, this could lead to losses that result in half of all species receiving insufficient protection.

Accounting for, and mitigating conflict risk is, however, a costly undertaking. A protected area network that would protect Africas 236 endangered mammals and mitigate the effects of conflict is predicted to be 50% more expensive than one that ignores conflict risk.

This 50% increase in costs would lead to 100% more conservation targets being met. This means returns on investment would be considerably higher. The funds required to conserve all 236 endangered mammals in Africa while accounting for the risk of armed conflict would be substantial, amounting to US$9.1 billion.

The key issue is that decisions around protecting biodiversity in conflict areas must go beyond simply avoiding areas perceived as being unstable. In Africa, opting simply to avoid conflict-prone areas would result in iconic mammals like the eastern lowland gorilla being essentially abandoned.

It is crucial to incorporate conflict risk into conservation. Understanding and incorporating conflict risk will allow managers to make informed decisions about the placement of protected areas and recruit rangers willing to work under these challenging conditions. Only through a continued commitment to long-term management will conservation in Africas conflict-affected, biodiverse regions continue to succeed.


Moodstocks caught the US technology giant's eye for its work in computer vision and machine learning, as well for accomplishments in enabling smartphones or other mobile devices to recognise images and objects.

Google is among Silicon Valley titans investing in ways to get computers to see and understand the world around them the way people do.

Machine learning has been woven into an array of Google offerings, such as its free language translation and photo services.

"There's a lot more to be done to improve machine vision," Google France tech site lead Vincent Simonet said in a blog post. "That's where Moodstocks comes in."

The Moodstocks team, described as a small group of researchers and engineers, will join a Google research and development centre in Paris, according to Simonet. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Google and its parent Alphabet are expected to integrate the image search team in artificial intelligence efforts.

At its annual developers conference in May, Google unveiled a virtual home assistant device that will challenge Amazon Echo.

Google Home, about the size of a stout vase, will hit the market later this year and will incorporate new virtual assistant software.

When Home hits, it will challenge Amazon Echo voice-controlled assistants that have proven to be a hit since the Seattle-based online retail colossus unveiled them two years ago.

Many Internet companies are exploring the promise of artificial intelligence -- for example, smartphone applications that can learn a user's habits and anticipate searches and requests.

Microsoft, Apple, and Google have each created their own virtual assistants for users.
New executive director of Greenpeace International, Bunny McDiarmid, visited the Greenpeace Africa office in Johannesburg to show solidarity and gain further insight into the key issues. The visit was McDiarmid's first to the continent since taking office in April.

Bunny McDiarmid

Greenpeace Africa is concentrating its efforts on promoting sustainable development with particular emphasis on policies that support investment and development in clean renewable energy.

During the visit, McDiarmid said, I came to meet and support my colleagues here in Africa. Promoting sustainable development is the most viable option for not only driving sustainable social and economic changes but important for protecting our common climate. Keeping dirty fossil fuels in the ground in every corner of the world is no longer a choice it's an imperative.

"What I heard is: achieving 100% renewable energy by 2050 is absolutely possible in Africa. However, it will require a shift in understanding that renewable energy is already a viable solution but it needs to be backed by the policy makers, added McDiarmid.

Greenpeace Africa is also working, as part of a global effort, for a stronger response to stop illegal and unregulated plundering of its vast natural forests and safeguarding its rich ocean resources.

"Just as collective action on climate change is key to resolving a global problem, Greenpeace Africa is calling on African nations to work together to manage and protect these precious resources so that they are there for future generations," McDiarmid said.

Greenpeace International recently appointed two female international executive directors. Jennifer Morgan and Bunny McDiarmid took up the reigns in an innovative shared-leadership role on 4 April 2016. They succeed South African-born Kumi Naidoo who had been at the helm of the organisation for five and a half years.

Bunny McDiarmid is a 30-year veteran of the organisation as an activist, ships crew member, and most recently, the executive director of Greenpeace New Zealand which, under her leadership, became a powerhouse of innovation in the Greenpeace world.
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With more than 10 million people in the UK living with a disability, travel companies need to consider and design for these users. However, Sigmas report, the result of independent, heuristic testing of the UKs top 10 travel sites, reveals that many travel companies failed when it came to inclusivity and accessibility for disabled users.

The sites analyzed, which included British Airways, AirBnb, Skyscanner, LateRooms, Lastminute.com, OnTheBeach, Co-operative Travel, Expedia, Virgin Atlantic, and Booking.com, scored an average 23 out of a possible 35. Skyscanner came out on top with 28, while Co-operative Travel came bottom, scoring 17. Scoring was based things such as how easy the sites were to use across several devices, accessibility and experience among those with visual, physical and cognitive disabilities and overall usability.

Many of the travel sites failed due to being too cluttered and having inconsistent interfaces and a third had the ability to zoom in and out blocked for iPad users. Four out of five sites did not use alt text on images making it difficult for visually impaired users to discern was was contained in the images. Only two of the 10 sites were screen-reader friendly and four out of 10 had inadequate color contrast.

The findings of our research demonstrate that travel companies are indeed adopting good web usability practices in the main, says Hilary Stephenson, managing director at Sigma. They also clearly recognize the importance of being easy to use across different devices  including mobile and tablet PC  with many having responsive and adaptive websites, and invested in mobile apps.

Sigmas report can be downloaded, free of charge, here.
When reached for comment, the SNLDs General Secretary U Sai Nyunt Lwin said that his party, which took 40 seats in Shan State during last year's election, wasn't interested in attending the conference if its similar to ones convened by the former military government. Yet, Sai Nyunt Lwin suspects the new government will act fairly. Like many of the ethnic organizations, he said the National League for Democracy (NLD) faced oppression under the junta. However, the SNLD remains concerned about how Suu Kyi will administer the conference, in particular how inclusive it really will be, he said.

This is also a concern for other ethnic groups.

The Womens League of Burma (WLB) has been invited to attend the conference but the Shan Womens Action Network (SWAN), also a member organization of the WLB, hasnt received an invitation for a civil society forum scheduled to happen at the same time.

The WLB, which comprises all of the Burmese womens organizations, was invited but SWAN wasnt personally invited. The WLB will participate in the CSO Conference that will be held at the same time as the Panglong Conference. We will attend it as part of AGIPP (Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process). The WLB will attend as a partner of the AGIPP, said Ying Harn Fah, who serves as a WLB steering committee member and spokesperson for SWAN.

In line with their proclaimed mandate that the 21st Century Panglong Conference will include all of the groups, since 3 June the conferences preparatory sub-committee has been meeting with ethnic armed groups that didnt sign last year's Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). However, it still hasnt met with the Arakan Army (AA), the Taang National Liberation Army (TLNA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA). The three armed groups that are still fighting with the Burma Army were excluded from participating in the NCA--one of the main reasons why seven armed groups that were invited to take part refused to sign it.

Burma Armys Commander-in-Chief Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing told RFA last month that the military will cooperate with the staging of the 21st Century Panglong Conference. However, he also told other media that the AA, TNLA and MNDAA can only participate after they disarm; something these groups seem unlikely to do.

Reporting by Phway Nwam for S.H.A.N.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by S.H.A.N.
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MUMBAI (PTI): Essar Steel has claimed to have become the first domestic company to launch high performance bullet proof steels largely used in defence sector.



The company said it has developed high performance bullet proof steel and become part of an elite club to produce this grade.



There is good and growing potential for this product as it can be used in light armoured vehicles and protective shields or structures. The steel is ideal for bullet proofing of civilian vehicles and for security personnel, it said.



"The company is known for developing high grade import-substitute steel products. The development of high performance bullet proof steels is a proof of the organisation's commitment towards government's 'Make in India' campaign," Essar Steel Executive Director (Strategy & Business Development) Vikram Amin told PTI here.



The government has emphasised indigenisation of the defence sector and involving private players under the banner of 'Make in India', he said.



Today, manufacturing bullet proof steel is a highly specialised technology. In India, such steels have either been manufactured under the restrictive technology transfer agreements with foreign countries, or simply imported.



The newly developed bullet proof steel at Essar absorbs the impact of bullets travelling at speeds of 700 m/sec with barely a dent on the surface. This steel has hardness levels above 500 (Brinell hardness number) BHN and is extremely tough.



Ballistic performance of this product was successfully tested in India and in Germany, at the Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL), as well as at IABG, an internationally renowned German laboratory.



ESIL is not a new entrant in defence segment. It had been supplying DMR 249A grade, a special steel for building warships, from its hot strip mill since 2001.



After commissioning of its 5 metres wide plate mill with sophisticated heat treatment facilities in 2009, several new grades were developed and the product range for the existing grades were enhanced.



The Essar team had collaborated with the defence sector to produce grades like CDA-99, EN10025-6-S690QL, very tough steels used in heavy armoured vehicles.



However, the crowning glory has been the production of DMR-1700, an ultra-tough steel of yield strength 1,500 Mega Pascal designed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). All of these products had been stabilised and commercialised through the dedicated in-house R&D and operations efforts of its engineers, Amin said.


Some 95% of Irish hoteliers are concerned about the impact Brexit will have on their business.

The Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), is calling on the Government to set up a working group to examine the impact that Brexit could have on the tourism sector here.
Higher roaming charges may be on the cards once Britain leaves the EU, according to an Irish MEP.

Roaming charges are due to be abolished across the EU next year.
Food poverty is a significant problem facing homeless children living in emergency accommodation.

Over 2000 children are living in homeless accommodation across the country, the majority of these in hotels.

The Children's Minister has said she will think it a failure if soon-to-be-announced measures do not go towards halving the number of homeless children.

NGOs have been attending a Homeless Children's Summit with the Children's Minister this morning to discuss the specific challenges facing children in emergency accommodation.

Minister Katherine Zappone says nutrition is emerging as a problem: Although they may be still receiving meals, etc, is it good enough for them the way that that is happening?

We are concerned that maybe it is encouraging overeating or fast food or that kind of thing.

More than two thirds of the 913 homeless families in Dublin, are living in hotels.

CEO of the Children's Rights Alliance Tanya Ward has said they cannot cook at home; We know that a significant number of families dont have cooking facilities.

They are spending their money on fast food and they are going through their money very quickly.

So the Ministers and Government need to find ways to support those families because obviously nutrition is essential for child development.

She also wants action for victims of domestic violence; We will be asking the minister to ensure that no child or family is turned away from a domestic refuge because we know at the moment nearly 25% of wives and children have been turned away and they have ended up in homeless accommodation.

And June Tinsley of Barnardos has said children cannot thrive in emergency accommodation: Things like no access to play, no access to bringing their friends over, bearing in mind that their hotel bed is the place where they eat, where they sleep, where they play, where they do their homework.

It is such a confined space, day to day family functioning, there is no place to do laundry, there is no place to cook.

So that whole impact can be very very stressful on children.

Minister Zappone has said she would like to see the number of homeless children halved soon, and will consider it a failure if progress isn't made quickly.
Update 12.10pm: Mick Wallace has admitted his controversial abortion bill is not perfect, but has said it is needed to highlight the plight of women forced to travel abroad for terminations.

The Independent TD wants to introduce new laws allowing abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

However the Attorney General has signalled that the legislation would be unconstitutional and the Taoiseach has called it 'bad for women'.

The bill has also caused a rift between Cabinet colleagues and triggered a backlash against Enda Kenny as Independent Ministers look like they will ignore his advice and vote in favour of the legislation this afternoon.

Mick Wallace still does not know if his bill will pass, but has said it should be given a shot: The only body in Ireland who can determine if something is constitutional or otherwise is the Supreme Court.

People are saying the bill isnt perfect and we know it isnt, we didnt get a chance to change it from the last time it went in.

But if it can be modified, it can be improved at committee stage, we are just asking, let it be tested.

Earlier: Enda Kenny's leadership has come under pressure ahead of today's Dail vote on abortion.

At a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party last night, a number of the Taoiseach's own deputies voiced unhappiness with his decision to allow Independent Ministers vote against the rest of their cabinet colleagues.

Independent Ministers are to support Mick Wallace's fatal foetal abnormalities bill, allowing terminations in cases where babies will not survive outside the womb.

The Taoiseach has described the bill as "flawed" and "bad for women". The Attorney General has also warned it is unconstitutional.

Cork Fine Gael TD Jim Daly said Enda Kenny should have insisted the Independent Transport Minister Shane Ross voted it down with the rest of the Cabinet.

"I certainly think Shane Ross voting against the Government that he's a member of on this issue, which has been declared unconstitutional, is ironic," he said.

"It's a bill which has been declared unconstitutional. Shane Ross is willing to compromise the Government on that, which I think is unfair.

"Then there's collective responsibility, part of the same constitution, which is being ignored on this occasion."

Mick Wallace said he agreed the Independent TDs in Cabinet should be allowed a free vote.
Former chairman of the Labour Court Kevin Duffy has been appointed as the new chairman of the expert water charges commission writes Juno McEnroe.

Minister Simon Coveney (pictured) made the appointment this afternoon, after the resignation earlier this week of Joe OToole, who stepped down from the post after calls for him to go.
The trial of a woman accused of murdering a man by driving a car off a harbour in Wicklow has heard his death was consistent with drowning.

Marta Herda of Pairc na Saile, Emoclew Road in Arklow, Co. Wicklow denies intentionally driving them into the sea.

John Kelly was out for a lunchtime stroll on a beach just south of Arklow on March 26th 2013 when he spotted a body floating towards the shore.

It belonged to Csaba Orsas, a Hungarian man who worked with Marta Herda at the BrookeLodge hotel in Wicklow.

This morning, the State Pathologist Dr. Marie Cassidy said her post mortem revealed his death was consistent with drowning.

She said he had a fracture to his chest area that may have been caused by the impact of a car crash, but there was no evidence to suggest he had been injured beforehand.

It is the prosecutions case that the accused deliberately drove off the harbour while Mr. Orsas was in the passenger seat.

The drivers window was rolled down when the car was recovered and the prosecution claims she knew her colleague could not swim.

Marta Herda, who is 29 and from Poland, denies the charge.
A bus that crashed into a bank killing a pedestrian had been parked at a stop moments before it "jolted forward" across the road, a passenger said.

Durham Police said the 52-year-old man driving the single-decker, which smashed into the front of a branch of the Halifax in Darlington, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

An elderly woman was killed after she was trapped under the Arriva bus and two others were hurt, although their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

The 10.50am collision in Northgate brought the middle of the bustling market town to a standstill.

Shoppers were kept away from the scene and screens were put up to stop people from seeing the recovery operation.

Paul Frazer, 34, who works for Primark, had just finished his shift and had caught the bus heading to his Darlington home.

He said: "As soon as I sat down the bus jolted forward. It felt like a whoosh, such a fast speed."

Police said the bus went about 20 yards across the road, hitting a pillar of the bank close to its door.

Passengers were helped off the bus through the emergency exit by a Polish passer-by, said Mr Frazer, who was reassuring an elderly woman on the vehicle who looked close to tears.

He said: "I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped me off. My emotions were running high. It was a scary ordeal."

Janet Langan, a retired civil servant who lives in Branksome, on the edge of Darlington, came out of the Queen Street Shopping Centre just after the crash.

"People were being sick and people were crying and I saw a man under the wheels. Then they started to put the green screen up so I couldn't see," the 64-year-old said.

"That turning is just a death trap. It's the second time this has happened. About 18 months ago a bus went skew-whiff at the sharp turn by Boots and Halifax, but not like this.

"I use that bus - the number 2 - every day. The only reason I wasn't outside the bank is because I went to buy a tin of paint. That's what has stunned me more than anything - that I would have been there.

"I just stood with my mouth open and couldn't believe it."

Alec Deak, 31, from Darlington was walking up from the library when he saw the aftermath of the crash.

He said: "There was a gentleman in distress laid on the footpath being attended by passers-by.

"A jacket was covering what appeared to be a lady under the front wheel."

Chief Inspector Graham Milne said: "We have some very good CCTV evidence as it occurred and we are appealing for witnesses. If anyone has any information please call Durham Police on 101."

He thanked local businesses for their help.

Arriva North East said the bus was Service 2 from Branksome to Red Hall and an investigation has begun.
A Vatican court has declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute or convict two journalists for having published confidential information.

The ruling, which cleared Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi, ended an eight-month-long trial that drew scorn from media rights groups around the world.

The court did convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass documents to the journalists, but cleared them of having formed a criminal association to do so.

A fifth defendant, the monsignor's secretary, was cleared of all charges.

The verdict was an embarrassment to Vatican prosecutors, who had accused the journalists of conspiring and putting pressure on the three other defendants.

Prosecutors had accused the three of forming a criminal organisation that conspired to reveal confidential Vatican documents.

In the end, the president of the four-judge tribunal, Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre, asserted the Vatican had no jurisdiction over the Italian journalists in the case and rule there was not sufficient evidence to show that any such criminal organisation existed.

The court did, however, find that Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, a former high-ranking Vatican official, passed documents to the journalists and sentenced him to 18 months in prison.

While clearing co-defendant Francesca Chaouqui, a public relations expert who was working on a Vatican reform panel, of actually passing documents, the court found her guilty of conspiring with Vallejo and sentenced her to 10 months in prison, suspended for five years.

The fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, was cleared.
The battle for UK prime minister has been whittled down to two female candidates as Michael Gove (pictured) is eliminated from the contest.

The second MPs ballot ended with home secretary Theresa May (pictured) on 199 votes, followed by energy minister Andrea Leadsom on 84 leaving Michael Gove the odd one out with 46 votes.
A Canberra man accused of raping his young daughter faces fresh sexual assault allegations against another female relative.

The man, 55, pleaded not guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to more than a dozen charges of incest, indecency and assault against his daughter and was last week committed to stand trial on those charges in the higher court.

Police arrested the man on Wednesday and charged him with several new charges including sexual intercourse without consent, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and property damage linked to a different complainant.

He has not yet entered pleas.

Court documents alleged the man committed the offences against a female relative over several months when she lived with his family in Canberra in 2012.
ANCA Gallery: Pin Six. A miniature wearable artwork exhibition featuring more than 150 works by more than 50 professional artists working across Australia. Until Sunday. Open Wednesday to Sunday, noon-5pm. 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson. See: anca.net.au .

Belconnen Arts Centre: Dis-Place. A series of photographs using taxidermy native animals as a metaphor for the position of people with a disability in contemporary Australian society. All until July 17. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-4pm. 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen. See: belconnenartscentre.com.au.

Bungendore Fine Art: Happy Memories. Works by Janet Hicks and Doreen Shaw, artists inspired by a desire to celebrate a deep respect for the natural world. Until July 29. Open daily, 10am-4.30pm. 42b Ellendon Street, Bungendore. See: bungendorefineart.com.au.

Canberra Museum and Gallery: Michael Taylor: A Survey 1963-2016. Taylor's paintings spanning six decades oscillate between abstraction and representation. Until October 2. Open Monday to Friday 10am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday noon-5pm. Corner of London Circuit and Civic Square, Canberra City. See: cmag.com.au

CCAS City: Shaping Canvases. An exhibition by artist Sanne Koelmij examining the relationship between illusion and representation using oddly shaped canvases. Until August 13. Open Monday to Friday, 9am-5.30pm, Saturday 9am-1pm. Corner of London Circuit and Hobart Place, Canberra. See: ccas.com.au

M16 Artspace: Painting the Town by Night. Artist Julie Spencer presents works exploring her fascination with the urban experience. The 2nd Edition. Six graduates of the ANU School of Art Printmedia and Drawing department present their first exhibition together since graduation. Score No. 0013: Emotion Ensemble. A colour/audio projection work by Shags. Magic Lines. Works featuring words as graphic elements, using a variety of media and letters. All until July 24. Open Wednesday to Sunday, noon-5pm. 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith. Ph: 6295 9438 or see: m16artspace.com.au
Highway to the wilderness, Scandi style

Anja Loughhead has a new solo show opening this week at ANCA Gallery, based on a month spent travelling throughout regional Finland. It's satirical, to boot: "Examining the archetypes of Finnish culture, Anja Loughhead utilises drawing, assemblage and video performance to navigate familial narratives and to deconstruct romanticised views of the Scandinavian landscape," says the gallery. "A body of work that straddles a line somewhere between pilgrim and tourist, Highway to the Wilderness presents a feverish attempt of an individual's desire for cultural assimilation." Highway to the Wilderness, by Anja Loughhead, opens July 13 at ANCA Gallery, 1 Rosevear Place, Dickson, and runs until July 31.

Tiff Brown's prize-winning work, Still life series #5, found branch with juggling pins, can be seen at two shows this year.

Taciturn and Shaping Canvases

Two new shows are now showing at Canberra Contemporary Art Space. In Manuka, Natalie Azzopardi is showing Taciturn, "An exploration of storytelling, narrative, and the vehicles we use to tell them. Focused on memories real, borrowed and fictional, and the line we draw between truth and fiction." And in the City gallery, Sanne Koelmij demonstrates his fondness for making oddly shaped canvases: "I enjoy playing with this relationship between illusion, through gestural mark making, and representation, via the inclusion of physical materials. Rather than my paintings being full of gestures, the painting itself is a gesture." Taciturn, by Natalie Azzopardi, is showing at CCAS, 19 Furneaux Street, Manuka, until July 17. Shaping Canvases is showing at CCAS City, Corner of London Circuit and Hobart Place in Canberra City Framing, until August 13.
Infidelity dating site Ashley Madison used computer programs, dubbed fembots, that impersonated real women, to strike up conversations with paying male customers.

Its parent company, Avid Life Media, which was hit by a devastating hack last year, is now the target of a US Federal Trade Commission investigation.

Avid shut down the fake profiles in the US, Canada and Australia in 2014 and by late 2015 in the rest of the world, but some US users had message exchanges with foreign fembots until late in 2015.

Asked about the fembot messages sent to US customers, chief executive Rob Segal said: "That's a part of the ongoing process that we're going through ... it's with the FTC right now."
Anthony Albanese will move a motion congratulating Bill Shorten for Labor's 2016 election result and authorising him to lead post-election negotiations with the crossbench for the ALP.

And as counting continued on Thursday, the Coalition's position in two of the six seats that are too close to call improved.

Labor's lead in in the South Australian seat of Hindmarsh was slashed from 151 votes to just 8 votes with 3071 ballots to be counted, setting up a nail-biting count in the seat, while the Coalition's lead in the Queensland seat of Forde grew on Thursday, too, from 264 votes to 440 votes, with 9449 ballots left to count.
As my waistline can attest, I'm a sucker for hot chips. So I'm happy to queue for a plate of them  drowned in gravy and scattered with cheese curds  in Montreal. This so-bad-it's-good dish, poutine, is an obsession throughout the province of Quebec (although it's served at restaurants across the country). But nowhere is poutine better than in Quebec, where the artery-clogging dish was invented almost 60 years ago. And few restaurants offer more choice than La Banquise, with its 31 varieties, open 24 hours a day.

If you prefer, the cheese curds (which have a squeaky texture similar to haloumi) can be swapped for grated mozzarella, feta, goat or vegan cheese. Wash down the mess with a craft brew  the beer list includes the local coriander-scented Coup de Grisou and apricot-flavoured St-Ambroise Abricot  or a cola sweetened with maple syrup. With one careful order, it's possible to tick off a handful of iconic Canadian flavours in one sitting.

What Schwartzs customers are waiting for. Credit:Alamy

Montreal can be both screamingly hip  I take my poutine-filled belly back to the Hotel Gault, where my room is more scientific laboratory than cosy retreat  and defiantly retro. My favourite spot in the entire city isn't a French bistro or a jazz club or Schwartz's deli, where patrons queue down the block for the smoked meat. No, it's a wobbly stool at the counter of Wilensky's Light Lunch, a corner diner where it feels as though nothing's changed since it opened in 1932. The must-have special is a fried bologna and salami sandwich with mustard on a roll, toasted in a sandwich press and served on a napkin (but never cut in two). The time-warp diner also boasts a soda fountain with homemade syrups such as cherry-cola, root beer and chocolate. Another lovable aspect is the no tipping rule.

To hark back further, to pioneer times, head north-east to Quebec City, where history is served on a plate at Aux Anciens Canadiens, a restaurant that's a hop and a skip from the gothic fantasia of the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac.
If designer Jason Wu had his way, there would be more Julie Bishops in Parliament.

In Australia for only the second time this week to judge the International Woolmark Prize regional award, Wu said dressing the likes of Michelle Obama had set new boundaries for fashion in politics.

Exinfinitas and macgraw are the menswear and womenswear winners of the 2016/17 International Woolmark Prize Australia & New Zealand regional final. Credit:Ryan Schembri

"I was so honoured to be part of history. That was a really huge break for me."

Wu created Mrs Obama's white, one-shouldered gown for the 2009 Inauguration Ball and went on to become one of FLOTUS' preferred designers.
When Premier Mike Baird met with the Animal Justice Party three weeks ago, the mood had changed.

It was only the second time the Animal Justice MLC for NSW, Mark Pearson, had talked with Baird.

Baird told him it was clear that animal welfare was a new and serious concern for the community, and his election to Parliament in 2015 had opened a new chapter in politics.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she's not "scared" of the threat Pauline Hanson's One Nation party could pose to her government at the next election, as Labor confronts the reality it's manoeuvres to ensure its survival at the polls may have opened the door to One Nation influencing the outcome.

In a controversial move, Labor orchestrated the end of optional preferential voting and ending the 'just vote 1' strategy, hijacking an LNP bill with an amendment legislating compulsory preferences.

One Nation's comeback kid Pauline Hanson. Credit:AAP

It was designed to save Labor seats in danger of falling to the Greens, with internal polling showing several seats, including Deputy Premier Jackie Trad's and Environment Minister Steven Miles' were in danger of falling to an emerging Green vote.

But former premier Peter Beattie, writing for News Corp, has also warned it could lead to a resurgence of One Nation in the state parliament. The party was formed in Queensland and has traditionally seen its strongest support come from the sunshine state.
Lounging like a cat with a bellyful of cream, Bugs chose not to participate.

As the humans eased into a downward dog pose and other contortions, the rotund cat slouched at the back of the room  underside on display, tail between its legs  watching others sweat.

It was promoted as Yoga with Cats but Bugs wasn't having a bar of it.

He is one of the 10 fur babies looked after by cafe owner Katie Phelan, who has created a safe "cattic" for obsessives to find a release for their need to cuddle, coo, scratch and squeal at all things fluffy and feline.
A Queensland police officer has been charged following an investigation into allegations he used excessive force that caused facial fractures during an incident in April.

The constable was stood down from official duty with pay on Thursday.

The Crime and Corruption Commission has charged a Queensland police officer with grievous bodily harm.

It will be alleged the Northern Region officer assaulted a 23-year-old British national during an incident in Cairns on April 17.

Injuries the victim suffered included fractures to his jaw and eye socket.
Pauline Hanson's record One year: Ipswich City Council 1994-95. One term: Member for Oxley 1996-1998 One Nation in Queensland 1998-2001  one term: marked by five MPs splitting One Nation to form the City Country Alliance after financial strife, with all six MPs then losing in 2001. Remembering Pauline

Back in April 1994 I interviewed her in Ipswich's Queens Park  me; a cadet reporter for The Queensland Times, Pauline; a cadet politician - and we talked about the Ipswich Library. She was about to serve on the Library Services committee. Ipswich Library in 1994-96 was about to become a new world for Ipswich, because it opened the door to this thing called "the internet" in Queensland. The internet and the Ipswich Library  called Global Info Links  subsequently became transformative for Ipswich, riddled with closing mines and businesses. It was the early days of the world's new superhighway. The old coal town was dying. It needed a fresh start. A Labor Ipswich City Council has just been overwhelmingly rejected in the council election. Ten Labor councillors got turfed out. "It was pretty extraordinary," Labor councillor Paul Tully remembered. "It went from 10 Labor and one independent, to one Labor (Tully) and 10 independents," he said. Ipswich's internet at its new library, or Global Info Links, was the key to its future.

Ipswich's mayor at the time, Dave Underwood had the idea. Paul Pisasale was not in office. Pauline Hanson hated spending money on the new library and the Global Info Links. She stood as a councillor to oppose Dave Underwood's new-generation library. The transforming power of the internet did not make it to her maiden speech when she left the council in 1995 and scrambled into federal politics in 1996. Cr Tully is the now only serving Ipswich councillor who served with Pauline Hanson in 1994-95. He was never a fan, but today is relatively moderate remembering her contribution to Ipswich. "She was the shortest-serving councillor in Ipswich's history since 1860," Cr Tully said. "She was just a typical, newly elected councillor, who didn't know a lot about local government and asked a lot of questions," he said.

"She had a strong view against unions and - other than that - it was quite an un-exceptional 12 months." "She served 12 months, lost the next council election, then came back the next year as the Liberal candidate for Oxley and became the disendorsed candidate for Oxley. "But, she appeared on the ballot paper as a Liberal and she catapulted onto the national stage because of her dis-endorsement." The Liberal Party had disendorsed Pauline Hanson as the 1996 candidate because of this letter to the editor in The Queensland Times, which criticised financial assistance given to aboriginal students. Her subsequent profile became astonishing and she subsequently thrashed Labor's sitting MP Les Scott, securing a massive 23-per-cent swing at the 1996 federal election. It was the safest Labor seat in Australia and had been held by Bill Hayden.

Her maiden speech in September 1996 earned her criticism as being 'racist', though it was written by PNG Sepik River crocodile hunter, artist and political commentator John Pasquarelli. "I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40 per cent of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country." The speech included this phrase as well, though it was rarely reported. "Reconciliation is everyone recognising and treating each other as equals, and everyone must be responsible for their own actions." She held Oxley for two years until 1998 - with every step heavily scrutinised by local, state and federal media - when she decided to run for the new seat of Blair.

In between  in 1997  she formed Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party with the "two Davids"; David Oldfield and David Ettridge and questions over money, funding and their influence over the MP emerged. She polled most votes in the seat of Blair as a One Nation candidate at the 1998 election (36 per cent), but lost the seat to the Liberals' Cameron Thompson who polled third, because Labor  who polled second  preferenced the Liberal Party over One Nation. Pauline Hanson never forgot that preference deal. And around 1998 former prime minister Tony Abbott allegedly became involved in bankrolling a $100,000 trust fund to help a candidate called Terry Sharples raise doubts about One Nation around the 1998 election. What did she achieve as the Member for Oxley? "I think she more served the national political agenda, rather than the people of Oxley," Cr Tully said.

"And because of that, she knew that her time was up and she switched seats in 1998 to the new seat of Blair. "And I think she realised that it was a fluke her election in 1996, when the Labor Party was on the nose basically." However Pauline Hanson won more votes in 1998 than either the Labor Party, or the Liberals in Blair. And still lost. She never forgot. Pauline Hanson  a pocket timeline 1994-95  Wins a spot as an independent Ipswich City council in an anti-Labor rush.

1995  Loses the Ipswich City Council election and joins the Liberal Party. 1996  gets pre-selected to stand for the Liberal Party against Labor's Les Scott March 1996  gets dis-endorsed for this letter to the editor of The Queensland Times; March 1996  Oxley ballot paper shows her as the Liberal candidate, even though she ius disendorsed and she wins in a massive 23 per cent swing against Les Scott. September 10, 1996  maiden speech to parliament.

October 13, 1996 - Asks 60 Minutes host Tracey Curro to 'Please explain? when she was asked if she is xenophobic. April 1997  Pauline Hanson's One Nation party formed and registered by Pauline Hanson and the two "Davids", David Oldfield and David Ettridge. June 1998: Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party wins 11 seats in the 89-seat Queensland Parliament, securing 23 per cent of the vote. The Queensland leader of One Nation in 1998 was Heather Hill, a locally respected family resource centre administrator, who was elected as a Queensland senator, but lost the position because she held dual British/Australian citizenship. She was replaced by One Nation's second placeholder Len Harris who served until 2005. October 1998: Pauline loses the 1998 federal election; when she stands as a One Nation candidate after switching from Oxley to the new seat of Blair. She wins most primary votes (36 per cent) but Liberal candidate Cameron Thompson  who polled third (21.7 per cent) wins on Labor preferences, because Labor preferenced the Liberals over One Nation.
Thought you'd had enough rain? Wait, there's more to come for Melbourne, with major flooding continuing to cause havoc in several parts of the state.

Bureau of Meteorology Senior forecaster Dean Stewart said almost 5 millimetres of rain fell in the city on Thursday and light showers would continue this evening.

But Thursday was not as wet as Tuesday, which was officially the wettest day of the year so far in Melbourne.

Weather bureau data showed 22.6 millimetres of rain fell in the city in the 24 hours to 9am for Tuesday, beating the previous wettest day by one millimetre.
Hundreds of parents responded with outrage at the trend, while others complained that their children had not received proper care at other hospitals or from GPs. "Sadly I feel like this is why I was turned away from an emergency dept with my son who had pain in his side," one mother wrote. They sent us home saying he must have a virus. It's a pity they didn't investigate more as he had leukaemia. But if they are getting that many kids in..."

Another, who said her son had been misdiagnosed at another hospital, said if other hospital staff and GPs treated children with the same level of care as the RCH, more parents would vote with their feet. "There is a lack of trust from past experiences unfortunately from many parents," she wrote. But Professor Gary Freed said children with GP-type problems were bombarding hospitals across the state, not just the specialist hospitals. The trend also represents something of a cost shift between governments because states largely pay for hospitals and the federal government for GPs through Medicare. He said research suggested a perfect storm of factors was driving the trend, including a lack of awareness among parents about suitable health services, a tendency for GPs and Nurse-On-Call services to direct parents to hospitals, as well as a possible deterioration in GPs' exposure and confidence to manage children's health problems.

One study of 1150 children who attended hospitals for a low-urgency condition found only 43 per cent of parents had attempted to see a GP first. And of the 320 who did see a GP first, two thirds of them (212) were instructed by their GP to go to hospital. GP-type problems include vomiting and diarrhoea without severe dehydration, sprained ankles and mild asthma. The research also found that 20 per cent of parents had contacted the Victorian Nurse-On-Call service before going to a hospital. Of those who did call the phone line, 70 per cent (162) were told to go to the hospital. After using a "secret shopper" survey of GPs to see if access was a problem, Professor Freed found there was no shortage of appointments within four hours, and that many were bulk billing, meaning cost was not a factor. Professor Freed said children were making up a smaller proportion of patients seeing GPs. Thirty years ago, children made up about 34 per cent of GPs' work, now it's about 24 per cent. Medicare data also shows long GP consultations with children are diminishing, suggesting a shift towards specialist doctors. His research also found that trainee GPs were seeing vastly more adults in their training than children and that their exposure to chronic illnesses in children and other conditions may be quite limited.
Neanderthals were a human subspecies that lived in Europe and western Asia for hundreds of thousands of years before becoming extinct between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago.

Not only were they cannibals, but the Neanderthals appear to have fashioned tools out of the bones of their own kind.

No word in the scientific lexicon is more evocative than Neanderthal. Credit:Neanderthal Code/History Channel

The grisly discovery was made in a cave where scientists found bones bearing marks left by intentional butchering.

London: Belgian Neanderthals were eating each other some 40,000 years ago, new research shows.

The 'Panel of Hands' stencils in the El Castillo Cave, Spain, are believed older than 40,800 years. Credit:AP/File

Their disappearance followed the arrival of Homo sapiens, ancestors of people living today, from Africa.

Evidence shows that the two kinds of humans interbred, and up to four per cent of the DNA of modern Europeans and Asians is believed to have been inherited from Neanderthals.

The bones uncovered from the Goyet caves near Namur in Belgium bore cut marks, pits and notches signifying butchery, said researchers writing in the journal Scientific Reports.

It appears to have been a thorough process.
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They celebrated until the moon went down and the sun came up!

Thousands of people packed the streets of Kensington to mark the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and herald the festival breaking their month-long fast  Eid al-Fitr  during the eighth annual Chand Raat Bazaar on July 5. Families from the community  sometimes called Little Pakistan for its high population of folks from the Islamic republic  gathered on Coney Island Avenue, and enjoyed traditional sweet dishes, singing, dancing, and gazing up at the new moon, which signals the start of the three-day Eid festival an organizer said.

All night long we were there, I came home this morning around 6 am. It was packed, said Bazah Roohi, founder of the American Council for Minority Women, which hosts the festival. We celebrate the eve like Christmas Eve with friends and family. Its the biggest celebration  its a great time.

Muslim women showed off their best moves for a dance competition, donned their most stylish dresses for a fashion show, and belted their loudest for a singing competition, said Roohi.

And local shops lined the streets with racks of colorful dresses and shoes for last-minute shoppers looking to score gifts  an important tradition  for friends and family.

Kensington resident Anjum Quaid helped managed one of the clothing racks and said it was a lot of fun to celebrate with everyone.

It was a lot of people and I enjoyed it, said Anjum Quaid. It was a very successful event.

Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 2604577 or by e-mail at jcuba @cngl ocal.com . Follow her on Twitter @julcuba.
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The new buildings on campus are modern monstrosities. The path to the rocks in the gorge where we used to swim is roped off for safety reasons.

Three decades after my four-year jaunt in a place called Ithaca, it is now time to tour the campus with my youngest child, and I do so with bittersweet feelings.

Cornell University in upstate New York is a curious mix of the American Dream  a large university founded in the 18th century as both a private and land-grant collection of colleges.

On its polyglot campus, with jaw-dropping views of steep gorges and serene waterfalls, you can find the son of an Ohio farmer, the scion of a Swiss hotel chain, an aspiring union activist, or a preppie economics major all sitting side by side on the Arts Quad. With seven different colleges for varied academic or career interests, Cornell is truly a melting pot of cultures and a hothouse of intellectual challenges.

But being situated in a quiet corner of central New York, it is subject to the whims of the climate gods. The old joke is that Ithaca has two seasons: winter and July 4.

As I write this, on the day of our national independence, there is no more beautiful place in the Northeast than Ithaca in the summer. The winding hiking trails, the breathtaking views in the national parks, the vistas from the top of the rolling hills  these all make me yearn to dwell in a place like this.

But today is not about me or my nostalgia for the past. It is about my intellectually curious and idealistic daughter, who is searching for the right fit for her upcoming four-year journey. An avid hiker and lover of nature, she was smitten by the beauty of Southern California and the laid back culture she recently witnessed at Berkeley.

The schools of the South we toured  University of Virginia and William & Mary  were probably a step too far into an unfamiliar culture for her after growing up in Manhattan (and Queens and now Brooklyn). Wesleyan and Yale in Connecticut were in the right range, so they will probably stay on the list, as will Brown in Providence, the site of a recent one-week writing program.

Looking for the right college these days is a fraught adventure for both parent and child. In my day, Mom and Dad were mostly oblivious, allowing me to apply wherever I wanted. I didnt really tour schools until that few-week period between acceptance and decision time. It was a mad dash then to figure out quickly where I might fit in best.

I am not one of those parents who really wants and needs one of his children to attend his alma mater. So far, the two older ones have not, and so this time around is the last chance.

How to balance ones desire to present your school in a positive light without seeming pushy?

This is the task at hand now, and it will not be easy.

Returning to Ithaca after more than three decades stirs up many emotions and memories. But its really my daughters new memory-making that lies ahead and I must allow that to play itself out with me as a mere spectator.

Cant wait to see how this chapter begins. For her, the best is yet to come.

Tom Allon, the president of City & State, first became interested in a career in journalism as an editor of The Cornell Daily Sun, which now appears in print only three days a week.
Research News

Recommendation to consider mandatory low-nicotine cigarettes is premature

By DAVID J. HILL

Evidence of very small good effects on a few smokers should not be used to justify a disruptive and coercive cigarette prohibition. 

A panel of tobacco researchers that guides 180 World Health Organization countries on developing constructive new regulations for tobacco products recently advised the group to consider a global nicotine-reduction strategy.

This strategy would require that very low nicotine cigarettes could be the only cigarettes sold legally. These cigarettes would have so little nicotine in the tobacco that they would not create an addiction to cigarettes. This advice also warned that only countries with extensive tobacco-control programs should try this.

But the scientific evidence to date doesnt support such a recommendation at this time, even for countries with very strong tobacco control programs, UB researcher Lynn T. Kozlowski writes in a new paper published online July 1 in the journal Tobacco Control.

Kozlowski, professor of community health and health behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, cautions that much more needs to be known about the effects of such an untested prohibition or ban of traditional cigarettes before any WHO nations implement the recommendation.

Countries need to appreciate that such a ban or prohibition of traditional cigarettes has not yet been assessed anywhere in a community with a representative sample that includes individuals with mental health or other substance abuse issues, Kozlowski says.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2003 was the first international treaty created by the WHO. Some 180 countries  including Afghanistan, Austria, Bangladesh, Belize, France, Greece, Nigeria, Spain, Sweden and Zimbabwe have ratified the treaty. WHO has a panel of tobacco researchers, known as TobReg, that offers recommendations to members of the Framework Convention.

In addition to advising that members sell only low-nicotine cigarettes, TobReg also advises that it would be important to have alternative, safer forms of nicotine products available. However, Kozlowski says, the reality in the world right now is that many countries ban less-harmful products. For example, Canada prohibits nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, while the European Union (outside of Sweden) bans snus, a low-nitrosamine Swedish-style oral smokeless tobacco. Both products are estimated to be more than 90 percent less harmful than cigarettes.

The so-far very preliminary, suggestive research in non-representative samples does not yet justify TobRegs qualified recommendations for global deployment of such product regulations, Kozlowski says. The effects of prohibitions on traditional cigarettes by means of mandatory low-nicotine cigarettes need to be assessed in better samples and in real-world communities before being disseminated.

Think of it this way, he says: Imagine a coffee lover who likes caffeine in his coffee. If only decaffeinated coffee  which has a little caffeine in it  could be legally sold, the aforementioned coffee drinker would perceive a prohibition on the product he prefers, even though decaffeinated coffee was still available.

Banning a desired product could create contraband markets, as well as costs associated with enforcing the ban, Kozlowski points out.

Moreover, the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of reduced-nicotine cigarettes shows quite small effects of doubtful clinical significance, he says, and has been conducted on samples that arent representative of smokers overall.

Evidence of very small good effects on a few smokers should not be used to justify a disruptive and coercive cigarette prohibition, he says.

The recommendations are not warranted until long-term studies on representative samples of smokers show this is good for public health overall, he says. A country needs to try this and see what happens before others follow suit. Having an optional low-nicotine cigarette that some smokers might want to use is very different than making such cigarettes the only legal cigarettes. When these low-nicotine cigarettes have been on the market and heavily promoted, they have proven to be commercial failures.

Reduced-nicotine cigarettes also would represent a far different tobacco-control strategy than previous ideas, such as plain packaging and graphic warning labels, which, Kozlowski notes, dont change the product itself.

On balance, it is very hard to see that we are close to having an evidence base that would support any government to embark upon implementation of a mandatory regulation for all their smokers  no matter how advanced their tobacco-control programming, Kozlowski writes in the paper.
Travis Perkins has become an official event partner of the Americas Cup World Series Portsmouth for the second year running. Supporting community events at the UK stage of the global regatta, the partnership reflects the distributors presence in the South of England and its commitment to supporting the local communities surrounding branch and store locations.

As part of its commitment, Travis Perkins is funding the Portsmouth Sailing Project, which delivers sailing taster sessions to local school children to inspire a new generation into sailing, whilst breaking down the potential barriers to young people from diverse backgrounds.

Carol Kavanagh, HR director at Travis Perkins, said: This is our second year as an official event partner and were excited to see more children from the local area out on the water, trying something new and learning new skills. We are built on family values and this is what makes us different from many big businesses. Being a good member of the community is a key part of our vision and thats why we wanted to partner with the Americas Cup World Series Portsmouth.

There are around 300 Travis Perkins businesses in a 50 mile radius of Portsmouth, so this sponsorship presents a great opportunity for the company to support employees and customers in this area.

The Americas Cup World Series Portsmouth is one of a series of regattas staged around the globe building up to the battle for the Americas Cup in 2017, the most prestigious and coveted sailing trophy in the world. The Portsmouth Sailing Project is an initiative arranged by the 1851 Trust, the official charity of the Americas Cup World Series Portsmouth and delivered by the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation.
Ideal Standard has announced the appointment of Jim Moore as managing director UK & Ireland.

Mr Moore will oversee the companys activities in UK and Ireland, and will assume responsibility for the business development across the groups brands such as Armitage Shanks, Ideal Standard and Sottini. The appointment will be effective from 1 August 2016.

Mr Moore has spent the last 12 years in senior management positions with the Vaillant Group. He has a successful track record in the creation of high growth strategies and in developing close value-creating partnerships across the customer base.

Mr Moore succeeds interim managing director David Barber, who has been responsible for the operational activities in UK & Ireland since his appointment in January. Mr Barber will continue in his prior position as finance director ensuring a smooth transition and continuity of operations.

Torsten Tuerling, the groups chief executive officer, said: I could not be more delighted to announce Mr Moores appointment and welcome him to Ideal Standard. He brings a wealth of industry experience, deep customer understanding and leadership gravitas. He will be instrumental to shape the next phase of evolution of our company.

Klaus Jesse will take over from Mr Moore at Vaillant, having worked for Vaillant Group in several leading positions since 1985. Before he took over the management of Vaillant Groups international export activities, he was responsible for Vaillant in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As regional director for UK and Ireland, Klaus will report directly to the Managing director for sales, marketing and service, Dr Andree Groos.
Saniflo UK has long supported Cancer Research UK, raising thousands of pounds through activities including a charity bike ride from London to Paris last September, a hike up Ben Nevis in Scotland in 2014 and a dress down Friday every week.

During the past few months, the staff at the South Ruislip office have raised 667 from their dress down Friday where they each donate 1 for the privilege and these funds will be split between prostate and breast cancer research.

Saniflo UK customer services and marketing manager Ann Boardman said: Saniflo is a strong supporter of Cancer Research UK, before and after losing our former managing director Paul Newson in January 2014. The charity doesnt receive any government funding, so its badly needed. The dress down Friday is a bit of fun for a serious cause and its amazing to see how those pounds pile up quickly. The moneys going to do some good.
PATCO track tragedy took the lives of two family men

NTSB: PATCO track 'had not been taken out of service' when workers were hit on Ben Franklin Bridge tracks
SUE THE MESSENGER

How legal harassment by corporates is shackling reportage and undermining democracy in India

Subir Ghosh with Paranjoy Guha-Thakurta

Authors Upfront

243 pages; Rs 325



On the evening of April 15, 2014, Gas Wars: Crony Capitalism and the Ambanis, a book written by Paranjoy Guha-Thakurta, Subir Ghosh and Jyotirmoy Chaudhuri was officially released at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi. The next day lawyers for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RIL) sent the authors a legal notice alleging defamation, calling for a cease on the sale, publication and distribution of the book. The notice suggested that all copies be destroyed, publicity for the book be stopped and the authors tender an unconditional apology. The same notice was sent to the publisher, distributor, printer, internet retailers Amazon, Flipkart and Kobo and even to the lady who sent the invitations for the launch function.
In a setback for the Gautam Thapar-owned Ballarpur Industries, the companys plan to sell its Malaysian arm, Sabah Forest Industries (SFI), to Pandawa Sakti (Sabah) for $500 million (Rs 3,368 crore) has fallen through as the buyer couldnt arrange cash. BILT had announced the transaction in September last year to halve its Rs 6,300-crore debt.
Mohit Kumar Goel said he had to sell a third of his company Ringing Bells, to deliver the world's cheapest smartphone Freedom251, which would begin shipping on Friday.
Textile bodies and large players alike have welcomed the appointment of former HRD minister as the new Cabinet minister for textiles.

While on one hand the is hopeful the appointment will see a progressive approach being taken by Irani, it anticipates the government would consider textiles for the minimum merit rate under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) when implemented.
Sixteen Tamil Nadu were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week, a Fisheries Department official said on Thursday.

With this, the number of arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

Fisheries Department Assistant Director K D Gopinath said the Lankan Navy surrounded the fishermen, who put to sea from here and snapped 50 fishing nets of some boats last night.

The arrested and their three boats were taken to Kangesanthurai.

They also hurled stones forcing other fishermen to retreat.

Rameswaram fishermen's association president, P Sesuraja said about 580 fishing boats had ventured into the sea on Wednesday, but the catch was poor due to the attack by the Lankan personnel.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, requesting him to take steps to secure the release of 80 Indian fishermen and 101 boats seized by the Lankan Navy.

She had also said the root cause of the frequent arrests of the fishermen was the "unconstitutional" ceding of Katchatheevu to the Island Nation.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day. Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
The Congress on Thursday charged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration of creating conditions that would allow six private telecom companies to avoid paying Rs 45,000 crore it owed the government.
The Delhi University (DU) recently announced the results of the Joint Admission Test (JAT) on its official website. An entrance examination for admission to Bachelor of Management Studies (BMSc) ourse, B.A (Hons) and BBA (FIA) programme, JAT was conducted on June 20, 2016.
By the time the dust settled in Dhakas diplomatic quarters on Saturday, the Islamic State (IS) had already claimed responsibility for the gruesome attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery  an establishment which was reportedly popular with the citys expat community.
The trial court has told the 68 named in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet on the National Spot Exchange (NSEL) payments default case to be present before it on July 18.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to South Africa on Friday, the country's foreign minister on Thursday said the visit will cement and strengthen the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

"South Africa and India share common values and objectives which were forged during the struggle against colonialism and for liberation and democracy in South Africa," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Modi will be in South Africa as part of a whirlwind five-day tour of Africa that will also take him to three other African countries  Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

"India played a leading role in isolating the apartheid regime, resulting in a shared history of friendship and solidarity," Nkoana-Mashabane, a former high commissioner to India, wrote in the daily The New Age.

"India also provided consistent support to the liberation movement during South Africa's struggle for democracy and was at the forefront within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, in promoting international efforts towards South Africa's liberation," she added.

She also reflected on the impact that Mahatma Gandhi's tenure in South Africa at the turn of the last century had on the resistance to the apartheid regime.

Nkoana-Mashabane said one of the key objectives of Modi's visit would be to enhance commercial and business relations with India and to promote private sector-to-private sector contact.

"In this regard, a Chief Executive Officers' Forum and a South Africa-India Business Forum are planned to be held during the visit to facilitate business opportunities," she said.

"South Africa will also be exploring ways in which to increase and diversify our exports to India by identifying new areas of market access in areas including the defence sector, deep mining, renewable energy and the health sector," said the minister.

"The business meetings will also serve to promote investment by Indian companies in South Africa through the identification of areas of investment and by investigating ways in which to simplify procedures for companies investing in South Africa," she added.
With fiery statements ranging from calling out all Muslims to be terrorists to not acknowledging Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist, has been controversys child for a while now.
With the reshuffle over, day two was about why a certain minister was moved out and another brought in. Ravi Shankar Prasad, whos lost the high-profile portfolio to Manoj Sinha, was one such.
In order to iron out administrative differences between the Centre and states over the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has formed a committee to identify the key concerns and sort them out through dialogue. The issues include administrative threshold as well as revisionary powers.


Eight states will issue tenders worth Rs 5,000 crore for projects in a transmission network. Six of these states have issued notices for tenders, inviting companies to bid for parts of this green corridor.
Government will meet the central trade unions on a 12-point charter of demands raised by them on July 18, which will also see unions raising issues of price rise, disinvestment and foreign direct investment (FDI).

"We have called a meeting of all the central trade unions on July 18 to discuss the charter of demands," Labour Minister told reporters here.
Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER) will offer subsidy incentives in Northeast for industrial and other units generating employment. Announcing this on the conclusion of a meeting of the Ministry here this morning, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that, as a policy, the Ministry will encourage such entrepreneurship and business establishments which generate employment for the youth in the region. For this purpose, he said, the assistance to North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI) would incorporate a component of higher interest subsidy for such units which give more employment. DoNER Ministry is coordinating with Union Ministry of Finance in this regard, he added. .

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Spelling out the action plan for the year to come, Dr Jitendra Singh gave details of Venture capital funds as another incentive for those undertaking Startup" initiatives in the North-Eastern region.

This will be an added attractive feature for youth from all over India who wish to avail the benefit of Prime Ministers Startup India, Standup India" programme by setting up an establishment in Northeast. .

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Dr Jitendra Singh referred to a meeting held recently with the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) wherein it was decided to carry out satellite based survey for planning and monitoring of projects in the region. This, he said, will help in expediting the projects and also avoid discrepancies. In a similar initiative, he said, all the 8 States of Northeast region have agreed to cooperate in carrying out geo-tagging by giving GPS details of various ongoing schemes in the respective States. .

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Dr Jitendra Singh said, DoNER Ministry will also take up waste management project under North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP). In this case, the Ministry would study the other tried models of waste management including the Tamil Nadu model under the Capacity Building &. Technical Assistance (CB&TA) scheme. .

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Union Secretary, DoNER, Shri Naveen Verma and senior officers of the Ministry were present in the meeting. .

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Government of India is following the approach of Reform to Transform through far-reaching structural reforms. Employment Generation is the first priority for Government of India. This was stated by Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State(IC) for Labour and Employment in a joint press conference with DG,ILO(International Labour Organisation) Shri Guy Ryder here today. India is working on a comprehensive strategy to bring employment to the core of development strategy, promoting industrial activity through Make in India, enhancing employability through Skill India and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship through Start up India. These are a few transformative initiatives that the existing government has taken. .

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The Minister said that India is very proactive voice on the international Labour Policy Forum. International Labour Conference 2015 adopted the Recommendation on Transition from Informal to Formal economy (R 204) aimed at facilitating the transition of workers and economic units from the informal to the formal economy with an overwhelming majority. The concept of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which India is practicing, has also been acknowledged by the international forum as a powerful intervention for leading the transition. .

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He said India is actively engaged with other international forums like BRICS and G20 to address common issues faced by these nations in labour and employment sectors. BRICS brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43% of the world population, having 37% of the world GDP and 17% share in the world trade. Starting essentially with economic issues of mutual interest, the agenda of BRICS meetings has considerably widened over the years to encompass topical global issues. BRICS cooperation has two pillars consultation on issues of mutual interest through meetings of Leaders as well as at the level of Ministers. .

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India has assumed the presidency of BRICS, this year, the Minister informed. Labour & Employment pillar has newly been added to BRICS. The Ministerial level meeting of BRICS took place recently at the sidelines of International Labour Conference at Geneva. For the first time an Employment Working Group of BRICS has been constituted and the first meeting of the Group is scheduled to be held on 27-28, July, 2016 at Hyderabad, India. This will be followed by the Labour & Employment Ministers Meet in October 2016. .

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Shri Dattatreya said that the Ministry of Labour and Employment is committed towards job security, wage security and social security for each and every worker. The Ministry is working on reforms for bringing transparency and accountability in enforcement of Labour Laws. Simultaneously, the Ministry is making important initiatives to realize and establish the dignity and respect for each and every worker in the country through provision of social security and enhancing the avenues and quality of employment. .

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Speaking on the occasion Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO said that the World of Work is fast changing due to globalization, technological upgradation, geo-political situations for which collective responses and solutions needs to be taken by all the stake holders. India is the fastest growing economy, largest democracy and the youngest nation and is responsive to the challenges that new global order is throwing at . He said there is a very clearly detectable convergence in the priorities and ambitions of Indian government with the objectives of ILO.

Indian Government is focussing on rural population and rural economy and expressed hope of success in these efforts, he added. Talking about Indias footprint on international labour policy he said that India is not only a founding member of ILO but a strong voice on the issues of Labour. Speaking of ILOs role he said, the ILO can bring three ingredients to these efforts i.e. International experience, international labour standards and social dialogue. ILO as a 100-year-old organisation looks forward to strong and practical India leading in achieving ILO objectives. Sympathising with labour reforms, Mr. Guy Ryder said there is nothing negative or objectionable about labour reforms as per se. Labour laws that are easy to comprehend and easy to implement are need of the day. He said that the international community is coming closer and UN adopted development agenda for 2030 with 17 goals to be achieved and one of these commitment is decent work opportunities for all. Mr. Guy Ryder also responded to questions from media while interacting with them. .

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Mr. Guy Ryder, Director General, International Labour Organization (ILO) is on a five day visit to India from July 5-9, 2016, at the invitation of Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. The DG is participating in high-level discussions with Government officials and Social Partners. He had successful one-to-one meetings with the Prime Minister and the Minister of State (IC), Labour and Employment. ILO is the highest tripartite UN body on labour matters. Presently, 187 countries are members of ILO. India is a founding member of ILO and a permanent member of the Governing Body. .

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The visit of Mr. Guy Ryder, DG, ILO to India has come at an appropriate time. ILO is a think tank for many other international fora in their research activities. This visit of DG, ILO would be beneficial both to ILO as well India. .

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The Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated two-day Conference on Innovations in Agricultural Mechanization Development of linkage among R&D Institutes - Industry Farmers" today at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Shri Radha Mohan Singh congratulated Agricultural Engineers/ Scientists of the country who have contributed a great for increasing the productivity of farm produce through mechanization. In his inaugural address the Union Minister emphasized that agricultural mechanization is essential for agricultural modernization and accordingly its benefits need to be extended to all categories of farmers in each agro-climatic zones of the country. He has informed that the Honble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has clear road map and vision for agricultural development and welfare of farmers and Shri Narednra Modi is always guiding force in the adoption of appropriate plans and programs towards this. Shri Singh also stressed upon the need to transfer the latest technology to the farmers so that their income may be doubled by way of reducing the cost of cultivation and increasing production.

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. Shri Radha Mohan Singh has requested to all the manufacturers to come forward for the commercialization of technology so that the appropriate technology may reach to the farmers to benefit them. The Union Minister has stressed upon the need for saving the water and the mantra per drop, more crop". .

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During the inaugural address, Shri Singh emphasized on the establishment of four new Farm Machinery Training & Testing Institutes in the Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The Union Minister has also informed about the initiatives taken by his Government by which the farmers of the country have been benefited especially Pradhan Mantri Gram Sinchayee Yojana; Solar Pumping Set System; Soil Health Cards etc. Shri Radha Mohan Singh also advised to adopt the technologies in agriculture which can save the water and thereby increase the profitability. However, most of our business due to small land holdings, using compatible equipment is not economically advantageous. Enable custom hiring centers for agriculture to farmers through agricultural machinery are available, and it is a good effort. He has released the book namely Farm Mechanization in India The Custom Hiring Perspective" on this occasion. .

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The Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Shri S.K. Pattanayak extended his heartfelt welcome to the gathering and in his key note address he stressed upon the formidable challenges in the agriculture sector such as shrinking land base, dwindling water resources, shortage of farm labour, increasing costs and uncertainties associated with volatility in international markets. However, the challenges can be addressed and the productivity of the farm in-turn can be realized by increasing land and labour efficiency in agriculture through appropriate farm mechanization. .

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During the plenary session, the eminent personalities in the field of agricultural mechanization presented the latest innovations and technological development in the agricultural machinery and equipments. The national innovation foundation has stressed upon the need for standardization of grass root technologies developed by the rural innovators / artisans. The technology developed in the R&D systems of ICAR and private sectors have been shown to the farmers and the Government officials for their promotion and popularization. Some of the innovations have also been offered for commercialization such as.

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variable rate fertilizer applicator .

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Check basin former .

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Turmeric rhizomes planter .

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Ultrasonic sensor based sprayer.

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Unmanned autonomous vehicle for agriculture.

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During the two days conference, it is expected that the deliberations of the conference would contribute to the process of developing, introducing and sustaining new technologies and applications in the Indian farming system. The conference has also provided an opportunity to all the stake holders of agricultural mechanization for engaging each other in a mutually beneficial manner. The two-day conference will conclude on 8th July 2016 i.e Friday at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. .

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SS/AK
Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the second anti-drug Working Group meeting of Heads of Drug Control Agencies of BRICS countries here tomorrow. The meeting is being organized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Besides the delegates from the member countries, the Ambassadors of the respective countries shall also be attending the inaugural session. The Directors General of Border Guarding Forces and the Paramilitary are also likely to attend the inaugural session along with the heads of the Intelligence and Investigative Agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. .

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The BRICS, an association of five major emerging economies comprising of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, had started as a forum for future economic cooperation and for reforming Financial Institutions. The seventh BRICS summit was held in July, 2015 in Russia and India shall be hosting the eighth BRICS summit in October, 2016 in Goa. .

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In accordance with the eThekwani Declaration adopted during the BRICS summit in March 2013 at Durban, South Africa, it was decided to explore, besides economic issues, various new areas of cooperation among the member States, including drug related issues. It was decided that the heads of anti-drug agencies of the five member countries may meet regularly under the aegis of the BRICS anti-drug working group meeting. In keeping with the spirit of the eThekwani Declaration, the first anti-drug working group meeting of BRICS countries was organized at Moscow, Russia in November, 2015. .

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The Indian delegation shall be headed by Shri Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau and shall comprise of officers from the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Health and Family welfare and Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. .

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The delegates from the participating countries shall be deliberating over important drug related issues over the entire day. The agenda items which would come up for discussion would include improving information exchange mechanisms on illicit trafficking of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances including early detection of new psycho active substances, maritime drug trafficking, diversion of precursors and controlled chemicals for manufacturing of illicit synthetic drugs etc. The agenda would also focus on capacity building and training of personnel of enforcement agencies as well as rehabilitation and re-socialization of persons who were addicted to drugs. .

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The meeting would also evaluate the drug abuse situation in the member countries and analyze the legislations of BRICS member states as well as devise modalities to share the best practices of enforcement and demand reduction being followed in the member countries. .

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Text of the Banquet speech by Prime Minister during his visit to Mozambique (July 07, 2016) Your Excellency, President Filipe NyusiLadies and Gentlemen, Excellency, I am deeply touched by your kind words. Thank you also for your thoughts on the strength of the Mozambique-India relationship. I would like to thank you as well as the Government and the people of Mozambique for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.

Excellency, the relationship between our countries is not new. Thousands of Indian-origin people call Mozambique their home. I am told that most of the Siddi community that resides in parts of India is known to trace its ancestry to Mozambique. These communitiesare a living testimony to age old links that have connected our people, their ideas and traditions, and culture and commerce.

Excellency, both our countries suffered under the colonial rule. In the case of Mozambique, the struggle was much longer. Independent India was one of the leading advocates of Mozambican freedom from colonial rule. We were proud to see Mozambique join the ranks of free nations in 1975.

And, today, we applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades.

Excellency, as two developing countries we face similar challenges. Our development and economic partnership, therefore, has been an essential part of our relationship.

Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years. We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities.

Last year marked the 40th anniversary of Mozambican independence and of establishment of our diplomatic ties. It also saw a level of interaction between our nations, never seen before. Its high point was your own State Visit to India in August 2015. Later, your Prime Minister honoured us with his presence during the third edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit. Excellency, I am aware that I am the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mozambique in 34 years. This gap should never have been so long. And, I am confident that it will not be so in future.

With these words, Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen, please join me in raising a toast:
Brazil's suspended President failed to attend her defence hearing in front of the Senate's impeachment commission.

Rousseff was expected to appear to speak in her own defence on Wednesday but instead sent a written response presented by Jose Eduardo Cardozo, her lawyer and former Justice Minister, Xinhua news agency reported.

The President had announced her decision on social media Tuesday, saying that she would "consider the possibility of appearing in front of the Senate, but at another time".

In a statement read out by Cardozo, Rousseff stated that the impeachment attempt against her was purely politically motivated.

She repeated her defence argument that the fiscal manoeuvre, for which she is being investigated, had no impact on the government's fiscal budget.

On Tuesday, the senators with the commission listened to experts for the defence and prosecution. A number of them concurred that while Rousseff did approve the allegedly illegal budget movements, they did not identify actions that could be said to be a crime of responsibility.

Rousseff was temporarily suspended on May 11 for up to 180 days, pending a full impeachment trial in the Senate, which will be conducted in August.

A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed to fully impeach Rousseff and suspend her from public office for eight years.
Prices of agricultural commodities jumped in June, the steepest monthly rise in four years, on supply concerns in some 'sensitive' products such as sugar, pulses and maize in major producing countries.
The political dual between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump today reached the Atlantic City - a casino city on east coast - with the former top American diplomat accusing the real estate tycoon of playing with the lives of innocent workers.

"He calls himself a king of debt. And he earned that title right here in AC," Clinton told her supporters in the casino city in New Jersey where Trump has had several properties including Taj Trump.

Trump from the Republican party and Clinton from the Democratic party face each other in the November presidential elections.

Attacking Trump's business legacy, Clinton said that many of these businesses went bankrupt thus putting tremendous strain on innocent workers.

Trump, however was quick in denying these allegations.

"I have built a tremendously successful business, which has created tens of thousands of jobs. Out of the hundreds of businesses I have owned over the decades, and hundreds of deals and transactions, I have used the chapter laws of our country in four instances, much as many of our country's elite business people do (but nobody cares about)," Trump said.

"It is an effective and commonly used practice in business to use bankruptcy proceedings to restructure a business and ultimately save jobs. Nobody understands the economy like I do and no one, especially not Crooked Clinton, will do more for the economy than I will," Trump said.

Trump's statement came moments after Clinton made a scathing attack on him for his alleged failed businesses.

In her speech, Clinton alleged that Trump's record in Atlantic City is a disaster.

She made the case that Trump is unfit to serve as President in the wake of destruction his business dealings have caused in the seaside town and for businesses and families across the country.

In her remarks Clinton highlighted Trump's history in Atlantic City of multiple bankruptcies, stiffing contractors and spurring hundreds of job losses while pocketing cash for himself.

She said that Trump's promise that he would "do for the country what I did for my business" is a clear threat, and a major reason why voters cannot allow him to endanger our economy from the White House.

"He doesn't default and go bankrupt as a last resort. He does it over and over again on purpose. Even though he knows he will leave others empty-handed while he keeps the plane, the helicopter, the penthouse," Clinton said.
NATO will hold fresh talks with next week, just days after a landmark alliance summit endorses a major military revamp to counter a more assertive Moscow, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said today.

"We have decided together with to hold a meeting of the NATO- Council (NRC)... The meeting will take place on 13 July at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, shortly after the NATO summit in Warsaw," this Friday and Saturday, Stoltenberg said in a statement.

The NRC brings together ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states and Russia, and met regularly until the Ukraine crisis plunged relations with Moscow into the deep freeze.

Russia's ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko told AFP, "The main focus will be on the military security in the wake of decisions to be taken at the NATO summit in Warsaw. We hope for a frank and serious dialogue on the issues related to the increased NATO activities near Russian borders and their impact on the security and stability in Europe and its regions."



"We will also continue the exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan," he added.

In April this year, the NRC held its first meeting since June 2014 but the talks ended in "profound disagreements" over Ukraine and other issues despite hopes they could ease tensions.

Germany led calls for the council to meet before the Warsaw summit but NATO diplomatic sources said Russia had appeared reticent, apparently preferring to see the outcome of the gathering before agreeing to talks.

Stoltenberg said the council "has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue and information exchange, to reduce tensions and to increase predictability".

"Our discussions will focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk (cease-fire) agreements," he said.

NATO suspended all practical cooperation with Russia following its shock 2014 annexation of Crimea but kept channels of communication open, with Germany and several other member states stressing that in a crisis situation, it would be wrong to close the door completely.

NATO leaders gathering in Warsaw will sign off on the alliance's biggest military revamp since the end of the Cold War largely driven by Russia's intervention in Ukraine.
Britain's government will force junior doctors in England to accept a new contract, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today, after a long-running row which has prompted a wave of strikes.

The move came after the junior doctors, who provide a large part of the workforce in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), yesterday rejected a proposed package brokered between ministers and their trade union.

They have staged six strikes over pay and conditions during the dispute, which erupted late last year.

"Unfortunately because of the vote we are now left in a no-man's land that, if it continues, can only damage the NHS," Hunt told parliament.

He said a new contract had to be imposed to end "protracted uncertainty at precisely the time we grapple with the enormous consequences of leaving the EU".

Junior doctors are medical graduates with years of experience but who have yet to complete their training. There are about 53,000 of them working in England's NHS, many of whom work very long hours.

The government argues that reforms to junior doctors' contracts are necessary to ensure that the quality of care for patients is as high at weekends as it is during the week.

While it has been shielded from government austerity cuts to public services, the NHS faces an increasing financial strain due to factors like rising treatment costs and an ageing population.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama agreed during a telephone call today to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in Syria, the Kremlin said.

"The two parties have confirmed their desire to intensify coordination between the Russian and American militaries in Syria," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin also called on Obama to help aid the separation of moderate opposition groups from "terrorist groups like the Al-Nusra front", it said.

They both stressed the importance of restarting UN-sponsored peace talks after two rounds of negotiations held in Geneva since the start of the year ended without progress.

Russia and the US have already been cooperating in with Moscow calling for "decisive joint action against Al-Nusra" in June.

Russia proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in in May, a proposal that was rejected immediately by Washington.

During a visit to Georgia ahead of a NATO summit, US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed today the 72-hour ceasefire announced by the Syrian army to coincide with Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

He added that he hoped a more long-term cessation of hostilities will follow.

The last truce in the country was declared on February 27 between regime and non-jihadist rebel groups after being brokered by Russia and the US.

Though it did not apply to the battle against jihadist factions, it sharply reduced violence in the conflict that has so far claimed more than 280,000 lives and displaced millions of people.

The ceasefire all but collapsed after repeated violations.
Imprisoned transgender soldier was briefly hospitalized this week, the US Army said today amid media reports the famous intelligence leaker had attempted suicide.

Manning's legal team, however, was unable to contact their client to ascertain the circumstances surrounding her visit to the hospital.

Army spokesman Colonel Patrick Seiber told AFP that Manning had been taken to a local hospital in Kansas's Fort Leavenworth area yesterday morning.

"She was returned to the disciplinary barracks yesterday morning," Seiber said, without providing any information on Manning's medical condition.

Celebrity news site TMZ.com cited an unnamed source saying Manning had tried to hang herself and was currently being monitored.

And CNN, citing an official who also spoke anonymously, said Manning was hospitalised after an apparent suicide attempt.

Manning's lawyer Nancy Hollander reacted furiously to the apparent disclosure of medical information to the media, noting she'd had no word from the Army about Manning's condition.

"We're shocked and outraged that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with private confidential medical information about Chelsea Manning, yet no one at the Army has given a shred of information to her legal team," Hollander said in a statement.

The attorney said she had been due to call Manning yesterday only to be told by Army officials that the call "could not be connected."



"The Army has told (Manning's) lawyers that the earliest time that they will accommodate a call between her lawyers and Chelsea is Friday morning," Hollander said.

"Her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being... Are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea's current situation," she added.

Army officials did not immediately respond to a request for response on Hollander's comments.

Originally called Bradley, Manning was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offenses after admitting to handing classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

After sentencing, Manning announced she identified as female and later obtained legal authorization to change her name and receive hormone therapy.

She remains, however, in a men's military prison in Kansas, where she is appealing a 35-year sentence.
Mutual funds have sold their entire 2.52 per cent stake in Ricoh India, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational imaging and electronics firm Ricoh Co, in the past three months.
(India) has rallied 14% to Rs 223 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in intra-day trade after the company announced that it has won contracts valued at Rs 587 crore in June 2016.
Oilmeal export fell 61 per cent in the period between April and June, first three months of this financial year.
India's public sector banks (PSBs), despite a vast network of branches, continue to lag behind private peers in selling mutual fund products to investors.Poor earnings from sale of mutual fund products is a clear indication of their inefficiency. And this comes at a time when investors' awareness about mutual funds is on the rise, given the significant growth in flow of money from retail clients.For instance, State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, with nearly 16,800 branches across the country, could earn Rs 62 crore only by way of commission from sale of mutual fund products in 2015-16.On the other hand, private lenders HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank together pocketed Rs 740 crore in the year. Interestingly, the total network strength of these four private banks is 13,200 branches, 20 per cent less than that of SBI and a fourth of all the branches of top PSBs.Top three banks in terms of commission payouts from sale of mutual fund products in 2015-16: HDFC Bank, with 4,520 branches, earned Rs 261 crore, ICICI Bank, with 4,450 branches, Rs 170 crore, and Kotak Mahindra Bank, Rs 166 crore.He added that state lenders were busy pushing the government's intiatives - be it Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana or Jan Suraksha Yojana. "If the same enthusiasm had been been shown for mutual funds, the scenario would have been quite different. It's a problem of mindset and can't be rectified in a short time. And opening a mutual fund branch everywhere is not viable as this business runs on thin margins," he said.Experts say PSBs have a long way to go before they catch up with their private counterparts.Kaustubh Belapurkar, director (fund research) at Morningstar India, says, "That ethos (to push mutual funds) will take some time to come among PSBs. The proportion of sales of mutual fund products coming through their branches is minuscule as it is not their focus area. I believe it calls for a training of employees to help push funds."

Banks as national distributors are an important part of the distribution channel for fund houses. Since banks are much more trusted by customers, the vast branch network needs to be put to use. It would not only help penetrate mutual funds among population but will also help in better financial inclusion which will be in the interest of all the stakeholders.
Strongly condemning the bomb explosion that took place during an Eid prayer congregation in Bangladesh's Kishoreganj town, the Congress on Thursday asked the nation to stand united against terrorism.

"It is very unfortunate. Nearly, 20 people were killed by the terrorists in Bangladesh earlier during Ramzan. It is very unfortunate that the terrorists indulge in these kinds of activities in the month of Ramzan, when people pray and think of God. It is a very shameful thing and also a matter of concern," Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told ANI.

"We strongly condemn this. The whole nation should stand united against terrorism," he added.

The incident took place around 9:45 a.m. local time in the Sholakia field of Kishoreganj, where people gather each year for Eid congregation. It is said to be the country's largest Eid congregation.

Superintendent of Police Mohmmad Anwar Hossain Khan confirmed that one person had been killed. However, reports suggest that another person has also been killed.

Miscreants of unknown origin had taken shelter at a nearby Azimuddin School and the police have launched a counter-offensive to nab them, reports the Daily Star.

According to reports, the witnesses said about 300,000 to 400,000 Muslims, who had gathered at Sholakia to offer Eid prayers and were trapped because of the ongoing gun battle between the cops and the miscreants.

It is said that a group of six to seven people had led the attack on the policemen when a frisking operation at the Eidgah ground was on.

Policemen were also attacked with sharp weapons and bombs.

Kishoreganj Sadar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mizanul Haque confirmed that police constable Jahirul was killed in the attack.

The explosion comes days after a terror attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area, claimed 22 lives, including some foreigners. The attack drew worldwide condemnation.

The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the incident and even warned of more attacks in Bangladesh.
In a fresh terrorist attack that took place in Bangladesh's Kishoreganj area during a mass Eid prayer leaving two killed and nine injured, defence experts have expressed condemnation on the attack.

Defence expert P.K. Sehgal on Thursday said the attack on the occasion of Eid was 'expected' adding that the pro-Pakistan opposition party is attempting to destabilise the pro-India Sheikh Hasina Government by carrying out such attacks.

"It is unfortunate in Bangladesh while the ruling dispensation is in favour of India and it's against terrorism. The opposition entity supports terrorism and unfortunately is joining hands with Pakistan to destablsie Sheikh Hasina Government and to bring chaos and mayhem with a view to damage the image of Sheikh Hasina Government," Sehgal told ANI.

Ranjit Rai, another expert, however said that the attack was planned accordingly to target innocent people and expressed sympathies to the people of Bangladesh.

"It is very sad that they are targeting people, this couldn't have been done without planning," he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Major General (Retired) S.R. Sinho has attributed the attacks as "homegrown" or 'lone-wolf' attacks that are augmenting terrorist activates to defame and destabilise the Hasina Government.

"It is possible that these are homegrown terrorists or lone-wolves but I see as a conspiracy to destablise the government by augmenting terrorist activities to frighten them and showing it to the world that Bangladesh is plagued with terrorism," he said.

Adding to the list of possibilities on the perpetrators of the terrorist attack, expert Qamar Agha said, "Islamic state does not have anything to do with religion they want power. In the name of religion they want to have power in the state this has been their plan, they tried in Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria as well. They have lot of money and amassed lot of weapons, there is unemployment in Bangladesh and the IS are taking advantage of that. ISIS enjoys traditional home grown support in Bangladesh."

Four people, including two policemen, a woman and a suspected assailant, have reportedly died in the attack near Sholakia Eidgah.

Earlier this week, a terrorist attack took place at a cafe near Dhaka's diplomatic enclave claiming lives of 20 civilians.

Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi-American and two Bangladeshis were killed in the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan.

The 12-hour-long hostage crisis at the cafe popular with foreigners ended after a two-hour long assault by armed forces' commandos killing six gunmen.
The Government of Chhattisgarh has issued transfer orders to eight senior police officers.

A statement issued by the state government said that the following police officers have been transferred:

1.Pawan Dev (IPS-1992): Transferred as DGP (Crime Branch) in Raipur vide DGP Bilaspur

2.J.P. Singh (IPS-1994): Transferred as DGP Planning, Management and Technical Services vide DGP Raipur

3.Pradeep Gupta (IPS-1995): Transferred as DGP, Raipur Range vide DGP Durg Range

4.Vivekanand (IPS-1996): Transferred as DGP Bilaspur Range vide deputation fron Centre

5.Dipanshu Kabra (IPS-1997): Transferred as DGP Durg Range vide DGP Planning, Management and Technical Services

6.B.P.S. Pausharya (IPS-1998): Transferred as DGP Chhattisgarh Armed Police Force at Police Headquarters in Raipur vide DGP (AJAK/AAV Police)

7.Badrinarain Meena (IPS-2004): Transferred as SP Raigarh vide SP Raipur

8.
China and Iran have pledged cooperation to promote the implementation of a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday, exchanged views on China-Iran relations and the implementation of the nuclear agreement.

Wang said that both sides have made positive progress in implementing the consensus reached by the heads the two countries when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Iran in January this year, reports Xinhua.

Since the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue was reached in July 2015, Iran and six other countries including Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States have actively kept their commitment and the implementation of the agreement goes smoothly, Wang added.

Wang said that he hoped all related parties would continue to shoulder their responsibilities, deepen mutual trust and implement UN Security Council Resolution 2231 as well as the Arak heavy-water project.

For his part, Zarif said Iran attaches great importance to the fruits that Chinese President Xi's Iran visit has yielded and that the Iranian side speaks highly of the efforts the Chinese side has made to facilitate the Arak reactor's reconstruction.
The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre on Thursday decided to hold the first convention of the unified Maoist party on from January 7 to 12 next year.

According to party leader Mani Thapa, the decision was made in a politburo meeting of the party that began on Tuesday, reports the Himalayan Times.

The meeting reiterated that a national consensus government should be formed at the earliest.

Thapa said that the party would discuss its agendas with other parties and form the government with any party which would support the agendas.

Reports suggest that the party would immediately begin discussions with the major parties including ruling coalition partner Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) and main opposition Nepali Congress on toppling the incumbent government led by Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli.

The party leaders have of late, expressed dissatisfaction with the Oli government claiming it could not implement a nine-point agreement.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James B. Comey has confirmed that he will testify before the U.S. Congress on Thursday, to explain his decision not to press criminal charges against Democratic presidential nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the private email investigation regarding her mishandling of classified emails.

Next week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will be called to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.

A Senate panel has asked the FBI to give answers to pointed questions on Clinton's email faux pax, reports the New York Times.

Reacting to 'no-charges' against Clinton, her Republican presidential nominee rival Donald Trump tweeted "The system is rigged."

Comey is a veteran law enforcement official who served as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and is highly regarded in both parties for his integrity and independence.

Array

If he makes a convincing case for his decision on Thursday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, it would mean the Democrats can put the controversial email issue to rest.

Array

A spokesman for Clinton, Brian Fallon, accused the Republicans of flip-flopping.

"For weeks, Republicans have said they trusted FBI Director Comey to lead an independent review in Secretary Clinton's emails. But now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories," said Fallon.

Array

However, Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, made it clear that at the hearing with Attorney General Lynch, they would focus on Lynch's impromptu meeting with former President Bill Clinton before the FBI's all clear announcement.

Array

The decision not to prosecute "is uniquely troubling in light of Attorney General Lynch's secret meeting with former President Bill Clinton," Goodlatte said in announcing the hearing.

Array

Meanwhile Republicans are pushing for the public release of all the investigative materials, including a transcript of Clinton's recent interview with the FBI.
Nine people were detained by the Delhi Crime Branch on Thursday, after the 'censor copy' of 'Great Grand Masti,' the third part of the 'Grand Masti' franchise, was leaked online on Monday.

According to reports, six cases have been registered under the Copyright Act.

A press conference has been arranged at 1.30 p.m. to reveal details of the leak.

Meanwhile, Balaji Films, the producer of the movie, has decided to prepone the film's release to July 15.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh too tweeted about the same saying, "#GreatGrandMasti to now release on 15th July."

The Indra Kumar directional, which stars Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and Urvashi Rautela was earlier slated to hit theatres on July 22.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said that the Home Ministry will analyse and act appropriately on Zakir Naik's 'objectionable' speeches.

The minster was responding to a question regarding moves to ban Naik in India.

"Home Ministry will look into the matter and will take proper action after this. The kind of language being used by him is objectionable," Naidu told media persons.

According to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, the son of an Awami League leader and one of the perpetrators of last week Dhaka's diplomatic zone terror attack quoted the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Condemning the terror attack that took place earlier today leaving four people dead at Kishoreganj in Dhaka, Naidu said that the need of the hour for the world is to unite and not only condemn but contain terrorism.

"Terror is terror it has no religion , it has no region it's a threat to the humanity. Everyone should take concrete action on this, the entire world should unite together not only to condemn but also to contain terror and this is the need of the hour," he said.

Naik, during his lecture on Peace TV, reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches.

He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
The Janata Dal (United) on Thursday said that the relations between India and Africa need to be strengthened and expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit is planned in a manner to yield concrete results.

"This relationship needs to be strengthened, I am happy that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making this visit and I hope that the visit has been planned in a manner which will lead to concrete results," Verma told ANI.

Verma said that the Prime Minister, among his visits to other countries, has found time to visit Africa, while adding that the continent shares historical ties not only politically but culturally as well.

"I am glad that Prime Minister Narendra Modi among his other perambulations around the world has found time for Africa. Africa is a continent with we had centuries old relationships not only politically but in the areas of culture and in areas of people, people to people contacts," he added.

He said that India, since the beginning of its independence has fought against apartheid and against colonialism and has the potential to have greater economic relations with Africa.

"We have the potential to have far greater economic relations with Africa and it is a continent whose interest India has fought since the beginning of our independence against apartheid and against colonialism in Africa," he said.

During his five-day tour the Prime Minister will be visiting Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

Prime Minister Modi yesterday said that his tour will be aimed at enhancing ties between India and Africa beginning with a visit to Mozambique - a brief but key visit.
Security expert Alok Bansal on Thursday said that Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been propounding Wahabi ideology which is becoming a breeding ground for terrorism and addied that his narrative is similar to that of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.

Wahabism is a religious part of Sunni Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a 18th century scholar, which has been described by many as a 'fundamentalist' ideology.

Bansal told ANI that extremism can only by countered by creating an alternate narrative and not by bombs and bullets.

"We must understand that this is an ideological battle and it cannot be won by bombs or bullets; it has to be won by creating an alternative narrative and people like Zakir Naik have created narrative that actually helps organizations like Al-Qaeda or Islamic State to thrive because their narrative is very close to his narrative, though he keeps saying that he talks of peace but his narrative convinces people to go and follow Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State."

He stated that global community must ensure that his channel must be banned to prevent him from accessing the influential minds of the youth.

"Zakir Naik has been propounding an extremist worldview his ideology, his channel, propagates a Wahabi ideology. This is dangerous because this is what actually drives terrorists. I think global community should take steps to prevent from propagating his views and ensure that people like Zakir Naik don't have unbridled access to impressionable minds," he said.

According to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader and one of the perpetrators of last week Dhaka's diplomatic zone terror attack quoted the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Naik, during his lecture on Peace TV, reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches.

He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
The police custody of son of independent Rajasthan legislator Nand Kishor, Siddharth Mehariya, who was arrested for allegedly mowing down three people from his BMW car, was on Thursday extended by one day by a Jaipur Court.

Mehariya was on Monday sent to three-day police custody, which was to end today.

Three people were killed and five others injured when a BMW car allegedly driven by Siddharth rammed into an auto rickshaw and a police PCR van near St Xavier's School in the city late on Friday night.

Siddharth's lawyer Deepak Chauhan said that the charges levied against his client were false, adding a person named Ramesh was responsible for the accident.

The lawyer further said that Ramesh later on went to the police and said he was responsible for the accident.

The police alleged that 20-year-old Siddharth was driving the vehicle in an inebriated state.

The incident occurred at around 1.50 a.m. when Siddharth and his cousin Jayant (19) were heading to Jyoti Nagar in a BMW.

The three victims were identified as Jethanand, Kailash and Vishnu.

Siddharth had cried foul, saying he was not driving the car and it was his driver who caused the accident.

He also refused to the allegations levelled by the police, saying wherever a big car and youngsters are involved, there is doubt of alcohol consumption.
With Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju stating that decision to ban controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik is the call for law enforcing agencies to take, the Janata Dal (United) on Thursday said all forms of extremism should be banned.

"Religious leaders in every community have increased ever since BJP came to power. We get to hear news of extremism from Punjab, from UP and also from Mumbai. So, all kinds of extremism should be banned," JD (U) leader K.C.Tyagi told ANI.

Rijiju had yesterday said, it was not wise on the part of a minister to make announcement on banning Zakir Naik, who was followed by one of the five Bangladeshi youths involved in the killing of 22 people at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka last Friday. He added that that it is the call of the law and agencies.

He said that India and Bangladesh have been working closely together for many years, especially related to security related issues.

"The present government of Bangladesh is very favourable to India's concern. That is why, for any action to be taken we have to work together because the threat of terrorism is not limited to one country," he told media yesterday.

According to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, propagated on Facebook last year quoting the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

Naik, in his lecture in Peace TV, reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed against other religions.

He is among the 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
The Sri Lankan Navy apprehended 16 Indian fishermen along with their three boats in early morning hours on Thursday.

Earlier on July 3, the Lankan Navy had apprehended five Indian fishermen and detained their fishing boat.

Before these arrests, 57 Indian fishermen were in Sri Lankan custody.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa yesterday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to intervene and secure the immediate release of the Tamil fishermen and their fishing boats apprehended by the Lankan Navy.

Fishermen from Tamil Nadu protested by standing waist deep in Sea in Rameswaram urging the immediate release of fellow fishermen from Lankan jail.

The fishermen are shocked that country boat fishermen were also apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy.

Jayalaithaa in her letter to Prime Minister Modi sought a lasting solution to the Tamil fishermen issue.

She pointed out that traditional rights of fishing in Palk Bay is being denied for the Indian fishermen as Sri Lankan Navy is apprehending them.

Fifty seven fishermen from Tamil Nadu are languishing in Lankan jail.

Sri Lanka has also impounded 98 fishing boats which are getting damaged over the time.

Sri Lanka normally releases apprehended fishermen as goodwill gesture but fishing boats are detained.

The local fishermen are urging the government to secure the immediate release of fellow fishermen and 94 detained fishing boats.
Following reports that at least one of the terrorists involved in a strike on a cafe in Dhaka on July 1 was inspired by Islamic orator Zakir Naik, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson G.V.L. Narasimha Rao on Thursday said Muslim leaders and preachers should guide youth to avoid the path of terrorism.

"Bangladeshi investigators are reporting that some of the terrorists who perpetrated the dastardly and ghastly attack last week actually were influenced by the preachings of Zakir Naik," Rao said.

"In the present scenario, we expect the preachers, the gurus and Muslim leaders to tell the youth to take the right path," Rao told ANI.

The Indian government on July 6 indicated taking action against Naik.

"The Government of India is already examining the matter and all appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that people do not spread this kind of hatred, give any kind of hate messages to stage terror attacks on innocent people across the world," Rao added.

It has been reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, the son of an Awami League leader, ran propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

A video has surfaced showing Congress leader Digvijay Singh hailing Naik as the one who spreads peace in the world.

"Now it is not uncommon for political leaders to be at public functions even if its spiritual leaders or others. But, if he's seen praising this particular gentleman, then Mr. Jigvijay Singh has to give clarification and come out openly what his views are on Mr. Naik in terms of the Taliban," said another BJP leader, Nalin Kohli.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV -- an international Islamic channel -- had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

"Somebody has to understand that terrorism is against humanity. Religion speaks and spiritual thoughts are for humanity. So, anything terrorism does is against humanity and their hardest action has to be there. Anyone who supports terrorism directly or indirectly finds excuses or justification for terrorism and is equally dangerous because they are helping terrorism grow," Kohli added.

Naik is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is hugely popular in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.
Thousands of Muslims all across Tripura gathered at the Gedu Mia mosque in Agartala to offer morning prayers on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the community's month-long fasting period.

They used the occasion to condemn the recent terrorist attack on a restaurant-cum-cafe in Dhaka that claimed the lives of 22 persons and expressed the view that Islam has no room for terror and teaches universal brotherhood.

On Wednesday, the Eid prayers started around 9 a.m.when the Imam of the mosque, Maulana Abdul Rehaman, read out a special prayer for global peace.

Prayers were also held in 20 other mosques in and around Agartala and at 350 spots in the state.

Imam Rehaman said: "To maintain peace of this nation, Muslims and non-Muslims should live unitedly. If someone from outside, any enemy, attacks our cities, the Muslims, Christians and all, should stand against that."

He further said, "I pray that on this happy occation of Eid, every house is filled up with happiness. I also condemn those who want to spread the message of hatred in the name of religion, be it Bangladesh, India or any other place, and stand against those who want to disturb our peace."

He said Islam teaches love and brotherhood, but it is very unfortunate that today, due to unethical activities of a very microscopic section of Muslims, the entire religion is defamed when it should not be.

The festival symbolizes feasts and festivities and Muslims in Agartala poured in large numbers to pray for peace and prosperity of their people as well as the nation.

Abdul Rahim, a participant in the Eid congregation, said, "Eid is the culmination of month long fasting and now we celebrate Eid. Hindus and Muslims together take part in Eid celebration here."

Meanwhile, as is customary, Muslims embraced each other and exchanged Eid greetings after prayers.
Secretary (Economic Relations) Amar Sinha said Thursday that India is committed to buying one lakh tons of 'Arhar' from Mozambique this year, and will increase the limit by 25, 000 tons every year thereafter.

Sinha said that New Delhi will also assist Mozambique with new technologies and seeds to help that nation increase its agricultural output.

"Arhar dal is produced here (Mozambique) in abundance. So, we have guaranteed to take one lakh tons this year and will increase by 25,000 tons every year. Along with this, we will also provide them new seeds and teach them new techniques to increase their productivity," said Sinha.

Sinha further said that the pricing at which India will buy pulses from Mozambique is linked with the minimum support price (MSP) provided to farmers in India for mutual profits.

Sinha said, "The (bilateral) discussion covered a wide range of issues right from Diaspora to defense to maritime security, food security and of course, capacity building in agriculture."

Discussions were also held about the investment climate and how favorable conditions can be created for Indian investors in Mozambique.

Sinha pointed out that Prime Minister Modi has handed over a special booklet created for explaining the ground situation of Maputo to Indian investors.

The two countries have signed three MoUs.

"One deals with drug trafficking, contraband and psychotropic chemicals and second is for cooperation in youth and sport, which is very significant because 66 percent of Mozambique population is below 34 years of age and they wish to learn from our own experiences. The third and the most critical one relates to our food security quest," said Sinha.

The senior MEA official further revealed that the Prime Minister has reiterated his view that he saw Mozambique as India's gateway to Africa.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Mozambique on Thursday, as a part of his four nation tour of the African continent.

He is the first Indian head of government to visit Mozambique after 34 years.

During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

Energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will remain high on the Prime Minister's agenda for discussion.

The Prime Minister is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during his visit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed for South African capital city Pretoria after having a brief interaction with Indian diaspora in Mozambique on Thursday evening.

"Obrigado Mozambique! PM @narendramodi departs Maputo for Pretoria, the second leg of his African sojourn," tweeted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

"Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique," tweeted Prime Minister Modi after his departure.

Earlier, interacting with the Indian community in Mozambique, the Prime Minister said, "Africa was the land which started shaping the identity of the Indian Diaspora. Even as you assimilate with your local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness."

"I should have spent more time with you all. But, I assure you that when I come here next, I will give you all more time," he added.

"Always a delight to meet and interact with the Indian community," tweeted the Prime minister after the interaction.

From July 8-9 in South Africa, the Prime Minister will have meetings with President Jacob Zuma and other senior leaders across the political spectrum to further enhance relations with South Africa.

With South Africa, India cooperates and works closely in multi-lateral fora like BRICS, IBSA, G20 and BASIC.

The Prime Minister is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during the visit.

Pietermaritzburg is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train compartment.

Underlining that on the evening of 7th July, he will reach Pretoria in South Africa, which is an important strategic partner with whom India's ties are historical and deep-rooted, the Prime Minister had said before embarking on his four-nation tour: "My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg. History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the . He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind."

"I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa. A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved 'Madiba'. I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation, where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the a much better place," said Prime Minister Modi in a statement, adding that during his visit, he will meet President Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In an effort to boost economic ties between the two countries, the Prime Minister will speak at the India-South Africa business meet. His other programmes in South Africa include a meeting with the Alumni Network in Durban and a reception hosted by the Mayor of Durban, at Durban City Hall.

Noting that South Africa is home to a vibrant Indian community that has made South Africa their home for years, the Prime Minister said: "I will interact with the Indian community a programme in Johannesburg on 8th July. I invite you to share your ideas and inputs for my speech, through the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'."

The Prime Minister will have meetings with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in Tanzania on July10 to further enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest.

The Prime Minister will be in Kenya the next day, where he will have bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta.

Prime Minister Modi will also address students in the University of Nairobi during the visit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Thursday held restricted talks at the Presidential Office in Maputo in a bid to bolster bilateral ties between both countries.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted, "Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM Narendra Modi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks."

Prime Minister Modi was earlier accorded a warm and colourful ceremonial welcome, kickstarting his first engagement of the day here to deepen ties with the African nation.

"A ceremonial welcome and discussions with President Nyusi...the Prime Minister's programmes in Mozambique begin," tweeted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Prime Minister Modi reached Maputo as a part of his four nation tour of the African continent this morning.

During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will high on the Prime Minister's agenda.

He will later hold delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and an issue of a joint statement.

The Union Cabinet had earlier on Tuesday gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters.

The MoU is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and capacity building.

The cabinet had also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by both nations.

Prime Minister Modi's other engagement include attending a state banquet hosted by President Nyusi in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister will visit the National Assembly, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome and will be introduced to the members, followed by a meeting with President of the National Assembly Veronica Macamo and signing of visitor's book.

He will also visit the Maluana Science and Technology Park and the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD), where he will interacts with students.

He will then interact with Indian Diaspora before departing for South African capital city of Pretoria.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reached Mozambique capital Maputo as a part of his four nation tour of the African continent.

He is the first Indian head of government to visit Mozambique after 34 years.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi was the last to visit that country in 1982.

During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will high on the Prime Minister's agenda.

Prime Minister Modi will hold a "restricted meeting" with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

This will be followed by delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and an issue of a joint statement.

The Union Cabinet had earlier on Tuesday gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters.

The MoU is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and capacity building.

The cabinet also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by both nations.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi will attend a state banquet hosted by President Nyusi in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office.

About 2.10 p.m., the Prime Minister will visit the National Assembly, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome and will be introduced to the members, followed by a meeting with President of the National Assembly Veronica Macamo and signing of visitor's book.

Prime Minister Modi will also visit the Maluana Science and Technology Park and the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD), where he will interacts with students.

Before departing for South African capital city of Pretoria at 6.20 p.m., the Prime Minister will interact with Indian Diaspora.

The Prime Minister is also expected to visit Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg and Durban during the visit.

Pietermaritzburg is the place where Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of the train compartment.

The Prime Minister will have meetings with President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli in Tanzania on July10 to further enhance mutual cooperation and understanding on major issues of common interest.

The Prime Minister will be in Kenya the next day where he will have bilateral discussions with President Kenyatta.

Prime Minister Modi will also address students in the University of Nairobi during the visit.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday took charge of office of Minister of Human Resource and Development here today.

Interacting with the media persons, he stressed that his ministry's mission will be to provide quality education for all, thereby transforming life, especially that of poor.

Javadekar had yesterday taken oath as the Cabinet Minister.

Javadekar reiterated that he and his colleagues in the Ministry will work as 'Team HRD' to fulfill the aspirations of the nation.

Reminding his stint in the state planning board, he assured collaboration with all the states to ensure the success of education system in India.

"Team HRD will address all the issues and great opportunities will be unlocked for education sector in India," he added.

After the interaction with the media, he took introductory meeting with the officials of the ministry.

Before assuming the office of Ministry of HRD, he was serving as the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change as independent Charge.

Prior to this, he was serving as the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting as independent charge as well as Parliamentary Affairs.

He comes with immense experience as a parliamentarian who has been elected to Rajya Sabha from 2008 onwards and served in numerous Parliamentary Committees.

He also excelled in his role as Spokeperson for BJP from 2005 onwards.

He had proved himself in his state also as Member of Maharshtra Legislative Council between 1990-2002 and was executive president of State Planning Board during 1997-99.

Hailing from Pune, his political life started as a student activist in the struggle against Emergency during which he was imprisoned for 16 months.

He had been working with Bank of Maharashtra before he entered fulltime.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today hailed the United States President Barack Obama's decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan to counter the threat from a resurgent Taliban.

"The decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan is a sign of continued partnership between our nations to fight our common enemy and strengthen regional stability," Tolo News quoted Ghani as saying.

The President recognized Washington as a reliable partner in fighting against terrorism.

"The role of the United States troops as a reliable partner in the field of fighting against terrorism and also the technical and security cooperation with Afghanistan's security forces is important," he added.

Ghani's remarks comes after President Obama announced on yesterday that "instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year through the end of his administration.

With his tenure ending few months now, Obama said that additional troops would enable his successor to have "a solid foundation for continued progress" in Afghanistan.

The U.S. troops in Afghanistan, operating under the NATO banner, mostly work as trainers or advisers to Afghan forces.

Currently, around 40 NATO members and partner countries contribute to the overall force of nearly 13,000 in the country.
President Pranab Mukherjee has strongly condemned the terrorist attack during an Eid prayer at Kishoreganj in Bangladesh on Thursday, which claimed four lives.

In a statement, President Mukherjee said, "I am shocked and distressed to hear about the terrorist attack in Kishoreganj, Bangladesh, today on the day of Eid. I condemn the perpetrators of this attack in the strongest of terms."

This is the second terrorist attack in Bangladesh in the span of a week.

"The people and Government are engaged in a brave struggle against the evil forces of extremism and violence. The Government of India will strongly stand by our brothers and sisters of Bangladesh in this fight. We will extend every support possible to enable the Bangladesh Government defeat these forces whose goal is to spread hatred, chaos and instability," said the President, while promising India's unflinching support.

An explosion took place during an Eid prayer at the Sholakia field of Kishoreganj town around 9:45 a.m. local time, where people gather each year for Eid congregation. It is said to be the country's largest Eid congregation.

The attack came days after the terror attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka's upscale Gulshan area, claimed 22 lives, including 17 foreigners. The attack drew worldwide condemnation.

The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the incident and even warned of more attacks in Bangladesh.
President Pranab Mukherjee wished the nation on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

In his message the President said, "On the auspicious occasion of Idu'l Fitr, I extend warm greetings and best wishes to my fellow citizens, particularly to all Muslim brothers and sisters in India and abroad."

"The festival of Idu'l Fitr marks the culmination of the Holy Month of 'Ramzan', a month of prayer, blessings and forgiveness," he added.

The President asked the nation to rededicate to the service of humanity and share happiness with the poor and needy.

"May the Eid celebrations reinforce the nation's commitment to mutual goodwill and inspire each one of us to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood," he added.

Vice President M. Hamid Ansari also extended his greetings on the occasion.

In his message, he said that Id-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramzan and signifies the traditional expression of brotherhood and understanding between people.

Ansari said Eid-ul-Fitr reaffirms the abiding faith in the spirit of compassion and charity.

"May the noble ideals that mark Id-ul-Fitr enrich our lives with peace, prosperity and the spirit of humanity," he added.

Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across the country today.

The faithfuls attired in their best thronged Eidgahs and mosques to offer Eid prayers.

In Delhi, the main congregations were held at Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid and Shahi Eidgah.

Speaking on the occasion, the Imams, who led the prayers appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony and prayed for the progress and prosperity of the country.

Reports of Eid congregations have also come in from other parts of the country.

In Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated yesterday.
The Central Board of Reserve Bank of India today held a meeting in Bengaluru with RBI Governor Raghuram G Rajan presiding.

The board meeting, which took place after a span of seven years, witnessed discussions among other issues, macroeconomic developments and two other specific areas of operations of the Reserve Bank of India, namely, the Reserve Bank's budget and constitution of Monetary Policy Committee.

The Board also reviewed the activities for Payment and Settlement System for the year ended March 2016 and discussed the draft Annual Report for 2015-16.

Deputy Governors of the Reserve Bank of India Urjit R Patel, R Gandhi, SS Mundra and NS Vishwanathan were present at the meeting.

The meeting was also attended by Government nominee director on the Central Board, Shaktikanta Das, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Washington DC, July 7 (ANI): Pakistan's support to the belligerent hermit kingdom continues unabated. Following on the heels of ANI's report of June 22, 2016 which reported that Pakistan sold restricted nuclear material 'Monel' and 'Inconel' to North Korea, now, new data from leading flight tracking service 'FlightRadar24' and a news agency UPI dispatch shows that Air Koryo used Islamabad as a refuelling point on its onward journey to Kuwait.

According to the latest UN Security Council resolution 2270 that was passed in March of this year, the screening of all cargo onboard Air Koryo flights is imperative and export of aviation fuel and rocket fuel is to be banned with immediate effect.

In addition to this, the UNSC panel of experts said in a 2014 report, "UN member states should be aware that providing financial transactions, technical training, advice, services or assistance related to the provision, maintenance or use of Air Koryo's aircraft could constitute a violation of the embargo on all arms and related material."

In light of these guidelines issued by the UN, Pakistan's continued support to the World's worst airline, ranked so for a fifth year in a row, may amount to a violation of UNSC resolutions.

It is also important to note that Pakistan has gone on an overdrive campaign with the international community to accept its membership in the NSG, while at the same time providing nuclear technology, and now, refuelling support to the national carrier of North Korea.

Air Koryo JS 161 flight to Kuwait which had a stopover in Pakistan on May 17, 2016 was dispatched to pick up North Korean forced labourers working in Kuwait who were protesting Pyongyang's refusal to pay salaries. Their fate remains unknown.

Recently, a VICE Media documentary highlighted the plight of North Korean forced workers in Poland. The workers did not receive pay, worked inhuman hours and had no contact with their families back home.

Stringent international sanctions have had an effect on the functioning of the dictatorship with overseas workers particularly feeling the heat.

North Korean diplomats around the resort to selling contraband to earn foreign exchange for their country, for example, multiple instances have been reported by the Pakistani media of North Korean diplomats using their diplomatic immunity and consular vehicles to run an alcohol trade which is banned in Pakistan.

With these revelations coming to light, and Pakistan's nuclear largesse to North Korea, Air Koryo's use of Islamabad as a transit point does raise red flags.
Satna District Magistrate Naresh Pal on Thursday said that the waterlogging situation is under control and there are no more casualties.

Prasing the district commandant and his team Pal said "They rescued around 1300 people and provided them with a safe stay in relief camps."

Responding to a question on seeking military help, he said, "300 to 400 people were stuck in Amiliya village, we were finding it difficult to rescue them and called in the army for help."

He said that the municipal corporation is actively working to take out water from the areas and added that life in the city is back on track.

"We are analysing the areas for any type of help required and the situation is under complete control," he added.

From June 1 to July 6, 23 districts of Madhya Pradesh have recorded above normal rains causing flooding and water logging. In Satna district, flood waters inundated houses in some localities of Amar Patan area and Pahadi Kheda village trapping five farmers in flood waters. Local police and officials eventually rescued them.
Ace Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth produced yet another dominating performance as he romped into the third round of the men's singles event after sweeping aside Canada's B R Sankeerth here at the US Open Grand Prix Gold tournament on Thursday.

The sixth-seed Indian claimed a comfortable 21-15, 21-7 win over his Canadian compatriot in the second-round contest that lasted 31 minutes.

With the win, Praneeth has now set up a clash against Japan's Kazumasa Sakai for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, fourth-seed Ajay Jayaram and fifth-seed H.S Prannoy also stormed into the pre-quarters after clinching straight-game wins in their respective matches.

Jayaram, who had hurt his shoulder during Canada Open at Calgary, outclassed Estonia's Raul Must 21-14, 21-9 in 28 minutes.

Prannoy, on the other hand, brushed aside Joshua Magee of Ireland 21-9, 21-8 in a one-sided contest to book his place in the pre-quarters.

Jayaram will next face Portugal's Pedro Martins while Prannoy will take on Canada Open finalist Korea's Lee Hyun Il for a place in the quarter-finals.
Tensions have reportedly escalated between Japan and China following the former's decision to scramble its air force jets a record 199 times between the months of April and June this year to defend against Chinese aircraft coming close to its airspace.

According to a UPI news agency report, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) jets were ordered into action when Chinese military planes appeared over the East China Sea.

The ASDF Joint Staff was quoted, as saying in a statement, "The area where Chinese planes are active is continuing to expand, particularly southward."

The Financial Times quoted the Chinese side, as saying that the near dogfight with Japan, involved the rare use of fire control radar to target Chinese aircraft.

Japanese officials say China has increased its military activity in the sea and air, obliging it to almost double the scrambling of its aircraft to engage Chinese jets over the past three months.

According to daily, China and Japan have been increasingly embroiled in a heated dispute over territorial claims in the East China Sea, with both sides launching manoeuvres to counter each other.

A statement issued by China's defence ministry said that the latest clash between the air force planes of the two countries took place on June 17, and threatened to turn dangerous, when Japanese warplanes used fire-control radar to "light up" their Chinese counterparts and released infrared flares during evasive manoeuvres.

Japan's deputy chief of cabinet, however, has denied Beijing's claims.

Later, both sides agreed that a pair of Chinese SU-30 fighter-bombers and two Japanese F-15 fighters faced each other over the East China Sea, where China and Japan have a long-running dispute over ownership of a group of islands known in Japan as the Senkaku and China as the Diaoyu.

Experts on either side have warned that such threatening manoeuvres can degenerate into a 'he said, she said' situation, and added that it would be very hard to verify what actually happened should an air battle take place, as the time span for such an event is tabulated in seconds.

According to the Financial Times, the last time a fire-control radar was allegedly engaged in the East China Sea was in January 2013, when Japan's defence ministry said a Chinese frigate had locked a weapons radar on to a Japanese destroyer, calling the incident "a unilateral, provocative act and extremely regrettable".

China had then denied the claim following an internal investigation.

Maritime tensions in the western Pacific are edging higher a week ahead of an international ruling on a dispute between China and the Philippines over sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

An arbitration court in The Hague is expected to rule in favour of the Philippines and invalidate many if not all of Chinese claims in the South China Sea.

China has already rejected the arbitration proceedings.
In wake of him attending an event of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

"If the speeches are to be banned...all provocative speeches on religion by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned," Singh told media here.

He said if the Government of India or the Government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naik's involvement in the ISIS, they should take action against him.

Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

"The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed," he added.

Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his 'hate speech' was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved to indulge in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan suburb.

The video shows Digvijay Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

"Zakir should travel all over India.I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace," he said. "We need your message to reach the country," Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office bearers of his organization 'Islamic Research Foundation' in Mumbai's Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on July 11.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai based PR agency.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the South China Sea arbitration, at the latter's invitation.

China said that by not participating in and not accepting the so-called arbitration, it is in fact upholding international laws and rules and safeguarding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea seriously and its integrity.

In the discussion held on Wednesday, Yi said that relations between China and the United States are generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while properly managing their differences.

Yi added that the South China Sea arbitration is tainted "with illogical and flawed application of procedures, laws and evidences," reports Xinhua.

"The arbitral tribunal which clearly has been expanding and over-stretching its jurisdiction beyond the limit has no jurisdiction at all (over the South China Sea disputes). The arbitration tribunal farce should come to an end," said Yi.

Yi urged the United States to honor its commitment to not taking sides on issues related to sovereign disputes.

The Chinese Foreign Minister said that regardless of any outcome of the arbitration, China will firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty, legitimate maritime rights and safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Yi also reiterated that China remains committed to peacefully resolving the disputes through negotiations and consultations with directly involved countries.

Kerry on his part said the United States understands that China has its own stance on the arbitration and that Washington supports countries in the region to make continuous efforts to peacefully resolve disputes through diplomatic means

He also expressed the hope that all relevant parties show restraint.
If recent buzz is to be believed, 'Dabanng' franchise leading actress Sonakshi Sinha might not be a part of its third installment.

According to a report in Spoteboye, Sonakshi has been dropped from the movie over an alleged friction with Salman Khan. It all started when Sonakshi turned down Arbaaz Khan's production 'Dolly Ki Doli' which was offered to her by the 'Kick' actor.

Reportedly, the two also had a showdown at Salman's sister Arpita's wedding in November 2014, and since then, the two are not on talking terms.

Confirming the news, Spoteboye quoted a source close to 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' actor, as saying, "Salman is not keen on working with Sonakshi. So, the producers are looking out for another actress. Nobody has been finalised yet."

Sonakshi made her Bollywood debut with 'Dabangg', which not only earned her public recognition but also a Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Axis Bank rose 0.84% to Rs 544.15 at 10:21 IST on BSE after the Union Cabinet approved increase in the ceiling on foreign investment in the private sector bank to 74% of equity capital on a fully fungible basis from 62% earlier.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 54.02 points or 0.2% at 27,220.89

On BSE, so far 1.08 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 7.36 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 544.90 and a low of Rs 536 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 613.40 on 16 July 2015. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 366.65 on 18 January 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past 30 days till 5 July 2016, rising 1.03% compared with Sensex's 1.45% rise. The scrip, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 27.01% as against Sensex's 9.1% rise.

The large-cap private sector bank has equity capital of Rs 477.46 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

With the hike in foreign investment ceiling, foreign direct investment to the tune of Rs 12973.14 crore will be received in the country with an estimated creation of 6,000 to 7,000 jobs over the next three years, according to a government statement.

Foreign institutional investors held 40.86% stake in Axis Bank as on 31 March 2016. The holding through Global Depository Receipts (GDR) in the bank stood at 3.36% as on 31 March 2016.

Meanwhile, shares of Axis Bank turned ex-dividend today, 7 July 2016, for dividend of Rs 5 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016. Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 0.91% based on its closing price of Rs 543.90 on the BSE on Tuesday, 5 July 2016. The stock market was closed yesterday, 6 July 2016, for a holiday.

Axis Bank's net profit fell 1.2% to Rs 2154.28 crore on 9.8% rise in total income to Rs 13592.97 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015.

Axis Bank is one of the biggest private sector banks in India.

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Bharat Forge fell 2.31% to Rs 750.50 at 12:50 IST on BSE after North American orders for Class 8 trucks in June 2016 fell to the lowest point in nearly six years.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 50.61 points, or 0.19%, to 27,217.48.

On BSE, so far 45,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 80,408 shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 764.20 and a low of Rs 747.85 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,292.50 on 20 August 2015. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 686.80 on 24 June 2016. The stock had outperformed the market over the past 30 days till 5 July 2016, rising 3.75% compared with 1.45% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 2.71% as against Sensex's 9.10% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 46.56 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

North American heavy truck orders (Class 8) were for 13,100 units in June, the lowest figure since the third quarter of 2010, preliminary figures from ACT Research showed yesterday, 6 July 2016. The figure was down 35% compared with 20,287 a year earlier, according to ACT. At the same time, June orders were down about 8% compared with a total of 14,224 in May 2016. Final June numbers will be published in mid-July.

Bharat Forge has been facing significant pressure in terms of order inflows from North America over the last few months, as per reports. The company derives 20% of its revenue from North America Class 8 trucks segment, reports indicated.

Bharat Forge's net profit fell 19% to Rs 164.52 crore on 17.4% decline in net sales to Rs 987.07 crore in Q4 March 2016 over Q4 March 2015.

Bharat Forge is the flagship company of Kalyani Group. It is a global provider of high performance, innovative, safety & critical components and solutions to various industrial sectors including automotive, oil & gas, power, construction & mining, aerospace and rail & marine.

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Time ripe for pursuing broad-based FTA with UK, say respondents to FICCI Survey

A FICCI Survey brings to the fore the concerns of India Inc. over the possible near term impact of 'Brexit' on Indian business and the economy. Yet, it remains sanguine that the UK will make renewed efforts to strengthen ties with countries of the Commonwealth group and India stands to gain given its own growth performance and a much better regulatory and business environment. The respondents were hopeful that this can be an opportunity for India and UK to make renewed efforts to strengthen ties.

While the full impact of the UK move to 'Leave' from the European Union will take some time to unfold, the FICCI survey sought to gauge the sentiment among the Indian companies having operations in or doing business with the UK. Some of the companies surveyed share deep trade and investment linkages with the UK. Responses were received from about 45 companies covering sectors such as education, information technology, tyres, pharmaceuticals, steel and steel products, automotive, textiles, apparel, financial services etc.

Respondents feel that the 'Brexit' transition may lead to moderation in investments flows to the UK from India. However, India is expected to get continued attention from the investors including investments from the UK. UK is third largest investor in India and accounts for about 8.0% of the total FDI inflows in the country. In fact, several British companies have exhibited interests in India post launch of the Make in India campaign. The Government has considerably liberalised the FDI regime in the country and there has been an increase in FDI inflows over the last two years. This trend is expected to continue.

The respondents stated that given the strengths of the economy it may be worthwhile to look at a bilateral FTA with the UK and this should focus on goods, services as well as investments. It is felt that UK may now take a less rigid stand (compared to the EU) and it may be worth pursuing a broad based bilateral agreement. Further, it is important that such an instrument is a hybrid agreement that incorporates the movement of people as a natural corollary to the movement of goods, capital and services so that the impact on mobility of professionals and on ICT sector is not as negatively impacted as anticipated.

About 63% of the participants indicated that signing a comprehensive FTA with the UK (on goods, services and investments) may help to mitigate any negative impact of Brexit on India. For example, if India enters into an agreement with the UK that leads to the legal services market opening up, then this could lessen the negative impact of Brexit on India-UK bilateral relations.

Nonetheless, the companies participating in the survey did indicate some concern regarding a dip in export realisations, additional compliance to competition regulations, rise in operating costs of doing business and possible curbs on immigration leading to brain drain from the UK over the near term.

The FICCI Survey also captures views from some of the leading higher education institutions on what can be expected in terms of relationship with UK universities in the coming days.

Members of the education fraternity felt that education in UK is expected to become more affordable and we might see UK wooing candidates with more incentives. For

Indian students studying in the UK, Brexit might result in a more level playing field compared with other EU students who hitherto had an informal edge over the rest of the world in the job market. India being one of the largest skilled labor markets, with a population well versed in the English Language could have a distinct advantage.

Further, the IT companies expected to face the heat in light of the Brexit. It was pointed out that given the risk of further moderation in growth in the UK and EU, there is an increased probability that the companies lower their IT budgets (a discretionary spend). This would have an impact on the domestic software companies. India is one of the largest exporters of IT-enabled services and the sector has significant exposure to the European market especially the UK.

In addition some concern has been expressed regarding bond issuance planned in USD and INR. UK's credit rating has been cut, and given most buyers of the bonds are from the EU there is nervousness around these bond issuances. This is important for India as it would be difficult to imagine financing India's huge infrastructure appetite through debt finance in London as aggressively as currently planned. Again, this would depend on what Brexit scenario that plays out. But in the meantime, greater uncertainty will impact the bond pricing.

Highlights of the Survey

The respondents were of the view that it is too soon to assess the impact of Brexit on the global economy and India. There will be more clarity once the actual policy response from United Kingdom and the European Union is spelled out. Things can be positive if the situation is managed well by both the European Union and the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, some frictional issues that would come with the transition cannot be ruled out.

Global Economic Situation: The respondents felt that the overall economic situation would remain difficult for the next two to three years. The global recovery remains frail and the Brexit move is detrimental to the overall health of the global economy. The exit from the European Union has increased the risk of United Kingdom falling into a recession.

Impact on Investments in the UK: United Kingdom has been the gateway to Europe and the survey participants felt that UK's position as a major investment hub will get impacted over the near term. The increase in uncertainty post Brexit will impact the confidence level of potential investors wanting to invest in the UK.

Impact on British Pound: The investors have been pulling money out of the UK and this may exert a further downward pressure on the Pound. The survey respondents based out of the UK anticipated an increase in operational costs over the near term due to this pressure on the Pound Sterling.

Immigration: The respondents expect more restrictions on immigration in the United Kingdom post Brexit. However, it was felt that the restrictions on the other EU citizens will be limited due to political reasons; Indian immigrants may have to feel the actual heat. The respondents indicated that the move might lead to brain drain from the United Kingdom.

Survey Findings in Numbers

While 48% of the survey participants indicated that their business linkage with the UK is largely for the UK market, 14% indicated that it is mainly for EU and the rest had a balanced interest in both the markets.

About half of the respondents reported that they don't intend to set up separate operations in any other EU country over the near term following Brexit. It was said that it will take a couple of years for the actual picture to become clear.

43% of the survey participants anticipated a decrease in intra company transfers/movement of professionals to the UK from India over the medium term (next 3-5 years).

43% respondents cited a decrease in Indian migration to the UK over the medium term (next 3-5 years).

51% of the participants anticipated a decline in investments to the UK over the next three to five years.

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NBCC (India) announced that it has secured a total business of about Rs 587.47 crore in June 2016. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Tata Power Company announced that a meeting of its board of directors is scheduled on 11 July 2016, inter-alia to consider issuing non-convertible debentures on private placement basis, within the limits approved by the shareholders of the company. The announcement was made on Wednesday, 6 July 2016.

Shares of Axis Bank turn ex-dividend today, 7 July 2016, for dividend of Rs 5 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016. Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 0.91% based on its closing price of Rs 543.90 on the BSE on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Shares of Swaraj Engines turn ex-dividend today, 7 July 2016, for total dividend of Rs 33 per share for the year ended 31 March 2016. This includes a special dividend of Rs 18 per share. Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 2.66% based on its closing price of Rs 1,238.65 on the BSE on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) will be in focus. GenNext Hub accelerated startup Don't Scratch Your Head (DSYH), a SaaS-based logistics reconciliation platform for e-commerce channels, has raised $250,000 funding from Venture Catalysts (VCats). GenNext Hub is a part of the four-month Scalerator Program backed by RIL and powered by Microsoft Accelerator India. GenNext Hub helps high-growth startups scale up fast through mentoring, funding, the RIL-Microsoft connect, and other resources. The announcement was made yesterday, 6 July 2016, when stock markets were closed for a public holiday.

Bank stocks will be in focus after the government finalized interest subvention scheme for farmers for the year 2016-17. The government will provide interest subvention of 5% per annum to all farmers for short term crop loan upto one year for loan upto Rs 3 lakh borrowed by them during the year 2016-17. In case farmers do not repay the short term crop loan in time, they would be eligible for lower interest subvention of 2% as against 5%. The government has approved interest subvention of 2% to farmers for loans upto 6 months for the post-harvest storage of farm produce. To provide relief to the farmers affected by natural calamities, interest subvention of 2% will be provided to banks for the first year on the restructured amount. The announcement hit the market after trading hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Telecom stocks will be in focus after the Narendra Modi government at the centre appointed Manoj Sinha as new Minister of Communications with independent charge in place of Ravi Shankar Prasad after splitting the Communications and Electronics & Information Technology ministry. Prasad continues to remain the minister of Electronics & Information Technology. After inducting 19 new Ministers of State, the Modi government on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, also announced a reshuffle of portfolios among the members of the Union Council of Ministers in a late night surprise announcement.

Shares of companies involved in the education sector will be in focus after Prakash Javadekar was made the new Human Resource Development minister in place of Smriti Irani. Irani has been made the new textiles minister.

Stocks of mining companies will be in focus after Piyush Goyal was given additional charge of the mines ministry (Independent Charge). The reshuffle of the portfolios has seen Chaudhary Birender Singh getting the steel ministry. Narendra Singh Tomar was earlier holding both mines and steel ministry portfolios.

Equitas Holdings will be watched. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has curbed foreign portfolio investors to buy shares in Equitas Holdings as foreign shareholding has reached prescribed limit.

RBI notified on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, that the aggregate foreign shareholding through American Depository Receipts (ADR)/ Global Depository Receipts (GDR)/ Foreign institutional Investors (FIIs)/ Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs)/ Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)/ Non-Resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in Equitas Holding has reached the trigger limit. Hence, further purchases of equity shares of this company would be allowed only after obtaining prior approval of RBI.

HCL Infosystems announced yesterday, 6 July 2016, that India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised its long-term issuer rating of the company from "IND A" to "IND A-". The outlook is stable.

Vakrangee announced corporate agency tie up with Religare Health Insurance Company (Religare) to distribute health insurance product through Vakrangee distribution network. Vakrangee said that citizens, especially in un-served and undeserved areas shall be able to access health insurance products and services offered/to be offered by Religare. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Gujarat Industries Power Company (GIPCL) announced yesterday, 6 July 2016, that Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued two letters of intent (LOIs) to GIPCL for 2x40 megawatts (MW) solar power project in Gujarat Solar Park, Village Charanka under National Solar Mission Phase-II, Batch IV.

3i Infotech announced yesterday, 6 July 2016, that the foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) committee of the board approved issuing new FCCBs in exchange for two separate sets of existing FCCBs.

The FCCB committee approved issuing FCCBs of up to $52 million to the existing bondholders of the company, in exchange for the existing FCCB of $125.35 million, 5%, convertible bonds due 2017 (the 5% bonds) and $2.43 million, 4.75%, convertible bonds due 2017 (the 4.75% bonds, and together with the 5% bonds, the existing bonds). The board also approved amendment to the terms of the existing bonds.

The new bonds will be listed on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading. The FCCB issue opened on 5 July 2016. The floor price for the conversion of the bonds shall carry face value of Rs 10. The company has also issued notices to convene a meeting of the holders of the existing bonds on 27 July 2016 for approving the aforesaid amendments to the terms of the existing bonds.

Fiem Industries announced that it has received letter of intent for design, manufacture and supply of self-ballasted 9-watt LED bulbs with 3-year warranty from Energy Efficiency Services (EESL). The order is for 22.14 lakh LED bulbs. The order value is Rs 12.31 crore. The supply period is one month. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

PC Jeweller announced the opening of its new jewellery showroom in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The new showroom is spread across a total area of 6,400 square feet. With the latest addition, the company now has 63 showrooms in 52 cities in India. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Somany Ceramics announced that it has issued commercial paper of Rs 25 crore dated 5 July 2016, having maturity on 28 September 2016. The issuance of commercial paper is to reduce high interest bearing cash credit limits and in turn reducing cost of borrowing, Somany said. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday, 5 July 2016.

Skipper announced yesterday, 6 July 2016 that it has further expanded its international business by bagging new orders worth about Rs 100 crore in the countries of Kenya, Cameroon, Congo, Ghana & Malaysia as well as in the domestic market. These orders are for supply of transmission & sub-station towers, distribution poles and steel angles. The company has further received approval from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) for its poles division.

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Managing Director & CEO, Petronet LNG, Mr. Prabhat Singh floated a proposal for creation of a consortium or SPV (special purpose vehicle), consisting of companies such as Petronet LNG, GAIL, ONGC, EIL and OIL to jointly bid for prospective properties for exploration of natural gas and as well setting up of LNG terminals in overseas fields, particularly those of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the like.

Inaugurating a conference on How to Survive in Low Oil & Gas Price Scenario under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Prabhat Singh also disclosed that his company has offered to convert the fossil fuel fed economy of Andaman & Nicobar with that of natural gas, stating that such a proposal has already been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor of the Island.

The Petronet LNG and administration of Andaman & Nicobar Island were progressing satisfactorily on the subject as the latter is suitably inclined to convert its eco-system with cleaner fuel rather than staying on to diesel fed economy, he indicated.

Elaborating on the issue of proposed consortium or SPV, Mr. Singh hinted that it has been conceived by the Petronet LNG at a time when the company expects that the prevailing scenario of low oil and gas price would stay on for another five years and that to thrive on such circumstances, the consortium and SPV approach of national oil companies would be ideal situation to acquire oil & gas including terminal acreages and assets overseas including India.

According to him, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is aware of it and that the Ministry's intent is also there on it without disclosing a definite roadmap to convert it into reality.

The idea has been briefly floated and discussed and its conclusiveness should follow as India would be bidding to acquire gas properties and to build LNG terminals in countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh for which if India proceeds with collective approach, it would establish and edge over others, said Mr. Singh adding that such an approach is also called for under prevailing circumstances to building energy storage facilities and other such assets domestically.

Speaking on the occasion, Executive Director-Corporate Planning, ONGC, Mr. Yash Malik pointed out that collaborative approach of national oil companies is the right solution to creating oil and gas assets in India to enable it thrive under the low oil and gas price regime, articulating that Indian oil sector needs a fiscal regime better than what prevails currently.

Mr. Malik also pointed out that in the low price scenario of oil and gas, his company is successfully going ahead with joint venture approach.

Chairman, Hydrocarbons Committee, PHD Chamber, Mr. Rajeev Mathur said that the gas sector has been successfully confronting with the challenges of the emerging time.

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On 10 August 2016

Rajesh Exports will hold a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company on 10 August 2016 to Take on Record the Un-Audited Results for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2016 (Q1), to consider and discuss certain business propositions.

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The existing Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan was signed on 29th July 2006 for a period of ten years. Discussions were held between both countries at New Delhi on 05-06 July 2016, to finalise the text of the draft new Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit.

The visiting Bhutanese delegation was led by Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan.

After deliberations, it was agreed that the new Agreement may be signed at the earliest, after obtaining the internal approvals by both the sides, and it would be made effective from a mutually agreed date. Both sides agreed that, in the interim, to prevent disruption of trade, the existing Agreement may be extended for a period of one year or till the date of coming into force of the new Agreement, whichever is earlier.

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To supply Bio Diesel from July to September 2016

Southern Online Bio Technologies announced that the Company has received letter of intent from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited for the supply of 1500 Kilo Liters of Bio Diesel from July to September 2016 to its Secunderabad location in Telangana State.

The said tender is valid upto March 2017 and the order is further extendable for two quarters with an expected order value to be Rs.21.73 crore for March ending 2017.

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Shares of five telecom companies rose by 0.22% to 1.73% at 10:21 IST on BSE after Manoj Sinha took over as new Minister of Communications with independent charge.

Reliance Communications (up 1.73%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.07%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.83%), Idea Cellular (up 0.62%) and MTNL (up 0.22%), edged higher.

Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was down 1.61%

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 54.02 points, or 0.20% at 27,220.89.

The Narendra Modi government at the centre appointed Manoj Sinha as new Minister of Communications with independent charge in place of Ravi Shankar Prasad after splitting the Communications and Electronics & Information Technology ministry. Prasad continues to remain the minister of Electronics & Information Technology. After inducting 19 new Ministers of State, the Modi government on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, also announced a reshuffle of portfolios among the members of the Union Council of Ministers in a late night surprise announcement.

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Meanwhile, the University of Technology in Lae has seen one death and facilities worth millions of kina burnt to ashes. A senior politician from the province of the dead student called on the universitys vice chancellor and provincial police commander to step down and demanded the vice-chancellor be deported.

The Department of Higher Education, Department of Education, National Executive Council and other decision makers should now consider becoming partners in consultation and collaboration to resolve this serious matter.

At the University of Papua New Guinea, the academic senate has terminated the remaining academic year after some students reacted violently to police shootings.

THERE have been a couple of months of student unrest in almost every university in Papua New Guinea over an issue of great national importance.

At the University of Goroka, there was a fight between students of highlands provinces and a number of students were hospitalised. Other students were traumatised by the incident.

It is clear that peace and reconciliation ceremonies now need to be held before classes resume. After all, the universities are places where staff and students should live, teach and learn as a community. When all is said and done, we live in a small country called Papua New Guinea.

In this article, I want to share a process of peace and reconciliation that will help bring an end to the current troubles.

Community Mobilisation & Consultation

Firstly there has to be a consultation carried out by a neutral body especially credible individuals and or organizations who can stand in between as peace mediators. They make visit arrangements, gather them in common arena and establish understanding of their visit and presence.

They then collect views from both (all) parties if they are ready to reconcile. Views should come from all categories of people either directly or indirectly affected by any harming or violent incidents. In this context, wounded university students, student leaders, local member of parliaments, provincial administrators and governors, elite staff working in the institution concerned must all provide their views in the meeting. More importantly, victims views are to be given due respect it needs.

Consultations and meetings are not a one-off thing but it happens for some time to really establish understanding of views from the ground.

The mediators then analyze the views collected and act on it. If they (Parties) want to defer the peace and reconciliation ceremony, let it be in the best interest of the parties involved because they need time to recover from wounds and trauma and have peace of mind before making peace with enemies.

However, in the case of the University or any other institution, there may not be enough time available to wait as the academic calendar objective and bounded to schedules within the given timeframe.

Therefore, the Universitys top management team or any other authority for that matter can sanction a committee to facilitate a peace and reconciliation in order to complete any semester or academic year successfully.

It is actually up to the students to submit and admit to accomplish their studies but it is also up to them to prolong the peace process and that is where complications are anticipated such as fear and revenge are eminent. Whatever it is, an insight is provided below if interested.

Methods of Peace and Reconciliation

The practice of peace and reconciliation is one of the most artistic human actions. The methods of peace and reconciliation applied may vary from place to place. The following three (3) methods are some approaches that may be useful.

Traditional Peace and Reconciliation

Traditionally, compensation is a way of paying pigs and money to a claimant, victim of a warfare or for trespass against another person. However, reconciliation is slightly different when both parties come together to admit their wrongs and apologize to each other in a form of exchanging resources like pigs and money.

The sign of reconciliation is indicated by Brukim Suga (breaking sugar cane) and disarming weapons. In todays society, it is added with soft drinks and other food stuff. Such payments may be followed by shaking hands, hugging, crying etc.

In my society, one of the traditional rituals that warring tribes refrain from performing for a long time until three years ago is Planim Tanget (planting Tanget). Exchanging of cordyline (tanget) between warring clans used to be a taboo. They should exhaust any other form of reconciling and making peace but not to exchange tanget. This is because the receiving enemies would normally plant the tangets in a sacred place and once grown to maturity, they can use to win future wars if there is one with the same clan or tribe.

The tanget is thought to contain all the oaths the enemy tribe took during the peace and reconciliation ceremony. Therefore, if they fail to comply then their tribesmen would be cursed and become easy target to die in the fight once the plant is shaken by the receiving tribe. To the extreme, animals blood used to be shed over the tanget before exchanging so never would that happen for they reserved to save lives of warriors should there be any fights in future.

So, that taboo was breached in 2012 when the Yuri tribe of Gumine District in Simbu Province, for the first time in history, exchanged tangets which resulted in many issues being settled by community leaders over the last four years.

An alternative to that in the context of the university would be to build a Peace Monument of a foundation made of stones representing different provinces shed with animals blood, buried in a hole and cemented with a flagpole with PNG flag flying above in unity.

Religious Peace and Reconciliation

Religion especially Christianity also plays a huge role in preaching gospels about love, forgiveness and humanity. Hence, parties involved can come before church to reconcile with God and confess their ungodly deeds if they feel this is not what God wants.

But who would find it easy to make an oath with a Bible in his or her hand that has the word of God. Say for instance, if one holds up a bible and promise never to fight again. That might not happen but praying to Him for forgiveness through Church and church leaders is necessary.

In my case, tribal members made their reconciliation with God by making offers to Him in cash and kind in a normal offertory process in the Roman Catholic Church liturgy. Every member of the party involve can make an offer as a token of saying sorry to God for unpleasant events that he or she has been part and partial of and promise not to do it again.

Signing of Peace Treaty

Thirdly, a formal peace treaty must be signed between parties. Peace treaty document can be prepared by peace mediators in consultations with legal professionals or any one of that nature to be signed during the time of reconciliations.

The document states certain oaths and list certain terms that the parties; in this case the students from various provinces can sign with their local leaders especially LLG presidents, Ward councilors, MPs, Governors, Provincial administrators, Provincial Police Commanders etc. so that any violence erupting with the nature of continuing the fight or taking revenge will result in certain consequences agreed upon.

The Peace Treaty Document provides details of the penalties to be carried upon the instigator; read and explained to them before they sign. Any individual, provincial group leader, politician etc who refuses to sign is noted and reminded as a threat to such future incidences. The treaty can be renewed annually or biannually so that there is peace at all times.

Peace Within

The three ways of making peace and reconciliation highlighted above are only rituals that may or may not last but real and lasting peace comes from ones own Heart. Even a diplomatic peace is not yet the real peace. It is an essential step in the peace process leading towards a real peace (Yitzhak Rabin).

That real peace will come from individuals involved. And remember! There is no other way to Peace; peace is the only way (Unknown Author). Peace does not only come from the lips and gestures but from within the hearts of not some but every individual member of the society we live in.

The Peace Ceremony Process

Both parties with their alliances come from different direction to a grandstand or common arena where Peace Mediators, church leaders, Police personnel and other neutral individuals and organizations will be there to facilitate.

The Process of entry to the grandstand can be done in their respective traditional ways. Parties stop for a while on each side of the common ground and the ceremony begins as planned by the mediators.

However, Melanesian ways of making peace and reconciliations proceed followed by other or alternatives deem necessary.

The Question is, what can we do in order to consolidate peace on a universal and durable foundation and what are the essential elements of such peace?
Shares of nine textile companies rose by 0.45% to 4.13% at 9:56 IST on BSE after Smriti Zubin Irani took over as the new Union Textiles Minister yesterday, 6 July 2016.

Alok Industries (up 4.13%), Hanung Toys and Textiles (up 3.32%), Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company (up 2.76%), Gokaldas Exports (up 2.01%), Nitin Spinners (up 1.22%), Arvind (up 0.99%), Raymond (up 0.52%), Vardhman Textiles (up 0.51%) and Century Textiles and Industries (up 0.45%), edged higher.

The S&P BSE Sensex was up 64.83 points, or 0.24% to 27,231.70.

Irani was serving as the Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) before taking over as the Union Textiles Minister.

Speaking to media persons on the occasion, the new minister thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for placing her in charge of a sector that employs the largest number of people, next only to agriculture. She said that the sector has a lot of unrealized potential in terms of skill and employment, and that it can play a very important role in scaling up the 'Make In India' vision of the Prime Minister.

She noted that the textiles sector provides employment to a large number of women, and that she will continue the efforts being taken under the leadership of the Prime Minister to engage with the industry and help increase the exports of the sector. Citing that the weavers are the foundation of the sector, Irani assured that the Government would strive to help them to the maximum possible extent.

Meanwhile, Ajay Tamta took charge as Minister of State, Ministry of Textiles yesterday, 6 July 2016. Tamta is a Lok Sabha MP from Almora constituency, Uttarakhand, and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prior to his election to the 16th Lok Sabha, Tamta served as a member of the Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, from 2007 to 2012 and again from 2012 to 2014. He has also served as a Minister in the Government of Uttarakhand, as Cabinet Minister during 2008 - 2009 and as MoS during 2007 - 2008.

After inducting 19 new Ministers of State, the Modi government on Tuesday, 5 July 2016, also announced a reshuffle of portfolios among the members of the Union Council of Ministers in a late night surprise announcement.

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Five people including policemen were injured in a bomb explosion on Thursday morning at the entrance of the largest Eid congregation in Bangladesh on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr, Xinhua news agency reported.

--IANS

ksk
Afghan refugees, who fled to Pakistan three decades ago carrying few belongings, are now facing an ultimatum from the Islamabad government to return to Afghanistan, a country that is still in the throes of conflict.

The war between Afghanistan and the then Soviet Union (1979-1989) forced three million Afghans to cross the border to seek asylum in neighbouring Pakistan, which last week extended their residency status for six more months, with a warning that after that they must leave, EFE news reported.

Islamabad, home to the second largest refugee population in the world and one of the oldest, blames Afghans for the violence afflicting the country and for flooding the labour market.

"My children and grandchildren were born here. They are more Pakistani than Afghani," says Mohamed Zamir, one of the residents of the Kababian refugee camp in Peshawar, set up in 1981, housing 11,300 Afghan refugees.

Fifty-five years old Zamir, who manages a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) school, crossed the Pakistani border on foot along with his parents and nine siblings in 1981 and may have to retrace his steps and return to Afghanistan shortly, with his wife, four children and eight grandchildren.

The government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has not yet made any statement on the future of the refugees.

Sher Ali, a second generation refugee who was born in Pakistan 33 years ago, says he doesn't want to return to Afghanistan, a country in which he has never lived.

"I was born here, I work here. This is the place I know, in Afghanistan, I am like a foreigner," says Ali, whose family came to Pakistan in 1979.

Like Ali, most of the 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and another million and a half staying in Pakistan illegally, were born in Pakistan, UNHCR spokesperson in the country, Duniya Aslam, told EFE.

But Pakistan does not grant nationality to refugee children born in the country.

Of the total number of registered Afghan refugees, 40 per cent still live in some of the 43 UNHCR camps in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

While Pakistan has been asking the Afghan refugees to leave for years, the calls for their repatriation have grown in recent times following the 2014 Taliban attack against a school in Peshawar in which 125 children were killed.

A week ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government, UNHCR and the Afghan government will begin talks in July on the transfer of the camps in Pakistan to the other side of the border.

--IANS

lok/dg
Prime Minister on Thursday said Africa is the land that shaped the identity of the Indian .

"Africa was the land which started shaping the identity of the Indian diaspora," he said in a brief interaction with members of the Indian community here.

"Even as you assimilate with your local societies, you have managed to conserve the essence of your Indianness," he said in a brief speech on the occasion.

There are around 20,000 people of Indian origin in Mozambique.

Modi said Africa is the land that contributed to India being known internationally.

"Indians in Africa contribute to India's status worldwide," he said

The community interaction was the last engagement of the Prime Minister here before his departure for South Africa.

He arrived here on Thursday morning on the first leg of his four-nation African tour.

India and Mozambique signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, Modi will also visit Tanzania and Kenya.

--IANS

ab/dg
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday termed the admission process of Delhi University "bizarre", saying it doesn't have a quota for the local students or entrance tests.

"Delhi University admission system is most bizarre. They don't have either quota for locals or normalisation of marks or entrance tests", tweeted the Chief Minister.

His comment comes close on the heels of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's letter to the then Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, demanding changes in the admission process of the varsity.

In a letter written to Irani on July 2, Sisodia had suggested allotment of five percentage points for local students in those Delhi University colleges which are funded completely by the Delhi government.

He also asked for a separate entrance test for admission in DU colleges.

Former Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel, who has been raising the issue of reservation for local students in DU, also suggested an eligibility test for admission into the varsity.

"I met DU Vice-Chancellor and requested him to bring quota for local students and conduct eligibility test for admissions. I also called on Manish Sisodia and the HRD minister and I am confident that the talk would go in the right direction", Goel, who was recently inducted into the Union council of ministers, told IANS.

DU admissions for various courses are currently going on with the university scheduled to release the third cut-off list on Sunday.

--IANS

av/bim/bg
The West Bengal government on Friday will launch the "Safe Drive, Save Life", a special initiative aimed at creating road safety awareness, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

"Safe driving is an essential component of road safety. Every day, so many lives are lost due to irresponsible driving and insensible road behaviour.

"To inculcate sense of safe driving and responsible road behaviour, our government is launching the 'Safe Drive, Save Life"," she said.

The initiative is targeted to achieve cohesion among civil society, police, transport, health, roads and other government departments and NGOs to sensitize people about different aspects of safe driving and road safety, Banerjee added.

--IANS

and/vd
Britain insisted on Thursday that it cannot begin negotiations with Brussels about leaving the European Union.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Philip Hammond said the country is "not in a position" to negotiate and therefore activating Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty would be "unwise".

"Article 50 sets a clock ticking and I don't think at the moment, for various reasons -- not least of which, we don't have the new Prime Minister in post -- for the moment we are in a position to begin substantive negotiations immediately," Efe news quoted him as saying.

Hammond denied that the country would "unilaterally" guarantee the rights of EU citizens in Britain without first negotiating with EU members to be certain there is reciprocity.

He added this was for the next Prime Minister of Britain to decide.

Hammond showed he was willing to have informal conversations with Brussels about the status of expatriates, but lamented that European institutions do not want to discuss anything until Article 50 is triggered.

"If the bureaucrats in Brussels would say today we are happy to sit down and talk to British Government about a deal that assures the mutual rights of citizens in each others countries, I'm sure Britain would be happy to engage in this process," he said.

The British Conservative Party is immersed in internal elections to choose a substitute for Prime Minister and party leader David Cameron, who resigned after the Brexit campaign's victory.

--IANS

lok/vt
At least 12 soldiers were killed on Thursday in a car bomb attack in Libya's Benghazi city, officials said.

Heavy clashes erupted between the Libyan army troops and the militants, who used mines and car bombs, Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesman of the Libyan marine as saying.

On Wednesday, at least four soldiers were killed and seven were injured in clashes with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in the city of Benghazi.

Also on Wednesday, an army MIG-23 aircraft crashed in western Benghazi, killing its pilot.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, facing flak for having dubbed controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik a "messenger of peace" in 2012, on Thursday said that if the Indian or Bangladeshi government found any evidence linking Naik to the Islamic State terror group, they should act against him.

Naik is under the scanner following revelations that two of the five young militants who massacred 20 hostages, including an Indian, at a popular cafe in Dhakha on July 1 drew their inspiration from his speeches.

"If government of India (GOI) or the government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS (Islamic State) they should take action against him," Singh tweeted.

Singh's tweets came after an online video surfaced showing him at an event sharing the stage and a hug with Naik, and at a conference in 2012 where he called the Islamic preacher a "messenger of peace."

"I have heard many times the name of Zakir Naik. I am happy to hear that he (Naik) is spreading message of peace all over the world," Singh said, praising the scholar in the controversial video.

The video was broadcast on Peace TV, which is run by Naik.

Reacting to the controversy, Singh in a tweet claimed that "the conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed."

Defending his presence alongside Naik at the event, Singh tweeted: "My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown. I spoke against religious fundamentalism and appealed for communal harmony."

On Wednesday, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters that Naik's speeches are a "matter of concern for us" and that government agencies "are working on this".

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said Naik's speeches are objectionable, and indicated that the government may take action against him.

"The Home Ministry will analyse everything," Naidu said.

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for his hate speeches aimed against other religions.

--IANS

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Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, facing flak for having dubbed controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik a "messenger of peace" in 2012, on Thursday said that if the Indian or Bangladeshi government found any evidence linking Naik to the Islamic State terror group, they should act against him.

Naik is under the scanner following revelations that two of the five young militants who massacred 20 hostages, including an Indian, at a popular cafe in Dhaka on July 1 drew their inspiration from his speeches.

"If government of India (GOI) or the government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS (Islamic State) they should take action against him," Singh tweeted.

Singh's tweets came after an online video surfaced showing him at an event sharing the stage and a hug with Naik, and at a conference in 2012 where he called the Islamic preacher a "messenger of peace."

"I have heard many times the name of Zakir Naik. I am happy to hear that he (Naik) is spreading message of peace all over the world," Singh said, praising the scholar in the controversial video.

The video was broadcast on Peace TV, which is run by Naik.

Reacting to the controversy, Singh in a tweet claimed that "the conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed."

Defending his presence alongside Naik at the event, Singh tweeted: "My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown. I spoke against religious fundamentalism and appealed for communal harmony."

On Wednesday, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters that Naik's speeches are a "matter of concern for us" and that government agencies "are working on this".

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said Naik's speeches are objectionable, and indicated that the government may take action against him.

"The Home Ministry will analyse everything," Naidu said.

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for his hate speeches aimed against other religions.

However, Congress defended Singh by saying he has clarified himself on the issue.

"Digvijay Singh ji has himself clarified that all that he said was an appeal for peace, harmony and brotherhood of all," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

"Congress party has always believed that there is no place in India as also in our society for extremism or for thought process that goes against the idea of India. Obscure extremist thought processes have no place in India's society including in the entire world order," he added.

Surjewala further said: "These are are the anti-thesis of extremist and militant thought processes. Any individual or any organisation that has stated anything or done any act that goes against these tenets must be acted upon by government of India in accordance with law and strictest punishment must be given to such individual or organisation."

On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a probe into the speeches, writings and other materials of Naik, President of Islamic Research Foundation.

--IANS

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GRETCHEN FRIEMANN & BRIDGET CARTER | The Australian | Edited extracts

US ENERGY giant ExxonMobil is expected to officially wade into the race for the Papua New Guinea-focused InterOil next week in a $3 billion-plus move that threatens to end Oil Searchs takeover ambitions for its smaller rival and intensify pressure on French major Total.

As flagged by this column, Oil Search, an Australian-listed, Port Moresby-based company, led by industry veteran Peter Botten, fulfilled a long-considered strategy in May when it launched a $US2.2bn tilt at InterOil.

But it risks losing out to a contest between two super majors if Exxons entry draws counter fire from Total. Even if the French titan stays clear, Oil Searchs directors will be wary of locking horns with Exxon, the worlds biggest oil company with a market capitalisation of $US386.1bn.
Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in Uttarakhand on Thursday with traditional fervour and gaiety.

The main namaz was offered at Chakrala mosque in Dehradun while thousands of Muslims prayed at the mosques in different districts.

Governor K.K. Paul and Chief Minister Harish Rawat extended greetings to Muslims in the state and hoped that the festival will ring in peace and prosperity the world over.

While the moon could not be sighted on Wednesday due to thick cloud cover, the Shahr Qazi announced the Eid would be celebrated on Thursday as scheduled and as elsewhere.

Prayers were also offered at Dhamawali mosque, Eidgah Mazra, EC Road mosque, Gandhi Gram mosque and elsewhere in the state capital.

Shias celebrated the Eid in the hill state on Wednesday as cleric Kalbe Sadiq announced.

Heavy security arrangements have been made in the state on the occasion of the Eid.

--IANS

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Actor Irrfan Khan, who recently created a stir after making stern remarks on a Muslim tradition of sacrifice, says Eid is a blissful moment.

Irrfan spoke about the essence of fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

"All festivals have some meaning and purpose. We should try to find out that. Eid is a blissful moment like all festivals, where people give out some portion from their entire year's earning to some needy people," he said at the musical reality show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" set, which he visited to promote his forthcoming film "Madaari".

"The purpose is to share. It could be your earning or anything... monetary or maybe your good thoughts so that equality can be spread out in your surroundings," he added.

"After a month of praying and meditating, this is the time of celebration. We hope our prayer is accepted by the almighty and our souls are purified."

The actor recently condemned the fact that animals are being slaughtered in the name of Qurbani. His remarks did not go down well with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

--IANS

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Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed Washington's decision to extend the presence of American troops' in the country till 2017, the Presidential Palace said in a statement on Thursday.

"Mohammad Ashraf Ghani welcomed decision of President Barak Obama to authorise extension of US troops in Afghanistan," the statement said.

On Wednesday, Obama announced that he will maintain about 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan into 2017 through the end of his administration. His original plan was to draw down US troops in the militancy-hit country to 5,500 by the end of this year, Xinhua news agency reported.

The decision showed continued partnership between US and Afghanistan to pursue common interests and strengthen regional stability, the statement added.

Obama said the new decision was based on recommendation of US military leaders and following extensive consultations with his national security team, as well as the Congress, the Afghan government and international partners.

The NATO and US forces completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces, including some 9,800 US troops, are currently stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising and backing Afghan troops in the war on insurgents.

--IANS

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday ordered a probe into the speeches, writings and other materials of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, president of Islamic Research Foundation, an official said here.

Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Padsalgikar has been directed to conduct the probe and submit a report to the state government, said the official from the chief minister's office.

The enquiry follows mounting pressures from various quarters after Naik was accused of making inflammatory speeches which allegedly inspired the recent Bangladesh terror attacks.

Several Muslim organizations also have reacted in the matter with the Raza Academy staging a noisy protest outside the IRF's offices in Dongri this afternoon.

"We are protesting against Naik for his fiery speeches, what he promotes.. this is not the way to teach or propagate the spread of Islam. He should be banned," said Raza Academy founder-secretary M. Saeed Noori.

The protestors also condemned the recent spate of terror attacks globally including Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh and said Islam promotes and teaches peace.

"The perpetrators of such terror acts are not Muslims. Islam is a peaceful religion," Noori said.

Born and living in Mumbai, the 50-year old Naik is a qualified doctor who left the medical profession to found the IRF which runs the Islamic International School and NGO United Islamic Aid for poor and destitute.

Considered an authority on "comparative religion", Naik is the founder of Peace Television channel, Peace TV Bangla and Peace TV Urdu, and Dawah which invites people to understand Islam through dialogue.

Earlier on Thursday, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu indicated that Naik could face action if his preachings and teachings were found to be objectionable.

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai Arvind Sawant sought a ban on Naik's speeches and movement as well as his television channels, to prevent him from making provocative speeches.

--IANS

qn/vd
Former Spanish motorcycle racer Sito Pons will be investigated by a court for alleged tax fraud amounting to 445,000 euros ($493,000), court documents said on Thursday.

A judge in a Barcelona court gave the go-ahead to an official investigation into the tax affairs of the former Grand Prix rider and two-time 250cc World Champion (1988-1989), reports Efe.

According to Spain's Prosecutor, Pons had since 1988 claimed his residence was outside Spain -- first in Monaco and then in the United Kingdom -- when, in fact, he lived most of the time at his Barcelona home address.

After retiring, Pons created the MotoGP Honda-Pons Racing team.

--IANS

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Four cadres of the Naga militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Reformation (NSCN-R) were gunned down in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district early on Thursday, the Assam Rifles (AR) said.

Two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered from the slain militants.

The gunfight occurred at the remote Kheti village, seven km from Khonsa, the district headquarters of Tirap, Assam Rifles spokesman Lt. Col. Rahul Josan said.

The four were allegedly involved in extortion, arms dealing and drug peddling. They were Captain Jano Tekwa, Sergeant Major Lombho Pangsa, Sergeant Tongbai and Corporal Mankhu Wangsa.

"Assam Rifles troopers cordoned off the area on Wednesday night after a tip-off. One of the three columns came under heavy firing as it approached the militants camp, forcing the troopers to retaliate," the spokesman said.

In the ensuing gun battle, the four militants were killed.

The NSCN-R is a breakaway faction of the banned NSCN-Khaplang, a Myanmar-based rebel outfit.

--IANS

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Four cadres of the Naga militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Reformation (NSCN-R) were gunned down in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district early on Thursday, the Assam Rifles (AR) said.

Two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered from the slain militants.

An AR spokesman said the gunfight occurred at the remote Kheti village. The four were allegedly involved in extortion, arms dealing and drug peddling.

"Assam Rifles troopers cordoned off the area on Wednesday night after a tip-off. One of the three columns came under heavy firing as it approached the militants camp, forcing the troopers to retaliate," the spokesman said. In the ensuing gun battle, two militants were killed.

"Later, two more militants were killed during the operation," he said.

--IANS

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If the recent induction of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has received a muted welcome from the IAF, there are very good reasons for it. While the nation and the defence-industrial complex may celebrate a milestone in military indigenisation, the service, charged with the defence of our skies, has much more to worry about.

With obsolescence eroding its aircraft strength and the Rafale deal in limbo, there seem to be no inductions from abroad on the horizon; other than a few more Sukhoi SU-30s to attain the target strength of 272 heavy fighters. The IAF, while still seeking a medium fighter, may have to make do with the Tejas (and its future derivatives) -- in terms of numbers as well as capability - till something else turns up.

Since much of the IAF's combat fleet is assembled, overhauled and supported in-country, this would make the service totally dependent on India's monolithic aerospace giant: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). This is a thought that would strike dread in the heart of any air warrior. Having flown many HAL products and been associated with its aircraft and helicopter projects, I can put my fingers on (at least) four good reasons for the IAF's leadership to be apprehensive in this regard. Most of them are attributable to HAL's public-sector work-ethos, nurtured by a protective Department of Defence Production.

Firstly, the lackadaisical approach of HAL's unionised employees that engenders low productivity. Secondly, poor production-engineering standards that create maintenance and inter-changeability problems on aircraft. Thirdly, the high failure rate of HAL manufactured components and systems with attendant safety implications. Lastly, sub-optimal product-support that frequently leaves HAL customers high and dry -- without any options.

Given the acceptance of Tejas by the IAF -- whether voluntarily or under duress -- this aircraft now assumes a key role in India's national security matrix. It must, therefore, not only be inducted in sufficient numbers in a compressed time-frame but also be accorded Final Operational Clearance at the earliest, to enable combat exploitation over its full envelope.

Concurrently, improvements, upgrades and modifications have to be wrought in the Tejas to enhance its capabilities. Given low production rates and the other attributes of HAL, mentioned above, all this is unlikely to happen unless the Ministry of Defence (MoD) thinks out of the box, adopts an innovative approach and acts with alacrity.

Going by past precedent, it would be unrealistic to expect the MoD to undergo an overnight transformation in outlook and it would, therefore, have to be the end-users who must provide the initial impetus and sustain momentum of desired changes. At this juncture, a digression is necessary to highlight the Indian Navy's interest in the LCA and to illustrate the critical importance of customer involvement in project management.

Unbeknownst to many, the Indian Navy, in keeping with its commitment to indigenisation, has been a steadfast supporter of the LCA for decades. In its quest for a ship-borne version of the aircraft, the navy commenced discussions with the LCA's designer, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), in the early 1990s.

Initial feasibility of a naval version having been established, an engineering development programme was commissioned to seek thrust-enhancement, fitment of an arrester hook and extensive re-design of the undercarriage and fuselage for carrier operations.

Having drawn up Qualitative Requirements for the aircraft, the navy also contributed Rs 400 crore ($60 million) to the LCA (Navy) project, becoming the only potential customer to have done so. The level of the navy's commitment can be gauged from the fact that a naval test pilot deputed to the National Flight Test Centre rose to become its head, and the current ADA Director is a naval aeronautical engineer who was originally sent to oversee the LCA (Navy) a decade ago.

The prototype LCA (Navy) was rolled out in July 2010, and has been undergoing trials on a specially constructed carrier simulation facility at the naval air station in Goa. With three aircraft-carriers projected in its plans, the navy would need 100-150 ship-borne fighters in the next two decades.

While the LCA (Navy) -- if successful -- would make up some of these numbers, the navy (like the IAF) would also need a medium fighter to equip its carriers, but one which is carrier-compatible for catapult-launch and arrester-hook recovery. Currently there happen to be three such examples in the market -- the US F/A-18 Hornet and F-35C Lightning II and the French Rafale.

Against the backdrop, of the latest dispensation permitting 100 per cent FDI in defence production, coupled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's passionate advocacy of Make in India and Make for India, the IAF and the navy need to make common cause and capitalise on new windows of opportunity. Given the historical inability of our public sector to reform itself, the two services should urge the government to form multiple public-private joint ventures (JV) involving ADA, divisions of HAL, the Indian private sector and foreign aerospace companies.

These initiatives, which will not only transform India's aerospace industry but also bolster national security, must include joint ventures for: (a) the modernisation and streamlining of HAL's existing production facilities; (b) creation of additional assembly lines to boost LCA production rate; (c) exploring, with ADA, upgradation of the LCA and design of LCA Mark II; and (d) setting up a new aero-engine production plant for the LCA.

Should the IAF and the navy be able to agree upon a common medium fighter, they would have a powerful lever to persuade the government to set up another JV for its collaborative production in India.

Any move to loosen the deadly grip of the PSUs and allow private sector participation in defence will see the dinosaurs of the Left (embedded in all political parties) as well as the status quoist Department of Defence Production up in arms against it. This is where the Service Chiefs and the techno-savvy Defence Minister could take a common stand and pull together -- in the interest of national security.

(Admiral Arun Prakash is a former Indian Navy chief. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at arunp2810@yahoo.com)

--IANS

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India and Mozambique on Thursday agreed to fast-track agricultural cooperation after delegation-level discussions headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here.

"Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need," Modi said in a joint press statement with Nyusi.

"And what Mozambique requires is available in India," he said.

Observing that Nyusi had highlighted agricultural development as his top priority, he said experts from both sides have since held discussions on how to work together to improve agricultural infrastructure and productivity in Mozambique.

"Today, we agreed to put this cooperation on the fast track," Modi said.

Stating that the both the countries were strengthening their partnership in food security, he said: "India's commitment to buy pulses from Mozambique would help meet India's requirement. It will also facilitate long-term investments in commercial farming, generate farm employment and raise farmer's incomes in this country."

The two sides earlier signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses from Mozambique for India.

The Prime Mnister said health care was another area in which India's capacities and Mozambican needs match well.

"India will be donating essential medicines for the Mozambican public health system, including medicines for treatment of AIDS," he said.

Modi also stressed on the safety and security of the people of the two countries.

"President Nyusi and I recognise that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today," he said

"Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally. The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans-national crimes."

He said an agreement signed between the two sides on prevention of drug trafficking was a testimony to the shared determination to combat the menace of terrorism and its networks.

Modi said that with India and Mozambique being connected by the Indian Ocean, there were many economic opportunities

"But, we are also aware of the emerging strategic and security challenges in the maritime domain," he said.

"To advance our shared security interests, President and I have today agreed to strengthen our defence and security relationship."

Modi said that India and Mozambique stood with each other in the international arena on a range of issues.

"From the reform of UN Security Council, to the adoption of June 21 as the International Day of Yoga," he said.

"Last year, at the COP-21 Summit in Paris, India led a major effort to promote solar energy as a source of renewable energy.

"For this, we formed the International Solar Alliance to counter climate change. The Alliance has the support of over 120 countries and we greatly value Mozambique's partnership in this initiative."

The Prime Minister also mentioned the 20,000 Mozambican citizens of Indian origin and described them as "a living bridge between our economies and our societies".

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet Veronica Mamoco, President of Mozambique's National Assembly.

He is also scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa.

--IANS

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Rome, July 7 (IANS/AKI) Italy, which lost nine of its citizens in last week's terror attack on a cafe in the Bangladeshi capital, said on Thursday that the Islamic State militant group's claim of responsibility for the deadly attack is "credible".

"Our initial assessments, made with diplomats and intelligence staff, also from other countries, is that Daesh's claim is credible," Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told the Senate upper house of Parliament on Thursday, referring to IS's Arabic acronym.

Nine Italians were among 20 hostages -- 18 of them foreigners -- slain by five Islamist militants in last Friday's assault on the Holey Artisan bakery in Dhaka's diplomatic zone. Two Bangladeshi police officers, a bakery chef and five Bangladeshi gunmen also died in the 10-hour assault.

Gentiloni said Italy would pursue the IS relentlessly. "When they kill nine of our compatriots, Italy responds with unity," he told the Senate.

"This message must be very clear and it must be a decisive response. We have to say firmly we will give Daesh and fundamentalist no respite, all the more so after this attack."

IS claimed the attack in a video this week and earlier in a statement circulated last Friday by IS supporters on the Telegram messaging service.

IS said it targeted the citizens of "Crusader countries" in the attack, warning that citizens of such countries would be unsafe "as long as their warplanes kill Muslims", a message similar to previous statements.

The killing of hostages in Dhaka was "a glimpse" of things to come, IS said in the video, which said a barrage of fresh terror attacks would target Bangladesh and elsewhere until an Islamic caliphate prevailed throughout the world.

Bangladesh's government has denied IS was behind the attack and has blamed domestic militant group Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh (JMB).

--IANS/AKI

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Post Office Box

THE vice chancellor of the University of Papua New Guinea, Albert Mellam, has proven himself to be incompetent at conflict resolution.

From the initial stages of the boycott, Professor Mellam could have easily defused the situation by facilitating freedom of expression.

Instead, he prematurely chose a hard line stand leaving no room for escalation should tensions rise. He brought guns to a peaceful call gathering. He issued threats when students made a peaceful call.

He tried to smother democratic freedom of expression by disallowing and delaying a referendum. He did all this in a democratic country.

When students protested, he quickly requested an armed police presence on campus, effectively burning all his bridges and cutting of any chance of dialogue with students. He created distrust when he should have built relationships.
Vatican City, July 7 (IANS/AKI) A Vatican court on Thursday acquitted two Italian journalists who wrote tell-all books about mismanagement and graft within the Holy See but jailed a high-ranking cleric and a PR expert for leaking confidential documents on which the books were based.

After five hours of deliberation, the court cleared Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi due "a defect of jurisdiction". The judges said they did not have the authority to try the journalists, who argued at the trial that their alleged offences of publishing leaked information did not take place on Vatican soil.

The Vatican court jailed Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda for 18 months and gave PR consultant Francesca Chaouqui a 10-month suspended sentence for leaking the classifed documents.

Balda may appeal his sentence.

A fifth defendandant, Balda's former assistant Nicola Maio, was acquitted.

"This is an important ruling that has upheld the independence of journalists to tell the facts - an inalienable principle," said Nuzzi commenting on the verdicts which came after a six-month trial.

The Vatican was widely criticised for prosecuting the two Italian journalists, a move seen as harming freedom of speech and information.

All five defendants were charged by the Vatican with "Crimes against the Security of the State" and faced possible prison terms of between four and eight years.

Chaouqui, 34, who served with Balda on a former financial reform commission set up by Pope Francis, denied any wrongdoing in the case, claiming she has been made a scapegoat and only acted for the good of the Church.

Before the verdict was announced, she said she was prepared to go to prison with her three-week-old baby boy if convicted.

Chaouqui was pregnant throughout the trial and gave birth in mid-June. The trial was adjourned for three weeks in March to allow her to rest.

The Vatican has no long-term prison cells but can ask Italy to house its prisoners under the terms of a 1929 treaty.

--IANS/AKI

vd
Millions of Muslims celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, with joy and fervor in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra on Thursday.

Attired in their finery, Muslim men, women and children trooped out of their homes before dawn to offer special Eid congregational thanksgiving prayers marking culmination of the 30 days of rigorous fasting and prayers. After offering namaz, they hugged each other with greetings of 'Eid Mubarak'.

Similar joyful scenes were witnessed at their homes, in Muslim dominated localities with their Hindu, Christian, Jain and Parsi brethren joining in the celebrations symbolising communal harmony.

Reports of peaceful Eid, at some places the enthusiasm doused by sudden monsoon showers, were received from Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Pune, Nashik, Beed, Aurangabad and other cities and places of Maharashtra.

In many areas celebrations spilled onto the streets by sharing the Eid special sweet dish 'Sheer-korma', a preparation of milk with vermicelli and generous sprinkling of dry fruits, and later biryanis and other delicacies.

The Shia communities of the state, including Dawoodi Bohras, had celebrated Eid on Tuesday, while other sects celebrated it on Thursday.

In the wake of the recent terror strike in Bangladesh, police here maintained tight security across Mumbai and rest of the state to ensure a peaceful Eid-ul-Fitr.

--IANS

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Attired in their best, thousands from the Muslim community here participated in prayer services, feasts and greetings in Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations on Thursday.

They congregated at the city's principal mosque, Nakhoda Masjid, since dawn to offer prayers and best wishes for friends and family.

The festival marked the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

Greetings of "Eid Mubarak" and "Chaand Mubarak" poured in with the sighting of the thin crescent Shawaal moon on Wednesday evening.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also greeted people on the festival.

With the sun shining in all its might, the Red Road in central Kolkata saw over 40,000 devotees on rugs to offer namaaz.

After prayers and a breakfast of dates and sweets, Muslim families got together for their first midday meal in a month. Non-Muslim friends also joined in to add diversity to the celebrations.

Mughlai restaurants received high footfalls as people cutting across class and religious barriers indulged in heaps of biriyani, platters of fresh fruits and special desserts like 'sevaiyan' and 'halwa' with generous servings of dry fruits.

In terms of fashion, women made a beeline for the 'Mastani' lehengas this year, made popular by actress Deepika Padukone in "Bajirao Mastani".

Traditional fetes sprung up in different city pockets where men, women and children shopped for knick knacks and treats.

Women gathered around in henna stalls to adorn themselves with the art while children received money from elders.

Actor Salman Khan's "Sultan" was a huge draw among film goers.

Security was beefed up across the city and all districts of the state in wake of the attacks in neighbouring Bangladesh.

--IANS

sgh/vd
American aerospace company Lockheed Martin here on Thursday said that it was looking at expanding its investments in the country under the Make in India initiative.

"Lockheed Martin's commitment to the Indian government's 'Make in India' policy, national 'Skills Initiative' and to working with industrial partners in India to expand its business footprint was a feature of discussions involving the Corporation's Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson during a visit to New Delhi," a statement from the company said.

"Meeting with political leaders, senior government officials and leading Indian industrialists, Hewson highlighted Lockheed Martin's sponsorship of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) as an example of effective partnership in action," the statement said.

The IIGP allows applicants to file in their innovative ideas across industries ranging from agriculture and textiles to defence and healthcare. The Department of Science and Technology-Lockheed Martin IIGP is in its 10th year.

"I look forward to growing our 25-year story in India and to establishing greater and more meaningful partnerships that will help grow the Indian economy and community," Hewson said.

Every C-130J airlifter sold internationally contains major aerostructure assemblies manufactured in India by Tata and every S-92 medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has a cabin manufactured by Tata in Hyderabad, it said.

--IANS

mm/rn
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday morning, the first leg of his four-nation tour to Africa.

"An early morning arrival in Mozambique. Important talks await the PM in this brief but important visit," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

Modi is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

He will also meet with Veronica Macomo, President of Mozambique's National Assembly.

His other programmes in the day include an interaction with students at the Science and Technology Park, Maluana, and an Indian community reception.

He will leave for South Africa, on Thursday evening.

This is the Prime Minister's first official visit to mainland Africa. He is also scheduled to visit Tanzania and Kenya.

--IANS

ab/ksk
The Congress on Thursday alleged that the Narendra Modi government overstepped its limits to order an alternate audit by the telecom ministry rejecting the Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG) scrutiny.

The audit by the CAG found under-reporting of income by six telecom companies to the tune of Rs 46,045.75 crore from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

The six telecom companies that were audited by the CAG were Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea, Tata and Aircel.

The Congress alleged that the Modi government opted for an alternate re-evaluation of these figures by the telecom ministry through chartered accountants who are empanelled with them.

"This reflects the apparent mal-intent of the government to dilute or diminish the figures put forth by CAG," said Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.

According to Surjewala, CAG had initiated an audit of the six telecom companies for four years from 2006-07 to 2009-10 at the instructions of the Congress-led UPA government. CAG submitted its report in March 2016.

"It specifically looked at under-reporting of income and non-uniform method of accounting adopted by various telecom companies and consequent lack of obligation to pay outstanding licence fee and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC)," said Surjewala.

He alleged that CAG found an understating of income by these six companies of Rs 46,045.75 crore in the four years.

"CAG found that there was an amount of Rs 12,488.93 crore, which remains un-recovered by the government. This does not include penalty and other relevant taxes. Final loss for these four years would be even greater than the stated amount," he said.

"Although there has been considerable increase in business, consumer base and income, even if loss of exchequer is calculated on the same formula for the years 2010-11 to 2015-16, this figure would be more than Rs 45,000 crore," he added.

Congress also alleged that the audit by CAG was delayed due to a challenge before the courts regarding jurisdiction of CAG to audit accounts of private telecom companies.

"The Supreme Court transferred all the matters before it and rejected the claims of telecom companies according to the judgement dated April 17, 2014 and permitted CAG to audit the accounts," said Surjewala.

The Congress said that instead of immediately acting on these revelations reflecting serious loss to public exchequer, the Modi government opted for an alternate re-evaluation of these figures.

"This is a clear methodology of the Modi government to inordinately delay the process of recovery for years together, if not writing it off entirely," alleged Surjewala.

"We demand recovery of all the money and further audit of the telecom companies before and after the stated audit period (2006-07 to 2009-10). The companies that got licences after 2010 are also amenable to audit," he added.

--IANS

sid/bim/dg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held bilateral talks with Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi after being accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo on his arrival here.

"Mozambique honours. PM Narendra Modi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo," tweeted Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

"Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM Narendra Modi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks," Swarup added.

Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday morning, the first leg of his four-nation tour to Africa.

"An early morning arrival in Mozambique. Important talks await the PM in this brief but important visit," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted earlier.

Modi will later also meet with Veronica Macomo, President of Mozambique's National Assembly.

His other programmes in the day include an interaction with students at the Science and Technology Park, Maluana, and an Indian community reception.

He will leave for South Africa on Thursday evening.

This is the Prime Minister's first official visit to mainland Africa. He is also scheduled to visit Tanzania and Kenya.

--IANS

sid/rn/vt
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left the Mozambican capital Maputo for South Africa on the second leg of his four-nation African tour.

"Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique," the Prime Minister's Office quoted Modi as saying on Twitter.

On Friday, Modi will hold talks with South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria and later address an India-South Africa business meeting.

He will visit the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and then the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

In the evening, he will address an Indian diaspora rally in Johannesburg following which he will leave for Durban.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Phoenix Settlement in Durban and undertake a train journey to Pietermaritzburg in memory of the 1893 incident when Gandhi was thrown off a train carriage on account of his skin colour.

He will also attend a reception to be hosted by the Mayor of Durban.

Modi arrived here on Thursday morning on the first leg of his African sojourn.

India and Mozambique signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, Modi will also visit Tanzania and Kenya.

--IANS

ab/dg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met President of the Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo and invited her to lead a parliamentary delegation to India.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Modi and Macamo exchanged views on the practices and procedures of their respective Parliaments.

"Prime Minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women," Swarup said.

Modi alluded to the visit of a Mozambican Parliamentary delegation to study India's electoral system in general and electronic voting machines in particular.

"He invited Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both countries," the Spokesperson said.

The Prime Minister also signed the visitors book in the National Assembly in which he wrote: "India and Mozambique have shed colonial legacies to chart new democratic courses. The Assembly of the Republic plays a vital role in guiding Mozambique in this journey. I bring with me the best wishes of 1.25 billion Indians who share the democratic spirit with the people of Mozambique."

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour,.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, he will also visit Tanzania and Kenya during his African sojourn.

--IANS

ab/dg
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the National Assembly of Mozambique and met its Speaker Veronica Macamo.

"Deepening the democratic connect. PM @narendramodi meets President of Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with photographs of the two leaders..

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

--IANS

ab/bg
The first winners of the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative have been revealed.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared inGeneva, Middletown and Plattsburgh Wednesday to announce the cities have won $10 million grants to support downtown revitalization projects.

Geneva beat out municipalities in the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council to win the grand prize. Each of the state's regional councils were tasked with nominating one city for the $10 million downtown funding.

With the funding, the city plans to renovate buildings, provide greater access to healthy food and boost businesses in the area.

Middletown was selected by the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council for the award. The city's application focused on its business improvement district and finding a use for a now-closed state psychiatric center.

Plattsburgh competed with other municipalities represented by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council.

The winning proposal submitted by Plattsburgh calls for a new municipal marina and historic building renovations. The city is also planning to expand its farmers' market and add housing and retail space.

"The Downtown Revitalization Initiative will build on that momentum by investing in local assets to attract jobs, private investment and transform downtown areas into vibrant, diverse and economically active hubs," Cuomo said in a statement.

What's not known is when  or if  Cuomo will visit central New York to announce the region's Downtown Revitalization Initiative winner.

The deadline was June 30 for the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council to nominate one of the four cities in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative competition. The state held off announcing the winners until after Independence Day weekend.

The $10 million state grants for the winners will include up to $300,000 for the cities to hire experts who can help local officials develop a strategic investment plan. The plan will be used to determine how to best invest the funds.

These plans are expected to be completed by early next year.
Two days after Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel was sworn in as Minister of State in the Union Council of Ministers, a faction of the Apna Dal on Thursday said it was "severing" ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Claiming to be heading the "real" Apna Dal, its president Krishna Patel and her other daughter Pallavi Patel said their party was snapping all ties with the BJP and vowed to "teach them a lesson".

After a party meeting in the state capital, Krishna Patel said she will organise a rally in Varanasi on August 23 to showcase her support base.

This rally, she claimed, will be much bigger than those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the past.

However, the Apna Dal faction led by Krishna's younger daughter Anupriya Patel, the MP from Mirzapur, on Thursday said it will now work to strengthen the BJP and ensure their alliance storms to power in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 assembly elections.

R.K. Verma, a party legislator, said the Other Backward Castes were indebted to Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for making Anupriya Patel a union minister.

--IANS

md/tsb/dg
Prakash Javadekar in the two years as Environment Minister was in the limelight for his pro-industry policies and climate diplomacy, but he also faced flak from environmentalists who dubbed dilution of green norms as "an obsession for short term economic growth".

Javadekar, who now heads HRD, the only Minister of State who got promoted to cabinet rank in Tuesday's reshuffle, credits himself for granting environment clearance to over 2,000 held-up projects, paving the way for investment worth Rs 10 lakh crore.

However, the figures don't project a very upbeat image of the ministry in the past two years.

More tigers were poached in the first four months of 2016 than in entire 2015, over 1,100 cases of wildlife crime were reported, more than 20 elephants were killed, green corridors and about 15 lakh acres of forest land remained encroached upon and only 60 out of estimated 2,226 tigers were radio collared.

"We cannot help but worry when the Environment Minister boasts of the increased speed of clearance of development projects as his major achievement, and points to the number of projects cleared as a measure of his performance. Sadly, Javadekar's tenure has been marked by this dramatic change in how the ministry's priorities are defined," Ravi Chellam from Greenpeace India told IANS.

As green bodies question the understanding of environmental principles of the former minister, they say that new incumbent Anil Madhav Dave will have to build "from scratch".

A commerce student and former banker, Javadekar is also accused of moulding policies in favour of developers, "placing great trust in them with blatant disregard for precautionary principles".

He recently lifted a 2013 moratorium from the industrial cluster of Chandrapur, Maharashtra -- one of the most polluted cities in the state -- to pave the way for renewed investment in the region.

Javadekar came up with an explanation for his work.

His first announcement, after taking office in May 2104, was to make industrial clearances 'on-line' and since then about 349 clearances in the mining sector and 264 clearances for non-coal mining sector had been granted.

His ministry claims that project clearance time has been brought down to 192 days from 600 days and will be dropped to 100 days in the coming months.

Just last month, Javadekar and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi were locked in a stand-off with the latter accusing him of giving sanction to state governments to kill animals, including blue bull (Nilgai) and wild boar.

An Environment Ministry memorandum passed in December 2015, which said that wild animals, such as Nilgai, Rhesus Macaque and Boar, which destroy crops should be treated as vermin, drew the ire of animal rights groups.

Experts said that human-animal conflict was rising and instead of culling, some other and "lasting and permanent solution" should be worked out.

Javadekar had also announced to change rules for allowing timber farming to save India from imports worth over Rs 40,000 crore.

However, Javadekar has also been praised for his work on pushing the climate change policy.

"Last two years had been brilliant under Javadekar as far as the climate change is concerned. India had emerged as leader in keeping it's own and the concerns of developing countries at COP-21," said Aditya Pundhir from The Climate Reality Project.

Green bodies like Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in a study termed the Paris Climate Change Conference as a missed opportunity. They however praised the ministry for positive measures for pollution control and monitoring.

"The government has taken few important steps towards improving the way we manage our environment and our resources," Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, CSE, said in a study launched on the two years of the NDA government. He however added, "on the other hand, India lost the opportunity to exert the 'right of development' of the world's poor."

Javadekar's last task as Environment Minister was at the Seventh St. Petersburg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on July 4 where he reiterated that India and developing nations would require "financial and technical assistance" to implement COP-21 climate goals.

Under him, the environment ministry started real-time monitoring of polluting industries.

The CSE study, giving this government an edge over UPA, praised the central government's technology-based mechanisms like Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS), air quality index, six waste management rules and announcements to setup Euro VI emissions standards by 2020.

The minister is also credited with bringing the National and state Compensatory Afforestation Fund, paving the way to unlock Rs 41,000 crore earmarked for forest land, lying unspent.

The ministry under Javadekar revised the solid waste management rules after 16 long yeas, set new norms for hazardous and e-waste and promised blue collar jobs to the rag-pickers.

(Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)

--IANS

kd/rn/bg
If you associate Daniel Radcliffe only with the lovable wizard Harry Potter, the trailer of "Imperium", which stars as the British actor as an undercover FBI agent who infiltrates a group of neo-Nazis, will leave you stunned.

In the film, Radcliffe stars a young and idealistic FBI agent named Nate Foster who infiltrates a white supremacist group in order to foil a radical right-wing terrorist group's attempt to make a dirty bomb.

In the trailer, Foster is recruited by a senior agent named Angela Zampino (Toni Collette) and asked to go undercover as a neo-Nazi group's follower, reports aceshowbiz.com.

"I need an informant. Get in there and make a difference," she says.

"I don't have the skills for this," Foster replies, adding, "I can't even defend myself!"

Foster is heard saying in a voiceover, "Big things are coming," indicating the terrorists group already makes their move.

Several scenes show Foster willing to shave his head, get a tattoo on his body and spend all his time with the white supremacist group.

He must confront the challenge of sticking to a new identity while maintaining his real principles as he navigates the dangerous underworld of white supremacy.

Inspired by a true story of Michael German, a former agent who spent years inside the neo-Nazi movement, the film is directed by Daniel Ragussis. He and German co-wrote the script.

"Imperium" also stars Tracy Letts, Nestor Carbonell, Burn Gorman, Set Numrich and Sam Trammell. The film will release in US theaters on August 19.

--IANS

ank/rb
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) central board, which met here on Thursday after seven years, discussed macroeconomic developments, budget and setting up of Monetary Policy Committee, an official statement said.

"Besides macroeconomic developments, the board discussed its budget and constitution of the monetary policy committee at the meeting, chaired by (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan," the statement noted.

The board also reviewed its activities for payment and settlement system for the year ended March 2016 and discussed the draft annual report for last fiscal 2015-16.

The central bank's Deputy Governors Urjit R. Patel, R. Gandhi, S.S. Mundra and N.S. Vishwanathan were present at the meeting along with Directors Nachiket M. Mor, Damodar Acharya, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat N. Doshi and Sudhir Mankad.

"Government nominee director on the board and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das also attended the meeting," the statement added.

--IANS

fb/lok/vt
The Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday said it arrested 16 Indian fishermen for illegal poaching in the island-country's territorial waters.

Navy spokesman Akram Alavi told Xinhua news agency that the navy assisted the Coast Guard in arresting the fishermen at two separate locations.

He said the fishermen were arrested south of Delft islands and off Mannar.

The navy spokesman said that three boats used by the Indians were also seized.

Akram Alavi said the latest arrests follow the arrest of 17 Indian fishermen two days earlier.

--IANS

ksk/vt
The Sri Lankan government on Thursday said it will not release boats seized from Indian fishermen who were arrested for poaching in the island nation's territorial waters.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Indian fishermen will not be given fishing rights in Sri Lankan waters, Xinhua news agency reported.

He made this announcement in Parliament when the opposition questioned him about reports on whether Sri Lanka will allow Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters.

"We will not allow Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters," Wickremesinghe said.

The Prime Minister said that bottom trawling by Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan waters was a serious issue.

He said this is affecting the livelihood of Sri Lankan fishermen in the north and east of the country as bottom trawling -- a fishing method where a large net with heavy weights is dragged across the seafloor -- causes extensive damage to fishing resources.

The Prime Minister said that talks on seeking a solution to the Indo-Lanka fishing issue has been held between the governments of Sri Lanka and India.

Wickremesinghe said several options were now being considered to resolve the issue and he hoped a final solution to the issue will be reached by the end of this year.

The Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday arrested 16 Indian fishermen for illegal poaching in Sri Lankan waters.

--IANS

ask/dg
Indian multinational company, Tata Steel is set to make an announcement on Friday that it "will pause" the sale of most of its UK business, including Port Talbot in Wales, the BBC reported on Thursday.

However, it would proceed with the sale of its specialty steel making business, which employs 2,000 employees in Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

According to analysts, Tata is less concerned about the speed of the sale due to rising steel prices and a raft of government incentives. But it leaves the future of the rest of the 9,000 strong workforce unclear.

In addition to consulting on special legislation to lower pension benefits for many of the 130,000 members of the old British Steel pension fund, the government has offered hundreds of millions of pounds worth of loans and the taking of a potential 25 per cent stake in the business.

Tata acquired the British Steel Pension fund in 2007. It has 130,000 members and a deficit of 700 million pounds (about $900 million).

Business Secretary Sajid Javid will fly to Mumbai to meet Tata executives.

One potential bidder fears that a delay now will see the UK business "wither on the vine" while Tata refocuses its investment on its plants within the European Union.

German engineering conglomerate Thyssen Krupp and Tata have held talks on combining their continental European steel operations, as global overcapacity weighs on prices and profits.

--IANS

ksk/vt
Two persons were arrested by police on Thursday in north Kashmir's Kupwara district for alleged gang rape of a woman.

A senior police officer said in summer capital Srinagar, "A complaint was lodged by parents and neighbours of a female in Police Station Lalpora Kupwara, that the woman had been raped by two persons, namely Jaffar Ahmad Khan, resident of Diver, and Manzoor Ahmad Lone resident of Dardpora.

"On the receipt of this complaint an FIR number 74/16 was lodged in Police Station Lalpora.

"Both the accused have been arrested.

"The medical examination of the female has been conducted and further investigation is on".

--IANS

sq/rn/bg
Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh on Thursday said two-bit politicians and bureaucrats in Haryana were taking developmental decisions that had proved unfruitful.

The situation in Haryana had not changed much even though the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power in the state, the BJP parliamentarian from Gurgaon said.

He said he had advocated the setting up of a Gurgaon Development Authority (GDA) a few years ago for faster development of the millennium city, but his suggestion was sabotaged by the then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda by forming the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

The new Minister of State for Planning (Independent Charge) was addressing a seminar organised by the Haryana Institute Public Administration here.

He said Gurgaon needed the GDA for development or else a National Capital Region Development Authority could be planned and Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari, Mahendergarh, Rohtak and Jhajjar along with Gurgaon included in it.

--IANS

pradeep/tsb/dg
Two terror suspects and accomplices of alleged Islamic State (IS) facilitator Mohammad Masiuddin, were on Thursday remanded in 14 days police custody by a West Bengal court.

The duo of Saddam Hussain alias Kalia and Seikh Abbasuddin alias Amin who were arrested a day earlier, were presented before a court which remanded them to police custody till July 21.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has also slapped charges of waging war against the state in the case, with the interrogation revealing Masiuddin alias Musa was in contact with foreign extremists including the IS.

Musa was nabbed from a railway station in Burdwan district on Tuesday along with a 13-inch machete and an improvised firearm. He was initially booked under the Arms Act.

"His interrogation has revealed enough evidence about his involvement in terror activities. So we have pressed charges under sections 121 (waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) and 121A (conspiracy to commit offences punishable by Section 121) of the IPC," said CID Deputy Inspector General of Police (operations) Dilip Kumar Adak.

So far in the year, four people have been arrested from West Bengal for suspected links with the IS.

The National Investigation Agency in March arrested Ashik Ahammed alias Raja, a resident of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, for being an "IS facilitator".

The arrests come in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Dhaka in which 20 people were killed. The state has been on high alert with the Border Security Force intensifying vigil across the India-Bangladesh border.

Police has also not ruled out Musa's involvement with the Bangladeshi militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

An accidental blast at a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan district in October 2014 led to the NIA busting a JMB terror module in the state.

--IANS

and/vd
Despite being a member of the opposition party, state Sen. Michael Nozzolio usually praised Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

On Wednesday, Cuomo returned the favor.

At an event in Geneva announcing the city's win in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, the Democratic governor lauded the longtime Republican state senator, who isn't seeking re-election this year.

"You have one of my colleagues from Albany here who is a truly extraordinary public servant," Cuomo said. "When they talk about why you go into public service and why you go into public service for the right reasons, because you want to make a difference. This is the man who should be the icon for the highest principles and the highest integrity."

The remarks highlighted the relationship Cuomo enjoys with Nozzolio and other state Senate Republicans.

Since Cuomo took office in 2011, Nozzolio has had disagreements with the governor. Perhaps the best example is the SAFE Act, a gun control measure which Cuomo advocated for and Nozzolio opposed.

But more often than not, Nozzolio provided positive commentary on many of Cuomo's policies. There may have been some minor issues he had with a proposal or legislation, but Nozzolio knew they could reach an agreement.

Earlier this year, Nozzolio announced he would retire at the end of his current term. He had surgery in April to repair heart valves and was out of work for two months.

He returned in June for the final month of the legislative session  his last as a state senator.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirmed on Wednesday that the Department of Justice will not file charges against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the case concerning her e-mails.

In a statement, Lynch said that - after meeting on Wednesday with FBI Director James Comey and other agents involved in the investigation - "I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation."

Thus, Lynch brought to an end the judicial aspect of the controversy surrounding Clinton's use of a private e-mail server to handle national security matters during her 2009-2013 tenure as secretary of state, EFE news reported.

Lynch's announcement was expected, since she had earlier said that she would accept the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) recommendation in the matter.

The Attorney General wound up in the eye of the hurricane last week after she held a controversial meeting with former President Bill Clinton during the investigation's final phase.

She said that their conversation at the Phoenix airport focused on the Clintons' grandchildren and that at no time did the e-mail issue arise.

She said that she decided to explain her role in the case and emphasised that she would only review the final report without using her authority to shelve the investigation or influence whether or not to bring charges against the former secretary of state.

Lynch said that she made that decision months ago to eliminate any doubts about a possible conflict of interest, as it was then-President Clinton who appointed her as a US attorney in the 1990s.

Comey on Tuesday announced that the FBI recommended that no charges be filed against Clinton after reviewing 30,000 e-mails she sent and received on official State Department business via "several (private) servers" installed on several mobile devices that she used both within and outside the US.

--IANS

ksk
The US Department of Justice began a civil rights investigation into Tuesday's fatal police shooting of a black man in the state of Louisiana.

A police spokesman said at a press conference in state capital Baton Rouge on Wednesday that while the Justice Department will investigate potential civil rights violations, Louisiana state police will supplement the investigation to determine if any criminal actions took place.

The Justice Department will collect all available facts and evidence and conduct a fair, thorough and impartial investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in the statement.

Officers Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran in Baton Rouge, and Howie Lake II, a three-year veteran, were the two officers seen in a video circulated on social media showing one angle of the the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

The two officers pinned Sterling to the ground, someone yelled, "He's got a gun, gun" and gunfire erupted moments later.

Sterling was reportedly selling homemade CDs and DVDs outside a store in the early hours of Tuesday morning when the two police officers arrived at the scene, responding to an anonymous 911 call about a man in a red shirt threatening people with a gun.

The store's owner Abdul Muflahi told local press that the two officers showed up, and an altercation broke out between the two officers and Sterling. The first officer used a stun gun on Sterling and the second officer tackled him to the ground.

As Sterling tried to get the second officer off him, the first officer fired several shots, killing the black man instantly.

Dunham said that the two officers wore body cameras during the shooting incident, but both became detached during an altercation with the Sterling that preceded the shooting. Audio and video footage was still captured and will be turned over to federal investigators.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards also said on Wednesday that he had "serious concerns" about the shooting incident.

The video of Sterling's death sparked outrage in Baton Rouge, with hundreds protesting on Tuesday night and demonstrations continuing on Wednesday.

--IANS

ksk
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said speeches of Islamic preacher and Salafi ideologue Zakir Naik are objectionable, indicating the government may take action against him.

"The Home Ministry will analyse everything," Naidu said, adding that speeches of Naik "are objectionable".

A controversial preacher, Zakir Naik recently hit the headlines following revelation that two out of five young militants who attacked a popular cafe in Dhakha on July 1 drew their inspiration from his speeches.

Young militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, posted a message on Facebook last year quoting Peace TV's preacher Naik "urging all Muslims to be terrorists".

Condemning the attacks in Bangladesh, Naidu said terrorism has no religion or region and called for the entire world to unite against it.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday indicated that the government was contemplating action against Naik, saying it was a "matter of law" and the agencies concerned will take "appropriate action".

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for his alleged hate speeches aimed against other religions.

--IANS

kd/bim/vt
Over 100 persons on Thursday held a vigil for Alton Sterling, 37, the African-American man who was killed in Tuesday's shooting by two white police officers in Louisiana's Baton Rouge city.

The participants, including Sterling's family members, politicians and religious leaders, urged those who gathered for the vigil to stay peaceful even as their words spoke of the hurt, anger and frustration following newsbreaks with updates on the killing of Sterling, Xinhua news agency reported.

Sterling was selling compact discs outside a food store when he was gunned down following an altercation with two police officers on Tuesday, local media reported.

Two videos showing the shooting that killed Sterling had fuelled protests.

One of the videos released on Wednesday showed two police officers were struggling with Sterling just before he was fatally shot.

The video showed Sterling's left arm was moving slightly as an officer pulled the weapon from his right pocket. Sterling could be seen struggling as officers held him down.

Footage confirmed some of the claims made by the food store owner, who told local media that Sterling was shot several times.

--IANS

ask/lok/vt
When a new minister of state takes charge, it is customary for the senior minister to welcome his deputy with bouquets or garlands. A slightly different scene played out when newly appointed Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare S S Ahluwalia took charge on Wednesday.
The humble bar could give the finger to most of Hershey's suitors. The US candy company, which rejected a $23-billion bid from Cadbury owner Mondelez last week, licenses the British snack from Nestle, which could take the American rights back if Hershey is sold. The arrangement gives the Swiss food group leverage to play kingmaker.
The comptroller and auditor general (CAG) has mooted that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should be brought under the audit purview of his department. He has argued that there is a need for this in view of the increasing ill health of the nationalised banks, whose non-performing assets (NPAs) have in the last couple of years gone up sharply while being under the supervision of the RBI. In support of this idea, he has cited the increasing supervision of the US Federal Reserve in the aftermath of the financial crisis that gripped the global economy with the collapse of the "sub-prime bubble" (offering loans to borrowers who did not make the cut to acquire real estate, thus leading to unsustainable valuations in that asset class). In the first place, the cause of the ill-health of India's public sector banks (PSBs) is quite different from the financial crisis that gripped the western economies with the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The problems in India started after the global slowdown affected Indian corporates too, who found their cash flows inadequate for servicing their bank borrowings. Merely ordering a CAG audit, therefore, is unlikely to restore the Indian banking sector's health.
London's alpha housing market is showing signs of strain. The city was losing its charm for high-end home investors even before the UK decided to quit the European Union (EU). A developer holding part of the fancy Nine Elms complex has cut the value of its stake, and prices for the most prized houses in central London are now eight per cent below their 2014 peak. Sterling's fall will attract some buyers, but Britain's capital city is losing its relative appeal.
The Maharashtra cabinet will be expanded on Friday, with the induction of 10 members of the state legislature. Shiv Sena, which was sidelined during the recent reshuffle of the Union council of ministers, on Thursday late evening agreed to join the swearing-in function. This is despite chief minister Devendra Fadnaviss (pictured) refusal to accept Shiv Sena's demand for giving one more cabinet rank in the expansion.
For military spouses, relocating to a new base in another state or country can be a challenging time.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, wants to make the move a little less stressful.

Stefanik, R-Willsboro, introduced the Lift the Relocation Burden from Military Spouses Act Thursday. The bill would require the Department of Defense to study how to improve the unemployment and underemployment rates for military spouses.

The legislation would require the Defense Department to reimburse licensing fees up to $500 for spouses of military servicemembers who receive a permanent change of station.

And Stefanik is seeking to expedite license portability, which can be a challenge for spouses who transfer from state to state. Medical professionals, for example, must be licensed in the state they are practicing in. If they move, often times they must obtain a license in their new state.

Stefanik's bill has 14 cosponsors  eight Republicans and six Democrats. The cosponsors include two New Yorkers  U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, a Republican and U.S. Army veteran, and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, a Democrat from New York City.

"Military spouses wear their own patches of service and share a true sense of duty to our country," Stefanik said in a statement. "These spouses are often employed in professions that require new licensing for each new location, such as teachers and nurses  vital occupations in a military community. These dedicated spouses must be allowed to maintain their hard-earned professional licenses and certifications as they relocate.

"Military spouses serve too  and my bill will help alleviate unnecessary stress and expenses, help ease the transition and will give these spouses and their families some deserved predictability."

The measure is supported by the Military Officers Association of America, the National Military Spouse Network and the National Military Family Association.

Joyce Wessel Raezer, executive director of the National Military Family Association, said the bill will help offset certain costs for military spouses when relocating.

"Military spouses face many challenges that diminish the stability of their families ... with each government-ordered move, military spouses incur high costs for recertification and licensure," Raezer said. "These delays impact their ability to work and contribute to the financial well being of their families."

Stefanik's legislation is similar to a bill U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced last year.

Gillibrand's bill also would address relocation issues for military families spouses. The provisions in the legislation include allowing children of military servicemembers to finish the school year or move early to the next assignment post during a break.

The measure was included in the Senate's version of the National Defense Authorization Act which was approved in June.

House and Senate leaders are in the process of negotiating the final version of the NDAA. It's unclear whether the Military Family Stability Act will be included in the defense bill.
At least 10 people have been killed and more than 100 injured while performing dangerous stunts by riding bikes rashly in between the traffic in Pakistan's different cities on the occasion of Eid, officials said today.

Seven persons lost their lives while performing stunts on motorcycles in Punjab province's Faisalabad, two in Bahawalpur and one in Lahore cities while over 100 suffered injuries yesterday and today, according to Punjab Emergency Services.

The injured have been admitted to different hospitals where the condition of some of them is stated to be critical.

Police have arrested more than 50 youngsters mostly from Lahore and Faisalabad and impounded more than 1,000 bikes.

"Parents should stop their children from doing wheelie as it may cost their lives," Lahore police chief Amin Wains appealed to people.

He said that police and traffic wardens have been directed to arrest the youth involved in rashly driving and impound their vehicles.

"There were no traffic wardens and policemen on roads yesterday encouraging the wheelie boys to perform stunts freely," alleged Sahar Ali who faced troubles while travelling along with his family by a car in Lahore.

He said on such occasions, youngsters perform stunts on motorcycles and held races on cars but police showed leniency.

"People especially travelling with women face a lot of problems because of the wheelie boys," he said.
At least 160 people have been killed and 28 others listed missing in China due to heavy rains and floods as the country today braced for this year's first typhoon approaching the mainland with authorities issuing an early-warning response for disaster relief preparations.

Hail and rainstorm killed 160 people in 11 provincial regions, mainly along the mighty Yangtze River and its distributaries, and have left 28 missing, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Floods and landslides have forced the evacuation of 1.84 million people. About 56,000 houses have collapsed and 560,500 hectares of crops destroyed. Authorities estimated economic losses to the tune of nearly USD 9 billion.

Yesterday, China rushed more troops to the southern city of Wuhan as flood waters from the Yangtze entered the city inhabited by more than 10 million people.

Meteorology department officials said Typhoon Nepartak was whirling towards east China's coast and is expected to bring storms tonight.

The National Commission for Disaster Relief and Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the response this afternoon, warning local authorities to make preparations for disaster relief and asking them to do their best to reduce damages.

The commission asked Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi to closely monitor the typhoon's movement around the clock and issue warnings in a timely manner.

The ministry asked officials to relocate people, recall ships to harbours and inform residents to buy and store survival necessities for one to three days.
At least 24 people were injured in an explosion on a train in Taiwan's capital on Friday, in an incident described by the island's premier as "malicious".

The blast at around 10 p.m. (1400 GMT) caused a small fire and plunged the carriage into darkness as the train was pulling into a station in Taipei.

"It looks like somebody did this with a malicious intent and we will fully investigate this case," Taiwan's premier Lin Chuan told reporters.

Local media quoted eyewitnesses saying they had seen a man carry a black rectangle-shaped object onto the train.

Police were reviewing surveillance footage to try and identify the man, but also said that they had not received any threats prior to the incident.

"It's something like a firecracker that exploded ... I saw a rectangle-shaped firecracker on the seat. We will explain more after the forensics team inspect (the scene)," said National Police Agency chief Chen Kuo-en.

Television footage showed emergency workers treating injured passengers outside the train station, most of them suffering from burns.

"There was a blast and the carriage went dark. People were panicking and screaming," one passenger told a local news channel.

"I saw fire from the lights and I heard a sound and my hair was on fire," another woman said.

Images from inside the train carriage showed shattered glass on the floor and part of a side wall blackened by flames.

"I want to tell the public to rest assured as we have heightened the alert for the security of public areas and transport systems," premier Lin told reporters after he had visited the injured in hospital.

The government set up an emergency taskforce to investigate the cause and a police probe is underway, his office also said in a statement.

In 2014 a college student killed four people in a stabbing sprees on the Taipei metro, shocking the island and prompting a security overhaul of the city's public transport systems.
A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed 292 people, a minister said today, raising the toll of one of the deadliest single attacks in Iraq since the US-led invasion.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle in Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood early on Sunday, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Officials had previously put at more than 250 the death toll from the powerful blast, which sparked infernos that gutted nearby buildings in the popular shopping district.

Health Minister Adila Hamoud said the identities of 177 people killed in the bombing have yet to be determined, while 115 bodies have been handed over to families, according to a statement from the ministry.

The attack also wounded 200 people, Hamoud said.

The minister told AFP on Tuesday that the process of identifying all of the unknown bodies -- which she said at the time numbered 150 -- was expected to take between 15 and 45 days.

People were already furious over delays in determining the fate of loved ones, and with the number of unidentified bodies now bigger, it may take even longer.

The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of failing to do enough to protect them.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban tendered his resignation following the bombing, and authorities also announced the execution of five convicts and the arrest of 40 jihadists in an apparent bid to limit the fallout from the attack.

Ghabban criticised the security system as fundamentally flawed and saying he could no longer accept responsibility for the consequences, calling for a series of changes that would ultimately increase the ministry's power.

An official in Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office told AFP yesterday that the premier had accepted the minister's resignation, though there has been no official statement from him on the matter.

The attack has overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday for Iraqi Muslims, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness.

Thousands of them have massed at the site of the bombing to mourn the dead and express solidarity with those stricken by the blast.

The street running between the charred remains of buildings burned in the attack was packed with people yesterday night, some carrying Iraqi flags, others holding candles.

Many wept and beat their chests in mourning for the dead.

Some of those gathered at the site today shouted slogans, while others read the Koran and left candles in front of banners of condolence.
Radical Islamists hurled crude bombs and engaged in a shootout with police in Bangladesh today that killed three people, including two policemen, and a terrorist at the country's biggest Eid gathering nearly a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh.

A woman was also killed during the shootout while she was witnessing the incident from the window of her house near the scene, the Prothom Alo newspaper reported.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off.

"One suspect has been held and about 13 injured," said Abu Sayem, additional superintendent of police in Kishoreganj.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.Com reported.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said.

The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed over 22 people mostly foreigners including a 19-year-old Indian girl.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.
Indian pharma firms Aurobindo, Emcure, Hetero Labs, Laurus Labs, Lupin and Zydus Cadila are among seven drug makers which have signed licensing pact with UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for producing HIV and hepatitis C drugs.

A total of nine new sub-licensing agreements to produce generic versions of key World Health Organisation-priority HIV and hepatitis C treatments have been signed by MPP with these pharmaceuticals firms and Shanghai-based Desano.

"These new sub-licences will secure greater volumes of low-cost medicines for people living with HIV and hepatitis C in low and middle-income countries," MPP Executive Director Greg Perry said.

MPP looks forward to working with the companies to speed delivery of these treatments to those in need of better medical options, he added.

Aurobindo Pharma has signed two new sub-licences. The first allows it to produce lopinavir and ritonavir for Africa to fight HIV. The company also joins six other firms in the development of Bristol-Myers Squibb's hepatitis C drug daclatasvir, MPP said in an announcement.

Emcure has also signed licences for the stated two drugs for HIV.

"LPV/r is a life-line for people living with HIV on the continent who have developed resistance to first-line treatments. Additional, long-term supply is crucial," Emcure Head of Strategy Vik Thapar said.

Hetero, an MPP generic partner since 2012, signed sub-licences for atazanavir, a second-line antiretroviral licensed to the MPP by BMS in December 2013 and raltegravir for paediatric use, a treatment MPP licensed from MSD (Merck & Co in the United States and Canada) in February 2015.

"Hetero, through its partnership with MPP, has demonstrated success in creating larger access for HIV and hepatitis C treatment and now looks forward to supporting efforts to distribute low-cost versions of atazanavir and raltegravir," Hetero Drugs Director Bhavesh Shah said.

Laurus and Lupin added to their portfolio MPP-licensed drugs with agreements to produce daclatasvir and paediatric raltegravir, respectively, the statement said.

"Laurus has been working with the MPP for more than four years on HIV and we are happy to support efforts to successfully treat hepatitis C with this promising medicine," Laurus Executive Director Raju Kalidindi said.
A man wanted in several criminal cases who escaped from judicial custody by eluding policemen in outer Delhi's Bawana area while being taken to a court in Sonepat, has been arrested after a nearly three-month chase, police said today.

The accused, Deepak Dabas, is involved in at least 26 cases in Delhi and Haryana, of which four cases of attempt to murder and robbery were registered after he escaped from judicial custody on April 11, DCP (Outer) Vikramjit Singh said today.

Dabas landed in the police net after he sustained a bullet injury while trying to kill one Manjeet, a member of a rival gang, around two weeks ago. He and his associate earlier shot dead Manjeet's elder brother Devender Rathi.

Dabas and his men robbed a man of his car on gunpoint in outer Delhi's Rohini area and kept taking shelter at different hideouts until the chase ended with his arrest yesterday, police said.
The Rs 4.83 crore project funded by the Asian Development Bank to renovate the 400-year-old Dansborg fort, a heritage structure at Tarangambadi in Nagapattinam district, is nearing completion.

The Tamil Nadu Archaeological department has taken up this heritage conservation and tourism promotion project, an official of the Archaeology department said.

The ADB-aided project  'India Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism', envisages environmentally and culturally sustainable and socially inclusive tourism development.

As part of the project, works like conserving and renovating the Dansborg Fort, provision of sanitary complexes for the floating population and placement of gravity entailed deep earth bins for garbage collection are being undertaken.

The Dansborg renovation work is being executed through experienced architects under the supervision of the officials of Archaeology department, officials said.

Care has been taken to use traditional building material like limestone, river sand, jaggery, eggs, and plant extracts in the renovation work so as not to affect the fort's originality, they added.

The 'Dansborg' Fort, situated right at the sea-front, was built in 1620 AD when Tarangambadi became Denmark's chief overseas settlement.
Ahead of the NATO summit, President Barack Obama spoke over the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the situation in Syria and Ukraine, in addition to IS, the White House said today.

Obama and Putin, confirmed their commitment to defeating Islamic State and the Nusrah Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the White House said in a readout of the call.

"Obama also stressed the necessity for progress on a genuine political transition to end the conflict in Syria, as well as sustained humanitarian access, and expressed his support for the efforts of UN Special Representative for Syria Staffan de Mistura to make progress on those efforts," it said.

On Syria, Obama emphasised his concerns over the failure of the Syrian regime to comply with the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

During the phone call, Obama stressed the importance of Russia pressing the Syrian regime for a lasting halt to offensive attacks against civilians and parties to the cessation, noting the importance of fully recommitting to the original terms of the cessation.

"On Ukraine, President Obama urged President Putin to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine and stressed the urgent importance of moving forward with full implementation of the Minsk agreements," the White House said.

Obama also discussed with Putin his June 20 meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Serzh Sargsian of Armenia regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"President Obama expressed his readiness to intensify efforts together with Russia and with France, as co-Chairs of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict," the White House said.
Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain today said the AIIMS in Assam should be constructed in Nagaon district, ten days after land was allotted in Kamrup for the facility.

Gohain, a Lok Sabha MP from Nagaon, demanded that the All India Institute of Medical Sciences be set up at Raha instead of Lower Assam's Changsari in Kamrup, near Guwahati.

"The AIIMS should be set up at Raha in central Assam viewing all aspects of North Eastern states. I will try my best to do it as a central minister," he said.

Gohain said all central projects, including the AIIMS, must serve the people of North East in equal manner.

During the previous Congress government, the state had showed a number of locations, including Raha, to the expert central team for setting up an AIIMS in Assam.

On June 28, the state government handed over more than 571 acres of land in Changsari to the Centre to set up the 750-bedded super-speciality hospital at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore.

Strong protests erupted in Raha and middle Assam against this decision with senior citizens of the area starting an indefinite hunger strike.

To pacify the agitators, the state government announced to set up an All India Institute of Ayurveda at Raha.

The ruling BJP's ally AGP had lent its support to agitators and party leader and former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta visited them.

AASU, Tiwa Students body, AJYCP, Congress, Kooch Rajbangshi Sanmilani, Tai Ahom Students body, Bengali Samaj and others also extended their support to the demand.

The agitation was called off after Gohain and another BJP MP Ram Prasad Sarmah assured protesters to take initiative to fulfill their demands.
U.S. Rep. John Katko pushed a Transportation Security Administration official Thursday to address what he views as the overuse of security classifications by the agency  actions he believes is TSA's way of avoiding public discussions about "unpleasant" aviation security matters.

Katko, R-Camillus, first raised the issue after a House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security hearing he held in May. At the hearing, five witnesses  four of whom represented the Department of Homeland Security or TSA  testified on Cuban airport security.

But Katko couldn't get answers, at least publicly, to questions about the equipment available at Cuban airports. One of the TSA representatives said that information was "SSI"  sensitive security information.

Katko took issue with that classification because TSA shared details about Cuban airport security equipment in a meeting with members of Congress and staff before the hearing. The meeting was in a non-secure setting and according to Katko, TSA didn't reveal the information was sensitive.

"It raised the specter that we've heard again and again about TSA conveniently using the security classifications to avoid having public discussions about certain things that may be unpleasant for them to discuss in public," Katko said Thursday.

Katko asked Andrew Oosterbaan, the Department of Homeland Security's assistant inspector general for investigations, whether his office was reviewing the use of these security classifications.

Oosterbaan said they have launched an audit examining the issue, but didn't have any findings to share.

"We're very concerned about it," he said.

During an exchange with TSA Deputy Administrator Dr. Huban Gowadia, Katko inquired about any discussions or internal reviews the agency has had on using security classifications.

Gowadia, who has been on the job since May 1, said TSA's leadership has directed staff to "be more deliberate, be more upfront when they are discussing material that could expose vulnerabilities, etcetera in a closed setting.

When Katko asked about the issue of overusing security classifications, Gowadia said they would await the inspector general's findings. But she also expressed concern that discussing certain security vulnerabilities could help America's enemies.

Katko agreed, but also believes there should be more transparency. He noted that the U.S. and Cuba are moving forward with plans to resume commercial air travel between the two countries. One U.S. airline, American Airlines, is already selling seats, he said.

"Anybody that walks through the airports in Cuba can see the same thing," he said. "I don't understand how they are considered to be classified."
Governor E S L Narasimhan today said all issues (that remained contentious) between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are being addressed and assured solutions would be worked out.

"I can assure you, we are addressing all issues. Both Chief Ministers will cooperate. We will sit together, work out solutions and make people of the two states very very happy. I can assure you about that," the Governor, who is common to the two Telugu-speaking states said.

He declined to comment when questioned about the stir raised by Telangana over the division of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad that is common to the two states.

"People of the two states are happy, but the media is creating some unnecessary confusion," Narasimhan remarked.

"I have been closeted with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for long hours. We have had fruitful discussions on various issues. The idea is how do we move the two states forward. Ultimately, this is a challenge that has come before the two Chief Ministers.

"Very few CMs have got such an opportunity that Babu has got and what (Telangana CM) Mr KCR has got. So my idea is that both states should now focus on development agenda and see how they can go forward and make people happy," the Governor said.

"My dream is that in ten years from now...Definitely the two states will become top notch of the country. I have no doubt about it. I will not be there, but you people will be around. These two states will be the most spoken about states in the country," the Governor added.

Heaping praise on the AP Chief Minister, Narasimhan said, "Babu has a huge vision that will change the landscape of AP".

Earlier in the day, the Governor visited Indrakeeladri, abode of Goddess Kanaka Durga, the presiding deity of Vijayawada, and offered prayers.

He later visited the famous Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Mangalagiri and worshipped the Lord. He then drove to Velagapudi and inspected the Government Transitional Headquarters.
BJP President Amit Shah today met party leaders and Ministers in Gujarat, where Assembly election is due in late 2017, and discussed organisational matters.

Shah, who arrived here on Tuesday, is expected to stay till tomorrow and meet some more leaders, said Gujarat BJP media convener Harshad Patel.

Today, several top BJP leaders and Ministers, including state unit chief and Transport Minister Vijay Rupani and Minister of State for Health Shanker Chaudhary, met Shah at his residence.

The parleys hold significance in the wake of Assembly election next year and a possible Cabinet reshuffle ahead of that.

"The main purpose of Shah's meeting with top leaders was to solve pending issues of the state party unit. He also gave guidance to state leaders on various issues as well as on strengtheing the party organisation," said Patel.

Shah, who is also an MLA from Gujarat, last evening took part in a felicitating ceremony of newly inducted Union Ministes from the state - Mansukh Mandaviya, Jaswantsinh Bhabhor and Parshottam Rupala.

The BJP chief also attended an 'aarti' at Jagannath Temple last morning ahead of the Rath Yatra.
Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan today said he too would work from the state's new capital region Amaravati "as frequently as possible".

"Probably I will also occupy a space in the new Secretariat complex shortly. I have already spoken to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. If one state had moved to this new complex, I would also try and see as frequently as possible to come and work out of this place," Narasimhan said.

He was talking to reporters after inspecting the ongoing works at the new Secretariat complex (Government Transitional Headquarters) at Velagapudi this afternoon.

This was the Governor's first visit to the capital region after the foundation-stone laying ceremony in October last year.

It was his maiden visit to the GTH where the Secretariat departments started relocating in a phased manner.

The entire complex will be ready by August end and full scale functioning of the Secretariat will start then.

"A lot (of negative) is being said about the Secretariat complex. We have seen every room. It's a modern concept, nice concept and nice location. A lot of planning and thinking has gone into it. Working style (of government employees) will improve and efficiency will improve a lot more," the Governor observed.

Trying to allay apprehensions of employees over relocating to Amaravati from Hyderabad, Narasimhan assured that the government would look into all their issues.

"We will certainly look into all their issues and make their life very very comfortable. I want to assure all my colleagues, brethren officers and employees that you will be comfortable. We will ensure your comfort and only then you will work well," he said.

"We have a responsibility and we will ensure that to the extent possible we will take care of your issues...," the Governor added.

The chief minister took the Governor around the five blocks that are being built at the GTH and explained the location of each department.

Ministers P Narayana, P Pulla Rao and others were also present.
Apna Dal, led by Union Minister Anupriya Patel's mother Krishna Patel, today snapped ties with BJP accusing the latter of not following the decorum of alliance.

"The national executive of Apna Dal has decided to snap ties with BJP as it did not follow the decorum of alliance. Despite informing about the activities of Anupriya, who was expelled, BJP leaders did not take congnisance of it and did not act," party spokesman RBS Patel said.

A meeting of Apna Dal was held here in which party President Krishna Patel announced the decision.

"We will contest 2017 Assembly elections in UP and we are going to hold a rally in Varanasi on August 21," Patel added.

Founded in 1995 by Sone Lal Patel, Apna Dal rose to prominence in the 2014 parliamentary elections by aligning with BJP and winning its first two Lok Sabha seats - Mirzapur and Pratapgarh.

After Sone Lal's death in 2009, Krishna was made president of the party, while his younger daughter Anupriya general secretary.

Anupriya had won the 2012 assembly election from Rohaniya seat in Varanasi which she vacated this year after getting elected to Lok Sabha.

Due to family feud, Anupriya was expelled by Krishna last year and both of them claimed themselves to be heading Apna Dal, which has two MPs.

Anupriya Singh Patel was inducted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.
Controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faced more heat today with the government saying "appropriate action" will be taken against him over his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers, calling it "highly objectionable".

As Mumbai-based Naik came under the scanner, senior Congress leader Digivjaya Singh was in the BJP's line of fire after a 2012 video showing him share a dais with the 50-year-old televangelist praising him at an event to promote communal harmony surfaced today.

Security personnel were deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai as a precautionary measure in the wake of the escalating row over his alleged hate speeches.

"The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable," the new Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Delhi.

Naidu's remarks came a day after Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher after looking into whether Naik through his speeches glorifies terrorist acts by Muslims. Naik yesterday asserted that his speech on Islam and terror has been taken out of context and claimed that he had only said muslims should terrorise anti-social elements.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka last Friday.

Digvijay Singh, who was seen praising Naik in the 2012 video, defended himself, saying if there was any evidence against the preacher, then the Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take action against him. In the video, Singh told Naik that he should take his message of peace world over.

"I have appealed for communal harmony and opposed religious fundamentalism and terrorism by either Hindus or Muslims," the Congress leader added.

However, BJP was quick to target Singh and also demanded action against Naik, saying he was a "threat" to national security as it was clear from his speeches that he "incited" people.

"Terrorism is enemy of humanity. Anybody who directly or indirectly abets it is guilty. People like him (Naik) are a threat to our national security. Government agencies should decide on action against him under the existing legal system. It is clear that he incited people," party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Coming to the defence of Singh, Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said his senior colleague has himself stated that he only appealed for peace, harmony and brotherhood.

Surjewala said the NDA government should take decisive action against Naik or any other individual or organisation found indulging in anti-India activities.

"There is no place in our society for obscurantist & extremist thoughts. Congress party has always fought the forces of hate and division who have threatened India's integrity," he added.
Argentine police say a cemetery watchman wielding a machete has killed his ex-wife, three of his children and a neighbor before hanging himself.

Prosecutor Mirta Ciancio says the attacker's brother in law reported that Roberto Vecino argued with his ex-wife Marta Esther Curutchet before attacking her at her home in the beach city of Necochea. He then killed daughters aged 22 and 19 and a 24-year-old son who had tried to flee.

A neighbor came to help, and also was slain.

Ciancio says Vecino also wounded a police officer before fleeting to a shed and hanging himself.

The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, though daughter Daniela Vecino told the C5N cable TV station that her father often beat his wife and children.
An RTI activist has sought audit of the water usage by Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan Trust claiming discrepancy in figures.

The activist, Sanjay Kale, has written to the Trust chairperson, who is also a district court judge, seeking clarification on water allocation for Trust and its actual utilisation.

The Trust gets 30,58,5600 litres of water per rotation for total of six rotations from Right Godavari canal, while its daily usage is 35,61,948 litres.

However, the activist claimed that there is discrepancy in the figures of water usage given by the Trust.

The Trust runs 'Prasadalaya' as well as various residential facilities for devotees.
creation in Europe is on a decline and the average of a person has dipped 5 per cent over the past 10 years, says a report.

According to New World Wealth, while the average of a person in Europe has declined, in other developed markets it has increased substantially.

"Over the past 10 years (2005-2015), the average wealth of a person in Europe has declined by 5 per cent," the report said, adding over this same 10-year period, the average wealth of a person in Australia increased by over 100 per cent and in Canada by over 50 per cent.

In terms of wealth growth, the report said certain European countries such as Poland and Malta are likely to perform well. However, not much growth is expected to come from Western and Southern Europe as countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain will struggle.

Major issues that have deterred wealth creation in Europe over the past 10 years include migration of wealthy people and loss of jobs to Asia, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

"Going forward, we expect Europe to continue to lose primary sector jobs to Asia, particularly to emerging countries such as: China, India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Vietnam," the report noted.

Some of the other reasons behind the decline in wealth creation include rising income tax rates, which has deterred new business formation, rising religious tensions, especially in urban areas and inability of certain countries to handle large pension obligations like Greece.

Moreover, global financial crisis in 2008 and the related housing crisis, which heavily impacted on the wealth of most European citizens and location (next to troubled Middle East and North Africa) also played its part in decline in wealth creation in Europe.
Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG), the



Indian affiliate of an international Buddist association, held a symposium on peace here on Wednesday.

The symposium titled "Universal Respect for Human Dignity: The Great Path to Peace" was organised by BSG, an affiliate of Soka Gakkai Internataional (SGI), to discuss about SGI President Daisaku Ikeda's 2016 peace proposal.

Former Vice Chancellor of Anna University, D Viswanathan, VIT Founder and Chancellor G Viswanathan and Lalitha Balakrishnan, Principal, MOP Vaishnav College for Women participated in the symposium.

Ikeda is a 'strong proponent of dialogue as the foundation of peace,' a release said adding the UN had conferred the Peace Award in 1983 on him.

"Each year President Ikeda sends a peace proposal to the UN that goes beyond diagnosing obstacles to peace and provides solutions that encompass attitudinal change and concrete suggestions," the release said.

Jaising, who served as ASG between 2009 and 2014, has



represented social activist Teesta Setalvad in an FCRA violation case against Setalvad's NGO 'Sabrang Trust' and 'Citizens for Justice and Peace'.

Jaising and senior Supreme Court lawyer Anand Grover are the office bearers of the Lawyers' Collective.

Grover was part of a lawyers' team to petition the Supreme Court on behalf of 1993 Mumbai blast convict Yakub Memon hours before he was to be hanged.

The Lawyers Collective (LC) statement said the order repeats what is alleged in the show cause cum suspension order dated May 31 and "disregards LC's replies in fact and in law. At the same time, certain new allegations have surfaced such as 'diversion' of foreign contribution and utilisation for 'personal gain', which are not borne out by the facts or the records, are absolutely false and defamatory.

"It is preposterous for the MHA to suggest that LC has no record of work, when the government itself has acknowledged LC's contributions towards advancing women's rights, securing access to affordable medicines, protecting the rights of HIV positive people as well as transgender persons and continues to call upon LC for its legal inputs," the statement said.

The statement said the NGO reiterates that the current proceedings under FCRA, including the latest cancellation order, are only a continuation of the harassment and persecution of the organisation, especially of its two trustees and senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover perpetrated by the government, over last one year.

"Both Jaising and Grover have been and are continuing to take up sensitive cases, in their professional capacity, against the powerful functionaries of the present ruling establishment," the statement said.

The action is perceived to be a "clear attack on the right to legal representation of persons who need legal services the most and a gross abuse of powers by the government of the day.

"It is also a clear attack on the right to free speech and association guaranteed by the Constitution of India. The entire proceedings against LC under FCRA are nothing but an attempt to discredit the long-standing credibility of the organisation and that of its trustees, and a part of the larger clampdown on civil society spaces in India," it said.

The NGO termed it as "preposterous to allege that LC has acted against public interest whereas LC has always strived to advance public interest through its pioneering work.

"LC is exploring all legal options to challenge the cancellation order, including its defamatory contents, and will take necessary action in an appropriate time," the statement said.
Delhi BJP today questioned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's "silence" over the arrest of his former Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and mocked him for "not showing his face to the people".

"The face of Manish Sisodia in today's advertisement by Delhi government means the Chief Minister Kejriwal has lost his credentials and he is afraid of showing his face to the people. His silence since the arrest of Rajendra Kumar by CBI is questionable," said Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay.

In a full-page advertisement in several newspapers today, Sisodia took on the Centre over the recent "undemocratic transfers" of nine officers out of the national capital, "which was done to paralyse" the city's administration.

Sisodia has addressed the media twice on Kumar's arrest and today's advertisement also carries his photo.

Kejriwal has not reacted publicly since Kumar's arrest.

Upadhyay termed the advertisement as a "bundle of lies" rejecting Delhi government's allegation that the works like development of unauthorised colonies and modernisation of schools and installing of CCTV cameras were hampered due to transfers.

"We challenge the government to show us development in a single unauthorised colony in Delhi," he said.

South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri claimed 1,700 unauthorised colonies have got "fundamental approval" in Delhi by the Centre adding that the party will expose the "false claims" of Kejriwal government on the issue.

"Delhi government has not started work on the file related to (seeking) approval of Modi government for regularisation of unauthroised colonies in 2014 and also they have not released the survey funds to MCDs in this regard," he added.
AUBURN  A Moravia man convicted of having oral sex with a 5-year-old was back in Cayuga County criminal court Thursday for allegedly viewing potential child pornography.

Last year, Collinwraye Mills, of 10 Grove St., pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse for having oral sex with an underage victim in May 2012. The 21-year-old was released from jail and sentenced to 10 years probation in January.

Then, according to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann, Mills violated his probation a few months after his release, viewing "potential child pornography on his X-box."

"Mills took a polygraph in April and claimed his cousin used his X-box to watch animated pornography of a 15-year-old," Budelmann said, adding that Mills failed the polygraph and later admitted to viewing the porn himself.

Judge Thomas Leone remanded Mills to custody in May and ordered his cell phone be turned over to the probation department, which screened it for pornography.

"When he was taken into custody, they seized two cell phones from him and found pornographic material, including women having sex with animals," Budelmann said.

Mills admitted to the violation in court Tuesday, and the probation department asked that he avoid prison as they feared Mills would be victimized himself. Although Leone dismissed probation's concerns that Mills would be abused in prison, the judge said the defendant's "mental disabilities" inclined him to restore Mills to probation.

"You will have to complete a mental health evaluation and you will only be allowed to have a phone with no Internet access," Leone told Mills. "There will be no other electronics allowed."

Mills will be back in court July 14 for sentencing. He is expected to sign new terms and conditions of probation.

Also in court:

 An Auburn man with a history of selling drugs pleaded not guilty Tuesday to more drug-related charges.

Tyrone T. Mathews, of 44 Orchard St., has been charged with five felonies and two misdemeanors: two counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

According to the district attorney, the 40-year-old sold or possessed a "sizable amount" of cocaine and heroin on three separate occasions.

A second felony offender, Mathews has three prior drug-related felonies dating back to 1997. He faces a maximum of 36 years in prison if convicted.

Leone remanded Mathews to Cayuga County Jail on $20,000 cash, $40,000 bond bail. He is due back in court Sept. 8.
BJP today hit out at Congress over its allegation of a Rs.45,000 crore telecom scam with Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was Telecom Minister before the reshuffle, calling it "utterly bogus" saying it related to the period when the UPA was in power.

"Congress needs to understand that there is no underreporting case under the NDA government. It is a case of sin of the Congress-led UPA government," Prasad said, insisting that the government will recover all the dues with penalty from these telecom firms.

"The entire allegation of Congress party is utterly bogus. It relates to period of between 2006-10. According to CAG reports some telecom companies underreported their revenues. The reports came in March, which I am given to understand, is under the examination of the Public Accounts Committee," he said.

Prasad said the telecom department had sought details of documents from the CAG and received them in June this year.

"After due assessment all the dues shall be recovered with penalty. Telecom service providers are obliged to pay license fee and spectrum usage charges on the revenue earned by them. Any underreported revenue shall be recovered with penalty," he said.

The BJP also attacked the Congress calling it was a case of pot calling the kettle black as the underreporting had happened during the UPA and alleged that Congress spokespersons were putting out "lies" in their briefings.

"Such allegations are laughable. It shows the mental bankruptcy of the Congress. No wrong happened under the NDA government and to drag it in a matter that happened under the UPA is a case of pot calling the kettle black.

"Congress should introspect and not behave in an immature, childish way," its national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, calling the party "mother of corruption and misgovernance".
Government bonds (G-Secs) extended gains for the second straight session on the back of good demand from corporates as well as expectations of a cut in the central bank's key policy rate next month.

The interbank call rates also firmed up due to modest demand from borrowing banks amid tight liquidity conditions in the banking system.

The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2026 climbed to Rs 101.4075 from Rs 101.32 previously, while its yield softened to 7.38 per cent against 7.39 per cent earlier.

The 7.59 per cent government security maturing in 2029 rose to Rs 100.2675 compared to Rs 100.19, its yield edged down to 7.55 from 7.56 per cent.

The 7.88 per cent government security maturing in 2030 firmed up to Rs 102.51 from Rs 102.40,while its yield inched down to 7.58 per cent from 7.59 per cent.

The 7.68 per cent government security maturing in 2023, the 8.72 per cent government security maturing in 2020 and the 7.72 per cent government security maturing in 2025 were also firmly higher Rs 101.57, Rs 103.72 and Rs 101.3850, respectively.

The overnight call money rates settled marginally higher at 6.50 per cent from Tuesday's closing value of 6.45 per cent after trading in a range of 6.50 and 6.05 per cent during the early trade.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), purchased securities worth Rs 16 billion in 3-bids at one-day overnight repo auction at a fixed rate of 6.50 per cent this evening.
Representatives of BRICS member nations will evaluate the drug abuse situation in their respective countries and chalk out strategies at a meeting to be inaugurated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh here tomorrow.

The BRICS heads of drug control agencies working group meeting will evaluate the drug abuse situation in the member countries and analyse the legislations of BRICS member states as well as devise modalities to share the best practices of enforcement and demand reduction.

The meeting comes two-days after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) told the Home Minister that drug addicts in Punjab are gradually getting attracted to medicine-based concoctions following stepped-up clamp down on peddling of traditional narcotics.

At a review meeting yesterday, the NCB chief Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar apprised Singh about the changing drug abuse pattern in Punjab and stressed that the "increase in street price of opiates due to less availability as a result of increased enforcement activities by drug law agencies are making addicts shift to pharmaceutical preparations like Tramadol, Buprenorphene etc".

The BRICS, an association of five major emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, had started as a forum for future economic cooperation and for reforming Financial Institutions. The seventh BRICS summit was held in July 2015 in Russia and India shall be hosting the eighth BRICS summit in October in Goa.

In tomorrow's meeting, delegates will deliberate on



drug-related issues including improving information exchange mechanisms on trafficking of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances, early detection of new psycho active substances, maritime drug trafficking and diversion of precursors and controlled chemicals for manufacturing of illicit synthetic drugs.

The delegates would also focus on capacity-building and training of personnel of enforcement agencies as well as rehabilitation and re-socialisation of drug addicts.

The meeting is being organised by India's Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and it will be attended by delegates from the member countries, the envoys of the five countries, an official statement said.

The directors general of border guarding forces and the paramilitary are also expected to attend the inaugural session along with the heads of the agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

In accordance with the 'eThekwani Declaration' adopted during the BRICS summit in March 2013 at Durban (South Africa) it was decided to explore, besides economic issues, various new areas of cooperation among the member States, including drug related issues.

It was decided that the heads of anti-drug agencies of the five member countries may meet regularly under the aegis of the BRICS anti-drug working group.

In keeping with the spirit of the eThekwani Declaration, the first anti-drug working group meeting of BRICS countries was organised at Moscow in November 2015.
Joining the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations along the international border in Gujarat, personnel of the border guarding force BSF today exchanged sweets and greetings with their Pakistani counterparts.

Border Security Force personnel handed over packets of sweets to the Pakistan Rangers who reciprocated with equal felicitations, a senior official said.

Eid-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting.

"It is part of our tradition to exchange greetings and sweets with them (Pakistan Rangers) on festivals like Eid, Diwali, Holi and Independence Day," the official said.

Both sides greeted each other 'Eid Mubaraq' as the festive exchanges were done at almost all battalions of the BSF under the Gujarat Frontier, the BSF officer said.
Burglars broke into the residence of a BJP MLA here and decamped with Rs 20-25 lakh cash and 50-gramme gold, police said today.

At the time of incident there was no one inside the house, located close to the government district hospital, as the legislator Yashpal Singh Sisodia had gone to Indore for some personal work.

"I and my wife went to Indore for some work. There was no one in the house and taking advantage of the situation unidentified thieves decamped with nearly Rs 20-25 lakh cash and five tola (50 gramme) gold," Sisodia said today.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Mandsaur, Manoj Sharma reached the spot to enquire about the incident.

Sisodia suspected that the theft was carried out by someone who was aware about the house as only those two rooms were touched where the cash was kept and the thieves did not even touch other two rooms.

"It appears that they have used duplicate keys to open the almirah and its locker to decamp with the booty," he said.

Confirmed that the thieves decamped with Rs 20-25 lakh cash and five tola gold, he said, "(However) they did not take away jewellery worth Rs 2-3 lakh lying in the same almirah."



Further probe was on, he said.
A car bomb killed 11 soldiers in Libya's second city Benghazi as they held evening prayers on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a military source said today.

Benghazi has been hit by repeated bombings since troops under the command of controversial General Khalifa Haftar drove Islamist fighters out of most of the city earlier this year.

Haftar refuses to recognise a joint military command set by the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, saying he still takes orders from a rival administration based in the far eastern city of Tobruk.

Yesterday's blast follows a car bomb targeting a security chief that killed two people on Sunday and a June 24 bombing that killed four civilians.

Meanwhile, a MiG-23 fighter jet of Haftar's air force crashed in the west of Benghazi yesterday, killing its pilot, a spokesman said.

"The crash was due to a technical fault," Ahmad al- Mismari, spokesman of the Haftar-led army command, said.
An assistant to a prominent Chinese rights lawyer was released on bail today, just ahead of the anniversary of a national crackdown on rights defenders.

Police in the northern port city of Tianjin said Zhao Wei, 24, was released after she admitted her crimes and showed a good attitude.

Zhao worked for prominent human rights lawyer Li Heping, and is the youngest among dozens of rights lawyers, workers and activists who were taken into custody last July in a campaign to curb growing rights activism spearheaded by legal workers.

She became a point of public focus because of her age, especially after she was formally arrested in January on the severe charge of state subversion and became one of China's youngest political prisoners. If convicted on the charge, she could face life imprisonment.

Ren Quanniu, a lawyer who represents Zhao's family, confirmed the conditional release. He said authorities may have wanted to reduce public attention to the anniversary by releasing Zhao.

Li and at least eight other rights lawyers remain in custody.

Today, Zhao's personal microblog was updated with a statement expressing gratitude to the police. Tianjin police later reposted the statement.

"The afternoon sunshine is so good," the statement said. "It's a good feeling to breathe freely."



Ren, who could not reach Zhao or her mother, said Zhao could have posted the statement herself but it might not reflect her true thoughts.

He said Zhao might have confessed to alleged crimes under pressure.

"The authorities are known for their means, and who can still stand up after one year?" Ren said, adding that police have never released any details of why Zhao was charged with state subversion.
Amid a raging debate over the implementation of a uniform civil code in the country, Law Commission chairman Justice (retd.) B S Chauhan today said the code has been in place in many laws and not been linked to religion.

The government had last month asked the law panel to examine the implementation of the common code. While the move was opposed by some political parties and activists, ruling BJP had hailed it.

"It (uniform code) had never been linked to religion in many cases," Justice Chauhan told PTI.

Supporting his observation, he said Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Evidence Act, Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and UP Abolition of Zamindari Act are some legislations where a common law is applicable to all without consideration of religion.

He said these laws do not discriminate on religious lines. "These laws have been observed for years and no one has raised any question. Most people are perhaps unaware that common code exists in many laws," he said.

He, however, said it is too early for him to say anything concrete on the Law Ministry reference.

"We will have to examine the various issues involved, segregate them and then talk to various people on those lines...We will have to see whether it is time to regulate the various laws in one go or in phases or to regulate them (in one common code) at all," he said.

He said the Commission will take time to present its report to the government. After sorting out various issues, it will seek public opinion by perhaps putting up a consultation paper on its website.

Taking over as the new Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad had yesterday said the decision to refer the matter to the law panel should not be linked to the election in Uttar Pradesh due next year.

Prasad said there was a need for "wider consultation" on the issue before arriving at a decision.

Implementation of a uniform civil code is one of the core issues of BJP and the Sangh Parivar but the NDA governments in 1998 and 1999 and the current dispensation headed by Narendra Modi have put the contentious issues like scrapping of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu and Kashmir and construction of Ram temple on the back burner.
Congress should contest the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab on its own, the party's state unit chief Amarinder Singh said here today.

Talking to reporters after an interactive session with party workers, the former Punjab Chief Minister claimed that Congress was getting a "tremendous" response from the public and that party workers were full of enthusiasm.

However, he added that the final decision on contesting polls would be taken by AICC president Sonia Gandhi.

Replying to a question, Amarinder said he would invite Priyanka Gandhi to address election rallies in Punjab, adding that the Congress president's daughter is a crowd-puller and liked by all.

He said Punjab Police should not hesitate to arrest AAP MLA from Mehrauli, New Delhi, Naresh Yadav for his alleged involvment in an incident of sacrilege in Malerkotla recently, adding that the police investigation in the case was heading in the right direction.

(REOPENS DES 25)



Meanwhile, Amarinder said ticket aspirants of the party have been asked to submit their applications to PCC by August 15, adding that the party will ensure "proper distribution" of tickets for the 2017 Assembly elections and only "deserving candidates in a position to win" are allotted tickets.

He said that after PCC receives the applications, there will be a detailed scrutiny and credentials and potential of all the applicants will be examined before tickets are allotted.

The Punjab Congress chief told party workers that they will have to support whosoever the party fields.

Amarinder said although there are more than one aspirants in each constituency, tickets can be allotted to only one.

At the same time, he said all other deserving candidates, who are left out, will be accommodated in the government, adding that posts of chairmen of various corporations and boards and other positions will be kept reserved for them.

"No MLA or a person contesting the elections will be given these positions," he said.

Replying to a query regarding industries being neglected in the state, the former chief minister assured that small and medium scale industries as also the cottage industry will be provided special impetus for growth if Congress returns to power.

He said he was aware that industries were "moving out" as the industrial atmosphere in the state had "no longer remained conducive". The state needs to frame policies that would encourage industries and investors, he added.
A group of Congolese nationals today protested near the international airport police station here against the "brutal" murder of a compatriot woman allegedly by her Indian husband.

Rupesh Kumar Mohanani (36) was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly throttling his club dancer wife Cynthia Vechel and then chopping her body into pieces and setting them ablaze.

The protest was staged near the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) police station. The protestors sought justice were also seen arguing with the police.

"No one has been taken into custody in connection with the protest," RGIA police station inspector M Mahesh said.

Meanwhile, officials from Embassy Of Congo met senior police officials of Cyberabad Commissionerate and demanded that Cynthia's remains be handed over to them so that it can be sent to her kin in Congo, police said.

They also sought the custody of Cynthia's baby daughter.

"They sought for handing over Cynthia's body and also requested for taking custody of the baby girl...No decision has been taken so far on both the matters," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shamshabad Division) B Anuradha told PTI.

Mohanani had married Cynthia in Congo in 2008 and the couple lived there till 2012, before settling down at Gachibowli here. They have a baby girl.

While the couple used to fight frequently over financial issues, Mohanani was also suspicious about fidelity of his wife.

DCP (Shamshabad Zone) Sunpreet Singh had earlier said that Mohanani and Cynthia fought over some issue at around 3 AM on July 3, following which in a fit of rage he allegedly throttled her.

"With an intent to screen out the evidence, he cut the body into pieces with a knife and an axe, placed it in a bag and left the house in a car to dispose it. Mohnani poured petrol which he carried and set the body ablaze. The villagers of Madanpally outskirts of the city found the burning body and caught the accused," Singh had said.

Mohanani, booked under IPC sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), is presently in judicial custody and lodged in Cherlapally Central Prison here.
AUBURN  It's been over 45 years since Cayuga County's water and sewer systems were mapped. That's a project that Doug Selby, the interim director of the Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority, is hoping will be updated should the county be awarded a $100,000 grant from the New York State Local Government Efficiency Program, with additional funding coming from the county.

Selby told members of the county's Water Quality Management Agency Thursday morning that the last map was completed in 1970, and many of the water and sewer systems have not had improvements done for 30 or 40 years.

"We have a little bit of information about these (water and sewer systems), but we don't have a comprehensive look in terms of what the county-wide needs are," Selby said. "The plan like they did in 1970  20 years is about how long those plans last. This was never updated. I'm sure it was looked at closely in the 70s but over time it just became a book shelf item."

Besides the importance of mapping out the systems, Selby said the 1970 report also included recommendations for improvements. Fair Haven, for example, was recommended to have a new sewer system installed. That project did not get completed until April 2014, 44 years later.

"It took 40 years to get one thing done," Selby said. "There may be other things that are still waiting."

But recommendations can be costly to implement, and that's another challenge Selby said, that smaller municipalities are faced with. Fair Haven's new sewer line cost $12 million, which, for smaller entities, may be difficult to justify. Mapping out the current systems will allow local government authorities and the county to see where potential consolidation could occur, and simply serve as records of where all the existing lines are.

"It's more looking at the bigger picture and are there needs that are not being met today, and how could they be met in the most economical way," he said. "It's a look at the areas that have no service, septic tanks or primitive systems that may be justified tying into an existing system."

Auburn's water and sewer systems, Selby said, are in good shape and may be able to sustain adding a few other outside towns and villages.

The town of Owasco is currently implementing a new sewer line that transfers about 175 parcels from sewer systems to septic, creating a new sewer district in the area. Ed Wagner, town supervisor of Owasco, had said the switch will reduce phosphorous leaking into the lake from poor septic systems. Selby said improved water quality in local water bodies is another reason to map the various systems. He hopes it will identify where there may be potential problems that may pose public health and environmental risks.

The county has also heard from some privately run water suppliers, that they would like to turn over their businesses to another entity. With an increase in regulations that did not exist in the past, Selby said some operators are feeling overwhelmed with the cost of upkeep.

Selby expects the county will hear whether it has been awarded the state grant by December this year. Should it receive the funds, the county would hire a consulting firm to work with the Water and Sewer Authority as well as all the other county government entities. Selby said the authority has already begun to send out letters to local towns and villages, asking for their support and collecting information on what details they would like the authority to review.
A local court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his relative's wife when she resisted his rape attempt three years ago.

Additional District Sessions judge Surendra Prakash Mira convicted Pooti yesterday under relevant sections of IPC for strangulating to death his relative's wife on March 30, 2013.

Pooti tried to rape Anar Singh's wife while they were on their way to Sinoli village.
A section of auto and taxi operators will stage a protest outside the Delhi Police Headquarters on Friday demanding action against app-based cabs plying in the capital for "not following laid down rules".

Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union have decided to protest against the operation of app-based taxi services, saying they are taking away their livelihood.

Rajendra Soni, General Secretary of both the unions, also said police should stop such taxis from operating as most of the app-based cab operators are "not following laid down rules".

He said they also asked the police to immediately release amount accumulated through Traffic police's prepaid booth, lying unused for several years.

"We have raised our issue to rein in app-based taxi services before Delhi Government several times but it is yet to pay heed to our demand. In view of this, we have decided to demand from Delhi Police to take action against these taxi services as they are affecting our livelihood," Soni said.

There are around 13,000 black-yellow taxis and 81,000 auto rickshaws plying on the streets of the capital.
Calling the admission system of Delhi University as "most bizarre", Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the central university does not have quota for city students, normalization of marks or entrance tests.

The Chief Minister's remarks come days after his deputy Manish Sisodia wrote to former Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani suggesting Delhi students should be given preference over those from other states in admission to DU.

"Delhi University admission system is most bizarre. They don't have either quota for locals or normalization of marks or entrance tests," Kejriwal tweeted.

In his letter to Irani, Sisodia had said that due to "anomalies" in admission process of DU which is based on cut-offs, lakhs of Delhi students are suffering as applicants from state boards have more marks than them.

"Recently the scams behind Gujarat and Bihar toppers have also come to light and because of such practices students here are suffering," he said in his letter to Irani.

Sisodia, who is also the Delhi Education minister, had also suggested that an entrance test should replace the cut-offs method for enrolment of students in DU.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel, who was recently elevated to the Cabinet in the Central government, has also been demanding preference for the city students in the admission process of the Delhi University for a long time.

Last month, Goel had met Sisodia and demanded 85 per cent quota be reserved for Delhi students in 28 colleges, funded by the Delhi government, out of the total 61 colleges in Delhi University.
The Islamist militants who killed 22 people, including an Indian girl, in the brazen assault at a cafe here used five pistols and three AK-22 rifles, police said today.

Three knives, a machete, a white handkerchief and around 300 rounds of bullet shells were also found on the premises of Holey Artisan Bakery that was stormed by at least five gunmen on July 1, sparking a 12-hour stand-off with police that saw 20 hostages murdered with machetes.

Police also found nine safety pins and suspect these are of the grenades used by the terrorists, the bdnews reported.

A police official said the bloodied handkerchief with something written on it in black ink, was found on a dead body.

Two police officers and 20 hostages, including 18-year-old Indian girl Tarishi Jain, nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis and one American were killed in Bangladesh's worst terror attack.

Thirteen hostages were rescued when security forces stormed the restaurant.
A three-member team of forensic experts has dismissed reports that all 20 hostages, including an Indian, were slaughtered by slitting of their throats during the brazen assault at a cafe here by a group of gunmen.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital forensic department's Assistant Professor Md Sohel Mahmud led the three-member team to conduct the autopsies at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on Sunday.

"All the deceased had sharp weapon wounds on their heads and necks. Some were hacked on their throats too," he was quoted as saying by bdnews24.

"But most of the foreign hostages were hacked to death. Bullets were found on the bodies of seven of them and they were also hacked in the head and neck," he said.

Responding to a query, Mahmud confirmed that none of the hostages had been killed by the slitting of their throats.

He said, "One of the Italian nationals and one of the Bangladeshi women had died from trauma caused by a blunt force."



Two police officers and 20 hostages, including 18-year-old Indian girl Tarishi Jain, nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis and one American were killed in Bangladesh's worst terror attack on July 1.

Thirteen hostages were rescued when security forces stormed the restaurant.

Two police officers, who were members of a team that made an early attempt to end the siege, were also killed by explosions set off by the attackers.

Police officials after the raid had said that 20 hostages been slaughtered.

The army and government had said that six terrorists were killed and another was captured alive. Police on Monday midnight filed a case naming six dead attackers and several unidentified persons.

Forensic expert Mahmud, who had conducted most of the autopsies of the bloggers and writers hacked to death by suspected militants in Dhaka, also led the post-mortems of the cafe attackers.

He said bullets were found on the bodies of the six attackers. Splinters of explosives were also found on three of them.

Mahmud added that blood for viscera test, and tooth and flesh from their bodies for DNA tests were collected yesterday.

"We've collected the samples to determine whether these youths had taken something to stimulate excitement before carrying out the attack," he said.
Actress Scarlett Johansson said it was disappointing to be the top-earning actress of all time in Hollywood.

The 31-year-old "Avengers" star said she was sad by the fact that she was the only woman in the category, reported Extra.

"It's exciting to be the only woman in this category. It's kind of disappointing actually to be the only woman in this category. That was a little bit of a surprise to me," Johansson said.

The actress has become the biggest female moneymaker in movie industry with USD 3.33 billion.

She landed on the tenth position in the overall list led by Harrison Ford and Samuel L Jackson.

At 31, she also became the youngest on the list. At least seven other women made it to the top 50 with Cameron Diaz as the second top-earning actress. She was placed at 19th.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the government would soon start a new scheme to provide healthcare diagnostic services to the people at their doorsteps.

The sole aim of the government is to ensure proper health check up of the people, he said, adding, initially the scheme would cover tests of life-style diseases like diabetes and blood pressure.

The state government would soon finalise the scheme, Badal said while inaugurating the state-of-the art Advanced Cancer Institute here. Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal was also present on the occasion.

The CM said this project has been completed in its stipulated timeframe at a cost of Rs 400 crore.

Badal envisioned the institute to be a hub of quality cancer treatment on par with the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.

He said the state government has made concerted efforts to provide quality cancer treatment facilities at Amritsar, Patiala, Faridkot, Sangrur and other districts of the state.

The state government has disbursed Rs 401 crore to around 32,000 patients for the treatment at the empanelled cancer hospitals under Chief Minister's cancer relief fund, Badal said.

He said that for the first time a health insurance of Rs 50,000 has been started for the people and very soon around 2000 medical stores would be opened across the state for providing free medicines to chronic patients.

Later on sidelines of function, the Chief Minister said that the announcement of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to equate election manifesto with scriptures has "deeply bruised" the psyche of every countryman.

Badal said that the apology being offered by AAP leaders on this issue was of no use as it could not undo the damage done by them.
Drake, Jesse Williams, Nicki Minaj among others reacted sharply to the death of a black man by two police officers outside a convenience store.

Alton Sterling, 37, was shot dead by two police officers in Baton Rogue, Louisiana, on July 5 after an anonymous 911 caller reported that he was threatening people with a gun outside a convenience store, where he was selling CDs.

The shooting has sparked protests from racial justice groups who have called out against racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Drake posted on Instagram a lengthy note to express his concern about the strained relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the Sterling family and any family that has lost someone to this cycle of violence," he wrote.

Kanye West also took to Twitter to repost a disturbing video of 34-year-old Sterling being shot and killed by police officers in Baton Rogue.

Williams, who recently delivered a powerful speech about Black Lives Matter at the BET Awards also took to twitter, "In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!"



Minaj posted on Instagram and listed the names of black people who were killed by white people where the killers went unpunished.

"Will there be a conviction now? Probably not. #RIPAltonSterling hug the ppl u love a little tighter.... Tell them you love them a little more often," she wrote.
Muslims today flocked to mosques and eidgahs across the country to offer special prayers, exchanged greetings and took part in feasts with family and friends as they celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting.

In the national capital, people dressed in their festive best turned up at historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid, Hazrat Nizamuddin and other mosques for 'namaz', wished each other 'Eid Mubarak' and exchanged gifts.

Festivities gripped Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives. Ecstatic children, who were gifted 'Eidee' (money) by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities, buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques.

People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and eidgahs (prayer grounds). Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion.

Extensive security arrangements were in place across the country, especially where large congregations took place.

People in Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala celebrated Eid yesterday.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi have greeted people on the occasion and hoped that it will inspire all to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood and will deepen the spirit of harmony and peace in society.

Chief Ministers in several states joined the special prayers and greeted the people.

Bollywood stars, too, spread the cheer and took to the social media to extend Eid greetings to their fans and peers.

In Uttar Pradesh, a spirit of bonhomie and festive cheer marked Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations as Muslims from all walks of life made a beeline for eidgahs and mosques for offering the Eid prayers.

In Lucknow, women offered 'namaaz' at Aishbagh Eidgah for the first time. Governor Ram Naik and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav greeted people on the occasion at Eidgah.

Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers, the border guarding forces of the two countries, exchanged sweets and greeted each other on the occasion at several places along the international border.

In Malda in West Bengal, festivities were marred by a mishap. A 10-year-old boy died and six others were injured when a sceptic tank on which they had gathered, collapsed during an Eid congregation.

In West Bengal, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across the



state. A large number of Muslims assembled at the state's largest congregation on Red Road in Kolkata to offer special prayers on the occasion.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the special prayers. Banerjee and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi greeted the people on Eid-ul-Fitr.

Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque Mohd Nurur Rehman Barkati called for harmony and brotherhood while extending wishes and greetings to all.

"Islam never supports killing of people. Such killers have no religion. Those killing people in the name of Islam are basically goondas," Barkati said in the backdrop of terrorist attacks in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and other places around the globe.

Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across Tamil Nadu with fervour as scores of faithful attended special prayers and exchanged greetings.

Prayers for peace, prosperity and brotherhood were offered in special congregations across the state, including in Chennai, Tirunelveli, Vellore and Tiruchirappally.

Leaders in Tamil Nadu including Governor K Rosaiah, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi and PMK founder S Ramadoss among others have extended Eid greetings.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took part in the festivity at an eidgah in Bhopal.

Thousands of Muslims offered prayers at various eidgahs and mosques.

Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour across Maharashtra.

Celebrations were witnessed in Muslim pockets of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed and other areas of the state. Muslims came out early morning dressed in their finery to offer special Eid prayers at mosques in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis greeted the people on the occasion.

Eid was celebrated in Hyderabad and other towns across Telangana. Major congregations were witnessed at the historic Mir Alam Eidgah and other eidgahs at Masab Tank, Military Grounds, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Secunderabad, Santosh Nagar and Malakpet.

Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao conveyed their greetings on the occasion.

In Gujarat, Eid was celebrated with gaiety and fervour. Thousands of Muslims gathered at Jama Masjid at Teen Darwaza in the old city area of Ahmedabad for 'namaz'. A large number of people also turned up at Eidgah near Kankaria Lake. Historic Sarkhej Roza mosque also saw good number of Muslims congregating to offer prayers.
A large number of Muslims offered special prayers in mosques and eidgahs this morning, kick-starting Eid celebrations in the national capital.

Throngs of people in their festive best turned up for special prayers which mark the end of month-long Ramzan, at major mosques in the city, including historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid and Hazrat Nizamuddin, as well as eidgahs in the city.

After the prayers, people exchanged Eid greetings and gifts.

Festivities gripped Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives.

Ecstatic children, who were gifted 'Eidee' money by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities, buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques.

People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and Eidgahs.

Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the most joyous days in the Islamic calendar.

Special arrangements were made by the Delhi Police to manage the crowd and ensure safety and security around religious places in the city.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is observed as a fasting period by Muslims who abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset and it culminates in Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.
In the recent primary in the 24th Congressional District, Colleen Deacon beat Eric Kingson and Steve Williams to earn the Democratic ballot line in November. But fewer than 9 percent of active Democratic voters in the district cast ballots, and the state needs to figure out ways to help so that doesn't happen again.

Congressional primaries in New York used to be held at the same time as those for state legislative offices, but a federal judge ruled in 2012 that a September primary did not allow enough time to get absentee ballots to members of the military so that they could vote in the general election in November. That's left New York with three primary days, this year falling on April 19 (presidential), June 28 (congressional), and Sept. 13, (state and local).

Further complicating New York primaries  as evidenced by the small voter turnout last week  is that the state Board of Elections sets polling to open at noon in most parts of the state, rather than at 6 a.m. as it is for the general election.

State officials say they're hamstrung by the court ruling on congressional primaries, because holding legislative races in late June would interfere with the legislative session in Albany. But working toward a compromise date would be the best way to go, so that more races could be decided on a single day rather than being spread out.

In the meantime, there are changes that can be implemented quickly. Making pre-Election Day voting available to New Yorkers would make it easier for more people to participate. And opening the polls at 6 a.m. would make it more convenient for more people who find it difficult to vote later in the day.

Having so few voters choosing a candidate for Congress is a problem, so the state's goal should be to find ways to allow and encourage more people to become involved in our democracy.
Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour across Maharashtra today.

The celebrations were also witnessed in Muslim pockets of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed and other areas of the state.

Muslims came out early morning dressed in their finery to offer the special Eid congregational prayers at mosques in Mumbai.

After the solemn prayers, people joyfully greeted each other with hugs and "Eid mubarak" in mosques, homes and public places.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, is observed as a fasting period by Muslims the world over who abstain from food and water during the period extending from 30 minutes before the sunrise to sunset.

After offering the Eid 'namaaz', it was time for the celebrations with family, friends, neighbours and community people, savouring and serving each other the festival special dish of "sheer-korma", a sweet preparation of milk, vermicelli and dry fruits.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis greeted people on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitr.
Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across West Bengal today amidst offering of special prayers at mosques by the devout and exchange of greetings among friends and family.

A large number of Muslims assembled at the biggest congregation on Red Road to offer special prayer on the occasion, which marks the end of month-long Ramazan.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the special prayer and wished everybody in the community.

The festival was observed in a big way at Nakhoda Mosque and Tipu Sultan Mosque in the city and other mosques and different eidghas in the districts. People were seen exchanging greetings and gifts and giving alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and eidgahs.

Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city were decorated on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, Mohd Nurur Rehman Barkati called for harmony and brotherhood while extending wishes and greetings to all.

"Islam never supports killing of people. Such killers have no religion. Those killing people in the name of Islam are basically goondas," Barkati said.

"Islam is for peace and amity and not for killing," he said and condemned the explosion near an Eid prayer gathering in Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh that claimed three lives.

Such an act during Eid prayer was against Islam, he said.

A report from Malda said a ten-year-old boy died and six others were injured when a septic tank on which they had gathered, collapsed under their weight during an Eid congregation in the district.

A police officer said seven to eight boys, aged between 8-10 years had gathered on the old septic tank at Malatipur-Jhanjhaniya Eidgah in Alipur area during Eid namaz.

Both Banerjee and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi extended



greetings and best wishes to the people on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The Chief Minister hoped the festival would strengthen the feeling of harmony and brotherhood in the society.

Tripathi in his message spoke of strengthening of the secular fabric of the country and spirit of amity among all sections of society.

TMC MP and Chairman of All India Minority Forum Idris Ali also extended wishes to all in the community on the occasion and condemned the explosion near Eid prayer venue in Bangladesh.
Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in Punjab and Haryana with fervour as Muslims offered prayers in mosques and eidgahs.

The occasion was observed across the two states including Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Ambala, Panipat, Mewat, Gurgaon and Chandigarh.

Punjab and Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki said Eid-ul-Fitr evokes feeling of brotherhood, compassion and strengthens the pluralistic bonds of our composite society.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the festival marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramzan which re-affirms the spirit of charity and generosity and highlights the feelings of empathy.

A large number of Muslims, including women and children, thronged mosques, shrines and eidgahs across the two states for special prayers to mark culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan.

Haryana's Health Minister Anil Vij greeted the Muslims on the occasion and said religious festivals promote brotherhood and communal harmony.

Vij announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh to the Muslim community for the construction of 'musafirkhana' (dharmshala) if they provide piece of land for it.
A 61-year-old Indian-American businessman has been jailed for 15 months and fined for conspiring to commit fraud in the US by illegally obtaining over USD six million in contracts meant for small and disadvantaged businesses in the country.

Tarsem Singh, a businessman from Fairfax in Virginia, pled guilty to the charge in last December in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

He was sentenced by Judge B Walton who also fined Singh USD 25,000 and ordered him to pay USD 119,165 in restitution. After his prison term, Singh will be placed on three years of supervised release and required to perform community service.

He was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 months in prison for conspiring to commit fraud on the US by illegally obtaining over USD 6 million in contracts that were meant for small, disadvantaged businesses, According to the US Attorney's office district of Columbia.

The fraudulent activities involved the US Small Business Administration's program which was created to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the American economy and access the federal procurement market.

According to the government's evidence, from January 12, 2000 through January 12, 2009, Singh and his wife, through a firm described in court documents as "Company A" which specialised in construction and renovating and altering buildings, obtained millions in federal contracts.

Shortly after "Company B" was certified, Singh caused himself to be named its vice president. As the vice president of "Company B", Singh was contacted by government personnel about federal contracts and, in some circumstances, made the decision on whether the company would bid on these projects.

Throughout the life of the contracts obtained through this scheme, "Company B" had only one employee who performed work on the projects it was awarded. Singh used a combination of "Company A" personnel and sub-contractors to staff projects awarded to "Company B".

From August 2009 through December 2010, "Company B" obtained a total of USD 6,808,552 in more than 25 federal contracts in this manner from the General Services Administration. The scheme generated at least USD 90,397 in profits for "Company A". In addition, Singh received at least USD 28,768 in compensation attributable to the contracts.

To disguise the activities, Singh took a variety of steps, including obtaining magnetic logos.
A district court today rejected the bail applications moved by four of the ten persons arrested in connection with the multi-crore Ephedrine drug bust case.

After hearing the applications, district court judge H M Patwardhan observed that the four accused cannot be released on bail at this juncture.

Opposing the bail, special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray argued the probe into the case was still on and that the links with drug barons from Pakistan and Sri Lanka have come to the fore during the investigation of the accused.

He said further custodial interrogation of the accused is needed in view of the involvement of suspected international drug smuggler Vicky Goswami, believed to be in Kenya, in hatching the conspiracy to move ephedrine out of country for manufacturing the party drug 'Meth'.

Police had seized around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine, worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore, after raiding the premises of a chemical firm Avon Lifesciences Ltd in Solapur in April.

In his argument for bail, Ayaz Khan, the counsel for the accused Manoj Jain, former director of Avon Life Sciences, Punit Shringi, local head of company, Rajendra Dimri, production manager, and Babasaheb Dhotre, a transporter whose trucks were allegedly used to transport ephedrine, said nothing incriminating has been found against them so far.

The prosecution had last week told the court that Shringi had allegedly been threatened by the drug mafia in Thane jail not to turn approver in the case.

Recently, former actress Mamta Kulkarni was named as a prime accused in the drug racket, with Mumbai Police claiming that she was actively involved in the illicit activities.

In all, there were 17 accused in the case, of whom seven are still at large. The remaining 10 were arrested and are now in judicial custody.
Export-Import Bank of India (Exim) today said it has extended USD 200 million (around Rs 1,350 crore) worth buyer's credit (BC) to Senegal for construction of a 225 kV power transmission line.

The government-run principal financial institution extended the credit under National Export Insurance Account (NEIA).

The funds will be used to construct a transmission line for Tambacounda-Kolda-Ziguinchor link and extensions and rehabilitation of networks in the region in the African country, the bank said in a statement here.

The agreement was signed by Exim Bank CMD Yaduvendra Mathur and Ambassador of Senegal in India Elhadj Ibou Boye.

BC-NEIA is a unique financing mechanism that provides a safe mode of non-recourse financing option to Indian exporters and serves as an effective market entry tool to traditional as well as new markets in developing countries, which need deferred credit on medium or long term basis.

Exim Bank has till date sanctioned USD 2.07 billion for 19 projects valued at USD 2.37 billion under the programme.
Kerala's fisheries sector has suffered a loss of Rs 150 crore in 2015 due to sharp fall in the availability of oil sardines, according to a study. The study report prepared by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said the sardine famine last year resulted in 28.2 per cent losses in employment in the sector and 45.8 per cent in wage share.

The CMFRI submitted the report to state Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma today at a consultative meeting of the research and academic institutes in fisheries sector held at the institute here.

"Average price increase for the sardine consumers in the state was 60 per cent, with the per kg prices going up from Rs 26 to Rs 65. The consequence of the famine had multi-fold and disastrous effect on the fisher folk," the report said. CMFRI also analysed the reasons behind the sharp decline in the sardine catch in recent years.

"After 2012, there has been serious disruption in the timing of breeding and strength of environmental events like upwelling in the Arabian Sea.

"Besides, 2015 was a strong El Nino year with reduced rainfall and increased sea surface temperature. These coupled with excessive fishing on the stock beyond the maximum sustainable yield and excessive capture of juveniles during 2010-12 has led to a famine in the oil sardine stock in the Arabian Sea off Kerala", it said.

The report, prepared under the leadership of Dr V Kripa, the Head of Fishery Environment and Management Division of the CMFRI, also indicates that the chances of a full recovery in the sardine catch this year is remote.

"This year the conditions of the fish and upwelling are also good. But a depleted fish stock requires time for rebuilding its population," the report said. The CMFRI proposed to the state government to introduce effective precautionary measures, including strengthening the curbs on fishing juvenile fishes and bringing in regulation on reducing the length and depth of fishing net. During the meeting, CMEFRI Director Dr A Gopalakrishnan offered all support to the state government in carrying out necessary research works for the improvement of the fisheries sector.

The Minister, who presided at the meeting, said there should be a 'constant mechanism' for effectively disseminating the technologies being developed by the research institutes to the fisher folks and fish farmers.

"A committee of experts representing from all the research institutes in fisheries functioning in the State will be formed for monitoring the mechanism of disseminating the technology to the targeted groups", she said.
In a multi-pronged offensive, Syrian government and allied troops pushed their into an area north of Aleppo city today, threatening a key rebel supply line and setting off intense clashes despite a day old truce, pro- government fighters and opposition activists said.

Fierce fighting also broke out in the eastern and southern suburbs of the Syrian capital, Damascus, activists and rebel fighters reported.

Islam Alloush, a spokesman for the Jaish al-Islam fighting group, said government forces moved in on the suburb of Mayda, seeking to block a rebel supply line, while the opposition fought back to regain a number of areas previously captured.

Government advances were also reported in Daraya, a besieged opposition-held town overlooking Damascus airport, the opposition-operated Facebook account of the Local Council of Daraya reported.

The violence came a day after Syrian President Bashar Assad's government announced a three-day truce to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry had praised the declaration and said efforts were underway to extend it.

Today, the UN Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, noted "initial reports of potential violations" but urged all parties to abide by the truce.

Government forces and allied troops, including Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, have been mounting repeated attacks on the Castello road to close the only route to the opposition-held areas in Aleppo city.

If they succeed in closing the road off completely, the rebels could lose one of their most-prized strongholds.

The government offensive secured control over the surrounding Mallah farms, leaving troops less than 1.3 kilometres away from Castello road, the military media arm of Hezbollah said.

In a statement, it said the advance was in retaliation for violations of the truce by armed groups. Syrian State TV declared that, "terrorists are violating the truce."



The rebel group, Nour al-Din Zinky, posted on its Facebook page that government warplanes and artillery heavily shelled the Mallah farms close to the road, and had taken control of some of them in an attempt to cut the rebel supply line.

The group said it is battling alongside other fighters to regain control of the farms.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said the clashes were reported to the west and east of Castello.
France has given a fresh techno- commercial proposal for building six atomic reactors in Jaitapur even as it again raised concerns over India's civil liability law and sought "same level of protection" which are available for companies at the international level.

An Electricite de France (EDF) team, comprising senior officials, is currently holding talks with the Ministry of External Affairs and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIl) on setting up of these plants.

"We have raised our concerns over the liability issue. France is a party to Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage. We want similar binding conditions in the Jaitapur contract.

"All these steps will help us bring nuclear industry players from France to India. The delegation has asked to provide same level of protection to the EDF which is available at the international level," a top EDF official told PTI.

"We have also given a fresh techno-commercial proposal to NPCIL. It's now up to the NPCIL to decide," the official added.

The proposal includes negotiating with India for six reactors as against two, which was the case earlier. This would help bring down the cost. It also includes a proposal for localisation of technology to make the project cost effective.

The EDF has raised concern over various clauses dealing with the Right to Recourse under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010.

Though the French side still has some concerns over the impact of India's liability law, they acknowledged the Indian government has taken several steps to assuage those through initiatives like formation of Nuclear Insurance Pool.

In February, in a significant move aimed at putting an end to the contentious liability issue and assuage suppliers' concerns, India ratified the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage.

The move will help establish a worldwide liability regime of enhanced compensation for nuclear damages.

The EDF, which took over the nuclear energy arm of Areva, the company which was initially supposed to build the reactors, will construct six reactors with a capacity of 1650 MW each at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

After completion, this will be one of the largest nuclear parks in the world.

During French President Francois Hollande's visit to India earlier this year, India and France had drawn up a road map for concluding techno-commercial negotiations for the Jaitapur project by the end of 2016. Accordingly, an MOU was signed by EDF and the NPCIL.
German prosecutors said today they have arrested an alleged Algerian Islamic State group militant who had contact with the late ringleader of the November Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

The suspect, identified only as 20-year-old Bilal C, is accused of having informed Abaaoud of ways to smuggle jihadists into Western Europe along the Balkans route then used by a mass influx of migrants.

He had also been in touch with Moroccan jihadist Ayoub El Khazzani, who opened fire with an assault rifle on an Amsterdam-Paris train last August but was overpowered by a group of Americans and a Briton, prosecutors said.

Bilal C was already in custody "on another matter" when the German domestic intelligence service identified him as an IS suspect, said federal prosecutors in a statement. An investigating judge had issued a new arrest warrant.

The man allegedly travelled in 2014 from Algeria via Turkey to Syria where in December he joined the IS and received combat and weapons training.

In June 2015, Abaaoud allegedly instructed him "to explore the so-called Balkans route in terms of border controls and trafficking opportunities".

"As a result, the accused travelled from June to August 2015 from Syria via Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Hungary to Austria" before reaching Germany, the prosecutors said.

Along the way he had informed Abaaoud of "any open border crossings, waiting times, and arrival and departure routes," the statement said.

Several members of the IS group that carried out the November 13 Paris attacks are suspected of having posed as refugees.

Abaaoud, a Belgian-Moroccan, was killed in November 2015 in a French police raid, aged 28.

Bilal C had also kept Khazzani up to date on trafficking opportunities, "particularly from Turkey to Greece", the statement said.

Prosecutors said they had no evidence Bilal C. Had been active on behalf of the IS since arriving in Germany.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) requires farmers participating in our programs to submit an annual report on all cropland use on their farms. Crop insurance agents for providers approved by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) also require these reports to ensure accuracy with your premiums and when you file claims.

Yet for years, farmers have entered the same basic common information from their acreage reports at these two different places.

No longer. Now, farmers can provide the common information from their acreage reports just once  either to FSA or to their crop insurance agent  and that common information will be securely and electronically shared with the other.

This new process is part of USDAs Acreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI), an interagency collaboration to streamline the collection of common information to better serve our customers.

Over the past seven years, USDA implemented new ways to help farmers conduct business with us more efficiently and effectively. Instead of farmers juggling 54 acreage reporting dates for RMA that covered 122 crops, or 17 acreage reporting dates for FSA covering 273 crops, USDA established 15 common acreage reporting dates. These improvements, coupled with filing your common acreage report information in just one place, will not only save you time, but increase the accuracy in your crop reporting data.

More than 93 percent of all annual reported acres to FSA and RMA now are eligible for this common data reporting, and USDA is exploring adding more crops. Although you must still visit both offices to validate and sign their respective acreage reports, complete maps or provide program-specific information, the common data from your first-filed acreage report will now be available to pre-populate and accelerate completion of the second report, eliminating redundant reporting. In the coming months and years, USDA will continue to build upon this framework. In fact, already we anticipate that some insurance providers will allow reporting to include precision agriculture geospatial data from a producers planter along with regular crop and acreage information, and that third parties may begin designing electronic tools to assist with the reporting.

Since 2009, these are the types of targeted investments that USDA has made to help spur growth in the rural economy, make farming and ranching even better and help you achieve your personal version of the American dream. We hope you will explore participating this spring in our new streamlined acreage reporting initiative.

James Barber

Syracuse

Barber is the executive director for the New York State Farm Service Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
A German court today sentenced to jail five men for having joined the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab Islamist militant group in Somalia.

A sixth man who was jailed and tortured for months by the Shabaab on suspicion of being a Western spy received a suspended sentence.

The five main accused, all German citizens, received prison terms of between three-and-a-half and five years for membership of a foreign terrorist group, by the Frankfurt higher regional court.

They were identified only as Somali-origin brothers Abdullah, Abdulsalam and Abdiwahid W, the brother-in-law of one of them, Steven N, and a German-Tunisian friend, Mounir T.

The men, from the former German capital of Bonn, had travelled to Kenya in 2012 and then on to Somalia the following year, some taking their wives and children along.

After several months of combat training, the men most aged in their 20s, served for between 13 and 18 months on various Shabaab bases and combat positions, the court said in a statement.

However, in July 2014 they opted to leave, upset with the Shabaab's "rigid treatment" of foreign fighters, said the court.

Three of them then contacted the German embassy in Nairobi and were arrested when they flew back to Frankfurt.

The two others -- Abdiwahid W and Mounir T -- had planned to travel on to Syria to join the Islamic State group but were arrested in Kenya and deported to Germany.

The sixth man -- also a German with Somali roots, named as Omar Ahmed D -- had travelled via Kenya to Somalia in 2013.

He entered a so-called Shabaab clearing house there but raised suspicions by often leaving and asking many questions, said the statement.

The militants thought he was a Western spy and locked him up and "abused and tortured" him for months before letting him go.

Having never joined the Shabaab, he was arrested in Kenya and deported in 2014 to Germany, where he has been studying since.

The Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu and has committed attacks elsewhere in East Africa.

Among the deadliest have been the 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed at least 67 people, and on Kenya's Garissa university in April 2015 that claimed at least 148 lives.
The German parliament today passed a landmark "no means no" rape law, broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport migrants and refugees who commit them.

After years of anguished discussion on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the German criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne.

Deputies gave a standing ovation as the law passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority, following an emotional debate.

Dubbed the "no means no" law, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back. It brings what critics call woefully lax legislation into line with that of many other developed countries.

The law, entitled "improving the protection of sexual self-determination", also lowers the bar for deporting sex offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that under German law there were "unacceptable gaps in protection" against sexual coercion and assault.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet signed off on the measures in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year's Eve, which were blamed largely on Arab and North African men.

The draft law was toughened again by the ruling left-right coalition last month.

Cologne's police chief conceded earlier this year that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants.

A first attempt at prosecution in May was thrown out by a court when the alleged victim said she could not identify the defendant as her attacker.

A second trial began today just as the Bundestag began its debate, with an Iraqi and an Algerian in the dock accused of groping one woman's buttocks and crotch and licking the face of another. Both are also accused of attempted robbery.

Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must not only demonstrate that they verbally declined sex but also that they resisted their assailant.

The new law is intended to cover "the actual situations in which most attacks occur", Maas said.

These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence, for example in an abusive relationship, or is unconscious.
US-based web hosting firm GoDaddy today said it will make its services available in three Indian languages -- Hindi, Marathi and Tamil -- to enable over 31 million small businesses (SMBs) to build their online presence.

The NYSE-listed firm currently offers internet domain registration and web hosting services in the country in English.

"India has 22 official languages and over 1,500 dialects. So, local languages certainly play a significant role," GoDaddy India and Australia Vice President and Managing Director Rajiv Sodhi told PTI.

The next wave of growth in internet usage is expected to come from tier II and III towns and with that millions of small businesses will also come online and leverage technology to drive business growth, he added.

"Our strategy is led by a vision to develop and rollout localised language offerings which mirror India's Internet growth. We will be able to reach out to about 61 per cent of SMBs in India by offering support in these three languages," he said.

India is the world's second-largest internet market and is also home to the second-largest SMB base globally, with over 51 million businesses.

According to data from Target Group Index (TGI), 73 per cent of those SMBs are located in tier II and III cities.

Sodhi said this focus on offering products and services in regional languages also gains significance as a bulk of the new users are coming from regional locations that are also hotbeds of SMB and entrepreneurial activity in the country.

"We are starting with Hindi, Marathi and Tamil. GoDaddy SMB products, its website, marketing and customer support will be available in these three languages to help empower the 88 per cent of India's population which is not conversant in English," he said.

Globally, GoDaddy offers services in over 25 languages apart from English. It has a presence in 53 countries with 14 million paying customers.

"The growth of India's internet and initiatives such as



Digital India are intrinsically linked to millions of small businesses coming online and leveraging technology to drive business growth.

In a country, where 22 languages are recognized and more than 1500 dialects spoken, local languages play a significant role. I am happy to learn that GoDaddy, a leader in the domains and hosting industry is taking the lead to launch its products and services in multiple Indian languages. This will go a long way in helping bring India's SME and their businesses online," said Rajiv Bansal, CEO, NIXI.

"GoDaddy is committed to helping small businesses grow and in helping eliminate barriers that prevent them from getting online. By localizing customer touchpoints, including our website,customer care, marketing and products, GoDaddy is focusing on being closer to its customers," said Rajiv Sodhi, Vice President and Managing Director, GoDaddy India and Australia.

India is the world's second-largest internet market and is also home to the second-largest SMB base globally, with over 51 million business that form the very fabric of its economy[2]. According to data from TGI, 73 percent of those SMBs are located in India's tier two and three cities. That said, according to 2015 survey by RedShift Research and GoDaddy, around 63 percent of India's small businesses don't have their own website[3].

For most of these businesses, building a digital presence



can be seen as complex and intimidating, and since a majority are non-English speaking, their ambitions of having an effective online presence may seem perceptibly beyond their reach. GoDaddy's customer touchpoints now available in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil, can go



a long way in helping India's SMBs overcome language barriers and go online with ease.

A significant aspect of GoDaddy's regionalized offering is a highly localized, integrated and multi-lingual marketing campaign. Along with digital advertising, the campaign features a new television commercial in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil showcasing the journey of a traditional small business owner woven around the classic and symbolic song 'Nanha Munna Rahi Hoon' to inspire India's budding entrepreneurs to dream and follow their ambitions. GoDaddy's marketing in local languages aims to educate scores of SMBs and entrepreneurs in India about the benefits of having a compelling online presence and what it can do for their businesses.

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. U.S.A., GoDaddy also has offices across other locations including in Washington, Massachusetts, Iowa and California in the U.S., and international locations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore and in the U.K.
The government tonight rubbished Congress charge of a Rs 45,000-crore telecom scam, saying the CAG report on understatement of revenue by six telecom firms pertains to UPA period from 2006-07 to 2009-10 and it has initiated process of recovering the money from firms like Bharti, RComm and Vodafone.

"CAG Report on understatement of revenue by six Telecom Service Providers by Rs 46,000 crore was received in February 2016. The report pertains to four years i.E. 2006-07 to 2009- 2010 which is before the tenure of this government," the Department of Telecom said in a statement.

The report, it said, points out a shortfall of Rs 5,000 crore of License Fee and Spectrum Usage Charge and Rs 7,000 crore of interest.

The six service providers are Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance Communications, TATA Tele and Idea.

"The Department received the key documents scrutinised by the CAG in mid-June 2016. These are being vigorously examined and the process of issue of demands for the four financial years for six operators in 22 license service areas in consonance with license agreement is currently ongoing," the statement added.

DoT said the demands raised from this exercise will be recovered with due interest and penalty as applicable under license agreements.

"There is therefore no loss of revenue to Government," the statement said.

Stating that Revenue Assurance is the top priority of DoT, it said, "The government is determined to recover every rupee of underpaid amount with interest and penalty from every defaulting company in the minimum possible time.
The Madras High Court has directed in a contempt plea that the Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central) Corporation of Chennai should be personally present with records if the petitioner's representation made for widening the Bus Route Road (BRR) at Kodambakkam High Road has not been disposed of as per an earlier court order.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanaryana, posted the petition for further hearing to August 8.

The bench said the petitioner has alleged that the representation, which was to be disposed of by the Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central) Corporation of Chennai within two months of the receipt of the court order dated November 26, 2015 has not been disposed of.

Even the subsequent notice dated February 2 this year has remain unanswered, the petitioner has alleged. If the representation has not been disposed of in the time period specified, the official should be personally present in court with records, the court said.

The matter relates to a PIL filed by one Parthiban seeking a direction to the official to take action on his representation for widening the BRR and to keep it without any encroachment to prevent hardship to the general public.

The court had directed the official to dispose of the representation in accordance with law within a period of two months of receipt of the order.

Counsel for petitioner A. Ilaya Perumal submitted that the official as per the order conducted an inquiry but till date has not passed any orders on the representation.

The contempt plea was filed as there was no response to the petitioner's notice to the official to comply with the court order.

The bench, after issuing notice to counsel A.Nagarajan for RDC(Central), posted the contempt plea for further hearing to August 8.
Madras High Court has issued notice to the state government on a petition praying for extending scholarship facility to BC and MBC students studying in private self-financing colleges.

Justice M Sathyanarayanan, ordering the notice on a petition by student S Sowmya, adjourned the matter by a week for further hearing.

Petitioner submitted that she belonged backward class Vanniar community and was daughter of a daily wage earner. She had last year joined Bsc Physics in a private college in Taramangalam in Salem district.

However, she was unable to pay her college fees in the second year in view of her family's poor economic background and she may be forced to discontinue studies.

She had made a representation to the authorities concerned requesting to extend scholarship facility to BC and MBC students now available to those studying in government colleges to private institutions also.

Her counsel submitted that there cannot be any discrimination between the students studying in government and private colleges and prayed the court to direct authorities to consider the plea for scholarship.
The Bombay High Court today refused to grant temporary bail to Ateef Mulla, sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment in the 2003 Mulund train bomb blast case.

Ateef had sought his release to tend to his minor son who is suffering from thalassemia.

His lawyer Mubin Solkar argued that the son of his client has to be taken to hospital regularly for blood transfusion and monitoring and that Ateef is the only person in the family who can tend to his son.

"Ateef's parents are old and bed-ridden, his wife is also suffering from spine problems. Hence he is the only one who can take care of the son. He was on bail throughout the trial and was taken into custody only in April this year after the lower court convicted and sentenced him," he said.

A division bench of Justices A S Oka and A A Sayed perused a medical report procured by the prosecution from the hospital where Ateef's son is being treated stating that the child needs to be taken to the hospital once every month till September.

"At this stage, we find that there is no case made out for grant of temporary bail to the applicant (Ateef). We shall consider the bail application on merits on July 13," the HC said.

Ateef, who had got bail from the trial court, has already spent two years and nine months in prison.

Twelve persons were killed in the blast on a Karjat-bound local train on March 13, 2003. Multiple explosions had rocked the metropolis between December 2002 and March 2003.
Islamist militants carrying bombs and machetes launched a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, killing four persons including two policemen and a Hindu woman, nearly a week after 22 people were slaughtered in the country's worst terror attack.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh.

Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was also killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off.

Police said that two of the attackers have been held while media reported the arrest of three persons.

Machetes were seized from the suspected assailants.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.Com reported.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said.

Police did not reveal the identities of the arrested attackers. No group has claimed responsibility for today's attack.

The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were brutally slaughtered by Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.

Police said a massive manhunt was underway to nab other



militants involved in today's attack.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at an Eid reception at her residence said, "Those who are carrying out assaults even in Eid congregations, are enemies of Islam and humanity".

She urged parents and school authorities to report to police if their sons or students had gone missing since the Dhaka attack was carried out by youths who went missing several months ago.

"We will you to track them down using modern technology, if required they will be given treatment in specialised facilities," she said.

Meanwhile, the imam of the Eid congregation, who is said to have earned the militants' wrath by spearheading a massive anti-Islamist campaign with Islamic scholars and imams, appealed for a "social resistance" against the militants.

"Their (militants) aim is to create panic among the people to weaken the natural social resistance. But I call upon the people not to panic which will only benefit the militants' goal and instead wage a social resistance against the extremists," he said.
US House Speaker Paul Ryan today opposed providing any classified briefing to presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying it is necessary to reassure the public that the country's secrets are secure.

His comments came after FBI Director James Comey said that the agency would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton over her private email use when she was secretary of state.

In a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Ryan requested that the intelligence community refrain from providing any classified information to Clinton.

"This is necessary to reassure the public that our nation's secrets are secure," he said.

In another letter to Comey, Ryan requested that he release all of the unclassified findings from the Bureau's investigation into Clinton mails.

The White House yesterday said that both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees would start receiving classified intelligence briefings from the intelligence community after they are formally nominated during their respective party conventions.

In his letter, released to the press, Ryan said as a former vice presidential nominee, he is keenly aware that Clinton is set to begin receiving classified intelligence briefings after the Democratic National Convention.

"However, Director Comey stated that 'this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions'," he wrote.

"Given the FBI's findings, denying Secretary Clinton access to classified information certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions. This is necessary to reassure the public that our nation's secrets are secure," Ryan said.

"The American people deserve to know exactly what your investigation uncovered and why the FBI came to the decision to recommend that no criminal charges be brought against secretary Clinton," Ryan said.
Employment-generating industrial and other units in the Northeast will be given incentives by the government, DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh said today.

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will offer subsidy incentives in the Northeast for industrial and other units generating employment as a policy to encourage them, he said here.

Singh said that as a policy, the Ministry will encourage such entrepreneurship and business establishments which generate employment for youth in the region, an official release said.

For this purpose, he said, the assistance to North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI) would incorporate a component of higher interest subsidy for such units which give more employment.

DoNER Ministry is coordinating with Union Ministry of Finance in this regard.

Spelling out the action plan for the year to come, the Minister gave details of venture capital funds as another incentive for those undertaking 'Startup' initiatives in the region.

This will be an added attractive feature for youth from all over India who wish to avail the benefit of the Prime Minister's 'Startup India, Standup India' programme by setting up an establishment in Northeast.

Singh referred to a meeting held recently with the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) wherein it was decided to carry out satellite-based survey for planning and monitoring of projects in the region.

This, he said, will help expedite the projects and also avoid discrepancies. In a similar initiative, he said, all the 8 states of Northeast region have agreed to cooperate in carrying out geo-tagging by giving GPS details of various ongoing schemes in the respective states.

The Minister said DoNER Ministry will also take up waste management project under North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP).

In this case, the Ministry would study the other tried models of waste management, including the Tamil Nadu model, under the Capacity Building and Technical Assistance (CB&TA) scheme.
Auburn Fire Department :June 26-July 2 , 2016

 Fires: 5 (4 structure fires, 1 landfill compactor fire)

 Motor vehicle accidents: 4 (3 with injuries)

 EMS: 114 (6 cardiac, 21 trauma, 2 unconscious person, 5 overdose, 3 Narcan admins.)

 Hazardous conditions: 7

 False alarms: 4

 Investigations: 14

 Service calls: 5

 Special details: 4

 Rescue: 2

 Fire prevention details: 1

 Healthy neighborhoods inspections: 9

 Fire safety consults with businesses: 4

 Fire inspections: 20

 Foster home inspections: 1

 Vacant building inspections: 92

 In total, personnel took part in 63 hours of documented training this week. Some topics included apparatus driving, tools and equipment, and hose line advancement.

 All companies are conducting hose testing. Every length of hose is visually and functionally tested each year to comply with NFPA standards and as part of our ISO scoring.

 June 28  Minor porch fire on Morris Street

 June 29  Minor porch fire on Wallace Avenue

 June 30  Minor porch fire on Mann Street

 The above porch fires were contained and controlled through a combination of early calls reporting each fire and quick response from the fire department; incidents like these can escalate quickly and every second counts to reduce damage.

 June 30  Crews responded to the landfill for a city-owned mobile compactor that was on fire.

 June 30  This evening the on-duty crews trained with other Cayuga County fire departments on firefighter rescue procedures at the County Fire Training Facility on Quarry Road.

 July 1  Crews conducted fire extinguisher training for NUCOR Steel staff.

 July 1  Crews conducted mandatory emergency escape training.

 July 1  Crews received updated training on this summers hydrant inspection program. Throughout the summer crews will be testing the function and flow of every fire hydrant in the city, this verifies function and is a key component of maintaining the citys ISO rating that is used to calculate fire insurance rates.

 July 2  Crews conducted auto extrication training at the County Fire Training Facility on Quarry Road.

 Crews are working almost every day with the Cayuga County Health Department as part of their Healthy Neighborhoods Program. Together, teams are evaluating various hazards in homes in targeted areas. Fire crews are evaluating the placement, function and appropriateness of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in homes. This week as a result of these evaluations, 90 new smoke detectors were installed, 24 non-functioning smoke detectors were replaced, and four gas leaks were detected and corrected by NYSEG.

 Several staff members assisted in providing firefighting and EMS training throughout New York state this week.
Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here, India today handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique, completing the delivery of USD 4.5 million grant assistance as part of supporting the institutions of this African country.

The vehicles were handed over by Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, to an official of Mozambique's Interior Ministry.

"With handing over of 30 Mahindra SUVs, India completes delivery on $ 4.5 million grant assistance to Min(istry) of Interior," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Swarup posted on Twitter the photographs of the handing over ceremony along with the caption "supporting Mozambican institutions. In a separate ceremony Secretary ER donates vehicles to Interior Ministry."



Shortly before that, the Prime Minister handed over four buses to Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CIDT) as donation from India.

"New engines for innovation. PM @narendramodi donates 4 buses to the CITD," Swarup tweeted.

The Prime Minister went around the campus of the CIDT and interacted with students who have studied in India under ITEC and other programmes.

Later, Modi addressed the Indian diaspora and hailed Africa as a place which helped shape the identity of Indian diaspora throughout the world.

"Africa is such a land from where Indians got an international identity. Africa is such a land which shaped the identity of Indians in the world," he said in his brief speech before winding up his day-long visit to Mozambique to move to South Africa in the second leg of his four-nation tour.

Noting that many of those present could be even fourth generation Indians, he appreciated the fact that they had preserved the culture and identity of India even while assimilating with the local societies.

He said many of the Indians present here would be those from Kutch, which is in his home state Gujarat.

(Reopen FGn37)



While emplaning for Durban in South Africa, the Prime



Minister tweeted, "Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique."



Modi had arrived here this morning in the first leg of his four-nation tour that will also include South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.
India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said today, contending "unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything".

"Innovation is a process of rebellion essentially. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything," he said, emphasising the Modi government's focus on innovation in education.

"Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don't allow questioning. We don't promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions," the newly appointed HRD Minister said.

Javadekar said if children are encouraged to be inquisitive, innovation would follow as the status quo would be challenged and there would be transformation.

The minister, who had been given the charge of the HRD Ministry after Tuesday's reshuffle, was speaking at an event, 'Infocom 2016', organised by the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra is sustainable development which does not impact adversely the nature but ensures progress of all, for which innovation is the key.

He said the development in IT Sector has brought a revolution in the media industry. Transformation is the result of new ideas. There are doomsayers, but one should always be positive and look for innovation, he said.

Javadekar also recalled his interaction in the 1990s with late Steve Jobs of Apple who had then predicted the evolution of smart phone and its varied functions.
Describing India's sector a vital life-line for millions of people in developing countries, an international relief organisation on Thursday, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to cave in to corporate pressure and support people's access to generic medicines to combat deadly diseases like AIDS.

"Doctors Without Borders (MSF) urges the Indian government to safeguard its role in supplying affordable, generic medicines to millions of people in South Africa and the rest of the continent," said Claire Waterhouse, MSF Access Campaign Advocacy Officer in Southern Africa.

"Today, India faces immense pressure from the United States and its multinational corporations lobby to roll back its pro-public health patent rules that put people above corporate profits.

"If India caves in to this pressure, the results could be devastating for South Africans, millions of people across Africa and other developing countries, and it risks unleashing monopolistic practices that price medicines beyond reach."

MSF urged Modi to defend India's lifeline to South Africa and developing countries through affordable versions of new medicines.

"India should reject efforts that undermine, weaken or eliminate critically-important public health safeguards from its laws," Waterhouse said.

"Medicines from India have enabled MSF, government and other treatment providers to dramatically scale up HIV treatment access in South Africa. India's global pharmacy also has an important role to play in providing affordable prices for newer medicines for TB, hepatitis and other devastating diseases."

Waterhouse said that South Africa was currently reforming its own patent laws to better balance private commercial interests with public health priorities, with India's progressive laws being seen as the model in this regard.

"Our patients' lives depend on the Indian and the South African governments holding the line against drug corporations who seek to expand their profits at the expense of people's health," said Amir Shroufi, MSF medical coordinator in South Africa.

"Medicines made in India are a vital lifeline for MSF's medical humanitarian operations and millions of people in developing countries."

At the third India-Africa Summit held in New Delhi last October, India and the member states of the African Union agreed to cooperate on ensuring access to affordable medicines, and to foster innovation that addresses public health needs of developing countries.

"Fifteen years ago, South Africa stood up against pressure from 39 drug corporations to block access to more affordable HIV medicines at a time when the epidemic was spiralling out of control in the country.

"We hope to see strong resolve from Prime Minister Modi today against corporate pressure and in support of millions of people's access to their medicines," Waterhouse concluded.
A Free Trade Agreement between India and the UK could be easier to accomplish at a bilateral level following Britain's exit from the EU, according to Indian industry leaders.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) led its annual delegation to London this week to take stock of 'The Future of UK-India Economic Relations' and said there was general consensus that Brexit opened up the possibility of new opportunities.

"With Britain's departure from the EU, India will have to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the UK which may be easier to accomplish at a bilateral level... This could well be the best era for our industries to collaborate," CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said, adding that there was "political drive and willingness" on both the sides.

His views were echoed by CII President Naushad Forbes, co- chairman of Forbes Marshall Private Limited.

"India-UK relations will sustain with or without Britain's relationship with the EU and will only thrive and prosper in the years ahead," Forbes said.

Pointing out that India had been negotiating an FTA with the EU for over nine years and had been stuck in a couple of areas of concern for India, he said, "Many of these issues will instantly go away between India and the UK. It would be an agreement that would be almost made in heaven".

UK Minister of State for Universities and Science Jo Johnson said such a bilateral agreement would be on the agenda and sought to reassure Indian industry leaders against any fears over the business climate in the UK following Brexit.

"We have so many strengths in our bilateral relationship, on which we must now rapidly build... It has been very frustrating that the EU-India FTA has been so slow in making progress and has suffered several pauses. I sincerely hope that tighter bilateral trade agreement between the UK and India can make rapid progress," he said.

"I want to reassure you about any uncertainty as the UK enters a new phase of its relationship with the EU... More than ever we are going to be an outward looking, adventurous, optimistic country," Johnson said.

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Navtej Sarna said the political underpinning for the economic relationship between India and the UK was strong and that uncertainties should not have any adverse effect asbusiness "thrives of uncertainties" and a "planned roadmap" for the relationship already exists.
A 40-year-old Indian-origin engineer in the US has pleaded guilty to a revenge cyber attack on the computer networks of his former employer and three ex-clients after he was fired from the job, causing them damages of over USD 130,000.

Kamlesh Patel pleaded guilty yesterday in US District Court in Boston to two counts to causing damage without authorisation to Internet-connected computers and to one count of using means of identification to commit the offense.

US District Court Judge Leo T Sorokin scheduled sentencing for September 28, Justice Department said.

Patel worked as a senior network engineer at Northborough-based Baesis Inc, a company that offered network maintenance and security services to its clients.

In October 2010, after Baesis terminated Patel, he used a colleague's network credentials to access Baesis's computer network and deleted the company's image server, a computer that stored copies of clients' network configurations.

In late January 2011, Patel used his former colleague's credentials once again to access Baesis's network and the networks of three former clients.

Patel used specialised software to delete data from all four companies' networks.

As a result, the victim companies temporarily lost use of their networks, including Internet and e-mail access. One victim company lost access to its Internet telephone system for several weeks.

Patel's victims incurred USD 137,896 in damages. He has agreed to pay this amount in restitution in connection with his plea.

The charges of causing damage without authorisation to Internet-connected computers provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of USD 250,000.

The charge of using means of identification to commit a felony provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, two years of supervised release and a fine of USD 250,000.
UK's Indian-origin minister Priti Patel, who had campaigned strongly for Britain leaving the EU, today announced her support for Home Secretary Theresa May to replace David Cameron as the prime minister, saying she was the right person to execute the "will of the British people."



Patel's backing came as May emerged as the clear front-runner in the race to take over from Cameron, with over half of the Conservative party's 330 MPs voting in her favour in the first round of voting earlier this week.

Patel, who attends Cabinet in her capacity as UK's employment minister, said that May was the right person to implement the "will of the British people" while comparing her to Britain's first woman prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

"Theresa May is the only candidate best placed to deliver and there is no other candidate who comes anywhere close to her experience, or record of strong leadership. She shares the steely determination I always admired in Margaret Thatcher, and she has the experience and trust needed to succeed for this great nation of ours," said Patel, who also serves as outgoing premier Cameron's Indian Diaspora Champion.

The second round of voting takes place today to narrow down the race between two candidates, which could throw up an all-woman contest between May and energy minister Andrea Leadsom -- unless justice minister Michael Gove manages to make a come-back from third place.

The third and final round of voting will take place next week and the winner would be announced on September 9. The winner will have the task of negotiating Britain's exit from its 43-year membership of the 28-member EU.

"I have always believed that Britain would be stronger, more prosperous and secure outside of the EU. I stayed true to what I have always believed in with principle and conviction. From all discussions with Theresa on the future of our country, I believe that her experience in tough negotiations, her determination to get the best deal for the UK, and her commitment to reduce immigration - in a fair way - make her the obvious choice," Patel said.

Admitting the divisions caused by Brexit, the 44-year-old Conservative party MP for Witham called on the party to unite under May's leadership.

"We must end the tribalism and divisions seen in the Referendum between Leave and Remain and focus on defining our place in the world and putting core Conservative principles and values into action," she said.

The bookmakers' odds were heavily in favour of May taking over from Cameron, with Leadsom in second place and Gove an unlikely contender.

The leadership contest was triggered following Britain's 52-48 per cent vote in favour of leaving the EU in a referendum on June 23, after which Cameron announced he would be stepping down for a new PM to lead the country's exit negotiations from the economic bloc forward.
Infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir is on the rise, with nearly 100 terrorists sneaking into the Valley this year from across the Line of Control taking routes, including those chosen by Pakistani raiders in 1947, to move towards south, which has emerged as the epicentre of militancy.

According to inputs received from various sources in the Counter Infiltration Grid (CIG), around 100 militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad have infiltrated the Valley, using from higher reaches of Gulmarg and Boniyar in Baramulla (north Kashmir) to reach southern parts of the state via Yusmarg, the route taken by the tribal raiders from Pakistan to wrest control of Jammu and Kashmir.

Of these nearly 20-25 have been killed in encounters with security forces at LoC. Till June 30 last year, 34 militants had infiltrated the Valley from across the LoC.

There were several instances in June this year when militants crossed over into India from the higher reaches of Gulmarg and reached Baba Reshi where they dumped their arms and ammunition before moving towards south Kashmir in local vehicles or trekking down to Pulwama using the Yusmarg-Pakharpora route.

The central security agencies have provided intelligence about the presence of nearly a dozen militants in Nichnai forests in higher reaches of Yusmarg in Central Kashmir.

The Indian army had frustrated attempts by the Pakistani raiders, which included some of its armed forces personnel, to take over Kashmir in 1947.

There has been a lot of movement of people in the area due to a religious shrine in Pakharpora which has gained in popularity in the last couple of years, making it difficult for the security forces to quickly identify the militants.

After it came to light that terrorists were using public roads instead of the usual mountainous path while moving towards south, security agencies have suggested barricading them.

While the army has been maintaining a studied silence over the issue, sources said intelligence about infiltration of militants, who managed to escape notice at LoC, was picked up by the local police leading to various encounters across the state.

The Gulmarg-Yusmarg route was used by LeT terrorists Naveed and Noman in August last year. These two were transported to Udhampur where they carried out an attack on a BSF bus killing two personnel. Noman was killed in retaliatory fire and Naveed was arrested with the help of local people.

Not much has been done to plug this route despite repeated warnings by the central intelligence agencies, state officials said.
Iran's semi-official Fars agency says the Revolutionary Guard has killed two Kurdish insurgents who have been on the run since last week.

The today's report says they were part of a larger group, 11 of whom were killed in clashes with Iranian forces last week in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

The report says the pair was killed on Tuesday and did not identify them, describing them as "counter-revolutionary bandits."



Iranian forces clashed with Kurdish separatists on a number of occasions in June. That month, Iran said its forces killed dozens of insurgents in its western provinces bordering Iraq, a country with a large Kurdish minority.
Irdai's expenses towards staff salary are set to rise by over 50 per cent to Rs 80 crore in the current fiscal even as the insurance regulator stares at a budget deficit of Rs 191 crore.

The regulator's advertisement budget towards consumer awareness during 2016-17 is pegged at Rs 60 crore, as per the minutes of the Board meeting released by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).

Due to budget allocation under major heads and considering the overall receipts and payments, the budget for the year 2016-17 results in a deficit of Rs 191 crore, it said.

Irdai estimate receipts of Rs 201 crore and total payments of Rs 392 crore during the current fiscal. It has pegged a revenue surplus of Rs 5 crore in the fiscal and capital deficit of Rs 196 crore.

The regulator has projected earnings of about Rs 85 crore as fee receipts from insurers and an average interest income from investment at the rate of 8 per cent.

On revenue expenditure front, Rs 80 crore is budgeted under salaries which are an increase of 53 per cent as compared to the last year expenditure of Rs 52 crore.

The extra outgo on salaries front is due to increase in the staff strength. Increase in salary, dearness allowance (DA), and pay revision/arrears due has added to expenditure.

It has provided a sum of Rs 160 crore for fixed assets. It includes, construction of building (Rs 91 crore), IT project (Rs 24 crore) and expected payment for building at Mumbai (Rs 45 crore).
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today said the electronic media was overly critical of his government and asked them not to misuse the freedom they have been granted under his rule.

Touting the state telecommunications regulator, Sirisena said he has observed that the electronic media devotes 80 per cent of their bulletin to criticise his government.

"What I say is that they have the right to be critical of the government, but give sometime for coverage of government's development programmes," he said.

"The freedom we have granted needs to be exercised more reasonably," Sirisena said.

The Lankan media is more free under Sirisena compared to the regime of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During the Rajapaksa regime, Sri Lanka was classified as one of the most difficult countries to practice journalism by Reporters Sans Frontiers.

Several media men were killed and some disappeared.

Sirisena has revived investigations into the cases.
SKANEATELES The Finger Lakes Land Trust has acquired 145 acres of woodland, fields and wetlands bordering Bear Swamp Creek  the largest tributary to Skaneateles Lake.

The property is located in the town of Niles, Cayuga County. It was identified as a priority for protection due to its frontage on the creek, the quality of its natural habitat, its value to the health of Skaneateles Lake and its proximity to existing protected lands.

This latest acquisition features 1,600 feet of frontage on Bear Swamp Creek as well as frontage on both sides of Bear Swamp Road. Fields bordering the road are backed by hardwood forest with wetlands bordering the creek. The property is bordered by Bear Swamp State Forest on two sides.

With this purchase, the land trust has now protected five properties along the creek with a total of four miles of streambank. Other protected lands are Carpenter Falls State Unique Area, Bahar Nature Preserve and three privately owned parcels that are secured through perpetual conservation easements held by the land trust.

The property was acquired in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and will be added to the adjacent Bear Swamp State Forest when funds are available.

Bear Swamp is recognized as one of New Yorks Important Bird Areas and is identified as a priority project in the states Open Space Plan. The state forest is a popular destination for outdoor recreation and hosts an extensive network of multi-use recreational trails.

Funding for the acquisition was provided by a grant from the Allyn Foundation and an allocation from the land trusts Forever Fund  an internal revolving loan fund that is used to facilitate time-sensitive acquisition projects.

In the future, when the land is sold to the state, proceeds from the sale will be returned to the Forever Fund to enable additional conservation projects.

Bear Swamp and its namesake creek are located within a proposed greenbelt that will ultimately extend around the southern half of Skaneateles Lake.

On the eastern side of this greenbelt, the land trust last year dedicated its 200-acre Hinchcliff Family Preserve, which encompasses a mile of hillside overlooking the lake and features a 1.4 mile hiking trail. Ongoing efforts are focusing on the use of conservation easements to secure other hillside parcels in this area and adjacent to Bear Swamp State Forest.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (pictured) on Thursday expressed hope that the fishermen issue with India would be resolved as talks were going on at different levels, even as more than 40 Indian fishermen have been arrested by Lankan Navy this month.

Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake asked the Prime Minister if moves were underway to allow fishing by Indian trawlers limited to a number of days per week or by a restricted zone in the north eastern seas.

Wickremesinghe, while answering an opposition query in the parliament, said that around 1,000 Indian trawlers were illegally fishing in the country's waters using bottom trawling techniques which is very harmful to the fishing resource.

"We have received various proposals to end this dispute. The main objective is to put a stop to bottom trawling. We cannot allow our fishing resources to be plundered. At the moment there are around 130-140 boats in our custody. We may return the fishermen but we can't release their boats... We will seek the views of the northern fishermen as to how we could resolve this issue. We can't be seen to be doing anything against their wishes," Wickremesinghe said.

Foreign Ministers of India and Sri Lanka had discussed the issue while the Navies of the two countries have also tried to resolve the issue through their periodical talks. The Joint Commission meeting between the two countries was also to take up this issue as a priority, Wickremesinghe said, adding that talks were going on at different levels.

Dissanayake was unhappy with the Prime Minister's explanation that family ties between the two countries among the people in the area had led to this issue. He was citing the restrictions placed by India to curb the Pakistani illegal fishing on the Indian side of the waters and demanding such action from the Sri Lankan government vis a vis India.

Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel on Wednesday when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week. With this, the number of fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day. Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
As the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faces heat, the Maharashtra government today ordered a probe into his speeches that were reported to have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers while the Centre said "appropriate action" will be taken against him.

As Mumbai-based Naik came under the scanner, senior Congress leader Digivjaya Singh was in BJP's line of fire after a 2012 video showing him share a dais with the 50-year- old televangelist praising him at an event to promote communal harmony surfaced today. The video in which Singh said Naik is a "man of peace" also triggered a slugfest between BJP and Congress.

Security personnel were deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai as a precautionary measure in the wake of the escalating row over his alleged hate speeches.

Naik for his part released a statement, saying he "totally disagreed" that he inspired the act of killing innocent people in Dhaka. "There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim."



"I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI.

Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The new Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Naik's speeches, as being reported in the media, as highly objectionable



"The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them," he told reporters in Delhi.

Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju yesterday hinted at action against Naik after looking into whether the preacher through his speeches glorifies terrorist acts by Muslims.

Naik's speeches are believed to have inspired some of the Bangladeshi militants, who killed 22 people, mostly foreigners, at an upscale restaurant in Dhaka last Friday.

Digvijay Singh, who was seen praising Naik in the 2012 video, defended himself, saying if there was any evidence against the preacher, then the Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take action against him.

"I have appealed for communal harmony and opposed religious fundamentalism and terrorism by either Hindus or Muslims," the Congress leader added.

However, BJP was quick to target Singh and also demanded action against Naik, saying he was a "threat" to national security as it was clear from his speeches that he "incited" people.

Citing Singh's comments, BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, "It is in Congress' character to politicise and glorify terrorism. Its leaders used terms like Hafiz saab and Osama ji for terrorists.

Responding to BJP's attack, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was no place in Indian society for obscurantist and extremist thoughts and Congress party has always fought the forces of hate and division which have threatened India's integrity.

Coming to the defence of Singh, Congress Chief Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the senior leader has himself stated that he only appealed for peace, harmony and brotherhood.
A grand jury in the state of Ohio returned a three-count indictment against an Emirati man suspected of trying to order the killing of a federal judge.

Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 37, was charged with attempted first degree murder of the judge presiding over the case that landed him in jail, as well as with committing a crime of violence and using the mail and interstate commerce facilities  a cellphone  to commit murder for hire, a Justice Department statement said.

The charges stem from Mohammad allegedly telling another inmate that he wanted to have District Judge Jack Zouhary kidnapped and murdered, and that he was willing to pay $15,000 for the crime, according to the indictment.

The inmate then alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and presented Mohammad to an undercover FBI employee.

Mohammad is also said to have told the undercover agent that he could use a mail courier to send a downpayment, or the undercover employee could meet Mohammad's wife in Chicago to obtain the money.

Asked about when he wanted the murder to take place, Mohammad said: "The sooner would be good, you know," according to the indictment.

On May 5, Mohammad's wife, identified simply as "N.T." in the indictment, met the undercover agent at a post office in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and provided $1,000 in cash inside a white envelope, according to the indictment.

On May 11, Mohammad told the inmate that the rest of the money for the murder was coming from Dubai.

The undercover agent and N.T. Met on May 16, and he undercover agent showed her a photograph he claimed was of Zouhary's dead body.

The undercover agent then asked for the rest of the money owed to him and N.T. Said she would contact Mohammad and then get back in touch with the undercover agent, the indictment said.

Zouhary was presiding over a case in which Mohammad was indicted last year for conspiring with three other men to travel to Yemen to provide thousands of dollars to US-born Al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar Al-Awlaki to support violent extremist acts against military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"According to the charges in the indictment, this defendant not only attempted to have a federal judge murdered, but he did so to obstruct justice in a terrorism case against him," US Attorney Barbara McQuade said in a statement.

"This prosecution seeks to hold the defendant accountable for attempting to victimize the judge and for trying to undermine our criminal justice system."

Special Agent in Charge Stephen Anthony added: "Conspiring to have a judge killed is not the way to avoid being prosecuted  now Mohammad will be held accountable for additional serious federal charges."

If convicted on all of the new counts, Mohammad could face up to 50 years in prison.
The war of nerves between senior Congress leader Manas Bhunia and Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan today took an ugly turn, with Bhunia accusing the latter of insulting him and taking decisions keeping the Congress Legislative Party in dark.

Bhunia also remained evasive whether he would resign as Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman, a post to which his party wants to nominate CPI(M)'s Sujan Chakraborty.

"Deliberate attempts are being made to insult me and portray me as a villain. When Abdul Mannan had asked me to sign for the nomination for PAC chairman, I had told him if he is thinking of somebody else in that post, I should not file nomination, as it would be an insult for me. I am a six-time MLA and I cannot work under a junior in a committee. Mannan promised me that nothing of such sort would be done. I filed the nomination after his assurance," Bhunia told PTI.

"But Mannan deliberately insulted me. No CLP meeting was held after June 17. So, how Mannan is saying that the decision was taken at a CLP meeting in favour of Sujan Chakraborty? He has even informed PCC president Adhir Chowdhury that CLP has taken the decision in favour of Sujan Chakraborty, which is absolutely false," Bhunia alleged.

He said he had also informed the party's deputy leader Nepal Mahato, and chief whip Manoj Chakraborty that his name should be withdrawn from the list of PAC nomination, if Mannan has decided to back Chakraborty.

"Both of them told me that they will inform Mannan about it. But nothing was done to withdraw my name. The Speaker announced my name as PAC chairman as the post goes to main opposition party. So what is my fault? What anti-party activity had I committed? I am being insulted and humiliated deliberately," Bhunia claimed.

State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury had called a meeting of party legislators and leaders on Saturday.

"I may not be able to attend the meeting as I will be out of station. I have not received any official communication from the party demanding my resignation as PAC chairman. If I get any official communication, then I will comment on the matter," Bhunia said.

Miffed over Bhunia being appointed PAC chairman, West Bengal unit of Congress has informed the high command of his "anti-party" activity and urged him to resign from the post.
The Meghalaya government today set up the Fifth Pay Commission to revise the salary and other allowances of the 80,000 plus government employees in the state.

After a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma announced that former chief secretary P J Bazely has been appointed chairman of the Commission with retired bureaucrats Uttam K Sangma and Lambha Roy as members.

The Commission will be notified immediately, he said, adding that the whole exercise is being done to ensure that government employees get the best returns.

The state government had in September 2009 announced an overall pay hike of 32 per cent for all its employees, with retrospective effect from January 1, 2007 in line with the recommendation of the 4th Pay Commission.

Stating that the state government is aware of the burden the implementation of the Commission's recommendation will have on the state's exchequer especially after the ban on mining and transportation of coal, the Chief Minister said the state needs to 'work harder'.

State Government Employees' Federation hailed the decision and demanded that the pay hike should be at par with the 7th Central Pay Commission's recommendations.

In another decision, the cabinet also approved a proposal to augment the corpus contingency fund from Rs 105 crore to Rs 205 crore to meet the increasing expenses of the state government.
On the occasion of Eid, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today sought the cooperation of the people in promoting pace, harmony and brotherhood and wanted them to partner her government's endeavour to bring stability and prosperity to the militancy- hit state.

"I need the support and cooperation of every citizen of this state to realize the vision of (former Chief Minister and Mehbooba's father) Mufti Mohammad Sayeed of a cohesive, peaceful and prosperous Jammu and Kashmir," she said interacting with hundreds of people who visited her official residence here to extend Eid greetings.

She said the people need to strive for promotion of peace, harmony and brotherhood and partner with her government's endeavor to end the miseries of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and bring stability and prosperity to the state which is bleeding due to militancy.

An official spokesman said the Chief Minister personally received the visitors and exchanged Eid greetings with them.

The visitors included ministers, MPs, MLAs, civil and police officers, political workers, lawyers, representatives of trade, travel and civil society organizations besides common men, women and children, the spokesman said.

On the occasion, special prayers were also offered for Sayeed, who breathed his last in January this year, he said.

Meanwhile, a National Conference spokesman said hundreds of people from all walks of life thronged the residence of party Working President and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah here to extend Eid greetings to him.

Party leaders, legislators, office bearers and party workers in addition to senior officers of the police and administration as well as prominent social activists and trade representatives called on Omar yesterday and today and exchanged Eid greetings with him, the spokesman said.

Interacting with the people, Omar prayed for the state's honour, dignity and prosperity and said it was the duty of every conscientious citizen to protect the state's political rights and interests and also to work towards alleviating the grievances of the masses.

The NC Working President expressed profound grief and sorrow over the spate of attacks around the world, especially those in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Iraq recently and prayed for the restoration of peace and amity in the world.

Thanking the visitors for their greetings and affection, Omar said Jammu and Kashmir's legacy and ethos of amity, brotherhood and mutual respect among people of different faiths was an asset that needs to be nurtured and safeguarded.
Mexico City's zoo is in shock today after its beloved male gorilla died as veterinarians prepared to transport him to another city to mate with two females.

Bantu, who was 24, died of cardiorespiratory arrest late yesterday after he was sedated and efforts to reanimate him failed, the city's environment department said in a statement, citing a preliminary autopsy.

The gorilla, who would have turned 25 on September 20, was one of the main attractions of the capital's vast Chapultepec zoo.

"This incident has caused great consternation among zoo personnel who cared for him for nearly 25 years," the statement said, adding that international veterinary protocols had been followed.

Bantu was supposed to be taken to the zoo of the western city of Guadalajara, where he would have been presented to two females in the hope that they would reproduce.

Some 20 doctors and experts from the two zoos were involved in the effort to transport him. Tests are being conducted to confirm the cause of death.

The death of a gorilla is cause for concern because populations have plummeted in the face of relentless habitat destruction. Fewer than 175,000 remain in the wild.

A controversy erupted in the United States in May when a silverback was shot dead by zookeepers in Cincinnati, Ohio, to protect a toddler who had fallen into the gorilla's enclosure.
The Niger Delta Avengers militant group today said it attacked more oil infrastructure in southern Nigeria, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group said in an email that it hit manifolds RMP 22, 23 and 24 operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited in Delta state at about 1:20 am. RMP 23 and 24 had previously been attacked on June 1.

RMPs or remote manifold platforms are where smaller oil and gas pipelines converge before being sent to larger lines.

It is understood the facilities had been repaired since the last strike.

A military officer said the attack happened in the Warri North area of Delta state, adding: "A controlled explosive device was used to carry the attack.

"These gives them (the militants) ample time to detonate the device even while they have long left the scene of the incident."



The spate of attacks claimed by the Niger Delta Avengers since February has hit oil production in Nigeria, exacerbating a financial crisis caused by low global crude prices since mid-2014.

The group wants international oil companies out of the region, whose people largely live in poverty despite the billions of dollars generated by oil extraction over decades.

It has also called for self-determination for the delta region.

Buhari yesterday appealed to militants to "give Nigeria a chance" at a time of economic hardship -- and that he would not stand for a break-up of the federation.
Government has told the Supreme Court that it will withdraw its appeal, filed by the erstwhile UPA government, challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict holding that the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is not a minority institution.

"We (government) have filed an affidavit stating that we will withdraw the appeal," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, adding that an affidavit in this regard has been filed by the Centre in the apex court.

Besides the Centre, the varsity administration had also filed a separate plea against the High Court verdict on the issue.

Rohatgi further stated that "AMU is not a minority institution" and referred to an apex court verdict of 1967, saying that it was not a minority institution as it was set up the government and not by Muslims.

Earlier too, the top law officer had told the apex court that the AMU was set up by a central act and moreover, a five-judge Constitution bench in 1967 in the Aziz Basha case had held that it was a "central university" and not a minority institution.

Rohatgi had said that to circumvent the effect of the judgement, an amendment was brought in 1981 in the central act to accord the minority status to the university which has recently been held as unconstitutional by the High Court.

"You cannot override the Aziz Basha judgement. Union of India's stand is that according minority status to AMU would be contrary to the Aziz Basha judgement and it still holds good," the top law officer had submitted before the bench in April which had permitted the Centre to file an application and an affidavit within eight weeks to withdraw the appeal filed by it.

Filing an affidavit, Rohtagi said, "We go by the Aziz Basha judgement and therefore we are going to withdraw the appeal" made by the erstwhile UPA government.

The Allahabad High Court had in January 2006 struck down the provision of the AMU (Amendment) Act, 1981 by which the University was accorded minority status.

The division bench of the High Court had upheld the order of its single judge passed in 2005 by which it termed as "unconstitutional" the granting of minority status to AMU and 50 per cent reservation to Muslims in 2004.

The Attorney General had on January 11 also made a



statement in the apex court that AMU could not be categorised as a minority institution.

"It is the stand of the Union of India that AMU is not a minority university. As the executive government at the Centre, we can't be seen as setting up a minority institution in a secular state," he had submitted, adding that "the previous stand (of the UPA government) was wrong."



He had said the law laid down in Aziz Basha case by a five-judge bench of the SC on October 20, 1967 still holds ground.

AMU Act was enacted in 1920 dissolving and incorporating Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental (MAO) College. AMU (Amendment) Act in 1951 was passed by Parliament to do away with compulsory instruction in Muslim theology. The amendment opened membership of the Court of AMU to non-Muslims.

Changes were introduced by the 1966 amendment to AMU Act, which was challenged before the Supreme Court by S Aziz Basha. The SC dismissed the petition in 1967 holding that AMU was not a minority institution because it had been established by an Act of Parliament and had not been set up by Muslims.

Another amendment to AMU Act in 1972 made the academic and executive councils more democratic and drastically reduced the nominees of the Visitor.
The Supreme Court has asked the Law Commission to review "all relevant aspects" relating to the law governing the legal profession, including issues like professional misconduct by lawyers, in consultation with all stakeholders.

"We request the Law Commission of India to go into all relevant aspects relating to regulation of legal profession in consultation with all concerned at an early date.

"We hope the Government of India will consider taking further appropriate steps in the light of report of the Law Commission within six months thereafter. The Central Government may file an appropriate affidavit in this regard within one month after expiry of one year," a three-judge bench headed by Justice Anil R Dave said.

The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, sought a review of the Advocates Act under which the the lawyers are governed.

The direction came in a verdict by which the apex court upheld the conviction of a Uttar Pradesh-based advocate for criminal contempt for intimidating and threatening a civil judge in Etah.

The bench upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court convicting advocate Mahipal Singh Rana of criminal contempt.

It also affirmed the direction of the High Court that Rana shall not be permitted to appear in courts in Etah district until he undergoes the punishment for the contempt.

The direction assumes importance in the context of the recent instances of alleged violence by lawyers in Delhi and Chennai and strikes by lawyers in different parts of the country including Telangana.

The verdict, which stressed the need for review of



the law governing the legal profession, said "there appears to be an urgent need to review the provisions of the Advocates Act dealing with regulatory mechanisms for the legal profession and other incidental issues, in consultation with all concerned."



The court also said, "we do feel it necessary to say something further in continuation of repeated observations earlier made by this Court referred to above.

"Legal profession being the most important component of justice delivery system, it must continue to perform its significant role and regulatory mechanism and should not be seen to be wanting in taking prompt action against any malpractice.

"We have noticed the inaction of the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh as well as the Bar Council of India inspite of direction in the impugned order of the High Court and inspite of notice to the Bar Council of India by this Court. We have also noticed the failure of all concerned to advert to the observations made by the Gujarat High Court 33 years ago," the bench said.

(Reopens LGD10)



The instant case of professional misconduct against the lawyer had begun in 2003 when the Civil judge (Senior Division), Etah wrote two letters to the District judge, Etah and the Registrar General of Allahabad High Court alleging misconduct on part of the lawyer in the court room on April 16, 2003.

As per the letters, the advocate had appeared in the court of the Civil judge and started threatening and shouting at him for passing an adverse order against his relative.

The Allahabad High Court initiated contempt proceedings on the basis of the letters against Rana. After hearing the parties concerned, the High Court sentenced Rana to simple imprisonment of two months with a fine of Rs 2,000.

The High Court also directed the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh to consider the facts contained in the complaint of the Civil Judge (Senior Division) Etah and initiate appropriate proceedings against the advocate for professional misconduct.

Rana had moved the apex court against the judgement of the High Court.

While upholding the conviction of the lawyer, the court said, "the sentence of imprisonment awarded to the appellant is set aside in view of his advanced age but sentence of fine and default sentence are upheld".

"Further direction that the appellant shall not be permitted to appear in courts in District Etah until he purges himself of contempt is also upheld.

"Under Section 24A of the Advocates Act, the enrollment of the appellant will stand suspended for two years from the date of this order; As a disciplinary measure for proved misconduct, the licence of the appellant will remain suspended for further five years," it said.
Even in the age of verified blue checkmarks, people and media outlets regularly get fooled by fake Twitter accounts, and it looks like ESPN is the latest victim there. Following the Chicago Bulls trade of Mike Dunleavy Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers to clear room for Dwyane Wade, ESPNews aired a segment on the trade that included tweets from a fake Dunleavy account. Heres video, via @HistoricalRyan:

They subsequently took plenty of flak for this from those who knew Dunleavy didnt have a Twitter account:

For those re-Tweeting Mike Dunleavy from @MikeDunleavyJr, that's not his account. He's not on Twitter.  K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) July 7, 2016

@ESPN airing tweets from fake Mike Dunleavy Twitter account  Mike Dunleavy doesn't have a Twitter. #DoYourHomework  Tommy Hanrahan (@thanny10) July 7, 2016

Whats really odd here is that the @MikeDunleavyJr account cited doesnt have a verified blue checkmark on Twitter, but it does on the screen. Does that mean ESPN added that in themselves to make it seem more credible? Thats the accusation they got from many:

By the way, ESPN used one of these tweets from that fake account, and ADDED A BLUE CHECKMARK THEMSELVES. https://t.co/2e4WKY47jy  Matt Spiegel (@MattSpiegel670) July 7, 2016

@BarstoolBigCat how about ESPN adding a blue check mark next to a fake account pic.twitter.com/rDkLr92vUp  Dan Sanchez (@sanchezdel8) July 7, 2016

However this happened, ESPN definitely has some explaining to do.

[@HistoricalRyan]
Suspected terrorist Mosiruddin has revealed his connections with top leaders of at least two terror groups and that he was deployed to spread their tentacles in West Bengal and other places in the eastern parts of the country, a top CID officer said today.

Mosiruddin, who was arrested from a running train earlier this week, revealed this when he along with his two accomplices Kallu Sheikh and Amin Sheikh was grilled jointly by the CID, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).

"During the interrogation, the interrogators got hold of information which established Musiruddin's links with Islamic State (ISIS) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)."



It was also found that Mosiruddin was called as Abu Al Musa Al by leaders of the terror groups and that he was close to ISIS' former chief in the country, Shafi Armar.

"He was in touch with Armar for quite some time and grew pretty close to him. They were in touch via social networking site and used fake email ids to communicate. He (Mosiruddin) was connected to other leaders of JMB also," the officer said.

During questioning, it was also found that Musiruddin had met a few top JMB leaders at least more than five times this year.

Musiruddin used to change his mobile numbers often, he said, adding that the suspected terrorist also used a specific app to stay in touch with the ISIS leaders and other members.

He was also actively linked to a few fundamentalist groups when he was pursuing graduation from a city college.

"He was pursuing graduation at Surendranath College in the city and had studied there till second year. Even from those days he was actively involved with fundamentalists," the officer said.

On the purpose of Musiruddin's recent visit to West Bengal after almost six years in Tamil Nadu's Trippur, where he was staying with his family and two children, the CID officer said "Though he is giving us different stories, we have got definite clues that Musiruddin was here to kill someone staying at his native Labhpur village in Birbhum district to settle an old score. Kallu Sheikh and Amin Sheikh were to help him in the act."



For this purpose Musiruddin had bought from New Market here the 13-inch-long knife, which was seized when he was apprehended from Vishwa Bharati Fast Passenger train at Amadpur in Burdwan district on Monday.

Besides, he also had plans to visit Nepal but its purpose was still not clear to the sleuths, he said.

Musiruddin's home at RRB Road in Trippur district's had



been raided by the sleuths yesterday and a laptop was seized.

His wife had also been interrogated.

The sleuths have also detained two more persons - Chandan Sheikh and Swapan Sheikh from Labhpur and they have been brought to Kolkata for questioning.

"From Musiruddin's mobile phone call list we found that several calls were made to these persons. It seems that he was in touch with several youths from the area. We are checking whether he was intending to build up a module in the state," the officer said.

Meanwhile, a Howrah court during the day remanded Kallu Sheikh and Amin Sheikh to police custody for 14 days.

After being apprehended, the sleuths seized an improvised small firearm and three rounds of bullets, besides the sharp weapon from Musiruddin.

On Monday, he had got down at Howrah station, went to Esplanade where he bought the sharp weapon and returned to it to board the train to return to Labhpur, the officer said.

Acting on an information that he was returning to Kolkata on Monday, CID tracked his movements in the city and arrested him from Burdwan station in the night.

CID sources said NIA sleuths had been keeping an eye on Mosiruddin for quite some time.

Burdwan district entered the terror map in October, 2014 when two suspected JMB terrorists were killed while making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at a rented house at Khagragarh.

The NIA arrested a mechanical engineering student on suspicion of being a terrorist from Durgapur in March. Another person, suspected to be a Bangladeshi militant, was also arrested from Asansol late.
Taking serious note of the alleged manhandling of journalists by police here, the Madhya Pradesh government has ordered to register an FIR against the accused policemen, a senior official said today.

The order to register the FIR against the accused policemen was given after Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Home Minister Bhupendra Singh visited the Government JP Hospital to enquire about the condition of injured scribes last evening, the official said.

The accused policemen have already been placed under suspension.

State Home Minister ordered to register FIR against the accused policemen, including Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Raghuveer Singh Dangi and others, after meeting the injured journalists, Krishnamohan Tiwari and Vijay Prabhat Shukla, the official said.

Chouhan said he was pained over the incident and added that he will ensure policemen do not behave in such manner with anyone in future.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the matter, Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission's acting Chairman V M Kanwar directed police to submit a report within a week on the issue.

Senior Congress leader and the party's chief whip in Lok Sabha, Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident.

"Instead of providing security to the people, police is harassing innocent journalists in such a manner," Scindia said.

Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi and Manak Agrawal also visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured journalists.

Three policemen were earlier placed under suspension and a police station in-charge was line-attached here for allegedly manhandling two journalists of a national Hindi daily after dubbing them as "activists" of banned outfit SIMI.

ASI Dangi and head constables Subhash Tyagi and Santosh Yadav were suspended, while Awadhpuri police station in-charge Shikha Vaish was line attached (removal from field duties).

The incident took place in the wee hours of Tuesday when the two scribes were returning home after their duties.
Maharashtra government has asked Mumbai Police to conduct a probe into controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.

"I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI today.

Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar.

Naik has denied propagating terrorism in any way.

"I totally disagree (with suggestion) that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged anyone to kill another persons - Muslim or non-Muslim," said Naik, who has been banned in a few countries.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will participate in 'INNOPROM 2016', an international industrial exhibition, to be held in Russia from July 11 to promote investments in the state.

He will also visit Astana, the newly-constructed capital of Kazakhstan, to study the best practices for the construction of AP's permanent capital Amaravati, coming up near Vijayawada.

"He (Naidu) will participate in 'INNOPROM 2016' which one part of the tour to Russia. We are also visiting Kazakhstan in order to see their newly-constructed capital Astana," Parakala Prabhakar, Advisor (Communications) to the state government, told reporters here today.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up our Chief Minister after his return from Kazakhstan last year and said that Astana is very beautiful, newly-constructed capital with all the modern facilities. So we must go and take the best practices from there," he said.

India is a partner country for 'INNOPROM 2016' and Naidu's counterparts Devendra Fadnavis from Maharashtra and Vasundhara Raje from Rajasthan are also attending the four-day event.

Delegations from other states, including Gujarat and Jharkhand, would also participate in the event.

Prabhakar said Naidu's agenda includes addressing the session on the theme Industrial Net (how internet, Internet of Things and modern technology is used in production of industrial goods and agriculture), showcasing the opportunities in AP and the resources in the state and meeting prominent government leaders of Russia.

A number of bilateral meetings with business leaders coming from different parts of the world have been scheduled, Prabhakar added.

Representatives from about 75 countries are participating in the INNOPROM event.

He said business leaders of international companies already operating in Russia have also sought appointments with the CM.

Andhra Pradesh has a special pavilion in 'INNOPROM 2016', said Prabhakar, who is part of Naidu's delegation.
Most parts of north India remained dry today with little or no rain in several states including Rajasthan, New Delhi, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana even as two persons were killed in lightning in Uttar Pradesh.

The national capital received no rainfall since yesterday and the maximum temperature settled at 36.9 degrees Celsius, near normal for this time of the year.

The IMD observatory at Safdarjung has forecast generally clody sky for tomorrow.

In Rajasthan, no significant rainfall was recorded across the state since morning though traces of precipitation were recorded in Pilani towards the evening.

Churu recorded a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees Celsius followed by Ganganagar (41) Bikaner, and Jaipur (38.6 each).

In Punjab and Haryana, notwithstanding the onset of monsoon few days back, absence of any significant rainfall led to sultry weather conditions today.

Director of Chandigarh's MeT Department, Surinder Paul said, "Sometimes, it happens (that monsoon slows down after onset). But it will again revive in next 2-3 days...We are expecting some rains on July 9, 10 and 11".

Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, up two notches against normal.

In Uttar Pradesh where monsoon rains have been normal so far, two minor girls were killed after being struck by lightning in separate incidents in Pratagarh yesterday.

Lalitpur recorded 7 cms of rainfall, Mahrauni and Rasra (6 cms each) and Mauranipur 5 cms.

After four days of rains in various parts of Bihar including Patna, it was a sunny day today with high temperature and humidity in the state capital.

The state capital recorded the maximum temperature of 33.6 degrees Celsius with humidity of 85 per cent in the morning and 77 per cent in the evening.

There was little to medium rainfall in different parts of West Bengal with Cooch Behar (34.6 mm) recording the highest precipitation.

In Gangetic West Bengal, Bankura and Burdwan recorded 11.0 mm and 14.2 mm rainfall respectively, while in other places there was little or no rain since yesterday, according to the Met department.

IMD said heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy falls occurred at isolated places over east Madhya Pradesh and heavy over western part of the state, Assam, Meghalaya, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Coastal Karnataka during the past 24 hours ending at 0830 hours IST of today.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his heavily guarded African tour this week, saying he knew "nothing" of it.

Netanyahu said he was learning about the reports of an assassination attempt for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa. "The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it," Netanyahu said.

He made the remarks in response to a reporter's question following an anonymously sourced report in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida. Kenyan officials also denied there was an effort to kill Netanyahu.

"An attempted assassination can't be secret. It has to be something visible, and to my knowledge there was absolutely nothing of the sort," Kenya's Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press.

"I'm not aware, and there was no such thing at all. Those are lies," Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said a report that the motorcade changed its route because of an explosives threat was "simply not true."



The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.

Netanyahu's four-nation Africa visit is the first to sub- Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades.

He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations, which cut or limited their relationships with Israel in the 1970s under pressure from Arab countries. African states were also opposed to Israel's close ties to South Africa's apartheid government.

Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognised as a non-member observer state in 2012.

Netanyahu and Desalegn said today they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, a theme that Netanyahu has repeated often during his African tour, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more. Netanyahu also pledged to allow Ethiopian Jews remaining in Ethiopia to move to Israel.

"We have a commitment and we are keeping it on a humanitarian basis and on the basis of family reunifications. It will take place in the current budget," Netanyahu said.
In the wake of recent terror attacks in Bangladesh, Special Operations Group (SOG) of the city police today detained nine Bangladeshi nationals who were living and working here illegally.

The accused have been kept under detention for further questioning about their possible involvement in any criminal activity, an official release issued by the SOG said.

"Acting on a specific tip-off that some Bangladeshis will gather at Pirana toll plaza to celebrate Eid this evening, a team of SOG kept a watch near the spot on the outskirts of the city and detained the nine persons," the release said.

"All of them are residents of different parts of Bangladesh and had allegedly entered India after crossing the border illegally," it said.

They have been identified as Mitthu Majid Shaikh (33), Haasib Shaikh (22), Lablu Mulla (30), Torikul Mulla (35), Kalu Fakir (22), Sohidul Islam (32), Ramzan Shaikh (26), Alim Kazi (36) and Babu Fakir (40).

All of them were working here as labourers and living in various parts of the city. In the primary questioning, all of them admitted to have crossed the border and entered India illegally, the SOG claimed.

"They had come to the city a couple of months back after illegally crossing the Indo-Bangladesh border. We have detained them in the wake of recent terror strikes in Bangladesh. We need to find out if they are associated with any criminal activity or having any links with terror outfits," said Assistant Commissioner of Police, SOG, B C Solanki said.

"The nine accused will now be questioned by a joint interrogation team, which will have officials of state police, state intelligence and officials of central security agencies. If we don't find anything suspicious, we will start the process of their deportation, as they have been living here illegally," the ACP added.
Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has complained to SpiceJet for extending VIP treatment to him saying there is no need for extra courtesy.

Tankha is a Congress member recently elected to the Upper House.

According to Tankha, after landing at the Delhi airport in a SpiceJet flight from Jabalpur on Wednesday, the airline staff ferried just him and two others in a bus from the de-boarding area to the arrival area.

Following the incident, he has written to the airline saying that he does not want any special treatment because of being a MP.

"All of us are equal, everybody is respected and we should all stand in the queue and wait for our turn. I am very happy travelling with my fellow passengers. I felt bad and embarrassed," he told a channel.

The bus that used to take 30 people moved with just three. "I wonder why the three of us are being taken alone? I protested and I told that it is not acceptable," he said.

When contacted, SpiceJet General Manager (Corporate Affairs) Ajay Jasra said, "We have not received any request from the Member of Parliament. Every passenger is important to us. We will keep giving our best services to all.
Pakistan's lonely elephant Kaavan has become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by music icon Cher, but efforts to improve the pachyderm's lot appear limited.

The 32-year-old Asian elephant is suffering from "mental illness", and without a better habitat his future is bleak even if a long-promised new mate finally arrives, experts told AFP.

Outrage over Kaavan's treatment went global -- with a petition garnering over 200,000 signatures -- after it emerged he was being chained at the Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan's leafy capital.

Zoo officials have said this is no longer the case, and that Kaavan just needs a new mate after his previous partner died in 2012.

But his behaviour -- including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly -- demonstrates "a kind of mental illness", said Safwan Shahab Ahmad, the vice chairman of Pakistan Wildlife Foundation.

Ahmad, who has conducted detailed research on Kaavan since the 1990s, also slammed the lack of trained experts to care for the elephant, saying he needs more space and a pen better adapted to his natural forest habitat.

Activists say he has insufficient shelter from Islamabad's searing summer temperatures, which can rise to above 40 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

Asian elephants can roam thousands of kilometres through deep tropical and subtropical forests, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

In contrast, Kaavan's 90 by 140 metre (100 by 150 yard) pen has almost no foliage, and only limited shade is provided.

"Give Kaavan deep bushes and artificial showering and you will see him enjoying the environment," said Ahmad, who has written several research papers on the elephant.

Ahmad was backed by mammalogy expert Dr Wasim Ahmad Khan, who said captivity "will shorten his life if we don't take care of his environment".

Arriving as a one-year-old in 1985 from Sri Lanka, Kaavan was temporarily held in chains in 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about increasingly violent tendencies, but he was freed later that year after an outcry.

His mate Saheli, who arrived also from Sri Lanka in 1990, died in 2012, and last year it emerged that Kaavan was regularly being chained once more -- for several hours a day.

Scores of people signed a petition sent to zoo authorities and Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in protest, and the zoo told AFP during a visit earlier this month that the elephant is no longer being restrained.
PHOENIX -- It may not be the heady days of a decade ago.

But consumer confidence in Arizona now is the highest it's been since the wheels came off the economy.

The new report by the Behavior Research Center puts the confidence index for the state at 88.4. That's based on a scale of 100 for what Arizonans were feeling in 1985.

And while that may not seem like much, it's literally double where it was at the beginning of 2009 in the depths of the recession.

The index is based on how Arizonans see both current and future employment and business conditions.

What makes all that important is it can be self-fulfilling: If consumers believe things are getting better, they're more likely to spend money. And the increased spending boosts the economy, increasing the demand for products and services which, in turn, means companies need to hire more people.

"It is certainly a good signal to retailers that the second half of the year may be very active,'' said pollster Earl de Berge.

Economist Dennis Hoffman of the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University echoed that optimist.

"It's good that folks are feeling good,'' he said.

Hoffman said the numbers reflect what has been solid job growth in the private sector in Arizona. The most recent figures show the state adding 74,900 jobs year over year, an increase of 3.4 percent.

And Hoffman said that government jobs, notably in K-12 education, may pick up with schools getting a bump of new money from voter approval of Proposition 123.

But Hoffman also noted the survey of 700 adult heads of household was conducted between June 6 and 19. That was before voters in Great Britain approved "Brexit'' and withdrawal from the European Union.

There was an immediate drop in the U.S. stock market, though investors seem to now be taking a more tempered look at the vote. Hoffman said while the effect will be the greatest in Great Britain, it remains to be seen how the fallout from that affects the rest of the world.

And then there's the question of whether some of the factors that led to the Brexit vote exist elsewhere -- including here.

"Is there a latent or underlying distrust of institutions and establishments like there apparently is in Britain?'' Hoffman explained. "Is that a part of what the Arizona psyche is?''

And then there's politics.

"Will they be disappointed by the election and will they hunker down and not spend?'' he mused.

The brightest spot in the survey, Hoffman said, has been Pima County where optimism has really perked up. gaining more than 13 points.

But here, too, there's a bit of a mix.

Asked about current business conditions, just 19 percent of those questioned in Pima County rate them as good, compared with 34 percent in Maricopa County and 27 percent in the other 13 counties.

And more than a third of Pima residents think jobs remain hard to get, versus 22 percent in Maricopa County. Still, that's better than the rest of the state where half of those who responded said it's hard to find a job.

Hoffman said that's not surprising given the limited mix of the Pima economy.

He said the state's universities have had "a tough go.'' But Hoffman pointed out that the University of Arizona is a much bigger share of Pima employment than Arizona State University is to Maricopa.

And there's the underlying weakness in defense and aerospace which also had a big impact on Pima County.

Yet with all that, optimism remains that things will get better.

Consider: Only 6 percent of Pima residents think there will be fewer jobs in six months. That compares with 17 percent in Maricopa County.

And 30 percent of those questioned in Pima County think jobs will be more available by the end of the year, versus 25 percent in Maricopa County.

But while Pima residents think there will be more jobs, they're not convinced they're going to be earning any more.

Just 14 percent of Pima residents think family income six months from now will be higher, a number on par with the views of those in rural areas; the figure is nearly double in Maricopa County.
Acting on directives of Union Finance Ministry, the Puducherry government has set up a five-member committee to monitor implementation of the various Centre-sponsored social security schemes in the union territory.

The committee headed by the Chief Secretary comprised the Nodal Officer of the finance ministry, Secretary of Department of Rural Development Puducherry, the nodal officer of the State Level Bankers Committee and the Project Director of District Rural Development Agency, an official release said today.

It has been formed in response to directives of Finance MinisterArun Jaitley to monitor the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojajana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, the Atal Pension Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, it added.

The panel will settle the grievances and hold regular reviews for resolution of number of issues requiring immediate attention, the release said.
A committee has been set up to monitor the conditions of members of Bru community, who were repatriated from the refugee camps of Tripura, Mamit district Deputy Commissioner Lalbiaksangi said today.

The panel will oversee the conditions and problems faced by the repatriated Brus and submit a report to the state government and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Lalbiaksangi told PTI over phone from Mamit.

She said the committee was constituted in view of the proposed resumption of repatriation process scheduled to commence from November this year.

The committee was constituted following the directions of Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary (Northeast), Ministry of Home Affairs, during his visit to Damdiai in Mizoram-Tripura- Bangladesh border district of Mamit on Saturday.

The DC said the Monitoring Committee is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner and has three official members from the district administration and three members from the Bru community.

According to the Road Map-V for Bru Repatriation, approved recently by the MHA, 3,445 Bru families were proposed to be repatriated from the relief camps in Tripura.

The effort to repatriate 3,500 Bru families during June to September last year failed as not a single Bru came forward in their respective relief camps before the Mizoram officials, to be identified as bona fide residents of Mizoram.

Thousands of Bru families fled Mizoram and migrated to Tripura due to communal tension triggered by a murder inside the Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border Dampa Tiger Reserve by suspected Bru militants on October 21, 1997.

The first effort to repatriate them from November 16, 2009, was not only scuttled by another murder, but triggered another round of exodus.

Though a number of Bru families returned to Mizoram during repeated repatriation processes and some of them returned on their own, a sizable number of families remained in the neighbouring state.
Animal rights group PETA today hit out at two medical students who were arrested for hurling a from a terrace and sought their expulsion from their medical institution.

"It is despicable that people would get their kicks from filming themselves throwing a off a roof," PETA India CEO Poorva Joshipura said in a statement.

Persons showing such a "shocking" lack of regard for life should be not allowed to practice medicine, she said, adding, "The students should be expelled".

The group also took up the demand of the expulsion of the two students -- Gowtham Sudarshan and Ashish Pal, with the authorities of their college.

"Acts of cruelty to animals like this one are indicative of a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals often don't just stop there, many of them move on to hurting other animals, children, women or other people," Bhuvaneshwari Gupta, Associate Manager of Campaigns, PETA, said in a letter to the management of the private institution.

Urging the institute to expel these students if found guilty, the letter said medical students are supposed to help, not hurt, others.

"Anyone who is able to commit a heinous act like this cannot be trusted to become a doctor," Gupta said.

Sudarshan, a final year MBBS student, had flung the from the terrace of a building here and the act was allegedly recorded by his friend Pal.

After the shocking video went viral and drew outrage on social media, animal welfare activists lodged a complaint with the police, which booked them for cruel treatment meted out to an animal under Indian Penal Code's (IPC) sections 428 and 429 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Sec 11 (1-a).

The duo were arrested yesterday but later released on bail.
Philippine government forces fought hundreds of Islamic militants on two remote islands today, with the military aircraft-backed campaign leaving up to 10 people dead, the army said.

The gun battles on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan followed orders by new President Rodrigo Duterte for the security services to go after the Abu Sayyaf, which recently beheaded two foreign hostages and is also blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history.

The fighting was continuing late today with more troops being rushed in, backed by military aircraft and artillery, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan told reporters.

"Continuous indirect fire support and air strikes are being done and additional troops were deployed," he added without giving details.

Army troops hunting down Abu Sayyaf units clashed with about 130 of the gunmen near the Jolo town of Patikul, killing a soldier and wounding six others, Tan said.

Military intelligence reports later determined that nine Abu Sayyaf members were also killed and 13 others wounded, he added.

Meanwhile up to 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been fighting running gun battles with government forces in three Basilan towns since late yesterday, Tan said, but did not say if there were casualties.

The Jolo militants are believed to be holding a Norwegian resort manager abducted elsewhere in the south in September last year and a Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped in 2012.

Tan did not reply when asked about the impact of the fighting on the hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded in April and June two Canadian tourists who were kidnapped along with the Norwegian, while a Filipina who was abducted with them was freed last month.

The Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of a few hundred Islamic militants, formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, that has earned millions of dollars from kidnappings-for-ransom.

Although its leaders have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, analysts say they are mainly focused on lucrative kidnappings.

Last month, as Duterte prepared to assume office after winning the May presidential elections by landslide on a law and order platform, he ordered the military defeat the Abu Sayyaf.

"Our first priority is the Abu Sayyaf because that is the order of our new president: address the Abu Sayyaf immediately so we can neutralise them," Delfin Lorenzana told reporters before he was sworn in as defence secretary.
Defending the movement of its submarines in the Indian Ocean as "legitimate" and in accordance with "international practices", China today said it never objected to the presence of Indian naval ships in the disputed South China Sea as long they follow the principles of freedom of navigation.

"Talking about the submarines, the Chinese submarines cross some of sea areas and those crossings are legitimate and legal and follow the international practices," China's defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said during a media interaction here, when asked about the movement of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean area which has raised India's concerns.

Asked if the movement of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean is legitimate then why China considers Indian naval ships presence as "wrong", Yang said China has never taken such a stand.

"I want to point out one thing. You said when the Indian ships enter the SCS (we are saying) it is wrong. Where did you hear that. I am from the Ministry of Defence and I have never said that," he said.

"If it is done in accordance with the international law and as freedom of navigation, that should be lawful. Such movement should be helpful for country-to-country relations and for peace and stability in the region. All those kind of moves should be welcomed," he said.

China claims almost all of South China Sea which is disputed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

A UN tribunal is set to deliver its verdict on the Philippines' petition challenging China's claims on July 12. Beijing which boycotted its proceedings said it will not honour the judgment.

While asserting its claims on the SCS, China has been saying that it never obstructed freedom of navigation, which India, US and other international community have been emphasising as it is the busiest commercial shipping route.

But at the same time China raised vociferous objections to US naval ships in the area especially in the waters close to artificial islands built by it.

On the deployment of US naval ships in the SCS, Yang said some countries from outside the region come to SCS under "various pretexts" of their self interests and in an attempt to make provocations and troubles.

"This has posed threat to peace and stability in the region. China is not afraid of them," he said, adding that Chinese military is "not afraid of threats".

"The military fleet coming to the SCS, what is their purpose? Is their purpose peaceful? Are they coming for a friendly visit? Or for a call on the Ports? They are welcome, but if they come for making trouble we have our counter- measures," he said.

In May this year, four ships of the Indian Navy set out for a two and a half month long operational deployment to the South China Sea and North Western Pacific.

Indian naval ships also took part in the Malabar exercises along with Japanese and US naval vessels in the western Pacific recently.

China has, however, objected to India taking part in the oil exploration at the invitation of Vietnam saying it is disputed territory.

In recent years, China has been deploying submarines in



the naval escort missions taking part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden in the Somali coast. Many questions have been raised why China has to deploy submarines for such operations.

Yang said that India and China were working well together in the Indian Ocean Region, as evident in the way both countries have closely coordinated anti-piracy escort missions in the Gulf of Aden.

"Since 2008, China's navy has sent over 23 fleets to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia for escort missions and provided more than 6,000 services. We have cooperated well with the Indian Navy," he said.

On India-China relations, Yang, Director General of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of National Defence, said "Thanks to efforts of leaders, our bilateral relationship is developing very steadily and we maintained high-level strategic communication between the two militaries."



"In terms of border exchanges we also maintained very good communication and both the countries have been working very hard to maintain peace tranquility along the border," he said, adding the two armies have deepened cooperation in some technical areas.

"China hopes we will further increase cooperation and exchanges with the Indian military going forward," he said.

On Chinese military functioning under the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), Yang said despite the reforms being carried out, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will continue to function under the instructions of the party and President Xi Jinping.

"Chinese military functions under the leadership of the party and listens to the instructions of President Xi and Central Military Commission (CMC). It will never change no matter what happens in our reforms and opening up. So the military will listen to the command and direction of the party. That will never change," he said.
Prime Minister arrived in Mozambique on Thursday, as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
Prime Minister arrived in South Africa as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in the economic sphere.

"In the footsteps of history. PM @narendramodi arrives in Pretoria for the second leg of his Africa tour," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Pretorio.

"Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of Relations & Cooperation and Lindiwe Zulu, Minister for Small business welcome PM to SA," he said.

During his South Africa visit, Modi will meet President Jacob Zuma and also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President.

"In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," Modi had earlier said.

Modi arrived in Mozambique this morning in the first leg of his five-day tour.

Earlier in Mozambique, Modi held wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and the two countries agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

Modi will also travel to Tanzania and Kenya.
Police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI.

He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."



Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Wednesday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.
Calling Islamic preacher Zakir Nayek's speeches "highly objectionable", government today said the Home Ministry will take appropriate action after studying them.

"The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable," Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here.

Naidu's remarks came a day after Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher, whose speeches are believed to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka.

"Zakir Nayek's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken," he had said.
President Pranab Mukherjee condemned the terrorist attack in Bangladesh today and said India will extend every support possible to enable the government there to defeat forces whose goal is to spread hatred, chaos and instability.

Mukherjee expressed shock and distress after hearing about the attack in Kishoreganj on the day of Eid.

"I condemn the perpetrators of this attack in the strongest of terms. This is the second terrorist attack in a week occurring in Bangladesh. The people and government are engaged in a brave struggle against the evil forces of extremism and violence.

"The government of India will strongly stand by our brothers and sisters of Bangladesh in this fight. We will extend every support possible to enable the Bangladesh government defeat these forces whose goal is to spread hatred, chaos and instability," the President said in a statement.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said on Thursday, was swiftly emerging as a global hub of medical institutions and expressed hope that people across the world would come to the state to avail healthcare facilities.

Inaugurating Chiropractic and Massage Therapy institutes at Ranbaj Hospital here, Badal said these state-of-the-art medical institutions would provide the best services in their fields.

He said it was a matter of pride for Punjab, which has taken a lead in setting up these institutions in collaboration with Canadian partners, first of their kind in the country.

Highlighting achievements in the medical sector, the Chief Minister said was providing free treatment to patients suffering from Cancer and Hepatitis C.

Advanced Cancer Treatment Centres have also been set up in Government Medical Colleges in Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot besides institutes at Bathinda and PGI Satellite Hospital in Sangrur.

Similarly, Bhagat Puran Singh Insurance scheme covering nearly half of state's population had already been started to provide cashless treatment, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Consul General of Canada, Chandigarh, Christopher Gibbins, said this venture set up here with the support of Canadian partners would help the infrastructure in the state.
Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh today criticised the bureaucracy in Haryana for "neglecting" the long-standing demand for creation of a Gurgaon Development Authority, saying, babus sitting in Chandigarh often make policies for Gurgaon "without even knowing its ABC".

"Muti-agencies cannot develop Gurgaon as a city. The state government whether of Congress or at present BJP, neglects Gurgaon every time....And previous Hooda government spent al Gurgaon's fund in Rohtak," Singh alleged.

Clamour has been growing for establishing a GDA, for the development of the city, after a demand for it were made several years ago and the BJP minister has been supportive of it.

"The previous (Hooda) government, and in this government too, small politicians and babus sitting in Chandigarh often make policies and take decision for the development of Gurgaon. They even may not know the ABC of Gurgaon and it is a ground reality that they have not touched the boundaries of Gurgaon in their whole life and decide the fortune of Gurgaon," Singh alleged.

Before making policies, they do not take the views of Gurgaon residents and their needs, he claimed.

Singh, a Gurgaon MP, was speaking at a seminar here organised by Haryana Institute of Public Administration.

He left Congress before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections to join BJP and had been vocal about the issue during Bhupinder Singh Hooda's dispensation too.

"I have always been in favor of making a nodal body, GDA, for Gurgaon such as other cities have Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Ghaziabad Development Authority for development of cities. This time also, I demand it for the welfare of Gurgaon and for development and growth of the new and old part of the city," he said.

"Besides, we also demand an individual strong body, NCR Development Authority, for the development of Haryana districts falling under NCR, such as Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari, Mahendragarh, Rohtak, Jhajjar.

Gurgaon MLA Umesh Aggarwal pointed out that "there should a GDA for doing long-term developmental work. From the last two decades, Gurgaon has only one government hospital and a government college.
Miffed over the CPI(M)'s new-found affinity for the Congress, the Revolutionary Socialist Party has threatened to quit the Front if the Marxist party decides to stay with the Congress.

"We have told the CPI(M) clearly that there will be no alliance, front or understanding with Congress. We are opposed to both Congress and BJP. For us both are equal," RSP state secretary Kshiti Goswami said.

"We all had paid a heavy price by forging an alliance with Congress. If the Bengal CPI(M) decides to continue their alliance or understanding with Congress, it would be next to impossible for RSP to stay in the Front," he told.

The 10-party Front, which was in power in West Bengal between 1977 and 2011, comprises CPI(M), RSP, CPI and Forward Bloc as the other major partners.

According to senior Left Front leaders, RSP, FB and CPI had been opposed to the idea of forging an alliance with Congress ahead of the 2016 Assembly polls. It was at the insistence of a section of CPI(M) leaders, who had forayed the idea of 'people's alliance', that Front partners had to give in to the demands of CPI(M).

The LF-Congress combine failed to put up a creditable performance against Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.

In the 294-member House, LF won 32 seats with CPI(M) bagging 26, RSP 3, Forward Bloc 2 and CPI 1. In the 2011 Assembly polls in which TMC wrested power, LF had captured 62 seats including CPI(M)'s 40. The combined vote share of the Left Front was also reduced to nearly 24% from 41% in 2011.

"What did the Left achieve by forging an alliance with Congress? The CPI(M) compromised Left unity by forging an opportunist political alliance with Congress. And they are yet to take lessons from the humiliating defeat. We will not tolerate such big brotherly attitude in the Left Front," Goswami said.

Forward Bloc went a step ahead, saying Left Front is not a personal property of CPI(M) and it is free to leave the Front if they want to ally with Congress.

"The Left Front is a product of mass movements. It is not a personal property of CPI(M)that we have to accept everything they say. We are partners. If CPI(M) is so keen in continuing the alliance with Congress, they should leave Left Front and form a front with Congress," senior Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee said.
Washington's move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea today, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit state.

The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country's system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries".

Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.

"The government... Notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... Of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The measure is expected to raise the international community's awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations of human rights are being committed, while greatly helping intensify international discussions on the issue and strengthening relevant measures."



Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the measure was an "important step forward in achieving justice for the countless victims of human rights abuses in North Korea".

He added the US was "leading the international community to send a clear message to mid-level North Korean officials that obeying orders to violate rights could have very negative consequences for them".

Robertson called for Washington to extend the blacklist and to make clear to Pyongyang "that taking rights abusing decisions will have consequences because the world is closely watching and will judge them accordingly".

South Korean analysts said the North was likely to react angrily at what North Koreans could perceive as a "personal insult" against Kim.

"There will be a bombardment of diatribes from North Korea against the US as the military, government agencies and various social groups are likely to fall over themselves to prove their loyalty to Kim", Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

But the North is likely to wait until the start of a massive annual military exercise the United Sates and South Korea plan in August to flex its military muscle, he said.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Dongguk Univesity said the North would ratchet up tension but it would stop short of conducting another nuclear test to avoid alienating further its main ally China.

Defying international sanctions, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a missile test, disguised as a satellite launch, in the following month.
SBI Card, a subsidiary of State Bank of India (SBI), would go for co-branding of credit cards with more other banks which do not have big back-office support, an official said.

"We are talking with several other banks for co-branding of credit cards. These banks belong both in the public sector and small private sector banks", CEO of Vijay Jasuja told reporters here today.

He said since is a separate company, it was able to have co-branding with other banks while others do not have that advantage since they were operating from their credit cards division.

already has co-branding with Karur Vysya Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Federal Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

Jasuja said that GE, which was one of the shareholders of SBI Cards, would make an exit in September or October this year.

Launching the SBI Elite credit card, he said that SBI Card has a customer base of 3.75 million and the target is to add one million this fiscal.

In terms of market share, it was 15% in terms of numbers, 15% in terms of assets outstanding and 12% in terms of spends.

Currently it enjoys the number three position in the credit cards industry in the country, he said.
A day before the expansion of the Maharashtra Cabinet, workers burnt an effigy of Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar on Thursday, over his "demon" remark, which apparently alluded to frequent digs and taunts took by the Sena at the senior partner.

Speaking at a party meet here last evening, Shelar, without naming Shiv Sena, had invoked a fable from 'Mahabharat', of a "small demon making too much of a noise".

Shelar also went on to add that BJP's 'Lord Krishna', a reference to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, would ensure that this demon would be bottled during the ensuing Mumbai civic polls.

On Thursday, Shelar said his analogy was twisted by media to create tension in the government.

"I had narrated that tale only with the aim of making BJP workers understand that in every election, the tools are different," Shelar said.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis cabinet is slated to be expanded on Friday, but there is no word yet on getting any additional berth, after the BJP gave its ally the could shoulder in the Union Cabinet expansion two days back.

The state Cabinet expansion ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, at Mantralaya, the state secretariat.
UK business minister Sajid Javid will call on Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday and discuss ways to strengthen and economic ties between the two countries.

"Secretary of State for Business and President Board of Trade, UK - Sajid Javid to call on Smt @nsitharaman tomorrow," Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a tweet on Thursday.

The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of Britain's decision to exit from the European Union, with which India is negotiating a comprehensive free agreement.

With this decision, India will have to rework the proposed agreement.

The British minister is also set to hold talks with senior management of Tata Steel in Mumbai in connection with the sale of its unit in the UK.

CII President Naushad Forbes had recently said that there is a lot of merit now in negotiating a separate free agreement with the UK.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at $14 billion in 2015-16 as against $14.33 billion in 2014-15.

India has received $23.10 billion FDI from Britain during April 2000 and March 2016.
Uttarakhand BJP chief Ajay Bhatt today dared Chief Minister Harish Rawat to an open debate on the sting CD "if he had the moral courage".

"If the Chief Minister has even an iota of moral courage left in him, he should come to Gandhi Park or any other public place and debate the sting operation with me before the people and media," he said.

The sting in which Rawat was purportedly shown negotiating a deal to buy back support of disgruntled Congress MLAs during a recent political crisis in the state is being probed by CBI.

If the Chief Minister has to say something in explanation or in his own defence, he should say it in public where the people and the media are free to ask him questions, said Bhatt.

If Rawat feels he is innocent, why is he shying away from a CBI probe into it and making rounds of courts to have it stalled, he asked.
Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan today alleged that it was due to the failure of Tamil Nadu police intelligence wing that a suspected ISIS terrorist was able to reside and run a shop in neighbouring Tiruppur.

Referring to the arrest of Mosiruddin alias Mosialias Manju from a train in West Bengal few days ago, Radhakrishnan said because of the intelligence failure, the suspected terrorist could reside and run a provision shop in Tiruppur.

"The present police intelligence system is too poor in Tamil Nadu and because of such failure, he and his family was able to reside and run a shop in Tiruppur for the past six years and made contacts with ISIS," Radhakrishnan told reporters here.

"So the Tamil Nadu Government should improve the Intelligence system of police and also efforts should be taken to prevent thefts, murders, rape and other anti-social activities", the Union Minister of State for Shipping and Ports said.

Central Intelligence agencies and Tamil Nadu police had taken into custody the wife and some family members of Mosiruddin in Tiruppur district on Wednesday night for questioning.

Radhakrishnan welcomed the Centre's decision to rename the Madras High Court as Chennai High Court.

He also thanked the Prime Minister for approving the proposal to build a major port at Enayam near Colachel in the state.
Aiming at providing a safe workplace, has initiated several measures to prevent occurrence of dengue at its Kalinganagar Steel Plant in Jajpur district of Odisha.

As a part of this initiative, the Occupational Health Services Department of Kalinganagar plant, in collaboration with Public Health team of JUSCO (Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company), has taken up several measures, a company release said on Thursday.

Apart from housekeeping, anti-larval activity has been taken up in the plant premises and labour colonies. Post identifying the possible breeding sites, larvicidal spray is being carried out regularly at the plant site to eliminate the formation of mosquito larva.

The anti-larval squad has been engaged for this activity throughout the plant area and the labour colonies. Awareness campaign on dengue has also started for labourers and employees.

A Dengue Action Team has been formed and a Control Room has been set up for monitoring Vector Control Activities.

While thermal fogging operations are going on in the plant area, Cold Fogging has been taken up for indoor areas like offices. Entire plant has been divided into 15 zones for better monitoring of various activities on dengue prevention on a day to day basis, it said.

Similarly at Joda, has initiated fogging and anti-larvae spray from the month of May this year. This was followed by awareness campaign on dengue in the operational areas and nearby villages.

Other activities which are lined up are classroom sessions and street corner play to reach out to maximum number of people, it said.

A host of activities are planned for the coming months to combat the dengue menace. While the hospitals located in the mining areas are well prepared, no cases of dengue have been reported so far.

In Sukinda, Tata Steel has also taken number of pro-active measures like Anti-Larva Spray, Thermal Fogging to combat dengue in and around the mining area, the release said.
Wrong again.

The same class of poised and polished experts who assured us that Donald Trump would never become the Republican nominee turned out to be equally ignorant about British politics as voters rejected their counsel, defied their wishes and opted to leave the European Union.

With Clintonian brazenness, these panjandrums never took a moment to ask, why were we so wrong? Instead, they trotted out their tired old playbook to demonize these recalcitrant upstarts.

Politicians and pundits pointed to that rigorous tool for divining human thought  popular Google searches  to argue that Leave regretted their uninformed ballots. They cheered as financial markets tumbled the day after the vote. They have, of course, ignored the sharp rebound since; just as those in North Carolina who loudly predicted financial collapse following the passage of HB2 are quiet now that the laws economic impact seems negligible.

Echoing American liberals who cannot fathom why rural and working class whites vote against their interests, global elites on both sides of the Atlantic couldnt find any good reason why voters didnt follow their instructions to Remain.

So they blamed the same dark impulses that have become their go-to explanation when the people dont do as theyre told: ignorance, racism and xenophobia.

Like the Trump campaign, the Brexit vote involved a range of complex issues, including the belief that government and corporate elites primarily serve only their own interests. But to the experts, the overriding issue was immigration. The fact that Britain and America remain among the most welcoming nations in the world didnt matter. For all their alleged insight, the experts failed to understand the difference between the desire to control borders and to close them.

It doesnt take Sigmund Freud to see their explanation as a defense mechanism that protects them from having to face the failures of their own policies.

At bottom, Brexit and Trump reveal the dangerous divide between the elites and those they claim to lead. It is not simply that they do not agree on things; they do not know and understand one another.

As New York Times columnist David Brooks admitted, I was surprised by Trumps success because Ive slipped into a bad pattern, spending large chunks of my life in the bourgeois strata  in professional circles with people with similar status and demographics to my own.

That hasnt stopped Brooks from comparing Trump to Joe McCarthy or describing his supporters in an otherwise thoughtful piece as the the masses.

James Traub, a contributing editor at Foreign Policy, has been more direct, describing Trump voters as a rabble. The headline of his recent commentary, which casts modern politics as the sane vs. the mindlessly angry, captures the view of his brethren: Its Time for the Elites to Rise Up Against the Ignorant Masses.

This is very dangerous territory for a democracy. It signals the dismissal of, and utter contempt for, about half the population by those with power and influence.

It explains why Trumps opponents are so quick to label him a fascist and to compare him to a monster who exterminated 11 million people during World War II.

Ponder that.

Using the same ugly tropes employed by racists during slavery and Jim Crow, they cast Trumps supporters as ignorant animals driven by ugly emotions.

Echoing the same exclusionary language of North Carolinas Moral Monday movement, they do not seek to engage and understand those with different perspectives. They seek instead to delegitimize them, to cut off debate through nasty labels: evil, extremist, racist, hate-monger.

You dont compromise with people like that. They must be destroyed.

This intolerance has, in many ways, paved the way for Brexit and Trump. When people do not feel they have a place at the table, they turn it over.

The paradox is that, for all their failures, we need the elites. The world may be so complicated that even they cannot get a handle on it. But the idea that untrained and unschooled people would do a better job is folly.

But, as long as those in power refuse to listen to many of those whom they would lead, as long as they angrily dismiss and falsely condemn their legitimate concerns, the dangerous divide will deepen.
A school was right to cut the pay of a teacher who refused to stand for the national anthem, a Japanese court has ruled.

Hiroko Shimizu, 63, filed the case demanding education authorities in Osaka retract the punitive measure taken after she ignored an all-rise order for the national anthem during a 2013 graduation ceremony.

But Osaka District Court presiding judge Hiroyuki Naito yesterday turned down her demand, ruling the pay cut was appropriate, a court spokesman said.

The order to stand for the singing of the anthem was not aimed at forcing participants to follow any ideology, Naito told the court, according to Jiji Press.

Rather, it was to ensure that "the ceremony proceeded smoothly and order was maintained," he said.

The judge said Shimizu "put her own sense of values before the maintenance of civil servant discipline."



Shimizu immediately appealed to a higher court, Jiji said.

Critics say the song, a paean to the emperor, amounts to a call to self-sacrifice on his behalf and celebrates past militarism in which soldiers went to war in their ruler's name.

Numerous teachers have clashed with school administrators in recent years over the issue, and current nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is accused of trying to play down Japan's World War II history.

Court decisions have been divided.

In 2012, the supreme court ruled that penalising teachers for not standing to sing the anthem was constitutional, but it warned administrators to exercise care in going beyond a reprimand.

But last year, the Tokyo District Court awarded millions of dollars in compensation to a group of teachers who were punished for refusing to sing the song.

Abe told parliament last year that raising the national flag and standing to sing the anthem at school ceremonies should be done not only in elementary and secondary institutions, but also public universities.
A 15-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped today by three persons who also fed her with some poisonous substance leaving her in a serious condition, police said.

The incident took place in a village in Madhuban area, where the girl was allegedly gangraped by Bablu, Pappu and Ramakant, they said.

The three also forcibly fed the girl with some poisonous substance to kill her after the rape.

The girl was rushed to a hospital after the villagers informed the family members. Her condition is stated to be serious.

An FIR has been registered against the three accused who are absconding.
has a deep resonance inside Pakistan and the tense situation in the Valley acts as bait and encourages radical elements 'to wage jihad to liberate fellow Muslims', says former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.

He also says that there will always be a minority opinion sympathising with the activities of the jihadis due to the staunch commitment of Pakistanis to the cause.

"If that were not the case," he says, "there would be no willing recruits from among the masses to the jihadi cause."

However, among influential sections of public opinion and in the corridors of power it was realised that Pakistan's policy of support to non-state actors had actually boomeranged on it, says the senior leader of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party who has dealt with India-Pakistan relations.

On the Pakistan-India dynamics, he says, "Pakistan-India relationship does have an impact radicalising elements among Muslims in Pakistan. has a deep resonance inside Pakistan. Furthermore, the tense situation in the Kashmir Valley also acts as bait and encourages radical elements 'to wage jihad to liberate fellow Muslims'."

He feels normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India will help pluralistic and liberal forces in Pakistan besides helping the conditions of minorities in both countries.

Kasuri is also of the opinion that notwithstanding the initial romance surrounding the Mujahideen activities, the West and particularly Pakistan continue to pay a heavy price for this jihad and both are still suffering from its blowback.

"Over time, the West and Pakistan have had to contend with increasing linkages between terrorist groups of different orientations. Pakistan also discovered, to its horror, that some of the groups fighting in Kashmir could just as easily attack its own civilians and security forces.

"In many cases, the intelligence and law enforcement agencies were also targeted. Public opinion in Pakistan began turning against the activities of violent groups for whatever cause," he writes in an article in the Equator Line magazine's latest issue, contributors to which are all Pakistanis.

Kasuri says that there was a growing recognition among the

middle-classes and major sections of the media that Kashmir and other issues with India could not be resolved by resorting to violence by non-state actors and although their activities definitely attracted a lot of international attention, it was equally clear after 9/11 that the international community had lost any appetite for such activities.

"It came to be realised that Pakistan and India would have to find a negotiated settlement to Kashmir and other outstanding issues between them. I do not wish to convey the impression that, at the time when I assumed office, the support for jihadi groups had evaporated among all sections of public opinion. Due to the staunch commitment of Pakistanis to the Kashmir cause, there will always be a minority opinion sympathising with the activities of the jihadis," he writes.

According to Kasuri, there are many reasons for the rise of fundamentalism in Pakistan and it may be helpful to look at the subject from at least four perspectives.

"First, Pakistan's political and constitutional struggle to create a new dispensation after Partition; this determined the role of the ulema allowing for its expansion under General Zia-ul-Haq. This, in turn, contributed later on to the strengthening of the fundamentalist forces.

"Second, the situation since 1979 following the Iranian Revolution, the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union and Pakistan's role in resisting it with the help of the entire Western world, China and the Islamic fraternity with Saudi Arabia taking a lead role (along with the general spread of radicalism throughout the Muslim world for various reasons - falling outside the scope of this article) greatly strengthened the fundamentalists and militants.

"Third, the Pakistan-India dynamic helped strengthen reactionary elements inside Pakistan at the expense of the liberals. The fourth factor we have to consider is the situation in Pakistan in the post Zarb-e-Azb operation by the Pakistan Army to clear the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of the terrorists who had taken refuge there and created an infrastructure to support their activities," he writes.
Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister today said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here, a significant "long term" agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces amid Modi's vow to march with this African country on its path of development and progress.

"We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

"Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said, in comments that come against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world, including Bangladesh as also Saudi Arabia.

He said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence cooperation.

India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.

"Our partnership is driven by convergence of capacities



and interest...Mozambique's strengths are India's needs and what Mozambique needs is in India. We complement each other," Modi said.

He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.

Referring to the agriculture sector, he said India is committed to buy pulses from Mozambique, regarding which a "long-term agreement" was signed on the occasion.

The agreement to buy pulses, he said, will meet India's requirements and help raise the farmers' income in Mozambique.

Noting that agriculture development is the top priority for Mozambique, Modi said India would be partnering this endeavour through development of agricultural infrastructure and productivity in this country.

"We have agreed to put this on a fast track," he said.

Describing Mozambique as the "gateway" to Africa, Modi said one-fourth of India's investment in this continent is in this country.

He said the bilateral trade has continued to grow and there was a need to provide a "nurturing" environment.

He recalled the "sad struggles" and "sufferings" of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence



Modi said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like "shared vision" for the better future and partnership.

He said he had chosen this country as his first stopover in the four-nation tour that will also include South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, as Nyusi had also made India his first stopover during his Asian tour last year.

Modi presented to the Mozambique President a booklet brought out by the Indian High Commission in English to act as a guide to the Indian business persons who intend to invest in this country.

With regard to the agreement in pulses, officials said



that India will encourage greater production of the commodity in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price.

While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption locally, the officials said, adding the agreement will be a "win-win" for the two countries.

The two countries also signed a pact in the field of youth and sports.

Modi said 20,000 Mozambicans can trace their ancestors to India and that they are the bridge to economic ties between the two countries.

Later, addressing a banquet hosted by Nyusi in his honour, the Prime Minister said India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity with Mozambique in line with its priorities.

"Today, we applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades," Modi said.
Amid a spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world, "equally impacting" India and Mozambique which agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here, the two countries signed three pacts, including a significant "long-term agreement" under which India will buy pulses from this African nation to meet its recurring shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to this country as part of efforts to strengthen its public health system.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces, Modi said with a vow to "walk every step" with this country on its path of development and progress.

He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.

"We want our development and economic ties to benefit our societies. We also want our partnership to ensure the safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after their talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

While talking about the challenges, Modi said, "President Nyusi and I recognize that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today. Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally."



His comments assume significance as these came against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world. This included the second major terror attack in less than a week in India's neighbour Bangladesh just hours before Modi spoke. Terrorists even struck at the mosque of Prophet in Saudi city of Medina a few days back.

"The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans -national crimes. Our agreement on prevention of drug trafficking is a testimony to our shared determination to combat this menace and these networks," said Modi who oversaw India and Mozambique sign the pact on the occasion.

India and Mozambique will step up security and defence cooperation to "advance our shared security interests", said Modi, who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.
Bollywood superstar said on Thursday, that people who spread terrorism in the name of religion are the ones who don't follow it.

When asked about the growing terrorism, Aamir told reporters, "People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), that's what I think, then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian..."

"However much as they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion, because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love," the 51-year-old actor said.

When asked about his views on whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, the "Dhoom 3" star said, "I won't comment on that. I have said what I want to."

Aamir was speaking at a special Eid press conference.

Last week, five Bangladeshi militants hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.

Besides, three suicide bombings recently struck across Saudi Arabia in a single day, including an attack at Islam's second holiest site, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, where four security guards were killed.
Three members of a gang involved in as many as 11 cases of alleged theft and robbery were arrested here today and large quantity gold and silver jewellery seized from their possession, police said.

The accused were identified as Nunela Krishna (33), Pureddy Murali Krishna (27) and Gouda Praveen Kumar (24), all residents of Gopalapatnam in the city, while the fourth member, Bola Nagasai, is still at large, DCP (Crime) T Ravi Kumar Murthy said.

The gang was involved in 11 cases of burglary and vehicle lifting reported in the Vizag city, East Godavari and Srikakulam district, he said.

Five kilograms of silver ornaments, 530 grams of gold jewellery and one motorcycle was recovered from them.

Nunela Krishna was a convict in a rape case logded at the Malkapuram police station and was also involved in several property related offences, Murthy said.

"Nunela has a criminal track record and was listed under dossier criminal at Malkapuram Police Station. He had also incurred losses in transport business and later committed offences to clear his debts of around Rs 18 lakh," he said.

After his release from prison in September last year, Krishna formed a gang with Murali, Praveen Kumar and Nagasai. They then robbed five houses at Gajuwaka, four in Pendurthi and one each at Arilova and PM Palem areas.

Acting on a tip-off, Kancharapalem Police nabbed the three members, while a hunt for the fourth member is on, the SCP said.
Facing heat over the "hate speech" that reportedly inspired one of the terrorists involved in the Dhaka attack, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik today said his statement "urging all Muslims to become terrorists" has been taken out of context and that he is totally against terrorism and the killing of innocent humans.

"Many of the channels in India are showing a clipping where I am saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Whenever anyone wants to malign me, they show the clipping.

"This clipping, yes it is me saying it but it is out of context. I said a terrorist is a person who terrorises someone. I also gave an example that a policeman terrorises a robber. So, for a robber a policeman is a terrorist. In this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the anti-social element," Naik told PTI from Mecca.

Rubbishing Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' report that he inspired one of the Dhaka carnage perpetrators to go on a killing spree, Naik sought to put the blame on "other speakers" who misguide Muslims in the name of Islam.

"Regarding me being shocked that a Bangladeshi was inspired by me, I would say no I wasn't shocked... I agree I do inspire people close to Islam but every fan may not follow everything what I say. Once a person comes close to Islam, there are possibilities he starts hearing other speakers," he said.

"Today, as we are aware, there are some people who misguide Muslims and in the name of Islam, they encourage them to kill innocent people, which is totally against the Quran," he added.

"I totally disagree that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," Naik said.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has defended his remarks on Saddam Hussein saying that he hated him but the Iraqi dictator was "good at killing terrorists."



"I was talking about terrorism and I said Saddam Hussein is a bad man," Trump told his supporters in Ohio.

"He was really good at killing terrorists, he didn't wait around, you think he gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years?" he asked.

"He was good at one thing, he killed terrorists. I don't love Saddam Hussein, I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists," 70-year-old Trump said.

After a similar remark a day earlier, the rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump for praising a dictator.

Trump, however denied the allegations.

"I wake up, I turn on the television: loves Saddam Hussein. He loves Saddam Hussein," Trump said, impersonating an unidentified television news anchor.

"That's not what I said. So, that's the narrative," he said.

Trump used his campaign rally in Ohio to address another controversy by saying that his campaign should not have deleted a tweet containing an image that had been posted weeks earlier on a white supremacist website and featured Hillary Clinton, $100 bills and a red six-point star with the text:



"Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Trump insisted that the six point stars were just a star, even as Jewish activists and many have denounced the image as being anti-Semitic.

"They shouldn't have taken it down. You know, they took the star down. They should have left it up. I would have rather defended it -- just leave it up. I'd say, No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star," he said and blamed the media for raking up the controversy.

"We have a crooked system, we have a rigged system, we have a dishonest press. I love talking about how dishonest they are," he said as he called NBC host Chuck Todd "this really stupid guy," declared CNN "dishonest as hell" and labeled the press bad people.

"CNN started this dialogue going: It's the Star of David, and because it's the Star of David, has racist tendencies. These people are sick. I'm telling you. They're sick," he said.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, today said he has shortlisted 10 potential running mates.

While Trump did not disclose the names, two potential shortlisted candidates Senators Bob Corker and Joni Ernest indicated that they were not in the race.

Among his possible running mates being highly speculated are Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey and Senator Jeff Sessions.

"Well, I'm actually looking at 10 people, and three or four called me up, very big names, Senate and governor and all. And they want to be considered. And we're looking very, very strongly," Trump told Fox News in an interview.

"I met with Joni. She was terrific, and very supportive. As you know, Bob was with me yesterday and he told me everything that he really would like to do and Bob is a terrific guy," Trump said.

Later Corker and Ernest said they were not in the race for vice presidential pick.

"It's a highly political job, and that's not who I am. We had a very open conversation about that, and actually, we have been very candid about it from the very beginning of our meetings," Corker told The Washington Post.

Trump said Christie is "certainly" still in the race and described him as a friend and a great guy.

He also praised Gingrich saying "Newt is Newt, you know? Great guy. Tough and smart, and just a fantastic guy".

The real estate tycoon from New York said his list of potential vice presidential candidates also includes two generals.

"Well, I like the generals. I like the concept of the generals. We're thinking about actually there are two of them that are under consideration," he said to a question.

Trump is expected to announce his choice for vice president before the Republican presidential convention in Cleveland later this month.

"I have tremendous people and tremendous interest. We have wonderful people that we're considering. We will make a wise choice. I've gotten to know some of them very well over the past week. And I'll be deciding sometime prior to the convention," Trump said.

"I'm looking for somebody that can be a great vice president, can do a great job, has presidential quality and can also help legislatively and other ways so that wonderful legislation can be passed for the people," Trump said in response to a question.
The bad news is that, for a second straight year, a majority of students in Arizona and FUSD are still failing math and reading tests based on the new Common Core curriculum.

The good news is that educators assure us scores will go up and a majority will pass -- but perhaps not for another three years or more.

So far, only AzMerit scores for the state and for public districts by grade level have been released  school-level results for mainstream publics and charters wont be released in Flagstaff until early August when classes are set to resume. The schools themselves received their students scores in early June, but by then, students and teachers alike were gone for the summer.

The tests were administered in April, and although they are not part of any graduation requirement, its important for teachers and parents to know before summer starts how students did. We understand there are other assessments  students take final exams, and course grades generally reflect how well a student has mastered a subject. But the Common Core is not going away, and if students are going to be subjected to several days of standardized testing, their teachers and parents ought to be given the results while they still have the summer to act on them if needed.

The third-grade reading scores are the only ones that count  legislators retained the Move on When Reading standard even though they were told that AzMerit would take several years to provide an accurate measure of reading ability. So in FUSD, even though more than 60 percent of third-graders again failed the reading test, many of those have special needs and are English language learners, so they will not be held back. And those third-graders already identified by teachers before the AZMerit tests as struggling with reading were encouraged to enroll in summer school.

The result is that in a school district with 600 third-graders, only a handful are likely to held back when classes resume in August. As for all the other grades in which students failed the tests, FUSD officials note that most grades showed improvement  the pass rates in ninth-grade English more than doubled.

That kind of leap, however, might show that something is wrong with the test, not right with the teachers and students, Robert Hagstrom, FUSDs director of research and assessment, told the Daily Sun. The tests are still being adjusted to better match the problem-solving and critical thinking skills that the Common Core is emphasizing, so Hagstrom is advising patience for at least the next several years.

By then, it should be clear whether AzMerit is a fair test of Common Core  and how or if a new type of test or assessment is needed. In the meantime, the option to take other kinds of tests is ill-advised  the point of a statewide and even nationwide curriculum is to have a broad and deep enough database to make for meaningful comparisons and improvements. Once schools and entire districts start opting out, the remaining testing base could be skewed in ways that wont be reflective of the state as a whole.

The bottom line: Its too soon to start talking about abandoning AzMerit. And its too soon to get too concerned about all those low passing rates. Other states have stayed the course and seen marked improvements. Arizona can, too.
A youth and a girl child were killed and 12 others injured today when a private bus overturned on Sasaram-Chausa road under Mufassil police station area of Rohtas district, police said.

The accident took place near Baradih village in which two passengers, Shamshad Khan (23) and Sabana (3), died on the spot and 12 other passengers sustained injuries.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem while the injured were discharged from hospital after first-aid, police said.

The bus was going from Sasaram to Kochas township.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told China's leaders today that a flourishing civil society and free media are key to China's development, on one of his last visits to Beijing as UN leader.

Ban spoke while standing next to Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who last month berated a Canadian journalist for asking a question about China's human rights record during a conference in Canada.

"As China continues along the path of transformation and reform, I encourage China's leaders to create the space needed for the civil society to play its crucial role," Ban said, as Wang looked down at his lectern or stared ahead, expressionless.

Ban added that environmental activists, human rights lawyers and defenders and others "can act as a catalyst for social progress and economic goals."



"Along with a free and independent media they can help ensure accountability, thereby helping the state to evolve better and strengthening its standing in the eyes of the people," Ban said during the tightly managed conference, in which only two questions were allowed.

While China's media have long been directed by the ruling Communist Party, President Xi Jinping signaled a further tightening of control in February when he stated that absolute loyalty to the party was the media's highest priority.

This week marks the first anniversary of a crackdown in China on human rights lawyers and activists in which more than 200 were detained or questioned. One year on, around two dozen are still detained, including several who could face life imprisonment after being charged with subverting state power.

Ban, whose second term as UN secretary-general runs out at the end of the year, said, "The world will look to China to complement its remarkable economic progress by giving citizens a full say and a role in the political life of their country."



The pair also discussed tensions involving the South China Sea ahead of a ruling expected next week by an international arbitration panel on the validity of China's claims to virtually all of the sea. Beijing has not participated in the case, which was brought by the Philippines.

The UN leader said that all countries with rival claims to the South China Sea should settle their differences peacefully and "avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk.
UN cultural agency UNESCO will gather in Istanbul on Sunday to review candidates to join its prestigious World Heritage List, ranging from 350-million-year old fossils to works by Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier.

After the June 28 attack on Istanbul's airport that claimed 45 lives, security has been stepped up for the 11-day World Heritage Committee meeting - the panel's 40th.

Though no one claimed responsibility for the attack, Ankara has pointed the finger of blame at the Islamic State group, which has wreaked considerable damage on World Heritage sites such as the ancient city of Palmyra and the citadel of Aleppo, both in Syria.

"What happened in Syria and Iraq as well as in Mali and Afghanistan were so shocking that the process of preparing UNESCO's lists has become of great political importance," said the body's director general, Irina Bokova.

Earlier this year IS blew up the ancient Nabu temple in Iraq. In 2012 a Malian jihadist blew up nine mausoleums and part of Timbuktu's famous Sidi Yahia mosque. In Afghanistan, meanwhile, the Taliban destroyed the giant Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001.

Interest in threats to heritage has "grown tremendously in recent years because of these conflicts" but also new threats linked to climate change or urbanisation, she told AFP.

"Globalisation and connectivity have also seen the rise of a new spirit, a wish to present oneself to the world through one's culture," Bukova said. "Inscription on the World Heritage list is glorious, countries are proud."



This year 29 dossiers are being considered by the World Heritage Committee, made up of 21 countries serving six-year terms.

A dossier for the work of architect Le Corbusier, after failed attempts in 2009 and 2011, has been revamped and comes with high marks from a committee of experts who evaluate the submissions.

It lists 17 sites across seven countries - France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, Argentina, Japan and India - to show the global reach of the work of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, known as Le Corbusier.

The creations show the contributions of Le Corbusier to the Modern Movement that emerged after World War I with an emphasis on functionality, bold lines and new materials such as concrete, iron and glass.
Government will meet the central trade unions on a 12-point charter of demands raised by them on July 18, which will also see unions raising issues of price rise, disinvestment and foreign direct investment (FDI).

"We have called a meeting of all the central trade unions on July 18 to discuss the charter of demands," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here.

Leaders of central trade unions including RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, and TUCC will be attending the meeting.

The charter of demands includes government's steps to deal with price rise and unemployment, a universal social security cover for workers, stopping disinvestment of PSUs and opposition to FDI in railways and defence.

When asked about the meeting of the minister's group, he said: "We will meet in the middle of the Monsoon Session to discuss the charter of demands of the unions."



The ministers' group, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has been constituted to talk with the unions on their 12-point charter of demands.

"Here the thinking is that first I will sit with the unions and if the need be the Ministers' panel will meet the unions," the Minister said.

When asked about the meeting, BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay told PTI: "Besides the charter of demands, we will also raise the issue of absence of labour component in the recently announced policy for the aviation and the textiles sectors."



BMS will also raise the issue of price rise, which is impacting the standard of living of the workers as well as the disinvestment in government PSUs, he added.

All India Trade Union Congress Secretary D L Sachdev said the unions have been asking the government to hold the meeting with the ministers' group, but it has not happened since the last meeting on August 27-27 last year.

"In the July 18 meeting we will tell them that the meeting of the minister's panel should be called. We will also raise other important issues of price rise, disinvestment and that of FDI," he added.
Any future role for Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif is entirely up to the civilian government, US Senator John McCain said today amid reports in the Pakistani media that he had called for the extension of Sharif's tenure.

"I hope Gen Raheel continues to serve the people of Pakistan. Any future role for General Raheel is entirely up to the civilian government of Pakistan," Senator John McCain, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, told PTI.

He was responding to questions on reports in the Pakistani media that he had called for extension of Gen Sharif's tenure.

The Pakistani army chief was appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as the 15th Chief of Army Staff on November 27, 2013 for a three-year term.

In the past few months speculation has been rife about his possible extension.

However, Gen Sharif in January had publicly said he will retire on the due date and does not believe in extension.

McCain, who has just returned from Pakistan, has been reported in the media calling for Gen Sharif's extension.

During his trip to Pakistan, McCain met Gen Sharif to discuss regional security and described the overnight meeting as "good".

"Good delegation meeting with Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Gen Raheel Sharif and discussing regional security challenges," McCain had tweeted after the meeting.

McCain was leading a four-member bipartisan Congressional delegation to Pakistan.

He visited the restive North Waziristan tribal region, where army has launched a campaign in 2014 to flush out militants, and also called on the Adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz during his stay.

His visit had come at a delicate time when relations between the two countries were at a new low after US Congress in May blocked the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, accusing it of not being serious enough in fight against terrorism.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today cautioned of the risks involved in uranium mining if it is done without the consent of the state government.

Sangma's reaction came in the wake of the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), a Government of India enterprise, floating a tender inviting companies interested in constructing infrastructure and also to excavate 3,75,000 tonne of uranium ore annually.

"I have just been briefed by the Political Department. As of now, there is no engagement by the Government of India to that effect (uranium mining) and of giving a green signal. If they are doing it, it is at their own risk," Mukul told reporters at the sidelines of the cabinet meet.

"If someone's action has any negative fallout, the state government will take a call since law and order is a state subject," he said.

UCIL General Manager (open pit) P N Sarkar had on July 2 announced in a local daily that the company " is planning to set up open pit mine and processing plant of the uranium ore in South West Khasi Hills district."



The UCIL wants interested companies to undertake activities such as getting clearances and pending consent for establishment and mining of uranium.

The state government had in 2010 given authorisation to the Union Ministry of Road and Transport to upgrade 325 km-long state roads in the mining area to "facilitate mining of uranium" under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme in North East (SARDP(NE)).

Local NGOs have raised objection to the road construction project saying it would facilitate uranium mining.
Vice-President Hamid Ansari is arriving here tomorrow on one-day visit to the city where he will attend an event organised by a co-operative bank.

Ansari will be the chief guest at the 55th foundation day ceremony of Nagpur Nagrik Sahakari Bank (NNSB) being held at Vasantrao Deshpande Hall, an official release said today.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will preside over the function, while Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis will grace the occasion as a special guest.

After attending the function, the Vice-President will leave for New Delhi, it added.
Claiming that Peace TV which features talks by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was banned by the UPA-II government in December 2012, Congress today hit out at the Modi dispensation asking why it allowed the "illegal broadcast of a banned channel" to continue.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, who was Information and Broadcasting Minister in UPA-II, told PTI that Peace TV and 24 other channels were banned by the government in December 2012 for "anti-national activities".

"The question is why the NDA government allowed illegal broadcast of a banned channel to continue," said Tewari.

Tewari's reaction came following reports that the government would initiate action against Naik's whose 'hate speech' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists involved in the Dhaka carnage.
Ringing Bells, the Noida-based firm that ran into controversy after announcing a Rs 251 phone five months back, today claimed it will start shipping the cheapest smartphone ever, from tomorrow.

In February, the company announced the Freedom 251 phone which saw a mad rush of over 70 million people jostling to register but when the prototype was presented to media it turned out to be produced by another manufacturer with its logo covered.

This led to protests from buyers and consequent inquiries by police and tax officials, forcing the company to stop sale of the product and offer refunds to those who had booked the phone.

The Freedom 251 prototype touts a quad-core processor, a 4-inch screen and front and back cameras, priced at an astonishingly low rate of Rs 251.

Ringing Bells Director Mohit Goel, who had last week stated that his company will soon start shipping 200,000 smartphones to buyers picked by lottery, today said deliveries will start as early as tomorrow.

"We will start delivery of 5,000 Freedom 251 phones in the first phase from tomorrow," he told reporters at an event organised to unveil new models as well as an LED TV priced at Rs 9,990.

Ringing Bells had last month stated that it will start deliveries for 2 lakh handsets from June 30 initially, then mentioned 10,000 devices will be given to customers in 19 states, and has now brought it down to 5,000 devices.

Goel said the first batch of 5,000 'Freedom 251' devices will be out for delivery from July 8 and buyers will have to pay Rs 291, including Rs 40 as delivery charges.

He had previously stated that Ringing Bells faced Rs 930 loss on each phone, which cost Rs 1,180 and the parts were imported from Taiwan. He had claimed that Rs 700-800 will be recovered from app developers and advertisement revenue.

When the phone was announced in February, about 30,000 people paid in advance for booking the phone and over 7 crore people registered for it, which is equivalent to the phones Samsung and Apple sell in an entire year.

Today, Goel claimed that the company is ready to ship 2 lakh units of the smartphone for Rs 251 each, but "only if it gets government support". He, however, said that Ringing Bells will ship two lakh units to people who registered for it even if the company doesn't get government support but it will take time.

The company also unveiled four new feature phones in the range of Rs 699-999 and two budget Android smartphones that are priced between Rs 3,999 and Rs 4,499.

It also unveiled three power banks, and a 31.5-inch HD LED TV priced at Rs 9,900 that will be launched on August 15.

(REOPEN DCM56)



The Freedom 251 handset showcased by the company today has 1GB RAM, 8 GB internal memory, 3.2 megapixel main camera and 0.3 mp front camera, 1.3 Ghz quad core processor, 1,450 mAH battery and dual sim slot.

Given the massive demand, the company would use "lucky draw" to select customers for the 2 lakh handsets that it plans to deliver.

The "lucky draw" mechanism has also been used for selection of 5,000 customers who would get the handsets in the first phase.

Goel said while the cost of the phone worked out to Rs 1,180 a unit for the company, it was able to recover Rs 251 from customers (selling price of the phone), Rs 300 by bundling apps, and yet has a deficit of about Rs 630 a unit.

"We have tied up with few mobile applications which are helping us bridge the cost deficit. Earlier, we were ready with our plan to sell the phone with profit but because of negative publicity, some of the apps moved out," he said.

Ringing Bells claims to have invested about Rs 80 crore in business. Of this, it has gathered Rs 40 crore from distributors, 33 per cent from stake sale to partners who are assembling its phones and LED TV, and the rest from internal resources.

Goel said that company has decided to use 95 per cent of the profits for charity.

"Except Freedom251, we are selling our other products at a profit. In LED TV, we have profit margin of 10-15 per cent. Similarly, some margins are there in our feature phone and smartphone which we will start selling from Monday," Goel pointed out.

He said that people can book its phone from Ringing Bells' wesbite from Monday by paying online or choosing cash-on-delivery option.

"The phone will be sent to people on the same day in areas where we have distributors, and in 3-4 days via courier to places where we don't have our network," Goel said.

He said that online booking of LED TV will start in same manner between July 20-25 and its delivery will start from August 15.

Ringing Bells President Ashok Chaddha said that company has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 28 to share its vision on digitally connecting 75 crore people in the country.

"At the moment, we are assembling our phones and TV in India at three plants located in Haridwar, Noida and Mumbai. Our aim is to have our own manufacturing plant which we will do once we have market support," Chadhha said.
Body of a 68-year-old womanwas today found at her residence in Paschim Vihar in West Delhi.

Krishna Devi Arora was allegedly strangulated to death, police said.

Arora, who was childless, lived alone at the ground floor of her house following her husband's death last year while the first floor was given on rent.

She used to stay in touch with her nephew Chinnu, a grocery shop owner, who would usually have his lunch at her place.

"As he could not make it to her place today due to workload, he had sent his employee to collect tiffin box from her around 4 PM," a senior police official said.

"The employee found door of Arora's house open. The house was ransacked and she was lying dead, following which the employee informed us," the official said.

Prime facie the motive behind the alleged attack appeared to be robbery as the victim's house was found ransacked, police said.

The police have constituted teams to crack the case and have initiated probe in the matter.
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A high-level committee will soon be set up to look into issues raised by various unions of central government employees on pay scales and other recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.

"A new high-level committee will soon be set up to look into the grievances raised by the employee unions," a top government official told PTI.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the recommendations of the Pay Commission, various central government employees' unions have threatened to go on an indeifinite strike from July 11.

Earlier in the day, representatives of various unions met Home Minister Rajnath Singh for deliberations over their concerns after which the government termed the talks as "positive".

Today's was the second meeting the employees' unions had with the government on the issue. Earlier, they had met the Group of Ministers chaired by Singh on June 30. The GoM includes Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The Unions had asked the government to set up a committee to look into issues raised by them in relation to the pay scales and other recommendations of the Pay Commission.

"The Ministers assured the Union leaders that the issues raised by them would be considered by a High Level Committee," the Finance ministry said in a statement late in the evening.

The National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) of central government employees' unions including Railways, Post and Telegraph and Defence have announced an indefinite strike from July 11 against the "unilateral" announcement of the Central government on implementation of 7th Pay Commission's awards.

A number of employees' unions have extended support to the proposed strike call by NJCA.

The unions have said the recommended pay hike was the lowest in the last 70 years. They have also accused the government of announcing the awards "unilaterally" without any consultation with them.

The Central Trade Unions will be meeting tomorrow to chalk out an action plan and express their solidarity with the government employees.

RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and other trade unions have rejected the recommendations, contending that it would increase disparity between the minimum and maximum pay.

Maintaining that the government has "disappointed" the employees, BMS has announced country-wide protests on July 8 against the decision and warned implementation of the 7th pay commission's recommendations may lead to industrial unrest.
Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz today said presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "is certainly a very big risk for the global economy".

"I certainly think he is a very big risk for the global economy. I think the damage he has done already by raising the spectre...represents a force of instability in global financial and trade system," he told reporters ahead of an interactive session organised by Azim Premji University here.

He was asked whether Trump could be the biggest risk to the global economy following his hostility towards free trade, including North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and his repeated comments labelling China as a currency manipulator.

Many economists and experts on financial matters in the US have come out openly, saying if Trump wins the election, his hostile attitude to free trade would alienate Mexico and China in particular, resulting in escalation of trade war.

Stiglitz said all presidential candidates have come out against the new trade agreements, including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and these are not good for American citizens and Europe.

"All the presidential candidates have come out against the new trade agreements - TTIP and TPP. Those new trade agreements are not very good for American citizens and I don't think they are very good for Europeans," he said.

Stiglitz said most of the aspects is not about trade, but about the investment and intellectual property provisions.

The real concern, however, would be if India goes back on its longstanding view on intellectual property provision that has access to generic medicines, which is important, he said.

"India has a long standing view that it has an IP provision that has access to generic medicines. That's very important. It will be very bad if India went back on that long standing position on access to generic medicines," he said.

Stiglitz said TPP and TTIP is an attempt to make generic medicines less accessible.

He alleged India was under pressure from US to follow he same tradition, but it's important for the country not to give in to it, "which comes totally from big pharma companies which does nor represent the interests of the American people."

Stiglitz said Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party had already expressed opposition to TPP which includes these provisions on generic medicines and investments.

Asked if TPP was mainly aimed at containing China, he said, "One of the arguments put forward in the US is about maintaining American hegemony in Asia."

"President Barack Obama said who is going to write the rules of trade in Asia? The response of Asia should be Asia should be writing their own rules, not the US," he said.


Top four IT players TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech and Wipro are expected to show divergence in June quarter earnings, with the former two likely to report better organic growth than the latter two in a seasonally stronger quarter.



However, for the Street to reward the otherwise beaten down IT stocks, it is management commentaries over the contingency plans they will deploy to withstand the impact of Britain's exit from European Union (EU), which will soothe nerves of investors in the near future.



Europe accounts for a major proportion of revenue for domestic IT firms and, thus, hold paramount importance to IT firms and the Dalal Street investors.



Expect strong top line, but weaker margins



The June quarter is believed to be seasonally stronger quarter on revenue front, but IT firms may see weaker margins this time due to wage revisions and additional visa costs.



Brokerages expect the top four IT companies to log sequential revenue growth of 2.0-6.6 per cent in the June quarter with HCL Tech (6.6 per cent QoQ, 3 per cent organic growth) leading the pack. It is expected to be followed by Infosys' 4.2 per cent organic, TCS' 3.1 per cent and Wipro's 2 per cent QoQ rise in Q1FY17 revenues.



In dollar terms, the revenues are expected to grow by 2-5.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Margins will also take a knock to the tune of 70-170 bps.



Brexit plans hold the key to stock performance



The UK is the second biggest market for large domestic IT firms, accounting for 25 per cent of their market. It would take about two years for Britain to completely exit the EU. During the phase, the EU and Britain will re-negotiate terms and conditions of their trade, which will have a bearing on discretionary demand for the domestic IT companies focusing on the region.



The stocks of the tier-1 IT companies have fallen up to 5 per cent in the last one month, and may shed even more, if the management commentaries lack confidence over their Brexit plans.



The immediate and foremost impact would be seen on the demand from the banking, financial services and Insurance (BFSI) segments. This vertical has already been under pressure of late.



Pound crisis intensifies, but impact on Q1 minimal



The British pound and the euro have had a huge knock against US dollar in the aftermath of Brexit. The British currency is, in fact, ruling below 31-year lows. Brokerage Prabhudas Liladhar believes this will adversely impact revenues of IT firms in dollar terms. They may, however, have no impact on the constant currency revenues.



"Assuming nearly 10 per cent depreciation in euro and pound, dollar revenue impact for most companies could be nearly 1.5?2.5 per cent, and the combined (revenue and margin) earnings per share (EPS) impact could be nearly 4?7 per cent, " said Prabhudas Liladhar in a research report.



As per their analysis, rupee depreciation of 3?4 per cent will be required to offset the EPS decline.



Motilal Oswal believes pound's depreciation should not hurt the performance for the industry in Q1FY17 as volatility across currencies accelerated only towards the end of the quarter.



However, if the currencies continue to tread within the current band, it said, the impact will unfold in the second quarter.



While TCS' exposure is the highest, the brokerage doesn't see it impacted the most thanks to the negating effect of Japanese yen's appreciation.



Wage hikes and visa costs key margin detractors



Infosys and TCS will announce wage hikes, which will be effective April 2016 (1QFY17). The hikes would have an impact on IT firms' margins. The rise in visa costs will further dent margins.



Centrum Broking expects EBITDA margins for tier-1 IT vendors to drop by 90-200 bps in the June quarter on a sequential basis.



Brokerage Edelweiss expects margins for TCS and Infosys to fall 170 bps and 110 bps QoQ, respectively, Wipro's margin could tumble 70 bps (1-month wage hike impact), HCL Tech's margin may contract 170 bps on lower margin inorganic business and visa cost, while Tech Mahindra's margin is likely to dip 110 bps due to lower Comviva revenue, visa cost and lower margin revenue from merger.



Going ahead, commentary on margin levers and ability to negate pricing pressure in traditional services will be key monitorables, the brokerage said.

Stock view

For Motilal Oswal, Infosys and HCL Tech stocks remain the top picks.

"Given the traction in revenue growth and at Infosys under new leadership, we take greater comfort in its valuations, compared to TCS, where challenges in nearly 20 per cent of portfolio , and higher base, resulted in deceleration of growth rates last year - a risk to premium multiple," said Motilal Oswal.

As for HCL Tech, the stock is trading at a 21 per cent discount to Sensex, compared to the historical average of 14%, owing to margin risk. However, the brokerage said, potential of double-digit organic growth (substantiated by order book), better growth compared to Tech Mahindra and Wipro,

along with 25 per cent+ return on equity (ROE) leaves ample room for upside despite embedding

conservatism on the margin outlook.

For Edelweiss Securities Infosys continues to remain the top pick. The other two largecap stocks that it prefers are Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech.
Ireland's Investment Development Agency (IDA) is the counterpart of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of India. The key mandate of both the organisations is to attract foreign direct investments (FDI). In an interview days before the Brexit referendum, John Conlon, head of IDA's Asia Pacific team, tells Business Today about the rigid manner in which IDA defines FDI, and the growing interest of Indian companies to invest in that country, and more.

Edited excerpts:

Will Britain exiting EU help neighbouring Ireland attract more investments?

Our official position is that we don't want the UK to leave EU. We think it is bad for Ireland, bad for UK and bad for the EU. We are in favour of free trade. That's the UKs position also. From Ireland's point of view they are our biggest trading partner in the world, they are our closest neighbour. We compete for investments all the time. Hence, one result (of the UK leaving EU) might be more investments to Ireland as companies might want to be within the EU. However, we think the overall benefits of our relationship with UK completely outweigh this possibility (of additional investments).

You have US companies becoming Irish companies now...

The Pfizer deal has been called off. These are financial decisions. It is not something that we chase, not something that we seek. It is something that is caused by the US tax system, rather than our tax system. Our government and our organisation, try to attract FDI that results in economic activity.

Isn't low taxation a reason for companies choosing to invest in Ireland?

It is only one of the attractions. There are lower taxes in Switzerland and in Singapore. So, low tax rate is good only if you make money. Nine of the world's top 10 pharmaceutical companies are in Ireland. 15 out of top 20 medical companies are here and we have half of the biggest banks in the world operating out of Ireland. Most of the major software companies also have a presence. Ireland is one of the best places in the world to attract managers, to attract talent. That is why lot of companies are setting up their operations in Ireland. It is to address the European market. If you cannot provide the engineers, or other facilities, low taxes alone will not help. We have had low taxation for a long time. We are proud of that and we will continue to do it. However, it is completely OECD complaint. We don't have a zero tax rate, it is proper rate. Strategically we believe we can make better money for the country than charge higher rates. If imitation is flattery, the UK has reduced their taxes. So it is a worldwide phenomenon. We compete on tax, on talent, on technology. Ireland has been building its basic competency for 50 years. So it's not just tax.

Indian pharmaceutical companies like Sun (Ranbaxy) and Wockhardt are known to have struggled to make their Ireland acquisitions work. How do you see this?

When companies acquire other firms, they sometimes end up with excess manufacturing. That is the time when they assess whether they need all the 40 manufacturing plants across the world or 20. They keep the ones in the growth segments and sell others. The results of such amalgamations have thus been more investment oriented. On certain occasions we get into such situations where some of the Irish (production) facilities, get impacted. That does not mean Irish plants are up for sale. In fact we are constantly asked if there are any pharmaceutical companies for sale in Ireland, and we don't have one. Vast majority of companies don't get sold. But in general, our pharmaceutical sector is growing. And we would want more companies joining there. The world's leading biotechnology investors are already present in Ireland.

EU itself is not out of recession. Can you make money from a market that is not growing?

The Western Europe has not grown as anybody would like see it grow. However, the Irish economy is growing 6-7 percent a year and is the fastest growing economy in the region. I believe that companies enter Europe for market share. There are 1,250 overseas companies in Ireland. So, lot of companies are coming despite economic slowdown in Europe.

Which are the Indian companies that have a presence in Ireland?

NIIT has set up a centre for corporate training. Infosys has a delivery centre and an R&D centre. We had HCL and TCS expanding its presence. We also have smaller companies across sectors and are expecting some manufacturing companies to announce their investment plans soon.

Every mode of foreign currency inflow is clubbed as FDI by India's DIPP. How does IDA define FDI?

FDI includes capital investment, and capital investment includes acquisition costs. Economists might look at it differently than we do. We are talking about how IDA looks at it. There can be acquisitions only to acquire technology. There can be acquisitions that will result in more job creation also. So not all acquisitions are good, and not all acquisitions are bad. Most of the FDI agencies in Western countries do not consider acquisitions in their definition. We try to grow the employment, we try to grow the number of companies, and we try to grow the investment in those companies. That's what we focus on. We don't focus on acquisitions at all.
The President of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), Joe Healy has told the Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar that the reintroduction of the income and child disregards must be part of the review of Farm Assist, which has been promised in the new Programme for Government.



It was agreed that IFA would have further discussions with the Minister on this critical issue for low income farmers in advance of Octobers Budget.



The IFA President welcomed the review of Farm Assist and the Rural Social Scheme which he claimed is vital to the support of low income farmers. He said, the abolition of the income and child disregards by the previous Minister has had a dramatic effect on the qualification criteria for Farm Assist.

Joe Healy pointed out that with farm income under severe strain across most sectors, it is important that changes are made and the assessment process done in a fair way reflecting the volatility of farm income.



Source: www.businessworld.ie
The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) have this week joined forces with the Farmers Have Hearts initiative led by the Irish Heart Foundation.



Farmers Have Hearts, which is funded by the HSE, provides free health checks by Irish Heart Foundation nurses to farmers at marts.

Since 2013, 2,800 farmers have been checked with 72% advised to see their GP. The IFA has committed to increasing awareness of heart disease and stroke among farmers by extending additional free health checks and information sessions to IFA Executive Committees around the country.



This comes after recent research showed that 80% of farmers have four or more risk factors such as family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and overweight.



Furthermore, Irish farmers are almost seven times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD), mainly heart disease and stroke, than the lowest risk occupational group i.e. salaried employees.



The new health checks will address the main risk factors associated with circulatory diseases such as blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, smoking, consumption of alcohol and physical activity.

The check involves a blood pressure check, cholesterol and glucose check, weight measurement, carbon monoxide check (for smokers) and overall individual assessment.

Each attendee will receive a personal record of all tests and a personal lifestyle plan following the health check.

To increase awareness of heart health among farmers generally, The Irish Heart Foundation is also providing information to farmers at IFA events in each county. Topics covered will include knowing your risks, tips to lead a healthier lifestyle and healthy eating.

IFA President Joe Healy has strongly urged farmers to get their health checked, he says, "Our message is that having a health check will either put your mind at ease, or set you on the right course to improve your health and lifestyle  either way, getting a check-up is a smart thing to do."

Minister for Health, Simon Harris added, "It is important that farmers know about their own health and what they can do to keep themselves healthy. Modest lifestyle changes and the support of healthcare professionals can make a huge difference, and I hope that farmers will take advantage of the free checks and advice on offer."



Source: www.businessworld.ie
The latest quarterly barometer from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) shows the vast majority of Irish hotel and guesthouse owners are concerned about the impact that Brexit will have on their business over the next 12 months.



While concerns about the impact of Brexit loom, results show the tourism industry has performed strongly so far in 2016.

Some nine of ten hoteliers (90%) report that business levels are up compared to the same period last year with overseas visitor numbers up 14% year to date while British visitor numbers are up 16%. Of those hotels catering for corporate meetings and business events, 60% have seen an increase in this area of their business compared with last year.



The UK is Irelands largest source of inbound tourists, accounting for over 40% of overseas visitors into the country.

The economic uncertainty surrounding the UKs relationship with the EU has fuelled concerns amongst 95% of hoteliers across the country (49% very concerned, 46% concerned), highlighting the ongoing risks to tourism from external events.



Two out of three (66%) hoteliers are seeing an increase in home-grown business with an uplift in consumer confidence leading to more people taking holidays and short breaks at home. This growth is vital for tourism businesses relying on the domestic market, especially in the regions and away from the traditional tourism hotspots.



Increased confidence is also enabling hotels to invest more widely in their businesses with some 89% indicating they plan to invest in refurbishment and increased capital expenditure over the next twelve months while some 63% plan to increase their spend on marketing.



IHF President Joe Dolan cautions, however, that the continued recovery in the sector cannot be taken for granted and that the tourism industry remained vulnerable to external economic shocks beyond its control, such as the UK decision to leave the EU.



The latest hotels barometer reveals that three in ten (30%) hoteliers are still concerned about the viability of their business over the next 12 months, notwithstanding any impact from the UKs pending departure from the EU.

A particular concern for hoteliers is the cost of doing business in Ireland, with many hoteliers singling out excessive local authority rates as the most pressing issue affecting cost competitiveness. This is followed by labour costs and utility costs.



Commenting on the research, IHF President Joe Dolan said, "Increased investment in product development and marketing is vital to the long-term success of our tourism product. Time and time again, Irish tourism has shown itself to be an excellent investment with every euro spent in destination marketing by the state resulting in 34 being spent by visitors in the country."

He added, "Now is not the time to take this investment for granted, particularly given the uncertainty around Brexit and the potential impact on visitor numbers from the UK."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Marks & Spencer suffered its biggest fall in quarterly clothing sales since 2005 on Thursday as a decision by new boss Steve Rowe to cut prices and offer fewer promotions took its toll on the British retailer.

M&S said consumer confidence waned in the run up to Britain's European Union referendum last month but said it was too early to judge the implications of the Brexit vote and stuck to its financial guidance for the 2016-17 year.

"We're operating in uncertain times, consumer confidence weakened in the run-up to the EU referendum and remains fragile," Chief Executive Rowe told reporters, adding he had not noted a further downturn in demand in response to the Brexit vote on June 23.

He has the tough task of reviving a 132-year-old British institution that has fallen out of fashion over the last decade.

Sales from the company's upmarket food business, its strongest performer in recent years, also went into reverse.

Rowe, a company veteran of 26 years, succeeded Marc Bolland as CEO in April and warned the following month that efforts to turn around its clothing business by cutting prices and improving ranges would come at a cost to short term sales and profit.

"Although these results are on the low side of where I want them to be, they are in line with our plans, it's what we expected," he said.

Analysts were harsher in their verdict.

"The news is horrible," said independent retail analyst Nick Bubb.

Analysts at Liberum cut their 2016-17 pretax profit forecast by 4.6 percent. "It is hard to see that full-year (profit) consensus can do anything other than fall," they said.

M&S shares were almost 1.5% higher at 298.4 pence at 1420 GMT.

They have fallen 31% over the last three months, hammered by the May profit warning and fears Britain's vote to leave the EU could dent consumer demand and increase sourcing costs due to the depreciation of sterling.

Prior to Thursday's first quarter statement, analysts' average forecast for 2016-17 pretax profit was 622 million pounds, down from 690 million pounds made in 2015-16.

M&S said that over the 13 weeks to July 2, its fiscal first quarter, sales of clothing and home products at stores open over a year fell 8.9%. It was M&S' worst quarterly performance since the first quarter of its 2005-06 year.

Equivalent food sales fell 0.9%, worse than analysts had forecast although M&S said it still strongly outperformed the wider food market.

M&S, which has long been Britain's biggest clothing retailer, has seen its market share eroded by rivals like Next and a push from supermarkets into clothing, while younger shoppers favor Primark and H&M's cheaper prices.

ABF said on Thursday it would pursue expansion plans for Primark across Europe and the United States.

Rowe said delaying M&S' summer sale from the first quarter to the second quarter and the removal of 28 promotions took about 5 percent off its like-for-like clothing sales.

The company also said it was pleased with initial results after repricing around 1,000 lines since January.

The plunge in the value of the pound to 30-year lows versus the U.S. dollar since the Brexit vote is another headache as it could mean higher prices for imported goods.

Finance chief Helen Weir said M&S sources 1-1.5 billion pounds of goods in U.S. dollars, about 65 percent of overseas sourcing.

Its policy is to hedge currency requirements up to 18 months ahead. The firm is about 90% hedged for the 2016-17 year and 80% hedged for spring/summer of the 2017-18 year.

"The main impact that we'll see will start to come through in autumn/winter 2017...Clearly it depends on what happens to the exchange rate," she said. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Five housing scholarships were recently awarded to Utah State University students living at 900 Factory. The scholarships were for free or reduced housing at the newest apartment complex near the university.

Rachel Romney, Property Manager for 900 Factory, says students were encouraged to submit a one-page essay to be entered into the scholarship contest.

It was basically where have you been, what have you done to get to this point in your life and what would this housing scholarship do for you if you were to win the scholarship, Romney explains.

She says the apartment complex received 42 entries and they were all posted on Facebook. She says every Like was counted as a vote and at the end of the contest period the top five were selected.

The contest received over 68,000 views and many of the contestants had family and friends rally around them to help get votes. An entire community came together to support the ultimate winner of the scholarship contest.

Abbey Wilde received a full housing scholarship for a year, Sydney Karn received a $1,500 housing scholarship, Blake Christensen received a $1,000 housing scholarship, Laura Russell received an $800 housing scholarship and Ryan Lynch received a $500 housing scholarship.

Im just glad that I wasnt in charge of deciding a winner because there is no way I would have been able to, says Romney. There are a lot of hard-working students out there who have worked really hard to get where they are at. It was so rewarding to watch the winners receive their scholarships and how grateful they were.

Pat Nelson, CEO of Nelson Brothers (the company that owns and built 900 Factory) is an alumnus of USU and decided to reward every applicant who was currently enrolled at 900 Factory with one month of free housing.

Giving back to the community where he went to school is very important to him, to give them a great resident life, a great property to live in, says Lydia Robertson, National Director for Student Housing Operations for Nelson Brothers.

Robertson says the scholarship awards were so successful Nelson Brothers plans to make it an annual tradition and will add it to their other properties as well.

The property has not been without its own controversy, however. The property was once known as Aggie Factory and had <a href=http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_c5f24e5a-4c70-11e5-98ac-d785aba7c995.html target=_blank>many promises to students</a> and contractors that it was unable to fulfill in its early stages. Hundreds of students signed contracts to move into the facility only to be <a href=http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_bc41c612-f02b-11e3-8bb2-0017a43b2370.html target=_blank>forced to find alternative housing</a> after construction halted. Contractors and sub-contractors were also forced to stop their work after not getting paid by Nelson Brothers. The delays became a running joke for nearly two years, and even caused a <a href=http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/article_113309f2-183a-11e4-a117-0017a43b2370.html target=_blank>trending topic on Twitter</a>.

In this case we lost one of our largest investors, he passed away. That completely delayed the project, Robertson explains. The project was actually put on hold because he was one of the larger investors, overall, for the construction project. That definitely set us back.

Robertson says another reason for the delays was an improving construction industry and growth along with Wasatch Front. The company was forced to wait on skilled labor and larger construction companies out of the Salt Lake area to help complete the project.

Phase one of 900 Factory was completed late last year and the first batch of residents were able to move in on January 8. Phase two is expected to be completed in early August and even more students are expected to move in ahead of the Fall semester.

The complex features amenities unlike any other student apartments in the Logan area, including double-decker hot tubs, a bowling ally, music room, ultra high speed wi-fi, two refrigerators and two dishwashers in each apartment and others.

Its like its own little community, says Romney You can get so much done.

900 Factory is the first new-construction project by Nelson Brothers but they have existing properties near other universities in Utah as well as at Notre Dame, in Oxford, Mississippi, in Houston, Denver, Boulder and some properties in Oregon.
In the weeks following the Pulse nightclub shooting, many people across the country  and in the LGBT community  have called for more gun control legislation.

Firearms instructor said LGBT community clientele has gone up

Jo Martin: LGBT clients went from 5 to 40 since Pulse shooting

There will be a meeting July 12 in Orlando on firearms training



But, some members of the Central Florida-area LGBT community are actually buying guns and seeking out training on how to use them.

Jo Martin trains people how to safely use firearms. Martin said she had a handful of LGBT clients seeking out firearms training before the Pulse shooting.

Since the shooting, however, Martin said her LGBT clientele has gone up by eight times. She said she had five LGBT clients before the shooting and now has more than 40.

"When it happens where you live, that really makes people stop and think," Martin said. "And I think especially the LGBT community feel particularly vulnerable because they are soft targets."

News 13 reached out to members of the LGBT community, but several said they didn't want to publicly comment because they were not out to either their family or their employer.

Martin is straight, but she has long held regular firearms training classes for LGBT clients through whats called the Rainbow Shooting Club.

She said the demand from the LGBT community has been so great since the Pulse shooting that she has formed a Central Florida chapter of the group Pink Pistols, a national gay gun rights organization. The local chapters hashtag is #ShootBack.

"Their safety is their responsibility, and they realize they can do something about it," Martin said. "And I think that can only be a good thing. I'm helping them use that right they have by living in this country to defend themselves, if the need ever arises."

Martin is having a meeting on July 12 in Orlando for members of the LGBT community interested in firearms training. For more information, contact Martin at jo@empowerfirearmstraining.com.
Brexit: 27 member states confront the United Kingdom

Published on July 1, 2016

Story by Lucas TRIPOTEAU Translation by: Carrina LaCorata

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Does pressure need to be put on the United Kingdom to officially ask for a divorce from the European Union? This is the question the 27 member states tried to answer at the European Council on June 28th and 29th. Even in spite of strong differences.

This is not Facebook where the status is complicated. Here, youre married or youre not. These are the words Xavier Bettel, the prime minister of Luxembourg, used to address the cameras when he arrived at the June 28th and 29th European Council in Brussels. He even misspoke when talking about a battle map as opposed to a road map.

His tone mimics those of several European leaders following the June 23rd referendum in the United Kingdom. Ever since this unprecedented political event, the heads of state and government of the most pro-Europe countries are in fact putting pressure on the British to finally communicate their intentions to the European Union before starting the exit negotiations that are estimated to last two years. The United Kingdom is called to act on the results of this referendum by notifying its intention to leave the EU through the notorious article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

"I will not accept Europe and Belgium footing the bill."

Following Mr. Bettels example, Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel, and even Charles Michel appeared determined; the prime minister of Belgium also affirmed, when he arrived, that he would not accept Europe and Belgium footing the bill for the decisions made in Great Britain.

At the very least, the Europhiles displayed a clear desire: it must be done quickly. The United Kingdom must promptly disclose its desire to leave the EU. Why? The idea is to start the exit negotiations as quickly as possible to give the Union as much clarity as possible, to reaffirm its authority and to avoid further suffering from the results of this referendum, even if it means seeming rather harsh regarding the future ex-member state.

This is exactly what Jean-Claude Juncker reaffirmed during the press conference he gave with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands, the evening of June 28th. I hope that the United Kingdoms announcement will come as quickly as possible. Its necessary to pick up the pace.

"Welcome back!"

But its difficult to see perfectly united politics in an EU of 27, where euro-skepticism is gaining ground, as demonstrated in the last presidential elections in Austria, which saw the extreme right obtain almost 50% of the vote during the second round. For the states desiring less political integration, the tone was much more aggressive these last few days. Questioned on the possibility of a non-notification about the departure of the EU from the British government, the Lithuanian president, Dalia Grybauskaite, had a hint of smile when responding, Welcome, welcome back!

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, prime minister of Denmark, a country that could be the next one, according to some, to ask for a referendum in this matter, called for a peaceful divorce with the United Kingdom. While the prime minister of Czech, Bohuslav Sobotka, declared that, on his part, Brexit will take several years, and it should not be a priority in the European agenda, while also pleading for changes in the European Commissions operations.

So, there was no unanimity between the leaders at the outset of the first meeting dedicated to the future Union of 27.

A resolute response

But the 27 member states have to provide a collective response and display their unity at the time of this new European Council. Incidentally, thats what had been affirmed by the group of the heads of state and government before this historic meeting.

In light of conclusions, the consensus reached seems more resolute, in line with the opinions expressed by the pro-European leaders, like Francois Hollande or Angela Merkel. In this way, the European Council reaffirmed, in a declaration, that its up to the United Kingdom to inform the Union of its intention to leave. And this must be done as quickly as possible.

But in spite of this resolution, everything is not regulated. Far from it. The United Kingdom must first communicate, and they have not said they will do this within the next few weeks. Then, the most likely lengthy negotiations will take place between the Kingdom and the 27 member states who must come to an agreement regarding the status that the ex-member state will have. Faced with this unprecedented legal and political situation, it is impossible to speculate today on the future relations between the United Kingdom and the continent.

Story by Lucas TRIPOTEAU

Translated from Brexit : les 27 face au Royaume
Migration : the European Union won't budge.

Published on July 5, 2016

Story by Laura Lepretre Translation by: Catherine Combes

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Agreements on the management of migration, focusing on the relocation of border control, were approved at the June 28th-29th summit . No drastic change here, the individual states and the EU as a whole are not questioning their own policies.

The Rabat agreements (2006), the Karthoum Process (November 2014), the la Valette migration summit (November 11th-12th 2015)... So many measures were taken before member states decided to embrace an ambitious plan to deal with migration issues, in order to " fight against the root causes of illegal migration and the flow of refugees."

Those agreements foresee, amongst others, the establishment of trust funds (they're still being negociated), "a kind of Juncker-plan for Africa", according to the Permanent Representation of France, in order to "fight against the root causes of destabilizing forces, forced population displacements and illegal migration, by contributing to better the economy and promoting equal opportunity, the reinsertion of at-risk populations, safety and development".

From theory to practice

The agreements concluded between the EU and Turkey on March 18th 2016 will contribute to exacerbating the externalization policy that has thus far directed the way the European Union manages migration flows.

Concretely, Turkish authorities have agreed to take back all migrants who arrive in Greece, including Syrian migrants. In return, Turkey received 3 billion euros, on top of the original 3 billion that it was granted in 2015, as well as the promise of an accelerated EU membership.

The EU also promised that, for each Syrian that would be sent back to Turkey, one Syrian staying in a Turkish refugee camp would be granted access to Europe through a humanitarian corridor. The goal of such a cumbersome process is, according to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, to "avoid deaths at sea" in the Mediterranean, and to prevent human trafficking.

The results of such policy are mixed. On the one hand, fewer migrants go through the Greek islands - and, therefore, through the main European receiving countries, which the Council sees as a "positive" effect. On the other hand, the number of migrants arriving from Egypt and Lybia through the Mediterranean route (Italy) has risen. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found 2467 migrants died on the Mediterranean route since January 2016, which means 681 more people drowned there, in comparison to the 2015 figures, while the overall number of migrants reaching Europe through that route has dropped from 70354 people in 2015 to 65752 in 2016.

In spite of that distressing fact, the EU welcomes the outcome of the agreement with Turkey, and and hopes to extend this strategy to African countries: externalizing migration controls with the help of "development" trust funds, which will be made available under the condition that those countries control emigration. "A series of incentive measures will be incorporated into the commercial and development policy of the EU, so that countries that cooperate with the EU in terms of migration control are rewarded, and those who don't have to suffer consequences", a press release of the European Commission indicates on June 7th 2016.

NGOs react

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), a collective of human rights and asylum right NGOs (Amnesty International, Asylum aid, Belgian Refugee Council) comprised of over 100 NGOs based in 38 countries, reacted by publishing a press release where it denounces the European migration policy and stresses the dangers such an agreement entails. "The plan is to use aid, trade and other sources of funding to limit the number of migrants that reach European shores. (...) It was inspired by the EU-Turkey agreement, which left thousands of people stranded in Greece, living under inhuman and degrading conditions. Children in particular are affected; hundreds of unaccompanied children are held in closed detention centres or have to sleep in police cells."

That press release echoes Medecin Sans Frontiere's refusal to accept European funding in the future, a measure aimed at expressing its disagreement with a European migration policy it deems disgraceful. "MSF denounces the destructive deterrence policy of the European Union, as well as its attempt to push away people and their distress", MSF International General secretary Jerome Oberreit declared in a press release.

European leaders ignored those appeals, and the conclusion of Tuesday's summit (June 28th 2016) is unambiguous: "We must reinforce border control and have stricter safety measures", Jean-Claude Juncker stated.

Story by Laura Lepretre

Translated from Migration : lUnion europeenne persiste et signe
SHARE Huenink

By Jamil Oakford, jamil.oakford@caller.com

Corpus Christi police are searching for a man suspected in an aggravated assault/family violence case.

Christopher Huenink, 33, is described as 5'10" and weighs 210 pounds. He has blond or strawberry blond hair, blue eyes and hasn't had a permanent address for some time, according to police.

He's previously stayed at Good Samaritan off Sam Rankin Street and in a home in the 5000 block of Green Park Drive. Senior Officer Kirk Stowers said it is unclear how recent Huenink lived at either address.

The public should call police and not approach him since he's considered dangerous.

Twitter: @Caller_Jamil
Caller-Times file Nicknamed "the Johnson City Windmill," this helicopter delivered Senate candidate Lyndon B. Johnson to Corpus Christi on July 7, 1948 on Shoreline Boulevard, in the same location where the Memorial Coliseum was eventually built.

SHARE

By Allison Ehrlich of the Caller-Times

Had enough of politics and politicians lately? Too bad, here's a throwback 68 years to the date of another election campaign in full swing.

Flipping through Murphy Givens' "Old Corpus Christi: The Past in Photographs" this week I came across this image shot on July 7, 1948. Here the helicopter nicknamed "the Johnson City Windmill" brought Senate candidate Lyndon B. Johnson to Corpus Christi for a campaign speech during the lead up to the Democratic primary election on July 24 that year. At the point this photo was taken, Johnson had already spent 20 days flying in the helicopter to visits with 20 of the 21 congressional districts in Texas.

If the 1948 Senate primary doesn't ring any bells, perhaps the phrase "Box 13" does. Johnson and former Gov. Coke R. Stevenson were the top vote-getters in the primary and went to a runoff on Aug. 28. Stevenson was in the lead on election day, but Jim Wells County filed an amended return six days later and 202 new votes for Johnson appeared  in alphabetical order, in the same color ink. The Box 13 scandal is attributed to George B. Parr, also known as the Duke of Duval, and his political machine. Johnson gained an 87 vote lead over Stevenson and the moniker "Landslide Lyndon" was born.

And if that landing spot looks familiar, it's the location of the current Bayshore Park on Shoreline Boulevard. Most residents know the area better as the site of the former Memorial Coliseum.

Allison Ehrlich is the archive coordinator for the Caller-Times. Contact her at allison.ehrlich@caller.com and follow her on Twitter @CallerArchives.
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By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

State investigators found at least eight violations within Corpus Christi's water system during a review of the infrastructure after the two 2015 boil water notices, and the city may face stiff corrective costs and fines as a result.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has proposed compliance initiatives estimated to cost more than $503,000, and an additional $6,000 in penalties, according to more than 1,000 pages of communications between the agency and city that were released to the Caller-Times.

City spokeswoman Kim Womack said those corrective requirements and penalties, which were delivered to the city in April, are being negotiated and the final costs are not yet known.

The agency is expected to levy more mandates on the city when its investigation into the May boil water notice concludes, but it's not known when that will be released or what it could contain, she added.

"We know there will be (a violation) for the low chlorine residuals, but they may have additional findings their investigators want fixed," Womack said. "We won't know until the report comes out."

The lion's share of those corrective costs ($500,000) stem from one violation  a failure to "initiate maintenance and housekeeping practices to ensure the good working condition and general appearance of the Facility and its equipment."

Those alleged offenses pertain to the Alameda, Morgan and Flour Bluff elevated water storage tanks. The Alameda tank has interior corrosion issues; the Morgan tank has a hole in the side wall plate; and the Flour Bluff facility has a "significant amount" of corrosion on the interior and exterior as well as holes in the roof plates, according to the report.

Smaller violations include not testing certain infrastructure as frequently as required, leaks at three pump stations, low disinfectant levels, records not being adequately maintained for state inspection and other monitoring issues, the documents show.

In recent months city officials have stressed the importance of improvements to the water system, and some studies and initiatives are underway.

It's possible the city won't have to pay the full costs or fulfill all the corrective mandates.

State regulators told City Hall in a September letter that "prompt corrective actions" could minimize looming compliance and penalty costs stemming from last year's boil water notices.

There is not a timeline on when the city and state negotiations will conclude, Womack said.

Twitter: @reportermatt
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Carina Castellanos, 26, was reported missing by her mother on June 30, 2016. Her last known address is in the 1000 block of Herndon Street.

By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

The boyfriend of a missing woman believes she is alive and is pleading with her to reach out to someone, but her mother fears the worst.

"Please, please. If she doesn't want to talk to me, just call her mom," Nigel Green told the Caller-Times on Wednesday.

Carina Castellanos, 26, was reported missing by her mother June 30.

"I'm trying to look for her myself. I've been trying to call her phone," Green said.

Corpus Christi police said Castellanos moved to the city with her boyfriend several months ago from San Antonio. She was last seen in the 1000 block of Herndon Street where she was living.

Giddens-Castellanos said her daughter was working as an office manager at an air conditioning business and had taken a second job at McDonald's near the intersection of Staples Street and Weber Road. Police said her disappearance is suspicious because she has not returned to work or picked up her latest pay check.

Green, 30, said the last time he saw Castellanos was two weeks ago. He said this isn't the first time she has left without contacting him, and the last time, she was gone about two weeks.

"I don't know if she's mad at me, and I've been trying to call her phone but she hasn't been answering," Green said.

Giddens-Castellanos said her daughter has never disappeared before.

Castellanos was the victim of a violent crime June 10, police said, but did not provide details about that case. Giddens-Castellanos said her daughter was trying to leave Green, but he threatened her with a knife.

Green did not reply to phone and text messages seeking further comment.

Castellanos' last shift at McDonald's was June 8 and she was last seen at her office job June 13, her mother said. Castellanos' vehicle was found by police and is being processed, said Senior Officer Travis Pace.

The last time Giddens-Castellanos heard from her daughter was a text message June 27.

"(Police) are working it as aggressively as they can to try and find her," Pace said. "The ultimate goal is find her. (We're) working with all resources (we) can to try and get her located."

Castellanos was reported missing into the Texas Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center databases, said Senior Officer Kirk Stowers.

The Caller-Times has requested incident reports and 911 communication from the 1000 block of Herndon Street between June 1 and July 5. Police had not responded to the request as of Wednesday evening.

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
Caller-Times File Vicky Alexander (center) smiles as stories are told about her former husband Lt. Stuart Jay Alexander during a memorial Friday, March 11, 2016, at Lt. Stuart J. Alexander Memorial Park in Corpus Christi.

SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Corpus Christi police Lt. Stuart Alexander, who was killed while placing spikes on the road March 11, 2009. Daniel Lee Lopez

By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

One of the most difficult things Vicky Alexander has done was watch the documentary that chronicled the death of her husband, Corpus Christi Police Lt. Stuart Alexander. She wanted to watch it with her parents, but Vicky Alexander couldn't bring herself to do that.

"It would be hard for them to see me hurting more," she said.

Instead, Vicky Alexander watched the United States premiere of BBC's documentary "Life and Death Row" on Wednesday night in San Antonio with her boyfriend and his parents. The episode, titled "No Appeal," followed the execution of Daniel Lee Lopez, 27, who was put to death Aug. 12, 2015, after he fatally struck her husband with his SUV in 2009.

Lopez sought the death penalty as punishment for what he did. He claimed it was the only way his family and the Alexander family would be able to move on.

"I'm being a man about it and accepting my punishment," Lopez said in the documentary.

The documentary crew began filming five weeks before Lopez's execution. They chronicled the journeys of Vicky Alexander and Lopez's family and interviewed Lopez in prison.

"They've done documentaries before about what people go through (on death row) but not really the victim's side of it," Vicky Alexander said. "I felt that people needed to see it and hear it."

Vicky Alexander, who had seen the documentary before it aired in the United States, said she felt compassion for Lopez's family.

"I felt for (Lopez's mother). I had a career saving children (as a nurse) and now I had to watch someone else's child be put to death," Alexander said. "As a parent I don't wish that on any parent."

Still, Vicky Alexander said, she needed to see the execution for her husband.

"My husband and I have always believed in it," she said. "He put it best: The death penalty is the only way to assure that the person won't walk the streets and hurt anyone ever again."

Vicky Alexander said recovering in the aftermath of her husband's death is a "lifelong process.".

"Sometimes it's hard to be happy because you get a sense of guilt. The heartache of losing Stuart is still there," she said. "But I want to take care of myself, pick up the pieces and figure out my next step. It's time to move forward."

Twitter: @Caller_Fares
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Sub sandwiches will be served at Jersey Mike's Subs, which will open its second Corpus Christi location July 13 at 1813 Ennis Joslin Road.

SHARE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Jersey Mike's Subs will open a second Corpus Christi location July 13 at 1813 Ennis Joslin Road.

By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

Corpus Christi residents will soon have a new spot to get subs.

A Jersey Mike's Subs is opening in Corpus Christi on July 13, under franchise owners Bob and Gail Smith and general managers Clayton Smith and Tim Wear. The restaurant, the second location in Corpus Christi, is located at 1813 Ennis Joslin Road.

The owners are planning a grand opening July 13 and also planning a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts of America South Texas Council that will run until July 17.

Jersey Mike's Subs will distribute 7,500 coupons throughout the community offering a free regular sub with a minimum $2 donation to the Boy Scouts.

The restaurant will be open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.

Twitter: @Caller_Fares
SHARE Farenthold ASSOCIATED PRESS/Mary Altaffer Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump smiles as supporters cheer during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester on June 7, 2016, in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.

By Matt Woolbright of the Caller-Times

Count U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, among those who believe presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump should be the next leader of the free world.

Farenthold, who was first elected in the Tea Party wave of 2010, announced his endorsement of the business mogul after the pair met for about an hour in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, said Elizabeth Peace, Farenthold's communications director.

Trump met with more than 200 House Republicans on Thursday, and the responses to that meeting varied, according to a USA TODAY NETWORK report.

Late last year, when Trump called for a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants, Farenthold said he "agrees with a lot of things Donald Trump says, but sometimes he goes too far, and he went a little too far on that one."

Farenthold's office declined to discuss the endorsement outside an emailed news release.

Farenthold initially backed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the presidential race, but said the choice was clear once voters in each party picked their candidates.

"Given the choice between Mr. Trump and Secretary (Hillary) Clinton, this is a no-brainer," he said. "I don't want someone in the Oval Office that is 'extremely careless.'"

Throughout his tenure, the Corpus Christi Republican has been vocal about his disagreement with Democratic President Barack Obama on most issues.

He added the time for inner-party fighting is over, and he called on fellow Republicans to "unify around its duly elected nominee."

Twitter: @reportermatt
Columnist Dave McNeely

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Texas' top elected officials have practiced the claim, "We're from the government, and we're here to help you."

Under that guise, the leaders want to regulate your behavior, rather than actually providing enough help in education, health insurance, foster care, acceptance of Medicaid expansion, and so on.

The most recent example is underlined by the U.S. Supreme Court's slap-down of a Texas anti-abortion law, claimed to be needed to protect women's health.

A 5-3 majority of the court, in announcing their decision on the Texas abortion case June 27, essentially said "We don't believe you."

At issue was HB 2, passed by the Texas Legislature in a 2013 special legislative session called by then-Gov. Rick Perry. It made it much more difficult for any Texas women to obtain abortions, under the guise of protecting their health.

Abortion providers challenged two parts of the law.

One was that abortion clinics had to meet the same standards as accredited surgical centers  an expensive undertaking.

The second was that doctors performing abortions had to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, of Austin, in October of 2013 upheld the objection to the admitting requirement, just before the law was to take effect.

Gov. Greg Abbott, still attorney general at the time, appealed Yeakel's ruling to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which stayed the decision.

So the provisions of the new law were allowed to go into effect, complicating the path for a woman to obtain an abortion.

In 2014, Yeakel ruled the surgical center requirement also was unnecessary. Again, Abbott appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which again, in June of 2015, ruled against Yeakel.

Abbott, by then governor, said in a press statement, "This unanimous decision is a vindication of the careful deliberation by the Texas Legislature to craft a law to protect the health and safety of Texas women." Abbott proclaimed in a press statement.

Abbott's successor, Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton, who had voted for HB 2 as a senator in 2013, took over its defense.

"The common-sense measures Texas has put in place elevate the standard of care and protect the health of Texas women, (by protecting against) "substandard conditions at abortion facilities," Paxton argued.

The five Supreme Court justices did not agree.

Writing for the majority, Justice Stephen Breyer said the state had no backup facts to support the claim that the new law was a necessary addition to protect the health of women getting abortions.

"(W)hen directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case," Breyer wrote.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who as a state senator had also supported HB 2, called the Supreme Court's decision "shocking," overturning "simple common sense."

"With the Court's decision, abortion doctors can now take innocent life in below-standard, unsterile and unsafe conditions," Patrick declared. "The Senate will revisit this issue again next session."

Meanwhile, some Texans wish Patrick and Abbott and Paxton could focus more on issues that affect children already here, than spend time, energy and taxpayer dollars worrying about blocking women's right to obtain an abortion.

"Texas is doing a shameful job of parenting many of its foster children," wrote Darlene Byrne, the principal Travis County district judge dealing with foster care placement, in a recent newspaper column.

"The situation is worse than I have seen during almost 13 years as a judge hearing Child Protective Services (CPS) cases. Children are sleeping on air mattresses on the floors in (Child Protective Services) office buildings because workers can't find appropriate foster homes," Byrne wrote.

Byrne agrees with U.S. District Judge Janis Jack's December finding of an atrocious foster care system. But she'd rather see money spent directly on services, rather than an expensive study ordered by Judge Jack.

"There's no mystery here  to do better, we just need to spend more money for the right things," Byrne wrote. "Not on highly paid consultants, but on key areas"  like hiring many more caseworkers, "paid at a rate that recognizes the harrowing nature of the work they do; and paying foster homes appropriate and sustainable reimbursement rates."

And that's just one area of real need. How about it, guys?

Contact McNeely at davemcneely111@gmail.com or 512-458-2963.
| BY Lynchy |

Aucklands Heart of the City has launched a new campaign via Colenso BBDO, Auckland to encourage Aucklanders to discover the diversity of offering in the central city.

The campaign features 50 individual short films, called Lovebites, each revealing a secret or interesting fact about inner city experiences and destinations.

The films were produced in-house by Colenso BBDOs production arm Flare, using director/DoP James Rua.

From a secret item you can order not listed on a burger restaurants menu to the meaning of the lights on the Sky Tower, theres oddly something addictive about these little films that once you watch one you want to click to see more.

The multi short film campaign approach is becoming more commonly a solution to strategies that have digital and social channels at their centre.

Says Steve Cochran, ECD at Colenso BBDO: Digital has often been considered the place where long-form, deeper and richer engagement films could be housed to support the main 30 or 60 second ad. But the reality is, few consumers are that interested in any brand to click through to seek that stuff out. And social platforms arent necessarily ideal for long video content. So the demand has now firmly shifted to short films like twenty, ten or even just five seconds in length. And even better if they work without sound.

The campaign also sees the launch of new branding for Heart of the City, with a new logo and brand identity also developed by Colenso BBDO.

Says Kate Cleaver, Head of Marketing at Heart of the City: Heart of the Citys branding had become a bit disjointed over time with differences in our corporate facing brand and consumer facing brand. The development of this new identity is designed to amalgamate and strengthen our brand to all audiences. And with Viv Beck coming on board as our CEO last year and the invigoration central Auckland is going through, the time was right for a future focussed change.

The new identity and Lovebites campaign is rolling out through Auckland across digital, social, print, outdoor and cinema.

Agency: Colenso BBDO

Film Company: The Hood & Co

James Rua, Cinematographer

Felicia Brunsting, Producer

Client: Heart of the City

Viv Beck, CEO

Kate Cleaver, Head of Marketing
| BY Lynchy |

BWM Dentsu, Sydney has further strengthened its creative credentials with the appointment of award-winning creatives Jon Foye and Denny Handlin, who have joined as head of art and creative group head respectively.

Foye joins from MJW, where he worked on the awarded NRL State of Mind campaign. Handlin joins from Clemenger BBDO Sydney, where he worked on the successful Whiskas Catstacam campaign and the most recent Tourism Australia campaign.

Together, Foye and Handlins work has been recognised at nearly every major ad award show, with their portfolio spanning a number of iconic brands, including McDonalds, Virgin Australia, Canon, Foxtel, Coca Cola, IBM, Pepsi co and Diageo.

In his spare time, Foye is also an acclaimed childrens picture book illustrator. Last year he was awarded Best-Designed Childrens Illustrated Book at the 2015 Australian Book Design Awards for the successful Mike I Dont Like picture book.

Asheen Naidu, BWM Dentsu, Sydney executive creative director, said he was looking forward to working with Jon and Denny: Were very excited to welcome Jon and Denny to the BWM Dentsu family. They both bring a wealth of experience to the team and have a very unique way of looking at things, which is evident in the great work theyve produced over the years. I have no doubt that with Jon and Denny on board, we will be able to take our creative product to the next level.

Handlin said it was a no-brainer to join BWM Dentsu: Were incredibly excited to be joining the team at BWM Dentsu. Both Ash and Alex Carr are super smart, creative, passionate, and
| BY Lynchy |

After weeks of controversy, and without admitting any wrongdoing, Grey Singapore has reluctantly handed back its Bronze Lion won at Cannes last month for its I Sea App.

The agency released this short statement overnight: During Cannes we said the app was real and its creator, Grey for Good in Singapore, is a highly respected philanthropic unit that has helped numerous non-profit organizations. Moreover, Grey is one of the most creatively awarded agencies in the world with the highest ethical standards. We won over 90 Cannes Lions this year alone so there is no need for scam projects.

However, given the unwarranted, unfair, unrelenting attacks by unnamed bloggers, we are putting an end to this and returning the Bronze Lion so there is not even the hint of impropriety or a question of our integrity. The saying no good deed goes unpunished is apt in this case.

Grey Group Singapores Bronze Lion win in the Promo + Activation Lions came under fire following Apple iTunes decision to pull the app from their store. The I Sea app came under investigation following criticism of the app first raised by @SwiftOnSecurity, who tested the app.

The App won a Bronze Lion in Cannes but when it won media reports called the app a fake and bogus

In response at the time Grey posted a statement on their website saying that the app is in testing mode.

Greys statement was as follows: On World Refugee Day, Grey for Good wants to thank all those who are helping us develop the I SEA app. I SEA  an app developed by Grey for Good in support of MOAS  aims to bring humanitarian and technological efforts together in order to have a concrete impact on the continued refugee crisis at sea. Currently in its testing period, the app is a tool which crowdsources the ability to scan the sea for migrant vessels in distress. With global forced displacement having reached an all-time high (65.3 million people at the end of 2015), any efforts to help those fleeing war and persecution are greatly welcomed.

The I SEA App is currently in a testing mode. At this time it is loading and mapping satellite images to its GPS coordinates and users are able to report an anomaly in their plot of sea. The report function is sending out an alert whenever a user flags something in the plot of sea they are watching. During this testing period, the satellite images available are not in real-time. Grey for Good are still working to optimise the technology, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far and are grateful to all those who have shown interest in helping to improve the app further. The continued interest and suggestions from people who have already tried it around the world, especially on this, World Refugee Day, are all valued opinions which will be incorporated into the final product.

Perhaps the most damning was a statement released by a client spokesperson, The Migrant Offshore Aid Network:

The Migrant Offshore Aid Network did not develop the app with Grey for Good nor do we feel that there [are] any advantages to having the public scan old sat images for potential disasters that in reality unfold in seconds.

MOAS has performed life and death rescues in real time using two ships, commercial drones and Search and Rescue Crews in the Central Mediterranean since 2014. The majority of our rescues are coordinated in real time from the Rome Rescue Coordination Center in which MOAS often takes the lead. Saving lives is a serious business, with serious consequences for not maintaining the highest standards of professionalism.

All we can say on the developers behalf is that the App probably sounded interesting in concept form but failed miserably in execution. We were asked to support the launch of the app in concept only. So we were included in a press release, added the spokesperson.

The client further added this quote in a story in The Guardian: We were dismayed to discover that real time images were not being used. We have since discontinued our relationship with Grey for Good and spoken candidly about our disappointment to the media.
Of course the economy is important, but so are reproductive rights | Opinion
Both the ACT government and the Wellington City Council are pushing hard to boost trade and business exchanges ahead of the commencement of international flights in September, and say the benefits of the sister city relationship will be much more than symbolic.
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.
Today's world is filled with cut throat competition, non-stop race for a better career both educationally and professionally and an immense pressure to reach the summit of success before someone else does.

We are in the era where one cannot imagine to pass the exams like board exams or CET or JEE or Civil Services exam without burning the midnight oil. The aspirants have to undergo tremendous amount of mental and physical pressure with regard to studies. Even while gearing up to bag a job for oneself, one has to work day and night to stay ahead of one's competitor.

The above observations are true when it comes to students of all the streams. However, there is good news for the students of engineering stream, especially for those studying and those who look forward to studying at IIT Kharagpur.

According to India Today the esteemed institute of technology has come up with a unique way of dealing with the pressure-filled life of its students and others in general. The institute wants to create a platform for students, teachers and other staffs on the campus to hold constructive discussions and debates on meaningful life, well-being, overall development of one's personality and nourishing positive thinking.

Rekhi Centre for Science of Happiness at IIT Kharagpur

The brain behind this upcoming centre for Science of Happiness is Mr. Satinder Singh Rekhi, hence the centre would be named after him. This centre would be a working towards making Rekhi's dream of developing blissful technocrats. The centre will provide courses, encourage research and train aspirants regarding discovering science of happiness scientifically.

The maiden national/international workshop on the science of happiness will be conducted in August 2016. The institute has fixed a space where it would build the Centre for Science of Happiness and it will soon be ready to impart knowledge on science of happiness.
Last week, director Sam Mendes announced the casting for the next James Bond movie, Spectre, and Aston Martin unveiled the DB10, the car the worlds most famous (albeit fictional) spy will drive in the film.



Now, according to a New York Times report, nine of the cars, among them five Range Rover Sport SUVs, that were in a German garage near Dusselforf awaiting shipment to the Alps, where filming for Spectre is scheduled to begin, were stolen. We are aware of the theft of a number of Range Rovers in Dusseldorf, Germany said Land Rover UK in a statement. This is a criminal act and the police are carrying out a full investigation.

Producers have not announced if the theft will cause any delay in filming for the 24th movie in the James Bond franchise and the police, too, is keeping mum about any leads concerning the incident.

Clearly, this has not been a good week for the new Bond movie: apart from the car theft, a cyberattack on Sonys database led to a leak of the Spectre script. We guess the producers must be a bit shaken (martini pun intended) by these two setbacks

Photo Gallery
Developed by General Motors and NASA for the International Space Station, advanced robotic glove technology will soon be used in various industries back on earth.



Thanks to an agreement between GM and Swedish medical technology firm Bioservo Technologies AB, the two will join forces and combine their two robotic gloves into additional devices thatll be used in health care, manufacturing and a host of other industries.

The glove created by GM and NASA, appropriately dubbed the RoboGlove, is so advanced that it can operate numerous hand tools thanks to its utilisation of actuators, tendons and sensors designed to mimic the human hand. Bioservos SEM Glove (Soft Extra Muscle) will add even more complexity and dexterity to the glove when the two are combined.

According to chief executive of Bioservo Technologies Tomas Ward, Combining the best of three worlds  space technology from NASA, engineering from GM and medtech from Bioservo  in a new industrial glove could lead to industrial scale use of the technology.

Initially, a new glove will be designed for grasping to help reduce fatigue in hand muscles, something that could prove particularly useful in operating theaters and automotive production facilities around the world.

PHOTO GALLERY
If you ran out of patience waiting for the all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor, Hennessey has an alternative.



Its called the Velociraptor 700, and like its predecessor (the 600), the truck isnt based on Fords steroid-enhanced, full-fledged 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 turbo Raptor, but on your run-of-the mill F150 FX4.

Dont get saddened though, because its 2.9-litre supercharger, (bolted on top of the big, meaty 5.0-litre Coyote V8), the air-to-water intercooler, high-flow air induction kit, fuel injector upgrade, stainless steel cat-back exhaust and HPE engine management calibration make it boast 704hp at 6,000rpm. Thats way more than the real upcoming Raptors 450hp, a figure hinted by Fords Global Product Development Vice President, Raj Nair.

Sure, Hennesseys variant isnt a Baja-bred machine, like the upcoming Ford Performance Raptor, but it has its own chassis upgrades that make it competitive off-road.

Armed with a Fox off-road suspension upgrade and Hennesseys 20-inch wheels, wrapped in upgraded street and off-road tires, the Supercharged Ford Truck isnt limited by any road surface. The pre-runner front bumper (available with an integrated LED light bar), and off-road rear bumper upgrade leave room for inclines and high-speed Baja-style hooning.

The vehicle was made in celebration of the Texas tuners 25th anniversary, bearing that special limited edition status. Hennessey didnt say how many will be made, but HPE800 Ford Mustang 25th Anniversary Edition will be limited to only 25 units.

PHOTO GALLERY
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Call 281-422-8302 or email sunnews@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

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Hyundai is interested in attracting Uber drivers into its brand new Ioniq, on the back of Toyotas increasing dominance among drivers of the ride-sharing app.



Toyota offers lease deals on its cars for Uber drivers, particularly the hybrid Prius, and also invested money into Uber. While speaking with the media recently, Hyundais eco-car boss Ki Sang Lee told Autocar that it could follow a similar route.

We have certainly been looking into it, he said. The trouble is that Europe is such a complicated mix of different legislations, so it takes time to assess each and come up with a plan. Even so, we have definitely been looking into Uber and whether we can offer some sort of incentive.

A key point of difference between the Ioniq and the Prius is that the former is available in full-electric guise. Sang Lee pinpointed this as a key selling point for Uber drivers, particularly in cities with established charging infrastructure.

Toyota is well established in the UK and much of Europe when it comes to taxi services, we realise that. However, we think that by offering something slightly different we could benefit. For instance, using our pure-EV Ioniq in cities as taxis instead of the HEV  Toyota doesnt currently offer a pure-EV Prius, he said.

PHOTO GALLERY
Infinitis rise to become a serious alternative to key German brands has been aided by a jump in registrations across the United Kingdom.

In the first six months of 2016 alone, the automaker has seen more of its cars registered than it did in all of 2015, representing a 157 per cent year on year increase.

These heightened registration numbers were shared amongst fleet and retail sales with June proving exceedingly important, after experience a 447 per cent bump over the same month in 2015.

While specific sales, delivery or registration figures have yet to be released by the firm, it claims that it is one of the fastest growing automakers this year in the UK, with the companys country director Barry Beeston pinpointing the new Q30 and QX30 as key drivers behind the increase.

Infiniti continues to drive forward in all areas of the business. With registrations increasing month on month in both fleet and retail sales, the network is currently benefiting from the continuous introduction of new models. The recent introduction of the two UK built products of the Q30 and QX30 is making a serious impact. Adding the stunning Q60 coupe, due later in the autumn, means this momentum is set to continue, Beeston confirmed.

PHOTO GALLERY
Apparently, Skoda is too excited to wait for the official debut of their new Kodiaq, releasing some more details on their new SUV contender.



The Czech company begins the launch campaign of the Kodiaq, promising to offer the largest boot capacity in the segment, along with an optional third row of seats.

Other things we learned include the available range of engines, with Skoda to offer the Kodiaq with three TSI petrol engines and two TDI diesel units. The most powerful petrol option will be a turbocharged 2.0-litre TSI unit with 177hp (180PS) while most versions will be available with front- and all-wheel drive.

A manual six-speed gearbox will be standard, with a double-clutch DSG transmission offered optionally. Skoda will also offer a plug-in hybrid version but this isnt expected to hit the market before 2019.

VW Groups Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) and Driving Mode Select chassis technologies will be part of the Kodiaqs equipment list as expected, with Skoda adding an off-road mode for models equipped with AWD.

Measuring 4.7m long, the Skoda Kodiaq is expected to compete with other seven-seaters in class like the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Our new Skoda Kodiaq SUV is a great all-rounder, said Skoda CEO, Bernhard Maier. It combines an active sense of vitality with the brands classic qualities  a high degree of functionality and an outstanding amount of space. As always, in the design process we have focused on offering a little bit more car, and as a result, the best vehicle in the segment.

The cabin will be equipped with the Groups latest infotainment system, featuring Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, an LTE module and WiFi hotspot. The new Skoda Kodiaq will come with a full range of driver assistance systems, including Area View cameras, Tow Assist and the familiar Front Assist and adaptive cruise control systems among others.

The final production version of the Skoda Kodiaq is expected to be revealed near the end of August where we will take a complete first look on its design inside-out.

PHOTO GALLERY
Just when you thought youve seen everything, Ryan Tuerck informs us that they are building a Toyota 86 (GT 86 / Scion FR-S in some markets) powered by a Ferrari V8 engine.



Donut Media released a short teaser video showing the empty Toyota GT86 shell getting ready for its heart transplant.

We can spot a full cage accompanied with additional body strengthening so the car can cope not only with the significantly raised horsepower levels but perform as a proper drift weapon we imagine it will be.

As for the engine, the video tells us that its a Ferraris F136 V8 unit, which has been used in different forms in models like the F430, the California and the 458. Given the GT86s front-engine layout we are guessing they opted for the 454hp California version which is the only front-mount design we wonder how much time and skill it will take to shoehorn the 458s engine into that engine bay.

Nevertheless this is one of the impressive builds weve come across this year and we cant wait to see (and hear) the finished car.

VIDEO
A major Studio Ghibli exhibition opens to the public in the Roppongi Hills skyscraper tomorrow. The show, titled Ghibli Expo: From Nausicaa to Its Latest Film, The Red Turtle, will run through September 11, leading up to the Japanese release of Michael Dudok de Wits Red Turtle, Ghiblis first international co-production.

The comprehensive exhibit, which includes numerous three-dimensional models and recreations of the Ghibli offices among its 2,500 objects on display, is based on a 30th anniversary exhibit that took place last year in Japan, which has been updated with artwork from Dudok de Wits film.

A key part of the exhibit is the display of advertising materials; there is plenty of such material in Japan where publicity flyers are used to promote films at movie theaters. Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki explained to Nippon.com that the dense layout of the show is on purpose because he wanted everything arranged in a haphazard way, just like memories are arranged in a filmgoers mind.
Focus Features has released a new, and presumably final, trailer for Laikas Kubo and the Two Strings. The stop-motion/CG-hybrid fantasy/action-adventure is set in a mythical Japan and offers no shortage of fantastical creatures and settings.

All eyes will be on Travis Knight, who is making his directorial debut with Kubo, Laikas fourth film. Knight, who also produced the film, is the president and CEO of Laika, and has been the companys head of animation and lead animator on previous features.

At this point, Laikas technical chops are irreproachable. With each new film, the studio continues to push stop motion animation to dazzling new heights. The only question that remains is whether they can marry their technology with compelling storytelling, which has been the studios Achilles heel for the past couple films. Consequently, each of their releases has grossed less domestically than the previous film, and Boxtrolls barely cracked the $50 million mark.
Photo: Instagram

Oscar winner Billy Bob Thornton is bringing his band The Boxmasters to the Okanagan.

The band will be live at The Mule on Martin Street in Penticton on Sunday, Sept. 11, for their only B.C. stop.

The Boxmasters is an American country rock/rockabilly band founded in Bellflower, Calif., in 2007.

It features Thornton playing the drums and doing vocals, with J.D. Andrew on rhythm guitar, Danny Baker (aka Unknown Hinson) on bass guitar, Brad Davis doing vocals and playing lead guitar, and Micheal Wayne Butler on guitars and lap steel.

The group has released three albums on Vanguard Records.

Before he started The Boxmasters, front man Thornton had played in two cover bands, worked as a roadie, and released four solo albums.

After listening to "Yesterday's Gone" by Chad & Jeremy and thinking about covering it in a hillbilly music style, he had the idea of making Americanized version of British Invasion pop songs.

During its early days, the band played several live shows in the California area, as well as in Tecate, Mexico.

From mid-2008 to late-2008, the group embarked on a tour across the United States, ending in Los Angeles.

It also played for the March 2009 South by Southwest conference.

The group went on to play in Canada in early 2009

In the aftermath of a controversial interview on the CBC Radio One program Q in early April 2009, in which Thornton labeled his Canadian audience "mashed potatoes with no gravy," the band stopped its Canadian tour early.

It resumed touring in mid-April 2009 in the United States.

The Boxmasters are returning to Canada with the stop at The Mule.

Tickets are on sale here.
Penticton

The Okanagan Falls Water District is advising that water will be shut off from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., July 8 for repair work. The properties affected are on Maple Street south of 10th Avenue to Ferguson Court including Bassett Avenue and Barten Place. The district apologizes for the inconvenience this work will cause.

COMMENTS WELCOME

Comments are pre-moderated to ensure they meet our guidelines. Approval times will vary. Keep it civil, and stay on topic. If you see an inappropriate comment, please use the flag feature. Comments are the opinions of the comment writer, not of Castanet. Comments remain open for one day after a story is published and are closed on weekends. Visit Castanets Forums to start or join a discussion about this story.
I know our national anthem is not the greatest ever written, but it's ours & I am proud to sing it.

We are too worried about hurting other people's feelings. This politically correct world we live in now is damaging us as a society. We are so scared to say anything in fear it will hurt someones feelings or someone's religious beliefs.

Our forefathers fought & died for our freedom, not for what our country is becoming. This country was built on immigrants coming here to get away from whatever horrible things were happening in their own country and were proud to start a new life here, without asking us as a nation to bend the rules just so they can feel more at home.

In my opinion, we should keep our national anthem the way it is. We need more "old school in this world we live in.

Kelly Johnstone
Photo: Okanagan College Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton

Plans for a new Okanagan College campus in Salmon Arm have been scuttled.

According to Okanagan College, the enrolment numbers were not enough to justify the new facility.

We very much appreciate the generous offer of 20 acres of land for a campus closer to Salmon Arms downtown, but the agreement around the proposal included some conditions that we will be unable to meet, explained Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. It would be unfair to Jerry Thompson (the prospective donor) and municipal planning processes to tie up the land by suggesting that we might be able to meet them in the near future.

The offer of land to the college and the City of Salmon Arms commitment to servicing were contingent on a number of factors that the three parties agreed to in 2013.

Those included developing education and business plans that would warrant building a downtown campus. Because the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the eventual donation would hinge on having the Agricultural Land Commission approve removing the parcel of land from the ALR, based on the education and business plans.

We worked hard to identify programs and circumstances that would take us past those conditions, but we have been unable to do that, said Hamilton. One of the reasons is because we have not experienced the enrolment demand for programs in Salmon Arm that was anticipated, mainly as a consequence of changing demographics and declining school populations regionally. In order to proceed with an application to the Agricultural Land Commission we would need a compelling case based on a lack of space at our current facilities. That is not the case at this time or within the time frame anticipated by the agreement.

Salmon Arm Mayor Nancy Cooper said city officials are disappointed that Okanagan College will not be proceeding with the downtown College campus, at least in the short term, due to enrollment challenges.

The city remains committed to the concept of an expanded campus in close proximity to the downtown. The City is here to support the College in continuing to grow the Salmon Arm campus."

Hamilton said Okanagan Colleges efforts will be focused on increasing enrolments and developing new programs to take advantage of the capacity at the current Salmon Arm campus and the associated trades facility (located in the industrial area).

Thompson is optimistic about the future of the college in Salmon Arm.

It may have been a big dream for all of us at this time, but in the future it will happen, it just was not the right time. We do not attach any blame to the Okanagan College staff, as we think they did what they could in this environment. But as we move forward and we must, other opportunities will present themselves, Thompson said in a press release.
Photo: Contributed

Police have laid charges in Mondays shooting in West Kelowna that left a woman with life threatening injuries.

At 11:15 p.m. on July 4, police responded to the 700 block of Spland Road and found a 31-year-old woman, suffering from a single gunshot wound.

She was rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries and remains in serious yet stable condition.

According to a neighbour, a man came to his house at midnight with "blood all over him," and asked to use his cellphone to call 911.

Evan Anthony Swite, 28, was taken into custody and has now been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon while prohibited.

Swite remains in custody and is expected to be back in court on July 18.
Photo: Google Street View

An attempted daylight carjacking in Kelowna was interrupted by a passerby Tuesday evening.

At 7:20 p.m., police received a report of an attempted robbery outside Mission Place Shopping Centre on K.L.O. Road.

The suspect pulled the victim from his blue Fiat, assaulted him and demanded his keys.

According to police, a good Samaritan chased the would-be carjacker away from the scene, while others called 911.

The suspect is described by police as a 5-foot-10 with a stocky build, and wearing a bright orange hat, grey hoodie and dark shorts.

Police are looking to talk to the good Samaritan about the incident and have asked anyone with information to call the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.
Photo: CTV

Each grain of sand is testimony of a father's love.

Sand sculptor Mark Dansereau used to build sandcastles like many fathers do: on a beach with his child by his side.

Now, Dansereau builds elaborate structures in memory of his beloved Bernadette who was taken from this world by cancer shortly after her sixth birthday.

The Blind Bay resident spends hours carving tiny bricks, window frames and turrets into his castles that are often taller than the people viewing them.

"Our whole family got very, very close together," Dansereau said of Bernadette's last months.

"After she died, building sandcastles took on a whole new meaning," he told CTV Vancouver.

Dansereau dedicates much of his time carrying on Bernadette's sandy legacy on the beach, hoping to create a "magical moment" for onlookers.

He said he hopes his sculptures will make people stop and reflect on life, and "wake them up a bit." He also takes photos of the castles, which he's turned into a calendar to give back to the local hospice society.

In her passing, Bernadette passed on one last gift to her family: clarity about what really matters.

"I've never felt such peace and joy in my life as in the last year and a half, because I focus more on the real living, and living in the present moment," he said.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed

Snapchat's commitment to the ephemeral message was ... ephemeral.

The popular visual messaging service is giving users a new way to save old "snaps" they shared with friends.

The tool, called Memories, lets you save photos or videos or photo montages called "stories." You can later scroll through them or send them on to your contacts. That's yet another step away from Snapchat's former fixation on "snaps" that vanish.

While it was already possible to save snaps to your phone's camera roll, Memories lets users save them within the Snapchat app.

The update will become available to Snapchat users over the next month or so.

To find the Memories tool, open Snapchat and swipe up from your camera screen.
Photo: The Canadian Press

UPDATE: 6:45 a.m.

The union representing some 50,000 postal workers says it's rejecting a proposal to undergo binding arbitration in its labour dispute with Canada Post.

In a statement released Thursday morning, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it is refusing arbitration as a "matter of principle" and hopes to reach a negotiated settlement.

Canada Post said Wednesday it would extend its lockout notice to Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET and would be willing to submit to arbitration in an effort to resolve the ongoing dispute.

The deadline had initially been set for Friday.

Canada Post and the union remain at loggerheads on CUPW's request for wage increases for rural mail carriers and the pension changes Canada Post says it needs to reduce costs.

However, there are no talks planned and Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said earlier Wednesday the two sides couldn't be further apart.

ORIGINAL: 11:30 p.m.

Canada Post is extending its lockout notice to Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET and says it is willing to submit to binding arbitration in an effort to resolve the ongoing labour dispute.

In a statement late Wednesday, the Crown corporation said is was extending its deadline, which had been Friday, in the hopes the Canadian Union of Postal Workers would also agree to binding arbitration.

However, there are no talks planned and Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said earlier Wednesday the two sides couldn't be further apart.

Canada Post and the union remain at loggerheads on CUPW's request for wage increases for rural mail carriers and the pension changes Canada Post says it needs to reduce costs.

The fractious relationship between the Crown corporation and the union, which represents about 50,000 staff at Canada Post, should have come as no surprise to the government.

Public Services Minister Judy Foote was warned three months ago that contract negotiations between Canada Post and CUPW were likely to lead to a strike or lockout, with officials advising the government to avoid taking sides in bargaining.

Foote was told in an April briefing note that negotiations "will likely be long and arduous" and that they "may lead to labour disruptions as has occurred in about half of previous negotiations between parties."

The briefing material, previously released under the Access to Information Act, suggests that Foote meet with the union, but not talk about contract negotiations that were underway for fear of looking to favour one side over the other.

Officials told Foote she should only meet with the union's president to talk about a sweeping review of Canada Post that will look at every aspect of the Crown corporation to see what services it should keep, which ones it should ditch, and whether to keep the community mailboxes that have frustrated homeowners who lost door-to-door mail service.

Canada Post had earlier threatened to suspend the collective agreement as of Friday, but it was unclear if it would do so in light of the extended lockout notice.

Workers would still be on the job and receiving wages and benefits under labour laws, but the contract suspension would give Canada Post the option of triggering a work stoppage by locking out employees.

The union has vowed not to go on strike, creating a stare-down between the two parties with one side waiting for the other to blink.

One business expert says he expects the mail will stop flowing after Friday  it's just a matter of how long the labour disruption goes on before there's an agreement, or the government gets involved.

Tom Knight, an associate professor in the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, said it looks like Canada Post is "prepared to pull the trigger on a work stoppage" as neither side is "interested in blinking."

Already, private courier companies are seeing a bump in business.

A lockout "has the potential to be drawn out because I do believe both sides are quite committed," said Knight, a labour relations expert.

The sticking points include the union's proposal for a pay increase for its rural, mostly female carriers. The union says they earn 28 per cent less than their urban, mostly male, counterparts.

Canada Post has said CUPW's demands are "not affordable" and would add $1 billion in costs over the life of a new contract just as the postal service undergoes a review of operations.
Photo: Facebook

UPDATED: 1:40 p.m.

A woman who watched as a police officer fatally shot her boyfriend during a traffic stop streamed the gruesome aftermath of the slaying live on Facebook, telling a worldwide audience that her companion had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet.

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

The latest shooting happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a community of 5,000 people that is also home to Minnesota's annual state fair and part of the massive University of Minnesota campus.

In the video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

As word of the shooting spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. They identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

In addition to seeking help from the Justice Department, Gov. Mark Dayton said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had opened its own investigation.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had underlined to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police did not release any details about the officer who fired except to say he had been placed on paid administrative leave. Reynolds described him as Asian.

It was the second fatal police shooting this week, coming only days after a black 37-year-old man was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's shooting, which took place after he scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that because Castile was a black man driving in a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it."

Relatives were outraged that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

William Moulder, a police consultant and longtime former police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, said all officers carry first-aid supplies in their cars and are instructed to start rendering aid as soon as it's clear there's no threat.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks calmly to the camera.

"That's time to start mitigating the damage," Moulder said.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Dayton, a Democrat. About 50 protesters stayed through the night.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Because of its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department. Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday from The Associated Press.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

It was unclear whether other footage exists. Kim Brazil, the St. Anthony Police Department's office manager, confirmed that their squad cars are equipped with dashboard cameras but said officers do not have body cameras.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighbourhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanour violations, mainly related to driving.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the protest crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," said Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is enough.'"
Photo: Leah Riley

A Vernon Taxi cab had to be towed from the scene of a three-vehicle fender bender on 30th Avenue in the downtown Thursday morning, just after 9 a.m.

Witnesses at the scene in front of Nolan's pharmacy and Spinners' Sound Centre say the cab was travelling west when it drove into the back of an SUV which then hit the car in front in the same lane.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The mood was emotional, and at times angry, as evening unfolded in the working-class, predominantly black Louisiana neighbourhood where the police killing of a black man was caught on videotape.

Hundreds of mourners, friends and family members of Alton Sterling, 37, gathered Wednesday in Baton Rouge for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance.

Sterling was shot early Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside the convenience store where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed.

Cellphone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against blacks.

In the latest death, a Minnesota officer shot a black man in a car with a woman and a child about 9 p.m. Wednesday, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath of the killing was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video.

Moving quickly to keep tensions from boiling over in Louisiana, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," the governor said at a news conference.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds Wednesday night with a tearful, broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged showing the moments before her nephew was shot left her angry.

"I'm angry, but I'm not angry enough to hurt nobody," Augustus said. "I'm not angry enough to go into the street. I'm not angry enough to curse the police out. But I'm angry and I'm mad because they took something from me that I never ever will get back."

Terrance Carter, Sterling's 28-year-old nephew, wore a T-shirt with his uncle's image printed on it. The police, he charged, went way too far.

"They did it wrong," he said. "They could have handled it better than they did. They didn't have to shoot him!"

He said, though, the family was not condoning violent protests.

"The family just wants it to be peaceful," he said. "I understand right now it's bigger than us, but at the same time we're just trying to work through this and be smooth with it."

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the colour of their skin," Clinton said.

A law enforcement official said a gun was taken from Sterling after he was killed early Tuesday. The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not clear from the murky cellphone footage whether Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said Sterling was armed  Dabadie didn't specify the type of weapon  but that there are still questions about what happened.

"Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers," Dabadie said, calling the shooting a "horrible tragedy."

Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with gun outside the store, authorities said.

In cellphone video, one of the officers tackled Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone yelled, "He's got a gun! Gun!" and one officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a four-year member of the department, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave, standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterward. His video shows an officer reaching into Sterling's pocket to grab an object.

Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Sterling's chest.

The street protest continued into the night Wednesday. People danced on cars and trucks, blocked traffic, and demanded justice. The protests were peaceful, and there was no sign of police even as the protests blocked a thoroughfare through that section of Baton Rouge.

Kristen George, a 25-year-old restaurant manager, came to the protest with her 2-year-old son, Amazen, and her wife and her 9-year-old son. George said she wanted to show her children the meaning of a civil rights protest.

"It's hard out here for a black man in 2016," she said. "I don't want them to feel scared to stand up for their rights."

Nefertiti Queen, a 34-year-old activist, predicted that the protests in Baton Rouge would continue and remain peaceful as long as the authorities take the right steps in the investigation.

"It's peaceful right now, but if the people don't get what they want, it might get like Ferguson," she said. She said she spent some time protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, after the police shooting of Michael Brown, a black man who was unarmed. "People will get frustrated if they don't get answers."

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54 per cent black, according to census data, and more than 25 per cent of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dashcam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers willfully violated Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Brown's shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garner's chokehold death in New York City.
Photo: Contributed

Penticton has been chosen to contribute to a national mosaic celebrating Canadas 150th anniversary.

The Canada 150 Mosaic Tile Project will create a mural from more than 80,000 paintings, with 150 individual murals representing all provinces and territories.

Each mural will represent a train car, which will join the other murals to form a 365-metre "mosaic train."

The local mural piece will then remain in Penticton as a legacy to commemorate the anniversary.



Led and inspired by internationally recognized artist Lewis Lavoie, the City of Penticton's arts, creative and cultural innovations committee will lead a community effort to create a mural reflecting the creative spirit of local artists.



The Canada 150 Mosaic team will visit Penticton to host two tile painting workshops at which the public is invited to participate:

July 30 at the Downtown Community Market on Main Street.

Aug. 1 at the Downtown Penticton Association Family Fun Day (BC Day) in Gyro Park.

As well, the city has received 48 tiles in advance to be painted by local artists. The tiles are available at the Shatford Centre, Okanagan School of the Arts, 760 Main St.

Artists may paint a tile at the Shatford Centre July 11 to 15, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., or take a tile home and return it by July 27.

For more information, call 250-770-7668 or email [email protected]
Photo: Contributed

A long-running legal case about whether former Nazi death squad member Helmut Oberlander will be stripped of his citizenship is back in the hands of the federal cabinet.

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not hear the federal government's challenge of a setback in its latest bid to revoke Oberlander's citizenship.

As usual, the Supreme Court did not provide any reasons for its decision.

The office of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had no immediate comment.

Oberlander, born in Ukraine, was a member of a Nazi death squad, the Ek 10a, which operated behind the German army's front line in the Eastern occupied territories during the Second World War.

It was part of a force responsible for killing more than two million people, most of them Jews.

Oberlander, 92, says he was conscripted into duty as a teenager and that the penalty for desertion was execution.

He served with the Ek 10a as an interpreter from 1941 to 1943. Living and travelling full time with the unit, his responsibilities also included finding and protecting food and polishing boots. He later served as an infantryman in the German army.

Oberlander says he never participated in any killings.

He and his wife came to Canada in 1954. Oberlander became a Canadian citizen six years later. He did not disclose his wartime experience when he applied to emigrate, upon entering Canada or when seeking citizenship.

The retired real estate developer, who lives in Waterloo, Ont., has been fighting federal attempts to revoke his citizenship and deport him since 1995.

In 2012, the federal government looked at whether Oberlander's assertion of duress was sufficient to excuse his complicity in the Ek 10a's activities. It decided against him and once again moved to strip his citizenship.

In February, the Federal Court of Appeal told the cabinet to reconsider the case.

The appeal court said Oberlander "was entitled to a determination of the extent to which he made a significant and knowing contribution to the crime or criminal purpose of the Ek 10a."

"Only then could a reasonable determination be made as to whether whatever harm he faced was more serious than the harm inflicted on others through his complicity."
Photo: Contributed

An action team is to look at the construction of a possible, new multi-purpose cultural facility in Vernon that would replace both the public art gallery and the museum.

The Greater Vernon Advisory Committee has given the nod for a team that will look at a possible structure and its cost to the taxpayer.

There is concern about managing expectations, Tannis Nelson, the North Okanagan Regional District's community development coordinator, told GVAC Thursday.

Greater Vernon Public Art Gallery officials say 21,605 sq. ft. would be the ideal size for new premises, while Greater Vernon Museum and Archives officials propose 31,025 sq. ft., Nelson said.

While both groups need some specialized space to protect exhibits, does it need to be exclusive or could it be shared to cut down the size and cost of a building, Nelson asked. That is a question that the action team would look into, she explained.

Our intent is to create a space that, in ideal circumstances, is being used 24 hours a day, she said.

The concept won support from GVAC directors.

I really like the way this is going, said Mike Macnabb, electoral area C director. We have limited funds and could use shareable areas.

Coldstream director Jim Garlick asked for a cost estimate for the project but he also expressed support.

There's really overlap in (the project) so making the best use of those areas within the building, said Garlick. A good plan was put forward by staff today and I think now it has to be carried forward and put into reality.
Photo: Contributed

The case of a woman charged with assaulting a Muslim woman in a London, Ont., supermarket last month returned to court Thursday, but the accused didn't appear.

The lawyer for the 38-year-old woman told the court that her client is in hospital undergoing mental health treatment.

Investigators say a Muslim woman was grocery shopping with her four-month-old son on June 20 when she was approached by a woman she didn't know.

They say she suffered minor injuries when she was allegedly spat on, punched several times, her hijab grabbed and her hair pulled before the attacker fled the scene.

After appealing to the public for assistance in identifying the suspect, police confirmed an arrest was made in the case on June 21.

The woman, who is charged with assault, is to appear in court on Aug. 4.
Photo: Andra Depaoli

An Okanagan woman is hailing some local firefighters as heroes today after they came to the rescue of a frantic bald eagle.

Andra Depaoli was hiking through the woods above Killiney Beach up Westside Road when she found a injured bald eagle that couldn't fly more than 20 feet at a time.

I contacted the conservation officer. He was busy teaching a class and advised me how to rescue it until he could get out here. Feeling a little daunted, I contacted Jason at the Killiney Beach Fire Station, explains Depaoli.

He immediately assured me that he could help, and before I knew it, four firemen arrived.

North Westside Fire Rescue Chief Jason Satterthwaite says he was surprised to get the call Wednesday morning, but knew he had to help.

She asked if we could help out, but it is not really something the fire department does. So, I asked a bunch of our firefighters if they were willing to volunteer and give me a hand, explains Satterthwaite.

Satterthwaite headed to the scene alongside Graeme Headley, Shawn Barnes and Brian Findlay. On the way they gave Vernon wildlife expert Pete Wise a call who provided some advice on the safest way to grab the eagle.

It was up in a difficult area to get to, but we got there with some blankets in hand, says Satterthwaite.

We kind of had to corral in down into an area where we could safely capture it and we threw a blanket over it and grabbed its legs. We then walked it out of the area and put it in a dog crate.

He says the eagle, estimated to be a four-year-old male, was hard to capture, but Graeme Headley was able to safely grab the bird with a towel and keep it safe.

It had a considerable amount of strength and every time we came near it, it would fly 20-30 feet and land again, says Satterthwaite.

When we grabbed it, it wrapped its claws around my hand, it was quite aggressive, but Pete Wise had told us to cover its eyes to calm it down and we did and the bird tamed right down.

He jokes that while the public often thinks of firefighters as saving cats up trees every day, it is not a regular part of their job description.

We are not trained to do this, says Satterthwaite with a laugh. It is not really what we do ... but, apparently it is now. It was very rewarding.

Once the eagle was safe in the crate, they took it back to the fire hall. Shortly after, staff arrived from the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls to care for the eagle and hopefully release it back where it was found.

It didn't seem to have any major injuries, but wasn't able to fly for some reason. They mate for life and they told me there would be a female eagle waiting for him to come back, explains Satterthwaite.

SORCO manager Dale Belvedere says while it is always touch and go for the first few days, the eagle is showing good signs of improvement.

She says it is eating well, drinking well and able to fly.

He had a real lack of strength, says Belvedere, who adds it gobbled down a salmon she fed it last night.

Belvedere was unable to find any obvious injuries on the bird and thinks it may have been suffering from malnutrition for unknown reasons.

We will just have to watch and see. Once I know it has some strength, he will graduate into the large flight pen where we will test his flight. For now, he is in a small flight pen so he can fly little bit, but perch a lot which will hopefully build up his strength.

She confirms that once the eagle is ready, they will return it to the Killiney Beach area to return it to its mate.

They always go back to where they are picked up, says Belvedere. They mate for life.

Depaoli says she shared the story with Castanet as she wanted to ensure the firefighters were recognized for their work.

These guys are heroes in my book and I'm sure the eagle feels the same way, adds Depaoli.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The RCMP is retooling its witness protection program following a secret internal review that called for changes to enrolment decision-making and better reporting on the program's impact.

The changes come less than two years after a full-scale overhaul of the program prompted by high-profile controversies.

The federal witness program, administered by the RCMP, is seen as a key tool in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. It shields people who help authorities by providing everything from short-term protection to permanent relocation and identity changes.

Protectees may be victims, informants, witnesses or others threatened with intimidation or violence. Protection is available to those referred from any police service in Canada, foreign agencies and other federal departments involved in national security or defence.

In 2014-15, the $9.6-million program admitted 23 protectees, all of whom were granted a secure name change.

The program was thrust into the headlines several years ago when it emerged that a protectee committed a murder while enrolled. Some members have sued over their treatment, while others have been kicked out.

In 2010, a federal inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing said it was inappropriate for a police agency with an interest in ensuring sources agree to become witnesses to also make decisions about admission into a witness protection program.

As a result, legislative changes that took effect in November 2014 walled off the program from the RCMP's investigative units. The Mounties also introduced new training, standardized procedures and a "psycho-social assessment" to determine whether possible protectees are a good fit.

Still, five people were told to leave the program in 2014-15, while three protectees filed lawsuits.

The RCMP's deputy commissioner for federal policing ordered the review to see whether the program was effectively handling admission and management of clients.

Given the classified nature of some information in the report, the Mounties decided not to publish it.

However, internal records obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act show the review found:

 the witness protection program has "undertaken considerable efforts" to address the concerns identified by the Air India inquiry and the House of Commons committee on public safety and national security;

 opportunities to improve the management of cases, including deliberations on who gets into the program;

 a need for new ways to report on the results achieved and their impact.

Senior RCMP management has signed off on the report, including various recommendations to strengthen the program.

"Work is now underway to implement the action plan," said RCMP Const. Annie Delisle, a force spokeswoman.

She declined to elaborate on the steps being taken "due to the sensitive nature of this information."

Last year a federal advisory committee reported that the witness protection program was "on the right track" following its legislative transformation. However, the committee suggested, among other things, that the program build on its efforts to better accommodate people of various ethno-cultural backgrounds, including aboriginals, and that it usher in cultural sensitivity training.

It also recommended a continuing emphasis on victims' rights, encouraging research to increase knowledge about clients most at risk, such as women and children.

It appears the witness program will also be scrutinized by the RCMP watchdog, as the initiative is "one of several areas that we intend on examining in due course," said Tim Cogan, a spokesman for the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP.

However, he added, the commission wants the RCMP to have "sufficient time to implement its action plan" before any review takes place.
Photo: The Canadian Press

MP Jason Kenney says his plan for a united right in Alberta includes a new party that would hold a leadership race before the next provincial election.

Kenney made it clear at a news conference in Edmonton that he isn't interested in the Progressive Conservatives or the Opposition Wildrose taking each other over.

His idea is that each party would hold a referendum on whether to approve the union before a new party was formed.

"Albertans will not accept secret, backroom deals that dictate what kind of democratic choice we have," he said Thursday.

"That is why I am offering this grassroots guarantee to make it absolutely clear that a new, united party will only be created if approved by a clear majority of grassroots party members in a fair, open referendum.

"This grassroots democracy is absolutely non-negotiable."

Kenney said his organization is exploring whether it is legally possible to merge the PCs and Wildrose under Alberta's election laws.

If a merger isn't possible, Kenney said, a united free-enterprise party would be built from the ground up.

"In my view, even if Elections Alberta were to refuse to entertain a legal merger, then we would just create a new party from scratch, obviously suspending the operations of the two existing parties, and it would take off like a rocket."

Kenney said he doesn't want to prejudge what such a party would be called, but then suggested that the Conservative Party of Alberta "has a nice ring to it. That is what has worked for us federally."

Kenney announced in Calgary on Wednesday that he will seek the leadership of the Alberta Tories with the intent of bringing together small-c conservatives to defeat the NDP government.

The former Conservative cabinet minister said he would also let his name stand in any race to pick the leader for a newly formed party. He said he anticipates that leadership run would come in the winter of 2017-18.

He also said he'll give up his federal seat on Oct. 1  the day the Alberta Tory leadership race officially begins. A new leader is to be picked March 18.

Kenney noted that other MPs have stayed on while seeking leadership roles, but he is going to "depart from that convention to clearly demonstrate how committed I am to this project of uniting Albertans.

"For me there is no going back."

He said he believes people want a clear plan on how to steer Alberta's two right-leaning parties back onto the same road, and that they are waiting for leadership on how that could be achieved.

His five-point strategy outlined Thursday includes a timeline, charts that show the perils of splitting the right-wing vote and graphics that vilify the NDP for "reckless" policies that hurt Alberta's economy, such as the carbon tax.

The plan calls for:

Electing a new leader for the PCs.

Negotiating a framework with the Wildrose to form a united party.

Submitting the framework to the grassroots from both parties for approval.

Holding a founding and leadership convention.

Gathering candidates for the 2019 provincial election.

A new united-right party wouldn't lose, Kenney predicted.

"Very recent polling indicates that a united free-enterprise party would clearly win the next provincial election, and would essentially have a lead of 2-1 over the NDP."
A Tiered Approach to Hospital Readiness

During the early phase of the epidemic in West Africa, any U.S. facility with trained staff, isolation room capacity, and appropriate supplies and equipment was considered capable of caring for a patient with Ebola. However, because of the complexity of care and strict attention to infection control (20) required for safe treatment of Ebola patients, highlighted by secondary EBOV transmission to the two nurses in Texas, CDC determined that ensuring adequately trained staff, availability of designated space, and adequate specialized PPE might not be possible in all inpatient facilities throughout the entire U.S. health care system. This level of preparation was critical for facilities most likely to receive patients for evaluation of Ebola. Also, the likelihood of a person with possible Ebola seeking care in an emergency department or hospital was not equally distributed among all hospitals in the United States for several reasons. Many travelers from West Africa lived in or visited specific regions of the country, travelers who were symptomatic on arrival to the United States were directed to specific hospitals near one of the five airports, and all persons under active monitoring by state public health officials could be directed to a particular hospital for evaluation if they developed symptoms during their monitoring period.

CDC and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) developed a three-tiered approach to prepare U.S. acute health care facilities to safely and rapidly identify, isolate, evaluate, manage, and transfer (if needed) persons under investigation or patients with confirmed Ebola (21). The three tiers were frontline health care facilities, Ebola assessment hospitals, and Ebola treatment centers (Figure). CDC aimed to establish a limited number of Ebola treatment centers strategically in regions of the United States most likely to identify a person with Ebola.

Difficulties initially encountered included the few facilities with personnel trained to provide the complex care needed by Ebola patients, the limited number of facilities capable of managing children with Ebola, and a hesitancy of some facilities capable of providing care to Ebola patients to be identified publicly or to accept patients from other states. In addition, not all health care workers were trained in or familiar with using the specialized PPE recommended for care of Ebola patients. Some facilities struggled to identify dedicated space that was appropriately configured for Ebola management, and many facilities had substantial problems acquiring sufficient quantities and types of PPE (e.g., an Ebola treatment center should have a 5-day supply of PPE for a team of six nurses, three doctors, two laboratory technicians, two observers, and one environmental specialist for one to three shifts per day, depending on the health care workers role). Initially, PPE was ordered by facilities in high volumes with little strategic guidance, resulting in substantial delays in filling of orders and national shortages for some items. Manufacturers and distributors struggled to determine how much to increase production and how to prioritize orders and allocate limited resources.

CDC and ASPR, in collaboration with state and local public health authorities, produced detailed guidance for outpatient and inpatient facilities about managing persons under investigation and persons with confirmed Ebola (Table 1). Hospital Preparedness Program funding (22) was provided to states and eligible municipalities to improve surge capacity, including building needed infrastructure within health care systems, retrofitting hospitals to establish safe places to treat patients with Ebola, and reimbursement of care costs for confirmed Ebola patients. CDC also assembled Rapid Ebola Preparedness (REP) teams to assess infection control readiness of facilities interested in serving as Ebola treatment centers and provided on-site technical assistance regarding staffing, improvement in infection control, worker safety, laboratory processes, diagnostics, waste management, and other key areas. Initially, the REP teams provided direct technical assistance to hospitals near airports with a large number of persons traveling from countries that had widespread EBOV transmission and in communities where these travelers or large numbers of persons from West African countries reside. Beginning in October 2014, REP teams traveled to approximately 80 U.S. hospitals to provide technical support.

During OctoberDecember 2014, after extensive preparations, 55 hospital facilities were designated Ebola treatment centers by state health officers in collaboration with hospital administrators. These facilities received direct CDC and HHS technical assistance and formulated comprehensive plans outlining policies and procedures for managing patients with confirmed Ebola, which included training staff and instituting infection control measures, acquiring equipment and PPE, creating plans for managing waste, and designating appropriate space to treat Ebola patients. By August 2015, 92% of persons being monitored were within 200 miles of an Ebola treatment center and within 50 miles of an assessment hospital.

CDCs Ebola Response Teams

To improve the response capacity to EBOV infections in the United States, CDC established teams capable of rapidly providing on-site assistance to any health care facility treating a confirmed or probable case of Ebola. These CDC Ebola response teams could be immediately deployed to provide technical assistance for infection control procedures, clinical care, logistics of managing a patient with Ebola, contact tracing, and media relations (23).

Emergency Medical Services

Success of the three-tiered health care system plan rested on safe and rapid transport of a person under investigation or patient with confirmed Ebola to a designated facility to be evaluated or treated. EMS responders faced multiple challenges, such as the potential to enter uncontrolled environments including homes and public areas with little or no information about the patients risk factors and the need to transport patients over long distances during which the patients condition could worsen. Lack of experience with Ebola and limited access to appropriate PPE encountered early in the U.S. response compounded these challenges.

CDC collaborated with federal partners to rapidly develop guidance for EMS systems and 9-1-1 public safety answering points for managing persons under investigation or patients with confirmed Ebola (Table 1). CDC also hosted conference calls to provide a forum for EMS providers from Emory University Hospital and the University of Nebraska Medical Center to share their experiences transporting Ebola patients. Further guidance addressing the complexities of interfacility and interstate transport of persons under investigation and patients with confirmed Ebola was developed in collaboration with ASPR and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Table 1).

Environmental and Waste Management

All levels of health care facilities and EMS providers needed plans for the transport and disposal of waste generated by either persons under investigation or persons with confirmed Ebola. Fear, public perception, and the regulatory framework around handling Ebola-associated wastes proved to be common issues. These issues were encountered in health care facilities, patients homes, businesses that the patients frequented early in their disease, and a commercial passenger aircraft on which one patient flew while ill.

Although EBOV is susceptible to both physical and chemical inactivation, it is classified as a category A infectious substance because of its associated high mortality rate. Therefore, items that are or might be contaminated must be treated onsite or packaged and transported to a hazardous waste or medical waste treatment site by a carrier with a special DOT permit. Once treated, the waste is no longer infectious and can be managed in accordance with state and local regulations regarding solid wastes. Unforeseen was the volume of waste generated, most of which was used PPE, and the packaging required for the waste because the packaging used was too large for the doors of most incinerators.

During the Ebola response, CDC collaborated with federal and state agencies and multiple other private and nongovernmental organizations to develop guidance for cleaning and disinfection applicable to various settings that included patient residences, commercial passenger and medical transport aircraft, ambulances, and health care facilities. Other guidance covered handling of medical, laboratory, liquid, and other wastes and the protection of waste handlers and sewage and wastewater workers from contact with untreated human wastes (Table 1).
Trial Design and Ethical Considerations

Early data from Sierra Leone suggested that health care workers (HCWs) had a 100-fold higher risk for Ebola than the general community (3); therefore, the study population was selected to include all staff at health care facilities (i.e., clinical and nonclinical workers) and other Ebola frontline workers (e.g., surveillance, burial, and ambulance team members). Power calculations indicated that at least 67 Ebola cases were needed in the study population to detect a vaccine efficacy of 50%, and facility censuses and disease rates calculated near the peak of the epidemic led STRIVE collaborators to initially target a population of 6,000 participants in the five most heavily affected of the 14 districts of Sierra Leone. The logistics of travel and vaccine transport on poor roads, especially in the rainy season, necessitated choosing, within the selected districts, centrally located chiefdoms with the highest numbers of HCWs and Ebola cases.

A modified stepped wedge design (4) was initially considered for the study: health facilities and teams of health care and frontline workers throughout the study area would each be randomized to receive vaccine at a specified time over a 6-month period until all staff in all facilities in the study area were offered vaccine. Ebola rates and adverse events would be compared at any one time between vaccinated and (up to that point) unvaccinated staff and facilities over the study period. However, several key logistic and methodologic limitations of this approach posed obstacles. First, the design required follow-up of the entire study population from the trial start; therefore, all staff in all facilities had to be enrolled before the first dose of vaccine could be administered. Second, once all staff in facilities were enrolled, very limited opportunity existed to expand the sample size, yet declining background rates of Ebola suggested this might be needed. Third, Ebola increasingly occurred in clusters as overall incidence declined; therefore, an imbalance of Ebola risk could easily occur between facilities with vaccinated staff and facilities with unvaccinated staff and lead to lower statistical power and unreliable results (5). Because of these limitations, STRIVE collaborators chose an individually randomized trial of health care and frontline workers assigned to different vaccination times. This approach would provide flexibility of implementation because staff in each facility could be enrolled independently from staff in other facilities (allowing for the possibility of increasing sample size easily), as well as more discrete units of randomization and greater statistical power. At screening and enrollment, participants were randomized to receive vaccine immediately (immediate vaccinees) or 1824 weeks later (deferred vaccinees), and all were monitored monthly from enrollment until 6 months after vaccination for Ebola and for serious adverse events, which according to the regulatory definition involve hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization, death, or reported life-threatening illness or permanent disability (6). The STRIVE protocol was approved (7) by the Sierra Leone Ethics and Scientific Review Committee and the CDC Institutional Review Board (CDC-NCIRD-6689) and registered at https://clinicaltrials.gov/external icon (identifier NCT02378753).

In early discussions with Sierra Leone partners when deaths from Ebola were highest, the use of a placebo was ruled out because of the logistic complexity of implementing a placebo and concerns that placebo recipients might feel protected against Ebola and put themselves at risk. The lack of placebo opened up the study to several biases. For instance, immediate vaccinees might be assigned to a higher risk duty or be less careful in using personal protective equipment (PPE) than deferred vaccinees. Immediate vaccinees also might be more likely than persons who had not yet been vaccinated to report adverse events possibly associated with the vaccine or seek care for illness, thus biasing potential safety signals especially for milder adverse events. Reporting of Ebola was considered less likely to be susceptible to bias because Ebola generally has a severe clinical picture and surveillance is comprehensive. To reduce bias, STRIVE staff emphasized to each participant that the level of protection afforded by the vaccine was unknown and therefore Ebola prevention behaviors should not be relaxed. Design elements were added to measure bias, such as questions about use of PPE or changes in duties. Nonetheless, these potential biases complicated the comparison of frequency of events between the immediate and deferred vaccinees (especially adverse events, because ultimately, no Ebola cases were reported in the study population).

In addition to the main study, STRIVE planned two substudies. The first was a safety substudy of 400 participants (200 vaccinated, 200 unvaccinated) at the start of the trial with follow-up for adverse events on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 after enrollment. The second was an immunogenicity substudy of 500 participants enrolled during JuneSeptember 2015 with blood draws at day 0, day 28, month 6, and once during months 912 after vaccination.

Because this clinical trial of an experimental live vaccine of unknown effectiveness and safety would be conducted in a population with high levels of poverty and low literacy in the midst of an Ebola epidemic, ethical issues were a foremost consideration. One concern was that fear of Ebola could lead to a skewed riskbenefit calculation by health care and frontline workers in their decision to receive a vaccine of unclear safety and efficacy. STRIVE staff also were aware that reimbursements for participation and free health care could further induce enrollment. Careful messaging about the uncertainty of protection afforded by the vaccine was used to prevent participants from undertaking tasks at work or in the community that could place them at greater risk for Ebola. To maintain the balance between immediate and deferred vaccine arms and the integrity of randomization, each site was provided with sealed allocation envelopes in a predetermined sequence. To ensure that participants correctly perceived the envelope sequence as entirely random, enrollees were asked to choose one of five envelopes next in sequence. These ethical and communication concerns were addressed with guidance from Sierra Leone STRIVE leadership and other partners. Active and transparent communication of risks and benefits to participants and the public continued throughout the trial as the riskbenefit balance changed with ebbing Ebola incidence.

STRIVE was also positioned to help the outbreak response with the shared priority of early identification and diagnosis of suspected Ebola cases through the continued monitoring of participants. One complication identified early in trial planning was that during the phase I trials the vaccine could cause fever, myalgia, and fatigue in the first day or two after administration. Recent vaccinees could have a mild vaccine reaction that met the definition of suspected Ebola and be referred to Ebola holding centers where they could be unnecessarily exposed to Ebola. Identification and treatment of true Ebola among vaccinees could not be substantially delayed, nor could associated public health responses (e.g., contact tracing) be impeded. After discussions with the response leadership in Sierra Leone, STRIVE leaders slightly modified the suspected case definition for trial participants for the first 48 hours after vaccine receipt to allow for a short delay in determining whether a person had suspected Ebola if that person was a recent vaccinee exhibiting only symptoms consistent with vaccination.* Any vaccinees with Ebola exposure or exhibiting any Ebola symptoms that were inconsistent with vaccination at any time were immediately treated as having suspected Ebola.
CDCs Role and Accomplishments

CDCs response to the Ebola epidemic was the largest emergency response in the agencys history (8). During CDCs activation of its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during July 9, 2014March 31, 2016, approximately 4,000 CDC staff members directly participated in the response, and of these, 1,897 deployed to Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and other African countries affected by the epidemic (e.g., Nigeria and Mali). CDCs deployed teams included specialists in epidemiology, infection control, laboratory analysis, medical care, emergency management, information technology, health communication, behavioral science, anthropology, logistics, planning, and other disciplines.

Response in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone

Before the Ebola epidemic, CDCs presence in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone was limited to technical support for a small number of disease-specific disease control programs (e.g., malaria and polio) and vaccination campaigns (e.g., measles and yellow fever). In Liberia, CDC also supported the collection of reproductive health data to improve family planning, maternal health, and gender-based violence, as well as programs to help United Nations peacekeepers avoid human immunodeficiency virus infection. In Sierra Leone, CDC evaluated the impact of community case management of childhood diseases programs. Though these programs provided some support for public health systems, they did not include efforts to strengthen infectious disease surveillance with laboratory diagnostic testing. Therefore, CDCs response in these three countries required that CDC experts mobilize from other international and U.S. CDC locations. CDC teams deploying to West Africa early in the response established working relationships with each countrys MoH, WHO, and other international partners. In addition to CDC country teams, CDC staff members in West Africa were part of the Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) of the U.S. Agency for International Developments Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, with CDC leading the public health and medical care teams within the DARTs.

A priority was to make response activities faster and more effective. To strengthen coordination among various government and partner organizations in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, CDC helped set up national EOCs by using an incident management system (IMS) (9). Teams specializing in areas such as surveillance, case management, infection control, and social mobilization* met daily to report the status of assigned tasks and provide updates on the epidemic to an incident manager, who in turn updated country leaders. Support for EOC buildings, staffing, and operations was provided in large part by the CDC Foundation and by the DARTs and WHO.

Drawing on experience from previous Ebola responses, CDC worked with governments and partners to detect and break chains of transmission and end the epidemic. Because lack of reliable epidemiologic data was a major challenge from the outset, the teams quickly began to improve surveillance, laboratory, and information management systems to collect, analyze, and report data needed to guide response actions (10). CDC field teams regularly traveled to districts and villages to work with community teams on patient identification and isolation, contact tracing, infection control, social mobilization, and safe burials. However, as the epidemic in West Africa evolved, the large numbers of new cases and contacts each day overwhelmed response efforts. Effective isolation of patients became increasingly difficult as hospitals, clinics, and temporary Ebola treatment units (ETUs) were filled beyond capacity; persons with new suspected cases, as well as symptomatic contacts, frequently were turned away from ETUs, thereby fostering new chains of transmission. Suspicion of ETUs as a possible source for infection was common, making some persons reluctant to seek care even when beds were available. In addition, many HCWs became infected and died, contributing to the collapse of an already limited and compromised health care system. The growing numbers of contacts inundated response teams capacity to identify and monitor contacts. Chains of Ebola transmission evolved rapidly, and responders often were unable to identify how cases were epidemiologically linked.

In September 2014, CDC published results of a modeling analysis that estimated that approximately 555,000 Ebola cases (1.4 million cases when corrected for underreporting) could occur in Liberia and Sierra Leone by January 20, 2015, if approximately 70% of all persons with new cases were not effectively isolated (11). The model also showed that the speed with which this 70% target was reached would profoundly affect the total number of cases attributable to the epidemic. As the situation worsened in the three countries that were most heavily affected, these estimates contributed to the decision to massively scale up U.S. resources, including deployment of approximately 3,000 U.S. Department of Defense personnel to Liberia to build ETUs and support other response activities. Other countries and organizations increased their response efforts as well; for example, the African Union mobilized nearly 1,000 African health care staff members to support the response.

CDC teams were integral to each countrys EOC in several ways (12). First, they responded rapidly to reports of new cases, helped place symptomatic persons into ETUs, and identified and monitored contacts by creating teams dedicated to targeted and rapid response (e.g., as part of the Rapid Isolation and Treatment of Ebola [RITE] strategy developed in Liberia) (13) and assigning field staff to districts. Second, previous Ebola responses, as well as evidence of widespread transmission in health care settings in the three countries most affected, emphasized the importance of infection control in breaking the chains of EBOV transmission. CDC provided infection-control training to approximately 24,600 HCWs and others; helped establish a system of infection control points of contact in health care facilities in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone; and conducted 3-day hands-on training in Anniston, Alabama, for approximately 650 U.S. HCWs and other staff scheduled for deployment to West Africa. Third, CDC laboratory experts worked closely with IMS and other response teams to expand and coordinate the availability of laboratory testing of clinical specimens and collaborated to develop faster diagnostic assays. Fourth, social mobilization was used to promote awareness of the epidemic and marshal community religious and political leaders, and CDC health communication experts worked with response teams to help educate local populations about Ebola. Finally, CDC helped each countrys MoH develop border and airport exit-screening programs. Teams at national airports screened all passengers before the passengers boarded commercial flights and retained and evaluated travelers with febrile illness to minimize the risk for exportation of Ebola to other countries.

Response in Other African Countries

In July 2014, a traveler with Ebola flew from Monrovia, Liberia, to Lagos, Nigeria, where multiple responders had unprotected contact with him and were infected, raising the specter of an Ebola epidemic in Africas most populous city (21 million). The Nigerian government promptly launched an emergency response supported by an existing EOC and IMS structure for polio eradication, Nigerian trainees and graduates of a CDC Field Epidemiology Training Program, and CDC response officials. The IMS response established an ETU within 2 weeks, trained approximately 2,000 Ebola caregivers, identified approximately 890 contacts, and completed 19,000 contact tracing home visits (14). The rapid response helped contain the outbreak to just 19 cases in two cities and averted a public health catastrophe, not only for Nigeria (population approximately 180 million) but also for the entire African continent. WHO declared Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20, 2014.

CDC provided support to Senegal and Mali after separate importations of Ebola into those countries by travelers. Vigorous responses, including meticulous contact tracing, were implemented rapidly, and only a small number of cases occurred (one confirmed in Senegal and eight reported [seven confirmed] in Mali). CDC also worked with WHO and national MoHs to improve Ebola preparedness for all at-risk West African countries by helping to plan for EOCs, isolation capacity for patients with suspected Ebola, disease surveillance, laboratory testing, public awareness, and other related activities.

Response in the United States

As its response in West Africa evolved during the summer of 2014, CDC worked closely with U.S. federal, state, and local public health and clinical partners to prepare for the possible introduction of Ebola into the United States. CDC issued guidance (15) and alerted health care workers to consider a diagnosis of Ebola if patients had compatible symptoms and had visited an affected country within the previous 3 weeks. To facilitate rapid testing, CDC provided staff, training, and support to qualify 56 state and local public health laboratories to perform Ebola reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for Ebola.

The introduction of Ebola into the United States triggered intense national media attention and widespread public alarm. In September 2014, a man flew from Liberia to Dallas, Texas and became ill with Ebola after his arrival; he died in a Dallas hospital. Two nurses who cared for him became infected with Ebola, were hospitalized, and recovered. A fourth U.S. case was confirmed in an HCW who returned from West Africa to New York City in October 2014, was hospitalized there, and recovered; no secondary infections were reported. In addition to these four U.S. patients, seven persons with Ebola symptoms, including six HCWs, were transported by charter aircraft from West Africa to U.S. hospitals; six of these patients recovered.

After the laboratory confirmation of Ebola in the Dallas patient, CDC developed expert teams (i.e., CDC Ebola Response Teams) to deploy where needed anywhere in the United States to assist with the response. To strengthen the preparedness of hospitals nationwide, CDC defined three tiers of hospital readiness, consisting of frontline health care facilities, Ebola assessment hospitals, and Ebola treatment centers (16). CDC teams with expertise in infection control, occupational health, and laboratory diagnosis visited 81 facilities in 21 states and the District of Columbia (DC) to evaluate their readiness to care for patients with Ebola. By July 2015, a total of 55 hospitals in 17 states and DC were designated by state health departments as Ebola treatment centers.

To improve protection against importation of Ebola into the United States, CDC worked closely with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and state and local public health departments to establish a system to screen and follow up all travelers returning from Ebola-affected countries in West Africa. Travelers arriving from these countries were routed to one of five U.S. airports, triaged by CBP agents, screened for febrile illness, provided with CARE (Check and Report Ebola) kits (consisting of a thermometer, prepaid cell phone, and educational materials), and given an opportunity to have any questions answered by CDC. These returning travelers were then tracked by state and local health departments for any symptoms consistent with Ebola during the 21-day incubation period. During October 2014December 2015, approximately 29,000 persons were monitored. Health departments also implemented plans to facilitate safe transport of travelers to a hospital ready to assess them for Ebola if fever or other compatible symptoms developed.
Guinea

The Ebola epidemic is believed to have begun as a small outbreak in the Gueckedou prefecture of Guinea in late 2013, and cases spread to the capital city, Conakry, by March 2014 (2). CDC teams arrived in March to work with WHO and the Guinean government. CDC staff stayed through April, when the outbreak seemed to be waning. However, cases occurred again, and CDC orchestrated a more robust response to assist the Guinean government and other partners. CDC Guinea team numbers fluctuated daily and ranged from two in May 2014 to 38 in March 2015 (Figure 2). By March 31, 2016, CDC had made 568 deployments to Guinea (Table).

Several different ministries of the Guinean government managed the early response; CDC, WHO, and other partners offered primarily technical support. In September 2014, the response was reorganized into an IMS structure in which CDC and WHO provided technical assistance. The response was organized into five activities known as pillars, each of which was co-led by a Guinean national alongside an experienced partner: surveillance (WHO), care and treatment (MSF), sanitation (International Federation of Red Cross), communication (UNICEF), and research (a Congolese professor). The pillar co-leads convened technical working groups to support the needs of the response. The former head of the Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance section of Guineas Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene led the National Ebola Coordination Cell. Although WHO was the main surveillance lead, CDC staff provided substantial technical leadership at both central and prefectural levels, focusing on support for case finding, contact tracing, case investigation, contact listing, investigation and documentation of chains of transmission, and support for improving rigor and oversight in investigating cross-prefecture and cross-border movements of contacts. Early in the epidemic, CDC staff assisted Guinean officials with exit screening at Conakry Airport; once that was effective, they shifted to monitoring terrestrial movements (especially between Forecariah prefecture and Kambia district in Sierra Leone and Boke prefecture and in Tombali region of Guinea-Bissau). CDC, challenged by a limited number of French-speaking staff in Atlanta, recruited French-speaking staff internally within the U.S. government from other CDC country offices, CDC locally employed staff, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and externally through PHAC and Democratic Republic of the Congo FETP graduates and residents. The external partnerships with PHAC and Democratic Republic of the Congo FETP yielded particularly experienced and effective staff who were linguistically and culturally well adapted to the fluid field epidemiology environment.

In Guinea, as in Liberia and Sierra Leone, CDC staff did not play a direct role in Ebola treatment but did collaborate with health care workers and health care facilities on surveillance and community outreach. MSF, the French Red Cross, the African Union in collaboration with the Cuban Brigade, and Alliance for International Medical Action were the primary operators of the ETUs in Guinea. The French military also established and ran a 10-bed ETU designated for Ebola-infected care providers (e.g., medical staff, ambulance drivers, and traditional healers) (6). The U.S. Embassy and USAIDs Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance played key roles in negotiating locations and funding new ETU construction.

A marked reticence among Guinean residents to report suspected Ebola cases hampered an early effective response; when the initial outbreak seemed to be waning, cases probably were unreported (7,8). Community resistance at times challenged the response and accessibility to villages. Deep-seated distrust of the government and outsiders and misconceptions in the country about the disease and the responders drove lack of reporting and, in some cases, hostility toward responders. In September 2014, villagers killed eight response workers, comprising WHO staff, doctors, and journalists (9), an event that underscored the dangerous nature of working in an atmosphere driven by fear, disbelief in the existence of the disease, and distrust of authorities. To address the reticence, several approaches were undertaken by the response IMS, including working with village elders, engaging Conakry residents who had family in the villages, deploying social anthropologists as members of investigation teams, and using security forces to maintain the peace.

In Guinea, WHO, CDC, and MSF advocated community outreach, active case finding, contact tracing, and rapid transport of patients suspected of having Ebola to ETUs rather than the widespread construction of unstaffed ETUs. This strategy markedly differed from the strategy adopted in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where construction of ETUs was a primary international focus. In Guinea, the national strategy of enhanced surveillance was anchored by the hiring of teams of recently graduated Guinean doctors who were deployed in each prefecture under the leadership of a prefectural lead. CDC and WHO deployed staff to the prefectures heavily affected by Ebola to offer technical and supervisory assistance. In the early stages, case finding was conducted through prefecture-wide door-to-door sensitization visits to raise community awareness of the urgent need to report patients suspected of having Ebola. Later, Ebola case finding in Guinea was intensified to include door-to-door monitoring in high-incidence subprefectures. At this stage, contacts of Ebola patients were monitored with daily temperature checks but were not physically or socially restricted from traveling to other prefectures.

The continued seeding of new chains of transmission in prefectures that had previously been free of Ebola led the Guinean National Ebola Response to adopt an approach called cerclage to contain the outbreak (10). This approach was an attempt to limit the movement of contacts of recent Ebola patients and their associated communities through social pressure and encouragement to remain within a circumscribed area (home or their village). To ensure community participation with the restrictions on movement, the national Ebola response provided some essential medical services, as well as supplemental food and hygiene materials. Village leaders were engaged and asked whether they agreed to participate in the cerclage. Prefectural Ebola response teams continued to directly observe the contacts each day during the 21-day follow-up period to rapidly isolate newly symptomatic patients. This approach was partially adapted from the Rapid Isolation and Treatment of Ebola (RITE) strategy (11,12) in Liberia and the quarantine village approach from Sierra Leone.

WHO declared Guinea free of Ebola transmission on December 29, 2015, after the last Ebola patient in Guinea was discharged from an ETU on November 16, 2015. On March 17, 2016, a new case of Ebola was reported in Guinea, and related cases were subsequently identified in both Guinea and Liberia. CDC expected that sporadic cases of Ebola could occur, even after the epidemic had ended, and cases have indeed occurred in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone since the epidemic was declared over in each country.
CDC Technical Assistance in Ebola Preparedness and Response

Nigeria

On July 20, 2014, an airline passenger with symptoms consistent with Ebola (index case-patient) traveled from Liberia to Lagos, Nigeria, and subsequently was confirmed to have Ebola (2). Thirteen direct contacts of the index case-patient, including nine health care workers, contracted Ebola; these cases represent first-generation spread of Ebola in Nigeria (2). Three of these case-patients transmitted Ebola to other persons (second-generation spread), including a physician in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, who was infected after treating a patient who had traveled to Port Harcourt from Lagos seeking private care (2). An additional three persons who had contact with the Port Harcourt physician contracted Ebola, representing third-generation spread of Ebola in Nigeria (Figure 2). Ultimately, the July Ebola importation into Nigeria resulted in 20 cases (19 confirmed and one probable) and eight deaths (2).

Given the population and the international airline connections in Lagos, as well as the economic and geographic importance of Nigeria, the introduction of Ebola into Nigeria represented a critical juncture in the response to Ebola. Immediately after being notified about the index case, the Lagos State MoH, with technical assistance from CDC Nigeria and the Nigerian Polio Eradication Program, activated an Ebola Incident Management (IM) center that eventually became the national Emergency Operations Center (EOC) (2). Within 72 hours after being notified of the index case, CDC personnel and Nigerian Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) staff previously assisting the MoH with polio elimination were deployed to provide technical assistance to Nigerias MoH and were incorporated into the EOC (2). The EOC in Lagos was built on an existing IM structure, developed as part of the Nigerian Polio Eradication Program (2,3). A major partner in the response in Nigeria was the FETP, which facilitated field work, particularly contact tracing. After Ebola was confirmed in Port Harcourt, an EOC was established there.

Approximately 890 persons who had been exposed to Ebola (contacts) were identified and monitored, 19,000 home visits were conducted, and 150,000 airline passengers were screened in Nigeria (2,3). CDC team members were involved in planning, health communication, infection control, and surveillance, as well as in coordinating support from other sources (2). WHO declared Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20, 2014.

Senegal

Seven weeks into the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria, on August 29, 2014, Senegal confirmed its first Ebola case in a student aged 21 years who had traveled from Guinea in mid-August to visit family in Dakar, Senegal (index case-patient) (4). At the request of Senegals MoH, CDC quickly deployed staff, who partnered with the CDC malaria resident advisor in-country to assist the MoH with rapid Ebola containment through robust contact tracing, including 21-day active monitoring. The HRCT, which was developed shortly before cases in Senegal were recognized, facilitated the CDC response. A total of 74 contacts of the index case-patient were identified and followed through the 21-day monitoring period (4). No further Ebola transmission occurred in Senegal from this case (Figure 2) (4).

The Dakar airport, a major West African hub, was a critical corridor for transporting aid into and out of the countries that were most heavily affected. Before the Ebola importation, Senegal no longer permitted air travel to or from Senegal and Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone, which limited the transport of critical supplies into the countries that were heavily affected. CDC provided point-of-entry screening technical assistance at Dakars airport, and this assistance contributed to the creation of an air corridor for humanitarian assistance whereby vital supplies and personnel could be transported to Liberia via the Dakar International Airport. CDC also assessed Senegals Ebola surveillance system and provided recommendations to strengthen the system. WHO declared Senegal Ebola-free on October 17, 2014.

Mali

Mali confirmed its first imported Ebola case on October 20, 2014 (5). The index case-patient was a girl aged 2 years who traveled from Guinea to Kayes, Mali, transiting through Bamako, Malis capital (5). Members of the HRCT, who were already in-country supporting a WHO Ebola preparedness mission, assisted Mali MoH staff with the response by drafting standard operating procedures and contact tracing guidelines. They also helped to institute an IM structure. No subsequent transmission occurred in Mali from this Ebola importation (Figure 2).

On November 10, 2014, Mali was notified of a second Ebola importation. This index case-patient was a man aged 70 years from Guinea who arrived at a Bamako clinic on October 25 with symptoms consistent with Ebola (6). The case investigation, immediately initiated by Malias MoH, revealed that this man did not share an epidemiologic link with the index case-patient of the first Ebola importation (6). Concern about the potential spread of Ebola in Bamako led to immediate deployment of additional CDC staff, who provided technical assistance for contact tracing, active surveillance, and border/points-of-entry screening. The team collaborated with Malis MoH and WHO to identify 332 contacts of the index case-patient of the second importation; 93% of these persons completed 21-day active monitoring without missing a daily visit by the contact tracing team. The Ebola outbreak from the second Ebola importation was controlled within two generations of transmission. Five first-generation cases and two second-generation cases occurred in Mali; all second-generation cases were identified through active monitoring (Figure 2) (6). WHO declared Mali Ebola-free on January 18, 2015.
Establishing, Maintaining, and Improving Ebola Surveillance

Ebola surveillance in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone had two primary components: 1) case investigation and reporting and 2) contact tracing. Although other components of Ebola surveillance, such as community event-based surveillance, were important in these countries, case reporting and contact tracing made up the core of Ebola surveillance and are the focus of this report. Effective case reporting requires timely collection, reporting, and integration of epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory, and outcome data on all suspected, probable, and confirmed Ebola cases. These data help response staff understand the current impact and distribution of Ebola in the country and provide insight into whether the response is succeeding and where future response efforts should be targeted. Meanwhile, contact tracing promotes rapid identification of new cases and referral of those case-patients to isolation units, thereby improving clinical outcomes and reducing opportunities for transmission. Contact tracing requires individual tracking of each contact for 21 days after exposure and constant, effective community engagement (1).

By the end of the epidemic, the overall components of Ebola surveillance were similar in all three countries. Cases initially were identified through contact tracing; case-finding; or additional surveillance mechanisms, such as calls to the national alert system (2) and walk-ins to Ebola treatment units (ETUs), holding centers, and hospitals (Figure 1). Once a possible case was identified, surveillance staff gathered additional information about the possible case-patient and his or her contacts (Figure 1). Case data were then compiled at the prefecture, county, or district level in a local database or line list and transmitted to ministry of health staff working at the national level. Meanwhile, local staff initiated contact tracing to observe each contacts health for 21 days after exposure. Contact lists were sometimes shared with the national level, but detailed contact tracing information usually was retained and used only locally. However, despite these broad similarities, surveillance system structure and information flow varied widely among areas.

Challenges to obtaining case-level information in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone included reluctance of some communities to report cases; few and often inadequately trained outbreak response staff to collect, enter, synthesize, and analyze surveillance data; and difficulties in coordinating the many groups involved with surveillance and the response. Compounding these difficulties, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone, was the exponential increase in the number of cases reported during summer and fall 2014, which made timely collection and compilation of case information by surveillance staff increasingly difficult.

Despite these issues, Ebola surveillance was continuously maintained in each of the three countries heavily affected by Ebola. Data gathered through these surveillance systems are not complete or perfectly accurate, but they enabled analyses of case characteristics, risk factors for infection, and changes in case distribution over time (35). The data also were used to inform the indicators by which specific components of the Ebola response in the three countries were assessed. CDCs process indicators (Box) enabled identification of gaps in surveillance data and communicated progress toward ending the epidemic to U.S. government leaders.

Guinea

The first CDC team deployed to Guinea soon after the outbreak was identified in March 2014. This team, along with the Guinean Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO), immediately began work on an Ebola surveillance system. The CDC team set up a national database using CDCs Epi Info Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF) application (http://epiinfovhf.codeplex.com/releases/external icon), development of which began in early 2013. CDC provided on-site programming assistance to continue development and modify the application to suit local needs and trained partner organization staff to use this database. Within 2 weeks after outbreak identification, the database was being used daily to compile up-to-date case information from the initially affected prefectures (Gueckedou, Macenta, and Kissidougou and the capital city of Conakry) and to produce national situation reports. These data were also shared with WHO, which produced international situation reports that were then shared with CDC and other partners. WHO and the MoH continued to use this database throughout the emergency response.

Along with the MoH, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and numerous other partners, CDC facilitated development and implementation of case identification and contact tracing procedures in Conakry and Gueckedou. The CDC team played a particularly critical role in starting contact tracing in Conakry by training contact tracers, organizing the contact tracing system, and implementing an initial system for contact data management using the Epi Info VHF application (transitioned to Microsoft Excel in August 2014). In rural areas, CDC staff supported contact tracing through data management, training, and quality control through direct supervision of local contact tracers. The CDC team also introduced a standardized case investigation form and trained partners to use the form. Finally, CDC staff helped coordinate transfer of Ebola case information from ETUs to data entry staff and helped verify and clean data entered into the national database.

Beginning in September 2014, the growing number of CDC response staff in Guinea enabled CDC to expand its support to the MoH and WHO through more intense field-based case finding, contact listing and tracing, and case and contact investigations. CDC staff focused on improving rigor and oversight of these activities with the goal of improving documentation of each chain of transmission, which in turn improved investigation of cross-prefecture and cross-border movement of contacts.

Still, full implementation of strong case identification and contact tracing procedures sometimes lagged substantially behind the appearance of cases in affected prefectures (e.g., 6), in part because of limited numbers of trained staff and reliance on insufficiently supervised community agents (community members who each day check on contacts within their own or neighboring villages). To overcome this difficulty, CDC worked with the MoH and other partners to strengthen case investigations and contact tracing and to supplement passive case reporting with active case finding, including house-to-house visits in affected areas (6,7). However, some persons and communities resisted surveillance efforts by not disclosing the status of contacts or cases or refusing to allow outbreak response staff into villages, which resulted in missed cases and increased transmission (8) (CDC, unpublished data, 20142015). Nevertheless, as of May 13, 2016, Guinea had not reported any Ebola cases since the last Ebola patient twice tested negative on April 19, 2016.

Liberia

Liberias Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (renamed Ministry of Health [MoH] in October 2014) began surveillance when the first Ebola cases appeared in Liberia in March 2014 (9); however, when no new cases were reported during late Aprilearly June, surveillance was discontinued. When Ebola resurged in mid-June 2014, the MoH reestablished surveillance and began obtaining aggregate case counts from each county daily by telephone or e-mail. The CDC team that arrived in July 2014 immediately began collaborating with the MoH, WHO, and other partners on a case-based surveillance system, in which detailed information about each case is reported individually, to obtain more comprehensive and accurate information about the epidemic.

Initially, case-based surveillance data from throughout the country were transmitted by Excel line lists and paper forms to the MoH in Monrovia, where they were entered into an Epi Info VHF database. Lofa County started a second database in mid-August 2014 to compile data for that county; this database was then transmitted to the MoH (daily when possible) to maintain a complete national database. During this period, however, Ebola incidence in Liberia increased much faster than data management capacity. The rapid increase in cases led to a quickly growing backlog of information to enter into the case-based surveillance database. To address this backlog, CDC staff performed data entry, trained new data entry and management staff, and fixed numerous software and hardware issues that hindered data entry.

CDC staff also initiated key improvements to the case-based surveillance system. In late August 2014, CDC and MoH staff implemented preprinted unique identification (ID) stickers that could be used on, for example, case report forms and laboratory samples to facilitate linking of multiple pieces of information pertaining to the same case-patient. In early September, CDC staff collaborated with the MoH to introduce a shorter case report form to make form completion and data entry easier. CDC staff also helped organize the surveillance and laboratory data flow, which faced logistical obstacles because of the outbreaks broad geographic scale and the large number of partners involved in surveillance (Figure 2). Finally, CDC helped the MoH design and run surveillance training sessions for county public health staff to improve case finding, contact tracing, and case reporting throughout the country.

As the case-based surveillance system developed, comparisons with the aggregate case data received from telephone calls and e-mails demonstrated that the latter were inaccurate. Therefore, in October 2014 Liberias national situation reports transitioned reporting from aggregate case data to case-based data from laboratory and ETU line lists. This change resulted in an increase of 1,870 reported* cases during October 2529, 2014 (Figure 3). Meanwhile, each county began to manage and enter data into its own case database rather than sending case identification forms to the MoH for entry. The initial plan was for each county to send an updated Epi Info VHF database to the MoH daily to maintain the national database. However, limited Internet connectivity, lags in data entry, and problems combining databases made this system unsustainable. Liberia switched to the District Health Information Software system (https://www.dhis2.orgexternal icon) (Health Information Systems Programme) for data transmission and management beginning in December 2014; even after this change, however, substantial lags in data entry meant that these detailed data were inaccurate for current case counts and difficult to directly apply to outbreak control.

As the incidence rate of Ebola in Liberia declined in OctoberDecember 2014, renewed emphasis was placed on controlling outbreaks in remote communities through active case finding, contact tracing, and community education (10,11). The MoH, CDC, and numerous partners conducted rapid response investigations in outlying areas of Liberia during OctoberNovember 2014 to establish patient care strategies and enhance contact tracing, active surveillance, and other response activities (12). In Montserrado County, CDC worked with county staff and partner agencies, especially Action Contre la Faim, to implement decentralized, sector-based contact tracing in January 2015; this approach resulted in more complete contact tracing and helped eliminate transmission in this area (13). Cases in Liberia subsequently dropped to zero from late May until early July 2015 and have remained at zero except for small clusters of illness in July and November 2015 and MarchApril 2016.

After initially reaching zero cases, Liberia maintained surveillance through Ebola testing of dead bodies and health facility patients with symptoms consistent with suspected Ebola; community eventbased surveillance to trigger alerts for events (e.g., suspicious deaths) associated with Ebola transmission in communities bordering neighboring countries; and establishment of isolation, infection control, and triage protocols at health facilities nationwide. Along with strengthening integrated disease surveillance and response for hemorrhagic fevers and priority diseases with symptoms that overlap with those of Ebola, these measures promoted rapid detection and control of new Ebola clusters.

Sierra Leone

When the CDC team arrived in Sierra Leone in early August 2014, the country already had reported approximately 550 Ebola cases. The team found that, because of Sierra Leones decentralized health system, districts were taking different approaches to control the epidemic, including using differing case definitions. CDC, WHO, the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS), and other partners quickly began creation of a consistent national surveillance system. The CDC team helped develop and train local staff on standardized procedures for case notification, investigation, and reporting, as well as on standardized definitions of Ebola infection, transmission, and control, leading to standardization of case investigation protocols throughout the country.

Although Sierra Leones surveillance system is similar in many ways to those in Guinea and Liberia, it has several unique features. For example, beginning in October 2014, Sierra Leones policy was that all deaths, not just those of persons whose illness met the Ebola case definition, would be tested for Ebola, a unique approach that enabled Ebola laboratory result records to double as a short-term death registry. Sierra Leone also used multidisciplinary field teams to conduct periodic surges of house-to-house active case finding beginning with Western Area (Freetown and surrounding region) in December 2014.

The initial CDC teams also implemented Epi Info VHF databases that could be controlled and maintained at the district level but combined and analyzed nationally. The national Epi Info VHF database was maintained through the end of the epidemic and is often used for national-level and international-level data analyses because it provides the most comprehensive epidemiologic and laboratory data on Ebola cases available in Sierra Leone. However, a major challenge to Sierra Leones surveillance early in the epidemic was difficulty getting information from ETUs to district surveillance officers. As a result, patients families often lacked information about the status or location of their loved ones, and patient outcome data collected in the surveillance system were highly incomplete. An analysis conducted in September 2014 demonstrated that although Sierra Leones Ebola case-fatality rate appeared to be 31.6% when all reported confirmed and probable cases were included, the rate actually was 69.0% when only those with definitive outcome data available were included (5).

Throughout the epidemic, CDC helped strengthen Ebola surveillance and contact tracing in Sierra Leone. CDC staff provided daily contact tracing support to the district surveillance officers and helped develop consistent messaging to counteract the fear and mistrust that lead to community resistance to case investigation and contact tracing. In October 2014, CDC worked with the International Rescue Committee and the Bo District Health Management Team to develop and implement community eventbased surveillance to supplement case finding and contact tracing, an initiative piloted in Bo and then adopted as part of the national surveillance strategy (14). CDC helped train local contact tracing staff beginning with Bo district in November 2014 and January 2015; CDC also helped support the Western Area surge strategy (15) implemented in December 2014, in which many additional district surveillance officers, contact tracers, and community mobilizers were recruited and trained across Western Area. The surge greatly improved contact tracing capacity in this region.

In January 2015, CDC staff helped distribute and train local and partner staff to use an updated case identification form with water-resistant unique ID stickers that enabled use of a universal ID by the laboratory, ETU, and district surveillance officers. CDC staff also were pivotal in identifying laboratory performance and coordination issues and, for some districts, distributing laboratory results to surveillance staff to help with contact tracing and patient management.
CDC Contributions and Impact

International Infection Prevention and Control

Early in the Ebola epidemic, Ebola transmission to HCWs occurred in health care facilities that were not Ebola treatment units (ETUs) (13). Health care facility assessments conducted by CDC and partners in 2014 documented substantial gaps in IPC. These gaps (i.e., a lack of IPC oversight, poor waste management procedures, a lack of triage and isolation protocols, frequent lack or misuse of personal protective equipment [PPE], and inadequate standard infection control precautions) increased the risk for Ebola transmission in non-ETU health care settings (4,5).

Beginning in August 2014, CDC developed partnerships with ministries of health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and others to improve IPC rapidly at non-ETU health care facilities and to decrease the risk for Ebola transmission to HCWs. A critical first step was to establish national IPC task forces to coordinate infection control efforts within Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Before these task forces were established, numerous organizations working to improve IPC within the affected countries had developed training materials that sometimes gave conflicting technical details and led to confusion among HCWs. The establishment of ministry of healthsupported national IPC task forces within each country improved communication among partners and coordinated the development of technically sound and consistent standard operating procedures relevant for resource-limited clinical settings. These standard operating procedures listed procurement of PPE and other IPC supplies for health care facilities.

Along with the establishment of national IPC task forces, CDC and partners developed and trained local and facility-level IPC leadership, also called IPC specialists or focal persons. IPC specialists oversaw IPC at facilities and led ongoing facility IPC improvements, including providing HCW training and ensuring availability of supplies. In addition to conducting IPC training, CDC and partners provided onsite mentorship and supportive supervision to rapidly implement IPC improvements. In Liberia, the first cadre of IPC specialists included medical residents and physicians from hospitals that closed because of the epidemic. These specialists supported 1015 hospitals, health centers, and clinics in 14 of 15 counties in the country. In Guinea, IPC specialists, trained and funded by partner organizations, were overseeing triage and IPC at large hospitals in the short term. In Sierra Leone, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation appointed permanent IPC specialists for the 25 Government hospitals in February 2015.

In addition to helping establish IPC policies and procedures, CDC also worked with partners to develop standard IPC training materials specific for available resource levels that were then tailored (e.g., translated into different languages) for use in the affected countries. These outlined the IPC practices that needed to be implemented in health care facilities, community care centers, patient transport systems, and communities (6). After CDC technical review of materials, IPC partners launched efforts intended to train HCWs in each of the three countries on proper screening, isolation, and notification procedures for patients arriving at non-ETU facilities. CDC staff participated in the trainings using a train-the-trainers framework, resulting in at least 765 master trainers delivering training to approximately 24,000 HCWs in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.

To supplement efforts to strengthen IPC practices system-wide, a new strategy known as Ring IPC was introduced in which rapid, intensive, and short-term IPC support is delivered to health care facilities in areas of active Ebola transmission to help break the chain of transmission (7). Once high-risk facilities were identified, IPC assessments were conducted to guide technical assistance, medical supply distribution, and daily supportive supervision to ensure HCWs were trained to triage, isolate, and refer suspected and probable Ebola patients rapidly to ETUs.

Ring IPC impacted several places. For example, in Liberia, three febrile HCWs were identified when screened for work; all were properly isolated and transferred to an ETU for testing (7). Sierra Leone integrated Ring IPC around clusters of Ebola patients in three districts. Guinea focused on minimizing transmission by rapidly investigating infected HCWs and remediating IPC lapses.

Training U.S. Health Care Workers Traveling to West Africa

The large number of infected HCWs caused workforce shortages in the three countries that were most heavily affected. Clinical staff from countries around the world, including the United States, volunteered to care for Ebola patients in ETUs. Although training courses, such as those offered by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and WHO, had been developed to prepare ETU workers, requests for enrollment in available training courses exceeded capacity. In addition, no similar courses in the United States met the need for training U.S. clinicians on providing safe care for patients in West Africa.

To address the safety of U.S. medical volunteers, CDC formed a task force that developed a 3-day safety training course for U.S. HCWs intending to work in West Africa ETUs (8). Task force members traveled to Belgium in August 2014 to participate in the MSF course. With the full collaboration and participation of MSF and WHO, the team used the two organizations Ebola materials as the foundation for the CDC course curriculum.

CDC conducted the course, called Preparing Healthcare Workers to Work in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) in Africa, at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agencys Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. The team trained approximately 600 HCWs representing 42 nongovernment organizations and 21 institutions, organizations, and agencies of the U.S. government. Of the HCWs trained, 276 were Commissioned Officers of the U.S. Public Health Service who staffed the Monrovia Medical Unit in Liberia during 20142015 (9) and provided care to infected HCWs. The training team also produced a tool kit of the training curriculum so that other organizations could replicate the course (10).

Developing Ebola IPC Guidance for U.S. Health Care Facilities

CDC is the lead federal agency for developing infection control guidance that U.S. health care facilities can use when implementing local protocols and procedures. This guidance is based on evidence found in published literature or gained from field experience. In situations where intervention is required for new or emerging infections and there is a paucity of data available, CDC develops guidance based on the best information available (e.g., existing CDC guidance for similar diseases, current epidemiologic and laboratory information, peer-reviewed evidence, and expert opinion). These documents typically are written to provide flexibility in implementation to account for differences in facility-specific characteristics (e.g., facility design and types of supplies available) across health care settings (e.g., hospitals compared with outpatient settings).

In August 2014, anticipating the possibility that Ebola could be diagnosed and treated in the United States and knowing that no U.S. health care facility had experience treating Ebola, CDC infection control, occupational safety and health, and Ebola experts developed and disseminated Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Known or Suspected EVD in U.S. Hospitals (11). These recommendations included guidance on patient placement, PPE use, aerosol-generating procedures, environmental infection control, monitoring and management of potentially exposed HCWs, and other critical aspects of prevention of Ebola transmission in hospitals. At the time, the recommended PPE for Ebola patient care was a gown, gloves, eye protection, and facemask; additional PPE (e.g., shoe covers, leg covers, double gloving, and respirator) for HCWs was recommended if the HCW anticipated contact with copious body fluids or would be performing aerosol-generating procedures. In September 2014, CDC and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) advised that all hospitals should prepare for the possibility that persons in West Africa with Ebola could travel to the United States and distributed a checklist to guide hospitals preparedness (12).

The importation of an Ebola case to a Dallas, Texas, health care facility and the subsequent spread of Ebola to two nurses who provided care demonstrated that HCW PPE recommendations needed to be more directive (e.g., only two recommended PPE ensemble options) and be standardized to facilitate training efforts as well as to ensure the proper supply distribution of the recommended PPE. In addition, CDC received feedback from partners, including those who had provided care for the Ebola patients in the United States, regarding invasive procedures or changes to routine processes (e.g., patient care staff remained in patients room for extended periods). As a result of these experiences, CDC updated the Ebola PPE guidance for HCWs in October 2014, emphasizing that facilities should choose a single standardized PPE approach for patient care, provide training and document competency in PPE use, and use a trained observer during donning and doffing. The observer would help to ensure that PPE was donned correctly and would alert the HCW to possible contact with body fluids during doffing of used PPE (13). CDC received input from other federal agencies with regulatory oversight of health care and occupational safety and health issues, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Feedback was also received from nongovernment professional medical societies and organizations and public health authorities with expertise in Ebola, IPC, and occupational safety and health. Other sources of feedback were hospital staff who had safely cared for Ebola patients in the United States (Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska) and in Africa (MSF).

Training and Educating HCWs in U.S. Health Care Facilities

Updating the infection control guidance was an important step to provide additional specificity; however, the delivery of information and the requirements for implementation needed to be strengthened. Challenges included the differing levels of preparedness among U.S. health care facilities, variations in HCWs roles and their baseline levels of infection control knowledge and training, and differences in the amount and types of infection control supplies (e.g., PPE) available to HCWs. To address these challenges, CDC developed partnerships with a diverse group of organizations to develop educational resources applicable to various settings and HCW types. CDC deployed teams to assess infection control readiness at facilities being designated by state authorities to care for and assess Ebola patients, with the goal of creating training and educational resources based on CDC guidance that are action-oriented, modular, accessible on mobile devices for on-demand use, available in multiple formats, and endorsed by key stakeholders. These tools also took into account best practices related to adult learning, risk communication, and clear communication. CDC training was delivered by using a multifaceted approach: onsite technical assistance, Web-based tools, video training and resources, webinars and conference calls, and in-person training.

Onsite Technical Assistance

CDC and ASPR collaborated with state health departments to improve facility readiness by assessing facilities that can safely care for a patient with Ebola and develop guidance to prepare U.S. health care facilities for Ebola. Facilities were designated in three tiers (14): Ebola treatment centers (ETCs) (14,15), assessment hospitals (14,16), and frontline health care facilities (14,17). Fifty-five state-designated ETCs were designated by state health authorities by February 2015, of which nine serve as regional treatment centers. ETCs are staffed, equipped, and have been assessed for their ability to provide care for an Ebola patient for the complete duration of illness. CDC teams assessed infection control readiness by visiting 81 facilities in 21 states and the District of Columbia that were being considered to serve as ETCs by January 2015.

CDC and ASPR worked with state and local public health officials to identify Ebola assessment hospitals through Ebola readiness assessment teams. These hospitals are intended to have the capability to evaluate and care for persons suspected of having Ebola for up to 96 hours, initiate or coordinate Ebola testing, and test for alternative illnesses. These hospitals can transfer patients to an ETC as needed. Ebola readiness assessment teams assess facilities for key capacities, including staff training, infection control, and PPE use. Through December 2015, Ebola readiness assessment teams assessed approximately 40 facilities.

Web-Based Tools

CDCs Ebola HCW Web pages, which feature training videos and materials (e.g., job aids such as algorithms and checklists), were successively tailored during the fall of 2014 to accommodate the growing needs of the response (18). Usability testing was conducted with stakeholders before the third redesign in December 2014 to ensure that users could easily access CDCs guidelines and training information. The Ebola HCW Web pages were viewed approximately 7.5 million times in fall of 2014.

Web-Based Video Training

Effectively donning and doffing PPE are two of the most complex actions for HCWs caring for an Ebola patient. On October 31, 2014, within 11 days after releasing updated PPE guidance, CDC and Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety used human factors engineering methods to develop and launch an interactive Web-based video learning program detailing procedures for four main PPE combinations (19). To support facility preparedness, four Web-based video training modules were included for emergency department personnel in ETCs and Ebola assessment hospitals, providing detailed instructions on safely assessing and caring for patients with Ebola and other infectious diseases (20). By July 31, 2015, the PPE video modules had been viewed 576,410 times, with an estimated 518,682 minutes (8,644 hours) watched. The emergency department training modules were viewed a total of 15,675 times, with an estimated 1,405 hours watched.

Webinars and Conference Calls

CDC conducted approximately 160 webinars and conference calls, reaching approximately 160,000 U.S. health care providers. Most of these calls were conducted during July 2014January 2015 in collaboration with clinical professional partners (e.g., American Hospital Association).

Resources on Clinician-Specific Websites

During the fall of 2014, online clinical communities (e.g., Medscape) provided substantial additional outreach to U.S. health care providers. The publicprivate partnership between CDC and WebMD/Medscape enables rapid dissemination of urgent training and information to clinicians during public health crises. Medscape produced eight video expert commentaries and a short how-to video on donning and doffing PPE when caring for Ebola patients and collaborated with CDC to address questions from health care professionals (21). The Ebola commentaries on Medscape were viewed approximately 386,000 times and have been promoted and used for HCW training throughout the United States and internationally.

In-person Training

CDC linked with Partnership for Quality Care and numerous health care organizations and unions to conduct live training events in New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; these events reached approximately 6,500 individuals in person and approximately 20,000 through live webcast (22,23). In addition, CDC, Emory University Hospital, and Nebraska Medical Center trained approximately 1,000 HCWs from designated ETCs, Ebola assessment hospitals, and state health departments on all aspects of infection control and patient care for Ebola patients. On July 1, 2015, CDC and ASPR announced the launch of the National Ebola Training and Education Center, led by three institutions (Emory University Hospital, Nebraska Medical Center, and Bellevue Hospital in New York, New York) to continue and expand on efforts to ensure health care facilities and biocontainment centers maintain readiness to care for patients with Ebola in the United States (24).
CDCs Role: Working with Partners

International Response

Airports

In August 2014, after Ebola spread from Liberia to Nigeria by air travel, concerned airlines canceled flights to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and multiple countries closed their borders to travelers from these countries (11); the shortage of commercial flights caused delays to the provision of humanitarian aid, resulting in shortages of medical supplies, personal protective equipment, and food (12). The few airlines that continued to fly to the countries with Ebola outbreaks insisted that departing travelers be screened before boarding (11). CDC Border Health teams in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, and later Mali and Senegal, helped airport and health authorities implement airport exit screening measures that included administering an exposure-and-symptom questionnaire and at least one temperature check with a handheld noncontact thermometer to all departing passengers. Health screeners were trained to conduct secondary assessments of travelers who reported possible exposures or who had symptoms compatible with Ebola. Symptomatic or exposed travelers were denied boarding and referred for further medical and public health assessment. As national databases of known contacts became more robust, they were matched against passenger manifests for departing flights. These measures helped countries with Ebola outbreaks meet WHO recommendations and ensured that some commercial air carriers continued to fly to these countries, serving as vital conduits for supplies and response personnel.

During August 2014January 2016, approximately 300,000 travelers were screened in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Only four cases of Ebola were exported through air travel to other countries (United States [two cases], United Kingdom [one case], Italy [one case]) after exit screening was implemented; none of the infected travelers were overtly symptomatic at the time of travel (4,7,13,14). No Ebola cases were reported to have been detected during exit screening.

To support the international response, CDC developed Ebola communications tools, job aids for airline and airport staff, and messages specific to different organizations and populations. Information also was provided through webcasts and trainings, and some materials were made available on the CDC website as templates to assist other countries in developing their own communications resources.

Seaports

Countries in West Africa, including Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, rely heavily on commercial maritime transport to deliver food and other critical commodities and to export supplies that sustain national economies (15). Keeping these supplies moving was critical to avoiding further strain on the countries already fragile systems. CDC assisted national seaport and maritime authorities by evaluating health security measures at major seaports and training staff how to recognize and respond to Ebola. Port authorities established temperature checkpoints for port access; reviewed and practiced emergency medical response procedures; established onsite isolation facilities; implemented personal protective equipment requirements for staff required to board vessels; and restricted access to vessels in port and disembarkation of seafarers, including cancellation of shore passes and crew transfers.

Land Borders

Ebola initially spread at the land borders of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and frontiers between these countries and their neighbors posed the most difficulties for the border health component of the response. Movement across land borders also resulted in the introduction of Ebola into neighboring Senegal and Mali causing an outbreak in Mali that resulted in eight cases and six deaths; international sharing of information about contacts led to interventions that prevented transmission and contributed to successful containment in Senegal without further spread (16).

The origin of the epidemic highlighted weaknesses in routine and cross-border disease surveillance. In the border regions of West Africa, tribal and ethnic kinship affiliations rather than geopolitical boundaries define village communities. Official border points of entry (those where travelers are inspected by border officials) are sparse, understaffed, and underresourced; dozens of informal border crossings exist for every official point of entry; and travel volumes are high. For all of these reasons, land borders are porous and applying screening procedures at official land border crossings similar to those used at airports is impractical and probably ineffective. CDC, together with ministries of health, WHO, the International Organization for Migration, nongovernment organizations, and other international partners, strengthened disease surveillance in border communities and sharing of information across borders; implemented simple, sustainable measures (e.g., visual screening for illness at designated official border crossings); and developed clearly articulated plans for isolation, communication, assessment, referral, and transportation on the basis of existing and nearby resources. These organizations also coordinated improved mapping of geopositional landmarks, including official and informal border crossings, villages, and markets and other areas of congregation, as well as mapping of population movement patterns. This approach aimed to improve cross-border operations and situational awareness and engage community members in the public health response.

Domestic Response

Travel and border health measures within the United States evolved over time in response to changing needs, newly identified risks, and public concern. At the start of the epidemic, CDC strengthened coordination with U.S. port-of-entry and community partners to identify and assess risks for symptomatic or potentially exposed travelers. Communications materials supported a strategy that relied on educating travelers to self-monitor and seek health care if they developed symptoms.

In August 2014, CDC issued interim guidance that provided a standard for public health measures in the United States on the basis of clinical criteria and exposure risk (17). Measures ranged from monitoring (primarily self-monitoring) to controlled movement (e.g., preclusion from long-distance travel on commercial conveyances such as aircraft, ships, buses, or trains) and aimed to apply the least restrictive measures necessary to protect communities and travelers.

CDC issued revised interim guidance in October 2014 (17) after the first imported case of Ebola in the United States was identified (and initially diagnosed as presumed sinusitis) in Dallas, Texas (4); an infected U.S. health care worker (HCW) flew on two domestic commercial flights, causing panic among U.S. travelers and disrupting the travel industry (6,18,19); and an infected humanitarian aid worker was reported to have been in public areas, including the New York City subway, during the early stages of his illness (7,20). CDCs guidance was revised in response to assertions that self-monitoring was insufficient; growing concerns about infected HCWs in Spain, the United States, and the West African countries with Ebola outbreaks (4,7,21,22); and renewed calls for travel bans (8). Demands to restrict movement of HCWs caring for patients with Ebola were countered by predictions that stringent restrictions would discourage HCWs from supporting the response in West Africa or taking care of patients with Ebola at designated facilities in the United States (23,24). The revised guidance recommended that state or local public health authorities assume responsibility for monitoring all potentially exposed persons for the duration of the 21-day incubation period (active monitoring); established a higher standard of monitoring (direct active monitoring that included daily direct observation by public health officials) for persons with greater potential risk for exposure, including HCWs; and provided guidance for possible application of movement restrictions within communities. Although CDCs guidance represented a minimum standard, states could, and in many cases did, apply more restrictive measures (e.g., temporarily quarantining HCWs returning from West Africa) (25). Many of these measures were enacted before CDC issued the updated guidance.

To facilitate postarrival management of travelers, in October 2014, CDC and DHSs Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began an enhanced entry risk assessment and management program for travelers arriving in the United States from countries with Ebola outbreaks (3). To implement this program with maximum efficiency and minimal disruption to travel, CBP limited entry of air travelers from Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone (and for several weeks from Mali, during the outbreak in that country) to five airports: HartsfieldJackson Atlanta International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York City), and Chicago OHare International Airport.

Enhanced entry risk assessment at U.S. airports included processes to identify travelers from countries with Ebola outbreaks, either through scheduled flight itineraries or during customs and immigration inspections. CBP officers and other U.S. Department of Homeland Security staff collected contact and locating information, administered an exposure-and-symptom questionnaire, checked travelers temperatures with noncontact thermometers, and observed travelers for signs of illness. Data were entered electronically through an online interface and transmitted securely to CDCs database and then to states. Travelers who were symptomatic or who reported possible exposures were referred to CDC for an in-depth public health risk assessment. Symptomatic travelers who met predefined criteria were referred for medical evaluation to designated assessment hospitals, in consultation with the health department with jurisdiction for the airport.

The enhanced entry risk assessment and management program enabled CDC to educate travelers individually about Ebola and the postarrival monitoring process. Screened travelers received a CDC CARE (Check and Report Ebola) kit containing information and tools (including a thermometer and prepaid cell phone) to facilitate monitoring and reporting to health departments (Figure 1).

Enhanced entry risk assessment was discontinued for travelers from Liberia on September 21, 2015; for travelers from Sierra Leone on December 22, 2015; and for travelers from Guinea on February 19, 2016. Of the approximately 38,000 travelers assessed at U.S. ports of entry during October 11, 2014February 18, 2016, only one was subsequently determined to have Ebola. The infected humanitarian aid worker arrived during the brief period between initiation of enhanced entry risk assessment and implementation of postarrival monitoring. He was asymptomatic upon arrival, and his illness was detected through self-monitoring and reporting to the local health department as recommended at the time (7).

To help enforce recommendations that travelers with certain exposures to Ebola should not travel on commercial conveyances and to further reduce the risk for Ebola spread through air travel, in March 2015 CDC revised criteria for use of federal travel restrictions to prevent travel by persons possibly exposed to Ebola or other communicable diseases but not yet considered contagious (26). The updated criteria gave CDC greater flexibility to control the movement of persons who might pose a public health threat during travel and to apply federal travel restrictions in support of outbreak control.

Communication

Throughout the response, CDC disseminated messages to inbound and outbound travelers through the CDC website, traditional and social media, partner outreach, and printed materials. Messages displayed in U.S. airports and in airports in countries with Ebola outbreaks reminded travelers to avoid travel while symptomatic, monitor themselves for illness, and seek health care should symptoms develop (Figure 2) (Figure 3) (Figure 4).

To provide international travelers with information to protect their health and, ultimately, the health of their communities, CDC regularly posts travel notices about disease outbreaks and international events. Notices are assigned a risk level (27) on the basis of the situation and available health recommendations and are escalated or deescalated as the analysis of risk to travelers changes (e.g., status of the outbreak or ability to access health care facilities). The highest risk level is Level 3 (i.e., warning), used only for situations in which the risk is so great that CDC recommends against nonessential travel to a destination. When considering issuance of Level 3 travel notices, CDC takes into account the health risk and impact to travelers and the potential for economic harm to the destination country and the travel industry.

During the 20142016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, CDC initially posted Level 2 (i.e., alert) notices, which recommended enhanced precautions for travelers to Guinea (March 2014), Liberia (April 2014), and Sierra Leone (June 2014); later, Level 2 notices were added for Nigeria (August 2014) and Mali (November 2014) when Ebola outbreaks occurred in those countries. The notices for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone were subsequently elevated to Level 3 in July 2014 to advise U.S. residents to avoid nonessential travel to these countries and enable their governments to respond most effectively to the epidemic by reducing the potential for difficulties posed by nonessential travelers. As the situation improved in Liberia and extensive control measures were put into place, CDC downgraded the notice for this country to Level 2 in May 2015, then to Level 1 (i.e., watch) in September 2015. Similarly, CDC downgraded the notices for Sierra Leone to Level 1 and Guinea to Level 2 in November 2015, and the notice for Guinea was downgraded to Level 1 in December 2015. CDC removed all three notices on February 19, 2016, coinciding with the discontinuation of enhanced entry risk assessment at U.S. ports of entry.

CDC also issued guidance for specific groups of travelers most at risk. Because humanitarian aid was essential to managing the epidemic, CDC posted guidance for aid workers and organizations to help ensure safe travel to and from the region. In contrast, CDC considered education-related travel to be nonessential and advised postponing travel in its guidance for colleges, universities, and students. CDC also published guidance for airlines, cruise ships, and cargo ships to help crew members manage sick travelers onboard when Ebola was suspected.
Full vaccination coverage of the U.S. population could prevent future HPV-attributable cancers and potentially reduce racial and ethnic disparities in HPV-associated cancer incidence. Ongoing surveillance for HPV-associated cancers using high-quality population-based registries is needed to monitor trends in cancer incidence that might result from increasing use of HPV vaccines and changes in cervical cancer screening practices.

An average of 38,793 HPV-associated cancers (11.7 per 100,000 persons) were diagnosed annually in the United States during 20082012, including 23,000 (13.5) among females and 15,793 (9.7) among males. Among these cancers, CDC estimates that 30,700 (79%) can be attributed to HPV, and 28,500 of these are attributable to HPV types that are preventable with the 9-valent HPV vaccine.

Persistent infections with human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause carcinomas of the cervix, and squamous cell cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, rectum, and oropharynx. Many of these cancers are preventable with currently available vaccines; effective screening programs can identify cervical precancers for treatment before they can progress to cancer.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a known cause of cervical cancers, as well as some vulvar, vaginal, penile, oropharyngeal, anal, and rectal cancers (1,2). Although most HPV infections are asymptomatic and clear spontaneously, persistent infections with one of 13 oncogenic HPV types can progress to precancer or cancer. To assess the incidence of HPV-associated cancers, CDC analyzed 20082012 high-quality data from the CDCs National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program. During 20082012, an average of 38,793 HPV-associated cancers were diagnosed annually, including 23,000 (59%) among females and 15,793 (41%) among males. By multiplying these counts by the percentages attributable to HPV (3), CDC estimated that approximately 30,700 new cancers were attributable to HPV, including 19,200 among females and 11,600 among males. Cervical precancers can be detected through screening, and treatment can prevent progression to cancer; HPV vaccination can prevent infection with HPV types that cause cancer at cervical and other sites (3). Vaccines are available for HPV types 16 and 18, which cause 63% of all HPV-associated cancers in the United States, and for HPV types 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58, which cause an additional 10% (3). Among the oncogenic HPV types, HPV 16 is the most likely to both persist and to progress to cancer (3). The impact of these primary and secondary prevention interventions can be monitored using surveillance data from population-based cancer registries.

CDC analyzed data from population-based cancer registries that participate in the CDCs National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institutes Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program and met the criteria for high data quality for all years 20082012, covering approximately 99% of the U.S. population.* Cases were classified by anatomic site using the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd Edition and were confirmed histologically. HPV-associated cancers were defined as invasive cancers at anatomic sites (i.e., cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, oropharynx, anus, and rectum) with cell types in which HPV DNA frequently is found (all carcinomas of the cervix, including adenocarcinomas and squamous cell cancers [SCC]; SCCs only for the other anatomic sites). Oropharyngeal cancers included cancers of the base of tongue; pharyngeal tonsils, anterior and posterior tonsillar pillars, and glossotonsillar sulci; anterior surface of soft palate and uvula; and lateral and posterior pharyngeal walls. Age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated per 100,000 persons and standardized to the 2000 U.S. standard population. Rates were considered significantly different from the referent category at a p-value of <0.05.

Cancer registries do not routinely collect information on HPV DNA presence in cancer tissues, and HPV-associated cancers defined by anatomic site and cell type include cancers not caused by HPV. Therefore, to calculate HPV-attributable cases, the number of HPV-associated cancers was multiplied by the percentage of each cancer type attributable to HPV based on polymerase chain reaction genotyping studies (3). Because rectal squamous cell carcinoma was not included in the genotyping study, the HPV-attributable percentage for anal squamous cell carcinoma, a biologically similar tumor, was used (2).

Overall, an average of 38,793 HPV-associated cancers (11.7 per 100,000 persons) were diagnosed annually, including 23,000 (13.5) among females and 15,793 (9.7) among males. The most common of these cancers were 11,771 (7.4 per 100,000 females) cervical carcinomas, and 15,738 (4.5 per 100,000 persons) oropharyngeal SCCs (12,638 among males and 3,100 among females) (Table 1). Rates of oropharyngeal SCC were higher among males (7.6) than females (1.7), whereas rates of anal and rectal SCC were higher among females (1.8 and 0.3) than males (1.1 and 0.2).

Rates of cervical carcinoma were higher among blacks (9.2) than among whites (7.1), and among Hispanics (9.7) than non-Hispanics (7.1); a similar pattern was observed for penile SCCs (Table 1). Rates of vulvar SCC were lower among blacks (1.5) compared with whites (2.1) and among Hispanics (1.3) compared with non-Hispanics (2.1). Among females, rates of anal SCC were lower among blacks (1.4) than whites (1.9), but among males, were higher among blacks (1.5) compared with whites (1.1). The rate of anal SCC among Hispanic males and females (1.1) was lower than among non-Hispanics (1.5). Rates of oropharyngeal SCC in both males and females were higher among whites (8.0 and 1.8) compared with blacks (6.9 and 1.5), and among non-Hispanics (8.0 and 1.8) compared with Hispanics (4.2 and 0.9).

By state, overall rates of all HPV-associated cancers combined ranged from 7.5 per 100,000 persons (Utah) to 14.7 (Kentucky); among females, rates ranged from 9.1 (Utah) to 17.0 (Kentucky and West Virginia), and among males, rates ranged from 6.0 (Utah) to 12.8 (District of Columbia) (Table 2). Most states with overall HPV-associated cancer rates that exceeded the U.S. rate (11.7 per 100,000) were located in the U.S. Census Southern region, driven by a similar pattern in the distribution of the rates of cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. The highest rate of cervical cancer was found in Puerto Rico (11.7 per 100,000 females); among the states, the lowest was found in Vermont (4.1) and the highest in West Virginia (9.9).

By multiplying HPV-associated cancer counts by the percent attributable to HPV, 30,700 HPV-associated cancers (79%) were estimated to be attributable to HPV (Table 3). Among these, 24,600 (80%) were attributable to HPV types 16 and 18, which can be prevented by the bivalent, quadrivalent and 9-valent HPV vaccines, and 3,800 (12%) were attributable to the five additional HPV types (31, 33, 45, 52, 58), which can be prevented by the 9-valent HPV vaccine. Among cervical carcinoma cases, 7,800 cases were attributable to HPV types 16 and 18 and 1,700 were attributable to the additional HPV types. Among oropharyngeal SCC cases, 9,500 cases were attributable to HPV types 16 and 18, and another 900 cases were attributable to the additional types.
TECUMSEH  A display at the Johnson County Museum gives visitors a look at some enduring artifacts and relics of former Johnson County soldiers from all of the countrys major wars, dating back to the Civil War.

We opened Memorial Day weekend, Sarah Williamson, the museums curator, said. Its all about Johnson County military.

Hundreds of items have been recovered and are displayed throughout the museum exhibit as visitors get the chance to take a walk through the life of a Johnson County soldier over the years.

It starts at the Spanish-American War and ends with the Afghanistan War, depicting important moments in this countrys recent military engagements.

Each one tells the story of why the war began and what started the war, Williamson explained.

Letters more than 100 years old from former soldiers to their families in Johnson County can be seen in the display, including one from a soldier who wrote his wife Rebecca during the Civil War in 1865.

Exhibits from World War I and World War II depict families listening to President Franklin D. Roosevelts now infamous declaration of war speech from December 8, 1941 and another depicts the hardships of living in trenches. An actual trench stove was restored for the display and toy rats feeding on dead bodies are featured next to the manikin soldiers, giving viewers a sense of just how dangerous life in the trenches was.

Honoring the military is important, and very important to people in Nebraska, Williamson said.

Figures are displayed containing statistics as to how many died and were wounded in each conflict.

When people saw it they were very excited and brought things in from home, she added. A lot of people want their old artifacts on display. We add to it all the time.

Williamson said that the museum has been gathering artifacts for quite some time, some added from the old Johnson County Museums collection, but it was from individual donations that she was able to put the exhibit together.

People have donated generously," she said. "Its all from donations and we try to work with what we get. The whole county has given it a great reception. Weve had people come in from the state of Virginia and even Alaska, many of whom had ancestors from Johnson County and heard what we were doing.

Weve even had people come in and identify ancestors in photos.

Though the Johnson County Museum opened last year, the military exhibit has only been up since Memorial Day as the museum continues to look to expand.

Williamson hopes to add a women and children section as well as a business exhibit in the upstairs of the building as soon as funds are raised. There are also plans to add an agriculture equipment section as local farmers are already anxious to bring in old farm equipment, according to Williamson.

The Johnson County Museum is located across from the Johnson County Courthouse in downtown Tecumseh and is open Tuesday thru Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Sometime between the wrongful arrests and convictions of six people for the 1985 murder of Helen Wilson and the six suing Gage County officials for putting them in prison, the county switched insurance carriers.

Officials are unclear how or when that happened, but one thing is certain in the wake of a $28.1 million federal civil rights judgment leveled at Gage County, Sheriffs Deputy Burt Searcey and psychologist and reserve Deputy Wayne Price: Gage County does not have liability insurance to protect it.

Myron Dorn, chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, said the liability insurance never lapsed.

But the switch in providers  and the failure of past county boards to continue to pay its former carrier for coverage on prior bad acts  means Gage County will likely be on the hook for the damages itself.

What this board has been told is that the county doesnt have insurance, Dorn said Wednesday afternoon. The insurance never lapsed, but some part of it wasnt brought up to speed, so there was a liability.

Attorney Herb Friedman, who represented James Dean, one of the six convicted in Wilson's murder, said whether the county has insurance isn't a concern for him.

I guess that will be their problem, he said.

The countys new carrier, the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association, said it's clear Gage County would not be covered for something that took place before it joined the insurance pool nearly 20 years ago.

We havent been involved in that situation at all, said Larry Pelan, who manages the association's underwriting and risk management. Their coverage depends on the kind of coverage the county had prior to joining our pool, which varies from situation to situation.

Without liability insurance in place, any judgment will fall on the taxpayers in the county of nearly 22,000 to fulfill.

The seven-member county board will begin charting a way forward next week during a meeting with County Attorney Roger Harris and the legal team that represented the county during the weeks-long federal trial, which concluded with Wednesday's jury decision.

Their path will be largely unclear, however, because the judgment has no precedent in Nebraska.

Its going to raise a lot of questions, said Larry Dix, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials. Counties have, of course, been in lawsuits and from time to time end up having to make payments, but those incidents are recent and they have insurance.

In my recollection, I cant think of an example where a county has been in this situation.

In 1996, the state Legislature created an emergency fund to allow then-Gov. Ben Nelson to transfer $200,000 to Richardson County to pay back a loan the county took out to compensate public defenders who represented cult leader Michael Ryan and others in the 1985 murders at his compound near Rulo.

Legislators struck the language from state law after the payment was made, and nothing like it has happened since.

Even if senators were willing to set aside $28 million from the state's general fund to pay damages in the Beatrice case, Dix noted the two situations are entirely different.

Gage County was found liable for investigative practices that violated six peoples civil rights, while Richardson County needed help to keep from going broke by providing legal defense required by the U.S. Constitution.

If this came to fruition and Gage County had to expend the funds, the only place they would have money would be whatever they have in any reserves, which isnt going to be anywhere close to this number, Dix said.

Taxable land and other property in Gage County was valued at around $3 billion in 2015, according to the Nebraska Department of Revenue. The county collected just over $9 million in taxes last year from its levy of 29.7 cents per $100 of valuation.

Paying out all $28.1 million in damages owed to the Beatrice 6 in one shot would be nearly impossible under state law. Dix said counties are held under a levy lid of 50 cents per $100 of valuation, unless voters in the county approve a measure allowing it to go above that number.

State law also places limits on how much counties can increase spending from year to year, although it's unclear if special circumstances would apply in this case, Dix said.

County officials could also look at taking out bonds to raise the money, but taxpayers would have to pay those back, plus any interest that accrues.

The amount will probably increase, too, because the federal jury ordered Gage County to pay attorneys' fees for the six people wrongly convicted. The countys own legal fees have topped $1 million.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf did not set any deadline for the payments, and the county is expected to decide next week whether or not it will appeal the decision.

Over the past several years, we really havent had those types of discussions, said County Board Chairman Dorn. Next week, were going to start having those kinds of discussions.

Dix said his association will advise Gage County, but if the penalty is accepted or upheld by a higher court, taxpayers will probably be on the hook for the events of more than 30 years ago.

As a whole, county governments revenue source is property taxes, he said. Its going to be taxpayer dollars paying the bill.
TECUMSEH - What started as a small collection of headshots from members of the Johnson County military has become the main decor at the Ramsey Family Fountain as pictures of former and current Johnson County veterans line the walls of the new American restaurant.

Whether seated in the front, back, or at bar patrons of the Ramsey Family Fountain will notice the many black and white photos that commemorate Johnson County natives who served in the military through the years. Soldiers in World War I, World War II, and even those still serving, all have a place on the walls of the downtown Tecumseh sandwich shop.

Three photos have been donated in the past week alone, said Beverly Ramsey, one of the owners of the restaurant. We have about 700 pictures total. All in alphabetical order.

Starting in the back of the restaurant, the photo tribute features soldiers from Johnson County, old and new, some who gave their lives in the line of duty. Many include multiple generations of the same families, including brothers and sisters, grandfathers and grandsons, and fathers and sons.

I will visit with family members before scanning the photos, Ramsey said. Some even have whole families up there, including grandparents with their children and their childrens children.

Ramsey said she tries to keep in touch with families on display, many of who will come back to the restaurant to look at the photos as they are displayed.

Classes from schools will come by to learn from the military photos on the walls and Ive even had five-year class reunions come in to check out family members featured on the wall, Ramsey added.

Some of the photos contain either a flag ribbon or a gold star: the flag ribbon indicates those that had been captured as prisoners of war and the gold stars indicate those that died in service.

I started collecting pictures about a decade ago and it has just kept growing," she said.

The Ramsey Family Foundation is located on Third Street in downtown Tecumseh.


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Galveston, TX, United States

Galveston is a Texas coastal town that is rich in history and offers visitors a variety of places to visit and things to do. Some of the most popular attractions include the Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn Waterpark, and Historic Downtown. There are also a number of museums and other historical landmarks, as well as plenty of shopping and dining options.

Galveston Luxury Hotels

Galveston Luxury Resorts

Omaha, NE, United States

The birthplace of Warren Buffett, Omaha, Nebraska, is a great place to visit. There are plenty of things to see and do in Omaha, from touring the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to visiting the Durham Western Heritage Museum. Other popular tourist destinations in Omaha include the Joslyn Art Museum, the Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium, and TD Ameritrade Park.

Omaha Luxury Hotels

Columbus, GA, United States

Columbus is a charming small town in Georgia that is worth a visit. There are several places to visit in Columbus, including the Riverwalk, the Chattahoochee River, the National Infantry Museum, and the Coca-Cola Space Science Center. The Riverwalk is a beautiful walkway along the Chattahoochee River that is perfect for a relaxing stroll or a bike ride. The Chattahoochee River is a great place to go fishing, swimming, or kayaking. The National Infantry Museum is a museum dedicated to the infantry of the United States Army. It is a must-see for history buffs. The Coca-Cola Space Science Center is a museum dedicated to space science. It is perfect for kids and adults alike.

Columbus Luxury Hotels

Anchorage, AK, United States

Anchorage is a great place to visit if you're looking for an adrenaline rush. From skiing and snowboarding in the winter to rafting and fishing in the summer, Anchorage has something to offer everyone. In addition to its outdoor activities, Anchorage also has a variety of cultural and historical attractions, including the Anchorage Museum and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

Anchorage Luxury Hotels

Portland, OR, United States

Portland is a city that is located in the US state of Oregon and it is known for its art scene, food, and coffee. There are a lot of interesting places to visit in Portland, such as the Portland Art Museum, where you can see a variety of art from all over the world. Another place to visit is the Powell's City of Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world. If you're looking for a place to eat, Portland has no shortage of amazing restaurants, such as Pok Pok, which serves Thai cuisine, and Le Pigeon, which serves French cuisine. And, of course, no trip to Portland would be complete without trying some of the city's famous coffee, such as Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

Portland Luxury Hotels

Florence, Italy

No trip to Italy is complete without a visit to Florence. This historic city is home to some of the country's most famous attractions, including the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, and Michelangelo's David. There's also plenty to see and do outside of the city center, including the picturesque Tuscan countryside and the vibrant university town of Arezzo.

Florence Luxury Hotels

Florence Luxury Villas

Asheville, NC, United States

Asheville is a city in western North Carolina. It is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Buncombe County. Asheville is home to the Biltmore Estate, the largest private home in the United States. The city of Asheville proper had a population of 84,236 in 2010. The city is known for its art deco architecture, mountain scenery and outdoor activities, and as the birthplace of American novelist Thomas Wolfe. It is also home to the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the second largest craft brewery in the United States.

Asheville Luxury Hotels

Asheville Luxury Cottages

Long Beach, CA, United States

There's plenty to do in Long Beach, California without ever having to leave the city limits. If you're looking for a little adventure, head to the Aquarium of the Pacific for a glimpse of the ocean's creatures or take a walk on the boardwalk at Rainbow Harbor. If you're more of a history buff, the Queen Mary is a must-see. This retired ocean liner is now a hotel and museum with plenty of stories to tell. And no trip to Long Beach is complete without a visit to the iconic Vincent Thomas Bridge.

Long Beach Luxury Hotels

Long Beach Luxury Villas

Cincinnati, OH, United States

Cincinnati is a city located on the Ohio River in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. The city was founded in 1788 and named after the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization of Revolutionary War officers. Cincinnati is a major U.S. city and the metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million people. The city is well-known for its German heritage, Oktoberfest celebration, and its variety of chili dishes. Cincinnati is home to three major sports teams: the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals, MLB's Cincinnati Reds, and the NBA's Cincinnati Cavaliers. The city is also home to the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. The city's historic neighborhoods include Over-the-Rhine, Mount Auburn, and Hyde Park. Cincinnati is a popular tourist destination and offers a variety of attractions and places to visit, including the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Newport Aquarium, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

Cincinnati Luxury Hotels

Laughlin, NV, United States

Laughlin, Nevada is a great place to visit if you're looking for a fun and affordable vacation. There are plenty of casinos and resorts to choose from, as well as plenty of outdoor activities and attractions. Be sure to check out the local nightlife, and don't forget to take a trip down the mighty Colorado River.

Laughlin Luxury Hotels

Laughlin Luxury Resorts

Anaheim, CA, United States

Anaheim, California is home to both Disneyland and California Adventure Park. The parks are just a short walk away from each other, and make for a great day of exploration. Anaheim is also home to the Anaheim Angels and the Anaheim Ducks, so there's always a game to catch. If you're looking for something a little more low-key, Anaheim has a great shopping district and a variety of restaurants to choose from.

Anaheim Luxury Hotels

Santa Cruz, CA, United States

Santa Cruz is a great place to visit! There are so many places to see and things to do. Some of my favorite places to visit are the Boardwalk, the wharf, and the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Boardwalk is a great place to go for a walk, ride on the amusement park rides, and eat some of the delicious food. The wharf is a great place to go for a walk, eat some seafood, and listen to the street performers. The University of California, Santa Cruz is a great place to visit to learn about the history of the area and to see some of the beautiful architecture. I highly recommend visiting Santa Cruz if you are looking for a fun and interesting place to visit!.

Santa Cruz Luxury Hotels

Eugene, OR, United States

Eugene, Oregon is a great city to visit with a lot of places to see and things to do. One of the most popular attractions is the University of Oregon campus, which is home to a number of museums and a large football stadium. The city also has a vibrant arts scene, with a number of theaters and art galleries. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy the dozens of parks and hiking trails in the area, and there are also a number of wineries and breweries in the area.

Eugene Luxury Hotels

Branson, MO, United States

There's plenty to see and do in Branson, Missouri, from state parks and amusement parks to theaters and shopping. Here are some of the most popular places to visit: Silver Dollar City is a theme park with rides, shows, and craftsmen demonstrations. is a theme park with rides, shows, and craftsmen demonstrations. The Shepherd of the Hills Outdoor Theatre puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." puts on a variety of shows, including "The Legend of the Shepherd of the Hills" and "The Catfish Fry." Table Rock State Park has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. has fishing, swimming, and hiking trails, as well as a nature center. The Titanic Museum features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. features a half-sized replica of the ship, along with exhibits about the history of the Titanic. Branson Landing is a shopping and entertainment complex on the waterfront. There's something for everyone in Branson, Missouri  come visit and see for yourself!.

Branson Luxury Hotels

Panama City Beach, FL, United States

The white sand beaches and emerald waters of Panama City Beach, Florida, are a popular tourist destination. The city is home to numerous hotels, resorts, and restaurants, as well as amusement and water parks. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, kayaking, and surfing.

Panama City Beach Luxury Hotels

Panama City Beach Luxury Resorts

Monterey, CA, United States

Monterey is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, United States. It stands at the southern end of Monterey Bay, on the Pacific coast. The city is also the home of the Naval Postgraduate School. Monterey is the largest city in the Central Coast region of California. The main attractions in Monterey are the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, and the downtown area.

Monterey Luxury Hotels

Norfolk, VA, United States

Norfolk, Virginia is a great place to visit for its historical places and military bases. Some places to visit in Norfolk are the Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk Botanical Garden, and the Norfolk Naval Station.

Norfolk Luxury Hotels

Palm Springs, CA, United States

Palm Springs is a vibrant city located in the Coachella Valley and is known for its year-round sunshine, resort atmosphere and Mid-Century Modern architecture. Top places to visit include the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Palm Springs Art Museum, Indian Canyons and Moorten Botanical Garden. For a truly unique experience, be sure to check out the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale  the worlds largest vintage furniture and design event.

Palm Springs Luxury Hotels

Palm Springs Luxury Resorts

Palm Springs Luxury Villas

Rochester, NY, United States

Rochester is a city in western New York State and is the county seat of Monroe County. Rochester is known for its annual festivals, including the Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Rochester Fringe Festival, and the Holiday Folk Fair International. Places to visit in Rochester include the George Eastman Museum, the Strong National Museum of Play, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, and the Seneca Park Zoo.

Rochester Luxury Hotels

Pigeon Forge, TN, United States

Visit the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge for a unique experience. This museum is dedicated to the Titanic, one of the most infamous ships in history. Tour the ship and learn about the passengers and crew who were on board. You can even see the actual artifacts recovered from the shipwreck. If you're looking for a little more excitement, head to Dollywood. This amusement park is home to roller coasters, a water park, and plenty of other rides and attractions. Plus, the park is themed around the life and music of Dolly Parton. No trip to Pigeon Forge is complete without a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains. These mountains offer a variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, and horseback riding. Plus, the natural beauty of the area is simply breathtaking.

Pigeon Forge Luxury Hotels

Jacksonville, FL, United States

Jacksonville is less than an hour's drive from the beaches of Amelia Island and St. Augustine, and a little more than two hours from Orlando. The city has a lot to offer visitors, including a riverwalk, museums, and a vibrant arts scene. Jacksonville is also home to the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL team.

Jacksonville Luxury Hotels

Minsk, Belarus

Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is a city that has something for everyone. If you're looking for a little history, Minsk has plenty of it, with churches and monuments dating back to the 12th century. If you're looking for a lively nightlife, Minsk has that, too, with plenty of bars, clubs, and restaurants. And if you're looking for a little nature, Minsk has parks and gardens to enjoy. Here are just a few of the places you can visit in Minsk: The Holy Spirit Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Minsk, is a must-visit for history buffs. The National Library of Belarus is a huge library with more than 18 million items in its collection. The Opera and Ballet Theatre is a beautiful building that hosts performances of both opera and ballet. The Victory Park is a large park with a war memorial, a children's playground, and a lake. And for a little bit of nature in the heart of the city, the Botanical Garden is a great place to relax and take a break from the hustle and bustle of Minsk.

Minsk Luxury Hotels

Jaipur, India

Jaipur is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. It is the capital of the state of Rajasthan and is known for its palaces, forts and temples. Some of the places to visit in Jaipur include the Amber Fort, the City Palace, the Jantar Mantar Observatory and the Hawa Mahal. Jaipur is also a great place to shop for traditional Indian handicrafts.

Jaipur Luxury Hotels

Chicago, IL, United States

Chicago is a city full of culture and history. There are plenty of places to visit, such as the Willis Tower, Buckingham Fountain, and the Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicago is also home to many restaurants and bars, so there is something for everyone.

Chicago Luxury Hotels

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is a beautiful city located on the north island of New Zealand. There are many places to visit in Auckland, including the Sky Tower, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the Auckland Domain. The beaches in Auckland are also worth visiting, especially Karekare and Piha. Auckland is a great place to visit, and I highly recommend it!.

Auckland Luxury Hotels

Auckland Luxury Villas

Amsterdam, Netherlands

If you're looking for a city that's got it all, Amsterdam should be your go-to destination. From the city's lively and vibrant nightlife to its charming and quiet neighborhoods, Amsterdam has something for everyone. Be sure to check out the Anne Frank Huis, the Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum, as these are some of the most popular attractions in the city. And if you're looking for a little bit of nature, be sure to take a walk or bike ride through Amsterdam's many parks.

Amsterdam Luxury Hotels

Berlin, Germany

There are so many great places to visit in Berlin that it can be hard to know where to start. From the iconic Brandenburg Gate to the fascinating Reichstag Building, there's something for everyone in this vibrant city. If you're looking for a bit of history, make sure to check out the Berlin Wall Memorial or the DDR Museum. And for those looking for a bit more fun, there's always the Alexanderplatz Christmas Market or the Zoologischer Garten. No matter what your interests, Berlin is a city you won't want to miss.

Berlin Luxury Hotels

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is a city of contrasts with its gleaming temples and skyscrapers, chaotic markets and tranquil canals. While it's a popular tourist destination, Bangkok is a city that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages. Some of the top places to visit in Bangkok include the Grand Palace, Wat Arun, the floating markets and the Chatuchak Weekend Market.

Bangkok Luxury Hotels

Bangkok Luxury Resorts

Bangkok Luxury Villas

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is a city in Belgium that is worth visiting. It is full of medieval charm and there are a lot of things to see and do. Some of the places to visit include the Markt, the Belfry, and the Begijnhof.

Bruges Luxury Hotels

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is a city in Belgium that is best known for its chocolate, waffles, and beer. But there is much more to see and do in Brussels than just indulge in the local cuisine. There are a number of interesting historical landmarks to visit, such as the Grand Place and the Atomium, as well as a variety of parks and gardens. And, of course, Brussels is also a great city to explore on foot.

Brussels Luxury Hotels

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary's capital, is a city of thermal baths and medival, baroque and art nouveau architecture. Crowded with tourists, the city is bisected by the Danube River into the hilly Buda and the more developed and flat Pest. Among the main places of interest are the neo-Gothic Parliament, the Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest, the Matthias Church and Fisherman's Bastion on the Buda bank, and the State Opera House and Heroes' Square on the Pest side.

Budapest Luxury Hotels

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Home to some of the best beaches in Mexico, Playa del Carmen is a favorite tourist destination for visitors from all over the world. With its lively nightlife, gorgeous coastline and ample shopping opportunities, there's something for everyone in this tropical paradise. Don't miss the opportunity to visit some of the area's most popular attractions, such as the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum and Coba, or the eco-friendly Turtle Beach. With its friendly people, delicious food and stunning scenery, Playa del Carmen is a place you'll never want to leave.

Playa del Carmen Luxury Hotels

Playa del Carmen Luxury Resorts

Playa del Carmen Luxury Villas

Denver, CO, United States

Denver is a great city for visitors. There are so many places to see and things to do. Some of the top places to visit include the 16th Street Mall, the Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Art Museum, and the Colorado State Capitol. There are also plenty of great restaurants and shops to explore. Denver is definitely a city worth visiting!.

Denver Luxury Hotels

Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is a city located in Ireland. It's a city full of culture, with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist spots are the Guinness Storehouse, Trinity College, and the Dublin Castle. There are also plenty of pubs and restaurants to discover.

Dublin Luxury Hotels

Dusseldorf, Germany

Dusseldorf, Germany is a city with many different places to visit. The city has a mix of old and new buildings, and a variety of activities to do. The best places to visit in Dusseldorf are the Konigsallee, the Rhine Tower, and the Oktoberfest. The Konigsallee is an open-air shopping mall that has many high-end stores. The Rhine Tower is the tallest building in the city and offers great views of Dusseldorf. The Oktoberfest is a week-long festival that celebrates German culture and food.

Dusseldorf Luxury Hotels

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Edinburgh, Scotland is a beautiful city to visit. The architecture is very old and unique, and there are plenty of historical places to visit, like Edinburgh Castle. There are also plenty of parks and gardens, and lots of shops and restaurants.

Edinburgh Luxury Hotels

Rome, Italy

Rome is a city rich in history and filled with beautiful places to visit. Make sure to stop by the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Also be sure to visit St. Peters Basilica and the Sistine Chapel while in Rome. If youre looking for a little more nature in your trip, head to the Villa Borghese gardens or the Janiculum Hill for some wonderful views of the city. And of course, no trip to Rome is complete without a gelato!.

Rome Luxury Hotels

Rome Luxury Villas

New York, NY, United States

There are many amazing places to visit in New York State. Some of my favorites are the Niagara Falls, the Adirondack Mountains, and the Finger Lakes. If you're looking for a city break, New York City is definitely worth a visit. There's endless things to see and do, from touring the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island to visiting world-famous museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. No matter what your interests are, you'll be able to find something to enjoy in New York State.

New York Luxury Hotels

New York Luxury Villas

London, United Kingdom

London is a city rich in history and full of amazing places to visit. Some of my favorite places are Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and the Tower of London. There is so much to see and do in London, you could spend weeks here and never run out of things to do. If you're looking for a city full of culture and history, London is the place for you.

London Luxury Hotels

London Luxury Cottages

Madrid, Spain

Madrid is one of the most beautiful and culturally rich cities in the world. From the Royal Palace to the Prado Museum, theres plenty to see and do in Madrid. If youre looking for a little bit of nature, Madrid has plenty of parks, like the Buen Retiro Park, to relax in. And dont forget to try some of the delicious tapas and wine while youre in town.

Madrid Luxury Hotels

Memphis, TN, United States

The birthplace of rock 'n' roll, Memphis is a city rich in history and culture. From Graceland to Beale Street, there are plenty of places to visit in Memphis. Be sure to check out Sun Studio, where rock 'n' roll was born, and the National Civil Rights Museum, which tells the story of the African-American civil rights movement. Memphis is also home to some amazing food, so be sure to try some of the city's famous barbecue and soul food.

Memphis Luxury Hotels

Miami Beach, FL, United States

There is much to explore in Miami Beach, from the famous Art Deco district to the vast beaches and crystal-clear waters. Outdoor enthusiasts will love the opportunities for fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding, while history buffs can explore the ancient burial mounds at Miami Beach. Shoppers and foodies will find plenty to keep them busy, with vibrant neighborhoods like Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive offering unique boutiques and award-winning restaurants. And of course, no trip to Miami Beach is complete without a visit to world-famous South Beach.

Miami Beach Luxury Hotels

Miami Beach Luxury Resorts

New Orleans, LA, United States

You can't visit New Orleans without trying some of the local food. Beignets, Po' Boys, and gumbo are just a few of the must-try dishes. While you're in town, be sure to check out the French Quarter, Jackson Square, and St. Louis Cathedral. If you're looking for some nightlife, Bourbon Street is the place to be. And, of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without a visit to Mardi Gras!.

New Orleans Luxury Hotels

Milan, Italy

Milan is a city located in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is a popular tourist destination because of its historical and artistic heritage. Some of the places you should visit while in Milan are the Duomo, La Scala, and Castello Sforzesco.

Milan Luxury Hotels

Naples, Italy

Naples is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in Italy. There are countless places to visit, such as the Royal Palace, the Museum of San Martino, and the Church of Gesu Nuovo. Naples is also home to excellent shopping and dining options. Be sure to enjoy a cup of coffee at one of the city's many cafes and take a stroll through the picturesque streets.

Naples Luxury Hotels

Paris, France

Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. It's home to iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum, as well as a thriving nightlife and restaurant scene. If you're looking to explore all that Paris has to offer, here are some of the top places to visit: The Eiffel Tower: This iconic landmark is a must-see in Paris. Climb to the top for stunning views of the city, or take a ride on the elevator to the bottom for a closer look at the structure. The Louvre Museum: This world-famous museum is home to some of the most famous works of art in the world, including the Mona Lisa. The Notre Dame Cathedral: This beautiful cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks in Paris. Make sure to climb to the top for some amazing views of the city. The Champs-Elysees: This famous avenue is a popular destination for shopping and dining. Be sure to wander down the street and take in all the sights and sounds. The Arc de Triomphe: This towering arch is another iconic landmark in Paris. Climb to the top for some amazing views of the city.

Paris Luxury Hotels

Paris Luxury Villas

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is a city rich in history and culture. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, and the Old Town Square. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy, and the nightlife is vibrant. Prague is a truly unique city and a must-visit for anyone traveling to the Czech Republic.

Prague Luxury Hotels

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Located on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana is known for its beautiful beaches and turquoise waters. This paradise is a favorite destination for travelers looking for a Caribbean getaway. Punta Cana is home to a wide variety of resorts and activities, from enjoying the sand and surf to golfing, spas, and shopping. Nature lovers can also explore the areas jungles, caves, and waterfalls.

Punta Cana Luxury Hotels

Punta Cana Luxury Resorts

Punta Cana Luxury Villas

Marbella, Spain

If you're looking for an idyllic and luxurious Spanish escape, look no further than Marbella. Located on the country's Costa del Sol, Marbella is home to stunning beaches, top-notch resorts, world-class golfing, and much more. A visit to Marbella is the perfect way to experience all that Spain has to offer.

Marbella Luxury Hotels

Marbella Luxury Villas

Marrakesh, Morocco

Marrakesh is a city in Morocco that is full of culture and history. There are several places to visit in Marrakesh, including the Palace of the Bahia, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, and the Saadian Tombs. The souks (markets) are also a must-see, where you can find everything from souvenirs to spices to traditional clothing. Be sure to enjoy a meal in one of the many restaurants or cafes in Marrakesh; the food is delicious and the atmosphere is always lively. Marrakesh is a wonderful city to explore and definitely worth a visit!.

Marrakesh Luxury Hotels

San Francisco, CA, United States

San Francisco is a popular tourist destination, and for good reason. There are plenty of things to see and do in this vibrant city. Here are some of the top places to visit: 1. Fisherman's Wharf: This neighborhood is home to a variety of shops and restaurants, as well as a popular pier where you can enjoy views of the bay. 2. The Golden Gate Bridge: This iconic bridge is a must-see for any visitor to San Francisco. 3. Alcatraz Island: This former federal prison is now a popular tourist attraction. It's a must-see for fans of history and crime dramas. 4. Chinatown: This colorful neighborhood is home to some of the best food in San Francisco. Be sure to check out the Dragon Gate entrance. 5. The Mission District: This trendy neighborhood is home to hip restaurants, bars, and art galleries.

San Francisco Luxury Hotels

Moscow, Russia

Moscow, Russia is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some of the most popular tourist attractions are the Kremlin, Red Square, and Saint Basil's Cathedral. Other great places to see include the Bolshoi Theatre, Gorky Park, and the Tretyakov Gallery. There are also many churches and other historical buildings to explore. Moscow is a lively city with a lot of culture and nightlife. There is something for everyone to enjoy in Moscow.

Moscow Luxury Hotels

Venice, Italy

Venice is one of the most beautiful places on earth. The city is built on a lagoon in northeast Italy and is known for its canals and gondolas. There are many places to visit in Venice, including the Grand Canal, St. Marks Square, and the Rialto Bridge. Venice is also home to many museums, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

Venice Luxury Hotels

Vienna, Austria

Vienna, Austria is a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Vienna, including the Hofburg Palace, the Ringstrasse, and St. Stephen's Cathedral. Vienna is also home to some of the world's best shopping, including the Karntner Strasse and the Graben. Finally, no visit to Vienna is complete without experiencing the city's world-famous nightlife.

Vienna Luxury Hotels

Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich is a marvelous city located in the heart of Switzerland. It is a city that has something to offer for everyone. From amazing restaurants and beautiful architecture to exciting nightlife and gorgeous parks, Zurich has something for everyone. Some of the most popular places to visit in Zurich include the Bahnhofstrasse, which is the city's most famous shopping street, the Lindenhof, which is a beautiful park with amazing views of the city, and Grossmunster, which is a stunning Romanesque church. Zurich is also home to some of the best museums in the world, including the famed Museum of Art and the Swiss National Museum. With its mix of old-world charm and modern amenities, Zurich is a city that is definitely worth exploring.

Zurich Luxury Hotels

Acapulco, Mexico

If you're looking for a Mexican vacation spot with plenty of history and culture to explore, Acapulco is a great option. From the archeological wonders of the ancient city to the stunning coastal views, there's something for everyone in Acapulco. Plus, with its temperate climate, it's a great escape from colder winter weather.

Acapulco Luxury Hotels

Acapulco Luxury Resorts

Acapulco Luxury Villas

Nashville, TN, United States

One of the United States' most interesting places to visit is Nashville, Tennessee. There's plenty to see and do there, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Music is a big part of the city's history and culture, so be sure to catch a show while you're in town. Other popular attractions include the Ryman Auditorium, the Parthenon, and the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Nashville is also a great place to eat, with a wide variety of restaurants serving up everything from barbecue to Mexican food. So if you're looking for an exciting and diverse city to visit, be sure to add Nashville to your list.

Nashville Luxury Hotels

Nashville Luxury Villas

Atlanta, GA, United States

What's not to love about Atlanta? From the iconic Georgia Aquarium to the World of Coke, from the Fox Theatre to Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta offers a wealth of destinations for tourists. Sports fans will want to check out the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and history buffs will enjoy the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Braves fans can take a tour of SunTrust Park, and shoppers will enjoy the many boutiques and malls in the city. There's also a great restaurant scene in Atlanta, and music lovers will want to check out the many venues offering live music. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation spot or a place to explore on your own, Atlanta is a great choice!.

Atlanta Luxury Hotels

Miami, FL, United States

The Magic City is a top tourist destination for a reasonthere are endless things to do in Miami! From exploring the trendy neighborhoods and dazzling beaches to soaking up the Latin culture and nightlife, Miami is jam-packed with amazing places to visit. Here are a few of our favorites: 1. Wynwood Walls: This outdoor art exhibit is a must-see for any art lover. The colorful murals are awe-inspiring and definitely Instagram-worthy. 2. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens: This estate is dripping with luxury and opulence, from the grandiose architecture to the expansive gardens. It's the perfect place for a day of relaxation. 3. South Beach: This world-famous beach is a must-visit for any sun-seeker. The crystal-clear water and soft sand make for the perfect day-long beach getaway. 4. Little Havana: Experience Cuban culture at its best in Little Havana. From delicious food to lively music and dance, there's something for everyone in this vibrant district. 5. Art Deco District: This district is home to Miami's most iconic architecture. Take a stroll down the charming streets and admire the colorful buildings that make Miami so unique.

Miami Luxury Hotels

Miami Luxury Villas

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is a must-see destination in Japan. There are endless places to explore in this city - temples, shrines, gardens, and more. The Shinjuku district is a great place to start, with its neon-lit streets and myriad shops and restaurants. For a taste of traditional Japan, visit the Sensoji Temple in Asakusa or the Imperial Palace. Nature lovers will enjoy the Hamarikyu Gardens or the Hama-rikyu Teien Garden. And for a unique experience, take a trip to Mount Fuji.

Tokyo Luxury Hotels

Tokyo Luxury Villas

Buenos Aires, Argentina

There are plenty of places to visit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Some popular tourist destinations include the obelisk, the Casa Rosada, and the Puerto Madero district. Every barrio (neighborhood) has its own unique culture and flavor. San Telmo, La Boca, and Palermo are some of the most popular barrios. There are also many parks and plazas, such as Plaza de Mayo and Plaza de la Republica, that are worth checking out.

Buenos Aires Luxury Hotels

Hamburg, Germany

One of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany is Hamburg. From the lively and colorful harbor district to the grandiose City Hall, there is plenty to see and do in Hamburg. Some of the other popular places to visit include the Reeperbahn district with its pubs and nightlife, the Planten un Blomen botanical gardens, and the architecturally stunning Rathausmarkt square.

Hamburg Luxury Hotels

Lisbon, Portugal

The capital of Portugal, Lisbon is a city of fascinating contrasts. From its coastal location, visitors can enjoy stunning ocean views, while its hilly, narrow streets are home to a maze of charming traditional homes and lively nightlife. A city of 7 hills, Lisbon is a bustling metropolis with something for everyone. Here are some of the top places to visit: The Belem Tower, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of Lisbons most iconic landmarks. This 16th-century fortress and lighthouse is a must-see for visitors. The Alfama district, with its winding streets and tile-roofed homes, is the oldest district in Lisbon. This is the perfect place to get lost and explore the citys history. The Lisbon Zoo is a great place to enjoy a day out with the family, with over 2,000 animals from around the world. The Christ the King statue, located atop a hill in the suburb of Almada, offers impressive views of Lisbon and the river Tagus. The Lisbon Oceanarium, located in the Parque das Nacoes district, is home to more than 12,000 marine creatures and is one of the largest aquariums in Europe.

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Lisbon Luxury Villas

Malaga, Spain

Malaga is an attractive seaside city in southern Spain with a long history. There are many places to visit in Malaga, including the Gibralfaro Castle, the Alcazaba fortress, and the Malaga Cathedral. Malaga is also home to a variety of museums, including the Picasso Museum. The city is well known for its beaches, and there are many delightful places to relax and enjoy the sun and the sea.

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Munich, Germany

When planning a vacation to Munich, Germany, be sure to include these top places to visit: The Marienplatz is a must-see square in the city center, featuring a beautiful Glockenspiel show and the Old and New Town Halls. The Englisher Garten, Europes largest city park, is a great place for a relaxing stroll or a picnic. OlympiaPark is home to the famous 1972 Olympic Stadium as well as a huge amusement park. The Frauenkirche is a stunning church in the old town with a Glockenspiel of its own. Beer lovers will want to visit the Hofbrauhaus, the worlds most famous beer hall. For a bit of history and culture, check out the LudwigMaximilians-University and the Deutsches Museum. There is so much to see and do in Munich  these are just a few highlights!.

Munich Luxury Hotels

Granada, Spain

Granada is a city in southern Spain that is known for its Moorish architecture and history. The city is home to the Alhambra, a palace and fortress that was constructed in the late 1300s. Visitors can also enjoy the citys many churches, including the Cathedral of Granada. Granada is also a convenient base for exploring the other cities and towns in Andalusia.

Granada Luxury Hotels

Bucharest, Romania

Bucharest is a city full of history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Palace of Parliament, which is the world's largest civilian building. Other places to visit include the old city center, which is full of charming streets and buildings, and the Botanical Garden, which is the largest botanical garden in Romania.

Bucharest Luxury Hotels

Bologna, Italy

Bologna, Italy is a beautiful city with plenty of places to visit. Some popular tourist destinations include the Piazza Maggiore, the Tower of Asinelli, and the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. There are also plenty of museums and churches to explore, and the city is full of charming restaurants and cafes. Bologna is an excellent destination for a vacation, and there is something for everyone to enjoy in this amazing city.

Bologna Luxury Hotels

Porto, Portugal

Porto is a port city in Portugal that is well known for its wine. It's also a city with a long and rich history. There are many places to visit in Porto, including the old city center, the Dom Luis I Bridge, and the Clerigos Tower. Porto is also home to the famous Port wine caves, which are a must-visit for wine lovers.

Porto Luxury Hotels

Cologne, Germany

Cologne, located on the Rhine River in western Germany, is a city well worth visiting. The city has a long and rich history, dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. Some of the city's most popular tourist attractions include the Cologne Cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, and the RheinEnergieStadion. Additionally, Cologne is home to a wide variety of museums, shops, and restaurants. In fact, the city has been ranked as one of the best places to live in Germany. So, if you're looking for a great European city to visit, be sure to add Cologne to your list.

Cologne Luxury Hotels

Istanbul, Turkey

If you're looking for an exotic and affordable vacation destination, look no further than Istanbul, Turkey. Filled with historical places to visit and bargains to be found, Istanbul offers something for everyone. Be sure to visit the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, and the Blue Mosque while you're there. Don't forget to bargain for the best prices when shopping in the bazaars, and enjoy some delicious Turkish cuisine while you're at it. Istanbul is sure to leave you with a lasting impression.

Istanbul Luxury Hotels

Istanbul Luxury Villas

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai is a fascinating and exotic city that offers visitors a mix of traditional Middle Eastern culture and modern, cosmopolitan life. There are plenty of places to visit in Dubai, from the towering skyscrapers of Downtown Dubai to the luxury shopping malls and luxurious hotels of the Palm Jumeirah. Don't miss a chance to experience an Arabian night out on an epic dhow cruise, or take a trip out into the Arabian Desert to see the stunning sand dunes.

Dubai Luxury Hotels

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Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp is a city located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital of the province of Antwerp and has a population of over half a million people. Antwerp is a popular tourist destination due to its many historical buildings, museums, and art galleries. Some of the most popular places to visit in Antwerp are the Cathedral of Our Lady, the City Hall, the Rubenshuis, and the Antwerp Zoo.

Antwerp Luxury Hotels

Lyon, France

Lyon is a beautiful city in the south of France that is full of culture and places to visit. Some of the most popular places to visit in Lyon are the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere, the Place Bellecour, and the Vieux Lyon. The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere is a beautiful cathedral that is a must-see when visiting Lyon. The Place Bellecour is a large square in the heart of Lyon that is full of restaurants and cafes. The Vieux Lyon is a district in Lyon that is full of old buildings and is a great place to wander around and take in the sights.

Lyon Luxury Hotels

Athens, Greece

If you find yourself in Athens, there are definitely some spots you won't want to miss. The Acropolis, Parthenon, and Olympic Stadium are all essential stops, but there are plenty of others, too. If you're looking for a bit of history, the National Archaeological Museum is a must-see, while nature lovers will enjoy a visit to the botanical gardens. If you're looking to relax, take a walk along the beach in Glyfada or head to the Plaka district for a charming and picturesque setting. No matter what you're interested in, Athens has something for you.

Athens Luxury Hotels

Athens Luxury Villas

Helsinki, Finland

While in Helsinki, make sure to visit these popular tourist destinations: The Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral The Sibelius Monument Ateneum Art Museum Market Square Helsinki Zoo.

Helsinki Luxury Hotels

Vilnius, Lithuania

The capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is a picturesque city with a rich history. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of charming churches, narrow streets, and pretty squares. There are also lots of museums and other places of interest to visit, including the Hill of Crosses, Gediminas Tower, and the Presidential Palace. Vilnius is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, and bars to enjoy in the evening.

Vilnius Luxury Hotels

Reykjavik, Iceland

A city of remote beauty, Reykjavik is teeming with interesting places to visit. One of the worlds most northern capitals, Reykjavik offers stunning landscapes and a wealth of cultural experiences. From the iconic Hallgrimskirkja church to the popular Golden Circle tour, theres plenty to see and do in Reykjavik. Be sure to check out the citys lively nightlife scene, too  you wont be disappointed!.

Reykjavik Luxury Hotels

Glasgow, United Kingdom

Some of the most popular places to visit in Glasgow include the Gallery of Modern Art, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, the Riverside Museum, and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. There are also many wonderful parks and gardens to explore, including the Botanic Gardens and Glasgow Green. For those interested in history and architecture, there are many fascinating old buildings to see, such as the Glasgow Cathedral and the University of Glasgow. And for those looking for a lively nightlife, Glasgow has no shortage of pubs, clubs, and restaurants.

Glasgow Luxury Hotels

Los Angeles, CA, United States

As the birthplace of Hollywood and home to some of the world's most recognisable landmarks, there's no shortage of places to visit in Los Angeles. Start by exploring the city's iconic neighbourhoods like Beverly Hills and Hollywood, then venture out to attractions like the Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach and Disneyland. And don't forget to savour the city's world-famous cultural scene, with its abundance of museums, theatres and restaurants.

Los Angeles Luxury Hotels

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San Diego, CA, United States

San Diego is a city located in California and is a major tourist destination. One of the main reasons people visit the city is for its many beaches. Coronado Beach, Mission Beach, and Pacific Beach are some of the most popular and are all within close proximity to the city center. Other attractions in San Diego include the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld San Diego, and the USS Midway Museum. Restaurants, bars, and shopping can be found throughout the city, and world-renowned museums, like the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, are also located in San Diego.

San Diego Luxury Hotels

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San Diego Luxury Villas

Washington, DC, United States

Washington, D.C. is a city full of history and places to visit. Some popular places to visit are the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the Smithsonian. D.C. is also home to a number of monuments and memorials, like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial. There are also a number of museums in D.C., like the American History Museum and the National Air and Space Museum.

Washington Luxury Hotels

Cancun, Mexico

Cancun is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Mexico. Aside from its beautiful beaches, there are plenty of places to visit and things to do in Cancun. Some of the most popular attractions include the ancient ruins of Chichen Itza, the eco-park Xcaret, and the nightclubs and bars in the resort district.

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Virginia Beach, VA, United States

Virginia Beach is one of the top tourist destinations on the East Coast. From the Virginia Beach Boardwalk to the miles of sandy beaches, there's something for everyone to enjoy. There are also plenty of restaurants, shops, and other attractions to keep visitors busy. Some of the most popular places to visit in Virginia Beach include: The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. : This aquarium is home to more than 20,000 animals, including sharks, dolphins, and rays. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk: This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. This 3.5-mile boardwalk is one of the most popular attractions in Virginia Beach. It features a wide variety of shops, restaurants, and amusements. First Landing State Park: This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. This park offers miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as a beachfront area for swimming and sunbathing. Cape Henry Lighthouse: This lighthouse is one of the oldest in the country and offers stunning views of the Chesapeake Bay. There are plenty of other things to do in Virginia Beach, including dolphin and whale watching tours, kayaking, and golfing. Whether you're looking for a fun family vacation or a romantic getaway, Virginia Beach is sure to please.

Virginia Beach Luxury Hotels

Virginia Beach Luxury Resorts

Beijing, China

If you're looking for an amazing cultural experience, be sure to add Beijing, China to your travel bucket list! With beautiful temples, charming hutongs (traditional alleyways), and a lively food scene, there's something for everyone in this bustling city. Plus, Beijing is home to some of the most iconic attractions in China, like the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. So if you're looking for an unforgettable East Asian adventure, be sure to add Beijing to your list!.

Beijing Luxury Hotels

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul is a metropolitan city that is home to over 10 million people. It is a city full of culture, history, and a vibrant nightlife. There are plenty of places to visit in Seoul, including the Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and N Seoul Tower. The Jeongdongne district is a must-see for anyone interested in art and culture, and the Itaewon district is a great place to go for a night on the town.

Seoul Luxury Hotels

South Lake Tahoe, CA, United States

Known for its dramatic lake and mountain scenery, South Lake Tahoe offers visitors plenty of places to visit and things to do. Some of the most popular attractions include floating down the river on a tube, hiking the trails in the summer and skiing or snowboarding the slopes in the winter. The city also has a variety of restaurants and nightlife options, as well as casinos for those looking to try their luck.

South Lake Tahoe Luxury Hotels

South Lake Tahoe Luxury Resorts

Daytona Beach, FL, United States

Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. It is approximately 40 miles northeast of Orlando, and 85 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The city is known as "The World's Most Famous Beach." Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida. The Daytona Beach area is a popular tourist destination. It is well known for its beaches, sports events, and motorsports. Daytona Beach was the birthplace of NASCAR and home to its first track, Daytona International Speedway. Dayton Beach also features a large number of tourist-oriented businesses, such as motels, restaurants, and bars.

Daytona Beach Luxury Hotels

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The coastline of Rio de Janeiro is breathtaking, and the views from Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain are unforgettable. Rio's world-famous beaches are the perfect place to relax and enjoy the sun and the surf. The city's rich culture and history can be experienced in its many museums and in the lively nightlife. Rio is also a great place to shop for souvenirs.

Rio de Janeiro Luxury Hotels

Rio de Janeiro Luxury Villas

Jaco, Costa Rica

Jaco is a town on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. It's about an hour drive from San Jose and is a popular spot for surfers, sunbathers, and tourists. There are a number of beaches in the area, as well as restaurants, bars, and hotels. If you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy the Costa Rican sun and beaches, Jaco is a great option.

Jaco Luxury Hotels

Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway is a city with plenty of places to visit. You can find the peace and tranquility of nature parks and green spaces, experience the city's vibrant nightlife, or take in the historical and cultural sights. Here are a few of the top places to visit in Oslo: The Royal Palace: Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Oslo's Royal Palace is the official residence of Norway's king and queen. The palace is open to the public year-round, and offers a glimpse into the lives of the royal family. Vigeland Park: Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. Considered one of Oslo's most popular tourist destinations, Vigeland Park is home to over 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. The park is a great place to spend a sunny day outdoors. The Maritime Museum: This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. This museum is home to a variety of exhibits on Norway's maritime history. Visitors can explore everything from Viking ships to modern submarines. The National Gallery: The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. The National Gallery is Norway's largest art museum, and home to a vast collection of paintings and sculptures from the country's most famous artists. Aker Brygge: Aker Brygge is a popular waterfront district in Oslo, home to a variety of bars, restaurants, and shops. The area is a great place to people watch and enjoy the view of the Oslo Fjord.

Oslo Luxury Hotels

Lima, Peru

If you're looking for a city that's bursting with culture and flavor, Lima, Peru is the place for you! This vibrant destination is home to some of the most amazing places to visit in all of South America. From ancient ruins to lush rainforests, there's something for everyone in Lima. Here are just a few of the must-see attractions in this amazing city: The Larco Museum is one of Lima's top tourist destinations. This incredible museum is home to one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian art in the world. The Historic Center of Lima is a must-see for any history lover. This vibrant area is home to some of the oldest architecture in Lima, including the iconic San Francisco Monastery. If you're looking for a little bit of jungle in the city, head to the Parque de la Reserva. This lush park is home to beautiful gardens, a zoo, and even a butterfly farm! No trip to Lima would be complete without a visit to Machu Picchu. This ancient Inca citadel is one of the most iconic sites in all of South America.

Lima Luxury Hotels

Ankara, Turkey

Ankara is the cultural and political center of Turkey. The city is home to many museums, including the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, and is a popular destination for tourists. The Citadel, the Ataturk Mausoleum, and the War of Independence Museum are all popular tourist destinations in Ankara. The city is also home to a vibrant nightlife and is a popular destination for students.

Ankara Luxury Hotels

Birmingham, United Kingdom

There are plenty of great places to visit in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Some of the most popular places to go include the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the Black Country Living Museum. These places are all great for tourists, as they offer a variety of attractions, including beautiful gardens, interesting art, and a recreation of an old-fashioned town. Additionally, there are plenty of other great places to visit in Birmingham, such as the Jewellery Quarter and the German Christmas Market.

Birmingham Luxury Hotels

York, United Kingdom

With a rich history that spans back over 1,000 years, York is a must-visit destination in the United Kingdom. Explore the city's medieval architecture and narrow cobblestone streets, or enjoy a leisurely walk along the River Ouse. Visitors can also enjoy a variety of cultural experiences, such as the York Minster cathedral, the Jorvik Viking Centre, and the National Railway Museum. There are also plenty of shops and restaurants to enjoy in York.

York Luxury Hotels

Inverness, United Kingdom

Inverness, Scotland is a must-see destination on any traveler's list. Filled with rolling green hills, historical sites, and plenty of outdoor activities, there's something for everyone in this charming town. Start by exploring the city center, which is home to a variety of shops and restaurants. Make sure to check out the Inverness Castle, which offers commanding views of the area, and the Inverness Cathedral, a beautiful example of medieval architecture. Outside of the city center, there are plenty of other attractions to explore. The Loch Ness Monster is said to make its home in the loch here, and visitors can take boat tours to hunt for the mythical creature. If you're looking for a more active adventure, take a hike in the hills or go fishing on the loch. No matter what you choose to do, Inverness is a beautiful and welcoming town that is sure to charm you.

Inverness Luxury Hotels

Marseille, France

The Vieux Port (Old Harbor) is the oldest port in France. It is a beautiful place to visit with its sailboats, restaurants, and cafes. The Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica is also worth a visit. It offers stunning views of the city. If you're looking for a more lively atmosphere, head to the La Canebiere. It's a wide avenue with plenty of shops and restaurants.

Marseille Luxury Hotels

Marseille Luxury Villas

Honolulu, HI, United States

Honolulu is a city located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, United States. It is the most populous city in the state of Hawaii and the county seat of the City and County of Honolulu. Honolulu is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world and is located in Honolulu. Other places to visit in Honolulu include Diamond Head, the USS Arizona Memorial, and Hanauma Bay.

Honolulu Luxury Hotels

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Bar Harbor, ME, United States

Famous for lobster and stunning ocean views, Bar Harbor is a popular destination in Maine. There are plenty of things to do in the town and its surroundings, including hiking, biking, whale watching, and exploring Acadia National Park.

Bar Harbor Luxury Hotels

Colorado Springs, CO, United States

There are many places to visit in Colorado Springs. Garden of the Gods is a popular park with beautiful rock formations. Pike's Peak is a 14,115 foot mountain that offers great views and outdoor activities. The Broadmoor is a world-renowned resort with lovely gardens and a championship golf course. Royal Gorge Bridge is the world's highest suspension bridge and a popular tourist spot.

Colorado Springs Luxury Hotels

Fort Myers Beach, FL, United States

Just an hours drive from the Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach is a popular tourist spot, especially in the winter when the snowbirds migrate down. The seven-mile-long beach is known for its white sand and clear water and is a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing, fishing, and kayaking. There are also a number of restaurants and bars in the area, as well as a few stores.

Fort Myers Beach Luxury Hotels

Biloxi, MS, United States

There are plenty of places to explore in Biloxi, Mississippi  from the citys iconic Beaches to the picturesque Bay Saint Louis. Venture into the citys downtown area to check out the many shops and restaurants, or take a walk along the shoreline. No matter what you choose to do, youre sure to have a great time in Biloxi.

Biloxi Luxury Hotels

Palermo, Italy

If you're looking for a city with a rich and diverse history, Palermo is the place for you. This coastal city in Italy is teeming with medieval architecture, churches, and cathedrals. Be sure to check out the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house in Europe, and the Palazzo dei Normanni, the seat of the Sicilian government. Don't miss out on the city's vibrant nightlife and vast array of restaurants that serve up some of the best food in the country.

Palermo Luxury Hotels

Palermo Luxury Villas

Manila, Philippines

The capital of the Philippines, Manila is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant culture. There are plenty of places to visit in Manila, including the walled city of Intramuros, the Rizal Park, and the Manila Bay. The city is also home to a large number of churches, including the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. Manila is a great city to explore on foot, and there are plenty of restaurants and shops to enjoy.

Manila Luxury Hotels

Zermatt, Switzerland

Zermatt is an alpine village in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is famous for its ski resort, mountaineering and hiking trails. The views of the Matterhorn from Zermatt are iconic. The village is car-free, making it a cyclists' and pedestrians' paradise. There are many places to visit in Zermatt, including the village's beautiful churches, impressive museums, and great restaurants.

Zermatt Luxury Hotels

Basel, Switzerland

Basel is a city located in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel has a population of about 176,000 and is the third most populous city in Switzerland. Basel has many interesting places to visit, including the Basel Munster, the Basel Rathaus (town hall), the Basel Zoo, and the Munsterhof, the old town square. Basel also has a number of art museums, including the Kunstmuseum Basel, the Fondation Beyeler, and the Schaulager. Basel is a great city to visit, and I highly recommend it!.

Basel Luxury Hotels

Copenhagen, Denmark

There are a number of places to visit in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include Tivoli Gardens, Nyhavn, and the Rosenborg Castle Gardens. Tivoli Gardens is a beautiful amusement park that has something for everyone. It is perfect for a day of fun with family or friends. Nyhavn is a charming canal district that is popular for its brightly colored houses and lively atmosphere. Visitors can enjoy a relaxing cruise down the canal or take a seat in one of the many cafes and restaurants. The Rosenborg Castle Gardens are home to a majestic castle as well as beautifully landscaped gardens. There is plenty to see and do in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Copenhagen Luxury Hotels

Steamboat Springs, CO, United States

Steamboat Springs is located in northwestern Colorado. The town is named for the steamboats that traveled up the Yampa River in the 1800s. Today, the town is a popular tourist destination, known for its skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and rafting.

Steamboat Springs Luxury Hotels

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates and is home to many tourist attractions. Some popular places to visit in Abu Dhabi include the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Ferrari World Theme Park, and the Yas Island Waterpark. There are also a number of museums and shopping malls in Abu Dhabi, making it a great destination for those looking for a mix of culture and leisure.

Abu Dhabi Luxury Hotels

Abu Dhabi Luxury Resorts

Abu Dhabi Luxury Villas

Bogota, Colombia

There's a lot to see and do in Bogota. Some of the top places to visit include the historical La Candelaria district, the cobblestone streets of Plaza de Bolivar, the Monserrate mountain, the Bogota Botanical Garden, and the Gold Museum. La Candelaria is home to many brightly-colored colonial buildings, churches, and plazas. Plaza de Bolivar is the center of Bogota and is surrounded by important landmarks like the Presidential Palace and the National Capitol. The Monserrate mountain is a popular tourist destination due to its stunning views of Bogota. The Bogota Botanical Garden is the largest in Colombia and features a wide variety of plants and trees. The Gold Museum is home to the largest collection of Pre-Columbian gold artifacts in the world.

Bogota Luxury Hotels

Cebu, Philippines

Due to its location and its rich history, there are plenty of places to visit in Cebu. Some of the most popular tourist destinations include the Cebu Taoist Temple, the Fort San Pedro, the Yap-San Diego Ancestral House, and the Magellan's Cross.

Cebu Luxury Hotels

Cebu Luxury Resorts

Lagos, Portugal

Lagos is a small town in Portugal with a population of around 22,000. It's located in the Algarve region and is a popular tourist destination. Some of the places to visit in Lagos are the beaches, the old town, and the Marina. The beaches are beautiful and there are a lot of them to choose from. The old town is a maze of narrow streets and alleyways with lots of shops and restaurants. The Marina is a great place to walk around and watch the boats.

Lagos Luxury Hotels

Medellin, Colombia

Some places to visit in Medellin, Colombia are: the Botanical Garden, the Ethnographic Museum, the Jardin Botanico, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Park of Lights, and the San Pedro Claver Church.

Medellin Luxury Hotels

Genoa, Italy

While there are many places to visit in Genoa, one of the must-sees is the city's cathedral. Dedicated to San Lorenzo, the church features an intricate Gothic facade and a Renaissance interior. If you're looking for a place to take in some stunning views, head to the Genoa Aquarium, which is located on the promenade stretching along the city's harbor.

Genoa Luxury Hotels

Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Vietnam. Its a bridge town thats best explored on foot. The narrow streets are a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese architecture. There are tailors, artisans, and lantern shops galore. The food is also some of the best in Vietnam. Be sure to try the local specialties, like Cao Lau and White Rose dumplings.

Hoi An Luxury Hotels

Hoi An Luxury Resorts

Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan is a city with a lot of culture and history. There are a lot of places to visit, like the Palace of the Shirvanshahs and the Maiden Tower. There are also a lot of great restaurants, like the Flame Club, which has a great atmosphere and delicious food.

Baku Luxury Hotels

San Luis Obispo, CA, United States

San Luis Obispo is a city located in the central coast of California. It's known for its natural beauty, relaxed vibe, and abundance of things to do. Some of the top places to visit in San Luis Obispo include the Madonna Inn, Hearst Castle, and the Paso Robles wine country. The city is also home to a variety of beaches, parks, and other attractions. In addition, San Luis Obispo is a great place to live, with plenty of restaurants, shops, and other amenities.

San Luis Obispo Luxury Hotels

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The city is located on the west coast of the island and is the administrative, commercial, and industrial center of Sri Lanka. Colombo is also the center of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, with numerous Buddhist temples. There are a number of places to visit in Colombo, including the Galle Face Green, the Dutch fort, the Pettah Bazaar, and the Sri Lankan National Museum.

Colombo Luxury Hotels

Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia is home to some of the most stunning temples and historical landmarks in the country. The city is also a great place to enjoy traditional Javanese culture and cuisine. Some of the must-see places in Yogyakarta include the Borobudur Temple, the Prambanan Temple, and the Sultan's Palace.

Yogyakarta Luxury Hotels

Cefalu, Italy

Looking for a beautiful and historic place to visit in Italy? Look no further than Cefalu. This town is teeming with history and stunning architecture, and its location on the coast makes it the perfect place to relax and take in the stunning scenery. Don't miss the Duomo di Cefalu, a 12th century Norman church that is definitely worth a visit, or the Palazzo dei Normanni, a former royal palace.

Cefalu Luxury Hotels

San Jose, CA, United States

San Jose, California, is home to a variety of tourist destinations. Some popular places to visit include the Winchester Mystery House, the Tech Museum of Innovation, and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. There are also a number of lovely parks, such as Kelley Park and Plaza de Cesar Chavez, that are well worth a visit. San Jose is also home to a number of great restaurants, so be sure to check out the local cuisine. Whatever your interests, San Jose has something to offer visitors.

San Jose Luxury Hotels

Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong is one of the most popular destinations for tourists in China. There are many places to visit in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Victoria Peak, and the Temple Street Night Market. Hong Kong is also a great place to shop, with many high-end malls and markets.

Hong Kong Luxury Hotels

Hong Kong Luxury Resorts

Orlando, FL, United States

Orlando is a city in the central region of Florida, in the United States. The city is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the metropolitan area also known as Greater Orlando. Orlando is well known for its theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, and SeaWorld Orlando. Other tourist destinations in Orlando include the Holy Land Experience, the Orlando Science Center, and the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Orlando is also home to the University of Central Florida, one of the largest universities in the United States.

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Orlando Luxury Villas

Philadelphia, PA, United States

If youre looking for a place thats rich in history and culture, Philadelphia is the place for you. The city is home to numerous iconic landmarks, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Theres also a great variety of museums and other attractions to explore, such as the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. And, of course, Philly is the birthplace of Americas favorite sandwich, the cheesesteak. So why not visit Americas most historic city and see for yourself what all the fuss is about?.

Philadelphia Luxury Hotels

Nice, France

France is known for its many beautiful places to visit, and Nice is no exception. With its stunning coastline and mild climate, Nice is a popular tourist destination. Some of the most popular places to visit in Nice include the Promenade des Anglais, the Castle Hill, and the Old Town. There is also a wide variety of shops and restaurants to enjoy in Nice. If you're looking for a beautiful and relaxing place to visit in France, Nice is definitely worth considering.

Nice Luxury Hotels

Nice Luxury Villas

Singapore, Singapore

Singapore is a popular tourist destination, brimming with cultural and natural attractions. From award-winning restaurants to serene gardens and pristine beaches, there is much to explore in this diverse city-state. Here are some of the top places to visit in Singapore: 1. Marina Bay: This iconic waterfront district is home to stunning architecture, world-class landmarks, and a vibrant nightlife. 2. Gardens by the Bay: These stunning gardens feature a mix of plants from around the world, as well as towering sculptures and a biodome. 3. Chinatown: This lively district is home to traditional Chinese shops and restaurants, as well as vibrant street markets. 4. Little India: This neighborhood is known for its vibrant culture and colorful temples. 5. Sentosa Island: This resort island is home to sandy beaches, lush rainforests, and a variety of entertainment options.

Singapore Luxury Hotels

Singapore Luxury Resorts

Nottingham, United Kingdom

Nottingham is a city in the East Midlands of England. It is one of the United Kingdom's major cities, with a population of over 321,000. The city is home to two universities, Queen's Medical Centre, and seven football grounds. Nottingham is known for its lace-making and bicycle manufacturing. The city has a rich history, dating back to the Bronze Age. There are plenty of places to visit in Nottingham, including the Nottingham Castle, the Sherwood Forest, and the National Ice Centre. The city also has a lively nightlife, with a variety of pubs and bars.

Nottingham Luxury Hotels

Cannes, France

Cannes is a city located in the south of France. Some of the places to visit in Cannes are the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, the Boulevard de la Croisette, and Le Suquet.

Cannes Luxury Hotels

Cannes Luxury Villas

Park City, UT, United States

Park City, Utah, offers visitors a wealth of places to visit and things to do. Main Street, with its charming shops and restaurants, is a must-see. The Park City Museum tells the town's fascinating history, and the Park City Utah Temple is a beautiful sight. For outdoor enthusiasts, there's plenty of skiing and snowboarding in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. And don't forget to visit the Olympic Park, where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held.

Park City Luxury Hotels

Park City Luxury Resorts

Port Angeles, WA, United States

If you're looking for a quaint, small town to visit in the US, Port Angeles is worth a stop. Located in the state of Washington, it's right on the Pacific coast with stunning views of the Olympic Mountains. There's plenty of things to do in the area, from hiking and fishing to whale watching and enjoying the local restaurants and breweries.

Port Angeles Luxury Hotels

Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States

If you're looking for a fun-filled Florida getaway, look no further than Fort Lauderdale! With its miles of pristine beaches, world-famous shopping and vibrant nightlife, there's something for everyone in this seaside city. Here are some of the top places to visit in Fort Lauderdale:  Las Olas Boulevard: This popular shopping and dining district is home to some of Fort Lauderdale's most upscale boutiques and restaurants.  The Beach: With its wide, sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters, Fort Lauderdale's beach is a major draw for visitors.  The Everglades: Just a short drive from Fort Lauderdale, the Everglades are home to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, bald eagles and manatees.  The Broward Center for the Performing Arts: This world-class performing arts center is home to a variety of theater, dance and music performances. So what are you waiting for? Book your trip to Fort Lauderdale today!.

Fort Lauderdale Luxury Hotels

Fort Lauderdale Luxury Resorts

Myrtle Beach, SC, United States

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to visit in the area, including amusement parks, beaches, and golf courses. Myrtle Beach also has a lively nightlife, with plenty of bars and restaurants.

Myrtle Beach Luxury Hotels

Myrtle Beach Luxury Resorts

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg is one of the most visited places in Austria. It is a city rich in history and culture. There are many places to visit, such as the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Mirabell Palace, and the Salzburg Cathedral. There are also many hiking trails and parks to enjoy.

Salzburg Luxury Hotels

Pattaya, Thailand

Pattaya is an amazing city with plenty of places to visit and things to do. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, Pattaya offers something for everyone. There are lovely beaches, interesting temples, great shopping, and exciting nightlife. With its moderate climate and affordable prices, it's no wonder Pattaya is a favorite destination for tourists from all over the world.

Pattaya Luxury Hotels

Pattaya Luxury Resorts

Pattaya Luxury Villas

Dallas, TX, United States

Dallas is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the ninth most populous city in the United States and the third most populous city in the state of Texas. Dallas is also the main city of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the United States. The city's prominence arose from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, and its position as a major transportation hub for the South. Dallas is home to the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. The city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare and medical research, and transportation. The city is home to the world's largest airline hub and the third largest cargo airport in the United States.

Dallas Luxury Hotels

Kolkata, India

Kolkata, also known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. The city is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River. It is the second most populous city in India, after Mumbai, and the third most populous metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi. The city is notable for its colonial architecture, art and culture, and for its overwhelming poverty. Kolkata is home to the Indian Museum, the Calcutta Stock Exchange, the National Library of India, and the Indian Statistical Institute.

Kolkata Luxury Hotels

San Antonio, TX, United States

San Antonio is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Texas. There are plenty of places to visit in this city, from the well-known River Walk to the exquisite Spanish missions. If you're looking for a fun place to spend the day, you can't go wrong with San Antonio.

San Antonio Luxury Hotels

Seattle, WA, United States

There are many wonderful places to visit in Seattle, Washington. Some of the most popular attractions include Pike Place Market, the Seattle Space Needle, and the Museum of Pop Culture. There are also many parks and gardens, such as Volunteer Park and Seattle Chinese Garden, as well as plenty of restaurants and shops. Located on the other side of the world, Western Australia is a great place to visit for those looking for something different. Some of the most popular attractions include Rottnest Island, the Margaret River region, and Monkey Mia. There are also plenty of beautiful parks and gardens, such as Kings Park and Botanic Garden, as well as restaurants and shops.

Seattle Luxury Hotels

Liverpool, United Kingdom

Liverpool is a city located in North West England and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom. The city is known for its football teams Liverpool and Everton, The Beatles, and its maritime history. Liverpool is a popular tourist destination and is home to various tourist attractions including Mersey Ferry, Liverpool Cathedral, and Albert Dock.

Liverpool Luxury Hotels

Malmo, Sweden

Malmo is Sweden's third largest city with a population of over 310,000. It is located in the province of Scania on the country's southern tip. Malmo is a vibrant city with a strong arts and cultural scene. There are plenty of places to visit in Malmo, including the Malmo Castle, the Botanical Gardens, and the Turning Torso skyscraper. Malmo is also home to a large shopping district and a lively nightlife.

Malmo Luxury Hotels

Gothenburg, Sweden

Goteborg, Sweden's second largest city, is a major port on the country's west coast. It's a popular tourist destination, known for its lively nightlife, beautiful architecture and delicious seafood. Some of the city's highlights include the Liseberg amusement park, the Botanical Garden, and the charming old town district. Goteborg is also home to a large number of museums, including the Volvo Museum, the Maritime Museum and the Universeum science center.

Gothenburg Luxury Hotels

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Ljubljana is the capital city of Slovenia and is a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Ljubljana, such as the castle, the old town, and the cathedral. The city is also home to many museums, art galleries, and parks. Ljubljana is a great city to explore on foot, and there are many restaurants and cafes to enjoy.

Ljubljana Luxury Hotels

Sydney, NSW, Australia

Australia is a vast country with plenty of stunning places to visit, but Sydney is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist destinations on the continent. From the iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge to the beautiful beaches and lush national parks, there's something for everyone in this lively city. There's also a thriving food and nightlife scene, so you'll never run out of things to do in Sydney.

Sydney Luxury Hotels

Sydney Luxury Villas

Melbourne, VIC, Australia

There's a lot to love about Melbourne  its lively arts and culture scene, its parks and gardens, its diverse range of restaurants and cafes, and its stunning architecture. Here are some of the best places to visit in Melbourne: - Federation Square: This iconic square is a great place to people-watch and take in the city's impressive architecture. It's also home to a number of museums and galleries, including the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the National Gallery of Victoria. - Queen Victoria Market: This vibrant market is a must-visit for foodies and shoppers alike. It's the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere, and offers a vast array of fresh produce, meat, seafood, and souvenirs. - Melbourne Cricket Ground: If you're a sports fan, be sure to check out the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which is the largest cricket stadium in the world. It's also home to the Australian Football League, and has hosted a number of major sporting events, including the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby Union World Cup. - Royal Botanic Gardens: These beautiful gardens are a great place to relax and take in some of Melbourne's natural beauty. They're home to a number of different gardens, including the Australian Garden, the Sculpture Garden, and the Japanese Garden.

Melbourne Luxury Hotels

Melbourne Luxury Villas

Vancouver, BC, Canada

The top places to visit in Vancouver are Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown, and Chinatown. These are all must-see attractions that offer an array of activities, scenery, and history. Stanley Park is a world-famous urban park that features greenery, beaches, gardens, and a stunning view of the North Shore Mountains. Granville Island is a vibrant neighbourhood with unique shops, restaurants, and art galleries. Gastown is the city's oldest neighbourhood and is home to charming cobblestone streets and funky boutiques. Chinatown is one of the largest and most vibrant Chinatowns in North America and offers delicious food, interesting history, and vibrant culture.

Vancouver Luxury Hotels

Toronto, ON, Canada

From the CN Tower and Hockey Hall of Fame to the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Distillery District, there are plenty of amazing places to visit in Toronto, Canada. With something for everyone, Toronto is a great city to explore. So what are you waiting for? Start planning your trip today!.

Toronto Luxury Hotels

Montreal, QC, Canada

Montreal is a vibrant city with something for everyone. There are plenty of places to visit, including the Notre Dame Basilica, the Olympic Stadium, and Mount Royal. The city is also home to a lively arts and culture scene, with theatres, art galleries, and music venues. Montreal is a great place to visit year-round, with festivals and events happening throughout the year.

Montreal Luxury Hotels

Seville, Spain

Seville is one of the most visited places in Spain for a plethora of reasons: its stunning architecture, tapas bars, flamenco and great weather. The Giralda Tower is a must-see when in Seville as is the Plaza de Espana. Andalusian culture is heavily present in the city and is best experienced by wandering the narrow streets and alleyways, popping into a lively tapas bar for a drink and some snacks or enjoying a flamenco show.

Seville Luxury Hotels

Seville Luxury Villas

Ocean City, MD, United States

Ocean City is a seaside resort town in Worcester County, Maryland, on the Atlantic coast. It is well known for its long promenade, its fishing, and its crab cuisine. There are plenty of places to visit in Ocean City, including the boardwalk, amusement rides, shopping, and restaurants. You can also visit the Assateague Island National Seashore, which is home to wild horses, or head to the nearby town of Berlin for more shopping and dining options.

Ocean City Luxury Hotels

Cambridge, MA, United States

If you're looking for a quintessential New England town to visit, Cambridge, Massachusetts is the place for you. With its elaborate architecture and Colonial history, Cambridge is a lively town with plenty of things to see and do - perfect for a weekend getaway. Some of the places you won't want to miss include the Harvard University campus, the charming and lively shops and restaurants in Harvard Square, and the leafy paths of the Cambridge Common.

Cambridge Luxury Hotels

Laguna Beach, CA, United States

Laguna Beach, California is a place known for its stunningly beautiful coastline, excellent restaurants, and art galleries. But there's more to Laguna Beach than meets the eye. Here are some of the best places to visit in Laguna Beach: Crystal Cove State Park: This state park is known for its coves, tidepools, and bluffs. It's a great place to go hiking, swimming, and snorkeling. Heisler Park: This park is a great place for a walk or a picnic. It's also home to some of the best views of the Pacific Coast. Downtown Laguna Beach: This charming downtown area is home to art galleries, boutique shops, and excellent restaurants. Aliso Beach: This beach is known for its excellent surfing and swimming conditions. It's also a great place to take a walk or enjoy a picnic.

Laguna Beach Luxury Hotels

Hot Springs, AR, United States

In downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, you'll find historic buildings, antique shops, and art galleries. For nature lovers, there are also plenty of places to visit, including the Garland County Arboretum, Ouachita National Forest, and Hot Springs National Park. Spa enthusiasts can enjoy a relaxing day in one of the area's hot springs. And no trip to Hot Springs is complete without a visit to the world-famous Bathhouse Row.

Hot Springs Luxury Hotels

Sedona, AZ, United States

There are many places to visit in Sedona, Arizona. Among the most popular are the Chapel of the Holy Cross, Bell Rock, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon. The town's unique red-rock formations and ancient ruins offer plenty of photo opportunities. Visitors can also enjoy hiking, biking, and horseback riding. Sedona is a great place to relax and take in the natural beauty of the Southwest.

Sedona Luxury Hotels

Sedona Luxury Resorts

Boulder, CO, United States

Boulder, Colorado is a breathtaking city nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The city is home to stunning views, ample outdoor recreation, and a lively arts scene. Outdoor enthusiasts will love exploring the city's many trails, parks, and open spaces. History buffs will enjoy checking out the city's museums and historic sites. Culture seekers will appreciate the city's many theaters, art galleries, and restaurants. No matter what your interests, you'll find something to love in Boulder.

Boulder Luxury Hotels

Key West, FL, United States

Key West is a small island off the coast of Florida that is filled with history, charm, and fun places to visit. Its lush tropical setting and the laid-back vibe of the island make it a popular destination for those looking for a relaxing getaway. There are plenty of places to explore in Key West, from the charming historic district to the crystal-clear waters of the Florida Keys. Here are some of the top places to visit in Key West: -The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum: This iconic museum is dedicated to the life and work of Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West for over 20 years. -Duval Street: This lively street is the heart of Key West's nightlife and is home to many bars and restaurants. -The Southernmost Point: This landmark is located at the end of Duval Street and is the southernmost point in the continental United States. -The Key West Lighthouse: This picturesque lighthouse is a popular spot for tourists and offers stunning views of the island. -The African American Heritage House: This museum is dedicated to the history and culture of African Americans in Key West. -The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory: This attraction is home to over 2,000 butterflies and a variety of other tropical plants and animals.

Key West Luxury Hotels

Key West Luxury Resorts

Key West Luxury Cottages

Key West Luxury Villas

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden is a city with many places to visit. One place is the Vasa Museum, which is home to a ship that sunk in 1628 and was raised from the ocean floor 333 years later. The ship is preserved and on display in the museum. Another place to visit is the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Swedish monarch. The palace is open for tours, and visitors can see the royal apartments, the throne room, and the Hall of State.

Stockholm Luxury Hotels

Destin, FL, United States

Looking for a place to visit in Florida? Look no further than Destin! This city is home to beautiful beaches, wonderful restaurants, and plenty of places to shop. No matter what you're looking for, you can find it in Destin. Be sure to check out the Destin Harbor and the fishing pier for amazing views and plenty of things to do. If you're looking for a place to relax, head to the beach and enjoy the sun and sand. There's something for everyone in Destin, so be sure to visit this amazing city!.

Destin Luxury Hotels

Destin Luxury Resorts

Ashland, OR, United States

There are many places to visit in Ashland, Oregon. Some of the most popular places are the Shakespeare Festival, Lithia Park, and Mt. Ashland. The Shakespeare Festival is a great place to see some of the best plays in the world. Lithia Park is a beautiful park with a river running through it. Mt. Ashland is a great place to go skiing in the winter.

Ashland Luxury Hotels

Seaside, OR, United States

One of the most beautiful places on the Oregon Coast is Seaside. With its wide, sandy beach and majestic promenade, Seaside is a popular tourist destination. There are plenty of places to eat and shop, and the Seaside Aquarium is a must-see. Visitors can also enjoy fishing, whale watching, or just taking a leisurely stroll along the beach.

Seaside Luxury Hotels

Newport, RI, United States

Newport is a picturesque town located in southern Rhode Island that is home to some of the most visited tourist destinations in the United States. The city is known for its miles of beaches and historic mansions that line the coast. Some popular places to visit in Newport include the Cliff Walk, the Breakers Mansion, the Museum of Yachting, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Newport Luxury Hotels

Siena, Italy

Siena, Italy is a popular tourist destination, thanks to its well-preserved medieval city center. The city is famous for its art, food, and wine. Siena is located in the heart of Tuscany, making it the perfect base for exploring this beautiful region of Italy. Don't miss the Duomo (cathedral), the Piazza del Campo, and the Torre del Mangia.

Siena Luxury Hotels

Reno, NV, United States

Home to the University of Nevada, Reno and a wide variety of cultural and natural attractions, Reno is a great place to visit. Some of the top places to see in Reno include the Nevada Museum of Art, the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center, and the Reno Events Center. Outdoor enthusiasts will enjoy hiking and skiing at Lake Tahoe and biking and kayaking on the Truckee River. In addition, Reno is home to a diverse array of restaurants and nightlife venues.

Reno Luxury Hotels

Atlantic City, NJ, United States

Atlantic City is a popular East Coast tourist destination, known for its boardwalks, beaches and casinos. There are plenty of places to visit in Atlantic City, from the Boardwalk Hall and the Absecon Lighthouse to the Atlantic City Aquarium and Lucy the Elephant. For a more thrilling experience, head to one of the city's casinos, where you can try your hand at blackjack, slots, roulette and more. Atlantic City also offers a wide variety of restaurants, from seafood spots to pizza places, so you're sure to find something to your taste. And if you're looking for some nightlife action, the city has you covered there too. Atlantic City is definitely a place worth visiting!.

Atlantic City Luxury Hotels

Atlantic City Luxury Resorts

Lake George, NY, United States

Looking for a place to visit in upstate New York? Look no further than the stunning Lake George. This picturesque locale is located in the heart of the Adirondacks and is known for its pristine beauty and terrific recreational opportunities. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, boating, fishing, and skiing, among other activities. Don't miss the chance to take in the spectacular views from the summit of Prospect Mountain or from the water's edge.

Lake George Luxury Hotels

Buffalo, NY, United States

If you're looking for a city that has it all, Buffalo is the place to be. From its vibrant downtown district to its abundance of parks and nature preserves, there's something for everyone in Buffalo. Here are some of the top places to visit in Buffalo: 1. The Buffalo Zoo - One of the top zoos in the country, the Buffalo Zoo is a must-visit for animal lovers of all ages. 2. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery - Buffalo's answer to the Louvre, the Albright-Knox is home to some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures. 3. The Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village - This living history museum offers a glimpse into what life was like in Buffalo in the 1800s. 4. The Buffalo River - Take a walk or bike ride along the Buffalo River, one of the city's most picturesque areas. 5. Delaware Park - This large park is home to a variety of attractions, including a zoo, a golf course, and a nature preserve.

Buffalo Luxury Hotels

Rochester, MN, United States

Rochester, Minnesota is a city with plenty of places to visit. There's the Mayo Clinic, the Apache Mall, and several other shopping areas, as well as a variety of restaurants. There are also a few parks and golf courses. For those who love the outdoors, Rochester is also close to several state parks and the Mississippi River.

Rochester Luxury Hotels

Duluth, MN, United States

If you're looking for an amazing place to visit, Duluth, Minnesota should definitely be at the top of your list. This city is home to some of the most beautiful scenery in the United States, and there are plenty of things to do here that will keep you entertained for days on end. Some of the most popular places to visit in Duluth include the Aerial Lift Bridge, the Glensheen Mansion, and Chester Creek Park. Additionally, there are a number of excellent restaurants and shopping areas in the city, so be sure to explore everything that Duluth has to offer.

Duluth Luxury Hotels

Maputo, Mozambique

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and a city full of culture and history. There are many places to visit in Maputo, such as the Jose Eduardo dos Santos Museum, the Maputo Cathedral, and the Rua da Independencia. Maputo is also home to the Maputo Bay, which offers beautiful beaches and great seafood.

Maputo Luxury Hotels

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona, located on the northeast coast of Spain, is a renowned tourist destination and one of the most popular cities in the world. There are plenty of places to visit in Barcelona, such as the Gothic Quarter, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, and more. The city is also home to a lively nightlife and some of the best restaurants in the country.

Barcelona Luxury Hotels

Barcelona Luxury Villas

Split, Croatia

Split is a city on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is the second-largest city in Croatia and the largest city in Dalmatia. It has a population of over 200,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, which includes the City of Split and the surrounding towns, has a population of over 330,000. Split is a popular tourist destination and is the home of the Diocletian's Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other popular tourist destinations include the Riva, the Peristyle, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and Sustipan.

Split Luxury Hotels

Split Luxury Villas

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a city on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, a seaport and the administrative center of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Dubrovnik is nicknamed "The Pearl of the Adriatic".

Dubrovnik Luxury Hotels

Dubrovnik Luxury Villas

Byron Bay, NSW, Australia

Byron Bay is a magical place. It's no wonder that it's one of the most popular destinations in Australia. The town is set in a beautiful location, surrounded by rolling green hills and the bright blue ocean. There's plenty to do in Byron Bay, whether you're looking for a relaxing beach holiday or an adventure-filled trip. Some of the top places to visit in Byron Bay include the iconic lighthouse, the stunning beaches, and the lush rainforest. There's also a great nightlife and plenty of restaurants and cafes to enjoy. If you're looking for an amazing Australian getaway, be sure to add Byron Bay to your list!.

Byron Bay Luxury Hotels

Wellington, New Zealand

If you're looking for a little slice of heaven on earth, look no further than Wellington, New Zealand. With its gorgeous landscape and plethora of activities, there's something for everyone here. Whether you're a nature lover or a city slicker, Wellington has something special to offer. Top Wellington attractions include the Zealandia eco-sanctuary, the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens, and the sprawling Te Papa museum. For those who love getting out into the great outdoors, there are plenty of hiking and biking trails, as well as lovely seaside towns and villages to explore. And of course, no trip to Wellington would be complete without trying some of the delicious local cuisine  be sure to sample a traditional Maori hangi feast! So what are you waiting for? Book your flight to Wellington today and start planning your perfect holiday!.

Wellington Luxury Hotels

Saint Louis, MO, United States

If you're looking for a fun place to visit with a rich history and plenty of things to see and do, look no further than Saint Louis, Missouri. This vibrant city is home to a variety of interesting attractions, including the Gateway Arch, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. There's also no shortage of restaurants and shopping options in Saint Louis. So, whether you're looking for a place to explore new cultures and cuisines or you're just looking for a place to have some fun, Saint Louis is a great option.

Saint Louis Luxury Hotels

Bloomington, IN, United States

The city of Bloomington, Indiana is home to a variety of attractions and places to visit. The Indiana University campus is a popular destination, as is the city's historic downtown district. Monroe County Courthouse
The video below represents the 15 minute press conference by Director Comey, where he gave his assessment of the L. Hillary Clinton server/email scandal, and then left the room at its scripted conclusion, answering no questions.

Considering that Hillary Clinton, from the recently concluded email investigation, is charged with gross negligence, dereliction of duty, was recommended that she lose her security clearance, while pathologically lying to congress, the press and the American People; and even though she was not referred for indictment because she is a Clinton: Will you? 11.84% Vote for Hillary 78.78% Vote for The Donald 9.39% Vote for none of the above 245 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!

And Now Some other Polls for your Voting Pleasure

Should Americans be thankful for North Carolinians setting precedent in taking a stand for their state's right to manage the safety of their public facilities, where separation of the sexes remains, or should they follow Bruce Springsteen's lead and boycott the state as bigots since they will not allow grown Transgender men to use the same bathrooms /locker rooms as pre-pubescent girls? North Carolina is right to control the separation of the sexes as a matter of decorum and safety. North Carolina is a bigoted state to not require that children of opposite sexes share the same public facilities with adults of the opposite sex, although misidentified - the Transgender. I generally prefer the natural environs of the vacant, although rather public, large tree. 236 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?



poll#95 What should be the priority of the Federal Government after the "Pulse" massacre: Should we turn our attention toward destroying, earadicating ISIS as Candidate Trump suggests, or, as Democrats' President Obama suggests, broaden our efforts to effect stricter Gun Control laws to limit "Gun Violence?" 88.24% After many years of trying to degrade and contain the murderous ISIS, we should make it the nation's policy to destroy ISIS immediately. 3.68% Gun Violence in America can be eliminated by limiting access to guns for all American citizens. 8.09% I don't care either way; I just live here. 136 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!



I borrow mightily from Don Mclean's resonate metaphor at the nexus of his classic anthem "American Pie" , when I beg you to notice the abrupt change in the national wind, a noxious air; so foul that it may forever stain the fabric of our once mighty Republic.Musician /Poet McLean educates a second generation of how what is precious can be lost for good ... or evil. And the sad truth is: Most of those so roundly affected will not know that point when what is so precious, so special, is gone, and ain't coming back. We lost Buddy Holly when he was just a sapling, a beautiful light unto this World; we can just as quickly lose this divinely anointed light upon this chaotic planet, this American Republic;Just when. Is is far off into the future, or is it now; yesterday, July 5, 2016, when FBI Director James Comey made the case that Hillary Clinton had lied to the people of this Republic on multiple occasions about her chronic mishandling sensitive national documents and the illegal disposal of them, which most probably compromised American assets abroad. Director Comey went on to intimate that Hillary Clinton had violated her very special charge as the People's secretary of state through her sloppy, "reckless, obstructive" treatment of classified state department documents, their secrets, that she had violated the spirit of law that she swore to uphold; however, he could not recommend prosecution because he could not (or would not) find firm intent by Madame Clinton to damage the United States, while serving as the most inept secretary of state in the history of the United States.Director Comey then went on to intimate that in future cases, where government employees who similarly violated law, as L. Hillary Clinton, would be summarily prosecuted; however, in this instance regarding the corrupt Clinton, he ironically predicted that "no reasonable prosecutor" would try this case, because: The former secretary of state is a Clinton, and the presumptive Democrat nominee for president; His boss - Democrat Attorney General Loretta lynch - took a prearranged, secret meeting with Hillary's husband, former president Bill Clinton, in the week prior, and promised the former president who appointed her to her last government job that she would protect his Simple wife if she could retain her job as DOJ Attorney General, should Ms. Benghazi be elected; Director Comey's ultimate boss, Hussein Obama, and arguably the most corrupt president in our nation's history, had, weeks earlier, endorsed Ms. Benghazi 's candidacy even though she was under a number of felony investigations, the email scandal /criminal behavior just being one of them; When L. Hillary's corrupt lawyers advised Ms. Clinton about destroying the public record server, on multiple occasions, and in their handling of her attempt to evade detection in her clear Obstruction of Justice activities, they were not thorough in their handling of Hillary's stolen (from the public domain) emails, and permanently destroyed many of them inadvertently' - around 30,000 e-mails, and there were destroyed in the fashion of the DoD.In layman's terms: What we have here is a long line of stupid lawyers helping yet another stupid lawyer, who happens to be the Democrat presumptive nominee for president, and in regards to the Stupid Lawyer conundrum: Where does it end? I just don't think Director Comey wanted that monumental task of unraveling this Gordian Knot of dealing with so many dishonest, mostly Democrat lawyers this close to a monumental, pivotal election, one where he would serve as the kinetic momentum to set the course for this nation possibly for perpetuity. A course that may be one that is irreversible.The problem with dishonest lawyers, and there such a disproportionate number of them, who are, ironically, prescribed to be "the keepers of the law", is that they have a tendency to obfuscate the truth, and I believe Director Comey elected to damn Lying Hillary with the truth, and then "ride off into the sunset" alone, battered but not bowed, and steer completely clear of all the bad lawyers thrown into his path to save yet another Clinton who is above the law.Regardless of Director Comey's intent,was the greatest casualty. No one could have saved Buddy Holly, back in 1959 when he perished in a plane crash over a snowy Iowa along with The Big Bopper and Richie Valens. We can still save our nation if we just keep this incompetent, lying non patriot from serving in the highest office in the land. Maybe, if we can rid our nation's capital of the corruption of Lying Hillary, Hussein Obama and now Democrat Attorney General Loretta Lynch, we my save The Rule of Law, and ultimately, we may save our Republic.
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 of 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."
When the Supreme Court agreed to hear Abigail Fisher's challenge to the University of Texas's admissions program a second time, it seemed that the writing was on the wall. Why would the high court twice take up the Fifth Circuit's rulings in favor of UT-Austin if not to slap down the school's self-serving and disingenuous justifications for using racial preferences in its admissions decisions?Indeed, even without Justice Antonin Scalia, there was supposed to have been a four-justice majority against the use of race here. (Justice Elena Kagan was recused due to her work on the early stages of the case as solicitor general, so seven justices would decide the case.)The certain deciding vote, Justice Anthony Kennedy is no color-blind absolutist like Justice Scalia was, but he has long viewed laws that treat people differently based on race with skepticism.Kennedy wrote in the school-busing case Parents Involved v. Seattle School District (2007),But he wrote that in a concurrence, declining to join Chief Justice John Roberts's famous plurality opinion-Portentous words, those.In Fisher I (2013), the court seemed ready to throw out UT's admissions program and impose such stringent constitutional standards as to an end to virtually all racial preferences in college admissions. This result would have aligned perfectly with what seemed to be Kennedy's view of racial preferences: feasible in theory but unconstitutional in practice.The Court's first decision in the Fisher saga, however, was a meek 14-page opinion by Justice Kennedy that told the lower court to be less deferential to the university's claims about its need to use racial preferences.Still, Fisher I made clear that race-conscious academic programs must be subject to strict judicial scrutiny, requiring universities to prove that their consideration of race is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest. The Court thus remanded the case for further development, chiding the lower courts not to merelyAfter the Fifth Circuit essentially rubber-stamped its previous opinion in UT's favor, the conventional wisdom was that Fisher II would herald the beginning of the end of affirmative action. The only question was how broadly Kennedy would go.Instead, as best as anyone can tell, he seemed to tire of the case. In his majority opinion in favor of the university, he deemed "good enough" the university's attempt to justify the unjustifiable in order to be finally rid of the case. His opinion defers to university administrators despite having previously told lower courts not to defer to them. "Considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission," Kennedy wrote, in the sort of mystical passage that has become the hallmark of his jurisprudence.The Supreme Court's 4-3 ruling in favor of UT-Austin was disappointing. Justice Samuel Alito does well to call out the majority's imperial opinion as having no clothes.he begins in his magisterial dissent, referring to Fisher I.Alito writes.Nevertheless, I have a more sanguine view of this ruling than most of my fellow critics, if only because UT's admissions program is unique. The school uses racial preferences for a relatively small number of slots after filling most of the class-and achieving most of its "diversity"-with the top graduates from each public high school in Texas. Future lawsuits are still possible, and will depend on the type of racial preference challenged and, of course, the future composition of the Supreme Court.Indeed, litigation will now resume in challenges brought by Asian American students against Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Will courts recognize the constitutional hole in colleges' "holistic" review, employing a black box to facilitate racial balancing? That, after all, is what this comes down to: can colleges set what amount to rough quotas to ensure they don't have "too many" students from some groups and "too few" from others.For example, Texas's program allows application readers to take race into account when assigning applicants a "personal achievement score." But there's no oversight of readers' use of race in assigning these scores, with the result that the university can't explain how (or how often) race plays a role. All we're left with is an opaque, arbitrary, and unaccountable program supported only by the talismanic use of the word "holistic" to evade scrutiny.Invoking that word should not be the end of judicial review. The Supreme Court's equal-protection precedents, even after Fisher II, establish four requirements that a school with a race-conscious admissions process must satisfy to demonstrate that its plan is sufficiently "tailored."First, it must show that its program is necessary to achieve diversity-but can any school show how or when race affects application decisions?Second, it must show that its chosen means properly "fit" its ends-but can any school offer evidence to convince a court that its use of race is narrowly tailored to achieve its purported "qualitative diversity" goal?Third, it must show that its program provides individualized consideration of applicants. This ensures that colleges don't make race the "defining feature" of the process, but the black-box nature of admissions policies makes it impossible to ascertain whether race is a thumb or brick on the scale.Finally, admissions programs frustrate accountability because schools wield "holistic review" as a shield to obscure the role of race and frustrate scrutiny, judicial or otherwise. This opaqueness may create more racial hostility than it remedies.Holistic review can serve as a cover for the illegitimate use of race, as statistics from a variety of American universities indicate. Even the Harvard Plan that Justice Powell in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) assumed would withstand scrutiny has a less-than-illustrious history, beginning with its origin as a less-controversial alternative to explicitly cap the number of Jewish students. Evidence now suggests that Harvard's holistic review has facilitated limits on the number of Asian admittees.At some point, the Supreme Court has to realize that the hallowed "diversity" interest is both pretext and ephemera, and that an admissions program that uses race in a constitutional manner is a self-contradicting proposition. That day didn't come with Fisher II, but it will if and when we have five scrupulous justices.
Roy Cooper's ad claims he's "a national leader" as attorney general

SBI: "Rogue Justice" (Taryn Fixel, "North Carolina crime lab withheld test results in more than 200 cases," CNN, 1/27/2011)

"More than 200 cases similar to Taylor's from 1986 until 2003 in which lab results for blood tests were withheld." (Taryn Fixel, "North Carolina crime lab withheld test results in more than 200 cases," CNN, 1/27/2011)

"Lagging N.C. crime labs leave county looking for options" ("Lagging NC crime labs leave county looking for options, Star-News, 12/21/2012)

Roy Cooper's ad claims Roy Cooper is tough on meth dealers

"...Methamphetamine makers are increasingly moving into North Carolina's cities and suburbs, law enforcement officials say. Last year, investigators found a record 344 meth labs across the state." (Martha Quillian & Lauren Carroll, "Meth labs moving into North Carolina's suburbs," The News & Observer, 8/9/2012)

Roy Cooper's ad says he tackled school violence

In 2013, Governor McCrory created the Center for Safer Schools, which brought state and local education officials, members of the health and public safety community, and community leaders to establish best practices and policies to create a safe school environment. (Julia Sims, "McCrory creates NC center to boost school safety," WRAL, 3/19/2013)

Governor McCrory signed the Protect Our Students Act, creating harsher penalties for sexual misconduct violations perpetrated against students by teachers and other personnel. ("Protect our students act," H.B. 113/S.L. 2015-44, North Carolina General Assembly, signed by Gov. McCrory 6/2/2015)

Roy Cooper's ad claims he's first-rate on consumer protection

Roy Cooper's ad says he protects children from sexual predators.

Roy Cooper's ad claims he is fighting for public education

Roy Cooper's ad asserts he's standing up for millions of North Carolinians as attorney general

Contact: The Pat McCrory Committee

The Pat McCrory Committee media@patmccrory.com

The ad cites the president of the liberal Sierra Club, which opposed and delayed upgrades to the Bonner Bridge in North Carolina and whose policies would increase electricity rates by $400 on average. (102 N.C. App. 411; 402 S.E.2d 447; 1991 N.C. App. LEXIS 432; Fact sheet: "Environmental justice in the Clean Power Plan," Sierra Club, 8/20/2015; Report: Energy market impacts of recent federal regulations on the electric power sector," Energy Ventures Analysis, 11/2014; Mark Barrett, "Roy Cooper: NC should develop air plan instead of suing," Asheville Citizen-Times, 8/12/2015)Roy Cooper's Department of Justice was mismanaged so badly that the State Bureau of Investigation was removed from his control. (Laura Leslie, "Independence of new SBI debated," WRAL, 8/11/2014)Roy Cooper's crime lab has been widely criticized for sloppy practices, and has been wrought with delays and backlogs, hurting law enforcement's ability to fight crime.The ad cites an article from 2004. Since then, North Carolina's meth epidemic has only gotten worse on Roy Cooper's watch and North Carolina is now the #7 state with the most meth labs. ("Top 10 states with the most meth labs," RealClearPolitics, 4/8/2014)Pushback: The ad cites an article from 2000 - before Roy Cooper was even sworn in as attorney general. (The Charlotte Observer, 11/7/2000)School violence is up with Roy Cooper as attorney general. ("Crime, dropout rates increase in NC schools," WRAL, 2/24/2016)Governor McCrory, not Roy Cooper, has led the way in keeping students and teachers safe.The ad cites an article from 2008 - before he supported the passage of Obamacare, which has drastically reduced choices and increased health care costs for North Carolina consumers. (Jon Camp, "NC Republicans challenge health care reform," ABC11, 1/27/2011; "Insurance commissioner blames ACA for industry woes, The News & Observer, 2/3/2016)Roy Cooper was criticized for not adequately defending North Carolina's "Jessica's Law," intended to keep sex offenders and child molesters away from children. Lawmakers were forced to pass a legislative fix to protect children from dangerous sex offenders. (Memorandum Opinion and Order: Doe v. Cooper, 1:13-cv-00711-JAB-JLW, M.D. N.C., p. 7, filed 4/22/2016 [Judge Beaty, James A.])Under Roy Cooper and his allies, North Carolina was one of the last states to pass Jessica's law and adopt a sex offender registry. (Report: "Sex offender registration and notification in the United States: Current case law and issues," U.S. Department of Justice, July 2012)Roy Cooper voted to cut funding for public education while serving in the state legislature and let teacher pay in North Carolina decline more than any other state in the country. (Journal of the Senate of the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina; Journal of the House of Representatives of the State of North Carolina)From EPA regulations to illegal immigration, Roy Cooper has failed to defend North Carolina families, farmers and businesses from harmful Washington, D.C. policies. (Mark Barrett, "Cooper: NC should develop air plan instead of suing," Asheville Citizen-Times, 8/12/2015; Jon Camp, "NC Republicans challenge health care reform," ABC11, 1/27/2011)Roy Cooper sided with President Obama's extreme agenda to upend basic privacy standards in school showers, locker rooms and restroom facilities. (Anne Blythe, "Cooper's filing in HB2 lawsuit turns political," The Charlotte Observer, 6/2/2016)
Tom Campbell

Like many, I enjoyed the July 4th cookouts, relaxation with family, friends and fireworks, but it was also a time for remembrances and reflection.I came of age in the 1960s, the Camelot era. Our parents had endured the hardships, sacrifices and losses from World War II and had transitioned from a nation producing machines, munitions and manpower for the war effort into one building cars, houses, schools and infrastructure to accommodate the population explosion known as Baby Boomers. America believed we could out think, out innovate, out dream and out work anyone anywhere. There was nothing we could not do in this era of great optimism, becoming the most prosperous, powerful and influential nation on earth. Our moral fiber convinced us to embrace and rectify racial inequality and unequal rights for women. We embraced the new technologies of television, computers, space travel and new drugs and medical procedures, recognizing their role helping us attain a happier, longer and more prosperous life. And we opened our arms to immigrants also wanting that better life.Somewhere, somehow we changed. We have become a fearful people, afraid of those who don't look like us, who come from different nations, belong to a different party or have different viewpoints. We've even become fearful of each other, convinced we must stockpile weapons to protect what we've got. We lost trust in government, in business and even in faith-based institutions. Our politicians, mindful that the shortest path to election is to create enemies and play on our fears, capitalized on them instead of tomorrow's hopes and dreams.In a recently published compilation of his writings, the late Henri Nouwen, the great 20th Century theologian, wrote in Turn My Mourning into Dancing,Fear, like hatred, is a crippling condition that paralyzes and prevents us from being our best selves and our nation from being what Reagan termed a "shining city on a hill." To be sure those patriots in 1776 had some fear for what would happen should they lose the revolution, but they did not dwell on their fears, focusing instead on their passion for freedom and hopes for a better nation filled with great opportunity.These are certainly difficult times and we would be fool hearty to dismiss or minimize potential dangers and threats. But neither can we let our fears own us and turn away from those who try to capitalize on them. As we remember where we came from and where we've been, we must always set our sights to where we can go, who we can become and move out of the house of fear.
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Illegal Alien Drunk Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide

In a heinous case of depraved indifference to life that was being hushed up by politicians, 29-year-old Esteysi "Stacy" Sanchez Izazaga pled not guilty on Wednesday to felony charges relating to the brutal hit-and-run death of a 69-year-old man who authorities say was struck by Sanchez's car and hurled through her windshield on Monday morning in Oceanside, California, according to Donald Trump Polls.



Sanchez is currently in jail and, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, is subject to an immigration hold. She faces felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, hit and run and a misdemeanor count of driving without a license.



An Oceanside Police Department investigation determined that Sanchez was driving around 6 a.m. when her vehicle left the roadway, striking a man who was walking on the sidewalk. The force of the impact hurled the man through the Sanchez's windshield.



Sanchez came into court wearing a blue prison jump suit with her hair combed back and wearing no makeup. Though the short proceedings, she sat on a chair looking down.



A group of Sanchez' friends and family members, some of whom were weeping outside the courtroom after the arraignment, declined to talk to reporters.



Police say Sanchez was driving east on Mission Avenue just west of Academy Road about 6:20 a.m. Monday when she ran off the road and hit Tenhulzen, who was walking on the sidewalk. The impact sent the man through the windshield and partly onto the passenger seat.



McLeod said Sanchez told police that she had been drinking at two establishments before the crash. She also said that she fell asleep and woke up only after she felt pieces of the shattered windshield glass hit her face.



Sanchez continued driving until she arrived at Magdalena Drive, near Avenida Del Gado, then park and walked away, authorities said. Neighbors summoned police.



When officers arrived, they discovered the body in the passenger's seat with "obvious major injuries," Oceanside police spokesman Ryan Keim said. He was pronounced dead after paramedics arrived.



Keim said police received a call Monday morning from Sanchez's live-in boyfriend, who reported the incident. Officers went to a home on Avenida Del Gado, just two blocks from where the vehicle was found, and arrested Sanchez.



By the time police arrested her, Sanchez had changed her clothes but still had pieces of glass in her hair, McLeod said.



Superior Court Judge James Mangione kept Sanchez' bail at $1.5 million. She also has an immigration hold, which means that if she were to be released she would be turned over to immigration authorities to determine whether she may be deported.


The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust are adding a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shooting of a bald eagle found in Hamilton County. This reward comes following a $2,500 reward offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which continues to investigate the case with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Previous reward offerings have been unsuccessful in generating any leads.

March 9 , Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers discovered a bald eagle in the Lost Lake Subdivision area of Hamilton County. Investigators believe the eagle was shot sometime between March 1 and March 9 . On, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers discovered a bald eagle in the Lost Lake Subdivision area of Hamilton County.Investigators believe the eagle was shot sometime between

Bald eagles are protected by the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Penalties for violation of these laws include civil penalties, criminal penalties and/or prison.

This senseless shooting and the blatant disregard for the survival of our national icon is appalling, said Eric Swafford, Tennessee state director for The Humane Society of the United States. We are grateful to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for their diligent efforts to bring the offender to justice.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent at 615-736-5532, ext. 103 , or the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency at 931-787-0859

The HSUS and the Trust work with state and federal wildlife agencies to offer rewards of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspected poachers. Other services include assistance with internet wildlife trafficking investigations, donation of robotic decoys and forensic equipment, funds to support wildlife K-9 programs, outreach to prosecutors to encourage vigorous prosecution of poachers and legislative work to strengthen penalties for poaching.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the convictions and sentences of death for Howard Hawk Willis for killing two East Tennessee teenagers and dismembering one of them.



In 2010, a Washington County jury convicted Mr. Willis of two counts of premeditated murder and one count of felony murder in the perpetration of a kidnapping, for the 2002 deaths of 17-year-old Adam Chrismer and his 16-year-old wife, Samantha Chrismer. The jury sentenced Mr. Willis to death on each conviction. In 2015, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the convictions and the sentences of death.



On appeal to the Supreme Court, Mr.

Willis argued that the trial court should have excluded certain incriminating statements he made to his ex-wife because she was acting as an agent of the government at the time the statements were made. Mr. Willis made the statements to his ex-wife during in-person meetings with her at the Washington County jail and at a detention facility in New York, and also during recorded telephone calls from jail. He claimed that the admission into evidence of the statements violated his right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.The Court held that there was no violation of Mr. Williss right to counsel. The Court first noted that Mr. Willis made some of the incriminating statements to his ex-wife before he was indicted, and he had no constitutional right to counsel at that time. After Mr. Williss indictment, the State discouraged the ex-wife from having any further contact with Mr. Willis, and he did not offer proof at trial that the State agreed to have the ex-wife act as its agent or that the State had any control over her actions. Consequently, as to incriminating statements Mr. Willis made in person to his ex-wife after his indictment, the proof showed only that the State willingly accepted information from a cooperating witness.Finally, as to Mr. Williss incriminating statements made by telephone, Mr. Willis admitted that every telephone call he made from jail was preceded by a recording that informed him that all calls are subject to monitoring and recording, so he implicitly consented to the monitoring and recording of his telephone conversations with his ex-wife. The Court held, then, that the admission into evidence of the incriminating statements did not violate Mr. Williss constitutional rights.After a full review of the record and all of the evidence, the Court concluded that the proof fully supported the convictions and the sentences of death.

Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee filed a separate concurring opinion, in which she agreed that Mr. Williss death sentence is proportionate to the penalties imposed in similar cases but reiterated her disagreement with the manner in which the Court conducts proportionality review.



To read the Courts opinion in State v. Howard Hawk Willis, authored by Justice Holly Kirby, and the separate opinion of Chief Justice Lee, go to the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.


J. Britton Tabor, executive vice president and CFO/treasurer of Erlanger Health System, has been recognized as one of "150 Hospital and Health System CFOs to Know" by Beckers Hospital Review.



Beckers Hospital Review featured financial leaders from the country's prominent for- and nonprofit hospitals and health systems. The publication wrote, These fiscal-minded leaders help their organizations navigate the challenging changes in healthcare reimbursement and keep the ship afloat in a time of financial uncertainty for many.



Britt is a tremendous asset to the financial stability of our health system, said Kevin M. Spiegel, FACHE, president and CEO of Erlanger Health System. His years of experience at Erlanger and financial expertise have been invaluable to us.



Mr. Tabor has a history with Erlanger that spans nearly three decades. He currently as the system's executive vice president and CFO/treasurer. Erlanger Health System is the seventh largest public hospital in the United States and includes five acute-care hospitals (including a Childrens Hospital and Trauma Center), a multi-specialty physician group practice, and an academic teaching program of 170 plus residents.



Mr. Tabor is a certified public accountant and fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He received his MBA for the University of Tennessee. Prior to Erlanger, Mr. Tabor was an auditor for Chattanooga-based accounting firm Hazlett, Lewis & Bieter, which has since joined Mauldin & Jenkins in Atlanta.
They came in the mail in May, three tickets in the middle deck at Folson Field to see Dead & Company over the Fourth of July weekend.

This was to be an introduction to a Grateful Dead show for my 23-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Shes been singing along to the poppier songs like Uncle Johns Band since she could talk. In kindergarten when Phoebe brought a Beanie Baby Jerry Bear to Broadwater Elementary, her teacher Mrs. Schultz admired the bear and asked his name. Jerry Garcia, Phoebe answered. Mrs. Schultz looked at me, apparently with no idea who Jerry Garcia was, and said, What an unusual name.

The fascination continued.

In 2004, Grateful Dead founding guitarist Bob Weir brought his band, RatDog, to the now-defunct Bozeman Ice Arena, and we drove over for the show and Phoebe got her first whiff of pot smoke and asked, Whats that weird smell?

That weird smell was plentiful at Folson Field in Boulder, Colo., last weekend where 55,000 of the Dead faithful gathered to see this latest lineup, minus founding bass player Phil Lesh, who opted out of the tour, and Garcia, who died in 1995.

Part-time Montana resident John Mayer filled in for Garcia  not trying to be Jerry, just being the outstanding, inventive guitarist he is with a distinctive nasally voice and strong feel for harmony. Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge filled in for Lesh, with a precocious taunt, pushing Mayer into frenzied riffs that left his brow wet with sweat. Mayer embraces the jam band vibe of the Dead, starting out slow and bluesy and building to electrified heights.

The rules for the show were lengthy and they arrived almost weekly via email, starting in June. Folson Field hadnt hosted a concert since 2001 because of rowdy, out-of-control fans bothering the neighbors. Its amazing that the University of Colorado decided to start shows again by hosting a version of the Grateful Dead, a band legendary for its hangers-on. I'm thinking a major donor is a Deadhead.

The Deadhead Mall, where vendors and fans mingle outside the venue for hours, even days before the event, is a phenomenon unequaled by any other bands fans. In 1990 when I went to my first and only Dead show in Denver at Mile High Stadium, the mall was filled with vendors selling everything from vegan wraps (back then I had to ask what vegan is) to psychedelic mushrooms (I didn't ask).

There were so many dogs running loose before that 1990 show that Denvers animal control officers decided to teach the Deadheads a lesson and rounded up the dogs for a night at the pound. The members of the Dead bailed them out the day of the show, illustrating how much they take care of their fans.

Maybe that's why dogs were among more than 20 banned items for the Boulder show. The banned list also included nitrous oxide tanks, stuffed animals, marijuana, deep fryers, flags, selfie sticks and drones.

Moshing, crowd surfing and stage diving were also prohibited. Judging from the gray hair and wobbly knees on most of the fans, those last rules were unnecessary.

As colorful as the fans were  decked out in fake dreadlocks and real dreads, tie-dye, and every kind of Jerry Garcia shirt imaginable, including my favorite Air Garcia  the focus is not about that peripheral stuff. If Dead & Company cant move forward musically, they risk turning into a nostalgia act. This is not what I want to see. I'm sure other fans feel the same.

A twentyish couple in the seats in front of me, Jim and Rita Porter, flew to Boulder from Dallas, Texas, to see the shows on July 2 and 3. They had seen the Dead 50th reunion show in Chicago last summer that featured Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio.

Their take is that Mayer is a better fit for the band.

"He brings his own style and he's really strong on guitar," Jim Porter said.

This new version of the Dead is not a reunion show but a supergroup of inventive musicians. In Boulder, they covered songs by Junior Parker and Howlin Wolf and Mayer and Bob Weir worked like mentor and protege, prodding each other to find those grooves, wallow there for a while, then cut loose.

In typical Dead fashion, a pirate T-shirt maker snuck 100 homemade shirts into the venue and Phoebe grabbed one with a Jerry Bear on front for $20, which was $25 cheaper than the official tour shirts. She's got her new Jerry Bear to remember the show. But we don't want just memories of what used to be. She and I and thousands of Deadheads ware craving a new album with new music by Mayer and Weir.

The fascination continues.
Proteins mostly do not work in isolation but rather make up larger complexes like the molecular machines that enable cells to communicate with each other, move cargo around in their interiors or replicate their DNA. Our ability to observe and track each individual protein within these machines is crucial to our ultimate understanding of these processes. Yet, the advent of super-resolution microscopy that has allowed researchers to start visualizing closely positioned molecules or molecular complexes with 10-20 nanometer resolution is not powerful enough to distinguish individual molecular features within those densely packed complexes.

A team at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering led by Core Faculty member Peng Yin, Ph.D., has, for the first time, been able to tell apart features distanced only 5 nanometers from each other in a densely packed, single molecular structure and to achieve the so far highest resolution in optical microscopy. The technology, also called "discrete molecular imaging" (DMI), enhances the team's DNA nanotechnology-powered super-resolution microscopy platform with an integrated set of new imaging methods.

Last year, the opportunity to enable researchers with inexpensive super-resolution microscopy using DNA-PAINT-based technologies led the Wyss Institute to launch its spin-off Ultivue Inc.

"The ultra-high resolution of DMI advances the DNA-PAINT platform one step further towards the vision of providing the ultimate view of biology. With this new power of resolution and the ability to focus on individual molecular features, DMI complements current structural biology methods like X-ray crystallography and cryo-electron microscopy. It opens up a way for researchers to study molecular conformations and heterogeneities in single multi-component complexes, and provides an easy, fast and multiplexed method for the structural analysis of many samples in parallel" said Peng Yin, who is also Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School.

DNA-PAINT technologies, developed by Yin and his team are based on the transient binding of two complementary short DNA strands, one being attached to the molecular target that the researchers aim to visualize and the other attached to a fluorescent dye. Repeated cycles of binding and unbinding create a very defined blinking behavior of the dye at the target site, which is highly programmable by the choice of DNA strands and has now been further exploited by the team's current work to achieve ultra-high resolution imaging.

"By further harnessing key aspects underlying the blinking conditions in our DNA-PAINT-based technologies and developing a novel method that compensates for tiny but extremely disruptive movements of the microscope stage that carries the samples, we managed to additionally boost the potential beyond what has been possible so far in super-resolution microscopy," said Mingjie Dai, who is the study's first author and a Graduate Student working with Yin.

In addition, the study was co-authored by Ralf Jungmann, Ph.D., a former Postdoctoral Fellow on Yin's team and now a Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.

The Wyss Institute's scientists have benchmarked the ultra-high resolution of DMI using synthetic DNA nanostructures. Next, the researchers plan to apply the technology to actual biological complexes such as the protein complex that duplicates DNA in dividing cells or cell surface receptors binding their ligands.

"Peng Yin and his team have yet again broken through barriers never before possible by leveraging the power of programmable DNA, not for information storage, but create nanoscale `molecular instruments' that carry out defined tasks and readout what they analyze. This new advancement to their DNA-powered super-resolution imaging platform is an amazing feat that has the potential to uncover the inner workings of cells at the single molecule level using conventional microscopes that are available in common biology laboratories," said Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who is the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, and also Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Ahead of this years' Farnborough International Airshow, engineers and scientists at BAE Systems and the University of Glasgow have outlined their current thinking about military aircraft and how they might be designed and manufactured in the future.

The concepts have been developed collaboratively as part of BAE Systems' 'open innovation' approach to sharing technology and scientific ideas which sees large and established companies working with academia and small technology start-ups. During this century, the scientists and engineers envisage that small Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) bespoke to specific military operations, could be 'grown' in large-scale labs through chemistry, speeding up evolutionary processes and creating bespoke aircraft in weeks, rather than years. A radical new machine called a Chemputer could enable advanced chemical processes to grow aircraft and some of their complex electronic systems, conceivably from a molecular level upwards. This unique UK technology could use environmentally sustainable materials and support military operations where a multitude of small UAVs with a combination of technologies serving a specific purpose might be needed quickly. It could also be used to produce multi-functional parts for large manned aircraft.

Flying at such speeds and high altitude would allow them to outpace adversary missiles. The aircraft could perform a variety of missions where a rapid response is needed. These include deploying emergency supplies for Special Forces inside enemy territory using a sophisticated release system and deploying small surveillance aircraft. The world of military and civil aircraft is constantly evolving and it's been exciting to work with scientists and engineers outside BAE Systems and to consider how some unique British technologies could tackle the military threats of the future said Professor Nick Colosimo, a BAE Systems Global Engineering Fellow. Regius Professor Lee Cronin at the University of Glasgow, and Founding Scientific Director at Cronin Group PLC  who is developing the Chemputer added; This is a very exciting time in the development of chemistry. We have been developing routes to digitize synthetic and materials chemistry and at some point in the future hope to assemble complex objects in a machine from the bottom up, or with minimal human assistance. Creating small aircraft would be very challenging but Im confident that creative thinking and convergent digital technologies will eventually lead to the digital programming of complex chemical and material systems.
Celebrating jailhouse recovery Audio Article Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears paid a visit to the Chesterfield County Jail last week, meeting with over 50 of the men and women participating in the HARP (Helping Addicts...

An icons legacy memorialized Audio Article Enon Library was dedicated in memory of the Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker on Friday, Oct. 21. Board of Supervisors Chair Chris Winslow, right, was joined by Walkers daughter, Patrice Walker...
Paul Lee, co-founder and partner at 11 Roniin, from left, is pictured with Matchist co-founder Stella Garber and new CEO John Cifelli. (Keri Wiginton / Blue Sky; Matchist photo; Candy LoSavio / Matchist photo)

Freelance developer marketplace Matchist has new bosses and a fresh strategy, more than a year after its founders considered shutting it down in the face of stalled growth.

Matchist, founded in 2012, originally partnered with large companies that could refer clients in need of web and mobile app developers. The service was an early star, gathering praise and support from Chicago's tech community.

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But Matchist's founders discovered there was limited demand among that group and struggled to grow its customer base.

They were looking to hire a new CEO or sell the company when Paul Lee , co-founder and partner at 11 Roniin, came calling. Lee said he was interested in acquiring the company outright, and that Matchist's founders were considering other offers early in the summer of 2015 when he approached them.

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Through discussions, they settled on a partnership in which 11 Roniin invested in the company and co-founders Stella Garber  and Tim Jahn retained equity and stayed on as advisors.

Lee and Garber declined to disclose terms of the deal; Lee said 11 Roniin took a "fairly sizable" stake, but wouldn't say if it was a majority.

Lee said Matchist fit right into 11 Roniin's plans.

"We were exploring the idea of helping people bring their ideas to life" through code, Lee said.

He thought a marketplace of talent and projects would be a good way to do that and zeroed in on Matchist, which had hundreds of vetted developers in its network.

"The open-ended question I had was, 'Can we find enough quality developers to basically meet the demand?'" Lee said. "Because I felt very confident in our firm's ability to find the right customers."

After the deal was inked in August 2015, 11 Roniin took over day-to-day operations at Matchist, building the company out with staff and later installing a new CEO.

Today, the platform works with about 350 U.S.-based developers. But solving the customer acquisition process took a different approach.

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Instead of relying on large companies for leads, 11 Roniin shifted Matchist's focus to individual entrepreneurs who were willing to spend less than $20,000 on creating a minimum viable product. Matchist now takes a more hands-on role than in the past, acting as project manager instead of relying on the contracted developers to do so.

Garber, who was Matchist's CEO until becoming VP of marketing at Trello, a New York-based project management application, said she and co-founder Jahn had considered going after entrepreneurs when they started the company.

At the time, it seemed like it would be easier for Matchist to make deals with more established companies, she said. Now, targeting the growing population of entrepreneurs makes sense, Garber said.

"It's sort of like entrepreneurship became this sexy thing to do" over the past few years, she said. "The challenge is, of course, if you've ever done anything entrepreneurial, it's really, really hard."

Matchist's new strategy can help people try out ideas before quitting their jobs or cashing out their life savings, she said.

John Cifelli, the 26-year-old former founder of concert information and ticketing app GigScout, is the new CEO of Matchist. He asked for the job in the spring, a few months after joining 11 Roniin as a product manager from mobile development agency Vault Innovation Group.

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Cifelli said he had been helping out with Matchist and saw an opportunity to help clients and developers communicate better.

"Without having somebody in the middle to broker the expectations and manage the projects, there was some challenge to having successful projects," he said.

Matchist currently has more than five active projects ongoing, Cifelli said. A functioning app or website can cost $12,000 to $18,000, he said. Developers take their fee, and Matchist pockets the rest.

Cifelli said Matchist is now profitable and that the company is reinvesting funds into the business. It has three employees, including him.

Watching Matchist succeed has been a rewarding and emotional experience, co-founder Garber said.

"To be able to see  that now it's really flourishing and being inspired by new ideas and new people and new energy, it's just so exciting for us," she said.

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aelahi@tribpub.com

Twitter @aminamania
CityBase, a Chicago-based startup that makes payment technology for governments, has raised a $6.25 million series B round, the company announced Thursday.

Chicago-based venture fund KDWC Ventures  led by William Blair senior executive Dick Kiphart and Talon Asset Management founder Terry Diamond and CEO Bill Wolf  put $4 million into the round, CityBase said.

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The company, launched in early 2015, aims to create a uniform payment experience for citizens by incorporating all of a city's disparate agencies and departments into a single platform.

For example, CityBase powers the online payment portal for Indianapolis and Marion County, which lets users pay traffic tickets or debts.

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CEO and founder Mike Duffy said CityBase creates websites and mobile applications for cities, as well as self-service kiosks and point-of-sale tablets with customized software.

He said CityBase charges its nearly 40 customer cities monthly based on transaction volume. The kiosks, tablets and pay-by-phone services can carry additional fees.

Duffy said interacting with city services can be challenging for citizens, who have come to expect online interactions to occur seamlessly based on how they deal with the private sector.

CityBase wants to "create the most effective, most pleasurable user experience possible," Duffy said.

He also wants to make it easier for cities to communicate better with citizens, by encouraging them to choose whether they prefer to be contacted by phone or email, for example.

By creating a connective layer across several city departments, Duffy said CityBase can also help governments get a better sense of who their citizens are, instead of departments maintaining separate profiles on them. He said CityBase never forces citizens to create profiles, though.

CityBase employs about 30 people in Chicago, and Duffy said the new funding will go toward doubling the headcount by the end of 2016. He said they'll be hiring to increase CityBase's tech team  including developers, project managers and systems engineers  as well as its support and relationship management groups.

The company had previously raised $4 million.

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aelahi@tribpub.com

Twitter @aminamania
The U.S. attorney's office is recommending futures trader Michael Coscia be sentenced to five to seven years in prison.

In November, Coscia, 54, was convicted on all 12 counts, six for fraud and six for "spoofing," or the use of computer algorithms to rig markets in fractions of a second.

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"This Court now has the opportunity to send a message, loud and clear, that our financial markets operate on principles of honesty and transparency, and do not allow a select few traders to profit in the trading markets through illegal bait and switch schemes at the expense of other traders," U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon wrote in a memo to the court this week.

Fardon's recommendation is only a fraction of the total maximum sentence of 25 years for the fraud counts and a maximum of 10 years for the spoofing counts. Coscia has asked the court to give him probation.

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Coscia, of Rumson, N.J., was the first defendant in the country to stand trial under new anti-spoofing laws included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

During the trial, prosecutors said Coscia victimized traders including those at Citadel, the Chicago financial services firm formed by billionaire Ken Griffin, when he manipulated the prices of futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. They said Coscia netted $1.4 million in the scam in a little more than two months.

It is not clear how much money any individual trader lost because of Coscia's actions. Coscia's attorney said he was doing "just good trading" and called him a "market-maker who profited on the on the spread between buy and sell prices on the CME."

Eric Hunsader, a Winnetka-based critic of high-frequency trading who received a $750,000 whistleblower award from the Securities and Exchange Commission in a case related to the practice, was audibly shocked when told that prosecutors were recommending prison time for Coscia.

"I don't think you should get jail time, period," he said.

The kind of fraud that Coscia committed, Hunsader said, is so common that it should be handled like speeding tickets. "In the electronic trading world, tickets should be automatically handed out just like red light cameras," he said. "There should be no interpretation involved. It's electronic. The rules should be crystal clear, and they are not. It's subjective."

Coscia's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

crshropshire@tribpub.com

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In 1986, Red Oxx Manufacturing made its first products from decommissioned military-surplus webbing. It was burly stuff, the kind of material that could last for decades and, despite being destined for destruction, the company thought it needed to see new life.

Today, the Billings-based bag and luggage maker continues to cut a unique path. Its gear remains burly, almost clunky in cases, including extra-thick nylon, oversize zippers, stainless steel rings, reinforced stitching, and funny monkey-knot pulls that adorn zippers with a spherical head of cord.

Made in America, in a facility in Montana, and with the backbone of a military ethos that comes from a veteran-owned brand, perhaps some overcompensation is expected.

You pay for it, certainly, with prices that start north of $200 for many of the bags. But you get a lifetime warranty, solid design and construction that I've seen first-hand will last.

Indeed, I got a bag from Red Oxx more than a decade ago. My dad later adopted it as a do-all hauler, and, last I checked, despite a lot of abuse, the bag looked mostly like new.

This month, the company shipped me a newer product, the Big Bull Roll-Up, to put to a test. The bag is a strange beast, a pocket-adorned duffel built for situations as varying as TSA airport checkpoints and archaeology field work. Another use pegs it for 4x4 truck "overlanders" in need of a soft-side tool organizer that drapes over a seat-back.

I filled mine up with camping gear. My test was a weekend at a cabin with odds and ends, from headlamps and bug repeller products, to knives. The Big Bull Roll-Up functioned as a mega organizer, its see-through pockets  six in total, each accessed by a big-tooth zipper  giving enough capacity for all the small- and mid-size gear I needed to take.

Made of a thick ballistic nylon, the bag measures about 20x8x8 when rolled up, making it usable as an airplane carry-on. The pockets are accessed by unfurling the duffel, with two big buckles unclasping to let it roll flat.

You then get a big palette of exposed pockets, everything easy to grab. No digging required, and because of the mesh used for the pockets all you pack is immediately visible and in reach.

On the outside, a briefcase handle offers a grip. The bag's main strap, which clips with metal buckles to metal V-rings, has a rubber section that sticks on your shoulder.

In the end, the Big Bull Roll-Up is a neat idea, but it costs too much. At $285, I found this price tag hard to justify, despite the made-in-Montana bag's double stitching, stainless steel pieces, thick fabrics and lifetime warranty.

The product works as advertised, a one-of-a-kind rugged, rollable compartmentalized duffel. Maybe you have a direct need for this level of organization in the outdoors or for work.

Check out Red Oxx as a brand if nothing else, its line ranges from specialized to general-use, each product built to last for years.
Despite growing recognition of the importance of early education in kids development and efforts to improve quality of care, there has been spotty progress in improving the quality of early childhood educators jobs, a new report says. (Anthony Souffle / Chicago Tribune 2014)

Nearly half of child care workers in Illinois are part of families that rely on public assistance, according to a new report that calls for long-overdue action to improve the wages of the people tasked with caring for kids in the earliest years of their lives.

Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley on Thursday released the first of what they expect to be a biennial state-by-state analysis assessing the workforce conditions in early childhood education.

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Despite growing recognition of the importance of early education in kids' development and efforts to improve quality of care, there has been spotty progress in improving the quality of early childhood educators' jobs, the report said.

"Poor employment conditions, not unlike those identified 50 years ago, remain the norm," Marcy Whitebook, director of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley, said on a conference call with reporters.

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In Illinois, child care workers earned a median hourly wage of $10.50 in 2015, up 1 percent from five years before. Forty-six percent of them are in families on some sort of public assistance, including more than a quarter that are on food stamps.

Preschool teachers earned $13.79 an hour, flat from 2010. Kindergarten teachers fare significantly better, earning $23.42 an hour, up 3 percent from 2010 and close to the median elementary-school wage of $26.60.

Illinois is in line with much of the nation, where hourly wages for child care workers range from $8.72 in Mississippi to $12.24 in New York.

Nearly 36,000 people are in the early-childhood teaching workforce in Illinois.

Low pay has been a long-standing drawback for people who choose career paths working with young children. A study from Georgetown University last year found early childhood education is the major with the lowest average lifetime earnings.

"We had a long tradition of thinking that this was unskilled work that any woman could do," Whitebook said.

But growing research has shown how critical early-childhood experiences are to brain development and future success, and properly guiding those developing brains "is in fact rocket science," said Megan Gunnar, professor of child development at the University of Minnesota.

"I do not know how I can convince people to get trained, take out loans, get a B.A. and then go out and make minimum wage and not be able to pay off student loans," Gunnar said.

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Jennie Antunes, an early childhood educator from Massachusetts who has worked in the field for 30 years, said she got her bachelor's degree two years ago. But she still makes just $14.35 an hour, while her son, a correctional officer, earns almost twice as much, she said.

Turnover ranges from 20 to 30 percent among early childhood educators, far higher than for elementary school teachers, a problem because children need consistent relationships with adults.

While low pay has been a problem for a long time, "the number of children who are not getting the experiences they need to compete is increasing," Gunnar said. "The consequences of not (acting) are that we are now in a deeper hole."

Raising pay would have to be publicly funded, given that many parents couldn't afford higher tuition. That will require a mindset shift that early education is a public good, like K-12 education, worthy of public investment, rather than a "private good" that just allows parents to go to work, Gunnar said.

The good news, the report's authors said, is that campaigns to raise the minimum wage and shifting cultural attitudes around the value of early childhood education make this a ripe time for change. As states establish quality goals that require a workforce with certain levels of training, pay also will have to rise.

"We think it's a new day," Whitebook said.

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The report graded each state on the progress it is making in five categories.

Illinois was deemed as "making headway" in the qualifications it requires of its early childhood workforce and collection of workforce data but was "stalled" in financial resources and work environments.

Illinois' Early Learning Council, a public-private partnership, last year released a report from its compensation subcommittee that determined the average statewide salary for early childhood teachers should be $24 an hour to establish parity with licensed public school teachers with bachelor's degrees.

The Berkeley researchers laid out several recommendations for moving forward. Among them: Establish minimum educational requirements, develop well-defined career pathways and raise the wage floor to be equal to the K-12 education system.

aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com

Twitter @alexiaer
Developer Sterling Bay unveiled plans for McDonald's Fulton Market headquarters June 22, 2016. The burger chain is slated to move to the site in spring 2018. The area where it is located is variously known as Fulton Market, West Loop and West Town. (Sterling Bay rendering)

McDonald's said it will take $235 million in pretax charges in the second quarter on costs related to moving its corporate headquarters to Chicago and franchising more of its restaurants.

The Oak Brook-based company, which plans to move to the city in spring 2018, did not say in a news release if the figure included costs related to buyouts, which sources say are being offered. A McDonald's spokeswoman declined to comment.

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McDonald's said it will release more details on the charges when it reports second-quarter earnings later this month, adding that it expects to "incur additional strategic charges in connection with these ongoing initiatives."

McDonald's said in November that it aimed to refranchise 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2018. Refranchising lowers the company's liability because it puts more restaurants under franchisees, who are considered independent business owners. McDonald's franchisees already operate more than 90 percent of its restaurants, which number 36,000 worldwide.

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The burger chain also said late last year that it aimed to save $500 million in general and administrative expenses, most of that by the end of 2017. "General and administrative" is a catchall category that includes costs related to a business's day-to-day operation, including everything from rent and insurance to some salaries.

sbomkamp@tribpub.com

Twitter @SamWillTravel
Chicagoans hoping to grab a direct flight to Havana will have to keep waiting.

The U.S. Transportation Department on Thursday gave tentative approval to eight airlines to offer nonstop flights to the Cuban capital, but Chicago is not on any of the routes.

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Chicago-based United Airlines received tentative approval to fly nonstop into Havana  from Newark, N.J., and Houston. It was not awarded flights from Washington, D.C., or Chicago.

Rival American Airlines also sought to fly direct from Chicago to Havana. It didn't get that, but it was approved for four daily flights to Havana from Miami and one from Charlotte, N.C.

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According to a Transportation Department document, "Charlotte was American's first-ranked non-Miami proposal."

United said it expects to begin the Havana flights by fall, with daily nonstop service from Newark and Saturday nonstop service from Houston.

A dozen U.S. airlines sought to operate scheduled passenger service to Havana, according to the Transportation Department. Collectively, the airlines applied for nearly 60 flights a day, exceeding the 20 daily flights made available by the agreement between the two governments.

The other airlines receiving tentative approval to operate flights to Havana are Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.

The department said it expects to reach a final decision this summer.

Objections to the department's tentative picks are due by July 22.

Steve Morrissey, United's vice president of regulatory and policy affairs, said the airline has not yet decided whether it's going to submit comments to the Transportation Department to appeal its decision to not give Chicago a direct flight to Havana.

"We're very excited to get two important hubs in our network" direct flights to Havana, he said of Newark and Houston. "We're disappointed to not receive Chicago, but Chicago will have one-stop access, which is important given how competitive" the process was to win routes to Havana. "We made a compelling argument.

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"It was a function of how few opportunities were available," Morrissey said. United will continue to work with the Transportation Department "to determine future opportunities to serve Cuba from Chicago."

According to a Transportation Department document, United had argued that Chicago was among the nation's biggest cities, and that O'Hare International Airport was among the world's busiest airports and "ideally placed as a transfer point for connecting traffic between Havana and Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lansing, (Mich.), Milwaukee, and St. Louis." But in a filing made with the department in March, United ranked Newark, Houston and Washington ahead of Chicago in terms of priorities.

United, according to the document, also pointed out that "several Illinois members of the U.S. House of Representatives and state agricultural and business leaders traveled to Havana to investigate new economic development and export opportunities for Illinois farmers."

One of United's major competitors, American, doesn't plan to appeal or object over not receiving a Chicago-Havana route, spokeswoman Leslie Scott said.

According to a Transportation Department document, "American states that its proposed daily Havana service from Charlotte will connect with 68 cities, including 34 not connected through Miami.

"American states that its ... Havana service from Chicago will connect with 32 cities, ... including additional cities not connected through Miami."

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Scott said Thursday that American had to rank its proposals.

"We believed that Charlotte was a more competitive marketplace," Scott said. "We're disappointed that we weren't granted service from Chicago, but we have nine flights a day to Charlotte and 10 flights a day to Miami that Chicago customers can use to connect to Havana."

Southwest had argued that American's Charlotte proposal should be denied, as it had a "minuscule" Cuban-American population compared to Fort Lauderdale/Miami," a Transportation Department document shows. Southwest got Havana routes from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa in Florida.

Thursday's announcement follows the federal government's approval last month of six U.S. airlines' applications to serve Cuban cities other than Havana.

The Transportation Department said it "could not select every applicant or every city for service," and that, because the matter is pending, it can't provide any "substantive" comments on any of the proposals.

Besides Newark, Houston, Charlotte and Miami, other U.S. cities approved for direct flights to Havana are Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando, also in Florida.

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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in a news release that the flights are "great news for U.S.-Cuba relations," but he said he hopes that in the future, "Chicago will be added to the list of U.S. cities with direct flights" to Havana.

Durbin "will continue to push for the administration to add Chicago," spokesman Ben Marter said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation admitted to disappointment over the picks while highlighting Chicago's service to other Cuban cities.

"While disappointed in today's decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the city continues to benefit from its relationship with Cuba through other flights approved earlier this year  including flights between Chicago and Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas," the agency said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing this partnership and working with our airlines partners to create additional opportunities in the future."

byerak@tribpub.com

Twitter @beckyyerak
Karin Norington-Reaves, CEO of Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, in her Chicago office June 23, 2016. Her agency runs 10 workforce centers, which see some 120,000 people a year, and distributes federal workforce funds to 53 community organizations. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

When Karin Norington-Reaves was asked to take over Cook County's beleaguered jobs training agency more than five years ago, her exact words, as she recalls, were: "Hell, no."

What was then the President's Office of Employment Training had been subject to several federal investigations that resulted in criminal prosecutions for embezzlement and fraud. Once Norington-Reaves talked herself into leaving her state job to restructure the agency, which she renamed Cook County Works, she discovered more misconduct that would lead to the conviction of a former interim director.

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The scandals have since calmed, but the region's serious employment challenges remain.

As CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, a merger of the city and county workforce systems completed in 2012 to streamline services, Norington-Reaves has now focused her attention on making the agency's $60 million budget go a long way.

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Launched as a nonprofit to access private money to supplement the federal workforce funds that make up most of its budget, the partnership has raised $32 million in philanthropic money in the past four years and placed nearly 40,000 people into jobs, Norington-Reaves said.

The agency runs 10 workforce centers, which see some 120,000 people a year, and distributes federal workforce funds to 53 community organizations. In the coming year, it will launch its first health care workforce center to address the 24,000 health care job openings in Cook County, and create a training institute for workforce development professionals to ensure consistent delivery of services.

Meanwhile, Norington-Reaves, 46, is poised to leave for an eight-week maternity leave to care for a little girl she adopted from Haiti.

Her new daughter, now 4, speaks no English and is blind. But Norington-Reaves, a divorced mom whose 11-year-old son lives with her, is not one to shrink from a challenge.

Norington-Reaves, who grew up in Chicago, attended Northwestern University and got her law degree from Southern Methodist University.

She has worked a variety of jobs, including as a litigator for the Citizens Utility Board and as chief of staff to an alderman after she lost her own 2007 bid for a City Council seat.

But her first job out of college was with Teach for America, which assigned her to a school in Compton, Calif., in 1991, during the height of the region's gang violence.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Q: What was a takeaway from your experience with Teach for America?

A: The day I was matched in Compton was also the day that national news was made that a 6-year-old kindergartner was killed at a school by gang members. It was the first time I saw my father cry outside a funeral. He fell to his knees and sobbed and said, "They will kill you." And I said, "Daddy, I'll be fine."

The thing that I took away was that there were dozens upon dozens of loving families, just trying to make it like everybody else. What I saw were hardworking families who loved their kids the same way middle- and upper-class families loved their kids. I saw children who were brilliant, I saw children who were suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome or who had been born to crack-addicted parents. I had seven crack babies in my class, who were all bright and capable kids in very different ways. For me it really prepared me to deal with all walks of life, to just realize that we are all in this together.

Q: Do you think that jobs are the answer to Chicago's violence?

A: I think that jobs are part of the answer. When I look at the fact that 40 percent of CPS graduates, one year after graduation, are neither connected to employment or education, I am stunned. People expect that on the other side of that pipeline, we're supposed to fix it with a job. That is part of the solution because it leads to economic empowerment and self-sufficiency. But what about the folks we can't touch? I envision it as this long pipeline. The problem starts way back (at birth). We have full-day kindergarten, but we need to have full-day pre-K. And it needs to be affordable. And we need to have parenting classes because everybody doesn't have the skills they need to be a solid parent. Then you get into the school system, and we've got to figure out how we get everyone in this system prepared so that when they come out they don't become part of the 40 percent.

Q: What is happening with summer jobs for youth?

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A: The problem is, when you look at the city's One Summer Chicago program, it's the largest in the nation. We serve about 25,000 young people in the course of that summer. But there are 60,000 applicants. So what happens to the other 35,000 young people? It's just not enough money.

Just to give you some historical perspective, in 1983, the city of Chicago alone received $32 million in federal funds for summer youth employment. When we launched in 2012, our federal allocation combined  city, county  was $30 million to serve youth, adults, dislocated workers.

Q: Do the community-based organizations you invest in have to hit a certain success rate?

A: We look for 75 percent or better as far as their placement rate, and we want to be sure they are being placed in training-aligned placements.

Q: What do you make of Chicago and Illinois lagging behind the nation's unemployment recovery?

A: I do not profess to be an economic expert by any means, but there are some significant issues to how we do business in the state that impact employer investment in the workforce. I am often frustrated by this notion of the skills gap. I can tell you from my hands-on experience doing mock interviews with young people, meeting people in our centers, talking to folks in our field, that people have unique talents and abilities. I think technology is detrimental to us in terms of the hiring process. A computer can't look someone in the eye and truly understand who they are and what they bring to the table.

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Q: Do you think that youth unemployment is a crisis?

A: It's a huge crisis. So much so that there's federal recognition for the fact that this is a problem, so now 75 percent of our youth expenditures have to go to out-of-school youth. National policy has shifted, local policy is shifting. We recognize that that 18- to 24-year-old population, not employed, not in school, it spells doom for us as a country 20 years from now, 10 years from now.

Q: What has to happen to move the needle on it?

A: There has to be a comprehensive course of action that is collaborative in nature. I refuse to fight over poor people. I refuse to fight other organizations and have these turf wars about this. There has got to be a comprehensive strategy that includes education from pre-K through postsecondary and workforce development that starts well before your junior year of high school. We are asking people far too late to think about their future

aelejalderuiz@tribpub.com

Twitter @alexiaer
See the winner here

Blog Extras:

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"Knot these two again."

Carolyn Wartinbee, Elmhurst

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"Yoga, blaming others... these are the things that will secure the millennial vote!"

Joanna McPherson, Wakefield, Ma

"We have to blame someone! 1, 2, 3... knot it!"

Richard Anderson

"Hmmm-so I have to decide who "knot" to vote for?"

Steve Feldman-Wilmette

"Hey you, naughty. No, you naughty"

Chander Sehgal, Roselle

"And they complain that we won't reach across the aisle"

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Bob Murphy, Aurora

"Knot my fault"

Carter Greene, Lincolnwood

"Do knot mimic me."

Don Minuk, Northbrook

"HELP!!! Get us a knitting grandma who can untangle this knotty mess!"

Lena Kondo, Chicago

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"Knot happy about our candidates."

Alice Marcus Solovy, Highland Park

"Both parties show great flexibility when addressing our concerns!"

Bob Wise, Sandwich

Thank you to all of our entrants and or voters. Don't forget to enter this week's contest!
Burgers from Butcher & the Burger will be among those highlighted at Roscoe Village Burger Fest. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

1. Get your burger fix

We're devoting July to finding Chicago's best burgers, and where better to sample a bunch at once than at Roscoe Village's Burger Fest? The street festival features burgers from 11 different vendors, including Square Bar & Grill, Butcher & the Burger and DS Tequila Company. Free; $10 suggested donation. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the intersection of Clybourn and Diversey avenues, www.roscoevillageburgerfest.com

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2. Free oysters? Yes, please

Sip on bubbly and eat oysters at Roka Akor on Friday. (Joseph Hernandez)

Japanese steakhouse Roka Akor is celebrating its fifth anniversary with complimentary sparkling wine and oysters. Um Count us in. Grab a spot at the bar between 5 and 6 p.m. to join in on the action. Immediately after, the restaurant is offering a reservation-only tasting menu ($120) with dishes designed to commemorate the anniversary. Friday, July 8 at Roka Akor, 456 N. Clark St., 312-477-7652, www.rokaakor.com

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3. Picnic with Oriole

Sip your favorite Moneygun cocktails on the new 100-seat back patio. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

Saint Lou's Assembly and sister bar Moneygun continue their summer patio party series, "We're Out Back," by welcoming neighbor Oriole  a restaurant recently awarded four stars by the Tribune's Phil Vettel  to cook up a storm. Executive chef and owner Noah Sandoval will go casual with Szechuan chicken wings, sweet and salty cucumber, and a peach butter pecan ice cream sandwich. $16; price includes food and Half Acre Daisy Cutter beer. 4-8 p.m. on Sunday, July 10 at St. Lou's Assembly, 664 W. Lake St., 312-600-0600, www.saintlouschicago.com

4. Indulge your sweet tooth

Indulgent milkshakes celebrate National Ice Cream Month at Bub City in Rosemont. (Anjali Pinto)

Rosemont's Bub City is offering a new limited-time menu of fully loaded milkshakes, like the chocolate peanut butter banana, a mason-jar-sized shake topped with ganache and bananas, or the salted caramel, with an overflowing rim of pretzels, caramel and chocolate. $6; $10 spiked. 5441 Park Pl., Rosemont, 847-261-0399.

5. Drink beer, eat tacos at a local music fest

The family-friendly Square Roots festival returns to Lincoln Square with food, beer and local acts. (Dan Kasberger / )

Hit up Lincoln Square for the Square Roots Festival, a three-day fest featuring neighborhood restaurants, live music and 30 kinds of regional craft brews. You'll have access to four different performance stages while chowing on snacks like catfish tacos from Luella's Southern Kitchen, fondue French fries from Bistro Campagne and mini lobster rolls from Mash Kitchen. $10 suggested donation ($20 for families). 5-10 p.m. Friday and noon-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday on Lincoln Avenue between Montrose and Wilson avenues, www.squareroots.org.

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85
Nazneen Contractor, who starred in the pilot for "Chicago Justice," has exited the NBC legal drama ahead of the start of first-season production, NBC confirmed Thursday.

Contractor, who played an assistant state's attorney, is set to appear in the upcoming CBS drama "Ransom" instead, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Chicago Justice" is still set to begin production in Chicago in early fall, an NBC spokesman said.

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"As with any pilot there are always adjustments made between pilot and going into first-season production," the NBC representative said in an email.

"Chicago Justice" characters were introduced in the May 11 episode of "Chicago P.D." Joelle Carter (FX's "Justified") and Carl Weathers ("Rocky" series) are still slated to star on "Chicago Justice," the fourth series in Dick Wolf's Chicago-based franchise for NBC.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
There's not much to "Cafe Society," but for a while now Woody Allen has been getting by with not much happening at the keyboard. Thanks to the warm, glowing light lavished on the film by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, shooting digitally, the writer-director's 47th feature looks like a million bucks in that drippingly nostalgic late-period Allen way.

The dialogue? The dialogue ranges in value from a quarter-million to a buck eighty-three. Then again, the cast is pretty wonderful, particularly Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, who conduct a stealthy acting class throughout "Cafe Society." They remind us that even routine banter and sentiments can be made to work with a light touch, a little sincerity and the right faces in close-up.

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The actors look swell in their '30s duds. (Allen regular Suzy Benzinger did the clothes; Santo Loquasto went to town on the production design.) If that sounds shallow, well, costumes matter, especially when swank escapism  Manhattan nightclubs and Hollywood parties, antidotes to the Depression  was foremost on Allen's mind shooting "Cafe Society." (He has acknowledged the project went over budget, completed for somewhere between $25 million and $30 million, higher than usual for Allen's annual movie.)

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Stewart and Eisenberg clicked beautifully in the lovely '80s-set romantic fable "Adventureland," and their subsequent film careers have become triumphs of the narrow-range but first-rate actor. All actors have their limitations, but with certain ones, dazzling versatility is neither their goal nor their forte. Eisenberg and Stewart are remarkably similar in their techniques. They hang back. They're great listeners. Their know how to keep a scene moving, and how to pierce even an obvious moment of conflict or revelation or plain old exposition with a little arrow of truth. They have never been more appealingly glamorous than they are in Allen's 1936-set seriocomedy, located in never-never Hollywood and grubbier, vital New York.

(Amazon Studios)

The story here is made up of stray stardust memories, fashioned around a fairly entertaining romantic triangle that turns into a quadrangle. Bobby Dorfman, the Eisenberg character, leaves the Bronx to make his fortune in Hollywood. He pays a visit to his big-time agent uncle (Steve Carell, playing a cliche, but not in a cliched way). Bobby falls hard for his uncle's secretary, Vonnie (Stewart). He courts her, earnestly; she speaks of a faraway boyfriend, but she's lying  she's the lover of her employer, and Carell's character, a blowhard but apparently sincere, keeps making noises about leaving his wife.

That covers one narrative line in "Cafe Society." The other half, the East Coast half, deals with everything Bobby left behind, and why he eventually comes back. Bobby's gangster brother (Corey Stoll) runs a sleek nightclub Bobby returns to manage. (Jeanne Berlin and Ken Stott play Bobby's parents, and it's too bad their material wasn't better, more amusing, more something.) Blake Lively, currently dealing with that shark in "The Shallows," appears on the scene as Bobby's second chance and first wife. Then Vonnie drops back into Bobby's life, and as Allen himself tells us in the guise of voice-over narrator, the young man has never really gotten the love of his life out of his mind.

The gangster scenes in "Cafe Society" couldn't be flatter, or more hackneyed. The comedy works only fitfully well. But when the central players enact the scenes of courtship, and humanize even the weaker material, the movie quietly shifts into a more compelling gear. It's strange, really. You don't necessarily "believe" a damn thing in this movie, and to enjoy any of it, you must set aside the lingering questions of Allen's off-screen behavior, and allegations of sexual abuse, long enough to take "Cafe Society" at face value.

This is Allen's 47th feature in 50 years. I've long since given up hope that Allen wants to grapple with much of anything at this point beyond surface satisfactions. The score of "Cafe Society" leans hard on the canon of Rodgers & Hart, and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" opens the film, heard under the credits. "I thought I had a trick or two/ Up my imaginary sleeve," goes one of Hart's lyrics from that song. Does Allen believe he has a trick or two left to share? Some lines are so prosaic ("He was smitten by her face") it's hard to believe they made the final script.

The film's depiction of romantic love comes down the usual: chance and timing and luck. Yes, well, can't argue there. But then something interesting happens right at the end, not in terms of story, but tone. A complex and wisely bittersweet chord is struck, similar to the one at the end of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" on the airport escalator, with the young women wondering what just hit them. Allen seems to recognize that wallowing in old love and seductive nostalgia has its drawbacks. "Cafe Society" is a good-looking nothing, but there are times  thanks more to Allen's direction than his writing, and thanks mostly to the people acting out the masquerade  when "nothing" is sufficient.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune Newspapers critic.

mjphillips@tribpub.com

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"Cafe Society"  2.5 stars

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for some violence, a drug reference, suggestive material and smoking)

Running time: 1:36

Opens: Friday

'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' review: Sam Neill anchors a hilarious, touching New Zealand odyssey

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'Secret Life of Pets' review: Minions team delivers fun, furry fare

'Cafe Society' review: Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg enliven otherwise dull nostalgia







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The large letters of the sign next to the bust of Albert Grannis Lane spelled out the words "DON'T READ THIS" next to a giant arrow, pointing down.

Drawn perhaps by their innate love of literature, or by the magnetic lure of the 19th-century educator in whose honor their famous North Side school was named, 58 Lane Tech High School students and others ignored it and walked up to get a closer look at the fine print below.

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But an infrared sensor installed by classmates in a school corridor this spring helped catch them in the act  all of it part of a social experiment.

Recalled to laughter during a recent speech at the Stony Island Arts Bank by Charlie Catlett, senior computer scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, the story illustrated a love of learning that surely would have delighted Lane, who went above and beyond in his service of the children.

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Lane, who died in 1906, was the superintendent of both Cook County and Chicago schools. He was said to be so haunted by the loss of $30,000 of Cook County schools money when a bank collapsed in 1873 that he spent 19 years of his life paying it back himself, even though he was not personally liable.

The total sum with interest was $45,000, or about $1.1 million in 2016 money.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Author Orville T. Bright wrote in 1906 that he had visited the ex-school official on the day Lane finally settled the debt.

"Never shall I forget the sort of glory that seemed to envelop him, as, stretching to his full height, he brought his hand down upon my shoulder and said with the utmost intensity, 'Bright, I have just paid the last dollar of it,' " Bright wrote.

"In the annals of Chicago can be found nothing more thrilling than this heroic struggle of Albert Lane."

Inspired by Lane's story, Chicago Inc. in recent days reached out to Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool, lawyers for his federally convicted predecessor Barbara Byrd-Bennett, and her predecessors David Ruiz, Jean-Claude Brizard and Arne Duncan, to ask if they might be interested in personally assuming any of CPS' crippling $6 billion debt.

We'll let you know if and when any of them respond.

kjanssen@tribpub.com

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Proposed changes to the law that allows Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to give a landowner a free elk permit for allowing public hunting is one of the issues on the Environmental Quality Council's July 20 and 21 agenda.

The council will also discuss a handful of state agency legislative proposals and the impact of decreased natural resources revenue on agency budgets and fine tune its federal roads study report. An update on a Flathead Lake state park's status after it was found to be in violation of federal regulations is also scheduled.

In addition, the EQC will review program evaluations for real estate management at the Department of Natural Resource and Conservation and hard rock mining and major facility siting activities at the Department of Environmental Quality. Comments are welcome.

Updates on the fire season and the sage grouse habitat conservation programs will also be provided.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m. on July 20 in room 317 of the Capitol.

For more information, including a full agenda, visit the EQC's website: http://leg.mt.gov/eqc. Or, contact Joe Kolman, council staff, at 406-444-3747 or jkolman@mt.gov.
Two veteran police officers used quick thinking to help the save the life of a 24-year-old shooting victim Wednesday in the city's Bush neighborhood, according to police officials.

Chicago police officers Alejandro Cabral and Juan Zuniga of the Fourth District responded about 7:30 a.m. to a report of a person shot and spotted a man hunched over near a fence in the 8400 block of South Mackinaw Avenue.

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"I walked up and said 'hey are you OK? What's wrong?'" Cabral said. "He said, 'I was shot.' He wasn't really moving his hands. He was just kind of slouched over. ... I open up his jacket and you can see the bleeding."

Cabral, an Army veteran, began applying pressure to the man's chest wound. When that failed, he asked Zuniga, who was a Navy veteran, to grab a QuikClot Combat Gauze from the first aid kit in his vest and used it to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived.

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"He was shaken up pretty bad so we were basically comforting him, telling him to slow his breathing, take his time, reassuring him that paramedics were on their way," Cabral said. "He held my hand and said 'don't let go, don't let go of my hand.' So we were fortunate to be the first car there and that we were able to help him out."

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Cabral and Zuniga were familiar with the combat bandage. Cabral had used them during his Army training and in treating wounded civilians in Afghanistan.

"Here it's different because you don't know what's gonna happen. You go from a call of 'somebody broke a window' to somebody's shot or shots fired," Cabral said.

Cabral used a portion of his department allowance to buy the bandages himself, and said every officer should be required to have them.

"I hope it never happens but if at any point both my partner and I get hurt, we only have one kit," Cabral said. "We can only treat one of us."

The victim was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition. No information about a suspect for the shooting was immediately available.

nmoreno@tribpub.com

Twitter @nereidamorenos
Police investigate the scene of a double shooting in the 300 block of West 106th Street in the Fernwood neighborhood on July 6, 2016. (Alexandra Chachkevitch / Chicago Tribune)

Two men were shot to death and at least nine other people were injured, including a 4-year-old boy, in shootings citywide since Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Around 10:35 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot to death and a 43-year-old man was critically hurt in a shooting in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side, police said.

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The two men were in an alley in the back of a home in the 300 block of West 106th Street when they were shot, police said.

The 25-year-old was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The older man was hit in the neck, and he was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition, police said.

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No other information was immediately available about the shooting.

An 18-year-old man was shot to death in the Lawndale neighborhood in the 3100 block of West Douglas Boulevard just before 3:45 p.m., police said.

The man was seen running from another man who shot him in the back and then ran away as the victim collapsed on a porch, police said.

Police were called to the scene at 3:44 p.m. and found the man, who was pronounced dead on the scene.

(Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

The 4-year-old boy was shot in the back about 5:45 p.m. in the 5700 block of South Morgan Street in Englewood. He was taken by family to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was transferred to Comer Children's Hospital in serious condition.

In other shootings:

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

At 4:20 a.m. Thursday, a 34-year-old man was shot and critically wounded in the Albany Park neighborhood. He was in the 4000 block of North Kedzie Avenue when he was shot in the back. He went to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition.

At 12:40 a.m., a 26-year-old man was grazed in the head by a bullet in the 8000 block of South Marshfield Avenue. He got himself to Provident Hospital and his condition was stabilized.

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Around 9:35 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was wounded in a shooting in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, police said. The boy was standing on the street in the 1600 block of South Harding Avenue when an unknown attacker fired shots at him from a vacant lot across the street, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said.

At 6:30 p.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the lower body in Lawndale. He was in the 3700 block of West 18th Street when he heard gunfire and felt pain. He went to Mount Sinai Hospital and his condition was stabilized.

In the Austin neighborhood, a 20-year-old man was shot in the 5300 block of West Chicago Avenue about 4 p.m. The man was on the street when another man came up and fired, grazing him in the back, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition.

Earlier, a 23-year-old man was wounded in the 1600 block of East 79th Street in the South Shore neighborhood about 2:45 p.m., police said. The man was standing on the sidewalk when a light-colored SUV drove up and someone started shooting, hitting the man in the left leg before fleeing east on 79th Street, said Officer Kevin Quaid, a police spokesman. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

At 12:40 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was shot in Washington Park, Quaid said. The boy was standing in the 100 block of East 57th Street when someone came up and shot him in the leg. The boy was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Bonnie Liltz, a Schaumburg mom who gave her severely disabled daughter a fatal dose of medication before trying to take her own life, walks toward the Rolling Meadows Courthouse to be sentenced May 18, 2016. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

A Cook County judge denied a request on Wednesday to reconsider the four-year prison sentence he handed a Schaumburg woman who was convicted of giving her disabled daughter a fatal dose of medication.

The ruling came despite an impassioned plea by Bonnie Liltz's lawyer, who said she is in poor health and could die in prison.

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One of the family members who have supported Liltz and had asked that she receive probation instead of prison time said they will continue their quest for leniency.

Judge Joel Greenblatt said Wednesday there has been "no evidence presented to this court that would cause me to change" the sentence, which he handed down in May after Liltz pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

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Liltz was initially charged with first-degree murder after she placed the dosage in the feeding tube of her daughter 28-year-old daughter Courtney before swallowing some of the medication herself in an apparent suicide attempt in May 2015. Courtney, whom Liltz had adopted at age 5, could not speak, dress or feed herself.

Supporters have said that Liltz was distraught over her own health problems and her concerns over what would happen to her daughter when Liltz was no longer able to care for her.

In arguments last week, her attorney, Thomas Glasgow, asked Greenblatt to reconsider the prison term and resentence Liltz to probation, a sentence that was recommended by prosecutors and that some legal experts said would have been reasonable under the circumstances.

After she was sentenced, Liltz's transfer from the Cook County jail system to state prison was delayed by her hospitalization, first in the jail's medical ward and for a time at Stroger Hospital.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Liltz, 56, had ovarian cancer decades ago and continues to suffer severe intestinal problems from radiation treatments at the time, her lawyers and family members have said. She is now at Logan Correctional Center near downstate Lincoln, but her health problems have worsened, Glasgow said.

"She is severely dehydrated. She is in isolation due to her medical condition," he said. "I ask for mercy."

In denying the motion Wednesday, Greenblatt said he gave Liltz what he believed was a sentence proportionate to the gravity of the offense, one that "was on the minimum end of the sentencing range," noting that the maximum is 14 years.

Bonnie Liltz's sister, Susan Liltz, said outside court that she visited her sister last week in prison.

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"We're all disappointed," she said following the hearing. "She is in awful shape and has lost a lot of weight. We're worried about her."

Glasgow said he intends to file a motion with the Illinois Appellate Court to seek a bond releasing Liltz from prison while he prepares an appeal of her case. Appellate bonds have been granted in exceptional cases such as his client's, Glasgow said.

George Houde is a freelance reporter.
Chicago police Thursday afternoon were questioning a person of interest in connection with a 90-minute crime rampage Wednesday morning in Chicago and Summit in which a gas station cashier was shot and killed and two other people were wounded, a source told the Tribune.

Police had been looking for two men who they said were involved in the spree. According to police, the men stole a car in Chicago, shot the owner, shot another man, hit a car on Lake Shore Drive, robbed a gas station in Summit and killed a cashier at another gas station in that southwest suburb.

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"Obviously these individuals have no respect for human life," Chicago First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante said at a news conference late Wednesday. "They couldn't care less about who they're shooting."

The spree began about 7:25 a.m. Wednesday at a Mobil station in the 8900 block of South Chicago Avenue, where the men shot a 27-year-old man several times and stole his silver Pontiac Grand Prix with Illinois license plate L925050.

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About five minutes later, the two men  now driving the stolen car  shot a 24-year-old man in the 8400 block of South Mackinaw Avenue, police said. Responding officers used bandages from their first aid kit to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived, police said. The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Twenty minutes later, about 7:50 a.m., the suspects were involved in a hit-and-run crash in the 5700 block of South Lake Shore Drive, police said. No shots were fired, but the stolen car sustained front-end damage.

The two continued to Summit, where they robbed a gas station at gunpoint in the 5300 block of South Harlem Avenue about 8:35 a.m., police said.

Fifteen minutes later they robbed another gas station in the 7200 block of West 63rd Street. One of the men shot and killed a cashier, police said.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

The cashier, identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as Ghassan K. Abujeries, 34, of Oak Lawn, was pronounced dead at 9:38 a.m. at Loyola University Medical Center.

The suspects fled in the stolen Pontiac.

Saturday would have been the victim's 35th birthday, his brother-in-law, Jamil Salman, said Thursday.

"He was a great guy and my best friend ... a class act," Salman said.

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Salman said his brother-in-law had been filling in for another worker at the gas station "to help him out."

Anyone with information is asked to call Chicago police at 312-747-8271.

Freelance reporter Robert Rakow contributed.
Police are looking for two men who went on a 90-minute rampage Wednesday, stealing a car, shooting the owner, shooting another man, hitting a car on Lake Shore Drive, robbing a gas station in Summit and killing a cashier at another gas station in the southwest suburb.



"Obviously these individuals have no respect for human life," Chicago First Deputy Superintendent John Escalante said at a news conference. "They couldn't care less about who they're shooting. We really want the public's help finding these individuals."



The spree began around 7:25 a.m. at a Mobil station in the 8900 block of S. South Chicago Avenue, where they shot a 27-year-old man several times and stole his silver Pontiac Grand Prix with an Illinois license plate of L925050.



The man was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, said Officer Ana Pacheco, a Chicago police spokeswoman.

(Surveillance photo via Summit Police Department)

About five minutes later, the two men -- now driving the stolen car -- shot a 24-year-old man in the 8400 block of South Mackinaw Avenue, police said. Responding officers used bandages from their first aid kit to control the bleeding until paramedics arrived, police said. The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.



Twenty minutes later, around 7:50 a.m., the two suspects were involved in a hit-and-run crash in the 5700 block of South Lake Shore Drive, police said. No shots were fired, but the stolen car sustained front-end damage.



The two continued to Summit, where they robbed a gas station at gunpoint in the 5300 block of South Harlem Avenue about 8:35 a.m., police said.



Fifteen minutes later, around 8:50 a.m., they robbed another gas station 10 blocks south in the 7200 block of West 63rd Street. This time, one of the men shot and killed a cashier, police said.



The cashier, Ghassan K. Abujeries, 34, of Oak Lawn, was pronounced dead at 9:38 a.m. at Loyola University Medical Center, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

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An employee at Enterprise car rental located near the gas station knew the victim. The employee, who identified himself as Jesse, said the victim was "very talkative" and would often discuss topics like "the weather and stuff like that."



He said employees at Enterprise were unaware what happened until police showed up at their business as part of the investigation.



The suspects fled in the stolen silver Pontiac. Anyone with information can call Chicago police at 312-747-8271.

(Summit Police Department / Handout)

Freelance reporter Dennis Sullivan contributed.
Authorities charged two men in connection with an armed robbery Tuesday morning in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side.

Bryan Martin, 18, and John Davis-Diming, 19, were each charged with two felony counts of robbery while being armed with a firearm, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department. In hearings Thursday, both were ordered held in lieu of $275,000 bail, according to court records.

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The robbery happened around 10:14 a.m. Tuesday in the first block of East Delaware Place.

Martin and Davis-Diming are being accused of approaching a 69-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman and displaying a handgun while demanding the victims' property, according to the statement.

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The older man and woman complied and gave their property. The suspects then shoved the 69-year-old man to the ground and ran away.

Police officers saw the suspects a short distance away and took them into custody after a brief foot chase, the statement said.

A handgun and proceeds from the robbery were recovered. No one was injured.

Martin, of the 121000 block of South State Street, and Davis-Diming, of the 100 block of East 122nd Place, are scheduled to be in Cook County bond court Thursday.
A state labor panel on Thursday rejected Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's attempt to skip a step in his ongoing dispute with the largest state employee union over a new contract.

The Illinois Labor Relations Board voted unanimously that the case should stay with an administrative law judge rather than come straight to the board as the Rauner administration had sought.

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The ruling came after the judge, Sarah Kerley, explained how long it would take board members to get up to speed on the complex case involving the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31. The labor board members decided that could actually take longer than waiting for Kerley to put together her recommendation to present to them.

At issue is Rauner's contention that the two sides have reached "impasse" in contract talks, a technical stage in negotiations that could force the 38,000-member union to either accept the governor's terms or strike. AFSCME has countered the Rauner administration designed the stalemate to undermine organized labor.

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The union's contract, which sets rules regarding everything from salary to subcontractors, expired last July. The two sides have agreed not to strike or have a lockout while talks are ongoing or while the labor board is reviewing the matter.

Kerley, who will recommend to the board whether there's an impasse or talks should continue, told the five-member panel that during 25 days of testimony, more than 5,200 pages of transcripts were generated, along with a bookcase full of binders of exhibits.

After the vote, AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall called on the state to continue negotiating.

"We're glad (the board) made the right decision, given the facts and the law, but we also know that in essence, the Rauner administration has wasted the last six months when we could have been in negotiations," Lindall said. That's a reference to the administration's January decision to seek the labor board's ruling on whether there's an impasse.

Jason Barclay, general counsel for Rauner, released a statement saying he was disappointed but would "continue to respect and follow the labor board's decisions throughout."

Kerley is next scheduled to receive written briefs on the case, which are due Wednesday. After that, she would take time to review the materials and then issue a recommendation. She said if things go smoothly, she could have a report completed in time for the board to consider it at its November meeting. The board, which is appointed by Rauner, is free to take Kerley's recommendation or rule differently.

If the board sides with the union, contract talks would resume. If it sides with the administration, Rauner could impose his own terms, at which point the union could go on strike. It's also possible union officials could take the matter to the courts in order to force the governor back to the bargaining table.

jebyrne@tribpub.com

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mcgarcia@tribpub.com
A well-known Chicago businessman with a stake in a controversial, recently approved hotel plan in the Old Town neighborhood is connected to $30,000 in campaign giving to a super political action committee allied with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, according to state campaign records.

Peter O'Brien, who operates O'Brien's restaurants and is president of MADO Management, is part of a plan that would see the O'Brien's on Wells Street torn down, the property sold and the building replaced with a 13-story boutique hotel. The restaurant, an Old Town institution, is expected to reopen in the new development.

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Rezoning of the site for the proposal passed the City Council on June 22 over the objection of some neighborhood residents who called the proposal out of character with their neighborhood.

State campaign records show that four business entities listing MADO's address, at 1541 N. Wells St., gave a total of $30,000 to Chicago Forward just before last year's mayoral election. It was the last flurry of fundraising for the fund, which spent more than $2 million against Emanuel challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia.

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One of the limited partnerships, known as 315 W. North Ave. LP, donated and gave the MADO address in state records. Other records list O'Brien as manager of that limited partnership.

All of the donations were logged April 6, 2015, the day before the runoff election that saw Emanuel voted to a second term.

Approached by a reporter outside MADO on Wednesday, O'Brien, who last year was reappointed by Emanuel to the Old Town Commission, was asked whether he was familiar with the campaign gifts to the PAC. He said he was not but later issued a statement.

"As a longtime Chicago resident and businessman, I care greatly about the City and its welfare," the statement said. "Like many others, I support Chicago Forward because I agree with its advocacy agenda and the issues it is tackling."

As a super PAC, Chicago Forward is not bound to fundraising limits under campaign law. And while it is not allowed to coordinate with Emanuel's campaign, it has supported the mayor and aldermanic candidates allied with him. Some of the mayor's wealthiest supporters have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the fund, which pooled more than $1 million in its first two weeks from Emanuel's top circle of donors.

Becky Carroll, CEO of Chicago Forward, said she did not recall the specific 2015 donations linked to O'Brien but said, "My focus first and foremost was to make sure we were fully compliant with both fundraising and expenditures and the reporting associated with them."

The Tribune last year reported on Emanuel's practice of accepting campaign donations tied to developers to his main fund, Chicago for Rahm Emanuel. The newspaper outlined contributions from developers including John Buck and employees of Magellan Development Group, the firm planning the giant Vista Tower in Lakeshore East.

By early last year, the Tribune found that 60 percent of the mayor's top 103 supporters benefited from Emanuel's city government, receiving contracts, zoning changes, permits, pension work, board appointments, regulatory help or another benefit. This kind of campaign giving is legal, but it often draws criticism for potentially greasing the path through City Hall.

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The mayor does not restrict giving from those seeking city approvals, despite pledges from his earliest days in office not to take contributions from anyone doing business with the city.

Representatives of the mayor at the time said there was no prohibition on "owners or employees of entities doing private projects" from giving. As for the donations connected to O'Brien, mayoral spokeswoman Shannon Breymaier sought to separate the mayor from the PAC.

"You are referring to contributions by private citizens to a political action committee that is independent of any elected city official or candidate for elected city office," Breymaier said in an email. "In regard to the hotel ... this project was treated like any other planned development. The proposal was subject to public hearings as it was considered  and then approved by  the Plan Commission, City Council's Zoning Committee and the full City Council."

Some area residents formed a group known as the Neighborhood Association of Old Town to fight the proposal, which calls for a building that would be 154 feet tall at 1520 N. Wells and include up to 190 hotel rooms, according to planning records.

David Bardach said the group delivered a petition with more than 600 signatures to the Plan Commission as it was weighing the proposal earlier this year.

"This is a residential neighborhood that has businesses, and it should keep its character and its charm," Bardach said. "This is a monstrosity."

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Neighbor Julie Pottebaum agreed, saying most of the opposition was worried about potential increases in crime and congestion in an area that is already popular. The donations were not particularly surprising, Pottebaum said.

"I'm sure that happens in every campaign in every city," she said. "But you do have to wonder, how does that influence their decisions?"

In addition to its Wells Street location, O'Brien's has restaurants at O'Hare International Airport and on the Chicago Riverwalk. Emanuel's official calendar shows he was scheduled to be at the Wells Street location at least once in the past year  last July for a "non-city" event, a label typically used by his office to designate campaign-related outings.

Parcels for the hotel project include 1520-1530 North Wells and 1513-1523 North Wieland Street, which are owned by two trusts, the beneficiary of which is another limited partnership called 1528 Partners, according to city documents. O'Brien provided the city with a notification this spring that The Eight Corp  of which he is sole shareholder  is the general partner of 1528 Partners.

State records show that 1528 Partners, one of the limited partnerships using MADO's address, was among the contributors to Chicago Forward, giving $7,000. The group also donated $1,500 last year to Ald. Danny Solis, 25th, chairman of the City Council's zoning committee, according to state records.

City records show O'Brien owns about 8 percent of 1528 Partners, and the "Peter O'Brien Gift Trust" owns more than 21 percent.

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A spokesman for Solis did not comment on the specific donation but said the alderman's decisions on zoning are driven by the recommendation of the alderman whose ward the project is in.

Also among the project players involved in campaign giving is developer Condor Partners. State records show Condor in 2014 gave a total of $4,000 to the campaign fund of Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, whose ward the hotel would be built in, and who hosted a community meeting on the plan in December.

A message left with Condor Partners seeking comment was not immediately returned.

And one of the limited partnerships using MADO's address also gave to Burnett, with 1543/51 Partners donating $1,500 last August.

Asked about the campaign giving, Burnett said he did not specifically recall the donations, as he has nearly 400 contributors and does not look at every check that comes in. Burnett said he would check with the Board of Ethics to make sure the giving was appropriate.

He said the development will be a positive for Old Town, a neighborhood that continues to see an upswing in investment. Even so, the development team agreed to reduce the height of the hotel by several floors in an attempt to allay the concerns of some neighbors.

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"We built that street up over 21 years," Burnett said. "No one buys me to do these things."

jcoen@tribpub.com

Twitter @jeffcoen
Montana anglers are faced with some odd conditions right now.

Afternoon thunderstorms have riled up some of the mountain-born rivers this week, a change from the long, dry June that weve experienced. Other streams in the southwest corner of the state are still under hoot owl restrictions because the water is so hot.

That means the best river fishing is below the dams, where those influxes of off-color water arent a problem and cool water prevails. Try the Beaverhead, where fish are not being picky, the Missouri below Holter or the upper Madison for some lively dry fly action.

For lake fishing Fort Peck is still the bright spot no matter whether youre looking for walleyes, northerns or bass  the anglers trifecta.

Top picks

Beaverhead River  The river is fishing awesome. There are a lot of fish out there and they are eating everything. PMDs (14-16) are hatching all day with yellow Sallies and caddis (12) in the evenings. Golden or yellow Trigger nymphs are always good. Flows were 727 cfs.  Frontier Anglers, Dillon.

Fort Peck Reservoir, dam area  The majority of anglers are going west toward the Pines. Try bottom bouncing night crawlers and leeches behind spinners, Slow Death rigs and Smiley Blades. A few are still catching walleyes jigging minnows. Shore anglers along the dam are casting spinnerbaits off the rocks for smallmouth bass. Salmon anglers are picking up lake trout at 50 feet to 130 feet. Salmon tend to be shallower at 50 to 60 feet. Try flashers and spoons or flashers and squids.  Lakeridge Motel and Tackle.

Spring Creek  Fishing really well as the water has cleared up. Try blue-winged olives in the late afternoon and evenings, Adams, ants, yellow Sallies are starting to work and standard nymphs.  Dons, Lewistown.

Montana

Ackley Lake  Fishing is steady with boaters pulling cranks, some using leaded line to go deep. Bank anglers are soaking a crawler off the bottom.  Dons, Lewistown.

Big Hole River Flows are now under 800 cfs. There are hoot owl restrictions in effect from Dickie Bridge upstream and from Notch Bottom downstream. Further closures are expected, but remember that the canyon sections from Wise River to Maiden Rock rarely if ever seed restrictions. This leaves some 30 miles of prime pocket water separated by beautiful pools open to fishing. Salmonflies are in the bushes, there are golden stones and following them are the nocturnal stones. These combine to keep fish willing to eat the big chubby-type patterns. Nymphing is best with Rubber Legs, 8-10 in dark variegated and tan, pearl Lightning Bugs, large Pheasant Tails and San Juan Worms. For attractor dry flies try: Purple Haze (12-18), Elk Hair Caddis or X Caddis (12-18) in tan, olive, yellow or black, Renegades, Wulff tied dry flies, Stimulators (12-16) and PMX (12-16) in yellow, orange or peacock.  Frontier Anglers, Dillon.

Bighorn Lake, Ok-A-Beh  Bass fishing is good or bad depending on who you talk to. Try a Gizit or jig and a minnow. Shoshone River still pumping mud into the reservoir.  Minnow Bucket, Huntley.

Bighorn River  Water flow has dropped to 2,434 cfs with a water temp of 49.1 degrees. Chances are this will be normal flows for the rest of the summer. Water clarity is still excellent at 9-10 feet, very little floating grass. Feet to reservoir full pool 5.2. Still no dry fly hatches. Waiting for the PMDs to show up but with the decrease in flows the water temps have gone down dramatically, thus holding back any PMD hatches. Did see a couple of caddis last week but nothing you could consider a hatch. We are still using mostly subsurface nymph patterns, including two sowbug patterns in tandem. Favorite patterns have been sizes 16-18 in Soft Hackled Ray Charles, colors tan or pink, as well as firebead Ray Charles in the same sizes and colors. A little pickup in streamer action as the minnows are being forced out into the main river from the receding back waters. Best patterns have been Silver Zonkers or Black Wooly Buggers in size 4.  Bighorn Fly and Tackle Shop, Fort Smith.

Boulder River  The Boulder is ready to fish. The bad news is: you better get out there before The Boulder runs out of water. If there is a time to fish dries, it is in July and August in the Big Sky Country. Try golden stone insect imitations like yellow Stimulators (10-12), Parachute Madam X in yellow (10-12), as well as gold Chubbys in a 10. Tarantula's and Pink Pookies (10), ant and beetle patterns (12-16) as well as your favorite caddis pattern (14) are all a good start. PMDs and yellow Sally dry fly patterns in size 16 could also be necessary. The nymph fishing will be there all season using Copper Johns, Lightning Bugs, Psycho Princes, and the up and coming Wonder Woman nymph. These patterns can all be fished in a 12-16. Stonefly nymphs like Rubber Legs (8) or North Fork Specials in black in sizes 10-12 are both proven subsurface killers. As caddis remain one of the dominant insects on the water this time of year, a Caddis Sparkle Pupa (14) can be really fun when presented on the swing.  East Rosebud Fly Shop.

Canyon Ferry Reservoir  Rainbow trout fishing has slowed with warmer water temperatures, but some anglers continue to catch fish on the north end of the reservoir using cowbells, tipped with worms, or cranks in 20 to 50 feet of water. Shore anglers had some success fishing for rainbows using worms and/or marshmallows. Walleye are being caught throughout the reservoir tolling worm harnesses or Slow-Death rigs, tipped with worms or leeches, in 30 feet of water or less. Jigs tipped with worms are also producing walleye throughout the reservoir. Yellow perch continue to be caught from shore using worms and while trolling for walleye.  FWP, Helena.

Cooney Reservoir  Walleyes are biting Rapalas, leeches and crawlers trolled. The best fishing is in the morning. Boyd Store and Trading Post, Boyd.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Big Dry Arm  A 34-inch walleye was caught. Most are only about 16 feet deep. Bass are in 4 to 8 feet of water. Try bottom bouncers for the walleye. Pitch lures for bass.  Rock Creek Marina.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Crooked Creek  The walleye bite is at about 20 to 25 feet using jigs with a leech and some bottom bouncing. Northerns are taking anything, everywhere. The smallmouth bass are taking tube jigs and crankbaits on the rocky points.  Dons, Lewistown.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Fourchette Bay  Anglers are catching walleyes crappie, and northerns on worm harnesses. Crankbaits have also been productive.  Westside Sports, Malta.

Fort Peck Reservoir, Hell Creek  Walleye are taking bottom bouncers baited with a leech. Many of the fish are running in the 20- to 27-inch range. Trollers pulling blue and silver crankbaits are taking northerns in 12 to 14 feet of water.  Hell Creek Marina.

Lower Gallatin River  A hoot owl closure is in effect from Shed's bridge to the mouth. The bulk of the salmonflies were spotted in the Taylors Fork area. Now that the bugs have made it up the canyon you should be able to get a second feed around the opening of the canyon. A Chubby or a big salmonfly dry with a rubber-legged dropper is a good bet up against the banks. Some bigger fish are back to hiding in the middle heavy current behind boulders. The fish seem to be getting wise so have a variety of flies in a few sizes and colors. The river above the Taylors Fork is looking clear and fishing well. Try smaller flashy nymphs such as a Flash Back Pheasant Tail or a Glint nymph. The Rubber Legs is still a good bet, as well. Caddis are around and when the water warms up slightly and conditions are right, there may be some PMDs flying around.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Gardner River  Salmonflies and golden stones. You can fish it up or downstream of Mammoth. Its upper stretches and tributaries are great brook trout fisheries where you can take children and beginners.  Blue Ribbon Flies, West Yellowstone.

Hauser Reservoir  Rainbows are being caught trolling cowbells or light-colored crankbaits anywhere between Black Sandy and York Bridge. Shore fishing is fair while using worms or PowerBait around Black Sandy and Riverside. Small walleye are being caught at the Causeway Bridge on jigs and in the Causeway Arm on perch-colored crankbaits or bottom bouncers and a leech or worm. Some walleye are also being caught around Riverside on jigs.  FWP, Helena.

Holter Reservoir  Goodrainbow fishing continues for those trolling cowbells throughout the reservoir; especially from Split Rock to Holter Dam. Shore fishing for rainbows has been fair around Gates of the Mountains on worms. Walleye are being caught around Split Rock, Cottonwood Creek and the bays by Holter Dam. Most walleye are being caught on bottom bouncers and a worm. Perch are being caught throughout the reservoir in small bays and around the boat docks in 10 to 20 feet of water while using jigs and worms.  FWP, Helena.

Madison River, Lower  With the hoot owl closure fishing is allowed only from midnight to 2 p.m. To avoid tubers go into Beartrap Canyon or around Cobblestone. The flows have dropped to almost 1,200 cfs and the temps are up around 68 degrees. Get out early for some morning caddis and PMD dry fly fishing. Either put a dropper on or switch into a full nymph rig. Throwing a Zurdle Bug, crayfish, or rubber legs under a big dry like a Chubby or below an indicator should get you into fish. The streamer fishing has been good with sculpin patterns like Sculpzillas or Silveys. There are a few yellow Sallies, PMDs and golden stones here and there, but the bugs to focus on are the caddis and drakes. The drake hatch gets going shortly after the sun goes below the horizon and shadows start to fall on the water. The caddis start to move onto the water at the same time. Fish a drake pattern such as an Adam's Superfly or a small Elk Hair Caddis into the night.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Madison River, Upper  Pale morning duns, caddis and stoneflies are all hatching in good numbers. The most insect activity has occurred around Lyon Bridge and below. Salmonflies have been spotted as far up as Raynold's Pass, but the bulk of the hatch will be near Windy Point, give or take a few miles. I would say that fishing anywhere from Quake Lake to Ennis is fair game, but some of the fish below Palisades may be gorged on salmonflies. Raynold's Pass and $3 Bridge are getting better by the day.  Blue Ribbon Flies, West Yellowstone.

Missouri River, below Holter  Garry has been having good luck on a black ant, or try an Outrigger Caddis or Corn Fed CDC Caddis. A purple Para Wulff (16-18) is a standard. For PMDs try a Lawsons Cripple or a Brooks Sprout. For nymphs the Mo-ssassin PMD, MFG, Psycho MFG, Little Green Machine, Quasimodo pheasant tail and a Split Case PMD are options. On cloudy days try streamers like the Nicks Perch and olive Thin Mint.  Montana Fly Goods, Helena.

Missouri River, Fred Robinson Bridge  Catfish are taking crawlers and cut baits.  Dons, Lewistown.

Nelson Reservoir  Anglers are catching 16- to 20-inch walleyes on worm harnesses and Lindy rigs with leeches. A few are having success pulling crankbaits for walleyes and northerns.  Westside Sports, Malta.

Rock Creek  The top water action is where it's at. Dry fly recommendations include yellow and orange Stimulators in sizes 10-14, yellow, orange or royal colored Parachute Madam X in sizes 10-12, Royal Humpys in yellow in size 14, Pink Pookies in a 10, Tan Caddis in a 14, PMDs in a 16, as well as your standard attractor dries like a Purple Haze, Royal Wulff, Royal Trude or Parachute Adams (12-16). High percentage nymph patterns include a Sparkle Caddis Pupa (14), a Hare's Ear, Flashback Pheasant Tail, and a Prince Nymph ranging in sizes 12-16. Attractor nymphs like a Copper John in red or chartreuse, Montana Prince in blue, the Batman nymph in sizes 10-16 can work. A Girdle Bug and a Bitch Creek stonefly nymph always puts an angler in position to have some success.  East Rosebud Fly Shop.

Stillwater River  Flows are clear and have been hovering in the 1,200-1,400 cfs range. Golden stones and yellow Sallies are still coming off along with PMDs and caddis showing up late in the day. Various big attracter dry patterns like a Jack Cabe, Stimulator or PMX, along with a standard Stillwater nymph pattern of some sort are usually a successful combination. Good nymph choices are beadhead and flashy patterns such as a Prince Nymph, Hares Ear, Pheasant Tail, Batman or Copper John. Water temperatures are warming so look for fish to be moving into deeper, colder water as well as more oxygenated riffles and runs. For the Stillwater, a 7 1/2-foot 2x or 3x leader is usually sufficient unless fishing smaller dry flies. A double dry fly setup with a smaller dry fly pattern trailed 10-12 inches off of a larger Purple Haze has been taking fish. A Caddis Emerger dropped off of a dry fly can often be a fish magnet, particularly later in the afternoon. Straight nymphing with Rubber Leg patterns with a smaller beadhead nymph trailer fly will also produce. Streamer action has been fair early in the day with dark colored buggers and the Grinch. Trail a nymph off of the back and dead drift as well as strip. Its not too early to start throwing hoppers, either.  Stillwater Anglers, Columbus.

Tongue River Reservoir  Not much has changed, fishing is still good. Crappie are taking tube jigs or a crawler on a jig. Anglers targeting crappie are taking northerns. Walleyes are in 8 to 15 feet of water and hitting Rap Shads, crawler on a jig or bottom bouncing with a Slow Death rig the favorite. Pitch cranks, worms and 4-inch Senko jigs into the structure for bass.  Tongue River Marina.

Yellowstone River, Columbus  Fish big dry flies like Chubby Chernobyls and PMXs with dropper nymphs. If fishing a dry-dropper setup try a fairly long dropper. Prince nymph, Hares Ear, Copper John, Pheasant Tail, or Batman are good dropper nymphs. Streamers could also be dead drifted or stripped off the bank. Another good tactic is to run a short nymph set up along the shallower bank water and riffles with little or no split shot using a big rubber leg pattern like a Girdle Bug, Bitch Creek, Yuk Bug or Pats Rubber Leg, with a beadhead nymph trailed behind it. Also try fishing a double dry fly rig with a smaller dry like a Purple Haze trailed 10-12 inches off of a larger dry fly or hopper pattern. With lower than normal flows, water temperatures are already warming. Fish are likely starting to move into deeper, cooler water and more oxygenated water like riffles. Getting on early and off a little earlier than normal before the water starts heating up is probably a good game plan.  Stillwater Anglers, Columbus.

Yellowstone River, Huntley  Bass fishing is fair with a Gitzit tube jig baited with a night crawler or minnow. That setup may also pick up the occasional sauger. Catfishing has been decent with fish caught in the 4 to 8 pound range using cut bait, minnows or chicken livers.  Minnow Bucket, Huntley.

Yellowstone River, Livingston  A large plug of mud is coming in from the Lamar. Visibility will be low for a few days. The leading edge of the hatch has reached Yellowstone Park. To be fishing the hatch you will need to hike into the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. Carbella to Mallards is a part of the river that you can get a secondary feed now that the bugs have gone through a number of days ago. Nymphing some big stones or Zurdles has been successful this week. Dead drifting a small streamer as the top fly in your nymph rig is also a good setup to try. The evenings have been seeing massive caddis hatches on the banks with some PMDs and yellow Sallies mixed in. The evenings and mornings have been best for the salmonflies.  Montana Troutfitters, Bozeman.

Yellowstone River, Miles City  The river is warm so catfishing is only good in the morning or evenings. The walleye and sauger bite is still slow using worms, crankbaits and leeches. A few bass are taking crankbaits and jigs.  Red Rock Sporting Goods, Miles City.

Wyoming

Clarks Fork  Afternoon thunderstorms have muddied it up. Should clear in a couple of days.  North Fork Anglers, Cody.

Boysen Reservoir  Lots of small fish, few walleye over 14 inches. Try bottom bouncers and spinners.  Boysen Lake Marina.

Lower Shoshone  The town stretch is high and off color.  North Fork Anglers, Cody.

North Fork of the Shoshone  Thunderstorms riled the waters, but it had been fishing well. It was primarily a nymph fishery with scattered reports of hoppers.  North Fork Anglers, Cody.

Yellowstone National Park  Slough, Lamar and Soda Butte are now fishing. We don't have a report from the second or third meadow of Slough, but they should have some bugs hatching. Lamar and Soda Butte just became clear, and have already had some dry fly fishing. Be sure to have green drake and PMD Sparkle Duns. Always keep an eye on the water when you fish in the northeast corner. You never know what mayflies will appear.  Blue Ribbon Flies, West Yellowstone.
City Clerk Susana Mendoza, shown marching in the March St. Patrick's Day Parade next to Speaker Michael Madigan, has gotten some union help in her state comptroller bid. ( John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.

Topspin

Labor unions are coming up big in Democrat Susana Mendoza's bid for state comptroller against Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's hand-picked candidate.

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Mendoza, the Chicago city clerk, this week reported $320,200 in campaign contributions from June 30, with more than $244,000 coming from unions. Leading the way by maxing out at $53,900 each were D.C.-based political funds of the Laborers' union and the International Union of Operating Engineers. A Chicago Federation of Labor fund gave $15,000, and a south central Illinois laborers' fund gave $10,000.

Mendoza is running against Republican Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger, a onetime legislative candidate Rauner appointed to succeed the late Judy Baar Topinka following her December 2014 death. The unions are furious at Rauner, who is pushing pro-business policies also aimed at scaling back collective bargaining rights. Rauner, in turn, has ripped unions' campaign contributions as being part of what keeps a failing status quo at the Capitol.

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That philosophical difference is at the heart of the Springfield stalemate. Organized labor has ponied up millions to House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and their favored candidates as Rauner tries to cut into the Democratic supermajorities in the legislature this fall.

Munger, of Lincolnshire, so far has reported raising $82,600 from April through June. She started April with about $225,000 on hand. That's likely to put her well behind Mendoza, who started the second quarter with $1.1 million on hand and has reported collecting $332,700 since then. It's a low-profile contest, so both candidates are going to need to build up name recognition with voters. The comptroller's office controls the state's checkbook.

Rauner, of course, can make that financial disadvantage go away for Munger in a flash, given his propensity for writing large personal checks to his campaign fund and Illinois GOP accounts.

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will make an announcement about the city's tree-trimming efforts.

*Gov. Bruce Rauner has no public schedule.

*At City Hall, it's day two of City Council hearings into the mayor's plan to overhaul the agency that oversees the Chicago Police Department.

*Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle will attend a ribbon-cutting in Evanston for two apartment buildings renovated for seniors and the disabled by the county's Housing Authority.

*The Illinois Labor Relations Board holds a hearing on Gov. Rauner's request to expedite a decision on whether he's reached an impasse in contract negotiations with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31.

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What we're writing

*Emanuel police oversight push delayed for second time in month, this time in face of pressure for more public input.

*Emanuel's Law Department sanctioned again in a police misconduct lawsuit.

*What Emanuel's new transit TIF districts mean for Belmont flyover.

*Laquan McDonald's juvenile records sought by lawyers for officer who shot teen.

*Cook County seeks approval for new medical office building next to Stroger Hospital.

*Chicago online job postings drop by 9,300 in a month, survey shows.

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What we're reading

*Clinton's stumble sends wave of regret through GOP for what might have been.

*We can't wait for the massive new Loop food court.

*Going to reserve judgment until we see what the actual menu is.

From the notebook

*Irony alert: Former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is trying to collect enough signatures to put a Chicago mayoral term limits referendum on the ballot, and his latest email blast highlights Mayor Emanuel's $543 million record city property tax hike (though he wasn't quite so cheeky as to mention the mayor by name).

"Ben Franklin said death and taxes are inevitable, but he never said it's inevitable to be taxed to death," the email begins.

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This is coming from Pat Quinn, the guy who signed a record state income-tax hike into law in 2011, then campaigned for re-election (and lost) on making that tax hike permanent.

We'll let that sink in for a while.

*Moore's claim to fame: Ald. Joe Moore, 49th, was boasting Wednesday via email blast about a mention of his "participatory budgeting" program in Time magazine, which listed it as one of "240 reasons to celebrate America right now."



Under that program, Moore lets ward residents vote on how to spend the $1.3 million in city money left to his discretion as part of the annual budget. The money is spent on things like fixing streets, putting in lights and planting trees, although Moore for a time did allocate $80,000 to parking meters to let ward residents park free overnight in a lakefront lot.



In 1994, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley began allocating $66 million for menu money, divided equally among each of the city's 50 wards. Moore began using participatory budgeting in 2009, and other aldermen in recent years have followed suit.



Moore has been widely credited with pioneering the idea in the United States, although we remember aldermen in Aurora several years earlier setting up committees of local residents who decided how to dole out their then-$600,000 annual allotment of casino tax funds.



Participatory budgeting was first used in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, according to the nonprofit Participatory Budgeting Project, which counts Moore as a member of its board of directors. The movement has since spread to hundreds of governments in South America, North America and Europe. (Hal Dardick)

*Raja's big haul: Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic nominee in the 8th Congressional District contest, said he raised more than $830,000 from April through June and had more than $1.1 million left to start July.

While he has yet to file his second quarter campaign fundraising report, his April paperwork listed him as having nearly $459,000 on hand. Krishnamoorthi won the March 15 primary with 57 percent of the vote over two opponents.

Republican opponent Pete DiCianni, a DuPage County Board member from Elmhurst, reported $35,000 or so left to start April after raising about $107,000. He did not have a primary opponent.

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The 8th District, which covers parts of northwest Cook and eastern DuPage counties, is currently represented by Democrat Tammy Duckworth, who's challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk this fall.

Follow the money

*Democratic Cook County state's attorney candidate Kim Foxx reported nearly $31,000 in contributions, led by $5,400 each from financiers Mellody Hobson and John Rogers Sr.

*1st Ward Ald. Proco "Joe" Moreno reported $51,000 in contributions from 27 donors, led by $10,000 from the Logan Jones Limited Partnership, whose officers trace back to the Wynns at Victory Sign Co.

*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash

Beyond Chicago

*AG Lynch follows suit, announces no charges against Clinton in closing email probe.

*Trump beats expectations, raises $51 million in June, then doubles down on defense of image viewed as anti-Semitic, praise of Saddam Hussein.

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*Feds open civil rights investigation into recorded Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge.

*Obama slows U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON  A defiant Donald Trump made it clear he won't change his brash tone or message as he courted anxious Republican lawmakers Thursday, blaming the media for stumbles that continue to alarm GOP leaders and energize Democrats with voting less than three months away.

The New York billionaire repeatedly called for unity in his second Capitol Hill tour in three months, but he also threatened would-be party critics on a day that was designed to rally anxious Republicans behind him. Deflecting questions about his discipline in public comments, Trump insisted his recent praise for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was taken out of context and ignored fresh concern about a campaign tweet widely condemned as anti-Semitic, according to Republicans who attended closed-door meetings.

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Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake declined to address reports that Trump threatened to attack him politically during a testy exchange that Sen. John McCain said "everybody was talking about" afterward.

"I'll just leave it," Flake told reporters. "My position remains, I want to support the nomination. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said."

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Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, who wasn't in Thursday's meeting, fired back at Trump, who reportedly called him a loser during the private gathering.

"We haven't seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully," said Kirk, who faces a tough re-election contest and has declined to endorse Trump.

There was a more cooperative tone inside Trump's meeting with House Republicans, even if skeptical lawmakers didn't necessarily hear what they were hoping for.

"There was no talk of pivoting. There was no talk of changing his style or anything like that," said Rep. Peter King of New York. "I think you have to expect that you're going to get Donald Trump. But he showed today that he could be Donald Trump and still work with Republicans."

Trump's unwillingness to moderate his tone follows repeated promises from campaign officials that he would do just that as he shifts toward the general election. While Election Day nationwide is Nov. 8, early voting begins in some states in September.

The Republican Party remains deeply divided with its national convention less than two weeks away.

Trump's former rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, announced Thursday he would speak at the Cleveland gathering. Yet many high-profile Republicans are refusing to go, former Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and Ohio Gov. John Kasich among them.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch does plan to attend, but he shared his concerns about Trump's campaign.

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"I hope he will focus less on personality and divisive rhetoric and more on policies and a capacity to govern effectively," Hatch said after the Senate meeting.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, a Trump critic, was less polite: "This election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed," Sasse spokesman James Wegmann said.

The party strife played out as Republicans tried to focus on Democrat Hillary Clinton's email practices, which FBI Director James Comey described as "extremely careless." Comey spent much of the day testifying before a House committee, summoned by Republican lawmakers furious about his decision, announced Tuesday, that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

But Trump has struggled to keep the focus on his Democratic rival.

The night before his Washington tour, he resurrected a debate over an image he tweeted depicting Clinton's face alongside a six-pointed star over hundred-dollar bills. Many saw the symbol as a Star of David and condemned the tweet as anti-Semitic. House Speaker Paul Ryan, the nation's top elected Republican, was among the critics.

Trump also continues to defend his praise for Hussein, the Iraqi dictator whom he described as having been effective at killing terrorists.

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Rep. Chris Collins, a big backer, said he blamed Trump's missteps, including the outcry over his Hussein comments, on Democrats and an unfriendly press.

"His point was: They set us up," said Collins. "And we just need to make sure we stay together."

At one point, Trump turned directly to Ryan and seemed to acknowledge the lingering concerns. "If you read the headlines in the paper, I could see why some folks might be worried," Collins recalled Trump saying.

That explanation was well-received.

Trump also emphasized his plan to repeal President Barack Obama's health law, reduce regulatory burdens, overhaul tax laws and remake the Supreme Court as "one that is more reflective of the values of the country," according to Rep. Tom Price of Georgia.

Ryan told reporters later, "We clearly have a presumptive nominee who wants to work with us on moving this agenda forward."

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Others were less impressed, especially when Trump responded to a question about whether he would defend Article 1 of the Constitution on the separation of powers.

Trump said he would defend articles "1, 2, 3 to 12," said South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford. In fact, there are only seven articles.

"I think it was the normal stream of consciousness that's long on hyperbole and short on facts," Sanford said.

Associated Press
An aerial photo shows blue-green algae enveloping an area along the St. Lucie River in Stuart, Fla., Wednesday, June 29, 2016. Officials want federal action along the stretch of Florida's Atlantic coast where the governor has declared a state of emergency over algae blooms. The Martin County Commission is inviting the president to view deteriorating water conditions that local officials blame on freshwater being released from the lake, according to a statement released Wednesday. (Greg Lovett / AP)

Amid a growing outcry  and national headlines  about a massive algae bloom fouling Florida's southern beaches and rivers, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday promised to dedicate millions more to battle the problem.

Scott announced that he would ask the Florida Legislature to set aside money that would be used for a grant program to aid homeowners who voluntarily want to switch from septic tanks to central sewer systems. He also pledged to set aside money in 2017 to help communities around the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River build new wastewater systems.

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Scott's promise won't do anything in the near future to remedy the algae bloom that put a smelly "guacamole-thick" muck on a stretch of beaches promoted as Florida's "Treasure Coast." But it marks a small change of direction for the governor, who has directed most of the blame for the algae bloom on the federal government.

"While the state has continued to step up and invest in important restoration projects to help South Florida waterways, it is clear that more work has to be done," Scott said in a statement distributed by his office. "It is up to all of us - the state, Florida's local communities and the federal government - to work together on long term solutions to improve the quality of our water. That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."

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Hours after Scott announced his budget proposal he also formally asked authorities to declare a federal emergency due to the effects of the algae blooms that he said were due primarily to the federal government neglecting needed repairs for the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases polluted water from the lake to lower the pressure on a dike to avoid a repeat of a 1928 hurricane breach that killed 2,500 people.

Scott has not yet placed a price tag on the budget request he plans to submit to state legislators. His administration said it planned to work with state environmental officials and South Florida water management district officials on specific details. The governor did say he plans to create a program that would require local communities to put up a 50 percent match in order to be eligible for state funding.

While Scott has had some trouble winning approval for his legislative priorities in the past two years, he will likely find support for his request since incoming Senate President Joe Negron is from Martin County, one of the areas hardest hit by the algae blooms.

Negron, a Stuart Republican who has opposed proposals in the past to require mandatory inspections of septic tank systems, called Scott's proposal a "good long term policy" but he stressed that the current algae bloom affecting the region has been caused by discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Stuart, Fla., saw thick algae covered water at Stuart's Central Marine on June 30, 2016. (Terry Spencer / AP)

Negron said one solution that is needed is to purchase land south of the lake where water could be stored before it flows south toward the Everglades. While Scott has backed many Everglades-related proposals, he and other Republicans have opposed calls to purchase land near the lake, which is owned by the state's powerful and politically connected sugar producers.

Bradley Marshall, an attorney with Earthjustice, said that Scott's latest proposal "isn't focusing on the right problem." He said that the governor should be targeting the industrial and agricultural uses that are polluting Lake Okeechobee.

"Until those pollutants are addressed, nothing is going to prevent a future algae bloom," Marshall said.

Associated Press
MUNCIE, Ind.  Federal agents arrested an anesthesiologist on Wednesday on charges alleging that he stole drugs from the Muncie hospital where he worked and treated patients while high.

Jose Ramos, 51, was arrested at his home in Fort Wayne by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and was charged with four felony counts of possession of a narcotic drug, four misdemeanor counts of theft and two misdemeanor counts of criminal recklessness, The (Muncie) Star Press reports.

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Ramos was being held in the Delaware County Jail on a $32,000 bond. Court records do not indicate if he has an attorney.

Delaware County Prosecutor Jeffrey Arnold issued a press release saying the arrest followed "an intensive eight-month investigation" by the DEA and his office. Ramos took a leave from IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie in October.

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A probable cause affidavit states the director of pharmacy services at the hospital contacted the DEA last Oct. 6 to report records showed "multiple instances" in which controlled substances obtained by Ramos "were not charted as being administered to a patient."

On Oct. 5, a day Ramos was "responsible for administering anesthesia in connection with seven medical procedures," a staff member found a hypodermic needle cap and what appeared to be blood in a restroom accessible only to operating room staff. A nurse that day notified supervisors that Ramos appeared to be "drugged" or "high" while administering anesthesia during a procedure.

Gerald Costello, medical director of the hospital's anesthesiology division, met with Ramos and asked him to submit to a drug screen, according to the affidavit. Costello told investigators that Ramos agreed and told him he anticipated he would test positive, and that he repeatedly told Costello "his career was over."

Authorities allege that the blood and urine samples taken Oct. 5 showed that Ramos was under the influence of marijuana, morphine, Meperidine, Hydromorphine and Fetanyl. After that date, Ramos took a leave of absence and entered into an inpatient physician addiction treatment program in Florida, the affidavit said.

Deputy Prosecutor Zach Craig said he didn't believe the patients believed to have been treated by Ramos while he was under the influence of drugs had been told of the allegations.

Associated Press
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.  A woman who watched as a police officer fatally shot her boyfriend during a traffic stop streamed the gruesome aftermath of the slaying live on Facebook, telling a worldwide audience that her companion had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet.

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

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"Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a tail light being out of function," Democrat Mark Dayton said. "Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don't think it would have."

As night fell Thursday, national outrage over the killings exploded into violence in Dallas, where snipers fatally shot at least four police officers and wounded several more, authorities said.

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The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Philando Castile, 32, of St. Paul, died of multiple gunshot wounds. No other details about the injuries were released.

It was the second fatal police shooting in as many days. A 37-year-old black man was killed Tuesday by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

The latest death happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a mostly white community of 5,000 people that is also home to Minnesota's annual state fair and part of the massive University of Minnesota campus.

In that video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

State investigators named Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser as the officers involved. Both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave, as is standard.

Yanez approached Castile's car from the driver's side, and Kauser from the passenger side, according to a statement from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It said Yanez opened fire, striking Castile multiple times. No one else was injured.

Several videos, including squad car video of the incident, have been collected, but St. Anthony officers don't wear body cameras, the statement said.

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The bureau did not give the officers' races. Reynolds described the officer who shot Castile as Asian.

Thomas Kelly, an attorney representing Yanez, did not immediately return a call seeking comment after the officers were identified. Kelly declined to comment on the case earlier Thursday.

The St. Anthony Police Department's 2015 annual report points to Yanez's volunteerism; he gave a tour of the station to a local Cub Scout troop and volunteered with St. Paul's Cinco De Mayo celebration, participating in a parade with other members of the National Latino Police Officers Association.

The previous year's report includes a photo of Yanez solemnly standing guard at a memorial to fallen officers at the state Capitol.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would monitor the investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The governor said he and other state officials would seek more direct involvement.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting, which took place after Sterling scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

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In a Facebook post Thursday, President Barack Obama called Sterling's and Castile's deaths "symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."

As word of the Minnesota shooting spread, Castile's relatives joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. He was a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had stressed to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

At a vigil Thursday evening outside the school where Philando Castile worked, Valerie Castile called her son "an angel." She said she never thought she would lose him.

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"This has to cease. This has to stop, right now," she told the crowd.

Hundreds of demonstrators braved the rain and gathered to protest the shooting outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul, where a crowd had also convened the night before. Dayton waded through the crowd of about 1,000 as protesters chanted: "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!"

Relatives were outraged that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

William Moulder, a police consultant and longtime former police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, said all officers carry first-aid supplies in their cars and are instructed to start rendering aid as soon as it's clear there's no threat.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks calmly to the camera.

"That's time to start mitigating the damage," Moulder said.

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The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Castile was driving the car, with Reynolds riding beside him. But because of the way the video was recorded or the way Facebook posted it, some versions of the footage were reversed, making it appear that Castile was in the right seat and his girlfriend seated on the left.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

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The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Because of its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department. Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman promised an "expedient" investigation but would not discuss the traffic stop, any video footage or whether Castile was legally carrying a firearm.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

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Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Associated Press
LONDON  Conservative lawmakers chose Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom on Thursday to fight a runoff contest for leadership of Britain's governing party. The winner will become the country's second female prime minister.

May received 199 votes in a ballot of Conservative members of Parliament, while Leadsom received 84. Justice Secretary Michael Gove got 46 votes and was eliminated from the race.

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Some 150,000 Conservative Party members will now vote by postal ballot, with the result announced Sept. 9.

The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union.

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Britain's first female prime minister was Margaret Thatcher, a Conservative who governed from 1979 to 1990.

The new leader will be responsible for leading Britain's exit negotiations with the 28-nation EU as well as helping to steady the country's government and economy, which has been deeply shaken by markets' reaction to the EU vote.

The result of the ballot is a slap in the face for Gove, whose ambition to lead the country lasted only a week. He campaigned for an EU exit alongside popular former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who had been expected to seek the party leadership, with Gove as his campaign manager.

But Gove shocked the party by announcing last week that he had decided Johnson was not up to the job and declaring himself a candidate instead. The betrayal probably hurt his leadership chances, fueling a view among Tories that he is disloyal.

Leadsom, 53, who also backed the "leave" campaign in the referendum, says the prime minister should be someone who truly believes in a British exit, or Brexit.

May, 59, supported the losing "remain" side in the EU vote but says she is the best person to unite a party that  like the country  is divided over the referendum result.

She said she was delighted to have won support from "leavers and remainers, MPs from the length and breadth of the country."

"This vote shows that the Conservative Party can come together  and under my leadership it will," she said.

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May has drawn criticism for failing to guarantee that citizens of EU countries who live in Britain will be able to remain after Brexit. That has led to accusations she is using European citizens as pawns in the EU divorce talks.

In a speech to supporters Thursday, Leadsom promised that Britain could retain free trade with the EU while simultaneously controlling immigration  an unrealistic prospect, according to critics.

"I will not use people's lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation," Leadsom promised.

"People need certainty and they will get it," she said. "I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay."

Leadsom, who entered Parliament in 2010 after a career in financial services, has less political experience than May, and has faced allegations from rivals that she exaggerated her experience in the financial sector.

May, Britain's interior minister for the past six years, is the runaway favorite among lawmakers  but the Conservatives have a history of not choosing the favorite.

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Leadsom's plainspoken, common-sense style and strong opposition to the European Union have made her popular with the party's grassroots membership, which is older and more euroskeptic than the British average.

Associated Press
During her decades of work as a Chicago-area hairstylist, Margaret Vinci Heldt left an indelible mark on her profession as the creator of the beehive hairdo, the tall, conical signature hairdo of the 1960s that was both striking and enduring.

"That was her claim to fame," said her son, William. "Every time (the beehive) would resurrect again, somebody would be wearing it, and she would call me and say, 'It's starting again. They're calling me again.'"

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Heldt, 98, died of heart failure June 10 at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, her son said. She was a resident of Elmhurst and previously lived in Westchester.

Born Micaela Vinci to Italian immigrant parents in Chicago, Heldt grew up on the West Side during the Depression, attending Calhoun Elementary School and Flower Vocational High School. Beginning with her first visit to a hair salon as a child, Heldt was hooked.

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After that first visit, "I didn't care about dolls anymore," she told the Tribune in 2011. "All I wanted to do was play beauty shop."

Heldt elaborated on her feelings about that first beauty shop visit in a 2000 Tribune interview, noting that "my mother said I was never the same. All I could see was the clicking of the curling iron. Click, click, click. Then all of a sudden, they looked beautiful."

After high school, Heldt earned a scholarship to attend Columbia Beauty School in Chicago. She became a licensed cosmetologist in 1937.

Accolades for her work soon followed. In 1944, Heldt won her first first-place prize in a hairstyling competition. Ten years later, she won a National Hairdresser of the Year competition.

In 1950, Heldt opened Margaret Vinci Coiffures in the Michigan Boulevard building at 30 N. Michigan Ave. To usher in the decade of the 1960s, the editors of Modern Beauty Shop magazine asked her to develop a new hairstyle.

Heldt's creation: the beehive, which  in part through the use of generous amounts of hair spray  offered its wearers the benefit that it would hold together for a week between its wearer's beauty parlor visits. Heldt modeled the style off a small, black velvet evening hat that she had owned, and she came up with its name because when she finished, she placed a bee stickpin in the model's hair.

Featured in the February 1960 issue of Modern Beauty Shop, the beehive took off.

"Nothing much had happened since the French twist, the pageboy and the flip," Heldt told the Tribune in 2011. "They told me, 'We want you to come up with something really different.'"

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Heldt also hailed the beehive's durability  to a point. While it may have looked indestructible, she counseled her customers not to mess with the beehive too much.

"It stayed in good. You could recomb the style, and it would come right back," she told the Tribune in 2011. "I used to tell my clients, 'I don't care what your husband does from the neck down, but I don't want him to touch you from the neck up.'"

Interest in the beehive waxed and waned, with plenty of big names  Audrey Hepburn, Dusty Springfield, Brigitte Bardot, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson of the B-52's, Aretha Franklin and later, Ivana Trump and Amy Winehouse  all sporting the beehive at one time or another. The look continues to the present day, as it's worn by Marge Simpson on the long-running animated TV series "The Simpsons."

Heldt regularly observed the changes in the beehive  later incarnations, she noted, were softer, whereas the original version was stiff with hair spray and contained lots of detailing. She also cautioned that the best combination was two-thirds face and one-third "hive."

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In 1970, Heldt sold her shop on North Michigan Avenue and moved to a salon in Hillside. She later worked at the Caryl Richard salon in Oak Brook and then at the Veronique beauty salon in Oakbrook Terrace before retiring on her 80th birthday.

"She was a fun lady and was spunky and still wanted to work," said Linda Landa, who owned the Veronique salon.

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Mario Tricoci, a hair salon chain owner, called Heldt "an icon" who was "talented as hell."

"She was one of my mentors, and she was a genuine, wonderful person," Tricoci said. "We shared one thing: Our gratification was about making people look good so they could feel good and from feeling good, they could go do their endeavors better."

Heldt's husband of 56 years, Carl, died in 1998. In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Carlene Ziegler; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Services were held.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves to Members of the Atlantic City casino workers union members outside the Taj Mahal Casino after a event in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on July 6, 2016. (Kena Betancur, AFP/Getty Images)

Hillary and Bill Clinton, some argue, expect to be held to a different, more elastic standard than the rest of us. They get away with behavior that might get other politicians indicted, these detractors say, or a government employee sent packing.

I don't know to what extent that may be true, but I do know that Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, had to engage with countries that donated to her husband's foundation, an awkward situation ripe for misinterpretation. She also employed senior aides who had financial interests that the State Department never would have countenanced in an ambassador. And she herself handled sensitive information in a manner that would get a Foreign Service officer suspended or dismissed.

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Before going to Nicaragua as ambassador in 2008, for example, I had to present my financial records to the State Department's ethics office. They reviewed my portfolio and informed me that I had to sell my modest holdings in Exxon and General Electric. Exxon operated a small refinery near Managua, and GE owned a quarter share in a Nicaraguan bank. The problem, they explained, is that if a dispute arose that involved another American company and Exxon or GE, and I still owned shares in those companies, it could give the appearance of a conflict of interest.

As it turned out, GE sold its share in the bank shortly after my arrival and I never had anything at all to do with Exxon. Still, I understood and accepted the rationale for selling the stocks.

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A few months later, Clinton became secretary of state. While she was in charge of the State Department, her husband's philanthropic creation, the Clinton Foundation, collected millions of dollars in donations from individuals and countries throughout the world. Although it's possible that all of them were motivated by a charitable impulse, they also stood to benefit from good relations with the United States. And how could it hurt to ingratiate yourself to the husband of the secretary of state, an ex-president at that?

Although this arrangement elicited expressions of skepticism, the State Department's ethics office never demanded, and the Clinton Foundation never imposed, a moratorium on foreign contributions.

Just before Christmas in 2009 I received a wooden chess set from a Nicaraguan acquaintance. It was hand-carved and represented the British and Colonial armies at Yorktown, Va. The ethics officer at the embassy consulted with the State Department and was informed that I could not accept the present. They estimated its value at more than $75, which was the cap on gifts.

Not long before I left Nicaragua in 2011 I attended a fundraiser for a local hospital. I bought several raffle tickets and won the grand prize, a small motor bike. Because it was a lottery, and not a gift, I figured I could keep it. No, I was told, return it. The drawing may have been rigged to benefit you.

Like Caesar's wife, we had to remain above all suspicions. Fine. It probably reflected well on American values.

When Clinton became secretary of state, two of her closest confidantes, Cheryl Mills and Huma Abedin, joined her at the department.

Abedin was named deputy chief of staff but remained as a paid consultant to the Clinton Foundation and also worked for Teneo Holdings, a private consulting firm. There, Abedin represented Coca-Cola, among other large companies. She assured government authorities that she would never use the information she acquired at the State Department to help her private clients and was allowed to retain the job with Teneo.

Mills, for her part, initially took an unpaid position at the State Department. During that time she also worked for New York University, for whom she was negotiating with officials in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to establish a branch campus there. When she took up her permanent position at the State Department as chief of staff, she collected $330,000 from NYU in unused vacation time and severance pay.

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Before, during and after Mills' employment at the Department of State, the Emirates donated more than $1 million to the Clinton Foundation and paid the former president several million dollars in speaking fees and for other services.

Of course, these transactions may have been innocent of any ulterior motives. Mills and Abedin may have adhered to the highest ethical behavior. But shouldn't the same ethics office that compels ambassadors to refuse gifts valued at more than $75 have adjudged these various situations, many of them involving millions of dollars, as potential conflicts of interest?

It would seem that there are two standards at play here, a flexible and indulgent one for Hillary Clinton's most senior appointed officials and another for the career members of the Foreign Service. In light of the FBI's investigation into Clinton's personal email server, the same double standard, it would appear, also applies to the handling of sensitive information.

If Foreign Service officers leave a classified cable in their desks overnight instead of the office safe, or are caught taking a classified document home without authorization, they receive a security violation. If they accumulate three or four, they likely would be suspended without pay for a week or two. If this happens several times over five or six years, they would forfeit their security clearance. And without a security clearance they would lose their jobs.

According to FBI Director James Comey, Clinton and her senior aides were "extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information."

She sent or received more than 100 cables that contained classified sections. She had multiple private servers over the years and regularly used her mobile device while traveling, all of which could easily have been compromised by a hostile government. And she lied about all of it.

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When Comey announced that there was insufficient evidence to recommend prosecution, and that he found "no intentional misconduct" on Clinton's part, there is no reason to doubt him. By all accounts, he is an honorable man.

So, the one remaining sanction on Clinton may be the vote of the people. But must an election really come down to this  a contest between a narcissistic blowhard and a serial prevaricator with an ever-expanding sense of entitlement?

Robert J. Callahan, a retired diplomat and former Chicagoan, served as U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and partners from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation invite the public to celebrate the addition of 631 acres to the Wall Creek Wildlife Management Area at 1 p.m. on Saturday

The addition, a property purchased by RMEF in 2015, was sold to FWP in January 2016. Funding for the purchase came from the Habitat Montana program and Pittman-Robertson funding.

Acquisition of the land  considered prime elk winter range  improves and enhances public access to this property and the adjacent state and federal public lands. With this addition, Wall Creek WMA expands by about 10 percent.

Located 24 miles south of Ennis near the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National, the additions entire southern boundary borders the Wall Creek WMA.

Approximately 2,000 elk use Wall Creek WMA along with antelope, deer and other species. These additional acres will allow for more elk tolerance and help prevent game damage issues in the Madison Valley.

Interested parties may also volunteer to help remove fence on the property the morning prior to the dedication ceremony. The volunteer project begins at 9 a.m. at the addition property.
Donald Trump, a showman and untested political leader, appears to have the Republican presidential nomination sewn up. How does that make us feel? To quote Trump on Twitter: Sad!

But don't rule out a surprise twist in what has been the most confounding and discouraging campaign season of our time. There remains a chance Republican delegates to the convention in Cleveland will be freed of their obligation to support Trump and permitted  as conservative writer William Kristol put it  to vote their conscience. How are we feeling now? Slightly hopeful.

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Thursday's Wall Street Journal reported in detail on the movement among some Republican leaders to change the rules and open the convention to a new nominating contest, even though Trump secured enough delegates to win in the first round. It's all about persuading party faithful to recognize that Trump's divisive political style and worrisomely unorthodox approach to running for president require a second vetting. From the Journal's news story: "It's a long shot, but by some counts (the anti-Trump forces) are remarkably close to getting past the first hurdle next week in Cleveland."

The process would work this way: When the party rules committee meets ahead of the July 18-21 convention, Trump dissenters and skeptics will seek a vote on a change that would allow Trump-committed delegates to support whomever they want. The measure would need the support of 28 rules committee members  that's one-quarter the total of 112  to pass. The Journal says it found 20 members ready to consider the idea, plus 33 more whose views could not be determined. Other sources cited by the Journal say there are as few as 15 or possibly more than 30 members who like the idea of unshackling delegates.

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Both sides are aggressively making their case to fellow delegates. If the provision passes muster with the rules committee, all convention delegates would vote on the rule change. Anti-Trumpers would need 1,237 votes  half the delegates  to get their way. Given that Trump has about 890 delegates personally loyal to him and 680 in opposition, the Journal reports, getting to 1,237 would require persuading nearly two-thirds of remaining delegates to take a defiant stand.

This would not be a coup  the rules committee is doing its work by formulating the rules  but it sure would make for a chaotic convention, with the possibility of Republicans settling on a different nominee for president. Yes, it's a long shot. Yes, appeasing dissenters risks further destabilizing the Republican Party. But the party  and the country  are deeply divided over Trump's candidacy, as Bernie Sanders Democrats are over Hillary Clinton's.

(Scott Stantis)

Voters are wary of Trump. A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll last month found that more than half of Republicans are dissatisfied with their party's presumptive nominee. The convention delegates are party leaders, of course, but many of them are concerned too. House Speaker Paul Ryan was slow to endorse Trump and acted quickly this week to chastise Trump for a tweet that contained an anti-Semitic image. Politico says a "significant faction" of GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill haven't yet backed Trump. He's been given the brushoff by several potential vice presidential picks. He still doesn't have a bench of established, expert advisers.

Trump got this far by exerting brute force of personality and following the rules in primary and caucus states. But the convention is a party function; its rules are what delegates decide they are. We hope rules committee members, and then all delegates, exert their power to weigh other options and then choose their party's best possible nominee. That is not Donald Trump:

His policy proposals are a mix of empty and offensive promises. His rhetoric drips with disdain and, on occasion, hints at violence. He has had time as the presumptive nominee to retool his act and school himself on leadership, but we've seen nothing to convince us he's ready to be president. He continues to treat the campaign trail like a stand-up comedy tour, doing his "crooked Hillary" bit and his Saddam-Hussein-was-a-bad-guy-but-good-at-killing-terrorists routine. In a rant Wednesday night in Ohio, Trump defended a tweet of a six-pointed star, claiming it was not a Star of David juxtaposed with a pile of money; it was just a star. "You know, they took the star down," he brayed. "They should have left it up. I would have rather defended it."

Election Day is four months away. Republicans are about to nominate their candidate. They have one final opportunity on the calendar to rethink the path of this campaign and the future of their party. Do GOP leaders really want to stick it out with Donald Trump? We hope their answer is no.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  Ive gone through a couple of phases as a camper. Think of me as being born a Cro-Magnon man  a modern human  and regressing from there.

As a youngster my parents somehow stacked a family of five like cord wood in a 13-foot camper. Theres probably an OSHA regulation against that now. But things were pretty civilized because Mom and Dad were in charge, did the dishes, cooked the food and kept us leashed.

As I struck out on my own camping jaunts in high school and thereafter, campgrounds were shunned and even detested. This was when I regressed to my Neanderthal stage. The only place we camped was at unimproved sites  someplace without a toilet, fire ring and picnic tables. Its probably for the best that we struck out on our own because no other camper would have wanted us log-beating primitives as neighbors.

The arrival of a spouse and children changed the camping equation once again. I learned to tolerate the close association with strangers and the distasteful fees of campgrounds to have amenities like running water and a toilet to ease the burden of child care.

Now with my children raised I seem to be in limbo between my two camper selves. Staying in a campground isnt spurned, but it does require an uneasy truce with my wild side.

Strike 1

So when I suggested a camping trip in Yellowstone National Park over a backpacking trip last month it was somewhat out of character. Maybe for that reason, or simply because hes wild at heart too, my friend was hesitant at first. I argued that car camping would allow us to move to a different spot each day to hike and fish, rather than being locked into one smaller area on a backpacking trip. The outing would take some scouting, though.

The trick to camping in Yellowstone is to arrive early. The park sites do not take reservations. The campgrounds managed by the park concessioner, Xanterra Parks & Resorts, do take reservations, but their campsites werent where I wanted to pitch my tent.

Usually by no later than 1 p.m. (check-out time is 10 a.m.) most of the park campgrounds are full during the peak summer season. So I imagined a mad dash from the campground gate, a hunting knife clenched in my teeth, to secure and defend a site like an 1800s homesteading rush, but it was actually simply a matter of filling out paperwork. Much less exciting. I used the knife to pick Doritos out of my teeth.

The downside is that we were assigned a site rather than getting to choose one. Had I the ability to request a spot I wouldnt have picked our central location. Adding to the cramped aura of the site that evening was the fact that we had a crying young neighbor throwing a temper tantrum in his tent a stones toss away.

I remember those days, my friend said, and not fondly.

Pity for your parental neighbor is fleeting in a crampground. Yes, thats my new word for it and not a misspelling: crampground. Much more descriptive I think.

Strike 2

This initial annoyance was easy to shrug off, but by the next morning my friend was again questioning my logic and his decision. We awoke at around 6 a.m. to a neighbor yelling at her camp mates. She was making it very clear she did not want to sleep in. She intended to see more of the park before they left. Got that? We certainly did. Her wrath seemed to be working as her groggy friends shuffled around mumbling while breaking down camp. Meanwhile she sulked in the car packed and ready to go.

Oh well, we needed to get up anyway. A breakfast of strong coffee, chorizo and eggs bulked us up for the days vigorous hike to Slough Creek, one of Yellowstones most fabled trout fisheries. Although the previous day had been amazingly mosquito-free, we found the Slough Creek Trail to be quite the opposite. Swatting and sweating we hiked to the first meadow and had the water all to ourselves, no other anglers appeared.

But the previous days hot sun combined with not enough drinking water and a short night had weakened my fishing buddys aging constitution and resolve. He opted to return to the trailhead for a nap, and I reluctantly followed about an hour later after exploring the roaring canyon cataracts where Slough Creek left its meander through the meadow.

On the hike back mosquitoes werent a problem because the wind was blowing hot and steady. A greater concern was all of the dust and pollen zinging through the air and into my quickly swelling eyes.

Strike 3

By the time we arrived back at camp we were both ready for some relaxation, a cold beverage and a hot meal. Regrettably, my tent was pancake flat  not what you want to see at your campsite after a long, hot day of hiking, fishing and dodging erratic tourist traffic.

The steady, high-speed wind had dealt a death blow to several of the tents thick fiberglass poles, splintering and shattering them beyond my duct-tape repair abilities. Our neighbors with the crying kid? Their tent was still standing. Wheres the karma in that?

Such was the discouraging end to my first car camping trip to Yellowstone National Park in decades. Sigh. Theres nothing quite like a flat, busted tent to pop the fun balloon of your camping trip. The loss of our shelter also softened my buddys resolve to spend another night in the park.

How about I buy you dinner in Livingston and we go home? he suggested.

I was reluctant to abandon the campsite and the next day of hiking and fishing. After all, wed both slept under the stars before  why not here and now? I argued, but only weakly. It seems my inner caveman can be swayed by the thought of a thick, medium-rare steak and a cool drink in an air-conditioned diner. My evolution continues.
An Old Dominion truck depot is proposed for this subdivision near Aurora's northeast side. The depot would be on the corner in the background. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)

The Aurora City Council will hold off consideration of a truck depot on the far northeast side of the city, next to an unincorporated subdivision, until at least July 26.

Old Dominion, a national trucking firm proposing the facility, asked for the delay. They were to present an updated proposal to aldermen at this week's Committee of the Whole meeting, but asked to hold off on that presentation for another two weeks. It is the second, two-week delay the firm has requested.

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The company is asking for approval of annexation and a development plan on a 5-acre site at the corner of Meridian and Sunrise roads for a 24-hour truck depot that would handle about 115 truck trips a day. The facility would be across the street from the 17-home Ferry Road Farms subdivision, a group of homes in Naperville Township sandwiched between Naperville to the south and east and Aurora to the north and west.

The subdivision also is squeezed in between Interstate 88 and burgeoning development along both sides of Ferry Road.

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Representatives of Old Dominion have made the case that the area is predominantly corporate and warehouse uses, and that the truck depot fits in with that. Residents have said that the depot is so close to the subdivision that the noise and lights  not just from the facility but from the trucks  would ruin their quality of life. At a public hearing June 28 before the City Council, resident John Trapp pointed out that living right across Sunrise Road from the facility, it would be 61 feet from his bedroom.

"Imagine waking up in the morning and what do you see  trucks, semi-trucks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said.

Dana Kaempen, another Ferry Road Farms resident, said the subdivision has homes built nine years ago, and some more than 70 years old. He said there are children up to senior citizens living there.

"Business is coming, we understand that," he said. "But there are better commercial neighbors."

To emphasize that point, three people who are neighbors of an Old Dominion truck depot in Crest Hill spoke at the Aurora public hearing and said their quality of life has been ruined by the facility. Dave Swanson said he and his wife anticipated a quiet retirement when they moved to their house, but that the facility has turned their house into "a house of horrors because of the noise."

"This type of operation is not compatible with a residential neighborhood," Swanson said.

Old Dominion has been changing its plan to include more landscaping and fencing to better shield the neighborhood from the noise and light, company officials said.

The Aurora Planning Commission recommended denial of the facility, but the Planning and Development Committee and city staff have recommended it.

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The City Council is expected to convene the public hearing again next week, but continue it to July 26.

slord@tribpub.com
A Geneva man has denied charges he attacked a homeowner in the city with a utility knife during a March burglary attempt, court records show.

The man - 43-year-old Ronald D. Anderson - was indicted last month on counts of armed violence, residential burglary and aggravated battery in connection to an incident inside a Cape Way garage in Geneva. Prosecutors allege Anderson, who remains held in Kane County Jail, wore a mask while attempting to enter the garage March 18. Anderson had a utility knife and charged at the homeowner who confronted him, according to prosecutors. The homeowner suffered multiple cuts which required medical attention.

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Anderson appeared in court Wednesday for arraignment before Kane County Judge Linda Abrahamson. He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 25.

At the time of his arrest, Anderson was free on bond in a 2015 case that charged him with burglary and criminal trespass to a vehicle, court documents state. Geneva police arrested Anderson in October on allegations he entered a truck sitting in a Randall Road parking lot and took electrical wire, which was later found in his own vehicle. Anderson was released from custody on $15,000 bail after his wife posted bond for him, court documents state.

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Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
HELENA  Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines is skipping the Republican National Convention to go fly fishing.

"I'll be in Montana fly fishing with my sweet wife Cindy," he said Thursday.

Daines earlier in the morning attended a meeting with Senate Republicans in an effort to build party unity ahead of the July 18-21 convention in Cleveland, where polarizing presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to accept his party's nomination.

Daines characterized the meeting as helpful.

In May, the senator delivered a note of support to Trump before the candidate spoke at a Billings rally. The note read "Welcome to Montana! Looking forward to calling you Mr. President, and working together to make America great again."

Daines said he still supports Trump. The senator is not one of the state's delegates to the party's convention. Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke is, as well as Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

Several prominent Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, have said they will skip the convention.
An 18-year-old Geneva man accused of taking part in targeting a house and pickup truck with Molotov cocktails has posted bond.

The incidents happened in April. The man turned himself in this weekend and posted $5,000 bond Wednesday, according to Geneva police and Kane County court records.

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Dominic Castelvecchi, of the 600 block of Cheever Avenue, is charged with aggravated arson, a class X felony; residential arson, a class 1 felony; arson damaging real property worth more than $150, a class 2 felony; criminal damage to property by fire or explosives causing between $300 and $10,000 in damage, a class 4 felony; and two counts of possession of explosives or incendiary devices, a class 1 felony.

Two juvenile boys will face charges in the incident as well, and one other boy involved in the incident will not be charged, according to an email from Geneva Police Department spokeswoman Cmdr. Julie Nash.

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Castelvecchi and the boys were allegedly drinking alcohol at the Geneva Riverwalk and talking about building a Molotov cocktail April 23. One of the boys drove the group to Castelvecchi's home to make one, according to police reports.

Castelvecchi allegedly got a glass bottle from inside the house and filled it with gasoline, then made a wick out of a paper towel and affixed it to the top of the bottle, according to police reports.

He got back in the car and between 2 and 3 p.m., the group drove to a house on Abbey Lane in Geneva, where one boy got out of the car and threw the Molotov cocktail at a 2000 Ford F-150 pickup truck parked in the driveway. The fire caused more than $300 worth of damage to the truck, according to police reports.

The group then drove one boy home and the rest drove back to Castelvecchi's house, where he allegedly made another Molotov cocktail out of the liquor bottle the group had been drinking from, according to police reports.

The group talked about where to throw the second device and decided on a house on Meadows Road in Geneva, where they thought people would be inside, according to police reports and charging documents.

Castelvecchi allegedly directed the driver to the house, where at least one person was home, and said "let's do these guys," according to police reports. Another boy then got out of the car, lit the device and threw it at the front patio, causing an explosion and more than $300 in damage, according to police reports.

Castelvecchi is scheduled to appear in court next at 9 a.m. July 29 at the Kane County Judicial Center.

He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia in November 2015 and is in a pretrial diversion program with a status hearing Aug. 10, according to Kane County Court records. He will turn 19 later this July.

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The arson charges were filed against Castelvecchi June 29 and a warrant was later issued for his arrest, according to Kane County court records. Bond had been set at $50,000, with 10 percent required to apply, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's office. Police are not releasing further information about the other boys or their charges because they are juveniles, Nash said.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
One man is dead and another injured after being shot by a Palos Township homeowner when they attempted to enter the home Tuesday night, police said.

"The victim of an attempted home invasion, who had a valid conceal carry license, shot two male intruders fatally killing one and wounding the other," Janet De La Torre, a Cook County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, said in a statement.

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The incident occurred about 11 p.m. in the area of Will-Cook Road and 118th Street in Palos Township. The neighborhood is largely wooded with upscale brick and stone homes.

Four people are in custody, De La Torre said, none of whom are the homeowner. No charges have been filed, she said.

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Neighbors described the neighborhood as quiet, and that they were "shocked" when they saw the police.

"Dogs were searching all over," said Donna Dabal, a neighbor. "I was afraid to go outside."

Another neighbor, who asked not to be named, said he was shocked that this happened there. He said he moved from Chicago to the Palos area to escape violence.

Several people who where home in the neighborhood at the time said they did not know what happened. Sheriff's deputies did not give any information to local residents, other than the homeowner was not injured, neighbors said. A few said the incident did not make them more concerned about safety in their otherwise quiet neighborhood.

De La Torre said sheriff's police are still investigating the incident. Attempts to reach the homeowner were not immediately successful.

Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Homer Township Fire District firefighters have launched a petition drive to place a referendum on the November ballot, seeking to have an elected board of trustees rather appointed.

Calling it "equally beneficial" for township residents and firefighters, David Curtis, president of the Homer Township Professional Firefighters Local 4223, said an elected board "would ensure transparency which we do not have now."

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The current three-person board, appointed by the Homer Township Board of Trustees for three-year terms, is "a good ol' boys club," Curtis said.

Firefighters have been going door to door to secure more than the 1,100 required number of signatures and if the measure is successful, three fire board members would be elected in the spring 2017 election, initially with staggered terms of two, four and six years, Curtis said.

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Township Supervisor Pam Myers said the town board has the authority to appoint the fire board by state statute. A few years ago, the board changed its policy from simply appointing people who came to them, to opening up an application process to the public.

"We have a really good process in place. These are not political appointments," she said.

Applicants are required to live in the district, be a registered voter and be interviewed and evaluated by the town board.

Representation also must be spread throughout the township, and no trustee of the fire district shall be directly or indirectly involved in doing business with the fire district, she said.

"If they want a referendum, we're OK with that  whatever makes the majority of people comfortable," Myers said.

Curtis said, "Direct election of our public officials is the very backbone of our American system of government. This simply gives power to the people whose safety and money are at stake.

"People do not realize what enormous responsibilities this board has," he added, citing the trustees' roles in hiring a fire chief, purchasing equipment, hiring staff, providing training and renovating a fire station.

"An elected board would stand before the people and tell us what they are going to do," Curtis said. "This is not just firefighters not being happy. This isn't personal."

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The union leader said there have been "instances" which prompted him to send information to board members and request a meeting, but they did not respond.

"There has been no communication whatsoever," Curtis said.

In 2014, firefighters were directed by the chief that they had to go through him to communicate with the board.

"It's been a long time coming. It's not a knee-jerk reaction. This is something we carefully considered for years," he said.

The union leader said he never approached the township board about his concerns.

In speaking on behalf of the Homer fire board, member Mark Lobes said he always hoped that if there was a movement to have an elected board that it would come from residents, not the union firefighters, about 75 percent of whom do not live in Homer Township.

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"The union claims they do not have communication with us  that they have no input with us  but that would not necessarily change with an elected board," he said.

Firefighters currently participate on at least 12 committees that make decisions regarding the daily operations and purchases of equipment, Lobes said.

"They have a large input in the day-to-day operations," he said.

Lobes is also concerned that once there is an elected board, "Things that were not political will become political."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Additionally, elected officials, who would likely serve a six-year term, could not be removed from office as easily as someone who is appointed, he said.

When the fire board learned of the referendum effort, they asked firefighters, through the chief, to attend the June meeting, but they did not show, Lobes said, noting that in the past six meetings, union members have attended once.

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He also thought the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois was the impetus behind this effort  urging its locals to push for elected rather than appointed boards throughout the state, but both Curtis, and AFFI President Pat Devaney denied that.

Devaney said the AFFI is supportive of the effort.

Appointed fire boards are "isolated from voters," and yet have "broad authority" to raise taxes and effect safety, he said, adding, "If you're going to raise taxes, you should be elected."

If the referendum is successful, Lobes said he and his colleagues on the board, Paul Anderson and Ken Fijan, are undecided about running.

When asked for a comment, Fijan said, "I'm too old to run."
League of Women Voters President Barbra Pasquinelli, a member since 1964, talks to several members before the first aid for mental health issues workshop. Wednesday, June 15th, 2016, at Palos Heights Public Library in Palos Heights. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

You suspect that a loved one is cutting.

A friend confides to you his suicide plan.

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Your teen is writing songs about death.

What, if anything, do you do?

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Just like there is first aid for physical health, there is first aid for mental health. And experts in the field are encouraging police, teachers, retailers and others to learn how to apply it.

Alicia Betts-Garrett, spokeswoman for Grand Prairie Services (GPS) in Chicago Heights, said the eight-hour first aid for mental health certificate program is aimed at increasing awareness of the signs and symptoms of various mental health disorders.

"Depression is up, anxiety is up, because of the recession and other things," Betts-Garrett said. "It's good for people to know what these disorders are and how to recognize their symptoms."

Workshop at several sites

GPS is a not-for-profit behavioral healthcare provider that serves Bloom, Bremen, Rich and Thornton townships. It offers the first aid program at various locations, including Tinley Park, Chicago and Oak Brook. Workshop participants also receive two resource manuals that explain mental health conditions, such as psychosis and depression. Both books, one an overview of mental health first aid and the other written for adults who are assisting young people, offer lists of experts, organizations and support groups.

An abbreviated workshop was held recently at the Palos Heights Public Library for members of the League of Women Voters of the Palos-Orland Area.

Barbra Pasquinelli, president of the League of Women Voters for the Palos-Orland Area, shares a few words before the first aid for mental health workshop. Wednesday, June 15th, 2016, at Palos Heights Public Library in Palos Heights. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

Barbara Pasquinelli, president of the group, said, "I'm a retired educator and I know often the very first people who are there in some sort of a crisis or meltdown are teachers, social workers, people without any training whatsoever."

Antonia Wister, a retired teacher, said, "Since they closed all of the mental health centers, including the Tinley Park Mental Health Center, there's nothing. Where are these people now? They're on the street or they're in jail. If there's anything we can do to help, we should."

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Adrien Teverbaugh, drop-in center coordinator for GPS, opened the program with a series of first-person videos that describe conditions such as anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder in great detail.

Anxiety disorders and depression are on the rise this country, Teverbaugh said.

"We just had that horrible shooting in Florida. People are depressed. The news is depressing. Every day, somebody gets shot. It's depressing," he said.

People who suffer from mental illness, he said, can become overwhelmed by such conditions.

Knowing and acting

The library presentation was designed to give anyone interested an overview of what the longer program entails. During it, attendees learned about the symptoms of depression and anxiety and how to distinguish non-fatal suicide attempts from fatal ones.

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Adrien Teverbaugh, of Grand Prairie Services, leads a class on first aid for mental health for the League of Women Voters at the Palos Heights Public Library. Wednesday, June 15th, 2016, at Palos Heights Public Library in Palos Heights. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

"Knowing symptoms is very important," Teverbaugh said. "So is knowing the five-step action plan."

Regardless of the disorder, Teverbaugh said, there is a standard protocol for handling a situation that is or has the potential to become threatening.

Teverbaugh explained that plan, which goes by the acronym ALGEE (Assess risk of suicide harm; Listen non-judgmentally; Give information and resources; Encourage professional help; Encourage self-help).

Warning signs, he said, include threats to hurt oneself or others, seeking access or means to be harmful, feeling hopeless and acting recklessly.

But, Teverbaugh added, you must be able to assess each situation on its own merit. For example, he said, it's normal for a teen to act recklessly but not for an adult.

"If an 8-year-old takes a whole bottle of baby aspirin, that's a suicide attempt," he said. "If an adult does it, well, he just likes the taste of baby aspirin because an adult probably knows it's not going to kill him."

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Nevertheless, he said, non-suicidal self-injury is a cry for help.

Cutting

A disturbing form of such injury is cutting, he said.

Adrien Teverbaugh, of Grand Prairie Services, leads a class on first aid for mental health for the League of Women Voters at the Palos Heights Public Library. Wednesday, June 15th, 2016, at Palos Heights Public Library in Palos Heights. | Gary Middendorf-Chicago Tribune Media Group (Gary Middendorf / Daily Southtown)

"They have so much pain, so much agony inside that the (physical) pain of cutting relieves it. Some people's cuts are visible. They're seeking help. The people who hide it really feel it's working for them. If you see or know somebody is cutting, should you tell them to stop? The answer is no. You should try to seek help for them but don't tell them to stop because cutting may be stopping them from committing suicide. Cutting may be helping them survive," Teverbaugh said.

But always, he added, you should seek professional help for the individual.

Likewise for the friend or relative who tells you a detailed plan on how he's going to end his life, or for the teen who is obsessed with death, Teverbaugh said.

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Rule of thumb, he said: "When anybody talks about suicide, take it seriously. I don't care who it is, take it seriously. Even little kids. Because kids today have grown up killing hundreds of people on video games. They are desensitized to death because they're doing it every day."

Teverbaugh said in a crisis situation, it's often helpful to remind the person suffering that, "No matter what situation you're in, you're just a phone call away from that problem being solved. A phone call away from things turning around."

Sgt. Troy Siewert, head of the Crisis Intervention Team for the Orland Park Police Department, said, "First aid for mental health is kind of like first aid for medical emergencies. You're not a doctor, you're not a surgeon. But you can give first aid and then send the person on to the people who know how to treat the problem."

Several members of the Orland Park force attended one of the emergency training programs in January.

Siewert said the need is substantial.

"We're getting calls weekly, if not daily, regarding mental health issues," he said.

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The conditions run the gamut from schizophrenia to depression.

Mental health centers closed

In that regard, he added, Orland Park is indicative of what is happening across the country.

He said the Tinley Park Mental Health Center's closing in 2012 was part of a push by the government to abolish central locations and take some of the money saved and push it back out into the community for outreach care.

"Well they ended up closing the facilities but a lot of that money never made it back out to the treatment facilities," he said. "So now you have people in need of treatment but funding isn't there for them to get it."

The village's 15-member Crisis Intervention Team went into effect in February of last year. The 40-hour, state-certified training program goes into greater detail on detecting signs and symptoms.

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"The program is designed to build awareness and empathy," he said.

"Any time there is a call or dispatch that appears or is known to be mental health-related, a crisis intervention team officer is dispatched," Siewert said. "They will assess the situation, de-escalate if necessary and then they will speak to both the person believed to have the crisis as well as any family members, friends or co-workers who are there."

The goal, he said, is to get a history and get people the resources they need, whether that is a referral to a counselor, an intervention during which a crisis counselor comes out to the scene, a voluntary or involuntary committal, or an arrest.

In addition, he said, by getting people the help they need, the department hopes this kind of approach will reduce the number of calls for service to the police department.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"If we spend a little bit more time on the front side, in the end it works out better for everybody," he said.

First Aid for Mental Health workshops are ongoing. The cost is $45 per person (groups of five or more pay $35 per person). Classes will be held July 14 and Sept. 15 at Grand Prairie Services' Tinley Park location at 17746 Oak Park Ave. To find additional locations and dates, go to www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org

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dvickroy@tribpub.com

Twitter @dvickroy

How common is mental illness?

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, some 6 million people suffer from panic disorder, while 19 million have some kind of phobia. In addition, 2.2 million people have obsessive-compulsive disorder and 7.7 million suffer some kind of post-traumatic stress, it states. Major Depressive Disorder, which affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3, the association says.

For more information, go to www.adaa.org
Brian Maty, 17, of Palos Heights (back right) with students from Avarua Primary School in the Cook Islands. Maty was among Shepard students who passed out school supplies at Avarua. (Jeff Vazzana)

About 20 Shepard High School students recently brought bags of school supplies to the Cook Islands.

The trip last month was part of a visit to the Oceania area, which also included stops in Australia and New Zealand.

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"The purpose of the trip, first and foremost, is to learn about cultures other than the students' own," said Jeff Vazzana, one of Shepard High School's honors and Advanced Placement English teachers. "The experiences that the students have out in the world cannot be matched in the classroom. This trip provided students with the opportunity to see just how other people live outside of the United States."

The students spent much of their time at Avarua Primary School in Rarotonga, a 6-mile-wide island and the most populous island of the Cook Islands, with a population of 10,572. Rarotonga students prepared songs, dances and food for the students from the school in Palos Heights.

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Aside from passing out school supplies, like pens and markers from Shepard students, the teens also snorkeled and prepared a meal with local islanders and the Rarotonga students.

The Shepard students paid their own way for the trip  about $4,000 each.

"I went on the trip because it was an opportunity of a lifetime," said Brian Maty, 17, of Palos Heights. "It was a cool experience seeing a school that was totally different than what we have here in the United States. The optimistic attitudes and smiles were really inspirational and heartwarming. It was also interesting to learn about different cultures from various places throughout the world."

Dakota Marrello, 18, of Worth, agreed.

"I knew going on this trip would be a great experience for me and help me to try to figure out what I want to do with my life," Marrello said.

Kelly White is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
A vacant former medical office at the southwest corner of Harlem Avenue and 171st Street in Tinley Park is slated for demolition. (Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown)

Tinley Park trustees have approved awarding contracts to raze three vacant properties, the owners of which have racked up tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines for building code and other violations.

The buildings include vacant medical offices at the southwest corner of 171st Street and Harlem Avenue across from the Post Office, and on the south side of 171st just west of Oak Park Avenue. A vacant home will also be demolished.

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At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, trustees approved a $65,170 bid from Bechstein Construction of Tinley Park to demolish the building at 171st and Harlem, which, according to the village, has been vacant since late 2008.

A bid of $58,465 from KLF Enterprises of Markham was approved for razing a vacant office building at 6825 W. 171st, which hasn't had a tenant since late 2012, according to the village.

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A home at 6573 W. 167th St., which is vacant and was damaged in an October 2014 fire, will be demolished by Green Demolition Contractors of Chicago for $23,000.

Owners of the three properties have been fined more than $100,000 combined for various violations, according to the village.

The village isn't planning to buy any of the land the buildings are on, but the hope is that, in the case of the commercially zoned properties, leveling the structures might make those sites more attractive to potential buyers and developers.

mnolan@tribpub.com
George works for the State of Illinois. He has a clerical job. Nothing fancy.

But it pays the bills.

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On Monday, July 4, George volunteers to work. Holiday be damned. George works his seven-and-a-half-hour shift and gets double his regular pay in cash. Not bad.

After work, George has friends over for a barbecue. George watches fireworks light up the night sky.

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Tuesday morning, George doesn't feel much like working. He decides to stay in bed. This is only the eighth time George has done this in the last month, so he receives a warning. Next time he'll get a warning, too. And the time after that.

For his 11th unauthorized absence, George will get a five-day suspension.

But for now, there is nothing to worry about. George stays in bed.

On Wednesday, George has trouble showing up to work on time. He arrives almost an hour late. Luckily, his contract with the state says there "should be no general policy of docking for late arrival." George gets paid for his tardiness.

George falls behind on his work. The world didn't stop moving when he wasn't at his desk, after all. To finish his tasks for the day, George works until 5:30 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m. George gets overtime pay for this hour, since it falls outside his regular schedule.

If George's work environment sounds absurd, congratulations, you've held a normal job at some point.

But blaming George won't solve anything. He didn't create those perks.

Rather, they are the byproduct of weak Illinois governors who have kowtowed to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees over the years.

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Beyond the perks, that weakness has made Illinois state workers the highest-paid state workers in the nation, after adjusting for the cost of living. That weakness has gifted AFSCME workers with platinum-level health care coverage at bronze-level prices, and free health insurance for life after retirement.

Even recipients of those perks should recognize they're unsustainable.

And yet, AFSCME is demanding pay hikes, better health care coverage and pension benefits over a new, four-year contract, which would cost state taxpayers $3 billion more than what the state is offering.

One man is standing in the way.

For the last year, Gov. Bruce Rauner hasn't flinched in his negotiations with AFSCME. Talks are currently deadlocked until the Illinois Labor Relations Board rules on whether an impasse exists between Rauner and the union.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan tried to grant AFSCME's wishes by taking Rauner out of negotiations through a union-arbitration bill, but failed.

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State lawmakers justify keeping in lockstep with AFSCME by saying they're fighting for the middle class. But middle-class Illinoisans who don't work for the government are struggling to stay afloat amid flatlining incomes and a stagnant economy.

And raising Illinois' income tax to pay for the growing cost of state government, as Madigan and others have proposed, fires a direct hit at middle-class budgets. Under the now-expired contract, Illinoisans paid $15,000 a year per AFSCME worker in health care costs alone.

Nowhere was the dichotomy between Madigan's "middle class" and Illinois' middle class at large more evident than at a May 18 AFSCME rally in Springfield. It was there that a man with statewide approval ratings in the low teens was met with thunderous applause as he pumped his fist skyward.

Perhaps George was in the crowd that day, cheering for Madigan.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

George has worked for the state for 10 years. He's a fairly healthy guy, only using six of his 12 paid sick days each year. But come Thursday, George isn't feeling quite right.

Thankfully, George is allowed to stash away every paid sick day he doesn't use. He has 60 stored up, and uses one to recover. Now he has 59. Until next month, that is. Then he'll be back up to 60.

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On Friday, George takes a paid personal day. Only two more left for the year.

On his day off, George mulls over his options for a lengthier leave of absence. His contract includes more than 15 different types of work leave. Most of those options would continue to push him up the ladder of seniority while he's gone.

That sounded like a pretty good deal to George.

He takes the weekend to think on it.

Austin Berg is a writer for the Illinois Policy Institute. He wrote this column for the Illinois News Network, a project of the Institute. Austin can be reached at aberg@illinoispolicy.org.
A key federal funding source for Montana public lands and parks has stalled in the U.S. Senate, possibly for the next six months.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses federal revenues from offshore oil and gas drilling to pay for conservation easements, public parks and land purchases, is sputtering. This after the beleaguered program in the spring appeared to be steaming ahead. The fund is part of an appropriations bill for the Department of Interior.

In Montana, LWCF is responsible for at least 160 public fishing sites, wildlife conservation areas and municipal pools. In the Senate, LWCF faces a $50 million cut, and an attempt to make the program permanent has stalled.

LWCF is critical to folks who love to hunt, hike and fish. This successful outdoor recreation initiative is already underfunded, and now folks in Washington are looking to make more cuts on the backs of Montana sportsmen and women, said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. A $50 million cut to LWCF will lock folks out from accessing their next adventure.

Both Tester and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., support funding LWCF at $450 million, the original amount set for 2017. The conservation funding program been on the books for 40 years, but Congresss commitment to funding has been less than certain.

In 1978, Congress set the LWCF funding level at $900 million, though the program has received that amount just twice and usually gets about half that much. The money keeps being spent on other things. Tester supports fully funding LWCF.

A separate proposal to permanently authorize LWCF funding has also stalled. That proposal was piggybacked onto the Energy Policy and Modernization Act, which has been stranded by Democrat objections to House Republican demands for federal energy policy.

Its possible LWCF will remain unfunded until the end of year, said Testers staff. The Senate is in session eight days this month, after which it has eight weeks off. The Congressional year ends in September. October campaigning for the November election will make it likely nothing approved by mid-July will be funded until after Thanksgiving.

Adding to LWCFs challenges, is an emerging battle over coal royalties that could play out with the Department of Interiors appropriations bill. The Interior Department last week introduced new rules for setting royalties, which coal companies argue will make mining unprofitable.

Daines and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., have bills to stop royalties from increasing. Zinkes proposal would block the funding Interior needs to roll out the new royalty rules. Both Daines and Zinke have bills to reinstate a Royalty Policy Committee of business and local government interests that would advise Interior on setting royalties.
Three Dundee churches will be featured during a walking tour set for 11 a.m. Sunday.

The historical walk will step off at The Depot, 319 N. River St., East Dundee, and continue to West Dundee's St. James and First United Methodist churches, before ending at Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Dundee. The excursion will last from 60 to 90 minutes and happen rain or shine. Participants are asked to wear comfortable shoes, as this walk is longer than those offered in the past.

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Local author and historian Phillip Aleo will lead Sunday's tour, and along the route he'll paint a picture of what life was like back in the 1800s in an area that drew visionary entrepreneurs, pioneers and religious leaders.

"We want our group to have a pleasant experience while we're walking and talking our way around town," he said. "Our walks are done at a leisurely pace, and we always try to make them interesting and relevant."

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All three churches date back to the 1800s and have intertwining histories.

According to documents, the Methodists were worshiping in East Dundee as far back as 1835. They built a small frame church on Van Buren Street in 1859 on the same block where Immanuel Lutheran School stands today. After worshiping in another site on Main Street, they eventually moved to their current location in West Dundee in 1922. Immanuel Lutheran was built in 1862. Over the years, it undertook several building campaigns culminating in the present church on Van Buren and Main streets.

Meanwhile, the Baptists had established their church in West Dundee in 1850 on the grounds where St. James Episcopal stands. They sold their building to the Episcopal congregation in 1864 when they built and moved to the church that now houses First United Methodist in West Dundee.

This is the second of three historical walks being offered this year in a series that has already explored the history of Dundee's pubs. The third walking tour, set for Aug. 7, will explore Rosie O'Hare's Public House, East Dundee's Village Hall and Old Police Department, and the first Haeger mansion on Hill Street.

There is no participation fee. A suggested donation of $5 to the Dundee Foundation is welcome.
A 3-year-old Elgin girl who was rescued from a car submerged in a DeKalb County creek was hospitalized following the incident, authorities said.

Alaya Ochoa was riding in the backseat of a 2013 Hyundai sedan driven by her mother, Quaesha Johnson, 24, of Elgin, northbound on First Street, south of Illinois Route 64, according to a DeKalb County sheriff's news release. The car left the road about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, deputies said.

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The Hyundai landed in the creek on its rooftop, submerged in about 3 to 4 feet of water. Johnson was able to get out of the car and had injuries that were not life-threatening, but her daughter was trapped underwater in her car seat, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies and firefighters were able to lift the car out of the water far enough to remove the child from the rear seat, the news release said. Mother and daughter were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb, the release said.

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Alaya was later transported to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, authorities said. No further details about her condition were available late Wednesday.

DeKalb County sheriff's deputies are investigating the accident.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Elgin City Manager Sean Stegall at Baker Hill Pancake House, a restaurant he frequents on the city's east side. Stegall will be leaving Elgin at the end of the month to take a job in Cary, North Carolina. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

Looking back at his 16-plus years working for Elgin, City Manager Sean Stegall recalled the toughest decision he had to make happened in 2012, in the aftermath of the recession.

"By far the most difficult part was what positions could be eliminated  and we cut 10 percent overall," said Stegall, who is preparing to leave his post in Elgin to take a job as town manager in Cary, North Carolina.

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Cuts along with open, unfilled spots at the time meant 22 full-time and seven part-time positions were eliminated in 2012.

Stegall said he takes pride in the work the city council, staff and residents put into that budget, which kept the city on solid footing.

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"We were lean before that, and remain having one of the lowest staff-to-resident ratios for a city Elgin's size. Yet we are able to provide a level of service with excellent service and results," he said. "The biggest challenge for cities is adapting to greater demands for those services with fewer resources."

Elgin, Stegall said, has a focus on long-term financial planning and maintaining a level of reserves that the city with a AAA bond rating is in better shape than many cities.

A big challenge for Elgin and any town, Stegall noted, is the rise of social media and the downsizing of traditional media.

"For all the wonderful benefits of social media, the troubling part is the distorted views that frequently come from those on it who are loud, concentrated and constant in making their opinions known," Stegall said.

Because so many pay attention to social media, the city has had to devote staff time on occasion "to make the noise stop," Stegall said, time that otherwise would be devoted to larger goals of the city.

Traditional media at one time had two newspapers that often offered editorial opinion on the doings of Elgin, Stegall recalled. That's missing now, Stegall said, as such looks at the city came from those trained in journalism who offered an informed, respectful, fact-based opinion that served as a check on the system.

Stegall arrived in Elgin from a job as an assistant manager and acting manager in Batavia, New York, in 2000 to become assistant manager in his home state. Over the years Stegall worked under Elgin managers Joyce Parker, Femi Folarin, Dave Dorgan, then Folarin again before being appointed manager by the City Council in 2009.

Stegall leaves Elgin at the end of the month to take the town manager's role in Cary, a town of more than 150,000 residents in the tech belt surrounding Raleigh.

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A time for growth

Stegall noted that during his time in Elgin, the city has seen a great amount of growth and development, substantial infrastructure projects, the building of the Riverside Drive Promenade and Festival Park, and extensive street projects including this year's list of 12 projects being paid for through the issuance of $25 million in general obligation bonds.

One of the more controversial projects during his time as assistant was building the multipurpose $35.4 million The Centre of Elgin downtown, using bonds repaid over time with casino tax money. Stegall said he thought The Centre  given health and recreation among its main focal points  actually should have been built bigger.

Elgin City Manager Sean Stegall is leaving Illinois at the end of the month to take a job as town manager in Cary, North Carolina. (Mike Danahey / The Courier-News)

What's allowed Elgin to do what it has, Stegall said, is money it receives in taxes from the Grand Victoria Casino, and the City Council's decision over the years to use that money mostly for capital projects with some going to fund nonprofits.

Over the decades, Elgin has also seen a high level of political stability by comparison to other municipalities, Stegall said.

"That's an exception, not the norm," Stegall said. "And it shows a long-term commitment to governance here."

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What aids the stability, Stegall said, is that the city does not have a ward system, but a city manager style of government with council members elected at large.

"Wards create fiefdoms," Stegall said.

During his time in Elgin, the crime rate has been dramatically reduced, with numbers for most crimes as low as they have been in several decades.

"While the economy plays a role, that's also been affected by the council deciding to commit resources to addressing crime and policing issues," Stegall said. "We've also been fortunate to have a talented police force, and a council that gives them the tools they need to do their jobs."

Sound advice

Stegall said he has learned from all the council members for whom he's worked.

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As examples, he mentioned that former mayor Ed Schock and the late Robert Gilliam taught him that a key for getting things done is getting people with divergent points of view to find common ground. From Mayor Dave Kaptain he's learned the role of perspective, Stegall said.

On a personal level, from council member John Prigge, he's received advice on how to raise a daughter. He said he admires council member Rose Martinez for her work ethic, and Terry Gavin and Toby Shaw for putting what's best for Elgin first.

Elgin has been on the cutting edge of technology, Stegall said, particularly with the implementation of a multifaceted 311 system used in part to assist residents to get their concerns addressed.

Of other challenges ahead for the town he's leaving, what state legislators ultimately decide to do about money that has been earmarked for municipalities from the distributive fund looms large  and Stegall thinks cuts eventually will be made in what cities receive.

Stegall noted the current redevelopment of the Tower Building downtown and the overall redevelopment of the downtown as continuing challenges.

"Further residential development can only help the downtown," Stegall said. "It's always slow steps there, but Elgin is not unique with that."

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One thing that might make Elgin unique, according to Stegall, is while many places have a pronounced connection to their respective histories, "it takes time to be considered an Elginite."

Stegall will still have ties to Elgin, keeping a home he has on the east side, for now at least.

Once South, he'll also be looking to find another breakfast haunt to replace Baker Hill Pancake House, which he frequently visits for vegetable-and-cheese omelets.

"I'm an early riser, and I like its proximity to City Hall. They have good food, and it's very affordable," Stegall said.

He also sometimes hears from residents there eating who recognize him and who mention their concerns.

Taking criticism

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Of criticisms he's taken to heart while city manager, Stegall said the one that stuck most was to learn to keep it short.

"I have a tendency to use 100 words when 10 will suffice. There's a value in brevity," Stegall said.

The funniest critique  after he became manager, then-resident Tony Aiello had taken to making online video about the Elgin City Council in which Stegall was represented by the cartoon version of Robin, the Boy Wonder.

Stegall said he will miss the people he's gotten to know and the talented staff with which he works.

"The council appointing (Assistant City Manager) Rick (Kozal) manager shows a continuity to building on the successful work that staff and the council has done," he said.

As for one of his last tasks, Stegall is putting the finishing touches on a long-in-the-works resident survey. A focus of its 30-or-so questions will deal with perception issues, Stegall said.

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mdanahey@tribpub.com
A National Book Award winner for his novel "Going After Cacciato," Tim O'Brien was also a Pulitzer Prize-nominee for his best selling "The Things They Carried"  both books, like much of his published work, inspired by the time he spent in combat in Vietnam.

Yet O'Brien's attitude toward his war experiences was conflicted enough that he was somewhat surprised to be invited to speak July 19 at Dominican University as part of the Hemingway Society's International Hemingway Conference.

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Nonetheless, as an almost lifelong admirer of Hemingway, O'Brien was also pleased to write "Timmy and Tad and Papa and I." O'Brien's personal appreciation of the great author will include reflections on his two young sons, his father and his own increasing awareness of his mortality.

Q: Were you surprised, at all, by the invitation to speak as part of the Hemingway conference?

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A: Yeah, I was surprised, and flattered, both.

Q: Why do you think they of you in connection with Hemingway's work?

A: Hemingway wrote about some of the things I've written about. I've written about war and he did also, of course, in 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'For Whom the Bell Tolls.' And some of his short stories are about, if not war, coming home from war and living with the consequences of war.

Q: There also seems to be some similarity in your writing styles  very spare and direct. Did you feel influenced by him in that way?

A: I can see what you're saying, but not really. I think it has more to do with having a shared background  being Midwesterners and working for newspapers, for instance. But any writer who's any good is aware of Hemingway and has learned things from Hemingway. Such as avoiding excessive decoration and pinning on unnecessary adjectives and adverbs.

Q: Did you feel an affinity for his themes and preoccupations as a young writer or reader?

A: I'm actually going to say quite a lot about that in my talk  and the answer is no. At the very young age when I first encountered Hemingway  I was maybe 9 or 10  I didn't really understand it, because very little seemed to be going on. His stories were just beyond me and I remember thinking, 'How could anyone write such terrible stories?' Yet, something about them still intrigued me.

I didn't understand the stories, but I was still intrigued by certain images, like a cat out in the rain, and conversations that didn't seem to be going anywhere. But I was still intrigued. And my dad had given me that book of Hemingway stories, so I read them dutifully. Even though I had little to say to him when we talked about it, because I just didn't get it.

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Q: Understandable, at that age.

A: Yet something did reverberate on inside me. So, later on, in college, when I was assigned Hemingway' stories to read, I was able to grasp a lot more. And I was completely absorbed, as most of his readers are. But still, my first thought as a kid was, 'My God, this guy doesn't know what a story is.' (Laughs.)

Q: When people think of Hemingway, they often think of machismo  and that's something you dispense with right away in books such as "The Things They Carried."

A: We had very different views on war. Radically different. He doesn't seem concerned much about whether wars are right or wrong. A little bit in "For Whom the Bell Tolls." By and large, though, his characters are not focused on whether a war ought to be fought or whether they ought to be in the war. That's partly a function of personality, who the guy was, but it was also a function of era. In the era in which I went to war and wrote about war, there was no longer the sense that America was right about everything. That if we were in a war it was automatically right.

There was great disputation over the rectitude of the war in Vietnam. And even now, people dispute whether or not we should be in Syria at all, or Iraq or Afghanistan. That wasn't true back in his age. So he was a product, partly, of his era. Going off to fight a war was what a man did and that was all there was to it. That's changed a lot, partly because of Vietnam.

It's a question of emphasis. Mine was more on whether we should have been in the war at all. It was a personal matter. I was opposed to the war in Vietnam, yet I went to it anyway. And I carry with me, all these years afterward, a sense of guilt and shame for having done that. How could I have let myself be dragged into that terrible war? His emphasis was in a different place.

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Q: I don't know what Hemingway's attitude was toward going to war, but I have read that Norman Mailer looked forward to fighting in World War II because it would give him something to write about. That's apparently not an attitude you shared.

A: (Laughs.) There are other things you can do. You can go climb a mountain, for example. Because wars kill people. Other people than the ones who are fighting. Women and children.

It could be that Hemingway wasn't much concerned about that. But it may be that he was concerned, but it was under the surface. Maybe he just didn't write about it. Maybe it's like his story "Soldier's Home," about a soldier who's come home from war and just doesn't talk about it. Like many veterans, even today.

Q: Perhaps there's an irony there, then, because being in the war did give you something very powerful to write about.

A: Yeah, it's a terrible irony, but it's true. Things happen that you might not want to happen, but they do give you something to write about. The tragedies of the world are pretty much what writers do write about. It doesn't mean we want the bad childhood or the wife who divorced us, or all the bad things that befall us. But that's what drama is made out of  the struggles we have in our lives.

Q: When you were drafted to fight in Vietnam, did you already intend to be a writer?

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A: I had the desire, but not the intention. It seemed like something someone from New York would do, or something like that. For a little kid, growing up in a little bitty town in the prairies of southern Minnesota, it seemed an impossible dream. So I didn't really consider it.

And then Vietnam came along and intersected, or collided, with this old desire. Still, when I came home from the war, it wasn't a matter of wanting to be a writer. I just had to write. I had to. It was either that or suicide.

I was that badly shaken by my experiences there. It was really an effort to keep myself alive. You're so full or hurt and you're young and you don't know what to do with the hurt and all the bad dreams and all the sleepless nights. In my case, I started getting out of bed at one or two in the morning and I would write for a couple of hours, just for myself, really. A page or two about what happened this day. A page or two about what happened that day. A page or two about that guy and a page or two about that event. And after doing that I was able to sleep. I was able to lighten the load a little bit at a time.

So, it was a life-saving enterprise, early on. Then, as I began doing more of it, I'd start to think, 'That sentence is awful; I'd better change that.' I began noticing the things a writer begins to notice. And, after two or three years, I slowly began to learn about how to write a graceful sentence and a graceful paragraph and a well-paced story. Those are all things you learn over time. You don't really learn them in a classroom. You learn them by failing and recognizing your failure. And then saying, 'Well, let's try this.' (Resulting in the well-received "If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home," O'Brien's 1973 Vietnam autobiography, ed.)

Q: Why did you decide to include your two sons in the title of your speech? And that almost familial use of Hemingway's nickname?

A: Well, Papa is a reference to Hemingway, but it's also a reference to my own father. It's a pretty personal talk at times. It's about Hemingway on one level  actually, it's about Hemingway on many levels but it's not a scholarly, academic lecture. Which many people who are going to be there might be expecting, because they are Hemingway scholars.

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It's about how a writer responds to Ernest Hemingway. Both as a human being and as a writer. Including things a writer notices that a scholar might not or an ordinary reader might not. Sometimes it might be a single word.

For example, the word 'confidence' appears five times within two inches of printed text in Hemingway's 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.' A writer is going to notice that and wonder, 'Why the repetition?' And why did he use that word instead of a word another writer might use, such as 'faith?' That rings a bell for me as a writer. It also rings a bell for me out of my life, when I think of my two little boys and my dad.

So some of my talk is going to be about what I, Tim O'Brien, a writer, brought to Hemingway and what Hemingway delivered to me.

Q: Is it that reiteration of the word 'confidence' that gets you thinking about your life and your father's life and your sons' lives?

A: Yes. It does. For one thing, it's about how confidence can be undermined. Just by getting old. You can be young and 30 years old on a beach at Iwo Jima and a picture is taken of you and you're literally the picture of confidence. But confidence goes with youth.

You know you're going to die, intellectually, but it doesn't eat at you. Then, the older you get, you begin to lose confidence in your sense of immortality. You begin to realize you're not immortal.

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Someday, my children are going to be without a father. Just as I'm without a father, all these years later. In the same way, that sense of confidence we all carry through our lives that our dreams will come true, that we'll marry the woman we love and live happily ever after, all of that, gradually begins to be eroded. By age and by our growing awareness of how dreams get shattered and true love doesn't always work out.

Q: How old are your children?

A: My younger son is 11. The older one is 13. And I turn 70 in another couple of months, So you can see how when I say, 'Some day these kids are going to be without their father,' it's something that's in my face.

It's that kind of late-night thought we all have sometimes. And 'A Clean, Well-Lighted Place' takes place late at night. There's an old man drinking and there's an older waiter talking to a younger waiter, telling him he wants to keep the place open for the old man. That's where Hemingway reiterates the word 'confidence.' The older waiter says, 'You're young; you've got confidence. I don't have it any more.' And he's talking about the approaching grave, the imminent end of life. And what happens after that?

Q: And, after all those years, you found Hemingway was making you think about fatherhood?

A: Absolutely. It affected my sense of how I should act as a father. What do you do? Spend 12 hours a day sitting at the word processor, as I used to do? Or 15 hour days? Or 20 in some cases? Having lost confidence in that sense of immortality, I decided not to do that. I stopped writing 12 years ago. I gave it up. My whole career. I said, 'If I'm going to be a father  a good father  I need to give them the one real gift a father can give. Which is your presence.

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The only exception, really, was when I agreed to give this talk. This is the first time in God knows how long that I've actually sat down for a long time and slaved away and tried to make a good piece of writing  which is this essay I'll be reading when I get there, about Hemingway and my boys and my dad and myself.

And I have to say, I'm really excited about it. My trouble now is I have to cut it. (Laughs.) My God, it's about 7,000 words long. One of these days I'm going to have to stop writing and start editing.

An Evening with Tim O'Brien

What: As a featured speaker during the XVII Biennial International Ernest Hemingway Conference, O'Brien will explore questions raised by the conference's theme, "At Home in Hemingway's World."

When: 7:30 p.m. July 19

Where: Dominican University's Lund Auditorium, 7900 W. Division St., River Forest

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Tickets: $15, $30 includes a signed copy of O'Brien's "In the Lake of the Woods."

Contact: http://events.dom.edu/obrien
Cathy McGovern started working as a teacher in Elmwood Park's school district in 1979. She said her favorite subject was science, including years of experiments and activities that offered lessons to generations of students.

One of her favorite highlights was a project in which students had to keep raw eggs from cracking by building a container with variables to keep the egg intact when dropped.

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"Those were the fun activities that I will always remember," McGovern said.

McGovern was the longest-serving of the school district's retirees at the end of the 2015-2016 school year. Another who had spent more than two decades in the district was Mary Anne Kirsch, who had been with the district since 1992. Kirsch began teaching at Elmwood Elementary School, and throughout the years she taught and was the gifted coordinator. When she retired, she was teaching fifth grade.

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"I just like kids," Kirsch said. "I think they're really cool, funny, creative and interesting. They come up with interesting ways of doing things."

McGovern grew up in Chicago until she moved with her parents to Oak Park. She attended Luther North High School and then went to Triton College for her early childhood certificate. She received a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University.

"Throughout the summer months, I worked at day camps," she said about why she decided to go into education. "It was always something that I liked to do."

After two years at Elmwood Elementary School, McGovern began teaching at John Mills Elementary School. She retired teaching fifth grade.

McGovern said that when she started in 1979, there was less pressure to meet state standards than there is today. She said she has learned so much in the past 37 years.

(Mary Anne Kirsch / HANDOUT)

Kirsch grew up in Chicago. She started going to Triton College, but she stopped when she got married. After she had children, she returned to school and finished her education at Elmhurst College.

"I think that it was just one of those natural things," Kirsch said. "It was something I always wanted to do  it was to be a teacher."

She said that a happy memory was the first day of having her own classroom. Kirsch said that it was a humbling experience to know that she had the responsibility to help and teach so many kids.

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"Of all the children I've taught, even the ones I was concerned about, they all end up doing just fine," she said. "They always end up finding their way."

Kirsch said she had a special parking spot for her last year, and there were many people who wished her a happy retirement.

"I was so humbled and overwhelmed," Kirsch said. "The whole year was a giant love letter, and it was awesome."

McGovern said she's giving herself a full year to decide what she wants to do in the future. She plans on traveling to Martha's Vineyard, Punta Cana and California.

Kirsch also plans on doing some traveling. She's plans to visit London, the Danube River and Florida. After that, she plans to work as a volunteer.

"I'm not ready to sit in a rocking chair," she said.

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Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A man sees a beautiful woman walking down the street, and his mind automatically thinks about what it would be like to sleep with her. On the contrary, a woman sees that same beautiful woman, and she wonders what color her lipstick is and where she got her cute handbag.

While not the case with all men and women, this example illustrates the male gender's spontaneous desire for sex, and the frequency of his sexual thoughts, according to Suzy Olds. Olds is the founder of her relationship wellness company, After Nine Tonight, which offers tasteful, implied sexual content videos to help monogamous couples reignite the spark in their relationships.

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I sat down with Olds to talk about the fundamental differences men and women have when it comes to the need and desire for physical intimacy, and what couples can do to get on the same page in the bedroom.

"Testosterone drives the physical need for sex for men. They don't need to plan ahead," said Olds, a wife and mom of two, who spent several years researching the subject before launching the company with her husband, Doug. "Women on the other hand have more of a responsive sexual desire, which means she's not thinking about it, but once there is a trigger  once a man starts touching or kissing her, she becomes aroused."

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Olds said when a man wants sex and his spouse declines, it is usually because the emotional connection is missing; something a woman needs to spark her desire. Also, lack of sex in a marriage can lead to a disconnect, two partners functioning like independent entities rather than a team, a breakdown of the marriage due to resentment, and the potential for cheating.

So, how does a couple achieve a healthy, loving emotional connection?

"Have a conversation about intimacy," Olds said. "This is often difficult for couples because sometimes talking about sex is more intimate than the sex itself."

Olds said it's not easy to be vulnerable and that you might hear things you don't want to hear.

"For example, one of you might think you are having great sex, but the partner feels otherwise. This needs to be talked about openly," she said.

Also, getting in the mood takes a lot longer for women. Olds said a woman needs time to shut down all the multiple tasks going through her mind, and that men sometimes don't understand that because they can shift to having sexual thoughts so much more rapidly.

Olds suggests that if a man wants to have sex, he should take on some of the tasks involving kids and tell his spouse to go unwind, take a bath and maybe have a glass of wine so her mind is more at ease and open to the idea of sex.

When readers email me asking advice for lack of sex, here is what I tell each gender:

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Men: No woman wants to have sex with a man who is mean to her, who disrespects her, who treats her badly, or who ignores her needs. On the flip side, a woman wants to have sex with a spouse who makes her feel appreciated and loved, who respects her, who is kind, who is attentive to her needs and who is helpful with chores and with the kids.

Women: If you have no interest in sex with your spouse, your issues run much deeper than "I'm tired" or "I'm not attracted to him anymore." Explore why you feel this way. Feeling good about yourself is key to feeling desire for physical intimacy, so take steps to get there if you are lacking self-confidence and self-love. Additionally, if you love your spouse, you owe it to him to give him what he needs. That said, sex should not be a chore. It should be something you do to make your spouse happy, and also to sustain a strong connection in your relationship.

Here is the good news. Oxytocin is a bonding hormone that gets released during physical touch, causing couples to feel connected. In other words, once you have good sex, your body wants more of that feeling. This is especially true for women, and will keep them thinking about sex. So next time you see a beautiful woman walking down the street, men, take steps to put your wife in the mood. And ladies, believe that you are that woman!

Jackie Pilossoph is a freelance columnist for Chicago Tribune Media Group. She is also the creator of her divorce support website, Divorced Girl Smiling. Pilossoph lives in Chicago with her two children.
Twin sisters Karen and Elizabeth Skylakos, recent West Leyden High School graduates, both aspire to become teachers. They recently took a step toward that path when they were honored as Golden Apple scholars.

At West Leyden, the girls were involved in several activities, including Best Buddies International, Key Club, orchestra and volleyball. When they were about to graduate, they knew they wanted to apply for Golden Apple recognition.

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"We have a friend who's in Golden Apple, and she told us about it," Karen Skylakos said. "We nominated ourselves."

According to goldenapple.org, Golden Apple "is a nonprofit organization that works to inspire, develop and support teacher excellence in Illinois, especially in schools of need."

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As part of the application process, the twins had to write four essays. They then had to go in for an interview. They were among those inducted into the 2016 Golden Apple scholars class in May at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

According to goldenapple.org, 1,990 Illinois students were nominated for the award, and 200 were chosen.

The twins will receive a scholarship each year for the four years of their undergraduate degrees. This summer, they are attending a four-week Golden Apple Summer Institute at DePaul University. They will be taking classes, as well as receiving hands-on experience in classrooms. Each summer while pursuing their undergraduate degrees, they will take additional classes.

"We just started our on-site [program] where we go to Chicago schools, and we work with a lot of children in schools of need," Elizabeth Skylakos said.

"For the first five years after we graduate college, we have to teach at a school of need in Illinois," Karen Skylakos said.

Elizabeth Skylakos was involved in the Best Buddies International program at West Leyden, and she's inspired to become a special education teacher. She plans on working with children who are blind or have low vision.

Karen Skylakos plans on teaching elementary education. She said that her third-grade teacher, John Sopron, was her biggest inspiration.

"He inspired me because he would go out of his way to make students feel confident and comfortable," Karen Skylakos said. "He was also great at teaching and making his class fun. Personally, he helped me to come out of my shell, and he always looked out for me which I will always remember."

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Both Karen and Elizabeth Skylakos plan on attending Illinois State University in the fall and majoring in education.

Maryann Pisano is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A controversial bill that would likely keep genetically modified ingredients from being listed on food packaging has divided Montanas U.S. senators.

Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, the Senates only farmer, blasted his peers Wednesday for crafting a federal bill that makes it difficult for consumers to know what theyre eating. He also called the bill a threat to independent farms.

Plants with DNA altered by genes from other plants or animals are gentically modified organisms, or GMOs. The biotechnology is most commonly used to create resistance to herbicides or disease.

Testers positon was opposite that of Montana farmers and researchers who see merit in GMO sugar beets and corn modified to survive exposure to weed killers like the Monsanto herbicide Roundup and 2, 4-D Amine. Those farmers rallied around Republican Sen. Steve Daines.

The bill, makes it optional for food wrappers to list genetically modified ingredients, but does require that a toll-free telephone number, or scan code be published so shoppers can track down the ingredients with their smartphones.

Tester said it was absurd to think that a shopper with children in tow would have time to scan food wrappers with a smartphone in order to be redirected to a website where GMO ingredients could be found. And, if the grocery store had poor cellphone reception, no information would be obtained, he said.

Hiding basic information behind bar codes and 800 numbers is totally unacceptable. The United States Senate should not be in the business of hiding information from consumers, Tester said. When I grew up, I was told that consumers were always right. We should be empowering those consumers, those American consumers, with more information about the food they purchase, not with less. Dont take it from me, 9 out of 10 consumers say they want labeling required for GMO food. Whats the problem with that? Its already done in 64 countries.

The problem, say the bills supporters, is that theres no proof that genetically modified crops are any different than those that arent modified. Sugar from beets modified to withstand sprayings of Roundup herbicide contain nothing that would identify the beets GMO traits. Soybean oil and corn syrup also have been proven safe to eat. Without a legitimate GMO health concern to warn consumers about, proponents say identifying the ingredients unfairly scares shoppers away from GMOs.

There are at least five different genetically modified crops raised on Montana farms; sugar beets, corn, canola, alfalfa and soybeans. The sugar beet industry contributes about $70 million a year to the Montana economy with 45,000 farm acres and sugar factories in Billings and Sidney.

States like Vermont, Washington and California have considered their own GMO labeling laws in the absence of federal policy. Vermont has a labeling law that starts in 2017. A major reason for the federal law now being debated is that it would prevent individual states from acting independently.

The Senate labeling bill is considered a compromise between consumer group worried about GMOs and agribusiness friendly lawmakers who opposed all GMO labeling

Theres no reason that Vermont and Bernie Sanders should dictate our way of life in Montana, Daines said. In fact this compromise that I voted for today will protect Montana jobs, prevent baseless discrimination against Montana agricultural goods and its going to avoid higher prices in the grocery line.

Wednesdays vote limited discussion of the bill to 30 hours, setting up a vote as early as late Thursday.

The American Sugar Beet Growers Association told The Gazette last week that their group and others dependent on biotechnology demanded compromise bill. The alternative was dealing with a patchwork of individual state labeling laws, which would have been costly.

Montana organic producers told The Gazette they were ambivalent about the compromise proposals effect on their businesses, mostly because certified organic labeling is an established marketing tool. They werent certain consumers would be helped by the Senates plan.

Tester said there was plenty for organic farmers to be concerned about, including bill language that would allow GMO corn and GMO soybeans to be considered organic if they were grown under the right conditions.

The easy answer Tester said, was to list GMO ingredients on food wrappers and let consumers decide whether the food was worth buying.

Im not asking for a skull and crossbones on the package. This isnt about safety, or health of these products. Its about transparency, its about the publics right to know, its about putting families before corporations, its about valuing consumers right to know over lobbyists and their slick suits and their influence here. Theyre denying consumers an easy-to-read national GM standard. Why? Theyre denying people the information they need to know to make the best decision for their family. It makes no sense to me.
A community activist who has filed multiple complaints against the city of Waukegan for its policies on public comments during City Council meetings is suing the city and Mayor Wayne Motley for alleged violations of his First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit was filed June 21 in federal court by Waukegan resident Ralph Peterson, whose attorney said in a letter to the City Council that he would drop the lawsuit in return for the "reasonable demand" of $125,000.

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The proposed settlement is less than what Peterson could earn if his claims are proved in court, Peterson's attorney, Kevin O'Connor, said in an email. He would then be entitled to compensatory costs plus the reimbursement of his attorney costs.

Waukegan settled a separate First Amendment suit in 2012 for less money than what Peterson is requesting, city attorney Steve Martin said. City officials said they were unable to find a copy of that settlement, and City Council minutes do not record any vote on the settlement or its value.

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One of the issues raised in that suit centered on a January 2004 incident when then-Mayor Richard Hyde told a man he had to apologize to a city employee before the man would be allowed to speak during the public-comment period of the meeting.

The new lawsuit stems from a series of incidents involving Peterson at recent council meetings, according to a copy of the complaint provided by Peterson.

They include an August meeting when he was told not to take photos during the meeting; a December incident when he was escorted out of the meeting after bringing up a former Waukegan police chief in the context of the now-disgraced former Fox Lake Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz; and a March meeting when he was told he couldn't speak during the public-comment portion because someone else had put his name on a list of those wishing to speak.

The most recent incident led to the mayor using a vulgarity and Peterson responding in kind.

Peterson had requested the Illinois attorney general's office review each of the three incidents pointed to in the lawsuit for a nonbinding opinion on whether they violated the state's Open Meetings Act, which lays out how public bodies must conduct official business.

The attorney general's office found the city had violated the law in those situations, according to letters issued by the office. The findings do not carry any penalties.

Peterson said he decided to file the lawsuit because of "a good old boys mentality" among the city's leadership, pointing to what he called a "blatant lie" in Martin's response to the Illinois attorney general's office.

Martin had written that Peterson had used the vulgarity first at the March 21 meeting, according to the attorney general's findings.

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"Waukegan is a good city, but there's been a dark cloud hanging over Waukegan," Peterson said.

City spokesman David Motley declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying the city does not comment on pending litigation.

Mayor Wayne Motley has said previously that he had enforced the rules about signing up for comment and that, while unwritten, the rules had been in place long before he was mayor and date back to before his 12 years as city clerk and his time with the Police Department.

It's an issue of decorum, Motley has said, pointing to Peterson and some other frequent commenters who he said disrupt the meetings.

Peterson was recently removed by police from a Lake County courtroom after being repeatedly told to stop talking while court was in session, according to Detective Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Peterson was later charged with misdemeanor counts of obstructing a police officer and resisting arrest, officials said.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

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Twitter @mekcoleman
A man convicted of heroin possession in Aurora has new legal trouble following a Fourth of July weekend disturbance in downtown Naperville, in which he injured a police officer's knee and chipped another officer's front tooth, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.

Anthony C. Eick, 26, lives in the 3S200 block of Williams Road in unincorporated DuPage County near Warrenville. He faces trial on felony charges of aggravated battery of a peace officer and resisting or obstructing a police officer causing injury, court records show.

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Formal Naperville police reports concerning the incident remained incomplete Wednesday, Sgt. Steve Schindlbeck said.

However, an abbreviated report included in Eick's court file indicated unspecified trouble occurred at 11:27 p.m. Friday at or near Potter's Place, a bar and restaurant at 29 W. Jefferson Ave. in downtown Naperville.

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Two male police officers were sent to assess the situation, with Eick pushing one of them in the chest, the report said. That led to a scuffle, in which Eick kicked one officer in the knee, causing "cuts and abrasions," and shoved or punched the other officer, resulting in "a chipped front tooth," according to the court file.

Schindlbeck said neither officer required medical treatment.

Aurora police on Jan. 8, 2011 arrested Eick on narcotics-related charges. A court file showed he was in possession of just under a gram of heroin, a hypodermic needle and other drug-related paraphernalia.

A month later Eick pleaded guilty to a felony charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to six months of periodic imprisonment in DuPage County jail and placed on two years of probation, the file stated.

A petition to revoke the terms of Eick's probation was filed on July 11, 2011, and a warrant for his arrest was issued that day, according to records.

Eick remained in jail Wednesday on $75,000 bail, and is set to appear in court July 19 to answer charges in the Naperville case.

wbird@tribpub.com
The former owner of specialty movie theaters in Naperville and Woodridge has been convicted in a $6 million tax evasion and bank fraud scheme, according to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Ted E.C. Bulthaup III, onetime owner of the Hollywood Palms theater in Naperville and the Hollywood Boulevard theater in Woodridge, pleaded guilty Wednesday to DuPage County charges of sales tax evasion and financial institution fraud, said Eileen Boyce, spokeswoman for Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

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Bulthaup's plea agreement included the dismissal of the more than 100 charges that had been filed against him, including counts of forgery, mail fraud, wire fraud and dozens of violations of the Retail Tax Act.

He is to be sentenced Aug. 24. He could receive a prison term of four to 15 years for sales tax evasion and three to seven years for financial institution fraud, Boyce said.

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He also must make restitution of up to about $4.7 million on the bank fraud charge and as much as $1.3 million for tax evasion, she said.

Boyce said prosecutors would not comment further on the matter. "We'll have more to say at sentencing," she said.

Bulthaup, 59, who is free on bond, lives in the 6700 block of Patton Drive in Woodridge. He declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday "because of the nature of the way that plea was made" and because resolution of the case is "still up in the air."

His attorney, Michael J. Young, did not return phone calls.

Movie posters line the walls of Hollywood Palms Theater in Naperville. Onetime owner Ted E.C. Bulthaup III pleaded guilty Wednesday to DuPage County charges of sales tax evasion and financial institution fraud. He could face up to 22 years in prison. (Mike Mantucca / The Beacon-News)

A two-page grand jury indictment made part of Bulthaup's court file Wednesday said Bulthaup committed financial institution fraud between Aug. 1, 2011, and June 28, 2013.

During 2010, 2011 and 2012, Bulthaup "caused partnership income tax returns for Naperville Theater LLC, doing business as Hollywood Palms, to be created," the indictment said. His conduct was "fraudulent because it overstated the amount of gross receipts or sales  and the ordinary business income" on his tax returns during those years, it said.

Bulthaup also obtained business loans in 2012 and 2013 using the fraudulent tax returns, the indictment said.

An assistant attorney general in December 2014 told a judge Bulthaup also systemically failed to report taxes on more than $18 million in sales and merchandise generated at Hollywood Palms and Hollywood Boulevard between 2009 and 2013.

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"I never committed fraud," Bulthaup protested during that hearing.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Revenue in 2014 said Bulthaup was accused of failing to pay state sales taxes, including those in the price of each movie ticket sold.

Hollywood Boulevard was purchased during a February 2014 bankruptcy auction by Hobson Financial Group. Texas-based Star Cinema Grill now owns Hollywood Palms.

The theaters under Bulthaup sold food and alcoholic beverages during movie screenings. Film and television stars often made personal appearances at the theaters.

Perhaps the most notorious of those events involved adult film actress Jenna Jameson.

Bulthaup in 2011 filed a civil lawsuit against Jameson, claiming she reneged on a contract to appear at Hollywood Palms to promote a screening of her 2008 movie "Zombie Strippers!" Bulthaup eventually won a $92,000 judgment against her.

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wbird@tribpub.com
It didn't take Joylynn Pruitt long to get acclimated to her new job, but navigating her new school building provided some unexpected challenges.

Pruitt, who was announced as the interim superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School last month, started her new position on July 5.

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"I got lost a couple of times as I was leaving [my first day]," Pruitt said. "[The next day], I said I'm going to find my way to the bookstore. I almost got there, but had to stop at a science class to say I was officially lost. I was one turn short."

Thankfully, Pruitt will have plenty of time to familiarize herself with the campus and her new community, as she agreed to a 200-day contract to serve as interim superintendent for the 2016-17 school year.

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Born and raised in the St. Louis area, Pruitt said she always wanted to pursue a career in education.

"I've been a classroom teacher, a special education teacher in elementary, middle and high school, a principal, a director of instruction, assistant superintendent and most recently superintendent," Pruitt said. "This is the only thing I wanted to do. I don't recall ever wanting to do anything else in life."

Pruitt earned her bachelor's degree from Harris-Stowe State University and later her doctorate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in May 2015.

In 2007, she began serving as superintendent of the School District of University City in University City, Mo., a role she held until retiring just a few days ago.

"I was only retired for three hours," Pruitt said. "I was retiring, but I still loved work."

After submitting her name to search firm BWP and Associates, Pruitt was selected as a candidate and interviewed by the OPRF school board. Board members unanimously approved her contract on June 30.

Pruitt said she was drawn to OPRF from the start, and she looks forward to the challenges that lay ahead.

"I thought it was a great opportunity for me to interact with students and adults and try to make a difference for them," Pruitt said. "Some of the things that are taking place with the pool, racial equality and social justice is what I'm very passionate about. To know this was a district that really wanted to embrace racial equality, who wanted to close the achievement gap, the campus construction and [construct] the pool was exciting."

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Pruitt's first day was full of meetings with the district leadership team, school board members and OPRF staff as she works to get a feel for her new district.

"I'm trying to get a grasp on the burning issues and some of the things we want to do this year," Pruitt said. "I want to work within the strategic plan, but with measurable benchmarks and really try to get people refocused on that."

In addition to the challenges facing the Oak Park and River Forest community, Pruitt is also embracing the challenge of working within Illinois budget restrictions.

"There's some really good work taking place here," Pruitt said. "Students are really showing gains in spite of the state's financial situation. I started talking to colleagues and family members who live in Illinois to steer me in the right direction as it relates to those key laws I need to know right now. I'm ready for the challenge."

Though she has never strayed far from her St. Louis roots until now, Pruitt said it's possible she applies for the permanent superintendent job to remain in Oak Park. Either way, she said she is not yet ready to leave her career in education.

"Right now, I don't know," Pruitt said. "I know at the end of the day, I am not ready to go home."

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sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @steveschering
A man facing charges for the rape of two women and online harassment of four others has been out of jail and free to use the internet for more than two years as he awaits trial.

The investigation and ultimate case against Leslie Dean Ernst, 56, has languished in the legal system, even though allegations trace as far back as 2004. He was also convicted in 1995 of four felony counts of privacy in communications, a crime that includes online harassment.

On Wednesday, Ernst and his attorneys appeared in court for a status hearing. A trial has been postponed multiple times since the case was first filed in 2013. The process backlogged again when more charges, including another rape, was added in 2015.

The hearing on Wednesday was brief. Ernst's attorneys, Penelope Strong and Robert Kelleher, requested time to reply to recent motions in the case. They also requested an evidentiary hearing to challenge the foundational arguments brought by prosecutors.

Chief Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Juli Pierce disagreed with the need for the hearing but agreed that more time would be appropriate to file briefs.

Judge Russell Fagg set another hearing for Aug. 10, though a telephone conference may be set in the meantime.

Ernst is a longtime Billings resident, whose LinkedIn account lists him as the director of an elderly care business named Genesis. He was previously the director of another similar business from 2011 to 2013, which is listed online at his home address.

In 2009, The Gazette featured an article about Ernst caring for his bedridden father.

His court case was first filed in 2013, charging him with sexual intercourse without consent, stalking and privacy in communications, all felonies.

The allegations spanned nine years, during which a woman told Billings police that she'd been raped by Ernst when she was 17. Ernst continued to harass and threaten her over the internet, often using fake internet accounts, court documents state.

The woman reported the rape in November 2004, and police executed a search warrant on Ernst's home later that month.

No charges were filed, and the case appeared to go quiet until another Billings detective saw an elder abuse complaint filed against Ernst in 2013.

The detective contacted the woman from 2004, who said that Ernst had been harassing her over the phone and internet for years, charges state. She made a report with the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office in 2008. No arrest was made that year.

During a renewed investigation in 2010, investigators traced multiple telephone numbers provided by the woman to Ernst, charges state. Internet protocol addresses used by online aliases also traced back to Ernst.

The woman was granted a permanent restraining order against Ernst in 2010, but disturbing phone and Facebook messages persisted.

During the investigation, another woman had reported Facebook and phone messages of a sexual nature. She believed it was Ernst, and a phone number matched one provided by the previous woman, according to court documents.

This woman was the same person who filed a report against Ernst in 1994, leading to his 1995 conviction.

Ernst was arrested on Sept. 16, 2013. He posted a $50,000 property bond in December of that year.

More allegations

After The Gazette reported on the case, another woman came forward and said that Ernst had raped her in 2012. The woman, who was 27 at the time, told police that she first met Ernst through a Facebook profile, for which he used a different name and photo.

The woman claimed that she knew Ernst because he had molested her when she was 8 years old, court documents state. The woman divulged this to the false Facebook profile through chat.

Using the fake Facebook profile, Ernst pressured the woman to sleep with him. He threatened to expose their personal online conversations if she didn't, according to the charges.

Eventually she went to Ernst's home, where they had sex, according to the charges.

This information led prosecutors to amend the case in 2015. Another count of sexual intercourse without consent was added, as well as three more counts of privacy in communications.

Three more women reported uncomfortable online conversations with Facebook profiles that were traced back to Ernst, charges state.

The mounting evidence led to a lot of casework for the attorneys. In light of new charges, the trial was postponed in April 2015. It was continued again in October, and again in March 2016.

Ernst's attorneys have filed to dismiss count IV, which is the second sexual assault without consent charge. Attorneys argued that this case didn't reach the definition of "without consent."

His attorneys also argued that the case challenges Ernst's right to speech online.

"Mr. Ernst contends this particular prosecution unfairly and unconstitutionally utilizes his constitutionally protected right to communicate, on line (sic), and in person, and by telephone, with any and all individuals who commonly frequent the internet ... " the defense brief states.

Prosecutors rejected this theory, arguing that the woman related to count IV was threatened with exposure of personal messages. That relates to a use of force by "the threat of substantial retaliatory action," according to Pierce's brief.

Ernst's attorneys declined to comment specifically about the case. The Gazette was unable to reach Pierce after the hearing.

When Ernst appeared in court to face more charges in 2015, Judge Fagg continued the previously posted bond. That kept Ernst out of jail, and he remains out of custody.

He is also free to use the internet while the case proceeds, which was confirmed by his attorneys.

Ernst is still active on Facebook. Prior to the hearing on Wednesday, he posted a photo with the words, "Respect others. Help others. Love others. These are the keys that unlock our soul."

A trial in this case is currently set for Oct. 18.
Dear Mr. Bradshaw,

My daughter is insisting that she needs to go to a top-tier college because she will have a better chance to get a job in a major high-tech company if her resume includes the name of an elite school.

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I say it is too expensive, and that the colleges in Indiana are just fine. Who is right?

As a parent, I feel a responsibility to make sure that college will assure my daughter of a bright future, but financially it will take some real planning.

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Signed,

A Parent

Dear Parent:

This is a question parents frequently ask, and for good reason. It costs twice as much to attend an out-of-state college, and the cost of attending a college in the Ivy League is really expensive. Indiana has a number of good colleges and universities.

Actually, both of you are right. Major tech companies like Google and Facebook do hire a majority of their employees from top-tier colleges. However, when you dig a little deeper into their hiring processes, you will find that excellent grades, and especially work experience, are also critical in hiring decision-making. You can gain this edge at a state university or college.

One former Ivy League client, who works at Google, said his job experience got him through the door, not his educational pedigree. He graduated from Indiana University as a Wells Scholar, moved to San Francisco for law school, and specialized in venture transactions while studying at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.

His first job out of law school was with a small law firm specializing in startup companies. He later was hired at Google over other applicants from Harvard and Stanford. He said Google was more interested in his past work experience in venture financing, not in the school he attended.

A Crown Point high school graduate with a University of Pennsylvania bachelor's degree in economics told me that Microsoft hires almost exclusively from elite universities. She said 90 students were part of her initial group. After three days of grueling interviews averaging one per hour, only 30 were hired. The personal interview is much more important to the hiring process than is commonly thought.

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Out of the 30 new hires in her group, only one did not graduate from the Ivy League, she said.

She added that a candidate's GPA was as important as their elite school status, and that an engineering degree was prized the highest among all majors. This leaves an opening for students who do not want to pay the premium for attending an Ivy League college, yet would like to work for one of America's top technology companies.

I have several former clients who graduated from Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, MIT and Cal Tech who work at Google and Facebook. This speaks to the quality of the education they received at those schools, and the networking that helped them because their professors have links to the best companies.

While there is an elite bias at some top tech companies, it is not insurmountable. These companies are looking for problem solvers with analytical training. Top public universities do turn out well-rounded and academically prepared graduates that are sought after by the high-tech industry.

Make sure that you check out your chosen school's job recruiting and job placement statistics for the high-tech industry.

Gerald Bradshaw is an international college admission consultant with Bradshaw College Consulting in Crown Point.

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gerald_bradshaw@post.harvard.edu
Thousands of people will look to the sky this weekend and marvel as a squadron of military jets perform an array of flashy aerial tactics at the Gary Air Show. But few, if any, will know the person inside any of the jets. Navy Commander Ryan Bernacci will be one of the six.

Bernacchi, the commanding officer of the Blue Angels squadron, will lead the Navy's prominent daredevil pilots as they perform maneuvers in the skies the weekend over the southern shores of Lake Michigan and Gary's Marquette Park. The prestigious military flight demonstration squadron arrived in Gary Wednesday afternoon ahead of this weekend's performance.

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He knows what it's like to be looking up.

"I remember vividly watching the team fly in the A-4's and F-18's when I was out there with my dad as a kid," Bernacchi said referring to the jets flown by the Blue Angels during performances. "That was something that inspired me to want to fly for the country."

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After serving as a pilot in the U.S. Navy for 20 years, Bernacchi's childhood dream of being a Blue Angel didn't materialize until two years ago. Bernacchi said he was motivated to join the Navy after watching the Blue Angels perform in air shows as a child.

The Blue Angels conducted a practice flight Thursday over Lake Michigan, giving some a preview of the show to come.

Bernacchi said the squadron began preparing for the air show over a year ago.

"We do an extensive amount of studies using charts and Google Earth," Bernacchi said. "We really get a good feel for the layout: the specific lines we'll fly, the headings and the maneuvers," he said.

The Blue Angels, based in Pensacola, Fla., do three months of extensive training in California before starting their exhibition season, which runs from March to November. The team maintains a rigorous flight schedule throughout the year, Bernacchi said, adding that they fly six days a week and eights separate flights weekly.

Bernacchi said he is proud to be a part of one of the military's most distinguished units.

"We get to represent the 700,000 sailors and marines out there all over the world and that's quite a privilege and something that we take very seriously," he said.

Before an air show, the pilots

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begin a process called "chair flying," Bernacchi said. The pilots sit in a chair, close their eyes to visualize themselves sitting in the cockpit of their jets and go through every maneuver they'll perform in the air. Then they're prepared for take off, he said.

"By the time we're actually in the airplane and heading out, it's very analogous to an athlete," Bernacchi said. "We got our game faces on and we're 100 percent focused and we maintain that focus until we're back out of the jet. So it's about an hour of very intense focus."

Bernacchi said the pilots communicate with one another throughout their performance.

"We're focused on communicating before each maneuver," he said. "So instead of reacting, they can move with me. That's how we're able to fly so close and have it look like one airplane; six airplanes flying as one."

Although the pilots receive the most attention, Bernacchi said it's the teamwork of the entire squadron that helps the Blue Angels function at an optimal level. The Blue Angels squadron is comprised of is comprised of approximately 130 sailors and marines.

"It's just a really really invigorating environment to be a part of because the teamwork is such a powerful component," he said. "It's a very lean and efficient organization."

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After seven years of service, Petty Officer 1st Class Kyle McDaniels, said he's never seen one unit be so cohesive and efficient.

"The camaraderie on the team is amazing," said McDaniels, of Chicago. "I've been on deployments and I haven't seen this anywhere else," he said. "Everybody works as a unit to accomplish the bigger goal."

As an aviation machinist's mate, McDaniels is responsible for the maintenance of the jets the Blue Angels' pilots fly. McDaniels said he's tasked with fixing the engines, swapping parts and doing any necessary troubleshooting needed to keep the jets running efficiently.

"You never know when you're going to go home," he said. "If the jets work fine you'll get home around 5 or 6 (p.m.). But if there are any issues you could be working well into the night."

Despite the heavy workload, McDaniels said he loves doing air shows. "We work hard as a team," he said. "But you see the pay off in the sky."

jaanderson@tribpub.com

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Twitter @JavonteA

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The Gary Air Show will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Marquette Park. For more information, go to http://gary-airshow.com/
The stepdaughter of former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist will not see jail time for a federal theft charge.

Judge James Moody in U.S. District Court of Hammond on Thursday accepted a plea agreement for Miranda Brakley that will see Brakley serve six months of home detention and two years probation for agreeing to plead guilty to one count of theft from a program receiving federal funds. A second charge of her lying on her bankruptcy filing was dropped.

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Additionally, Brakley must pay a fine of $664, the remaining 4 percent of the money she took.

Moody said he had fully considered "the crime of conviction" as well as letters sent by Brakley's family and friends in giving her the low end of sentencing. The plea agreement, he said, reflects the seriousness of the crime and affords deterrent of future crimes while taking into account her non-criminal history prior to 2012.

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Looking gaunt and tired, Brakley, 36, read a short statement to the court before Moody accepted the plea agreement.

"Words cannot express how sorry I am for the humiliation and loss of my actions," Brakley said, fighting back tears. "I sincerely apologize to my family and friends for the embarrassment I've caused."

Brakley's attorney, Thomas Vanes, called the plea agreement "pretty straightforward," and said Brakley "just wants everything to be over."

"I'm confident she'll do what she needs to do to finally put this behind her," Vanes said after the hearing. "She has a host of medical issues that preceded any of this, so it's not like she's living a normal life at this stage."

Letters of support from family and friends for Brakley described the former court clerk as a kind woman brought up in the Catholic faith who thinks of others before herself. They lauded her getting a master's degree from Purdue.

Her father, Danny Brakley, said in his letter that Brakley now has a feeding tube and received serial balloon dilations from a surgery she had in Florida in December.

Deborah Soderquist, her mother, and Keith Soderquist, her stepfather, were not in the courtroom.

A second federal indictment accused Brakley, 33, a former city court clerk, of stealing at least $5,000 in bond money from city court from August 2011 to July 2012 and hiding $7,000 in income from her bankruptcy case, which she filed in August 2012. Former Mayor Soderquist and his wife, Deborah, were also charged with helping Brakley hide the thefts and violate federal banking law.

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The Indiana State Board of Accounts reported Brakley never deposited about $16,000 of bond money into the court's bank account. She returned the money by December 2012, claiming she had mistakenly taken it with her other belongings when she was fired from her court clerk position and that it had sat in her vehicle ever since.

FBI agents raided City Hall in 2013, and federal attorneys filed charges against the Soderquists and Brakley in the spring of 2014.

Former Mayor Soderquist and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, were convicted last fall of stealing money from the Lake Station Food Pantry  which receives money from city and state tax dollars as well as donations  and the mayor's campaign fund for their personal use, including dozens of trips to Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan, from 2010 to 2012.

In January, Keith Soderquist reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors admitting he helped Brakley hide that she stole more than $5,000 in court bond money from the city by helping her get a $15,000 loan from someone else. As part of the deal, the Soderquists dropped a motion for a new trial to overturn their September 2015 trial -- in which they argued U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano fell asleep at least twice during the two weeks it was heard -- as well as their appeal rights in that case.

In return, federal attorneys dropped all charges against Deborah Soderquist in the case involving Brakley, and they will recommend that Keith Soderquist serve his sentences in both cases concurrently. They will also recommend he serve the minimum of the recommended federal sentencing guideline range in the case involving Brakley -- which is up to five years for pleading guilty to one count of acting as an accessory after the fact -- and that he serve within the guideline range for the other case.

The guideline range will be determined at the sentencing hearing at 1 p.m. Sept. 28 in Moody's courtroom. Soderquist will also appear at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 28 in Judge Rudy Lozano's courtroom for sentencing on those charges.

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The agreements for both Soderquists stipulate that all three defendants must abide by their agreement for the mayor and his wife to receive the benefits of their own agreements.

Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
An Indiana state representative from Gary has asked the state attorney general's office to get involved in the city's effort to encourage their police officers and firefighters live in the city.

State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, submitted a request this week to the Indiana attorney general's office asking for a legal opinion on the merits of Gary city officials who want to impose a residency requirement of sorts on police and fire officials.

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Smith is asking for the legal opinion at the request of Councilwoman LaVetta Sparks-Wade, D-6th, who previously tried on her own to ask the attorney general's office for legal advice  only to be told that she as a city official has no legal standing to ask for such help.

Smith said he expects the attorney general to be supportive of state laws that require public safety employees to live within a county contiguous to where they actually work, rather than within their actual municipality of employment

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But he said their legal analysis could be of help to Gary officials who want to figure out ways to encourage public safety employees to live in Gary.

Sparks-Wade sponsored a measure recently that would give extra points to Gary residents taking entrance exams to qualify for police or fire department jobs, but that ordinance has been stalled.

She said that particular ordinance is likely never to come up for a vote because officials are convinced it could not withstand a legal challenge.

Sparks-Wade said she is hopeful the attorney general would respond quickly to such a request. Smith said state officials would work at their own pace to ensure an opinion was legitimate.

"I have no idea how long it will take for them to issue an opinion," Smith said.

Sparks-Wade, who has headed up a pair of public hearings to encourage discussion of the issue, said studies of the law make her think any opinion on the merits of a residency requirement would be negative.

She said city officials are focusing their effort on crafting a plan to encourage existing and future hires for the Gary police and fire departments to want to live in Gary.

That could include creating a program to benefit public safety employees who are purchasing their first home, making it financially advantageous to them.

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In recent years, Gary officials have operated on the presumption that state law prohibited them from imposing a residency requirement for police and fire officials similar to what exists in Chicago

City officials have said previously that many of Gary's public safety employees wind up gaining training and experience working for the city, before they move on to better-paying jobs in surrounding communities. Some, according to Fire Chief Paul Bradley said, have come to Indiana from Chicago for training before they return to Illinois for better jobs.

That, they say, ultimately hurts the quality of public safety agencies in Gary, and was cited as a motivation when the Common Council approved a series of pay hikes for firefighters and police officers that would increase the annual pay for by about $10,000 by next year.

Sparks-Wade said the issue is one that will continue to be discussed in coming months and could be resolved by the autumn months, although she was unsure how long it would be before an ordinance regarding residency could come up for a vote before the Common Council.

Gregory Tejeda is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The body discovered in a retention pond in Merrillville in May was positively identified Wednesday as Francisco Javier Vargas Perez, a 29-year-old Munster man who had been reported missing in February, according to Lake County Coroner MerrileeFrey and Merrillville police.

Frey said the body was identified through DNA analysis from the Indiana State Police laboratory in Indianapolis.

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Scott Sefton, chief deputy coroner, said the cause of death was ruled accidental drowning.

Merrillville police Detective Sean Buck said there were no marks and no signs of foul play on the body.

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Buck said Perez had been staying with relatives in Merrillville and went out on his own on Feb. 7. He had not been seen since then.

"Witnesses said he was acting erratically," Buck said.

Perez's body was discovered May 8 in a retention pond just south of auto dealerships at 3200 W. Lincoln Highway by a couple who were in the area mushroom hunting.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Terri Steinhubel, sales administrator at Truck City in Gary, is a third-generation family member working at the trucking firm, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in the city this year. - Original Credit: Post-Tribune (Truck City / HANDOUT)

I've driven past Truck City of Gary Inc. dozens of times on my way through the city for meetings, interviews or appointments. And, in hindsight, several more times while doing research for my book, "Lost Gary, Indiana."

Not once did I notice it. The trucking firm was shamefully lost on me.

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I had never heard of it until Gary City Hall formally honored Truck City during its latest State of the City ceremony, along with two other honorees, the Playboy Barbershop and the Esquire men's store.

Truck City? I wondered if that's the place on Grant Street, south of the Borman Expressway? Or is it near the Miller section of the city on U.S. 20? Or is it closer to the city's airport on the west side? I had no clue so I looked it up.

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It's located on 25th Avenue, just west of Grant Street, I learned.

Soon after, I learned that Truck City of Gary is celebrating its 70th anniversary in the city this year. Three generations of family ownership. Three different locations through the decades. And $40 million in annual revenue.

Truck City, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year in Gary, had its original location on 5th Avenue and Chase Street, shown here. - Original Credit: Post-Tribune (Truck City / HANDOUT)

Seventy years of trucking business through the city's early days, heydays and more challenging days. I had to pay a visit.

The firm began in 1946 as Gary White Sales and Service, originally as a Pure Oil gas station at the corner of 5th Avenue and Chase Street. It was started by Paul G. Davis and Jack Erickson, who began working together years earlier at Hellman's Tire Service in Gary.

So who's Gary White?

This is what I quietly wondered while talking with Terri Steinhubel, the firm's sales administrator, marketing guru and Davis' granddaughter.

I quickly apologized for knowing nothing about Truck City. I also confessed for knowing even less about the trucking industry. All I know is that 18-wheelers are everywhere in Northwest Indiana, and it's still an industry that can't be conveniently and tragically outsourced.

(Truck City / HANDOUT)

Steinhubel politely explained that, in 1946, Davis and Erickson acquired the "White Truck" franchise, hence the firm's original name, Gary White Sales and Service.

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Oh, I replied.

The Pure Oil gas station was the base building where, through the years, Davis and Erickson added on a Jeep Truck franchise and, in 1951, began marketing and servicing Freightliner Corp. trucks from across the country.

In 1960, Gary White Sales and Service Inc. moved to its new location at 7360 W. Chicago Ave. Five years later, Davis' granddaughter, Gerri Davis-Parker, was born and she now has full ownership of the family business. I doubt anyone saw that coming back in the mid-1960s.

Like most business owners, she is extremely proud of her company and its heritage in the city. She readily told me that Truck City has "kept the commodities flowing" for decades through this area and across the country.

Truck City, located on 25th Avenue, just off Grant Street in Gary, celebrates its 70th anniversary in the city this year. - Original Credit: Post-Tribune (Truck City / HANDOUT)

Unlike most business owners, Davis-Parker declined my request to take her photograph for this column. She instead praised her workers and suggested a photo of the technicians who keep the business a well-oiled machine of productivity.

"That's why we've been in business here for 70 years," Davis-Parker said.

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Three of those technicians, Rob Spurr, Bob Dorrance and Greg Cherechinsky, have 85 years of combined experience, with Spurr having the longest tenure, 40 years, while working for all three generations of the Davis family.

In 1963, Paul Davis' son, Art Davis, began working at the firm as a technician in the service department. He would later become general manager and then owner.

Paul Davis retired in 1975, but continued to work every day at the dealership until his death in 1981. Four years later, his grandson, Paul M. Davis, started working at the facility. In 1997, Gerri Davis-Parker started working there.

This is how it often works with family businesses. The torch of ownership is passed down to others.

Truck City, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year in Gary, had a previous location on Chicago Avenue, shown here. (Truck City / HANDOUT)

Davis-Parker became general manager in 2000 and she hasn't looked back. In 2014, she became full owner and Truck City was certified as an Indiana Women Owned Business Enterprise. A year later, the firm was inducted into the American Truck Historical Society.

In 2008, the company opened its new location at 2333 West 25th Ave., built on 25 once-swampy acres of property with frontage along Interstate 80/94. It was dedicated on its founder's 100th birthday, a sweet gesture.

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The fenced-in property is spacious, impressive and beautiful, if that word can be used to describe a trucking firm. It's also a prosperous vehicle for both white collar and blue collar jobs, with a staff of roughly 55.

"Our employees come from across Northwest Indiana to Gary each day, from Bass Lake to Lowell to South Chicago," Steinhubel told me during my tour of the facility.

Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The firm's location, large amount of sales, and dedication to Gary have not been lost on city officials.

"We are very proud that Truck City has called Gary, Indiana, home for 70 years," said Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson. "It emphasizes the advantage of the city's location on three interstate highways."

I also confessed to the mayor that I had never heard or seen Truck City in my 50 or so years of interaction with Gary.

"I have been around long enough to know that people see what they want to see," she said. "It is difficult for people get over previously held myths of things that happened in the past. The good news is that for every myth or stereotype, there is a different story or changed reality that demonstrates progress."

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Truck City Inc. demonstrates progress in that city and in our region. This fact won't be lost on me again as I hustle past it to other destinations.

jdavich@post-trib.com

Twitter@jdavich
Zhang Dali, a Chinese artist and sculptor who specializes in graffiti art, is now putting two series of his newest artworks on display in the Minsheng Art Museum in Beijing.

The sculptures made of pure white marble or Chinese Hanbaiyu by artist Zhang Dali are on display in the Beijing-based Minsheng Art Museum until August 3rd, 2016.[Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

One series is composed of several sculptures made of pure white marble or Chinese Hanbaiyu, a material which the artist used to exemplify its high social status in the Chinese cultural context; its use was allowed only in the imperial palaces and high ranking temples.

Wu Hung, a permanent member of the American Academy of Art and Science and also the director of the Center for the Art of East Asia, is the curator of Zhang Dali's new works exhibition.

"So my impression when I first saw his artworks is very quiet and tranquil. But these artworks are kind of the artworks that make you think. They are certain types of artworks that really get you to stop and think. So for our intended effect of this exhibition, the first thing you wanted to do is to get everything to slow down. We live in cities, very fast-paced and surrounded by E-mail, by We-chat, all sorts of communication. We want everybody to slow down."

In the mid-90s, he became known for spray painting profiles of himself onto some destroyed buildings in Beijing. He has also created many portraits for the purpose of documenting social history and cultural development.

Another series of his ongoing exhibition is all cyanotype on canvas as a nod to British artist Anna Atkins, who is the first photographer to use the cyanotype process in photography.

Jan Teeuwisse is the curator of Hague sculpture museum in the Netherlands. He attended the opening ceremony for new works exhibition by Zhang Dali.

"It was in 2005 that our trustee, organized an exhibition on contemporary Chinese art focused on sculpture. And that was the first time we saw the works of Zhang Dali in the Netherlands. And we show the migrant workers' offspring and it was really amazing how the Dutch audience reacted on that. Now we are here, so I'm very curious to see the new work of Zhang. We are very proud of having his five pieces in our collection. And I hope everybody will have the time, Chinese tourism is growing enormously in the Netherlands so you will have the opportunity to see the works of Zhang Dali in our museum."

Once being featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, the artist Zhang Dali will continue his ongoing exhibition in the Beijing-based Minsheng Art Museum until August 3rd.
A 25-year-old man is accused of transporting more than 18 pounds of marijuana on an interstate bus line, making it the fourth such case since the beginning of June.

Walter Lloyd Evans, 25, faces one count of criminal possession with intent to distribute. He appeared in Yellowstone County Justice Court on Wednesday.

Judge Pro Tem Richard Phillips set bond at $7,500 during the hearing.

Evans is the fourth person accused in a marijuana bust at the Jefferson Bus Lines station in Billings since June 6. All of the suspects traveled from Washington.

According to court documents, police responded to the bus station at Fourth Avenue North on Wednesday after a report that drugs were being transported.

Officers arrived with a K-9 unit, who signaled a hit on a piece of luggage. The tag read "Lloyd Evans Walter," charges state.

A description of the suspect from an employee matched that of Evans, who told officers that he was traveling from Everett, Wash., to Baltimore, Md. When asked to describe his luggage, Evans described the one targeted by the police dog.

In a search, officers found 17 bags containing 18.36 pounds of marijuana, according to court documents.

Evans is scheduled to appear in Yellowstone County District Court on July 11.
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The performance of Apple's iPhone in China has worsened to 11 percent market share in May 2016 with its ranking dropping from third to fifth in the first quarter, according to a report from TechWeb.com.cn, citing a latest research from analyst firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

TechWeb said that Apple Inc's revenue in Greater China region fell 26 percent last quarter (as of March 26), in which the company suffered its first-ever quarterly corporate revenue decline since 2003.

The second quarter witnessed Apple's revenue decline 13 percent year-on-year and plunge to $50.6 billion. Its net profit decreased by 23 percent year-on-year to $10.5 billion.

Hong Shibin of Internet Society of China is an Internet marketing expert. Hong says Apple's biggest weakness is its product.

"Compared with the classic iPhone 4S and 5S, the iPhone 6S and iPhone SE lack innovation highlights," said Hong.

By comparison, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's market share continues to grow, ranking first in China's smartphone market.

In addition, Chinese domestic smartphone manufacturers Huawei, Xiaomi Corp, Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Co Ltd and Vivo Electronics Corp together captured 53 percent share of the overall Chinese smartphone market.
A press conference was held on July 7 in Beijing to announce that the 2016 China Top 500 Enterprises Summit will be held in August in Hunan Province. [Photo by Lin Liyao/China.org.cn]

The 2016 China Top 500 Enterprises Summit will be held from August 27 to 28 in Changsha City, Hunan Province, according to a press conference held today in Beijing.

The summit, jointly organized by the China Enterprise Confederation, the China Enterprise Directors Association, and the local governments of Hunan Province and Changsha City, is expected to publish four rankings: the China Top 500 Enterprises in 2016, China Top 500 Manufacturing Enterprises in 2016, China Top 500 Service Industry Enterprises in 2016, and China Top 100 Multinational Enterprises in 2016.

Research reports concerning the development trends of big Chinese companies, including analyses of the problems faced by these top 500 companies in China and throughout the world, will also be released during the summit.

Wang Jiming, vice president of the China Enterprise Confederation, revealed that as this year marks the first year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan, the theme of this year's meeting will be "Innovation and Transformation: Big Enterprises' Development during the 13th Five-Year Plan."

Wang said, "A range of forums and meetings will also be held during the summit to discuss economic development and the integration of industry and finance based on high-end manufacturing, intellectual property protection, environmental protection and energy reform."

Xu Lejiang, chairman of Baosteel Group, Yin Jiaxu, chairman of China North Industries Group Corporation, Zong Qinghou, chairman of Wahaha Group, and other executives from China's top 500 enterprises as well as several of the world's top 500 enterprises will join academics and experts in attending the summit.

Zhang Yingchun, deputy mayor of Changsha City, said during the press conference, "As the capital of Hunan Province, the manufacturing and modern service industry in the city has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. The local government has prepared and selected some 167 new projects that it anticipates will attract new investment during the summit."

The China Top 500 Enterprises Summit, held annually since 2002, was previously held in 14 other municipalities and provincial capitals. The 2015 China Top 500 Enterprises Summit was held on August 22 to 23 in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
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Jing Hanchao, vice president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Wednesday that all of its open trials would be broadcast live on the internet from July 1.

Jing said the live webcasts will be significant progress for judicial openness. With full transparency of trials online, the public can better play their supervisory role.

Live broadcasts will also drive judges to strengthen their capabilities, thus improving the judicial system, Jing added.

Furthermore, Jing said live webcasts will create a large amount of data that will help jurists study China's legal system.
Scholars travel around Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. [Photo: CRIENGLISH]

More than 130 scholars, officials and correspondents from over 30 countries and regions have gathered in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China, for a Forum on the Development of Tibet.

The scholars were very impressed by the changes Tibet had gone through in the past couple of years.

Traveling in a convoy of buses, the scholars, who are interested in Tibetan culture, were carried from one place to another, to see the development of the holy land.

With an average elevation of more than 3,600-metres, altitude sickness didn't seem to dampen the interests of the foreign scholars.

Albert Ettinger, a German scholar, was very impressed by what he saw.

"For those who often read newspapers from western countries, they would definitely be shocked by what they see here. I've read some books in French and German--I think the authors are all the mouthpieces of Dalai Lama. The books say Tibetans are like living in prisons. They ignore the economic development of Tibet, but whoever comes here would notice that the transportation system in Lhasa is quite developed, and the city planning is also very good."

Likewise, Professor Bonaventure Haruna with the University of Jos in Nigeria was happy to see the development in Tibet, such as new infrastructure and all sorts of facilities.

"I have never been here when Tibet was in its original state. I would prefer that Tibet should grow modern because everybody likes comfort. So why should people remain deprived of facilities that would make life comfortable. So let them ride on and provide them with facilities that would make life comfortable for the people."

In addition, the professor said education, in particular, should be given priority as it has multiplier effect on impacting on all sectors and guaranteeing self-reliant development as envisaged by the Tibetan regional government.

Against the background of China's "One Belt, One Road" Initiative, David Monyae, co-director of the University of Johannesburg Confucius Institute based in South Africa, said that the success of the initiative largely depends on how China manages its underdeveloped western regions such as Tibet.

Also, he said it is universal that there will be a conflict between economic development and cultural preservation, but China is doing well.

"This is not just a Chinese or Tibetan story. It's a global story. What do we do when we modernise. How do we modernise while we keep the tradition of our culture. It's a question of balancing--while you are modernising, you don't have to destroy your tradition and your culture. This is only the early phases, and the Chinese government is doing extremely well. China is learning from the world and the world is learning from China."

The agenda of the forum will be focused on discussions of entrepreneurship and industrial modernization in Tibet, preserving tradition, environmental protection, Tibet's involvement in regional infrastructure projects and poverty relief.

The conference will start later today and last until Saturday.
Lam Wing-kee.

Details of how Chinese mainland police handled the case of bookseller Lam Wing-kee were given to a Hong Kong delegation during discussions on a mutual notification system on Tuesday.

Lam, 61, was detained in the mainland last year for running an illegal book-selling businesses.

At a press conference in Hong Kong on June 16 this year, Lam, accompanied by local legislator Albert Ho, claimed he had been mistreated, banned from meeting relatives and refused a lawyer while placed under house arrest.

He also accused mainland police of breaking the "one country, two systems" policy.

At Tuesday's meeting, the delegation was told that in 2015 police in Ningbo, a city in China's coastal province of Zhejiang, found that books produced outside the mainland were being sold illegally in the city.

An investigation led to a woman surnamed Hu, said to be Lam's girlfriend, in south China's Guangdong Province. She was suspected of mailing books to Ningbo and other parts of the mainland.

Some buyers told police they had bought books from Lam's Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong.

In September 2015, Ningbo police launched a formal investigation and, between October 17 and 24, suspects including Lam and Hu were detained.

Lam and his colleagues were said to have attempted to elude regulators with fake book covers and either mailed books directly to mainland buyers or used intermediaries such as Hu.

Lam told investigators most of the books were filled with "made-up stuff."

"The more horrifying the titles are, the more readers they draw, the better they sell. The content is mostly fabricated out of stories from the Internet or magazines. It takes about a month to put a book together," he is said to have told them.

After confessing, Lam said he was elderly, in poor health, and fully understood his mistakes.

"I hope to be given leniency," he said, promising never again to deal in illegal books.

Lam was released on bail in March. At his request, police helped him find a place to stay and a job in Shaoguan, a city in south China's Guangdong Province. On June 2, Lam asked for permission to return to Hong Kong for personal reasons.

What Lam said at his press conference last month surprised many of the people involved, the delegation was told.

His girlfriend Hu, 37, said Lam had "brainwashed" her into sending books by courier, but had never told her it was illegal. She also repudiated Lam's claim he had been forced to sign a document waiving his right to a lawyer or speak with members of his family.

Hu said they were both told of their right to contact family and hire lawyers but gave up the right because they did not want their families to know they were having an affair.

Lam was well treated during his stay in the mainland. Police sent him fruit, took his blood pressure every day and arranged for him to have his hair cut, video recordings provided by Ningbo police showed.

Chen Weiqing, curator of the library where Lam was given a job, said: "Lam claims he was confined in Shaoguan. That is totally inconsistent with the facts."

Chen said he had offered him a job to show sympathy given his age. Everyone at the library can attest that during his stay in Shaoguan he was in good shape and even gained weight, Chen said, adding that they traveled together to a local resort and had many pleasant chats.

"As a facility open to the public, Lam came and went as he pleased, working and reading," Chen said.

"How can he claim that he was not free? Is the library a prison?"

Police said that by declaring his intention not to return to the mainland, Lam had violated the terms of his bail.

Ningbo police urged Lam to return to the mainland, or they said they will be forced to take other legal measures.

"The Lam Wing-kee case had been handled in accordance with the law from beginning to end. During the process, (mainland authorities) respected the HK judicial system, strictly adhered to the stipulation of one country, two systems' and there was no so-called cross-border law enforcement' nor tracking or control of the suspect," said a Ningbo police statement.

Law professor Song Xiaozhuang of Shenzhen University said he believed mainland police had jurisdiction as the acts and consequences of Lam's crime occurred in the mainland.
A dozen of Chinese young scholars of international law in the Netherlands are preparing to launch an open letter to contest the erroneous exercise of jurisdiction and abuse of legal process in the South China Sea (SCS) arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines.

The open letter also highlights the significance of state consent as the very foundation of international judicial and arbitral organs and call for attention to the dangerous tendency towards the judicial and arbitral expansion in the field of the Law of the Sea, the drafters of the letter told Xinhua.

Peng Qinxuan, 29, Ph.D candidate of international law at Utrecht University, said the idea of writing an open letter hit her like a "natural reflex" to a "bizarre" case.

"A decade-long study on international law and international relations leaves its mark on me. I have always put faith in the international justice by international law. And I am always interested in examining international judicial and arbitral cases," said Peng.

Peng and her colleagues closely followed the highly controversial SCS arbitration case during the past months.

"Many of us share the analysis that no matter how smart the Philippines' disguise is, the real issue in this case is barely about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation. The UNCLOS does not deal with territory issues and China has excluded delimitation disputes from compulsory settlement procedures. Evidently the tribunal has no jurisdiction over this case," said the Ph.D candidate.

As the arbitration proceeds despite worldwide questioning, Peng felt an urgency to take action.

"How could such a bizarre case openly violating UNCLOS provisions keep advancing in The Hague, the capital of international law? How can we stay silent in face of such a lawfare which carries ulterior motives? The eyes of the arbitrators are blindfolded with the leaves of the Philippine claims, and they cannot see the mountain behind the leaves. But we lawyers of international law have the duty to pierce the veil," she said.

Peng, who is also head of an association of Chinese students and scholars in the Netherlands, was not alone in her drive.

Among 8,000-more Chinese students studying in the Netherlands, over 100 are scattered in faculties of law across the country. A dozen of them, specialized on international law and the Law of the Sea, set up a research group for the drafting of the open letter.

Xu Qi, a 26-year-old Ph.D candidate on the Law of the Sea at Groningen University, volunteered to contribute with his academic knowledge.

"After many rounds of discussions we decided to present our own analysis of problems of the tribunal's jurisdiction ruling based on the provisions of the UNCLOS and also on the historical facts," he told Xinhua.

Three months of brain-storming produced a 2,500-word document so far.

The young scholars tried to build their case on four aspects: state consent as the basis of compulsory arbitration; territorial disputes and maritime delimitation as real disputes of the SCS case; abuse of legal process and ultra vires acts in the SCS arbitration; the SCS arbitral awards being neither binding nor helpful.

"I wish to draw particular attention to the detrimental impact caused by the SCS arbitration to the inherent balance of the compulsory settlement procedures under the UNCLOS. The tribunal should have been more cautious when ruling on jurisdiction," Xu said.

"When doing research for this open letter, we noticed that a growing number of non-Chinese experts and scholars expressed their concerns over the tribunal's jurisdiction ruling, especially in relation to the real issue of the Philippines' claims. This is both inspiring and encouraging," he said.

"In the open letter we make it clear that China has a correct understanding of the UNCLOS compulsory procedures. China does not accept these procedures being abused for political purposes. By upholding state consent as the basis of compulsory arbitration, China made a right move to defend this fundamental principle of international rule of law. In the long run, more States will see the value of these efforts," added Xu.

Zhang Tong, 24, the youngest of the team, told Xinhua that the faith in the international law led her to join the open letter.

"Compared to the richly experienced arbitrators of the tribunal, I am only a beginner. But I have to say that the jurisdiction ruling is not convincing enough for me. I was particularly surprised by the circular arguments they exercised to substantively exclude the application of China's declaration about the compulsory jurisdiction under article 298," said Zhang.

The Leiden master student on international law believed that in the positivist tradition, compulsory arbitration and other compulsory procedures under the Convention, as agreed upon by more than 160 countries through nine-years' negotiation, are strictly consent-based in substance.

"Within the scope of such consents, an organ is legitimate; stepping beyond, the legitimacy will be highly arguable," said Zhang.

The State-consent principle maintains the balance of interests of all States in a subtle and sustainable way, which helps to maximize the common interests among States, Zhang argued.

"The life of international law comes from and should also serve for the common interests of the international community, which makes the principle of state consent indispensable. But the SCS tribunal seemingly prefers to expand its jurisdiction rather than protect the legitimate interests of the contracting State," said Zhang.

"The Tribunal is probably undercutting the States' already fragile trust towards international judicial and arbitral organs. It might seriously weaken the authority of itself and even of the international judicial bodies as a whole. I started to believe in international justice since high school when I participated and enjoyed Model United Nations activities. What the SCS tribunal did is really disappointing and hurting," she added.

As law students busied themselves with drafting the letter, Wang Zhili, Utrecht University master student in Public International Laws and Finance who has been studying in the Netherlands for more than six years, took up the outreach task of their action.

Together with Peng, they opened social media accounts on Wechat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter for this purpose and mobilized their friends and classmates to circulate the draft document and collect reactions.

"Most of reports in western media on the SCS arbitration follow the track of their old-style cliches and prejudices against China. You can hardly find any balanced and in-depth article here. I was really shocked by the ignorance of China's arguments when discussing this case with professors and fellow students. That's why we write our open letter in English, Dutch and Chinese. We will spread it far and wide to gather as much support as possible," Wang told Xinhua.

"We do believe that the voice of the truth must be heard," said Peng, the enthusiastic student leader, "One open letter criticizing one single case cannot drive out the shroud of darkness enveloping the world of the international law. Light a candle, you only get a dim light. Pass the candle on, the shadow has nowhere to hide."
Editor's Note: On June 23, the World Post website published an article by Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming on the South China Sea issue entitled China Is Not Trying to "Rule the Waves." An edited version of the article follows:

"Rule, Britannia! Rule the waves!" This was the patriotic chant of the British Royal Navy when the British Empire was taking shape. That naval power was the force that enabled Britain to rise to world dominance 250 years ago.

Today, some suggest that China is singing a 21st-century version of this famous song with new lyrics: "China rules the waves!" These commentators imply China is turning the South China Sea into a "South China Lake" by building military bases and blocking freedom of navigation.

But, is it true that China is being anachronistic? Is it appropriate to say that China is "militarizing" and seeking control of the South China Sea or even trying to "rule the waves" simply based on China's construction projects and defensive facilities on some of its own islands?

The truth is that China, centuries ago, was the first to discover and name the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. China was the first to engage in development activities and exercise administrative jurisdiction there. China has sovereignty over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea but controls only a few, since more than 40 of them have been occupied over the recent decades by other littoral states including Viet Nam and the Philippines, who have been reclaiming land and building facilities since their occupation in order to reinforce their control. Meanwhile, on most of the islands and reefs under China's control, living conditions are toughapart from Taiping Island which is stationed by Taiwan.

Faced with the serious and increasing imbalance in the South China Sea, China as the real owner of the islands and reefs needs visible presence to reaffirm its sovereignty. In a sense, this is an effort of "rebalancing" in the South China Sea.

After all, one has to be realistic in international politics and diplomatic negotiations. It is always difficult for property owners to evict squatters. Necessary as it is to maintain self-restraint, non-action is never an answer to opportunism by intruders.

The purpose of China's increased presence in the South China Sea, therefore, is not to "rule the waves." China claims sovereignty and historical rights over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. This is not a claim on the entire South China Sea, still less a plan to turn it into a "China Lake." As the South China Sea is a primary international shipping route, China will never impede lawful and legitimate freedom of navigation.

The real danger comes from countries outside the region, who invent pretexts for provocative military actions in the South China Sea in order to force China to step up defense in response and to trap China into a "self-fulfilling prophecy." In this externally imposed game, China is not holding the on-off button but rather apparently has been reacting to provocations.

Another factor stoking up the tension is that a handful of countries in the region feel they have strong backing. The reality in the South China Sea is not that China is bullying smaller neighbors, but that China is being bullied by smaller neighbors. A typical example is the arbitration initiated by the Philippines that thinks it has the backing of a larger country. But little do they know that they are nothing more than a superpower's chess-board pieces that may one day exhaust their usefulness. In Asia, superpowers are used to coming and going. One needs to look no further than Cam Ranh Bay and Subic Bay.

The South China Sea issue is a test of China's diplomatic wisdom and strategic consistency. China needs to firmly uphold its sovereignty while exercising a high-level of self-restraint. The last thing China wants is to be dragged into armed conflicts. Nor will China accept any arbitration forced upon it by others.

But the South China Sea issue is not insoluble. From the very beginning, China has put forward the proposition of shelving disputes and engaging in joint dialogue and development. This basic principle remains unchanged. As a realistic solution, China has proposed a "dual-track approach," that is, relevant disputes should be properly resolved through negotiation and consultation by countries directly involved on the basis of historical facts and international law, and peace and the stability in the South China Sea should be jointly safeguarded by China and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The South China Sea issue is a touchstone for all relevant countries. We hope that some countries in this region will not force ahead in their own way to intensify conflicts at the cost of regional cooperation. We hope that they can work with China to effectively manage differences, safeguard stability and explore a new model of cooperation.

As for any country outside the region, it is crucial that they desist from provocative actions; such as pitching one country against another or increasing forward military deployment in this region. We hope that nations outside the region can be impartial, take no sides and support China's efforts to resolve the disputes through bilateral negotiations with countries directly involved.

The world today is not going to repeat the colonial expansion of the 17th and 18th centuries, the conflicts between European powers in the late 19th century, or the Cold War years. China is a peace-loving nation with a profound understanding of lessons about the rise and fall of great powers. China does not have the tradition of seeking hegemony, nor is China interested or motivated to do so. The path that China will continue to follow is one of peaceful development.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

The Iraq War was a disaster from the word go. This idea has been reinforced by Sir John Chilcot who in a lengthy report has concluded that it was a useless war which could have been avoided. The report proved the concerns right that the decision to invade Iraq was made in haste and without due diligence regarding the consequences of removing Saddam Hussein.

The formal probe into the Iraq War fiasco was ordered in 2009 by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The chairman of probe committee, ex-civil servant Sir John Chilcot, spent seven years to produce a 2.6 million word document, spread over 12 volumes. The probe was marred by the allegations of unnecessary delay by the relative of 179 British service personnel who lost their lives from 2003 to 2009 during the course of the bloody conflict.

The report says that the decision to go to war was based on flawed intelligence and assessments and that all options were not exhausted before launching the infamous invasion in March 2003. The key allegation against Saddam Hussein was that he had stashed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and thus posed a mortal danger to the United States and its allies. But it proved untrue in the end.

The unprecedented media hype and official propaganda failed to move the international opinion in the favor of war. Not only did the UN refuse to endorse the war but public opinion was bitterly divided. Some of the biggest anti-war rallies were held at different places in 2003, including one in London which pulled about 1 million people, who demanded the British government to avoid the war.

However, Saddam and his alleged caches of WMDs were presented as an imminent threat and the anti-war efforts were swept under the carpet. The allied jets equipped with the latest firepower roared in the skies over Iraq. The bombing unleashed a fire which is still raging with bitter ferocity and its heat is being felt in Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, Dhaka and elsewhere.

We are not sure about the legal value of the report at this point as Sir John has not fixed the responsibility of the war on any individual. The authors also failed or simply avoided to highlight if the war was a breach of international law. The families of the fallen soldiers are also indecisive about whether to launch any legal proceeding against the government or then Labour Party Prime Minister Tony Blair, who in a press conference took responsibility for the war but strongly rejected that the nation was misled or that insufficient intelligence was used to build up the case for war.

One of the key observations of Sir John is that the troops were ill-prepared for the war. It could have serious implications if a court case is built around the idea. Not making enough preparation for war, resulting in casualties, is a serious mistake by any leader. It could be virtually committing manslaughter if a battalion is sent to a battlefield without proper preparations.

Another important observation is about not making an elaborate plan to deal with the post-war scenario. Sir John has accused the government of a "wholly inadequate" plan to handle the outcome of war. "Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated," he said.

The events following the war show that the allies took a simplistic view of the invasion. They perhaps wrongly believed that the removal of Saddam Hussein would solve all problems. They failed to take into the account the peculiar social, religious and political realities of Iraq and created a huge mess.

One wonders why removal of the Iraqi leader was necessary in the absence of a solid alternative to fill the political vacuum, when it was clear that he was not an imminent danger to world peace. It does not mean that he was angel, as no amount of reasoning can lessen the cruelty of his oppressive regime.

The debate around the legal niceties of the report will continue for some time. In my view, the report is not going to move the heavens but it is a timely reminder that wars waged on flimsy grounds bring disaster for everyone.

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
How the American electoral system compares to those in other countries and whether the American way does a good job translating votes into public policy is the topic of a Thursday presentation at noon to the Billings League of Women Voters.

Peter Miller, a Billings Senior High School graduate whos now a post-doctorate fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss the quirks of presidential elections and reasons Donald Trump won the Republican primary. He will illustrate the different methods that various states use in voting, as well as how other countries manage elections.

The talk will occur at the Elks Club, 934 Lewis Ave. Lunch is available at 11:30 a.m. for $10. Reservations are not required.
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An African Union (AU) envoy in Somalia on Wednesday called on Somalis to unite in their efforts to eliminate Al-Shabaab militants in the country.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Francisco Madeira, wished all Somalis a happy and prosperous Eid al-fitr and urged them to continue upholding the spirit of love and reconciliation to achieve peace, stability and prosperity.

In a statement issued in Mogadishu, he called on the Somalis to work together with the Federal Government and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to "help the country overcome its present predicament and achieve peace and stability."

Madeira said AMISOM forces had made gains that are helping secure Somalia.

"Together with the Somali National Army, they (AMISOM) have pushed Al-Shabaab, the jihadist insurgency group, from all key towns in Somalia," he said, adding that despite the challenges, Somalia's future is "surely bright".

AMISOM is working with the Somali government in strengthening state institutions as well as empowering the Somali security forces to take over the security responsibility of Somalia, Mandeira said.

Mandeira said the forthcoming elections in Somalia later this year will be a major step forward in the political transformation of the country.

"AMISOM and the international partners will continue supporting Somalia in its effort to achieve the dividends of peace and universal suffrage by 2020," he said.
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Hundreds of people along the Nepal-China border in Sindhupalchowk district have started moving to the safer locations due to the monsoon-triggered massive flood and landslides on Wednesday.

The incessant rainfall since Tuesday night, the swollen Bhotekoshi River and landslides along the border area have led to the displacement of human settlements.

Issuing a statement, the District Administrative Office (DAO) Sindhupalchowk informed that more than 20 houses were completely damaged in Tatopani Liping area whereas two parked trippers, canteen of Tatopani Customs Office and a bridge have been swept away by the monsoon induced disaster in the border.

Though no any human casualty has been reported so far, human settlements on the river bank have been evacuated, according to DAO.

Hundreds of people from Tatopani, Barhabise, Lamo Sanghu and Khadichaur have been moving to safer locations out of high risk of inundation as the water flow in the Bhotekoshi River has significantly increased since last night. Bhotekoshi River has been flowing at 1.5 meters higher than the normal days, the statement reads.

The flooding has also swept away Tatopani-based Mansarobar Boarding School and embankment of Upper Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project at Das Kilo, putting more than 200 houses into high risk.

Local Police Office reported that the swollen river has caused land erosion in multiple sections of Araniko Highway that leads Nepal to its northern neighbor, resulting to disruption.

Araniko Highway is regarded as a lifeline for Sino-Nepal trading which is the shortest distance route between the two neighbors. However, the Tatopani border point, some 130 kilometers away from the capital city, has not been in operation for cross border trading since the April 25 massive earthquake last year.

According to the Home Ministry, nearly 100 incidents of flood and landslide have occurred across the country since mid-April, taking the lives of more than 40 people.
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Kenya's anti-terrorism detectives on Wednesday killed a member of Somalia-based Al-Shabaab Islamist group in the coastal town of Kwale.

Regional police commander, Francis Wanjohi, said Juma Mohamed Jakarata alias Modi Tulia was gunned down for engaging in terrorism activities. A grenade was recovered from his house during the dawn operation.

Jakarata is a "Somalia trained Al-Shabaab returnee", the police commander said.

"Upon being challenged, he attempted to hurl a grenade at police officers but was shot dead just outside the house," he added.

Jakarata's girlfriend and brother Majid Akiba Miwa, who was living in an adjacent house, were arrested and are assisting with investigation. Body of suspect removed to hospital pending autopsy.

Jakarata is believed to be behind the killing of three community leaders and one reformed Al-Shabaab returnee in Bongwe area in June. The four had come out openly to oppose extremism ideologies of Al-Shabaab.

The government says there are over 1,500 Al-Shabaab returnees in Kenya, and many of them have surrendered after a State Amnesty Program was announced last year.

Coast regional Coordinator, Nelson Marwa, said security had been tightened in the region to avert attacks during Eid festivals.

He assured locals and visitors of security following alert of possible terrorist attacks in Lamu county.

Locals reported an alleged sighting of Al-Shabaab militants in Lamu on Sunday.
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Israel's defense ministry said Wednesday it has "successfully" completed a joint military drill with the U.S., linking missile defense systems of both countries in a simulation of missile attacks from Iran and Lebanon.

The so-called "Integrated Ground Test" was conducted over five days by Israel's Defense Ministry, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, and the United States European Command.

In the trial, which was completed on June 22, systems in Israel and the U.S. were synched to test a combined response to a missile attack on Israel, a spokesperson for the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The drill included Israel's Arrow Weapons System, using Arrow-2 and Arrow-3, two anti-ballistic missile interceptors developed by the U.S. and Israel, and the David's Sling missile defense system, a U.S.-developed system which was recently delivered to the Israeli Air Force and participated in the drill as part of the process of becoming operational.

These systems were interoperated with the U.S. command and control elements, Aegis ships, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot missile defense systems.

"The test validated the combined United States and Israel Missile Defense integrated architecture for the defense of Israel," the statement read.

"During the test, scenarios consisted of multiple missile and rocket attacks were simulated against Israel with both United States and Israel successfully employing, engaging and destroying the simulated incoming threats," the spokesperson said.

Israel's last round of war with the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, its arched enemy, ended in 2006, after some 4,000 Katyusha rockets fired by the Shiite organization slammed into northern Israel.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday to discuss maritime issues, at the latter's invitation.

Wang said that relations between China and the United States are generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while properly managing their differences to push forward the new type of major power relations between the two countries.

Wang said the so-called South China Sea arbitration is tainted "with illogical and flawed application of procedures, laws and evidences."

"Therefore, the arbitral tribunal which clearly has been expanding and over-stretching its jurisdiction beyond the limit has no jurisdiction at all (over the South China Sea disputes)," Wang said. "Any award it makes in disregard of the laws and facts is naturally not legally binding."

China, by not participating in and not accepting the so-called arbitration, is in fact upholding international laws and rules and safeguarding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) seriously and its integrity.

"The arbitration tribunal farce should come to an end," Wang said.

Wang urged the United States to honor its commitment to not taking sides on issues related to sovereign disputes, be prudent with its actions and words, and not to take any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of China.

The Chinese foreign minister said that, regardless of any outcome of the so-called arbitration, China will firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and firmly safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea.

China remains committed to peacefully resolving the disputes through negotiations and consultations with directly involved parties, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law and international relations, including the principle of respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and that of resolving disputes by peaceful means, Wang said.

Kerry, for his part, said the United States understands that China has its own stance on the arbitration.

He also expressed the hope that all relevant parties show restraint.

The United States and China share common interests in keeping the peace and stability in the South China Sea and the United States supports countries in the region to make continuous efforts to peacefully resolve disputes through diplomatic means, Kerry added.
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Russia is hoping Germany and France will dissuade Kiev from starting a military operation against insurgents in eastern Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

Servicemen of Ukrainian Forces holds a flag of Ukrainian Airborne Troops to set it on the frontline after a battle with pro-Russian separatists at Avdiivka, in Ukraine's Donetsk region on June 25, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Moscow was concerned with the build-up of Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteer battalions at the contact line with the rebels, which was noticed by observers from the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the ministry said in a statement.

"It is clear that Ukrainian forces are preparing a military operation," it said.

The issue had been discussed at a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin with the German and French ambassadors to Russia.

Karasin said such activities by Ukraine could "nullify" efforts, including those made by the Normandy Quartet of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, aimed at peacefully settling the Ukraine crisis.

Moscow hopes that German and French partners will be able to use their influence on Kiev to prevent a military scenario, which may seriously destabilize the region, the statement said.

The leaders of the Normandy Quartet signed an agreement in Minsk in February 2015 on a peaceful settlement in the independence-seeking Ukrainian region of Donbass.

The Minsk deal envisaged a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the contact line, a prisoner exchange, and holding local elections in Donbass, among other measures.

However, the peace process has reached a stalemate, with Kiev and the eastern insurgents accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
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China and Iran have pledged to cooperate to promote the implementation of a comprehensive agreement on Iranian nuclear issue.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, had a telephone conversation on Wednesday with Zarif, in which they exchanged views on China-Iran relations and the implementation of the comprehensive nuclear agreement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a successful state visit to Iran in January and the two countries upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said, adding that both sides have made positive progress in implementing the consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries.

Since the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue was reached in July 2015, Iran and the six major world countries -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- have actively made their commitment and the implementation of the agreement goes smoothly, Wang said.

Wang said that he hoped all related parties would continue to shoulder their responsibilities, deepen mutual trust and implement UN Security Council Resolution 2231 as well as the Arak heavy-water project. "China will continue to play a constructive role," he said.

For his part, Zarif said Iran attaches great importance to the fruits Xi's Iran visit has yielded and will work with China to realize the consensus reached by the two heads of state.

The Iranian side speaks highly of the efforts the Chinese side has made to facilitate the Arak reactor's reconstruction, Zarif said, adding that Iran will cooperate with China to enhance the implementation of the comprehensive nuclear deal.
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Plans for a more robust European Union (EU) border control system were endorsed by members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Wednesday.

The European Parliament (EP) voted by large majority to support moves to bring together the EU's Frontex border agency and national border management authorities.

Under the plans, national authorities would still manage their borders on a day-to-day basis, but, if their EU external borders were under pressure, they would be able to seek help from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (EBCG) to rapidly deploy pooled border guard teams.

"The European Border and Coast Guard Regulation will ensure that the EU external borders are safer and better managed," said rapporteur Lithuanian MEP Artis Pabriks.

"This is not a silver bullet that can solve the migration crisis facing the EU today or fully restore trust in the Schengen area, but it is a very much needed first step," he added.

At a press conference, Pabriks welcomed the "extremely important vote" on the text of the plans which came about in a "very short period" of five months.

"This shows us that we in the EU can cooperate effectively. For the first time in the history of the Union, a body of 1,500 coastguards will be created," he added.

With the arrival in Europe during 2015 of close to one million refugees fleeing war and poverty the question of managing the EU's external borders has become a hot topic in member states. Greece and Italy have found themselves on the front line as gateways to the EU for refugees and asylum seekers, and have at times been overwhelmed.

The EBCG is seen as a response to such emergencies. "This new agency will be able to rapidly deploy reserve teams to the relevant borders," said Pabriks, emphasising that "this does not affect national sovereignty" - a divisive issue in an EU seen as more and more sceptical about the Union.

Following a request by a member state facing, for example, severe migration pressures, an operational plan would be agreed with the EBCG, which would send, within five working days, the necessary staff and provide technical equipment.

In cases where a member state does not take up the measures proposed by the EBCG or migratory pressure jeopardizes the functioning of the Schengen area, the EU Commission can present a proposal to act to the European Council - which groups the member state governments. The Council would then decide on the need to send border intervention teams.

"The operational plan has to be agreed by the member state concerned and the EBCG before deployment can take place," Pabriks added.

However, the text also provides for other EU states to temporarily reintroduce internal border checks if a member state opposes a Council decision to provide assistance.

The EBCG will not have its own border guards but will be able to call on a rapid reaction pool of 1,500 border guards to be nominated by member states. It will be accountable to the EP and Council.

More contentiously, the EBCG will play a greater role than today's Frontex in returning migrants to their country of origin, "but only when executing decisions that have already been taken by national authorities" and where "return provisions have been further strengthened by additional fundamental rights safeguards".

That could anger NGOs dealing with refugees. One such, Cimade, an ecumenical support group for migrants, has denounced what it sees as "an enhanced version of Frontex, with more power, but still no independent control of its actions or human rights violations during operations."

The text should come into effect this fall.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday discussed with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama the situations in Nagorno-Karabakh region, as well as Syrian and Ukrainian crises in a telephone conversation, according to a Kremlin statement.

On the dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which escalated into bloody clashes in early April, Putin and Obama talked about the results of the June 20 meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in Russia's St. Petersburg.

Both Russia and the United States co-chair the Minsk Group under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Putin stressed Russia expected the speedy stabilization of the situation and the creation of conditions to push forward peace process.

Obama praised Russia's efforts and agreed to continue active joint work under the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

On Syrian crisis, Putin repeated the call for separating moderate Syrian oppositions from the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group and other extremists not covered by the ceasefire regime.

"(Putin and Obama) reaffirmed their readiness to intensify the coordination of military actions in Syria, as well as the importance of resuming the intra-Syrian negotiation process under UN auspices in order to reach political settlement of the conflict," said Kremlin.

When discussing the Ukrainian crisis, Putin stressed that Kiev should strictly comply with the Minsk accords, "including establishing a real direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, announcing amnesty, granting (self-proclaimed) Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics the special status, a joint work on a law on local elections."

"There is no alternative to the path of political settlement," Putin said, adding that more efforts should be paid by all relevant sides to prevent ceasefire violations, and ensure a complete heavy weapons withdrawal.
It was just a few months ago that a veteran from southeast Montana contacted me for help.

He was undergoing chemotherapy and halfway through his treatment he was notified that HealthNet, the contractor hired to run the VA Choice Program, failed to approve his doctors request for additional treatment and his chemotherapy would be cut short.

After sitting on the phone trying to get this ironed out, he called my office for help.

Thats when I turned up the heat on HealthNet and the VA, and they finally processed his paperwork and he was able to continue receiving chemo.

Lets be clear, its my honor and job to help all Montanans, but it shouldnt take a United States Senator calling the VA to get a veteran life-saving medical care. Thats just plain unacceptable.

And thats the problem here. The Choice Program is screwed up. The goal of Choice is good  to ensure veterans can access care outside the VA if they have to wait more than 30 days for an appointment or live more than 40 miles away from a VA clinic.

But the combination of a disastrous roll-out, unintended restrictions on the VA, and the ineptitude of HealthNet, has forced veterans to wait even longer for care.

So after holding more than 20 veterans listening sessions across Montana, I sat down with Republicans and Democrats to write the Veterans First Act to hold the VA accountable improve access to care, and address workforce shortage at VA facilities.

My bill will allow the VA to work directly with local health clinics and hospitals to deliver care to veterans in their hometown while giving the VA the ability to get rid of contractors like HealthNet.

It will also ensure that community providers will be paid in a timelier manner.

I know the Veterans First Act is a step forward because we wrote it after hearing directly from the folks who use the VA, and health care providers who serve our veterans.

The bill is supported by the American Legion, VFW, and Disabled American Veterans.

But like many good ideas in Washington, the Veterans First Act has fallen victim to gridlock and politics.

Despite receiving support from every senator on the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Veterans First Act is now being held up by one senator who is blocking the bill. One Republican senator is standing between millions of veterans across the nation and the care they deserve.

Election year politics are nothing new, but playing politics with Americas veterans is unacceptable. Thats why Im calling on the Senate to step up, stop the politics, and move this bill forward.

I want every Montana veteran to know that I will continue to fight for you. Together, we will break through the Washington gridlock, and together we will hold the politicians accountable who have turned their backs on your service.

Because saying thank you to our veterans is not enough. Our veterans deserve actionand they deserve elected officials who will stand up for them and not stand in their way.

To my colleagues in the Senate: It is time to end the politics and deliver on the promises we made to Americas veterans. It is time to pass the Veterans First Act cause folks like my friend in southeast Montana cant wait.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday announced in a statement that NATO will hold a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at Ambassadorial level with Russia next week.

The meeting will take place on July 13 at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, shortly after the NATO Summit in Warsaw.

"The NATO-Russia Council has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue and information exchange, to reduce tensions and to increase predictability. Our practical cooperation with Russia remains suspended, but we are keeping channels for political dialogue open," said NATO chief.

The discussions will focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk Agreements, according to the statement.

"We will also look at military activities, with a particular focus on transparency and risk reduction, as well as the security situation in Afghanistan," added Stoltenberg.

In April, NATO allies and Russia held a "frank and serious" discussion at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council after it had been suspended for almost two years in light of the Ukraine crisis.

The NATO-Russia Council, which was established in 2002, was conceived as a mechanism for consultation, consensus-building, cooperation, joint decision and joint action.
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The General Command of the Syrian Army announced Wednesday a 72-hour truce in all Syrian cities, local media reported.

New Syrian army recruits carry their plates before heading for their Iftar (breaking fast) meals, at a military training camp in Damascus, Syria June 26, 2016. Picture taken June 26, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The nationwide ceasefire goes into effect as of July 6 until midnight July 8, the military statement said.

The regime of silence truce came apparently to mark the three-day holiday of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr feast, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Previous truces, which were backed by Russia and the United States, have been established in areas near the capital Damascus, and northern province of Aleppo.

However, several breaches were reported, in which the government accused the rebels.

The previous truce is largely holding near Damascus, but abjectly failed in Aleppo.

It's not yet clear how the new nationwide truce, the first in such a big scope, will hold amid a complicated conflict, where tens of rebel groups are involved, including the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) group, which are expected to be excluded from the new truce akin to the previous ones.
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The Paris Agreement, a historic global pact to address climate change, could enter into force as early as next year, said outgoing United Nations (UN) climate chief Christiana Figueres on Tuesday.

Figueres told reporters at the seventh Petersberg Climate Dialogue, an informal ministerial meeting taking place here, that as more and more countries showed their intention to quickly ratify the pact reached last year in France, the Paris Agreement was approaching the threshold of starting operation.

"It will be possible for the Paris Agreement to enter into force as early as next year," said Figueres as her last day as the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"We will be three years ahead of schedule. It is again a confirmation of the spirit of collaboration that came out of Paris continues," she said.

A total of 178 parties of UNFCCC have signed the Paris Agreement. However, for the pact to come into effect, ratification documents must be submitted by at least 55 parties representing 55 percent of global carbon emissions.

Currently, 19 countries have completed this process. China and United States have said they would join the agreement by the end of 2016.

On Tuesday, Germany announced it would also ratify the agreement this year, as did Hungary and France.

"It is important to us to conclude the whole process before the climate conference in Marrakech," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to the Marrakech Climate Change Conference in November this year.

According to EU procedure, Germany, as well as Hungary and France, would only submit their ratification documents with all the other EU member states together.

"We will make it during the course of next year," said German environment minister Barbara Hendricks, "otherwise we will only be a guest at the first conference of the parties of the Paris Agreement. I think this will be enough impetus to move us in that direction."

She added that the EU's ratification procedure would not be impacted by Britain's decision to exit the bloc, as the country would not complete its withdrawal procedure by next year.
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China and the European Union (EU) are preparing to hold their 18th summit in Beijing from July 12 to 13.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will co-chair the summit with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei told a daily news briefing on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with the two EU leaders, Hong said.
The Beartooth Electric Cooperative will hold a call-in member meeting on July 12 to consider its future options.

The telephone town hall meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. Members can call a toll-free number and will get instructions on how to participate. Callers will be able to ask questions and voice concerns. The call-in number is 855-312-2107.

Two options for discussion will be whether Beartooth should remain as a stand-alone co-op or whether it should continue to consider a potential merger with Lower Valley Energy, a rural co-op based in Afton, Wyo.

The Beartooth Electric Co-op belongs to all the members, so we need to know what they think about the future of their cooperative, said Dick Nolan, a District 4 trustee.

Lower Valley Energy has been managing the Beartooth co-op since April 2015. Beartooths three-year management agreement with Lower Valley Energy includes a provision that the boards of the two co-ops may decide to recommend a merger to their members within two years.

Based in Red Lodge, Beartooth serves more than 4,300 members in Carbon, Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties in Montana and part of Park County, Wyo.

More information is available at www.beartoothelectric.com.
HELENA  A man is dead after being shot in a Helena alleyway Thursday morning.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, died at the scene of the shooting on the 1200 block of Bozeman Street. The killer remained at large as of 4:45 p.m. Thursday.

"We're looking for a single shooter," Assistant Helena Police Chief Steve Hagen said Thursday evening.

Investigators are working with a vague description of the suspect being a white man wearing basketball shorts and long socks. Hagen said it is believed the shooter is no longer in the Helena area.

The shooting happened about 11 a.m. The victim died a short time later, after medical efforts failed.

Authorities say they don't believe there is an immediate threat to the public as a result of the shooting, although the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.

Police questioned potential witnesses at the scene, which remained blocked off throughout the day. Hagen said investigators were questioning "people of interest," but no one had been detained as of Thursday afternoon.

Officials declined to say what kind of weapon was used, if the firearm was recovered or how many times the victim was shot.




China's Global Newspaper





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A dog looks at a birthday cake at an expo in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Nine years ago, in a small loft on the top of a student dormitory at Chongqing University, three young men started their dream of building the country's best pet products e-commerce platform, with only 800 yuan ($120) seed money.

By the end of 2015, their epet.com has become China's largest of its kind with 200 million yuan sales revenue.

Yu Zhen, 33, chief human resources officer and one of the co-founders, was then working at Chongqing University as an urban planner. A random shopping trip downtown inspired his passion to do something about pets.

"I found many people taking their pets onto the street and thought it must be a good business," he told China Daily.

As a side job, he immediately set up a local pet BBS. His friend Xiao Yu, now CEO and then a graduate student at Chongqing University's Business School, made a business plan for Yu's project as his homework.

He found that the pet product e-commerce in China had a huge market and was still at its very early stage.

Xiao found that two-thirds of US families have pets, while in big cities in China such as Beijing and Shanghai, the number is only 15 percent.

The pet industry in China has been growing rapidly at 30 percent every year. The market scale reached 50 billion yuan in 2015 from 30 billion in 2013.

To focus on the "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, Yu recalled, he quit his job and Xiao quit his studies.

During the first two years operating the local pet BBS, the team tried various business models but all failed. In 2009, they decided to build Chongqing's first pet product e-commerce website, epet.com.

"We had a very clear goal in the beginning that we were going to establish our own platform, not an ordinary online shop at Taobao (an e-commerce site of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd) or WeChat (a messaging and social media platform of Tencent Holdings Ltd)," Yu said.

Next year, epet.com will launch pet O2O services, including bath and beauty products, foster care, medical care, training and photographs. It plans to go public in 2019.

Deng Rui contributed to this story.
BEIJING - China is carrying out a new round of reforms on its torpid state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and pushing local governments to support private firms.

One key part of the broad reforms would allow employees to hold stakes in SOEs, as mixed-ownership companies are considered more vibrant and efficient.

"We are working to select a few centrally and locally administered SOEs to pilot the employee stakeholding reform," an anonymous source with the state-owned assets authority was quoted by Xinhua-run newspaper Economic Information as saying on Wednesday.

High tech companies will be given preference to pilot the reform, said the source, adding that the trials are expected to build experience for future expansion.

"The second half of 2016 will be a critical period for the employee-stakeholding reform," said Li Jin, chief researcher with the China Enterprise Research Institute (CERI).

China has more than 150,000 SOEs. They play a pivotal role in bolstering the economy and providing employment, with total assets worth about 125 trillion yuan ($20 trillion) as of the end of May.

However, an economic slowdown, which trimmed the country's GDP growth to 6.7 percent in the first quarter, has bitten into SOEs' profitability and left many struggling to keep afloat.

Combined profits of Chinese SOEs saw a decline of 9.6 percent year on year in the first five months despite warming signs in the broader economy.

To reverse the situation, policy makers are promoting an overhaul on SOEs, piloting mixed ownership programs, encouraging mergers and acquisitions, and downsizing overstaffed companies.

President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang gave written advice on the development of SOEs to a national meeting on SOE reform earlier this week.

Xi demanded continued efforts to enhance SOEs' vitality, competitiveness and risk resistance, and to establish a modern corporate governance system.

The premier urged SOEs to slash excess production capacity, boost technological innovation and upgrade traditional industries.

In fact, many SOEs still have huge investment in lackluster traditional heavy industries and are overburdened by high operational costs and long payrolls, according to Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

More efforts are needed to improve state-owned asset management and change rigid corporate governance, Xiao said.

"Further measures will be rolled out to facilitate changes in SOEs, including industry consolidation, improvement in main business and overcapacity reduction," said CERI's Li.

At the same time, Chinese leaders appeared to attach similar, if not equal, importance to private firms, which created about 60 percent of China's GDP and around 80 percent of jobs, but have recently been hesitant to invest.

Private fixed-asset investment increased 3.9 percent year on year in the first five months of 2016, compared with 11.4-percent growth in the same period last year.

Official surveys in May revealed local governments' failure to fully implement pro-private investment measures, including wider market access, lower financial costs and equal government services.

The State Council said in a notice also this week that it will dispatch inspectors in mid-July to regions with huge, but sharply slowed, private investment.

The notice did not specify which provincial-level regions will be targeted. It asked local governments and departments to mend their ways and do as required by a string of documents released since the incumbent central government was formed.
BEIJING - World Bank member International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an MOU with central China's Yichang city for a public-private partnership (PPP) on Wednesday to boost the city's economy and provide essential public services.

This partnership is the IFC's first PPP infrastructure advisory with a Chinese city, and it will hopefully support growth in Yichang by helping businesses improve productivity and tap new markets, according to Philippe Le Houerou, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO.

The partnership will focus on projects such as healthcare, transportation, the environment and sanitation. Under the terms of the MOU, Yichang and IFC will collaborate to identify suitable private sector partners, structure projects, and carry out capacity-building activities.

The PPP has become an important tool to help governments worldwide facing fiscal challenges to draw on the strengths of the private sector and drive economic growth.

China has encouraged PPP as a means to attract private investment for public projects amid downward economic pressure. China's insurance regulator decided to allow insurance companies to invest in PPP programs on Monday.
Workers load steel products at a logistics park in Yichang, Hubei province. [Photo/China Daily]

BEIJING - China's large steel plants saw improved profits and narrowed losses in the first five months of this year thanks to their destocking efforts, according to a national steel association.

Major iron and steel enterprises raked in 8.736 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) in the Jan-May period, up over 700 percent year on year while fewer firms reported losses, according to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA).

The improvement is a result of the firms' rational response to overcapacity in the sector, as most large iron and steel plants reduced their output in the first five months and tried to stabilize product prices, CISA head Liu Zhenjiang said.

Total steel production in the first five months of this year dropped 1.4 percent year on year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

China, the world's largest steel producer and consumer, plans to cut steel capacity by about 10 percent - as much as 150 million tons of steel - in the next few years, with funds set aside to help redundant workers.
BRUSSELS - Europe should focus on attracting Chinese investments in the area of information and communication technology (ICT), said Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business-led association aimed at intensifying business cooperation and investment in the telecom and hi-tech spheres.

"Europe should fully understand the potential of China, especially in sectors such as the ICT," Gambardella told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"I hope Europe will be able to grasp this opportunity because China will become the most important player in the world regarding these highly value-added sectors," he said.

Europe should be more active in consolidating its partnership with China, he said. "We should work together with China attracting investments to create new jobs."

Chinese participation in the Juncker investment plan is a "generous act," and it is also a proof that Europe and its citizens can receive tangible benefits from China, Gambardella said.

Gambardella underlined the need to concentrate on the digital sector, where many small and medium enterprises are developing interesting technologies but at the same time face limited financial resources.

He proposed several specific projects for ICT cooperation between Europe and China, such as developing driverless cars.
Models of residential buildings are seen at a property showroom in Chenggong district of Kunming, Yunnan province, April 14, 2016. The Chinese characters on the boards read "already sold out". [Photo/Agencies]

The property market is expected to see a short-term adjustment from the second half of 2016 to the first half of 2017, and developers may face credit default risk due to fragile capital chain, Economic Information Daily reports.

Since the second half of 2015, the real estate market has shown signs of recovery due to stong policies to stimulate it, Associate Director Ni Tengfei said.

However, this round of rebound will not last long because there is no other support, the newspaper said citing a report released by the National Academy of Economic Strategy, a research group of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In terms of supply side, new investment is likely to turn into a large new supply this year due to huge unsold inventories and less pressure in fund withdrawal.

So if effective system reform is not implemented, the potential demand cannot be relieved, and a short-term adjustment is inevitable, Ni said.

During the first four months of this year, home sales in major cities were 10 percentage points higher than non-major cities, however, developers' investment in non-major cities was 1.1 percentage points higher than that of major cities.

Developers' credit default risk will increase accordingly during the adjustment period, Ni added.

Data showed that between February and May, individual mortgage loans among developers' capital source increased by 30.4 percent, 46.2 percent, 54.7 percent and 58.5 percent year on year respectively. However, the figures were all negative between April and December of 2014.

Ni warned that developers in third- and fourth-tier cities may run out of money and could be at a risk due to the fragile capital chain, especially the default risk of some small and medium developers who raised money through informal financing.
Overseas experts and scholars attending the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet visit Jokhang Temple at Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet autonomous region, on Monday. [Photo by Tentsen Shiden/Tibet Daily]

LHASA - The Forum on the Development of Tibet opened on Thursday in the regional capital Lhasa.

Liu Qibao, publicity chief of the Communist Party of China, said at the opening ceremony that Tibet's development should be guided by the principles of innovation, coordination, green development, openness and sharing.

Tibet is on the cusp of a new round of development. It will continue to pursue economic and social improvement, augment people's livelihoods, encourage multiculturalism, and protect local culture and the environment, Liu said.

Christine Davies, vice president of the Asia Society, said forums like this play a very important role in generating understanding and respect. "I hope that many outside groups -- whether scholarly, business or other communities -- are invited to follow in our path this week to see firsthand both the progress and opportunities that exist for further development of this very strategic region," she said.

French writer Sonia Bressler, who has visited Tibet three times, said, "We need to put down our ignorance, pay attention to details and listen harder when in Tibet."

More than 130 researchers, officials and correspondents from over 30 countries and regions have been invited to attend the forum, which will last until Friday. It is hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibetan regional government.
The logo of Tencent [Photo/IC]

Tencent Holdings Ltd has announced that it will fully open up its big data platform and machine learning technology in a move to build a "sharing economy" based on cloud services.

Enterprises will be able to use a set of big data analysis tools developed by Tencent, helping them gain a better understanding of their clients and improve their products.

The Shenzhen-based internet giant, which owns instant messaging tools QQ and WeChat, has years of experiences storing and analyzing huge amounts of data.

The opening of its core technologies is part of Tencent's efforts to develop cloud services, an area which many other big companies including Alibaba and Baidu are also tapping into.

"Development of a sharing economy is closely related to cloud services" said Ma Huateng, chairman of Tencent. "Like transportation, accommodation and many other areas, cloud services are also a kind of sharing economy."

He said cloud computing has become one of the key areas Tencent focuses on and the company is dedicated to opening its IT resources and technological capabilities to outsiders.

"In the past, enterprises were only users of internet technology. Now, as they engage themselves in the cloud, they are becoming a part of the internet ecosystem," Ma said at the 2016 Tencent Cloud Summit held in Shenzhen this week.

Cloud technology has achieved greater importance in recent years as more and more Chinese enterprises integrate themselves deeper with the internet. However, it remains difficult for companies, especially smaller ones, to build their own data center because it involves large capital investment and a waste of resources, said Dowson Tong, senior executive vice-president of Tencent.

Cloud services help enterprises get access to more resources while reducing their operating costs, Tong said.

According to the 2016 Internet Trends report, services provided by Tencent are the most commonly used by Chinese internet users. More than 50 percent of their time on the internet is spent on Tencent services.

"We are not offering cloud services as a separate business. Instead, it is a part of Tencent's entire strategy. Enterprises will be able to get access to all Tencent platforms by using its cloud services," Ma said.

Joe Weinman, a leading cloud computing strategist, said Tencent has a good background in offering cloud services. The company owns a huge amount of consumer data and knows what consumers need. This will enable it to do better in user experience and improve availability of its products, he said.
HELENA  A manufacturer of copper and zinc products in East Helena has agreed to limit its use of a well that taps into lead- and arsenic-contaminated water beneath a Superfund site.

Allan Payne is an attorney for American Chemet Corp. He said Wednesday the company has already capped five wells and agreed to limit the use of another well to 7 gallons per minute as part of an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency.

Payne said the water is used as a coolant in the manufacturing process of copper- and zinc-based chemicals and injected back into the ground.

Payne said the agreement releases American Chemet from any liability over the Superfund site that includes contamination from the decommissioned ASARCO lead smelter.

The agreement requires American Chemet to put up a $100,000 bond to guarantee the work.
Employees with Lenovo Group Ltd test mobile phones at the company's plant in Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo/China Daily]

Serious flooding in central China is affecting some smartphone vendors, with a factory besieged by water, aftersale services partially suspended and online retailers short of products.

Lenovo Group Ltd, a leading handset maker in China, said its newly released smartphone ZUK Z2 would be temporarily unavailable on online shopping platforms, due to heavy flooding in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

"This morning, our factory in Wuhan was besieged by water, and we have sent more than 2,000 workers out of the plant to safe places," Chen Xudong, senior vice-president of Lenovo, said on Wednesday.

According to his post on Sina Weibo, the flood receded at night, but because the downpour has seriously affected local traffic, e-commerce sites would temporarily be short of the ZUK Z2 smartphones.

"Please visit bricks-and-mortar stores for our products," Chen said.

It is not immediately clear how big the Wuhan plant's production capacity is and when online sales of ZUK Z2 will be resumed.

But local media outlet Hubei Daily reported that Lenovo has poured 5 billion yuan ($748 million) to build the Wuhan production base, which spans an area of about 126,000 square meters.

Lenovo is just one of tech companies that have suffered from the heavy rainfall in central China.

As of Wednesday, the torrential rainfall in Hubei has already caused direct economic damage worth 18.1 billion yuan, the provincial government said.

The Shenzhen-based smartphone vendor Shenzhen OnePlus Science & Technology Co Ltd also issued a statement on Sina Weibo on Wednesday, warning that the deluge has affected its customer service center in Wuhan.

Fu Liang, an industry expert, said: "The current spate of floods will have some short-term impacts on smartphone vendors' sales, but would not cause long-term changes."
Premier Li Keqiang called for better scientific planning and a greater sense of responsibility in flood prevention and control during a meeting with provincial leaders of flooded areas.

Premier Li Keqiang chairs a meeting on flood prevention on Tuesday night in Yueyang city after inspecting flood-control work in the flooded areas of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers during the day. Photo provided to China Daily

Li chaired a meeting on flood prevention on Tuesday night in Yueyang city, central China's Hunan province, after inspecting flood-control work in the flooded areas of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers during the day. The meeting established plans for flood prevention and control, emergency response and disaster relief.

According to a report presented at the meeting by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, the early arrival of heavy rainfall has led to the flooding and parts of the country face extremely difficult conditions of rain and flooding this year.

Premier Li Keqiang chairs a meeting on flood prevention on Tuesday night in Yueyang city after inspecting flood-control work in the flooded areas of the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers during the day. Photo provided to China Daily

Water levels have crossed the warning mark in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Dongtingh and the Poyanghu lakes, as well as more than 200 rivers, damaging middle- and small-sized flood control facilities.

Li said that water conservation and flood prevention and control have always been of utmost importance to the stability of the country and well-being of people.

"We must, first and foremost, ensure the safety of the people as well as the security of major embankments and major facilities. Second, we need to focus our efforts on preventing basin-wide floods and secondary disasters," he said.
Participants in the Forum on the Development of Tibet visit the Samye Monastery in the Tibet autonomous region on Tuesday. Tentsen Shinden / Tibet Daily

The Samye Monastery in the Tibet autonomous region, which is usually filled with pilgrims and tourists, welcomed many overseas guests on Tuesday.

The monastery, the first Buddhist one built in Tibet, hosted participants in the five-day Forum on the Development of Tibet, which opened on Monday in Lhasa. The visit formed one of their field trips.

The forum offers face-to-face exchanges for Tibetan officials and foreign advisers, according to the State Council Information Office, which is hosting the event with the regional government.

Foreign advisers can share details of how their countries have taken a sustainable development path, the office said.

Sixty-four foreign experts and scholars from more than 30 countries and regions are attending the forum and will give suggestions on Tibet's development.

The forum is being held for the fifth time, and it is the second time it has been staged in Tibet. The first three were held in Vienna, Rome and Athens in 2007, 2009 and 2011.

The fourth forum was held in Tibet in 2014. Agreement was reached among participants from 33 countries and regions that development of selected industries, improving people's livelihoods, and protecting the environment and cultural diversity are vital to Tibet's sustainable development.

On Monday and Tuesday, the overseas participants also visited Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Bazaar, two Tibetan villages, and inspected forestry protection measures.

Leonard van der Kuijp, a Tibetologist at Harvard University, who first visited Tibet in 1982, said he has noticed that painting and renovation work has improved in rebuilding many areas.

It is always a question of how you preserve the old with the new, he said, adding that in rebuilding and renovation of monasteries, the local governments have done a very good job.

He also said many Tibetan books have been published and can be found in Lhasa, Chengdu, Lanzhou and Xining.

Transportation services have improved, he added. While it took him six hours to travel from downtown Lhasa to Gonggar Airport in 1982, now it takes only one hour.
A soldier carries a sandbag to reinforce the Dadao dyke of Baidang Lake in Tanggou Township of Zongyang county, East China's Anhui province, July 6, 2016. Over 260 soldiers were dispatched to reinforce the dyke.[Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) and armed police will send more troops to support flood control and disaster relief on the direct orders of Chinese President Xi Jinping.



While praising the role of the military in recent disaster relief, Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), urged the CMC to immediately send troops to the affected areas.



The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday that five days of heavy rain along the Yangtze River and its tributaries had left 128 people dead and 42 others unaccounted for.



The rain has led to the collapse of 41,000 houses and forced the evacuation of more than 1.34 million people. Nearly 600,000 people are in urgent need of basic living assistance.



Following Xi's order, the PLA Rocket Force Command College immediately dispatched a rescue team with 183 servicemen and 16 pieces of rescue equipment.



After hours of work in torrential rain, the rescue team prevented a dike breaching in Daokou Lake, Qingshan District of Wuhan City, capital of central China's Hubei Province.



Armed police in Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other areas also took part in the work.
Domestically made aircraft will help 'to safeguard our overseas interests'

The Y-20, China's domestically developed heavy-lift transport plane, officially joined the People's Liberation Army Air Force on Wednesday.

Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, and General Ma Xiaotian, the Air Force's commander, attended a ceremony in Sichuan province marking the occasion, an Air Force statement announced.

The first user of the colossal jet is an Air Force unit in the PLA's Western Theater Command, according to the statement. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 220 metric tons and is able to transport cargo and personnel over long distances in diverse weather conditions.

"Taking the Y-20 into service marks a crucial step in the Air Force's effort to improve our ability to project strategic power," said Senior Colonel Shen Jinke, spokesman for the Air Force.

The development of the Y-20 started in 2007 at Aviation Industry Corp of China. The aircraft made its maiden flight in January 2013, and it flew at the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in November 2014.

Tang Changhong, the Y-20's chief designer, said the jet has good maneuverability, an outstanding aerodynamic design, a high level of automation and a strong payload capacity.

The Y-20 will hugely improve China's ability to safeguard its overseas interests and protect Chinese living abroad, said Fu Qianshao, a PLA Air Force expert on aircraft.

"The long operational range and strong payload capacity make the Y-20 an ideal aircraft for strategic projection and overseas evacuation," he said. "To safeguard our overseas interests, we need a powerful transport aircraft like the Y-20 that can operate from any terrain and rapidly deploy or evacuate our people."

Fu predicted that the supersize jet will be developed into a large family of early warning and aerial refueling aircraft.

He added that it will not take long for PLA air crews to familiarize themselves with the new jet because they have had experience with transport planes and the aircraft's good automation capability will reduce the crews' work.

Wang Ya'nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, said the biggest advantage of the Y-20 is that it was "tailor-made" to meet the PLA's requirements.

Responding to AVIC officials' earlier statement that China will develop new transport planes larger than the Y-20, Wang said larger aircraft - like Russia's Antonov An-124 Ruslan and the United States' Lockheed C-5 Galaxy - are useful to ferry enormous pieces of equipment, but the Y-20 will remain the backbone of the China's military transport aircraft.

"The plane can fly more than 5,000 km in eight hours, so it can fulfill most of the PLA's transport needs," he said.

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page3)
As Muslims around China celebrated Eid al-Fitr on Wednesday marking the end of Ramadan, the country is making efforts to take 1,000 more Muslims to the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca this year to participate in the holy pilgrimage.

The number of Chinese pilgrims allowed into the holiest city of Islam has remained unchanged for years.

In 2015, 14,500 Chinese pilgrims from 27 provinces and regions went to Mecca for the hajj, which falls in September this year.

"We have applied to the Saudi government for permission to take 1,000 additional pilgrims to Mecca. That application is still being processed," said Ma Xiubang, the China Islamic Association's representative for hajj-related issues.

To make the pilgrimage - a religious duty - Chinese Muslims must register at the website of their local religious affairs bureau. The annual quota of pilgrims from each province and region depends on the size of its Muslim population.

Ma said the association will arrange an additional charter flight to take more Muslims from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region this year to reduce the long waiting time to make the hajj - often five to 10 years, and sometimes longer.

Xinjiang is home to 51 percent of China's Muslim population. Zhang Chunxian, Xinjiang's top leader, said the annual pilgrimage should be treated as an important part of people's lives.

Chinese pilgrims will wear electric wristbands so their location can be tracked and they can be alerted of possible dangers.

In 2015, a stampede occurred in Mecca as pilgrims performed one of the hajj rituals. Saudi officials said the accident left 769 dead and 934 injured.

Earlier, in September, 111 pilgrims were killed and 331 others injured when heavy wind tipped over a crane outside the Grand Mosque.

On Wednesday morning, Eid al-Fitr prayers were said in mosques around China followed by a feast. The prayers at Doudian Mosque, in Beijing's Fangshan district, were crowded with people from near and far.

"Muslims can take the day off on Eid al-Fitr, so I was able to come to Doudian Mosque for the prayers," said Ma Fu, 28, an IT worker in Beijing.

In heavily Muslim-populated autonomous regions, like Xinjiang and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Eid al-Fitr is a public holiday. Xinjiang residents have the day off, and in Ningxia there is a three-day holiday.

As Beijing has become more internationalized, Doudian Mosque has seen an increasing number of foreign Muslims attending its religious services.

Abudulkadeer and Milun from Algeria were passing their first Eid al-Fitr in Beijing, after working near Doudian Mosque for three months. "The mosque and organization are really good," Milun said.

They snapped photos of the prayer hall and the Chinese style feast with the mobile phones to later share the moment with their families back home.

Hu Anqi contributed to this story
The Party's top leader training academy has, for the first time in its 83-year history, trained the heads of all State-run universities, Xu Weixin, vice-president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said on Wednesday.

The 1,446 Party secretaries and principals of all 796 public universities have received training at the school since the 18th National Party Congress in 2012, Xu said.

Meanwhile, the school also organized two-month training programs for Party chiefs at the county level and one-month training programs on the deepening reform of State-owned enterprises, in addition to its existing programs.

Since 2013, it has trained 31,370 people, equivalent to the total of the previous eight years, she said.

"The training at the Central Party School is very intensive and the evaluation is very strict. We have a record of the attendance rate and how many meals they have had in the canteen," Xu said.

"The evaluation report will be sent to their supervisors in their workplaces and the Party organization departments. It will be taken into consideration when it comes to promotion."

She said the school has developed new courses in recent years on topics such as news releases and national security, in addition to Party theory, anti-corruption and economics.

Last year, President Xi Jinping, who was head of the Central Party School from 2007-12, emphasized the significant role that the Party school system plays in building the Party and said that some local officials were not taking the training seriously.

There are about 2,900 Party schools at all levels in China. In addition to the Central Party School, national-level leadership training institutions under the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee were established in Jiangxi and Shaanxi provinces and in Shanghai municipality in 2005.

It has also established cooperative academic relations with many government organs, research institutes and educational institutions of higher learning in about 30 countries, according to Xu.

"China is the second-largest economy and a country with rising influence on the world stage. That means it is impossible for the Central Party School to close the door to the outside world," she said.

"On one hand, we have to be a better China storyteller and contribute our wisdom to the world; on the other hand, we have to absorb the experiences of other countries that might help us face our own challenges, such as environmental problems."
China welcomes foreign NGOs to China and will offer them a better working environment, senior officials said.

"The Chinese government supports the participation of Chinese social organizations in the economic and social development of the country. In the same vein, the Chinese government welcomes the conduct of friendly exchanges and cooperation in China by foreign NGOs," President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory letter to the Civil Society 20 China 2016.

"Efforts are being made to facilitate their operation in China and protect their legitimate rights and interests through creating an enabling legislative environment," Xi said.

More than 200 NGO representatives and experts from 54 countries and regions attended the C20, themed "Poverty Eradication, Green Development, and Innovation: Role of Civil Society", which was held in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who delivered Xi's message at the opening ceremony, said China is actively reducing poverty through green development and innovation, and will continue to support both domestic and international civil societies in these fields.

Yang added that foreign NGOs should feel assured that the new regulation will give them more access to government services.

"The open door of China will never be closed," Yang said. "Some of you who came to work in China in the early days might have met inconveniences due to the lack of law and supervising government organs. As the new law goes into practice, these problems will be solved gradually." Yang also said that government officials' awareness and ability to serve the public are improving.

Earlier in April, China approved new regulations on foreign NGOs operating in China while guaranteeing better services from the government.

The law forbids foreign NGOs from taking part in or paying for profitable or political activities. It also requires these NGOs to register with public security bureaus. Meanwhile, local government organs are obliged to provide services to foreign NGOs to facilitate their legislative activities.

The new law will take into effect on Jan 1.

"In addressing poverty eradication, green development and innovation, the government bears important responsibilities, while civil societies have a role to play as forerunner, communicator, supervisor and facilitator. In this regard, the two stakeholders will make concerted efforts to forge ahead in tandem," said attendants at the meeting in a joint communique.

A total of 30 suggestions were raised in the communique, covering education, tax reform, environmental protection and medical service, among other fields.

You Jianhua, secretary-general of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, which co-hosted the event with the United Nations Association of China, said that there are 660,000 NGOs registered under China's Ministry of Civil Affairs, and they have played a key role in international exchanges.

chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page5)
When offenders can't pay compensation, money can be provided by judicial action

Victims of harmful behavior, including negligent or criminal conduct, whose lives have become more difficult as a result of the offender's inability to pay compensation, can ask the courts to provide relief money from the State, under a new legal guideline issued by China's top court.

The guideline, which was issued by the Supreme People's Court on Tuesday, allows litigants in eight circumstances - including those who sustained physical injuries or whose lives have become more difficult as the result of a harmful act - to be given the equivalent of 36-months' pay based on average local wages.

People who have been disabled or who require urgent medical treatment or suffer economic loss for offenses are also allowed to apply for relief in court, it said.

The top court said the guideline is designed to efficiently help litigants who suffer problems due to an inability to get compensation and to solve their urgent troubles in a timely manner.

Zhao Li, a criminal lawyer in Beijing, applauded the guideline, saying it provides a kind of humanitarian care from the country, and is good news for victims who cannot be compensated for offenses in a timely manner.

"I handled a robbery case in Henan province in 2012, in which the victim died after the attack and left two young children, one of whom was under 2 years old," Zhao said. "The family has carried a big burden to live since then, even though the offender's death sentence brought them some relief."

"The victim's family couldn't get timely economic compensation from the offender at the same time, and the criminal's family was unable to pay," he said.

"In the past, some provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions had money available to help litigants in trouble, but the public was not informed about the funds," he said.

The new guideline represents the first time the top court has ruled on the matter, clarifying under what conditions a litigant may apply for relief, Zhao said.

Ruan Chuansheng, a criminal lawyer in Shanghai, said a judicial remedy also shows that the country shoulders its responsibility to help the victims of offenses.

"It is very common that victims find it difficult to get compensation when they are injured," Ruan said. "It's often not practical to ask criminals to pay everything. Some of them are incapable of paying."

But Ruan added that the judicial remedy is aimed solely at helping litigants cope with economic emergencies. "After all, this money is not for helping the poor," he said.

The guideline also stipulates that litigants who falsify evidence to prove his or her injuries or life difficulties will be denied, as will those who interfere with lawsuits or whose damages are not the result of the offense at issue.

Court spokesman jumps to business

The high-profile spokesman of China's top court will soon join e-commerce giant Alibaba, adding to the rising number of legal officers who have resigned from courts in recent years.

Sun Jungong, who became spokesman for the Supreme People's Court in April 2009, will become vice-president for public affairs and report directly to Jin Jianhang, president of Alibaba Group, according to a source inside the company.

In a work report from the top court issued in March, the drain of judicial talent is a serious problem in the court system.

About 1,000 judges left the courts last year, including chief judges, according to Chinese media reports. Some resigned for economic reasons and some because of pressure brought on by an increasing number of cases, the reports said.

Beijing High People's Court said last year that more than 500 legal officers in the capital had quit in the previous five years.

Sun declined an interview request on Wednesday.
A UK immigration consultancy had its license suspended recently, leading to 257 Chinese graduates being told to leave the country.

In June, the UK-based Overseas Student Service Centre had its sponsorship license revoked by the British Home Office. As a result, 257 Chinese students sponsored by the group were told to leave the UK within 60 days or make alternative arrangements to stay.

Compliance checks of the consultancy by the government found "significant breaches" of its obligations, according to a Home Office spokesman who requested anonymity. The Home Office deals with the country's internal affairs.

The consultancy's scheme, called the International Student Internship Program, placed eligible graduates in internships at UK-based organizations. It was run in partnership with a UK-based law firm, Denning Legal. The consultancy charged students a fee of 1,200 pounds ($1,570) for the program. It was rolled out under the government's so-called Tier 5 exchange program, where organizations can sponsor student internships at UK companies

Colin Chen, managing director of the program, cited two main reasons the program was accused of noncompliance by the Home Office: The government thinks interns are taking jobs from Britons by developing business relations with China; and the consultancy failed to track interns' hours and job tasks, as required by law.

Chen said the Home Office unfairly targeted the consultancy. But the Home Office spokesman said the internship program was found to be out of compliance on many points required for a license.

Chinese student numbers in the UK have grown rapidly. In the 2014-15 academic year, the number of Chinese students exceeded any other nationality, with 89,540 enrolled in higher education.

Yet graduate students' ability to stay in the country has become increasingly difficult since the UK abolished its post-study work visa in 2012. Under the previous visa arrangement, students could stay in the UK after graduation to gain work experience for two years.

Zhang Xueying, head of the China and Far East Desk at Sherrards Solicitors, said the number of immigration agencies focusing on the Chinese graduates' market has grown rapidly since the abolition of the PSW scheme.

She said it is not uncommon for Chinese students to have their visa applications rejected or be banned from entry for a time, because of the unprofessional practices of some of the immigration agents they use.
HELENA  Montana Department of Justice officials say 2,818 Volkswagen and Audi owners in the state will benefit from a legal settlement over Volkswagen's rigged emissions tests.

DOJ spokeswoman Anastasia Burton says the owners of the affected diesel vehicles will receive a restitution payment of at least $5,100 and have the choice of selling back their cars or having them fixed at Volkswagen's expense.

According to the settlement, which still must be approved by a judge, Montana also will receive $11.6 million in installments for environmental mitigation programs that are specified in the agreement.

The DOJ's Office of Consumer Protection also will receive more than $2 million from the settlement.

In total, the German automaker has agreed to spend up to $15.3 billion to settle lawsuits that its diesel cars cheated on U.S. emissions tests.
China reports fewer 'left-behind children' (Xinhua) Updated: 2016-07-07 10:41

BEIJING - China recorded about 560,000 fewer rural "left-behind" children in 2015 than the year before, and more moved to cities to live with their parents, the Ministry of Education said on Wednesday.



About 20.19 million "left-behind children" attended rural primary and junior high schools in 2015, down from 20.75 million in 2014, according to an annual ministry report.



The phrase is used in China to describe rural children whose parents work in other cities. Left-behind children usually live with relatives, often their grandparents, while their parents work away from home.



Last year, the number of rural children attending schools in the cities where their parents work increased by about 720,000 to 13.67 million, according to the report.



China's national household registration system, or "hukou," has been a major reason that children of migrant workers have had less access to urban public schools. However, many city governments have gradually eased restrictions over the past few years.
Liang Xide, 80, poses for an undated fashion photo in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province. [Photo by Motion Studio]

Oversized sunglasses, high-heeled shoes and lace dresses. Can you imagine these on a 80-year-old granny?

A series of photos of an elderly woman wearing just that hit Chinese messaging app WeChat recently, reported Chongqing Commercial Daily.

The fashion icon in her eighties is a Chongqing local in Southwest China who took those photos during her visit to her grandniece Lin Dan in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province.

"Grandaunt likes posing for photos. So I think the fashion photos could be a special present for her. Then I invited a photographer and took two suitcases of my own clothes and shoes there," said Lin, who owns a fashion shop in Shenyang.

The photos were taken in a cultural creativity park, where many pedestrians were attracted by the shoot. "A post-90s young man even came over asking to pose together with her," said Lin.

Liang liked singing and dancing when she was young and she picked up photography after she retired. "No one told me how to pose for fashion photos. I just know how to do it and I also tried to tie-in dressing myself in my daily life," she said.
After weeks of covering Britain's EU referendum, I was desperately in need of some karma.

Where better else to find it than on the rooftop of the world. I am attending the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet in Lhasa.

It is my first visit to the autonomous region and one that was worthy of anticipation given the mythology it always attracts.

Certainly, the scenery is impressive, although when you descend into Lhasa airport you could be forgiven for thinking you were arriving in Scotland with all the green hills.

Most people's image of Tibet is influenced by British novelist James Hilton's creation of Shangri-La, an otherworldly paradise, in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon.

Hilton, also author of Goodbye, Mr Chips, apparently never even went to Tibet and I am not sure if he did the region any favors.

The problem that Tibet has and what this forum is partly aiming to address is that the region is not seen internationally as a place to do business.

Participants at this forum, apart from China, are from 31 countries, including Tibet's near neighbors India and Nepal but also from as far afield as New Zealand and Ecuador.

My main interest here is how the region is likely to benefit from the central government's Belt and Road Initiative.

The northwest of its territory is connected with the Silk Road Economic Belt and the southern part, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

It is hoped by building new links through the development of infrastructure it can break out of its landlocked chains.

It is not a forlorn hope since it has done it before. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and long afterward, Xigaze, now a prefecture-level city in southern Tibet, was a significant freight station for the ancient Silk Road.

There has been much progress so far, not least the 2,000-kilometer Qinghai to Tibet railway, which opened in 2006, as part of China's Western Development or "Go West" strategy.

By 2020, we shall see the opening also of the $20 billion Lhasa to Chengdu rail link, which will provide Tibet with a potential link to Europe through neighboring western provinces.

Some of this is beginning to pay off already. Tibet's economy grew by 10.7 percent last year, significantly more than the national average, although the base remains low.

There have been benefits to local people also with initiatives to help nomads find work in newly established towns and encouraging former "serfs" to set up agricultural businesses.

But it is establishing trade links with its southern neighbors and being better connected to the rest of China that will really drive the economy.

Some experts such as Zhang Yun, a director of the Institute of Historical Studies at the China Tibetology Research Center, talk of the old silk routes being restored to their "original splendor."

Over much raising of glasses of butter tea, the traditional Tibetan drink and an acquired taste, there has certainly been room for optimism this week. Certainly, there have been many personal international connections forged.
NANJING - Police in east China's Jiangsu Province have detained 12 people accused of dumping a massive amount of garbage on the bank of a lake in Suzhou City.

The suspects are accused of fly-tipping garbage since June 15 on a bank of Taihu Lake near a drug rehabilitation clinic within the Suzhou Taihu National Tourism Vacation Zone, said a spokesperson with the city's public security bureau on Wednesday.

An estimated over 20,000 tonnes of waste consisting mostly of construction materials was found across 2,400 square meters of the bank. Under police interrogation, the suspects admitted to having dumped about 12,000 tonnes.

They were caught on Friday after local maritime authorities seized eight vessels carrying 4,000 tonnes of what police suspect to be construction materials and household garbage near the bank.

Police said these vessels carried the garbage from Jiading, a suburban district in Shanghai.

Six others implicated in the case are freed on bail.
BEIJING - The top disciplinary arm of the Communist Party of China (CPC) named and shamed officials in 90 cases of misconduct on Thursday.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published on its website names of officials involved in accepting bribes, embezzling public funds, abusing power for personal gain and misappropriating state allowances or subsidies, among other violations.

Those on the list are mainly low-level bureaucrats, ranging from village chiefs to county heads. Punishments include warnings, demotions, dismissals, and expulsion from the CPC.

In one case, Yuan Weizhong, former Party chief of Xiguan Village of Jinzhou City in northeast China's Liaoning Province, was expelled from the CPC for misappropriating public funds and swindling state subsidies.

China has been working hard to rein in corruption and instill more discipline in its civil servants, in response to public complaints over officials' behavior.

The CCDI established a monthly reporting system in August 2013 to monitor nationwide implementation of the "eight-point rules," which were introduced on Dec. 4, 2012 by the CPC to reduce bureaucracy, extravagance, and undesirable work habits.
Overseas experts and scholars attending the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet visit Jokhang Temple at Lhasa, the capital city of the Tibet autonomous region, on Monday. [Photo by Tentsen Shiden/Tibet Daily]

Overseas experts and scholars have been impressed by the development of Tibet whilst sightseeing before the opening of the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet.

More than 130 scholars and experts from more than 30 countries and regions attended the forum today in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. It is hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibet autonomous region government.

Before the forum's opening, the participants visited Lhasa and nearby areas, including cultural relics such as the Potala Palace.

Ahmed Zarif Alkadi, who teaches Chinese at Egypt's Minia University, said it was his first trip to Tibet, and that he was amazed by its beautiful natural scenery.

He has visited many places, including monasteries in Lhasa and a nearby village, in the past few days, he said.

He also considered Tibet different to what he thought it was back in Egypt.

An overseas journalist shoots a video at Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, on Monday. [Photo by Tentsen Shiden/Tibet Daily]

"In Egypt we had little information about Tibet and I knew Tibet mostly from novels, and Tibet is depicted as a primitive place of isolation," Alkadi said, in Chinese.

"But here I have found a lot of modern elements, and people here are plain and kind."

Jim Stoopman, program coordinator at Brussels' European Institute for Asian Studies said it was his second visit to Lhasa and that he had seen incredible changes in the city compared to his last visit in 2010.

"It starts with the road from the airport to the city," he said, adding that it had been new, but there was mud when he first visited the city.

He also said he saw many new apartment buildings this time and also visited agricultural farms and monasteries in the past few days.

"I think the central government in China is trying its best and putting all efforts to develop the region and livelihood of the people," he said. "We've seen some examples in the past few days. Tibet is really developing and people are moving out of poverty. It's easier for minorities to go to universities, to enjoy good primary education, and to learn their languages."

Nikhil Agarwal, a senior correspondent at the Kolkata Bureau of Press Trust of India, said China had fulfilled its commitment to protect Tibet's fragile ecosystem, which is reflected in the fact that Tibet's forest coverage has increased from less than 1 per cent of the land area in the 1950s to the current level of 11.98 per cent. Protection of rare species, such as red deer and Tibetan antelope, has been successful, Agarwal said.
Liu Hongmei, 54, and her husband Jing Minghua dress their newborn baby in Xiangyang, Central China's Hubei province, June 27, 2016. [Photo/Provided to China Daily]

At the age of 54, Liu Hongmei gave birth to her second child thanks to in vitro fertilization, two years after losing her first son to a traffic accident.

Liu comes from Xiangyang, in Central China's Hubei province. She and Jing Minghua, her husband, lived together with their son until April 2014, when the 23-year-old was hit by a truck and killed.

"We felt like the sky had fallen in," said Jing. "We didn't feel like doing anything at all."

The couple took a long time to grieve, but were able to move past the tragedy with the help of their relatives and friends. Eventually, they made up their minds to have another child.

"Some relatives advised us to adopt, but it didn't work out," said Jing. "And we still wanted a child of our own."

Due to the difficulties associated with conceiving naturally over the age 50, the couple decided to try in vitro fertilization, after consulting with various doctors. They began their preparations early last year and after a few false starts, Liu became pregnant in October.

Many risks are associated with pregnancies in older women, including a greater possibility of miscarriage and other, more life-threatening complications. Liu was diagnosed with hypertension and placenta praevia, or a low-lying placenta, during routine tests  both of which had the potential to put mother and baby in harm's way.

The doctors tried to alleviate the situation, and Jing quit his job so he could attend his wife around the clock.

Liu finally delivered her baby by Caesarean section

"We gave her a rapid transfusion as well as all the medicine we have that accelerates contraction to stop the bleeding," said Huang Yuqin, a doctor at Xiangyang No 1 People's Hospital who led the team operating on Liu for 1 hour 40 minutes.

"The operation took more than twice the normal time, she's very lucky to both successfully give birth and still have her uterus."

Jing told China Daily his wife was recovering gradually, and his newborn son is healthy apart from some neonatal jaundice, which is expected to recede after a few days.

Although raising the child and applying for allowances is likely to be a challenge for the couple in the coming days, they are being assisted by local officials.

"They met the criteria for an allowance of up to 30,000 yuan ($4,500). We have advised the local departments to aid them in the application process," said Yue Yong, director of Hubei Provincial Health and Family Planning Commission's Family Development Department.

There are an estimated 1 million families nationwide in which the parents have lost their only child, a number which is increasing by 76,000 a year, according to earlier media reports.

But many couples so not try to conceive again, due to the low success rate associated with old age, as well as the low acceptance of assisted reproductive technology, according to Zhou Liangyi, secretary-general of Hubei Family Planning Association.

Zheng Jie, director of the Hubei Center for Reproductive Medicine at Hubei Maternal and Child Health Hospital, said Liu's success was a rarity, and experts usually don't recommend attempting to conceive after 35 years of age due to the high risk of complications.

"For elderly mothers who have lost their only child, the decision of whether to conceive through in vitro fertilization techniques should be taken carefully after considerations based on their willingness, physical state and financial condition," said Zheng.

"Once pregnant, elderly woman should be aware of the medical risks throughout the whole pregnancy, and monitor their physical changes regularly."

Liang Shuang contributed to this story.
Foreign PhD students attend a graduation ceremony of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing.[Photo by Yan Dongjie/chinadaily.com.cn]

July is the month of graduation. Together with millions of college graduates in China, 38 PhD students from 31 countries got their tassels turned in the graduation ceremony of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Wednesday.

Dressed in red and blue academic gowns and caps, Eliamoni Titus Lyatuu from Tanzania, as well as his schoolmates from other African and Southeast Asian countries, are excited to finally finish their 3-year PhD at CAAS. They will soon return to their countries and work in governments and agricultural organizations.

"Three years is not short but time flies. I'd love to spend more time in China to learn from its experience on agricultural and economic growth," said Lyatuu, a 40-year-old graduate who majored in agricultural economics and management.

Lynatuu first came to China in 2003 for his masters degree, after which he has been working with Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He said that the reason why he came back for his PhD was that he believed the growing China could broaden his mind.

CAAS is one of the scientific research institutions in the field of agricultural sciences in China that confers doctorates, and has trained nearly 200 foreign PhD and Masters graduates since 2008.

"China's agricultural development and techniques rank high worldwide, and we'd like to share our experience with more youth in the Third World and even more Western countries," said Wang Xunqing, director of International Education Office of Graduate School, CAAS, adding that it is welcoming more international scholars and graduate students in agriculture.
From left: Wang Yi, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lou Qinjian, Party chief of Shaanxi province, Hu Heping, governor of Shaanxi province, Rashid Alimov, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Kim Jang-soo, the Republic of Korea's ambassador to China, attend the event on July 5, 2016. [Photo by Zou Hong / China Daily]

The governor of Northwest China's Shaanxi province used seven special English words to interpret the seven letters composing "Shaanxi" at a promotional event held in Beijing on Tuesday.

The Party Chief of Shaanxi, Lou Qinjian, and Governor Hu Heping jointly promoted the province to the world at the event titled "An Open China: Shaanxi Engaging the World".

At the event, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi encouraged people from all over the world to learn more about China through the Shaanxi province, saying Shaanxi was "the key to the door of China".

Hu said "S" stood for "spectacular" as Shaanxi was known for its magnificent natural landscapes, while "H" stood for "historic". As a starting point on the ancient Silk Road, Shaanxi was one of the gateways that connected China to the outside world in ancient times.

Today, with the implementation of China's national strategy to establish a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, collectively known as the Belt and Road Initiative, Shaanxi is once again at the forefront of China's opening up to the world.

The two "A s" mean "abundant" and "active" as the province boosts rich energy and mineral resources as well as strong capabilities in scientific and technological innovation.

"X" is relatively special because it offers great prospects of development in the region, Hu said.

"N" means Shannxi's nice people and environment and "I" is the province's "international" image, he added.

Hu said he believed the seven words could best describe the characteristics of Shannxi.

The promotional event, which was the third provincial global promotional event staged by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attracted 219 diplomats and representatives from international organizations, including 80 ambassadors.

In their speeches, the Republic of Korea's ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo, French ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne and the US ambassador Max Baucus expressed their appreciation of the event, saying it was a good opportunity for exchanges and communication between Shaanxi province and the outside world.

Featuring photography exhibitions and on-site demonstrations of Shaanxi's history, culture, tourism and industry, the promotional event offered foreign guests a complete picture of the province.
BEIJING -- China urged the United States to stop "sending the wrong signals" to Taiwan independence forces, as the island's new leader Tsai Ing-wen contacted several US congressmen.



"We insist on handling Taiwan's external contacts in the principle of the one-China policy, and oppose any countries having diplomatic relations with China to conduct any official association or contacts with Taiwan," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei on Thursday.



Hong told a daily press conference that China was very dissatisfied with contact between US officials, congressmen and Tsai Ing-wen. China has already lodged solemn representations with the US side.



Hong urged the United States to honor its commitment to the one-China policy, the principle of the three joint communiques, and to oppose Taiwan independence.



The United States should handle Taiwan affairs cautiously and stop official contact with Taiwan in any form, and sending the wrong signals to Taiwan independence and avoid harming China-US relations, Hong said.



Tsai started an overseas trip to Panama and Paraguay on June 24, and made stops in Miami and Los Angeles.
CHEYENNE, Wyo.  A Wyoming legislative task force is recommending that Gov. Matt Mead approve spending $3.5 million for emergency improvements at the state prison in Rawlins.

The Task Force on State Penal Facilities voted Wednesday to request that Mead approve the money to build a new electrical services building at the prison and to make repairs to a crumbling wall.

The vote came after Robert Lampert, director of the Wyoming Department of Corrections, warned lawmakers that all electrical and security systems at the prison run through a single room. He said the roof is leaking and that it's possible that the shifting elements of the building could cut cables running to the room, resulting in loss of power to the entire prison.

Lampert told the task force he recommends spending $1.6 to $2 million to construct a new modular building to house electrical and security systems.

It would take up to 72 hours to relocate inmates from the Rawlins prison in the event of a power failure, Lampert said. He said that a power failure could also lead to liabilities for the state that would make the money for the new modular building "look like pocket change."

Another pressing problem at the state prison involves cracking in a gymnasium wall, Lampert said. He said it would cost $1.5 million to address the 30-foot, load-bearing wall.

The task force accepted Lampert's recommendation for the emergency funding. The group also called for spending another $133,000 to retain a consultant study over the next two months that will examine options for repairing the crumbling Rawlins prison or possibly scraping it entirely and building a new prison elsewhere.

Lampert told state lawmakers earlier this year that the prison, which only opened about 15 years ago, needs $85 million in repairs. He said it would cost about twice that to build a new prison. The troubled Rawlins prison replaced an earlier prison nearby called the North Facility, also south of Rawlins, that the state had to abandon because of similar structural problems.

Both prisons were built on unstable soils, resulting in wall movement and resulting cracking of walls and floors. A consultant recently reported that foundations in the newer prison weren't built according to specifications, allowing movement in the foundations to lift floor slabs that had been intended to move independently.

Several lawmakers said Wednesday that they don't want to put any more state funds into prison facilities near the existing facility.

Rep. David Miller, a Republican from Riverton, said he would favor doing only minimal repairs at the existing facility, "and begin looking for a stable site for future construction somewhere down the road."

Sen. Eli Bebout, a Republican from Riverton, said he agreed. "I'm not going to make a decision to go to a site next to it and try to make a design that's going to work," he said. "We've already done that. It didn't work."

House Speaker Kermit Brown, a Republican from Laramie, said after the meeting that task force members expect to meet with Mead on Friday to request approval of the funds. The Legislature set aside $7 million for work at the prison in the budget session earlier this year.

The task force is set to report recommendations on how to address problems at the prison this fall. In the long run, Brown said lawmakers are faced with a difficult decision, given the state's deteriorating financial picture, of whether to recommend repairs at the existing prison or spending more money to build an entirely new prison.

Brown said he's inclined to look at building new facilities north of Rawlins. He said it's possible the state could continue to use kitchen and laundry facilities at the existing prison to serve new buildings constructed elsewhere.

Brown, who's leaving the Legislature after this year, said he can't speculate how the state will pay for overall prison improvements. "I can't tell you how it's going to be done," he said. "It's going to be up to a future Legislature, but it's going to be brutal," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Beijing, China, July 7, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

China is calling on political resolution of international hotspot issues and encouraging dialogue and negotiations, President Xi Jinping told visiting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the largest developing country, China will continue to be a firm supporter, sustainer and participator of the UN, Xi said, adding the UN should be a main channel in coordinating international relations.

Economic globalization has brought not only opportunities and development, but also challenges and troubles, and as a result, the global administration should be enhanced to establish the body of common destiny for mankind, Xi told Ban, who is on his 10th visit to China as UN secretary-general.

The president spoke highly of Ban's performance in maintaining world peace, promoting sustainable development and dealing with climate change during his position as UN secretary-general in the past decade.

China would like to share development opportunities with the world and the country had proposed to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Xi said.

Xi welcomed Ban to attend the G20 summit, to be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in September, and he said China would push the G20 leaders to focus on development issues.

Ban expressed his condolences to the Chinese soldier who sacrificed his life during the peacekeeping mission in Mali, and he expressed gratitude for China's support and participation in the UN peacekeeping operations.

The UN would like to enhance cooperation with the AIIB to promote infrastructure construction in developing countries, he said.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon speaks at the Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held by the Chinese government in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, July 7, 2016. [Photo/Provided to China Daily]

China's top representative for people with disabilities has proposed to the United Nation's chief to build a world organization for disability.

Zhang Haidi, chairwoman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation, made the proposition to the visiting Ban Ki-Moon during a public speech at the Celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the Adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, held by the Chinese government in the Great Hall of the People on Thursday afternoon.

Speaking from her wheelchair on stage, Zhang said to Ban that there should be a "World Disability Organization" for all people with disabilities, so that they may get the chance to enjoy an "equal, harmonious and happy" life.

Ban applauded and shook Zhang's hands when she moved down from the stage with the help of her colleague.

Ban appraised China for its positive contribution to putting the UN Convention into practice by lifting a huge number of people with disabilities out of poverty and creating a more tolerant society for them.

Wang Yong, state councilor and director of the State Council's working committee for persons with disabilities, cited instructions from China's top leaders on how to better help people with disabilities.

President Xi Jinping was quoted as saying that the people with disabilities are a group facing special difficulties, and they need extra care and attention. Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying that more concrete, specific and humanitarian measures should be taken to help people with disabilities.

Official statistics suggest that there are at least 85 million people with disabilities. Wang said during the 12th five-year plan, 5.88 million people with disabilities in villages had been lifted out of poverty, more than 10 million enjoyed basic living allowances, more than 4.3 million were employed in towns and 16 million working in villages.

Wang added that the human rights of people with disabilities are protected by China's constitution and more than 70 laws.

Contact writer on chenmengwei@chinadaily.com.cn
The Chinese military will respond and is fully confident of protecting its sovereignty if foreign warships make trouble in the South China Sea, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"Personally, I believe that the day of peace and stability in the South China Sea will only come when the US stops provocations there," said Yang Yujun, the ministry's spokesman.

Yang made the remarks during a seminar on Chinese defense policy attended by Chinese and foreign reporters. He had been asked about reports that US warships have been patrolling recently near Chinese islands.

US Navy officials said on Thursday that destroyers have sailed close to Chinese reefs and islands in the South China Sea in recent weeks.

The US guided-missile destroyers Stethem, Spruance and Momsen have been patrolling near "Chinese-claimed features" in the Nansha Islands and Huangyan Island, the US-based Navy Times reported. The destroyers operated within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the Chinese features, it said.

The US aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its escort ships have also been patrolling the South China Sea since last week, Reuters reported.

The reports came as the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague, established at the Philippines' unilateral request despite China's objection, was scheduled to announce its ruling on the South China Sea arbitration case on Tuesday. The US, a major ally of Manila, has publicly pressed Beijing to accept the ruling.

"The Chinese military has never been frightened," Yang said.

He said that if foreign warships want to "make trouble out of nothing" in the South China Sea, "of course we have ways to deal with it".

He cited a line from a song used in Shang Gan Lin, a famous Chinese film about China helping resist US aggression in the Korean War: "We have wine if friends come, and we have shotguns to greet wolves."

The US destroyers have put pressure on Southeast Asian countries around the South China Sea that have worked with China to maintain regional stability, he added.

Huang Renwei, vice-president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the US wants to put China into a "strategic trap" by taking various measures on the South China Sea issue.

"However, it has added to the strategic burden on itself, as interests of countries including the Philippines will change. They don't want to confront China."
President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his wife, Yoo Soon-taek, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Thursday.

All countries involved in South China Sea disputes should settle their differences peacefully and "avoid any escalation or misunderstandings that could put security and development in the region at risk", United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in Beijing on Thursday.

"As secretary-general, I cannot comment on the arbitration case in which the ruling may be issued shortly," Ban said at a news conference after talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. However, the disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner, he said.

Ban also met with President Xi Jinping.

During the news conference, Wang said China also wants a peaceful resolution, but is opposed to "any effort to reject dialogue, or to unilaterally initiate arbitration without the consent of the other party".

"This approach will not help bring out a peaceful resolution of the disputes," Wang said. "On the contrary, it will only escalate the disputes and the tensions and should be resisted by all countries and people who uphold justice in the world."

During his talks with Ban, President Xi said that China supports political resolution of international hot spot issues and encourages dialogue and negotiations.

As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the largest developing country, China will continue to be a firm supporter of and participant in the UN, Xi said, adding that the UN should be the main channel for coordinating international relations.

Economic globalization has brought not only opportunities and development, but also challenges and problems, Xi told Ban, who is making his 10th visit to China as UN secretary-general.

The president spoke highly of the performance of Ban in maintaining world peace, promoting sustainable development and dealing with climate change as secretary-general in the past decade.

China would like to share development opportunities with the world, Xi said.

He welcomed Ban to attend the G20 summit to be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in September. He also said China will push the G20 leaders to focus on development issues.

Ban expressed condolences for the loss of the Chinese soldier who was killed in June in an attack on peacekeepers in Mali, and he expressed gratitude for Chinas support for and participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Additionally, the UN would like to enhance cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to promote infrastructure construction in developing countries, he said.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn
One might be surprised to see Premier Li Keqiang standing in floodwaters that submerged part of the Yangtze River embankment.

But he actually did so on his impromptu visit to Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, which is notorious for its history of flooding. At the intersection of China's longest river and its tributary Hanjiang River, the rising water covered some parts of embankment, and Li decided to check out the potential danger.

The city suffers deluges almost every year and is seeing this summer the highest water level since 1998, when provinces along the Yangtze were devastated by lengthy downpours.

Apparently, flood control is one of the top priorities for Premier Li who returned to Beijing on Wednesday afternoon from a visit to Anhui, Hunan and Hubei provinces. In two days, he visited eight places in three cities and chaired a two-hour meeting at night.

On Tuesday, the premier visited Wangjiaba, a township with an important flood control facility along the Huaihe River in Fuyang, Anhui, in addition to embankments of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake in Yueyang, Hunan province. All were done within eight hours. He checked hydrological situation of both rivers and flood retention basins that are meant to divert redundant water if flood occurred.

The premier was scheduled to chair a meeting on flood control on Wednesday morning, but it was rescheduled to Tuesday night after all officials in charge arrived in Yueyang from provinces such as Anhui, Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan.

Early on Wednesday morning, the premier rushed to Wuhan as the city had flooded again overnight and traffic was suspended in many places. After that, he met with Peter O'Neill, prime minister of Papua New Guinea - two hours after arriving in the capital.

Of the several journeys I've been on to report on Premier Li's inspection tours, this was the fastest-paced one because he saw as many flooded areas as he could under such a tight agenda.

Contact the writer at huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page3)
A new biographical film, The Woman Behind the Man, stars veteran actor Li Xuejian and actress Tao Huimin in the main roles.[Photo provided to China Daily]

He may not have battled aliens to save the planet, but a new film about an army general and his wife, who gave up creature comforts to help impoverished villagers nearly 60 years ago, has just hit screens to mark the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Xu Fan reports.

Nearly 60 years ago, Gong Quanzhen made a very bold decision.

An army general's wife and a middle school teacher in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, she gave up the conveniences of an urban existence to follow her husband, Gan Zuchang, to his native placean impoverished village in East China's Jiangxi province.

It was 1957. The village had no electricity. The couple began life afresh there as farmers.

A city girl who had never worked on a farm, she walked for the first time barefoot carrying heavy loads.

"People couldn't understand them. Gan was the first army general in New China to quit a senior military post, to be a farmer," says Lei Xianhe, the director of the biographical film, The Woman Behind the Man, based on the couple.

The feature, starring veteran actor Li Xuejianwho plays Ganand actress Tao Huiminwho plays Gongwas released nationwide on July 1, as part of the celebrations marking the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
A creative product released by Tencent and Palace Museum. [Photo/Weibo of China Daily]

Tencent, China's internet giant, has signed a three-year deal with the Palace Museum to promote traditional Chinese culture through the creativity of today's youth. The two will work on emoticons on QQ (the most-used instant messenger in China), games, animation and literature based on traditional cultural stories in China. Competitive events and cross-industry cooperation are in the works.

Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent, said the fusion of social media and traditional culture has provided an opportunity for more ideas to flourish.

"Next Idea Tencent Creativity Competition" will be held for applicants to design new QQ emoticons. As of today, QQ has registered 877 million users in China, of which 60% are born after the '90s. The most popular emoticon is used more than 5.2 billion times a day. Tencent hopes that the design of a new cultural emoticon will build a bridge between youth and traditional culture.

The Palace Museum has worked intensively to promote traditional Chinese culture through modern technology in recent years. Aside from the deal with Tencent, the Museum has also created Apps and educational games for both youth and children. It has began selling entrance tickets online to suit the needs of today's youth, and offers a variety of products on its official store on T-mall, an online sales platform of Alibaba.

Related:

Palace Museum tickets now online
A Sinologist shares her story about China during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists at the National Library of China on July 6, 2016. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The 2016 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists kicked off with an official opening ceremony at the National Library of China on Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

During the two-week program, 31 Sinologists from 26 countries, including the US, Australia, France, Japan and South Africa, will conduct research and study in several institutes in Beijing and visit China's Anhui province to study local rural culture.

Hosted by the China Ministry of Culture (CMC) and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the program has successfully hosted the program three times since 2014 and received very positive feedback.

Last July, 36 Sinologists from 30 countries were enrolled in the program to study in Beijing. As applicants keep growing, the organizer expanded the program this year from Beijing to Shanghai and Xi'an, accepting more than 100 Sinologists in total.

"China is no more a tourist destination for me and I am no longer a tourist," said Anita Koetse, 32, a writer and editor from the Netherlands, who first came to visit China when she was 16. "After years of studying, China has become a home to me."

Through this program, Koetse hopes to deepen her understanding of China and to introduce China to young people in her country through her website, What's On Weibo, which follows trending topics in China.
The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4, 2016. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui, Chinese Vice Cultural Minister Ding Wei and about 1,500 officials and representatives from the two countries attended the event.

In the light of the 2014-2016 cooperation agreement signed by the cultural ministries of China and Russia, the event will feature Chinese cultural weeks, folk music, traditional dances, dramas and martial arts, in the form of some 30 activities.

Artists and performers from about eight cities and provinces of China would share their latest creations with Russian people during the festival. The event will further deepen the cultural communication and cooperation between the two nations.

China and Russia agreed to hold cultural festivals in the 1990s. Now, the festivals have become the most influential flagship cultural events, being held on the largest scale and with a wide audience.
Book cover of The Bear's School. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Children's Fun Publishing Co has recently introduced a Japanese picture book series, The Bear's School, into China.

The Bear's School features the growing-up stories of 12 bears. Since the first book was published in Japan in 2002, writer Hiroyuki Aihara and illustrator Nami Adachi have completed 14 books of the series.

In the last 15 years, more than 2.1 million copies of the books have been sold, and more than 3,000 various kinds of products have been created based on the series.

Aihara said that he created the stories of bears because more than 15 years ago, when he went to kindergarten to pick up his daughter, he found that many kids, whose heads appeared bigger compared with their small bodies and whose bellies stuck out, looked like bears that he loved.

Hearing that Chinese kids are very busy with study, he said that apart from study, learning about happiness in life is also very important.

The books, complemented with the elegant language of watercolor painting, describe the lives of the 12 bears as they grow up. A female bear named Jackie is particularly compelling: Jackie is kind, clever and full of curiosity  and occasionally headstrong.

The stories are very warm, humorous and touching; they illustrate the Japanese conception of early childhood education, trying to nurture children to be independent.

Infant educator Liu Leqiong said that The Bear's School is about children working hard to achieve their dreams, which is very important to parents and teachers.

"Every child strives to grow up, which deserves grown-ups' respect," Liu said.

Related:

New book captures energy of IP online
CHEYENNE  State data shows the mining industry experienced its steepest decline ever in Wyoming history.

The state's Economic Analysis Division compared data from the first quarter of 2015 to the same period this year and found the mining sector declined by more than 55 percent.

The national jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent, while state unemployment stands at 5 percent after the loss of almost 8,700 jobs.

A state economist said the state's unemployment rate hasn't been higher than that of the rest of the country since the Great Recession. He said the largest factor has been the mineral extraction industry.

The minerals extraction industry accounts for about a fifth of sales tax collections.

Data also shows taxable sales were down almost 25 percent.
Hong Kong not exempt from global shock waves of Brexit Updated: 2016-07-07 08:03 By Eddy Li(HK Edition)

In last month's UK referendum on European Union membership, the "Remain" camp lost to the "Leave" camp by a margin of 3.8 percent. Brexit is now official. After the results of the plebiscite were released, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign as PM in October. The exchange rate of the British pound and global stock markets dropped dramatically in response to the news.

There was a time when Britain had an empire on which the sun never set, with colonies all over the world. But the international standing of the United Kingdom has gradually declined ever since, and after the vote made on Brexit, the country is now facing a crisis of unity - with voices from Scotland, Northern Ireland, and even the capital London demanding independence.

The aftermath of Brexit cannot be predicted precisely, and the impact on Britain, the EU and even the globe will appear gradually. Germany's Foreign Ministry described June 24, 2016 as a "sad day for Europe". It is hard to say whether Brexit is the first of the many dominos which will fall and finally lead to the break-up of the EU. According to related provisions, the members will have to follow specific procedures to actually leave the EU. There will be two years of deliberating for the UK to negotiate with the EU over trade, tariffs, immigrants and so on. One thing we can say is that things will not be quiet for at least two years.

Hong Kong is by no means exempt from being affected by the impact of Brexit. A review of Hong Kong's stock market recently shows the Hang Seng Index (HSI) climbed ahead of the referendum when people were optimistic about Britain's staying in EU. The final outcome, however, caused the HSI to fall by as much as 1,200 points, reflecting investors' concerns about Brexit.

The immediate concern of Hong Kong's enterprises is the depreciation of the pound (GBP). It's highly possible that the exchange rate of Euro (EUR) against the US dollar will drop as well. The relatively lower exchange rates of GBP and EUR against the HK dollar will make Hong Kong goods more expensive for European consumers, reducing their demand for Hong Kong products, and eventually hurting Hong Kong's export trade. Europe, including the UK, has always been a major export market for Hong Kong, with the EU taking up $43 billion (12 percent) and the UK accounting for $7 billion (2 percent) of all exports from Hong Kong. The split of the EU and UK will definitely impact on our export trade.

There is another problem: Due to historical factors, Hong Kong is more closely connected with the UK than with any other foreign countries, and therefore many Hong Kong enterprises had chosen Britain to set up their regional headquarters. They found it easier to deal with European businesses in the UK - an EU member as well as a country that shares much common ground with Hong Kong. Take the export of Hong Kong watches as an example. The European market occupies about 20 percent of the clocks and watches exported from Hong Kong and the goods are basically concentrated in and then distributed from England to other European countries. This was supposed to be the strong point for Hong Kong enterprises in developing the European market, but Brexit has sparked considerable concern about whether this advantage will still be available in the future. If not, lots of Hong Kong companies will have to deal with many complicated procedures.

In the wake of this, the government should pay close attention to developments in the Europe, and discuss this with the business sector soon. Hong Kong's response, including how to participate more actively in the Belt and Road Initiative and how to tap into emerging markets in the Middle East, Mid-Asia and Southeast Asia, will aim to make up for the likely loss of business in the European market.

(HK Edition 07/07/2016 page1)
Former State councilor Dai Bingguo delivers a speech at China-US Dialogue on South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks on July 5 in Washington. Photo by Ji Tao/China Daily

Former Chinese State councilor Dai Bingguo's recent speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace touched a raw nerve in Washington D.C.

Taken out of context, some lines, such as his comment that the upcoming ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague "amounts to nothing more than a piece of paper", may be considered handy footnotes to China's alleged "assertiveness" in the South China Sea, or its supposed ambition to challenge US dominance.

"Sledgehammer-subtle PR" or not, unpleasant as they were to the ear, his blunt remarks were the former top diplomat's own way of delivering a message China has oft-repeated: Beijing will disregard the ruling and Washington's current approach to the South China Sea issue will not work.

If those remarks were "provocative", they were only meant to provoke deeper thought and reflection.

For Dai's core message was: Take a fair look at the South China Sea, and at China; stop judging China from the traditional Western perspective of big-power dueling. Indiscriminately applying traditional Western theories to present-day China is not only misleading, it could also lead to damaging geopolitical outcomes.

A historically introvert nation, China has seldom been good at explaining itself. That did not matter much when the country was less connected with the rest of the world. But it is proving to be a handicap these days.

What in Chinese eyes is safeguarding the country's historical rights and interests is now evidence of a rising China bullying its smaller and weaker neighbors. But one key truth that has been neglected is that, unlike other claimants, in all the active disputes, in both the East and South China seas, China has never gone beyond what it has persistently historically claimed.

Dai's speech was constructive in seeking to distinguish what is happening now in the South China Sea, as well as between China and the United States, from what happened in the past between traditional powers.

But he was correct in proposing that the temperature must be cooled down in the South China Sea, and the US must tune down its forcible intervention.

"We in China will not be intimidated by the US, not even if the US sends all 10 aircraft carrier battle groups to the South China Sea," Dai warned.

However, rather than a last-minute show of defiance before The Hague tribunal ruling, Dai's speech was an overture for more, in-depth communication.
Located at the foot of Tanzhe Mountain in Mentougou district, Tanzhe Temple is one of the well known Buddhist temples in Beijing. [Photo/China.org.cn]

Two buddhist temples in BeijingTanzhe Temple and Jietai Templethat have been involved in a listed company since 1998, were expected to return to their religious roles on June 30. However, the date set by the local authorities did not see the listed company terminating its contracted operations with management of the temples' tourism activities. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

The two well-known Buddhist temples in Beijing should have stayed true to their religious purpose. Instead, to capitalize on their appeal to tourists, they were enlisted as resources of a listed cultural operation company about 20 years ago. This has severely violated their spiritual nature.

The two temples are meant to be places where people can clean their souls; instead they have become vehicles with which to chase money.

The religious temples packaged for the stock market are seeking to profit from those who have a nobler purpose, and have thus perverted their raison d'etre.

The nature of private companies is to put "money first". So there is always the need to legislate their activities so financial gain does not come at a cost to society.

This diverting of the temples from their true role should remind us that not every organization can enter the market, and all market entities must adhered to the bottom line of a healthy society.
At an event marking the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China on Friday in Beijing, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, said that CPC members and the Chinese people are confident they can offer a Chinese solution to mankind's exploration for better social systems.

There are a few characteristics of the Chinese solution: independence, target-oriented and sustainable development, as well as stable and consistent policy, a ruling party that represents the majority of the Chinese people and guarantees both economic development and people's livelihoods, and a friendly, peaceful, win-win attitude in international affairs.

In his speech Xi urged the whole Party to strengthen confidence in "the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics," and pointed out that socialism with Chinese characteristics should be evaluated not by "people with tinted glasses," but by the Chinese people, based on facts.

His speech reflects the Party's confidence in its own political practice and social development, and was a resolute response to Western bias against the Party.

As a developing country with a huge population, China is exploring a development path that is different from that of developed countries. After several decades, China has made great achievements in social and economic development. Now it's time to summarize that experience for further improvement.
Former State councilor Dai Bingguo delivers a speech at China-US Dialogue on South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks on July 5 in Washington. Photo by Ji Tao/China Daily

The frequency and destructiveness of terrorist attacks have increased. The world was still reeling from the devastating Istanbul airport attacks which killed at least 43 people on June 28, when just a few days later, Baghdad became the target of terrorists again as suicide bombings on Sunday killed some 250 people and wounded 200 more.

The Islamic State terrorist group, which is rampant in Iraq and Syria and responsible for a great number of terrorist attacks happening across the globe this year, has claimed responsibility for masterminding both attacks.

A stronger political will and greater cooperation from the international community have become the only hope for the world to eliminate the IS group, or at least to keep its threat at bay.

Last month, Iraqi officials announced they had retaken the city of Fallujah from the IS fighters after a month long military operation backed by US-led coalition airstrikes. The battle marks a turning point in the international campaign to fight the terrorist group.

In Syria, similar progress has also been made, although not as much as in Iraq, amid the Syrian government's efforts to reduce the sphere of influence of the IS group.

Yet, what we have seen these days tells the hard truth that IS terrorists may be contained in Iraq and Syria, but they are capable of wreaking havoc elsewhere and sowing the seeds of fear and panic in many places around the world.

So many innocent lives have been lost, and so high a price has been paid with the rise of the IS group. There is no reason why the world should not unite and concentrate on the anti-terrorism campaign, because terrorism and extremism have no boundaries and no country could remain immune from the scourge.

In the anti-terror campaign, the United States has played an important role, spent a lot of money and even made sacrifices. But, at the same time it is also under constant criticism for not devoting more energy and resources to fighting the terrorists in the Middle East.

If traced deeper, of course, the chaotic situation in some Middle East countries today has been the result of the US-led West's intervention policy in the region in recent years.

Some in the world arena believe US President Barack Obama, who will leave office in a little more than six months, will step up anti-terror efforts in the Middle East so as to leave it as part of his legacy as president. As the world's sole superpower, the US seeks to maintain a leading role in the Middle East, so if he is to leave the White House with a better record in the Middle East, he should coordinate more with Russia and all other forces that are fighting with the IS group now.

More importantly, the US itself should adjust its strategy. For one thing, Washington still lacks a comprehensive plan and both long-term and short-term aims for the war against the IS group.

But its constant meddling in the South China Sea issue has raised tensions in the region and offers proof for the rest of the world to recognize the US' real intention: It now has far more interest in stirring trouble in the waters of the South China Sea than helping the world make a major breakthrough in the war against terror.

The maritime disputes have nothing to do with the US, and there is no single case in which freedom of navigation has been impeded in anyway. Hence, the more the US involves itself in the South China Sea issue, the less people will believe the US remains committed to world peace and stability.

The author is deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily Asia Pacific. jasmine@chinadailyhk.com
File photo of South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China in The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has violated many international standards of law and rules. To begin with, the arbitral tribunal does not properly identify or prove the existence of a real dispute. Also, the tribunal does not follow the world's principal legal systems.

The award on jurisdiction does not take proper cognizance of China's position. For example, China treats Nansha Islands as one single unit for the purpose of sovereignty, maritime rights as well as delimitation, but the tribunal has changed the singular "is" into the plural form "are", treating the islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands as separate units.

The award does not consider China's positions either, although it summarizes some of them superficially. For example, the tribunal summarizes China's argument that a 1995 joint statement saying the two countries would take measures with a view to "eventually negotiating" a settlement of their disputes as evincing an intent to choose negotiation only as the means to resolve disputes, but this point is absent from the part of the award called "the tribunal's decision".

Besides, the award accepts the Philippines' assertion without analyzing why its claims would not detract from China's sovereignty. The detraction is obvious from the treatment of the components of China's Nansha Islands as separate features, which would divide that archipelago into smaller units, and from a ruling that the low-tide elevations at issue, which are part of the Nansha Islands, are not subject to appropriation.

The award also superficially claims maritime entitlement and delimitation are distinct, without considering the delimitation of geographical framework and situation in the South China Sea and the associated effect of fusing distinct issues of entitlement and status of various features into a big delimitation complex, rendering these issues concerning delimitation.

Finally, the award does not respect the consistency requirement in international law. The tribunal completely ignores the "Louisa case", which is favorable to China and is directly applicable to the interpretation of China's exclusion of disputes "concerning" or "relating to" maritime delimitation as disputes over matters broader than the drawing of the line of delimitation. The arbitrator has completely changed, without offering any explanation, his previously published positions which were favorable to China. All this violates the fundamental requirement of consistency in international law and shows that the tribunal only pays lip service to its duties in arbitration.

The tribunal adopts an excessively expansive interpretation of the jurisdictional grant and distorts the text of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This wrongful exercise of the "competence-competence" principle, which empowers an arbitration tribunal to rule on its jurisdiction, causes substantial damage to the international rule of law.

The competence to decide the tribunal's jurisdiction is not absolute power, and can only be exercised with genuine concern and respect for the limitations imposed by UNCLOS and for China's intents and purposes in invoking its explicit right under the convention to exclude disputes concerning maritime delimitation and historic titles.

This excessively expansive interpretation of the jurisdictional scope will present great difficulty in persuading other non-parties such as the United States to ratify UNCLOS in the future, because their greatest fear is that a court or tribunal may abuse its jurisdictional competence. This interpretation will also greatly harm the international legal system and its legitimacy.

If the tribunal and arbitrators are rational and serious, they should correct their mistakes and make up for what they have neglected to do. For example, they should correct their deliberate alteration of singular "is" used by China to describe the Nansha Islands into the plural "are", correct their mistake in not considering the delimitation geographical framework and situation in the South China Sea and the associated effect, and rectify their mistake of ignoring the rule of law requirement of consistency and in disregarding the word "concerning" in appreciating the proper scope of China's exclusion of disputes on or relating to maritime delimitation.

The author is a professor of international law and chief expert at Wuhan University Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies.
Chen Guangyu sits merrily in his cave dwelling in Xiwan village, surrounded by mountains, near the Yellow River in Shanxi province. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Xiwan is a rural village in Qikou town of north China's Shanxi province, only a few hours from Beijing on the high-speed train. It is currently off the beaten track. However it is fast becoming another spot on Shanxis long list of impressive scenic sites.

When arriving along the dusty road, the first glimpses of the village are of the steeply pitched roofs that cascade down the hill, looking almost as ancient as the surrounding mountains.

A plethora of arched doorways are visible, each adorned with strings of red lanterns. The village is a labyrinth of small courtyards and single-room homes. It was in the first of these courtyards that Chen Guangyu anticipated the arrival of guests.

The summer sun beat down, drying the bulbs of corn that hung from the old roofs, providing a perch for the singing sparrows. Stepping into Xiwan village feels like stepping back in time. The place is well preserved, although the small carvings etched into panels across the windows and on the roof peaks are well worn. A large store of coal and wood is stowed away in the corner, used for cooking and heating. This is juxtaposed by the newly-installed solar panel, giving the village heated water.

Chen opened the door to his home, decorated with gourds and spring couplets. The entrance revealed a room with a bed, a coal stove and a framed portrait of Mao Zedong.

Chen Guangyu, 67, is the head of a family with 7 members including three grandsons who are the 16th generation of the Chen family to live here since their ancestor, Chen Shifan, moved into Xiwan around 300 years ago.

All 480 residents with the surname Chen in the village are descendants of Chen Shifan. He first worked as a dockwalloper in a nearby port and then got rich gradually and finally built a house in today's site of Xiwan. From generation to generation, his offspring built Xiwan village. These days most of the youth in the village are migrants themselves, trying to improve their quality of life by working in nearby cities. However, for Chen Guangyu, this is home, after living here all his 67 years.

Apart from the first generation's startup story, Chen reminisces about the stories his elders told him, perhaps the most intriguing of which occurred around the Kangxi period (1654-1722) during the 10th generation of his ancestors, when the town was used as a battle ground, to defeat rebels, thanks to the organization of Chens ancestor, who was greatly honoured by the government then.

Energetic and animated, Chen shares the tales of the past, but when asked about the future he immediately becomes more thoughtful and reflective. He is unsure whether future generations will continue to live in this 300-year-old village since the bigger cities could provide an easier life and higher paying jobs.

Many people just like Chen sweep their own courtyards in rural Shanxi, filled with tales of times gone by, and insights into the fascinating past of the province. Discovering Shanxi province is to discover these people whose stories of culture and history paint an authentic picture of ancient China.

Nowadays Chen hopes his village could attract more tourists and thus the government could issue an overhaul plan for the village which could ensure the beauty of Xiwan can be better preserved, and enjoyed for many more generations.
File photo of South China Sea. [Photo/Xinhua]

The South China Sea has been an inalienable part of Chinese territory historically. China has the clear and undeniable historical evidence to back its position in the South China Sea, which is the most important legal ground for a countrys territorial claim according to international law. Throughout history, Chinese people have been fishing in the South China Sea. As recently as in 1943, Chinas Nationalist Government declared the Nine Dash Line as the demarcation of its territory. Until recently, nobody, including the US, the sole superpower in the world, had openly challenged Chinas position on the South China Sea.

As the US reached the peak of its power at the end of WWII, it lost its cool, and began to mess in other countries internal affairs. First, it got involved in Chinas civil war, ending up on the wrong side of history. But it refused to learn the lessons, and continued to mess illegally with the Korean civil war and Vietnam civil war, with heavy financial and human losses. Recently, the US illegally invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, bombed Libya and got deeply involved in the Syrian civil war, causing tremendous destruction and suffering in the world.

While the US has been messing in other countries internal affairs, causing trouble everywhere it was involved, China has been developing peacefully, bringing prosperity not only to its own people but also to the South East Asian Nations including Philippines and other parts of the world. The whole world has come to recognize China as the most important economic engine of the world, bringing peace and stability everywhere China is involved.

As China rises in the world through peaceful development, the US began to worry about its status as the sole superpower in the world. Instead of concentrating on developing its own economy, the US has been looking for ways to undermine Chinas peaceful development and its rise in the world. Encouraging the Filipino Government to seek arbitration of the Permanent Court on the South China Sea, and sending gunboats and carriers to the South China Sea to defend the so called freedom of navigation in the South China Sea are parts of its strategy to undermine Chinas development and its rise in the world.

We are still living in the post WWII world. The Chinese people made the greatest sacrifices during WWII for world peace. That is one of the most important reasons that China is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. As such, China is one of the most important pillars of world peace in the world. But China is the only permanent UN Security Council member which still has territorial integrity issues in the world. That is one of the biggest injustices in our world today.

China must spare no efforts in telling the world that China will not allow anybody or any organization to arbitrate its territorial integrity. The Arbitration Panel has no legal authority to arbitrate on a countrys territorial integrity. There is no historical precedent in international law. China must let the Filipino Government and others know its determination to defend its territorial integrity.

For its own good, the Filipino Government must stop serving as a paw in US strategy in undermining Chinas development. China and the Philippines are important neighbors. The Philippines should join China in its efforts to maintain peace in the South China Sea and bringing development and prosperity to the region which will benefit every country in the region including itself.

The US has been wasting its resources in sending gunboats and carriers to the South China Sea, creating military tension there, which does no good to itself. More and more people in the world, including American people, have realized that US military intervention in the world has been the cause of constant destruction and suffering in our world. The American people do not want to bear the financial burden and human casualties in these military adventures. It is time that the US focus its attention on its fiscal health and stop wasting its resources messing around in other peoples affairs.

The author is a professor at Warren Wilson College, North Carolina, and a guest professor at Hebei University.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website.
US President George W. Bush (L) and British Prime Minister Tony Blair walk together from their meeting at the US Embassy in Brussels in this February 22, 2005 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair was heavily criticized in the official report of the inquiry into the 2003 Iraq War, which said his government overstated the threat posed by the then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, sent ill-prepared troops into battle and had "wholly inadequate" plans for the aftermath. Global Times commented on Thursday:

It is now a universal consensus that the 2003 Iraq War, which claimed the lives of 179 British soldiers, thousands of American soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, was waged on the basis of flawed intelligence if not intentionally hyped misguidance.

The intervention in Iraq was not about eliminating weapons of mass destruction, as they didn't exist, but instead about overthrowing the regime of Saddam Hussein. Many in the West argued before the war that Iraq was not capable of developing nuclear weapons, nor had it long-range missiles and chemical and biological weapons.

The long-awaited inquiry report will make little difference to Iraq, which has ever since been plagued by sectarian clashes and religious extremism.

And it is unlikely to bother the United States at all, as it remains arrogantly confident in itself, which explains why it and the United Kingdom attempted to "remold" Iraq without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council.

While the release of the massive report on the UK's role in the Iraq War is a good start, there should be a wider look at how and why the two countries made their disastrous strategic decisions.

The pride and prejudice demonstrated by the gungho rush to topple Saddam is still deeply rooted in US decision-makers.

But the effects of that unjust war should be heeded by them, for it opened a Pandora's box in the Middle East from which hope is yet to emerge.
BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday to discuss maritime issues, at the latter's invitation.

Wang said that relations between China and the United States are generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while properly managing their differences to push forward the new type of major power relations between the two countries.

Wang said the so-called South China Sea arbitration is tainted "with illogical and flawed application of procedures, laws and evidences."

"Therefore, the arbitral tribunal which clearly has been expanding and over-stretching its jurisdiction beyond the limit has no jurisdiction at all (over the South China Sea disputes)," Wang said. "Any award it makes in disregard of the laws and facts is naturally not legally binding."

China, by not participating in and not accepting the so-called arbitration, is in fact upholding international laws and rules and safeguarding the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) seriously and its integrity.

"The arbitration tribunal farce should come to an end," Wang said.

Wang urged the United States to honor its commitment to not taking sides on issues related to sovereign disputes, be prudent with its actions and words, and not to take any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of China.

The Chinese foreign minister said that, regardless of any outcome of the so-called arbitration, China will firmly safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and firmly safeguard the peace and stability in the South China Sea.

China remains committed to peacefully resolving the disputes through negotiations and consultations with directly involved parties, in accordance with the United Nations Charter and the fundamental principles of international law and international relations, including the principle of respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and that of resolving disputes by peaceful means, Wang said.

Kerry, for his part, said the United States understands that China has its own stance on the arbitration.

He also expressed the hope that all relevant parties show restraint.

The United States and China share common interests in keeping the peace and stability in the South China Sea and the United States supports countries in the region to make continuous efforts to peacefully resolve disputes through diplomatic means, Kerry added.
CASPER, Wyo.  A Casper man who previously faced charges for allegedly raping a woman in a downtown alley is now being accused of attacking an employee at a local coffee shop.

Dillan Scott Beach approached the Man Cave Coffee kiosk on foot and attempted to pull a female employee through the drive-through window, a police report alleges. Beach, 18, is charged with sexual battery and unlawful contact, both misdemeanors.

We have no further recourse under the criminal justice system, Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen said at the time.

Had Beach gone to trial and been found not guilty by reason of mental illness, he could have been placed in a mental health facility, Blonigen said.

"We never could get to that point," he said.

The owner of Man Cave Coffee, a standalone hut near Second and Jefferson streets, called police about 4 p.m. Saturday to report the assault, according to the police report. When interviewed by officers, the woman said she saw Beach walk toward the coffee shop and stare intensely at her through the window. She said she locked the door to the kiosk because she was alarmed.

Beach began talking to the woman through the window, telling her she was beautiful and hot, the report states. The employee asked Beach if he was going to purchase anything, and when he said no, she asked him to leave. Beach then repeatedly asked for a hug, and the woman denied his requests. When Beach asked for a handshake, the woman complied, hoping it would encourage the man to leave.

When the employee shook Beachs hand, he pulled her toward him and kissed her hand, according to the report. He then tried to grab her by the waist. The woman said she felt the suspect was attempting to pull her through the window to harm me sexually, the report states. She said Beach was growling and clenching his jaw while she struggled to get away. She was eventually able to get free, and Beach fled the area. She said the encounter caused her pain and she had a cut on one of her fingers.

Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the coffee shop and were able to identify Beach as the suspect, according to the report. Police found Beach on Monday at the home he shares with his mother. He told officers he had been with his mother all day Saturday and that he had not gone to Man Cave. Beachs mother told police her son had been with her most of the day but had been out of her sight for two minutes to take a pee. She said she picked up Beach in the alley behind Bradleys Sinclair gas station at Second and Jefferson streets.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the 16th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 23, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

As India and Pakistan join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) economic and military alliance, political analyst Eric Draitser discusses Washington's shrinking global influence.

"The SCO is really seen, in many ways, as sort of the vehicle by which Russia and the Chinese moved closer together," Draitser said. "This multilateral, international organization provides a potential platform, a potential forum for conflict resolution."

"I think we have a new potential vehicle for peacemaking and prosperity-making," he suggested.

The inclusion of India and Pakistan is the first expansion since the 2001 founding of the SCO. Taken with other recent economic unions, Russia, China, and many former Soviet republics are seeking to provide for their own opportunities.

"I think there are a number of reasons why there is a potential for a lasting alliance here," he says. "If you take these things together, what you see is one cohesive and coherent strategy for the creation of an antidote to the West."

Despite political conflicts between India and Pakistan, a new partnership between the two nations could work to prevent Washington's ability to meddle in Asia.

"Can these seemingly disparate issues be, sort of, coalesced into one formal relationship? Ultimately, that's what would benefit all of these countries, and, in my view, that's what the United States fears more than anything else," Draitser says.

Iran could be the next nation to join the SCO.

"If we see that, what that allows Iran to do is to access major investment that is non-Western," he says.
Screenshot of Reuters' report on South China Sea. [Photo/Web]

On July 4th, the Reuters website carried an article based on a joint interview with Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming on June 9th by the Reuters' global news editor Alessandra Galloni, business and news investigation editor Simon Robinson, Breakingviews' editor John Foley, European Politics and Economics editor Mark John and Asia Top News editor Mike Collett-White. The article is entitled "Ahead of key court ruling, Beijing in propaganda overdrive".

The following is the transcript of the interview.

Alessandra Galloni: Maybe we could start with if you could tell us where we are now in terms of what your position is vis-a-vis the ruling that is about to happen?

Ambassador Liu: Our position had been reaffirmed by the statement just issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding this arbitration initiated by the Philippines: China will not participate in the arbitration. From day one, China strongly opposed this arbitration case. We believe it is illegal for a tribunal to handle this case.

First of all, the Philippine's arbitration case is against UNCLOS, because sovereignty and territorial disputes are not under the jurisdiction of UNCLOS.

Secondly, Philippine's case is also related to maritime delimitation. China, like 30 other countries, made a declaration in 2006, that China will not take part in third party arbitration when it comes to maritime delimitation. UK is one of the 30 countries. UNCLOS provides that sovereign countries have their sovereign right to make these declarations on optional exceptions.

Thirdly, China has always been calling for bilateral consultation and negotiations with neighboring countries, including the Philippines, when it comes to maritime disputes. And a series of documents can show that the Philippines agrees to this practice. There are a series of statements between China and the Philippines on how to resolve disputes. It was until 2013 when they submitted this arbitration case. In our view, the Philippines have turned their back on their promise and that is against international practice. Once agreed, you have to follow your commitment.

It is also part of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) reached by China and the ASEAN countries that disputes should be resolved by peaceful means through friendly consultations and negotiations by sovereign states directly concerned. The Philippines agreed to it but turned their back on it.

Fourthly, this arbitration, according to UNCLOS, is only a supplementary means to resolve disputes. Bilateral channel is regarded as the main means to resolve a dispute between countries.

The Philippines had never come to China to talk about this arbitration. And China and the Philippines had never had serious negotiations on this subject back then. That means the main channel had never been used, to say nothing about being exhausted before the Philippines went to arbitration. That is against the spirit of UNCLOS.

So we have many reasons to oppose this arbitration case. We also hold the position that if this arbitration goes through, it will set a very bad example. That concern has been expressed not only by Chinese legal experts, but also by British and Dutch experts on the Law of the Sea. China's position has been supported and appreciated by many countries and international organizations, many legal experts, not only in China, in Asia, but also in Europe and America. That is our basic position.

Some people try to label China as not respecting international law if we reject this arbitration.

But that is totally wrong. What China is doing is exactly safeguarding the authority and seriousness of international law, safeguarding the letter and spirit of UNCLOS. We do not know and do not care when this arbitration decision will be made. No matter what decision this tribunal is going to make, we think it is totally wrong. It has no impact on China and China's sovereignty over these islands and reefs will not be bound by it. It will set a serious, wrong, and bad example. We will not fight in the court, but we will certainly fight for our sovereignty.

Alessandra Galloni: You mention that there are countries supporting China's position. How many countries are on your side on this matter?

Ambassador Liu: There are many. Some countries issue statements. During China-Russia-India Foreign Ministers Meeting, a joint statement was published, endorsing China's position. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization supported China's position. Some ASEAN countries, African countries, European countries, dozens of them  quite a few countries appreciate China's position.

Mike Collett-White: When you talk about support for China's position, you mean the position that this arbitration process is not legitimate?

Ambassador Liu: In different countries, they have focus on different parts of this case. But on the whole, they appreciate and support China's position that this should be resolved through bilateral channels rather than put up for arbitration by the tribunal. Because according to international law, that tribunal cannot handle that case without the consent of both sides of the dispute. The Philippines unilaterally submitted this case to the tribunal. They never consulted with China before they submitted it to the so-called tribunal. They did it at our surprise. They did it at the expense of China's national interests. It is a serious damage to the national interest of China. So China is fighting for its sovereignty and its national interests. What is more, we are fighting for justice. In terms of essence and procedure, it is wrong for the tribunal to handle this case.

Mike Collett-White: If the diplomatic machinery is used and does not produce agreement, what is the correct mechanism for reaching consensus?

Ambassador Liu: If you have not tried the diplomatic negotiations, how can you prejudge the outcome? You know, we have differences with several neighboring countries. Take for example, China has 14 neighbors. We reached treaty and agreements on the border arrangements with 12 of them.

That means diplomatic negotiations are effective, and we can resolve disputes through bilateral negotiations. China has disputes with Vietnam, yet through friendly and time-consuming process of negotiation, we reached an agreement with Vietnam on the Beibu Gulf, with regard to maritime delimitation and how to manage disputes. China has been working for peaceful settlement of dispute.

We understand these are difficult issues, as different countries have different claims. But first of all, we should make it clear that it is not that China is claiming these islands now; China was the very first country to name the islands, to develop the islands and to manage the islands.

Before 1970s, of all the neighboring countries, no one had challenged China's sovereignty over those islands. Only when oil and resources were found did they start to scramble to claim rights.

Up to now, 42 islands and reefs had been illegally occupied by Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. We are not going to war with these countries. We do not want to have a fight with them, but we stand firm with regard to China's sovereignty over these islands. We believe what they are doing is illegal occupation of the islands.

And we propose that we can shelve the disputes. We can have negotiations to try to find a solution as to how to handle the disputes. At the same time, we can have joint development. So our position is: shelving disputes and common development. So that has been our position all along and is still our position.

Alessandra Galloni: And this will count for the Philippine's claims as well, in other words to jointly develop

Ambassador Liu: Yes, of course. You know, we are open to negotiations. The Philippines, they can put forward their proposals. And we can have our proposals and we'll meet half way. Any negotiation is a process of compromise. And the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday is still calling for negotiations with the Philippines. Now they have elected a new government. We do hope that they will change their course, return to the negotiation table, return to the bilateral talks with China. The door is always open.

Alessandra Galloni: Has there been any indication from the new Philippine government that they would like to return to the table?

Ambassador Liu: We do not have specifics with regard to their response regarding the arbitration case, but we read some positive signal from the Philippine government that they want to have a good relation with China; they still believe good relation between China and the Philippines is in the Philippines' interest and they would like to have friendly discussions with us, but so far we haven't heard anything about their official position on the arbitration, or any change of their position on the arbitration case.

Simon Robinson: There are very strong arguments why China would have the claim to those islands and why the process that's going through in The Hague is not right. Why do many parts of the world still see China as the "bad player" in this?

Ambassador Liu: When you say "many", I'm not so sure about "many". I've been very straight forward in my Q&A at IISS not long ago. I think before America's so-called rebalancing in Asia Pacific', the South China Sea was very quiet, very peaceful. China was talking to the neighboring countries.

We had a Declaration of Conduct. And the Philippines was talking to us. Once the Americans came in, so-called "rebalancing", things changed dramatically. The Vietnamese changed their position with regard to talking to China. The Philippines changed their position. I think the American move in the Asia Pacific emboldened those countries to change the traditional channel of negotiation with China. And they probably believe that they have the Americans behind them, and they can get a better deal with China. So I'm very suspicious of American motives.

America openly supports the Philippines in this case. And they got Japan. America is the superpower. America has some allies. I don't know what kind of influence they try to exert on their allies. So we've heard this chorus of countries, but I don't think there are many. There are some. They might be the minority but they can make a big noise. I heard that the G7 made a noise, but the G7 is not the world. I think the G7 should realize their influence on world affairs is history or yesterday's story. But they still believe they are the most influential power in today's world. We are strongly opposed to the statement by the G7 with regard to the South China Sea issue, with regard to the tribunal case. We don't think they are on the right side of the arguments.

John Foley: Speaking of the large developing countries, India recently said it's been approaching Vietnam to supply missiles that it makes. Now this is a tiny, tiny incremental step in the bigger picture that we are talking about here, but it is a step nonetheless. And Indian defense officials, they are not on the record, but they made no secret of the fact that this is with a view to trying to dilute, perhaps, China's influence over disputed waters. I don't want to focus just on that but basically it's an example of how other countries are sort of getting involved.

You might say it's unwelcome but it's becoming not just traditional countries that have been locked in the dispute. It seems to be spreading. Is that something that you are concerned about?

Ambassador Liu: Not to my concern. I think for the Vietnamese Government and Party, to have a good relation with China is in the national interest of Vietnam. Their President, their Party Secretary have visited China very often. It's always China's position to have a good neighborhood policy. No foreign relationship is more important than the relationship with your neighbors. That applies to any country. So we attach great importance to our relations with Vietnam.

You know relationship goes up and down, back and forth. During Vietnam's war against the Americans, China and Vietnam were allies. We fought shoulder to shoulder. And after the war, China and Vietnam fought each other. It's not because of us. I think the Vietnamese made a wrong judgment. They were on the wrong side of history. Now I think people reflect on what was happening in the past and realize what are in the best interest of the two countries. We are both developing countries. I think we have more in common. The commonality between China and Vietnam is greater than the differences between us. I'm confident about the relation between China and Vietnam.

We also have a good relationship with India. When Prime Minister Modi came to office, the relationship has grown stronger and stronger. President Xi Jinping visited India and Prime Minister Modi also visited China. Prime Minister Modi even took our President to his hometown and, you know, that's a very special arrangement. India is one of the largest neighbors of China. We have very good cooperation in the BRICS. India and China are really the two largest developing countries. There is more common ground, more common interests that bind our two countries together than the differences that divide us.

To answer your question about missiles, we do hope that countries in the region will do more positive things  things that are conducive to stability, prosperity  rather than the opposite.

Mark JohnFrance has proposed to European countries to take part in joint South China Sea patrol. Is China open to that?

Ambassador Liu: I would say now the situation in the South China Sea is calm and peaceful. There is no reason for military involvement from outside power at all. Americans said they are there for so-called safeguarding freedom of navigation. We think this is a false argument. As I said, before their "rebalancing", the South China Sea was very quiet, very peaceful, and very stable.

One of China's long-term position with regard to the dispute of the South China Sea is what we call "dual-track approach". One track is bilateral negotiations. We realize there is a dispute. We engage with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia  countries that we have a dispute with bilaterally. The other track is China and the ASEAN countries  10 countries  working together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. As a result of this work, we have the Declaration of Conduct to guide how we should behave, how to operate in the South China Sea. Three years ago, we started the process of working on a "code of conduct". The Declaration sets the principle. And the "code of conduct" will be more detailed guidance about how countries should behave, how they should work together; when it comes to a difficulty, a problem, a contradiction, how we should work together, coordinate, and try to find a solution. So we believe this region  because of China's proposal, because of the collaboration between China and ASEAN  it has been peaceful and quiet.

Yet Americans now send more reconnaissance planes and warships. What they are doing is not for safeguarding free navigation. They are there to challenge China's sovereignty over the islands and reefs. And they make a dangerous provocation. China has a legitimate right to check what they are doing. The South China Sea is very wide. There is a lot of space and area for American warships and planes to go through. Yet they are not interested in the open sea. They are more interested in areas close to China's islands and reefs. What are their intentions? If they do not try to provoke, I think the area and the region will be very peaceful, very stable. So there is no reason for foreign fleet to go to the South China Sea to patrol, to protect the free flights, the freedom of navigation.

So far we have not heard a single case that a merchandise vessel or whatever run into problem, or was restricted with regard to their freedom of navigation. Not at all. The Lloyds, a very prestigious insurance company, never regards the South China Sea as a risky area. If they found it risky, they would raise the insurance premium. They think the risk is very low and there is no reason at all for them to give any warning to their ship owners. So I think this issue is really of Americans' making. They want to make an excuse so that they can have more military presence.

Mark John: And can you reassure the Americans therefore that there aren't any plans by China to reclaim and build on the Scarborough Shoal?

Ambassador Liu: Why should we give Americans reassurance of that? I think there is a misperception of why China is doing this. First you have to realize that is Chinese territory. China has sovereignty on the territory. Likewise, foreign countries cannot tell the British government what to do, or not to do, on your territory or on the islands that belong to you.

Before the Americans made up this things, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia  countries that have claims on the islands that they illegally occupied  have had constructions long since. Yet the Americans turned a blind eye to this. The Philippines and Vietnam all have deployed military forces on these islands. It is not China who did all this construction. China is a late comer.

Some people say that China has done it on such a big scale, so that's why they are concerned about this. China is a large country and our islands are bigger. Big or small is not the base for an argument, but whether it is right or wrong.

First of all, if construction on the island is wrong, why do Americans and Europeans turn a blind eye to the Philippines and Vietnam? Secondly, the Philippines and Vietnam are doing all these things on illegally occupied territories, whereas China is undertaking constructions on our own islands, not illegally occupied islands, and also mostly for civilian purposes.

China is not doing this construction for our own interest. We are also providing public service. We build lighthouses, rescue centre, and maintenance service center. I read some reports, in fact by you, Reuters, that some ship owners from Singapore, Southeast Asia, give us a big hand for these constructions. They said that because of the facilities built by China, when it comes to rescue efforts, it saves more time and increases chances of survival. So it has been welcomed by ship owners and by neighbouring countries. So we are doing the right thing.

Simon Robinson: Why does Washington want to challenge China's sovereignty in the South China Sea?

Ambassador Liu: They want to find an excuse to have their strong military presence in the South China Sea and in the Asia Pacific. If it is so quiet, what is the reason for them to be there?

Alessandra Galloni: Going back to your lighthouses, and this mention of the rescue efforts that have helped other countries, one of the things China has said is that this reclaiming, building lighthouses and other initiatives, are to the benefit also of the international community. Could you explain that a little bit better? You mentioned certain rescue efforts which take less time. What else exactly?

Ambassador Liu: There are many. I have a laundry list of all the services available, such as water supply, lighthouse, environmental reservation, and scientific research.

Alessandra Galloni: And this would benefit specifically the international community?

Ambassador Liu: Yes, of course. And we are open also. We may have some joint research in the future with British scientists with regard to marine conservation. When asked if there is a possibility for foreign journalists to land on some of the reefs and islands, our foreign minister responded by saying when conditions are ripe, we certainly would welcome foreign journalists.

Alessandra Galloni: Because there is the sense that the inability of doing that, not letting journalists in, there is something to hide.

Ambassador Liu: We want to make your trip more comfortable.

Alessandra Galloni: We are journalists. We don't need comfort.

Ambassador Liu: China is a very hospitable country. I hope you will not be faced with the situation as in Iraq, Syria.

Alessandra Galloni: So it is for our protection.

Ambassador Liu: For your safety. I just received a delegation from Chinese military. They are here for consultation with British military. I asked them when they would be ready to receive foreign journalists. We really would like to have some British journalists, especially for those who are open-minded, not biased against China, doing good reporting. I would include a reporter from Reuters in the pool. He said in due course, we will get journalists in. But now construction is still going on. I don't think your journalists will be happy when there are cranes over their head.

Alessandra Galloni: The decision is a military one. I thought they are civilian projects. Why is it up to the military to decide?

Ambassador Liu: The majority of them are civilian. But there are some military facilities. As for the question why China is building military facilities, you should ask the Americans. They made us feel threatened. It is not we who are threatening the Americans. They sent their warships and military aircrafts so close to us. We need to do something to protect ourselves.

John Foley: One of the things that always puzzled me when I lived in China, this may sound very naive, but I am just trying to think about this with no cultural baggage. The things that give China the legitimacy as a growing, maybe adolescent superpower, or future superpower, they are things like a huge population, rising wages, rising standards of university education and a very globalized approach to things like trade and finance. They are not land borders. I've always wondered given that China has so much legitimacy through showing other countries how to overcome traditional restrictions and borders, why do you care so much about some uninhabited islands when really what makes China a superpower is things that have nothing to do with borders and sea?

Ambassador Liu: I think that is in China's DNA. China has been suffering badly in the hands of foreign powers in the past hundred years. The other day I was with a Chinese delegation touring British parliament. And there was a senior official who asked me whether that was the room where the British parliament debated about launching the opium war against China. I said "exactly". The Chinese people have a long memory of what we suffered, when many unequal treaties were imposed on China.

I often share one story with visitors from China and with my staff. This Embassy is the very first Chinese mission overseas. While we should feel proud of the tradition, we are not proud of the reason why this has become China's very first mission abroad.

That's a result of the Treaty of Yantai (a city in Shandong Province) imposed by the British Empire. A translator of the British legation in China was killed in a fight with local people in Yunnan after he had shot dead a local resident. The British Empire took advantage of this incident and imposed this Treaty of Yantai on China. It contains three basic articles: one, pay compensation of 200,000 taels of silver; two, open up four more ports along the Yangtze River; three, and the most humiliating, send a minister to Britain to make apology, face to face, to Queen Victoria.

China was weak then after the Opium War, could do nothing but pay the money, open up the ports, and send this poor minister, my very first predecessor to Britain. But the Emperor realized it was a very humiliating mission, and that since there were many ministers in China from many countries, from Britain, France, Italy, and many other European countries, he decided to turn this minister with one mission of apology to a resident minister in order to save face.

So the first resident Chinese minister was sent overseas. His mission was to make apology. The first letter presented by a Chinese resident minister to a foreign head of state was not the letter of his credential but a letter of apology. This was a humiliating past. It's always remembered.

John Foley: Do you think the young people in China, who have Taobao, Weixin and holidays in Thailand, do you think they would care about this, what the government talks about all the time?

Ambassador Liu: I think the majority do. From time to time, I receive invitations to talk to the students in Beida (Beijng University) and other universities, and to Chinese students in many universities here in the UK. Many of them see me as a hero because of my interview on BBC Newsnight with Jeremy Paxman, defending China's position on Japanese Prime Minister Abe's visit to the war shrine, on Diaoyudao and other issues. And I was told that I have millions of fans in universities and colleges. So there is a high enthusiasm and patriotism among young people. They care about what China should be today and what China will be in the future.

We have lost so many territories, so people care about the territory we have. In China, there's an old saying, "one inch of land is worth the same amount in gold". We are not asking for any territory that does not belong to us, but we'll defend every inch of our land at any cost. I hope that answers your question.

Alessandra Galloni: Thank you, Ambassador Liu, for giving the interview.

Ambassador Liu: I look forward to meeting you again.
Local government entities are taking action to reduce the amount they pay to the North Dakota Association of Counties for 911 emergency services, from 15 percent of their monthly phone fees to 10 percent.

Instead, that 5 percent will be redistributed to the Central Dakota Communications Center, the local 911 service operator (commonly known as CenCom), said Mike Dannenfelzer, its director.

"This will offset property taxes from the general fund," he said.

While Burleigh County approved the change on Wednesday, Mandan City Commission approved the same contract revision on Tuesday. The Bismarck City Commission will be reviewing the revision next Tuesday.

The change, if approved, will take effect Jan. 1.

The contract change came after the 911 Strategic Technology Planning Subcommittee, the governing body for the statewide NG911 Joint Powers Agreement, voted April 20 to reduce each government entity's obligation.

The 5 percent difference amounts to about $70,000 to $75,000 more for CenCom to use for its emergency 911 dispatch system, and it means 90 percent of fees will be kept local. Mandan joined the Bismarck-based emergency dispatch system in January. Burleigh County also is a member.

Since 2001, each county has paid the NDACo 15 percent of the phone fees collected for local 911 service to create statewide wireless emergency services. Now the fee is being used to upgrade that service to allow users to text and use video.

Dannenfelzer said CenCom receives about $1.1 million a year from the $1 monthly fee it collects per device, but actual CenCom costs exceed $2.68 million, and the three entities using the dispatch service must subsidize it with property tax money.

According to Dannenfelzer, the decision to lower the fee is a result of prepaid phone minutes being taxed, giving the NDACo another revenue source.
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton promised protesters gathered after a second black man was killed by Twin Cities police in a year that there will be a thorough investigation.

"Justice will be served in Minnesota," he told hundreds of people gathered outside his official St. Paul home Thursday morning in the aftermath of a shooting of a 32-year-old black man by police 12 hours earlier.

Not all protesters liked what they heard, and some blamed him as the state's top official for not preventing shooting like the one Wednesday night of Philando Castile and last November of Jamar Clark.

"You have the power," one protester shouted as Dayton spoke.

"I agree that is kind of behavior is unacceptable," Dayton said, calling the shooting "a horrible, horrible tragedy."

Earlier, near where Dayton spoke, Castile's girlfriend told protesters and reporters that he was just reaching for his wallet when the officer fired four or five shots after a routine traffic stop.

"He was licensed to carry" a pistol, Diamond Reynolds said about her boyfriend, 32-year-old Philando Castile. "He was reaching for his wallet in his back pocket. ... The police took four or five shots at him for no reason."

Through heavy tears, Reynolds told protesters and reporters in front of the governor's residence Thursday morning: "I want justice. ... The police took an innocent man away from us."

Castile died at 9:37 p.m. Wednesday, The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office reported, a little more than a half-hour after his car was stopped.

Dayton asked for a federal investigation.

"This morning, I spoke by phone with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the U.S. Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter," Dayton said in a statement.

McDonough is a Stillwater, Minn., native.

The governor also said the state has begun an investigation.

Overnight, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level," Dayton said. "They are currently collecting all necessary evidence, and interviewing witnesses, to determine what happened, and to assure that justice in this case is served."

Reynolds live-streamed a video on Facebook moments after the shooting, showing Castile's white T-shirt covered in blood and saying that she and her 4-year-old daughter were in the car. A police officer held a gun pointed at Castile in the video.

Another video from across the street showed police officers attempting to revive the victim after he was removed from the car.

The shooting happened near the state fairgrounds by a St. Anthony officer. St. Anthony provides police coverage for Falcon Heights, which is just north of St. Paul.

St. Anthony police provided few details about what led to the shooting, which drew a large crowd at the scene and later outside the governors residence in St. Paul. About 3 a.m. Thursday, people leaned on car horns outside the Summit Avenue residence and shouted, "Wake them up. Wake them up." Gov. Mark Dayton was at the residence at the time.

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, who represents the area where Castile was shot, called for a federal investigation.

The Justice Department said it was aware of the incident and was assessing the situation. It did not say if it would start a formal investigation into whether excessive force was used.

Protesters went to the governor's residence after police closed their on-scene investigation of the death at about 2 a.m. Thursday and the crowd continued to build during the morning. Police closed off Summit Avenue in front of the residence, where some of St. Paul's most expensive homes are located.

Reynolds talked on Summit Avenue less than 12 hours after the shooting.

"The police did this to me and did this to my daughter," she said.

She also claimed that "the police officer stopped us for a busted tail light that was not busted."

In the video shot right after the shooting, an agitated officer shouted, "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You told him to get his ID, sir, and his drivers license," Reynolds said. "Oh, my God, please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that."

Castile's mother expressed shock. "I never once in my life would have thought that my son would be killed by the persons that were supposed to protect and serve him," Valerie Castile said on CNN.

Valerie Castile described her son as a "laid back" but industrious man who worked as a St. Paul school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games.

The Falcon Heights shooting in the second of a black man by Twin Cities police in recent months.

In November, a white Minneapolis police officer shot and killed 24-year-old Jamar Clark, setting off weeks of protests that included a lengthy stay at a branch police station and several marches through Minneapolis.

In June, Hennepin County prosecutors said they would not file charges against officers in the Clark shooting.

Interim St. Anthony Police Chief Jon Mangseth said at a 2 a.m. Thursday news conference that a St. Anthony police officer initiated a traffic stop about 9 p.m.

"During the stop, shots were fired," Mangseth said. "One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased. No one else was injured. ... A handgun was recovered from the scene."

This story contains material from Reuters news service and the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a Forum News Service media partner.
(Photo : LHC) Part of the massive LHC

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An anomaly detected by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is leading scientists to speculate this "bump" might be a new particle that might help tie-up the loose ends in the Standard Model of particle physics such as dark matter.



This anomaly or bump is a 750 gigaelectronvolts (GeV) signal detected by both the ATLAS experiment and Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detectors in December 2015. This excess of photon pairs with a combined mass of 750 GeV might hint at a new, heavy particle some six times more massive than the Higgs boson.



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The ATLAS experiment and the CMS are large, general purpose particle detectors. There are seven particle detectors at the LHC.



Scientists are eager to prove if this probable particle might help explain the shortcomings of the Standard Model that also classifies all known subatomic particles. There's also the hope this bump, if confirmed by other observations, might lead to a better understanding of dark matter and the forces behind the universe.



"More data is needed to be sure the signal doesn't go away -- until then we have to be cautious," explained Prof. Stefan Soldner-Rembold, head of particle physics at the University of Manchester.



"The big reason that people are excited about this bump is that both experiments (Atlas and CMS) saw a hint in roughly the same place. But even this is not completely unlikely."



Scientists say the new particle will be confirmed if it reaches a statistical threshold known as "5 sigma." This corresponds to a chance of one in 3.5 million that the observed signal is an accident or a fluke. It's about the same odds as tossing a coin and getting 21 or 22 heads in a row.



"This is the time when the probability of finding something new is highest," said Tiziano Camporesi, head of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN.



The LHC experiments dealing with the bump will be presented at a conference in Chicago later this summer.



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(Photo : Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee(C) takes part in a prostest in Hong Kong.

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China recently requested that a Hong Kong bookseller, who was detained in the mainland for several months last year, return to face penalties for violating the terms of his parole. However, officials in Hong Kong are refusing to let him go back.



According to the BBC, Hong Kong's security chief said that there was no legal basis to transfer the bookseller, identified as Lam Wing Kee, back to China. This comes after Chinese police said that Lam had breached the terms of his bail and have threatened that he could be taken by force if he does not voluntarily turn himself in.



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Lam was reportedly kidnapped last year after he was found to be the source of books prohibited in China. He is said to have shipped the books to Chinese customers and earned thousands of dollars from the business. Lam said in a statement weeks ago that Chinese police officials let him go after he promised to return with a list of names of the people who bought the books from him.



The Times reported that after Chinese police officers threatened Lam with further action if he does not return to the mainland to face his penalties, Lam is now considering leaving Hong Kong as he fears for his safety.



"There is no legal arrangement for the transfer of a person to the mainland authorities and the Hong Kong government will handle all cases in accordance with the law of Hong Kong," Hong Kong security chief Lai Tung-kwok said in a statement. As per the Hong Kong law, Chinese police do not have authority in the country.



Four other men were reportedly detained by Chinese police, all of whom are also booksellers. They have been named as Lui Bo, who went missing in October 2015 and returned to Hong Kong only in March. Cheung Jingping also went missing in October 2015 and resurfaced in March. Lee Bo went missing in December last year and came back to Hong Kong in March.



The last missing person has been identified as Gui Minhai. He went missing in October but has not returned.



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TagsLam Wing-Kee, china, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Bookseller, Ningbu, Hong Kong's security chief Lai Tung-kwok, probation violation, bail laws
WASHINGTON  North Dakotas top oil regulator told members of a House subcommittee Wednesday that proposed federal regulations would harm the states ability to reduce natural gas flaring.

Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources, was among six panelists who testified before the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing focused on the Environmental Protection Agencys regulation of energy during the Obama administration.

Much of the discussion involved the EPAs Clean Power Plan, which aims to address climate change by reducing carbon emissions. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the rules for coal-fired power plants until legal challenges  including one from North Dakota  can be resolved.

If the Clean Power Plan were implemented, it would shutter some of North Dakotas coal-fired power plants, opponents say. But North Dakotas oil industry needs more  not less  electrical generation in order to power the natural gas processing plants necessary to reduce flaring, Helms said.

Helms told House members that the loss of electrical power for gas gathering and processing between 2016 and 2020 would cause the flaring of 956 billion cubic feet of natural gas, resulting in a $107 million loss in tax revenue for the state and a $570 million loss in royalty income to mineral owners.

North Dakota has reduced natural gas flaring to 8 percent from a high of 36 percent in 2012, he said.

This directly interferes with North Dakotas ability to reduce natural gas flaring, Helms said.

In addition, Helms criticized proposed EPA rules related to curbing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. He said the rule would conflict with numerous North Dakota regulations and cause problems for the states ability to regulate multi-well pads, which aim to reduce oils footprint on the landscape, Helms said.

The North Dakota Industrial Commission plans to file a petition of review of the EPA methane regulations defending the states jurisdiction over oil and gas regulation.

Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation for the EPA, told House members that the EPAs regulatory efforts further the agencys goals of protecting public health and the environment.

We are guided in meeting those goals by science and by the law which serve as the backbone for each of the agencys actions, McCabe said.
(Photo : China Photos/Getty Images) A worker feeds pigs in a pig farm in Chongqing Municipality, China.

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A rescue operation was conducted after photos of two farmers looking distressed while trying to save their pigs submerged in the flood went viral.



The Telegraph reported that viral photos of the two farmers in China resulted in a rescue operation to try and save around 6,000 pigs. The two farmers, who are said to be from Anhui province, were seen breaking down in the photos as they watched their pigs struggling. The farm where the animals live is near the banks of the Yangtze River, which has since overflowed due to the continuous rainfall in the province.



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An organization reportedly went to the farm where the pigs were submerged and managed to save most of the animals. It is unclear where the animals have been placed after being rescued.



The images were shared on the popular social networking site Weibo. The damage to the livelihood of the farmers would have been very high if all of their pigs died in the flood. The floods have killed more than a hundred residents. Many people have also been reported missing in the affected provinces.



It is feared that more properties will be damaged, and more deaths will be recorded as the bad weather is expected to persist in China. Around 32 million Chinese citizens have been affected by heavy rains all over the country, BBC reported. In total, about 186 people have died, and 45 are still missing. It has been estimated that around 1.4 million people have been relocated, and 56,000 houses have been destroyed. Flooding is common during the summer monsoon season but this year it has been particularly disastrous as rainfall has been quite heavy compared to past years.



Other South Asian countries were also hit hard this week. Up to 33 people have been reported dead in Pakistan while 25 were killed in India due to the heavy rains.







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Tagspigs, farmer, Anhui Province, flooding in China, viral photos, Rescue operation, six thousand pigs, flooding in China
(Photo : Getty Images) A LeEco badge is displayed on the side of the LeSee concept sports vehicle, manufactured by Le Holdings Co. also known as LeEco, at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing, China, on Monday, April 25, 2016.

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After thriving in markets like China as well as India, Chinese tech and media company LeEco will now cater to customers in the United States.



The company has plans to launch itself as a brand in the U.S. in the next three months, according to a leaked internal memo signed by LeEco CEO Jia Yueting.



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"We will disrupt traditional industries... and create new value for users in North America and worldwide," Jia wrote in the memo, before adding that the company will aim to challenge the status quo and take on technology behemoths such as Apple, Tesla and Amazon.



The firm has also told CNET in a statement that its plans include the launch of a line of products and media services just in time for the holiday season.



Even though it was originally an online streaming website, dubbed as the "Netflix of China," LeEco now has established itself as a company in several industries, including smartphones, televisions and automobiles. Speculation about LeEco's move to the US has been going on since last year and the company has already set up an office in Redwood, California.



Earlier this year, LeEco unveiled a concept car and announced a partnership with Aston Martin to co-develop an electric vehicle. The company, which was previously known as LeTV, was one of the first ones to introduce phones powered by the Snapdragon 820 processor and a USB Type-C Port in its devices.



LeEco's expansion in the U.S. could be a challenging move for the company. In spite of being financially strong, it will not only face fierce competition from tech giant like Apple, Google and Samsung, but also other Chinese companies such as Xiaomi and OnePlus, which similar plans in the United States.



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TagsLeeco, china, US, LeEco US, LeEco US debut, LeEco US launch
(Photo : Getty Images) Chinese foreign minister phones John Kerry to warn Washington not to infringe on its sovereignty ahead of international court ruling on territorial dispute

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China's foreign minister Wang Yi and US secretary of state John Kerry had a telephonic conversation a week before the international court ruling over China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.



Wang reiterated that Beijing would not accept the International Court of Arbitration's decision as it had no jurisdiction in the case, which was brought on by Philippines, challenging China's claims of sovereignty on nearly the entire maritime region.



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"The farce of the arbitration court should come to an end," Wang said, according to Channel News Asia.



The warning comes amid rising tensions ahead of the July 12 ruling by the international court, which is located in the Dutch city of The Hague. US officials have stated that if China keeps their word and reject the ruling, which is expected to go in Philippines' favor, they will increase freedom-of-navigation patrols in the disputed resource-rich waters of the South China Sea.



During his phone conversation with Kerry on Wednesday, Wang "urged the United States to honor its commitment to not to take sides on issues related to sovereign disputes, to be prudent with its actions and words, and not to take any actions that infringe upon the sovereignty and security interests of China," according to Xinhua.



Wang said that notwithstanding the UN-backed tribunal's decision, Beijing would take firm action to protect its territorial sovereignty and rights over the disputed waterway and maintain peace and stability in the maritime region, which has been claimed by other Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.



He added that United States should stick to its commitment of being neutral on issues associated with sovereign disputes and avoid taking any action that would violate the sovereignty and security interests of China.



The US state department confirmed that a telephone call did take place between Kerry and Wang, but refused to provide any further details.



Beijing has expressed its anger over the presence of US patrols in the South China Sea over the last few months and started naval drills in the waters of the Paracel islands on Tuesday. A local media outlet also said that China should be prepared for military confrontation in the South China Sea, as we previously reported.



US officials have expressed the concern that China would declare the maritime region an air defense identification zone following the international court's ruling, just like it did in the East China Sea in 2013.



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Tagschina, US, South China Sea, international court ruling, The Hague, South China Sea Dispute, Philippines, Wang Yi, John Kerry
(Photo : Photo by Wang He/Getty Images) Local Chinese residents walk on a flooded street in heavy rain in Wuhan, Hubei province, China

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The Chinese city of Wuhan is reportedly still inundated with waters despite the fact that the week-long torrential rains stopped on Wednesday evening.



Heavy downpours have caused severe flooding in the city of 10 million, which is situated by the Yangtze River. Over the past week, Wuhan has received more than 600mm of rain, the highest in the city's history.



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On Thursday morning, the city was slowly returning to normal as the water level had started receding, the South China Morning Post reported. People were seen wading through the water to reach their work places, and transportation continues to be severely affected by the flooding.



Local authorities are reportedly trying to prevent more flooding in the city by "sealing sluice gates along the Yangtze," according to the South China Morning Post. At midnight on Wednesday, the river's water level had reached up to 28.37 meters.



Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the flood-affected provinces of Anhui, Hunan, and Hubei on Wednesday to oversee relief and rescue operations. In Hubei's capital, Wuhan, he reportedly said that the "top priorities" should be "safety and preparations." Li also called on local authorities to be prepared for further rainfall.



The severe flooding in China has reportedly affected 32 million people in 26 provinces. China's state television reported on Wednesday that 170 people have died due to the torrential rains and flooding.



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(Photo : Lintao Zhang/Getty Images) Beer is displayed at the Jinzhu Manjiang beer factory on Aug. 1, 2013 in Fujin, Heilongjiang Province, China. Recent significant sustained high temperatures in China are expected to push beer industry volume and revenue growth up significantly.

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Chinese alcoholics, take heed: if you want to kick the drinking habit, it would be best to consult a doctor or a psychiatrist first.



According to Chi Yong, head of Beijing Anding Hospital's alcoholism treatment unit, quitting alcohol without proper supervisions has severe health repercussions and can even lead to death, China Daily reported.



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Chi explained that alcohol is highly addictive, and abruptly quitting it can result in potentially deadly consequences, especially during withdrawal.



A fluttering in the chest and trembling are among the most common withdrawal symptoms, which if left unaddressed, could lead to convulsions and eventual death.



Chi said that alcohol abuse is a psychological condition wherein a person continues to drink despite knowing its negative effects.



Chinese alcoholics may no longer be able to overcome the urge to drink, which could be anytime within the day.



"Public awareness has to be raised, given the worsening drinking problem in China," Chi stressed .



Citing international studies, he revealed that around 20 percent of patients who quit on their own and eventually developed serious alcohol withdrawal syndrome have passed away.



Chi's unit, which is referred as the Psychosomatic Ward, was reopened after a six-year hiatus and now has 60 beds.



It is capable of handling diagnosed alcoholics, including Chinese patients and foreigners, to help them overcome the difficulties of withdrawal.



Chi said that the yearly number of patients treated for alcoholism at the facility has increased by a factor of five over the past decade.



According to a study conducted by the World Health Organization, nearly 7 percent of Chinese men and around 0.2 percent of women aged 15 and older suffered from alcohol abuse in 2011.



Alcoholism kills 3.3 million people each year across the globe.



Alcohol addiction also significantly raises the risk of developing more than 200 diseases, including some cancers and mental disorders such as anxiety or depression.



Chinese alcoholics can attest to this, such as a man surnamed Ma, who shared that it's easy to fall into relapse, saying, "Lifelong interventions are needed to keep sober."



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(Photo : China Photos/Getty Images) Workers rest in a crane at a factory of Chongqing Changhang Dongfeng Vessel Industry Company on Feb. 12, 2009 in Chongqing, China

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The future looks bright for the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), as the company gears up to enter the highly lucrative cruise liner market.



The Chinese company in fact is set to forge a partnership with Hong Kong with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiana SpA wherein the two ship makers are expected to spend at least 25 billion yuan ($3.74 billion) to build five luxury cruise liners, China Daily reported.



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CSSC is expected to deliver its first luxury cruise liner - capable of carrying up to 5,000 passengers - by 2021.



According to CSSC, it will have a 60 percent controlling stake in the joint venture, while their Italian counterpart will hold the remaining shares.



The China State Ship Building Corporation will mainly source its funds from an industrial development fund for cruise liners courtesy of five major Chinese banks, which include the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank.



Under the collaborative agreement, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co, a subsidiary of CSSR, will be tasked to build the liners.



Chen Gang, vice-president of Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, revealed that each of these ships will have a length exceeding 300 meters and a displacement of 133,500 tons.



Each ship will cost around 5 billion yuan to build.



A specialized department in the Shanghai shipyard has already been established and will start design work on the cruise ships, which are schedule to be completed by 2017.



"The cruise liners built in China will highlight Chinese elements, with the guest rooms decorated in the style of either a traditional Beijing courtyard or an old-fashioned Shanghai residential room," Chen explained.



Fincantieri, the Italian partner of China State Ship Building Corporation, was founded in 1780 and is based in Trieste, Italy.



The company is capable of building all types of cruise liners and is one of the biggest cruise manufacturers in the world, having 21 shipyards in Asia, Europe, and North and South Americas.



Dong Liwan, a shipping industry professor at Shanghai Maritime University, pointed out that cruise ships are among the high-tech products that China's craftsmen still have to master.



"To date, Asian shipbuilders including Japan and South Korea are incapable of either designing or building cruise ships independently," Dong said.



However, with the soon to be established partnership between China State Ship Building Corporation and Fincantieri, this goal may just be within the horizon.



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On target? Kansas bishops ban concealed weapons from churches 07 July, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

TOPEKA (Christian Examiner) -- Episcopal bishops in Kansas have issued a declaration that all of the denomination's churches in the state must ban the carrying of firearms (concealed or open), unless they are carried by designated law enforcement officers.

Bishop Dean Wolfe of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and Bishop Michael Milliken of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas issued the "pastoral directive" June 20. Churches now have until Aug. 1 to comply by posting official signage that makes the churches official "gun-free zones."

Individuals can run away from the shooter; seek a secure place where they can hide and/or deny the shooter access; or incapacitate the shooter in order to survive and protect others from harm.

In the letter sent to the churches, the bishops wrote the move was prompted by "a series of radical changes in firearms laws" in the state which allow citizens to carry firearms, both concealed and openly, into church.

"These changes reflect the efforts of an active gun manufacturers' lobby, and in our judgment, they unnecessarily endanger the citizens of our state and the members of our parishes," the bishops wrote.

But the laws, supporters say, are intended to allow citizens to protect themselves against an active shooter. It is also, they say, acceptable for churches to train vetted parishioners on how to respond with firearms when needed.

In active shooter situations in schools, a shooting lasts on average 12.5 minutes, long enough for a gunman to kill dozens of people who cannot protect themselves.

The average police response time is 18 minutes, according to the National Sheriffs Association. There is no reason, supporters of the law say, to assume response times for churches would be any different.

In June 2015, for example, Dylann Storm Roof killed nine parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodists Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. By the time the police arrived, Roof had fled and was later captured in North Carolina. Only one person in the church prayer meeting survived.

According to an FBI study of active shooter situations from 2000-2013, six different incidents occurred in houses of worship in the 13-year period. Those shootings claimed the lives of 21 people. Another 27, including one law enforcement officer, were wounded.

"Most incidents occurred on Sundays (3), with the rest occurring on a Tuesday (1), a Friday (1), and a Saturday (1). In all, 3 shooters were apprehended (2 of whom were restrained by citizens until police arrived) and 3 committed suicide at the scene (2 before police arrived and 1 after)," the FBI report said.

The bishops did not address these or other statistics on active shooter situations, but said they were acting upon their "ecclesiastical authority" to ban the weapons:

"For Episcopalians, the Bible serves as a trustworthy guide for our beliefs and practices. The prophets clearly saw the ultimate purpose and goal of God's creating and saving work: 'they will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain' (Isaiah 11: 9). God became human in Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed the Prince of Peace. The Apostle Paul embodied the spirit of Jesus when he urged Christians to never 'repay anyone evil for evil' (Romans 12: 17). Paul understood Christ as the new Adam, the pioneer of God's peaceful future reign. As Christ's body, the Church and all its members belong to the coming Kingdom. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist we demonstrate God's generous, nonviolent intent for all creatures. We even call the space we use for our worship 'a sanctuary,'" the bishops wrote.

The directive then provided a series of steps churches are expected to take by Aug. 1 to comply with the order.

Making the churches gun-free zones, the bishops said, will "serve as a testament to the promised future reign of Christ in which 'no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love.'"

In 2013, the FBI issued a guide for houses of worship on active shooter situations. While the guide admits that no two active shooter situations are alike, the experiences of those under the gun are. People are initially startled, in disbelief, and then fearful.

The guide claims there are only three basic responses to an active shooter in a church: run, hide, or fight.

"Individuals can run away from the shooter; seek a secure place where they can hide and/or deny the shooter access; or incapacitate the shooter in order to survive and protect others from harm," the guide said.
Egyptian president: Time to reform Islam, purge 'discourse of extremism' 07 July, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

CAIRO (Christian Examiner)  Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has issued a bold call for a "religious revolution" to root out radical Islamists in the Middle East and elsewhere, the country's English-language daily al-Ahram has reported.

It is believed the statement is the first of its kind from a leader in a predominantly-Arab country that has struggled to defeat radical influences, such as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State. ISIS has recently began to conduct terror operations in the Sinai.

Al-Sisi, a Sunni who came to power after a military coup d'etat ousted the radical Muslim Brotherhood from power, said during a nationally televised address last week that he hoped a reformation of the Islamic faith would challenge the standing of terrorists and help in "purging religious discourse of extremism."

May Allah bear witness on Judgment Day to the truth of your intentions, regarding what I say to you today. You cannot see things clearly when you are locked [in this ideology]. You must emerge from it and look from outside, in order to get closer to a truly enlightened ideology. You must oppose it with resolve. Let me say it again: We need to revolutionize our religion.

The address came on the heels of the Islamic State's terror attack on the Ataturk National Airport in Turkey. That attack killed more than 40 people.

"The Muslim world is going through a dangerous turning point and is facing unprecedented challenges targeting its existence and people, [and facing this] requires concerted efforts from all of us while putting all differences aside," Al-Sisi said in the address.

The paper also noted that the address fell on Laylat Al-Kadr [The Night of Destiny], when Muslims believe the angel Gabriel ("Jibril" in Arabic) delivered the first verses of the Koran to Muhammad, the founder of Islam.

Al-Sisi has called for reform before. In 2014, even before the current government was framed and the Muslim Brotherhood still had some influence, the Egyptian Army general said it was wrong for the country to be so reliant on Islamic teachings that could not align with modernity.

"Religious discourse is the greatest battle and challenge facing the Egyptian people, pointing to the need for a new vision and a modern, comprehensive understanding of the religion of Islam  rather than relying on a discourse that has not changed for 800 years," Al-Sisi told a group of military leaders.

He also called "on all who follow the true Islam to improve the image of this religion in front of the world, after Islam has been for decades convicted of violence and destruction around the world, due to the crimes falsely committed in the name of Islam."

Al-Sisi has also been willing to build bridges. He visited a Coptic Christian church during a Christmas service in January 2015 and also ordered the military to rebuild a Christian church destroyed by a Muslim mob.

Both actions put some credibility to his remarks given on New Year's Day at Egypt's Al-Azhar University in Cairo. There, Al-Sisi spoke to Muslim scholars and asked them to "rethink religious discourse" and, hopefully, to "purge is of the flaws that negatively affect Islam."

During that address, Al-Sisi said Islamic scholars needed to "take a long, hard look at the current situation."

"It is inconceivable that the ideology we sanctify should make our entire nation a source of concern, danger, killing, and destruction all over the world," he said.

"It is inconceivable that this ideology  I am referring not to 'religion,' but to 'ideology'  the body of ideas and texts that we have sanctified in the course of centuries, to the point that challenging them has become very difficult."

Al-Sisi said the radical agenda, which calls on 1.6 billion Muslims to kill the remaining 7 billion people in the world to establish a global caliphate, is "inconceivable."

"May Allah bear witness on Judgment Day to the truth of your intentions, regarding what I say to you today. You cannot see things clearly when you are locked [in this ideology]. You must emerge from it and look from outside, in order to get closer to a truly enlightened ideology. You must oppose it with resolve. Let me say it again: We need to revolutionize our religion," al-Sisi told the Islamic scholars at Al-Azhar.
Having your name on the church roll 'won't cut it,' warns pastor who says God sits in judgment of America Editorial Staff | 06 July, 2016 by Joni B. Hannigan

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Christian Examiner)  Warning America is at the precipice of judgment as was ancient Israel, Mac Brunson, pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, July 3 in worship introduced a clip of a stirring speech by Rabbi Jonathon Cahn, a Messianic Jew, who described the United States as a place that has "forgotten the God of its foundation" and where revival is needed.

Cahn April 28 addressed Washington Men of Prayer in Statuary Hall where the House of Representatives previously met, pointing out to them the irony of the timing of the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same sex marriage last June.

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"Two months after we gathered here, America's highest court struck down the order of God, and the day on which it did was the 9th of Tammuz, the ancient day of mourning that commemorates the day that Israel's hedge of protection was removed, and the approach of judgment," Cahn said in the recording.

In his speech, Cahn compared America to ancient Israel.

"In the history of this world, only two civilizations came into existence on the solitary foundation that God's calling and purpose was the reason," Cahn said. "The first was Israel; the second was America. But as ancient Israel turned away from her God and His ways, so, too, has America."

Brunson said Cahn's comparison of America to ancient Israel is appropriate. Historically, he said, two nations were deliberately formed  Israel and America. Others "simply happened, they didn't intend to become nations."

"America didn't just happen, it was a colony, it was planned, people came here who wanted to come here, with the exception of the slaves," Brunson said. "For most it was deliberate, a choice, and they came for a variety of reasons  but primarily for one reason, the freedom to worship God as they saw fit. They came to ... establish a nation where man could worship God freely."

Referencing the American Revolution, Brunson said it was "radially different" than anything Europe had known for centuries in that it was not a coup, but it was an act of creating something new.

Flashing photos on large screens of various people dressed in clothing of various nations, Brunson pointed out, "Those who came here were immigrants from somewhere else, from England, Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Germany. That is America.

"I can move to England to live but I will never be and Englishman," Brunson continued. "I can immigrate to France to live but I will never be a Frenchman. I can immigrate to Scotland to live and even though I am Scottish I will never be a Scotsman  but any one, from any place in this world can immigrate to America and they can be an American."

"America is a concept; it's ideals that we follow," Brunson said, not a particular ethnicity or race, or set of traditions rooted in geography.

Pointing to America's citizen's Army with names like the 82nd Airborne, the Screaming Eagles and the Big Red One, Brunson continued a string of prose celebrating America's uniqueness:

We are a nation that despises the idea of titled aristocracy, the elite, blue bloods.

We don't have a House of Lords that are there because of peerage, hereditary titles.

We stay away from class distinction, snobbery, big guys looking down their noses at other people.

We like the underdog, the Rudys, the Rocky's, the Jaguars.

You might have a degree from Harvard but don't brag about it.

We like the guy who worked his way through trade school whose sleeves are rolled up with a little grease under his fingernails.

We are a nation of common men, not Earls, Dukes, and Lords.

We have a cousin named Earl, we knew the Duke, and the only person we call Lord is the Lord.

We like the sons of Oklahoma copper miners named Mickey Mantle.

We like the sons of Barkeeps like George Ruth, the Babe.

We like sons of immigrant fisherman like Joe DiMaggio.

Referencing four pictures of America Norman Rockwell painted in 1943 for the Saturday Evening Post, Brunson said they speak of four freedoms Franklin D. Roosevelt referenced in a speech  freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech.

"No nation has welcomed immigrants more than America," Brunson said, "No other nation has given more in wealth, resources, blood, and aid than the United States."

As for courage, Brunson heralded Davy Crocket and the men at the Alamo along with American Army sniper Chris Kyle:

It was courage 240 years ago on July 2, that 56 men adopted the Declaration of Independence and on July 4, 1776 ratified it and published it. It was courage that caused those 56 men to put their name to that document that either meant liberty or death.

It was the same kind of courage that sent 18, 19, 20 year olds on this day into the bloodiest battle in American history. It was courage 153 years ago today that sent men up Cemetery Ridge and courage kept men on that ridge to the beaches at Normandy, Utah, Saipan, and Iwo Jima.

We want freedom from fear for every one. We've rescued Europe, S. Korea, Kuwait, and we nearly tore our country apart because we got into a war over the fact we don't like bullies pushing around little people in a place called Vietnam. We went into Iraq for the same reason, that a tyrant and his two crazy sons brutalized an entire nation for their own benefit.

Our hero's have always been men of courage from General Washington to General Norman Schwarzkopf. No one should live in fear from young African American men to single moms in the inner city, to little children at the mercy of all of us.

Brunson explained the establishment clause of the constitution  which addresses freedom of religion and freedom of speech -- in the context of the United States being a Republic and not a Democracy.

"A Democracy is ruled by the majority, and a Republic is ruled by a representative government that is ruled by a constitution," Brunson said. "Mob rule has never been a part of our country, but we have people who represent us and they are governed by a constitution. Not the president, not the congress, not the supremes can take that right from us. They cannot take away our freedoms or our rights."

Preaching from Daniel 4:17, Brunson said with those rights come responsibilities on the part of believers.

"If we don't stop looking out the window and don't start focusing on the mirror and get to our knees and repent, we can never call the nation to repent," Brunson said. "Sin is sin and God is holy. ... Just because our name is in the church role doesn't cut it. Light is straighter than darkness.

"That is what Daniel did. When he saw what was happening in his world, he turned to the Lord, to His word, and to a prayer of confession," Brunson continued. "We, as the church, will never straighten out this country until we straighten out ourselves. Peter is clear about that."

Urging God's household to examine itself and resolve to not turn to Washington or government agencies to solve its problems, Brunson, much like Cahn had in his speech on Capitol Hill, called on God for revival:

We must turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses and Elijah, to the God of the Red Sea and the Resurrection, to the throne of the Most Sovereign God, and we cry out have mercy on this land. Let Oh God Your power fall upon Your church, Your people. Let it fall once again on the heartland of America, the Coastland, the Cities and the Capital. Let there be revival. Let the lost be saved and the saved be revived.

We acknowledge that the rock upon which we are built is not politics, not Democrats or Republicans, not our dollar and economy, not the power of our military or the strength of our own arm, but the name upon which we are established is Yeshua ha Messhia, that name that is above all names. When we bow before you, then and only then will our nation begin to heal and become once again that shining city on a hill and a glory in all the earth.
Christians and other minorities in Iraq are facing persecution at unprecedented levels and are at the verge of extinction, according to a report released by the Minority Rights Group, as they are suppressed and abused by the Islamic State which gained prominence in the area two years ago.

The Christian population has dwindled from 1.4 million to 300,000 in the last decade, according to some estimates. However, Minority Rights Group put that the number at anywhere between 50,000 to 250,000.

A report released by the United Nations in January said that about 19,000 people have been killed by ISIS in Iraq and over 3.2 million have been displaced since 2014, a recent report by the United Nations said, adding that atrocities perpetrated by the militant nation include severe war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The minorities have struggled to practice their faith in the region devastated by wars and overrun by extremists in the last few years.

Since ISIS became operational in 2014, atrocities and abuses against Christians increased manifolds, when they had to choose between converting to Islam, paying a high jizya tax, or fleeing to other regions. Many of them were also killed and enslaved.

"I wish I were in my hometown Mosul right now, but we can't come back to our areas and live with Daesh [ISIS caliphate]," said an Iraqi Christian refugee in Germany.

"We escaped from Mosul to Erbil (capital of Kurdistan Region) in August 2014," he said. "The fighting was ongoing between Daesh and the Peshmerga [military forces of Iraqi Kurdistan]. It was difficult to stay there as a Christian."

Earlier this year, ISIS released a video on social media showing a bonfire of a pile of Christian books, pamphlets and manuscripts in Mosul, the city they captured two years ago.

Thousands of minority women were kidnapped and forced into marriages and sex slavery.

The UK and European parliaments have declared ISIS violence against minorities as genocide, along with the U.S. Department of State.

ISIS committed horrendous acts of torture, maiming, and murders and did not spare the aged or the young. Eyewitnesses narrated accounts of children beheaded in front of their parents, Christians killed and crucified, people bulldozed, thrown from buildings, and burnt alive. The terrorist organization also killed thousands in bomb attacks and suicide bombings.

"The violence suffered by civilians in Iraq remains staggering. The so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' continues to commit systematic and widespread violence and abuses of international human rights law and humanitarian law," the UN report said.

"Even the obscene casualty figures fail to accurately reflect exactly how terribly civilians are suffering in Iraq," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN's human rights chief, said in a statement.

"The figures capture those who were killed or maimed by overt violence, but countless others have died from the lack of access to basic food, water or medical care."
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said Wednesday its time to move on after the end of an investigation into her partys presumptive presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, and the former secretary of states handling of classified information.

FBI Director James Comey said Tuesday his agency recommended no criminal charges be pursued against Clinton for her use of private email servers while she was Secretary of State. But Comey said Clinton and her colleagues were extremely careless in handling sensitive and highly classified information.

The FBIs investigation is now complete and its time to move on and focus on the issues that are important to North Dakota and the country, like how to build a strong and safe state and country for the future that supports working families, Heitkamp, who has endorsed Clintons presidential run, said in an emailed statement.

Republicans -- including the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump -- have criticized the FBIs decision. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the FBIs announcement defies explanation and sets a bad precedent, according to a statement on his website.

Comey was set to testify on the email investigation in front of a House committee Thursday.

Both Democratic senators in Minnesota came to Clintons defense in prepared statements Wednesday.

Al Franken, who told the Associated Press last month he would be Clintons running mate if asked, called the FBIs review thorough and independent in an emailed statement. He said Clinton cooperated in the investigation and apologized for using a personal server, and added he was hopeful that we can move past this.

Amy Klobuchar called Comey a man of integrity who conducted a thorough and independent investigation.

The use of private email servers should never have happened, Klobuchar added in an emailed statement. Hillary Clinton has acknowledged that and apologized and made clear that it was a mistake."

Comey said the FBI found 110 emails that contained classified information at the time they were sent or received, which contradicted Clintons previous statements about her use of private email servers.

Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case, Comeys comment posted on the FBIs website states. In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts.
Later this year, California governor Jerry Brown may sign legislation with numerous harmful repercussions for the Golden States Christian colleges. The state is currently moving closer to adopting a bill that would subject religious higher-education institutions to regulations forbidding them to act on their religious tenets if their students receive state grants to support their studies. SB 1146 could destroy the ability of numerous faith-based colleges and universities to pursue the mission for which they were created, warned Ed Stetzer, the executive director of Wheaton Colleges Billy Graham Center for Evangelism, in a recent post reporting on an earlier draft.

The bill has received considerable criticism from legislators and college presidents. Fresno Pacific University president Richard Kriegbaum wrote in early June that the bill would severely restrict the free and full exercise of religious freedom granted by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. According to Asuza Pacific University president Jon R. Wallace, the bill significantly reduces religious freedom and would effectively eliminate faith-based institutions as a choice for Californias most disadvantaged students. SB 1146 seeks to divest us of our religious distinctives, and weaken the rich educational diversity of our state wrote Biola University president Barry H. Corey in letter to faculty and staff.

In spite of that critical response, a newly revised version of the proposal passed a legislative committee last week and will likely reach the final stages of approval in a few weeks. Just what exactly does it say, and what would be its ...

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Somewhere around the middle of The Secret Life of Pets, I started jotting down the titles of animated movies about animals' secret lives. (Animals always talk in the movies about themexcept, blessedly, Shaun the Sheepand so they are, by definition, about their secret lives.) It wasn't meant to be an exhaustive list; I just jotted down the ones that occurred to me as I watched: Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, Finding Dory, Finding Nemo,Chicken Run, Ice Age and its descendants, Madagascar and its descendants, Zootopia. And Toy Story, and Inside Out, neither of which are about animals but might as well be.

This list kept growing. That's for one clear reason: The Secret Life of Pets might as well be called Generic Animated Animal Movie, a puzzle constructed of pieces lifted from other sources. Max (Louis C.K.) is our hero, a terrier who lives with his owner Katie (Ellie Kemper) in New York City and is certain he's the luckiest pet in the world, until Katie brings home enormous furry brown rescue dog Duke (Eric Stonestreet) to be Max's brother. Max, as you might imagine, is unimpressed.

At this juncture I assumed this was going to be a movie for kids about accepting new siblings or something equally kids movieish. But things take a pretty sharp turn when Max and Duke get picked up by Animal Control (side note: isn't it potentially a bad idea to teach kids that Animal Control are villains?). They're sprung by a crowd of renegade flushed pets who live in the sewer and are led by a fluffy white rabbit named Snowball, who is voiced by Kevin Hartwhich is meant to be funny but reads a tad racially awkwardand bears a suspicious resemblance to Alec Azam, ...

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A pair of Iowa churches are challenging a new interpretation of their states civil rights act, which prohibits Christians from making gay or transgender people feel unwelcome and from restricting church bathroom use to a persons biological gender.

A 2007 amendment to the Iowa Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity, among other factors.

Religious institutions are exempt, but only when they are doing something related to a bona fide religious purpose. The language is vague, and no churches have been disciplined for discrimination.

But the newest explanation from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), a law enforcement agency commissioned to end discrimination in Iowa, wrote that a childcare facility operated at a church or a church service open to the public would be subject to the regulations.

On July 4, Fort Des Moines Church of Christ filed a federal lawsuit arguing that not exempting church servicesall of which are open to the public, they argueviolates the First Amendment. Without full exemption, they fear the state government could censor church teachings.

Image: Michael Demastus

Churches have always been protected from government intrusion, and they still are, stated the churchs attorney, Alliance Defending Freedoms Christiana Holcomb. They have a firmly established freedom to teach their beliefs and set internal policies that reflect their biblical teachings about marriage and human sexuality. One can hardly imagine a more obvious unconstitutional invasion of the state into the internal affairs of the church.

The ICRC also announced that individuals may choose their restroom based on their gender identity, rather than their assigned sex at birth, without having to show documentation or answer questions.

A spokesperson for the ICRC said the state has not made any changes in its interpretation of the law, nor does it intend to ignore the exemption for religious institutions when applicable.

Houston voters rejected a similar anti-discrimination law in November. The ordinance, which would give transgender individuals the right to choose which bathroom they wanted to use, was ordered put to a vote by the Texas Supreme Court after mayor Annise Parkers failed attempt to subpoena sermons by pastors who attempted a petition drive to dismiss it.

The day after Fort Des Moines lawsuit was filed, Cornerstone World Outreach in Sioux City sent the ICRC a letter threatening its own legal action if the ICRC doesnt retract its position. Cornerstone senior pastor Cary Gordon is no stranger to the state governmenthe often speaks about politics from the pulpit, urged voters to remove three Iowa Supreme Court Justices after they voted to legalize gay marriage, and called for the removal of a gay human-rights commissioner in Sioux City.

As drafted, the exemption is unconstitutional, Cornerstones attorneys wrote.

Longtime First Amendment lawyer David French defended the churches.

Its unclear to me how a branch of the Iowa state government has determined that a church service open to the public does not have a bona fide religious purpose, but there it is, he wrote. Under current guidance, churches in Iowa must become members only to exercise their religious liberty.

Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore called the Iowa situation insanity. Caesar has no authority over the worship services of churches, he tweeted.

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler also took to Twitter. If you need evidence that religious liberty in America is in trouble, just look at this from Iowa, he tweeted.
home US Alton Sterling, Baton Rouge protests remain peaceful as demonstrators demand justice

Hundreds of protesters stood vigil early on Thursday outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, demanding the prosecution of police who fatally shot a black man there two days earlier.

The demonstration was largely peaceful at about 1 a.m. local time as about 300 protesters remained outside of the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest by two white police officers on Tuesday.

"There is not going to be a riot until they show they are not going to prosecute these people," said Arsby, a 53-year-old truck driver who declined to give his last name, as he stood outside of the store. "Right now it's just started."

Some protesters blocked traffic while others marched, sang, and chanted, accusing the police of using "excessive force" against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

"Now, all eyes are in Baton Rouge. What may have been easier to cover up before because it was just us ... now they've woken up the sleeping lions," said protester Tammara Crawford, a 33-year-old mother and school administrator in Baton Rouge.

"HE'S GOT A GUN"

Video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackle him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest.

Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells, "He's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired.

Three more shots are heard, before the camera shows one officer lean over Sterling and take something from his pocket.

The two police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake, have been put on administrative leave, police said.

Court records show Sterling had several criminal convictions and he was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Relatives and acquaintances described Sterling as jovial and friendly, a neighborhood fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.
home Life Apologist Ravi Zacharias warns of a 'deep crisis' of the American soul

Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias has spoken about what he perceives as a worrying and potentially fatal state of the American soul.

The Indian-born, Canadian-American Christian did not hold back from using strong words on his blog post. Zacharias started by referring to the book "Whatever Happened to the Human Race?" written decades ago by Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop. The book described how a culture's wrong decisions could send it to an unwanted direction and Zacharias thought the two authors may have just written about contemporary America.

"Whatever happened to the American soul?" asked Zacharias.

"We are truly at the cliff's precipitous edge and the fall could be long and deadly," he warned. "Why? We have a deep crisis of the soul that is killing us morally and we have no recourse."

He then went ahead to point out at least three particular killings of this time: the death of morality, the death of truth, and the death of reason.

He illustrated death of morality in the highly publicized legal trial of O.J. Simpson where Simpson's own attorney, Robert Shapiro, said in an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News that "legal justice" triumphed over "moral justice."

Zacharias referred to the death of truth when lies shrouded the death of four American service-men and death of reason when "clever linguistic sleight" produced the term "radicalized" and prevented Americans to identify their enemies for what they were.

"We are at war but not only with an enemy. We are at war within our own culture, and whether we will ever win over the enemy depends on whether we win this war within our own souls," Zacharias said.

He also denounced liberalism and said, "True freedom is not in doing whatever we wish but in doing what we ought."

The apologist believes America's only hope is through the truth offered by Jesus' redemption and offered his prayer for the Fourth of July.

Another influential American shares Zacharias' belief that America is in trouble.

Best-selling author Eric Metaxas wrote in his latest book, "If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty," that America has a God-given mission to govern through liberty and moral law and that abdicating from this path is equal to committing suicide.
home World Iraq minorities facing extinction, warns rights group

Minority Rights Group said that Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein might have been terrible, but the post-Saddam era is no way better especially with Iraqi minorities facing serious extinction.

"The impact on minorities has been catastrophic," said head of MRG Mark Lattimer, as reported by Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Saddam was terrible; the situation since is worse."

Lattimer described the gist of the report on minorities, titled "No Way Home: Iraq's Minorities on the Verge of Disappearance," published by MRG, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, the Institute for International Law and Human Rights, and No Peace Without Justice.

The rights groups' report found that Iraqi Christians used to be at 1.4 million before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 aiming to topple Saddam's authoritarian regime. However, the Christian population in post-Saddam era has drastically dropped to under 250,000 currently.

Similarly, the European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance (FoRB&RT) released on June 30 its "Annual Report on the State of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the World 2015-2016" where it highlighted the threat of extinction among Christians in Iraq and Syria, among others.

"One cannot say anything positive about Saddam - he was a genocidal dictator, but for many minorities the situation is now much worse," said co-author Lattimer.

He also expressed his hope that the long overdue Chilcot report would reveal the extent of destruction the country and its people have suffered since the Western invasion.

"Chilcot is expected to criticise 'post-invasion planning' but the U.K. government's biggest a and continuing a mistake has been to support successive Iraqi governments since 2003 in a sectarian war that has cost tens of thousands of civilian lives on both sides," Lattimer said.

The Chilcot Inquiry, also known as Iraq Inquiry, which was published Wednesday, July 6, would be examined by the International Criminal Court for possible war crimes committed by British soldiers during the invasion.
home World Pope Francis 'rejects a conflict' with ultra-conservative critics

Pope Francis made it clear that he's not flinching over criticisms of the Catholic Church's ultra-conservative wing and neither is it his style to attack them.

"I don't chop off heads," said the Vatican pope during an interview with JoaquAn Morales SolA of La NaciAn in Argentina released Sunday, July 3.

He added, "That was never my style. I've never liked doing that."

The Argentine pontiff just acknowledged that some church members are simply going to go against everything and clarified that's not the way he envisions the Church.

"They will say no to everything," said Pope Francis. "I continue on my way without looking over my shoulder. I repeat: I reject the conflict. I want a Church that is open, understanding, that accompanies wounded families."

The pope also used a famous analogy taken from carpentry to illustrate how problems could be resolved.

He said, "Nails are removed by applying pressure to the top. Or, you set them aside to rest when the age of retirement arrives."

Although the interview did not mention any particular organization or group, Catholic Herald previously reported that the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) criticized "a large number of pastors, including the Pope himself" for breeding confusion among the faithful in teaching doctrinal errors.

The pope's interview with SolA also centered on questions concerning Argentine President Mauricio Macri. The pope's decision last month to return Macri's donation for the Argentine educational foundation supported by the Vatican, Scholas Occurentes -- on the basis that the donated sum contained the figure 666 -- only highlighted the unfriendly relationship between the two Argentine leaders.

It is also widely believed that tensions between the two started when Macri's center-right government arrested Milagro Sala, a popular community activist whose association with the pope goes way back when he was still known as Jorge Bergoglio.

"We had some other problems, which we spoke about privately and which we resolved privately," shared the pope.
home World Religious persecution at an alarming state worldwide, EU not doing enough - Report

An annual report revealed the horrific state of religious persecution worldwide and criticized the European Union for not doing enough to curb these abuses.

The European Parliament Intergroup on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Religious Tolerance (FoRB&RT) released June 30 its "Annual Report on the State of Freedom of Religion or Belief in the World 2015-2016" where it revealed 53 countries suppressing such human rights.

Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Peter van Dalen and Dennis de Jong, who also chair the group, raised the alarm on the mass persecution suffered by Christians and religious minorities at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) terrorist group.

They also criticized the world's largest economic bloc, the EU, for failing to protect human rights especially from religious persecution.

"Our beliefs are at the core of our human dignity a tragically, however, today not everyone enjoys the freedom to hold and manifest their beliefs," said Van Dalen.

He also cited the threat of extinction among Christians in Iraq and Syria, the 150 percent increase of religious persecutions in India since 2014, and the continued injustice of Pakistan's blasphemy law.

Van Dalen said their report included practical recommendations on how EU can help solve the crisis.

He said, "Freedoms of religion or belief must be higher on the EU's agenda."

"Regrettably, we observe that the EU, in its external actions, continuously compromises its human rights agenda in favour of a more economic and geopolitical agenda," added De Jong.

De Jong criticized the EU guidelines, particularly in EU delegations, as lacking in expertise and knowledge. He also said he's disappointed that the bloc failed to act on their report last year.

In a similar vein, the "2015 Annual Report Chinese Government Persecution of Christians and Churches in China" conducted by a religious persecution watchdog in China, China Aid, revealed that nearly 20,000 religious practitioners were persecuted last year.

"In 2015, China Aid documented 634 cases of persecution in which 19,426 religious practitioners were persecuted, representing an 8.62 percent increase from 2014's 17,884 religious practitioners persecuted," read a statement in China Aid's report.
Andrea Leadsom: I didn't like gay marriage laws because they hurt Christians

Andrea Leadsom has said she "didn't really like" laws to allow gay marriage because they hurt "many Christians".

The contender for Conservative party leadership  and therefore Prime Minister  said marriage "in a Biblical sense" was between a man and a woman according to most Christians. She added she would have preferred marriage to have remained "a Christian service" with civil partnerships available to both heterosexual and gay couples.

In an interview after a speech in Westminster urging support for her leadership bid, the committed Christian said she was concerned about the "potential compulsion" the law put on the Church of England.

She told ITV News: "I believe the love of same-sex couples is as every bit as valuable that of opposite sex couples  absolutely committed to that. But nevertheless, my own view actually, is that marriage in the biblical sense is very clearly from the many, many Christians who wrote to me on this subject  in their opinion  can only be between a man and a woman."

She continued: "But what I do think is that I would have preferred for civil partnerships to be available to heterosexual and gay couples and for marriage to have a remained a Christian service for men and women who wanted to commit in the eyes of God.

"Civil partnerships are called marriage as well. As in registry offices marriages are still marriages. The concern I had was the potential compulsion for the Church of England so I don't think that the Anglican Church should be forced down a route where many Christians aren't comfortable about it. My own view on it was to positively abstain.

"This is not about do I consider gay couples to be any less worthy of marriage than heterosexual couples  not at all, it's exactly the same. The issue is one I have around the consequences, the very clear hurt caused to many Christians who felt that marriage in the Church could only be between a man a woman. I think we've muddled the terms of marriage, civil partnership, church etc. I would have liked that to have been clarified. I didn't really like the legislation  that was the problem. But I absolutely support gay marriage."

Leadsom, a junior energy minister, is down to the final two in the leadership contest. Members of the Conservative Party now have a straight choice between her and Theresa May.

The interview with ITV came after a speech where Leadsom promised to "banish the pessimists" over the UK's future outside the European Union. But Leadsom refused to take questions after being accused of exaggerating claims on her CV.
Bishops step in with call for action as Malawi faces national food crisis

Bishops in Malawi have warned that their country is facing a national food crisis as latest governent figures suggest nearly half of the population could be going hungry.

The Episcopal Conference of Malawi called on the nation to rise to the challenge of a "worrisome" national food crisis.

Signed by the chairman of the conference, Archbishop Thomas Msusa of the Archdiocese of Blantyre, the statement says: "The current historic hunger threatens the life of many Malawians. Our hospitals are already reporting higher rates of malnutrition cases and the situation is feared to worsen as we approach what we normally call the lean period. The situation requires immediate and long-term solutions."

At least 6.5 million out of a total population of 16 million could go hungry in the next 12 months, a Government analysis has found.

Malawi is suffering serious drought because of the effects of the El Nino weather system. Flash floods and drought have destroyed staple crops.

The bishops called on national and international stakeholders and other people of good will to support their country at this time of need.

President of Malawi Peter Mutharika recently declared the country's food crisis a national disaster.

Earlier, a priest in Mangochi diocese, Father Christopher Sichinga, wrote: "A true assessment of our nation shows that a lot of admirable things leave a lot to be desired. Think of the number of people in our society who are uncertain and are living in agonising situations. Increase in issues of tribalism, lack of fiscal order, dwindling standard of education, theft of government money, misplaced priorities, overall shrinking of public service delivery, the violence perpetrated to people living with albinism, rising cost of living and persistent hunger is really the concern of every patriotic Malawian."

He called for a national plan. "Policies and programs should be designed and promoted in order to liberate the poor and vulnerable Malawians."
Bishops warn against growing persecution of Christians in Iran

Persecution of Christians in Iran is bad and getting worse, bishops say in a new protest.

Nearly 80 church leaders from the UK and US have backed a powerful call to action against the Iranian theocratic regime, a year after Western powers lifted economic sanctions on the Islamic state. They urged their governments to demand improvements in how Christians and other persecuted minorities are treated.

In a statement released ahead of Saturday's "Free Iran" protest in Paris, the Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek, the Bishop of Stepney Adrian Newman, the Bishop of Selby John Thomson and the former Bishop of Oxford John Pritchard issued a joint statement with others setting out their "grave concern" at how Iran's rulers are mistreating Christians.

They say: "Repression of Christians has not only continued but intensified during the presidency of Hassan Rouhani."

They continue: "In such circumstances, we call on all Western countries to consider the deplorable situation of human rights in Iran, particularly the painful situation of Christians and the intensification of their oppression, in navigating their relations with Iran.

"We call upon them to precondition improvement of those relations on the cessation of oppression of Christians and on a halt in executions."

The leaders pledge to support the international protest in Paris on Saturday "to promote freedom and human rights in Iran." The demonstration marks a year since the P5+1 group of world powers  the US, UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany  signed the Iran nuclear deal, lifting sanctions on Iran in return for a restriction of its nuclear activities.

Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, backed the church leaders in an article in Forbes on Wednesday and said it was "up to us in the West to fight for the rights of those who do not have a voice around the globe and perhaps nowhere is that more important and with more of a potential positive effect than Iran."

The co-chair of the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom wrote: "We must not ignore Iran."

More than 100,000 people are expected to join the event including church leaders and a number of politicians from other Muslim nations.

Donya Jam is Iranian-American who fled Iran as a child after her father was briefly arrested for opposing the regime. Now a student in the US, she told Christian Today it was her "responsibility" as a Christian to oppose "the evil of the regime" in Iran.

"Jesus resisted evil and he wanted to bring and love to people," she said. "Therefore as a Christian it is our responsibility to bring peace and to bring love.

"The regime just brings hate. It has created such a dark atmosphere."

Jam, 21, went on to say that no opinion against the regime was allowed. "It is stoning people and amputating their hands. If that isn't evil I don't know what is."

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) are the largest organised opposition to the regime and are behind the protest in Paris on July 9. The People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) is at the centre of the NCRI and Jam said she has been attending their demonstrations throughout her life.

"People have said the regime can reform," she told Christian Today. "That obviously is not true. I have always called for regime change. We want democratic regime change and that is the only way to bring about real freedom and democracy in Iran."

The demonstration comes in the same week as a barrage of more than 50 missiles hit Camp Liberty, the home of PMOI in Iraq. The former US military base in Iraq now houses members of the Iranian resistance in exile. At least 40 residents have been injured in the attack and a number of buildings destroyed.
Christian woman found dead in Indian jungle 'was threatened by relatives over faith'

A Christian young woman who appears to have died in an Indian jungle is the suspected victim of a faith-related murder, according to local Christians and the charity Open Doors.

The 20-year-old, known as Samjheera, was found dead in a jungle near where she lived in Dumra, Latehar District in Jharkhand on 14 June.

Her pastor Philip Tirkey says Samjeera, who was preparing to be baptised, became interested in the Christian faith after praying to Jesus two years ago and being healed of an illness.

According to Tirkey however, Samjeera's uncle and cousins were hostile about her conversion to Christianity and the young woman frequently complained to members of her church that she had received death threats from relatives.

The woman's relatives claimed she had fallen from a tree after going to the jungle to pick fruit, according to Open Doors. But there were reportedly no marks on her body indicating a fall and one local said that there were marks on her neck indicating strangulation.

Pastor Tirkey said: "Police were not involved and there was no opportunity given for investigation. Because she had been continuously threatened by her relatives with being killed if she converted to Christianity, we believe that she was murdered."

In line with Hindu tradition, Samjeera's body was burned on the day she died.

India is ranked 17 on the Open Doors World Watch List, which rmeasures the severity of persecution faced by Christians in 50 countries. India has risen on the list from 28 in 2014 and 21 in 2015.
David Cameron: Britain will take 20,000 Syrian refugees

British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to take in up to 20,000 refugees from camps in Syria over the next five years, responding to a growing public clamour for his government to help those fleeing civil war in the country.

"We are proposing that Britain should resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refuges over the rest of this parliament. In doing so, we will continue to show the world that this country is a country of extraordinary compassion," Cameron said in a statement to parliament.

The statement fleshed out a promise made by Cameron last week after a photograph of a Syrian toddler lying dead on a Turkish beach prompted an outpouring of empathy from Britons and put him under pressure to act.
Descendants of German Jews who fled Nazis 'seeking German citizenship'

Descendants of German Jews who fled the Nazis are seeking German citizenship under amid widespread dismay among Jews at last month's British vote to leave the EU, according to the Independent.

The Jewish descendants are looking to take advantage of the German legal principle of "restored citizenship", which stipulates that "former German citizens who between January 30, 1933 and May 8, 1945 were deprived of their citizenship on political, racial, or religious grounds, and their descendants, shall, on application, have their citizenship restored".

British Jews voted overwhelmingly to stay in the UK by a two to one margin, according to polls.

A survey carried out by the Jewish Chronicle showed that 59 per cent of those questioned were unhappy with the referendum result, compared to 28.3 per cent who were satisfied. Meanwhile, more than a third of British Jews feel less safe as a result of the Brexit vote.

The Independent reported that the German embassy in London has been receiving rising numbers of requests for information on citizenship from refugees' descendants living in Britain.

Rachel Houseman, a banker who lives in north-west London, told the Independent: "My family and I are...shocked by the rise in racism. I don't think, as Jews, we'll be immune from this at all. A couple I know were abused in the street in London last week for speaking in Dutch, the husband just happened to be Jewish. That was anti-foreign, rather than anti-semitic, but it shows the way things are going. We have no idea what's going to happen with visas and Europe. We can't get assurances from the politicians on this because they don't know themselves, it's a real mess. Our family came here from Hamburg, we lost relations in the holocaust. We have relations in Germany, so we are going to look at the German option. There's no question of going back to the German version of our name or anything. I think we'll be able to keep dual-nationality."

Jonathan, a 30-year-old Israeli who lives in Swansea and did not want his surname used, told the German broadcast channel Deutsche Welle that xenophobia is on the rise. "There's a feeling that xenophobia has suddenly been legitimized by this vote" he said. You do hear of incidents. I get this feeling that I'm lucky because I am white, so you can only really tell I am not from here when I start talking and you hear my foreign accent. I think the majority of 'leave' voters aren't racists, but racists will have seen this vote as a confirmation they are the majority."

Citizens for Europe, based in Berlin, has established a 'legal clinic' to advise people on requirements for German citizenship. Sigmar Gabriel, the German vice chancellor has suggested that young Britons, who largely voted to remain in the EU, should be offered German citizenship but officials say this is "just an idea". Normally, a European citizen would need to have one parent who is German to achieve citizenship.
Divorced and remarried Christians must not have sex, says Archbishop

Catholics who have divorced and remarried without first obtaining an annulment must not have sex with their new spouse, a leading Catholic bishop has stated.

In a new set of pastoral guidelines Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput says divorced and remarried Catholics, as well as all who cohabit without being married, must not have sex if they want to be allowed to receive communion in church.

He also warns that openly gay couples should not be accepted into parish life because they are a danger to the faith of children.

The guidelines come on the back of the two meetings of the Synod on the Family in Rome in 2014 and 2015 and the resulting apostolic exhortation from Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia.

Chaput was one of the Pope's synod advisers.

Many Catholics had been hoping for leniency from the Church on this issue. The current teaching, which has not changed but is ignored in some parishes, means that even the innocent spouse of an adulterer must be banned from receiving communion if they remarry without an annulment.

Chaput says the Pope's aim in the document is to strengthen existing families and to reach out to those whose marriages have failed, including those who feel alienated from the life of the Church.

"Catholic teaching makes clear that the subjective conscience of the individual can never be set against objective moral truth, as if conscience and truth were two competing principles for moral decision-making," he says.

Since well-meaning people can err in matters of conscience, especially in a culture that is already "deeply confused about complex matters of marriage and sexuality", a person may not be fully culpable for acting against the truth, he says.

Priests should therefore be merciful and adopt a sensitive pastoral approach.

However, Christian marriage, by its nature, "is permanent, monogamous and open to life," he continues.

"But an intimately shared life can also cause stress and suffering. Marital fidelity is an ongoing encounter with reality. Thus it involves real sacrifices and the discipline of subordinating one's own needs to the needs of others."

People who find themselves separated or divorcedand consciously refrain from a new union face no obstacle to receiving communion and other sacraments, he says.

But for Catholics who are divorced and have had a civil remarriage, "Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy."

This applies even if they must, for the care of their children, continue to live under one roof.

"Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly-remarried to receive reconciliation in the sacrament of penance, which could then open the way to the eucharist."

This means that where pastors give communion to divorced and remarried persons "trying to live chastely", they should do so in a manner that will avoid giving scandal or implying that Christ's teaching can be set aside, he says.

Care must also be taken to avoid "the unintended appearance of an endorsement of divorce and civil remarriage", he warns.

This means divorced and civilly remarried persons should be barred from positions of responsibility in a parish such as serving on the parish council and also they should not be allowed to carry out any liturgical ministries or functions, such as reading from the Bible or adminstering communion.

"This is a hard teaching for many, but anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church," Chaput says.

Cohabiting and gay couples should also live without sex, he argues.

"Two persons in an active, public same-sex relationship, no matter how sincere, offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community. Such a relationship cannot be accepted into the life of the parish without undermining the faith of the community, most notably the children."

Mia Trotz, an 18-year-old college student from Philadelphia who was selling ice water outside the cathedral, told Philly News the guidelines did not make sense.

"The whole part about being a good Catholic or Christian is helping people or being more accepting of people, but most of the time they're going against what they're telling you to do," she said of church leaders.

"I'm Catholic but I don't agree with everything they do or believe, so it's kind of hard to be Catholic sometimes."
Eid festival prompts 72 hour truce in Syria

The Syrian army said it would observe a 72-hour truce to mark the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr.

The "regime of silence" applies across the Syrian Arab Republic from 1am on 6 July to midnight on 8 July to coincide with the time of the celebrations at the end of month of fasting. President Assad's army announced the truce in a statement on Wednesday but did not say whether it extended to action against jihadist groups such as ISIS or al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front.

There was no indication in the announcement that the ceasefire had been discussed with oppents but a number of rebel groups said they would respect it.

Western-backed Free Syrian Army and other allied rebel factions said they would hold the truce "so long as the other side does the same".

Mohammed Alloush, the opposition's former chief peace negotiator, said in a statement on Twitter: "Until now, [the government] has not abided by what it has announced, in that it has launched a number of attacks in various areas today."

The US secretary of state John Kerry said he hoped the truce would be extended into a longer lasting peace deal.

"We very much welcome the Syrian army declaration of 72 hours of quiet," said Kerry at a news conference in Georgia.

"We are trying very hard to grow these current discussions into a longer lasting ... enforceable, accountable cessation of hostilities that could change the dynamics on the ground."

But despite the ceasefire announcement the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British based monitoring group, said rebel held areas in Aleppo had come under fire on Wednesday. At least one civilian was killed and several wounded.

The Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad made an unusual public appearance and joined the Eid prayers at a mosque in Homs on Wednesday. Once under rebel control, the devastated town is now mainly government controlled with the rebels pushed into one besieged neighbourhood on the edge of the city.
Home Office accused of religious discrimination in asylum claims

A Home Office interpreter deliberately twisted an asylum seeker's case and caused it to fail because he was from a different sect of Islam to the claimant.

This is the claim of Muzaffer Tahir who has sought asylum in the UK since 2013. He says his claim has been frustrated because his translator bore a personal grudge against his case. In an interview with Christian Today, Tahir, who is an Ahmadi Muslim fleeing Pakistan, said his interpreter named as Mr R Sadozai "intentionally [did] not want to properly translate". Tahir said this was because Sadozai "belonged to another sect of Islam" and used the opportunity to deliberately jeopardise his case.

The Ahmadiyya community is a sect of Islam who are heavily persecuted by mainstream interpretations because they do not think Muhammad was the final prophet. They believe Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in the 19th century was a Messiah who sought to revitalise Islam and correct what he saw as errors that had developed.

Tahir said he is the victim of a severe "lack of professionalism" among home office staff that was highlighted in a recent report. Fleeing Persecution was compiled by the all-party group on religious freedom and the Asylum Advocacy Group (AAG). It points to a clear discrepancy between what the Home Office says in its guidance and the actual behaviour of interpreters in interview rooms.

One solicitor quoted in the report said: "There is already sufficient and perfectly sound guidance formulated by the Home Office, and by notably the UNHCR...for good decision making in the area. But decision making continues to be very poor."

The report criticised the "ignorance" of home office staff and said: "This report's finding signal a lack of understanding and misperceptions of religion and belief among decision-makers working with the UK asylum system."

Bishop Angaelos, chair of the AAG and head of the Coptic Church in the UK, told Christian Today: "At best it is ignorance and at worst we have heard occasions where it has been intentional persecution and an intentional undermining of the case."

Speaking at the launch of the report in Parliament, he said this was the exception and not the rule but "needs to be investigated at once". In cases such as Tahir's "it is a matter of life and death", said Angaelos.

"Some interpreters are from another sect and they intentionally don't want to properly translate," Tahir told Christian Today. When asked whether he thought this had been a factor in why his case was thrown out, Tahir said: "Yes, I think so."

Home Office interpreters are hired from private companies and many are Muslims from the mainstream sects of Islam that despise Ahmadis.

A Home Office spokesperson told Christian Today: "All asylum applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, in line with the UK immigration rules."
Iran ready for 'annihilation' of Israel: 'More than 100,000 missiles' ready to strike at the heart of Jewish nation

Iranian leaders have declared that Iran now possesses the capability to destroy Israel, with a top military commander saying they have "more than 100,000 missiles" ready to strike at the heart of the Jewish nation, CBN News reports.

The latest warnings from Tehran gave more credence to a statement issued by a senior Israeli defence official last month that the Iranian regime represents the greatest threat to Israel's security.

Three top Iranian leaders  Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and military commander Hossein Salami  issued separate statements last week, all of them warning Israel that its days maybe numbered.

Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Rouhani as saying that the recent nuclear deal with the United States "was the cheapest way to achieve Iran's goals and interests."

Those national interests include the destruction of America and Israel.

The Jerusalem Post, meanwhile, reported Salami's threat that "more than 100,000 missiles are ready to fly from Lebanon" all with Israeli targets. "Today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are present more than ever," Salami said.

"If the Zionists make a wrong move, all the occupied terrorists will come under attack from dedicated fighters and, God willing, the terrorists will be liberated," he added.

Khamenei, for his part, spoke of a different means that Iran could use against Israel. Iran's supreme leader reportedly called on Muslim students to wage an ideological war against the Jewish nation.

"By using advanced means of communication and in cyberspace, general campaigns can be formed by Muslim students based on the opposition to the policies of the U.S. and Zionist regime of Israel so that when needed, millions of young Muslim students create a big movement in the Islamic world," he was quoted as saying.

Last month, Amos Gilad, director of the Israeli Defence Ministry's Political-Military Affairs Department, warned that the Iranian regime could potentially become an existential threat to Israel, according to Arutz Sheva  Israel National News.

Gilad warned that the threat posed by the Shi'ite regime could grow significantly.

"The Iranian threat has the potential to become existential. The Iranians agreed to delay their nuclear weapons programme by 10 years. The infrastructure is there and there is a debate whether the regime has become more moderate or not. I tend to think that it hasn't, so long as Khamenei is the [spiritual] leader," he said.

Gilad said Iran has used the nuclear deal to fund a massive expansion of its missile programme.

"Under the cover of the deal they're developing surface-to-surface missile capabilities in Iran and Hezbollah [controlled territory in Lebanon]. In Lebanon there are now more than 100,000 rockets pointed towards Israel. They've identified that front [with Israel] as a vulnerable point."
Iraq invasion 'sounded death knell for Iraqi Christians'

Amid the flood of Chilcot report coverage focusing on the build-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, there has been little attention on Iraqi Christians, whose perilous plight echoes that of displaced and persecuted Christians in the Middle East more widely.

The ongoing turmoil since the war in Iraq came to a head for Christians there in July 2014, when some 80,000 of them fled the Iraqi city of Mosul and the Nineveh Plain after ISIS issued a deadly ultimatum.

The 2,000-year-old Christian population of Iraq has shrunk from 1.4 million to around 250,000 in the aftermath of the war, with many of those who are left now living in disused steel containers or hiding out in churches.

According to one senior charity worker familiar with the country, Iraqi Christians are doomed as a result of the war. Mark Lattimer, the head of Minority Rights Group, tells Christian Today: "We can see now that the 2003 invasion sounded a death knell for Christianity in Iraq. The warnings were certainly there before the invasion, but it was the coalition support for sectarian policies after Saddam fell which made Iraq's decline unstoppable. In 2006 the Iraqi human rights minister told me that Christians' days were numbered in Iraq. We're now down to a population of just 250,000 and some Christian leaders in Iraq have told me that they don't believe the population can survive outside of Kurdistan. The situation for other minorities  Yezidis, Turkmen, Mandaeans  has been equally catastrophic."

On the west's role, Lattimer says that the British Government is "turning a blind eye" to a new rise in sectarian attacks because of the war against Isis. "It isn't just about [George W] Bush and [Tony] Blair. Maybe of the mistakes highlighted in Chilcot are still being made today. The war on ISIS is causing the British government and other members of the international coalition to turn a blind eye to a new rise in sectarian attacks, including against Sunni Arabs."

However, a spokesperson for the charity Open Doors says that despite the "chaos and extreme difficulty," many Christians who are left want to stay and help rebuild the country. The spokesperson told Christian Today: "Whatever has happened that has brought us to this point, many church leaders in the Middle East tell us that they want to be actively involved in the rebuilding of their countries and that they believe they have an important role to play in shaping their future societies. Whilst there is chaos and extreme difficulty many are choosing to stay, to support their fellow Christians and to bring a message of hope amidst the darkness. Open Doors is committed to the long term support of persecuted Christians both in the Middle East and around the world."

The Chilcot report does repeatedly highlight warnings about the fate of Iraqi Christians, as the Catholic Herald has reported.

For example, Chilcot underlines a report by a junior British embassy official in Amman in January 2002: "The Iraqi Christian community was concerned that it risked marginalisation, with some senior figures worrying about what would happen to their community if the current Iraqi regime fell or changed."

In May 2002, the embassy went on to warn as follows: "The May update contained some insights into both social and infrastructure issues. It highlighted Saddam Hussein's 'scare tactics' over what would happen in the event of a coalition invasion of Iraq and the possibility of Iraqi and regional instability thereafter: 'This line plays on real fears of the unknown and of religious instability. For all his faults, Saddam does, for now, mean stability and peace.'"

And the report points out French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin's warning in March 2003 to the UN Security Council that: "... War would only increase it [terrorism], and we could then be faced with a new wave of violence. Let us beware of playing into the hands of those who want a clash of civilisations or a clash of religions."

Also in 2003, Lord David Alton warned fellow peers about the risk to Assyrian Christians, Shia Muslims, Marsh Arabs and Kurds, saying: "It is essential that their suffering is minimised in the aftermath of any possible conflict."

Lord Alton told Christian Today: "Clearly, the failure to plan for the aftermath has been a disaster for hundreds of thousands of people and today's genocide against the region's minorities has its origins in that failure to plan for the future. As Sir John Chilcot has concluded it doesn't need the benefit of hindsight to see to what the absence of a post war strategy would lead. Warnings were given at the time and those warnings were ignored. We must all now reflect with great care on the report's findings - based on 2.6 million words contained in 13 volumes - not least on how public confidence and trust in political processes and leaders can be restored."

In January this year, a delegation of senior Bishops highlighted the plight of Iraqi Christians on a visit to Gaza and Jordan. The Bishops, all Catholics apart from the Anglican Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun, emphasised the cause of the "forgotten" Christians of the Middle East.
Jerusalem: Protesters hold mixed gender 'egalitarian' service at Western Wall

Non-Orthodox Jews from the Conservative and Reform movements held a mixed gender 'egalitarian' service at the Western Wall in Jerusalem today, amid jeers from other worshippers and a ban on prayer by the protesters from Israel's Attorney General.

Reports in the Israeli media said that around ten Ultra-Orthodox Jews heckled the worshippers at the Old City's Western Wall, which is the holiest site for Jews on earth.

However, Yuli Goren of the Israel Religious Action Center told the Times of Israel: "We've seen much worse...We sang songs of prayer, said words of Torah. We respected the attorney general's order, and we didn't pray."

Refraining from prayer was a request from the Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, in defiance of whom the protest was taking place, according to Haaretz.

"We will not rest until the Western Wall is restored to the Jewish people," Yizhar Hess, director-general of the Israeli Conservative Movement, told Haaretz. "The absurdity is that it's the current Israeli government that opposes a most Zionist step. I call on the prime minister to show leadership and implement the Western Wall compromise immediately".

The site has for decades been exclusively for Orthodox Jews to worship, though there is a section for tourists. However, there have been efforts in recent years to make it more pluralistic, with a group called 'Women of the Wall' holding regular protests.

Women of the Wall held their own protest today and protesters claimed that Orthodox worshippers shouted "get out" at them.

The Western Wall's prayer areas are divided for men and women.

Reform and Conservative movements have become dismayed in recent months by resistance from the government over a plan to create a separate prayer space for them at the southern expanse of the Western Wall, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu under growing pressure from Ultra-Orthodox Jews to withdraw from the agreement.
Landlords needed throughout UK to offer homes to Syrian refugees

The Archbishop of Canterbury is preparing to welcome a family of Syrian refugees to Lambeth Palace next month.

But Christians, other faiths and local activists around the country are struggling to find landlords willing to rent homes that will enable the government to meet its target of resettling 20,000 refugees in five years as they flee the horrors of Syria.

The challenge is particularly hard in London and the South East, where local authorities and housing associations already have long waiting lists and the housing allowance on offer from the Home Office under the Syrian Vulnerable Resettlement scheme is hundreds of pounds below market rents.

Latest government figures show that in 2015 and 2016, Coventry has taken the most Syrian refugees, at 105. Nottingham has taken 81, Renfrewshire, 68 and Gateshead 62. According to Refugees Welcome, more than 600 local campaigns have started and more than 700 landlords have offered properties.

To meet the Government target, 5000 refugees need to be resettled in the next two years alone, or an average of 50 with every local authority.

One churchgoing landlord, Martin Clay, from Tunbridge Wells, told Christian Today how he worked with his local authority to house two Syrian refugees, a brother and sister, in a two-bed flat at 760 per month, about 140 below the market rates for the area.

Clay and other local residents have joined forces to try and welcome more Syrian refugees.

The siblings he has housed are from Aleppo in Syria and have many other family members still living in Aleppo, Latakia, another city in Syria, and Turkey.

"It is a distressing time for them as they have been here since April and the daily toll from warfare is constant and on social media, with pictures of dead children," he said. They are both learning English with the help of volunteers, and hope to find jobs.

Clay told Christian Today that all the Syrian refugees arriving under the scheme will be thoroughly vetted before they arrive. In addition, housing them was separate from the problem of housing shortages. "As a landlord I am perfectly entitled to decide who I want to let to," he said. "In this case I am prepared to take a hit on the rent in order to get tenants who are decent people in need."

He said the action of his and other groups reflects Christian principles, but also principles embedded in society in people of all faiths and none. "It is about hospitality. It is about seeing Christ in everyone."

Refugees Welcome in Richmond is another group currently seeking landlords prepared to rent a home to a Syrian refugee family. Richmond Council has not yet however formally agreed to take part in the Government scheme.

At the group's recent launch event, Narin and Nesrin, two teenagers from Syria, described a journey to the UK which included seeing their father captured to be imprisoned and tortured, fleeing their home, being imprisoned alongside their mother and three younger siblings, and massive fear and uncertainty as to what their futures would bring.

The family is now reunited and settled in London.

"Above all, our speakers reminded us of the reality of the war in Syria and its effects, and that we are working together simply to help people who are just unlucky enough to have found themselves in a war-torn place and needing to find safety," wrote a member of the group.

The Home Office said the Government has committed to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme and more than 1,800 people have already been resettled.

"The scheme is voluntary and there has been a tremendous amount of goodwill from local authorities. Some of those authorities have not resettled people in the initial phases of the scheme, but will be resettling people in the future.

"Our policy is aimed at ensuring an equitable distribution of refugees across the country so that no individual local authority bears a disproportionate share of the burden. We are working closely with local authorities to ensure that this remains the case."

Citizens UK is working with Refugees Welcome groups around the country to help recruit landlords to join the scheme and has been campaigning for a year to get local authorities to pledge to resettle just 50 refugees each.

"Many councils are willing, but they need our help to find appropriate homes for families in the private rented sector. We desperately need landlords to join our homes for resettled refugees register."

The Local Housing Allowance Rate will apply in every area with the first 12 months of rent paid for by the European Union under a scheme for placing vulnerable refugees.
Leadsom vs May: Next UK Prime Minister will be a Christian woman

The next Prime Minister will be either Theresa May or Andrea Leadsom after Michael Gove was eliminated in the final round of voting by Conservative MPs.

In the second round of voting May picked up 199 votes and Leadsom 84, leaving the justice secretary Gove in last place with 46. Tory party rules mean Tory activists will be given the direct choice between the home secretary May and the junior energy minister Leadsom, considered an outsider at the start of the contest.

May, who wanted the UK to remain in the European Union, will face a stiff challenge from the Brexiteer Leadsom who has risen to prominence over the referendum campaign. Despite her relative inexperience, Leadsom could well prove popular with Tory activists, the majority of whom back Brexit. Although May's long stint at home secretary means she is considered a safe pair of hands, she may struggle against the outspoken Leadsom.

Boris Johnson, who chose not to run for Prime Minster after leading the campaign to leave the EU, has added his support to Leadsom's campaign. He said she had the "zap, drive and determination" needed.

Immediately after the vote May said she was delighted to have won so much support from MPs in both the Remain and Leave camps. "This vote shows the Conservative party can come together and under my leadership it will," she told supporters outside the House of Commons.

"We need proven leadership to negotiate the best deal for leaving the EU," she said, in a jibe at Leadsom's inexperience. She added she wanted Britain to work for everyone, "not for the privileged few".

Both women are committed Christians. Earlier on Thursday Leadsom said she was opposed to gay marriage laws because they hurt "many Christians". In an interview with ITV she said she would have preferred marriage to have remained "a Christian service" with civil partnerships available to both heterosexual and gay couples.

Leadsom has given her testimony on the Christians in Parliament website and said the moment "became impossible...not to believe in God" was when her first son was born. She said: "I always try to ensure I am doing what I think God would want me to do. What that means is I try to keep the 'love your neighbour' [command] and not just allow the wave of politics and arguments to get to me. I try to stay calm and measured and be as God would want me to be."

Theresa May, the daughter of a vicar, has been reluctant to discuss her faith saying "It's good we don't flaunt such things in British politics". But when she was invited onto BBC Radio 4's Desert Island discs, the home secretary chose Isaac Watt's When I survey the wondrous cross as one of her songs.

She told presenter Kirsty Young that she "never took issue with the church" because it was "never imposed by her parents". She said she was still a practising Anglican: "It is part of me, part of who I am and how I approach things."

The pair will now enter a summer of hustings across the country in an effort to win the support of the membership.
Olympic refugees' team set to make history in Rio: These athletes don't have a country, but they have a voice

For the first time since the first Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, in 8th century B.C., a team comprising refugees of various nationalities will be competing in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next month.

Ten refugee athletes who came from Syria, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo will be participating in the newly-formed Refugee Olympic Team and will compete in swimming, track and judo, according to Mission Network News.

When the team enters the Maracana Stadium during the opening ceremony on Aug. 5, the members will not be representing their country of origin but the millions of refugees worldwide. Their anthem, instead of a national song, will be the Olympian theme, and their banner will be the Olympic flag.

The athletes will show that although they don't have a country, they still have a voice, according to Open Doors USA, an organisation supporting persecuted Christians in countries where Christianity is socially or legally discouraged or oppressed.

Open Doors USA's director of communications Emily Fuentes says having a refugee Olympic team is meaningful since it "brings attention to this unprecedented refugee crisis that we're having in our world right now."

"It's not just Syria, it's not just Iraq, but it's several other countries where there's violence against people of different faiths, of different backgrounds," she says.

For the refugees, having athletes to represent them in the Olympic Games would show that they still have a place in the world, Fuentes says.

She notes that many refugees who have resettled in a new country have a sense of being a second-culture and third-culture community, which becomes even more difficult for them if nobody from that new country reaches out to them.

"You think of those verses when Jesus is talking about being a stranger and you let me in, or even the Old Testament, there's commands to love the foreigner around you. It is such a crisis to be without your homeland; to know you're probably never going to return to your home how it was before," Fuentes says.

"Many of these refugees, especially from Syria, talk about just how they miss walking down the street or going to their favourite coffee shop or bakery and knowing they'll be able to do just simple things like that  beyond the mourning of the horrific things that have happened. Many have lost loved ones, their homes, and everything in this crisis," she says.

She says Open Doors is doing its part to help these refugees and displaced Christians by providing microloans so they can start businesses. The additional funds allow refugees to move from the camps into more stable housing like apartments.

"Without jobs, without really knowing what the future will be, they really feel like they're in a state of limbo. So it's vital to be praying for their encouragement, for God to pave a way for a future for them to get out of this limbo," Fuentes says.
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Houston, we have a flight to Cuba.

The Department of Transportation has tentatively approved United Airlines' application to offer Saturday nonstop flights between Bush Intercontinental Airport and Havana's Jose Marti International Airport. The flights are expected to begin later this year.

READ MORE: What happens when you let Instagram become your tour guide around Cuba

United will also offer daily nonstop flights to Havana from Newark Liberty International Airport.

"These flights open the door to a new world of travel and opportunities for our customers," Oscar Munoz, United's chief executive said in a news release. "We are proud of the important and historic role our airline will play in connecting the U.S. and Cuba, as commercial air travel takes flight between these countries for the first time in more than 50 years."

READ MORE: The once-shrouded street art of Cuba unveiled

Bush Intercontinental Airport also will serve as the connection to Cuba for flights from 20 markets across the central and western U.S. to Cuba with just one stop.

"Secretary Anthony Foxx and the U.S. Department of Transportation made an outstanding decision by approving United Airline's application for Saturday service between Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Havana's Jose Marti International Airport," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in the news release. "Secretary Foxx and United both recognized the very signicant economic and consumer benefits these flights to Cuba will bring to Houston-area residents, travelers, businesses and entrepreneurs."

Seven other airlines also received the nod for flights to Havana, including Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and Spirit. Southwest, which didn't apply for flights out of Houston, announced they would operate routes to Havana from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay, Florida.

In addition to Houston, flights will operate out of Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; New York; and four cities in Florida  Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.
There's an easygoing, shambling looseness about the Silk Road Ensemble, the multicultural pickup band that cellist Yo-Yo Ma assembled in 2000 with musicians from across Europe, Asia and the United States.

That quality is attractive in a performing ensemble but maybe less so in a documentary with a broad subject and not enough discipline or clarity to make sense of it.

"The Music of Strangers," a restless, shaggy effort by director Morgan Neville ("20 Feet From Stardom"), offers a profile of Ma's project, more or less. Neville's camera roams across the world, making stops at the Tanglewood Festival in western Massachusetts (where the scheme was hatched), Iran, Syria, China, Spain and more - sometimes leaping across oceans with head-spinning abruptness. There are archival episodes, musical interludes (exciting and all too brief), landscape videography and plenty of talking heads.

But Neville can't seem to decide what the movie is really about, and it lurches from one topic to another like an easily distracted toddler. Ma's early career as a cello prodigy is glanced at, as are the political turmoil in Iran and Syria, and homilies about cultural appropriation. Meanwhile, we learn practically nothing, for example, about the actual music the ensemble performs.

More Information 'The Music of Strangers' Rated PG-13: for brief, strong language Running time: 96 minutes xx See More Collapse

The most compelling bits of the documentary are the capsule portraits that emerge of the musicians themselves.

There's Ma, witty, ebullient and self-deprecating. There's Kayhan Kalhor, the soulful and long-suffering Iranian master of the kamanche, a small bowed instrument not unlike the cello. There are the scintillating Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, the equable Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and Cristina Pato, the charismatic bagpipe superstar from northern Spain who is hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of her instrument.

These are all appealing and interesting folks, and it would be nice to have a beer with any of them (I have, in fact, done so in one case). But from the filmmaker, one expects a little more.
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Firefighters battled a blaze Thursday morning at a strip center in southwest Houston.

The 1-alarm fire broke out about 7:30 a.m. in the 1200o block of Fondren near Turk, according to the Houston Fire Department.

No injuries were reported.

Officials said firefighters quickly doused the flames, which began in a storeroom in African Farms, a business at the center.

Investigators were trying to determine what sparked the blaze.
Dear Abby:

On a recent trip out of state, my husband became ill. The hotel we stayed in referred us to a nearby urgent care walk-in clinic.

The nurse took his blood pressure, which was very high. The "doctor" never took his temperature or mentioned the high blood pressure to us. He prescribed six drugs, and we went on our way. My husband was happy; I was not.

When we got home, I looked up the doctor's name on the internet. He was a physician's assistant, not a doctor. Abby, what should people do if they get sick while traveling?

Traveling Medical Emergency

Dear T.M.E.:

It is always wise when you travel to bring along a list of any medications you're taking and a copy of your medical records. A lot of health insurance companies offer a 24-hour service to call for a referral to a physician in whatever locale you happen to be.

Physician assistants are standard in many areas of the country as long as they are supervised by a physician - and in your husband's case, there should have been an M.D. on the premises. It would not have been out of line to inquire about the certification of the person who was treating your husband or to ask to see the supervising M.D.

If the emergency is dire, take no chances and call 911. If someone is really sick (having chest pains, muscle weakness, trouble speaking), an emergency room is better than an urgent care clinic because more expertise and testing are available onsite.

Dear Abby:

We are a married male couple. It is always awkward to use the word "husband" when I'm referring to my spouse because heterosexuals seem to think that if I have a "husband," that makes me a "wife."

I have started using "husband" and not "partner" because we are legally married and have been together for 18 years. Lesbians seem to have no trouble using "wife." Why then does there seem to be a problem with male couples using "husband and husband" without it seeming awkward for heterosexuals? I have experienced this problem many times, and so have other male couples we know. Is there another term that's better than "husband"?

Perplexed in Phoenix

Dear Perplexed:

You could use "spouse," but using "husband" is preferable. ("Partner" may be appropriate, but in my opinion, it does not accurately describe your status as a married person.)

Personally, I think you should use the word "husband" and be confident in doing so. The more you do, the greater the opportunity for the larger population to become accustomed to hearing it used.
A year after a student movement pushed University of Texas at Austin leaders to remove a statue of Confederate leader Jefferson Davis from campus, another old south relic is drawing ire.

On Thursday, "Black Lives Matter" was spray painted over a dedication to the Confederacy that is carved into a wall on UT Austin's Main Mall, not far from the school's iconic tower. The inscription, near the prominent Littlefield Fountain, is dedicated to "the men and women of the Confederacy who fought with valor" to maintain "states' rights."
An influential Texas senator is asking the state auditor to investigate the University of Texas' purchase of 300 acres in Houston.

In a letter sent to the auditor's office Wednesday, state Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat, said the auditor needs to review the purchase "to ensure complete transparency and accountability of our higher education dollars."

"It is imperative that elected officials and the public have a clear understanding of the entire process and timeline leading to the decision to purchase these tracts of land," Whitmire wrote. "Did the contracting process include a needs assessment, a request for proposals, quantitative scoring criteria and a selection committee? Were these and or other best practices followed in the purchase of land in Houston?"

UT's plans to build an "intellectual hub" in Houston has angered many, including state lawmakers like Whitmire and University of Houston leaders and boosters, who have called the move an "invasion."

"We look forward to cooperating with the State Auditor's Office in any review of the UT System's purchase of property in Houston," Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, a UT spokeswoman, said.

The land deal came together quietly last summer before UT Chancellor William McRaven announced in November that he wanted to expand UT's footprint in Houston by building something "bold" and "innovative." His vague announcement caught many by surprise, and the project continues to be a tough sell to some. Earlier this year, a group of state lawmakers blasted McRaven for not telling them of his plans before pulling the trigger on the land deal that will cost more than $200 million.

The Houston Chronicle in May detailed how the land deal came together, based on emails obtained through an open records request, and interviews with the parties involved.

What exactly UT will do with the land remains to be seen. A task force is working on a plan that it will turn over to McRaven in December. Caputo said Thursday that UT's board of regents, the state legislature and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board would all review the plan.

Last month, the co-chair of the planning committee said UT won't build a traditional campus on the land.

"It's not going to be a four-year campus with a mascot and an admissions office," said Paul Hobby, a UT graduate and former chairman of the Greater Houston Partnership who is leading the Houston task force. The group has formally reached out to 60 nonprofits and companies across town about possibly collaborating on the land, Hobby said. Work at the site will center around health, energy, water and the environment and cyber and data sciences, he said. UT will also likely work with kindergarten through high school students and launch a leadership institute.

Whitmire said in an interview that UT shouldn't be spending as much money as it is on a new project when it has two research centers already in Houston at MD Anderson and the UT Health Science Center. The legislature will likely be looking for ways to cut spending when it reconvenes next year and Whitmire said higher education funding could be at risk. He said UT should have told the legislature before making the land buy and he said state leaders from "across the board" have voiced support for his call for an audit.

"The taxpayers have no information to make a good or bad judgment on this," Whitmire said. "I've been in government a long time and it just ... using common sense and government best practices does not meet any tests for responsibility."
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A Galveston man has been found guilty in federal court of sex trafficking minors.

Charles Fulton, Sr, 39, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and four counts of sex trafficking of minors by a jury in federal court in Houston.

RELATED: Galveston man wanted for sex-trafficking girls

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Fulton worked with other men between June 1, 2014, and April 1, 2015, to recruit and harbor underage girls to engage in sex acts.

Co-defendants Charmell Latona Potts, 31, Dominique Warner, 23, and Lawrence James Jullian, 22, have previously pleaded guilty. All of the men are from Galveston, according to the Department of Justice.

Fulton was identified as the leader of the group and ordered Potts to post pictures of two minor females in prostitution ads online. The minors, whose names and ages were not released, testified that Fulton would keep the money they earned from performing sexual acts.

SEE ALSO: Prostitution ring nabs 20 in north Harris County

According to the Department of Justice, the victims told the jury that Fulton used threats, force, fraud and coercion to get them to do what he wanted. The jury also heard testimony that Fulton had sex with the underage females, provided them drugs and had no legitimate source of income.

Fulton responded that the police were out to get him, the release said. Fulton's defense did not sway the jury.

Fulton faces up to life in prison and is scheduled for sentencing in October. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The harsh discipline policies at schools across the nation are now under close scrutiny. Last week, Secretary of Education John King criticized the zero-tolerance discipline policies of many charter schools across the country. King claimed that the complicated issues surrounding school discipline were being oversimplified into a binary process at many charter schools that led to a higher number of suspensions.

This is a problem that exists across public, private, and charter schools around the country: students are suspended and expelled over minor and first time offenses often prompting them to not finish their education. A 2014 report from The Civil Rights Project highlighted some of the success in California schools towards easing their harsh discipline policies to the benefit of many students and especially Californias minority populations.



The reports findings relied on new information regarding the past several school years from the California Department of Education. In the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years there was a decrease in the number of students suspended across ethnic groups and especially in the most often suspended demographics  Black and Native American students. Black students had the largest decline in suspensions with 3 less per 100 students than in previous years.

The data shows that schools in California are narrowing the racial divide in school discipline and the reliance on out-of-school suspension (OSS). In California, 500 school districts reported decreased OSS rates while only 245 districts reported increases. Even with the new decreases in OSS rates there are still large racial disparities in the number suspensions that are occurring. The number of suspensions that happen in the U.S. hurts the poor and minority students that most often receive them, and impede graduation rates among these students. One positive example the report cites is Baltimore City where decreased suspension rates actually led to increased graduation rates in the district.

The OSS problem mainly exists with the overabundance of suspension for minor offenses such as disruption or willful defiance. These catch-all categories include other minor offenses such as failure to do homework or not paying attention. Suspension as a punishment for offenses like this fails to address the problems in the students behavior and increases the likelihood of dropout and delinquency. And unfortunately the largest racial gaps often occur within these largely subjective discipline categories.

The results toward racial equality in school discipline is encouraging in California but still requires significant work. Overall the study found that OSS rates out of every hundred students In Los Angeles dropped from 12.1 to 7.1 for Black students; 3.1 to 1.7 for Latino students; and 2.4 to 1.0 for White students. While the racial gap in LA is one of the lowest in the state it still points to the problems inherent in the disciplinary process. With more research coming out each year about the connections between high school suspension, expulsion, delinquency, and the school-to-prison pipeline, these reforms are important steps to take in reducing discriminatory punishment and high numbers of minority youths in juvenile and adult detention centers.

The problems in school discipline have many different causes, some of which are named in the report. However, what we are not talking about enough in this country is the role of parents in school discipline. In communities where the family has broken down, and parents are either trapped by unemployment or multiple jobs, the moral formation of children suffers. In previous generations, school suspensions were things that kids avoided at all costs because it meant facing ones parents. It is likely that those days are over.
 National Post Headline Casts Doubt: Murder of Hallel Ariel Maybe Not Terrorism | Main | AP Headline on Israeli Law Breaks Journalistic Rule 

July 07, 2016

Christian Science Monitor Headline Errs on 'New Israeli Settlements'

July 12 Update: CAMERA Prompts Christian Science Monitor Correction of Erroneous Headline on 'New Israeli Settlements'

Whenever Israel approves plans for new housing units in preexisting West Bank settlements, or in established Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem beyond the pre-1967 Armistice Line (the Green Line), it seems there's always at least one major media outlet which wrongly states that Israel is building "new settlements."

This time, there's this Christian Science Monitor Global News Blog headline:

As the accompanying article reports, the recent construction approval now drawing ire is for homes in the well-established settlement of Maale Adumim and for built up neighborhoods in Jerusalem beyond the Green Line. Not for any new Israeli settlements.

In 2013, CAMERA prompted an International New York Times correction of the identical error:

CAMERA has contacted editors to request a correction. Stay tuned for an update.

Posted by TS at July 7, 2016 08:00 AM

Guidelines for posting

This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.

Post a comment
GRENADA, Miss. -- A Grenada County man who left his daughter in a hot car by alleged accident posted bail late Wednesday evening.

Joshua Blunt, 25, was arrested Tuesday evening and charged by a Grand Jury with culpable negligence manslaughter in the death of his 8-month-old daughter, Shania Rihanna Caradine. According to the True Bill, Blunt, "did unlawfully and feloniously caused the death of Shania Rihanna Caradine, an infant child unattended in a vehicle for several hours causing her body temperature to become very high and her heart to stop."

According to Moss Point native and Blunt's attorney Carlos Moore, donations poured in from across the country in support of Blunt.

"Mr. Blunt is elated to be out of jail and is looking forward to returning to work tomorrow," Moore said. "He is very appreciative of all of those across the country who donated towards his freedom fund in order for him to post bail this evening."

Donations according to Moore were sent from Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi.

While Blunt is free, a pending charge of culpable negligence manslaughter looms and could cost him up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

"Mr. Blunt now solicits your prayers as he takes his battle to maintain his freedom to the courtroom next month to fight the manslaughter charge," Moore said. "Mr. Blunt simply wants to be free so he can visit his baby girl's grave often. He loves and misses her dearly."

Moore says he is looking to obtain justice for Blunt and wonders if there are two systems of justice in Mississippi.

On May 11, Amy Bryant of Brandon, Miss., went to Little Footprints Learning Center to pick up her daughter. After daycare workers told her she had not dropped her daughter off that morning, Bryant immediately ran to her car and found her daughter in the back seat, deceased.

Bryant is yet to have a day in court and charges have not been filed.

"I want America to get to the point where there is one set of laws for all Americans, no matter if you are red, white, black or brown, I want there to be one set of laws and for everyone to be treated fairly," Moore said. "Race or color should not factor into the equation."
GCRH 1000 baby.jpg

Staff members of the maternity unit at George County Regional Hospital recently commemorated the unit's 1000th birth since it reopened in 2011. Pictured are (left to right): Bottom row, Jan Flurry, Tara Eubanks, Brandy Glass, Sonya Marshall, Missy Tanner and Courtney Davidson. Top row, Dr. Jay Pinkerton, Candice Moore, Emily Pinkerton, Alisha Slay, Katie Sumrall, Laverne Magee, Stephanie Ferguson, Lainey Havard, Amanda Hennis, Shannon Pierce and Brittany Bernard.

(GCRH photo)

LUCEDALE, Mississippi -- A little more than four years after it reopened, the Labor and Delivery Unit at George County Regional Hospital delivered its 1000th baby -- a healthy 7-pound girl.

Dr. Jay Pinkerton delivered the baby May 20 -- fitting in that it was Pinkerton and his wife, Emily Pinkerton, a nurse practitioner, were instrumental in reopening the maternity unit in 2011 after it had closed several years earlier.

The Pinkerton's came to Lucedale from Cleveland, Ohio, where Dr. Pinkerton had served as the Chief of General Obstetrics and Gynecology at University Hospital's Case Medical Center.

"When the opportunity was presented for us to move from Ohio and build a practice and labor and delivery unit from the ground up, we gladly accepted," Dr. Pinkerton said. "Our goal is to provide services that are simply better than any other hospital."

As the number of births at the hospital continues to grow, the hospital is expanding its maternity services. The Birth Center will soon include two additional birthing suites, as well as an outpatient triage and fetal monitoring room.

"The number of women delivering at George Regional is quickly outgrowing the space we have," Dr. Pinkerton said. "These new rooms will essentially double our capacity within the secure Labor and Delivery unit."

The expansion is expected to be complete later this month.

"What a great milestone; it's wonderful to see our community benefiting from such a great OB/GYN program," said hospital CEO Greg Havard of the 1,000th birth. "Under Dr. Pinkerton's leadership, we have seen the community come to embrace the services we offer.

"Our community is discovering just how good of an experience our families and loved ones can receive here, and we are certainly grateful for all the families that choose to receive their care from us."
JACKSON, Mississippi -- Mississippi state Sen. Chris Massey was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated assault after a fight in a subdivision, police said.

Olive Branch police Chief Don Gammage told The Associated Press that Massey, who's a homebuilder, is accused of hurting another person with some sort of a weapon -- not a gun.

Gammage said police responded to a call about the fight in the Windstone subdivision just before 11 a.m. Thursday and arrested Massey, the senator's father and two other men.

Olive Branch is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and the upscale subdivision is just south of the state line.

A judge set a $10,000 bond for the 44-year-old Massey, and the chief said it was too soon to know whether Massey is represented by an attorney. Massey was still being processed in the jail as Gammage spoke to AP.

A call to Massey's cellphone was not immediately answered. The Republican from Nesbit has been a senator since 2012, and his district is entirely in DeSoto County. He is chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee.

The arrest was first reported by WREG-TV in Memphis.
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After back-to-back police shootings of African-American men over two days, Houston community leader Robert Muhammad said Thursday removing white police officers from African-American communities might help the problem.

"The statistics show that when the law enforcement reflects the community that it patrols, the killings are lessened," said Muhammad, a Nation of Islam representative and student minister.

"People aren't going to like what I'm going to say, but I'm going to have to tell the truthwe're going to have to get white police men out of our community."

On Tuesday, a Baton Rouge police officer shot and killed Alton Sterling, 37, who was selling CDs outside of a convenience store. On Wednesday, a police officer killed Philando Castile, during a traffic stop in Minnesota.

READ MORE: Protest stops traffic in wake of Alton Sterling police killing

Muhammad said former law enforcement members should sit down with members of the African-American community, so that community members can better learn how to patrol their own neighborhoods. He also called for de-escalation training and tension reduction training for police officers.

"Until we have that, we will continue to see this disproportionate killing of black men in particular because they do not handle white males like they handle black men. We're seen as a threat," Muhammad said.

On Wednesday, about 150 people gathered outside of Discovery Green to hold a vigil for the recent police shootings. About 15 members of the group sat near Minute Maid Park during an Astros game to protest the deaths.

Both Sterling and Castile were reportedly armed when police officers approached them, but Muhammad doesn't believe being armed or unarmed can protect African-American citizens from the police.

"It doesn't matter whether we have a concealed license," Muhammad said. "It doesn't matter whether we have an open carry permit. If you're black the Second Amendment doesn't apply to you, the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to you. In fact, the whole constitution doesn't apply to you."
A Willis woman faces five years in federal prison after pleading guilty Thursday to using a dead woman's identity to bilk the federal government out of almost $400,000 in benefits.

Jerrie Mona Chesney, 67, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of public money, admitting that she stole the identity of a woman and used it to claim Medicare benefits and food stamp benefits for almost 20 years, prosecutors said.
Though many parts of the state are thriving, some Texas cities are struggling to keep up. It's those cities a recent survey has deemed the state's worst places to raise a family.

WalletHub, a personal-finance website, examined the best and worst Texas cities for families. The cities were determined by examining factors such as violent-crime rates, divorce stats, playgrounds per capita, education and affordability.
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Three more pregnant Houston women have contracted Zika, the mosquito-borne disease that can cause birth defects. All had recently traveled to countries affected by the virus.

Legacy Community Health, a Montrose-based federally qualified health clinic to serve the area's unmet health needs, announced Thursday that the cases involved two women who'd been in El Salvador and one who'd been in Brazil. Their tests came back positive in May and June.

In April, Legacy announced the area's first case of Zika in a pregnant woman, a Fort Bend woman who'd traveled to El Salvador.

There has been local transmission of the disease in Puerto Rico but otherwise Zika is not known to have spread in the U.S. yet. There have been 55 cases reported in Texas, all travel related, including 16 in Harris County.

Zika is not considered fatal, but it has been linked to thousands of babies born with microcephaly, a condition in which an infant is born with an abnormally small head and brain. The outbreak has resulted in an increase in abortions in many countries affected by the virus, researchers recently determined.

The virus has spread to 46 countries, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Congress is considering a $1.1 billion emergency bill to prevent Zika in the U.S., but it has stalled amid partisan political bickering. In a statement Thursday, Legacy's leader called such inaction "unconscionable, a clear sign of our broken politics."

"While Congress continues to play partisan games with public health, more pregnant patients have been infected with Zika," Legacy CEO Katy Caldwell said. "I'm not sure how much louder the alarm bells need to ring for both parties to hurry up and reach a funding deal."

Caldwell said that "Texas is in the Zika crosshairs and needs this money before Congress goes on its August recess." The recess begins July 15.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued an advisory to its pregnant patients and those considering pregnancy not to travel to Central and South American countries where the virus is circulating. The agency also notes that sexual transmission "might contribute to more illness than was anticipated when the outbreak was first recognized."

Legacy is providing free Zika prevention packs that include insect repellant and condoms.
Home of Grace-United Way.jpg

Staff members for the Home of Grace and the United Way for Jackson-George Counties gathered for the "grand opening" of a new housing unit at the Vancleave addiction recovery program. Pictured are (left to right): Steve Lamphear, Becky Cason, Home of Grace Executive Director Josh Barton, United Way CEO Carolyn Moore, Cornel Bucacuic, Becky Priest.

(United Way photo)

VANCLEAVE, Mississippi -- Where the state legislature fails, the Home of Grace and United Way succeed.

Thanks to a $17,000 grant from the United Way for Jackson-George Counties, the Home of Grace addiction recovery program has increased its capacity by 16 beds, which will allow 64 more men to go through the three-month program.

The increased capacity at the Vancleave campus comes after the state legislature cut $8.3 million from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health budget, resulting in the closure of its entire male chemical dependency program at the State Hospital at Whitfield.

"We were already working in that direction," said Home of Grace Executive Director Josh Barton, "but the state budget cuts certainly made this more timely. We've been wanting to expand our services for some time."

The interior of one of the four new dorm-style living quarters at the Home of Grace, funded through a grant from the United Way for Jackson-George Counties.

The $17,000 was used to remodel one of the cottages on the 160-acre campus which had been used as office space since the men's campus was relocated in 2003. Each of the four dorm-style rooms houses four men.

The remodel involved rerouting cables and completely furnishing each room with commercial-grade furniture. The building was named "Genesis" when it originally opened as the first of the new cottages.

"It's been a great partnership," said Carolyn Moore, CEO for the United Way, of the long-standing relationship between the United Way and Home of Grace. "They do so much good in the community and we're always excited to be a part of it."

Barton noted the United Way annually contributes to the Home of Grace scholarship fund and recently approved an additional grant which allowed for the purchase of a 15-passenger van.

"The United Way has been an instrumental partner to the Home of Grace for a long, long time," he said.

The Home of Grace, founded in 1965 by the late Bill Barton Sr., is funded entirely through donations or tuition. Currently, each man entering the program receives a 50 percent scholarship towards the $5,000 tuition.

The main campus in Vancleave houses the men's program, while the women's program is housed on a 25-acre campus in Gautier. Combined, about 600 people go through the recovery program each year. Since it was founded, the Home of Grace has helped more than 40,000 men and women from across the country.

"We are immensely grateful to United Way for giving us this opportunity to help even more men struggling with addiction," Barton said. "We can't wait to see the number of lives transformed because of this project."
A former Buc-ees convenience store assistant manager is being sued by her former employer for leaving early after signing a lengthy employment contract.

According to court documents Kelley Rieves began working for a Buc-ees location in the Cypress area in 2009 as an assistant manager and signed employment contracts with the company that were set to run through August, 2013.

RELATED: Buc-ee's and its competitive pay gets love from the National Review

Three years later, she found a new job with a marketing and printing outfit and left the company in July 2012. She still had a year left on her deal with Buc-ees.

This was a violation of the contract she had signed with Buc-ees, the company said in its lawsuit. She, however, had assumed that she left on good terms, according to an interview she did with the Houston Press this week.

Rieves tells the Press that she was sent a letter a year later from the Lake Jackson-based company stating that she owed them $67,720.29 in "retention pay."

She later sued the company looking to resolve the contract dispute in court. Buc-ees in turn sued Rieves and her new employer in March 2014 in the 165th State District Civil Court. In September, 2014, Buc-ee's and the other company jointly dismissed their claims against each other, according to court documents.

As for the ongoing litigation between Rieves and Buc-ee's, a judge has ruled that she now owes $100,000 in total, an amount that includes legal fees and interest. The judge rejected Rieves' complaints and arguments in full.

RELATED: 25 amazing things you probably didn't know about Buc-ee's

According to the Houston Press the womans contract stated that she had to give six months advance notice that she was leaving the company and that her pay was divided into regular pay and something called retention pay.

When she was set to leave the company she says that Buc-ee's gave her three options: She could take out a loan from the company to repay the amount, get her new employer to buy out her Buc-ees contract, or just stay at the company and ride out her contract.

She decided instead to simply leave without making any arrangements, according to the Houston Press, and gave notice on May 31, 2012.

RELATED: Buc-ee's buys future I-10 travel center site in Katy

Rieves tells reporters that she does not have the money to repay Buc-ees. Her lawyer says that Texas law states that employers cannot stop an at-will employee from leaving or enforce monetary penalties for doing so. Rieves is appealing the judges latest ruling in the case.

Meanwhile the staff attorney for Buc-ees, Jeff Nadalo, sent Chron.com a statement that didnt go into specifics in the case, but did note that the company has had success with contracts like the one that Rieves signed.

Buc-ee's employee incentive compensation programs have proven to be very successful, as evidenced by Buc-ee's high employee retention rates. The purpose of Buc-ee's retention program is to attract and retain the very best employees, he wrote.

Retention bonuses are not uncommon and are used by companies that want to keep employees that they value and look to invest in.

Rieves told the Houston Press that she wishes she had read the contract she signed with Buc-ees a bit more clearly. Had she known what was in store for her if she left Buc-ees early she doesnt think she would have worked for them.
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More details have been released after a 39-year-old man died and five other people, including two children, were injured when their car slammed into the back of a slow-moving pickup truck in north Houston.

The two-vehicle crash happened about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of the westbound North Loop near Fulton, Houston Police Sgt. James Roque said.

An Uber driver told investigators he spotted a Chevrolet Dually pickup driving erratically on the North Loop and followed it. Later, the pickup slowed to about 1 mph on the freeway. That's when the driver of a Buick LeSabre that was traveling at high speed rear-ended the truck and hit a white Toyota sport utility vehicle.

The Buick driver was injured and died at the scene.

The five passengers in the Buick included two children between the ages of 10 and 15 and three adults. All the passengers were rushed to Memorial Hermann hospital. Details of their injuries and conditions were not released, but police said they were expected to survive.

No other injuries were reported.

One of the passengers in the car told investigators the driver of the Buick had been driving erratically and speeding before the collision.

The pickup driver jumped out of the truck and ran away after the crash. So far, he has not been found. No description of him was available.

Investigators later determined the pickup had been stolen.
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SEALY  A waste hauling truck hit an aging bridge in the small town of Sealy on Thursday, sending concrete crashing down on a family's car and killing a 12-year-old girl inside.

Sealy police said 12-year-old Brein Bullock of El Campo was traveling in her family's white Chevy Malibu with her mother and another child on northbound Texas 36 when it passed under the U.S. 90 bridge at about 10 a.m. Thursday. A truck coming from the opposite direction struck the bridge, sheering off a large section of sidewalk and railing along U.S. 90. Authorities believe an arm that hoists trash bins onto the truck was raised at the time, striking the bridge.

"It got hit so hard. I can't emphasize that enough," Police Chief Chris Noble said at a news conference Thursday. "It just doesn't fall."

Police said Brein, traveling in the front-passenger seat, was killed. She had celebrated a birthday last week. Her mother, 35-year-old Leah Bullock, was transported to Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital with critical but non-life-threatening injuries. A 9-year-old female relative in the back seat, Breandon Gardner, was pulled from the car and discharged to family members at the scene.

Authorities identified the truck driver as Carl Weige, 72. He was treated and released at a local hospital. Police had not interviewed him as of a press conference Thursday afternoon.

Sealy is located off Interstate 10 and about 50 miles west of downtown Houston.

Austin County Judge Tim Lapham said the truck involved in the crash carries roll-off dumpsters. He said the bridge  which has a clearance of 13 feet, 9 inches  is low and had been struck on previous occasions. Officials later confirmed that a November 2014 strike did minimal damage to the 80-year-old bridge, which is set to be replaced starting this fall.

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation said the roadway and support columns of the bridge did not collapse, but that a portion of the surface along U.S. 90 fell.

Police said the U.S. 90 overpass would remain closed until it was structurally sound, and that Texas 36 traffic was being rerouted.

Noble called the incident "catastrophic."

The case is being handled as a homicide, police said, but they had not yet spoken with Weige. A vehicle traveling behind the truck captured the episode on a GoPro camera. Police said they were also examining whether speed was a factor in the crash, which rained concrete and debris down on the pinned automobile. Photos after the incident showed large pieces of the bridge on top of the Chevy's windshield.

The damaged bridge seemed so perilous afterward, Noble said, that he directed engineers to stay off of it as teams cleaned up the rubble below.

Video footage aired by local TV stations showed two damaged vehicles underneath the bridge and a crane on the north side of it. Debris covered the side of the road from which the truck tried to pass under the three-lane span.

The truck was owned by Texas Disposal Systems, a large debris and waste hauling company. In a statement, officials said they were saddened to learn of the fatality and injuries.

"Our deepest sympathies go to the family members and friends," said Stacy Schmitt, the company's director of communications. "An investigation is currently underway by local authorities. TDS is cooperating fully and will also be conducting its own investigation."

About 5,600 vehicles, roughly 400 of them trucks, use the bridge each day. It was last inspected on April 2, 2015, according to federal records.

The steel-beneath-concrete bridge's failings are many, according to the latest inspection. Built in 1936, its structure and deck are in "high priority" of either repair or replacement. It's superstructure  the critical part of keeping it aloft  was in fair condition, as of 2015.

Since 2011, when the U.S. 90 bridge scored a sufficiency rating of 7.9 out of 100 because it was built in an outdated style, Sealy officials and the Yoakum district of TxDOT have made a priority of replacing the bridge. Designs for a new $12.2 million bridge spanning Texas 36 and the nearby BNSF railroad tracks are expected to be completed later this year, with construction set for September.

Sealy Mayor Mark Stolarski said the city had already seen plans for the new structure and officials had spoken with adjacent property owners about the work. They had also tried to get TxDOT to accelerate the rebuilding process, but had been unable to do so.

The bridge passes over the main north/south thoroughfare in town, Texas 36, which leads drivers from I-10 to the quaint city center. Texas 36 and I-10 are also the only thoroughfares in Sealy that cross over the railroad tracks  where an estimated 30 to 40 trains pass a day -- making the state road important to emergency responders, the mayor said.

Because the area is prone to flooding, Texas 36, which dips below the bridge, is to be heightened in the process, the police chief said.

Stolarski, who grew up in Sealy, which has a population of just over 6,000, recalled trucks occasionally getting stuck under the bridge, but said the city had never experienced a tragedy like Thursday's.

Yellow signs suspended on wires leading up to the bridge have warned of its low height for at least a decade, Stolarski recalled. "IF YOU HIT THIS YOU'LL HIT BRIDGE," one warning sign reads, with scuffed yellow rectangles hanging below it.

"It's not something you expect to hear about in your own little town," Stolarski said.

A gofundme page has been set up to raise money for medical expenses for the Bullock family.

"Her Facebook posts alone are a testament to her faith in God, so here's hoping that He will bring us all together to provide some relief to her and her family," wrote the page's organizer.

According to Leah Bullock's Facebook page, she studied at Prairie View A&M University. Her Facebook page includes the Bible verse, "But, seek ye first the kingdom of God." Photos posted on Facebook show mother and daughter smiling together, and a bespectacled Brien in a light blue dress standing beneath a tree.

A family member posted about Brien: "Our beautiful flower has been hand picked by God. Brien, we'll miss you so so much! Rest in Heaven darling, RIH...WE LOVE YOU!"

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect spellings and descriptions of some accident victims based on information from law enforcement.
Soon after the United Kingdom voted last month to leave the European Union, secessionists began pushing even harder for an independent Texas.

The hashtag #Texit began trending on Twitter, a play on the UK's "Brexit," and the Texas Nationalist Movement began promoting its Texas independence petition even more. But many Texas counties already voted for Texas to venture out on its own -- in 1861.
Mayor Sylvester Turner is leading a cadre of City Council members to the nation's capital to begin a series of meetings with federal officials and members of Houston's Congressional delegation.

Turner and council members Brenda Stardig, Larry Green, Dave Martin, Amanda Edwards and Jack Christie traveled to Washington on Wednesday to be hosted by U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands); Councilman Dwight Boykins planned to join Thursday.
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The scheduled July 14 execution of a Houston man convicted of abducting and killing a Texas Medical Center student was delayed indefinitely on Wednesday, after state officials failed to meet a deadline for obtaining results on the purity of the lethal drugs.

The case marked the first time a Texas execution has been delayed for that reason, officials said.

Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said while the state has enough drugs to carry out all seven executions scheduled through October, Perry Eugene Williams' execution was delayed because the agency could not could not get the test results back in time.

BACKGROUND: Victim was on scholarship at Baylor College of Medicine

Prison officials said the delay was ordered by a Houston court after they alerted it the test results could not be obtained on time.

No further details were given.

Officials said the testing of the dose to be used to execute Williams was agreed to by Texas in June, when U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes of Houston dismissed a suit filed by Williams and Thomas Whitaker, another death chamber-bound convict from Houston, who challenged the state's execution process.

Maurie Levin, an attorney representing Williams, said she was puzzled by the state's inability to get the results on time.

RELATED: Notable executions in Texas

"It's a mystery to me how they could not meet the deadline, because no further explanation has been given," she said. "But the bottom line is, this is the problem with the secrecy of the process of executions."

Williams, 35, was sentenced to die for the September 2000 robbery and murder of Baylor College of Medicine student Matthew Carter, 22, who was abducted from the parking lot of a video rental store, then shot in the head when he tried to escape.

Williams was one of three people convicted in the case.

Corey Dewayne Phillips, 37, is serving a life sentence for capital murder. Kinita Starr Butler, 32, is serving a 20-year sentence for aggravated robbery.

Williams testified at his trial that Carter begged for his life before he shot him in the head near Houston's Texas Medical Center, where the first-year Baylor College of Medicine student was on full scholarship.

Court documents show Williams contended the September 2000 slaying was accidental.

Evidence showed Williams and three accomplices split $40 taken from Carter.

Carter's body was found in his car, parked behind the Scottish Rite Temple in the 7500 block of Brompton. After his arrest, Williams directed police to a trash bin in the 4600 block of Old Spanish Trail, where the victim's medical textbooks were recovered.

Williams' execution was postponed once before, in September 2015, so an attorney could be appointed to represent him in his final appeals.
>>MORNING LEDE: "State delays execution of Houston killer," by the Houston Chronicle's Mike Ward: "The scheduled July 14 execution of a Houston man convicted of abducting and killing a Texas Medical Center student was delayed indefinitely Wednesday, after state officials failed to meet a deadline for obtaining test results on the purity of the lethal drugs.

"The case marked the first time a Texas execution has been delayed for that reason, officials said.

"Jason Clark, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said while the state has enough drugs to carry out all seven executions scheduled through October, Perry Eugene Williams' execution was delayed because the agency could not get the test results back in time."

RULE CHANGE: "Texas Wants Aborted Fetuses Buried or Cremated, by the Texas Tribune's Alexa Ura: "In a new effort to regulate abortion providers, Texas health officials are proposing rules that would require abortion providers to cremate or bury fetal remains.

"The new rules, proposed by the Health and Human Services Commission, would no longer allow abortion providers to dispose of fetal remains in sanitary landfills, instead allowing only cremation or interment of all remains  regardless of the period of gestation. Abortion providers currently use third-party special waste disposal services.

"With little notice and no announcement, the proposed rules were published in the Texas Register on July 1, triggering a 30-day public comment period."

FUNDING FLAP: "Abbott's pre-K funding falls short," by the Associated Press: "In Texas, where pre-K is scorned by some conservative activists as "godless," Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's major education initiative is giving classrooms far less money than many once thought, causing even the district of the governor's high school alma mater to now rebuff his plan.

"Texas handed out $116 million in pre-K grants to nearly half the state's school districts this week, delivering on one of Abbott's biggest pledges when he took office last year - that classrooms willing to implement tougher pre-K standards would be rewarded with as much as $1,500 extra per student.

"But in reality, those schools are getting less - way less. Districts will instead receive $734 per student, state education officials confirm."

GUN FIGHT: "Three UT Professors Sue to Block Campus Carry Law," by the Houston Chronicle's Benjamin Wermund: "Arguing that allowing guns in classrooms "chills their First Amendment rights," three University of Texas at Austin professors have filed a lawsuit over the state's new campus carry law.

"Jennifer Lynn Glass, Lisa Moore and Mia Carter want a federal judge to block a new Texas law that would allow people to carry concealed handguns throughout college campuses beginning August 1. They are suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, UT Austin President Gregory Fenves and the UT regents to do so.

"Compelling professors at a public university to allow, without any limitation or restriction, students to carry concealed guns in their classrooms chills their First Amendment rights to academic freedom," the professors argue in the lawsuit filed in U.S. district court in Austin on Wednesday."

BATHROOMS AGAIN: "Paxton, 12 states seek injunction to halt transgender rules," by the Houston Chronicle's Mike Ward: "Leading a 13-state coalition, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday asked a federal judge to block the Obama Administration from requiring public schools to provide transgender access to public restrooms by the start of the school year.

"In a court filing in Wichita Falls, Paxton asked for a nationwide injunction against the U.S. departments of justice, labor and education to stop federal officials from mandating that public schools and employers across the country provide transgender access to restrooms and locker rooms.That new federal policy was announced in May.

"In the filing, the states allege that it alters the definition of sex discrimination to include "gender identity," a change that could have wide impact nationally."

TERROR SECRETS: "City denies request for chemical data", by the Houston Chronicle's Matt Dempsey: "After a fire at a Spring Branch warehouse in May, Mayor Sylvester Turner called for more transparency and tougher oversight of facilities that handle dangerous chemicals.

"But when the Houston Chronicle recently requested the information the city has on those businesses, the city said no.The city appealed the records request to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

"In a letter to Paxton, assistant city attorney Nneka Kanu said, 'the requested information reveals the location of hazardous chemicals that are more than likely to assist in the construction or assembly of an explosive weapon.' Kanu also said a terrorist or "other criminal element" could exploit the information to plan a mass attack or incite panic."

CAPITOL DAYBOOK

House Committee on County Affairs, 10 a.m. in Houston

SPEED READ

Tyler senator to serve as governor during GOP convention, Houston Chronicle

Who guards the guardians, Texas Observer

17 patients report abuse but Austin doctor still practices, Austin American-Statesman

Ted Cruz's immigration bill blocked by Senate Democrats, Austin American-Statesman

Rep. Castro appointed to Intelligence Committee, San Antonio Express-News

Surveillance photos of flooding and oil can be posted, state says, Austin American-Statesman

Harris County warns of possible contaminated drinking water; more testing set, Houston Chronicle

Farewell to the floodwaters, Houston Chronicle

Houstonians demand change after La. police shooting, Houston Chronicle

Justice Department to investigate Alton Sterling's killing by police in Louisiana, Los Angeles Times

Texas Insurance Department weighs allowing mandatory arbitration for farm bureau, San Antonio Express-News

High steaks: How Texas scientists are building better beef one cloned cow at a time ($), Dallas Morning News



QUOTE TO NOTE

"Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the 'Star of David' also? Dishonest media! #Frozen" -- Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, referencing the Disney children's book "Frozen" that has a six-pointed star on the cover, as he continued to defend a weekend campaign Tweet that stirred controversy by using the same image.

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

>> FREE DELEGATES: "Texas GOP delegate resistance to Trump grows," by the Houston Chronicle's Mike Ward: "Signaling new pushback against Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee, two groups of Texas delegates to the upcoming national convention went public Wednesday with a call to allow delegates to vote for someone other than the New York business mogul.

"Delegates in Bexar and Lubbock counties urged Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to allow delegates to vote their consciences when casting their ballots for a nominee, rather than be bound to vote for Trump as the presumptive nominee.

The fight, which appears to be gaining some traction nationally, is expected to occur when the GOP rules committee meets next week, in advance of the GOP National in Cleveland."

DAY-AFTER FALLOUT: "On Hillary Clinton's Rough Day, Republicans Rue Missed Chance," by The New York Times' Jonathan Martin: As the Republican strategist Brian Walsh watched the nonstop cable news coverage Tuesday from his K Street office, he thought he was seeing the stuff of his party's dreams.

"A week after former President Bill Clinton lit a political firestorm by strolling onto Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch's plane for a private conversation, the director of the F.B.I. announced that the bureau would not recommend criminal charges over Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information. And then, just three hours later, President Obama and Mrs. Clinton emerged arm in arm from Air Force One in North Carolina for their first joint campaign rally.

"But this politically pregnant convergence of events was not met with a battalion of well-credentialed Republican law enforcement and national security officials flooding the television airwaves to raise questions about the inquiry and hammer Mrs. Clinton. Nor was there any made-for-social-media video contrasting what the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, called Mrs. Clinton's "extremely careless" handling of 110 classified emails with the former secretary of state's shifting explanations over the last year about her use of a private email server."

VEEPSTAKES: "The nobodies on the Trump and Clinton short lists," by Politico's Steven Shepard: "Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are each hoping to get a bump from their vice presidential nominees, but polling data shows that most of the candidates on their short-lists are unknown to voters  even the ones who cut high profiles inside the Beltway.

"Almost half of voters, on average, haven't yet formed an opinion of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is viewed as a progressive beacon by Washington pundits. At least two-thirds don't know anything about Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is thought to lead Clinton's short list.

"It's the same problem with Trump: Despite the reality-TV star's reported desire for a running mate with star power, most of his VP prospects are state-level politicians who lack significant national profiles. And those who have established name-identification among voters  like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich  would carry substantial baggage."

BAD CALL: "Trump says campaign shouldn't have deleted image circulated by white supremacists," by The Washington Post's Jenna Johnson: "Donald Trump said Wednesday that his campaign should not have deleted a tweet containing an image that had been posted weeks earlier on a white supremacist website and featured Hillary Clinton, $100 bills and a red six-point star with the text: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Although Jewish activists and many others have denounced the image as being anti-Semitic, Trump repeatedly said Wednesday that the six-point star is "just a star," not the Jewish Star of David, and that media outlets that covered the controversy are "racially profiling."

"I said: 'You shouldn't have taken it down.' You know, they took the star down," Trump said to a crowd of several thousand at a rally on Wednesday night. "I said: 'Too bad. You should have left it up.' I would have rather defended it  just leave it up and say: No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star."

"For more than five minutes, Trump defended the tweet, uttering the word "star" at least two dozen times and keeping alive a five-day-old controversy that most leaders of the Republican Party had hoped would fade away. Trump tried to narrow the controversy to the proper name of the six-point shape while ignoring that the image had previously appeared on a white supremacist website, according to mic.com, and that it was positioned atop a sea of money, which is a common way to denigrate Jews."

FILE FLAP: "Cornyn Wants FBI to Open Clinton Files. And Then What?," by the Texas Tribune's Ross Ramsey: "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn  a former state district judge, Texas Supreme Court justice and Texas attorney general  thinks it would be a great idea to open the FBI's investigative files on Hillary Clinton.

"After Director [James] Comey dismantled every bit of Secretary Clinton's explanation about her private email server that she's been telling the American people over the last couple of years, I think the most important thing the Department of Justice could do, the most important thing the FBI could do, and the most important thing that she could do would be to make sure that all of the investigation by the Department of Justice and the FBI be made public," he said, via news release Wednesday.

"Wait. Isn't there a reason for separating police and prosecutors and courts  and for separating all of them from politics? It's so the police  this time, the FBI  can do their work without political interference. It is also supposed to protect candidates and officeholders from the criminalization of politics."

TICKER

Cruz allies press Trump to hand over convention speaking spot, Politico

Hillary Clinton extends an olive branch to Bernie Sanders while whacking Donald Trump, Los Angeles Times

Lynch says DOJ will not pursue charges against Clinton, Politco

Ryan to feds: Clinton shouldn't get classified briefings as nominee, Politico

Sanders booed by House Democrats, Politco

In Atlantic City, Hillary Clinton Uses a Donald Trump Failure as Backdrop, The New York Times

Cornyn reveals Trump was not his first choice for president ($), The Dallas Morning News


The resolution adopted by the European Parliament highlights the fact that genuine scientific research does not require the wholesale slaughter of whales. Photo by iStockphoto

1.4K shares







It was a shot heard round the world when, in March 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japans program of whaling in Antarctica was not in accord with the provisions of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. Japan cancelled the program, and, for the first time in a century, Japanese boats did not pursue and kill whales in the Southern Ocean. It was a glorious moment for Humane Society International, which helped develop the strategy and worked with Australia on the legal challenge to the long-running whaling program disguised as scientific research. Was it really possible that the most conspicuous flouting of the global moratorium on commercial whaling would now end?

Sadly, any hope that Japan would abandon the charade of its scientific whaling program for good after the ICJ decision foundered in November 2014 when Japan released a new plan for Antarctic whaling that carries all the pretense of the old one. In December 2015, some 32 nations responded with a diplomatic demarche protesting Japans decision, even as Japanese whalers set sail for Antarctica once more. In a display of contempt for international law as wide and deep as the ocean itself, the fleet returned home some three months later with the parts of 333 minke whales in tow or in its hull. Some two-thirds of the adult females taken were pregnant.

This week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution  by an overwhelming majority  strongly condemning Japans resumption of scientific whaling, expressing disgust at Japans total disregard for the ICJ ruling, the standards of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and international law. The resolution highlights the fact that genuine scientific research does not require the wholesale slaughter of whales, and acknowledges that whaling not only causes severe suffering to individual animals, but also threatens the conservation status of whale populations as a whole.

Parliamentarians from across 28 European Union member states were unequivocal in their demands: Japan must cease its whaling activities and abide by the IWCs rules.

The parliamentary resolution was, however, not merely a condemnation of Japans persistent flouting of the global moratorium on commercial whaling. It also gave clear instructions to the European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Council of the European Union to follow up on the December 2015 diplomatic demarche to the Japanese government to convey its concerns about continued scientific whaling, and to maintain diplomatic and political pressure on Japan to commit to its international obligations to protect marine mammals with a view to ending its scientific whaling.

The parliament also called on the European Commission and EU member states to take steps at Octobers 66th meeting of the IWC in Slovenia, and to incorporate the ICJ ruling into its rules. The EU common position on whaling will be up for renewal after this meeting. For that reason, members of the European Parliament have urged the commission and council to adopt an approach that is at least as precautionary as the common position presently on the books.

The EUs member states are united in their objections to whaling. Now its time for the United States of America to up its game in the run-up to IWC this year and at the meeting itself. President Obama traveled to Japan for an extraordinary ceremony at the site of the Hiroshima bombing. That was the latest bilateral act to demonstrate that Japan is clearly a friend to the United States. But friends dont let friends drive whaling vessels that kill the greatest creatures on the planet in the Southern Ocean or in the North Pacific, where Japan has a second scientific hunt. Our federal government should instruct the U.S. delegation at IWC to strongly reinforce the EUs position, and take steps to sanction Japans disregard for a rules-based international order.

The era of commercial whaling has persisted far too long, and the outliers should feel the full force of international pressure until they repurpose their boats and show the global community that they are no longer a threat to these gentle, gargantuan creatures.
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Is Donald Trump a secret tyrant fanboy?

Those attending a campaign rally of the Republican presidential nominee earlier this month in Raleigh, N.C., might have gotten that impression.

"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? ... But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good," Trump told supporters. "They didn't read 'em the rights, they didn't talk. They were a terrorist, it was over."

The only problem with that assertion is that it's not true. Saddam didn't hunt down terrorists; in fact, he purportedly offered rewards to the families of suicide bombers. He did however gas his own people  some 5,000 Iraqi Kurdish men, women and children.

Trump has previously said the world would be "100 percent better" if strongmen like Saddam and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi were still in power, a gaffe that seemingly would torpedo most presidential campaigns, but barely registered with the Trump faithful.

Of course, Trump doesn't admit to actually approving of most dictators, but he does seem to admire some of their methods, talents and way with words.

In the slideshow are a few that have impressed him.
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.
Here we are again, watching gruesome cell-phone videos of deadly encounters between white cops and black men. Here we are again, jumping to conclusions about what happened and why. Here we are again, resorting to the default convictions of our instinctual allegiances: the victim must have done something; the cop was probably a racist.

Earlier this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, two cops responded to a call that a man selling CDs in a convenience-store parking lot had been waving a gun around, threatening someone. The cops confronted 37-year-old Alton Sterling and wrestled him to the ground. During the ensuing struggle, one of the cops yelled that Sterling had a gun and was reaching for it. One or both of the officers fired their weapons at Sterling, who was beneath them on the ground. He was killed. Two short videos of the incident surfaced immediately. Neither showed what happened before the struggle began; they only showed the violent end of Sterlings life. The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident. When concluded, it should bring some clarity to what happened and why the officers felt that Sterling was a threat, even as they had him pinned to the ground.

Yesterday, in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, a policeman shot 32-year-old Philando Castile during a traffic stop. In a cellphone video that was livestreamed on Facebook, Castiles girlfriend announced that he had just been shot for no apparent reason. Yet, theres almost certainly more to be learned about the incident, as Castile was a licensed gun owner who allegedly told the officer that he had a firearm in the car. The officer can be heard in the video saying, I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out. Did Castile follow the officers instructions? Did the officer panic and shoot when he shouldnt have? These questions remain to be answered.

Both of these tragic incidents have at least one thing in common: we know less today about what actually happened than we will in a week, a month, or a year. The August 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, was presented initially in the media as a case of cold-blooded murder. Witness claims that Brown had been executed with his hands up traveled around the world in the blink of an eye. The narrative congealed into a protest movement that swept the nation. Only after a Justice Department investigation released in March 2015 was it proved definitively that Hands Up, Dont Shoot was 100 percent fiction. Not that it mattered to the activists and agitators in the days and weeks after the incidentor even now. They were eager to hit the streets with signs and placards emblazoned with the slogan.

Similarly, the protests that erupted after the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore last year were based on misleading information. A judge ruled last month that cops hadnt given Gray a rough ride in the back of a police van, as activists initially claimed, or ignored his requests for medical attention. Its possible, in fact, that Grays spinal injury was self-inflicted. Another arrestee in the back of the van initially told police that Gray had been banging his head and trying to knock himself out or something. Gray, 25, had been arrested 18 times and had a history of injuring himself while in custody in hopes of winning cash settlements. We may never know for sure what happened in the back of that van, but there was more to the story than was initially reportedand initially believed by some.

The anti-cop Left never hesitates to run with its preferred narrativethat racist police are hunting down young black men and murdering them. But those with an interest in truth and justice should wait for the facts. It could turn out that the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were entirely unjustified, much like the 2015 death of Walter Scott, shot eight times in the back by a North Charleston, South Carolina, police officer as he tried to flee. Or, it could turn out that Sterling did have a gun, and that Castile either argued with the officer or disobeyed his instructions (which may or may not justify the officers actions). We just dont know yet. Until we do, reckless allegations and media-driven narratives wont do us any good.

Matthew Hennessey is a City Journal associate editor. Twitter:@matthennessey.

Photo by mokee81/iStock
The U.S. Department of Educations current $68 billion budget would be cut by $1.3 billion overall in fiscal 2017, and some dozen education programs would be slashed or eliminated, under a bill approved on party lines Thursday by the House appropriations panel that oversees education spending.

Its not all bad news though: Special education state grants would see a considerable increase of $500 million, to $12.4 billion. And a new flexible spending fund created under the Every Student Succeeds would receive a lot more money than under a bipartisan Senate version of the measure.

Republicans supported the bill, while Democrats disparaged the cuts and expressed concerns about policy changes. The bill would block some Obama administration regulations, including prohibiting the Education Department from moving forward on regulations requiring teacher preparation institutions to be evaluated based in part on how well their graduates do when it comes to moving the needle on student test scores.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the panel, said the bill would cut or eliminate more than a dozen education programs, which flies in the face of the bipartisan reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman, said he understood her concerns, but added that the panel was under tight spending constraints. On the other side of the Capitol, however, Democrats and Republicans teamed up earlier this year on bipartisan legislation to finance the Education Department.

Winners

The House bill seeks a whopping $1 billion for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment program, aka ESSAs giant block grant. The money is supposed to go out by a formula to school districts, which could use it for everything from computer science education to counseling services to arts education or school safety.

The $1 billion proposed by the House is a lot more than the $300 million the Senate proposed for the program, and more than the $500 million the president asked for in his budget. Brian Lewis, the CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, hailed the proposal, calling it a step forward in contrast to the Senates paltry ask.

Other program increases would include Impact Aid, which helps school districts make up for a federal presence, at $1.3 billion, a $23 million increase. Two college access programs, GEARUP and TRIO, also would be slated for boosts, although the committee could not give exact numbers.

Head Startwhich is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Serviceswould see a $142 million increase, to $9.3 billion. Thats enough for a 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment for grantees.

Also on the early-childhood front, the bill would finance the Preschool Development Grants, a huge priority for Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the Obama administration when ESSA was under development. That program would get $250 million.

The bill would also include about $15.4 billion for the Title I program for disadvantaged students, compared to $14.9 billion currently, according to the Committee for Education Funding. That seems like a big increase, but actually is not, because the roughly $450 million School Improvement Grant program was folded into Title I under ESSA. Whats more, district advocates worry that funding changes in ESSA could end up shortchanging districts, to the tune of $200 million in Title I funding overall.

Programs Cut

DeLauro offered an amendment to restore an overall $1.3 billion in cuts. But she was unable to give hard-and-fast details on which programs were on the chopping block in a quick interview after the markup, because those numbers arent public yet.

During committee debate, however, she said that state grants for teacher quality were cut by $400 million. That would bring the program to about $1.9 billion. The Senates version of the legislation also would cut the program, but by a much smaller amount, $200 million.

And DeLauro said literacy programs were cut by $57 million, which appears to mean that the $190 million Comprehensive Literacy Development program created under ESSA would be cut.

Other programs would be scrapped altogether. For instance, the Education Innovation and Research fund, the successor to the Investing in Innovation program, which is currently getting $120 million, appears to have been slated for elimination under the House bill, advocates said.

So has the Full-Service Community Schools program, which was continued under ESSA and currently receives about $10 million.

DeLauro offered an amendment that would allow low-income college students to use their Pell Grants year-round, as the Senate version of the bill would do. Many disadvantaged students, she said, really want to be able to take classes in the summer, so that they can finish their degrees and join the workforce.

This is a win-win issue, she said. Its not a partisan issue.

Cole promised to keep the issue on the table in discussions with the Senate.
BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert consultant responsabil de dezvoltarea procesului de raportare catre BNM
Weve seen cellphone videos of the police killings of Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and too many others. Earlier this week, the fatal police shooting of Louisiana man Alton Sterling was captured from two angles. Such imagery not only informs people about specific events, but also gives news organizations fodder to more aggressively challenge systemic issues of police tactics and law enforcement internal accountability measures.

But just one day after Sterlings chilling death, a new variety emerged in the increasingly familiar genre. Past videos allowed viewers to see uncut incidents of alleged brutality after the fact. Diamond Reynoldss Facebook Live video Wednesday night, captured just seconds after her boyfriend Philando Castile was mortally wounded by a cop during a traffic stop, did so in real-time. Even more striking was her measured narration of the bloody scene: Reynolds became a broadcaster.

I wanted everybody in the world to see what the police do, and how they roll, she said in front of a gaggle of reporters on Thursday. I didnt do it for pity. I didnt do it for fame. I did it so that the world knows these police arent here to protect and serve us.

Reynolds was both victim and reportera citizen journalist, ultimately. The term gained prominence about a decade ago as advancements in digital technology and the financial downturn of the media industry began to converge. But only recently, with the continued progression of mobile devices and maturation of social publishing platforms, has the impact of citizen journalism become tangible in the United States. Whereas citizen journalists often drove media coverage of the so-called Arab Spring, for example, theyre now performing a similar service in the national discussion of race and policing in the US.

Social networks like Twitter have helped amplify such individual voices, with content shared nationwide in hours, if not minutes. But Facebooks real-time video capabilities provide a larger and more direct conduit between incidents and far-away audiences. While there are some hitches to this sort of third-party publishingReynoldss Facebook video was temporarily inaccessible due to a supposed technical glitchits potential reach cant be overstated. Reynoldss broadcast was viewed more than 3.5 million times on Facebook alone as of 2 p.m. Thursday.

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile of St. Paul, cries outside the governors residence in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Castile was shot and killed after a traffic stop by police in Falcon Heights, Wednesday night. Image by Jim Mone/AP Photo

I appreciate [Reynolds] streaming that video live, because we never would have known what happened had she not put that out there like that, Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, told CNN on Thursday morning.

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Reynoldss live-stream Wednesday did not show the leadup to her boyfriend being shotor the shooting itself. But it does showcase the immediate aftermath, as a slumping Castile bleeds profusely and a police officer, gun still drawn, continues screaming into the car. Amid this chaotic scene, Reynolds had the wherewithal to both begin broadcasting on Facebook and setting the scene for viewers from her point of view. She no doubt risked her life in doing so.

Heres a transcript of the first moments of her broadcast:

Reynolds: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back and the police hes hes hes covered.They killed my boyfriend. Hes licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out his pocket, and he let the officer know that he was, that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm. Officer: Maam, keep your hands where they are! Reynolds: I will sir, no worries, I will. Officer: Fuck! Reynolds: He just got his arm shot off. We got pulled over on Larpenteur. Officer: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his head up! Reynolds: He had, you told him to get his ID, sir, his drivers license. Oh my god please dont tell me hes dead.

Regardless of whether the killing is ruled legally justified, viewers cant unsee the image of Castile dying in the drivers seat. The timeline of his killing will no doubt be hashed and rehashed countless times in the coming days, and mainstream news organizations will report out and contextualize the police officers side of the story. But Reynoldss citizen journalism gave Americans her unvarnished perspective of the aftermath, a crucial angle that would have gone through multiple layers of reporters and editors otherwise.

Facebook, for all the consternation it causes publishers, made possible the real-time transmission of this account to a massive audience. Just a year ago, Americans would likely have to wait hours, if not days or longer, to see such imagerylong enough for law enforcement agencies or police unions to rev up their own PR machines.

Reynolds understood this, maintaining composure as she broadcast live for the masses. After additional officers told her to exit the car to be handcuffed, she informs her audience, They threw my phone, Facebook. Its only then that she breaks down, overcome with grief at the killing to which she bore witness for us all.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.
Late last week, there was some notable news in the arcane world of insurance regulation: Connecticuts state comptroller, Kevin Lembo, called on Insurance Department Commissioner Katharine Wade to recuse herself from a review of the proposed merger of the nations second- and fourth-largest insurers, Anthem and Cigna, in which the state has a lead role. The revelations and repeated reports about your financial, personal and professional ties to Cigna, Lembo wrote to Wade, will make it challenging for the Connecticut public to view the review process of the Anthem-Cigna merger as fair and transparent.

Lembos letter marked the latest turn in a controversy that, while building for more than a year, has come to a head over the past monthdriven in substantial part by the ongoing reporting of David Sirota, the Denver-based senior investigations editor for the International Business Times. On June 1, Sirota published a lengthy piece weaving together previously-known and new concerns over conflicts of interest surrounding the merger review: Wade, appointed to her role in 2015 by Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, is a former longtime Cigna lobbyist, her husband is a top Cigna lawyer, her father-in-law works for a law firm that lobbies for Cigna, and her mother worked for Cigna as recently as 2013. Wades brother, Sirota reported, also previously worked as a counsel for Cigna. Further, after reviewing more than a decades worth of campaign finance data, Sirota showed that Anthem, Cigna, and Cignas lobbying firm gave more than $2 million to groups linked to Gov. Malloy, with much of that money coming since 2015.

Since then, Sirota has produced more than a dozen follow-ups on the topictracking, for example, grassroots groups and state legislators calling on Malloy to remove Wade from the merger reviewas what he initially envisioned as a good little blog item turned into an investigative series.

Theres a lot of focus on Washington accountability on the part of journalists, Sirota said, in explaining why he submitted the FOIA request that kicked off his reporting, but comparatively little on state officials who have a huge amount of power and get little public scrutiny.

The underlying proposal is part of an important ongoing trend in US healthcare: Insurerslike the hospital and provider systems they negotiate withare trying to get bigger, seeking economies of scale and more bargaining power. Anthem and Cigna argue that the deal will allow them to offer more value to customers, but its the job of regulators to make sure that a merger preserves competition for consumers.

Some of that regulation is done by the US Department of Justicewhich, The Wall Street Journal has reported, is concerned about the merger. Connecticut has an important oversight role too, as Cignas home state. And news outlets in the state have covered the story as it has unspooled over the past 16 monthsfrom Wades appointment and her Cigna ties to her refusal to recuse herself from the merger review. The Connecticut Mirror this week offered a solid look at the role Connecticuts ethics laws have played in this controversy and, in May, reported that another controversial merger, between Aetna and Humana, had been approved by state regulators without any public notice in January. Ana Radelat,* who wrote the May Mirror piece, said Sirotas June 1 article had been an important story, adding that with these mergers, theres a lot at stake not only in Connecticut but across the nation.

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In the estimation of Jill Zorn, senior policy officer for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, Sirotas reporting has upped everyones game.

The foundation is itself a skeptic of the merger, and of consolidation in general: In March, the organization, along with another advocacy group and the Connecticut State Medical Society, announced a campaign to seek greater public input and include consumer safeguards in any merger approval; more recently, it launched a petition calling for Malloy to ask Wade to resign. Other groups have applied pressure, too. On June 13, Common Cause petitioned the Office of State Ethics to issue a ruling on whether Wade could oversee the merger review, leading to a formal inquiry.

Sirota has followed these developments, and his own work has been cited in the states media, like a June 7 Hartford Courant editorial questioning Wades judgment (maybe it wasnt the best idea to hire a Cigna lobbyist to regulate Connecticuts insurance industry) and a June 15 editorial in the Norwich Bulletin (the merger is simply too big a regulatory matter to be left in the hands of anyone whom the public cannot trust to act independently). It has also been referenced by state legislators from both parties calling for Wades recusal, the Hartford Courant reported.

The Malloy administration, too, has publicly commented on Sirotas reporting. In late June, in response to a local public radio segment spotlighting Sirotas work, the governors office issued a lengthy statement questioning Sirotas objectivity. Dayan Candappa, global editor-in-chief of IB Times, responded to stand by our reporting as accurate and impartial. Malloys press office did not respond to inquiries from CJR seeking further details about its complaints.

Candappa told me IBT is committed to telling all sides of this story, and has repeatedly sent invitations to Anthem and Cigna to discuss their positions. So far, he said, they havent responded. We have a standing request to Gov. Malloy to sit down with us for an interview or write an op-ed, Candappa said. As for Sirota, Candappa said, I told him to stay on the story. He has created a pack of coverage around this, and I want him to continue leading that pack.

That may be tougher going forward. Last week, IBT laid off half of its newsroom, including at least one reporter who worked the money-in-politics beat with Sirota. This day is awful, Sirota tweeted. Ive never felt more proud of the impact of our accountability journalism & yet more crappy [about] the state of journalism.

*Correction: This piece initially misspelled Ana Radelats name. CJR regrets the error.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Trudy Lieberman is a longtime contributing editor to the Columbia Journalism Review. She is the lead writer for CJR's Covering the Health Care Fight. She also blogs for Health News Review and the Center for Health Journalism. Follow her on Twitter @Trudy_Lieberman.
The claims history of most domestic insurance carriers is littered with billion dollar claims as a result of catastrophic losses caused by natural disasters. When God sends a hurricane, tornado, flood or naturally-occurring fire, the resulting losses can be enough to put many insurance companies into receivership. With no third parties or obvious subrogation potential, these mammoth claim payments often disappear permanently. Acts of God such as these reveal a celestial tortfeasor who is both judgment proof and beyond reach by summons and subpoenas. However, rather than throwing in the towel, these losses present tremendous recovery potential for the proactive claims professional. It is said that opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Nowhere is that adage truer than when it comes to subrogating natural disasters. If a carrier is willing to invest the time and effort necessary to investigate third-party potential in the face of disaster, it is possible to turn tragedy into triumph.

Great Flood of 1993

Such appeared to be the case with the Great Flood of 1993 in the Midwest and along the Mississippi River. This naturally-occurring flood costed an estimated $21 billion, covered parts of nine states and lasted three months. As the floodwaters rose, 1,369 brand-new Subaru automobiles, ready for distribution and valued at more than $17 million, were being stored by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad (now Union Pacific) for Subaru of America, Inc. (Subaru) at an old American Motors outdoor storage facility in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which the railroad had leased for this purpose. Lloyds of London (Lloyds) and its lead underwriter, Commercial Union Insurance Company, ultimately paid more than $11 million on this claim. The claim also resulted in Lloyds canceling Subarus policy. Subrogation was looked into by Lloyds Claims Office and was quickly dismissed. It was, after all, the storm of the century. Who could one possibly blame for that?

As subrogation counsel for Lloyds Claims Office, I had routinely performed quarterly subrogation reviews at their office on Lime Street. During a routine file review, I came across the Subaru claim file in their closed file area with the words No Subrogation stamped across the top of the file. Noticing that there had been a similar flood in this area earlier, I convinced the lead underwriter to invest $50,000 to do a hydrological study and produce a HEC-2 computer simulation of the flood, which, together with a historical survey of the area, revealed that many of the vehicles may have been stored on a 100-year flood plain. That was enough to file suit. Subaru and Lloyds sued Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, Wackenhut Security, and several other purported owners of the property.

Discovery was excruciating with many of the depositions taking three days or more. Ultimately, an old lease agreement between Chicago & Northwestern Railroad and Subaru was produced, which required Chicago & Northwestern Railroad to maintain certain minimum standards, including drainage that would prevent more than two inches of water to accumulate. I put an ad in a local paper seeking anecdotal stories about previous floods in this area and received favorable responses. Still, the defendants strenuously claimed the flood was an Act of God.

Faced with the hydrological evidence and the existence of a flood plain, however, they ultimately had to admit that parking $17 million worth of automobiles on a flood plain was not prudent. After several Motions for Summary Judgment, two trial settings, and three-day mediation, the defendants ultimately paid more than $7 million. It was $7 million Lloyds never thought they would see. After the recovery, I set up a meeting between Subaru and Lloyds, which resulted in Lloyds reissuing coverage to Subaru. This was a happy ending for Lloyds and it proved the adage that when you have catastrophic losses, you have subrogation potential.

California Flooding of 1998

Similarly, another catastrophic loss occurred in the early morning hours of February 3, 1998, when much of the San Francisco Bay area and Alameda County (County) were struck by a strong storm system which had moved on shore the preceding afternoon. The storm had been preceded by several days of rainy weather which resulted in wetter-than-usual ground conditions in most areas of the state. Nearly four inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period. It was argued that this was the equivalent of a 100-year flood in this area, although we later argued that it was only a 10-year storm. Needless to say, there was significant damage throughout the area, including flood waters which backed up through drains located on different portions of the 52-acre lot owned by Bay Cities Auto Auction, a Cox Enterprise entity. Thousands of cars were stored on the property, and more than 2,210 vehicles suffered severe water damage, resulting in more than $4 million being paid by Transportation Insurance Company and its excess carrier.

A claims supervisor for Transportation Insurance Company had attended a recent flood loss seminar we had presented, during which we recounted a very similar flood loss involving thousands of new Subaru vehicles which had been damaged in Kenosha, Wisconsin during heavy flooding in 1993 in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest. He recalled that our subrogation efforts had netted $7,275,000 in that case and asked whether there was any use in trying to subrogate this natural disaster. As we consistently tell our clients, where there are large catastrophic losses, there is almost always subrogation potential. He referred us the file to conduct some initial investigation.

We immediately hired the nationally-renowned hydrology and hydraulics experts, Daryl Simons and Charlie Baggs, out of Fort Collins, Colorado. They quickly went to the site of the loss and began taking site elevations in preparation for a HEC2 and HECRAS analysis of the flood. Bay Cities Auto Auction is surrounded by the Countys storm water drainage systems, which are comprised of three lines Line A, Line B and Line D. These Lines drained in an area of approximately 15-square miles, culminating in a sharp right-hand turn into Line A, which runs along the Nimitz Freeway all the way to the Tidegate and San Francisco Bay. We obtained FEMA studies of the area, including a FEMA study which was in the process of being completed at the time of the flood, together with the Alameda County Flood Control Districts Hydrology and Hydraulics Criteria Summary, dated August 1989, which dealt with design capacity of various categories of ditches and other channels in the system in order to accomplish their flood control objectives. The Districts own criteria required facilities to be designed to carry the 100-year flood. It appeared that the District had never upgraded to the 100-year criteria, nor had they maintained the original system to handle its original capacity the 15-year storm. Premised on this preliminary work, suit was filed against the Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, the State of California, and the City of Hayward, alleging causes of action in inverse condemnation, negligence, nuisance, waste, trespass, dangerous condition of public property, comparative equitable indemnity, comparative equitable contribution and failure to warn. The litigation lasted nearly four years.

Much of the ongoing litigation centered on whether the subject flood was a 10-year storm, as we maintained, or a 100-year storm, as the defendants maintained. The defendants noted that some rain gauges outside of the sub-basin measured a 100- to 200-year storm, while our use of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlases 24-hour system showed that this was less than a 10-year storm. The defendants claimed that Bay Cities Auto Auction was not historically subject to flooding, but that the defendants had unnecessarily concentrated extra water into Lines B and D around our insureds property over the years, and the State had erected a freeway which acted as a dam, except for a small aperture through which the waters of Lines B and D were to pass into what became Line A. We surveyed surrounding properties and businesses, noting flood marks on the sides of buildings in order to nail down with some accuracy the high flood levels during the storm. As plaintiffs, we also demonstrated and documented the urbanization which had increased the blacktop and concrete surface area, which produced significantly more runoff than in 1960, when the system was designed. Ultimately, we were able to show that the flood drain system which could handle a 15-year flood in 1960 was not able to do so in 1998. Urbanization had reduced the systems capacity from the 15-year flood to less than that of a 10-year flood. Also, desilting was shown to be necessary because the channels had accumulated vegetation and silt which reduced the flow by approximately 50 percent.

While this case became hyper-technical in nature, and required the extensive use of experts in various disciplines, the issues were ultimately boiled down to the size of the storm and the capacity of the channels. The experts in this case disagreed about almost everything, including the actual formula to be used to determine hydraulic resistance coefficients or n values. Because we hired the foremost experts in the industry early in the case, their strength carried the day. This is true even though months before trial, Charlie Baggs suddenly and tragically died of an illness leaving us with a large hole in our expert arsenal.

Thanks to the creativity and vision of a claims supervisor at Transportation Insurance Company, the hard work of our local counsel in San Francisco, and the tenaciousness and reputation of our experts, we were able to turn a naturally-occurring flood into a recovery of more than $2.5 million. Both this case and its predecessor in Wisconsin are testaments to the fact that third-party liability doesnt always jump out at you in the initial investigation of a catastrophic claim. Sometimes, it takes vision and hard work, which may ultimately pay dividends.

Hurricane Katrina

Subrogation in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was invisible at first, but was certainly present. There were numerous examples of decision-making in the New Orleans area which illustrated a lack of local government concern about specific hazards to private residents. Local officials often resisted proposals to protect their communities from storms because they did not want to pay their share of federal projects. Levy districts opposed hurricane protection floodgates at the mouths of the citys drainage canals, leading to the construction of walls along the canals which failed in Hurricane Katrina. In the 1980s, the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) launched a subrogation suit for more than $100 million against Jefferson, Orleans, and St. Bernard Parishes, contending that these Parishes caused the FIA to pay excessive flood insurance claims by failing to maintain levies and failing to enforce elevation requirements for new construction. This inaction on the part of the Parishes led to buildings being flooded and their owners seeking compensation from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The courts ruled in FIAs favor and ordered the Parishes to improve their levy maintenance and enforcement practices. The City of New Orleans also did not update its 1970 comprehensive plan for almost 30 years. When it got around to this in 1999, its New Century New Orleans Land Use Plan made absolutely no mention of the extreme flood hazard facing the city, ways of mitigating the hazard through land use, and building regulations or how the city might recover from an event such as Hurricane Katrina. Still local governments are willing to reduce natural hazards by managing development. It is not that they are opposed to land use measures, but, like individuals, they tend to prioritize things and view natural hazards as a minor problem that takes a back seat to more pressing issues such as unemployment, crime, housing, transportation, and education.

If you are willing to make the investment into uncovering and pursuing subrogation potential in the face of Acts of God which result in claim disasters, it is very possible to turn tragedy into triumph. The smallest of investments could mean complete erasure of a significant loss for your insured and a good year for your subrogation department.
The Supreme Court on Thursday placed new limits on state laws that make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse alcohol tests.

The justices ruled that police must obtain a search warrant before requiring drivers to take blood alcohol tests, but not breath tests, which the court considers less intrusive.

The ruling came in three cases in which drivers challenged so-called implied consent laws in Minnesota and North Dakota as violating the Constitutions ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. State supreme courts had upheld the laws.

While drivers in all 50 states can have their licenses revoked for refusing drunken driving tests, the high courts ruling affects laws in 11 states that go farther in imposing criminal penalties for such refusals.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said breath tests do not implicate significant privacy concerns. Unlike blood tests, breathing into a breathalyzer doesnt pierce the skin or leave a biological sample in the governments possession, he said.

Alito compared blowing into a breath test machine to using a straw to drink beverages, which he called a common practice and one to which few object. He noted that the high court has previously declined to require a warrant for collecting DNA samples by rubbing a swab on the inside of a persons cheek or scraping underneath a persons fingernails to find evidence of a crime.

Six justices agreed with Alitos opinion on breath tests, though Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately to say he would have found both tests valid without a warrant under the Constitution. Thomas called any distinction between breath and blood tests an arbitrary line in the sand.

Other states that have criminalized a drivers refusal to take alcohol blood or breath tests include Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

In all three cases before the high court, the challengers argued that warrantless searches should be allowed only in extraordinary circumstances. They said routine drunk driving stops count as ordinary law enforcement functions where traditional privacy rights should apply.

State officials called the testing a legitimate condition on the privilege of using state roads. Prosecutors argued that it was too burdensome for police to obtain a warrant every time a driver refused a test because some rural areas have only one judge on call late at night or on weekends.

But during oral argument, some of the justices pointed out that even in rural states police can call a magistrate and get a warrant over the phone in just a few minutes.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, wrote a separate opinion saying she would have gone further and required search warrants for both breath and blood alcohol tests. She said said no governmental interest makes it impractical for an officer to get a warrant before measuring a drivers alcohol level.

The Fourth Amendment prohibits such searches without a warrant, unless exigent circumstances exist in a particular case, she said.

The states garnered support from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which argued that public safety is a compelling reason that justified the laws. But civil liberties groups said states cant criminalize the assertion of a constitutional right.

Adam Vanek, national general counsel for MADD, said his group was pleased that the court recognized public safety concerns far outweigh the minimal privacy concerns when it comes to a breath test. Vanek said the group was hopeful that the courts decision would encourage other states to implement similar laws punishing refusal to take a breath test.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Though families use the Fourth of July weekend to reconnect at picnics and barbecues, cargo thieves are expected to take advantage of the long three-day weekend by stealing truckloads of nonalcoholic beverages, major appliances and copper. Thats according to CargoNet, a Verisk Analytics business, which analyzed 2012-2015 cargo theft data in the United States and Canada between July 2-July 9 and found those were some of the most popular theft categories.

During that period, 119 incidents were reported with 81 categorized as involving cargo theft. Food and beverage was the primary target of thieves, though household goods and electronics were also popular. Metal theft surged in 2014, but there was just one reported theft of metals in 2015. During the same period, 70 semi-tractors and 64 semi-trailers were reported stolen.

The company estimated $10.63 million in losses between 2012-2015 as a result of cargo theft.

Scott Cornell, a transportation crime and theft specialist with Travelers, explained that food and beverage has been the number one cargo theft commodity since 2010 because its consumable, not easily tracked, easy to sell and not likely to remain in backlog.

Anytime the value is high on anything youre going to see it as a targeted commodity. In addition to that, its very easy to move, explained Cornell.

According to CargoNet, the top four states for cargo theft during the analyzed period were:

California (21) Texas (19) Florida (15) Georgia (15)

High-theft metropolitan areas include Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta and Miami.

Sitting Cargo Vulnerable

Though its widely known that cargo theft spikes during holiday weekends, CargoNet expects this year to be worse since July 4th falls on a Monday. According to the national cargo theft database host, the three day weekend means many trucks will be parked for the entire weekend and remain unchecked until truckers return to them on Tuesday.

An alert issued by FreightWatch International, a logistic securities services firm, noted that holiday weekends pose high risk for manufacturers and logistics-related organizations because unattended shipments combined with the long weekend give cargo crooks ample opportunity to stage crimes.

In 2015, FreightWatch Internationals Supply Chain Intelligence Center recorded an average loss value of $1.1M over the holiday weekend, which it noted was six times higher than the average loss value over the entire year.

As a result of the high value losses associated with it, cargo theft is a primary focus of legislation in a number of states, including Mississippi, New Mexico and Alabama, according to Alan Haskins, director of government affairs for the National Insurance Crime Bureau. In a recent podcast interview with Claims Journal, he said a cargo bill was passed in Alabama and bills expanding existing cargo theft law passed in California and Florida.

According to Cornell, cargo theft falls into two key categories: straight theft and strategic theft.

Straight theft involves a criminal going out and physically stealing cargo at a truck stop or drop lot. Strategic cargo theft methods involve criminals using methods to trick companies into giving them cargo. These methods include using fictitious pickups, double brokering scams, blind shipment scams, false companies and ghost truck methods.

Cornell said the shift to strategic cargo theft has really picked up since 2011.

I can list off 12 to 15 different strategic cargo theft methods, Cornell said.

Thieves are also embracing technology to carry out their crimes.

For example, sniffers and jammers are increasingly being used to thwart covert trackers used by trucking companies.

Over the last year or two weve started to see the use of that technology primarily in the Southeast, said Cornell.

Cyber-related methods are being used on the strategic side of cargo theft, he explained. Criminals may infiltrate databases to get details on future shipments so that they can intercept pickup information.

CargoNet and FreightWatch International compiled a list of noteworthy thefts from prior July 4th holiday weekends:

$2,000,000 of cell phones (Florida)

$1,300,000 of apparel and accessories (Tennessee)

$659,090 in cash and other valuables (Texas)

Fictitious Pickup of Produce (no value reported) (California)

Fictitious Pickup of Cash-in-Transit (no value reported) (Oklahoma)

Full Truckload of Cell Phones, $5,700,000 (Washington)

According to FreightWatch, covert GPS tracking and active monitoring of high-value shipments is recommended, since they offer the most effective way to mitigate in-transit theft and facilitate successful recovery of stolen product.

Cornell recommended that trucking companies have plans in place to monitor cargo during long weekends. He also advised companies to quickly respond and report any incidents to assist in the investigation and potential recovery of stolen cargo.

The longer they have to hide cargo the less chance youre going to have of getting it back, Cornell said.
A city of Cleveland panel on Wednesday authorized spending nearly $10 million to purchase $50 million in insurance to protect the city against claims during the Republican National Convention after a consultant concluded the city faces a higher risk than previously thought because of terrorism threats and volatility during the Republican presidential primary campaign.

The same city Board of Control authorized the purchase of a $10 million policy for $1.5 million in March. The consultant and insurance brokerage, AON Risk Services, polled 40 insurance companies before recommending the higher coverage amount, a Cleveland official said.

Given the climate nationally and internationally, the risk assessment (for Cleveland) was higher than its been for other conventions, Cleveland Finance Director Sharon Dumas said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The Republican National Committee required the city to buy liability insurance as part of its agreement to host the four-day convention that begins July 18 at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. The general liability and property damage policies will be provided by multiple insurance companies and will be purchased with money from the $50 million federal security grant Cleveland received for hosting a national special security event, Dumas said.

Cleveland is self-insured and would be responsible for any claims against its police officers or damage to city property during the convention. The insurance would cover claims made against law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions and damage to private property.

Philadelphia, which will host the Democratic National Convention at the end of July, received a similar federal security grant. Neither Philadelphia nor the Democratic National Committee has finalized the purchase of insurance. Philadelphia is responsible for buying insurance to cover convention safety forces while the DNC will buy general liability insurance to cover other types of claims.

Insurance costs for Philadelphia are expected to be much lower than Clevelands, Dumas said.

There have been increasing concerns about protests during the Republican convention as groups both in support and opposed to the presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, have said they planned to come to Cleveland. There have been instances of clashes attributed to anti-Trump protesters outside the real estate moguls campaign rallies in recent months.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Peter Mills sees an inconsistency. One arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation is recommending two-person crews be required for freight trains as another plans to spend billions to help develop driverless technology for long-haul trucks.

Anything that tilts the competitive playing field concerns me, said Mills, chief executive officer of Indiana Rail Road. Were very truck-competitive.

The Federal Railroad Administration has proposed the mandate for two operators in many freight-train locomotives, which would lock in an imperative unions have negotiated in contracts. According to rail carriers, it would also prevent them from taking full advantage of systems for remote oversight that theyre installing, at a cost of about $10 billion and on the order of Congress.

There were two crew members in each of the cabs of BNSF Railway Co. trains that collided in Texas on Tuesday. Of the four employees, one was injured, two were killed and one is missing.

Lawmakers passed a law demanding the remote-oversight systems after a 2008 commuter-train accident in California killed 25 people. Once operational, they may allow all locomotives to operate safely with one person in the cab or eventually to be fully automated, said Lance Fritz, CEO of Union Pacific Corp., the largest publicly traded railroad. We should allow technology to take us where it will.

Fritz called it pretty ironic that the government seems to be doing that when it comes to the trucking industry. The National Highway Safety Transportation Administration has embraced autonomous vehicles, including trucks hauling freight, and plans to spend $3.9 billion over a decade to foster the technology.

Reducing Risks

If thats happening in one mode, why are they coming out with the regulation that locks us into two people in the cab? said Ed Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads.

The governments support of autonomous technologies is designed to reduce risks across all modes of transportation, said Clark Pettig, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, in an e-mailed response to questions. Our bottom line is ensuring that the people and goods traveling on our nations roads and rails get where theyre going safely.

The last time the U.S. angled the field in favor of trucks  with the interstate highway system beginning in the late 1950s  the rail industry almost went bust within a couple of decades. Congress rebalanced things with the 1980 Staggers Act, deregulating rail-freight rates and allowing carriers to close unprofitable lines.

Fewer Accidents

The FRA plans to hold public hearings on the proposed regulations on July 15. Many local governments support them. The Georgia Municipal Association said in public comments that mandating two-person crews, with exemptions for smaller railroads, will be an important step to enhance safety along rail lines that go through Georgias cities.

The freight-rail industry contends theres no data linking the numbers of operators in the locomotives with safety. Train accidents have dropped 78 percent since 1980 as carriers have stepped up spending on track maintenance and technology, according to the rail association. During that time, locomotive crew sizes have been whittled down from as much as five.

Many European freight railroads use one-person crews, and Rio Tinto Plc in Australia is experimenting with autonomous trains. Indiana Rail Road, which operates 250 miles of its own track, has run trains with one person since 1997. The single-crew trains have had only one incident with enough damage that required notification to regulators, compared with 26 for two-person crews. If we thought that single-man crews were unsafe, we wouldnt use them, Mills said. Weve proven that theyre not unsafe.

Union Vote

Because Millss company is a small railroad, it would be able to operate with a single operator under the new rules  though at a reduced speed. That, Mills said, would negate the benefits of having a smaller crew.

John Risch, national legislative director for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation union, has a 17-point list of why a freight train shouldnt be helmed by one person. Crews can be called up at odd hours and often work 12-hour shifts, making it important to have someone double-check work and help keep colleagues alert, Risch said, and some functions, such as backing up a train, cant be performed by just one person. Ive worked as an engineer for 30 years and there aint no way Im going out there by myself.

Union Pacifics Fritz said his railroad isnt ready yet to go to one-person crews, though that could change after the carrier begins to operate in 2018 with its $2.9 billion remote safety system. Its not something that railroads can do by fiat, he said. We still will have to negotiate with our labor unions who are represented in the cab.

In 2014, BNSF, owned by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc., tried to change the locomotive status quo, sealing a deal with labor leaders on one-person crews. Union members overwhelmingly voted it down.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Attorneys for Cinemark want victims of a 2012 shooting at a Colorado movie theater to pay nearly $700,000 in legal fees after they unsuccessfully sued the theater chain.

The companys lawyers told a judge they need the money to cover the costs of preserving evidence, retrieving and copying records, travel and other expenses, according to court documents filed this month.

A judge didnt immediately rule on the request. But Colorado courts allow the winning side of a court case to recover legal fees.

Jurors in May ruled in Cinemarks favor over 28 victims and their families who argued the nations third-largest theater chain should have done more to prevent the attack that killed 12 people and left more than 70 others injured. They sued in state court, saying security lapses allowed for the July 20, 2012 attack at a midnight premiere of a Batman film.

A judge last week dismissed a similar lawsuit in federal court, saying Cinemarks lack of security was not a substantial factor in the deaths.

In both lawsuits, victims cited a lack of guards and no alarm on an emergency exit door that would have sounded when James Holmes slipped into the crowded theater and started shooting.

Cinemark argued it could not have foreseen the attack, and nothing could have stopped the heavily armed Holmes. Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the state case have said they are considering appealing the verdict.

Holmes is serving a life sentence after a different group of jurors could not unanimously agree on whether he deserved to die.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A laboratory explosion at the University of Hawaii that resulted in a researcher losing her arm was likely caused by static electricity, according to an independent investigation.

The University of California Center for Laboratory Safety, which handled the investigation, released its results Friday.

The explosion that occurred in March was initially thought to have been caused by a faulty pressure gauge, but the investigators said static electricity released into a tank most likely caused the explosion, said Michael Bruno, vice chancellor for research at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

By all accounts and from everything that we know so far, there were many, many efforts to make this process as safe as possible, and in fact the exact same experiment essentially had been conducted 10 or perhaps 11 times prior to this accident occurring, Bruno said.

The researcher had told fire department investigators she would get shocked on occasion when touching the tank. She reported that to the professor who hired her to conduct research into bioplastics and biofuels, but he told her not to worry about it.

The day before the explosion, the researcher reported hearing a cracking sound while conducting an experiment. She was advised to use different equipment, advice Bruno referred to as what looks like a tragic decision.

In hindsight, that was not the right interpretation of what had happened, Bruno said.

Investigators said it was challenging to determine the cause of the detonation because they werent able to inspect the accident scene until 13 days later. It was important to first clean up the blood and damage to the lab and to ensure that the building was structurally sound, Bruno said.

The investigators also werent able to interview the researcher so they had to rely on a report from fire department officials who interviewed her.

She went through a tragic and traumatic experience that I dont think any of us can even imagine, Bruno said. She was conscious throughout, and she elected not to have contact while she was in the hospital. Soon after she left the hospital, she went back to her native United Kingdom, and so we have not to this day been able to speak to the researcher.

Investigators said a digital pressure gauge was the origin of the electrical current that caused the detonation. The researcher and some equipment in the lab were not properly grounded, they said.

The laboratory is part of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute on the schools flagship Manoa campus. Every laboratory at the university thats involved with the use of flammable or pressured gases has been shut down since the day of the accident, and the university is enacting many of the recommendations listed in the report, Bruno said. After the accident, the university established a safety committee to review experiments involving highly hazardous substances.

Bruno expects that some labs may be ready to re-open this week.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia, along with many individual districts , have now adopted the Next Generation Science Standards , meaning millions of students around the country will be learning science differently.

But the standards themselves can be tough to parse , so theres no doubt still plenty of confusion about whats really new here.

In a recent Ed Week Commentary piece, Lauren Madden , an assistant professor of elementary education at the College of New Jersey, explains a major difference between the Next Generation Science Standards and other state science standards.

Earlier science standards, both in my home state of New Jersey and across the nation, addressed science content separately from the act of doing science, she writes. The Next Generation standards take a different approach . ... [They shift] away from the notion that science is simply a collection of facts and toward a deeper understanding of the broad and connected nature of scientific phenomena.

Madden also poses a few examples of NGSS lessons, which further illustrate that difference. Do you remember first learning about solids, liquids, and gases in elementary schoolthe drawings with dots that are close together for solids and far apart for gases? Heres how a 2nd grade NGSS lesson might now approach matter.

And another example from Madden on how the NGSS changes a lesson:

In the past, students may have studied the rock cycle as a topic in a geology unit by simply learning to define characteristics of various rock types and reciting the phases in the cycle. But by first introducing students to the crosscutting concept of patterns [using the NGSS], they can relate the rock cycle to an important overarching scientific phenomenon: Things in nature occur in predictable, cyclical patterns. This shift in focus opens the door for an infinite number of connections across scientific domains, from cell division to star formation.

More than memorization, NGSS lessons focus on applying ideas and making connections.

This focus on doing has caused concern among some educators, who say the standards should include more facts.

Its also probably making things tough for textbook and curriculum providers. As of now, theres little in the way of materials aligned to the NGSS , so most teachers are forced to come up with these sorts of lessons on their own. (Note that the boat lesson above was designed by preservice teachers.) Perhaps thats partly because these kinds of interconnected, application-focused lessons dont lend themselves well to the printed page. But even digital materials are hard to come by for now, so maybe its just that these lessons are tough to devise?

As always, would be great to hear from educators in the comments section below. What are you doing differently with the NGSS? And where are you getting your lessons?

Related stories:
The U.S. government has advised owners of 313,000 recalled Honda and Acura vehicles to replace their Takata Corp.-made airbags immediately after testing showed theres as high as a 50 percent chance of rupture in a crash.

These vehicles, from the 2001 to 2003 model years, have a manufacturing defect that greatly increases the risk of rupture, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement. Eight of the 10 U.S. deaths caused by Takata airbags  where the inflator breaks apart and sprays metal and plastic shards at vehicle occupants  occurred in these models, the regulator said. The high-risk models are part of about 1.1 million vehicles Honda recalled from 2008 to 2011.

These vehicles are unsafe and need to be repaired immediately, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in NHTSAs statement. Folks should not drive these vehicles unless they are going straight to a dealer to have them repaired immediately, free of charge.

Takatas rising death and injury toll raises legal liability risk and complicate the airbag makers search for investors to overcome the biggest recall in the auto industrys history. Honda said earlier this week it was investigating a third fatal rupture in as many months in Malaysia, potentially raising to 15 the number of motorists who have been killed worldwide by Takatas safety devices.

Lab Tests

In laboratory tests, airbag inflators in the Honda models its warning against have rupture rates as high as 50 percent, especially when exposed to heat and humidity, NHTSA said. Takata airbags that dont have the same manufacturing defect ruptured less than 1 percent of the time, according to the agency.

Vehicles in Texas, Florida and the Gulf Coast are most susceptible due to high humidity in those areas, the safety agency said.

The models affected are:

2001-2002 Honda Civic 2001-2002 Honda Accord 2002-2003 Acura TL 2002 Honda CR-V 2002 Honda Odyssey 2003 Acura CL 2003 Honda Pilot

Hondas repair completion rate for the vehicles in the U.S. is more than 70 percent, compared with 99.6 percent in Japan, according to spokeswoman Nao Uzawa. The company doesnt have the data for other markets, she said.

The automaker will continue reaching out to owners by phone and mail and via online marketing as soon as possible, Uzawa said. NHTSA said the agency and Honda are trying to alert owners to avoid further deaths or injuries.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
When the first paramedics arrived on the scene of the Pulse nightclub shooting, they could still hear gunfire coming from inside the club.

In active-shooting cases, recent federal guidelines call for medics to put on body armor and go into potentially dangerous situations alongside police officers when possible. But paramedics Josh Granada and Carlos Tavarez didnt have bulletproof vests and they never made it inside the nightclub. Instead, they treated the wounded across the street in the parking lot of a bagel shop.

In all, they made five trips to the emergency room, taking 13 victims to a hospital just a few blocks away. Could they have saved more lives if they had body armor and went inside the gay Orlando nightclub, where 49 people were killed and 53 wounded in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history? Its tough to know, they told The Associated Press.

Since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 in Colorado, paramedics have struggled with how close they should get to active shooter scenes when they know there are wounded victims who need help. The federal guidelines suggest that victims chances of survival improve when paramedics go into the warm zone.

Paramedics have traditionally waited for an all-clear that its safe to go into an active-shooter situation. But studies of past mass shootings have shown the value of having medical and rescue personnel who are properly trained and equipped to enter the warm zone to maximize victim survival, according to a 2014 policy statement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA therefore encourages first responder agencies to develop this capability, the policy statement said.

At Columbine, some survivors believed a wounded teacher who bled to death over almost four hours could have been saved if hed been treated earlier. Instead, firefighter-paramedics, as well as many officers, waited to go inside the school. Thirteen people were killed and 24 others wounded.

In the Pulse shooting, paramedic-firefighters stayed out of the danger zone, in part because Omar Mateen indicated to police negotiators that he had explosives, a claim that ended up being false.

This was a dynamic scene, said Bryan Davis, a district fire chief. We went from it being a shooter to now we possibly had an explosive device in possession.

When Granada and Tavarez arrived at a fire station a block away from the club, many of the wounded already had fled Pulse. The paramedics said they could hear gunfire and saw people running. They started treating a man who had collapsed with two bullets in his stomach. They drove him to the hospital and headed back.

We were still the first ambulance on the scene, Granada said. All the ambulance units at this point were getting set up in the staging area because it was being communicated over our radio that the scene was not secure.

The pair treated club patrons at the fire station and across the street, behind an Einstein Bros. Bagels shop, where police officers had dragged the wounded.

Last summer, Orlando firefighters trained with police officers in active-shooter scenarios where paramedics went into a school and mall alongside the officers. But at Pulse, the priority was setting up treatment areas away from potential gunfire, fire department spokeswoman Ashley Papagni said in an email.

Orlando paramedic-firefighters and ambulance technicians also arent equipped with body armor or vests, Papagni said.

Going in with a SWAT team member wasnt a good option because Mateens line of sight was pretty much everywhere before he went into a bathroom, and by then, officers were pulling out victims, Granada said.

During Tavarez and Granadas second run, they helped a man whose lungs had collapsed from a gunshot and another who was disoriented and in shock.

At this point, (the hospital) had nurses and doctors out in the bay with 20 or 30 hospital beds lined up just ready to take patients, Granada said. I screeched in, parked right there in the bay, I jumped out and unloaded those two.

When they returned, dozens more people on the ground were on the ground at the bagel shop. None could move and we had pretty much exhausted every single piece of medical equipment, Granada said.

Almost a dozen victims died at or en route to hospitals. Asked whether any could have been saved if paramedics had gotten to them sooner, district fire chief Davis said, Its really hard to gauge what we could have or could not have done.

He also said the paramedics did their jobs well. We were there to support law enforcement and as they were bringing us victims and patients, we were transporting them as quickly as we could, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Trespassing, Karen Drive: A Karen woman said someone entered her home and gave her dog a bone between 7:30-10:35 p.m. July 2.

It happened while the woman was at Berea's annual Grindstone Festival. She had left her backdoor unlocked. The trespasser left the dog out of the basement, where the animal had been confined, and posted on a sign on the woman's front door. On the sign, the trespasser complained about the dog barking.

"If it doesn't stop ASAP, police/(animal) warden will visit you soon," the sign said. Nothing was reported missing from the home.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, West Bagley Road: A Cleveland woman, 30, was arrested at about 12:05 a.m. July 2 after police saw her driving a Toyota 4Runner with the headlights turned off.

The woman smelled of alcohol. At first she stared at the officer and seemed in a daze. Then she laughed. The woman tried to step out of her SUV, but the officer told her to stay inside. When the officer asked how much she had to drink, the woman replied, "Me?" and denied drinking.

The officer asked the woman for insurance information and she handed over a stack of credit-card-size cards. She again exited her vehicle, this time walking around the truck SUV and trying to re-enter through the passenger-side door.

Other officers arrived. They found a glass of red wine in the SUV. At the police station, the woman expressed her opinion of the arresting officer and threatened his life. She plopped onto the floor, yelled and cried.

Petty theft, Murphy Street: A "Cold Beer" sign was stolen between 6 p.m. July 2 and 8 p.m. July 4 from the side of a garage.

The victim said he was hosting a holiday cookout when a family member asked what had happened to the sign. The victim hadn't noticed the sign was missing until then.

The sign was 6 feet by 6 feet with a light blue background. The word "Cold" was in black and the word "Beer" was in white. The victim said he had paid Giant Eagle $300 for the sign after the supermarket chain renovated a local store.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Lindberg Boulevard-Crescent Drive: A Strongsville man, 35, was arrested at about 10:10 p.m. July 3 after a Dodge Ram he was driving rear-ended a Toyota.

The man smelled of alcohol. Police found a bottle of Diazepam, a sedative, in the pickup truck. The man failed field sobriety tests. Three people, including two children, who were riding in the Toyota were injured and taken to a hospital.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, West Bagley Road: An Olmsted Falls man, 34, was arrested at about 1:15 a.m. July 3 after police saw the Ford Ranger he was driving weave on West Bagley.

The man admitted drinking "a few beers" at a barbecue. Police found a bag of marijuana in his pants pocket, and the man confessed to smoking marijuana about two hours earlier.

To comment on this post, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
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Jack Cleveland Casino's revenue for June was only slightly higher than in May, when it was closed for 40 hours to transition from Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.

(Karen Farkas, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio casino and racino revenues took a dive in June, according to monthly reports.

The statewide revenue of $66.5 million at the four casinos was a 5.4 percent decline from May. Revenue was slightly less than last June, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission.

Jack Cleveland Casino, open for the first full month under its new name and branding, had a total revenue of $16.3 million, slightly more than in May when it was closed for 40 hours.

It is difficult to compare June revenue to June 2015 at that casino because that month gamblers hit the jackpot so often that the casino at that time reported its lowest monthly revenue - $14.4 million - since opening in May 2012.

Total revenue at Ohio's seven racinos was $70.6 million in June, a 9.7 percent decline from May, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.

Total racino revenue was slightly greater than in June 2015.

The monthly reports define revenue as the money left after casinos and racinos pay winners and deduct for promotions.

Casino and racino officials have said year-over-year comparisons typically provide a more accurate reflection of performance than comparing one month to the previous one.

Here's a look at local establishments.

Revenue at Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park was $18 million, still tops for all racinos and casinos. However, revenue declined from $19.5 million in May.

Jack ThistleDown Racino's monthly revenue of $9.1 million was a decline of $1 million from May.

Hard Rock Rocksino is a joint venture between Hard Rock International and Northfield Park.

Penn National Gaming owns the Hollywood casinos in Columbus and Toledo and the racinos near Youngstown and Dayton.

Ohio casinos

Statewide June 2015 June 2016 Revenue $63.5 million $62.9 million Table games $17.2 million $21.1 million Slots $46.3 million $41.8 million Daily win per slot $196 $176 Jack Cleveland Casino Revenue $14.4 million $16.3 million Table games $4.4 million $8.7 million Slots $10 million $7.6 million Daily win per slot $202 $150 Jack Cincinnati Casino Revenue $16 million $14 million Table games $5.3 million $4.6 million Slots $10.7 million $9.4 million Daily win per slot $183 $161 Hollywood Toledo Revenue $16.6 million $15.6 million Table games $2.8 million $2.6 million Slots $13.8 million $13 million Daily win per slot $225 $212 Hollywood Columbus Revenue $16.4 million $16.9 million Table games $4.7 million $5.1 million Slots $11.7 million $11.8 million Daily win per slot $174 $175

Source: Ohio Casino Control Commission

Ohio racinos

Statewide June 2015 June 2016 Slots $67.4 million $70.6 million Daily win per slot $215 $218 Jack ThistleDown Racino Slots $8.7 million $9.1 million Daily win per slot $226 $207 Hard Rock Rocksino Slots $16.7 million $18 million Daily win per slot $245 $265 Hollywood Mahoning Valley Slots $7.6 million $7.6 million Daily win per slot $294 $273 Scioto Downs Slots $11.7 million $11.8 million Daily win per slot $182 $183 Miami Valley Gaming Slots $10 million $10.8 million Daily win per slot $211 $221 Belterra Park Slots $6.5 million $6.4 million Daily win per slot $141 $157 Hollywood Dayton Slots $7 million $7 million Daily win per slot $237 $233

Source: Ohio Lottery Commission
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West Chester resident Munir Abdulkader has pleaded guilty to plotting attacks against a military official and a police station.

(File photo)

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The government says an Ohio man has pleaded guilty to plotting attacks against a U.S. military official and a local police station.

Documents unsealed Thursday say Munir Abdulkader of West Chester in southwestern Ohio was arrested in May 2015 and pleaded guilty in March.

Charging documents say Abdulkader pleaded guilty to attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, material support of a foreign terrorist organization and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.

Sentencing was set for October. A message was left with Abdulkader's attorney seeking comment on the guilty plea.

Investigators say Abdulkader communicated with a member of the Islamic State and plotted to abduct and kill a military employee and attack a police station that was not identified.
Bill aims to head off battle over dredging

The state of Ohio on Wednesday asked a federal judge to again force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Cleveland Harbor and Cuyahoga River shipping channel.

(Plain Dealer file photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The state of Ohio and the Cuyahoga County Port Authority have asked a federal judge to again force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fully dredge the Cleveland Harbor and Cuyahoga River shipping channel, arguing that the Corps is still proposing the dumping of harmful sediment into Lake Erie.

The motion, filed late Wednesday by the Ohio Attorney General's Office and attorneys for the port authority, says that the Corps, as it did in 2015, is demanding that a "non-federal sponsor" pay to dump the dredging material into a disposal facility.

Army officials won't give a cost differentiation between dumping into the lake and a facility, the motion says. Moreover, they went a step farther and were able to secure a $3.6 million reduction in the federal budget allocation for the Cleveland dredging product.

Attorneys write that the budget reduction request "is an apparent subterfuge to circumvent this Court's ruling."

The request is just the latest in a dispute between the Corps and the Port of Cleveland over the dredging of the shipping channel. The state filed a lawsuit against the Corps last year over the Corps' refusal to dredge.

Most important is what is known as the "sixth mile" of the shipping channel, which serves ArcelorMittal's steel mill and contains the bulk of the sediment that needs dredging.

The motion says delays in dredging can seriously harm the business.

The Corps has argued that dumping the sediment in Lake Erie is safe and cost-effective. The state and the port say the sediment is polluted and will harm the lake.

U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent in May 2015 ordered the Corps to fully dredge the harbor that year. Using an occasionally scathing tone, the judge implied that the Corps was trying to blackmail the state into footing the bill of dumping it into a facility.

Wednesday's motion says that Nugent "went on to hold that the Corps could not hold Cleveland Harbor hostage for financial contributions for the Corps' environmental obligations. Yet one year later, in a familiar refrain, the Corps is again doing just that."

It says that little has changed in the past year. It says that northeast Ohio's mild winter and high water levels in Lake Erie have allowed for a delay in dredging this year. That said, the dredging still needs to occur.

"A single severe summer storm this year could make the channel unnavigable," the motion says.

A spokesman for the Corps says it does not comment on pending litigation.

The U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led by Republican Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, is investigating the actions Army officials took to cut the budget for the Cleveland dredging project.

And an appropriations bill the Senate passed in May included a provision banning the Corps from dumping dredged sediment into Lake Erie.
TOLEDO, Ohio -- An Indian citizen awaiting trial on charges of raising money and providing support to al-Qaida was indicted Wednesday on charges that he solicited the killing of the federal judge in Toledo presiding over his case.

Yahya Farooq Mohammad, 38, is charged with soliciting the murder of U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary.

Federal prosecutors said in a news release that Mohammad told another inmate at the Lucas County Corrections Center in April that he wanted Zouhary kidnapped and killed and was willing to pay $15,000 to make it happen.

The inmate then introduced Mohammad to an undercover FBI agent, the news release says.

He faces charges of attempted first degree murder of a federal officer, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and use of interstate commerce facilities in commission of murder for hire.

Mohammad was arrested in November, along with his brother, Ibrahim Zubair Mohammad, and brothers Asif Ahmed Salim and Sultane Room Salim. They are charged with conspiring to gather money and equipment and other support to Anwar al-Awlaki, the late American-born, radical Muslim cleric whose English language videos and blog posts inspired a number of Western recruits to al-Qaida, as well as acts of terrorism, federal prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say Mohammad in July 2009 traveled with two other people to Yemen in an attempt to meet with Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in September 2011. He was unable to find Awlaki, so he instead gave $22,000 to one of the cleric's associates to be given to Awlaki.

Mohammad attended Ohio State University to study engineering between 2002 and 2004. He and his brother, also a citizen of India, married U.S. citizens.

Thomas Durkin, Mohammad's attorney, said in a statement that he intends to fight "these highly orchestrated and preposterous charges."

The statement continues, "in doing so, we are quite confident that the public will soon come to learn that any undermining of our criminal justice system and the rule of law lies instead at the feet of the government and its informants."

Zouhary, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and took the bench in 2006, did not return messages seeking comment.

According to the new indictment:

Mohammad's fellow inmate told him that the undercover agent needed a $1,000 down payment for Zouhary's killing. The pair worked out a code to be used when Mohammad talked to the undercover agent about the plot.

Mohammad called the undercover agent April 26 from prison and told him that he could either send the money through a mail carrier or that the agent could meet his wife, identified as "N.T.", in Chicago.

The agent asked Mohammad when he wanted Zouhary killed, and Mohammad replied by saying "the sooner would be good, you know." He later told the agent that he did not "want [Zouhary] found."

Mohammad's wife called the undercover agent May 3 and told him that she had $1,000. They met at a post office in the Chicago suburbs and she gave him the money in a white envelope. When the agent asked Mohammad's wife when he would receive the rest of the money, she said she would check with her husband.

Mohammad told his fellow inmate May 11 that the rest of the money would have to travel from Dubai to Texas, and then to Chicago.

The undercover agent met with Mohammad's wife five days later and showed her a photograph that he said was Zouhary's dead body. He told Mohammad's wife that he needed the rest of the money owed to him. Mohammad's wife told the undercover agent that she would call her husband and then she would contact her.

The case is being handled by prosecutors in the Northern District of Ohio, though Barbara McQuade, the U.S. attorney in Detroit, is supervising the case. McQuade spokeswoman Gina Balaya said the U.S. Justice Department recommends that the top prosecutor in the district where a judge is threatened should recuse themselves to avoid any appearance of bias.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials and a parents group have reached an agreement for the district to partner with a nonprofit organization to operate an elementary school after two parent-trigger campaigns.

The district and Partnership for Los Angeles Schools signed a five-year agreement with plans to improve achievement at 20th Street Elementary School, the district announced this week. See the districts announcement.

Partnership is a nonprofit that joins together the district, the City of Los Angeles and others that are working on transforming 17 schools.

The agreement comes after two efforts by the 20th Street Parents Union to use the parent-trigger law, which allows parents to collect signatures to attempt to take over schools that fail to meet test-score goals. Parent Revolution , a parent-advocacy group that has been a leader in the parent-trigger movement, coordinated the 20th Street campaign.

Last year, the district and the schools parent group forged an agreement to make changes at the school. But when parents said the district reneged on its promises, they turned in another petition, which was rejected earlier this year.

We are very excited to work with the Partnership organization, our school staff, and all parents at the school to work for the education our children deserve, said Omar Calvillo, coordinator of the 20th Street Parents Union, in a statement released by Parent Revolution. Now it is time for all of usparents, teachers, and the Partnership teamto come together and work as one team on behalf of our children.

Parent Revolution and district officials praised the agreement.

With this collaborative new partnership, we can continue to strengthen the academic supports, social-emotional learning opportunities, and parent-engagement programs that are essential to this school community, said Superintendent Michelle King in a statement.

California in 2010 was the first state to approve a parent-trigger law, and its the only place where a campaign has gone through. Other states seemed to embrace the concept shortly after. But now, just six states have such laws, and other attempts earlier this year fizzled.

See snapshots of all of the parent-trigger campaigns as of last year .

Related story: Parent-Trigger Efforts in California Hit Stumbling Blocks

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.
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New sheriff's deputies repeat an oath to uphold federal, state and local laws at a ceremony in 2014. Deputies will work overtime at the Republican National Convention.

(Patrick Cooley, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cuyahoga County sheriff's deputies are working overtime shifts for the Republican National Convention. Cleveland, which received federal funds for security, is paying for the work.

The county's Board of Control, which approves contracts of less than $500,000, agreed Monday that 83 deputies would work overtime for the convention from June 27 through July 22 at an expected cost of $202,000.

The Cleveland police asked for the assistance, according to the resolution, for "RNC security planning, training, execution, and pre- and post-event law enforcement operations."

If deputies work during their regular shifts at convention sites, including protest areas, they will be paid by the county, said spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan. The agreement only covers overtime.

Cleveland received a $50 million federal grant for convention security. The city also has used the grant to buy equipment including bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, "personal protective" riot gear, pepper spray and medical supplies.

The deputy overtime is the only law enforcement support currently being provided by the county.

Cuyahoga County Council approved a resolution in February 2014 to contribute $2.5 million to support a bid for the convention and to contribute up to $2.5 million in law enforcement services. The law enforcement support was subject to reimbursement by the federal government.

The county will also be reimbursed $20,000 by Cleveland, through U.S. Department of Homeland Security funds, to lease jail space at the Bedford Heights Jail from July 16-24.

The county is moving inmates from the County Jail to Bedford Heights to free up beds for those who may be arrested during the convention.

The Board of Control approved the payment to Bedford Heights on Monday.
WARREN, Ohio -- The All Americon 7 comic convention, with special guests James O'Barr and Darryl Banks, takes place Sunday and for a measly five bucks you can yell at Banks about his role in replacing Hal Jordan as Green Lantern.

The convention runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at the Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave., NE Warren.

Artist Banks co-created the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern along with writer Ron Marz to replace the aging Hal Jordan in 1994. While Rayner is a good character, fans were livid about killing off Jordan, one of the earliest DC heroes of the Silver Age.

The onslaught eventually made DC bring back Jordan as Green Lantern more than a decade later.

O'Barr created a dark, avenging character called The Crow in 1989 for Caliber Comics and the character took on a life of its own. The stark, black and white images of the hero, who avenged victims of violence, struck a chord among readers and remains popular to this day. O'Barr has written and drawn dozens of Crow comics over the years.

The Crow was turned into a brilliant movie in 1994 with Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, in the lead role. Tragically, Brandon Lee was killed during the filming in a firearms accident. The film was finished with a stunt double filling in the few scenes that remained.

James O'Barr's enigmatic Crow.

There were three sequels to the original Crow film and a new one is in production.

Also at the convention will be Mike Okamoto, best known for his work with the late, lamented, Innovation Comics company. He illustrated Mike Barr's The Maze Agency and several issues of Hero Alliance. Like many of the artists at Innovation, Okamoto does a lot of "good girl" art.

The Americon Comicon will also feature 80 comic and toy retailers from around the region, buying and selling books and toys. There will be a "Cosplay 101" panel at noon with a costume contest for children under 12 at 3 p.m. There will be a costume contest for adults at 5 p.m.

The General Lee car from "The Dukes of Hazzard" will be on display.
Thirteen states that have sued federal agencies over guidance on transgender students rights in schools have asked a federal court to temporarily block the rules while their lawsuit is heard.

Eleven states, led by Texas, originally filed the lawsuit in May after the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education issued the guidance, which says that, under Title IXs protections against sex discrimination, schools must allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity , even if it differs from their biological sex. Two additional states have since joined the suit. Along with Texas, plaintiffs in the suit are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, along with a few local school districts.

In other areas of federal law, such as the Violence Against Women Act, sex and gender identity are mentioned as two discrete categories, so its unreasonable to assume lawmakers intended for the mention of sex in Title IX to encompass both, the states suit contends.

If a court grants a preliminary injunction, schools would not have to abide by the Obama administrations transgender-student guidance until a federal court can rule if it is a proper interpretation of Title IX.

The nations schools, and every place of employment, are now in the crosshairs of the Obama Administration, which maintains it will punish those who do not comply with its orders, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. Schools are facing the potential loss of funding for simply exercising the authority to implement the policies that best protect their students.

Photo: AP file.

Related reading on transgender students:

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Washington

We now know that 84.1 percent of the approximately 6,900 National Education Association delegates gathered here this week for the unions Representative Assembly voted to endorse Hillary Clinton in the general election for the U.S. presidency.

Mike Antonucci was the first to report the number, and NEA officials have confirmed it. It is a greater proportion than Obama received either in 2011 or 2008, but lower than other candidates received, including John Kerry in 2004, Al Gore in 2000, and Bill Clinton in 1996.

The RA has to approve an endorsement in the general election; this vote triggers the flow of cash to the candidate. (The unions endorsement in the primaries, by contrast, gets approved by the unions PAC council and board of directors, but not the RA.)

Heres the yes tally for the general election over the years:
On June 30, New Mexico became the latest state to throw out a challenge to a law banning physician-assisted suicide. In Morris v. Brandenburg, proponents of the right-to-die movement contended that medical aid in dying was a fundamental right, meaning that any law that restricted the right should be presumed to be invalid unless the state had a compelling reason for the restriction.

In a unanimous decision, the New Mexico Supreme Court held that there was no such right under that states constitution, and that even if the right had existed, the state had several compelling reasons to restrict it: to protect the integrity and ethics of the medical profession; to protect vulnerable groups  including the poor, the elderly, and disabled persons  from the risk of subtle coercion and undue influence in end-of-life situations, including pressures associated with the substantial financial burden of end-of-life health care costs; and to protect against voluntary or involuntary euthanasia because if physician aid in dying is a constitutional right, it must be made available to everyone, even when a duly appointed surrogate makes the decision, and even when the patient is unable to self-administer the life-ending medication.1

Dr. Annette Hanson

Let me repeat that last point:

If aid in dying is a constitutional right, then medical euthanasia is inevitable. In other words, if a patient is too disabled to commit suicide on his or her own, a physician would be obligated to kill the patient.

Proponents will dismiss this last statement as alarmist and unfounded. They will point to a 20-year history of legalized aid in dying in Oregon, and insist there has never been a problem and no attempt to expand the practice to include euthanasia.

What they dont mention is that such an attempt would be politically disastrous for the right-to-die movement. In 2015, 25 states and the District of Columbia considered legalization bills.2 After careful consideration and debate, these bills failed in every state except California, and in that state it passed only because of an extraordinary and unusual legislative maneuver. The bill initially failed in regular session, but passed in special session when the California Medical Association (CMA) shifted to a neutral stance. That shift would never have happened had CMA members been aware of the legal inevitability of euthanasia. At this stage of the political process, the goal of the right-to-die movement is to get laws on the books in as many states as possible before pushing for more.

The New Mexico opinion echoes a similar decision issued this past May by a New York appellate court. The plaintiffs in that case were three terminally ill New Yorkers and five doctors, as well as two euthanasia advocacy groups. The arguments were virtually identical to those made in New Mexico, asserting a fundamental right to medical aid in dying based upon personal autonomy. They additionally sought an exception to New York criminal law, which defined assisted suicide as second-degree manslaughter. In Myers v. Schneiderman, the court observed that no appellate court had ever found medical aid in dying to be a fundamental right and that no new developments justified a change in this interpretation.3 While the court acknowledged some change in public opinion as reflected in telephone surveys, it correctly gave little weight to this argument: Plaintiffs fail to allege whether those public polls reflect the opinion of people who are fully informed of the arguments espoused by those who caution against permitting aid-in-dying, such as those articulated in the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law.

This task force issued the following recommendation in its 1994 report,4 When Death is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical Context: The Task Force members unanimously recommend that existing law should not be changed to permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia would pose profound risks to many individuals who are ill and vulnerable. The Task Force members concluded that the potential dangers of this dramatic change in public policy would outweigh any benefit that might be achieved (Chapter 6, p. 120).

The New York aid-in-dying bill did not progress out of committee by the time the session ended in June.

Lastly, both of these cases concluded that medical aid in dying was suicide. In Myers, Judge Angela M. Mazzarelli stated: The word suicide has a straightforward meaning, and a dictionary is hardly necessary  It is traditionally defined as the act or instance of taking ones own life voluntarily and intentionally. ... Whatever label one puts on the act that plaintiffs are asking us to permit, it unquestionably fits that literal description.
Falling oil prices saved Americans hundreds of dollars at the gas pump in 2015, and a lot of them spent those savings  at the gas station.

Middle-income households saved an average of $477 through the year, thanks to gas prices that fell 28 percent from 2014. The biggest business winners of the gas-price windfall were restaurants and retailers, both of which saw their share of consumers' budgets increase. The data come from a report by the JPMorgan Chase Institute published Thursday.

A big chunk of the gasoline savings  a full $155  was spent right back at the gas station. Consumers bought more gas, higher-quality gas and snacks.

Researchers at the Chase Institute looked at the spending habits of 1 million Chase credit and debit card holders to assess the effects of falling gas prices on household budgets.

Thanks to dropping oil prices, a gallon of gas cost an average of $2.43 last year, compared with $3.36 in 2014, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That decline in prices was the equivalent of a 1 percent increase in household income for a middle-income family (defined as those with incomes between $43,100 and $56,500).
The end of the year is often a scramble to make last-minute charitable gifts in an effort to boost annual tax deductions. To that point, 17.5 percent of donations are made in December, significantly more than any other month. And for those who make online donations, it's even more concentrated, with 29 percent made in December  11 percent in the last three days of the year alone. While this trend is unlikely to change anytime soon, financial advisors say having a plan to determine your giving throughout the year could help avoid a lot of headaches at year-end. It can also ensure you are maximizing the impact of your donations and ending up with the deductions you're counting on. If you want to make sure your donation is tax deductible, check if the organization is legitimate and is qualified to accept deductible contributions. These steps will make sure you have not donated to phony charities.

If you're considering giving to an organization that you're not very familiar with, it's important to do some due diligence before making a gift. This includes checking to see whether the organizations fall under Internal Revenue Service section 501(c)(3), which means it is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.



Vicky Kotze | Getty Images

Juan Ros, a certified financial planner with Lamia Financial Group, said you can check on a charity's tax-exempt status in IRS Publication 78. "There are also several charity 'watchdog' websites that rate or grade organizations," he added, such as Charity Navigator and BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

GuideStar also provides information on thousands of nonprofits, including their 990 tax filings, which have information about each charity's mission and overhead costs. If you still have questions, experts say to call the charity directly, as most such organizations  if legitimate  will embrace the chance to speak with potential new donors. You also need to consider how many charities to give to. Eileen Heisman, president and chief executive at National Philanthropic Trust, said giving to fewer causes is actually better, particularly when you're dealing with large sums of money. You'll also have a greater impact by sticking with the same charities for a longer period of time, she said, adding, when donors are predictable  making repeat gifts of a similar amount each year for an extended period of time  it's easier for charities to plan their fundraising and fulfill their mission.

Figure out funding

Most people make monetary donations by either check or credit card; however, to maximize your gift, Heisman suggests the former. When you pay online, she said, there are transaction and credit card fees the charity has to pay (sometimes as much as 5 percent), so the charity doesn't get the full amount. If you do write a check, make sure it arrives before Dec. 31 in order to get the deduction for that year. If you have appreciated securities in your investment portfolio, advisors say donating those in lieu of cash is often an even better move.

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According to Eric Freckman, CFP and owner of advisory firm Guillaume & Freckman, giving appreciated stocks yields benefits for both donor and charity. "[The donor] will get a deduction for the full amount, and the charity does not pay any capital gains tax," he said. "[It's] much better than giving cash or selling stock, paying taxes and then gifting cash." Just make sure the charity you're gifting to has a brokerage account to receive the stock and that the trade is executed before year-end to claim the deduction for the same year.

Consider a donor-advised fund

For larger donations, many advisors recommend using donor-advised funds. With DAFs, "clients can open an account, donate appreciated stock or other assets, and get the tax deduction for the entire amount contributed," said Danielle Howard, CFP and owner of Wealth By Design. Once the DAF is funded, the donor can advise the fund how contributions are to be distributed, she added. DAFs also simplify the due diligence and record-keeping processes. "The fund confirms the 501(c)(3) status of the organization and can send a check either in the name of the donor or anonymously," Howard said, adding that donors "can choose as many organizations as they want and the DAF keeps track of all giving done. "The client has one record to give to their accountant."

The amount you can deduct in any year may be limited to 30 percent to 50 percent of your AGI, depending on the type of charity you've chosen to support. Nathan Zielonka principal of Zielonka Financial Services

Keep records

If you're not using a DAF or service that tracks your donations, experts say be sure to keep all of the letters you receive from charities after making a gift. This will help you determine how much you've given throughout the year, and if you ever get audited, you'll need it as proof of your gift. If you've gotten anything of value in return for your donation  such as seats at a charity gala or an auction item  you can only deduct what you paid above the item's value. The charity should also give you a letter explaining the deductible amount, which you need to keep for your taxes. It's also a good idea to hold on to a copy of your canceled check, online receipt, bank statement or any other document that shows proof of your donation.

Understand your deductions
India's globe-trotting Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off a four-nation African tour on Thursday, in yet another charm offensive to promote his country's goods, services and investments, as well to as offset China's expanding influence on the resource-rich continent. The man behind the 'Make in India' campaign arrived in Mozambique on Thursday, and is scheduled to stop in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya later this week. "This visit is about trade but it's also about investment and geopolitical connections," Anil Gupta, professor of strategy and globalization at the University of Maryland, said.

Leaders including Guinea-Bissau's President Jose Mario Vaz (2L) Guinea's President Alpha Conde (C) look on during the India-Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi on October 29, 2015. PRAKASH SINGH | AFP | Getty Images

India wants to be a maritime leader in the Indian Ocean and because these countries are strategically located on Africa's east coast, they are of great importance to New Delhi, Gupta explained. India and Africa share deep historical ties dating back to colonial years and a two million-strong Indian diaspora on the continent places New Delhi in a significant soft-power position. But the world's number two economy, India's key economical rival in Asia, is now the dominant foreign power in Africa. Chinese investment and loans have flooded the continent, in sectors ranging from real estate to shipping, giving Beijing enormous diplomatic and military clout as well as a secure grip on the continent's commodity wealth, particularly energy. As a result, India has been finding ways to counterbalance China's supremacy, particularly in the realm of development finance. "India's development diplomacy for the continent has been through a strategic shift," Rajrishi Singhal, senior fellow of geoeconomics studies at Mumbai-based think tank Gateway House, said in a recent note.

The Indian Export-Import (Exim) Bank, a government-owned institution that finances and promotes foreign trade, exemplifies that transition, he explained.

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Check out the companies making headlines after the bell Thursday:

Shares of Juno Therapeutics plunged after it announced that the Food and Drug Administration placed a hold on a phase 2 clinical trial of one of its products after two patients died last week.

The biopharmaceutical company focuses primarily on cancer treatment. The drug was being tested in adult patients with a type of relapsed leukemia.

AbbVie and Celgene , both biotechnology companies, also slightly dropped in sympathy.

Gap shares popped after the company reported better-than-expected same-store sales in June thanks in part to improved traffic at Old Navy. The retailer, known for its denim apparel, said net sales increased 2 percent to $1.57 billion during the month. Comparable sales rose 5 percent at Old Navy.

This time last year, comps fell 1 percent at the overall at the company and rose 1 percent at Old Navy, the company said.

"We are pleased to see better performance across the portfolio this month," chief financial officer Sabrina Simmons said in a statement.

BioMarin shares dipped in very light volume after hours, erasing some of the day's gains after a Betaville report said Swiss drugmaker Roche may be seeking to acquire it. The company, which focuses on rare diseases, could be sold for up to $130 to $150 per share, according to the report, which CNBC was unable to confirm.

Shares of Cimarex ticked higher after analysts raised price targets for the natural gas exploration and production company. Analysts at Canaccord Genuity recently raised their price target to $94 from $89, while Wunderlich Securities raised its target price to $176 from $139.

Oil prices fell roughly 5 percent on Thursday, closing at a near two-month low. Energy company SM Energy , though, popped after-hours.

Amid smaller stocks, Barracuda Networks spiked after the technology company reported quarterly sales that exceeded guidance. The cloud cybersecurity company posted earnings of 20 cents per share, adjusted, on revenue of $86.7 million, up 11 percent year-over-year.

"Our performance in the quarter was largely driven by execution on our strategy, which includes focusing our efforts to be the leader in security and data protection for our customers and expanding our routes to market, specifically in the MSP and public cloud channels," CEO BJ Jenkins said in a statement.
Washington

The NEA just awarded its Friend of Education award to Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) for their role in shepherding the Every Student Succeeds Act through Congress. The law replaces the No Child Left Behind Act and devolves much of the authority over schools back to states.

Both honorees showed up in person to collect their award and address the 6,900-member delegation.

Murray has won the award once before, in 2013. But Alexander is the first Republican winner in more than 30 years. (The last Republican winner, in 1984, was Robert Stafford, a Vermont senator.)

Its an interesting reversal of fortune. As I noted earlier this week, Alexander famously battled the NEA affiliate in Tennessee in the 1980s over a career-ladder program that paid certain teachers more than others.

But none of that rancor was on display today. Instead, in his remarks, Alexander spent nearly all of his address essentially bashing the current and former U.S. secretaries of education for overstepping their authority.

As Washington-watchers know, Alexander has a particular beef with former Secretary Arne Duncan, who issued waivers from the NCLB law that required states to set up new teacher-evaluation regimes and adopt new academic standards.

The NEA was equally unhappy with many of those decisions, saying they were deprofessionalizing teaching and threatening teachers livelihood. The union famously called for Duncans resignation in 2014.

So, while Alexanders opposition is grounded in a local-control argument and the unions in its dislike of the tough accountability policies, the two have developed a good working relationship, resulting in several legislative wins , including ESSA.

Now, Alexander said, Because of the new law, gone are those waivers. Gone is the common-core mandate. ... Gone is Washington, D.C., telling you exactly how to evaluate teachers and whether your school is succeeding or failing.

The No Child Left Behind era is over, the Mother-May-I waiver era is over. The new law says the secretary cant put those mandates back through a federal regulation.

In actuality, ESSA has set up policy battles at the regulatory level over the specific scope of the U.S. Department of Educations authority. Those disagreements include the departments proposed new accountability rules and ideas on supplement-not-supplant , a complicated set of spending rules for federal education funds. Groups including the NEA contend some of those rules go beyond whats permitted in ESSA. (My colleagues at Politics K-12 have done a masterful job of tracking this, so check out all of their ESSA coverage .)

Alexander reassured delegates that hell take steps to make sure that the new regs accord with the text of ESSA.

In all, this award comes as a good reminder that were not merely in the post-NCLB era. Were in an era in which the very Democratic-tilting NEA is perfectly happy to work with Republicans like Alexander to advance its priorities like ESSAand is willing to buck some of its traditional allies among civil rights groups in order to do so.

Photo: U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander accepts the National Education Associations Friend of Education Award. Rick Runion/RA TODAY. Courtesy of the NEA.
On the heels of completing a combination of two of his investments  Lions Gate and Starz  Liberty Media and Liberty Global Chairman John Malone took a moment to chat on his way into the Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. He explained why it makes sense to combine the two media companies, that are both "subscale" in their spaces of film and television. "This gives them an opportunity to be bigger, more aggressive in investing in content, and to try new things," he said.

Malone said that Lions Gate's acquisition of Starz will help even out a hit-driven business and mitigate risk. "Theatrical is a tough business. You can run hot and cold. The nice thing about the combination is that it reduces volatility, creates a stronger base with more predictability, longer-term bets. And they can retain a larger interest in the creative assets they produce."

With a long history of doing deals for tax efficiency, Malone has that consideration front and center in this move as well. He said this deal has an "immediate benefit to reduce tax leakage; that's very helpful when you put as much leverage on as this deal contemplates."
Shares of BioMarin Pharmaceutical jumped more than 9 percent Thursday in early trading after a Betaville report said Swiss drugmaker Roche may be seeking to acquire it.

The deal could be in the $130 to $150 per share range, but it is not clear if a formal offer has been made or if talks have been held, sources close to the matter told Betaville. Although, one Betaville source said the drugmaker possibly approached BioMarin prior to the Brexit vote and its resulting market impact.

Speculation rose last month that the pharmaceutical company Sanofi may be seeking to acquire BioMarin. But with Sanofi raising its offer for Medivation , Sanofi would appear less likely to pursue Biomarin, Bettaville said. But the biotech company would serve as a decent backup if the Medivation deal falls through, the report suggested.

This wouldn't be the first time reports have spread that Roche is attempting to takeover BioMarin. In 2013, DealReporter said the company was lining up $15 billion in debt financing for an acquisition of the biotech company. With BioMarin on the company's plate, Roche would get a more diverse portfolio in the orphan drug business.

But Roche CEO Severin Schwan later denied the rumors saying the company was not seeking financing.

BioMarin declined to comment and Roche did not immediately respond for CNBC's request for comment.

BioMarin's stock has fallen this year, down more than 15 percent.

BMRN 2016 Chart

Shares of Roche were modestly higher on the day. Roche's stock has also fallen this year, down more than 8 percent.

ROG 2016 Chart
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China claims nearly all of the South China Sea -- a vast tract of water through which a huge chunk of global shipping passes. The Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have competing claims to parts Greg Baker | AFP | Getty Images

Control of the region is valuable because more than $5 trillion worth of global trade passes through the South China Sea each year, and China has been accused of ramping up tensions over control in recent years by building artificial islands on reefs, on which it has added airstrips and other military-style installations.

State-run broadcaster CCTV's also dedicated an entire multimedia section on its English website devoted to the issue, including explainer videos, expert interviews and commentaries. At the heart of it all is Beijing's worry that it would be perceived negatively should The Hague rules in favor of the Philippines claims, even though China insists it does not care about the decision, sometimes even stressing this point belligerently. "The Chinese do care very much, particularly the possibility that their nine-dash line claim could be ruled inconsistent with the (United Nations) Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," Bonnie Glaser, Center for Strategic and International Studies' director of the China Power Project told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Wednesday. "The fact that the Chinese are trying to rally support from every country that they can regardless of how far afield or how small, demonstrates that the Chinese do care about their reputation and image," she added.
Forget Brexit's much discussed impact on the free movement of people. Leaving the EU could impede the U.K.'s free movement of data to and from the continent, negatively impacting businesses. This stems from the U.K. and EU's potential divergence in data protection laws post-Brexit. Chris Jeffery, Head of UK IT, Telecoms and Competition at law firm Taylor Wessing, says: "The uncertainty as to whether the U.K. will be considered safe for data flows relating to citizens from the rest of Europe is causing concern, and making some companies consider whether data center capacity in mainland Europe is the safer bet."

An employee looks at financial data on computer screens, in front of a view of The Shard building, on the trading floor at Bats Europe, the European arm of Bats Global Markets Inc., in London, U.K. Jason Alden | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Antony Walker, deputy CEO of industry body techUK explains why this is significant, saying, "The U.K.'s service-based economy means that the transfer of data across borders is fundamental, affecting industries from automotives  which includes the development of driverless cars  to financial services." As it stands, the U.K. has agreed to implement the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into effect in May 2018. The primary goals of the GDPR are to allow citizens to regain control of their personal data, and cut red tape for international businesses by making rules uniform within the 28-nation bloc. Whilst businesses are currently preparing for GDPR, their work may be undone in the future. Eduardo Ustaran, a partner in global privacy and cybersecurity at Hogan Lovells, says: "EU data protection law is all about the individual's control of their own personal data. The U.K. sits somewhere between this viewpoint and that of the U.S., which is more focused on the accountability of businesses and government. I suspect that the U.K. will continue in this vein, though possibly leaning towards the U.S.' approach." Silicon Valley's technology giants like Facebook and Google must comply with GDPR and any further changes to U.K. law, though this may be less of an issue considering that these companies are likely to have the legal resources to deal with change more efficiently than their smaller counterparts. "But, there are several nuances to compliance with the new regulations, one of which is technical," explained Martin Garner of analysis firm CCS Insight. "Technology companies sometimes employ the technique of 'sharding,' which means that bits of data are spread in little slices over several data centers, possibly across regions, so that it exists both everywhere and nowhere at the same time." Garner adds: "I'm sure that the big industry players have worked out how to do this, while also complying with EU data laws  but this may be less true for some of the smaller players."

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Brexit's threat to cross-border data transfer will have a wider-reaching impact than it may initially appear, as Ustaran explains, "EU law has an extraterritorial effect, so if a U.K. business is targeting people in the EU or tracking them on the internet, it will still be subject to EU data protection law, even if the U.K. is no longer a member."

A data sharing option for a post-Brexit U.K. could resemble Privacy Shield, a pact struck between the EU and the U.S. earlier this year intended to protect European citizens from mass surveillance. This might mean that amendments may be made to the U.K.'s Investigatory Powers Bill  also known as the Snoopers' Charter  which regulates the role of British security services and police in accessing domestic citizens' data. Chatham House, in a report published this March, cast doubt on the likelihood of such a compromise, saying: "A post-Brexit U.K. would be unlikely to meet the standards required for Privacy Shield status. This would prohibit cross border data transfers between U.K. and EU." It has been argued that Brexit, in bringing about a reduction of EU red tape concerning data transfer, could provide a more business-friendly environment in the U.K. Jeffery highlights the example of the U.S., whose "largely self-regulatory approach in the online world is often cited as an element in the success of its track record in creating global social media and online businesses." But, this might not be the case. By not complying with the EU, the U.K. will inhibit its access to a primary data stream.

An American tourist stands near the Houses of Parliament the day after the majority of the British public voted to leave the European Union on June 25, 2016 in London, England. Getty Images
The End of Money Bail?

Even if you've never been arrested, you've probably heard enough to know that the first thing you probably want to happen is to get bailed out. Bail is an exchange of money for a criminal defendant's freedom pending trial. The payment is designed to ensure a defendant's appearance at subsequent trial proceedings, and can either be a pre-determined amount based on the offense or vary depending on a defendant's criminal history or the circumstances of the case.

But a case coming out of Calhoun, Georgia may be calling the money bail practice into question. The city was jailing indigent defendants accused of misdemeanors and minor ordinance violations who couldn't raise enough money to pay bail, sometimes for as long as a week. After a federal judge ruled this violates a defendant's constitutional rights, the case is headed is headed for a federal circuit court of appeals, and possibly farther. Here's what that could mean for the money bail system.

Background on Bail

As a general rule, the court can order that a person accused of crime remain in custody until their guilt has been determined, but courts also have the option of releasing criminal defendants until the time of their trial. In order to make sure released defendants actually show up for their trials, courts set a bail amount, normally refundable at the trial's conclusion. Additionally, bail is not always required -- for misdemeanors or minor offenses, courts often release defendants on their own recognizance, without setting a money bond amount.

In order to curb abuse of the bail system, the Eighth Amendment prohibits "excessive bail." But what constitutes excessive?

Maurice Walker, Walking While Intoxicated

Maurice Walker, 54 years old and disabled, was arrested in Calhoun and charged with "pedestrian under the influence." Unable to pay the city's predetermined bail amount of $160, Walker languished in jail for six days until his pro bono attorneys filed a lawsuit on his behalf. In January, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy ruled Calhoun's bail system violated the Constitution's equal protection clause and enjoined the city from continuing the practice.

"Attempting to incarcerate or to continue incarceration of an individual because of the individual's inability to pay a fine or fee is impermissible," Murphy wrote. "That is especially true where the individual being detained is a pretrial detainee who has not yet been found guilty of a crime." Calhoun appealed the ruling and now it is headed for the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

If Murphy's ruling is upheld, it could mean that courts must take a criminal defendant's ability to pay into account when setting bail, at least, and may call the entire money bail system into question. If indigent defendants can't be held solely because they cannot afford bail, then those that can afford it may not be required to pay either.

For now, however, bail remains a fact of life for criminal defendants. If you've been arrested and charged with a crime, you have options. Contact a criminal defense attorney in your area as soon as possible.

Related Resources:
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Getting fired for getting old  or never being considered for an opening in the first place  is a problem that's only going to get worse. America's workforce is getting older, and fast. By 2022, about 35 percent of the U.S. labor force will be over 50, according to AARP. That's up from 25 percent in 2002. At the same time, a stubbornly middling economic recovery continues to set old workers against younger ones, and places a target on the back of every experienced, higher-salaried employee. "Every time there's a recession, there's a pattern of age discrimination," said Patricia Barnes, author of the book "Overcoming Age Discrimination in Employment." "It is totally predictable, but Congress has done nothing," she said.

Employer tactics

While there is legislation in place protecting older workers  the Age Discrimination in Employment Act  a series of Supreme Court rulings since the law's enactment in 1967 has chipped away at those rights. Most recently, a 2009 decision eliminated so-called mixed motive cases; now plaintiffs must prove that age was the main reason for a layoff, not simply a contributing factor. "The employer can throw off all kinds of reasons for firing someone. No one is perfect," Barnes said. "Then the plaintiff has to prove those reasons aren't the real reason." Employers can try a wide variety of tactics to edge out older, generally more expensive workers. A jury in a California state court recently awarded $700,000 to a firefighter after his employer was accused of deploying "freeway therapy"  transferring older workers to far-away outposts, hoping long commutes would wear workers down so they'd retire.

I can make jokes about Dave's age and no one is going to get upset. Laurie McCann senior attorney, AARP Foundation Litigation.

Companies have ways to avoid getting older workers on the payroll in the first place, too. Browse any job posting site and you are bound to find openings that ask for "digital natives" or other code words that mean younger and cheaper. "Age discrimination is the last form of discrimination that we are willing to accept. It's not viewed as wrong or as serious as other forms of discrimination," said Laurie McCann, senior attorney with the AARP Foundation Litigation. "I can make jokes about Dave's age and no one is going to get upset," McCann said. "If someone said something about race or gender there would be consequences, but it's OK to keep asking someone when they are going to retire to spend more time with their grandchildren."

A bill that would essentially reverse the 2009 ruling and permit mixed-motive age cases  now called the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act has been introduced in Congress several times, but has never reached a vote. That leaves older workers who lose their job with a higher burden to clear in court. The seeds for today's problems were sown back in the 1960s,when Congress passed the original age discrimination bill, Barnes said. The law made discrimination of most workers over 40 illegal, but it stopped halfway. Older workers were deliberately not added to the other vulnerable classes protected by the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. That decision had many technical legal consequences, but chief among them  it's harder for plaintiffs to win high-dollar damages, so older workers have less leverage, and they can struggle to attract legal help unless they have deep pocketbooks.

Hits women harder

Despite these hurdles, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gets about 20,000 complaints every year alleging age discrimination. And there are victories for plaintiffs. Shoe retailer DSW agreed to pay $900,000 in 2014 after it was sued by the EEOC, which alleged the retailer picked older workers to fire during a reduction in force, and even fired managers who balked at firing older workers. (DSW denies the allegations.) To avoid legal problems, corporations typically offer severance packages to laid-off workers in exchange for waivers of their rights to sue. In 1990, Congress passed the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, which clarified that workers must be offered something of real value in exchange for signing waivers. Rarely do those packages provide much buffer against what happens next, however. Older workers who do lose their jobs face a host of problems trying to replace their income, and many don't. A study by the St. Louis Federal Reserve earlier this year found that jobless women over 50 are hit particularly hard  roughly half of those older unemployed women entered the ranks of the long-term unemployed in the years after the recession, compared to less than one-quarter before it.
Giant flying blimps - or airships - were all the rage in the period between the two world wars before a tragic disaster in the late-1930s involving an aircraft brought their popularity to an end.

Now the inflated flying structures are making a comeback with developments by the aerospace industry's biggest players and new challengers promising to develop airships for anything from luxury travel to transporting cargo to remote parts of the world.

And it could be just two years before airships begin to take to the skies for commercial use.

In a hangar nearly 60 miles north of London sits a 302 feet beast called the Airlander 10, which is vying to become a leader in an industry that could be worth $50 billion over the next 20 years, according to companies building these aircraft.

"What a hybrid aircraft can do is very efficiently carry a heavy load and that heavy load can basically be three things - people, cargo or it can be fuel - and it has ultra-long endurance," Chris Daniels, head of partnerships at Hybrid Air Vehicles, one of the companies developing an airship, told CNBC, explaining the appeal of the aircraft type.

The use cases are plenty, according to manufacturers, and could include transporting cargo for companies, surveillance, search and rescue missions, and even luxury travel. Daniels said that the passenger market is likely to remain small with the opportunity mainly in the enterprise space.

"The passenger market again is a very clear market but it's relatively niche - luxury tourism, experience flights, that kind of experience rather than getting from A to B," Daniels said.

Hybrid Air Vehicles sees a lot of opportunity in delivery of items to consumers in emerging markets where the infrastructure is poor, but users are increasingly connected through mobile devices.

"Mobile phones have managed to skip landlines in the developing world and we think in cargo, there will be no point putting in expensive roads or railways if there is an alternative," Daniels said.
SAN ANTONIO, July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- bioAffinity Technologies today announced that William Bauta, Ph.D., will join the company in September 2016 as Senior Vice President for Research and Development, Therapeutics. Dr. Bauta will direct the development and commercialization of targeted drugs for the treatment of multiple cancers at bioAffinitys wholly owned subsidiary, OncoSelect Therapeutics, LLC.



Dr. Bautas 25 years of experience in the discovery, development and commercialization of pharmaceuticals for oncology and a wide array of life-threatening diseases will shorten the timeframe to adapt our proprietary porphyrin-based technology to the targeted cancer therapeutics market, said bioAffinity President and CEO Maria Zannes. His expertise in the field of medicinal chemistry complements and builds upon the extraordinary caliber of our scientific team under the direction of Dr. Vivienne Rebel.

Dr. Bauta is currently the manager for medicinal and process chemistry at Southwest Research Institute where he helped develop its pharmaceuticals services and bioengineering business. Previously, he was Associate Director of science at Genzyme Corporation and held a similar position at Ilex Products, Inc., where he was responsible for the discovery, development and FDA approval of multiple therapeutics. He holds several patents and has published in more than a dozen scientific journals, including the journal Science. Dr. Bauta received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where he received fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society. His post-doctoral studies were at the University of Texas at Austin under a National Institutes of Health fellowship.

bioAffinitys porphyrin-based CyPath bio-label preferentially binds to cancer cells, giving them a distinctive fluorescence detectable by an imaging system. OncoSelect will take advantage of CyPaths unique characteristics to deliver targeted porphyrin therapeutics that will be available to partners through a variety of licensing agreements.

About bioAffinity Technologies

bioAffinity Technologies, Inc. (www.bioaffinitytech.com) is a privately held development-stage company addressing the significant unmet need for non-invasive, early-stage cancer diagnosis and treatment. The Company develops proprietary in-vitro diagnostic tests and targeted cancer therapeutics using breakthrough technology that preferentially targets cancer cells. Research and optimization of its platform technology is conducted in bioAffinity Technologies laboratories and at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio through a collaborative research agreement. The Companys platform technology will be developed to diagnose, monitor, and treat many cancers. CyPath Lung, bioAffinitys initial product, is designed to be the first successful non-invasive, early-stage lung cancer diagnostic on the market.

Contact: Maria Zannes, 505.400.9747
RESTON, Va., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STG Group, Inc. (OTCQB:STGG), a leading provider of mission-critical technology, cyber, and data solutions to the U.S. Government, announced today that Paul Fernandes, President of STG, will be retiring from the Company. In accordance with STG Groups commitment to strengthening its capable and experienced management team, Paul plans to continue as President of the Company until the end of the year, pending the appointment of a CEO.



Since the Companys completed business combination with Global Defense & National Security Systems, Inc. late last year, STG Group has made several key additions to its leadership team. These include Charles Chuck Cosgrove as Chief Financial Officer, Dale Davis as Chief Integration Officer, Gavin Long as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, Joseph Nicholas as Senior Vice President of the Cybersecurity Business and Tim Denning as Vice President of Business Development.

Chairman of the Board, Simon Lee, said, I am grateful for the substantial contributions that Paul has made to STG during his twelve years with the Company. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding the Company toward new opportunities and future growth, and we will continue our effort to advance the national security of the United States and its allies through the creative excellence of our team, our capabilities and our operations.

Mr. Fernandes added, It has been an honor to lead such a talented team during this period of change. I believe STG is among the best service and solution providers in the industry. The new leaders we have added over the last several months will provide top quality service for all of our customers and endeavor to continue to expand the Companys breadth of capabilities. I look forward to supporting the onboarding of a CEO to lead the Companys robust plans for growth.

About STG

STG Group, Inc. is a leading provider of mission-critical technology, cyber and data solutions to more than 50 US Federal Agencies. Applying decades of experience, the company works to ensure the security of the digital domain, the effectiveness of complex IT systems and the delivery of quality intelligence to decision makers. STG is a Washington Technology Top 100 Company. Visit STG at www.stg.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning STG, STGs expected financial performance, as well as STGs strategic and operational plans. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Terms such as anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predict, should, would and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Actual events or results may differ materially from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, risks relating to success in retaining or recruiting a chief executive officer, other officers, key employees or directors, the potential liquidity and trading of our securities, and the size of our addressable markets and the amount of U.S. government spending on private contractors. In addition, please refer to risks described in the Risk Factors in STGs Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and filed with the SEC. Please also refer to the other documents that STG filed with the SEC on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. The filings by STG identify and address other important factors that could cause its financial and operational results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements set forth in this press release. STG is under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results.

STG Group, Inc. Contact:Bobby Winters or Mike Anderson, Alpha IR Group929-266-6315STGG@alpha-ir.com
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., July 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperva, Inc. (NYSE:IMPV), committed to protecting business-critical data and applications in the cloud and on-premises, announced today that Westwing Home and Living, an international e-commerce company, has deployed the Imperva Incapsula service to accelerate and protect its e-commerce websites in its 14 different markets worldwide. Westwing uses the Imperva Incapsula Web Application Firewall (WAF) service to protect the data of its more than 26 million members from cybercriminals. The service also acts as a content delivery network (CDN) to keep latency low on Westwings image-heavy websites.



Having 3,600,000 monthly active members makes Westwing a visible target for attackers looking to exploit websites to steal information, perform Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks or even hold the companys data to ransom. With total revenue from its websites amounting to approximately $243 million last year, and a business model that relies on loyal customers, any of these threats could be detrimental to Westwings business.

The Imperva Incapsula WAF has given us insights into how people are trying to access our websites and exposes vulnerable areas such as those prime for cross-site scripting attacks, said Usama Dar, CTO of Westwing. This means we are able to respond to threats and patch these vulnerabilities very quickly. Imperva offers a high level of service that is competitively priced.

One of Westwings main goals for its home and living websites is to present its offering in a beautiful and inspirational way, and that means making its websites as visually beautiful and engaging as possible. Doing this requires a lot of imagery to accurately portray its large portfolio of brands. Before using Imperva Incapsula, Dar struggled to find a security solution that would not only protect the website from cyber attacks, but also allow for stable website performance which is often challenging with a highly responsive website design.

Our biggest challenge was being able to make the website beautiful while giving customers a seamless experience, said Dar. After trialing Imperva Incapsula for a few months, we quickly realized that it was the right service for us, and weve seen a 10-15 percent increase in static asset and image delivery performance. It also supports HTTP/2 which is something we didnt see with our previous CDN provider.

Assisted by the Imperva Incapsula support team, Westwing experienced a painless switch to the Imperva Incapsula service from its previous DDoS mitigation and CDN providers. The company is continuing its global operations with all of its websites being routed through the Imperva Incapsula cloud.

Imperva Incapsula WAF is ideal for e-commerce websites that handle a lot of traffic because it is fast to implement, cost-effective and offers comprehensive website protectionall while reducing latency, said Meg Bear, Senior Vice President of Cloud Services at Imperva. For online businesses experiencing international growth, the Imperva cloud service is scalable to meet these demands. When coupled with our CDN, customers get a comprehensive solution providing both website security and optimized website performance.

About Imperva

Imperva (NYSE:IMPV), is a leading provider of cyber security solutions that protect business-critical data and applications. The companys CounterBreach, SecureSphere, Incapsula and Skyfence product lines enable organizations to discover assets and risks, protect information wherever it lives  in the cloud and on-premises  and comply with regulations. The Imperva Application Defense Center, a research team comprised of some of the worlds leading experts in data and application security, continually enhances Imperva products with up-to-the-minute threat intelligence, and publishes reports that provide insight and guidance on the latest threats and how to mitigate them. Imperva is headquartered in Redwood Shores, California. Learn more: www.imperva.com, our blog, on Twitter.

 2016 Imperva, Inc. All rights reserved. Imperva, the Imperva logo, CounterBreach, Incapsula, SecureSphere and Skyfence are trademarks of Imperva, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

EDITORIAL CONTACTS:Tami CaseyImpervatami.casey@imperva.comLucy HarveyEskenzi PRimperva@eskenzipr.com
After getting a taste of life as a dockworker when he was a teenager, Tom Adams was hooked.

More than three decades later, 46-year-old Adams has climbed from earning $4.50 an hour to heading Maine Coast, the seafood distributor he founded in 2011 that generated $40 million in sales last year.

"I got a little salt in my blood and ended up staying with it," Adams said of his early education in the business, which included unloading boats, grading lobster and picking their meat.

After years working with the same company that first hired him, Adams decided to part ways with the business and sell the considerable stake he'd built in it.

While Adams declined to share an exact figure, he said the investors paid more than $1 million. As part of the deal, he signed a two-year non-compete, which prohibited him from working for a lobster company in the meantime.

During this time, he adjusted to life as a new father and began making plans to strike out on his own.
Shares of Humana dived more than 9 percent Thursday after it was reported that the U.S. Department of Justice wants to meet with the insurer regarding its plans to merge with rival Aetna .

The two companies are scheduled to meet Assistant Attorney General William Baer Friday to discuss "significant concerns" with the deal, reported trade publication MLex, citing unnamed sources.

The regulators' concerns are focused on whether the deal will limit consumer choices for Medicare Advantages health plans for the elderly, according to reports.

The Justice Department declined CNBC's request for comment on the report. A Humana spokesperson wasn't immediately available.

"We continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice on its review," an Aetna spokesman told CNBC.



"Meetings with Bill Baer are generally regarded as negative," said Ira Gorsky, an analyst at Elevation Securities, in a research note. "It may be interpreted as Aetna being unable to adequately address the staff's concerns at this point, which increases the chance of litigation."



This meeting with Baer comes two weeks after he met with rivals Anthem and Cigna about their merger plans. According to the MLex report, the DOJ's top antitrust regulator told the companies that he backed the staff's conclusion that the merger would reduce competition in the employer market, and that divestitures weren't likely to remedy those concerns. The report did not cite its source for the information.

Stifel analyst Thomas Carroll said it makes sense that Aetna and Humana are meeting with regulators, saying it is likely getting close to the end of the review process and it makes sense that they may have been asked about divestitures and are now negotiating what would be acceptable.

"The process to review Aetna-Humana is simple when compared to Anthem -Cigna ," he said, explaining that their one area of overlap is Medicare. "It's primarily one product  Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D. Market share data is readily available, so it should be much more objective."

While there has been greater concern that the Anthem-Cigna deal would be blocked, the reports cast some new worries about the Aetna-Cigna combination.

The DOJ process may be "at this binary point" where the insurance deals could be blocked, Gorsky said.

Aetna said a year ago that it planned to buy Humana for about $37 billion, in what would be the industry's largest deal ever. Recent media reports have speculated that Aetna was preparing to sell billions in assets to quiet antitrust concerns in markets where the two companies have overlap.

A proposed merger between insurers Anthem and Cigna is also under review by regulators.

Humana closed at $162.74 on Thursday. The stock has fallen nearly 9 this year.



HUM 2016 Chart
The death of another man at the hands of U.S. police has been caught on tape, according to multiple reports, with a video of the killing in Minnesota sweeping across social media platforms in the hours following the event.

The shooting of a man numerous reports identified as Philando Castile, 32, in the city of Falcon Heights on Wednesday, came just a day after the death of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.



Like Sterling's death on Tuesday, which was captured on video by a bystander, the immediate aftermath of Castile's shooting was also caught on camera - in this case, apparently live-streamed on Facebook, where it was reportedly viewed 50,000 times before being removed.

Castile's death prompted fresh anguish on Twitter, trending as Sterling's death had a day earlier.



CBS Minnesota and other news outlets reported that local police had confirmed the shooting of Castile, who later died at Hennepin County Medical Center.



Ted Haller, a reporter with Fox 9 in Minneapolis, live-streamed what he said was a press conference with police from the Minnesota town of St. Anthony, in which an unnamed officer said there was an ongoing investigation into the shooting, and that he had no further information other it had occurred during a routine traffic stop. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had been informed, the officer said.

USA Today reported that St. Anthony Police's interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the officer involved in the shooting had been with the department for five years.


Biz Lessons From Macy's Lawsuit: Let Police Stop Thieves

You are sensitive to thefts and keep an eagle eye on customers in your shop. In fact, you are becoming so good at stopping shoplifters that you almost wish you were a cop.

Well, if you are not, then you should be careful with your approach as what you are doing may not be legal. Let law enforcement handle the business of crime and punishment. Macy's department stores in New York found that out the hard way already, according to The Guardian, and it may well pay heavily yet again. Let's look at their handling of thefts and a class action lawsuit filed against them to avoid repeating their mistakes.

False Detentions

In 2014, Macy's paid fines to the state of New York, about $650,000 to settle more than a dozen complaints of profiling and false detentions in one city store. The company was targeting minority shoppers, holding them in custody in the store, charging them for alleged thefts (even when the suspects were innocent) and passing them on to police.

Now the store is being sued again because, although the practice officially ended, apparently it has actually continued. A class action lawsuit reveals that Macy's continues to arrest innocent minority shoppers, including women with hijabs whose religious headgear is searched in the store. Last week, a Manhattan judge ruled that the lawsuit could continue and said that the department store had abused power retailers have under New York's general business and obligations law.

Appropriate Theft Prevention

Business owners can briefly detain a suspected shoplifter, although exactly how much and what process to follow will be dictated by state statutes. However, there is no law that allows a business to take the law into its own hands, although some stores, like Macy's, have abused civil recovery procedures provided in the law.

Consult With Counsel

If you are concerned about safety, security, or theft prevention, talk to a lawyer about setting up a system that spots thieves and leaves stopping them to police. Get guidance.

Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).

Related Resources:
3 Biggest Supreme Court Decisions of 2016

It's been a weird year for the Supreme Court. It lost arguably its highest profile and most controversial justice in February, with the passing of Antonin Scalia. He has yet to be replaced, but functioning with just eight justices has hardly slowed the Court down.

While it passed on a few cases and four 4-4 ties left lower decisions intact, the Supreme Court did hand down some massive decisions during its October 2015 term. Here are the three biggest:

Abortion

In a decision that struck down a Texas law but will surely have reverberations nationwide, the Supreme Court ruled that restrictions on abortion clinics and doctors can't unduly burden a woman's access to abortion. Specifically, the Court said Texas laws requiring women's health facilities to meet the same building code requirements as hospitals and that abortion doctors obtain admitting privileges at a local hospital placed an undue burden on a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy.

The Texas law -- which had already forced 20 of the state's women's health clinics to close -- was struck down, and similar laws in 10 other states are presumed invalid as well.

Affirmative Action

A white college applicant claimed the University of Texas's admissions criteria, which considered an applicant's race along with a host of other factors, violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause after she was denied admission to the school. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying a school must be allowed to use racial diversity data "to scrutinize the fairness of its admissions program; to assess whether changing demographics have undermined the need for a race-conscious policy; and to identify the effects, both positive and negative, of the affirmative-action measures it deems necessary."

Racism and Criminal Trials

Although previous Supreme Court rulings said that prosecutors could not dismiss potential jurors based on race, proving such a violation was nigh impossible. In one Georgia case, the prosecution:

(1) marked the name of each black prospective juror in green highlighter on four different copies of the jury list; (2) circled the word "BLACK'' next to the "Race" question on the juror questionnaires of five black prospective jurors; (3) identified three black prospective jurors as "B#1," "B#2," and "B#3"; (4) ranked the black prospective jurors against each other in case "it comes down to having to pick one of the black jurors;" and (5) created strike lists that contradict the "race-neutral" explanation provided by the prosecution for its strike of one of the black prospective jurors.

And that, the Supreme Court ruled, does violate a defendant's Constitutional rights.

What's next for the Supreme Court is anyone's guess. (Hopefully it includes adding a ninth justice sooner rather than later.) Check back here for more Supreme Court updates.

Follow FindLaw for Consumers on Facebook and Twitter (@FindLawConsumer).

Related Resources:

The statistics are startling, particularly in light of a multiyear federal, state and local crackdown on prescription drug abuse.

Each day, at least 40 people in the U.S. die from an overdose of prescription painkillers.

Yet in 2014  the latest figures available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  health care providers wrote 245 million prescriptions for painkillers. That is nearly enough for every American adult to have a bottle of pills.

And the figures come even after several high-profile busts, like the 2010 takedown of Florida brothers Christopher and Jeffrey George, who ran what's believed to be the nation's largest pill mill operation. The business employed corrupt doctors who rubber-stamped prescriptions for thousands of addicts who paraded through their clinics every day. Those clinics dispensed some 20 million pills, meaning the Georges made $40 million in just two years.

The brothers are in prison for a raft of felony counts, including a guilty plea by Jeff George to second-degree murder involving a clinic customer who died from an overdose.

The bust was designed to send a message to those involved in the painkiller trade, says FBI Special Agent Kurt McKenzie, one of the lead investigators in the case.

"You're going to catch heat. There's going to be an investigation. If you're the doctor, you could go to jail. If you're the clinic owner, you could go to jail," he tells "American Greed."

He says the George case represented an important change in how law enforcement is tackling the issue.

"A standard practice down here had been to address the junkies. Or maybe a doctor from time to time. Nobody had addressed these types of issues as an operation of organized criminal conspiracy, until we got involved and we treated it the way we did," he says.

And yet the problem persists. McKenzie admits that law enforcement can only do so much.
The world's biggest hedge fund got hit hard to start the year.

Bridgewater Associates LP's flagship hedge fund was down 12 percent in the first half of this year, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Bridgewater's Pure Alpha fund, as it is called, is the largest fund in founder Ray Dalio's $150 billion Connecticut-based money management empire.

That marks the worst start to the year since 1995 for that portion of Bridgewater, the Journal reported, citing "people familiar with the firm," and a previous report that appeared in Institutional Investor.

But the news wasn't all bad for Dalio and Bridgewater. Elsewhere at Bridgewater, the money manager's All Weather fund was up 10 percent to start the year.
A House panel grilled FBI Director James Comey two days after he recommended against prosecuting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for an email server scandal. In the hearing, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy questioned Comey on the definition of intent and how Clinton could possibly evade punishment.

The exchange grew heated at times, with comments like this one from Gowdy: "You and I both know intent is really difficult to prove. Very rarely do defendants announce 'On this date I intend to break this criminal code section. Just to put everyone on notice, I am going to break the law on this date.'"

Here's a full transcript of the exchange:

Gowdy: Good morning, Director Comey. Secretary Clinton said she never sent or received any classified information over her private e-mail, was that true?



Comey: Our investigation found that there was classified information sent.

Gowdy: It was not true?

Comey: That's what I said.

Gowdy: OK. Well, I'm looking for a shorter answer so you and I are not here quite as long. Secretary Clinton said there was nothing marked classified on her e-mails sent or received. Was that true?

Comey: That's not true. There were a small number of portion markings on I think three of the documents.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said "I did not e-mail any classified information to anyone on my e-mail there was no classified material." That is true?

Comey: There was classified information emailed.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton used one device, was that true?

Comey: She used multiple devices during the four years of her term as Secretary of State.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said all work related emails were returned to the State Department. Was that true?

Comey: No. We found work related email, thousands, that were not returned.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said neither she or anyone else deleted work related emails from her personal account.

Comey: That's a harder one to answer. We found traces of work related emails in  on devices or in space. Whether they were deleted or when a server was changed out something happened to them, there's no doubt that the work related emails that were removed electronically from the email system.

Gowdy: Secretary Clinton said her lawyers read every one of the emails and were overly inclusive. Did her lawyers read the email content individually?

Comey: No.

Gowdy: Well, in the interest of time and because I have a plane to catch tomorrow afternoon, I'm not going to go through any more of the false statements but I am going to ask you to put on your old hat. Faults exculpatory statements are used for what?

Comey: Well, either for a substantive prosecution or evidence of intent in a criminal prosecution.

Gowdy: Exactly. Intent and consciousness of guilt, right?

Comey: That is right?
The Republicans' grilling of FBI Director James Comey over his decision to not charge Hillary Clinton with a crime is an act of desperation, former Democratic Congressman Barney Frank said Thursday.



Comey spent the day fielding questions from the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He reiterated his conclusion that Clinton did not break the law when she used her private email server while serving as secretary of state. He also insisted the FBI's recommendation was not tinged by political considerations.

Frank, also a CNBC contributor, said Comey is a very respected, impartial and Republican prosecutor.

"The fact that the Republicans have now decided to go after Director Comey is politically stupid and in fact is not going to help them very much," he said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell."

"The problem is they are lacking any kind of confidence in their own nominee."

He called Clinton's use of her personal email a terrible mistake, but noted that there was no damage to the country because of it.

"This is an indictment in search of a crime," he said.

 CNBC's Everett Rosenfeld contributed to this report.


Agriculture is one of the oldest economic activities on Earth, but robot technology may shake it up sooner than you think. Employing robots is costly, but prices are falling to become increasingly competitive with human labor, Lux Research said on Wednesday. The emerging technologies research firm said robots could increasingly be used to perform tasks like pruning grapevines, fruit picking, cultivating lettuce and moving potted plants around greenhouses. "Currently robots often aren't affordable  cost remains the most significant barrier to adoption," Lux Research analyst, Sara Olson, said. "However, the costs of many systems are coming down, while wages rise due to labor shortages in some areas, and the benefits robots bring in the form of increased accuracy and precision will start to pay off in coming years," she added.



Autonomous Tractor Corporation's Spirit discs a field. Autonomous Tractor Corporation

Robots are already in use in typically large U.S. corn plantations, where automated driving systems for tractors or combine harvesters have reached market penetration of around 10 percent.

"The gap between labor cost and Autosteer- or Edrive-assisted labor in U.S. corn farming is relatively small and will become negligible by 2020," Lux Research. In Japan, using robots to harvest strawberries is roughly cost-equivalent to human labor if the 'bots are shared between multiple farms, Lux Research said. "With strawberry-picking being slow and labor-intensive, and labor scarce and expensive  the average agricultural worker in Japan is over 70 years old  the robot is quickly likely to become the cheaper option," it said. Lux Research also forecast European lettuce-growing  a major industry on the continent  would become automated by 2028. "Automated lettuce weeding is already competitive with human labor in Europe, thanks to regulatory limitations on agrochemicals. Lettuce thinning is still accomplished manually at lower cost, but robots are likely to reach breakeven with human labor in 2028," it said.

Vision Robotics Lettuce Thinner identifies lettuce seedlings and spray unwanted plants. Vision Robotics
Even as bond yields plumb record lows, there's still big money to be made in the market, according to Evercore ISI technical analyst Rich Ross.

Ten-year and 30-yield Treasury notes have surged as yields on both have hit all-time lows this week, thanks to continued global growth concerns, central bank stimulus and further uncertainty over the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union.

Looking at the iShares 20+ Year Treasury ETF tracking long-term Treasury bonds, Ross said Wednesday on CNBC's Trading Nation that the chart has made a "cup-and-handle," which tends to be "a continuation pattern in the direction from which the trend has started."

This formation will lead to a breakout of the TLT, said Ross, as the downtrend in price has been reversed in recent months.

The TLT ETF dipped midday Wednesday, as the Federal Reserve released minutes of its last Federal Open Market Committee meeting, and rose slightly before closing at $142.56. This is substantially above a recent low of $132.23 it hit on June 23 preceding the British referendum.

The bond price will break out above the neckline of the shown pattern, said Ross.

Translation: Bond bulls should let this rally continue to steep.
Shares of the embattled Deutsche Bank are already down more than 50 percent in the last 12 months, but as fear continues to swirl around the health of Europe's economy, one trader is betting that Germany's biggest bank is due for another major dive in the coming month.

In an eyebrow-raising wager on Wednesday, someone purchased 9,000 of the August 12-strike puts for $1 each. Since each put option accounts for 100 shares of stock, this is a nearly $1 million bet that Deutsche Bank could fall below $11, or 14 percent, by August expiration.

"How low can it go is the really the question," Mike Khouw told CNBC's "Fast Money" on Wednesday. "Options [prices] are about three times as expensive as they were a year ago."

The trade factors in Deutsche Bank's earnings announcement on July 27  where investors are expecting weak data.



"[This trade] would take the market capitalization of Deutsche Bank down to about $15 billion, which is right around the 2008-2009 credit crisis lows," warned the co-founder of Optimize Advisors. "People are paying up. They obviously are thinking there's some bad news still in store for Deutsche Bank, even after the big decline we've already seen."



In the past month, Deutsche bank stock is down nearly 25 percent and, year to date, has lost nearly half its equity value.
Decision-makers in Beijing aren't buying into the threats lobbed their way by the U.S. presidential candidates. But that doesn't mean Chinese lawmakers aren't taking the elections seriously. In fact, China's views of the ongoing race may strike many Americans as familiar: Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is regularly regarded as "the devil we know," while Donald Trump is an unknown entity who's seen as having a worrying level of volatility, experts told CNBC.

A worker checks a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, May 2016. Aly Song | Reuters

They don't like (Trump's) proclamations about what he would do in terms of tariffs on Chinese goods, and that he'd go after China on economic and trade issues. But having said that, I don't think there are many who think he can follow through on what he's talking about, or even if he knows what he's talking about. Kenneth Lieberthal senior fellow emeritus, Brookings

For his part, Trump has struck a bellicose tone against Asia's largest economy, accusing China of harming the U.S. through unfair trade and currency practices. "We can't continue to allow China to rape our country  and that's what they're doing  it's the greatest theft in the history of the world," Trump said in May. Trump has vowed to take the fight to China by levying high tariffs on its goods, but many in Beijing aren't certain he'd be a bad thing for their country. "Donald Trump is a puzzlement" to Chinese officials, Lieberthal said. "They don't like his proclamations about what he would do in terms of tariffs on Chinese goods, and that he'd go after China on economic and trade issues. But having said that, I don't think there are many who think he can follow through on what he's talking about, or even if he knows what he's talking about." While Chinese leaders may have a general sense of Clinton's worldview and whose advice she takes, they're largely in the dark about Trump's personal preferences, Lieberthal explained. And Trump has his fans in China: It's well-publicized that Chinese internet groups spring up during the primary season, including "Donald Trump Super Fans Club" and "God Emperor Trump." One such account on micro-blogging site Weibo, the name of which translated to "Trump Global Fans Club," alternates between extolling his foreign policy and praising the physical attributes of his daughter.

But some of that online admiration was likely at least partially ironic. "Chinese regard Trump as a clown, funny and unscrupulous," Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, wrote in a brief op-ed in the Communist Party-controlled Global Times. Still, there's a population within China that is actively rooting for Trump because they think he'll best serve their country's interests, according to Glaser, who cited four aspects of the candidate's history and rhetoric that lead them to that conclusion. Trump has criticized U.S. alliances with Japan and Korea, suggesting that those countries should be paying for their own defense. If either of those cooperative arrangements is weakened, the argument goes, China may be able to greater assert itself in the region's geopolitics  not to mention the benefits of its local rivals suddenly forced to spend more on defense.



Under Obama, the U.S. has spent more time and money exerting influence in Asia, and many in China have come to see that focus as a threat to their own rising power. In contrast, Trump focuses his rhetoric on the Islamic State and terrorism, leading some in Beijing to conclude he may scale back Obama's pivot to Asia so he can divert assets to the Middle East.



Some in China believe that Trump, who made his name as a businessman before branching out into reality television and politics, would approach foreign policy in a "transactional" manner, according to Glaser. That idea appeals to many in China, she said, because it means everything is up for negotiation  there are no ideological red lines.



Finally, most Chinese expect Clinton to regularly bring up human rights concerns with China, but they "think they'd get a pass" on those issues under Trump. "Who has heard Donald Trump say anything about human rights?" Glaser asked. A poll in May found that more than 60 percent of mainland and overseas Chinese say they support Trump, while only about 8 percent voiced their preference for Clinton. Chinese citizens seem to "prefer Trump to Clinton. This is understandable as the latter has criticized China a number of times over the cyber security, human rights and so forth," Jia Qingguo, dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, wrote in the Global Times. "Trump, on the other hand, is a mystery to Chinese. Although he has expressed dissatisfaction with the current U.S.-China policies, he looks forward to strengthening ties with China as well."

That Trump's outspoken ways have endeared him to many in the U.S. is, to a large extent, a result of public disappointment with U.S.-style democracy. An increasing number of U.S. citizens are realizing that behind the democracy rhetoric is mainly a glib mouth. Yin Jiwu associate professor, writing in China Daily newspaper
That's according to a clause in the Silicon Valley giant's official agreement with the browser maker that CEO Marissa Mayer struck in late 2014 to become the default search engine on the well-known Firefox browser in the U.S.

Under terms of a contract that has been seen by Recode, whoever acquires Yahoo might have to pay Mozilla annual payments of $375 million through 2019 if it does not think the buyer is one it wants to work with and walks away.

It was a scenario that Mayer never thought would happen, which is why she apparently pushed through the possibly problematic deal point.

Mozilla switched to Yahoo from Google after Mayer offered a much more lucrative deal that included what potential buyers of Yahoo say is an unprecedented term to protect Mozilla in a change-of-control scenario.

According to the change-of-control term, 9.1 in the agreement, Mozilla has the right to leave the partnership if  under its sole discretion and in a certain time period  it did not deem the new partner acceptable. And if it did that, even if it struck another search deal, Yahoo is still obligated to pay out annual revenue guarantees of $375 million.

Who owns Yahoo would indeed be a big concern for Mozilla, whose business depends on a robust search partner and the payments it gets from them for making it the default option for users of Firefox. About 90 percent of its revenue was due to its Google deal, for example, which paid Mozilla an annual guarantee of $300 million.

So why did Mayer pay up so much more and give Mozilla such attractive rights, even though Yahoo's ability to monetize that search traffic was so much weaker than Google's?

Well, because she thought she could beat Google at its very best game, after years of working on search herself at the search giant. After Yahoo basically abandoned its search efforts under former CEO Carol Bartz, when it became clear that Yahoo had lost too much market share to Google and also Microsoft, Mayer felt an aggressive  and very expensive  effort was needed to get it back.

That included striking search deals with both Mozilla and Oracle to get more search volume to monetize. Mayer has also been investing enormous amounts of money and efforts into Project Index, a mobile-focused search effort that Yahoo has yet to launch.

Sources said Mayer thought she could make the Mozilla deal work better and had dreams of rolling out Yahoo search on Mozilla outside the U.S. That has not happened yet.

Mozilla welcomed the eager deal, which has been only marginally profitable for Yahoo after the payment is taken out. That's why, quite rightly, Mozilla would now want a partner committed to search, which pretty much all the possible buyers of Yahoo do not seem to be at all, or at least not on the scale envisioned by Mayer.

Those bidders  who are in their third round of offers that range from $3.5 billion to over $5 billion  include Verizon , Quicken Loans and private equity players like TPG.

To be clear, Mozilla has the right to leave and collect its money, but it might not if it is satisfied with the buyer's commitment to search. The company declined to comment on the contract due to confidentiality agreements.

But a spokesperson sent me this statement: "Each of our search partnerships is the result of a competitive process reflective of the value that Firefox brings to the ecosystem. The Yahoo relationship is no different."

Well, it is different and very good for Mozilla, so that deal point has been a new and unwelcome surprise to potential buyers of the company, many said. The remaining bidders only recently got details of search deals that Yahoo has struck. Besides Mozilla, Yahoo also has search agreements with Google and Microsoft .

"There is a lot of hair hidden at the company and the Mozilla payment could be very hairy," said one buyer. Translation: Under Mayer, Yahoo has a number of potentially costly and problematic issues, kind of akin to finding out that a fixer-upper house has extensive plumbing problems.

Along with the Mozilla deal, for example, buyers estimate that there could be up to $1 billion in stock compensation costs  money owed to employees who were loaded up with shares and options in order to entice them to stay. Mayer has handed out excessively generous deals to many top execs, such as its chief revenue officer Lisa Utzschneider.

Also at issue are whether the buyers can sell the $1 billion or more in real estate that Yahoo owns, especially given the now declining values in the commercial market in Silicon Valley.

Its patent portfolio  whose worth is an ever-moving value  will also have to be sold, adding even more uncertainty.

And whoever buys Yahoo has to also deal with SoftBank and its desire to get out of large annual payments it makes to the company, which owns a big stake in Yahoo Japan. As Recode previously reported, the Japanese telecom giant wants to end the annual payments it makes that now total around $240 million and are related to fees for branding, technology and search.

Lastly, Yahoo's core business is also declining, even as key personnel leave, such as product leader Robby Stein most recently. The company reports its latest results in about two weeks and Wall Street is not expecting much.

Hearing about the possible Mozilla costs is not going to be helpful, either.

"It's another worrisome question mark," said another buyer, who noted that such costs could be problematic over time, especially for those who have to explain them to public shareholders.

By Kara Swisher, Recode.net.

CNBC's parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Recode's parent Vox, and the companies have a content-sharing arrangement. CNBC has a content-sharing partnership with Yahoo's finance site.
Nancy Trinidad, who is 32 weeks pregnant, listens to the explanation of a doctor about how to prevent Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses at a public hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 3, 2016.

Congress must agree on a bipartisan bill to fund efforts to control the Zika virus before it adjourns for a seven-week recess next week, or risk irreparable harm to pregnant women and their babies, the White House said Thursday.

"The risk is growing every day," Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Amy Pope told reporters on a conference call. Without funding, "we know that we won't be able to begin the next phase of vaccine trials, that we cannot scale up manufacturing capacity."

President Barack Obama requested $1.9 billion in Zika funds in February to support vaccine development, as well as efforts toward better diagnostic tools and mosquito control. In April, amid congressional gridlock, the administration allocated more than $500 million of funds from its Ebola budget to fight Zika, which public health officials say cannot be a permanent solution in efforts against either disease.

In late June, the House passed a $1.1 billion bill that was then blocked by Senate Democrats, who complained of "poison pill" provisions that made it untenable.

"It had all kinds of extraneous things in there, highly partisan provisions," Senator Bill Nelson of Florida told reporters Thursday. His state is expected to be among the hardest hit by Zika in the U.S. He highlighted restrictions to Planned Parenthood and diversion of Medicaid funds for Puerto Rico as two major concerns with the bill.

"This is how the Zika crisis is being treated, as a matter of partisan politics," Nelson said.

There have been 1,133 cases of Zika in U.S. states and Washington, D.C., and 2,534 cases in U.S. territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zika is not yet spreading through mosquitoes in the continental U.S., though public health officials warn clusters of cases may arise in states including Florida and Texas, which have seen outbreaks of similar viruses, dengue and chikungunya.

Zika has been definitively linked not only to microcephaly, a birth defect that causes abnormal brain development, but also other severe brain defects, CDC Director Tom Frieden said Thursday. He said each day as many as 50 more women in Puerto Rico, which does have local Zika transmission, are becoming infected.

"This is a great concern," Frieden said. "It has a devastating effect on pregnancy."

Nelson said he wrote to Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to urge him to bring another $1.1 billion Zika funding bill, this one passed by the Senate and without the so-called poison pills, to the House for a vote.

"We are in the eleventh hour and 59th minute before Congress is gone all summer," Nelson said. "We have to get something passed."
July 6, 2016

 An upgraded Russian spacecraft lifted off on its maiden mission on Wednesday (July 6), launching a veteran Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese astronaut and an American microbiologist on a two-day journey to the space station.



Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Takuya Onishi with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA's Kate Rubins took flight on Russia's Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft at 9:36 p.m. EDT (0136 GMT), or 7:36 a.m. Thursday (July 7) at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan.



The three crewmates are scheduled to arrive at the space station just after midnight (EDT) on Saturday morning (July 9), after testing their spacecraft's modified systems during a 34-orbit rendezvous with the outpost.



Ivanishin, Onishi and Rubins will be welcomed aboard the International Space Station by Expedition 48 commander Jeff Williams with NASA and Roscosmos flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin, who have been on the orbiting laboratory since March.







The Soyuz MS-01 crew of Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, Takuya Onishi of JAXA and Kate Rubins with NASA wave before boarding their spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Ivanishin, Onishi and Rubins are scheduled to spend four months on orbit, returning home to Earth Oct. 30. Williams, Skripochka and Ovchinin will land aboard Soyuz TMA-20M in September, at which point Ivanishin will be handed over command of Expedition 49.



Soyuz MS-02, the second of the upgraded spacecraft, will launch in September bringing Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrei Borisenko of Roscosmos and Shane Kimbrough of NASA to serve on the Expedition 49 crew.



The Soyuz MS, which succeeds the earlier TMA-M model, is equipped with redundant, upgraded thrusters, additional debris shielding, redundant electrical motors for the Soyuz spacecraft's docking probe and increased power with more photovoltaic cells on its two solar array wings.



The Soyuz MS also introduces a new digital transmitter to send engineering video of the spaceship's approach to the station for docking, a new relay telemetry capability along with an upgraded automated rendezvous antenna, and an improved satellite navigation system to better calculate the spacecraft's position in space.



"We have a new space-to-ground, which allows the ground to send commands and get telemetry from the vehicle. The system relies on satellite communications and can be used for voice [transmissions] as well," Ivanishin described in an interview. Prior to the MS, the Soyuz could only contact the mission control when flying over ground stations.







Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft seen being prepared for launch. (Energia)

Over the four months they share in orbit, Ivanishin, Onishi and Rubins will help operate the station's several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical and Earth sciences. As part of that work, Rubins is slated to become the first person to sequence DNA in space.



"I think some of the most interesting pieces of equipment we have on board for research capabilities are some of the ones we are going to be doing for the first time, which is trying to sequence DNA in low Earth orbit," said Rubins in a NASA preflight interview. "It gives us a great capability for space station going forward, both for studying diseases on the planet, as well as our future exploration for Mars."



Rubins and Williams may also go outside the space station on two spacewalks, including one tentatively scheduled for August to install an international docking adapter to enable future U.S. commercial crewed vehicles to visit the station.



This is Rubins' first spaceflight since being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009. A 37-year-old microbiologist with a doctorate in cancer biology, Rubins was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2015, having attended the program as a child. She is now the 60th woman to fly into space.







The Soyuz MS-01 mission patch. (Roscosmos/spacepatches.nl)

Onishi is Japan's tenth astronaut to fly into space and the sixth to embark on a long-duration expedition on board the station. A 40-year-old former airline pilot, he was selected by JAXA in 2009 and trained with Rubins as members of NASA's 20th astronaut candidate group, "The Chumps."



Onishi and Rubins are the 545th and 546th people to enter Earth orbit in history.



Ivanishin, 47, previously spent 165 days aboard the space station as an Expedition 29/30 flight engineer in 2011-12. A veteran fighter pilot, Ivanishin joined the cosmonaut corps in 2003.



Soyuz MS is Russia's 47th Soyuz to fly to the International Space Station and the 130th to launch since the first flight of the Soyuz-class of spacecraft in 1967.
Plot Synopsis

In a foggy winter morning, a raft brings a priest to an isolated island. He is getting paid to perform a wedding ritual under very mysterious conditions. The groom is Victor Frankenstein, and the young and beautiful bride is his cousin Elizabeth. Seven armed and dangerous mercenary soldiers have been hired to protect her against something huge that hides in the woods, awaiting for that wedding night to be consummated. Victor is the only one who knows the truth about their enemy. His secret will be paid with the life of his private army, whose men will die one by one, as the creature gets closer to his target: the bride.
The Shillong Times highlighted that Zoramthanga, a former Mizo National Front (MNF) underground leader, said, The militant groups are in the process of formulating their demands to the Myanmar government for continuation of parleys and wanted to learn about the Mizo Peace Accord signed between the Indian government and the erstwhile underground MNF in 1986.

He said his meeting with the representatives of the 16 militant groups would mainly be held in Chiangmai and Bangkok in Thailand.

The former Mizoram chief minister said that the Myanmar insurgent groups have more confidence in the new civilian government than the military junta and was optimistic on the outcome of the negotiations.

The ethnic-based militant groups including Kachin, Karens, Chin, Wa, Arakan and Shan have been fighting for regional autonomy for years and a few groups recently signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in the presence of Zoramthanga and Indias National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit K. Doval.

The MNF chief had been involved in the Myanmar peace process at the invitation of the ethnic-based militant groups and the Myanmar government.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Leipard draws on leadership experience in presiding commissioner run

Leipard continues to knuckle down on public safety, economic development and infrastructure in her campaign.
Best of Business 2022: Learn Who Won Our 15th Annual Reader Poll

Local professionals chose their favorite business and professional services, products, healthcare, dining and more. Find out who their top picks are.
"Bring Your Dog to Work Day" at Archer Malmo public relations and advertising firm in Memphis.

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By Kevin McKenzie of The Commercial Appeal

The growth at Memphis public relations and advertising company Archer Malmo highlights a divergence in the fortunes of two related fields.

At Archer Malmo, the recent addition of 22 new employees has boosted the firms workforce to 205, a high mark for the 64-year-old firm.

We are fortunate to continue our strong growth, Russ Williams, chief executive officer, said in a statement released this week.

Archer Malmos media release was e-mailed to workers in a related field, in this case to reporters and editors The Commercial Appeal.

While public relations specialists are seeing strong demand for their skills, thats not the case for reporters.

The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, for May 2015, show that there were 480 public relations specialists employed in the Memphis metro area.

That compares with a total of 80 reporters and correspondents. That results in a ratio of 6 public relations specialists for every one reporter available to receive media releases.

(However, the bureau may be undercounting Memphis-area journalists. The Commercial Appeal alone employs more than 60 full-time equavilent journalists in its newsroom.)

The pay in the public relations field also outpaces that for the journalists. The median  half earn above the amount and half below it -- annual pay the BLS found for public relations specialists in the metro area was $52,320.

That compared with a median of $35,530 for reporters and correspondents.

The figures dont include managers in the fields of public relations and media.

The Pew Research Center took note of the trends in an August 2014 article. From 2004 to 2013, it noted, the number of reporters nationwide decreased by 17 percent. The number of public relations specialists grew by 22 percent.

Digital technology that allows agencies and companies to engage directly with the public has helped fuel the trend, according to Pew.

At Archer Malmo, with offices in Memphis and Austin, the digital team accounted for some hiring, but diverse titles are represented in the growth of a company that more broadly calls itself a leading independent brand communications agency.

Those titles range from PR coordinator, copywriter and digital quality assurance analyst to account executives, social media specialist, chief financial officer and broadcast project manager.

Williams said the job growth gives us the opportunity to add terrific new talent to our team and creates exciting growth opportunities for current staff.

While the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development lists advertising, public relations and related services as jobs in relatively high demand, thats not the case for those receiving media releases.

The labor market for reporters and correspondents is summed up as in decline and low demand.
July 6, 2016 - Kirk Kienzle Smith (center) works on a hip-hop song with kids from the JIFF program. JIFF, which stands for Juvenile Intervention and Faith Based Follow Up, is a four-month program mandated for repeat offenders by Juvenile Court. It is one of the nonprofits being targeted for aid by the Rotary Family and Youth Initiative, an ambitious new project to reduce juvenile delinquency by 50 percent in five years, being organized by the 39 area Rotary clubs.(Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

David Waters Columnist SHARE July 6, 2016 - Kids participating in the JIFF program bow their head in prayer before lunch. The faith-based youth mentoring program is one of the nonprofits being targeted by the Rotary Family and Youth Initiative, an ambitious new project to reduce juvenile delinquency by 50 percent in five years, being organized by the 39 area Rotary clubs.(Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

(Editor's note: Tom Wilson was misidentified in an earlier version of this column.)

The goal is absurd.

Reduce juvenile delinquency by 50 percent.

In five years.

Not just here in Shelby County but also in all counties in neighboring North Mississippi.

"It's not just ambitious, it's audacious," said Richard Graham, executive director of JIFF, Juvenile Intervention and Faith-based Follow-up.

"It's crazy, but if they are serious about it and willing to do the work, I believe it could have a big impact," said Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael.

It is the Rotary Family and Youth Initiative, an ambitious new project being organized by the 39 area Rotary clubs in this area.

Rotary? As in the local business men and women who host chicken luncheons and write checks to charity?

"It sounds impossible, I know, but we are all in," said Roy Ray, a retired Army colonel, Mississippi great-grandfather and proud Rotarian who is coming out of retirement to help lead the project.

Who better than an Army colonel to mobilize all of the public, private and nonprofit people and resources we'll need to reduce juvenile crime and violence?

What better organization than Rotary?

It's nonpartisan. It's service-oriented. It's run entirely by well-connected and influential volunteers. And it's everywhere.

Rotary International's District 6800 counts more than 2,000 members in 39 clubs  eight in Shelby County and 31 in North Mississippi.

Oh, and they are part of an organization that has saved hundreds of millions of lives around the world.

In 1984, Rotary International decided to eradicate polio. Everywhere.

It was an absurd goal.

At the time, health officials were reporting 340,000 new cases of polio every year; 125 countries were polio-endemic.

Rotary mobilized its 1.2 million members worldwide.

It coordinated efforts with the World Health Organization, the National Institutes of Health, the CDC, the Gates Foundation, and Dr. Albert Sabin, a Rotarian who invented the oral polio vaccine.

It formed PolioPlus, an NGO, to raise funds, coordinate and immunize 500 million children.

Last year, there were 17 cases reported worldwide, and only two countries have not been declared polio-free: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

There's no vaccine against poverty, trauma, fatherless homes or the countless other factors involved in juvenile crime and violence.

But local Rotary leaders are no less determined to try to eradicate it, and they figure they've got a head start.

"There are already so many good people and organizations out there now that are working on this," said Tom Wilson, Rotary's Dist. 6800 governor. "We want to find ways to coordinate and support their work. We know what works. We all need to work together."

The "50 in 5" effort is just beginning.

District Rotary leaders are forming a nonprofit that will raise money, awareness and support.

Here in Shelby County, they've met with Judge Michael, law enforcement officers and city and county officials.

"Rotary people are business people," Michael said, "and if they can rally the business community to get behind what we are doing to address juvenile delinquency, I think this effort will succeed."

They've met with local public health leaders such as Dr. Altha Stewart of the Center for Health in Justice-Involved Youth at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

"Rotary members and clubs are not the 'usual suspects' for this kind of work," Stewart said, "but they are talented, committed and willing to work alongside those of us in the trenches and I welcome their involvement."

They've met with leaders of juvenile-focused nonprofits such as Bridges and JIFF.

"The Rotary can be a powerful change agent when they mobilize their resources," Graham said. "In JIFF's case they can provide part-time jobs for youth, financial support and most importantly, they can provide one-on-one mentorship, being powerful role models for youth that desperately need love and leadership."

Children are immunized against polio one at a time.

Roy believes we can immunize children  one at a time  against the dysfunction, strife and hopelessness that is contagious in too many homes and neighborhoods, urban and rural.

Working with JIFF, Roy has been mentoring a 17-year-old repeat offender since last year.

"It has completely changed my perspective on this matter," he said.

"Relationships are what get children into trouble, and relationships are what will help them stay out of trouble."

Contact columnist David Waters at waters@commercialappeal.com.
SHARE Steve Cohen

By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal

WASHINGTON  In light of recent police shootings, Rep. Steve Cohen asked Thursday for a congressional hearing on his proposal for independent prosecutors to investigate cases of deadly police force.

"Both instances were caught on video and show white police officers killing black men," the Memphis Democrat said of the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

"This has become all too common," Cohen said. "Black lives matter."

Cohen's bill, known as the Police Training and Independent Review Act, attempts to prod states and local governments to pass laws mandating that allegations of deadly police force be handled by independent prosecutors, who would decide whether to pursue indictments. States that don't mandate independent investigations could lose 20 percent of their federal criminal justice funding.

Cohen filed the bill last year, but it has yet to receive a hearing. Cohen is seeking a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.
July 7, 2016 - Del Gill addresses Michael Pope, the Shelby County Democratic Party chairman, during a SCDP meeting at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) headquarters Thursday evening. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)

By Ryan Poe of The Commercial Appeal

The Shelby County Democratic Party voted 10-10 Thursday night against a motion to ratify chairman Michael Pope's signing of a settlement with former chairman Bryan Carson, possibly setting up a vote in August to censure Pope.

The members of the party's executive committee hotly debated parliamentary procedure for much of the raucous meeting, which lasted until late into the evening, leading some to walk out.

Del Gill, an SCDP executive committee member who was defeated by Pope in the chairmanship election June 2, circulated a resolution Thursday that said Pope overruled the committee in violation of the party's bylaws when he signed a $6,000 settlement to resolve a dispute between the party and Carson over Carson's handling of party finances as chairman.

The resolution wasn't proposed at the meeting, but Gill said he'll make the motion at the next meeting Aug. 11.

Pope said the meeting went "well," but that the vote didn't change the fact that the settlement is on the books and Carson has already paid the first of his $100-per-month payments.

"As far as the settlement, it's done," he said.

Pope was ordered to sign the settlement by state party chairwoman Mary Mancini in a June 24 letter, but didn't receive approval from the executive committee before signing it on June 27.

At the heart of the disagreement is a committee vote early this year to offer Carson a $6,000 settlement, although the settlement wasn't agreed to then. The committee voted 14-7 on June 2 to approve a resolution accusing Carson of embezzling $25,000 or more and endorsing criminal charges. Gill then filed charges with Memphis police against Carson.

Gill's resolution argues Pope didn't have the authority to settle without another vote by the executive committee, and calls for him to sign the resolution censoring him or face "disciplinary considerations."

In a letter to the executive committee Wednesday, Rep. Joe Towns Jr., on behalf of the committee he chairs in the Shelby County Democratic Legislative Caucus, said the settlement is "legally binding" and "must be adhered to in order to prevent additional negative attention and financial exposure to the local party." Towns did not immediately respond to a phone call Thursday.

Attorney Larry Pivnick, a member of the SCDP executive committee and assistant secretary of the steering committee, said in an emailed response to Towns' letter saying Carson and the party had at one time reached an agreement before the party "backed out" was "blatantly false and a total mischaracterization."

"I think (Mancini) has overstepped her authority in demanding that Michael Pope sign an agreement without the consent of the (executive committee) of the SCDP," he wrote. "If she can't honor the (executive committee), Ms. Mancini, if she has the authority, should revoke the SCDP charter, if she chooses, and sign whatever she wants, in the name of the (state party). I will not be forced to follow a course of action that is based on intentional misstatements of the facts. Shame on the Caucus for letting itself be sucker punched."

Towns also said Mancini could follow through on a threat to reorganize the SCDP if the executive committee doesn't fall in line.

"In the political climate in which we find ourselves, we cannot afford a reorganization attempt. The Presidential and Congressional races are too critical to our nation for the local party to be dysfunctional," he wrote.

Towns also said Pope should be held "harmless with respect to any impeachment action."

"His compliance in our estimation is an attempt to save the local party from further embarrassment and possible financial liability," Towns wrote.
February 27, 2016 - Presidential candidate Donald Trump talks to a huge crowd of supporters at the Millington Regional Jetport during a campaign stop as he ramps up for Super Tuesday. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal

WASHINGTON  Tennessee Republicans in Congress gave Donald Trump high marks for his meetings with GOP lawmakers Thursday and said they're committed to seeing he's elected president.

"Mr. Trump was well received by House Republican members," said Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin. "He focused on his agenda for getting the economy moving and bringing people together. There was great energy and enthusiasm in that room, and with Donald Trump at the top of the ballot, we are all ready to take on Hillary Clinton this November and hold our majorities in the House and Senate."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood, who was chosen by Trump to be a speaker at the upcoming Republican convention, described the meeting as positive.

"He took questions from many members, addressed the issues, and focused on unity and winning in November," she said.

With the Republican National Convention kicking off in Cleveland in a little more than a week, Trump made the rounds on Capitol Hill in meetings billed as a chance for lawmakers to get to know the presumptive GOP nominee for president.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Trump had "a good, hour-long visit" with senators.

"I asked him about education and national security, and I liked his answers," Alexander said. " I especially liked his commitment to make sure that as president he would implement the law fixing No Child Left Behind the way Congress wrote it and restore local control of education."

In his meeting with House Republicans, Trump spent roughly a half hour talking about policy and issues such as caring for veterans, strengthening the military and repealing and replacing Obamacare, said Rep. Scott DesJarlais of South Pittsburg.

For many lawmakers, it was their first chance to hear Trump speak in person. They responded to his remarks with several standing ovations, DesJarlais said.

"He's got this underappreciated charisma that I think will help him moving forward," said DesJarlais, who has been acting as a liaison between Trump's campaign and the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Phil Roe of Johnson City liked what he heard from Trump.

"I was very happy about his call to work together with Congress and his support of our conservative agenda," Roe said.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Ooltewah called the meeting "very productive" and said he looks forward to the upcoming convention.
January 28, 2015  Flowers, ribbon and a painted cross mark the desolate scene where 19-year-old Jessica Chambers was doused with a flammable liquid and set on fire in December 2014. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal

Quinton Tellis, the man accused of setting Jessica Chambers afire before her 2014 death in Courtland, Mississippi, is now accused of torturing another woman in Louisiana before her death.

A first-degree murder indictment in Monroe, Louisiana, alleges Tellis stole a debit card belonging to Ming-Chen Hsiao, an exchange student attending the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and then "brutally murdered her by repeatedly stabbing her and letting her body rot and decompose" until she was discovered 10 days after she was believed to have died on July 29, 2015.

The victim's body had more than 30 wounds, not all of which were meant to kill, according to the seven-page indictment.

The case is based on circumstantial evidence, according to the indictment, since the victim's apartment appeared to have been cleaned so that there was no DNA or other physical evidence. However, the indictment states, the circumstantial evidence "points to only one suspect, Quinton Tellis."

The new details of the Louisiana slaying add another dimension to the already brutal story of Chambers' death, which horrified the rural Panola County community, about 70 miles south of Memphis, during a more than yearlong investigation leading to Tellis' February indictment there.

Tellis, 27, is accused setting 19-year-old Chambers on fire on a road near her Courtland home in December 2014. She died hours later at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. A motive has not been disclosed.

Authorities served Tellis the latest indictment, released Wednesday, at the DeSoto County Jail in Hernando, where he is awaiting an initial Mississippi appearance July 15 on his capital murder charge in the Chambers case.

District Attorney John Champion, whose office will prosecute the Chambers case, said the new Louisiana indictment will not affect the timetable of the Mississippi case, which isn't expected to go to trial before spring.

However, Champion said that regardless of the outcome in the Chambers' case, Tellis will be returned to Louisiana after the Mississippi trial to serve a 10-year sentence there for his earlier guilty plea in the fraudulent use of the 34-year-old Louisiana victim's debit card.

"If he's also convicted on the murder charge there, I'm not sure where he would serve" if found guilty of murder in both states, Champion said.

In the Louisiana case, authorities say the victim, from Taiwan, was stabbed repeatedly before giving up her debit card number to an assailant.

Police questioned a man identified as Eric Hill who had dated Tellis' sister in Courtland, where Tellis knew Chambers before he moved to Louisiana in 2015. Hill said Tellis confessed as they were sharing "war stories" about their criminal past that he stabbed a woman who didn't want to give him her debit card PIN number, "so he continued to stab and cut her until she did."

"All evidence points to Quinton Tellis as being involved in (Hsiao's) death," according to the indictment. "All evidence obtained by investigators strongly implicates Quinton Tellis, and only Quinton Tellis, as being involved in the homicide of Ming-Chen Hsiao."

In the Chambers case, Champion says defense attorneys will have a mountain of evidence to pore over before the case goes to trial. His appearance in Hernando July 15, at which Tellis is expected to enter a plea, will likely be his only court appearance until motions are filed as the trial approaches.
Philando Castile, 32, was shot dead tonight after being pulled over by a Minneapolis cop for a busted tail light. His girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, captured the aftermath of the shooting via Facebook Live video. She says he was shot while reaching for his wallet to produce identification.

Her daughter, 4, is reported to have been seated in the back seat of the vehicle when the police officer shot into it, striking Castile in the arm. The victim died of his injuries within hours at Hennepin County Medical Center nearby.

In a video posted on Facebook, Ms. Reynolds says "police shot him for no apparent reason, no reason at all."

The video has since been removed from view by Facebook.

In the Facebook Live video, Lavish Reynolds prays aloud for Castile's life to be spared. Castile is "licensed to carry" and was "trying to get out his ID" and "he let the officer know he had a firearm, she says. "He was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him.  He just shot his arm off."

From the Minneapolis Star-Tribune:

The woman started the video with the man slumped next to her, his white T-shirt soaked with blood.. In the video, taken with her phone, she says they were pulled over at Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street for a broken taillight. The officer "asked him for license and registration," she says. "He told him that it was in his wallet, but he had a pistol on him because he's licensed to carry. The officer said don't move. As he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times." The video shows a uniformed police officer holding a pistol on the couple from outside the car. The officer can be heard to say, "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out." The woman says in the video that her boyfriend was shot by a Roseville police officer; in the video, several cities' squad cars are visible but it wasn't possible tell which cities they were from.

"Please don't tell me my boyfriend's gone," Reynolds says in the video. "He don't deserve this, please. He works for St. Paul Public Schools. He's never been in jail, anything. He's not a gang member, anything."

Valerie Castile, the victim's mother, told reporters that her son was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, Minnesota.

An observer, Katherine Bleth, who lives across the street, told reporters she was driving home with a friend when she saw the crime scene "right in front of me."

"Cop cars were rushing past us, we knew something was wrong," she said.

Her video of the scene is below.

Falcon Heights, MN: Cop pulled over & shot black man. Brought to hospital. Upsetting footage. Across from my apt. pic.twitter.com/fgRczvxEMK  skeletal trash lord (@skeletontrash) July 7, 2016

This baby saying "it's okay, I'm right here with you" to her mama. This shouldn't be her reality. #FalconHeightsShooting  Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) July 7, 2016

You know in your bones it's always been like this, just the technology to bear witness has changed. #FalconHeightsShooting  Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) July 7, 2016

Breaking News in Minnesota. Family pulled over and officer open fires on driver for reaching for his license. pic.twitter.com/qu6WUKRrR8  MarQuis Trill (@6BillionPeople) July 7, 2016

The sound of this little girls voice has me in tears. #FalconHeightsShooting  Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) July 7, 2016

the Facebook live video of the police shooting in Falcon Heights, MN tonight might be the most horrifying thing I've ever seen or heard  Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) July 7, 2016

Update: man shot by police in #FalconHeights died at HCMC. His mom identifies him as Philando Castile, 32 #wcco #cbs pic.twitter.com/OKxMP0VG65  Jennifer Mayerle (@jennifermayerle) July 7, 2016

So you want to be a live video platform and you remove video likely needed for investigations. Hmm  argarita (@margarita) July 7, 2016

I don't think it's a particularly political stance to oppose police extrajudicial killing without accountability  S.I. Rosenbaum (@sirosenbaum) July 7, 2016

If there was one policy that would do the most to reduce police killings, I'd bet it would be changing the US deadly force standard.  Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) July 7, 2016

My fellow journos: Stop calling it an "officer-involved shooting." Call it a "shooting by a police officer."  Adam Ragusea (@aragusea) July 7, 2016

Happened two hours ago. Shared on Facebook 129K times. No major media reporting on it yet.  Cristina Cordova (@cjc) July 7, 2016

May God rest his souland may God trouble ours. #FalconHeightsShooting https://t.co/S1QMX6YEyv  Jeff Chu (@jeffchu) July 7, 2016

Just spoke with the sister of #PhilandoCastile, the man in the #FalconHeightsShooting. She said he has died  Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) July 7, 2016

Rest In Peace, #PhilandoCastile I am so sorry for your sweet little girl. I don't know what to do. You deserve justice. You deserve to live.  Anil Dash (@anildash) July 7, 2016

Falcoln Heights, right now https://t.co/Iypi6sPZoC  Harry Siegel (@harrysiegel) July 7, 2016

1) In the interest of time, would ye noble patriots please provide a list of infractions punishable by spontaneous public execution? Thanks!  jesseWilliams. (@iJesseWilliams) July 6, 2016

Y'all she's deadpan and totally collected filming WHILE THE COP STILL HAS HIS GUN ON THEM INSIDE THE CAR.#FalconHeightsShooting  [work in progress] (@colocha_rachel) July 7, 2016

Police confirm #FalconHeightsShooting is officer-involved. St. Anthony PD. Victim is at HCMC. Woman & child were in car.  Ted Haller (@TedHallerFox9) July 7, 2016
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By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal

Mississippi health officials have confirmed a Zika virus case in DeSoto County.

The unidentified victim traveled recently to Jamaica, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. The case was one of two new Zika cases confirmed in the state, the other involving a Madison County resident who traveled to Guatemala.

Three other travel-related Zika cases were reported earlier this year, according to a Health Department release.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that can cause serious birth defects if contracted during pregnancy. Zika can cause a mild illness with symptoms including joint pain, fever, conjunctivitis and rashes. Symptoms can last for several days.

Pregnant women are strongly advised not to travel to countries where Zika is being transmitted.
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By David Ignatius

WASHINGTON  In the global revulsion at the past week's terror attacks in four Muslim countries, the United States and its allies have a new opportunity to build a unified command against the Islamic State and other extremists. But as the U.S. seeks to broaden this counterterrorism alliance, it should be careful about partnering with Russia  unless Moscow distances itself from a Syrian regime that many Sunni Muslims despise.

The savage attacks in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia should convince Muslim nations and the West that they share a common enemy in extremist groups such as the Islamic State. What they need now is a shared command-and-control structure, like what the U.S. and Britain forged in December 1941, after the shock of Pearl Harbor. Merging military and intelligence resources wasn't easy, even for long-standing partners in Washington and London. But Prime Minister Winston Churchill knew that once America had fully joined the battle, the allies' eventual victory was certain.

Similar confidence would be inspired by a command structure that truly fuses the resources of the U.S., Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan and the many other nations that have been targeted by Islamic State terrorists.

A sign of how unpopular these attacks are with Muslims is that the Islamic State isn't taking credit for the attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia  even though it's widely seen as the likely perpetrator  and that other Islamist groups are condemning the violence, especially the bombing in the holy city of Medina.

On Tuesday the SITE Intelligence Group gathered some of the online ripostes from rivals of the Islamic State. An Australian cleric named Abu Sulayman, who is a member of al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, tweeted: "The #MedinaBlast is a criminal act that Muslims must condemn." Another pro-al-Qaeda account tweeted: "If ISIS is not behind the attacks in Istanbul and Medina they should deny their involvement."

Saudi Arabia had a similar wake-up call several years after Sept. 11, 2001, when the kingdom's leaders realized that al-Qaida terrorists were targeting the House of Saud, too. That led to joint operations by the kingdom's counterterrorism service and the CIA. Monday's attacks in Medina, Jeddah and Qatif should deepen that cooperation  and draw in other Arab partners, such as Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. has a chance to hit the "restart" button with Turkey, too. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been straddling the issue  condemning the Islamic State but failing to close his border with Syria because of pique over U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish fighters. Now that Erdogan can see the jihadist dagger at his throat, he should want closer military and intelligence links with Washington. He should also think about reopening negotiations with the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, so that he's not fighting a two-front war against terror.

What about Russia? Should Moscow and Washington join forces against terrorism? On one level the answer is obviously yes. Foreign fighters have been streaming from Russia and its former republics to join the Islamic State. Two of the three attackers in Istanbul appear to have been Russians. Real cooperation would be useful, so long as it doesn't condone and reinforce Russian bad behavior.

Syria is the test case: The Russians have been asking the U.S. for months to share targeting information about Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra positions in Syria, so that Russian forces can attack the jihadists and avoid hitting groups that, in theory, are working with the U.S.

The Obama administration is debating whether to endorse such Russian-American sharing of targeting intelligence. The U.S. military, seeing aggressive Russian behavior in Europe, is wary. Administration officials who favor cooperation argue that it should come with a warning  that if Syrian forces continue bombing U.S.-backed opposition groups, the U.S. will strike back against the Syrians and take their jets out of the sky.

If Russia accepts such a real limitation on President Bashar al-Assad, then it should join the team. But if it continues unlimited support for Assad, Russia will only fuel the jihadists' rage  and complicate American efforts to build a broader, unified command.

The terrorists who struck Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad and Medina made a potentially disastrous mistake. It may not look that way, after last week's encounter with the metastasizing virus of the Islamic State. But the real goal of the jihadists has been to divide Muslims and the West. If the U.S. offers strong leadership now, it can repair that breach  and help organize a military and intelligence alliance against a common threat.

David Ignatius is a columnist for The Washington Post Writers Group. Contact him at davidignatius@washpost.com.
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By David Weigel

By now, everyone's aware that Donald Trump wandered off message Tuesday night and told an audience in Raleigh, North Carolina, that Saddam Hussein, for all his sins, "killed terrorists."

"He did that so good," the presumed GOP presidential nominee said. "They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. It was over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism. You want to be a terrorist, you go to Iraq. It's like Harvard, OK? So sad."

There were spasms of outrage, from Hillary Clinton's campaign ("Donald Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds") to the perpetually disappointed-to-hear-this House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (Hussein "was one of the 20th century's most evil people"). And in outrage mode, it was easy to ignore something Clinton spokesman Jake Sullivan said in his reaction. Trump didn't just praise Hussein. He "yet again lauded" him. Trump had used this language many, many times, with plenty of cameras pointed at him.

It all seemed curious to David Martosko, the Daily Mail reporter who has covered Trump more closely than almost anyone in this campaign year:

"Remarkable part about the Saddam thing isn't what Trump said. He's said it before. It's how media jumped on this when Hillary needed it," Martosko tweeted.

Defining "the media" so broadly rarely makes sense. It made sense Tuesday night. Trump's insistence that Hussein should have remained in power to "kill terrorists" is actually one of his most consistent lines. It clashes completely with the Washington consensus but taps into voter anger at how the Iraq War, sold as a quick-and-easy crusade against evil, destabilized the Middle East and allowed groups such as the Islamic State to form and grow.

Trump began saying this at his campaign rallies last summer. (As Buzzfeed's Andrew Kaczynski has reported, there is no record of him saying it before the 2003 invasion.) Reporters followed up; Trump repeated himself. In an October 2015 interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, long before votes were cast, Trump reiterated his view that the world was better off with Hussein in power  and using brutal peacekeeping tactics.

"Iraq used to be: No terrorism," Trump said. "He would kill the terrorists immediately. Now it's Harvard for terrorism."

Trump said this in many of the rallies that cable news played live throughout that season. If anyone missed it, he repeated it in an interview with CBS News' John Dickerson, as part of the run-up to South Carolina's primary debate.

Trump's victory in that state  and the humiliating, campaign-ending defeat of Jeb Bush  happened with the "Saddam killed terrorists" argument pretty well hashed out. Pundits who expected voters to rediscover their ardor for the Bush family  pundits including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham, R-S.C.  instead watched some of the state's most veteran-heavy communities break for Trump.

So what was different Tuesday night? Clinton's campaign said it was different. In Politico, we learn that Trump's Hussein praise "finally caught up with him" because "Hillary Clinton's campaign tore into his latest comments." NBC News notes that Trump said this at a rally with Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., which could lead to a clash and some awkward questions; otherwise, the only new thing is that "Hillary Clinton's campaign seized the opportunity to once more paint Trump as unfit for office."

And so on. The story is not that Trump argued that the United States would be better off if a dictator had been allowed to stay in power in Iraq; the story is that things are different now, because the presumptive Democratic nominee is whacking him for saying it.

The timing of the Clinton campaign's attack was telling, for two reasons. First, and most obviously, whaling on Trump gave the campaign a chance to pivot on a day when the director of the FBI held an unusual and damaging news conference saying that the Democratic candidate, whom most voters consider untrustworthy, had behaved recklessly with classified email. The media went along with this by noting the irony, and remarking that Trump stepped on what could have been a good news cycle.

Second, Trump said all of this just hours before the long-awaited release of findings from an inquiry into the United Kingdom's role in invading Iraq. The Chilcot Report has found more of what war and national security reporters found after 2003  that George W. Bush and Tony Blair were raring to invade Iraq before a real case was made for doing so. The report is particularly damning for Blair, who just six years after leaving office is a pariah, his own Labour Party led by a member of its far left who had opposed all of Blair's "modernizing" policies and opposed the war.

The point is that Trump has been saying, for quite some time, that the United States should not have gone to war in Iraq, and that it should side with dictators as long as they "kill terrorists." The Republican primary electorate endorsed that view. Clinton, as a senator and then as secretary of state, took another view, and backed the use of American power to remove both Hussein and Libya's Moammar Gaddafi. There's video of Clinton gleefully saying "We came, we saw, he died" upon learning that Gaddafi had been torn apart by his own people. This has never been treated like a gaffe; but Trump's "Saddam killed terrorists" riff suddenly is.

By consistently covering Trump's argument over time, and by following up on it, media outlets did their job to inform voters. That was why Tuesday night's collective Captain Renault moment was so strange, and so demonstrative of why many media consumers are skeptical of what they're hearing.

Instead of a debate on the facts  should Hussein have been removed? Did he "kill terrorists," in a contradiction of what Americans were told before the war? -- there was manufactured outrage, straight from a rival campaign.

David Weigel writes for The Washington Post.
If you dont trust wearable devices, then you werent being paranoid as new research proved how smartwatches and fitness trackers, which are recording your movements, can be exploited by attackers to steal your ATM PIN or password.

Yan Wang, an assistant professor of computer science at the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University, wont wear a smart watch. It knows too much, he told IEEE Spectrum.

Wang should know. When he was a graduate student at the Stevens Institute of Technology he was one of five researchers on a team lead by Yingying Chen who developed a technique which combined data from embedded sensors in wearables with an algorithm; it could crack PINS and passwords with an 80% accuracy in just one try. After three tries, they achieved a 90% accuracy.

He admitted, At the beginning, I thought this would be science fiction, but it can actually be done. There are just so many sensors on these wearable devices. It provides sufficient information of your hand movements.

Over an 11-month period, the researchers ran 5,000 key-entry tests on three key-based security systems; they determined there is a serious security breach of wearable devices in the context of divulging secret information (i.e., key entries).

By using data from accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers inside the wearable technologies regardless of a hands pose, the researchers could record a hands fine-grained movements. Then they used their Backward PIN-sequence Inference Algorithm to crack the codes with alarming accuracy. This is the first technique to reveal personal PINs using wearable devices without needing contextual clues about the keypad.

The research paper, Friend or Foe?: Your Wearable Devices Reveal Your Personal PIN, won Best Paper Award at the 11th annual Association for Computing Machinery Asia Conference on Computer and Communications Security.

Wearable devices can be exploited, Wang warned.

Attackers can reproduce the trajectories of the users hand then recover secret key entries to ATM cash machines, electronic door locks and keypad-controlled enterprise servers.

According to the Binghamton University news release, Wang added:

The threat is real, although the approach is sophisticated. There are two attacking scenarios that are achievable: internal and sniffing attacks. In an internal attack, attackers access embedded sensors in wrist-worn wearable devices through malware. The malware waits until the victim accesses a key-based security system and sends sensor data back. Then the attacker can aggregate the sensor data to determine the victim's PIN. An attacker can also place a wireless sniffer close to a key-based security system to eavesdrop sensor data from wearable devices sent via Bluetooth to the victims associated smartphones.

There are not enough robust security measures in wearables and the researchers did not come up with a solution to the problem. They suggested better encryption between wearable devices and host operating systems. They also believe developers could inject a certain type of noise to data so it cannot be used to derive fine-grained hand movements, while still being effective for fitness tracking purposes such as activity recognition or step counts.

If you dont want to give up your wearable, but you also dont want it spying on your PIN and passwords, then Wang advised moving your hand around randomly in-between key clicks when entering your PIN as that would mask the data. It may look weird, but it helps, he said. If youre just moving from key to key, we can track that.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prohibit employees from accessing pornographic or explicit websites from federal computers, unless it meets an investigative objective.

The legislation, H.R. 901, was passed on Thursday morning.

The bill, called Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act, was recommended by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to which the House had referred the legislation.

In September 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Environmental Information informed the EPA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that an employee had been viewing pornography at work. The employee was caught viewing pornography when the OIG went to investigate him at his office, and he subsequently told the OIG that he viewed pornography for an average of two to six hours a day while at work.

The employee was also found to have about 20,000 adult pornographic images on his government-issued laptop, according to a report submitted by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a Republican from Utah and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

There have been other instances of employees accessing pornography across the federal government, which are evidence for the need for action, according to the report.

The bill directs the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidelines that prohibit the access of a pornographic or other explicit website from a federal computer. It allows an exception to the prohibition if the computer is used for an investigative purpose that requires accessing a pornographic website.

The legislation banning porn might never become law, however, as it has been bundled with other legislation that the White House has threatened to veto.
The San Francisco Bay Area added 120,500 tech jobs in the last five years, for a growth rate of 61.5% percent. Major U.S. cities, generally, all saw double-digit growth in tech employment, according to a new report.

There is a fair chance that good number of San Francisco's tech workers came from the Boston area, according this study, 2016 Scoring Tech Talent by CBRE, a real estate services firm.

This report puts the nation's tech population at 4.8 million, and says tech employment has grown by about 1 million over the last five years. Of this total, 37% work for tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Apple. The balance is made up of people employed outside the tech sector, in industries such as banking and healthcare.

CBRE 2016 Scoring Tech Talent report The total tech labor pool, the five-year growth rate, the increase over five years and the concentration of tech workers in the overall labor force.

The San Francisco area has nearly 317,000 tech workers, which make up 10% of all jobs in this region. It's followed by the Washington D.C. area at 241,230 jobs, a growth rate of 24% over the last five years.

Boston was 10th on this list of top technology employment markets, with 111,290 tech workers. It had the smallest growth rate, of 13%.

But Boston also saw the largest "brain drain" of tech workers, some 17,225, according to CBRE.

What CBRE did was to look at how many technology-related degrees were produced over a five-year period, and then matched it against how many tech jobs were created in that same market, said Colin Yasukochi, the director of research and analysis at CBRE and the report's author.

Boston is producing "more degrees than jobs," said Yasukochi.

For employers, Boston ought to be a place to recruit workers as well as a place to establish an office, said Yasukochi.

Boston's talent pool is a leading reason General Electric recently announced plans to move its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston.

Some other cities that produce more technology grads than jobs include Phoenix, which saw a brain drain of 12,500 over five years. In Los Angeles, it was 11,156, and for Pittsburgh this figure was nearly 10,000.

Labor costs are the most dominant cost for tech companies, said Yasukochi. In San Francisco Bay area the average payroll cost for 250 people totaled nearly $31 million. In New York, number two on the list of most expensive cities, it was $26.5 million. But if you are willing to locate in Charlotte, N.C., the 20th most expensive city, this same 250-person payroll will cost $23 million.

The rising costs in the large markets will help the smaller markets, Yasukochi said.

The number one small tech labor market was Kansas City, Missouri, with a tech labor force at 48,500 and a five-year growth rate of 42%. It was closely followed by Charlotte, N.C., at just over 47,000, but at a growth rate of 75%.

What do Kansas City and Charlotte have in common?

Lower cost and availability of talent were factors shared by each city, said Yasukochi. But both cities have also invested in high-speed broadband networks, "which has had a major impact on stimulating technology growth" in those two markets, he said.

The Kansas City area was the first Google Fiberlocation in the nation. Charlotte is getting Google Fiber as well.
Antivirus vendor Avast Software has agreed to buy rival AVG Technologies for $1.3 billion in cash.

The deal will give Avast access to more than 400 million "endpoints," or devices running its and AVG's software, 160 million of them phones or tablets, the company said Thursday.

Avast hopes the deal will make the combined company more efficient, as well as allowing it to take advantage of new growth opportunities such as securing the internet of things.

"This combination is great for our users. We will have over 250 million PC/Mac users enabling us to gather even more threat data to improve the protection to our users," Avast CEO Vincent Stickler wrote on the company blog.

The deal will also give Avast access to AVG's Zen mobile technology for controlling the protection of all a family's devices from just one of them, he said.

The combined footprint of the two companies will also mean better technical support for SMBs, he said.

AVG is perhaps best known for its free antivirus software, available for Windows PCs, Macs and Android devices, but it also sells "Pro" versions of the same software with additional features, and a number of Internet security applications for enterprises.

Revenue from all these will be between $104 million and $106 million for the quarter to June 30, it said. That's on a par with its results over the previous four quarters. AVG will publish full results for the quarter shortly, it said.

Less than two-thirds of AVG's revenue comes from its traditional desktop security product business, and the proportion is declining. Almost one-sixth of the company's revenue comes from search advertising.

Avast is privately owned and no longer publishes its financial results.

Neither company said what would happen to their respective product ranges after the closing of the deal, which still requires approval from shareholders and regulators, but AVG CEO Gary Kovacs said it will allow the company to invest more in growing markets.

It's shake-up time in the security software market: As Avast prepares to take one company out of play, Intel may be about to put another one back in. It is said to be considering the sale of the security business it build around McAfee, which it acquired in 2011.
U.S. military officials are preventing imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning from having contact with her legal team or her friends, following unconfirmed reports that she was hospitalized after a health crisis.

Manning is serving a 35-year sentence for leaking U.S. diplomatic cables and other official documents to Wikileaks. She "has been cut off from contact with her lawyers and all other outside connections for more than 36 hours," the Guardian reports today, and the lack of contact is causing those closest to her to be very concerned for her well-being.

The imposed silence follows a series of online reports, based on unconfirmed rumors, about her medical condition. Some of those reports said Manning had attempted suicide. Some of her supporters condemn the reports as having been leaked by military personnel, in violation of her health privacy rights.

From Ed Pilkington's account in the Guardian:

The army is refusing to give details about what has happened. Persistent inquiries by the Guardian have produced only a statement from the Department of Defense that said the soldier was taken to hospital in the early hours of Tuesday and has now been returned to barracks. Officials "continue to monitor the inmate's condition", the statement said. Nancy Hollander, lead attorney in the soldier's recent appeal against her "grossly unfair" 35-year sentence, was livid that unconfirmed information about Manning's personal medical status had apparently been leaked to the media, while her legal team were being kept entirely in the dark. "We're shocked and outraged that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with private confidential medical information about Chelsea Manning yet no one at the army has given a shred of information to her legal team," she said. Hollander also complained that a privileged legal call arranged with her client on Tuesday had been cancelled on what appeared to be spurious grounds that the call "could not be connected". The army has indicated to Hollander that the earliest she will be able to speak to her client is Friday morning. "We call on the army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her wellbeing and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea's current situation," the lawyer said.

Manning is a Guardian columnist (disclosure: I am, too). In her most recent piece, she wrote about the US military's new rules allowing transgender people to serve openly in the armed forces.
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner is leaving after 11 years in the role. He won't be replaced.

Employees learned of the move Thursday in an email message from CEO Satya Nadella, in which he outlined his plans for reorganizing the company's senior leadership team.

Nadella highlighted the importance of having "one feedback loop" across the company to reinforce customer value and satisfaction. To achieve this, he said, he will more deeply integrate the sales, marketing and services group with the rest of the company, under a single senior leadership team.

That means the COO role will be divided among five senior executives.

Judson Althoff will head up Microsoft's Worldwide Commercial Business, focusing on the Enterprise and Partner Group, Public Sector, Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners, the Developer Experience team, and services.

Jean-Philippe Courtois, after years in charge of Microsoft's international business, will now take on responsibility for North American sales and marketing too, as head of Global Sales, Marketing and Operations.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela will take on responsibility for the Worldwide Marketing and Consumer Business, including the consumer channels group he previously ran, along with Microsoft Retail and the company's relationships with OEMs.

Kurt DelBene adds responsibility for IT and Operations to his role, alongside corporate strategy.

Finally, CFO Amy Hood will lead the sales, marketing and services finance team as well as the central finance team she already heads, and take control of worldwide licensing and pricing.

Althoff and Courtois will join the senior leadership team, reporting directly to Nadella. They have yet to figure out how the Worldwide Marketing and Operations team will report, given that they will share responsibility for it in future.

Nadella hinted that Microsoft's subsidiaries around the world might be granted more autonomy in the way they do business.

The world wants solutions that are local in nature, and so Microsoft must trust local teams' insight into what their customers need while giving those teams world-class, global support, he wrote.

Subsidiaries will remain financially accountable for their objectives, and will be given new capabilities and the flexibility to innovate and optimize locally in search of long-term growth, he said, inviting employees to attend a company-wide Q&A session at 8.30 a.m. Pacific Time.

As for Turner, he has landed a job as CEO of financial trader Citadel Securities, and will leave Microsoft on July 31. Many had expected him to move on after being passed over the CEO role.

Nadella credited Turner with doubling Microsoft's revenue as head of the sales team, and with driving customer satisfaction scores to "the highest in company history."
Apple today released the first public preview of macOS Sierra, this year's upgrade to the operating system formerly known as OS X.

The preview arrived a week earlier than Computerworld's forecast; that prediction was based on the span between the developer unveiling and public beta of last year's OS X El Capitan.

This was the third year straight that Apple has made previews available to the general public. The Cupertino, Calif. company restored the beta program in 2014 with OS X Yosemite after 14 years of shunning early code to non-developers.

Apple's registered developers were handed Sierra on June 13, the opening day of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). During the same keynote presentation, Apple also rebranded OS X as "macOS," a nod to the nomenclature of its more widespread iOS.

macOS Sierra weighed in at about 4.9GB when Computerworld staffers downloaded it Thursday.

If Apple follows past practice, public beta testers won't get the same builds as developers, nor on the same cadence. The tempo was relatively slow in 2014, but last year Apple accelerated to as many as three builds in one month.

Apple has not spelled out a release date for the production-grade Sierra, but in the last several years it has shipped the final in September or October. In 2015, for example, El Capitan hit the Mac App Store on Sept. 30. The fact that Sierra's preview debuted around the same July date as last year's El Capitan may mean a similar release timetable is in the offing. Or not. Because Apple does not link a Mac operating system upgrade to an event -- as it does with iOS -- it can launch Sierra whenever the code is ready, announcing it with a quick press release.

As it did in 2014 and 2015, Apple again warned testers not to spill any secrets. "Don't blog, post screen shots, tweet, or publicly post information about the public beta software, and don't discuss the public beta software with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the Apple Beta Software Program," Apple admonished in a FAQ.

The full terms published on Apple's website went even further, stating that "any information concerning the Pre-Release Software (including its nature and existence, features, functionality, and screen shots" was confidential [emphasis added].

It's odd that Apple continued to tell testers this since identically worded warnings the past two years were universally ignored.

Mac owners interested in trying Sierra must register with the beta program, then enroll their devices to download the initial preview and subsequent updates from the Mac App Store.

Apple urged them to back up their data before installing the preview, and included links in its FAQ to instructions for reverting back to the stable OS X El Capitan.
Cllr Steve Count is the Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council.

Councils across the country just like ours are the leanest public organisations in the UK. The continued pressure to make every penny count at a time of reduced finances has encouraged us to be adept at finding innovative ways to save evermore of the valuable public purse. However, there is one difference that I wish to highlight. In Cambridgeshire, the Conservatives operate with no overall control in a committee system.

When we discovered the opportunity a bonds agency could deliver, as well as deciding it would be a good thing for Cambridgeshire County Council, we had to work out how to make it happen. I would love to say that all parties jumped at the chance to move ahead as early as possible, but it doesnt work like that here. If you want a great cup of tea you have to warm the pot first, and thats how we move forward.

In other councils with a firm political mandate and a cabinet system, a decision can quickly be made and the officers will enact it. The basic premise that Cabinet members and leaders have a large degree of trust in each other moves matters forward at a pace. In our Council, officers will take proposals to a group leaders (political) meeting. There then begins a slow process of building up trust in a proposal, before moving it forwards to council. This is because not only is there mistrust as a starting point between political parties, there is also the repeated search for political advantage. In progressing the Municipal Bonds Agency (MBA), I feel we have to do a sales job twice over. Once to get it to council and once to get it over the line. Even then we will repeatedly have to re-justify a position simply because of political mistrust.

Despite all of the above and probably due to the incredible financial pressures we are under, our staunch convictions, as well as slimmed down bureaucratic barriers enabled us to be the first in what I envisage to be a steady stream of councils endorsing adoption of the MBA framework.

Like similar authorities across the UK we have tremendous pressures for areas such as schools and transport. Cambridgeshire is the fastest growing county in the country and funding of these vital projects is becoming harder as the revenue impacts of borrowing for capital programmes hit already stretched budgets. We have a roughly 1 billion capital programme over the next ten years, approximately 230 million of that will need to be funded from borrowing. Uncertainty for the future is at an all time high, so the MBA potential to provide a highly effective and potentially cheaper alternative for borrowing is something that is definitely worth pursuing.

This decision, like many others, I am glad we in the Conservative group have managed to persuade sufficient opposition members to adopt. Would I rather we had the political mandate to be even more streamlined and unfettered in decision making, yes. That is why we are working on how to regain control in 2017. Does the present system stop Cambridgeshire County Council from being effective? No, but it means we just have to work harder to achieve our aims.

Just because youre dragging an anchor behind a stricken vessel, doesnt mean you stop rowing for shore.
Daniel Hannan is an MEP for South-East England, and a journalist, author and broadcaster.

Lies! Lies! It was all based on lies! If youre reading this article, you evidently have access to the Internet. So you must be aware that, to put this as neutrally as I can, not every Remain supporter has accepted the referendum result with equanimity. Thousands have marched on Parliament to tell MPs to ignore the electorate. Millions have signed a petition demanding a rerun. The law firm Mischon de Reya has been hired to try to prevent a future Prime Minister from initiating the disengagement. Tony Blair says he wants to drag things out until people change their minds.

Reading the furious screeds on Twitter, I keep thinking of Bertolt Brechts eerie poem Die Losung:

Would it not be easier

In that case for the government

To dissolve the people

And elect another?

On what basis do Remainers deny the legitimacy of the ballot? Im sorry to put this so bluntly, but it boils down to snobbery. A bunch of dimwits and bigots, were invited to believe, were whipped up by unscrupulous demagogues.

It is precisely this patronising attitude that pushed many people into voting Leave in the first place. They were fed up with the de-haut-en-bas tone of a political class whose members often benefited personally from the EU. Every time they saw another letter from hoary-headed grandees demanding a Remain vote, they bridled.

If brow-beating didnt work before 23rd June, it isnt going to work now. In the one poll Ive seen  and, now more than ever, we should treat polls cautiously  three per cent of Leave voters had indeed succumbed to buyers remorse and switched sides. But four per cent of Remain voters had switched the other way, presumably because the terrors of the earth have failed to materialise.

Before the vote, George Osborne told us that Brexit would lead to emergency tax rises; now, he talks of slashing corporation tax. Before the vote, Barack Obama told us wed be at the back of the queue; now, he says our special relationship is as strong as ever, and Congresss Speaker, Paul Ryan, correctly points out that that a US-UK free trade deal would be easier to do than a US-EU one.

Before the vote, the French government suggested that it might send our immigration officers back across the Channel; now, it has confirmed that the current deal will remain in force. Before the vote, we were told that the stock exchange would collapse; now, we see that the only real collapse has been in Italy  the FTSE 100 has strengthened. Before the vote, Wolfgang Schauble menacingly told us that out is out, and that wed be treated like any third country; now, he says that George Osborne told him to say that, and German officials talk of the need for some kind of special status for Britain.

Of all the predictions made by Remain campaigners, only one has come true: the pound has fallen. And, frankly, not before time. The continuing weakness of the euro had made sterling a haven currency, artificially boosting its value. As in 1992 and 2008, a sharp devaluation is much needed.

People are entitled to have tantrums, obviously. But Id much rather that the many decent, patriotic voters who backed Remain now helped forge a new consensus behind a looser deal with the EU. I wrote on this site on the day of the referendum that a close vote either way would oblige the winning side to take on board the concerns of the losers. We must now do precisely that.

The top concern for Leavers was very clearly sovereignty. We promised to take back control of our money, our borders, our democracy. Those promises must be at the heart of our renegotiation. As far as I could tell  and correct me if Im wrong  the top concerns of Remainers were, first, the maintenance of our economic and commercial ties to the EU; and, second, the maintenance of various joint programmes in education and research. It surely isnt beyond the wit of man to form a negotiating position that incorporates the main concerns of the two sides.

Will the rest of the EU play ball? The early signs are good. Donald Tusk told MEPs on Tuesday that the renegotiation would be carried out by the national governments, not by the Brussels institutions. Angela Merkel plainly wants to maintain a close relationship with the UK, knowing that an ill-tempered or sudden rupture would have deleterious economic consequences on both sides of the Channel.

There are several ways to square the circle. For example, having taken back parliamentary sovereignty, the UK could agree to continue with some of its existing programmes and obligations through bilateral treaties, either open-endedly or for a guaranteed period of time.

But this is not the time to start setting out our negotiating position in full. I simply want to urge all sides to be prepared to compromise. In a perfect world, Id disapply the vast majority of the EUs directives and regulations, and seek an alternative future as a buccaneering, offshore, low-tax nation. But it may well be that, in order to accommodate the 48.1 per cent, and in order to secure the integrity of the United Kingdom, we end up keeping more of our current arrangements in place than Id ideally like.

That conversation cant begin, though, until Remain voters accept the verdict of the urns. Britain is leaving the EU. The question now is how to leave on terms that are cordial and advantageous to both sides. Come, Remainers: work with us on this.
The night before the publication of the Chilcot report, Twitter did what it does best: engaged in a silly hashtag game. Using the tag #ChilcotsLastLine, users joked about what bombshell he might use to conclude his 2.5 million word epic.

As it turned out, the right answer should have been: I told you it was worth waiting for. The report didnt pull any punches, piling criticism onto an over-confident Prime Minister, a tame Cabinet, unprepared strategists and a Government which sent troops into danger without adequate protection. Tony Blair remains defiant but, as Andrew Gimson wrote this morning, that says rather more about his character than about the inquirys conclusions.

Chilcot did his job, but I confess Im worried about the consequences. His report is a justification for those who argued intervention in Iraq was unwise and unmanageable, but it will also be used as a justification by those who argue every intervention, anywhere, ever, is a bad idea.

The two groups overlap but arent identical. Anyone who thinks Jeremy Corbyn opposed Iraq because of the specific circumstances has missed the fact he spent his career arguing against any measures against anyone whom he felt to be an anti-imperialist, which translates into honest English as anti-American. He is the proverbial stopped clock  just because he turned out to be right on Iraq should not disguise the fact he was horribly wrong many other times, such as in his opposition to action in Kosovo.

In the flood of Chilcot reporting, that fact is in danger of being missed. The report should teach us to be more sceptical, more cautious, more questioning and more insistent on proper consideration of  and preparation for  the consequences of intervention abroad. It should not be treated as a graven tablet instructing us never to try to help anyone, anywhere, ever again. We must choose whether we think Iraq is a lesson about the quality of an intervention, or about the wisdom of all intervention.

If we draw the former conclusion we will likely intervene less, but with better results when we do. If we draw the latter conclusion then many, many more people will die  shot, bombed, murdered and tortured by tyrants and genocidal killers across the world, secure in the knowledge that Britain and her allies will do no more than shrug and perhaps add a ribbon to their Facebook profiles.

To allow that to happen would be to extend, not shorten, the bloody butchers bill from Iraq.

It would also be another tragedy for which Blair would be squarely responsible. In his irresponsible eagerness to intervene then, he may yet end up deterring us from necessary and effective intervention later.

Thanks to Chilcot we now have a better appreciation of the possible consequences of action. But the weight of those millions of words must not obscure the fact that there are also consequences of inaction.

Consider what a Chilcot inquiry into our failure to prevent the Rwandan genocide would teach us. Even before a detailed investigation of the official documents and the testimony of witnesses from the time, we already know that Whitehall and Washington were warned that something awful was coming, but chose to do nothing to prevent it. John Major told Parliament that: It simply is not practicable for [the UN] to become the policeman of every part of the world.

Hundreds of thousands died as a result of that inaction  just as hundreds of thousands died as a result of poorly planned action in Iraq. It would be a horrible error to react to the latter by simply repeating the former. If we arent careful, the cause of the next international tragedy could be the aversion we learned from the last.
The central fact of this Parliament  and perhaps of the entire post-war period  is that Britain has voted for Brexit. Everything else now lives in its shadow. The budget deficit, foreign policy, social justice, deals for trade  all must be recast and reordered within the framework of a decision that 52 per cent of the British people voted for and roughly 75 per cent of MPs opposed. Getting its substance rather than its shadow through the Commons in the next few years will therefore be very hard work. But happen it must  not only because it is right, but because if it does not the mainstream parties risk a Italian-style revolt against the entire political class. Labour is already in peril of being eaten by one. The danger for the Conservatives may be more remote, but it is real.

This is the best place to start when considering the membership stage of the leadership election that lies before us. Michael Gove is out. Andrea Leadsom and Theresa May stay in. The former has less than half the votes of the latter. And the former has more than half the votes of her MP colleagues.

May has said that Brexit is Brexit. In other words, there is no difference between the two candidates in terms of their aim. Some doubt that she means it. They point to the devoted Remainers who have queued up to support her: Ken Clarke, Anna Soubry, Damian Green, and so on. It may just be that these critics are right; its far more likely that they are wrong. This is not only because May, though as capable of being tricksy as any other politician, is straighter than many of them, but because she will know the consequences of backsliding. With a majority of only a dozen or so, her Government would fall.

But either way, the plain fact now is that only May the Remainer can deliver Brexit through this Commons and Parliament. Leadsom cannot effectively do so on a base of 84 votes. A win for her in the second stage of the contest would be a Jeremy Corbyn victory  in other words, an empty one. She might command the support of party members; but she would already have been rejected by MPs, twice as many of whom would have voted for her opponent. The British political system is ultimately a Westminster-based one. Leaders must command the support of those they work with every day. This matters even more in government than in opposition, because the stakes are so much higher.

Only May now has the capacity, with the backing of MPs and hopefully Party members behind her, to cajole, wheedle, plead, threaten and charm the Remain-backing majority of Tory MPs to back a coherent Brexit plan. Most of them are already willing to do. They know a mandate from voters when they see one. That leaves a hardcore of between perhaps 15 and 50 MPs. If May would find them difficult to manage, Leadsom would find them impossible. She has had a rough old ride from the media so far, and her campaign has been rickety at best. Yesterdays strange march looked as though it was competing with Nick Boless text messages in a race to the campaigning bottom.

Leadsom may well now recover her momentum: many party members will not like seeing her trashed simply because she is a social conservative and practising Christian (though on the latter score, so is her opponent). But whatever happens during the next few weeks, she will not now have the authority to govern the Conservative Parliamentary Party. Some Party members will doubtless insist that it is their decision, thank you very much, and that if they want Leadsom, then Tory MPs must put up with it. It is their right to do so, and one this site unflichingly supports  and campaigns for. None the less, what one has a right to do is not always what its right to do.

Never was this more applicable than now. The voluntary party will not be making a choice, as it has done for the last four leadership elections, in the comfort of opposition, knowing that the new leader has time to play himself in. The circumstances are unique. The Conservative Party has held leadership elections in government before. But never has it done so with a Prime Minister retiring from office. His replacement will come to office at a supreme national moment. This would have been a daunting challenge at the best of times for a candidate who has never been a member of Cabinet. With less than half the votes of her opponent, it looks impossible for Leadsom to meet.

This is not to say that she should withdraw from the contest. In 2005, David Davis saw through the membership stage of the leadership contest knowing that he would lose, but thereby honouring the members right to have their say. Leadsom is not quite in that position now. Our recent survey and a YouGov poll suggested that she is picking up support. But even if she and her team believe that victory is impossible, we urge them to campaign on for the Partys and, more importantly, the countrys sake. If the Remain-backing May is to be the next Party leader, she needs the legitimacy that can only come from winning a full leadership contest fair and square  a point she grasps very well.

She will also, if victorious, be Prime Minister. This is an awesome responsibility at the best of times. At these, not the worst of them but certainly the most dramatic, the scale of the challenge is scarcely comprehensible: bigger than that which faced Margaret Thatcher in 1979, almost as great as that which faced Attlee in 1945  or Churchill six years earlier. Her Tory critics believe that she simply isnt up to the task: they portray her as a timid bureaucrat, unwilling to delegate, imprisoned by conventional thinking, politically correct. This is not ConservativeHomes experience. Certainly, we have disagreed with her often  most notably over the European Arrest Warrant.

But we have seen at first-hand her frustration with EU migration, the honourable if cunning way in which she conducted herself during the referendum campaign, her toiling work on police reform, her dogged pursuit of Abu Qatada, her careful but solid approach to counter-extremism, the passion with which she has tackled human trafficking: above all, her willingness to probe a problem from first principles, rather than ask how it can best be spun for the cameras and the prints. The daughter of a vicar, with a sense of duty etched into her bones, May is a classic public servant.

In the very week in which Chilcot has judged Blair in the court of public opinion, and found him wanting, May has topped the MPs ballot in this leadership election. It is a sign of the times  an indication that the Blair era is finally coming to an end, in a flash of gunpowder and a whiff of sulphur.

For just as Tony Blair was raised in the shadow of Thatcher, so David Cameron and George Osborne were raised in the shadow of Blair. In terms of style though certainly not of substance, they have indeed been the heirs of Blair: there has been a focus on presentation  a continuum of the man that the Chancellor is reputed to call the Master. New times are upon us. Cameron is going, Osborne should do, Boris is gone (for the time being) and now Michael Gove, with his brilliant gifts, is out. He delivered grown-up government alongside May during the coalition years. We have reason to hope that we are on the verge of more.

While Labour has yet to trouble the scorers, the Conservatives are about to give Britain its second woman Prime Minister. Those wicked, reactionary, effing Tories have done it again. Disraeli, the first Jewish Prime Minister. Thatcher, the first woman Prime Minister. Now a choice of two women  May or Leadsom. The latters time may come. But it is not now. For the sake of Britain and Brexit, for a manageable Commons and the countrys future  not to mention restoring orderly government as soon as possible  we hope that Party members vote for the former.
Neal Gershenfeld, founder of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, has been talking about making digital things physical and physical things digital longer than almost anyone, and his books  notably FAB: The Coming Revolution on Your Desktop  are visionary and inspirational ways to think about how information technology has changed our species' relationship with the universe; while the Fab Labs he helped invent represent the best and most thoughtful way that a makerspace can be built to suit local community needs.



In a wide-ranging manifesto dictated to Edge, Gershenfeld lays out a clear and exciting summary of his vision for the world, and his way of understanding how the foundational ideas about computer science and information theory are playing out in new domains.





Gershenfeld starts with Claude Shannon, the subject of James Gleick's tour-de-force book The Information, who created the discipline of "information theory," and pinned down what "digital" delivers to communications. Beginning with his MIT PhD thesis and continuing through his professional career in industry and academe, Shannon championed the idea that digital systems allow for precise transmission and processing of information with imprecise instruments. Transmit an analog voice over a faulty analog line and you'll just get noise at the other end  but digitize the voice and send it over a digital network (albeit one built atop those same dirty analog lines) and information processing can extract the signal and reproduce it faithfully at the other end, so long as even the tiniest bit of data can be transmitted and received.

Gershenfeld applies this to physical manufacturing, and argues that, when we bring the scale down far enough, we end up with building-blocks that are like bits in that they are fault-tolerant, self-correcting, and reusable. This insight has got his lab into a number of interesting lines of research, from fabricating microprocessors to knitting jumbo-jets out of linked loops of carbon fiber to "machines that are like robotic ribosomes that link discrete parts to build geological scale features to make landscape" and creating space-based fablabs that will allow future technological civilizations to bootstrap themselves from the most basic components.

The essay explores some of the implications of this worldview for economics and pedagogy. Gershenfeld sees digital fabrication as a renaissance for the "liberal arts" ("liberal for liberation, humanism, the trivium and the quadrivium a path to liberation, [a] means of expression"), by recognizing that "3D printing, micromachining, and microcontroller programming are as expressive as painting paintings or writing sonnets," and by giving people access to these tools, "[w]e can finally fix that boundary between art and artisans."

Which brings him around to education. He's skeptical of MOOCs, because a million people sitting at screens is "just not education as I understand itit's like time sharing" on old mainframes. Instead of this, his MIT classes through Fab Academy spill out into the world as an "educational network" with "peers in workgroups, with mentors, surrounded by machines in labs locally, [connected] globally by video and content sharing."

Gershenfeld sees this radical reimagining of fabrication, information processing, economics and education as a path to a better, more engaged, fairer future. It's an inspiring vision.

To rewind now, you can send something to Shenzhen and mass manufacture it. There's a more interesting thing you can do, which is you go to market by shipping data and you produce it on demand locally, and so you produce it all around the world. There's a parallel with HP and inkjet printing. HP's inkjet division is in Corvallis, Oregon because they had to hide from Palo Alto because they were told that inkjet printing would never scale, it would never be fast enough. But their point was a lot of printers producing beautiful pages slowly scales if all the pages are different. In the same sense it scales to fabricate globally by doing it locally, not by shipping the products but shipping the data. What is work? For the average personnot the people who write for Edge, but just an average person workingyou leave home to go to a place you'd rather not be, doing a repetitive operation you'd rather not do, making something designed by somebody you don't know for somebody you'll never see, to get money to then go home and buy something. But what if you could skip that and just make the thing? Vicente Guallart was a colleague who started the first fab lab in Barcelona. He's now the city architect, the planner of the future of Barcelona. He's putting fab labs in every district in the city as part of the urban infrastructure. There, they consider IKEA the enemy because IKEA defines your taste. Far away they make furniture and flat pack it and send it to a big box store. Great design sense in Barcelona, but 50 percent youth unemployment. A whole generation can't work. Limited jobs. But ships come in from the harbor, you buy stuff in a big box store. And then after a while, trucks go off to a trash dump. They describe it as products in, trash out. Ships come in with products, trash goes out. What they want to do is what they call DIDO: data in, data out. The bits come and go, globally connected for knowledge, but the atoms stay in the city. The idea is you have fab labs in every district in the city, then when you want furniture or consumer goods or all of that, instead of working to get money to buy products made somewhere else, you can make them locally. You might pay somebody else to make it, or you might do it, but it all stays there. The cities provide electricity and light and sewers. Now it's this new notion of infrastructure if they provide the means to make stuff as part of the infrastructure of the city. In Barcelona's case, the attraction is whether or not you make anything any different from what you're buying today, it means you can make many of the things you consume directly rather than this very odd remote economic loop.

Digital Reality:

A Conversation with Neil Gershenfeld [1.23.15] [Edge]

(via 4 Short Links)





(Image: Claude Shannon graffiti, Thierry Ehrmann, CC-BY)
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In a move which is being described as a massive effort to bail out top private telecom giants, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea, Tata and Aircel, the Government of India has set aside a crucial Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) finding which talked of understatement/underreporting of income by them to the tune of Rs 46,045.75 crore. CAG's finding was for four years, 2006-07 to 2009-10, when the UPA ruled, and said that as a result "understatement/underreporting" an amount of Rs 12,488.93 crore had remained unrecovered by the government. This did not include penalty and other relevant taxes.Setting aside CAG's findings, facts have been brought to light suggesting that the Modi government has opted out of the CAG finding, even as setting up alternative re-evaluation of these companies through chartered accountants, who are empaneled with it.Calling it a major scam, the Congress, in a statement issued by its spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil, said, because of the failure to recover the amount at a time when the six telecom companies have considerably increased their business, consumer base and income, the total amount unrecovered over the last five years  2010-11 to 2015-16  would have crossed Rs 45,000 crore.The allegation, which comes ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning on July 18, calls this as a clear example of how the Narendra Modi government is aiming to help crony capitalists, even if it means a huge loss to government coffers.The Congress called this as yet another NDA scam following Lalit Modigate, Vyapam Scam, Chhattisgarh PDS Scam, Gujarat GSPC Scam, Vijay Mallya escapade, Gir Lion Sanctuary Land Allotment Scam, Chhattisgarh Priyadarshni Bank Scam, Panama Papers Scam, and Fair and Lovely Black Money Amnesty Scam.Gohil said in his statement said, To get a sense of the amount, it is more than the amount the Central government spends on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), drought relief or farmer welfare.Surreptitious step being taken by Modi government to protect the interest of six leading Telecom Companies by helping them avoid the payment of charges rightfully owed to public exchequer is glaringly apparent, the statement said.The statement claimed, CAG initiated an audit of the six telecom companies for four years at the instructions of the Congress-led UPA government. It specifically looked at underreporting of income and non-uniform method of accounting adopted by various telecom companies and consequent lack of obligation to pay outstanding licence fee and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC).This audit by CAG was stalled/delayed due to a challenge before the courts regarding jurisdiction of CAG to audit accounts of private telecom companies, the statemnet said, adding, The Supreme Court transferred all the matters before it and rejected the claims of telecom companies vide judgment dated April 17, 2014 and permitted CAG to audit the accounts.Pointing out that the CAG report, submitted to the NDA government on March 11, 2016, the statement said, the Modi government has now adopted the methodology of inordinately delaying the process of recovery, adding, it has, in fact, decided to write off the unrecovered amount entirely.
The National Rifle Association has been silent after Wednesday's police killing of Philando Castile, a 32 year old black man who had a conceal carry gun license, and whose legal right to that weapon played a key role in his death.

"He's licensed, he's carrying, so he's licensed to carry," said Castile's girlfriend, Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, streaming a now infamous Facebook Live video just after the Minnesota cop shot Castile 5 times.

"He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."

At Fusion, Daniel Rivero writes:

On Thursday, I called the NRA and asked if it had issued, or planned on issuing, any comment about his death. The woman who picked up the phone told me that they "might not put out any statement" about the matter. What does that tell you?

What does it tell us? That the Second Amendment has never really been meant for black people. Rivero continues:

Evidence of this can be found even before America was officially a country. The first gun control law in the territory that is now the United States was passed in Virginia in 1640. It explicitly banned black people from owning guns, even if they were not slaves. Over 200 years later, in 1857, the specter of black people with guns was a key factor in the notorious Dred Scott case. Scott was attempting to gain his citizenship and all the rights that came with it, but the court infamously ruled that "a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves," were not "intended to be included in the general words used in [the Constitution]."

The Second Amendment was never meant for black people [fusion]

The 4 year-old girl, comforting her mom. The mom who's been handcuffed by her boyfriend's murderer. I can't sleep. #FalconHeights  Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) July 7, 2016

What kind of man was killed by that police officer, for "absolutely no reason at all"? A good man.

Castile, who was known by friends as Phil, was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in Saint Paul, Minn., where he memorized the names of the 500 children he served every day  along with their food allergies, his former coworker said. "He remembered their names. He remembered who couldn't have milk. He knew what they could have to eat and what they couldn't," Joan Edman, a recently retired paraprofessional at the school, told TIME. "This was a real guy. He made a real contribution. Yes, black lives matter. But this man mattered."

Previously on Boing Boing: Philando Castile shot dead by police on camera "for no reason at all"

July 6. #PhilandroCastile, shot 4X in front of his wife and child for trying to pull out his ID like he was asked pic.twitter.com/qHhQiYJvWW  #BlackLivesMatter (@BlackLMCampaign) July 7, 2016

Pastor to MN Gov. on #PhilandoCastile: "We are tired of our children being murdered." https://t.co/FChXYrmPgt https://t.co/Lcv1ZtdVFh  ABC News (@ABC) July 7, 2016

Artist Wilder Schmaltz (@schmaltz0) responds to the fatal shooting of #PhilandoCastile with a powerful illustration. pic.twitter.com/73PBxeG38w  AJ+ (@ajplus) July 7, 2016

March tonight 5pm at JJ Hill Montessori 998 Selby in St. Paul, sponsored by the parents there. #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/QV7rEXkqCk  Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) July 7, 2016

The NRA had A LOT to say about George Zimmerman but are now silent about #PhilandoCastile who also legally owned a gun. Cowards.  Baby Noivern (@DreaAlGhul) July 7, 2016
If you asked 100 Indianapolis residents to point out Evansville on a map, how many could do it?

Zero. That's because you gave them a map of Zimbabwe. But if you offered them a map of Indiana, they may not do much better.

Tucked in Indiana's shoe, Evansville is banished from the state's political center. Only two past governors  Robert D. Orr and sentient Santa beard Conrad Baker  boast Evansville ties, and neither are city natives.

I understand the exclusion. We're far-flung. One of several 'Villes dotting the southern portion of the state. And while we're third in population (first in smiles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), we've never had much pull in the capital.

Lloyd Winnecke could change that.

With Gov. Mike Pence closing in on a move to Trump Tower, where he'll wear footie pajamas and share a set of bunkbeds with Chris Christie, the mayor's name has materialized on a list of Republicans who could take Pence's place. Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, former Indy mayor Greg Ballard and canned-food aficionado Todd Rokita top the list, but there's Winnecke loitering in the shadows: a successful, moderate Republican with an eye for ambitious projects and a closet stuffed with 80,000 charcoal suits.

Let's say our boy Lloyd pulls off the upset. What would a Winnecke governorship look like? Some pros/cons:

Pro: The region would have a strong advocate in the governor's mansion.

Con: That advocate would have zero experience navigating a state legislature. Sure Mayor Winnecke lobbies state lawmakers on behalf of the city, but that's nothing compared to the daily statehouse slog.

Even a Republican supermajority brings no promise of success. Just look at the relationship between Pence and Brian Bosma, the House speaker. Bosma treats him like a rented Pontiac.

Pro: Hotels for everyone!

Con: His successor.

Evansville politics are like chemistry or Thanksgiving small talk with your racist uncle. One false move could lead to an explosion.

Recall if you will the dystopian young-adult novel that used to serve as our City Council. Given a mayor who doesn't fit in with the current crop's #StrongCity head-nodding, it wouldn't take much for chaos to return to the chambers.

According to statute, the city controller would assume mayoral duties until a local GOP caucus chose an official successor. That means Russ Lloyd Jr. And while he's a former mayor who could jump into the job, he's also been the face of the many financial criticisms that have been lobbed at the Winnecke administration over the past few years  criticisms that may resurface if "Gov. Winnecke" becomes a reality.

Note to the hypothetical Republican caucus: I'm a registered member of the Freak Power Party, so my vote doesn't count. But if you're looking for suggestions my vote goes, as always, to mute USI mascot Archibald Eagle.

Pro: He's not Mike Pence.

Unless he's been sheltering a secretive far-right agenda for the past five years, Winnecke would likely avoid the culture wars Pence has charged into like MacArthur loaded on speed. No controversial abortion laws. No non-enforceable ban on Syrian refugees. No calls for Indiana boycotts from charismatic "Star Trek" alums.

Con: He's not Mike Pence.

I've woken up every morning for the past four years knowing one thing for certain: I'm going to get mad at Mike Pence today. If Mikey decamps to the vice-presidency, where he'll be sealed in a bunker under Washington with the skeletal remains of Spiro Agnew, who will anger me now?

(Looks around. Sees every other living U.S. politician.)

Nevermind. I'll be fine.

Contact Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com or follow him on Twitter @JonAdamWebb
Lavish Reynolds posted a Facebook Live video from a car after police in Minnesota shot her boyfriend. He later died. Reynolds lives in Indianapolis, according to her profile.

By Vic Ryckaert, USA TODAY NETWORK, IndyStar

A one-time Indianapolis woman live-streamed video of her boyfriend who was shot by police in Minnesota Wednesday.

Lavish Reynolds posted video from inside of a car right after a police officer shot her boyfriend. The Facebook Live video is graphic in nature and has explicit language.

In the Facebook Live video, Reynolds said police pulled over her boyfriend for a broken tail light and that her boyfriend told the officer he was carrying a licensed gun.

He was reaching for his identification, Reynolds said, when the officer shot him in the abdomen.

Reynolds narrates the video while her boyfriend appears unconscious next to her in the car. His white t-shirt is stained with blood.

A police officer holding a gun on the man says, "I told him not to reach for it!"

"You told him to get his ID, sir. His driver's license," Reynolds replies.

Reynolds, according to her Facebook profile, lives in Indianapolis. However, she has been in St. Paul, Minn. since at least June 30 according to her Facebook posts.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune this morning identified the man in the video as Philando Castile of St. Paul. A relative told the paper that Castile, 32, died at 9:37 p.m. Wednesday at the Hennepin County Medical Center.

The video shows Reynolds realizing that Castile has died and then she follows police orders to get out of the car.
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By Staff Report

A Spencer County couple is dead after an apparent murder-suicide, police say.

William A. Lamar, 74, and Martha E. Lamar, 68, were found dead in their Dale home Tuesday night, according to a news release from Indiana State Police. Acquaintances of the couple asked Spencer County Sheriff's deputies to check on them, and after no one answered the door, deputies entered the home.

They found William Lamar dead in the living room and Martha Lamar dead in the kitchen, according to the release.

State police called to the scene reportedly found a handgun next to Martha Lamar. Both had suffered gunshot wounds, but police believe Martha shot and killed William before turning the gun on herself, the release states. Investigators believe the couple died on or around June 29.

Investigators consider the case closed.
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By Morgan Watkins And Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY NETWORK Louisville Courier-Journal

Targeting a police officer would be a hate crime in Kentucky next year if so-called "Blue Lives Matter" legislation is approved.

State Rep. Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville, is introducing a bill that would make police officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel a protected class under Kentucky's hate-crime law, which already includes protections for race, color, religion, sexual orientation and national origin.

If the measure passes, Kentucky could become the second state to add police officers to its hate-crime law. Louisiana became the first when its Democratic governor signed similar legislation into law in May.

Bratcher said he included emergency personnel in the state's hate-crime proposal in response to attacks against law enforcement in Kentucky and around the country. Being a police officer is just as much part of a person's identity as race, religion or sexual orientation, he said.

"If you're going to be a police officer and someone attacks you, the criminal should get the full brunt of the law and this will make that happen," he said.

But Amber Duke, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, pointed out that state law already includes enhanced penalties for anyone who assaults a first responder. Killing a police officer in the line of duty is a capital crime in Kentucky.

Adding a profession as a protected class would change the nature of hate-crime laws and could "potentially dilute these important protections," Duke warned.

A person's vocation is much more mutable than their race or religion, she said, and crimes committed against first responders specifically because of their profession are almost nonexistent.

The ACLU believes the focus should be on addressing real, pressing problems that affect poor communities across the commonwealth, she said.

"Folks in the Black Lives Matter movement have been working very hard to overturn and challenge laws that protect police from being held accountable when they act improperly," she said.

Bratcher said he pulled an earlier draft of the "Blue Lives Matter" bill a couple of weeks ago to add in provisions for firefighters. He submitted the updated version this week but said he doesn't want it to become part of the growing national debate on police reform.

He said his legislation isn't an attempt to give law enforcement officers cover for improper actions or a criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"As much as anything, I want the police officers and first responders to know that the community is behind them," Bratcher said. "And when we call them, we expect people to give them the proper respect that they deserve."

The General Assembly reconvenes for a 30-day session in January.
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By Madeline Buckley, IndyStar / USA TODAY Network

Facebook is a crime-fighting tool for police, law enforcement officials say, with most local departments active on Facebook, inviting public comments and tips.

With a social media page, however, those departments also are providing a forum that opens them up to complaints and criticism.

That begs the question: Can the police police their own Facebook accounts?

The issue is at the center of a lawsuit filed last week by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana that alleges the Beech Grove Police Department removed critical comments from the department's Facebook page.

Craig Wiley, city attorney for Beech Grove, says he believes the city has a "constitutional basis" to move forward and defend itself against the lawsuit, though he said they're negotiating with the ACLU because of the cost of litigation. Experts disagree, saying that if a government agency creates a social media page that allows public comment, officials cannot remove comments solely because they are critical.

"There's no requirement that they create this page, but once they create it and open it up for public comment, they can't discriminate based on the comment," said David Orentlicher, a constitutional law professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.

A number of city and police officials reached by IndyStar on Wednesday say they do not remove comments from an official city page unless the comment is profane or violent.

"Anyone can comment on our Facebook page," said Greenwood Police Assistant Chief Matthew Fillenwarth. "We don't remove anything from it."

Gov. Mike Pence was hotly criticized in 2013, when IndyStar reported that constituents suspected their comments were deleted from the governor's official Facebook page because they were critical of Pence and his views on gay marriage. Pence later apologized.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard was similarly blasted last year when citizens complained that their critical comments were deleted from his Facebook page. In Brainard's case, the Facebook page was for his re-election campaign and therefore under his own control. But a government Facebook page is different and should be considered a public forum, experts and city officials say.

In Fishers, all city Facebook pages are considered to be a taxpayer medium, said Autumn Gasior, director of public relations for the city.

"Believe me, you can go to just about any post on our Facebook page and see (criticism)," Gasior said. "We do get a lot of bad, but we get a lot of good, too, and take the good with the bad."

An exception, though, Orentlicher said, is if a comment is inappropriate.

"If they were just removing obscenities  that's OK," he said. "If the only offensive messages they remove are critical, and they overlook the ones that are positive, that would be a problem."

In the case of Beech Grove, the ACLU is suing the department on behalf of two women who say they simply posted critical comments, but nothing inappropriate.

The Beech Grove residents, Kymberly Quick and Deborah Mays-Miller, say the department not only deleted their comments, but blocked them from posting on the page in the future, according to the suit. One of Quick's posts that the department deleted questioned whether police and city officials were posting accurate crime statistics.

In response to the lawsuit, the Beech Grove Police Department shut down its Facebook page entirely on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, we will be losing a most effective tool for sharing information with the citizens of Beech Grove," the department's final post said, citing advice from legal counsel as the reason for taking the account down.

Wiley, Beech Grove's city attorney, said the city will work with the ACLU with the hope of eventually reinstating the page, perhaps in a form that does not allow public comment.

Other local police officials reiterated the usefulness of Facebook in receiving tips from the public and getting important news bulletins out, such as crime alerts and missing persons posters. Some, though, said it's a tough balance to strike in weighing posts they deem offensive versus others' right to free speech.

"We try to put things on there that make the public aware of certain events," Cumberland Police Chief Mike Crooke said. "We try to avoid anything we can do that would be controversial."
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In the best of all possible worlds, the U.S. presidential election would feature a pair of candidates who don't engage in juvenile insults or racially charged rhetoric, don't provoke the Federal Bureau of Investigation to offer proof of serial dishonesty and have no history of bankruptcy or complicity in White House scandals.

Ideally, these two nominees would distinguish themselves with their integrity, coherent policy views and ability to address important issues in fresh, substantive and truthful ways.

Millions of Americans have been queasy contemplating the choice of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

You may think voters are never happy with their options  was anyone thrilled by John Kerry vs. George W. Bush in 2004?  but this year is notably worse than the norm.

The sorry arc of Trump's bloviation, and now the FBI's detailed demolition of Clinton's repeated untruths about her recklessness with classified U.S. information, only compound the plight of many American voters.

"Negative views of Mrs. Clinton are at least 12 percentage points higher than those of any of the four Democratic nominees since 1992," reported The Wall Street Journal about recent poll results.

"Negative views of Mr. Trump are at least 14 points worse than those of any of the last five GOP nominees." That was before FBI Director James Comey called Clinton's behavior "extremely careless" and Trump offered peculiar praise to Saddam Hussein as a prolific slayer of terrorists. (Trump didn't mention that Hussein also was adept at slaying his own people.)

In short, our normally polarized politics are more polarized than ever. Only 1 in 6 white males had a positive opinion of Clinton, while only 1 in 10 African-Americans looked favorably on Trump. Much of the support each candidate has is really withering contempt for the other.

Well, American voter, things are not as bad as you may think. You have not one respectable alternative to these candidates but two.

They are Gary Johnson, nominated in June by the Libertarian Party, and Jill Stein, who is expected to be chosen at the Green Party national convention next month.

Thanks partly to the major party nominees, these two (who won the same nominations four years ago) are gaining the kind of attention that minor party candidates rarely get. Though neither is likely to be on the ballot in all 50 states, they will be options for the vast majority of voters.

RealClearPolitics reports that in recent polls featuring all four candidates, Johnson averages 7 percent of the national vote and Stein 4 percent. Those are impressive numbers, given that in 2012, neither broke the 1 percent threshold.

It's not hard to imagine them rising this fall as Trump and Clinton savage each other's records.

Stein, a Massachusetts physician, offers herself as the logical choice for supporters of Bernie Sanders, who shares her progressive views on many issues  single-payer health insurance, green energy, raising taxes, campaign finance regulation, military intervention abroad and more. Back in April, she went so far as to invite the Vermont senator to work with the Green Party to "ensure the revolution for people, planet and peace will prevail."

Republicans dismayed that Trump wouldn't promote free trade, cut federal spending, reform immigration or curb entitlements will be cheered by Johnson's platform. A former two-term Republican governor of New Mexico, he compiled a record to back up his promises. With a Democratic Legislature, the conservative National Review raved, "Johnson's main impact was in vetoing an astonishing 739 bills over his eight years in office."

The existing two-party system has been the mainstay of American politics for a century and a half. But the discontent felt this year among Democrats as well as Republicans suggests there is an opportunity for the Greens and the Libertarians to establish themselves in the national consciousness in a lasting way.

Can either win? Not this time. But that's no reason Americans disgusted with the major party choices have to settle on either. It's not "wasting your vote," as the old bromide says, to cast a ballot for a long-shot candidate because he or she offers something valuable that mainstream candidates don't. Attracting voters is how small parties get bigger.

A strong showing by Stein, Johnson or both might not transform America's political landscape. But it could push a reassessment of old policies that have acquired immunity from reform. It could put provocative new ideas on the national agenda.

It also could force the major parties, which have disappointed voters so badly this year, to do better in 2020 and beyond. If so, Democrats and Republicans might thank Stein and Johnson for running.

This editorial first appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Business / Companies

by Staff Reporter

The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) has come under fire for importing buses, which it could procure from local assemblers in support of government initiatives to support local industries, the Financial Gazette reported.Zupco has always shunned local bus assemblers such as Deven Engineering and Quest Motor Corporation (QMC), preferring to import buses from India and China. Most of these imported buses have not lasted long due to the fact that they are not suitable for the local terrain.Deven Engineering, a subsidiary of Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries (WMMI), has since folded while Quest Motors is still manufacturing after recapitalisation programmes by shareholders since 2009.Last year, Zupco imported 50 FAW buses and is currently negotiating to import an additional 290 buses worth US$25 million from India, according to Local Government, Public Works and National Housing deputy minister, Christopher Chingosho.The development has irked local manufacturers and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Development, as it contradicts government's stated goal to promote local industries.Moreover, the FAW buses are considered a very inferior brand compared to models such as Higer, Yutong and Zhongtong.Chegutu West legislator and chairperson of the portfolio committee, Dexter Nduna, had no kind words for Zupco over its failure to support local industries and adhere to government policies.Nduna who led the Parliamentary committee on a fact finding mission to Mutare to assess the capacity of local assembling plants in a bid to strengthen the Buy Zimbabwe campaign in the motor industry, was informed that Quest had capacity to meet the country's bus demand.Quest operations manager, Carl Fernandez, informed Parliamentarians that the assembling plant had capacity to produce 800 buses per annum on a single shift and 3 000 buses under three shifts.Fernandez indicated that the Mutare based assembling plant had a holding capacity of 5 000 kits of buses."We have capacity to assemble 3 000 buses a year under three shifts if demand is there. But right now we can manage 800 buses per year in one shift. This is still higher than the national bus demand which hovers around 250," he said.The Quest director said he had unsuccessfully engaged Zupco management over the last five years to consider locally-assembled buses.Nduna questioned the rationale behind Zupco's motive to import buses that were locally available."I don't understand why Zupco, for the past five years, has not come here to procure buses. You tell me that you have been manufacturing buses all this time and Zupco is busy importing buses from India?" Nduna asked the Quest managers."I really need to get something clear here: Is it a question of bribes that were demanded first in order to offer you (Quest) business? Surely because there is no need for us to go outside our borders to purchase buses when we have specs of a higher quality assembled here," he said.C&M gathered that Zupco has imported FAW buses for US$125 000 per unit against US$140 000 charged by Quest.Adam indicated that some government ministries were issuing duty free certificates to their departments, which lowers the cost of imported buses against those locally procured.It is against this backdrop that Quest and other local vehicle assemblers have lobbied government to issue a 40 percent duty on all bus imports to promote local manufacturers."Our ministries are giving their departments duty free certificates. By so doing, they are killing our industry because many will opt to import since it will be cheaper," said Adam."We propose that government issues a 40 percent duty on all imported buses to protect not only Quest but all local assemblers," he added.The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee wondered at the wisdom of excluding vehicles on the recent ban on imported goods and products that are locally available.
Business / Companies

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe is coming up with a new Companies Act that seeks to improve the ease of doing business across the country.A corporate legal expert Canaan Dube says the new Companies Act is important towards improving the business operating climate."It is a critical element that can facilitate the growth of firms," said Dube.The new Companies Act technical consultant Philipa Phillips says a draft copy of the act is being formulated with the final document expected in December."Everything is being modelled in its real systems for the benefit of stakeholders," Phillips said.KPMG managing director Brian Njikizana says the business community is ready for the new Companies Act."Indeed it is long overdue and we really need it," said Njikizana.The government is forging ahead with an ease of doing business strategy to increase local and foreign direct investments.
Entertainment / Arts

by Mthokozisi Gwizi

Zimbabwe will host the international congress of African culture at the national gallery of Zimbabwe in September next year.The congress is meant to improve international appreciation of the local culture and help market the country's visual art works.Zimbabwe last hosted the international event in 1962.Zimbabwe will have the privilege of hosting the international congress of African culture in Harare at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.The congress will be held in September next year.The congress is meant to improve international appreciation of visual arts, local culture and help market the country's visual art works.National Gallery of Zimbabwe executive director Mrs Doreen Sibanda said the global event provides a platform for the world to understand and appreciate the African and Zimbabwean culture through the arts.She said the event will help local arts to market their products and expose their talent to the world.The prime arts and culture event will see international, regional and local speakers gracing the occasion and it is hopes that the event will help Zimbabwe to reclaim her position around the discourse on African art and culture.Sibanda added that the event is historic as the country only had a chance to host such a congress before independence, adding that a number of displays that include some products from other countries will be on display.
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News / Africa

by Staff Reporter

Zimbabweans may leave

Johannesburg - It is unlikely that the economic crisis and protests in Zimbabwe will cause an immediate increase in migrants, US officials have said."We can always be surprised, and it is useful in terms of contingency planning to think the unthinkable," director of the office of assistance for Africa in the bureau of population, refugees and migration, Margaret McKelvey, told journalists on Wednesday.Her office was "not anticipating an immediate uptick in the outflow" of people from the country.There had been a steady number of migrants leaving Zimbabwe over the past few years, but there could be some increase following recent unrest in the country.Disincentives created by neighbouring countries like Botswana and SA, and the fact that many Zimbabweans knew about these already, meant the outflow might not be that big. One of these was the difficulty in lodging asylum claims."People are lodging asylum claims, but many Zimbabweans may not have a classic refugee fear of persecution," she said."Many people would make a refugee claim in order to extend their legal stay in South Africa, and I know this is a huge challenge for the South African government. There is a backlog of several hundred-thousand of such claims," she said.McKelvey did not rule out the possibility that more Zimbabweans would leave the country.She used South Sudan as an example, saying more people had been leaving recently after conflict started again, than when the peace deal was signed three years ago.She said the UN might be asked to help if things turned bad in Zimbabwe.McKelvey announced that US President Barack Obama would chair a high-level summit on migration at the UN General Assembly in September.On Wednesday, Zimbabweans stayed at home and businesses and many banks in the capital Harare were shut in a peaceful protest against an import ban, a cash shortage, and high unemployment.The stay-away - billed as the biggest in a decade - was fronted by the social media movement #ThisFlag . It came after a strike by doctors, teachers and nurses after the government did not have enough money to pay their salaries in June.There were protests at the Beitbridge border post with SA last week over Zimbabwe's import ban on South African goods including bottled water, furniture, building materials, steel products, cereals, potato chips, and dairy products.
Applications & OS News

Microsoft Partners: Splitting COO Turner's Duties Will Allow Channel Execs To 'Divide And Conquer'

Kyle Alspach and Lindsey O'Donnell

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Microsoft partners say they may see quicker action and additional resources from a major leadership reorganization spurred by the resignation of COO Kevin Turner.

Turner, whose responsibilities had included oversight of the sales and marketing division at Microsoft, will become CEO of Citadel Securities and will stay on with Microsoft through the end of July.

In an email to staff Thursday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the responsibilities that previously were a part of the COO role will now be divided among five executives.

[Related: Microsoft Partner Channel Head Kevin Turner Leaving To Join Citadel Securities]

I only see it as being a good thing for the channel, said Rick Jordan, director of mobility sales at Toronto-based Tenet Computer Group. At the end of the day, its five people laser-focused on various segments of the partner program. Im hoping from a partner standpoint theyll do a good job listening to partners. I think theyll be able to achieve actions quicker within Microsoft.

The COO responsibilities will be divided among these five executives:

Judson Althoff will lead Worldwide Commercial Business at Microsoft. Althoff had been president for Microsoft North America since 2013. He joined the company from Oracle, where he served in the role of channel chief as senior vice president for Oracles Worldwide Alliances and Channels and Embedded Sales. Althoff took over the top channel job at Oracle in 2008 and was credited with increasing partner training and driving better rebate incentives for partners. Before joining Oracle in 2002, Althoff was a district sales manager at EMC.

Jean-Philippe Courtois will lead Global Sales, Marketing and Operations at Microsoft. Courtois previously served as president of Microsoft International and has been with the company since 1998.

Chris Capossela will lead the Worldwide Marketing and Consumer Business at Microsoft. He has served as chief marketing officer at Microsoft since early 2014 and prior to that was corporate vice president for the Consumer Channels Group since its creation in 2011. Capossela has been with Microsoft since 1991 and has held a number of roles, including corporate vice president for Microsofts Office division from 2003 to 2011.

Kurt DelBene, who has been executive vice president for Corporate Strategy and Planning at Microsoft since 2015, will now also head up IT and Operations at the company. DelBene was with Microsoft from 1992 to 2013, and was president of Microsofts Office division from 2010 to 2013. He rejoined Microsoft in 2015 after working in venture capital and with the Obama administrations Healthcare.gov website.

Amy Hood, who is chief financial officer at Microsoft, has been given additional responsibilities as of Thursday, including leadership over the finance team for Microsofts sales and marketing group. Hood has been with Microsoft since 2002 and before that spent eight years with Goldman Sachs.

"Its a win-win if they're able to divide and conquer," said Robert Keblusek, chief technology officer of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Sentinel Technologies, No. 131 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 list.

He said channel partners will benefit from having five new people taking over Turner's role as the positions are based around sales, marketing and business strategy. Keblusek said dividing up Turner's responsibilities gives channel partners additional resources and help when going to market.

"It looks like we can get a little bit of additional support as we go to market with their products with customers," said Keblusek. "I think now we can bring better solutions to our customers and even make sure that customers are getting the most out of their Microsoft relationship."

MARK HARANAS contributed to this story.
Channel programs News

Concur Counting On New Channel Program To Accelerate SMB Sales Growth

Rick Whiting

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Concur, the SAP-owned travel and expense management application developer, is launching its first formal partner program with an eye toward leveraging the channel to reach more small and midsize customers.

The new Concur Solution Provider Program will reward VARs and cloud solution providers for referring new SMB customers to the vendor, said Sachin Vora, senior director of global business development. Vora, formerly Microsoft worldwide SMB partner lead, was hired by Concur in February to set up and manage the new program.

While Concur has run partner incentive initiatives in the past, they were not to the scale  or have the growth goals  of the new program.

[Related: SAP Partners See Opportunities, Challenges In New HANA Releases]

"We have always believed in the power of the ecosystem, the power of the channel," Vora said in an interview with CRN. "This is really about broadening our program, broadening out the resources."

Walldorf, Germany-based SAP acquired Concur in December 2014 for $8.3 billion in one of the giant software company's first moves into cloud computing.

Concur has 33,000 customers, and while the software is a staple inside many large corporations, the SMB space has been its fastest-growing market segment for the past two or three years, Vora said. The company defines SMBs as companies with 1,000 or fewer seats.

The vendor has long worked with service partners like American Express and ADP, accounting firms and ERP application vendors. While that list has included VARs and solution providers, Vora said the goal of the new program is to recruit more solution providers that cater to SMBs to expand the company's SMB customer ranks.

Concur is especially seeking partners with experience with cloud software such as Office 365 (Concur recently unveiled plans to integrate its software with the Microsoft cloud applications) and expertise in helping customers adopt cloud IT.

Bob Kane, senior vice president of product marketing at Phoenix-based Insight Enterprises, a Concur partner and No. 15 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 list, said in a statement that the new program "lets us help our clients streamline cumbersome processes and create value in travel and expense, two areas that typically tax their limited resources."

The Concur Solution Provider program has three tiers: Registered, Platinum and Diamond; with customer acquisition skills and processes a key factor in determining partner rankings, according to Vora. The program will provide partners with demand generation, sales, and marketing content and assistance.

The program will utilize a referral sales model with partners bringing new SMB customers to Concur, which will actually close the sales, Vora said. Partners will be paid a share of the revenue generated for the first two years of customer contracts. Vora described the revenue share for partners as "very rich" without disclosing actual numbers.

"We have made it richer because we are very focused on customer acquisition," he said.

The new program was launched Thursday in the U.S. and Canada and will expand to the U.K. and Australia soon.
Channel programs News

Microsoft Partners Cheer Turner's Exit, See Better Days Ahead With 'Channel Fan' Althoff

Lindsey O'Donnell

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Microsoft partners are cheering the departure of partner channel and worldwide sales head Kevin Turner and the executive shakeup Thursday that puts North America President Judson Althoff into a new role overseeing the worldwide commercial business.

Reed Wiedower, chief technology officer at New Signature, a Microsoft partner based in Washington, D.C., applauded the change, saying that New Signature has always had a much stronger relationship with Althoff than with Turner.

This is perfect for us. For most partners in North America  this will be a pure win, said Wiedower. It says a lot about [Althoff] that he can build a fond relationship with Microsofts partner channel before even coming on board in this position. Everyone is excited to bring him on board.

[Related: Microsoft COO Kevin Turner: The Man Who Would Not Be King ]

COO Turner will leave Microsoft to become CEO of Citadel Securities, a division of Citadel LLC. He will stay on through the end of July, and there wont be a single replacement for his COO position. Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., will instead divide his responsibilities among five executives, a move that partners said would make Microsoft more laser-focused on various segments across the channel.

While Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in an email to employees praised Turner for [building] the sales force into the strategic asset it is today with incredible talent, partners have a different view. Many partners told CRN they feel Turners cost-cutting ways have made it difficult to work with the vendor.

Theres some sense of joy [from partners] around this change, said one Microsoft partner, who wished to remain anonymous. Under his tenure, we saw the mark of the cloud era, which continues to be disruptive -- but it was also painful for many as we saw him cutting some funding programs that impacted partners.

As Microsoft continues to evolve into a cloud-first organization, this transformation of the leadership team is exciting further evidence of how quickly that process is moving, said Alex Brown, CEO of 10th Magnitude, a Microsoft Azure Gold partner based in Chicago. From a channel and partner perspective, it is especially nice to see Judson Althoff take on a new, larger role as he has consistently espoused a partner-friendly approach. In the past, his organization has been extremely good to partner with. I expect he will continue to take an innovative approach to thinking about how partners thrive in a cloud world.

Althoff, a former Oracle channel chief who joined Microsoft three years ago, will lead the worldwide commercial business and focus on commercial segments including the enterprise partner group, small and midmarket solutions and partners, and public sector.

Chris Pyle, CEO of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Champion Solutions Group, No. 224 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500 list, said he sees Althoff as a channel advocate who will have a positive impact on the channel.

Judson is a straight shooter, said Champion Solutions Groups Pyle. What he says and his actions are one in the same. Since he has come over from Oracle, he has been a big fan of the channel. He listens to what we have to say as partners and then acts on it. It may not always be what we want to hear, but he is honest and lets us know what Microsoft is doing.

Althoff and the channel team need to focus on consistency with regard to partner compensation, said Pyle.

We know the world is changing quickly but we need to have a channel program that is consistent, not just for 12 to 18 months but for a few years -- especially with regard to channel incentives, said Pyle. Judson and the team need to keep investing in the channel and be consistent.

Robert Keblusek, chief technology officer of Downers Grove, Ill.-based Sentinel Technologies, No. 131 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500, said it has been difficult under Turner's 11-year tenure to go to market with Microsoft compared with other vendors.

"From a channel program and engagement perspective, they're difficult to figure out how to partner with," he said.

"When we're usually in the field with Cisco or EMC, we're in there with Cisco or EMC account managers and engineers. We're really going together at the customer on site," said Keblusek. "At Microsoft, we have to quote it and do the heavy lifting and dont know who to go to. I would love to see somebody get in place who really builds that teaming model more aggressively."

I think this will be a healthy change for everyone, said another executive from a Microsoft partner, who wished to remain anonymous. Kevin will go to a different role, and leadership will spearhead different segments of what he was doing.  It will be better for the channel.

Microsoft needs to improve its channel enablement and better align its go-to-market strategy to give partners more resources in the field, according to Keblusek.

Ric Opal, vice president of Peters & Associates, a Microsoft partner based in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., said that splitting up Turners roles among various executives may help partners tap into new areas of growth.

I think Microsoft has been trying to reimagine what their sales force looks like, and has opportunities to alter the business so they can go faster in functional areas, said Opal. This may be an opportunity for many inside Microsoft and its partners to plug into what is the new speed.

In addition to Althoff, Microsoft said Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois will lead global sales, marketing and operations, spanning Microsofts North America and international businesses.

The transition takes place less than a week before Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, which begins July 11. Turner is especially well known for delivering the closing keynote speech at that conference, firing up partners and often engaging in competitive trash-talking against Microsoft's market rivals.

Turner was considered as a candidate to replace former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer  who was instead succeeded by Nadella. But despite being passed up for the head position, Turner was the companys highest-paid executive for a number of consecutive years, making just more than $12.6 million during the companys fiscal 2014.

STEVEN BURKE and MARK HARANAS contributed to this story.
Cloud News

Microsoft Partner Channel Head Kevin Turner Leaving To Join Citadel Securities

Lindsey O'Donnell

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Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner, who heads the companys partner channel and worldwide sales, is leaving to join Citadel Securities, according to a release by Citadel.

Turner will leave Microsoft to become CEO of Citadel Securities, a division of Citadel LLC. According to ZDNet, the executive will stay on through the end of July, and rather than fill his role as COO, Microsoft will disperse Turner's responsibilities among several managers.

"It is an incredible honor for me to serve in this important role, and I am grateful to Ken Griffin and the entire Citadel Securities team for the trust they are placing in me," said Turner. "Citadel is a global technology leader, recognized for its work to level the playing field for investors and make markets more fair, transparent and efficient  I also want to express my sincere personal thanks to Satya Nadella for his leadership and mentorship, and to colleagues at Microsoft for their friendship, hard work and dedication."

[Related: Microsoft COO Kevin Turner: The Man Who Would Not Be King]

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CRN.

Turner has been COO of Microsoft since 2005, and was once considered a candidate to replace former CEO Steve Ballmer. But he was instead succeeded by current CEO Nadella in 2014. Despite being passed up for the head position, Turner was the companys highest-paid executive for a number of consecutive years, making just over $12.6 million during the companys 2014 fiscal year.

Chicago-based Citadel Securities, a big player in market making, says on its website that its share of the U.S. retail investor market is 25 percent.

The transition takes place less than a week before Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, which begins July 11. Turner is especially known for delivering the closing keynote speech at that conference, firing up partners and often indulging in competitive trash talking against Microsoft's market rivals.
Networking News

Verizon Revamps Wireless Plan, Jury Still Out On How It Will Impact Partners

Gina Narcisi

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Following the conclusion of a nearly two-month-long strike and with its popular former Can you hear me now? spokesperson now doing commercials for rival Sprint, Verizon is pushing hard to stay competitive in a crowded wireless market.

The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based telecommunications giant Wednesday unveiled a slew of wireless plan changes for consumers and business customers, all of which it says are aimed at helping it more aggressively compete with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

The wireless plan revamp comes as competing carriers such as T-Mobile and Sprint are lowering fees while raising data allowances. Verizon, however, is actually hiking up wireless plan prices in exchange for increasing the data caps across its plans.

[Related: Verizon Strike Underlines Focus On Wireless Market, Partners Say]

Rob Chamberlin, co-founder and chief revenue officer for DataXoom, a Berkeley, Calif.-based solution provider and Verizon partner that specializes in mobility services, called Verizon's news an interesting move which demonstrates that consumers and businesses are still willing to pay a premium for a service they believe to be the best in terms of national network, LTE speeds and overall network reliability.

"I think the news confirms that mobile data is the most valuable component of any wireless offering. 4G and LTE wireless data is a commodity, but it's a commodity that businesses and consumers will pay for every month and cannot do without," Chamberlin said.

At the same time, however, the wireless plan changes could actually help Verizons competitors in the market, he said.

"It will be interesting to see if competitors bash Verizon for raising prices, continuing the price war in wireless, or [if competitors will] follow their lead," Chamberlin said.

T-Mobiles vocal CEO, John Legere, didnt waste any time. Legere took to Twitter Wednesday to ridicule Verizons new wireless plan changes in a series of tweets. Legere noted that Verizons price hikes were as if the carrier was purposely trying to get everyone to switch to T-Mobile, and that Verizons failure to eliminate overages unless customers paid a fee wasnt a generous offer.

Verizon did not respond to CRNs request for comment on how the wireless plan changes could impact partners directly, but the carrier did share information regarding the new plans for its SMB customers.

Business customers, just like consumers, will have access to a new My Verizon app and Verizon Plan. Beginning Thursday, customers can choose the amount of data they want for their wireless plan through the app. Customers can also change and manage their wireless plans as often as they want through a real-time feed on the app, Verizon said. The carrier added that the changes will help users manage their own mobile experience and simplify billing.

Businesses can choose from small, medium, large, extra-large, and extra extra-large wireless plans, ranging from 2 GB to 24 GB per month. While the data pools in each of the new plans are slightly more expensive  about $5 to $10 more per plan -- both businesses and consumers will have access to data allowances that have been increased by about 30 percent per plan.

In a competitive move aimed at helping the carrier contend with AT&T and T-Mobile's rollover data polices, Verizon is introducing Carryover Data, a policy that lets users roll over unused data into the next month that can be used along with the normal data amount purchased for that new month.

Verizon is also introducing a data overage safety net called "Safety Mode" -- the focus of T-Mobiles Legere Twitter remarks. For an additional $5 a month, users can protect themselves from data overage charges by automatically applying slower networking speeds to their data usage. This feature drops users from Verizons 4G LTE speeds to 128-Kbps speeds. Should customers want to return to the 4G LTE networking speeds, they can pay an additional $15 a month for each additional GB of data through a feature called "Data Boost." Both Safety Mode and Data Boost can be selected through the My Verizon app, the carrier said.

The initial impact on business customers will most likely be minimal, as many clients will remain "grandfathered in" to their current plans, DataXooms Chamberlin said. In the meantime, the solution provider will still be helping these customers pool mobile data usage across their accounts, minimizing overage charges and other fees, he said.
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Outspoken former cabinet minister and Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association chairman, Christopher Mutsvangwa has been expelled from Zanu PF.Zanu PF secretary for administration, Ignatius Chombo last night said the politburo kicked out 14 people."One member was dismissed because his behaviour had actually become worse after his suspension," he said in reference to Mutsvangwa.This means Mutsvangwa would also be expelled as Norton MP triggering another by-election.Chombo said the disciplinary appeals against expulsion from the party by the 13 youths were unsuccessful."This means the politburo has fully endorsed the decision of the appeals committee. This was due to the severity of their cases."
An ambitious turn-around plan in the works for three years is starting to bear fruit as Hurtigruten has returned to profitability, ordered new ships, and has its eyes firmly set on the high-risk/high-reward expedition market, according to CEO Daniel Skjeldam.

We started cutting costs and focusing more on the income side, with a new strategy for the company, said Skjeldam. We are going to grow on the Norwegian coast and elsewhere.

The company has traditionally operated Norwegian coastal voyages, servicing ports up and down Norways seaboard on a contract with the Norwegian government.

Now they are opening up the globe, as Skjeldam said the brand is the largest operator in the Arctic and will soon become the largest in Antarctica.

He is adding Amazon River cruises and Canadas Newfoundland/Labrador in 2017, before two new expedition ships join the fleet in 2018 and 2019.

If we look at our position, we are the largest explorer operator with 14 vessels. No one is close to us in that segment, said Skjeldam.

The Spitsbergen, a converted ferry, was added to the fleet in June.

The bigger news, however, is the biggest investment in the companys 120-year history with the order of two new sleek 600-passenger expedition ships.

The vessels will join the company in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and are being built at Kleven Marine in Norway on a Rolls-Royce-designed technical platform. The order includes two options.

Its important for us to expand in the market where we have an important position, said Skjeldam. We see expansion possibilities in the Arctic and Antarctica, and other places.

After three years of essentially returning the company to profitability status, Skjeldam sees a bright future.

Its fair to say a few years ago the company was facing a lot of challenges; it had been unprofitable for a number of years, he told Cruise Industry News. A few years ago there were more challenges than there are today. Today, our challenge might be Antarctica. Its a hot item at the moment, but with our customer portfolio and our product, we are a front-runner in the market going forward. Our new ships will provide a good ROI and are a good size to provide an explorer-type experience.

(In the future) we will be more visible as a company in the cruise industry, Skjeldam continued. And one that expands quite significantly.

Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Summer 2016


Carnival Australia has released the findings of a study that shows the multi-million dollar value of cruise tourism to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.

The study, commissioned by Carnival, the Australian Government and World Bank Group member IFC, found that cruise tourism brought A$5.9 million into Papua New Guineas economy last year, including an estimated $200,000 in indirect economic benefits.

Meanwhile, the report found cruise tourism could grow five-fold in the Solomon Islands, from $600,000 to $3.3 million by 2017.

The study  Assessment of the Economic Impact of Cruising to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands  looked at the Solomon Islands main port, Honiara, and Papua New Guineas five main ports, identifying opportunities and investments to improve cruise tourism development and capitalize further on the growing sector. It follows a similar study in Vanuatu in 2014, where cruising was found to bring $34 million annually to the nation.

Carnival Australia Executive Chairman Ann Sherry  who travelled to Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea this week to release the report with government representatives  said the study was a key outcome of its partnership with the Australian Government to support sustainable development in the South Pacific.

Through two of its cruise lines, P&O Cruises and Princess Cruises, Carnival Australia will make 26 visits to Papua New Guinea this year, bringing more than 44,000 passengers  an eight-fold increase in passenger numbers since 2013.

Sherry said the potential of cruise tourism to the Solomon Islands would be visible later this year when P&O Cruises Pacific Eden makes her maiden visit to the nation, while homeported in Cairns. The Pacific Edens visit will include the cruise lines maiden call to Gizo Island on September 30, the day before the ships inaugural call to Honiara.

In total, P&O and Princess will have six ship calls to the Solomon Islands this year - a three-fold increase from last year.

Sherry said Carnival Australia had a long and harmonious relationship with the Pacific Islands, its people and its communities. We have a commitment to practise sustainable tourism and ensure communities benefit from the growth of cruising, she said.

This report is significant because it confirms, for the first time for these nations, the long value chain of cruising, which reaches deep into the Pacific Islands to deliver economic opportunity.

Importantly, it is also a forward looking document that paints a picture of opportunities for destinations to take advantage of the benefits of cruise tourism.

We look forward to continuing to develop rewarding and positive relationships with governments and communities in this Pacific, with cruise tourism creating shared value for all.

Tourism is vital to the sustainable growth of the Pacific islands, contributing an estimated 3 percent of the Oceania regions gross domestic product and 12 percent of total employment in 2014, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Photo: Papua New Guinea Tourism Minister Tobias Kulang and Ann Sherry, executive chairman of Carnival Australia
Blockchain for entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector: challenges and opportunities - May 15, 2020 4:00 PM CEST

Blockchain for Agriculture webinar

Are you an entrepreneur in African, the Caribbean and Pacific countries and interested in blockchain? Do you want to know if and in which conditions you can leverage on blockchain to offer meaningful services to potential clients in the agricultural sector and beyond? This webinar organised by the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in the framework its AgriHack and Blockchain projects, and in partnership with Blockchain Workspace in the Netherlands will discuss these questions. Apart from insights from three invited experts, experiences of an ACP entrepreneur investing in Blockchain will be shared. Other entrepreneurs from the audience may have the opportunity to briefly share their experiences as well. The session will be held in English only. With George Maina, founder of Shamba Records & Once Sync Limited (Kenya); Henk van Cann and Erwin Overstegen, both co-founder of the training firm Blockchain Workspace (bcws.io); and Ken Lohento (CTA)
News / National

by Bongani Ndlovu

VETERAN journalist and former Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (Zuj) president, Dumisani Sibanda, who was found dead at his home in Bulawayo on Monday morning, will be buried at Lady Stanley Cemetery tomorrow.Sibanda, a former Chronicle political editor, Sunday News news editor, Newsday Southern Edition Bureau Chief and Zimbabwe Mail Bulawayo Bureau Chief, suffered a stroke in his sleep at his home in Emakhandeni suburb. He was 44.Family spokesperson and Sibanda's aunt, Mrs Sehlaphi Moyo, said: "A service will be held at House Number 70463 Lobengula Extension in Bulawayo at 8:30AM."After the service we shall proceed to Lady Stanley Cemetery to bury him. The programme of the day will be out Thursday (today)."Sibanda, the first and only Zuj president from the southern region, was born in Bulawayo on August 31, 1972 and attended Mtshede Primary in Njube suburb from 1978 to 1985.Warmly known to his colleagues as Sobohla, he then attended Cyrene Boys High School from Form 1 to Upper Six from 1986 to 1991 before enrolling at the Harare Polytechnic College where he studied journalism.He is survived by a son.
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More than three years after Penmar Industries vacated its South Norwalk plant, a local developer plans to knock down the building and put up apartments steps away from the SoNo station on Metro-North.

DiScala & Co. subsidiary Metropolitan Realty Associates filed notice last week of its plans to raze the building at 1 Bates Court that was home to Penmar, a small manufacturer of labels and tapes that relocated to Stratford in 2012. Metropolitan Realty is also seeking to purchase from the city a sliver of land adjacent to the Penmar property.

Developer Michael DiScala is planning to build a four-story apartment building with 40 units, including 10 on the top floor featuring vaulted loft ceilings.

On Wall Street, DiScala & Co. is already proceeding with its first major multifamily development in three decades, with construction well underway on the splashy Head of the Harbor complex that will include 60 luxury units total in a pair of waterfront buildings on the Norwalk River. DiScala & Co. plans to move its own offices into Head of the Harbor, having long been ensconced in the historic Trolley Barn building just down Wall Street that once served as a carriage house.

DiScala & Co.s new project would mark only the latest large residential addition in SoNo, with the Stamford-based developer F.D. Rich currently finishing The Pearl apartments on trendy Washington Street. DiScala & Co. is envisioning single-bedroom units measuring 800 square feet and larger two-bedroom lofts at 1,100 square feet, according to Alan Webber, the firms chief financial officer.

At Bates Court  DiScala & Co. has yet to peg a name to the proposed development  the firm is targeting younger commuters who want new apartments but who feel priced out of downtown Stamford.

These will be geared to what millennials are looking for and not necessarily traditional apartments, Webber said. The Stamford apartment market has been very hot  but I think the prices have gotten a little overheated.

The state of Connecticut continues to make transit-oriented development a major element of its economic growth strategy, committing $11 million in funding last month for 20 projects statewide including more than $400,000 to study ways to redevelop the area of Westports Metro-North station just off Saugatuck Avenue.

In mid-May, Metropolitan Realty asked the city of Norwalk to sell it a quarter-acre of land situated between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the Metro-North tracks running parallel just east of the roadway. If successful, Webber said the goal is to break ground on the new apartments by the end of this year, about when it hopes to begin leasing the initial building at Head of the Harbor. Best-case scenario, the South Norwalk building could be ready for leasing at the close of 2017.

With Norwalk in the midst of a major apartment building boom and with expectations high for General Growth Properties planned SoNo Collection mall, Webber suggested DiScala & Co. could add to its residential portfolio in Norwalk.

We are looking at a couple of other possibilities, Webber said. Mayor Harry Rilling has done a phenomenal job in bringing development to Norwalk.

 Robert Koch contributed to this report.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-964-2236; www.twitter.com/casoulman
Connecticut still ranks high among states in the use of antipsychotic drugs for elderly nursing home residents, but its rate of use has dropped 33 percent since 2011  a bigger decline than the national average  new government data show.

The data released in June by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, show nursing home residents in Connecticut, many with dementia, are still more likely to be given antipsychotics than their counterparts in 31 other states.

But the states usage has fallen in the last 4  years at a greater rate than the average drop of 27 percent, and it is now about the same as the national average  17.4 percent. Thats down from 26 percent in 2011.

CMS has been working with states for the past five years to address the overuse of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes. While the drugs are an important treatment for patients with certain mental health conditions, such as schizophrenia, they have potentially fatal side effects when used in elderly patients with dementia. Still, some nursing homes use the drugs off-label to calm residents who are agitated or confused.

In Connecticut, Ann Spenard, a vice president of Qualidigm, the states Medicare quality improvement consultant, said a statewide effort led by Qualidigm  the Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, part of a national program  has helped to train nursing home staff in alternatives to antipsychotics, while also educating families about how to ask questions about a residents medications.

Two behavioral health agencies  MedOptions and Harvest Healthcare  have provided targeted help to nursing homes with high prescribing rates, she said.

In addition, some homes have put in place music and memory programs, funded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, that have been found to help with agitation and other behavioral health issues related to dementia.

Theres been a lot of work to reduce (antipsychotic prescribing), and it continues to grow, said Spenard, who compared the states progress to past efforts that reduced the use of physical restraints. It takes years of purposeful intervention. (But) theres a real commitment by the long-term care industry to get the rates down.

The most recent Medicare data show that 35 of the states 227 nursing homes, or about 15 percent overall, have antipsychotic use rates for long-stay residents at or exceeding 25 percent, meaning one in four residents is being given the drugs for unapproved reasons.

Meanwhile, 23 homes have antipsychotic use rates of less than 10 percent, including one facility in Fairfield County, Glen Hill Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Danbury. Four have rates under 5 percent: Touchpoints at Bloomfield, Hughes Health & Rehabilitation in West Hartford, Pilgrim Manor in Cromwell, and Curtis Home  St. Elizabeth Center in Meriden.

At Touchpoints, administrator Jaime Faucher attributed the low rate of antipsychotic use to the homes evolving range of services, especially post-acute and rehabilitative care.

When a short-term resident comes into the facility with a prescribed antipsychotic medication, our treatment team often finds these medications are unnecessary and unsupported with a diagnosis, Faucher said.

He said the staff of Touchpoints receives ongoing training in non-pharmacological interventions and individualized recreation activities and makes use of the music and memory programming.

Nursing homes were required to start publicly reporting their use of antipsychotics in 2012  a requirement that advocates of Medicare transparency say has helped to bring down rates.

CMS, working with providers and advocacy groups, had set a goal of a 25-percent reduction in antipsychotic use among long-stay residents by the end of 2015. The new report says that goal was met, and it singles out Utah and Vermont for the most significant reductions (41.7 percent and 36.1 percent, respectively).

Hawaii, Wyoming and New Jersey now have the lowest usage rates, while Louisiana, Illinois and Mississippi have the highest.

Among New England states, Vermont has the lowest prevalence rate (16.2 percent), while Massachusetts has the highest (18.9 percent).

Other CMS data show that Connecticut has a relatively high rate nationally in terms of the number of days that nursing home residents received antipsychotics over a snapshot seven-day period. More than 20 percent of residents received the drugs for the full seven days  a higher rate than 38 other states, according to the data.

Spenard said Qualidigm, elder care providers and state officials are committed to further reducing Connecticuts rate of antipsychotic usage  although she added, We dont really know what the appropriate rate is.  There will always be some people who need the medications, which are approved to treat schizophrenia, Huntingtons disease and select other illnesses.

The CMS report notes a slight increase in the percentage of nursing home residents nationally diagnosed with schizophrenia. The report says the agency is exploring potential consequences of the crackdown on antipsychotics, including prescribing shifts to anxiolytics or sedative/hypnotics.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
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DERBY Its a good eight weeks before the traditional Labor Day kickoff of legislative campaigns.

But Joseph Jaumann is champing at the bit.

Hes already begun knocking on doors around his Wakelee Avenue, Ansonia home.

This weekend, he intends to meet voters at the St. Marys Summer Festival in Derby.

And at around noon Thursday, standing in the Derby Greens gazebo, Jaumann fired his first shots in the race for State Representative in the 104th District, which includes all of Ansonia and a portion of Derby.

There he basted the Democratic-controlled Legislatures policies of the last six years.

Anyone who watches or reads the news knows this state is heading in the wrong direction, said Jaumann, the Republican nominee taking on Democratic six-term state Rep. Linda Gentile.

Things look dire, he said. Connecticut is in bad financial shape. We owe too much. Taxes are too high and the business climate is scaring away jobs and taxpayers at an alarming rate. Everyone seems to want change.

Jaumann is a partner in Drapp & Jaumann, a firm of six attorneys practicing at 1057 Broad St., Bridgeport.

For the 39-year-old lawyer who grew up in Mahopac, N.Y. this is his first run at politics. But hes not a political newcomer.

Jaumann has served in several appointed positions as the chairman of Ansonia Zoning Board of Appeals and as a current member of Ansonias Planning and Zoning and Economic Development commissions.

Im sick and tired of Hartford taking, taking and taking but not giving, he said.

Hes taking on Gentile, a formidable opponent and lifelong Ansonia resident who doubles as a deputy majority leader in the State House.

I wish (Jaumann) luck and hope it is a clean campaign, she said. Ill be running on my record.

Gentile said that includes helping obtain grants for the relocation of Farrel-Pomini from downtown to Fountain Lake, brownfield remediation for the demolition of Ansonia Copper and Brass and the rehabilitation of Wakelee Avenue.

As for the Democratic-controlled Legislature, she said it obtains funding for start-up businesses, job creation and manufacturing education in the technical schools and community colleges.

Look, its going to be a difficult challenge, said Republican Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti, noting Democratic registration far outnumbers Republicans in the 104th. But I overcame it twice. Hes got to get out, meet the voters and stick with the message of the tax burden residents face.

Another issue Jaumann said hell hammer away at is the unfunded education mandates imposed by the state on municipalities.

What we need to do in the Legislature is to set the municipal aid budgets in April, he said, which would give local governments more time to deal with any challenges created.

Jaumann and his fiancee, Crystal White, are the parents of three children  Joseph, 7, Abigail, 5 and Jackson, 3. He is also the step-father of Whites son, Tristin, 19, who is serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
BRIDGEPORT - A local man has been charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl whose family had recently resettled here from El Salvador.

Police said William Mejia-Alas told them he considered himself a father figure to the girl and agreed to watch her while her mother worked a night job. The girl is more than seven months pregnant, police said.

Mejia-Alas, 29, was charged Thursday with first-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. He was held in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Police said that in May a nurse at a local medical clinic reported they had treated a 13-year-old girl who was determined to be pregnant.

The girl told police that Mejia-Alas would often come up to their second-floor apartment from the first-floor apartment where he lived with his wife, on the pretext of keeping an eye on the girl while her mother worked, police said.

Police said the girl told them she initially refused Mejia-Alass advances but eventually yielded under pressure. She had sex with Mejia-Alas every day except Tuesday for three months straight, police said. Tuesdays were her mothers day off.

Police said Mejias-Alas initially denied sexually assaulting the girl. They said he told them she was constantly asking him to have sex with her.

Im gonna tell you what I did, police said Mejias-Alas continued. I was taking a shower and I (masturbated) myself and I put it in a little cup and I gave her a little semen.

As the interview went on, police said, Mejias-Alas began repeating, It was a mistake, it was a mistake, and eventually admitted he had sexual intercourse with the girl.

However, police said, he claimed it had only happened once and it had been the girls idea, police said.
NEW HAVEN  Southern Connecticut State University has a new president.

The Board of Regents for Higher Education on Thursday announced that Joe Bertolino had taken the job, ending a five-month search.

Bertolino becomes the 12th president of a university that started out in 1893 as a small teacher training school. It now has 10,473 students  8,133 of them undergraduates. Much of the student population comes from Fairfield and New Haven counties.

Bertolino replaces Mary Papazian, who resigned as of July 1. He will begin Aug. 22, at an annual salary of $294,700.

Larry DeNardis, chairman of the regents search committee, said in a prepared statement Bertolino had greatly impressed the committee.

I am confident he will be a perfect complement to the great talent we have at Southern, DeNardis said.

Mark E. Ojakian, president of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system that oversees Southern, three other regional universities and a dozen community colleges, agreed.

Dr. Bertolinos commitment to students and their access to high-quality higher education is very clear, Ojakian said. He is going to be a great advocate for Southern and our system. 

Bertolino, currently president of Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vt., said he was honored and humbled.

While there are certainly many challenges ahead, the institutions potential far outweighs those challenges, Bertolino said.  I look forward to working closely with the Southern team to ensure that we continue to build strong relationships and that our institutional core rests in our mission and in service to our students.

Lyndon State is a small college of about 1,500 students. Previously, Bertolino was a vice president at Queens College, City University, New York. The New Haven job will put him closer to his longtime partner, Bil Leipold, who is head of human resources at Rutgers University in Newark, N.J.

Hes already started looking at real estate, said Bertolino, who was at Thursdays board meeting.

Bertolino said one of his first orders of business would be to invest in some clothing in blue and white  Southerns colors.

Really, what impressed me the most, to be perfectly candid, were the community and the students, Bertolino said. The students certainly sold me on the institution.
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ANSONIA  Pat Lynch said the inspiration to be a public servant came from his father, a retired Bridgeport firefighter.

Every day I strive to be a fraction of the man hes been, Lynch said of his father, Philip, who retired as from the Bridgeport Fire Department as a lieutenant in 1987 after serving for 25 years.

On Thursday, the younger Lynch earned his lieutenant bars with the Ansonia Police Department. Lynch, a Trumbull resident, will be paid $97,000 annually in his new position.

After he was sworn in by Mayor David Cassetti as the departments third lieutenant, Lynchs 23-year-old daughter, Megan, pinned the bars on her father as her brother, Patrick, watched.

This feels pretty good, Lynch said afterward.

Police Chief Kevin Hale said Lynch probably set some records for his scores on the oral and written exam.

For now, Hale said, Lynchs duties will rotate through his former role as the detective sergeant, and he will begin sharing work with fellow lieutenants Andy Cota and Wayne Williams, the chief said.

In September, Pat will be assigned to patrol, Andy to administration, and Wayne to investigations and specialized services, Hale said. We expect to run a promotional exam in late summer for the vacant detective sergeant position.

The city employs 46 officers whose duties include patrolling Ansonias 6.2 square miles.

Among those watching the ceremony in the Aldermens chambers were Lynchs wife, Dalila, her parents, Antonio and Julia DaSilva; and Pete Fearon, the retired inspector for the Milford States Attorneys office. Lynch called Fearon his mentor.

I can tell you Pat is one of the best investigators Ive met in this line of work, Fearon said.

During his 26 years as a local officer, the 47-year-old Lynch has worked on some of the departments biggest cases, including those of Cheyne Mazza, once reputed to be the Valleys marijuana kingpin, Davon Miller, the accused Hilltop burglar, and Giancarlos Diaz, whose alleged internet threats closed Ansonia schools last month.
Branford Police Department

A Connecticut man has seemingly vanished after attending a Phish concert in upstate New York over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Jason Czech, 39, of Branford, was reported missing Monday, July 4, after he failed to return from the concert and family members were unable to reach him. Czech traveled to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Friday, July 1, to attend the concert. He was last heard from on Saturday, July 2.
News / National

by Nqobile Tshili

TWO people died while a third escaped unhurt when a Toyota Granvia which was being towed to Bulawayo from Esigodini burst a tyre and crashed into a Nissan Double Cab which was pulling it.The two vehicles overturned at the 19km peg along the Bulawayo-Gwanda Road near Kensington on Tuesday.Bulawayo Chief Fire Officer Mr Richard Peterson told the Chronicle that the two died after they were thrown out of the vehicles."The Nissan vehicle had one male driver who refused ambulance services and a male passenger who was thrown out of the Nissan and landed head first on the tarmac and died. The Granvia had one male driver who was also thrown out of the vehicle and landed in the bushes and died on the spot," said Mr Peterson.He said both victims died due to head injuries.Mr Peterson said the deceased were taken to a local hospital for post mortem. "The Toyota Granvia burst its rear left tyre, broke the tow bar and ploughed into the back of the towing vehicle resulting in both vehicles landing on their sides," he said.Mr Peterson urged motorists to adhere to the rules of the road and avoid speeding saying some accidents could be avoided.When The Chronicle arrived at the accident scene, police officers had removed the bodies while scores of people were jostling to see what had happened.The driver of the Nissan Double Cab did not seem injured as he made cellphone calls organising transport from towing companies.
News / National

by Freeman Razemba

POLICE yesterday warned Zimbabwe People First leader Dr Joice Mujuru to desist from making herself, "a police spokesperson", by quoting fabricated stories from some sections of the media involving the force.This comes in the wake of sentiments expresed by Dr Mujuru while addressing journalists in Harare where she quoted a message from the ZimEye website, purportedly from Commissioner-General Dr Augustine Chihuri, cautioning police on how to handle demonstrating crowds.On Tuesday, Dr Mujuru was quoted saying people had a constitutional right to demonstrate and that the police should protect demonstrators."I'm sure we heard from ZimEye the message from Commissioner General (Dr Augustine Chihuri) himself when he was cautioning (the police) that they should not do what is not necessary because they are dealing with people who are angry."Theirs is just to keep peace not to start problems. Some of the brutalities which they are showing are not supposed to be started at all," she said.Addressing journalists yesterday, chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba blasted Dr Mujuru for resorting to quoting ZimEye in reference to Comm-Gen Chihuri."She should stick to her core business and not quote such fabricated contents from ZimEye without verifying with the police. We expect her to know that social media is subject to manipulation and abuse by people pursuing various agendas."She should also desist from making herself a police spokesperson," she said.Snr Asst Comm Charamba also dispelled false statements peddled by ZimEye, saying that contrary to their reports, uniformed police were firmly deployed in and around cities and towns countrywide, yesterday."Obviously the military is not there because in our assessment, the situation hasn't deteriorated to warrant the presence of the military," Snr Asst Comm Charamba said.She said ZimEye has been publishing a series of false stories involving the force during the last two months.Snr Asst Comm Charamba said on Monday July 4, the ZimEye website published a fabricated ZRP internal communication signal purportedly dispatched from a Chief Superintendent Manzini-Moyo from Bulawayo.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ZANU-PF says it will not be shaken by Western embassies and failed political parties trying to cause anarchy in the country by scuttling progressive policies being implemented by Government.The revolutionary party's Politburo yesterday said schools, banks and shops should continue with their business today as security organs were on high alert to ensure people's safety.The Politburo also endorsed the enactment of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, saying the regulations would resuscitate ailing industries by fighting unfair competition from foreign products.Briefing journalists after the Politburo meeting in Harare, Zanu-PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo said President Mugabe was going nowhere and would continue leading Government in bringing economic emancipation to the people."Zanu-PF is focused on what it wants to do and cannot be shaken by these activities," he said. "We're the ruling party, and we will not accept anything short of law and order. The party has it on good authority that the violent demonstrations witnessed in Beitbridge were sponsored by some MDC elements and other opposition parties. We're also aware that persons from across the bridge joined the strike because they were beneficiaries (of the import goods)."In Harare, these demonstrations have been led by leaders of vendors' associations, some other shadowy groups calling themselves by various names, and we know that they're being sponsored by Western embassies and some failed parties and politicians."Chombo added: "The State security organs are working around the clock, and have the situation firmly under control. Those found on the wrong side of the law will be dealt with severely, and they'll have no one else to blame. They're being seriously warned to desist from this wanton behaviour."Commuter operators are assured of police protection and shouldn't fear to do their work. All teachers and school children should also go to their schools without fear because security elements will be there to assure their safety. The regime change agenda that is being pursued by the West will come to naught. Banks, shops and schools have timetables and programmes, and they should follow that. There is no reason why they shouldn't open, and I hope tomorrow (today) they'll open."Chombo said there was no going back on SI 64 of 2016."The Politburo has fully endorsed the enactment of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 by Government through the Ministry of Industry and Commerce," he said.On disciplinary cases brought by the National Appeals and Review Committee headed by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, Chombo said the Politburo had deliberated on the cases of the 13 expelled youth leaders and party cadres suspended for between three to five years. "All the appeals against expulsion by the 13 were unsuccessful and this means the Politburo has fully endorsed the decision for the group to remain expelled," he said."This was due to the severity of the case. Eight party members were suspended for five years, and one member was acquitted and the other seven cases were referred back to the National Disciplinary Committee for review. Eight party members were suspended for three years, and one member's suspension was lifted while another member has actually been expelled as his behaviour has become worse, which is totally unacceptable to the party. Another member's suspension has been reduced from three to two years as she has been apologetic and remorseful. The rest of the cases have been referred back to the NDC and other cases will be heard next Friday when the Appeals Committee meets again."President Mugabe was in Masvingo last week.Tomorrow he is also expected to address a rally at Chipadze Stadium in Bindura.
Windber-Portage renew rivalry in Week 10 Heritage-WestPAC crossover

Check out what to watch on Friday night in Somerset County as the high school football regular season comes to a close in Week 10.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

The Zimbabwe Peace Project has reported that intolerance of other political parties has begun to show in the Manicaland Province with an MDC-T supporter's homestead being razed to the ground in Makoni North.ZPP said discrimination in the allocation and listing of those in need of food aid is rampant with those sympathetic to the opposition being denied the food."The Province has also witnessed the militarization of food aid programmes with the army taking a vanguard role in the distribution and allocation of the precious commodity to deserving individuals. In the process of giving out the food aid, the soldiers are reported to be telling villagers to note who is giving them food and as such vote wisely come 2018," ZPP reported."In a case of forced labour, harassment and abuse of authority, Headman Jenya Chiororo has since May 1 been forcing people in Dhani Village ward 18 Chipinge East to dig a trench that will stretch for almost 20 kilometers from a nearby farm passing through his homestead."The ZPP said the Headman who is also a Zanu-PF activist is threatening refuse to participate in digging the trench."Even the elderly (two names were supplied) who are well over 70 years are taking part for fear of being denied food aid. The trench has so far stretched for less than 4 kms. The same Headman is forcing people in the village to attend weekly Zanu-PF meetings at Musiirwi primary for Zanu-PF ideological lessons," ZPP reported. "The local war veteran named Mudhabha leads the sessions every Wednesday of the week between 14:00hrs to 18:00hrs."ZPP stated that on May 4, a school pupil of Ngandu Primary ward 15 Chimanimani East, was reportedly verbally harassed by a teacher Antony Machingauta a suspected (Zanu-PF) supporter."The teacher is said to have accused the pupil of having been brain washed by imperialists after the pupil was absent on May 3 when the National Pledge was officially launched. The National Pledge was officially adopted at the beginning of May 2016 and each school is supposed to ensure all pupils recite it," said ZPP. "There have been mixed reactions to the pledge with some people believing the pledge is not christian as it makes school children through it idolise the flag while others believe it is a good stance."The organisation said in Makoni North Chitsike village, ward 5, a homestead belonging to a Zanu-PF activist was reportedly destroyed by Councillor Tasi Muzembi a suspected MDC-T activist."The perpetrator is said to have hired some youths from Rusape who helped him," reported ZPP.
Can Florida lottery winners remain anonymous? What you need to know
News / National

by Staff reporter

WAR veterans have claimed that President Robert Mugabe has surrounded himself with a group of liars who pretend to love him while their motives are to destroy the ruling party.Speaking at a press conference in Harare on Tuesday, Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) spokesperson Douglas Mahiya said the problem the country is facing is that government officials "who link people to the president are lying" to the nonagenarian in order to destroy the party from within."As the war veterans we say if government does not react to public demands, let us go back to the beginning."The society has solutions to its problems and they have to continue what they are doing until they get what they want. Zimbabweans know how to solve their problems, let them do what they think will proffer solutions to their problems," he said.Mahiya said the "wheels of justice" will soon catch up with corrupt officials."War veterans condemn all acts of corruption and lack of foresight on those that are tasked to oversee proper corporate governance in both public and private media."The land has become the new driver of the appetites of the corrupt and greedy and deceptive officials entrusted into positions of authority."The ex-combatants said Zanu-PF bigwigs chased all investors away by soliciting for bribes from them on any meaningful investment."They wanted a slice from all who invested, we now call upon the highest office in the land to author the removal of all red tape aimed at investors. Most offices entrusted with the licensing investors in numerous sectors have become drivers of corruption, whereas each of these offices demands a bribe for the issuance of these licences. The bureaucratic red tape should be removed."Mahiya added that government has destroyed the entire formal sector through corrupt activities."" they have now trained their sights on our land which they are selling to unassuming citizens who don't even have the capacity to build a decent habitat for themselves."After lining their pockets with money from poor citizens, they facilitate their evictions and demolition of their structures on the guise that the structures were built without following local government processes."The destructions and evictions will destroy any evidence of their atrocities, however, the wheels of justice will catch up with all of them."
News / National

by Thobekile Zhou

Malawi government is reportedly reviewing it's exports policy to Zimbabwe.This is to assess the impact of the Zimbabwe's recent import ban on the exports.In June, the Zimbabwean government announced it would be imposing bans and restrictions on imports from surrounding countries and beyond.The decision came in light of that country's souring trade deficit which has seen its exports twice lower than the imports.Malawi also happens to be a country that has traded goods such as sugar.The trade restriction has however met a backlash from the public who have resorted to riots, arguing that some of the restricted products are not available in Zimbabwe.According to reports from Malawi, minister of industry and trade, Joseph Mwanamvekha, said the ministry is reading through Malawi's exports to Zimbabwe against the list of the restricted goods.Malawi and Zimbabwe have had a close history for a long time.They share common values, history and culture.On Wednesday Zanu PF's Politburo endorsed the enactment of Statutory Instrument 64 of 2016 by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, saying the regulations would resuscitate ailing industries by fighting unfair competition from foreign products.
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.
First, an admission. As a seasoned observer of the workings of the British state, this paper had feared the Chilcot Report would be just another Establishment whitewash. We could hardly have been more wrong.

True, Sir Johns judgments are couched in 2.6million words of the understated language of the civil servant. But they can be summed up in just one: devastating.

Not only does this report expose, in pitiless detail, the duplicitous, dishonest, secretive, shallow and incompetent conduct of Tony Blair, who bears heaviest responsibility for dragging Britain into the Iraq war.

Defence: Former Prime Minister Tony Blair today apologised but said he would take the same decision again

More disturbing still, because the malignancy remains rooted in our system, it lays bare the appalling shortcomings of the constitution and Establishment, which failed to restrain the former prime ministers excesses or protect our troops from needless danger.

Against Mr Blair himself, the charges levelled by Sir John and his panel simply couldnt be more serious.

Without equivocation, they find he went to war when Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat and before peaceful options for disarmament were exhausted.

They also reveal damning evidence that Mr Blair pledged unconditional support to George Bush eight months before the war, while pretending to Parliament and the people he was seeking a peaceful solution.

I will be with you, whatever, he wrote. (Witheringly, the inquiry comments that he took false comfort from his imagined involvement in US decision-making.)

On and on goes the list of findings against him.

Mr Blair acted on flawed intelligence which he didnt question, as he should have. He then presented it to MPs and public with certainty that was not justified.

In the run-up to the war, he sidelined his Cabinet, preferring cosy sofa government, undermined the United Nations and ignored specific warnings that the invasion would inflame civil strife and terrorism (this, despite his claim to the inquiry that the difficulties in Iraq could not have been known in advance.)

Meanwhile, scandalously, the circumstances in which he secured a decision  from his pliable Attorney General Lord Goldsmith  that the war would be legal were far from satisfactory. As for his planning for post-war Iraq, this was wholly inadequate.

All this, and more, the report lays at Mr Blairs door, after a conflict which failed to achieve his objectives, cost 179 British lives and left an entire region drenched in blood, with a minimum of 150,000 Iraqis killed (mostly civilians) and more than a million displaced.

Revealed: Private notes sent from Tony Blair to then US President George W Bush reveal their close relationship

How sickening, but how typical, that this permatanned actor-politician took time off his jet-setting and money-grubbing from corrupt regimes to deliver a lengthy self-justification and a plea for sympathy over his feelings of more sorrow than you can ever know.

He should try telling that to the grieving families of our war dead and the millions whose lives have been destroyed by Islamic State, which he helped create.

So much for the egregious Mr Blair. It is for others to decide if he has a case to answer in court. But what of the checks and balances of the constitution that are supposed to protect us from an overmighty executive and a deluded egomaniac in No 10?

What of the independent Civil Service, the institutions of the law, Cabinet government, Parliament, the security services  or, dare we say it, the Press, which in the main was shamefully in thrall to Mr Blair? All let the country and its brave forces down.

How on earth did Lord Goldsmith let Mr Blair bully him into changing his legal advice? How could spy chief John Scarlett (now Sir John), co-operate so meekly in exaggerating the value of flawed intelligence?

Why did generals not protest more forcefully against being sent to war with inadequate preparation and equipment? Why did Cabinet ministers submit so tamely to being left out of discussions?

Why did civil servants not insist on being present and taking minutes when war was at stake?

Indeed, how chilling that Sir Cover-Up Jeremy Heywood, the PMs Private Secretary who failed to take notes when he sat in on Mr Blairs sofa government, is now head of the same Civil Service that made no plans for post-war Iraq  and now has none for Brexit.

Far from being a whitewash, this report raises questions which should shake the Establishment out of its complacency and prompt urgent reforms to ensure nothing like this catastrophe can happen again.

But let the last word go to Reg Keys, whose son Lance Corporal Thomas Keys was killed in the conflict: Thank you, Sir John. Youve done the families proud.




More than a year before the invasion of Iraq, I suggested in these pages that there were good reasons to be worried about Tony Blairs mental health.

Those were the days when most people revered him, and mine was not a popular view.

The argument was that the then PM had a fatal tendency to melodramatise events and to exaggerate dangers.

He loved to talk in apocalyptic terms about world problems, and was at that time  I am talking of January 2002  going around the world trying to work up peoples fears.

'Delusional': Tony Blair is pictured walking past an armed guard as he left out of the back door of his home on Thursday morning. The former PM was on his way to the BBC to defend his actions after the Chilcot report

More than a year before the invasion of Iraq, I suggested in these pages that there were good reasons to be worried about Tony Blairs mental health

Sir John Chilcot is far too much the measured mandarin to suggest that our former Prime Minister has some kind of Messianic complex, but the accumulation of evidence in this mammoth report validates exactly this conclusion.

The event that seems to have flicked some sort of catastrophic switch in Blairs mind was the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York on September 11, 2001.

We shall support America in anything they do, he told a meeting of ministers and the military with what turned out to be eerie prescience.

Less than a month later, he expressed himself in near lunatic terms at the Labour Party conference. Having assured his audience that the problems of the Congo and Rwanda could be easily sorted out, he took leave of his senses.

This is the moment to seize. The kaleidoscope has been shaken. The pieces are in flux. Soon they will settle again.

He loved to talk in apocalyptic terms about world problems, and was at that time  I am talking of January 2002  going around the world trying to work up peoples fears

At least Blair is consistent. During his absurdly self-justifying Press conference after publication of the report yesterday  absurd because no amount of proof will ever shake his conviction that he was right  he stated that we were in a new world after 9/11 and at that time did not know where the next attack or danger would come from.

By the autumn of 2001, Blair had already tasted blood, as it were, in the now almost forgotten conflict in Kosovo, where U.S. and British forces removed Slobodan Milosevics troops from the Serbian-ruled enclave without bothering to consider that many of Milosevics enemies were just as nasty as he was.

Kosovo is not quite the basket case that is modern Iraq, but it is an impoverished, hopeless mini-state, and almost entirely forsaken by the British and American governments, and doubtless Tony Blair.

After 9/11, Blair yearned to take on someone new, and when George W. Bush identified Saddam Husseins Iraq as Public Enemy Number One  a risible exaggeration  the British Prime Minister was eager to get involved. Never mind that there was no solid evidence that Saddam possessed any weapons of mass destruction, or that he didnt have Al Qaeda  the villains of 9/11  under tight control.

Perhaps the most spine-chilling of many damning details in the Chilcot Report is Blairs memo to Bush in July 2002 in which he informed the U.S. president, nearly a year before the invasion of Iraq: I will be with you, whatever. To give such an unconditional commitment, neither sanctioned by Parliament nor approved by public opinion, was reckless.And evidence which makes me question his sanity.

Once Blair had excitedly determined on war, there was literally nothing, so the report shows, that would stand in his way  not the opinions of his Cabinet colleagues (which he barely sought), not the weight of the law, not the scarcity of intelligence, and certainly not the total absence of any evidence that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The report notes that Blair and his cohorts referred to WMD without ever going to the trouble of addressing their nature (presumably because the intention was primarily to frighten us as much as possible). It also makes clear that when Blair unveiled his proof about WMD to the Commons in September 2002, he went considerably further than the intelligence allowed.

At least Blair is consistent. During his absurdly self-justifying Press conference after publication of the report yesterday  absurd because no amount of proof will ever shake his conviction that he was right  he stated that we were in a new world after 9/11 and at that time did not know where the next attack or danger would come from

According to Chilcot, Blair was even warned by our intelligence services before the invasion of Iraq that military intervention would probably increase Al Qaeda terrorist activity  the very danger Bush and Blair had claimed they wanted to address.

Sir John is a lifelong civil servant with an inbuilt aversion to calling a spade a spade. But although he doesnt use the word lie, it is plain from the assembled evidence that Blair bent, suspended or ignored the truth because he had already made up his mind  while privately assuring President Bush  that Britain would invade Iraq.

The reports irrefutable contention that our troops were sometimes poorly equipped, and its demonstration that there was no detailed post-conflict planning, are particularly painful. The man who had been so gung-ho for war took scant interest in the welfare of our soldiers, and did little or nothing to safeguard the future of the country which he had helped to lay waste.

What is so perplexing, looking back, is that this manipulative and devious person was not found out sooner. In his early days, before he transferred his hunger for conflict to Saddam Hussein, he was celebrated by most of the Press (though not the Mail) and adored by much of his party (though not, to be fair to him, Jeremy Corbyn).

Even when his fantasies coalesced around saving the Free World with the equally wrong-headed U.S. president at his side, the majority of his party, many Tories, most newspapers and senior civil servants were still disposed to trust him and accept his arguments as those of an honest statesman. The greater part of the country was taken in. Some mandarins allowed themselves to be corrupted.

The explanation for this misplaced indulgence must be that to many he seemed charming and persuasive and, as a self-proclaimed devout Christian, apparently decent. Only a hard core of widely disbelieved critics saw him as an untrustworthy fraud.

Perhaps the most spine-chilling of many damning details in the Chilcot Report is Blairs memo to Bush in July 2002 in which he informed the U.S. president, nearly a year before the invasion of Iraq: I will be with you, whatever. To give such an unconditional commitment, neither sanctioned by Parliament nor approved by public opinion, was reckless.And evidence which makes me question his sanity

One, by the way, was the Labour MP Leo Abse, who suggested that Blairs traumatic childhood had produced in him an obsessive desire to be loved and admired, and to avoid personal confrontation  hence his propensity not to consult colleagues and to surround himself with Yes men.

It seems to me beyond dispute that he is an extreme narcissist  a man who craved power and adulation, especially in America, and in this self-serving cause was in some measure prepared to sacrifice the interests of his country and the lives of British troops.

Even when trying to give an account of himself yesterday in respect of the most serious charges that could be made against a former leader, he was anxious to emphasise the agonies which he had endured. Again and again, the shameless egotist dwelt on his difficulties.

Almost no one takes him seriously now, thank God, apart from a few discredited former henchmen such as Alastair Campbell. Even erstwhile admirers will have turned away in shame and disgust as they witness his pathological urge to accumulate mountains of money despite this process often entailing doing business with brutal dictators.

Without doubt, though, he has left a rancid legacy. His lies and evasions did not merely plunge this country into a tragedy over Iraq. They have also led to a more widely traded currency of mendacity among our political class, and an Establishment culture lacking adequate checks and balances in our system of governance. For example, during the EU referendum campaign, we witnessed the unforgivable manipulation of the government machine to further the cause of Remain.

Blair will prosper materially, of course. Hell buy more houses and make more millions, and deliver highly lucrative speeches to credulous and admiring Right-wing audiences in America who share his mad delusion that he saved the world.
The Duchess of Cambridge caused a surge in demand for hairnets after wearing one at the Somme ceremonies. The look hasnt been in fashion since Ena Sharples wore one in Coronation Street in the 1960s, but Kate isnt the only royal to wear one. The Queen retires in one every night. As for the Duke of Edinburgh, his hair is kept tidy by a barber from Truefitt & Hill who gives him a weekly trim at Buckingham Palace.

The Duchess of Cambridge caused a surge in demand for hairnets after wearing one recently

RE HM, she has declined a copy of Sir John Chilcots 12-volume Iraq Inquiry report and a brain-freezing briefing on its contents by one of her ministers. Shell rely on the BBC and Kris Hopkins MP, vice-chamberlain of the Royal Household. He has the unenviable task of distilling Chilcots boring, 2.6million words into a crisp, handwritten summary.

Chancellor George Osborne wont be interviewed by Newsnight presenter Evan Davis. He still smarts from a 13-minute, justifiable grilling from Davis about our budget deficit on Radio 4s Today show FOUR YEARS AGO. Unpopular Osborne might now need the BBC more than they need him.

Chancellor George Osborne wont be interviewed by Newsnight presenter Evan Davis (pictured)

What's behind ex-Tory minister Sir Malcolm Rifkinds obvious dislike of leadership candidate Michael Gove? He said on Sky News: As long as Gove doesnt come in the final two I dont mind what happens.

Rifkind found himself at the mercy of Gove  then chief whip  after being accused of soliciting cash for access by a 2015 TV investigation.

After a difficult meeting with Gove, Rifkind was suspended from the party and stepped down from his influential perch as chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. Later he was cleared of any impropriety but the wound has yet to heal.

Italy's still-lovely movie siren Sophia Loren, 81, becomes an honorary citizen of Naples this weekend. She lived in poverty there with her mother, grandparents and other family members, never sleeping in a bed with fewer than three family members.

During the Second World War, starving Sophia hid in a rat-infested tunnel during air raids, amid scenes of drunkenness, death and childbirth. Enough to keep todays pampered stars in therapy permanently.

Italy's still-lovely movie siren Sophia Loren, 81, becomes an honorary citizen of Naples this weekend

As the Queen continues her week in Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers, HMs official bodyguard there, strut their stuff. Fancy joining? You need to have Scottish blood, own land there or to have served in a Scottish regiment.
Marks & Spencer visited over 30 barbecue Texan barbecues researching their new 'low and slow' Smokehouse range

Bin those unappealing pink hamburger patties. Leave anaemic little frankfurters at the door. This is 2016, and British barbecues are getting seriouslyhot.

Gone are the days of flash-grilling chicken kebabs in a Weber drum. This year is about cooking low and cooking slow. Arrive at a summer barbie party with anything other than half a pound of slow-cooked brisket, shortribs slow-smoked for 12 hours, sticky pulled pork, bone marrow mash, dill pickles and tangy cabbage slaw, and your name won't be on the door list.

And to whom do we owe this exciting new 'low and slow' barbecue movement? Our log-loving compadres in America's deepest, darkest, cleaver-wielding South, that's who.

When it comes to meat, Americans don't muck about. Particularly not the ones south of Nashville. Heck, these are folk for whom Thanksgiving dinner means plunging an entire turkey into a bubbling cauldron of oil hotter than Satan's whiskers.

But visit Texas, that southernmost US state, and vats of hot oil and sizzling grills are swapped for enormous pits of hot smoke, used for the wood-smoking of hulking great chunks of beef brisket, ribs the size of dinosaur bones, slabs of pork shoulder that could feed a family of five for a month, gargantuan hot sausage links and beef clod tipped with bark. (See glossary if by 'bark' you think we mean anything to do with a tree)

'At a Texas barbecue you don't get seated by a waitress, you queue,' says Nicola Swift, product developer for Marks & Spencer, who visited over 30 barbecue Texan barbecues researching M&S's new 'low and slow' Smokehouse range. 'You enter the barbecues, queue up by the searing hot pit, order your meat by weight, and watch as it's taken out of the smoker, cut up onto butcher's paper and handed to you. No cutlery  you eat with your hands.

'The places are vast and the atmosphere amazing. We went on 4 July and had to queue for over an hour. At 9.30am.'

Interest in proper Deep South smokehouse has been helped by shows such as House of Cards, which sees Kevin Spacey's character obsessed with his local, authentic barbecue restaurant

We owe this exciting new 'low and slow' barbecue movement to our log-loving compadres in America's deepest, darkest, cleaver-wielding south

Welcome to the Texas barbecue, which has about as much in common with a British barbecue as a cute tabby kitten does with a wild African lion. Chucking a bit of steak on a grill is not, according to the Texans, a barbecue.

In Lockhart, Texas, the birthplace of barbecue, pitmaster James McEachern of Kreuz Market, explains: 'On a grill you're cooking very quickly over direct heat. With barbecue you're cooking for 7-9 hours, maybe longer, over indirect heat. The central Texas approach to barbecue is purist: we don't typically cook with sauce and we use a dry rub with three ingredients  salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. It's all about the meat. We send smoke through a pit, cooking brisket for about eight hours.'

M&S's new 'low and slow' Smokehouse range uses dry rubs, very few spices, and long, slow hot oak smokes to produce their mouth-water range which includes succulent beef rib a tender beef brisket rubbed with garlic and mustard seed, juicy pork belly ribs, a falling-apart pork shoulder and authentic sides

Kreuz Market has been smoking meat since 1900, when Charles Kreuz Sr opened his butchery and used a smoker to preserve meat leftover at the end of the day. Kreuz served his smoked fare on butcher paper with a few simple sides, like pickles, potato salad, white bread and raw onion.

'Our Smokehouse meats are cooked for up to 12 hours in our unique fire pits. You just need to wrap them in foil and reheat them on a traditional barbeque - or in the oven if it's raining!

Just as barbecue differs wildly in the UK and the USA, so it does between the American states and even within states themselves. In East Texas, due to the influence of African slaves, brisket is heavily sauced and simmered after being smoked. Southern Texas is more of a Mexican-style barbacoa, involving direct heat and grilling. In Central Texas, sauce is irrelevant, often not even available.

'We focused on Central Texas  namely Austin and Lockhart  when visiting and creating our Smokehouse range,' explains Nicola. 'So we used dry rubs, very few spices, and long, slow hot oak smokes. So we've got a succulent beef rib (5.50, 375g); a tender beef brisket rubbed with garlic and mustard seed (7, 433g); juicy pork belly ribs (6, 700g); a falling-apart pork shoulder (6, 429g); spicy smoked pork links (3, 400g), and firepit beans muddled with smoked beef brisket (5, 200g). Our traditional Texan sides include a tangy slaw and two types of cornbread.

'Our Smokehouse meats are cooked for up to 12 hours in our unique fire pits. You just need to wrap them in foil and reheat them on a traditional barbecue - or in the oven if it's raining. We've done the hard bit for you!'

The BBQ Belt: An Insider's Guide

All across the southern United States meats are smouldering over hot logs. But are meats smouldering in Texas smouldering in the same way as their smouldering Louisiana neighbours? Are they heck. Here's what's happening coast to coast.

M&S's falling-apart pork shoulder (6, 429g)

Tennessee: Deep, slow smokes. Chiefly pulled pork ribs. Dry rubs. Tangy BBQ sauces often made with Jack Daniels.

North Carolina: Come here for whole, pit-smoked hog served in a sandwich with hot pepper and tomato dunking dip and cabbage slaw.

South Carolina: Pork with four types of sauce: peppery, light tomato, heavy tomato, mustard. The latter arrived with German settlers.

Alabama: Pork or chicken, smoked over hickory, in a sandwich served with dill pickles and white sauce (mayo, cider vinegar, horseradish, cayenne pepper).

Florida: Butterflied smoked mullet served with German potato salad and coleslaw.

Texas: Cowboys = cows. Mainly brisket. Enormous ribs. East Texas: marinated in a sweet tomato sauce. Central Texas: dry-rubbed and smoked slowly over pecan or oak. West Texas: heated directly over mesquite wood. South Texas: thick, molasses sauce.

Kentucky: Mutton with three sauces: tomato, hot pepper, and black dip made from Worcestershire sauce. Burgoo  spicy chopped mutton stew  is a big side dish.

Missouri: Pork - especially ribs and 'crispy snoots' (pig cheeks)  beef, bratwurst and chicken, smoked over hickory wood and drenched in tomato-based sauce. Burnt ends, the ends of beef or pork brisket, are popular, as are soul food staples like baked beans and coleslaw.

Louisiana: Whole suckling pig, injected with hot garlic sauce marinade, stuffed with garlic, seasoned with Cajun spice, smoked over rotisserie for 12 hours, served with rice and beans.

California: Spanish-style cowboy feasts of sirloin steak rubbed in garlic salt, skewered onto kebabs and served with salsa, pinquito beans and French bread dunked in melted butter.





12 killer BBQ joints, home and away

1. Pitt Cue, London

Now a full-blown east London dinning hall, Pitt Cue serves up a seriously impressive range of BBQ

First launched as a food truck on the Southbank, then a teeny Carnaby Street eatery, now a full-blown east London dinning hall, Pitt Cue does everything from cured smoked jowl and aged featherblade to grilled lamb heart and pig's head scrumpet. Do NOT miss the mushroom and bone marrow mash. Cracking recipe book, too.

2. Smokehouse, London

With outposts in Islington and Chiswick, Neil Rankin's hearty meathouse serves rich, decadently low'n'slow dishes such as beef shin tacos, chipotle aioli, green sauce; shortrib bourguignon, creamy mash, bacon & Essex Portobello mushrooms, and the famous smoked meat platter, comprising brisket, lamb shoulder and pork belly. Wowzer. Check out his book, too.

3. Red's True Barbecue, Various UK locations

Red's True Barbecue make their beef jerky on site and call their restaurants 'places of worship'

'Let there be meat,' say Red's, who call their restaurants 'places of worship'. Beef jerky is made on site, rib tips are 'blessed with unholy BBQ sauce', and Black Angus brisket and burnt ends are smoked thrice for 16 hours before touching a furnace. Eateries in London, Leeds, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

4. Duke's Brew & Que, London

Pulled pork, hickory-smoked ribs, chicken wings in Bastardo sauce and fried pickles, all washed down with American bourbon and Beavertown Beer (the brewery used to be here before expanding into Tottenham Hale).

5. Bodean's, London

Bodean's meat platter (pictured) is just one of the reasons the restaurant is considered one of the best in the UK

Andre Blais brought his smoky, Kansas City soul food to London in 2002, and his BBQ ribs have since been named the best this side of the Atlantic. The BBQ burnt ends & pulled pork combo can only be trumped by the Bodean's Platter, layered up with ribs, pulled pork, chicken, sausages and a heap of tangy sides and sauces.

6. Smokeworks, Cambridge

Smoked, pulled, brined and seasoned classic BBQ food teamed with beer, bourbon and milkshakes in the heart of Cambridge. They specialise in ribs (try beef shortribs), but we're mad for their smoked and pulled lamb shoulder bun with pomegranate, feta and rocket.

7. Cane & Grain, Manchester

This three-floor smokehouse and speakeasy has a menu to die for, but any order HAS to include the Dino Rib, a massive, dinosaur-sized smoky tender beef rib. It would bring a tear to even Fred Flinstone's eye.

8. Black's, Lockhart, Texas

With dining rooms in both Austin and Lockhart, the Black family continues to spread the barbecue love that began in 1932, over four generations ago. Meat is cooked in the Lockhart pits, and is all about the Angus Beef brisket  lean or with some fat  and their 80-year-old smoked sausage recipe. Try their Mashmallo sweet potatoes. Bottled sauces sold onsite.

9. La Barbecue, Austin, Texas

La Barbecue, Austin, Texas is a true institution which often tops Austin's Best BBQ lists

Consistently topping Austin's Best BBQ lists, La Barbecue is renowned for its perfect meat and monster sandwiches. Try the Frito Loco (pulled pork, chopped beef, chipotle slaw, black bean salad, frijtos, cheese and jalapenos), or the Javiachi (Chicago-style hotdog with La BBQ Hotgut topped with dill relish, sport peppers, pickle spear, onion, tomato, mustard and celery salt). See also Lewis Barbecue, recently opened in Charleston, South Carolina, by former La Barbecue man John Lewis.

10. Franklin Barbecue, Austin, Texas

Heralded as the Best BBQ Restaurant in America by Bon Appetit and 'barbecue nirvana' by Serious Eats, Aaron Frankin's features meat by the pound (brisket, ribs, pulled pork, turkey or sausages), sandwiches, simple sides, pie for dessert (go for bourbon banana), and a 2.5 hour queue to get in. At 9.30am. Get in line.

11. Smitty's Market, Lockhart, Texas

The definitive Lockhart barbecue, Smitty's tagline is 'where it all began'. Edgar A. Schmidt began working at Kreuz Market aged 13, eventually buying it in 1948. Opens at 7am, queues form immediately for melting shoulder clod and gargantuan hunks of prime rib eaten off butcher paper, hands only, alongside slaw, onions, avocado and crackers. Because what idiot waits until lunch for the world's best brisket?

12. Lockhart Smokehouse, Dallas, Texas

Traditional Texan counter service joint where meat is hauled off the smoker and hacked up by weight before your watering eyes. Brisket is the best in Dallas  choose between more fat, less fat or extra bark  but shoulder clod, with its stronger, beefier flavour, is their favourite cut. Pair with ice-cold beer.
A man has revealed the heartache of knowing that he will soon be a widower after falling for a woman with a terminal brain tumour.

When Andy Bell, 26, exchanges vows with his fiance Anna Swabey at their wedding in September, promising to be with her until death do them part, he knows that day is likely to come within the next two years.

Andy, an electrical maintenance engineer from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, proposed in December 2015 knowing that his marriage would be a tragically short one - but was determined to make Anna his wife if only for a few years.

Andy Bell has spoken about his heartache knowing that he will become a widow before he is 30 as his fiance Anna Swabey has a terminal brain tumour. Pictured: The couple together

What makes their love story even more touching is that Andy has known, since before their first date, that Anna was terminally ill.

He recalled: 'We met via the dating app Tinder in February 2015, and after a week of messaging and texting one another, I suggested meeting up for a drink.

'I could see from her profile picture Anna was absolutely beautiful, and her messages had been so witty and funny, I couldn't wait to meet her in the flesh.

'It was then she dropped the bombshell that just a month before, she'd suffered a massive seizure and been diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour.

The pair met using the dating app Tinder, but before their first date Anna asked Andy whether he would still want to meet her knowing she was terminally ill but he said yes

Anna was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January 2015 and was given just three years to live. Pictured: Anna in hospital following treatment

'She texted saying: "I've only got three years to live. I'll understand if you don't want to meet up."'

While some may have balked at the thought of dating a girl who was terminally ill, believing it would simply be too painful and difficult to have a relationship, Andy insisted he still wanted to meet Anna.

'I was so shocked when I read her message. Who expects to get a message like that from a 24-year-old girl? I couldn't believe such a terrible thing had happened to someone so young.

'But I immediately messaged back saying it didn't change anything for me, I wanted to get to know her,' he remembers.

'People have asked me why I went on that first date, knowing Anna was so sick. I know I could have walked away at that point, but I didn't want to.

'It wasn't to do with feeling sorry for her, and taking her on a 'pity date'  something she's told me she was worried about at first  I felt really drawn to her. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't meet her.'

Anna had been worried that Andy had chosen to meet her because he felt sorry for her but he insists he genuinely wanted to get to know her

Within days of their first date, at a local pub, Andy and Anna were a couple.

'We were quickly inseparable, and I knew I had met someone incredibly special,' Andy said. 'We talked about her illness of course, and it was impossible to forget this gorgeous girl was so unwell, but being with her was all I wanted. I didn't care how long that was for.'

Andy proposed to Anna in December 2015 after the pair fell head over heels for one another

Meeting Anna's parents, Linda, 60 and Keith, 52, and her siblings Victoria, 35 and Matthew, 33, was nerve-racking, Andy admitted.

'You're always a bit nervous meeting a new girlfriend's family, but this time was different.

'I knew they would be anxious about Anna starting a serious relationship when she had so much going on in her life, not to mention worried that if it didn't work out between us, could she really cope with heartbreak on top of her illness?

'She'd already had to give up her job as a retail outlet manager, and stop driving because of the seizure she'd had. I knew they wouldn't want her life to become any more complicated.

'I wanted to show them how much I cared for her, and how genuine my feelings were,' Andy added.

'They saw quickly that I was besotted with their daughter, and welcomed me into their family.'

At the same time, Andy had to break the news to his parents, Jill, 56, and Alan, 62, that the new girlfriend he had already introduced them to, was terminally ill.

'Like I had been at first, they were stunned. Anna looked so well, there was nothing to suggest she was seriously sick, so it was a big shock to them.

'Mum asked me was I sure this was what I wanted, and had I thought about what lay ahead if I stayed with Anna? When I assured her I had, and it didn't change my feelings, she said that if I was happy, that was good enough for her and my dad.'

Within a month of meeting, Andy was at Anna's bedside in a London hospital as she recovered from brain surgery.

For the past year he's helped her through 12 gruelling rounds of chemotherapy.

Andy says he is inspired Anna's determination to remain positive and not waste the time she has feeling resentful or angry

Just a few weeks after they met Andy was at Anna's bedside in hospital after she went through chemotherapy

'Anna's condition can't be cured, but doctors are trying to buy her as much time as possible,' Andy explained.

'From the off, our relationship wasn't a "normal" one, most couples don't have dates in hospital, but I knew that part of loving Anna was helping her in whatever way I could.'

Anna's determination to remain positive and not waste the time she has feeling resentful or angry, inspires Andy but he admits they both have moments when they struggle with what lies ahead for them as a couple.

'Anna is so strong but there are times when she breaks down, because she's scared of dying, and of losing her personality and control of her body, as her illness gets worse.

Andy says that Anna's parents Linda, 60 and Keith, 52 (pictured at Anna's graduation) were worried that their relationship might complicate their daughters life but have welcomed Andy into their family

'I feel so helpless when that happens, I would do anything to swap places with her and take the pain and fear away for her.

'When I feel low, or frightened, I try to hide those feelings from Anna. I don't want to burden her. It usually happens when I'm at home alone with our dog Enid, and Anna's out.

I would do anything to swap places with her and take the pain and fear away for her

'It hits me that this will be my life soon, living without her. It's crushing but I try to follow her example and just live in the present, rather than dwell on the future.'

In December last year Andy proposed to Anna with a solitaire diamond ring, having asked her father's permission first.

They're planning to marry in the Yorkshire Dales in September, in front of 160 family and friends.

'I know that by marrying Anna, I'll be a widower before my 30th birthday. However, all I want is to be able to introduce her as "my wife". I can't wait for that moment.

'And as much as having a wedding will be an amazing way to make memories together, it's just one day.

'Getting married is about committing myself to Anna for the rest of our life together, however long that is.'
It can be one of the toughest decisions for all parents-to-be.

But the ways in which expectant parents arrive at a decision over what to call their child has changed dramatically over the years.

What was once a private decision is now often discussed openly for all to see and comment on through social media.

And one of those to join the growing trend of 'social surveying' for their baby name is prominent mummy blogger Sophie Cachia, better known as The Young Mummy.

Help! Prominent mummy blogger The Young Mummy took to Instagram to ask for help in coming up with names for her next baby

Big deal: The Melbourne mother-of-one received more than 1,200 comments on her Instagram post

The mother-of one from Melbourne is currently expecting her second child and took to Instagram earlier this week to ask her 127,000 followers for help with possible baby names.

'First pregnancy I was OBSESSED with baby names, second time around I'm like "meh, that will do",' Ms Cachia wrote.

'I'm totally being a lazy cow and would like to be inundated with your many suggestions.'

'Ps: we don't fancy traditional, this time we're going all out. To think this might be my last pregnancy - woah!'

Exciting news! Mrs Cachia made the announcement that she was pregnant prior to the traditional 12 week mark

Two's company! She currently has one son, Bobby, and does not know what sex her next child will be

Already with one son, Bobby, Ms Cachia asked her followers to guess the sex of baby number two and also provide possible boys and girls baby names.

She received more than 1,200 responses to her post, with name ideas ranging from Billy to Lawson for a boy, and Billie to Cheyenne for a girl.

'I'm obsessed with girl names like Indiana, Cheyenne, Savannah,' one user wrote.

'I also think Honor is quite nice or Alena,' another said.

'First pregnancy I was OBSESSED with baby names, second time around I'm like "meh, that will do",' Ms Cachia wrote on her Instagram post

Surprise! Just last month Mrs Cachia released video of her surprising her husband with the news that they were expecting another child

After asking to be 'inundated' with possible names Mrs Cachia received suggestions including Cheyenne, Honor, Lawson, Billy and Billie, just to name a few

Ms Cachia made headlines last month when she made the announcement about her baby news prior to the traditional 12 week mark.

She also uploaded videos of her announcing the exciting news to both her husband and friends and family.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

The Zimbabwe Republic police has been accused of setting their dogs on protestors they had arrested after conducting door-to-door raids in the Harare suburbs of Mabvuku, Zimre Park and Epworth in the aftermath of Monday's riots.Human rights lawyers who appeared before the Harare Magistrates' Courts representing the suspected 105 rioters spoke of harrowing experiences that their clients endured at the hands of law enforcement agents then.According to the lawyers, including Trust Manda, Arnold Taruvinga, Obey Shava, Gift Mtisi and Jeremiah Bhamu, dogs were set on the suspects, who up to yesterday were still to receive medical attention, notwithstanding their wounds."The accused persons were fed to dogs by police and two of those who suffered the attack are juveniles of school-going age."Some of them were fortunately hospitalised but the only form of medical attention they got was bandages."Further to that, the police officers knowing fully well that the accused persons had been attacked by dogs never made any effort to ensure they were treated for rabies," Bhamu said.About 10 of the accused persons who were mauled by the police dogs stood before Harare provincial magistrate, Vakayi Chikwekwe, and displayed their wounds and blood-stained clothes."Accused 10, Gradual Chareka, is immobilised and cannot stand on his own. Their condition is grave and requires further medical attention. They are being kept under degrading and inhuman detention conditions," Bhamu added, also raising concern about how the police had detained some minors."Section 18 (1) (i) of the Constitution speaks for the rights of children and that their detention should only be a measure of last resort. They ought to have been kept from prison."We would also want it put on record that from July 4 to date, the accused persons were not allowed access to food," he said.Bail application of the accused was postponed to today.
A primary school teacher is inspiring working women with fashionable outfit ideas that are practical and affordable.

Alex Paterson started her blog, What The Teacher Wears, as an Instagram account in August 2014 while at university studying to become a teacher and working at chain stores.

The 27-year-old, from Brisbane, told Daily Mail Australia after a few months the account grew with more followers and she decided to start the blogging her fashion ideas with other teachers instead of wearing boring outfits day after day.

Stylish: Primary school teacher Alex Paterson started a fashion blog for teachers while she was studying to be a teacher at university in 2014

Teacher fashion: Her blog What The Teacher Wore has outfit ideas for teachers who need inspiration with their wardrobe

'It was purely to give teachers ideas on what to wear because there were no guidelines from Education Queensland on what they could wear,' she said.

She quickly gained a following of teachers, student teachers, office workers and mums who are obsessed with her 'teacher fashion', or as she calls it: 'practical outfit ideas for women who still want to look presentable while having fun with their wardrobe'.

Now the fashionable educator has over 32,000 followers on Instagram and over 7,500 on Facebook that follow her motto: 'who says you can't be fabulous between nine to five.'

Popular: The primary school teacher has over 32,000 followers on Instagram and over 7,500 on Facebook

Midi skirts: One of her favourite pieces for a work outfit is the midi skirt which gives fuller coverage but is still fun to wear

Ripped jeans: Ms Paterson teams up a comfortable white blouse with ripped jeans and boots (left) and in another look the stylish teacher puts together a yellow stripped top with a dark blue midi skirt and a statement necklace (right)

ALEX PATERSON'S TIPS FOR WORK OUTFITS: 1. When trying on clothes: 'if you can see up it, down it or through it  just dont do it.' 2. 'When youre in the change room do the same action you would be doing when wearing the outfit.' 3. 'Invest in key pieces (pants, blouse, good fitting jacket, horizontal striped top, and a skirt) in your wardrobe and just play with the trends.' Advertisement

Many of the clothes and accessories featured on her blog are bought from Australian stores such as Target, Portmans, Lovisa and Adorne because of their affordability and quality.

While for teacher-friendly and comfortable footwear she said she swears by Frankie4 footwear.

'Generally I try not to post things that are over AUD$100 if it's for teachers,' she said.

Some of favourite outfits have been the ones with midi skirts (which she says she own 15-20 pairs) and accessorising statement necklaces with plain shirts.

But the one thing all of her outfits have in common is functionality.

'When I look at clothing I look at the practical, can I sit, can I run after kids,' she said.

Practical: Many of her clothes and accessories from her blog come from stores like Target, Portmans, Lovisa and Adorne

Functional: She's received plenty of positive feedback from other teachers particularly student teachers who aren't sure of what they should wear when doing school placements

Ms Paterson said that she's received a lot of positive feedback from teachers and in particular teaching students.

'There's not a lot of help for them. I try to do blog posts for and what they should wear when going into schools for placements,' she added.

'When looking for practical work outfits she recommended to invest in key pieces in your wardrobe and just play with the trends.'

'Pants, blouse, good fitting jacket, horizontal striped top, and a skirt. Then add trend those key pieces,' the stylish primary school teacher said.

Last year some of Ms Paterson's outfit ideas from her blog were picked up by Westfield Chermside.

With her blog taking off she was inspired to do a styling course during her school holidays.

She now balances part-time work as a stylist and primary school teacher.
Prince Harry spoke out today about the urgent need to 'normalise" HIV testing after learning that 25 per cent of people with the disease were unaware of their positive status.

The royal was shocked to learn on a visit to King's College Hospital in south London that the rate of infection, particularly amongst gay men, was on the rise in the UK.

He told health professionals: 'I'm not trying to scare people but [this is an issue] very much on your own doorstep. You owe it to the people that you love...to get tested.'

Prince Harry visited the Camberwell hospital this morning to visit its HIV service, where he took part in a roundtable discussion with leading clinicians

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for Kensington Palace tweeted: 'Raising public awareness of the ongoing challenge presented by HIV - both in the UK and around the world - is a priority for The Prince'

Around 110,000 people are currently living with the disease, but the prince was also told that early diagnosis is the key to living with HIV.

Those treated with with antiretroviral drugs before their immune system is damaged have a completely normal life expectancy.

But patients who do not seek help until the disease has taken hold and caused complications are ten times more likely to develop a potentially fatal associated illness, meaning the need to get tested as soon as possible is crucial.

Chatting with staff an impassioned Harry said: 'People need to be reminded, particularly with numbers going up. Something needs to change.This is very much an issue that people look at think "oh that's just sub-Saharan Africa". Well no, it's not.

'I'm not trying to scare people but it's very much on your own doorstep. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to the people we are in a relationship with, the people that we love.

;You owe to yourselves, you owe it to them to just get tested. And I say just get tested. It is such a simple thing to do but it is obviously a life-changing moment.'

He added: 'We need to normalise testing and smash the stigma.'

Today, Harry, along with leading experts, looked back on the last quarter century of efforts to combat the virus, medication, the role of sexual health services, paediatrics in the UK and Africa, and research programmes

HIV is an issue close to Harry's heart; after visiting Lesotho, Africa and witnessing the suffering caused by the virus, he went on to set up Sentebale which focuses on supporting HIV positive young people in the kingdom

Harry, 31, now fifth in line to the throne, has decided to follow in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, by making the HIV/AIDS epidemic one of the cornerstones of his public work.

He has previously spoken about how inspired he feels by her work smashing taboos around the disease.

Today he was meeting experts and staff at the HIV service at Kings College Hospital in London.

Raising public awareness of the ongoing challenge presented by HIV - both in the UK and around the world - is a significant priority for the prince.

During a roundtable discussion with leading clinicians with experience of supporting testing and treatment efforts in the UK and internationally, Harry listened intently as they spoke about issues such as HIV medications, the role of sexual health services, paediatrics in the UK and Africa, and the research programmes hosted at Kings.

The Prince met with front-line staff who support patients with the virus in London and thanked them for all their important work

Devoted: last month, the Prince, who has been the patron of Sentebale for its 12 years, organised a concert in the gardens of Kensington Palace to raise money and awareness of the charity

The meeting comes ahead of a trip to a London sexual health clinic to see their work first-hand and an appearance at the World AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa.

Harry was fascinated to learn how King's had developed an 'opt out' routine HIV test for anyone coming in for treatment - even for a broken arm or leg - in a bid to help diagnose the issue earlier.

He also quizzed staff about the growing use of home testing kits, which can give a result in as little as 15 minutes.

'But what about the stigma? What about those people who fear they are at risk but think they would rather not know as they feel there is nothing they can do about it and fear it could affect life, family and relationships?' he asked.

Harry also chose not to shy away from the more difficult questions, asking one staff member: 'How many people that you treat do not tell their family? Do you have an ethical duty to?'

Harry listened intently as they spoke about issues such as HIV medications, the role of sexual health services, paediatrics in the UK and Africa, and the research programmes hosted at Kings

Today's meeting comes ahead of a trip to a London sexual health clinic to see their work first-hand and an appearance at the World AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa

Harry was fascinated to learn how King's had developed an 'opt out' routine HIV test for anyone coming in for treatment - even for a broken arm or leg - in a bid to help diagnose the issue earlier

Frank Post, an HIV physician and researcher at the hospital, explained that of the 37 million people had contracted HIV worldwide with 110,000 people infected in the UK, two thirds of which are gay men.

'The biggest issue for us is diagnosing the undiagnosed,' he said. 'Once you are diagnosed there is a free healthcare system in this country, you will be well looked after and successfully treated. But around 20-25 per cent of people in the UK are not aware of their status.

'Which means they do not received treatment, are at risk of transmitting HIV and developing associated illness.

'The good news is that once diagnosed people are being kept alive with the help of drugs very successfully. They can live a very normal life, in some cases even longer than normal. But they need to get tested.'

Harry asked: 'But what about the stigma? What about those people who fear they are at risk but think they would rather not know as they feel there is nothing they can do about it and fear it could affect life, family and relationships?'
Michelle Keegan recently admitted that husband Mark Wright gives her feedback on her style choices.

But she proved that she needs no help when it comes to fashion as she unveiled her latest designs for British clothing brand Lipsy in a series of high glamour shots.

Stepping away from her usual figure hugging dresses and elegant evening wear Michelle's latest line embraces a cosier aesthetic.

Scroll down for video

Michelle Keegan has unveiled her latest fashion line for British fashion house Lipsy in a series of stunning snaps

The 29-year-old's winter line sees her modelling an array of chunky knitwear, and faux fur lined jackets for the approaching colder months.

Michelle says that when designing the collection she looked for ways to add a touch of glamour to a winter wardrobe while remaining practical.

She told the MailOnline: 'Winter for me is all about layering with luxury fabrics and textures, but I always love to add a feminine touch.

'Right now, I love to scroll through my Instagram feed and check out what the fashion bloggers are wearing.

'Or I check out Pinterest to get ideas. Its pretty much a collection of everything I would love to wear once it turns cold.

The new collection sees the actress do away with her usual figure hugging dresses and low necklines instead opting for a range of charcoal tones and modest outlines

Michelle has also incorporated an array of faux fur into her designs claiming that she wanted to marry comfort with high glamour

'It definitely reflects the weather - in the winter I love wearing chunky knits and feeling really cosy. In the summer I like something a little more fun.'

Michelle has been seen favouring the Nineties accessory of the choker that has proved wildly popular among her fellow celebrities, and she has now introduced it into her line.

She continued: 'I love the knitted choker detail dress which comes in black and camel. Like most girls, Im obsessed with chokers right now and this look is the perfect day to date outfit.'

Speaking of her designs she said: 'Winter for me is all about layering with luxury fabrics and textures, but I always love to add a feminine touch'

Michelle, who was voted FHM's sexiest woman in the world in 2015, has recently returned from filming the series Our Girl in South Africa which she says was tougher than expected.

She said: 'Filming for Our Girl has been physically demanding so I'm not following any particular routine at the moment. Once it's finished I'll give myself a little break and then go back to the gym.'

Despite her clear eye for style the actress yesterday admitted that she turns to hubby Mark Wright for advice.

Yesterday Michelle revealed that she often turns to husband Mark Wright for wardrobe advice as he can be critical of her style choices

Speaking to LOOK magazine, the actress revealed that her husband helps her dress up for date night - even if those special occasions don't come around as often as she'd like them to right now.

'Mark gives his opinion,' she said. 'He's quite good with fashion anyway and I normally I love to say that I don't listen, but actually I do. He'll point something out that I haven't seen before and be like, "That doesn't go."'

Michelle admits she doesn't get to see Mark 'as much as she'd like' because it's hard to juggle friends, work and a husband.

'I have to plan,' she said, of getting a date in the diary. 'Mark's always looking at his diary and I'm looking at mine and my friends are all in a group message trying to arrange their time.'

When the opportunities do come around, Michelle and Mark use their time wisely and always make sure they do something special.
Do you have the observation skills that will help you solve this tricky quiz?

There are five pictures in this Playbuzz creation, each one containing a hidden image. According to the quiz creator, introverts are more likely to spot the disguised pictures than extroverts are.

It's up to you to find all the hidden sketches - but be careful, as some are far easier to hunt down than others.

Scroll down for the reveal!

In each image, a drawing is hidden - and it's up to you to find them all

The first image at first looks as though it's just a plain orange painting.

However, after careful examination a figure can be seen in the left hand side of the rectangle.

In the second image, a similarly faint drawing can be deciphered in the middle of the screen.

And the third, fourth and fifth parts of the puzzle are particularly tricky.

In the third, a drawing is hidden within a monochrome spiral, and in the fourth it's disguised within a mustard-coloured screen.

In the fifth, a lion can be spotted in the bottom left hand corner of the green rectangle.

As you will have noticed, some images are far trickier to find than others

It's the latest teaser that tests the relationship between your brain and eyesight.

Another one asked readers to test how good they are at spotting people hidden in a crowd with a busy illustration on Playbuzz that definitely gave Disney fans an advantage.

In this crowded scene, princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas,and Ariel are all hidden. But how quickly can you spot them?

In this crowded scene, princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas,and Ariel are all hidden. But how quickly can you spot them?

This quiz is certainly a tricky one.

Although some princesses - including Belle and Pocahontas are fairly easy to spot, Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine and Cinderella are a little bit trickier.

Some Playbuzz users have even noticed that there are more princesses than the six you have been challenged to find - Auroa from Sleeping Beauty can be spotted in the top and centre, as well as Kida from Atlantis and Mulan.

How many did you spot? Some Playbuzz users have even noticed that there are more princesses than the six you have been challenged to find - Auroa from Sleeping Beauty can be spotted in the top and centre, as well as Kida from Atlantis and Mulan

Puzzle put film buffs have also been put to the ultimate test with a scene in which every image references a movie.

The challenge is whether you can identify the clues and name the cinematic work that inspired it. Take the test to see how many you get right...

The crowded scene created by Playbuzz is set on a tarmac foreground with buildings to the left and right and a backdrop of the Hollywood sign, over which birds wheel through the sky and starships appear to be fighting each other.

This crowd scene is filled with clues but can you identify them and name all 50 films it references?

A lone turret is up in flames, while a chasm appears to be opening up in the hillside while the rest of the image appears to depict chaos.

Some clues are more literal than others, for instance a man playing a violin atop a building brings to mind the famous musical starring Topol.

Fingers tightly closed around some US currency, also accurately depicts a classic US film.

In fact, the test will appeal to those with a wealth of knowledge about Hitchcock films (five clues) and famous directors Martin Scorese hits (three films) and George Lucas (two).

Three cartoons pop up, along with two classic Second World War flicks, musicals also have a place, while a Audrey Hepburn film is included along with one of Patrick Swayze's most loved works.

Ridley Scott films are also featured, with one of them providing one of the easiest visual aids.

HOW MANY DID YOU SPOT? 1 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof 2 The Towering Inferno 3 The Birds 4 Star Wars 5 Breakfast At Tiffany's 6 Fiddler On The Roof 7 The Piano 8 Ghost 9 42nd Street 10 Jamaica Inn 11 Gone With The Wind 12 The Last Picture Show 13 School of Rock 14 The Dam Busters 15 Chariots of Fire 16 Gaslight 17 Mean Streets 18 A Fistful Of Dollars 19 The Sting 20 Blazing Saddles 21 Wall-e 22 The 39 Steps 23 Dances With Wolves 24 The Graduate 25 Singing' In The Rain 26 Batman 27 Seven Brides For Seven Brothers 28 Lady And The Tramp 29 Guys And Dolls 30 Toy Story 31 The Black Dahlia 32 Clockwork Orange 33 North By Northwest 34 Gladiator 35 Blade Runner 36 Jaws 37 Shakespeare In Love 38 Bad Santa 39 The Lion King 40 American Pie 41 Top Hat 42 Happy Feet 43 Shane 44 Raging Bull 45 Taxi Driver 46 The Eagle Has Landed 47 All About Eve 48 American Graffiti 49 The Queen 50 Edward Scissorhands Advertisement

This ultimate film test is just the latest in a slew of optical illusions that are driving the internet wild.

Another brain teaser revealed how even photographs are not always what they seem.

A picture emerged this week that appears to show a beautiful scene of a lake, with mountains in the distance. But can you spot what is really going on?

The image appears to show a beautiful scene of a lake, with mountains in the distance. But can you spot what is really going on?

If you look extremely closely you'll see that the landscape doesn't include any water at all.

What appears to be a the lake is in fact a concrete wall obscuring part of the scenery, with the shrub growing on the other side.

It is one of the trickiest optical illusions on the web, that baffled many who simply couldn't spot what was really being pictured in the image.

If you look extremely closely you'll see that the scene is not, in fact, of a lake. Instead, the photograph is showing a concrete wall

Back in 2015, the infamous 'dress' divided internet users, who simply could not agree over whether it was black and blue or gold and white - with even Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift joining in on the debate.

One year later, the Adidas jacket did the same, with people saying that they saw numerous colour combinations, including blue and white, green and gold, black and brown, and green and brown.

And this week a new colour spectrum illusion emerged to frustrate the nation, proving once again that our perceptions of colour can be very different from each other.

Is this colour blue or green? When asked to name the colour above, 64 per of respondents said that it was green, with 32 per cent believing it to be blue

Optical Express surveyed the UK public with the seemingly simple task of identifying shades of blue and green, as part of a study into our perception of colour.

When asked to name the colour, 64 per of respondents said that it was green, with 32 per cent believing it to be blue.

However, when asked to name the same colour adjacent to two distinctly blue images, many changed their minds - with 90 per cent then stating that it was green.

The shade is indeed more green than blue. According to the RGB colour spectrum, the values of the colour are 0, 122 and 116.

However, when asked to name the same colour adjacent to two distinctly blue images, many changed their minds - with 90 per cent then stating that it was green

Back in 2015, the infamous 'dress' divided internet users, who simply could not agree over whether it was black and blue or gold and white - with even Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift joining in on the debate. One year later, the Adidas jacket (right) did the same

WHY DO WE SEE COLOURS DIFFERENTLY? Every single person is unique and as a result, our brains process information differently. Depending on how you interpret colours, one person might see it one way, while the very next person who looks at it might see it differently. Light enters the eye and hits the retina, which is the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. The light is converted to an electrical signal which travels along the Optic Nerve to the Visual Cortex in the brain. The brain makes its own unique interpretation of this electrical signal. It is not surprising that many respondents changed their mind when seeing the colour in contrast to the two blue shades, as we perceive an objects colour based on a comparison to its surrounding shades, not on the actual colour itself. Assessing colour vision is just one of the myriad of examinations that can be undertaken during a routine sight test. Its possible for colour blindness to go undetected depending on severity - as its impossible to see the world through another persons eyes. Conditions such as protanomaly, deuteranomaly and tritanomaly can range from inconvenient to quite dangerous - often preventing those inflicted from pursuing certain careers. If you have any concerns about your colour perception, you should seek an appointment with a registered optometrist. Stephen Hannan, Clinical Services Director at Optical Express Advertisement

People also had their brain tested by the 'perception test', that challenged quizzers to answer a series of quickfire questions.

The test began by setting out the rules: 'Answer the following questions loudly and as quickly as possible. Don't think too much and don't cheat!'

The challenge, tjhat was also created by Playbuzz, went through a series of animal pictures, asking you to name what each one is.

Internet users are being challenged to test their brain power in a new quiz - which the majority of people will fail

The quiz goes through a series of animal pictures, asking you to name what each one is

Quiz takers are required to answer the following questions loudly and as quickly as possible

The rules stated at the beginning of the quiz add: 'Don't think too much and don't cheat!'

The test surprises the quiz taker by throwing out a completely different question: 'Name one city in the USA'

The photographs feature a cute-looking cat, a guinea pic and a cow.

The test then surprises the quiz taker by throwing out a completely different question: 'Name one city in the USA.'

So what did you say?

According to the creators of the quiz, 92 per cent of people answer New York under pressure.

But if you're one of the few people that named a different city, it shows you've got a creative and innovative mind.

Riddle number one - how quickly can you answer it?

Riddle number two is 'What is the ancient invention that allows people to see through walls?'

A series of riddles posted on Bored Panda also sought to test lateral thinking as well as general knowledge.

Five conundrums included: 'What was the largest island in the world before Australia was discovered?' and 'What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?'

Riddle number three: Which room is the safest out of one full of raging fires, another with assassins with loaded guns and another with lions who haven't eaten in years?

And riddle number four asks 'What rock group has four met that don't sing?'

And the fifth riddle is 'What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?'

Riddle number one is 'What was the largest island in the world before Australia was discovered?'.

While riddle number two asks 'This ancient invention allows people to see through walls. What is it?'

A third question asks: 'Which room is the safest out of one full of raging fires, another with assassins with loaded guns and another with lions who haven't eaten in years?'.

And the fourth riddle reads: 'What rock group has four men that don't sing?'

Riddle number five is: 'What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?'.

Scroll down to read the answers and to see how many you got right.

Number 1: The answer to 'What was the largest island in the world before Australia was discovered?'

Number 2: 'What is the ancient invention that allows people to see through walls?' - a window

The answer to riddle number three, 'Which room is the safest out of one full of raging fires, another with assassins with loaded guns and another with lions who haven't eaten in years?', is the third one, as the lions died of starvation

Answer 4: The riddle 'What rock group has four men that don't sing?' has 'mount Rushmore' as the answer

The answer to 'what rock group has four men that don't sing' is a pun on the faces carved into Mount Rushmore. They are indeed a group of men in a rock group, but they definitely don't sing!

And the answer to the fifth riddle, 'What can you hold in your right hand, but not in your left?', is 'Your left hand'

Answer one is that the island was still there, just undiscovered, while number two is a window, number three is the third room as the lions couldn't survive without food, the fourth answer is Mount Rushmore, while the fifth riddle's answer is your left hand.

The answer to 'what rock group has four men that don't sing' is a pun on the human faces carved into Mount Rushmore. They are indeed a group of men in a rock group, but they definitely don't sing.

Sometimes the easiest-sounding brain teasers are the most difficult ones.

And one of the latest puzzle to sweep the web certainly plays by those rules.

Created by a PlayBuzz user, this colour photo depicts a grey car seat with a mysterious object hidden on it that it's up to you to find

At first, the secret object is impossible to find. However, after a more detailed search you can spot a grey iPad lying flat on the back on the seat

Created by a PlayBuzz user, this colour photo depicts a grey car seat with a mysterious object hidden on it that it's up to you to find.

At first, the secret object is impossible to find.

However, after a more detailed search you can spot a grey iPad lying flat on the back on the seat.

The iPad is well-camouflaged because it's the same colour as the seat, with similar markings.

Another brainteaser to have swept the web depicts a happy-looking holiday scene.

The latest brainteaser to have swept the web depicts a happy-looking holiday scene

A dad can be seen peacefully reading a newspaper while his two children fish beside him - one successfully managing to reel in a big one.

But within the scene, six holiday-themed words have been hidden, and the challenge is to spot them all.

Four of the six words, including 'tree' and 'boy' are relatively easy to spot.

However, the other two are slightly more difficult.

The version of the picture with rings around the words shows how many you got right - or simply failed to spot.

Within the scene, six holiday-themed words have been hidden, and the challenge is to spot them all

Year five pupils at a primary school in Glossop, Derbyshire, were left as stumped as their parents by a question which asked them to 'calculate the perimeter of these composite rectilinear shapes'.

One dad, 43, was so baffled that he turned to social media, appealing for help in solving the question.

As the Manchester Evening News reported, he wrote on Facebook: 'My sons grandma had spent a while helping him with his homework and most of it was straightforward but this one question left her stumped.

The maths puzzle was given to year five pupils at a school in Glossop, Derbyshire

'I then spent an hour or so trying to work it out but found it impossible.

'I really do think it is impossible and it is certainly not something a ten-year-old can answer.'

On social media, many have claimed that the answer is 44cm for both - but not everyone is in agreement.

Another puzzle recently swept the internet, with many trying to solve it using advanced mathematics then kicking themselves when they realised the real solution.

Antley Lamont Staten posted this brainteaser on Facebook, which has been shared more than 370,000 times.

The puzzle shows a grid of nine numbers and a sign next to it asking people to share the image when they find the error.

Yet another puzzle is sweeping the internet, this time boggling the minds of everybody with its deceptively simple answer, above

Lots of people have been trying but failing to solve what they think is a mathematical equation on the right side.

One wrote: 'It' s 4 and 5. 3 + 6=9 2+5=7 not 8 and 1+4=5 not 7. That's how I looked at it.'

However, the answer is that 'mitsake' is spelled wrong.

Theodore O'Connell II wrote: 'This is funny. Most people will pay more attention to the numbers and not the spelling of the sign.'

Pat Ireland said: 'Just shows that it's true - most of us only see the first and last letter of a word.'

Many have been trying to solve the riddle with advanced mathematics, but were probably left kicking themselves when they realised the real solution. The answer is that 'mitsake' is spelled wrong

It came after another very tricky puzzle challenged the internet to find a gherkin hidden among a whole host of burger ingredients.

The brainteaser features a solitary gherkin mixed in with beef burgers, fries and other tasty-looking garnishes.

The challenge is made even more difficult because of all the other green items featured, including salad leaves, cucumber and avocado slices.

The brainteaser features a solitary gherkin mixed in with beef burgers, fries and other tasty-looking garnishes

The visual puzzle was created by illustrator Sally-Ann Heron for food delivery service Deliveroo.

The 25-year-old said: 'I kept forgetting where it was myself, while I was drawing it. I was really hungry by the time I'd finished it.'

The gherkin is actually hidden towards the bottom left of the image, behind an onion ring and a beef burger.

It's not the only food-themed puzzle to have internet users scratching their heads in recent weeks.

The gherkin is actually hidden towards the bottom left of the image, behind an onion ring and a beef burger

In April, popular high street bakers Greggs posted a pasty puzzle that showed a lone cheese and onion bake in a pile of steak slices.

The brainteaser was inspired by the Where's Wally-style puzzles challenging people to spot animals amongst throngs of creatures that have been sweeping the net in recent months.

For those not familiar with the baker's offerings, picking out the pasty proved difficult.

This optical illusion has had pasty lovers scratching their heads - and rubbing their stomachs

The eagle-eyed spotted that the difference lies in the patterns of the pasties.

While the steak bakes feature diagonal lines, the cheese and onion bake is scored with a V-shaped design.

The lone cheese and onion bake is hidden at the bottom right corner of the puzzle.

The cheese and onion bake is tucked away in the bottom right hand corner (circled in red)

Optical illusions have also been messing with people's heads, playing with the way that the brain processes colour.

This psychedelic pattern appears to show green, blue and pink swirls - but not all is as it seems.

The blue and green spirals are actually exactly the same bright green colour, as shown by a close-up picture.

If you test it out yourself on Photoshop, you will find the colour's RBG code is R=0, G=255, B=150.

The optical illusion was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Japanese professor of psychology.

Most of us think the spirals are blue and green because of the Munker Illusion. Simply put, our brains process an object's colour based on what's next to it.

It is not the only optical illusions that has been taking the internet by storm in recent weeks.

The geniuses at Playbuzz have challenged brain teaser boffs to see if they can solve four colour-based puzzles.

The second puzzle shows a list of colours, written in five different colours. The words do not correspond with the colour they are written in, for example 'green' is written in blue

But all is not what it seems and, as the creators say, 'only the keenest eyes can pass!'.

The first optical illusion shows 12 coloured squares.

Participants are asked how many different colours they can see - excluding white.

They are asked to solve the challenge in fewer than seven seconds.

The second puzzle shows a list of colours, written in five different colours.

The words do not correspond with the colour they are written in, for example 'green' is written in blue.

Participants are asked how many colours are named, and have to solve the challenge within nine seconds - which is far less straightforward than it seems.

The big reveal: Participants are asked how many colours are named, and have to solve the challenge within nine seconds

In the third puzzle, brain teaser boffs are given an image of 25 black squares, with a white space between them - and asked how many colours they can see

In the third puzzle, brain teaser boffs are given an image of 25 black squares, with a white space between them - and asked how many colours they can see.

Some challengers may see grey marks at the intersections between the squares.

However, the grey is an optical illusion and the only colours there are black and white.

Some challengers may see grey marks at the intersections between the squares

The task in the fourth and final puzzle seems simple enough - to ascertain which orange dot is bigger

The task in the fourth and final puzzle seems simple enough - to ascertain which orange dot is bigger.

At a first glance, it appears as though the dot on the right-hand-side is larger than the one on the left.

However, this brain teaser is all about perspective and in fact the dots are exactly the same size.

At a first glance, it appears as though the dot on the right-hand-side is larger than the one on the left. However, this brain teaser is all about perspective and in fact the dots are exactly the same size

This is the latest brain-teaser taking the internet by storm, inviting people to take on the challenge in fewer than five seconds

Internet users were also challenged to see if they could spot what was wrong in this sentence, above, that listed a colourful series of numbers above - in fewer than five seconds.

Reading both text and numbers at a quick pace can result in skipping bits out - which many people who failed to spot the mistake have fallen foul of here.

The numbers, which are in colour, attract the eye and the reader may automatically find themselves checking those for a mistake.

In fact, the error is hidden in the text informing you that there is a mistake to spot.

The results, circled in red, show that the mistake is the fact that the word 'the' has been written twice

Those with a keen eye for detail, and practised in the art of speed-reading, will have noticed that the word 'the' is written twice.

The puzzle is a slight detour from the current trend of Where's Wally-style quizzes.

After a spate of illustrations in which a panda was hidden amongst snowmen, Star Wars figures, elephants.

The craze was sparked by Hungarian illustrator Dudas in December 2015 with he drew a group of snowmen and sneaked in a lone panda amongst them.

Six months later the craze for puzzles shows no sign of abating,

Dudas, or Dudolf as he is known when drawing, spawned the Where's waldo-style internet puzzle craze back in December last year when he asked fans to find the panda hidden in these snowmen

The image of the panda was shared hundreds of thousands of times as it captivated internet users who eventually found him here

Dudolf followed up with a series of wide-eyed owls and challenged viewers to spot the cat hidden amongst them.

The birds are depicted in bow ties, and top hats and they're drawn looking in a variety of directions.

With their big eyes and pointy feathers it's almost impossible to locate the lone feline in the group.

Capitalizing on his new-found fame, Dudolf quickly followed up with this image of wide-eyed owls, this time challenging people to find the cat concealed among them

The key to tracking the elusive feline down proved to be the difference between the owls' beaks and the cat's Y-shaped mouth (pictured)

Reddit user Oneste stuck with the panda theme, but this time drew the fuzzy creature hiding among a group of Stormtroopers to mark the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

There amongst Imperial troops including Stormtroopers, Speeder Biker riders and Snowtroopers, is a single panda with the same black and white colouring as the other figures.

Then, in February this year to mark Oscar season, illustrator Michael Rogalski hid a golden statuette among a group of C3PO droids from the Star Wars films and drove the internet mad looking for it.

Reddit user Oneste also got in on the act by hiding another panda in among this group of Stormtroopers
Was so distressed by their bullying that she drove her car into a lamppost

The bullies were waiting in the primary school playground - a group of about four or five. As I approached with my two children, a couple smirked while some of the others rolled their eyes.

What would it be this time? Cruel asides about clothes? Sniggers about haircuts designed to cause maximum hurt?

Heads bowed, we trudged forward, waiting for the verbal sniping to begin. No wonder I had come to dread the school gates.

Maria Fitch is a lawyer and mother to Alfie, Gracie and Charlie and struggled with bullying at the school gate of her children's primary school for years

But the victims were not my children Alfie, then six, or Gracie, four. Rather, I was the target and the culprits were a clique of designer clad, flashy, 4x4-driving school mums who passed comment on everything from the brand of my boots to my bank balance.

We assume this unpleasant taunting comes to an end when we leave school. Sadly, that is far from the truth. The bullies might be older (and certainly should know better), but being victimised is miserable whether you are six or 36.

In fact, it's harder when the school gate bullies are other mums. You want to shout back, but your reluctance to cause a scene or embarrass your children renders you helpless.

You would march straight into the head's office if your child was under daily mental assault, but it is totally different when you are the butt of ridicule.

It should be a consolation to know I'm not alone. When Netmums carried out a survey of attitudes to the school run, they discovered that three-quarters of mums felt the atmosphere at the school gate was cliquey and intimidating.

A third admitted that collecting their child brought back anxieties about their own school days, such as worrying about where to stand and who to talk to. A fifth had witnessed other parents being bullied.

Bullying doesn't just happen to children - when Netmums carried out a survey of attitudes to the school run, they discovered that three-quarters of mums felt the atmosphere at the school gate was cliquey and intimidating (stock photo)

From talking to others at my school, I think it is a problem that has only increased over the years. My mother's generation would share recipes, not insults, at the school gate.

As anyone who has been in my situation can tell you, nowadays it feels inescapable. You have to stand in a playground with your tormentors for 20 minutes twice a day while your children attend school.

Repeatedly facing a pack of competitive and overtly critical women is enough to instil self-doubt and paranoia in the toughest woman. Over time, it wears you down.

Repeatedly facing a pack of competitive and overtly critical women is enough to instil self-doubt and paranoia in the toughest woman. Over time, it wears you down

It is particularly ironic considering that, like most mums, one of the things I had been looking forward to when my eldest started school was the chance to make new friends.

I was very excited about the school, too: a quaint stone building attached to the local church, it appeared to have a friendly, community atmosphere. Or so I imagined.

My son's first year at the sought-after Surrey primary passed relatively smoothly. As a working mother of two, I wasn't able to linger after dropping off Alfie as I had to take Gracie to nursery before dashing to the office where I worked full-time in law.

There was some eye-raising about my not pitching in when it came to baking for a school event, but I didn't take that seriously. I would have loved to have spent afternoons beating eggs like the stay-at-home mothers, but I have to earn a living.

It was when Gracie started school that the atmosphere changed. By then, I had split from Alfie and Grace's father and, having met a new partner, I was six months pregnant with my third child, Charlie, now seven.

My new relationship with a property developer ten years my senior was tempestuous, which was enough to deal with, but what I did not expect was to become the object of gossip.

Maria felt that the bullying was at its worse when the school gate mothers began targeting her children. One morning she noticed her son had a hole in the sole of his shoe so she put him in black trainers for the day, and was criticized for doing so (stock photo)

It wasn't so much what was said at this stage that upset me, more the fact the mothers of my children's classmates cut me out.

No one came up to me or even spoke to me, no matter how hard I tried to start conversations with them. They would blatantly ignore me or roll their eyes at each other when I approached. Sometimes they would actually snigger.

Petty things such as what I wore suddenly became fair game for hurtful comment. Having worked in law all my life, I had built up a trusty wardrobe of smart black skirts and jackets, but the yummy mummies in their skinny jeans weren't impressed.

'Why are you always in black?' taunted one particular stay-at-home mum who was always dolled up to the nines.

After Charlie was born, I took six months' maternity leave, allowing me more time for the school run.

I can honestly say that was the worst time of my life as the bullies ramped up their campaign. It felt as if 20 pairs of eyes narrowed with scorn the moment I approached the playground. No longer in work suits, but dressed casually, I heard whispers of 'cheap budget shops' as I passed - not that I have ever frequented such a chain.

When I happened upon a fabulous bargain in a shoe shop - two pairs of expensive Dubarry boots for the price of one - that was cause for sneering, too.

I'd bought a black and a brown pair in the same style and, after wearing them on consecutive weeks, one bully sneered: 'First, a black pair; now you have a brown pair. How can someone like you afford that?' Then there was the time two groups of mums joined up and someone mentioned taking a photo.

I was standing in the group when a mum pointed at me, saying: 'we don't want her in the photo.' I thought she was joking until she said it again.

Childish, but it still stung.

When one woman came round with a list looking for volunteers to bake for a Mother's Day cake sale, she peered at me and said: 'There's no point even asking you. We know that you have 'childcare' issues.'

(Charlie was six months old when my relationship with his father broke down, making me a single mother to three young children. So much for the sisterhood cutting me slack at a stressful time.)

It reached the point when I questioned my own mind: were they as bad as I'd imagined or was it paranoia?

One morning I was worrying so much I accidentally hit a lamppost in the car park near the school. I knew then they were ruining my life.

Far worse, though, was when the harridans turned their attention to my children. One morning I noticed Alfie had a hole in the sole of his shoe so I put him in black trainers for the day.

'Look at that boy!' hissed one mother. 'He's wearing trainers . . .'

No wonder in that Netmums survey, 9 per cent of mums said they tried to avoid the school run because they felt so uncomfortable. I've heard of mums ostracised because they had jobs and of others, like me, given the silent treatment or being left out of social events.

It's the attitude towards working mums that I think is a big clue to why otherwise bright, middle-class women behave this way.

Increasingly, many have high-powered careers before they start families, managing large teams and holding lots of responsibility.

Those who become full-time mums must experience high levels of boredom and frustration, though they'd never admit it.

They have lost some of their identity, so look for other ways to establish their status and channel their competitive instincts.

A high-earning husband and a nice house aren't enough, so they focus on the school, picking on those who don't fit their mould or seeking power through the PTA.

According to psycho- logists, women get ahead in a competitive situation by excluding others socially. It's our way of displaying aggression.

Research by one Harvard team concluded it is particularly acute when a woman feels insecure about her social position. When she fears being left out, her first move is to exclude a third party.

Though it is little consolation, the idea that these women turned on me because they were worried about being ostracised by each other doesn't surprise me at all.

From time to time, I considered moving Alfie and Gracie to another primary. In the Netmums survey, 11 per cent of parents who argued with other mums moved their child to another school. But my two were flourishing and, after all, the school and its teachers weren't the problem.

The last thing I wanted was for the children to realise what was going on - I didn't want my 'victim' status to rub off on them.

Instead I retreated into my shell. I didn't speak to the head teacher because it sounded pathetic: a grown woman unable to fight her own battles. In any case, she could hardly take the mums to task.

But the constant criticism took its toll. At work, I began to lose faith in my ability. I felt second best. It ended only when Alfie and Gracie left primary school. They are at a lovely secondary and Charlie attends a different primary. Parents at both schools are more welcoming and I have befriended several mums.

But I doubt the scars will heal for years. Just last weekend when out shopping, I saw a woman in a blue car. She was one of the mothers from the old school and she spotted me too, looking me up and down. I felt sick.

I will always marvel at the idle cruelty of the bored housewives who congregate in playgrounds. But I console myself that surely only deep-seated unhappiness can turn an otherwise normal woman into such an enemy.

It's them I try to feel sorry for.
mask of her own - and is stained yellow

Since she shot to fame last year in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you would imagine that Daisy Ridley could have her pick of the world's most exclusive and expensive beauty treatments.

But the 24-year-old British actress has revealed a distinctly homespun attitude to her skincare routine.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Ridley appeared covered in a yellow turmeric face mask, explaining that she had discovered it while searching for homemade skin remedies online.

Annabel Cole gives a turmeric face mask a try. Turmeric is said to have natural anti-bacterial properties and those combined with its anti-inflammatory powers mean that it is seen to be particularly beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema and acne

'I'm having a slight nightmare,' she confessed to her 2.2 million followers on the social media website. 'I may have been slightly over-liberal with the turmeric. My hands are dyed yellow and I have filming tomorrow.'

Ridley ended the post caked in thick yellow paste, leaving fans in suspense over how it would turn out. Later, she added: 'I scrubbed my face and I am yellow!'

Why would anyone - especially a Hollywood star in the middle of filming - even contemplate a kitchen cupboard remedy such as a turmeric face mask? The vibrant yellow, fragrant spice is best known as a staple ingredient of Asian cookery, not as a beauty treatment: surely it has to be recipe for disaster?

But delve into spice world, and you'll discover that cooking is only one of the myriad uses of turmeric. In Eastern culture it has long been hailed as a wonder spice and has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat ailments from arthritis and heart disease to liver damage, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer.

More recently, it has even been suggested as a treatment for other cancers.

And the reason for this? The turmeric root contains a chemical called curcumin which has been shown to have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

To date, there has been too little research to support the healing claims of turmeric, but that hasn't stopped its reputation as a super spice spreading to the West, where it now has legions of fans.

Turmeric is said to have natural anti-bacterial properties and those combined with its anti-inflammatory powers mean that it is seen to be particularly beneficial for skin conditions such as eczema and acne. Hence its attraction to sufferers, including Ridley who in an Instagram post last month spoke about her long battle with acne, having been diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovaries, conditions which disrupt the body's hormone levels.

In a short video posted on Instagram, Daisy Ridley appeared covered in a yellow turmeric face mask, explaining that she had discovered it while searching for homemade skin remedies online

But Susan Mayou, consultant dermatologist at the Cadogan Clinic in London, is not convinced.

'There are a lot of claims made for turmeric, but they need scientific back-up,' she says. 'In fact, I can't imagine that turmeric would do anything at all to someone like Daisy Ridley who suffers from bad acne and underlying polycystic ovary syndrome.'

But the claims for turmeric are not only in relation to problem skin. With its antioxidant properties, turmeric is commonly used for skin rejuvenation.

Daisy Ridley is not the only actress to be aware of turmeric's potential benefits. Thandie Newton has called turmeric her 'secret weapon' and mixes it with her tinted moisturiser to give her skin an extra sunkissed glow.

The recipe was simplicity itself: one teaspoon of turmeric, one teaspoon of yoghurt and one teaspoon of honey - but Annabel found that it stained her skin yellow

Beauty expert Jenny Pabila explains: 'Traditionally, turmeric was combined with oils and herbs into a paste and applied to the skin of young brides and grooms in the run up to their big day to ensure that their skin was radiant for the wedding.

'In the past few years, there's been a definite move away from synthetic skin remedies. People are looking for alternatives and turmeric is centuries old.'

I mixed the ingredients together and created a bowl of intensely coloured, yellow goo. Could this curry-coloured mess make me look radiant, or would I end up looking like a dodgy takeaway?

But how do you make a turmeric mask? I took the Daisy Ridley approach and looked online where I found innumerable face mask recipes, combining turmeric with everything from coconut and almond oil to chick pea flour and egg. I plumped for a basic mix.

The recipe was simplicity itself: one teaspoon of turmeric, one teaspoon of yoghurt and one teaspoon of honey. In addition to the skin-boosting properties of turmeric, the recipe explained, honey was antibacterial and would act as a moisturiser and the lactic acid in the yoghurt contained alpha hydroxy acid, a natural exfoliant.

I mixed the ingredients together and created a bowl of intensely coloured, yellow goo. Could this curry-coloured mess make me look radiant, or would I end up looking like a dodgy takeaway? I knew which side my money was on.

Unlike Daisy Ridley, I do not suffer from acne so concentrated on the mask's youth-enhancing properties, applying it to the crow's feet around my 44-year-old eyes and the puffy bags underneath.

On the plus side, the consistency was firmer than I had imagined and it covered my face thickly without dripping onto my clothes. And it was far less smelly than I had envisaged. By the time I had covered my face, my fingers were bright yellow. I gulped - what on earth was it going to do to my face?

Cooking is only one of the myriad uses of turmeric. In Eastern culture it has long been hailed as a wonder spice and has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine to treat ailments from arthritis and heart disease to liver damage, irritable bowel syndrome and bowel cancer

Resisting the urge to wipe it off immediately, I waited the full 20 minutes advised. It stayed supple as it dried and was more comfortable than masks I have used in the past.

Looks-wise though, it was out of this world: my puppy, usually a bundle of friendly energy, stared and then cautiously sniffed me before despondently padding away.

When the 20 minutes were up, I ran to the bathroom and started wiping the mask off with cotton wool and warm water. A few minutes of wiping and about ten cotton pads later, I was still a dead ringer for a Lego Minifigure.

Soap, water and some make-up wipes helped dilute my jaundiced hue, but after four rounds of washing, I still looked like I was recovering from a tropical disease.

And my skin? The good news was that it felt soft. As for glowing, well yes, if your aim was to look like a traffic light stuck on amber. A few more face washes later, my skin began to revert to its normal colour.
He's been praised in his past posts for telling the hard truths of parenting, from shopping for a pram and taking on the role of mum for the day.

But in his latest Facebook post 'Daddy Blogger' Brad Kearns took a hilarious approach to sharing his tips on how he keeps his home clean with his 76,000 followers.

In the post, the 27-year-old father, from Tuggerah, wrote about his incredible ability to get the home clean in 15 minutes, the amazing power of baby wipes (and why there's a pack in almost every room of their home - but not the adult bathroom) and the growing demands of the bin that needs to be emptied.

However it was the former army personnel's comments on letting the pile of his kids dirty clothes and dishes pile up for a week before washing them that touched a nerve with many of his followers.

Bonding with his boys: Daddy blogger Brad Kearns (pictured with his two young sons) made a recent post about letting his kids dirty clothes and dishes pile up for the week

'Grateful': In his post he shared with his 76, 000 and that the best part of being married is that you are part of a team

In the post, the father-of-two wrote: 'Everyone knows it's easier to let the washing pile for a week and fold it all in half an hour.'

'Do you do your tax every week? No!!! Let that s**t [sic] get out of hand and get it all done at once.'

One of his suggestions for keeping leftovers and saving up on washing was to cling wrap the whole pot.

And for baby bibs, he said to turn the bib around to get a second meal out of them.

Missing mummy: The daddy blogger made his first post about stepping up to both roles as dad and mum when his wife was admitted into hospital for liver failure in April 2016

One his followers who agreed with his cleaning philosophy wrote: 'I'm feeling the same way. Mostly it just is dirty and I avoid visitors at all costs. We don't have a person who comes in to clean so I have to do it.

'Problem is I work from 7-5, fetch my son from school, come home, feed and bath him, get him to sleep, then start on our food. By this time it's around 8am and I'm exhausted.' [sic]

But another follower, who described herself as a stay at home mum disagreed: 'My entire house is spotless by 8:30-9:00 every morning (sahm) before the Bebe is ready to go back down for a nap.' [sic]

'Then I just tidy as I go throughout the day when it comes to toys etc. I'm a big fan of putting things away when you're done with them. Mess shits me to tears... literally! Lol' [sic]

Adorable: His post touched a nerve with other parents who use the same method for maintaining their home

'Real world': The former army officer a previous post he said buying his first car was a lot more easier and cheaper compared buying a pram

This isn't the first time Mr Kearns's Facebook post have caused a stir in the online parenting community.

In the past he wrote about his 'horror' shopping experience of buying a four-wheeled pram, which he said was a lot easier and much cheaper than purchasing his first car.

However it was his heartwarming post about taking over his wife's, named Sarah, job as mum after she was admitted to hospital for a failing liver that touched many parents.

In a previous interview with Daily Mail Australia he said: 'The thing is I'm not even sick. So when I visited her in hospital [yesterday] we had a laugh about the difference it was for me and Sarah said "you should do updates on Facebook so you remember how hard it is"'.
Farewell parties at Buckingham Palace for the members of the Queens household can be jolly affairs.

When they said farewell the other day to retiring Graham Sharpe, her long-time director of property services, Prince Andrew rose to the occasion with a speech including some good jokes about the leaky palace roof.

Joining in the in-house laughter, unusually, was an outsider  Lady (Penny) Brabourne, 63, a butchers daughter who is the Royal Familys most intimate family friend.

A friend in need: Prince Charles walked Alexandra down the aisle - she is Princess Diana's goddaughter and the daughter of one of Charles' oldest friends

So close is she that the Queen even loaned her Mr Sharpe to help with the renovation of Broadlands, the Hampshire estate where Penny lives and which, over the years, has been a home from home to the Royals.

What binds the tall and willowy Penny to the family so affectionately is not just the much-discussed carriage-driving relationship she has with 95-year-old Prince Philip, who was a prominent guest at Mr Sharpes farewell, guffawing at his sons jokes.

It is the fact that both she and the Royal Family have been enveloped by personal tragedies in recent times, some of which they share  though the Royals suffering hardly compares to what she has endured.

This October marks the 25th anniversary of the death from kidney cancer of Pennys daughter, Leonora. The bright and happy child was just five.

Her son Nicholas, 35, once a mentor to Prince William at Eton, was a victim of crack cocaine and heroin.

Close: Lord and Lady Brabourne at the wedding - the couple are among the royal family's closest friends

To cap it all, as she was nearing 60, her husband Norton  the 8th Baron Brabourne and grandson of Earl Mountbatten of Burma  left her six years ago for another woman, only to return when his mistress dumped him four years later.

In his absence, Penny was left to run the 6,000-acre estate, and has been doing so brilliantly. Now a broken man in declining health, Norton lives in a cottage on the estate. They remain married.

Earl Mountbatten was killed by an IRA boobytrap bomb in 1979 in his small fishing boat in Ireland in the blast that killed Lord Brabournes younger brother Nicholas, who was 14, and his grandmother, as well as a local boy.

So just imagine the bittersweet emotions that Penny must have felt when sitting down to plan the wedding of her daughter Alexandra, 33, to her fiance of some years, Tom Hooper, an IT entrepreneur.

At last, here was something to celebrate, but there was also a problem.

Lord Brabourne, 68, a frail figure who is often accompanied by carers when out in the nearby town of Romsey, would obviously be involved in his daughters wedding. But would he be able to walk her down the aisle and give her away?

The answer comes from the Rev Canon Tim Sledge, the vicar, who conducted the service at Romsey Abbey.

He simply was not well enough, says the vicar. What better than to have a family member to give her away.

Enter Prince Charles, Lord Brabournes cousin and his best man in 1979, when Norton married Penny in a ceremony that had been delayed three months by the IRA bomb.

Charles volunteered to assume the father-of-the-bride duties. A month before the wedding, the Prince made it plain he would be honoured and delighted to take over the crucial role from his old friend. Well, he owed him a favour. Norton was a year his senior at Gordonstoun, and helped Charles get through the schools notoriously rigorous physical regime which he hated.

There was another connection, which goes to the very heart of how the Brabournes are so interwoven with the Royals: Princess Diana was Alexandras godmother.

Tragedy: Lord and Lady Brabourne with their children - Norton and Penny with Leonara (left aged five), a year before she died, with siblings Nicholas and Alexandra

As for Norton leaving Penny after 31 years of marriage for fashion entrepreneur Jeannie Nuttall (they briefly set up home together in Nassau in the Bahamas), Prince Charles is hardly blameless in allowing his passion for another women to destroy his marriage.

So come the wedding day at the end of last month and there was Charles  albeit without Camilla, who spent the day with her grandchildren  the perfect stand-in, under the gaze of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as well as Princess Anne.

To aesthete Charless satisfaction, no flowers decorated the ancient Romsey Abbey, founded in AD907 and rebuilt two centuries later.

No flowers at a wedding? As the vicar explains: The family said they loved the beauty of the architecture, especially its arches, and didnt want to detract from it.

Charles knows the ancient abbey well. It is where his much-loved honorary grand-father Lord Mountbatten lies, and he likes to drop in to spend private moments at the gravestone set in the floor. At the wedding, the Queen and Prince Philip (Mountbattens nephew) also took the opportunity to spend time in silent contemplation at the resting place of Uncle Dickie, murdered by the IRA while on holiday with his family at Classiebawn, his holiday home in Ireland.

One is entitled to wonder to what extent those moments in Romsey Abbey were in the Queens mind when, just a few days later, on a visit to Northern Ireland, she was asked by Deputy First Minister and former IRA commander Martin McGuinness if she was well and the Queen replied: Well, Im still alive.

As for the brides father, Lord Brabourne, watching the marriage ceremony while gripping the hand of his estranged wife, he may well have been wondering just what the future holds for Broadlands.

It is, famously, where the Queen and Philip  as well as Charles and Diana 34 years later  spent part of their honeymoon and endless weekends when their children were growing up.

Locally, it is anticipated that Brabournes accountant daughter and her new husband will eventually move into the historic house to help her mother run the estate.

Royals: The Queen and Prince Philip spent their wedding night at Broadlands in Hampshire, the former home of Prince Philip's uncle, Earl Mountbatten in 1947

Penny, who studied at the London School of Economics, arrived at Broadlands when it was left to Lord Brabourne.

The expectation was that he would devote his life to maintaining an estate of unique provenance, where Noel Coward used to play the piano at Mountbattens weekend house parties (he was referred to as the pianist) when the Queen and Prince Philip were staying.

Becoming the chatelaine of one of the countrys most famous houses was a challenge for Penny, whose father, Reg Eastwood, moved on from being a butcher to founding the Angus Steakhouse chain.

She took to it instantly. And one of the things that has particularly impressed the Queen is the way Penny has put aside her personal setbacks to make sure that Broadlands is secured for the future.

The sudden disappearance of Lord Brabourne  making a mockery of the family motto In Honour Bound  made no difference to the way things were run.

Not for one moment did Penny allow her husbands departure to interrupt the smooth running of the estate, says a local figure. She was impressive. Lord Brabourne hated the responsibility of running Broadlands. One of his old friends says: The fact is Norton was always complaining that the estate had been foisted on him and was a dreadful burden.

Not so Penny. She is devoted to Broadlands. It is a house that she never wants to leave because it is where her daughter, Leonora, is buried. Through the windows of the drawing room she can see the tall stone monument that stands on a plinth 100 yards from the house.

Happy memories: The Queen and Prince Philip returned to Broadlands in 2007 to mark their diamond wedding anniversary

The mansion contains a fire-proof, bomb-proof and flood-proof archive that used to contain Lord Mountbattens papers until they were moved to Southampton University. It now holds precious photo albums and film that record Leonoras tragically short life and have been described by Lady Brabourne as my most treasured possessions.

It was in August 1990 while Penny and Norton were on holiday in Majorca with the Prince and Princess of Wales that Leonora became ill. Penny wept on Charless shoulder.

Just 14 months later, Leonora was dead. There was a huge wave of public sympathy from millions who had watched Trooping the Colour that June on television and remembered the little girl on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Dressed all in red, she wore a hat to cover the loss of hair she had suffered during her chemotherapy treatment.

Money poured into the Leonora Childrens Cancer Fund, which the Brabournes founded in their daughters memory. It was merged with the Edwina Mountbatten Trust in 2010, the year Norton took off.

Weddings are always a time for reflection and nostalgia, and there was much quiet talk at the reception (in the great house itself) of Pennys resilience and sheer guts.

There was also discussion of how her son, Nicholas, having fought his way through years of addiction and rehabilitation, was looking better than he has for years. He was escorting his 90-year-old grandmother, Countess Mountbatten.

Working as a digital artist and living with a nurse in a Chelsea flat, Nicholas  the future Earl Mountbatten  is seen as unlikely ever to take over the running of the estate.

This week, Broadlands opens to the public for its annual summer season. Most great houses that the public can visit have an epic tale to tell, usually from the distant past.
Elie Saab latest collection took to the runway at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Wednesday, showing an impressive collection of matching dresses for both adults and children.

The ethereal gowns were modeled by women and girls that could pass for mothers and daughters, with similar skin tone and hair colour.

The pairs looked straight out of a fairy tale in the dresses, which were floor length and fit for a princess.

Stunning: Elie Saab showed its latest collection at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Wednesday

Royally good: The collection included matching mother-daughter gowns that were fit for a princess

The show was called Impressions of New York, with many pieces inspired by the American city and its famous skyline.

Elie Saab described the collection On Twitter as 'alluring and accentuated femininity reveals the influence of mid-century silhouettes'.

Many of the pieces had intricate beading, a well known signature of the fashion house. Sheer fabric was also a common thread in the collection, mostly in the full skirts of the dresses.

Concrete jungle: The show was titled Impressions of New York and was inspired by the city and its skyline

All that glitters: Many of the gowns featured intricate beading, one of the fashion house's signatures

One of the most stunning dresses of the night was a cream number with lace detail and gold beaded designs.

For the adult range it featured a cinched waist with a gold belt and long sleeves, whilst the child's version had some alterations.

Another standout was a daring black dress with sheer black shirt that featured red hearts printed onto it, as well as a pale pink gown with blue-grey beading.

Movie stars: Models wore red lips and winged black eyeliner in a throwback to 1940s Hollywood glamour

Gorgeous: The collection was well received and is sure to pop up at black tie events soon

The combination of the full skirts, hourglass shape and delicate beading gave off the vibe of old school Hollywood glam and the film stars of the 1940s.

This was extenuated by the make up choices for the models, with black winged liquid eyeliner and red lips on the women and natural fresh faces on the girls.
Queen Letizia of Spain showcased true Parisian chic as she stepped out in the French capital this morning.

The Spanish monarch oozed sophistication in an elegant white pencil skirt paired with a ruched navy blue sleeveless top for her engagement today.

Letizia, 43, coordinated her accessories to her outfit as she was seen carrying a white envelope clutch bag and wearing navy heeled sandals.

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Queen Letizia of Spain showcased Parisian chic at the World Health Organisation conference in the French capital

The mother-of-two met with the French Environment Minister Segolene Royal and World Health Organisation Public Health Director, Maria Nera for her engagement this morning.

The queen was not accompanied by her husband King Felipe VI today as she attended the Second Global Conference on Health and Climate.

Letizia delivered an impassioned speech during this morning's conference where she discussed global responses to climate change.

Letizia delivered an impassioned speech during this morning's conference where she discussed global responses to climate change

The mother-of-two met with the French Environment Minister Segolene Royal (left) for her engagement

The world now has a global climate agreement - that will have a major public health policy impact as countries take action. As stated in the agreement, 'the right to health', will be central to the actions taken.

The Agreement not only sets ambitious aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming well below 2C, it also commits countries to strengthen adaptation.

Through monitoring and revision of national contributions every five years, the world will begin to see improvements not only in the environment, but also in health, including reductions in the more than seven million deaths worldwide that are attributed to air pollution every year.

The Spanish monarch waved to her audience as she took her seat at the conference this morning

Letizia oozed sophistication in an elegant white pencil skirt paired with a ruched navy blue sleeveless top for her engagement today with Segolene Royal (left) and the French Development and Francophonie junior minister Andre Vallini

While her husband King Felipe VI was not present today the royal was joined by French Environment Minister Segolene Royal

While the King of Spain was not able to watch his wife deliver her speech this morning the pair looked very close earlier this week.

The King and Queen of Spain were seen flirting up a storm as they visited Madrid on Tuesday to present scholarships at a ceremony for a Spanish electricity company.

As the couple took to the stage at the ceremony held to present Iberdrola 2016 Scholarships, they could be seen whispering to one another and trying to stifle their giggles as they embraced.

The King, 48, could barely take his eyes of his doting wife who looked feminine in florals for her official engagement this morning.

On Tuesday Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI looked more loved up than ever this morning as they presented scholarships at a ceremony in Madrid

The couple were barely able to stifle their giggles as they shared a joke on stage during the ceremony

Letizia, 43, stepped away from her usual look of tailored trousers, opting instead for a floaty cream dress with a tulip print and ruched detailing.

The mother-of-two added some bling to her ensemble with a pair of bejeweled drop earrings and gave herself some height next to her husband with a pair of heeled court shoes.

The Spanish monarch has been favouring a straighter hair style of late with today seeing Letizia opt for a sleek blow dry.

She finished her look with a soft neutral eyeshadow and a slick of berry coloured lip gloss added a sheen to her pearly white smile.

The royal couple attended the ceremony in the Spanish capiatal to present Iberdrola 2016 Scholarships

King Felipe looked dapper in a light navy suit which he paired with a green striped tie and a crisp pin striped shirt.

The couple were blessed with fine weather today at the event which was held outside the company's headquarters.

The scholarships presented by the royal couple today tie in with the company's tenth anniversary of the programme.

The event was attended by the acting Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Mr. Inigo Mendez de Vigo, who was accompanied by the Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galan.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

Police are still appealing for the whereabouts of the suspect fingered in the case where minors are believed to have been abused.The photos of the suspect, who was wearing Zimbabwe National Army uniform, went viral on social media and police are still hunting for the suspect.Zimbabwe Republic Police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba called on Zimbabweans with information which might lead to the whereabouts of the suspect to come forward.She added that although the first suspect, also a minor, was apprehended, doctors confirmed that he was not the one on the picture.Police said a girl child who is the victim was sent for professional counselling and they hope that after the sessions she will assist them with information which might lead to the arrest of the victim.Police continue to urge parents and guardians not leave minors with strangers as this exposes them to abuse.
What's the next best thing to actually mucking around with Mark Zuckerberg, cooking with James Cordon and posing on the cover of Vogue with Gigi Hadid?

Pretending you did, of course!

And graphic designer Lorenz Valentino - AKA Dino - has such epic Photoshop skills that it's hard to believe he's not actually there in the celebrity scenes he's been superimposing himself into.

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What's the next best thing to actually mucking around with Mark Zuckerberg, cooking with James Cordon and posing on the cover of Vogue with Gigi Hadid? Pretending you did, of course!

Lorenz, 25, from Germany, appears in all of the photos - including ones with Adele, Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift, wearing a snazzy dinosaur onesie.

He told FEMAIL: 'The Dino costume was just an idea I had with a friend.

'As I'm a graphic designer I thought Photoshop was the easiest way to get my art out there.

'If I could actually meet any of the celebrities I've been photographed with... I'd date Ellie Goulding and Emma Watson right off. Or, guy-wise, The Rock for sure.'

Graphic designer Lorenz Valentino's Photoshop skills are so epic that it's hard to believe he's not actually there in the celebrity scenes he's been superimposing himself into

Lorenz, 25, from Germany, appears in all of the photos - including ones with Adele (pictured), Jennifer Lawrence and Taylor Swift, wearing a snazzy dinosaur onesie

He told FEMAIL: 'The Dino costume was just an idea I had with a friend. As I'm a graphic designer I thought Photoshop was the easiest way to get my art out there'

'If I could actually meet any of the celebrities I've been photographed with... I'd date Ellie Goulding (pictured) and Emma Watson right off. Or, guy-wise, The Rock for sure'

Lorenz posts his hilarious Photoshopped pictures on his Instagram account, to the delight of his 8,904 followers.

As well as appearing in celebrities' Instagram photos and album covers, he has also made appearances on the cover of French Vogue, with Gigi Hadid, and Cosmopolitan, as part of the Kardashian clan.

In one particularly amusing snap, he has Photoshopped himself shaving the leg of Victoria Beckham, in an Instagram photo of her stretching her leg into the air.

As well as appearing in celebrities' Instagram photos and album covers, he has also made appearances on the cover of Vogue, with Gigi Hadid, and Cosmopolitan, as part of the Kardashian clan

In one particularly amusing snap, he has Photoshopped himself shaving the leg of Victoria Beckham, in an Instagram photo of her stretching her leg into the air

He even Photoshopped himself into Kayne West's controversial music video for Famous - and lies among the naked famous people including Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Chris Brown

He even Photoshopped himself into Kayne West's controversial music video for Famous - and lies among the naked famous people including Ray J, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Donald Trump, Caitlyn Jenner, Bill Cosby, George W Bush and Amber Rose.

Another snap shows him sitting on the shoulders of The Rock, brandishing a plunger, with Kevin Hart also present.

He's also pictured smoking a cigar while chilling out with everyone's favourite 'bad girl', Rihanna, who's donning a pair of stylish, heart-spade sunglasses.

But perhaps the most amusing shot is of Lorenz - AKA Dino - and Taylor Shift, where he gazes at her curiously, plunger again in hand.

Another snap shows him sitting on the shoulders of The Rock, with Kevin Hart also present

He's also pictured smoking a cigar while chilling out with everyone's favourite 'bad girl', Rihanna, who's donning a pair of stylish, heart-spade sunglasses
Model and activist Andreja Pejic was catapulted to fame when she stepped out on the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2011.

Scouted as a model while working in McDonald's aged 16, Andreja has enjoyed a successful career in fashion - appearing in shows for Marc Jacobs, Michalsky and Rosa Clara, among others.

The sultry supermodel was ranked number 98 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World in 2011, three years before she underwent sex reassignment surgery - and she has not looked back since.

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Model and activist Andreja Pejic (pictured attending the 2016 Fragrance Foundation Awards presented by Hearst Magazines on June 7) was catapulted to fame when she stepped out on the runway for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2011

Andreja's career has seen her both challenge and break down gender barriers, and in May last year she became the first transgender model to be profiled by Vogue.

In an interview with ES Magazine, the Australian model spoke candidly about her transition and why she will never be ashamed of her past again.

'When I was little, the idea of waking up as a girl was like a fairytale,' she said.

'I had this idea that I'd meet a witch who would transform me. From the moment I found out that it was actually possible, I went to bed each night feeling that when it happens, it will be the best day of my life. And it was!'

Making a name for herself: As a child, Andreja settled as a refugee in Serbia before moving to Australia at eight years old (pictured on Instagram)

Scouted as a model when working in McDonald's aged 16, Andreja (pictured at a fashion fundraiser in April) has enjoyed a successful career in fashion - appearing in shows for Marc Jacobs, Michalsky and Rosa Clara, among others

Andreja explained that when she emerged from surgery, she 'felt complete' and told the doctors to 'throw away! her discarded body parts.

'I'd planned on a p**** shower, but actually the time afterwards wasn't easy as I had to work out what to do with my career,' she said.

As a child, Andreja fled war-torn Bosnia with her family to Serbia where they settled in a refugee camp near Belgrade, the country's capital.

When she was eight years old, she immigrated to Melbourne with her mother as a political refugee.

Star on the rise: Other modelling coups have seen her walk the runway for H&M and front a campaign for major cosmetics brand  Make Up For Ever

Andreja, pictured in New York on June 28, explained that when she emerged from surgery, she 'felt complete' and told the doctors to 'throw away! her discarded body parts

Speaking about growing up during the Yugoslav wars, she said: 'I've seen people who lived happily together for 50 years suddenly go to war over identity.

'At the time, everyone was like: "How can this happen?". But with the right conditions, anything can happen.'

She added: '[My father] did take some time to get his head around the sex change, but for a Balkan man I have to say he's not so bad.'

'There were a lot of pressures growing up working-class, with a single mum who had been through so much  I didn't want to stress her out.

Andreja's career has seen her both challenge and break down gender barriers, and in May last year she became the first transgender model to be profiled by Vogue

'My mum would say sometimes: "Do you think you might be gay?". But it wasn't that. When I imagined myself in a romantic setting, it was heterosexual, but I was always a girl.'

Andreja, interviewed in ES Magazine, was clear that she doesn't want to hide her past

Speaking about her transition, Andreja said: 'I never imagined I'd be so public about it.

'Perhaps if I was in a different profession, I wouldn't have worn "trans" on my forehead.

'But there's a difference between not wanting to make a big deal out of something and fearing the effect it will have on my life.

'But it's all out there now. If I go on a date, I don't have to worry about that moment when he finds out.'

Andreja told how she is currently in a relationship with a straight New York real estate agent.

She said: 'It's been great. And the best part if he sees me as just another girl he has a special connection with.'

The model also recognised how transgender has become a 'trendy topic' in today's society, with the internet helping to connect people who were previously isolated.

She added: 'It used to be so important to choose what you were. Gay or straight. Male or female. I think the new generation is more fluid.'

Andreja was clear that she doesn't want to hide her past.

She said: 'My dream was: start young, take hormones, live as a woman, try and become as passable as possible, bury your past, change your friends.

'Now I've realised that I don't have to be ashamed of my past.

Speaking about her transition, Andreja said: 'I never imagined I'd be so public about it. Perhaps if I was in a different profession, I wouldn't have worn "trans" on my forehead'

'I can still own my story and it doesn't make me any less of a woman.

'I was born a girl, it just took me a little while to become one fully.'

Andreja is just one of many individuals paving the way for acceptance and change with Orange Is The New Black's Laverne Cox and RuPaul's Drag Race star Carmen Carrera just some of the transgender stars in the spotlight.
But has separated from his wife and has been sued for child support

Has a relationship with some of his offspring

After having 22 children, he said he won't stop yet

He has already fathered 22 children by 18 different women but a sperm donor nicknamed 'the sperminator' says he has no intention of stopping just yet.

Ari Nigel, 40, from New York, said he is still inundated with requests from women desperate to use his services to conceive a baby.

He revealed on today's This Morning that he has 1,000 pending Facebook requests from women around the world and tries to be as accommodating as possible.

Ari Nigel, 40, from New York, said he is still inundated with requests from women to be a sperm donor

Speaking to presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby via video link he said: 'I never turn anyone down very often. Sometimes you have women in their late forties and they still want to try.

'I try as long as they are willing. Certainly it can be challenging, like if a woman from Uganda contacts me and she's 47, I don't know if I could help her, I certainly couldn't afford to fly there.'

Quizzing him about his

Explaining how he gets his semen to women across the globe, he said: 'It's up to the mum.

'Some want to do it naturally, while others prefer to be in a clinic, particularly those using an egg donor as well.

'For others I have deposited into a cup and given it to them to put inside. I have mailed it overnight in a cooler.'

Ari admitted he even had a woman waiting in the wings at that moment so he could hand over his sperm after his interview, as she was ovulating that day and didn't want to miss her opportunity.

The father of 22 spoke to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning via video link

He said this kind of precise timing was one of the reasons why he's so successful.

He said: 'The timing is important - both ovulation, obviously, but also not following one ejaculation after the other.

'It's all about timing - I think it is also because I am well-rested and well-hydrated.'

A shocked Phillip asked how they intended to do the deed after speaking to them and Ari explained it was a lesbian in a long-term relationship so they would not be having sex.

He said with those he does impregnates naturally, he ensures they have been tested for any STIs first and gets himself tested regularly.

Ari said his lifestyle means it is hard to have a relationship and it has led to 'financial difficulties' when some mothers have sued for child support

The maths teacher doesn't charge for his services as he said he wants to help women, started the process a number of years ago when he was approached by a lesbian couple in need of a donor.

But he said as a result of his lifestyle choice, his own love life and bank balance has suffered.

He has separated from his wife, with whom he has three children, and he admitted it is difficult to sustain a new relationship in his field of work.

'It is an issue not being able to be intimate with a partner while I help other couples as I can't ejaculate too often,' he explained.

He added that seeing some of his 22 children also takes up a lot of his time. He leaves it to the mothers whether they want him involved in their children's lives or not.

Ari said he will stop donating in the next few years. He even had a woman waiting in the wings during his interview

As a result, some of them he sees often and others not at all.

'We do become family in some cases but four of the children I have never met. Others I take on the weekends or just seen on special occasions,' he said.

Ari said his generosity had led to 'some financial trouble' - as some of the women he has helped have successfully sued for child support.

But he said this hasn't put him off carrying on.

Asked how long he intends to keep donating sperm for, he said: 'I am 40 I don't see me doing it when I am 50.
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Glamorous in a rainbow of colourful hats, bright shift dresses and towering heels, the ladies were out in force as Ladies Day got underway at Newmarket races.

Without a strict Ascot-esque dress code in place, women used the day out as an excuse to don a medley of bold fashion looks, including a feathered visor hat and a series of carnival-inspired get-ups.

Other brave souls ran the gauntlet of the fashion police in dresses that showed off plenty of cleavage and leg, perhaps vying for the title of Festival Best Dressed Lady, which is being awarded by Mark Wright.

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Dare to bare: Glamorous racegoers donned rather revealing outfits - including slashed playsuits and dresses - as they descended on Newmarket for the Ladies Day event

But not everyone chose to break the style rules. Some took a more traditional route in tasteful knee-length frocks and neatly tailored jackets as they descended on the meet.

Ladies Day at Newmarket is billed on its website as 'the hottest ticket of the summer' and visitors come from far and wide, donning their finest attire to enjoy a fun-filled day out.

Aside from the racing itself, there's live music, dancing and cocktails after the last race at the official after party, Apres Racing with Heart FM's Mark Wright.

The presenter, who found fame on The Only Way is Essex, will take to the decks after the last race to ensure all racegoers, especially the ladies, finish a perfect summers day dancing the night away. Mark will also present the Best Dressed Lady competition, which makes up part of The Style Awards sponsored by The Spa at Bedford Lodge Hotel.

Unlike Royal Ascot, which has a strict dress code in places, Newmarket is markedly more relaxed. According to the website: 'Racegoers at Newmarket like to make it a special occasion and choose to dress accordingly.'

Ladies and gentleman are encouraged to dress up 'smartly' in the Premier Enclosure and the website states that most gentlemen would choose to wear smart trousers and formal shoes to complete the look.

Eye-catching style: Without a strict Ascot-esque dress code in place, women used the day out as an excuse to don a medley of bizarre fashion looks, including a feathered visor hat and a series of vibrant gowns

Thirsty work: Ladies knocked back a refreshing jug of Pimms as they waited for the races to get underway at the fun-filled event

Tatt's different! A racegoer shows off a hint of her intricate cleavage inking in a revealing white outfit

Cheers to that! Aside from the racing itself, there's live music, dancing and cocktails after the last race at the official after party, Apres Racing with Heart FM's Mark Wright

Anything goes: Unlike Royal Ascot, which has a strict dress code in places, Newmarket is markedly more relaxed

'So whilst there is no formal restriction on wearing jeans and trainers, these are rarely seen in the Premier Enclosure,' reads the website. 'Many ladies opt for a hat, although it is not compulsory.'

It also states that fancy dress, sportswear or swimwear is not accepted as appropriate dress in the Premier Enclosure. In the Grandstand, Paddock and Family Enclosure, the dress code is more relaxed; shorts and T-shirts are worn by racegoers enjoying the sun.

'The only common sense restrictions would be those of taste and appropriateness which would apply to all areas, for example regarding slogan t-shirts and swimwear. Bare chests are not acceptable,' adds the website.

As for the racing itself, Laura Mongan says Harbour Law should not be underestimated in Thursday's Group Three Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket as she takes on the stellar ranks of her trainer colleagues.

Harbour Law will be Epsom-based Mongans first group-race runner in a contest which acts as a potential spring board to the St Leger.

Classy affair: Some women took a more traditional route in tasteful knee-length frocks and neatly tailored jackets as they descended on the meet

Patriotic: One man opted for a Union Jack jacket at Newmarket Racecourse as he enjoyed a drink at the bar with his pals

Pint of Pimms: Thirsty ladies made their way to the Pimms truck, where they purchased giant jugs of the sweet summer drink

The son of Lawman, whose staying performances defy his pedigree, faces rivals trained by Aidan OBrien, Sir Michael Stoute, Mick Channon, Saeed Biun Suroor and Roger Varian.

But Mongan, whose 11 winners during the 2015 Flat season, accumulated half of the value of the 100,000 Bahrain Trophy, is far from overawed.

The trainer had her confidence boosted by George Baker-ridden Harbour Laws three-quarter length second to OBriens Sword Fighter in the Listed two-mile Queens Vase at Royal Ascot when OBriens Bahrain Trophy runner Landofhopeandglory was fourth.

Mongan, whose biggest previous win was with First Avenue in the 2013 Imperial Cup over hurdles at Sandown, said: We went into Royal Ascot knowing we had a lively chance. The fact he was a bigger price was purely because he had my name next to him. If he had come out of a more fashionable yard, I dont think he would have been the price he was.

He went into that race with the best staying form, the same way he does at Newmarket. He is the proven stayer in the field and we are confident about him again.

Relaxing in the sun: Two racegoers take time out from watching the horses to have a lie down

Hats off! An array of headwear was on display including a fascinator decorated with flowers (left); and a tropical-inspired design (right)

Glammed up: One woman sported a classy red headpiece to match her all-red ensemble; her male companion was also looking very smart

Sipping the bubbly: A racegoer went for a sophisticated all-black look on Ladies Day at Newmarket

He is a very progressive colt and every run he has had he has improved. We are hoping to see a bit more out of him again.

Hed be our best Flat horse by far. Hed be our first runner in a group race. I dont think the St Leger is out of the question. Its very exciting.

Harbour Law is regularly ridden on the Epsom trial grounds by Mongans husband Ian, who enjoyed an 18-year career in the saddle during which he formed a strong link with the late Sir Henry Cecil.

It was Cecil, who supplied him with his biggest win on Twice Over in the 2011 Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

Mongan said: Ians input helps to train all our horses.

Harbour Laws biggest threat on paper is Saeed Bin Suroors Prize Money, who was second to subsequent Eclipse Stakes winner Hawkbill in the Tercentenary Stakes at the royal meeting. Prize Money, however, will have his stamina tested for the first time.

A strong opening to the three-day Moet & Chandon July Festival, sees the comeback of Mark Johnston-trained Lumiere in the race run in Cecils memory.

It is 2015 Cheveley Park Stakes winners first run since she was last in the 1,000 Guineas.

John Gosdens Windsor Castle Stakes winner Ardad heads the field for the Arquana July Stakes while the Princess of Waless Stakes offers consistent The Grey Gatsby a chance of a first win since beating Australia in the Irish Champion Stakes in September 2014.

Kicking back: A group of racegoers take a rest from the proceedings, making the most of the good weather

Great day out: A view of the parade ring during Ladies Day of The Moet & Chandon July Festival at Newmarket Racecourse
The next Bond movie may not even have a release date, but that hasn't stopped enthusiastic fans from speculating who will take up the coveted role.

And after news broke this week that Happy Valley hunk James Norton had emerged as the bookies' new favourite, it seemed no one was more delighted than his female fan base.

Taking to Twitter in their droves, they could barely contain their excitement at the prospect of the 30-year-old Brit actor donning Bond's famous tux - with some tweeting under the newly-created #JamesNortonForBond hashtag.

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And after news broke this week that Happy Valley hunk James Norton had emerged as the bookies' new favourite, it seemed no one was more delighted than his female fan base who took to Twitter this week

Han gushed, 'If James Norton is the new James Bond I'll cry with joy,' while Kathryn added: 'I haven't seen a Bond film in theaters to date. But I WILL go take my behind in one IF James Norton is the new Bond.'

An excitable Amelia Stevenson tweeted: 'JAMES NORTON MIGHT BE THE NEW JAMES BOND PING PING PING THIS IS NOT A DRILL THIS IS EXCITING.'

Norton fan Nicola Downes joked: 'James Norton for Bond? Speculatively, how does one go about applying to be a Bond Girl?'

Alli described the heart throb as her 'future ex husband,' adding that she 'prefers him in a uniform,' while Emily Wilsher commented: 'He can pull off posh and its brings bond up to date and young. What it needs (sic.).'

Michele Phillips tweeted, 'James Norton for Bond, gets my vote,' while emma wrote: 'I'll be so buzzin if James Norton's the next James Bond.'

Many, including Twitter user Naomi, even said Norton could inspire them to watch their very first Bond movie. Emma tweeted: 'Have been binge watching Grantchester & was going to say "James Norton for Bond" - quick look on Twitter reveals he's now an option! Yay!'

Louise appeared to agree, writing: 'James Norton for James Bond role? Yes please he'd make a brilliant James Bond.'

Rumours have been rife over who will be the next Bond ever since Daniel Craig announced he was hanging up his tuxedo for good last year.

But while everyone from Idris Elba to Tom Hardy has been in the running in recent months, a new frontrunner emerged this week in the form of Mr Norton.

Taking to Twitter in their droves, Norton's fans could barely contain their excitement at the prospect of the Brit actor dplaying Bond - with some tweeting under the newly-created #JamesNortonForBond hashtag

The British actor, who most recently stole hearts as Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky in the BBC's storming adaptation of War and Peace, appears to be the new favourite after bookies slashed odds of him playing the famous spy to 1/3 on Tuesday.

The news came as something of a shock to fans, as the actor was previously considered a rank outsider with odds of 25/1.

But a flurry of new bets - coupled with the news that former favourite Aidan Turner had signed up to a new series of Poldark - prompted his odds to tumble, according to Paddy Power.

Norton has now leapt ahead of Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Damian Lewis to replace Daniel Craig in the franchise based on the novels of Ian Fleming.

A spokesperson for Paddy Power said on Tuesday: 'Weve barely had any bets on Norton to be the next Bond, so we thought the first (bet) this morning was like a hopeful roulette spin in Casino Royale.'

James Norton appears to be the new favourite to play Bond, after bookies slashed odds of him donning a tuxedo to 1/3 on Tuesday. He has now leapt ahead of Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Damian Lewis

Norton has now leapt ahead of Aidan Turner (left) and Tom Hiddleston (right) to replace Daniel Craig in the franchise based on the novels of Ian Fleming - and his female fans could not be happier

Idris Elbra was considered a frontrunner at one point, but the Luther actor's odds are now at 10/1

But the sudden influx of bets over a period of just a couple of hours prompted suspicions of insider knowledge, they added - and made Norton the 'clear favourite'.

The current Bond's four-movie contract came to an end with the release of 2015 blockbuster Spectre, after which he bluntly announced that he was 'over it' and would rather 'slash my wrists' than reprising the role for a fifth time.

'Were done,' he told Time Out last year. 'All I want to do is move on.'

However, any of the frontrunners looking to Craig for approval may be disappointed, as the star has previously made it quite clear that he doesn't care who his successor was.

'I dont give a f***,' he added. 'Good luck to them! All I care about is that if I stop doing these things weve left it in a good place and people pick it up and make it better. Make it better, thats all.'

In fifth and sixth place are Damian Lewis with odds of 11/1 (left) and Jamie Bell (right) with odds of 12/1. Bizarrely, also in the running is Nigel Farage, who quit as leader of UKIP this week and is priced as 500/1

Daniel Craig's four-movie contract came to an end with the release of the 2015 blockbuster Spectre (pictured), after which he said he was 'over it' and would rather 'slash my wrists' than reprising the role for a fifth time

Bizarrely, also in the running is Nigel Farage, who quit as leader of UKIP this week and is priced as 500/1.

Earlier this year, Norton - who has become something of a hit with female fans thanks to his many shirtless scenes in Happy Valley, War and Peace, and Grantchester - admitted he struggled with his newfound heartthrob status.

Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show in January, the 30-year-old said: 'Phwoar and Peace, you cant really pay attention to it, I dont think.

'There was a lot of talk before we even did the show about the character being the Russian Darcy and I was like, "Thanks" to Andrew Davis who described him as that because the pressure is already there.'

The British actor stole hearts as Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky in the BBC's recent adaptation of War and Peace this year (pictured). However, he recently admitted that he struggled with the heartthrob status

SO WHO WILL BE THE NEXT BOND? 1/3 James Norton 7/4 Aidan Turner 9/2 Tom Hiddleston 10/1 Idris Elba 11/1 Damian Lewis 12/1 Jamie Bell 12/1 Tom Hardy 25/1 Michael Fassbender 50/1 Gillian Anderson 500/1 Nigel Farage Source: Paddy Power Advertisement

But he admitted that not everyone agrees with his dreamboat status: 'I have this great aunt, Great Aunt Grania,' he said.

'Shes 91 and she sat opposite me at lunch recently and she looked at me in this quizzical puzzled way and went "I dont understand how you can look so good on telly because youre so bland in normal life."

'So what I mean is, its all the big breeches and the big floppy hair.'

He also discussed his role in ITV detective drama Grantchester, which returned to screens earlier this year.

The hunky star plays Sidney Chambers in the show and explained: I got mistaken for being a vicar a couple of times.
for one week only and costs $14

It will be available at the

The dessert uses Moet champagne and Yasar Caviar

Mr Cincotta of Sydney restaurant Butter said it was an '

Even the chef is first to admit its an acquired taste.

But thats not to say champagne and caviar soft-serve will not be a crowd please.

The luxe dessert, created by the head chef at Sydney restaurant Butter, uses Moet and Yasar Caviar to create a sweet, and salty, ice cream.

Luxe: Sydney restaurant Butter has created a champagne and caviar soft serve

Acquierd taste: The dessert is the brainchild of head chef Julian Cincotta who uses Moet and Yasar Caviar

The $14 dessert is the brainchild of Julian Cincotta who in 2015 was titled Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year.

The dessert is a reflection of Butters street meets luxury philosophy that sees their menu combine fried chicken with champagne.

They also sell sneakers.

Mr Cincotta said he was inspired by a dish he had at Alinia restaurant in Chicago that served a caviar course with brioche foam and dill jelly.

Sourcing inspiration: Mr Cincotta said the dessert was inspired by a caviar course he had at Alinia restaurant in Chicago

Limited time only: The dessert costs $14 and will be available for one week, it will also feature at the Shangri-La Hotel Sweet Street event on Friday

In his own dish, he uses Moet champagne to create the soft serve.

The champagne is oxidised for about a day, leaving behind a more mellow flavour of brioche, yeast and fruit.

It also gives some sweetness, which is contrast by the saltiness of the fish row.

It tastes good, but it is an acquired taste, Mr Cincotta said.

Decadent: Butter also created a peanut butter and jelly soft serve with peanut butter fudge, dripping raspberry jelly and peanut butter brittle

The dessert will be available on Friday, July 8 as part of the Sweet Street event at Sydneys Shangri-La Hotel.

The event will feature award-winning pastry chef Anna Polyviou and desserts from a number of Sydney eateries, including Butter.

The restaurant has also created a peanut butter and jelly soft serve for the drool-worthy event.
It's a controversial topic, but one which worries many hospital patients - does it matter what qualifications your nurse has?

Since 2013, nurses entering the profession in the UK must have a degree or relevant training approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. However in many parts of the world such strict rules aren't enforced.

Some argue highly-educated nurses lack the compassion of traditional care givers.

But Roger Watson, Professor of Nursing from the University of Hull, says your nurse having a degree could actually boost your chances of survival.

Here, writing The Conversation, he shares his view...

Researchers from the University of Hull found the more a patient was cared for by a nurse with a degree, the more likely they were to leave hospital alive

The relationship between patient mortality and nurse education (modified slightly from the original)

Nurses with a degree in nursing provide better care than nurses who do not have a degree, according to our latest research.

If you live in the UK, this should be reassuring news. To work as a nurse in the UK, you need a degree in nursing.

We conducted our study in Qatar because the hospitals keep excellent electronic records.

Our sample comprised 5,000 nurses and over 7,000 patients from seven hospitals.

Most of the nurses were foreigners (largely from the Philippines), while around half the nurses had a degree.

Patients admitted to any ward in the hospitals for at least one day, for any reason, were included in the study. About 200 patients died during the study period.

Having analysed the data, we found that the more a patient was cared for by a nurse with a degree, the more likely they were to leave hospital alive.

This is not the first study to show that graduate nurses are better at caring for patients.

Early studies from the US showed that 'failure to rescue' (a euphemism for 'death') after an operation is lower in hospitals where there is a higher proportion of nurses with degrees.

More recent work in Europe, involving nine countries and looking at over 400,000 patients, also showed that patients were less likely to die in hospitals where there was a higher proportion of nurses with degrees.

But our research is unique as it is the first time the information about the actual nurse who cared for a specific patient has been linked to the outcome.

Other research also found that the amount of deaths are lower in hospitals which have a higher number of nurses with degrees

The other studies from the US and Europe had not made this link  having only dealt in aggregates  and for that reason cannot say for sure that there was not some other explanation for their results.

In common with these other studies, our research also shows that when nurses had fewer patients to care for, the patients were more likely to survive their stay in hospital.

We were careful to rule out other factors that might explain the better rates of patient survival.

Patients who were more critically ill or who had been in hospital longer may be less likely to live, and nurses who had been in the job for longer may provide better care, too.

But these things had no effect on the fact that patients who were cared for more often by graduates were more likely to live.

Of course, it is not possible, due to cost and availability constraints, for every hospital to have a full complement of degree-educated nurses, so we estimated the optimum level.

It turns out that if 70 per cent of the care a patient receives is provided by nurses with degrees then that is as good as it gets.

If the percentage of nurses with degrees is increased above 70 per cent then patients are no more likely to survive their stay in hospital.

So, all nurses do not have to have degrees, but most of them do.

The fact that patients cared for by nurses with degrees are more likely to survive is good news for universities who educate nurses.
Health officials are monitoring more than 300 pregnant American women who have shown signs of Zika virus, it has emerged.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 320 expectant mothers are currently being closely monitored, up from 287 a week earlier.

However, the number of babies born in the US with birth defects linked to Zika infection in mothers during pregnancy, or lost pregnancies linked to the virus, remained unchanged.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 320 expectant mothers are currently being closely monitored, up from 287 a week earlier. Currently, seven babies have been born with the birth defect microcephaly, and five pregnancies have been lost to Zika

Currently, seven babies have been born with birth defects, and five pregnancies have been lost to Zika, according to CDC records.

The registry compiles poor outcomes of pregnancies with laboratory evidence of possible Zika virus infection in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The latest figures are as of June 30.

Zika has caused concern throughout the Americas due to an alarming rise in cases of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe fetal brain abnormalities linked to the mosquito-borne virus reported in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the outbreak.

Infants with microcephaly are born with abnormally small heads and may experience potentially disabling developmental problems.

Brazil has confirmed more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly linked to Zika.

All reported US cases of Zika have so far involved people who traveled to areas with a current outbreak.

But, health experts have warned that local transmission cases are likely to occur in the coming weeks during summer mosquito season.

Gulf Coast states, such as Florida and Texas, are seen as particularly vulnerable.

The virus can also be transmitted via unprotected sex with an infected man.
Sally Morris picks out the best children's fiction for the summer holidays

Super Stan by Matt Robertson looks at sibling rivalry

PICTURE BOOKS

SUPER STAN

by Matt Robertson

(Orchard Books 11.99)

Jack is constantly overshadowed by his younger brother, Stan, who can run faster, throw further, jump higher - even fly.

Whenever Jack does something kind or clever, Stan upstages him, so Jack pleads with him not to ruin his special birthday visit to the zoo.

But the chance to race cheetahs or wrestle with lions proves too great a temptation for Stan, and again Jack is left feeling second best.

Then Stan starts to cry and no one understands why, except Jack.

Many children will identify with this sibling rivalry theme, relayed with wit and warmth and illustrated with energy and bright, primary colours.

THE DETECTIVE DOG

by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

(Macmillan 11.99)

Julia Donaldson is the undisputed queen of rhyming picture books, and this fun-filled adventure has the added bonus of encouraging children to join libraries

Julia Donaldson is the undisputed queen of rhyming picture books, and this fun-filled adventure has the added bonus of encouraging children to join libraries. Nell is a detective dog with such a great sense of smell that she sniffs out lost objects: The sock in the sofa, the shoe in the shed.

Every Monday she goes into school and listens to children read, but one day the classroom is empty of books.

Who will find the robber? Call Nell! Theres a high-octane chase through the town and a satisfying solution to the missing book issue, all recounted in Donaldsons perfectly pitched rhyme and illustrated with joyful brio by Sara Ogilvie.

A Beginner's Guide to Bear Spotting is a highly original twist on the usual bear-based picture book

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO BEAR SPOTTING

by Michelle Robinson, illustrated by David Roberts

(Bloomsbury 12.99)

This is a highly original twist on the usual bear-based picture book, as Robinson talks directly to her readers and blends nature facts with her imaginative fiction.

Our intrepid young hero (boy or girl, it isnt clear) sets out to walk in dangerous bear country armed with a huge backpack and a bandana-wearing teddy.

But what if they meet a black bear? Or a brown one? What if they meet both . . .

The dry, deadpan humour is offset by the highly expressive illustrations and a touchingly silly ending makes this book a delight from start to finish.

SUPERHERO STREET by Phil Earle

AGE 6 - 9

SUPERHERO STREET

by Phil Earle, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie

(Orion 6.99)

Demolition Dad was one of my favourite books of last year, and now Earle turns his attention to another troubled family in Storey Street. Michaels parents barely notice him since the birth of the twins, and then the triplets.

Dads magicians act has lost its spark and he never helps Mum juggle babies and work.

Bullied Michael dreams of being a superhero. Then Mum accidentally foils a jewel robbery and she and Michael are lauded as heroes.

Other so-called Avengers turn up at their house, but can a scalp that shakes dandruff defeat evil Esther? Warm-hearted fun.

THE ACCIDENTAL SECRET AGENT by Tom McLaughlin

THE ACCIDENTAL SECRET AGENT

by Tom McLaughlin

(Oxford 6.99)

When geeky schoolboy Kevin meets diminutive MI7 agent Jake Pond (006-and-a-half), its like looking in a mirror - except that Jake is more than 30 years older than Kevin.

The tired, jaded spy suggests a life swap: hell go to school and Kevin can play at espionage. Suddenly, Kevin is summoned to take part in a dangerous secret mission to track down a criminal intent on destroying the internet.

With help from his older sister - and a pair of talking trousers - Kevin goes undercover and finds that hes actually pretty convincing.

Packed with puns, jokes and action, this is enormous fun.

SPUTNIK'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH by Frank Cottrell Boyce

SPUTNIK'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH

by Frank Cottrell Boyce

(Macmillan 12.99)

Prezs grandfather, with whom he lives, is suffering from dementia. When he is taken into a home, Prez is sent to stay with a warm, chaotic farming family for the summer.

Unhappy and silent, he answers the door one day to Sputnik, a little alien (but the rest of the family simply see him as a dog), who tells Prez he is on Earth to find ten reasons to save the planet from total destruction.

They embark on a series of adventures and make lists of valuable things: TV remote controls, fish and chips etc.

But underneath this madly energetic and funny story lies a touching tale about memories and finding somewhere to belong.

BINNY BEWITCHED by Hilary McKay

AGE 10 - 13

BINNY BEWITCHED

by Hilary McKay

(Hodder 12.99)

I am a huge fan of the prickly, intense and beguiling Binny and her disorganised family, readjusting to life in Cornwall after her fathers death.

Here she is on the cusp of adolescence and frustrated by a lack of money. When she finds cash left at an ATM, she impulsively takes it home, but is then consumed with guilt and becomes convinced that her neighbour, Miss Piper, is a witch.

When the money goes missing, Binny and her best friend, Gareth, turn detective.

McKay seamlessly stitches the emotional impact of grief and renewal into her brilliantly observed interactions between parents, children and siblings, creating memorable characters, hilarious dialogue and touching scenes.

WOLF HOLLOW by Lauren Wolk

WOLF HOLLOW

by Lauren Wolk

(Corgi 6.99)

The year I turned 12, I learned how to lie, says Annabelle, the narrator of this powerful, beautifully written coming-of-age novel.

Set in Pennsylvania in World War II, Annabelles carefree life comes abruptly to a halt when cruel Betty arrives at school and bullies her.

Betty commits a violent act with devastating consequences, but blames damaged World War I veteran Toby, who wanders the hills alone carrying guns.

Comparisons are being made with To Kill A Mockingbird, but this emotionally intelligent, complex story deserves recognition and praise in its own right.

THE GIRL OF INK & STARS by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

THE GIRL OF INK & STARS

by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

(Chicken House 6.99)

Isas father is a cartographer, but since the repressive governor of Joya has forbidden travel around the island, she can only imagine places outside her village.

When her best friend Lupe, the governors daughter, goes missing after they have an argument, Isa volunteers to guide the searchers using an ancient map as they cross into the Forbidden Territories.

Myths about dark forces, a fire demon and a girl who sacrificed herself to protect Joya inspire Isa as she searches for Lupe.

This debut novel from poet Millwood Hargrave is impressive, and the book itself is a lovely object, with star charts and line drawings.
Next time you notice flashing red, blue, and white lights in the middle of the road, slow down - it could be police on patrolling duty.

To avert rising cases of accidents involving policemen, Delhi Police are going to provide portable body lights so that officers doing graveyard shifts can be spotted on dark stretches, foggy nights, and during the rain.

The move is intended to keep police officers safer at various check-points across the city during the night.

There's no missing those! The police force plans to give officers body lights to wear, so they can be spotted on dark stretches of road, or on foggy nights.

According to senior police officers, there have been incidents when policemen have met with mishaps because they could not be spotted during their night patrols.

The decision to procure 1,000 body lights was taken after a spate of road accidents where drivers rammed vehicles into security barricades, resulting in either the injury or death of the policemen on duty.

On June 16, two people, including a police constable, were killed when a speeding truck rammed a police barricade and hit three cars in RK Puram. The deceased constable, Deepak Kumar (40), was looking for snatchers on bikes after receiving a tip-off when the speeding truck killed him.

A Delhi policeman patrols a night market in the force's traditional - and well-camouflaged - khaki uniform

These gadgets are meant for the safety of policemen deployed at various check points during the night. We have floated a tender and before winters we will purchase them, a senior officer in the traffic police told Mail Today.
News / Press Release

by Zapu InfoDesk

Zapu Youth Front leaders Cde Makhekhe Vundla and Cde Dread (Arnold Dube) were among the more vociferous demonstrators at the venue attended by Patrick Chinamasa and his bunch of looters in London on Tuesday.The Zapu youth leaders joined other protesters from other political parties including the MDC formations. This successful demo was well organised, thanks to ROHR Zimbabwe.Their actions were targeted at this party of thieves sent by the Zimbabwe rogue regime to beg for funds. Clad in Zapu regalia, the two Zapu commanders played their part in directing some of the protest activities.The highlight was when Cde Arnold threw himself to the ground in front of the vehicle carrying the mass murderers, stopping it in its tracks.Other demonstrators missed the stunt initially and tried to encourage him to get up but he stayed put.At that point he told the crowd that he would only move at the command of his Zapu leadership or more specifically, Mr Arthur Molife himself, chairman for Zapu Europe province.Together the two Zapu comrades encouraged others to join in sitting down.The demonstrators needed no further invitation as they had quickly cottoned onto the idea seconds earlier.They soon covered the road, making it impossible to pass through. The Chinamasas were stuck.The demonstrators sang revolutionary songs reminiscent of the old Umvukela-Chimurenga days.They were ably matched by colleagues from the various groups that attended this demo. Shouting 'murderers ' throughout, the demonstrators scuffled with Her Majesty's police officers.Chinamasa and his CIO contingent could not face or address the crowds. They left with egg on their face. It was just another day at the office for Arnold and Makhekhe.Zapu is unhappy to see Zanu-pf stooges attempt to hoodwink the international investors by portraying a semblance of democracy and peace back home in Zimbabwe. Nothing could be further from the truth.A revolution was in progress as Chinamasa extended his begging bowl for lawns, donations and investment contracts. Harare was in flames, yet they continued with their efforts of presenting their business case.They lied and lied about the state of affairs back home.During this trip to London they denied everything, no looting, no starvation back home, no stolen 15 Billion just mispricing and all the blame was laid at the door of the western world. They left the negotiating room empty handed.The demonstrators' message was loud and clear: Mugabe must go, Zanu must fall.As for the two Zapu boys, they had fought the Zapu way and showed those present that, Zapu, the sleeping giant has finally woken up.They left their colleagues hankering for more but London was many miles away from home and so they had to head back to HQ. 'We will be back in full force next time' vowed Makhekhe ' Zapu will not sit back and watch these vultures fool the international community anymore.'
Having sported the skullcap during the entire holy month of Ramzan in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will make his next stop offering puja (prayers) at the Somnath Temple in Gujarat.

Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia will visit Somnath via Rajkot this Saturday, where the duo will also kick-start AAPs political journey in Gujarat.

The two leaders will be accompanied by their wives during the visit to the temple, sources said.

CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia will visit Somnath, where the duo will kick-start AAPs political journey in Gujarat

Halt

On the way to Somnath, Kejriwal will make a brief halt at Rajkot, which is the centre of the Saurashtra region dominated by the patidar or Patel community.

The Delhi CM is likely to take up the issue of reservation for Patels, highlighting the police atrocities during their recent agitation.

According to sources, Kejriwal is exploring ground in the BJP stronghold, where PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah come from.

If you target me in Delhi, I will challenge you in Gujarat. If you trouble me in Delhi, I will expose you on the land of Gandhi, Kejriwal told Hindi news channel Aaj Tak.

Kejriwal plans to highlight the issue of police atrocities against the Patidars in Rajkot

Having engaged the BJP-led Central government in a bitter fight in Delhi, Kejriwal is planning to take on the Modi-Shah duo on their home turf.

This will not be possible without garnering the support of the Patidar community, who faced police atrocities during their recent agitation.

Kejriwal may take up the issue of police atrocity against the Patidars equating it to the police action by Delhi Police against AAP MLAs and leaders, a source said.

Gujarat will hold Assembly polls in November 2017.

Sources said Kejriwals visit to the Somnath Temple will also mark the beginning of his political journey in Gujarat.

It is pertinent to mention that the tradition of offering puja at Somnath Temple was followed by stalwarts like Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani in the past.

Advani had embarked on his historic Ram Rathyatra from Somnath Temple in 1990.

Sources close to Kejriwal said that by siding with the Patel community, he will be seeking to woo the most dominant vote bank in Gujarat.

The Patel community in Gujarat lacks a prominent face or leadership. At the same time, two prominent Patel leaders  Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and Nitin Patel are been locked into a fight of supremacy. Leadership crisis has failed Congress as an opposition to the BJP, sources said.

This, they claimed, would be ideal for Kejriwal to take advantage of the situation in Gujarat, unlike Uttar Pradesh where the AAP is not keen on contesting the assembly elections.

Community

The significance of the Patel community can be gauged by the fact that PM Modi included two Patel leaders - Parshottam Rupala and Mansukhbhai Mandavia in the Union Cabinet.

Rupala is from the powerful Keluar Patel community, and Mandavia belongs to the Leuva Patel community.

Members from both Kadva and Leuva communities have been loyal supporters of the BJP for over two decades and constitute nearly 15 per cent of the states population.

They have been agitating for reservation quotas for over a year now.

At the same time, Kejriwal may also announce relief for the large number of trucks transporting textiles from Surat to Delhi.
There is something horribly wrong about the world we live in when the truth can't be spoken, let alone written, lest it offend the easily offended.

This is beyond the absurdities of forced political correctness. It is denialism compounded.

Even the most unbiased critique of what President George Bush rather rashly described as "Islamofacism", and others have politely labelled radical Islamism, draws immediate retribution, ironically not only from Muslims who refuse to acknowledge the rogue elephant in the room, but more vehemently from Left-liberals.

More security: Border Security Force personnel keep vigil along the India-Bangladesh Border in the wake of the Dhaka terror attacks

The critic is accused of 'Islamophobia', and cruelly hooted into silence. But that's not exactly why Bush's successor in the White House won't mention the 'I' word.

President Barack Obama, like the proverbial ostrich, believes if he keeps his head buried in the sands of Arabia long enough, the storm unleashed by Islamists will blow over.

Unfortunately, that's not how it is going to happen.

Carnage

The storm will continue to lash places as distant as Orlando, Medina, Baghdad and Dhaka, twisting and turning its way through Brussels and Istanbul, Mumbai and London, long after Obama vacates the White House this winter.

So it's immaterial, really, that he should have chosen to gloss over the facts when an Islamic State rage-boy ran amok in an Orlando night club, killing 49 people and injuring scores of others.

His refusal to publicly name and shame the hideous ideology of hate that inspired the carnage neither adds to nor subtracts from the horrific reality of our times.

In sharp contrast, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forthright in her condemnation of the jihadi attack on a fashionable cafe in Dhaka that left 20 civilians and two police officers dead.

People place flowers at a makeshift memorial near the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O'Kitchen Restaurant, where gunmen left 20 civilians and two police officers dead

She appealed to parents to stop their children from treading on the slippery slope of radical Islamism.

Her warning may have come too late. The son of her own party colleague, an Awami League leader, was among the five hostage-takers. The others also came from privileged families. They went to the most expensive school and college and never knew deprivation.

A myth is often propagated that marginalisation and oppression are behind the drive to join radical Islam, as though to justify, ever so slyly, death and destruction.

The bleak world that Islamists aspire for, the joyless and cloistered society they crave, is posited as the alternative to the imagined badness that agitates young minds.

Though not for the first time (recall the profiles of the 9/11 terrorists) Dhaka knocks that silly argument proffered by apologists off its feet.

Atrocities

Bangladesh also demonstrates how dangerously deep the ideology of hate that conjoins Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Islamic State, Boko Haram, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hamas, has seeped into the masses.

A video that shows a group of Bangladeshi children re-enacting the massacre in Dhaka, bordering on glorification of the killers, is a reflection of the silent spread of this cancer.

These children could well have been ours. Indeed, do Muslims who are appalled by the atrocities committed by radical Islamists know what their children are up to?

Family members of Tarishi Jain, who was killed in the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O'Kitchen Restaurant, mourn as her body is taken away for cremation in Gurugram

Radical Islamism which breeds the jihadist mindset is the core of the problem. A lesser commented fact is that more Muslims have been killed by Islamists than non-Muslims. In a sense, Islam is at war with Islam, seeking dominance among believers and non-believers.

We periodically hear calls for war on terror, how countries must join hands in defeating the scourge of this century. But these calls are meaningless. The demon will be defeated only when Muslims rise in fury. Vacuous fatwas by duplicitous mullahs are no more than water pistols in this war on terror.

Hate-mongers

The real weaponry is the collective might of Muslims who are offended, not by those calling out terrorism for what it is, but by what terrorism does to the living and the dead.

It's not a blame-game. Nor is it a zero sum game. It is about seizing control, regaining ground. If radical Islamists are indeed a minority, then the silent majority must speak up and reclaim their faith.

To simply say terrorists have no religion is to indulge in denialism of the most debilitating kind.

Meanwhile, demonisation must stop, and stop now. It serves nobody's purpose, least of all the potential victims, to vilify an entire community and look for enemies among friends.

Far sight demands building a grand coalition that can use overwhelming power to defeat the barbarians at the gate - metaphorically if not literally as many gates have been smashed and the barbarians are no longer outside.

What must also stop is pandering to the easily offended and the clergy who motivate young men and women to embrace radicalism through subterfuge and direct speech.

Preachers of hate - Zakir Naik is only one among many - have to be gagged and banished. That task is easier done by those to whom he and his ilk preach.

The looming war - some say World War III is already on, and it's not your granddad's war - seeks a matching response. Are we up to it? Or shall we allow faith and politics, a deadly combination, to stand between us and that which is morally correct?
Intelligence agencies are probing an alleged connection between the Jamaat-ud-Dawah, a front for Pakistans banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Islamic Research Foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik.

The Mumbai-based cleric has come under the scanner after reports emerged that the terrorists involved in last weeks deadly attack on a cafe in Dhaka may have been inspired by his teachings.

Several petitions have also been filed with the Maharashtra Police and the union home ministry seeking an investigation into the alleged link.

Spreading hatred? Controversial Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik is alleged to have inspired the terrorists who attacked a cafe in Dhaka

When you click on the archive pages of the then JuD website, it throws up several links like the Al-Huda International and the Jamaat-ud- Dawah Urdu website. Among the nine links on the main page is also one to Dr Zakir Naiks IRF or Islamic Research Foundation. This is a matter of investigation, sources said.

The JuD changed the name and address of its new website following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

India considers Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to be the main architect of the 26/11 strike. Months after the worst terror attack in India that killed more than 160 people, the two websites remained linked.

The connection with the LeT does not end here. One of the masterminds of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts that killed 187 people  Rahil Sheikh  was also influenced by Zakir Naik, sources alleged.

But the radicalisation link stretches further.

Dr Zakir Naik, with his hard-line Wahabi Islam preaching, is also alleged to have influenced terrorists such as Rohan Imtiaz in Dhaka and the Malwani and Hyderabad Islamic State modules," said an official.

There is nothing on record to connect Dr Zakir Naik or his IRF directly with terror. But his speeches appear to have inspired and influenced a number of terrorists worldwide. Why did JuD/LeT link its website with his IRF? Why did a number of would-be terrorists attend his camps, listen to and circulate his speeches? All of these issues are now a matter of grave concern.

According to Bangladeshi media, Dhaka gunman Imtiaz, the son of a politician of the countrys ruling Awami League, ran a campaign on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Naik.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe into Naiks speeches both on the televangelists Peace TV and online.
Imagine this: You want to have a baby, and for whatever reason, IVF is what you are looking at.

Now, what if the embryo, before being implanted into your womb, could have its genome sequenced?

What if the doctors and scientists could look at the gene sequence of the embryo, check if any genes make it predisposed to cancer, and then sequence it to eliminate that gene?

Doctors will soon be able to eliminate harmful genes like those predisposing a person to cancer

Sounds right out of fiction, doesnt it?

It isnt, actually. Its what Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee, Padma Shri, and Pulitzer Prize Winner for his book The Emperor of All Maladies - A Biography of Cancer, said at a recent interaction in Delhi.

Talking about cancer and how the future will deal with it, Dr Mukherjee, who is a physician, scientist, professor, and a writer, said that a recent trial in China had actually tried genome sequencing on 77 human embryos.

Its also the topic of his second and new book, The Gene: An Intimate History, which debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list, and talks about what is likely to become of humans if we learn to decode and code (read and write) our own genetic information.

In response to a question I raised about natural conception, and whether future cancer tests could allow parents to decide on aborting a foetus depending on how prone it was to cancer, Dr Mukherjee said such tests already exist.

However, the question they pose is, how do parents decide how much risk theyre willing to take?

For example, if you found the risk was 10 per cent, would you keep the child? Or what if it were 20 per cent?

As diseases like cancer continue to envelop the world, these are the questions all of us are going to grapple with.

It was believed that by finding the environmental carcinogens that cause cancer (such as tobacco), and eliminating them, wed be able to eliminate cancer - but that hasnt happened.

There are still many, many cases, says Dr Mukherjee, that are not caused by known carcinogens.

According to him, a paper thats caused a lot of storm in the scientific community and was published by researchers from Johns Hopkins says, after statistical analysis, that many cancers are caused by fate or bad luck (Bad Luck of Random Mutations Plays Predominant Role in Cancer, Study Shows; at hopkinsmedicine.org).

Basically, our cells are dividing all the time and sometimes there are mistakes in cell division, which causes cancer.

If thats not plain bad luck, what is?

While scientists argue it out, the interest in gene therapy will obviously grow.

Forget cancer or any other disease - seeing how obsessed parents are with having perfect kids, genome sequencing also raises the whole debate about having designer babies, which will take human narcissism up several notches.

What will eventually unfold? Who knows...

E-dropboxes to report abuse

According to recent reports, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) is working on an e-dropbox so that children can anonymously complain about any sort of sexual harrassment, molestation or abuse.

Recent surveys have claimed that more than 50 per cent of children are subjected to sexual abuse, but most of them do not speak up.

E-dropbox will help the children to make anonymous complaints of sexual harassment, molestation or abuse. (Picture for representation only)

Such initiatives should help in bringing a change.

The e-dropbox will be hosted on the website of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

The project was inspired by Delhi Polices Operation Nirbheek, where complaint boxes were placed in schools so that girls could report abuse without giving their names.

Disney Princess culture is good for boys

Boys exposed to Disney princess stories had a higher affinity for helping other people

A recent study published in the journal Child Development suggested that the Disney Princess culture could be damaging for girls, but could actually be good for the boys.

Conducted at the Brigham Young University, the study found that kids of both genders who consumed more Disney princess material were more likely to exhibit stereotypically feminine behaviours and preferences, a Slate.com report states.

Researcher Sarah Coyne told Slate why thats worrisome for the girls: We know that the girls who strongly adhere to female gender stereotypes feel like they cant do some things. Theyre not as confident that they can do well in math and science. They dont like getting dirty, so theyre less likely to try and experiment with things.
A 28-year-old man lost two litres of blood and almost died after suffering hidden injuries to his liver in an accident near Purana Quila on June 24.

Gaurav Tyagi was returning from his office in Gurugram on his motorbike when a speeding Maruti car allegedly rammed into his bike and knocked him down. Police arrived at the spot and rushed him to the nearby Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

As Gaurav did not have any visibly bleeding injuries, doctors concluded that he had only suffered a fracture to his right hand. They started treatment and were preparing to discharge him.

Gaurav Tyagi lost two litres of blood thanks to internal bleeding, but his life was saved by urgent surgery

Suddenly, Gaurav started vomiting and reported severe abdominal pain - which rang alarm bells with the doctors. Tests revealed that he was bleeding internally and needed an urgent operation.

In his statement, Gaurav said: Police took me to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where doctors initially told me that I had fractured my hand. Later, they informed me that my liver was damaged as it had seven cuts that caused a clot in my stomach, leading to almost two litres of blood loss.

Dr Anoop Misra, an internal medicine specialist, said Gaurav was lucky to survive the ordeal.

If two litres of blood has clotted in stomach, it is good enough to take someones life. Normally, a body contains 4.5-5 litres of blood. Also, seven cuts in the liver can be fatal, he explained.

Gauravs brother, Pawan Tyagi, told Mail Today that his brother suffered serious internal injuries in the accident. He also claimed that doctors were about to discharge him, had he not vomited just minutes before.

Gaurav, 28, would almost certainly have died - had he not vomited and complained of stomach pain just before he was due to be discharged

He said: Doctors told us that he has a fracture and nothing is serious, so we had decided and had told the policemen that we dont want to take any action against the accused on humanitarian grounds.

At present, Gaurav is being treated in a private hospital in Ghaziabad.

The Delhi Police have registered a case, filed by the victims family, under two IPC sections against the driver of the Maruti car.

Gaurav's family say the doctors at RML asked them to donate four units of blood to help him, and that his operation lasted for almost three hours.
Concerns: CBI president Paul Drechsler wants the Government to act swiftly to get a new runway built

Building a new runway must be the next Prime Ministers top domestic priority, according to the boss of the CBI.

In a speech today, CBI president Paul Drechsler warns Britain will forfeit more than 15billion in trade deals to Germany and 7.5billion to France if the Government fails to act swiftly.

Claiming the Government cannot go back to the drawing board, Drechsler says the next Prime Minister must press ahead with plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, which was the option recommended by the independent Airports Commission a year ago.

The Government last week came under fierce attack from leading business figures after it delayed a decision on airport expansion in the wake of the Brexit vote, dealing a blow to Heathrows chances of building its long sought-after 17.6billion third runway.

This has given fresh hope to rival airport Gatwick, which has been pressing to build a second runway.

The Prime Minister had been due to unveil a decision in early July, but the surprise vote to leave the EU and his later resignation scuppered that plan.

Speaking at the UK Infrastructure Policy Summit in Buckinghamshire, Drechsler will say: Lets be clear, in the aftermath of Brexit, the world wont wait for us.

He predicts that the UK could lose out on over 30billion in trade with Brazil, Russia, India and China alone.
The French President Francois Hollande has changed his tune - four years after declaring bankers his 'true adversary' his government has promised to roll out the red carpet to welcome them in the wake of Brexit.

The French government, making a daring grab for London's banking business in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, said it planned to offer the lowest taxes on the continent for expatriates.

Four years ago President Hollande (left) called bankers his 'true adversary' but now he and his prime minister are seeking to lure them across the Channel from the City of London (right)

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said: 'We want to build the financial capital of the future. In a word, now is the time to come to France.'

He was speaking at the annual conference of France's financial industry lobby Europlace.

France's financial sector has often complained of government ambivalence towards the industry, which is subject to high taxes and sometimes hostile remarks from politicians.

We are not in a war with London... but there is competition and we want to make Paris Europe's top financial centre Valerie Pecresse

In 2012 President Hollande declared 'the world of finance' to be his 'true adversary' and imposed a temporary marginal income tax rate of 75 percent.

But his beleaguered government now sees Brexit as an opportunity to boost jobs and the economy, especially in Paris.

President Hollande said last week tax regulations needed to be adapted to make Paris more attractive.

The head of the Yvelines department in western Paris, Valerie Pecresse, said: 'We are not in a war with London... but there is competition and we want to make Paris Europe's top financial centre.'

Mr Valls said France's already favourable tax regime for expats and French nationals returning from stints abroad would in future be applicable for their first eight years in France, up from five currently.

The scheme includes deductions for non-salary perks like employers paying for employees' children's school fees and for revenue earned on capital held abroad.

Mr Valls was applauded by bankers and finance chiefs as he told them: 'We are bringing solutions today to companies that are asking questions and expecting answers to prepare for the future.'

The French government are hoping British bankers will hop on a train and come on over to Paris

Mr Valls said the Socialist government would also set up a one-stop administrative point for foreign firms seeking a foothold in France with service in languages other than French.

He also promised to hold more classes for foreign children in their native language in French schools.

Mr Valls was quoted in the Financial Times, telling reporters: 'Please tell the British newspapers that the 75 percent tax rate no longer applies.'

In 2012 David Cameron (left) promised to roll out the red carpet to welcome French finance firms worried when Mr Hollande (right), a Socialist, took over as president in 2012. Now the boot is on the other foot

Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau promised French regulators would quickly examine applications from any financial institutions licensed in Britain that might seek to set up shop in France.

Finance Minister Michel Sapin turned the tables on outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron, who had offered to 'roll out the red carpet' for French firms when Hollande took office in 2012.

The day after the Brexit vote, Mr Sapin told reporters: 'The red carpet can be used both ways'.

Paris is already the biggest centre for many markets in the euro zone, including corporate bond issuance and investment management, with 3.6trillion euros (3.07trillion) of assets under management.

Other European cities are also trying to pinch finance firms from London.

Milan's new centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, met with Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA) yesterday, to urge the London-based EU watchdog to choose Italy's financial capital as its new home given it was highly likely it would have to leave Britain.

Paris, Milan and Madrid are all bending over backwards to lure people working in London (pictured)

Milan is also vying to attract another London-based EU body, the European Medicines Agency.

Mr Sala said his home city offered excellent air transport links, cheaper offices and homes, and also hinted at tax incentives.

Although it will take years for Britain to work out its future relationship with the EU, Mr Sala said the EBA may want to switch location quickly to limit the uncertainty its multinational staff is facing.

Madrid said on Monday it was considering granting tax breaks to attract banks and international firms looking to move operations away from Britain after its vote to leave the EU.
Bernie Sanders could endorse Hillary Clinton as soon as next week, at an event in New Hampshire.

Sanders has not dropped out of the running for the Democratic nomination despite fresh evidence that Clinton will be the party's nominee.

The FBI and Justice Department each cleared the former secretary of state of wrongdoing in its investigation of her emails this week, paving the way for Clinton to easily win her party's support in Philadelphia later this month.

ABC News is reporting that Sanders may be close to making a concession, citing sources close to his campaign.

Bernie Sanders could endorse Hillary Clinton as soon as next week, at an event in New Hampshire. He faced intense pressure from House Democrats this morning at a meeting on Capitol Hill endorse Clinton, as rank-and-file lawmakers confronted him behind closed doors

Sanders committed on the campaign trail to staying in the race until the Democratic National Convention, which begins July 25, and the progressive senator has applied for a permit to hold a rally the day before the gathering begins in Pennsylvania.

Clinton unveiled a college affordability plan today that Sanders complimented, but they remain at odds over other key pillars of his campaign such as the release of the transcripts of her speeches to Wall Street.

He faced intense pressure from House Democrats this morning at a meeting on Capitol Hill to endorse Clinton's presidential campaign, as rank-and-file lawmakers confronted him behind closed doors with shouts of 'Timeline! Timeline!' and even scattered boos, according to numerous reports.

Sanders, arriving with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, was pressed directly by Democrats irritated by his slow-moving support for their presumptive presidential nominee.

Yet to the frustration of his listeners, the Vermont senator never answered their question, refusing to give a timeline for when he would get behind Clinton.

At one point he said, 'Our goal is not to win elections,' and then paused. Democrats booed until Sanders completed his thought by saying, 'but to transform America' in order to win elections.

The heated exchange happened during House Democrats' regular weekly caucus meeting, to which Sanders had been invited some time ago.

He appeared at a moment when many Democrats have run out of patience with Sanders, who is holding out for various items in the party platform, including a rebuke of the president's trade policies.

A Democrat who attended the session provided details to the Associated Press, demanding anonymity in order to speak freely.

'He was pressed. There was friendly heat,' said Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia.

Sanders has said he will vote for Clinton but has not yet offered a full-throated endorsement, even as Democratic leaders like President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have swung firmly behind the former secretary of state and appeared by her side at high-profile rallies

Rep. Sander Levin, a Democrat from Michigan, said there was a 'general feeling that it is important that he endorse right away,' adding that it was expressed directly to Sanders. 'In terms of the timing of endorsement it wasn't clear.'

Sanders has said he will vote for Clinton but has not yet offered a full-throated endorsement, even as Democratic leaders like President Barack Obama and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have swung firmly behind the former secretary of state and appeared by her side at high-profile rallies.

He's meanwhile been pushing for changes to the party platform that would specify the need for a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and more.

Most of the House Democrats have supported Clinton's campaign throughout.

Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio told Sanders at the meeting that she felt 'like a hostage' given his multiple demands for the party's platform that will be considered at the convention, according to the Democrat who demanded anonymity.

Sanders instead pointed to progress with Clinton, telling reporters after the meeting that he applauded a 'very bold initiative' by the former secretary of state to make college more affordable.

Yet he declined to say when he might endorse Clinton.

'We are working with Secretary Clinton on some initiatives. I hope we can reach agreement on them sooner rather than later,' he said.

In a gesture to her former Democratic primary rival, Clinton announced new steps today that are aimed at tackling the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt, including a three-month moratorium on loan payments for all federal borrowers.

Clinton is also calling for a plan that ensures families with annual incomes up to $125,000 pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities.

In a gesture to her former Democratic primary rival, Clinton announced new steps today that are aimed at tackling the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt. She's seen here at her rally in Atlantic City

Wednesday's policy rollout was a direct overture to Sanders. A Clinton campaign fact sheet announcing the new proposals was laced with multiple references to the Vermont senator and his calls for addressing college affordability.

Sanders was wildly popular with young voters during the Democratic primary, with many drawn to his calls for free tuition at all public colleges and universities.

Clinton cast her opponent's proposals as unrealistic, saying that while she shared his concerns about rising debt, she didn't want wealthier families to be able to take advantage of opportunities aimed at the middle and lower class.

A centerpiece of Clinton's plan is an executive order that would give federal student loan borrowers a three-month break from making payments.

During that window they would be able to consolidate their loans or sign up for other programs aimed at reducing their monthly payments. Those who are delinquent or in default would get 'additional rehabilitation options,' the campaign said, though aides provided no details on those options to AP.

Clinton is also seeking to eliminate college tuition at public, in-state institutions for families making $125,000 or less per year. The campaign said the policy would roll out gradually, first for families making $85,000 or less and increasingly the threshold by $10,000 annually through 2021.

The campaign did not provide details about how much the plan would cost or how Clinton proposes paying for it. It was unclear whether she would implement it using executive actions or need congressional approval.
Chad C. Camp, 26, is charged with abusive sexual conduct after allegedly groping a 13-year-old girl

A 13-year-old girl who claims she was groped on a flight to Portland, Oregon, is seeking $10million in a federal lawsuit against American Airlines and the passenger accused of the crime.

Attorney Brent Goodfellow filed the suit Tuesday in Portland, alleging the June incident caused his client extreme fear and psychological trauma.

The suspect, 26-year-old Chad C. Camp, remains in a Portland jail after pleading not guilty to abusive sexual contact.

When he boarded the plane, Camp - who had already consumed four drinks - was mumbling to himself and swearing near the girl, the lawsuit seen by Daily Mail Online claims.

He 'began to rub up against [victim], lean close to her and fondle her body with his hand,' court documents say.

'This groping eventually progressed to Camp touching her upper and lower leg and finally to her crotch,' Goodfellow wrote in his lawsuit.

American Airlines says it is reviewing the lawsuit while continuing to cooperate with an FBI investigation

'This horrendous set of events lasted approximately 30 minutes without American's intervention.'

Authorities have said an attendant on the Dallas-to-Portland flight was delivering snacks when she noticed Camp's hand in the victim's crotch area.

She saw the girl shed a single tear and quickly separated the two.

But the girl's family says the airline was negligent in supervising the 13-year-old - especially after they had to pay a $150 fee for her to travel as an unaccompanied minor.

Video courtesy KOIN

The teen was allowed to leave the plane before Camp after it landed and was met by her stepfather at the gate.

Camp was taken into custody but the girl saw him one more time as she tried to make her way to the nearest bathroom at the airport.

The teen returned to her stepfather in tears.

'She is already saying she doesn't want to be on an airplane ever again,' Goodfellow told KOIN 6.

'I sat with the family for about three hours... she didn't want to be touched by her mom, every time she went to give her a kind of loving touch she would jump.'

The girl was interviewed by an FBI agent and Portland police officer. Camp was taken into custody and charged with abusive sexual contact, a felony.

Camp, 26, is charged with abusive sexual contact and remains at Multnomah County Jail

Camp, who has no prior criminal convictions, has pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars at Multnomah County Jail.

'They didn't make him move, they let him sit there until she was abused for 30 minutes,' Goodfellow told KOIN 6.

'From what I understand she was the only child on the airplane that evening, so it would have been pretty easy to take a few small steps.'

American Airlines charges a $150 unaccompanied minor service fee for children aged five to 14.

It is meant to ensure children are 'boarded onto the aircraft, introduced to the flight attendant, chaperoned during connections and released to the appropriate person at their destination', the website's policy reads.

American Airlines spokeswoman Brianna Jackson says the company is reviewing the lawsuit while continuing to cooperate with an FBI investigation.
The owner of a Melbourne cafe peppered with bullets in a suspected drive-by shooting has handed security camera images of a black car to police.

Six shots were fired into Vyve cafe in Heidelberg at 1am on Wednesday morning and damaged the front glass panels of the cafe but luckily no one was injured in the incident, police say.

CCTV footage shows a black car at the scene at the time of the shooting.

The owner of Melbourne cafe, Vyve Cafe (pictured), which was peppered with bullets in a suspected drive-by shooting has handed security camera images of a black car to Victoria police on Wednesday

Banyule Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the incident and a patrol of the area, at the time, failed to locate any offenders or suspect vehicles.

'We don't know the make or the model,' Detective senior constable Dale Ward told reporters on Wednesday.

'There is a poor image of the vehicle from the cafe itself, but the owner of the cafe isn't willing to release it to the media.

'He's fearful. He doesn't know himself what this is about. He's really racking his brain over it.'

Six shots were fired into Vyve cafe in Heidelberg at 1am on Wednesday morning and damaged the front glass (pictured before the shooting) panels of the cafe but luckily no one was injured in the incident

The cafe was closed all morning while investigators collected evidence.

A neighbour who was cleaning his restaurant's kitchen at the time of the shooting raced out to see what was going on when he heard the shots.

'I was scared as well. I came with my broomstick,' the man told 3AW.

Police have searched the area but found nothing of interest.

Victoria police have said that the model of the car remains unknown while police who searched the scene of the crime (pictured before the incident) did not find anything of interest at the time

Daily Mail Australia have contacted the owner of Vyve cafe who wishes not to comment on the matter at this time.

Do you know more? contact aneeta.bhole@mailonline.com

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.
News / Regional

by Staff Reporter

A Belgian national was among 14 white people arrested in Victoria Falls on Wednesday for protesting, state media reported.They where held overnight at Victoria Falls police station.The arrests of whites strengthens government and police claims that a third force is behind a wave of sporadic civil unrest in the country."Questions have also been raised on why a foreigner was part of the demonstrations in Victoria Falls" wrote the Herald.According to the Herald, United States Ambassador Harry Thomas (Jr's) is fingered in inciting riots.Addressing fellow diplomats, politicians and ordinary people at his residence during a belated US 240th anniversary, Ambassador Thomas (Jr) said: "The United States supports freedom of expression in Zimbabwe and the peaceful manifestation of dissenting points of view."The United States and Zimbabwe were founded on dissent. Indeed many of us are here today because of the dissents of Dr Martin Luther King Junior, and so many others in the civil rights movement and Zimbabweans are here today because of the courage demonstrated by our freedom fighters and the families and friends who provided support."
A British citizen has pleaded not guilty to trying to grab a cop's gun in an effort to assassinate presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in June.

Michael Steven Sandford, 20, is alleged to have attempted to seize an officer's weapon so that he could shoot Trump at a Las Vegas campaign rally in the Treasure Island hotel-casino on June 18.

Although he reportedly told police that he traveled to Nevada to kill Trump and had practiced on a gun range the day before, Sandford - whose mom says he is mentally unwell - denied the claims in court Wednesday.

Scroll down for video

Charged: Michael Sandford (center), 20, was arrested June 18 after allegedly trying to take a cop's gun to shoot Donald Trump at a rally in Las Vegas. Sandford pleaded not guilty to all counts Wednesday

'Admission': Although he pleaded not guilty, cops say the British citizen already admitted to driving to Nevada from California with the intention of killing the presumptive presidential candidate

Sandford, who has been in custody since his arrest, appeared in court wearing a yellow jail jump suit with his federal public defense attorneys during his brief arraignment.

He responded, 'Yes, I do,' when US magistrate judge Cam Ferenbach asked whether he understood the nature of the charges against him.

He then denied charges of disrupting an official function and two firearm possession counts. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

His attorneys, Brenda Weksler and Ryan Norwood, declined to comment outside court.

Speaking on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show earlier this week, Sandford's mom, Lynne, said: 'I would like him to be deported so he can be back in the country and can get psychiatric help.'

She continued: 'Jail is no place for him. He needs help, but not prison.'

Mrs Sandford said her son had been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome when he was 13 and he had previously tried to kill himself. He had to be committed to a mental health facility when he was just 14 after suffering from anorexia, she added.

In Sandford's first court appearance on June 20, a difference magistrate judge acknowledged that his mental health may be an issue.

A federal public defender representing him at that time said Sandford, who is from the English county of Surrey, had previously attempted suicide and once ran away from a hospital in England, but that he was competent for court proceedings.

Friends and family members in England have said Sandford was treated in the past for obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia.

They also said that he was intelligent, and that signs of his Asperger's syndrome had become more obvious as he got older.

Unwell: Sandford's mom, Lynne (left) appeared on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show to say that her son is mentally unwell and that he needs psychiatric help in the UK, not incarceration in the US

His father reported that Sandford moved to New Jersey a year and a half ago.

US federal agents say Sandford told them he drove from San Bernardino, California, to Las Vegas where he practiced shooting at a gun range the day before Trump's appearance.

The Secret Service says Sandford grabbed at the Las Vegas police officer's gun before he was handcuffed.

Trump, on stage, thanked the uniformed police officers walking Sandford in custody out of the 1,500-seat theater.

Sandford also is accused of overstaying his US entry visa by about nine months. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities said they've lodged a detainer against him to take action on the immigration violation if he's released from jail.

Sandford's court case will begin August 22.
Muslim girls as young as three have been pictured wearing a hijab to embrace their religion early and respond to Islamophobia in the wake of Ramadan celebrations in Sydney's west.

Muslim community spokesperson Keysar Trad said although wearing a hijab is not religiously obligatory until puberty, young children are starting to put on a headscarf to show 'they're comfortable in being who they are'.

Mr Trad said his own daughters decided to wear a hijab at the ages of three and six, but one has daughters has recently taken it off after being 'peer pressured to look the same as everyone else'.

'It made me feel society had hurt my babies so much they felt pressured to change the way they dress,' Mr Trad told Daily Mail Australia.

Muslim community spokesperson Keysar Trad, pictured with daughter Isslah, then five, said his five daughters chose to wear their hijabs at a very young age

'It was heartbreaking to see my children subjected to this.'

Mr Trad said although in some cases parents may indirectly influence their children to wear a headscarf, the decision was usually left up to the children themselves.

'If they're going to a place of prayer, usually they are encouraged to cover their hair,' he said.

'They learn this is what's done in a place of worship.

The father-of-nine said his eldest daughter, 27, lost her job in 2011 and decided to remove her hijab as she believed she would not make it through an interview process if she continued to wear it.

But his other daughter, 21, began wearing her headscarf when she was three and has not taken it off since.

Mr Trad said political leaders such as Pauline Hanson, who was elected to the senate in Queensland, are contesting seats 'on the basis of Islamophobia'.

Mr Trad daughter Roukayya (right) began wearing her hijab at three and volunteer with the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, Sarah Nebhan (left), also began wearing hers at a young age

Mr Trad (pictured) said his own daughters decided to wear a hijab at the ages of three and six, but one has daughters has recently taken it off after being 'peer pressured to look the same as everyone else'

Muslim girls as young as three have been pictured wearing a hijab to embrace their religion early and respond to Islamophobia. Pictured: a young Muslim girl at the National mosque in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday

Mr Trad said although in some cases parents may indirectly influence their children to wear a headscarf, the decision was usually left up to the children themselves. Pictured: a Palestinian girl at Eid al-Fitr prayers in Gaza city

'People are running for elections on platforms of Islamophobia and racism and it looks like Pauline Hanson, who is notorious for Islamophobia, is going to get a few seats in the senate,' he said.

'It's bad enough for her to think she can get seats, but worse when she actually does.

'Too many people in society don't understand what it means to be part of the human family.'

Ms Hanson, who is the leader of the One Nation Party, believes Muslim immigration to Australia should be stopped and is concerned by Asian influence on the country, but recently said she didn't want to be labelled a racist, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

On Wednesday, more than 50,000 Muslims lined the streets around Sydney's biggest mosque to celebrate the end of Ramadan and 30-days of fasting.

On Wednesday, more than 50,000 Muslims lined the streets around Sydney's biggest mosque (pictured) to celebrate the end of Ramadan and 30-days of fasting

Lakemba Mosque was full by 6am on Wednesday, leaving thousands to place their prayer rugs on Wangee Road while their morning prayers were broadcast over loudspeakers

Lakemba Mosque was full by 6am on Wednesday, leaving thousands to place their prayer rugs on Wangee Road while their morning prayers were broadcast over loudspeakers.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird addressed the service as Muslim families began to celebrate the three-day 'festival of breaking the fast,' Eid al-Fitr.

Many young girls were seen wearing hijabs with their mothers during the mass prayer.

'I find it to be really cute to see young girls dressing like mum,' Mr Trad said.

'Seeing young people appreciating their religion - this is an incredible phenomenon we should encourage in society'.

Many young girls were seen wearing hijabs with their mothers during the mass prayer. Pictured: a young Malaysian Muslim girl in Kuala Lumpur watching prayers for Eid al-Fitr

'I find it to be really cute to see young girls dressing like mum,' Mr Trad said. Pictured: outside Lakemba Mosque on Wednesday

Mr Trad said political leaders such as Pauline Hanson, who was elected to the senate in Queensland, are contesting seats 'on the basis of Islamophobia'
Justice Secretary Michael Gove during the Dinner to Her Majesty's Judges hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, at the Mansion House in central London last night

Michael Gove was caught up in a dirty tricks row last night after his campaign manager urged MPs to vote tactically to exclude Andrea Leadsom from the Tory leadership race.

Nick Boles sent a text to other MPs saying he was seriously frightened that the Energy Minister could win the backing of grassroots party members if she gets through to the final two.

He said it would be in the national interest if some MPs who back runaway frontrunner Theresa May were to lend their support to Mr Gove in the second ballot, which will be held this evening (Thu).

It would mean Mrs Leadsom would not make it through to the final vote of the 150,000 Conservative Party members.

In contrast to the methods employed by Mr Goves team, the Home Secretary yesterday demanded an open debate and said there should be no tactical voting.

Mrs May emerged as the clear victor at a hustings of Tory MPs last night, joking that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker would soon find out what a bloody difficult woman she was, in a reference to comments about her made by Tory grandee Ken Clarke on Tuesday.

A poll yesterday found Mrs May was also the clear favourite among Conservative councillors. Three in five said they planned to back her.

Under the Tory leadership rules, party members only get to vote on the two candidates chosen by Conservative MPs.

In Tuesdays first round, Mrs May received 165 votes, far ahead of Mrs Leadsom and Mr Gove, the Justice Secretary, who were close together on 66 and 48 votes respectively.

The text message written by Mr Boles shows that Mr Gove hopes to overtake Mrs Leadsom by encouraging the Home Secretarys backers to lend him their votes.

Skills Minister Mr Boles wrote that it is overwhelmingly likely that Mrs May will become prime minister, adding: And if she does I will sleep easily at night.

But he went on: I am seriously frightened about the risk of allowing Andrea Leadsom onto the membership ballot. What if Theresa stumbles?

Are we really confident that the membership wont vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life? Like they did with IDS [Iain Duncan Smith, the surprise winner of the 2001 Tory leadership contest].

Mr Boles added: Michael doesnt mind spending two months taking a good thrashing from Theresa if thats what it takes, but in the partys interest and the national interest surely we much work together to stop AL [Andrea Leadsom]?

Skills Minister Nick Boles sent a text to other MPs saying he was seriously frightened that the Energy Minister could win the backing of grassroots party members if she gets through to the final two

Mr Gove, speaking at the Mansion House function, was challenged about the text at last nights hustings. According to one MP, he merely giggled  but did not disown it.

Mr Gove was challenged about the text at last nights hustings. According to one MP, he merely giggled  but did not disown it.

The message comes just a week after the Justice Secretary knifed Boris Johnson in the back by announcing his decision to stand when he had promised to support the former London mayor.

Last night Bernard Jenkin, a supporter of Mrs Leadsom, said: There are very few colleagues who will be manipulated in this way, and most people will vote as a matter of integrity for the outcome that they want.

CHOOSING A PM: HOW THE CONSERVATIVE LEADERSHIP ELECTION WORKS The leadership election is a two-stage process - first Conservative MPs have their say, then members of the party all around the country are able to vote. If there are two or more candidates, all Tory MPs vote on who they prefer, with the bottom candidate in each round being eliminated until only two are left. The final two then make their pitch to members of the party in a straight head-to-head contest, with the winner determined by postal voting. The winner will be announced on September 9 and is likely to be appointed Prime Minister later that day. Only full members of the party who pay their 25 subscription are entitled to vote - unlike in Labour's leadership contest, where supporters could register for just 3. Advertisement

Mr Duncan Smith, who also backs the Energy Minister, criticised MPs who were failing to smell the cofeee and realise we need to get back together and govern as the Conservative Party, and not spend time stabbing each other in the back.

In her statement, Mrs May rejected deals and the proposal that she be crowned Tory leader without a ballot of members.

She said: I have been clear from the start: the party and the country deserve an open, honest, robust debate  and the next leader needs to have won a mandate to lead. So there should be no deals, no tactical voting, and no coronation.

One MP warned yesterday that there were hints of Momentum, the hard-left group that backs Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, about Mrs Leadsoms campaign, after he received an email from a Ukip supporter saying he would be a traitor not to back her.

The Energy Minister also repeated her refusal not to publish her tax return unless she gets into the final two  despite the fact that Mrs May and Mr Gove have both published theirs.

Her campaign manager, Tory MP Tim Loughton, said it was not an issue and told the BBC she would publish a summary as soon as she gets time away from speaking to colleagues and fighting this campaign.

Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb and former defence secretary Liam Fox both pulled out from the Tory leadership race on Tuesday after coming fourth and fifth in the first ballot of MPs.

Mr Goves backers suggested he will try to attract Mr Crabbs social reformers and Dr Foxs Eurosceptics to build on the 48 MPs he won over in the first round.

Home Secretary and leadership favourite Theresa May walks with her team in parliament yesterday

After tonights ballot, the final two candidates will go forward to the party membership, with the winner being announced on September 9.

Yesterday, former Conservative chairman Grant Shapps called for the process to be accelerated, saying it should be finished by the end of July.

Mr Shapps  a supporter of Mrs May  has written to MPs seeking their backing, saying it was a matter of concern for the country, and also plans a petition.

Some 60 per cent of Tory councillors back Mrs May, excluding those who were undecided or refused to give an answer, a Survation poll for BBC2s Daily Politics found.

This is compared to just 28 per cent who are supporting her closest rival, Mrs Leadsom.

The poll of 1,062 councillors found that Mrs May would enjoy a larger lead if she faced Mr Gove in the final run-off, rather than Mrs Leadsom.

Last night Labour attempted to exploit Tory divisions on the right of EU citizens to stay in Britain by forcing a vote on the issue.

Mr May has refused to guarantee that European migrants currently here will have full rights to remain in the UK after a Brexit. Boris Johnson said he would passionately support Labour shadow home secretary Andy Burnhams motion to guarantee their rights.
For years, Alvaro Lopez Tardon, a Spanish national, was living the high life in Miami with his fancy cars, seaside condos, designer jewelry and expensive leather goods.

But it all came crashing down in the summer of 2011 when he was named in a U.S. federal money laundering indictment as the head of an international narcotics trafficking enterprise.

Last fall, after being tried and convicted on numerous money laundering charges, Alvaro was sentenced to an astonishing 150 years in jail, exchanging his spacious South Beach penthouse for a small federal prison cell where he will spend the rest of his life.

Ocean Commander, center, with Apple Auctioneering Co., wipes down a 2006 Ferrari F430 being auctioned off, in Miami

Michael Scully, with Apple Auctioneering Co., opens the engine compartment of a 2003 Enzo Ferrari at an auction

Alvaro Lopez Tardon, 44, was convicted of conspiracy and 13 counts of money laundering, totaling 150 years behind bars

His assets, which include luxurious high-powered sports cars, are in the process of being forfeited.

The vehicles include an Enzo Ferrari, Bugatti Veyron 16.4, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Ferrari F430, Maybach 57S, and four luxury SUVs including two Mercedes and two Range Rovers.

Authorities say 44-year-old Alvaro was the head of an international narcotics trafficking and money laundering syndicate which distributed over 7,500 kilograms of South American cocaine in Madrid and laundered over $14 million in narcotics proceeds in Miami by buying high-end real estate, luxury and exotic automobiles and other high-end items.

According to the Miami Herald, a sparkling black Bugatti Veyron that can rocket to more than 250 miles per hour was already fetching more than $900,000 with a day to go before the auction closed.

'This is definitely the highest we've ever had bid for one particular asset,' Joshua Scully of Apple Auctioneering said of the popular sleek black Ferrari, which had received 105 bids  with the top bid almost doubling its asking price.

Alvaro's arrest came after a wild, $20 million spending spree of proported cocaine profits in Miami. Federal law enforcement said he bought 13 expensive condos, including penthouses on South Beach and Brickell and 17 luxury cars.

After his conviction, his property was seized by the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Marshals Service took over from there and evaluated the property and got it ready for auction. The profits will go to fund future concealed and hidden asset investigations.

'I hope the message that we send out today from the U.S. Marshal Service is that, at the end of the day, crime doesn't pay,' said U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas

The U.S. Marshals Service is holding an online auction, ending Thursday, for the sale of several high-end vehicles, most of which belonged to the drug kingpin Alvaro Lopez Tardon case in Miami

Other vehicles include a 2003 Ferrari Enzo and this Bugatti Veyron 16.4

Amost Rojas Jr., the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, said he hoped Alvaro Lopez Tardon was watching the auction either on television or online, from the comfortable confine of his jail cell.

'That's what the criminal's final goal is, to spend this kind of money,' said Rojas. 'Right now he's sharing a cell and a steel bunk bed. I hope he's sitting in his cell looking at this.'

Alvaro made his initial mark in the drug trade back in the 1990s, when he - along with his brother Artemio - worked for a ruthless drug trafficker in Spain.

By the early 2000s, the Tardon brothers began a bloody feud with their boss and set about building their own criminal enterprise. They were ultimately successful - Alvardo directed the enterprise's illegal activities primarily from Miami, where he visited often, and second-in-command Artemio ran things from Madrid.

The Tardons' enterprise imported large quantities of Colombian cocaine from Peru into Spain.

The illegal proceeds from the distribution and sale of the drugs would then be sent into the U.S., either carried by couriers or wire-transferred into any one of the numerous bank accounts Alvaro Tardon had set up (often not in his own name).

He and his associatesusually through straw buyers or shell companieswould then launder the money through their purchases of luxury vehicles and high-end real estate in the Miami area.

Amos Rojas Jr., the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, said he hoped Alvaro Lopez Tardon was watching the auction either on television or online, from the comfortable confines of his jail cell

Authorities say the 41-year-old Tardon, a Spanish national, was the head of an international narcotics trafficking and money laundering syndicate which distributed over 7,500 kilograms of South American cocaine

Television cameramen shoot a 2003 Enzo Ferrari. The car is one of only 400 made in the world, that is currently up for grabs for $1.9 million

By early 2011, though, the noose began to tighten around the Tardon organization.

Spanish police raided a cocaine lab near Madrid run by a woman who distributed cocaine for the brothers. Found at the lab were ledgers that matched ledgers later found in Alvaro's Miami penthouse.

By July 2011, law enforcement in both countries had enough evidence to charge and arrest 20 members of the criminal group  16 individuals, including Artemio, in Madrid, and four, including Alvaro, in Miami.

Successfully investigating the activities of an international criminal organization requires the collaboration of law enforcement agencies at all levels, and that's exactly what happened in this case.

Jacob Scully, with Apple Auctioneering Co., attaches a sign to a 2009 Maybach 57S

The fancy cars that once belonged to a drug kingpin with ties to Miami are being auctioned off by the U.S. Marshals

After his conviction, his property was seized by the U.S. Department of Justice. The U.S. Marshals Service took over from there and evaluated the property and got it ready for auction

From the very beginning of the investigation in 2010  when the Spanish National Police shared information about Alvaro and Artemio Tardon with the FBI through Bureau investigators worked side by side with international partners alongside other U.S. federal agencies, and local authorities in Florida.

An essential part of the money laundering case against Alvaro was an in-depth analysis of U.S. financial, real estate, and tax records as well as additional records shared with us by Spanish authorities.

Alvaro's seven-week trial included the introduction of more than 36,000 pages of documents from Spain and the United States. Jurors also heard testimony from representatives of the Spanish National Police as well as Spain's national wiretapping agency and its taxing agency.

In the end, it was enough to convince a jury to convict Alvaro and, according to Miami Special Agent in Charge George Piro, to ensure that 'Alvaro Lopez Tardon's days as an international drug kingpin were over.'

The engine compartment of a 2008 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is shown. The profits will go to fund future concealed and hidden asset investigations
Tony Blair repeatedly sidelined his Cabinet colleagues as he exploited group-think to railroad through the Iraq invasion, Sir John Chilcot found.

In an attack on Mr Blairs style of sofa government, his report reveals that on at least 11 occasions, decisions were taken without any reference to the most senior figures in his own Cabinet.

It meant that the Prime Minister did not face frank and informed debate and challenge over his actions.

The phrase no substantive discussions appears frequently throughout Sir Johns report when he refers to major milestones in the run-up to war.

Lord Turnbull, Cabinet Secretary from 2002 to 2005, described Mr Blairs characteristic way of working with his Cabinet as: I like to move fast. I dont want to spend a lot of time in kind of conflict resolution, and, therefore, I will get the people who will make this thing move quickly and efficiently.

Report reveals that on at least 11 occasions, decisions were taken without any reference to the most senior figures in his own Cabinet

Chancellor Gordon Brown, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Leader of the House Robin Cook were excluded from decision-making, and the full Cabinet only discussed military options on limited occasions.

Instead, Mr Blair took decisions alone or with his foreign secretary, Jack Straw. Sir Johns report concluded that, had Cabinet colleagues been consulted: The process might have identified some of the wider implications and risks associated with the deployment of military forces to Iraq.

It found that neither Mr Straw nor the then defence secretary Geoff Hoon were consulted on the infamous letter sent to President George W Bush in which Mr Blair wrote: I will be with you, whatever.

Sir John said: The inquiry considers that where policy options include significant military deployments the options should be considered by a group of ministers meeting regularly, so that Cabinet as a whole can be enabled to take informed collective decisions.

Mr Blair took decisions alone or with his foreign secretary, Jack Straw, pictured yesterday

He continued: This can provide some external challenge from experienced members of the Government and mitigate any tendency towards group-think, he said.

In the case of Iraq, for example, the inclusion of the Chancellor or Deputy Prime Minister, as senior members of the Cabinet, or of Mr Cook, as a former foreign secretary known to have concerns about the policy, could have provided an element of challenge.

Collective ministerial discussion would have encouraged frank and informed debate and challenge, adding: Above all, the lesson is that all aspects of any intervention need to be calculated, debated and challenged with the utmost rigour.

And, when decisions have been made, they need to be implemented fully. Sadly, neither was the case in relation to the UK governments actions in Iraq. The report lists 11 times when ministers were not properly involved in decision-making before the Iraq War.

It began with the December 2001 decision to offer to work with Mr Bush on a strategy to deal with Iraq as part of the War On Terror, despite the lack of evidence of Iraqi involvement with the September 11 attacks or of links to Al Qaeda.

There was no possible discussion in February 2002 of Mr Blairs decision that the way to remove Saddam Hussein was to invade Iraq; and two months later neither Mr Straw nor Mr Hoon were invited to a key meeting at Chequers.

Another decision point was the position Mr Blair should adopt in his discussion with Mr Bush at Camp David in September 2002.

Sir John concluded: Mr Blairs long note of 28 July, telling President Bush I will be with you, whatever, was seen, before it was sent, only by No10 officials.

A copy was sent afterwards to Mr Straw, but not to Mr Hoon... it represented an extensive statement of the UK governments position by the Prime Minister to the President.

The foreign and defence secretaries should certainly have been given an opportunity to comment on the draft in advance.

Sir John said there should also have been more discussion on the October 2002 decision to offer ground forces to the US for planning purposes, and the January 2003 decision to deploy large scale ground forces for operations in southern Iraq.

In addition, there was little discussion over a review of policy at the end of February 2003 when UN inspectors had found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction.
A daring couple were filmed rescuing their iPhone from the jaws of an alligator after dropping the device into a swamp in Florida.

Anthony Larrimore, 24, from Fort Myers, Florida, was with 21-year-old partner Laciey D'Agostino at a nature reserve on Saturday when the pair spotted the reptile lurking in a swamp.

Using D-Agostino's phone, Larrimore took some pictures of the creature before attempting to stream the experience using Facebook live when he dropped the device into the water.

Anthony Larrimore, 24, from Fort Myers, Florida, spent an hour on Saturday trying to retrieve an iPhone from the jaws of an alligator after he dropped the device into a swamp

Larrimore had been taking pictures of the animal with partner Laciey D'Agostino's phone but dropped it while trying to stream the experience on Facebook live (file image)

Despite attracting the attention of the gator, Larrimore was not willing to give the device up for lost because it contained pictures of the couple's 10-month-old son Nolan.

Footage shows Larrimore using a stick to try and maneuver the phone toward himself, but this only intrigues the reptile more.

Hissing and rearing its head, the alligator moves toward the device before trying to get it between his jaws, eventually settling down with it underneath its snout.

While onlookers urged Larrimore to give up the phone, he stuck at the task for over an hour, trying to lure the gator away.

D'Agostino told News-Press.com: 'I think (the alligator) was just being aggressive.

D'Agostino (left and right with son Nolan) said the alligator seemed to be trying to get hold of her boyfriend's arm, but said she couldn't give up the phone because it was filled with pictures of their son

'It seemed like he wanted to get a bite out of my boyfriend's arm. He was trying to lure him in, to put his arm at the right angle.'

After a while, the creature seemed to have lost interest and slunk away, and Larrimore seized his chance to retrieve the phone.

Laying down on a deck walkway, he reached through the railings and grabbed the iPhone while the alligator was facing the other way.
An American news reporter who was charmed by a shirtless Australian has dropped her microphone on live television and chased the jogger down the beach.

KTLA reporter Wendy Burch was interviewing beach goers on Salt Creek Beach, California, after a three-metre shark was sighted in the water on Tuesday when she came upon a strapping young jogger, James.

The Australian-born spear fisher said he felt shark sightings didn't mean swimmers or surfers were at risk of an attack and assured her there was 'nothing to be afraid of' before returning to his run.

KTLA reporter Wendy Burch was interviewing beach goers on Salt Creek Beach, California, after a three-metre shark was sighted in the water on Tuesday when she came upon a strapping young jogger, James

'The sharks are always going to be there... I think it's just paranoia from the media and from what we see on TV every day, to be honest. Sharks are no danger,' he said with his hands on his hips.

Ms Burch appeared flustered as she shook his hand and bid him farewell, telling her co-hosts back in the studio: 'I love that guy. I have nothing else to say.'

But anchor Chris Schauble had a different idea and jokingly encouraged her to find out more about the mysterious jogger as he started running away.

'Why are you letting him go? Where is he from? You have to get more information Wendy! You let him off the hook,' he said.

'The sharks are always going to be there... I think it's just paranoia from the media and from what we see on TV every day, to be honest. Sharks are no danger,' he said with his hands on his hips

Ms Burch appeared flustered as she shook James' hand and bid him a final farewell

'I love that guy. I have nothing else to say,' she told her co-workers back in the studio

But anchor Chris Schauble had a different idea and jokingly encouraged her to find out more about the mysterious jogger as he started running away

'That's the story of my life,' she responded before turning to the camera, dropping her microphone and setting off in hot pursuit of the Australian

Ms Burch could be seen chasing after the jogger once he was out of sight during a live segment

'That's the story of my life,' she responded before turning to the camera, dropping her microphone and setting off in hot pursuit of the Australian.

Ms Burch's colleague Jennifer Gould poked fun at the news reporter's amorous exchange with James, tweeting: 'Shark... everyone was looking down under.'

'There was a moment there when I looked into his eyes.... and completely forgot what we were talking about,' Ms Burch responded.

Other social media users jumped on the bandwagon, with one asking if she found her 'happy ending' and another making comment about James' 'south pole'.

Ms Burch's colleague Jennifer Gould poked fun at the news reporter's amorous exchange with James, tweeting: 'Shark... everyone was looking down under.'
A murdered drug dealer was not worried when Harriet Wran, the daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran, knocked on his door because she was 'just a girl'.

Wran, high on ice and desperate for more, knocked on Daniel McNulty's housing commission apartment in inner-Sydney Redfern to steal his drugs in August 2014.

When Mr McNulty saw the young woman's face at the window, he told his housemate: 'Don't worry, it's just a girl', The Australian reported.

He opened the door and Wran was followed in by her then-boyfriend Michael Lee and his friend, Lloyd Edward Haines, who demanded money and drugs.

Lee then stabbed Mr McNulty in the chest, stomach and neck.

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The Crown has dropped a murder charge against Harriet Wran, the youngest daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran, over the death of Redfern drug dealer Daniel McNulty

Wran did not know he had a knife, or that Haines had a balaclava and believed their presence alone would frighten Mr McNulty and his housemate into parting with their drugs, agreed facts signed by Wran stated.

She made two triple-zero calls after the stabbing.

Wran had only been dating Lee for two weeks and had not met Haines before.

After almost two years behind bars, prosecutors dropped the murder charge on Wednesday in the NSW Supreme Court.

An agreed statement of facts tendered in court reveal Wran (pictured leaving court on Wednesday) didn't know her then-boyfriend Michael Lee was armed with a knife before she lured Mr McNulty to his door in August 2014

Daniel McNulty (pictured) was stabbed to death at his inner-Sydney Redfern housing commission apartment in August 2014

Wran's then-boyfriend Michael Lee (pictured in green jumper in August 2014) pleaded guilty to Mr McNulty's murder

The now 28-year-old instead pleaded guilty to robbery and to being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Lee and Haines have already pleaded guilty to Mr McNulty's murder.

Mr McNulty's housemate, Brett Fitzgerald, was also stabbed but not fatally wounded in the 2014 break-in.

Wran attended some of Sydney's most exclusive private schools and was in line to receive a share of her late father's multimillion-dollar estate, but descended into ice addiction.

Her mother Jill Hickson was in court on Wednesday and said of her daughter: 'I couldn't love her more.'

Wran is expected to face a sentence hearing next week.

Wran, 28, was set to face a judge-alone trial in the NSW Supreme Court this week over the death of Redfern drug dealer Daniel McNulty

Jill Wran, the mother of Harriet Wran, was pictured arriving at the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday where the Crown dropped the murder charge against the 28-year-old

As she was arraigned before on Wednesday, it became clear she would no longer be prosecuted in relation to allegations that she murdered Mr McNulty as part of a joint criminal enterprise in August 2014

Wran appeared to mouth the words 'love you' to her mother Jill (pictured), who has attended court to see her daughter at every opportunity in recent weeks

Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped the murder charge against Wran (pictured), now 28. She instead pleaded guilty to robbery and accessory to murder after the fact

Wran was arrested two years ago after Mr McNulty was killed at his housing commission unit in August, 2014

Wran is the daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran, who died a few months before the August, 2014, incident (L-R: Neville Wran, his wife Jill, their daughter Harriet and guest)
Dame Helen Mirren, 70, has admitted her movie posters are often retouched

For her latest LOreal campaign her fine lines and wrinkles are proudly on display for all to see.

However Dame Helen Mirren yesterday revealed the same could not be said for her film promotional shoots after admitting her movie posters are retouched.

The 70-year-old actress revealed that, despite suggestions she didnt allow for retouching, shes actually extremely laissez-faire about the whole thing and has no qualms altering a photo to sell a film.

A quick glance at images of the Oscar-winning star on posters for her recent films including Red 2, The Hundred-Foot Journey and Eye In The Sky, reveal her to have smooth, wrinkle-free skin and a taut jawline.

In an interview in the August edition of Woman and Home magazine, Dame Helen who was last year unveiled as the oldest face of LOreal, said: Contrary to what everyone says, I dont not allow retouching. Im very laissez-faire about it all. But when I was offered the gig to be an ambassador for LOreal, which was very exciting, I said please dont retouch me.

In the US, they retouch for film posters. Thats their business, of course - theyre advertising the movie. But I look at it and think. I dont look like that in real life - and certainly not in the movie. So I didnt want something to say This is me, Helen Mirren - and for LOreal to perpetuate something that isnt true.

But it wasnt even an issue, as LOreal UK dont retouch images of me unless maybe theres a hair out of place or a bra strap showing, which was music to my ears.

All my life Ive been looking at 16-year-old girls selling beauty, so I think its fabulous that theyre using a 70-year-old woman to sell products to other 60 to 80-year-old women.

In a wide ranging interview, the actress also revealed an unusual beauty secret that does not involve potions: Korean Baths and foot massages.

She said: I love the whole bathing experience, and a steam bath. In LA I also like to have a Korean Bath, where you get scrubbed from top to bottom by these fierce Korean ladies - and you honestly come out there feeling 5lbs lighter.

All the dead skin has gone and you feel amazing - so clean.

Dame Helen, who debuted her unusual pink bob at the BAFTA awards in 2013, also confessed she is planning to dye her hair violet.

Dame Helen, speaking about another hair colour change, said: I do my own colour but I must admit, violet is tempting me now! Its a lovely colour and Ive seen it on lots of girls recently

She said: Im tempted to dye my hair violet. My pink hair moment got lots of attention! I was inspired while watching Americas Next Top Model: There was this girl who suddenly had bright pink hair for one episode and then in the next it was gone - so I thought, Oh - I can dye it bright pink and its not forever. It got everyone talking.

I do my own colour but I must admit, violet is tempting me now! Its a lovely colour and Ive seen it on lots of girls recently.

Dame Helen is married to American film director Taylor Edwin Hackford, 71.
A Vanity Fair cover article on Margot Robbie has sparked outrage on Twitter with critics branding the author 'creepy, slimy and lecherous.'

Rich Cohen, a non-fiction writer from Illinois, wrote the profile on the Australian actress. He describes himself as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone as well as the co-creator of HBO's Vinyl in his Twitter bio.

Titled 'Welcome to the Summer of Margot Robbie', the piece describes the star of summer blockbusters Tarzan and Suicide Squad - who dons a white bikini to grace the magazines August issue - at length.

Cohen describes her as beautiful, a girl next door with painfully blue eyes and at one point, comparing her to a second-semester freshman.

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A Vanity Fair cover article on Margot Robbie (pictured left on the cover of the magazine's August issue) has sparked a backlash on Twitter for being sexist. Right, the actress in The Legend of Tarzan

Twitter took Cohen to task for the way he described the 26-year-old actress in the profile

As she is best known for her role as Naomi alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street, she's also described as 'one of [director Martin] Scorseses women.'

Twitter took him to task for the piece, with many blasting Cohen for the way he described Robbie.

Notably, writer Roxane Gay, the New York Times bestselling author of Bad Feminist, called him out for the article.

'Where do we even begin with this delightful profile?' she tweeted sarcastically.

'"She wandered through the room like a second-semester freshman, Gay added.

I mean shes a 26 year old movie star. The only freshmen [sic] is the guy with his d*** in his hand, aka Rich Cohen.

VANITY FAIR'S RICH COHEN ON MARGOT ROBBIE AND AUSTRALIA 'She is 26 and beautiful, not in that otherworldly, catwalk way but in a minor knock-around key, a blue mood, a slow dance.' 'She is blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character.' 'She wandered through the room like a second-semester freshman, finally at ease with the system. She stopped at tables along the way to talk to friends. I dont remember what she was wearing, but it was simple, her hair combed around those painfully blue eyes.' 'It was Wolf that defined her. It put her up with Sharon Stone in Casino and Cathy Moriarty in Raging Bull  one of Scorseses women.' 'Robbie grew up in Gold Coast, a city on Australias Pacific shore, 500 miles north of Sydney. In an old movie, you might have seen a crossroad sign demonstrating just how isolated it was, just how far from the known capitals.' 'Now and then, she stayed with cousins who lived in the hinterland of the hinterland, where there really were kangaroos and a dingo really will eat your baby.' Advertisement

Rich Cohen (pictured) wrote the profile on the Australian actress for Vanity Fair's August issue

The piece also caused controversy for insulting Australia - which it called a country of 'throwback people.'

'Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why you go there for throwback people,' Cohen wrote.

Australians 'still live and die with the plot turns of soap operas,' according to Cohen.

Mistakes in the piece includes describing the Gold Coast, one of the country's major cities and popular tourist destination, as 'a sleepy city at the bottom of the world.'

'Now and then, she stayed with cousins who lived in the hinterland of the hinterland, where there really were kangaroos and a dingo really will eat your baby,' Cohen adds.

Australian actor Josh Lawson blasted Cohen for the 'stomach-churning' way he writes about Robbie and his lack of knowledge of Australia.

'The @VanityFair piece on Margot Robbie by Rich Cohen is so gross in so many ways,' wrote Lawson on Twitter.

'Clearly written by a man who knows NOTHING about Australia. It's full of things about the country that simply aren't true.'

He added: 'Not to mention the slimy, lecherous, stomach churning way he writes about Margot Robbie. Yuck.

'Hollywood sexism is very clear here as demonstrated by this creepy, ill-informed journalist. And I use that word very, very loosely.'

Feminist writer Roxane Gay and Australian actor Josh Lawson were among the critics of the piece

Others also took to the social media platform to criticize Cohens choice of words.

Did he blackout and not remember anything from the interview, asked Allie Jones.

A Twitter user called Alanna summed up the lengthy piece in under 140 characters, writing: Margot Robbie is from Australia. Theyre in a different time zone there. Also, shes blonde and I have a b**** - Rich Cohen.

The Vanity Fair profile version of a college paper that is just a rewritten Wikipedia entry, with extra b*****, added Jes Skolnik.

Cohens piece begins: America is so far gone, we have to go to Australia to find a girl next door. In case you missed it, her name is Margot Robbie.

She is 26 and beautiful, not in that otherworldly, catwalk way but in a minor knock-around key, a blue mood, a slow dance.

She is blonde but dark at the roots. She is tall but only with the help of certain shoes. She can be sexy and composed even while naked but only in character.

Robbie is best known for her role as Naomi in 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street. Above, Robbie with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio

Later, he described their meeting in an upscale restaurant in New York City.

I met Margot in the restaurant in the Mark hotel, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Cohen writes.

Its a celebrity haunt. You sense them in the shadows, in their booths, tracking you with suspicious eyes.

She wandered through the room like a second-semester freshman, finally at ease with the system.

She stopped at tables along the way to talk to friends. I dont remember what she was wearing, but it was simple, her hair combed around those painfully blue eyes. We sat in the corner. She looked at me and smiled.

At the conclusion of the piece, Cohen asks Robbie repeatedly about sex scenes, specifically the 'graphic on-screen shenanigans' depicted in The Wolf of Wall Street.

While the article's existence is ostensibly due to Robbie's roles in two of the summer's biggest movies - as Jane in The Legend of Tarzan and Harley Quinn in Marvel's Suicide Squad - he instead focuses on awkward sex scenes filmed for a movie released three years ago.
News / Regional

by Ndou Paul

Morgan Tsvangirai's envoy to the UK, Elliot Pfebve has opened an attack on Local Government Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere from his UK base.Pfebve who on Sunday morning opened a motion for diasporans to engage, says Kasukuwere's son, Takudzwa, currently studying in the UK must be deported back to Zimbabwe.The petition has a section which states "Why this is important.""Saviour Kasukuwere is Minister of local government in Zimbabwe who have been targeting and arresting democratically elected opposition Mayors."Kasukuwere was instrumental in crafting the Indigenization bill which closed and looted many foreign companies rendering thousands of workers in Zimbabwe jobless."Kasukuwere MP for MT Darwin South was spearheading 2008 violence that saw over 500 MDC supporters murdered. He has been advocating for violence against the West in favour of look East policy."
Rejecting his advances she begins to thrash triggering a fight

The frisky male had bitten onto the female attempting to mate with her

A frisky male Wobbegong shark found himself locked in a vicious fight when a female rejected his advances to mate.

The staff at Gold Coast Divers were exploring the waters at Narrowneck Artificial Reef on the Gold Coast when they spotted the bottom-dwelling sharks on Tuesday.

A video of the incident shows the male shark biting the female's gill region making his advances clear but she begins thrashing denying his attempt to mate.

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A frisky male Wobbegong shark bites onto the female in hopes of mating

Holding on tight the male refuses to let go but the female sticks by her word and the pair eventually swim off in different directions.

Dave Wyatt, owner of Gold Coast Divers says the male's intention to mate had just been initiated when the staff members came across them.

'He came over to let her know he's keen but she said 'no see you later',' Mr Wyatt told Daily Mail Australia.

Rejecting his advance the female begins thrashing triggering a fight between them

Staff members from Gold Coast Divers were exploring the waters at Narrowneck Artificial Reef on the Gold Coast when they spotted the sharks

During breeding season, a male Wobbegong shark becomes attracted to females when they release pheromones into the water.

Like other shark species the males will bite the females and insert one clasper into the cloaca to release sperm.

Although divers are accustomed to seeing Wobbegong sharks mating in the region this occurrence is rare.

'Seeing things like that is pretty special. I've seen them mate before but not instigating it and being rejected,' Mr Wyatt said.
Back in July 2010, a little-known MP called Andrea Leadsom revealed that shed played a prominent role steering the UK banking system through one of the great crises of modern times

Back in July 2010, a little-known MP called Andrea Leadsom revealed that shed played a prominent role steering the UK banking system through one of the great crises of modern times.

Fifteen years ago, I had the dubious privilege of working with your predecessor over a weekend to stop a run on the banking system when Barings went bust, she declared, while cross-examining Mervyn King, then the Governor of the Bank of England, for the Commons Treasury Committee.

When I had that pleasure, I was running the investment team at Barclays, and we were the main bankers of [the merchant bank] Barings, and that was why I was involved.

It was an artful piece of name-dropping by Leadsom, then the newly elected member for South Northamptonshire, whose successful election literature had boasted of her 25 years in finance, as well as nine years chairing a childrens charity.

Who, after all, could argue with the logic of a no-nonsense City high-flyer whose CV apparently included a stint running the investment team at Barclays at such a pivotal moment in history?

How admirable, an observer might have concluded, that a financier of such impeccable credentials should have chosen to forego the lucrative rewards of her chosen profession to forge a career in public service.

Mrs Leadsom, a 53-year-old mother of three, duly began to climb Westminsters greasy pole, becoming Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2014, and then Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change after the 2015 election.

Then, when she decided to mount a bold challenge for the Conservative leadership following David Camerons resignation last month, the blue-chip banking career once more formed a central part of her pitch.

Speaking to the BBCs Andrew Marr at the weekend, Mrs Leadsom cited her 25 years in financial services as proof of her ability to steer the great ship of State, claiming that she had, in that time, run enormous teams, small teams, start-up businesses.

Mrs Leadsom, a 53-year-old mother of three, began to climb Westminsters greasy pole, becoming Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2014, and then Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change after the 2015 election

Meanwhile, Bernard Jenkin, a prominent backbench supporter, waxed lyrical about her work at Invesco Perpetual, the company that employed her from 1999-2009, speaking of her experience running a large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds.

Compelling stuff. Or it would be, but for an inconvenient fact: many of these very grand claims about Andrea Leadsoms professional credentials may not be quite what they seem.

At Barclays, for example, she was not actually running the investment team in 1995, at the time of the Barings crisis, as she had previously told Parliament.

Instead, Mrs Leadsom was a Deputy Financial Institutions Director, which isnt quite the same thing. (Today, Barclays boasts no fewer than 5,000 directors and 1,800 managing directors on its staff.)

At Barclays, for example, she was not actually running the investment team in 1995, at the time of the Barings crisis, as she had previously told Parliament

Her role was sufficiently insignificant for John Gapper, who was Banking Editor of the Financial Times at the time of the Barings collapse, to declare yesterday: I never heard of Andrea Leadsom.

She merits no mention in All That Glitters, the detailed and highly regarded book on the collapse of Barings which he later wrote.

At Invesco Perpetual, meanwhile, Mrs Leadsom turns out to have belonged to the middle, rather than higher echelons of management.

Her job title there was Senior Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Compliance.

According to Robert Stephens, a blogger and former colleague, she had no one reporting to her in either role, did not run any teams, and certainly did not manage any funds, as Bernard Jenkin appears to have suggested.

What is more, it emerged yesterday that, in contrast to Mr Jenkins claims, she was only able to manage any funds, or deal with a single client, for a mere three months of her adult life.

In fact, according to Financial Conduct Authority records, Mrs Leadsom has held the legally required approval from the regulator to fulfil either function for only a short period  from December 2002 until February 2003.

Unsurprisingly, these awkward disclosures are threatening to derail the Prime Ministerial ambitions of Andrea Leadsom, who in Tuesdays leadership ballot gained the support of 66 Tory MPs, putting her in second place in the race, behind Home Secretary Theresa May.

The revelations have emerged just as the Tory grassroots members who will make the final decision on the next PM are being confronted with headlines regarding her colourful tax affairs  which we shall examine in greater detail.

In an apparent bid to steady the ship in advance of todays second-round ballot of MPs, Mrs Leadsoms campaign last night published what it described as a CV detailing her career in financial services. Yet it raised as many questions as it answered.

For example, the CV claims that she was managing director of De Putron Fund Management, a firm controlled by her financier brother-in-law Peter De Putron from 1997-1999.

Yet in Companies House filings at the same time, Mrs Leadsom described herself as something different: a marketing director.

As a relative newcomer to politics, Mrs Leadsom has not previously been subjected to the sustained public scrutiny of her two main leadership rivals, Theresa May and Michael Gove

Whats more, the CV says she was a Deputy Financial Institutions Director at Barclays during the Nineties. However, in her Whos Who entry, published from 2011 until this year, Mrs Leadsom has given herself a more senior role: Financial Institutions Director.

Inadvertent slips? Maybe  Mrs Leadsoms spokesman said the confusion arose because she had held two contemporaneous roles, one as deputy director of financial institutions and the other as project director, preparing the bank for the euro.

But voters are surely entitled to wonder whether a politician guilty of paying such scant attention to detail is suited to hold the keys to Number 10.

As a relative newcomer to politics, Mrs Leadsom has not previously been subjected to the sustained public scrutiny of her two main leadership rivals, Theresa May and Michael Gove.

However, a close examination of her public pronouncements raises a worrying number of red flags.

A close examination of Mrs Leadsom's public pronouncements raises a worrying number of red flags

Take, for example, the speech last week in which she declared her candidacy for the Tory leadership.

In it, she boasted of having founded Fresh Start, a prominent Eurosceptic lobby group, saying: I set up and led the Fresh Start project, with the support of over 100 MPs.

That comment (which, at the time, slid below the radar) came as a surprise to friends of George Eustice, the Farming Minister, who say he was actually the organisations founder.

Take, by way of another example, one of the few extended on-the-record interviews that Mrs Leadsom has given, to the Mails City editor Alex Brummer on June 6.

After training as a metals trader in the City, she joined BZW, the trading arm of Barclays, in 1987, at the age of 24.

She claimed to have risen quickly through the ranks, telling the Mail: I was made a senior executive, which was a Director of Barclays  the youngest ever at the time, aged 32  and made Head of UK Banking for Barclays . . . It was a big job.

It certainly sounds like a big job. However, Mrs Leadsoms CV, released yesterday, strangely failed to mention this glamorous-sounding stint as Head of UK Banking for Barclays.

Perhaps she forgot it. Or maybe that wasnt actually her title.

The CV also, by the by, contains no mention of any period running the investment team at Barclays, about which shed told Parliament in 2010.

After training as a metals trader in the City, she joined BZW, the trading arm of Barclays, in 1987, at 24

In her interview with the Mail, Mrs Leadsom then went on to claim that she decided to leave Barclays after they refused to allow her to work part-time following the birth of her eldest son, Freddie.

I stuck with it for two years and two miscarriages, and then said: Look, can I go part-time? And the response of the Managing Director of the UK Bank was: Weve managed without women senior executives until now; we certainly dont need part-time ones. And that was the answer, in 1999, so they paid me to go quietly.

Again, an intriguing story. But one which contains a few holes.

For one thing, Barclays certainly didnt manage without women in its highest echelons until the late Nineties: a woman called Mary Elizabeth Baker sat on the banks UK board from 1983 until 1989, before beginning a lengthy spell on its group board, which oversees global affairs.

She was joined there in the mid-Nineties by a second woman, Hilary Cropper.

For another, Mrs Leadsom wasnt paid to go quietly in 1999. According to the CV she published yesterday, she left Barclays in 1997.

In an interview with the Mail, Mrs Leadsom then claimed that she decided to leave Barclays after they refused to allow her to work part-time following the birth of her eldest son, Freddie

Either way, she then spent two years at De Putron Fund Management, the investment firm controlled by Peter de Putron, a Guernsey-based businessman who is married to her sister, Hayley.

Talking about the job, in her Mail interview last month, she claimed: I went to set up a new funds management business, with my brother-in-law, and helped him for a couple of years when my second son [Harry] was born.

All of which leads neatly to the second set of awkward questions that have been swirling around Mrs Leadsom in recent days.

The MPs links to De Putron Fund Management [DPFM] are at the centre of an ongoing controversy surrounding her tax affairs. By nature, these are complex matters, but I shall attempt to explain them as simply as possible.

According to Companies House, the London-based firm is run by DP Management Limited, a company based in the tax haven of Guernsey. Its shares, meanwhile, are owned by Pans (UK) Holdings Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Islands, another tax haven.

DPFM shares its London offices with a complex and somewhat opaque array of other firms controlled by De Putron, several of which either list, or have in the past listed Mrs Leadsoms husband, Ben, as a senior figure.

They include Trenchant Limited, a software development company, Trenchant Employee Services Limited, which states its business as provision of staff to related entities, and Gloucester Research Limited, a research firm.

One central point of contention is that between 2007 and 2011, Gloucester Research ran an Employee Benefit Trust [EBT], which is a potential tax avoidance vehicle that can be used to help staff avoid National Insurance and Income tax by holding in trust money which is due to an employee.

The cash is then paid out as a tax-efficient loan (which is sometimes never repaid), or handed over when that employee is retired, or no longer resident in the UK for tax purposes.

Though legal, EBTs have been widely abused and were the subject of an Inland Revenue crackdown in 2011 after being branded morally repugnant by George Osborne.

Speaking to the BBCs Andrew Marr at the weekend, Mrs Leadsom cited her 25 years in financial services as proof of her ability to steer the great ship of State, claiming that she had, in that time, run enormous teams, small teams, start-up businesses

Around 2.8 million was transferred into Gloucester Researchs EBT at the time Ben Leadsom was a director of the company.

Significantly, the company went on to donate around 70,000 to Andrea Leadsom in 2011 and 2012 so that she could hire office staff.

She says she was unaware of the Employee Benefit Trusts existence at the time she accepted the donations, despite her husbands senior role in the company. However, it seems unlikely she was unaware of the firms offshore ownership structure.

Mrs Leadsom also claims to have been unaware that Gloucester Research and her brother-in-law De Putron gave another 800,000 to the Conservative Party, again at the time when her husband was a director of the firms.

When details of those donations emerged in 2014, shortly after she had been given a junior ministerial post, Labour asked whether the payments amounted to a cash for office arrangement.

At around the same time, Mrs Leadsom and her husband were somewhat embarrassingly also named as clients of the Channel Islands branches of Kleinwort Benson, a bank whose published motto is: A fortune once acquired should never be endangered.

The bank turns out to have loaned money to Bandal Limited, a firm Mrs Leadsom set up with her husband in the early 2000s to purchase buy-to-let properties in Oxford and Surrey worth more than 1 million.

According to a 2014 Guardian report, the bank also loaned money to help the couple buy their country home, a 17th-century Northamptonshire farmhouse, in 2007 for more than 1.2 million.

In 2005, 24 per cent of Bandals shares were transferred to trust funds set up to benefit Mrs Leadsoms three children.

At the time, this represented a legal way of avoiding inheritance tax, though the following year the then Chancellor Gordon Brown closed that loophole.

Intriguingly, as Mrs Leadsoms political career started to take off in 2013, mortgages that Bandal Limited held with Kleinwort Benson in Channel Island tax havens were quietly transferred onshore.

If this was an effort to keep their existence secret, it failed. However, her office insists theres never been an offshore element to the buy-to-let empire, arguing that the word offshore is taken to mean tax avoidance. There is not and never has been any offshore tax avoidance.

What remains unclear, however, is whether there is still any offshore element to Mrs Leadsoms personal finances (or indeed those of her husband).

Since she has said she will release her tax returns only if she reaches the last two in the leadership race, we may never know.

She may be a remarkable woman, and certainly made a considerable contribution to the Brexit campaign.

But politics is a brutal trade.
Jeremy Heywood, who was subsequently promoted to Cabinet Secretary, has been nicknamed Sir Cover-Up for presiding over a culture of secrecy in Whitehall

The Chilcot reports most damning passages deal with the collapse of Cabinet government and the abuse of Civil Service procedures at the time of the Iraq War.

Civil servants failed to take notes of key meetings.

Cabinet committees (above all, the defence and overseas policy committee) were bypassed on serious issues of government. Even Cabinet ministers were not informed of what was going on.

In sum, basic standards of truth-telling  crucial to the administration of democratic government  collapsed.

So, who was to blame for this corruption of Civil Service integrity?

Responsibility, I believe, lies with a young, ambitious civil servant called Jeremy Heywood  who was subsequently promoted to Cabinet Secretary. Still in the job today, hes been nicknamed Sir Cover-Up for presiding over a culture of secrecy in Whitehall.

Back in 2003, it was the task of then Cabinet Secretary Richard (now Lord) Wilson to ensure that traditional standards of government were maintained.

Yet he was frozen out by Blairs inner team of cronies. These included the former Daily Mirror journalist Alastair Campbell, ex-diplomat Jonathan Powell, and Anji Hunter, an old childhood friend of the Prime Minister.

They formed a coterie which met around the sofa in Tony Blairs den or private office and took vital decisions in secret.

They viewed Sir Richard Wilson with both disdain and suspicion  depriving him of access to the Prime Minister.

The only civil servant they trusted was Heywood, who was Blairs principal private secretary. Although rarely mentioned in the final report, Heywoods influence is made clear from one telling piece of evidence given to the inquiry.

Sir Stephen Wall (Blairs adviser on European issues) joked: It has become almost illegal to have a government that doesnt have Jeremy Heywood in No10 to help run it.

Indeed, Heywood became part of Blairs sofa government and was much more lax than he shouldve been about note-taking and administering the machine of government.

Heywood became part of Blairs sofa government, that was accused by Sir John Chilcot of not encouraging 'substantive discussion'

This sloppiness was exposed when the Hutton Inquiry into the death of weapons inspector Dr David Kelly sought to reconstruct the decision-making process that had led to his identification as the source of a secret briefing to BBC journalists about the true extent of Iraqs so-called weapons of mass destruction.

Four meetings, all involving senior officials and Cabinet ministers, each chaired by Blair, had taken place in No10 to discuss Kelly in the 48 hours before his name had been released.

In a shocking breach of Whitehall procedure, none of these meetings had been minuted. It would have been Heywoods job to compile notes.

This failure to make a record of these urgent discussions  and presumably many others  is a reflection of the lack of attention to detail among the governing coterie inside Downing Street.
Earlier, a couple and a dog escaped after water swept their car into drain

from car roof in Mossiface in eastern Victoria

A man who was neck-deep in rapidly rising floodwaters has been snatched to safety from the roof of his car just hours after another dramatic rescue.

The latest rescue, in Mossiface in eastern Victoria, came as rivers and creeks across the Gippsland region broke their banks, swamping houses and businesses.

Help arrived just in time for a 62-year-old Bruthen man, who lost his footing while he waited on top of his car in a paddock on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday night, a couple and their dog were lucky to escape injury after their car hit floodwaters and veered into a drain near Pound Creek in South Gippsland.

Rivers and creeks across the Gippsland region have broken their banks, swamping houses and businesses. On Tuesday, a couple and their dog were lucky to escape injury after their car (pictured) hit flood waters and veered into a drain near Pound Creek in South Gippsland

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for much of Victoria

A 62-year-old man was snatched to safety from the roof of his car in Mossiface in eastern Victoria as floodwaters reached his neck. Heavy rainfall caused rivers and creeks throughout Victoria to break their banks

In the latest incident, rapidly rising water reached the man's neck before three police officers and a paramedic were able to wade into the floodwaters and pull the man to safety with a snatch strap, police said.

The man's car had reportedly been swept into the paddock after being driven into floodwaters on a nearby road.

Much of Victoria has been drenched with rain since Wednesday morning, with the East Gippsland city of Bairnsdale copping 78mm.

Gelantipy in the Snowy River catchment has received more than 97mm, with the river height only beginning to plateau on Thursday morning.

'There's an east coast low that's wrapping rain around East Gippsland,' Bureau of Meteorology's duty forecaster Christie Johnson said

Much of Victoria has been drenched with rain since Wednesday morning, with Bairnsdale copping 78mm

Downstream at Orbost, the river height is well over seven metres, having been just 1.33 at 10am on Wednesday.

All river listings for the Mitchell River are rising with the Bairnsdale section at major flood levels.

Earlier, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a major flood level warning for the Buchan River.

The river, in the East Gippsland region, was predicted to reach a major level after more than 40mm of rain fell in five hours on Wednesday night.

The SES has set up a response centre in the East Gippsland city of Bairnsdale as floodwaters threatened homes.

Water levels increased dramatically, with the nearby Snowy River also expected to rise, but at lower levels.

'There's an east coast low that's wrapping rain around East Gippsland,' Bureau of Meteorology's duty forecaster Christie Johnson said.

Ms Johnson said rain was expected to continue until Friday.

The SES has set up a response centre in Bairnsdale as floodwaters threatened homes.
Cameron Milner (above) has retired as Bill Shorten's chief of staff

Bill Shorten's chief of staff has quit politics after clashing with other Labor figures during the party's federal election campaign.

Cameron Milner plans to return to the private sector, it has been claimed, after rubbing several party members up the wrong way since being hired as Shorten's right hand man last year.

The businessman told The Sunday Telegraph he had 'put noses out of joint' this weekend as the results of the 2016 federal election began to trickle in.

Among faux-pas were a text message allegedly sent to a female co-worker inviting her to dinner, an allegation that has been flatly denied by Mr Milner.

Mr Milner cited wanting to spend more time with family as the reason for his departure from Mr Shorten's office on Thursday.

'When I took the job I gave everyone a commitment until the next campaign.

'I stepped away from a very successful business career to get Bill Shorten elected.

'Now the campaign is over I plan to return to the private sector and I wish Bill and the Labor Party all the best in the future,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

His departure came as Malcolm Turnbull's plans to return to leadership gathered momentum on Thursday.

Mr Turnbull, who has remained confident he would creep over the majority line despite uncertainty over the past week, is primed for victory after collecting 72 seats.

There are six yet undeclared seats. The Coalition holds a lead in three.

Mr Milner was the ALP Queensland secretary before being parachuted in to help Mr Shorten in his federal election campaign last year.

His career as a strategist has been marred with allegations of fraud. In 2001 he was named in a Parliament speech given by Senator George Brandis on the subject of election fraud.

'Mr Cameron Milner is himself a rorter and a fraudster,' he said in a condemning speech.

The Labor leader has been accused of dishonesty throughout his campaign. He is seen above leaving his home in Melbourne on Thursday

Hanging on! Malcolm Turnbull is primed for victory after claiming 72 seats in Saturday's election. He needs four more for to form a majority

Evan Moorhead, the current ALP secretary in Queensland, told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday his predecessor was however well-liked among members.

'I think he ran a great campaign and made a great contribution to the Opposition leader's office,' Mr Moorhead said.

Mr Milner will return to his role at private strategy firm Next Level in Brisbane. He was not available for comment on his departure on Thursday.

Labor won at least ten more seats than it did in the 2013 election. On Saturday night Mr Shorten celebrated the party's successful campaign, proclaiming proudly at a function in Melbourne: 'Labor is back!'.

Despite the increase in seats, the party has been plagued with accusations of dishonesty since before polls opened.

The latest figures suggest the Coalition is on track to secure a majority, claiming a predicted 72 seats to Labor's 67 with six yet to be declared

The Prime Minister was confident as he posed for selfies with supporters in Brisbane on Thursday morning

Chief among them is an allegation that members of its Queensland Branch sent a scare-mongering text message to voters on election day claiming Medicare would be privatised under the Coalition.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said it had been peddled by the Labor party in a panicked response to the government's strong campaign while the Prime Minister labelled it a 'grotesque lie'.

There is no suggestion Mr Milner sanctioned the text message or instructed volunteers to act dishonestly in any way.

The Opposition leader was accused of lying again on Tuesday when he claimed Malcolm Turnbull would call a snap election after failing to secure a safe majority.

'There is a very real chance that Malcolm Turnbull's is considering calling a snap election in the mistaken belief that this will sort out his own problems.

'Mr Turnbull gave us the instability in his own party and the instability in this Senate,' he told a Queensland press conference on Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister dismissed his remarks as 'the latest in a long list of bizarre lies'.
For years  mostly thanks to some brilliant staff, and partly due to James Bond  Britain's foreign intelligence agency, MI6, has enjoyed a much better reputation than MI5, which looks after domestic security.

However, that reputation needs to be radically reassessed.

Whereas Chilcot found that MI5 did its job professionally in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, MI6 not only failed miserably, but was pathetically suborned by the Labour government.

Dame Eliza Manningham Buller, director-general of MI5 as the war approached, is revealed to have spoken truth to power.

Dame Eliza Manningham Buller (left), former director-general of MI5 is revealed to have spoken truth to power. But John Scarlett, former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee failed to rein in Blair

She warned that an invasion of Iraq would not, as Blair claimed, reduce the terror threat to Britain. On the contrary, she said, invading Iraq would greatly increase the risk of an Al Qaeda atrocity on British streets.

Her warning tragically proved to be accurate, when the terror attacks on London in the summer of 2005 resulted in the loss of 52 lives.

By contrast, the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) failed to warn of the risks associated with an event as serious as the invasion of Iraq.

Shamefully, it allowed itself to become an enthusiastic part of the Downing Street propaganda machine. Not surprisingly, Chilcot is withering in his criticism for the Joint Intelligence Committee (which coordinates intelligence across Whitehall) for failing to correct the repeated, false statements made by Blair about the intelligence he had been given about the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

Chilcot concluded: 'Policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments.'

It was the job of John Scarlett, chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, to rein in Blair's wild statements about the threat posed by Saddam.

Ultimately, Chilcot's inquiry will rightly lead to fresh calls for Britain's foreign intelligence agency to be made more accountable to Parliament

For example, he ought to have refuted Blair's statement that 'intelligence has suggested that the Iraqi military would be able to use their chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes of being ordered to do so'.

I believe his failure to do so means he was part of a tacit conspiracy alongside Blair and his cronies to deceive the British people ahead of the Iraq invasion.

Chilcot also condemns the loose language used by the Joint Intelligence Committee in its assessment of the Iraqi threat, and says lessons must be learned to ensure 'the need to be scrupulous in discriminating between facts and knowledge on the one hand and opinion, judgment or belief on the other'.

Such a damning indictment calls into question the wisdom of Blair's decision to promote Scarlett to be head of MI6  the legendary post informally known as 'C' throughout Whitehall  the following year.

There are other profoundly serious issues concerning MI6 around the time of the Iraq invasion.

Chilcot does not examine the worrying allegations that MI6 was complicit in the kidnap and torture of terror suspects during the early years of George W. Bush's so-called 'War on Terror'. They are an indelible stain on Britain's reputation  which has not been helped by David Cameron's refusal to approve a judge-led inquiry into British involvement in torture.
A man has been charged with child neglect after allegedly walking down the middle of a busy road carrying a six-month-old baby while high on MDMA.

Roger Mumma, 29, was arrested in New Port Richey, Florida, on Sunday morning after concerned motorists called the police when they spotted a man stumbling down a highway.

Two cops approached Mumma and said it was immediately clear that he was not in a normal state of mind.

Police body cam footage shows Deputy John Gerardi asking the man if he is all right, to which he replies: 'Yeah, just, people are following me.'

Scroll down for video

Roger Mumma, 29, has been charged with child neglect after allegedly walking down the middle of a busy road carrying a six-month-old baby while high on MDMA

Mumma, 29, was arrested in New Port Richey, Florida, on Sunday morning after concerned motorists called the police when they spotted a man stumbling down a highway

'There's a bunch of cars following me everywhere I go. I don't know what's going on,' Mumma adds, gesturing to passing traffic.

A driver told News Channel 8 that they called police after seeing a man walking down 'the center of the road with an infant'.

'Hes looking everywhere behind him like somebodys following him or something,' the member of the public said.

Mumma - whose relationship to the child is not known - then handed the baby over to Corporal Benjamin Birge, telling the officer: 'Here you go, man. It is what it is.'

Deputy John Gerardi and Corporal Benjamin Birge cared for the baby until its family arrived to pick it up

Mumma has been charged with child neglect and resisting arrest

Cpl Birge told Fox 13 News that the man appeared to be 'under the influence of some kind of narcotic'.

Investigators claim Mumma later told them he had taken MDMA.

'I didn't want him to run, because of the child, and I really didn't want him to fight because of the kid,' Cpl Birge - a father of a nine-month-old baby himself - said.

'My biggest fear was that, in his paranoid and drug-induced state, he was going to hit [the] road and at that point there was not going to be much I could do.

'This is one of those calls where this is the reason you get into law enforcement. We made a difference that day.'

After taking hold of the child, the officers tackled Mumma to the ground because he was becoming 'agitated and aggressive'.

Mumma was arrested and has been charged with child neglect and resisting arrest.
The Grand Mufti of Australia has sprung to the defence of a controversial anti-gay cleric, claiming negative comments about him could strengthen the Islamic State terrorist group.

In a three-page letter released last week, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed railed against the media for 'attacking' National Imams Council president Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman.

The cleric has been at the centre of national debate after dining with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for Ramadan at Kirribilli House.

Video from 2010 showing Sheikh Shady condemning homosexuality for 'spreading diseases' and preaching Allah will 'send' diseases like HIV and AIDS to people who sin.

Dr Mohammed said the media have tried to discredit the sheikh 'simply because he conveyed a religious ruling six years earlier'.

Scroll down for the Grand Mufti's full letter

Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed has written a three-page letter defending Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman

Dr Mohammed described Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman (pictured) as 'moderate in his ideology and approach'

Dr Mohammed (pictured with Malcolm Turnbull) said the Sheikh 'simply conveyed a religious ruling'

Dr Mohammed said he believed negative comments about Sheikh Shady may have strengthened terror groups.

'I believe that these targeted media attacks have had and will continue to have negative consequences on our wider society.

''That is because it is discriminating against one certain element of our society because of their religious beliefs.

'I also feel that it has strengthened terrorist groups and movements.

'It could also have strengthened ISIL and those who reflect its ideology, since it appears to have targeted Muslims because of the religious beliefs they ascribe to.

'It might be those few statements reported in the media that a young person reads which could lead him to deluded beliefs regarding the plight of Muslims.'

He said 'no person can ever change' Islam's long-standing position on homosexuality and added it was no different to beliefs in other religions.

'That which Sheikh Shady has said regarding homosexuality is simply a conveyance of a religious fact which is known to every practicing person in the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths.

'It is also known that these religions do not impose their views on others, therefore, this matter has no relation to ones love or hatred of a people.

Dr Mohammed (centre) said Sheikh Shady (far right) had been singled out by Australian media outlets which have 'been involved in a type of terrorism of ideas against those who disagree with them' and are 'igniting fires, dividing our society, and spreading hatred'

'We cannot describe those who disagree with homosexuality, or simply communicate a religious ruling that one firmly believes in, that such a person does not respect or accept others.

'We cannot claim that he spreads hatred in society.'

Mr Turnbull condemned the Sheikh's views after learning of them at the Kirribilli House function. He later said he regretted Sheikh Shady being invited to the Ramadan dinner.

'If I had been aware of his remarks about homosexuals and gay people he would not have been invited,' Mr Turnbull told 3AW.

The controversial Sheikh said in a statement last month that he doesn't condone punishment for gay people, though he said Islam's position on homosexuality 'is clear'.

'I unequivocally reject the claim that I called for the stoning or any form of punishment of adulterers and/or homosexuals,' Sheikh Shady wrote.

'As an Australian and a Muslim I unreservedly condemn the vilification and oppression of any group of people based on race, religion, gender, sexuality, or any other criteria for that matter.

'Islam's position on the matter is clear like many other major religions however Islam espouses there is no compulsion in religion and diversity is the norm.'

Grand Mufti letter, page one: 'It could also have strengthened ISIL and those who reflect its ideology'

Grand Mufti letter, page two: 'We cannot claim that he spreads hatred in society'

Grand Mufti letter, page three: 'Australia is not a place that gags others from their freedom of expression'
Nudists want to use the days to 'educate and transmit our values'

Madrid has given permission for public swimming pools to hold a 'no swimsuit day' after a campaign by nudist groups.

The mayor Manuela Carmena has written to all boroughs in the Spanish capital to say they are allowed to host clothes free days if they think it is appropriate.

The move, which has outraged right-wing politicians, came after a petition by the Association for the Development of Nudism calling for people's right to practice nudism in public places.

Public swimming pools in Madrid will be seeing a lot more skin in future after a decision by the city

Nudist president Ismael Rodrigo said: 'What we want to do with this day is to educate and transmit our values, which are Western values.

'There is nothing criminal about the body and the best way we can show that is to try not to wear clothes when it's not necessary, and in the pool, it isn't.'

The mayor has insisted that signs must be erected at the entrances to swimming pools informing people that it was no swimsuit day in case parents preferred not to take their children.

Children would be allowed, but only if accompanied by an adult, the mayor said.

Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena has approved the no swimsuit days at the city's public pools

Conservative Popular Party politician Esperanza Aguirre, who lost to Carmena in the 2015 mayoral election, said: 'Her left-wing council only does slogans. The idea of a no swimsuit day is just one more of her crazy ideas.

'I don't know if she has the courage to implement a no veil day for Muslim women as well.'
Tasmania increases and its borders stretch across the Bass Strait

Victoria competes with NSW and its borders stretch into Western Australia

New South Wales takes the title of Australia's largest state from Queensland in an interesting map that has altered the country's state and territory lines according to their population.

The map, which was posted to Reddit on Thursday, depicts a very different layout of Australia's six states and two territories based on the sparse grouping of its 24 million people.

Victoria's size increases drastically, stretching north and west and crossing over into Western Australia and Northern Territory to accommodate its population of just under six million people.

NSW takes the title of Australia's largest state from Queensland in an interesting map that has redrawn the country's boundary lines according to the size of their population (pictured)

The map, which was posted to Reddit on Thursday, depicts a very different layout of Australia's six states and two territories (pictured) based on the sparse grouping of its 24 million people

New South Wales, which has the largest state population of more than 7 million people, almost triples in size, reaching past Brisbane and over to Western Australia.

Queensland, with a population of almost 5 million people, is shifted along the north of the country.

The Northern Territory, which is more than 1.4 million km of rural land, only has a population of about 244,000 people so its size on the altered map in drastically decreased to an area smaller than Tasmania.

New South Wales (pictured), which has the largest state population of more than 7 million people, almost triples in size, reaching past Brisbane and over to Western Australia

Victoria's size increases drastically, stretching north and west and crossing over into Western Australia and Northern Territory to accommodate its population of just under six million people (Melbourne is pictured)

The Northern Territory (pictured), which is more than 1.4 million km of rural land, only has a population of about 244,000 people so its size on the altered map in drastically decreased

Tasmania and ACT, with a population of 517,000 and 393,000 respectively, increased slightly and Tasmania's territory stretches across the water to the mainland.

Western Australia and South Australia become roughly the same size because of their close populations of 2.6 million and 1.7 million, respectively.

Readers were intrigued by the redraw and were vocal on why they either loved or hated the changes.

The Northern Territory (pictured) appears to be about the same size as Tasmania or ACT in the altered map

Western Australia and South Australia (Adelaide is pictured) become roughly the same size because of their close populations of 2.6 million and 1.7 million, respectively

Readers were intrigued by the redraw and were vocal on why they either loved or hated the changes (pictured)

'All of this seems perfect to me. Pretty happy with Tasmania getting Gippsland and the Snowies and the ACT getting a coastline too,' one man said.

'NSW is totally hitting on Victoria,' another said.

'The spirit of Tasmania is now a commuter ferry. Arrive at work just in time to head home!' a commenter said, referring to Tasmania being split by Bass Strait.
Opinion / Columnist

LAST Friday's celebrations of the 17th anniversary of the death of Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo were one of the national occasions where many Zimbabweans looked at their country's past with deep admiration of what and how the country's black people achieved politically under his leadership.Some remembered him by his famous advice about how to make money, (imali in SiNdebele). He reportedly urged Zimbabweans to till the land, (uku) lima in SiNdebele, the word "lima" being the reverse of "imali" (money).He would advise people to reverse the word "mali" to "lima" in order to make money. He said this whenever he was emphasising the importance of land to Zimbabweans.Yet some, especially students of Zimbabwe socio  cultural history, saw and celebrated the occasion as honouring a man who represented an era of Zimbabwe's history overall.Joshua Nkomo initially appeared on the socio-political scene of Southern Rhodesia in 1950 when he and five other colleagues namely Jason Ziyaphapha Moyo, Sikhwili Khohli Moyo, William Mpotshi, Grey Bango and Knight Khuphe went to the Dulamwali shrine to consult the oracle about how to free this country.The late vice president then later became the secretary -general of the (Rhodesia) Railways African Workers' Union (RAWU) whose president was Aaron Ndabambi.However, he really burst onto the country's political stage in 1952 when he was officially asked by the then Southern Rhodesian Prime Minister, Sir Godfrey Huggins, to be one of two Africans to represent African opinion at a London conference on a proposal to form a central African federation comprising Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and Nyasaland (Malawi).Each of those countries' black communities were "represented" by two prominent black personalities. The other Southern Rhodesian black personality was a well-known journalist, Jasper Zingeza Savanhu.At that conference, Nkomo strongly proposed that the black people of the three territories should be consulted through referenda for that federation to have a semblance of legitimacy.His proposal reflected how he respected the people's opinion. Nkomo was a strong believer in the well-known political philosophy that governments are products of people's wishes and that no government should try to ride rough shod over the opinion of the people.He was also an irrevocable believer in human equality, that is to say that he strongly maintained that human rights were for every human being, and that the only qualification for one to enjoy human rights was to be human.The London conference on the federation did not make much sense to most black people at that time.The issue was made more confusing and complicated by another suggestion that called for amalgamation instead of federation.Nkomo explained the difference at a series of meetings at Makokoba's Stanley Hall (Bulawayo) before the federation was inaugurated in September 12, 1953.Sir Godfrey Huggins became its first prime minister and he was succeeded by Garfield Todd.Nkomo had campaigned for a seat in the Federal House but had lost to Mike Masotsha Hove who became a federal MP representing Matabeleland. Savanhu represented Mashonaland and Manicaland.At one of the Stanley Hall meetings, Nkomo told the audience that the federation would enable Southern Rhodesian industrialists to export their products and services duty-free to Nyasaland (now Malawi) and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Industrialists were only white people.He said the industrialists would import cheap labour from those two northern countries, an advantage to the industrialists in that workers from outside Southern Rhodesia would feel too insecure to go on strike for better working conditions and higher wages or salaries.The federation would thus benefit Southern Rhodesian industrialists to the expense of the indigenous black workers economically as well as politically in that they could not use labour action to force their employers to improve their lot.Nkomo said the black people of Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia would be exploited more and more as a result of the Federation's skewed economic development policies that treated the two northern territories as sources of cheap raw materials and labour.His explanation was opposed by some of the people, in particular those who saw political saviours in some white people such as Garfield Todd and Rev Percy Ibboston (Wesleyan Methodist).There were at that time quite a few black people who strongly felt that white settlers were unconquerable, vital, and incomparable to black people as political, social, cultural or economic leaders. Holding that opinion in Bulawayo was David Masunda whose view was that Southern Rhodesian white people were sent by God.Those and some who said that Joshua Nkomo could not retake the country from the white settlers because he belonged to an inferior tribe were sooner than later silenced by the massive support he commanded throughout the country.We can rightly say that from 1959 up to 1980 Joshua Nkomo became the (and not a) political deciding factor in the liberation of this country. That was doubtlessly the "Nkomo Era" in socio-political terms.Having injected courage among the black people, his supporters confronted racial discrimination in hotels, at municipal swimming pools, in commercial shops, on passenger trains and buses, at post offices, churches, public toilets and everywhere else where services were given on racially discriminatory grounds.Black people in some urban centres organised themselves into groups and defiantly broke the colour bar at various places. They seized their rights.In 1961, Nkomo led an all-black delegation to London to the first Southern Rhodesian multi-racial constitutional conference. The other members of his delegation were Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, Advocate Herbert Chitepo, Taracissius George Silundika, and Advocate Enock Dumbutshena.It is important to state here that Nkomo and his delegation were told about that conference by the Southern Rhodesia Government (led then by Sir Edgar Whitehead) and not by the colonial authority, the British Government.Why? Because by that time Britain maintained that matters affecting the black people of Southern Rhodesia were called "internal affairs" of this country, now Zimbabwe, in which it could not interfere in recognition of a convention between the two countries.So, Nkomo was informed about the conference, instead of being officially invited, by the Sir Edgar Whitehead administration.That conference granted the black majority of this country only 15 parliamentary seats and just about 250,000 white people 50 seats. There were not less than 4,500,000 black people in this country.Nkomo and his delegation rejected that blatantly anti  African constitutional insult.In a later private conversation in London between a British newspaper journalist on one side and Chitepo and Silundika on the other, the two Zimbabwean leaders casually remarked that the 15 seats were better than nothing in view of the historical fact that the Southern Rhodesian black community had never been represented in parliament.The journalist published that casual private personal view, and the London-based ZAPU representative Leopold Takawira sent a cable to a Salisbury (Harare) print media house saying Nkomo had accepted the constitutional proposals. The cable strongly condemned what he termed Joshua Nkomo's treachery and betrayal of the people of Zimbabwe.It took a great deal of explanation before the truth was later known.The acrimonious issue was finally cleared after Sir Edgar Whitehead had in 1963 implied that Nkomo had accepted that constitution. Nkomo publicly challenged him to explain why his delegation had walked out of the conference hall in protest if it had accepted that constitution.He challenged Sir Edgar to produce a copy of that document with his (Nkomo's) signature. Sir Edgar then and only then publicly stated that Nkomo had, in fact, rejected that constitution.The author of this article was then the features and readers' views editor of the Daily News, and he published Sir Edgar's apology to Nkomo.By then (1963), 14 black MPs and one white man, Arhn Palley, represented the 15 black constituencies in the Southern Rhodesian Parliament.The 14 Africans were members of Sir Edgar Whitehead's United Federal Party (UFP) Palley was an independent.It was most ironic that the 14 would criticise and demonise Nkomo in the House instead of thanking him for having fearlessly campaigned for the political empowerment of the Africans, resulting in the 15 parliamentary seats that they (the black UFP MPs) occupied.ZAPU deeply despised them, and publicly called them "UFP" stooges, white settlers' poodles, zvimbwasungata zvevarungu". On several occasions that vilification and denigration became physical when some ZAPU activists assaulted some of those pitiable black people.In Salisbury (Harare) one of those black UFP MPs, Patrick Rubatika, would literally always leave the Federal Hotel bar every evening with a bloody nose, an ugly swollen fat lip and a black eye after he was head-butted by Peter Mutandwa, the ZAPU Salisbury Provincial organising secretary at that time.He would cry like a baby, as he accused what he called "Joshua Nkomo's youths" of thuggery. Incidentally, Rubatika was a former school teacher, and had earlier taught with Robert Mugabe at Hope Fountain Teachers' Training Institution sometime between 1946 and 1949.Peter Mutandwa later joined ZANU. He died in Zambia in the early 1970s.He had joined ZANU following concerted criticism of Nkomo's leadership by some of his senior colleagues who later formed ZANU in August 1963.However, it appeared that the more he was criticised, the more the black people supported him.He was then the head of the People's Caretaker Council (PCC) founded at Cold Comfort Farm in August 1963.The PCC was, in effect ZAPU by another name, a tactic to defy the 1962 banning of that party. Joshua Nkomo was in early 1964 banned from the Salisbury magisterial area by the Rhodesian Front regime whose Minister if Law and Order was by then Walter Clifford Dupont.Nkomo was escorted along the Salisbury-Bulawayo road by a police vehicle and left at a spot about 30km along that highway. With him was one of his most staunch lieutenants, Stanslaus Marembo, with whom he was later restricted to Gonakudzingwa in April 1964.His long stay in restriction and detention, at times at Gonakudzingwa and at times at Gweru or at Buffalo Range prison, lasted from April 1964 to December 1974, a period of 10 years and about eight months.Attempts were made to resolve the impasse during that time. They ranged from talks between Britain and the Rhodesian Front's Ian Douglas Smith aboard, first, the British frigate Tiger, and later aboard the Fearless.They failed mainly because the black people's voice was not represented. Several British envoys later came to Rhodesia but went back empty-handed because African leaders were not freely allowed to present their case.The 1972 Pearce Commission appointed by Britain to test African opinion on constitutional proposals worked out by Britain's Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Ian Smith was rudely shocked by the overwhelming rejection of the document by the black masses.The black people were organised by Bishop Abel Muzorewa who had been requested to do so by Nkomo.Nkomo's release from Gonakudzingwa on December 4, 1974 was the beginning of the last stage of the country's liberation struggle. It culminated in the November -December 1979 Lancaster House constitutional conference which agreed on a document upon which an independent nation of Zimbabwe was born on April 18, 1980, some 16 years after Joshua Nkomo was rusticated at the oppressively hot Gonakudzingwa Camp in Zimbabwe's remote south-eastern low veld region.Saul Gwakuba Ndlovu is a retired, Bulawayo  based journalist. He can be contacted on cell 0734 328 136 or through email. sgwakuba@gmail.com
Shocking video footage has emerged of a retired Salt Lake City police officer striking a woman in the face and yelling expletives at her while her young daughter watches on.

Michelle Anderson, now 43, was arrested for public intoxication in October 2014 but the video only surfaced this week after her daughter, Jasmine, posted it online.

In the footage, Ms Anderson asks the officer why she has been arrested, to which he replies: 'Remember the warning I gave you [about not disturbing the neighbors]?

The officer then suddenly spins around and strikes her in the face, leaving her lying face down and she screams 'oh my god'.

Michelle Anderson, now 43, was arrested for public intoxication in October 2014 but the video only surfaced this week

Ms Anderson was wrestled to the ground by the heavy-handed police officer in the shocking footage

The mother screamed as she was knocked to the ground by the officer who told her to 'shut up, b****'

'You spit on me,' the officer says, followed by a series of expletives and later, 'You're an idiot'.

With her daughter wailing in the background, Ms Anderson says, 'Please stop, I can't breathe', with her face in the grass and her arms handcuffed.

'Shut your hole,' the officer says. 'When you go spitting on somebody, you deserve to have your (expletive) kicked. You lose all respect.'

As she lay on the ground her daughter can be heard wailing 'mummy'.

The spitting cannot be seen in the footage. The officer tells his partner in the video that Anderson 'splattered all over the back of me'.

Jasmine Anderson told KSL-TV that she did not believe her mother's story of what happened since she has had several run-ins with police.

But when she received an email this week with the eight minute video, her opinion changed.

'I really thought my mom was exaggerating,' Ms Anderson said.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown (pictured) said the actions seen on the video were abhorrent

Authorities are now considering criminal charges against the retired officer and are trying to pinpoint what went wrong internally and what prevented them from finding out sooner.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown said the actions seen on the video were abhorrent and not reflective of how officers are taught to handle situations.

His office launched an internal affairs investigation after he became aware of it on Tuesday.

He said: 'That was a terrible situation. We should have been much better at controlling the situation.'

Salt Lake County Attorney Sim Gill called the video 'disturbing' and said his office is investigating whether charges should be filed.

Gill said the city prosecutor's office he now oversees was aware of the video two years ago when their lawyers were handling the case against Ms Anderson but failed to let police know due to a 'communication breakdown.'

Tessa Hansen, an attorney who represented Ms Anderson, said she had what appeared to be a broken nose and damage to her teeth after the October 2014 incident.

Hansen said her office thought police were reviewing the incident.

'The video was pretty sickening and it's something I'll never forget,' Hansen said.

'It's a good reminder of how things aren't supposed to be done.'

The Salt Lake City Police Chief said he was concerned it took two years for the video to come to light

Ms Anderson was being arrested during the video for public intoxication after officers went to her home for a second time on October 13, 2014.

On the first occasion, neighbors called after hearing screaming and crying inside the Anderson residence.

Her nine-year-old daughter told police that her mother had called her offensive names and said she did not want to stay with her. Arrangements were made for another family member to get the girl, and police left.

Police were then called back after a neighbor said Ms Anderson was drinking too much and trying to fight a neighbor.

Brown said he has not yet spoken with the officers involved and is not releasing their names.

The officer seen striking the woman has since retired, Brown said. The other still works for the agency and remains on duty pending the investigation, he said.

Brown said he was concerned it took two years for the video to come to light, as sergeants are supposed to review every arrest made by the agency.

'The review process failed us that night,' Brown said.
Five cows were shot by army snipers after they were called in to help debt collectors confiscate farm animals.

Shocking footage shows the aftermath of the slaughter of the Red Limousin heifers at an Irish farm on Tuesday.

The woman filming can audibly be heard sniffing in sadness as she captures the tragic sight of the cows' corpses lying at the side of the road and in the fields.

Shocking footage shows the aftermath of the slaughter of the Red Limousin heifers at an Irish farm on Tuesday

The herd's owner, John Hoey, had been declared bankrupt in February and his assets were seized by Chris Lehane, official assignee in charge of bankruptcies

The Defence Forces had been called in by debt collectors to confiscate the animals.

The herd's owner, John Hoey, had been declared bankrupt in February and his assets were seized by Chris Lehane, official assignee in charge of bankruptcies.

According to the Irish Farmer's Journal Lehane alleged that cattle were left wandering on local roads and 15 went missing in the process.

As the five heifers in question proved difficult to catch, Lehane decided to shoot them, with the approval of the Department of Agriculture.

He said that as part of fulfilling his statutory role, he had visited the farm in the Carrickmacross area of Co. Monaghan over a number of weeks and carried out extensive TB testing in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture.

The results of those tests proved positive in the herd, greatly restricting what I could do with the animals, he added.

Lehane alleged that cattle were left wandering on local roads and 15 went missing in the process. As five proved difficult to catch, Lehane decided to shoot them, with the approval of the Department of Agriculture

He said that the decision to kill the animals was taken in the interests of the cattle, public safety of the local community, and to prevent the spread of TB in local livestock.

The Department of Agriculture confirmed its approval of the shootings.
The report makes clear there are a number of possible grounds for legal action against Blair by the families of the 179 people killed in the Iraq war. But I believe it is Blairs flagrant abuse of intelligence that gives them the best option.

For it was his unequivocal statement that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction that could be launched in 45 minutes which finally persuaded Parliament to support the invasion of Iraq.

It was that statement, based on seemingly uncorroborated evidence, that gave rise to the appalling suffering these families have endured.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives for a press conference at Admiralty House, where he responded to the Chilcot report

In Parliament on September 24, 2002, Blair declared that the intelligence on which he based his 45-minute assertion had been accumulated over four years and was extensive, detailed and authoritative.

Yet what seems clear is that Blair was taking raw or untested data that suited his political purpose, but which had not been subjected to even a basic assessment process, and claiming it as firm evidence.

At that time, of course, the UN had a weapons inspection team on the ground in Iraq and their advice was that it was likely that Saddam Hussein had terminated his WMD programme some years before.

As prime minister, Blair had a moral responsibility to test the intelligence exhaustively  yet the report reveals he and his cohorts signally failed to do so. In my long military career I have never once accepted intelligence laid in front of me without spending a great deal of time and effort ascertaining its integrity.

It would have been an abdication of my responsibility not to do so. If I had gone to war on flawed intelligence, suffered unnecessary casualties as a result, and subsequently lost the war, then I would rightly have been court martialled. Responding to the Chilcot report, Blair has already issued a statement saying that he believes it will now lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit on his part.

For the Iraq families, I believe it will do no such thing. In my view, there is so much evidence of misfeasance (the wrongful use of authority) in public office, dereliction of duty and undue negligence by Blair and his team that the Iraq families would be entirely justified in taking legal action against them personally.

After seven years of deliberations, the Chilcot report found that the former prime minister ignored peaceful means to send troops into the country

It is no accident that they have chosen the same firm of lawyers who brought justice in a 2013 civil case for the families of those killed in the 1998 Omagh bombings by bankrupting two of the bombers.
A Kickstarter campaign crowdfunding for a feature film on Daniel Morcombe's disappearance has raised more than $34,000 in less than two days.

The film 'Where is Daniel' will tell the true story of Daniel's parents Bruce and Denise Morcombe and their battle for justice for their missing son.

With an initial target of $300,000, the Kickstarter campaign has already raised more than $34,000 with 28 days to go.

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A Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $34,000 for a feature film on story behind the abduction and death of Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe. Daniel was abducted from a bus stop in 2003 and his remains were discovered in 2011

Daniel's parents Bruce (left) and Denise Morcombe (right) fought for justice for their son for seven years. They said they were approached by the filmmakers after they published the book 'Where is Daniel'

Daniel, 13, was abducted from a bus stop on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in 2003, and choked to death in bushland when he tried to escape.

The Morcombe's fought for the truth behind what happened to their son for seven years, helping to trigger an undercover police operation that led to the discovery of his body and the person responsible.

On August 21, 2011 two shoes and three human bones were found at a search site at Glass House Mountains in the hinterland in Queensland.

Brett Peter Cowan was handed a life sentence in 2014 for Daniel's murder and cannot apply for parole until he has served 20 years. Earlier this year, Mr Cowan lost a last-ditch High Court appeal against his sentence.

The feature film will be directed by Peter Cousens (left) and filmed by cinematographer Dean Cundey (right)

A promotional image for the upcoming film. A second-draft script for the film has been finished and it is close to being production-ready

In footage from the crowdfunding campaign, Daniel's parents Bruce and Denise Morcombe said they were approached by filmmakers after their book 'Where is Daniel' was published.

'What you don't really know about us is how we got through those years, and what shaped our lives to keep going and to keep focused on helping other children,' said Denise Morcombe.

According to a report in the Sunshine Coast Daily, a second-draft script for the film has been finished and it is close to being production-ready.

Brett Peter Cowan, 46, was handed a life sentence in 2014 over Daniel's murder and cannot apply for parole until he has served 20 years. He lost his last-ditch High Court appeal earlier this month

Director Peter Cousens said the feature film will be about what happened after Daniel (pictured) disappeared

Hollywood director Peter Cousens will direct the film, along with cinematographer Dean Cundey responsible for films such as Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Apollo 13.

In the short clip director Peter Cousens said the story will be about what happened after Daniel disappeared.

'It's about how his parents survived, how they fought for justice for their son Daniel and how, after eight years and an investigation going nowhere, a young policeman begins to unravel the truth,' Mr Cousens said.

'Bruce and Denise Morcombe believe that what happened to them should never happen to anyone else.

'They believe this film needs to be made, and they've entrusted us to bring it to reality.'
Donald Trump added his own unique brand of fuel to the Newt Gingrich fire on Wednesday night in Cincinnati, Ohio, praising the former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives before a capacity crowd as speculation intensified about his choice for a running mate.

Gingrich, Trump said, is as much in the dark as anyone.

'I'm not saying anything, and I'm not telling even Newt anything,' he told his audience in Cincinnati, Ohio, 'but I can tell you in one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government. That I can tell you, okay?'

'We all love Newt. Newt gets it,' Trump boomed later as his fans chanted the former speaker's first name, begging the presumptive nominee to join forces with him.

'I'll tell you one thing, folks: I'm not saying it's Newt, but if it's Newt, nobody's going to be beating him in those debates. That's for sure, right? Nobody. Nobody's beating on Newt in the debate.'

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IS IT NEWT? Donald Trump wouldn't let his audience in on his VP thinking Wednesday night, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got rave reviews among the crowd for his running-mate audition

TRYOUT: Trump took Gingrich on the road to a rally in in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the longtime Republican pol blasted Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration on the stump

Gingrich, in a sort of audition for the vice presidency, offered a sample of the hard-hitting attack language any potential Trump number-two would need on the campaign stump.

He focused both barrels on Hillary Clinton, just hours after Attorney General Loretta Lynch formally announced the former secretary of state won't be prosecuted over her classified email scandal.

He mocked Lynch for 'announcing with great surprise that she accepts the FBI director's total sellout of the American citizens.'

'Is there a single person here who believes that if you had done what Hillary Clinton had done, that you would not be prosecuted?' he asked.

About 4,000 people yelled, "No!"

Gingrich framed Clinton  a former first lady of Arkansas and the United States, U.S. senator and secretary of state, and now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee  as an elite in an age when populism is choking plutocrats of their power.

'They are once again making the case that there are two Americas,' he said of Clinton and her husband, the former president. 'There's the corrupt Washington of the old order, and there are all the rest of us.'

PROFESSOR: Gingrich taught history at the university level in Georgia before becoming a congressman in 1978

GRANDPAS WITH IPHONES: The septuagenarian pair fumbled their way through a half-minute Facebook Live broadcast from backstage

The Democrats, he said, were 'lying to us about a person who deliberately obstructed justice, and in any rule of law today would be facing a grand jury, not an election.'

'And one last comment: Do any of you believe it was only an accident that Hillary Clinton was on Air Force One with Barack Obama at the very moment that the FBI director was explaining that despite her obvious total guilt, she should not be taken in. I would say the fix was in.'

The 70-year-old Trump and the 73-year-old Gingrich co-hosted a brief Facebook Live chat before taking the stage.

Lasting less than a half-minute, the oddly framed backstage footage gave viewers a glimpse into how senior citizens see emerging technologies.

'This is sort of, this is magic. So you're now on Facebook I think,' Gingrich told Trump. 'Worldwide.'

'Wow, that's fantastic. That's beautiful,' he replied.

'It's the modern world,' they said, one after the other.

Trump's veepstakes took a series of twists and turns on Wednesday after two senators, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa, took themselves out of the running.

READY? Gingrich looked on as Trump stood on a chair to address an overflow crowd at the Sharonville Convention Center, after their speeches were concluded

Trump said in a mid-afternoon interview that his short-list still had about 10 names on it, including two military generals.

One, a campaign aide said, was retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, whom the Obama administration forced out of his post in 2014 for his outspoken warnings about Islamic jihadis.

Gingrich has been a rare constant throughout the process, popping up consistently in most veep discussions since Trump clinched the Republican nomination.

The billionaire said Wednesday night that 'he's smart, he's tough, he gets it, and he says I'm the biggest thing he's ever seen in the history of politics!'
Customers should not expect to receive their statement before July 15

CEO said his team is 'working around the clock' to resolve the issue

Millions of Australians will not be able to file their tax return on time after a major system error at Medibank held up the distribution of annual tax statements.

The private health insurer told its 3.8 million customers on Thursday the 'majority' of them would not receive their statements before July 15 after a technology upgrade led to 'reporting issue'.

'Unfortunately, this may affect your ability to submit your annual tax return without your tax statement from Medibank,' the health insurers website read.

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Millions of Australians will not be able to file their tax return on time after a major system error at Medibank held up the distribution of annual tax statements

The private health insurer told its 3.8 million customers on Thursday the 'majority' of them would not receive their statements before July 15 after a technology upgrade led to 'reporting issue'

Medibank CEO Craig Drummond acknowledged the situation was 'unacceptable' and blamed a failed 'customer data migration'.

'I sincerely apologise to our customers for this disruption. It is important for customers to know their personal data has not been compromised.

'Our team is working around the clock to resolve this issue, and I want to assure customers that our focus is on minimising the impact this will have on them,' Mr Drummond said.

Customers can check online if their accounts have been affected however Medibank said it would be contacting them individually to advise of the situation.

Medibank CEO Craig Drummond (pictured) acknowledged the situation was 'unacceptable' and blamed a failed 'customer data migration'

Customers can check online if their accounts have been affected however Medibank said it would be contacting them individually to advise of the situation

AHM customers have not been affected by the technical fault and should expect to receive their statements on time.

Disgruntled customers took to social media to slam the health insurer for holding up their claim.

'How hard can it be? I pay the same amount each month,' one man wrote.

'Will the resignation annoucement from the head of medibank be following shortly? Someone needs to fall on their sword for this one,' said another.
Pauline Hanson was caught out drinking Coles brand milk on Monday

Controversial One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has hit back after she was sprung using Coles brand milk in her tea.

In a sarcastic Facebook post on Thursday, Ms Hanson opened her fridge to the world - and revealed she is halfway through two cartons of farmer-friendly milk.

'I woke up this morning to find claims I support Coles milk,' she said. 'I thought those people without lives might like to see what's in the fridge today'.

The Senator-elect was seen in a video this week making a cup of tea using the cut-price supermarket product.

She has previously slammed the big supermarket chains for failing to support Australian dairy farmers.

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Pauline Hanson posted a picture showing two farmer-friendly brands of milk on her kitchen benchtop on Thursday morning

Pauline Hanson was caught out using Coles brand milk in her tea during a video posted online this week

The One Nation leader touts herself as a long-time supporter of Australian farmers and local industries

In May, Ms Hanson demanded a full investigation into the prices dairy farmers were receiving from the big chains, after suppliers slashed gate prices throwing the industry into turmoil.

'When you can pay $3.50 for half a litre of water and you're paying $1 for a litre of milk it doesn't make sense but this has gone on for so long it's ridiculous,' she told Queensland Country Life.

'I would pay another 50c a litre for my milk, if it went straight to the dairy farmers.

'Unless we start supporting our dairy farmers we won't have them anymore and where will our milk come from then?,' Hanson added during the interview.

Monday's milk gaffe was spotted by a number of eagle-eyed commenters and it has since sparked debate in the media.

Nine News personality Richard Wilkins said he felt some 'sympathy' for Ms Hanson's predicament on Today Extra.

'I felt a little bit of sympathy for Pauline Hanson. It's an embarrassing gaffe. She made a mistake.

'Who knows who actually bought the milk. She's doing a thing with Facebook, she's got the milk out of the fridge, she's put it in there, she has said what she's said.

'I think it's one of those cases of do as I say not as I do.

'But, you know, there are plenty of people who don't eat meat but wear leather shoes.'

'She made a mistake': Media personality Richard Wilkins said he felt sympathy for Ms Hanson

It comes just months after a movement to support the dairy industry by buying branded milk

Many of Hanson's policies outlined on the One Nation website focus on supporting Australian farmers or assisting Australians to buy homegrown and made products and produce.

The far-right politician is also vehemently opposed to multiculturalism and holds strong views against Islam, halal certification, and Muslim Australians.

Earlier on Wednesday she even took a swipe at the media, blaming them for using her as a 'punching bag'.

In a separate video posted to her Facebook page the One Nation leader ranted about how she was being treated unfairly.

Ms Hanson was approached for comment.
More than four out of five professionals work more than their contracted hours - and a third never take a lunch break, according to new research.

The study suggests businesses are facing an 'alarming' burnout epidemic with 81 per cent of employees working beyond their contracted hours.

And those that work in high level positions are twice as likely to work more than 10 hours over their contracted hours (42 per cent) as those at entry level (21 per cent).

The survey of 2,600 professionals in sectors such as banking and finance by global professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley found that 75 per cent of employees felt obligated to work beyond their contracted hours.

More than four out of five professionals work more than their contracted hours - and a third never take a lunch break, according to new research

But businesses are not rewarding these staff, with only around one in eight (13 per cent) saying that they are compensated for working extra hours.

The figures revealed that less than a third of professionals (32 per cent) believe that they are productive during the extra hours that they work.

A third (34 per cent) don't take their lunch break at all, with millennials (21 per cent) being the largest group to have a working day without their lunch break.

When they do finally leave the office, three out of four are 'sometimes' or 'always' working from a mobile device.

David Leithead, UK Chief Operations Officer at Morgan McKinley said: 'Many people work more hours than they are paid for, often because they feel obligated to, rather than because of a belief that it's a productive exercise.

'Businesses are facing an alarming burnout and need to evolve work practices.

'During the day, many employees don't take any kind of lunch break. Then three-quarters of them feel obligated to work beyond their contracted hours, yet they don't feel that is productive.

'And when they do finally leave the office, they are always on-call. If not managed carefully, these factors can cause employee stress and burnout, and poor business performance.'

More than half the professionals polled said they believe more flexibility would add to their productivity, showing the demand for flexible work arrangements

He said many businesses have a widening gap between modern business philosophy around 'smart' working, and the reality of old fashioned noses to the grindstone.

More than half the professionals polled said they believe more flexibility would add to their productivity, showing the demand for flexible work arrangements.

Although more employees do have the option to work from home and flexible start-finish times, the findings suggest a culture of flexible working is not yet embedded.

The majority indicated flexible and remote working arrangements are offered on a discretionary basis or in extenuating circumstances rather than as part of an overall package.

Mr Leithead added: 'Employers may have good intentions but many have a long way to go in finding a solution, helping their employees to find the right balance and re-educating old school management to ensure that they attract and retain talent.
Greyhound racing will be banned in New South Wales, making it the first Australian state to shut down the industry in the wake of the live baiting scandal.

The NSW government made the announcement on Thursday after a Special Commission of Inquiry found 'overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting'.

Premier Mike Baird said that the NSW Government is acting to protect animal welfare as a priority, and is planning for an 'orderly industry shutdown as of 1 July, 2017'.

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NSW will become the first Australian state to shut down greyhound racing after an inquiry found overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting

'As a humane and responsible Government, we are left with no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down,' Premier Mike Baird said

GREYHOUND RACING BANNED IN NEW SOUTH WALES Racing will stop on 1 July, 2017 All racetracks to be closed and re-used and possibly sold off 20 per cent of trainers were found to be 'live baiting' their runners Inquiry said 180 greyhounds die on the racetrack alone each year Greyhound racing will stop in NSW next year There will be a re-homing 'welfare plan' for dogs in the lead-up to ban An 'adjustment package' will be developed for participants NSW becomes first Australian state to ban racing Full shutdown plan will be revealed later this year Up to 68,000 greyhounds were killed in past 12 years Advertisement

Mr Baird released a report by the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW, which found that between 48,000 and 68,000 greyhounds  or at least half of all greyhounds bred to race  were killed in the past 12 years because they were deemed uncompetitive.

The report states up to 20 per cent of trainers were found to engage in live baiting and 180 greyhounds a year sustained 'catastrophic injuries' during races, such as skull fractures and broken backs that resulted in their immediate deaths.

Inquiry Commissioner Michael McHugh recommended Parliament consider whether the industry had lost its 'social licence' to operate and should be shut down.

If the industry was to have continued, his alternative recommendation was extensive reform including tighter regulation, but Mr McHugh stated there was a 'very real risk' that practices such as live baiting would continue.

'As a humane and responsible Government, we are left with no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down,' Mr Baird said.

'This is the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the appalling revelations in Mr McHughs report and his considered view that any other measures are unlikely to protect animals from further cruelty.'

Mr Baird said his State Government will announce a detailed industry shutdown plan during the second half of 2016 following consultation with stakeholders and animal welfare organisations.

The transition plan will set a path for the winding down of the industry as of 1 July, 2017.

Greyhound racing will be shut down in NSW after a damning inquiry found evidence of systemic animal cruelty within the industry

The inquiry into NSW greyhound racing found up to 20 per cent of trainers engage in live baiting and 180 greyhounds a year sustain 'catastrophic injuries' during races, such as skull fractures and broken back

Greyhound Racing will be banned in New South Wales as the government moves to shut down the industry in wake of live baiting scandal

It will include 'a welfare plan for existing greyhounds including opportunities for re-homing' and there will be what has been termed 'an adjustment package for industry participants'.

Existing Greyhound Racing NSW assets like racetracks will be used for open public space, alternative sporting facilities or other community use.

'I feel much empathy for innocent trainers and those who will lose their job or hobby as a result of this,' said Mr Baird.

'And I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs.'

Greyhound racing will be shut down in NSW after a damning inquiry found evidence of systemic animal cruelty within the industry

Greyhounds pictured racing at Appin in NSW. The NSW Government said it will ban the industry by mid-2017 and the racetracks will be re-used

The social media reaction to the NSW Government decision has been mixed

Some have challenged NSW Premier Mike Baird over what happens with betting on dog racing interstate

Racing minister Troy Grant has urged industry stakeholders not to panic.

'I cannot emphasise enough, don't panic, government will work with you,' he said.

'We will finalise this industry in the most humane, collaborative approach as possible,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia has sought comment from Greyhound Racing NSW.

Greens NSW MP Mehreen Faruqi described the decision as 'absolutely incredible and in many ways unprecedented'.

'This is a win for animals,' she said.

Twitter users have asked questions about what the decision means for gamblers

The immediate reaction from some social media users was shock and surprise

Tweets also mentioned the possible future use of greyhound racing 'assets'

Desmond Bellamy from animal rights group PETA Australia said tracks are closing around the world as an increasing number of governments crack down on dog racing.

'More and more people learn that this industry sentences highly social and sensitive dogs to life in a cramped cage or kennel, deprived of even a kind word or a gentle touch,' he said.

'The greyhound racing industry treats dogs like machines.

'Many are discarded as puppies in the name of "selective breeding".

'Others are shot, bludgeoned to death or simply abandoned to fend for themselves when they're deemed too old, injured, slow or exhausted to continue racing profitably.'

Other critics questioned whether the greyhound racing decision could spill over to other industries

There has been backlash from other states including Victoria and Queensland over the NSW move

Queensland's Racing Minister Grace Grace has ruled out following New South Wales' lead, suggesting its own inquiry focused on 'a stronger integrity regime to ensure animal welfare is front and centre across all three racing codes'.

'I want to warn any racing industry participants that do the wrong thing that you will be caught, and you will be dealt with,' Ms Grace said

The boss of Queensland's biggest greyhound group has condemned the NSW decision as a stitch-up based on half-truths.

Queensland Greyhound Breeders Owners and Trainers Association president Brenton Wilson said he was appalled at the decision.

'To say I am stunned is not the correct word. I feel like I have just gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and then been asked to go another 10 with Ali,' Mr Wilson said.

'This has all the earmarks of a stitch-up. If this is the standard for an industry to be shut down then a lot of other industries across Australia should be looked at.'

GREYHOUND RACING TO BE SHUT DOWN IN NSW - FULL STATEMENT BY NSW GOVERNMENT NSW will become the first Australian state to shut down greyhound racing after a Special Commission of Inquiry found overwhelming evidence of systemic animal cruelty, including mass greyhound killings and live baiting. Premier Mike Baird and Deputy Premier and Minister for Racing Troy Grant announced today that the NSW Government is acting to protect animal welfare as a priority, and is planning for an orderly industry shutdown as of 1 July 2017. Mr Baird and Mr Grant released the report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Greyhound Racing Industry in NSW, which found that between 48,000 and 68,000 greyhounds  or at least half of all greyhounds bred to race  were killed in the past 12 years because they were deemed uncompetitive. It's estimated that up to 68,000 dogs have been slaughtered in the past 12 years in NSW for not being fast enough The report states up to 20 per cent of trainers engage in live baiting and 180 greyhounds a year sustain 'catastrophic injuries' during races, such as skull fractures and broken backs that resulted in their immediate deaths. Inquiry Commissioner Michael McHugh has recommended Parliament considers whether the industry had lost its 'social licence' to operate and should be shut down. If the industry continued, his alterative recommendation is extensive reform including tighter regulation, but Mr McHugh stated there was a 'very real risk' that practices such as live baiting would continue. 'As a humane and responsible Government, we are left with no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down,' Mr Baird said. 'This is the inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the appalling revelations in Mr McHughs report and his considered view that any other measures are unlikely to protect animals from further cruelty.' Mr Baird said the Government will announce a detailed industry shutdown plan during the second half of 2016 following consultation with stakeholders in industry and animal welfare organisations. The transition plan will set a path for the winding down of the industry as of 1 July 2017, and will include:  A welfare plan for existing greyhounds, including opportunities for re-homing;  An adjustment package for industry participants; and  A transition arrangement for existing Greyhound Racing NSW assets that will ensure they are used for open public space, alternative sporting facilities or other community use. Mr Grant said he asked Mr McHugh to leave no stone unturned and thanked him for delivering a comprehensive report that shone a light on sickening animal mistreatment. 'NSW is the first Australian state to ban greyhound racing but, as Mr McHugh notes, we are following in the footsteps of so many jurisdictions across the United States and the world which have banned greyhound racing to protect animal welfare,' Mr Grant said. The Government will prepare and consult on legislation to be presented to Parliament to cease the industrys operation and to appoint an administrator for Greyhound Racing NSW. A summary of key findings and observations of the inquiry are attached and the Commission of Inquirys report is available at: http://www.greyhoundracinginquiry.justice.nsw.gov.au/ Advertisement




A DNA test has come back to haunt Pauline Hanson after the results showed she had Middle Eastern heritage.

Ms Hanson, whose One Nation political party has been criticised for its anti-Islam policies, was told she was 9 per cent Middle Eastern after taking a DNA test for the Sunday Mail newspaper in 2007.

Fast forward nine years and the results of the DNA test are circulating on social media as people slam the newly elected senator for her views on Islam.

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One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been slammed on social media after the results of a DNA test she did nine years ago revealed she was nine per cent Middle Eastern

Her genetic make up was traced back to a multicultural background, including 9 percent Middle Eastern, 32 per cent Italian, Greek or Turkish and 59 per cent from northern Europe.

Ms Hanson made references to 'rape' and 'pillage' in ancient times when she was first told of the results by the Sunday Mail.

'All I can think of is that probably down the track it eventuated from some war,' she said back in 2007. 'But I'm not going to knock it. It has made me who I am.'

The results started going viral on social media this week after Ms Hanson made some controversial comments, including that she didn't think Islam was a religion of peace.

Ms Hanson, whose One Nation political party has been criticised for its anti-Islam policies, was told she was 9 per cent Middle Eastern after taking a DNA test for the Sunday Mail newspaper in 2007

'So Pauline actually 'evolved' on Halal,' one Facebook user wrote, while another said: 'What a joke! Pauline Hanson is 9% Middle Eastern'.

'Pauline Hanson was DNA tested and found out she has middle-eastern heritage. How did she explain this, even though she couldn't possibly know? Her ancestors were probably raped. And people in this country elected this person!' one person wrote on Facebook.

Another said: 'Lol. I just read that Pauline Hanson's genetic makeup, DNA tested in 2007, shows that she is 9% middle eastern, 32% from Italy, Greece and Turkey, and 59% Northern Europe. Please explain.'

Ms Hanson was elected to the senate this week with campaign policies that focused on banning halal certification and prohibiting Muslims from wearing the burqa in public.

Her political party also wants to have a royal commission to determine if Islam is a religion or a political ideology.
Opinion / Columnist

To editorMLO stirred up a hornet's nest when it warned Matebeles against participating in the on going protests that have engulfed Zimbabwe.We were attacked by the organisers of the protests who are well known anti-Matebele crusades and their disciples who are well known Shona apologists who take everything the Shona say as gospel truth.The disciples are made out of few Matebele individuals who are so desperate for fast cash and meaningless positions in the government of Zimbabwe or opposition parties, and agents of the state who are in the government pay role. And of cause, some genuine Matebeles who simply believe that our grievances will automatically disappear when President Mugabe leaves office.We stand by each and every word written or spoken by us. We are less worried about what anti-Matebele crusades say.The anger which is directed at the gukurahundist Mugabe by Matebeles is understandable. After all, he is the hijacker of the struggle that Matabeles rejected through the ballot box as early as 1980. Guess who supported him, voted him into power and helped him entrench and solidify his power? You guessed correctly. It the same Shona hypocrites who are forcing us to help them remove their king who did that.Driven by the anger for being shown the middle finger by Matebeles through the votes in 1980, his passionate hatred for the people of Matebeleland and guided by the evil Grand Plan, he set Zimbabwe National Army 5 Brigade code named gukurahundi on us.The 5 brigade was commanded to annihilate Matebeles. There was great loss of innocent blood as more than 40 000 people were killed, more than 100 000 women were rapped, many were left homeless as more than 100 000 homes were burnt down, more than a million displaced.At that point in time, Matebeleland needed more than help. The West turned a blind eye, our neighbours looked away. Did our so called friends from Mashonaland help?NO NO NO! The heartless bigots were in full support of the genocide. Singing Shona songs cheering gukurahundi and praising Mugabe the savage.Now the question is can we set aside the Matebeleland restoration cause and help the supporters of gukurahundi to remove their King Mugabe?Before we answer the above question we need to decode the "Mugabe must go mantra." This is a project which is driven by the Zimbabwe opposition parties and their bakers. Of late, some Zanupf factions have joined in. Its major aim is to remove the builder of the Shona supremacist system (Mugabe) but keep the system or status quo in place.The pushers of this project are dangling the carrot of undefined and unimplementable devolution of power to woo Matebeles into supporting their project. But the truth is after all the dirty work is done the dishonest Shonas will turn against Matebeles and use or should I say abuse their majority power to deny us any freedom.It happened in the 1980s. After our fathers had assisted them to get their independence, they were labelled as dissidents and what happened after that is something that everybody wishes to forget quickly but cannot.It happened again in year 2000. Matebeles joined MDC in their numbers thinking that it was a party that was honestly standing for them. But in 2005 when MDC was now an established formidable force, the Shonas showed their true tribalistic colours. They complained that the MDC top 6 was dominated by Matebeles whom they wanted replaced with Shonas. As a result MDC split based on tribal lines. The likes of Welshman Ncube, Gibson Sibanda, Paul Themba Nyathi and others were stoned out of Harvest House and chased out of Harare.Come 2013 when Tsvangirai was given an opportunity to test power in the GNU. He was given a slot to appoint 10 members from his party to be included in the cabinet. Beside the fact that most Matebeles lost their businesses and their lives for supporting MDC, Tsvangirai chose only one Matebele and rewarded his fellow Shonas with 9 other positions. It took brave Cde Paul Siwela's 1hr long conversation with Tsvangirai, telling him his piece of mind that the next morning more Matebeles were added and a few Shonas dropped.Afterwards, Tsvangirai who was Prime Minister worked hand in hand with Mugabe to sweep gukurahundi genocide under the carpet, water down devolution of power and block Welshman Ncube from taking up his rightful position in the highest office in favour of his fellow Shona Arthur Mutambara. "Beaten once twice shy," goes the old adage but how many times do Matebeles need to be beaten to see that Shonas are evil political criminals?Outside Zimbabwe and Matabeleland. Michael Sata, the late President of Zambia, realising the growing calls for the restoration of Barotseland, promised the Lozi people instant independence on condition that they vote him into power. The unsuspecting Lozi fell for this cheap political ploy and indeed they voted him in their numbers but immediately after assuming power, Sata sent armed police and army to brutalise anyone in Barotseland who demanded independence.So the answer to the above question is- it will be very unwise for Matebeles to abandon the restoration cause and blindly follow protests that are remote controlled by faceless politicians who do not have our interests at heart. There is no Shona amongst the existing and those who are yet to be born who will rule us well. We want to govern ourselves. We have our brothers and sisters who have our best interests at heart, who can lead us far much better.It is political stupidity of highest order to believe that the on going protests are people's revolution without a political figure behind them. Ask the organisers of the events who they intend to chose as their leader should their protest manage to remove Mugabe. The answer will shock you.Do not be fooled. Protests are political by nature. They cannot be divorced from politics and politicians and, in politics nothing happens by coincidence. Some politician somewhere behind the scenes is manipulating those protests. Should they be successful the culprit will show their ugly face. Do not be surprised when Emmerson Mnangagwa or Joyce Mujuru show their gukurahundi faces. Those are the dangers of spreading political fires that are started by your enemies.That will be back to square one for Matabeleland. We will find ourselves stranded again in the wilderness of politics. Shonas will taking up strategic positions and employing their majority power to defeat anything we say because they don't have our interests at heart. They want to use us as condoms and discard us at a later stage as they did before.If we are to participate in the protests it should be for strategic reasons like to test the waters, exploit the situation and use it to our advantage.Remember this is an opportunity that we have been waiting for. It must never be wasted. Be steady, calculate, use your brains than emotions, do not feel left behind. MLO is 100% behind you. Our independence is coming this is the time, we will deliver. We are motoring the situation very closely.The organisers of the protests could not trust the people of Bulawayo because of the hot element of Matabeleland restoration agenda. Their desperation and urgency to force people of Matabeleland to join could be seen in their messages. And when Bulawayo finally participated there were wild celebrations by the desperate organisers. It was as if Bulawayo was the only place where these protests took place.The government of Zimbabwe deployed too many water cannons and police in Bulawayo than anywhere else. Out of 110 people rounded up 92 were from Matabeleland. And again Matebeleland is treated differently from Mashonaland.Be patient like a lion which takes cover in the midst of its panicking prey waiting for the right moment to strike and when it does strike, it is with speed and amazing accuracy.Phambili nge operation #Mbabazane Izenzo kungemazwi!Israel Dube MLO Secretary for Information and Public AffairContact:infomlo13@gmail.com
Former prime minister John Howard has stood by his decision to send Australian troops to the Iraq War after a UK inquiry into the invasion found intelligence was flawed.

A seven-year UK inquiry into the invasion and unsuccessful search for weapons of mass destruction found the threat posed by dictator Saddam Hussein was overplayed, intelligence was flawed and the legal basis for the war was unsatisfactory.

'In the years that have gone by there's been this constant claim that we went to war based on a lie,' Mr Howard said in Sydney on Thursday.

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Former prime minister John Howard has rejected claims Australia joined the Iraq war based on a lie after a seven-year UK inquiry into the invasion found intelligence was flawed

'There was no lie. There were errors in intelligence but there was no lie.'

Mr Howard said no intelligence was improperly included in a UK dossier used to justify the invasion.

'One of the most important conclusions ... was the (UK) Joint Intelligence Committee accepted ownership of the dossier and agreed its content,' he said.

'There was no evidence that intelligence was improperly included in the dossier or that Number 10 (Downing Street) improperly influenced the text.'

Asked whether Australia needed a similar inquiry, Mr Howard said: 'We've had a number of inquiries already.'

Mr Howard said it should be borne in mind that Saddam Hussein had a long-term goal to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction program, once the threat of sanctions disappeared.

'Yes, it was subsequently discovered there were no stockpiles, but with equal conviction it has to be remembered that the intelligence advice of both the United Kingdom and the United States, and of course that advice greatly informed the views of our own intelligence agencies... was that there were stockpiles,' he said.

Mr Howard said based on the information he had available to him at the time, he didn't believe sending troops to Iraq was the wrong decision

Mr Howard said no intelligence was improperly included in a UK dossier used to justify the invasion after a seven-year UK inquiry into the invasion found intelligence was flawed

Mr Howard said he was happy to be accountable for what occurred.

'When you're dealing with intelligence it's very, very hard to find a situation where advice is beyond doubt,' he said.

'Sometimes if you wait for advice that is beyond doubt you can end up with very disastrous consequences.'

He said he regretted the loss of life in military conflict.

'But I believed that the decision to go into Iraq was justified at the time and I don't resile from that because I thought it was the right decision,' Mr Howard said.

It comes after former UK prime minister Tony Blair denied he had given former US president George Bush a 'blank cheque for war'.

But he expressed his 'profound regret' and apologised to the families of UK soldiers who had died.

Asked whether he should offer an apology to military families, Mr Howard said: 'Obviously I am sorry for the wounds or injuries that anybody suffered. That applies no matter whether a military conflict is a matter of controversy or not.

Asked whether he should offer an apology to military families, Mr Howard said: 'Obviously I am sorry for the wounds or injuries that anybody suffered'

The former Liberal leader said he did not share the view that the current Middle East conflict was the direct consequence of the 2003 war

'But if you're saying to me do I apologise for the decision that I took, the core decision? Well, I defend that decision. Of course I defend it. I don't retreat from it.

'I don't believe, based on the information available to me, that it was the wrong decision. I really don't.'

The former Liberal leader said he did not share the view that the current Middle East conflict was the direct consequence of the 2003 war.

He said Iraq had entered into a period of 'relative stability' after the US troop surge, where elections could be conducted.
Radio personality Ben Fordham has defended Sydney Swans star Kieren Jack and his girlfriend after they became embroiled in a bitter family feud with his parents.

The son of rugby league legend Garry Jack broke his silence over the messy public dispute to stand by his partner Charlotte Goodlet after he decided not to invite his parents to his 200th AFL game.

Fordham, Sydney's 2GB radio host who is a friend of the couple, claimed Jack's controlling parents were to blame for the family's long-running rift that erupted this week.

'It seems that Donna and Gary Jack want their boys to run their lives exactly the way their parents want to run them instead of letting them stand on their own two feet,' Fordham claims.

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Ben Fordham (right) has jumped to the defence of Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack (left) and his girlfriend

The AFL star broke his silence to stand by his partner Charlotte Goodlet, who is at the centre of a family feud

The family rift with Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack and his parents, Donna (left) and former NRL champion Garry Jack, is believed to have started before the 2014 AFL grand final over tickets

The ongoing private dispute recently came to light after Jack's mother Donna slammed her 29-year-old son in a scathing social media post for banning his parents from Friday's match.

'@kjack_15 so sad. Dad 200 RL you 200 AFL & you dont want us there, your parents. No appreciation for all the yrs helping you get there,' she wrote on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Fordham jumped to the defence of the couple as he revealed the pair are 'going through hell at the moment'.

'Kieren Jack is a superstar... He is a class act but sadly he is embroiled in this battle at the moment with his own mum and dad,' Fordham said.

'It seems like Kieren's mum and dad have got a problem with Kieren's girlfriend. There's problems there within the family. I have been aware of these problems for a long time now.

'You won't find someone better than Charlotte. She's a good human being and she deserves some respect as well.'

And to add more fuel to the fire, the television presenter revealed Jack's younger brother Brandon has also been involved in a 'very similar rift' with their parents.

Jack's mother slammed her 29-year-old son in a scathing social media post for not inviting them to his match

The son of rugby league legend Garry Jack broke his silence to defend his television producer girlfriend

It's revealed Jack's young brother Brandon (right) has also been involved in a similar rift with their parents

Jack and his girlfriend are understood to have been together for three years. The former Miss Universe Australia contestant moved from Perth to be with him

Jack has been embroiled in a feud with his father, former NRL champion Garry Jack (left) and mother Donna

On Wednesday, the AFL star fronted the media to express his disappointed after his family matter came to light as he made clear his priorities were with his girlfriend and his young brother Brandon.

'My priorities of support are firmly with my partner and my little brother who I love and care for very much,' the 29-year-old son of former rugby league champion Garry Jack said.

Paying tribute to Ms Goodlet, who is a producer for Channel 9, Jack said she had been treated unfairly in the wake of scandal.

'It's been tough, she hasn't deserved the treatment that she's received but she's strong, she's an independent woman.

'She's not just a model which you know. I love her very much. I'm very proud of her.'

2GB radio presenter Ben Fordham and his wife Jodhi Spears on the red carpet of the 26th annual Australian Commercial Radio Awards in Melbourne in 2014
He was summoned to court to be charged under the Animal

A couple have demanded justice after their beloved pet cat wandered on to their neighbour's property and was shot four times with a crossbow.

Imogen Bizilis and her partner Mark moved to Callington, south-east of Adelaide, two weeks before they found their cat George under their neighbour's deck with four arrows protruding from his body.

George was rushed to a vet who was astonished the three-year-old ginger cat had been able to hold on for so long, but his injuries were so severe he had to be put down.

'I can not believe someone would do something like that to an animal - it's disgusting,' Ms Bizilis told Today Tonight.

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Three-year-old house cat George was found hiding under a deck with four arrows protruding from his body

George was rushed to a vet who was astonished the ginger cat had been able to hold on for so long, but his injuries were so severe he had to be put down

Ms Bizilis said her neighbour was responsible for the act of 'animal cruelty', which took place last Friday, and had claimed he fired the arrows not knowing the house cat was hiding under the deck.

But according to Today Tonight, the 34-year-old man said he thought the cat was a feral that had been harassing his chickens.

'There was a cat in his yard and he decided to put four arrows into this cat  it was just animal cruelty,' Ms Bizilis said, arguing George wore a distinct collar and could never have been mistaken for a feral.

She took several shocking images that showed the extent of George's injuries, with the small cat seen laying on a bench littered with arrows shortly before his death.

Imogen Bizilis and her partner Mark have demanded justice for the 'horrifying' act of 'animal cruelty'

Ms Bizilis ook several shocking images that showed the extent of George's injuries, with the small cat seen laying on a bench littered with arrows shortly before his death

The vet managed to remove the four arrows but George was so severely injured he had to be put down

'There was a cat in his yard and he decided to put four arrows into this cat  it was just animal cruelty,' Ms Bizilis said

'I can not believe someone would do something like that to an animal - it's disgusting,' she added

Ms Bizilis is adamant that George could never have been mistaken for a feral as he wore a distinct collar

Ms Bizilis' neighbour was reported for ill treatment of an animal and police coordinated an investigation with the RSPCA.

Officers seized a cross bow and issued the man with a summons to appear in the Murray Bridge Magistrates Court where he will be charged under the Animal Welfare Act.

The RSPCA condemned the 'appalling' act of animal cruelty and said it will 'always pursue cruelty offenders to the extent of our powers'.

'Sadly, this is not an isolated case. RSPCA South Australia recently prosecuted an Adelaide Hills man who shot and killed his neighbours cat,' a spokesperson wrote on social media.

'The man was recently found guilty in court of aggravated offences under the Animal Welfare Act, and is awaiting sentencing.'
O'Reilly claims the photos were taken in Maryland in the early 1990s

Obama was Malik's best man at his first wedding in 1981 and Malik served as his best man when he married Michelle

Bill O'Reilly shared photos of Barack Obama in traditional Islamic dress on his program Wednesday night claiming they were from his half-brother Malik's wedding.

The Fox News host said it was 'very difficult' to verify the exact location of the photographs - a similar set of which were first released back in 2004 by Malik and previously published on DailyMail.com - but claimed they were taken in Maryland in the early 1990s.

'According to his half-sister, Barack Obama attended his half-brother's wedding in the early 1990s. Malik Obama was a Muslim,' said O'Reilly.

'The Factor has obtained pictures allegedly from that wedding, which we believe was held in Maryland.'

Malik was married in 1981 for the first time and President Obama was his best man at that ceremony. He now has multiple wives.

O'Reilly used the photos in a monologue alleging the President's 'deep emotional ties to Islam' have stopped him effectively combating ISIS while also saying he believes the photos prove that President Obama is not a 'devout Christian'.

Bill O'Reilly has revealed two photos of Barack Obama claiming they were taken as the President attended his half-brother Malik's wedding back in the early 90s, saying they show he has 'an emotional attachment to Islam'

President Obama was Malik's best man at his first wedding in 1981 and Malik served as his best man when he married Michelle (above at President Obama's wedding)

He did this while attacking President Obama hours after he revealed he would not be withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, saying: 'President Obama, as we all know, will not even use the words Islamic terrorism.

'Again today when telling the nation that America will maintain eight-thousand troops in Afghanistan, the president did not accurately describe the situation there, putting forth that it was more about politics than Islamic terror.'

O'Reilly claims the President Obama's failure to identify the terrorist threat facing America has allowed ISIS to run amok in the Middle East, a mistake he claims the Commander-in-chief will not acknowledge.

'There is no question the Obama administration's greatest failure is allowing the Islamic terror group ISIS to run wild, murdering thousands of innocent people all over the world, including many Muslims,' said O'Reilly.

'Mr. Obama has never, never acknowledged that mistake, nor does he define the ISIS threat accurately.

'That group is killing innocent people in order to impose a radical version of Islam on the world. The jihad is solely based on theology, perverted as it may be.'

Obama's refusal to use the phrase 'Islamic terrorism', preferring instead to say 'militants' or simply 'terrorists' has long been a sore spot for his Republican detractors, including Donald Trump.

O'Reilly also said of Obama after sharing the photos: 'I believe he's a Christian. I'm not one of these guys who says he's a Muslim. But I don't think he's a devout Christian.'

He went on to say during the program: 'I base my analysis on the fact that in my opinion - and I could be wrong, but I'm not - President Obama's sympathetic treatment of Muslims put the country in danger because he has not elevated the risks that we have to the level it should be.

'And he allowed ISIS to be created because of his foolish decision to withdraw troops in Iraq and to pretty much run wild for five years. So another president, angry about the jihad, would not have done that.'

O'Reilly's guest, Obama: From Promise to Power author David Mendell, jumped in at that point to say: 'I think President Obama is very sympathetic to all cultures, all religions. He grew up in a multiplicity...'

The host cut him off though to ask: 'Is that good for a commander in chief to be very sympathetic to all cultures and all beliefs when thousands of people are being murdered?'

O'Reilly then closed out the segment by stating: 'He's the commander in chief of the United States, and his main charge is to protect us. It's not main charge as to be touchy-feely to all different cultures.'

Nothing new: A similar set of photos featuring President Obama in the same dress were shared by Malik in 2004 (above) and previously published on DailyMail.com

Helping hand: Malik said in a 2013 interview that he spoke with his brother about trying to save Libya's Colonel Gaddafi (above with Malik in an undated photo) when his people turned against him

President Obama has hit back at these criticisms in the past, saying that the row over the phrase is a 'political distraction' from the real threat in the Middle East.

He added: 'If there's anyone out there who thinks we're confused about who our enemies are, that would come as a surprise to the thousands of terrorists who... we've taken off the battlefield.

'If the implication is that those of us up here and the thousands of people around the country and around the world who are working to defeat ISIL aren't taking the fight seriously, that'd come as a surprise to those who've spent these last 7 1/2 years dismantling al-Qaida in the FATA, for example.

'[That would surprise] the men and women in uniform who put their lives at risk, and the special forces that I ordered to get [Osama] bin Laden and are now on the ground in Iraq and in Syria. They know full well who the enemy is.'

Malik, 57, also has political ambitions, having run in 2013 as an independent candidate for the governorship of Siaya County in the national elections.

He was defeated in that race.

In a March 2013 interview with the Mail on Sunday, Malik said that he and his brother were close, and he had just seen him in November of the previous year.

'We are close but don't live in each other's pockets. I don't have to be at every big party. I've not seen Michelle in a while,' said Malik at the time.

'I saw her and the children at the last inauguration, but it was very busy, so we didn't have time to talk. I can't say that I have a relationship with my nieces.'

In that interview Malik complained that he was maligned and misunderstood because he is a Muslim and a black man. He has lived in Washington since 1985 and divides his time between there and Kogelo in Kenya.

'Having a famous brother has made me a target of hatred, racism and bigotry against my religion. I recently asked Barack what advice he could give me about dealing with all the negativity,' said Malik.

'He just laughed and replied, 'You're a big boy. You're my elder brother, you can take it. Anyway, it's only four more years.''

Meeting the family: Michelle Obama on her first visit to Alego, Kenya (above) prior to marrying her husband

Paying a visit: Obama at his family home in the Kenyan homestead of Alego (l to r: Obama, his grandmother Sarah, sister Auma and stepmother Kezia)

Malik also said that he spoke with his brother about trying to save Libya's Colonel Gaddafi in 2011 when his people turned against him.

'I went to see my brother and I said look, this is somebody I know and it's terrible what is going on. Let's see if we can talk to him and find some kind of rapprochement. He wasn't interested,' said Malik.

'He didn't want to know, which was very disappointing. But he did tell me that he shook Gaddafi's hand when they met at a conference in Rome.'

Malik also said his half-brother was not doing enough for his family in Africa at the time.

'I'm very proud of my brother, but I would like for him to do a little bit more for the family on this side,' said Malik.

'I would like to say he could send some money. I give money when asked. That's what family is for. We're not well off, though people think we are.'

Malik was just one in 1959 when his father, Barack Obama Senior, left his wife Kezia to take up a scholarship at the University of Hawaii. Malik's sister Auma, two years younger, appears to have been conceived when his father was home on holiday. Kezia, now 72, later studied in America and lives in Bracknell, Berkshire in the UK.

In America, Barack Sr met and married Ann Dunham, an anthropologist from Kansas. But soon after she gave birth to the future US President he abandoned her and returned to Kenya.

According to the Miller Center, Obama later said of the experience: 'I was raised as an Indonesian child and a Hawaiian child and as a black child and as a white child.

'And so what I benefited from is a multiplicity of cultures that all fed me.'

During that time Obama attended both Muslim and Catholic schools, before returning to live in Hawaii with his grandparents, who were not religious and gave him a secular upbringing.

President Obama praised Malik, who he refers to as Roy, in his memoir Dreams from my Father, writing in one passage about seeing his half-brother at his wedding to Michelle.

'The person who made me proudest of all, though, was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam, and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol,' wrote President Obama.

He went on to note how Malik 'looked so dignified in his black African gown with white trim and matching cap that some of our guests mistook him for my father'.

Malik said in his 2013 interview: 'Some people go on about me being a Muslim, as if it somehow impacts on my brother's politics. That is my faith, not his, but he respects it.
of a hung parliament, but was pictured downcast on Thursday

Mr Shorten appeared to be ecstatic at

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While the election result appear to have taken an eventual toll on Bill Shorten, Malcolm Turnbull has gone from downcast to beaming as the vote count continues.

After Saturday's federal election left the Coalition hanging the balance of seven undeclared seats, Mr Turnbull was the picture of concern, explaining to his supporters it was a 'very, very close count'.

But, emerging from his Point Piper mansion in Sydney's east on Wednesday, Mr Turnbull had a smile plastered on his face as he headed to a waiting car and just 24-hours later, announced he is 'very confident' of forming majority government as the Coalition was looking at a probable slim majority win.

Alternatively, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was beaming at the possibility of a hung parliament after Saturday, he was pictured looking worried leaving a visit to Morayfield, north of Brisbane, with his wife on Thursday.

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While the election result appear to have taken an eventual toll on Bill Shorten, Malcolm Turnbull has gone from downcast (left on Sunday) to beaming (right on Wednesday) as the vote count continues

Alternatively, while Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was beaming at the possibility of a hung parliament after Saturday (left), he was pictured looking worried leaving a visit to Morayfield, north of Brisbane, with his wife on Thursday (right)

On Saturday night, Mr Shorten was pictured beaming as he smiled with his daughter Clementine and wife Chloe as experts predicted a hung parliament was on the cards.

But as he left his Moonee Pond home in Melbourne on Thursday, he shied away from cameras as he prepared to head to Canberra on Friday to meet with MPs.

The Coalition is likely to hold 76 seats in the 150-seat lower house, as postal votes and recounts of existing votes have favoured Liberal and Nationals candidates over Labor.

On Thursday, the seat of Gilmore was called for Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis, leaving the Coalition with 73 seats against Labor's 71, news.com.au reported.

It is likely the Coalition will end up with 76 seats to form the majority in the lower house.

On Saturday night, Mr Shorten was pictured beaming as he smiled with his daughter Clementine and wife Chloe as experts predicted a hung parliament was on the cards

During a press conference the morning after Saturday's election, Mr Turnbull was pictured looking concerned at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices in Sydney

But, as it was announced the Coalition was looking at a probable slim majority win, Mr Turnbull headed out to interacts with locals in Brisbane with a smile plastered on his face

Mr Turnbull and member-elect for the Federal seat of Brisbane

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met up with member-elect for the federal seat of Brisbane Trevor Evans (left) and a group of campaign volunteers on Thursday

The Prime Minister is pictured here leaving his Point Piper mansion in Sydney's east on Wednesday

During Tuesday's press conference with the deputy prime minister at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Offices, Mr Turnbull had a smile plastered on his face

The prime minister was in Brisbane on Thursday to thank coalition supporters and meet with crossbench members.

'I am very confident indeed that we will form a majority government in our own right, but I am talking to the crossbenchers as well - as I would do regardless of what our own numbers in the house amounted to,' he said.

With the Coalition edging ever closer to forming a minority government Mr Turnbull said he had taken 'full responsibility' for the disastrous campaign after failing to secure a landslide majority in the federal election.

The Prime Minister admitted he needed to listen to Australia's concerns as the results of Saturday's election remained uncertain.

Mr Shorten was pictured smiling as he addressed Labor Party members following the election on Saturday night

He held hands with his family and shook hands with supporters as the possibility of a hung parliament loomed

On Thursday, Mr Shorten looked slightly downcast as he left his Moonee Ponds home in Melbourne

Mr Shorten is pictured here with Federal candidate for Longman, Susan Lamb during a visit to Morayfield, north of Brisbane on Tuesday
Donald Trump insisted Wednesday night that he did nothing wrong by tweeting an anti-Hillary-Clinton image with a six-pointed star, saying during an Ohio rally that the symbol some interpreted as a derogatory Jewish reference was 'just a star' to him.

And although his social media manager Dan Scavino replaced the original graphic with another that used a circle instead, Trump told a Cincinnati crowd that he wishes the 'star' tweet had never been deleted.

'They shouldn't have taken it down. You know they took the star down!' he exclaimed. 'I said, "Too bad. You should have left it up." I would have rather defended it. Just leave it up and say, "No, that's not a star of David. That's just a star".'

By night's end, Trump was tweeting another example of the same shape  this time on the cover of a coloring book featuring characters from the animated hit 'Frozen.'

In this case the six-sided star's eye-catching message isn't 'Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!'  it's 'With 50 Stickers!'

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HE REGRETS IT, SORT OF: Donald Trump defended his campaign's use of a six-sided star graphic, telling a Cincinnati campaign rally crowd that he wishes his staff had never removed it from Twitter

HE CAN'T LET IT GO: Trump continued to hammer away at the suggestion that the shape on his anti-Hillary tweet from last weekend was a Jewish star of David, gloating on Twitter when he found the same shape on a Disney 'Frozen' coloring book

TWITTER IS AN OPEN DOOR: Hillary Clinton jabbed back at Trump using a tortured 'Frozen' lyric about building a snowman

'A VERY FINE PERSON': Trump defended his social media manager Dan Scavino (left) even before images of the Frozen 'Ice-cool coloring' book (right) began to rocket around the Internet

'Where is the outrage for this Disney book?' he tweeted. 'Is this the "Star of David" also? Dishonest media! #Frozen'

Hillary Clinton tweeted back at Trump with her own zinger from 'Frozen,' changing a famous song lyric to 'Do you want to build a strawman?'

The graphic that evoked anti-Semitic imagery for some began as a tweeted critique from a comedian who later deleted his Twitter account. From there it spread to both the Trump campaign and a handful of message boards containing white supremacist and anti-Semitic content.

Yet Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told CNN after Trump's rally that the image originally shared on Trump's Twitter account 'originated with a white supremacist  not with Disney animators in Burbank.'

'I can find you other six pointed stars if you want, but that wasn't the intention of the illustrator,' Greenblatt said

Trump, whose daughter Ivanka married into the Orthodox Jewish faith, defended his social media manager, who also married into a Jewish family.

'This is a very fine person, Dan Scavino. He put out a tweet talking about "Crooked Hillary Clinton." And on the tweet was a star. A star!'

'Like  a star,' Trump reiterated frantically. 'Because when I looked at it I didn't think anything. All of a sudden, it turned out to be  in the minds of the press only  because it could have been a sheriff's star. It could have been a regular star.'

'I didn't get angry at him,' Trump recalled, speaking of his social media manager.

'I said, "Dan, that's a star. Don't worry about it".'

CONTROVERSIAL: Scavino lifted the image on the left from a comedian's Twitter account, and replaced it with the circle-graphic version at right after critics began to call his boss an anti-Semite

CHOSEN: Scavino bristled at the suggestion of anti-Semitism and noted that he celebrates holidays with his wife's Jewish family

In addition to the star shape  which bore the message 'Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!'  the graphic's background was made up of U.S. $100 banknotes.

But Trump said his critics betrayed their own antisemitism by linking money with a Jewish stereotype centered on greed.

'Behind it they had money. "Oh, but there's money behind it!" he said. 'So actually, they're racially profiling. They're profiling. Not us. Because why are they bringing this up?'

Trump insisted that the star 'could have been a star for anything. To me it was just a star. But when I really looked, it looked like a sheriff's star.'

He blamed CNN  which he called the 'Clinton News Network'  for stoking the flames of a fake controversy.

'CNN started this dialogue going: "It's the star of David, and because its the star of David, Donald Trump has racist tendencies",' he said.

'These people are sick. I'm telling you. They're sick. They're sick!'

'When they told me [it was] the star of David, I said, "You've got to be kidding! How sick are they?" Actually they're the ones with bad tendencies when they can think that way. They're the ones! ... these are sick people. They're bad people.'

INDIGNANT: Trump had previously tweeted a statement that the six-pointed star wasn't a Jewish symbol, but a sheriff's badge, which also has six points

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: Twitter user 'FishBoneHead1' created hte image and tweeted it on June 15, with his work later appearing adapted on Trump's feed  and, disturbingly, on a few racist message boards

Scavino blasted 'main stream media' outlets in his own tweet Tuesday, referring to his Jewish family.

'For the MSM to suggest that I am antisemite is AWFUL. I proudly celebrate holidays w/ my wife's amazing Jewish family for the past 16 years,' he tweeted.

Scavino issued a statement over the weekend, saying the graphic 'was not created by the campaign nor was it sourced from an anti-Semitic [web]site. It was lifted from an anti-Hillary Twitter user where countless images appear.'

'The sheriffs badge  which is available under Microsofts "shapes"  fit with the theme of corrupt Hillary and that is why I selected it.'
Minister for Communities Zoe Bettison later said station would stay open

Mr Weatherill promised to investigate why station was not already opened

An Adelaide bus station will be left open for the next week to shelter homeless people from wild storms.

The decision to leave Franklin Street Interstate bus station open was prompted by a Twitter exchange between South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and Shelter SA chief executive Dr Alice Clark.

Dr Clark called on Mr Weatherill and Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion Zoe Bettison to leave the station open as wild storms hit the city.

Franklin Street Interstate bus station (pictured) will remain open for the next week to shelter Adelaide's homeless as the city is hit by wild storms

Dr Alice Clark called on Mr Weatherill and Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion Zoe Bettison to leave the station open as wild storms hit the city

'Can u pls activate an emergency response to extreme weather by opening the Franklin St Bus Stn for our vulnerable citizens?' she Tweeted to Premier Weatherill.

Mr Weatherill promised to investigate why the station was not already open.

Ms Bettison later tweeted that it would remain open overnight and that DCSI staff would provide 'support for rough sleepers'.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill (pictured) promised to investigate why the station was not already open

Dr Clark has called on the state government to do more to help Adelaide's homeless

The Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion Zoe Bettison confirmed the station would remain open

'Really the Government needs to take some responsibility for these vulnerable people,' Dr Clark said, according to the ABC

Speaking on 891 ABC Adelaide, Ms Bettison said: 'When state emergency services indicate there is an extreme weather event, our emergency plan goes into play.'

'That is the trigger in general, to open up the bus shelter.'

The Premier said the station will remain open for the next week.

Dr Clark called on the state government to do more to help Adelaide's homeless.

'Really the Government needs to take some responsibility for these vulnerable people,' Dr Clark said, according to the ABC.

'We're not talking about thousands of people, I think the numbers are manageable and we should be able to do a bit better in South Australia.'

Adelaide recorded its wettest day since 1941 years on Monday, with more rain expected over the weekend.

'Really the Government needs to take some responsibility for these vulnerable people,' Dr Clark (pictured) said
The furious owner of a $20million mansion in The Hamptons says it was trashed after a hedge fund manager threw a wild pool party straight out of The Wolf of Wall Street.

Brett Barna, 31, a portfolio manager at billionaire Louis Bacons Moore Capital Management, hosted the all-day event, dubbed #Sprayathon, over the Fourth of July weekend.

He had rented the eight acre estate in Sag Harbor, Long Island, on Airbnb and reportedly told the owners that he was throwing a fundraiser for an animal charity for just 50 guests.

Instead, more than 1,000 people gathered for the party, a spectacle of bikini-clad women and gun-toting dwarfs in patriotic costumes, according to Page Six.

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The furious owner of a $20million mansion in The Hamptons says it was trashed after a hedge fund manager threw a wild pool party straight out of The Wolf of Wall Street

The hedge fund manager who hosted the event reportedly told the owners that he was throwing a fundraiser for an animal charity for just 50 guests - but the owner claims a thousand people turned up

Guests danced and doused each other in Champagne as rapper Ace Hood performed from a balcony - and posted all the debauchery on social media.

They left behind broken furniture and used condoms, according to the furious owner of the property.

The owner says he is planning to sue Barna for $1million  and also says Barna is disputing the $27,000 cost of the Airbnb rental and refusing to pay it, Page Six reports.

The property is listed on Airbnb for $5,000 per night and requiring a minimum five night stay.

It was like "Jersey Shore" meets a frat party, the owner told the website.

He claimed Barna was last seen chugging Champagne with two midgets on Sunday.

He added: Brett came to me dropping Louis Bacons name and saying he was a big deal with the Robin Hood Foundation.'

Brett Barna (second from left), a portfolio manager at billionaire Louis Bacons Moore Capital Management, hosted the all-day event over the Fourth of July weekend

The owner says dwarfs in patriotic costumes (pictured in posts from social media) also attended

There were so many people at the party that the concrete around the pool crumbled and fell into the water

The owner of the nine-bedroom mansion said revelers left behind broken furniture and used condoms

He said there would be 50 people at the event and it was for animal rescue.

But the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them.

They drowned themselves in Champagne, they had midgets they threw in the pool, they broke into the house, trashed the furniture, art was stolen, we found used condoms.

The owner added that the sheer amount of people at the party meant the concrete surrounding the pool crumbled and fell into the water.

Party-goers at the bash, dubbed Sprayathon, posted plenty of pictures of the debauchery on social media

He said there would be 50 people at the event and it was for animal rescue,' the owner said. But the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them'

Guests doused themselves in champagne and posted pictures of the wild bash on social media

However, a source claims cleaners had been hired and the house was left in a good condition, according to Page Six.

The source also said the event raised $100,000 for Last Chance Animal Rescue. Daily Mail Online has contacted the Southampton-based charity for comment.

And its not the first time the #Sprayathon bash has caused trouble.

Revelers at last years party, held at a house in The Hamptons owned by Hercules actor Kevin Sorbo started a brush fire.

The property (pictured) is listed on Airbnb for $5,000 per night and requires a minimum five-night stay
One of the two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling was suspended two years ago after another black man was shot by police.

Howie Lake was placed on administrative leave in December 2014 after a suspect was shot multiple times as he tried to escape from the police.

Lake, 29, was among a group of six Baton Rouge cops placed on leave after registered sex offender Kevin Knight was shot by police following an alleged domestic incident.

The cop was suspended again on Tuesday after he and fellow police officer Blane Salamoni pinned down Sterling - a 37-year-old black street seller in Baton Rouge, Lousiana - before he was shot dead.

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Howie Lake (left) was placed on administrative leave in December 2014 after a suspect was shot multiple times as he tried to escape from the police. He and Blane Salamoni (right) are suspended following the shooting of Alton Sterling on Tuesday

Six shots were fired at Sterling in the early hours of Tuesday morning after police were called out to reports that a black man had threatened someone with a gun

Local reports said Knight opened fire at the group of officers as he tried to flee his wrecked car after crashing it during a police pursuit in December 2014.

The cops returned fire and Knight took several bullets to the torso, but survived.

Six shots were fired at Sterling in the early hours of Tuesday morning after police were called out to reports that a black man had threatened someone with a gun.

Lake and Salamoni tackled Sterling to the ground and fatally shot him after discovering a gun in his pocket, despite the father-of-five appearing to make no attempts to grab the firearm.

It is not clear which officer fired the shots.

Lake, who is married, has been a police officer for three years.

Salamoni, 28, has been with the Baton Rouge force for four years and won a police 'life saving' award last year.

Lake was among a group of officers who shot Kevin Knight (left) in 2014. Sterling (right) was killed by police on Tuesday morning

He has not been placed on administrative leave before.

Salamoni's father-in-law, James Durdin, told the New York Daily News that he blamed black people for 'making an agenda' out of Sterling's shooting.

Durdin said Sterling 'drew a gun' on the cops - a claim that is not backed up by video evidence.

'It burns my you-know-what when its  usually the black people  that try to make an agenda out of this,' he said.

'What Id like to see is them with no police at all, so they can know what its like not to have them The majority of (cops) would never be abusive. Does anyone give a you-know-what about that? Well have social chaos (without cops).

'Im totally against these people,' Durdin added, speaking about protesters who have called for justice for Sterling. 'They take advantage of every situation to promote their agendas.'

Salamoni has strong links to the police establishment, with both of his parents former cops.

His father, Noel, is a commander of the departments Special Operations Division and he was considered as a potential chief before Carl Dabadie Jr was installed in the position.

Thousands of people continued to protest long into the night following the shooting of Alton Sterling by two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Several thousand protesters took to the streets on Wednesday night in protest at the shooting of Alton Sterling.

The demonstrations came just hours after a graphic new video emerged showing the moment cops pinned him to the ground and pulled the trigger.

The graphic footage shows Sterling being thrown to the ground by Salamoni and Lake.

The cops are seen yelling at Sterling to 'get on the ground' - but he does not - before he is tackled by the officers.

As Sterling continues to move on the ground, the officer believed to be Lake reaches for his gun and then points it at the father-of-five's chest.

One of the officers then yells: 'He's got a gun! Gun! You f****** move and I swear to God.'

Less than two seconds later, the first shot is heard, followed quickly by another two as the startled store owner turns the camera away from the gruesome scene. Three more shots are heard as the clip ends.

As Sterling lies on the ground with blood seeping from his chest, one of the officers leans over and grabs what appears to be a gun from the street seller's pocket.

It is not clear whether Sterling was reaching for his gun, but he was not holding it at the time he was shot.
Former prime minister John Howard has warned that putting Pauline Hanson in a 'special corner' is stupid because isolating or attacking her will only enhance her position.

Mr Howard, who was prime minister back when Ms Hanson was last in parliament, made the remarks in Sydney on Thursday after he was asked if the One Nation leader was a welcome presence in Canberra.

'Everybody's got to accept that to sort of put her in a special corner is stupid and all it does is enhance her position,' he said.

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Former prime minister John Howard has warned that putting Pauline Hanson in a 'special corner' is stupid because isolating or attacking her will only enhance her position

'I watched this debate back in 1998 and 1999 and the more she was attacked, the more popular she became because those attacks enhanced her Australian battler image and she plays off that.'

The former Liberal leader, who was at a press conference to respond to a UK inquiry into the Iraq War, said that anyone who was elected by Australian voters should be respected.

Mr Howard has broken away from Malcolm Turnbull's declaration in May that the One Nation leader 'is not a welcome presence on the Australian political scene'.

'People have voted for her and there's no good saying she's will be a particularly scorned species. That doesn't achieve anything. You have to recognise that people voted for her.'

Ms Hanson is set to return to the federal parliament after almost 20 years after claiming a senate seat in Saturday's election, and is expected to bring a number of One Nation candidates with her.

Mr Howard said people had voted for Pauline Hanson and that anyone who was elected by Australian voters should be respected

Mr Howard, who was prime minister back when Pauline Hanson was last in parliament, made the remarks in Sydney on Thursday after he was asked if the One Nation leader was a welcome presence in Canberra

Mr Howard, who has long been plagued by accusations he failed to respond to the Pauline Hanson phenomenon when he was at the helm, offered his contemporary counterpart some advice.

'The government should do what I did and that is you deal with her issue by issue,' he said.

However, he flatly rejected the One Nation leader's calls for a royal commission into Islam and her proposed ban on new mosques - adding that he spoke up when there were issues of hers he didn't agree with.

'I don't agree with some of her views on foreign investment,' he said.

'I didn't agree with her when she said we were being flooded by Asians because we weren't, and I didn't agree with her when she said that Aboriginal people weren't amongst the most disadvantaged in our community because those things were manifestly wrong.'

The former prime minister said the government should handle Ms Hanson - a former fish and chip shop owner - 'issue by issue' like he did when they were in parliament together almost 20 years ago

Ms Hanson was elected to a Queensland senate seat this week with her One Nation political party

'But I did understand that she was articulating the concerns of people who felt left out and I was very critical of people who branded everybody who supported her as a racist because that is nonsense.

'We are not a racist country and I wish people would stop reaching for that adjective whenever they... want to isolate somebody who they don't agree with. We'll get nowhere doing that, absolutely nowhere.'

Ms Hanson was elected to a Queensland senate seat this week - 18 years after the former fish and chip shop owner was last in parliament.
Opinion / Columnist

We hear that a shadowy pastor called Evan Mawarire has once again released a video giving Government an ultimatum to act on a number of issues, failure of which he said he would summon another shutdown.Mawarire raised a number of frivolous issues he wants addressed before he unleashes the so-called shutdown.Among other things the overzealous clergyman called on Government to fight corruption, reverse the Statutory Instrument 64, remove road blocks and cancel the proposed introduction of bond notes.Hijacking a strike by civil servants who were protesting against the delayed payment of salaries, Mawarire drew a false sense national influence and stole some mileage, believing he could sway Government policies and chart the destiny of the country.He assumes this larger than life character, he now flexes around for his own selfish political ends and poses as if Government is not doing anything to resolve economic challenges facing the country.For the purpose of dispelling this thinking that Government is doing nothing towards addressing issues raised by Mawarire, this article would seek to highlight huge strides being made by Government to resolve the challenges.On corruption, it is in the public record that the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Corruption (ZACC) has an ongoing blitz whose nets has entrapped public officials like the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Patrick Mavhura, whose case of graft is currently before the courts.Other public officials who have been ensnared include seven senior officials in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development who were sniffed out by the Office of the Auditor and Comptroller General and fired for conniving with suppliers and other third parties to defraud Government of thousands of dollars.Also Government has demonstrated its untiring determination to eradicate corruption by removing the ZACC from the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs and strategically placing it under the direct control of the Office of President and Cabinet.Under this arrangement, there will be no sacred cows to be spared when it comes to fighting corruption as all perpetrators would be brought to book.All these anti-graft interventions would comprehensively beef up Government's efforts to eradicate the scourge of graft and boost efforts to rebuild the economy.Regarding the Statutory Instrument 64 that restricts imports into the country, Mawarire is misleading people to believe that the measures are counter-productive and harmful to their wellbeing yet the opposite is true.Without taking the partisan view of Mawarire, the SI64 is a commendable intervention by Government to stem the vast inflow of foreign products into the country at the detriment of locally produced commodities.Because of technological variations and differing production environments, local goods have been finding it hard to compete with foreign products on a level plain field.Local products have been outmanouvred by the cheaply produced imports from China and South Africa, leaving local producers limping and failing to increase capacity or sustain their operations.Faced with such challenges, what else would Government have done but to protect local industry and jobs by introducing measures aimed at reducing the import bill and stem the flow of foreign products?The restrictions brought about by the SI64 are well-intended and could result in increased industrial production and creation of more jobs for the people.Already, a similar intervention in the cooking oil sector resulted in the increased production of local oils and a subsequent reduction in the importation of foreign cooking oils.On bond notes, it is clear that those opposed to the monetary instruments are doing so for political convenience and not from an informed view point.Although detractors like Mawarire would like to give an impression that the bond notes are going to be directly injected into the economy, nothing can further be from the truth.Both notes are going to be introduced as a five percent incentive to exporters and only injected whenever local producers sell their products to foreign country.The quantum of bond notes introduced would be proportional to the quantity of commodities exported from the country.With the current depressed export bill, the amount of bond notes introduced into circulation would be so minimal and unnoticed hence there is no need to raise any alarm among the populace.It is clear that both the SI64 and the bond notes are focused at jump starting local industries to enable them to contribute towards the country's economic revival.As for road blocks, the Police last week announced that they are going to significantly cut their presence on roads, therefore there is no need to further kick more dust on the issue.With these efforts in mind, it is clear that Government is fully engaged in programmes to address all socio-political and economic challenges that were triggered by illegal sanctions imposed by the West.Mawarire should therefore be ashamed to shroud his political intentions by claiming to be fighting Government's alleged inaction.------------Charity Maodza
But one of them was out of date by nearly one MONTH

Pauline Hanson was caught out drinking Coles brand milk on Monday

Pauline Hanson's attempt to prove her pro-dairy farming credentials has backfired spectacularly.

The One Nation picture posted two 'farmer friendly' milk cartons to her Facebook page on Thursday.

But not only had one of the milk bottles more than a month past its expiry date, at June 17 - it is also believed to be halal.

Paul's Milk, the producer of the Farmhouse Gold dairy product, is listed on the right-wing Australian Liberty Alliance as being fully certified as halal.

The Halal Helpline, which has a comprehensive registry of halal certified product, said Paul's milk was halal certified. Paul's parent company was approached for comment.

Ms Hanson posted the picture after punters pointed out she used cut-price Coles brand milk to make a cup of tea - despite slamming the major supermarkets for failing to support dairy farmers.

Social media users were also quick to point out it was well past its expiry date. 'The one on the right is very out of date .... Bit like your policies,' one said.

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Pauline Hanson posted a picture showing two farmer-friendly brands of milk on her kitchen benchtop on Thursday morning

The milk Ms Hanson touted as being in her fridge was one month out of date

Pauline Hanson was caught out using Coles brand milk in her tea during a video posted online this week

The One Nation leader touts herself as a long-time supporter of Australian farmers and local industries

When Daily Mail Australia asked Ms Hanson for a comment, she was quick to respond by posting the journalist's phone number online.

'I haven't been home for almost two months while on the campaign trail. If journalists left me alone for just 20 minutes, I might have time to clean the fridge out...' Ms Hanson said.

'Is there any wonder our country has come to a grinding halt if media are taking up our politicians time with ridiculous questions like this?

She then followed up her response by saying 'I do have a sense of humour'.

Ms Hanson posted the controversial picture earlier on Thursday morning after 'waking up to find claims I support Coles milk'.

'I thought those people without lives might like to see what's in the fridge today'.

It didn't take long before critics managed to poke flaws in her fiery response, with several people pointing out the Farmhouse Gold bottle hit its expiry weeks ago.

In May, Ms Hanson demanded a full investigation into the prices dairy farmers were receiving from the big chains, after suppliers slashed gate prices throwing the industry into turmoil.

'When you can pay $3.50 for half a litre of water and you're paying $1 for a litre of milk it doesn't make sense but this has gone on for so long it's ridiculous,' she told Queensland Country Life.

'I would pay another 50c a litre for my milk, if it went straight to the dairy farmers.

'She made a mistake': Media personality Richard Wilkins said he felt sympathy for Ms Hanson

'Unless we start supporting our dairy farmers we won't have them anymore and where will our milk come from then?,' Hanson added during the interview.

Monday's milk gaffe was spotted by a number of eagle-eyed commenters and it has since sparked debate in the media.

Nine News personality Richard Wilkins said he felt some 'sympathy' for Ms Hanson's predicament on Today Extra.

'I felt a little bit of sympathy for Pauline Hanson. It's an embarrassing gaffe. She made a mistake.

'Who knows who actually bought the milk. She's doing a thing with Facebook, she's got the milk out of the fridge, she's put it in there, she has said what she's said.

'I think it's one of those cases of do as I say not as I do.

'But, you know, there are plenty of people who don't eat meat but wear leather shoes.'

It comes just months after a movement to support the dairy industry by buying branded milk

Many of Hanson's policies outlined on the One Nation website focus on supporting Australian farmers or assisting Australians to buy homegrown and made products and produce.

The far-right politician is also vehemently opposed to multiculturalism and holds strong views against Islam, halal certification, and Muslim Australians.

Earlier on Wednesday she even took a swipe at the media, blaming them for using her as a 'punching bag'.

In a separate video posted to her Facebook page the One Nation leader ranted about how she was being treated unfairly.

Ms Hanson was approached for comment.
The devastated mother of a black man who was shot dead by a cop and whose death was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend says she was prevented from seeing him on his deathbed.

Valerie Castile, mother of Philando Castile, 32, who was shot in Falcon Heights, Saint Paul, Minnesota on Wednesday night, also claimed they have been unable to locate Diamond Reynolds, his girlfriend, since she was arrested by police.

The shocking footage of the aftermath of the shooting has sparked protests in Saint Paul, with hundreds of people descending on the Governor of Minnesota's house demanding justice. It is the second controversial police shooting of a black man to emerge in 24 hours.

In the video, Reynolds tells viewers that she and Castile were pulled over for a busted tail light by a 'Chinese police officer'.

She claims the cop, from the St. Anthony Police Department in Falcon Heights, asked Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school in St Paul, to show his license, but then shot him four times while he reached for it.

As she talks, she moves the camera across to show Castile, bloody and losing consciousness, and the cop - still pointing his gun, as her young daughter sits in the back seat.

The police officer, who is yet to be identified, been placed on paid leave.

Aftermath: Reynolds (pictured) streamed the aftermath of a police shooting on Facebook Wednesday. She told viewers that she and her boyfriend, Philando Castile, were pulled over for a busted tail light by a cop who asked to see his license. As Castile was reaching for it, the police officer shot him four times, she says

Shot: Castile can be seen murmuring at the start of the video. According to Reynolds he told the cop he had a permit to carry a firearm when he reached for his license - but the cop shot anyway

Cop: The officer, audibly panicky and afraid, continues to point his gun at Castile, and at one point screams 'I told him not to reach for it!' Reynolds remains calm as she confronts him: 'You told him to get his ID, sir'

Castile (left) and Reynolds (right) before his tragic death. His mother, Valerie Castile, told WCCO TV her son 'lived by the law and died by the law' and he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessori School in St. Paul. Castile's Facebook page depicts a young man who was politically active and enjoyed partying

Crowds of protesters chanted outside the Governor's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them following the tragic shooting

Community members and Black Lives Matter activists brought the police tape from the scene of where Philando Castile was shot and killed by a St. Anthony Police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, to Governor Mark Dayton's residence in Saint Paul

Outraged: Clarence Castile (left) and Valerie Castile (right), Philando's uncle and mother said they wanted to see justice and said the African American community was being 'hunted'

Missing: Despite being released by police around 2am, Valerie Castile claims that they have been unable to locate Diamond Reynolds; she also says she was unable to see her son on his deathbed

A crowd of around 200 protesters turned up outside Governor Mark Dayton's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them. They shouted 'no justice, no peace' and video shows them chanting Castile's name over and over in a moving show of unity.

A man outside the Governor's house said on Twitter: 'We're protesting at the governor's mansion. The police sent two delegates to make peace. They brought their guns.'

Rumors circulated that Governor Dayton had been evacuated from the mansion, but that was denied by his office, the New York Times reported.

However, he has postponed a press conference he was due to give on water quality today.

The protesters earlier formed at the scene where Castile was shot. The crowd was heard chanting 'we will stand our ground. We will not move' as an officer tried to clear the area, KARE-TV reported. Crowds also gathered outside the hospital where Castile died.

In the shocking video, Castile is at first still conscious and intermittently swearing, while his head lolls around. The officer keeps his gun trained on the man.

Reynolds says to her Facebook viewers that Castile, who had minor offences on his criminal record, was licensed to carry a weapon and told the officer he had a firearm as he reached for his wallet and ID.

'And the officer just shot him in his arm,' she says.

'Ma'am, keep your hands where they are,' the cop says, sounding panicked. He then appears to shout 'F***!'

'He just shot his arm off,' says Reynolds, maintaining her calm.

'I told him not to reach for it!' the cop screams, sounding close to tears. 'I told him to get his hand open.'

Unconscious: Castile apparently loses consciousness partway through the video. Police have confirmed that he died in hospital as a result of the gunshot wounds

Detained: Other officers arrive and tell Reynolds to exit the car and get on her knees. They cuff her and say she is being detained 'until we get this all sorted out' - only at this point does she begin to cry

Dropped: The phone is dropped shortly after this point, but the officer who allegedly shot Castile can seemingly be heard shouting 'F***' several times, while Reynolds, after giving her story, begins to pray to God

'You told him to get his ID, sir, you told him to get his driver's license,' she says. And suddenly the reality seems to hit her, as Castile appears to stop moving.

'Oh god, don't tell me he's dead,' she says. 'Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... please don't tell me that he's gone.'

The cop tells her to keep her hands 'where they are, please' and she agrees, but then goes back to chanting about her boyfriend's possible death. 'Please don't tell me this Lord, please Jesus don't tell me that he's gone.'

'Please officer don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir,' she says, her voice finally beginning to crack with emotion. 'He was just getting his licence and registration, sir.'

At that moment, other officers are heard telling Reynolds to exit the car and walk backwards towards her. She asks if they have her daughter. In the distance a girl can be heard crying.

They tell her to get on her knees while they cuff her - 'Ma'am you're just being detained right now until we just get this all sorted out, okay?' says one of the new officers.

Handcuffed: Later, Reynolds is seen in the back of a cop car; she says she has been handcuffed, and that 'a Chinese police officer' shot her boyfriend

Daughter: Her four-year-old daughter is glimpsed a couple of times. Towards the end of the video, Reynolds begins screaming in anguish, and her daughter says 'It's okay. I'm right here with you'

Aftermath: The immediate moments after the shocking shooting were caught by at least one passerby, which shows police attending to a shot Castile at the side of the road

A tearful Valeria Castile told WCCO TV that her son (seen here together) was a hard worker. Family members have told how he was a straight-A student at high school

'They threw my phone, Facebook,' Reynolds says, before finally breaking down as another siren - possibly an ambulance - is heard. 'Please no,' she wails, 'Please don't let him be gone.'

Other videos shared on Twitter by one user show cops performing CPR on a prone figure - presumably Castile - and later putting up crime scene tape.

At this point in Reynolds's video, a man who sounds like the first officer can be heard shouting 'F***' at several points afterward, and Reynolds is heard in the distance telling cops how the cop 'started shooting.'

She then begins wailing about how Castile is a 'good man' who 'works for St Paul Public Schools... Hes never been in jail, anything. Hes not a gang member, anything.'

Scene of the shooting: Investigators photographed the car that Castile was shot in near Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street in Falcon Heights

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigators process the scene where a St. Anthony police officer shot and killed Castile as he was reaching for his license

A crowd of community members gather outside the Governor's Residence in Saint Paul with a 'black lives matter' sign

Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter, spoke outside the governor's house saying: 'We are tired of the laws... we are tired of the demonization of our black brothers and sisters'

Hundreds of people chanted Castile's name over and over in a moving show of unity while demanding that the governor of Minneapolis come out and explain what happened

What happened? A woman joins others gathered a the scene of the police shooting in Falcon Heights demanding answers

Angry demonstrators chant (left) as the block Summit Avenue at the governor's residence; A crowd gathers across the street from where the investigation into the shooting is carried out

Crowds gather in the middle of the night after the horrific video went viral on Facebook

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigators process the scene

Women hold placards saying 'not in my name. No justice, no peace' and 'black lives matter'

Protesters outside the Governor's mansion hold their hands to their faces in shock

The yellow police crime scene tape was strung around the gates of the Governor's house in Saint Paul

The morning after: A sign is hung outside the Minnesota Governor's Residence this morning after about 200 people gathered outside it on Wednesday to protest

Not going anywhere: Protesters demand answers from the Minnesota governor, who canceled a press conference that was scheduled for Thursday

Reynolds then prays to God to protect Castile, saying: 'You know we're innocent, Lord. You know we're innocent people.'

Her daughter is heard telling an officer she wants to collect her mommy's purse.

Shortly afterward, the video cuts to Reynolds, sitting in a police cruiser - handcuffed, she says - with her daughter.

She repeats her story and begs anyone watching to come help her at the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street.

The camera moves over to her daughter for a moment; the girl looks sad and confused.

'It was a Chinese police officer that shot him,' says Reynolds. 'He asked him for his license and registration, which was in the back of his pocket, because he keeps his wallet in his pocket.

'And as he went to reach, he let the officer know before he was reaching that he had a firearm on him, and before he can let the officer know anything, the officer took off shots. About four or five rounds was shot.

'And my boyfriend, I don't know what condition he's in, I don't know if he's okay or if he's not okay. I'm in the back seat of a police car, handcuffed... they got machine guns pointed.'

Finally, Reynolds - who has mostly kept it together throughout the incident - breaks down.

The incident is being investigated by Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, although there will likely be calls for the US Justice Department and the FBI to take over.

St Anthony Police Department told Dailymail.com that Reynolds had been released at approximately 2am (3am EDT). Despite this, Castile's mother said they were unable to locate her and the police wouldn't let them talk to her.

Castile is pictured here in a selfie that Reynolds shared on her Facebook page

The 32-year-old's Facebook page says that he attended to the University of Minnesota. Clarence Castile, Philandos uncle, said his nephew had worked at the cafeteria for 12 to 15 years 'cooking for the little kids' and described him as a 'good kid'

Twitter user Wendy R shared this photo of Philando Castile at work as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessorri School in St. Paul. He is said to have been much loved by the children at the school

'I f***ing-- I can't f***ing--' she stutters, before screaming.

'It's okay,' her daughter says. 'I'm right here with you.'

In a statement, St. Anthony Police Department said: 'On 07-06-2016 at approximately 2100 hours, a St. Anthony Police Officer effected a traffic stop on Larpenteur and Fry in the City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

'During the stop, shots were fired. One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased.

'No one else was injured and the BCA has been called in to investigate this officer involved shooting. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

'The BCA will provide additional information as their investigation progresses.'

Castile was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, according to The Star Tribune.

Sgt. Jon Mangseth, interim chief of St. Anthony Police Department told the paper that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate.

The officer involved in the shooting had worked for the force 'in excess of five years', Sgt. Jon Mangseth said.

He has not been identified but Reynolds claimed he was a 'Chinese police officer' in the video.

At a 2am press conference, the police chief confirmed Castile was shot by the officer at 9pm.

A gun was recovered from the scene and has been sent for processing.

The video had received more than 1.5million views in the four hours after it went live - and attracted a stream of horrified and angry comments.

Castile's mother said : 'They killed my son. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old'

'Wtf man. F*** the police I swear this is bulls***,' said one. 'This is some f***ing BULLS*** I'm so tired of this s*** - the man isn't moving why do they have their guns pointed at him,' wrote another.

But many replied with messages of support and love for Reynolds - nicknamed 'Diamond' - and her family.

The video disappeared for around an hour after it was put up, causing angry accusations of censorship, but then returned with a 'graphic content' warning.

Reynolds's entire Facebook profile also went down for the duration before returning.

It's basically modern day lynching that we're seeing going on, except we're not getting hung by a tree anymore we're getting killed on camera Allysza Castile, Philando's sister

Castile's distraught mother said her son 'lived by the law and died by the law' and he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessorri School in St. Paul.

She tearfully told the Star Tribune outside hospital: 'They killed my son. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old.'

She later told CNN that they wouldn't let her see her son's body and that she had not even had the chance to identify him 'because they did not let me.'

She explained that she was first made aware of the incident when her daughter was watching it on Facebook.

My daughter was screaming in the house and I was like what's going on with you and the live stream was going. I personally didn't see it but I knew something was going on,' she said.

We rode up to the incident but we couldn't get to her to talk to her we were stopped by the police and I asked them where was my son at? I didnt want to talk to anyone I just wanted to know where my son was because I didn't want my son to die alone

'First it was I don't know and then it was the sergeant that was there at the site he came back and told me that he was at Hennepin County Medical Center and I said well why did you take him there? Why didn't you take him down to Regions hospital because I thought that was a little bit closer than Minneapolis."

Anger: Many commenters on the Facebook video were furious about what they saw. The video went down for a short period, but later returned with a 'graphic content' warning

A police man watches on as protesters gather outside the governor's house in the early hours

A large banner was strung up outside the governor's house read 'stop police brutality'

But by the time we got to Hennepin County Medical Center he was already deceased and they didn't let me see my son's body at all. I have not identified my son's body because they did not let me.'

She then added: I think he was just black in the wrong place. We are being hunted every day. It's a silent war against African American people as a whole. We are never free.'

A WEEK OF POLICE SHOOTINGS The shooting of Philando Castile took place just one day after police in Louisiana shot dead a black father of five at point-blank range, in an incident being probed by federal investigators. Horrific video footage showed Alton Sterling being thrown to the ground by cops. As Sterling continues to move on the ground, one officer reaches for his gun and then points it at the father-of-five's chest. Less than two seconds later, the first shot is heard, followed quickly by another two as the startled store owner turns the camera away from the gruesome scene. Three more shots are heard as the clip ends. On Sunday, another black man, 37-year-old Delrawn Small, was shot dead by an off-duty police officer in a road-rage incident. Officer Wayne Isaacs killed Small after a confrontation over a near-miss crash in Brooklyn. Small is said to have attacked Isaacs through his open driver's side window with 'big haymaker' punches before he was shot dead by the officer. Castile's shooting also comes on the eve of a closely watched trial in Baltimore on Thursday of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a broken spine in the back of a police van. The 25-year-old man was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade. Castile is reportedly one of 123 black Americans shot and killed by police in 2016 so far. Advertisement

Both of them said that ultimately they wanted 'justice'.

She said she had always taught her son to 'comply, comply, comply' if he was ever stopped by police.

'My son would never jeopardize his fiancee and the child by doing anything to provoke an officer.'

His sister Allysza Castile, 23, told the Washington Post: 'They wont let us see him. Weve been here probably an hour, the whole family is here, and they wont let us see him.'

She also told WCCO: 'It's just like, we're animals. It's basically modern day lynching that we're seeing going on, except we're not getting hung by a tree anymore we're getting killed on camera. And these officers are being able to go home to their family on paid leave.'

Clarence Castile, Philandos uncle, added his nephew had worked at the cafeteria for 12 to 15 years 'cooking for the little kids' and described him as a 'good kid'.

Of the cop who shot him, he said: 'That man is a destroyer. He's not an officer - he's a man.'

His family said he was a straight-A student at high school who graduated with honors.

The parent of a child at the school Castile worked at wrote on Facebook that he was a 'good man', in a message published by Twitter user Wendy R.

'Every day he fist bumped my kids, even when they were acting up. He knew every single one by name, pushed extra food in them like a grandma, and sneaked extra graham crackers into my son's bag because Peter got a kick out of it.

'My borderline autistic son hugged him every day. You guys. This was a GOOD MAN,' he said.

Castile's Facebook page depicts a young man who was politically active and enjoyed partying. He shared images of the Black Panther Party and posted the caption 'by any means necessary'.

He also posted that he went to the University of Minnesota and had worked at Target.

Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter, spoke outside the Governor's house in the early hours of Thursday morning.

'We are tired of the laws... we are tired of the demonization of our black brothers and sisters,' she said. 'Enough is enough.'

The shooting comes just days after another young black man was shot dead by police after they received a complaint about a man making threats with a gun while selling CDs outside a store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Horrific video footage showed Alton Sterling being thrown to the ground by cops Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II.

The cops are seen yelling at Sterling to 'get on the ground' before he is tackled by the officers.

Alton Sterling (pictured) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning

As Sterling continues to move on the ground, the officer - believed to be Lake - reaches for his gun and then points it at the father-of-five's chest.

One of the officers then yells: 'He's got a gun! Gun! You f****** move and I swear to God.'

Less than two seconds later, the first shot is heard, followed quickly by another two as the startled store owner turns the camera away from the gruesome scene. Three more shots are heard as the clip ends.

As Sterling lies on the ground with blood seeping from his chest, one of the officers leans over and grabs what appears to be a gun from the street seller's pocket.

It is not clear whether Sterling was reaching for his gun, but he was not holding it at the time he was shot.

Police took CCTV footage from the store without the owner's permission, but said they would hand it over to investigators.

It also emerged that Lake has been suspended before, also following the shooting of a black man.

Sterling's death sparked protests, with thousands turning out to demand justice outside the store where he was shot.

Alton Sterling was shot dead when officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II slammed him to the floor. THey have been put on administrative leave as the Department of Justice stepped in to lead the investigation

On Wednesday, thousands of people protested long into the night following the shooting of Alton Sterling by two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
A manhunt is underway for a serial killer in San Diego who is targeting homeless people and has set two of his victims on fire.

Police said a 23-year-old man was seriously injured after being set alight on Wednesday in the fourth attack in four days on homeless men in the Californian city.

The attacker struck while the man was asleep and he is not expected to survive the injuries to his upper body, police say.

Authorities also said they believe the same man is behind the spate of attacks on transients that have left two dead.

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A manhunt is underway for a serial killer in San Diego who is targeting homeless people and set two of his victims on fire. Police released images (above) of the man identified as the sole suspect in the case

Authorities said they believe the same man is behind the spate of attacks on transients that left two dead

A police news release said the latest victim was set on fire, though Capt. David Nisleit said earlier that a witness pulled away a burning cloth that the attacker had placed on the victim before fleeing at around 5am.

The attacks that began over the Fourth of July weekend have set the city's homeless population on edge.

As in previous attacks, Wednesday's victim, who is not being identified until his next of kin have been notified, was sleeping in the early hours of the morning when the assailant approached.

The attack occurred downtown, but the other three were in different parts of the city.

Nisleit declined to elaborate about why police believe all four attacks are connected, but mentioned the manner in which they were carried out and witness interviews. Police had no information connecting the victims.

'It's really hard to say what our suspect's motive is. All I can say is these are senseless attacks,' Nisleit said at a news conference.

On Tuesday, police released surveillance video from a convenience store of someone who they now identify as the sole suspect - a man wearing a cap, jacket and backpack

San Diego's Metro Arson Strike Team and SDPD homicide team gather evidence from the sidewalk and grassy area where a homeless person was attacked in downtown San Diego early Wednesday morning

As in previous attacks, Wednesday's victim, who is not being identified until his next of kin have been notified, was sleeping in the early hours of the morning when the assailant approached

On Tuesday, police released surveillance video from a convenience store of someone who they now identify as the sole suspect - a man wearing a cap, jacket and backpack.

The first victim, Angelo De Nardo, 53, suffered extensive trauma to his upper torso and died before his body was set on fire.

His badly burned remains were found on Sunday morning between Interstate 5 and some train tracks. He had family in Pennsylvania.

Police have not explained the nature of the upper torso injuries or what kind of weapon was used.

On Monday, police responded to a 911 call of a 61-year-old man who suffered life-threatening injuries to his upper torso and remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

A few hours later, police discovered the second body, that of a 41-year-old man who bled from the upper torso.

'There's no doubt our city has been shaken by these gruesome attacks,' Mayor Kevin Faulconer said at a news conference.

San Diego homicide detective Capt. David Nisleit (above) declined to elaborate about why police believe all four attacks are linked, but mentioned the manner in which they were carried out and witness interviews

A woman is seen with her belongings in shopping carts near an underpass where homeless people sleep in San Diego

'The last few days have been particularly harrowing and emotional for those who struggle with homelessness.

'These crimes are being committed against some of our city's most vulnerable people. These crimes are reprehensible.'

The Alpha Project, which provides temporary housing in San Diego, has dispatched eight people to canyons, freeway ramps and other encampments to encourage transients to sleep in groups and in lighted areas, said Bob McElroy, the group's president. McElroy has been distributing pepper spray.

He said: 'People are freaking out. This guy is systematically targeting people who are by themselves, kills them and sets them on fire.'

In 2012, a man was charged in a rampage in nearby Orange County that left six people dead, including four homeless men and a woman and her son.

Itzcoatl Ocampo, 25, died in jail before trial. Several of his victims were stabbed.

Anyone with information about these cases is urged to call the San Diego Police Departments Homicide Unit at (619)-531-2293.
Chris Evans' week went from bad to worse yesterday as it emerged Channel 4 will dump his TFI Friday reboot after just one series

Chris Evans' week went from bad to worse yesterday as it emerged Channel 4 will dump his TFI Friday reboot after just one series.

Just three days after the motormouth presenter quit the new Top Gear, he has now lost another television role.

Bosses at Channel 4 opted not to recommission the magazine show after a lukewarm reception to its comeback in October 16 years after it was first pulled from the air.

A source told The Sun: 'It's not great news for Chris after losing Top Gear, but there isn't the appetite to bring back TFI again.

'Chris is seen as a nightmare to deal with and I don't think they want the hassle that comes with it.'

The news came as it was revealed specialist sex crime officers have taken over the investigation into allegations the 50-year-old repeatedly grabbed a woman's breasts and frequently exposed himself while host of the Big Breakfast.

Police are probing historic sex assault claims against him after a member of the public register a complaint May.

The BBC Radio 2 breakfast show host left his co-presenting role at Top Gear on Monday after viewing figures slumped below two million.

In the show's last season fronted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, roughly 6.5million tuned in every week.

Despite his career being in turmoil, Evans put on a brave face yesterday as he enjoyed time out at a greasy spoon in London with showbiz pals Danny Baker and James Corden.

The trio were pictured sharing a laugh as Evans sipped on a coffee.

A spokesperson for Channel 4 said: 'TFI was never commissioned as a long running series so there are no plans for it to return.'
Donald Trump likened Hillary Clinton to a squashed bug during his campaign speech in Cincinnati on Wednesday night.

The Republican nominee was partway through his animated address to a crowd of thousands when he spotted the insect landing on his podium.

After raising his hand to squash it, Trump remarks that he 'hates mosquitoes, never liked them' before comparing the dead insect to the Democrat.

Donald Trump was delivering a speech to thousands of supporters in Cincinnati on Wednesday night when he suddenly spotted a mosquito on his podium and squished it

Speaking to the squished blood-sucker, Trump said: 'Speaking of mosquitoes, hello Hillary, how are you doing?'

The diversion was a moment of light-heartedness during Trump's speech which touted failed Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich as a potential running mate, and attempted to iron out some of the controversies of the last week.

In particular, the billionaire went on the offensive over an image his campaign tweeted showing a picture of Hillary next to a six-pointed star and branding her the 'most corrupt candidate ever'.

The attack was quickly branded racist for the star's likeness to the Jewish Star of David and began circulating on far-right and anti-Semitic websites.

Trump's campaign quickly deleted the image and replaced it with one using a circle instead, but the brash businessman said he would rather they had left it up.

After the billionaire businessman had remarked that he 'never liked' the insects, he glanced down and pretended to speak to the bug, saying: 'Speaking of mosquitoes, hi Hillary, how you doing?'

He said: 'They shouldn't have taken it down. You know they took the star down!' he exclaimed. 'I said, "Too bad. You should have left it up."

'I would have rather defended it. Just leave it up and say, "No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star".'

Trump also touted Gingrich as his running-mate choice after the former republican candidate wowed him during an audition for the part.

'I'm not saying anything, and I'm not telling even Newt anything,' Trump said. 'But I can tell you in one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government. That I can tell you.'

'We all love Newt. Newt gets it,' Trump boomed as his fans chanted the former speaker's name.
Police have ramped up their search for three sisters after their mother's car was found more than a week after they went missing.

Jaylee, 11, Matika and Zahara Latta, both eight, were last seen at Shannon Crescent in Watsonia an outer Melbourne suburb on Tuesday, June 28.

Police believe they are with their 49-year-old mother Tracey Heuston.

Police believe the three young sisters are with Tracey Heuston, 49, (pictured) from Watsonia

Jaylee (left), 11, Matika (centre), eight, and Zahara Latta (right), also eight, have been missing since Tuesday, June 28. Police hope the public can hope locate the sisters

A grey Mitsubishi Magna sedan thought to be driven by Tracey was found in Alphington, 20 minutes away from Watsonia on Saturday.

Banyule Senior Detective Dale Ward said a member of the public must know something about the children's whereabouts.

'It's not easy to disappear, especially if you have three children with you,' he said.

'We need to find these children and return some normality to their lives.

'There is a correct way to resolve this situation.'

Victoria police also announced on Thursday CIU detectives from the nearby municipal, Banyule, will be joining the search.

Tracey is known to frequent the Rockbank, Preston, Glenroy and Hadfield areas.

Ms Heuston is described as being approximately 155cm tall with a thin build, long brown hair and brown eyes.

Investigators have released images of the children in the hope someone may recognise them and contact police.

They were last seen on Shannon Crescent (pictured), in Watsonia, north east of central Melbourne
The diver filmed what he thought could be his final moments

Mr Childs was rescued as darkness approached after six hours lost at sea

A scuba diver who became separated from his diving group and filmed himself drifting at sea said in the dramatic video he feared he would never make it back to land.

Jacob Childs sparked a massive air and sea search on Tuesday after he disappeared during a diving expedition off the south-east Queensland coast near Bundaberg, the ABC reported.

The 30-year-old feared the worst as the sun began to set and filmed what he thought could be his final moments.

'So that's it. The sun goes down they won't do nothing. That's a wrap on old Jakey,' he said in the video.

Scroll down for video

Jacob Childs (pictured) filmed himself lost at sea after he became separated from his diving team off the south-east Queensland coast near Bundaberg

'So that's it. The sun goes down they won't do nothing. That's a wrap on old Jakey,' Mr Childs (pictured) said in the video

Mr Childs said when he surfaced there was no safety rope for him to hold on to and he began to drift.

'I surfaced alongside the boat and there was no tag line out the back of the boat for me to grab on to,' he told the ABC.

Mr Childs spent the next six hours alone in the water and drifted several kilometres from the boat.

The keen diver spent the six hours alone in the water and drifted several kilometres from the boat

'I was nice and warm in my wetsuit ... I wasn't overly tired as I was floating,' he told the ABC

As darkness approached, Mr Childs could see rescue teams circling above, but they couldn't spot him.

Finally, after more than six hours lost at sea, a plane saw Mr Childs floating in the water and police were able to rescue him, the ABC reported.
Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants a year could land in Dover if the border controls at Calais are scrapped, the head of the UK Border Force union has warned.

British authorities would be powerless to return the hundreds of stowaways caught every day trying to sneak aboard ferries to Britain mains ports from Calais if French politicians follow through with their threat to end the deal, Lucy Moreton added.

Migrant camps could also spring up along Englands south coast as migrants flock into the country, following the suspension of UK border controls in northern France, a Kent politician fears.

Calls from French presidential hopeful Alain Juppe for the border to be moved from northern France back to Britain have been met with alarm by border officials, MPs and local people in Dover

An estimated 7,000 people from Africa, Asia and the Middle East are currently living in a make-shift encampment on the edge of Calais hoping to start a new life in Britain

Last year UK Border guards foiled 30,629 attempts to cross to Britain illegally between April and July  an annual rate of 92,000, according to the latest Home Office figures

French presidential front runner Alain Juppe said it was logical for checks to take place on UK soil now Britain is leaving the EU

The front-runner to become the next French president has called for Britains border checks in Calais to be scrapped.

Alain Juppe said it was logical for checks to take place on UK soil now the country is leaving the EU.

The arrangements are underpinned by the Le Touquet agreement sealed between Britain and France in 2002 which dramatically cut illegal immigration across the channel.

Mrs Moreton, general secretary of the ISU union which represents officers from the UK Border Force, Immigration Service and HM Revenue and Customs, claims the end of the Le Touquet deal would mean the return to the illegal immigration chaos of the 2000s when the numbers seeking asylum reached a staggering 84,132 a year.

Last year UK Border guards foiled 30,629 attempts to cross to Britain illegally between April and July  an annual rate of 92,000, according to the latest Home Office figures.

Speaking to the MailOnline, Mrs Moreton said: The scrapping of the Le Touquet agreement could mean the return of the large scale and chaotic illegal immigration to the UK from France that we saw in the 2000s.

Freight and passenger traffic would cross the channel before seeing UK Border authorities.

Pictures from June 2001 (above and below) show migrants gathering at the Sangatte Red Cross camp before trying to cross the channel to the UK - there are fears that the number of illegal immigrants entering the UK could soar if the border comes back to Britain

Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the ISU union, told the MailOnline today: If the UK border were shifted back to the UK from northern France we would return to the situation pre-2002. Freight and passenger traffic would cross the channel before seeing UK Border authorities.'

Migrants try to secure safe passage to the UK in September 2001 before joint border controls were set up in Calais in 2002

French police search illegal immigrants found in a lorry at Calais bound for Dover in December 2000 before border controls were brought in under Le Touquet agreement. There are fears the UK authorities would buckle if border controls move back to Britain

This means that the hundreds of irregular migrants detected every day whilst still in France but attempting to reach the UK who are currently simply returned to the French authorities would have arrived in the UK and would have to be processed here.

Although applications for entry may be ultimately unsuccessful this can be a lengthy process putting strains on the detention estate; as well as pressures on the benefits and other support systems.

Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins warned the threat must be taken seriously but said Britain cannot accept the illegal immigration of the past.

He told MailOnline: Alain Juppe is the front-runner in the French presidential elections so we have to take his threat to scrap the Le Touquet agreement seriously.

But we cannot allow the situation in Calais to occur in the UK.

People in Kent would not tolerate the arrival of large numbers of illegal immigrants. It would not be tolerated to see the situation of Calais-style migrant camps in the UK.

Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins warned the threat of the border returning to the UK must be taken seriously but said Britain cannot accept the illegal immigration of the past

Razor-wire fencing has been extended around the motorway leading to the Calais port as part of increased security measures to prevent migrants clambering on board trucks heading to the UK

Andrew Richardson, UKIP group leader of Dover District Council, said: The scrapping of the Le Touquet agreement could well be carnage for Dover and Folkestone.'

Under the terms of Le Touquet agreement, no change to the location of the Anglo-French border could legally be made for two years

Last year UK Border guards foiled 30,629 attempts to cross to Britain illegally between April and July  an annual rate of 92,000, according to the latest Home Office figures

P&O Ferries say they are confident new measures will be put in place to prevent illegal immigrants over-running their services from Calais to Dover if UK border controls in France are scrapped

Hundreds of migrants walked between the sprawling jungle camp and the ferry port in Calais today as they planned their illegal route to the UK.

An estimated 7,000 from Africa, Asia and the Middle East are currently living in the make-shift encampment on the edge of town hoping to start a new life in Britain.

Razor-wire fencing has been extended around the motorway leading to the port as part of increased security measures to prevent migrants clambering on board trucks heading to the UK.

The hundreds of irregular migrants detected every day whilst still in France but attempting to reach the UK who are currently simply returned to the French authorities would have arrived in the UK and would have to be processed here.

A UKIP councillor claimed the scrapping of border controls in Calais would have a catastrophic effect on south of England.

Andrew Richardson, UKIP group leader of Dover District Council, said: The scrapping of the Le Touquet agreement could well be carnage for Dover and Folkestone.

The French cannot simply open the flood gates and let the thousands of migrants waiting in Calais to walk through the Channel Tunnel.

This is a potentially catastrophic result of the Brexit vote.

The disruption [to cross-channel traffic] last summer by the migrants was disastrous for Dover and Folkestone.

He added: If a jungle-style migrant camp were to open in Dover UKIP would have to share some of the responsibility for it happening because we have called for Britain to leave the EU.

But the French have been calling for the scrapping of the Le Touquet agreement long before the Brexit vote. So this problem could have arisen whether we were in the EU or not.

The existence of a migrant camp on either side of the channel  in Calais or Dover  shows that we have failed to deal with this problem effectively.

The idea that border controls return to the UK has been greeted by concern in Dover. Debbie Brooks (left) and Susan Fellows (right) said the influx of people would stretch border officials to breaking point

Glenn Morley (pictured with his family) said leaving the EU was a bad idea and had triggered the potential problem of the border being moved: There would be thousands of people arriving on our shores and we wont know who they are.'

Paul Cooper, 52, added: Its sad for the people that are in France and want to come to Britain but we cant afford to look after everyone.

Yesterday people in Dover told of their fears at the threat of large scale illegal immigration and migrant camps near their homes.

Susan Fellows, 72, said: We dont want all those people coming over from Calais. We can barely look after our own people, let alone look after everyone else.

Debbie Brooks, legal secretary, 57, said: Bringing the border controls back to Dover would not be good.

I think the Border Agency and HM Customs are stretched enough as it is, I dont know how they would be able to cope.

Having a migrant camp in Dover would certainly put people off from coming to the area.

And if people are able to get across easily then it will encourage others to try to come illegally too.

Paul Cooper, 52, unemployed said: The UK border moving from Calais to Dover would be a bad thing.

Its sad for the people that are in France and want to come to Britain but we cant afford to look after everyone.

Razor-wire fencing has been extended around the motorway leading to the Calais port as part of increased security measures to prevent migrants clambering on board trucks heading to the UK

Last week French President Francois Hollande said: 'Calling into question the Touquet deal on the pretext that Britain has voted for Brexit and will have to start negotiations to leave the Union doesnt make sense.'

Glenn Morley, 45, a storeman, said: I do not think coming out of the EU would be a good idea and this is one of the problems.

Its sad for the people that are in France and want to come to Britain but we cant afford to look after everyone.

There would be thousands of people arriving on our shores and we wont know who they are.

They could well be refugees or migrants looking for a new life but they could also be terrorists and we wont be able to keep them out.

Today the Home Office tried to play down the threat of ending UK border controls at Calais but failed to offer a solution if the agreement was scrapped.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: Last week French President Francois Hollande said: Calling into question the Touquet deal on the pretext that Britain has voted for Brexit and will have to start negotiations to leave the Union doesnt make sense.

She added: French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: The Touquet agreement, which allows the intervention of British forces in Calais, just as it allows French forces in Dover, is not being called into question following the exit of the UK from the European Union.

Under the terms of Le Touquet agreement, no change to the location of the Anglo-French border could legally be made for two years

P&O Ferries say they are confident new measures will be put in place to prevent illegal immigrants over-running their services from Calais to Dover if UK border controls in France are scrapped

Last year UK Border guards foiled 30,629 attempts to cross to Britain illegally between April and July  an annual rate of 92,000, according to the latest Home Office figures

P&O Ferries say they are confident new measures will be put in place to prevent illegal immigrants over-running their services from Calais to Dover if UK border controls in France are scrapped.

Spokesman Dan Bridgett told MailOnline: Under the terms of Le Touquet agreement, no change to the location of the Anglo-French border could legally be made for two years.

Given that the French presidential election is not until May 2017, then in practical terms the earliest that current arrangements could be changed is May 2019  three years away.
Germany has toughened its rape laws in the wake of the Cologne New Year sex attacks carried out by migrant mobs.

The German parliament passed legislation today broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport foreign nationals who commit them.

It comes after a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne and following years of debate on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the criminal justice system.

There was a standing ovation as the law passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority, following an emotional debate. All 601 politicians participating in the debate voted in favour of the new measures.

Germany is to toughen its rape laws in the wake of the Cologne New Year sex attacks carried out by migrant mobs. A man holds up a 'No violence against women' sign in Cologne during a demonstration last year

Dubbed the 'No means No' law by the media, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back.

The legislation, entitled 'improving the protection of sexual self-determination', also lowers the bar for deporting sexual offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.

'It is crucial that we finally embed the principle 'No means No' in criminal law and make every non-consensual sexual act a punishable offence,' said deputy Eva Hoegl of the Social Democrats, one of the law's sponsors.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet signed off on plans for the new legislation in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year's Eve.

The attacks were blamed largely on Arab and North African men.

The city's police chief conceded that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and which inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants.

It comes after a rash of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne (pictured)

A trial is set to begin today of two men accused of committing sexual assault in the city as crowds gathered on New Year's Eve.

The defendants covered their faces as proceedings got underway in the case in Cologne, Germany, this morning

Meanwhile, a trial is set to begin today of two men accused of committing sexual assault in the city as crowds gathered on New Year's Eve.

Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that under German law there were 'unacceptable gaps in protection' against sexual coercion and assault.

Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must not only demonstrate that they verbally declined sex but also that they physically resisted their assailant.

The new law is intended to cover 'the actual situations in which most attacks occur', Maas said.

These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence, for example in an abusive relationship.

Parliament had in January already made it easier to expel migrants and refugees convicted of crimes.

But along with sexual offences, it required proof of additional 'violence, threats or physical endangerment' and generally a prison sentence of at least one year before an attacker could be deported.

The German parliament is set to pass legislation broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport foreign nationals who commit them

The reform means any sexual assault can be used against an applicant in an immigration or asylum hearing.

It also specifically upgrades groping to a sex crime with sentences of up to two years' jail or a fine.

Merkel's conservative parliamentary group included a stipulation making it illegal to be part of a group committing assaults in a crowd, rather than requiring proof that a specific person attacked a victim.

Anyone 'who at least tacitly accepts that crimes are committed by a group they are a part of' can now be prosecuted.

News agency DPA cited figures that 8,000 rapes are reported in Germany each year but that only one in 10 victims files charges. Moreover, only one in 10 rape complaints leads to a conviction.
They say a dog is man's best friend - and this footage proves it.

Captured on CCTV, this is the moment a heroic canine came to a shop keeper's rescue to fight off an armed robber.

The footage begins in fairly mundane fashion. A man is seen tidying up as the Mont D'or tobacconist in Manosque, France gets ready to close for the day.

This was the terrifying scene captured on CCTV when an armed robber stormed a shop in Manosque, France

Picking up a litter bin, he goes to empty it outside.

As the man makes his way back into the shop, he is ambushed by a person wearing a mask and holding what looks like a gun.

The worker runs behind the counter, seemingly to fill up a bag of cash for the robber, but that's when Hobby steps in.

The dog races round, snapping at the legs of the assailant, forcing him out of the shop.

But Hobby decided that the robber was not going to triumph in this particular incident, and snapped at the legs

Get out of here! Both man and dog then chased the assailant outside, where they continued to fight back

The owner then fights back, and the pair can be seen trading blows on the pavement outside, with the four-year-old dog still getting involved.

Speaking to hauteprovenceinfo.com, the owner claimed it was the fourth time he had been attacked in 10 years.

Manosque police are investigating the incident. Neither the dog nor the owner were harmed and the robber fled empty-handed.
Opinion / Columnist

The country's deplorable health situation made worse by Mugabe's persistence in flying out of the country for all his and his family's health needs is the one issue that had the smooth talking Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa stammering lost for words on BBC Hardtalk!"We have discussed how bad the hospitals are, maternity healthcare in particular is awful," said the Hardtalk presenter, Zeinab Badawi. And the people see President Mugabe's daughter jetting off to give birth somewhere else."How do you think most Zimbabweans would view that?"Minister Chinamasa had accepted the invitation to appear on Hardtalk because it was an oppor-tunity for the Zanu PF regime to once again blame the British government of PM Tony Blair for reneging on its commitments to fund the land redistribution which left Mugabe with no choice but to seize the white owned farms to give to the landless blacks. The British and its Western Allies responded to the farm seizure by imposing sanctions of Zimbabwe.Sanctions are "the Genesis" of Zimbabwe's economic problem, insisted Minister Chinamasa.Minister Chinamasa has been in Mugabe's government for donkey years and he, of all Muga-be's cronies, is well versed in the tyrant's tactics of denying responsibility for everything that has gone wrong and blaming it all on "the illegal sanctions imposed by the evil British Imperial-ists and their Allies." But even a seasoned parrot like Chinamasa can fluff his lines."We should go for a situation where most Zimbabweans are seeking treatment at home and not outside!" replied the Minister, after repeated attempt to avoid answering the question. The question of Mugabe and his family jetting off at the drop of a hat even for the most routine health checks is, without doubt, the one question that took the Minister way outside his comfort zone.The President's daughter and her entourage of security details and the usual hangers-on jetted off to the Far East and were there for more than a month. The President's wife and her entou-rage then joined the daughter and they too were there for more than a month. Then the Presi-dent too jetted off with his own even bigger team of security details and hangers-on in a hired Air Zimbabwe Jet to pick up his daughter, wife, grandson, and their entourage. He did not land, pick them up and fly back; no he was in the Far East three days.Minister Chinamasa must have fallen off his chair when he was given the bill; Bona and her en-tourage's airfare, hospital and hotel bill and similarly Grace and her entourage and, of course, Mugabe's bill were all at public expense. Mugabe's overseas health checks cost $3 million; in 2012 alone he made 12 such trips. The cost to the nation of Mugabe's grandson must be $10 million, at least!"If the $10 million of public money spent on President Mugabe's grandson, had been spent up grading one maternity ward in just one of Zimbabwe's Hospitals surely the facility would have matched that of the Far East Hospital Bona used. The country would have benefited because the first class ward would now be used by other Zimbabwean mothers too. You are not blaming this criminal waste of the nation's resources on the British too are you?" Zeinab Badawi could have asked the, by then fidgeting Chinamasa. She did not have to because it is clear the Minis-ter had asked himself that question a thousand times."So the situation where some Zimbabweans feel that they should go outside the country (for treatment at PUBLIC expense) clearly needs attention!" admitted Minister Chinamasa.It was the firebrand Margret Dongo, herself a former Zanu PF MP and a war veteran, who said all Zanu PF leaders were Mugabe's wives "Vakadzi vaMugabe!" because none of them had the guts to stand up Mugabe even over a great national importance and the tyrant was hopelessly wrong! The present cases being one such case where Mugabe's decision to squander millions of dollars of public money on foreign health trip whilst the local health service, starved of funds, fails to provide even the most basic service is nothing short of high treason.Tendai Biti, Zimbabwe's former MDC Minister of Finance, has had to tell Mugabe to reduce his globe-trotting to save money. Biti refused to pay University fees of the students on the Presi-dential Scholarship - a highly partisan arrangement to benefit the children of Zanu PF party loy-alists' children but at taxpayer's expense.For a seasoned mukadzi waMugabe like Patrick Chinamasa telling Mugabe through the Hardtalk forum - he clearly is too blushful to tell the tyrant face to face - that the mounting bills for overseas health trips "need attention" is the closest Chinamasa will ever get to telling Muga-be enough is enough of this criminal waste of public resources to gratify his and his family's in-satiable greed!
Shocking footage captured the moment a woman attempted to solve a Rubik's Cube - while driving along a busy motorway.

A video shows the motorist driving along the M61 near Manchester at rush hour, completely engrossed in the puzzle.

Shocked onlooker Macauley Stephens spotted the woman and said she carried on for several miles, using both hands to complete the Rubik's Cube - and was oblivious she was being filmed.

The video footage shows the woman completely engrossed in the puzzle as she drives along the motorway

But incredibly, after being spotted fiddling with the 3D puzzle  invented by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Erno Rubik  the driver continued to play with it.

Mr Stephens filmed the incident as he travelled from Manchester to Bolton.

The 21-year-old said: 'When I spotted the woman I honestly couldn't believe what I was seeing, I was shocked more than anything.

'How she could concentrate while driving on a busy motorway at peak time beggars belief.'

The shocking clip was captured by another motorist travelling along the M61 near Manchester

The woman used both hands to solve the puzzle - despite driving along the busy motorway at rush hour

Mr Stephens added: 'She saw me looking at her - as you can see in the clip - and she wasn't even affected at all. She just carried on for several more miles doing the puzzle.'

After capturing the footage on his mobile phone Mr Stephens tweeted it to police, but said he hasn't heard anything from the force.

Mail Online has contacted Greater Manchester Police for comment.
Canterbury Cathedral has been forced to apologise after a security guard told an Argentinian-born dance teacher, 'Dover's that way, love'.

Silvina Fairbass, 33, who has lived in Britain for 12 years, visited the cathedral on June 27 - just days after the country voted to leave the European Union.

The mother-of-two approached the guard at the main gate to ask for directions on her way into the cathedral precinct but was met with the offensive remarks.

Offensive: Argentinian-born dance teacher Silvina Fairbass, 33, who has lived in Britain for 12 years, was told 'Dover's that way, love', when she approached a guard for directions at the main gate of Canterbury Cathedral

Mrs Fairbrass, who runs her own business, Zumba Fitness, in the city said she had been wary to leave her home in the wake of the incident.

'I've always felt comfortable in this city, people have always been welcoming,' she said.

'But I think since the referendum, unfortunately, there has been a minority who see a platform to voice their opinions against foreigners.'

In a defiant Facebook post, Mrs Fairbrass, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dance, added: 'Yes, I'm a foreigner living in the UK.

'I'm also a British citizen, a hard-working person, a mum, a wife, a house owner, a teacher who inspires young people, I'm also an enthusiastic and positive person.

'I can speak two languages, I have two bilingual children, I have an amazing husband and I run my own successful little business.

Targeted: The mother-of-two, who runs her own business, Zumba Fitness, in the city said she had been wary to leave her home in the wake of the incident but said it is a 'minority' of Britons who hold those views

'So if you decided to shout and make jokes of me, that's your opinion and I feel sorry for you.'

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Justin Welby this week spoke of 'an outwelling of poison and hatred' that has followed the EU referendum result.

Canterbury Cathedral bosses said they have reprimanded the guard, a long-time employee, and apologised to Mrs Fairbrass in writing.

Receiver General, Brigadier John Meardon, told the Kentish Gazette: 'This happened at the Cathedral on sensitive days following the referendum.

'This is not how we expect our staff to behave. They should definitely know better.'

Mr Meardon said the Cathedral fully accepted the guard's comments were offensive. He added that the guard had said the comments 'on the spur of the moment'.

Apology: Canterbury Cathedral bosses said they have reprimanded the guard, a long-time employee, and apologised to Mrs Fairbrass in writing. Pictured, the cathedral in a file image

Mrs Fairbrass said she accepted that the guard had made a mistake and learned his lesson.

'The Cathedral has been very supportive,' she said. 'They reacted straightaway and very professionally. I don't want this to be a complaint against the church.'

She added: 'The day after the incident I didnt want to leave the house. I was thinking are others thinking this way? But I dont feel that now.
A policeman was hacked to death with a machete in an Islamist attack just days before 20 people were slaughtered in the Bangladeshi capital.

The terrorists carried out the latest deadly assault near a huge prayer in Kishoreganj where 200,000 people had gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

A bomb was thrown in front of police at Azim Uddin High School, which was being used by officers a checkpoint, before Molotov cocktails were thrown and gunfire was exchanged between terrorists and police, killing four and injuring at least 12 on Thursday morning.

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A suspected attacker is being detained by police officers after a bomb attack near the Sholakia Eid in Solakia, Kishoregonj, Bangladesh

The body of a suspected attacker lies on the ground after a bomb attack near the Sholakia Eid in Solakia, Kishoregonj, Bangladesh

Police operations during the bomb attack near the Sholakia Eid in Solakia, Kishoregonj, Bangladesh

Local TV station Somoy TV broadcast footage of the gunfight and reported the slain policeman had been hacked to death, who was one of two officers killed.

The other two was a woman named Jharna Rani Bhoumik and one of the attackers, according to the Dhaka Tribune.

The officers killed have been identified as Zahirul Islam and Ansarul who died in the initial bomb blast and two suspects were arrested.

Six injured policemen were transferred to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital after the bomb was hurled at them at 9.30am.

A revolver, machete and hand bomb were all recovered from the scene and one of the suspects arrested had been injured by gunfire.

Azim Uddin High School is less than 500m from the Sholakia Eid congregation and the road nearby the school leads where 200,000 Muslims were praying.

A policeman was hacked to death with a machete in an Islamist attack just days before 20 people were slaughtered in the Bangladeshi capital

A bomb was detonated at a school police were using as a checkpoint before Molotov cocktails were thrown and gunfire was exchanged between terrorists and police, killing four and injuring 12 on Thursday

The terrorists carried out the latest deadly assault near a huge prayer in Kishoreganj where 200,000 people had gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan

It's understood the terrorists were hiding inside the school, less than a mile away from the 200,000 Muslims celebrating Eid.

He was descending at the prayer by helicopter when the terrorists struck.

Mahbubur Rahman, a police officer in the district control room, said: 'They threw a bomb at a police checkpost. A police constable was killed in the explosion. One attacker was killed and another was arrested.'

Tofazzal Hosain, who is the district's deputy police chief, said several people had taken part in the attack and some had been armed with machetes - a hallmark of recent Islamist killings in Bangladesh.

'They first threw a small bomb targeting police and then attacked them with machetes. Police retaliated by returning gunfire,' he said.

The terrorists carried out the latest deadly assault near a huge prayer in Kishoreganj where 200,000 people had gathered to celebrate the end of Ramadan, just as these locals waited to board trains back to their villages

Travelers sit atop an overcrowded train as they travel to their villages ahead of the Eid Al-Fitr celebrations at the Airport Railway Station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, a day before the latest attrocities

Azimuddin Biswas, the district administrator, said the attack had taken place on the premises of a nearby school and not on the actual prayer ground.

'The congregation was not affected by the clashes,' according to Biswas.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, it comes less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in Dhaka.

Bangladesh has been on a heightened state of alert in the wake of the killings in Dhaka last Friday night and many services that were held on Thursday to mark the start of Eid included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence.

Five men, allegedly the gunmen who carried out an attack in the capital Dhaka on July 1, 2016 during which 20 hostages were slaughtered at a restaurant, posing with a rifle in front of a flag of the Islamic State jihadist group at an undisclosed location

Bangladesh security personnel stand on top of armored vehicles after militants took hostages at a restaurant popular with foreigners in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Saturday

'Allah, protect our country ... and protect our children from the evils of terrorism,' Mohammad Sadequl Islam, the local imam, told a gathering of around 5,000 devotees at Dhaka's Mahakhali neighbourhood on Thursday.

Many of those who attended services in Dhaka could be seen openly weeping as clerics led prayers for a more peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a growing wave of attacks since the turn of the year, many of which have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda network.

However Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has consistently denied that international jihadist networks have gained a foothold in the mainly Muslim country and have said the weekend attack in Dhaka was carried out by members of a local outlawed Islamist group.
Jane Khalaf, 19, pictured, died after ingesting ecstasy on a night out in Cologne, Germany, in 2014 and an inquest held there were 'lost opportunities' to save her life

A British student who died in Germany after ingesting ecstasy could have been saved if she had received different treatment in hospital, an inquest was told.

Jane Khalaf was rushed to hospital and put on life support for eight days after ingesting the drug while in Cologne in November 2014.

It remains unclear how the ecstasy got into her system but Miss Khalaf told staff at a German hospital that her 'drink had been spiked' before she died.

The inquest at Bradford Coroners Court heard that 19-year-old Miss Khalaf was admitted to the St Marien Hospital in Cologne the early hours of November 12, 2014, where she was given a preliminary examination, but no blood test was taken.

Around four hours later she collapsed and fell into a coma.

She was transferred to the Merheim hospital also in Cologne and placed on life support where she remained for eight days before she eventually died on November 20, 2014.

The inquest found Miss Khalaf died from swelling of the brain caused by low levels of sodium in the blood, a rare complication of ecstasy use.

Coroner Martin Fleming said it was likely that if the condition had been treated she would still be alive today.

He added: 'It is found more likely than not that there were several lost opportunities to monitor and treat her low sodium blood levels whilst at St Marien's Hospital and that had she been treated it would have prevented her death.'

Miss Khalaf, of Huddersfield, was in her second year at Northumbria University studying politics when she died.

Her father Khalil and mother Rojin, who fled to the UK from Syria in 1978 amid unrest, own Huddersfield's Med One restaurant.

Her family (left to right, brother Kevin, 11, mother Rojin, father Khalil and sister Naze, 18) say they have unanswered questions about her death, including how the drug got in her system

Miss Khalaf is said to have told doctors in Germany her 'drink had been spiked' and her mother, right, and father have said she was 'vehemently anti-drugs'

The family has instructed specialist international personal injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to represent them at the inquest and to help investigate what happened to Jane over in Germany.

The student had completed only six weeks of her course in western Germany when she died on November 20.

She had been on a night out with friends at the citys annual carnival.

As previously reported, family and friends said the teenager was 'vehemently anti-drugs' and never used them.

Speaking shortly after Miss Khalaf's death, friend Charlotte Lewis, who flew out to Germany with the family, said: Jane couldnt have been more against drugs.

'She would stay away from people she knew who were meddling with stuff like that.'

Her death sent shockwaves through the community in her home town of Huddersfield and scores of people attended her funeral, pictured

Miss Khalaf had been studying politics at Northumbria University and was on an international course in Germany at the time of her death

Chrissie Wolfe, an expert international personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Miss Khalaf's parents Khalil and Rojin, said: 'The last 18 months have been extremely difficult for Jane's family and Khalil and Rojin have been left absolutely heartbroken by their daughter's death.

'We are currently supporting the Khalaf family as they continue to have a number of unanswered questions concerning how Jane came to ingest ecstasy and whether more could have been done to diagnose the severity of her condition and administer treatment which may ultimately have prevented her death.

'We have begun investigations into the treatment Jane was provided at the St Marien Hospital.
Thirteen states have asked a federal court in Texas to block President Obama's transgender bathroom policy from being imposed in publicly funded schools until they get a full hearing in the case.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion on behalf of the coalition of Texas and a dozen other states.

Paxton said: 'Schools are facing the potential loss of funding for simply exercising the authority to implement the policies that best protect their students.'

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Conservative states want to block the imposition of gender inclusive toilets on publicly funded schools

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, pictured, claims schools could face financial penalties if they implement policies they think are best able to protect their students and ignore the new federal gender neutral rules

The school case is one of several planned by conservative states to block the controversial measure.

Under the plan, students in publicly funded schools will be entitled to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.

The states argue federal civil rights protections only go as far as biological sex.

A Justice Department official told the states' lawyers that the department opposed the motion, but agreed to respond to it faster than usual so that the matter could be resolved before the start of the 2016-17 school year, according to the injunction motion.

The Justice Department declined to comment, 'due to pending litigation'.

It must respond to the injunction request by July 27, according to the motion.

The lawsuit is expected to be heard by conservative judges at the district and appeals court levels, and could end up heading to the US Supreme Court if the appeals court rules against the Obama administration.

The Justice Department is also battling North Carolina in federal court over a North Carolina state law approved in March that prohibits people from using public restrooms not corresponding to the sex on their birth certificates.

The Justice Department asked the court in that case to enjoin the North Carolina law late on Tuesday.
ISIS has beheaded six of its own militants for 'treason' after they were accused of handing over information to coalition spies.

Fanatics rounded up the group, all members of the terror group's security wing, in the al-Hisba neighbourhood of Mosul in northwestern Iraq.

The men were accused of leaking details to the US-led coalition whose airstrikes recently killed a series of top ISIS officials. They were then dragged to the city centre and executed in public.

ISIS has beheaded six of its own militants in Mosul (file picture) for 'treason' after they were accused of handing over information to coalition spies

Media activist Abdullah al-Malla told the AhlulBayt News Agency: 'After interrogation, the Mosul Sharia Court issued a decision to publicly execute the six suspects. The terrorists were beheaded in front of dozens of ISIS officials in central Mosul.'

It comes days after the Pentagon said two senior ISIS commanders were killed in a US airstrike in Mosul in late June.

The strike killed ISIS's deputy war minister, Basim Muhammad Ahmad Sultan al-Bajari, and a military commander named Hatim Talib al-Hamduni.

Al-Bajari is suspected of organising mustard gas attacks and leading the group's takeover of Mosul in 2014.

'These deaths are the latest in coalition efforts to systematically eleiminate ISIL's cabinet wherever they hide,' Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

The men were accused of leaking details to the US-led coalition whose airstrikes recently killed a series of top ISIS officials. They were then dragged to the city centre and executed in public (file picture)

The fall of Fallujah means that Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, is ISIS's only remaining urban stronghold in Iraq. It has become the terror group's capital

This image made from video released by Iraq's Ministry of Defense on July 2, 2016, shows aerial images of purported air strikes on an Islamic State group convoy and militants near Fallujah

'Disrupting their ability to plot external terror attacks and hold onto the territory they use to claim legitimacy.'

Cook said Al-Bajari was an experienced terrorist and a former member of Al-Qaeda. Al-Hamduni was also the head of military police in the region.

Both men were killed as they rode in a car together, a senior defense official said. They were the only two people inside the vehicle.

The announcement came less than a week after Iraqi ground forces backed by coalition airstrikes retook the city of Fallujah from ISIS and launched strikes against forces fleeing the city.
Fifteen people have died of heart attacks and heat exhaustion as they sat in a horror traffic jam at an Indonesian road junction known as Brexit.

Traffic snarled back for miles at the exit road at Brebes, in Central Java, from which it earned its local name of Brexit.

Trapped in cars and buses in scorching temperatures, passengers and drivers passed out and the death toll began to steadily rise with people reluctant to leave their vehicles as the line of traffic inched forward hour by hour.

Traffic has been particularly heavy in the last week as Muslim Indonesians return home to celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the end of the holy month of Ramadan

Local media reported 13 people had died in the same day at the Brexit junction but the Indonesian Health Ministry said 15 people had died over three days.

But the death toll, which coincided with the start of the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday, has shocked health officials who have warned vulnerable people such as adults with heart problems and children not to undertake the journey until the congestion has eased.

Achmad Yurianto, head of the Health Ministry's crisis centre, told the Jakarta Globe varied risk factors had resulted in the deaths of holiday travellers.

The highway is a toll road so hundreds of motorists have to queue up to go through the tollgates

He said: 'Fatigue and dehydration are among the fatal elements that can cause deaths, especially among vulnerable groups of children and parents.

'In addition, a vehicle's small and closed cabin with extensive use of air conditioning will lower the oxygen rate and increases CO2.'

The ministry is so concerned about the rising death toll it has set up an emergency medical line specifically to cope with calls from motorists in distress as they sit in traffic jams.

The Globe said private vehicles and buses were locked down at the Brexit junction for hours.

The only people doing well out of the traffic jam are the hawkers, who do a roaring trade in selling water, soft drinks and food to the fed-up motorists

Brebes is a town which sits in the heart of the fertile plains of central Java and the exit has given the junction the name Brexit

Health ministry officials have set up a special helpline for trapped motorists concerned about a relative
A soldier's sister who described Tony Blair as 'the world's worst terrorist' after the Chilcot report has challenged the former prime minister to meet the grieving families of British service personnel.

Sarah O'Connor, whose brother, Sergeant Bob O'Connor, was killed in 2005, accused the former premier of failing to 'look us in the eye' after the historic report into Britain's involvement in the war.

She hit out at Mr Blair's appearance before television cameras yesterday afternoon, in which he delivered a lengthy statement and took questions from journalists.

Elsewhere, Lord Macdonald, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, suggested Mr Blair could face charges for misconduct in public office.

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Sarah O'Connor, whose brother died in a plane crash in Iraq, called for Blair to 'look families in the eye'

Blair, pictured leaving his home this morning, was yesterday branded a 'terrorist' by Ms O'Connor

Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, she said: 'There is one final thing I would like to say to Mr Blair. He said yesterday that while he takes responsibility he can look the families in the eye. Well, looking down the lens of a camera is not looking us in the eye.

'So, Mr Blair, challenge accepted. I've thrown down the gauntlet. Come and look me in the eye.'

She added: 'He's had enough requests from us, he's always refused.

'He wouldn't look us in the eye when he came to give his evidence and he wasn't there yesterday. He was protected by signed-off, lawyer-approved, damage limitation ... a two-hour, rambling indictment of the inquiry findings.

'He's so disillusioned by his own sense of self-power. There's a disconnect because looking down the lens of a camera is not looking people in the eye.'

She told Mr Blair: 'So come meet us. Do it in a TV studio. Do it where you choose. But do it.'

Engineering technician Sergeant O'Connor was killed alongside nine others when their Hercules military plane was shot down near Baghdad in 2005.

In a statement at the time, comrades said: 'He was held in the highest esteem and regard by his work colleagues and superiors for his knowledge, dedication and professionalism.

'During his tours, he was an active sportsman and a keen participant in all aspects of the fabric of station life. He will be sadly missed.'

Ms OConnor fought back tears yesterday after the publication of the Chilcot report as she condemned Mr Blairs behaviour and his failure to offer families a face-to-face apology.

There is one terrorist in this world that the world needs to be aware of, and his name is Tony Blair  the worlds worst terrorist, she said, to claps and cheers from other relatives. If he is so sure of his decision, why is he not here, looking at our eyes and actually seeing our faces?

Sergeant O'Connor was one of 10 British servicemen who died when their plane crashed in Iraq in 2005

Blair said yesterday he expressed 'sorrow' for those who died, but said he would go to war with Iraq again

Lord Macdonald, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, suggested Mr Blair could face charges for misconduct in public office.

He highlighted a 2003 assurance to Attorney General Lord Goldsmith that Saddam Hussein had committed fresh material breaches of UN Security Council resolution 1441. It is not clear what basis Mr Blair had for giving the assurance.

'In behaving in this disreputable way to win tainted legal backing for massive armed conflict, it seems very likely that Mr Blair roundly abused the trust placed in him by the public.

'The only remaining question is whether he had a reasonable excuse. Mr Blair, of course, will resort to familiar claims of security Armageddon in the event of Saddam's survival in power but Chilcot and history have combined to expose his defence as a busted flush,' Lord Macdonald said.

But human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson warned prosecuting Mr Blair was a 'fantasy'.

Writing in the Guardian, he said: 'This hypothetical, however engaging, is a legal impossibility.

'Instead, we need to concentrate on how the law should be changed to ensure that future leaders who wage wars of aggression can be brought to account.'

Grieving relatives, who had feared the report on the war would be a whitewash, yesterday hailed Sir John Chilcot's scathing criticism of the former prime minister as a complete vindication.

But they expressed their anger towards Mr Blair, saying he will 'never be forgiven' and insisting that their loved ones died 'in vain'.

Many could not contain their emotion as they watched Sir John deliver a summary of his findings, which finally gives them some answers after years of delays and which they feel supports their long-held belief that Mr Blair led British soldiers into the war in 2003 on flimsy grounds.

Dozens of family members of the 179 soldiers killed in Iraq stood in solidarity at a press conference after being handed copies of the long-awaited report, with many clutching photographs of their deceased loved ones.

Rose Gentle, whose 19-year-old son Gordon died when a roadside bomb destroyed his vehicle in 2004, said Mr Blair would never be forgiven for his actions.

Bereft: Dawn Holmes, the heartbroken mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes, who died in Iraq, cries as she clutches a picture of her child after the Chilcot report was released while Sarah O' Connor, whose brother Sergeant Bob O'Connor also died, kisses his picture

Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon, 19, was killed in Iraq holds the hand of Sarah O'Connor, whose brother Bob also died in the conflict

Mrs Gentle called for the former Labour leader to be held accountable as he offered a meagre apology and insisted that British troops had not died in vain.

She said: He will be remembered not as a prime minister but as a person who sent them on an illegal war. I would love to see him in court. I hope he goes to bed at night and thinks what the hell have I done? because hell never be forgiven.

Reg Keys  whose son 20-year-old Lance Corporal Thomas Keys from Gwynedd, Wales, was killed as he guarded a police station in 2003, four days before his 21st birthday and two weeks before he was due home  said it was clear his son died in vain after Mr Blair deliberately misled the country.

Mr Keys, who has fought tirelessly for the truth and stood against Mr Blair in his Sedgefield constituency in the 2005 general election, added: When we look at Iraq on our TV screens today, the 200-plus deaths that took place the other day [in an Islamic State bomb attack in Baghdad], I can only conclude that sadly, my son died in vain.

Now we have had the endorsement of a thorough, robust inquiry, which has endorsed all the families fears that these young men and women were deployed on the basis of a falsehood. It has given us a launchpad to go forward and search for yet more answers.

Messages which passed between Tony Blair and George W Bush in the build-up to the Iraq war were published in the Chilcot report

At an emotional press conference following the report's release held by some of the relatives and their lawyers, Ms O'Connor said Blair should 'look us in the eye', as she described him as 'the world's worst terrorist'

The families were yesterday praised for acting with patience, dignity and courage despite being left in the dark about the reports contents before its publication.

They are considering taking legal action against Mr Blair on the grounds he misled Parliament to justify the invasion. Their lawyer Matthew Jury said that the group will consider all legal options after undertaking a full and forensic review of Chilcots findings in the coming weeks.

The soldiers relatives believe Mr Blair could be guilty of malfeasance in public office by misusing his constitutional powers, which led to mass casualties.

Their call for him to be taken to court was backed by Labour politician Paul Flynn who said the report was an utter condemnation of Mr Blairs decision to invade Iraq. The shadow Commons leader, who voted against going to war, said: I think there should be serious consideration of him being prosecuted for this.

Former SNP leader Alex Salmond said some form of Parliamentary action could be taken, adding: These were decisions made by a human being and that prime minister was Tony Blair.

The International Criminal Court, however, has said Mr Blair would not face war crime charges as his decision to go to war is outside its jurisdiction.

There have been suggestions the ICC could probe more than 1,000 allegations that UK forces tortured and mistreated Iraqi prisoners.

However, the government has insisted the court does not have the power to do so because a domestic investigation of allegations has begun.

Families of some of the soldiers killed in the Iraq War plan to take legal action against Tony Blair, following today's long-awaited report into the conflict. Pictured are protesters outside the former Prime Minister's home yesterday

Relatives and friends of the servicemen and women who died in iraq outside the Queen Elizabeth II Centre

179 dead: The brave British servicemen and women who lost their lives in the Iraq War

The six-year Iraq War claimed the lives of 179 British servicemen and women before the conflict came to an end in May 2009.

According to a study of the war-torn nation, an estimated 461,000 Iraqis were also killed between March 2003 and June 2011 as a direct or indirect result of the fighting.

Here are the faces of the British men and women who died for their country:

(left to right top row) Captain Philip Guy, Naval Rating Ian Seymour, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Mark Stratford (Silhouette), Marine Sholto Hedenskog, Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans, Colour Sgt John Cecil, Major Jason Ward, Sergeant Les Hehir, Lt Philip Green, Lt Tony King; Lt James Williams, Lt Philip West, Lt Marc Lawrence, Lt Andrew Wilson, Flight Lt Kevin Main, Flight Lt Dave Williams (Silhouette), Sapper Luke Allsopp, Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, Sergeant Steven Roberts, Lance-Corporal Barry Stephen;

(left to right second row) Corporal Stephen Allbutt, Trooper David Clarke, Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, Royal Marine Christopher Maddison, Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, Major Stephen Ballard, Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, Lance Corporal Karl Shearer, Fusilier Kelan John Turrington, Lance Corporal Ian Malone, Piper Christopher Muzvuru, Lt Alexander Tweedie, Lance Corporal James McCue, Private Andrew Kelly, Gunner Duncan Pritchard (Silhouette), Corporal David Sheppard (Silhouette), Leonard Harvey, Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, Corporal Russell Aston, Corporal Paul Graham Long;

(left to right third row) Corporal Simon Miller, Lance Corporal Benjamin McGowan Hyde, Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, Captain James Linton, Private Jason Smith (silhouette), Captain David Jones, Major Matthew Titchener, Warrant Officer Colin Wall, Corporal Dewi Pritchard, Fusilier Russell Beeston, Sergeant John Nightingale, Corporal Ian Plank, Private Ryan Thomas, Major James Stenner (Silhouette), Sergeant Norman Patterson (Silhouette), Lance Corporal Andrew Craw, Rifleman Vincent Windsor, Sapper Robert Thompson, Corporal Richard Ivell, Fusilier Gordon Gentle;

(left to right fourth row) Flight Lt Kristian Gover (Silhouette), Private Christopher Rayment, Private Lee O'Callaghan, Private Marc Ferns, Lance Corporal Paul Thomas, Fusilier Steven Jones, Corporal Marc Taylor, Gunner David Lawrence (Silhouette), Private Kevin McHale, Staff Sergeant Denise Rose, Private Paul Lowe, Sergeant Stuart Gray, Private Scott McArdle, Private Pita Tukatukawaqa (Silhouette), Sergeant Paul Connolly (Silhouette), Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, Flight Lt David Stead, Flight Lt Andrew Smith, Flight Lt Paul Pardoel, Master Engineer Gary Nicholson;

(left to right fifth row) Chief Technician Richard Brown, Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, Sergeant Robert O'Connor, Corporal David Williams, Acting Lance-Corporal Steven Jones, Private Mark Dobson, Guardsman Anthony Wakefield, Lance-Corporal Alan Brackenbury, Signaller Paul Didsbury, 2nd Lt Richard Shearer, Private Philip Hewett, Private Leon Spicer, Fusilier Donal Meade, Fusilier Stephen Manning, Major Matthew Bacon, Captain Ken Masters, Sergeant Chris Hickey, Sergeant John Jones, Lance Corporal Allan Douglas, Corporal Gordon Pritchard;

(left to right sixth row) Trooper Carl Smith, Captain Richard Holmes, Private Lee Ellis, Lt Richard Palmer, Flight Lt Sarah-Jane Mulvihill, Wing Commander John Coxen, Lt Commander Darren Chapham, Lt David Dobson, Marine Paul Collins, Private Joseva Lewaicei, Private Adam Morris, Lt Tom Mildinhall, Lance Corporal Paul Farrelly, Corporal John Cosby, Corporal Matthew Cornish, Gunner Samuela Vanua, Gunner Stephen Wright, Gunner Lee Thornton, Lance Corporal Dennis Brady, Lt Tom Tanswell;

(left to right seventh row) Kingsman Jamie Hancock, Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, Warrant Officer 2nd Class Lee Hopkins, Marine Jason Hylton, Corporal Ben Nowak, Sergeant Jonathon Hollingsworth (Silhouette), Sergeant Graham Hesketh, Sergeant Wayne Rees, Kingsman Alex Green, Private Michael Tench, 2nd Lt Jonathan Bracho-Cooke, Private Luke Daniel Simpson, Rifleman Daniel Coffey, Private Jonathon Dany Wysoczan, Kingsman Danny Wilson, Rifleman Aaron Lincoln, Corporal Kris O'Neill, Second Lieutenant Joanna Yorke Dyer, Kingsman Adam James Smith, Private Eleanor Dlugosz;

(left to right eighth row) Colour Sergeant Mark Powell, Sergeant Mark J McLaren, Corporal Ben Leaning, Trooper Kristen Turton, Kingsman Alan Joseph Jones, Rifleman Paul Donnachie, Major Nick Bateson, Private Kevin Thompson, Corporal Jeremy Brookes, Corporal Rodney Wilson, Lance Corporal James Cartwright, Major Paul Harding, Corporal John Rigby, Corporal Paul Joszko, Private Scott Kennedy, Private James Kerr, Rifleman Edward Vakabua, Lance Corporal Ryan Francis, Corporal Christopher Read, Aircraftsman Peter McFerran;
'My CV is exactly accurate, so there's nothing to regret'

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Theresa May won a landslide victory in the final ballot of Tory MPs tonight as Michael Gove was sensationally knocked out, pitting the Home Secretary against Andrea Leadsom in the battle for Downing Street.

The result means Britain will have its second female prime minister in history in nine weeks time. The successor to David Cameron will be decided in a ballot of 150,000 Conservative party members over the summer recess with the result due by September 9.

Mrs May received 199 of the votes to Mrs Leadsom's 84, with Mr Gove trailing far behind on just 46 votes. It also means both sides of the EU referendum campaign are represented in the final showdown, with Mrs May from the Remain camp and Mrs Leadsom an enthusiastic Brexit supporter.

But her one-time leadership rival Boris Johnson hailed Mrs Leadsom's 'stunning achievement' and said she is 'now well placed to win' the leadership contest.

And her campaign chief Tim Loughton said the result was proof the Conservative party had changed. 'They both went to state schools, they are both women, hey, that's pretty quirky for the Tory party. Isn't this the new sort of Tory party?' he said.

Even Labour acknowledged Tory MPs for nominating two women but insisted the result should not overshadow their 'record of failure' in government.

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Theresa May (pictured) won a landslide victory in the final ballot of Tory MPs tonight as Michael Gove was sensationally knocked out, pitting the Home Secretary against Andrea Leadsom in the battle to become prime minister.

Mrs May received 199 of the votes to Mrs Leadsom's 84, with Mr Gove trailing far behind on just 46 votes. It also means both sides of the EU referendum campaign are represented in the final showdown

The result was humiliating for Mr Gove, who remarkably lost two votes since the last round of voting on Tuesday after a cynical attempt by his campaign chief to urge backers of Mrs May to lend votes to the Justice Secretary to exclude Mrs Leadsom, a right-winger, from the final shortlist.

But reacting to the result tonight, Mr Gove paid tribute to the two women, saying they both possessed 'formidable skills' who will 'lead this country well'.

Speaking outside parliament immediately after the vote, the triumphant Mrs May said she was 'delighted' to have won 'such wide support from my colleagues' .

'This vote shows that the Conservative Party can come together and under my leadership it will,' she said. She insisted she had 'always said there should be a contest'.

She added: 'Now is the time for me and my team to take my case out to the party members in the country. This is based on three things.We need proven leadership to negotiate the best deal for leaving the European Union.

'We need to unite our party and our country. We need to make Britain a country that works not just for the few but for everyone.

'These are the things that my colleagues voted for in such numbers today. These are the things that will win support of members across the country and, indeed, the whole country.'

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson has revealed she is backing Home Secretary Theresa May to be the UK's next prime minister.

She described Mrs May as a 'proper grown up', adding that she is 'best placed to navigate the stormy waters ahead'.

The result means Britain will have its second female prime minister within nine weeks, with the winner to be decided in a ballot of 150,000 Conservative party members over the summer recess.

Remarkably, Michael Gove (pictured outside Parliamnet after being knocked out of the contest this evening) lost two votes since the first round of voting on Tuesday, suggesting a cynicla attempt by Nick Boles to exclude Mrs Leadsom from this round backfired.

Remarkably, Mr Gove lost two votes since the first round of voting on Tuesday night, suggesting a cynical attempt by Nick Boles to exclude Mrs Leadsom from the final round backfired spectacularly.

He circulated an extraordinary message saying he was 'seriously frightened' Mrs Leadsom would win as Conservative MPs prepared to whittle down the field to two candidates tonight.

In a round of interviews today, Mrs Leadsom dismissed the tactic as 'not honourable'. Reacting to being excluded from the final shortlist tonight, Mr Gove said: 'Both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are formidable politicians and they deserve to be in the final two.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? HOW THE TORY ELECTION WORKS The leadership election is a two-stage process - first Conservative MPs have their say, then members of the party all around the country are able to vote. MPs have now voted twice in secret ballots on Tuesday and Thursday, with Liam Fox being knocked out after getting just six backers in the first round. Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb also dropped out voluntarily and threw his support behind hot favourite Theresa May. The remaining three candidates were whittled down to two in a vote today, with Michael Gove knocked out, pitting Theresa May against Andrea Leadsom in the ballot of Tory members. The two women will now make their pitch to the 150,000 members of the party, with the winner determined by postal voting. The new leader is due to be announced on September 9 and is likely to be appointed Prime Minister later that day. Only full members of the party who pay their 25 subscription are entitled to vote - unlike in Labour's leadership contest, where supporters could register for just 3. Members must have been signed up for at least three months to be valid for a vote in the contest. Advertisement

'One thing is important and significant and welcome. Whoever the next PM of this country will be, it will be a female PM and a female PM has formidable skills and I know whichever one of the two wins will lead this country well.

'It's now up to the Conservative Party and the wider country to assess the skills, abilities, and the leadership potential of these two candidates.

'Over the course of the next few weeks, we will have an opportunity to have a debate about the direction in which the country should go which will be civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic.'

He added: 'I'm glad in the course of the last week I have been able to play a part in that debate by standing up for people on average and below average wages, calling for greater economic and social justice and saying our first concern should always be the fate of the vulnerable and the voiceless, the dispossessed and the powerless in our society.

'I hope in the future to continue to be a voice for those people.'

Mr Johnson's enthusiastic backing tonight will give her a major boost in her efforts to win over the Tory grassroots.

In a statement the former Mayor of London - who was forced to abort his own leadership campaign after Mr Gove brutally deserted him to stand himself last week, said: 'Many congratulations to both Andrea and Theresa.

'For the second time in history the conservatives will have a female prime minster, proving that we are the not just the greatest but the most progressive party in Britain.

'I want to offer particular congratulations to Andrea Leadsom on her stunning achievement.

'She is now well placed to win and replace the absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive confident and optimistic approach, not just to Europe, but to government all round.'

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith also hailed Mrs Leadsom's victory and dismissed any claims she lacks the experience to be prime minister.

He said she had 'real steel' but within the 'velvet glove of compassion'. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament he said: 'I think Andrea Leadsom is fantastically qualified for the job.'

He added: 'Today we have two strong women candidates going to the country, we will have a woman prime minister. It says to women all over the country 'you can get to the top'.'

Mrs Leadsom was boosted by signs Mr Boles' humiliating gaffed had backfired earlier today when grandee Lord Howard cited the message as one reason he was endorsing her campaign.

The missive sent to supporters of Theresa May by Mr Boles said: 'I am seriously frightened about the risk of allowing Andrea Leadsom onto the membership ballot. What if Theresa stumbles?

'Are we really confident that the membership won't vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life? Like they did with IDS [Iain Duncan Smith, the surprise winner of the 2001 Tory leadership contest].'

Mr Boles added: 'Michael doesn't mind spending two months taking a good thrashing from Theresa if that's what it takes, but in the party's interest and the national interest surely we much work together to stop AL [Andrea Leadsom]?'

Declaring for Mrs Leadsom, Lord Howard - leader from 2003 to 2005 - hit out at Mrs May for using EU citizens uncertain about their future in the UK as 'bargaining chips' in future negotiations over Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

He said Mrs Leadsom, the least experienced of the three remaining candidates, had the 'vision to see the opportunities' of being outside the EU.

Mr Gove's ambitions were dealt a major blow last night after it emerged that Mr Boles told colleagues it would be in the 'national interest' if some of Mrs May's supporters were to lend their support to the Justice Secretary in the second ballot.

If enough did so it would have meant Mrs Leadsom would miss out on the final vote by 150,000 Conservative Party members.

HEAD TO HEAD: THE TWO CANDIDATES IN THE FINAL RACE TO BE TORY LEADER AND PRIME MINISTER Andrea Leadsom, 53 Andrea Leadsom is a longtime Eurosceptic who is fully committed to leaving the EU Background: Former high-flying banker at Barclays, who entered Parliament in 2010. Took time to enter Government after publicly criticising George Osborne. Currently energy minister. Standing as the Brexit candidate. Brexit: A longtime Eurosceptic who is fully committed to leaving the EU. She played a leading role in the Vote Leave campaign, including taking part in two TV debates. Her calm manner and positive vision for life outside the EU impressed many. Hoping to lead Brexit negotiations if her leadership bid fails. Immigration: Said during the campaign that immigration would 'overwhelm' Britain unless it is brought under control. She angered Mr Osborne by saying his 9-an-hour living wage would attract more migrants to Britain unless we leave the EU. Economy: A big supporter of the Government's austerity agenda, who would resist tax rises unless unavoidable. Key backers: Ex London Mayor Boris Johnson, Defence minister Penny Mordaunt, Steve Baker, chairman of the influential Conservatives for Britain group. Achilles heel: Lack of experience. Will Tory members choose someone who has never served in the Cabinet at a time of national crisis? Theresa May, 59 Home Secretary Theresa May is known for her no-nonsense style, attention to detail, and steely demeanour Background: Vicar's daughter and former banker. Workaholic Home Secretary for the last six years. Previously a party chairman when she warned in 2002 that the Tories were in danger of becoming the 'nasty party'. Known for her no-nonsense style, attention to detail, and steely demeanour. Standing as the competence candidate. Brexit: Sided with David Cameron during the referendum campaign, but irritated the Prime Minister by refusing to take an active role. Yesterday said 'Brexit means Brexit', and declared herself 'the best person to negotiate with Merkel'. Economy: Railed against cuts to the Home Office budget  often effectively. Yesterday pledged there would be no new tax rises and ditched George Osborne's plan to balance the books by 2020. Immigration: Has never looked like hitting David Cameron's target of cutting net migration to below 100,000. Has taken tough steps on non-EU migration. Has voiced frustration at EU free movement rules, but also warned that an Australian style points system was 'not a silver bullet'. Key backers: Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, International Development Secretary Justine Greening, business minister Anna Soubry, Tory grandees Sir Alan Duncan and Sir Nicholas Soames Achilles heel: Campaigned against leaving the EU. Seen by some as lacking charisma. Advertisement

Mrs May appeared outside parliament immediately after the vote, the triumphant Theresa May said she was 'delighted' to have won 'such wide support from my colleagues'

'This vote shows that the Conservative Party can come together and under my leadership it will,' Mrs May said after storming to victory in the ballot. She insisted she had 'always said there should be a contest'.

Lord Howard denounced the tactics this morning, as he revealed he was backing Mrs Leadsom. 'She has the vision to see the opportunities that are there in front of us,' he told the Today programme.

THE MESSAGE NICK BOLES SENT I would be really grateful if you would treat this in strict confidence. You are my friend. I respect the fact that you want Theresa May to be PM. It is overwhelmingly likely that she will be. And if she does I will sleep easily at night. But I am seriously frightened about the risk of allowing Andrea Leadsom onto the membership ballot. What if Theresa stumbles? Are we really confident that the membership won't vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life? Like they did with IDS. I am not asking you to respond unless you positively want to have a chat. But I hope that you will reflect on this carefully. Michael doesn't mind spending 2 months taking a good thrashing from Theresa if thats what it takes but in the party's interest and the national interest surely we must work together to stop AL? x Advertisement

'I think it would be quite difficult to have a PM who has voted with the minority rather than the majority in the recent referendum.

'She is the person to give us a fresh start in this future that lies in front of us. I don't think experience is hugely important.'

Responding to tonight's decision by Tory MPs to nominate two women for the contest to be PM, Labour's shadow minister Jon Ashworth said: 'It would be churlish not to recognise the Tories are moving to elect a woman leader and now Britain's second female Prime Minister.

'But let's not forget both Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom are part of a Government which has failed the British people for six years.

'Whilst they continue their bitter infighting over whether they are qualified for the job or not, the only record the public should pay attention to is their record of failure. They offer nothing new for working people, just more of the same.'

In a speech in Westminster this morning as MPs prepared to make their choice, Mrs Leadsom said: 'My first task is to show how great our potential is as a nation, let's banish the pessimists.

'No-one needs to fear our decision to leave the EU. We will do so carefully, reassuring our European friends, and those businesses who are worrying about change

'Trade must be the top priority - continued tariff free trade with the EU, continued free trade with those countries we have agreements with as a current member of the EU, and vitally, seizing the opportunities to take up new free trade agreements with fast-growing economies around the world.'

In contrast to Mrs May, who has said it will be a matter for Brexit negotiations, Mrs Leadsom and Mr Gove have promised to guarantee the right of millions of EU citizens to stay if she succeeds in becoming prime minister in September.

She took another swipe at the Home Secretary today by arguing citizens from the bloc should not be left in the dark about whether they can stay.

'We want fair but controlled immigration - fair to those who are already here and fair to all the talents across the world,' she said.

'So I tell you today: I will not use people's lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation. People need certainty and they will get it - I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.'

In a round of broadcast interviews, Mrs Leadsom set out a series of policy positions seemingly designed to appeal to activists, including support for reintroducing foxhunting and criticism of gay marriage legislation.

She stressed she believed same sex relationships were 'every bit as valuable' as opposite sex ones. But Mrs Leadsom said she had abstained on gay marriage legislation because it 'muddled' types of partnerships and there was a danger the Church of England would be 'compelled' to carry out ceremonies.

This morning Andrea Leadsom (pictured giving a speech in central London) pitched herself as the 'optimistic' candidate in the race to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister as Tory MPs prepared to whittle the contest down to two candidates

Andrea Leadsom (pictured this morning) has promised to guarantee the rights of three million EU citizens living in the UK the right to stay if she succeeds in becoming prime minister in September

'I believe that the love of same sex couples is every bit as valuable as that of opposite sex couples,' she said. 'But nevertheless my own view is that marriage in the biblical sense is very clear from the many, many Christians who wrote to me on this subject, in their opinion, can only be between a man and a woman.

LEADSOM CALLS FOR HUNTING BAN TO BE SCRAPPED AND CRITICISES GAY MARRIAGE LEGISLATION Andrea Leadsom has set out a series of policy positions seemingly designed to appeal to activists as she prepares for the run-off in the Tory leadership battle. The energy minister stressed she believed same sex relationships were 'every bit as valuable' as opposite sex ones. But Mrs Leadsom said she had abstained on gay marriage legislation because it 'muddled' types of partnerships and there was a danger the Church of England would be 'compelled' to carry out ceremonies. Asked by ITV for her views on fox hunting, she said: 'I would absolutely commit to holding a vote to repeal the hunting ban. 'I think it has not proved to be in the interests of animal welfare whatsoever.' She also said as PM she would 'review' the multi-billion pound HS2 project, refusing to say it would definitely go ahead. In an extraordinary exchange with Channel 4's Gary Gibbon, the committed Christian was asked if she believed God had ever spoken directly to her. 'That question is not one that is for open laughing at and poking fun at and I can absolutely feel that that's what you would like to do,' she replied. 'So I absolutely am a Christian and I'm very proud of it and it absolutely acts in the background in my desire to have a very honest campaign with high integrity and so on.' Advertisement

'I don't agree with them, but... I would have preferred for civil partnerships to be available to heterosexual and gay couples and for marriage to have remained as a Christian service that was for men and women who wanted to commit in the eyes of God.'

Asked by ITV for her views on fox hunting, she said: 'I would absolutely commit to holding a vote to repeal the hunting ban.

'I think it has not proved to be in the interests of animal welfare whatsoever.'

She also said as PM she would 'review' the multi-billion pound HS2 project, refusing to say it would definitely go ahead.

Turning to Mr Boles' controversial message, Mrs Leadsom said: 'It's not honourable.

'It is disappointing and one of the things I would hope to do as PM is to change that from the top by setting an example.'

Dismissing criticism that she had exaggerated her career in the City, Mrs Leadsom told the BBC: 'My CV as I've presented it is exactly accurate, so there's nothing to regret.

'I've been very clear: I've worked in the markets, I have worked in banking, I have worked in funds management as senior investment officer and head of corporate governance, working very closely with the chief investment officer.'

In an extraordinary exchange with Channel 4's Gary Gibbon, the committed Christian was asked if she believed God had ever spoken directly to her.

'That question is not one that is for open laughing at and poking fun at and I can absolutely feel that that's what you would like to do,' she replied.

'So I absolutely am a Christian and I'm very proud of it and it absolutely acts in the background in my desire to have a very honest campaign with high integrity and so on.'

Last night Labour attempted to exploit Tory divisions on the right of EU citizens to stay in Britain by forcing a vote on the issue.

Mr Johnson said he would 'passionately' support Labour shadow home secretary Andy Burnham's motion to guarantee their rights.

In contrast to the campaign methods employed by Mr Gove's team, Mrs May yesterday demanded an 'open' debate and said there should be no 'tactical voting'.

The Home Secretary emerged as the clear victor at a hustings of Tory MPs last night, joking that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker would soon find out what a 'bloody difficult woman' she was, in a reference to comments about her made by Tory grandee Ken Clarke on Tuesday.

A poll yesterday found Mrs May was also the clear favourite among Conservative councillors. Three in five said they planned to back her.

Under the Tory leadership rules, party members only get to vote on the two candidates chosen by Conservative MPs.

In Tuesday's first round, Mrs May received 165 votes, far ahead of Mrs Leadsom and Mr Gove, the Justice Secretary, who were close together on 66 and 48 votes respectively.

Mr Gove, speaking at the Mansion House function, was challenged about the text at last night's hustings. According to one MP, he merely 'giggled'  but did not disown it

The text message written by Mr Boles shows that Mr Gove hopes to overtake Mrs Leadsom by encouraging the Home Secretary's backers to lend him their votes.

Skills Minister Mr Boles wrote that it is 'overwhelmingly likely' that Mrs May will become prime minister, adding: 'And if she does I will sleep easily at night'.

Mr Gove was challenged about the text at last night's hustings. According to one MP, he merely 'giggled'  but did not disown it.

Former leader Mr Duncan Smith, who is supporting Mrs Leadsom, brushed off the text, saying: 'People with knives will end up stabbing themselves. I do think emails or texts like that are failing to smell the coffee, wake up and recognise we want to come back together, and govern as a Conservative Party, that we can get on with each other and do not want to spend the whole time stabbing each other in the back.'

The message comes just a week after the Justice Secretary knifed Boris Johnson in the back by announcing his decision to stand when he had promised to support the former London mayor.

Last night Bernard Jenkin, a supporter of Mrs Leadsom, said: 'There are very few colleagues who will be manipulated in this way, and most people will vote as a matter of integrity for the outcome that they want.'

Mr Duncan Smith, who also backs the Energy Minister, criticised MPs who were 'failing to smell the cofeee and realise we need to get back together and govern as the Conservative Party, and not spend time stabbing each other in the back'.

In her statement, Mrs May rejected deals and the proposal that she be crowned Tory leader without a ballot of members.

She said: 'I have been clear from the start: the party and the country deserve an open, honest, robust debate  and the next leader needs to have won a mandate to lead. So there should be no deals, no tactical voting, and no coronation.'

Lord Howard (left) said he decided to back Mrs Leadsom, the energy minister, after learning that Mr Gove's campaign manager Nick Boles (right) sent a text to other MPs saying he was 'seriously frightened' she could win the backing of grassroots party members if she gets through to the final two

One MP warned yesterday that there were 'hints of Momentum', the hard-left group that backs Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, about Mrs Leadsom's campaign, after he received an email from a Ukip supporter saying he would be a 'traitor' not to back her.

The Energy Minister also repeated her refusal not to publish her tax return unless she gets into the final two  despite the fact that Mrs May and Mr Gove have both published theirs.

Her campaign manager, Tory MP Tim Loughton, said it was 'not an issue' and told the BBC she would publish a summary 'as soon as she gets time away from speaking to colleagues and fighting this campaign'.

Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb and former defence secretary Liam Fox both pulled out from the Tory leadership race on Tuesday after coming fourth and fifth in the first ballot of MPs.

Mr Gove's backers suggested he will try to attract Mr Crabb's social reformers and Dr Fox's Eurosceptics to build on the 48 MPs he won over in the first round.

After tonight's ballot, the final two candidates will go forward to the party membership, with the winner being announced on September 9.

Yesterday, former Conservative chairman Grant Shapps called for the process to be accelerated, saying it should be finished by the end of July.

Mr Shapps  a supporter of Mrs May  has written to MPs seeking their backing, saying it was a 'matter of concern for the country', and also plans a petition.

Some 60 per cent of Tory councillors back Mrs May, excluding those who were undecided or refused to give an answer, a Survation poll for BBC2's Daily Politics found.

This is compared to just 28 per cent who are supporting her closest rival, Mrs Leadsom.

The poll of 1,062 councillors found that Mrs May would enjoy a larger lead if she faced Mr Gove in the final run-off, rather than Mrs Leadsom.

Andrea Leadsom backers stage toe-curling 'protest march' as she bids to set up Tory leadership showdown with Theresa May

Andrea Leadsom's supporters staged a toe-curling 'protest march' in Westminster today as she bids to set up a Tory leadership showdown with Theresa May.

In a speech as MPs prepared to whittle the contest down to two candidates, the energy minister dismissed economic doom-mongering over Brexit.

She insisted she had a 'positive' vision for the country and urged people not to 'fear' the consequences of leaving the EU - taking a swipe at Mrs May by promising citizens from the bloc should not be left in the dark about whether they can stay.

The appeal came with Mrs Leadsom and Michael Gove battling to make the run-off, which will be decided by Tory party members.

Andrea Leadsom's supporters staged a toe-curling 'protest march' in Westminster today (pictured) as she bids to set up a Tory leadership showdown with Theresa May

The three candidates bidding to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister will find out which two have won the backing of Conservative MPs to face the party's membership in a head-to-head ballot over the summer recess, with the final result to be announced on September 9.

In her speech in central London this morning, Mrs Leadsom denied that the Remain campaign's Project Fear predictions were coming to pass.

'Already we can see that the forecast of a disaster for sterling, for equities and for interest rates have not been proven correct,' she said.

'The pound is weaker, partly as the result of the markets being wrong on the result of the referendum and partly on the expectation of interest rate easing.

In a speech as MPs prepared to whittle the contest down to two candidates, the energy minister Andrea Leadsom (pictured) dismissed economic doom-mongering over Brexit

Andrea Leadsom (pictured this morning) insisted she had a 'positive' vision for the country and urged people not to 'fear' the consequences of leaving the EU - taking a swipe at Mrs May by promising citizens from the bloc should not be left in the dark about whether they can stay

'Lower sterling is good for exports and it makes inward investment more attractive, it means we may import less and buy more at home, all good things for our economy.

'The FTSE 100 is trading higher and outperforming other global stock market indices.

'The government cost of borrowing has dropped, with private sector loans still available at the same rates as before  that means the price of our state borrowing has fallen by a remarkable 40%, with 10-year interest rates below 0.8 per cent versus 1.37 per cent on June 23.

'And our valuable financial services sector has been boosted by both Barclays and HSBC bosses saying their plans are to stick with the UK.

'I will work tirelessly to reassure investors that the UK is open for business and a great place to employ people.

'When we come to see the post-EU figures I expect to see continued growth, I expect to see people buying goods, going about their normal business, buying their homes and, yes, enjoying a pay rise. I will expect high standards of company behaviour, recognising their obligations to their communities and to their employees.

'Mine will be a realistic but an optimistic voice. I believe we have a great future ahead of us.'

There had been suggestions that Boris Johnson - who backed Mrs Leadsom after being brutally beytrayed by Mr Gove - would introduce her at the event this morning.

But sources close to the former mayor insisted he had never been scheduled to take part as he has other engagements. He is expected to join Mrs Leadsom at a separate event this evening.

After the speech, MP backers including campaign manager Tim Loughton, Theresa Villiers and Bill Cash walked to parliament to cast their ballots.

Mr Loughton led them in a chant of: 'What do we want? Andrea Leadsom. When do we want it? Now.'

Northern Ireland Secretary Ms Villiers appeared to be struggling to conceal her embarrassment as the chant went on.
Vladimir Putin has prompted speculation about his health having not been seen for days after cancelling his trip to Siberia.

The usually-prominent Russian Prime Minister was last seen by publicly on a trip to Finland last Friday before performing his vanishing act.

Last time he vanished - between 5 and 16 March last year - there were claims of health problems, plastic surgery, a feared coup, and suggestions his rumoured partner ex-gymnast Alina Kabaeva had given birth in Switzerland - all of which the Kremlin denied.

Finland's President Sauli Niinist (left) welcomes Russia's President Vladimir Putin at Kultaranta summer residence in Naantali, Finland, on July 1 - the last time he was seen in public

The usually-prominent Russian Prime Minister was last seen by publicly on a trip to Finland, pictured last Friday before performing his vanishing act

A new prolonged absence is bound to fuel fresh speculation, and signs of any ill-health or other unexpected factor will be scrutinised by Western embassies in Moscow.

Putin, 63, is normally a hands-on leader who is visible daily and prides himself on his macho image, and frequent trips around his vast country or abroad.

He cancelled at short notice plans to this week visit the Altai region on July 5 and the diamond-rich Sakha Republic today, both in Siberia, according to news agency RBK.

A visit to Novgorod for July 7 was also postponed, it was reported.

The head of the Sakha republic Egor Borisov admitted Putin was supposed to come, but did not.

"I would not dramatize this situation," he said.

"The president decided to cancel a number of activities planned for the beginning of July."

He added: "The head of state has a specific schedule which can change."

A new prolonged absence is bound to fuel fresh speculation, and signs of any ill-health or other unexpected factor will be scrutinised by Western embassies in Moscow

Last time he vanished - between 5 and 16 March last year - there were claims of health problems, plastic surgery, a feared coup, and suggestions his rumoured partner ex-gymnast Alina Kabaeva had given birth in Switzerland - all of which the Kremlin denied

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied there was anything untoward in Putin's absence from view, and his shelved trips.

"They were among a dozen alleged visits. But none of them had been finally approved," he claimed.

However, there was a clear expectation Putin would travel to Altai where he was due to hold a State Council Presidium meeting on tourism, a session which is now delayed indefinitely, and on to Sakha, also known as Yakutia.

Officials in all three regions have not been told the reason for Putin's absence.

The Kremlin insists Putin has held meetings behind the scenes with regional governors but there is doubt on the timing.

Russin President Vladimir Putin plays with his dogs Buffy (right) and Yume (left) at his countryside residence Novo-Ogariovo, outside Moscow, Russia, back in 2013

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied there was anything untoward in Putin's absence from view, and the shelved trip on which he prides himself on, including the two above

He was reported to have met the governor of Sevastopol Sergey Menyailo on Wednesday afternoon.

But the governor flew out of Moscow at 6.45am today, and gave a surprising answer when quizzed exactly when his meeting had taken place.

''Today is an elastic notion," he said.

"It is either today early in the morning or late in the evening yesterday."

Last year Peskov dismissed concerns over Putin's absence as "spring fever" after he vanished from view, cancelling a trip to Kazakhstan.

After his ten day absence he returned to order military exercises to rattle the West.

"We would be bored if there were no rumours," he said, failing to explain his absence.

His spokesman said at the time: "So has everyone now seen the paralysed president captured by generals who has just returned from Switzerland where he was delivering a baby?"

"We no longer want to talk about this. Everything is good."

Putin, 63, is normally a hands-on leader who is visible daily and prides himself on his macho image, and frequent trips around his vast country or abroad

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied there was anything untoward in Putin's absence from view, and his shelved trips

There was a clear expectation Putin would travel to Altai where he was due to hold a State Council Presidium meeting on tourism, a session which is now delayed indefinitely, and on to Sakha, also known as Yakutia
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A taxi driver has admitted murdering a newsagent in a brutal stabbing outside his shop in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mr Shah, 40, who ran a convenience store in the city's Shawlands area, died following an attack by 32-year-old Tanveer Ahmed on March 24.

He was stabbed 30 times with a kitchen knife and his head was stamped on in the vicious assault outside the shop, hours after wishing his Christian friends a 'Happy Easter' on Facebook.

Ahmed, from Bradford in West Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the respected businessman, who was described by his family as a 'brilliant' man.

The court heard the attack was motivated because Mr Shah belonged to the Ahmadi sect of Islam, which believes that founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the messiah and a prophet, which 'offended Ahmed's faith'.

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Asad Shah, left, was murdered outside his newsagents shop in Glasgow by Tanveer Ahmed, 32, right

The respected businessman was stabbed 30 times and had his head stamped on in the vicious assault outside the shop, pictured, in the Shawlands area of Glasgow

Ahmed, pictured in a court sketch today, claimed Mr Shah 'disrespected Islam by claiming he was a prophet'

Judge Lady Rae told Ahmed, who will be sentenced on August 9: 'This was a truly despicable crime, motivated, it seems, by your sense of offence at a man's expression of his religious beliefs, which differ from yours.

'Let me be clear - there's no justification whatsoever for what you did.'

The court heard that Mr Shah was a 'well-known and clearly much-loved member of the community'.

Prosecutor Mr McSporran stressed that the Facebook posting wishing Christians a happy Easter had no bearing on the crime, however.

The court heard that Ahmed, a Sunni Muslim, drove from Bradford to Glasgow on March 24 and engaged in a discussion with Mr Shah at his store before pulling out a knife and attacking the shopkeeper.

En route to Glasgow he had watched online footage of Mr Shah and made the comment 'something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud'.

Mr Shah fled violence in Pakistan to join his family in Scotland in 1998 and was granted asylum.

Ahmadis differ from the majority of Muslims in that they do not hold that Muhammad is the final Prophet, the court heard.

Evidence gathered showed that Mr Shah had posted videos on Facebook and YouTube which could be seen as him claiming that he was a Prophet.

'It so offended his feelings and faith that he had to kill him,' advocate deputy Iain McSporran said.

Mr Shah's funeral, pictured, was attended by family, friends and politicians of several different faiths

Police seized an Uber taxi, pictured, belonging to Ahmed from a road in Glasgow near the shop

Police Scotland, pictured at the scene, have warned the country is 'no place for religious intolerance' in the wake of the murder

CCTV footage of Mr Shah's murder from inside and outside the shop was shown to judge Lady Rae and could be seen by members of the public in the court room.

The judge was told Mr Shah's family wanted the footage to be shown but they were not in court because of fears for their own security and they did not want to see his killer.

In the footage, Ahmed is seen arriving at the shop at around 9pm, where Mr Shah was working with assistant Stephen McFadyen. His brother Athar, a personal assistant, was working in the basement below.

Mr McSporran told the court the pair conversed 'intensely' in Urdu.

'His demeanour and gestures are at least consistent with his account that he was attempting to persuade the shopkeeper to his point of view,' he said.

'From what we can see of Mr Shah, he is responding but not apparently agreeing with the accused.

'The accused, having apparently not received the response he was looking for, reaches into the robes he is wearing and removes a knife with which he attacks Asad Shah, moving behind the counter to do so.

'Stephen McFadyen, who was working nearby in the shop, approaches and attempts to assist but the incident is fast moving and he is unable to prevent the attack, involving repeated stab wounds aimed at the head and upper body, continuing.'

Mr Shah can be seen attempting to flee outside, where the 'determined' attack continues despite attempts from Mr McFadyen and Mr Shah's brother to intervene.

'Athar Shah makes a valiant but vain attempt to fend off the attacker, wielding an advertising sign as the only available weapon but without effect,' Mr McSporran continued.

Scottish officers, pictured at the scene, worked with colleagues in West Yorkshire Police on the case

Police cordoned off the scene of the attack, pictured, and roads were closed for several hours

Forensic teams, pictured, were seen scouring the road for evidence while witnesses reported seeing pools of blood on the ground

'Whilst the attack continued, with the accused kneeling on the victim, pinning him to the ground, Stephen McFadyen bravely reached for the knife and grabbed it from the accused, running across the road and placing it in bushes out of harm's way.

'The accused then began punching, kicking and stamping with full force on the prone body of Asad Shah, who was long past being in any position to defend himself.

'Many blows were delivered to his head and face, despite Athar's repeated pleas for him to stop.

'The attack ceased suddenly and the accused walked calmly to a bus shelter nearby where he sat, head bowed as if in prayer.'

A passing GP and nurse attempted to help Mr Shah, who was taken to hospital but died shortly before 10pm.

HOW AHMADI MOVEMENT DIFFERS FROM OTHER BRANCHES OF ISLAM Mr Shah was a member of the Ahmadi movement, a minority denomination of Islam which is seen as heretical by some orthodox Muslims because they believe that founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is the messiah and a prophet. In some predominantly Muslim countries Ahmadis are persecuted, and in Pakistan a constitutional amendment passed in 1974 declaring Ahmadiyya non-Muslims. The Ahmadi movement, which has its origins in British-controlled northern India in the late 19th Century, identifies itself as a Muslim movement and follows the teachings of the Koran. However, it is regarded by orthodox Muslims as heretical because it does not believe that Mohammed was the final prophet sent to guide mankind, as orthodox Muslims believe is laid out in the Koran. The religion is believed to have around 10 million followers. The Ahmadiyya community faces restrictions in many Muslim nations, where followers are constantly persecuted Sources at a Glasgow mosque say there are only 500 Ahmadi in Scotland, with around 400 of them based in and around Glasgow. Many of them are thought to have known Mr Shah. Advertisement

When police found Ahmed in the nearby bus shelter, he said: 'I respect what you do and I have nothing against you and so I am not going to hurt you. I have broken the law and appreciate how you are treating me.'

However, a victim statement from the shopkeeper's family - his wife, parents and six siblings - said they could no longer live normal lives and some intend to leave Scotland.

His parents said: 'We brought our children to this country to seek refuge from Pakistan in 1991 fleeing persecution, religious hatred, discrimination and a danger to our lives because we were Ahmadis.

'We never thought that we could be in danger here.

'We feel imprisoned by our pain and suffering and we have little hope of ever having a normal life again.

'Most of the family, unable to live with this turmoil, pain and fear, has taken a decision to leave Scotland forever.'

Ahmed revealed in a statement at a previous court hearing that he carried out the attack for religious reasons.

Police paid tribute to Mr Shah and warned there was 'no place in Scotland for religious intolerance.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland's Safer Communities lead officer, said: 'Asad Shah was a peaceful family man; a hard-working businessman and well-loved member of the Glasgow community.

'His death in such terrible circumstances impacted on those closest to him as well as communities throughout the country.

'Scotland's diverse communities have a proud tradition of unity, tolerance and understanding. Crimes of this nature are thankfully rare - however it makes them all the more shocking when they do occur.

'Mr Shah's murder was the result of an extreme act of violence; an attack which was concluded within the space of four minutes.

'It is clear that the actions of Tanveer Ahmed were motivated by his religious beliefs.

The death left the Glasgow community in shock and the scene was visited by several mourners, pictured

'There is a consensus across all of our communities that there is no place in Scotland for religious or cultural intolerance which generates crimes of hatred, intimidation or violence.

'Religious or cultural beliefs, no matter how strongly held, do not entitle anyone to commit murder or acts of aggression.

'There are a number of ways in which members of the public can report hate crimes to the police and I would encourage them to do so.

'The response by Scotland's communities to the murder was one of unity; I am confident that the same response will be displayed in light of today's guilty plea.'

A Police Scotland Major Investigation Team, working closely with colleagues in West Yorkshire Police, established the circumstances which led Ahmed to travel to Glasgow from Bradford to confront Mr Shah in his shop.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Jim Smith, of Police Scotland, Major Investigation Team West, said: 'Officers worked closely with West Yorkshire Police to understand the full background to Tanveer Ahmed and his reason for travelling to Glasgow on the night of Mr Shah's murder.

'Our investigation focused on the immediate actions and admissions of the accused and piecing together a timeline of events based on CCTV footage, forensic recovery and examination of telecommunications data and social media activity.

'I would pay tribute to the witnesses who spoke to the events of that night; a number of them went to Mr Shah's assistance but the swift and ferocious nature of the attack meant there was little they could do to save him.

'Ahmed's compliance in the immediate aftermath of the attack was in stark contrast to the level of violence shown during the confrontation.'

SCOTLAND IS NO PLACE FOR RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE: POLICE STATEMENT Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson, Police Scotland's Safer Communities lead officer, said: 'Asad Shah was a peaceful family man; a hard-working businessman and well-loved member of the Glasgow community. His death in such terrible circumstances impacted on those closest to him as well as communities throughout the country. 'Scotland's diverse communities have a proud tradition of unity, tolerance and understanding. Crimes of this nature are thankfully rare - however it makes them all the more shocking when they do occur. 'Mr Shah's murder was the result of an extreme act of violence; an attack which was concluded within the space of four minutes. It is clear that the actions of Tanveer Ahmed were motivated by his religious beliefs. 'There is a consensus across all of our communities that there is no place in Scotland for religious or cultural intolerance which generates crimes of hatred, intimidation or violence. Religious or cultural beliefs, no matter how strongly held, do not entitle anyone to commit murder or acts of aggression. 'There are a number of ways in which members of the public can report hate crimes to the police and I would encourage them to do so. 'The response by Scotland's communities to the murder was one of unity; I am confident that the same response will be displayed in light of today's guilty plea.' Advertisement

Chief Superintendent Brian McInulty, Local Police Commander for Greater Glasgow Division, added: 'All of our thoughts are with Asad Shah's family today as they have been since this incident. Mr Shah was well known in his local community and his loss is still acutely felt there.

'We have worked closely with the community in Glasgow and with faith communities to ensure that intolerance has no part in the life of our city.

'Offenders will be pursued with vigour and victims can come forward and report matters with confidence.

'Officers will continue to be available in the community to respond to any issues or concern which arise.'

Earlier this year, Ahmed's lawyer John Rafferty read a statement to gathered media on the 32-year-old's behalf following a brief hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court, during which he made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.

Ahmed stated that he killed the much-loved family man because he had claimed to be 'a prophet'.

However, he denied that the murder had anything to do with Christianity or any other religion, despite suggesting he was standing up for the honour of Islam.

The statement read: 'My client Mr Tanveer Ahmed has specifically instructed me that today, 6 April 2016, to issue this statement to the press, the statement is in the words of my client.

'This all happened for one reason and no other issues and no other intentions.

'Asad Shah disrespected the messenger of Islam the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. Mr Shah claimed to be a prophet.

'When 1,400 years ago the Prophet of Islam Muhammad peace be upon him has clearly said that "I am the final messenger of Allah there is no more prophets or messengers from God Allah after me.

'"I am leaving you the final Quran. There is no changes. It is the final book of Allah and this is the final completion of Islam."

'There is no more changes to it and no one has the right to claim to be a prophet or to change the Quran or change Islam.

'It is mentioned in the Quran that there is no doubt in this book no one has the right to disrespect the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and no one has the right to disrespect the Prophet of Islam Muhammad Peace be upon him.

'If I had not done this others would and there would have been more killing and violence in the world.

'I wish to make it clear that the incident was nothing at all to do with Christianity or any other religious beliefs even although I am a follower of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him I also love and respect Jesus Christ.'

Mr Shah's relatives said a person's religion, ethnicity or race never mattered to the shopkeeper, who treated everyone with kindness and respect.

Mr Shah was described as a 'well-loved member of the community' and many people gathered outside the shop, pictured, in the aftermath to pay tribute to him

Customers who laid flowers, pictured, also described Mr Shah as a 'pillar of the community' and a 'wonderful and gentle man'

Floral tributes, pictured, were also left outside the scene while a silent vigil was attended by hundreds of people including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon

The family said after his killing: 'He was a brilliant man, recognising that the differences between people are vastly outweighed by our similarities.

'Asad left us a tremendous gift and we must continue to honour that gift by loving and taking care of one another.'

It had been feared his murder was a sectarian attack against the branch of Islam he followed.

There were claims Mr Shah was set upon because of his affiliation with the Ahmadi community, known for its non-violence and interfaith concerns.

The group has been persecuted by members of orthodox Islamic sects in Pakistan.

Mr Shah had previously been branded a 'false prophet' in two video posts in November 2014 by a Muslim group which views Ahmadi beliefs as heretical.

He was also said to have received online death threats.

Mr Shah was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

His customers and friends flocked to the store the day after the attack to lay flowers and tributes to the shopkeeper they described as a 'pillar of the community' and a 'wonderful and gentle man'.

A silent vigil was held outside his shop attended by hundreds of people including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Prominent sex abuse campaigner Derryn Hinch once incorrectly claimed he slept with a 15-year-old girl while he was 35.

In his 2004 autobiography Hinch said he made a dreadful mistake when he unknowingly slept with the young lingerie model who he thought was about 25.

The girl contacted Hinch out of the blue in 2013 and corrected him to say she was actually 17 at the time, not 15 as Hinch had believed and had written.

The legal age of consent for sex in Victoria was 16.

In his 2004 autobiography Hinch said he had made a 'dreadful mistake' when he slept with a 15-year-old model. He later discovered she was 17

Hinch is notorious for his stands against sex abuse and paedophilia. Protesters bearing 'name and shame them' placards are pictured at a Hinch-organised rally in 2008

Hinch is notorious for his campaigns to name and shame paedophiles and he was jailed in 1987 for outing a Catholic priest as a paedophile against a judges suppression orders.

In his 2004 autobiography The Fall and Rise of Derry Hinch, the Victorian Senate candidate described how he met the model during a boozy party at Molly Meldrums.

He took the girl to dinner a few nights later, the book said, where she replied she was 15 years and four months when Hinch asked how old she was.

Journalist and radio shock jock Hinch wrote that he met the girl during a boozy party at Molly Meldrum's. He said he discovered her age a couple of nights later and never saw her again

Hinch stood by this version of events until the girl contacted him nine years later in 2013.

In a blog post on his website titled A Personal Postscript, Hinch said: About ten years ago, in my book, The Fall and Rise of Derryn Hinch, I admitted that in my thirties I had had sex with a 15-year-old girl.

I repeated the admission on 3AW and Andrew Bolt demanded I should be prosecuted.

In the book, I explained how a man could make a dreadful mistake: That she was a model, featured in fashion and lingerie ads in magazines like Vogue and Womens Weekly, I met her about 3am at a party at Molly Meldrums, thought she was about 25, and we later went to dinner.

When I discovered her age I never saw her again.

Hinch stood by his version of events until the woman contacted him out of the blue in 2013 and corrected him. She said she was actually 17, not 15, when the pair had sex

He continued: Recently, out of the blue, a genuine blast from the past. She asked to join me on [Facebook] as a friend.

We have since met and had lunch. She chided my poor memory: You had just started at 3AW, so it was 1979. I was born in 1961. Do your sums. I was 18.

Well, she wasnt. She was 17 and a half. But certainly not 15.

I dont expect the pathological haters to believe me. I dont care. But she had a message for them: Get a life.

Hinch is likely to join the Australian Senate after campaigning prominently to establish a registry of child sex offenders if elected

Hinch is likely to join the Australian Senate on the back of a strong vote for his Derryn Hinch Justice Party in Victoria.

One of his partys keystone policies is generating a registry which lists the countrys child sex offenders.
Colonel Gaddafi's son has been released from prison after just four years having been sentenced to death last year.

The lawyers of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Lybian leader Muammar Gaddafi, have said their client has been released from prison.

A court in Tripoli had given him the death penalty last year for ordering troops to fire at civilian targets, recruiting militia units, and inciting rape and murder during the Libyan civil war after he was caught trying to flee the country by a rebel militants.

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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan, Libya in May. He has been sentenced to death by the court

Former Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi (back left) and Moamer Kadhafi's last premier Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi (back centre) sit dressed in prison blue behind the bars of the accused cell today

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan May 15, 2014

Saif al-Islam, son of the late former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, sits after his capture, with his fingers wrapped in bandages and his legs covered with a blanket, at an undisclosed location, in this photograph aired on Free Libya TV on November 19, 2011

Gaddafi's lawyer Karim Khan told France 24: 'He is well and safe and in Libya,'.

He revealed his client had been set free back on April 12, though the news had not been made public until now.

Despite still being wanted by the International Crime Court in The Hague, Khan suggested that Gaddafi did not face any future charges.

They say he was let go 'in accordance with Libyan law,' and any repeat trial would constitute double jeopardy.

'It is prohibited to try an individual twice for the same offense,' he said.

He had been sentenced to death in absentia after he was found guilty of committing war crimes in the Libyan Civil War in July last year.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was being held by a former rebel group in the Libyan town of Zintan after he attempted to cross the desert into neighbouring Niger.

He spoke to the court via a video link after his captors refused to allow him to leave Zintan and attend the trial in Tripoli.

Gaddafi and eight other associates were sentenced to death by firing squad after being found guilty of ordering the brutal suppression of demonstrations during the bloody uprising.

Former aides to Colonel Gaddafi await their sentence for crimes during the 2011 uprising in Libya

Former officials of the Gaddafi regime sit behind bars as the verdict is read out in the courtroom in Tripoli. The court sentenced to death by firing squad eight officials including former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and ex-prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi along with Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam

Sentenced to death: Saif spoke to the court via video link after rebels refused to release him

Well known for gesturing aggressively with his hands in interviews with journalists, Saif had to have several of his fingers amputated after they were badly injured in an airstrike in 2011.

The Gaddafi regime's former chief of intelligence, Abdallah al-Senousi, was also sentenced to death but like Mr al-Islam, he was be able to appeal the decision.

Also facing trial was one of Gaddafi's former Prime Ministers, Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi as well as former foreign minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi and ex-intelligence chief Buzeid Dorda.

Prison sentences ranging from five years to life imprisonment were also handed out to several other Gaddafi era associates.

Saif al-Islam is the second son of Libya's former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed in October 2011

Horrific: The Libyan Civil War saw the formation of dozens of small rebel groups, which continue to leave Libya in a fractious state

Saif is the second son of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who was found in a drainage pipe, reportedly clutching a golden pistol.

A video later emerged of the dictator, has long curly hair matted with blood, being held by several ecstatic rebels before he was shot dead.

Gaddafi was long considered a sponsor terrorism following the 1988 Lockerie bombings which led to frosty relations between Britain and Libya until Tony Blair's meeting in 2004.

Later dubbed by David Cameron as the 'dodgy dealings in the desert', Blair shook hands with the Libyan dictator and met him in a traditional Bedouin tent to discuss the renewal of diplomatic links.

Blair controversially brought Gaddafi in from the cold after his pledged to give up all weapons of mass destruction.

Saif al-Islam was well known as the most westernised of the Gaddafi family, who enjoyed a taste for a life of extravagance.

Whilst living in his 11 million mansion in north London, Saif attended the London School of Economics (LSE), where he completed a PhD.

It later emerged that Gaddafi had spent as much as 4,000 a month on private tutoring and had effectively submitted a heavily ghost written PhD.

LSE came under fire after it emerged that the school received a 300,000 donation from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, six weeks after Saif submitted his PhD.

The trial comes as Libya continues to be marred with violence, with the country effectively having two rivaling governments and two parliaments in Tripoli and Tobruk.

The official Libyan government was forced to flee Tripoli after the city was captured by Operation Dawn, a coalition of Islamist groups and rebel militants.
A former Russian double agent who exposed glamour spy Anna Chapman has died in the US, it has been reported.

Ex-intelligence officer Colonel Alexander Poteyev, 64, was convicted by The Moscow District Military Court of betraying ten fellow spies working uncover in the US in 2011 and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Among the agents that Poteyev betrayed was Miss Chapman, who testified with nine fellow deep-cover agents at the trial.

Poteyev fled to the US just days before the scandal broke (pictured: at his trial, in 2011)

Poteyev, pictured in Kabul, was charged over the exposure of 10 sleeper agents in the United States

Russian news agency Interfax reported Poteyev - viewed as being one of modern Russia's worst traitors - had passed away.

An anonymous source said: 'According to some information, Poteyev died in the USA. At the moment this information is being checked.'

Interfax added: 'A second source has confirmed receiving the similar information from abroad but he did not exclude that 'it can be deceptive information, aimed at making people forget about the traitor'.

There have been no reports from the US that the 64-year-old had passed away.

The Russian report gave no suspected cause of the reported death.

Anna Chapman, 29, and nine other sleeper agents known as 'illegals' were captured in America in 2010 after they had been under US intelligence surveillance for several years

The ex-spy who now runs an antique shop in a trendy district of Moscow and works as a TV host

Anna Chapman was deported from the United States in 2010 after being charged with working as part of a Russian spy ring

Poteyev had overseen the Russian sleeper agents in the US as a deputy head of the 'S' department of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

Chapman and nine other agents were captured in America after they had been under US intelligence surveillance for several years.

They were later swapped for four men imprisoned in Russia who had allegedly spied for MI6 and the CIA. An 11th agent was arrested in Cyprus but then skipped bail and disappeared.

Poteyev fled to America shortly before US authorities announced they had busted the spy ring.

The spy left his wife behind in Russia and texted her saying: 'Try to take this calmly: I'm not going away for a while, I'm going away forever. I did not want to, but I had to. I will start a new life. I'll try to help the children.'

During the trial, Chapman said she was arrested in New York after a US agent posing as a Russian spy had identified himself with a code which only Porteyev and one other source could have known.

Days earlier he had fled Moscow for the West, she said.

Porteyev had two children and some reports suggested they were working in the US before his defection.
Tony Blair was pushed into supporting military action 'too early' by America determined to take on Iraq, Britain's UN ambassador at the time of the invasion has claimed.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock said the then prime minister had been sincere in his efforts to secure a second UN resolution that would have explicitly authorised the war.

But US officials were uninterested in the idea and pressed ahead with plans for the invasion regardless, he said.

In memos from Tony Blair to George W Bush exposed by the Chilcot Inquiry yesterday, there is evidence of the UK trying to push the US down the United Nations route.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, left at the UN in 2002 alongside his US counterpart John Negroponte passing resolution 1441, has said after the Chilcot Inquiry that US officials were not committed to tackling Iraq through the United Nations despite Tony Blair's efforts

Sir Jeremy told the BBC: 'I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early.

'The Americans weren't genuine about it - but the prime minister was genuine about it - because he thought there was a chance that Saddam could be made to back down before we had to use military force.

'And George Bush for a while agreed with him. But other people behind George Bush didn't agree with him and thought it was a waste of time.'

General Tim Cross, Britain's most senior official involved in planning the invasion, said the Americans had also undermined aftermath planning - insisting it was a US decision to dismantle the Iraqi Army and ruling Ba'ath Party.

He told the broadcaster: 'That particular decision was approved by the president of the United States, the secretary of defence, by the joint chiefs of staff of the United States.

'It was previously discussed by my national security adviser with authorities in London 10 days before it was issued - he received no objections.'

The US state department has declined to comment on the findings of the report or the claims levelled at the US government.

A spokesman told the BBC: 'We are not going to examine it, we are not going to try to make an analysis of it or make judgement of the findings one way or another.

'Our focus is on the challenges we have in Iraq and Syria right now.'

Mr Blair, seen leaving home this morning, was subject to harsh criticism in yesterday's Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War

Sir John Chilcot ruled in his damning inquiry the 2003 invasion was not the 'last resort' when it had been launched and there were further diplomatic channels which had not been exhausted.

Mr Blair has insisted he successfully directed the US to pursue the UN approach but that it became clear it would not work.

In a crucial memo from Mr Blair to the president dated July 28, 2002, Mr Blair said: 'I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties.

'The planning on this and the strategy are the toughest yet. This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War.'

He urged him the military part of the plan was 'hazardous' but said getting rid of Saddam was 'the right thing to do', adding that 'containment is always risky'.

Jack Straw last night disagreed with the Sir John conclusion that diplomatic options had not been exhausted at the time of invasion.

'With the benefit of hindsight, different decisions would have been made on Iraq, and the inquiry sets out the clear lessons which need to be learnt,' he said.

'The consequences which flow from the decision to take military action against Iraq will live with me for the rest of my life.

'But the decisions made by me and others can only properly be judged in the context of the time. I take full responsibility for all those that I made.'
Ten children were evacuated from an upstate New York park after a passerby spotted the smoldering remains of an unidentified person.

The body is the second badly charred corpse to be recovered within 20 miles since Monday.

As of yet, police have not identified either victim or even if the cases are linked.

One of the bodies was recovered from this park in Rochester, upstate New York on Wednesday morning

Police have not yet identified either of the bodies which were found two days and 20 miles apart

Police in Rochester, New York, pictured, are appealing for information to help them solve the mystery

The first body was recovered on Monday night on the side of Lacey Road in Caledonia.

The second body was found about 20 miles away in La Grange Park, Rochester, on Wednesday morning.

So far, both victims are unidentified and there is no evidence to link the deaths.

Forensic experts are currently trying to determine the cause of death in both cases as well as trying to identify both victims.

No details about the age or sex of either victim has been revealed by authorities.

According to the Democrat and Chronicle, approximately ten children had to be moved from a nearby park after the smoldering remains were recovered.

The park was closed while forensic officers searched for any clues to help them solve the mystery.
Brexit makes the prospect of Britain striking a trade deal with China more likely, trade officials from both countries have said.

Xing Houyuan, an official at the state-backed Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China was being frustrated by the EU.

But now Britain has left, he said the 'situation in Western Europe will push China and the UK to make a trade treaty,' he told the state-owned China Daily newspaper.

And British trade minister Lord Price, a former boss of Waitrose, is currently in Hong Kong where he said the future of 'optimistic' about future trade deals with 'new trading markets' in the East.

China's Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang also gave a positive outlook, telling China Daily that Brexit will 'create more chances in different fields for new investment'.

The announcements came on the day Britain posted its best manufacturing figures in five years.

Brexit makes the prospect of Britain striking a trade deal with China more likely, trade officials from both countries have said. Last year relations between China and the UK thawed after President Xi Jinping's state visit to Britain, pictured meeting David Cameron in Mansion House, central London

He predicted global currency fluctuations caused by Brexit would not do lasting damage to Chinese investments in the UK, which would not be affected in the long-term.

Contrary to claims during the referendum campaign that leaving the EU would leave Britain isolated and cut off from the global economy, the developments suggest Brexit could open up Britain to new opportunities.

A treaty with the UK could be fast-tracked after years of China being 'frustrated by the EU,' China Daily reported.

As a member of the EU Britain has not been able to negotiate individual trade deals with countries for years, with Brussels responsible for negotiations.

It means Britain has been left without trade deals with the likes of Canada, Australia, Japan, China, the US and other countries because the EU has so far failed in attempts to secure deals.

There are fears that this left the UK with few trade specialists who have the experience of striking trade deals.

Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister tasked with preparing the Government's Brexit negotiations, said his unit is identifying how many staff it needs and said private sector staff will need to be hired, as well as the prospect of asking experts to 'train high-flying young civil servants'.

David Cameron (right) took President Xi Jinping (left) to his local pub in Oxfordshire during the China premier's state visit to the UK last November

Lord Price spoke about 'helping create a second Elizabethan Golden Age' by striking new deals with Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada and also with economies in the Far East such as China, Japan and South Korea.

Speaking to the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, he said: 'I'm optimistic about the future: particularly in helping create a second Elizabethan Golden Age.

'The first Golden Age was based on peace, prosperity, new trading markets and a flourishing of the arts.

'There's also a prospect for striking new deals with Canada, New Zealand and Australia which could form the beginning of a Commonwealth trading pact.'

'And to the opportunities in the East, where for centuries British merchants have traded with China for tea, white gold and porcelain as well as with Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations.'

He also said the UK is working towards 'a continued close trading relationship with Europe'.

Echoing Lord Price's positivity, Mr Shen told China Daily: 'The global investment environment will be more transparent and create more chances in different fields for new investment.

'Therefore, Chinese companies' outbound direct investment will remain positive and stable.'

British manufacturing is growing steadily and figures for the three months to May were the best in five years, ONS data out today revealed

The Office for National Statistics today said manufacturing output came in at a better-than-expected fall of 0.5 per cent, dropping down from April's rise of 2.4 per cent, but remaining ahead of a predicted slide of 1.1 per cent.

Economists branded the performance as 'resilient', as manufacturing output rose 1.7 per cent in May compared to the same month in 2015.

Activity in the wider industrial production sector also slipped 0.5 per cent month-on-month, after picking up 2.1 per cent in April.

On an annual basis industrial output was up by 1.4% on May 2015. And in the three months to May, output grew by 1.9% at its quickest pace in six years.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said the results point towards a stronger performance from the UK economy in the second quarter.

He said: 'Following increases of 2.1 per cent and 2.4 per cent in production and manufacturing output respectively in April, May's fall of just 0.5 per cent is a surprisingly good outcome.

'The evidence we have from the official data and the business surveys suggests that even in the event of a further monthly decline in June, manufacturing output is on track to rise by almost 2 per cent in the second quarter.
A veteran Irish republican was today told he will be prosecuted over his alleged involvement in the 1972 murder of mother-of-10 Jean McConville.

A judge in Northern Ireland has ruled Ivor Bell, 79, will stand trial for allegedly aiding and abetting the kidnap, killing and secret burial of the widow, 37, in 1972.

The mother-of-ten was dragged from her home in Belfast's Divis flats, in front of her terrified children, by an IRA gang of up to 12 men and women 40 years ago.

She was executed after being accused of passing information to the British Army, but this was later discredited by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman.

An IRA member returned a week later and gave back her wedding ring and purse, but her body was found by accident 31 years later by a walker on a beach in the Republic.

Today some of Mrs McConville's children were in court and son Jim gave a thumbs up after District Judge Amanda Henderson's ruling.

Facing trial: Veteran Irish republican Ivor Bell, 79, pictured today, from West Belfast, will stand trial over alleged involvement in the 1972 murder of mother-of-10 Jean McConville

Prosecution: Jim McConville gives a thumbs up as he leaves Belfast Magistrates' Court, after a judge ruled that Ivor Bell will stand trial for involvement in the 1972 murder of his mother

DRAGGED AWAY IN FRONT OF HER FAMILY AND SHOT: WHAT JEAN MCCONVILLE'S TEN CHILDREN SAW Jean McConville's ten children watched in horror as a gang of masked IRA terrorists smashed down the door of his family's West Belfast home and demanded to see their mother. They dragged her through the door as her children clung on to her legs and tried to fight the gunmen off. It was the last time they saw their mother alive. A week later, a man who identified himself as being from the IRA called at the McConvilles' council home. He handed the children their mother's purse and wedding ring, saying: 'I was told to deliver this.' Unbeknown to her ten children, Jean McConville had been taken to a beach with her hands tied behind her back and shot through the back of her head. Since then Michael and his other siblings have lived in the hope that one day the murders would be brought to justice. Then in 2003 her remains were accidentally discovered at a beach in County Louth. Tests showed she had been shot in the back of the head. Jean McConville was abducted from her council flat off the Catholic Falls Road in 1972 when neighbours informed IRA leaders she was a British sympathiser after she was seen comforting a soldier shot and wounded outside her home. Soon after her act of kindness to the soldier, Mrs McConville was beaten and found wandering the streets dazed and bleeding. Her children, then aged from six to 16, helped clean up her wounds at home. But they did not have time to heal. Less than 24 hours later, more than a dozen figures, some wearing balaclavas, arrived at the McConville family home and burst through the door demanding to see their 'mammy'. She became one of the so-called 'Disappeared', of whom there were at least 16 IRA murder victims who had been buried at secret locations Advertisement

Pensioner Bell, who is also charged with IRA membership, appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court, where he was told the high-profile case would proceed to the Crown Court.

District Judge Amanda Henderson said: 'There is a case to answer at this stage.'

Bell denies all the charges against him.

Judge Henderson's decision followed a two-day preliminary inquiry at the Laganside court complex last week.

The judge said she was 'satisfied' the strength of the evidence was sufficient to meet the threshold to return the accused for trial.

Throughout the brief hearing, white-haired, moustachioed Bell stood in the dock beside a prison guard, wearing a blue coat, grey and white striped shirt and grey cardigan.

On the advice of his solicitor he replied 'no' when asked if he had any response or intended to call witnesses.

The widow was shot in the back of the head and secretly buried 50 miles from her home, becoming one of the 'Disappeared' victims of the sectarian conflict.

It was not until 1999 that the IRA admitted to the murder when information was passed to police in the Irish Republic.

Her remains were eventually found on Shelling Hill beach, Co Louth, by a member of the public in August 2003. Nobody has been convicted of her murder.

Part of the case against Bell is based on the content of tapes police secured from an oral history archive collated by Boston College in the United States.

Academics interviewed a series of former republican and loyalist paramilitaries for their Belfast Project on the understanding the accounts of the Troubles would remain unpublished until their deaths.

But that undertaking was rendered meaningless when Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) detectives investigating Mrs McConville's death won a court battle in the US to secure the recordings.

It is alleged one of the interviews was given by Bell - a claim the defendant denies - and he was first charged in March 2014.

Bell's defence lawyers have repeatedly argued that the case should be discontinued.

Defence barrister Dessie Hutton told the judge there would be a request for legal aid for two counsel. A trial date has yet to be confirmed.

Campaign: Michael McConville, left, son of Jean McConville, has said previously he and his family know who killed their mother but are too scared to speak out in case they are killed

Murder: The mother of ten's body is removed from an area near Templetown beach in County Louth - 31 years after she died

Unsolved: Nobody in the gang that abducted and murdered Mrs McConville has ever been prosecuted - until today

Anger: In May 2014, after his release, Gerry Adams, left , denied involvement in the murder and said his arrest was politically motivated. Right, a younger Adams attends the funeral of an IRA bombmaker taken around the time of Mrs McConville's death

A number of Mrs McConvilles children, who have long campaigned for justice for their mother, were present in the public gallery but they declined to speak outside the court.

Her son Michael and his siblings are still too afraid to name her 'high- profile' killers.

He said that Mr Adams had threatened him with a 'backlash' if he released the names of those he held responsible for his mother's abduction and murder when the pair met several years ago.

TIMELINE:THE ABDUCTION AND MURDER OF JEAN MCCONVILLE December 1972: Neighbours claim they saw Jean McConville helping a wounded British soldier in west Belfast and the following day she was attacked and beaten in a bingo hall. The next evening a gang of IRA members smashed into her home and abducted her, with one member returning a day later with her purse and wedding ring. 1999: For 27 years the IRA refused to admit it was involved in her murder. But then it passed information to police in the Republic of Ireland that her body was under a beach in County Louth. Officers searched for her but found nothing and the hunt was abandoned. 2003: A huge storm washed away an embankment at Shelling Beach, revealing the body of Mrs McConville. A post mortem examination revealed she had been mutilated and had broken bones. She was shot in the back of the head while kneeling, experts said. She was now buried next to her late husband Arthur. 2008: Belfast IRA commander Brendan Hughes dies and on a taped interview with academics from Boston carrying out a study on the Troubles. He alleged Gerry Adams had ordered Mrs McConville's killing - claims the Sinn Fein leader vehemently contested. 2013: Old Bailey bomber Dolours Price made it public that she had also given an interview to Boston College about Mrs McConville's death in which she made similar allegations about Mr Adams. Lawyers representing the Police service in Northern Ireland launch a legal bid in the US to obtain the tapes to seek prosecutions and they won. March 2014: Veteran republican Ivor Bell, 77, charged with aiding and abetting in the murder - a counts he denies. April 30 2014: Gerry Adams is arrested and later released. He denies any involvement July 7 2016: Ivor Bell, 79, is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnap, killing and secret burial of the widow. Advertisement

The police case lay effectively dormant for decades until a flurry of activity this year, with a series of arrests made, the most high-profile undoubtedly being the detention of Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams.

He was released after four days detention with Sinn Fein bosses including Martin McGuinness claiming his arrest was politically motivated.

Later Mr Adams admitted that a 'credible threat' has been made against his life but criticised the timing because it was during an election period.

Adams has repeated and categorically denied involvement in the death or the IRA policy of 'The Disappeared'  men and women in Northern Ireland suspected of being informers of the British who were taken from the streets, questioned, shot and buried.

A week after she disappeared, Michael, her son, was taken, bound to a chair, had a gun held to his head, beaten and was threatened with being shot if he spoke about the IRA.

Mr McConville, who was 11 when his mother was snatched, said he knew several of the gang involved because they lived near him in West Belfast and one would 'definitely' now be regarded as household name.

He said: 'It's someone very high-profile. A very well-known person. It goes right to the top of the Republican movement.'

The abduction and murder of Mrs McConville in 1972 is one of the most notorious crimes of the Troubles and IRA terrorists have previously alleged that Gerry Adams personally ordered her killing.

In 2014 a US court compelled a Boston university to hand over to Northern Irish police recorded interviews with republicans about Mrs McConville's murder.

Dolours Price was the first woman to become a member of an IRA active service unit and the leader of the terror cell which bombed the Old Bailey in 1973.

Price, who died last year, recounted to academics how she was chosen to be part of a small select unit within the three battalions that made up the Belfast Brigade.

The group of eight hand-picked volunteers, labelled 'the Unknowns', were responsible for 'special operations, including internal investigations to weed out informers'.

She told Boston academics: 'The hardest thing I ever did was drive those people away, the Disappeared.

'I never knew for sure their ultimate end, I was simply told by Gerry Adams to take the people away, a couple of lads or whatever.

'It was part of my job within the 'Unknowns' to take them across the border to hand them over to others. I don't even remember some of the names, isn't that terrible?'

Price's interview continued: 'I drove away Jean McConville, a very, very unpleasant woman.

'I know I shouldn't speak ill of the dead and I don't think she deserved to die and, at the time, I didn't know she had children.

'You don't deserve to die if you are an unpleasant person, as she was, but you do deserve to die if you are an informer, I do believe that. Particularly in a war, that is the Republican way.'

Anger: Republicans have been upset by the evidence given by IRA members to Boston academics later used by police as part of their murder investigation

At least two high-profile IRA operatives have linked the Sinn Fein leader to the murder of Jean McConville, the mother of ten who was brutally abducted, executed and secretly buried in December 1972.

The former IRA terrorists who claim they served alongside Adams say he ordered the killing.

They include two damning accounts  one of which was given by ex-hunger striker Brendan 'Darkie' Hughes, a former deputy commander of the IRA's Belfast Brigade.

Hughes, who died in 2008, said McConville was killed on Adams' orders. 'There was only one man who gave the order for that woman to be executed . . . that man is now the head of Sinn Fein,' he said.

JEAN MCCONVILLE'S MURDER IS THE MOST HIGH PROFILE CASE OF THE 16 VICTIMS KNOWN AS THE DISAPPEARED

There were up to 16 victims who were killed over 31 years who are referred to as The Disappeared.

In 1999 the IRA said members had murdered nine of them and hidden their bodies across the Republic of Ireland.

To date, only seven bodies have been found and the others are still missing.

Splinter group the Irish National Liberation Army claimed one death.

Many of the missing were found after the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains was established in 1999 and carried out forensics-led searches.

Those found to date are:

Peter Wilson:The vulnerable man with learning difficulties went missing at the age of 21 from his west Belfast home in 1973. Reports suggest he might have been abducted and murdered by the IRA.

For four days before he vanished he lived with an Army unit at their headquarters near his Falls Road home. At the time the Army was accused of using a vulnerable person to gather information on the IRA, but the Army said they wanted him to experience military life.

His remains were found at Waterfoot beach in County Antrim in November 2010.

Eamon Molloy: He was accused of being an informer by the IRA and was abducted from his home in north Belfast in July 1975. His body was discovered in a coffin in County Louth in 1999.

Brian McKinney: First went missing for 48 hours in 1978 and returned home beaten and distraught after allegedly admitting to stealing IRA weapons. Soon after he went missing with his friend John McClory. They were discovered in a bog in County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland in 1999.

Danny McIlhone: He disappeared from his west Belfast home in 1981. The IRA said Mr McIlhone was not suspected of being an informer but was being questioned about stealing weapons.

It was claimed he was killed in a struggle with the person who was guarding him.

Remains discovered in the Wicklow mountains in the Republic in November 2008 were confirmed as his.

Charles Armstrong: The 57-year-old father-of-five from Crossmaglen, south Armagh, disappeared on his way to mass in 1981. His car was later found near a cinema in Dundalk.

The IRA denied any involvement in his disappearance at the time.

Human remains were found in County Monaghan in July 2010. Two months later, they were confirmed as being those of Mr Armstrong.

Gerard Evans: The 24-year-old was last seen hitch-hiking in March 1979 and no one admitted responsibility for his death.

In March 2008, his aunt was given a map claiming to identify the location of his body.

Mr Evans' remains were found at a site in County Louth in October 2010.

Eugene Simons: He went missing from his home in County Down in 1081.

He was 26 years old.

His remains were found accidentally in a bog near Dundalk in 1984.

STILL MISSING

Captain Robert Nairac: SAS-trained officer, 29, abducted by the IRA in County Armagh in May 1977.

Columba McVeigh: The 19-year-old was abducted and murdered in 1975 after allegedly confessing to being a British Army agent ordered to infiltrated the IRA.

Seamus Ruddy: Teacher working in Paris in 1985 when he went missing, aged 32, thought to be killed by members of the INLA.

Kevin McKee: Belfast IRA man was interrogated and murdered by the IRA in 1972 accused of being a British Army agent .

Brendan McGraw: IRA claimed the 24-year-old from Belfast confessed he was a British under-cover agent in 1978.

Seamus Wright: Was murdered by his IRA colleagues in 1972accused of being a British army agent.
Racist thugs painted 'Muslims are scum' on the front door of a refugee family who have endured four months of horrific racist abuse.

The Egyptian husband and wife and their four young children have also had knives stabbed in their lawn and onions thrown at their house.

The dad, who did not want to be named, told how his wife has been called 'raghead' in the streets near their home in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff and their 11-year-old son was pushed from his bike.

The Egyptian family have suffered a torrent of physical and verbal attacks since moving into their new home in Cardiff, including 'Muslims are scum' being daubed on their front door

The dad, originally from Egypt, said the attacks had been reported to the police but no action had been taken.

He said: 'We are very scared. My children are frightened of going outside. Our house is like a prison.

'They threw knives on to our lawn - one big knife and one medium-sized one. The children have been abused at school and on the street.

'My wife was called 'monster' and 'raghead' and the f-word.

'We have reported it to the police but nothing has happened. We feel unwelcome. We thought everything was equality here. We have come as refugees and we have not found it safe.'

He said the verbal abuse had got worse since the vote to leave the EU on June 23 but the racist attacks had started before.

Mohammed Alamgir, from the Muslim Council of Wales, said he had met the father of the family to odder support, and echoed his worries about the increase in post-Brexit racism.

Knives have been thrown into the garden while the family have been subjected to vile racist taunts

He said the attacks on the family and others had undoubtedly stepped up since the vote, including cases of women having scarves pulled from their heads.

'The attacks traditionally have been targeted towards women and by groups of perpetrators but now it is spread across men and women, young and old, by individuals,' he said.

This case is horrible and shocking. We have had a huge rise in racist attacks being reported to us Aliya Mohammed, chief executive of Race Equality First

In the days following the Brexit vote, the National Police Chiefs' Council reported a 57 per cent year-on-year rise in hate crimes, particularly against Poles and Muslims.

Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the attacks as 'despicable'.

Aliya Mohammed, chief executive of South Wales charity Race Equality First, said she was shocked by the torrent of racist abuse reported to the organisation since the vote to leave the EU.

'This case is horrible and shocking. We have been astounded and shocked at the level of racism that was hidden before. We have had a huge rise in racist attacks being reported to us," she said.

South Wales Police insisted they were taking the family's complaints seriously, but had not made any arrests.

Neighbourhood policing inspector Geraint White, said: 'South Wales Police takes reports of hate crime very seriously and those who report such incidents are supported by specially trained officers.

'A number of reports have been received from one family in Llanedeyrn dating back to May and each allegation is being fully investigated.'

And Superintendent Liane Bartlett of South Wales Police denied the Brexit vote had resulted in an increase in victims reporting racist crimes.
Four months after ISIS were chased out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, a video has emerged of them smashing up ancient sculptures and even driving a lorry over mummies.

ISIS captured the city in May 2015 and began blowing up some of the major landmarks at the UNESCO-listed world heritage site.

It used the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre to conduct public executions, with the blood of the victims staining the sand.

Palmyra dates back 4,000 years but most of the ruins date from the Roman period.

The video shows ISIS zealots taking out an ancient mummy from a temple or museum

The mummy is then laid on the road and a lorry reverses over it

The mummy, which had endured for thousands of years, is crushed in an instant

ISIS destroyed the famous Arch of Triumph, the Temple of Baalshamin and the Temple of Bel and left mines and booby traps in much of the ruins.

They also looted the city's museums and the video shows them vandalising its precious exhibits.

ISIS's extreme Islamist dogma claims that anything non-Islamic is heresy and must be destroyed.

It is the same zealotry which led the Taliban to blow up the giant statues of the Buddha at Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001.

Ironically Palmyra is only a few hundred miles from the ancient kingdom of the Philistines, a term now used to describe people with scant regard for culture.

Sculptures dating from the Roman era 2,000 years ago are shown on the video. The ISIS have no respect for any culture which preceded the birth of the Prophet Mohammed in the 8th century

The video contains footage of a bearded ISIS fighter ranting away like a lunatic

He points at the ancient artefacts and tries to explain why they should be destroyed

The video shows ISIS fighters taking the sculptures from an archive in a museum in Palmyra

They then smash them on the ground, destroying precious cultural artefacts

A Russian drone flying over the 2,000-year-old amphithetre in Palmyra filmed images believed to be large blood stains, circled, left behind from the many executions held inside the Roman-era structure by ISIS

ISIS decapitated Palmyra's 81-year-old chief archaeologist Khaled Asaad, pictured, in August 2015

Syrian forces recaptured the ancient Roman ruins from ISIS in March, after 10 months under their control

In August 2015 ISIS beheaded the city's 81-year-old chief archaeologist Khaled Asaad.

They were finally forced out of the area by the forces of Bashar al-Assad in March this year.

Russian drone footage, filmed shortly after it was recaptured, showed some parts of the ruins had escaped destruction.

Many of Palmyra's temples and tombs were dynamited by ISIS in what the United Nations described as a war crime.

ISIS have been forced into a retreat across Iraq and Syria having lost some major sections of territory





The total extent of the damage to the 2,000-year-old city of Palmyra, pictured is not yet known
A couple claim their luxury 2,500 anniversary holiday was ruined by food poisoning when they claim they were served raw chicken at the hotel restaurant.

Stephen and Kelli Burke spent two weeks in an all-inclusive four star hotel while on a Thomas Cook holiday in Riviera Maya, Mexico, in May to celebrate their first wedding anniversary after tying the knot last July.

But Mr Burke, from Warrington, Cheshire, claims he was left vomiting for days after eating raw chicken from the hotel's buffet.

Stephen and Kelli Burke, pictured above, were on holiday in Mexico to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and hoped for a luxury once-in-a-lifetime experience

Mr Burke said this chicken was served to him earlier in the week when he asked the chef to grill him a fresh piece. According to the 31-year-old, the hotel chef said he had asked to have it served this way

Mr Burke, who alleges he lost a stone as a result of the week-long illness while Mrs Burke, 26, did not fall ill, has shared shocking images of raw chicken he claims he was served on two separate occasions.

The 31-year-old youth worker said: 'We were expecting a really nice, luxurious romantic break - a once in a lifetime trip really.

'But it was absolutely horrendous and it cost us the final few days of our holiday, as well as time when we got back to the UK as the symptoms continued.

'The whole thing was an absolute joke.

'You might expect it in other places, but this resort was supposed to be out of this world in terms of luxury.

Mr Burke, pictured, claims he lost a stone after being struck with constant vomiting and diarrhoea after he was served raw chicken in the hotel restaurant.

'We spent a lot of money on the holiday. We are not going to be able to go away again this year for another holiday of that value - it is just ruined until we can go away next year now.'

Mr Burke claims he was served a freshly-cooked chicken breast fillet from a buffet on the couple's first full day at the hotel, but when he cut it open it was completely raw and pink inside.

He said he did not eat the chicken, and alleges when he complained to management he was told he had asked the chef for the meat to be cooked like that.

The Burkes were upgraded following the incident but Mr Burke claims during the second week of the holiday he was served raw chicken again.

The same night, he alleges he was struck down by severe food poisoning and suffered constant vomiting and diarrhoea, stomach pains and flu-like symptoms.

Mr Burke said: 'The first full day we were there I got some freshly cooked chicken from the buffet and couldn't believe it when I cut into it - it was completely raw inside.

'It was disgusting, I thought if I hadn't looked down at the food I could easily have started eating it, and it could have affected me badly.

'Regardless of if I had asked for it to be cooked like that or to be served raw chicken, which I definitely hadn't, and never would.

'During the second week, we went for dinner and there wasn't much on the menu so I went for some chicken fajita filling with roasted red peppers and onions.

'As I ate it I noticed it didn't taste right and Kelli said the same, but we thought it was just the sauce it had been cooked in.

'Suddenly Kelli told me to stop eating - she had noticed when I had cut a piece of the chicken open it was completely raw, it wasn't cooked at all.'

He added: 'I stopped eating at once, but I'd already had quite a lot of the chicken at this point.

I was being sick constantly, and had severe diarrhoea. It turned the holiday into a complete nightmare we will remember for all the wrong reasons. Stephen Burke, youth worker

'That was it then - that night through the night I was being sick constantly, and had severe diarrhoea.

'The rest of the holiday I was wiped out, it was just constant.

'I was examined by a doctor at the resort did have some injections while I was there which helped with the sickness, but I still felt absolutely awful.

'The whole thing was just an awful experience - it turned the holiday into a complete nightmare we will remember for all the wrong reasons.

'I want to know Thomas Cook are taking our concerns seriously and hope that by beginning legal action we will encourage them to take a look at the standard of this hotel.'

Mr Burke claims he could barely eat for the rest of the 'ruined' trip and for the week after the couple got home still had no appetite at all.

The Burkes, above, are now taking legal action in the hope their concerns will be addressed. Thomas Cook said it was liaising with the couple's lawyer and hoped to reach an agreement soon

Mrs Burke - who had avoided eating most of the meat on offer at the buffets - felt nauseous but managed to avoid any further symptoms.

They said because there were no other independent restaurants in the vicinity of the resort, they had no choice but to continue eating in the hotel.

Clare Comiskey, an Irwin Mitchell associate representing the couple, said: 'Clearly Stephen and Kelli were expecting a fantastic holiday to celebrate their first year of marriage, but sadly they did not experience this and have been left with terrible memories of the holiday as a result of the illness Stephen endured in the final few days of the break.

'We have now launched our own investigation into the illness he suffered at the resort.

'Stephen and Kelli are hopeful that by taking legal action they will ensure the concerns they have about the standard of the hotel and the hygiene practices in place will be addressed by Thomas Cook, as they simply do not want to see others go through the same ordeal they did.'

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: 'Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers, and we are always concerned to hear of any sickness reported while on holiday.
A ban on burkas has come into force in part of Switzerland with anyone wearing a full face veil subject to 8,000 fines (file picture)

A ban on burkas has come into force in part of Switzerland with anyone wearing a full face veil subject to 8,000 fines.

Authorities in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino rolled out the restriction on July 1, banning people from wearing the garment in shops, restaurants and public buildings.

The local government in the southern Swiss state approved the rule after a referendum in September 2013 saw two in three voters backing the move.

Fines of up to 10,000 Swiss Francs (7,850) will be imposed for anyone breaking the rules although the minimum fine will be closer to 100 Swiss Francs (78).

The move comes despite the huge popularity of the region among tourists from the Middle East.

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Bern had earlier issued advice to its citizens.

According to The Express, the embassy wrote on Twitter: 'The embassy wishes to emphasize that the Ticino cantonal authorities in south eastern Switzerland have announced that as of July 1, 2016 they will start to enforce the burqa (niqab) ban in public places in the canton, including in Lugano, Locarno, Magadino, Bellinzona, Ascona and Mendrisio.

'As school holidays [in Saudi Arabia] are coming up, the embassy reminds all honorable citizens of the necessity to respect and conform to Swiss rules and regulations in order avoid all problems.'

According to the Local, the Ticino government had originally wanted to ban burkas and niqabs as well as masks worn by demonstrators and balaclavas.

However, MPs voted for a law that only applies to veils worn by some Muslim women and makes no exceptions for tourists visiting the area.

Authorities in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino (file picture) rolled out the restriction on July 1, banning people from wearing the garment in shops, restaurants and public buildings

The Swiss Parliament said the ban does not violate federal law.

Visitors coming into Ticino will be informed at airports and by customs officers at the Italian border it is illegal for people to hide their face under a burqa or niqab, while in the state.
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Draped in ceremonial robes, the Queen and Prince Philip led senior members of the Royal Family as they arrived for the Order of the Thistle service today.

The royal couple were joined by Princess Anne, Prince William and the Knights and Ladies of the Order for the service of thanksgiving at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Hundreds of well-wishers lined the Royal Mile to catch a glimpse of the party as they entered the cathedral to a trumpet fanfare. After the ceremony, the Queen was greeted by the Royal Company of Archers - her official bodyguards in Scotland - and musicians from the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The Order of the Thistle recognises men and women who have held public office or who have contributed in a significant way to Scottish life. It is the highest honour in Scotland and the second highest in the UK, preceded only by the Order of the Garter.

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Draped in traditional robes, the monarch was joined by Prince Philip and Prince William for the annual ceremony at St Giles' Cathedral

Wearing a white dress under her regalia, the Queen looked contemplative as she walked alongside senior members of her family

Prince Philip, Princess Anne and Prince William were also present for the service honours the most senior Scottish knights and ladies

The Duke of Cambridge and the Princess Royal leave St Giles' Cathedral, left. Right, the Queen speaks with one of the Knights of the Order

The Princess Royal, Prince William, Prince Philip and the Queen lead the procession as they take part in the traditional service

Steeped in ancient traditions, the proceedings started in the Signet Library in the centre of Edinburgh.

Each member of the party was dressed in their striking green velvet robes, glistening insignia and white-plumed hats. Her Majesty's long mantle was so cumbersome that a page boy, dressed in traditional green garments, was enlisted to help hold it up at times.

The senior royals, who are all members of the order, then took part in a grand procession into the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle, where The Queen installs any new Knights in a private service.

This year there were no new Knights or Ladies Companion to be installed as the number of current members is at a maximum of 16.

The procession then continued to the Cathedral for the remainder of the service, where hymns, readings and prayers were heard.

Following the Service there is a short Reception in the Signet Library, and a lunch at the Palace of Hollyroodhouse. The royal party was accompanied by others who hold the honour, including Lord Smith of Kelvin, Lord Steel and Lord Cullen.

The Queen appeared in good spirits as she left the service alongside one of the Knights of the Order, Prince Philip followed behind

As sovereign, the Queen has the power to gift membership to the order at the annual service. Pictured, the Queen leaving the cathedral

Princess Anne waved as she left the cathedral with her nephew, Prince William, known as the Earl of Strathearn while in Scotland

The Duke of Cambrdige and Princess Anne, left. Right, the Queen was followed by a page boy who helped carry her heavy mantle

The Queen led senior members of the Royal Family as they were escorted by the officers of the Order of the Thistle during the procession

STEEPED IN TRADITION: THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF THE THISTLE - AND THE CURRENT MEMBERS History of the Order of the Thistle The Order of the Thistle represents the highest honour in Scotland and honours men and women who have held have worked in public office or have contributed to the Scottish nation. The order is the highest honour in Scotland and the second in the UK, preceded only by the Order of the Garter. It was established by James II in 1687 with a statutory foundation. In 1688, the Order fell into disuse following James II's abdication until it was revived by Queen Anne in 1703. The maximum number of members, known as Knights and Ladies Companion was augmented from 12 to the current 16 by George IV in 1827. The Sovereign has historically had the power to choose Knights of the Order but from the eighteenth century onwards, the Sovereign made his or her choices upon the advice of the Government. This changed during the reign of George VI, who felt that the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle had been used only for political patronage, rather than to reward actual merit. In 1946, with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, both Orders returned to the personal gift of the Sovereign. Women, other than the Queen regnant, were not admitted to the order until 1987. The patron saint of the Order of the Thistle is St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, who also appears on the Order's badge. Knights and Ladies of the Order wear a mantle of green velvet bound with taffeta and tied with cords and tassels of green and gold. Knights and Ladies of the Order wear a mantle of green velvet bound with taffeta and tied with cords and tassels of green and gold. The gold collar consists of thistles, suspended from the centre an enamelled representation of St Andrew, surrounded by golden rays. The motto is 'Nemo me impune lacessit' (No one harms me with impunity). Knights and Ladies Companion: Andrew, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine KT JP DL (1981) David, Earl of Airlie KT GCVO PC JP (1985) Robert, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres KT GCVO PC DL (1996) Lady Marion Fraser LT (1996) Norman, Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden KT DL (1996) James, Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT PC QC (1997) David, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn KT GCMG (2000) Stewart, Lord Sutherland of Houndwood KT (2002) Sir Eric Anderson KT (2002) David, Lord Steel of Aikwood KT KBE PC (2004) George, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT GCMG PC (2004) William, Lord Cullen of Whitekirk KT PC (2007) David, Lord Hope of Craighead KT PC QC (2009) Narendra, Lord Patel KT (2009) David, Earl of Home KT CVO CBE (2014) Robert, Lord Smith of Kelvin KT CH (2014) Officers: Dean: Very Reverend Professor Iain Torrance, TD Chancellor: David, Earl of Airlie KT GCVO PC JP Gentleman Usher of the Green Rod: Rear Admiral Christopher Hope Layman CB DSO LVO King of Arms: Dr Joseph Morrow (Lord Lyon King of Arms) Secretary: Elizabeth Roads LVO (Snawdoun Herald, Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records) Advertisement

As they departed, onlookers who had crowded into the nearby Royal Mile were rewarded with a glimpse of the royal party.

Wearing a white embellished dress under her regalia, the Queen looked contemplative as she walked alongside members of her family. Her Majesty also wore white silk gloves and carried a small metallic silver handbag on her arm.

Her daughter, the Princess Royal, who was invested in the Order of the Thistle in 2001, look dignified as she took part in the procession through the streets.

She walked alongside Prince William, who is known as the Earl of Strathearn in Scotland and was installed into the Order of the Thistle in 2012. Not present was his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, who was seen enjoying the tennis at Wimbledon this afternoon.

The Queen is in Scotland for Holyrood Week, which sees the monarch visiting different regions in the country every year. Earlier this week she hosted a reception at Holyrood Palace to honour Scots for their commitment to public service.

Around 140 people were invited to the event to celebrate their contribution to society in areas ranging from physics to sport.

The Queen and Prince Philip also attended a Sunday service at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk.

The Royal Family are escorted by the officers of the Order as they attend the annual service at St Giles' Cathedral, in Edinburgh

Lord Steel of Aikwood, pictured left today, and Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, right, were both appointed Knights of the Order in 2004

The Royal Family were accompanied by other members of the Order of the Thistle, including Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (centre) and Lord Steel of Aikwood (third from right), who wore ceremonial gowns

So the Royal Regiment band AREN'T true Scotsmen! Kilted clarinetist keels over during Order of the Thistle service - revealing his blue and white striped UNDERPANTS

By Joseph Curtis for MailOnline

It is a proud tradition for the military in Scotland - but one member of the Royal Regiment of Scotland appears to have let the side down by wearing underpants beneath his kilt.

The clarinetist in the regiment's band collapsed during a procession for the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh today, revealing a pair of blue and white trunks rather than 'going regimental'.

Those who choose to wear kilts without underwear are known as 'True Scotsman', and the tradition began when kilts were part of Scottish military uniform up until they were retired in 1940 due to exposing the skin to chemical weapons.

A clarinetist from the Royal Regiment of Scotland band collapsed, left, during the Order of the Thistle service, revealing he was wearing underwear beneath his kilt and therefore is not a 'True Scotsman'

The clarinetist fell to his knees at St Giles' Cathedral in the Scottish capital as two of his fellow musicians came to his aid.

He was then laid on the floor after fainting which is when his underwear was revealed, before he recovered and was helped to his feet. He is believed to be unharmed.

The tradition has been criticised in recent years, including by the director of the Scottish Tartans Authority, Brian Wilton, who described the tradition of not wearing undergarments as 'childish and unhygienic' in 2010.
Juan Majendie, 30, was cheating on his 21-year-old partner Illona Wroblewska (pictured) with another woman

A vengeful girlfriend posted naked pictures of her love rival on Facebook before sending them to the woman's work colleagues.

Juan Majendie, 30, was cheating on his 21-year-old partner Illona Wroblewska with another woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

When Wroblewska found out, she managed to get her hands on pictures of her rival in various sexual poses, some of which were in the nude.

She then posted them on Facebook before emailing them to staff at the victim's firm.

Prosecutor Tracy Mesmain told Thames Magistrates said: 'This stems from a matter of the heart.

'Mr Majendie was seeing two women at once, he couldn't make his mind up. He'd told the victim he would leave his partner for her, then gone on holiday with Ms Wroblewska.

'He had been on holiday in Africa with her and then called the victim saying he loved her. When he returned they were intimate.

'He'd then messaged saying he didn't want to see her any more.'

It was at that point that Ms Wroblewska got hold of the intimate images.

She contacted the woman on May 25, telling her she had obtained naked pictures.

Two weeks later, on June 7, the victim woke up to find two fake Facebook accounts containing seven pictures of her, one of which was naked.

Ms Mesmain continued: 'The victim was in states of undress and sexually posing. These pictures were sent to her friends and her employment.

'This was of great embarrassment to her and added difficulty at work with her boss.'

Tom Mayall, defending Wroblewska, admitted that his client had made a mistake.

When Wroblewska (pictured, with Mr Majendie) found out, she managed to get her hands on pictures of her rival in various sexual poses, some of which were in the nude. She then posted them on Facebook before emailing them to staff at the victim's firm

Wroblewska (pictured, with Mr Majendie outside court), of Finchley, north London, admitted disclosing private photographs and was given a six week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months

He said: 'She regrets what she has done. She understands the gravity of this on the complainant.'

Wroblewska, of Finchley, north London, who attended court with Mr Majendie, admitted disclosing private photographs and was given a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.

She was also handed a restraining order from the victim until further order, ordered to pay 250 compensation, and a victim surcharge of 115.

Magistrate Ofelina Allen said: 'This was premeditated, the nature of the images was totally unacceptable and for you to send these images to the victim's employer is totally unacceptable.
Talks to try and persuade Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to quit will continue today as his rivals hesitate over a bid to force him out.

Despite an unprecedented revolt by Labour MPs in Parliament, triggered by the Brexit result and fuelled by fears he will lead to them electoral disaster, Mr Corbyn has continued on regardless.

The Leader of the Opposition announced a rag-tag new shadow cabinet on Tuesday night and yesterday savaged Tony Blair over the Iraq Inquiry from the Despatch Box.

Unite leader Len McCluskey has been working in Parliament for much of the week, holding separate meetings with Mr Corbyn and his deputy Tom Watson in a bid to resolve the impasse.

Talks will continue later today and sources claimed to MailOnline there remained a 'slim chance' of success as the party tried to navigate 'completely uncharted territory'.

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Jeremy Corbyn, pictured leading Labour's response to Chilcot yesterday, has vowed to fight on as leader despite an unprecedented revolt and withdrawal of support from his MPs

Mr Corbyn is in Paris today and will not meet Mr McCluskey.

Angela Eagle and Owen Smith, both seen as likely challengers to Mr Corbyn if he clings on, both signalled today they would postpone again the moment they strike while talks continue.

Labour has been gripped by an acute crisis for 12 days since Mr Corbyn fired Hilary Benn as shadow foreign secretary in the early hours of Sunday May 26.

Since then, 65 front benchers have quit and Mr Corbyn overwhelmingly lost a confidence vote among MPs.

Mr McCluskey today told reporters in Parliament: 'We are seeking time, we asking people to give us time. Theres no haste here, theres no rush for anybody to declare.

'So, we are asking for people to give us a little bit of time to see what we can do.'

Mr Smith, who quit as shadow work and pensions secretary more than a week ago, today said he was happy to give more time.

Diane Abbott last night addressed a Momentum rally called in support of Jeremy Corbyn last night but the Labour leader did not appear himself

In a statement, he said: 'I stand ready to do anything I can to save and serve the party.

'Yesterday, I spoke directly with Len McCluksey of Unite and met with our leader Jeremy Corbyn to explore what I can do to heal the rifts that have opened up in our movement.

'Jeremy has also reassured me that he is engaging in talks with an open mind. I believe all of us whose priority is to restore unity in the Labour movement and give us a chance to defeat our only true enemy, the Tories, should give these talks every chance to succeed.

'That is what I intend to do and I urge all my colleagues to do likewise.'

Sources close to Ms Eagle insisted Mr Corbyn was weakening with every passing day.

The source told MailOnline: 'The country needs an effective opposition. Jeremy Corbyn needs to go.

'He was not competent to begin with and he's even more incompetent today.'

Mr Corbyn made two appearances leading Labour's response to Chilcot yesterday, first in Parliament and then in a major speech.

But he missed a rally of Momentum activists last night which was called in support of his beleaguered leadership.
Elaine Ryan, aged 60, accused a man on the Flybe flight of being a member of ISIS and said he had a bomb on board

A drunk grandmother who terrified plane passengers after claiming a tourist was a member of ISIS and had a bomb on board has been jailed.

Elaine Ryan, 60, accused a man on board the Flybe flight of having a bomb and being a member of the terror group.

A court heard 48 passengers, including children, were terrified by her claims during the 50-minute flight.

The retired NHS nurse was seen by crew members with a half-empty bottle of vodka in one hand and an unlit cigarette in the other on the plane on March 27.

Ryan, from Coventry, had to be removed from her seat and was strapped in a galley area when crew were unable to stop her drunken tirade.

But she continued hurling abuse and accused a steward of also being a member of ISIS.

The court heard the plane was able to continue on its scheduled flight path despite an emergency landing being considered by the captain.

He was forced to request a priority landing slot, jumping ahead of other aircraft, to get the plane on the ground so rowdy Ryan could be arrested at Birmingham Airport.

The mother-of-three was jailed today at Birmingham Crown Court for seven months after pleading guilty to an offence of being drunk on an aircraft and obstructing a police constable.

Melbourne Inman QC, the Recorder of Birmingham, said: 'You began to shout at another passenger that he was a member of Islamic State and was going to blow the plane up.

'Some passengers were clearly very frightened and they included children.

'Many were growing extremely alarmed and hostile at your appalling behaviour.

'The plane had to become a priority landing which had a knock on effect on other planes wanting to land at that airport.

'All those travelling in an aeroplane are relatively vulnerable because even a small incident may have potentially catastrophic consequences 25,000 feet in the air.

'Behaviour such as this cannot be tolerated and courts should include an element of deterrence for the benefit of the public.'

The 48 passengers, including children, on the Flybe plane (file picture above) were terrified after Ryan's drunken tirade at the tourist

Despite considering making an emergency landing, the pilot was able to end the journey at Birmingham Airport (pictured above) on March 27 and Ryan was arrested

The judge added: 'In your case it is particularly serious given present circumstances, you made references to somebody being part of a terrorist group and being armed with a bomb.

'I am afraid for offences of this nature custody is inevitable.'

Lal Amarasinghe, prosecuting, said even as police attempted to arrest her, Ryan demanded to be allowed to smoke before scratching one of the officers.

Interviewed the following day once sober, Ryan said she had no memory of the flight or attacking the policeman.

Anthony Cartin, defending, said Ryan, had been tackling her alcoholism but had suffered a relapse.

He said: 'She has her demons, she has not ignored them.
A woman whose relationship fell to pieces because of her boyfriend's addiction to pornography has revealed the shocking details of his obsession.

The New Zealand woman spent two and a half years in a relationship with a man whose addiction to porn eventually led to him rejecting her sexually and becoming violent towards her.

She shared her story with blog NZgirl in the hopes it would break down porn addiction stereotypes and help women affected by it.

A New Zealand woman has revealed the impact her former boyfriend's porn addiction had on their relationship (stock image)

The woman described how her former boyfriend revealed on their second date he watched 'a lot' of pornography - but didn't realise how bad it was (stock image)

In a description of the impact his porn habit had on her, she wrote: 'You destroyed my soul. You destroyed my life and you destroyed our life. We would have had a future and it would have been good.

'I feel violated for some reason and if you had have actually cheated on me with a person at least I would have someone to be angry at.'

The anonymous woman said she met her boyfriend-to-be online, and on their second date, he revealed he watched 'a lot' of porn.

But, being a self-described 'open-minded, sexually confident modern woman' she was okay with it.

She thought it would improve their relationship.

However, he watched porn 'a few' times a day and wouldn't let her join him.

The woman began to realise her boyfriend was 'sizing up' women in the street because he was so used to sexualising women.

After noticing he was watching more and more pornography, she told him she had noticed and that he'd been rejecting her, but he didn't care that it was affecting her.

He would watch more and more porn, and try to find ways to get her out of the house so he could watch it (stock image)

He would lie to her about his porn habit and deny he even watched it (stock image)

Still, they moved in together.

Her boyfriend continually denied her sexual advances, telling her she was addicted to sex.

At one point, she had discovered she had only left their house for five minutes and he'd watched porn, opening up several videos online.

He would try to get her out of the house so he could watch porn, and deny that he had viewed it.

Eventually, she began to confront him about it - but he became aggressive each time and walk away.

But when she asked him to stop altogether and focus on their sex life, he flew into a rage, she wrote in the NZgirl post.

'I wasn't prepared for the biggest violent rage I had ever seen from you. Screaming at me, smashing your fists with full strength on walls, bench tops. When you calmed down I calmly asked you if you could concentrate on our sex life instead of porn. You said "give up porn to focus on you, yeah right".'

They went to counselling, but it didn't help.

One day, she told him: 'you have a hot woman at home who you are attracted to, but you prefer a screen and that I think that is sad,' her post on NZgirl said.

He flew towards her, his fists stopping five centimetres from her face.

She ended the relationship and told him to leave.

Although she was heartbroken because she had genuinely loved her boyfriend, he had 'destroyed' her.

The woman has called for a conversation about pornography and its impact on people, saying it can have the same impact as drugs like methamphetamine or heroin.

At one point, she had discovered she had only left their house for five minutes and he'd watched porn, opening up several videos online (stock image)
Keith Fitzgerald Knowles Jr., pictured, is charged with robbery, theft and battery on a person over 65

A man turned himself in to Fort Lauderdale police after his mother recognized him in surveillance video circulated by detectives who were looking for a suspect in a string of drug store robberies, authorities said.

Keith Fitzgerald Knowles Jr., 27, told investigators his mother showed him the video footage of the robberies and he admitted that it was indeed him, a police report said.

Investigators had released the videos showing a series of robberies at Walgreens stores across Broward County in June in hopes of tracking down the suspect.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said on its website Wednesday that Knowles had robbed four Walgreens stores that month.

There was a June 11 robbery in Plantation, a June 21 robbery in Lauderdale Lakes, a June 22 robbery in Oakland Park, and a June 25 robbery in Tamarac.

The sheriff's office wrote: 'Knowles used the same tried-and-true method in each crime.

'He selected an item and walked up to the cashier as if to pay.

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The Broward County Sheriff's Office said Knowles robbed a Plantation, Florida, Walgreens store on June 11

The suspect is also accused of robbing a Lauderdale Lakes store on June 21

The sheriff's office wrote: 'Knowles used the same tried-and-true method in each crime. He selected an item and walked up to the cashier as if to pay'

'Once the employee opened the till, the robber pushed the cashier aside, reached over the counter and quickly grabbed handfuls of cash out of the till.'

Knowles was booked into jail on Sunday.

The 27-year-old remained in jail Thursday with bond set at $45,100.

He's charged with 'facing four counts of robbery, one count of theft and a charge for battery on a person over 65,' the sheriff's office said.
Kenya's intelligence services are thought to have foiled an attempt to assassinate Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Nairobi this week.

The Israeli leader is on a four-day trip to Africa, which started on Monday when he visited the airport in Entebbe, Uganda, where his brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed 40 years ago during the famous raid which saved the lives of more than 100 Israeli passengers.

On Tuesday he visited Kenya and today the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida reported that Mr Netanyahu's life was saved when the Kenyan security forces re-routed his convoy after receiving intelligence about an assassination attempt.

Mr Netanyahu (left) met Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) in Nairobi on Tuesday, amid reports of a foiled assassination attempt

An anonymous source told the newspaper that just before Netanyahu left the airport in Nairobi on his way to his hotel the Kenyan authorities told his security detail the convoy must change its route.

There was apparently an argument between the Israeli and Kenyan security forces, but they agreed to change the route.

'After the convoy changed its course and arrived in a safe hotel, it was discovered that Kenyan intelligence had exposed a plan to attack vehicles in the original course. Thus, the decision to change the course saved the Israeli delegation,' the source told the newspaper.

Security was extremely high yesterday in Kigali as Israeli bodyguards in sunglasses (pictured) guarded Mr Netanyahu as he met Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (right)

Mr Netanyahu is the first ruling Israeli prime minister to visit Kenya and the first to visit sub-Saharan Africa in nearly three decades.

Ironically when he met Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta one of the items on his agenda was counter-terrorism.

Kenya has long been a target of extremist attacks which have hit Israeli interests. In a near simultaneous attack in 2002, al-Qaeda extremists blew up an explosives-laden vehicle at an Israeli-owned hotel on the Kenyan coast, killing 11 people, while others shot at an Israeli jetliner.

Mr Netanyahu said states must join forces against a 'new form of terrorism' that threatens all countries.

He said: 'We see eye to eye on the nature of this problem, and I think Africa and Israel overwhelmingly see eye to eye on this.'

He recalled the 2015 attack by the al-Shabaab extremist group that killed 148 people on a college campus in Garissa in Kenya and the 2013 attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed 67.

Mr Netanyahu is now in Ethiopia and is pictured inspecting a guard of honour at the national palace in Addis Ababa

The last Israeli prime minister to be assassinated was Yitzhak Rabin, who was gunned down in Tel Aviv in 1995 by a disgruntled Jewish settler.

But this week's attempt was more likely to have come from radical Islamists, who have committed atrocities before in Kenya and may be linked to the al-Shabaab group in neighbouring Somalia.

During his time in Kenya Mr Netanyahu made a speech in which he said 'Africa has no better friend than the state of Israel' when it comes to security and development.

He is the first ruling Israeli prime minister to visit Kenya and the first to visit sub-Saharan Africa in nearly three decades.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, right, walk together after giving a joint press conference on Tuesday. Mr Netanyahu said Africa had 'no better friend than Israel'

Mr Netanyahu, who has now moved on to Ethiopia, said he knew 'nothing' of an assassination attempt and learned about it for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.

'The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it,' he said.

Around 130,000 Ethiopian Jews - known as Falashas - live in Israel, having emigrated there since the 1980s.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said today he wanted to renew cooperation with Israel in the fight against extremism, and the two premiers signed agreements to increase ties in technology and agriculture.

Delegates listen as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta speak during a joint press conference as at State House in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Netanyahu is in Kenya as part of his four-nation tour of Africa. (AP Photo/Sayyid Abdul Azim)

Mr Desalegn also invited Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to return and invest in Ethiopia.

Mr Netanyahu said: 'Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel.'

Ethiopian Jews have complained of discrimination in Israeli society, and hundreds recently demonstrated against what they called Israeli police brutality.

Some have suffered from racism and in 2013 Israel was forced to admit that it had been giving Ethiopian Jewish immigrants birth control injections, often without their knowledge or consent.

In 2012 Mr Netanyahu warned illegal immigrants from Africa were 'threatening our existence as a Jewish and democratic state'.

Israel played a prominent role in assisting newly independent African countries in the 1960s, but those relations crumbled in the 1970s, when Arab countries, promising aid, pressured African nations to limit or cut ties with Israel.

African states were also opposed to Israel's close ties to South Africa's apartheid government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (centre), and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, right, wave to Kenya students who are going to Israel for training
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.MILF performer Karen Fisher is making her return to Exxxotica Chicago this Friday, July 8 through Sunday, July 10. The busty blonde bombshell will be signing for Wyde Syde Productions, owned by her good friend Sara Jay, who will also be signing in the booth.

Sara Jays Wyde Syde Productions will be part of the Pure Play Media mega booth. Both ladies will be available for photos and will be selling exclusive merchandise that they will personally autograph.

Karen will be signing several hours each daycheck her social media, including Twitter (@sexykarenfisher), for updates on when she will be on the showroom floor at the booth.

Im very excited to be appearing at Exxxotica Chicago and signing for Sara Jay, Fisher said. Its going to be a ton of fun and I hope all my fans in the area will come!

Exxxotica Chicago is taking place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Show hours are Friday 5 to 11 p.m., Saturday 1 to 10 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 7 p.m. To get tickets and more information about the show, go to Chi.ExxxoticaExpo.com.
This is the moment a 180,000 Lamborghini was destroyed in just six seconds after spinning out of control while driving at high speeds in the rain.

The motor, believed to be a 200mph Huracan, span around five times as it crossed three lanes of traffic on the M9 motorway near the Russian capital Moscow.

The film was recorded on another car's dashcam and shows the supercar trying to overtake at high speed but losing control in the rain.

Expensive error: Dashcam footage recorded the moment a 180,000 Lamorgbhini careered out of control on a motorway in Russia

The supercar crossed all three lanes after the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle on the wet road

As it spins out of control, the Lamborghini crossed the path of the car with the camera, somehow missing it.

Then it slides sideways and spins again, sideswiping a Peugeot SUV, but bounces off.

Finally it continues to spin until it slams spectacularly into the crash barrier with bodywork parts flying off in every direction.

The Lamborghini slides sideways and spins again, sideswiping a Peugeot SUV, but bounces off

The police have arrested the driver after saying that he was 'responsible for the situation'

Finally it continues to spin until it slams spectacularly into the crash barrier with bodywork parts flying off in every direction

One watcher said: 'The car making the film was doing 90kph when the Lamborghini passed him like he was standing still before he started skidding.'

Amazingly, the 30-year-old supercar driver walked away from the crash - only to be arrested by police.

A Russian police spokesman told local media: 'The 30-year-old Lamborghini driver was responsible for the situation.
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It is a proud tradition for the military in Scotland - but one member of the Royal Regiment of Scotland appears to have let the side down by wearing underpants beneath his kilt.

The clarinetist in the regiment's band collapsed during a procession for the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh today, revealing a pair of blue and white trunks rather than 'going regimental'.

Those who choose to wear kilts without underwear are known as 'True Scotsman', and the tradition began when kilts were part of Scottish military uniform up until they were retired in 1940 due to exposing the skin to chemical weapons.

The clarinetist fell to his knees at St Giles' Cathedral in the Scottish capital as two of his fellow musicians came to his aid.

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A clarinetist from the Royal Regiment of Scotland band collapsed, left and right, during the Order of the Thistle service in Edinburgh

He revealed he was not a 'True Scotsman' after a pair of blue and white striped underpants were seen beneath his kilt, pictured

The clarinetist was then helped to his feet by two of his fellow musicians, pictured, and is believed to have been unharmed in the incident

He was then laid on the floor after fainting which is when his underwear was revealed, before he recovered and was helped to his feet. He is believed to be unharmed.

The tradition has been criticised in recent years, including by the director of the Scottish Tartans Authority, Brian Wilton, who described the tradition of not wearing undergarments as 'childish and unhygienic' in 2010.

The service was attended by the Queen, Prince Philip and senior members of the Royal Family, who all donned their own ceremonial robes for the occasion.

The royal couple were joined by Princess Anne, Prince William and the Knights and Ladies of the Order for the annual proceedings at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. Hundreds of well-wishers lined the Royal Mile to catch a glimpse of the party as they entered the cathedral.

The Order of the Thistle recognises men and women who have held public office or who have contributed in a significant way to Scottish life. It is the highest honour in Scotland and the second highest in the UK, preceded only by the Order of the Garter.

The service at St Giles' Cathedral was attended by The Queen, right, Prince Philip, centre, Prince William, second left, and other senior members of the Royal Family

The Queen, pictured, donned ceremonial robes for the occasion and hundreds of people lined the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to catch a glimpse of the monarch and her family

The Queen is in Scotland for Holyrood Week, which sees the monarch visiting different regions in the country every year. Earlier this week she hosted a reception at Holyrood Palace to honour Scots for their commitment to public service.

Around 140 people were invited to the event to celebrate their contribution to society in areas ranging from physics to sport.

The Queen and Prince Philip also attended a Sunday service at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk.
Detectives investigating a former police lieutenant accused of executing two K-9 officers have discovered the remains of a third dog at his former Dallas home.

Daniel Peabody, 50, was arrested in June after he left his K-9 partner, Inca, in his patrol car for almost three hours on June 10 in Cherokee County, Georgia.

Peabody claimed he forgot about the Belgian Malinois when he went inside his home to deal with another dog.

Daniel Peabody, left, is accused of allowing his K-9 partner Inca, right, roast to death in his patrol car

Peabody, left, is also accused of killing former K-9 officer Dale who he 'adopted' after the dog's retirement

An autopsy on Inca found he died of heatstroke from being left in the rear of the car during outside temperature in the high 90s.

Peabody had also adopted his former K-9 partner, a yellow Labrador named Dale. He told colleagues at the time of Dale's death that the police dog had choked on a plastic toy. He later admitted shooting the dog in the head.

According to CBS News investigators began searching Peabody's former home in Dallas, Texas, where they found a dog, believed to be Inca's grandmother, also with a gunshot wound to the head.

The canine was not a police dog and is believed to have been Peabody's pet.

Cherokee County Chief Marshal Ron Hunton confirmed Peabody had been charged with felony animal cruelty and making false statements.

He is also charged with lying about Dale's death in 2012.
An extraordinary plot forged by Adolf Hitler to kidnap the wartime Pope and bring him to Germany has been revealed by the Vatican.

The Nazi leader planned for an elite SS commando squad to seize Pius XII, only for him to be moved to an impregnable tower to keep him safe, according to a previously secret report.

Following decades of rumours, details of the fantastic plot have now been revealed in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

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Major Deile, Adolf Hitler, General Jodl, Admiral Raeder; extreme left, facing table, is Walther von Brauchitsch looking over war maps

Antonio Nogara, son of Bartolomeo Nogara, the former director of the Vatican museums, wrote an account of how a priest, Giovanni Battista Montini - later Pope Paul VI - visited his father on a winter night in late January or early February 1944.

Montini told him information from US and British military intelligence had revealed an advanced plan by the Nazis for the arrest and removal of the Holy Father.

The Nazis were going to pretend that they were taking Pius in order to protect him, he added. According to the report, the two men opted for the Tower of the Winds which rises above a wing of the Vatican Library as a suitable hiding place.

According to Montini, the Pope would have to be hidden for two to three days until the arrival of a special Allied commando squad who would parachute into the countryside near Rome to come and rescue him.

In the event, the kidnap plot was never put into operation.

The Vatican has published the details of a plot forged by the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (left) to kidnap the wartime Pope Pius XII and bring him to Germany

Antonio Nogara died in 2014.

His text about the papal kidnap plot divulged to his father was discovered only after his death and has only now been published.

The publication confirms several post-war rumours about the intended kidnapping of the controversial Pontiff who was often called 'Hitler's Pope' because of his seeming reluctance to speak out about the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews.

Critics allege that the time he spent in pre-war Germany made him sympathetic to the Nazi cause.

But his supporters say he walked a fine line between caring for his flock and trying not to make their lives untenable in those countries under Nazi occupation.

In the 1970s, General Karl Wolff  supreme commander for the SS in Italy after the Nazi occupation which following the toppling of Mussolini  testified that he had been ordered to kidnap the Pope in 1944.

He claimed Hitler told him: I have a special mission for you, Wolff.

'It will be your duty not to discuss it with anyone before I give you permission to do so. Only Reichsfuhrer (Himmler) knows about it. Do you understand?

I want you and your troops to occupy Vatican City as soon as possible, secure its files and art treasures, and take the Pope and Curia to the north.

I do not want him to fall into the hands of the Allies or to be under their political pressure and influence. The Vatican is already a nest of spies and a centre of anti-National Socialist propaganda.

The plan was never put into operation.

After the war, pro-Nazi priests in the Vatican helped many war criminals escape from Europe using either Red Cross or Vatican passports.

They included Franz Stangl, commander of both the Sobibor and Treblinka extermination camps where more than one million people were murdered, and Adolf Eichmann, the logistical organizer of the Holocaust which claimed six million lives.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will discuss the future status of the three million EU nationals living in the UK with his European counterparts this weekend, he told MPs today.

He defended the UK Government's refusal to guarantee long-term rights for EU citizens currently living here to remain following last month's vote to cut ties with Brussels, telling the Foreign Affairs committee a 'unilateral' decision would undermine Britain's position in upcoming Brexit negotiations.

But Mr Hammond said he was confident Britain would come to an agreement that will allow EU migrants to continue living in the UK.

He promised to raise the issue when he meets the EU's 27 other foreign ministers on Sunday 17 July, when he will seek reassurances over the status of 1.2million British expats living in other member states in return.

In an attempt to offer reassurance to European residents in the UK, Mr Hammond said they were 'vital to the success of our economy' and predicted a deal would be struck over their rights to stay because of the 'reciprocal' role UK nationals play in the economies of other EU countries.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond (pictured) will discuss the future status of the three million EU nationals living in the UK with his European counterparts this weekend, he told MPs today

The status of EU natoinals living in the UK has become a key point of debate in the Tory leadership race, with front-runner Theresa May accused of using them as 'bargaining chips' after refusing to give any guarantees.

The Home Secretary is reluctant to make any promises because it would remove a key leverage over protecting 1.2million British expats living in other EU member states.

But Andrea Leadsom, who is expected to come in second place in the final ballot of Tory MPs today and put her through to the ballot of party members who will decide which of the two will be prime minister, denounced Mrs May for leaving EU citizens in the dark.

'We want fair but controlled immigration - fair to those who are already here and fair to all the talents across the world,' she said.

'So I tell you today: I will not use people's lives as bargaining chips in some negotiation. People need certainty and they will get it - I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.'

And Lord Howard, the former hard-line home secretary, also hit out at Mrs May, saying he was 'dismayed' she had failed to issue any reassurances to EU nationals uncertain about their future.

Philip Hammond (pictured middle at the Foreign Affairs Committee today) defended the UK Government's refusal to guarantee long-term rights for EU citizens currently living here to remain following last month's vote to cut ties with Brussels, telling the Foreign Affairs committee a 'unilateral' decision would undermine Britain's position in upcoming Brexit negotiations

Appearing before MPs on the Foreign Affairs Commitee today, Mr Hammond sought to give as much reassurance as he could without jeopardising future Brexit negotiations.

The Foreign Secretary insisted the matter was ultimately for the next prime minister to decide.

But asked if there was any reassurance he could give to EU nationals that they will be able to continue living in the UK, Mr Hammond said: 'I'm very happy to deliver that message and I'll have an opportunity to do so because I'll address my 27 EU counterparts next Sunday evening at a dinner to talk informally about the consequences of the UK's referendum decision.

The status of EU natoinals living in the UK has become a key point of debate in the Tory leadership race, with front-runner Theresa May (pictured) accused of using them as 'bargaining chips' after refusing to give any guarantees

'EU nationals are welcome in the UK, we recognise the contribution they've made and indeed we recognise that they are vital to the success of our economy.

And I will seek from them at the same time a reciprocal recognition of the role that UK nationals play in the economies of European Union countries and I'm sure we will all be happy to agree that the right way to go forward is to allow - on a reciprocal basis - those rights of establishment to continue.'

Mr Hammond added that the UK is not yet in a position to start formal negotiations on its exit from the EU.

Following the June 23 vote in favour of Brexit, London has come under pressure from the EU institutions to kick off the process of negotiating its departure under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

But Mr Hammond told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that invoking Article 50 would set the clock ticking on a two-year deadline for the UK to quit, and it would be 'unwise' to do so until the Government had decided on its negotiating position and was prepared to fight its corner.

The Foreign Secretary defended the Government's decision to make no contingency plans for a Brexit vote, beyond measures to calm nerves in the financial markets in the immediate aftermath of the result.

Committee chairman Crispin Blunt said it was a 'serious oversight' for the Government to leave the country uncertain for months after the referendum about what its future would be after Brexit.

Mr Hammond said he was 'not sure I see the need' for contingency plans, as the new European policy would be for the next prime minister to decide after his or her election in September. Any pre-referendum planning by the civil service would have been denounced by the Leave camp as an 'unwarranted intervention' in the campaign, he said.

The Foreign Secretary said: 'It will be for the new prime minister to decide how best to engage with the European Union and to express to the European Union our views as a government about how we should move forward. This is an untested process. Nobody has ever done this before.

'In terms of triggering Article 50, my judgment is it wouldn't be in the best interests of the UK to trigger Article 50 immediately.
was shared on Facebook on Wednesday

Staff at a Queensland aquarium have found an 'extremely rare' double-headed prawn.

Laura Colton from Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville made the shock discovery while feeding the aquarium's baby leopard sharks, ABC News reported.

'I was counting out a few prawns and fish and I grabbed a handful prawns, and at first I thought there were two stuck together and then realised it was a prawn with two heads,' she said.

Staff at a Queensland aquarium have found an 'extremely rare' double-headed prawn (pictured)

Reef HQ posted the picture on their Facebook page on Wednesday. It has since attracted hundreds of comments and shares.

'What on Earth?... Check out this interesting fellow that shocked the Aquarist team a moment ago,' the post reads.

'They just found this peculiar invertebrate in the frozen prawns packet while getting ready to feed our fish their lunch.'

The aquarium said they have fed thousands of prawns to fish over the years but have never seen a two-headed one before.

Some social media users were concerned with the image, worried that the deformity may be the result of radiation exposure.

'Obviously its caused by radiation. Remember the nuclear power plant in Japan that is still leaking tons of radiation into the Pacific [Ocean],' wrote one user.

Professor Dean Jerry, the director of Australian Research Council hub for advanced prawn breeding, told ABC News while the find is 'extremely rare', it was unlikely radiation would have lead to the two-headed crustacean.

The discovery is being preserved at Reef HQ.
Tia Brennen is a 10-year-old girl who wants every child to know what it means to have their very own bicycle  and she is prepared to use her spare time and pocket money to make it happen.

The young girl from Campbelltown, south of Sydney, has started her own charity collecting tired, unwanted bicycles and restoring them for children in need.

Tia and her family have restored 130 bikes since February and have another 15 ready to go.

Tia Brennen, 10, pictured, spends her spare time fixing bicycles for children whose families can't afford one

The ten-year-old's whole family, including her mother Clarissa, pictured, are now involved in fixing the bikes

Mum, Clarissa, left, picks the bikes up and drops them off to charity, dad Simon does most of the fixing, Tia cleans the bikes and her little sister Harmony, front, does the test drives

'I love giving the bikes away to children knowing that it will make them smile,' Tia told Daily Mail Australia.

She first came up with the idea when she saw four bikes piled up next to a skip bin at a caravan park on the south coast at Christmas time.

'I asked mum if we could take the bikes home and give them to children who needed them  but we didn't have enough room in the car so we had to leave them behind.'

Tia's mother Clarissa Brennen said her compassionate daughter kept pushing the issue when she got home  so in February the family started collecting bikes and fixing them up.

Simon, Tia's father, does most of the fixing, pumping up tyres, fixing brakes and replacing pedals

Tia has donated 130 bikes so far and is so involved in the charity she puts her own pocket money towards supplies

'It is something Tia has been really pushing and wanting to take further.

'She is obsessed with bikes and it is a good way to get the family together.'

Tia's dad Simon is the chief mechanic. He pumps up tyres, puts on pedals, adds baskets and makes sure the brakes work.

Then Tia and her mum clean the bikes to make them look like new. Harmony  Tia's younger sister then takes them for a spin to see if the repairs have made the grade.

'I post on Facebook and mum collect bikes from three collection centres,' Tia said.

'There have been some we couldn't fix but most of them look brand new.'

Tia, pictured with her sister Harmony, first came up with the idea of fixing bicycles for underprivileged children when she saw some discarded near a caravan park bin just after Christmas

The young lady sprays the bikes with WD40, and cleans them to make them 'look brand new'

The ten year old has become involved with local organisations who know families in need of Tia's support.

'One boy was 12 and had been doing really well at school. He had never had a bike before so he was really happy with it,' Tia said.

The 10-year-old has also teamed up with Bikes for Life, an organisation helping children in Cambodia have access to bicycles.

'Some of my bikes have gone there too which is really good because I want to help more than just our local community,' she said.

Her dream to reach beyond Campbelltown is coming true - she has donated to Bikes4Life which is an organisation working in Cambodia

Tia's dreams are so big her mother said the family had to outsource some of the repairs to the local men's shed.

'We didn't know quite how big this would get and she is always hungry for more.

'I think I will have to look into making it a registered charity.'

The mother of two is very proud of her daughter and more than happy to continue to help her make a difference.

'She donates all of her time into fixing bikes and even puts her money into the repair costs.

'I am going to keep supporting her  because she is making a difference in our world.'

Anyone interested in donating pre-loved bikes can find Tia's charity on Facebook.

Tia's dad Simon pictured putting some air in the tyres of a tiny red bike - the family currently have 15 bikes ready to go to charity next week
Police have appealed to the public by releasing an image of the 20-year-old

Mystery surrounds the disappearance of a heavily pregnant woman who went missing from a Melbourne hospital over a week ago.

Justine Campfield, 20, was last seen at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville on June 30.

Her family are concerned for her welfare as she is heavily pregnant and requires medical monitoring.

Justine Campfield, 20, was last seen at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville on June 30

Police have appealed for public assistance to help locate the missing 20-year-old.

Investigators have release an image of Ms Campfield in the hope someone may be able to provide information on her whereabouts.

Anyone with information regarding Ms Campfield's disappearance is urged to contact Melbourne West Police on 9637 1100.
A former Spanish soldier is facing two years in prison for trying to sell ISIS baby outfits and T-shirts depicting the murder of a British aid worker.

The range of clothing called Califato de Xuvia - or Caliphate of Rain - features sweatshirt designs with sabres and bagpipes from the Galicia region of Spain arranged to look like the terror group's logo.

One item even shows pictures of the moments before 47-year-old taxi driver Alan Henning was executed in Syria by Jihadi John, the British ISIS fanatic who was later killed in a US drone strike.

A former Spanish soldier is facing two years in prison for trying to sell ISIS baby outfits and T-shirts depicting the murder of a British aid worker. The range is pictured above

Clothing included black t-shirts for children and even a themed bodysuit for babies, according to The Local.

The man, identified only by authorities as Octavio C. T., is said to have called himself the 'voice of God on his Facebook page.

He is also believed to have described himself as 'the Aiatola de Xuvia (the Ayatollah of Rain) and the supreme interpreter of the Word of God in the region (of Galicia)', The Local reported.

One item even shows pictures of the moments before 47-year-old taxi driver Alan Henning (pictured) was executed in Syria by Jihadi John, the British ISIS fanatic who was later killed in a US drone strike

He wrote: 'God the Father destroy everything, death to the State, down with the impious constitution, cursed are the unbelievers. Loyalty to the Caliphate.'

Prosecutors said the former soldier was trying to glorify terrorism after posting the items online - however, none of the clothes are thought to have sold.

The Local cites Spanish news website 20 minutos as saying that the man is due to appear in court today.




A string of hygiene and welfare issues were identified at the South Lakes Safari Zoo in Lindal In Furness, Cumbria, following an inspection by international wildlife charity the Born Free Foundation on October 17 this year. According to a damning report, raw meat was seen left in a bucket outside the tiger enclosure covered in flies, rats were seen in the raccoon and tortoise enclosures and rhinos were kept in stalls so small they were only capable of turning themselves around. A series of bleak photos show the seemingly poor conditions suffered by some of the animals, as cold primates are seen clinging to heat lamps in a bid to keep warm due to incorrect temperature settings. One heartbreaking image shows a tortoise with a sloth on its back as they appear to huddle together for warmth. Elsewhere, a macaw is seen with 'severe feather loss around its neck and a lack of feathers remaining on the top of its head', while a brown bear inside its lodgings is seen sticking its head out of a small window. According to the report, and in a potentially serious health and safety risk, there were sometimes no staff present in walk-through enclosures that allowed the public to engage with 'Category 1 hazardous animals' - a categorisation for zoos which refers to predators such as tigers, lions, elephants and lynx. The alleged failings come after keeper Sarah McClay, from Glasgow, was mauled to death by a tiger at the zoo in 2013. Bosses were later fined 297,500 for health and safety breaches.
LOS ANGELES, CA  Fan favorite Katrina Jade has been awarded the $2000 top prize in the Dogfart Girl of the Month contest. Previously, Jade had been a finalist in the monthly Twitter competition for six months in a row before finally grabbing the top spot.

"I am super excited to win #DogfartGOTM finally! I've been in the top five for the whole contest, but haven't won yet! Thank you for all the votes to my villains out there and a big thank you to DogfartNetwork for hosting such a awesome contest," said Jade, "I'll be getting more cock fed to me for you guys soon!!"

"Katrina always delivers a great scene, and her fans have been able to consistently keep her in the top five. We're excited that she has finally won #DogfartGOTM," said a Dogfart rep.

Rounding out the top five are Nesty Nice ($750), Ryan Riesling ($400), Dee Siren ($300), and Stella Cox ($200).

Voting for the Dogfart Girl Of The Month contest starts the 10th of every month. The social media competition awards cash prizes to the top five girls whove had their fans tweet I Vote (@Username) for #DogfartGOTM. Any girl who has shot for Dogfart is eligible to win.
The founder of popular dating app Bumble has found her own match.

Whitney Wolfe announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Michael Herd on Instagram on Monday.

The newly-engaged couple are currently celebrating on a vacation to Italy and France.

The founder of dating app Bumble announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Michael Herd on Instagram on Monday

A family member posted this picture taken shortly after Herd got down on one knee and popped the question

'They went horseback riding at his ranch in Texas and at sunset, Michael got down on one knee,' a source told the New York Post of the couple's engagement.

Herd is heir to his grandfather's oil company, Herd Producing Co., which owns and operates more than 400 oil and gas wells in Texas. The couple met in Aspen, Colorado on Valentine's Day 2014.

The couple's engagement comes less than two years after Wolfe settled a lawsuit with her former company, Tinder.

Her engagement comes less than two years after she settled a lawsuit with her former company Tinder, claiming she was demoted from her position as a co-founder when she broke up with her boyfriend, co-founder Justin Mateen (left). Tinder CEO Sean Rad (right) was also named in the suit

Wolfe claimed that the company removed her title as co-founder after she broke up with fellow co-founder Justin Mateen.

The suit also targeted Tinder CEO Sean Rad, who allegedly heard Mateen call Wolfe a 'w****' and did nothing.

The suit was settled for an unknown sum in September 2014, and Mateen resigned from his position.
Trump is trying out former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; New Jersey governor Chris Christie is still under consideration

Eric Trump says he agree that sister Ivanka should be considered for the role of running mate on his father's presidential ticket.

'She's got the beautiful looks...She's smart, smart, smart. She's certainly got my vote,' the Trump son said this morning on Fox and Friends.

As co-host Ainsley Earhardt lauded Ivanka's 'business sense' - she has her own line of shoes, handbags, clothing and jewelry - Eric gave his nod of approval.

'She's amazing,' he said of his sister. 'She's amazing.'

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Eric Trump says sister Ivanka should be considered for the role of running mate on his father's presidential ticket

MADAME VICE PRESIDENT? Eric Trump says sister Ivanka, shown speaking at a February rally in Iowa, would make an ideal running mate for her father: 'She's got the beautiful looks...She's smart, smart, smart. She's certainly got my vote'

Their father, Republican Donald Trump, has not made up his mind yet about who he wants to be his No. 2. He's trying out Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House. He campaigned with Gingrich Wednesday in Cinncinatti, Ohio

The Constitution mandates that presidential candidates and their potential successors be 35 years of age.

Ivanka will just clear that hurdle, Eric said today. She turns 35 on October 30, nine days before the election.

Their father, Republican Donald Trump, has not made up his mind yet about who he wants to be his No. 2 on the trail and in the White House if they win.

Yesterday Tennessee senator Bob Corker took himself out of the running, explaining on CNN that the job is too 'highly political' for a policy-oriented statesman like him.

It should go to Trump's eldest daughter, he said.

'His best running mate by the way would be Ivanka. Shes most impressive,' Corker told CNN.

'There are people far more suited for being a candidate for vice president, and I think Im far more suited for other types of things,' Corker had told The Washington Post, while praising Trump as a strong candidate.

The two were en route to a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Corker spoke for barely a minute about Trump's family and employees but didn't delve into either government policy or presidential politics, when the senator made his decision.

'I left there feeling very good about him as a person but also realized that at age 63, I know the things Im good at doing and knowing what a candidate for vice president has to do. It's just not the right thing for me, and I dont think its the right thing for them.'

Donald Trump is seen here arriving on Capitol Hill today with Ivanka, his right, and her husband Jared Kushner, her left

Tennessee Republican Bob Corker, 63, met with Donald Trump on Tuesday and decided that he doesn't want to be Vice President of the United States - he suggested Ivanka instead

Eric Trump agrees - 'She's amazing,' he said of his sister Thursday on Fox and Friends. 'She's amazing.'

Corker was touted as a seasoned foreign policy voice who could help sell Trump's vow to crush the ISIS terror army, take on China, and roll back illegal immigration.

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he had submitted formal vetting materials to the Trump campaign, NBC News reported.

Like Trump, Corker also made big bucks in real estate.

But he's also a soft-spoken, folksy voice on foreign policy, even as he has attacked the Obama administration over its Iran policy and other matters.

His selection might have soothed members of the GOP foreign policy establishment, some of whom have backed away from Trump and even said they may support Hillary Clinton.

He had joined a list of vice presidential finalists that included former House Speaker New Gingrich, who appeaed with Trump at a campaign rally in Cincinnati on Wednesday.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is also being vetted, although Christie, who is advising Trump on a presidential transition, is also mentioned as someone who could play a chief of staff type of role.

Trump met with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who said nice things about Trump even as he endorsed Ted Cruz shortly before the Indiana primary, on Saturday.

Iowa senator Joni Ernst, a 23-year veteran of the Army, had a meeting with Trump on Monday.

Arkansas senator Tom Cotton, left, says he's not being vetted. Trump met with Indiana Governor Mike Pence, right, who said nice things about Trump even as he endorsed Ted Cruz shortly before the Indiana primary, on Saturday

Trump also met with Iowa senator Joni Ernst. She's a freshman in the Senate, but she spent 23 years in the Armed Services and would give Trump more credibility on military issues

Trump will reportedly announce his selection next week. The Republican National Convention is set to begin July 18.

Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a first-term senator and Bronze Star recipient is considered a fresh face in the Republican Party. Yet the Army veteran told CNN Wednesday, 'I am not being vetted' for the VP job and said he has 'no reason to believe Id be selected.'

CNN reported that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and campaign chairman Paul Manafort were both in on the meeting with Ernst.

A source told the network the meeting was to discuss whether Ernst, age 46, wanted to be vetted for the job.

The New York Post on Tuesday floated the name of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
A young woman out for a walk returned to find a disturbing note on her car revealing its writer intended to follow her - and offered money for sex.

Donna Barnicoat's 24-year-old daughter found the note stuck to her car after going for a walk at Kemp Hill in Queensland on Sunday morning.

According to the Sunshine Coast Daily, transcription of the hard-to-read note said: 'Hello my sexy baby, I love your body which you could walk up the mountain without your red and purple top on so I can see your sexy t**s.

I have put a thing on your car. I will follow you before you go so I can undress your body and have wild sex with you and if you love it I will pay you $500.'

An image of the disturbing message that was left on the car of a Queensland woman while she was out for a walk. It offered money for sex and said the writer would follow her and undress her

Ms Barnicoat said her daughter had been 'shaken' by the ordeal.

At first, she thought the message was a joke.

'How creepy is that? And after she talked to everyone and they figured out it wasn't someone they knew, we thought, okay now this is concerning.'

She said people out walking should go with others and be careful.

Police Senior Sergeant Robert Barclay told the Sunshine Coast Daily people had to take such incidents seriously and report them.

'If you get a note like that, even if you think if it's a joke, bring it into the police.'

He said calling police at the time of such and incident would mean they could get there.
Simon Pierre Andre Nau, 60, was arrested after he allegedly refused to pick up a group of blind people and their service dogs

A Florida Uber driver found himself behind bars after he allegedly refused to pick up a group of blind people and their service dogs.

Simon Pierre Andre Nau, 60, has been charged with battery and failing to transport a blind person with a service dog. Both are misdemeanors.

Robert Stigile, who was in town for a National Federation of the Blind convention, ordered an Uber van to make sure all his friends and their service animals would fit inside on Monday.

But when the Uber arrived in front of the Bahama Breeze restaurant in Orlando, Stigile said Nau told the group: 'I don't take dogs', according to the arrest report.

Stigile, who is 100 percent blind, told police he had already opened the front passenger door and had explained to Nau that the dogs were service animals the group needed to get around.

But Nau simply replied 'I don't care' and began to move the van forward while Stigile was still standing in the doorway, the arrest report states.

Stigile said the door frame hit his left side and that he began to swing and yell at Nau to stop the car because he was afraid he was going to be dragged away.

A valet worker told police he heard shouting after he saw the van begin to pull away, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Police said Nau laughed when he was placed under arrest and said it seemed he 'didn't fully understand that he had broken the law'.

Nau claims that he became worried when he saw several dogs because his children are allergic to dog hair and he knew they would be inside his car the next day.

The driver claims the group was hostile to him from the beginning and said he only left after everyone was outside of the van and 10 feet away, he told My News 13.

Robert Stigile (pictured with his service dog Shuli), who was in town for a National Federation of the Blind convention, said Nau told the group 'I don't take dogs' when he came to pick them up on Monday

Stigile, who is 100 percent blind, told police he had already opened the front passenger door and had explained to Nau that the dogs were service animals the group needed to get around

He also alleged that one of the people in the group grabbed him by the shirt and assaulted him.

Nau claims he turned around when he checked Uber's policy on the app and realized he was required to pick up people with service animals.

When he returned he said the group informed him they had called the police.

It is illegal under Florida law for any public accommodations, including transportation, to discriminate against those with disabilities who need a service dog.

Nau said he had only been driving with Uber for two months at the time of the incident.

Uber said in a statement they were 'very disturbed' by what happened and that Nau's access to the app has been revoked as the 'situation' is reviewed.

'All Uber drivers are required to pick up service animals,' the company said. 'Uber's code of conduct, which all drivers have to agree to, prohibits against discrimination against people with disabilities.'


A 58-year-old teacher from Western Australia pleaded guilty to filming primary school students as they changed clothes.

The man admitted 27 counts of indecently recording a child under 13 years and 15 counts of attempting to indecently record a child under 13 years during Thursday's hearing.

He also pleaded guilty to ten counts of unlawfully installing an optical surveillance device to record a private activity.

Children at a Mandurah primary school were filmed by a 58-year-old teacher as they changed clothes

Police told the court the former teacher used a pen containing a hidden camera to film the children at a school in Mandurah, about an hour south of Perth.

The pen was clipped on to a coat which hung in the toilets according to the Mandurah Mail.

The 58-year-old will return to Perth District Court on September 2 for the delivery of a pre-sentence report, which will look at his history and other factors to determine the severity of his sentence.

He is expected to be sentenced on September 9.
French teachers are up in arms after being asked to tip off the authorities if they see signs of Islamist radicalisation in their students.

France's biggest teaching union, the SNES-FSU, said several teachers had been asked to look out for signs of 'anti-Semitic, racist or jihadist' tendencies in baccalaureat exam papers.

Hundreds of thousands of French students took their baccalaureat exam last month.

Last month thousands of students across France took their baccalaureat exam, known as le bac

The history exam covered the Middle East history, World War II and the war in the former French colony of Algeria, which ended in 1962.

The exam is taken by 18-year-olds or those approaching 18 and success in it will ensure a place at university.

But in the wake of a spate of horrific terrorist attacks in France - the Charlie Hebdo massacre was following by the Paris attacks in November last year and last month the recent murder of a police commander and his wife - President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls have been seeking to tackle the radicalisation of disaffected French youths.

Radicalised: Foued Mohamed Aggad, 23, (left) grew up in Strasbourg, became radicalised and went to Syria with his brother and a group of friends in 2013 before returning and taking part in the Paris attacks of November 2015. Another of the attackers was Samy Amimour (right), a bus driver from Seine-Saint-Denis

In May Mr Valls announced plans for 12 dedicated de-radicalisation centres - at a cost of 31million - around the country designed to target vulnerable young people and counter jihadist propaganda.

Mr Valls said he planned to put 3,600 through the centres within the next two years.

But the French government is also asking for help from teachers and is facing opposition from the union.

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who is of Muslim origin herself, said the inspectors had been a bit 'over-zealous'

The SNES-FSU said several teachers marking the baccalaureat exam in history and geography were asked by inspectors to be on the look out for subversive phrases and were asked to 'pass on' the information.

Valerie Sipahimalini, SNES-FSU secretary general, cited in particular inspectors in the Paris suburb of Creteil and in Rennes in northern France.

Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, herself a non-practising Muslim of Moroccan origin, told Le Monde newspaper the requests were 'clumsiness' from inspectors who were being 'perhaps a bit over-zealous'.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, pictured, laid out measures in May to step up de-radicalisation efforts in the wake of last year's Paris attacks

One teacher told Le Monde he was asked bring 'problematic papers' to a meeting.

But he refused and told the paper: 'It's not up to us to feed the S files', referring to French police lists of individuals who pose security threats.

The union tweeted: 'Teachers are responsible and competent public sector workers who don't need to be urged to denounce students to accomplish their work.'

Two years ago teachers in western France were advised to watch out for 'Muslim clothes', 'long uncut beards', 'weight loss due to frequent fasting' and the 'rejection of tattoos'.

In 2015, France was rocked by two sets of attacks that were carried out mainly by French citizens who had become radicalised and had fought abroad alongside jihadist groups.

Jihadist gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015, killing 17 people.

Less than a year later, 130 people were killed in coordinated shootings and suicide bombings in the capital claimed by the Islamic State group last November.
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This is the heart-warming moment three endangered orangutans - including two rescued orphans - were released back into the Borneo rainforest.

The animals had been in the care of a rehabilitation centre in West Borneo before rescuers took the decision to take them to a new home in a vast national park.

It took several days to transport male, Sabtu, and females, Butan and Marsela, by road, river and on foot to the release site in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya in the Heart of Borneo conservation area.

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Due for release: The animals had been in the care of a rehabilitation centre in West Borneo before rescuers took the decision to take them to a new home in a vast national park

Home-coming: Heart-warming moment the endangered orangutans - including two rescued orphans - were released back into the Borneo rainforest

It took several days to transport male, Sabtu, and females, Butan and Marsela, by road, river and on foot to the release site in Bukit Baka Bukit Raya in the Heart of Borneo conservation area

Footage shows the moment carers opened crates holding two of the orangutans and watched them bounding off into the forest and clambering up a tree.

The emotional scenes were captured on camera as it emerged that the Bornean orangutan has been reclassified from Endangered to Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The move is seen as a stark warning over the increasing threats to the population's survival.

Video clips of the release operation by International Animal Rescue document the different stages of the journey, from leaving the rescue centre in Ketapang on Friday June 24 to arriving at the release site for Butan and Marsela four days later.

Karmele Llano Sanchez, Programme Director for IAR Indonesia, gives a number of updates on the convoy's progress.

Butan (pictured) and Marsela were only two or three years old when they were rescued. Having been taken from their mothers when they were still babies, they had never learnt the skills they would need to survive in the forest

Butan (pictured) and Marsela were both found in areas where the forest had been destroyed to make way for massive palm oil plantations

The male, known as Sabtu - or Saturday - is a wild orangutan aged about 25. He was rescued in March this year from a village plantation not far from IAR's orangutan centre.

Sabtu had gone in search of food after his home in the forest was destroyed by fire and local residents called in IAR's rescue team to remove him.

The team found him resting on his nest in the banana trees. A team member shot him with an anaesthetic dart so that he could be brought back to the centre for a health check and treatment before he was returned to the wild.

Unlike Sabtu, Butan and Marsela were only two or three years old when they were rescued.

Having been taken from their mothers when they were still babies, they had never learnt the skills they would need to survive in the forest.

Video clips of the release operation by International Animal Rescue document the different stages of the journey, from leaving the rescue centre in Ketapang on Friday June 24 to arriving at the release site for Butan and Marsela four days later

The orangutans were even transported up a river at one point as they made their way to a remote safe-haven deep in the Borneo jungle

Moment of truth: Rescuers were visibly moved as they watched the animals leaping out of their crates and scrambling up a nearby tree

Call of the wild: One of the orangutans can be seen charging out of its crate after days on the road and leaping up in to the trees

Emotional: Rescuers gasped and cheered as they watched the animals exploring their new home in a vast rainforest reserve in Borneo

They were both found in areas where the forest had been destroyed to make way for massive palm oil plantations.

When she was rescued in 2011, Butan was in a shocking condition, the charity said, and in danger of dying of malaria.

She was put straight into intensive care at IAR's clinic and needed six months' treatment to cure her of the disease.

Marsela was also found alone in a palm oil plantation in Ketapang.

'In their natural habitat, baby orangutans live with their mothers from birth until the age of 7-8 years,' said Gail Campbell-Smith, Programme Manager for IAR Indonesia. 'So when a baby orangutan is found alone, the mother is almost certainly dead.'

The journey to the release site involved travelling by road for 40 hours, a boat ride downriver for one hour and then a four hour walk with 12 porters.

On the up: The orangutans seems to know exactly what to do as they were reintroduced to the wild - clambering up a tree in seconds

Rescuers said that the release had been a success and the animals had been seen high up in the trees and feeding themselves properly

Dinner time: Rather than returning to their 'night cages' the nrely released orangutans have chosen to stay in the forest overnight

Sabtu was released on June 27 and went straight out of his transport crate and climbed high up into the trees. Marsela and Butan were released the following day after a night's rest in a 'habituation cage'.

When the door was opened, they too climbed straight up into the tall trees and started feeding together.

'Since the start of their rehabilitation, Butan and Marsela have displayed great natural behaviour,' said Sanchez.

'They've been able to climb high up into the tree canopy and feed themselves. They have also chosen to stay in the forest overnight, rather than returning to their night cages.

The journey to the release site involved travelling by road for 40 hours, a boat ride downriver for one hour and then a four hour walk with 12 porters

Two of the young orangutans had to be nursed back to health after they were discovered malnourished and vulnerable having lost their mother

Rescuers painted a bleak picture of the future for orangutan populations if their natural habitat continues to disappear at such a rapid rate

'They were clearly ready to return to the wild and we hope their lives back in the forest will be long and happy ones.'

However she painted a bleak picture of the future for orangutan populations if their natural habitat continues to disappear at a rapid rate.

'The Bornean Orangutan has just been reclassified from Endangered to Critically Endangered by the IUCN. Orangutans are threatened with forest clearing, land burning, wildlife hunting and the illegal pet trade,' she said.

'Only if people are more concerned about orangutans, will they be safe, and even now, I fear it's almost too late.'

Phily Kennington from IAR's UK team was lucky enough to join the release operation.

The male, known as Sabtu - or Saturday - is a wild orangutan aged about 25. He was rescued in March this year from a village plantation not far from IAR's orangutan centre

Sabtu had gone in search of food after his home in the forest was destroyed by fire and local residents called in IAR's rescue team to remove him

A team member shot him with an anaesthetic dart so that he could be brought back to the centre for a health check and treatment before he was returned to the wild

Sabtu was released on June 27 and went straight out of his transport crate and climbed high up into the trees. Marsela and Butan were released the following day after a night's rest in a 'habituation cage'

An IAR monitoring team, supported by local people from villages near the national park, will follow the orangutans using a radio-tracking device for one or even two years

She said: 'It was incredible to see for myself the team spirit, skill, determination and strength of our team in Indonesia. The journey was long and challenging but attention was given solely to the welfare and safety of the orangutans being transported.

'The moment when the cages were opened and the orangutans burst out into the trees was the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed.

'These orangutans have been given back their freedom and it was a privilege to join them on their incredible journey back to the wild.'

An IAR monitoring team, supported by local people from villages near the national park, will follow the orangutans using a radio-tracking device for one or even two years.
The convicted sex offender's lawyers also mentioned Clinton had been a guest on his jet during a charitable trip to Africa

but did give $25,000 through his Swiss bank account

Epstein is not listed as a director or founder on the non-profit's documents

But the former president credited longtime assistant and Foundation director Doug Band with the idea for the Initiative

A 2007 letter to the Florida State Attorney's office claims that Epstein helped set up the Clinton

Lawyers for billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once claimed he co-founded the Clinton Foundation as they touted his relationship with the former president during plea negotiations.

In an attempt to boost Epstein's image before he was sentenced for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008, his attorneys tried to emphasize his close ties with Bill Clinton, Fox News reports.

A July 2007 letter to the South Florida State U.S. Attorney's office, written by lawyers Alan Dershowitz and Gerald Lefcourt, claimed that Epstein had been part of the original group that set up the Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative, focusing on 'some of the world's most pressing challenges.'

They also mention Clinton was a guest of Epstein who hosted a trip to Africa in 2002 on his private Boeing 727 - dubbed 'Lolita Express' - on behalf of the charity.

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Lawyers for billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (right) once claimed he co-founded Bill Clinton's (left) Foundation as they touted his close relationship with the former president during plea negotiations

The plea deal negotiations were eventually successful and Epstein ended up serving just 13 months in prison and a year's home detention. He is a registered level three sex offender.

Flight records prove that the former president took dozens of trips on the jet which one woman, who claims to be a victim of Epstein, says was set up with a bed where some guests allegedly had group sex with young girls.

However, his involvement in the Clinton Foundation is less clear.

The former politician has always credited longtime assistant Doug Band, now the director of the Foundation, as coming up with the idea for the Global Initiative.

Epstein is not listed in any of the official paperwork of the Clinton Global Initiative as either its founder or director.

But there is evidence that the billionaire supported the Clinton Foundation financially.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, reported data from a whistle-blower, that $81 million had been routed from HSBC Swiss accounts to The Clinton Foundation - including money from Epstein.

Epstein, who had various Swiss accounts with HSBC totally $3.5 million, transferred $25,000 to the Foundation in 2006.

A July 2007 letter to the South Florida State U.S. Attorney's office, written by lawyers Alan Dershowitz and Gerald Lefcourt, claimed that Epstein had been part of original group that set up the Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative, focusing on 'some of the world's most pressing challenges'

The letter described Epstein as being part of the original group that set up the Clinton Global Initiative

A July 2007 letter to the South Florida U.S. Attorney's office claimed that Epstein had been part of original group that set up the Clinton Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative

The Foundation has also had its fair share of controversy.

It has raised billions of dollars for charitable works around the world since it was founded in 2001.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was created as an evolution of the foundation, although no application was made to the IRS.

The goal was to solve world problems and bring together celebrities and powerful people.

While some organizations lavish praise on the Clintons for their philanthropic accomplishments.

However, critics have questioned how much money goes to the causes as they claim the Foundation is used as a 'slush fund' - a secret pool of money used to buy political favors.

Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who conducted studies of Clinton Foundation financial reports, alleged that Clinton had 'developed a methodology of exploiting epidemics and natural disasters to raise hundred of millions in "charitable donations" that in a relaxed regulatory environment could be diverted to personal gain, funding Hillary's political campaigns and supporting Democratic Party causes'.

Neither Epstein's lawyer's nor the Clinton Foundation responded to requests for comment.

It is not the first time details of Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein's relationship has come to light.

Clinton, 69, spent enough time aboard disgraced the Wall Street mogul's 'Lolita Express' airplane - nicknamed for the film and book Lolita about a professor falling in love with a 14-year-old that he should be eligible for frequent flyer miles, according to flight logs obtained by Fox News.

The lawyers also mention Clinton was a guest of Epstein who hosted a trip to Africa in 2002 on his private Boeing 727 - dubbed 'Lolita Express' (pictured)

INTO AFRICA: This was the flight from New York's JFK airport to the Azores which began a tour of Africa for Bill Clinton, Kevin Spacey and others on board Epstein's private jet. He was not then a convicted pedophile

ANOTHER TRIP: Bill Clinton, Naomi Campbell and key Clinton aide Doug Band were on board Epstein's private Boeing 727 as it flew from London Luton airport to JFK

The logs show Clinton took 26 trips aboard Epstein's Boeing 727 jet, more than double the 11 flights previously known.

The disgraced financier's jet was reportedly set up with a bed where guests had group sex with young girls according to claims by Virginia Roberts.

Roberts alleged in a sworn affidavit in Florida in January 2015, seen by the Guardian, that she was lured into joining Epstein's harem when she was just 15 years old.

The former teen prostitute has said she was used as a 'sex slave' and lent out to friends of the financier.

The court document was part of a lawsuit filed by two other alleged victims of the financier to reopen Epstein's non-prosecution agreement. A judge later ordered that it should be struck from the record.

On February 6, 2008, an anonymous Virginia woman filed a $50 million civil lawsuit in federal court that she was 'recruited' aged 16 to give him a massage. She was taken to his mansion where he had sex with her and paid her $200, it alleged.

Another woman filed a similar lawsuit later that year.

Many of the lawsuits have been dismissed while the others have been settled out of court. So far, Epstein has made 17 out of court settlements.

Roberts claimed in her court filing that she saw Clinton in 2002 on an Epstein junket to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, NY Daily News reported.

But according to Fox, flight logs don't show the former president aboard a flight headed there. St. Thomas has a landing strip long enough to accommodate the jet.

The logs do show the former president jetting to such exotic locales as Brunei, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, the Azores, Africa, Belgium, China, New York, and Belgium  all on Epstein's plane.

The Foundation has also had its fair share of controversy. It has raised billions of dollars for charitable works around the world since it was founded in 2001 by Bill Clinton (pictured with wife Hillary)

They include the 2002 Africa trip for the Clinton Global Initiative, which Clinton attended, along with celebrities such as actor Kevin Spacey and comedian Chris Tucker for a purported anti-AIDS mission.

Dershowitz and Lefcourt wrote in their letter that Clinton had come away from the trip with a positive opinion of Epstein.

'In a feature article about Mr. Epstein in New Yorker magazine, former President Clinton aptly described Mr. Epstein as a 'committed philanthropist with a keen sense of global markets and an in-depth knowledge of 21st century science'.

'President Clinton reached this conclusion during a month-long trip to Africa with Mr. Epstein, which Mr. Epstein hosted. The purpose of that trip was to increase AIDS awareness; to work toward a solution to the AIDS crisis; and to provide funding to reduce the costs of delivering medications to those inflicted with the disease.'

Often traveling with Epstein on the jet was New York socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, whom Roberts has accused of pimping her out.

Flight logs filed with the Federal Aviation Administration show Clinton brought as many as 10 U.S. Secret Service agents along with him on some trips.

But a journey to Asia in 2002 didn't list any Secret Service protection. As a former president, Clinton still gets a taxpayer-funded security detail for life.

Epstein was arrested (pictured is his mugshot) and sentenced for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008

Epstein's sexual exploits have been documented since 2005, when a woman in Palm Beach contacted police saying that her 14-year-old daughter had been paid $300 to massage him and then have sex.

The claim prompted a nearly year-long investigation that led to the eventual charge of soliciting prostitution which came as part of a plea deal.

Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, and served just 18 months in jail for the offense despite outrage from victims advocates.

Several of his famous friends cut ties - including Clinton and then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer who returned his campaign donations - but not all of them.

Prince Andrew reportedly stayed at Epstein's mansion in New York in 2010, months after he was released from jail.

The Palm Beach, Florida police and the FBI investigated charges that Epstein consorted with underage girls used for prostitution.

Court documents show that police found a 'clear indication that Epstein's staff was frequently working to schedule multiple young girls between the ages of 12 and 16 years old literally every day, often two or three times per day.'

One victim said under oath that Epstein molested her at least 50 times, beginning when she was 13.

She said she and other girls were lured to Epstein's home with promises of hundreds of dollars for modeling or for massaging him.

But once they were at his house, she said, Epstein ordered them to disrobe and massage his naked body  while he masturbated and abused them with sex toys.

Ultimately, Epstein's plea deal in the solicitation case stalled federal prosecutors' efforts to bring a broader indictment for child sex abuse, witness tampering and money laundering.
A black female police officer in Ohio delivered a powerful, emotional and personal response to the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling in Louisiana.

In a Facebook live video recorded on Wednesday, Nakia Jones who works as a police officer in Warrensville Heights, said that she watched the graphic video of Sterling's shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 'over and over'.

Jones said she became a police officer in 1996 in East Cleveland before becoming the first black woman officer in Warrensville Heights.

She explains that growing up on East 93rd and Kinsman, what she called a 'ghetto' neighborhood, and later on in East Cleveland, is what inspired her to become a police officer.

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Nakia Jones (above) works as a police officer in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. She said in a Facebook live recording that she watched the graphic video of Alton Sterling's shooting in Louisiana 'over and over'

Jones (above) said she became a police officer in 1996 in East Cleveland before becoming the first black woman officer in Warrensville Heights. She said she became a cop to 'make a difference in people's lives'

Jones said that she watched the shocking video of Sterling's shooting (above) several times and became upset and angry. 'How dare you stand next to me in the same uniform and murder somebody,' she said

'The reason I became a police officer is to make a difference in people's lives,' Jones said.

'I know what it's like to have a parent on drugs. I know what it's like to watch people be picked on and bullied and all kinds of things.

'I said I wanted to make a difference and I want to be that change, so I became that change.'

She said that she is a wife and the mother to two boys, one of which showed her the disturbing video of Sterling's shooting.

Jones said that she watched the shocking video several times and became upset and angry.

'How dare you stand next to me in the same uniform and murder somebody,' she said.

'How dare you? You ought to be ashamed of yourself. If you're that officer and you know you have a God complex and you're afraid of people who don't look like you, you have no business wearing the uniform. Take it off.'

Of Sterling's shooting (above) Jones said: 'If you're that officer and you know you have a God complex and you're afraid of people who don't look like you, you have no business wearing the uniform. Take it off'

In the Facebook live video, Jones (above) also took aim at police officers and people who unfairly criticize and categorize all police officers together after police involved shooting incidents

She also took aim at police officers and people who unfairly criticize and categorize all police officers together after police involved shooting incidents as well as those who commit gun violence.

'I'm so hurt, it bothers me when people say: 'police officers this' or 'police officers that'. They put us in this negative category,' Jones said in the more than seven minute long video.

'But I'm saying to myself, 'I'm not that kind of police officer'.'I know officers that are like me that would give their life for other people.

'So I'm looking at it, and it tore me up because I got to see what you all see.

'If I wasn't a police officer and I wasn't on the inside, I would be saying, 'Look at this racist stuff. Look at this.' And it hurt me.'

She added that there are officers who would give their life to defend people.

Jones (above) said: 'I'm so hurt, it bothers me when people say: 'police officers this' or 'police officers that'. They put us in this negative category. There's many of us who would give our life for anybody, and we took this oath and we meant it'

Jones (above) said:'If you are an officer who is prejudiced, take the uniform off and put the KKK hoodie on. 'If you are white, and you work as (a police officer) in a black community, and you are racist, you need to be ashamed of yourself'

'There's many of us who would give our life for anybody, and we took this oath and we meant it.

'If you are an officer who is prejudiced, take the uniform off and put the KKK hoodie on.'

'If you are white, and you work as (a police officer) in a black community, and you are racist, you need to be ashamed of yourself.

'You stood up there and took an oath. If this is not where you want to work, then you need to take your behind somewhere else.

'If you're afraid to talk to an African American female or a Mexican male or female because they're not white like you, take the uniform off. You have no business being a police officer.'

Jones' video has been viewed more than two million on Facebook with more than 136,000 shares in less than 24 hours since being shared.

'You have no right to be an officer': Black female police officer responds police shootings and tells colleagues to take off their uniform

She also called on black men and children to stop using guns and to unite together as a community, in an attempt to call for an end to gun violence.

Jones (above) said that she felt like quitting her job at the police department after watching the tragic video of Sterling's fatal shooting

Jones' video was shared hours before the fatal police involved shooting of Philando Castile (above) whose death was live streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend on Wednesday in Falcon Heights, Minnesota

'Put these guns down because we're killing each other,' Jones said. 'And the reason why all this racist stuff keeps going on is because we're divided. We're killing each other, not standing together.'

The passionate mother said that she felt like quitting her job at the police department after watching the tragic video of Sterling's shooting.

'But I need you all to support the (officers) that are right,' Jones said. 'And I need for you to stand against those that are not right.'

Jones' video was shared hours before the fatal police involved shooting of Philando Castile, 32, whose death was live streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, on Wednesday in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

His devastated mother, Valerie Castile, says that she was prevented from seeing her son on his deathbed and claimed they have been unable to locate Reynolds since she was detained by police.

In the video of Castile's (above) shooting that's gone viral, Reynolds tells viewers that she and Castile were pulled over for a busted tail light by a 'Chinese police officer'. She said the cop asked him for his license and then shot him while he reached for it

Mail Online contacted the St. Anthony's Police Department in Falcon Heights Thursday morning who said that Reynold was released from custody around 4 or 5am.

The shocking footage of the aftermath of the shooting has sparked protests in Saint Paul, with hundreds of people descending on the Governor of Minnesota's house demanding justice. It is the second controversial police shooting of a black man to emerge in 24 hours after Sterling was killed in Louisiana.

In the video of Castile's shooting that's gone viral, Reynolds tells viewers that she and Castile were pulled over for a busted tail light by a 'Chinese police officer'.

She claims the cop, from the St. Anthony Police Department in Falcon Heights, asked Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school in St Paul, to show his license, but then shot him four times while he reached for it.

As she talks, she moves the camera across to show Castile, bloody and losing consciousness, and the cop - still pointing his gun, as her young daughter sits in the back seat.
Britain is to plough 100million into education programmes for 175,000 of the poorest and most marginalised girls around the world.

The aid spending pledge, made today by International Development Secretary Justine Greening, was made at the first Girls' Education Forum, hosted in London by DFID alongside the Global Citizen and Chime for Change campaigns.

Ex-Australia prime minister Julia Gillard, who now chairs the Global Partnership for Education, welcomed today's announcement.

Britain's aid budget is deeply controversial among some Tory MPs and a major announcement during the Conservative leadership contest may cause frustration.

Britain is to spend 100million over the next five years on improving girls education around the world. Pictured, left and right, are girls in Kasimeri Primary School in Moroto, Northern Uganda

Justine Greening made the pledge at the Girls' Education Forum in London today. Pictured: Girls from the Pong Teuk primary school in Cambodia

Blessing Asokiyine, 7, writes on the backboard at the front of the classroom with her teacher Loretta Abugre at Goriko Kindergarten, Talensi District, Ghana

Ms Greening said: 'Education doesn't just shape individuals, it shapes countries  but right now too many young girls are deprived of an education simply because of their gender.

'Today's event is about putting a spotlight on that, and focusing on what education can do to unlock prospects for girls around the world.

'The UK is leading the fight for gender equality and has already helped 5.3 million girls in developing countries receive a quality education.

'I am proud that the UK will now be helping a further 175,000 of the most vulnerable and marginalised girls in the world to get the education they need to have choice and control over their futures.'

Ms Gillard said: 'Investing in girls and women isn't just morally right: it is essential for the development of families, communities and countries.

'When we educate girls, we see reduced child deaths, healthier children and mothers, fewer child marriages and faster economic growth.'

Amy Agnew, Europe director of Global Citizen, added: 'Today the UK has taken an important step to ensure that all girls are able to go to school and learn.

'Tens of thousands of Global Citizens have taken action to support this financial commitment, but there is still so much more to be done.

'Globally, funding for education has been woefully neglected and still, millions of girls remain out of school.

'Global Citizen supports Britain's long standing commitment to the poorest people in the world and we call on all world leaders to step up and prioritise investment in the future of girls.'

Ms Greening, pictured right with Liz Truss and Theresa May at last night's Spectator party, saw her announcement today welcomed by international NGOs

In its announcement, DFID said 63 million girls around the world are out of school, with over half of these in sub-Saharan Africa. PIctured: Biology lessons at Kasimeri Primary School in Moroto, Northern Uganda

Bonavitha Gahaihi, a 26 year old VSO International Citizen Service worker from Tanzania said: 'When a girl is denied access to education, it impacts her whole life and her family. When a girl gets an education, her family becomes educated.

'Through my work with ICS I now help communities understand the importance of educating girls and help them claim their self-esteem, dignity and rights.'

In its announcement, DFID said 63 million girls around the world are out of school, with over half of these in sub-Saharan Africa.

Those lucky enough to be enrolled have the odds stacked against them finishing their education - meaning they not only face a lifetime of lower wages and fewer opportunities but research shows that they are also more likely to marry young and to have children earlier.

Todays commitment to help 175,000 of the most marginalised girls builds on DFIDs work getting 11 million children into school between 2011 and 2015.

In September last year Justine Greening pledged that the UK will help a further 6.5 million girls get an education between 2015 and 2020.

Todays commitment to help 175,000 of the most marginalised girls builds on DFIDs work getting 11 million children into school between 2011 and 2015. Pictured are students walking into class at Kasimeri Primary School in Moroto, Northern Uganda
LOS ANGELES, CA  Porn fans from throughout the Midwest will be visiting Chicago this week for the return of the Exxxotica convention, the best opportunity the region has to meet dozens of adult stars. Layla Price will be among them for the second year in a row.



She will be signing for Society 15, the agency she signed with a month ago.



I had such a blast in Chicago last year, I cant even tell you, Price said. Ive heard from a lot of fans who are coming out again for this Exxxotica, and were going to have so much fun!



Price's ass appears on the cover of Hooker Hookups 3 (Spizoo), which is available this week and co-stars McKenzie Lee, Diana Dee, Jackie Joy and Sheena Rose.



For more information on Hooker Hookups 3 click here.



Exxxotica Chicago will be held this Friday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. For complete details go to Chi.ExxxoticaExpo.com.
The State Department has reopened its probe into Hillary Clinton's email scandal, as Republican senators put pressure on officials to restrict her security clearance.

Even Clinton's top aides - such as Huma Abedin - could have a tough time getting clearance in the future as a result of the email scandal tied to the former secretary of state's secret server.

'Id tell them that "youve got a fight on your hands,"' Bill Savarino, a lawyer who is a specialist on the issue, told the New York Times.

A group of Republican senators are accusing Hillary Clinton of 'grossly negligent' behavior and are asking Secretary of State John Kerry to suspend not only Clinton's security clearance but her top aides as well.

'There is simply no excuse for Hillary Clintons decision to set up a home-cooked email system which left sensitive and classified national security information vulnerable to theft and exploitation by Americas enemies,' they said in a letter to Kerry on Thursday.

The senators recited FBI Director James Comey's assessment that Clinton, a former secretary of state, and her top aides were 'extremely careless' with their handling of sensitive information.

As such, none of them of them should be able to access classified materials, the 10 senators said.

'We believe that is clear from Director Comeys statement and the FBI investigation that the State Department should immediately suspend the clearances of Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan, and other former State Department employees for security violations if they still maintain them.'

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The State Department has reopened its probe into Hillary Clinton's email scandal, as Republican senators put pressure on officials to restrict her security clearance

Hillary Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin, who serves as the vice chairwoman of her presidential campaign, would have trouble gaining access to state secrets in the future

A group of Republican senators are accusing Hillary Clinton of 'grossly negligent' behavior and are asking Secretary of State John Kerry to suspend her security clearance

Leading the charge is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Rubio was set to retire from government service after failing to secure the GOP nomination for president but decided at the last minute to run for reelection

The State Department started its original probe in January after declaring 22 emails from Clinton's private server to be 'top secret'. It was suspended in April so as not to interfere with the FBI's inquiry.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the probe is restarting after the Justice Department's announcement Wednesday that it will not bring any criminal charges.

'We will aim to be as expeditious as possible, but we will not put artificial deadlines on the process,' Kirby said.

'Our goal will be to be as transparent as possible about our results, while complying with our various legal obligations.'

Kirby wouldn't say anything more about the precise information officials are evaluating. But when the probe was launched almost six months ago, officials said it pertained particularly to a set of emails that were upgraded to one of the nation's highest classification levels.

One question they said they were investigating was whether any of the emails were classified at the time of transmission.

Among the senators accusing Clinton of 'grossly negligent' behavior is Marco Rubio. The Florida senator was set to retire from government service after failing to secure the GOP nomination for president but decided at the last minute to run for reelection.

Other signatories include Tom Cotton of Arkansas, David Perdue of Georgia, John Barrasso of Wyoming and Ron Johnson of Wyoming.

The senators told Kerry in the their letter that Clinton's 'actions were grossly negligent, damaged national security and put lives at risk.

'Failure to impose any sanctions for these clear violations of State Department procedure undermines the integrity of the State Departments system for handling classified information and sends the wrong message to the Departments employees.'

House Speaker Paul Ryan is likewise calling on the nation's spy chief to strip Clinton of her access to classified government information.

Ryan, who receives top level information as speaker and who got classified briefings as Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate in 2012, said in a separate letter to Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper that Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, should be barred from receiving classified information based on the FBI's findings.

'As a former vice presidential nominee, I am keenly aware that Secretary Clinton is set to begin receiving classified intelligence briefings after the Democratic National Convention,' Ryan said.

In other instances individuals who put national security in dangers are 'subject to security or administrative sanctions.

'Given the FBIs findings, denying Secretary Clinton access to classified information certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions,' Ryan said. 'This is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure.'

Ryan sent a separate letter to Comey requesting he release all of the FBI's findings from its investigation.

'The American people deserve to know exactly what your investigation uncovered and why the FBI came to the decision to recommend that no criminal charges be brought against Secretary Clinton,' the GOP leader said.

They don't want Clinton's aides to have access to classified information, either. Among them: Huma Abedin, seen here with Clinton on Tuesday, far right

Republicans are arguing that a separate set of rules have been applied to Clinton. That was the mantra of Republicans on the House's Oversight Committee today as they drilled FBI Director James Comey under oath

The letter served as Ryan's formal request that Clinton's security access be revoked after saying he would make the ask on Tuesday.

At his weekly news conference this morning Ryan said Clapper has an 'obligation' to block Clinton from gaining access to national secrets.

'In three weeks when she comes out of the convention she is going to get unfettered access to the most sensitive classified information our government has? No way,' Ryan declared.

'So I really believe, that if we have someone who has so recklessly mishandled sensitive classified information, the kind of stuff I get as Speaker of the House...I think that we should think this through, and I think the DNI has an obligation, especially given what we just learned...that she should not get that classified information.'

The House Speaker admitted that aside from pressing Clapper to restrict Clinton's access top secret information, there's nothing else he, or Congress, can do.

'I don't know if we even have the ability to change that or not. My guess is we don't,' he stated.

Ryan told Fox News' Megyn Kelly on Tuesday: 'What bothers me about this is that the Clintons really are living above the law.

'This is one of the reasons why people are so dissatisfied, so upset about government. They think that people live by a different set of rules, and the Clintons, they take the candle on this one.'

That was the mantra of Republicans on the House's Oversight Committee today as they drilled Comey under oath.

'There doesn't seem to be any consequence' for Clinton, Committee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz said. 'It wasn't just an innocent mistake. This went on for years.'

Congressman Jim Jordan, a former chair of the committee, argued that when Comey said he considered the 'context' of the Clinton case, most residents of his district did not take that to mean that it would have been only the second gross negligence charge in 100 years.

Jordan said 'a lot of folks' took that to mean that she is governed by a separate set of rules given the the fact that she is former first lady, senator, secretary of state, she's a major party's presidential nominee, and her husband, Bill, last week met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on a plane.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is likewise calling on the nation's spy chief, James Clapper, to strip Clinton of her access to classified government information

Ryan, the highest-ranking Republican, issued an angry statement Tuesday saying Comey's announcement that the bureau wouldn't recommend prosecution 'defies explanation' and will 'set a terrible precedent.'

'No one should be above the law. But based upon the director's own statement, it appears damage is being done to the rule of law.'

Ryan has clashed at times with Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump, but is nevertheless supporting him as he says he has an obligation to as party leader.

Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who also supports Donald Trump and signed the letter, told 'CBS This Morning' on Wednesday, 'The system is rigged if Hillary Clinton faces no consequences whatsoever.'

He noted that normally, a person who engaged in mishandling of classified material would be subject to 'security or administrative sanctions.'

Cotton said that in 'plain English' this means 'they would lose their job and lose their security clearance.'

A spokesman for Clinton, Brian Fallon, raised a counter challenge on Wednesday.

'Every House Republican who joins in partisan stunt about Clinton's intel briefings should have to say if they think Trump is fit to get them,' Fallon said on Twitter.

State Department spokesman John Kirby refused to say Tuesday whether Clinton or aides with whom she transmitted classified information over a private server retained their security clearances. He said State doesn't comment on individual security clearances.

'The department will determine the appropriate next steps following a decision by the Department of Justice,' he said.

Late Wednesday the Attorney General said in a statement that the law enforcement agency would not bring charges against Clinton or any other State Department staffers with knowledge of her email setup.

GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump blasted the move as part of a 'rigged system'

Clinton ran a private server run out of her home, using it exclusively for her email while leading the State Department, despite government rules on preserving and archiving material generated by government work.

Comey stunned the political world when he delivered a surprise statement at FBI headquarters Tuesday and announced he would not recommend charges be brought.

Yet he cataloged a series of missteps by Clinton, noting that there was no 24-hour security on her unusual private server, that she used the account when overseas and at risk of intrusion, and that people she communicated with got hacked.

'Although we did not find clear evidence that secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws,' Comey said, 'there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.'

Comey said the FBI determined that before Clinton deleted tens of thousands of her 'personal' emails, her attorneys deleted several work-related messages. The lawyers didn't read them all but searched keywords to determine which of them might qualify as government records.

Clinton has yet to personally comment on the email scandal since Comey made his stunning announcement. But campaign spokesman Brian Fallon declared it 'resolved' Tuesday.

'As the Secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal email and she would not do it again. We are glad that this matter is now resolved,' Fallon said.
She went to the pizza shop to pick up food for her children and was caught

A mother lost her licence for a year after getting behind the wheel drunk

A mother who decided to do a pizza-run for her children after drinking a 'few glasses of red wine' has been banned from driving for a year.

Kursti Louise Jakobsen, 41, was caught drunk behind the wheel by police who watched her mount the kerb in a no-stopping zone near a pizza shop in Sutherland, south of Sydney on June 19.

The mother who is a disability support worker was convicted of mid-range drink driving and fined $600 for her actions when she appeared before Sutherland Local Court on Thursday, Newscorp reports.

Kursti Louise Jakobsen, 41, pictured, has lost her licence for a year after she was caught drink driving in Sutherland, south of Sydney in June

The court heard Jakobsen was due to start work early the day after the drink-driving incident and had organised her parents to look after her children.

When those plans fell through she went to pick them up and decided to get pizza on the way. When police breath tested her she returned a reading of 0.122.

The magistrate accepted Jakobsen would probably not re-offend and noted it was her first offence in 25 years.
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On this day, 100 years ago, more than 6,000 injured British soldiers were transported by ambulance trains from Southampton to hospitals across the UK in the wake of the Battle of the Somme.

It was to be the busiest day ever for ambulance trains traffic during the First World War.

After suffering the horrors of the trenches, the Tommies were transported on the 'hospitals on wheels' in comfort - with pristine white bed linen, attentive nurses and cups of tea at the ready.

And today, the National Railway Museum in York unveiled its new exhibition, Ambulance Trains, to mark that day - July 7, 1916.

Among the descendants of the ambulance medics present was Caroline Stevens, great niece of Kate Evelyn Luard who worked on one of the trains in France during 1914-15, and as a nurse for the entirety of the conflict.

Ms Stevens said: 'My great-aunt Kate Evelyn Luard worked on First World War ambulance trains for the first year of the war.

On this day, 100 years ago, more than 6,000 injured British soldiers were transported by ambulance trains from Southampton to hospitals across the UK in the wake of the Battle of the Somme. Today, the National Railway Museum unveiled its new exhibition, Ambulance Trains, to mark that day - July 7, 1916

After suffering the horrors of the trenches, the Tommies were transported on the 'hospitals on wheels' in comfort - with pristine white bed linen, attentive nurses and cups of tea at the ready

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a historic railway carriage of the type that would have been converted for use in a WWI ambulance train, transformed inside and out to recreate the intense atmosphere on board these hospitals on wheels. Above, Alan Willis, son of George Owen Willis who was an Orderly Sergeant on the ambulance train and documented the operation in photographs

Each coach of the train was designated as a 'ward' and contained 36 beds in tiers of three. The middle bed folded back to enable sitting patients to use the lower bunk

As the numbers of those injured in battle rose, so the trains became more important and were upgraded and expanded during the conflict, leading one nurse to comment they had become 'a joy after the tragedy' for those unfortunate enough to need them

A 'standard' ambulance train consisted of 16 cars, including a pharmacy car, two kitchens, a personnel car and a brake and stores van. Among the descendants of the ambulance medics present was Caroline Stevens, great niece of Kate Evelyn Luard who worked on one of the trains in France during 1914-15, and as a nurse for the entirety of the conflict

'From 1915 to 1918, she also served in a field ambulance and as sister in charge of casualty clearing stations on the Western Front.

'She carried out her duties with unfaltering composure and dedication to those in her care under difficult and often dangerous conditions and was one of the few nurses to be awarded a Bar to her Royal Red Cross.'

The Battle of the Somme was the largest battle on the Western Front in which more than a million men were wounded or killed.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is a historic railway carriage of the type that would have been converted for use in a First World War ambulance train, transformed inside and out to recreate the intense atmosphere on board these hospitals on wheels.

However, the images contrast with some reports from the time.

War poet Robert Grave described his journey in one of the carriages as a 'nightmare' in his war memoir, Goodbye To All That, and a nurse documented their 'frightful smells and dirt'.

As the numbers of those injured in battle rose, so the trains became more important and were upgraded and expanded during the conflict, leading the same nurse to later comment they had become 'a joy after the tragedy' for those unfortunate enough to need them.

Alison Kay, archivist at the National Railway Museum, said: 'It is very gratifying to open this new exhibition on such an historic day and commemorate the heroic efforts of ambulance train staff to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefields of the First World War and care for them on board.

Orderly Sergeant George Owen Willis and Nursing Sister Kate Luard, who both worked on the ambulance trains

Medical staff worked tirelessly in claustrophobic conditions to provide comfort and care to the wounded servicemen

The main disembarkation points in the UK were Dover and Southampton. During the war years, Dover dealt with 1,260,506 casualties, unloaded 4,076 boats and loaded 7,781 ambulance trains

'We are pleased to finally bring these stories which have been lying dormant for almost a century back into the public eye and give these trains and their passengers the 21st century prominence they deserve.'

The carriage has been carefully transformed both inside and out to enable visitors to step on board and move through spaces including a ward, a pharmacy and a nurses' mess room.

Digital projection, sound and historic images, alongside recreated interior fittings, will recreate the intense atmosphere of the confined trains.

Jane Sparkes, Interpretation Developer at the National Railway Museum, explains: 'For the first time, our exhibition will bring together photographs, technical drawings, letters and diaries to bring to life the huge range of human experiences carried on board these trains.

'Ambulance Trains not only explores stories of the wounded soldiers who travelled with their harrowing memories of warfare, but also the medical staff who worked tirelessly in claustrophobic conditions to provide comfort and care.

'It also looks at the railway workers who built the carefully designed trains at incredible speed to keep up with demand, and the wider public who saw the grim reality of the overseas war when these trains pulled into British stations.'
Donald Trump is taking a glass-is-half-full approach to Justice Department not indicting his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

Talking to the New York Post in a new interview, the presumptive Republican nominee said Clinton is so 'corrupt' there's nobody he'd rather run for president against.

'I would rather face her than Bernie,' Trump said, suggesting that the Democrats would have swapped our their nominee with the runner-up had Clinton been indicted.

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Donald Trump (left) said he's happy that Hillary Clinton (right) didn't get indicted because he would rather face her than Sen. Bernie Sanders in the fall

Donald Trump suggested that if Hillary Clinton would have been indicted, Democrats would have picked Sen. Bernie Sanders (pictured) as their nominee instead, as he was the runner-up in the primary race

'I would rather face her than almost anybody else,' Trump said.

Trump is suggesting that Clinton would be easier to beat than her longtime rival, a democratic socialist from Vermont who touted free college, universal healthcare and broad Wall Street reforms.

Sanders himself, as he was losing to Clinton in the delegate and popular vote fight, was pointing to general election polls that showed him performing better against Trump than the former secretary of state, whose email scandal had plagued her campaign for over a year.

Sanders, on average, was creaming Trump by double-digits, while Clinton, while ahead, had a much more narrow lead that the billionaire has sometimes cut into.

The Vermont senator remains in the race after losing to Clinton in the California primary, where he spent much of his time going city to city in a last ditch effort to win the Democratic nomination.

Sanders lost the Washington, D.C. primary too, which was the last contest on the primary calendar, but still has yet to endorse Clinton.

He was even booed yesterday by House Democrats for staying in the race and on the fence just three weeks before she becomes the party's nominee.

As for Clinton, she received an all-clear from FBI Director James Comey, who said publicly on Tuesday that he would recommend to the Department of Justice that no criminal charges be filed against the former secretary of state for mishandling government secrets.

Comey did some political damage though, saying that Clinton and her team were 'extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.'

And while Attorney General Loretta Lynch closed the investigation over Clinton's emails last night, today Comey is testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Comey will continue to make soundbites as he testifies before the House panel that Trump can use for campaign attack ads.

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted his reaction to the Clinton email news saying, 'The system is rigged. General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment.'

'FBI director said Crooked Hillary compromised our national security. No charges. Wow!' Trump added.

The Trump campaign has steadily pushed out emails about the hearing today, highlighting some of the more intense rounds of questioning between Comey and Republican lawmakers that show the FBI director answering in a way that could be political damaging to the presumptive Democratic nominee.

For instance, South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy reminded Comey that Secretary Clinton had said, 'I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email, there is not classified material.'

'That was true?' Gowdy asked, knowing that it wasn't.
Passengers at Heathrow faced travel chaos today as problems with a new British Airways check-in system are causing lengthy delays.

Some holidaymakers are said to have been turned away from their flights despite arriving on time due to the computer glitch this morning.

Two-hour, seven-lane queues formed at all BA check-in gates at Terminal 5 as staff struggled to deal with the huge numbers of people, with first and business class passengers the worst affected.

Hundreds of passengers faced delays at Heathrow's Terminal 5, pictured, due to a check-in glitch

British Airways customers, pictured, were left standing in huge queues after the computer problem

The airline was branded a 'shambles' on social media with customers quick to vent their frustrations

The check-in system also failed in June, causing chaos at Gatwick and Heathrow, and was only implemented earlier this year.

Today, passengers took to social media to vent their frustrations at the company, while others claimed they had missed flights due to the long wait.

Posting on Twitter, Shivani Ashoka wrote: '@British_Airways you utter shambles. 2hr+ (sic) wait, 7-lane queue for Club bag drop. Desks unmanned, ppl (sic) missing flights.'

One user, The1SamFrank, added: 'Fed up with @BritishAirways what's the point of online check in if it results in just as long a wait? Bag should mean bag drop #FailToServe.'

The airline suffered similar problems because of a software failure in June, with huge queues forming at Heathrow and Gatwick.

The airline has a number of outsourcing deals for IT systems, including one with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an arm of the same Tata which owned British steel plants until earlier this year.

However, MailOnline has asked BA which company created and which runs the system that went wrong today and is awaiting a response.

The new check-in system is understood to have been installed earlier this year and has control over everything from baggage to passports

BA insiders are said to have described the system as 'not robust enough' and claim it is leaving staff feeling 'vulnerable and distressed'

British Airways said the problem was fixed as soon as was possible and that all flights left as normal

The IT glitch came as several families were looking to get away on holiday after private and Scottish school terms ended for the summer.

There were also claims that there were not enough seats on flights because of allocation problems with the booking system, while a couple was also allegedly turned away from a flight to Japan where they were due to marry.

A spokeswoman for BA apologised for the delays but said the issue was quickly resolved and all flights left as normal today.

We are sorry for the disruption to customers' travel plans due to an IT glitch at Heathrow on what was already a very busy morning.

The issue was resolved as quickly as possible, and all of our flights left as normal.

Ten million passengers have already used our new check-in system as we introduce it around the world.

A spokesman for London Heathrow Airport said it was a BA issue and was not commenting.

Queues, pictured, have since dispersed and the company says services have returned to normal
The US Navy has said a Russian spy ship has been spotted in international waters off Hawaii and fears it is trying to monitor US-led military exercises.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt Clint Ramsden said a Russian Navy Bal'zam-class, 'auxiliary general intelligence ship recently arrived in international waters off Hawaii where exercise Rim of the Pacific is taking place'.

He added how steps had been taken to 'protect our critical information'.

The annual exercises, taking place around Hawaii, are the world's largest maritime drills and date back to 1971

The exercises for military forces in the Rim of the Pacific involves 26 nations and will last until early August.

It includes 45 ships, 200 aircraft and more than 25,000 people.

The annual exercises are the world's largest maritime drills and date back to 1971.

During the drills, troops will practice responding to disasters as well as clearing mines, hunting for submarines and delivering amphibious forces ashore.

According to the US Navy website, the drills are 'the world's largest international maritime exercise, which provide a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world's oceans.'

The exercises for military forces in the Rim of the Pacific involves 26 nations and will last until early August

Lt Ramsden said Russia last participated in the exercises in 2012. They were invited to take part in 2014, but declined.

According to Pacific Fleet, the last time a Russian spy ship stopped by Hawaii was during the military exercises in 2004.
No charges have yet been filed

The gun was owned by a friend of one of the women who lived at the house, say police

A three-year-old girl is dead after she found a gun under a bed and shot herself in the head in a home her family was visiting in California.

Police say that the toddler, whose name is not being released because of her age, was playing alone in a bedroom Saturday afternoon while the childs mother, sibling and the mothers friend were in another room.

The child's family was visiting the home in Lemoore, California from another area of Central California, according to YourCentralValley.com.

A house at the 800 block of Dogwood Ave (above) was the scene of a deadly accident when police say that a three-year-old girl found a loaded gun under a bed

The girl, whose name is being withheld by police, reportedly died at the hospital of a gun shot wound to the head

The three reportedly heard a bang and thought the child had fallen off the bed, according to the Fresno Bee.

They found the girl with a single gun shot wound to the head and the loaded hand gun lying nearby. The gun reportedly was registered to a friend of one of two female roommates who lived in the house but were away at the time.

Police were called at 12.49pm to the house on the 800 block of Dogwood Avenue.

The toddler was rushed to Adventist Medical Center in Hanford but died of her injuries at the hospital.

Police would not release the caliber of the gun.

'Its just an unfortunate accident,' Lemoore police Detective Matthew Smith (left) told KSEE

'Its just an unfortunate accident,' Lemoore police Detective Matthew Smith told the outlet. 'Its hard on everyone. Our hearts go out to the family involved.'

The family and others are cooperating with the investigation, he said.

While no arrests have been made, the tragic case is being investigated as reckless endangerment of a child resulting in death and negligent storage of a firearm and the gun owner and his friend could be charged.

The case will be turned over to the prosecutor this week to determine if any charges should be filed.

'If a child gained access to a loaded firearm, an adult screwed up somewhere,' said the owner of a nearby shooting range in Fresno.

'The family's broken up about it,' Smith told CBS News. 'The roommates are broken up about it. Everyone involved was broken up about it. My heart and the Lemoore Police Department's family, our hearts go out to them.'
A 23-year-old mother who was held captive and tortured for days, allegedly by her husband, in front of their two-week-old baby has been tearfully reunited with her son.

Wearing dark sunglasses and her hospital gown, Prosper Ortega, from Georgia, got the chance to hold her son Ari again after her she was brutally sexually assaulted and tortured for two days inside her Atlanta home.

Ms Ortega kisses her baby son's head and breaks down in tears in a video filmed by her family at the hospital where she is recovering.

Police have arrested her husband Aaron Uchitel and charged him with aggravated battery, false imprisonment and cruelty to children, WSB reported.

He was arrested after the victim's mother, Fawn Ortega, became concerned and decided to check on her daughter on June 29.

On Wednesday, a family friend said that Prosper had opened her eyes for the first time after the bones in her eye socket were broken in the assault.

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Prosper Ortega, from Georgia, got the chance to hold her son Ari again as she recovered in hospital. Her family provided a video of the moment to Khou.com

'He was jabbing at her eyes, jabbing at her eyes so she couldn't see the baby,' her mother Fawn Ortega said.

'It was so magical to walk in and see them open. They are not balanced or focused, and she can't handle light, but she can see,' and update on the family's GoFund Me page said.

She is scheduled for eye surgery on Friday.

Fawn Ortega noticed that her daughter's husband had been isolating her and went to their home but wasn't allowed inside the house by Uchitel.

'I started to fight him. I was pushing him off and stuff,' Fawn Ortega said.

Fawn Ortega fought her way into the home and saw her daughter's face and immediately called police.

Heartbreaking: Prosper Ortega (above), 23, was brutally assaulted, sexually assaulted, and tortured for two days inside the Atlanta home she shared with her husband, Aaron Uchitel,

The new mother (left) is on the road to recovery in Georgia after being held captive and tortured for days allegedly by her husband in front of their two-week-old baby. Aaron Uchitel allegedly cut her hair off (right)

The brutally beaten woman (above) told authorities that her husband had drugged her, sexually assaulted her and beat her for two days

'(I thought) she was gonna die,' Fawn Ortega said. 'Everything was just so swollen and her little mouth.

'He cut her hair off and said, 'I'm going to make it so where nobody will ever want you again.'

The brutally beaten woman told authorities that her husband had drugged her, sexually assaulted her and beat her for two days.

Authorities say Prosper Ortega tried to escape through a bedroom window, but her husband pulled her back into the home and continued to assault her.

Uchitel reportedly confessed to hitting her 'a couple of times' to police.

'It was an evil person in there and he was going to kill her,' Fawn Ortega said of her son-in-law.

Aaron Uchitel (left) has been charged with aggravated battery, false imprisonment and cruelty to children. The couple's two-week-old son, Ari (pictured right with his mother), was in the home during the incident

Uchitel reportedly confessed to hitting her 'a couple of times' to police. The couple is pictured above after Prosper gave birth to their son Ari on June 17

The couple had only been married for less than a year and had their first child together, Ari, on June 17.

Prosper Ortega is currently hospitalized at Grady Memorial Hospital and is unable to see clearly.

In a Facebook post on Monday, her mother said that she is seeing 'double vision and crossed.'

In the same post, she wrote that Uchitel's family is outraged and shocked at what he is accused of doing to his wife.

'Aaron Steven Uchitel's family is a wonderful loving family and sickened by his actions, please pray for them as they are mortified and will require compassion,' Fawn Ortega wrote.

Her family says that she has a long road to recovery ahead of her, but wants the world to know what domestic violence looks like.

'I know the images are hard to look at however she's asked me to post them so that you can see the monstrous things this man has done to her, as he manipulated her with her love for him and her fifteen day old child,' Fawn Ortega wrote in the Facebook post.

The victim's mother, Fawn Ortega (above), and other family members are sharing her story in an effort to prevent another domestic violence case. She said: 'We are just at a place where it needs to stop'

Fawn Ortega rescued her daughter from her Atlanta-area home (above) on Wednesday when she became concerned about her daughter. Once inside, she called police after finding Prosper Ortega severely injured

'She wanted so much for a family of her own to live a happy life together.

'She still cannot see her child and we are praying her sight will return as he told her he wanted to make her blind to her baby, poured scalding water in her ears so she couldn't hear her child's cries, and cut her hair off so she would never be attractive to any man that would love her as the beautiful young woman she was when he took her as his wife.

'These are horrifying images and I know some of you would wish I hadn't posted them, yet this is her wish and I am honoring them on her behalf as she isn't able to do this herself.'

Fawn Ortega and other family members are sharing her story in an effort to prevent another domestic violence case.

'We are just at a place where it needs to stop,' Fawn Ortega said.

The family has created a GoFundMe to raise money for Prosper Ortega's hospital bills and money to help raise her newborn son, Ari.
The distraught woman who live-streamed her boyfriend dying after he was shot five times by a cop in Minnesota has launched an extraordinary attack on the police for 'killing him in front of my daughter'.

Diamond Reynolds, who was handcuffed after a cop in Falcon Heights, Saint Paul, shot Philando Castile, 32, five times on Wednesday at 9pm, sobbed as she said her four-year-old daughter will 'forever be scarred' by the incident.

Footage recorded by Reynolds, who was taken into custody until 5am Thursday in the aftermath of the shooting was live-streamed on Facebook, prompting widespread outrage and protests in Saint Paul.

The second such controversial police shooting of a black man in the past 24 hours has resulted in Minnesota's governor asking for a federal investigation to be launched.

Hours after she was released from jail, she launched into a 20-minute speech calling on the community to come together as she was flanked by a crowd of supporters brandishing Black Lives Matter placards.

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Forever scarred: Diamond Reynolds says cops took her boyfriend Philando Castile's life 'for no reason' after she was released by police in Minnesota

No last words: Reynolds, who was held by police overnight, said all she saw were her boyfriend's eyes rolling in the back of his head after he was shot five times by police

Overcome: Demanding justice and peace, she said: 'These police should not be able to bear arms on innocent people in front of kids. My daughter will be forever scarred by what the police of Falcon Heights did to us

Justice: She said that police treated her 'like a prisoner', detaining her after the 9pm shooting and keeping her in custody until 5am, separating her from her young daughter, and denying her food and water

My lifeline: Reynolds appeared later, having changed her clothes and clutching her daughter, who told her to 'stay strong' and 'don't cry' during the ordeal

Call for action: Reynolds said she had the wherewithal to put the video on Facebook because she 'wanted the people to determine who was right and who was wrong'

Aftermath: Diamond Reynolds (pictured) streamed the aftermath of a police shooting on Wednesday. She told viewers she and her boyfriend, Philando Castile, were pulled over for a busted tail light by a cop who asked to see his license. As Castile was reaching for it, the police officer shot him four times, she says

Shot: Castile can be seen murmuring at the start of the Facebook video. According to Reynolds he told the cop he had a permit to carry a firearm when he reached for his license - but the cop shot anyway

She insisted that police had stopped them for a busted tail light, which she claims wasn't even busted, and that Castile told the officer he had a firearm on him and a license, before the cop began shooting 'for no reason'.

She told the growing crowd that her boyfriend 'didn't have any last words. His eyes rolled in the back of his head.'

'The police did this to us. The police killed him in front of my daughter. The police did this to me. They took an innocent man away from us.'

Demanding justice and peace, she said: 'These police should not be able to bear arms on innocent people in front of kids. My daughter will be forever scarred by what the police of Falcon Heights did to us.

They put me in a room and separated me from my child. They treated me like a prisoner Diamond Reynolds

'For no apparent reason they asked him for identification. And before they gave him a chance to get it, they beared arms on him.'

Reynolds said that police treated her 'like a prisoner', detaining her after the 9pm shooting and keeping her in custody until 5am, separating her from her young daughter, and denying her food and water. She added that police didn't bother to check the pulse of Castile after shooting him and didn't administer first aid.

She says that police didn't inform her that he was dead until 3am, even though they knew he was dead when they took him from the scene.

'They put me in a room and separated me from my child. They treated me like a prisoner. They treated me like I did this to me. And I didn't. They did this to us. They took a black man away. He worked for St Paul public schools, he never had a criminal record. he never did anything, no gang affiliated, nothing, he was a hard working man, his birthday was in nine days. They took him nine days before his birthday. It's not fair and it's not right.'

She claimed the police would tamper with evidence after taking her off the scene, making sure she was not able to speak to anybody until she was dropped off at her doorstep at 5am.

When they let her go, they kept her phone and car for evidence.

Cop: The officer, audibly panicky and afraid, continues to point his gun at Castile, and at one point screams 'I told him not to reach for it!' Reynolds remains calm as she confronts him: 'You told him to get his ID, sir'

Unconscious: Castile apparently loses consciousness partway through the video. Police have confirmed that he died in hospital as a result of the gunshot wounds

Castile (left) and Reynolds (right) before his tragic death. His mother, Valerie Castile, told WCCO TV her son 'lived by the law and died by the law' and he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessori School in St. Paul. Castile's Facebook page depicts a young man who was politically active and enjoyed partying

Asked how she had the wherewithal to put the video on Facebook, she said: 'I wanted everyone in the world to know that no matter how much police tamper with evidence, how much they stick together, no matter how much they manipulate our minds to believe what they want to put it on Facebook and go viral so that the people could see. I wanted the people to determine who was right and who was wrong.'

She paid tribute to her daughter, calling her 'my lifeline'.

'My daughter told me to stay strong and that's what I had to do. My daughter told me don't cry and that's what I had to do... my daughter prayed for me.'

She said she wanted the world to see that the police 'are not there to protect and serve us, they are there to assassinate us.'

The incident is being investigated by Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, although Mark Dayton, the Governor of Minnesota, has asked for the US Justice Department to open a federal investigation.

The police are not there to protect and serve us, they are there to assassinate us Diamond Reynolds

'My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends,' said Mr Dayton, who was evacuated from his residence last night as protesters descended on it demanding justice. 'This kind of behavior is unacceptable. It is not the norm in Minnesota. I promise... to see that this matter is brought to justice and all avenues are pursued and do a complete investigation. Justice will be served in Minnesota.'

Gov. Dayton later said in a press conference: 'If the passengers were white, do I think this would've happened? No I don't.

'This kind of racism exists and it's incumbent on all of us to vow and ensure that it doesn't continue to happen.'

Sen Al Franken, echoing calls for a federal investigation, added that he was 'horrified and heartbroken'.

In addition, President Obama issued a statement on his Facebook page about both shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

'All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota,' it reads.

'We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss.

'Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.'

In closing the statement, Obama said that all Americans should come together as a nation.

'All Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling - feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils.

'Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do better.

'Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.'

President Obama released a statement (above) on his Facebook page Thursday about Castile's death and Alton Sterling's - the black man killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday

The shooting in Saint Paul is the second controversial police shooting of a black man to emerge in 24 hours.

In the original video, Reynolds tells viewers that she and Castile were pulled over for a busted tail light by a 'Chinese police officer'.

She claims the cop, from the St. Anthony Police Department in Falcon Heights, asked Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at JJ Hill Montessori Magnet School in St Paul, to show his license, but then shot him four times while he reached for it.

As she talks, she moves the camera across to show Castile, bloody and losing consciousness, and the cop - still pointing his gun, as her young daughter sits in the back seat.

The police officer, who is yet to be identified, has been placed on paid leave.

Time to listen: Clarence Castile, uncle of Philando, speaks outside the Governor's Mansion following the shooting of his nephew, while Gov Mark Dayton, listens; he has called for a federal investigation

Outraged: Clarence Castile (left) and Valerie Castile (right), Philando's uncle and mother said they wanted to see justice and said the African American community was being 'hunted'

Crowds of protesters chanted outside the Governor's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them following the tragic shooting

Community members and Black Lives Matter activists brought the police tape from the scene of where Philando Castile was shot and killed by a St. Anthony Police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, to Governor Mark Dayton's residence in Saint Paul on Wednesday evening

A crowd of around 200 protesters turned up outside Governor Mark Dayton's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them. They shouted 'no justice, no peace' and video shows them chanting Castile's name over and over in a moving show of unity.

A man outside the Governor's house said on Twitter: 'We're protesting at the governor's mansion. The police sent two delegates to make peace. They brought their guns.'

Rumors circulated that Governor Dayton had been evacuated from the mansion, but his office later denied the claim, according to the New York Times.

The protesters earlier formed at the scene where Castile was shot. The crowd was heard chanting 'we will stand our ground. We will not move' as an officer tried to clear the area, KARE-TV reported. Crowds also gathered outside the hospital where Castile died.

In the video, Castile is at first still conscious and intermittently swearing, while his head lolls around. The officer keeps his gun trained on the man.

Reynolds says to her Facebook viewers that Castile, who had minor offences on his criminal record, was licensed to carry a weapon and told the officer he had a firearm as he reached for his wallet and ID.

'And the officer just shot him in his arm,' she says.

'Ma'am, keep your hands where they are,' the cop says, sounding panicked. He then appears to shout 'F***!'

'He just shot his arm off,' says Reynolds, maintaining her calm.

'I told him not to reach for it!' the cop screams, sounding close to tears. 'I told him to get his hand open.'

Detained: Other officers arrive and tell Reynolds to exit the car and get on her knees. They cuff her and say she is being detained 'until we get this all sorted out' - only at this point does she begin to cry

Dropped: The phone is dropped shortly after this point, but the officer who allegedly shot Castile can seemingly be heard shouting 'F***' several times, while Reynolds, after giving her story, begins to pray to God

'You told him to get his ID, sir, you told him to get his driver's license,' she says. And suddenly the reality seems to hit her, as Castile appears to stop moving.

'Oh god, don't tell me he's dead,' she says. 'Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... please don't tell me that he's gone.'

The cop tells her to keep her hands 'where they are, please' and she agrees, but then goes back to chanting about her boyfriend's possible death. 'Please don't tell me this Lord, please Jesus don't tell me that he's gone.'

'Please officer don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir,' she says, her voice finally beginning to crack with emotion. 'He was just getting his licence and registration, sir.'

At that moment, other officers are heard telling Reynolds to exit the car and walk backwards towards them. She asks if they have her daughter. In the distance a girl can be heard crying.

They tell her to get on her knees while they cuff her - 'Ma'am you're just being detained right now until we just get this all sorted out, okay?' says one of the new officers.

Handcuffed: Later, Reynolds is seen in the back of a cop car; she says she has been handcuffed, and that 'a Chinese police officer' shot her boyfriend

Innocence: Her four-year-old daughter is glimpsed a couple of times. Towards the end of the video, Reynolds begins screaming in anguish, and her daughter says 'It's okay. I'm right here with you'

Aftermath: The immediate moments after the shocking shooting were caught by at least one passerby, which shows police attending to a shot Castile at the side of the road

'They threw my phone, Facebook,' Reynolds says, before finally breaking down as another siren - possibly an ambulance - is heard. 'Please no,' she wails, 'Please don't let him be gone.'

Other videos shared on Twitter by one user show cops performing CPR on a prone figure - presumably Castile - and later putting up crime scene tape.

At this point in Reynolds's video, a man who sounds like the first officer can be heard shouting 'F***' at several points afterward, and Reynolds is heard in the distance telling cops how the cop 'started shooting.'

Reynolds said later on that the cop was crying and was being consoled by his colleagues.

During the original video, Reynolds begins wailing about how Castile is a 'good man' who 'works for St Paul Public Schools... Hes never been in jail, anything. Hes not a gang member, anything.'

Scene of the shooting: Investigators photographed the car that Castile was shot in near Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street in Falcon Heights

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigators process the scene where a St. Anthony police officer shot and killed Castile as he was reaching for his license

A crowd of community members gather outside the Governor's Residence in Saint Paul with a 'black lives matter' sign

Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter, spoke outside the governor's house saying: 'We are tired of the laws... we are tired of the demonization of our black brothers and sisters'

Hundreds of people chanted Castile's name over and over in a moving show of unity while demanding that the governor of Minneapolis come out and explain what happened

What happened? A woman joins others gathered a the scene of the police shooting in Falcon Heights demanding answers

Angry demonstrators chant (left) as the block Summit Avenue at the governor's residence; A crowd gathers across the street from where the investigation into the shooting is carried out

Crowds gather in the middle of the night for answers after the horrific video went viral on Facebook

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) investigators process the scene; the Governor of Minnesota has now asked for a federal investigation to be launched

Women hold placards saying 'not in my name. No justice, no peace' and 'black lives matter'

Blue lies matter: Protesters hand signs on a post near the scene of Castile's shooting in the largely middle-class St Paul suburb of Falcon Heights

Protesters outside the Governor's mansion hold their hands to their faces in shock

The yellow police crime scene tape was strung around the gates of the Governor's house in Saint Paul

The morning after: A sign is hung outside the Minnesota Governor's Residence this morning after about 200 people gathered outside it on Wednesday to protest

Not going anywhere: Protesters demand answers from the Minnesota governor, who had to be evacuated and has subsequently canceled a press conference that was scheduled for today

Reynolds then prays to God to protect Castile, saying: 'You know we're innocent, Lord. You know we're innocent people.'

Her daughter is heard telling an officer she wants to collect her mommy's purse.

Shortly afterward, the video cuts to Reynolds, sitting in a police cruiser - handcuffed, she says - with her daughter.

OUTGOING POLICE CHIEF COMPLAINED 'BIASED' MEDIA WAS MAKING LIFE 'UNFAIR' ON COPS John Ohl, retiring police chief The retiring chief of St. Anthony Police Department claimed that the 'biased' media covers police brutality and there was nothing 'broken' about US law enforcement, just weeks before the shooting of Philando Castile. In an interview with William Lindeke, a St Paul blogger, John Ohl, who was talking about leaving his 'legacy' lamented: 'Why would you be a cop today? You're treated like a piece of crap. And I'm not saying by society in general. 'Our city loves us, our Council supports us, and we are greatly appreciative of that citizen and council support. 'But Geez! National news media and local media are making it tough on us. And it's tough to recruit new cops, good high quality cops!... It's coming, when bright young people no longer choose this career because of biased, unfair and undeserved reporting.' Furthermore he argued that the 'perception that Police Officers are out of control is not supported with the good work that's done every day.' Advertisement

She repeats her story and begs anyone watching to come help her at the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street.

The camera moves over to her daughter for a moment; the girl looks sad and confused.

'It was a Chinese police officer that shot him,' says Reynolds. 'He asked him for his license and registration, which was in the back of his pocket, because he keeps his wallet in his pocket.

'And as he went to reach, he let the officer know before he was reaching that he had a firearm on him, and before he can let the officer know anything, the officer took off shots. About four or five rounds was shot.

'And my boyfriend, I don't know what condition he's in, I don't know if he's okay or if he's not okay. I'm in the back seat of a police car, handcuffed... they got machine guns pointed.'

Finally, Reynolds - who has mostly kept it together throughout the incident - breaks down.

'I f***ing-- I can't f***ing--' she stutters, before screaming.

'It's okay,' her daughter says. 'I'm right here with you.'

In a statement, St. Anthony Police Department said: 'On 07-06-2016 at approximately 2100 hours, a St. Anthony Police Officer effected a traffic stop on Larpenteur and Fry in the City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

'During the stop, shots were fired. One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased.

'No one else was injured and the BCA has been called in to investigate this officer involved shooting. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

'The BCA will provide additional information as their investigation progresses.'

Castile was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, according to The Star Tribune.

Sgt. Jon Mangseth, interim chief of St. Anthony Police Department told the paper that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate.

The officer involved in the shooting had worked for the force 'in excess of five years', Sgt. Jon Mangseth said.

At a 2am press conference, the police chief confirmed Castile was shot by the officer at 9pm.

A gun was recovered from the scene and has been sent for processing.

The video had received more than 1.5million views in the four hours after it went live - and attracted a stream of horrified and angry comments.

Castile's mother said : 'They killed my son. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old'

'Wtf man. F*** the police I swear this is bulls***,' said one. 'This is some f***ing BULLS*** I'm so tired of this s*** - the man isn't moving why do they have their guns pointed at him,' wrote another.

But many replied with messages of support and love for Reynolds and her family.

The video disappeared for around an hour after it was put up, causing angry accusations of censorship, but then returned with a 'graphic content' warning.

Reynolds's entire Facebook profile also went down for the duration before returning.

It's basically modern day lynching that we're seeing going on, except we're not getting hung by a tree anymore we're getting killed on camera Allysza Castile, Philando's sister

His distraught mother Valerie Castile said her son 'lived by the law and died by the law' and he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessorri School in St. Paul.

She tearfully told the Star Tribune outside hospital: 'They killed my son. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old.'

She later told CNN that they wouldn't let her see her son's body and that she had not even had the chance to identify him 'because they did not let me.'

She explained that she was first made aware of the incident when her daughter was watching it on Facebook.

My daughter was screaming in the house and I was like what's going on with you and the live stream was going. I personally didn't see it but I knew something was going on,' she said.

We rode up to the incident but we couldn't get to her to talk to her we were stopped by the police and I asked them where was my son at? I didnt want to talk to anyone I just wanted to know where my son was because I didn't want my son to die alone

'First it was I don't know and then it was the sergeant that was there at the site he came back and told me that he was at Hennepin County Medical Center and I said well why did you take him there? Why didn't you take him down to Regions hospital because I thought that was a little bit closer than Minneapolis."

A police man watches on as protesters gather outside the governor's house in the early hours

A large banner was strung up outside the governor's house read 'stop police brutality'

But by the time we got to Hennepin County Medical Center he was already deceased and they didn't let me see my son's body at all. I have not identified my son's body because they did not let me.'

She then added: 'I think he was just black in the wrong place. We are being hunted every day. It's a silent war against African American people as a whole. We are never free.'

Both of them said that ultimately they wanted 'justice'.

She said she had always taught her son to 'comply, comply, comply' if he was ever stopped by police.

'My son would never jeopardize his fiancee and the child by doing anything to provoke an officer.'

His sister Allysza Castile, 23, told the Washington Post: 'They wont let us see him. Weve been here probably an hour, the whole family is here, and they wont let us see him.'

She also told WCCO: 'It's just like, we're animals. It's basically modern day lynching that we're seeing going on, except we're not getting hung by a tree anymore we're getting killed on camera. And these officers are being able to go home to their family on paid leave.'

Clarence Castile, Philandos uncle, added his nephew had worked at the cafeteria for 12 to 15 years 'cooking for the little kids' and described him as a 'good kid'.

Of the cop who shot him, he said: 'That man is a destroyer. He's not an officer - he's a man.'

His family said he was a straight-A student at high school who graduated with honors.

The parent of a child at the school Castile worked at wrote on Facebook that he was a 'good man', in a message published by Twitter user Wendy R.

A WEEK OF POLICE SHOOTINGS: TENSIONS HIGH AFTER ALTON STERLING IS SHOT DEAD AT POINT-BLANK RANGE IN BATON ROUGE Alton Sterling (pictured) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning The shooting of Philando Castile took place just one day after police in Louisiana shot dead a black father of five at point-blank range, in an incident being probed by federal investigators. Horrific video footage showed Alton Sterling being thrown to the ground by cops. As Sterling continues to move on the ground, one officer reaches for his gun and then points it at the father-of-five's chest. Less than two seconds later, the first shot is heard, followed quickly by another two as the startled store owner turns the camera away from the gruesome scene. Three more shots are heard as the clip ends. On Sunday, another black man, 37-year-old Delrawn Small, was shot dead by an off-duty police officer in a road-rage incident. Officer Wayne Isaacs killed Small after a confrontation over a near-miss crash in Brooklyn. Small is said to have attacked Isaacs through his open driver's side window with 'big haymaker' punches before he was shot dead by the officer. Castile's shooting also comes on the eve of a closely watched trial in Baltimore on Thursday of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a broken spine in the back of a police van. The 25-year-old man was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for possessing what the police alleged was an illegal switchblade. Castile is reportedly one of 123 black Americans shot and killed by police in 2016 so far. Alton Sterling was shot dead when officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake II slammed him to the floor. THey have been put on administrative leave as the Department of Justice stepped in to lead the investigation On Wednesday, thousands of people protested long into the night following the shooting of Alton Sterling by two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Advertisement

'Every day he fist bumped my kids, even when they were acting up. He knew every single one by name, pushed extra food in them like a grandma, and sneaked extra graham crackers into my son's bag because Peter got a kick out of it.

'My borderline autistic son hugged him every day. You guys. This was a GOOD MAN,' he said.

Castile's Facebook page depicts a young man who was politically active and enjoyed partying. He shared images of the Black Panther Party and posted the caption 'by any means necessary'.

He also posted that he went to the University of Minnesota and had worked at Target.

Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter, spoke outside the Governor's house in the early hours of Thursday morning.

'We are tired of the laws... we are tired of the demonization of our black brothers and sisters,' she said. 'Enough is enough.'

The shooting comes just days after another young black man was shot dead by police after they received a complaint about a man making threats with a gun while selling CDs outside a store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Anger broke out on social media in the wake of the second shooting. A lot of Twitter users pointed out the NRA had yet to comment on the shooting despite the death of an innocent gun license holder.
The 17-year-old was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time

The Saylor family said she would also describe to the 15 and 17-year-old girls exactly what sexual acts she was doing

Warfel already pleaded guilty to harassment for calling her neighbors' daughters 'n*****s' and 'monkeys' through their shared wall

She was ordered to spend 45 to 90 days in prison

A Pennsylvania woman has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after she kept her neighbors' children awake with sex so loud it shook their furniture for the last two years.

Amanda Warfel, 25, was ordered to spend 45 to 90 days in prison. She has already served her sentence, but remains behind bars for other charges.

Warfel, who has been imprisoned since March 22, previously pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and harassment for making racist comments toward the same neighbors.

Amanda Marie Warfel, 25, has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after she kept her neighbors' children awake with sex so loud it shook their furniture for the last two years

Tanya Saylor said Warfel, who shares a bedroom wall with their two teenage daughters in a York row home, had made their life 'a living hell' for the last two years.

There was loud music, racial slurs, and sex that only got more noisy when they complained.

'No child should ever feel like they're in a porn every night,' Saylor told the Indy Star. 'All while being threatened at the same time!'

Saylor said Warfel would call out the names of her daughters, aged 15 and 17, and shout racial slurs through the walls.

When the girls, who are biracial, would ask Warfel to stop she would only scream louder and then describe what acts she was doing in vivid detail, Saylor said.

The problem became so desperate that Saylor began giving her daughters headphones at night before they went to bed and bought a television for their room to help drown out the sound.

But Warfel's harassment, which could go on to 3am, still kept the girls up so late that they would struggle to get up for school.

State police had to write notes for Riah, 15, on two separate occasions to excuse her lateness.

But Saylor said it was even worst for her eldest daughter, who is fighting cancer and had to be quaranited in her room for 10 days after receiving radiation treatment.

Tanya Saylor, who lives next door to Warfel with her terminally ill husband and five children (all pictured), said Warfel would yell racial slurs at her daughters and call them n*****s and monkeys

The problem became so desperate that Saylor began giving her daughters headphones at night before they went to bed and bought a television for their room to help drown out the sound

During that period, Saylor says Warfel had sex 'non-stop, making sure that my daughter heard.'

'She can't battle cancer in peace,' Saylor told the York Dispatch. 'And her father is terminally ill.'

Saylor said Warfel would also shout through the wall that her children were n*****r and moneys, offering 'them bananas'.

'It was a daily thing until she went to prison,' Saylor said.

After a year of trying to 'politely' reason with Warfel and her grandmother, the Saylors had finally had enough.

They contacted police after the March 21 incident, in which Warfel was 'loudly fornicating and banging around her bedroom to the degree that the victims' dresser and her own bed shook', court documents state.

Authorities said that Warfel was arrested 'due to the persistent nature of her actions'.

Warfel was on probation in York County at the time for a felony prison assault and her probation officer filed a violation detainer following her arrest.

She was also on probation in Lancaster County for drunken driving and a detainer was filed against her there as well, which is why she currently remains behind bars.

Warfel said during her most recent hearing that she just wanted to go home, and wished her neighbors had been in court so she could apologize.

She was ordered to pay court costs and to not have any contact with her neighbors under any circumstances.

As for Saylor, she worries of what her five children have been exposed to in the last two years.

'My kids know more than they should,' she said. 'Including my nine-year-old.'
The housemate of a woman found dead in a Melbourne home is wanted by police.

Homicide squad detectives have launched a manhunt for Alex Dow Freeburn, 26, after the woman's body was found in a Kew residential property at 1.40pm on Tuesday, the Herald Sun reported.

Mr Freeburn is reportedly described as having extensive prior convictions and police are being warned to approach him with caution.

A spokesman for Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia that they had not yet determined whether the woman's death was suspicious.

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Police are reportedly looking for Alex Dow Freeburn, 26, the housemate of a woman who was found dead in a Melbourne home on Tuesday afternoon (pictured is street closed off)

Police cordoned off the home in Kew and over 30 officers surrounded the rear of a Melbourne cafe (pictured) after the woman's body was found. She is believed to be 29 years old

A post-mortem examination on the body, believed to be a 29-year-old woman, is yet to be completed and could take as long as until Wednesday.

More than 30 armed police officers surrounded the rear of a cafe on High Street in the suburb of Kew after the woman's body was found.

Detectives left the area at 5.15pm, but earlier on in the afternoon they focused their attention near the Rox Cafe bar on the corner of of Derrick and High streets.

A kebab shop directly in front of the property the deceased woman was found in has been closed for several weeks.

Despite the drama police investigation outside, with huge police forces cordoning off a 50 metre portion of the street, nearby businesses continued to operate normally.

Louie Mir, the owner of Rox Cafe, told The Age that police had been in the area since the morning.

'The police have been here since the morning at the shop on ground level, and they have bedrooms or something upstairs,' Mr Mir said.

'I'm operating as normal, because I'm not sure of the risk.'

Police will likely not know how the woman died until Wednesday morning, and the investigation is ongoing
Tatyana Allen was arrested on Daytona Beach after a 911 caller claimed they witnessed the assault

An 18-year-old woman has denied she used her six-month-old baby to beat her boyfriend during a fight on a Florida beach.

Tatyana Allen was released from jail on a $30,000 bond on Tuesday after being arrested over claims she had battered her boyfriend with the child on Fourth of July on a Daytona Beach.

A witness who called 911 claimed Allen hit her boyfriend with her baby and then threw the child in the sand.

The Orange County teen had traveled about 65 miles from her home to celebrate the day in Daytona before she and her partner got into an argument.

Allen told the court that the baby was being held by its father at the time and she accused him of dropping the infant.

'The persons who claim I used the [baby as a weapon], Jerrod, his father and aunt who were there personally when it happened, told cops that I did not, and they told DCF that also, ' Allen said, News 6 reported.

Allen, 18, is led into court as seen from footage on ClickOrlando on Tuesday. She was arrested after police in Florida say she used her infant son to batter her boyfriend

The 911 caller reportedly said: 'The baby was screaming. It was face down in the sand. It can't hold its head up by itself, that's how little it was.' Allen is seen in court for a bail hearing on Tuesday

Authorities arrested Allen shortly before 4.30pm on Fourth of July.

The 911 caller reportedly said: 'The baby was screaming. It was face down in the sand. It can't hold its head up by itself, that's how little it was.'

The baby was taken to a hospital Monday afternoon, where he is in good condition, according to Beach Safety Ocean Rescue Captain Tammy Marris.

Allen was taken into custody on charges of battery and infliction of physical and mental injury on a child.

She was being held in Volusia County before she was granted bail.
A 92-year-old man who has confessed to being a former member of a Nazi death squad is unlikely to be deported from his adopted country of Canada.

The country has been trying to boot Helmut Oberlander out for two decades after learning that he had hidden his wartime record as a Nazi collaborator.

He says as a teenager, he was forced to be a translator for the death squad that summarily executed Jews, but never had a direct part in the atrocities.

Former Nazi member Helmut Oberlander will be allowed to stay in Canada, at least for the time being, after a Supreme Court decision not to hear a lower court's ruling

On Thursday, he won a court victory that will boost his chances of staying in the country. The Supreme Court declined to hear the government's appeal of a lower court decision in favor of Oberlander.

Oberlander moved to Canada in 1954 and became a citizen in 1960 but did not reveal his dark past.

The Canadian government, which banned those who took part in war crimes, has revoked his citizenship three times since 1995 but had the decision overturned each time on appeal.

Ronald Poulton, a lawyer for Oberlander, said he was pleased by the Supreme Court's move.

Oberlander admitted he was part of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime in Germany, which killed millions of people, mostly Jewish, and that he translated for a mobile killing squad

'It's taken a great toll on his family. Over and over again the courts have exonerated him,' he said in a phone interview. 'It's been tiring and difficult and unnecessary and now the Supreme Court - the highest court - has told the government that's enough.'

Oberlander says he was conscripted as a 17-year-old to interpret for one of the Nazis' Einsatzkommando mobile killing squads which murdered a total of more than two million people in eastern Europe, most of them Jews.

Shimon Fogel, head of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said Oberlander had 'lied about his complicity in these atrocities and gained Canadian citizenship fraudulently ... he should be deported without further delay.'

Time is running out to bring to justice those who took part in the Nazi Holocaust, which had more than six million victims.

A 94-year-old former guard at the Auschwitz camp was sentenced to jail in Germany last month by a judge who branded him a 'willing and efficient henchman' in the Holocaust.

Although Oberlander concealed his wartime service, Poulton said this should not be cause for him to lose his citizenship after living for 50 years in Canada, especially since he had neither committed nor been complicit in war crimes.

'He wants to see justice done and wants his good name restored. This is very important to him. He believes the government is engaging in a malicious prosecution,' his daughter, Irene Rooney, said last year, according to The Star.

Poulton said Ottawa had never moved to deport Oberlander, since it could only do so once his citizenship had been irrevocably revoked.
Following the decision, Cataldo revealed that there is evidence that Carter actually tried to convince her boyfriend to seek mental help

Her attorney had argued the texts were free speech protected by the First Amendment and didn't cause Roy to kill himself

Carter, then 17, sent her 18-year-old boyfriend Roy text messages instructing him to take his own life in 2014, prosecutors say

The attorney representing a Massachusetts teen accused of aiding in her boyfriend's suicide is speaking out to say that the courts are taking liberties with the law to punish his client.

In an interview with People magazine, attorney Joseph P Cataldo said the state essentially created a 'new law' by recently expanding the definition of manslaughter to include killers who are not present at the time of homicide.

His client Michelle Carter was 17 years old in 2014, when her 18-year-old boyfriend Conrad Roy III killed himself by filling his car with carbon monoxide.

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Attorney Joseph P Cataldo (right) alleged that the state of Massachusetts made a 'new law' to prosecute his client Michelle Carter (left)

Text messages allegedly show she encouraged Roy in the act, and even stayed on the phone with him for an hour while the car filled with fatal gas. Cataldo tried to get the case thrown out on a free speech basis, but the courts ruled against him.

'They created new law here in Massachusetts and applied it retroactively, but at this point our focus will need to be on the upcoming proceedings in trial court,' Cataldo told the magazine.

Cataldo also says that his client actually tried to talk her boyfriend out of the acts for weeks, and that she should not be punished for his death anyway since she was not there physically when Roy carried out his suicide.

'It is in the various text messages that she tells him that he should get help and go to McLean Hospital,' a psychiatric hospital where Carter had also been a patient.

Carter (pictured right in August last year) was 17 when she told Carter Roy III (left), then 18, to 'get back in' a truck filled with carbon monoxide fumes, prosecutors say

Roy 'rejected that, stating that she doesn't understand that he just wants to die,' Cataldo says. 'And this was about three weeks prior to him killing himself. So there are various text messages, and everyone has them, and the jury will also have them.'

While both he and Carter are 'clearly disappointed' with the court decision last week to let the trial proceed, he says he is confident that a jury will acquit Carter when faced with the evidence.

'I think the jury will see that she did not cause his death, which is the critical question: Did he commit suicide causing his own death, or did she somehow cause his death? Because he took all of the physical acts and she was not present, I think a jury will not convict her,' Cataldo said.

Massachusetts' highest court ruled Friday that a grand jury had probable cause to indict Carter in Roy's death.

Carter's lawyer had argued that her texts were free speech protected by the First Amendment and didn't cause Roy to kill himself.

'IT'S NOW OR NEVER': MICHELLE CARTER'S MESSAGES TO CONRAD ROY Prosecutors say Michelle Carter sent her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life. Carter's lawyer argues that she tried repeatedly to talk him out of it and only began to support the plan when it became clear he would not change his mind. Here are excerpts from their text exchanges, with messages cited by her lawyer first, followed by those cited by prosecutors: June 29, 2014: Carter: 'But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life' Carter: 'Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can get help' Roy: 'It doesn't help. trust me' Carter: 'So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?' Roy: 'I can't get better I already made my decision.' July 7, 2014: Roy: 'if you were in my position. honestly what would you do' Carter: 'I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that, my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own' Roy: 'Well it's too late I already gave up.' Between July 6, 2014 and July 12, 2014: Carter: 'Always smile, and yeah, you have to just do it. You have everything you need. There is no way you can fail. Tonight is the night. It's now or never.' Carter: '(D)on't be scared. You already made this decision and if you don't do it tonight you're gonna be thinking about it all the time and stuff all the rest of your life and be miserable. You're finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. No more bad thoughts and worries. You'll be free.' Carter: 'I just want to make sure you're being serious. Like I know you are, but I don't know. You always say you're gonna do it, but you never do. I just want to make sure tonight is the real thing.' Carter: 'When are you gonna do it? Stop ignoring the question' Carter: 'You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did the last time and not think about it and just do it, babe. You can't keep doing this every day. Roy: 'I do want to but I'm like freaking for my family I guess. I don't know.' Carter: 'Conrad, I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get through it. We talked about this and they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much. They just could do it.' Advertisement

But the court said Carter engaged in a 'systematic campaign of coercion' that targeted Roy's insecurities and that her instruction to 'get back in' his truck in the final moments of his life was a 'direct, causal link' to his death.

'In sum, we conclude that there was probable cause to show that the coercive quality of the defendant's verbal conduct overwhelmed whatever willpower the eighteen year old victim had to cope with his depression, and that but for the defendant's admonishments, pressure, and instructions, the victim would not have gotten back into the truck and poisoned himself to death,' Justice Robert Cordy wrote for the court in the unanimous ruling.

The case drew national attention after transcripts of text messages Carter sent to Roy according to the indictment were released publicly, showing her urging him to follow through on his plan to kill himself and chastising him when he expressed doubts.

'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!' Carter wrote in one message according to prosecutors.

'You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don't get why you aren't,' authorities say she wrote in another message.

Roy and Carter (pictured) had met in Florida two years earlier while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails

Roy (pictured) hadn't seen Carter in more than a year when he died, even though they lived only about 50 miles apart in Massachusetts, Carter in Plainville, and Roy in Mattapoisett

Carter and Roy had met in Florida two years earlier while visiting relatives. Their relationship largely consisted of text messages and emails. They hadn't seen each other in more than a year when Roy died, even though they lived only about 50 miles apart in Massachusetts, Carter in Plainville, and Roy in Mattapoisett.

Roy's grandmother Janice Roy said the family is happy Carter can be put on trial.

'He was very vulnerable at that stage,' she said.

Carter's lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, argued that Roy was a depressed teenager who had previously tried to take his own life and was determined to finish the job this time. He also argued that Carter shouldn't have been charged with manslaughter because Massachusetts doesn't have a law against encouraging or assisting suicide.

Cataldo said Friday he was surprised and disappointed by the court's ruling. But he noted that the court didn't weigh in on Carter's guilt or innocence, but merely found there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to trial.

'At trial, it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a much higher standard, and I'm confident that ultimately, after trial, Michelle Carter will be acquitted,' he said.

In addition to the text messages, prosecutors focused on a phone conversation Carter had with Roy while he was in his truck inhaling carbon monoxide fumes. Prosecutors said Carter sent a text to one of her friends after Roy's death and told her that while she was on the phone with Roy, he got out of his truck because he became frightened. She said she told him to 'get back in'.

Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III, said prosecutors appreciate the court's decision to uphold a lower court's denial of Carter's motion to dismiss the charge against her. They now will focus on preparing for trial, he said.
Christopher Judd, pictured, tried to recruit a gang of thugs on Facebook to attack Franklin Police Department members and their families

A suspected drug dealer allegedly tried to recruit a gang of thugs using Facebook to terrorize the families of undercover officers who had arrested him.

Christopher Judd, 23, from Franklin, Tennessee, was offering $20 an hour with a minimum of $100 bonus for 'work'.

In his bizarre Facebook posting, he accused undercover officers of 'framing' him with 'trumped up charges'. He said he would offer 'good money' for 'some jobs'.

Franklin Police Department, alerted to Judd's plan, arrested him for soliciting assistance for assaulting their officers.

According to the police department, 'recordings were obtained of Judd discussing where several Franklin Police Officers.

'In the recordings, Judd conspires to terrorize and intimidate specific Franklin Police Officers, and the families of officers who charged him in a recent drug case.'

Chief of police Deborah Faulkner ordered a full investigation into Judd.

She said: 'Franklin is a community that stands behind their police officers.

'When someone plans violence against a police officer, they pose a real danger to all of us. I was appalled by what I heard in the recordings, and even more so that this offender was planning assaults on not only our officers, but their families.

'Threats against any member of our community is unacceptable. Conspiring to assault and intimidate the people sworn to protect the rest of us is egregious.'

Police raided Judd's home where they recovered several guns, scales and 'other drug paraphernalia.

He was arrested and is being held on a $50,000 bond.

He was charged with Retaliation of Past Actions, which is a Class-E felony.

He is due to appear in court at 1pm on July 14.

Police said additional charges were expected.

In a bizarre Facebook post, he was offering 'good money' at $20 an hour cash with a minimum $100 bonus
A massive marijuana-growing operation worth some $5 million has been dismantled in California, resulting in the arrested of six people and the seizure of nearly 1,900 plants, authorities said.

Police said the 'elaborate' scheme was operating out of seven homes in San Jose, which were renovated and turned into greenhouses with sophisticated lighting and ventilation systems, NBC Bay Area reported.

The operation, which used stolen electricity, has a street value of as much as $5 million, police said.

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Police in San Jose, California, have seized nearly 1,900 marijuana plants from an elaborate operation across seven suburban homes

An officer catalogs some of the younger of the nearly 1,900 plants that were seized from the greenhouses

Couple Dean Trinh, 39, and Kim Le, 38, are behind bars as the alleged heads of the 'elaborate' operation

'This is not a mom-and-pop operation,' Lt. Larry Ryan, commander of the Metro unit, told The Mercury News. 'That money is going somewhere. Other individuals are involved.'

Cops received a tip from a landlord in April and had been investigating the ring since then.

The investigation ended Wednesday with doors knocked down, truckloads of marijuana plants cut down and six suspects cuffed and put behind bars.

'This is going to require a lot more follow up investigation as to who the owners were of the properties,' San Jose PD spokesman Albert Morales told NBC Bay Area.

The plants were housed in rooms especially outfitted with 'elaborate' lighting and ventilation systems

Cops say the greenhouses used stolen electricity to power the lighting and ventilation systems

Couple Dean Trinh, 39, and Kim Le, 38, were arrested as the alleged heads of the operation. Another four people are behind bars, though their names have not been released.

'We believe this is part of a larger operation, but it's going to require a lot of follow up as to who the owners of the properties were,' Morales told CBS SF.

'So, a very, very significant arrest and a very significant seizure.'

Two people are arrested in connection with the bust of the massive operation

Cops hauled truckloads of plants after they knocked down doors and busted the drug ring

Susan Ra, who owns one of the busted homes, said she was in the dark about the nefarious activities in her property.

'I'm pretty shocked,' said Ra, who rents the property through a third-party agency, to NBC Bay Area. 'I did not know it.'

Nearly 1,900 plants have been cut down from the seven suburban homes were the ring operated

Police hauled truckloads of plants from the homes where the $5 million-operation grew their plants

Neighbors were also surprised.

'I never smelled a thing  I never seen anyone throw any parties here, or anything that would cause me for alarm,' resident Jeff Evert told KGO-TV.
Clarkson sent open invite for thousands to join them in square in what cr ew say is 'two fingers' to departed Evans

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Former Top Gear presenter James May says he is chuffed Chris Evans was forced to quit after his first, disastrous series in charge of the show.

Asked for his reaction that rival Evans' catastrophic spell as host of the once popular BBC show is over, May quipped: 'Very chuffed'.

The star's dig at Evans came this afternoon as he, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond roared into Vicenza's main square in northern Italy to film their new Amazon show, 'Grand Tour'.

When Clarkson, at the wheel of an orange Aston Martin, was asked whether he had a message for Evans, he said, dont be stupid, and tried to grab the camera.

The trio were mobbed as they drove into the city's Piazza Dei Signori. Clarkson had invited fans to join them the day before when he tweeted: 'People of Italy James Richard and I will be filming in the Piazza Dei Signori in Vicenza tomorrow at 3pm. Come along'.

Crew working on their show claimed Clarkson intentionally staged the scenes of chaos in the stunning piazza as a two fingers up to his TV rival, Evans.

Jeremys been trying to keep quiet about it, but hes pleased as punch, one unnamed cameraman said.

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'Chuffed': James May joked he is very chuffed flop Chris Evans was forced to quit as Top Gear presenter after two disastrous months

'Two fingers': Jeremy Clarkson was asked whether he had a message for Evans, but said, dont be stupid, and tried to grab the camera

Cheers: Hammond was given a hero's welcome as the stars roared into Vicenza main square to film their new Amazon 'Grand Tour' show

Mobbed: Crowds clapped and cheered as they mobbed the cars and the stars on arrival today in the square in northern Italy for filming

Hes kept his mouth shut about Evans the whole time, and now Evans has hung himself by his own rope without Jeremy getting involved.

Its ironic because Evans was a massive Top Gear fan, but hes ruined it for himself by taking the top job job on the show.

The cameraman spoke as thousands of adoring fans mobbed the trio as they drove supercars slowly through the ancient Piazza Dei Signori in the centre of Vicenza, northern Italy.

The cameraman told MailOnline that Clarkson revelled in the crowds - adding: 'Jeremy intentionally created this mob by sending a tweet out, he said.

Its the sort of thing Chris Evans has done in the past. Its competitive tweeting, basically. Its all just a big ego trip.

Open invite: Clarkson tweeted yesterday: 'People of Italy James Richard and I will be filming in the Piazza Dei Signori in Vicenza tomorrow at 3pm. Come along'. Crew on the new Grand Tour show claim it was Clarkson's way of revelling in Evans' demise at Top Gear host

A cameraman on the new 'Grand Tour' show told MailOnline the crowds were Clarkson's 'two fingers' to his TV rival Evans - adding: He kept his mouth shut about Evans the whole time, and now Evans has hung himself by his own rope without Jeremy getting involved

Selfies with fans: Jeremys been trying to keep quiet about it, but hes pleased as punch, the crew member told MailOnline. Another added: Jeremys really getting off on having this mob here. The irony is that Jeremy actually hates the general public'

An unnamed crew member added: Jeremy intentionally created this mob by sending a tweet out, he said. Its the sort of thing Chris Evans has done in the past. Its competitive tweeting, basically. Its all just a big ego trip'

Adulation: Fans in Italy answered Clarkson's call and waited patiently in the main square to get a glimpse of the trio including Hammond and May, who all left BBC's Top Gear last year and were snapped up by rivals Amazon

Jokes: May was only too happy to offer his insight into Evans' departure from the once popular BBC show after a ratings nightmare in which it pulled in fewer viewing figures than in Clarkson's time on the show

Jeremys really getting off on having this mob here. The irony is that Jeremy actually hates the general public.

Another crew member added that the filming in the Piazza Dei Signori was a victory lap to celebrate Evans fall from grace.

Thousands of young Italians gathered in the piazza from 3pm, but the former Top Gear presenters did not arrive until more than an hour later.

Taking the mickey: Sunday's finale of the revamped BBC show which boasted a new team including Evan, Friends star Matt le Blanc and Eddie Jordan, attracted fewer viewers than any Clarkson (right, with Evans in May last year) episode

Out: Evans's departure from Top Gear after only one year of a three-year deal means it will be up to Matt LeBlanc (right) to save the show

Friends: Despite his career being in turmoil, Evans put on a brave face this week as he enjoyed time out at a greasy spoon in London with showbiz pals Danny Baker and James Corden. The trio were pictured sharing a laugh as Evans sipped on a coffee

Exit: Evans quit Top Gear as he could no longer bear taking the blame for the show's much-criticised revamp and haemorrhaging viewer figures, a close friend revealed

Most of the fans were young men, but there was a significant number of teenage girls and young women in the crowd. Many of them had simply come to witness the spectacle, but some declared their love for Clarkson.

Jeremy Clarkson is definitely the sexist of the three, quipped one female fan.

Elizabeth Theuer added he is her favourite because: 'He doesnt care about how he looks and he doesnt care what people think, she said. The new Top Gear is no good. Chris Evans didnt fit with the show and he was trying too hard. I didnt like him. Clarkson has the sex appeal.

Valentina De Liberato, 21, said: 'I used to watch Top Gear when Clarkson was in it, but now I don't follow it because I don't know the presenter. I don't understand why they have come to Vicenza. It's not a big city. Turin is more famous for cars, with Fiat for example.'

Mobbed: Jeremy Clarkson is definitely the sexist of the three, joked one female fan. Another added: Clarkson doesnt care about how he looks and he doesnt care what people think'

Fans: Programme bosses have said the Grand Tour studio will be a big tent which will be taken to a different location each week to record a series of 12 programmes with a live audience

Other young women, however, said that they had decided to come to the piazza for the sake of the supercars rather than the presenters' charisma.

I like the cars, not the man, said Julia Filipi, 27, who works in a supermarket and was sitting with her mechanic boyfriend. Jeremy Clarkson is an old man.

Sonya Halili agreed. Clarkson is funny but hes not politically correct. I find him quite sexy, but the cars are more sexy. But I dont think Id get on with him because he hates Porsches and my father drives a Porsche.

Many of the young people who thronged the piazza had taken time off work to catch a glimpse of their idols.

Darwin, 21, an American serviceman stationed in a nearby US Army infantry base, confessed that he had gone AWOL in order to see the Grand Tour being filmed live.

Im here for the cool supercars and to get a selfie with Jeremy, he said. Generally Italy is boring, but when the UK comes to Italy, things get a little more fun.

His friend, Irish-born Jason Sullivan, 28, agreed. Wherever he goes, there is chaos, and hes bringing the chaos to Italy, he said.

Programme bosses have said the Grand Tour studio will be a big tent which will be taken to a different location each week to record a series of 12 programmes with a live audience.

The hosts will then film pre-recorded segments reviewing cars and completing challenges, as they used to do with Top Gear.

Chaos: Fan Darwin, 21, an American serviceman stationed in a nearby US Army infantry base, confessed that he had gone AWOL in order to see the Grand Tour being filmed live. Im here for the cool supercars and to get a selfie with Jeremy, he said

Sex appeal: Elizabeth Theuer (left) said Clarkson is her favourite because: 'He doesnt care about how he looks and he doesnt care what people think, she said. Valentina De Liberato, 21, (right) added: 'I used to watch Top Gear when Clarkson was in it, but now I don't follow it because I don't know the presenter'

The name of the programme is a reference to 'The Grand Tour' undertaken by 17th Century Englishmen such as Lord Byron when they visited France, Italy and the rest of Europe in search of cultural edification and personal enlightenment.
George Osborne today joined forces with five major banks to promote Britain as a 'world leading financial centre' regardless of Brexit.

The Chancellor, who was on the losing side of the referendum despite desperate threats of a punishment budget in the final days of the campaign, has been scrambling to find a positive message.

Mr Osborne announced earlier this week plans to slash the rate of corporation tax further to make clear Britain was 'open for business'.

He met with senior figures at Standard Chartered, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Citi in No 11 Downing Street today.

Chancellor George Osborne has scrambled to show Britain remains open for business after the Brexit vote and today met with chiefs from global banks

Following the meeting, the group issues a joint statement on the implications of Brexit.

The said: 'Britains decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet.

'We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business.

'One of Britains key economic strengths is that it is a world leading financial centre.

'It has one of the most stable legal systems in the world, a brilliant workforce and deep, liquid capital markets unmatched anywhere else in Europe, all of which are underpinned by world class regulators.

'In recent years it has established itself as a global hub for renminbi, rupee, Islamic finance and green finance, as well as leading in new markets such as FinTech.

'Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre.'

After the meeting the Chancellor tweeting that he had a 'productive meeting with global bank leaders'.

The Chancellor, pictured with his Treasury team at No 11, has met with banks in a succession of meeting to plan for Brexit this week after losing the referendum last month

Announcing his tax cutting plans earlier this week, Mr Osborne said that despite the Remain sides defeat, he wanted a leading role in shaping Britains new economic destiny, laying out plans to build a super competitive economy.

He said: 'We must focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand weve been dealt, he added.

'Mr Osborne wants Britain to set the lowest corporation tax rate of any major economy, announcing a target of less than 15 per cent, down from 20 per cent now.

Whats done is done, the Chancellor added. The British public has spoken. We should accept their verdict instead of moping around or trying to unpick it.'
A married high school teacher from Iowa has admitted to having a sexual relationship with one of her students after being caught alone with the teenager in the back of a car by police.

Amanda Dreier, 27, told authorities that she and the boy, who was enrolled in her English class at Ankeny High School, had sexual contact at least four times according to documents seen by The Des Moines Register.

Both Dreier and the student, who is not being named, confessed to the relationship according to court documents, but said that it did not begin until after the teenager had graduated and was no longer a student in Dreier's class.

Dreier was married in 2013 and both she and her husband Alex are high school teachers.

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Trouble: Amanda Dreier (mugshot above) told police that she and a former student, 18, had sex at least four times

Beau: Dreier (left) is a married English teacher at Ankeny High School (husband Alex on right)

The student and Dreier first met in 2015 when he was a student in her class, and began meeting outside school at some point during the year in parks and parking lots according to court documents.

She had just begun working at the high school after spending four years an English teacher with the Des Moines Public Schools System.

Dreier also told authorities that the boy had been over to her house in the months prior to his graduation.

It was just hours after Drier's last day of school on June 7 that the two were caught by authorities who were investigating a report of students on the roof of a local public library.

Authorities then noticed two cars parked closely next to one another and went over to investigate, at which point the teenager stumbled out of the backseat putting on his shirt and covering the front of his pants according to the criminal complaint.

The police report noted that the victim claimed the two had just returned from, a walk shortly after 11pm and spoke in a shaky voice while Dreier stood silently with her arms across her chest.

After noticing the age difference between the two the police launched an investigation which involved looking at the phones and social media accounts of both Dreier and the victim while also searching their homes.

Pals: Alex (left) and Amanda (second right) with friends meeting Bill Clinton

An arrest warrant was issued for Dreier on July 1 and she posted a $5,000 bond four days later on July 5, with her first court date scheduled for next week.

She resigned from her job at the high school just one week after being caught alone with the victim by police.

Dreier is charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee. In Iowa, teachers cannot have sex with a student even if they are 18 until 30 days after they graduate from high school.
President Barack Obama has described the killing of five police officers in Dallas as a 'vicious, calculated and despicable attack' and said there was never justification for violence against the 'men and women in blue'.

Two of the five police officers killed in the attack were identified as Brent Thompson, 43, and young father Patrick Zamarripa.

President Obama, who is in Warsaw, Poland, for a NATO summit, said the Federal Government stood united with the people of Dallas and with police officers across the country who 'feel this loss to their core'.

Yesterday he pleaded with police to treat people equally after the fatal police shootings of two black men in recent days.

President Obama (pictured at the NATO summit in Poland) said the slaying of five police officers in Dallas was a 'vicious, calculated and despicable attack'

Obama said the Federal Government stood united with the people of Dallas and with police officers across the country

Only yesterday, Obama released a statement on the recent shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, saying: 'We've seen such tragedies far too many times'

But today he said: 'There is no possible justification for this or any violence against law enforcement officers'.

He promised 'anyone involved in these senseless murders will be held accountable and justice will be done'.

Obama said he was 'horrified' by the events in Dallas overnight and asked people to pray for the fallen officers and for the recovery of those who were injured.

He said: 'They were doing their jobs keeping people safe during a lawful protest. They were targeted and nearly a dozen were shot, with five killed.'

Obama said: 'We stand united with the people of Dallas and with the police department.'

He said he had spoken with the Mayor of Dallas, Mike Rawlings, and understood there were 'multiple suspects'.

Obama said: 'We will learn more in the next few days about their twisted motivations.'

Dallas police chief David Brown today said they would leave 'no stone unturned' until they find the suspects

The two police officers who were killed in the attack were identified as Brent Thompson (right), 43, and young father Patrick Zamarripa (left)

Three of the gunmen are in custody while a fourth man, who was engaged in a shootout with police from a parking garage at El Centro College, killed himself (pictured, police responding to the attack)

Obama paid tribute to police officers (pictured, after the Dallas attacks) who make 'sacrifices' and said 'we offer our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue'

Presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both paid their respects to the victims of Dallas

He paid tribute to police officers who make 'sacrifices' and: 'We offer our profound gratitude to our men and women in blue.'

According to the Officer Down memorial website the deaths in Dallas bring to 58 the number of police officers who have been killed in the U.S. this year, 26 of them from gunfire.

Yesterday Obama said the recent spate of shootings was 'not just a black issue', saying all Americans should be troubled by black and Hispanic people being killed by cops.

The president was speaking following the fatal police-involved shootings of street seller Alton Sterling, in Louisiana, and Philando Castile, in Minnesota. Both men were black.

'We have seen tragedies like these too many times,' Obama said.

'When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if - because of the color of their skin - they are not being treated the same. And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us.

'This is not just a black issue. It's not just a Hispanic issue. It's an American issue. All fair-minded people should be concerned.'

A Dallas Area Rapid Transit police officer is comforted at the Baylor University Hospital emergency room

The shooters opened fire from 'elevated positions' in Dallas, Texas, picking off officers 'ambush style' as they manned a protest over the deaths of two black men

OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON THE SHOOTINGS IN MINNESOTA AND LOUISIANA All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss. Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry. But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, what's clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve. To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement. That's why, two years ago, I set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing that convened police officers, community leaders, and activists. Together, they came up with detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing. So even as officials continue to look into this week's tragic shootings, we also need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. That's how we'll keep our communities safe. And that's how we can start restoring confidence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law. In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling -- feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do better. Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter. Advertisement

After reeling off a series of statistics about the treatment of minorities by the police, Obama called on the American people to 'do better than this'.

The president said he had 'extraordinary respect' for police officers, but said the country had to 'ask ourselves, 'what can we do better so everyone feels equal under the law'.

'Change has been too slow and we have to have a greater sense of urgency about this,' he added.

Obama said he believed most Americans were concerned by perceived racial bias, and said it was not about 'comparing the value of different people's lives'.

'When people say black lives matter, that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter, but the data shows that minorities are more vulnerable to these incidents,' he said.

Obama's released a statement earlier in the week saying the U.S. has a 'serious problem' following the shootings of Sterling and Castile.

He said he shares feelings of 'anger, frustration and grief' that police killings have spread across the country.

In his first public reaction to the shootings, Obama said it is clear they were not isolated incidents, adding that the U.S. had 'seen such tragedies far too many times.'

Alton Sterling was tackled to the ground and shot six times by police outside of a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Lousiana

Caught on camera: On Wednesday in Minnesota, Philando Castile, 32, was shot dead by a cop during a traffic stop

He said all Americans should be 'deeply troubled' by the deaths in Baton Rouge and suburban St. Paul.

'They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve,' Obama said.

Vice President Joe Biden has also spoken out on the shootings. He tweeted: 'More black lives lost. More anger I share with the country. More broken trust we have to restore. We all must do this.'

Several thousand people protested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Wednesday night over the shooting of Sterling.

The 37-year-old street seller was tackled to the ground and shot six times by police outside of a convenience store.

Sterling, a father-of-five, had a gun in his pocket but did not appear to reach for it before he was shot dead.

The two officers involved, Howie Lake and Blane Salamoni, have been placed on administrative leave while federal authorities investigate.

On Wednesday in Minnesota, Philando Castile, 32, was shot dead by a cop during a traffic stop.

His girlfriend posted video of the aftermath of his killing live on Facebook, saying he had been shot 'for no apparent reason' while reaching for his wallet as an officer had asked.

Blane Salamoni (left) and three-year-veteran Howie Lake II (right) were the police officers involved in Sterling's shooting in Louisiana

The White House has sought to avoid weighing in on specific cases, particularly while they're being investigated, and Obama said he was limited in what he could say about the facts.

Early in his presidency, Obama caused a major stir when he said a Massachusetts officer had 'acted stupidly' in arresting a black Harvard University professor at his home.

Yet despite Obama's efforts to bridge misunderstandings between African-Americans and the police, the problem clearly persists, and the wide use of cellphone cameras and social media has thrust the issue further into public view.

In 2014, Obama created a task force to develop modern policing guidelines, and he urged local communities and policing agencies to implement those recommendations drafted by the Justice Department.

'To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day,' Obama said.

'It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.'

Sterling (left) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning. Castile (right), 32, was shot dead by a cop during a traffic stop in Minnesota

Obama said he is 'encouraged' that the Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation into the incident in Louisiana, where 37-year-old Alton Sterling was fatally shot Tuesday as he tussled with two white officers outside a convenience store in a predominantly black neighborhood. The shooting was caught on tape and went viral online.

Obama has wrestled for much of his presidency with the policing issue, the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and his role as the first black president in responding to it.
But said he would use house arrest to spend time with his family

Meeks was signed to a talent agency while behind bars

Shot to fame after his mugshot went viral and he was dubbed the 'hot felon'

Has been sharing slew of steamy photos to countdown his house arrest

Meeks posted the sweet snap of him and his five-year-old boy on Instagram

America's hottest felon is officially off house arrest.

But before celebrating his freedom with another picture of his chiseled abs or bulging biceps, Jeremy Meeks chose instead to share a sweet picture of him and his son.

The close-up photo showed off Meeks' and his little boy's matching ice blue eyes, making the caption '#minime' all the more fitting.

Jeremy Meeks has shared an adorable photo of him and his son's matching blue eyes, captioning the Instagram picture with the hashtag '#minime'

The photo came just a day before Meeks (pictured in his backyard) was to be released from house arrest

It was a rare portrait of Meeks, who has been happily displaying his model-ready physique on Instagram as he readies for his runway and editorial career to kick-off.

There have been shots of him laying in the grass, getting out of the pool at his home and happily spraying himself with a hose - including the hashtag 'blessed'.

Meeks, 30, became known as the world's hottest felon after his mugshot was posted on the Stockton Police Department's Facebook page in 2014.

He was handed a 27-month jail term last year after being charged with illegally possessing firearms and ammo, carrying a loaded firearm in public and criminal street gang activity.

From the small town of Stockton in northern California prior to his arrest, Meeks was brought up in a poor household and began his life of crime after becoming involved with the Northern Crips  a branch of the notorious Los Angeles gang.

He married a local nurse named Melissa, who had two children, at 24 and went on to have a son, now five, with his wife.

Meeks has been happily displaying his model-ready physique on Instagram as he readies for his runway and editorial career to kick-off

Meeks captioned this shot of him laying in the grass outside his house with the hashtag 'Freedom'

Meeks, 30, became known as the world's hottest felon after his mugshot was posted on the Stockton Police Department's Facebook page in 2014

When he was arrested in June 2014 as part of a crackdown on gangs by the Stockton police department, he was charged with five weapons offenses and two counts relating to gang membership.

But two years away did little to dim Meeks' mugshot fame.

The 30-year-old signed with talent agency White Cross Management last year and has been happy to practice in front of the camera for his more than 500,000 Instagram followers during his house arrest.

One picture shows Meeks in just a pair of jeans and flaunting the numerous tattoos on his torso and arms while washing his hands, captioned: Count down #housearrest #bayarea.

Minutes later, Meeks shared another sultry shot, staring intently into the camera with his hands at the wheel of a car.

End of my driveway is as far as I can go, he commented alongside the picture.

He has been treating his 500,000 Instagram followers to pictures that show-off his chiseled abs and bulging biceps. In this picture Meeks revealed that the end of his driveway was as far as he was allowed to go

Meeks showed his support for the Golden State Warriors with a sexy selfie (left), a shot very similar to his mugshot which shot the 'hot felon' to fame after it was posted on Facebook (right)

His agent Jim Jordan revealed Meeks has received offers from all over the world  among them a smattering of invitations from unnamed royals to visit them at their palace homes.

But it was not until March 8, when he was released from prison to a half-way house that Jordan saw Meeks in all his glory.

'I was like, Damn,this guy isnt just good-looking',' he told New York magazine. 'He has a ten-pack. Lean, hes six-foot-one - the perfect height - fits the clothes perfect, super-white teeth.'

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Online recently, he also said that the 'humble' Meeks is nothing like the hard man image conveyed by his life of crime and gang tattoos, and is instead a 'soft-spoken family man' who has been left totally overwhelmed by all the attention.

'We've had contact with a lot of big brands,' Jordan added. 'We've had contact from all the major, major brands.

In February 2015 Meeks was handed a 27-month jail term after being charged with multiple felonies

'I can't specify the names of them right now but the world will see very, very shortly what's about to happen.

'We have major fashion brands, designers on the table. We have movies on the table, we have book deals on the table, we have reality non-scripted television on the table, we have pilots on the table, we have club openings in Dubai, Vegas and all over the world.'

After being freed from prison and and remanded to house arrest for good behavior in March, Meeks said he would focus on spending time with his family before deciding on his next move.

'Im in a place where I will be able to provide for my family and really change my life,' Meeks told ABC News from prison.

'I never thought that everyone in the world would recognize me for my looks, so I feel extremely blessed and very thankful.'

He also revealed that he worked out regularly to be camera ready after his release. 'I eat healthy. I do a lot of push-ups, pull-ups, dips, burpees, and I stay very active,' he said.

Meeks said his family has been very supportive of him.

'I've got a lot of support my family, my friends, and from my fans - I get hundreds and hundreds of letters every month. Im very thankful for all the support I've been getting,' he said.

Meeks recently revealed in an Instagram post that he reads every one of his fan's posts.

'Thank you guys,' he wrote in the caption. 'This is overwhelming.'

After being freed from prison in March, Meeks said he would focus on spending time with his family before deciding his next move
They will affect property and other assets that are within the US jurisdiction

North Korea has proclaimed that the new U.S. sanctions targeting its leader Kim Jong-un amounted to a 'declaration of a war' and vowed to take strong retaliatory measures.

The move by the United States constituted 'the worst hostile act' and 'an open declaration of a war' against the North, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

'The U.S. dared challenge the dignity of (North Korea) supreme leadership, an act reminiscent of a new-born puppy knowing no fear of a tiger,' the statement said.

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North Korea said Friday that the new US sanctions targeting its leader Kim Jong-un, pictured, amounted to a 'declaration of a war' and vowed to take strong retaliatory measures

'This is the worst hostility and an open declaration of war against (North Korea) as it has gone far beyond the confrontation over the human rights issue.'

In response, the U.S. government urged Pyongyang to refrain from statements and actions that raise tensions in the region.

It comes after the U.S. announced sanctions against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time on Wednesday, citing 'notorious abuses of human rights'.

Kim, and ten other regime leaders were blacklisted over allegations of extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture in the country's system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea 'among the world's most repressive countries'.

The sanctions, the first to target any North Koreans for rights abuses, affect property and other assets within the U.S. and ban American companies from trading with Kim or the other officials.

'Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture,' Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Adam J. Szubin, said in the statement.

It is not the first time the United States has placed a head of state on a sanctions list. Previously sanctioned leaders include Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Charles Taylor of Liberia, and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.

North Korea's leader is the subject of state-mandated adulation inside the country and considered infallible.

A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring U.S. President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days to Congress on the human rights situation in North Korea.

It had to address the role of Kim Jong-un, and designate for sanctions anyone found responsible for human rights violations.

Kim Jong-un topped a list in the report of those responsible for serious human rights abuses in North Korea.

Kim, pictured, is accused of being responsible for extra-judicial killings, torture and using forced labor

Many of the abuses are in North Korea's prison camps, which hold between 80,000 and 120,000 people including children, the report said.

The sanctions also named lower-level officials, such as Minister of People's Security Choe Pu Il, as directly responsible for abuses.

Senior U.S administration officials said the new sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an area long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear program.

The report was 'the most comprehensive' to date on individual North Korean officials' roles in forced labour and repression.

They said the sanctions would be partly 'symbolic' but hope that naming mid-level officials may make functionaries 'think twice' before engaging in abuses. 'It lifts the anonymity,' a senior administration official told reporters.
A young woman is charged with murder after police determined that she gave birth to a baby which then drowned in a bathtub.

Veronica Salazar, 20, of Las Vegas, was charged in absentia after she sought medical treatment at a hospital on Wednesday, after giving birth to a baby girl in an apartment, reported The Review Journal.

Authorities say she initially concealed a pregnancy to hospital staff.

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A baby girl was reportedly found dead in the bathtub of an apartment in this complex in Las Vegas, say police

Police responded to an apartment at the 2800 block of South Maryland Parkway after the woman called for help around 12:30am, according to the Washington Times.

The baby was reportedly found death in the bathtub hours later, after doctors at Sunrise Hospital determined that the mother had recently given birth.

It's unclear if anyone else lived in the apartment.

The coroner has not yet revealed the cause or manner of death.

Salazar was scheduled to appear in court this morning facing one count of open murder, reports Las Vegas Sun.
Donald Trump brought his daughter Ivanka to key meetings with House and Senate Republican lawmakers Thursday, as a top Trump supporter told DailyMail.com she has the capabilities and qualifications to take over the Oval Office.

Senator Bob Corker floated Ivanka Trump's name as a vice presidential pick Wednesday, and rather than tamp down the unlikely talk, Eric Trump talked up the idea Thursday.

The candidate himself hailed his daughter in private meetings with Republicans.

'Ive heard that talk,' senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Trump's earliest Senate backer, told DailyMail.com when asked about the vice presidential floating.

'Certainly you meet certain of the requirements that you would look for in a president. Im just saying in general,' he added.

Ivanka Trump 'meets all the qualifications for president' said Trump-backer senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama

Senator Bob Corker floated Ivanka Trump as a possible running mate for her father Wednesday

'She has a lot of gifts and talents and shes certainly loyal and a supporter of her father,' Sessions added.

Sessions said Trump lauded Ivanka during the private meeting with Republicans held at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, an organization committed to electing GOP senators.

'He made positive references to Ivanka and how popular she was,' Sessions said. 'It was a nice fatherly comment. She is such a nice person. She really is an asset to him. Shes not only beautiful but shes very nice and courteous and just a delight to talk with.'

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Ivanka didn't speak but worked the room after the meeting.

'She obviously talked afterward  very impressive,' he said. 'One way you measure people is by how good their kids come up and hes got some great kids. She definitely spent a lot of time talking with members after the meeting,' he said.

'He did make a statement about her  very positive,' Republican senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, another Trump backer, told DailyMail.com. He said Trump told Republicans, 'Shes going to be aggressive and out in front and going to be very active in the campaign and probably the greatest asset hes got.'

Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner both attended meetings Donald Trump held with Republican senators Thursday in Washington

Alabama senator Jeff Sessions called Ivanka an 'asset,' and said Donald Trump praised his daughter at the top of a meeting with senators

Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma said Donald Trump called Ivanka 'probably the greatest asset hes got'

'He's got some great kids': North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis hailed the Trump family after the GOP meeting

Ivanka's older brother Eric Trump talked her up Sunday morning on Fox.

'She's got the beautiful looks...She's smart, smart, smart. She's certainly got my vote,' Eric Trump son said this morning on Fox and Friends. 'She's amazing,' he added. 'She's amazing.'

Senator Bob Corker talked up Ivanka Wednesday as he took himself out of consideration to be Trump's running mate despite being formally vetted by the campaign.

'His best running mate by the way would be Ivanka. Shes most impressive,' Corker told CNN.

Ivanka, 34, has become a trusted advisor to her father's presidential campaign. Trump said she'll play a prominent speaking role at the GOP convention. He told the New York Post she'll speak about 'gender equality and women's issues.'
Aborted fetuses in Texas will be required to be buried or cremated come September, thanks to new regulations that Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered state health officials to propose.

The new abortion regulations would come after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the state's restrictive clinic laws.

Similar fetal remain rules in Indiana are on hold after a federal judge granted a temporary injunction last week against that state's sweeping new anti-abortion law.

Gov. Greg Abbott, left, wants all aborted fetuses to be given a burial or cremation by September. 'This is a new low for our state's leaders' said Heather Busby, of NARAL Pro-Choice, Texas, right

That bill, signed in March by GOP Governor Mike Pence, more notably also banned abortions due to genetic abnormalities.

Texas, however, isn't waiting for lawmakers to pass a bill regarding fetal remains.

Abbott had been talking with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for months about making a change, Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said.

State agencies in Texas are allowed to adopt some rules on their own without legislative approval. Although the rules are expected to take effect in the fall, Matthews said Abbott hopes the Legislature will 'enshrine' the rules into law next year.

Gov. Abbott says that fetal remains 'should not be treated like medical waste' and wants them buried or cremated (above, Heather Busby); Abortion rights groups are bristling at the new regulations

'Governor Abbott believes human and fetal remains should not be treated like medical waste, and the proposed rule changes affirms the value and dignity of all life,' Matthews said.

Abortion-rights groups bristled at the new regulations, which were posted online for public comment July 1. That was four days after the nation's high court struck down a pair of Texas restrictions that would have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to 10, down from more than 40 in 2012.

'This is a new low for our state's leaders who are committed to making abortion inaccessible and shaming Texans who have an abortion,' said Heather Busby, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Texas.

Texas' now-dismantled clinic restrictions required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and all abortion facilities to meet hospital-level operating standards.

Rules surrounding fetal disposal are found in other states, too, including Ohio, where in June, the state agreed to pay Planned Parenthood more than $45,000 in legal bills as part of a dispute of such requirements.
Jen Downie set up Num Num Teething Jewellery after her daughter Hannah (pictured) chewed through her necklaces

A mother who set up her own teething jewellery business after her baby chewed through countless necklaces has scooped a top award from Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis.

Jen Downie, 33, has devoted the past year to developing her baby-friendly accessories range from her home in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The mother-of-one creates stylish handmade necklaces and bangles by hand for women to wear that are also safe for babies to chew on.

She came up with the idea when her own daughter was teething and repeatedly broke her necklaces in a bid to find something to nibble on - and so Num Num Teething Jewellery was born.

Ms Downie said: 'When Hannah was teething she would often end up breaking my necklaces and it put me off wearing them.

'I love jewellery and I couldn't find anything that was suitable to wear.

'That's what gave me the idea for Num Num's teething necklaces.'

Num Num's teething necklaces, which sell for as little as 11.99, come in a variety of colourful designs and are all assembled by hand.

The beads used are made from squeezable food-grade silicone - the same material as a dummy or bottle teat.

Ms Downie said it would be perfect for chewing on as it 'provides a firm and satisfying chew for babies while being kind to tender gums'.

This week Dragons' Den star and retail magnate Theo Paphitis awarded Ms Downie's company a 'Small Business Sunday Winner' award in recognition of its innovation and success.

The gong was created by Mr Paphitis who rewards small businesses that tweet him and describe their businesses in one post.

Every Monday night, he reviews and chooses his favourite six who are then retweeted to his 450,000 followers.

Following the public seal of approval by the Dragon, the devoted mother credited her 'tiny CEO' daughter Hannah, who turns two next month, with the business's success.

Ms Downie (pictured with her daughter Hannah) has scooped an award from retail magnate Theo Paphitis

The beads on the jewellery are made from squeezable food-grade silicone - the same material as a dummy or bottle teat

She said: 'My husband and I think of Hannah as Num Num's tiny CEO so maybe the reason she didn't sleep on Monday night was she knew we had won.

'It's amazing to have won a competition judged by an entrepreneur and businessman as successful as Theo Paphitis.

'The business has only been going a little over a year so to get this kind of recognition is amazing and I want to thank Theo and his team for the work they do in supporting small businesses such as mine.'

Num Num's teething necklaces can be purchased online. All of Ms Downie's products can be safely washed and sterilised.
A desperate 5-year-old boy in Vermont was left to scream for help while his parents appeared to overdose on heroin inside their family car, police said.

Cops were called Tuesday to a Burlington pharmacy parking lot after a passerby heard the boy yelling, the Burlington Free Press reported.

'My mommy and daddy aren't waking up,' the anguished boy told police, according to Lt. Shawn Burke.

Parents Adam Legrand and Hannah Smith, of Vermont, are each charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly getting high on heroin in front of their 5-year-old son

When rescue personnel arrived, the parents  Adam Legrand, 41, and Hannah Smith, 37  were in a semi-conscious state, leading cops to fear they might overdose.

They were rushed to the hospital and treated with Narcan, a medication used to reverse the effects of opiate overdoses, the Free Press reported.

Cops said the couple responded well to treatment.

The boy was taken to the care of a grandparent.

'What we see is a couple travel from Franklin County down to Burlington clearly in search of a drug, and then so desperate to ingest that drug that they're just pulling off in a very high-profile parking lot and ingesting it with their child as a witness,' Burke told the Free Press.

'It just speaks to the whole concept that there are no social properties behind this drug  and these people are feeding their addictions at all costs.'

On Thursday, Smith and Legrand each denied one misdemeanor charge during an appearance in Burlington's Vermont Superior Court, the Free Press reported. They face two years in prison and $500 in fines.

They are free so long as they attend substance-abuse assessments and follow other court-imposed conditions, according to the newspaper.

Smith is allowed to speak to the boy only with approval from the state Department of Children and Families, the Free Press reported.
Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius has been sent back to the same single cell in the hospital section of Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison to serve his six year sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The disgraced paralympian has already spent a year in the cell - which is regarded as being reserved for vulnerable inmates.

Manelisi Wolela, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, said the special accommodation was due to his disability and that the prison had never had a double amputee inmate before.

The disgraced paralympian has already spent a year in the hospital cell at Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison

He began his six-year sentence yesterday after his conviction was upgraded from manslaughter to murder

'He is in the same facility in the hospital section of the Pretoria prison,' Wolela told AFP.

Wolela said the hospital wing of the prison had a number of other prisoners, some of whom are sick or disabled.

'If you expose them to communal normal cells, they will be vulnerable,' he said.

South Africa's often overcrowded prisons are notorious for gang violence and sexual assaults.

MailOnline gained access to his cell after he was released into his uncle's care last year and revealed that his bathroom was shared by two men and included a bath specially installed for double amputee Pistorius.

The hospital section is separated from the rest of the prison, but the noise from more than 7,000 other inmates and banging of cell doors can be heard throughout the wing

Pistorius was found guilty of killing his model and law student girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago

Vertical and horizontal hand rails were fitted to help him enter and exit safely.

The hospital section is separated from the rest of the prison, but the noise from more than 7,000 other inmates and banging of cell doors can be heard throughout the wing.

Pistorius, 29, began his sentence on Wednesday after he had his conviction of manslaughter was last year upgraded to murder for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago.

His lawyers said he won't appeal the sentence, which is just one year longer than his earlier jail term.
The sinister note (pictured) was left on the family's doorstep after racist thugs set their shed alight

Racist thugs torched a shed just metres away from the home of a Polish family before leaving a sinster letter reading: 'Go back to your f***ing country next be your family'.

The horrific hate crime took place at a house in Efford, Plymouth, yesterday night where a fire was deliberately started in a shed.

The fierce flames completely destroyed the outhouse before spreading to the nearby property.

The blaze caused the bathroom window to shatter and the downpipes to melt.

After the fire was started the family, who are originally from Poland, discovered a menacing message had been left on the doorstep.

The note read 'Go back to your f****** country next be your family' and had been spelled out using cuttings from newspapers.

Ewa Banaszka, 22, said her two teenage sisters had seen the fire from a window and fled to alert their father, Adam.

Speaking to The Plymouth Herald, she said this is not the first time her family had been racially attacked - just days before, her 11-year-old twin brothers were abused by fellow youngsters.

'Two days ago, they were in the park and a group of children started throwing stones at them and shouting "go back to your f***ing country",' she said.

'We've been here almost 10 years now. Dad came over from Poland and worked in a factory, then later as a computer engineer.'

Although Ewa, who is married, admitted her family had been subject to verbal attacks for years, she is adamant that Brexit has played a part in the latest hate crimes.

She told the paper: 'Since the referendum it's all escalated.'

Arsonists torched the shed in the family's garden - and the fire even spread to the house, shattering one of its windows

Ewa Banaszka (pictured) , 22, said she believes Brexit has sparked the latest hate crimes against her family

Forensic examinations of the scene and letter are underway and the family are being supported by police and partner agencies.

Inspector Darren Green, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: 'I am appalled by this crime and incidents of hate such as this are treated as a priority by my officers.

'Hate crime has no place in Plymouth and we will do everything possible to locate those responsible for the fire and the disgusting letter sent to the victims.

'We believe this fire was started deliberately, was racially motivated and could have endangered the lives of the occupants.

'We are asking for the public's help in this matter as someone will know who is responsible.

'If anyone knows anything that can help with our investigations, then please get in touch.

The horrific hate crime took place at a house in Blandford REfford, Plymouth

'We would also like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious last night and in the moments leading up to the fire, or anyone seen fleeing the scene.'

The incident comes just two weeks after Britain voted to break ties with Brussels.

Figures show 599 incidents of race hate crime were reported to Scotland Yard between Friday June 24 - the day the result was announced - and Saturday July 2.
Mischa Barton just can't win.

First, she was voted off Dancing with the Stars in the second week and now she's an internet punchline for her reaction to the Alton Sterling shooting.

Hoping to express her solidarity with the Baton Rouge, Louisiana man's family and apparently the Black Lives Matter movement at large, the 30-year-old actress posted a bizarre picture to Instagram Thursday afternoon - showing her looking downcast and drinking wine on a yacht.

In the caption, the British-born and American-raised actress wrote that she is 'truly heart broken' after watching the video of the 37-year-old man's shooting.

Mischa Barton sparked fury from Alton Sterling supporters and Blue Lives Matter backers on Thursday, when she posted a picture of herself looking downcast on a yacht on Instagram paired with a statement about the police shooting

'This may have been going on forever in the United States but thank god the pigs get caught on camera now. Its unthinkable and an embarrassment to America. The country I was brought up in.

'Somebody make change. We need gun control and unity. And a real President so think about that when this election is around the corner. The world is a precarious place right now. #stop #reflect and #act appropriately,' the former O.C. star wrote.

While the Sterling shooting has caused raised tensions in America between Black Lives Matter supporters and the police, members on both side of the issue were agreed in their distaste for Barton's post.

Barton took the picture down just three hours after she posted it, after receiving a deluge of criticism online, including the below Twitter posts

In the comments section of the post, several Blue Lives Matter supporters derided Barton for calling cops 'pigs'.

On Twitter, police reformers took issue with Barton proclaiming solidarity with Sterling while posing in a bikini and sipping wine on a yacht.

'Dear celebs, it's great that you have a platform to speak up and be heard. But THIS is not what's needed right now,' Twitter user Gerrick D. Kennedy wrote.

'Not trying to drag Mischa Barton but she should be ashamed for posting a pic of herself -- carefree, on a damn yacht with that statement.'

Barton quickly picked up on the vitriol against her post and deleted it just a little over three hours after it was first posted.

Other celebrities, like Drake, were heralded for their signs of support for Sterling's cause.

The One Dance rapper posted a long statement to Instagram Wednesday night, saying the video made him feel 'disheartened, emotional and truly scared'.

'It's impossible to ignore that the relationship between black and brown communities and law enforcement remains as strained as it was decades ago,' Drake wrote.

He added that he is 'concerned for the safety' of his family and friends, and doesn't even known the answer for the problem.

However, he remains optimistic that 'things can change for the better,' saying 'open and honest dialogue is the first step'.
A Cape Coral, Florida, man says he observed an alligator in a tree.

Ronald Saracino told WINK: 'I saw something in a tree, at first I thought maybe it was a lizard.

'The more I looked at it, the more I thought it was actually probably a 5-foot gator.'

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A Cape Coral, Florida, man says he observed an alligator in a tree. Ronald Saracino has said 'At first I thought maybe it was a lizard'

Saracino saw the apparent alligator not far from Viscaya Parkway and 9th Lane

'I know people are not going to believe it, but I 100 per cent believe it was a gator.'

Saracino saw the apparent alligator not far from Viscaya Parkway and 9th Lane, the TV station said.

Officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife think it was fairly likely an alligator, according to WINK.

Calusa Nature Center educator Amy Sera told the news outlet: 'I've seen pictures of crocodiles doing that behavior. It gives them a little bit better view of their territory.

'Cold blooded animals get their energy from the sun and the warmth. So, they are more active in the summer.'

Saracino (pictured) has said: 'I know people are not going to believe it, but I 100 per cent believe it was a gator'

An American alligator is pictured in Mississippi up in a tree (file photo)

A study looked at crocodiles and alligators and their tree-climbing, DailyMail.com reported in 2014. Both alligators and crocodiles are crocodilians.

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville said in a 2014 release about the study: 'The smaller crocodiles were able to climb higher and further than the larger ones.

'Some species were observed climbing as far as four meters high in a tree and five meters down a branch.'

It quoted the study's authors as writing: 'The most frequent observations of tree-basking were in areas where there were few places to bask on the ground, implying that the individuals needed alternatives for regulating their body temperature.
A 21-year-old Coast Guard recruit has died five days after collapsing during his physical fitness assessment

Seaman Recruit Aaron Redd, from Stafford, Virginia, had just completed a 1.5 mile run when he crumpled on the track at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May on July 1.

Redd immediately received first aid from medical staff, who were already on the scene due to the center's safety protocol, before he was transported to a nearby hospital.

He died on July 6, just nine days after he had officially enlisted.

Seaman Recruit Aaron Redd, 21, died five days after collapsing at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May (pictured) after finishing a 1.5 mile run during a physical fitness assessment

The Coast Guard is now investigating his death. A cause has not yet been determined.

Redd was in the first week of his eight-week training.

The initial physical assessment is used to determine a recruit's ability to endure basic training and set benchmarks so that they can improve throughout the regimen, according to Cape May County Herald.

Redd underwent medical evaluations at a Military Entrance Processing Station before he enlisted and received additional medical screenings once he arrived in Cape May as part of Coast Guard regulations.

'Seaman Recruit Redd was only a member of the Coast Guard family for a few days, but we are deeply saddened by his tragic loss,' Capt Own Gibbons, commanding officer of the training center, said in a statement.

'Our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time.'
The little girl (pictured) has been in the care of social services since March 15 when she was found

Police waited an agonising 16 days after a High Court ruling before finally launching an appeal to find the missing parents of an 'affectionate' and 'sociable' toddler.

The little girl has been in the care of social services since March 15 when she was found and has now been named Jade because she responds when she hears the name.

Sussex Police did not post information on their website until July 6 - 16 days after Mr Justice Anthony Hayden ordered them to begin a public appeal at the Family Court in Brighton.

Police still won't reveal where she was found, but believe her parents might have connections to Crawley, West Sussex, and Tooting, south London.

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: 'Publicity for this case was ordered by Mr Justice Hayden sitting at the Family Court in Brighton on 20 June this year.

'The information contained in this release was authorised by the Judge at that hearing, on the application of West Sussex County Council, Sussex Police and CAFCASS, and no further information can be released without the permission of the court.'

They have said that she may have been separated from her parents some months before she was found abandoned, but are refusing to reveal any further details.

They are not sure how old the little girl is, but suspect she might be around 19 months.

A Sussex Police spokesman stressed that the parents are not in trouble but that social services and police want to trace them urgently and speak to them about their child.

The spokesman said: 'Jade is of Afro-Caribbean appearance. She has brown eyes and dark hair.

'She is an affectionate, sociable, bright and happy toddler who enjoys music and likes to dance and sing.

'She is inquisitive, active and enjoys the outdoors, loving to explore her environment, and has a love of climbing.'

Detective Sergeant Alexis Witek asked that anyone who may know anything about the little girl to get in touch.

An order to find the parents of the girl (left) was made by Justice Anthony Hayden (right) on June 20

However, after the ruling at Brighton Family Court (pictured), the force waited 16 days before finally launching the appeal on their website on July 6

He added: 'At this point we really need to find out who this little girl's parents are.

'She may have connections to Crawley and West Sussex as well as Tooting or south London more generally. We ask that anyone who may know anything about her speaks to us.

'We are appealing in particular to those in the local Crawley and West Sussex area, the wider Ugandan community, or anyone who knows of a woman who has been caring for a young girl meeting the description until recently.'
The FBI did not put Hillary Clinton under oath  or record what she said  when agents questioned her for 3-1/2 hours last Saturday, the agency's director told Congress on Thursday.

Swearing to tell the truth is a typical pre-game tactic for court proceedings but not for law enforcement interviews.

Still, one Republican House member was startled to learn from FBI chief James Comey that no one administered an oath to Clinton when she answered questions.

'Well, that's a problem,' Florida Rep. John Mica said when Comey told him Clinton never promised to be truthful.

TELL THE TRUTH!: FBI Director James Comey told a congressional panel on Thursday that Hillary Clinton's interview about her classified email scandal wasn't conducted under oath, but it's still a crime to lie to agents. He also said no recording of the interview was made

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH: Clinton spoke for 3-1/2 hours with agents who might have a hard time proving if she ever lied to them because there is no exact record or transcript of their discussion

'WELL, THAT'S A PROBLEM': Florida Rep. John Mica reacted when Comey told him Clinton never promised to be truthful in her interview

'It's 'still a crime to lie to us,' Comey assured him during more than four hours of testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

But without a transcript of what Clinton said, it would be difficult to prove her words were false.

Some Republicans have demanded to see a transcript of what Clinton said, as part of broader doubts about how the FBI handled what might have resulted in criminal prosecution for keeping classified files on a private and unsecured email server.

'The American people would like to see what Hillary Clinton said to the FBI,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Wednesday.

CLOSE-UP: Comey declared this week that he wouldn't recommend a criminal prosecution of Clinton for mixing classified and unclassified materials on the unsecured private email server in her home

The Hill reported that FBI's policy since at least 2006 has been to forego the chance to make recordings of subject interviews.

Except in rare circumstances, 'agents may not electronically record confessions or interviews, openly or surreptitiously' the FBI said in a 2006 memo.

The only record of Clinton's interview is likely to be a Form FD-302, an investigative analysis that summarizes what the former secretary of state told her inquisitors.

Comey said he has read the '302' from Saturday's interview, and acknowledged that he was not one of the roughly half-dozen agents present during Clinton's questioning.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump entertained a question about whether he might possibly forego the presidency and step down even after beating Hillary Clinton in the general election  and the candidate didn't rule out the far-fetched scenario.

'I'll let you know how I feel about it after it happens,' Trump told the New York Times when asked about the possibility.

The paper put the question, described as 'floating around the political ether,' to Trump before he left his offices at Trump Tower for a June 30 trip to New Hampshire, and described the move as something that might make Trump the 'ultimate walk-off winner.'

The story notes Trump's penchant for creating controversy, including his repeated attempts to stoke the controversy over the 'Star of David' that went out on his Twitter account.

IN IT TO WIN IT? Trump doesn't rule out scenario where he quits after beating Hillary

'I've actually done very well,' Trump said. 'We beat 18 people, right?'

One idea is that the controversies could somehow be intended to torpedo his own candidacy. There have also been multiple reports about Trump's lack of campaign infrastructure in key states like Pennsylvania and lack of TV advertising in battleground states.

Another is that Trump wants the gratification of winning, but doesn't actually want to serve as president, preferring to return to his business interests he has spent a lifetime building.

'He has no sense of how to govern,' former 2012 nominee Mitt Romney told the paper. 'He can't even put together a campaign,' while financier and Trump supporter Thomas Barrack Jr. said Trump was 'not going to pull out.'

Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer called the idea 'silly,' adding, 'He's in it to win it.'

The scenario, however unlikely, comes a day after the Wall Street Journal reported on the ongoing effort to try to push through a vote a the rules committee of the GOP convention telling delegates they can back the candidate of their choice.

Some prominent Republicans, including Tennessee senator Bob Corker, have taken themselves out of consideration to be Trump's running mate. Corker even floated the idea of Trump daughter Ivanka Trump serving as his running mate.

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama told MailOnline.com Thursday hat Ivanka had the necessary credentials and qualities to serve as president.
A homeless woman in Georgia abandoned a dog on a playground, leaving behind a box of toys and a heart-breaking note asking for the dog not to be sent to a shelter.

Cletus, an 11-year-old Labrador, was left at the playground at Norris Lake park in Snellville, according to 11Alive News.

The note left with him explained his owner could not keep him any longer because she does not have a place to live.

A homeless woman in Georgia abandoned a dog on a playground, leaving behind a box of toys and a heart-breaking note asking for the dog not to be sent to a shelter

'My name is Cletus!! My owner decided she could not keep me anymore because she does not have a place to stay,' the note read.

'I am a very good dog. I'm 11 years old, but I still play like a puppy. I don't chew anything but food. I'm house broken.

'I'm great with kids. I play ball, catch Frisbees, and love to give hugs.

'Can you please find me a home? I don't want to go to the shelter.'

Cletus did end up at a shelter, the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter, after his owner abandoned him.

However, things are looking up for the dog after the shelter said an adopter had been approved on Thursday morning.

On Tuesday, the Gwinnett County Animal Control Shelter wrote shared a video of the dog and note

Jan Grissom, a volunteer at the shelter, shared a video of Cletus and his sign on Tuesday.

'He's so sweet,' Grissom told 11Alive News. 'He's energetic for an old fella. He's just so loving!'

Grissom noted that due to Cletus being an older dog, it might be harder for him to get adopted, but that clearly was not the case this time.

'Most people don't want older dogs. It's very rare. We usually have to save them through a rescue,' Grissom said.

In the note, Cletus is described as an 11-year-old dog who plays like a puppy, is great with kids and loves to give hugs

On Thursday, the shelter said an adopter had been approved so Cletus now has a new home

In the meantime, volunteers are working to find the woman who left Cletus in an effort to help her get back on her feet.

They believe due to some child-like drawings on the back of the note she left that she might have a child.

'We will continue the search for Cletus' owner,' the shelter wrote on Facebook.

'The shelter has the adopter's contact information and owner can get her dog back when she is able.
President Obama said police-involved shootings like recent ones in Louisiana and Minnesota are a 'serious problem'

Two cops have since been placed on leave. Lake was suspended before in police shooting of another black man

Homeless man called 911 after Sterling flashed his gun because he kept asking for money, an unnamed source said

Louisiana is an open-carry state, but Sterling was on probation so should not have been in possession of a firearm

Sterling was armed during the confrontation, but his gun was in his pocket when he was shot

Two witness videos show the cops wrestling Sterling to the ground and then shooting him

Usually Moore's office would be handling the case, but the FBI and local U.S. Attorney's Office have taken over

Moore says the two officers involved in the black man's shooting

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said Alton Sterling's death may have been 'state authorized'

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Alton Sterling's shooting by police in Baton Rouge may have been justified, a Louisiana district attorney has said.

DA Hillar Moore, who is responsible for prosecuting crimes in the area of Baton Rouge where Sterling was killed on Tuesday, was present when police officers Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni were interviewed after Sterling's death, and said both men felt they had acted correctly.

'This is potentially a state authorized killing,' Moore told CBS News. 'It gives law enforcement officers the authority and mandates them to kill when in defense of themselves or others.'

Moore's office is no longer in charge of the investigation however, ceding control over to the FBI and the local U.S. Attorney's Office.

A source has also claimed that a homeless man called 911 - leading Lake and Salamoni to the scene - after Sterling flashed his gun at him.

The unnamed source told CNN that the homeless man persistently asked Sterling for money, despite the street seller repeatedly asking to be left alone.

Sterling was armed when he was shot, but the gun was in his pocket. Louisiana is an open-carry state, but Sterling was on probation and should not have had a firearm on him, his family said.

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Louisiana District Attorney Hillar Moore (pictured in February 2016) says Alton Sterling's death may be a 'state authorized' killing

Before the investigation into Sterling's death was taken over by the Feds, Moore listened in on the interviews of police officers Blane Salamoni (left) and Howie Lake II (right), who he says both believed they were justified in their actions

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said on Wednesday that he had asked the Department of Justice to lead the investigation, after watching similar incidents play out across the country.

'We all learned lessons from what was done elsewhere in the country over the last several years and we're trying to be as proactive as possible,' Edwards said.

On Thursday, President Obama weighed in on Sterling's shooting, as well as the similar shooting that immediately followed in Minnesota.

The president said in a Facebook post that these deadly shootings by police officers are not isolated incidents but a 'serious problem' and something that should leave all Americans 'deeply troubled'.

Obama said he is limited in what he can say about the cases, but that he's 'encouraged' the U.S. Justice Department is conducting a civil rights investigation into the Louisiana shooting. At the same time, Obama said Americans must also show respect and appreciation for police.

Since Sterling's death in the early hours of Tuesday morning, protests have been held nightly in the streets of Baton Rouge. Several thousand gathered on Wednesday night, just hours after a graphic new video emerged showing the moment cops pinned him to the ground and pulled the trigger.

A new video has emerged, showing another angle of the police shooting of Alton Sterling early on Tuesday morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The shop owner who was taking the video moved the camera away from the gruesome scene as the shots were heard, but he panned back to see Sterling laying bloodied in the parking lot

The graphic footage shows Sterling being thrown to the ground by cops Salamoni and Lake after they received a complaint about a man making threats with a gun while selling CDs outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The cops are seen yelling at Sterling to 'get on the ground' - but he does not - before he is tackled by the officers.

As Sterling continues to move on the ground, the officer believed to be Lake reaches for his gun and then points it at the father-of-five's chest.

One of the officers then yells: 'He's got a gun! Gun! You f****** move and I swear to God.'

Less than two seconds later, the first shot is heard, followed quickly by another two. Three more shots are heard as the startled shop owner momentarily turns his camera away from the scene.

As Sterling lies on the ground with blood seeping from his chest, one of the officers leans over and grabs what appears to be a gun from the street seller's pocket. It is not clear whether Sterling was reaching for his gun, but he was not holding it at the time he was shot.

Baton Rouge police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. later confirmed that Sterling was indeed armed and a witness said they saw one of the officers pull the handgun out of Sterling's pocket as he lay dying, CNN reports.

Sterling would usually have been legally allowed to carry a gun in public, since Louisiana is an open carry state, but was on probation so was not permitted to do so.

After the deadly incident, police took CCTV footage from the store without the owner's permission, but said they would be handing the video over to investigators.

It also emerged that Lake, a three-year veteran, has been suspended before for another police-involved shooting of a black man.

Thousands of people continued to protest long into the night following the shooting of Alton Sterling by two police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Fury: Several thousand protesters took to the streets tonight in protest at the fatal police shooting of street seller Alton Sterling

Protest: Thousands marched outside the store where Sterling was shot dead by police, calling for justice for the black street seller

Emotional: Sandra Sterling, Alton's aunt, was struggling to cope with her grief as thousands took to the streets for the vigil

Baton Rouge police officers stayed away and let Wednesday night's demonstration go unchecked, despite huge traffic jams building up around the area as demonstrators spilled onto the streets.

Some held placards calling police 'murderers' and pleaded for justice over Sterling's death.

Sandra Sterling, Alton's aunt, was seen struggling to cope as she was joined by thousands of people demanding justice for her slain nephew.

Sterling (pictured) was killed following a confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning

One demonstrator Ashley Jones, 31, waved a poster and said: 'I have got an 11-year-old son and I don't want him to have to live his life feeling scared the police might shoot him.'

Her friend Gigi Granger, 32, added: 'We drove two hours to get here and we felt we had to be here to make our voices heard.

'I have got a son who is just seven. He will grow up to be a proud black man and I want him to live his life freely.

'The police are scaring us with their hysteria and killing of young black men, when they should be protecting us.'

Queen Bennett, 34, who knew the shooting victim, said: 'He was a regular guy, always friendly and just trying to feed his family.

'I would buy his CDs and DVDs from him and he would sell them for $5 for three. They were copies.

'All he wanted to do was feed his family and for them to be proud of him. He was trying his best. He didn't deserve to die like that.

'The video shows the police were on top of him and they had no reason to pump him with bullets.'

Not a single police officer attended the protest and vigil in memory of Sterling, a father-of-five, who was tasered and shot by police as they bundled him to the ground.

The decision by police to stay away was seen as a cautionary move as uniformed presence might have led to violent outbursts.

Two videos showing Sterling's last moments were captured by onlookers.

One was shot by Abdul Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart, and he was praised by speakers for coming forward with his key evidence.

Muflahi told the Guardian that he kept the cell phone footage because he was afraid his store's surveillance video would be destroyed by police.

'As soon as I finished the video, I put my phone in my pocket. I knew they would take it from me, if they knew I had it.

'They took my security camera videos. They told me they had a warrant, but didn't show me one. So I kept this video for myself. Otherwise, what proof do I have?'

Baton Rouge police admitted they took the video, but said that they would be handing the video over to federal investigators.

One speaker at the protest said: 'He could have chosen to stay in the background and said, like many of us might have, that he hadn't seen anything.'

She said he had shown that Alton Sterling was murdered and he needed 'to be thanked for that.'

Supporters painted a huge mural of the shooting victim on the side of the grocery store with permission of the owner.

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that they would be leading the civil rights investigation into the shooting.

Democrat Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in a statement: 'The death of Alton Sterling is a tragedy and my prayers are with his family, including his five children.

'From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident.

'Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin.'

Civil Rights campaigner Rev. Jesses Jackson tweeted: ' The force was excessive. It was unnecessary and it was deadly.'

The protest group Black Lives Matter said it would be organizing several protests in the coming days at the 'latest murder by police of an innocent black man'.

Protesters refused to clear the streets as they demonstrated long into the night in Baton Rouge, where Sterling was shot dead Tuesday

No way through: Protesters block the intersection in front of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed by police

Protesters from the Black Lives Matter group joined locals outside the Triple S store in Baton Rouge as they chanted and held up placards

'Not my son!' There was an outpouring of grief and fury on the streets of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, following Sterling's shooting

Baton Rouge officers stayed away and let Wednesday night's demonstration go unchecked, despite huge traffic jams building up around the area as demonstrators spilled onto the streets

'Stop killing us': Some held placards calling police 'murderers' and pleading for justice after Sterling's death on Tuesday morning

Not a single police officer attended the protest and vigil in memory of Sterling, a father-of-five, who was tazered and shot by police

Shortly after Sterling's death early Tuesday morning, the first video of the shooting surfaced - a blurry clip taken from a nearby car.

In the video, Sterling is shown being wrestled and thrown on to the ground by officers who then held him down as he appeared to struggle.

A taser is heard being used as the officers pushed Sterling's head down on to the concrete after shouting: 'He's got a gun.'

One officer then appears to draw what looks like a gun and points it at Sterling's head. Within seconds, gun shots are heard.

The woman filming screams and the man next to her shouts 'oh s***!', as more shots are heard.

The screen then goes black and a woman begins hysterically crying as the man asks her: 'They shot him? Oh my f***ing goodness.'

'They killed him! Oh my god!' the woman screams. Another person in the background simply asks: 'Why?'

Muflahi's video offers a clearer picture of Salamoni and Lake as one straddled and the other pinned Sterling to the ground before shots were fired.

Muflahi told NBC News that Sterling - who he called a friend - was 'murdered' by police.

'He just wanted to know what was going on. Why are they coming to arrest him? He was asking them: 'What'd I do wrong? What's going on? What'd I do wrong? Why you messing with me?'

'I don't think there was any way that he would've reached for [his gun],' Muflahi said. 'And if he would've reached for it, his hand would've still been in his pocket, or the gun would've been in his hand after they had killed him.'

The store owner told WAFB-TV that the first officer used a taser on Sterling and the second officer tackled the man. Muflahi said as Sterling fought to get the officer off of him, the first officer shot him 'four to six times'.

The owner said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand at the time but he saw officers remove a gun from Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

Muflahi told the New York Daily News that Sterling, who he has been friends with for six years, bought the firearm days earlier to protect himself after hearing CD sellers had been robbed close by.

'His hand was not in his pocket, nor did he have the gun in his hand,' he said.

Police told The Advocate that the officers were wearing body cameras during the shooting but the recording devices apparently came loose during the incident.

Both Salamoni and Lake have been put on administrative leave as the fatal shooting is investigated.

Lake, a three-year-veteran of the force, was previously put on administrative leave for his involvement in another police shooting of a black man in December 2014, but was later reinstated to the force.

Protesters gather in front of a mural painted on the wall of the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed in Baton Rouge

The decision by police to stay away was seen as a cautionary move as uniformed presence was felt might have led to violent outbursts

The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which led to the thousands-strong demonstration

Sterling's death adds to the long list of police-involved shootings sweeping the nation - including the other high-profile cases of Eric Garner in New York City and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Sterling's widow spoke about the impact his death has had on her family, as the oldest of their five children - 15-year-old Cameron - broke down into hysterical sobs.

'He [her son Cameron Sterling] had to watch this as this was put all over the outlets,' Quinyetta McMillan said. 'As a mother I have now been forced to raise a son who is going to remember what happened to his father.'

Cameron had to be removed from the press conference by a relative.

Ms McMillan continued to speak about her deceased partner, describing him as a man who 'simply tried to earn a living to take care of his children'.

'The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis,' she said.

The head of the Baton Rouge NAACP in Louisiana has called for Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie to be fired or resign in the wake of the fatal shooting.

Michael McClanahan said Baton Rouge cannot have a leader who 'allows this type of action to take place'.

Dabadie has not stepped down and instead pleaded with the hundreds of protesters taking to the streets following Sterling's death to demonstrate peacefully.

The Department of Justice will investigate whether officers willfully violated Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months to resolve, were opened following previous shootings of black men by white police officers.

Federal investigators must meet a high legal burden to bring a civil rights prosecution, establishing that an officer knowingly used unreasonable force under the circumstances and did not simply make a mistake or use poor judgment. Many federal probes conclude without criminal charges.

Shocking footage - taken from inside a car just a yard away - shows Sterling being wrestled and thrown on to the ground by officers who then hold him down as he attempts to struggle. Gun shots are then heard.

Cameron Sterling, the 15-year-old son of police-shooting victim Alton Sterling, broke down in tears as he joined his mother at a press conference on Wednesday

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he had watched the video of the shooting and found it 'disturbing, to say the least'.

U.S. Congressman Cedric Richmond, a Democrat who represents Baton Rouge, said the video footage 'was deeply troubling and has understandably evoked strong emotion and anger in our community'.

'I share in this anger and join the community in the pursuit of justice. My prayers and thoughts are with Sterling's family as they deal with this tragedy,' he said.

Congressman Richmond called for the DOJ to conduct a full and transparent investigation into this incident.

'His family and the citizens of Baton Rouge - especially the citizens of North Baton Rouge - deserve answers and that is what we will seek in a fair, thorough, and transparent way,' he said.

Edwards said he understood that protesters were angry over the shooting and called for calm.

Protests took place on Tuesday night and continued throughout Wednesday.

Sterling was sentenced to five years in jail for marijuana and weapon possession in 2009 and has reportedly been arrested several times over the past two decades.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (left), Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie (center) and Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden (right) spoke at press conferences about the shooting on Wednesday

DRAKE LEADS CELEBRITIES VOICING THEIR OUTRAGE IN THE WAKE OF ALTON STERLING'S DEATH Several celebrities have joined the masses of people expressing their outrage in the wake of the police-related shooting of Alton Sterling. Sterling, 37, was killed early Tuesday morning in a confrontation with two cops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after police received a complaint about a man threatening others with a gun while selling CDs. In the wake of his death, the two officers - identified as Blane Slamonie and Howie Lake II - have been put on leave and the Department of Justice has been called in to investigate whether any civil rights were violated. Sterling's death has quickly become a hot topic online - especially among celebrities frustrated by the reoccurring deaths of black men at the hands of white officers across the country. Drake was one of the many famous faces to speak out on Sterling's death online. Drake was among the celebrities commenting on the shooting in Baton Rouge as he called for better relationships between the police and ethnic minorities Advertisement

Family and friends of Alton Sterling protest in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Store, in Baton Rouge, where he was shot dead

Sandra Sterling, an aunt who raised Alton Sterling after his mother died, speaks on the phone, while family and friends of his protest in the parking lot of the Triple S Food Store

The group grew to over 200 people, who chanted and waved signs late into the night
Baton Rouge PD now facing legal demand to turn over footage because it was 'illegally seized' his lawyer says

But he tells Daily Mail Online he was never shown a warrant by officers - who were from same department as two who shot Sterling

Police questioned store owner - who recorded one of the two videos already made public - and took recording equipment from shop

One set of CCTV camera outside food market where Sterling was shot recorded entire incident

death on their phones and have made recordings public - but they have missing seconds and are not complete record

Police have been accused of 'illegally seizing' the best CCTV recording of Alton Sterling being shot dead by two white cops.

A full recording of the death of the black man being shot by two police officers was taken by his colleagues hours later.

The death of Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, early on Tuesday morning, has already caused controversy after two cameraphone videos emerged showing his final moments.

But Daily Mail Online can disclose that there is a third, comprehensive recording on closed-circuit television of the shooting.

It can also be revealed the recording was not just downloaded by police - but they seized the recording equipment itself without showing a search warrant to the shop owner.

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Perfect view: The two CCTV cameras (circled) cover the Triple S Food Mart lot where Alton Sterling was killed by police early on Tuesday morning as he lay on the ground at the circled handicapped parking sign

System: The only remaining equipment from the CCTV system is its cameras. The central recording unit was taken by police in its entirety, with the shop owner's lawyer telling Daily Mail Online that there was no warrant

Last minutes: Adbullah Muflahi captured - on his iPhone - the shooting of his friend Alton Sterling. His shop's CCTV also captured the shooting but was entirely seized by police, his lawyer says 'illegally'

Legal action: Shop owner Adbullah Muflahi (left) and his attorney Joel Porter (right) want the footage returned so it can be made public. It was described to Muflahi by one officer as the 'best evidence'

Baton Rouge Police Department are now facing legal demands to return the seized equipment to the shop owner, who wants to make it public and whose lawyer accuses the force of 'spiriting it away'.

The CCTV recording would fill in vital gaps in the sequence of events captured on cell phones.

It is likely the recording is now in the hands of the FBI, who are investigating the shooting by the officers.

The cameras' owner Abdullah Muflahi said police told him his store security system was the best evidence available to the investigation.

But Muflahi said he was angered that the security surveillance footage was being withheld from public view.

Dead: Alton Sterling was killed following the confrontation outside a Baton Rouge convenience store early Tuesday morning

It was taken from his shop by police around 7.30am on Tuesday morning. He had spoken to police for three hours as a witness and given a lengthy statement.

But he told Daily Mail Online that although officers said they had a warrant to take anything relevant to their investigation, they did not show him it - and have not produced one since.

'I am talking to my lawyer and he is writing to the police that the film should be given to me so I can let the world see it too,' Muflahi, 28, told Daily Mail Online.

'They can see how my friend was murdered for nothing. There can be no cover up in this. This camera has got the whole story and the world demands it.

'They took away the whole system while I was giving them a statement and they wouldn't let me into my shop.'

It has been reported that the officers and their union representatives are set to claim the shooting was justified.

Sterling was carrying a gun, but it appeared to have been removed after the shooting by an officer.

The two officers involved in the shooting have both been suspended, and the whole department's actions are now subject to FBI and Department of Justice scrutiny.

Joel Porter, the store keeper's attorney said: This was an illegal confiscation. The police had no warrant.

If there was a warrant issued to enter my clients premises and take the video, it would have been a matter of record.

I have been in touch with the clerk of the court at Baton Rouge and there is no record of the warrant being issued.

My client was held in a police car for around three hours and that was illegal too. He was not a suspect.

Police identified the two cops involved in the shooting on Wednesday as four-year-veteran Blane Salamoni (left) and three-year-veteran Howie Lake II (right)

Run-up: The shopkeeper's video captured the moments before police opened fire on Alton Sterling outside his shop in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Tuesday

Weapon drawn: One of the officers is seen removing his handgun from its holster as Alton Sterling's head is raised from the ground

Aftermath: The officer can be seen lying on the ground after discharging his weapon

'There is a lot that has been done by Baton Rouge Police Department and I am waiting for some answers.'

As he spoke at the scene of the shooting Sterling's aunt Veda McClister cried loudly saying: 'I saw my nephew's blood on this spot and went right down to the drain and the pavement.

'Right where your knees are right now, that was where his blood was.

'I am never going to forget what I saw. I will never be myself again.'

She said she was certain that police suspicion of 'all black people' led to her nephew's death.

'He weren't doing any wrong. Just selling his CDs. The police department are murderers.

'Justice has to prevail. You kill one you should kill us all, because we are not going to stop.

'I think they should bring those two cops out here and let me whoop the brains out of them.

'But that's just my mind and just me saying.

'I think they should go to jail for the rest of their lives. They should lock them up.

'Next time it could be somebody else's shop. It was somebody else last night in Minnesota. It has to be stopped.'

Asked what she thought was the reason for the shooting, she said: 'Because they don't like black folks. They don't like the color of my skin. They don't like how my hair is.

'I am humble as a lamb, but they are scared to talk to me. Don't judge me by the color of my skin.'

Comforted: The dead man's aunt Veda McClister cried loudly saying: 'I saw my nephew's blood on this spot and went right down to the drain. I am never going to forget what I saw. I will never be myself again.'
Thousands of people on social media are calling for the NRA to respond to the police involved shooting death of Philando Castile in Minnesota on Wednesday.

Castile, 32, was shot dead by a police officer with the St. Anthony Village Police Department in Falcon Heights, Saint Paul, Minnesota after being pulled over at 9pm with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter for an alleged broken tail light.

Reynolds, who live-streamed the moments after the shooting on Facebook, has claimed that her boyfriend told the officer he was legally carrying a gun at the time of the traffic stop.

She said that he reached for his license in his back pocket when he was fatally shot by the officer.

In addition, the man's uncle, Clarence Castile, told NBC News that his nephew had a permit to carry a weapon legally.

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Thousands of people on social media are calling for the NRA to respond to the police involved shooting death of Philando Castile (above) in Minnesota on Wednesday

Castile was shot dead by a police officer with the St. Anthony Village Police Department in Falcon Heights, Saint Paul, Minnesota. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, claims he was legally carrying a gun at the time

Reynolds (pictured Thursday morning), who was in the car with Castile with her daughter at the time of the shooting, live-streamed the moments after on Facebook before she was detained by police

As the news of Castile's shocking death began circulating on social media thanks to the video Reynolds shot on her cellphone, many people began to demand that the NRA, which supports the right to carry legal guns, make a statement in his defense.

However, others are calling the NRA's silence on the issue blatant racism because Castile was black.

Actress Jurnee Smollett took to Twitter and wrote: 'So all the #NRA members are real quiet now...are y'all (sic) defend #PhilandoCastile's right to be a licensed gun carrying citizen?'

A Twitter user named Marc wrote: 'Dear @nra #NRA: Will you come to the defense of #PhilandoCastile who was shot & killed by Minnesota pd (sic) while legally carrying?'

Another user named Ray wrote on Twitter: 'I know @NRA doesnt (sic) care about #PhilandoCastile's life, but the right to bare arms? That was taken from him. Or does it only apply to whites?'

'The #NRA will comment as soon as they craft a statement supporting black gun owners that won't alienate its racist membership. So, never,' another person wrote on Twitter.

In 2015, the lobbying arm for the NRA, the Institute for Legislative Action, wrote an article and stated: 'Police officers and lawfully armed citizens have been getting along just fine throughout America's history, and they will undoubtedly continue to do so.'

That statement was further criticized on Twitter in response to Castile's death.

Broadway Actress Tracie Thoms took to Twitter and wrote: 'I'm dead ass serious. If the NRA isn't up in arms over #PhilandoCastile's death, it's a complete sham. We will take note and remember.'

'Where's the NRA this morning on their 'licensed conceal carry makes us safer' pitch? LaPierre? Anyone? #PhilandoCastile,' another Twitter user wrote.

The NRA has sent out several tweets since the shooting occurred, but none of them are related to the incident or respond to the people who have tweeted them seeking a statement about Castile's death.

Mail Online has contacted the NRA to see if the organization would comment about Castile's shooting death and the claim that he was a legal firearms owner. They did not comment.

According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit association, the state of Minnesota does not allow public access to gun records, so it has yet to be confirmed if Castile was in fact a legal firearms owner.

President Obama released a statement on his Facebook page Thursday about Castile's death and Alton Sterling's - the black man killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

'All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota,' it reads.

'We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss.

'Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.'

In closing the statement, Obama said that all Americans should come together as a nation.

'...all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling -- feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils.

'Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do better.

'Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.'
One of the two men accused of raping of a 10-month-old baby girl allegedly bragged about abusing the infant over Skype to an associate.

Police also say the Melbourne man, 50, lamented over the fact he and his 50-year-old boyfriend, the baby's father, 'did not have enough time to do everything we wanted' in a conversation with an associate two days after the alleged abuse took place.

In another conversation via Skype before the incident, the man allegedly said he and the baby's father were going away with the child for a few days, adding: 'incest turns me on so much', The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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Two 50-year-old men (pictured) have been extradited from Victoria to NSW charged with raping a 10-month-old baby girl

The couple are also accused of taking photographs of the baby girl's private parts over a three-hour period of abuse.

The infant was in the care of the two men while the child's mother was out at a training course for a few hours.

The men were extradited from Victoria to NSW on Tuesday on multiple child pornography charges after police raids in Victoria uncovered terrabytes of photos and videos.

The raids also uncovered a conversation allegedly between the men planning the abuse, which read: 'We're going to go away to play with the baby for a few days I am hoping that makes me feel better.'

The men, pictured here with police, allegedly assaulted the girl in April, 2015 at her home in Bathurst

Victoria Police alerted NSW Police to their possible involvement in a child sex offence when they were looking into child exploitation material

Police allege the pair sexually assaulted the baby girl at a home near Bathurst in regional NSW on April 19, 2015.

On Thursday, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans, of the NSW State Crime Command's Child Abuse Squad described the abuse as 'abhorrent'.

'The sexual assault or alleged sexual assault of a ten-month-old child is beyond belief,' he said.

Mr Yeomans also said the girl was 'fine' and had been placed into care.

Court documents show one man is facing seven charges including having sexual intercourse with a child under ten years old and using a child under 10 years of age for the production of child abuse material when he took photographs of her private parts.

The two men have been remanded in custody to face Central Local Court on July 12

One of the men is charged with seven different offences while the other is charged with two counts of sexual intercourse and one count of making child exploitation material

The men were arrested in Ivanhoe, Victoria on Tuesday before being brought to NSW

He is also charged with possessing, soliciting, transmitting, publishing and promoting child pornography.

The second man is charged with having sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years of age, inciting the commission of having sexual intercourse with the child, and producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material.

They did not appear when their case was briefly heard at Waverley Local Court on Thursday.

The men did not apply for bail on Thursday and it was formally refused, which means they will remain behind bars until the case returns to Central Local Court on Tuesday July 12.

The court heard one or both men may make a bail application at that time.
British Spy's Intel Was Based On 'The Rock,' According To Chilcot Report

Trending News: A Spy Used The Plot Of 'The Rock' To Justify Iraq Invasion

Why Is This Important?

Because its politics-meets-pop culture at its strangest.

Long Story Short

A spy who claimed Iraq had chemical weapons may have made it all up after watching the Nicolas Cage movie The Rock. The stunt is detailed in a new report on Britain's role in the Iraq war.

Long Story

A British spy may have lifted a scene from the action flick The Rock when he created a phony description of chemical weapons in Iraq, according to a new report.

The secret agent told intelligence honchos that terrorists carried mind-melting toxic gasses in linked hollow glass spheres" in 2002, the Chilcot report revealed Wednesday. But officials learned he was lying because his account sounded  suspiciously  like one featured in the awesomely hokey 90s movie, according to the report.

In real life, thats rarely how chemical weapons are carried, according to the UK Mirror, which posted an excerpt of the 6,200 page report.

Glass containers were not typically used in chemical munitions; a popular movie [The Rock] has inaccurately depicted nerve agents being carried in glass beads or spheres, it states.

The questions about the use of glass containers for chemical agents and the similarity of the description to those portrayed in The Rock had been recognized by Secret Intelligence Service."

The movie The Rock centers on a biochemist and an ex-con tasked with thwarting an evil group of former Marines on Alcatraz island. It stars Sean Connery, Ed Harris and Nicolas Cage, whose character transports glowing green balls of toxic chemicals in metal cylinders.

The spy's fake report, which may have been inspired by the 1996 blockbuster, made it into the hands of powerful people. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw reviewed it in September 2002, according to the UK Guardian.

But it wasnt long before the spys lie blew up in his face. In December 2002, intelligence officials discovered he had made up all or part of the account of his dealings, the report states. He wasnt a reliable source, officials declared.

The Chilcot report  a review of Britain's role in the Iraq war  also offers a damning critique of Blair. It claims he pushed Britain into the Iraq war without a plan but clears him of deceiving the public on purpose. And it notes Saddam Hussein was not an imminent threat to the west at the time, according to the Mirror.

It was unclear what motivated the spy, whose name was withheld, to make up the movie-worthy chemical weapons story.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Should the spy face punishment for lying to the government?

Disrupt Your Feed

Wheres James Bond when you need him?

Drop This Fact

The tagline of the The Rock is, Alcatraz. Only one man has ever broken out. Now five million lives depend on two men breaking in." The movies gross earnings were $134 million.
The Governor of Minnesota has launched a startling attack on 'racism' in the police, saying he does not believe that Philando Castile would have been shot dead on Wednesday if he was white.

Mark Dayton said there was 'every indication' that police conduct in the shooting of Castile, a black man, was 'way in excess' of what the situation warranted.

'Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers were white?', asked Mr Dayton. 'I don't think it would have.

'This kind of racism exists and it's incumbent on all of us to vow that we're gonna do all that we can to see that it doesn't continue to happen.'

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'Absolutely appalling': Mark Dayton asked whether the driver would have been shot dead had he been white, saying that he didn't think he would

Shocked and offended: Dayton speaks with Diamond Reynolds (pictured in glasses and baseball cap), the girlfriend of Castile, during a press conference outside his residence in St Paul

Aftermath: Diamond Reynolds (pictured) streamed the aftermath of a police shooting on Wednesday. She told viewers that she and her boyfriend, Philando Castile, were pulled over for a busted tail light by a cop who asked to see his license. As Castile was reaching for it, the police officer shot him four times, she says

Shot: Castile can be seen murmuring at the start of the Facebook video. According to Reynolds he told the cop he had a permit to carry a firearm when he reached for his license - but the cop shot anyway

He also said he was upset to note that Castile 'was not given first aid, nobody attended to his condition, as they were attending to the condition of the police officer who did the shooting.

'(Reynolds) was handcuffed and taken to a police station with her four-year-old daughter... it's just stark treatment; I find it absolutely appalling at all levels.'

Furthermore, he continued: 'I can't say how shocked I am and how deeply, deeply offended that this would occur in Minnesota to somebody who got pulled over for a tail light being out of order.'

Mr Dayton, who has called on a federal investigation to be launched into the incident, and promised that the case would be pursued 'to its conclusion'. The Justice Department has said it is 'prepared, as necessary' to conduct such an investigation.

Castile, 32, was shot five times by a member of St. Anthony Police Department in Falcon Heights, St Paul, Minnesota at 9pm on Wednesday after being pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, filmed the aftermath of the shooting, live-streaming it on Facebook, and the shocking scenes subsequently went viral.

(Castile) not given first aid... (Reynolds) was handcuffed and taken to a police station with her four-year-old daughter... It's just stark treatment; I find it absolutely appalling at all levels Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota

President Obama issued a statement on his Facebook page about both shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

'All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota,' it reads.

'We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss.

'Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.'

In closing the statement, Obama said that all Americans should come together as a nation.

'All Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling - feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils.

'Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, let's reflect on what we can do better.

'Let's come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.'

Ms Reynolds herself was taken into custody shortly after the incident and was released only at 5am on Thursday morning after hundreds of protesters had gathered outside Mr Dayton's mansion in St. Paul.

Hours after she was released from jail, she launched into a 20-minute speech calling on the community to come together as she was flanked by a crowd of supporters brandishing Black Lives Matter placards.

Forever scarred: Diamond Reynolds says cops took her boyfriend Philando Castile's life 'for no reason' after she was released by police in Minnesota

Overcome: Demanding justice and peace, she said: 'These police should not be able to bear arms on innocent people in front of kids. My daughter will be forever scarred by what the police of Falcon Heights did to us'

My lifeline: Reynolds appeared later, having changed her clothes and clutching her daughter, who told her to 'stay strong' and 'don't cry' during the ordeal

Call for action: Reynolds said she had the wherewithal to put the video on Facebook because she 'wanted the people to determine who was right and who was wrong'

She insisted that police had stopped them for a busted tail light, which she claims wasn't even busted, and that Castile told the officer he had a firearm on him and a license, before the cop began shooting 'for no reason'.

She told the growing crowd that her boyfriend 'didn't have any last words. His eyes rolled in the back of his head.'

'The police did this to us. The police killed him in front of my daughter. The police did this to me. They took an innocent man away from us.'

Demanding justice and peace, she said: 'These police should not be able to bear arms on innocent people in front of kids. My daughter will be forever scarred by what the police of Falcon Heights did to us.

They put me in a room and separated me from my child. They treated me like a prisoner Diamond Reynolds

'For no apparent reason they asked him for identification. And before they gave him a chance to get it, they beared arms on him.'

Reynolds said that police treated her 'like a prisoner', detaining her after the 9pm shooting and keeping her in custody until 5am, separating her from her young daughter, and denying her food and water.

She added that police didn't bother to check the pulse of Castile after shooting him and didn't administer first aid.

She says that police didn't inform her that he was dead until 3am, even though they knew he was dead when they took him from the scene.

'They put me in a room and separated me from my child. They treated me like a prisoner. They treated me like I did this to me. And I didn't. They did this to us. They took a black man away.

'He worked for St Paul public schools, he never had a criminal record. he never did anything, no gang affiliated, nothing, he was a hard working man, his birthday was in nine days.

'They took him nine days before his birthday. It's not fair and it's not right.'

When they let her go, they kept her phone and car for evidence.

Cop: The officer, audibly panicky and afraid, continues to point his gun at Castile, and at one point screams 'I told him not to reach for it!' Reynolds remains calm as she confronts him: 'You told him to get his ID, sir'

Castile (left) and Reynolds (right) before his tragic death. His mother, Valerie Castile, told WCCO TV her son 'lived by the law and died by the law' and he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at the J.J Hill Montessori School in St. Paul. Castile's Facebook page depicts a young man who was politically active and enjoyed partying

Asked how she had the wherewithal to put the video on Facebook, she said: 'I wanted everyone in the world to know that no matter how much police tamper with evidence, how much they stick together, no matter how much they manipulate our minds to believe what they want to put it on Facebook and go viral so that the people could see. I wanted the people to determine who was right and who was wrong.'

She paid tribute to her daughter, calling her 'my lifeline.'

'My daughter told me to stay strong and that's what I had to do. My daughter told me don't cry and that's what I had to do... my daughter prayed for me.'

The shooting in Saint Paul is the second controversial police shooting of a black man to emerge in 24 hours.

In the original video, Reynolds tells viewers that she and Castile were pulled over for a busted tail light by a 'Chinese police officer.'

She claims the cop asked Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at JJ Hill Montessori Magnet School in St Paul, to show his license, but then shot him four times while he reached for it.

As she talks, she moves the camera across to show Castile, bloody and losing consciousness, and the cop - still pointing his gun.

The police officer, who is yet to be identified, has been placed on paid leave.

Time to listen: Clarence Castile, uncle of Philando, speaks outside the Governor's Mansion following the shooting of his nephew, while Gov Mark Dayton, listens; he has called for a federal investigation

Crowds of protesters chanted outside the Governor's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them following the tragic shooting

Community members and Black Lives Matter activists brought the police tape from the scene of where Philando Castile was shot and killed by a St. Anthony Police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, to Governor Mark Dayton's residence in Saint Paul on Wednesday evening

A crowd of around 200 protesters turned up outside Governor Dayton's residence in Saint Paul at 3am demanding for him to 'wake up' and speak to them.

They shouted 'no justice, no peace' and video shows them chanting Castile's name over and over in a moving show of unity.

The protesters earlier formed at the scene where Castile was shot. The crowd was heard chanting 'we will stand our ground. We will not move' as an officer tried to clear the area.

Crowds also gathered outside the hospital where Castile died.

Detained: Other officers arrive and tell Reynolds to exit the car and get on her knees. They cuff her and say she is being detained 'until we get this all sorted out' - only at this point does she begin to cry

In the video, the shooting officer's voice cracks as he says he told Castile 'not to reach for it'.

'You told him to get his ID, sir, you told him to get his driver's license,' she says. And suddenly the reality seems to hit her, as Castile appears to stop moving.

'Oh god, don't tell me he's dead,' she says. 'Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... please don't tell me that he's gone.'

The cop tells her to keep her hands 'where they are, please' and she agrees, but then goes back to chanting about her boyfriend's possible death. 'Please don't tell me this Lord, please Jesus don't tell me that he's gone.'

'Please officer don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir,' she says, her voice finally beginning to crack with emotion. 'He was just getting his licence and registration, sir.'

At that moment, other officers are heard telling Reynolds to exit the car and walk backwards towards them. She asks if they have her daughter. In the distance a girl can be heard crying.

They tell her to get on her knees while they cuff her - 'Ma'am you're just being detained right now until we just get this all sorted out, okay?' says one of the new officers.

Handcuffed: Later, Reynolds is seen in the back of a cop car; she says she has been handcuffed, and that 'a Chinese police officer' shot her boyfriend; pictured right, her daughter looks out the back of the squad car

Scene of the shooting: Investigators photographed the car that Castile was shot in near Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street in Falcon Heights

'They threw my phone, Facebook,' Reynolds says, before finally breaking down as another siren - possibly an ambulance - is heard. 'Please no,' she wails, 'Please don't let him be gone.'

At this point in Reynolds's video, a man who sounds like the first officer can be heard shouting 'F***' at several points afterward, and Reynolds is heard in the distance telling cops how the cop 'started shooting.'

Reynolds said later on that the cop was crying and was being consoled by his colleagues.

During the original video, Reynolds begins wailing about how Castile is a 'good man' who 'works for St Paul Public Schools... Hes never been in jail, anything. Hes not a gang member, anything.'

A crowd of community members gather outside the Governor's Residence in Saint Paul with a 'black lives matter' sign

Lawyer Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis NAACP chapter, spoke outside the governor's house saying: 'We are tired of the laws... we are tired of the demonization of our black brothers and sisters'

Crowds gather in the middle of the night for answers after the horrific video went viral on Facebook

Blue lies matter: Protesters hand signs on a post near the scene of Castile's shooting in the largely middle-class St Paul suburb of Falcon Heights

The morning after: A sign is hung outside the Minnesota Governor's Residence this morning after about 200 people gathered outside it on Wednesday to protest

Reynolds then prays to God to protect Castile, saying: 'You know we're innocent, Lord. You know we're innocent people.'

Her daughter is heard telling an officer she wants to collect her mommy's purse.

Shortly afterward, the video cuts to Reynolds, sitting in a police cruiser - handcuffed, she says - with her daughter.

OUTGOING POLICE CHIEF COMPLAINED 'BIASED' MEDIA WAS MAKING LIFE 'UNFAIR' ON COPS John Ohl, retiring police chief The retiring chief of St. Anthony Police Department claimed that the 'biased' media covers police brutality and there was nothing 'broken' about US law enforcement, just weeks before the shooting of Philando Castile. In an interview with William Lindeke, a St Paul blogger, John Ohl, who was talking about leaving his 'legacy' lamented: 'Why would you be a cop today? You're treated like a piece of crap. And I'm not saying by society in general. 'Our city loves us, our Council supports us, and we are greatly appreciative of that citizen and council support. 'But Geez! National news media and local media are making it tough on us. And it's tough to recruit new cops, good high quality cops!... It's coming, when bright young people no longer choose this career because of biased, unfair and undeserved reporting.' Furthermore he argued that the 'perception that Police Officers are out of control is not supported with the good work that's done every day.' Advertisement

She repeats her story and begs anyone watching to come help her at the corner of Larpenteur Avenue and Fry Street.

The camera moves over to her daughter for a moment; the girl looks sad and confused.

'It was a Chinese police officer that shot him,' says Reynolds. 'He asked him for his license and registration, which was in the back of his pocket, because he keeps his wallet in his pocket.

'And as he went to reach, he let the officer know before he was reaching that he had a firearm on him, and before he can let the officer know anything, the officer took off shots. About four or five rounds was shot.

'And my boyfriend, I don't know what condition he's in, I don't know if he's okay or if he's not okay. I'm in the back seat of a police car, handcuffed... they got machine guns pointed.'

Finally, Reynolds - who has mostly kept it together throughout the incident - breaks down.

'I f***ing-- I can't f***ing--' she stutters, before screaming.

'It's okay,' her daughter says. 'I'm right here with you.'

In a statement, St. Anthony Police Department said: 'On 07-06-2016 at approximately 2100 hours, a St. Anthony Police Officer effected a traffic stop on Larpenteur and Fry in the City of Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

'During the stop, shots were fired. One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased.

'No one else was injured and the BCA has been called in to investigate this officer involved shooting. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

'The BCA will provide additional information as their investigation progresses.'

Castile was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, according to The Star Tribune.

Sgt. Jon Mangseth, interim chief of St. Anthony Police Department told the paper that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate.

The officer involved in the shooting had worked for the force 'in excess of five years', Sgt. Jon Mangseth said.

He has not been identified but Reynolds claimed he was a 'Chinese police officer' in the video.

The video had received more than 1.5million views in the four hours after it went live - and attracted a stream of horrified and angry comments.

TEN MINUTES OF TERROR: THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF DIAMOND REYNOLDS RECORDING OF POLICE SHOOTING DEAD HER BOYFRIEND PHILANDO CASTILE Diamond Reynolds: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back. And the police just  hes, hes covered. They killed my boyfriend. Hes licensed  hes licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket and he let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet. And the officer just shot him in his arm. Were waiting for Officer: Maam keep your hand on the wheel. Reynolds: I will sir. No worries. I will. Officer: F---! (heavy breathing) Reynolds: He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over on Larpenteur. Officer: I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand out! Reynolds: You told him to get his ID sir, his drivers license. Oh my god, please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that. Officer: Keep your hands where they are please. Reynolds: Yes, I will sir. Ill keep my hands where they are. Please dont tell me this lord. Please Jesus dont tell me that hes gone. Please dont tell me that hes gone. Please officer, dont tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him sir. He was just getting his license and registration sir. Background: Weve got a female passenger. Officer: Get the female passenger out. Background: Maam exit the car right now with your hands up. Let me see your hands. Exit now. Keep em up. Keep em up! Reynolds: Wheres my daughter? You go my daughter? Background: Face away from me and walk backward. Keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking. Keep walking. Get on your knees. Get on your knees. Maam youre just being detained right now until we get this all sorting out, okay? Reynolds: They threw my phone Facebook. Please dont tell me lord, please dont tell me. Please dont tell me hes gone. Please Jesus noYou told him to get it sir. He tried to tell you he was licensed to carry. He was going to take it off. Please dont tell me my boyfriends gone. He dont deserve this. Hes a good man, he works for St. Paul Public Schools. He doesnt have no record of anything. Hes never been in jail, anything. Hes not a gang member, anything. (Reynolds then says a prayer) Reynolds: We in the backseat of the police car. Phils sister, call me. The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason. My phone is about to die. They shot him  he shot him three times because we had a busted tail light. He asked him for license and registration, he told him, that man, that it was in his wallet. But he had a pistol on him because hes licensed to carry. And the officer told him dont move, and as he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in his arm about four or five times. Im on Larpenteur and Fry. Whoever can come to Larpenteur and Fry, thats where Im at. Im gonna need a ride home. Advertisement
Donald Trump attended a meeting with Senate Republicans meant to build unity and ended up tangling with a senator still sore about Trump's comments about John McCain and about Mexicans.

Trump got into a tense exchange with senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, the Washington Post reported. Flaked was one of many senators who questioned Trump during an extended question and answer sessions at Senate party headquarters near the Capitol.

'You've been very critical of me,' the presumptive Republican nominee said when Flake got up to speak.

'Yes, I'm the other senator from Arizona  the one who didn't get captured  and I want to talk to you about statements like that,' Flake responded, two GOP officials told the paper.

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Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona had a verbal tussle with Donald Trump and described himself as the Arizona senator who 'didn't get captured'

Flake said he was not part of the 'never Trump' movement, but was looking for reassurance. He has previously blasted Trump's comments about Mexican 'rapists.'

Then, according to the paper, Trump said he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to do so  a verbal tactic Trump has used in the past with other potential rivals.

As he has in public, Flake at the meeting, Flake pressed Trump on his comments critical of Mexicans. The Post reported that Trump predicted Flake would lose his reelection, which prompted Flake to inform Trump that he isn't even on the ballot this year. He isn't up for reelection until 2016.

Flake told reporters afterward, 'I want to support the nominee. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said.'

Trump said last year, when speaking about McCain, 'I like people who weren't captured.'

Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois didn't attend the meeting. He has withdrawn his support from Trump.

McCain didn't attend either, although protesters outside superimposed a Trump 'Make America Great Again' hat on McCain's head.

Trump met separately with House and Senate Republicans Thursday

LAND OF LINCOLN: Senator Mark Kirk, who is facing a tough reelection, met with President Obama's supreme court pick Merrick Garland, who is being blocked by Republicans. He has withdrawn support for Trump, who reportedly characterized him as a loser

Trump also tangled with senator Ben Sasse, who is refusing to support Trump

The paper reported that Trump characterized Kirk as a loser and vowed to win Illinois.

Kirk, when asked about reports that Trump called him a loser, said, 'He's wrong. I've never been defeated.'

Kirk, who is facing a tough reelection, last month ripped Trump last month, saying, 'I think he's too bigoted and racist for the Land of Lincoln.'

Trump also singled out senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who declined to run a third-party bid but has been highly critical of Trump.

The Hill newspaper reported that Sasse won't be attending the GOP convention. 'Sen. Sasse will not be attending the convention and will instead take his kids to watch some dumpster fires across the state, all of which enjoy more popularity than the current front-runners.'

Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort called the reports of strife, 'attributed to unnamed sources' as 'wholly inaccurate.'

'The Members were in total agreement with Mr. Trump of the need to unite the Party and work together to win the Presidency and keep a Republican Congress.'

Out of 54 Republicans, 41 attended.

At a separate meeting with House Republicans, Trump got questioned by Republican representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina about whether he would defend Article 1 of the Constitution  meaning Congress.

'Not only will I stand up for Article One,' Trump said, 'I'll stand up for Article Two, Article 12, you name it of the Constitution,' TPM reported, citing Sanford. The Constitution has seven articles and 27 amendments.




The director of the FBI refused on Thursday to rule out the possibility that his agency is still investigating former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on a separate track from the one that the Department of Justice closed Wednesday afternoon.

An FBI source told DailyMail.com in April that Clinton faced two separate investigations  one related to her use of private email to house classified documents, and another focusing on allegations that she used her position in the Obama administration to raise money for her family foundation and to generate speaking fees for her husband.

That followed reporting from the Fox News Channel, which first disclosed the existence of the second probe.

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MUM'S THE WORD: FBI Director James Comey refused to say during a hearing on Thursday whether or not his agency is investigating Hillary and Bill Clinton's family foundation in a pay-for-play scandal potentially involving Hillary's tenure as secretary of state

CLINTON CASH: The former first couple have earned more than $153 million in speaking fees since 2001, and Bill Clinton collected checks from two dozen companies, governments and other organizations while they had issues pending before Hillary's state department

On Thursday FBI director James Comey refused to comment when the chairman of a congressional committee asked him if the Clinton Foundation was still under scrutiny from federal law enforcement.

'I'm not going to comment on the existence or nonexistence of any other ongoing investigations,' Comey told House Oversight Committee chair Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican.

Comey also refused to say whether the Clinton Foundation was 'tied into' the email investigation that the Obama administration wrapped up this week.

If that line of inquiry is still being pursued behind closed doors, it would represent a new round of trouble for Clinton as she prepares to accept the Democratic Party's nomination for president a few weeks from now.

Bill Clinton collected speaking fees from two dozen foreign entities while they had issues pending with the State Department while Hillary was at the helm.

Comey answered lawmakers' questions for nearly four hours on Thursday, maintaining that the Clinton's conduct in the email saga was 'reckless' and 'negligent' but didn't warrant criminal prosecution.

Separately, Chaffetz said during the hearing that he would formally ask the FBI to investigate whether Clinton perjured herself in congressional testimony last October.

READY TO RUMBLE: House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman, Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R), shook hands with FBI Director James Comey (L), before Thursday's hearing began, as the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland (C) looked on

The FBI has never publicly acknowledged what Fox News's and DailyMail.com's sources have claimed  that both Clintons are linked to an abuse-of-power investigation.

Two FBI sources declined comment on Thursday, including the person who first provided information to DailyMail.com three months ago.

The investigation, if it is still ongoing, is believed to focus on accusations leveled in the book 'Clinton Cash,' which painted a portrait of Mrs. Clinton as an avaricious public official who traded official favors to foreign governments and overseas companies for private benefits including seven-figure donations to the Clinton Foundation and six-figure speaking fees for former President Bill Clinton.
The portfolio manager for Moore Capital Management, a $15 billion hedge fund, was fired after he hosted a party in the Hamptons over the weekend.

Brett Barna, who worked at the company run by billionaire Louis Bacon for six years, hosted the all-day event, dubbed #Sprayathon, over the Fourth of July weekend.

The 31-year-old had rented the eight acre estate in Sag Harbor, Long Island, on Airbnb and reportedly told the owners that he was throwing a fundraiser for an animal charity for just 50 guests.

'Mr. Barna's personal judgment was inconsistent with the firm's values,' the firm said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg.

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Brett Barna (second from left), a portfolio manager at billionaire Louis Bacon's Moore Capital Management was fired after he hosted a party in the Hamptons over the Fourth of July weekend

The 31-year-old had worked for the company run by billionaire Louis Bacon for six years and hosted the all-day event, dubbed #Sprayathon. The furious owner of the $20million mansion in The Hamptons says it was trashed after the wild pool party

Barna had rented the eight acre estate in Sag Harbor, Long Island, on Airbnb and reportedly told the owners that he was throwing a fundraiser for an animal charity for just 50 guests. 'Mr. Barna's personal judgment was inconsistent with the firm's values,' the firm said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg

'He is no longer employed by Moore Capital Management.'

The owner of the $20 million mansion in The Hamptons said it was trashed after the hedge fund manager threw a wild pool party straight out of The Wolf of Wall Street.

More than 1,000 people gathered for the party, a spectacle of bikini-clad women and gun-toting dwarfs in patriotic costumes, according to Page Six.

Guests danced and doused each other in Champagne as rapper Ace Hood performed from a balcony - and posted all the debauchery on social media.

They left behind broken furniture and used condoms, according to the furious owner of the property.

The owner says he is planning to sue Barna for $1million  and also says Barna is disputing the $27,000 cost of the Airbnb rental and refusing to pay it, Page Six reported.

The property is listed on Airbnb for $5,000 per night and requiring a minimum five night stay.

'It was like "Jersey Shore' meets a frat party," the owner told the website.

He claimed Barna was last seen 'chugging Champagne with two midgets' on Sunday.

He added: 'Brett came to me dropping Louis Bacon's name and saying he was a big deal with the Robin Hood Foundation.'

The owner says dwarfs in patriotic costumes (pictured in posts from social media) also attended

There were so many people at the party that the concrete around the pool crumbled and fell into the water

The owner of the nine-bedroom mansion said revelers left behind broken furniture and used condoms

'He said there would be 50 people at the event and it was for animal rescue.

'But the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them.

'They drowned themselves in Champagne, they had midgets they threw in the pool, they broke into the house, trashed the furniture, art was stolen, we found used condoms.'

The owner added that the sheer amount of people at the party meant the concrete surrounding the pool crumbled and fell into the water.

However, a source claims cleaners had been hired and the house was left in a good condition, according to Page Six.

The source also said the event raised $100,000 for Last Chance Animal Rescue. Daily Mail Online has contacted the Southampton-based charity for comment.

And it's not the first time the #Sprayathon bash has caused trouble.

Revelers at last year's party, held at a house in The Hamptons owned by Hercules actor Kevin Sorbo started a brush fire.

Guests danced and doused each other in Champagne as rapper Ace Hood performed from a balcony - and posted all the debauchery on social media

The owner says he is planning to sue Barna for $1million  and also says Barna is disputing the $27,000 cost of the Airbnb rental and refusing to pay it

'He said there would be 50 people at the event and it was for animal rescue,' the owner said. 'But the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them'

But a source claims cleaners had been hired and the house was left in a good condition. Pictured are revelers from Barna's pool party

The property (pictured) is listed on Airbnb for $5,000 per night and requires a minimum five-night stay
Homicide detectives are looking for Alex Dow Freeburn, 26, after the woman's body was found in a home in Melbourne on Tuesday

A manhunt is under way for the housemate of a woman who was found dead at a Melbourne home.

Homicide detectives are looking for Alex Dow Freeburn, 26, after the woman's body was found in a home at Kew, east of the city, on Tuesday, Nine News reports.

Police say they believe Mr Freeburn was last seen in Darlington, 200 kilometres west of Melbourne, sometime on Wednesday.

'Investigators believe Alex Freeburn may be able to assist with their inquiries and urge him to hand himself in,' a police spokeswoman said on Friday.

Mr Freeburn is reportedly described as having 'extensive prior convictions' and police are being warned to approach him with caution.

He is described as Caucasian in appearance, 175cm tall, with a fair complexion and hazel eyes.

Police are yet to confirm whether the death is suspicious or release the results of the post-mortem examination.

The body was found at the Kew property just after 1.40pm on Tuesday.

More than 30 armed police officers surrounded the rear of a cafe on High Street in the suburb of Kew after the woman's body was found.

Police are reportedly looking for Alex Dow Freeburn, 26, the housemate of a woman who was found dead in a Melbourne home on Tuesday afternoon (pictured is street closed off)

Police cordoned off the home in Kew and over 30 officers surrounded the rear of a Melbourne cafe (pictured) after the woman's body was found. She is believed to be 29 years old

Detectives left the area at 5.15pm, but earlier on in the afternoon they focused their attention near the Rox Cafe bar on the corner of of Derrick and High streets.

A kebab shop directly in front of the property the deceased woman was found in has been closed for several weeks.

Despite the drama police investigation outside, with huge police forces cordoning off a 50 metre portion of the street, nearby businesses continued to operate normally.

Louie Mir, the owner of Rox Cafe, told The Age that police had been in the area since the morning.

'The police have been here since the morning at the shop on ground level, and they have bedrooms or something upstairs,' Mr Mir said.

'I'm operating as normal, because I'm not sure of the risk.'

Police will likely not know how the woman died until Wednesday morning, and the investigation is ongoing
Britain is to have a second woman Prime Minister, with Theresa May the overwhelming favourite to fill Margaret Thatchers shoes.

On a historic day at Westminster, Tory MPs whittled down the list of contenders to just Mrs May and junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom.

It means Britain will have a woman Prime Minister for the first time since Lady Thatcher left office 26 years ago.

Clear majority: Home Secretary Theresa May won 115 more votes than energy minister Andrea Leadsom

Mrs May said she would unite the party and make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us

Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson attended a campaign event with Mrs Leadsom and said she was 'well placed' to win the leadership. Mrs Leadsom also has the support of UKIP leader Nigel Farage

In a dramatic vote, Mrs May won the support of 199 of her Parliamentary colleagues  115 more than Mrs Leadsom, who was little known until her meteoric rise only a few weeks ago.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove crashed out of the contest with only 46 votes.

MPs said his demise marked the end of the Notting Hill set, which also includes David Cameron and George Osborne.

On another day of drama:

New questions were raised over Mrs Leadsoms CV and the truth about her supposed career as a City high-flier;

A former colleague said her job had merely been handing out pay and rations to more senior employees at investment manager Invesco Perpetual;

Mrs Leadsom made a direct pitch to the Tory Right by voicing opposition to gay marriage and promising a new vote on fox hunting;

The May camp accused their rival of lacking experience and wanting to give residency to foreign criminals.

The Tory Partys estimated 150,000 members will now choose who will replace Mr Cameron in Downing Street. The result will be announced on September 9.

TORY LEADERSHIP VOTE: WHAT NOW? In the next stage of the Tory leadership contest, there will be hustings across the UK and candidates will be able to email voters. Ballot papers will be sent to the partys 150,000 members in mid-August. They can vote either by postal ballot or online but counting will be done electronically. The electorate is limited to members of more than three months prior to the final result date. This is designed to prevent a Jeremy Corbyn-style insurgency. In this case, the last eligible date was June 9. The ballot will close at 12pm on September 9 with the result announced on the same day. Advertisement

Last night, there was speculation the date for the leadership decision could be brought forward. A letter calling for a faster timetable, circulated by ex-party chairman Grant Shapps, had attracted the signatures of 40 MPs.

There is agitation among some MPs that the current timetable has been designed so Mr Cameron can attend the G20 summit in China in early September before standing down. One said: With all the uncertainty at the moment, the sooner we get a new PM the better.

Mrs May can boast six years in the Home Office protecting national security.

Her frontbench career began in 1998 and has included stints as Tory chairman and shadow ministerial posts on transport, education, welfare and culture.

Her rival, by contrast, was only elected in 2010 and has held two junior ministerial posts in the energy department and Treasury, where officials were scathing about her record. She made her name campaigning for Brexit, appearing in two TV debates.

The Tory Partys estimated 150,000 members will now choose who will replace Mr Cameron in Downing Street. The result will be announced on September 9

Mrs May can boast six years in the Home Office protecting national security

It means Britain will have a woman Prime Minister for the first time since Lady Thatcher left office 26 years ago

Senior Tory Party figures say that, amid the post-Brexit economic uncertainty, it is vital to have a proven heavyweight inside No 10.

But ex-Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is backing Mrs Leadsom, said: I am incredibly proud of my party because today we have two strong woman candidates going to the country, we will have a woman PM and it is the Conservative Party yet again. It says to women all over the country you can get to the top.

Yesterday, Mrs May said she would unite the party and make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us.

Chris Grayling, who campaigned for Brexit, said only Mrs May had the right experience both domestically and internationally to run the country. He added: We need someone who can step into the PMs shoes and have the credibility to get on with the job right away.

Close allies of Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne are also now lined up with Mrs May.

Mr Goves support fell by two MPs from his first-round performance, despite an effort to persuade supporters of Mrs May to lend him their votes, in order to block Mrs Leadsoms progress. He never recovered from the view among some Tory MPs that he had behaved treacherously towards Boris Johnson by abandoning the former London mayors leadership campaign last week and running himself.

Last night, Mr Johnson attended a campaign event with Mrs Leadsom. He said: She is now well placed to win and replace the absurd gloom in some quarters with a positive, confident and optimistic approach, not just to Europe, but to government all round.

Former immigration minister Damian Green, a campaign spokesman for Mrs May, said she had secured a smashing victory. He added: The size of the vote for Theresa, and the gap to her next rival are much bigger than we have ever seen in the past. That sends a very clear signal to the membership that the parliamentary party can be united by Theresa, as can the country.

But Tory MP Steve Baker, who is backing Mrs Leadsom, said she could be the insurgent candidate.

Mrs Leadsoms campaign has been dogged by claims that it is being backed by a millionaire Ukip donor - and her CV is also under scrutiny

The two camps clashed yesterday over residency rights for the 2.2million EU citizens living in the UK  with Mrs Mays team saying their rival wanted to give residency to scores of criminals. Mrs Leadsom said: People need certainty and they will get it  I say to all who are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage said he was supporting Mrs Leadsom. He tweeted: Important the next PM is a Brexiteer  she has my backing.

Andrea Leadsom faced further damaging questions about her CV last night as she stormed into the final two in the Tory leadership race.

A former City colleague said that despite a claim that she had been a senior figure in the investment world, Mrs Leadsom had been in charge of no more than pay and rations.

Backers of her bid to be party leader and Prime Minister have claimed she managed funds and large teams of employees while working in the finance sector for 25 years.

But Robert Stephens, who worked with her at investment manager Invesco Perpetual, said she had been no more than a part-time assistant to the chief investment officer.

Yesterday energy minister Mrs Leadsom dismissed ridiculous criticism of her pre-politics career, insisting her CV is all absolutely true.

But she was forced to admit she had never managed investment funds during her time at Invesco Perpetual between 1999 and 2009.

As the row over her CV raged, Mrs Leadsom made a direct appeal to the Tory Right by speaking out against gay marriage and promising a new vote on fox hunting. She also faced calls to publish her tax return, a step Theresa May and Michael Gove have already taken.

Mrs Leadsom had promised to release it if she made it through the final ballot of Tory MPs, but last night it had still not been published.

This is about protecting my colleagues, Mrs Leadsom said. I genuinely think that MPs are subject to often too much pressure to put out every single bit about their private lives.

Iain Duncan Smith, who has supported her campaign, claimed she would be a good prime minister because she had a velvet glove of compassion. However, she faced further controversy last night after receiving the backing of Ukip figures such as Nigel Farage. Some Tory MPs have warned of Momentum-style infiltration of the Conservatives by Ukip.

Last night it was claimed that this document, which was spotted by a member of the public on the London underground, may very well set out the guiding principles for Andrea Leadsoms campaign

At the weekend, Mrs Leadsom spoke of her 25 years in financial services, during which time she had run enormous teams, small teams, start-up businesses. Prominent supporter Bernard Jenkin has highlighted her work at Invesco Perpetual, speaking of her experience running a large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds.

Other statements include win back some of the Ukip voters and win the 52 per cent  a reference to the majority in the EU referendum

But it emerged earlier this week that despite working there for ten years she was only authorised as an investment manager for a three-month period.

Last night it was claimed that Mrs Leadsom's blueprint to win was snapped by a member of the public and put on Twitter.

The document, which was folded in half, contains statements such as wage war on political correctness.

Other statements include win back some of the Ukip voters and win the 52 per cent  a reference to the majority in the EU referendum.

The sheet of paper contains other statements which suggest it could genuinely be from the Leadsom camp. It reads: Boris to campaign around the country for her.

Last night, she was joined by ex-London mayor Boris Johnson in her Northamptonshire constituency.

Other policy hints on the document include Human Rights Act and Trigger Article 50 in September.

Article 50 is the legal mechanism which begins the two year process for Britain leaving the EU. Mrs Leadsom has made conflicting statements over when this will take place.

Other sentences include Grammar schools and talk to Toby Young.

Mr Young, a right-wing columnist, is an expert in education and one of the first backers of free schools.

The plan also threatens to make positive discrimination explicitly illegal. Scribbled next to the blueprint was a note saying HRA/ECHR (Theresa may was right).

Mrs May has previously threatened to quit the European Court of Human Rights, but dropped the idea once it became clear there was no majority support in Parliament.
Court documents did not say whether he intentionally exposed others

Ford was charged with a misdemeanor public health violation for ignoring health officials' order to manage and treat his syphilis within five days

identified as 'point of contact' for three cases of disease

He was

A 19-year-old man faces a criminal charge for refusing to get treatment for syphilis after health officials identified him as the 'point of contact' for three cases of the disease in Cumberland County, North Carolina.

Deyzaun Ford was charged June 28 with a misdemeanor public health violation for ignoring the Cumberland County Health Department's order to manage and treat his syphilis within five days, according to The Fayetteville Observer.

Deyzaun Ford (pictured), 19, was charged June 28 with a misdemeanor public health violation for ignoring the Cumberland County Health Department's order to manage and treat his syphilis within five days

The department can criminally charge someone who refuses treatment or intentionally spreads communicable diseases.

Court documents did not say whether Ford intentionally exposed others.

Police arrested Ford on June 19 in response to a suspicious vehicle report.

He was separately charged with a misdemeanor for carrying concealed weapons without a license.

His bail was set at $1,500.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested there would be a lot of shooting the messenger  the media  throughout the remainder of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

'A substantial part of the campaign is going to be  if you think the news media is honest an fair and totally neutral, then you ought to vote for Hillary. But if you think the news media is biased than join me,' Gingrich told CNN by phone today.

Gingrich backed Trump up over his campaign's use of a six-pointed star in a graphic on Twitter attacking Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, while others suggested that it was a Star of David and anti-Semitic imagery as it was put over a backdrop of money.

The retired Republican congressman, who is being vetted by the Trump campaign for the veep slot, said he was 'very angry' with the coverage that he considered to be 'the media's deliberate distortion.'

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IS IT NEWT? Donald Trump wouldn't let his audience in on his VP thinking Wednesday night, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got rave reviews among the crowd for his running-mate audition

'I think it is so profoundly dishonest that it sickens me and makes me very angry,' Gingrich said.

'It's absurdity. He has got a son-in-law who's an Orthodox Jew, his daughter has converted to Judaism, grandchildren who are Jewish,' Gingrich continued.

'And he gave a speech at AIPAC that was pretty definitive,' Gingrich said, mentioning the speech Trump gave before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in March.

'And in the middle of this, you get this kind of smear?' Gingrich said.

As for whether he could be the winner of the veepstakes, Gingrich remained coy.

'I think he's checking out the chemistry and the feel with a number of people,' the former lawmaker said. 'We like each other, we have a lot of fun and we're both willing to take on the traditional system so we're happy doing that.'

Last night, Gingrich joined Trump in Cincinnati Ohio before a capacity crowd as speculation intensified about his choice for a running mate.

Gingrich, Trump said, is as much in the dark as anyone.

'I'm not saying anything, and I'm not telling even Newt anything,' he told his audience in Cincinnati, Ohio, 'but I can tell you in one form or another, Newt Gingrich is going to be involved with our government. That I can tell you, okay?'

'We all love Newt. Newt gets it,' Trump boomed later as his fans chanted the former speaker's first name, begging the presumptive nominee to join forces with him.

'I'll tell you one thing, folks: I'm not saying it's Newt, but if it's Newt, nobody's going to be beating him in those debates. That's for sure, right? Nobody. Nobody's beating on Newt in the debate.'

TRYOUT: Trump took Gingrich on the road to a rally in in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the longtime Republican pol blasted Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration on the stump

Gingrich, in a sort of audition for the vice presidency, offered a sample of the hard-hitting attack language any potential Trump number-two would need on the campaign stump.

He focused both barrels on Hillary Clinton, just hours after Attorney General Loretta Lynch formally announced the former secretary of state won't be prosecuted over her classified email scandal.

He mocked Lynch for 'announcing with great surprise that she accepts the FBI director's total sellout of the American citizens.'

'Is there a single person here who believes that if you had done what Hillary Clinton had done, that you would not be prosecuted?' he asked.

About 4,000 people yelled, 'No!'

Gingrich framed Clinton  a former first lady of Arkansas and the United States, U.S. senator and secretary of state, and now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee  as an elite in an age when populism is choking plutocrats of their power.

'They are once again making the case that there are two Americas,' he said of Clinton and her husband, the former president. 'There's the corrupt Washington of the old order, and there are all the rest of us.'

PROFESSOR: Gingrich taught history at the university level in Georgia before becoming a congressman in 1978

GRANDPAS WITH IPHONES: The septuagenarian pair fumbled their way through a half-minute Facebook Live broadcast from backstage

The Democrats, he said, were 'lying to us about a person who deliberately obstructed justice, and in any rule of law today would be facing a grand jury, not an election.'

'And one last comment: Do any of you believe it was only an accident that Hillary Clinton was on Air Force One with Barack Obama at the very moment that the FBI director was explaining that despite her obvious total guilt, she should not be taken in. I would say the fix was in.'

The 70-year-old Trump and the 73-year-old Gingrich co-hosted a brief Facebook Live chat before taking the stage.

Lasting less than a half-minute, the oddly framed backstage footage gave viewers a glimpse into how senior citizens see emerging technologies.

'This is sort of, this is magic. So you're now on Facebook I think,' Gingrich told Trump. 'Worldwide.'

'Wow, that's fantastic. That's beautiful,' he replied.

'It's the modern world,' they said, one after the other.

Trump's veepstakes took a series of twists and turns on Wednesday after two senators, Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa, took themselves out of the running.

READY? Gingrich looked on as Trump stood on a chair to address an overflow crowd at the Sharonville Convention Center, after their speeches were concluded

Trump said in a mid-afternoon interview that his short-list still had about 10 names on it, including two military generals.

One, a campaign aide said, was retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, whom the Obama administration forced out of his post in 2014 for his outspoken warnings about Islamic jihadis.

Gingrich has been a rare constant throughout the process, popping up consistently in most veep discussions since Trump clinched the Republican nomination.

The billionaire said Wednesday night that 'he's smart, he's tough, he gets it, and he says I'm the biggest thing he's ever seen in the history of politics!'
The nursing shortage will continue for years and may get even worse, a report warns.

Almost a third of nurses are over 50 and many will retire within the next ten years.

The Institute for Employment Studies pointed out that already 1 in 10 nursing posts are unfilled, but this is likely to increase.

And its authors warned that the NHSs increasing reliance on foreign nurses would not be enough to plug gaps on wards.

The Institute for Employment Studies pointed out that already 1 in 10 nursing posts are unfilled, but this is likely to increase (file photo)

The crisis has come about because the Government slashed the number of nurse training posts between 2009 and 2013 by 17 per cent.

But this coincided with a sudden increase in demand on wards, partly due to the aging population as well as fresh concerns that patients were being neglected.

Many trusts are now having to recruit heavily from overseas from countries including Portugal, Spain, India and the Philippines or rely on expensive agency staff.

Rachel Marangozov, author of the report, said the recruitment of foreign nurses would not be sufficient to plug the gap in the workforce.

She also pointed out that many European nurses would be put off by the UK withdrawing from the EU.

The Government needs to act now to ensure that the UK has a domestic supply of nurses to fill these future posts. This will require adequate and sustained investment in workforce planning, she said

A spokesman from the Department of Health (pictured) in England pointed out there were 11,000 more nurses on our wards than there were in 2010 and training numbers were increasing

Janet Davies, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said: This report makes sobering reading and it is clear that without urgent action the UK is heading for a major nursing shortage.

Thanks to years of short-term thinking, the UK is completely unprepared to deal with the challenges posed by an ageing workforce, increasing demand and now the uncertainty caused by leaving the EU.

A spokesman from the Department of Health in England pointed out there were 11,000 more nurses on our wards than there were in 2010 and training numbers were increasing.
The cause of his twitches turned out to be a worm

Doctors removed a three-inch (7.5cm) long tapeworm from a 10-year-old boy's brain in China last week.

The boy, named Xiaofei, had been receiving treatment for facial and body twitching. After previous failed treatments, doctors in Guangzhou diagnosed the parasite as the cause of the boy's condition.

Doctors think the habit of drinking unboiled well water is the cause of his horrific ordeal, reports the People's Daily Online.

School boy Xiaofei's family was stunned to see a three-inch long white tapeworm removed from his brain

The boy's condition has been diagnosed as sparganosis, an infection from a type of tapeworm that can be transmitted by ingestion of contaminated water.

Xiaofei is a fourth-grade pupil at a student in Ji'an city, Jiangxi province, eastern China.

The school boy's migrant worker mother, surnamed Zuo, revealed that about a month ago a teacher noticed Xiaofei's face and right side of his body were twitching in class.

He was immediately sent to a village hospital, then transferred to bigger hospitals in Ji'an and later Nanchang, the provincial capital, due to the seriousness of his infection.

After being treated with medication, Xiaofei's situation improved. But when he was discharged from hospital, it deteriorated again, causing him to twitch up to 20 times a day.

Doctor warns apart from drinking un-purified water, people can also be infected by eating raw frogs or snakes

His mother rushed him to Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital in Guangzhou on June 21.

Seeing the CT screenings, doctor Wu Jie suspected there was a parasite living in Xiaofei's brain.

Surgeons operated on him on June 27 and removed a three-inch long worm from his brain.

Xiaofei's mother was stunned to see the worm.

She said: 'I'd never imagine there could be such a long worm in my son's head'.

The shocked parent said almost every household drinks un-boiled water taken from wells in her hometown.

Doctor Wu Jie thinks this is the cause of Xiaofei's infection and warns that people can be infected by drinking unboiled water or eating raw or half-cooked frog and snakes.
Eye watering images have emerged of a man impaled by five poles after an accident on a building site in China on July 6.

Lin Jun, 38, was working on a construction site in Suining, south west China's Sichuan province when he fell from the fifth floor to the third floor and landing on five steel poles.

The man was sent to hospital and had the poles removed after a six hour long operation, reports the People's Daily Online.

Nasty accident: The man was working on a construction site when he fell from the fifth floor to the third

At the hospital: Emergency services were called to the scene and took Lin Jun to hospital where they removed the poles

According to the man's workmates, they had just started work when the incident occurred.

Hu Xiaoping, a colleague of the man told reporters: 'Several workers rushed down and found many poles. Five poles were directly in Lin Jun's body.'

They called the police and fire services and waited for them to arrive.

Lin was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the poles.

Firefighters had to cut the poles shorter to ensure that they did not impede the surgery.

According to doctors who worked on the man, the poles were around 20 inches long.

Doctor Xu Julong told reporters: 'Fortunately the five poles did not hurt the kidneys,lungs and other vital organs or large blood vessels.'

The operation took around six hours to complete.

Lin Jun is still in intensive care unit and doctors told reporters that he is still in a critical condition.
A young woman walking on the street was allegedly slashed across her back with a knife by a bored male cyclist on the evening of July 1 in Chengdu City, southwest China.

The attack left the victim with a scar measuring twelve and half long and one-inch deep, reports the Peoples Daily Online.

She was taken to a nearby hospital and doctors stitched up the wound.

The unlucky random victim was left with a big knife wound stretching from her left armpit to right shoulder

The incident was first revealed by a resident in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, online.

The unidentified woman was taking a stroll with a friend along Hangtian North Street open air food court in Longquanyi District.

Suddenly a total stranger riding a bike attacked her from behind.

He reportedly slashed the woman across the back then cycled away.

The attack left the woman with scar measuring 32cm (12.6 inches) long and 3cm (1.18 inches) deep.

The victim is left with a big knife wound stretching from her left armpit to right shoulder.

A picture shows her wound after the operation, with a long and horrific centipede-looking scar on her back

A series of pictures show her wound after the operation, revealing a long and horrific centipede-looking scar.

Longquanyi Districts official Sina Weibo  Twitter-like Chinese social media platform  account said on July 4 that they were alerted on June 27 and 30 and July 1 about three similar deliberate attacks.

In all these cases, a cyclist attacker slashed the victims back with a sharp object at night time.

The police put all the clues together and carried out criminal investigations.

A 31-year-old local man, surnamed Zhang was arrested at around midday on July 2 in relation to the case according to reports.

The police found the object he used to commit the crimes, pornographic material as well as some items of womens clothing at his home.

The suspect was arrested on 2nd July and the police found some pornographic material and women's clothing

Preliminary investigations found that Zhang committed the crimes due to bad mood and boredom.

He claimed he wanted to vent his emotions and seek excitements through attacking women according to the report.

Many internet users express their anger upon hearing the news.

Sina Weibo user shui zhi shui shang said: Death sentence!.

Another weibo user called ban jin cha pao fan commented: Please give him a long sentence! This kind of people is terrible, what can we do when he gets released? Sympathy for the woman.

Weibo user xi xi rain condemns: he must hurt others when hes in a bad mood, what kind of mentality is that! So terrible, must give him a long sentence!.
Early terrestrial animals dragged themselves through mud and sand to take their first steps on land 360 million years ago.

Now, scientists believe the powerful tails they used as fish were more important than previously thought.

They came to this conclusion by studying African mudskipper fish and building a robot modelled on the animal.

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Scientists believe the powerful tails early terrestrial mammals used as fish were more important than previously thought. They came to this conclusion by studying African mudskipper fish and building a robot modelled on the animal (pictured)

THE RESULTS IN BRIEF Scientists believe ancient creatures used the powerful tails they relied on as fish to crawl across the mud and sand as they made the move onto land, some 360 million years ago. They came to this conclusion by studying African mudskipper fish and a robot modelled on the animal. The team found both the mudskippers and the robot moved by lifting themselves up to reduce drag on their bodies, and both needed a kick from their tails to climb 20-degree sandy slopes. Using their fins alone, both struggled to climb slopes and often slid backward if they didn't use their tails. Early land animals likely didn't have precise control over their limbs and the tail may have compensated for that limitation, helping the animals ascend sandy slopes. Advertisement

They believe the discovery could help create the next generation of amphibious robots.

Ancient animals similar to the mudskipper would have used modified fins to move around on flat surfaces.

Based on fossil records, the new study by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Clemson University and Carnegie Mellon University found suggests their tails may have helped supplement the work of fins, especially on sloping granular surfaces such as beaches and mudflats.

Because of the focus on limbs, the role of the tail may not have been considered very strongly in the past, said Richard Blob, alumni distinguished professor of biological sciences at Clemson University.

In some ways, it was hiding in plain sight. Some of the features that the animals used were new, such as limbs, but some of them were existing features that they simply co-opted to allow them to move into a new habitat.

His team recorded how mudskippers (Periopthalmus barbaratus) moved on a variety of loose surfaces, collecting data and video.

The small fish, which uses its front fins and tail to move on land, lives in tidal areas near shore, spending time in the water and on sandy and muddy surfaces.

Georgia Tech undergraduate Benjamin McInroe analysed the mudskipper data and used it to make a robot model known as MuddyBot that has two limbs and a powerful tail, powered by electric motors.

The team recorded how mudskippers (Periopthalmus barbaratus) moved on a variety of loose surfaces, collecting data and video. The small fish, which uses its front fins and tail to move on land, lives in tidal areas near shore, spending time in the water and on sandy and muddy surfaces

Georgia Tech undergraduate Benjamin McInroe analysed the mudskipper data and used it to make a robot model known as MuddyBot that has two limbs and a powerful tail, powered by electric motors

Based on fossil records, the new study by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Clemson University and Carnegie Mellon University found suggests their tails may have helped supplement the work of fins, especially on sloping granular surfaces such as beaches and mudflats

INTELLIGENT PREDATOR ROBOTS In separate research, scientists have taught a robot how to hunt and destroy prey in a chilling new experiment. The predator robot is inspired by animals in the wild. Its most sophisticated piece of tech is a 'silicon retina' which mimics how an eye works and processes visual data faster than a normal camera. A typical slow-frame camera would allow the robot to take pictures to hone in on its target  but the path of movement would appear disjointed. But a silicon retina processes pixels continuously sending a live stream of what is in the robot's environment. The data is processed by the robot's AI function - a deep learning neural network that will learn from its experience in a similar way to a toddler. It uses laser beams to detect another robot or person. If it cannot spot anything it knows to walk around and search for its prey. This means the killer bot will get better at tracking its prey the more it is in the wild. Currently, the robot travels at around 6mph, but that speed could increase to 37mph if it was built to be the size of a car, researchers said. Advertisement

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon then used information from the mudskipper recordings and the robot to come up with a mathematical model.

Mr McInroe, who is a now a PhD student at the University of California Berkeley, explained: The fish provided a morphological, functional model of these early walkers.

With the robot, we are able to simplify the complexity of the mudskipper and by varying the parameters, understand the physical mechanisms of what was happening.

With the mathematical model and its simulations, we were able to understand the physics behind what was going on.

Howie Choset, a professor in the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, said: Our computer modelling tools allow us to visualise and therefore better understand how the mudskipper incorporates its tail and flipper motions to locomote.

Dan Goldman, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Physics explained: We noted that not only did the mudskippers use their limbs to propel themselves in a kind of crutching motion on sand and sandy slopes, but that when the going got tough, they used their tails in concert with limb propulsion to ascend a slope.

In fact, both the mudskippers and the robot moved by lifting themselves up to reduce drag on their bodies, and both needed a kick from their tails to climb 20-degree sandy slopes.

Using their fins alone, both struggled to climb slopes and often slid backward if they didn't use their tails, the team said.

The results, published in the journal Science, could help designers create amphibious robots able to move across granular surfaces like sand more efficiently, and with less likelihood of getting stuck in the mud

Early land animals likely didn't have precise control over their limbs and the tail may have compensated for that limitation, helping the animals ascend sandy slopes.

The results of the study, published in the journal Science, could help designers create amphibious robots able to move across granular surfaces like sand more efficiently, and with less likelihood of getting stuck in the mud.

It could also provide new insights into how vertebrates made the transition from water to land.

We want to ultimately know how natural selection can act to modify structures already present in organisms to allow for locomotion in a fundamentally different environment, Professor Goldman said.

Swimming and walking on land are fundamentally different, yet these early animals had to make the transition.
Law enforcement and businesses are losing the 'cyber arms race' with online attackers, the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK has warned.

Criminals' technical capabilities develop so fast they 'outpace' Britain's response to the threat from hackers and cyber attackers, a new NCA report has found.

A key threat to the UK comes from a few hundred criminals in international gangs, some of which are such well-developed networks that they run call centres and employ translators.

A key threat to the UK comes from a few hundred criminals in international gangs, experts said

THE CYBER ARMS RACE The 'cyber arms race' is likely to be an enduring challenge, and an effective response requires collaborative action from government, law enforcement, industry regulators and, critically, business leaders. Official figures suggest there were 2.46 million 'cyber incidents' in 2015, of which around 716,000 were reported to Action Fraud. Advertisement

A report detailing the NCA's annual assessment of cybercrime, put together with an industry group, said: 'The accelerating pace of technology and criminal cyber capability development currently outpaces the UK's collective response to cybercrime.

'This 'cyber arms race' is likely to be an enduring challenge, and an effective response requires collaborative action from government, law enforcement, industry regulators and, critically, business leaders.'

The UK Government is set to spend 1.9 ($2.47) billion over the next five years on defending the country against cyber attacks, and the NCA said law enforcement had also boosted its efforts, but businesses needed to do more.

Cyber attacks on firms appear to be massively under-reported. Official figures suggest there were 2.46 million 'cyber incidents' in 2015, of which around 716,000 were reported to Action Fraud.

In May, director of the National Crime Agency's computer crime squad Jamie Saunders called under-reporting 'a serious problem', while the national lead for economic crime Commander Chris Greany said police needed more information to build 'a clearer picture of the threat'.

Cyber attacks on firms appear to be massively under-reported. Official figures suggest there were 2.46 million 'cyber incidents' in 2015, of which around 716,000 were reported to Action Fraud

The report said: 'Directors also have an important role in addressing the under-reporting of cyber crime which continues to obscure the full understanding of, and hence responses to, cyber crime in the UK.

HOW CAN WE TACKLE THIS? The UK Government is set to spend 1.9 ($2.47) billion over the next five years on defending the country against cyber attacks, and the NCA said law enforcement had also boosted its efforts, but businesses needed to do more. Plans to improve the UK's cyber defences include a new National Cyber Security Centre and to undertake work with internet service companies to block attacks. Advertisement

'In particular, we urge businesses to report when they are victims of cyber crime and to share more intelligence, both with law enforcement and with each other.'

Cyber attacks cost the UK billions of pounds per year and the bill is growing, the NCA believes. The most serious threat comes from international gangs.

A report last year said cyber attacks are costing global businesses $300 (231) billion.

'Cyber criminals targeting the UK include international serious organised crime groups as well as smaller-scale, mostly domestic, criminals and hacktivists (hacker activists),' it said.

'The NCA assesses that the most advanced and serious cyber crime threat to the UK is the direct or indirect result of activity by a few hundred international cyber criminals, typically operating in organised groups, who target UK businesses to commit highly profitable malware-facilitated fraud.

'These cyber attacks include attacks directly targeting business systems and attacks against individuals.'
One of the most well-known conspiracy theories is that the moon landing by astronauts on board Apollo 11 in 1969 did not really happen.

Some people would have you believe the whole thing was faked by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, responsible for directing '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

But his own daughter has publicly stated how ridiculous she believes the conspiracy is, downright denying it and saying it is a 'grotesque lie'.

Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (pictured) landed on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC (46 years ago)

THE MOON LANDING Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the moon. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC, 46 years ago. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 and Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. The third member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit, until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth. Advertisement

Apollo 11 was the first spaceflight that landed humans on the Moon.

Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC (46 years ago).

Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 and Aldrin joined him about 20 minutes later.

The theory that filmmaker Stanley Kubrick was involved in faking the moon landing became popular in 1999, after he passed away.

This meant he was not able to refute the claims.

But now, his daughter has done that on his behalf.

Vivian Kubrick, a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, took to Twitter to express her opinions on the matter, after apparently having been asked about it by many people.

'How can anyone believe that one of the greatest defenders of mankind would commit such an act of betrayal?' she said.

Re: Faked Moon Landings

Many people have asked me about this. And this feels like the right time to respond ... pic.twitter.com/UVlNFofFW8  Vivian Kubrick (@ViKu1111) July 5, 2016

Filmmaker Vivian Kubrick at the International Press Academy Satellite Awards at InterContinental Hotel on February 23, 2014 in Century City. The daughter of Stanley Kubrick has spoken out to refute the theories that her dad was involved in filming the moon landings

One of the most well-known conspiracy theories is that the moon landing by astronauts on board Apollo 11 in 1969 did not really happen Some people would have you believe the whole thing was faked by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, responsible for directing 2001: A Space Odyssey (screenshot from film pictured)

Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 and Aldrin (pictured) joined him about 20 minutes later. People who doubt the moon landings are more likely to be selfish and attention-seeking, according to a study earlier this year

'Don't you think he'd be the last person EVER to assist the US Government in such a betrayal of its people?!'

'I actually knew him!' she continued.

'I lived and worked with him so forgive my harshness when I state categorically: the so-called 'truth' these malicious cranks persist in forwarding... is manifestly A GROTESQUE LIE.'

People who doubt the moon landings are more likely to be selfish and attention-seeking, according to a study earlier this year.

Over the course of three online-based studies, researchers at the University of Kent showed strong links between the belief in conspiracy theories and negative psychological traits.

Writing in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, the team explained: 'Previous research linked the endorsement of conspiracy theories to low self-esteem.'
As we constantly strive to reduce our fossil fuel emission and our impact on the world, climate change can sometimes seem like a problem that is still a few years away from impacting our daily lives.

But a new study has revealed the dangers of climate change are already affecting us in a and man-made climate change led to the death of hundreds of people across Europe sixteen years ago.

A heatwave in 2003 killed 506 people in Paris and 315 in London, experts have said in a new study.

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As we constantly strive to reduce our fossil fuel emission and our impact on the world, climate change can sometimes seem like a problem that is still a few years away from impacting our daily lives. But a new study has revealed man-made climate change led to the death of hundreds of people across Europe sixteen years ago

HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD The study led by University of Oxford scientists said there were 315 heat-related deaths as Europe experienced its hottest summer on record. But a fifth of those can be blamed on man-made pollution. It found human-induced climate change increased the risk of heat-related deaths in central Paris by around 70 per cent and by 20 per cent in London. No heatwave on record has ever had such a widespread effect on human health, as experienced during those months of 2003. Advertisement

A fifth of those deaths can be blamed on man-made pollution.

The study led by University of Oxford scientists said there were 315 heat-related deaths in London as Europe experienced its hottest summer on record, out of which 64 were caused by climate change.

The study was the first to calculate the number of premature deaths and it's link to air pollution and warned heatwaves will become more common and more severe in the future.

From June, apart from a brief respite, the UK languished under sustained above average temperatures until the end of August.

Several weather records were broken including the UK's highest recorded temperature 38.5 C (101.3 F) at Faversham in Kent on 10 August and Scotland's highest temperature record with 32.9 C (91.2 F) recorded a day earlier in Greycrook in the Scottish borders.

France was hardest hit and in Paris, the hottest city in Europe, 506 out of 735 summer deaths were due to a heatwave made worse by man-made climate change.

The results were based on climate modelling and should help officials prepare for future heatwaves and protect the elderly who are most at risk.

It found human-induced climate change increased the risk of heat-related deaths in central Paris by around 70 per cent and by 20 per cent in London.

Researchers stressed the findings apply to just the two cities and the numbers affected by climate change across Europe will be higher.

Temperatures in July 2003 were sizzling. This image shows the differences in day time land surface temperatures collected in 2003 compared to two years previously. A heatwave in 2003 killed 506 people in Paris and 315 in London, experts have said in a new study

France was hardest hit and in Paris, the hottest city in Europe, 506 out of 735 summer deaths were due to a heatwave made worse by man-made climate change. A public sign in Paris during the 2003 heatwave that reads: 'If you find a Parisian victim of the heat wave, dial the following number'

THE OZONE LAYER IS HEALING The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic has finally begun to heal after persisting for years. A recent study has recorded an ozone increase in the icy region, suggesting the agreement signed nearly three decades ago to limit the use of substances responsible for ozone depletion, is having a positive effect. As well as creating an identifying ozone increase, its slowing the rate of ozone depletion in the stratosphere - Earth's second major atmospheric layer. Ozone is a gas composed of three oxygen molecules which can be hazardous to our health on the ground, but in the upper atmosphere it protects us by soaking up ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Without it, the planet's surface would be exposed to dangerous levels of UV-B rays which can shred DNA, leading to mutations that cause cancers. Advertisement

'It is often difficult to understand the implications of a planet that is one degree warmer than preindustrial levels in the global average, but we are now at the stage where we can identify the cost to our health of man-made global warming,' Dr Daniel Mitchell, from Oxford's Environmental Change Institute said.

'This research reveals that in two cities alone hundreds of deaths can be attributed to much higher temperatures resulting from human-induced climate change.'

The study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters looked at the three months June to August.

It warned no heatwave on record has ever had such a widespread effect on human health, as experienced during those months of 2003.

Previous studies have attributed changes in heatwave frequency and severity to human-caused climate change, or demonstrated the effect of extreme heat on human mortality.

But the study was the first to attribute the number of premature deaths to climate change during extreme heat waves.

Previous studies have attributed changes in heatwave frequency and severity to human-caused climate change, or demonstrated the effect of extreme heat on human mortality. But the study was the first to attribute the number of premature deaths to climate change during extreme heat waves

Co-author Dr Chris Huntingford, of Oxford's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, added: 'Traditionally, climate research has linked increasing levels of greenhouses gases simply to trends in weather, such as generally higher day-to-day temperatures.

'However, linking the impact of burning of fossil fuels right through to health implications enables much better planning to prepare for any further climatic changes.'

'By starkly showing we can measure the toll in human lives that climate change is already taking through worsening extreme heat, this study shines a spotlight on our responsibilities as a society for limiting further damage,' said co-author Dr Peter Frumhoff of the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, US.

The hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic has finally begun to heal after persisting for years. A new study has recorded an ozone increase in the icy region, suggesting the agreement signed nearly three decades ago to limit the use of substances responsible for ozone depletion, is having a positive effect
Apple has released the first public test version of iOS 10 and Sierra, its new MacOS software.

The iOS update brings a new look complete with a radical overhaul of the messages app offering new animations and emoji, while Sierra brings Siri to the Mac for the first time.

The products, available as free updates, were announced at Apple's WWDC event in September.

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The iOS update brings a new look complete with a radical overhaul of the messages app offering new animations and emoji, while Sierra brings Siri to the Mac for the first time.

HOW TO GET THE BETA SOFTWARE To sign up for Apple's beta program, simply visit the beta site. Once signed up, users can download the latest software to their machines. Advertisement

The firm then revealed new versions of its key software for its phone, tablet, watch and Mac products alongside new AI features and opening up Siri to third party apps in a bid to rival Facebook, Google and Amazon's smart assistants.

'We offer four incredible platforms that let you access these incredible experiences,' said Cook.

Craig Federighi of Apple revealed iOS 10, which he said was the 'biggest ever overhaul' of the firm's iPhone and iPad software.

The software has been redesigned to include new smart notifications the use the iPhone 6S's 3D touch.

They can include live status updates for apps such as Uber.

Voicemails will also be automatically transcribed into text, and a new feature will warn if an incoming call could be spam.

The messages app also now include a new emoji prediction feature, along with the ability to include handwriting and video previews.

It including new bubble effects including invisible ink and the ability to change text sizes. Developers will also be able to create their own effects with Message apps.

Apple has also overhauled Siri, which receives 2 billion requests a week.

To sign up for Apple's beta program, simply visit the beta site .

The final version of iOs 10 is expected to launch in September along new iPhones

SIRI GETS SMART PRIVACY Apple is making Siri smarter by using what Apple calls differential privacy. Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy explains it as Apple using non-personal information in aggregate to teach Siri new tricks, then having all the personalization take place on the individual device. It's in contrast to Google's approach of doing everything over the internet - that is, in the 'cloud.' Advertisement

Developers will be able to access to app, allowing it to send messages in other apps, for instance.

Siri will also be utilised in the firm's new smart keyboard to try and understand what the user wants to type.

It can learn what a user wants and make suggestions for replies.

It can also access a user's calender and fill in information in other apps such as calender.

Analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research says the changes announced in San Francisco on Monday should make Siri 'substantially more useful and effective as an assistant and keep it competitive with alternatives from Google, Amazon and others.'

Apple's AI will also be used in a new Photo app to recognise people in pictures on the handset, and even identify objects and scenes.

'We can do 11 billion calculations on a pictures,' boasted Federighi.

The new Messages app can look at text and find words that could be turned into an emoji

It can automatically put the right emoji in- and help people choose one if they aren't sure

The new app has a memories section, which brings together pictures and video from trips in one place.

It can even put them together to automatically create AI movies of holidays

A new smart emoji Keyboard can scour text and suggest emoji to use. Messages can also now use special effects (right)

Maps has also been redesign to take on Google with smart suggestions based on a user's location or calender, with a new navigation app.

Eddy Cue revealed a new version of Apple's music app.

The firm has completely redesigned its software to make it easier to use.

It has been completely redesigned 'from the ground up' said Cue.

'It has a beautiful new design - the music is the hero.'

Messages can now include handwriting effects, which even show the force of ink on the page.

Messages can include images and links, and invisible ink

It includes new daily playlists,

Developers will also be able to use Maps for the first time.

Cue also revealed a new News app, which now has 2,000 publishers on board.

Users will also be able to subscribe to magazines and newspapers, and the app will show breaking news notifications.

Eddy Cue, Apple senior vice president of internet software and services, reveals an entirely new version of Apple Music.

iOS 10 also includes new smart notifications, along with links and images in Messages (right)

Federighi also unveiled a new version of HomeKit, which allows people to control home appliances from their handset.

A new Home app will allow people to control their lights, blinds, locks and other smart appliances from a single app.

It will use the Apple TV as a home hub, allowing people to remotely access their devices.

A new Home app will allow people to control their lights, blinds, locks and other smart appliances from a single app.

The new AI features will be done on the device, to avoid privacy concerns.

iOS 10 will be available in the fall, with a beta version set for the summer, he revealed.

The firm also unveiled a new version of its watch software.

'I'm really excited,' said Apple's Kevin Lynch.

'In WatchOS 3 your apps are available instantly.'

The firm has come under for for the slow loading time of apps - which will now be held in memory for almost instant access, Lynch said.

The firm also overhauled the Watch's navigation, using the side button to reveal apps and swiping up for control center - like iOS.

It can also recognise handwriting with a new 'scribble' feature.

Tim Cook opened the WWDC conference with a moment's silence for Orlando, before revealing new software for the firm's four main product lines.

He also revealed a new Minnie Mouse watch face, along with a new activity watch face to allow people to easily see their activity.

Jay Blahnik of Apple revealed a new Watch app allowing people to share their activity and compete against friends, even sending them messages.

He also unveiled a new app called Breathe, designed to help people deal with stress.

It walks users through deep breathing exercises.

It also revealed support for wheelchair users, allowing them to track their activity, and an emergency feature to call 911 with a single press.

Apple's Eddy Cue unveiled new software for Apple TV, including apps from Sling and ESPN.

The firm has also overhauled its iPhone remote app which has the same touchscreen as the firm's dedicated remote.

Apple showed off a range of new faces for its Watch, including new fitness faces.

People can share their activity and compete against friends, even sending them messages

Siri also allows people to simply say what live channel they want to watch.

Analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research says the changes announced in San Francisco on Monday should make Siri 'substantially more useful and effective as an assistant and keep it competitive with alternatives from Google, Amazon and others.'

Craig Federighi of Apple revealed the firm's Mac software will now called macOS rather than OSX.

It will also include Siri for the first time.

The latest version, to be called macOS Sierra, will include new features to allow users to move between phones and laptops more easily.

Users will also be able to automatically unlock their mac using their Apple Watch.

The latest version, to be called macOS Sierra, will include new features to allow users to move between phones and laptops more easily.

MacOS now includes Siri for the first time.

The new software will also optimise disc space, putting files into Apple's iCloud when not needed.

It also revealed Apple Pay is coming to the web, allowing people to pay online

Artificial intelligence, and Apple's wisecracking digital assistant Siri, could play a big role.

The firm is set to make a raft of announcements at its annual WWDC event at San Francisco's Bill Graham auditorium later today, including new software for iPhones, iPads and its Watch.

AI is emerging as a major new tech battleground, one where Apple may have some ground to make up.

Siri made a big splash when it debuted five years ago.

But as other tech giants jockey to build intelligent 'chat bots' and voice-controlled home systems capable of more challenging artificial-intelligence feats, Siri at times no longer seems cutting edge.

The main question is whether it will be enough to keep up with rivals like Amazon, Google, Facebook and others who are racing to create digital services that consumers will find indispensable for shopping, chatting, controlling other appliances and simply getting through their daily lives.

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, Monday, June 13, 2016, in San Francisco.

The firm is set to make a raft of announcements at its annual WWDC event at San Francisco's Bill Graham auditorium later today, including new software for iPhones, iPads and its Watch.

'Google Now has kind of eaten their lunch,' said Chris Monberg, co-founder of Boomtrain, a startup that makes artificial intelligence software used by online retailers.

Monberg argues that Google's proactive digital assistant provides more useful reminders, recommendations and tips on local weather or traffic, largely because it reads his email and other data from his Android phone and crunches it with sophisticated algorithms on Google's powerful servers.

The firm is set to make a raft of announcements at its annual WWDC event in San Francisco later today. Apple's Siri made a big splash when the wisecracking digital assistant debuted in 2011 and is expected to get a major overhaul.

Amazon's Echo home speaker likewise has its fans; it recognizes informal voice commands and can order flowers, pizza or a ride to the airport.

Facebook, Google and Microsoft are also working to incorporate intelligent 'bots' into the voice- and text-messaging services that people use to chat with their friends.

In some respects, Siri remains plenty competitive, at least so long as you stick with Apple's other services.

If an iPhone owner uses Google's Gmail, for instance, Apple's software may not scan those emails for useful information.

But Jan Dawson, a tech analyst at Jackdaw Research, notes that Siri can volunteer helpful reminders from the Apple calendar, offer suggestions based on a user's location, or search for images stored in Apple's photo app.

HOW THE STREAMING SERVICES COMPARE Service Cost Apple Music Apple Music costs $9.99 a month or $14.99 for a family plan (up to six family members) - both with a three-month free trial Tidal $9.95-a-month for standard sound quality and $19.99-a-month for 'lossless high fidelity sound quality' (9.99 and 19.99 in the UK)



Spotify Free level with adverts, Premium $9.99-a-month service (9.99 in the UK) SoundCloud Go $9.99-a-month in the US, 9.99 in the UK and 9.99 in Ireland Beats Music $9.99-a-month or $99 per year Pandora $4.99-a-month for Pandora's ad-free internet radio service Deezer Free with adverts, $9.99-a-month for Premium+ (9.99 in the UK) Rdio Free with adverts, Rdio Unlimited costs $9.99 (9.99 in the UK) and US users can also get Rdio Select for $3.99 a month with limited downloads

Apple, however, has been largely unwilling to pry too deeply into your personal information.

And some experts say that puts it at a disadvantage compared to Google, which has compiled vast quantities of data  about both individual users and consumer trends  from its search engine, Gmail, maps and other well-liked online services. (Many of those Google services remain popular on the iPhone, despite Apple's best efforts to replace them.)

With AI, 'systems get much better the more they know about the user,' said Alan Black, an expert in voice-enabled technology at Carnegie Mellon University.

Apple collects plenty of data from its users, but hasn't 'focused on connecting all the dots,' said Raj Singh, co-founder of Tempo AI, an artificial intelligence startup acquired by Salesforce.com last year.

Google, of course, makes money from advertising that's keyed to individual interests.

Mario Queiroz showed off the new Google speaker, called Google Home, that will be released later this year.

The Amazon Tap (left) is a portable version of the 9.25-inch Echo that sells for $130, while the $90 Echo Dot (right) can be plugged into any speaker. at are designed to amplify the role that its voice-controlled assistant Alexa plays in people's homes and lives. They will now complete

Apple, which makes most of its money from iPhones, says its software respects customer privacy by working with an individual's data on the iPhone or iPad, while anonymizing information that's uploaded to its servers.

'We don't mine your email, your photos, or your contacts in the cloud to learn things about you,' Apple VP Craig Federighi said at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference last year.

'We honestly just don't want to know.'

Apple declined comment on plans for Siri. Last fall, however, Apple acquired a startup that makes AI software specifically for mobile devices, and another that helps computers carry on extensive voice conversations.

And tech news sites have reported Apple may loosen its restrictions on Siri's ability to work directly with other companies' software.

That could enable Siri to book a restaurant reservation on command, or order a ride from a car service, rather than show a link to an app like Open Table or Uber and requiring the user to do the rest.

Experts say the quality of Apple's software and online services is increasingly critical to maintaining its popularity with consumers.

Services like Siri, Apple Music and Apple Pay add significant value to the iPhone and other Apple devices, Dawson said.
A fleet of drones could soon send M&M-sized peanut butter-flavoured treats raining down on the Montana grasslands, in efforts to save North Americas endangered black-footed ferrets.

The plan offers an unusual ray of hope for these rare predators, administering baited plague vaccines across a 1,200 acre habitat to preserve their main food source  prairie dogs.

Outbreaks of sylvatic plague have wiped out prairie dogs by the masses, reducing their numbers by more than 95 percent, and thus killing off the ferrets who depend on them for survival.

A fleet of drones could soon send M&M-sized peanut butter-flavoured treats raining down on the Montana grasslands, to save the endangered black-footed ferrets. The plan aims to administer baited plague vaccines across a 1,200 acre habitat to preserve their main food source  prairie dogs

THE PROPOSED PLAN Black-footed ferrets rely on prairie dogs for survival, but outbreaks of sylvatic plague have wiped out their prey by the masses. Conservationists have proposed a yet-to-be designed drone that could shoot M&M-sized peanut-butter flavoured vaccines throughout the prairie. The drones would administer three baits at a time, at intervals of 30 feet. Using a drone with a GPS-controlled trigger could deliver a much greater payload than human efforts alone are capable of. According to the USFWS, 'some 200 acres per hour could be treated by a single operator with the use of drones. Advertisement

Despite intensive conservation efforts, just 300 ferrets were known to live in the wild at the end of last year, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Black-footed ferrets rely almost exclusively on prairie dogs, hunting them for food and taking shelter in their burrows.

But, the flea-borne sylvatic plague has diminished their prey.

For just one year, a female ferret and her litter require 100 acres of prairie dogs to survive, Wired reports, meaning as many as 12 families should be able to flourish at the 1,200 acre UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Montana.

Conservationists have worked for more than 20 years to reintroduce ferrets to sites across North America, all the way from Mexico to Canada, including efforts at UL Bend.

Still, USFW biologist Randy Matchett tells Wired that there were just seven ferrets at the park last month, and said its a good year if it takes more than two hands to count them all.

Researchers have now proposed a drone-delivered vaccine to treat the prairie dogs, which would dispense three baits at a time.

These vaccines must be dropped at intervals of 30 feet and spread uniformly so they are not all consumed by a single greedy prairie dog, the biologist tells Wired.

Black-footed ferrets, pictured left, rely almost exclusively on prairie dogs, on right, hunting them for food and taking shelter in their burrows. But, the flea-borne sylvatic plague has diminished their prey

The team must administer 350,000 doses by August, and doing so by hand would be extremely time-consuming.

But, using a drone with a GPS-controlled trigger could deliver a much greater payload, and if the equipment can be developed to deposit 3 SPV doses simultaneously every second, as we envision is possible, some 200 acres per hour could be treated by a single operator, the USFWS explains.

Incorporating an automatic reloader and a payload of 5,000 doses could bring this rate up to 400 acres an hour.

In the past, researchers have attempted to use pesticides to kill off fleas in prairie dog burrows, but the pests quickly develop resistance, and this method is both labour-intensive and can be harmful to wildlife.

The team must administer 350,000 doses by August, and doing so by hand would be extremely time-consuming. But, using a drone with a GPS-controlled trigger could deliver a much greater payload, and some 200 acres per hour could be treated by a single operator, the USFWS explains. A stock image is shown

PROTECTING THE BLACK-FOOTED FERRETS Black-footed ferret populations have severely dwindled in the last century, as illustrated above According to the US Geological Survey, black-footed ferrets once thrived across mid-continent North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Over the last century, their numbers have dwindled, causing them to be presumed extinct on more than one occasion. Their last known range has now been limited to a small region in Wyoming. Conservationists have worked hard to reintroduce these populations into the wild, spanning the US, Mexico, and Canada, but the outbreaks of sylvatic plague threaten their survival. This flea-borne plague has wiped out more than 95 percent of the prairie dog population, which ferrets rely on for food and for shelter in their burrows. Advertisement

So a few years ago, scientists developed the prairie dog vaccine, delivered orally through peanut-butter flavoured bait  and field tests have shown the prairie dogs love the treat.

Using vaccine-laden bait provides effective immunity against plague that would allow treatment of more prairie dogs, with less labor and expense than dusting, the US Geological Survey explains.

Better protection of prairie dogs would minimize the risk of disease transfer to ferrets, aid in prairie dog conservation and protect public health. Developing effective vaccines for ferrets and prairie dogs will enhance recovery of the endangered black-footed ferrets.
Deep within Earth, researchers have discovered two massive blob-like structures, each roughly 100 times taller than Mount Everest.

The continent-sized blobs sit on top of Earths core, 1,800 miles below the surface, and are now thought to be made of a different material than that which comprises the rest of the mantle.

Researchers say these bizarre structures could shed light on how our planet was formed, and help to explain the mechanisms that drive volcanic eruptions and even plate tectonics.

Deep within Earth, researchers have discovered two massive blob-like structures, each roughly 100 times taller than Mount Everest. The continent-sized blobs sit on top of Earths core and are now thought to be made of a different material than that which comprises the rest of the mantle

THE MYSTERIOUS BLOBS Researchers say these blobs could be made of different material than the rest of the mantle. It's been thought that they are warmer than average, and earthquake waves within Earth reveal seismic waves travel slowly in the area. New data shows they appear to be denser than the surrounding mantle materials. The study suggests they contain materials pushed down by plate tectonics, and may even be made of remnants from Earths formation 4.5 billion years ago. Advertisement

The findings of Arizona State University scientists are described in a paper published last month in the journal Nature Geoscience.

These blobs are placed on opposite sides of the planet, with one below the Pacific Ocean, and one beneath the Atlantic.

Also known as thermochemical piles, its long been thought that these blobs are made up of mantle materials, though warmer than average.

This is the result of upward movement from the slow churning of hot mantle rock, similar to a lava lamp.

But, researchers now argue that they may be chemically distinct as well.

The new study suggests the blobs contain materials pushed down by plate tectonics, and may even be made of remnants from Earths formation 4.5 billion years ago.

While the origin and composition of the blobs are yet unknown, we suspect they hold important clues as to how Earth was formed and how it works today, said Edward Garnero, of the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University.

Waves from earthquakes deep within Earth show that seismic waves travel slowly through these blobs.

Researchers say these bizarre structures could shed light on how our planet was formed, and help to explain the mechanisms that drive volcanic eruptions and even plate tectonics. A numerical convection experiment shows blobs in green, surrounding mantle rock in blue

Its thought that the mantle material that surrounds them are made up of cooler rocks, from the downward movement of tectonic plates.

The researchers say there is still much to learn, but new data shows they appear to be denser than the surrounding mantle materials.

Along with this, they are dynamically stable and long-lived, being shaped by the mantles flow.

As research continues on the region, the team predicts the mysterious origins will soon be revealed.

If a neuroscientist found an unknown structure in the human brain, the whole community of brain scientists, from psychologists to surgeons, would actively pursue understanding its role in the function of the whole system, Garnero said.
Once touted as a 'mini-Manhattan', Croydon surely never saw this one coming.

The London borough, which is the birthplace of model Kate Moss, joins the ranks of the Lake District and the White Cliffs of Dover to have its 'beauty' celebrated by the National Trust.

The organisation has announced that it will be offering rambling and routemaster tours of the concrete jungle as part of its 'contemporary heritage' program.

Croydon-born Kate Moss and Tracey Emin should be happy to hear their hometown's architecture is being celebrated by the National Trust

Luna House will be feted on the Croydon ramble as an example of Edge City's Brutalist architecture

Though it's better known for protecting the Peak District and preserving the coasts of Norfolk, the National Trust has taken a special interest in the Brutalist architecture of this corner of London.

Known as Edge City, it has a remarkable amount of sixties office blocks and concrete buildings, which have recently become fashionable after years of criticism.

Joseph Watson, London creative director of the National Trust told the Evening Standard that this is the first time a borough has been recognised by the organisation and that they were particularly interested in how the area's buildings were seen when built as a 'vision of the future'.

Fairfield Hall once hosted top pop acts like The Beatles and The Who and is about to undergo a two-year-long restoration

'It's such an interesting place, which has been described as a mini-Manhattan and Alphaville,' he said before adding: 'Many Croydonians have so such pride in their home, but it is also known as a "c*** town" and frequently featuring in lists of the worst places to live.'

Watson added: 'Love it or loathe it, it is indisputable that Croydon stands for a post-war ambition that few other places can match. Its irrepressible spirit is what we seek to uncover  and how that can be harnessed so that the best of the past, present and future can be combined to create places in which we can all share pride.'

The first 90 minute tour will start this coming Saturday, July 9, and run throughout the rest of the month.

No1 Croydon, which will be the first stop on the tour, is known as the 50p building because of its hexagonal shape

The ramble will pass No1 Croydon, which gets its nickname as the '50p' building from its hexagonal shape, Lunar House in Wellesley Road and go behind-the-scenes of Fairfield Hall where The Beatles and The Who appeared.

Visitors will get exclusive access to its stage, dressing rooms and royal box before the building shuts for two years for a restoration-led refurbishment.

There will also be film screenings on top of a multi-story car park of footage of the town in the 1960s.

John Grindrod, author of the best-selling Concretopia and a Croydonian himself, said: 'There are millions of people like me in Britain, who dont recognise the village green, country cottage or Georgian square as the epitome of our nation, but whose identities have instead been moulded by "concrete monstrosities" or "bad planning"  or rather, the post-war optimism that sought to build a better future.'

Cllr Timothy Godfrey, Croydon Council Cabinet Member for Culture, said: 'For those of us born and bred in Croydon, we know the optimism and opportunity of the place, its ability to re-invent itself and be welcoming to those who have moved here in each of its growth stages.

'Croydon is once again changing and we are delighted to be celebrating its mix of architecture from key design periods  from medieval to Georgian or Victorian to our better known and much loved examples that used revolutionary concrete in the 1960s to deliver stunning buildings of commerce and culture.'
She has recently admitted that she had to move overseas to pursue her acting career due to a lack of ethnic roles available on Australian TV.

And Taiwanese-born Australian star Grace Huang thanks Independence Day: Resurgence directors, writers and producers for choosing a culturally diverse cast to feature in the flick.

'The movie they have created has a big Asian element to it,' the 33-year-old The Star ambassador said to the Daily Mail Australia on Friday.

Kudos: The Star Ambassador Grace Huang has praised Independence Day: Resurgence directors and writers for a diverse cast

'Hopefully there are more movies that will infuse more Asian elements to the story interest or at least have a more global story and therefore there will be more chances of a diverse cast to be working on these big productions.'

Grace played an engineer based on the Chinese space station alongside Liam Hemsworth in the follow-up to the 1996 hit, Independence Day.

She said she was 'excited' to be involved in the film that boasted a star-studded line-up which included Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Maika Monroe.

'I was really excited because a lot of the original cast stayed on even though it was 20 years later,' she said.

Starring role: The 33-year-old plays an engineer based on the Chinese space station alongside Liam Hemsworth in the follow-up to the 1996 hit, Independence Day

Not long enough: Grace admitted she didn't have the opportunity to engage in a substantial conversation with Liam while working on Independence Day: Resurgence

'I was so humble and so amazed that I could be a part of this...It is rare to be a part of a production at such a scale.'

While working on the film, Grace admitted she didn't have the opportunity to engage in a substantial conversation with her fellow Aussie actor.

She said as soon as she and Liam were dressed in costume, they were in character.

'We were both mic'd up because when you get on set you are dressed up. You know you get into character and you get mic'd up. So you are ready for when they are ready to film,' Grace said.

'He had his microphone on and I had my microphone and that meant at least 30 people were listening in at any point in time which is the director, the producer, the writers and anybody that is watching the screen pretty much.

'I was so humble and so amazed that I could be a part of this': Grace said her role in the film was a career maker

Two of three brothers: In Infini, she acted with Luke - the oldest of three Hemsworth brothers

'It was quite cordial. We were very well behaved when we saw each other. It was like, "Hey how are you?".'

But this isn't the only Hemsworth the stage stunner has worked alongside.

In the movie Infini, she acted with Luke - the oldest of three Hemsworth brothers.

Meanwhile, Grace is best known for her role as the Gemini Female in the martial arts hit film, The Man with the Iron Fists.

Among her movie credits are Love In Space and vampire movie Bloodtraffick for which she netted a Best Actress award for her role as Ava Chen.

She has also fronted a TV advert for shampoo brand Vidal Sassoon in which she is seen flicking her thick black mane around.

Confessions: Grace has recently admitted that she had to move overseas to pursue her acting career due to a lack of ethnic roles available on Australian TV




When she's not on screen, The Last Tycoon star is known to keep her wardrobe casual.

And on Wednesday Lily Collins did just that as she stepped out looking safari chic for errands in Beverly Hills. The 27-year-old actress dressed her slender physique in a white T-shirt and army green Sanctuary trousers on the relaxed outing.

The beauty also had on an acid-washed denim shirt that looked like it time traveled from the 1980s.

Casual chick: Lily Collins stepped out looking safari chic for errands in Beverly Hills on Wednesday

Lily layered a denim button up - which she left open - over a slim fit tank showing off her flat tummy.

The white camisole featured a lace embroidered neckline and was tucked into a pair of olive-colored cargo pants which were held up by a tan woven belt.

Lily's trousers were cropped and rolled up above her ankles revealing a chic pair of nude leather strap sandals.

Her matching metallic manicure and pedicure were on display during her casual afternoon out.

Lily's look: The 27-year-old actress dressed her slender physique in a white T-shirt and army green Sanctuary trousers on the relaxed outing

Busy beauty: Lily teamed her laid back look with tan sandals and shielded herself from the sunny summer day with a pair of black over-sized shades. The star is in the midst of filming the science fiction film Okja with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton

She minimally accessorized with just a gold watch on her left wrist.

Lily styled her short red-dyed tresses tousled with a deep side part. The beauty opted for a face full of make-up: her flawless complexion featured rosy cheeks while she applied a gloss to her lips. Lily shielding herself from the sunny summer day with a pair of black over-sized sunglasses.

Meanwhile, the busy actress will appear in the Warren Beatty written and directed movie Rules Don't Apply - set to be released on November 11.

The daughter of musician Phil Collins will also star alongside Keanu Reeves in the 2017 drama To The Bone.

Currently, Lily is in the midst of filming the science fiction film Okja with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton.

Ta's pretty cool: The actress showed off a tattoo on her back
Rapper 50 Cent turned 41 on Wednesday but the Get Rich Or Die Tryin' rapper had more than just his birthday to celebrate.

A judge in Connecticut has signed off on a proposed settlement that will see him emerge from bankruptcy.

Under the arrangement, 50 Cent - whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III - will pay $6 million to a woman he mocked in a sex tape and $17.5 million to investors in Sleek Audio, a failed headphones venture.

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Still living the high life: 50 cent celebrated getting out of bankruptcy on Wednesday by sharing this photo of himself with a helicopter, and writing on his Instagram: 'Oh now I remember where I put that money'

However, the rapper seemed to thumb his nose at the legal agreement, posting photos on his Instagram of himself with a helicopter.

Alongside one image, writing: 'Oh now I remember where I put that money.'

50 Cent had filed for bankruptcy protection last year soon after losing a lawsuit brought by Lavonia Leviston, the ex-girlfriend of his rival Rock Ross, over a video he narrated and shared online showing her in sex acts.

'Broke': The rapper filed for bankruptcy protection after losing a sex tape lawsuit and the failure of a headphones business venture. He appeared to thumb his nose at proceedings with cash-filled postings like this one on social media

Publicity hungry: 'Still got a little pocket money,' he bragged as he waved around wads of cash

In the settlement, the rapper said he was putting forward $7.4 million to his creditors immediately in cash.

He said he would raise the rest of the money he owed by selling his Connecticut mansion that was once owned by boxer Mike Tyson.

When he filed for bankruptcy protection, 50 Cent had told the court that his lavish lifestyle was all a show and that he even borrowed expensive jewelry that he returned after wearing it in public.
Tully Smyth has called for an end to bullying after witnessing fellow reality star, Sam Frost, breakdown on Twitter.

The 2013 Big Brother contestant was left 'with a heavy heart' after reaching out to the 2DayFM host earlier this week, following a troubling tweet.

'I was more than a little concerned. I felt sick. After reaching out to Sam, both publicly and privately, I went to bed with a heavy heart,' she wrote in a blog post for Mamamia on Wednesday.

Taking a stand: Tully Smyth called for an end to bullying on Wednesday after witnessing fellow reality star, Sam Frost, breakdown on Twitter

'When will this bulls**t end?'

On Monday, Sam, 26, described feeling 'broken' on Twitter after being subject to a torrent of abuse from online trolls and Tully, 28, said it needs to stop.

'... I'm talking about the universal issue of online trolling the 'bullying' of 2016,' the Sydney blogger wrote.

Broken: Tully, 28, felt compelled to reach out Sam, 26, after the Bachelorette star became overwhelmed by online abuse

Struggling: Sam, who found love with Sasha Mielczarek last year, is said to be fragile after being subject to vicious taunts

'Nobody is exempt and this s**t has GOT to stop.'

Tully shared that she too has been targeted by trolls, who she referred to as 'bitter little people sitting behind their computer screens,' since appearing on the now cancelled Channel Nine show.

Among the abusive comments that she has received are death threats, which she said are not only aimed at her but also those around her.

Strong: Tully shared that she too has been targeted by trolls, who she referred to as 'bitter little people sitting behind their computer screens,' since appearing on the now cancelled Channel Nine show

'Sent to my blog message inbox: 'You should probably go top yourself now. You're going to die alone anyway. You do my fucking head in, I can't stand you. Please shut up,'' she wrote.

The model became one of the most controversial housemates on Big Brother Australia after viewers watched her cheat on her then girlfriend Tahlia Farrant with fellow housemate Anthony "Drew" Drew.

Outraged viewers took to social media to slam the travel blogger and Tully said that some social media users just don't realise the toll that their comments take.

Garnering criticism: The model became one of the most hated housemates on Big Brother Australia after viewers watched her cheat on her then girlfriend Tahlia Farrant with fellow housemate Anthony "Drew" Drew.

'... I'd like to think that I'd grown thicker skin But what really hurts, what really makes these kinds of comments penetrate through that barrier and infiltrate your brain, poisoning your self-confidence are those comments that play on your self-doubt,' she wrote.

She called on social media users to think before they post.

'Whether you're tweeting Taylor Swift or Jess from school your words matter,' she wrote.

Tully's blog post comes two days after Sam became overwhelmed on Twitter.

'To the fake accounts heavily trolling me online & into my personal life. If you wanted to break me.. Congratulations you have won. #broken,' she tweeted.

The Channel Ten star is said to be fragile after being subject to weight jibes in addition to her being stressed out in general.

Staying positive: The Sydney blogger called on social media users to think before they post
There have been rumours they're headed to a wedding chapel.

But on Wednesday model Christie Brinkley revealed to People that she has no plans to wed rock star John Mellencamp.

The 62-year-old blonde bombshell said: 'We're just trying to enjoy each other and try not to put too much pressure on it.'

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No issues: There have been rumours they're headed to a wedding chapel. But on Wednesday model Christie Brinkley revealed to People she has no plans to wed rock star John Mellencamp; here they are seen in May

The SI vet also said: 'You never really know what's going to happen. John and I are two people that have very full lives.'

And they also live in different cities. While she is in Manhattan, he is in Daufuskie, South Carolina.

She also relayed that he asked for her phone number after a brief meeting in 2015 and she was flattered.

Long distance lovers: The SI vet also said: 'You never really know what's going to happen. John and I are two people that have very full lives.' And they also live in different cities. While she is in Manhattan, he is in Daufuskie, South Carolina

'It's always nice to hear that someone is interested,' she told the magazine.

After a date she thought they were very different, and pegged him as a 'silent cowboy.' But then she got to know him better and found out they had 'shared interests.'

One of them is oil painting. 'I could never paint in front of anybody,' she said. 'You don't want to be judged. But with John I don't have that feeling. It's just great to be side by side.'

And she really enjoyed that they were close in age.

Bye: But while her love life is hot, she is facing some tough changes. Her daughter Sailor, 18, is heading off to college which means she will soon have empty nest syndrome. Her father is Peter Cook. Here they are seen with Alexa and Jack in 2015

'There is something nice about it,' she added.

But while her love life is hot, she is facing some tough changes.

Her daughter Sailor, 18, is heading off to college which means she will soon have empty nest syndrome. Her father is Peter Cook.

Her first love: The looker with singer Billy Joel in 1988 in New York City

'Just talking about my daughter graduating, I get all choked up - and here I go again,' she said. 'You know there's different stages in life. My child-rearing years are over. I have friends going through the empty nest thing., and it has hit some of them pretty hard. But I know we;re a tight-knit family and we'll see each other plenty.'

She also has children Alexa (with Billy Joel) and Jack (also with Cook).

Brinkley's career has been on an upswing.
Nicky Hilton will celebrate her first wedding anniversary with British banking heir James Rothschild on Sunday.

But on Wednesday the 32-year-old pregnant socialite spent the afternoon with her mother, Kathy Hilton, 57, in New York City.

The hotel heiress showed off her baby bump and long bronzed stems in an off-the-shoulder boho chic mini dress by Tolani.

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Great genes! Pregnant Nicky Hilton, 32, and her mom, Kathy Hilton, 57, looked gorgeous as they spent an afternoon together in New York City on Wednesday

The socialites made sure to turn heads as they strolled side-by-side through the Big Apple and made a stop at Ralph Lauren Baby.

Nicky donned a brightly coloured plaid frock that included shades of fuchsia, cherry red, royal blue and lavender.

She carried a shiny purple leather designer handbag and wore strappy tan sandals for her afternoon outing.

Blonde bombshells: The hotel heiresses strolled through the Big Apple in their effortlessly cool ensembles

Boho babe! The mother-to-be- donned a Tolani vintage inspired off-the-shoulder mini dress which showed off her baby bump and long bronzed stems

The fashion designer and mogul wore her silky blonde tresses in relaxed waves, and she kept concealed behind blue mirrored aviator shades.

Nicky rounded out her 1970s-inspired ensemble with a silver chain link necklace and several colourful rings.

Her mom Kathy opted for an all white wardrobe in cropped trousers and loose v-neck blouse which hung just past her waist.

Details: The fashion designer and mogul wore her silky blonde tresses in relaxed waves, and she kept concealed behind blue mirrored aviator shades

The older sister of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards kept shaded behind dark movie star sunglasses.

She carried a Louis Vuitton handbag and stepped out in blue and white floral wedge strappy heels.

Nicky's husband, James was also spotted out and about in Manhattan the same afternoon as he grabbed lunch on the run.

The happy couple wed in a lavish ceremony at the Orangery at Kensington Palace in London on July 10, and it was announced in January they were expecting their first child.
She was described simply as a 24-year-old artist in promos for this year's upcoming season of The Bachelor.

And raven-haired Georgia from Melbourne has now been identified as professional fine art painter Georgia Tripos.

According to her social media accounts, the raven haired beauty graduated from a Fine Arts degree at Monash University in 2014 and has since been self employed as an artist.

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Will she win Richie's heart? Fine art painter Georgia Tripoli, 24, is set to appear on The Bachelor this year as she battles it out to win the attention of Richie Strahan

In 2014, the talented creative unveiled a series of artworks titled 'Untitled' that explored aspects of the female body, including 'lost innocence, 'eroticism' and 'pornographic violence', according to an essay published on the Monash University website.

Georgia, who describes herself as 'a second generation Australian-Greek', recently spoke to the Daily Telegraph this week about her chances with The Bachelor's hunky protagonist Richie.

'Richie should choose me because I think I can keep him on his toes, wouldn't get bored, we would definitely challenge each other', explained Georgia, who is pictured wearing a black lace gown in a promotional picture for the show.

Masterpieces: In 2014, the talented creative unveiled a series of artworks titled 'Untitled'

Look out Richie! The works explored aspects of the female body, including 'lost innocence, 'eroticism' and 'pornographic violence', according to an essay published on the Monash University website

'We both would help each other and support each other. We'd be a good team,' she continued.

Aside from her artistic pursuits, Georgia appears to have worked as a promotional model for a hair salon, as indicated by a social media post shared by the green-eyed stunner.

Georgia will battle it out against 22 other ladies in a bid to win the heart of the show's handsome protagonist Richie Strahan.

Beauty and brains! Aside from her artistic pursuits, Georgia appears to have worked as a promotional model for a hair salon, as indicated by a social media post shared by the green-eyed stunner

Va va voom! Georgia (second from left) is pictured wearing a black lace gown in a promotional picture for the show

During a promo video for the show, oil rig worker Richie revealed that he is looking to date 'someone who loves adventure'.

'I'm a bit of a thrill seeker,' he said, 'I guess I'm looking for someone who loves adventure.'

He also spoke about his perfect girl in a press release from Channel Ten, in which he said: 'Im just looking for a girl thats as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Someone thats incredibly confident and happy with who they are as an individual.'

'Someone thats incredibly caring and has a sense of humour. Im looking for someone that has the same amount of energy that I do, that is high-octane, loves adventure and really wants to live life and not just sit on the sidelines and watch it all go past', he continued.

'I'm a bit of a thrill seeker': During a promo video for the show, oil rig worker Richie revealed that he is looking to date 'someone who loves adventure'

Meet the ladies! The list of 22 women vying for the attention of Richie Strahan on the upcoming fourth season of The Bachelor Australia has been unveiled
She's making a soap star comeback later this month after leaving Home And Away back in 2010.

And Jodi Anasta's debut on rival show Neighbours, will come with a seriously sultry and sizzling twist.

In the first promotional clip released featuring the 31-year-old mother-of-one, Jodi is seen seducing Travis Burns' character Tyler Brennan, and even stripping off to reveal her lingerie.

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Sizzling: Jodi Anasta's debut on Home And Away will be very steamy to say the least, as the brunette actress strips down to her lingerie in the new promotional trailer

The clip opens with the younger residents of Ramsay Street getting ready for the local high school formal.

Mavournee Hazel's character Piper is seen dressed to impress, wearing a black cut-out dress teamed with a bold purple wig.

She no doubt impresses her beau Tyler, but just as the pair are ready to go to the formal, her mother Terese informs the pair they will not be going to the event together.

Setting the scene: The clip opens with Travis Burns' character Tyler Brennan (L) ready to attend the school formal with his girlfriend Piper Willis, played by Marvournee Hazel (R)

Taking a different turn: When Piper's mother forbids the young couple from attending the school event together, Tyler is seen enjoying time with newcomer Elly Conway, played by Jodi

Very comfortable: At one stage Jodi's school teacher character Elly is seen tugging on Tyler's tie

And it looks like this is only the start of disappointments for young Piper.

Viewers are then treated to new footage, showing Tyler enjoying the company of Jodi Anasta's new character, teacher Elly Conway at the local pub.

The pair are seen exchanging in friendly conversation, before Elly reaches out and tugs on Tyler's sleek tie.

It's at this moment that Piper arrives on the scene, and needless to say, she's not happy with what's happening right before her eyes.

Busted: It's at this moment that Piper arrives on the scene, and needless to say, she's not happy with what's happening right before her eyes

Not looking good: 'Get your hands off my boyfriend,' she demands, angrily pouring a red-coloured beverage over the school teacher

'Get your hands off my boyfriend,' she demands, angrily pouring a red-coloured beverage over the school teacher.

The final scene shown to fans in the teaser, reveals Jodi's character Elly doing her best to dry off after the incident.

With no hesitation whatsoever, she is seen taking her buttoned white blouse off, to reveal her sexy black bra.

The aftermath: The final scene shown to fans in the teaser, reveals Jodi's character Elly doing her best to dry off after the incident

Flaunting it: With no hesitation whatsoever, she is seen taking her buttoned white blouse off, to reveal her sexy black bra

Seduction: 'Night cap? Your place?' she casually asks the younger character, before the clip comes to a close and leaves viewers wanting more

Tyler has his suit jacket ready to drape over the brunette beauty, though his eyes seem to be fixated on the stunning newcomer's physique.

She puts the blazer on before putting forward a suggestive proposition.

'Night cap? Your place?' she casually asks the younger character, before the clip comes to a close and leaves viewers wanting more.

The promotional video reveals Jodi will be making her debut on the Channel Eleven soap on Monday July 18, her soap gig coming six years after she left Home And Away.

During her time on the rival Channel Seven drama, Jodi played fan favourite, Martha MacKenzie.

She's done it before: Jodi has previously stripped down to her lingerie during her stint on Home And Away, pictured in a scene with co-star Axle Whitehead

Sultry siren: During her earlier days on the show, Jodi's Home And Away character Martha MacKenzie caused quite a stir when a scene showing her pole dancing was screened on television
They've been virtually inseparable since their romance was made public just weeks ago.

And after a momentous Fourth of July spent at her mansion in Rhode Island, Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston were on the move again on Wednesday.

The couple, now officially dubbed Hiddleswift, were pictured in Taylor's Toyota SUV on their way to the airport, no doubt still recovering from the epic party she threw for all her closest pals over the weekend.

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Fun's over - for now! Taylor Swift and boyfriend Tom Hiddleston were spotted leaving Rhode Island on Wednesday after their Fourth of July celebrations

The 26-year-old songstress looked lost in thought as she sat in the passenger seat next to the 35-year-old Avengers star.

She appeared to be sporting a pretty checked dress and went makeup-free, with her blonde hair un-styled.

While Taylor looked quiet and a little bleary-eyed, her British beau seemed to be chatting away as he sat in the driver's seat chauffeuring his lady love.

The handsome actor was seen in a dark jacket and a pair of spectacles.

There's no doubt the couple had a fun-packed weekend as the Bad Blood hitmaker transformed her Westerly, Rhode Island mansion into the ultimate party paradise on Monday to celebrate Independence Day.

At the controls: Taylor, 26, was chauffeured by her beau in a white Toyota SUV as they headed to the airport from her beach house

She set up a ping pong table, an outdoor bar, a grill and a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, surrounded by chairs that look out over the beach below.

A huge red, white and blue inflatable slide was installed next to her swimming pool for all her celeb pals to hurl themselves down during the festivities.

Taylor pulled out all the stops for the bash which was attended by the likes of Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, Ruby Rose and Uzo Aduba.

Where to next? The couple spent a loved-up weekend with other couples and numerous celebrity pals at Taylor's mansion in Westerly, Rhode Island

By your side: Tom and Taylor have been virtually inseparable since their romance was made public on June 15

It was a milestone event for during the party Taylor and Tom were snapped in their first romantic Instagram together.

They were joined by two other couples in the snap; Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and Taylor's close childhood best friend Britany Maack and her husband Benjamin LaManna.

It wasn't long before the internet responded to the lovefest with various memes, several of which were making fun of Ryan's apparently despondent expression in the photo.

Inseparable: The songstress looked to be lost in thought as the Avengers star chatted or perhaps was singing beside her

Jetting off: The 35-year-old actor was pictured boarding a private jet with Taylor just behind him

Tom and Taylor were also seen putting on an affectionate display on the beach below her $17.75million Rhode Island mansion on Sunday.

It's believed to be the same beach where they were first spotted kissing on June 15, just two weeks after the pop star split from Scottish DJ Calvin Harris.

Since then, the couple have met each other's families and enjoyed romantic trips to Rome, the UK and Nashville.

Couplesfest: Hiddleswift were pictured in their first romantic Instagram together over the weekend as they posed with pals Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively along with Taylor's childhood best friend Britany Maack and her husband Benjamin LaManna

Taylor, 26, pulled out all the stops to transform her home into the ultimate party pad for pals including Gigi Hadid and Cara Delevingne
She has a vast collection of very expensive Hermes handbags.

And now PR maven Roxy Jacenko has added to the collection once more.

The 36-year-old, who is still adjusting to life after her husband Oliver Curtis was sentenced to two years jail last month, showed off what appeared to be a new navy Birkin bag in one of her signature elevator selfies on Thursday.

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'New navy': Roxy Jacenko took to Instagram on Thursday dressed head-to-toe in pricey designer threads with another Hermes Birkin slung over her arm

She simply captioned the post: 'new navy'.

Sporting a casually chic look, Roxy donned a navy blazer by Balmain, which retails for around $3300, layered over a Ralph Lauren T-shirt and jeans.

The mother-of-two held onto what is believed to be her new Hermes Birkin bag in a navy blue hue, a new addition to her thriving collection.

Birkin bags can retail for up to AUD $17,659 for the size 40, it is unknown which size Roxy has.

In her other hand she flashed her keys, which were decorated with a Louis Vuitton fluffy bag charm that cost upward of $1,000.

Another one: Earlier this year she added an incredibly unique crocodile skin Birkin to her growing collection during a trip overseas which Hermes later revealed the luxury handbag has an estimated value of $84,350

Designer bags: The successful business woman is not shy about flaunting her love for Hermes Birkin Bags

Earlier this year, Roxy added an incredibly unique crocodile skin Birkin to her growing collection during a trip overseas.

Hermes later revealed the luxury handbag has an estimated value of $84,350.

'I Dreamed of adding this to my @hermes collection.... And then, made it a reality,' she captioned the picture of her precious designer bag perched neatly on her forearm.

At the time Roxy told the Daily Mail Australia the new designer tote was the 'best of my collection without question as its very rare.'

So many designs: She continually shows off her designs which range from green to orange, black to mustard yellow

Growing collection: At the time'of pruchasing her precious crocodile bag Roxy told the Daily Mail Australia the new designer tote was the 'best of my collection without question as its very rare

Ready to go: PR maven Roxy Jacenko made her way into work at her Sweaty Betty offices on Monday in her activewear looking casually chic

Her penchant for designer accessories and clothing also stems as far as her casual clothing, and earlier this week she was dressed in her activewear for what was no doubt a busy day at the office.

The mother of two showcased her trim figure in Lorna Jane leggings that average around $100 and a black Theron NYC jumper - which costs $340.00 full price.

She held up her mobile phone with her The Daily Edited phone case and clutched paper in her spare hand and keys with a Louis Vuitton fluffy bag charm that cost upward of $1,000.

Posing with her aviator shades and wearing light make-up, Roxy captioned the shot: 'Casual Monday's (sic),' adding a love heart emoticon.

Glamour girl: Roxy showcased her expensive taste when she took to Instagram on Saturday with an image of herself posing inside an elevator wearing an outfit thought to be worth more than $5,000

It comes after she posed for another elevator selfie, clad in a Scanlan Theodore coat (worth $1,800), Goyard handbag (worth over $3,000), Ray-Ban sunglasses (worth over $200) and The Daily Edited phone case (worth $49.45).

The Australian PR guru has been putting on a brave front, especially for the sake of her young children, since her husband was sentenced to two years behind bars several weeks ago.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, the doting mother-of-two shared a photo of herself in Sydney's beach-side suburb of Bondi, as the entrepreneur spent time with her children.

'What a team !!! @huntercurtis14 @pixiecurtis (sic),' the blonde beauty captioned the outdoor snap.

Family first: Roxy has been putting on a brave face - no doubt for the sake of her children Pixie, four, and son Hunter, one - posing up for a cute family snap on Instagram

Roxy's husband Oliver was jailed for two years after a lengthy trial in Sydney where he was found guilty of conspiring to commit insider trading in 2007 and 2008.

Roxy was by his side throughout court proceedings, arriving at court on her husband's arm dressed in a parade of designer outfits.

Loving wife: Roxy was by the side of her husband throughout court proceedings, arriving at court on her husband's arm dressed in a parade of designer outfits

Dedication: She returned to work after her husband's sentence was handed down last month

Before his sentence was handed down, she pleaded with the court not to jail him, giving an emotional character reference in which she described him as their children's 'primary carer'.

'Pixie and Hunter adore their dad. He's fun, tolerant, uncomplaining and loving. They screech with excitement as soon as they see him and no one else matters to them  not even me.

'Because of my work hours, I would describe Oli as the primary carer of Pixie and Hunter.

'Oli is a kind, considerate and reliable man. I have no doubt that he will never be involved in anything like this again,' she said.

Support: Roxy was by his side throughout court proceedings acting as a pillar of support
He plays a street smart ex-prisoner on Home And Away.

And last week, George Mason took time out from filming scenes to enjoy a surf at Sydney's Palm beach.

The long-haired hunk hit the sand while clad in black and purple board shorts as he made his way into the cold water.

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Skills: George Mason took time out from filming scenes for Home And Away to enjoy a surf at Sydney's Palm beach on June 28

With a white surfboard tucked under his arm, the New Zealand actor looked anxious to hit the waves.

At one point, the 25-year-old, who plays Martin 'Ash' Ashford on the Aussie soap, showcased his skills while balancing his bodyweight above the water.

The channel seven star looked relaxed and confident as he crouched while hitting each wave.

Talent: The 25-year-old, who plays Martin 'Ash' Ashford on the Aussie soap, showcased his skills while balancing his bodyweight atop the water

Surf's up: The channel seven star looked relaxed and confident as he crouched while hitting each wave

In his element: The long-haired hunk donned black and purple board shorts in the cold water

George rose to stardom in 2011 while starring on the long-running Kiwi soap, Shortland Street.

He made his Summer Bay debut three years later in 2014, earning him international stardom and he previously described his fame status as 'incredible.'

'I didn't realise how many people watched this show,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

Fun day: With a white surfboard tucked under his arm, the New Zealand actor looked anxious to hit the waves

Relaxed: He sported a slight tan while walking in the sand

'When I am down at Palm Beach filming there are girls from Norway, Ireland, Scotland, it is incredible.'

He described his character as being 'chilled' and someone who doesn't take life 'too seriously.'

'Ash is a very chilled bloke. He plays up like a second-hand lawnmower but it's all in good fun,' he said.

'I don't think he takes life too seriously but when it comes to family he definitely wants somewhere to belong ... he definitely has a good heart, but he hasn't had your standard upbringing, so he is definitely not a good boy.'

Working: George was at Palm beach to film scenes for upcoming episodes
The evolution of his famously voluminous hair has been well documented.

And Richard Wilkins appeared to have taken his tresses to a new level when he sported an extremely tall hairstyle on the set of Today Extra on Thursday.

The 61-year-old Channel Nine presenter, who is known to be constantly vigilant about the shape of his full hair, appeared to have subverted the laws of gravity in order to achieve the lofty look.

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Sky's the limit! Richard Wilkin, 61, appeared to have taken his tresses to a new level when he sported an extremely tall hairstyle on the set of Today Extra on Thursday

The flamboyant media personality matched his hairstyle with a sleek black suit, white shirt and an oxblood-hued tie.

The Today Show also brought the public's attention to his fabled mane by Tweeting an image of Richard interviewing Jessie J during Thursday's program, captioned simply with: 'Who wore it better, @RichardWilkins or @JessieJ ?'

The decision would indeed be a difficult one to make, as both celebrities sported a similarly coiffed head of hair during the interview.

A hairy situation! The Channel Nine presenter, who is known to be constantly vigilant about the shape of his full hair, appeared to have subverted the laws of gravity in order to achieve the lofty look

'Who wore it better?' The Today Show also brought the public's attention to his fabled mane by Tweeting an image of Richard interviewing Jessie J during Thursday's program

Richard's son Christian recently divulged some of his father's hair secrets in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, admitting that: 'Dad and I go through about 15 cans of hairspray a week'.

'I always say that I test my dad's longevity in the industry to his hair so I'm just trying to keep the hair as well, and see if it works for me', he explained.

'Thankfully because dad works at Channel Nine and so do I, we're good friends with the hair and makeup girls,'

Chip off the old block! Richard's son Christian recently divulged some of his father's hair secrets in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, admitting that: 'Dad and I go through about 15 cans of hairspray a week'

'They always give me tips on good shampoo and conditioner, that's sort of all I use,' he continued.

'When it comes to getting ready I sometimes get a bit bored with it so it's always either in a topknot or pushed back and out.'

Over the years Richard has been famed for his statement hairdos, managing to always sport a full head of hair, looking fresh and well maintained.

From golden highlights, to spiky textures and different parts, he has showcased a multitude of looks to keep his hair game strong through each phase of his career.

Secret to his success: 'I always say that I test my dad's longevity in the industry to his hair so I'm just trying to keep the hair as well, and see if it works for me', Christian explained

Evolution: Over the years Richard has been famed for his statement hairdos, managing to always sport a full head of hair, looking fresh and well maintained (pictured left in the 1990s)
He is one of the most characteristic gents in Hollywood.

So its hardly surprising all eyes were on Chris Pine on Thursday afternoon, as the America star continued with his promotional duties for new movie Star Trek Beyond in Sydney.

Posing in front of the iconic Opera House, the 35-year-old cut a handsome figure in a tailored dark red suit as he joined his co-stars John Cho, Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban.

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Suits you! Chris Pine put on dapper display as he continued with his promotional duties for new movie Star Trek Beyond in Sydney on Thursday - pictured here with co-stars John Cho, Zachary Quinto, director Justin Lin, and New Zealand actor Karl Urban

He teamed his polished look with a casual, loose-fitted shirt and shiny brown loafers, while sporting a slight trace of facial hair, which roughened up his handsome features.

Also accompanied by director Justin Lin, Chris appeared to be in great and content spirits as he happily posed for pictures

In the highly-anticipated film, the heartthrob plays Kirk alongside Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty.

Bright move: Posing in front of the iconic Opera House, the 35-year-old star cut a handsome figure in a tailored dark red suit

Stellar lineup: In the highly-anticipated film, Chris plays Kirk alongside Zoe Saldana as Uhura, John Cho as Sulu (pictured) and Simon Pegg as Scotty

Star Trek Beyond will premiere at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego on July 20 - it opens in theaters on July 22, a few weeks before the Star Trek franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The first episode of the original Star Trek TV series, The Man Trap, aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.

Since then, the franchise has spawned five TV spinoffs and 10 feature films before the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot, which is now on its third film with the cast set to reprise their roles in Star Trek 4.

Special showing: Star Trek Beyond will premiere at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego on July 20 - it opens in theaters on July 22, a few weeks before the Star Trek franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary

Hot talent: J.J. Abrams, who directed the last two films, is producing the third film in the rebooted franchise - Justin Lin is directing from a script by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung

Meanwhile, Chris - who is in fit shape for the role - recently revealed in a new interview why he didn't bulk up for the part by eating '7,000 calories' a day.

'You've got Thor, you've got Captain America, he told Mens Fitness magazine. These guys are eating 5,000, 7,000 calories, waking up just to eat food, eating 15 meals a day. For your liver, I don't think that's healthy.'

Later adding: 'Before this, I was doing pretty traditional weightlifting. It was so static, so controlled.'
She is the outspoken Australian actress with a penchant for sharing racy images of herself online.

And Cailtin Stasey was up to her old tricks again when she uploaded a snap of herself posing topless with one hand barely covering her nipples.

Obscured behind a wash of kaleidoscopic lights, the brunette 26-year-old is pictured striking a dreamy expression as she leans against a wall with one arm tilted upwards.

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She can't keep her clothes on! Cailtin Stasey, 26, was up to her old tricks again when she uploaded a snap of herself posing topless with one hand barely covering her nipples

It comes days after the former Neighbours star slammed feminist dating app Bumble on Twitter for supposedly suspending her account.

'Lol @bumble_app for claiming to be a "feminist app." My account got suspended because you could see my nipples in my profile photos', the controversial thespian Tweeted.

She followed this up with a second Tweet that read: 'Yo @bumble_app does one of your feminist trouble shooters wanna get at me and lemme know why I'm no longer able to get into my account?'

'My account got suspended': It comes days after the former Neighbours star slammed feminist dating app Bumble on Twitter for supposedly suspending her account

Activist: Caitlin is a proud supporter of the 'Free The Nipple' campaign, an ongoing protest against Instagram's 'no nipple policy' when it comes to women's breasts

Caitlin is a proud supporter of the 'Free The Nipple' campaign, an ongoing protest against Instagram's 'no nipple policy' when it comes to women's breasts.

Over the past few years, she has made a habit of finding unusual ways to obscure her nipples in provocative nude online snaps.

Her latest offering emerged on Sunday when she shared an image of herself posing topless in her kitchen, with her breasts obscured by the word 'girly'.

Stirring controversy: Over the past few years, she has made a habit of finding unusual ways to obscure her nipples in provocative nude online snaps

'I intend to live honestly': Her latest offering emerged on Sunday when she shared an image of herself posing topless in her kitchen, with her breasts obscured by the word 'girly'

Posing with one hand on her hips, Caitlin wrote: 'Ya know, I think what people have gotta start understanding is that the way I choose to live in my own body is not a condemnation of how others choose to live in theirs, nor is it a guideline or a suggestion'.

'I intend to live honestly and to not be burdened by the arbitrary limitations placed upon my gender,' she continued.

Caitlin went on: 'Your tits, however they appear, however they are used, are beautiful, non sexual deposits of fat below your collarbone, either side of your sternum and above your navel.'

Famous face: Caitlin rose to fame after landing the role of Rachel Kinski in hit Australian soap Neighbours
She's captivated audiences with her grace, beauty and charm on her hit Bravo cooking competition show Top Chef.

But Padma Lakshmi explained her hosting and judging duties don't require her skills as a culinary chef - although she's already published two award-winning cookbooks.

'I realized I dont have to be a chef in order to do my job well,' the 45-year-old television model confessed during her photo shoot interview with Haute Living New York magazine.

White hot! Padma Lakshmi showcased her phenomenal figure in a one-shoulder dress as she headed to her Haute Living New York cover release party at Bagatelle with Rolls Royce, Jetsmarter & Louis XII Cognac, in New York City on Wednesday

The Indian-born American beauty made quite an entrance as she hit the red carpet for her cover release party in New York City on Wednesday.

'I have to be the audiences representative,' she explained. 'And have an understanding of food and cuisine because Im interpreting the dishes for the audience at home.'

The former model added: 'I dont need to be a chef who has commanded an army of kitchen staff.'

Candid confession: The Top Chef star explained her hosting and judging duties don't require her skills as a culinary chef in an interview with the magazine

She showcased her phenomenal figure in a tight one-shoulder white dress that included a butterfly sleeve.

Her silky raven locks were styled in curly tendrils and parted down the centre for a dramatic look.

The beauty rounded out her look with royal blue pointed-toe stilettos and several turquoise bangle bracelets.

She added a deep burgundy lip for a pop of colour to her wardrobe and a touch of rosy blush with smokey eye shadow.

Luscious locks: The multi-talented star wore her silky raven tresses styled in curly tendrils and parted down the centre for a dramatic look

The statuesque stunner has hosted the hit reality show since 2006 and is well-known for her Top Chef signature phrase, 'Please pack your knives and go.'

Her popular Bravo show has featured some of the biggest names in the culinary world including Anthony Bourdain, Rocco DiSpirito and Wolfgang Puck.

Padma received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program in 2008.

Details: Padma rounded out her look with royal blue pointed-toe stilettos and several turquoise bangle bracelets

Then in 2010, Top Chef won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.

No doubt it is an exciting time in Padma's life as she released Love, Loss And What We Ate on International Women's Day in March.

It's described as an intimate story of food and family, which details Padma's life story from an immigrant child to a Hollywood life in front of the camera.

Flawless: The author added a deep burgundy lip for a pop of colour to her wardrobe and a touch of rosy blush with smokey eye shadow

Her book chronicles the fierce devotion of the people who shaped her along the way, from her headstrong mother who broke conservative Indian convention to make a life in New York.

The Emmy nominee has already published two cookbooks but the new release is her first personal account.

Easy Exotic - a compilation of international recipes - was awarded Best First Book at the 1999 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards at Versailles.

Her second cookbook - Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet - was released in October 2007.
Sofia Vergara was feeling blue on Wednesday as she engaged in some retail therapy in Beverly Hills, California.

The 43-year-old actress kept it casually chic in a cropped off-the-shoulders short-sleeved baby blue blouse that showed her tummy.

She paired the top with a pair of distressed blue jeans cuffed above her ankles.

Feeling blue: Sofia Vergara donned an all-blue ensemble on Wednesday while shopping in Beverly Hills, California

Sofia kept the color coordination going with her blue open-toed heels.

The Modern Family star also sported a white cap over her long brown hair that flowed onto her shoulders.

Sofia accessorised with turqoise dangling earrings and carried a small tan leather purse.

The actress will celebrate turning age 44 on Sunday.

Birthday soon: The Modern Family star was out shopping ahead of turning age 44 on Sunday

She participated last month in the 18-minute star-studded video that paid tribute to the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida.

Sofia was joined by Lady Gaga, Caitlyn Jenner, Emma Watson, Sarah Paulson, Lea Michele, Melissa Benoist and other stars as they read the name, age and biographical sketh of each shooting victim.

The video was directed by Ned Martel and Ryan Murphy who co-created the hit shows Glee and American Horror Story.

Video tribute: Sofia participated last month in the star-studded video tribute to the 49 victims of the Pulse gay nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida

Sofia and her actor husband Joe Manganiello, 39, celebrated the Fourth Of July on Monday by hosting a barbecue party.

She posted images on social media of Joe on barbecue duty and herself cutting into a patriotic cake.

Sofia and Joe married in November 2015 in Florida.

Barbecue duty: Sofia shared a video on Snapchat on Monday of husband Joe Manganiello at the grill on the Fourth Of July

Later on Thursday, the Modern Family star wore a very appropriate floral dress as she attended a party in honor of florist Jeff Leatham.

And she shared a silly snap of herself making off with some gorgeous floral arrangements after the bash.

'@jeffleatham said I could take some of the table flower arrangements,' she wrote.

Busted! The Modern Family star was dressed perfectly for the occasion in a pretty floral dress

And she teased 'The ones at my wedding were better,' as she posed for a Snapchat beside a towering pink floral arrangement.

Sofia also caught up with reality star Kris Jenner at the party, sharing a photo on Snapchat.

Gorgeous: Sofia joked that her wedding flowers were even more beautiful, as she posed beside a towering purple and pink design
She's been working hard at every opportunity - so it was only right that Vicky Pattison blew off some steam with the same stamina this week.

By Wednesday, the party-hard 28-year-old looked positively burnt out as she arrived for a flight bound for another party island, Ibiza, after a bender in Mallorca, Spain.

With messy tresses and an air of boisterousness, Vicky tried to hide her fatigue with large sunglasses, though it won't have escaped fellow onlookers.

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Ready to go home: Vicky Pattison looked all partied out on Wednesday as she arrived for her homebound flight from a bender in Mallorca, Spain

Giddy Vicky almost lost her shoe walking through departures, and one of her burly all-male entourage was forced to intervene.

The giggly former Geordie Shore star certainly saw the funny side when he chivalrously bent down to her fasten her gladiator sandal.

Keeping her steady as she practically collapsed with amusement, Vicky held her bodyguard's hand while her shoes were fastened.

A quick flick: After her flight Vicky looked keen to add some volume to her locks

Burned-out: Vicky pulled funny faces as she talked to her male companions in an excitable mood

The former Queen of the I'm A Celeb jungle was dressed in one of her holiday frocks, which was worn just off the shoulders in a Bardot style.

Beneath it, she was comfortable in a halterneck bikini; which was seemingly the same swimwear that she'd been wearing for a pool party that afternoon.

Vicky was pictured looking fancy-free in the lace-trim two-piece at a party hosted by the BH Mallorca Hotel.

Ready yet? Teasing her long mane out to add some volume, she showed that she's always prepared for anything life throws at her

Blue dream: Earlier in the day Vicky was spotted making her way to the adults-only resort in a pretty blue and white floral maxi dress

Flight to catch: Vicky and her pals were destined for another party island, Ibiza

Busy bee: She kept in contact with friends the whole time, on her phone

Man down: After Mallorca, Vicky confessed that she was 'done' but still heading back to Ibiza

The Ann Summers number - a brand for which she serves as an ambassador - was perfect for showcasing her slimmed down figure.

The summer party was also attended by TOWIE star Lauren Pope, who dressed more conservatively in a long white beach cover-up.

But Vicky wasn't heading home yet because she was jetting straight over to the White Isle for yet more fun in the sun.

Describing her fatigue on Twitter, she wrote on Thursday: 'Well @BHMallorca pool party with the squad has done me... Back in Ibiza but don't think I've got a decent [night] out left in me #mandown'

A laugh a minute: Vicky was all smiles as she caught her flight out to the Spanish island

Little help: One of Vicky's entourage chivalrously bent down to fasten her shoe at one time

Hilarious: She found the whole situation very amusing and collapsed into giggles

Laugh out loud: The stunner rested on her companion's shoulder as she found her lace up sandals untied

Here to help: Burly male pal Rogan O'Connor was pictured flexing his muscles as he carried her bags, too

Ready to party? The group looked to be in the party spirit already as they boarded their flight

Which gate is it? Vicky was in good form as she prepared to catch her flight
She's splitting her time between thew UK and Majorca, where she's hosting ITV 2's Love Island.

And Caroline Flack, 36, found time to party at the GQ and Warner Music Group summer party at Shoreditch House, London, on Wednesday night.

The former X Factor presenter couldn't be missed as she stepped out in a bright yellow leather jacket.

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Gal pals: Caroline Flack, 36, found time to party at the GQ and Warner Music Group summer party at Shoreditch House, London, on Wednesday night

She teamed the bright item with a sophisticated LBD and a pair of leather sandals, while she carried her essentials in a burgundy over the shoulder bag.

The TV personality looked radiant on the night, with her skin emanating a healthy glow as she posed beside her X Factor pal Rita Ora.

Caroline's piercing blue peepers were decorated with lashings of mascara and plenty of eyeliner, and she coated her lips with a slick of rouge.

A ray of sunshine: The former X Factor presenter couldn't be missed as she stepped out in a bright yellow leather jacket

Partytime: The star left with blonde beauty Laura Whitmore who was typically stylish in a classy print dress with skyscraper stilettos and a bag emblazoned with 'perfect match'

Her brunette tresses were styled in a neat ponytail with her fringe swept to the side and clipped in place.

The star left with blonde beauty Laura Whitmore who was typically stylish in a classy print dress with skyscraper stilettos and a bag emblazoned with 'perfect match'.

Caroline's screen time on this year's series of Love Island has been limited, however a representative for the star spoke to Digital Spy to explain why.

Black and yellow: She teamed the bright item with a black dress and a pair of leather sandals, while she carried her essentials in a burgundy over the shoulder bag

'Last year, we had a weekly live dumping but we changed that this year,' they said. 'Now Caroline's just involved in big, sensational bombshells.

'We got rid of the live vote each week to allow the show to be more flexible. And there's so much drama this year that we wanted to let it play out, rather than forcing something because we've made a rod for our backs by having a weekly live show.'

'She's involved in two really significant things,' the insider teased about the star who recently enjoyed a weekend at muddy Glastonbury. 'Her presence will definitely be felt.'

Time to go: Caroline's piercing blue peepers were decorated with lashings of mascara and plenty of eyeliner, and she coated her lips with a slick of rouge
She's all-American brand Tommy Hilfiger's muse.

And Gigi Hadid proved why she's the inspiration for a chic and flirty new fragrance, as she got cosy with some hunky sailors in new shots from her fragrance campaign for The Girl.

The top model looks sensational in nautical wear as she plays captain to a troop of shipmates in the colourful shoot.

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Aye, Aye captain! Gigi Hadid commands attention in Tommy Hilfiger's campaign for new fragrance The Girl

Gigi, 21, is dressed in a navy jacket with gold detailing for the shoot, showing off her long legs, which are accentuated by heeled boots and ankle socks.

The model takes the spotlight with muscular sailors vying for her attention as she swings playfully on an anchor.

The blonde beauty is also seen getting a kiss on the cheek from one admirer, while she later plays commander, giving orders to her seamen.

Nautical but nice: Gigi, 21, is dressed in a navy jacket with gold detailing for the shoot, showing off her long legs, which are accentuated by heeled boots and ankle socks

A behind the scenes shot shows the rising star of the runway sharing a big hug with Tommy himself, who was inspired by Gigi when creating his latest fragrance.

'Ive known Gigi and her family for years, and it has been amazing to watch her grow into one of the worlds top models and most-followed fashion influencers,' Tommy said in January.

'She is truly the definition of today's "Tommy Girl"  her magnetic personality is bright and always optimistic, and her style is confident, effortless and cool.'

All at sea: The blonde beauty is seen getting a kiss on the cheek from one admirer

Taking charge: The blonde beauty is seen giving orders to some laughing shipmates in one shot

She's the one: The all-American brand's new fragrance is inspired by the 21-year-old model

Gigi opened and closed the designer's Fall 2016 fashion show in New York in February, taking the runway three times in total at the chic event, which featured a huge ship set and other nautical decor.

Gigi will also debut her own capsule collection for Tommy Hilfiger in the autumn, which will include apparel, accessories, eyewear, and shoes.

The top model is in a relationship with ex One Direction star Zayn Malik, with the couple recently reuniting after a brief breakup.

In command: Gigi looks incredible in her nautical ensemble as she she's surrounded by her model men
He has just begun filming Thor 3: Ragnarok on the Gold Coast.

And it seems actor Chris Hemsworth has enjoyed a welcome back to his motherland of the traditional kind.

The film's Kiwi director, Taika Waititi, shared a photo to Facebook on Wednesday of himself and some of the cast, posing with the Yugambeh people and thanking them for their traditional welcome.

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'Let there be life': Thor 3: Ragnarok's Kiwi director, Taika Waititi, (left) shared a photo to Facebook on Wednesday of him, Chris Hemsworth (fourth left) and Mark Ruffalo (right) with the Yugambeh people

In the photo, Taika is standing in a group with two of the film's stars, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, and they are surrounded by four Yugambeh people in traditional dress.

He captioned the photo: 'Day one on THOR: RAGNAROK. So lucky to be blessed with a traditional welcome to country by local custodians of the land, the Yugambeh people.'

He added: 'Even baby Matewa is representing. A coming together of Maori, Aboriginals, and Cosmic Vikings!'

Getting ready: Chris also shared a photo to Instagram last week of himself and the film's director, saying he thinks filming the blockbuster will be 'a lot of fun'

Showing fans around! Chris took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a short video of the lot where Thor 3: Ragnarok is being filmed as he arrived on set for the first time after a training session

He concluded with Maori words: 'Tihei Mauri Ora' meaning 'let there be life'.

Chris, 32, shared a photo to Instagram last week of himself and the film's director, saying he thinks filming the blockbuster will be 'a lot of fun'.

The Melbourne native arrived at the Gold Coast Warner Bros. studios on Wednesday for the first day of filming, wearing slippers, shorts and a hoodie.

The Hollywood star gave his five million followers a quick look around the lot in a short video posted to Instagram on Wednesday, cheekily captioned: 'Where's my hammer?'

'Perks of being Thor': The 32-year-old actor joked with his five million plus fans on social media that he organised a roller coaster for the set, however the Warner Bros. studios is beside the themepark

Having arrived straight after a training session, the muscular star held a protein shake in hand and announced: 'Here we are at the beginning of shooting for Thor 3 at the studios.'

'Got my shake, got my shoes... and as requested, got the roller coaster - it's just some of the perks that come with being Thor,' Chris said with a grin.

Filming began on Sunday but Chris joined the group a few days in.

'Where's my hammer?' The superhero star joked about searching for his character's iconic weapon as he made his way around the set

Hollywood on the Gold Coast: Fans got their first look at Asgard as the sets were being built on the back lot

Taika Waititi posted a photo to Twitter after Day One wrapped, showing empty directors chairs and telling fans: 'Pretty sweet 1st day. Look at all these people who turned up to work.'

Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo who will reprise his role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk was also spotted around Broadbeach on the Gold Coast on Saturday, stopping for selfies with cafe owners and Uber drivers.

The American actor posted a selfie from the set on Friday, which appeared to be taken in the make-up room.

'Pretty sweet 1st day': Director Taika Waititi posted a photo to Twitter after Day One wrapped on Sunday, showing empty directors chairs telling fans things had gone well

Ready to roll! Mark Ruffalo shared a selfie from the make-up room on set at the end of last week and is understood to have begun filming earlier this week

'Hey brothers and sisters, I'm finally on Snapchat taking you on the set of @marvel Thor3 Follow along,' he promoted in the caption.

Fans got their first look at Asgard on the Gold Coast with pictures of the sets being built were seen late last month.

Yet to be seen on-set is Tom Hiddleston who will reprise his role as Thor's evil adopted brother, Loki.

Spotted! The actor, who will reprise his role as Bruce Banner/the Hulk was also spotted around Broadbeach on the Gold Coast on Saturday and happily posed for a photo with his Uber driver

Heading Down Under: Tom Hiddleston will reprise his role as Thor's evil adopted brother, Loki (left) but it's not known when he will make his way to Australia to film his scenes

Still in America: While filming of the blockbuster began on July 4, Tom was celebrating American Independence Day with new girlfriend Taylor Swift (left) and her famous friends Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively (right)

The 35-year-old actor boarded his flight to Australia at LAX on Wednesday with his new girlfriend Taylor Swift, 26.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett will also make her way back home after her recent family move to Hollywood, with the Oscar winner set to play villain Hela.

Jeff Goldblum, fresh from starring with Chris's brother Liam Hemsworth on Independence Day 2: Resurgence, will play eccentric character, Grandmaster.

Still to come: Cate Blanchett will also make her way back home after her recent family move to Hollywood, with the Oscar winner set to play villain Hela

Selma star Tessa Thompson joins the cast as Valkyrie, while Star Trek's Karl Urban will appear as Skurge.

Anthony Hopkins will also arrive in Australia to reprise his role as Thor's father, Odin, ruler of Asgard.

Idris Elba will also fly in to reprise his role as Asgardian sentry, Heimdall.

While there isn't too much known about the plot for the film, it's understood Thor is banned from Asgard by Hela and turns to his fellow Avenger, Hulk, for help on his journey through the cosmos.

Thor: Ragnarok is set for a release date of November 2017.

Another Hemsworth brother: Jeff Goldblum, fresh from starring with Chris's brother Liam Hemsworth on Independence Day 2: Resurgence, will play eccentric character, Grandmaster
After dominating Big Brother's current series with his X-rated antics and subsequently suffering an early eviction, Marco Pierre White Jr appears to be thoroughly enjoying life back in the real world.

The 21-year-old model - whose engagement to Kim Melville-Smith ended after he had sex in the BB house - was spotted leaving London nightclub Bonbonniere with a mystery blonde lady on Tuesday.

After their night out on the town, heavily-tattooed Marco and his pretty companion were seen making their way to a private apartment building together.

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Still popular with the ladies: Marco Pierre White Jr was spotted leaving London nightclub Bonbonniere with a mystery blonde lady on Tuesday

With his highlighted locks styled into a messy bun, Marco opted for a simple all-black ensemble - consisting of a T-shirt and skinny jeans - save for a pair of fashionable grey Yeezy Boost hi-tops.

He displayed his gentlemanly side as he carried both his companion's jackets as they strolled through the streets of the English capital together.

Marco recently revealed in an interview with the Sunday Mirror how his celebrity chef father Marco Pierre White cut him off after a 200,000 drink and drug binge in Ibiza.

Ready to mingle: Marco appeared to be in jovial spirits as he stepped out with his pretty companion

However, with the pair back on good terms, the younger Marco insists he has no intention of quitting his party lifestyle as he believes his famous father, will always help him out.

He told the newspaper: 'He knows cutting me off doesn't stop me. I'm the sort of guy who can walk into a bar without a penny in his pocket and still come out p***ed.'

Marco admitted that his partying days started early and he was drinking alcohol by the age of 12 or 13 before heading into counselling two years later and eventually rehab when he was 16.

Out and about: The 21-year-model has been out on the London social scene since he eviction from Big Brother

The ultimate after-party: The pair were seen making their way into a private apartment building with a bottle

But no matter what his parents did, Marco refused to stop his wild ways, which reached a a head with a three month trip to Ibiza, in which he blew 200,000 on drink and drugs.

During the binge, Marco recalled, police were called after he was kicked out of a hotel, where he was sharing a room with 15 women.

But the group continued their party at another venue before also being thrown out of there.

Marco told the paper: 'The bill for the booze and the damage was massive, and he [Marco Pierre White Snr] found out. He was so angry, worse than ever. He cut off my allowance.'

Having a laugh? Marco said his father found his antics with Laura Carter in the Big Brother house 'hilarious'

Non-stop: Marco split up with his fiancee as a result of having sex with Laura in the Big Brother house

And he confirmed the pair's tumultuous relationship as he revealed that sometimes he and his father do not speak for months at a time if he behaves badly - including when he got his neck tattooed.

However, far from being disgusted with his son's behaviour in Big Brother, Marco said that his father found his antics 'hilarious' and described him as a 'funny boy'.

Talking about their close bond, Marco said: 'He's my best friend  we've been through so much together.

'I've obviously pushed him to the brink sometimes, but he has always been there for me. He's always had my back.'
Having been a Victoria's Secret Angel for five years, Jessica Hart is no stranger to posing in very little.

And the 30-year-old has done just that in a plunging silk bra, while shooting a new campaign for lingerie brand Triumph.

The model took to Instagram on Thursday to share various takes from the shoot, which saw her flaunting her impressive cleavage and pulling a number of playful expressions.

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Playful: Jessica Hart, 30, took to Instagram on Thursday to share various takes from a new lingerie shoot with brand Triumph, which saw her sporting a plunging silk bra and pulling a number of playful expressions

The blonde beauty captioned the shot: 'On set for #triumphlingerie shooting with the awesome @rankinarchive #bts #rankomat #photobooth #findtheone and #ifoundmine.

Jessica donned a soft purple plunging bra that featured an embellished design and thin straps.

Her toned torso, slender arms and delicate decolletage were on display as she flaunted her impressive cleavage on the shoot.

Luxurious: On Tuesday, the Portmans ambassador took to Instagram to share a snap of her decadent holiday suite in London

Looking to be having a ball, the older sister of Ashley Hart sported a number of playful expressions, one with her tongue out and another biting her finger.

The Portmans ambassador swept her signature blonde locks into a topknot and teamed her revealing look with a neutral makeup palette.

Balancing work with play, the Portmans ambassador took to Instagram to share a snap of her luxurious holiday suite in London.

'Home....for the next 4 nights @blakeshotel,' she captioned the shot alongside the hashtag #London.

Leggy: The stunning blonde took to Instagram to share a sweet snap with a dear friend on his wedding day

The leggy blonde just celebrated a friend's wedding as she took to Instagram wearing a vibrant pink mini dress.

'So happy for this one - what an incredible weekend shared with an awesome group of people,' she began the caption.

'Im so happy I was there to celebrate you two. You're a beautiful couple,' the budding entrepreneur added.

She also added in the hashtags #onedown and #andrewandaurelie.

Bright future: The model and budding entrepreneur is enjoying continued success in Australia and abroad

Jessica - who has fronted campaigns for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Sass & Bide and Vionnet - is based in the US, where she lives with her boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III.

Rumours surfaced as early as 2014 that the genetically blessed couple are set to get married.

With no official word yet as to whether nuptials are impending, the pair seem content living a relatively low-key life with each of their busy schedules.

In love: Jessica - who has fronted campaigns for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Sass & Bide and Vionnet - is based in the US, where she lives with her boyfriend, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos III (pictured)
She proved to be every inch the doting girlfriend as she supported actor beau Alexander Skarsgard at The Legend of Tarzan premiere on Tuesday night.

But Alexa Chung was flying solo in another chic ensemble as she attended the Percival Crowdcube campaign launch in London on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old model looked casually stylish as she turned up to support the party, hosted by the investment company.

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Casual-chic: Alexa Chung attended the Crowdcube campaign launch in a bold silk dress on Wednesday

The loose number featured flared t-shirt sleeves and an eye-catching pink and green flower print which flattered the star's slim frame.

Dressing it down with a pair of patent Doc Martin boots and a black scarf, the TV presenter worked effortless elegance as she sauntered out of the event.

Showing off her natural good looks and youthful skin, she went make-up free, wearing her brunette locks loose around her face.

Supporting the event alongside Rick Edwards, the British star nipped out for a cheeky cigarette, smiling at photographers outside the venue.

Understated: The 32-year-old model looked effortlessly elegant as she turned up to support the party, hosted by the investment company

Time for a fag: Supporting the event alongside Rick Edwards, the British star nipped out for a cheeky cigarette

Percival hosted the event to seek investment to take the business to the next level, using the crowd funding platform Crowdcube, to raise 275,000.

Alexa looked incredible on Tuesday night as she turned out to support her actor boyfriend at the premiere of his latest movie, The Legend of Tarzan, at London's Odeon Leicester Square.

The 32-year-old presenter and model looked incredible in a thigh-split gown with a funky, fashionable twist, featuring white collar and cuff detailing and matching embroidery on the front.

She upped the sex appeal thanks to a teardrop shaped cut out at the neck and a seductive slit running up the left leg.

Alexa and Alexander, 39, have been dating since 2015, and the actor recently admitted he is looking forward to becoming a dad in the not too distant future.

Unique: The loose number featured flared t-shirt sleeves and an eye-catching pink and green flower print

Natural: Showing off her good looks and youthful skin, she went make up free, wearing her brunette locks loose around her face

In an interview with this week's OK! magazine, he said: 'I love kids, I want to have kids.

'I come from a very big household and dad has two young boys with his new wife. Growing up, my cousins lived in the same house and there were six of us, so that's what I'm used to.'

When quizzed about what he looks for in a partner, Alexander replied: 'I like women a little aggressive. I don't like someone who takes themselves too seriously.'

But the Swedish heartthrob recently denied reports he is about to marry his model girlfriend during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.

Replying to a caller who said she'd read reports of wedding bells, Alexander said: 'Wow, I hope I'm invited. Wow, thank you.'

'Are you getting married in the next year?' the host prodded. 'Not that I know of,' the actor replied.

Happy couple: Alexa looked incredible on Tuesday night as she turned out to support her actor boyfriend at the premiere of his latest movie, The Legend of Tarzan, at London's Odeon Leicester Square
He's one of Hollywood's most handsome action stars.

And Chris Pine was rocking a slightly different look at the Sydney premiere of his latest film, Star Trek Beyond.

The 35-year-old was spotted on the red carpet of the premiere on Thursday night and his beard was looking more prominent than ever and more grey.

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That's different! Chris Pine was rocking a silver beard at the Sydney Premier of Star Trek Beyond

His caramel-coloured locks were tousled to perfection and his facial hair appeared to be greying.

However, the hunk rocked the beard and looked very suave as he flashed he smile.

The handsome actor opted for a light blue shirt and a double-breasted navy blue suit.

Suave: His caramel-coloured locks were tousled to perfection and his facial hair appeared to be greying

His blue eyes were accentuated by the colour scheme of his outfit, and he appeared to be confident and relaxed as he posed expertly for photos with his Star Trek co-stars on the red carpet.

He stars alongside Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, and Zoe Saldana, who is reprising her role as Uhura in the latest installment of Star Trek.

Also starring in the film is the late Anton Yelchin, who plays Chekov.

Yelchin died on June 19, 2016 after being pinned to the gate of his home in California by his vehicle.

Confident: Chris worked his best angles on the red carpet and flashed his smile for the cameras

Star Trek Beyond will premiere at the Comic-Con convention in San Diego on July 20.

It opens in theaters on July 22, a few weeks before the Star Trek franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary.

The first episode of the original Star Trek TV series, The Man Trap, aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.

Since then, the franchise has spawned five TV spinoffs and 10 feature films before the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot, which is now on its third film with the cast set to reprise their roles in Star Trek 4.

Dapper: The 35-year-old looked smart in a double-breasted suit and a light-blue shirt

Meanwhile, Chris - who is in fit shape for the role - recently revealed in a new interview why he didn't bulk up for the part by eating '7,000 calories' a day.

'You've got Thor, you've got Captain America,' he told Mens Fitness magazine.

'These guys are eating 5,000, 7,000 calories, waking up just to eat food, eating 15 meals a day. For your liver, I don't think that's healthy.'

Later adding: 'Before this, I was doing pretty traditional weightlifting. It was so static, so controlled.'
She rarely gets a foot wrong on the red carpet and on Thursday night Jodi Anasta remained true to form when she lit up the room at a sass & bide show.

The 31-year-old showcased a tight-fitting shoulderless dress which featured a thigh-high split at the launch which celebrated the brand's new collection.

Arriving at the Amante Amore launch, hosted at the Print Room in Sydney's Paddington, the Neighbours actress turned heads in the floor-length gown.

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Stunning: Jodi Anasta, 31, wowed in a shoulderless black gown with thigh-high split at the sass & bide Amante Amore launch in Sydney's Paddington on Thursday

The television personality flaunted her impressively svelte figure in the sass & bide gown that featured a daring side split.

Letting the dress do the talking, Jodi accessorised with black strappy heels and pink bold lip.

She let her shoulder-length brunette tresses fall into tousled waves and kept the rest of her makeup look simple with defined brows and a bronzed complexion.

Details: Letting the dress do the talking, Jodi accessorised with a pair of black strappy heels and pink bold lip

Celebrating sass & bide's new creative director, Therese Rawsthorne, the new collection Amante Amore was also on show.

The brand transformed the Print Room in Paddington into an opulent, eclectic old manor house filled with curiosities, decadent models and an art installation by Adam Laerkerson.

Other celebrities in attendance included Emma Booth and Dami Im.

Chic: She let her shoulder-length brunette tresses fall in tousled waves and kept the rest of her makeup look simple with defined brows and a bronzed complexion

Global: The former partner of Braith Anasta is enjoying continuous success in her career with a debut in soap Neighbours as well as being announced as an ambassador for sportswear giant Puma

Jodi is enjoying continuous success in her career with a debut in soap Neighbours as well as being announced as an ambassador for sportswear giant Puma.

The brunette beauty and television personality Nikki Phillips form the Oceania talent.

Jodi and Nikki join global faces Rihanna and Kylie Jenner for the popular athleisure brand.

Sartorial stripes: Jodi happily posed for pictures with other guests at the star-studded bash. Pictured here with Dami Im (L)
He's one of Hollywood's biggest stars who can afford to enjoy the finer things in life.

And Matt Damon clearly wanted to satisfy his tastebuds at no expense on his flight from Sydney to Seoul on Wednesday, organising catering from Merivale's Sushi-E restaurant, reports The Daily Telegraph.

The actor, 45, arranged for chef Nobuyuki Ura to cater for his private jet flight, after sampling the chef's food at a private dinner during his short stint in Australia.

Cravings! Matt Damon organised for catering on his international flight out of Sydney on Wednesday from Merivale's Sushi-E restaurant

He attended a private dinner at Sushi-E restaurant at the Ivy Penthouse where chef Ura's food clearly impressed.

Also at the dinner were director Ridley Scott and Damon's Jason Bourne co-star Alicia Vikander, who attended with actor boyfriend Michael Fassbender.

The usually low-key actor must have been so taken by the menu at the restaurant to organise such a special catering service.

Mouth watering: He organised catering from Merivale's fine Sushi-E restaurant

Made an impression: The actor attended a private dinner at The Ivy penthouse with director Ridley Scott and Jason Bourne co-star Alicia Vikander

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Chef Ura said that although he didn't get to speak with Damon, 'it was a pleasure to serve him'.

'It was a great opportunity to showcase Sushi-e dishes, and for him to ask for this on his flight to Seoul was quite flattering.

He added graciously: 'When my guests are happy and enjoying my food, I am happy.'

Damon may be able to call the shots on what's on the menu when he's away from home, but speaking to Sunday Night this week, the actor revealed that he's definitely not the boss in his family.

Busy man: The 45-year-old has been in Australia promoting the latest installment in the Bourne franchise, Jason Bourne. Pictured in The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007

The star revealed his four daughters and wife of eleven years control of the reins.

Damon recalled a comical story where his father told him: 'Those girls run you'.

He was quick to bow down and admit: 'That's true,' with a laugh.

He said his father and brother took great joy in comparing him to Jackie Gleason's character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners - a man who was respected in his own home despite being a bus driver - saying Damon was the complete opposite.

His father said to him: 'Everybody thinks you're a big deal, and then you get home and you don't run s***.'

The handsome star has been married to Argentinian-born Luciana Barroso for eleven years, and he is stepfather to Alexia, 17, and father to Isabella, 10, Gia, seven, and Stella, five.

The doting father has been in Australia promoting the latest installment in the Bourne franchise, Jason Bourne.
She's been partying up a storm in Mallorca, heading up a pool party at the BH hotel with Lauren Pope on Wednesday.

And it looked as though Vicky Pattison was all partied out as she headed for dinner at Wellies restaurant in Mallorca with Rogan O'Connor later that day.

The 28-year-old Geordie Shore star held onto Ex On The Beach star Rogan's hand tight, as they arrived at the Mediterranean fine diner.

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Supportive: Vicky Pattison looked all partied out as she headed for dinner at Wellies restaurant in Mallorca holding hands with Rogan O'Connor on Wednesday

Wearing a blue and white bardot off-the-shoulder sun dress, Vicky paired the ankle-length number with tan flat gladiator sandals and covered her face with dark aviator shades.

The British reality star wore her brunette tresses loose, leaning into Dreamboys star Rogan.

At the beginning of the week Vicky referred to Rogan as her bestie on Instagram, making him her man crush Monday.

Taking his lead: The 28-year-old Geordie Shore star held onto Ex On The Beach star Rogan's hand tight, as they arrived at the Mediterranean fine diner

Holding on: Wearing a blue and white bardot off-the-shoulder sun dress, Vicky paired the ankle-length number with tan flat gladiator sandals and covered her face with dark aviator shades

Don't let go: The British reality star wore her brunette tresses loose, leaning into Dreamboys star Rogan

'#MCM timeeeeee.... So happy to be reunited with this amazing human!!! Me and @roguesnaps are tearing up Ibiza this week with @inside.ibiza!! So happy for some bestie timeeee!!!' she wrote adding a heart emoji to the caption.

And on Thursday, having jetted on to Ibiza, Vicky expressed her appreciation for her hunky male companion, sharing a selfie of the twosome.

'I am beyond blessed to have this handsome b***ard in my life!! Me and this beautiful human have had the most amazing week in Ibiza courtesy of @inside.ibiza!! Get following for all your Ibiza needs this summer, or any summer!!!!' she gushed.

'I am beyond blessed to have this handsome b***ard in my life!! Me and this beautiful human have had the most amazing week in Ibiza' Vicky wrote on Thursday

'Really don't know how she puts up with me but feel very blessed that she does' Rogan shared a snap of his bikini model and bodybuilder girlfriend Chloe Francis this week

Meanwhile Rogan shared a snap of his bikini model and bodybuilder girlfriend Chloe Francis this week.

'Really don't know how she puts up with me but feel very blessed that she does', he wrote alongside a snap of the couple kissing.

Following Rogan's meal with Vicky on Wednesday, the group arrived at Mallorca airport for a flight bound for another party island, Ibiza.

Ready to go: Following their dinner on Wednesday Vicky arrived for her flight from Mallorca to Ibiza

A quick flick: After her flight Vicky looked keen to add some volume to her locks

Burned-out: Vicky pulled funny faces as she talked to her male companions in an excitable mood

Ready yet? Teasing her long mane out to add some volume, she showed that she's always prepared for anything life throws at her

Giddy Vicky almost lost her shoe walking through departures, and one of her burly all-male entourage was forced to intervene.

The giggly star certainly saw the funny side when he chivalrously bent down to her fasten her gladiator sandal.

Keeping her steady as she practically collapsed with amusement, Vicky held her bodyguard's hand while her shoes were fastened.

A laugh a minute: Vicky was all smiles as she caught her flight out to the Spanish island

Little help: One of Vicky's entourage chivalrously bent down to fasten her shoe at one time

Hilarious: She found the whole situation very amusing and collapsed into giggles

Beneath her blue ensemble, she wore the same swimwear that she'd been wearing for a pool party earlier that afternoon.

Vicky was pictured looking fancy-free in the lace-trim two-piece at a party hosted by the BH Mallorca Hotel.

The Ann Summers number - a brand for which she serves as an ambassador - was perfect for showcasing her slimmed down figure.

Laugh out loud: The stunner rested on her companion's shoulder as she found her lace up sandals untied

Here to help: Burly male pal Rogan O'Connor was pictured flexing his muscles as he carried her bags, too

Ready to party? The group looked to be in the party spirit already as they boarded their flight

Which gate is it? Vicky was in good form as she prepared to catch her flight

The summer party was also attended by TOWIE star Lauren Pope, who dressed more conservatively in a long white beach cover-up.

But Vicky wasn't heading home yet because she was jetting straight over to the White Isle for yet more fun in the sun.

Describing her fatigue on Twitter, she wrote on Thursday: 'Well @BHMallorca pool party with the squad has done me... Back in Ibiza but don't think I've got a decent [night] out left in me #mandown'
It's claimed that Ben Affleck doesn't want to go ahead with his divorce from Jennifer Garner.

And the former couple seemed to be getting along well on Monday as they put on a united front for the sake of their three children at a Fourth Of July parade.

Which is perhaps why the 43-year-old was in such a cheerful mood when he was spotted out in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

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Keeping busy: Jennifer Garner (L) and Ben Affleck were seen heading to separate meetings in Los Angeles on Thursday

Ben pulled up to a meeting in his muscle car and was seen flashing a smile.

The actor was dressed down for the outing in a green bomber jacket over a khaki T-shirt, jeans and white trainers, and also sported sunglasses.

Jennifer was also spotted heading to a meeting that same day at Nobu in Malibu, California, and chatted on the phone before heading inside.

Grinning: Ben, 43, looked happy as he stepped out of his muscle car, amid claims he doesn't want to go forward with the divorce

The 13 Going On 30 star, 44, was casually clad in a plaid flannel shirt, jeans, grey sandals and oversized shades.

Ben and Jennifer had looked in great spirits two days earlier as they took daughters Violet, 10, and Seraphina, seven, and four-year-old son Samuel to see the Independence Day parade in Pacific Palisades.

Last week marked one year since the two stars shocked the world by announcing they were separating, one day after their tenth wedding anniversary.

Happy families: Ben and Jennifer had put on a united front on Monday as they took children (L-R) Seraphina, seven, Samuel, four, and Violet, 10, to a Fourth Of July parade

But since the break-up neither party has filed divorce papers, and they are still working with a mediator and living in the same house.

According to People, Ben - who was romantically linked to his children's former nanny after the split - does not want to move forward and officially end their marriage.

'They're still figuring things out,' a source close to Jennifer told the publication. 'Ben still doesn't want the divorce and he might actually get his way.'

Jet-setter: Ben was seen landing at London's Heathrow airport on Thursday after jetting in from LA

Dressed down: The A-list actor covered up in a leather bomber jacket and khaki T-shirt

Making an entrance: The star was greeted by a mob of excited fans, all clamoring for an autograph

This comes after Ben referred to Jennifer as his 'wife' in an appearance on HBO's Any Given Wednesday With Bill Simmons last month, during which he also credited her with resurrecting his career.

However Jennifer apparently doesn't share quite the same sentiment, as an insider told People last month that she 'denies that she is back with Ben,' adding: 'She actually almost laughs when asked.'

The source also revealed: 'She seems adamant about going through with [the divorce].'

The following day, Ben was spotted touching down in London. He is thought to be resuming filming for superhero team up film Justice League.

Make way! The Hollywood star kept a low profile as he made his way through the terminal

Crowd pleaser: Ben was happy to pen autographs as he emerged from his flight
The first images of the Porridge reboot have been released.

Comedian Kevin Bishop is seen playing Nigel Fletch Fletcher - the grandson of Ronnie Barkers character Norman Stanley Fletcher in the original 1970s show, set in Wakefield Prison.

The 36-year-old actor bares a striking resemblance to his predecessor as he takes up the part in the iconic show, set to air on BBC in October.

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Behind bars: Comedian Kevin Bishop is seen playing Nigel Fletch Fletcher - the grandson of Ronnie Barkers character Norman Stanley Fletcher in the original 1970s show, set in Wakefield Prison

The new shots show Kevin inside the rebooted set, in which he stands in a modern lock-up in prison getup while surrounded by similarly dressed cast.

Catastrophe star Mark Bonnar will play Officer Meekie in the reboot while The Office actor Ralph Ineson is taking the role of bad boy Richie Weeks, while EastEnders star Dave Hill plays Joe Lotterby.

The original creators and writers, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais have penned the one-off special is set to air this summer on BBC One as part of a groundbreaking sitcom season.

The original ran from 1974 to 1977 and also starred Richard Beckinsale, the late father of Kate Beckinsale, who played Lennie Godber, while Fulton Mackay played officer Mr. Mackay in the show.

Taking over: The 36-year-old actor bares a striking resemblance to his predecessor as he takes up the part in the iconic show, set to air on BBC in October

Like father, like (grand)son: Kevin is taking the role of Ronnie Barker's character Fletch's grandson

According to the BBC, the episode will centre on young Fletch, who has been put behind bars for a white collar crime.

Insiders at the BBC revealed: 'Everyone in Wakefield Prison knows that Fletch is in for cyber-crimes  hes a hacker extraordinaire.

'So when prison hard case Richie Weeks needs someone to hack in and amend his record so he gets parole, Fletch is the man he turns to  and Fletch is in no position to refuse. Richie can get him what he needs to pull it off, Fletch just needs to not mess it up.'

Kevin has also spoken out and insisted the show will be just as funny as the original.

Reboot: The new shots show Kevin inside the rebooted set, in which he stands in a modern prison in prison getup while surrounded by similarly dressed cast

Just as funny: Kevin has also spoken out and insisted the show will be just as funny as the original

Kevin revealed: 'Dick and Ian have brought Porridge back to life again with a brilliant script and it is a genuine honour to be involved in a show that is iconic in so many ways. Ronnie Barkers character was one of the most loved in BBC history and the thought of stepping into his grandsons shoes fills me with both thrills and paralytic fear!'

The popular series will return as a one-off special as part of an anniversary special to mark 60 years since the launch of Hancock's Half Hour.

The anniversary celebrations for the BBC radio comedy, and later television series, which broadcast from 1954 to 1961, will see the return of a host of TV favourites.

White collar crime: According to the BBC, the episode will centre on young Fletch, whos behind bars for a white collar crime
He's been splitting his time between London and Cape Town whilst working on his latest project.

But on Thursday Roland 'The Gunslinger' Deschain was once-again taking his quest to the streets of New York, as Idris Elba continued to film scenes for The Dark Tower in New York city.

The 43-year-old actor looked to be in high spirits as work on Stephen King's fantasy epic got under way, though he soon slipped into his brooding character as the camera's began to roll.

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His happy side: On Thursday Roland 'The Gunslinger' Deschain was once-again taking his quest to the streets of New York, as Idris Elba continued to film scenes for The Dark Tower in New York city

Strolling around set in-between takes, the Luther star appeared to be in very high spirits as he made his way through the streets with a big beaming smile on his face.

It seems that the British star is having a blast on set, as he couldn't resist sharing a luagh with the rest of the cast and crew as they fimed scenes in China Town.

But the smile soon disappeared from his face, as the actor slipped back into camera to film some tense scenes in the famous distrcit in New York,

Dressed in full-costume, Idris sported the now familiar Old West ensemble which he has been seen filming in numerous times.

The darker side of life: The 43-year-old actor looked to be in high spirits as work on Stephen King's fantasy epic got underway, though he soon slipped into his brooding character as the camera's began to roll

It's all fun and games: Strolling around set in-between takes, the Luther star appeared to be in very high spirits as he made his way through the streets with a big beaming smile on his face

Sporting a near-perfect adaptation of Roland's look from the Dark Tower novels, the actor sported grey buckled waistcoat over a white open-neck shirt and red neckerchief.

Teamed with a long, battered and distressed leather duster, Idris also sported faded grey trousers and a leather holster, as well as tan boots.

With his dark hair cropped into a fade, the rugged Pacific Rim actor also had his trademark layer of heavy stubble on his cheeks and jawline.

Giving chase? The star, who plays the gunslinger, appeared to be filming a chase scene through the famous and crowded streets of New York

Rolling as Roland: The actor sported a battered leather duster which billowed out behind him as he ran down the street

Ever the gent: He also wore a grey buckled waistcoat over, white open-neck shirt and red neckerchief

Strut to the saloon: Teamed with a long, battered and distressed leather duster, Idris also sported faded grey trousers and a leather holster, as well as tan boots

Quickdraw McGraw: Idris had Roland's trusty six shooters to hand, as well as a supply of ammo... just in case

Just in case: a bag full of spare barrels chocked with bullets was slung across his back, ready for action

The star, who plays the gunslinger, appeared to be filming a chase scene through the famous and crowded streets of New York.

Possibly pursuing the nefarious Man In Black (Matthew McConaughey), Roland appeared to lose sight of his quarry, and seemed exasperated as his chase slowed to a halt.

However, it would seem that Roland isn't alone in his quest for answers from his foe, as former child star Nicholas Hamilton (in an unknown role), 16, appears to have taken a shine to the Gunslinger.

In hot-pursuit: Possibly pursuing the nefarious Man In Black, Roland appeared to lose sight of his quarry, and seemed exasperated as his chase slowed to a halt

Pensive: As Idris emerged into the sun after visiting a gun shop, the actor paused before the cameras started to role, immersing himself in his character

Found a freind: It would seem that Roland isn't alone in his quest for answers from his foe, as former child star Nicholas Hamilton (in an unknown role), 16, appears to have taken a shine to the Gunslinger

No time for friends: Roaming through the streets together, the duo come to a rest on a porch; and it seems although his young companion is keen to chat and befriend the lone hero, the same can not be said for Roland

Feelin' the heat: Clearly feeling the heat, Idris' brow was mopped by a make-up artist as he received a touch-up in-between scenes

His target? Possibly pursuing the nefarious Man In Black (played by Matthew, pictured), Roland appeared to lose sight of his quarry, and seemed exasperated as his chase slowed to a halt

Roaming through the streets together, the duo come to a rest on a porch; and it seems although his young companion is keen to chat and befriend the lone hero, the same can not be said for Roland.

The first film in The Dark Tower series sees Roland roaming an Old West-like landscape in search of the titular Dark Tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world, whilst also chasing the Man In Black for some answers.

The supernatural fantasy is due to hit cinemas in February 2017, and also Abbey Lee and Jackie Earle Haley.
Lily Collins was recently in Korea.

And while there the 27-year-old actress seems to have bought herself a little gift.

On Thursday the actress modeled a bomber jacket from Los Angeles Project, which is, oddly, a fashion label from Korea. She was on her way to a a gym in West Hollywood when she showed off the number.

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Busy bee! Lily Collins headed to the gym in West Hollywood on Thursday wearing an on-trend jacket

Lily opted for a pair of grey, form-fitting leggings that were decorated with a black pattern on the bottom. She paired it with a white loose tank top that was only partly tucked in.

The designer jacket puffed at the shoulders and featured a red lining along the inside.

The Mirror Mirror actress slipped into a pair of flip flops as she carried a black tote bag over her right shoulder, which most likely carried a pair of gym shoes.

She's on fire! The jacket said Los Angeles Project, which is a clothing line from Korea

Slim pins! The 27-year-old actress wore a white loose tank top that she partly tucked into her grey and black form-fitting leggings

Her short, dyed dark red hair was down by the side of her face and pushed back by large mirrored sunglasses that were black around the rims.

The naturally beautiful starlet showed off her blemish free complexion by choosing to go makeup free.

The Love, Rosie actress looked deep in conversation as she talked on her cellphone all the way to the gym.

Korean chic: The daughter of Phil Collins returned from South Korea filming her latest production, Okja. She sported the Korean fashion brand, LAP, on her black jacket

The daughter of Phil Collins recently returned from filming her latest production, Okja, in South Korea, which also stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Tilda Swinton.

She shared a flashback photo on Instagram last week showing the daring actress getting a tattoo on her back.

Lily captioned the photo: 'No pain, no gain. Battling the needle with @tattooist_doy and @agentof #KrazyinKorea #sillylily #permanentandpriceless #fbf...'

She also posted a snap of her back tattoo, which read 'Love always and forever' with an image of fairy girl seated on a lily pad.

The caption of the photo read: 'Flashing some back for #fbf. A beautiful keepsake from an incredibly memorable Korean adventure. Thank you @Tattooist_doy for adding your artistry to my personal collection.'

Adding: 'Self love is the most important kind. #LoveAlwaysAndForever #lilypadinbloom #KrazyinKorea.'

Daring! Lily posted a flashback to her Instagram of her getting a tattoo on her back last week. She captioned the photo: 'No pain, no gain. Battling the needle with @tattooist_doy and @agentof #KrazyinKorea #sillylily #permanentandpriceless #fbf...'

Lily pad: In reference to her name, the British-born actress got a tattoo that read 'Love Always and Forever' with a image of a girl sitting on a lily pad

The busy actress recently starred in The Last Tycoon, which premiered on Amazon Prime last month.

She also wrapped filming for the Warren Beatty written and directed movie Rules Don't Apply - set to be released on November 11.

Additionally, the British-born beauty will be seen in To the Bone, which she finished filming, starring alongside Keanu Reeves.
She is in the Caribbean partying it up for a gal pal's birthday.

And Kourtney Kardashian certainly seems to be enjoying the time away from her responsibilities.

The 37-year-old reality star took to Snapchat on Thursday to share a video of herself taking shots with birthday girl Larsa Pippen in the Bahamas.

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Partying it up: Kourtney Kardashian took to Snapchat on Thursday to share a video of herself taking shots with birthday girl Larsa Pippen in the Bahamas

Kourtney rocked a gold two-piece bikini as she toasted with her gal pals and two male ones as well.

The person holding the camera could be heard screaming 'Casa Casamigos' repeatedly as it was what they were drinking. The tequila company is owned by George Clooney.

She matched her shiny metallic swimwear with a matching gold bangle as part of the swimsuit featured a large band which wrapped around her neck and down her torso.

Golden girl: The 37-year-old reality star rocked a metallic gold bikini in the short clip

Important details: She matched her shiny metallic swimwear with a matching gold bangle as part of the swimsuit featured a large band which wrapped around her neck and down her torso

Glasses gals: She had her brunette tresses pulled back and sported gold-rimmed aviators over her face which had natural, complimentary make-up on it

She had her brunette tresses pulled back and sported gold-rimmed aviators over her face which had natural, complimentary make-up on it.

Larsa sported a black one-piece bikini featuring cutouts around the hips and a white and pink detailing around the borders.

Earlier in the day Kourtney took to Instagram to share a photo of she, Larsa and model Isabela Rangel laying on their backs as they lifted up their legs with black and blue swimming fins in the air.

Fins up: Earlier in the day Kourtney took to Instagram to share a photo of she, Larsa and model Isabela Rangel laying on their backs as they lifted up their legs with black and blue swimming fins in the air

Swim partners: Kourtney then stood in her fins next to Isabela as they both raised their hands in the air

Celebration: The previous night Kourtney shared a short video of Larsa having the birthday song sung to her before blowing out the candles on a cake

Kourtney took a walk on the wild side in a leopard-patterned two-piece as she cheekily captioned the photo: 'On our backs.'

The eldest sibling of the Kardashian-Jenner clan has done plenty of documentation for the trip as she showed off her fantastic figure in a Snapchat video on Wednesday.

The stunning reality TV star, the proud owner of hard-earned toned curves, donned nothing but a skimpy mismatched bikini for her al fresco beach workout.

Yummy mummy indeed! Kourtney looked super-fit as she took part in an al fresco beach workout during her holiday in the Bahamas on Wednesday

Oh mama! Lunging up the wooden walkway as the sun set around her, the reality star showcased her smooth and very peachy derriere, the bottoms hardly covering her rounded backside at all

She's earned it! The tiny sports bra-shaped top allowed a sneak peek at her relatively modest chest, and the minuscule purple bikini briefs left barely anything to the imagination

Amped up: Kourtney later added several motivational phrases to her Snapchat while she worked out with Larsa, and also showcased an elaborate gold body chain

As well as flaunting her amazing pancake flat abs, the mother-of-three drew attention to her svelte legs, which have clearly benefited from plenty of fitness sessions.

Lunging up the wooden walkway as the sun set around her, Kourtney showcased her smooth and very peachy derriere, the bottoms hardly covering her rounded backside at all.

Kourtney later added several motivational phrases to her Snapchat while she worked out with Larsa, and also showcased an elaborate gold body chain.

Dynamic duo: The two gal pals put up the peace sign as they swam around on the Caribbean island together

All three: Isabela Rangel inserted herself between the two beauties for another open-water snap

Three of a kind: The friends posed for another shot, which Kourtney decided to post on Twitter

Geronimo! Kourtney shared a glimpse into yet another lush getaway on Snapchat on Wednesday, this time a trip to an island in the Bahamas along with longtime buddy Larsa Pippen and model Isabela Rangel

Let's go: Each of the star's peachy backsides were on full display in the slow-motion clip shared with Kardashian's 42 million Instagram followers captioned: 'On a boat'

BFFs: Kourtney held her pals' hands tightly as she jumped off the yacht

Wild child: Kourtney hit the water with a major splash before coming up for air with a beaming smile across her face

Friendly fish: Another Snapchat moment revealed a stingray enjoying some time with the reality star

The Keeping Up diva first teased fans with her locale on Tuesday, posting a sultry Instagram photo with the caption: 'on an island'

Kourtney has been dutifully enjoying the single life as of late, most recently spotted with rumored flame Justin Bieber, 22, at a nightclub in Miami on Sunday night. She split from Disick last year, though the pair have remained amicable in light of parenting their three kids.

Oink oink: The reality star splashed in the sea where feral pigs roam freely

Girl squad: Flanked by a pair of equally as stunning friends, Kourtney's gym-toned physique stole the spotlight in the plunging one-piece that exposed her ample cleavage

Bathing beauties: It seemed Kourntey and Larsa were getting some modeling tips from Isabela in a snap that saw all through showing off their toned gams

Beach vibes: Kourtney also shared a photo as the women donned matching neon pink one piece bathing suits

Think pink! Kourtney's pal Lara also shared a snap of the ladies in matching Summer 16 swimsuits

Jumping for joy: The women appeared to be having a blast during their trip in a photo shared by Isabela
They've been seemingly inseparable since getting together last month.

And Ruby Rose's relationship with Harley Gusman continues to get the nod of approval from their famous friends.

On Friday, another picture of the pair emerged from Taylor Swift's now famous Fourth Of July party, showing the smitten pair mingling with international models Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid.

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Nod of approval: Ruby Rose and her girlfriend Harley Gusman are pictured mingling with Cara Delevingne and Gigi Hadid at Taylor Swift's Fourth of July party on Monday

Sporting slash-print white jeans and matching shoes, Ruby, 30, showcased her trademark androgynous style while wedged between her new flame and Cara.

American model Harley donned a denim blue jacket atop a red mini dress as she rested her head on Ruby's shoulder with Gigi to her left.

'The never ending posts of this love-filled weekend #iaintsorry,' Harley captioned the photo on Instagram.

'Look at this Aussie babe': Australian actress Ruby and her businesswoman girlfriend Harley flaunted their toned figures in swimsuits on Wednesday in another loved-up snap

The pair made their romance official at Taylor's Rhode Island celebration, where they were spotted packing on the PDA.

The Orange Is The New Black star and the skincare entrepreneur were first spotted together in June while on a date at Hollywood sushi restaurant Katsuya.

Their relationship comes seven months after her split from her ex-fiancee Phoebe Dahl, who is the granddaughter of Roald Dahl.

Who is Harley Gusman? Ruby's new flame, who dabbles in modelling, runs an organics hair and skincare business and has a university degree in psychology and creative writing

Over the past four weeks, Ruby and Harley have taken to their respective social media accounts to post loved-up pictures of themselves on various outings.

And it's easy to see why Ruby has fallen head over heels for the nature loving adventurer.

Harley, who is based in Miami, is the co-founder and head of marketing at Truly Organic  a business which sells naturally derived hair and body care products.

Confirmation: Harley and Ruby made their romance official at Taylor's Fourth of July bash after they were spotted packing on the PDA

Over a month ago: It is unknown when the two beauties met, but People magazine first reported the rumoured relationship after they were spotted on a 'date night' at celebrity-favoured haunt, Katsuya, one month earlier

Not just a beauty: Harley, who is based in Miami, is the co-founder and head of marketing at Truly Organic  a business which sells naturally derived hair and body care products

According to her Linkedin account, the 24-year-old has a bachelor degree from the University of Miami with a major in creative writing and a minor in psychology.

She also has five-years of experience in the hospitality industry, as well as expertise in advertising and marketing.

To add to her gleaming credentials, the beauty who is of Irish and Russian decent also has a modelling portfolio which spans from fashion shoots to fronting swimwear and lingerie campaigns.

In an interview with The Hundreds, Harley said she enjoyed having her picture taken.

Beauty with brains: According to her Linkedin account, the 24-year-old has a bachelor degree from the University of Miami with major in creative writing and a minor in psychology

Model credentials: To add to her gleaming resume, the beauty who is of Irish and Russian descent also has a modelling portfolio which spans from fashion shoots to fronting swimwear and lingerie campaigns

'Well, I've always admired women and their shape and their beauty,' she told the publication.

'I think I've learned to love having my picture taken because it's like I gain a new sense of confidence and pride.

'I so support women taking pictures of themselves when they want to feel sexy  whether it's a selfie, a candid, or a posed shot.'

Meanwhile, Harley has taken to Instagram to gush about her new flame.

Professional poser: Harley showed off her curves in a white bikini which boasted a peek-a-boo cut along the front

The party host: Ruby's friend Taylor welcomed the international DJ and her girlfriend Harley into her Rhode Island home

Sharing a snap of the pair flaunting their enviable figures in swimsuits at Taylor Swift's star studded party, Harley wrote: 'Look at this Aussie babe!

'Look at this little pastel cupcake princess retro dolphin Aussie babe,' she added.

In the image, the lovebirds pose with their arms around one another, with Harley resting her head on Ruby's shoulder.

Orange Is The New Black star stands out in a bright blue bathing suit that features cut out detailing on the bust and a print featuring dolphins and a pool.

Harley, meanwhile stuns in a red cut out swimsuit with plunging neckline and high cut briefs. She also has a red bandana around her neck, tied to look like a choker.

It's social media official: Ruby and Harley have also taken to their respective social media accounts to post loved-up pictures of themselves on various outings

Ruby and Harley both appear to be make-up free.

The loved-up post comes after the women confirmed their relationship while at the party, with Harley sharing to Instagram a snap of them kissing.

She simply captioned it: 'Magic.'

Later in the day Ruby also shared a picture of her and Harley cuddling as they soaked up the views of the fireworks at the party.

She captioned it: 'With <3 from us'.
Comedian Miranda Hart has revealed she is suffering from such bad bunions that she has resorted to using a bizarre toe-stretching device.

The 43-year-old, who shot to fame with her BBC sitcom Miranda, said that she now relies on rubber toe separators that cost 36 a pair.

Speaking on Radio 2, she also hinted that she is poised to revive the hit comedy series and that she will probably write jokes about her bunions for it.

Comedian Miranda Hart is using a bizarre toe-stretching device to help her combat bunions

The unlikely conversation about her foot condition was introduced when presenter Chris Evans asked her how funny are you feeling today?

She responded: I feel quite funny because Im currently sitting with my feet up in something called Yogatoes which help my bunions.

She added: [The word] bunions is funny and the fact Im only 43 and Ive got them is funny.

Yogatoes, which have flexible slots for each toe, are designed to ease overworked feet and increase circulation, straighten bent toes, and realign joints.

Experts have backed the product, saying it is a brilliant idea for people suffering from bunions as the cushioning and stretching process can help to calm the joints after being squeezed into shoes.

However, Kaser Nazir, a consultant podiatrist at Guys and St Thomas Hospitals, said that whilst it can help ease pain there is no scientific evidence that it helps realign the joints.

In the 18 months since Miranda was on screen, Miss Hart has been busy focusing on BBC period drama Call The Midwife and Hollywood action film Spy.

Toe stretchers help overworked feet, claiming to improve foot strength, flexibility & appearance

But her Miranda co-star Tom Ellis said in a recent interview that he thought it was time for another series of her eponymous comedy.

It was one of the BBCs biggest comedies for five years, focusing on Mirandas awkwardness in social situations and her hopeless love life.

Yet the finale in 2015, which drew a combined audience of 14million viewers over its two instalments, saw her get married to Ellis character, Gary.

Miss Hart has previously insisted that the sitcom would not return, but told Evans she is now thinking about bringing it back with a focus on the comedy in married life.

She said: Lovely Tom Ellis did an interview and said that he wanted to see Gary and Miranda on the television married and what married life would be and whether they would have kids.

And then he said Miranda is going to kill me as she has to write it now, but funnily enough it did get me thinking it would be nice to see them married and how that pans out and there is lot of comedy in married life.
They're the Sydney bikini bloggers known to flaunt their glamourous lifestyles on Instagram at every opportunity.

And Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman were up to their usual tricks as they enjoyed a summer holiday in the Greek islands this week.

The pair displayed their flawless curves at a luxury resort during their recent trip to party destination Mykonos on Thursday.

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Lovely view! Blogger Natasha Oakley (pictured) flaunted her sun-kissed legs in a plunging white silk playsuit on holiday in the Greek island of Mykonos on Thursday

Natasha enjoyed the hot Mediterranean climate while offering a glimpse of cleavage in a white silk playsuit with a plunging lace-up neckline.

The 25-year-old proudly displayed her bronzed legs while posing for a typically Instagram-ready holiday snap as her blonde hair flicked about in the breeze.

Meanwhile, Devin showed off her pin-up girl frame in a skimpy bikini from her and Devin's own range, Monday Swimwear.

Lovely view! Natasha was joined by her best friend Devin Brugman (pictured), who displayed her busty curves in a skimpy white bikini

The LA beauty put on a busty display in the racy white two-piece, which could barely contain her DD-cup size assets.

She flaunted her perfectly toned tummy and sun-kissed legs in a pair of tie-side bottoms while posing at the Santa Marina resort.

Before their trip to Greece, the busty friends took a brief trip to London to celebrate the launch of Natasha's first Women's Health UK cover.

Holiday lifestyle: Natasha enjoyed the Mediterranean summer in a white silk playsuit with a plunging neckline

Living the dream: Natasha and Devin, both 25, have been enjoying a sunny holiday in the Greek islands

Glamour: Natasha and Devin rose to fame in 2012 after launching their popular fashion blog A Bikini A Day

And previously, Natasha enjoyed a three-week romantic getaway in Italy with her model boyfriend, Gilles Souteyrand.

Devin appeared to be enjoying the single life, meanwhile, as she explored the sights and sounds of her native California.

Natasha and Devin rose to fame in 2012 after launching their popular fashion blog A Bikini A Day.

True love: Last month, Natasha enjoyed a three-week getaway in Italy with her boyfriend, Gilles Souteyrand.

Going solo: Meanwhile, Devin appeared to be enjoying the single life as she explored her native California

The website follows their bikini-clad travels around the world, and has earned the pair millions of followers on Instagram.

They have since released their own swimwear collection, and more recently a gym-wear range, Monday Active.

Earlier this year, Natasha and Devin unveiled their six-week fitness program, Body Love, which combines strength and cardio training.
He shot to fame in the early '90s in John Hughes' iconic Home Alone series.

And while disappeared from the Big Screen to pursue other creative ventures, Macaulay Culkin is the latest Hollywood icon to star in the comparethemarket.com's Meerkat adverts.

Appearing alongside the firm's two famous Meerkat mascots, Alexander and Sergei, the 35-year-old embarks on a road trip - which of course ends with the trio in the cinema.

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Guess who's back! While disappeared from the Big Screen to pursue other creative ventures, Macaulay Culkin is the latest Hollywood icon to star in the comparethemarket.com's Meerkat adverts

Following in the footsteps of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nicole Kidman, Macaulay joins Aleksandr and Sergei in a gag-gilled short.

The short opens with the two meerkats driving across America in a family RV across America together, however, their family holiday is missing one vital component - a child.

But being up-to-date with the news in Tinsel Town, the duo invite the 'hottest Hollywood child actor of the moment,' to spend a fun-filled day out with them.

Family fun! Appearing alongside the firm's two famous Meerkat mascots, Alexander and Sergei, the 35-year-old embarks on a road trip - which of course ends with the trio in the cinema

And with that the Home Alone star turns up, with his long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and sporting a layer of stubble.

Treating a grown-up Macauley to an array of delightful treats, including: face-painting, ice cream and a trip on a rollercoaster at a fun fair, the trio have a blast.

However, it seem there's one last treat left in-store for the star, as Alexandr and Sergei take their charge to the cinema using their 2 for 1 Meerkat Movies tickets.

Kevin! Macauley first shot to fame playing Kevin in the Home Alone films

The latest ad with Macaulay Culkin comes during a period of family blockbuster releases including Finding Dory, Petes Dragon and Ice Age: Collision Course, which are set to hit the big screen in the coming summer months.

The full 40 second advert, featuring Macaulay, Aleksandr and Sergei, will be making its debut on TV screens July 8 on ITV from 7.30pm.

Macauley has been focusing in recent years on his music, playing in a covers band called The Pizza Underground.
Three astronauts blasted off into space today, on a journey that will see them spend four months on the International Space Station .

The astronauts launched from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft.

First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of Nasa and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin.

A Soyuz-FG rocket booster carrying the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft with ISS Expedition 48/49 crew of austronaut Takuya Onishi (Jaxa), cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin (Roscosmos), and astronaut Kathleen Rubins (Nasa) blasts off from a launch pad

WHEN WILL THEY ARRIVE? The astronauts blasted off from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft at around 01:36 GMT. In less than 10 minutes, the rocket carrier Soyuz-FG with manned spacecraft Soyuz MS-01 reached orbit. Once in outer space, the three-man team will take a two-day route to the International Space Station. Advertisement

'And lift-off!' said a commentator on Nasa TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.

The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.

Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.

Nasa's Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.

'I'm incredibly excited about a lot of the biology experiments we're going to be doing,' she said in an interview before launch.

The molecular biologist, accepted into the space program in 2009, will become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission.

Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels

First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of Nasa (left) and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency (right) set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin

The astronauts blasted off from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft at around 01:36 GMT on Thursday

'And lift-off!' said a commentator on Nasa TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan

The three will orbit the earth for around two days before docking. The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle

STATS AND FACTS: THE ISS Construction of the ISS began on 20 November 1998. It supports a crew of up to six, with crews split into groups of three. The station orbits at a height of about 255 miles (410km). It has a total mass of about 990,000 pounds (450,000kg) and has living space roughly equivalent to a five-bedroom house. It completes an orbit of Earth every 92.91 minutes and moves at 17,100 miles (27,600km) per hour. It has now been in space for more than 5,900 days, during which time it has completed more than 92,000 orbits of Earth, and has been continuously occupied for more than 13 years. Advertisement

Takuya Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space.

His journey to the ISS where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland.

Flight Engineer Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012.

The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 17,400 miles per hour (28,000 kilometres per hour) since 1998.

The three will orbit the earth for around two days before docking.

'Rocket is on the launchpad, crew is ready to go!' the NASA Astronauts Twitter handle tweeted prior to the launch.

Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin (Roscosmos), a member of the main crew of ISS Expedition 48/49, in a space suit ahead of the launch of a Soyuz FG rocket carrying the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft

The three astronauts blasted off from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft at around 01:36 GMT

Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year. The molecular biologist, accepted into the space program in 2009, will become the first person to sequence DNA in space

Rubins' launch caps an exciting week for Nasa as the US space agency's unmanned Juno spacecraft entered orbit around distant Jupiter Tuesday after a journey of nearly five years.

Nasa's livestream will starting at 20:30 ET Thursday (01:30 Friday BST).

On Friday to the docking and arrival will start a 23:30 ET (04:30 Saturday BST).

Takuya Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japan's largest commercial airliner is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space. His journey to the ISS where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agency's Kibo program coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland

Flight Engineer, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012
Electricity-starved Gazans turn to sun for help

Nahed Abu Assi's farm has been bombed in each of the three Gaza wars since 2008 and like in the rest of the Palestinian enclave, he receives only a paltry amount of electricity each day.

With his chickens dying and the cost of using generators high, Assi now hopes to do as others have done in Gaza -- if he can find a loan to pay for it: install solar panels.

"The electricity is cut for hours every day," the balding 52-year-old said.

A growing number of Gazans fed up with their erratic electricity supply are turning to solar power in an area where the sun shines for the vast majority of the year Mohammed Abed (AFP)

"You have to connect to generators that cost a lot to fuel and that need regular repairs to keep the lamps and the livestock fans running around the clock."

A growing number of Gazans fed up with their erratic electricity supply are turning to solar power in an area where the sun shines for the vast majority of the year.

Grey and black solar panels are increasingly visible on rooftops.

Stores and adverts promoting such technology have also expanded, and authorities in the enclave running by the Islamist movement Hamas are also turning to solar power.

"Schools, hospitals and public institutions have been equipped with solar panels and other projects have been launched to at least try to partially resolve the electricity crisis," said Raid Abu al-Hajj, head of the solar energy unit in the strip's energy authority.

Some 10,000 homes could soon be equipped with photovoltaic panels.

The option is not cheap. Assi expects to fork out between 4,500 and 5,400 euros ($5,000 to $6,000) for panels, but he says the investment will pay off over time.

Gaza and its population of 1.9 million people has only one electricity plant and it has been damaged by wars with Israel, the most devastating of which was fought in the summer of 2014.

It imports electricity from Israel and Egypt, but those supplies are not nearly enough.

Electricity demand is estimated at 450 megawatts, but only 250 are available: 27 percent from Israel, 22 percent provided by Gaza's own plant and six percent by Egypt.

- Safe alternative -

Israel has maintained a blockade on the Gaza Strip for around a decade, saying its aim is to keep out materials that Hamas could use for military purposes.

But Gazans -- half of whom live below the poverty line -- are now being allowed to import solar panels and prices have gradually come down, Hajj said.

Those taking advantage include Daoud Tarazi, who decided to equip his home and his petrol station with solar panels.

He said it was "no longer possible to work with 18 hours of electricity cuts per day" at his station, he said.

At home, where he receives 12 hours of electricity per day, "food spoils in the refrigerator and electronic equipment always breaks down".

With the panels, his bills have fallen since he no longer has to operate generators.

Beyond that, solar power does not pollute and he no longer has to deal with days without electricity.

"There are only five or six days per year without sun in Gaza," he said.

Solar panels also provide a safer alternative to the dangers of generators and candles, said Mohammed Atallah, a businessman and member of a renewable energy organisation that has installed solar panels for street lights for roads traversing the Gaza Strip.

Health officials say explosions and fires from generators and candles have caused the deaths of 24 people in recent years, most of them children.

But despite the recent spike in interest, solar power remains only a tiny part of the energy mix in the Gaza Strip -- amounting to around three megawatts, said Hajj.

"But within three years, we hope to reach 15 megawatts," he said.

Gaza and its population of 1.9 million people has only one electricity plant and it has been damaged by wars with Israel Mohammed Abed (AFP)
Re-enter the dragon: Hong Kong's movie new wave

Shoot the film you've always wanted on a shoestring budget or sell out and make a blockbuster? It is a dilemma Hong Kong directors frequently face as mainland China's lucrative movie industry beckons.

Now, with concerns growing about Beijing's increasing influence on Hong Kong, some film-makers are defying commercial and political pressures to produce homegrown movies with a local voice -- and inject new life into the city's cinema scene.

Hong Kong once pumped out at least 200 films a year, from Bruce Lee's 1973 "Enter the Dragon" to Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" in 2000, via countless cop and gangster thrillers.

Members of a film crew working with local director Herman Yau (C) listen as he speaks over the microphone to his actors for movie Shock Wave in Hong Kong Anthony Wallace (AFP)

But in the past decade the local industry has slumped and just dozens of films are now produced in Hong Kong annually.

One major factor is the booming Chinese movie sector, offering both experienced directors and recent graduates more money and opportunities.

Yet for some the pendulum now seems to be swinging back, as the desire for freedom of expression outweighs mainland mega-bucks.

"With new films, everyone asks: 'Could it be released in China? Can you cooperate with the Chinese side?' That's how (investors) earn back their money," says Hong Kong director Derek Chiu, 54, who has a string of local feature films under his belt and has worked on the mainland.

He says he has struggled to find backers for his forthcoming drama "Chung Ying Street", which focuses on riots against British colonial rule before leaping to the present-day protest movement.

Chiu says Hong Kong and mainland bodies have rejected his funding applications. A private backer has also pulled out over concerns his investment could impact his business interests in China, he says.

"Maybe if I do 'Chung Ying Street' I cannot work in China. But I will not give up this one," Chiu told AFP.

"I need some creative control and freedom, and China cannot provide that."

- Crowdfunding cash -

Some Hong Kong directors have turned to crowdfunding to raise cash but maintain their independence.

Celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle, a long-term Hong Kong resident best-known for his work with director Wong Kar-wai, used the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform for his most recent politically sensitive project, raising more than $100,000.

"Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled, Preoccupied, Preposterous", released last year, is based on interviews with three generations of Hongkongers. One section is dedicated to mass pro-democracy protests that brought parts of the city to a standstill in 2014.

"You can only say certain things in China, so you're making period dramas and you're making action films, as opposed to more socially relevant films," Doyle tells AFP.

"Here, we have to do the opposite. We have to go smaller budget, we have to be more concerned with the very few freedoms we still have left."

Doyle says the shift from securing mainland funding to prioritising freedom of expression has happened "very quickly", and is the biggest recent shift in Hong Kong cinema.

The critical and commercial success of 2015's locally made "10 Years" -- a series of shorts painting a grim picture of life in Hong Kong in 2025 -- is testament to the mood change.

"I think because of the social and political situation in Hong Kong, directors are more concerned with local topics," said Andrew Choi, one of the film's co-producers.

- Keeping it real -

But despite the new energy in the Hong Kong industry, some say the city's cinematic glory will be hard to recapture in the face of an ascendant China and growing global competition.

"When big names were discovered in the 1980s, the market and the world were less crowded," says Nansun Shi, a veteran Hong Kong producer who oversaw the 2002 hit thriller "Infernal Affairs" and has served on the jury of the Cannes film festival.

She adds that many film-makers will still be drawn to mainland or Chinese co-funded productions for the bigger budgets and greater exposure.

"I think it's just a natural progression that some more experienced directors have gone to China to work," she says.

Still, next-generation film-makers say that keeping a local focus not only symbolises freedom -- it is also simply a better way to engage their audience.

"I'd rather work with limited resources on something I know about," says recent graduate Crosby Yip, 24, between takes on the set of his privately-funded debut rom-com "Diary of First Love".

"If I make films about the place I grew up in, I think the feeling will be more solid and realistic," he adds -- a sentiment echoed by current film students who spoke with AFP.

"This is why I insist on working with Hong Kong themes."

A make-up artist helps prepare an actor before he performs on the set of recent 24-year-old graduate Crosby Yip's privately funded debut rom-com "Diary of First Love" in Hong Kong Anthony Wallace (AFP)
Shock video shows black motorist shot dead by US police

A black motorist was shot at close range by a Minnesota cop and seen bleeding to death in a graphic video shot by his girlfriend that went viral Thursday, the second fatal police shooting to rock America in as many days.

The governor of the northern US state asked the White House to order a federal probe into Wednesday night's shooting in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, as calls mounted for justice for the 32-year-old victim Philando Castile.

A four-year-old girl witnessed the shooting from the back seat of the car, as her mother -- Castile's girlfriend -- livestreamed the bloody aftermath while an officer pointed his gun through the window.

Pastor Patricia Bell (R) of St. Paul, Minnesota, prays with Gabriella Dunn and her children at the scene of the shooting of Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 Joy Powell (AFP)

Speaking to reporters outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul, after a night in police custody, Diamond Reynolds repeated what she asserted in the shock footage: that Castile was shot "for no reason."

"Not one shot. Not two shots. Not three shots. Not four shots. But five shots," she said in a forceful appeal for justice to be served.

Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile informed the officer he was carrying a licensed gun, Reynolds said, and was shot as he reached for his license and registration.

She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands of Castile -- both that he keep his hands in the air and that he identify himself.

"Nothing within his body language said intimidation. Nothing within his body said, 'Shoot me.' Nothing within his language said, 'Kill me I want to be dead."

- 'Cover their butts' -

Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up.

"They're gonna tamper with evidence," she told reporters. "They're gonna do whatever they have to do to cover their butts."

But Governor Mark Dayton pledged to push for a full and independent inquiry by the Department of Justice -- which is already investigating the police shooting of a black man caught on video two days earlier in Louisiana.

"Justice will be served in Minnesota," Dayton said.

America's debate on police use of lethal force, especially against young black men, was set to hit fever pitch as a fourth officer went on trial Thursday in one of the highest-profile such cases of recent years.

Three officers so far have escaped conviction in the case of Freddie Gray, a young black man who died last year in Baltimore after suffering spinal injuries in the back of a police van.

On Tuesday this week, a black father of five, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was pinned to the ground and shot several times at point blank range in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, prompting the launch of a federal civil rights probe.

Shocked family members demanded justice for Castile, a school cafeteria worker, whose mother described him as a law-abiding citizen who kept out of trouble.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile told CNN. "Every day you hear of another black person being shot down, gunned down by the people that are supposed to protect us."

"We're being hunted every day. It's a silent war against African-American people as a whole," Castile said.

- Ten-minute video -

In a 10-minute video with more than three million views after it was streamed live on Facebook, Reynolds -- clearly in shock -- methodically narrates the shooting incident as an officer trains his weapon on her.

In the background, an officer is heard shouting: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hands up."

Reynolds starts wailing as it becomes clear Castile is dying. Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. He was later taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

"They didn't let me see my son's body, at all," Valerie Castile told CNN.

In both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases, the victims had a gun in their possession, though there is no indication they pointed their weapon at police at any time.

In Sterling's case, police said they intervened after an anonymous caller told police they had been threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling's family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a convenience store, with the permission of its owner.

A peaceful crowd of about 100 people kept vigil through the night outside the Baton Rouge store, where a mural has been painted in his honor.

Officials appealed for calm after protesters took to the streets in the aftermath of Tuesday's shooting, and have promised a fully transparent probe led by federal civil rights investigators.

The two officers involved in the Sterling case have been placed on administrative leave.

An editor watches a video on July 7, 2016, showing a woman, identified on her Facebook page as Lavish Reynolds, who livestreamed her boyfriend's dying moments

An editor watches a video showing Philando Castile as he was shot by a police officer in Minnesota

Protesters block traffic near the Triple S Food Mart where Alton Sterling was shot and killed, July 6, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mark Wallheiser (Getty/AFP/File)
Parkridge Health System has named Agnes Richmond, MHS, as director of marketing. Mrs. Richmond, a health care marketer with over 30 years of professional experience, will be developing and implementing the overall Parkridge marketing strategy, directly engaging and managing the marketing team, and translating the companys mission and services as a leading healthcare provider to patients and medical professionals.

Prior to her new role at Parkridge, Mrs. Richmond was a healthcare marketing strategist for True North Custom. Additionally, during her career she has served as chief marketing officer for Hutcheson Medical Center, director of marketing for the Tanner Health System in Georgia, director of development for Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Ga., and director of marketing for Hamilton Health Care System in Dalton, Ga.

Agnes extensive experience and skills will enable her to bring a strategic vision and focus to Parkridge Health System as we share our message of care, Darrell Moore, President and CEO, said. She is results-oriented and highly collaborative, which makes her a strong cultural fit in our organization.

Mrs. Richmond earned a Master of Health Sciences (MHS) degree from Georgia Southern University and her bachelors degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina.

Mrs. Richmond has served in a leadership capacity on numerous boards and professional organizations to include the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Northwest Georgia and the Georgia Hospital Association.

Mrs. Richmond and her husband John Richmond, MD, a nephrologist in Dalton, Ga., where they reside, have three sons and a daughter. In her personal time, she enjoys travel, music, cooking and spending time with her family.
Two years after war, Gaza reconstruction lacking: NGOs

Two years after Gaza's last devastating conflict with Israel, rights groups vented frustration Thursday over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and lack of war crimes prosecutions.

A coalition of leading NGOs urged Israel to lift its blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip, while Amnesty International said it was "indefensible" that no criminal cases had been brought for alleged war crimes.

The July-August 2014 war between Israel and Gaza militants killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes in Gaza.

A Palestinian worker checks a house that was destroyed during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas-led militants in the summer of 2014, east of Gaza City Mohammed Abed (AFP/File)

Reconstruction has been painfully slow, with the United Nations taking over a year to rebuild its first destroyed home.

Israel has maintained a blockade on the enclave, limiting the entry of many goods essential for construction that officials fear could fall into the hands of the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza and be used for another military build-up.

AIDA -- an umbrella body for major international NGOs working in Israel and the Palestinian territories -- said in a report ahead of Friday's anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict that Israel's decade-long blockade was "severely impeding reconstruction and recovery" in Gaza.

"Unless it is lifted, Palestinians living in Gaza will be unable to move on with their lives and live in freedom, dignity and safety," said Chris Eijkemans, country director at British charity Oxfam, a member of AIDA.

The AIDA statement called on "world leaders to live up to their commitments and press for an immediate end to the blockade."

In a separate report, Amnesty International said only three Israeli soldiers have been charged over the war, all for minor offences.

"The fact that no one has been held to account for war crimes that were evidently committed by both sides in the conflict is absolutely indefensible," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa head.

"Two years have passed and it's high time the wheels of justice started turning."

- Fear and misery in Gaza-

In Gaza, although new roads have been constructed, many areas remain desolated and the economy has ground to a standstill.

More than 120,000 homes were at least partly damaged, while around 20,000 were left totally uninhabitable in the war, according to the United Nations.

The Mediterranean enclave's unemployment rate of 45 percent is one of the highest in the world, while child labour has doubled over the past five years, according to Palestinian estimates.

Sohad al-Masry, a 40-year-old housewife, lost her home in the war, in which her cousin was killed.

"I don't like to remember but I am sad," she told AFP. "They have not rebuilt the destroyed houses, the siege and closure (continue), and there is unemployment."

Fears of another conflict with Israel, which would be the fourth since 2008, have grown in recent months after Israeli forces uncovered two Hamas "attack" tunnels allegedly reaching across the border.

After a brief flare-up in May, leaders on both sides have talked of being ready for another conflict.

"I am very worried a fourth war is coming. The occupation is threatening war on Hamas's tunnels," said Mohammed Abu Daqa, 26, who works in a government school.

He called on Hamas to reconcile with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, to whip up global support for lifting the siege of Gaza.

"But unfortunately Hamas and Fatah are not ready for a reconciliation," he said.
Three killed in new Bangladesh attack at start of Eid

Suspected Islamists carrying bombs and machetes launched another deadly attack in Bangladesh Thursday, killing at least three people at a huge prayer rally marking the start of Eid.

Days after a mass murder of hostages in Dhaka, authorities said two policemen and a civilian were killed in explosions and gunfire near a prayer ground in the northern Kishoreganj district.

One of the attackers was also shot dead and four of his suspected accomplices were arrested after hand bombs were hurled at police manning a checkpoint just outside the main prayer ground.

Bangladeshi police detain a suspected militant following an attack near Bangladeshs largest Eid prayer rally in Kishoreganj on July 7, 2016

"Two policemen, an attacker and a woman who was shot during the (subsequent) gunfight were killed," national police spokesman A.K.M. Shahidur Rahman told AFP.

"Nine policemen were also injured. They are in a critical condition and have been shifted to a military hospital in Dhaka."

Weapons recovered from the scene of the attack, close to where a quarter million people had been taking part in a post-Ramadan gathering, included a pistol and machete.

The prayer gathering in Kishoreganj is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim country that is home to around 160 million people.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in the capital Dhaka. Many of the victims, who included 18 foreigners, were hacked to death with machetes.

Bangladesh has been on heightened alert in the wake of the killings last Friday night and many Eid services included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence.

The cleric who led the Kishoreganj prayer, Maolana Farid Uddin Masuod, has been an outspoken critic of a recent wave of attacks by Islamist extremists and he again strongly condemned Thursday's killings.

"The young men who think they will go to heaven (by carrying out such attacks) are wrong. They will go straight to hell," Masuod told AFP by phone.

- Tears and prayers -

Many of those who attended services in Dhaka could be seen weeping as clerics led prayers for a more peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh.

The biggest service in the capital was at the National Eidgah Maidan where more than 50,000 people, including Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid, took part in prayers under a giant canopy.

Police brought in scanners and sniffer dogs to check for bombs as crowds were forced to wait for up to an hour before being cleared to enter the grounds where the service was held. No one was allowed to bring in bags.

Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks since the turn of the year, mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities.

Many of them have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda network.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has consistently denied international jihadist networks have any presence in Bangladesh, but has been criticised for failing to tackle a rise in Islamist extremism.

After the latest attack Hasina said there was "no place for terrorists" in Bangladesh and urged families to do more to prevent their young becoming radicalised.

"I urge parents to take steps to bring their missing sons home. We will give them all cooperation to find their missing boys and for their treatment, if necessary," she said.

Several of the suspects in last week's cafe attack were young men from wealthy Dhaka families who had no idea they were involved in Islamist extremism.

Critics have said Hasina's administration is in denial about the nature of the threat posed by extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic political opponents.

Last month, authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000 people, but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence political opponents.

Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.

On Thursday Bangladesh's Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu portrayed the latest attack as being designed to topple Hasina.

"We don't know which group they belong to but they are suspected members of (an) extremist terrorist group. They are against the normal religious practices of the country," he told AFP.

The prayer gathering in Kishoreganj is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi Muslims offer Eid al-Fitr prayers in Dhaka, on July 7, 2016

A Bangladeshi policeman stands guard as Muslims attend Eid al-Fitr prayers in Dhaka, on July 7, 2016
Danone aims for organic top spot with US takeover

French dairy giant Danone said Thursday it had agreed to buy US organic foods producer WhiteWave Foods with a view to creating a world leader for organic produce.

The all-cash transaction values the US company at $12.5 billion (11.3 billion euros) and will allow Danone to double its business in the US, the French group said in a statement, adding it expected to finalise the deal by the end of the year.

Danone's share price rose by nearly seven per cent in morning Paris trading on news of the deal.

Danone says it expects to finalise a deal to buy US organic foods producer WhiteWave Foods by the end of the year Mychele Daniau (AFP/File)

"Our perfect complementarity will allow us to create a uniquely-positioned organic world leader," CEO Emmanuel Faber said in a conference call.

Both companies' board of directors have unanimously approved the deal, Danone said.

WhiteWave produces a range of organic dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives, achieving sales of $4 billion in 2015 with such brands as Silk milk and Earthbound Farm organic salad.

Since its stock market flotation in 2012, WhiteWave has generated an annual increase in operating profit of 20 percent, Danone said.

The French company said the deal would allow it to tap into consumer trends "for healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking options".

"Organic foods and beverages and non-GMO plant-based alternatives to milk and yogurt are among the fastest growing categories in the industry," Danone said.

Dairy products are already a core business for Danone, which employs 100,000 people worldwide and generated $22.4 billion of sales last year. Its portfolio also includes baby food and water.

"The value-creation profile is strong. We will contribute 100 years of research and development into protein fermentation, which will be combined with WhiteWave's transformation know-how," Faber said.

Danone said it had offered to pay $56.25 per share "representing a total enterprise value of approximately $12.5 bn." It said the takeover will be financed entirely by debt.

The deal, which is expected to produce annual synergies of $300 million by 2020, has yet to be approved by WhiteWave's shareholders and by competition authorities.

Morgan Stanley equity analyst Eileen Khoo said the acquisition reflected a "sound strategic rationale" and was likely to increase Danone's sales by 18 percent.

"We view this as a very solid deal for Danone," she said.

It was, she noted however, a surprise for analysts who had expected Danone to pursue growth by its own means and cost-cutting, rather than acquisitions.

At around 0830 GMT, Danone shares stood 6.8 percent higher at 67.61 euros.

WhiteWave produces a range of organic dairy products and plant-based dairy alternatives, including brands such as Silk milk and Earthbound Farm organic salad Aaron Davidson (Getty/AFP)
Australian state bans greyhound racing after scandals

Australia's greyhound industry was reeling Thursday after the country's most populous state banned the sport following a string of scandals including "live baiting" and the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs.

New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird said the industry appeared incapable of reform and his government would work toward a shutdown from July 1 next year.

"Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the US and is legal in only eight countries around the world. New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to ban it," he said on Facebook.

An Australian study showed that 180 greyhounds every year sustain fatal injuries during races Peter Kohalmi (AFP/File)

"I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals."

The Australian Capital Territory, of which Canberra is the capital, said it would likely follow suit, although the sport is on a much smaller scale there.

Australia has one of the world's largest greyhound racing industries and live baiting has been banned for decades.

But last year national broadcaster ABC exposed that animals such as piglets, rabbits and possums were used as bait to train some of the country's most successful dogs.

Greyhounds traditionally chase an artificial hare or rabbit and the revelations sparked raids across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland states that rocked the industry.

- Inhumane practices -

It prompted an inquiry by New South Wales, which uncovered the mass killing of dogs considered too slow to pay their way and widespread live baiting, Baird said.

The probe also revealed systemic deception of the public about the numbers of deaths and injuries.

"One of the issues we have had to wrestle with is the positive impact of the greyhound racing industry," said Baird, pointing out it employed more than 1,000 people in his state and contributed millions of dollars to the economy.

"Dog racing can be an important part of the social fabric of regional towns. And, of course, having a punt on the dogs over a few beers is good fun for many people."

But he said that having weighed up the benefits, the negatives were too great to ignore.

The RSPCA, which provided evidence to the inquiry, called Baird's decision "courageous".

"The inquiry has demonstrated that cruelty is intertwined into every level of this sport," said spokeswoman Jade Norris.

But Greyhound Racing NSW said in a statement it was "an extremely sad day", adding there were many responsible participants "who treat their greyhounds like family".

"These people were as dismayed as others by the exposure of completely unacceptable and inhumane practices within greyhound racing," it said.

The New South Wales probe is one of several into greyhound racing around Australia.

It revealed that in the last 12 years, up to 68,000 dogs were killed because they were seen as unsuitable for racing, while some 10 to 20 percent of trainers were suspected of live baiting.

The inquiry also found that an estimated 180 greyhounds a year sustain injuries such as skull fractures or broken backs during races that led to their immediate deaths, a statistic "deliberately misreported" by Greyhound Racing NSW.

And the abuse is not limited to New South Wales, with 55 dead greyhounds found dumped in Queensland last year with spent rifle cartridges nearby.

Just weeks later two men in the same state were charged with using kittens as live bait.

Queensland Racing Minister Grace Grace told reporters the sport would not be banned in her state but it was on its last warning, while Greyhound Racing Victoria said it was "well advanced on fundamental and unprecedented cultural and operational reform".

More than 1,000 people are employed in the greyhound racing industry across New South Wales, with the sport contributing millions of dollars to the local economy

Australia has one of the world's largest greyhound racing industries Peter Parks (AFP/File)
Pacific Rim moves to ease bottleneck in wine trade

Wine lovers and exporters around the Pacific Rim will have reason to pop the cork Thursday after officials slashed red tape on shipments in the region that will ease an expensive bottleneck.

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group said in a statement that the 21 member economies had agreed on a standard, simplified certificate, replacing the multi-layered system that had led to losses of about $1.0 billion a year in the industry.

And while exporters such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the United States are expected to benefit from the simplified regime, wine drinkers will also have a reason to celebrate as it is should lead to a wider array of choices at cheaper prices.

Visitors inspect wines during Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2016 in Hong Kong Dale de la Rey (AFP/File)

"Easier, more inclusive wine trade can improve product availability and prices for consumers and improve job creation and growth," said Tom LaFaille, international trade counsel for the Wine Institute, the private sector overseer of the APEC Wine Regulatory Forum.

Jamie Ferman of the US Department of Commerce described the model certificate as "a win-win for the industry".

Rocio Barrios Alvarado, chair of the APEC sub-committee on standards and conformance, said the single certificate "will reduce administrative burdens for producers endeavouring to take advantage of the increasing taste for wine in the region".

APEC said the bloc's wine trade had more than tripled to over $23 billion since 2000, but "unnecessary non-tariff barriers" and overlapping certificates had mean companies were facing huge costs.

It said focus now is on having the certificate implemented. APEC agreements are implemented on a voluntary basis and results are achieved through dialogue, cooperation and peer pressure.
S. Korea welcomes US blacklist for N. Korea leader

Washington's move to place North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on its sanctions blacklist for the first time was welcomed by South Korea Thursday, with Seoul saying it would highlight human rights abuses in the hermit state.

The US said Kim and 10 other top officials also blacklisted were behind widespread abuses including extrajudicial killings, forced labour and torture in the country's system of prison camps for political detainees that has made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries".

Seoul backed its ally Thursday, saying it hoped the move would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.

For the first time, Washington has blacklisted Kim Jong-Un and 10 other top North Korean officials for human rights abuses

"The government... notes with appreciation and welcomes the US announcement... of sanctions against human rights abusers in North Korea", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The measure is expected to raise the international communitys awareness of the gravity of the human rights situation in North Korea, where systemic and widespread violations of human rights are being committed, while greatly helping intensify international discussions on the issue and strengthening relevant measures."

Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the measure was an "important step forward in achieving justice for the countless victims of human rights abuses in North Korea".

He added the US was "leading the international community to send a clear message to mid-level North Korean officials that obeying orders to violate rights could have very negative consequences for them".

Robertson called for Washington to extend the blacklist and to make clear to Pyongyang "that taking rights abusing decisions will have consequences because the world is closely watching and will judge them accordingly".

South Korean analysts said the North was likely to react angrily at what North Koreans could perceive as a "personal insult" against Kim.

"There will be a bombardment of diatribes from North Korea against the US as the military, government agencies and various social groups are likely to fall over themselves to prove their loyalty to Kim", Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

But the North is likely to wait until the start of a massive annual military exercise the United Sates and South Korea plan in August to flex its military muscle, he said.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Dongguk Univesity said the North would ratchet up tension but it would stop short of conducting another nuclear test to avoid alienating further its main ally China.

Defying international sanctions, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a missile test, disguised as a satellite launch, in the following month.

The hermit state is seen as the most corrupt country in the world
US woman livestreams boyfriend's dying moments after new cop shooting

A video of the dying moments of a black man shot by Minnesota police after being pulled over while driving went viral on Thursday, a day after a video emerged of a similar incident in Louisiana.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me he's dead, please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... You shot four bullets into him, sir," a woman, identified on her Facebook page as Lavish Reynolds, is heard saying in the video shot on her camera phone.

Police confirmed the shooting by an officer. Family and activists identified the victim as school cafeteria worker Philando Castile, 32.

Police are investigating the incident and say a handgun was recovered at the scene of the shooting Mark Makela (Getty/AFP/File)

Castile can be seen in the driver seat, large blood stains spreading through his white shirt. Reynolds sat next to him and her young daughter was also traveling in the car.

- Series of shootings -

The shooting took place just one day after police in Louisiana shot dead a black father of five at point-blank range, in a incident being probed by federal investigators.

The shootings came on the eve of a closely watched trial in Baltimore on Thursday of an officer charged in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who suffered a broken spine in the back of a police van.

In the video of the Minnesota killing, broadcast on Facebook Live and already viewed more than 1.7 million times, Reynolds says the car was pulled over for a broken tail light. She later says there was also marijuana in the car.

Castile had a legal license to carry a firearm and was reaching for his license and vehicle registration when police shot him, she adds.

Police said the incident was being investigated and a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Castile "was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket, and he let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm. He just shot his arm off," Reynolds says in the video.

She says the police officer, who has not yet been identified, was "Chinese."

With Castile moaning and gasping for air, the police officer pointed his gun through the car window.

"Fuck! I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up!" the officer shouted.

For much of the nearly 10-minute video, Reynolds can be heard wailing, off and on camera, as police apparently cast her phone to the side at one point and later handcuffed her, so she could not hold the phone up.

A Facebook page set up by supporters, Justice for Philando Castile, said: "Philando Castile was murdered by police on 7/6/2016. We demand justice!"

- 'It's ok, mommy' -

In a poignant moment toward the end of the video, Reynolds's four-year-old daughter can be heard reassuring her deeply distraught mother.

"It's ok, mommy," says the girl sweetly. "It's ok, I'm right here with you."
Body in suitcase in Tokyo canal identified as Chinese woman

A human body found inside a suitcase floating in a Tokyo canal last month has been identified as that of a Chinese woman missing for over two years, police said Thursday.

The corpse, clad in a camisole and short pants, was not badly decomposed when discovered on June 27, which local reports said indicated the woman had not been dead for long.

But police were unable to confirm the identity of the body as being that of 34-year-old Yang Mei until Thursday, a police spokesman said.

Tokyo police have identified the body of missing Chinese woman Yang Mei, found in a canal last month Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP/File)

Yang came to Japan in September 2013 as a trainee, one of the tens of thousands of foreigners -- mostly from China, Vietnam and Indonesia -- who participate in the government's Industrial Trainee and Technical Internship Program (TTIP).

A Tokyo police spokesman told AFP that Yang had been put on a missing persons watch list by police in Kyoto, western Japan.

"She was working at an auto-parts plant in Kyoto but disappeared from her dormitory after being seen in its cafeteria in March 2014," the spokesman said.

He added that police matched the fingerprints of the body with those of Yang from the immigration bureau.

TTIP is officially described as an internship programme under which people from developing countries can learn skills at Japanese companies.

But it has been criticised by rights activists as a scheme to provide cheap labour for the textile, construction, farming, manufacturing and other industries.
India's Modi starts African tour to drum up business

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday kicked off a four-nation tour of Africa, as India scrambles to catch up with its Asian rival China which has a strong presence across the continent,

His first stop was Mozambique where he vowed to be "a trusted friend" after talks with President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo and announced a raft of cooperation agreements.

He will also take in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya over his five-day trip.

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Mozambique's President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi in Maputo,on July 7, 2016 Ferhat Momade (AFP)

"Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need. And what Mozambique requires is available in India," Modi said.

"In Mozambique's march towards economic prosperity, India will walk every step of the way.

"We will be a trusted friend in your development and a reliable partner."

Modi, the first Indian leader to visit Mozambique in 34 years, said the two countries would work together on agriculture, defence, security and healthcare.

He later visited a technological centre that provides training for start-ups.

India has been working to build ties with African nations as it vies for a greater share of the continent's natural resources. Last year, it hosted a summit of Africa's heads of state in New Delhi.

Its economic footprint in Africa is dwarfed by that of China, whose trade with the continent topped $200 billion last year.

India is gaining ground, however, led by private entrepreneurs with a keen interest in the continent's burgeoning energy sector.

But relations between India and the continent have been strained by alleged racism, with African ambassadors recently claiming after the murder of a Congolese teacher that Africans in Delhi live in a "pervading climate of fear".

- Largest diaspora in S.Africa -

Modi's Africa tour will focus on hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food, according to Indian officials.

Later Thursday, Modi will head to South Africa for a two-day state visit, holding talks with President Jacob Zuma on Friday in Pretoria and meeting business leaders.

India is now South Africa's sixth largest trade partner, with two-way trade reaching $5.3 billion in 2015-16.

South Africa has been vocal on the need to reform the UN Security Council, making it a natural ally in India's long-running campaign to be made a permanent member.

India and Africa are together home to a third of the world's population, but neither India nor any African country has a permanent seat on the council, which is made up of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States.

With 1.3 million people of Indian origin, South Africa also has the largest diaspora population in Africa, a major element of Modi's diplomatic push across the world since taking office two years ago.

On Friday evening, he will address a thousands-strong audience at a stadium in Johannesburg, having hosted similar rallies for the diaspora in cities from New York to London.

While in South Africa, Modi is also expected to honour Mahatma Gandhi's time in the country.

India's independence hero lived in South Africa for 20 years, working as a lawyer and activist campaigning for the rights of Indian people.
Call for Iraq transparency over Fallujah abuses probe

Human Rights Watch called Thursday for transparency from Iraq over its promised investigation of alleged abuses, including executions of civilians, by its forces during the recapture of Fallujah from the Islamic State group.

The New York-based watchdog said that since mid-June it had asked repeatedly for information from Baghdad over what it was doing to investigate the allegations, but not even basic details were provided and the inquiry was "mired in secrecy."

"Failing to hold fighters and commanders accountable for grave abuses bodes very badly for the looming battle for Mosul," HRW's deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork, said in a statement, referring to the last IS-held city in Iraq.

Human Rights Watch says strong evidence exists that atrocities were carried out during the battle for Fallujah Moadh al-Dulaimi (AFP/Archives)

"Serious investigations and prosecutions are essential to provide justice to victims and their families, and to deter atrocities by government forces," Stork said.

At the end of last month, Iraqi forces recaptured Fallujah, a city 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, in a major setback for IS.

But the United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said earlier this week that there was strong evidence that Ketaeb Hezbollah, one of the main militias that fought alongside security forces in the operation, carried out atrocities.

The Iran-backed militia may have executed dozens of civilians and kidnapped hundreds more, the UN said, citing witness testimony.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi responded to allegations of abuses during the operation by promising to investigate and prosecute all such cases.

But HRW said neither his office nor other officials "could provide any information about the purported investigations, including whether anyone has been arrested and charged."

IS overran large parts of the Sunni Arab heartland north and west of Baghdad in 2014, and Iraq turned to powerful Shiite militias to help halt the jihadists and later push them back.

The militias have played a key role in the fight against IS, but have also been repeatedly accused of abuses against civilians that have undermined the government's efforts to win back support in Sunni areas.
The Chattanoogan hotel has appointed Jana McGee as the hotels new conference planning manager. Ms. McGee is responsible for planning day meetings and conferences at the upscale hotel.

We are extremely pleased that Jana has joined the team at The Chattanoogan, says Tom Cupo, regional managing director. She knows the Chattanooga market very well and has extensive experience managing all aspects of successful meetings, conferences and events.

Ms. McGee was employed at The Sheraton Read House in Chattanooga for the past six years, serving in various roles including assistant general manager, convention services manager and outlet manager. She also spent seven years as the manager of a Salisbury, N.C. restaurant where she managed the daily operations of the business.

Ms. McGee attended The Art Institute of Charlotte and is a member of National Association of Professional Women and Lutheran Womens Mission League.

The Chattanoogan, a Benchmark Hotel, has 199 guest rooms and suites; three outstanding dining establishments; a pampering day spa with four treatment rooms, a nail service room, couples suite, a steam room, fitness center and outdoor patio overlooking the hotels courtyard; and a 25,000 square-foot conference center with comprehensive meeting planning and audiovisual support services

The property is conveniently located within a two-hour drive from Atlanta; Nashville, Tenn.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Birmingham, Ala. It is within walking distance of the citys museums, galleries, retail stores, restaurants and The Tennessee Aquarium.

For more information or reservations, call (423) 756-3400 or toll free (877) 756-1684.
A bunch of grapes in Tokyo sold for 8,350 today, a record price even in a nation as obsessed with fruit as Japan.

Seasonal fruit offerings in Japan routinely attract massive sums from buyers seeking social prestige, or from shop owners wanting to attract customers.

Shopkeeper Takamaru Konishi happily splashed out 1.1million yen for the bunch of 30 Ruby Romans, which works out as the equivalent of 280 per grape.

Each Ruby Roman grape is the size of a ping-pong ball and they are extremely sweet.

Ruby Romans are super-sweet grapes that grow to around the size of a ping pong ball

A delighted Mr Konishi said: 'These are truly Ruby Roman gems.

'We will display them at our store before giving our customers a sample taste.'

Ruby Roman grapes are only grown in Ishikawa prefecture, a region on the north coast of Japan which specialises in growing fruit.

Ruby Romans are grown exclusively in Ishikawa prefecture on Japan's northern coast

Today's auction kicked off the fruit-selling season in Japan.

Other fruits, from apples to watermelons, are also expected to fetch jaw-dropping sums.

Fruit is comparatively expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost as much as 2.30.

In Japanese culture it is common for expensive fruit to be given as a guest by wealthy individuals or corporations.

The king of fruits in the country is the melon, which serves as a status symbol akin to a vintage wine, and is given as a high-ranking gift.
Myanmar's state jade sale rakes in $587 mn

Myanmar's annual jade and gems sale netted more than 530 million euros ($587 million), an official tally showed Thursday, as Chinese buyers continue to drive a shadowy industry linked with rebel conflicts and notorious for perilous working conditions.

Lusted after by wealthy Chinese, Myanmar's jade mines were in the hands of the military and their 'crony' elites during the junta years and are still believed to raise tens of billions of dollars in undeclared sales.

While the price of the green stone has slipped in recent months, thousands of poor migrant workers still risk their lives to comb unstable pits in northern Myanmar for jade fragments.

Buyers check the quality of large jade stones at the annual gem stone exposition in Naypyidaw on July 6, 2016 Aung Htet (AFP)

Hundreds of slabs of jade worth 527 million euros were bought during the 12-day sale in the capital Naypyidaw, according to government figures, with around six million euros-worth of gems and pearls also snapped up.

The event, which drew 895 Chinese companies, is the country's only official jade sale.

"We displayed fewer lots of jade than the previous emporium... so we also received less money than the previous one," Than Zaw Oo, of state-owned Myanma Gems Enterprise told AFP, without giving last year's sale total.

Anti-corruption campaigners say the real value of Myanmar's jade runs into the tens of billions of dollars annually.

Powerful syndicates linked to smuggling rings and rebel commanders slip tonnes of the precious stone across the northern border to China each year, depriving the state of huge sums of income.

Most of the world's best quality jadeite -- the rarer and more expensive of two minerals containing jade -- is mined in Hpakant, a strip of torn earth in Myanmar's insurgency-wracked northern Kachin state bordering China, a country with a voracious demand for the precious stone.

Jade is widely believed to be an important revenue stream for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) which is resisting ceasefire overtures in its fight against Myanmar's army.

Jade mines have also long been a dangerous workplace for the itinerant miners who scratch a living from the stone -- around 100 people died in a major landslide in November last year.

The falling price of jade in recent months has been attributed to customs action in China's border area, deterring smugglers and leading to a glut.
EU ends anti-tobacco smuggling deal with Philip Morris

The EU will end a 12-year programme with Marlboro-maker Philip Morris that was intended to thwart cigarette smuggling after complaints by European lawmakers that it was ineffective and potentially corrupt.

EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva in a letter to Philip Morris said that new rules at the UN and in Europe now "offer the best regulatory means to fight illicit trade."

"Given this changed environment, our conclusion is that there is no need for a prolongation of the PMI agreement," said in the letter dated July 6 and seen by AFP on Thursday.

Under a now-ended deal, Philip Morris agreed to more carefully work with EU authorities against contraband cigarettes that hit the market free of customs duties and taxes, as well as pay a contribution to the EU Joel Saget (AFP/File)

Set up in 2004 and expiring on Saturday, the deal was set up after the EU complained that the world's biggest tobacco companies were not doing enough to limit tobacco smuggling.

Under the deal, the company agreed to more carefully work with EU authorities against contraband cigarettes that hit the market free of customs duties and taxes, as well as pay a contribution to the EU.

This direct outlay reached an accumulated $1 billion over the life of the deal, the commission said.

Over the years, angry MEPs saw a dangerous conflict of interest with Phillip Morris through this financial contribution, which was used to finance the EU's anti-smuggling policies.

Anger against the deal intensified in 2012 when Malta's EU health commissioner John Dalli was forced to resign in a tobacco lobbying scandal involving Philip Morris.

"I am happy that our actions... have helped push back interference by tobacco industry in the work of government," said socialist MEP Gilles Pargneux, who helped lead the fight against the deal.

The commission, the EU's powerful regulatory arm, said the real battle today was no longer the contraband cigarettes manufactured by major companies, but those made by other small manufacturers.

"The agreement was innovative at the time and lessons have been learned..., especially in terms of global tracking and tracing," it said.
Fierce fighting for key Aleppo road despite Syria truce

The Syrian army advanced within firing range of the rebels' sole supply route to Aleppo in heavy fighting Thursday despite its announcement of a ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Saudi-backed rebel group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) said four of its fighters were killed trying to stop the army from cutting the Castello Road, the only route into rebel-held areas of Syria's second city.

Regime bombardment of several opposition-controlled districts left 10 civilians dead, including three children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

More than 280,000 people have been killed since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 Amer Almohibany (AFP)

Rebel fire on the government-held Sayf al-Dawla neighbourhood meanwhile killed five people, including a child, the monitor said.

The army announced on Wednesday that it was observing a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

But fighting has continued, particularly in and around Aleppo.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been trying to cut the Castello Road for more than two years and the Observatory said that Thursday's advance brought them the closest so far to achieving that goal.

Their capture of a hill just a kilometre (less than a mile) away allows them to fire on any traffic moving along the road from the ground as well as from the air, the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Islamist rebels immediately launched a counter-attack but had not been able to dislodge regime fighters from the strategic hilltop.

"If government forces can hold their positions there and fight back the counter-offensive, then the opposition neighbourhoods will be completely besieged," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Castello Road wraps around Aleppo's eastern and northern edges then leads into rebel-controlled territory north of the battered city.

An estimated 200,000 people still live in the rebel-controlled parts of the city, which are regularly bombarded by government warplanes.

- Holiday visitors trapped -

An AFP journalist in an opposition-held neighbourhood said shelling could be heard throughout the city's east, and that people who had travelled into Aleppo to visit their families for the holiday were stuck inside.

"On the first day of Eid, my family and I drove into Aleppo to see our relatives. We crossed the Castello Road very cautiously, without turning on the car lights," said Mohammad Yassin, a father of five.

The 43-year-old said he learned the road was "totally cut" on Thursday morning.

"I don't know what will happen and I'm scared the situation could stay like this for a long time," Yassin told AFP.

Syrian state news agency SANA on Thursday confirmed that regime forces were within firing range of the route after advancing in farmland north of Aleppo city.

Aleppo has been divided since mid-2012 when rebels seized the east of the city, confining government forces to the west.

According to an AFP photographer in the government-controlled parts of the city, there had been intense rebel rocket fire throughout the night on the western neighbourhoods.

It had calmed by the afternoon, but few residents were venturing out.

The pre-war commercial capital has been one of the main battlegrounds of Syria's civil war and successive ceasefires announced for the city have been swiftly broken.

Syria's government has pledged to retake the whole city despite efforts by Washington and regime ally Moscow to stem the violence there.

To the northeast, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters advanced on Thursday inside a key town held by the Islamic State group, the Observatory said.

The Syrian Democratic Forces seized territory from IS jihadists in a southwestern district of Manbij, bringing them one kilometre (less than one mile) from the heart of the town.

More than 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests.

World powers have thrown their weight behind a political settlement to the complex civil war, but UN-backed efforts to reach a transition have failed so far.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday welcomed the 72-hour Eid ceasefire and said he was working with Russia and others to try to transform it into a lasting truce.

A landmark ceasefire announced by Russia and the United States in late February has mostly collapsed amid repeated violations.

The Castello Road is the only route into the rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo

The battle for northern Syria
African Union's troops in Somalia to be withdrawn by 2020

The African Union said it plans to pull its soldiers out of Somalia where they are fighting jihadists by December 2020, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

The "exit strategy" formulated by the AU's Peace and Security Council calls for the staggered withdrawal of 22,000 troops in the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to begin in October 2018 and be completed by the end of 2020.

The plan was made public this week, following a meeting held in Addis Ababa on June 29.

Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya all contribute soldiers to the 22,100-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Abdifitah Hashi Nor (AFP/File)

The AU said "transfer of security responsibilities" would then be handed over to "a capable, inclusive and effective" Somali national army.

Currently the bloated and largely ineffective Somali army is more a collection of clan militias, with various international militaries providing poorly-coordinated training to different units.

AMISOM troops deployed to Somalia in 2007 to defend the internationally-backed government against attacks by the Shebaab, a Somali-led al-Qaeda affiliate still carrying out attacks on civilian, military and government targets in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia and the region.

Last month Uganda -- the largest contributor to AMISOM with 6,200 soldiers -- threatened to withdraw its troops by the end of 2017, but has since backtracked.

Kenya also threatened this year to pull out its 3,700 troops after the European Union, a major donor to the mission, cut funding by 20 percent saying African countries must bear more of the burden of soldier salaries.

Somalia was supposed to hold national elections this year but is instead going to hold what diplomats call a "limited franchise election" in which ordinary citizens do not participate. The UN now hopes a one-person-one-vote election will be possible in 2020.

Mujahid Safodien (AFP/File)

Shabaab fighters claimed responsibility for a deadly car bomb attack in Mogadishu, which killed five people on June 25 Mohamed Abdiwahab (AFP/File)
Fourth cop goes on trial in death of US black man Freddy Gray

The most senior Baltimore policeman charged in the death of Freddie Gray went on trial Thursday in a case that sparked riots last year and fueled a national debate over how US police treat young black men.

The proceedings opened as the country is reeling from two new cases of young black men dying at the hands of police.

Officer Brian Rice, 42, is the fourth Baltimore policeman to go on trial in the death of Gray.

People walk past a mural of Freddie Gray on June 23, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland Mark Makela (Getty/AFP/File)

Three other trials ended in one hung jury and two acquittals, raising questions of whether anyone will ever be punished for Gray's death, which police say was an accident.

Gray, 25, was arrested April 12, 2015 after fleeing at the sight of police, and suffered a broken spine while being transported in the back of a Baltimore police van, unsecured and with his hands and feet bound. He died a week later.

Rice is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless endangerment.

Two other police officers will also be tried for Gray's death. Of a total of six officers charged in the case, three are white and three are black.

The latest trial comes as two more deaths of black men at the hands of police this week have riveted America, in Louisiana on Tuesday and Minnesota on Wednesday.
US returns to Taiwan gains linked to corrupt ex-president

The United States said Thursday it is returning $1.5 million to Taiwan from the sale of two homes bought with alleged bribes by the family of disgraced former president Chen Shui-bian.

The Justice Department said it had sold a condo in Manhattan and a home in Virginia that were seized in 2012 under allegations that they were purchased with bribes paid to former first lady Wu Shu-chen in 2004 during her husband's administration.

"We are committed to rooting out foreign official corruption and preventing corrupt officials from enjoying their spoils in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell in a statement. "We appreciate the cooperation of Taiwan law enforcement in this matter."

Taiwan's Wu Shu-chen (L) and Chen Shui-bian, pictured in 2004, were both jailed for corruption Tommy Cheng (AFP/File)

Chen was arrested in Taiwan in November 2008, less than six months after he left office, on corruption allegations. Both he and his wife were subsequently jailed for corruption.

According to the US complaints in the case, Yuanta Securities Co. paid 200 million New Taiwan dollars (about $6 million) to Wu to ensure that her husband supported Yuanta's bid to acquire another company.

Wu used Hong Kong and Swiss bank accounts, shell companies and a St. Kitts and Nevis trust to transfer the bribe proceeds to purchase the two properties.
Minnesota governor seeks federal probe into police shooting of black motorist

Minnesota's governor asked the White House Thursday to launch a federal probe into the shooting overnight of black motorist Philando Castile by a white police officer.

"This morning, I spoke by phone with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to request that the US Department of Justice begin an immediate independent federal investigation into this matter," Governor Mark Dayton said in a statement, adding that a state probe was already underway.

"Overnight, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an independent investigation at the state level," he said. "They are currently collecting all necessary evidence, and interviewing witnesses, to determine what happened, and to assure that justice in this case is served."
Comey defends decision on Clinton emails

FBI chief James Comey on Thursday vigorously defended his recommendation not to file charges against Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton over her private email use at the State Department, saying she did not break the law.

Comey, summoned to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, reiterated his finding that while Clinton and her staff were careless, she did not lie to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"As I said, I see evidence of great carelessness, but I do not see evidence that is sufficient to establish that Secretary Clinton or those with whom she was corresponding both talked about classified information on e-mail and knew when they did it they were doing something that was against the law," Comey said.

FBI Director James Comey is sworn-in before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on July 7, 2016 Yuri Gripas (AFP)

On Wednesday, the US Justice Department announced that no charges would be filed against Clinton, following the recommendations made by the FBI, and revealed by Comey in an unusual press conference the day before.

The FBI found that while Clinton's conduct was not criminal, she had been "extremely careless" in sending classified information via her personal email account.

Clinton's use of a private email account and homebrew server during her time as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013 has weighed heavily on her bid over the past year to become America's first female commander-in-chief.

Republicans have cried foul, saying that Clinton is not being held to the same legal standards as ordinary Americans. The issue of her trustworthiness has come up repeatedly in opinion polls.

"I think there's a legitimate concern that there's a double standard -- if your name isn't Clinton or you're not part of the powerful elite, that Lady Justice will act differently," Republican committee chair Jason Chaffetz told the hearing.

But Comey, a Republican, said Clinton had not received special treatment in any way.

"I believe this investigation was conducted consistent with the highest traditions of the FBI," Comey said.
S&P cuts Puerto Rico rating to default

Rating firm Standard & Poor's cut Puerto Rico's credit rating to "default" Thursday after the financially troubled US territory missed large debt payments at the beginning of the month.

The move was expected after the Caribbean island, buried under some $70 billion in debt, missed payments of $780 million on general obligation bonds, those directly issued by the government, on July 1.

The island had already missed hundreds of millions of dollars in payments owed by state-owned enterprises and authorities that are government-guaranteed; this was the first default on general obligation debt.

Puerto Rico has sought for over two years a deal with creditors to write down some of its debt in order to restore balance to its finances Paul J. Richards (AFP/File)

Puerto Rico has sought for over two years a deal with creditors to write down some of its debt in order to restore balance to its finances. But because it is legally blocked from seeking bankruptcy protection -- which would put a debt restructuring in the hands of a bankruptcy court -- it has not been able to force all of its creditors to agree on a deal.

Faced with the looming default, in June Congress passed a White House-backed law to create a powerful oversight board that will both conduct a restructuring and implement fiscal and structural reforms in Puerto Rico.

Last week S&P warned that the new board's effectiveness would depend wholly on who would be appointed to it, which is still unknown.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend a series of special, 30 minute programs on Saturday, July 16, and on Sunday, July 17, at Cravens House, a structure dating to the Reconstruction period, on Lookout Mountain. These programs will explore how Chattanoogans, Freedmen, and northern emigrants rebuilt the scenic city during Reconstruction. There are no admission fees for the programs at Cravens House.

In 1868, Chattanoogans ran a newspaper advertisement: "WANTED IMMEDIATELY ANY NUMBER OF CARPET-BAGGERS TO COME TO CHATTANOOGA AND SETTLE." At the end of the Civil War, people throughout the south struggled to rebuild their lives and their communities.

Chattanooga's leaders turned to a surprising place for growth northern "carpetbaggers." The influx of northerners, like former Union General John Wilder, primed the economic engine of the city and thousands of Freedmen and white southerners found work in the growing urban economy.

The weekend program schedule is as follows:

Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17

10 am: A New City: Union Veterans and the Rebuilding of Chattanooga

Explore the role that Union veterans, including the United States Colored Troops, played in rebuilding Chattanooga after the Civil War.

2 pm: An Unending War: Racial and Political Violence around Chattanooga During Reconstruction. Violence around the country continued long after the armies surrendered. This program will examine the history and legacy of this violence and tension and Chattanooga.

3 pm: Robert Cravens: Rebuilding a Home and an Industry

Robert Cravens rebuilt his home on Lookout Mountain in the year following the Civil War. Learn how the Cravens family met the challenges of Reconstruction as you tour their rebuilt home.

For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at (706) 866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at (423) 821-7786.
WHO launches yellow fever vaccine campaign in Angola, DRCongo

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday it would help Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo launch a mass vaccination campaign against a yellow fever outbreak ravaging the two countries.

The campaign will aim to immunise 15.5 million people in the two countries by the end of August, Bruce Aylward, the WHO's chief on outbreaks and health emergencies, told reporters.

He described it as "an unprecedented push."

There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted in urban settings mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads Zika, dengue and chikungunya Marvin Recinos (AFP/File)

Yellow fever has been raging in Angola since December, especially in the capital Luanda, where there have been 3,552 suspected cases, 875 confirmed cases and 355 deaths.

Cases have been imported to Kinshasa in DR Congo, where the virus has begun spreading locally and is believed to have killed 75 people.

The country has recorded 1,300 suspected cases, and 68 confirmed cases -- 59 of which are direct importations from Angola.

But seven were spread locally on the ground, "and that is what we are trying to stop very, very quickly," Aylward said.

WHO has for months been voicing alarm about the urban nature of the outbreak, and the potential for "explosive spread".

The two affected countries have already made "a huge effort" to rein in the outbreak, Aylward said, pointing out that some 14.5 million people have already been vaccinated, most of them in Angola, helping slow the outbreak considerably.

The idea now is to quickly more than double that number during the so-called "dry season", when there is least risk of spread, immunising some eight million people in Kinshasa, three million more inside Angola and another 4.3 million along the border between the two countries.

There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted in urban settings mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

The disease can have a mortality rate of up to 50 percent, but is often not considered as big a threat as Ebola or Zika, since there has long been a very efficient vaccine against it, Aylward said.

Yet the percentage of people immunised against yellow fever remains low in many parts of Africa.

It costs about $2.50 to vaccinate one person, bringing the total cost of the planned push to $34 million, of which $14 million is already funded, according to WHO.

The organisation has been informing international donors of the desperate need for the additional cash, Aylward said, adding that Angola and DR Congo would also pay a large portion of the bill.
Pistorius in prison single room cell

Convicted murderer Oscar Pistorius is serving his six-year sentence for killing his girlfriend in a single hospital prison cell, an official said Thursday.

The disgraced paralympian is in the same cell in Pretoria's Kgosi Mampuru prison he was previously incarcerated for one year.

Manelisi Wolela, spokesman for the Department of Correctional Services, said the special accommodation was due to his disability and that the prison had never had a double amputee inmate before.

South African Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius (C) reacts at the High Court in Pretoria, on July 6, 2016 after being sentenced to six years in jail for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago Marco Longari (POOL/AFP/File)

"He is in the same facility in the hospital section of the Pretoria prison," Wolela told AFP.

Wolela said the hospital wing of the prison had a number of other prisoners, some of whom are sick or disabled.

"If you expose them to communal normal cells, they will be vulnerable," he said.

South Africa's often overcrowded prisons are notorious for gang violence and sexual assaults.

Pistorius, 29, began his sentence on Wednesday after he had his conviction of manslaughter was last year upgraded to murder for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago.

His lawyers said he won't appeal the sentence, which is just one year longer than his earlier jail term.
Trump visits Capitol Hill as Republicans seek unity

Like a victorious general, Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with Republican lawmakers scrambling to put up a united front behind him as the party convention nears.

But in a sign of the bad blood, if not outright disgust, that Trump still stirs as the presumptive presidential nominee, some key lawmakers found reasons to skip the meetings, one with House members and another with senators.

Scheduling conflicts were the most commonly stated pretext.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump arrives at Republican National Committee headquarters on July 7, 2016 Mark Wilson (Getty/AFP)

And in a statement issued after the meeting with House members, Speaker Paul Ryan had nothing positive to say about Trump -- other than to thank him for the visit and what Ryan called Trump's desire to unify the party.

"It was an important opportunity for our members to get additional information about Mr Trump's campaign and ask questions about the issues that matter to Americans," Ryan's statement said.

"It's clear that our party is committed to defeating Hillary Clinton and Democrats this fall."

Trump in turn tweeted: "Just leaving D.C. Had great meetings with Republicans in the House and Senate. Very interesting day! These are people who love our country!"

Trump answered questions for more than 40 minutes from around 20 House members on a variety of topics, said Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

"The conversation this morning gave many members of the House Republican Conference the chance to share their policy ideas with Mr Trump and to ask questions to get to know him," her office said in a statement.

"For many, it was their first introduction, and it was a positive step toward winning in the fall," it added.

- Tense meeting -

The meeting with senators was tense, The Washington Post reported, quoting two Republicans with direct knowledge of the session.

Trump criticized three senators who have been critical of his candidacy and predicted they would lose their bids for re-election, the Post said.

The no-shows for the day included Senator Marco Rubio, a formal Trump rival for the nomination, and respected Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose status as a war hero was famously derided by Trump early in the campaign.

Thursday's meeting with representatives was hosted by Ryan, who will also serve as chairman of the Republican National Convention July 18-21 in Cleveland, Ohio.

It is there that the billionaire real estate mogul -- criticized as bigoted, narcissistic, ignorant on foreign and defense policy, and altogether unfit to be president -- is scheduled to be anointed the party's candidate in the November election to take on Hillary Clinton and the Democrats.

Trump first met with Ryan in May in a highly anticipated meeting. It concluded with a joint statement in which each pledged to work towards unity, but Ryan did not endorse Trump at the time.

He did, eventually, and has stuck by it, even after describing Trump's behavior as textbook racist when the mogul said a judge overseeing a trial involving Trump University was biased because of his Mexican heritage.

House Speaker Paul Ryan had nothing positive to say about Donald Trump other than to thank him for the visit Mark Wilson (Getty/AFP)
N. Korea says US sanctions on leader 'a declaration of war'

North Korea said Friday that the new US sanctions targeting its leader Kim Jong-Un amounted to a "declaration of a war" and vowed to take strong retaliatory measures.

The move by the United States constituted "the worst hostility" against the North, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Washington on Wednesday placed Kim on its sanctions blacklist, calling him directly responsible for a long list of serious human rights abuses.

For the first time, Washington has blacklisted Kim Jong-Un and 10 other top North Korean officials for human rights abuses

The sanctions are the first that name the country's "Supreme Leader", as well as the first targeting the reclusive state for rights violations.

In its first reaction to the move, Pyongyang urged Washington to retract the sanctions immediately, warning that the North would instantly cut off "every lever and channel for diplomatic contact" between the two countries if the US failed to do so.

"The US dared challenge the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership, an act reminiscent of a new-born puppy knowing no fear of a tiger," the statement said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

"This is the worst hostility and an open declaration of war against the DPRK as it has gone far beyond the confrontation over the 'human rights issue'."

"Now that the US declared a war on the DPRK, any problem arising in the relations with the US will be handled under the latter's wartime law," it said.

Strongly worded retaliation by Pyongyang is not unusual, and it has previously described actions by the US and neighbouring South Korea as declarations of war.

But the reference to "wartime law" is rare, and suggests Pyongyang will officially treat the US as if they are engaged in a conflict.

The statement said the reclusive nation will take "the toughest countermeasures to resolutely shatter the hostility of the US", but did not elaborating on what this could entail.

- Personal insult -

Ten other top Pyongyang officials were also blacklisted by the US on Wednesday, accused of being behind widespread abuses that have made North Korea "among the world's most repressive countries".

South Korea on welcomed the move by the US, saying it hoped it would shine a light on human rights "violations" in the North.

South Korean analysts had anticipated that the North would react angrily to what they would likely perceive as a "personal insult" against Kim.

Kim, who took power four and a half years ago after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il, is the subject of a personality cult that permeates every aspect of life in the repressive state.

"There will be a bombardment of diatribes from North Korea against the US as the military, government agencies and various social groups are likely to fall over themselves to prove their loyalty to Kim", Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies told AFP.

But, he said, the North would probably wait until the start of the annual joint US-South Korea military exercises that begin in August to flex its military muscle.

Professor Kim Yong-Hyun of Dongguk University said the North would ratchet up tension but it would stop short of conducting another nuclear test to avoid further alienating its main ally and economic benefactor China.

The international community has issued to a series of increasingly harsh sanctions on North Korea this year linked to its nuclear programme.

Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and a missile test, disguised as a satellite launch, in the following month.
EU parliament urges Myanmar to protect Rohingya minority

The European Parliament on Thursday urged Myanmar to end what it termed "brutal repression" and "systematic persecution" against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi insisted in May her new government was determined to address deep hatreds in western Rakhine State, where tens of thousands of Rohingya are confined to squalid displacement camps after waves of deadly unrest with local Buddhists in 2012.

But she and her administration have been widely criticised for not speaking up sufficiently for the group in a country where nationalists even refuse to use the term "Rohingya", which Suu Kyi herself has maintained risks inflaming tensions.

In this photograph taken on July 2, 2016, Muslim Rohingya children are seen at one of the displacement camp in Sittwe located in western Myanmar's Rakhine State Win Moe (AFP/File)

Nationalists in a country where radical Buddhism is on the rise label the group "Bengalis," casting Myanmar's more than one million Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

The European Parliament showed its deep concern by passing a resolution calling for the issue to be urgently addressed.

"Parliament reiterates its deep concern about the plight of Rohingya in South-East Asia. This ethno-religious Muslim minority of about one million people is one of the worlds most persecuted minorities, officially stateless since the 1982 Burmese Citizenship Law and unwanted by the Myanmar authorities and by neighbouring countries," the assembly said in a resolution that decried the Rohingya's "extremely vulnerable situation."

European lawmakers said Myanmar must "as a matter of urgency ensure free and unimpeded access to Rakhine State, where some 120,000 Rohingya remain in more than 80 internal displacement camps, for humanitarian actors, the United Nations, international human rights organisations, journalists and other international observers."

They also called on the south Asian country to "condemn unequivocally all incitement to racial or religious hatred and implement specific measures and policies to prevent direct and indirect discrimination against the Rohingya in the future."

A recent UN report expressed similar concern, citing denial of citizenship, forced labour and sexual assault of Rohingya.

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party took power in April, ending nearly half a century of military domination.
Protesters demand justice after latest US police shooting

For Ericka Cullars-Golden, one of hundreds of people protesting the fatal police shooting of a black man in Minnesota, the incident provoked a sadly familiar feeling of shock.

Cullars-Golden said her son Marcus Golden was shot in the head when Saint Paul police opened fire on him last year.

"I am so traumatized," she said of his death.

A memorial left for Philando Castile on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP)

Like Philando Castile, the man fatally shot on Wednesday, Golden was black.

"I wanted to come out today to show my support today because many of you have been supportive of my family," Cullars-Golden said at an emotional protest outside the governor's mansion, joining a line-up of activist speakers.

Rallies in Minnesota on Thursday demanded justice for Castile, who was shot during a traffic stop.

At a vigil Thursday night that brought together 1,500 people outside the school where Castile worked, Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman spoke of young black men "not knowing where to put your hands because any gesture can result in a shooting."

He asked that people of all colors "stand together in solidarity."

Castile's mother, Valerie, said her son lived by the law but also died by the law.

"Our nation is in trouble," she said. "Our black children are on the endangered species list."

The grieving mother then delivered a message to the officer who fired the shots: "You unholstered your weapon, and all he did was comply with your request!"

Some protesters were angry, others wiped away tears. Hailing from all backgrounds, they stood shoulder-to-shoulder, chanting their demands for justice.

"Stop executing black people," read one sign at the governor's mansion protest. T-shirts bore slogans including "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" and the name of the national advocacy group, Black Lives Matter.

- Outrage -

Castile was the second black man in two days fatally shot by US police. They are the latest in a string of similar cases that have fueled outrage across the United States, from city streets to the White House.

Protests were multiplying Thursday night, with demonstrations in New York, Chicago Washington, Los Angeles and other cities.

Amplifying the horror was the video live-streamed in the shooting's aftermath by the slain man's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, as she sat in the passenger seat. Her 4-year-old daughter, Dae'Anna, was sitting in the back seat.

Castile, 32, had been pulled over Wednesday in Falcon Heights, near Minneapolis, for a broken tail light.

He was shot after informing the officer that he had a gun and a permit to carry, and then reaching for his wallet, according to Reynolds.

In the southern state of Louisiana on Tuesday, 37-year-old father of five Alton Sterling was pinned to the ground by police outside a convenience store and shot several times at point-blank range.

- 'Do better' -

Castile, known as "Mr. Phil," was remembered by tearful coworkers as the cafeteria supervisor who could calm rambunctious children, comfort others and make sure every student was fed even when the electricity was out.

He was described as exceedingly gentle, "one of the good guys."

At the governor's mansion, Jess Banks, 41, held a sign reading, "Philando Castile fed my sons lunch. Cops fed him four bullets. Black Lives Matter."

Tammi Curtis, a 50-year old grandmother, said her two grandsons, ages 8 and 11, were students at Castile's school. They were too heartbroken to attend the vigil and the younger boy even postponed his birthday party Thursday.

"It's a tragedy," Curtis said.

Hannah Lieberman, 32, said she could not bear to watch the video that shows Castile dying.

Her bottom lip trembled and tears welled as she expressed empathy for Reynolds's young daughter, who could be heard on the video comforting her mother.

"I'm concerned that that child's trauma is going to be preserved forever, and that made me refrain from sharing the video widely on social media," Lieberman said.

"I'm here because I think as Minnesotans we can do better," Lieberman said.

An editor watches a video showing Diamond Reynolds, who livestreamed her boyfriend's dying moments after a police shooting in Minnesota
High-profile US police killings of black suspects

The United States was coming to terms on Thursday with the latest controversial police shootings of black men.

Wednesday's shooting in the state of Minnesota of 32-year-old Philando Castile, came as civil rights investigators probed a similar incident a day earlier in Louisiana in which 37-year-old father of five Alton Sterling was shot to death by police.

Here are a selection of recent killings of US black citizens that have caused outrage -- and sometimes violent protests -- across America.

A person reads the personal messages written on the wall next to the convenience store where Alton Sterling was shot and killed, July 6, 2016 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Mark Wallheiser (Getty/AFP)

- Mario Woods -

On December 2, 2015, in San Francisco, the 26-year-old is shot by police who say he would not hand over a knife.

The scene is filmed on smartphones. At least six police agents take aim at him while he is huddled against a wall.

- Freddie Gray -

On April 12, 2015 Baltimore police officers arrest Freddie Gray, 25. He is handcuffed and eventually placed on his stomach in a police van, unsecured by a seatbelt.

While in transit, Gray asks for medical help but none is given. The police van is diverted to assist in an unrelated case, at which point Gray is found unresponsive.

Despite this, an ambulance is not called until after the police van reaches a police station and Gray is found to be in cardiac arrest, having suffered serious spinal injuries in the van.

Gray dies on April 19, leading to rioting in Baltimore and protests in other US cities. State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby calls the arrest illegal. Six officers are later charged over the incident. One trial ends in a hung jury, and two others in acquittal. The fourth trial started on Thursday.

- Walter Scott -

On April 4, 2015 in the state of South Carolina, a video shows police officer Michael Slager gunning down a fleeing black man, 50-year-old Walter Scott, after a traffic stop.

The video seems to show Slager in an altercation with Scott. Slager then draws his gun and shoot seven to eight shots in Scott's back as he flees. Slager was charged with murder in June 2015. His trial is due to open on October 31.

- Tamir Rice -

On November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio, a video emerges of US police officers shooting dead Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy carrying a replica gun, just seconds after confronting him.

Surveillance video showed Rice was killed within seconds of the patrol car arriving on the scene in a park.

In December 2015, the US authorities announce that the police officers concerned will not be prosecuted.

- Akai Gurley -

On November 20, 2014 an unarmed black man, Akai Gurley, 28, is shot by an Asian-American officer who opens fire in a dimly lit staircase at a Brooklyn, New York apartment block.

On the day of his funeral on December 7, New Yorkers take to the streets to denounce the spate of police killings. The police officer, Peter Liang, is in April 2016 given five years probation.

- Laquan McDonald -

On October 20, 2014 in Chicago a white police officer pumps 16 bullets into the 17-year-old adolescent, who was not showing threatening behavior.

Images of the incident shown in November 2015 during the indictment for premeditated murder of the police officer shock the country, right up to President Barack Obama.

The shockwaves lead to the chief of police in Chicago being fired and a federal probe which embarrasses Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff.

- Michael Brown -

On August 9, 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, a white police officer shoots dead 18-year-old Brown, unleashing sometimes violent protests.

A subsequent decision not to indict the officer, Darren Wilson, prompts riots in Ferguson and raises tensions from New York to Seattle, with thousands taking to the streets.

In March 2015, the US Justice Department publishes a scathing report into the shooting, condemning Ferguson's city hall, police department and municipal court for targeting the city's African American majority. A black man subsequently takes over as head of Ferguson's police.

- Eric Garner -

On July 17, 2014, African American Eric Garner, 43, dies after being held in a police chokehold while he is being arrested for selling individual cigarettes illegally in New York.

In an amateur video which is viewed around the world, as police wrestle him to the ground, Garner is heard repeating: "I can't breathe."

A coroner declares the death a homicide. But a grand jury opts not to charge the white officer involved, sparking demonstrations in several cities.

- Trayvon Martin -

The 17-year-old unarmed adolescent is killed on February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in 2013 by a jury which found that he had acted in self defence.

A mural honoring Freddie Gray near where he was arrested, on June 23, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File)

A memorial site setup near where Walter Scott was killed on April 11, 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina Joe Raedle (Getty/AFP/File)

A protester is surrounded by tear gas during a demonstration on November 24, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File)
Anti-Trump protesters urge Walmart to skip Republican convention

Protestors opposed to Donald Trump in New York Thursday called on retail giant Walmart to follow other major companies and stay away from the Republican Party convention this month.

"Stop hate, dump Trump!" dozens of protesters shouted outside the gold-colored Trump Tower building on Fifth Avenue, alluding to Trump's history of controversial comments that critics view as racist, xenophobic and sexist.

"Are Walmart's values the same as Donald Trump's values?" they said.

Protesters gather outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan during an anti-Trump protest on July 7, 2016 in New York City Spencer Platt (Getty/AFP)

Protesters urged the retailer to follow the example of other major companies that have decided to refrain from sponsoring activities and events at the Republican Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 18-21, at which Trump is expected to be nominated for US president.

Companies reportedly avoiding the event include Apple, Wells Fargo, UPS and Ford.

"Others have pulled out of the convention to contest the Trump agenda," said Audrey Sasson of the group Walmart-Free NYC.

"We are asking why Walmart is not doing the same and asking whether we should assume they share his agenda. If they don't do anything, we are going to continue with the pressure."

The New York protest was launched in tandem with events in Chicago, Washington and San Francisco by the labor union-backed group Making Change at Walmart, which criticizes the world's largest retailer over low pay.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company was donating $15,000 to both the Republican event in Cleveland and the Democratic convention on Philadelphia. The company is not taking a position on the election.
Rwandan ex-mayors to appeal French life terms over genocide

Two former Rwandan mayors will appeal their conviction and life sentences for taking part in the massacre of hundreds of Tutsis during the country's 1994 genocide, their lawyers said Thursday.

"We shall appeal this conviction," said Francoise Mathe and Philippe Meilhac, criticising the motives of the Paris court in deciding it.

Octavien Ngenzi, 58, and Tito Barahira, 65, were Wednesday found guilty of "crimes against humanity", "massive and systematic summary executions" and "genocide" in their village of Kabarondo, where some 2,000 people seeking refuge in a church were hacked to death.

Tito Barahira (back, L) and Octavien Ngenzi (back, R), two former Rwandan mayors accused of orchestrating "massive and systematic summary executions", stand trial at the Paris courthouse Benoit Peyrucq (AFP/File)

Ngenzi and Barahira denied the charges at an eight-week trial which found that they were "supervisors" and "executioners" in the massacre at the height of the genocide in which 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists.

Theirs was the stiffest genocide sentence ever handed down by a French court. In 2014, former Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa received 25 years in solitary confinement for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Ngenzi and Barahira, as well as Simbikangwa, were arrested in France and judged under universal jurisdiction which permits states to rule on serious crimes regardless of where the wrongdoing was committed or of the accused's nationality or residence.

Mathe criticised the verdict as "imprecise and vague and riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions 22 years on from the killings, a time gap sufficient in his view to mean reasonable doubt exists over the role of the accused.

Unlike the trial of Simbikangwa, an 11-page document setting out the evidence against the former mayors laid down the main elements of the case against them, but lacking details of specific witness testimony in a manner which preferred "quantity to quality" of evidence, the defence lawyers said.

They also argued the case had been conducted "chaotically" and "without a clear and complete vision of the situation", while the accused had been, in their view, "excluded from debates" to the extent that "they were treated as undesirable guests at their own trial."

Meilhac decried what he said were "contradictions in chronology which were fundamental in that, according to declarations by different witnesses, the accused were sometimes in different places at one and these (contradictions) were unable to be examined."

Michel Laval, acting for a number of civil plaintiffs in the case, said he was satisfied with the guilty verdict and could not comment on the length of the sentence handed down as that was in the remit of the court.

By comparison, former army colonel Theoneste Bagosora, considered to have directed the genocide, was handed a life term commuted to 35 years on appeal by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The tribunal handed down sentences ranging from several years to life in jail to other mayors also found culpable of atrocities.
U.S. transport authorities nominated eight airlines to begin regularly scheduled services to Havana, Cuba from 10 U.S. cities, ending a nearly six-decade break.

The Department of Transportation said the airlines proposed for the service would share 20 round-trip flights a day already approved by the two governments.

The U.S. airlines tentatively approved for scheduled Havana service include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines.

The 10 U.S. cities are Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; New York; and four in Florida  Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.

Of the 20 daily non-stop flights allowed to Havana, 14 are from Florida, home to the largest population of Cuban-Americans.

Scroll down for video

U.S. tourists walk outside the Bodeguita del Medio Bar in Old Havana, Cuba. U.S. transport authorities nominated eight airlines to begin regularly scheduled services to Havana from 10 U.S. cities

The U.S. airlines tentatively approved for scheduled Havana service include Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, and Southwest Airlines (a file photo of a Southwest Airlines plane above)

United will fly from Newark and Houston under the proposal.

Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando and Tampa will also offer nonstop service.

In addition, both countries will be able to conduct 10 round-trip flights per day between US cities and each of Cuba's other international airports, aside from Havana.

That allows for a total of 90 round-trip flights a day between the two countries.

U.S. NAMES EIGHT AIRLINES FOR SCHEDULED HAVANA SERVICES 1. Alaska Airlines 2. American Airlines 3. Delta Air Lines 4. Frontier Airlines 5. JetBlue Airways 6. Southwest Airlines 7. Spirit Airlines 8. United Airlines Advertisement

'Today we take another important step toward delivering on President [Barack] Obama's promise to reengage Cuba,' said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.

'Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes.'

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill shared the same sentiments, noting reopening travel relations with Cuba is about more than just restoring the freedom to travel there for all Americans.

'It's about opening Cuba to new ideas, new values and improved human rights that our 50-year-old policy of isolation could not achieve,' Durbin said.

But Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, expressed doubts about the Cuban government's ability to prevent attacks by militants, saying the Obama administration is 'in a mad rush to sign agreements' before 'ensuring basic safeguards of security.'

A year and a half ago, Obama announced with Cuba President Raul Castro that it was time for the longtime adversaries to 'begin a new journey.'

Washington has since reopened the U.S. Embassy in Havana and taken other steps to bolster ties.

This March 2016 photo shows people walking past colonial buildings in Havana, Cuba. Of the 20 daily nonstop flights allowed to Havana, 14 are from Florida, home to the largest population of Cuban-Americans

Conservatives in Congress have been unwilling to lift the trade embargo of Cuba, which includes a travel ban.

That means most Americans still cannot legally visit Cuba.

But the administration has eased rules to the point where travelers are now free to design their own 'people-to-people' cultural exchange tours with little oversight.

Cuban-Americans have been able to travel to Cuba without restriction since 2009.

THE 10 U.S. CITIES SELECTED FOR SCHEDULED FLIGHTS BETWEEN AMERICA AND CUBA 1. Atlanta, Georgia 2. Charlotte, North Carolina 3. Houston, Texas 4. Los Angeles, California 5. Newark, New Jersey 6. New York, New York 7. Miami, Florida 8. Fort Lauderdale, Florida 9. Orlando, Florida 10. Tampa, Florida Advertisement

Airlines still need to record  and keep for five years  the official reason why someone travels to Cuba, so reservation systems have been revamped to allow passengers to select one of the 12 permitted categories.

They include family visits, official business and educational or religious activities.

Foxx said the decision won't be final until later this summer in order to provide a 30-day public comment period.

Last month, the Transportation Department announced the approval of six U.S. airlines to begin service as early as this fall to other Cuban cities.

The government's decision, if made final, would require that the airlines begin service within 90 days of the issue date of a final order.

U.S. citizens' interest in visiting Cuba has swelled 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.

Currently, the first commercial flight to Cuba is set to be flown by Silver Airways on September 1 from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara.

The Department of Transportation said the airlines proposed for the service would share 20 round-trip flights a day already approved by the two governments. Service will run from 10 U.S. cities including Miami (Miami International Airport above)

Now that the Havana routes have been announced, one of the other airlines might try to start flying even sooner if final U.S. approval comes quickly and airlines operations are ready.

U.S. airlines have been spending months working quietly behind the scenes to prepare for Cuban flights.

Several carriers already serve the island nation with charter service; American has been flying to Cuba since 1991, the longest of any airline.
Retire Tennessee, the states retiree recruitment program under the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, announced the addition of Campbell, Henderson, Monroe and Washington counties , bringing the total number of active Retire Tennessee counties to 23.

We are very pleased to expand this important program for Tennessee, Commissioner Kevin Triplett, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development said. These four new counties, bringing the total to 23, have so much to offer those making retirement decisions. Tennessees low cost of living, no state income tax, low property taxes, four mild seasons, incredible quality of living and breathtaking scenic beauty offer an ideal package for retirees looking to relocate.

Additional official retiree counties include Anderson, Carter, Cumberland, Franklin, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hardin, Jefferson, Loudon, Maury, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Sullivan, Sumner, Unicoi, Warren and White.

Now in its tenth year, Retire Tennessee inspired more than 8,000 inquiries from potential retirees last year. Tennessee is one of only four states with retiree recruitment as a formal program and continues to gain momentum as a potential retirement destination for more than 78 million baby boomers. Tennessee was recently ranked No. 4 in the 10 Best States for Retirement 2016 by Kiplinger.com, the popular personal finance and business publication.

Ramay Winchester, director of tourism initiatives, has managed the Retire Tennessee program since its inception and has seen firsthand the effects of the program on each of its communities.

The success of this program is evidence of Tennessees remarkable quality of life. Our Retire Tennessee counties are the crown jewels in attracting new residents that bring even more value to our state, Winchester said. Active retirees relocating to these communities help stimulate the economy , while bringing their knowledge and time to invest in their new community.

Retirees have recognized tremendous value along the Norris Lake shoreline and along Tennessees Cumberland Mountain Range for decades, Campbell County Mayor E.L. Morton said. It is fitting that we nest our value, easy I-75 access and attraction qualities within the strength of the Retire Tennessee brand. It represents a growth opportunity for our community and our commitment to continue to create unmatched retirement living value; a natural and ready fit.

Henderson County is excited about participating in the Retire Tennessee program, said Henderson County Mayor Dan Hughes. This gives us the opportunity to showcase our cities and county. From our seven lakes to the state's largest park to an antigenic Civil War battlefield to a way of life people yearn for daily. We are located on I-40 in West Tennessee.

We are excited for Monroe County to be a part of the state sponsored Retire Tennessee program. Monroe County is nestled between Knoxville and Chattanooga and is known for its friendly atmosphere, mild climate, unmatched beauty and unique historical sites, Monroe County Mayor Tim Yates said. Monroe County has an abundance of commercial properties and expanding businesses and the economic growth is stronger than ever. If you love being outdoors we have the Cherohala Skyway which you can bike, hike or just site see in the Cherokee National Forest. Monroe County also has a very low tax rate which makes it a desirable area to relocate, with a vibrant retirement community.

The characteristics and amenities of our community are attractive to many potential retirees. Having the Retire Tennessee designation will enhance our efforts to attract those planning to relocate and looking for a new community to call home, Washington County Mayor Dan Eldridge said.

The numbers of inquiries to Tennessee from advertising and expos were at a high this past year. The attendance at the Ideal Living Resort & Retirement Expos set new records. Carefully chosen expo locations in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and greater Washington, D.C. were the best attended. Interest in Tennessee is up 22 percent compared to 7 percent eight years ago.
NATO countries willing to 'do more' in Afghanistan: Pentagon chief

NATO members have indicated they will boost contributions to the Afghanistan security mission, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday, a day after Washington announced thousands of US troops would remain in the war-ravaged country.

Speaking to reporters aboard a military plane as he flew to the biennial NATO summit in Warsaw, which President Barack Obama will also attend,

Carter said alliance members have welcomed Obama's decision to keep 8,400 US troops in Afghanistan through the end of his term in office.

Most US forces in Afghanistan are operating as part of NATO's Operation Resolute Support Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File)

Obama had previously vowed to slash the troop numbers from the current level of 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of this year, but a resurgent Taliban -- coupled with an uptick in Al-Qaeda and Islamic State attacks -- made the reduction untenable.

Most US forces in Afghanistan are operating as part of NATO's Operation Resolute Support. In all, 39 NATO nations and partners contribute to the overall force of about 13,000.

Many NATO countries have "indicated the need to stick with the Resolute Support mission and to do more than they might have anticipated in past years," Carter said.

"A number of them have indicated they will be making those contributions, and I think the president will hear from other heads of state in NATO about what they are willing to do also in the future years. That's going to be an important outcome of the summit."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said he supported Obama's announcement.

Most of the NATO troops in Afghanistan are working as advisors to local Afghan security forces.

Despite having about 320,000 troops and police officers, the Afghan forces have struggled to control the Taliban and have at times buckled under institutional failings such as deeply rooted corruption.

Carter said the extra US troops will allow Afghan forces to "reset" at the end of this summer's fighting season and get extra training over the winter.

The Afghan issue is one of three main crises confronting NATO at this year's summit.
Minnesota police response in fatal shooting appears excessive: governor

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton said Thursday there was "every indication" that police conduct in the fatal shooting of a black motorist was "way in excess" of what the situation warranted, and that race may have played a role.

"I can't say how shocked I am and how deeply, deeply offended that this would occur in Minnesota to somebody who got pulled over for a tail light being out of order," Dayton told reporters, calling the situation "absolutely appalling" on all levels.

The Democratic governor also suggested race could be a factor in the shooting of 32-year-old Philando Castile, as his girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter looked on.

Minnesota Governor, Mark Dayton, listens to speakers outside the Governor's Mansion on July 7, 2016 in St. Paul, Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP)

"Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don't think it would have," he said.

"So I'm forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists."

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the immediate aftermath of the shooting, as Castile lay bleeding in the driver's seat and an officer pointed his gun through the window.

Pulled over for a broken tail light, Castile informed the officer he was carrying a licensed gun, Reynolds said, and was shot as he reached for his license and registration.
US soul-searching after police fatally shoot two black men

US President Barack Obama made an emotional appeal for urgent police reform after the fatal shootings of two black men by police, as protests over the deaths erupted in major cities across the country.

The deaths this week of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota -- both caught on video -- are once again fueling a debate about police use of lethal force, especially against African-Americans.

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds livestreamed the aftermath of Wednesday night's shooting in a Saint Paul suburb with an officer pointing his gun at her through the window as her four-year-old daughter sat in the back of the car.

Valerie Castile, the mother of police shooting victim Philando Castile, speaks during a protest in St. Paul, Minnesota Joy Powell (AFP)

The 10-minute video -- which shows Castile bleeding out -- prompted widespread outrage and has been viewed millions of times after it was posted on Facebook.

It prompted thousands to march and chant across Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Dallas and Atlanta Thursday evening, with more than 1,000 protesters gathered in New York's Time Square.

Obama, America's first black president, said it was clear the shootings were not "isolated incidents."

"They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve," he said in a statement on Facebook.

Obama urged Americans to work together to heal the divisions, while making clear that police officers should not be blamed wholesale.

"To admit we've got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day," he said.

"When people say black lives matter, it doesn't mean blue lives don't matter," he said upon arrival in Poland for a NATO summit, referring to the color of uniforms worn by American police officers.

"It's incumbent on all of us to say we can do better than this."

"This is not just a black issue. It's not just a Hispanic issue," he said. "This is an American issue that we should all care about."

- Nationwide protests -

Dozens of protesters -- mostly young people -- blocked traffic on a highway in Chicago. They marched with arms linked, chanting: "It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains."

About a thousand protesters clogged New York's iconic Times Square, at one point staging a sit-in. Police arrested some of them, loading them onto city buses they borrowed for the occasion.

Another thousand rallied in Washington at the White House, then marched to the US Capitol where veteran civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis stood on the steps and addressed the crowd through a bullhorn.

- 'Racism exists' -

In Minnesota, a visibly upset Governor Mark Dayton said Thursday there was "every indication" that police conduct in the Castile case was "way in excess" of what the situation warranted, and that race may have played a role.

"I can't say how shocked I am and how deeply, deeply offended that this would occur in Minnesota to somebody who got pulled over for a tail light being out of order," he told reporters, calling the situation "absolutely appalling."

"Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don't think it would have," Dayton said.

"So I'm forced to confront, and I think all of us in Minnesota are forced to confront, that this kind of racism exists."

Dayton has urged a federal civil rights probe into the shooting, similar to the one launched in Louisiana over the death of Sterling, a 37-year-old father of five.

Speaking to reporters outside the governor's mansion after a night in police custody, Reynolds repeated what she said in the gruesome footage: that Castile was shot "for no reason."

After he was pulled over, Castile duly informed the officer that he possessed a licensed gun, she said -- and was shot as he reached for his wallet to retrieve his identification.

Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria worker described by relatives as a quiet, law-abiding citizen, had made no threat, Reynolds said.

She said the officer, whom she described as an Asian male, made conflicting demands -- telling Castile both to keep his hands in the air and identify himself.

- 'It's OK, Mommy' -

Reynolds said she livestreamed the event to forestall any attempt by police to deny what happened.

"I didn't do it for pity. I didn't do it for fame. I did so that the world knows that these police are not here to protect us," she said.

"They're here to assassinate us, they're here to kill us because we are black."

Reynolds said her phone had been seized as evidence and voiced fear of a police cover-up.

In the video methodically narrated by Reynolds, Castile can be seen in the driver's seat, blood stains spreading through his white shirt.

At the end of the video, as she sits crying in the back of a police car, Reynolds's daughter can be heard telling her: "It's OK, Mommy. It's OK, I'm right here with you."

- Guns in possession -

Although the victims in both the Minnesota and Louisiana cases had guns in their possession, there is no indication they pointed their weapons at police.

On Tuesday in Louisiana, Sterling was pinned to the ground and shot multiple times at point blank range.

Baton Rouge police said they had responded after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by a man with a gun. Sterling's family lawyer said he was merely selling CDs outside a convenience store.

A GoFundMe campaign has so far raised more than $500,000 for Sterling's children.

An editor watches the video of the dying moments of Philando Castile, a black man shot by Minnesota police after being pulled over while driving

A sign reading, "Justice for Philando," and police tape are draped over the entrance of the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota Stephen Maturen (Getty/AFP)

Protestors march in Chicago after the video Alton Sterling being killed by Baton Rouge police was released Tasos Katopodis (AFP)
19 people arrested over Saudi attacks including Medina: ministry

Nineteen people, including 12 Pakistani nationals, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia following suicide attacks on Monday, including one near Islam's second-holiest site in the city of Medina, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Seven people are believed to have been killed and two wounded in three separate attacks -- in Medina, at a Shiite mosque in Qatif, and in western Jeddah, the economic capital, not far from the US consulate.

A 26-year-old Saudi man, Naer Moslem Hammad al-Balawi, who had a "history of drug use" had been identified as the perpetrator of the Medina attack, the ministry said in a statement published by the official SPA news agency.

Saudi security personel gather at the site of the suicide attack near the security headquarters of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina City on July 4, 2016

The Qatif attack, it added, was carried out by three "terrorists," including one man named as Abderrahman Saleh Mohammed al-Amr, 23, who it said was known to the security services for taking part in protests.

The Jeddah attacker was a Pakistani man identified as Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a driver who had been living in the city for 12 years, the ministry said earlier.

Four people were killed in the Medina explosion near the Prophet's Mosque, which came as Muslims prepared for this week's Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The body parts of three people were found after another suicide bombing in the Shiite-populated Gulf city of Qatif, the ministry said earlier.

Two police officers were wounded the Jeddah attack.

The US embassy in Riyadh reported no casualties among consulate staff during the attack, which coincided with the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister, said while visiting the wounded policemen in Jeddah that the attacks would "only increase our solidarity and make us stronger."

No group has claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks so far.

However, a series of bombings and shootings claimed by the Islamic State group (IS) in Saudi Arabia since late 2014 has targeted minority Shiites as well as the security forces, killing dozens.

Most attacks have taken place in Eastern Province, home to the majority of the country's Shiites.

IS group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has called for attacks against Saudi Arabia, which is taking part in the US-led coalition bombing the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.
US judge nixes latest attempt to toss Cosby sex assault case

Disgraced US television star Bill Cosby lost another bid Thursday to have a sexual assault case against him tossed, clearing the way for a trial to eventually begin over the claims dating back to 2004.

The pioneering black comedian faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted in a Pennsylvania court of assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in the Philadelphia area. The actor's lawyers insist his relations with Constand were consensual.

His legal team tried to have the case thrown out on procedural grounds, saying that his rights had been violated when prosecutors did not call Constand to the stand at a pre-trial hearing, meaning she could not be cross-examined.

Comedian Bill Cosby departs the Montgomery County Courthouse after a hearing, related to aggravated indecent assault charges, on July 7, 2016, in Norristown, Pennsylvania Dominick Reuter (AFP)

The judge in the Montgomery County court, Steven O'Neill, disagreed.

Cosby's lawyer Brian McMonagle vowed to appeal the decision to the state's supreme court.

"We are confident that our state's highest court will right this wrong, will reverse this decision and allow us to begin our journey to making sure that Mr Cosby is proven innocent," he said.

Cosby was present at Thursday's hearing, often whispering with his lawyers and nodding his head as the proceedings went on.

Going to trial will cement a brutal fall from grace for Cosby -- America's once-treasured father figure, apparent model citizen and award-winning comedian who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

But in recent years, more than 50 women have publicly painted the 78-year-old Cosby as a serial sexual predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to have sex and make them unable to resist his advances.

So far, the case brought over Constand's allegations is the only criminal case against him. Most of the other claims are too far in the past to be actionable.

For prosecutor Kevin Steele, Cosby's defense attorneys will have their chance to question Constand at trial.
UN South Sudan representative to visit conflict area

The UN special representative in South Sudan will travel to the country's west, where renewed fighting has prompted thousands to flee, the United Nations said Thursday.

Ellen Margrethe Loej said she will travel on Saturday to Wau, one of the country's largest cities, "to assess the situation for myself."

"I continue to call for an end to violence for the sake of the civilians, who have suffered far too much for far too long."

This photo taken on July 1, 2016 shows people waiting to be registered as displaced persons in a South Sudan Redcross compound in Wau, South Sudan Charles Lomodong (AFP/File)

The situation in Wau -- around 400 miles (650 kilometers) northwest of the capital Juba -- remains tense after heavy mortar and machine gun fire was heard Thursday south of a UN base there.

The episode prompted some 200 to 250 civilians to join those already taking refuge there, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said.

The base is hosting some 19,000 civilians displaced by the fighting.

The UN has repeatedly asked President Salva Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) to allow aid workers free access to the population and help encourage the return of internally displaced people.

More than 160,000 civilians are taking refuge in UN camps across the country.

Civil war broke out in 2013 after Kiir sacked his deputy Riek Machar just two years after the country seceded from Sudan.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands -- the exact death toll is unknown -- and left more than 2.3 million displaced.

As part of a peace deal signed last year, Machar returned to Juba in April to take up the post of vice president in a national unity government.
Suspects in peacekeeper sexual abuse case are Burundian: UN

The latest UN peacekeepers accused of sexually abusing minors in the Central African Republic are from a Burundian contingent, a spokesman said Thursday.

The alleged abuse, which dates back to May and took place in the central region of Kemo, reportedly involved a 12-year-old and another minor under 18.

The United Nations announced Friday that it was opening an investigation into the matter.

"The troops-contributing country in question is Burundi," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday, refusing to rule out that the contingent would be sent home Marco Longari (AFP/File)

"The troops-contributing country in question is Burundi," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Thursday, refusing to rule out that the contingent would be sent home.

"We have to let the investigation go through on this particular case," he said. "All options remain on the table, including repatriation."

The UN has already withdrawn entire contingents of peacekeepers in similar cases. However, it falls to the countries of origin to investigate and punish offenders.

Some 12,000 people serve in the UN's Central Africa peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSCA.
Sanders expected to endorse Clinton next week: report

US senator Bernie Sanders, who battled Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, is expected to endorse her next week at a rally in New Hampshire, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Three Democrats involved in planning Tuesday's event, who spoke to the US newspaper on condition of anonymity, said the anticipated endorsement is the results of weeks of talks between the two campaigns aimed at unifying the party.

Clinton's campaign confirmed that the presumptive presidential nominee will appear in the northeastern state Tuesday, without providing further details or mentioning Sanders.

This two-picture combination shows US Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton (L) and Bernie Sanders before the CNN Democratic Presidential Debate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on April 14, 2016 in New York Jewel Samad (AFP/File)

Sanders alluded to a potential endorsement during an MSNBC interview on Wednesday, when asked to confirm that talks about the possibility had occurred.

"That's correct," the 74-year-old Vermont senator replied.

Clinton clinched enough delegates to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in early June.

But the feisty self-described democratic socialist has nevertheless refused to concede defeat to his more moderate rival, though he has said he will vote for Clinton and will do anything to help defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Sanders has been negotiating with the Clinton campaign to ensure that his ideas are part of the party platform presented at the Democratic convention later this month, when Clinton is formally nominated.

Sanders hopes to push Clinton more to the left, particularly insisting "that the Democratic Party becomes a party that represents working people, not Wall Street."

Clinton on Wednesday announced a proposal to offer free college tuition to students of families making less than $125,000 per year by 2021, a shift Sanders -- who championed eliminating public college tuition -- called "revolutionary."
Georgia prosecutor drops crash case against trucking firm

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP)  A southeast Georgia prosecutor said Wednesday that he has dropped the criminal case against a trucking company charged in a fiery interstate crash last year that killed five nursing students.

District Attorney Tom Durden of Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit said he made the decision after Total Transportation of Mississippi agreed to spend $200,000 setting up a nonprofit group offering nursing students financial aid. A grand jury indicted the company in June on charges of vehicular homicide and other crimes related to the deadly crash on April 22, 2015.

Total Transportation was the employer of John Wayne Johnson, who drove the tractor-trailer that slammed into traffic backed up on Interstate 16 because of an unrelated crash. The big truck smashed two vehicles in which nursing students from Georgia Southern University were commuting to work at a Savannah hospital.

File- This April 22, 2015, file photo shows a Georgia state trooper working the scene of a deadly crash in which five people died and three others were injured in Ellabelle, Ga. A southeast Georgia prosecutor said Wednesday, July 6, 2016, that he has dropped the criminal case against a trucking company charged in a fiery interstate crash last year that killed five nursing students. District Attorney Tom Durden of Georgia's Atlantic Judicial Circuit said he made the decision after Total Transportation of Mississippi agreed to spend $200,000 setting up a nonprofit group offering nursing students financial aid. A grand jury indicted the company in June on charges of vehicular homicide and other crimes related to the deadly crash. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum, File)

Johnson of Shreveport, Louisiana, still faces charges in the crash and is scheduled to appear in court next week. While Georgia law allows for corporations to be prosecuted in criminal cases, it rarely happens in the state.

"It's kind of hard to prosecute a company. You can't put a company in jail," said Robert Cheeley, an attorney for the families of three of the women who died in the crash: Amber DeLoach of Savannah, Emily Clark of Powder Springs and Caitlyn Baggett of Millen.

Had Total Transportation been convicted in a criminal court, the only practical punishment would have been a fine, Cheeley said. And the company has already agreed to pay $78 million to settle civil lawsuits in the case.

Cheeley said the only client he had spoken with about the prosecutor's decision was Megan Richards, who survived the crash but suffered injuries.

"She would have preferred they spent the money on hiring better drivers and equipping their trucks with automatic braking systems so this collision never would have occurred in the first place," said Cheeley, who praised the district attorney for seeking to hold the company accountable.

Also killed in the crash were McKay Pittman of Alpharetta and Morgan Bass of Leesburg.

After civil lawsuits were filed in the crash, legal depositions revealed that Total Transportation hired Johnson even after he had disclosed being fired by a previous employer for falling asleep at the wheel. Johnson acknowledged under oath that the deadly I-16 crash was his fault, but insisted he was awake.

Durden said a judge signed an order Wednesday granting his request to drop the case against Total Transportation.

When he had discussed the case previously with victims' families, Durden said, they had asked if there was any way to make Total Transportation do something that would benefit nursing students. That's one reason he agreed to let the company establish an educational fund rather than stand trial, he said.
Critics: City wrongly altered street art questioned for bias

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP)  A New Jersey city has come under fire for changing a 33-foot, city commissioned Monopoly board mural that originally depicted a man behind bars.

The street art debuted in Jersey City in May. The Jersey Journal (http://bit.ly/29y6eTs ) reported it was repainted to a solid block of orange paint last week after some residents questioned whether the original image was racist.

The artist, Mr. Abillity, aka Gary Wynans, said the man behind bars is a self-portrait and doesn't depict a black man. He said he is of Puerto Rican and Italian ancestry.

This June 30, 2016 photo shows part of a painting of the Jersey City Monopoly board after the part was painted over by Mr. Abillity, aka Gary Wynans, who is the artist of the painting on the Newark Avenue pedestrian plaza in Jersey City, N.J. The New Jersey city has come under fire for changing a 33-foot, city commissioned Monopoly board mural that originally depicted a man behind bars. (Jonathan Lin/The Jersey Journal via AP)

The alteration faces more questions as some say the artist's First Amendment rights were violated.

Karin Bravin, an artist who operates a New York City gallery, says the artist has a "moral right to express himself" once commissioned for public art projects.

"It is a free speech issue," he said.

Svetlana Mintcheva, director of programs at the National Coalition Against Censorship, said cities that commission artwork should create policies they can follow if residents object.

"Pleasing everybody is not what public art is supposed to do," she said.

Mintcheva said a statement should've been installed near the street art explaining the image or a forum should've been hosted with the artist. She said she plans to write a letter to the city opposing city's handling of the matter.

But Pamela Johnson, leader of the Jersey City Anti-Violence Coalition Movement, and Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, D-Jersey City, both said that what the viewers see matters more than intent.

Johnson told the newspaper last week the image reinforced negative stereotypes against people of color.

Johnson said the First Amendment arguments opposing the change don't change her opinion.

"We already feel divided in the south," she said, referring to the city's southern end. "We do not need to see a person of color behind bars Downtown. We don't need to see that."

___

Information from: The Jersey Journal , http://www.nj.com/jjournal
Senator Bob Corker issued the following statement Wednesday after voting to advance the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act (S.3100) and the Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act (S.1762), which is known as Kates Law. The two bills would withhold certain federal funds from cities and counties that prevent local law enforcement officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities and impose mandatory prison terms for illegal immigrants convicted of major felonies or who have been deported but repeatedly enter the country illegally, respectively.



It is unacceptable that many cities are thwarting what little federal immigration enforcement is actually taking place, but I am pleased Tennessee prohibits these dangerous sanctuary city policies, said Senator Corker. It is unfortunate that some in the Senate refuse to even debate these common sense measures to improve the safety of communities across our country.
Mississippi mayor pardons pet pig of deployed military man

MOSS POINT, Miss. (AP)  A mayor in a Mississippi city has decided not to banish a pet pig while its owner is on military duty in Iraq.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/29iWWbq ) that Moss Point Mayor Billy Broomfield has saved the bacon, so to speak, of Patrick the pig.

Patrick's owner, Otis Lundy, will be deployed with the Air Force until this fall, and a friend is taking care of his pets. Patrick is 7 years old, and Lundy had him for years before a local ordinance banned pigs in the town.

Lundy's home is a few blocks from City Hall, and an animal-control officer saw Patrick while responding to a complaint about a dog.

After a social media uproar about the possibility of Patrick being confiscated, the mayor declared the pig could stay.

___
Galaxy phones drive 17 percent jump in Samsung's 2Q profit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  Samsung Electronics said Thursday that its second-quarter operating income jumped 17 percent over a year earlier to the highest quarterly profit in more than two years, as strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones drove profit growth in the mobile business.

In its earnings preview, the South Korean company put its operating income at 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion), compared with 6.9 trillion won a year earlier.

That was much higher than forecasts. Analysts predicted 7.4 trillion won of operating income according to FactSet, a financial data provider.

Middle school students try out Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones at the company's showroom in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 7, 2016. Samsung Electronics said Thursday that its second-quarter operating income jumped 17 percent over a year earlier to the highest quarterly profit in more than two years, as strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones drove profit growth in the mobile business.(AP Photo/Ahnn Young-joon)

It was the best performance in nine quarters. The last time Samsung raked in more than 8 trillion won of operating income was during the January-March period in 2014 when it reported 8.5 trillion won in operating profit.

Sales rose 3 percent to 50 trillion won. Samsung did not give its net profit or breakdowns among its business divisions.

The company is the world's largest maker of smartphones, televisions, memory chips and display panels. Each of Samsung's four business divisions likely showed strong results during the latest quarter, according to analysts. Key products of each business division  the Galaxy S7 smartphones, ultra-high definition TVs, solid state computer storage devices and thin and light displays known as OLED  all saw solid demand.

The most important drive behind its forecast-beating earnings was smartphones. In recent weeks, analysts revised up their forecasts on Samsung Electronics saying that Samsung's mobile business performed better than expected thanks to robust sales of the Galaxy S7 smartphone models.

The optimistic view reflects a shift from earlier this year when analysts thought Samsung's best year was behind it and that its annual profit would fall, largely because they saw Samsung's mobile growth coming to a halt.

After the release of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones in spring, however, the mood has changed. While Apple's flagship iPhone sales slowed, analysts predicted that Samsung's mobile profits would gain this year.

"Foreign investors' sentiment toward Samsung Electronics is quickly changing after the second quarter," CW Chung, an analyst at Nomura Financial Investment Co., said before Samsung's disclosed its earnings preview.

"We think it is the most promising stock among Asian tech companies," Chung said.

Shares of Samsung Electronics have surged nearly 20 percent since January.

Some analysts said Samsung's new strategies with its flagship phones paid off since Samsung launched the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge smartphones in March, a month earlier than it did with the previous flagship phone.

The camera and the battery life of the S7 smartphone were better than in the older models and the phone was water resistant, but its price was lower.

In 2015, the company struggled to meet demand for smartphones with curved displays, but this year component supply issues have been resolved and some analysts believe the higher-priced S7 Edge smartphones, which feature curved displays, saw stronger performance than its sister phone with a flat screen.

Samsung is expected to announce the latest version of its Galaxy Note smartphone  featuring a larger screen and a stylus  in the fall.

IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo estimated Samsung sold 16 million Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones in the second quarter, with slightly more than half of its quarterly profit coming from the mobile division.

Analysts said besides the high-end S7 smartphone, the company's its middle-of-the-line J series smartphones are doing well in countries such as India, which helped its profit gain.

___

Lee can be reached on Twitter: www.twitter.com/YKLeeAP

Her stories can be found at: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/youkyung-lee

A visitor wears a Samsung Electronics' Gear VR goggles at the company's showroom in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 7, 2016. Samsung Electronics said Thursday that its second-quarter operating income jumped 17 percent over a year earlier to the highest quarterly profit in more than two years, as strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones drove profit growth in the mobile business.(AP Photo/Ahnn Young-joon)

A visitor uses her smartphone in front of an advertisement of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone at the company's showroom in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 7, 2016. Samsung Electronics said Thursday that its second-quarter operating income jumped 17 percent over a year earlier to the highest quarterly profit in more than two years, as strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones drove profit growth in the mobile business.(AP Photo/Ahnn Young-joon)
Watchdog: Cambodian PM's family rules business world, too

BANGKOK (AP)  An extensive network of businesses controlled by the family of Cambodia's longtime leader sustains and is sustained by his authoritarian rule, making foreign investment in the country risky, says a report issued Thursday by the research and advocacy group Global Witness.

The London-based group, which focuses on exposing the corrupt exploitation of natural resources in the developing world, says the family of Prime Minister Hun Sen uses a business empire worth at least $200 million along with influential positions they hold in the military and government to keep a lock on power. Significant holdings in the media, along with close ties with other powerholders and business cronies tighten their grip.

The report, 'Hostile Takeover: The Corporate Takeover of Cambodia's Ruling Family,' describes the 30 years Hun Sen has been in power as "characterized by electoral fraud and the brutal suppression of political opposition, including through murder, torture and arbitrary imprisonment," an assessment shared by human rights groups such as Amnesty International.

RETRANSMISSION WITH CORRECT SLUG - FILE - In this Nov. 20, 2015 file photo, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen and his wife Bun Rany arrive for the 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, in Sepang, Malaysia. An extensive network of businesses controlled by the family of Cambodia's longtime leader sustains and is sustained by his authoritarian rule, making foreign investment in the country risky, says a report issued Thursday, July 7, 2016 by the research and advocacy group Global Witness. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, File)

It said that 40 percent of the country's 16 million people still live below or close to the poverty line.

Hun Sen, who became prime minister in 1985, vowed during the 2013 election campaign to stay in power until the 2028 polls. Now 63, he is seen as grooming one of his three sons to succeed him.

Data for the report mainly came from the Cambodian Commerce Ministry's online corporate registry, where Global Witness found that 21 of Hun Sen's closest relatives were registered as holding interests in 114 private domestic companies. It says the holdings "span many of Cambodia's most profitable sectors, including those known to be riddled with corruption such as mining, gambling and real estate." Trading, energy, real estate and construction are other sectors in which the family is active.

There was no immediate comment from the government.

Global Witness believes the actual value of the family's holding is likely to be much higher than $200 million because of incomplete information and the use of third parties to hold shares.

Some of their businesses, through direct and indirect relationships such as franchising and distribution deals, have links to international brands such as Apple, Nokia, Visa, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble and Honda, it said.

"These relationships not only raise ethical questions for the brands, they also pose significant risk," said Global Witness, saying there are worries about an opaque business environment and the risk of breaking national and international anti-corruption laws.

Besides facing a stacked deck in any business dispute  Cambodian courts are considered vulnerable to political influence  foreign companies face possible legal sanctions under their own home countries' anti-corruption laws.

"Due to a lack of transparency and pervasive corruption, all business transactions involving the Cambodian government, including public procurement, infrastructure contracts and natural resource allocation, present heightened risk for foreign investors," Global Witness said.

The report said that appointing family members to key official and semi-official posts  in politics, the military, police and the media  is another essential element of Hun Sen's control.

His two older sons hold important military posts. The youngest is a member of Parliament. The eldest daughter  who has the largest number of business holdings in the family  is one of Cambodia's only two tycoons with radio, television and newspaper outlets. Two of the children are married to offspring of deputy prime ministers.

With rapid economic growth for the past two decades along with a cheap labor force and minimal regulation, Cambodia has attracted foreign investment from the West as well as China. In 2015, Britain was the second-largest foreign investor in Cambodia after China. The United States is Cambodia's largest trading partner and export market.

Washington's efforts to offset Beijing's influence in Southeast Asia mean "Hun Sen is not being treated as a tyrant ... but as a strategically important business partner whose corrupt personal interests can align with U.S. foreign policy," the Global Witness report said.

Other critics point out that the powerless pay the price for corruption through the destruction of their environment and land grabs.

"In Cambodia, economic control and political repression are two sides of the same coin. Under Hun Sen, political power is used to obtain economic resources, which are in turn used to obtain more political power," Sebastian Strangio, author of the book "Hun Sen's Cambodia," told The Associated Press.

"The cycle never ends. This has had pernicious effect on Cambodia's development. Instead of flowing to the national budget, where it can be spent on services like health and education, a huge proportion of the national wealth circulates in a nether-economy that is opaque to outside scrutiny."

RETRANSMISSION WITH CORRECT SLUG - FILE- In this Monday, Nov. 19, 2012 file photo, U.S. President Barack Obama, right, returns a greeting to Bun Rany, wife of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, prior to a gala dinner in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An extensive network of businesses controlled by the family of Cambodia's longtime leader sustains and is sustained by his authoritarian rule, making foreign investment in the country risky, says a report issued Thursday, July 7, 2016 by the research and advocacy group Global Witness. With rapid economic growth for the past two decades along with a cheap labor force and minimal regulation, Cambodia has attracted foreign investment from the West as well as China. In 2015, Britain was the second-largest foreign investor in Cambodia after China. The United States is Cambodia's largest trading partner and export market. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File)
Officer's lawyers seek shooting victim's juvenile records

CHICAGO (AP)  Lawyers for a white Chicago police officer charged with first-degree murder in the 2014 shooting death of a black 17-year-old are seeking access to the teen's juvenile records.

The lawyers for Officer Jason Van Dyke said in a written request only that their inspection of Laquan McDonald's juvenile records was necessary as they prepared to defend Van Dyke, the Chicago Tribune reported (http://trib.in/29A2vqX ) Wednesday. The request was filed last month.

The attorneys declined further comment to the newspaper. They say the judge presiding over the officer's criminal case imposed a gag order preventing them from discussing the case publicly.

The judge who presides over the juvenile court's child protection division will rule on the request.

National Association of Counsel for Children executive director Kendall Marlowe told the Tribune that the request appears to be an attempt to shift blame for the shooting onto the teen.

"We keep child abuse records confidential to protect victims," said Marlowe, whose Denver-based organization works to improve the quality of legal representation of children. "Those records weren't created to serve the interests of perpetrators. For a defense attorney to mine the history of a child's victimization, to paint the child as a violent sociopath who deserved to die is the very definition of why these records should not be disclosed."

But criminal defense attorneys told the Tribune the judge has the discretion to allow some of McDonald's history if it is deemed relevant.

According to published reports that cite records made public at media outlets' request, McDonald spent most of his 17 years as a ward of the state. The records show repeated school suspensions, expulsions, truancies and several drug possession arrests.

Police dashcam video of the October 2014 confrontation contradicted accounts of other officers on the scene that McDonald, who was holding a knife, lunged at Van Dyke. The first-degree murder charge in Van Dyke's case was announced just hours before the video became public in November after a judge ordered its release. The video set off protests that forced steps toward more openness and sweeping changes in the police department.

Attorney Daniel Herbert has said Van Dyke feared for his and other officers' safety when he opened fire at McDonald.

Besides Van Dyke, no other officers have been charged.

The request from Van Dyke's attorneys came after a judge ruled last month that attorneys for the city of Ferguson and other defendants in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Michael Brown's parents can have access to juvenile records involving the black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by a white police officer in 2014.

___
Community remembers slain Louisiana man known as 'Big Boy'

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)  The 37-year-old man killed by Baton Rouge police was a good-humored person nicknamed "Big Boy" who was orphaned young, loved children and earned a living selling CDs of music downloaded from the internet, said family and friends who knew him.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the video-recorded killing of Alton Sterling, a black man who police say had a gun as he wrestled with two white officers outside a convenience store. The shooting as well as two video recordings of the incident have sparked outcry at a time when law enforcement officers nationwide are being carefully watched for their use of force.

As officials scrambled to defuse the quickly escalating situation, family and friends mourned Sterling.

Artist Jo Hines spray paints a mural of Alton Sterling outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterling's teenage son, trembled as she read a statement outside City Hall. Her son, Cameron, 15, broke down in tears and was led away sobbing as his mother spoke.

"The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis," she said.

Larry Sterling said his cousin's mother died in 1989 and his father died a few years later. He said his mother, Veda Sterling Washington, and her sister Sandra Sterling raised Alton Sterling, his two younger sisters and younger brother.

"We grew up in the same household, from babies up until we was adults and moved out on our own," Larry Sterling said in a phone interview from Baton Rouge.

"Every time you see Alton, he's smiling," Larry Sterling said.

Larry Sterling and another cousin who grew up in the same household said their cousin had been selling the CDs to make money for about six years.

Sharida Sterling, also interviewed by phone, said that if she couldn't give him a ride to the convenience store, Alton Sterling would take a bus, carrying a folding table and chair and the box of CDs. She said the store management never had any problems with the informal stand, but police harassed her cousin. She suspected it was because he was black and a "big guy."

Abdullah Muflahi, the 28-year-old owner of the Triple S 24-hour convenience store where the shooting took place, said Sterling had been selling mixed CDs  rap music and other types of CDs  for a few years outside the front of his store and that he had never presented any problems. He said he used the nickname "Big Boy" for Sterling.

"He was a very happy guy, always laughing, joking around," he said. "He was never angry, never violent."

Baton Rouge police spokesman, Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said he did not have any information on whether there were any previous incidents between police and Sterling at the store. He said Sterling was a "convicted felon" but that he did not have the specific information on the crimes he was convicted of.

Alton Sterling had five children, 15, 3 and about 10 years old boys, and 1-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, Sharida Sterling said.

Larry Sterling said that, for fun, his cousin would take both their children to a movie or to the park: "The kids loved Alton."

Police confronted Alton Sterling early Tuesday after an anonymous caller said he had threatened someone with a gun outside the store, authorities said.

In a cellphone video of the incident, two officers can be seen pinning Sterling to the ground. Then someone yelled, "He's got a gun! Gun!" and gunfire erupted moments later.

At a news conference Wednesday, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said that Sterling was armed but that there are still questions about what happened. Larry Sterling said he didn't know whether his cousin had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Muflahi, who shot a video of the shooting incident, said he went outside after the police showed up and saw Alton Sterling being thrown on top of a car hood. He said he saw nothing that might have provoked the police or anything that had happened earlier regarding Sterling to prompt the arrest.

He said Sterling appeared confused as to why the police were confronting him.

"He didn't even know why they were there. He kept asking them, 'What did I do wrong?'" Muflahi said. "I hope we get justice for him."

__

Associated Press reporter Cain Burdeau contributed to this report.

Artist Jo Hines spray paints a mural of Alton Sterling outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Sandra Sterling, aunt of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed during a scuffle with police officers, speaks at a vigil outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. In a swift move by authorities to keep tensions from boiling over, the U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the video-recorded killing of Sterling, who was shot as he scuffled with two white police officers on the pavement outside the convenience store. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Sandra Sterling, aunt of Alton Sterling, is comforted at a vigil outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jordan Nuerenberg holds up a sign encouraging motorists to honk outside the Triple S convenience store during a rally after Alton Sterling, a black man, was shot and killed Tuesday, in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The U.S. Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the video-recorded police killing of Sterling, who authorities say had a gun as he wrestled with two white officers on the pavement outside a convenience store. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Texas halts scheduled execution pending drug test

HOUSTON (AP)  The scheduled July 14 execution of a man convicted in the slaying of a Houston medical student was postponed indefinitely Wednesday pending testing of the lethal injection drugs as part of a lawsuit settlement, a prison system spokesman said.

A state district judge in Houston withdrew the execution order for Perry Eugene Williams because the tests will not be received in time for review by the condemned man's attorneys, said Jason Clark of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Texas Attorney General's Office agreed to the tests to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of Williams and another death row inmate that challenged the use of the drugs.

This is the second time the execution was postponed for Williams, who was sentenced to death for the 2000 slaying of Baylor College of Medicine student Matthew Carter. A Sept. 29 execution date was canceled so a new attorney could be appointed to handle Williams' appeals.

According to trial evidence, Carter had dropped off a movie at a video store and was walking back to his car when he was abducted at gunpoint, ordered to the front passenger seat of his car and was driven away. He begged for his life, offered the gunman his ATM card and, after the car stopped behind a Masonic temple, was shot in the head at close range. The gunman and three companions who had been following in a second car divided $40 taken from Carter's wallet in one of several robberies tied to the group that September night nearly 16 years ago.
Greyhound racing banned in New South Wales from July 2017

SYDNEY (AP)  Greyhound racing will be shut down in the Australian state of New South Wales from July 2017 after a state parliamentary inquiry found overwhelming evidence of animal cruelty.

The inquiry's report, released Thursday, found between 48,000 and 68,000 greyhounds were killed in the state in the past 12 years because they were deemed uncompetitive.

It also found up to 20 percent of trainers had engaged in "live baiting"  feeding live animals to the dogs  and that on average 180 greyhounds a year suffered critical injuries during races.

The inquiry was launched last year following reports of live baiting and mass killings in the greyhound industry.

State Premier Mike Baird said "in response to widespread illegal and unconscionable activity ... I can today announce an end to greyhound racing."

Baird said his government, the first state administration to ban greyhound racing in the country, would announce detailed plans for the shutdown later this year following consultation with the industry and animal welfare organizations.

He said the move would include a welfare plan for existing greyhounds, including opportunities for re-homing, a transition arrangement for existing Greyhound Racing NSW assets, including race tracks to ensure they are used as open public space.

Baird said the state would be following many jurisdictions across the United States and the world which have banned greyhound racing to protect animal welfare.

Greyhound trainer Bob Whitelaw, from the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, said he was devastated by the news.

"I can assure you that the industry will fight this to the finish. I have got no doubt," he said.

But Baird said his government was left with "no acceptable course of action except to close this industry down."

In Queensland, animal welfare groups immediately called for a similar ban in that state.
PICTURED: The route of coca paste production in Colombia

NORTHEASTERN MOUNTAINS OF ANTIOQUIA, Colombia (AP)  In bright green Andean mountains wrapped in clouds, a country family produces the coca paste that is used to make cocaine at a humble home in territory controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC.

The family head explained the process, speaking on condition of being identified only by his first name, Gonzalo, for safety reasons.

It begins with the coca plants, which grow just two months in a tropical, temperate climate before they are harvested.

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, laborers take a break for breakfast after picking coca leaves in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. It takes about 2 months for coca leaves to be ready for harvest. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Family members pick the leaves, helped by neighbors who pitch in, wrapping their hands with bandages to protect them from blisters. The cloth is stained green as they quickly pick the leaves and stuff them into cloth bags.

Later, the leaves are mulched and sprinkled with cement powder, then mixed into big vats that contain gasoline, ether and other chemicals.

Family members wear masks because it can be hard to breathe amid the chemical vapors emanating from various buckets marinating the huge mix of leaves. To that brew, the family adds chemicals including ammonia and sulfuric acid.

The process ends in the family kitchen, using the same burners where beans and plantains are set to boil. Cooking the yellow paste evaporates the chemicals, and finally it's all crushed to be packed and sold.

The family can get about $900 for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the base paste, which is the first link in a long economic chain of intermediaries. At some point along the way, the paste is turned into cocaine, eventually being sold on the streets of such places as New York and Amsterdam for many thousands of dollars.

When afternoon comes, Gonzalo and his family gather to chat on their patio. The possibility of wiping out coca crops, an issue already agreed to at talks in Havana between the Colombian government and the FARC, seems far away for Fernando Zapata, the communal president of the village who has stopped by for a visit.

"We will confront anyone who touches our plants," Zapata said. "They want to do away with the livelihood of our families and the entire region."

___

Associated Press writer Cesar Garcia in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.

In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, gauze bandages cover the fingers of a coca picker in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Pickers wrap their hands with bandages to prevent blisters while harvesting coca leaves (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a coca field owned by Edgar and his father Gonzalo stands ready for harvest in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The family produces coca paste that is used to make cocaine at a humble home in territory controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 6, 2016 photo, Edgar mulches coca leaves with a weed eater as the first step in making coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Next to him the laborers who harvested the leaves eat their breakfast. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo sprinkles cement over mulched coca leaves to prepare them to make coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The cement is used as a binding agent on the mulched leaves. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo stirs a mix of mulched coca leaves and cement with gasoline, as part of the initial process to make coca paste, at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Apart from gasoline and cement, ammonia, sulphuric acid, sodium permanganate and caustic soda are some of the chemicals used to produce the paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar cleans a barrel as his father Gonzalo stands next to him during the manufacture of coca paste, at a small lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The family manufactures coca paste as part of the cottage industry that produces cocaine for world consumption. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo places mulched coca leafs sprinkled with cement and soaked in gasoline into a press as he makes coca paste at a small lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The mixture is put into a press so the basic liquid extract of coca paste can be squeezed out. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar takes a nap outside his home while his father makes cocaine paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Edgar and his family run a small coca paste production operation, a small cog the the Colombian cottage industry that produces cocaine. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Valeria and her husband share a plate as they eat lunch near a laborer stirring a concoction of coca leaf extract and cement mixed with gasoline at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Noxious fumes emanating from the mixture are a normal part of the manufacturing process. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Valeria holds her food on leaves as she eats lunch with her husband Edgar at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The whole family lives off the production of coca paste and the idea of eradication of their crop is a call to arms for the whole region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a laborer siphons gasoline as Edgar, left, holds a bucket during the production of coca paste in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Coca leaves are mixed in big vats that contain gasoline, ether and other chemicals into a kind of yellow brew.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, coca extract is mixed with gasoline during the production of coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Gasoline is used to extract alkaloid from the liquid mix. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar mixes liquid coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. He wears a mask because it can be hard to breathe amid the noxious fumes that emanate from various buckets marinating the huge mix of leaves. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, a vat holds liquid called "nata," which means buttermilk at a lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The mixture of coca leaf juice, gasoline, ether and other chemicals will eventually be converted into coca paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Edgar holds a mixing stick with lumps of solidifying coca paste at a small makeshift lab in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. The paste is extracted after adding a strong acid into the mix that will further precipitate the alkaloid. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo cooks coca paste in the kitchen of his house as his daughter-in-law Valeria looks on, in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. This last step is called "fritada," or fryup. The coca paste residue is placed in water and heated until most of the water content is evaporated. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo illuminates a spoonful of liquid coca paste with a flashlight as he cooks it to remove the water content working in the kitchen of his home in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. He uses the flashlight because there is no electricity in his house. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, while his granddaughter watches, Gonzalo pours liquid of coca paste residue after cooking it in his kitchen in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Once the yellow paste is cooked to evaporate the chemicals and water content, it's crushed to be packed and sold. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In this Jan. 7, 2016 photo, Gonzalo cuts coca paste into pieces ready to sell while his wife observes at their home in the mountain region of Antioquia, Colombia. Gonzalo says he gets about $900 for a kilo of finished coca paste. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Parents of woman killed in duck boat crash push safety rules

BOSTON (AP)  The parents of a woman who died in a crash involving a duck boat are heading to the Massachusetts State House to push for new safety rules for the amphibious sightseeing vessels.

Ivan and Martha Warmuth are planning to testify Thursday at a public hearing before the Legislature's Transportation Committee in favor of a bill that would prohibit duck boat drivers from simultaneously serving as narrator and tour guide.

The bill also would mandate that vehicles be equipped with blind spot cameras and proximity sensors.

FILE - In this June 15, 2016 file photo, Ivan, right, and Martha Warmuth, parents of Allison Warmuth, who was killed by a duck boat, call on the state to approve new safety rules for the amphibious sightseeing vessels, in Boston. The parents of a woman who died in a crash involving a duck boat are heading to the Massachusetts State House to push for new safety rules for the amphibious sightseeing vessels. Ivan and Martha Warmuth are planning to testify Thursday, July 7, 2016, at a public hearing before the Legislature's Transportation Committee in favor of a bill that would prohibit duck boat drivers from simultaneously serving as narrator and tour guide. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, File)

Twenty-eight-year-old Allison Warmuth was riding a scooter when she was struck and killed April 30 near Boston Common.
A former prostitute hopes to shake up Dominican Congress

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP)  When Jacqueline Montero takes her seat in Congress next month, she will bring not only an unusual past but an unconventional agenda for change in this socially conservative Caribbean country.

Montero was sexually abused as a child. She married at 16 to a man who beat her. And she worked as a prostitute for years to feed her children. Now, after a decade of activism for women's rights in the Dominican Republic, she hopes to put her life experience to work following her election to the Chamber of Deputies as part of an opposition coalition.

"I know the hardship that forces someone to go out on the street because your family doesn't have food," Montero told The Associated Press in the Santo Domingo office of the non-governmental organization she runs to promote the rights of sex workers.

In this Tuesday, June 29, 2016 photo, Jacqueline Montero explains the draft bills she's planning to place to protect sex workers' rights, at her office in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Montero is the first former sex worker who won a seat at the Dominican lower chamber and she will take office next August 16th. (AP Photo.Ezequiel Lopez)

The 46-year-old wants to focus on improving opportunities for women, a significant challenge in a country where about 35 percent of households are led by single mothers in poverty.

"When someone doesn't even have anything to eat, they end up going with the first man that appears," she said.

She plans to introduce legislation that would prohibit discrimination against specific groups considered vulnerable, including LGBT, sex workers, people with AIDS and the elderly. The walls of her office are adorned with diplomas and posters from international conferences dealing with sex work.

Montero will represent part of the port city of Haina in the 190-seat lower house of Congress, where the ruling party of President Danilo Medina retained its control in May's voting.

Activists say the significance of her election transcends her relatively minor legislative position because she will be a powerful voice for largely unrepresented people. "It's a victory for civil society," said Dario Garcia, executive director of a private organization that coordinates efforts against HIV and AIDS in the country.

Others see her elevation as a sign of social progress. "She represents an idea, the idea of non-discrimination, of equal participation of men and women," said Santo Rosario, a coordinator with a group, known by its Spanish acronym COIN, which advocates for the rights of marginalized groups, including sex workers.

Prostitution is not banned in the Dominican Republic although it isn't specifically legal either. By some estimates, there are 200,000 Dominicans selling sex in the country of 10 million or abroad. It is illegal to operate a brothel or sell the services of someone else, but enforcement is sporadic.

Montero, repeating her oft-told life story, grew up poor in a foster family where she was sexually abused by a male relative. She says she began working as a prostitute in Santo Domingo while still a teen after her abusive husband left her alone with a young child she could not support.

She hopes her biography, which is told in a collection of stories by Dominican sex workers, will help convince fellow members of Congress of the "terrible life" faced by many who work in prostitution.

"If I had not been raped when I was young and if the adults had believed me I would not have been a sex worker," she said.

She began to study nursing in 1998 after a client beat her severely when she didn't want to work without a condom and she got into a motorcycle crash that left her bedridden for eight months. She had worked as a prostitute for a decade before then.

Montero became politically active through her visits to a clinic that specialized in providing services to sex workers and or people with HIV. That experience continues to feed her belief that prostitutes should receive the same benefits as anyone else in the Dominican Republic.

"I want the workers to have social security, medical insurance and to be able to benefit from all government subsidy programs," she said.

Today, Montero still lives in a poor district of Haina. She has three of her own children and has adopted 12 children of prostitutes who she says might otherwise have been aborted. She is a deeply religious person who refers to God frequently in her speech and earned a degree in theology from Universidad Cristiana in 2014. She was raised as a Seventh Day Adventist, later became a Mormon and now identifies simply as Christian.

Her entry into politics started in 2010, when she became a member of Haina's city council. She had already become well known as an activist, sparring in the media with religious and political leaders.

Montero knows she will encounter opposition when she gets to Congress, where lawmakers have been divided over social issues such as LGBT and women's rights and abortion, reflecting the influence of the Roman Catholic church.

She says she's ready for it.
Cody Allen, 29, was arrested after refusing to come down from an air conditioner duct inside an architectural firm on Warehouse Row Saturday night, police said.



A cleaning lady at the business told officers she was working when Allen barged into the building. Police said when they entered and found the suspect on top of the air duct, he said, F*** you, Im not coming down.



After he refused verbal commands, they said they deployed mace on Allens face, but it had no effect. They also said a drive stun was unsuccessful, that the defendant kept kicking his legs.



Eventually, a K9 was able to bite Allens foot and drag him down from the air duct, officers said. They then noticed a strong smell of intoxicant, slurred speech, and blood shot eyes.



The defendant did over $500 worth of damage, police said.



Allen was trespassed from Warehouse Row and arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, burglary, resisting arrest or obstruction of legal process, vandalism/malicious mischief, criminal trespassing, and public intoxication.


A Hamilton tale too tall? Group disputes tomcat story

TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  In the song "A Winter's Ball" in the smash Broadway hit "Hamilton," Aaron Burr's character sings of Alexander Hamilton's delight for women, including the tale that Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him.

"That's true," Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton character tells the sold-out theater each night.

But it's not, according to a group of Hamilton enthusiasts and researchers gathering in New York and New Jersey this week.

FILE - In this file photo released by The Public Theater, Lin-Manuel Miranda, foreground, performs with members of the cast of the musical "Hamilton" in New York. A group dedicated to studying Alexander Hamilton will gather Thursday, July 7, 2016, in New Jersey. One of the researchers, Michael Newton, says that he has traced the story that Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after Hamilton to a piece of satire written by a man described as a British captain. The tale is included in a song in the hit Broadway show "Hamilton" and in the biography that it's based on. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater via AP, File) MANDATORY CREDIT

Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans spend thousands of dollars to see the show, a group dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary gathered Thursday to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. They believe the tomcat story and talk of Hamilton's relationship with women have been used through the years to undercut what they say was his vital work for the country.

Phoenix-based Hamilton researcher Michael Newton says it's an issue of fairness.

"If you're saying Hamilton was this scoundrel, all of a sudden it colors your view on his position on politics and economics," Newton said.

That Hamilton had at least one affair isn't in doubt. He wrote a 95-page pamphlet on his affair with Maria Reynolds, which heavily damaged his reputation. That plus a very friendly relationship with his sister-in-law plays a big part of the Tony award-winning musical that has become a cultural phenomenon and created a larger audience of people looking to learn more about him.

The tomcat story is included in multiple biographies of Hamilton, including the Ron Chernow book that the musical is based on.

In "Hamilton: The Revolution," co-authored by Miranda, the song's lyrics include a footnote that says the line was "most likely a tale spread by John Adams later in life" but that Manuel included it because he likes "Hamilton owning it."

"At this point in the story," Miranda writes, "he is at peak cockiness."

Newton and fellow Hamilton researcher Stephen Knott both say they haven't found evidence of Adams spreading the tale and instead trace the story to a satirical letter from someone described as a British captain republished 56 years after Hamilton's death. Newton says that what apparently started as a joke about Martha Washington naming her cat after Hamilton "in a complimentary way" morphed through the years to biographies stating she named her tomcat after him to comment on his reputation.

Newton points out that dictionaries note that tomcat only meant a "male cat" in the 18th century and didn't carry its other connotation  a promiscuous man  until later.

Chernow, who only touches on the story in his 800-page book with half of a sentence, didn't respond to emails seeking comment.

Joanne Freeman, a history professor at Yale, said she's always assumed the tomcat tale wasn't actually true. She said that people should understand that not everything in the show is accurate, but that it's good that it's gotten people to ask questions.

"People should think and evaluate and not necessarily instantly accept stories whether it's on the stage or wherever they get it from," she said. "The play is getting people to ask a lot of questions about Hamilton and history. (Miranda) would be very happy."

The Hamilton researchers, part of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, on Thursday also unveiled what they say is the original copy of Hamilton's half brother's will and letters about Hamilton and his wife's dealing with a yellow fever outbreak. Both were found in the files of John Kean, part of one of New Jersey's most prominent families. Hamilton lived at the former home of New Jersey's first governor, William Livingston, and it is now a museum on the campus of Kean University.

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Contact Cornfield at https://www.twitter.com/JoshCornfield

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Online: Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society CelebrateHamilton events: http://bit.ly/1OsQDph

In a photo taken Wednesday, July 6, 2016, a will belonging to Peter Lavien, Alexander Hamilton's half brother, is displayed at the Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University in Union, N.J. Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans are spending thousands of dollars to see the smash hit "Hamilton," a group of scholars dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary will gather this week to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Wednesday, July 6, 2016, a will belonging to Peter Lavien, Alexander Hamilton's half brother, is displayed at the Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University in Union, N.J. Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans are spending thousands of dollars to see the smash hit "Hamilton," a group of scholars dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary will gather this week to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Wednesday, July 6, 2016, a will belonging to Peter Lavien, Alexander Hamilton's half brother, is displayed at the Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University in Union, N.J. Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans are spending thousands of dollars to see the smash hit "Hamilton," a group of scholars dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary will gather this week to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Wednesday, July 6, 2016, a letter from John Kean to Susan Kean pertaining to the health of Alexander Hamilton is displayed at the Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University in Union, N.J. Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans are spending thousands of dollars to see the smash hit "Hamilton," a group of scholars dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary will gather this week to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In a photo taken Wednesday, July 6, 2016, a letter from John Kean to Susan Kean pertaining to the health of Alexander Hamilton is displayed at the Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University in Union, N.J. Twenty miles from the Broadway theater where fans are spending thousands of dollars to see the smash hit "Hamilton," a group of scholars dedicated to studying the nation's first treasury secretary will gather this week to unveil new artifacts and retrace a piece of history they hope can soften some of Hamilton's rough edges. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
'Ugly' snails, once ignored by fishermen, now a prized catch

LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. (AP)  Cooking a channeled whelk is not for the squeamish. But sliced and sprinkled over a bed of linguine, it's a chewy delicacy in old-fashioned Italian eateries along the East Coast.

The sea snails known by Italian-Americans as scungilli used to be such a niche market that fishermen ignored them when they turned up in lobster traps or oyster dredges.

Now they're a prized commodity. Because of growing demand in Asia and the collapse of other industries, such as lobster, fishermen searching for something else to catch are keeping and selling the big marine snails.

In this Monday, May 23, 2016 photo, whelks rest in a container aboard a fishing vessel at a dock in Little Compton, R.I. The sea snails known by Italian-Americans as scungilli were once hauled from lobster traps and oyster dredges as an incidental by-catch. Now they're a prized commodity far beyond the Italian eateries along the East Coast, with much of today's East Coast catch shipped to Asia. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

"There's an international market for the product, primarily in Hong Kong and South China," said Rick Robins, who owns Bernie's Conchs in Virginia and manages export sales for Chesapeake Bay Packing. "It's a popular item in Cantonese cooking."

Most people who order a plate of scungilli probably haven't seen one of the hairy-shelled gastropods in the wild. A voracious predator, it crawls along the bottom of Atlantic coastal inlets from Nantucket Sound to North Carolina's Outer Banks, piercing its razor-edged proboscis into clams and other prey.

"They're not like their Caribbean cousin," said Rhode Island fisherman Greg Mataronas, comparing it to the tropical, vegetarian conch. "They're the Northern, ugly version. Their faces are a hunk of meat."

It's an increasingly lucrative hunk of meat: A large whelk can be sold for as much as $7 in a live market.

The annual dockside value of the whelk catch now tops $1 million in Virginia and Rhode Island, $1.4 million in New Jersey and $5.7 million in Massachusetts, according to marine fishery agencies in those states. In Delaware, knobbed and channeled whelks are now the third most valuable fishery behind blue crabs and striped bass.

In the colder waters of Maine, a smaller waved whelk served up as a "pickled wrinkle" is seeing a resurgence in popularity. The same whelk is also fished in Canada and favored in Korean cuisine, Robins said.

In southern New England, as the lobster industry declined from Cape Cod to Long Island Sound, the market for channeled whelks grew so quickly that states have scrambled to establish rules to let the snails grow big enough to breed.

"As lobster fishing has declined, whelk fishing has increased," said Scott Morello, a researcher at Maine's Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research & Education. "Even so, it's still not as profitable for a year-round fishery that you'd want to base an entire economy off of it."

Mataronas identifies himself as a lobsterman, just as his father and grandfather did in the Rhode Island seaside town of Little Compton.

"Lobstering was so good in the '90s" that he paid no attention to snails, he said. But since 2000, he's devoted much of his spring and fall to trapping whelks in the calm waters of the Sakonnet River, a tidal strait that flows into Rhode Island Sound. Baited by dogfish meat and horseshoe crabs, the snails crawl into traps left about 10-feet deep on the muddy sea floor.

Some upscale New York City restaurants now feature fresh or even raw whelks on the menu. The old-school Italian restaurants that serve sea snail salad  a popular Christmastime dish  usually get it canned from a handful of specialty processors.

"It's almost impossible to find fresh scungilli these days," said Frank Lombardi, owner of Lombardi's Trattoria in Georgetown, Connecticut. "The texture has to be soft, it has to be cooked right and do the right job. The only way you can really find good scungilli is in a can."

Lombardi recalls a similar dish from his childhood in Naples, Italy, but culinary experts dispute whether it's really an Italian food or something invented by Italian-Americans in the Northeast.

"I imagine that early Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey found whelks on the beaches," said cookbook author Clifford Wright. "It was a cheap food and they were poor people."

For those courageous enough to cook fresh whelk on their own, Morello said it's worth the hassle. Some use a hammer to get at the snail's muscular foot.

Morello prefers to boil it in its shell, then chops off the snail's lid-like operculum, digs out the meat with a fork, removes the organs and pan-fries the rest.

In this Monday, May 23, 2016 photo fisherman Carl Berg unloads a catch of whelks from a fishing vessel at a dock in Little Compton, R.I. The sea snails known by Italian-Americans as scungilli were once hauled from lobster traps and oyster dredges as an incidental by-catch. Now they're a prized commodity far beyond the Italian eateries along the East Coast, with much of today's East Coast catch shipped to Asia. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In this Monday, May 23, 2016 photo fisherman Carl Berg unloads containers of whelks from a fishing vessel at a dock in Little Compton, R.I. The sea snails known by Italian-Americans as scungilli were once hauled from lobster traps and oyster dredges as an incidental by-catch. Now they're a prized commodity far beyond the Italian eateries along the East Coast, with much of today's East Coast catch shipped to Asia. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Protests, violence after police shoot another black man dead

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP)  A woman who watched as a police officer fatally shot her boyfriend during a traffic stop streamed the gruesome aftermath of the slaying live on Facebook, telling a worldwide audience that her companion had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet.

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

"Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a tail light being out of function," Democrat Mark Dayton said. "Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don't think it would have."

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile of St. Paul, cries outside the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Castile was shot and killed after a traffic stop by police in Falcon Heights, Wednesday night. A video shot by Reynolds of the shooting went viral. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

As night fell Thursday, national outrage over the killings exploded into violence in Dallas, where snipers fatally shot four police officers and wounded several more, authorities said.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner said Philando Castile, 32, of St. Paul, died of multiple gunshot wounds. No other details about the injuries were released.

It was the second fatal police shooting in as many days. A 37-year-old black man was killed Tuesday by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

The latest death happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a mostly white community of 5,000 people that is also home to Minnesota's annual state fair and part of the massive University of Minnesota campus.

In that video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

State investigators named Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser as the officers involved. Both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave, as is standard.

Yanez approached Castile's car from the driver's side, and Kauser from the passenger side, according to a statement from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It said Yanez opened fire, striking Castile multiple times. No one else was injured.

Several videos, including squad car video of the incident, have been collected, but St. Anthony officers don't wear body cameras, the statement said.

The bureau did not give the officers' races. Reynolds described the officer who shot Castile as Asian.

Thomas Kelly, an attorney representing Yanez, did not immediately return a call seeking comment after the officers were identified. Kelly declined to comment on the case earlier Thursday.

The St. Anthony Police Department's 2015 annual report points to Yanez's volunteerism; he gave a tour of the station to a local Cub Scout troop and volunteered with St. Paul's Cinco De Mayo celebration, participating in a parade with other members of the National Latino Police Officers Association.

The previous year's report includes a photo of Yanez solemnly standing guard at a memorial to fallen officers at the state Capitol.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would monitor the investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The governor said he and other state officials would seek more direct involvement.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting, which took place after Sterling scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

In a Facebook post Thursday, President Barack Obama called Sterling's and Castile's deaths "symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."

As word of the Minnesota shooting spread, Castile's relatives joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. He was a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had stressed to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

At a vigil Thursday evening outside the school where Philando Castile worked, Valerie Castile called her son "an angel." She said she never thought she would lose him.

"This has to cease. This has to stop, right now," she told the crowd.

Hundreds of demonstrators braved the rain and gathered to protest the shooting outside the governor's mansion in St. Paul, where a crowd had also convened the night before. Dayton waded through the crowd of about 1,000 as protesters chanted: "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!"

Relatives were outraged that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

William Moulder, a police consultant and longtime former police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, said all officers carry first-aid supplies in their cars and are instructed to start rendering aid as soon as it's clear there's no threat.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks calmly to the camera.

"That's time to start mitigating the damage," Moulder said.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Castile was driving the car, with Reynolds riding beside him. But because of the way the video was recorded or the way Facebook posted it, some versions of the footage were reversed, making it appear that Castile was in the right seat and his girlfriend seated on the left.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Because of its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department. Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner Ramona Dohman promised an "expedient" investigation but would not discuss the traffic stop, any video footage or whether Castile was legally carrying a firearm.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

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Associated Press writers Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Carla K. Johnson and Sarah Rankin in Chicago, Robin McDowell and Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Sadie Gurman and Nomaan Merchant in Minneapolis and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - This still image taken from video by Diamond Reynolds shows a police officer pointing a gun at her boyfriend, Philando Castile, during a traffic stop on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minn. The officer shot Castile, and Reynolds apparently livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook from the passenger seat. As the video and word of the shooting spread, scores of people gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where Castile died. (Diamond Reynolds via AP)

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, weeps during a press conference at the Governor'sResidence in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, July 7, 2016. Philando Castile was shot in a car Wednesday night by police in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Police have said the incident began when an officer initiated a traffic stop in suburban Falcon Heights but have not further explained what led to the shooting. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

This 2014 photo provided by Dewanda Harris shows Philando Castile of St. Paul, Minn., posing for a photo while attending a family funeral in St. Paul. Officials say Castile was fatally shot by police in Falcon Heights, Minn., Wednesday, July 6, 2016, while inside a car with a woman and a child. (Dewanda Harris via AP)

Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, weeps during a press conference at the Governor'sResidence in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, July 7, 2016. Philando Castile was shot in a car Wednesday night by police in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Police have said the incident began when an officer initiated a traffic stop in suburban Falcon Heights but have not further explained what led to the shooting. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota plGov. Mark Dayton speaks with Diamond Reynolds the girlfriend of Philandro Castile, second from left, during a press conference at his residence regarding the death of Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, July 7, 2016. Also at left is Clarence Castile, Philando's uncle, and Nekima Levy-Pounds, center. Philando Castile was shot in a car Wednesday night by police in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton expresses his condolences to Diamond Reynolds for the death of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, outside the governor's residence Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. Castile was shot and killed by Falcon Heights police on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Kyle Potter)

FILE - In this July 6, 2016 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. The fatal police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota show the U.S. has a serious problem, President Barack Obama said Thursday, July 7, 2016. He said he shares feelings of anger, frustration and grief that police killings have triggered across the country. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Protesters gather outside the governor's residence Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. A police officer fatally shot Philando Castile as a woman in the vehicle apparently livestreamed the aftermath in a widely shared Facebook video. The shooting happened late Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

A woman rings the doorbell at the gate of the Governors Mansion as demonstrators gather in St. Paul, Minn., protesting a police involved shooting early Thursday, July 7, 2016. A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child in Falcon Heights, an official said. St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said. (Jeff Wheeler/Star Tribune via AP)

Valire Castile, center, addresses hundreds at the JJ Hill Montessori School where her son Philando worked Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. where a vigil was held following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile Wednesday night in Falcon Heights, Minn. after a traffic stop by St. Anthony police. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Valire Castile is consoled as she addresses hundreds at the JJ Hill Montessori School where her son Philando worked Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. where a vigil was held following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile Wednesday night in Falcon Heights, Minn. after a traffic stop by St. Anthony police. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT ID - Family members join a vigil at the JJ Hill Montessori School where Philando Castile worked Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile Wednesday night in Falcon Heights, Minn. after a traffic stop by St. Anthony police. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Hundreds gather at the JJ Hill Montessori School Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. for a vigil following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile Wednesday night in Falcon Heights, Minn. after a traffic stop by St. Anthony police. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

A man displays his thoughts where hundreds gathered at the JJ Hill Montesorri School Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. for a vigil following the shooting death by police of Philando Castile Wednesday night in Falcon Heights, Minn. after a traffic stop for a broken tail light by St. Anthony police. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Wal-Mart in China faces employee protests

BEIJING (AP)  Wal-Mart faces protests by employees in China over what they say is a drastic change in work schedules as the company overhauls its struggling business amid an economic slowdown and competition from e-commerce.

Weakening demand for traditional retailers has added to trouble for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has had slow and uneven growth since its first China outlet opened in 1996. It tried to expand into online retailing but sold its operation last month to China's No. 2 e-commerce operator.

Its labor tensions reflect rising expectations among workers to share in China's prosperity and a shift by the ruling Communist Party away from treating them only as a source of labor toward trying to create a consumer society.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, photo, workers tend to customers paying for purchases at a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. Wal-Mart faces protests by employees in China over what they say is a drastic change in work schedules under a system rolled out in June 2016 as the company overhauls its struggling business amid slowing economic growth and competition from e-commerce. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Employees said Wal-Mart wants them to work 11-hour shifts on weekends and as little as four hours on weekdays under a system it started to roll out in June. Some said that might result in lower pay and interfere with their ability to work second jobs.

Last week, staff members protested on Friday and Saturday outside Wal-Mart stores in the cities of Nanchang and Shenzhen in southern China, Chengdu in the west and Harbin in the northeast, according to employees and two labor rights groups.

More than half the Nanchang store's workforce of 200 employees took part, according to an employee. Some carried banners that said, "Wal-Mart workers stand up and oppose fraud."

In a written response to questions, Wal-Mart said it is "planning a series of initiatives to enhance and upgrade Walmart China's overall talent management system."

The company didn't answer questions about how scheduling and working conditions would change or how the protests affected its operations.

"We have communicated with Walmart China associates and a majority of associates support the new system," the statement said, using the company's term for its employees. "For those associates who need additional information, we are communicating with them on a consistent basis."

Wal-Mart faced similar criticism in the United States over its "just in time" scheduling system, which employees said changed work hours at short notice and reduced pay for some. The company said in February its U.S. stores would switch to allowing employees the option of working fixed hours or putting together schedules in two-week blocks.

In contrast to its American operations, Wal-Mart's Chinese workforce of 100,000 is represented by unions, though employees complain those Communist Party-controlled groups often side with companies instead of pushing for better wages and working conditions.

Wal-Mart was one of the highest-profile targets of a 2006 campaign led by the ruling party to have the country's umbrella labor group, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, set up unions at foreign companies.

Managers presented the new scheduling system in May and encouraged employees to sign new contracts to authorize the change, according to employees. Under Chinese law, full-time employees work under two-year contracts.

"The workload is very heavy because we have to stand for 11 hours," said another employee of the Nanchang store, who asked not to be identified by name for fear of trouble with the company or Chinese authorities. "All the employees felt it was too difficult and were very unhappy."

Employees were told they could keep working under previous contracts if they wanted, but those who did so found their paychecks were smaller because meal subsidies and other payments were eliminated, according to the employee in Nanchang.

An activist group, China Labor Watch, said employees were pressured to sign the contracts by being told they could not leave meetings where the new system was announced until they did. Wal-Mart did not respond to a question about whether that happened.

Employees expressed concern the system could be abused to induce unwanted workers to quit by giving them awkward shifts, eliminating the need to pay severance.

Traditional retailers have been battered as Chinese shoppers shift to shopping online. Total retail sales rose 10 percent in May compared with a year earlier but that was down from 13 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, online commerce grew by more than 30 percent.

Wal-Mart, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, has expanded to 433 stores in China, but that is less than one-tenth as many as its 4,655 outlets in the United States.

Wal-Mart bought a stake in online retailer Yihaodian in 2011 and took full control last year. But after gaining a market share of just 1.6 percent, it gave up last month and turned over ownership to JD.com. In exchange, it got a 5 percent stake in the Chinese company.

Phone calls Wednesday to ACFTU branches in Nanchang, Chengdu and Shenzhen weren't answered.

Frustration among Wal-Mart employees with the ACFTU prompted some to start an informal group called the Wal-Mart Chinese Employee Fellowship in 2014, according to Zhang Jun, who said he was a spokesman for the group. He worked as an electrician at a Wal-Mart in the eastern city of Yantai from 2011 until last December.

The group's 20,000 members  about 20 percent of Wal-Mart's China workforce  use social media to communicate, according to Zhang.

They divide themselves into small groups in line with regulations aimed at suppressing dissent by limiting the number of accounts that can be linked together.

Authorities have investigated whether the group received money from foreign organizations, according to China Labour Bulletin, a research group in Hong Kong.

On Wednesday, employees expressed concern Wal-Mart's new system would make them part-time workers who would not be entitled to compensation in the event of layoffs.

A cashier who has worked at the Nanchang store for more than five years said her monthly pay of about 1,400 to 1,600 yuan ($215 to $245) has fallen by about 74 yuan ($11) under the new system. The legal minimum monthly wage in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province, is 1,530 yuan ($235).

Employees are unlikely to get a raise in the next few years, said the cashier, who asked not to be identified by name for fear of retaliation.

"What worries us more is that they are preparing for the future," said the cashier. "Will we be cut off in the future and get no compensation, like the part-time workers?"

___

Associated Press researchers Fu Ting in Shanghai and Yu Bing contributed to this report.

In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, photo, residents past by a Wal-Mart in Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province. Wal-Mart faces protests by employees in China over what they say is a drastic change in work schedules under a system rolled out in June 2016 as the company overhauls its struggling business amid slowing economic growth and competition from e-commerce. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The Republican chairman of a powerful congressional committee said Thursday that he will ask the FBI for a new criminal investigation into Hillary Clinton's classified email scandal, focusing on the possibility that she perjured herself in sworn testimony to Congress.

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, asked FBI Director James Comey whether he had cause to charge her for lying in a statement she made to Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan during a 2015 hearing on the 2012 Benghazi terror attack.

'There was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received,' Clinton said at the time.

Comey said in a hearing Thursday that the FBI had not investigated whether that statement was true, despite finding three documents with classification markings among the messages on her private server.

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

INDIGNANT: House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Thursday that federal law enforcement has one standard for Hillary Clinton and another for others who hold security clearances

CAPITOL GRILL: Comey answered questions in a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Thursday

IT AIN'T OVER: A new criminal probe would complicate Clinton's presidential run as she gears up to accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination

'Not to my knowledge. I don't think there's been a [criminal] referral from Congress,' Comey said.

Asked if he needed one, Comey told Chaffetz: '[I] sure do.'

'You'll have one,' said Chaffetz. 'You'll have one in the next few hours.'

Under questioning from South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, Comey agreed that 'there was classified information' on Clinton's homebrew server, and that Clinton's early denials in that regard were false.

'There was classified material emailed,' he said matter-of-factly.

Asked whether it was accurate that none of those materials were 'marked' classified when Clinton sent or received them, Comey said: 'That's not true.'

'There were a small number of portion markings on, I think, three of the documents,' he said.

Later in the hearing he was asked directly what offense lying under oath would be and what punishment it could lead to.

'Perjury,' he replied. 'Felony. I can't remember precisely... years in prison.'

Comey was making his first appearance before Congress since announcing the agency's recommendation to not prosecute Clinton over her private email setup.

'Hillary Clinton created this mess,' Chaffetz said, declaring that Clinton 'made a decision. ... to avoid and bypass the safety, the security and the protocol of the State Department.'

'There doesn't seem to be any consequence' for Clinton, he said. 'It wasn't just an innocent mistake. This went on for years.'

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings acknowledged that 'there is a gap' between the evidence against Clinton that Comey outlined this week and the conclusions he reached.

'Even if it takes until hell freezes over, I beg you to close the gap.'

PERJURY? Clinton said during an October 25, 2015 congressional hearing that 'there was nothing marked classified on my emails, either sent or received,' a statement that turned out not to be true

GET READY: Comey (left) and Chaffetz (right) will be key figures in any new investigation moving foward

HOT SEAT: FBI Director James Comey faced a grilling from Republican lawmakers on Thursday

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday that she accepted the recommendations and findings of Comey and of her career prosecutors and would not file charges against Clinton.

Lynch is likely to face questions of her own next week at a separate oversight hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.

Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon criticized the basis for Chaffetz's hearing on Thursday morning, saying in a statement that 'House Republicans are launching yet another taxpayer-funded sham of an inquiry to try to hurt Hillary Clinton politically.'

'For weeks Republicans have said they trusted FBI Director Comey to lead an independent review into Secretary Clinton's emails, but now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories.'

After the hearing had finished Fallon was singing a different tune.

'Despite the partisan motivations of this hearing, we are glad it took place and that Director Comey had the opportunity to expand upon his remarks from earlier this week,' he said. 'Director Comey's testimony clearly knocked down a number of false Republican talking points and reconciled apparent contradictions between his previous remarks and Hillary Clinton's public statements.'

Fallon said Comey's testimony 'shut the door on any remaining conspiracy theories once and for all.'

'While Republicans may try to keep this issue alive, this hearing proved those efforts will only backfire.'

Comey's decision, and the way he delivered it, infuriated Republicans who felt that the FBI director in his unusually detailed and critical televised statement Tuesday had laid out a sufficient basis for prosecution.

'There seems to be a double standard,' the committee chairman, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz said on NBC's 'Today Show.'

'If the average Joe had gone through that, they'd probably have handcuffs on him and probably be in jail.'

House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has said 'there are a lot more questions that need to be answered' and, in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, requested that Clinton be barred from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign  a move that 'certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions.'

THE QUESTION: Jim Jordan is the Ohio Republican congressman who asked Clinton last year whether there was 'marked classified' material on her private server

FEEDING FRENZY: Capitol Hill turned into a circus on Thursday as Comey arrived to testify

NO BRIEFINGS: House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has asked the Director of National Intelligence to withhold classified national security briefings from Hillary Clinton as her campaign moves forward

'There is no legal requirement for you to provide Secretary Clinton with classified information, and it would send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nation's secrets if you choose to provide her access to this information despite the FBI's findings,' Ryan wrote.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump complained that the system was 'rigged' and Clinton 'made so many false statements.

In a stinging assessment of her email practices as secretary of state, Comey rebuked Clinton and her aides for being 'extremely careless' in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the defenses and explanations she's put forward for months.

But he also said there was no evidence anyone willfully or intentionally mishandled classified information and that 'no reasonable prosecutor' would pursue such a case.
Brash Trump courts, jabs, anxious Republicans

WASHINGTON (AP)  A defiant Donald Trump made it clear he won't change his brash tone or message as he courted anxious Republican lawmakers Thursday, blaming the media for stumbles that continue to alarm GOP leaders and energize Democrats with voting less than three months away.

The New York billionaire repeatedly called for unity in his second Capitol Hill tour in three months, but he also threatened would-be party critics on a day that was designed to rally anxious Republicans behind him. Deflecting questions about his discipline in public comments, Trump insisted his recent praise for former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was taken out of context and ignored fresh concern about a campaign tweet widely condemned as anti-Semitic, according to Republicans who attended closed-door meetings.

Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake declined to address reports that Trump threatened to attack him politically during a testy exchange that Sen. John McCain said "everybody was talking about" afterward.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump departs a meeting with Republican House members at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

"I'll just leave it," Flake told reporters. "My position remains, I want to support the nomination. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said."

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, who wasn't in Thursday's meeting, fired back at Trump, who reportedly called him a loser during the private gathering.

"We haven't seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully," said Kirk, who faces a tough re-election contest and has declined to endorse Trump.

There was a more cooperative tone inside Trump's meeting with House Republicans, even if skeptical lawmakers didn't necessarily hear what they were hoping for.

"There was no talk of pivoting. There was no talk of changing his style or anything like that," said Rep. Peter King of New York. "I think you have to expect that you're going to get Donald Trump. But he showed today that he could be Donald Trump and still work with Republicans."

Trump's unwillingness to moderate his tone follows repeated promises from campaign officials that he would do just that as he shifts toward the general election. While Election Day nationwide is Nov. 8, early voting begins in some states in September.

The Republican Party remains deeply divided with its national convention less than two weeks away.

Trump's former rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, announced Thursday he would speak at the Cleveland gathering. Yet many high-profile Republicans are refusing to go, former Republican Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, 2012 nominee Mitt Romney and Ohio Gov. John Kasich among them.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch does plan to attend, but he shared his concerns about Trump's campaign.

"I hope he will focus less on personality and divisive rhetoric and more on policies and a capacity to govern effectively," Hatch said after the Senate meeting.

Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, a Trump critic, was less polite: "This election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed," Sasse spokesman James Wegmann said.

The party strife played out as Republicans tried to focus on Democrat Hillary Clinton's email practices, which FBI Director James Comey described as "extremely careless." Comey spent much of the day testifying before a House committee, summoned by Republican lawmakers furious about his decision, announced Tuesday, that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

But Trump has struggled to keep the focus on his Democratic rival.

The night before his Washington tour, he resurrected a debate over an image he tweeted depicting Clinton's face alongside a six-pointed star over hundred-dollar bills. Many saw the symbol as a Star of David and condemned the tweet as anti-Semitic. House Speaker Paul Ryan, the nation's top elected Republican, was among the critics.

Trump also continues to defend his praise for Hussein, the Iraqi dictator whom he described as having been effective at killing terrorists.

Rep. Chris Collins, a big backer, said he blamed Trump's missteps, including the outcry over his Hussein comments, on Democrats and an unfriendly press.

"His point was: They set us up," said Collins. "And we just need to make sure we stay together."

At one point, Trump turned directly to Ryan and seemed to acknowledge the lingering concerns. "If you read the headlines in the paper, I could see why some folks might be worried," Collins recalled Trump saying.

That explanation was well-received.

Trump also emphasized his plan to repeal President Barack Obama's health law, reduce regulatory burdens, overhaul tax laws and remake the Supreme Court as "one that is more reflective of the values of the country," according to Rep. Tom Price of Georgia.

Ryan told reporters later, "We clearly have a presumptive nominee who wants to work with us on moving this agenda forward."

Others were less impressed, especially when Trump responded to a question about whether he would defend Article 1 of the Constitution on the separation of powers.

Trump said he would defend articles "1, 2, 3 to 12," said South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford. In fact, there are only seven articles.

"I think it was the normal stream of consciousness that's long on hyperbole and short on facts," Sanford said.

___

Associated Press writers Richard Lardner, Jill Colvin, Alan Fram and Sarah Grace Taylor contributed to this report.

___

What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via AP's Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz

___

Online:

Links to DCCC ads:

"Sidekick" - https://youtu.be/eSfYIKJMtRM

"Standards" https://youtu.be/JvEWSlCb95w

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump motorcade departs after meeting with the Senate Republican Conference at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves from his Secret Service vehicle as he arrives to meet with Republican House members at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Brexit on his mind, Obama arrives in Poland for NATO summit

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  President Barack Obama opened a five-day, two-country mission early Friday to buck up a beleaguered Europe and brush back an aggressive Moscow.

On what is expected to be his last presidential visit to the continent, Obama is due to attend a summit of NATO allies in Warsaw, before moving on to Seville and Madrid for his first presidential visit to Spain. In both corners of the continent, he'll be surrounded by leaders still reeling from Britain's decision to pull out of the European Union and sorting through uncertainty about the future of the decades-old experiment in international cooperation.

The White House says Obama will offer words of reassurance that the departure  whenever it occurs  won't disrupt the decades-old trans-Atlantic ties that bind. He'll emphasize that Britain's exit, which does not affect its membership in NATO, only makes the 28-member military alliance more essential and its cooperation with the European Union more important. And amid leaders' anxiety about whether his possible successor, Republican Donald Trump, would retrench from Europe, Obama will make case for stronger alliances and the benefits of globalization.

President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One after arriving at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, July 8, 2016. Obama traveled to Poland to attend the NATO summit and then will travel on to Spain. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

"He feels like all leaders in Europe and in the United States  including himself  have a responsibility in the face of all these challenges to the trans-Atlantic order that we've built to make the case on behalf of the values that the United States and Europe have stood for and the benefits to our countries," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser.

The president's visit is his first chance to deliver that message in person, both to the European leaders tasked with smoothly navigating the tricky divorce and British Prime Minister David Cameron, whom Obama personally tried but failed to save from the wave of anti-European sentiment that fueled the vote.

Obama's first stop later Friday morning is a sit-down with Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker, presidents of the European Council and European Commission, respectively. White House officials said Obama plans to discuss the fallout from the referendum and weigh in on how he thinks negotiations should proceed.

Obama's agenda goes far beyond the so-called Brexit fallout. NATO plans to tout new efforts to send signals to Russia. The alliance recently agreed to bolster its presence in the east by deploying four multinational battalions on a rotational basis to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Obama also will meet Saturday with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the status of the stalled 2015 Minsk peace deal, which was intended to ease tensions after Russia's incursion into eastern Ukraine. Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to fulfill its obligations by not withdrawing its troops, although the Kremlin disputes that claim.

"Russia is trying to engage in a battle of ideas," Rhodes said aboard Air Force One, adding that Moscow felt threatened by countries like Ukraine that want closer ties to Europe. "That cannot simply be swept under the rug."

NATO leaders will also discuss the rising threat of Islamic State attacks in Europe, the effort to address the migrant crisis caused by violence in the Middle East and North Africa and continued commitments to the mission in Afghanistan, where Obama acknowledged Wednesday the security situation was too fragile to stick to the planned timetable for drawing down troops.

The unsettling mix of issues presents a striking contrast to the Europe that Obama met eight years ago, when he bounded on the world stage with a massive campaign speech in Berlin and was embraced by a European public eagerly seeking leadership in Washington. In his first visit as president, Obama spoke hopefully of dealing with Moscow on nuclear weapons and looked ahead to new era of firmer alliances. "This is our generation. This is our time," he said during a visit to Strasbourg, Germany for a NATO summit in 2009.

Obama recently has presented a more wary, defensive case for global cooperation. White House officials say he'll repeat his case against isolationism in remarks in Spain, where he is due to meet with both Interim President Mariano Rajoy and King Don Felipe VI and hold a town hall with young people.

Some are hoping Obama will put forward an updated vision for U.S. relations with the new Europe.

"The White House has yet to fully acknowledge the shift in Europe today and the challenges that it faces," said Heather Conley, a Europe expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The European project has been placed into fundamental question."
Merkel says Eastern European countries unsettled by Russia

BERLIN (AP)  Chancellor Angela Merkel says that Russia's conflict with Ukraine has deeply unsettled NATO's Eastern European member states and that the Baltic states and Poland therefore "need a clear reassurance by the alliance."

The chancellor addressed German Parliament ahead of the NATO summit on Thursday.

Merkel also said that despite loss of trust in Russia, NATO would continue to follow a dual strategy of both deterrence and dialogue toward Russia.
NATO summit to retool alliance to face new threats

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  In what some are terming NATO's most important meeting in a generation, U.S. President Barack Obama and the leaders of the 27 other member nations are deciding how to retool the Cold War-era military alliance to face a daunting range of modern threats, from a hostile Kremlin to religious-fueled violence and attacks in cyberspace.

They meet in the Polish capital, Warsaw, for a two-day summit starting Friday.

"We live in a more dangerous world, with terrorism, with turmoil, especially to the south of the alliance, in Iraq, Syria, North Africa," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told The Associated Press. "But also with a Russia which is more assertive, a Russia which has tripled its defense spending since 2000, and which has used force against an independent nation in Europe, Ukraine."

Workers install fences around the National Stadium, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Polish capital will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

"This has really changed our security environment," Stoltenberg said. "NATO has to respond. When the world is changing, we have to change."

Recently, yet another factor of uncertainty has arisen inside the trans-Atlantic community with the decision by British voters to pull their country  NATO's leading European military power  out of the European Union, just as the economic bloc and the U.S-led alliance are planning unprecedented cooperation on security and defense.

The British electorate's June 23 choice "really puts into question the confidence of the West," Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund think tank, said this week. "The silver lining could be that the Brits decide to double down on NATO, and be super helpful in NATO since they won't be in the EU."

Heads of state and government assembled in Warsaw will give the formal go-ahead to the greatest reinforcement of collective alliance defense since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including deployment of four reinforced multinational battalions, headed by the U.S., Britain, Canada and Germany, to Poland and the Baltic states.

The new units, totaling roughly 4,000 troops, will serve as a reassurance to allies feeling threatened by Moscow that NATO has their back, and also as a warning to Russia that a military incursion into the territory of front-line NATO states could bring it into head-to-head confrontation with the whole alliance.

"NATO is based on the core idea of one for all, and all for one," said Stoltenberg.

Further to the south, a Romanian-led multinational brigade is also planned as the start of an increased NATO presence designed to reassure and protect allies concerned about Moscow's beefed-up military presence in the Black Sea.

The measures to be ordered in Warsaw, which complement national actions by the U.S. and some other allies, constitute "the most significant accomplishment of alliance deterrence and defense in decades," Polish NATO Ambassador Jacek Najder told a pre-summit media briefing in Brussels.

Russian officials have already vowed to take unspecified but appropriate countermeasures.

"The Soviet Union is no more; the Warsaw Pact has ceased to exist," Russian President Vladimir Putin said recently, referring to the now-defunct military alliance between Moscow and its Eastern European satellites that was also formalized in Poland's capital. "But for some reason, NATO continues to expand its infrastructure and advance toward Russia's borders."

One independent Washington-based analyst, however, termed NATO's actions "too little, too late," and predicted they will be largely ineffective against Moscow's military, which has an official strength of 1 million.

"It's a minimal effort, with incremental steps," Jorge Benitez, senior fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, told the AP. "The little we do is quickly superseded by what the Russians do."

A second major set of decisions expected at the Warsaw summit concern what NATO officials call projecting stability beyond the alliance's borders. Here a priority concern is the Islamic State group, which has exploited the territory it holds in Syria and Iraq to mount devastating suicide attacks in the NATO member capitals of Paris and Brussels.

The extremist Muslim organization is also suspected of last week's attack by three suicide bombers that killed 44 people at Istanbul's airport.

At Warsaw, NATO leaders are expected to agree "on how we can do more also in the fight against terrorism, including strengthening our sharing of intelligence," Stoltenberg said.

Alliance AWACS surveillance aircraft will likely be ordered to peer into Islamic State-controlled areas of Syria and Iraq to assist the U.S.-led coalition combating the group, probably beginning this fall.

Leaders are also expected to order NATO training and capacity-building operations inside Iraq for that nation's military, and to pledge to renew their funding and training commitments to Afghanistan's government and security forces, which are increasingly hard-pressed by Taliban insurgents.

NATO and EU officials will also sign a pledge to boost cooperation against an array of security threats, including cyberattacks and organized disinformation campaigns. NATO leaders are also expected to order creation of a new Intelligence Division at alliance headquarters to streamline the collection and sharing of civilian and military intelligence and enable NATO to be more effective in combating extremist threats against allied member nations and their populations.

"We need NATO to continue to adapt in order to be able to react to the continued erosion of Europe's security," said Adam Thomson, British ambassador to the alliance.

___

Vanessa Gera contributed to this story.

Polish Army soldiers prepare a display of Polish-made combat vehicles in front of the National Stadium, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Polish capital will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
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A powerful typhoon churned up massive waves and strong winds near eastern Taiwan on Thursday, grounding water and air transport.

Typhoon Nepartak was labelled a category five typhoon on July 6 and it only weakened slightly on Thursday afternoon.

The massive storm sustained winds of 205 kilometres per hour causing huge waves to lash against the coastline.

As fast-moving Typhoon Nepartak makes its way across the Philippines Sea, large waves crash against the breakwaters in Ilan County on the eastern coast of Taiwan (pictured)

Fishing boats are secured in a port in Ilan County, pictured above, as waves lash against the shore. The storm has left thousands stranded as airports shut down and flights are cancelled

Authorities raised storm alerts in the province, located about 700 kilometres north of Manila, and in other nearby islands.

The typhoon will not hit land there but will intensify seasonal southwest monsoon rains, which could spark thunderstorms and flash floods on the main northern Luzon island, said government forecaster Aldzar Aurelio.

Some domestic flights were cancelled in the northern Philippines, while Taipei's two main airports have shut, affecting domestic and international flights.

Thousands of tourists holidaying in Green Island and Orchard Island, small islands off the east coast of Taiwan, have been evacuated, reported the ABC.

According to the Defence Ministry of Taiwan, soldiers have been deployed to help with preparations for the storm.

Nepartak is forecasted to hit land on Friday morning in eastern Taiwan and huge waves are already lashing the shore of nearby Ilan port city, where fishermen are desperately trying to secure their boats.

Nasa are reporting a wave height of more than 13 metres.

NASA images show Typhoon Nepartak as it approaches Taiwan and the Philippines. It is reporting a wave height of more than 13 metres

Restaurant owner Chen Mang-ning said he had to put a lock on the rolling door of his establishment to protect the windows from strong wind.

A local fisherman said he was also concerned about the extreme weather.

'Yes, I am worried about it, same as everyone here,' said Chen Chun-po.

Hong Kong's two biggest airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair, said they were cancelling flights to and from Taiwan scheduled from Thursday evening to Friday afternoon as the storm bore down on the island.

Nepartak is a Micronesian word for a local warrior.

The typhoon has ended a storm-free streak in the western pacific of almost 200 days  a record for the constantly-battered area.

In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines with ferocious power, leaving more than 7,300 people dead and missing and displacing more than 5 million others after leveling entire villages.

Waves are reaching heights of more than 13 metres as what was a tropical storm becomes a super-typhoon. Tourists are being evacuated from nearby islands as the storm prepares to hit land
Kouto Coleman, 36, was arrested for aggravated burglary and criminal trespassing after attempting to break into a womans bathroom window on Maude Street, officers said.

The victim pointed out Coleman to police upon their arrival, since the suspect was coming from between two houses. Coleman told officers he was only trying to fix his bicycle, but they saw no tools.



Police said they had previously been given the defendants exact description, and they had informed him he was not to come back to the Lincoln Park area. He had been seen several nights before knocking on doors, trying to open them, and looking into windows on the next street over.


NATO summit a defining moment in Polish security aspirations

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  The Polish capital once lent its name to the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet-led defense alliance that stood as a counterweight to NATO during the Cold War. This week, in a sign of how dramatically strategic alliances have shifted in Eastern Europe, Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit, the first time that Poland has hosted a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance that it joined in 1999.

The anticipation of having U.S. President Barack Obama and the heads of the other allied nations gather in a city shaped by centuries of unwanted Russian interference marks a vindication for Poland, which was forced into the Soviet sphere of influence against its will after World War II and saw the fall of communism in 1989 as a moment of national rebirth.

Over 17 years of NATO membership, Polish leaders have sometimes lamented feeling like a second-class member given that there have so far never been NATO bases or significant troop numbers on its territory  frustration that grew after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and began backing separatist in Ukraine's east. Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia  former Soviet republics now in NATO  worried they could be next.

Polish Army soldiers prepare a display of Polish-made combat vehicles in front of the National Stadium, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Polish capital will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

So this summit marks a turning point for Poland, not only due to the clout that comes with hosting the summit, but more importantly because the 28-member alliance will finalize plans to deploy four reinforced multinational battalions, to Poland and the Baltic states. The development builds on the previous summit, in Wales in 2014, where NATO decided to create a spearhead force that could move quickly into the region in case of an attack.

"We are becoming a full member of NATO," Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz told The Associated Press, referring to the planned stationing of troops. "Not only a political one, but one that we have always very much wanted to be, one that the Poles have waited 70 years to be. We will be fully protected by a joint force."

Macierewicz, whose ministry has a leading role in organizing the summit, himself embodies his nation's tortured history with Russia. His great-great grandfather was a military officer who fought in a war against Russia in 1792. Three years later, Poland was partitioned by Russia, Austria and Prussia and wiped off the map for the next 123 years. Poland regained its independence after World War I, but this was short-lived, as the country was conquered and divided again in 1939, this time by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. After the war, Poland ended up a Soviet satellite state.

In 1949, when Macierewicz was 1, his father died in mysterious circumstances, most likely murdered by secret services under Moscow's direction.

During the communist era, Macierewicz was a staunch anti-communist dissident, becoming a political prisoner for a time.

Today he is considered one of Poland's most outspoken critics of Moscow. He has even accused Russia of intentionally bringing down the plane that crashed in Smolensk, Russia, in 2010, killing President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others, many top Polish officials. Official investigations by Poland and Russia blame bad weather and human error  and even many Poles see Macierewicz's theory as anti-Russian fear gone too far.

Russian President Vladimir Putin "has been threatening us for a long time," Macierewicz insists. "It is a fact that the Russian Federation has an aggressive character. It's not only propaganda, but a fact, and that's why we have decided to take steps."

For their part, the Russians say that they feel provoked by a buildup of NATO activity and forces so close to Russian territory.

But Poles and other Westerners insist four battalions are not enough to threaten Russia in any way.

"It's only enough to be a trip wire in case something would come from Russia," said Michal Baranowski, the director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund think tank. "It would automatically bring the nations who provide the forces ... directly into to the fight."

Radek Sikorski, a former Polish foreign minister, described the new forces as a belated but welcome step toward correcting some of the vast military imbalance.

"This is 15 years late, but at last it's happening," he said at a debate in Warsaw last week.

___

Monika Scislowska in Warsaw contributed to this report.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and Polish President Andrzej Duda shake hands prior to their talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Soldiers stand near a NATO drone in front the National Stadium where the NATO summit will take place in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

In this July 4, 2016 photo Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet is parked at a military base, in Janow, Poland. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Soldiers stand near a NATO drone in front the National Stadium where the NATO summit will take place in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Soldiers walk towards the National Stadium where the NATO summit will take place in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Over 500 inmates evacuated from dilapidated German prison

BERLIN (AP)  More than 500 inmates are being evacuated from a prison in western Germany after experts said parts of the building are so dilapidated they could collapse at any time.

The prison in Muenster is one of the oldest in Germany  parts of it are more than 160 years old. The first inmates were taken to prisons in nearby towns by bus on Thursday and the evacuation was to be completed by mid-Friday, news agency dpa reported.

Prison warden Carsten Heim said the move was unavoidable.

A bus for prisoners drives into the prison in Muenster, western Germany, Thursday, July 7, 2016. More than 500 inmates are being evacuated from the prison after experts said parts of the building were so dilapidated they could collapse any time. (Friso Gentsch/dpa via AP)
Tycoon jailed for multimillion-euro scam of French state

PARIS (AP)  A French court convicted and jailed a tycoon Thursday over a 283 million-euro ($314 million) carbon tax fraud, dubbed "the scam of the century" by French media.

Arnaud Mimran was sentenced to eight years and a 1 million-euro fine for the 2008-2009 fraud, which resulted in a major tax shortfall for French authorities. During his trial he also caused upset in Israel by claiming that on another occasion he had donated 1 million euros to the election campaign of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mimran was taken away by the police inside the courtroom to be brought directly to prison, as ordered by the judge. Ten other defendants received sentences of between one and eight years from the Paris court, and six were also fined 1 million euros. All were convicted of aggravated fraud and money-laundering. One person was acquitted.

A dozen lawyers attended the verdict hearing. They left the courtroom looking somber and unusually refusing to comment on the verdict to reporters.

The complex fraud involved an ultra-juicy financial sleight of hand, bringing into play phony offshore companies with straw managers and sidekicks used as figureheads, and causing huge losses to the coffers of France.

To fight global warming, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol created a tool, the "carbon market." In Europe, companies receive CO2 emission quotas every year, tantamount to a "right to pollute" to a certain limit. If they pollute less, they can sell the allowances they have left to other, more polluting companies.

But this market soon attracted organized crime. Criminals bought quotas in one country, free of tax, and sold them in another including value added tax. But they kept the nearly-20-percent VAT amounts for themselves and failed to pay them to the state.

The dirty money from VAT was transferred to foreign accounts, and part of it was then invested again in new, similar fraudulent transactions in order to multiply gains. Shell companies were specifically created for this purpose and deliberately went bankrupt or ceased operations just before paying VAT due in France.

The scam exposed in the trial lasted only seven months. It started in November 2008 and ended in June 2009 when French authorities decided to exempt the transactions from VAT due to suspicions of widespread fraud.

Despite the short time period, the fraud produced "mammoth profits", investigating judges said in court documents. Mimran, who is considered to have been the investor for the rest of the gang, provided the initial funds, allowing the subsequent snowball effect. After investing 8 to 9 million euros in the fraud, he eventually earned 21 million euros in profit, which amounts to an annual return of 477 percent, he acknowledged to the investigators.

To achieve the 283 million euros in non-paid VAT, the conmen sold a huge number of CO2 emission quotas for a total price of 1.45 billion euros over the 7-month period, court documents show.

The French general accounting office in 2012 drew up an assessment for all of the carbon tax frauds and found the tax losses for the national public budget totaled 1.6 billion euros $1.8 billion). Europol estimated tax losses for the whole European Union at about 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion).

In the civil part of the ruling, those convicted were jointly sentenced to pay 283 million euros in damages to the state which was a plaintiff in the case. The sum is equivalent to the amount of the losses for the French tax authorities.

Half of the 12 defendants were tried in absentia and are believed to be in Israel.

During the trial in May, Mimran reportedly testified he donated "1 million euros" to one of Netanyahu's election campaigns in 2001. If true, such a sum would violate Israel's campaign finance laws.

Netanyahu's office denied the figure, saying Mimran only made a lawful $40,000 donation to a fund used for Netanyahu's public diplomacy tours abroad while he held no office. Later on, in June, Mimran told Israel's channel 10 TV that, in his court statement, he meant 1 million French francs, or 153,000 euros at that time.

"I still have the bank statement, it is Arnaud Mimran, my personal account, to Benjamin Netanyahu, his personal account", Mimran told channel 10 TV. "He can check on his account. This is not something he or I can hide," he said.
Germany predicts drop in exports to Britain due to EU exit

BERLIN (AP)  German exports to Britain are forecast to fall both this year and in 2017 due to the country's vote to leave the European Union, a business group said Thursday.

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry is forecasting that exports from Germany, Europe's biggest economy, will slip 1 percent this year and 5 percent in 2017.

It had previously predicted a 5 percent increase in exports to Britain this year but revised its assessment because of the fall in the British pound, which makes German exports priced in euros more expensive in Britain, as well as the prospect of weakening investment.

An advert suggesting start-up businesses based in the UK move to Berlin is displayed on a parked vehicle on Finsbury Square in the City of London, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Its image as a relaxed and relatively affordable city may convince tech companies to relocate to Berlin, which is already home to online retailer Zalando, language-learning service babble and audio sharing platform SoundCloud. Last year, Berlin startups attracted more investment than those in based in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Britain was the no. 3 destination last year for German exports, taking goods worth 89.3 billion euros ($98.8 billion).

The group said most businesses expect bilateral trade to remain constant during the upcoming negotiations on a British exit but many predict it to fall once Britain has left the EU, with extra bureaucracy and legal differences a concern.

Meanwhile, Britain's Treasury chief and senior figures in five international banks pledged to work together to ease concerns about the future of the huge financial sector based in Britain.

George Osborne met with top officials from Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In a joint statement Thursday, the group stressed the need to join forces to "help London retain its position as the leading international financial center."
ROME (AP)  The lawyer for a homeless man accused of pushing an American student into the Tiber River in Rome says surveillance footage shows the teen tried to swim a few strokes after falling in but was carried off by rapids and quickly disappeared.

Attorney Michele Vincelli, who is defending Italian suspect Massimo Galioto, said Thursday the dynamics of the incident are clear on the video but that it's still unclear who was responsible for the death of 19-year-old Beau Solomon of Spring Green, Wisconsin.

While Galioto was on the Tiber riverbank along with Solomon early Friday, at least three other people were there as well, Vincelli told reporters outside the Rome jailhouse after a judge confirmed Galioto's arrest.

Alessia Pennachioli walks towards the tent she shared with her companion Massimo Galioto, 40, on the banks of river Tiber in Rome, Wednesday, July 6, 2016, after an interview with The Associated Press. Police on Tuesday detained Galioto as suspected for the death of Beau Solomon, a U.S. college student whose body was found in Rome's Tiber river this week. Alessia said the American fell into the water after a shoving match with Galioto. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

"My client declares absolutely that he did not give the push," he said. The lawyer said Galioti invoked his right not to respond to investigators' questions.

Galioto was detained Tuesday on suspicion of aggravated homicide, a day after Solomon's body was pulled from the river downstream. Solomon was reported by another student to have been last seen at a bar early Friday, just hours after arriving in Rome for a summer study program at John Cabot University.

"It is a given that the boy was robbed and probably brought down onto the riverbank of the Tiber with the presumed thieves, but then they go away and then the next episode starts, during which there are various people who argue with the boy," Vincelli said.

Galioto's companion, Alessia Pennachioli, who lives with him in a makeshift Rome encampment under one of the Tiber's bridges, said Solomon "accidentally fell into the river" after he and Galioto scuffled. She said Solomon was drunk, and had been accompanied down the stairs to the riverbank by two North Africans who had robbed him.

"The victim had the bad luck to fall in the most unlucky spot in the whole river because just a bit further down there are the rapids," Vincelli told reporters. "You can see he tried to swim, but then he was pushed over the rapids, where there are also rocks that come out of the river."

The video, from police surveillance cameras on the other side of the river, is in the hands of Italian prosecutors, he added.

An autopsy showed that Solomon was alive when he fell in the water, Italian news reports said.

Investigators are also looking into Solomon's credit card, which was used at a Milan store on Saturday, a day after he died.

At Rome's City Hall, a minute of silence was observed in Solomon's honor during a ceremony Thursday afternoon to mark the inaugural assembly for the municipal government, after last month's election of a new mayor, Virginia Raggi, and city council members.

___
The Latest: EU's Tusk hints at chance for UK to stay in EU

LONDON (AP)  The Latest on Britain's vote to leave the European Union (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

The head of the European Council says the European Union must wait for the British government to decide whether to leave the bloc or stay in it.

British Home Secretary and leadership candidate for Britain's ruling Conservative Party Theresa May leaves after attending a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street, in London, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on June 24 after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Donald Tusk says Thursday that the European Treaty puts no pressure on a nation filing the Article 50 motion to leave the group at any certain time. He says until Britain files the motion, it remains a full EU member.

Tusk said on Polish TVN24 that "the European Union must wait for the British government to decide whether it wants to leave the union or whether it wants to stay in it."

Tusk called Britain's June 23 vote to leave the 28-nation bloc a "very sad thing" and said it was a "very serious mistake" of Britain's political elite to call such a vote.

___

4:25 p.m.

Conservative lawmakers have chosen Home Secretary Theresa May and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom to fight a runoff contest for leadership of Britain's governing party. The winner will become the country's second female prime minister.

May received 199 votes in a ballot of Conservative members of Parliament Thursday. Leadsom received 84. Justice Secretary Michael Gove got 46 votes and was eliminated from the race.

Some 150,000 Conservative Party members will now vote in the leadership contest, with the result announced Sept. 9.

The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union.

Britain's first female prime minister was Margaret Thatcher, a Conservative who governed from 1979 to 1990.

___

3:35 p.m.

World athletics chief Sebastian Coe says Britain's vote to leave the European Union means that British sports will lose a lot of EU funding for sports infrastructure. Coe says he will be pressing the next British government to make sure that money for sports still flows from national coffers.

Coe says he "will be at the front of the queue making sure that where that finance is available, it is being aimed at sport, which is as important to me as almost any other activity."

The former Olympic runner was a Conservative member of parliament in the 1990s and a chief of staff of the party. He backed the "remain" side in the vote on EU membership.

Coe says when the EU divorce is final, EU sports funding will disappear in Britain.

___

1:15 p.m.

Britain's Treasury chief and senior figures in five international banks are pledging to work together to ease concerns in an economy jittery after the vote to leave the European Union.

George Osborne met with top officials from Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch,

In a joint statement Thursday, the group stressed the need to join forces to "help London retain its position as the leading international financial center."

It was the second time this week that Osborne met with senior officials in the banking sector, hoping to ensure confidence in markets rattled by the June 23 vote to leave the 28-nation bloc.

He met bank leaders from domestically based banks on Tuesday.

___

11:30 a.m.

Conservative lawmakers in Britain are voting to decide which two candidates will face a runoff to be the country's next prime minister.

Members of Parliament are choosing among three legislators  Home Secretary Theresa May, Justice Secretary Michael Gove and Energy Minister Andrew Leadsom.

May had a big lead after a first round of voting on Tuesday that saw the field winnowed from five to three.

Results of the latest round will be announced late Thursday afternoon. The candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated and the other two will campaign around the country to win votes from 150,000 party members.

The result will be announced Sept. 9. The winner will replace Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced his resignation after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union.

___

10:50 a.m.

A German business group is forecasting that Germany's exports to Britain will slip 1 percent this year and drop by 5 percent in 2017 following British voters' decision to leave the European Union.

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry said Thursday that it previously predicted a 5 percent increase in exports to Britain this year but revised its assessment because of the pound's fall and the prospect of weakening investment. Britain was the no. 3 destination last year for German exports, taking goods worth 89.3 billion euros ($98.8 billion).

The group said most businesses expect bilateral trade to remain constant during negotiations on a British exit but many expect it to fall once Britain has left the EU, with extra bureaucracy and legal differences a concern.

British ruling Conservative Party Member of Parliament, Andrea Leadsom, launches her campaign in London, Monday, July 4, 2016. British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned on June 24, after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
Iran: forces kill 2 Kurdish insurgents who were on the run

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iran's semi-official Fars news agency says the Revolutionary Guard has killed two Kurdish insurgents who have been on the run since last week.

The Thursday report says they were part of a larger group, 11 of whom were killed in clashes with Iranian forces last week in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

The report says the pair was killed on Tuesday and did not identify them, describing them as "counter-revolutionary bandits."
Vatican: No jurisdiction over journalists in leaks case

VATICAN CITY (AP)  A Vatican court declared Thursday it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists who wrote books based in part on confidential documents exposing greed, mismanagement and corruption in the Holy See, ending a trial that drew scorn from media rights groups.

The court did convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian public relations expert for having conspired to leak documents, but cleared them of having formed a criminal association to do so. A fifth defendant, the monsignor's secretary, was absolved of all charges.

The verdict was an embarrassment to Vatican prosecutors, who had accused journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi of conspiring and putting pressure on the three other defendants to get the information. Prosecutors had accused the three of forming a shady, secretive criminal organization that conspired to reveal confidential Vatican documents.

Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi, left, and Emiliano Fittipaldi leave the Vatican on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute them for having published confidential information, but convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass them documents. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

In the end, the president of the four-judge tribunal, Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre, asserted the Vatican had no jurisdiction over the journalists and ruled there wasn't enough evidence to show that any such criminal organization existed.

Speaking in the name of Pope Francis, Dalla Torre prefaced his sentence by insisting that the freedom of the press was enshrined in the Vatican legal code and that freedom of thought was "guaranteed by divine law."

Fittipaldi and Nuzzi wrote blockbuster books last year based on Vatican documents exposing the greed of bishops and cardinals angling for big apartments, the extraordinarily high costs of getting a saint made, and the loss to the Holy See of millions of euros in rental income because of undervalued real estate.

The documentation had been compiled by a pontifical commission ordered by Francis to gather information about Vatican finances to make them more transparent and efficient.

Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda, the reform commission's No. 2, admitted in court that he gave Nuzzi 85 passwords to password-protected documents. He denied the journalists threatened him and put the blame of feeling pressured on Francesca Chaouqui, the communications consultant who was also a member of the commission.

The court convicted Vallejo of passing documents to the journalists and sentenced him to 18 months in prison. While clearing Chaouqui of actually passing documents, the court found her guilty of conspiring with Vallejo and sentenced her to a 10-month suspended sentence.

The fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, was cleared.

It wasn't immediately clear if anyone would appeal. Chaouqui, who recently gave birth, had said she would have gone to prison, babe in arms, rather than appeal a conviction or ask for a papal pardon.

Publishing confidential information is a crime in the Vatican, punishable by up to eight years in prison.

The journalists are Italian and had challenged the Vatican's jurisdiction to prosecute them. Prosecutors had asserted jurisdiction over them anyway, but the court rejected that argument. It declared it had no jurisdiction since Fittipaldi and Nuzzi were not Vatican public officials and the alleged crime didn't take place on Vatican territory.

In fact, in the sentence, Dalla Torre recalled that the 2013 Vatican law that criminalized publishing reserved information only applied to Vatican public officials exercising their official jobs, suggesting that the law will not be applied in the future to ordinary journalists operating outside of the Vatican City State.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and other media watchdog organizations had criticized the trial and called on the Vatican to drop the charges, saying journalists must be allowed to do their jobs without fear of repercussions.

They praised the decision but said the trial never should have gone forward.

"Their trial cast a chilling effect on covering the Vatican," said Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"By writing these books, we repeated that they just exercised their right to provide information in the public interest and should not have been treated as criminals in a state that supposedly respects media freedom," said Pauline Ades-Mevel, head of the Reporters Without Borders' Europe desk.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, defended the prosecutors for going ahead with what he said was an arguably unpopular prosecution, saying the Vatican has a law on its books criminalizing the publication of reserved information that must be applied.

The journalists had denounced the Vatican for putting them on trial rather than the priests and laymen whose wrongdoing they uncovered, calling the proceedings a "farce," since prosecutors accused them of being part of a criminal conspiracy by their mere "availability" to receive information.

But they praised the verdict as a sign the Vatican realized the error, and attributed the turnabout to Francis' pontificate.

"This has been a Kafkaesque process for what concern the charges, but its conclusion, in my opinion, has been very positive," Fittipaldi said outside the tribunal.

The case has had several surreal moments. At its start, the journalists complained they had only seen the court file a few hours before the first hearing. Then Francis, the Vatican's supreme legislator, executive and judge, intervened to insist that the defense be given more time after the court tried to rush the trial through in two weeks.

Then Vallejo was put back under house arrest after a friend sneaked a cellphone to him inside a cake. Finally, Chaouqui's son, Pietro, was born June 14 and was brought to court every day since.

The only criminal investigation that has been opened stemming from the journalists' revelations of wrongdoing concerned the transfer of 400,000 euros ($444,000) from the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesu pediatric hospital to pay for renovations on the attic of the Vatican's former No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

The hospital's former president and treasurer are under investigation by Vatican prosecutors. Bertone has said he was unaware of the payment but has nevertheless repaid the hospital 150,000 euros ($166,000). He was not put under investigation.

In 2012, in the first document leaks scandal before the same Vatican tribunal, Pope Benedict XVI's butler was convicted of giving Nuzzi confidential documents that painted Bertone in a bad light and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Benedict eventually pardoned the butler.

Nuzzi wasn't charged in that case, but the Vatican City State later criminalized the publication of confidential information.

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi, center, and Emiliano Fittipaldi, right, walk past a Vatican Police officer on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute them for having published confidential information, but convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass them documents. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Italian communications expert Francesca Chaouqui talks to journalists on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court convicted her and a Vatican monsignor for having conspired to pass documents to two Italian journalist. The court also declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists for having published the confidential information and asserted the Vatican guarantees the freedom of the press. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Italian journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi, left, and Emiliano Fittipaldi talk to the media on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute them for having published confidential information, but convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass them documents. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi leaves the Vatican on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute him and and his colleague Emiliano Fittipaldi for having published confidential information, but convict a Vatican monsignor and an Italian communications expert for having conspired to pass them documents. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Italian communications expert Francesca Chaouqui, center, flanked by her lawyer Laura Sgro', right, leaves the Vatican on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court convicted her and a Vatican monsignor for having conspired to pass documents to two Italian journalist. The court also declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists for having published the confidential information and asserted the Vatican guarantees the freedom of the press. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui, second from left, kisses her husband Corrado Lanino, as they arrive at the Vatican for her trial, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Two Italian journalists who wrote books detailing Vatican mismanagement face trial in a Vatican courtroom along with three people accused of leaking them the information in a case that has drawn scorn from media watchdogs. (Giuseppe Lami/ANSA via AP Photo)

Italian communications expert Francesca Chaouqui, right, flanked by her lawyer Laura Sgro', talks to journalists on Thursday, July 7, 2016, after a Vatican court convicted her and a Vatican monsignor for having conspired to pass documents to two Italian journalist. The court also declared it had no jurisdiction to prosecute two journalists for having published the confidential information and asserted the Vatican guarantees the freedom of the press. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui walks next a Vatican Gendarme as she arrives with her newly born son Pietro, at the Vatican for her trial, Monday, July 4, 2016. Two Italian journalists who wrote books detailing Vatican mismanagement face trial in a Vatican courtroom along with three people accused of leaking them the information in a case that has drawn scorn from media watchdogs. (Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA via AP Photo)
The Latest: Christie to campaign with Trump in Florida

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on the presidential campaign ahead of the Democratic and Republican nominating conventions (all times EDT):

7:30 p.m.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be joining Donald Trump on the campaign trail Friday  the latest prospective running mate Trump is bringing on tour.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump motorcade departs after meeting with the Senate Republican Conference at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump will be traveling to Miami to deliver a speech his aides have titled "Succeeding Together."

Christie, who won 51 percent of the Hispanic vote when he ran for re-election in 2013, will be along for the ride.

Christie is one of a number of candidates currently being vetted for Trump's vice presidential pick, along with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

Gingrich joined Trump at a rally in Ohio Wednesday. Trump met with Pence last weekend.

__

5:07 p.m.

Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton at a joint campaign event next Tuesday in New Hampshire. The appearance would bring together the two Democratic presidential rivals ahead of the party's summer convention in Philadelphia.

Two Democrats with knowledge of his plans say Sanders is closing in on offering his public endorsement of Clinton. The Democrats spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions.

Clinton's campaign announced a Tuesday stop in New Hampshire but did not say that Sanders would attend. The announcement came a day after The Associated Press and other news outlets reported the two sides were discussing a joint event in the Granite State.

Sanders' expected endorsement will come three weeks after the end of the Democratic primaries. The Vermont senator has pushed for policy commitments and promises for a more inclusive party.

___

4:00 p.m.

Former presidential rival Ted Cruz is not ready to endorse Donald Trump, but the Texas senator says he will speak at the Republican convention in two weeks.

Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in a statement Thursday after the senator met with Trump that there was no discussion of any endorsement. Trump did ask Cruz to speak at the convention and he agreed.

The statement said Trump also asked for Cruz's counsel on future judicial nominees, "and Cruz responded he would continue to do everything he can to help ensure principled constitutionalists on the courts."

___

2:47 p.m.

Republican Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois says Donald Trump is an "Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully."

Trump called Kirk, one of the more vulnerable GOP incumbents, a loser at the closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Kirk did not attend the meeting, but The Washington Post described the presidential candidate's comments.

Asked about them later, Kirk told The Associated Press: "I've run for election six times in Illinois. Really tough races for the Congress and for the Senate and won every race. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

On why Trump would say Kirk would lose: "I guess the bully side of him. We haven't seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully. Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois. We're much more practical and polite."

Kirk joked that he's not on Trump's Christmas card list anymore.

___

2:35 p.m.

FBI Director James Comey says he is glad to testify before Congress about his decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton, because, "I think the American people want to know about this" case and the reasons behind his decision.

Still the four-plus hours of testimony were not always easy for Comey - beyond the sometimes sharp questions he received from Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Comey said of the testimony, "it's a pain," in some cases literally: "I've had to go to the bathroom for about an hour."

Lawmakers expressed sympathy but did not immediately adjourn the hearing or schedule a break.

____

1:50 p.m.

It was a desk, not an attic.

FBI Director James Comey corrected that detail in earlier testimony before a House committee in which he said that Gen. David Petraeus had hidden classified information in the insulation in his attic.

Comey later in the day said it had been in a desk as the agency pursued its case.

Testifying about Hillary Clinton's emails on Thursday, Comey was questioned about the case of Petraeus in which he was prosecuted for mishandling classified information.

Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to knowingly sharing binders of classified information with his biographer, a woman with whom he was having a sexual relationship. The Justice Department made clear that the retired Army general knew the material was top secret when he divulged it and had lied to the FBI about it.

Comey made the surprising disclosure about the Petraeus case during questioning.

___

1:33 p.m.

Hillary Clinton plans to campaign in New Hampshire on Tuesday amid discussions with Bernie Sanders about a potential endorsement from her former presidential rival.

It will be her first appearance in the state since Sanders trounced her in the state's February primary.

A Democrat familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the two sides were in talks over holding a joint event in New Hampshire on Tuesday. The Democrat spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the plans.

Sanders has not yet endorsed Clinton since the end of the Democratic primaries in mid-June. The Vermont senator is pressing for policy commitments in the party platform that will be adopted at the party's convention in Philadelphia.

Representatives of Clinton, Sanders and the Democratic National Committee will discuss the platform this weekend in Orlando, Florida

___

1:00 p.m.

Donald Trump told House Republicans that he wants to defend all articles of the Constitution, from one through 12.

In fact, there are only seven.

At his meeting Thursday, Trump was asked about defending Article 1 of the Constitution on the separation of powers. Trump, according to South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, said he wanted to defend all, from 1, 2, 3 to 12.

"I wasn't particularly impressed, I think it was the normal stream of consciousness that's long on hyperbole and short on facts," Sanford said after the meeting.

But he said the hearing on Hillary Clinton's emails provided all the contrast and evidence anyone needs to get behind Trump instead of the Democrat.

____

12:33 p.m.

FBI Director James Comey is emphatically denying that he coordinates his decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton with the White House or anyone else.

Comey says no one influenced his decision in any way.

Republican Rep. John Mica of Florida said the timing of Comey's announcement was suspicious and compared the decisions "choreography" to the Broadway musical, "Hamilton."

The decision came just a week after former President Bill Clinton met privately with Attorney General Loretta Lynch and a few days after Clinton testified for 3 1/2 hours to the FBI.

Clinton campaigned with President Barack Obama a few hours after Comey's announcement.

Mica said, "This is rapid fire. My folks have questions."

Mica said he was "not a conspiracy theorist," but the timing raises questions.

Comey said the agency tried hard to make a case against Hillary Clinton but ultimately concluded there was no case.

Comey tells the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that, "We went at this very hard to see if we could make a case."

____

12:30 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says he has written to FBI Director James Comey asking him to release all unclassified findings of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email use.

Ryan said of Clinton: "She has just been proven to be dishonest about what she said she did, and she's been proven to mishandle it very recklessly."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Ryan reiterated that he has asked Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to bar Clinton from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign.

Ryan says "it stands to reason that individuals who are 'extremely careless' with classified information should be denied further access to that type of information."

Ryan added that he was confident that Donald Trump could handle classified information.

___

12:15 p.m.

The Senate's No. 2 Republican said presidential candidate Donald Trump and GOP senators had a "good exchange."

Texas Republican John Cornyn tells reporters that he sensed encouraging signs that Trump is learning from his experience as a presidential candidate and that he's willing to listen to "those of us who've made some constructive suggestions."

Cornyn also said his colleagues "were candid about some of the reasons for concern in terms of (Trump's) tone and style." Cornyn said. He added that Trump made "an interesting point" that he's generated a lot of enthusiasm and tapped into something that no Republican nominee for president has done before.

Trump met with House Republicans before heading over to meet with the senators.

___

11:47 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey is suggesting that it's possible Hillary Clinton may not have been able to identify classified markings on emails.

Comey's investigation found that there were 113 emails that were sent or received by Clinton containing classified material, contradicting Clinton's previous statements.

Comey says under questioning from a Republican lawmaker that they asked Clinton about three emails that bore "C'' markings indicating that the documents are classified. He says there's a question of whether Clinton was "sophisticated enough" to understand what the C markings meant.

North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows says a reasonable person would think someone who is the secretary of state would understand what that means. Meadows says after Clinton's time in the Senate and at the State Department, "that's hard to believe."

___

11:40 a.m.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says nothing in FBI Director James Comey's report on Hillary Clinton's emails causes President Obama to "reconsider his enthusiastic support for her campaign."

Earnest accused Republicans of politicizing Congress' oversight role by hauling Comey before a House panel to explain his recommendation to not bring charges against Clinton.

The White House had sidestepped questions about the investigation while it was ongoing, citing the need to preserve the Justice Department's independence. With the probe now closed, Earnest said the results of the investigation hadn't had any impact on Obama's determination about who should be the next president.

___

11:41 p.m.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi is dismissing the emergency hearing House Republicans called with FBI Director James Comey about Hillary Clinton's handling of emails.

Pelosi told reporters Thursday: "We have an investigation of the investigation of the investigation. How long can this go on?"

The minority leader spoke as Comey testified before the House Oversight committee on why he did not recommend charges against Clinton over her home email server. Comey said his team found no evidence that she lied under oath or broke the law by discussing classified information in an unclassified setting.

___

1:19 a.m.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says he is going to refer Hillary Clinton's testimony before the House Benghazi Committee to the FBI to investigate whether she lied to Congress.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah cited comments by Clinton in which she said she did not send or receive any emails marked as classified.

Clinton testified for nearly 11 hours last fall before the Benghazi panel, which was investigating the deadly 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Clinton was secretary of the state at the time and now is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

FBI Director James Comey told Chaffetz at a hearing Thursday that he had not reviewed the testimony because it has not been referred to him by Congress.

Chaffetz told Comey he would have a referral "in the next few hours."

___

11:12 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey is backing up Hillary Clinton's long-stated reason for setting up a private email server when she became President Barack Obama's secretary of state.

Comey tells a House committee that the FBI's "best information" is that Clinton set up the private server "as a matter of convenience." Those comments are in line with what Clinton has told the public.

Comey says under questioning from lawmakers that the investigation did not establish that Clinton was "particularly sophisticated" with the use of electronic information. That prompts Florida Congressman Ron DeSantis to reply, "Good grief."

___

10:54 a.m.

FBI Director James Comey says he did not hold Hillary Clinton to a different standard when he recommended no charges over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Comey is telling a House committee that the FBI tries very hard to apply the same standard "whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all."

Comey told the panel that Clinton did email classified material and used multiple devices during her four years as secretary of state, contradicting her public statements.

Republicans are pointing out that a rank-and-file government worker who used an unclassified email system to conduct classified government business would have been charged with a crime.

In this photo taken June 24, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks in Albany, N.Y. House Democrats are anxious to know when Sen. Bernie Sanders will formally withdraw from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, right, accompanied by the committee's ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., center, welcome FBI Director James Comey, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, prior to Comey testifying before the committee's hearing to explain the agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight Committee to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate, over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state, . (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Algerian allegedly linked to Paris suspect held in Germany

BERLIN (AP)  An Algerian man who was allegedly assigned by the suspected ringleader of November's Paris attacks to reconnoiter the Balkan migrant route last year is in custody in Germany, prosecutors said Thursday.

The 20-year-old, identified only as Bilal C. in line with German privacy rules, is also believed to have been in contact with a gunman who tried to open fire last summer on a high-speed train in France, German federal prosecutors said.

The suspect is accused of being a member of the Islamic State group from December 2014 until at least last August. He was already in custody over another matter, prosecutors said, without specifying what that was.

The man traveled from Algeria to Syria via Turkey in September 2014, then joined IS and underwent weapons training, prosecutors said in a statement.

Last June, Paris attacks suspect Abdelhamid Abaaoud tasked him with scouting the Balkan route that was then popular with migrants to Europe for border checks and smuggling opportunities, they said. He traveled from Syria to Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and Austria, and arrived in Germany in August.

The suspect kept Abaaoud updated on matters such as open border crossings and waiting times, according to prosecutors. They didn't specify whether there is believed to be any direct link between the assignment and the attacks in Paris.

They did, however, say that the Algerian kept Ayoub El Khazzani  the gunman in the thwarted train attack last August  informed of smuggling opportunities, particularly from Turkey to Greece, as he traveled to Europe. French authorities have previously linked El Khazzani to Abaaoud, the ringleader of the IS cell that attacked Paris.
Nathan Hale, 35, was arrested after deputies said he was seen trying to break into one of the Silverdale Corrections facilities with a cinder block on Friday.

A witness said he was delivering bread to CCA when he observed the burglary attempt and called out to a guard. Officers said Hale punched a bystander, damaged the witnesss truck, and started fighting with a sheriff's deputy while trying to resist arrest. They also said he tried to kick out a patrol cars windows.



Hale was pepper sprayed and Tased in the attempt to restrain him from assaulting anyone further.



After being checked out at Erlanger East Hospital, he was arrested for burglary, two counts of assault, vandalism/malicious mischief, and resisting arrest or obstruction of legal process.


Philippine military assaults kill 9 Abu Sayyaf extremists

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  Philippine troops, backed by rocket-firing helicopters and artillery fire, killed up to nine Abu Sayyaf extremists in fighting Thursday after the new military chief warned of a "shock and awe" offensive to wipe out the militant group known for its brutality.

One soldier was killed and six wounded as government troops battled about 130 Abu Sayyaf fighters in the jungles of mountainous Patikul town in Sulu province, said regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan. In addition to the Abu Sayyaf deaths, 13 of the militants were wounded, he said.

The militants were led by one-armed Abu Sayyaf commander Radulan Sahiron but it was not immediately clear what happened to him. The United States and the Philippines have offered separate bounties for the capture and prosecution of Sahiron, who has been blamed for bomb attacks and kidnappings for ransom.

In nearby Basilan province, troops fought about 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen for five hours late Wednesday. The clashes resumed Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties, Tan said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has warned the Abu Sayyaf to stop a wave of ransom kidnappings, adding he would eventually confront the militants.

Military chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya said early this week a looming offensive would "shock and awe" the extremists, suggesting the use of overwhelming firepower against the resilient militants, who have survived more than a decade of on-and-off offensives.

Additional troops have been deployed to Basilan and Sulu, predominantly Muslim provinces where the militants have kept hostages in jungle encampments. Two Canadians were successively beheaded by the militants in Sulu after ransom deadlines lapsed, sparking condemnation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A Norwegian, a Dutch bird watcher and a group of seven newly kidnapped Indonesian tugboat crewmen remain in Abu Sayyaf custody.
Missing Lynx: UK police warn residents over escaped cat

LONDON (AP)  Police say a 2-year-old male lynx has escaped from a zoo in southwestern England.

The wild animal escaped from the Dartmoor Zoological Park on Thursday.

The police force said the animal "should not be approached as it could become dangerous if alarmed or cornered."

The lynx, named Flaviu, had only been at the zoo for one night when it escaped from an enclosure by chewing through a board in the wall, zoo officials said.

"Our main concerns now are for the safety of the public and for the welfare of Flaviu. He is extremely timid and his instinct will be to stay away from people so we are asking the public to be vigilant," the zoo said in a statement.

Traps containing meat are being set in the vicinity of the zoo to lure the lynx back.

Police have called in a helicopter to search for the wild cat and are urging members of the public to call an emergency helpline if they spot the free feline.

Officers are also visiting local schools to offer safety advice, and going house-to-house asking people to remain indoors.
Russia: 7 militants, 1 officer killed in clashes in Dagestan

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian officials say at least seven militants and one law enforcement officer have been killed in clashes in Russia's restive North Caucasus region.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee says Thursday that three FSB officers were also injured in the ongoing clashes in a rural area south of the regional capital of Makhachkala in the southern province of Dagestan. The committee said the FSB officers were following the militants through the woods and found multiple weapons and ammunition stashed there, including two grenade launchers.
WHO predicts modest rise in yellow fever deaths in Africa

GENEVA (AP)  A top U.N. health agency official says he expects some increase in yellow fever deaths in coming months from the current outbreak in Angola and Congo, but it will be "incremental not exponential."

World Health Organization emergencies chief Bruce Aylward announced a vast expansion of a vaccination campaign in the two African countries to eventually reach 30 million people. Some 14.5 million have already been vaccinated since the outbreak began earlier this year.

WHO on Thursday reported 355 "confirmed, probable and suspected" yellow fever deaths in Angola, and 75 in Congo.

Aylward said the latest outbreak of a virus for which a vaccine has existed since the 1930s is presenting new challenges, mainly in urban areas.
UK business secretary travels to India to save steel jobs

LONDON (AP)  Britain's business secretary, Sajid Javid, is traveling to India to meet with Tata Steel executives amid reports that the Indian conglomerate is prepared to sell some of its U.K. plants.

Tata is looking to dispose of its specialty steel businesses in Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge  but has so far held off any decision on what to do with its plant in Port Talbot, in Wales.

Prime Minister David Cameron and the first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, agreed Thursday that "offers of support from the U.K. and Welsh Governments remain on the table."
Crossing Spain on an ancient pilgrimage route

EL ACEBO, Spain (AP)  About three hours into the day's hike, having just cleared the highest mountain point of the Camino de Santiago, I looked down into the valleys pockmarked with yellow and purple spring blossoms, and froze.

Surely that faraway black office tower, seemingly no bigger than the trail stones making my scarred feet scream, could not be where I was planning to arrive that same night. Guidebook check: It was.

Dejected, I struggled downhill into the next hamlet, El Acebo. I was barely past the first of its slate-roofed stone houses when my name  "Giovanna!"  rang out in the lilting Rio de Janeiro accent of a fellow pilgrim.

This May 26, 2014 photo shows pilgrims crossing the medieval bridge at Puente la Reina, on Spain's Camino de Santiago. The 500-mile ancient pilgrimage route takes a growing number of pilgrims through many art-filled towns. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

And that was my camino experience: 31 days of physical endurance through awe-inspiring landscapes, of contemplation punctuated by deep connections. It was a combination that reset my Type-A internal clock so that stopping to pick a poppy or a bunch of grapes, or to compare blisters with hikers from Seoul or Hawaii or Naples, became not only permissible but also imperative.

The "camino frances," or French way, is an 800-kilometer (500 miles) medieval pilgrimage route that crosses Spain from the Pyrenees at the French border to the purported burial site of the Apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Of several historical routes to Santiago, this is the most popular.

It's no wilderness hike: The longest stretch without crossing a village is 10 miles (17 kilometers) through farmland. How much solitude you get depends on when and where you start.

In 2015, 172,243 people walked or rode bikes or horses along the camino frances, according to the Pilgrims' Office in Santiago. More than 67,000 started in Sarria, about four days from Santiago, the end of the trail. The busiest months are May-September, with more than 20,000 pilgrims each, dropping to fewer than 900 in January. Over the last decade, yearly numbers have mostly risen, but 2010 saw the most pilgrims, likely because it was a Catholic "holy year."

I walked the entire camino twice, in May-June 2014 and September-October 2015, averaging 26 kilometers (16 miles) daily, often for hours without seeing another pilgrim  though I got stuck for a day among hundreds of yellow-hatted German confirmation students.

With the universal greeting of "buen camino," I met bikers from Taiwan, retirees from New Zealand, school groups from Minnesota and southern Spain, couples who started at 4 a.m. to ensure solitude and singles who got a lively party scene going most nights. The only kind of person I did not meet was one not deeply affected by the experience.

Not everyone can devote four to five weeks to go the full way, however. Here are my favorite four-day stretches:

___

RONCESVALLES TO ESTELLA

After the first pilgrims' blessing in half-a-dozen languages at the ancient stone church in Roncesvalles, a two-day downhill trek through mountain woods where Charlemagne fought and Hemingway fished takes you to Pamplona, one of four major cities the camino crosses. Refueled with Basque txistorra sausage, you're off through rolling hills carpeted in wheat and vines, topped by castles and crisscrossed by Roman roads and medieval bridges until Estella, whose fortress-like medieval churches and palaces huddle in a gorge.

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BURGOS TO CARRION DE LOS CONDES

Burgos is the kind of city where, after plodding for half a day through suburbs, you still take 1.5-hour walking tours of the 13th-century cathedral or the main monastery, then limber along the river promenade to restaurants specializing in lechazo, roasted lamb. Beyond is the emptiness of the meseta (plains). Its shades of green and gold are interrupted by jewels like Castrojeriz, Fromista and Carrion de los Condes, with intact Romanesque churches.

___

ASTORGA TO O CEBREIRO

The camino's longest climbs start just past the Gaudi-designed bishop's palace and buzzing main square of Astorga. Through fragrant brush and below snow-covered peaks, you clamber up hamlets like Rabanal, with its mesmerizing chanted vesper prayers, then down into vineyards around pretty, riverside Villafranca del Bierzo. From there it's uphill to O Cebreiro's thatched-roof stone houses and Galicia's moss-draped, cow-clogged paths.

After two more bucolic days, the last 100 kilometers (62 miles) are crowded with the "clean-shod," as we pilgrims hobbling on muddy boots called those who start here.

That takes nothing away, however, from arriving in Santiago, with its incense-filled cathedral covered with stern medieval statues and swirling Baroque cherubs standing tall among homes, monasteries and student pubs.

Before going back to email and schedules, there's a stairway to climb to embrace the statue of St. James at the cathedral's altar, and one last chance to hug fellow pilgrims.

Perhaps you exchange Facebook connections, perhaps nothing but a whispered "good luck," because you both know that the real tough "camino" starts now.

___

If You Go...

GETTING THERE: From Madrid, take trains to any larger city along the camino; buses and taxis connect smaller ones.

LODGING: Buy a "credencial," which gets you in most public hostels. The credencial, stamped and dated along the way, earns you the compostella when you turn it in at Santiago's Pilgrims' Office, https://oficinadelperegrino.com. Hostels (albergues) charge about 5 euros for a bed, first come, first served. Most towns also have hotels; private rooms with bathrooms average 30 euros. Services transport backpacks for 3-5 euros daily. Most restaurants have three-course pilgrims' menus with wine, 8-10 euros.

TIPS: Train before you go; it's strenuous. The camino frances is so well-marked with yellow arrows and its shell symbol that you never need maps. If you read Spanish, the best guide is free at http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/los-caminos-de-santiago/frances/. Take precautions, especially for female solo travelers. An American woman walking the trail was murdered in 2015.

This May 27, 2014 photo shows pilgrims from Brazil, New Zealand and the US taking pictures of a shell-shaped Camino de Santiago route marker about a day's walk from the medieval town of Estella. People from around the world walk for 500 miles across Spain on this ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. The 500-mile ancient pilgrimage route takes a growing number of pilgrims through many art-filled towns. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This June 4, 2014 photo shows pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago among poppy-covered fields just past the town of Castrojeriz, in Spain's vast meseta. Spring is an ideal time to walk the 500-mile ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This June 22, 2014 photo shows men pulling on ropes to swing the massive incense burner called "botafumeiro" at a pilgrims' Mass inside the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Thousands of pilgrims from around the world walk the 500-mile ancient pilgrimage route (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This Sept. 19, 2015 photo shows pilgrims walking a stretch of the Camino de Santiago across La Rioja farmland in Spain. People from around the world walk the camino frances, a 500-mile medieval pilgrimage route to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The 500-mile ancient pilgrimage route takes a growing number of pilgrims through many art-filled towns. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)

This Oct. 12, 2015 photo shows a large group of German pilgrims arriving in the cathedral square of Santiago de Compostela. The town is the endpoint of the 500-mile Camino de Santiago that crosses northern Spain. (Giovanna Dell'Orto via AP)
Post Tony, Leslie Odom Jr. to 'pour energy into my music'

NEW YORK (AP)  Many theater-lovers are looking at Saturday with dread. That's the day key members of the Broadway cast of "Hamilton" play their last performance. But Leslie Odom Jr. can hardly wait.

Odom, who just won a best leading man Tony Award in the show, is ready for the next chapter in his life to start. It'll be filled with his songs, choreography and costumes.

While acknowledging his last show will be "bittersweet for sure," Odom added: "I'm very excited to go out and find something new and to pour energy into my music; to go around the country and around the world with this music and meet people and connect with people, which is what I love to do most."

In this June 17, 2016 photo, Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. poses for a portrait in New York. Odom, who stars in the Broadway hit "Hamilton," will make his last appearance with the show on Saturday, July 9. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)

Odom, who has signed a four-album deal with S-Curve Records/BMG, this summer released his first, a self-titled collection of 10 classic songs including Jerome Kern's "Look for the Silver Lining," Jule Styne's "The Party's Over" and "Joey Joey Joey" from Frank Loesser.

Odom whittled the list down from some 200 possibilities, picking tunes he felt right singing with his warm, expressive voice. He even learned to sing in Portuguese for the song "Brazil."

"We wanted to create a 10-track experience that was pleasurable, that was something you could put on for a dinner party or something you could put on for a long drive  that was certainly in our minds," he said. "But also I wanted to sing songs that might encourage you, that might make you smile."

One of his favorite tracks is "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," a blues standard by Jimmy Cox that's been performed by Bessie Smith, B.B. King and Eric Clapton.

"I loved singing it now because I'm so far from down and out. But I remember being down and out so well, so it was really a pleasure to sing from the other side of it, encouraging someone who might be in that place that there's hope. It could all turn around."

Odom's fortunes have certainly taken an upward turn since he was cast as Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton," the hip-hop-flavored biography about the first U.S. treasury secretary. Odom now has a Grammy for the cast album as well as a Tony.

"It is deeply satisfying. We don't do it for trophies. We don't do it for awards. You can't because they so often don't come. They never come," he said. "Listen, I don't need 12 Tonys, honestly. That would be wonderful, but if this is the only time it ever happens, great."

Odom was raised in Philadelphia and made his Broadway debut at 17 in "Rent" before heading to Carnegie Mellon University's prestigious School of Drama. He was on TV in "Smash" and "CSI: Miami" and on Broadway in "Leap of Faith," but "Hamilton" showed how good all his skills are.

As Burr, Odom plays a rival to Hamilton, singing the tender "Dear Theodosia," the electric "Wait for It" and leaping onto a table for the smashing "The Room Where It Happens." His Burr is watchful and haunted.

"Leslie brings a sense of yearning and I think we all can relate to. The yearning to have something that I can't have, the yearning to go somewhere I can't go, the yearning to be someone I am not," said producer Jeffrey Seller. "No one has ever played jealousy and envy with so much empathy."

Odom makes way for Brandon Victor Dixon in August and said he's looking forward to other people taking on his old role, especially all the actors of color who have been frustrated that there are few places to show their training.

"Now there's a place for you to go and flex and use your training and discover what you're capable of," he said. "I think it's fantastic. It is not going to be mine forever. It shouldn't be mine forever. I'm so excited to see other people get their hands on it."

___

Online:

https://www.bmg.com/us/artist/leslie-odom-jr

___

Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

In this June 17, 2016 photo, Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. poses for a portrait in New York. Odom, who stars in the Broadway hit "Hamilton," will make his last appearance with the show on Saturday, July 9. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)

In this June 17, 2016 photo, Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. poses for a portrait in New York. Odom, who stars in the Broadway hit "Hamilton," will make his last appearance with the show on Saturday, July 9. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Invision/AP)
US issues travel alert to Bangladesh after restaurant attack

WASHINGTON (AP)  The State Department is warning Americans against travel to Bangladesh.

It calls the threat of terrorism there "real and credible."

The travel warning comes after last week's attack in the capital of Dhaka's diplomatic enclave. Twenty hostages in a restaurant popular with foreigners were killed, including one American. Two police and six attackers died.

It was the latest act of violence in the south Asian country. Militants have targeted atheists, religious minorities and others they consider to be "enemies of Islam."

While the Islamic State group and al-Qaida have taken credit for attacks in the last year, the State Department doesn't say if it believes the groups to be responsible.
4 journalists, 19th-century author earn Yankee Quill awards

BOSTON (AP)  Four veteran New England journalists and a 19th-century poet, writer and editor have been named winners of the 2016 Yankee Quill award, the six-state region's highest journalistic honor.

This year's honorees, announced Thursday, are Edward Achorn, vice president/editorial pages at The Providence Journal; Maura Casey, editorial writer at the Hartford Courant and The New York Times; Brian McGrory, editor of The Boston Globe; and Lincoln McKie Jr., Northeastern University journalism professor and former top editor at The Sun of Lowell and Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Sarah Josepha Hale, of Newport, New Hampshire, is being honored as a historic figure in journalism. She was the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and an ardent supporter of girls' education in the early 19th century. Hale was also known as the Mother of Thanksgiving because she pushed to have it recognized as a national holiday. She died in 1879.

The Yankee Quill award is presented annually by the Academy of New England Journalists through the New England Society of Newspaper Editors. Selection is based on a journalist's influence over the course of a career.

Achorn was honored for his editorials against waste and corruption in government and advocating for the underprivileged.

Casey was selected for her commitment to First Amendment rights and her key involvement in arranging journalist exchange programs with Russia and Iran.

McGrory receives the award for his commitment to accountability journalism and his leadership in bringing the region's largest newspaper into the 21st century of digital journalism.

McKie was honored for his work in Worcester and Lowell and the Journal Transcript Newspapers in suburban Boston and his contribution to journalism education by bringing a practical voice to students and exposing them to valuable real-world experience.
The Latest: Obama arrives in Poland for NATO summit

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  The Latest on the NATO summit on Friday and Saturday (all times local):

12:15 a.m.

President Barack Obama has arrived in Warsaw, Poland, for a summit of NATO leaders.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, and Polish President Andrzej Duda shake hands prior to their talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Air Force One landed in the early morning at Warsaw's Chopin Airport.

The president's visit opens a European trip likely to be dominated by discussion of the impact of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Obama will meet with EU leaders first thing Friday to discuss how they plan to negotiate Britain's exit.

The leaders also plan to discuss NATO contributions in Afghanistan, the fight against Islamic State militants and the migrant crisis in Europe.

Obama is slated to leave Poland on Saturday evening for his first presidential trip to Spain.

___

9:25 p.m.

Several thousand pro-Communist protesters in Greece have marched through central Athens in opposition to the country's participation at a NATO summit and to alliance plans to deploy troops in Eastern Europe.

The rally late Thursday was organized by the Greek Communist Party  the country's fifth largest  joined by senior members including leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas, who described the expected NATO deployment as "dangerous plans" that would heighten tension across Europe.

The NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland, starts Friday. NATO is planning deployments to Poland and the three Baltic states to counter what it sees as mounting Russian aggression.

The protesters in Athens marched to the U.S. embassy before dispersing peacefully.

___

7:30 p.m.

NATO'S chief has told The Associated Press that failure is "not an option" in meeting the myriad threats that now menace the U.S.-led alliance.

"It's not only not an option, it's also something which will not happen," Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday on the eve of a landmark NATO summit. "Because we have proven during almost 70 years that we are able to deliver the necessary defense and deterrence, not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent a conflict."

Starting Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama and leaders of the 27 other NATO countries will decide in Warsaw on how to deal with aggressive moves by Russia, extremist organizations like Islamic State, attacks in cyberspace and other threats to allies' security.

Many observers are calling it NATO's most crucial summit since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

Stoltenberg says "we will succeed ... we have seen that the alliance has been able to adapt and to implement the biggest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War."

___

4:10 p.m.

NATO's secretary-general says the alliance has reached a "defining moment for our security" and will meet the challenge head-on at its summit this week.

"The world is a more dangerous place than just a few years ago," Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. "NATO is responding, with speed and with determination."

A two-day meeting of NATO heads of state and government begins in the Polish capital Friday.

"Tomorrow and Saturday we will take new, major steps" to ensure NATO member nations' security and help foster stability in the Middle East and North Africa, Stoltenberg told a joint news conference held with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

"It is fitting that we meet in Warsaw, a city that knows the pain of conflict and the value of security," added Stoltenberg in a reference to Poland's tumultuous history.

___

4:05 p.m.

NATO leaders meeting in Warsaw Friday and Saturday will recognize cyberspace as an official "operational domain" for alliance activities, along with air, land and sea.

Bogdan Botezatu, an analyst for Bitdefender, a Romanian global security technology company, says "cyberspace is basically now a battlefield along with air, sea, and land."

Bitdefender worked on cybersecurity for Ukraine in 2014 after NATO assigned Romania to upgrade security there.

He says there were five threats targeting France, Germany Spain and Romania last year, each focused on a specific area such as diplomatic relations, airspace or finance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, is welcomed by Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

A tent stands ready to welcome the heads of the 28 NATO members and other officials for a NATO summit at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Workers install fences around the National Stadium, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Polish capital will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish Army soldiers prepare a display of Polish-made combat vehicles in front of the National Stadium, the venue of the upcoming NATO summit, in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Polish capital will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- The Georgia Supreme Court rejected a state appeal of a lower court decision Tuesday, ruling in favor of the Ku Klux Klan and its right to free speech -- and to pick up litter on the side of a highway through a government program.



The opinion, written by Justice Keith R. Blackwell, stated, however, that the appeal was dismissed because it was filed incorrectly, leaving Georgia's highest court without jurisdiction.



The ACLU Foundation of Georgia filed a lawsuit in 2012 on behalf International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (IKKK) against the State of Georgia after the IKKK's application was rejected by the state's Adopt-A-Highway program.



Georgia's Adopt-A-Highway website states that it "provides recognition for participating companies and organizations" in return for removing litter from state roadsides.



When the IKKK applied to clean up a stretch of State Route 515, the Department of Transportation rejected its application partially because, "The impact of erecting a sign naming an organization which has a long-rooted history of civil disturbance would cause a significant public concern," according to the Georgia Supreme Court's opinion.



But the decision to reject the application violated free speech and due process guaranteed by the Georgia Constitution, according to the ACLU Foundation of Georgia.



The fundamental right to free speech is not limited to only those we agree with or groups that are inoffensive. The government cannot pick or choose who is protected by the Constitution, Debbie Seagraves, the former Executive Director of the ACLU Foundation of Georgia, said in a statement at the time the lawsuit was filed. There will always be speech and groups conveying hateful messages that are distasteful to some. That is why the First Amendment protects free speech for all.



Years of litigation followed as the Georgia Department of Transportation attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed, in part citing "sovereign immunity," because it is a state agency, according to the opinion published yesterday. The case eventually made its way to the Georgia Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the IKKK on the technicality.



"The ACLU and my law firm did this to protect the freedom of speech, so it's a big victory," Alan Begner, an attorney for the KKK group, told ABC News today. "The next step is to go to work picking up litter."



Begner added that he wished the Georgia Supreme Court would have discussed the issue of sovereign immunity in more depth.



The Georgia Department of Transportation and the state attorney generals office did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Ringgold Councilmember Randall Franks received the Certificate of Excellence from the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute at the Georgia Municipal Associations 83rd Annual Convention in Savannah on June 27.He was also recognized for completing the annual Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute.A key component of elected service is seeking out opportunities to improve what we already do for our residents and our visitors, Mr. Franks said. Learning what is done in other cities around our state as well as the most effective and appropriate ways to conduct our business help each of us to be good stewards and offer a better vision for the future of our community.The Georgia Municipal Training Institute, a cooperative effort of GMA and the University of Georgias Carl Vinson Institute of Government, provides a nationally recognized series of training opportunities for elected city officials.To receive a Certificate of Excellence, a city official must complete a minimum of 120 units of credit, including at least 54 hours from the required list and the Robert E. Knox, Jr. Municipal Leadership Institute. The training program consists of a series of more than 50 courses.The multi-day Leadership Institute, co-sponsored by GMA and the University of Georgias Carl Vinson Institute of Government, featured a nationally recognized training development consultant and speaker. Participants also engaged in role-playing exercises designed to cultivate and enhance leadership skills.This is an outstanding achievement, said GMA Executive Director Lamar Norton. We commend Council member Franks for this accomplishment and for the dedication hes shown in using this valuable resource to become a more effective city official.The Leadership Institute is an outstanding program and widely acknowledged as one of the best of its type in the country, Mr. Norton said. We highly recommend it to any city official who wants to be a more effective community leader.Mr. Franks is Ringgolds former vice mayor and currently serves as Downtown Development authority and Main Street Program chairman. He was initially elected in 2009 and served Catoosa County and Ringgold as public information officer and volunteer coordinator during the 2011-12 tornado response and recovery efforts. He is former vice chairman of the Ringgold Convention and Visitors Bureau.
As Baghdad protests mount, attack on Shiite shrine kills 26

BAGHDAD (AP)  Protests and anger over the security situation in Iraq mounted Thursday at the site of a massive truck bombing by the Islamic State group earlier this week in Baghdad that killed scores as the death toll continued to rise and a separate attack north of Baghdad killed dozens more.

The Baghdad attack last Sunday  the deadliest attack in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion  has stoked public unrest and spurred Iraqi officials to announce a number of new security measures. However, smaller scale bombings and attacks have persisted in the days that followed.

Late on Thursday night an attack carried out by multiple suicide bombers and gunmen on a Shiite shrine in Balad north of Baghdad killed 26 and wounded 52, according to Iraqi police and hospital officials.

People light candles next to dolls belonging to Rabab Faris, 5, a bomb victim at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in the Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Earlier on Thursday, Iraqi hospital and police officials said their death toll from Sunday's Baghdad attack now stood at 186, with around 20 people still missing, as more remains were recovered from the rubble.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to talk to the media.

However, Ahmad Roudaini, from the Health Ministry's media office, said the ministry's death toll is 292.

The discrepancies in the numbers could not immediately be reconciled. Many of those killed have had to be identified with DNA-testing because their bodies were burned beyond recognition.

On Thursday evening, a crowd of angry friends and family members of the victims tried to push into one of the buildings hit in the truck bombing but civilian volunteers held them back.

The IS suicide bomber had detonated his explosives in Baghdad's central Karada neighborhood, outside a shopping mall in a street crammed with people preparing for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The area, packed with shops, cafes and restaurants, had swelled overnight with Baghdad residents eager from a respite from the daily fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Mustafa Hassan, one of the men gathered at the scene on Thursday, said he had volunteered to help sift through the debris after authorities failed to do so. Hassan, a young man wearing a surgical mask and gloves, held up two plastic bags that he believed contained charred human flesh.

Roudaini said the ministry of health continues to help transport the remains of the dead to Baghdad's forensic lab or to the city morgue, but he said the scale of the explosion has overwhelmed the teams who normally respond to such attacks.

"Till now there are maybe still some dead under the building, we don't know," Roudaini said.

But Hassan, who said he had been coming every day to the site of the attack, insisted that only firefighters were seen at the site, no one else. As he spoke to reporters, a man behind him pushed past an improvised barrier and ran into the burned-out building.

"He's looking for his wife, she's still missing, he wants to find anything, even just an earring," Hassan said.

Moments later, the man was carried out of the building by a group of volunteers. Hassan said he likely had fainted from grief.

"It happens a lot here," he added.

Hundreds gathered in the street chanted religious slogans and waved Iraqi and Shiite militia flags. Hours after the bombing, the Islamic State said it had targeted Shiites, whom the extremist Sunni group considers as apostates. Many of the Karada victims were Shiites, but many Sunnis and Christians were also among the dead.

Others gathered in Karada on Thursday also blamed the government for failing to secure the city.

"People are getting more and more angry," said Hussein Samir, 24. "Every day that people have to think about this tragedy, it just makes them more upset."

After the Baghdad attack, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced new measures, including that much-disputed bomb-detection wands would no longer be used by security forces. Experts have repeatedly pronounced the wands bogus. Al-Abadi also said aerial scanning measures would be stepped-up to improve intelligence gathering in Baghdad and that the ring of checkpoints around the capital would be tightened. It is unclear if any of those measures have yet been implemented.

Late Thursday night the Balad attack began when a suicide bomber targeted policemen guarding the entrance to the Sayyid Mohammed shine 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the capital Baghdad. A second bomber entered the shrine with nine gunmen targeting security forces as well as families gathering to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Police officials said a third bomber was killed before he detonated his explosives.

More than two hours after the Thursday night attack began, police officials said the situation was under control and all 12 attacks had been killed.

Officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to the media. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

At the site of the Baghdad blast earlier Thursday evening, hundreds of death notices have been plastered over what's left of burned-out buildings on either side of a once bustling thoroughfare.

Muhammad Mehdi, an arts school student, said he hopes the buildings are kept as they are.

"If they just wash this away and rebuild, we will forget about what happened here. We'll never learn our lesson," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Murtada Faraj in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Iraqis chant slogans against Islamic State militants during a protest at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

A picture of the Virgin Mary is fixed to a wall of a destroyed mall as Iraqis gather at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in the Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Iraqis grieve at the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack in the Karada neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

People walk past the scene of Sunday's massive truck bomb attack claimed by the Islamic State group in the Karada neighborhood, Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
Germany arrests Pakistani accused of spying for Iran

BERLIN (AP)  German authorities have arrested a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations.

Federal prosecutors said Thursday that the 31-year-old, identified only as Syed Mustufa H. in keeping with German privacy rules, was arrested on Tuesday in the northern city of Bremen.

They said in a statement that he was "in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran," without elaborating. He is alleged to have spied on the former head of the German-Israeli Society and people close to him, among others, and handed over information to Iran in October.
No double standard for Clinton, FBI director tells GOP

WASHINGTON (AP)  Under an onslaught of Republican criticism, FBI Director James Comey vigorously defended the government's decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup, rejecting angry accusations that the Democratic presidential candidate was given special treatment.

To criminally charge Clinton based on the facts his agency's yearlong probe had found would have been unwarranted and mere "celebrity hunting," Comey told a congressional investigative committee Thursday.

In nearly five hours of testimony, he sought to explain the Justice Department's decision ending an investigation that has dogged Clinton's presidential campaign and raised fresh questions among voters about her trustworthiness.

FBI Director James Comey is sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, prior to testifying before the House House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republicans' hard, skeptical questioning made it clear that settling the legal issue will not end the matter as a political issue as Clinton campaigns against Republican Donald Trump, who scornfully refers to her as "Crooked Hillary."

Republicans on the panel, voices sometimes raised in apparent frustration and irritation, said they were mystified by the decision not to prosecute because they felt that Comey, in a remarkably detailed and critical public statement on Tuesday, had laid out a sufficient basis for charges.

"I totally get people's questions," he said, but the FBI was obliged to follow the law.

Comey said investigators found no evidence that Clinton or her aides intended to break the law, even though they mishandled classified information. A misdemeanor statute requires the mishandling to be intentional, Comey said. A law that permits felony prosecution due to gross negligence has been used only once in the 99 years since it was enacted  and that was in a case involving espionage.

"We don't want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldn't do," Comey said. "That is the characteristic of all the prosecutions involving mishandling of classified information."

Later Thursday, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the department was reopening its internal investigation of possible mishandling of classified information by Clinton and top aides. The internal review was suspended in April to avoid interfering with the FBI inquiry, Kirby said. Earlier this week he said former officials could face loss of security clearances or other administrative sanctions.

Comey's appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked his first public statements since his announcement that removed the threat of criminal charges against Clinton but also revived public scrutiny of her email behavior as secretary of state in President Barack Obama's first term.

Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Comey that the FBI's decision showed a "double standard" for powerful people. Had the "average Joe" done what she had done, he said, that person would go to prison.

"If your name isn't Clinton, or you're not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently," Chaffetz said, adding that the FBI had set a "dangerous precedent" in letting her off the hook.

Chaffetz said lawmakers would now ask the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied to the committee.

One by one, Comey rebutted a litany of GOP charges including that the FBI had been biased, ignored the law, applied it unjustly or coordinated the decision with Clinton's campaign. "We try very hard to apply the same standard whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all," he said.

The committee's top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, accused Republicans of politicizing the investigation. But he suggested Comey had contributed to that by leaving "a perceived gap" between his public criticism of Clinton and his conclusion not to prosecute.

"I beg you to fill the gap. Because when the gap is not filled by you, it will be filled by others," Cummings said.

As he had on Tuesday, Comey left no doubt about the FBI's contention that Clinton's email practices were careless and left government secrets exposed to hostile nations. He said three of the emails in question bore classification markings in the body despite Clinton's assertions that nothing she had sent or received was marked classified. And he said government workers who negligently handled classified information, including FBI agents, could be subject to firing and administrative sanctions.

But he also said it was possible Clinton didn't even understand what the classification markings were, saying the investigation suggested she was not "particularly sophisticated with respect to classified information."

And he repeated his earlier contention that "no reasonable prosecutor" would have pursued criminal charges, saying at one point, "We went at this very hard to see if we could make a case."

Comey, for years a registered Republican who said he's no longer registered with a political party, was deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed in 2013 to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Obama. He would still be on the job if Clinton were elected president.

He drew distinctions between the Clinton probe and last year's prosecution of former CIA Director David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to sharing classified information with his biographer. Petraeus, Comey said, retained a "vast quantity" of classified information and lied to the FBI about it.

"He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do," Comey said. "That is a perfect illustration of the kind of cases that get prosecuted. In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case."

Despite the no-prosecution decision, Comey had rebuked Clinton and her aides on Tuesday as being "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the explanations she's put forward.

The investigation formally ended Wednesday when Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that no charges would be filed.

____

Follow Eric Tucker at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP , Matthew Daly at http://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, right, joined by the committee's ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., questions FBI Director James Comey, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, as he was called before the committee to explain the agency's recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight Committee to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate, over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state, . (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight Committee to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic presidential candidate, over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state, . (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, right, accompanied by the committee's ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., center, welcome FBI Director James Comey, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, prior to Comey testifying before the committee's hearing to explain the agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, right, confers with the committee's ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, prior to hearing testimony from FBI Director James Comey who was called to explain the agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 7, 2016, before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to explain his agency's recommendation to not prosecute Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her private email setup during her time as secretary of state. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Officials ponder what to do with water blamed in death

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)  Officials in a North Carolina county are trying to decide what to do with water from the U.S. National Whitewater Center blamed in the death of an Ohio teenager.

The Charlotte Observer reports (http://bit.ly/29k4tLz) Lisa Corbitt with Mecklenburg County's groundwater and wastewater services said Wednesday one plan would be to treat the water and dump it in the Catawba River.

The center's water contains the Naegleria fowleri amoeba blamed for the June 19 death of 18-year-old Lauren Seitz of Westerville, Ohio. Health officials think Seitz contracted the illness when she fell out of a raft at the center.

The amoeba is not dangerous when swallowed, but is when it enters the body through the nose.

Sam Perkins of the Catawba Riverkeepers said water from the center is a concern because of the amoeba's potential dangers.

___
Study: Trump health care plan would make 18M uninsured

WASHINGTON (AP)  Donald Trump's health care plan would make 18 million people uninsured, but also lower premiums significantly for policies purchased directly by consumers, according to an independent study released Thursday.

The new policies would be stingier than what's sold now.

Trump's plan would have little effect on people covered by employers and those on Medicare. But millions of low-income adults covered by the Medicaid expansion under President Barack Obama's health care law would lose newly gained benefits. Separately, taxpayers might save money because the government no longer would have to subsidize insurance for millions of citizens.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets the crowd and signs autographs during a campaign rally at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Health and Economy attempts to put some numbers to the health care concepts outlined on the GOP presidential candidate's website. The center is a research group that includes both liberal and conservative experts.

The study found "substantial uncertainty" about one of Trump's main ideas: allowing insurers to sell policies across state lines to promote competition. In 10 years' time, it could lead to as many as 7 million people getting individual policies, or as few as 1 million, the study found.

Some of that uncertainty stems from the fact that health insurance remains a local and regional business. Costs can vary dramatically around the country. A Texas company selling policies in New York City would have to charge higher premiums. Also, out-of-state insurers might struggle to build the networks of doctors and hospitals needed to attract consumers.

"The biggest wild card is (Trump's) approach to allowing people to buy across state lines," said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a Republican economist and a board member of the center.

There was no immediate comment from the Trump campaign.

The analysis assumes that a President Trump and a Republican Congress would be able to completely repeal Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Insurance losses would be swift and would fall mainly on people covered through Medicaid. The health law offers states an enhanced federal payment to expand their Medicaid programs and enroll low-income adults. Trump's plan would turn Medicaid into a block grant, meaning that federal money would be limited and states would get more leeway on how to spend their allotment.

Among people who buy health insurance directly, there would be winners and losers.

The unpopular requirement to carry health insurance would disappear. But there would be no federal guarantee that people with health problems could get coverage.

HealthCare.gov's online insurance market would be gone, along with tax credits for premiums and subsidies for out-of-pocket costs. Individuals and families would be able to deduct their premiums from taxes. But that doesn't help as many people as the upfront tax credits that are now available, particularly for those with modest incomes.

Also eliminated would be the health law's minimum benefit requirements, financial protections, and limitations on charging higher premiums to older adults, all of which make coverage more expensive. Insurers would respond by offering skimpy low-cost plans appealing to healthy young adults, for whom the health law has been a tough sell. Average premiums would fall by more than 20 percent.

Over time, more people would purchase the new kinds of coverage. But by 2026, there would still be 13 million more uninsured than currently projected under Obama's law, and they could be older, sicker people.

Another expert who reviewed the study but was not involved in the research said he thinks the coverage losses could be even deeper than 18 million.

"You are going to get a lot thinner coverage both in terms of higher deductibles and fewer benefits," said John Holahan of the Urban Institute think tank. "The policy is bad for people with high risk, and good for people with low risk."

___

Online:

Trump plan: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform
EPA urges states to publish individual lead water samples

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  States have taken steps to address the risk of lead in drinking water after the crisis in Flint, Michigan, but more needs to be done to share key information with the public, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday.

In letters to state drinking water regulators, the agency called on all states to make individual lead sampling results available online in searchable databases. That practice, already established in states like Illinois, allows residents to see which homes and buildings have been tested by utilities and what levels of the toxin, which is most harmful for young children and pregnant women, was identified.

The EPA said a "substantial number" of states were already posting such information. But others, such as Iowa, have resisted, citing a lack of information technology resources and privacy concerns about posting addresses of testing sites.

FILE - This Jan. 26, 2016, file photo shows a sign over the Flint River noting Flint, Mich., as Vehicle City. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says states are taking action to address the risk of lead in drinking water but more needs to be done to share key information with the public. In letters to state officials, Thursday, July 7, EPA urged states to post individual lead sampling results on public websites. That practice allows residents to see which homes and buildings have been tested and what level of lead was identified. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Those obstacles can be overcome and the EPA will help by sharing with states lessons learned from the launches of existing databases, Deputy Assistant Administrator Joel Beauvais said in an interview.

"It's one of a number of transparency elements that we see as really important," he said.

While no amount of lead exposure is considered safe, the rule calls for water systems to keep levels below 15 parts per billion during periodic testing. If more than 10 percent of sampled high-risk homes are above that level, water agencies must inform customers about the problem and take steps such as adding chemicals to control corrosion.

Water systems routinely publish data showing they are overall in compliance with the rule  but omit information that shows specific addresses were at or above the limit.

"There might be a significant number of samples that are showing lead levels of concern and it's important for the public to know that," Beauvais said. He added that privacy concerns can be addressed by redacting personal information.

The EPA also called on the nation's water systems to complete their inventories of locations with lead service lines, a key indicator that homes are at risk for contamination. When water comes through the lines that connect many older homes to water mains, lead particles can leach and taint what comes out of the tap.

Those inventories, posted online in searchable databases by some utilities, allow homeowners to find out whether their homes have lead service lines so they can replace them or add filtration systems. Water systems were required in the 1990s to begin work on such inventories, but state regulators told the EPA that many were never finished or are outdated.

"There isn't robust or comprehensive information on this for many systems," Beauvais said.

Beauvais said those inventories are critical to ensure homes and buildings at the highest risk for lead are being tested as required. He said they also help utilities minimize service disruptions and know which areas should be the focus of replacement programs.
US returns $1.5M to Taiwan from forfeited properties

WASHINGTON (AP)  The United States is returning $1.5 million to Taiwan from the sale of forfeited properties purchased with alleged bribes paid to the family of former President Chen Shui-bian (chuhn shway bee-EHN).

The Justice Department said Thursday the funds are being returned to the self-governing island under a program that aims to prevent corrupt leaders from using the U.S. as a safe haven for ill-gotten gains.

The department said a $6 million bribe was allegedly paid by Yuanta Securities Co. Ltd. to former first lady Wu Shu-jen (woo shoo jehn) in 2004 so that the then-president would not oppose Yuanta's bid to acquire a financial holding company.
Police: Man shoots at motorists, 1 killed, 4 injured

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP)  A newspaper carrier was killed and four other people were wounded when a man armed with two guns opened fire on cars traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee early Thursday morning.

A responding police officer was among those wounded.

Authorities would say little late Thursday about the alleged shooter or what might have motivated him to open fire on passing cars in the middle of the night. He was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with police and has not yet been charged.

A law enforcement agent photographs the scene of a multiple shooting in Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Police say multiple people have been injured and one person was taken into custody after a man opened fire on motorists traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee. Bristol police say the incident happend early Thursday in the city along the Virginia border. (David Crigger/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP)

Jennifer Rooney, a 44-year-old mother who delivered the local newspaper, was driving to pick up papers for the morning delivery when she was shot and killed, said Bristol Herald-Courier publisher Jim Maxwell. Her family declined to comment.

Maxwell called it a "senseless act of violence" that has stunned the small city on the Virginia border.

"Residents of our community woke up to what was expected to be a typical July warm and humid morning, except today they were greeted with news of this extremely troubling event," Maxwell wrote. "It's like the crazy stuff you read about or see on television from other places suddenly and unexpectedly materialized here in our backyard. Things like this just don't happen here."

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesman Josh DeVine said the suspect was armed with at least two weapons. He fired shots just after 2:15 a.m. at a Days Inn on Volunteer Parkway, then opened fire on passing motorists. DeVine said he then shot at responding responding officers, who returned fire and wounded the shooter.

Deana Fleenor, a local photographer, said she fell asleep with the windows open Wednesday night at her home about two miles from the Days Inn. The gunshots startled her awake.

"All of a sudden I heard pow, pow, pow, pow, pow," she said. "You run through a thousand things in your head of what it could be."

At first, she thought someone was hammering. Then wondered if a noisy car was going by.

Then she heard a second wave of rapid-fire shots.

Another minute passed and she heard a third round of gunfire, then the roar of ambulance sirens in the distance.

"It's startling, it's very scary," she said. "Nothing like that really has ever happened in our town. I've always felt safe here."

The suspect and the other wounded people were taken to the Bristol Regional Medical Center. Bristol Police Chief Blaine Wade said the officer's injuries were minor.

Police declined to identify the shooter or speculate on his motive as they continued to investigate several crime scenes along the busy highway. DeVine would not say whether there was any connection between him and any of the victims.

Hours after the shooting, media reported that TBI agents were still processing evidence at four locations along more than 100 yards Volunteer Parkway, which was dotted with dozens of evidence placards.

"We're working as aggressively, as quickly and as carefully as possibly to gather any and all relevant evidence to determine the exact set of events," DeVine said in a statement.

Bullet holes show in a window of a Days Inn Hotel office from a shooting early Thursday morning, July 7, 2016. A newspaper carrier was killed and four other people were wounded when a man opened fire, first at the Days Inn and then on cars traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee early Thursday morning. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)

A TBI technician uses a laser mapper in the O'Reilly Auto Parts parking lot to document the crime scene connected to the shooting on Volunteer Parkway early Thursday morning, July 7, 2016. A newspaper carrier was killed and four other people were wounded when a man opened fire on cars traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee early Thursday morning. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)

Josh Devine with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, left, looks on as Bristol Tennessee Chief of Police Blaine Wade gives an update of an early morning shooting in Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Police say multiple people have been injured and one person was taken into custody after a man opened fire on motorists traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee. Bristol police say the incident happend early Thursday in the city along the Virginia border. (David Crigger/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP)

A weapon lays on the ground next to evidence markers in Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Police say multiple people have been injured and one person was taken into custody after a man opened fire on motorists traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee. Bristol police say the incident happend early Thursday in the city along the Virginia border. (David Crigger/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP)

Evidence is on the ground at the crime scene at O'Reilly Auto Parts connected to the shooting on Volunteer Parkway early Thursday morning, July 7, 2016. A newspaper carrier was killed and four other people were wounded when a man opened fire on cars traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee early Thursday morning. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier via AP)

An evidence marker is placed next to a bullet hole on Bristol Tennessee police car in Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Police say multiple people have been injured and one person was taken into custody after a man opened fire on motorists traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee. Bristol police say the incident happend early Thursday in the city along the Virginia border. (David Crigger/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP)

Police tape lines the scene of an overnight shooting in Bristol, Tenn., on Thursday, July 7, 2016. Police say multiple people have been injured and one person was taken into custody after a man opened fire on motorists traveling along a parkway in East Tennessee. Bristol police say the incident happend early Thursday in the city along the Virginia border. (David Crigger/The Bristol Herald-Courier via AP)
PICTURED: Squatting flourishes in free-wheeling Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine (AP)  In the capital of Ukraine, a country gripped by a separatist war in the east and an excruciating recession, squats are flourishing and expanding in dozens of historic buildings in the city center.

Nearly a decade ago, Miroslav, a gas industry engineer who declined to give his last name, and his friends put locks on a couple of apartments in an abandoned two-story early 20th century apartment building. The squat, dubbed 17b after the building number, is now arguably Kiev's best-known.

Miroslav got to know and came to an agreement with the building's owner, who had no plans either to sell or redevelop the plot. He agreed to let the squatters stay for a nominal fee.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, patrons sit at the 17b squat's outdoor cafe in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

Over the years, Miroslav and his friends moved from one apartment to another, as one wing of the building was redeveloped and another turned into a mini-hotel.

The number of 17b residents has dropped from 20 to five, but the squat's founders, now in their 30s, have redeveloped the once-dilapidated yard into a rustic cafe that also serves as a space for gigs and exhibitions. The squatters own the cafe and don't take wages for their work.

"Many find it surprising that people live here," says Miroslav's wife, Dasha, who moved in three years ago and runs the 17b cafe. "Some visitors come to the bar and ask if the employees live here. We're not staff, we don't have waiters. It's a place for friends."

Despite its murky property status, 17b has running water, electricity and central heating in wintertime.

Miroslav and Dasha, who studies Turkish literature, say they are investing their own money in the squat and probably would not have managed if they were penniless students with no independent income.

Pretty much every year Miroslav faces a new kind of communal disaster  a frozen pipe or an electricity blackout  which leaves him with the choice: to pack their bags or to stay and deal with the problems on his own.

"It's not because he wants to save money on his rent in the center or because he hates change," Dasha says. "He is truly attached to this place."

Here's a gallery of photos by Associated Press photographer Sergei Chuzavkov showing life at 17b.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, squat 17b's co-founder Miroslav carries drinks to customers of 17b's outdoor cafe in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. The squats founders, now in their 30s, have since redeveloped the once-dilapidated yard up into a rustic cafe which also serves as a space for gigs and exhibitions. The squatters own the cafe and dont take wages for their work. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, patrons relax in the 17b squat's outdoor cafe in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, one of 17b squats' co-owners Dasha waters the flowers in Kiev, Ukraine. In the capital of Ukraine, a country gripped by a separatist war in the east and excruciating recession, squats are flourishing and expanding beyond the commandeered apartments. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, patrons sit in the 17b squat's outdoor cafe in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, a squat cafe patron poses for a picture in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, a street musician carries a drum into the yard cafe of a squat in Kiev, Ukraine. In the capital of Ukraine, a country gripped by a separatist war in the east and excruciating recession, squats are flourishing and expanding beyond the commandeered apartments. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, a woman and a child enter the yard of the 17b squat in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, July 5, 2016, patrons relax in the outdoor cafe of 17b squat in Kiev, Ukraine. Squats in abandoned old buildings became widespread in Ukraine's free-wheeling capital Kiev as the war-torn country is facing its worst recession since the fall of the Soviet Union. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
Hungary's harsher border rules criticized by Serbia, UN

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP)  Serbia's government on Thursday accused Hungary of enacting harsher border control policies and breaching international law by returning migrants across their shared frontier.

The U.N. refugee authority and rights groups have also criticized the moves by Hungary, saying they deny refugees an opportunity to ask for asylum.

The new rules, in place since Tuesday, allow Hungarian police to return across the border to Serbia and Croatia refugees and migrants detained within eight kilometers (five miles) of the border fences protected by razor wire.

A migrant man at a temporary camp on the Serbian side of the Serbian-Hungarian border near Kelebia, Serbia, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Hungarian authorities introduced new border regulations Tuesday, to stem the uncontrolled inflow of illegal migrants and guarantees an opportunity to have their asylum requests considered. (Edvard Molnar/MTI via AP)

It's an extension of Hungary's "uncompromising" policies emphasizing border control while also rejecting migration and reducing to a minimum the number of asylum claims considered and refugees granted protection.

Hungary has increased the number of police and soldiers patrolling the borders to 10,000, a rise of about 50 percent. The government also added more equipment like thermal cameras and helicopters.

"Today, the protection of Hungary and of Europe is the government's task," said Janos Lazar, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff. "For Hungary, security is the most important question. Stopping illegal immigration is a key issue."

Hungary says that those caught near the border and taken back can file asylum claims at a couple of transit zones set up on the border. While 350 people were waiting in the two makeshift camps on the Serbian side to be allowed into the transit zones, only 30 people a day were being let in to file their claims.

In Serbia, government minister Aleksandar Vulin said he was "very concerned" by reports that Hungarian authorities "have tried not only to send the migrants to the transit zone, but to return them to Serbian territory, which has no legal grounds in international laws."

"We could find ourselves completely alone in solving the migrant crisis," Vulin added. "Europe is acting like the migrant crisis is over."

Despite the closure of the migrants' Balkan route in March, Vulin said 334 migrants had arrived overnight from Bulgaria and 158 from Macedonia, with more likely uncounted.

Nearly 400,000 migrants passed through Hungary last year, but just over 500 were granted some sort of international protection here.

Hungary will hold a government-sponsored referendum on Oct. 2 seeking political support for its opposition to any future plans by the European Union to relocate migrants and refugees among the members of the bloc.

___

Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.

Migrants at a temporary camp operating on the Serbian side of the Serbian-Hungarian border near Kelebia, Serbia, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Hungarian authorities introduced new border regulations Tuesday, to stem the uncontrolled inflow of illegal migrants and guarantees an opportunity to have their asylum requests considered.(Edvard Molnar/MTI via AP)

A Hungarian army vehicle is parked on the Hungarian side, near to a temporary refugee camp on the Serbian side of the border fence near Kelebia, Serbia, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Hungarian authorities introduced new border regulations Tuesday, to stem the uncontrolled inflow of illegal migrants and guarantees an opportunity to have their asylum requests considered. (Edvard Molnar/MTI via AP)

A Hungarian police vehicle patrols by the border fence between Hungary and Serbia near Asotthalom, Hungary, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. Hungarian authorities introduced new border regulations Tuesday, to stem the uncontrolled inflow of illegal migrants and guarantees an opportunity to have their asylum requests considered. (Edvard Molnar/MTI via AP)
Tessa was born on Feb. 25, 2004. Originally from the Netherlands, she was purchased by Vohne Liche Kennels, Denver, In. in July 2005. During her time at Vohne Liche, she was trained as a police K9.

In November of 2005, the Cleveland Police Department purchased Tessa to serve as a single purpose narcotics K9 alongside her K9 handler, Officer Brandon West. K9 Tessa hit the streets in January of 2006.

"She worked vigorously at narcotics detection, many demonstrations for public relations purposes and was intense during frequent training," officials said.

K9 Tessa served the City of Cleveland from 2005-2011, when she retired along with her handler. Since that time, Tessa had been enjoying her relaxation time at home.



"Tessa had a very sweet demeanor and was loved by all who met her. She will be missed greatly." officials said.


Lawmakers chide administration for losing track of detainee

WASHINGTON (AP)  Lawmakers trying to block President Barack Obama from closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay scolded the administration Thursday for losing track of a former detainee who recently went missing after being resettled in Uruguay.

Syrian native Abu Wa'el Dhiab is one of six former Guantanamo detainees transferred to Uruguay in December 2014 after his release. Police in neighboring Brazil are trying to find him, but the federal police say there is no record of Dhiab entering the country.

Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said it's the third time that Dhiab has left Uruguay. At a committee hearing, Royce accused Obama of recklessly releasing detainees to other countries to make good on a campaign promise to close the prison.

"Many countries just aren't up to the job," Royce said. "And a diplomatic agreement to do the job isn't worth the paper it is written on if a country doesn't have the resources or training to keep committed terrorists from returning to the battlefield," Royce said.

Uruguayan authorities insist Dhiab is visiting Brazil and that as a refugee he is entitled to travel out of the country. Avianca Airlines last week issued an internal alert saying Dhiab could be trying to enter Brazil, the site of the summer Olympics, with a fake passport.

Lee Wolosky, special envoy at the State Department for closing Guantanamo, and his counterpart, Paul Lewis, at the Pentagon, defended the administration's efforts to minimize the risk to national security when transferring detainees.

Lewis said that before any detainee is transferred, the State Department receives security assurances from the receiving country. Defense officials, in conjunction with the intelligence community, then review the receiving country's ability to mitigate any possible threat.

The current Guantanamo population is 79 prisoners, including 29 who have been approved for transfer. Officials have said most of those will be sent home or resettled in other countries by the end of the summer.

Wolosky said seven detainees, including one who is dead, out of 144 released during the latest reporting period are "confirmed" of returning to the fight. He said 12, including one who is dead, are "suspected" of re-engaging in terrorist or insurgent activity. Another 15 detainees have been transferred out of Guantanamo since the latest report.

New York Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee's ranking Democrat, said the recidivism rate was higher under the Bush administration, which released 532 detainees.

"Under no circumstances is the Obama administration simply opening the gate and releasing dangerous terrorists onto the street," Engel said.

Jon Eisenberg, a California lawyer, who represented Dhiab when he was at Guantanamo, said he is skeptical of reports that he has left Uruguay.

Eisenberg said he spoke by phone with Dhiab on June 5 to discuss the ongoing litigation by media organizations, including The Associated Press, seeking to force the U.S. government to release videotapes of him being force-fed while on he was on hunger strike at Guantanamo.

At that time, the lawyer said, Dhiab mentioned that he would be out of touch for the entire Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended this week in many Muslim nations, and for a week after that.

Eisenberg also noted that Dhiab is on crutches and does not move around easily and had mentioned in their call that he was happy that his wife and three children were finally being allowed to join him in Uruguay.

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Alberta wildfires damage estimated to cost $2.76 billion

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta (AP)  Canada's national insurance bureau says insured damage caused by raging wildfires that burned for nearly two months in the country's oil sands region has totaled $2.76 billion (CA$3.58 billion). That's the most expensive disaster for insurers in the country's history.

The fires that started on May 3 forced the evacuation of almost 90,000 residents from Fort McMurray, Alberta. Flames destroyed about 2,400 homes and other buildings. The fire's status was only downgraded this past Monday as under control.

People have since been allowed back into their homes, but it took nearly two months before the state of emergency was lifted.
Leader of Brazil's Rousseff impeachment resigns from top job

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  The man who led efforts to impeach suspended President Dilma Rousseff resigned as speaker of Brazil's lower house of congress Thursday, but kept the legislative seat that could help shield him from corruption charges.

Brazil's top court already had suspended Eduardo Cunha from his duties as speaker over allegations of obstructing justice and corruption, including holding Swiss bank accounts worth millions of dollars from purported bribes.

Cunha kicked off impeachment proceedings against Rousseff in December, accusing her of violating fiscal laws to hide problems in the government's finances. Rousseff denies that.

FILE - In this May 5, 2016 file photo, Brazil's President of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha speaks during a press conference in Brasilia, Brazil. Cunha, the man who led efforts to impeach Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff, has resigned as speaker of the lower house of congress. He said he hopes it ends the chaos in Brazil's congress. Judges already had suspended Cunha over allegations of obstructing justice and holding Swiss bank accounts worth millions of dollars in bribe. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Cunha's allies have suggested that resigning the speakership would be his best chance to survive a full vote by the House of Deputies that could strip him of his congressional seat and thereby lift legal protections enjoyed by lawmakers.

The new speaker will be elected next Thursday.

Cunha was in tears as he announced his resignation, saying he hoped it would end the chaos in Brazil's congress.

"Only my resignation can put an end to this endless instability. The lower house cannot wait forever," he said.

Cunha also said he is being persecuted by investigators for pursuing Rousseff's impeachment. He said his decision to open proceedings against the president "will never be forgotten" and make him "proud" of his term.

Rousseff's lead attorney, Jose Eduardo Cardozo, said Cunha's resignation strengthens her case against impeachment. "The things he said about his role in the impeachment process are emblematic of what is happening," Cardozo said. "Rousseff never gave him what he wanted."

Brazil's Senate is to conduct an impeachment trial after the end of the Olympics being held in Rio de Janeiro, from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21.

Cunha wished luck to acting President Michel Temer, who accepted a number of Cunha's recommendations for key appointments in his administration.

Cunha entered politics in the 1990s as a fundraiser for President Fernando Collor de Mello, the first Brazilian leader elected after military rule ended in 1985.

Cunha's power weakened as a result of a plea bargain deal led to testimony linking him to multimillion-dollar Swiss bank accounts that allegedly were stocked by corruption centered on Brazil's state-run oil giant, Petrobras.

On Wednesday, Cunha repeated his insistence that he is innocent.
Police say shots fired at Islamic center in Central Texas

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)  Police say gunfire shattered a window and punctured the entrance to an Islamic center in a Central Texas city.

College Station police spokesman Lt. Steve Brock says no one was inside the Islamic Community Center at 4:30 a.m. Thursday when at least four shots were reported. No one was hurt and no one has been arrested.

It wasn't clear if the center was targeted. Brock says he is unaware of any threats.

Bilal Mustafa stands near the Islamic Community Center in College Station, Texas, Thursday, July 7, 2016. College Station police and the FBI are investigating after the building was hit by gunfire early Thursday. College Station police say nobody was hurt in the incident. (Timothy Hurst/College Station Eagle via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

The Associated Press left a message at the center seeking comment.

Brock says the FBI and the Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the shooting. It wasn't immediately clear why federal investigators are involved.

College Station, which is home to Texas A&M University's main campus, is 90 miles northwest of Houston.
FBI Director James Comey admitted he 'misspoke' when he said former CIA director David Petraeus had hidden classified material in his attic insulation.

Comey made the original comments when he was comparing a decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her email server and Petraeus' case for mishandling classified information.

On Thursday, Comey corrected the record after his staff told him investigators found classified information in an unlocked drawer of Petraeus' ground floor study.

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FBI Director James Comey said the decision against prosecuting Hillary Clinton over her email server was correct because she had not lied under oath or discussed classified material in an unclassified setting

Comey made the disclosure to argue the point that the case of Petraeus, who knew he had top secret information and lied to the FBI about it, differed from the investigation into Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information.

Comey did not recommend charges against Clinton, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president, over her personal email server while she was secretary of state. He said his team found no evidence that she lied under oath or broke the law by discussing classified information in an unclassified setting.

In contrast, Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to knowingly sharing binders of classified information with his biographer, a woman with whom he was having a sexual relationship.

The Justice Department made clear that the retired Army general knew the material was top secret when he divulged it and had lied to the FBI about it.

Comey told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: 'The Petraeus case, to my mind, illustrates perfectly the kind of cases the Department of Justice is willing to prosecute. Even there, they prosecuted him for a misdemeanor.

'In that case, you had vast quantities of highly classified information ... not only shared with someone without authority to have it, but we found it in a search warrant hidden under the insulation in his attic and then he lied to us about it during the investigation.

'So you have obstruction of justice, you have intentional misconduct and a vast quantity of information. He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do. That is a perfect illustration of the kind of cases that get prosecuted. In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case.'

General David Petraeus, right, took classified material with him when he retired from the army

After resigning from the FBI, Petraeus, pictured, signed a form claiming that he did not have any classified material or supplied it to his biographer Paula Broadwell, who was also his lover

Prosecutors said that while his biographer, Paula Broadwell, was writing her book in 2011, Petraeus gave her eight binders of classified material he had improperly kept from his time as the top military commander in Afghanistan. Days later, he took the binders back to his house.

Among the secret information contained in the 'black books' were the names of covert operatives, the coalition war strategy and notes about Petraeus' discussions with President Barack Obama and the National Security Council, prosecutors said.

Those binders were later seized by the FBI in an April 2013 search of Petraeus' Arlington, Virginia, home, where he had kept them in the unlocked drawer of a desk in a ground-floor study.

Prosecutors said that after resigning from the CIA in November 2012, Petraeus had signed a form falsely attesting he had no classified material. He also lied to FBI agents by denying he supplied the information to Broadwell, according to court documents.

According to a search and seizure warrant issued in the case, Petraeus told Broadwell in an email that some of the material was in 'boxes and I'll get them out when we unpack at the house in late July/Aug'.

Investigators found a recorded conversation in which Broadwell tells an unidentified individual she was interviewing that she would be going to Washington to meet with Petraeus to go through boxes in 'his attic'.
Helicopters and GPS to spot floating trash at Rio Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Helicopters will circle overhead starting at 6 a.m. to spot any floating rubbish. Below, trash-collection boats receiving GPS coordinates will sweep up debris before each day of Olympic sailing kicks off in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay.

Andy Hunt, the head of sailing's world governing body World Sailing, acknowledged to the Associated Press that Rio is difficult. He raised an unfavorable comparison with the yacht-filled New England harbor of Newport.

"We wouldn't be out sailing in Newport with spotting helicopters and eco-boats," he said.

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2016 file photo, a worker stands next to trash collected by a garbage-collecting barge in Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The head of World Sailing said in an interview on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 that the boats will be critical in keeping the bay safe and fair for Olympic racing. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File)

Hunt ran off a list of other stop-gaps to sail in Guanabara with the Olympics opening in just over four weeks: floating barriers to keep rubbish from entering the bay, using naturally-occurring microbes to break down pollutants, and hygiene briefings for sailors and staff.

"Over the last couple of years they've mapped where the rubbish tends to collect," Hunt said. "And a lot is based on tidal flows and wind conditions. So rubbish typically collects in certain places."

Hunt said he'll cancel racing  or move to courses in the open Atlantic  if, for instance, heavy rains flood the bay with tree branches, animal carcasses, or plastic bags washed down from the surrounding hillside slums.

"We will take tough decisions," Hunt said. "If we go out and we're not confident that a field of play can be absolutely clear, it will be moved. If there are no safe racing areas, we will just postpone racing until we can get confident."

Floating rubbish is the smaller of two problems.

Half of Rio's sewage flows untreated into its waters, rife with unseen viruses and bacteria. A year-long, independent study by AP has shown high levels of viruses and sometimes bacteria from human sewage in the waters where hundreds of sailors will compete when the Olympics open in just over four weeks.

Rio state officials have acknowledged a real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years  organizers promised to do it for the Olympics.

World Sailing, backed by the World Health Organization and the International Olympic Committee, says the water doesn't need to be tested for viruses. It says the bacterial levels are below what would be considered dangerous for athletes.

On Sunday, the bay was hit with another problem: an oil slick turned white boats brown as crews trained for the Olympics.

Television is a key reason that sailing is in Guanabara, and not a hundred miles (kilometers) away in a clean, coastal resort. Despite the dirty water, Guanabara is picturesque from a distance with Sugarloaf Mountain and the famous Christ the Redeemer statue is sure to be in the television shot.

"The opportunity for sailing to be at the heart of the Olympic Games is something pretty special," Hunt said. "We're usually off in a venue, 100, 200 miles (kilometers) away."

Hunt said the games offer tradition-bound sailing a chance to be seen by a younger, more diverse audience that the IOC wants to attract.

Sailing, like all Olympic sports, is continually being evaluated for popularity by the IOC.

"We don't want to connect with just the normal fans of sailing," Hunt said. "The Olympic Games give us the opportunity to connect with a whole range of sports fans and a broader fan base."

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Puerto Rico government bank president to resign amid crisis

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  The president of Puerto Rico's Government Development Bank is resigning less than a week after the federal government passed measures to aid the U.S. territory's dire finances.

Melba Acosta said Thursday she'll step down July 31 to focus on her professional career.

She directs a bank that issues loans to government agencies and is responsible for overseeing Puerto Rico's debt transactions. The bank was recently placed under a state of emergency given its dwindling liquidity amid a decade-long economic crisis. That means only withdrawals for essential public services are allowed.
AP Interview: NATO chief says failure no option

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  NATO'S chief told The Associated Press Thursday that failure is simply not an option in meeting the myriad threats that now menace the U.S.-led alliance.

"It's not only not an option, it's also something which will not happen," Jens Stoltenberg said on the eve of a landmark NATO summit. "Because we have proven during almost 70 years that we are able to deliver the necessary defense and deterrence, not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent a conflict."

Starting Friday, President Barack Obama and leaders of the 27 others NATO countries will take decisions in Warsaw on how to deal with a resurgent Russia, violent extremist organizations like Islamic State, attacks in cyberspace and other menaces to allies' security.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, left, is welcomed by Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, July 7, 2016. The Polish capital Warsaw will host a two-day NATO summit starting Friday, July 8, the first time ever that it hosts a top-level meeting of the Western military alliance which it joined in 1999. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)

Many observers are calling it NATO's most crucial meeting since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

"We will succeed," Stoltenberg, the alliance secretary-general, said in an interview. "And the reason why I am so confident is that is that we have seen that the alliance has been able to adapt and to implement the biggest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War."

Among the decisions expected from NATO leaders is ordering deployment of four multinational battalions to Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to act as a deterrent to Russia. But Stoltenberg said the alliance also wants to send the Kremlin "a very clear message that we don't want a new Cold War, we don't seek confrontation."

"The Cold War is history and it should remain so," Stoltenberg said. "And this idea, or this message, of defense and dialogue is a message that unifies the alliance. And since we are unified, we are also able to implement and to deliver on our decisions."
Contributions surpass $375,000 for shooting victim's family

NEW YORK (AP)  An online appeal to raise college funds for the five children of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, man killed early Tuesday by police has surpassed $375,000 in less than a day.

The campaign, posted on the Gofundme.com website, raised contributions for the family of Alton Sterling from some 13,000 donors in its first 23 hours.

The scholarship campaign was launched by actress-writer Issa Rae, who describes herself on the Gofundme page as "sympathetic and empathetic" to the plight of the family that Sterling has left behind.

Protesters stand on cars as they congregate at N. Foster Dr. and Fairfields Ave., the location of the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the video-recorded killing of the 37-year-old Sterling, a black man who police say had a gun as he wrestled with two white officers outside a Baton Rouge convenience store. He earned a living selling CDs outside the store.

___
Release of altered mosquitoes to start in Cayman Islands

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands (AP)  An effort to reduce mosquitoes and prevent the spread of viruses such as Zika in the Cayman Islands by releasing genetically altered mosquitoes is to start next week, officials in the British Caribbean territory said Thursday.

Mosquito abatement authorities in the Cayman Islands and British biotech company Oxitec had planned to release the GMO insects last month. But the project was put off by a delay in getting an occupancy permit for the lab in which mosquitoes are bred.

The release of the mosquitoes will begin on 300 acres in the West Bay area of Grand Cayman, according to a government statement.

FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo of aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia. Top U.S. officials are urging Puerto Rico on Wednesday, July 6, to strongly consider aerial spraying to prevent further spread of mosquito-borne Zika, saying as many as 50 pregnant women on the island are infected every day and warns it's only a matter of time before Puerto Rico sees babies born with microcephaly, a rare birth defect linked to Zika infections. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File)

Plans call for releasing millions of modified male mosquitoes of the species Aedes aegypti. The males don't bite, but they will mate with females and produce offspring that die before reaching adulthood.

Aedes aegypti are not native to the Cayman Islands and spread Zika, dengue and yellow fever. There has been one confirmed, imported case of Zika in the territory.
Residents at The Lantern at Morning Pointe Alzheimer's Center of Excellence, Collegedale, met Danny, a 10-year-old miniature horse, owned by Tara Hill, whose stubby four legs carried him to fame. Danny has been in many commercials through the years, and now visits The Lantern of Collegedale to give the residents a ride."As part of the Meaningful Day programming at Morning Pointe, pet therapy gives residents the chance to make new furry and four-legged friends. Residents, families and volunteers often bring animal friends to visit, offering residents happiness and relaxation in exchange for hugs, cuddles and treats," officials said.
2 teenage siblings shot and killed in conflict over T-shirt

MIDVALE, Utah (AP)  A man accused of gunning down a teenage brother and sister during an argument over a T-shirt at a suburban Salt Lake City apartment complex is under arrest as family members mourn the senseless killing of siblings who shared a tight bond.

Jose Izazaga, 16, was shot after he came to defend his sister Abril Izazaga, 15, with a knife as she was being pushed around by a group of people late Wednesday, said Lt. Lex Bell of Salt Lake County's Unified Police Department. Another man with the group fatally shot the siblings, Bell said.

The 18-year-old man who started the confrontation by accusing the girl of taking a shirt has turned himself in, but he hasn't yet been arrested. Investigators found the man in his 30s accused of firing the fatal shots at a Salt Lake County house Thursday, Bell said. The names of the suspects were not immediately released.

Family and friends gathered in the courtyard of the apartment complex, hugging and crying in front of a makeshift memorial with flowers, candles and a homemade cross (pictured)

More people could also be arrested in the case, he said.

The siblings' older brother, Kenny Lopez, 22, said the boy who started the confrontation was a longtime friend of Jose Izazaga and spent a lot of time at the house. At one point, he lived with the family when he didn't have a place to stay. He said he and the others were "tweakers" who might have been on drugs.

Bell said investigators don't know yet if the suspects were using drugs.

"It's senseless. It's stupid (expletive). You can replace as many T-shirts as you want," Lopez said Thursday. "You can't replace two people's lives."

The brother and sister were the youngest of nine siblings, Lopez said. Abril had just finished her sophomore year at Hillcrest High School in Midvale, where she was an honor roll student, Lopez said. She wanted to be a nurse or doctor. Jose had finished his junior year and hoped to become a firefighter or travel the world and study animals, he said. They both had birthdays this month.

"They both would protect each other to death, as you can see," said Lopez, fighting back tears at the apartment complex. "They were both strong. They were both good kids. I'm going to miss them. They hadn't even started their life yet."

Family and friends gathered in the courtyard of the apartment complex, hugging, crying and placing items on a makeshift memorial that had flowers, Virgin Maria candles and a homemade cross.

A priest arrived at one point and gave a prayer and blessing as everyone huddled around the memorial. Lopez cried, his head down in prayer.

Neighbor Bridget Torres said the apartment complex is a calm place where most residents get along and children play outside until dark. Most families are Latino and Spanish-speaking in the complex, which is about 10 miles south of Salt Lake City. Now, Torres said she doesn't plan let her three kids outside to play at night.

Torres' sister, 12-year-old Brisa Gutierrez, heard the gunshots and screams while she was watching kids play out her window Wednesday night. "It's sad what happened to her," Brisa said.

Bell said more information may come out through the investigation about underlying issues that led to the confrontation. But he called it senseless that somebody would kill a person over a T-shirt.

"There's no piece of property on earth that's worth somebody's life," Bell said. "This is just unbelievably tragic to have started like that. An argument over a shirt that resulted in the loss of two young lives is almost absurd."

___

Associated Press writer Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this story.

The man who originally started the argument turned himself into to police, but he has not been formally arrested or identified. Pictured, mourners are pictured at a makeshift memorial on Thursday
Emory students killed in Bangladesh remembered as leaders

ATLANTA (AP)  Friends remembered two Emory University students as campus leaders Thursday during a vigil on the Atlanta campus, days after they were killed in an attack on a restaurant in Bangladesh's capital by armed extremists that claimed more than 20 lives.

About 200 people filled the university's Cannon Chapel to pay tribute to Faraaz Hossain and Abinta Kabir, sharing stories of their friendships and prayers for healing.

Emory officials have said Kabir was entering Emory's Oxford College as a sophomore. She was visiting family and friends in Bangladesh at the time of Friday's attack. Hossain was a student at the university's Goizueta Business School in Atlanta and a graduate of Oxford College. The vacationing friends met up at the restaurant, joined by 18-year-old Tarishi Jain, an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley. Jain also died.

Both Hossain and Kabir held leadership roles on the Student Activities Committee at Oxford College, earning reputations as kind, sensitive and helpful while planning campus-wide events.

Chase Jackson, another student member of the committee, said in a statement read aloud Thursday that people in need of advice "would flock" to Kabir and her "loving personality." Hossain greeted everyone with a broad smile, and "his heart was bigger than anyone else's," Jackson wrote.

The ceremony included prayers led by representatives of various faiths, including Buddhist monks participating in the schools partnership with Tibet. Speakers urged those attending to resist anger or fear of people with different faiths or backgrounds and instead embrace them.

"To honor Faraaz and others, we must not be afraid in times like this," said Rifat Mursalin, a recent Emory graduate who grew up in Dhaka. "Being afraid of others is surrendering, admitting defeat to evil."

The ceremony also honored the other 18 people who were held hostage during the attack, represented by white Gerbera daisies placed in vases by Emory students to the beat of drums. Administrators carrying yellow daisies for Hossain and Kabir completed the bouquets in silence. Two police officers and six attackers also died.

Salma Soliman, a sophomore at Oxford College who knew both students, read a poem by Hannah Senesh comparing the memory of people who have died to stars still visible from Earth  years after burning out.
Another environmental activist killed in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP)  An environmental and indigenous rights activist in Honduras has been killed four months after the slaying of award-winning environmentalist Berta Caceres stirred international outrage.

The Public Ministry said in a statement Thursday that it had formed a special commission to investigate the killing of 49-year-old Lesbia Janeth Urquia.

Authorities said Urquia's body was found Wednesday in a garbage dump in Marcala, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Tegucigalpa. She had disappeared Tuesday afternoon after going out to ride her bicycle.

The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, the indigenous rights group with which Urquia was affiliated, called her death a "political femicide."

It said in a statement Wednesday that Urquia was an indigenous leader and an outspoken activist against hydroelectric projects in the La Paz region, particularly the Aurora I dam.

"Lesbia Yaneth was a fervent defender of the community rights and opponent of the granting of concessions and privatization of rivers in La Paz," the statement said. The group said Urquia's killing "confirms that a plan has been put in motion to disappear those who defend nature's common goods."

Police spokesman Eddie Lopez said Urquia owned three small hotels in Marcala.

The Civic Council group blamed the government for Urquia's death, saying it has failed to protect her and other indigenous activists.

In Caceres' slaying, armed men burst into her home the night of March 3 and shot her four times. She had been complaining of getting threats warning her to stop protests against the Agua Zarca dam on the ancestral lands of her Lenca people. Caceres was internationally recognized after winning the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.

In May, authorities announced the arrest of four people in Caceres' killing, including a man working on behalf of the company doing the Agua Zarca dam project and an active duty army officer. The director of Honduras' criminal investigation agency said Caceres was killed for her environmental activism.

Two weeks after Caceres' death, Nelson Garcia, another indigenous environmental activist, was shot to death. He had returned to his home in Rio Chiquito after helping dozens of residents move their belongings when authorities evicted them from lands they had occupied.
Technology gives bracing immediacy to police shooting story

NEW YORK (AP)  A live, online piece of footage of a dying man brought a shocking new immediacy Thursday to the issue that gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The video  posted by a Minnesota woman from inside the car where her boyfriend lay bleeding from police gunfire  was seized on by some as sickening proof of what they have been saying all along: that police are too quick to use deadly force against minorities.

Some viewers found it too painful or voyeuristic to watch, and some of the major TV networks chose to blur the picture.

Protesters gather outside the governor's residence Thursday, July 7, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. A police officer fatally shot Philando Castile as a woman in the vehicle apparently livestreamed the aftermath in a widely shared Facebook video. The shooting happened late Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

"We'd never seen anything like this, which is what made the tape all the more remarkable," said Jim Murphy, vice president for morning programming at CNN, which chose not to obscure the image.

The video out of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, spread only hours after the release of footage showing the killing of Alton Sterling, a black man who was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. Live pictures of Sterling's son wailing in grief on live TV Wednesday added to the misery.

In the Minnesota shooting, the woman propped up her smartphone, pressed a couple of buttons and instantly was on Facebook live, explaining that her boyfriend, Philando Castile, had been shot by police. She calmly contradicted an agitated officer who was pointing a gun at her through the car window, as a blood-covered Castile moaned beside her. The video continued for 10 minutes.

Except for a technical glitch that prevented the video from being repeated for about an hour Thursday morning, Facebook said it remained available, though with a warning about graphic content. By midafternoon, it had been viewed more than 3.6 million times.

CNN executives remade the network's "New Day" broadcast on the fly to feature the story Thursday. NBC's "Today" show, ABC's "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning" used the video, too, but blurred images of the bloodied Castile.

"Unfortunately, people have seen worse," Murphy said. "The broadcast that she created in that car needed to be seen by the public just as we were looking at it."

To Ryan Kadro, executive producer of "CBS This Morning," the exchanges between the woman and police were key to the video. Showing a blood-soaked man didn't add to people's understanding of the story, he said.

The newfound capability to essentially show these news events live online made the story especially powerful.

"You get to see stuff here that you don't see on police cameras, at least ones that have been released that I'm aware of," said Steve Jones, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an expert on communications technology. Police bodycam footage is "filtered through the police department. What we're seeing is the immediate aftermath from the viewpoint of a witness, in a much more visceral way and unredacted way."

Sometimes it's too real: Amy Linden, a writer from Brooklyn, clicked on Facebook, and the Minnesota video immediately began playing. She swiftly turned it off because "it was the first thing in the morning, and that's not what you want to have embedded in your head." A day earlier, she bawled watching Sterling's son cry.

While the video allows people to bear witness, many resisted. April Reign, managing editor of Broadway Black, a website about black stage artists, wrote in The Washington Post that she refused to spread copies of the Sterling video online. She called it a "sick sort of voyeurism."

Zelda Owens, a legal consultant from Randolph, New Jersey, said that ever since the Rodney King beating in 1991, video has given the public a view of what many black Americans have experienced all their lives. She said she is dubious any new videos  even the one out of Minnesota  will change things for the better.

"I don't see how this is going to change unless we have a change in behavior," she said.

___

Associated Press technology writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this story.

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - This still image taken from video by Diamond Reynolds shows a police officer pointing a gun at her boyfriend, Philando Castile, during a traffic stop on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights, Minn. The officer shot Castile, and Reynolds apparently livestreamed the aftermath on Facebook from the passenger seat. As the video and word of the shooting spread, scores of people gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where Castile died. (Diamond Reynolds via AP)
Tennessee investigates shooting involving sheriff deputies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  Deputies in the Memphis suburb of Cordova shot and wounded a knife-carrying suspect on Thursday, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

Shelby County deputies were responding to a report that someone was driving erratically after a hit-and-run, when they encountered Edmond Otis Studdard walking down the road with a knife, a bureau statement said.

The TBI provided few details of the confrontation, other than deputies fired two shots at Studdard, who was taken to a hospital where his condition was not immediately available.

Separately, emergency dispatchers received a call about a possible suicide attempt at the location of the shooting, resulting in a person being taken by ambulance to a hospital, Shelby County Fire Department spokesman Brent Perkins said.

TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said she wasn't aware of that emergency call.

The bureau is investigating at the request of the local district attorney general, as it has with all officer-involved shootings in Memphis and Shelby County since the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart in July 2015 by a Memphis Police officer during a traffic stop. Three more shootings by Memphis Police are under investigation this year.

Police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana this week have reignited fury over the treatment of black suspects, with President Barack Obama saying the U.S. has a "serious problem."
New Idaho council seeks to end Cuba embargo

BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho's top business, agricultural and government leaders are joining the fight to end the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

According to a recently formed advocacy group, lifting the 50-year-old trade embargo could be an economic boon to the Gem State, but that won't happen without help from the business community and legislators.

Engage Cuba on Thursday in Boise announced the launch of Engage Cuba Idaho State Council. So far, 10 other groups have been formed in primarily Republican-dominated states since last year. More groups are expected to pop up over the next few months.

The Idaho council is a group of state agriculture, business, finance, manufacturing, education and government officials who seek to build congressional support for lifting the embargo. Members include the Idaho Farm Bureau, the Idaho Potato Commission, the Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and United Dairymen of Idaho.

"It really is a unique matchup between Idaho and Cuba. It feels like a real opportunity, but we're restricted from doing business," said Skip Oppenheimer, a Boise businessman.

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is chairing the group, who has visited Cuba several times including leading a trade mission in 2007. The Republican governor joined eight other governors in urging Congress to lift the trade restrictions in a letter sent in October.

"My travels to Cuba convince me that the people there have the same goals, the same ambitions and the same needs as we do here in Idaho," Otter said in a prepared statement. "We both want more freedom."
Sen. Menendez slams allowing flights from Newark to Cuba

NEWARK, N.J. (AP)  United Airlines received tentative approval to offer nonstop flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Havana, Cuba, on Thursday, but the decision isn't sitting well with everyone as a woman convicted in the murder of a New Jersey state trooper remains a fugitive there.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said that Cuba "remains a key ally of some of the world's most dangerous terrorist organizations and enemies of the United States" and continues to harbor American hijackers and terrorists, including Joanne Chesimard.

"Since every Cuban airport worker is employed directly by the regime and its airports lack the technology and security capabilities we've grown to expect in the United States, I have serious concerns entrusting the (Castro regime) to protect the lives of Americans flying in and out of Cuba," the Cuban-American Democrat said in a statement.

Chesimard was convicted in 1977 in the death of Trooper Werner Foerster during a gunfight after being stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike in 1973. She was sentenced to life in prison but escaped and made her way to Cuba, where Fidel Castro granted her asylum and she has been living under the name Assata Shakur.

New Jersey State Police spokesman Lt. Brian Polite said Thursday that tourists should visit the organization's website so they can be alert for fugitives wanted by the FBI who are living in Cuba.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie last year sought to block Newark flights to Cuba until Chesimard is returned to the United States and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Chairman John Degnan sent a letter last October to United to reconsider.
Feral cat forms friendship with aging bear at California zoo

FOLSOM, Calif. (AP)  A feral cat nicknamed "Little Bear" has forged an unlikely friendship with an aging bear at a California zoo.

The black cat with a clipped ear is rarely far from 18-year-old Sequoia, one of Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary's largest black bears. Zookeepers tell the Sacramento Bee (http://bit.ly/29tnkkM) that Little Bear joins the lumbering Sequoia as he lounges in the shade or wanders through his enclosure. They've even shared meals.

If the bear is sleeping in the grass, then Little Bear is invariably a few feet away.

Little Bear is part of a colony of feral cats living at the zoo. Lead senior zookeeper Jill Faust says she suspects the cat feels comfortable around Sequoia because the bear's arthritis has slowed him down.

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Signatures submitted in plan to restrict guns in Washington

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP)  Supporters of a proposed ballot measure in Washington state that would create protection orders to take guns from people deemed a serious threat to themselves or others turned in more than 330,000 signatures to the secretary of state Thursday.

Initiative 1491, backed by the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, comes after legislative efforts to create "extreme risk" protection orders failed earlier this year.

Stephanie Ervin, I-1491's campaign manager, said that the initiative creates "an import tool for families and law enforcement to prevent crisis from turning into tragedy."

Marilyn Balcerak, whose son fatally shot himself and his stepsister last year, speaks to the media about the turn in of more than 330,000 signatures in support of a ballot measure on gun access, on Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Olympia, Wash. Initiative 1491 would create protection orders that could take guns away from a person deemed a serious threat to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)

Under the measure, concerned family or household members or police can petition the court by filing an affidavit stating specific concerns, such as mental illness or domestic violence, and the number and types of firearms owned. Following a court hearing, if the court finds evidence that a person poses a danger to themselves or others by having a firearm, they can have their guns taken away and be prevented from buying a firearm for up to one year.

Only three states  California, Indiana and Connecticut  have enacted similar laws. California passed its bill after the mass shooting in 2014 near the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Marilyn Balcerak, whose son fatally shot his stepsister and then himself in Auburn last year, said that she knew her son was suicidal, but she was powerless to prevent their deaths.

"I did everything I could to keep him from getting a gun, and even went to the police, but was twice turned down," she said. "If extreme risk protection orders had been law just two years ago, those police officers I talked to would have been able to help me."

Messages left with the National Rifle Association and the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation were not immediately returned Thursday.

An initiative requires at least 246,372 valid signatures of registered state voters to be certified, though the secretary of state's office suggests at least 325,000 in case of any duplicate or invalid signatures. The signature validation process is expected to take a few weeks.

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility was also behind a 2014 ballot measure, approved by voters that year, that requires background checks on all sales and transfers of guns, including private transactions and many loans and gifts. Maine and Nevada both have universal background check measures on the ballot this November.

"For too long, there has been a disconnect between what the American people demand on gun safety and how American politicians vote," John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, wrote in an emailed statement. "In 2014, we took this issue to the people of Washington State for an up or down vote --- and they spoke loud and clear to prevent gun violence by requiring background checks for all gun sales. This year the people of Maine and Nevada and again in Washington State will have their say at the ballot box as well when it comes to gun safety."

Stephanie Ervin, campaign manager for Yes on I-1491, speaks to the media about the turn in of more than 330,000 signatures in support of a ballot measure on gun access, on Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Olympia, Wash. I-1491 would create protection orders that could take guns away from a person deemed a serious threat to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)

Secretary of state employees receive pages of signed petitions for Initiative 1491, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in Olympia, Wash. I-1491 would create protection orders that could take guns away from a person deemed a serious threat to themselves or others. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)
Arizona is site of largest current US measles outbreak

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP)  Health officials in Arizona say the largest current measles outbreak in the United States is in part because some workers at a federal immigration detention center refuse to get vaccinated.

Authorities have confirmed 22 measles cases in Arizona since late May. They all stem from the Eloy Detention Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility managed by the private Corrections Corporation of America.

Pinal County health director Thomas Schryer said the outbreak likely began with a migrant but that detainees have since been vaccinated. Convincing employees to get vaccinated or show proof of immunity has proven much tougher, he said.

FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2015, file photo, a sign warns of the dangers of measles in the reception area of a pediatrician's office in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. Arizona officials are threatening legal action against an immigration detention center south of Phoenix where an outbreak of measles has affected 22 this year, Thursday, July 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Tom Stathis, File)

"And so they're actually the ones that are passing along the measles among each other and then going out into the community," Schryer said.

The facility includes about 350 CCA employees and an unknown number of ICE staffers, although Schryer estimates it's about 100. ICE doesn't publicly release staffing levels, nor does it require employees to be immunized. There are currently over 1,200 detainees being held at the facility.

Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, an ICE spokeswoman, said the agency is working closely with health officials to monitor detainees and employees and that it instituted several measures to prevent the disease from spreading more, including providing immunizations, referring staffers to nearby clinics, handing out flyers and pamphlets on the dangers of measles and providing masks and gloves.

CCA, the Tennessee-based corporation that operates the facility, says most of its staffers have been vaccinated or shown proof of immunity. Those who have not are required to wear surgical masks or stay home.

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ says the facility has been more responsive in the past few days and that a large number of CCA employees were immunized late last week. "Once they understand how important it is and the outcomes it can have on the community, they tend to cooperate. So we hope to get a cooperative response from ICE," Christ said.

Measles is highly contagious and preventable through vaccines. It was eradicated in the US in 2000. But the past couple of years have seen new cases in large part because of unfounded fears that the vaccination causes autism in children, Schryer said. The symptoms are usually mild but can be deadly in babies, who cannot be immunized until they're a year old.

Officials last year said that a massive measles outbreak that sprouted at Disneyland in California and spread to several other states was largely fueled by parents refusing to vaccinate children.

In Arizona, health officials are providing free vaccines, sending physicians to the detention center and providing educational outreach to staffers in an effort to contain the measles spread.

Schryer said officials were considering asking the Arizona governor to declare a state of emergency, although Christ said that might not be necessary.

Efforts to encourage immunization have been met with resistance in part because some people underestimate the danger of measles, Schryer said. One staffer spent about four days hospitalized after coming down with severe symptoms, he said.
HRBiz President Lynn Talbott, MBA, announces that six of their reps are certified at the Advanced level for QuickBooks Online.Im proud of our teams latest accomplishment. Theyve proven themselves more than qualified to handle trickier questions and concerns our clients have when they need additional help to sort out their finances in QBO. All of our Advanced QBO Certified ProAdvisors have 5-star ratings on Intuits 'Find A ProAdvisor' website. The 36 positive reviews we have demonstrate the confidence our clients have in our expertise," Ms.Talbott said.Ms. Talbott is the featured Tuesday Talks speaker at the Edney on Tuesday, July 19. She will also be a presenter this year at StartUp Week CHA, Oct. 3-7.
The Latest: Tennessee flash floods destroy homes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  The Latest on flash flooding in Tennessee and Kentucky (all times local):

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3:45 p.m.

Tennessee emergency officials say flash flooding overnight heavily damaged homes in two counties. Straight-line winds also downed trees and caused sporadic power outages in Nashville and a wide swath of northern and Middle Tennessee into parts of southwestern Kentucky.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency declared a state of emergency Thursday. About 20 homes were destroyed in Stewart County, along with a church and day care. Sumner County reports 30 homes damaged and four bridges with major damage.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for much of Middle Tennessee through 10 p.m. as a second storm system comes through the area.

In Kentucky, storms downed power lines and damaged buildings in the Paducah area. And a small tornado hit nearby Metropolis, Illinois, but no life-threatening injuries were reported.

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9:00 a.m.

Officials have declared a state of emergency in Tennessee after heavy rains caused flooding in several areas overnight and more rain is forecast.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency spokesman Dean Flener said on Thursday that crews were performing swift-water rescues in Stewart County. He said several other counties have reported high water over roads and trees down from storms.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for areas of Middle Tennessee through Thursday afternoon. The weather service said as much as 6 inches of rain fell overnight, which led to widespread flooding in Nashville and surrounding areas.
Black officer says Louisiana shooting made her want to quit

WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP)  A black police officer in suburban Cleveland said in a video posted on Facebook she was so upset after watching the fatal police shooting of a black man in Louisiana that she wanted to quit.

Nakia Jones, who said she is the only black female officer in Warrensville Heights, said she became an officer to make a difference in people's lives.

"If you are white and you're working in a black community and you are racist, you need to be ashamed of yourself," Jones said in the video. "You stood up there and took an oath. If this is not where you want to work, then you need to take your behind somewhere else."

Her impassioned reaction had been watched more than 3 million times since it was posted to her Facebook page Wednesday.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Alton Sterling was shot early Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside a convenience store. Police there say he was armed.

Cellphone video of his shooting death posted online by a community activist set off angry protests. It was unclear whether Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot.

Louisiana's governor, Democrat John Bel Edwards, asked the U.S. Department of Justice to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

Jones said the video of the shooting opened her eyes.

"I got to see what you all see," she said. "If I wasn't a police officer and I wasn't on the inside, I'd be saying, 'Look at this racist.'"

In a press conference Thursday, she said her opinion is the shooting of Sterling "could have been handled differently" and people should be held accountable for their actions.

"Sometimes our peers have to hold us accountable," she said.

And she reiterated her position that there's no place for racist police officers, black or white, in U.S. communities.

"If you are prejudiced," she said, "take the uniform off, put the hood on."

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Online:
DC police release body camera footage of fatal shooting

WASHINGTON (AP)  District of Columbia police have released body camera footage from the fatal shooting of a man by officers last month.

Police have said 63-year-old Sherman Evans was holding a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun. The June 27 shooting is under investigation.

The footage released Thursday shows officers with guns drawn ordering Evans to drop his gun dozens of times over a span of more than three minutes. The actual shooting is not shown because the camera is pointing at a car the officer was standing behind. More than a dozen shots can be heard.

After the shooting, one of the officers can be heard saying, "he raised it," referring to the weapon Evans was holding.
Grand jury gets case of man accused of mannequin bomb plot

ALLIANCE, Ohio (AP)  A grand jury will decide whether a man accused of plotting to blow up an Ohio police station and use armed mannequins to distract responding officers should be indicted on felony charges.

Alliance Municipal Court Judge Andrew Zumbar on Wednesday forwarded felony charges of retaliation and possessing weapons under a disability against Timothy Ward, 51, of Hartville, to a Stark County grand jury to consider.

Police Detective M.D. Jones testified that guns and bomb making materials were recovered from the Lake Township home of Ward's father, where Ward has a bedroom, The (Alliance) Review reported.

Lake Township is about 40 miles south of Cleveland.

Prosecutors said Ward was planning an attack to retaliate against Marlboro Township police for a 2008 arrest.

Ward had been accused of tying his wife to a chair and threatening to kill her while he went off to fight demons. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and barred from possessing firearms. He was released from community supervision last year.

Police were notified in June by a former girlfriend that he was planning to use mannequins to attack the police station. In response, federal and local law enforcement officials searched the homes of Ward and his father June 15.

Authorities have said Ward, using the pseudonym "Joe Smith," posted videos to YouTube that included artwork signed by "Comrade," mannequins dressed in patriotic garb and Bible recitations by candlelight.

Ward's elderly father, Jim Ward, told WJW-TV last week he was aware his son had mannequins but didn't think he would hurt anyone.

Ward's bond is set at $1 million.
The Latest: Tennessee deputies wound knife-carrying man

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  The Latest on an officer-involved shooting outside of Memphis (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says deputies shot and wounded a knife-carrying man in the Memphis suburb of Cordova.

A statement from the bureau says Shelby County sheriff's deputies were responding to a call shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday that someone was driving erratically and had been involved in a hit-and-run. They encountered Edmond Otis Studdard walking down the road with a knife.

The TBI says deputies fired two shots at Studdard, who was taken to a hospital. His exact condition was not immediately available.

TBI agents are investigating at the request of the local district attorney general. Bureau spokeswoman Susan Niland says Studdard is white. She did not immediately know the race of the deputies involved.

TBI already is investigating three shootings involving Memphis police officers this year.

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3 p.m.

Tennessee authorities are responding to a shooting involving Shelby County Sheriff's deputies that sent one person to a hospital.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland says agents are on the scene of Thursday's shooting in the Memphis suburb of Cordova. The sheriff's office says the bureau is handling the investigation and declined comment.

Niland said the person shot is alive and has been taken to a hospital. She offered no more details and said the bureau will provide an update once agents "are able to offer an assessment of the circumstances."
AP News Guide: Details about the Philando Castile shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  The minutes after a black Minnesota man was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the Twin Cities  the second fatal shooting in the U.S. this week of a black man by police  were broadcast live by his girlfriend on Facebook. Philando Castile, 32, was shot in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights on Wednesday night.

What follows is a look at what happened and the ongoing investigation:

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Diamond Reynolds, the girlfriend of Philando Castile, weeps during a press conference at the Governor'sResidence in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, July 7, 2016. Philando Castile was shot in a car Wednesday night by police in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. Police have said the incident began when an officer initiated a traffic stop in suburban Falcon Heights but have not further explained what led to the shooting. (Leila Navidi/Star Tribune via AP)

THE SHOOTING AND VIDEO

Diamond Reynolds, Castile's girlfriend, said in the initial video and in subsequent interviews that they were driving through Falcon Heights with her 4-year-old daughter in the back seat when they were pulled over by police for what they were told was a broken tail light.

Reynolds said Castile was complying with the officer's request for identification when he brushed up against his concealed firearm near his back pocket. Soon after informing the officer that he had a legally permitted firearm, Castile was shot four or more times, Reynolds said. The first seconds of her broadcast on Facebook showed Castile first slumping and then sitting motionless in the driver's seat.

State investigators named Jeronimo Yanez as the officer who fired the fatal shots. Authorities have not confirmed whether Castile had a permit to carry.

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PHILANDO CASTILE

Castile, who was just a few days shy of celebrating his 33rd birthday, had worked for St. Paul Public Schools for a decade, recently rising to cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school, where teachers said he was lovingly called "Mr. Phil" by students.

Aside from a handful of driving-related offenses over the past decade, he did not have a record and there was no indication he'd ever had a tense run-in with police.

Protesters who surrounded the Minnesota governor's residence Thursday to call for swift action against the officers involved were appalled that Castile's record was a subject at all.

"I don't give a damn. He didn't deserve to die. For a traffic stop?" said Brian Herron, a pastor at a local Baptist church.

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DIAMOND REYNOLDS

Reynolds' cellphone video showed Castile covered in blood in the seat next to her, the officer screaming expletives after shots were fired and more. The footage also showed Reynolds and her calm interactions with the officer still brandishing a pistol before she later broke down and yelled in despair, hoping Castile had not died.

She told reporters that she spent much of the night at a police station and that she and her daughter were separated as they were pressed for information.

Reynolds said Castile wasn't her daughter's birth father but treated them both as family. She described him as her best friend, and was distraught speaking about his death.

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FALCON HEIGHTS

Falcon Heights is a small suburb of St. Paul and host to the annual State Fair. A town of just 5,000, it's also home to a subsection of the massive University of Minnesota campus. Due to its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department.

Like most of Minnesota, it's primarily white. On average, median incomes in Falcon Heights are larger than Minnesota as a whole.

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THE OFFICERS

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension named Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser as the two officers involved. Both had been with the St. Anthony Police Department for four years and were put on administrative leave, as is standard.

Yanez approached Castile's car from the driver's side, and Kauser from the passenger side. Yanez opened fire, striking Castile multiple times, the bureau said.

The agency did not give the officers' races. Reynolds described the officer who shot Castile as Asian. The St. Anthony Police Department's 2015 annual report says Yanez volunteered with St. Paul's Cinco De Mayo celebration, participating in a parade with other members of the National Latino Police Officers Association.

The department's 2014 report includes a photo of Yanez solemnly standing guard at a memorial for fallen officers at the state Capitol.

___

FOOTAGE

Reynolds' roughly 9-minute feed, which was archived, could play a major role in the investigation. What other footage could be available to investigators remains to be seen.

The BCA said several videos, including squad car video of the incident, have been collected, but that St. Anthony officers don't wear body cameras.
Saudi Arabia identifies bombers in 2 attacks this week

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Saudi Arabia identified on Thursday suspects in two of the three attacks that struck the kingdom on the same day this week, including one outside the sprawling mosque where the Prophet Muhammad is buried in the western city of Medina that killed four Saudi security troops.

In a statement released by the Interior Ministry late Thursday, authorities said the Medina bomber in Monday's apparently coordinated attacks was 26-year-old Saudi national Na'ir al-Nujiaidi al-Balawi.

Three suicide bombers behind a botched attack, also Monday, outside a Shiite mosque in the eastern region of Qatif in which no civilians or police were wounded, were identified as Abdulrahman Saleh Mohammed, Ibrahim Saleh Mohammed and Abdelkarim al-Hesni, all in their early 20s.

It was not immediately clear what nationality or nationalities the three carried.

The ministry said investigations following the attacks led to the arrests of 19 suspects, seven Saudi and 12 Pakistani nationals. No other details were immediately available.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia identified the suicide bomber who struck outside the U.S. Consulate in Jiddah as a Pakistani resident of the kingdom who had arrived 12 years ago to work as a driver. It named him as 34-year-old Abdullah Qalzar Khan. It said he lived in the port city with "his wife and her parents." The statement did not elaborate.

In that attack, the bomber detonated his explosives after two security guards approached him, killing himself and lightly wounding the guards, the ministry said. No consular staff were hurt.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks but their nature and their apparently coordinated timing suggested the Islamic State group could be to blame.

Pakistan has condemned Monday's attacks in the kingdom. There are around 9 million foreigners living in Saudi Arabia, which has a total population of 30 million. Among all foreigners living in the kingdom, Pakistanis represent one of the largest groups.

The Saudi ministry said the attacker in the Medina assault set off the bomb in a parking lot after security officers became suspicious about him. Several cars caught fire and thick plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the site of the explosion as thousands crowded the streets around the mosque.

Worshippers expressed shock that such a prominent holy site could be targeted.

The Prophet Muhammad's mosque was packed on Monday evening, during the final days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ended on Tuesday. Local media say the attacker was intending to strike the mosque when it was crowded with thousands gathered for the sunset prayer.

Saudi Arabia is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and the militant group views its ruling monarchy as an enemy.
Endangered gorilla dies at Mexico City zoo

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Zoo officials in Mexico City say an endangered western lowland gorilla has died as he was being prepared for transfer to another zoo.

The capital's zoo and wildlife office said Thursday that the 24-year-old gorilla known as Bantu appeared to have suffered a heart attack after being sedated Wednesday night. Doctors spent 30 minutes trying to revive him.

Bantu was headed to the Guadalajara Zoo in western Mexico with the hope of mating with two females there.

Officials say the precise cause of death will be established following additional examinations. Bantu had spent his life at the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City.
After deadly shootings, Obama says police must root out bias

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Barack Obama called on American law enforcement to root out bias in its ranks and said all Americans should be troubled by frequent police shootings of blacks and Hispanics, insisting that fatal incidents in Minnesota and Louisiana are not isolated.

Adding his voice to a growing public outcry, Obama said the shootings were symptoms of a "broader set of racial disparities" in the justice system that aren't being fixed quickly enough.

He ticked through a list of statistics he said showed concerns about bias are real: African-Americans being shot by police or arrested at more than twice the rate of white Americans.

President Barack Obama makes a statement on the fatal police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota after arriving in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, July 8, 2016. Obama traveled to Poland to attend the NATO summit and then will travel on to Spain. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

"When incidents like this occur, there's a big chunk of our fellow citizenry that feels as if it's because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same," Obama said. "And that hurts. And that should trouble all of us."

Obama's diagnosis of the problem reflected a growing sense of frustration and willingness to speak out publicly about police killings despite the risk of making law enforcement officers feel under attack.

The president spoke in a hastily arranged appearance at a hotel in Warsaw just after arriving in Poland for a NATO summit. He largely echoed comments he made earlier in the day in a Facebook post as the two deaths were increasingly capturing the country's attention.

In Louisiana, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was fatally shot Tuesday as he tussled with two white officers outside a convenience store in a predominantly black neighborhood. The shooting was caught on tape and went viral online.

The next day in Minnesota, 32-year-old Philando Castile was shot to death during a traffic stop. His girlfriend posted video of the aftermath live on Facebook, saying he had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet, as an officer had asked.

Though the White House has sought to avoid commenting on specific cases before all facts are known, in this case Obama weighed in while both shootings are still being investigated, including a civil rights probe by the U.S. Justice Department into the Louisiana incident.

Similar statements about other shootings have stoked tensions with law enforcement, including with FBI Director James Comey, who has suggested the intense public focus on police officers' conduct, fueled by caught-on-camera moments, may be inhibiting officers as they try to protect their communities.

Aiming to pre-empt that concern, Obama said that speaking out about the issue is not an attack on police. He emphasized that he and other Americans appreciate the risks police officers take and mourn officers who die in the line of duty.

"When people say 'black lives matter,' that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter," Obama said, referring to uniformed officers. "That just means all lives matter."

Yet despite Obama's efforts to bridge misunderstandings between African-Americans and the police, the problem clearly persists. In 2014, Obama created a task force to develop modern policing guidelines, and he urged local communities and policing agencies to implement those recommendations drafted by the Justice Department.

Obama said if anything good could come from recent deadly incidents, it would be that more parts of the country would adopt those recommendations.

"Change has been too slow," Obama said. "We have to have a greater sense of urgency about this."

Obama has wrestled for much of his presidency with the policing issue, the "Black Lives Matter" movement and his role as the first black president in responding to them. After the issue burst into the spotlight in 2012 with the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, Obama insisted the U.S. take the issue seriously and added, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon."

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Associated Press writer Kathleen Hennessey in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.

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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
As St Paul, Minnesota, reeled from the killing of Philando Castile by a police officer Wednesday, word began to spread about how the 'gentle spirit', known to kids as 'Mr Phil,' touched their lives.

Castile, 32, whose death at the hands of a Minnesota cop during a routine traffic stop was live-streamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, oversaw the cafeteria at JJ Hill Montessori School in St. Paul.

It was there that hundreds gathered on Thursday evening, surrounding a flag at half-staff, to remember a man who was beloved by students, parents, colleagues and friends alike.

'I want his name respected,' ex-principal Katherine Holmquist-Burks, who hired Castile, said earlier on Thursday. 'He was not a bad person. He was a great person. He was a warm person and a gentle spirit. This was a tragedy that he was murdered.'

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Vigil: A flag flew at half-staff outside JJ Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, where members of the community gathered to remember Philando Castile, who was shot dead by a cop Wednesday during a traffic stop

'Assassination': Castile's girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds (pictured), who live-streamed his death while the cop who shot him pointed a gun at her, spoke at the vigil, saying black men were being 'assassinated'

Shooter: Officer Jeronimo Yanez (pictured) was identified as the cop who shot Philando Castile Wednesday when a traffic stop for a faulty tail light went badly wrong. The aftermath was live-streamed on Facebook

'He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well,' said the former principal, who retired last week.

Holmquist-Burks employed Castile at JJ Hill in 2014, and he quickly became known as 'Mr Phil' to the kids at the school, to whom he would sneak extra Graham crackers and treats.

He always gave you a high-five after lunch,' nine-year-old Jas Gilman said.

He also memorized the names of all 530 students at the school, one colleague told TIME.

'He remembered their names. He remembered who couldn't have milk. He knew what they could have to eat and what they couldn't,' Joan Edman, 62, a recently retired paraprofessional at JJ Hill said.

She added that he 'was much a teacher than any teacher in that building,' and that he had instructed kids on being respectful and not stealing. 'We had a calmer cafeteria this year, and I think it was because he was there.'

Much of his respect came from his relaxed demeanor in the cafeteria, she said. 'I think he did that for kids. Kids watch everything, and they saw that.

'He had so much going for him. He didn't have an axe to grind. It just doesn't make sense. This is a real person. Five hundred real children are directly impacted.'

March: After the vigil, some marched through St. Paul, protesting the death of the school cafeteria supervisor. Friends and colleagues recalled Castile as a gentle soul who remembered the names of all 530 kids there

#PhilandoCastile's mother speaks at service to remember him at the school where he worked pic.twitter.com/JwLgliCPy3  bengarvin (@bengarvin) July 7, 2016

Some of those children - along with their parents and other members of the community - gathered in a vigil at the school Thursday evening, beneath ominous grey clouds.

Speaking to the crowd, Castile's mother, Valerie, said: 'Our nation is in trouble. Our black children are on the endangered species list. Believe it or not, we are.

'They've been trying to kill us from a long time ago. So we need to stick together.'

She thanked the crowd for gathering, noting that not everyone knew her son, but if they had, 'you would have loved him'.

Children in the crowd stooped to write white placards telling how 'Mr Phil' had helped them.

'Phil took time to help a kid with a disability get from breakfast to class - regularly' said one boy's sign.

'Phil gave me a hug when I was feeling down,' a little girl wrote.

'He loved those kids so much,' teacher Anna Garnaas said at a vigil for Castile outside the school Thursday evening. 'And he will be so missed, by the people who got to work with him every day.'

Missed: Castile (left and right) helped kids learn about respect and not stealing, one colleague said, adding that he was 'as much a teacher' as anyone else at the school

"That officer was jittery from the time he pulled us over to the time he pulled the trigger." #PhilandoCastile pic.twitter.com/osnAFB1g0l  Laura Yuen (@laura_yuen) July 7, 2016

Another man who spoke to the crowd said Castile 'was one of the good guys... I watched him calm children down. Someone raised this man right.'

Castile's girlfriend Reynolds was also in attendance, giving out a warning: 'I'd like to say to everybody tonight that our police are not here to protect us and they are not here to serve us.

'Our police have personal problems and they are out here killing off our black men, assassinating our black men, and taking them away.'

After the gathering, a portion of the group left to march through the streets, holding signs demanding justice for the victim.

'Philando took care of our kids,' one woman's sign wrote. 'Why didn't we take care of him?'

Justice: The marchers held signs reading 'Shame' and 'Justice for Philando.' At the vigil, children had held signs saying what 'Mr Phil' had done for them - such as helping a disabled boy get breakfast regularly

Other people spoke of the impact Castile had on their lives Thursday.

Donn O'Malley, chair of the JJ Hill Parent Teacher Organization, told NBC News: 'When I saw the news this morning and told my children about it, they were sad, confused and immediately started sharing with me how great Phil was.'

'He was a fixture,' Andrew Karre, whose eight-year-old son attends the school, told TIME. 'I was always happy to see him around school. The cafeteria was a pretty happy place. He was part of the community and an important one.

'He was just a nice, caring person who worked at the school, who should not be dead.'

Other colleagues of Castile's described him as a team player who got along well with everyone.

'We're all just so surprised,' said teacher Amy Hinrichs, who said she spoke with Castile every day when he came in at 6:30am to set up the school's breakfast.

'A real guy': Castile's former boss, Katherine Holmquist-Burks, said that he was 'a gentle soul' who made 'a real contribution,' and a person who 'mattered'

'He was the calmest, nicest man. He was generous, kind. He remembered all the kids' allergies. He was never a complainer.'

Edman agreed: 'This was a real guy. He made a real contribution. Yes, black lives matter. But this man mattered.'

Castile graduated from Central High School in St. Paul in 2001 and joined the school district's Nutrition Services Department when he was 19. He worked at two schools before getting his promotion at JJ Hill in 2014.

Holmquist-Burks, who retired last week, said Castile loved his job and never missed work or drew a complaint.

He helped 'create a warm, welcoming friendly environment in our cafeteria,' she said.

According to Reynolds, Castile's girlfriend, said he was shot by an Asian police officer after he reached for his ID and license. He had a permit to carry a firearm and had informed the officer of that fact, she said.

Castile got a license to carry a firearm 'for safety,' said his cousin, Dewanda Harris, 52.

Harris, of Glendale, Arizona, said she watched Castile grow up in St. Paul alongside her son, who was about the same age.

Of the gun, she said: 'I discussed it with my son and he began to tell me about them going to the gun range. All of them got licenses to carry,' Harris said of Castile and other family members.

'All of them do. They got it to protect themselves.'

Harris said Castile would not have posed a threat.

'I know he was doing the right thing. Phil was a good kid. I'm stunned by this,' she said.
On the eve of the 125th anniversary of the start of construction on the Baroness Erlanger Hospital, Erlanger Health System welcomed a visit from Rebecca dErlanger, the great-great-great granddaughter of the Baron Frederic Emile dErlanger. Baron dErlanger presented the city of Chattanooga with $5,000 to establish the citys first hospital, and the cornerstone ceremony was held on Aug. 20, 1891.Ms. d'Erlanger, known as Becky to friends and family, traveled across the pond last month to serve as a volunteer at Erlanger for two weeks. At age 21, Ms. d'Erlanger is a student at University of Exeter in England. She is a biology major who is interested in a pursuing a medical career.During her time at Erlanger, she has shadowed several physicians, observed some surgical procedures, and has explored the health system that bears her familys name.It is amazing that my great-great-great grandfathers gift of $5,000 to start a hospital in Chattanooga has made such a big impact over the last 125 years, Ms. d'Erlanger said.
Next PM will be a woman as Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom take top slots

Britain's next prime minister will be a woman, after Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom took the top two slots in a crucial vote of Conservative MPs.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove was eliminated from the contest to succeed David Cameron as Tory leader, taking just 46 votes in the second-round ballot at Westminster.

Home Secretary Mrs May, who remains in pole position with 199 votes - well over half of the 330 Conservative MPs - said her victory showed she could "unite our party and our country".

Conservative leadership contender Andrea Leadsom gives a speech on the economy at Millbank Tower

Energy minister Mrs Leadsom, whose leadership ambitions were boosted after playing a major role in the Brexit campaign, won the backing of 84 of her fellow MPs.

But the final decision on which of them will become the UK's second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher, will be made by Conservative Party members in a postal ballot due to end on September 9.

Mrs May said: "This vote shows that the Conservative Party can come together - and under my leadership it will.

"I have said all along that this election needs to be a proper contest. And now it is time for me - and my team - to put my case to the Conservative Party membership.

"That case comes down to three things. Because we need strong, proven leadership to negotiate the best deal for Britain as we leave the European Union, to unite our party and our country, and to make Britain a country that works not for a privileged few but for every one of us.

"Those are the things my colleagues have voted for in overwhelming numbers today, and I am confident they will win the support of our members - and the support of the country as a whole."

Mr Gove, who won the backing of two fewer MPs than in the first round of voting, said he was "naturally disappointed" that his leadership bid had failed but welcomed the fact that the next PM would be a woman.

He said: " Whoever the next prime minister of this country will be, it will be a female prime minister and a female prime minister who has formidable skills and I know whichever one of the two wins they will lead this country well."

While Mrs May enjoys a clear advantage among Tories at Westminster, she will be acutely aware that Mrs Leadsom could attract votes from Eurosceptic activists who want a "Brexit prime minister" to oversee withdrawal negotiations.

Although signed up to the Remain camp, Mrs May maintained a low profile during the referendum, and sought to neutralise the issue as she launched her leadership bid by making clear she would not seek to overturn the result and declaring: "Brexit is Brexit."

In a speech outside Parliament after the ballot, Mrs May insisted she had won support from MPs from across the party "left and right, leavers and remainers".

The new prime minister will be chosen by an electorate of around 150,000 Conservative Party members.

Mrs Leadsom's campaign chief Tim Loughton said the run-off represented a "quirky" choice for the Tories.

"They both went to state schools, they are both women, hey, that's pretty quirky for the Tory party. Isn't this the new sort of Tory party?"

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who is backing Mrs Leadsom, said she had "real steel" but within the "velvet glove of compassion".

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament he said: "I think Andrea Leadsom is fantastically qualified for the job."

He added: "Today we have two strong women candidates going to the country, we will have a woman prime minister.

"It says to women all over the country 'you can get to the top'."

Mr Gove's support fell by two from his first-round performance, despite an effort to persuade supporters of Mrs May to lend him their votes in order to block Mrs Leadsom's progress.

On Tuesday Mr Gove won the support of 48 MPs but on Wednesday his campaign manager Nick Boles was forced to apologise after it emerged he had been encouraging tactical voting because he was "seriously frightened" about Mrs Leadsom getting on to the ballot.

Meanwhile, Mrs Leadsom - who has faced questions about Ukip support for her leadership bid - was given the backing of the party's outgoing leader Nigel Farage.

He tweeted: "Congratulations to @andrealeadsom. Important the next Prime Minister is a Brexiteer - she has my backing."

When she launched her campaign Mrs Leadsom insisted she had "no allegiance" to Ukip as she said the Brexit negotiating team would come from within the Government.

Boris Johnson, whose own hopes of the leadership were effectively torpedoed by Mr Gove's late entry into the race, is backing Mrs Leadsom.
Campaigners seek judicial review over council's fracking decision

Anti-fracking campaigners have applied for judicial review of a council's decision to allow the controversial gas extraction technique beneath North Yorkshire.

Councillors on North Yorkshire County Council's planning committee voted seven to four in May to give the green light to the first fracking operation in the UK for five years on a site just outside the village of Kirby Misperton, near Pickering.

The controversial decision was condemned as a travesty by those opposed to the move, but a "victory for pragmatism" by those in favour.

Developers were given permission to frack for shale gas using an existing two-mile deep well - called KM8 - drilled in 2013 (pictured) (Third Energy/PA)

Now Friends of the Earth (FoE) and members of local residents' group Frack Free Ryedale have applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the councillor's decision.

FoE said it would argue the decision was unlawful because the councillors did not properly assess climate change as they did not consider the environmental impact of burning gas extracted to create electricity at a nearby power station.

It said it would also argue that the council failed to secure long-term financial protection against environmental damage.

FoE Yorkshire and Humber campaigner Simon Bowens said: " Shale gas is a dirty fossil fuel and it is the responsibility of North Yorkshire County Council to require a full assessment of the impact this fracking application would have on the climate.

"They failed to do that, and this is why we believe the courts need to consider the way that this decision was arrived at by seven councillors in May."

Retired chartered surveyor David Davis, from Frack Free Ryedale, said: "Concerned local residents have spent many hours considering the application, submitting evidence and raising their concerns in front of the planning committee.

"Despite all this, the county council have let the people of North Yorkshire down by failing to address these crucial factors."

"Our only recourse is to challenge this decision in the courts and hope that justice will be served."

The decision in May permitted the firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas using an existing two-mile deep well - called KM8 - drilled in 2013.

The fracking application is the first to be approved in the UK since 2011, when tests on the Fylde coast, in Lancashire, were found to have been the probable cause of minor earthquakes in the area.
Tony Blair tells of 'regret' over WMD data but backs decision to oust Saddam

Tony Blair has expressed "regret" that he did not challenge intelligence about Saddam Hussein's supposed weapons of mass destruction but insisted he still believed he was right to overthrow the Iraqi dictator.

After the Chilcot report strongly criticised the way the former prime minister took the country to war in 2003 on the basis of "flawed" intelligence with inadequate preparation, he said the world would be in a "worse position" if Saddam remained in power.

"I can regret the mistakes and I can regret many things about it but I genuinely believe, not just that we acted out of good motives, and I did what I did out of good faith, but I sincerely believe that we would be in a worse position if we hadn't acted that way. I may be completely wrong about that," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

Tony Blair at his press conference at Admiralty House, London, where he responded to the Chilcot report

"I understand that people still disagree but at least do me the respect - as I respect your position - of reading my argument.

"If all of these debates are conducted around character and good faith, if you are not careful you end up a casualty of a debate that is all about that type of invective, you are then unable to have a proper debate about the difficulty of dealing with this issue."

Mr Blair said that despite the "terrible consequences" of the invasion - which saw Iraq plunged into a bloody sectarian civil war - the British-US military intervention had not been in vain.

"There may be people who believe that until I say I took the wrong decision, I am not properly sorry. I understand that. But I don't think this struggle was in vain in the end," he said..

"What we did in removing Saddam had terrible consequences which we didn't foresee - and I understand all the criticisms - but when I look at it today I think still that we moved with where the grain of the future is going to be in these countries and this region."

He denied that he had not challenged the intelligence reports more rigorously because he wanted to believe what they were telling him about Saddam's supposed WMD in order to justify going to war.

"I relied on the assessments that were given to me, but I think its fair to say - certainly given our experience - it would have been far better to have challenged them more clearly," he said.

"It wasn't that I wanted to believe it. I did believe it and one of the reasons for that was because Saddam Hussein had used these weapons against his own people."

Mr Blair said he accepted the report's finding that it would have been better if the cabinet had been given attorney general Lord Goldsmith's written advice on the legality of the conflict rather than having to rely on an oral briefing.

He added however: "I personally don't know what difference that would have made since he was there around the table".

Following strong criticisms in the report about the inadequacy of the military equipment - such as the lightly protected Snatch Land Rovers - Mr Blair insisted the generals had had all the resources they asked for.

"I don't recall a single occasion on which we were asked for more resources, more equipment that we didn't say 'yes'. I can't be in charge of the actual equipment that is needed," he said.

"Right at the outset, what I said - and Gordon Brown said the same - is 'There is no resource limitation. If you tell us what you need you will have the resources'. But obviously I can't say what is the right type of equipment to use on the battlefield."

Following the publication of the bombshell report, Mr Blair has been put on notice by families of dead servicemen that he may face legal action over what flowed from his decision eight months before the invasion to tell US president George Bush "I will be with you whatever".

Meanwhile, shadow Commons leader Paul Flynn said the Iraq Inquiry's findings amounted to an "utter condemnation" of Mr Blair's "terrible" decision to commit British troops to the US-led invasion, and prosecution of the former statesman should be given "serious consideration".

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said he would like to see Mr Blair investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime of aggression and face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

The long-delayed Chilcot Report insisted Saddam posed "no imminent threat" at the time of the invasion, and the war was unleashed on the basis of "flawed" intelligence.

And in a withering assessment of its aftermath, the probe found the military intervention ended six years later "a very long way from success", with the "humiliating" spectacle of UK troops in Basra making deals with local militia who had been attacking them.

Britain's ambassador to the UN at the time of the invasion has said the UK was "pushed" into entering military action too early by the US.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock told the BBC that Mr Blair had wanted a UN resolution backing military intervention in Iraq, but senior US officials thought it was a "waste of time".

"I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early," he said.

The US State Department said it would not respond to the report's findings as its focus is on tackling the issues present in the Middle East today.

"We are not interested in re-litigating the decisions that lead to the Iraq war in 2003 ... we are not going to go through it [the report], we are not going to examine it, we are not going to try to make an analysis of it or make judgment of the findings one way or another. Our focus is on the challenges we have in Iraq and Syria right now," a spokesman said.

"I believe that UK officials are taking it seriously and I am going to let them speak to it ... but that's where our focus is right now, not on doing the forensics on decisions that were made 13 years ago."

Giving evidence to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that changes to decision-making processes introduced under David Cameron made it less likely that the shortcomings identified by the Chilcot Report would be repeated.

He cited Mr Cameron's creation of the National Security Council, in which military and intelligence chiefs can speak directly to political leaders.

"It is most unlikely that the same kind of failures could occur, given the structures we now have in place," said the Foreign Secretary.

Mr Hammond resisted pressure from Conservative MP John Baron - a long-standing critic of the Iraq War - to declare on behalf of the Government that the military action had been a mistake.

The Foreign Secretary said: "The key lesson I draw from (the Chilcot Report) is about failures of process all the way down the line.

"These are lessons we can very clearly draw and take corrective action to ensure these kinds of failure of process can't happen in the future."

Mr Hammond told the committee it was now widely accepted that it was a mistake to remove members of Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party from positions of power and responsibility following the conflict. Many Ba'athist military officers were now in senior positions within the fighting forces of the Islamic State terror group, he pointed out.

As a result of the experience in Iraq, international powers were approaching the issue of reconstructing Syria after its current civil war with "an appropriate degree of humility", he said.

"Maybe it was too great an ambition to try to simply dismantle a quite sophisticated country with a long-established civilisation, traditions and cultures of its own and recreate a sort of mid-Atlantic construct of what governance should look like, often going against the grain of local culture and local tradition," said Mr Hammond.

"What is being said about Syria by everybody is that we need to approach the post-conflict situation in Syria with a much greater degree of realism, recognising the limits of what is achievable, seeking to move Syria in the right direction.

"But I think nobody really thinks that in one bound we should turn Syria into a European-style democracy overnight. That's not a realistic or perhaps even a desirable outcome.

"Where we should focus our attention is on trying to create a Syria post-conflict that has a government acceptable to the overwhelming majority of its population."
Prince George loves a day at the museum, Kate reveals

Prince George loves to visit the Natural History Museum, the Duchess of Cambridge has revealed.

Kate said her son especially likes the 3D sculptures at the London museum, which is a short drive away from their official residence, Kensington Palace.

George, who will celebrate his third birthday later this month, has been spotted at the museum previously, admiring the dinosaurs on display.

The Duchess of Cambridge announces the winner of the Art Fund Museum of the Year 2016 award

Kate spoke about her son as she met guests at the Art Fund Museum of the Year Award, where she presented the Victoria and Albert Museum with the top prize.

Nicky Wilson, of Jupiter Artland, West Lothian - one of the five finalists - said she was delighted to meet Kate, who told her Prince George has enjoyed a number of visits to the museum.

Ms Wilson said: "She said he comes here quite often. He loves the 3D sculptures."

The famous Diplodocus dinosaur, Dippy, formed the striking centrepiece for guests at the event, as they dined in Hintze Hall at tables set around the skeleton, which was illuminated in red.

Kate, who is patron of the Natural History Museum, wore a cream off-the-shoulder mesh-panelled dress by Barbara Casasola, with strappy sandals, a sparkly clutch bag and had her hair in loose waves.

Addressing guests after dinner, Kate said it was "wonderful to celebrate the incredible array" of what British museums have to offer.

The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art, and in the last five years has given 34 million to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections.

The 100,000 Museum of the Year Award, the largest museum prize in the world, is given annually to one outstanding museum which has shown exceptional imagination, innovation and achievement.

The other three organisations on the shortlist for 2016 were: Arnolfini, Bristol; Bethlem Museum of the Mind, London; and the York Art Gallery, Yorkshire.
England captain Alastair Cook: There were times when I thought I'd step down

Alastair Cook admits he has come close to resigning as England captain on several occasions.

Cook took over from Andrew Strauss as Test skipper in 2012 and has enjoyed plenty of success both in a team and individual capacity during his time at the helm.

However, there have been some tough times as well, not least England's 5-0 whitewash defeat in Australia in 2013/14, and the 31-year-old has revealed he almost quit the post more than once.

Alastair Cook has pondered quitting the England captaincy more than once

"I've lived on the edge for quite a number of years as captain in terms of wanting to jack it in and questions about the job," Cook, who recently became the first England player to pass 10,000 Test runs, told The Sun.

"There were times when I thought I'd go, for sure.

"I spoke to my wife, Alice, about packing it in. I'd rather not say exactly when but I've got them written down."

One occasion when Cook had resolved to step down was last year, deciding during the series against New Zealand that he would call time on the captaincy following the visit of Australia later in the summer.

But he changed his mind after winning the opening two Tests en route to a 3-2 Ashes series triumph.

The opening batsman said: " I don't like talking about it because you end up doubting yourself. But, yes, I was very close to going at the end of the Ashes last year.

"But we won two Tests in 10 days at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge and I woke up the next day and thought 'This side has so much potential and I still want to be part of it'."

Looking ahead, Cook would like to lead England to Ashes victory on Australian soil in 2017/18, but is well aware things could change before then.
Siblings aged two and three killed in loch car plunge

A young brother and sister who died when the car they were travelling in plunged into a remote Scottish loch have been named by police.

A major rescue operation was launched when the vehicle carrying the youngsters fell into Loch nan Druimnean, north of the Argyll and Bute village of Kilmelford, at around 4pm on Wednesday.

Police Scotland confirmed the names of the children as sister and brother Leia McCorrisken, three, and two-year-old Seth McCorrisken.

Leia and Seth McCorrisken died when the car they were travelling in plunged into a loch on Wednesday afternoon (Police Scotland/PA Wire)

Police have not yet revealed where the children are from. Their relatives have been informed.

A force spokesman said: "Inquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal."

Passers-by raised the alarm after reporting that a car with people inside had fallen into the loch.

Police, fire, ambulance and coastguard teams were all sent to the scene following the incident, which led to the temporary closure of the A816 road.

A coastguard helicopter and police dive teams scoured the loch as the emergency response unfolded.

The bodies of the children were later recovered from the water.

A 36-year-old woman was taken to hospital in the nearby town of Oban and released after treatment.

The car was recovered from the scene during the early hours of Thursday.

Argyll and Bute SNP MSP Mike Russell said the incident has shaken the local community.

He told Press Association Scotland: "I think everybody is just completely stunned. It is a horrific thing to have happened, nothing worse could be imagined for a family.

"I think there's a general sense of shock both in the local community and more widely in Argyll.

"It is a bad piece of road, it's a difficult piece of road, and the weather was very bad yesterday.

"I do think that people are looking at this and saying it's a terrible, terrible thing to happen and looking at the conditions and wondering whether they were contributing.

"But we don't know any more and I think we should obviously wait to hear what the police have to say."

Nigel Mitchell, chair of Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council, said he has known of at least four fatalities on that stretch of road in the 10 years he has lived in the area.

He told Press Association Scotland: "It is a sad incident and I send my condolences to the family. It is a road that is known for accidents."

One local woman, who has lived in the area for many years but did not want to be named, said: "It is a very winding road and there is no barrier at that point, which I think is a big mistake.

"We see barriers erected in much less dangerous situations throughout Argyll and Bute and it seems very odd that there isn't a barrier at that point.

"I know exactly where it happened and it is dangerous. Barriers, to my mind, would hopefully stop a car actually going into the water."

One man, who lives in the area and asked not to be identified, said he has had concerns about that stretch of road in the past.

He said: "It's a terrible tragedy. It has been talked about for years that it's a dangerous bit of road."

Witness Samantha Leiper, 20, told STV News she saw a woman in tears at the roadside following the crash.

''There were at least 20 cars in front of me at a standstill and the woman at the side of the road was crowded by people trying to comfort her.

''There were tyre and mud marks on both sides of the road. The loch is really close to the road. It is a sharp bend you go round - there's four or five corners all together at that part.''

Inspector Darren Faulds said: ''Two young children have lost their lives and our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of those involved in this tragic incident."

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the divisional road policing unit at Campbeltown on 101.

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesman said: "Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are ongoing."

Roddy McCuish, chair of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee, said: "On behalf of the local community, our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with everyone affected by this very tragic situation.

"It is important also to recognise the work of the emergency services, volunteers and everyone else who has been involved in the response. They have worked tirelessly in very difficult and incredibly sad circumstances."
Man admits murdering shopkeeper Asad Shah for 'disrespecting Prophet Muhammad'

A Muslim taxi driver has admitted murdering a shopkeeper who claimed to be a prophet in messages he posted on social media.

Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Yorkshire to Glasgow and confronted Asad Shah at his store counter before pulling out a knife and stabbing the 40-year-old.

Ahmed, who did not know the shopkeeper, claimed to have been offended by clips Mr Shah posted online which the Bradford father-of-three said "disrespected the Prophet Muhammad".

Asad Shah was murdered at his shop in Shawlands, Glasgow

Popular businessman Mr Shah, described as a "pillar of the community", suffered multiple wounds in the attack at his store in the Shawlands area of the city on March 24.

CCTV footage of the murder was shown to Lady Rae at the High Court in Glasgow, who condemned the "despicable" crime.

The judge told Ahmed: "There's no justification whatsoever for what you did.''

The court heard he watched an interview with Mr Shah on his mobile phone as he travelled to Glasgow and was heard in a phone message to say "listen to this guy, something needs to be done, it needs nipped in the bud".

When he arrived at the shop, Ahmed said he warned the shopkeeper he was there to kill him and asked him to stop claiming to be a prophet.

Mr Shah's brother, who is a personal trainer, and a shop assistant tried to fend Ahmed off as he launched his attack.

The killer, who was not found to suffer from any mental disorder, said afterwards: "If I had not done this others would have and there would be more killings and violence in the world."

Members of Mr Shah's family, who moved from Pakistan to Scotland in the 1990s to escape persecution, did not attend the court hearing due to fears for their personal safety.

They belong to the Ahmadi sect of Islam whose beliefs differ from the majority of Muslims, prosecutors said.

The court heard their belief that Prophet Muhammad was not the final prophet was a view many consider blasphemous.

Police examined messages and clips posted by Mr Shah on Facebook and YouTube "and there appears to be little doubt that he was claiming to be a messenger of God and a prophet", the Crown said.

Ahmed said he was not motivated by malice towards Ahmadi Muslims as a group, but by his offence at Mr Shah's comments.

However, a victim statement from the shopkeeper's family - his wife, parents and six siblings - said they could no longer live normal lives and some intend to leave Scotland.

His parents said: "We brought our children to this country to seek refuge from Pakistan in 1991 fleeing persecution, religious hatred, discrimination and a danger to our lives because we were Ahmadis.

"We never thought that we could be in danger here.

"We feel imprisoned by our pain and suffering and we have little hope of ever having a normal life again.

"Most of the family, unable to live with this turmoil, pain and fear, has taken a decision to leave Scotland forever."

Ahmed will return to court for sentencing on August 9.

Police Scotland said crimes of this type are rare in the country's diverse communities which typically enjoy a "proud tradition of unity, tolerance and understanding".

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said: "Asad Shah was a peaceful family man, a hard-working businessman and well-loved member of the Glasgow community.

"His death in such terrible circumstances impacted on those closest to him as well as communities throughout the country.

"There is a consensus across all of our communities that there is no place in Scotland for religious or cultural intolerance which generates crimes of hatred, intimidation or violence.

"Religious or cultural beliefs, no matter how strongly held, do not entitle anyone to commit murder or acts of aggression."

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Smith added: "I would pay tribute to the witnesses who spoke of the events of that night. A number of them went to Mr Shah's assistance but the swift and ferocious nature of the attack meant there was little they could do to save him.
Tata Steel explores feasibility of joint venture in preliminary talks

Tata Steel has entered into discussions with strategic players in the steel industry to explore the feasibility of collaborations through a potential joint venture, the company has announced.

The talks are at a preliminary stage and Tata said there can be no certainty of a transaction.

The Community union said the move continued uncertainty for thousands of steelworkers and their families.

Tata said there was no certainty of a transaction

Tata said there had been seven expressions of interest in buying its business after it announced in March it was selling its loss making UK assets.

The bids have been fully considered and reviewed in the light of "uncertainties" caused by Brexit.

The board, meeting in Mumbai, said it had decided to look at "alternative and more sustainable" solutions.

Discussions have started with companies including German firm thyssenkrupp to explore a potential joint venture.

Koushik Chatterjee, Tata's group executive director said: "We have initiated conversations for a strategic collaboration for our European business. A potential strategic combination of strip products businesses offers the best prospects to create a premium, world-class strip steel business with the scale and scope of capabilities to compete successfully on the global stage.

"It is too early to give any assurances about the success of these talks.

"Such success, especially the inclusion of the UK business in the potential joint venture, would depend on several issues including finding a suitable outcome for the British Steel Pension Scheme, successful discussions with the UK trade unions and the delivery of policy initiatives and other support from the Governments of the UK and Wales.

"These are necessary for realising a sustainable business in the UK.

"The management team and the employees of the company are also continuing to improve the underlying performance of our European business which is very encouraging.

"We continue to be actively engaged with both the UK and the Welsh Governments, the trade unions and the Pension Trustees."

Mr Chatterjee said Tata will begin separate processes for the potential sale of the South Yorkshire-based Speciality Steels business and the Hartlepool pipe mills (other than the 20-inch Tube Mill) .

Both of these operations are largely independent of the strip products supply chain.

Tata has already received interest from several bidders for Speciality Steels and the pipe mills.

Hans Fischer, chief executive officer of Tata Steel Europe, said : "This is a welcome development, not just for Tata Steel but also for the European steel sector more broadly.

"Although there's much work still to be done on any strategic collaboration I'm confident that the direction is the right one - towards higher performance and capability to serve customers.

"We will continue to communicate with our employees and inform and consult both works councils and trade unions as these discussions develop."

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, said: "The current status of the sales process is unclear and this will be frustrating for our members, and perhaps even the bidders.

"This new approach means that uncertainty will continue for thousands of steelworkers and their families.

"It seems Tata believe this is in the best interests of sustaining steelmaking in Port Talbot and its downstream operations but the test will come in the next steps that Tata takes and how the dialogue with thyssenkrupp progresses.

"There have been reports of talks between thyssenkrupp and Tata for some time, so now Tata should come clean about their intentions.

"Tata must also recognise the level of frustration, even anger, among the workforce over these delays and uncertainty. It is vital that they work with Community to reassure and protect the greatest asset to the business - its people."

Mr Rickhuss said the announcement brings closer testing the commitments the Government has made to steelworkers in recent months.

"The Government claims that it is business as usual following the shock referendum result, but now they need to prove that is the case by turning their words into action.

"Community has stressed to both government and Tata that finding a solution to the British Steel Pension Scheme has to be a priority. We do not consider the Pension Protection Fund to be an adequate option.

"The Government needs to help calm the fears of thousands of steelworkers in the months ahead.

"Ministers have spoken of continuing steel making in Port Talbot's blast furnaces.

"They have also insisted that a country that manufactures must have a steel industry. Now they must deliver on those promises they have made to steelworkers and their communities."

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said: "The past few months have been a very uncertain time for Tata UK steel workers, particularly at Port Talbot. So Tata's news today that they intend to explore strategic alternatives including a possible joint-venture with thyssenkrupp is encouraging, as is the fact that they have decided to separately sell their speciality steel and pipe businesses in Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Hartlepool. It is imperative that momentum is maintained to provide much needed security for workers and the wider supply chain.

"I met with Tata's global chairman Cyrus Mistry today and underlined that the Government remains committed to doing all it can and that our package of commercial support still stands. We will continue to work closely with Tata to find a long-term solution for sustainable blast furnace steel manufacturing in Port Talbot."

Unite national officer Harish Patel said: "It has been a desperately uncertain time for steelworkers and their families, who will no doubt have many questions about what this announcement means for them and their industry.

"Workers in Tata Steel's strips business which includes Port Talbot will want to know precisely what the steelmaker's long-term plans are, while those in the speciality and tubes division will want the assurance that Tata will sell to a responsible buyer.

"Over the coming days, Unite will be holding Tata to its promise to be a responsible seller and seek to engage positively with prospective buyers of its speciality steel and tubes business.

"Unite will also be pressing Tata Steel for cast iron guarantees over its intentions for Port Talbot and its strips business. The rollercoaster of uncertainty the world class workforce has been on must end.

"With talk of a tie up with thyssenkrupp, this announcement cannot result in the managed decline of Port Talbot while capacity is shipped elsewhere. With the right support and right investment steelmaking in Port Talbot and across Tata's strips business can be profitable and sustainable."

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "The UK Government is determined to secure a long-term future for steelmaking in South Wales and I am doing everything I can to help the thousands of people who rely on the Port Talbot plant for their livelihoods.

"Today's announcement of a joint venture is encouraging and I will continue working closely with Tata to secure the best possible deal for the hard-working men and women in Wales who help make British steel the best in the world."

Dave Hulse, national officer of the GMB said: "We are pleased that Tata Steel has reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing the best prospects for the steel industry and are continuing to develop a sustainable transformation plan for its UK businesses across all Tata Steel sites.

"The steel unions will continue to hold both the Government and Tata Steel to account over the commitments made by the Prime Minister and his Government both in face-to-face meetings with steel workers and also Tata Steel committing to be a responsible seller."

A spokesman for Liberty House said: "This is sad and frustrating news for the UK steel industry because the sector needs a fresh start and we fear this decision will simply deliver more uncertainty over a longer period.

"From our own point of view it's disappointing that, in the short term, we will not be able to apply our Greensteel strategy on the scale which would have truly evolved and transformed Britain's steel and engineering sector.

"We will continue to pursue our Greensteel vision to deliver an integrated value-added steel business that is both financially strong and built from renewable sources of energy and steel.

"In the short term we will continue discussions with Tata about the acquisition of a number of important assets that fit well with our strategy.

"We would like to thank those who have supported us internally and externally in this long and demanding process and look forward to working with many of them in taking our business forward."

Jon Trickett, shadow business secretary, said: "Today's announcement by Tata Steel does not yet deal with the concerns raised by unions at the Port Talbot works, and local communities potentially affected by plant closures and sales.

"Workers and communities need a cast-iron guarantee that jobs will not be threatened as a result of change of ownership but the prospect of significant cost-saving raises the spectre of further job losses in a vital national industry.

"In addition, the security of the steelworkers' pension fund should not be used as a bargaining chip between competing potential buyers and steelworkers should not be expected to in effect subsidise a sale by taking a cut to their own pension savings.
Liz Truss seeks legislation to protect British food status

Environment Secretary Liz Truss wants to use British law to protect food and drink from across the country after Brexit.

The Cabinet minister told MPs that she is keen to develop "British protected food name status" as a replacement for the EU scheme currently in operation.

Cornish clotted cream, Welsh beef and Melton Mowbray pork pies are among the British produce which enjoyed protected status under EU law to guarantee place of origin and authenticity.

Pork pies are just some of the UK foods which enjoy protected status

The Cornish Pasty Association and Prime Minister David Cameron were among those backing Britain remaining in the EU in order to ensure regional products continued to receive protection across the continent.

Speaking in the Commons, SNP MP Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) told Ms Truss: " One of the items on the Great British food website is the promotion of the EU protected food names scheme, which mentions that 73 products in the UK are protected under the EU scheme.

"What are you going to put in place to protect that scheme once the UK Government drags us out of the EU?"

Ms Truss replied: "I think we're up to 74 protected food names now, maybe it's not been updated on the website.

"What I'd say is I think this is an extremely important issue.

"It's one of the issues we're working on at the moment, but I'd like to see a British protected food name status that we develop in the future."

Ms Truss earlier explained her ongoing work to promote British produce, including "classic gin and tonic".

Tory MP Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) joked: "Sounds good to me, secretary of state - a bit early for me personally."

In her reply, Ms Truss said: "It's never too early for a gin and tonic in my opinion."

She also told Mr Evans: "Now the British people have made the decision to leave the EU, the Great British food unit is even more important.
Get tested, urges Harry, in HIV/Aids awareness drive

Prince Harry has passionately pleaded for people who may have HIV/Aids to get tested as he continued his bid to reignite awareness of the virus.

He revealed his main aim was to "reduce stigma" as he chatted with research experts and frontline staff at King's College Hospital in south London.

The Prince said: "Something needs to change. Some people need to be reminded that this is very much - especially in London now that the numbers are going up - this is very much an issue that a lot of people look at.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion with HIV doctors at King's College Hospital

"I'm not trying to scare people but ... they have a responsibility - with a relationship or with people that you love - that actually you owe it to yourself and you owe it to them just to get tested.

"It is such a simple thing to do," he added.

He asked how many people living with HIV/Aids had not told their partner about their diagnosis, to which the hospital staff collectively replied "Loads."

Staff added that there was a very small risk of the virus being passed on once treatment was under way.

Harry also asked what, if he was an "average Joe, member of the public", he should do if he wanted to get tested.

The group told him people should search SH24 - Sexual Health 24 Hours - on Google.

In August the hospital will be rolling out HIV testing to all patients, who will be able to opt out, in an attempt to normalise it.

The Prince was shown a "Keep calm and test for HIV" badge and joked: "There's nothing that 'Keep Calm' doesn't work for", prompting laughter from the room.

Continuing, he said that, in the hierarchy of medical tests, it should be "not at the top, not at the bottom, just in the middle", gesturing with his hands to indicate how the practice could be integrated.

Harry follows in his mother's footsteps by continuing to pledge his time to raise the issue of HIV/ Aids.

Diana, Princess of Wales, was the first member of the Royal Family to have contact with a person suffering from HIV/Aids.

In the late 1980s, when many still believed the disease could be contracted through casual contact, she sat on the sickbed of a man with Aids and held his hand.

Arriving at the hospital on Thursday morning, Harry shook hands with the chief executive of King's College Hospital, Nick Moberly, before sitting down to a round-table discussion about the virus.

He was told there were about 108,000 people living with HIV in the UK, the majority of whom - 81,000 - are receiving care.

Around 24% of the total are undiagnosed, which is the UK's "biggest challenge", the Prince heard.

He was then told that there are around 6,000 diagnoses per year in the UK - with nearly half of those - 2,500 - in London.

Harry also asked the experts for their views on PrEP - a drug available in America which can prevent people at risk from developing the virus.

It is not currently licensed for use in the UK, but where it is used it "significantly reduces the risk of transmission" and is "extremely cost-effective", he was told.

Harry praised the "fantastic" HIV services in the UK, saying people in this country had the "best opportunities".

"All you can do is ask, and if you get pushed back, or whatever it is, then there's nothing more that you can really do," he said to staff as they told him about their plans to get more people tested sooner.

Comparing the situation in the West to Africa, he said: "At least if you can be here you've got these opportunities, and you've got to make the most of them."

The Prince's charity, Sentebale, helps youngsters with HIV/Aids in the impoverished southern African kingdom of Lesotho, which he has visited.

He said: "It's so frustrating one minute ... to be in Lesotho and seeing all those communities and kids really suffering out there, and then ... people from sub-Saharan Africa coming to live in London and you've got this place on their doorstep and it's just like 'Come down, have a test!'"

Over the past six months, Harry has been privately meeting HIV/Aids experts and figures from the charitable sector to further his understanding of the issue.

Later this month, he will travel to Durban in South Africa to speak at the international Aids 2016 conference, which runs from July 18 to 22.

He is also planning a meeting at a south London sexual health clinic next week, Kensington Palace said.

Frank Post, 54, a consultant physician on HIV medicine, said the global rollout of antiretroviral drugs has been "absolutely spectacular", and the progress in the UK showed an "absolute success story".

Mr Post, who has worked in the UK, America and several African countries, said there had been "tremendous progress" worldwide, with the global death rate for HIV/Aids halving in 10 years - from a peak of two million in 2005 to one million in 2015.

Prince Harry meets HIV medical specialists at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion

Prince Harry meets HIV medical specialists at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion with HIV doctors at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion with HIV doctors at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion with HIV doctors at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry meets HIV medical specialists at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.

Prince Harry takes part in a round table discussion with HIV doctors at King's College Hospital in south London as part of his desire to learn more and raise public awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS both internationally and in the UK.
The Chattanooga Music Club presents in concert Choro das 3 (Choro das Tres) in cooperation with: the city of Chattanooga, the Tivoli Foundation, Cultural Ambassadors and International Achievers and Jazzanooga.

The live concert will be held Friday, July 29, 7 p.m. at the Robert Kirk Walker Community Theatre upstairs inside the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Auditorium at 399 McCallie Ave. Tickets are $7 per person and may be purchased prior to the event on Eventbrite or $7 cash at door, exact change requested.

Choro das 3 is a family based band composed by three sisters: Corina (flutes), Lia (seven string acoustic guitar) and Elisa (mandolin, clarinet, banjo and piano) and their father Eduardo (pandeiro). They are the "1st Family" of choro music in Brazil.

The bands main style is choro, an instrumental music genre, being a from of urban Jazz that emerged in Brazil during the 19th century. With origins of traditional music, rhythms, and instruments brought over by slaves, it is akin to New Orleans jazz, ragtime, or bluegrass. The word "choro" means to "cry" or "lament" but the music is extremely upbeat characterized by virtuosity, lively improvisation and subtle modulation.

The band has performed in concerts and workshops all over Brazil, USA, Mexico and Europe, and has performed for presidents and dignitaries in Brazil.

For more info contact Buddy Shirk at 529-0315 or Christie Burns at 779-6581
UK not in position to start Brexit negotiations, says Philip Hammond

Britain is not yet in a position to start negotiations on its exit from the European Union, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said.

Following the June 23 vote in favour of Brexit, London has come under pressure from the EU institutions to kick off the process of negotiating its departure under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

But Mr Hammond told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that invoking Article 50 would set the clock ticking on a two-year deadline for the UK to quit, and it would be "unwise" to do so until the Government had decided on its negotiating position and was prepared to fight its corner.

Philip Hammond said it would be "unwise" to invoke Article 50 until the Government had decided on its negotiating position and was prepared to fight its corner

The Foreign Secretary defended the Government's decision to make no contingency plans for a Brexit vote, beyond measures to calm nerves in the financial markets in the immediate aftermath of the result.

Committee chairman Crispin Blunt said it was a "serious oversight" for the Government to leave the country uncertain for months after the referendum about what its future would be after Brexit.

Mr Hammond said he was "not sure I see the need" for contingency plans, as the new European policy would be for the next prime minister to decide after his or her election in September. Any pre-referendum planning by the civil service would have been denounced by the Leave camp as an "unwarranted intervention" in the campaign, he said.

The Foreign Secretary said: "It will be for the new prime minister to decide how best to engage with the European Union and to express to the European Union our views as a government about how we should move forward. This is an untested process. Nobody has ever done this before.

"In terms of triggering Article 50, my judgment is it wouldn't be in the best interests of the UK to trigger Article 50 immediately.

"Article 50 sets a clock ticking and I don't think at the moment, for various reasons - not least of which, we don't have the new prime minister in post - for the moment we are not in a position to begin substantive negotiations immediately and therefore it would be unwise to start the process ticking by triggering Article 50."

Mr Hammond defended the Government's refusal to guarantee long-term rights for EU citizens currently in the UK to remain, telling the committee a "unilateral" decision would undermine Britain's position in negotiations.

"I would not recommend a unilateral commitment by the British Government before we have received any reassurance of a reciprocal approach to UK nationals in other EU countries," he said.

Mr Blunt told the Foreign Secretary his position was "wholly misconceived" and called on ministers to give immediate assurances to EU nationals resident in the UK. Conservative committee member John Baron said Mr Hammond seemed to be driven by a "Project Fear in denial" attitude which prevented any optimistic view of Britain's future.

Mr Hammond said he would be ready to hold informal talks with the EU about the status of expatriates, but the European institutions had insisted that no discussions could take place until Brussels is formally notified of the intention to leave under Article 50.

"It's Brussels that has said until Article 50 is served, we can't start discussions," he said.

"If the bureaucrats in Brussels would say today we are happy to sit down and talk to the UK Government about a deal that assures the mutual rights of citizens in each other's countries, I'm sure the UK would be happy to engage in this process."

Mr Hammond said national governments in the other 27 EU member states had more understanding than the Brussels institutions of Britain's desire to delay the start of talks.

"It's easy for an official in Brussels to say on June 24, 'You've made a decision, so serve the Article 50 notice'. My political colleagues are much more sympathetic to the political circumstances we are in and understand why we don't want to proceed immediately to that."

He suggested that Britain's future diplomatic relations with Europe may rely more heavily on embassies in the 27 national capitals, rather than with Brussels, and that this will require more manpower and resources.

But he dismissed as "wildly unrealistic" Mr Blunt's suggestion that the Foreign Office's budget should be doubled or trebled to deal with the additional workload.

Mr Hammond said he expected Britain to seek a "close alignment" with the EU on common defence and security policies even after its withdrawal.

Even though the UK would not be as influential on EU policy from outside the bloc, he said he hoped it would continue to have some influence in these areas.

He also said it was possible that countries currently undertaking "tortuous" negotiations with the EU on trade agreements may find that deals can be sealed more quickly and easily with Britain on its own.

President Barack Obama famously said during the referendum campaign that the UK would be "at the back of the queue" for a free trade deal with the US if it left the EU.

But Mr Hammond told the committee that some potential trading partners "may find it easier, if less fruitful in the long run, to make a bilateral agreement with the UK".

He explained: " One would expect it would be simpler to negotiate where, on our side of the table, we only need to take into account the interests of one country."

However, he cautioned that if Britain wanted to maintain access to the European single market post-Brexit, it might have to accept some constraints on its ability to negotiate trade agreements with countries elsewhere in the world.

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde called on the UK to act quickly to end uncertainty about its future relations with Europe, warning that lengthy delay may not be geopolitically "sustainable".

Ms Lagarde told the Financial Times: "We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making."

The IMF has forecast that if the UK strikes a Norway-style deal to maintain access to the single market, its economy will be 1.5% smaller by 2019 than it would have been inside the EU. Without such a deal, the hit to growth could be 4.5%.
Serena Williams in confident mood after reaching ninth Wimbledon final

Serena Williams claims she is free of the nerves that have prevented her winning a 22nd grand slam title after the American demolished Elena Vesnina to reach her ninth Wimbledon final.

Williams inflicted the fastest thrashing in a Wimbledon singles semi-final since official records began as she swept past Vesnina 6-2 6-0 in a time officially confirmed at 48 minutes and 34 seconds.

It beats the All England Club's previous record, when her sister Venus took 51 minutes to hammer Dinara Safina in 2009, and means Serena will now face Germany's Angelique Kerber in Saturday's showpiece.

Serena Williams, pictured, made light work of Elena Vesnina at SW19 on Thursday

Kerber instigated the second of three shock defeats against the American at the Australian Open final this year, coming between Roberta Vinci's stunning US Open semi-final win in September and Garbine Muguruza's surprise French Open victory in June.

All three denied Williams equalling Steffi Graf's Open era record 22 major triumphs but the world number one has suggested she is now rid of any anxiety that may have blocked her making history.

"I feel good. I felt great in other tournaments as well but I feel a little different," Williams said.

"I just feel more relaxed and more at peace than I may have been in the past. Sometimes when you are fighting, sometimes you want something so bad, it can hinder you a little bit.

"Now I'm just a little bit more calm. I think confidence brews peace and calm in champions. I think that's how I feel."

Williams last year issued a self-imposed ban on speaking about the calendar grand slam, which was eventually spoiled by Vinci, and she gave similarly short shrift to questions about her tying with Graf.

"I don't know. My goal has never been 22," Williams said. "I don't talk about that anymore."

Kerber, who ended hopes of an all-Williams final by beating Venus 6-4 6-4 in the second match on Centre Court, will offer a far sterner test and she also has belief, after her brilliant performance in Melbourne.

Williams delivered almost twice as many winners as her opponent that day but it was the German's consistency that proved decisive, as she hit just 13 unforced errors across all three sets.

"I made a lot of errors. She made little to no unforced errors," Williams said.

"I felt like I could have played better. I felt like she played great. She came out swinging, ready to win. She was fearless. That's something I learned.

"When I go into a final, I too need to be fearless like she was. It was inspiring afterwards to realize there's a lot of things that I need to improve on."

Even at her resilient and determined best, however, it is hard to see Kerber containing Williams in this sort of form.

The six-time Wimbledon champion lost one point on her first serve in the whole match against Vesnina, produced 10 aces and fired a total of 22 winners.

Her fastest serve sailed past the Russian at 123 miles per hour, 11 mph faster than Novak Djokovic's most recent average against Sam Querrey.

John McEnroe, commentating for the BBC, said: "Serena's practice session this morning was harder than that match."

Williams was more diplomatic, saying: "It wasn't anything that was super easy. The scoreline just reflected me doing what I know I can do."

Vesnina was playing her first grand slam semi-final but the world number 50 was simply outpowered and outclassed.

She occasionally kept pace in the rallies and tried everything to turn the tide, rushing to the net, drop-shots and once even looking up to the sky in hope of some divine intervention.

Williams, however, always found an answer as a crisp forehand volley finally brought her victory, and Vesnina's humiliation, to an end.
Westminster security alert after peer receives white powder in hate mail

A security alert was sparked at Westminster after a peer received hate mail containing white powder.

The message, received by Lord Ahmed, contained racist abuse - but because of the suspicious powder, a security operation was launched which led to parts of the parliamentary estate being closed.

Lord Ahmed said that he was concerned about the incident, particularly following the killing of Labour MP Jo Cox in June.

Lord Ahmed received white powder in the post

The non-affiliated former Labour peer opened the "hate mail with some frightening stuff inside" in his office at Westminster.

"Hate mail, I have had before, but this had some white powder. At first I didn't realise how serious it could be, so I threw it in the bin and washed my hands and shook off all the powder," he said.

But then he realised the potential threat posed by the message and drew it to the attention of the parliamentary security staff.

Lord Ahmed then went to the peers' terrace overlooking the Thames when he was called by security staff who told him not to move while specialist police units investigated to see if the powder was "chemical or biological material".

He told the Press Association: "Thank God it was okay and all I can say is thank you to all the fantastic staff and Black Rod's team who acted so swiftly.

"What happened to my colleague Jo Cox, one needs to be aware that these type of things can happen."

A Lords spokesman said: " Peers car park and parts of the terrace were closed temporarily, but have now been reopened.

"The closure was put in place while a package containing a white powder was investigated by specialist police units, which is standard procedure.

"The powder was found to be non-harmful."

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "Police were called at 12.30pm to reports of a suspicious package delivered to the Houses of Parliament.
Mother weeps for son who joined migrant exodus from drought-hit Ethiopia

A heartbroken mother has been told her son is dead, lost or in prison after he joined a migrant exodus from the region of Ethiopia hardest hit by drought.

The east African country is being devastated by climate change after rains failed for more than a year, wiping out crop harvests and leaving 10.2 million people crying out for food aid.

Hagosa Girmay, who looks well beyond her 40 years, clutched her fist to her heart as she thought of the proud farmer's son who fled three years ago for a better life in Saudi Arabia.

Mary Robinson during a visit to Goal's Community Management of Acute Malnutrition programme in Ethiopia

Niguse Tesfay, now 20, has not sent a message home to their village of Asmut in the mountains of northern Tigray since he left.

"We heard different stories - that he got lost on the way, there were rumours that he died on the way," she said.

"Other people said that he survived but they couldn't keep track of him. I was even told that he is in prison in Saudi.

"The worst thing is not knowing."

The grieving mother was among hundreds of villagers who gave UN envoy and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson a traditional welcome as she witnessed the arid lands where they struggle to grow enough food to live.

Her anguish is only one among the millions who are suffering from increasingly-volatile climate shifts and the pain of migration.

Her home is among the tiny terraced farm plots in the mountains of Ingal which straddle the border with Eritrea.

A stalemate of neither war nor peace plays out along the loosely-marked divide, evidenced by a camouflaged battalion of 16 tanks stationed in nearby hills.

Ms Robinson travelled to Tigray to see first hand the life-saving work done in nutrition clinics, seed distribution centres and development projects supported by Concern, Trocaire and Goal.

Ethiopia is being compounded by the El Nino weather phenomenon in the Pacific, which radically alters rain patterns across the globe.

Ultimately Ms Robinson is to use the experience in her role as UN envoy for climate change and El Nino to urge the international community to do more to combat the deepening crisis.

Reflecting on her previous human rights role in the UN and the visit to Ethiopia, she said she had seen some of the worst inhumanity.

"The things you see, they stay in your mind," she said.

Vital rains have failed in Tigray for more than a year, leaving swathes of small farms and their thin soils bone dry and infertile.

The region was the hardest hit province in the 1984 famine.

Since March this year Ethiopia has suffered what is known as the "Hunger Season".

On top of the 10.2 million in need of aid, eight million are already being given food and nutrient parcels every month, and the money needed from the international community to prevent severe malnutrition, mass starvation and death is short by 400 million (468 million euro).

Officially only 70,000 people illegally flee Ethiopia a year, but research from 2013 put the figure at close to 50,000 for Tigray alone.

The Arab kingdom has been destination number one for years.

They flee through the port of Djibouti to Yemen and over the mountains or along the coast to Saudi, often by foot.

Ms Girmay's already fragile existence is worsened by the loss of her son.

"I am sad, but only sometimes, other times I have hope," she said through a translator.

"Sometimes I am hopeless and all I can do is cry over it and try to get it out of my system. I'm close to giving up on getting him back home.

"Sometimes I cry thinking that he's dead. There are times that I feel hopeful and I pray to God to return him. My feelings are confused."

In the past they fled conflict and hunger for the hope of work abroad.

Now they are escaping the worst drought that has hit the region in half a century.
British troops to be deployed to eastern Europe amid Nato concerns over Putin

Hundreds of British troops are to be deployed to eastern Europe as part of a show of strength by Nato in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia.

At the Nato summit in Warsaw, David Cameron will announce the deployment of a 500-strong battalion to Estonia with a further company of 150 troops to be stationed in Poland "on an enduring basis".

Britain is also to take over the leadership of the Nato Very High Readiness Joint Task (VJTF) from next year with 3,000 troops in the UK and Germany on standby to move with as little as five days notice.

David Cameron's announcement will be seen as a signal of his determination that Britain continues to play a leading role on the world stage

The move comes amid continuing concerns among the Western alliance regarding the intentions of President Vladimir Putin following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

But it will also be seen as a signal of Mr Cameron's determination that Britain should continue to play a leading role on the world stage in the wake of last month's referendum vote to leave the EU.

"This will be a summit where you will see Britain assert itself as one of the most crucial elements in the Nato alliance," one official said.

"Not only are we going to be steadfast in our support of Nato, but we are prepared to back that up with boots on the ground."

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Cameron said: "This summit is a chance for us to reiterate our strong support for Ukraine and our other Eastern allies to deter Russian aggression.

"Actions speak louder than words and the UK is proud to be taking the lead role, deploying troops across Eastern Europe. It is yet another example of the UK leading in Nato."

The Prime Minister will also use his attendance at what will be his final Nato summit to underline the importance of Britain's continuing commitment to meet the alliance target of spending 2% of GDP on defence, as it seeks to persuade more member states to match the commitment.

His intervention is likely to be seen as being aimed as much at whoever wins the Conservative leadership race to succeed him in No 10 when he stands down in September as it is his fellow Nato leaders.

"There can be no backsliding on this issue," a Government source said.

"The PM is very clear that the 2% commitment is absolutely crucial to Nato going forward."

The deployment of British troops to Estonia and Poland forms part of a wider commitment by the alliance to station four new battalions, totalling around 4,000 personnel, on its eastern flank.

Britain is also to extend the deployment of the four RAF Typhoon fighters with the Baltic Air Policing Mission - which had been due to end in August - as well as taking over the rolling 12-month leadership of the 5,000 strong VJTF from the start of next year.

The 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade will provide the land headquarters and there will be an armoured infantry battle group from the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment - with Challenger 2 tanks and Warrior armoured fighting vehicles - and a light infantry battle group from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.

The moves are intended to underline the alliance's commitment to the collective defence of all its members - including the Baltic States of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, which, like Ukraine, have significant Russian-speaking minorities as well as acting as a "trigger" in the event of any aggression.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia had tripled its defence spending since 2000 as well as having used force against an independent European nation - Ukraine.
YNAP sees core profit margin rising by 2020 as it bets on mobile

MILAN, July 6 (Reuters) - Italian online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter expects to raise its adjusted core profit margin to between 11-13 percent by 2020 from 8 percent last year as it seeks to harness the potential offered by selling via mobile devices.

In a new 2015-2020 business plan unveiled on Wednesday, the company said it sees net annual revenues rising between 17-20 percent at constant exchange rates and expects to be cash positive from 2018.

The group, born from the merger of Italy's Yoox with upmarket rival Net-A-Porter, said it remains committed to its presence in the United Kingdom and its London headquarters despite Britain's decision to leave the European Union.
Brazil police arrests nine over corruption at nuclear plant

BRASILIA, July 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police on Wednesday said it served nine arrest warrants in two states as part of a corruption investigation into a nuclear power plant in Rio de Janeiro.

Police did not disclose the names of the suspects. The probe into Eletronuclear, the nuclear power subsidiary of state-run electric utility Eletrobras, is an outgrowth of a corruption investigation over kickbacks and price-fixing at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, police said.

In a statement, police said engineering companies colluded to overcharge Eletronuclear for the construction of the Angra 3 plant near Rio de Janeiro. Angra 3 is being built by many of the same firms whose executives are on trial or in jail on charges of forming a cartel that overcharged Petrobras for work and used the excess funds to bribe executives and politicians.

Eletronuclear expects Angra 3 to start operating in December 2018, with capacity to generate up to 1,405 megawatts.
France sentences two men to life in prison for 1994 genocide in Rwanda

PARIS, July 6 (Reuters) - France on Wednesday sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the African country in 1994.

Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were tried over attacks against ethnic Tutsis in the town of Kabarondo, where they both have been mayor. They denied any wrongdoing.

Ethnic Hutu extremists killed more than 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus in a three-month rampage in 1994 while the world largely stood by.

A number of Rwandan genocide-related crimes have been tried in recent years in Rwanda and other countries. This was the second such trial in France, which can rule on such cases since parliament adopted a law that gives it universal jurisdiction over cases of crimes against humanity.

Rights groups welcomed the decision but called for faster trials in other, ongoing investigations. "We need to speed things up, it's high time, it's been 22 years," said Dafroza Gauthier from CPCR, a rights groups of Rwanda victims. "We need procedures to accelerate while there are still witnesses."

Philippe Meilhac, a lawyer for Barahira, said the accused were likely to appeal the decision.
Brazil's Rousseff gives impassioned defense against impeachment

By Maria Carolina Marcello

BRASILIA, Brazil July 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff presented her written defense to a Senate impeachment trial on Wednesday, denouncing the proceedings as a farce and saying her alleged crimes were no more than "routine acts of budgetary management."

"Everybody knows that you are judging an honest woman, a public servant dedicated to just causes," the suspended leftist leader said in a document read aloud by her lawyer and former Attorney General Jose Eduardo Cardozo. "I've honored those who voted for me."

Rousseff's removal would mark an end to 13 years of leftist rule over Latin America's largest economy by the Workers Party that began in 2003 under her mentor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Her defense made clear she is sticking to the strategy of refuting the impeachment process as a soft "coup" led by her one-time Vice President Michel Temer, a conservative who has taken over since mid-May when the Senate voted to try Rousseff.

Rousseff has repeatedly said her impeachment is an attempt by Temer and other right-leaning members of her one-time governing coalition partner, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), to remove her because she did not impede a sweeping probe of corruption at state-run oil company Petrobras .

That investigation has ensnared dozens of top politicians, including the former speaker of the lower house of Brazil's Congress, who led the impeachment campaign against Rousseff.

Rousseff herself is not directly accused of corruption. But Brazil's chief prosecutor has asked for her to be investigated for obstructing justice in the Petrobras case. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Her impeachment is technically focused on accusations that she broke fiscal laws by disguising the size of the budget deficit to make the economy look healthier in the run-up to her 2014 re-election.

Rousseff has said her budget maneuvering was no different than under previous presidents. But critics have said Rousseff borrowed far more money from state banks than her predecessors to plug budget gaps and hide the real state of Brazil's economy.

Rousseff's suspension in May had ample political support because her popularity had plunged amid Brazil's worst recession since the 1930s and public outrage over a string of corruption scandals involving her government. A recent poll showed interim President Temer is also highly unpopular.

"What most hurts right now is the injustice," Rousseff said in her written defense on Wednesday. "What hurts most is to perceive that I am the victim of a judicial and political farce."

Rousseff said she believes she is being targeted because she "never gave in to blackmail. I never accepted ... the backroom deals so well known in the traditional politics of our country."

Rousseff warned that should the Senate vote to find her guilty, as it is widely expected to do next month, her permanent removal would result in a Temer government that would shift Brazil's politics to the right without a win at the ballot box.

She said that would turn back democratic gains made during the fight against the nation's long dictatorship, during which Rousseff herself was arrested and tortured while spending three years in prison.

"A government that was not directly elected by the people will not have the legitimacy to propose solutions to our crises," Rousseff's defense read. "A government without popular support will not solve a crisis because it itself will always be the crisis."
Hamilton County Commissioners Geno Shipley and Chip Baker, thank you so much. I am so grateful to yall for restoring Mowbray Mountain back to the city of Soddy Daisy and Sale Creek District 1. The recent redistricting stripped Mowbray Mountain from District 1, and moved us to District 2. I never thought in a million years it would be possible to restore Mowbray Mountain and ... (click for more)

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)
Spanish agriculture firms file arbitration claim against Venezuela

CARACAS, July 6 (Reuters) - Spanish agriculture company Grupo Agroinsumos Ibero-americanos and associated firms have filed an arbitration case against Venezuela via a World Bank tribunal, seeking compensation for the 2010 nationalization of its operations.

Late socialist leader Hugo Chavez expropriated the firms' Venezuelan subsidiaries, which sold supplies such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides.

Agroinsumos, along with related firms Inica Latinoamericana, Proyefa Internacional and Verica Atlantica, are seeking "prompt, adequate and effective compensation" through the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID.

The companies said they were filing under a bilateral investment treaty between Spain and Venezuela signed in 1995. They did not say how much they were seeking.

An official at Venezuela's attorney general's office, which usually serves as the respondent in ICSID cases, said there was no one immediately available to comment.

Chavez in 2012 withdrew Venezuela from ICSID on accusations that the group was a front for the interest of ideological adversaries in Washington. The OPEC nation still maintains bilateral investment treaties, which are generally meant to protect foreign companies from seizure of assets.
Protests and U.S. probe after Louisiana police shoot black man

By Bryn Stole and Kathy Finn

BATON ROUGE, La., July 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing of a black man pinned to the ground and shot in the chest by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Captured on at least two videos, graphic images of the shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, early Tuesday morning stirred protests and social media outcry over the latest case of alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One of the two officers shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other removed something from Sterling's pants pocket as he was dying, according to images on a video recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy," said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store. He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.

Several hundred people gathered on Wednesday for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling was fatally shot, with speakers calling for peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of "excessive force" by police against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd, which included families with children and filled the store's parking lot as well as nearby streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Local officials rushed to defuse tensions, saying there would be an independent investigation, after media showed a separate graphic video of the shooting recorded by a bystander.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel Edwards told reporters.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and local police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said incidents like this one undermine trust between police and the communities they serve.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin," she said in a statement.

There was no immediate statement on the incident from presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"HE'S GOT A GUN"

A video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling in the store's parking lot and ordering him to get on the ground. The two officers then tackle Sterling to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at Sterling's chest.

Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells "he's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired. Three more shots are heard, then the camera shows one of the officers leaning over Sterling and taking something out of his pocket.

Police did not say how many shots were fired and declined to say whether a stun gun was used on Sterling. Muflahi said police Tasered Sterling before he was tackled.

The two police officers involved in the shooting, Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran, and Howie Lake, a three-year veteran, were both put on administrative leave, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie said at a news conference.

The officers were responding to a call regarding a black man who reportedly made threats with a gun, Dabadie said.

"When officers arrived Sterling was armed and the altercation ensued that resulted in the loss of his life," Dabadie said.

The body cameras of both officers became dislodged during the altercation, but continued recording audio and video, police said. Those and other recordings will be turned over to federal investigators, police spokesman Lieutenant Jonny Dunnam told reporters.

RAP SHEET

According to court records, Sterling had multiple criminal convictions since the mid-1990s, for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Relatives of Sterling and acquaintances from the neighborhood described him as a local fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.

Those who knew Sterling described a funny, jovial and friendly person.

Cameron Sterling, Alton's 15-year-old son, broke down crying at a news conference on Wednesday morning as his mother spoke. "He was killed unjustly and without regard for the lives he helped raise," said the mother, who did not give her name.
Egypt considers retaliating for Italy's decision to cut military supplies

CAIRO, July 6 (Reuters) - Egypt said on Wednesday it was considering retaliating against Italy for halting military supplies to protest the killing of an Italian student earlier this year.

Italy's Senate voted last week to halt supplies to Egypt of spare parts for F16 warplanes, the first commercial steps taken against Cairo since the death of Giulio Regeni.

Regeni, who was doing postgraduate research on Egyptian trade unions, was last seen by his friends on Jan. 25. His body, which showed signs of torture, was found in a roadside ditch on the outskirts of Cairo on Feb. 3.

Italy has repeatedly complained that Egyptian authorities have not cooperated to find those responsible for the 28-year-old student's death. In April, it withdrew its ambassador to Egypt for consultations.

Egypt's foreign ministry said the senate vote would hurt cooperation between the two countries.

"We regret the decision and are considering taking similar measures that affect areas of cooperation with Italy," a foreign ministry statement said.

The statement did not specify the exact measures, but it said they would "affect bilateral, regional and international cooperation between Italy and Egypt". That would include "a review of ongoing cooperation in combatting illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and dealing with the situation in Libya."

Italy was Egypt's fourth-largest trade partner in terms of both imports and exports in 2015, according to Egypt's official statistics agency, CAMPAS.
Peru's Kuczynski to try to reopen shuttered La Oroya smelter

By Mitra Taj

LIMA, July 6 (Reuters) - Peru President-elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski vowed on Wednesday to make his "strongest effort" to reopen the polymetallic smelter La Oroya, part of his goal of wringing more value out of the country's key mineral exports.

The former operator of the smelter, Doe Run Peru, owned by U.S.-based Renco Group Inc, halted operations at La Oroya in 2009 when it ran out of money to buy concentrates. The company also lacked financing needed to finish an environmental clean-up and to pay for upgrades to curb pollution.

Now controlled by Doe Run's former creditors, the smelter faces liquidation on Aug. 27 unless a new buyer is found.

"La Oroya is dying and we have to change that. We have to give it oxygen, oxygen from investors," Kuczynski said in televised comments before a crowd in the town of La Oroya, where former workers have held rallies to demand operations resume.

"You have my word that I'll make my strongest effort to push this out!" Kuczynski said to cheers. The former investment banker, 77, takes office on July 28.

Kuczynski asked La Oroya residents to march to Lima to help him press the incoming opposition-controlled Congress to extend the liquidation deadline. He did not say what he would do to make the smelter, which opened in 1922, more attractive.

Kuczynski's party will have just 18 lawmakers in the 130-member Congress, threatening his proposed reforms as the party of his defeated rival, Keiko Fujimori, will hold 73 seats.

Kuczynski wants Peru to become a refining and smelting hub to boost its copper, zinc, tin, gold and silver exports as slumping prices drag on growth. His first trip abroad as president will be to China to talk with officials about potential partnerships on refineries.

La Oroya, some 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Lima in central Peru, could process concentrates from several nearby mines, Kuczynski said. Toromocho, operated by Chinese miner Chinalco Mining Corp International, is the biggest copper deposit near the La Oroya smelter.

"When minerals are refined here, their value will go up. There's a margin of about $400 million that we can recover," Kuczynski said.
"Special K" party drug to be trialled as treatment for alcoholics

By Kate Kelland

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - British scientists are recruiting volunteers to test whether ketamine, also known as the party drug "Special K", may be helpful in reducing relapse rates among people with severe alcoholism.

After pilot studies that showed ketamine combined with psychotherapy might make detoxing alcoholics less likely to relapse, the scientists are looking for 96 volunteers with severe alcohol disorder who have been "recently abstinent".

Ketamine is a licensed medical drug, widely used as an anaesthetic and to relieve pain. But it is also used as a recreational drug and can lead some people into drug abuse.

"Ketamine is a well-tolerated drug and can help alleviate the symptoms of depression, with a pilot study suggesting that it could cut alcohol relapse rates by more than half," Celia Morgan, who will lead the research at Exeter University, said.

"This trial will allow us to examine whether ketamine, combined with therapy, can indeed help people stay abstinent from alcohol."

Half the participants will get a low-dose ketamine injection once a week for three weeks, and will also get seven 90-minute sessions of psychotherapy. A control group will get the same course of therapy, but with injections of saline solution.

Morgan's team will compare the results after six months using data collected via a device fitted to each participant's ankle that monitors alcohol intake by testing sweat.

Research in mice has shown ketamine could prompt changes in the brain that make it easier for a person to make new connections and learn new things in the short-term. The researchers hope this could make the psychotherapy sessions more effective for alcoholics.

A pilot study found that three doses of ketamine plus psychotherapy reduced average 12-month relapse rates to 34 percent from 76 percent. Scientists think ketamine's antidepressant properties may have helped.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) figures, some 3.3 million people die each year from harmful use of alcohol, and alcohol abuse contributes to more than 200 diseases and conditions caused by injury.
China warns U.S. on sovereignty ahead of South China Sea ruling

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, July 6 (Reuters) - The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, ahead of a key court ruling on China's South China Sea claims.

Speaking by telephone, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Kerry the United States should stick to its promises not to take sides in the dispute, China's foreign ministry said.

China hopes the United States "speaks and acts cautiously, and take no actions that harm China's sovereignty and security interests", the statement paraphrased Wang as saying.

Tensions and rhetoric have been rising ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.

Wang repeated China's rejection of the case, saying the court had no jurisdiction.

"The farce of the arbitration court should come to an end," he said.

Regardless of its ruling, China will "resolutely safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and legitimate maritime rights and firmly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea", Wang added.

China frequently blames the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, where its territorial claims overlap in parts with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

China has accused the United States of militarising the waterway with freedom of navigation patrols, while Washington has expressed concern about China's building of military facilities on islands it controls in the South China Sea.

U.S. officials say the U.S. response should China stick to its vow to ignore the ruling could include stepped up freedom-of-navigation patrols close to Chinese claimed islands in what is one of the world's business trade routes.

In the call initiated by Kerry, Wang also said relations between China and the United States were generally on a sound track and that the two sides should further focus on cooperation while properly managing their differences.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that Kerry had spoken to Wang.

"The two discussed issues of mutual interest. We are not going to get into the details on this private diplomatic conversation," State Department spokeswoman Gabrielle Price said.

China has been angered by U.S. patrols in the South China Sea in recent months and on Tuesday launched what the Defense Ministry termed "routine" military drills there.

On Tuesday, Beijing sought to downplay fears of conflict in the South China Sea after an influential state-run newspaper said Beijing should prepare for military confrontation.

U.S. officials say they fear China may respond to the ruling by declaring an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, as it did in the East China Sea in 2013, or by stepping up its building and fortification of artificial islands.
Colombian rebel unit says it will not disarm under peace deal

BOGOTA, July 6 (Reuters) - A unit of Colombia's FARC rebel group said it will not lay down arms or demobilize under a potential peace deal with the government, the first public sign of opposition to an accord from within the rebel ranks that may set back efforts to end five decades of war.

The statement by the Armando Rios First Front, a 200-strong guerrilla unit in the southeastern jungle province of Guaviare, comes nearly two weeks after leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government announced a ceasefire deal at their more than three-year-old peace talks.

"We have decided not to demobilize, we will continue the fight for the taking of power by the people for the people, independent of the decision taken by the rest of the members of the organization," the unit said in a statement on Wednesday.

The First Front, which famously held ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three American contractors hostage, said the deals being reached at talks in Cuba will not solve the social and economic problems which first motivated the Marxist group to take up arms in 1964.

President Juan Manuel Santos has said the peace talks, aimed at ending a conflict which has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions, may conclude as early as this month. Any deal will be put to Colombians for approval in a plebiscite vote.

The First Front, which is known to have links to the drug trade, said it would respect any FARC rebels who agree to peace, but called on other units to join forces to continue the fight.

"We invite all guerrillas and militia who are not in agreement with demobilization and the laying down of FARC weapons to join forces and continue united as an organization," the statement said.

Santos said earlier on Wednesday that any FARC unit that does not adhere to a peace agreement would continue at war and be killed or jailed.

"Anyone with doubts, best leave them aside and join the peace accord, because it's the last opportunity they will have to change their lives, because otherwise they will end up, I assure you, in a grave or jail," Santos said.
Protests and U.S. probe after Louisiana police shoot black man

By Bryn Stole and Kathy Finn

BATON ROUGE, La., July 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing of a black man pinned to the ground and shot in the chest by two white police officers outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over the latest alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

"I'm heartbroken. It's outrageous. It's crazy," said Muflahi, who considered Sterling a friend and allowed him to sell CDs outside his store. He provided a copy of the video to Reuters and said police took a gun from Sterling's pocket.

Several hundred people gathered for a prayer vigil near the spot where Sterling was killed, with speakers urging peaceful protests, justice and unity in the face of "excessive force" used by police against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd, including families with children, that filled the parking lot and nearby streets. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Many people stayed hours after the service and a brass band joined a large, peaceful nighttime march circling the store. A local artist had painted a mural of Sterling on the wall just feet from where he was shot.

Officials scrambled to defuse tension, saying there would be an independent investigation, after media showed a separate graphic video of the shooting recorded by a bystander.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," Governor John Bel Edwards told reporters.

Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

Such incidents undermine trust between police and the communities they serve, said presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin," she said in a statement.

There was no immediate statement from presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"HE'S GOT A GUN"

Video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackle him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest.

Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells, "He's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired.

Three more shots are heard, before the camera shows one officer lean over Sterling and take something from his pocket.

Police did not say how many shots were fired and declined to say whether a stun gun was used on Sterling. Muflahi said police Tasered Sterling before he was tackled.

The two police officers involved, Blane Salamoni, a four-year veteran, and Howie Lake, a three-year veteran, were both put on administrative leave, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie told a news conference.

The officers were responding to a call about a black man reported to have made threats with a gun, Dabadie said.

"When officers arrived, Sterling was armed and the altercation ensued that resulted in the loss of his life," Dabadie said.

The body cameras of both officers became dislodged during the altercation, but continued recording audio and video, police said. Those and other recordings will be turned over to federal investigators, police spokesman Lieutenant Jonny Dunnam said.

RAP SHEET

Court records show Sterling had several criminal convictions since the mid-1990s, for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Relatives and acquaintances described Sterling as jovial and friendly, a neighborhood fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.

Cameron Sterling, Alton's 15-year-old son, broke down crying at a news conference as his mother spoke. "He was killed unjustly and without regard for the lives he helped raise," said the mother, who did not give her name.

Several people were arrested for blocking traffic in downtown Philadelphia during a protest over the killing, broadcaster NBC Philadelphia reported.
Poland - Factors to Watch July 7

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Thursday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

BONDS

Poland will offer 3.0-6.0 billion zlotys ($752.31 million - $1.50 billion) in treasury bonds due October 2018, July 2026 and April 2028 at a tender on Thursday, the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

FX RESERVES

The central bank will publish data on the level of its foreign exchange reserves in June on Thursday at 1200 GMT.

SUPERMARKET TAX

Poland's parliament passed the bill introducing a supermarket tax with rates of 0.8 and 1.4 percent of revenues, Gazeta Wyborcza daily said.

Puls Biznesu daily said that Polish lobby POHiD will ask its European partner EuroCommerce to try to block the tax in Brussels.

NATO

At peak moments of escalation of tensions, which would require the strengthening of military presence in Poland, 10,000 NATO soldiers may be stationed in Poland, Polish foreign affairs minister Witold Waszczykowski told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily.

****Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.****
Libya oil guards back NOC state oil company, preparing to reopen fields

By Ayman Al-Warfalli

BENGHAZI, Libya, July 7 (Reuters) - Libya's oil guard brigades, which control Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, two major export terminals closed since 2014, are working with the unity government's state oil company, NOC, and preparing to reopen fields to pump crude again, a spokesman said on Thursday.

The spokesman for Ibrahim Jathran's PFG forces did not give any details whether that would include reopening the two ports soon. Starting shipments there would restore a potential 600,000 barrels per day of crude export capacity.

The PFG position followed an announcement by the National Oil Corporation, or NOC, that it would merge with a rival company, one set up by a competing government established in eastern Libya.

Militant attacks, fighting between rival factions and a conflict between two rival governments have kept Libya's oil production at around 350,000 bpd, or less than a quarter of its output before the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi and began years of instability.

"The commander of Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG), Ibrahim Jathran, has announced that oil will be pumped soon and oilfields of the oil crescent (region) will be also prepared to resume work," PFG spokesman Ali Hassi said.

"Jathran said that we, the PFG of central region, will work with the NOC that belongs to the presidential council of the government of national accord."

But political infighting, more potential militant attacks and technical problems and damage to long-closed pipelines, fields and ports mean that recovering lost production could be a fragile, long-term process.

In a Reuters Oil Forum on Thursday, analysts said the NOC unification would be beneficial, but oil recovery in Libya could be undermined by the fragility of Prime Minister Fayaz Seraj's government, long-term technical damage and the array of armed groups controlling oil fields, sometimes over local grievances.

The NOC is working with the U.N.-backed government of national accord, led by Seraj and trying to bring together rival factions whose armed backers have fought for control and oil resources since 2014.

The NOC announced this week that it would merge with an energy company set up in the east by Libya's eastern government, a move seen by analysts as a step towards restoring order to the industry at least in legal and commercial terms.

The NOC in Tripoli, recognised by the international community, and the eastern NOC had operated in parallel as the rival governments struggled for control. The U.N.-backed government now in Tripoli is meant to supersede those administrations, but hardliners on both sides are holding out.

The NOC has an ambitious plan to bring Libya's oil production back to pre-revolution levels. But damage to oil pipelines left closed for months, and to ports that have seen fighting, may take years to fully repair.
ST. ELMO + c o f f e e, located in the heart of the St. Elmo neighborhood, is celebrating its soft launch with a pop-up this Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a community-wide party from 6-10 p.m.

The idea behind the + c o f f e e brand is that coffee is more than the sum of its elements, a shop is more than its walls and a neighborhood is more than the sum of its persons and structures. Coffee brings people together, and as a business, ST. ELMO + c o f f e e plans to come alongside the St. Elmo neighborhood in a collaborative effort to strengthen the community.



Founded by Chattanooga locals, Matt E. Park and Josh Tilford, + c o f f e e has been operating mobile pop-ups at various locations and events around Chattanooga. The two chose to open their first brick and mortar + c o f f e e shop in St. Elmo because of the collaborative spirit of the community, which is the same spirit that drives the mission of + c o f f e e.



The coffee itself is curated from Southern roasters who care about the farmers and sustainable growing practices. Striving to be environmentally conscious, the shop will use upcycled materials, maintain efficient building practices, recycle waste and compost spent coffee grounds, and focus on for here serveware over paper and plastic to go.


Support for Ireland's main opposition surges amid Brexit uncertainty

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Support for Ireland's main opposition party Fianna Fail has surged since its decision to back Prime Minister Enda Kenny's minority government from opposition, resulting in a nine percentage point lead, an opinion poll showed on Thursday.

After suffering heavy losses in February elections, Kenny's centre-right party returned to power with the backing of a group of independent lawmakers and facilitated by Fianna Fail, which agreed to abstain on key votes but has been able to hand the government embarrassing defeats in others.

"It is impossible to avoid the temptation to link the swing towards a more cohesive opposition, and away from a fragmented one, to the uncertainty created by the UK's vote to leave the EU," Ipsos MRBI's Damian Loscher said.

"It would also be foolish to stop at Brexit in the search for an explanation. Independents are mavericks in opposition but can cause mayhem in government, and the precariousness of the current arrangement is not giving voters the added comfort they need in a time of uncertainty."

Backing for the fellow centre-right Fianna Fail, Ireland's dominant political force before being dumped from power for leading the country into the 2008 financial crisis, rose to an eight-year high of 33 percent compared to the 24 percent it won at the election, the Irish Times/IPSOS MRBI poll showed.

Fine Gael fell two points to 24 percent. The government is due to run until the end of 2018 and with Kenny committed to not leading his party into the next election, local media reported that lawmakers for the first time called for the succession planning to begin at a Fine Gael internal meeting on Wednesday.
Russia reminds wayward ally Belarus of its economic muscle

By Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK, July 7 (Reuters) - When Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko began trying to loosen his close ties with Moscow, fearing his country would be the next target.

Two years on, an abrupt drop in Russian oil supplies to the small ex-Soviet state may force Lukashenko into rethinking a policy that includes patching up relations with the West.

The Kremlin appears to be sending a message that, with the Belarus economy in recession and propped up by subsidised Russian oil and gas, Lukashenko will pay a heavy price if he wants to turn his back on his old friends in Moscow.

Ukraine regularly accused Russia of political intimidation by cutting energy supplies in the years leading to the 2014 annexation during disputes that Moscow said were commercial.

Now Belarus is experiencing something similar. Since the start of this month, Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has been pumping about 40 percent less oil to Belarus than in the second quarter of this year.

Belarus relies on Russian crude for its two oil refineries. The petroleum products they produce are sold abroad, generating about a fifth of total exports, official data show.

Minsk has been trying to buy crude from other suppliers, three oil market sources told Reuters. But that will be more expensive than Russian oil which Moscow offers at a discount.

Russian energy officials say the cut in deliveries to Belarus is the result of a commercial dispute.

But others view Russia's moves as its response to Lukashenko trying to draw closer to Western governments.

"This is a way to show the Belarusian leadership that it has to be more 'modest' in its relations with the West," said Denis Melyantsov, a senior analyst with the Belarussian Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, told Reuters.

A high-level-Russian energy industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the understanding in the industry was that Lukashenko is being punished for his overtures to the West and critical comments directed at Russia.

Lukashenko, a moustachioed former collective farm manager, sounded a defiant note on Wednesday when he met the U.S. embassy's charge d'affaires in Minsk.

He told the diplomat he wanted to normalise relations with Washington and, in a veiled reference to Russia, said no country could veto U.S.-Belarussian ties.

UKRAINE SCARE

Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has never been an easy partner for the Kremlin. He has frequently tried to play Moscow off against the West to extract the best deals for his country.

Still, Russia has regarded Belarus as its closest ally. The two countries are officially designated as united in a "union state", though that body has no formal decision-making powers.

Lukashenko's stance changed after Russia annexed Crimea and then gave its backing to pro-Moscow rebels fighting a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Like Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Belarus has a large Russian-speaking community who feel affinity with Moscow.

"The Belarussian establishment and Lukashenko personally were scared by the situation with Ukraine," said Andrei Yegorov, the director of Minsk-based think tank the Centre For European Transformation.

Lukashenko declined to recognise Crimea as part of Russia, and put on hold discussions with Moscow about the Russian military establishing an air base on Belarussian soil.

"The behaviour of our eastern brother cannot fail to worry us," Lukashenko said at a meeting with officials in Minsk in December 2014. "We are not a gigantic state, we do not have nuclear weapons, but our army is sufficiently capable to respond to any threat... Therefore we will protect our patch of land, our statehood, and our independence."

Lukashenko launched a diplomatic push to mend ties with the European Union and United States damaged by Western allegations that he rigged elections and persecuted his political opponents.

His diplomacy paid off in February this year when the EU ended sanctions that had been in place for five years. Belarus is now in discussions with the International Monetary Fund about a $3 billion loan.

BELARUS LOOPHOLE

Lukashenko - who often brings his 11-year-old son Nikolai along to official engagements - still makes lavish public displays of Belarussian friendship towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Yet some Belarussian actions undermine policies the Kremlin is trying to pursue.

In 2014, Moscow banned fresh food imports from the EU in retaliation for sanctions Brussels imposed on Russia over Ukraine.

According to people involved in the Russian food trade, Belarus provides a loophole. They say Polish food is delivered to Belarus, where it is repackaged to make it look as though it is Belarussian produce and shipped to Russia.

Russia cannot stop this because border controls between the countries have been removed under a customs union agreement.

The head of a major Russian food producer said Moscow had at one point offered to help Minsk beef up its customs controls to stop the flow of food. To which Lukashenko replied: 'What? You don't trust us?" said the executive, who did not want to be identified as discussing private exchanges.

BATTLE OF NERVES

Russia usually supplies Belarus with more than 20 million tonnes of oil per year (400,000 barrels per day). The shipping schedule for the third quarter showed that supplies would be cut to 3.5 million tonnes.

Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Transneft, said oil has been shipped to Belarus in accordance with the scaled-down schedule since the start of July.

Russian energy officials say the volumes have been reduced due to a row over Russian gas supplies. Minsk wants the price its pays for this reduced, though the gas is already sold at a discount.

A source close to the Belarus government doubted this explanation, saying it "comes as a surprise" to Minsk.

Ultimately, Belarus has limited room for manoeuvre because of its economic dependence. It is vulnerable over gas supplies as well as oil. In theory it could import gas from Poland instead, but would have to pay much more.

According to Reuters calculations, subsidies for Russian energy to Belarus amount to approximately $3 billion per year, around a third of the state budget revenues.

Belarus can ill afford to lose those subsidies; the economy contracted 4 percent in 2015 and has shrunk 3 percent since the start of this year.

Any aid from the West will come with strings attached that are likely to be unpalatable to Lukashenko.
US destroyers sail close to Chinese-held features in South China Sea as court case looms

By Greg Torode

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. destroyers have sailed close to Chinese-held reefs and islands in the disputed South China Sea in recent weeks, U.S. naval officials said on Thursday, patrols likely to fuel tension ahead of landmark ruling over Beijing's maritime claims.

The destroyers Stethem, Spruance and Momsen have been patrolling near Chinese-held features in the Spratlys archipelago and the Scarborough Shoal, which is near the Philippines, the officials said. The patrols were first reported by the Washington-based Navy Times newspaper.

Pressure has been rising in the region ahead of a July 12 ruling by an arbitration court hearing the dispute between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea in the Dutch city of The Hague.

China has refused to participate in the case and vowed to ignore the rulings which the United States insists are binding and an important test of Beijing's willingness to adhere to international law.

While not close enough to be within 12 nautical miles - a so-called freedom of navigation operation that would require high level approval - the destroyers operated within 14 to 20 nautical miles of the Chinese-occupied features, the Navy Times reported.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its escort ships have also been patrolling the South China Sea since last week.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Lieutenant Clint Ramsden said he could not go into operational or tactical details but that the patrols were part of a "routine presence".

"All of these patrols are conducted in accordance with international law and all are consistent with routine Pacific Fleet presence throughout the Western Pacific."

U.S. navy officials said Chinese naval ships, and sometimes fishing vessels, frequently track U.S. ships in the South China Sea but it is not yet known if the presence of the destroyers attracted particular attention.

Manila is challenging the legality of Beijing's actions and claims in the South China Sea - the first legal case involving the South China Sea.
Cambodia dismisses report detailing PM's family business

PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Reuters) - Cambodia dismissed on Thursday accusations by an anti-corruption pressure group that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family have amassed $200 million in business interests including some with links to land grabs and environmental destruction.

The accusations, in a report by the group Global Witness, comes during a period of rising political tension between the veteran prime minister and the opposition hoping to challenge his grip on power in local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Global Witness, in its report titled "Hostile Takeover", said Hun Sen's family owns or partly controls companies with listed capital of more than $200 million.

That is likely to be a fraction of the real fortunes they hold through shell companies and the use of nominee owners, the group said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan derided the report by a group that has been investigating issues such as illegal logging in Cambodia for decades.

"It has no quality," Phay Siphan said.

"It is just accusations. The report is personal propaganda against Hun Sen, the elected prime minister."

Global Witness said the companies that Hun Sen's family held interests in had links to well-known global brands. The interests represented "undoubtedly just a fraction of the true value of the a family's business holdings".

The family's interests were concentrated in the energy sector, and included fuel retail chains, power plants and renewable energy projects, the group said.

"The domestic companies they are affiliated to have been accused of a litany of abuses, including the theft of land and natural resources, violence and intimidation against local populations and environmental devastation," it said.

"Huge network of secret deal-making, corruption and cronyism" has helped prop up Cambodia's self-styled strongman, who has led the country for more than three decades, the group said.

"The report should serve as a warning to foreign investors."

A senior member of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, welcomed the publication of what he said were details of the family's wealth.

"We all knew it but nobody could really talk about it," party member of parliament Son Chhay said.

"Now it is all public."

Recently, Hun Sen has come under pressure from the European Union to end what it sees as judicial harassment of opposition politicians. The EU has threatened to review about half a billion dollars in aid if the harassment continues.

Hun Sen has for decades dismissed accusation of rights abuses and links to graft and nepotism, and he regularly shrugs off Western pressure for reform while building strong relations with China.
Slovakia - Factors To Watch on July 7

BRATISLAVA, July 7 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Thursday. ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA======================== Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: http://emea1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/Apps/CountryWeb/#/1C/events-overview =========================EVENTS=============================== BRATISLAVA - EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs will meet in Bratislava to discuss migration and the European asylum system. Related stories: ================PRESS DIGEST================================== AUTOMOTIVE: Spanish automotive supplier Gestamp will invest some 100 million euros ($110.80 million) to build a plant in Nitra, western Slovakia, that will supply steel parts for a nearby Jaguar Land Rover's car plant expected to launch production in 2018. Hospodarske Noviny, page 1 Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy. For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jason Hovet on +420 224 190 476 E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com ($1 = 0.9025 euros)
Shanghai shares end flat, caught between weak yuan and stimulus hopes

HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Shanghai shares ended flat on Thursday, as concerns about further yuan weakness and instability in Europe after Brexit offset expectations of more stimulus measures to support the economy.

News of a rise in non-performing loans at the country's banks also rattled investors.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended flat at 3,016.85 points. The blue-chip CSI300 index slid 0.21 percent to 3,209.95 points, ending eight straight days of gains.

Outstanding non-performing loans in China's banks exceeded the two trillion yuan ($299.21 billion) mark at the end of May, according to a senior banking regulator official.
5-Star surge and banking woes deter Italy's bond investors

By John Geddie

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Italy led a move higher in southern European bond yields on Thursday as the rising popularity of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and concerns about a banking sector saddled with bad debts rattled investors.

Polls showed this week that the 5-Star Movement (M5S) -- which has called for a referendum on euro zone membership and triumphed in local elections last month -- is now Italy's most popular party, ahead of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democrats.

While Italy's next national election is not until 2018, the polls make grim reading for Renzi who is struggling to deal with growing friction inside his coalition and faces a do-or-die referendum in October on constitutional reform, having promised to resign if he loses. M5S and all other opposition parties are campaigning against the reform.

Layered on top of this political uncertainty is mounting concern that Italy, locked in discussion with the EU over how to head off a looming crisis in its banking sector, is going to have to stump up public cash to deal with the problem.

"It all circles around Renzi being able to win this referendum, with these legacy problems in the banks also coming back to haunt Italy," Commerzbank strategist David Schnautz said.

Italian 10-year bond yields rose 3 basis points to 1.20 percent, pulling away from the German benchmark which was flat at minus 0.17 percent.

The underperformance in Italian bonds also weighed on other southern European bonds in Spain and Portugal where bond yields also rose 3 bps to 1.21 percent and 3.09 percent , respectively.

Analysts said speculation that Madrid and Lisbon could be in line for EU fines for missing budget deficit targets over recent years was also weighing on investor sentiment.

The European Commission is expected to decide on Thursday over what steps to take over Spain and Portugal's excessive budget spending.

DZ Bank said the European Commission could recommend that euro zone finance ministers -- which meet on July 12 -- impose sanctions on the countries or freeze EU subsidies.

At the auctions, France and Spain are due to sell bonds on Thursday, a big test of demand after Britain's vote last month to leave the EU which has shaken confidence in Europe's economy.
North Korea warns of tough response after U.S. blacklisted leader

By David Brunnstrom and James Pearson

WASHINGTON/SEOUL, July 7 (Reuters) - North Korea warned on Thursday it is planning its toughest response to what it deemed a "declaration of war" by the United States after Washington blacklisted the nuclear-armed country's leader, Kim Jong Un, for human rights abuses.

Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a "hideous crime," according to North Korea's official KCNA news agency.

"... the U.S. dared challenge the dignity of (North Korea) supreme leadership, an act reminiscent of a new-born puppy knowing no fear of a tiger," the statement said.

"This is the worst hostility and an open declaration of war against (North Korea) as it has gone far beyond the confrontation over the human rights issue."

In response, the U.S. government urged Pyongyang to refrain from statements and actions that raise tensions in the region.

The United States imposed its first sanctions targeting any North Koreans for rights abuses on Wednesday, blacklisting Kim along with 10 other people and five government ministries and departments. The action affects assets within U.S. jurisdiction.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, hopes China will urge its ally North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said on Thursday in New York.

Dujarric said that Ban, who is currently visiting China, "believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula."

China's foreign ministry, when asked about the U.S. decision, said it opposed the use of unilateral sanctions. China argues that the human rights situation in North Korea is not a threat to international peace and security, and has sought to prevent the issue being discussed at the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he had spoken to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and hoped that Beijing would continue to cooperate with U.N. sanctions aimed at rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006. In March, the Security Council imposed harsh new sanctions on the country in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket in February.

Some analysts and diplomats have warned that the U.S. action could limit cooperation with China on further action.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said last month that the United States would seek to identify people and entities linked to a series of recent ballistic missile tests by Pyongyang, in violation of a U.N. ban, who could be sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council. The cooperation of China and Russia would be needed for any further designations.

Senior U.S administration officials said the new U.S. sanctions showed the administration's greater focus on human rights in North Korea, an issue long secondary to Washington's efforts to halt Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said in a statement.

Inside North Korea, adulation for Kim is mandatory and he is considered infallible. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim, 32, by name in connection with human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

The U.S. Treasury Department identified Kim's date of birth as Jan. 8, 1984, a rare official confirmation of his birthday.
Baton Rouge protest remains peaceful as demonstrators call for justice

By Edward Krudy and Bryn Stole

BATON ROUGE, La., July 7 (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters stood vigil early on Thursday outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, demanding the prosecution of police who fatally shot a black man there two days earlier.

The demonstration was largely peaceful at about 1 a.m. local time as about 300 protesters remained outside of the Triple S Food Mart, where Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest by two white police officers on Tuesday.

"There is not going to be a riot until they show they are not going to prosecute these people," said Arsby, a 53-year-old truck driver who declined to give his last name, as he stood outside of the store. "Right now it's just started."

Some protesters blocked traffic while others marched, sang, and chanted, accusing the police of using "excessive force" against black residents.

"If we stand divided, we are already defeated," Bishop Gregory Cooper of Baton Rouge told the crowd. Police stayed on the fringes of the gathering.

Graphic video images of Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, unleashed protests and social media outcry over alleged police brutality against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York.

One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, according to images recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it would investigate the killing. Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden and police said they welcomed the probe launched by the Justice Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors.

"Now, all eyes are in Baton Rouge. What may have been easier to cover up before because it was just us ... now they've woken up the sleeping lions," said protester Tammara Crawford, a 33-year-old mother and school administrator in Baton Rouge.

"HE'S GOT A GUN"

Video recorded on the bystander's cell phone shows an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackle him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at his chest.

Muflahi's video shows the officers on top of Sterling. One of them yells, "He's got a gun." The video jerks away from the scene after the first two shots are fired.

Three more shots are heard, before the camera shows one officer lean over Sterling and take something from his pocket.

The two police officers, Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake, have been put on administrative leave, police said.

Court records show Sterling had several criminal convictions and he was a registered sex offender after spending close to four years in prison for felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Relatives and acquaintances described Sterling as jovial and friendly, a neighborhood fixture who had peddled copied CDs, DVDs and games in front of the Triple S Food Mart for years.
Japan plans extra spending on anti-terrorism measures - sources

TOKYO, July 7 (Reuters) - Japan's government will spend hundreds of billions of yen on anti-terrorism and safety measures as part of an extra stimulus budget in the wake of the attack by Islamist militants in Bangladesh that killed seven Japanese, government sources said.

The seven development-aid workers were killed last week in one of the most brazen attacks in the South Asian nation's history.

The spending will be included in the economic stimulus package that could top 10 trillion yen ($98.94 billion) to safeguard Japan's fragile economy in the face of weak demand and a rising yen following Britain's shock vote to exit the European Union.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as the plan has not been finalised.

The government and ruling coalition are set to work out the size of stimulus spending and funding sources for the stimulus after a July 10 upper house election, before compiling the extra budget in the autumn.
Air quality on Friday is forecast to be in the moderate range with ozone predicted to be the dominant pollutant.



Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting strenuous outside activity.





"Moderate" AQI is 51 to 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms.
Iran says fire at Bu Ali Sina petrochemical complex contained, no casualties

July 7 (Reuters) - A fire that broke out at Iran's Bu Ali Sina petrochemical refinery complex has been contained, the Iranian oil ministry said on its official website Shana on Thursday.

The fire broke out at the complex in the southwest city of Bandar Mahshahr on Wednesday but caused no fatalities, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The fire was prevented from spreading to other units of the plant ... It has been contained now," a local official from Iran's Khuzestan province told Shana.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Shana.
Syrian army fire cuts only road into rebel-held Aleppo-rebels

BEIRUT, July 7 (Reuters) - The only way into rebel-held parts of Aleppo was cut on Thursday by a Syrian government advance that put the road within firing range, two rebel sources and a group monitoring the conflict said.

"Currently nobody can get in or out of Aleppo," Zakaria Malahifji of Aleppo-based rebel group Fastaqim, told Reuters.

A second rebel official with fighters in the area said: "All the factions sent reinforcements and are trying to take back the positions taken by the regime, but the situation is very bad, there was heavy regime air cover in the night."
FBI director to face Republican fire over Clinton email probe

By Julia Edwards and Alana Wise

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - Republicans will get their first chance to grill FBI Director James Comey when he appears before Congress on Thursday to explain his decision not to recommend criminal charges against Democrat Hillary Clinton over her use of private email servers.

The hearing at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) will be the first time Comey has taken questions publicly since his announcement on Tuesday that the FBI found nothing in its investigation of Clinton's mishandling of classified emails while she was secretary of state that should lead to criminal prosecution.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Wednesday she accepted the Federal Bureau of Investigation's recommendation and had closed the case. But the issue has cast a cloud over Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign for the Nov. 8 election and raised questions among voters about her honesty and trustworthiness.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said lawmakers would be investigating whether they could take action over Clinton's email practices. Comey will testify before the House Oversight Committee.

Lynch will appear at a separate hearing next Tuesday.

Comey said on Tuesday that 110 classified emails passed through Clinton's servers, which were not kept on a secure government server. He rebuked the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for "extremely careless" handling of classified information but said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her or her staff criminally.

The Clinton campaign said it was pleased at the FBI's announcement and called the Republican-led call for Comey's hearing a "taxpayer-funded sham of an inquiry" intended to hurt Clinton politically.

The Oversight Committee is chaired by Republican U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, known for his persistent questioning of Obama administration officials.

REPUTATION FOR INDEPENDENCE

Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party.

He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, most recently over gun control and whether high-profile police brutality cases had inhibited law enforcement from stopping crime.

Questions over the propriety of Clinton's use of unauthorized email servers in her Chappaqua, New York, home during her time as secretary of state have raised questions about her judgment from all sides of the political spectrum.

Despite clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton can expect a further onslaught of attacks from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has accused her of playing by a different set of rules from the American public.

"Hillary Clinton can't keep her emails safe, and you know what, folks, she sure as hell can't keep our country safe," Trump told a recent rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, charging that the investigation was "rigged" in Clinton's favor.

Comey left the door open for other actions in the case, including downgrading security clearances for anyone who mishandles classified information as Clinton and her staff did.

Ryan said Congress would decide whether it could impose such penalties.

"I think it's the least we can do, given how she was so reckless in handling classified material and sending classified information on insecure servers," Ryan told reporters on Wednesday.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters he had faith that Comey would protect the independence of the FBI's investigation even as he was probed by Congress, noting Obama administration officials had kept their cool even during "the most unfair congressional inquiries."
Taiwan, China batten down hatches as super typhoon approaches

TAIPEI/BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China began battening down the hatches on Thursday ahead of the arrival of super Typhoon Nepartak, the first of the year, with fears in China that storm could worsen already severe flooding in the east of the country.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Taiwan's mountainous but sparsely populated east coast in the early hours of Friday, where it will loose much of its strength, before crossing over the Taiwan Strait and hitting China on Saturday.

The typhoon has been labelled a category 5 storm on a scale of 1 to 5 by Tropical Storm Risk making it a super typhoon but should drop to a topical storm by the time it reaches China.

In Taiwan, eastern counties announced work and school closures for Friday, with more cities, including greater Taipei, to issue advisories later on Thursday, while airlines began cancelling flights.

The island's weather authorities estimated wind speeds near Nepartak's centre were at least 200 kph (124 mph).

Widespread flooding across central and southern China over the past week has killed about 130 people, damaged more than 1.9 million hectares of crops and led to direct economic losses of more than 38 billion yuan ($5.70 billion).

The city of Wuhan on the Yangtze River, home to 10 million people, has been particularly badly affected, with flooded subway lines and power cuts.

The typhoon is expected to push more rain into already flooded areas in and around Wuhan, the Xinhua news agency said.

Wuhan is a hub for the auto industry, though automakers including Honda, Nissan and state-owned Dongfeng reported no disruptions.

Peugeot's venture there said it launched emergency contingency plans, including deploying a sewage pump truck, but factory operations were uninterrupted and its vehicle warehouse unaffected.

Fujian province, opposite Taiwan, has cancelled all ferries to Taiwan and Taiwan-controlled islands, and suspended some trains, while Guangdong province has told fishing boats to return to port, the central government said on its website.

Typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength over warm waters and dissipating over land.

Typhoons used to kill many people in China but the government now enforces evacuations and makes preparations well in advance meaning death tolls in recent years have been much lower.
Hungary minister says Austrian border checks unjustified

BUDAPEST, July 7 (Reuters) - Border checks by Austria that have caused long queues on the Hungarian side of the frontier in recent days are unjustified, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

Szijjarto said controls were needed on Hungary's Serbian and Croatian borders but not where it meets Austria. He said Hungary was doing its job to defend the external border of the passport-free Schengen zone to the south.

"I think what the Austrians are doing on the Hungarian-Austrian border is unjustified," he told a news conference.
Copper carves out fresh one-week low; nickel sinks

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Copper slid to the lowest in over a week on Thursday as the dollar strengthened, oil prices fell and investors continued to be unsettled about the aftermath of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.

Industrial metals saw broad-based losses, including in nickel, despite news the Philippines had ordered the suspension of two mines in a nationwide crackdown.

The dollar index gained after data showed U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in June and fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week.

A firmer dollar weighs on commodities priced in the greenback, making them more expensive to buyers using other currencies.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed down 1.4 percent at $4,685 a tonne, the weakest since June 27, extending losses of 1.4 percent in the previous session.

"The dollar is a little bit firmer ... (and) there's still the uncertainty in the market coming from the Brexit vote," said analyst Daniel Briesemann at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

Copper has also been pressured after a sharp rise in LME inventories , which have climbed 45 percent since June 1.

The biggest mover on the LME on Thursday was benchmark nickel, which finished down 2.2 percent at $9,750 a tonne, after peaking at $10,175 earlier.

Nickel pared gains of 2.7 percent from the previous session after touching an eight-month peak of $10,410 on LME on Monday.

Speculators have piled into the nickel market after the new Philippine president said he would crack down on mines violating environmental rules.

Philippines is the biggest supplier of nickel ore to China, the world's top metals consumer. Nickel is mainly used in making stainless steel.

On Thursday, a government official told Reuters that two nickel mines would be suspended in Zambales province, north of the capital Manila. The mines are operated by BenguetCorp Nickel Mines Inc and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp.

It was unclear why investors appeared to ignore the news, but one trader said some of the potential impact from the Philippines had already been priced into the market as prices had rallied by nearly a quarter from the start of June until Monday's peak.

"Maybe the market still does not believe that it can happen that easily," Briesemann said.

Aluminium closed down 0.9 percent at $1,638, zinc fell 0.4 percent to end at $2,098, lead shed 1 percent to $1,815 and tin dropped 0.8 percent to $17,750.

PRICES

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Lack of progress on NATO may turn Georgia towards Russia

By Margarita Antidze

TBILISI, July 7 (Reuters) - Ex-Soviet Georgia could start a gradual drift back into the orbit of its former overlord Russia if it does not see tangible signs soon that it will be invited to join NATO.

Georgian officials will be at a NATO summit in the Polish capital on Friday where they will be seeking assurances that the alliance will make good on the promise it delivered in 2008 that Georgia would eventually become a member.

But the alliance has hesitated to give Tbilisi a timetable for accession because some members are wary of angering Russia. In the meantime, NATO invited the tiny Balkan state of Montenegro to join, leaving some Georgians feeling jilted.

Georgia's leaders are still committed to joining NATO. Opinion polls show the public backs membership, in part because they see the alliance as protection from Russia, which sent troops into Georgia six years ago and backs two separatist regions which reject Tbilisi's rule.

However, as frustration builds over the slow progress towards accession, there are more and more voices who say Georgia should cut its losses and seek rapprochement with Moscow instead.

"How did the West help us? Did NATO help us during the war? No. Russia is our neighbour, strong and influential. I'm afraid there may be another war if we irritate Russia further with our talk that we want to become a NATO member," said Avtandil Maisuradze, a 69-year-old pensioner in Tbilisi.

Georgia is a test case for how Western governments will treat Ukraine, which, like Georgia, wants to join NATO and the European Union but is also jealously regarded by the Kremlin as part of its sphere of influence.

IMPATIENCE

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, on a visit to Tbilisi this week before he travels to the NATO summit, urged Georgians to be patient.

"I wouldn't view this as a moment of despair, moment of setback, I would view this as a continuing process," Kerry said.

NATO continues to say Georgia is on a path to membership. The alliance has opened a training centre in Georgia as a part of a package of measures to boost Georgia's defence capabilities, and Georgia takes part in joint exercises with troops from NATO member states.

But for some Georgians, anything short of a timetable for accession is not enough.

"The frustration is widespread, as the false expectations on fast track NATO integration created by the political elites did not materialise," said Kornely Kakachia, a director of the Georgian Institute of Politics.

Opinion polls conducted by the National Democratic Institute show steady growth in support for Georgia joining the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union - up to 20 percent in March 2016 from 11 percent in August 2013.

Political forces that are openly pro-Russian have a good chance of winning seats the Georgian parliament in an election to take place in October this year - something that was unimaginable few years ago.

In local elections in 2014, several pro-Russian parties, including the Alliance of Patriots and the Democratic Movement, between them received around 20 percent of the nationwide proportional vote.

Nino Burjanadze, the leader of Democratic Movement, which is campaigning on giving Georgia neutral "non-bloc status", said disillusionment with NATO membership was helping boost her support.

Burjanadze used to be a senior ally of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who set Georgia on its pro-Western path. But she since changed tack. She visited Moscow for talks with Russian officials three times over the past year.
South Africa's corruption watchdog gets extra funds to probe Zuma, Gupta scandal

JOHANNESBURG, July 7 (Reuters) - South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog said on Thursday it will receive additional funds to investigate whether President Jacob Zuma allowed the wealthy Gupta family to make government appointments.

The prominent business family is accused of being behind Zuma's abrupt sacking of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December, a move that rattled investor confidence and triggered calls for the president's resignation.

The scandal surrounding the Gupta family took a dramatic turn earlier this year after deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas said they had offered him his boss's job.

Zuma has said that the Guptas are his friends, but denied doing anything improper. The Guptas have also denied making job offers to anyone in government.

Allegations of the undue influence over top echelons of government prompted opposition parties to call for an investigation by the watchdog, seeking to pile pressure on Zuma's African National Congress party ahead of Aug. 3 local elections that are expected to be closely-fought.

The accusations also led to four major South African banks cutting links with the Gupta-owned holding company.

The Public Protector, the country's anti-corruption watchdog, said it had requested an extra 3 million rand ($205,000) but was granted half of that amount.

"We have a commitment from government to fund us with 1.5 million rand ($102,407)," a spokesman for the Public Protector Oupa Segalwe said in an emailed response to questions.

"Considering the fact that such an investigation would require forensic skills, which is an expertise we do not have internally, the Public Protector decided to request for extra funding from Treasury," said Segalwe.
Sweden's iZettle says growth strategy on track with revenue leap

STOCKHOLM, July 7 (Reuters) - Mobile payment solutions business iZettle's growth strategy is continuing apace, it said on Thursday, citing an 81 percent leap in revenue last year.

One of Europe's fastest-growing tech start-ups, iZettle is among a group of fledgling fintech businesses taking on traditional banks.

The revenue increase came at a cost, however, with its operating loss widening because of heavy spending to attract customers.

"The numbers are according to plan as we're fully focused on growth and are investing in expanding our product offering and customer acquisition," iZettle Chief Marketing Officer Johan Bendz told Reuters.

"We're growing revenue twice as fast as costs, so we're heading in the right direction."

The company reported 2015 revenue of 345 million Swedish crowns ($40 million), against 190 million crowns the previous year. The operating loss increased slightly to 258 million crowns, against 228 million crowns in 2014.

Established in 2010, iZettle offers small businesses and individuals a way to take payments using mini credit card readers that turn smartphones or tablets into cash registers. Last year it added France as a new market and launched new products such as iZettle Advance, a loan service for small businesses.

The company employs 275 people and is present in 12 markets in Europe and Latin America.

Its rival Square Inc, a U.S. mobile payments company that also offers a credit card reader and is run by Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, increased revenue by about 50 percent to $1.3 billion in 2015.

Square Inc went public last year and is trading flat to its IPO price. It reported a quarterly loss in May as costs surged.

Smaller Swedish rival iZettle has raised 140 million euros ($155 million) of funding to date from investors including Intel Capital, Northzone, American Express, Index Ventures and Banco Santander. ($1 = 8.5452 Swedish crowns) ($1 = 0.9025 euros)
Italian journalists cleared in Vatican leaks trial, two others found guilty

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, July 7 (Reuters) - A Vatican court on Thursday cleared two Italian journalists who had been charged with publishing leaked documents that claimed the headquarters of the Catholic Church was riddled with graft.

In a defeat for the prosecution, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi because they are not officials of the Vatican, a sovereign state in the heart of Rome.

However, the court handed down guilty verdicts against two other defendants, Italian public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui and Spanish priest Angel Lucio Vallejo Balda. Vallejo was given an 18-month sentence and Chaouqui, who has a three-week-old son, was given a 10-month suspended sentence.

The prosecution had asked for three years and nine months for Chaouqui and three years and one month for Vallejo.

The fifth defendant, Nicola Maio, an assistant to Vallejo, was found innocent.

The two reporters published books last year that depicted a Vatican plagued by greed and corruption, and where Pope Francis faced stiff resistance from the old guard to his reform agenda.

Angered by the revelations, Vatican investigators accused Chaouqui, Balda and Maio of leaking confidential documents and said the reporters had tried to reap financial reward after knowingly receiving stolen documents.

Media watchdogs accused the Roman Catholic Church of looking to stifle press freedom.

The prosecution in the eight-month, so-called "Vatileaks II" trial had asked for a one-year suspended sentence for Nuzzi and for charges to be dropped against Fittipaldi for insufficient evidence against him.

Fittipaldi said he was "totally surprised" by the sentence. "It was a trial that never should have taken place," he told reporters outside the Vatican.

"This sentence recognises the independence of journalists in telling the truth," said Nuzzi. "Public opinion has been with us on this, people have understood the value of these books."

PRIEST AND WOMAN HAD AMBIGUOUS RELATIONSHIP

The verdicts marked the end of a sometimes bizarre trial where the spotlight was often on the ambiguous relationship between Chaouqui and Vallejo, who were once members of a now-defunct papal reform commission investigating Vatican finances.

In a final, rambling statement before the court retired on Thursday morning, a weeping Chaouqui said she did not want her child "to spend the first years of his life in a jail."

Chaouqui and Vallejo had spent most of the trial hurling insults and accusations at each other.

He claimed she was an ambitious and manipulative social climber who put him under a seductive spell and turned against him when she did not get a permanent position in the Vatican.

She sent him text messages with insulting, unpublishable references to his alleged homosexuality. He said she led him to believe she was a spy who could reveal secrets about his personal life if she did not get a prominent Vatican job.

In her final statement, Chaouqui accused Vallejo of lies and denied that she had ever been his lover. She apologised for some of the things she said during the trial.

"I was full of rage. I can't hold back my tears. I never gave documents to journalists," she said.

The Vatican made it a crime to disclose official documents in 2013 after a separate leaks scandal, which the media dubbed Vatileaks and which preceded the unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that defendants who have entered a guilty plea cannot seek relief from that plea using a statutory procedure that the Court says is intended by Tennessee law only for those who have been found guilty at trial.



At issue is error coram nobis, a procedure defined in Tennessee law that allows defendants to file a petition seeking a new trial if they believe there is new or newly discovered evidence that became available after the initial trial.



In the opinion filed Thursday, Clark Derrick Frazier was charged with first degree murder and pled guilty to second degree murder for a 2004 stabbing death.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He later filed a petition for post-conviction relief claiming his lawyer was ineffective leading up to his guilty plea. That petition was denied by both the trial and appellate courts.Mr. Frazier then filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis, claiming he was entitled to a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence. Again, he was denied relief by both the trial and appellate courts. He appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court granted permission to appeal to reconsider a prior decision, Wlodarz v. State, which held that coram nobis relief was available even when a defendant entered a guilty plea.In its ruling Thursday, the Court emphasized that the very nature of a guilty plea, as well as the activities that lead up to such a plea, are contrary to the law that provides for the writ. The language of the statute refers to the words evidence, litigated, and trial  none of which are elements of a plea agreement  and never mentions plea.The Court went on to say that the trial court must ensure during the plea submission hearing that the defendant is waiving his right to a trial and one cannot simultaneously participate in a trial and waive ones right to a trial.Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins wrote in the opinion that there are significant and comprehensive procedural mechanisms already in place to safeguard the guilty plea process and that the coram nobis statute is not available as a procedural mechanism for collaterally attacking a guilty plea.Chief Justice Sharon G. Lee filed a dissenting opinion. In her view, the Court should follow the doctrine of stare decisis, adhere to the reasoning in its 2012 decision in Wlodarz, and hold that the writ of error coram nobis may be used in a collateral attack on a guilty plea. According to Chief Justice Lee, a defendant who has pled guilty and exhausted other post-judgment remedies should not be denied the opportunity to challenge a conviction when newly discovered evidence calls into question the factual basis and the knowing and voluntary nature of the guilty plea.To read the majority opinion in Clark D. Frazier v State of Tennessee, authored by Justice Bivins, and the dissent by Chief Justice Lee, go to the opinions section of TNCourts.gov.
Five-Star surge, banking woes weigh on Italy's bonds

By John Geddie

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Italian bond yields edged up on Thursday as the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement emerged as the country's most popular party and concerns about a banking sector saddled with bad debts rattled investors.

Polls showed this week that the Five-Star Movement (M5S) -- which has called for a referendum on euro zone membership and triumphed in local elections last month -- is now Italy's favourite party, ahead of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democrats.

While Italy's next national election is not until 2018, the polls make grim reading for Renzi who is struggling to deal with growing friction inside his coalition and faces a crucial referendum in October on constitutional reform, having promised to resign if he loses.

M5S and all other opposition parties are campaigning against the reform.

On top of this political uncertainty there is mounting concern that Italy, locked in discussion with the EU over how to head off a looming crisis in its banking sector, is going to have to stump up public cash to deal with the problem.

"Italy is perhaps the most likely country to trigger another crisis," said Ben May, lead euro zone economist at Oxford Economics.

"Problems in the banking sector could be exacerbated by the populist eurosceptic Five-Star movement forming a government if October's Senate referendum is lost."

Italy's 10-year yields rose as much as 4 basis points to hit a one-week high of 1.21 percent, before pulling back slightly to 1.19 percent as trading drew to a close.

Italian banking shares have shed 57 percent this year . On Thursday, trading in Banco Popolare's stock was suspended after a 6 percent drop.

For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets

EXCESS DEFICIT

The problems in Italy's banking sector has been brought into sharp focus in the aftermath of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, which has the potential to deliver a blow to global growth.

But while Milan has been grabbing the headlines, Lisbon is also quietly struggling to contain a banking crisis.

Portugal's 10-year bonds were the worst performers on Thursday, with yields up some 4 bps at 3.09 percent , while equivalents in neighbouring Spain rose 3 bps to 1.20 percent.

Analysts said that was partly down to a European Commission announcement that it had formally begun disciplinary procedures against Spain and Portugal for their excessive deficits in 2014 and 2015. This may lead to fines for the two countries before the end of the month.
Bulgaria to put alleged accomplices in airport bombing on trial within days -president

SOFIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Two suspected accomplices in a bombing that killed five Israeli tourists at Burgas airport in Bulgaria in 2012 are expected to be put on trial in absentia within days, the Balkan country's president said on Thursday.

Bulgarian authorities blamed Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah for the attack on a tourist bus. Hezbollah denied involvement. The European Union subsequently placed Hezbollah's armed wing on its terrorism blacklist.

President Rosen Plevneliev said he had been assured by Bulgaria's chief prosecutor that the two alleged accomplices - named by Bulgarian investigators as Meliad Farah and Hassan El Hajj - would be put on trial shortly.

"None of us will rest until the people who committed the attack, as well as those who organised it, are brought to court. This will in fact be very soon ... It is a matter of days," Plevneliev told a news conference in Sofia after a meeting with visiting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

The whereabouts of Farah and Hassan - Australian and Canadian citizens of Lebanese origin respectively - remain unknown. In 2013, Bulgarian official said they were believed to be in Lebanon and could be tried in absentia.

In 2014, Bulgarian authorities identified the bomber as Mohamad Hassan El Husseini, a dual Lebanese-French citizen, who was killed in the course of the attack.

The Israeli tourists had arrived on a charter flight and were in the bus in the Sarafovo airport car park when the blast tore through the vehicle, also killing the Bulgarian driver and wounding more than 30 people.
UN food agency says faces $610 mln shortfall for southern Africa drought relief

JOHANNESBURG, July 7 (Reuters) - The United Nations' food agency said on Thursday it needed $730 million over the next 12 months for relief in seven southern African countries hit hard by a blistering drought and faced a $610 million shortfall.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement the seven countries were Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, Madagascar, Swaziland and Zambia.

In Malawi, WFP said it needed $288 million but had only sourced $43 million, while in Zimbabwe - where drought has exacerbated an economic meltdown which has led to unrest - $228 million was required but only a tenth of that has been raised.
Taiwan, China batten down hatches as super typhoon approaches

TAIPEI/BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Taiwan and China began battening down the hatches on Thursday ahead of the arrival of super Typhoon Nepartak, the first of the year, with fears in China that storm could worsen already severe flooding in the east of the country.

The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Taiwan's mountainous but sparsely populated east coast in the early hours of Friday, where it will lose much of its strength, before crossing over the Taiwan Strait and hitting China on Saturday.

The typhoon has been labelled a category 5 storm on a scale of 1 to 5 by Tropical Storm Risk making it a super typhoon but it should weaken to a topical storm by the time it reaches China.

In Taiwan, authorities announced financial markets would be shut on Friday as cities across the island, including Taipei, announced work and school closures. Airlines began cancelling flights and the bullet train service was suspended.

The island's weather authorities estimated wind speeds near Nepartak's centre were at least 200 kph (124 mph).

Widespread flooding across central and southern China over the past week has killed about 130 people, damaged more than 1.9 million hectares of crops and led to direct economic losses of more than 38 billion yuan ($5.70 billion).

The city of Wuhan on the Yangtze River, home to 10 million people, has been particularly badly affected, with flooded subway lines and power cuts.

The typhoon is expected to push more rain into already flooded areas in and around Wuhan, the Xinhua news agency said.

Wuhan is a hub for the auto industry, though automakers including Honda, Nissan and state-owned Dongfeng reported no disruptions.

Peugeot's venture there said it launched emergency contingency plans, including deploying a sewage pump truck, but factory operations were uninterrupted and its vehicle warehouse unaffected.

Fujian province, opposite Taiwan, has cancelled all ferries to Taiwan and Taiwan-controlled islands, and suspended some trains, while Guangdong province has told fishing boats to return to port, the central government said on its website.

Typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength over warm waters and dissipating over land.

Typhoons used to kill many people in China but the government now enforces evacuations and makes preparations well in advance meaning death tolls in recent years have been much lower.
Cambodia dismisses report detailing PM's family business

PHNOM PENH, July 7 (Reuters) - Cambodia dismissed on Thursday accusations by an anti-corruption pressure group that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family have amassed $200 million in business interests including some with links to land grabs and environmental destruction.

The accusations, in a report by the group Global Witness, comes during a period of rising political tension between the veteran prime minister and the opposition hoping to challenge his grip on power in local elections in 2017 and a general election in 2018.

Global Witness, in its report titled "Hostile Takeover", said Hun Sen's family owns or partly controls companies with listed capital of more than $200 million.

That is likely to be a fraction of the real fortunes they hold through shell companies and the use of nominee owners, the group said.

Government spokesman Phay Siphan derided the report by a group that has been investigating issues such as illegal logging in Cambodia for decades.

"It has no quality," Phay Siphan said.

"It is just accusations. The report is personal propaganda against Hun Sen, the elected prime minister."

Global Witness said Hun Sen family companies had links to well-known global brands.

The family's interests were concentrated in the energy sector, and included fuel retail chains, power plants and renewable energy projects, the group said.

"Huge network of secret deal-making, corruption and cronyism" has helped prop up Cambodia's self-styled strongman, who has led the country for more than three decades, the group said. "The report should serve as a warning to foreign investors."

One of Hun Sen's sons rejected the allegations and suggested they were politically motivated.

"From my recent memory, whenever it is close to an election time, an organization called Global Witness has come up with very colourful accusations aimed at attacking the government and, in particular, making personal attack on my father," said the son, Hun Manet, in a Facebook post.

A senior member of the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, welcomed the airing of what he said were widely known details of the family's wealth.

"We all knew it but nobody could really talk about it," party member of parliament Son Chhay said.

"Now it is all public."

Recently, Hun Sen has come under pressure from the European Union to end what it sees as judicial harassment of opposition politicians. The EU has threatened to review about half a billion dollars in aid if the harassment continues.

Hun Sen has for decades dismissed accusation of rights abuses and links to graft, and regularly shrugs off Western pressure for reform while building strong ties with China.
Irish main opposition poll surge piles pressure on Kenny

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - Support for Ireland's main opposition party has surged since its decision to let Prime Minister Enda Kenny's minority government survive by offering qualified assistance in parliament, raising pressure on Kenny to announce when he intends to step aside.

Kenny returned to office in May as head of a government that is due to run until the end of 2018. But he has said he will not lead his Fine Gael party into the next election - though without committing to when he will stand down.

Lawmakers from the centre-right party said planning for Kenny's departure was brought up for the first time at an internal Fine Gael meeting on Wednesday, a day before a poll showed it trailing rival Fianna Fail by nine percentage points.

"There will be a time in the not too distant future, I expect, when leadership is going to have to be discussed in Fine Gael," Simon Coveney, Ireland's minister for housing and one of two clear bookmakers' favourites to take over, told reporters.

One Fine Gael backbencher said he would like Kenny to give an outline of his intentions once the budget for next year is introduced in mid-October.

After suffering heavy losses in February elections, Fine Gael returned to power with the backing of a group of independent lawmakers and facilitated by Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fail, also centre-right and a major political force which lost power over the 2008 financial crisis, agreed to help Kenny's government by abstaining on key votes while being able to hand the government embarrassing defeats in others.

Backing for Fianna Fail rose to an eight-year high of 33 percent compared to the 24 percent it won at the election, the Irish Times/IPSOS MRBI poll showed.

Fine Gael fell two points to 24 percent. Fianna Fail's surge came mostly at the expense of independent candidates who fell 8 points to 22 percent, which the survey's authors said may be partly due to Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

"It is impossible to avoid the temptation to link the swing towards a more cohesive opposition, and away from a fragmented one, to the uncertainty created by the UK's vote to leave the EU," Ipsos MRBI's Damian Loscher said.
Two Syrians killed in blast while making bombs in Turkey's south -media

ISTANBUL, July 7 (Reuters) - Two Syrians accidentally blew themselves up while handling explosives in a house in the southern Turkish border town of Reyhanli, the privately owned Dogan news agency said on Thursday.

A woman who was at the scene at the time of the blast late on Wednesday was later detained by police, Dogan said, without giving her nationality.

Police were investigating whether the two Syrians had any links to militant groups or Syrian rebels, the agency said. A car believed to have been owned by the two had been seized for investigation.

A senior Turkish official confirmed the blast in Reyhanli in Hatay province bordering Syria but declined to give further information. Security was tightened in the neighbourhood and bomb experts examined the house, the news agency said.

NATO-member Turkey has been on high alert since a series of suicide bombings by Kurdish militants and Islamic State across the country this year including the capital Ankara and the biggest city, Istanbul.

Authorities have jailed a total 30 suspects pending trial over a triple suicide bombing at Ataturk Airport, which killed 45 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest of the attacks this year.

The pro-government Yeni Safak daily said earlier this week Turkish authorities were seeking two suspected Islamic State militants thought to be linked to last week's Istanbul airport attack and believed to be in hiding near the border with Syria.

The paper said two Islamic State suspects were believed to be hiding in woodland in the Yayladagi area of Turkey's southern Hatay province and could be planning to change their appearance and joint rebel groups in Syria.

It was not immediately clear if Wednesday's incident was linked to the Istanbul airport attack.
France: Syria's three-day truce not enough for fresh peace talks

PARIS, July 7 (Reuters) - France said on Thursday that a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army was not good enough and it was unrealistic to expect a revival of peace talks without a long-term truce.

Syria's military declared the three-day "regime of calm" - a term it uses to denote a temporary truce - on Wednesday to cover the Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrated by Muslims at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. But some fighting has continued.

Taking note of the truce announcement, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said it fell far short of "commitments made in Vienna for a lasting comprehensive ceasefire.

"We will judge the announcement of a 'regime of peace' in terms of concrete results on the ground," the spokesman said. "Without a full and lasting truce, and without full and continuous humanitarian access to all people in need in Syria, it is unrealistic to expect a resumption of negotiations."

The truce was the first to be declared across Syria since one brokered by foreign powers in February to facilitate talks to end the five-year-old civil war. That truce largely collapsed and the escalating violence torpedoed the talks.

Rebels said that Syrian government forces on Thursday advanced to within firing range of the sole road into rebel-held areas of Aleppo, edging closer towards their objective of encircling opposition strongholds in the city.
Diaz eager to showcase his talent at Real Madrid

MADRID, July 7 (Reuters) - Paraguay starlet Sergio Diaz is thrilled to be moving to Real Madrid but has yet to find out if he will join the first team squad for pre-season training or play for the club's Castilla reserve side, he told Spanish media.

Real have yet to unveil the 18-year-old officially but Marca reported that striker has joined the Spanish giants from Cerro Porteno in a six million euros ($6.64 million) transfer deal to become the first Paraguayan to play for the European champions.

Marca said Diaz had a medical shortly after arriving in Madrid on Thursday and has signed a six-year contract.

"I arrive at the most powerful club in the world to help and show my talent and that of Paraguay," Diaz told Marca at Madrid's Adolfo Suarez-Barajas airport. "I will give everything possible to do well.

"I still do not know who I will be doing the pre-season with, I guess I will be told in the next few days."

Since making his debut in Paraguay's top flight in 2014 with Cerro at the age of 15, Diaz has scored 15 goals in 62 games. He played in his first Copa Libertadores match two years later.

He has played for Paraguay's under-20s since he turned 16 and featured for the Under-23s at this year's Toulon Tournament.

"I thank Real Madrid for putting their trust in me and for giving me the opportunity to show my game in Europe. I will give my all for a club where I always wanted to play..." Diaz had previously written on his Instagram account.
Germany arrests Algerian suspected of helping Paris attack ringleader

BERLIN, July 7 (Reuters) - German police have arrested a man suspected of being a member of Islamic State and of feeding information to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who planned last year's Paris attacks, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

The 20-year old Algerian identified only as Bilal C., is believed to have been tasked by Abaaoud to check border controls, waiting times and entry and exit points along the 'Balkan route' last year at the height of the migrant crisis.

Bilal C. is suspected of being trained by IS at the end of 2014 and the first half of last year after travelling to Syria from Algeria via Turkey.

From June to August 2015, he is thought to have travelled to Syria to Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Hungary and Austria where he informed Abaaoud about open borders before entering Germany.

Abaaoud planned several IS attacks in Europe including the bombing and shooting rampage in Paris that killed 130 people in November. He was shot dead in a gunbattle with French police soon after that attack.

Bilal C. was also thought to be in touch with Ayoub el Khazzani, who shot at passengers on a Thalys fast train between Amsterdam and Paris last August, said prosecutors.

There were no leads suggesting the suspect had been actively working for IS since his arrival in Germany, prosecutors said.

They said the suspect had already been arrested for a previous incident but they declined to give any details.
Hungary, Austria squabble about border controls causing traffic jams

BUDAPEST/VIENNA, July 7 (Reuters) - Border checks by Austria that have caused long queues on the Hungarian side of the frontier in recent days are unjustified, Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Thursday.

Szijjarto said controls were needed on Hungary's Serbian and Croatian borders but not where it meets Austria. He said Hungary was doing its job to defend the external border of the passport-free Schengen zone to the south.

"I think what the Austrians are doing on the Hungarian-Austrian border is unjustified," he told a news conference.

Austrian police said an uptick in illegal crossings from Hungary had caused them to intensify checks on vehicles at the border starting on July 4. Both countries are in the passport free Schengen zone.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants crossed from Hungary into Austria last year in an unprecedented influx to Europe of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and elsewhere. Most of them went on to Germany or Sweden.

After the Austrian police stepped up controls, the Hungarian police in turn introduced its own checks, causing queues to form on the Austrian side.

"We take notice of the Hungarian explanation that these are traffic controls, but in effect this amounts to border controls," said a spokesman for the interior ministry in Austria.

Austria introduced temporary border checks last year after 71 migrants were found suffocated in a truck near the border with Hungary, abandoned by people smugglers.

The spokesman said Austria's border checks were approved by the European Commission, whereas Hungary had no such agreement.

Hungary has taken an anti-immigration stance during the crisis, closing its southern border to migrants in October. This means the flow through to Austria has slowed to a steady trickle.

Austria's Interior Minister summoned Hungary's ambassador for a meeting on the issue on Wednesday. A police spokeswoman said Austria's controls would remain in place at least for the coming days.
EU Commission begins deficit sanction procedure for Spain, Portugal

By Francesco Guarascio

BRUSSELS, July 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission began formal disciplinary procedures against Spain and Portugal on Thursday for their excessive deficits in 2014 and 2015, which may lead to fines for the two countries before the end of July.

Both had deficits greater than the European Union's limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product in the past two years and failed to correct the deficits quickly enough, the Commission said.

The two countries now risk fines and the suspension of EU funds if they cannot show the rules were breached because of "exceptional economic circumstances". Fines up to 0.2 percent of GDP may be imposed if the excessive deficits aren't reduced, although sanctions so far have never been applied.

The Council of EU finance ministers will decide on the Commission's recommendation at their regular meeting on July 12, a spokeswoman for the EU's Slovak presidency told Reuters.

Ministers could reject the Commission's assessment only with a qualified majority of its members, making it very unlikely that the Council may oppose the Commission's recommendation.

After the Council's decision, the Commission will have to propose sanctions "within 20 days," the EU executive said in a document.

Spain and Portugal may therefore be fined by July 27, the last meeting of the European Commission before the summer break, an EU official told Reuters.

The two countries have been under EU's excessive deficit procedure since 2009 because of surging fiscal gaps following the 2007-08 global financial crisis.

In line with the procedure, the Commission set annual targets to gradually reduce their fiscal gaps. But in 2014 and 2015, Spain and Portugal missed the agreed objectives, maintaining deficits well above the 3 percent limit.

Last year, Spain had a 5.1 percent deficit, higher than the required 4.2 percent. Portugal was required to cut its deficit to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2015, but instead had a 4.4 percent deficit.

The Commission said that Portugal missed its target to correct its fiscal gap, while Spain was "unlikely to correct its excessive deficit" by the deadline, but concluded that both countries did not take effective actions to remedy the situation.

The two countries may still escape the financial sanctions if they can show exceptional economic circumstances in a reasoned opinion sent within 10 days from the Council's endorsement of the Commission decision.
Philippines suspends 2 nickel mines, halts permits in environmental crackdown

By Manolo Serapio Jr

MANILA, July 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines has ordered the suspension of operations at two nickel ore mines for environmental violations and halted the issuance of exploration permits as a nationwide crackdown led by a new mining minister begins.

The move could curb nickel ore shipments from the Southeast Asian country, the top supplier to No. 1 market China, and push up global prices further.

News last week that the Philippine government would review all mining operations in the country lifted the price of nickel by 8 percent in two days. It hit an eight-month high of $10,410 a tonne on Monday.

The two nickel mines to be suspended are operated by BenguetCorp Nickel Mines Inc and Zambales Diversified Metals Corp in Zambales province, north of the capital Manila, Leo Jasareno, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, told Reuters on Thursday.

The suspensions followed "various complaints of environmental degradation," Jasareno said, adding they would be in effect until the companies complied with conditions set by the agency.

Officials at Benguet Corp, which owns BenguetCorp Nickel Mines, were not immediately available for comment. Zambales Diversified Metals could not immediately be reached for comment.

The mining minister, Regina Lopez, a staunch environmentalist, separately said there would be a ban on fresh mining exploration in the country for a month while a review of all existing mines was underway.

"There's a moratorium on new mining until we're done with the audit," Lopez told Reuters in an interview.

The Philippines has stopped issuing new permits to develop mines since 2012 amid efforts to boost the state's revenue share from mining, but has allowed exploration until now.

'LIFE OF OUR PEOPLE'

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office last week, has warned he would cancel mining projects causing environmental harm.

Of around 40 metals mines operating in the Philippines, Lopez said she didn't "even know of one" that practised responsible mining, strictly adhered to environmental standards or took full care of the local communities where they operate.

Following the month-long audit, she said mines found in violation of regulations would be suspended.

"I will not allow any kind of activity which impinges on the life of our people," said Lopez, who believes the country can benefit more from developing tourism than mines.

The Philippines' mining sector, one of the world's largest in the 1970s, has since struggled partly due to environmental rules and policy flip-flops, missing much of the mining boom in recent decades and now facing much lower commodity prices.

Despite the Philippines' rich mineral reserves, mining contributes less than 1 percent to its economy. Of 9 million hectares identified by the government as having high mineral reserves, only 3 percent is being mined.

Commodities giant Glencore Plc last year quit the $5.9 billion gold-copper Tampakan project in the southern Mindanao island. The project failed to take off after the province where Tampakan is located banned open-pit mining in 2010.
Brexit opens up bank fault line from Milan to Lisbon

By John O'Donnell and Andrei Khalip

FRANKFURT/LISBON, July 7 (Reuters) - The ripples from Britain's decision to leave the European Union have spread across Europe to its southwestern edge, where Portugal is quietly struggling to contain a banking crisis.

Since Britain's shock vote on June 23 for a "Brexit", attention in the banking sector has mainly focused on Italy, where non-performing loans are causing concern, bank shares have tumbled and confidence has sunk.

Political tensions in Europe have also deepened, with Rome and Lisbon trying to bend EU rules on helping laggard banks but meeting resistance from economic powerhouse Germany and the executive European Commission.

"It's putting the whole banking system under stress," said Gunnar Hokmark, a lawmaker in the European Parliament, echoing the nervousness expressed by investors who spoke to Reuters.

"It will be serious for countries in a fragile situation," said Hokmark, who helped write rules imposing losses on bondholders and large depositors of failing banks which Portugal and Italy want loosened to allow state help.

Portugal's problems have attracted fewer headlines than Italy's but its predicament is potentially no less painful. Data show Portuguese savings are being spent, unlike in Italy, and private debt is much higher.

A euro zone official who asked not be identified said Portugal's situation was as critical as Italy's but it was unlikely to be treated with leniency because it was smaller and posed no "systemic" threat to Europe's financial stability.

Portugal sees it differently.

"Wherever you look, there is a threat or a risk," said Filipe Garcia, a financial expert and consultant in Portugal. "If Brexit unfolds into a crisis of confidence or a financial crisis, it will be more difficult for Portugal."

MIRROR IMAGE

Banks in both countries are struggling with bad debts and need more capital. Yet, with public debts of about 130 percent of gross domestic product, neither has much scope to help.

Lisbon's 2-billion-euro ($2.22 billion) bailout of Banif Bank last year blew Portugal off course from EU spending targets, raising the threat of a penalty from Brussels.

The European Commission began a formal disciplinary procedure against Spain and Portugal on Thursday for excessive budget deficits in 2014 and 2015.

Portugal now needs to recapitalise its largest lender, state-owned Caixa Geral de Depositos, where bad loans have blown a hole in its finances which some reports say could be as large as 5 billion euros.

Convincing investors may be impossible after the central bank penalised bondholders in another struggling bank, Novo Banco. Some are now suing to get their money back, while attempts to sell Novo Banco have made little headway.

Millennium, which had shown interest, has been discouraged by the post-Brexit chaos, during which its already flagging shares had fallen by a quarter on the day of the referendum result before staging a mild recovery.

Brexit was also cited by the Portuguese finance minister when he revised down his growth forecast.

The International Monetary Fund warned in a recent report that banks had lent a lot to "low-productivity firms". That is borne out by data showing one-fifth of loans to businesses are at risk of not being repaid -- double the level 2011.

Compounding the problem, ECB figures show that while bank deposits in Italy continue to nudge up beyond 1.6 trillion euros, they have fallen in Portugal since 2012.

Private debt in Portugal is almost twice the size of its economy and significantly higher than Italy, according to Eurostat, the European statistics .

"Brexit can impact the economic outlook for Portugal ... that can have an effect on the banks," said Roger Turro, an analyst with credit rating agency Fitch though he made clear he saw this happening only in the long term.

But alarm is growing because Portugal risks losing access to the European Central Bank's bond-buying programme aimed at reviving economic growth in the euro zone, with only one rating agency still ranking it investment grade.

The Portuguese government, led by socialist prime minister Antonio Costa, has frustrated Germany, the strongest and most influential euro zone country, by rolling back earlier economic reforms.

RACE AGAINST TIME

Lisbon is now considering whether to copy the bad bank model used, albeit with only limited success, in Italy.

Central bank governor Carlos Costa has called for a waiver of the strict European rules that require losses on bondholders for banks bailed out by the state.

He described the banks problem as "systemic", a term used in the euro zone debt crisis to signal a catastrophic spillover to the wider financial system.

The plunge in share prices could become systemic if, say, depositors were to panic and withdraw their cash.

There are already examples of similar phenomena. Brexit, for instance, is making it more expensive for banks to borrow, not only in Britain but also in the neighbouring euro zone.

The value of Additional Tier 1 bonds, the riskiest type of debt a bank can sell, has fallen sharply since Britain's vote for a Brexit.

Market data show that this trend, which makes it more expensive for banks to sell such bonds, is more acute for Italy's Unicredit and Germany's Deutsche Bank than it is for British banks.

With the prospect of further stress ahead, time is running out for Portugal and Italy to strike a deal.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble suggested last week that Portugal may need another international bailout to follow a three-year 78 billion-euro financial rescue package agreed with the EU and IMF in 2011.

A second senior euro zone official played down such a possibility and bailout talk has focused more on Italy.

"If there is no bailout of Italy, then there could be a run on the banks," said Thomas Mayer, who runs a research institute owned by German fund manager Flossbach von Storch.
Fire near Yemeni oil facility kills worker

CAIRO, July 7 (Reuters) - A fire that broke out at a domestic gas storage facility in Yemen's Marib province on Thursday killed a worker and seriously injured four others, according to state media and a local official.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze caused by an electrical fault which broke out close to Safer, an oil industry compound in Marib province about 150 km (95 miles) east of the capital Sanaa, said state news agency, Saba, citing a Yemeni official.

Saudi-led coalition forces fighting the Houthi group who control the capital have been flying reinforcements into a small airport in the town of Safer.
U.S.'s Kerry warns peace deal on Ukraine is in danger of failing

By Lesley Wroughton

KIEV, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday that the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine was doomed to fail unless "real security" was restored in eastern Ukraine where government forces are pitted against Russian-backed separatists.

The Minsk agreement was negotiated by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in February 2015 to end the fighting which broke out in eastern Ukraine after the fall of a Moscow-backed president and the arrival in power of a pro-Western leadership.

But the ceasefire has failed to stop all fighting between Ukrainian government troops and the Russian-backed rebels while the two sides accuse each other of failing to honour the commitments made in Minsk.

More than 9,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors implementation of the ceasefire, reports violations on a daily basis. Fighting has increased in recent months and the Ukrainian military has reported over 90 of its soldiers killed since March.

"Without real security in the Donbass (industrialised eastern Ukraine) and an end to the bloodshed on the contact line, the use of heavy weapons and blockading of OSCE access, Minsk is doomed to fail," Kerry told a news conference in Kiev after talks with President Petro Poroshenko.

Kerry did not apportion blame, but he said without movement by Russia to implement the Minsk agreement Western sanctions against Moscow would remain.

He praised Ukraine for making a "good faith effort" to implement Minsk and he announced an additional $23 million in humanitarian assistance to help thousands of people affected by the conflict.

Kerry was due later to travel on to Warsaw for a NATO summit where the Ukraine crisis and Russia's military activities in the region were among topics to be discussed.

He said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had indicated to U.S. President Barack Obama, in a phone call on Wednesday, that he wanted to see progress in the Minsk process.

"We are hopeful in the days ahead we will in fact be able to translate those expressions of hope and words in a telephone call into real actions that will make a difference," Kerry added.

Poroshenko, alongside Kerry at the news conference, placed the blame squarely on Moscow and the rebels, however.

"There is a complete understanding - Russia and the fighters controlled by it bear sole responsibility for the stalling of the peace process in the Donbass  There cannot be a functional resolution if sustainable and comprehensive security is not guaranteed," he said.

Kerry praised reforms by Ukraine's government to boost the economy and fight corruption, but he said more was needed to strengthen democracy since street protests in 2013-2014 brought pro-Western leaders to power.

"Ukraine is undeniably moving forward but I think we all agree that the job isn't done and more has yet to be done to strengthen Ukraine's democracy," Kerry said.

During discussions with Kiev leaders, Kerry said he stressed the need for further reforms to tackle graft in the state prosecutor's office and judicial system.

He also emphasised the need to implement an IMF economic package in full and to privatise state-owned enterprises that are a drain on state coffers.
Kerry hopes for continued Chinese cooperation on North Korea

KIEV, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday he hoped China would continue to cooperate with the United States on sanctions on North Korea, a day after Beijing criticized new U.S. sanctions targeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"China's engagement is critical," Kerry told a news conference during a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kiev, when asked if sanctions could be effective without China's help.

Kerry said he spoke to China's foreign minister Wang Yi on Wednesday about cooperation on North Korea.

"Our hope is that we continue to cooperate as we have been in the last months, particularly with the U.N. Security Council resolution that we passed in which China stepped up and significantly increased its own actions with respect to (North Korea)," he said.

At the same time, Kerry said the United States stood "ready and prepared" to return to talks with North Korea aimed at convincing the country to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

China's foreign ministry said earlier on Thursday it opposed the use of unilateral sanctions after the United States announced sanctions on the North Korean leader for the first time.

China has signed up for tough United Nations sanctions against nuclear-armed North Korea, but has opposed past unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States.

Washington announced sanctions on Kim for the first time on Wednesday, citing "notorious abuses of human rights," a move diplomats say will infuriate Pyongyang, where the leader is considered infallible.

Some analysts and diplomats said before the U.S. announcement that such a move could limit cooperation with China on further international sanctions aimed at rolling back North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Slovenia investigates central bank chief, rebuffs ECB

By Marja Novak and Balazs Koranyi

LJUBLJANA/FRANKFURT, July 7 (Reuters) - Slovenian prosecutors put central bank chief Bostjan Jazbec under investigation for possible "criminal abuse of office" in a 2013 bank overhaul and rebuffed calls to return seized documents in a rare, escalating fight with the European Central Bank.

Police confiscated documents in a raid at the Bank of Slovenia, part of the ECB's network of euro zone central banks, taking files from Jazbec, some staff members and a former deputy governor in a pre-criminal investigation.

ECB President Mario Draghi immediately condemned the move, asking European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to intervene and threatening legal action for an infringement of the ECB's legal privileges and immunities.

"Seized equipment contains ECB information, and such information is protected under directly applicable primary EU law," Draghi said in a letter to the Slovenian State Prosecutor General Zvonko Fiser. "The ECB will also explore possible appropriate legal remedies under Slovenian law."

Responding on Thursday, Fiser said he could not act on the ECB's request because the raid was legal and was ordered by an investigative judge so he could not interfere.

Harij Furlan, head of the Special State Prosecution, added that the central bank had previously refused several requests by prosecutors to hand over the documents.

Police also rejected Draghi's call, arguing that the central bank's employees did not enjoy privileges which would exempt them from investigation in pre-criminal procedures and the people in question were not acting on behalf of the EU.

The police said in a statement on Wednesday, regarding the raid on the central bank: "Activities focused on gathering information and evidence regarding a suspicion of criminal abuse of office or official duties by four individuals."

The Bank of Slovenia confirmed on Thursday that Jazbec, a member of the ECB's rate-setting Governing Council, was one of the four under investigation, and it rejected allegations of wrongdoing.

Jazbec, who will continue to serve on the Governing Council regardless of the probe, could not be reached for comment.

The EU Commission said that it was awaiting the results of the investigation and that it was too early to comment further.

Although such a raid is rare, it is not unprecedented. Cypriot authorities took computers from the central bank as part of an investigation last year. The computers were later returned after a protest from the ECB.

The Slovenian probe relates to an assessment of a bank rescued by the state in 2013, which resulted in wiping out holders of subordinated bonds and subordinated debt to the value of 257 million euros, police said.

In 2013 the government had to pour more than 3 billion euros ($3.33 billion) into local banks to prevent them collapsing under a large amount of bad loans. The move helped the country narrowly avoid an international bailout.

As part of the bank overhaul about 600 million euros of subordinated bonds were scrapped at five banks.
Bulgaria signs deal to build radioactive waste depot

SOFIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Bulgaria has signed a 72 million euro ($80 million) deal with a consortium to build a radioactive waste depot for its Kozloduy nuclear plant that should become operational in 2021, the energy ministry said on Thursday.

The Balkan country has signed a contract with German Nukem Technologies, controlled by Russia's state nuclear company Atomstroyexport, and four Bulgarian companies for the first phase of the facility that will help with the decommissioning of four Soviet-era nuclear reactors at Kozloduy.

The project is financed by the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund, administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Bulgaria shut its four 440 megawatt (MW) Soviet-era reactors at Kozloduy over safety concerns and as part of its deal to become an European Union member state in 2007. At present, Kozloduy operates two 1,000 MW reactors.

In 2012, a Nukem Technologies-led consortium built a dry spent fuel storage facility at Kozloduy that stored radioactive waste in dry casks.

The new depot, with a capacity of 138,200 square metres, will be used to store long-term radioactive waste that has been initially safeguarded in reinforced concrete packages.

An arbitration court ruled last month that Bulgaria has to pay nearly 550 million euros in compensation to Russia's Atomstroyexport for cancelling a project to build two 1,000 MW nuclear reactors at Belene.
EU Commission begins deficit sanction procedure for Spain, Portugal

By Francesco Guarascio

BRUSSELS, July 7 (Reuters) - The European Commission began formal disciplinary procedures against Spain and Portugal on Thursday for their excessive deficits in 2014 and 2015, which may lead to fines for the two countries before the end of July.

Both had deficits greater than the European Union's limit of 3 percent of gross domestic product in the past two years and failed to correct the deficits quickly enough, the Commission said.

That triggered a process that may further complicate both the fiscal and the political situation in each country. Or it may not - the sanctions have never before been applied, and it's not clear whether they will be imposed this time.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said his country should escape any sanction and would instead work with Brussels on a new deficit-cutting path {nE8N17F014].

"I am convinced this sanction will not happen, because Spain is the fastest-growing economy in the euro zone and it has passed more reforms than anybody else. It would be a nonsense," De Guindos told journalists at an event in Madrid.

"From there, a new fiscal path can be agreed and this is what is going to happen in the next few weeks," he said.

Even if the fines are cancelled, some of the EU funds committed to Spain and Portugal are likely to be suspended for at least a year in the event of a sanction decision, an EU executive document said. So the two countries may have to do with less funding just as they are trying to make ends meet.

And both are coping with fragile political situations. Spain is trying to form a government after a second indecisive election in six months. Portugal's minority government faces huge political hurdles to cut its public expenses as it relies on the support of leftist parties.

The two countries could escape the fines and the suspension of EU funds if they show the rules were breached because of "exceptional economic circumstances". If they do not, and do not propose some corrective measures, fines up to 0.2 percent of GDP may be imposed.

The Commission's decision may re-ignite controversies over the fair application of EU fiscal rules, after bigger countries escaped sanctions in the past. Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in May that France was granted budget leeway because "it's France", attracting criticism.

The Council of EU finance ministers will decide on the Commission's recommendation at their regular meeting on July 12, a spokeswoman for the EU's Slovak presidency told Reuters.

Ministers could reject the Commission's assessment only with a qualified majority of its members. That makes it unlikely the Council will oppose the Commission's recommendation. Assuming it does not, the Commission will have to propose sanctions "within 20 days," the EU executive said in a document.

Spain and Portugal may therefore be fined by July 27, the last meeting of the European Commission before the summer break, an EU official told Reuters.

TO FINE OR NOT TO FINE

Before then, the two countries have their opportunity to show they faced exceptional economic circumstances. They can also offer corrective measures. They must act within 10 days of the Council's endorsement of the Commission decision.

"We are open for dialogue. The idea is that we are able to take onboard the arguments that the ministers provide," the EU commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici told a news conference in Brussels.

"Certainly there will be a possibility within this procedure for the countries to put forward motivated requests to reduce potential sanctions or probably even bring them down to zero," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU commissioner responsible for the euro.

The two countries have been under EU's excessive deficit procedure since 2009 because of surging fiscal gaps following the 2007-08 global financial crisis.

In line with the procedure, the Commission set annual targets to gradually reduce their fiscal gaps. But in 2014 and 2015, Spain and Portugal missed the agreed objectives, maintaining deficits well above the 3 percent limit.

Last year, Spain had a 5.1 percent deficit, higher than the required 4.2 percent. Portugal was required to cut its deficit to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2015, but instead had a 4.4 percent deficit.

Moscovici said that Portugal's fiscal gap last year was mostly caused by the state-led recapitalisation of Banif bank, but he stressed that even without the bailout "the targets would not have been met".
U.N. chief hope China will sway North Korea on human rights

UNITED NATIONS, July 7 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hopes China will urge North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman said on Thursday, after the United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for rights abuses.

"The Secretary-General believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Ohio man pleads guilty to Islamic State-linked attack plot

By Jonathan Stempel

July 7 (Reuters) - An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to charges he plotted to kill a U.S. military employee and then attack a local police station in the state, in connection with his support for the Islamic State, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

Munir Abdulkader, 21, pleaded guilty to counts of attempted murder of a government employee, attempted material support of a foreign terrorist organization, and illegal firearm possession.

Abdulkader, who lives in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester, was arrested on May 21, 2015, and pleaded guilty on March 24, 2016. His case was made public on Thursday.

A federal public defender representing Abdulkader did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to a statement of facts he signed, Abdulkader became a U.S. citizen in 2006, and was a college student in Cincinnati in 2014 and 2015.

The defendant said he began expressing support for the Islamic State on Twitter in July 2014, indicated a desire to attain "shahada," or martyrdom, and by the spring of 2015 was planning to train in Syria as an Islamic State fighter.

According to the statement of facts, Abdulkader in May 2015 began communicating with an unnamed informant and Islamic State members overseas about his plan to abduct a military employee at home, film the employee's execution, and then use firearms and Molotov cocktails to attack the police station.

Abdulkader was arrested on the same day he took possession of an AK-47 assault rifle costing $350, and shortly after he had conducted surveillance of the police station and learned at a shooting range how to operate firearms, the statement said.

The defendant faces up to 20 years in prison on the attempted murder charge, up to 15 years for attempting to aid the Islamic State, and up to five years on the firearm charge, the Justice Department said. His sentencing date is Oct. 4.
Scores flee to U.N. compound after fighting erupts in South Sudan town

JUBA, July 7 (Reuters) - Gunfire erupted in a flashpoint town in South Sudan's northwest on Thursday, forcing at least 200 civilians to flee to a United Nations compound in the area for safety, a spokeswoman said.

Africa's youngest nation was devastated by a war that broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir sacked his vice president, Riek Machar.

The conflict, which largely pitted Kiir's Dinka ethnic group against Machar's Nuer, ended after a peace agreement was signed by the two sides in August last year.

Shantal Persaud, spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told Reuters gunfire broke out south of the mission's compound in the town of Wau at around 9.00am.

The capital of South Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal province, the town has been the scene of renewed fighting between government forces and armed groups in recent days that has forced thousands to flee.

Sporadic fire continued on Thursday until around 10:00 am, Persaud said. "After the shooting started, some 200-250 civilians arrived at ...the UNMISS Wau base," she told Reuters.

She said it was unclear what sparked the fighting or which groups were involved.

South Sudan's economy has been struggling because oil production, on which the government nearly wholly depends for its revenues, plummeted during the conflict.

Any renewed instability is likely to disrupt the fragile recovery process and keep the vast majority of its 11 million people mired in poverty.
Poland rushes through changes to key court law before NATO summit

By Adrian Krajewski

WARSAW, July 7 (Reuters) - Poland's ruling conservatives rushed an amended version of its constitutional court reforms through parliament on Thursday, apparently in an effort to reassure its Western allies over the issue hours before a NATO summit opens in Warsaw.

Opposition critics said, however, the changes fell short of what was needed to keep from undermining democratic checks and balances, a concern expressed by the European Union and the United States.

Diplomats say Washington has heavily lobbied the government of the Law and Justice party (PiS) to resolve the issue, which has fuelled a heated debate in Poland, before the summit on Friday and Saturday.

The government argues it is only trying to make the constitutional court more effective and transparent. Opposition critics see the efforts to overhaul the tribunal as part of a broader plan to take more control over state institutions.

"We have shown enough good will to resolve the conflict, which we haven't created," senior PiS lawmaker Stanislaw Piotrowicz was quoted as saying by the Polish news agency PAP, referring to Thursday's amendments.

PiS's main compromise was giving up an increase in the number of judges needed to pass rulings, which critics say would have paralysed the court.

But the bill, if enacted, would force the head of the constitutional court to fill disputed court seats with judges selected by the ruling party, a move the court's head has resisted so far.

Looking to limit the share of judges picked by the previous parliament, PiS named its own members to the 15-strong body instead of allowing those named by the previous parliament to be seated. They were nominated just before elections in October.

The changes proposed by PiS led the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and the Venice Commission, the advisory panel of the Council of Europe rights body, to question the rule of law in Poland, opinions largely denounced by the Polish government.

But the upcoming NATO summit, where it will push for the alliance to station more troops on the eastern flank, increased pressure on Poland, with Washington lobbying for the government to soften its stance on the court.

Several U.S. think tanks as well as New York Times newspaper urged President Barack Obama to press the issue in his discussions with Polish statesmen.

"The Polish government must be told that and more: that the alliance whose protection they demand is not only about defending territory, but, perhaps more important, about defending shared values," New York Times said in a Wednesday editorial.

"The bill is yet another try to subordinate the court to the executive power, and we fear that it will block all cases judged by the court," said Marcin Wolny, a lawyer for the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. "This bill will absolutely not end the row with the European Commission or the Venice Commission."
Poland wants emigrants in Britain to return, just not yet

By Justyna Pawlak and Pawel Sobczak

WARSAW, July 7 (Reuters) - Poland's eurosceptic government has long said it would like Poles living in Britain to return home, but it is now promising to fight for their right to stay after the British vote to leave the European Union.

The roughly 800,000 Poles resident in Britain helped stimulate an emotive debate over record high immigration that helped the "Leave" side win the June 23 referendum on EU membership, and the conditions under which Poles may be able to stay in the UK will be subject to future Brexit negotiations.

For Poland's ruling conservatives, a return of Poles from Britain could be seen as a vote of confidence in their government, in place since a sweeping election victory last October on a promise of more economic equality.

But analysts say Prime Minister Beata Szydlo's Law and Justice (PiS) party is being pragmatic. With salaries in Poland a fraction of what they are in Britain, any returnees might turn sour on her government. Opinion polls also show the majority want to remain in the UK and expect the government to help them.

"The Poles in Britain are an important part of the PiS electorate, so are their families," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at London's Centre for European Reform think tank. "It would be risky to use the situation to persuade the Poles to return."

The vast majority of Poles in Britain have arrived since 2004 when Poland joined the EU, giving citizens the option of moving to one of the bloc's strongest economies, with plentiful jobs and relatively low taxes.

Many of Britain's Poles came from economically deprived smaller towns in their homeland where PiS support is strong.

Detailed negotiations between the EU and Britain over the exact terms of its split have yet to start. EU leaders have insisted Britain must continue to accept the free movement of EU citizens if it wants to enjoy unbroken access to the bloc's lucrative single market of 500 million people.

Poland has said it will seek to preserve its citizens' status quo in Britain, which includes the right to work and access to welfare benefits.

"My dream is that they return to Poland. These people have incredible experience ... and financial resources," deputy prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told private broadcaster TVN24.

"(But) we will try to negotiate so that our citizens, Poles who have settled in well in Britain, are not treated worse than the Brits. That's obvious."

COMPLICATED IMPACT

Morawiecki said he expected Poland's labour market, where unemployment fell to eight-year lows of 8.8 percent in June, to be able to absorb many returnees, if needed.

"I assume it would be possible for the Polish labour market to absorb them in the course of two or three years. I would like it very much if at least 100,000 to 200,000 people decided to return."

That may be optimistic. An opinion poll by IBRIS conducted between June 29 and July 1 showed that two-thirds of Poles living in Britain wanted to stay but 20 percent would leave for Poland if this proved impossible after an exit from the EU.

Less than six percent said the Brexit vote meant they wanted go back. Almost 16 percent said they would leave Britain but move elsewhere in the EU or outside the bloc.

"Our research shows that most Poles who would be forced to leave Britain would go to countries such as Germany, France or the Netherlands," said Andrzej Kubisiak of the London-listed employment agency Work Service.

"Salaries in many sectors are comparable to Britain there."

Economically, a return home of a substantial number of Poles could have a mixed impact, analysts say.

The amount of cash they send to families in Poland has fallen in recent years from about 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009 alone. Upward pressure on salaries would ease, as well.

An influx of the mostly young migrants would help offset Poland's demographic problems. With one of the lowest birth rates in Europe, Poland faces increasing difficulties in making pension payments.

Government officials hope a return of expatriates would also reverse an outflow of skilled labour.

But analysts say thousands of Poles in Britain will probably now seek permanent residence status that is available to foreigners who have lived in Britain for at least four years.

A study by the Polish Institute of International Affairs think tank indicates that some 120,000 to 400,000 Poles - about half or less - may not qualify for this now.
LSE gets U.S., Russia nod for Brexit-clouded Deutsche Boerse merger

July 7 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group said on Thursday that U.S. and Russian authorities had approved its $27 billion merger with Deutsche Boerse, giving it the first set of regulatory clearances needed to create a European exchange giant.

However, there still remain questions whether EU regulators will approve the deal, given the huge combined presence of the two companies in derivatives clearing and the status quo of LSE's LCH.Clearnet as Europe's main clearing house for euro-denominated swaps.

LSEG shareholders and industry experts have also questioned the viability of the deal after Britain's shock vote to leave the European Union, a move that could dent London's title as a global financial hub.

Last week, German markets regulator BaFin said it was hard to see how the head office of the merged group could still be in London given that Britain was leaving the EU.

Despite these concerns, LSEG shareholders voted overwhelmingly on Monday to approve the merger, after Chief Executive Xavier Rolet said the group was "extremely well positioned" globally no matter what the outcome of British negotiations with the EU on new trading terms.

Deutsche Boerse has also asked its shareholders to back the deal - the third attempt by the LSE to merge with the German exchange operator in some 16 years - in a postal vote that closes on July 12.
Colombian army to fight crime gangs, dissident FARC after peace

By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA, July 7 (Reuters) - Colombia's army will up their fight against dissident FARC rebels and crime gangs across the nation even after a peace accord is signed with the Marxist group, the head of the army said, in a bid to prevent other armed groups and drug traffickers from taking over rebel territory.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been in peace talks for nearly four years, and recently signed a historic ceasefire deal considered the penultimate step to a final accord.

Experts have expressed concern that an end to the war with the FARC could lead to military withdrawal from rebel areas, leaving them open for takeover by smaller groups such as the National Liberation Army (ELN) or crime gangs, as well as dissident members of the FARC who refuse to disarm.

"Once they sign the final deal with the FARC we'll start a period that experts say could last a decade or more - battles against some groups that haven't joined the process like the ELN, and if there are FARC dissidents, or organized armed groups," General Alberto Jose Mejia told Reuters late on Wednesday.

Colombians are set to vote on whatever accord is agreed by negotiators, who still have to reach a deal on overall implementation and how a referendum could be organized.

A peace deal to end the conflict, which has killed 220,000 and displaced millions over more than five decades, will not silence military guns, Mejia said.

"We will not abandon the regions, we will not permit so-called ungoverned areas, we will not permit the arrival of other violent actors in zones the FARC leave," he said.

The FARC's First Front, a unit notorious for holding an ex-presidential candidate and three American contractors hostage, said in a statement released on Wednesday that it would not lay down arms under a peace deal. Santos has said those who do not demobilize will be jailed or killed in combat.

A FARC demobilization will allow the military to redirect its efforts against crime gangs, including groups who traffic drugs, the general said.

After a deal some 10,000 soldiers will form part of two de-mining brigades focused on removing explosives from thousands of square kilometers of territory, Mejia said.
Accused Islamic State sympathizer indicted in Arizona bomb plot

By David Schwartz

PHOENIX, July 7 (Reuters) - An Arizona grand jury has indicted an accused Islamic State sympathizer on charges of plotting to stage an attack on a Phoenix-area state motor vehicle office with bombs and other weapons, prosecutors said on Thursday.

The suspect, Mahin Khan, 18, of Tucson, was arrested on July 1 by FBI agents in an investigation that began with citizens alerting authorities to suspicious behavior, according to a statement from the Arizona attorney general's office.

In a three-count indictment, Khan was charged with terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted with aggravating factors proven at trial, attorney general spokeswoman Mia Garcia said.

He was scheduled for arraignment on July 14, she said.

Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from an investigation by the FBI and state authorities of Khan's repeated communications with an individual he believed was an Islamic State fighter.

In the communications, prosecutors said, Khan sought to "obtain weapons including pipe bombs or pressure cooker bombs" for an attack on a Motor Vehicle Division office in Maricopa County.

The identity of Khan's alleged co-conspirator, or whether the person was an informant or undercover FBI agent, was not disclosed. Neither the FBI nor the state attorney general's office would provide further details.

In a probable cause statement filed in the case earlier this week, the FBI said Khan described himself in an email as an "American Jihadist who supports" Islamic State, the militant group that has seized large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq and claimed responsibility for bomb and gun attacks in France, Belgium and Bangladesh.

The document cites an alleged email in which Khan asks a contact he believes to be Pakistani to furnish him with assault rifles and a pistol because he wants to "take out marines and jews." It also accuses him of "identifying an Air Force recruitment center in Tucson as a potential target for a terrorist attack."

The indictment makes no mention of the recruitment office.

Although the investigation was continuing, "there is not believed to be a further threat" from Khan or his alleged activities, prosecutors said.
Justice Department opens criminal probe into black Louisiana man's death

By Edward Krudy

BATON ROUGE, La., July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the fatal police shooting of a black man in Louisiana's capital, the state's governor said on Thursday, as two deadly encounters between law enforcement and black men triggered protests in the United States.

The probe comes as community leaders in Baton Rouge urged authorities to conduct a full-scale criminal probe of two white police officers over the slaying of Alton Sterling, 37, on Tuesday.

"I want you to know that a criminal investigation is under way. It is being led by the U.S. Department of Justice," Louisiana Governor Jon Bel Edwards told hundreds of people at Living Faith Cathedral in Baton Rouge on Thursday evening.

"We are going to come out of this tragedy stronger and more united than ever," he added.

Sterling was pinned to the ground and fatally shot in the chest outside a convenience store after the officers responded to what police said was a call about a black man reported to have made threats with a gun.

The Justice Department said on Wednesday it would conduct a civil rights investigation into Sterling's death.

The city's mayor and police chief welcomed the move, but community leaders said they worried the probe would be too limited and urged authorities to consider all possible federal and state criminal charges against officers Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake.

"We don't want this to be a narrow investigation," Edgar Cage, a spokesman for the community organization Together Baton Rouge, said at a church earlier on Thursday. "We plan to use this tragic event as a tool, a stimulant to change the culture."

President Barack Obama said in a statement he had full confidence in the Justice Department's ability to conduct a "thoughtful, thorough and fair inquiry" into Sterling's death.

Citing an unnamed law enforcement official, CNN reported on Thursday that a homeless man placed the 911 call after seeking money from Sterling, who was selling CDs outside the store.

The 300-pound (135-kg) Sterling showed the man his gun and said to leave him alone, the official told CNN. Reuters could not independently confirm that account with Baton Rouge police, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Sterling, a father of five, had several criminal convictions since the mid-1990s for battery, resisting arrest, burglary and other crimes. He was a registered sex offender after spending nearly four years in prison on a charge he had sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 20.

COMMUNITY-POLICE CHASM

Sterling's death was the first of two fatal police shootings of black men in two days. Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop on Wednesday near Minneapolis.

The shootings and videos showing their bloody aftermath have sparked protests, including an overnight rally in Baton Rouge that drew about 300 people who stood in a peaceful vigil near the Triple S Food Mart where Sterling was killed.

Obama said that "all Americans should be deeply troubled" by the two deaths, which he said were indicative of wider problems in the U.S. criminal justice system.

At the Baton Rouge church on Thursday, Edwards said there would be a new focus on training and retraining in the police department, and stressed the need to introduce people to the police at an early age.

His words appeared to address concerns voiced by many community leaders in recent days about a chasm between the black community and the police.

Video recorded by a bystander's cellphone showed an officer confronting Sterling and ordering him to the ground. The two officers then tackled him to the pavement, with one pulling a gun from his holster and pointing it at Sterling's chest.

One officer shot Sterling five times at close range, and the other took something from his pants pocket as he was dying, another video recorded by Abdullah Muflahi, owner of the store where Sterling was killed in the parking lot, showed.

Police said Sterling was armed. Muflahi said in an interview that police took a gun out of Sterling's pocket after shooting him.

Officers Lake and Salamoni have been put on administrative leave, police said. In Lake's three years and Salamoni's four years on the force, both have been cleared by the police department after prior complaints against them regarding use of force, the Advocate newspaper reported, citing records.

The deaths of Sterling and Castile were the latest in a string of incidents in recent years involving police treatment of black men and boys in cities including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and Cleveland.
U.S. says Syria continuing attacks in Aleppo, Damascus suburbs

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it was deeply disturbing that Syrian forces were continuing attacks in areas such as Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs and urged Russia to exert pressure on the Syrian government to halt such attacks.
Colleague of slain Honduran activist Caceres killed

TEGUCIGALPA, July 7 (Reuters) - A colleague of slain Honduran activist Berta Caceres, known for her fight against the encroachment of hydroelectric dams and mines on indigenous lands, was killed by unidentified men in the western part of the country, authorities said on Thursday.

Lesbia Yaneth Urquia, 49, was found dead by a road in the semi-rural town of Marcala, 100 kilometers west of the capital, Honduran security ministry spokesman Luis Osabas said by phone. She has been missing since Tuesday when she left home on a bicycle, he added.

Since 2009, Urquia has been a member of the Consejo de Organizaciones Populares e Indigenas de Honduras (COPINH), an indigenous rights organization whose award-winning leader Berta Caceres was killed in March. Another member, Nelson Garcia, was shot dead a few weeks later.

Honduran police have arrested five people for Caceres' murder, including a representative of a hydroelectric dam whose construction faced local opposition.

Urquia fought against the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the La Paz region, COPINH said in a statement, adding that the dam is owned by the husband of Congressional Vice President Gladys Lopez.

COPINH said that it held Lopez, her husband and the government responsible for the murder of Urquia.

Lopez and her husband could not be reached for comment.

The murder is being investigated as a family property dispute and as an extortion case, as Urquia was the owner of two hotels and a small market, Eddie Lopez, a police sub-inspector based in Marcala, told reporters in a briefing. Urquia had reported extortion, he added.
U.S. has suspended aid for completion of Haiti election -State Department

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The United States has suspended aid to Haiti for the completion of an election in the Caribbean country, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
Gaddafi's son Saif still in prison in western Libya, military source says

BENGHAZI, Libya, July 7 (Reuters) - Saif al-Islam, a son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, remains in the prison in western Libya where he has been held since the 2011 uprising that toppled his father, a military source said on Thursday, contradicting media reports that Saif had been released.

Since his father's downfall, Saif has been held in Zintan, a mountainous western region, by one of the factions that began contending for power after Gaddafi was killed in 2011 and have now split the country into warring fiefdoms.

"We deny that Saif Islam has been released," the Zintan military source told Reuters.

Last July, a Libyan court sentenced Saif to death in absentia for war crimes, including killing protesters during the 2011 revolt.

Zintani forces refused to hand Saif over to any other authorities, saying they did not trust Tripoli to guarantee he does not escape. But they agreed to let him be tried there, though he appeared mainly by video link.

Libya's new U.N.-backed unity government, set up in Tripoli three months ago, is trying to bring together the various factions struggling for control of Libya and its oil resources.
Sanders expected to endorse Clinton on Tuesday -New York Times

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Democrat Hillary Clinton for president on Tuesday at a campaign event in New Hampshire, the New York Times reported on Thursday.
Ugandan MP urges amending constitution so president can stand again

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA, July 7 (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni may have found a way to run for another term, a move long expected by his critics, who accuse him of seeking a life-time presidency.

A legislator from the ruling party said on Thursday she would petition top party officials to begin the process by which parliament would remove an age limit that now bars Museveni from standing for another term.

Ann Maria Nankabirwa, an MP from the National Resistance Movement party, told Reuters she had recently met with constituents who asked her to start the process of removing the age limit from the constitution.

"These are my constituents telling me," Nankabirwa said. "I can't ignore their voices. They want the age limit removed for Museveni to stand again and I have no choice but to take their petition to the party."

The constitution bars anyone above 75 years of age from standing for president. Museveni, now 71, would be ineligible to seek re-election in 2021, when the next vote is due.

If the constitution is amended and he wins re-election, the move could extend his rule to 40 years.

Nankabirwa said within a week she would deliver a petition to the National Executive Committee and ask it to begin the procedure for amending the constitution.

The committee is a top body of the ruling party, where major national policy proposals and legislative measures are often first discussed before being introduced in parliament. All legislators from the ruling party are members of the committee.

Museveni was declared the winner of Uganda's last election, in February, with 60 percent of the vote. His main rival, Kizza Besigye, who came second with 35 percent, said the election's integrity was undermined by rigging, intimidation by security personnel and voter bribery.

Besigye was arrested in May and charged with treason shortly after a video circulated on social media depicting him in a mock swearing in ceremony.

Museveni was accused of bribing ruling party legislators in 2005 to amend the constitution to remove a two-term limit, although he denies the charge.
Coinbase gets $10.5 mln investment from Bank of Tokyo, 2 others

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Bitcoin exchange Coinbase said on Thursday it received a $10.5 million investment from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), the bank's Mitsubishi UFJ Capital unit and Sozo Ventures as part of a strategic partnership involving its long-term expansion.

Coinbase, which is the world's largest bitcoin company and currently operates in 32 countries, does not operate in Japan just yet, though it runs an exchange in Singapore. The company said Japan is a big part of its international expansion.

"BTMU will be a strong partner for us both in Asia and globally," Sam Rosenblum, international expansion and banking lead at Coinbase, said in a phone interview with Reuters. "Japan will certainly be an important market for us and one that is pretty critical for the development of digital currencies."

Bitcoin is a digital currency that enables users to move money across the world quickly and anonymously without the need for third-party verification.

Rosenblum said San Francisco-based Coinbase has been working with BTMU for about a year on various projects and those collaborations have culminated in a strategic investment.

Sozo Ventures, which has dual headquarters in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, early on has been instrumental in bringing Twitter to Japan.

In order for Coinbase to do business in Japan, it would need regulatory approval from the country's Financial Services Agency.

Rosenblum said there is no timetable as to when Coinbase would launch operations in Japan.

Coinbase last year raised $75 million from a slew of investors. The BTMU investment is an individual transaction and not part of any funding round, Rosenblum said.

Coinbase currently has two trading platforms, one for retail investors and one for institutions. Over the last four weeks, trading volume for the two platforms totaled around $400 million, according to Adam White, Coinbase's vice president for business development.
Italian police arrested a man suspected of killing a Nigerian refugee in a racist attack that has shocked Italy, further fuelling political debate on the long-running immigration crisis.

Emmanuel Chidi Namdi, 36, was attacked on Tuesday in the small, central Italian town of Fermo, after coming to the defence of his wife, Chinyery Emmanuel, who was verbally abused by two Italians, locals said.

The asylum seeker was knocked unconscious in front of his wife by a man wielding a road-sign pole before the assailant continued to kick and punch his lifeless body when he was on the ground.

Killed: Emmanuel Chidi Namdi was beaten to death defending his wife Chimiary - pictured on their wedding day

'The assailant continued to kick and punch him even when he was lying on the ground,' said priest Vinicio Albanesi, who had offered the couple shelter in a nearby centre that is home to more than 100 migrants and asylum seekers.

Namdi died in hospital on Wednesday.

The pair came to Italy last year on a boat from Libya after escaping an attack on their church in Nigeria by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Their child and both their parents died in that assault, friends told Italian media.

Police said they had arrested Amedeo Mancini, 38, on suspicion of murder motivated by racism on Thursday.

The suspect's lawyer told AGI news agency that the dynamics of the incident had not yet been established.

People leave flowers in the place where Nigerian Emmanuel Chidi Namdi was killed on in Fermo, Italy

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi dispatched his interior minister to the town on Thursday to discuss the killing with local authorities.

'The government today is in Fermo, alongside father Vinicio and the local institutions in memory of Emmanuel. Against hatred, racism and violence,' Renzi said in a tweet.

Politicians from all parties condemned the killing, but the leader of the right-wing Northern League party, Matteo Salvini, said the incident showed immigration had to be controlled.

'Whoever kills, rapes or assaults another human being has to be punished. Without exception. Regardless of race,' he said in a post on Facebook, adding: 'It is ever more clear that illegal immigration is out of control ... and will bring no good.'

Prefect Mara Di Lullo (L) Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano (C) and Fermo Procutor Domenico Seccia during a press conference about the murder

Italy has been on the frontline of Europe's immigration crisis.

About 170,000 migrants reached Italy by sea in 2014 and 153,800 came in 2015.

So far this year, more than 75,000 migrants have arrived, the vast majority of them from Africa.

Many have moved swiftly on to wealthier countries in northern Europe, but tightening border controls mean increasing numbers are remaining in Italy and are being sent to reception centres around the country.

The Roman Catholic Church has looked to provide homes to migrants and father Albanesi told reporters that the arrival of Africans had caused problems in Fermo.

'More than hate, I see discomfort,' he said.

'People see folk of different ethnicities begging, selling goods ... wandering around town.
U.S. tax agency investigates Facebook's Ireland asset transfer

By Nate Raymond and Tom Bergin

July 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Facebook Inc may have understated the value of intellectual property it transferred to Ireland by "billions of dollars", unfairly cutting its tax bill in the process, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The tax authority is examining whether Facebook understated its U.S. income by selling rights to an Irish subsidiary too cheaply.

Doing so could boost taxable profits in Ireland, which has a corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent, and reduce taxable income in the United States which has a rate of at least 35 percent.

Facebook denied any wrongdoing.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement.

The complex tax structuring used by big technology companies such as Google and Amazon has prompted governments in recent years to launch a programme to rewrite tax rules so that inter-group deals that shift profits into tax havens are no longer possible.

The lawsuit said that in 2010 Facebook Inc sold the rights to exploit the Facebook platform outside the United States and Canada to Facebook Ireland Holdings.

The price used for the intangible property was determined by Facebook's tax adviser Ernst & Young (E&Y).

"The IRS examination team's preliminary positions suggested that the E&Y valuations of the transferred intangibles were understated by billions of dollars," the lawsuit said.

E&Y was not immediately available for comment.

COMPLEX WEB

Facebook Ireland Holdings in turn leased the rights to exploit the Facebook platform to its own subsidiary, Facebook Ireland Ltd, in return for a fee, accounts for Facebook Ireland Ltd, filed with the Irish company registry, show.

Facebook Ireland Ltd. is Facebook's main international business unit, reaping sales of 4.8 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

Facebook Inc in the United States could have licensed its intellectual property directly to Facebook Ireland Ltd but then it would have to report that income in the United States and pay tax there.

It does have to pay tax on the money it received from intermediary Facebook Ireland Holdings.

Moreover, if Facebook Ireland Holdings paid less for the rights than it charges Facebook Ireland Ltd., this margin allows profit to be built up in the lower tax jurisdiction.

U.S. technology companies sometimes don't even have to pay the 12.5 percent Irish corporate tax rate.

They frequently take advantage of a quirk of Irish tax law which allows companies to designate an Irish registered company as being tax resident elsewhere -- an arrangment tax professionals have termed a "double Irish".

This involves the rights-holding company being designated as tax resident in a tax haven. However, since the companies concerned are Irish-registered, the transactions don't trigger a U.S. tax bill.

Facebook declined to say where Facebook Ireland Holdings was tax resident. It is an unlimited company, which means it doesn't have to file accounts so there are no public documents on its status.
Ex-Chile army chief detained over dictatorship-era deaths

SANTIAGO, July 7 (Reuters) - The former head of Chile's army was detained on Thursday as a formal investigation opened into his alleged involvement in the killing of 15 people during the first days of the nation's bloody 1973-1990 dictatorship.

Retired General Juan Emilio Cheyre, who led Chile's army from 2002 to 2006, after the return to democracy, was a junior military officer at the time of the 1973 coup.

During his time as chief of Chile's army, Cheyre famously said a coup and humans rights violations should "never again" happen in Chile.

Cheyre is accused of complicity in the killing of 15 people in the northern city of La Serena on Oct. 16, 1973, during the "Caravan of Death." Eight other ex-officers from the same regiment are also being investigated.

"Judge Mario Carroza opens investigation into retired general Juan Emilio Cheyre and eight other people for Caravan of Death case," Chile's judiciary said in a tweet.
Memorial For Virginia Murray, Divvy's First Fatality, To Be Held Sunday (Updated)

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jul 6, 2016 9:12PM



Photo by Jeremy Hlinak via the Chicagoist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

Update 7/7: To allow family to attend, the memorial has moved from Thursday to Sunday, July 10, at 7p.m.

A ghost-bike memorial dedication will take place Sunday for Virginia Murray, the cyclist who was fatally struck by a flatbed truck Friday morning. It was the first bike-share-related fatality in the nation. The memorial will gather at 7 p.m. at Belmont Ave. and Sacramento Ave., near the crash site.

Murray, 25, was riding northbound on Sacramento at approximately 9 a.m. when the truck driver made a right turn toward Belmont and struck her. She was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Attorney Michael Keating, of the Illinois Bicycle Lawyers at Keating Law Offices, categorized it as a right-hook crash. "In the video it is clear that Ms. Murray was within the field of view of the truck's driver as the flat-bed truck began its turn," he wrote. "Ms. Murray's path was exactly the one that a Chicago bicyclist should follow." (ABC 7 Chicago posted video of the collision on July 1.)

It's been a particularly difficult past several weeks for cyclists in Chicago. Courier Blaine Klingenberg was killed last month after being pinned underneath a double-decker bus near Michigan Ave and Oak Street. Another cyclist was severely injured on Sunday after reportedly being doored by a motorist in Roscoe Villagean injury that would have been even worse if not for the quick medical attention administered by off-duty police officer Sean Hayes.

It was announced in January that Chicago would participate in the Focus Cities Program of the Vision Zero Network, an international safety movement that works to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries in road traffic. The most recent update provided at the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council, in June, said, "The Chicago Department of Transportation is working with multiple City departments, particularly Police, Public Health, and the Mayors Office to develop a three-year Vision Zero action plan." Their findings are expected to be released in the fall.

CDOT has not yet returned a request made on Tuesday by Chicagoist for official bike-automobile injury totals in 2016.
Shooting heard in tense South Sudan's capital Juba - residents

JUBA, July 7 (Reuters) - Sporadic gunfire was heard in South Sudan's capital Juba late Thursday evening and military vehicles were blocking some roads, residents and a Reuters witness said.

Africa's youngest nation was devastated by a war that broke out in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir sacked his vice president, Riek Machar.

"I heard a sound of gunshots and people were running everywhere," Juba resident Ramdan Kazimiro told Reuters.

Another resident who did not want to reveal his name told Reuters gunfire was heard in Gudele, a suburb in Juba's west, where Machar also has a residence.

"The military put their cars in the middle of the road coming from Gudele...the whole area is (in) lock down by the government military," he said.

A Reuters witness said there was apprehension in Juba, with terrified people hurrying to their homes, fearful major violence could break out again.

Government officials could not be reached for comment.

Earlier Thursday there was also shooting in Wau, a flashpoint town in South Sudan's northwest which forced at least 200 civilians to flee to a United Nations compound in the area for safety.

South Sudan's last war, which largely pitted Kiir's Dinka ethnic group against Machar's Nuer, ended after a peace agreement was signed by the two sides in August last year.

Shantal Persaud, spokeswoman for the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told Reuters gunfire broke out south of the mission's compound in the town of Wau at around 9.00am.

The capital of South Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal state, Wau has been the scene of renewed fighting between government forces and armed groups in recent days that has forced thousands to flee.

Shooting continued on Thursday until around 10:00 am, Persaud said. "After the shooting started, some 200-250 civilians arrived at ...the UNMISS Wau base," she told Reuters.

She said it was unclear what sparked the fighting or which groups were involved.

South Sudan's economy has been struggling because oil production, on which the government nearly wholly depends for its revenues, plummeted during the conflict.
Footage shows U.S. diplomat, Russian guard grappling on embassy steps

MOSCOW, July 7 (Reuters) - Russian television on Thursday broadcast video footage of what it said was a Russian police officer and a U.S. diplomat wrestling on the steps of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

Reports of the incident emerged late last month. The Washington Post newspaper, citing U.S. diplomats, said an embassy employee had been attacked on June 6 by the officer. Russian officials said the diplomat had attacked the policeman.

The night time footage, from what appeared to be a closed circuit TV camera across the street from a side entrance into the embassy compound, showed a yellow taxi pulling up and a man jumping out of the front passenger door.

He moved purposefully towards the entrance, but after he had taken about three steps the door of a police sentry box in front of the entrance swung open.

A man in police uniform then darted out, grabbed the man, and wrestled him to the floor about two metres (yards) from the door leading into the embassy building, according to footage broadcast by NTV. http://bit.ly/29nmt3r

The footage then showed the police officer lying on top of the other man, who was on his back, pinning him to the floor. The man managed to wriggle his way towards the door and get it open, at which point the footage ended.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on June 7 to raise concern about "an incident involving an accredited U.S. diplomat that occurred outside our embassy in Moscow".

While Kirby said he would not speak to the specifics of a particular incident, he said the U.S. was "extremely troubled by the way our employees have been treated over the past couple of years".

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said the police officer had wanted to check the man's documents to establish he was not a threat to embassy security, but was elbowed in the face when he tried to challenge him. She said the embassy employee was a CIA agent operating under diplomatic cover.
Mexico arrests suspected associate of drug boss 'El Mayo' Zambada

MEXICO CITY, July 7 (Reuters) - One of the top suspected associates of Mexican drug kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada has been arrested in Mexico City, prosecutors said on Thursday, in a new blow to the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel.

Heriberto Zazueta, alias "El Capi Beto," was detained on Wednesday by federal agents in coordination with Interpol. There was a warrant for his arrest in Mexico and an order for his extradition to the United States.

Zazueta moved large quantities of cocaine into the United States for years, according to U.S. authorities. In Mexico, Zazueta is alleged to be involved in money laundering, Mexican prosecutors said in a statement.

He will be held in a Mexican federal prison, they added, without specifying whether he would be extradited.

Zambada is believed to be the de facto head of the Sinaloa cartel, since its previous boss, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was recaptured earlier this year.
The past 48 hours have been nerve-wracking as always. As Eid-al-fitr drew closer, the excitement among the Muslims rose, but with a very important question: "Chand kab hai? (When will the moon be sighted?)"

For Indian Muslims, the sighting of a new moon is no less than a catch-22 situation, as some of the clerics announce the dates in advance, based on astronomical calculations, while the others insist on sighting the crescent with a naked eye in order to fulfil religious obligations.

The former kind had announced the date of the birth of Hilal (Crescent) in advance, even this festive season. According to Dr Kalbe Sadiq, vice president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, the new moon was to be born on July 5; Eid would have been celebrated on July 6 and mind you, for last ten years, his dates have been accurate.

However, both Shia and Sunni clerics and their respective moon committees could not spot the moon with the naked eye on July 5 due to the thick cloud cover in most parts of the country.

The Sunni clerics then came to the conclusion that the moon has not been sighted. However, Shia clerics waited for a confirmation before making an official announcement.

Things went out of control later that night when viral forwards on social media claimed that Eid had been declared in India and South East Asia for Shia Muslims. Many were caught unawares, it was nearly time for Sehri in India, and scores of believers were confused whether they should fast or not.

Image via moonsighting.com explains visibility of the moon on July 5.

What had happened? In Islam, if the weather conditions do not permit the moon sighting in one city, one waits for testimonies from Muslims living in other cities, and those testimonies must be confirmed thoroughly.

It was revealed that the moon was sighted in Kargil and parts of Kashmir, however, it took time to confirm and reconfirm the sighting and after consultation with the leading Shia clerics in Iran and Iraq, who accepted the testimonies, Eid was declared in India and South Asia.

Two Eids

Shia Muslims in India celebrated Eid on July 6, along with Sunni Muslims of Kerala, who follow the lunar calendar of Saudi Arabia, as did the Sunni Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir, where the moon was sighted; some also say that Kashmiris always go with the testimonies of moon sighting in Pakistan. For the remaining Indian Sunni Muslims, however, Eid was on July 7.

Science versus tradition

But a crucial debate has been thrown open here: if weather conditions do not permit moon sighting, should we rely on scientific calculations?

A few days ago, I had raised this issue in an article, and drawn upon the statement of Syed Khalid Shaukat, a Sunni Muslim astronomer and scientist in America and founder of moonsighting.com.

Shaukat, a firm believer in scientific calculations also corroborated by Islam, had observed in an article, "Today, Muslims have expertise and access to technology to understand the calculations of when and where the sighting occurs. Recorded data shows how the science of moon sighting is compared with the actual observations. The results show that calculations of sighting and observations have matched every month."

The Fiqh Council of North America, the Islamic Shura Council of North America and all the leading Sunni and Shia moon sighting councils in the West, as well as a few in Asia adhere to this view.

Eid celebrations at Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. (PTI)

However, the clerics relying on traditional ways of moon sighting do not agree with this. Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, president, Markazi Chand Committee, says Muslims should only believe in the physical sighting of the moon.

He emphasises the importance of adapting modern science to religion, but maintains that we cannot do away with an ancient tradition and practise that is acceptable to millions of people across the globe.

So, once again, there is a division: this time it is not Shia versus Sunni, rather science versus tradition. Yes, the moon should be sighted with the naked eye, but what if conditions make it impossible?

Imagine Muslims living in a place where there is no clear sky for days, what should they do? There modern science and astronomy come handy.

If Muslims cannot see the moon, but you know it is born, they should go ahead with scientific calculations the same way they calculate daily prayer timings one year in advance through astronomy. Why not do the same for Eid?

It is necessary that the infusion of science goes hand in hand with Islamic traditions.

Two Eids in India come as a double bonanza for food hedonists. As for me, I did not celebrate Eid on either of the days, to express my gratitude and respect to all the innocents killed by terrorists during the month of Ramzan, from Baghdad to Istanbul to the rest of the world.
Chicago Plans Protests For Shooting Deaths Of Philando Castile And Alton Sterling

By Gwendolyn Purdom in News on Jul 7, 2016 6:25PM



Chicago activist groups are planning at least two Thursday night protests in response to the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castiletwo black men killed by white police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. Graphic videos of the shootings have spread across the internet over the past two days.

Stop Mass Incarceration Network Chicago shared details on Facebook about a protest the Revolution Club is organizing Thursday evening at State and Jackson streets in the Loop and another group calling for Chicago Action Against Police Brutality will be meeting at 5101 S. Wentworth Ave. near Washington Park on the South Side, according to a separate Facebook event page.

Outrage continues to grow over the latest high-profile police shootings of black men, in a long list which included Laquan McDonald in Chicago, Eric Garner in New York and Micheal Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, among others. In a statement released Thursday, Saint Paul Public Schools called Minnesota victim Castile, who was shot to death during a police traffic stop outside Minneapolis Wednesday and worked for the school system, "smart, over-qualified ... quiet, respectful, and kind." Sterling's shooting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tuesday was captured in grainy cellphone footage, and the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights division said Wednesday they will be investigating the shooting.

In Chicago, these developments also follow outcry over Wednesday's news that defense attorneys for Jason Van Dyke, the officer facing murder charges for 17-year-old McDonald's death in 2014, are requesting access to McDonald's juvenile records. The issue of police accountability has also been at the forefront in recent City Council meetings where the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression has pushed for a civilian-elected police accountability board.

As of Thursday afternoon, Black Lives Matter Chicago was requesting donations to fly supporters to Minneapolis to join in Minnesota protests for Philando Castile.

"We understand your anger and your desire to demonstrate," the group posted on its Facebook page. "However, right now we need you to contribute with immediate support for the families impacted by this violent police crime!"

The Revolution Club's Loop protest is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday. A Chicago Call for Action plans to meet on the South Side at 6 p.m.
At Silverio's Dance-Friendly Ruido Fest Show, Clothes Will Be Optional

By Mae Rice in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 7, 2016 7:21PM



Photo via Facebook

Go see Silverio at Ruido Fest on Friday. Just go.

He loves to improvise, so we cant make specific promises about his show. But here are some things hell likely do before his set ends: strip down to a distinctly European Speedo; command you to dance like a dog in his native Spanish; make a haircut thats a cross between a mullet and a bowl cut look sexy; and curse your mother. In fact, by the time you get to the end of this interview, Silverio may have already cursed all of the mothers in Chicago?!

You cant say the man isnt a bold artist. Especially after a shot of his live, vaguely NSFW performance of his single Perro (translation: dog), followed by a chaser of the produced, cinematic music video for Perro, also vaguely NSFW for Speedo reasons, featuring many torches.

Silverio is a multifaceted man, and every facet is ready to freak out your grandparents. With a smile.

Silverio earned this confidence over more than two decades in the music business. Born in Chilpancingo in Mexicos Guerrero, he released his first single from Mexico City in 2002and hes still based in Mexico City today, making danceable music he describes as electronic music mixed with excesses, women, cursing and obscenities.

Before his upcoming Chicago showhis second showing at Ruido Fest, and just one of the many international shows hes played in his long careerwe talked to Silverio about how his live show is different from other live shows, his views on nudity, and his favorite curse word. (I don't speak Spanish, so he graciously spoke to me in English.)

Youve been performing for a long timeYepa yepa yepa came out in 2002. Whats something youve learned about performing live since you started?

For me the heart of the show is made by the audience. So I never know what can happen. It starts with the audience. I want them to watch in a not passive way. The more active the situation, the better. So in that way for me, the show is changing all the time, and for the audience too. I never know what can happen in my shows. Its been 15 years playing in different parts of the world, and all the time I get different situations.

I'm curious about how much you involve the audience. Do you bring people from the audience onstage during your shows?

Yeah! I like to invite the audience on the stage, and not only that, like if they want to play songs, if they want to be on the stage, if they have songs they want to provoke the audience, to insult the audiencewhatever they want, they can enjoy with me. I think that thats an important part of what I want they are invited to do whatever they want to do. If they want to go naked, they can do it. Its important that they want to know that, so they can be prepared for that.

Speaking of nudity, Ive heard that you often strip during your shows. Do you think you'll strip at your show in Chicago coming up?

I never know exactly what I will do. I improvise a lot. Its not about to do like, a strip show, its more like, I like to have a few elements on the stage. So I play with a couple of machines. I dont like lights and fire, things like that on the stage. I have my body to do a show its like, to not be ashamed about anything. I have how I am, and Im not afraid to show that. Its more about that, being very simple on the stage.

What drew you back to Ruido Fest for a second summer?

The songs that I can play, I have new jokes its a surprise. The surprise element is very important for this show. I have a couple of surprises so that people shit in their pants!

Speaking of new stuffwhat are you working on right now? Are you working on a new album?

Yeah, Im working on the next album of Silverio, of course. Im working all the time. The next couple months, Im planning a new video at a location in Mexicos country. The name of the song is Tu Casa [your house], and it talks about Mexican hospitality.

If new fans want a sense of your music before the show, what track should they start with, and why?

"Yepa yepa yepa" [first released in 2002]. I still start my show with that song. Its music for the party.

What does that mean? "Yepa yepa yepa"?

Yepa yepa yepa" doesnt mean anything. Its just an expression, here in Mexico, its like for something to happen. Its like, to invoke something, you know. It can be related to parties, but in this case, in my case, "yepa yepa yepa" is like putting everything on the table.

It sounds like swearing, or curse words, are a big part of your music and your style. Im curious: Whats your favorite swear word in English or Spanish, and why? Like, in English, shit is one.

Let me think about it. I have a bunch in my pocket. For example, here in Mexico, talking about someones mother that is a big shit. Chingue a su madre is one of my favorites because it works really well. [Rough translation: fuck your mother.] Chingue a su madre to the people of Chicago!

Silverio performs at Ruido Fest in Addams/Medill Park on Friday. For more of Silverio and his music, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Minnesota Police Shoot And Kill A Black Man During Routine Traffic Stop

By aaroncynic in News on Jul 7, 2016 1:59PM



Police officers in Falcoln Heights, Minnesotaa small town of little more than 5,000 people outside of St. Paulshot and killed an African-American man Wednesday night as he was attempting to comply with orders during a routine traffic stop.

The victim, 32 year-old Philando Castile, had identified himself as a legal and registered gun owner and was reaching for his wallet to show identification when police opened fire, shooting him at least four or five times. A video of the aftermath of his death at the hands of police was captured and posted live to Facebook by his girlfriend, who was riding in the passenger seat while her 7-year old daughter was in the back seat.

Warninggraphic content:

"Stay with me, says Castiles girlfriend, who identifies online as Lavish Reynolds, as the video opens and she pans the camera towards him. As she speaks, Castile can be seen slumped in the drivers seat of the vehicle, covered in blood. We got pulled over for a busted tail light in the back. And the police just...hes covered...they killed my boyfriend. He was trying to get his id out of his wallet in his pocket.

They just shot his arm off, she adds as the footage shows an officer shouting and pointing a handgun through the window at Castile.

Shortly after, Reynolds is ordered out of the vehicle and onto her knees. "Please, Lord," she says, "Don't let him be gone."

Castile was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center and died shortly after arriving, around 9:37 p.m., according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

They killed my son, Valerie Castile told reporters, shortly after midnight. They took a good man, a hard-working man; he worked since he was 18 years old.

Philando Castiles death at the hands of police comes less than 48 hours after another person of color was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. On Tuesday, video emerged showing what amounts to the extra judicial execution of Alton Sterling, a 37 year-old black man who sold CDs in the parking lot of a convenience store. Sterling and Castile's deaths have sparked protests, and calls on social media for people to support the ethos of the Black Lives Matter movement and acknowledge the injustices of their deaths.

According to Killed by Police, a database that tracks the deaths of individuals at the hands of law enforcement, Castile is the 600th American killed by police in just the first half of 2016.

Castiles cousin Antonio Johnson told reporters Philando was a black individual driving in Falcon Heights who was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight.
6 Chicago Bars Make List Of Best Beer Bars In America

By Anthony Todd in Food on Jul 7, 2016 5:42PM



Mussels at Hopleaf. Photo via Facebook.

Chicago is a booming beer town. Just look at our Chicagoist best beer bracket; we could barely narrow it down to 32 starting beers because there are so many amazing local brews to choose from. New brewpubs open every other week and are packed full, and our beer correspondent is kept busy charting the scene. That's why it's awesome, but not surprising, that six of the 100 bars on Draft Magazine's list of the best beer bars in America are in our awesome, and slightly tipsy, city.

If you're a beer lover, you should definitely read the whole list, as Draft is one of the few publications with the resources and the love to actually visit places around america, rather than just going based on reputation and internet lists. Plus, Chicago was due for some love because former RedEye drinks guru Kate Bernot is now an editor at Draft. The fix is in, folks.

Which bars made the cut? Lincoln Square favorite Fountainhead, Andersonville mainstay Hopleaf, and the encyclopedic beer lists at Local Option, Map Room, Maria's and Sheffield's. Which, honestly, makes us happy, because all but one of those (Sheffield's, our bad) was on Chicagoist's list of the best beer bars in the city.

Congrats to the winners.
While the 4th of July is a celebratory holiday filled with fireworks, food and family, it also comes with a deadly price.

According to the Virginia State Polices preliminary reports, five motorists, a motorcyclist, a teenage passenger and a pedestrian died in seven traffic crashes across Virginia during the holiday weekend.

The 2016 July Fourth statistical counting period began Friday, July 1 and concluded Monday, July 4, according to VSP spokeswoman Corinne N. Geller.

Geller said the fatal crashes occurred in the cities of Chesapeake and Roanoke, and the counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Chesterfield, Lunenburg and Sussex. The double fatality occurred in the City of Chesapeake.

During the Fourth of July holiday, Virginia State Police increased patrols as part of Operation Combined Accident Reduction Effort, a state-sponsored, national program intended to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries due to impaired driving, speed and failing to wear a seat belt.

From July 1 through July 4, Virginia troopers arrested 106 drunk drivers, and cited 9,469 speeders and 2,590 reckless drivers, according to Geller. Troopers also cited 821 individuals for failing to wear a seat belt and 360 motorists for child safety seat violations during the four-day statistical counting period.

State police assisted 3,285 motorists and investigated 947 traffic crashes statewide.

Funds generated from summonses issued by Virginia State Police go directly to court fees and the states Literary Fund, which benefits public school construction, technology funding and teacher retirement.

State police will continue its concerted efforts during the summer months to reinforce the need for all motorists to drive to save lives on Virginias highways, said Colonel W. Steven Flaherty, VSP superintendent. To date, 345 lives have been lost to traffic crashes statewide. Lets turn that devastating statistic around and work together through compliance, education and enforcement to save that many lives in the coming weeks.
YAMAL - Russia - President Vladimir Putin has extended a hand of great generosity to any Remain voters from the EU Referendum who wish to leave Britain.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is offering those who voted to remain in the EU, a plot of land in the Siberian peninsula of Yamal.

Speaking from his dacha, the president said he is willing to offer the remainers sanctuary from the Britain they hate so much.

Each ex-patriot will receive a plot of land equalling 20 hectares of frozen tundra land so they cannot grow crops or tend to livestock.

We give you a hut on your plot of land and what you do with it is your own business. You can hunt reindeer sometimes, a Russian official revealed on Thursday.

The Yamal peninsula has many sink holes so Europhiles will have to be careful while taking those long cold walks in the permafrost landscape.

In addition to the sink holes, there are large deposits of natural methane gas which sometimes leak from the ground, so be careful lighting up those cigars.

To apply for a plot of land, all Remain voters have to do is travel to Novyy Urengoi with your bags and speak to someone about getting your free land.

Good Luck
Goves major mistake was the calculated front stage assassination of Boris Johnson which was deemed brutally ruthless even for Conservative standards of cruelty. For a start, if youre going to take someone out, you need to do it without others knowing you were responsible, and although the Boris Johnson hit had the fingerprints of Osborne all over the knife, we only saw Gove digging the dagger in.

There are also elements of class involved within the murderous fight to the top, where Johnsons Eton class is deemed above that of Gove, it is seen as inconceivable to have him brought down by the lower Gove. This naturally did not play well in the scheme of things.

Michael Gove will most probably have ample time to think during his summer holiday with his friend George Osborne and their respective families.

We are now stuck with a Theresa May candidate who will probably not trigger Article 50 and is a Remainer, and Andrea Leadsom, who we know very little about apart from her soft stance towards a Brexit that may never actually happen and a dubious CV.

The dangers of referenda is that they are at risk of events that occur after they happen. We have seen numerous times where referendums in Europe have been overturned or derailed by the political class, and as soon as Cameron resigned he calculated there would be upheaval thus resulting in an opportunity to ruin the EU referendum result and halt a Brexit.

As far as we can see, there will not be a Brexit anytime soon, simply for the reason that there are no candidates who will exercise it. If by some off chance there is a Brexit, it will be a watered down affair where there will be an increase in migration and ties to the EU regulatory laws will not be cut.

We could of course have an overt looking Brexit, with covert control from Brussels. This is the colonial model, where Imperialistic governments looked like they ceded control to a national government yet still were at the centre of governmental and economic control.

Call it a stitch up, these last few months have all been a theatrical waste of time and have achieved pretty much nothing.
The rocky mountain area in the east of Aba Tibet and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, is not only a geographical transitional region between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin but also a crossroad of trade and civilization with a history of almost 3,000 years.

Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / China.org.cn]

Throughout this history, interactions among Tibetans, Manchurians, Mongolians, Hui, Han and Qiang people have left hundreds of villages of historical interest and picturesque scenery scattered on mountains or in valleys alongside the torrential tributaries of the Yangtze River.

After the Manchurian-dominated Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Tibetans and the Qiang people became the main residents of the Aba region, which is roughly as big as Scotland. The two ethnic groups, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the prefecture's population.

"It's a pity that we have almost lost our mother tongues," said Yu Zhengqing. The 74-year-old farmer in Dasi Qiang village in Aba cannot speak the Qiang language and can only sing several old songs in it.

Qiangdiao refers to a kind of ancient fortification tower built exclusively by the Qiang people out of rocks, mud and wood. The Qiang people are known as talented architects for building sturdy dams, houses and fortifications with these natural materials.

The Dasi village used to have 14 Qiangdiao towers, which were built over a period of 500 years. They were located in carefully chosen spots in and around the 300-home community to ensure that every inch of the village was within arrow-range and under the surveillance of the sentries in the towers.

But there is only one left today. The rest were demolished after the 1950s or destroyed in the 7.8-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
Throughout his life, Chilean painter Jose Venturelli (1924-88) appealed for freedom and expressed a deep concern for the grass-root people in his artworks.

Yang Tze. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A retrospective exhibition now in Beijing shows his 40 paintings, sketches and lithographs, including dozens of works he created when living in China from 1954 to 1965.

The exhibition, Masters of Latin America: Jose Venturelli, is held at the art museum of Central Academy of Fine Arts, as part of the 2016 China-Latin America and Caribbean Cultural Exchange Year backed by the Ministry of Culture of China.

Born in Santiago, Venturelli sought to reflect humanities against dramatic social changes through working with various mediums, including frescoes, glass, posters and stage setting. In his works, Venturelli embraced a strong feeling for the landscapes and people of Chile and appraisal for those at the bottom of social class who bravely fight for oppression.

During his stay in China, Venturelli taught oil painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and befriended with prominent artists such as Qi Baishi. He thus was greatly inspired by classical Chinese painting of which a simple color scheme, open composition and delicate lining influenced his creations made at that time.

He once said, "Art is the greatest fortune of people. It helps us understand the past, and the sensitive relationships between the human and nature, society and history."

The exhibition runs through July 21, and will tour Nanjing and Shanghai.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
Zhejiang Television had to change its top singing competition show from "China's Good Voice 2016" to "China's New Singing Voice" on Wednesday night due to a court ruling that forbids it from using the former name.

A new poster for "Sing! China" [Photo / China.org.cn]

"Zhejiang Television always respects the rule of law and will respect the court ruling. To obey the authority of the justice system, the TV station's 'China's Good Voice 2016' will be temporarily renamed 'China's New Singing Voice,' and the renamed show will be broadcast on July 15, 2016, as scheduled," the statement said.

The English show title was previously changed to "Sing! China," but it is currently unknown if the English name will also be changed again.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court rejected the appeal of former producer Canxing Productions of "The Voice of China" (its Chinese name is literally "China's Good Voice") on Monday night, ruling that they cannot produce further episodes under the name. But this is a temporary protection order for the plaintiff rather than a verdict in a copyright infringement case.

The brand and format are owned by Talpa Holding, which originally produced "The Voice of Holland." Canxing acquired the rights of the show and co-produced four seasons with Zhejiang Television and made the show the top rated show in China.

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
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]

The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines against China in The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has violated many international standards of law and rules. To begin with, the arbitral tribunal does not properly identify or prove the existence of a real dispute. Also, the tribunal does not follow the world's principal legal systems.

The award on jurisdiction does not take proper cognizance of China's position. For example, China treats Nansha Islands as one single unit for the purpose of sovereignty, maritime rights as well as delimitation, but the tribunal has changed the singular "is" into the plural form "are", treating the islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands as separate units.

The award does not consider China's positions either, although it summarizes some of them superficially. For example, the tribunal summarizes China's argument that a 1995 joint statement saying the two countries would take measures with a view to "eventually negotiating" a settlement of their disputes as evincing an intent to choose negotiation only as the means to resolve disputes, but this point is absent from the part of the award called "the tribunal's decision".

Besides, the award accepts the Philippines' assertion without analyzing why its claims would not detract from China's sovereignty. The detraction is obvious from the treatment of the components of China's Nansha Islands as separate features, which would divide that archipelago into smaller units, and from a ruling that the low-tide elevations at issue, which are part of the Nansha Islands, are not subject to appropriation.

The award also superficially claims maritime entitlement and delimitation are distinct, without considering the delimitation of geographical framework and situation in the South China Sea and the associated effect of fusing distinct issues of entitlement and status of various features into a big delimitation complex, rendering these issues concerning delimitation.

Finally, the award does not respect the consistency requirement in international law. The tribunal completely ignores the "Louisa case", which is favorable to China and is directly applicable to the interpretation of China's exclusion of disputes "concerning" or "relating to" maritime delimitation as disputes over matters broader than the drawing of the line of delimitation. The arbitrator has completely changed, without offering any explanation, his previously published positions which were favorable to China. All this violates the fundamental requirement of consistency in international law and shows that the tribunal only pays lip service to its duties in arbitration.

The tribunal adopts an excessively expansive interpretation of the jurisdictional grant and distorts the text of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This wrongful exercise of the "competence-competence" principle, which empowers an arbitration tribunal to rule on its jurisdiction, causes substantial damage to the international rule of law.

The competence to decide the tribunal's jurisdiction is not absolute power, and can only be exercised with genuine concern and respect for the limitations imposed by UNCLOS and for China's intents and purposes in invoking its explicit right under the convention to exclude disputes concerning maritime delimitation and historic titles.

This excessively expansive interpretation of the jurisdictional scope will present great difficulty in persuading other non-parties such as the United States to ratify UNCLOS in the future, because their greatest fear is that a court or tribunal may abuse its jurisdictional competence. This interpretation will also greatly harm the international legal system and its legitimacy.

If the tribunal and arbitrators are rational and serious, they should correct their mistakes and make up for what they have neglected to do. For example, they should correct their deliberate alteration of singular "is" used by China to describe the Nansha Islands into the plural "are", correct their mistake in not considering the delimitation geographical framework and situation in the South China Sea and the associated effect, and rectify their mistake of ignoring the rule of law requirement of consistency and in disregarding the word "concerning" in appreciating the proper scope of China's exclusion of disputes on or relating to maritime delimitation.

The author is a professor of international law and chief expert at Wuhan University Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies.
 Flash

China said its naval drill in the South China Sea is within its sovereign rights, and it urged the Philippines to come back to the negotiating table to solve its maritime disputes with China regardless of an arbitrary tribunal's ruling.

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]

"The drill is a routine exercise the Chinese Navy carries out according to the annual plan. It is within China's sovereign rights and is not targeting any specific countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Wednesday.

Hong made the remarks after Vietnam claimed the drill was violating Vietnamese sovereignty.

The Ministry of National Defense confirmed on Tuesday that China would hold a drill in the area between Hainan Island and the Xisha Islands in the first 10 days of July and that military equipment including multiple ships and fixed-wing aircraft would participate.

The Defense Ministry said the drill "aims at improving the military's ability to respond to security threats and implement missions".

"The Xisha Islands are China's inherent territory. There is no dispute of this," Hong reiterated on Wednesday. He asked the parties concerned to "objectively view" the drill.

The drill takes place ahead of ruling expected on July 12 in the arbitration case the Philippines filed in 2013 against China over disputes in the South China Sea.

"China will not accept any country's claim or action based on the so-called ruling", Hong said, after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is reported to have said the Philippines is ready to talk to China if the ruling is in the Philippines' favor.

Hong reiterated that the arbitration case filed by the Aquino III administration is "illegal and invalid from the start", and he urged the new Philippine government to "abandon the old administration's wrong practice" and "come back to the proper path of talking and negotiating with China".

Xu Liping, a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China is not concerned about whom the ruling will favor as it has already made clear that it will not accept or participate in, acknowledge or implement the ruling.

Xu suggested that the Philippines cool down and be low key about the ruling. He said he is "cautiously optimistic" that the Philippines will return to the consensus it reached with China, which is to deal with its maritime disputes with China through bilateral talks.
Every July, Dalhousies Halifax campuses spring to life as crowds of sunblock-slathered children descend on the university for the start of summer camp season.



Meanwhile in rural Labrador, a thousand kilometres away by plane, children in small communities along the coast are taking part in some Dal-led learning of their own.



SuperNOVA, the Dal-based, student-driven science and technology initiative, is running a series of outreach camps in the region this summer aimed at getting more children in these often-underserved communities engaged in learning about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).



The camps are sponsored by Actua, a national STEM outreach group with 34 member organizations across Canada that runs similar outreach activities in more than 500 communities each year, reaching 250,000 young people annually.



Lauren Dickhout, this year's Labrador camp coordinator, and instructor Moustafa Esmat arrived in Happy Valley-Goose Bay  the region's largest community  early last week for the first of eight five-day science camps that will run through July and into late August.



Lauren, born in B.C. and who just graduated from Dal with a degree in Recreational Therapy, has been involved in the Labrador outreach camps for two of the four summers SuperNOVA has been running them. She also spent last July and August with a team on Baffin Island in Nunavut.



"I love seeing the kids in these places experience new educational things," she says. "I also love working the community members and seeing how passionate they are about putting on programs for their communities."



Culturally aware camps



Six of the eight communities Lauren and Moustafa will be visiting this summer are predominantly Inuit and supported by Nunatsiavut, a self-governing regional government. The remaining two camps are in predominantly Innu communities and sponsored in part by Vale, a Brazilian mining company with operations in the region.



With 20-30 children (ages 7-12) signed up in each community, the camps are cosier than their Halifax counterparts and catered to local culture and sensibilities.



When we are going to do workshops in rural communities like these, we try to bring in traditional knowledge, says Lauren, whether thats how we prep our workshop or what we are doing or how we tie in the activity to make sense to them.



Each spring, Actua provides training in Indigenous history and cultural awareness to instructors such as Lauren and Moustafa working in these communities to facilitate the connection between aspects of culture, traditional knowledge and modern science, says Leslie Cuthbertson, Actua's senior director of strategy and organization development.



They receive training in successful practices in engaging Indigenous communities in STEM, she says, adding that local Elders and other community volunteers are sometimes involved in the workshops and activities.

From computer science to pharmacy



Lauren and Moustafa have a wide assortment of different activities planned for the various camps, including an exercise called Protect That Pill where the kids learn about biochemistry and pharmacy, a glow-stick demo that teaches them how temperature affects light and molecules, and an obstacle course/blindfold group activity designed to teach kids about computer science without actually using computers.



Moustafa, a fourth-year electrical Engineering student, says it is his first year working as a SuperNOVA instructor and that he's learning a lot from the experience so far, especially when it comes to translating complex science into easy to understand exercises for young kids.



"You're trying to get them to learn big concepts, but at a young age. You have to really simplify it down," he says.



During the computer science obstacle course activity, for instance, he says they bring the concepts down to the physical level. When a partner touches an obstacle by mistake, their partner then tells them 'That's okay, programmers make mistakes sometimes and we've got software testing engineers and they debug problems," he explains.



Lauren says it's important to ensure the references they use make sense to the kids in each community. For instance, when doing a popsicle-stick bridge-building activity in Halifax they might mention the MacKay Bridge, but in Labrador they might instead reference a stream or creek running through the community. She says an activity measuring pH levels in different liquids in a session last week turned into a lesson about the environment when some of the campers shared observations about how the liquids might impact their own lives whether it is the fish they catch or where they go swimming.



By engaging kids in these topics in relatable ways now at a young age, the hope is more of them will stay interested later, says Lauren.



"We're trying to bridge the gap between them thinking about the science and about the opportunities in the future for them in science."



Learn more about SuperNOVA's various outreach activities at its website.


New Delhi: Aiming to double farmers' income in the next five years, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today said farm mechanisation will bring down the cost of cultivation by up to 25 per cent and raise production by 20 per cent.

He also said that raising support price of agri-crops will not suffice, as there is a need to bring down the cost of cultivation, for which, use of innovative farm machineries is the need of the hour.

The Modi government is promoting farm mechanisation in a big way under various programmes and has been setting up more testing and training centres across the country, he added.

"Farm mechanisation is key for modernising agriculture sector. Use of agri-machineries will help increase production by 20 per cent and bring down the cost of cultivation by 20-25 per cent. This is the need of the hour," Singh said addressing an event on this issue.

Asserting that farm machineries need to be promoted both in agriculture and allied sectors to address labour shortage, the minister said the states should take equal interest and spend allocated central funds for this purpose.

"We don't have shortage of funds. The problem is that states are not utilising funds properly and timely." Blaming the previous regime for giving less priority to farm mechanisation, the minister said the focus in the past had been on increasing the minimum support price (MSP) and loan waiver in the name of the increasing farmers income.

"But MSP is one aspect. Modi government is focusing on reducing the overall cost of cultivation and boost productivity," Singh said. Now, the government is making efforts to address the core challenges facing farm sector, be it improving soil health or providing irrigation to farm fields or for that matter promoting balanced use of fertilisers, he added.

On challenges faced in adopting new technologies, Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak said, "It is not financing or subsidy that is an hindrance in promoting farm mechanisation.

The real issue is that not many of them are aware of innovative farm machines being developed in length and breadth of this country." Both public and private companies and even farmers themselves have developed novel farm machineries.

"We are working how to bring them together and commercialize at lower price for the benefit of farmers," he said. "The PM has given the call to double farmers income. We are trying how to achieve this. To remove drudgery in agriculture and save labour cost, farm mechansisation is must," the Secretary noted.

The Centre is implementing a sub-mission on agricultural mechanisation under which custom-hiring facilities for agri-machinery are set up with a focus on increasing the reach of farm machineries to small and marginal farmers. There are at present, 1,200 custom hiring centres.
New Delhi: UK business minister Sajid Javid will call on Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tomorrow and discuss ways to strengthen trade and economic ties between the two countries.

"Secretary of State for Business and President Board of Trade, UK - Sajid Javid to call on Smt @nsitharaman tomorrow," Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a tweet today.

The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of Britain's decision to exit from the European Union, with which India is negotiating a comprehensive free trade agreement. With this decision, India will have to rework the proposed agreement.

The British minister is also set to hold talks with senior management of Tata Steel in Mumbai in connection with the sale of its unit in the UK. CII President Naushad Forbes had recently said that there is a lot of merit now in negotiating a separate free trade agreement with the UK.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at USD 14 billion in 2015-16 as against USD 14.33 billion in 2014-15. India has received USD 23.10 billion FDI from Britain during April 2000 and March 2016.
New Delhi: Government will meet the central trade unions on a 12-point charter of demands raised by them on July 18, which will also see unions raising issues of price rise, disinvestment and foreign direct investment (FDI).

"We have called a meeting of all the central trade unions on July 18 to discuss the charter of demands," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here. Leaders of central trade unions including RSS-affiliated Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), INTUC, AITUC, HMS, CITU, AIUTUC, and TUCC will be attending the meeting.

The charter of demands includes government's steps to deal with price rise and unemployment, a universal social security cover for workers, stopping disinvestment of PSUs and opposition to FDI in railways and defence.

When asked about the meeting of the minister's group, he said: "We will meet in the middle of the Monsoon Session to discuss the charter of demands of the unions." The ministers' group, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has been constituted to talk with the unions on their 12-point charter of demands.

"Here the thinking is that first I will sit with the unions and if the need be the Ministers' panel will meet the unions," the Minister said. When asked about the meeting, BMS General Secretary Virjesh Upadhyay told PTI: "Besides the charter of demands, we will also raise the issue of absence of labour component in the recently announced policy for the aviation and the textiles sectors."

BMS will also raise the issue of price rise, which is impacting the standard of living of the workers as well as the disinvestment in government PSUs, he added.

All India Trade Union Congress Secretary D L Sachdev said the unions have been asking the government to hold the meeting with the ministers' group, but it has not happened since the last meeting on August 27-27 last year.

"In the July 18 meeting we will tell them that the meeting of the minister's panel should be called. We will also raise other important issues of price rise, disinvestment and that of FDI," he added.
The BFG is based on author Roald Dahls eponymous 1982 novel of the same name.

Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice to the Hindi translation of American filmmaker Steven Spielbergs The Big Friendly Giant and the megastar is all praise for the film. The 73-year-old actor took to Twitter to praise the fantasy-adventure.

The BFG is based on author Roald Dahls eponymous 1982 novel of the same name. Original cast of the project includes Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, playing the 24-feet-tall gentle giant BFG and Ruby Barnhall playing Sophie, the orphan who becomes friends with the BFG. In the Hindi dubbed version, Bachchan has voiced the BFG and Parineeti Chopra has done the voiceover for Sophie.

Watch BFG's Hindi dubbed trailer below:
After wrapping up Vishal Bharadwajs Rangoon, Kangana Ranaut has started work on Hansal Mehtas next titled Simran. The actress will be seen playing a girl from Gujarat, based in California. Once again, her character will have a strong accent, like it did in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Queen, and is possibly the most challenging for her in that sense. To prepare for the role, Kangana will visit Gujarat with Mehta to catch a few plays and understand the language and its nuances better.

Kangana Ranaut's first look from the film 'Simran'.

Latest, we here is that the makers have roped in Rajkummar Rao opposite Kangana Ranaut. Earlier, the two had shared the screen space in Queen. Simran is a story about a bank robber and will be shot in real locations. Unlike Mehtas other films that have been shot in India, this one will be shot partly in the United States.

This will be the fourth outing of Rajkummar Rao with director Hansal Mehta. He has given stellar performances in Shahid, Citylights and Aligarh.
Mumbai: Rejecting a reply by Bollywood actor Salman Khan on his recent rape comment to the Maharashtra State Women's Commission (MSWC), the commission on Thursday issued a third summon to the actor asking him to appear before it on July 14.

Interacting with reporters, MSWC chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said, "The actor has been asked to be present during a hearing by the commission at 4 p.m. on July 14 in this connection."

"In our summons, we have asked the actor that his statement amounts to insulting women, and thus, he needs to be present and put his argument before the commission," she added.

"We are not satisfied with his response and are not accepting his response. We have concurrent power and thus the hearing will take place before us. And, if he evades the third summons, the law will take its course," she said in response to a letter sent by the actor to the commission.

Salman's lawyer on June 29 had urged the MSCW not to pursue the matter to avoid duplication since it was already being dealt with by the NCW.

The MSCW issued a notice for his "raped woman" remark. "Felt like a raped woman," said Salman after shooting a wrestling sequence for 'Sultan'.
Mumbai: Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today said that people who spread terrorism in the name of religion are the ones who don't follow it.

When asked about the growing terrorism, Aamir told reporters, "People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), that's what I think, then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian..."

"However much as they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion, because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love," the 51-year-old actor said.

When asked about his views on whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, the 'Dhoom 3' star said, "I won't comment on that. I have said what I want to."

Aamir was speaking at a special Eid press conference. Last week, five Bangladeshi militants hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.

Besides, three suicide bombings recently struck across Saudi Arabia in a single day, including an attack at Islam's second holiest site, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, where four security guards were killed.

At the same press conference, Aamir Khan showered praise on Salman Khan's recently released ' Sultan' and predicted that the movie would beat his film 'PK' at the box office in terms of returns.

"It's a very entertaining and moving film. It's outstanding. I cried a lot in the second half of the movie. It's a very inspiring movie. I just loved it. No other words. Salman has done exceptional work," he told media.

"I texted Salman last night and told him that he has made amazing movie. I predict that this film would break ' PK' records.will break all the records. All the success that this film gets, it deserves. It's a very good film," he added.

Aamir, 51, watched the film last night at a special screening held in Yash Raj Films.

Aamir's entire family including first wife Reena Dutta along with kids- Junaid and Ira, nephew Imran Khan with wife Avantika, joined to celebrate the festival of Eid.

Aamir Khans first wife Reena Dutta with kids Junaid and Ira.

Imran Khan strikes a pose with wife Avantika.
"Don't put your daughter on the stage," Noel Coward, the great chronicler of the follies of fashion, once warned in his song "Mrs. Worthington".

His advice has not quite made it to the catwalk, where nearly a dozen little girls toddled down the runways of the Paris haute couture shows Wednesday.

French designer Franck Sorbier dressed up half a kindergarten class as little tsarinas with fez-like pillbox hats and red fur trimmed cloaks as a colourful contrast to the mourning weeds of his aristocratic Russian black widows.

And Elie Saab, whose ball gowns are often the thing of little girls' princess fantasies, also sent two children out as mini-me versions of their catwalk mothers trailing clouds of organza, feathers and glitter.

Waders for madam?

Wellington boots have been awfully stylish for some time now. But who in their wildest dreams who would have thought that fishermen's waders would too?

After the trendsetting French brand Vetements set jaws dropping with their silk Manolo Blahnik stiletto waders that reach right to the ribs on Sunday, John Galliano went full rubber Wednesday.

The English-born designer has long been in love with a very 18th-century kind of aristocratic anarchy, and in his new collection for Maison Margiela, his fantasy punk duchesses went to the ball in wellies.

A wench who seemed like she has just led the storming of the Bastille powered down the runway in waders under an Empire line gown, while another in a pirate tricorne hat waded ashore in search of booty.

"A sense of the incredible and the impossible spins throughout the collection," Galliano wrote in his notes, adding that his "fantasy is tempered by the jarring authenticity of today's reality".

"Napoleon and Josephine meet skate culture," quipped the New York Times' Vanessa Friedman on Twitter.

Squared shoulders

Although little of haute couture which is destined for the wardrobes of the world's richest women filters down to the malls, you can be sure that you will be seeing squared shoulders on the high street this winter.

Fashion's top table, Chanel, Dior and Giorgio Armani, all pushed their shoulders out in their new collections, and the trend which has also been percolating through the men's shows last week, seems unstoppable.

In what will almost certainly be her last collection for the Italian house Valentino before taking over at Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri added the merest of puff shoulders to the odd dress. But she would not be deflected from her glorious recreation of a Renaissance court, all ruffs, regality and silk breeches.

If this is the sort of unstated grandeur she will bring to Dior, Paris will gladly open its gates to its new queen.

Back to the woods

That eternal sprite Jean Paul Gaultier ran deep into the Japanese forest for inspiration for his show. And by the amount of fur he put on the catwalk, he probably come back via Siberia.

With the world the way it is, we need "to breathe the air, get away from it all, and get closer to nature," he said.

With a palate of deep bark-coloured coppery reds and browns, he dressed his women like wood spirits and fairy queens, their faces framed by haloes of fur or wool.

Others seems to have escaped from some Middle Earth, though even in their wildest fantasies no Hobbit noblewoman would ever dream of looking this good.

Dutch pair Viktor & Rolf also embraced nature and the idea of the found and reused, describing their equally romantic crafty collection as being "alive with cascading blossoms... and metallic dragonflies".

In their crumpled Dr. Seuss top hats, their models looked like tramp princesses; and no less regal for being so.
A researcher said it was not clear whether acupuncture had a physiological effect on the body, or whether those who underwent the sessions became more relaxed because therapists spent time listening to their problems.

Acupuncture could dramatically boost the chances of IVF treatment working, a study suggests. A British study found that rates of success were twice as high among those having the alternative therapy. Fertility experts said the findings were interesting and statistically significant. However, they warned that it was unclear whether the apparent benefit stemmed from the traditional Chinese practice  or from a placebo effect, because the women became more relaxed after time was invested in them.

The study by Homerton University Hospital in London, involved 160 couples suffering from fertility problems. Half were assigned to have four sessions of acupuncture during their IVF cycle. One year on, those who underwent the ancient practice, involving fine needles, had achieved pregnancy rates of 46.2 per cent. Among those who had not, pregnancy rates were just 21.7 per cent. Dr Adam Balen, chairman of the British Fertility Society described the findings as very interesting.

He said: There is no doubt that when people are given acupuncture it can feel like an extra dimension of support. Fertility treatment is stressful and it can be quite helpful to have a therapy which relaxes them. He said there was no evidence that the controversial practice  dismissed by critics as mumbo jumbo  does any harm to those trying to start a family. But he said some of the herbs associated with traditional Chinese medicine could be dangerous, and cautioned against their use.

What if IVF doesnt work?

Stuart Lavery, consultant gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital, said many women suffering fertility treatment were interested in alternative therapies. There is a patient demand and a patient interest in the field of acupuncture and probably in the area of traditional Chinese medicine overall, but the area is sadly lacking in rigorous prospective randomised assessment, he said.

This study is interesting in that it does seem to show a statistically significant difference, he added. He said it was not clear whether acupuncture had a physiological effect on the body, or whether those who underwent the sessions became more relaxed because therapists spent time listening to their problems. The weakness of this study is that you cant control for the placebo effect, he said. Patients are often looking for someone who can give them time and listen to whats going on in their lives, he said. And that may have some therapeutic benefit.  Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Bengaluru: The spurt in the number of attacks on African students in the recent past indicates increasing animosity between Africans and local residents in the city.

Though the police have held peace meetings and requested local residents to maintain harmony with the foreigners, such attacks keep occurring in north and northeastern parts of Bengaluru.

A 25-year-old Congolese student was allegedly beaten up and stoned by an autorickshaw driver and a few local residents in Hennur over a trivial row. The African student paid a fare of Rs 30 instead of Rs 50 that was demanded by the auto driver as he took the auto from Kammanahalli Main Road to Hennur Cross which is less than 2.5 km.When he approached the police, they asked for the registration number of the auto, which he did not note down, and sent him off.

Ngoy Katuntu Tresor, a BBA student of Teachers Academy in HBR Layout and a resident of Hennur Cross, had gone to buy bread in Kammanahalli around 8 pm on Monday. Before I hired the autorickshaw, I had told the driver that I will pay him only Rs 30 as he was demanding Rs 50. I told him that I was aware of the charge for the distance. Initially, the auto driver refused and went on moving, but he stopped and asked me to hop in, said Tresor.

When we reached the Reliance Fresh supermarket at Hennur Cross where I had to get down, I gave him `30 and started walking. But the auto driver followed me and started hurling abuses. He then pushed me around and beat me up, he said.

I defended myself and held his hands. I also had to punch him as he was beating me continuously. But a few local residents, who joined the driver, started throwing stones and I had to run for cover, Tresor said.

Tresor lost Rs 250 he had in his pocket and his phone broke. A local resident followed me and gave me my phone and its battery, he said.

When Tresor reached the Hennur police station to lodge a complaint, the policemen asked him for the autorickshaws registration number. He told them that he did not make a note of it as he was in a state of shock, thinking that he could meet the same fate of a 29-year-old Congolese man, who was lynched in South Delhis Vasant Kunj area in May this year after an argument over hiring an auto-rickshaw. The Hennur police sent him off without registering a complaint.

Assault on Ugandan woman: One more held

A day after the arrest of a 26-year-old woman for assaulting a Ugandan woman, who was pushed from the third floor of a residential building, the police arrested the second accused on Wednesday.

The accused has been identified as Christine (26), a Nigerian national. He was hiding in a friends flat at an apartment complex in Bhyrathi.

Police said Christine was in an inebriated state when he was arrested. Kothanur police suspect that Christine had come to the city on business visa and overstayed here. When he was questioned and told to produce documents, he failed to do so.

On Saturday, Fazia, an Ugandan national was pushed from third floor by Farida, Victoria and Christine, all African nationals and her acquaintances. The victim was pushed from the staircase of a building in Kothanur after she resisted attempts by the trio to allegedly force her into prostitution.

However, the police claim that a drunken brawl had led to the fall. On Tuesday police had arrested Victoria, 26, the prime accused, while Farida Kiraboo is still on the run.
Jaipur: A year after being kidnapped and raped by powerful people from her village, a 12-year-old girl and her family are forced to leave their home.

Rather than acting against her tormentors who attacked them at their new address too, the police have restrained the victim-family under IPC section 107 and 116 for disturbing peace, based on an alleged false complaint by the accused.

Tired after running from pillar to post to get justice and protection from the accused, including a former sarpanch and a police head constable who have been pressuring them to withdraw the case, the victims family shifted base to Kota from their village in Jhalawar district.

With support from Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR), the girl then approached the Rajasthan High Court for police protection, rehabilitation package and fresh inquiry by CBI or SIT. The Court issued notices to the chief secretary, DGP, Jhalawar SP and others seeking an explanation as to why the case shouldn't be handed over to the CBI while seeking reply within four weeks.

We hoped that we would get justice finally, but as soon as the Court intervened, our life turned more miserable. It irked the rapists and they started threatening us, said the girl's father, who is a farmer.

He said that on June 5, a group of people led by the accused men barged into their house, ransacked it and then beat them up. The man, his wife and their three children including the rape survivor are living under constant

fear.

The 12-year-old girl was kidnapped by a former sarpanch and a police head constable along with two others on June 30, 2015. Her father lodged an FIR on July 2. She was raped till July 13, the day she was produced before the investigating officer.
Apna Dal rose to prominence in the 2014 parliamentary elections by aligning with BJP and winning its first two Lok Sabha seats. (Photo: PTI)

Lucknow: Apna Dal, led by Union Minister Anupriya Patel's mother Krishna Patel, on Thursday snapped ties with BJP accusing the latter of not following the decorum of alliance.

"The national executive of Apna Dal has decided to snap ties with BJP as it did not follow the decorum of alliance.

Despite informing about the activities of Anupriya, who was expelled, BJP leaders did not take congnisance of it and did not act," party spokesman RBS Patel said.

A meeting of Apna Dal was held in Lucknow in which party President Krishna Patel announced the decision.

"We will contest 2017 Assembly elections in UP and we are going to hold a rally in Varanasi on August 21," Patel added.

Founded in 1995 by Sone Lal Patel, Apna Dal rose to prominence in the 2014 parliamentary elections by aligning with BJP and winning its first two Lok Sabha seats Mirzapur and Pratapgarh.

After Sone Lal's death in 2009, Krishna was made president of the party, while his younger daughter Anupriya general secretary. Anupriya had won the 2012 assembly election from Rohaniya seat in Varanasi which she vacated this year after getting elected to Lok Sabha.

Due to family feud, Anupriya was expelled by Krishna last year and both of them claimed themselves to be heading Apna Dal, which has two MPs.

Anupriya Singh Patel was inducted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.
The Inner Mongolia Bible School held its commencement exercises for the 2016 graduates on June 29th. The chairperson of the Mongolian CCCTSPM encouraged the students to follow the model of Isaiah following Gods calling.

In a sermon entitled Come and Go, Rev Xie, the chairperson of the said Bible School, told the graduates that God is sending them to serve as God had called them to be equipped with the knowledge of the word. .

This year, there are 77 graduates, including 39 from College, 26 from the Secondary level, and 12 from the advanced study.

The representative of the graduates also made a statement. The representative of the Bible school teachers also spoke about their expectations on the graduates: they hope that they will continue to pursue on faith and culture, and set a good image to glorify God to the people.
Ravi Shankar Prasad said the telecom department had sought details of documents from the CAG and received them in June this year. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: BJP on Thursday hit out at Congress overits allegation of a Rs.45,000 crore telecom scam with Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was Telecom Minister before the reshuffle, calling it "utterly bogus" saying it related to the period when the UPA was in power.

"Congress needs to understand that there is no underreporting case under the NDA government. It is a case of sin of the Congress-led UPA government," Prasad said, insisting that the government will recover all the dues with penalty from these telecom firms.

"The entire allegation of Congress party is utterly bogus. It relates to period of between 2006-10. According to CAG reports some telecom companies underreported their revenues. The reports came in March, which I am given to understand, is under the examination of the Public Accounts Committee," he said.

Read: Congress alleges Rs 45,000 crore telecom scam in Modi government

Prasad said the telecom department had sought details of documents from the CAG and received them in June this year.

"After due assessment all the dues shall be recovered with penalty. Telecom service providers are obliged to pay license fee and spectrum usage charges on the revenue earned by them. Any underreported revenue shall be recovered with penalty," he said.

The BJP also attacked the Congress calling it a case of pot calling the kettle black, as the underreporting had happened during the UPA and alleged that Congress spokespersons were putting out "lies" in their briefings.

"Such allegations are laughable. It shows the mental bankruptcy of the Congress. No wrong happened under the NDA government and to drag it in a matter that happened under the UPA is a case of pot calling the kettle black.

"Congress should introspect and not behave in an immature, childish way," its national secretary Shrikant Sharma said, calling the party "mother of corruption and misgovernance".
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will participate in 'INNOPROM 2016', an international industrial exhibition, to be held in Russia from July 11 to promote investments in the state.

He will also visit Astana, the newly-constructed capital of Kazakhstan, to study the best practices for the construction of AP's permanent capital Amaravati, coming up near Vijayawada.

"He (Naidu) will participate in 'INNOPROM 2016' which one part of the tour to Russia. We are also visiting Kazakhstan in order to see their newly-constructed capital Astana," Parakala Prabhakar, Advisor (Communications) to the state government, told reporters here today.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up our Chief Minister after his return from Kazakhstan last year and said that Astana is very beautiful, newly-constructed capital with all the modern facilities. So we must go and take the best practices from there," he said.

India is a partner country for 'INNOPROM 2016' and Naidu's counterparts Devendra Fadnavis from Maharashtra and Vasundhara Raje from Rajasthan are also attending the four-day event.

Delegations from other states, including Gujarat and Jharkhand, would also participate in the event. Prabhakar said Naidu's agenda includes addressing the session on the theme Industrial Net (how internet, Internet of

Things and modern technology is used in production of industrial goods and agriculture), showcasing the opportunities in AP and the resources in the state and meeting prominent government leaders of Russia.

A number of bilateral meetings with business leaders coming from different parts of the world have been scheduled, Prabhakar added.

Representatives from about 75 countries are participating in the INNOPROM event. He said business leaders of international companies already operating in Russia have also sought appointments with the CM. Andhra Pradesh has a special pavilion in 'INNOPROM 2016', said Prabhakar, who is part of Naidu's delegation.
Mumbai: Police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government.

Read: Under fire for conference with Zakir Naik, Digvijay Singh defends himself

We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI. He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.

Read: Bangladesh asks India to examine Zakir Naik's speeches

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."

Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

His speech & whatever is coming in newspapers is objectionable. Home Ministry will analyse everything, says newly-appointed I&B Minister, Venkaiah Naidu on Zakir Naik in Twitter.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Wednesday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.
Muslim kids greet each other after the Eid Al Fitr prayers at historic Makkah Masjid in Hyderabad. (Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in Hyderabad and other towns across Telangana on Thursday. Muslims offered Eid prayers at eidgahs and mosques and greeted each other.

The festival marked the culmination of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan during which Muslims observe a stringent dawn-to-dusk fast in which even water is not permitted.

Major congregations were witnessed at the historic Mir Alam Eidgah and other eidgahs at Masab Tank, Military Grounds, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Secunderabad, Santosh Nagar and Malakpet, among others.

Police have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of Eid prayers, including imposition of traffic restrictions.

Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Opposition Leader in Legislative Assembly K Jana Reddy and several other leaders conveyed their greetings on the occasion.
So far Ms Priyanka has been campaigning in Parliamentary constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli and party leaders have been saying it is for her to decide on canvassing support for the party all over the state. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Congress on Thursday parried questions over the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi being pitchforked as the top campaigner for the party in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

"As Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that as and when something is decided, you will hear about it," party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters replying to a volley of questions on Ms Priyanka.

Mr Tewari's advice to the media was to "hold your horses" on the matter as "responsibility ultimately lies with one who disseminates information".

He was told as to how media could be blamed when some Congress leaders were themselves talking about such a possibility as also those working with Prashant Kishor, the poll strategist who has been roped in by the party for Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

"It's the silly season," he remarked when reporters contended that they are being blamed for the "indecisiveness" of the Congress leadership on the issue.

Silly season stories are generally-meant stories at time of the year when Parliament and the law courts are not sitting and generation of news is low.

So far Ms Priyanka has been campaigning in Parliamentary constituencies of Amethi and Rae Bareli and party leaders have been saying it is for her to decide on canvassing support for the party all over the state.

Reports also had it that veteran leader Sheila Dikshit is likely to be projected as the Congress chief ministerial candidate in the key state.

There has been divergence of opinion in the Congress over Ms Priyanka being made the top campaigner in Uttar Pradesh with a section insisting that she should canvass support for the party all over the country in the next Lok Sabha polls and should not focus on a state poll.

Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is the AICC general secretary in charge of the state, is having meetings with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi in the last few days over the poll strategy.
New Delhi: Union human resources development minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said education is not a subject for party politics and asserted that dialogue is the key to avoid agitation.

Speaking to reporters, Javadekar said he was open to suggestions and consultations with everyone. Lauding Smriti Irani, whom he referred to as his little sister, Javadekar said he will consult her to take forward her good initiatives.

#TransformingIndia My ministry will provide education to all. We will work under the leadership of PM @narendramodi https://t.co/ItYUYNHGLE  Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) July 6, 2016

I am a product of student agitation so we will always talk with everybody. So, with dialogues in place, there will be no necessity of agitation, Mr Javadekar said. I accept this responsibility humbly and I will talk to our earlier minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, he said. Dr M.M. Joshi, a former BJP president, is now part of the partys Margdarshak Mandal.

Speaking on the new education policy, Mr Javadekar said it needs to become more relevant. We have to make our education system more innovative, he said and emphasised that the standard of education has to be raised. Asked about his elevation to Cabinet rank, Mr Javadekar said responsibility for the HRD ministry requires one. You need to have a Cabinet minister. So it is a technical requirement, he said.

On his handling of the environment and forests ministry, Mr Javadekar said he had always worked to empower tribals and any criticism of these aspects is misplaced. Asked about reports of the Congress planning an agitation on the alleged dilution of the Forest Rights Act, Mr Javadekar retorted with an apparent jibe at Rahul Gandhi, asking, Has their leader returned? I dont know. That is their internal issue.

He added that political parties have a right to put forth their views and agitate but there is no case for any agitation (on this issue) as of now.
Ramdas Athawale, who is yet to be allotted a ministerial office, said he will assist Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot in carrying out the welfare activities to fulfil Dr Ambedkar's vision. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Newly-appointed Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Thursday came down heavily on Congress, saying the party used him with an eye on Dalit votes but it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who realised his worth and made him a central minister.

Stating that he will campaign for BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which goes to polls early next year, the minister added that he is in touch with BSP "dissidents" and senior leaders, some of whom had recently quit the party.

"Congress was benefited by Republican Party of India (A) in Maharashtra and in several other states. In fact, Sonia Gandhi would admit that Congress could clinch power with the support of RPI. Had we not supported Congress in 1990, Shiv Sena and BJP would have come to power in early 1990s.

"Congress never valued me and never understood my power. It gave assurances on several occasions to induct me in the government but never did so. Narendra Modi realised my value and my power," Mr Athawale said as he took charge of his post.

He also charged the Congress president with sharing stage with him to woo Dalits before elections in Maharashtra but denying him his dues after victory.

Asked if he would campaign for BJP in UP, the Dalit leader said he would definitely try to "snatch the elephant" from the Mayawati-led BSP.

"Elephant was the symbol of Republican Party of India, but was later given to Mayawati's party. She is not doing any substantial work for the Dalits, so we will try to snatch the elephant from BSP," he said.

He claimed that BSP's core vote bank of Dalits in UP is shrinking which was evident from the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and said his party intends to contest on 20-25 seats in the state and is in touch with BSP dissidents and senior leaders some of whom had recently quit the party.

Mr Athawale further said he is the first leader who believes in the ideology of RPI to have become Union Minister after Dr BR Ambedkar, who was a Minister in the first Cabinet headed by prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It was Ambedkar who had mooted the idea of RPI before he passed away in 1956, he added.

Mr Athawale, who is yet to be allotted a ministerial office, said he will assist Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot in carrying out the welfare activities to fulfil Dr Ambedkar's vision.

He said Dalit welfare is the priority of the government and he will work to ensure that funds under SC sub plan is utilised in a timely manner.
India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived in Maputo this morning. (Photo: MEA Twitter handle)

Maputo (Mozambique): Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, a significant "long term" agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces amid Modi's vow to march with this African country on its path of development and progress.

"We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

"Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said, in comments that come against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world, including Bangladesh as also Saudi Arabia.

He said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence cooperation.

India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived in Maputo this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.
He said if the Government of India or the Government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naik's involvement in the ISIS, they should take action. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: In the wake of him attending an event of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

"If the speeches are to be banned...all provocative speeches on religion by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned," Singh told media in Delhi .

Read: Bangladesh asks India to examine Zakir Naik's speeches

He said if the Government of India or the Government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naik's involvement in the ISIS , they should take action against him.

Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

"The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed," he added.

Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his 'hate speech' was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved to indulge in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan suburb.

Read: Cops at Islamic Preacher Zakir Naiks Mumbai office as protective measure

The video shows Digvijay Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

"Zakir should travel all over India.I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace," he said. "We need your message to reach the country," Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office bearers of his organization ' Islamic Research Foundation' in Mumbai's Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on July 11.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai based PR agency.
Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, who was Information and Broadcasting Minister in UPA-II, told PTI that Peace TV and 24 other channels were banned by the government in December 2012. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Claiming that Peace TV whichfeatures talks by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was banned by the UPA-II government in December 2012, Congress on Thursday hit out at the Modi dispensation asking why it allowed the "illegal broadcast of a banned channel" to continue.

Congress spokesman Manish Tewari, who was Information and Broadcasting Minister in UPA-II, told PTI that Peace TV and 24 other channels were banned by the government in December 2012 for "anti-national activities".

"The question is why the NDA government allowed illegal broadcast of a banned channel to continue," said Tewari.

Tewari's reaction came following reports that the government would initiate action against Naik whose 'hate speech' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists involved in the Dhaka carnage.
The family of a toddler who was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia is holding a garage and bake sale benefit July 14-16 to raise medical and travel expenses.

Abby Sedanis great-grandparents, Al and Beverly Rogge, are holding the sale at their home, 11732 44th Ave. in Lake Hallie.

Abby, daughter of Ryan and Shelly Sedani and granddaughter of Chi-Hi graduates Davide and Leanne Sedani of Cameron, was diagnosed with AML in September 2015 at four months old.

She underwent four months of chemotherapy at Childrens Hospital in Minneapolis, and doctors told her parents in January the AML was in remission. However, four months later it returned.

Abby has been back at Childrens Hospital since May. She is in her second round of intense chemotherapy and the next step is a bone marrow transplant.

Her 4-year-old brother, Parker, is a match for her. The transplant is scheduled for later in July, after which she and her mother will have to live within 30 minutes of the hospital for 100 days.

All proceeds from the garage and bake sale at her great-grandparents home will go to benefit Abbys medical expenses and the familys living and travel expenses after the transplant.
It has been reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, the son of an Awami League leader, ran propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Following reports that at least one of the terrorists involved in a strike on a cafe in Dhaka on July 1 was inspired by Islamic orator Zakir Naik, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao on Thursday said Muslim leaders and preachers should guide youth to avoid the path of terrorism.

"Bangladeshi investigators are reporting that some of the terrorists who perpetrated the dastardly and ghastly attack last week actually were influenced by the preachings of Zakir Naik," Rao said.

"In the present scenario, we expect the preachers, the gurus and Muslim leaders to tell the youth to take the right path," Rao told ANI.

The Indian government on July 6 indicated taking action against Naik.

"The Government of India is already examining the matter and all appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that people do not spread this kind of hatred, give any kind of hate messages to stage terror attacks on innocent people across the world," Rao added.

It has been reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, the son of an Awami League leader, ran propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

A video has surfaced showing Congress leader Digvijay Singh hailing Naik as the one who spreads peace in the world.

"Now it is not uncommon for political leaders to be at public functions even if its spiritual leaders or others. But, if he's seen praising this particular gentleman, then Mr. Jigvijay Singh has to give clarification and come out openly what his views are on Mr. Naik in terms of the Taliban," said another BJP leader, Nalin Kohli.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV -- an international Islamic channel -- had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

"Somebody has to understand that terrorism is against humanity. Religion speaks and spiritual thoughts are for humanity. So, anything terrorism does is against humanity and their hardest action has to be there. Anyone who supports terrorism directly or indirectly finds excuses or justification for terrorism and is equally dangerous because they are helping terrorism grow," Kohli added.

Naik is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia .
New Delhi: The gloves are off. Gujarat is set to witness a booth-level war between the BJP and its formidable foe, the Aam Aadmi Party. Emerging as the BJPs enemy number one", AAP supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who will visit Gujarat on July 9, will make forays into the saffron citadel with the slogan One booth, 10 youth.

Booth-level politics has been one of the strong points of the BJP. The AAPs move to take on the saffron party at their own game is causing considerable concern in the local BJP. The Assembly polls are due next year.

Mr Kejriwal, who played the panthic card in Punjab and Christian card in Goa, is now preparing to play the Hindu card in Gujarat. He tweeted: Anandiben has got my Surat programme cancelled. But Lord Shiva has called. To see him, will go to Somnath on July 9. That programme stays as it was.

His words echoed what Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said as he ventured into Varanasi during the Lok Sabha polls  Mujhe toh ma Ganga ne bulaya hai. (Mother Ganga has called me).

With the Congress down and out and the BJP hit by resentment and anti-incumbency, the AAP has decided to move in as an alternative force in Gujarat. While eyeing the Patidar voters and extending support to its jailed leader, Hardik Patel, the AAP on Thursday made it clear that as a party we are against reservations. The Patidar community, a major part of the financial backbone of the BJP, had been seeking the OBC status.
New Delhi: The Central government on Thursday said appropriate action would be taken against controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik for speeches that may have influenced the Dhaka attackers.

It said the speeches were highly objectionable. The home ministry will study his speeches. It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable, the new information and broadcasting minister, M. Venkaiah Naidu, told the media.

Mr Naidus remarks come a day after minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher after looking into whether Mr Naik through his speeches glorifies terrorist acts by Muslims.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday directed the Mumbai police commissioner to investigate and submit a report on Mr Naik. An official from the home department confirmed the development that the chief minister has told the city commissioner to investigate the preacher.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar.

However, Zakir Naik asserted that his speech on Islam and terror have been taken out of context and claimed he had only said Muslims should terrorise anti-social elements.

Many of the news channels in India are showing a clipping where I am saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Whenever anyone wants to malign me, they show the clipping. This clipping, yes, it is me saying it, but it is out of context. I said a terrorist is a person who terrorises someone. I also gave an example that a policeman terrorises a robber. So, for a robber, a policeman is a terrorist. In this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the anti-social element, Zakir Naik, who is in Mecca, said.

On Thursday, security personnel were deployed outside Naiks Islamic Research Foundation office at Dongri area in South Mumbai as a precautionary measure in the wake of the escalating row over his speeches.

Earlier, in the day, members of Raza Academy, a city-based Muslim institution, held protests outside the Khatri Masjid in Pydhonie area in south Mumbai against Naik, seeking immediate ban on his Peace TV and his foundation.

The members of the organisation observed Eid by tying green ribbons on their arms as a mark of protest against the recent bombings at Medina, president of Raza Academy Saeed Noori said.
Hyderabad: The Centre will send a team of commerce officials to Hyderabad to inquire into the Telangana state governments complaint against AP of stealing its copyright material.

AP denied the TS claims on Wednesday and termed them as cheap tactics. But the TS government has decided not to go back on the police case filed against AP over the issue.

Telangana principal secretary of Industries Arvind Kumar said, We have submitted all the proof to the police about how AP submitted its data on the DIPP website by copying Telanganas application formats. The case is under investigation. Minister K.T. Rama Rao and myself have lodged a complaint with the Union commerce ministry. They have promised to inquire into the issue. If they dont, we will approach the Centre again next week.

Commerce officials will crosscheck whether both governments are adopting business-friendly practices at the ground level as is being claimed or have just brought the reforms on paper for the sake of better EoDB rankings, as both states have climbed to the top quickly.

In the latest real-time rankings uploaded by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, TS has secured second rank with 53.39 per cent and AP third with 51.76 per cent; Uttarakhand topped with 53.39 per cent.

The portal tracks the real-time implementation of the 340 action plans, which will be considered for the 2016 rankings. The process of ranking states on the basis of EoDB started in 2015. The final rankings for 2016 are expected by July-end.

Last month, TS was ranked second and AP 19th, but within a month, AP had climbed to third.

In real-time tracking, TS got second rank in June, while AP got 19th. But within a month, AP climbed to 3rd rank, while we continue to remain at 2nd. There are doubts over this and this needs to be inquired, Mr Kumar said.
Thiruvananthapuram: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has told the Congress leaders from the state that the party is supreme, not group politics, or else they can leave.

In a brainstorming session with the Kerala leaders, Mr. Gandhi said all were responsible for the defeat in the Assembly elections. The four-hour meeting was held at AICCs war room aka Congress coordination centre at 15, Gurudwara Rakabganj Road, in New Delhi.

A number of Congress leaders from Kerala met Mr. Gandhi at 2 p.m. Party sources told DC that the concept of the war room was mooted by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in 2009 before the general elections which becomes active when Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections are held.

Mr. Gandhi did not blame KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran and said it was a collective failure of the KPCC that led to the poll debacle. After realising the move by A and I groups against Mr Sudheeran, he directed the leaders not to attack a single individual in the name of defeat.

Mr. Gandhi told the leaders that the party revamping would not be done on group basis. The jumbo DCC committees would be terminated after almost all the 70-odd leaders raised the same issue before him. Mr. Gandhi held one-to-one talks later.

Rahul Gandhis only concern was to revive the party in the state and bring it back to its glory, said a senior Congress leader. Mr. Gandhi said that if the three senior leaders of the party join together, the party can make a comeback.

Some of the leaders opined that corruption allegations against the UDF government were one of the reasons for the defeat.

Mr. Gandhi has promised to meet KPCC general secretaries and Youth Congress leaders on Friday. On the first day of the session, apart from Mr Sudheeran, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, KPCC vice-presidents, MPs, MLAs, candidates in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, former governors, former KPCC presidents and feeder organisation representatives met Mr. Gandhi.

Congress group war hots up

The group politics in Congress here is heating up with the AICC beginning a two-day discussion with selected leaders from Kerala on Thursday in a bid to revamp the Congress in the state.

From Thrissur district, where the party suffered a major setback by losing 12 out of the total 13 seats in the Assembly elections, five leaders will share their views with the AICC

DCC acting president P.A. Madhavan, the lone MLA from Thrissur Anil Akkara, KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran's close aid T.N. Prathapan, senior leader K.P. Dhanapalan, who had lost from Thrissur in the Lok Sabha elections and from Kogungallur segment in Assembly elections, and KPCC general secretary Padmaja Venugopal have reached Delhi to talk to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on the further course of action for the party in the district.

Former Thrissur MP and Congress official spokesperson P.C. Chacko will also attend the consultations. It is learnt that Mr Prathpan, Mr T.V. Chandramohan, who is former MLA and Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee president, and Ms Padmaja Venugopal are eying the DCC president's post in Thrissur during the proposed revamp in the party.

Though former minister and 'I'group leader in the district C.N. Balakrishnan was invited by the AICC for talks, due to ill-health, he could not fly to Delhi.
New Delhi: The Centre is now preparing for a major push for the Bill on the Good and Services Tax (GST). The Modi government is expected to list the Bill in the first week of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The government will try to isolate the Congress on the issue. Regional outfits like the Trinamul Congress, the BSP and even the Left have shown their inclination to support the GST, whose passage will be the governments priority in the Monsoon Session.

The Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, is pending in the Upper House where it was introduced in August last year when the government did not have the numbers on its side to get it cleared. The Monsoon Session of Parliament is commencing from July 18 and will conclude on August 12.

The main opposition to the Bill is coming from the Congress, which has been demanding some changes, including mentioning a GST rate cap in the Constitution.

Though Tamil Nadu had been opposing the Bill, after AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month, speculation is rife that the AIADMK might soften its stand.

Though the government has indicated that it is willing to drop a plan to introduce a 1 per cent tax on inter-state transactions, it cannot mention the GST rate in the Bill as it would require the government to move Constitutional Amen-dment Bills whenever there is a change in rate.

Ahead of the Monsoon Session, the government will hold an all-party meeting along with another one chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on July 17.

The Governments agenda for the Session including the GST Bill will be deliberated with the Opposition in these meetings. NDA floor leaders are also likely to meet either on July 16 or 17 to chart their strategies.

The GST Bill is on top of our priority list for this Session. Government has been holding consultations with various political parties on this issue and we are very hopeful that this important bill, which will help in cutting cost for doing business and help in bringing in a unified tax regime in the country, will be passed by consensus, said minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.

During the Budget Session of Parliament, the government couldnt not list the Bill in the business list because of lack of consensus and also because the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress were engaged in a war of words over the AgustaWestland helicopter scam.
The Wanaparthy fort, where the headquarters of the proposed new district is likely to be located.

Hyderabad: With district officials searching for buildings to house offices after the new districts are announced, the government has tentatively agreed to locate the collectorate of the proposed Wanaparthy district at the Wanaparthy Fort.

Roads and buildings officials are preparing estimates for repair and renovation of the fort, which is located on 20 acres with a number of halls and rooms. R&B assistant engineer Muralidhar recently visited the heritage building and took photographs of several halls and rooms to prepare the estimates. The work is to be carried out without disturbing any structure.

An official source said that the fort may house the collectorate only temporarily. The mahal is being used as a polytechnic college from 1956. In 1978, the property was gifted to the government on the condition that the college would be housed there permanently. As per the agreement, the structure may not be utilised as a permanent collectorate, the official said.

Nizamabad district officials have recommended that the government house the collectorate of the proposed Kamareddy district at the Minority Bhavan in Kamareddy.

In Karimnagar district, officials have submitted proposals to use temporary buildings for the headquarters of the proposed Jagtial and Sircilla districts.

Recently, a meeting chaired by minister Etela Rajender with peoples representatives and revenue officials almost finalised the proposed buildings.

Ranga Reddy officials have mooted housing the proposed Vikarabad district headquarters at the 60-acre TB Hospital at Anantagiri hills. At Bhuvanagiri, district officials have picked the municipal office for the collectorate.

Cops all set to cancel some posts

Police officials are planning to cancel some posts after the 14 proposed districts are formed, due to lack of manpower. The police will require an IPS official to post as SP, an additional SP and an officer on special duty for each of the proposed districts.

An official source said that the police was short of manpower after bifurcation. Initially, the government filled the vacant posts by promoting officers. It is a big task to depute efficient officials to newly proposed districts as additional SPs and OSDs, he said.

The official said that the department had proposed to cancel the posts of additional SP (admin) and OSDs in the new districts till staff was recruited. Director-general of police Anurag Sharma recently directed SPs come up with an action plan to set up new circles and police stations.
NEW DELHI: It is not everyday that a senior Union minister gets caught on the wrong foot over a case of mistaken identity, that too when the person involved is the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

For 21-year-old Rachna (name changed), an Assamese girl studying medicine at theUkraines Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University, a trip back home to Guwahati in a British Airways flight for her holidays landed her on July 4 in Istanbuls Ataturk airport which was hit by a horrifying suicide bomb attack that very day killing 45 people dead and injuring hundreds.

At Istanbul, she was supposed to change her flight en route to Mumbai. Normally a transit visa is not a problem but enhanced security because of the terror attack came in the way and the panic-striken girl was detained for hours in a room within the airport on the ground that she did not have a valid transit visa.

That was when we tweeted to Sushma Swaraj madam for help who promptly responded and ensured that my daughter flew back safely to Mumbai via Dubai with the help of Indian embassy officials in Turkey, the girls grateful mother told this newspaper on the phone.

In Mumbai, a family friend by the name of Shahrukh  a fellow medical student in Ukraine-and his family came forward and ensured that the traumatised girl received adequate rest in their house before boarding her scheduled flight to Guwahati.

Meanwhile, with many well-wishers tweeting how Shahrukh Khan, the Bollywood actor, had helped the girl, it caught the attention of local TV channels who went on the overdrive to report the good Samaritan act.

It caught the attention of the external affairs minister too, whose tweet: Thats a noble gesture from Shahrukh Khan must not have failed to confound the film star.

The faux pas was revealed to this reporter after a call to the girls family. Understandably, the Union ministers Twitter account later on took off the tweet.

In the end, as the girls mother said, Alls well that ends well.
Bengaluru: The cabinet reshuffle effected by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Tuesday, seems to have come as a leveller vis-a-vis the internal dynamics of the Bharatiya Janata Party state unit is concerned.

But, considering the number of BJP MPs that the state has and the political significance attached to Karnataka, many state leaders felt that the state should have got more cabinet berths.

Just as the Congress revamped its co-ordination committee to clip the wings of Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, the cabinet reshuffle of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came as a silent message to party state unit president, B.S. Yeddyurappa.

Having given the freedom to Mr Yeddyurappa to oversee state affairs, the party central unit gave a lot more importance to Ananth Kumar and his followers in the reshuffle virtually snubbing the Yeddyurappa camp.

Mr Kumar, perceived to be close to BJP patriarch L.K. Advani, has worked his way through the ranks and now, seems to have won the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who in turn handed him the important portfolio, Parliamentary Affairs. Not only that.

The party inducted a Dalit BJP MP from Karnataka, Ramesh Jigajinagi, who is considered close to Mr Kumar. With another Union Minister of State G.M. Siddeshwar, a loyalist of state president B.S. Yeddyurappa, likely to be shown the door due to non-performance, sources said the central leadership has sent a clear signal to Mr Yeddyurappa that he may have a free hand in affairs concerning the state.

But, when it comes to central issues, it may not give credence to his suggestions.

Irrespective of the affiliations of different groups, state leaders felt that the Prime Minister should have given more importance to Karnataka in his cabinet.

"We have 17 MPs which is crucial both from the south Indian and Karnataka point of view. Had he given one or two berths more, it would have sent a different message," a senior leader said.

Not DVS enough for Delhi

His detractors in the BJP point out that the leader who once dreamt of becoming Karnataka Milk Federation chairman, could not get more than what he deserved. He became chief minister of Karnataka because B.S. Yeddyurappa wanted him to be. Till then, he did not have the experience of running a government. He was an MP and MLA before that but did not expose himself to the rough and tumble of Delhi politics the way his colleague, Ananth Kumar did.

Mr Gowda was perceived to be a non-performer from day one. He was given railways but within no time, he was stripped of the portfolio. He was a practising lawyer before entering politics. But, his subject knowledge did not help him to liasion with institutions like the Supreme Court.

If one were to go by party sources, lawyer turned politician Arun Jaitley was the one who took major decisions pertaining to the law ministry. Sources attributed his failure to the fact that he could not break the ice between the government and Supreme Court over installing a system for appointing judges.

Ties across parties

His detractors call him an opportunist and an Advani loyalist. But, Mr Kumar proved everyone wrong this time when he got the parliamentary affairs portfolio beside chemicals and fertilisers.

The six-time MP from Bengaluru South who is the one of the very few parliamentary board members, had worked in the past as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh state in-charge. When he was given the chemicals and fertiliser portfolio, everyone thought he had been sidelined.

But his performance as fertiliser minister made the Prime Minister take note and speak about this even in his Mann Ki Baat. Two days back, his ministry slashed the prices of fertilisers and received a positive feedback. Sources said that Mr Kumar enjoys a good rapport with all party leaders.

Many Congress leaders besides those like Nitish Kumar, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Naveen Patnaik turning up at his daughters marriage reception at New Delhi proving beyond doubt the rapport he enjoys beyond party lines. This could be the reason why he has been given the parliamentary affairs portfolio.
Hyderabad: Stating that the new education policy of India has to be student-centric, new Union minister for human resource development Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said that education was not a subject for party politics and he was open to suggestions from anyone to improve the quality of education in the country.

Education is not a subject for party politics. But it is an important issue. We will have a discussion on it with everyone. It will play a big role in bringing changes in the India in the 21st century, he remarked.

Mr Javadekar, who replaced Smriti Irani after her controversial two-year tenure, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision to improve the quality of education and make it more meaningful.

Mr Javadekar has also a Hyderabad connection as he played a key role in the BJP-TD alliance in undivided AP, before the state was bifurcated.

Education should be seen as an emancipator and an agent of change. I will come out with a roadmap after consultations with PM and others, including Ms Irani. I accept this responsibility humbly. I will talk to our earlier minister Murli Manohar Joshi in this regard, he told media persons in New Delhi. Mr Joshi, a former BJP president who is now part of Margdarshak Mandal, has been critical of the Modi government.

Mr Javadekar said that the real challenge is to make education meaningful. Poor parents work hard to educate their wards. To provide quality education is our aim and we will be able to do it, he said.

Mr Javadekar said that he would formally take charge on Thursday.
JUNEAU  Two more people have been charged in the death of Holly Nehls who died of a heroin overdose on May 31.

Terence Jannke of Watertown, 49, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide, maintaining a drug trafficking place as a party to a crime, second and subsequent offense and possession with intent to deliver heroin, second and subsequent offense. If convicted he faces up to 56 years in prison and $135,000 in fines.

Jason Twaite of Watertown, 33, is charged with maintaining a drug trafficking place as a party to a crime, repeater and possession of drug paraphernalia as a repeater. He faces up to three and a half years in prison and $10,500 in fines

Also charged in the case is 29-year-old Gabriel Joseph Brandl of Clyman who is charged with first-degree reckless homicide/deliver drugs. He faces up to 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines if convicted. He is currently being held on a $5,000 cash bond. According to the criminal complaint, Brandl helped 41-year-old Holly Joy Nehls inject the heroin that led to her death and then attempted to hide the body to avoid criminal charges.

During their initial appearances in court, Dodge County Circuit Court Commissioner Steven Seim set a $1,000 cash bond for Twaite with the conditions that he not use or possess any controlled substances or have any contact with Jannke.

Seim set a $100,000 cash bond for Jannke with the conditions that he have no contact with Twaite, Brandl or Nehls family. He also may not use or possess any controlled substances.

On May 31 officers were called to Watertown Memorial Hospital, 125 Hospital Drive, to investigate the death of Nehls, whose body had been brought to the hospital earlier that day. Officers were directed to a maroon colored 2010 Dodge Charger that was secured with police crime scene tape where Nehls body was in the front passenger seat.

Officers learned that Brandl was the one who had brought Nehls body to the hospital at approximately 10:30 a.m. that morning. The complaint states that Brandl told officers Nehls had died of a heroin overdose. Hospital staff informed officers that Nehls was dead upon arrival.

Brandl was interviewed by officers and according to the complaint he identified Jannke as his primary drug dearler. Brandl told officers that he and Nehls had bought heroin from Jannke the previous afternoon. He said they went to Clyman Park at approximately 3:30 p.m. and Jannke arrived at 5:30 p.m. The complaint states that Brandl told police he and Nehls bought heroin, but he thought it looked like it had been mixed with something.

Brandl allegedly told officers he reluctantly helped Nehls inject the heroin and gave her half a dose. He said that about 10 minutes after the injection, Nehls was out of it.

Brandl said they stayed at the park for about 45 minutes before Nehls became unconscious. He told officers he threw water in her face and slapped her to try to rouse her but eventually put her in the car where she was snoring and unresponsive. Brandl allegedly told officers that he and Jannke drove around for a while.

Brandl alleged that he told Jannke they should take Nehls to a hospital but that Jannke convinced him that she would snap out of it soon. Brandl claimed that Jannke drove them around for three hours before they returned to Jannkes residence, 100 Warbler Way, to do more heroin, leaving Nehls in the car. Brandl told officers that she was still snoring and out of it when he and Jannke went to do more heroin.

Brandl said he returned to the vehicle 20 minutes later and Nehls was still snoring. Brandl told officers he went to Walmart when he noticed that Nehls was no longer breathing. He allegedly told officers he tried to give her CPR in attempts to revive her, but she was already dead.

Brandl said he believed it was between midnight and 1 a.m. when Nehls died. He told officers he then went back to Jannkes home and told him Nehls was dead. Jannke told Brandl not to mention his name since he had given them the heroin. Brandl allegedly told officers that Jannke took Nehls phone and deleted his contact information and text messages to avoid incriminating himself.

According to the complaint, Brandl told officers he went to Oak Hill Cemetery to think about what to do and decided to take Nehls to the hospital. Brandl allegedly told officers that he struggled with the decision because Jannke was a friend.

Brandl allegedly told officers he wanted to do what was right for Nehls. He told officers he drove to the hospital but didnt have the courage to go in. He then went to Moravian Cemetery where he again contemplated what to do. Eventually, Brandl drove back to Watertown Hospital and went inside to tell staff that Nehls body was in his car.

According to his timeline, Brandl waited approximately 10 hours to take Nehls to the hospital after he believed her to be deceased.

A confidential informant told officers that they had previously bought heroin from Jannke at 100 Warbler Way in the town of Lebanon where he resided. A search warrant was executed at the residence on July 1. Officers learned the residence was inhabited by both Jannke and Twaite.

In Jannkes bedroom officers located many hypodermic syringes, foil packaging, and writings identified as a drug ledger with recordings of names and dollar amounts next to the names. Syringes were also located in the common area of the home and in Twaites bedroom. Neither Twaite nor Jannke were home at the time of the search.

Shortly after the search of the 100 Warbler Way residence, Twaite and Jannke were stopped by police in a vehicle owned by Twaite. Twaite was in possession of a kit, containing items used to inject heroin including a rope, cotton ball, hypodermic syringe and a metal cap with residue. Three grams of heroin were also located in the glove box.

The confidential informant told officers that Jannke and Twaite had left their residence on July 1 between 7 and 7:30 a.m. to acquire heroin in Illinois. The two allegedly traveled to Rockford, Ill., where Jannke entered a residence and shortly thereafter returned with the bag of heroin that was located by law enforcement in the glove box.

Jannke and Twaite were both convicted of delivery of cocaine in Jefferson County in 1992. Twaite was also convicted of felony disorderly conduct in 2013 in Dodge County.

Twaite will appear in court again on July 27 at 8:15 a.m. for a review hearing and again on Aug. 25 at 8:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing. Jannke will appear in court on July 14 at 1:30 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.
NASAs official Twitter handle was briefly compromised and the hacker changes the name and profile picture by tweeting a porn pic later.

Seeing a pornographic content may be a warm and exciting welcome for a few, but definitely not when it is cited on an official site of a brand as big as NASA. Yes, NASAs official Twitter handle for Kepler and K2 was hacked and the hacker left after replacing the profile photo with a womans pic, renamed the account name and also tweeted a photo of a womans rear end dressed only in lacy red underwear.

NASAs Kepler and K2 official Twitter account (@NASAKepler) was hacked on early July 6, which was spotted by Carl Franzen and reported by Motherboard.

The official @NASAKepler Twitter account appears to be hacked. Showing up on homepage too :-O pic.twitter.com/ohPMiTEKYH  Carl Franzen (@carlfranzen) July 6, 2016

The account was briefly compromised by some hacker, who managed to rename the account name from NASA Kepler and K2 to r4die2oz. Post that, he also changed the profile pic to a womans photo and later tweeted a pornographic image which featured the rear end of a woman dressed in lacy red, erotic lingerie. The tweet stated waiting for ya: <3 along with a link to a porn website localsex2.com. The hack was immediately notified by followers, and NASA later stepped into action and reset the same back to normal.

Our account was temporarily compromised. We're back in business, ready to tell you about new planet discoveries.  NASA Kepler and K2 (@NASAKepler) July 6, 2016

Later, NASA tweeted out informing about the breach and that it was fixed. The tweet by Carl Franzen also mentioned that the homepage was showing the tweet too. The tweet has been deleted from the official account. NASA is presently investigating the attack and thanked all its fans and followers for flagging them about the incident.

Motherboard also reports that this is not the first time NASA was hacked on social media. In 2010, the @NASA_Astronauts account was breached and the hacker was selling televisions on it.

Popular Science reported followers on Twitter went gaga on the incident, tweeting out with funny quotes:

@NASAKepler was the last photo the newest planet discovered?  Jesus Vega (@CosmicTropic) July 6, 2016

@NASAKepler Too bad, I thought we found a new heavenly body.  Chris Pope (@Luckeytiger14) July 6, 2016

Well, hackers are presently known to be fighting an online battle with terrorists and placing porn (even gay porn) on their websites and Twitter accounts to fight terrorism. However, NASAs website being hacked seems to be a bit off the track.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The website of the School of Law, Design and Innovation Academy of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) was attacked by online hackers from pakistan. (Representational image)

Mumbai: In a recent incident, the website of a prominent Noida-based institute was blemished by alleged hackers from Pakistan who posted anti-Indian slogans and a flag of Pakistan with offensive remarks on the night of July 4.

According to media reports, the website of the School of Law, Design and Innovation Academy of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS) were tainted with a Pakistani flag and other derogatory remarks.

It was discovered that the cyber-crooks had posted a message saying that the website was hacked by Pakistani hackers Mister Ji.

The development was brought to the notice of college authorities after parents complained that they saw inappropriate content of the website. A first information report (FIR) has been filed (under IT Act) with the Centre for Cyber Crime Investigation by the authorities of the institute.

Though the police had informed that the websites would stay blocked until the perpetrators are identified, the homepage of the website seems to be working fine now. However, it came as blow to the college as admissions are going on currently and was expecting a merit list to be announced soon.

One interesting aspect, however, is the fact that the hackers were kind enough to leave a note to the website admins on how to revert the process.

The primary cause of the message was just a warning for Indian hackers, who have hacked numerous Pakistani websites in the past.

Police said that the investigation is only at its primary stage and they have not yet succeeded in tracing the cyber attackers.

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Due to some reports of issues while upgrading, we are temporarily stopping the rollout to investigate, OnePlus said in its blog.

Early this week, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus rolled out an incremental update for its Oxygen OS on its recently launched flagship OnePlus 3. However, the update roll out was put on halt after the company detected certain issues with upgrading process.

The company informed about the roll out halt on its blog, officially stating, Due to some reports of issues while upgrading, we are temporarily stopping the rollout to investigate. We will start back up as soon as possible. Though OnePlus has owned up the issues with the OTA update, they have not mentioned any details about the issues.

OnePlus had rolled out the OxygenOS 3.2.0 on the OnePlus 3, featuring:

Enabled sRGB mode in developer options.

Improved RAM management.

Improved GPS performance.

Enhanced audio playback quality.

Updated custom icon packs.

Fixed some issues with notifications.

Improved camera quality/functionality.

Fixed some issues in Gallery.

Implemented latest Google security patches.

Fixed bugs in Clock/Music apps.

Presently the update roll out has been halted. However, the update will soon be available when the issues will be fixed by the company.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Ringing Bells finally launched the Rs 251 smartphone, Freedom 251, at a media event held in a prominent hotel in New Delhi with a slogan 'Jo Kehte Hai, Wo Karte Hai'. Freedom 251, the cheapest smartphone in the world, will be sold for a mere Rs 251 ($4). The company behind the cheapest smartphone is Ringing Bells, and they have now started their own website ringingbells.co.in which is selling smartphones from Rs 699 onwards and other products such as power banks and LED TVs. Ringing Bells also announced a 32-inch LED television priced at Rs 9,990, with deliveries starting from August. Ringing Bells also announced that they will deliver the first batch of 5,000 smartphones, but did not comment on what will be next, claiming they will wait for 'customer feedback'. They also claimed to have ordered 200,000 more smartphones. Shiopping charges of Rs 40 will be added to the price tag of the Freedom 251. Ringing Bells also launched a series of other phones during the launch. These include smartphones King, Boss, Raja, Elegant, and Elegance and four feature phones starting from Rs 699.

During the launch, Mohit Goel confirmed that they are requesting for government subsidy to support the affordable smartphone move. When questioned about the various scam accusations in the media, he said 'we are not fly-by-night operators.'

Photo courtesy: PhoneBunch

The company has also presented the address for Ringing Bells corporate office as: The Corenthum Office Complex, Plot No. A-41, Sector 62, Block A, Industrial Area, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201309. Phone: 9599587353, Email: info@ringingbells.co.in. The website is now open, but there are no options to buy or register for the Freedom 251 not any of the other products.

As for now, the Freedom 251, the cheapest smartphone, will start selling from July 7, and will be followed by shipping on July 8, 2016. Ringing Bells is confident that they will be able to deliver the phones, despite the marginal loss they will face with each device.

As for now, Ringing Bells seems to be accepting the fact that they will be running into loses amounting to crores of rupees by selling the Freedom 251 smartphone for Rs 251 each. However, they have a strategy with them which will enable them to make sufficient profits in the long run.

The cheapest Rs 251 smartphone Freedom 251 was announced in February. The company stated that they will launch the smartphone in order to help every Indian have a device and be connected to the internet. However, the deal was too good to be truethe company held an event in Delhi, which caused a major outrage on the internet. The smartphone industry were worried about how can a company be able to out a smartphone for mere Rs 251, which is comparatively the cost of a charger or a case itself. Ringing Bells was pronounced as a fraud company after they opened registrations and started accepting pre-bookings online. Within hours of opening the registrations, the Freedom 251 website crashed and no more registrations were accepted.

Later, after a media outburst about the issue, the company decided to return the amount to those who registered online for a handset and stated that they will now accept cash on delivery. There were also cases registered against Ringing Bells for fraudulently selling a product that did not exist.

The media event that took place in New Delhi in February 2016 marked Ringing Bells showing off a smartphone that was not the actual product on sale. The product shown during the event was a smartphone from another company, which was shabbily rebranded to make it look like a Freedom 251 smartphone.

In February 2016, Ringing Bells, a company unheard of, unveiled a smartphone brand Freedom 251, in India. They claimed that the worlds cheapest and most affordable smartphone will cost the consumer no more than Rs 251. People registered online for a smartphone and the deliveries, claimed the company, will start June 30, 2016 onwards.

The company soon announced that the product shown was a dummy and the actual product was still in the making. Last month, Ringing Bells showed the media the actual product that will be launched in July.

Also read: FAKE IN INDIA: Top memes and jokes from the Freedom 251 scam

As for the smartphone, it will sport a 4-inch display, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (up to 32GB support) and with a dual SIM 3G support. The camera on the device will have an 3.2 MP rear sensor and a 0.3MP front sensor, and the Freedom 251 phone will be fuelled by a 1450mAh battery with Android 5.1 Lollipop. The phone will be available in two colours  white and black.

Also read: Freedom 251, a smartphone copy of Rs 251, is nothing but fraud: BJP MP

Also read: 'Freedom 251' smartphone scheme a fraud: Congress MP Pramod Tiwari

Goel earlier mentioned to the media that for now they will see a loss of almost Rs 140  Rs 150 on each handset, but is positive that he will make profits with volume sales. He further added saying that he is happy that that the dream of connecting rural and poor Indians as part of the Digital India campaign and Make in India campaign will be fulfilled by Freedom 251. He claims that the devices will be manufactured in India at a Haridwar-based manufacturing plant and they plan to sell almost 2 lakh devices each month.

Also read: Freedom 251 gets tough competition, Rs 651 phone to launch soon

Also read: After Freedom 251, another smartphone launched for just Rs 888!

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Telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs) have showed solidarity towards net neutrality but said that the same should apply for all stakeholders. (Representational image)

Mumbai: In a recent development, telecom operators and internet service providers (ISPs) have showed solidarity towards net neutrality but said that the same should apply for all stakeholders including websites, mobile apps, and handset manufacturers.

"We believe that the regulatory framework of net neutrality should not be limited to TSP (telecom service providers) only, but apply to all other stakeholders such as website, content or applications providers and handset manufacturers," industry bodies Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) and Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) said in their joint response to the pre-consultation paper on net neutrality, issued by Trai on May 30.

The duo that represent the telecom and internet service providers in India further pointed out that the country has a poor global rank in terms of broadband connectivity. In such a scenario, having a public uniform policy on net neutrality should enable affordable, efficient, and unhindered broadband services in the country.

The statement by the duo also appealed the regulatory body to address the needs of Over-the-top content providers (OTT) communication services to ensure equality as they offer the same services as licensed telcos. To put matters into perspective, telcos have requested Trai to license OTT services differently, albeit their support for OTT players.

The joint statement also suggested that this hindrance has been acknowledged by the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) as well. The bypassing of licensing and regulatory regime, creating a non-level playing field between TSPs and OTT service providers cause regulatory arbitrage, it added.

The associations also stressed on the fact that net neutrality norms should not be limited to only TSPs but also apply to all stakeholders including websites, apps, and handset manufacturers.

The main issue faced by telecom, as pointed out by the statement, is the fact that telcos were kept under the ambit of strict data privacy rules and consumer information confidentiality provisions whereas OTT services were free from such bonds.

Asking to re-define the concept of net neutrality in the Indian context, the duo asked the telecom regulator to mull over affordability and proliferation of the data network to achieve the set targets.

"Net neutrality regulation should provide non-discriminatory internet access to every citizen, implement same service and same rules for all providers, assess and mitigate the potential revenue loss to the government owing to non-regulation of the content or application developers offer as licensed telecom operators," the statement added.

Showing concerns towards national security and privacy issues, the associations said that no one should be excluded from the scope of net neutrality, including OTT players.

A paper on regulatory framework for OTT players was introduced in March 2015 after to determine their fate. Trai also said that all the pre-consultancy papers or differential pricing, free data norms will be included in the final paper on the subject of net neutrality.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Johannesburg: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to South Africa on Friday, the country's foreign minister on Thursday said the visit will cement and strengthen the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

"South Africa and India share common values and objectives which were forged during the struggle against colonialism and for liberation and democracy in South Africa," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Modi will be in South Africa as part of a whirlwind five-day tour of Africa that will also take him to three other African countries - Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.

"India played a leading role in isolating the apartheid regime, resulting in a shared history of friendship and solidarity," Nkoana-Mashabane, a former high commissioner to India, wrote in the daily The New Age.

"India also provided consistent support to the liberation movement during South Africa's struggle for democracy and was at the forefront within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, in promoting international efforts towards South Africa's liberation," she added.

She also reflected on the impact that Mahatma Gandhi's tenure in South Africa at the turn of the last century had on the resistance to the apartheid regime.

Nkoana-Mashabane said one of the key objectives of Modi's visit would be to enhance commercial and business relations with India and to promote private sector-to-private sector contact.

"In this regard, a Chief Executive Officers' Forum and a South Africa-India Business Forum are planned to be held during the visit to facilitate business opportunities," she said.

"South Africa will also be exploring ways in which to increase and diversify our exports to India by identifying new areas of market access in areas including the defence sector, deep mining, renewable energy and the health sector.

"The business meetings will also serve to promote investment by Indian companies in South Africa through the identification of areas of investment and by investigating ways in which to simplify procedures for companies investing in South Africa," the minister concluded.
Maputo, Mozambique: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday was accorded a warm and colourful ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Mozambique capital Maputo as he started his first engagement of the day in Maputo to deepen ties with the African nation.

Ministry of External Affairs Official Spokesperson, Vikas swarup tweeted, "Mozambique honours. PM @narendramodi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo."

Mozambique honours. PM @narendramodi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo pic.twitter.com/WcN05s8piu  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

He reached Maputo as a part of his four-nation tour of the African continent this morning.

During his five-day four-nation tour to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, energy, food security, trade, maritime cooperation and diaspora interactions will high on the Prime Minister's agenda.

Read: Modi reaches Maputo on first leg of 4-nation tour to boost ties with Africa

Prime Minister Modi is now holding a "restricted meeting" with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

This will be followed by delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and an issue of a joint statement.

The Union Cabinet had earlier on Tuesday gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters.

The MoU is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and capacity building.

The cabinet had also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government (G2G) sales through state agencies nominated by both nations.

Prime Minister Modi will attend a state banquet hosted by President Nyusi in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister will visit the National Assembly, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome and will be introduced to the members, followed by a meeting with President of the National Assembly Veronica Macamo and signing of visitor's book.

Prime Minister Modi will also visit the Maluana Science and Technology Park and the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD), where he will interacts with students.

Before departing for South African capital city of Pretoria at 6.20 p.m., the Prime Minister will interact with Indian Diaspora.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the airport in Maputo, Mozambique. (Photo: AP)

Maputo, Mozambique: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Mozambique as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit pic.twitter.com/3e4QtZMyCP  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
She was released from jail on a $5,000 bond on Sunday and ordered to have no contact with the victim. (Photo: YouTube Screengrab)

Alabaster, Alabama: Authorities say an Alabama woman has been arrested after her 5-month-old baby was found in a locked car with the windows up while she shopped inside a Dollar General store.

AL.com reports Alabaster police Chief Curtis Rigney says officers were called on Saturday afternoon to assist firefighters with removing the infant from the car. Investigators say the baby was locked inside for an extended amount of time. The baby was conscious when rescued and taken to a hospital.

According to the National Weather Service it was 102 degrees on Saturday.

Police say 23-year-old Deidra Nicole Williams of Birmingham was arrested and charged with willful abuse of a child under the age of 18. She was released from jail on a $5,000 bond on Sunday and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Canada: Accused of outraging the modesty of a woman, a Canadian judge who had asked an alleged rape victim 'if she tried keeping her knees together when the attacker was raping her', might lose his job.

Judge Robin Camp is facing a public hearing before the Canadian Judicial Council over his harsh comments. He was accused of asking inappropriate questions to a 19-year-old girl who was raped over a sink at a party in 2014.

During the trial of the case, Camp had asked the girl, "Why couldn't you just keep your knees together?". He also further asked her, "Why didn't you just sink your bottom down into the basin so he couldn't penetrate you?"

According to an Independent report, in response to the judges remarks on the rape victim, several legal experts from the University of Calgary have claimed that his remarks showed a clear prejudice towards disbelieving the victim.

During the trial of the rape case, Camp has also been accused of repeatedly referring to the victim as 'the accused'.

The panel at the Canadian Judicial Council will decided if Camp should be allowed to remain on bench of the Federal Court judges.

Judge Robin Camp has been currently suspended from hearing cases.
After a similar remark a day earlier, the rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump for praising a dictator. Trump, however denied the allegations. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has defended his remarks on Saddam Hussein saying that he hated him but the Iraqi dictator was "good at killing terrorists."

"I was talking about terrorism and I said Saddam Hussein is a bad man," Trump told his supporters in Ohio. "He was really good at killing terrorists, he didn't wait around, you think he gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years?" he asked.

"He was good at one thing, he killed terrorists. I don't love Saddam Hussein, I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists," 70-year-old Trump said.

After a similar remark a day earlier, the rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump for praising a dictator. Trump, however denied the allegations.

"I wake up, I turn on the television: Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein. He loves Saddam Hussein," Trump said, impersonating an unidentified television news anchor.

"That's not what I said. So, that's the narrative," he said.

Trump used his campaign rally in Ohio to address another controversy by saying that his campaign should not have deleted a tweet containing an image that had been posted weeks earlier on a white supremacist website and featured Hillary Clinton, USD 100 bills and a red six-point star with the text: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Trump insisted that the six point stars were just a star, even as Jewish activists and many others have denounced the image as being anti-Semitic.

"They shouldn't have taken it down. You know, they took the star down. They should have left it up. I would have rather defended it -- just leave it up. I'd say, No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star," he said and blamed the media for raking up the controversy.

"We have a crooked system, we have a rigged system, we have a dishonest press. I love talking about how dishonest they are,? he said as he called NBC host Chuck Todd "this really stupid guy," declared CNN "dishonest as hell" and labeled the press bad people.

"CNN started this dialogue going: It's the Star of David, and because it's the Star of David, Donald Trump has racist tendencies. These people are sick. I'm telling you. They're sick," he said.
On July 1, suspected Islamic State terrorists killed 22 people at a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Dhakas diplomatic enclave, including one US citizen. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Terrorist threat in Bangladesh is "real and credible", the US said on Thursday as it cautioned its citizens to carefully consider the risk of travelling to the country after a series of terrorist attacks there, including one on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.

US citizens should take stringent security measures, remain vigilant and be alert to local security developments, a US travel advisory said.

In the advisory, the State Department urged "US citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Bangladesh" in light of the latest attacks. "The US government assesses that the terrorist threat is real and credible," the advisory said.

On July 1, suspected Islamic State terrorists killed 22 people at a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Dhakas diplomatic enclave, including one US citizen, it said.

Attacks continued against religious minorities, bloggers, publishers, and security forces throughout the country. Daesh (also referred to as ISIL, or ISIS) and Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have publicly claimed responsibility for various attacks since September 2015, the advisory noted.
The United States and the Philippines have blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Manila: A Philippine military spokesman says government forces, backed by rocket-firing helicopters and artillery fire, have killed up to nine Abu Sayyaf extremists in battles against the militants in two southern provinces.

Maj. Filemon Tan says 13 more militants were wounded in the military's assault against about 130 Abu Sayyaf fighters Thursday in the jungles of mountainous Patikul town in Sulu province. The clashes left one soldier dead and six wounded.

Tan says in nearby Basilan province, troops fought about 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen for five hours late Wednesday. The clashes resumed Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The United States and the Philippines have blacklisted the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist organization for bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings.
Bilal allegedly travelled in 2014 from Algeria via Turkey to Syria where in December he joined the IS and received combat and weapons training. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

Berlin: German prosecutors said on Thursday they had arrested an alleged Algerian Islamic State group militant who had had contact with the late ringleader of the November Paris attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

The suspect, identified only as 20-year-old Bilal C., is accused of having informed Abaaoud of ways to smuggle jihadists into Western Europe along the Balkans route then used by a mass influx of migrants.

He had also been in touch with Moroccan jihadist Ayoub El Khazzani, who opened fire with an assault rifle on an Amsterdam-Paris train last August but was overpowered by a group of Americans and a Briton, prosecutors said.

Bilal C. was already in custody "on another matter" when the German domestic intelligence service identified him as an IS suspect, said federal prosecutors in a statement. An investigating judge had issued a new arrest warrant.

The man allegedly travelled in 2014 from Algeria via Turkey to Syria where in December he joined the IS and received combat and weapons training.

In June 2015, Abaaoud allegedly instructed him "to explore the so-called Balkans route in terms of border controls and trafficking opportunities".

"As a result, the accused travelled from June to August 2015 from Syria via Turkey, Greece, Serbia and Hungary to Austria" before reaching Germany, the prosecutors said.

Along the way he had informed Abaaoud of "any open border crossings, waiting times, and arrival and departure routes," the statement said. Several members of the IS group that carried out the November 13 Paris attacks are suspected of having posed as refugees.

Abaaoud, a Belgian-Moroccan, was killed in November 2015 in a French police raid, aged 28. Bilal C. had also kept Khazzani up to date on trafficking opportunities, "particularly from Turkey to Greece", the statement said. Prosecutors said they had no evidence Bilal C. had been active on behalf of the IS since arriving in Germany.
"Some of the cattle had five and six holes in them through the head. They were shooting them and the cattle wasnt dropping and they kept shooting them, Hoey was quoted as saying by a radio channel. (Photo: YouTube Video Grab)

Carrickmacross, Ireland: Irish army snipers have been accused of shooting dead five cattle at a farm after being called in by debt collectors for confiscating animals.

A shocking video of the alleged incident has been uploaded online. The video shows a group of snipers taking their aim at the animals and targeting them.

The shooting took place in the Irish town of Carrickmacross.

According to an Irish Mirror report, the cattle-owner, identified as John Hoey, claimed that the animals were shot at with high velocity rifles after the people trying to handle them lost their control.

Defending their stand on the shooting, the snipers said that the targeted animals were suffering from TB. However, Hoey said that he had no such information.

Hoey also added that instead of gunning down the animals, they should have been tranquilised.

"Some of the cattle had five and six holes in them through the head. They were shooting them and the cattle wasnt dropping and they kept shooting them, Hoey was quoted as saying by a radio channel.

The Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine issued a statement confirming the deadly killings.

The incident has triggered a debate on whether the armed Defence Forces should be allowed to keep live ammunition with them while assisting bailiffs.
Shah, 40, an Ahmadi Muslim who moved from Pakistan to Glasgow in 1998, was discovered outside his shop on Minard Road on March 24 this year with stab wounds and taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. (Photo: AFP)

London: A 32-year-old man on Thursday admitted fatally stabbing a Pakistani Ahmadi Muslim shopkeeper in the UK for what he perceived as a disrespect to Islam. Tanveer Ahmed stabbed Asad Shah outside his store in the Shawlands area in Scotland.

Shah, 40, an Ahmadi Muslim who moved from Pakistan to Glasgow in 1998, was discovered outside his shop on Minard Road on March 24 this year with stab wounds and taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He suffered multiple broken bones and the base of his skull was fragmented in a way more commonly seen in victims of road traffic accidents, with "numerous powerful blows" to his head and back, the High Court in Glasgow heard.

"This was a truly despicable crime, motivated, it seems, by your sense of offence at a man's expression of his religious beliefs, which differ from yours. Let me be clear there's no justification whatsoever for what you did," Judge Lady Rae said, as she deferred sentencing until August 9.

The court was told that when Ahmed was interviewed by police he said his actions were motivated by Shah's disrespect to Islam. Ahmadis differ from the majority of Muslims in that they do not hold that Muhammad is the final Prophet, the court was told.

It emerged in court that Ahmed, a cab driver, was in Glasgow a couple of days before the murder with a friend who knew Shah and showed his Facebook page.

The shopkeeper had uploaded hundreds of videos about his spiritual beliefs to Facebook and YouTube, most of which were filmed behind the counter of his shop.
London: Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister who led Britain into war in Iraq in 2003, launched a defence of his legacy following the publication of a highly critical report into the war with a simple message: "Please stop saying I was lying."

The long-awaited report into a war which has cast a shadow over British foreign policy for more than a decade found that Blair relied on flawed intelligence and that the way the war was legally authorised was unsatisfactory.

It also revealed he had pledged to support the United States "whatever", eight months before the invasion.

But Blair, whose legacy as a three-times election winner for the centre-left Labour Party has been overshadowed by years of accusations that he had lied to exaggerate the intelligence case for war, said the report vindicated his "hardest, most momentous and agonising decision".

Blair faced hostile questioning from national and international media, who said his assurances to former US President George Bush had amounted to a "blank cheque for war" and that he had abandoned diplomatic channels too easily.

In response, during a 109-minute news conference, Blair was at times contrite and emotional, and at others clearly angry at the way his actions had been portrayed.

"If you disagree with me fine, but please stop saying I was lying or I had some sort of dishonest or underhand motive," he told reporters, hours after the release of the scathing report.

"'You lied about the intelligence' - that's what people say the whole time," Blair said. "Actually if people are being fair and read the whole report, that allegation should be put to rest, because it's not true and it never was true."

In a statement which was twice as long as that delivered by the chairman of the inquiry, John Chilcot, Blair sought to address the full spectrum of criticism levelled at him, saying he accepted total responsibility "without exception or excuse".

He acknowledged failing to adequately plan for the aftermath of the invasion which triggered sectarian violence and protracted British military involvement. In six years, more than 150,000 civilians and 179 British soldiers died.

But he disputed one of the report's key findings; that diplomatic options had not been exhausted at the point he decided to join the U.S. invasion, saying he had faced a "binary" decision which could not have been delayed.

Drawing his media appearance to a close after more than an hour of questions, he said that on the basis of the information he had at the time, he would take the same decision again.

"What I've tried to do today is explain why I acted as I did. In the end, what more can I do than say to people 'this is why I took the decision I did?'"
Windows of the Palace of Westminster in central London were closed and people were locked out onto rooftop terrace as police officers investigated the suspicious envelope. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP)

London: Britain's Parliament was on Thursday briefly locked down after a member of the House of Lords received a "suspicious" envelope with white powder inside, on a day the British capital marked the 11th anniversary of terrorist bombings across its transport network.

Windows of the Palace of Westminster in central London were closed and people were locked out onto rooftop terrace as police officers investigated the "suspicious" envelope.

"A suspicious package has been delivered to the Houses of Parliament. Officers are at the scene examining the contents of the package," said a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.

"There have been no reports of any related injuries or illnesses at this time," the spokesperson said.

A correspondent for the 'The Times' was among those caught up in the lock-down and tweeted from the terrace: "Chemical incident in parliament underway for almost an hour. Investigating a white powder."

"Emergency supplies have arrived for the stranded on the Lords terrace," he later added. July 7 marks the 11th anniversary of the terrorist bombings across London's transport network in 2005, which claimed 52 lives.
Saudi-backed rebel group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) said four of its fighters were killed trying to stop the army from cutting the Castello Road, the only route into rebel-held areas of Syria's second city. (Photo: AP)

Beirut: The Syrian army advanced within firing range of the rebels' sole supply route to Aleppo in heavy fighting Thursday despite its announcement of a ceasefire for the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Saudi-backed rebel group Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) said four of its fighters were killed trying to stop the army from cutting the Castello Road, the only route into rebel-held areas of Syria's second city. Rebel fire on the government-held Sayf al-Dawla district of the city killed three people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The army announced on Wednesday that it was observing a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

But fighting has continued, particularly in and around Aleppo.

President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been trying to cut the Castello Road for more than two years and the Observatory said that Thursday's advance brought them the closest so far to achieving that goal.

Their capture of a hill just a kilometre (less than a mile) away allows them to fire on any traffic moving along the road from the ground as well as from the air, the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Islamist rebels immediately launched a counter-attack but had not been able to dislodge regime fighters from the strategic hilltop.

"If government forces can hold their positions there and fight back the counter-offensive, then the opposition neighbourhoods will be completely besieged," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Castello Road wraps around Aleppo's eastern and northern edges then leads into rebel-controlled territory north of the battered city.

An estimated 200,000 people still live in the rebel-controlled parts of the city, which are regularly bombarded by government warplanes.

Holiday visitors trapped

An AFP journalist in an opposition-held neighbourhood said people who had traveled into the city to visit families for the Eid holiday were stuck inside.

Syrian state news agency SANA on Thursday confirmed that regime forces were within firing range of the route after advancing in farmland north of Aleppo city.

Aleppo has been divided since mid-2012 when rebels seized the east of the city confining government forces to the west.

According to an AFP photographer in the government-controlled parts of the city, there had been intense rebel rocket fire throughout the night on the western neighbourhoods.

It had calmed by the afternoon, but few residents were venturing out.

The pre-war commercial capital has been one of the main battlegrounds of Syria's civil war and successive ceasefires announced for the city have been swiftly broken.

Syria's government has pledged to retake the whole city despite efforts by Washington and regime ally Moscow to stem the violence there.

More than 280,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests. World powers have thrown their weight behind a political settlement to the complex civil war, but UN-backed efforts to reach a transition have failed so far.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday welcomed the 72-hour Eid ceasefire and said he was working with Russia and others to try to transform it into a lasting truce. A landmark ceasefire announced by Russia and the United States in late February has mostly collapsed amid repeated violations.
Dhaka: Bangladesh on Thursday asked India to examine the speeches of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik after reports that his 'hate speech' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last week.

"Already there are certain complaints from the Maulanas of Bangladesh that his (Naik) teachings are not in line with the Quranic teachings and Hadith," information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.

"How much Naik's teachings influenced the terrorists that are to be investigated. We are investigating the whole matter," he said.

Requesting the Indian government to examine the teachings of controversial preacher, Inu said: "I also request the Indian government and information minister that they also examine the context of Dr Naik's teachings."

Read: Preacher Zakir Naik, followed by Dhaka attackers, calls ISIS un-Islamic

One of the Bangladeshi attackers, suspected to be Rohan Imtiaz - the son of a politician of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League - ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Naik, a Mumbai-based doctor and an Islamic televangelist, Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' reported.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is hugely popular in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.
Dhaka: Terrorists carried out another deadly attack in Bangladesh Thursday at the country's biggest prayer service for the start of Eid, days after a mass murder of hostages in the capital Dhaka.

Authorities said two policemen, a woman and an attacker had been killed after several explosions near a prayer ground in the district of Kishoreganj as at least 250,000 people joined a traditional post-Ramadan gathering.

An officer stationed in the northern district's police control room told AFP that one policeman had died at the scene of the bomb attack and a second had been later pronounced dead in hospital.

Another senior officer said that six of his men had been injured in the attack and one of the attackers had been shot dead, while home-made machetes had been recovered from the scene.

"They threw hand bombs at us and we responded with gunfire. A gunfight ensued and they fired back and threw more hand bombs," Tofazzal Hosain, the northern district's deputy police chief, told AFP.

Azimuddin Biswas, the district administrator, told AFP the attack had taken place on the premises of a nearby school and not on the actual prayer ground.

"The congregation was not affected by the clashes," he said.

The gathering in Kishoreganj is known as the Sholakia Eid prayers and is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh, a mainly Muslim country that is home to around 160 million people.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, it came less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in Dhaka. All the victims, including 18 foreigners, were hacked to death with machetes.

Bangladesh has been on a heightened state of alert in the wake of the killings in Dhaka last Friday night and many Eid services included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence.

Tears and prayers

"Allah, protect our country ... and protect our children from the evils of terrorism," Mohammad Sadequl Islam, the local imam, told a gathering of around 5,000 devotees at Dhaka's Mahakhali neighbourhood.

Many of those who attended services in Dhaka could be seen weeping as clerics led prayers for a more peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh.

The biggest service in the capital was at the National Eidgah Maidan where more than 50,000 people, including Bangladesh's President Abdul Hamid, took part in prayers under a giant canopy.

Police brought in scanners and sniffer dogs to check for bombs as crowds were forced to wait for up to an hour before being cleared to enter the grounds where the service was held. No one was allowed to bring in bags.

Bangladesh has been reeling from a growing wave of attacks since the turn of the year, many of which have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda network.

However Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government has consistently denied international jihadist networks have gained a foothold and have said the weekend attack in Dhaka was carried out by a local Islamist group.

Bangladesh's Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu again portrayed the latest attack as being designed to topple Hasina.

"We don't know which group they belong to but they are suspected members of extremist terrorist group. They are against the normal religious practices of the country," he told AFP.

"They are anti-Islam, anti-religion and anti-government. They have a political as well as a religious agenda."

Critics have said Hasina's administration is in in denial about the nature of the threat posed by extremists and accuse her of trying to exploit the attacks to demonise her domestic political opponents.

Last month authorities launched a crackdown on local jihadists, arresting more than 11,000 people but critics allege the arrests were arbitrary or designed to silence political opponents.

Bangladesh's main Islamist party has been banned from contesting polls and most of its leaders have been arrested or else executed after recent trials over their role in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
A man who was injured in the Dhaka hostage crisis is walked to safety. (Photo: AP videograb)

Dhaka: A pizza chef killed during a militant attack on a cafe where he worked in Bangladeshs capital city last week was probably in league with the assailants, police said on Wednesday.

Saiful Islam Chowkidar carried no arms but was seen moving and running with the five gunmen during the 12-hour stand-off, Monirul Islam, the chief of counter-terrorism police, said.

On Friday, at least five Bangladeshi men had stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, a cafe popular with foreigners, businessmen and diplomats and killed 20 customers, including Italians, Japanese, Indians and Americans.

On Tuesday, police said Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was not accidental, although police were unsure how he died and the role he played.

At one point they (militants) tried to escape. They came out running and started firing, the chef was with them, Islam told reporters. He is a suspect member of this group.

Two other suspects being treated in hospital were also employees of the cafe, police said. One worked as a delivery man and the other in the kitchen.

Before the final operations, their movement was suspicious, Islam said.

The attack was one of the deadliest ever in Bangladesh, where the Islamic State and al Qaeda have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. The government has dismissed those claims and insists that the violence is homegrown.

The gunmen were mostly from well-to-do families and police gave their names as: Nibras Islam, 20; Rohan Imtiaz, 20; Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19; Khairul Islam, 22; Shafiqul Islam, 26.

Their attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladeshs 160 million people.

Foreign security experts say the scale and sophistication of the attack pointed to some level of guidance from international militant groups.

But the police believe Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was to blame.

We have confirmed these attacks were by JMB, Islam said.

Meanwhile, Islamic State warned that attacks would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what is to come.

What you witnessed in Bangladesh ... was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world, said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site.

The video began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the United States that the Middle East-based militants have claimed.

Bengali said Bangladesh must know that it was now part of a bigger battlefield to establish the cross-border caliphate the group proclaimed in 2014.

Police said they were stepping up security in response to the video threat.
Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said. (Photo: AP)

Dhaka: Islamist militants carrying bombs and machetes launched a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, killing four persons including two policemen and a Hindu woman, nearly a week after 22 people were slaughtered in the country's worst terror attack.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said.

Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured. A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh.

Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was also killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off.

Police said that two of the attackers have been held while media reported the arrest of three persons.

Machetes were seized from the suspected assailants. Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said.

Police did not reveal the identities of the arrested attackers. No group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack.

The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were brutally slaughtered by Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.
Over 200 houses were at risk of floods due to the rise while at least 25 houses were washed away in Tatopani area near Nepal-Tibet border, officials said. (Photo: Representational Image)

Kathmandu: A sudden rise in water levels of a trans-boundary river originating in Tibet triggered flash floods in central Nepal, washing away over two dozen houses and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate to safer places.

Major road sections and hydropower projects, including the Bhotekoshi Hydropower Project, suffered damages in the flash floods on Wednesday. Bhotekoshi, a river originating from the Himalayas in Tibet in China, saw a sudden rise of about four metres in water levels on Tuesday night.

Over 200 houses were at risk of floods due to the rise while at least 25 houses were washed away in Tatopani area near Nepal-Tibet border, officials said.

The local administration had issued alert for Bhotekoshi river and asked the downstream villagers to move to safer locations.

The sudden rise in water levels in Bhotekoshi river could be due to cloudbursts in mountain areas on the Tibet side, bringing high-intensity rains within a short period of time, officials believe.

The increase in water levels of Sunkoshi river have damaged several roads and structures in Sindhupal chowk district. The district administration has mobilised police and army to help move villagers to safer places.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena asked media not to misuse the freedom they have been granted under his rule. (Photo: AFP)

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday said the electronic media was overly critical of his government and asked them not to misuse the freedom they have been granted under his rule.

Touting the state telecommunications regulator, Sirisena said he has observed that the electronic media devotes 80 per cent of their news bulletin to criticise his government.

"What I say is that they have the right to be critical of the government, but give sometime for coverage of government's development programmes," he said.

"The freedom we have granted needs to be exercised more reasonably," Sirisena said. The Lankan media is more free under Sirisena compared to the regime of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During the Rajapaksa regime, Sri Lanka was classified as one of the most difficult countries to practice journalism by Reporters Sans Frontiers. Several media men were killed and some disappeared. Sirisena has revived investigations into the cases.
Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday expressed hope that the fishermen issue with India would be resolved as talks were going on at different levels, even as more than 40 Indian fishermen have been arrested by Lankan Navy this month.

Chief Opposition Whip Anura Kumara Dissanayake asked the Prime Minister if moves were underway to allow fishing by Indian trawlers limited to a number of days per week or by a restricted zone in the north eastern seas.

Wickremesinghe, while answering an opposition query in the parliament, said that around 1,000 Indian trawlers were illegally fishing in the country's waters using bottom trawling techniques which is very harmful to the fishing resource.

"We have received various proposals to end this dispute. The main objective is to put a stop to bottom trawling. We cannot allow our fishing resources to be plundered. At the moment there are around 130-140 boats in our custody. We may return the fishermen but we can't release their boats. We will seek the views of the northern fishermen as to how we could resolve this issue. We can't be seen to be doing anything against their wishes," Wickremesinghe said.

Foreign Ministers of India and Sri Lanka had discussed the issue while the Navies of the two countries have also tried to resolve the issue through their periodical talks. The Joint Commission meeting between the two countries was also to take up this issue as a priority, Wickremesinghe said, adding that talks were going on at different levels.

Dissanayake was unhappy with the Prime Minister's explanation that family ties between the two countries among the people in the area had led to this issue. He was citing the restrictions placed by India to curb the Pakistani illegal fishing on the Indian side of the waters and demanding such action from the Sri Lankan government vis a vis India.

Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel on Wednesday when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week. With this, the number of fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day. Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reset power equations in his dispensation with his second and biggest cabinet expansion since he assumed office in May 2014.



Unlike his last exercise in November 2014 when he made a conscious effort to search for and induct talent into his ministry (Suresh Prabhu and Manohar Parrikar are two notable examples), the current expansion is driven by pure politics as Modi gears up not just for the crucial assembly polls next year but also the 2019 Lok Sabha election which is less than three years away.



Two strong messages emerge from the dramatic expansion-cum-reshuffle. One is the rise and rise of BJP president Amit Shah who is now clearly the most powerful man in the ruling dispensation after Narendra Modi. Till recently, a triumvirate of Modi-Shah-(Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley ruled the roost. But the starring role played by Shah in the reshuffle suggests that the triumvirate has given way to a duopoly consisting of Modi and Shah.



The second is the reframing of the understanding between the Modi government and the BJPs mentor, the RSS. The unexpected shifting of Smriti Irani from the HRD ministry must be seen together with the unceremonious sacking of her junior minister, Ram Katheria, an RSS pracharak, who is very closely associated with the Sangh and its affiliates. The fact that he is a Dalit from UP but Modi still chose to dump him on the eve of a crucial assembly election in that state is a significant statement on the new equation that Modi has set with the RSS.



Both Irani and Katheria were working closely with the RSS, in particularly RSS joint general secretary in charge of the BJP, Krishna Gopal. Modi has moved them out and replaced them with ministers who will work the PMO, not the Sangh. Prakash Javadekar has been coordinating closely with the PMO in the environment ministry and had established a good working rhythm with Modi. Katheria has been replaced by someone is not even from the BJP and therefore, has no connection to the RSS, Upendra Khushwaha. He is an NDA ally from Bihar.



The move suggests that the PM has reclaimed the HRD portfolio from the RSS and brought education under his control. But he has taken with one hand and given with the other, indicating the delicate nature of the relationship with the Sangh.



The environment ministry, which is another area in which the RSS has strong interests, has been given to Anil Dave, a form-er pracharak, close to the RSS and a dedica-

ted environment activist. So while education will now be managed by the PMO through Javadekar, Modi has decided to let go of environment. Its an interesting barter, the consequences of which will unfold with time.



The pivotal role played by Amit Shah in the expansion exercise is a clear signal from Modi that the BJP president is more than just a party chief. He is virtually a shadow prime minister, whose brief is slowly but steadily extending beyond organisational work to matters of state.



Not only did Shah handpick the 19 newcomers into the Modi ministry, he had a major say in the allocation and reshuffle of portfolios. His importance can be gauged from the fact that he was the one who called in the new entrants one by one to give them the good news. This is a task that is traditionally performed by the prime minister.



Vajpayee and his deputy Advani used to do it jointly. It was the same in the UPA tenure when Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi would meet new ministers together. Everyone knew that Sonia was the final authority even for the choice of members of Manmohans ministerial council but they observed the tradition of the PMs privilege. When Modi assumed office and then again when he expanded his ministry six months later, he personally invited every would-be minister to meet him.



By staying out of the picture this time and handing over this prime ministerial privilege to Shah, Modi has exalted the party presidents position in his dispensation. Interestingly, Shah is believed to have pushed strongly for Iranis removal from the HRD ministry. He personally called on her mentor Krishan Gopal to explain the reasons why her departure from this crucial ministry beloved to the RSS was a political necessity.



Battling PMO



At the behest of the RSS, Irani was locked in a battle with the PMO on several critical issues. These include a move by her to restrict the autonomy of the IIMs and her plans for the setting up of global universities. The PMO was not on the same page but Irani displayed unwelcome reluctance to accommodate the governments views and cull out a compromise with the RSS.



More importantly, her role in the controversy that arose from the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula had made her continuing presence in the HRD ministry a red rag to Dalit communities across India. Shah had made aggressive Dalit outreach an important plank for next years UP polls and word had got back to him from the ground that Dalits across the state blamed Irani for Vemulas death and its aftermath. She had to be punished if only to send a strong message to Dalits that the BJP is sensitive to their concerns.



Review of the understanding with RSS as the Modi government nears the halfway point of its tenure is the first indication that the PM and his powerful deputy are beginning to comprehend the political cost of antagonising students across university campuses. Several universities are in turmoil because the Sangh has been aggressively pushing its students wing, ABVP, to enlarge its footprint in educational institutions.



The imposition of a regressive educational agenda through violent student activism has hit Modis image as a modern reformer. With an eye on upcoming polls leading into the big one in 2019, Modi seems to be attempting to undo the damage.



(The writer is a New Delhi-based political commentator)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for a four-nation tour of African countries aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.





Modi will begin his five-day tour with Mozambique and then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.



Focus of the visit will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.



"My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India & Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit," he tweeted ahead of his departure.



"My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban & Pietermaritzburg," he added.



"In Tanzania I will hold talks with President Dr. John Magufuli, meet 'Solar Mamas' and interact with Indian community," Modi added.



With regard to his visit to Kenya in the last leg of his visit, he tweeted, "Talks with President @UKenyatta, deliberations on economic & people-to-people ties will be focus of my Kenya visit."



Giving details in Facebook posts, the Prime Minister said the aim of his visit to Mozambique is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages.



"I will meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him," he said.



Other programmes include a meeting with Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana, where he will interact with students. He will also interact with the Indian community briefly.



Tomorrow evening, Modi will travel to Pretoria in South Africa, a country he described as an "important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted."



He said, "History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind."



"I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa.



"A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba (Nelson Mandela). I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place," he said.



During his South Africa visit, he will meet President Jacob Zuma as also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President. "In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," he said.



On July 10, he will be in Tanzania for a "brief but crucial visit" to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi said.



Modi will then visit Kenya on the evening of July 10. "India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century," the Prime Minister said.
Bangladesh today asked India to examine the speeches of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Nayek after reports that his 'hate speech' inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last week.



"Already there are certain complaints from the Maulanas of Bangladesh that his (Nayek) teachings are not in line with the Quranic teachings and Hadith," information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.



"How much Nayek's teachings influenced the terrorists that is to be investigated. We are investigating the whole matter," he said.



Requesting the Indian government to examine the teachings of controversial preacher, Inu said: "I also request the Indian government and information minister that they also examine the context of Dr Nayek's teachings."



One of the Bangladeshi attackers, suspected to be Rohan Imtiaz - the son of a politician of Bangladesh's ruling Awami League - ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Nayek, a Mumbai-based doctor and an Islamic televangelist, Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' reported.



Nayek, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".



Nayek, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.



He is hugely popular in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.



Islamist gunmen had stormed the upscale Holey Artisan cafe popular with foreigners in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave last Friday, killing 22 people.
Slap in the face: Iraqi police march over, burn U.S. and Israeli flags 06 July, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

BAGHDAD (Christian Examiner)  Police in the predominantly Shiite city of Basra in southern Iraq on July 1 celebrated Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day by marching over U.S. and Israeli flags and burning others.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which translates Arab media from the region and around the world, cited several reports that said the police were joined by members of the Shiite militia from the town. The fighters, more loyal to Iran than Iraq, chanted the slogan "Death to America" during the parade and flag burning, the accounts said.

Muhammad Al-Basri, director of the Center for Iraqi Political Studies, told Al-Arabi Al-Jadid  a London-based newspaper  that the participants in the parade, which commemorates the fall of Jerusalem to the Jews in 1948 and Muslims' desire to recapture the city  also carried images of "non-Iraqi religious leaders."

The paper noted, "Most security forces in Basra were trained by Americans, and this event indicates the failure of the American plan [to influence Iraq] and affirms [the claim] that the Iranians have appropriated this plan."

While the police in Basra were praised by the city's residents, some Iraqis condemned the anti-American protest. A columnist for the Iraqi daily Al-Mada reminded readers that the U.S. had overthrown Saddam Hussein, who killed hundreds of thousands of Shiites. Another writer in a Kurdish newspaper condemned the event.

The events in Basra, less than 20 miles from the border with Iran, were noticed in Saudi Arabia, which sees the growing influence of Iran in both Iraq and Yemen, where Houthi rebels, backed by the Shiite regime in Tehran, are fighting against Sunni Muslims.

The Saudi daily Elaph.com called the Al-Quds protest evidence of Iran's "deep infiltration" of Iraq after the U.S. withdrew combat troops. The online newspaper said the city had also renamed one of its streets in honor of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni, founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution.

Elaph.com also claimed that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki attended an official state function  an iftar (a Muslim's evening meal breaking the fast of Ramadan) at the Iranian embassy. The paper criticized the meeting where no Iraqi flags were present.

Iraq's interior minister reportedly has said that the incident is being investigated and punishments could be handed down because police and soldiers are not allowed to participate in political events and protests.
The prime challenge that the education sector faces in the country is raising the quality of education and ensuring it reaches all, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, who took charge, said today.





"The major challenge that is there in the education sector is to raise the standard. Quality education is vital as it lays the foundation for life and builds overall personality," he told reporters after taking over.





His predecessor Smriti Irani, who has been given the charge of Textiles Ministry, however, did not turn up for the event.





Javadekar said she could not join the occasion because of "family reasons". He had yesterday met Irani, whom he had described as his "little sister" and said he would carry on with the "good initiatives" taken by her.





The sole purpose of education is not just employment which is a "byproduct", he said.





"The aim of education is to lay the foundation for life on the basis of which societies are created. It is the duty of the education sector and we accept this challenge. Our mission will be to ensure quality education reaches all," he said.





Javadekar, who was flanked by Ministers of State for HRD Upendra Kushwaha and Mahendra Pandey, said that there are ample opportunities as well as challenges in the sector on which they will work jointly.





Asked about certain controversial remarks about Irani reportedly made by a JD(U) leader, he said that it was the "worst comment". "I do not want to make a comment on somebody's remark," he said.




The department of Ayush has asked the finance department to release Rs 45 lakh to pay for Shwasa, which along with the Karnataka Olympic Association, was an organiser of the International Yoga Day event. The event was organised on June 21 at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.





The proposal by the department follows a directive from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on May 28 asking Ayush to give an additional Rs 25 lakh to Shwasa, a yoga centre headed by Swami Vachanananda to organise the event in a grand manner. Earlier, the department had a tentative budget of Rs 21 lakh for the Yoga day including Rs 11 lakh for training the NCC cadets across the state and Rs 10 lakh for organising the main event at the stadium in Bengaluru. After a directive from the Chief Minister, the Ayush department had said that they cannot give the money unless there is additional grant from the government as it exceeded its budget of Rs 21 lakh set aside for the event. The government is yet to release funds, Subhash K Malkhede, director, Ayush department told Deccan Herald adding that the department will make the payment only after a thorough scrutiny of expenditure. Vacahananda who is currently in the USA is exerting pressure on the department to release the money, he said.



"We have decided to pay Rs 20 lakh to Shwasa from our budget,'' Malkhede said. For the remaining Rs 25 lakh, Shwasa has made a proposal through the Karnataka Olympic Association, he said.
"Our partnership is driven by convergence of capacities and interest...Mozambique's strengths are India's needs and what Mozambique needs is in India. We complement each other," Modi said.





He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.





Referring to the agriculture sector, he said India is committed to buy pulses from Mozambique, regarding which a "long-term agreement" was signed on the occasion.





The agreement to buy pulses, he said, will meet India's requirements and help raise the farmers' income in Mozambique.





Noting that agriculture development is the top priority for Mozambique, Modi said India would be partnering this endeavour through development of agricultural infrastructure and productivity in this country.





"We have agreed to put this on a fast track," he said.





Describing Mozambique as the "gateway" to Africa, Modi said one-fourth of India's investment in this continent is in this country.





He said the bilateral trade has continued to grow and there was a need to provide a "nurturing" environment.





He recalled the "sad struggles" and "sufferings" of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence.





Modi said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like "shared vision" for the better future and partnership.





He said he had chosen this country as his first stopover in the four-nation tour that will also include South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, as Nyusi had also made India his first stopover during his Asian tour last year.











With regard to the agreement in pulses, officials said that India will encourage greater production of the commodity in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price.



While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption locally, the officials said, adding the agreement will be a "win-win" for the two countries.



The two countries also signed a pact in the field of youth and sports. Modi said 20,000 Mozambicans can trace their ancestors to India and that they are the bridge to economic ties between the two countries.

Later, addressing a banquet hosted by Nyusi in his honour, the Prime Minister said India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity with Mozambique in line with its priorities.



"Today, we applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades," Modi said. Modi presented to the Mozambique President a booklet brought out by the Indian High Commission in English to act as a guide to the Indian business persons who intend to invest in this country.

Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here, a significant "long term" agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces amid Modi's vow to march with this African country on its path of development and progress."We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields."Terrorism is the gravest security threat to the world today," Modi said, in comments that come against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world, including Bangladesh as also Saudi Arabia.He said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence cooperation.India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trip to South Africa tomorrow, the country's foreign minister today said the visit will cement and strengthen the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.



"South Africa and India share common values and objectives which were forged during the struggle against colonialism and for liberation and democracy in South Africa," said Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.



Modi will be in South Africa as part of a whirlwind five-day tour of Africa that will also take him to three other African countries - Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.



"India played a leading role in isolating the apartheid regime, resulting in a shared history of friendship and solidarity," Nkoana-Mashabane, a former high commissioner to India, wrote in the daily The New Age.



"India also provided consistent support to the liberation movement during South Africa's struggle for democracy and was at the forefront within multilateral forums, such as the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement, in promoting international efforts towards South Africa's liberation," she added.



She also reflected on the impact that Mahatma Gandhi's tenure in South Africa at the turn of the last century had on the resistance to the apartheid regime.



Nkoana-Mashabane said one of the key objectives of Modi's visit would be to enhance commercial and business relations with India and to promote private sector-to-private sector contact.



"In this regard, a Chief Executive Officers' Forum and a South Africa-India Business Forum are planned to be held during the visit to facilitate business opportunities," she said.



"South Africa will also be exploring ways in which to increase and diversify our exports to India by identifying new areas of market access in areas including the defence sector, deep mining, renewable energy and the health sector.



"The business meetings will also serve to promote investment by Indian companies in South Africa through the identification of areas of investment and by investigating ways in which to simplify procedures for companies investing in South Africa," the minister concluded.




Police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.





A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.



"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI.



He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.



"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.



Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had yesterday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."



Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.



Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".



The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.



He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.



Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant yesterday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest.



Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.


Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan today said that people who spread terrorism in the name of religion are the ones who don't follow it.





When asked about the growing terrorism, Aamir told reporters, "People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), that's what I think, then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian..."



"However much as they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion, because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love," the 51-year-old actor said.



When asked about his views on whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, the "Dhoom 3" star said, "I won't comment on that. I have said what I want to."

Aamir was speaking at a special Eid press conference.



Last week, five Bangladeshi militants hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave.



Besides, three suicide bombings recently struck across Saudi Arabia in a single day, including an attack at Islam's second holiest site, the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, where four security guards were killed.




The Delhi government is planning to decongest the existing old age home and the homes for the mentally challenged by shifting them to the halfway homes in the city. The halfway homes, though ready, are yet to be operational.





The state government has given the go-ahead to Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) to make the five halfway homes operational.



The responsibility has been given to IHBAS so that the homes are operational at the earliest, said a senior official, Social Welfare Department (SWD).



The halfway homes have been constructed with the aim to accommodate people who are recovering from mental illness.



In May, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had visited the government-run old age home in Bindapur and sent a notice to the SWD highlighting the shortcomings at the home. The old age home is overcrowded with over 75 inmates against a sanctioned strength of 50.



At least 30 per cent of the inmates suffer from mental illness at the home but there are no counsellors to look after them.



The department is now planning to segregate the patients suffering from mental illness by shifting them to the halfway homes. These inmates need special care and counsellors which is currently lacking at the old age home.



The staff at the halfway homes will be receptive to the needs of patients with mental health conditions.



The old age home, which is currently stretched beyond capacity, will have the sanctioned number of inmates. Inmates from the home for the mentally challenged at Asha Kiran will also be moved to these homes, said the official.



Currently, there are two old age homes in the city  one at Bindapur and another at Lampur which is run in collaboration with Delhi Brotherhood Society, an NGO.

The number of inmates at the Lampur home remains sparse with poor infrastructurl facilities at the home.



The IHBAS will be reviewing the condition of the inmates before they are moved to the halfway homes. In the first phase, two halfway homes  one for women and the other for male inamtes  are likely to be operational.


The Delhi Jal Board will send a notice to all authorities to do a survey of all the properties under them where there are no rainwater harvesting structures.





The move comes in a bid to identify government buildings where rainwater harvesting is possible.



The government had recently extended the deadline to install rainwater harvesting structures till September 30.



According to the regulation, all existing buildings which are constructed on a plot of 500 sq metre or more or new buildings that come up in planned areas on plots of 100 sq metre or more are required to have rooftop rainwater harvesting structures (RWH).



There are a number of government buildings which do not have RWH provisions till date such as government schools, colleges, metro stations, and government buildings.



The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will issue a notice to government authorities like Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), etc to identify such buildings and send a list to the water utility for purpose of installing the structure before September.



Our first target is Delhi Metro. All its overhead lines can be used for rainwater harvesting. We are in communication with them, an official of the DJB said. Some areas with high water table, vetted by the Central Groundwater Authority, will be exempted, he added.



Due to poor response from Delhiites, the city government had recently extended the deadline for the third time for compulsory installation of these structures till September.

A 10% rebate on water tariff is offered to building owners having properties with an area of 2,000 sq metre and above.



The DJB has also set up rain centres at three locations in the city where building owners can come and ask queries related to the installation of structures.The DJB had recently changed its model and took up the Chennai model, under which the structure doesnt requires boring all the way down to the aquifer and has a basic filtration material and a recharge pit.



People can come to the rain centres and learn about this new model. The locations are R K Puram, Dwarka, and Okhla Industrial area, he said.
A Minneapolis police officer fatally shot a black man on Wednesday during a traffic stop, police said, and a woman posted a video on the internet showing what she described as the aftermath of the incident and saying the man had been reaching for his license.





The incident comes hours after the U.S. Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into two police officers who had fatally shot a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.



The use of force by law enforcement against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has come under heavy scrutiny.



The St. Anthony Police Department said in a statement an unidentified black man was wounded during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota at 9 p.m. local time. The man was taken to the hospital where he later died.



A woman live-streamed what she described as the aftermath of the shooting in a 10-minute video posted on YouTube and briefly on Facebook. Reuters has been unable to confirm the validity of the video.



PROTEST AT GOVERNOR'S MANSION



The video began with the unidentified woman in the passenger seat describing what had happened moments before while a black man covered in blood sat in the driver's seat as a police officer pointed a gun into the vehicle.



The woman said that her boyfriend had just been pulled over for a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun he was licensed to carry.



"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," she said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm."



Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene and that they were investigating the incident.



Officers told the woman to keep her hands up as a small child is heard briefly crying in the background.



"Fuck. I told him not to reach for it," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video.



The Minneapolis Star newspaper reported relatives and friends identified the man as Philando Castile, 32. Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at a school in St. Paul school district, according to the paper.



"He doesn't deserve this," the woman was heard saying as she cried in the video. "He was a good man."



Local media showed protesters on Thursday morning gathered outside of the mansion of Governor Mark Dayton in St. Paul, Minnesota, about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of the scene of the incident.
The 2016 Fire Conference is Coming to Jacksonville This Summer



ORLANDO, July 7, 2016 /



Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, President of CfaN, stated in a personal invitation to this event, "I recently returned from our Fire 16 conference in Switzerland. It was an incredible time of Holy Spirit ministry unlike anything I've experienced there before, and I don't want you to miss this special opportunity here in the United States."



Besides a time of inspired teaching, music will also play an important role in the event. "Each day will be filled with anointed praise and worship, which will charge the atmosphere with God's holy presence! We are blessed to have worship leader, songwriter and recording artist John Wilds partnered with the Evangel Temple praise team leading us. I believe this will be an amazing time of outpouring and impartation," declared Evangelist Kolenda.



Evangelist Todd White stated, "I am so excited for the upcoming Fire Conference 2016! I know God is going to do mighty things, and bring His fire to the entire city of Jacksonville. You don't want to miss this life-changing conference; I promise you will leave empowered to bring Jesus to your city!"



Evangelist Michael Koulianos says, "The Holy Spirit has one agenda: To glorify Jesus. I have been sensing for quite some time that our united hearts would trigger the greatest outpouring America has ever seen. I believe Fire 2016 is playing a major part in this historic moment. Come expectingyou'll never be the same."



The conference begins at 6:00 p.m. EDT Friday, August 26th, and resumes at 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday, August 27th. A free-of-charge, post-event morning worship service will follow at 10:30 am EDT on Sunday, August 28th, with Evangelist and CfaN Founder Reinhard Bonnke. It is open to the public.



For all conference details or to purchase tickets now, please visit:



MEDIA CONTACT:

Name Sam Rodriguez

Phone 1-321-441-0294

Email

Share Tweet Contact: Sam Rodriguez, 321-441-0294, srodriguez@cfan.org ORLANDO, July 7, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- Christ for all Nations (CfaN) is bringing its 2016 Fire Conference to Jacksonville, Florida, this August 26th27th. World-renowned global evangelists Reinhard Bonnke and Daniel Kolenda will be joined by Eric Gilmour, Michael Koulianos, Garry Wiggins, and Todd White, who will each show those in attendance how they can discover and live out their own calling in God.Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, President of CfaN, stated in a personal invitation to this event, "I recently returned from our Fire 16 conference in Switzerland. It was an incredible time of Holy Spirit ministry unlike anything I've experienced there before, and I don't want you to miss this special opportunity here in the United States."Besides a time of inspired teaching, music will also play an important role in the event. "Each day will be filled with anointed praise and worship, which will charge the atmosphere with God's holy presence! We are blessed to have worship leader, songwriter and recording artist John Wilds partnered with the Evangel Temple praise team leading us. I believe this will be an amazing time of outpouring and impartation," declared Evangelist Kolenda.Evangelist Todd White stated, "I am so excited for the upcoming Fire Conference 2016! I know God is going to do mighty things, and bring His fire to the entire city of Jacksonville. You don't want to miss this life-changing conference; I promise you will leave empowered to bring Jesus to your city!"Evangelist Michael Koulianos says, "The Holy Spirit has one agenda: To glorify Jesus. I have been sensing for quite some time that our united hearts would trigger the greatest outpouring America has ever seen. I believe Fire 2016 is playing a major part in this historic moment. Come expectingyou'll never be the same."The conference begins at 6:00 p.m. EDT Friday, August 26th, and resumes at 10:00 a.m. EDT Saturday, August 27th. A free-of-charge, post-event morning worship service will follow at 10:30 am EDT on Sunday, August 28th, with Evangelist and CfaN Founder Reinhard Bonnke. It is open to the public.For all conference details or to purchase tickets now, please visit: www.CFAN.org/Fire16 . Tickets may also be purchased by calling 407.854.4400 or toll free 1.888.800.2767, or by emailing events@cfan.org MEDIA CONTACT:Name Sam RodriguezPhone 1-321-441-0294Email srodriguez@cfan.org
A 2012 video showing Congress leader Digvijay Singh sharing dais with controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and praising him surfaced today, triggering a slugfest between the BJP and the Congress.





Singh, who was seen praising Zakir in the video, defended himself, saying if there was any evidence against the preacher, then the Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take action against him.



"I have appealed for communal harmony and opposed religious fundamentalism and terrorism by either Hindus or Muslims," the Congress leader said.

In a series of tweets, Singh also said, "My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown...



"The conference was for Communal Harmony and against Terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against Innocents being killed."



He further said, "if GOI or the Govt of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS they should take action against him."



Zakir has come under the government's scrutiny after reports emerged that one of the terrorists involved in Dhaka attack followed his preachings.



However, BJP was quick to target Singh and also demanded action against Zakir, saying he was a "threat" to national security as it was clear from his speeches that he "incited" people.



"Terrorism is enemy of humanity. Anybody who directly or indirectly abets it is guilty. People like him (Zakir) are a threat to our national security. Government agencies should decide on action against him under the existing legal system. It is clear that he incited people," party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.



Citing Singh's comments, Sharma said, "It is in Congress' character to politicise and glorify terrorism. Its leaders used terms like Hafiz saab and Osama ji for terrorists.



"They questioned the sacrifice of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in Batla House encounter and claimed their president Sonia Gandhi cried whole night over the killings (of terrorists) in the encounter."



Responding to BJP's attack, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was no place in Indian society for obscurantist and extremist thoughts and Congress party has always fought the forces of hate and division which have threatened India's integrity.
Muslims today flocked to mosques and eidgahs across the country to offer special prayers, exchanged greetings and took part in feasts with family and friends as they celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting.





In the national capital, people dressed in their festive best turned up at historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid, Hazrat Nizamuddin and other mosques for 'namaz', wished each other 'Eid Mubarak' and exchanged gifts.



Festivities gripped Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives. Ecstatic children, who were gifted 'Eidee' (money) by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities, buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques.



People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and eidgahs (prayer grounds). Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion.



Extensive security arrangements were in place across the country, especially where large congregations took place.



People in Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala celebrated Eid yesterday.



President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi have greeted people on the occasion and hoped that it will inspire all to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood and will deepen the spirit of harmony and peace in society.



Chief Ministers in several states joined the special prayers and greeted the people.

Bollywood stars, too, spread the cheer and took to the social media to extend Eid greetings to their fans and peers.



In Uttar Pradesh, a spirit of bonhomie and festive cheer marked Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations as Muslims from all walks of life made a beeline for eidgahs and mosques for offering the Eid prayers.



In Lucknow, women offered 'namaaz' at Aishbagh Eidgah for the first time. Governor Ram Naik and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav greeted people on the occasion at Eidgah.



Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers, the border guarding forces of the two countries, exchanged sweets and greeted each other on the occasion at several places along the international border.



In Malda in West Bengal, festivities were marred by a mishap. A 10-year-old boy died and six others were injured when a sceptic tank on which they had gathered, collapsed during an Eid congregation.





In West Bengal, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across the state. A large number of Muslims assembled at the state's largest congregation on Red Road in Kolkata to offer special prayers on the occasion.





Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the special prayers. Banerjee and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi greeted the people on Eid-ul-Fitr.





Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque Mohd Nurur Rehman Barkati called for harmony and brotherhood while extending wishes and greetings to all.





"Islam never supports killing of people. Such killers have no religion. Those killing people in the name of Islam are basically goondas," Barkati said in the backdrop of terrorist attacks in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and other places around the globe.





Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across Tamil Nadu with fervour as scores of faithful attended special prayers and exchanged greetings.





Prayers for peace, prosperity and brotherhood were offered in special congregations across the state, including in Chennai, Tirunelveli, Vellore and Tiruchirappally.





Leaders in Tamil Nadu including Governor K Rosaiah, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi and PMK founder S Ramadoss among others have extended Eid greetings.





In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took part in the festivity at an eidgah in Bhopal.





Thousands of Muslims offered prayers at various eidgahs and mosques.

Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour across Maharashtra.





Celebrations were witnessed in Muslim pockets of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed and other areas of the state. Muslims came out early morning dressed in their finery to offer special Eid prayers at mosques in Mumbai.





Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis greeted the people on the occasion.





Eid was celebrated in Hyderabad and other towns across Telangana. Major congregations were witnessed at the historic Mir Alam Eidgah and other eidgahs at Masab Tank, Military Grounds, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Secunderabad, Santosh Nagar and Malakpet.





Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao conveyed their greetings on the occasion.





In Gujarat, Eid was celebrated with gaiety and fervour. Thousands of Muslims gathered at Jama Masjid at Teen Darwaza in the old city area of Ahmedabad for 'namaz'. A large number of people also turned up at Eidgah near Kankaria Lake.



Historic Sarkhej Roza mosque also saw good number of Muslims congregating to offer prayers.




After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi here, the two countries signed three pacts, including a significant "long-term agreement" under which India will buy pulses from this African nation to meet its recurring shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.





Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to this country as part of efforts to strengthen its public health system.





India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces, Modi said with a vow to "walk every step" with this country on its path of development and progress.





He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.





"We want our development and economic ties to benefit our societies. We also want our partnership to ensure the safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after their talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.





While talking about the challenges, Modi said, "President Nyusi and I recognize that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today. Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally."





His comments assume significance as these came against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world. This included the second major terror attack in less than a week in India's neighbour Bangladesh just hours before Modi spoke. Terrorists even struck at the mosque of Prophet in Saudi city of Medina a few days back.





"The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans -national crimes. Our agreement on prevention of drug trafficking is a testimony to our shared determination to combat this menace and these networks," said Modi who oversaw India and Mozambique sign the pact on the occasion.





India and Mozambique will step up security and defence cooperation to "advance our shared security interests", said Modi, who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.





"We will work together to support the Mozambican defence forces. By building capacities and institutions, training of personnel, supply of equipment, and in responding to their other emerging needs," Modi said.





Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, he talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas.





"It is an ocean of many economic opportunities. But, we are also aware of the emerging strategic and security challenges in the maritime domain," said the Prime Minister who was later hosted for banquet by the Mozambican President.





Underlining that India and Mozambique "face similar challenges" as the developing countries, Modi told Nyusi, "We will be a trusted friend in your development. And, a reliable partner in ensuring a bright, safe and secure future for our people."





Noting that the partnership between India and Mozambique is "driven by convergence of capacities and interest", he said, "Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need. And, what Mozambique requires, is available in India. We complement each other."





He said Nyusi had highlighted agricultural development as his top priority and the experts of the two countries have since held discussions on "how we can work together to improve agricultural infrastructure and productivity in Mozambique. Today, we agreed to put this cooperation on the fast track."





Referring to the pact signed for purchase of pulses, he said, "We are also strengthening our partnership in food security."





Modi said India's commitment to buy pulses from Mozambique would help meet its requirement and facilitate long-term investments in commercial farming, generate farm employment and raise farmer's incomes in this country.





As per the agreement, officials said India will encourage greater production of Pulses in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price.





While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption locally, the officials said, adding the agreement will be a "win-win" for the two countries.





"Health care is another area where India's capacities and Mozambican needs match well. India will be donating essential medicines for the Mozambican public health system, including medicines for treatment of AIDS," Modi said.





Describing Mozambique as the "gateway" to Africa, Modi said one-fourth of India's investment in this continent is in this country. He said the bilateral trade has continued to grow and there was a need to provide a "nurturing" environment.





Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mozambique in 34 years, recalled the "struggles" and "sufferings" of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence.



"Our shared struggles and suffering under colonial oppression brought our two countries together. India was one of the strongest supporters of Mozambican independence," said the Prime Minister who also visited the National Assembly here.



He said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like "shared vision" for a stronger partnership in years ahead.



"In fact, Mozambique has already been one of the gateways for Indian investments into Africa. About one fourth of all Indian investments in Africa are in Mozambique. Our ties of commerce and trade have continued to grow over the last decade," he said, expressing confidence that Indian investments will continue to receive a nurturing environment in Mozambique under Nyusi's leadership.



He said he had chosen this country as his first stopover in the four-nation tour that will also include South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, as Nyusi had also made India his first stopover during his Asian tour last year.



Modi presented to the Mozambique President a booklet in English brought out by the Indian High Commission to act as a guide to the Indian businessmen who may like to invest in this country whose national language is Portuguese.



"We applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades. Excellency, as two developing countries we face similar challenges. Our development and economic partnership, therefore, has been an essential part of our relationship," he said later at the banquet.



"Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years. We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities," he said.



Modi said the relationship between the two countries is not new as thousands of Indian-origin people call Mozambique their home.



"I am told that most of the Siddi community that resides in parts of India is known to trace its ancestry to Mozambique. These communities are a living testimony to age old links that have connected our people, their ideas and traditions, and culture and commerce," he said.



Referring to the "gap" in the visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Mozambique, he said it "should never have been so long. And, I am confident that it will not be so in future."

Amid a spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world, "equally impacting" India and Mozambique which agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.
American aerospace major Lockheed Martin, which has offered to build F16 fighter jets under 'Make in India' initiative, has shown interest in expanding its footprint here and "stepping up investments", officials said today.





Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO of Lockheed Martin, who wrapped up her two-day visit here, met Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman yesterday and held detailed discussions.



"The discussions focused on the relaxation of FDI norms and stepping up of their investments," a ministry source said.



Sources said she also met top officials at the Ministry of Defence besides various political and business leaders.



All her meetings, including with industry bodies, were kept out of bounds for the media.

"Meeting with political leaders, senior government officials and leading Indian industrialists, Hewson highlighted Lockheed Martin's sponsorship of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) as an example of effective partnership in action," said a company release.



It said the company's commitment to the 'Make in India' policy, the national 'Skills Initiative' and to working with industrial partners in India to expand its business footprint was a feature of discussions she had during her trip.



The statement highlighted that every C-130J airlifter sold internationally contains major aerostructure assemblies manufactured in India by Tata and every S-92 medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has a cabin manufactured by Tata in Hyderabad.



"I look forward to growing our 25-year story in India and to establishing greater and more meaningful partnerships that will help grow the Indian economy and community," she was quoted as saying.



Even as Lockheed Martin remains confident about its bid to manufacture in India F16s, used by the Pakistan Air Force also besides a host of other countries, the company faces tough competition from Boeing with its F/A 18, Saab with Gripen, Dassault Aviation with Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon.



India is expected to take a call in the next one year on the aircraft that it wants for the Indian Air Force under 'Make in India'.


A year after their first album hit the market, The Ska Vengers, known for songs like Frank Brazil, Badda and Rough Mean, recently released their new album. Their evocative lyrics and hard-hitting videos have helped Indias first ska band to earn a distinct recognition in the music scene in Delhi and beyond.





XX (pronounced double cross) comprise 13 tracks, and it took the band three years to create the album.



We put a lot of emphasis on production. We wanted to come up with a meticulous album and didnt want to release anything until we were completely satisfied, says Stefan Kaye, founder member, keyboard/percussionist.



We began recording this album at the beginning of 2013 as we had written a lot of new material since our first album. The band has progressed as a collective of writers, and more influences have been creeping into the songs such as Afro-Cuban (Cumbanchero, Afro Fantasy) and Afro Beat (Double X), adds Kaye.



Armed with influences that range from reggae, punk, hip-hop, Afro beat and ska, reggae, dub and jazz, the band has built a repertoire of music thats exciting, fresh and

timeless at the same time.



The eight-member band, known for its predilection to speak on current issues, continues the trend with this album. They have touched upon varied themes ranging from government surveillance, incarcerations and murders to love and longing.



According to Delhi



Sultanate aka Taru Dalmia, the bands vocalist, music has always been a part of political movements in our country. Which is why, he says, the band doesnt shy away from making a statement, musical or political.



At the moment, we are living in an oppressive, fascist and neo-colonial environment. And people will be affected by it. So we want to use music to address these issues because as a medium, music helps bringing people together, Dalmia tells Metrolife.



Ask them if the current political unrest and terrorism is the subject of their latest works, Dalmia says, We have always been addressing the issue of terrorism. I believe that powerful companies that help the government are the bigg-est terrorists in the present scenario. Many a times, the government acts against the interest of people of India.




Philippine government forces fought hundreds of Islamic militants on two remote islands today, with the military aircraft-backed campaign leaving up to 10 people dead, the army said.





The gun battles on the southern islands of Jolo and Basilan followed orders by new President Rodrigo Duterte for the security services to go after the Abu Sayyaf, which recently beheaded two foreign hostages and is also blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history.



The fighting was continuing late today with more troops being rushed in, backed by military aircraft and artillery, regional military spokesman Major Filemon Tan told reporters.



"Continuous indirect fire support and air strikes are being done and additional troops were deployed," he added without giving details.



Army troops hunting down Abu Sayyaf units clashed with about 130 of the gunmen near the Jolo town of Patikul, killing a soldier and wounding six others, Tan said.

Military intelligence reports later determined that nine Abu Sayyaf members were also killed and 13 others wounded, he added.



Meanwhile up to 200 Abu Sayyaf gunmen have been fighting running gun battles with government forces in three Basilan towns since late yesterday, Tan said, but did not say if there were casualties.



The Jolo militants are believed to be holding a Norwegian resort manager abducted elsewhere in the south in September last year and a Dutch birdwatcher kidnapped in 2012.



Tan did not reply when asked about the impact of the fighting on the hostages.



The Abu Sayyaf beheaded in April and June two Canadian tourists who were kidnapped along with the Norwegian, while a Filipina who was abducted with them was freed last month.



The Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of a few hundred Islamic militants, formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, that has earned millions of dollars from kidnappings-for-ransom.



Although its leaders have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, analysts say they are mainly focused on lucrative kidnappings.



Last month, as Duterte prepared to assume office after winning the May presidential elections by landslide on a law and order platform, he ordered the military defeat the Abu Sayyaf.



"Our first priority is the Abu Sayyaf because that is the order of our new president: address the Abu Sayyaf immediately so we can neutralise them," Delfin Lorenzana told reporters before he was sworn in as defence secretary.


UKs largest union, Unite called on Tata Steel to give commitments on the future of Port Talbot and its UK steel strips business. The move follows after Tata Steel was planning to pause its sale while pressing ahead with a separate sale of its speciality steel and tubes operation.





The union also warned the company against a fire sale of its specialty steel business. Reminding Tata of its promise to act responsibly, Unite warned the company against ducking its promises and conducting a fire sale of its speciality steel business while allowing Port Talbot and its UK strips business to wither on the vine, Unite said.



In addition to demanding guarantees over the long-term future of Port Talbot, Unite said it would be seeking further detail and assurances from Tata and prospective buyers over the sale of the specialty steel and tube business, Unite added.



The cloud of uncertainty over steelworkers heads needs to be lifted by Tata giving binding commitments about its long-term intentions regarding Port Talbot and its UK strips business. We cannot be in a situation in 3-4 years time where Tata walks away from Port Talbot after leaving it to wither on the vine following a tie up with ThyssenKrupp in Europe. The Tata board needs to be aware that such a scenario would leave Tatas reputation as a responsible employer in tatters, Unite national officer Harish Patel said.



If Tata is to retain the goodwill of the workforce then its board needs to give guarantees over Port Talbot and assurances that it wont conduct a fire sale of its speciality and tubes business. Port Talbot and the UK strips business can have a viable and profitable long-term future with the right investment, Patel added.




In just the past few days, the Islamic States evolving brand of terrorism has revealed its deadly, shifting faces. In Istanbul last week, the Turkish authorities say, militants guided by the Islamic State (IS) conducted a coordinated suicide attack on the citys main airport.



In Bangladesh on Friday, a local extremist group that has pledged loyalty to the IS butchered diners in a restaurant. And in Baghdad on Sunday, the IS claimed responsibility for a bombing that killed more than 140 people.



The three deadly attacks already are being viewed by intelligence and law enforcement officials as proof that the IS, the only terrorist group to create a state with borders, is becoming a larger, more sophisticated version of its stateless chief rival, al-Qaeda, as it loses territory under traditional military attack in Iraq and Syria.



Militant volunteers that the group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, began recruiting, training and sending to the West more than two years ago are now part of mature, clandestine networks, counterterrorism officials say. The networks are increasingly responding to calls to accelerate attacks globally as the group suffers setbacks at home, like retreating from Fallujah last month after an offensive by Iraqi forces supported by US airstrikes and advisers.



Attacks wont fill any particular mould  some will be centrally planned, some will have some connection to IS, and some will be local option entirely, said Andrew Liepman, a former deputy director at the National Counterterrorism Centre who is now a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corp.



Combating this evolving, more complex array of threats  attacks loosely inspired by the IS, attacks it directs from afar and those, as in Baghdad, that it carries out itself  demands more than just military strikes in Iraq and Syria, US officials acknowledge. Deterring, preventing and dealing with an expanding array of threats against far-flung and chiefly civilian targets are a growing priority for Western and other allied law enforcement and intelligence services.



The emphasis is changing on this global terrorism campaign, and that introduces new vulnerabilities, Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation.



In an audio message released May 21, the IS spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani made clear that the organisation would revert to its roots as a guerrilla insurgency  implicitly acknowledging that it would eventually lose its strongholds in Syria and Iraq and the very caliphate that has distinguished it from al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Al-Adnani, who also oversees the Islamic States external operations, repeated his call for supporters to attack the groups enemies wherever and however possible.



The group operates clandestine terrorist cells in Britain, Germany and Italy, similar to the groups that carried out the attacks in Paris and Brussels, James Clapper Jr, the director of national intelligence, said in April. Other intelligence officials said the IS operated similar cells in Turkey, which were most likely involved in last weeks assault on the airport in Istanbul.



Some counterterrorism officials say the IS lashing out may backfire. IS wants to deter and divide its enemies with these attacks, but it usually ends up provoking them, said Will McCants, a former State Department counterterrorism official now at the Brookings Institution. He said he anticipated that the attack in Istanbul would push Turkey to escalate its efforts against the IS, just as the Paris attacks did for France.



Against this shifting adversary, President Barack Obama has sought to strike an upbeat message. Weve seen that this continues to be a difficult fight  but we are making significant progress, Obama said in a statement on June 14 after meeting with top national security advisers about combating the terror group. This campaign at this stage is firing on all cylinders.



Nearly two years into the US-led air war against the IS, military officials say they have finally corrected the poor intelligence collection and clumsy process for identifying targets that initially plagued the campaign, and are now hitting targets like oil rigs and secret cash coffers that finance the terrorist groups war machine.



The US-led military campaign has slashed the groups oil revenues in half, but it still generates $150 million a year. Thats a lot of money, said Col Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman in Iraq. You can fund a lot of things across the globe. As a result, the IS has slashed fighters salaries in Raqqa, the groups de facto headquarters in Syria, by up to 50%, US intelligence analysts say.



In testimony before a Senate committee on Tuesday, Brett McGurk, Obamas special envoy in the fight against the Islamic State, said it had lost 47% of its territory in Iraq and 20% in Syria  territory used to extract oil from the ground and taxes from its residents, as well as to plot attacks against the West.



Idyllic Sunni land



The attraction of the IS was the state, Liepman of the RAND Corp said. The ideology lured people in, but the destination was more important  an idyllic Sunni land. When that goes away, I think much of the attraction of IS will go with it.



Liepman warned, however, that even if the caliphate failed, hundreds if not thousands of battle-hardened soldiers would return home to continue the fight: This will be the challenge for a generation  in Jordan and Tunisia, in France and the US  how to deal with the combination of a back-flow of fighters and radicalised citizens as well.



Tighter border controls have curbed the flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq, but the Islamic State has diverted hundreds of others to its foreign enclaves, like Libya.



The Islamic States ranks in Iraq and Syria have fallen to between 18,000 and 22,000, from a peak of about 33,000 combatants last year, US officials say. But another 20,000 or so militants rally under the groups banner in at least eight affiliates, including Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.



By comparison, al-Qaeda at its peak had a couple of thousand fighters, Brennan said. The US officials say they are ill equipped to thwart technologically savvy young IS terrorists who use encrypted communications that Western experts find difficult to hack.



Even more worrisome, the propaganda and recruitment wars face steep hurdles. Secretary of State John Kerry, in a speech last week, shared a recent exchange with an African counterpart, who told him that violent extremists in the ministers region were recruiting and proselytising children as young as 5 years old. You know, they have a plan for 30 years or 35 years, Kerry said his foreign counterpart had told him. We dont even have a five-year plan.




Chinas stubborn and public opposition to Indias application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has elicited diverse responses in India.



Many commentators have found fault with the governments decision to apply for membership. Some of them have claimed that the decision betrays a lack of understanding of our interests. They have unconvincingly argued that the membership will not give us any benefits in addition to what we already enjoy under the 2008 waiver.



These commentators seem to be confounding the desirability of the goal with its feasibility. Others have questioned the timing and approach. They have argued that the government failed to assess the depth of the Chinese opposition and it should not have invested so much of prime ministerial capital on a relatively minor issue.



The failure in Seoul has also led some commentators to question the governments reported decision to bandwagon behind the US and to remind us of the Nehruvian foreign policy. They seem to have forgotten that in the end, Nehrus India was utterly friendless and isolated (Ambassador Eric Gonsalves account of his time in Burma after the 1962 war is revealing in this regard).



And, then there were those who called for retaliation conveniently forgetting what happened a few weeks ago when the government mistakenly issued visas to Uighur dissidents after China bailed out a Pakistani terrorist. The intense public debate on this issue has failed to address a few basic questions: What kind of relations does China want with us? What kind of relations do we want with China? Do we hold any bargaining chips?

There is a broad consensus within India that China does not seek a relationship of equals. It goes out of its way to block Indias ascent and clumsily hides behind procedures, whether on the issue of sanctioning Pakistan-based terrorists or the membership of UNSC (United Nations Security Council) or NSG. China does not mind being the last man standing against India, and Pakistan is ever willing to give it company.



The Chinese media deliberately assumes a highly disparaging and combative tone in its India-related commentary. While the Chinese state-run media reflects its governments attitude toward India and Indians, Chinas apologists argue that it makes its editorial decisions autonomously.



However, India or at least its foreign policy experts are deeply divided over what constitutes normal relations with China. This involves two issues. How do we conduct our relations with a country that openly attacks our interests? The Chinese government adopts maximalist positions in the international arena and then apologists tell us that we should quietly resolve the issues so that China does not have to suffer a loss of face if its government has to retreat.



But what about our face? It is, therefore, good that the government did not shy away from openly identifying China, while remaining engaged. The Chinese stand in Seoul strengthens the government against those who believe that India should defer to the Chinese way of doing things.



The other issue is the more difficult one. What are the preconditions for our normal relations with China? Return of Aksai Chin? Reduction in trade imbalance? Support for dismantling Pakistans cross-border terror apparatus? Support for a seat in UNSC or NSG? We have to honestly admit that in all these cases, China holds all the cards and we do not hold many bargaining chips. For example, if China agrees to return Aksai Chin, what can we give it in return?



India cannot use its membership in Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to make China yield on the NSG front because the latter does not seem to care much for an early entry into MTCR. Boycotting Chinese goods is easier said than done. The WTO obligations are not the only or even the most important obstacles. A trade boycott is both domestically and internationally untenable. Bulk of imported goods are produced by international manufacturing chains that include China. So, a boycott will hurt friends and enemies alike.



Jobless growth



Indias free media and internet have excited the consumer, who thanks to our jobless growth does not have the purchasing power to satisfy his newfound needs. Cheap Chinese imports, wholly of Chinese origin, cater to the needs of the economically disenfranchised masses. So, a boycott of these Chinese imports will hurt the ruling coalition, whether NDA or UPA, by denting the purchasing power of consumers.



Our goal should be to reduce dependence on Chinese imports through economic reforms that boost job creation in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors, which will increase the purchasing power of masses and expand the production base. Whether we like the label Make in India or not, that is the only defence against China.



Those who call for strengthening the alliance with the US and deal with the threat posed by China, forget that the US benefits by keeping India weak and that our existing nuclear fire power is sufficient to prevent an all-out confrontation. In any case, Chinas preferred strategy is to inflict thousand small cuts through short-duration surprises on the border, cross-border attacks via Pakistan, deployment of its army in PoK (Pak Occupied Kashmir) and Gilgit-Baltistan, cyber-attacks, dumping goods, and needless dogfights in international institutions.



Defence against this Chinese strategy does not require stockpiling bombs. Rather we need political resolution of insurgencies, police and defence reforms, reliable bullet-proof vests, night vision equipment and high altitude clothing for our troops, adequate rotation and training of forces deployed on borders and in internal conflict zones, enhanced cyber security, and a larger and better trained foreign department with room for experts on, say, international law and trade.



While we work along these lines, we should aim at staged cordiality in bilateral ties for whatever it is worth and suspend it occasionally when it suits us.



(The writer teaches at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru)




The eastern part of Uttar Pradesh is set to become an arena for bitter caste politics ahead of the Assembly polls next year.





The socially complex and politically volatile area will witness an increased political activity after Swami Prasad Mauryas exit from the Bahujan Samaj Party and induction of Anupriya Patel into the Union Cabinet.



The region sends over 100 members to the state Assembly. We were the first to enter the region. We did it just after Mahagathbandhan (alliance of JD(U), RJD and Congress) won the Bihar elections. Moreover, every party is looking for caste leaders. This will not work. (Bihar Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar is campaigning for some issues. His anti-liquor campaign is for reforming the society and Sangh-Mukta Bharat is targeting communalism of RSS-BJP, JD(U) general secretary Arun Shrivastav claimed.



Nitish Kumar has addressed three rallies in areas adjoining western Bihar dominated by Kurmis, the caste to which he belongs to.
Most parts of north India remained dry on Thursday with little or no rain in several states, including Rajasthan, New Delhi, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana.

In Uttar Pradesh, two people were killed in lightning.





The national capital received no rainfall since Wednesday and the maximum temperature settled at 36.9 degrees Celsius, near normal for this time of the year.



The IMD observatory at Safdarjung has forecast generally cloudy sky for Friday.

In Rajasthan, no significant rainfall was recorded across the state since morning though traces of precipitation were recorded in Pilani towards the evening.



Churu recorded a maximum temperature of 42.1 degrees Celsius followed by Ganganagar (41), Bikaner and Jaipur (38.6 each).



In Punjab and Haryana, not withstanding the onset of monsoon a few days ago, the absence of any significant rainfall led to sultry weather conditions on Thursday.



Director of Chandigarhs MeT Department Surinder Paul said, Sometimes, it happens (that monsoon slows down after onset). But it will again revive in next 2-3 days...we are expecting some rain on July 9, 10 and 11.



Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, recorded a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, up two notches against the normal.



In Uttar Pradesh where the monsoon has been normal so far, two minor girls were killed after being struck by lightning in separate incidents in Pratapgarh on Wednesday.



Lalitpur recorded 7 cm of rainfall, Mahrauni and Rasra (6 cm each) and Mauranipur

5 cm.



After four days of rains in various parts of Bihar including Patna, it was a sunny day on Thursday with high temperatures and humidity in the state capital.The state capital recorded the maximum temperatures of 33.6 degrees Celsius with humidity of 85% in the morning and 77% in the evening.



There was little to medium rainfall in different parts of West Bengal with Cooch Behar (34.6 mm) recording the highest precipitation.



In Gangetic West Bengal, Bankura and Burdwan recorded 11.0 mm and 14.2 mm rainfall respectively.


Two people, including a child, were killed and two others injured on Thursday in a landslide at 11 Mile Area in Assams Kamrup district.





Meanwhile, Guwahati on Thursday experienced its second wave of urban floods this season. Torrential rain continued.



Floods have affected as many as 1.53 lakh people in the inundation across eight districts of the state.



The Brahmaputra is flowing above the danger level in Neematighat, Tezpur, Guwahati and Dhubri.



River Dhansiri is also flowing above the danger mark in Numaligarh.

Eight districts in Assam  Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Nagaon, Jorhat, Morigain, Biswanath, Golaghat and Barpeta have been hit by flash floods. Nearly 1.53 lakh people are affected, official sources informed DH.



According to a statement released by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority to the media on Tuesday, 294 villages have been inundated. In Lakhimpur, 73 villages are flooded, sources added.



Nearly 7,000 hectares of crop land has been inundated in the entire state.

Fifty relief camps have been set up across the state, sources said.

There are no reports of loss of life yet in the flash floods in Assam.



In the wake of urban flood in Guwahati, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed the chief secretary and all senior officers to visit the affected areas, monitor rescue and relief operations and provide necessary assistance to the people. Acting on Sonowals orders, the chief secretary swung into



action and directed all the deputy commissioners to be on alert.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Guwahati had on Tuesday issued a warning predicting heavy rain, which is likely to occur this week at isolated places in Northeast India, particularly in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.


Thousands of Muslim brethren celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr in the city on Thursday with traditional gaiety and fervour.





People belonging to the community offered mass prayers at the Idgah Maidan in Tilak Nagar. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait offered prayers at 8 am at a mosque on Ashoka Road here.



Religious head Mohammed Usman Shariff condemned terrorism across the world and said that terrorism has no religion. Condemning a deadly attack at Madina, recently, he called the Muslim brethrens to condemn terrorism. Highlighting the significance of celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr, he said, We have gathered here to worship god and we perform fasting during the month of Ramzan to understand the hunger of poor people. The Muslims should maintain communal harmony and invite other community people for the celebrations.



The community people also offered special prayers and exchanged greetings at mosques in Tilak Nagar, Mandi Mohalla, Bannimantap, Irwin Road, Rajiv Nagar Idgah Maidan, Ghousia Nagar and various other mosques in the city.



Mayor B L Bhyrappa, MLA Vasu, Deputy Commissioner C Shikha, Police Commissioner B Dayananda, MCC Commissioner C G Betsurmath, former vice chancellor of Goa and Mangaluru Universities B Sheikh Ali, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering Principal Syed Shakeeb-ur-Rahman, Mysuru District Wakf Advisory Committee Chairman Ariff Mehkri, Mysuru Idgah Maidan Advisory Committee member Syed Muzibullah Zafari and others took part in the celebrations.



Security arrangements



City Police had made elaborate security arrangements to maintain peace during the celebrations. Security was beefed up in sensitive places. Deputy Commissioner of Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police supervised the arrangements. Six inspectors, five sub-inspectors, 150 constables, personnel of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), City Armed Reserve and traffic police were deputed.




The heavy rainfall that lashed many parts of Karnataka has receded, giving a respite to citizens. However, moderate rains have encouraged agricultural activities in many parts of the state.





Inflow into Almatti reservoir in Bagalkot district has been steadily rising following heavy rain in Western Ghats in Maharashtra for the past week. The inflow into the reservoir stood at 50,239 cusecs on Thursday. It has received an inflow of 10 tmc ft in the past four days. The water level which was at 507.50 metres on Wednesday increased to 508.75 metres on Thursday morning as four feet of water was collected in a day. The maximum water storage level in the reservoir is 519.60 metres.



Water has not yet been released from reservoirs in Krishna basin in Maharashtra as dams are not yet full. According to a source, the reservoir is getting high inflow due to heavy rains in the Krishna catchment area and Almatti reservoir has regained its splendour. River Krishna had dried up in December 2015.



Intermittent rains which had been lashing Belagavi and Khanapur taluks for over a week receded on Thursday with bright sunshine being witnessed in both taluks.



Overcast conditions prevailed for a while in Belagavi city and surrounding villages with occasional drizzle. Khanapur town witnessed bright sunshine. A few villages on the western side of Khanapur taluk that had been receiving heavy rains for the past few days received occasional light showers. There were no reports of rains in other parts of the district. Dharwad district too saw nearly no rains on Thursday. While there was occasional drizzle in Dharwad city, Hubballi was totally dry.



Nevertheless, the mild rains have helped farmers in sowing different crops.Moderate rains lashed several parts of Shivamogga district on Thursday.



Shivamogga, Bhadravathi, Hosanagar, Thirthahalli and Sagar received moderate rains intermittently throughout the day. After a gap of several days, most parts of the district witnessed sunshine. Some parts of Shikaripur and Sorab received moderate rains. However, the intensity of the rains was less compared to earlier days.



Rainfall receded in Kodagu district on Thursday. It drizzled for some time in a few parts of the district. The water level has decreased in River Cauvery. There was less rain in Bhagamandala and Talacauvery regions. The present water level at Harangi reservoir is 2,850.65 feet while the maximum level is 2,859 feet. The inflow is 4,568 cusecs.



Mysuru, Hassan and Mandya districts received intermittent light showers on Thursday. With less rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area, there was a decrease in the inflow into the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir.



The inflow, which was 12,622 cusecs on July 6, receded to 10,111 cusec on Thursday evening. The water level was 89.75 ft and outflow 3,632 cusecs.The inflow at Kabini dam in H D Kote taluk was 6,700 cusecs on Wednesday, which increased to 7,700 cusecs on Thursday. The water level on July 7 was 2,263.7 ft against its maximum level of 2,284 ft. Meanwhile, the outflow was increased to 3,000 cusecs from 2,000 cusecs. The water is being released to Tamil Nadu, according to Assistant Executive Engineer Krishnaiah.



However, farmers of the region opposed the move of the authorities to release water to the neighbouring state. The water level at Hemavathy reservoir was 2,886 ft against the maximum level of 2,922 ft on July 7. The inflow was 6,696 cusecs and outflow 150 cusecs.



Meanwhile, inflow of water to increased into Tungabhadra reservoir in Hosapete in Ballari district on Thursday. The water level stood at 19.04 tmcft. The reservoir received four tmcft water in a day.




Former secretary of Forest and Environment and Chairman of Devaraj Urs Bamboo Plantation Committee A C Lakshman has said that the proposed bamboo plantation may take a while as the Centre is yet to transfer the land to the state government.





Speaking to media persons at Aranya Bhavan here on Thursday, he said, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to the Centre in this connection and is hopeful of getting the land soon.



The state government has identified 150 acres of land, which had been alloted for the proposed Central Tobacco Research Institute which never materialised, eight km from Hunsur town, for the plantation, to mark the centenary birth anniversary of the late chief minister D Devaraj Urs, a native of Hunsur taluk. Apart from the research and plantation of bamboo, the committee will look into development of cottage industries, encourage tribals to take up apiary and cultivation of herbs, take up research on climate change, forest plantations and providing alternative forest corps to farmers to reduce the pressure on forests among other things.



Lakshman said, the governments, both state and Central, are mandated to reduce the cultivation of tobacco as per the international agreements, so there is a need to provide an alternative source of income to farmers.



Adoption of forest crops by farmers will serve two purposes, one is reduction in dependency on tobacco in Hunsur and Periyapatna taluks and reduced dependence of

the industries on forest produce like timber. I have experimented with ten species of trees, including bamboo, over the past 20 years, since my retirement, and have come to a conclusion that hebbevu (melia dubia) is the fastest growing tree, which can be harvested from three to six years. So, steps are afoot to bring more and more farmers into the loop, he said.



Sawmill owners have come forward to buy the trees directly from the farmers, fell them and transport them at their own cost by paying a consolidated amount to farmers.



The demand is high in plywood industries and there is a good opportunity for farmers. Hebbevu has the qualities of teakwood, but is lightwei-ght, so it can be used for making artefacts and decora-tive items. Channapatna toy-makers are already using the wood as an alternative for halemara (wrightia tinctoria), he said.



Basavaraju, a farmer who was present during the press meet, said, he has planted

100 hebbevu trees on three acres of land and he is expecting Rs 15,000 income in

six years, while his income from growing tobacco on the same extent of land over six years will be only Rs 10 lakh. Lakshman said, growing hebbevu is also helpful in recharging water table and will reduce the rate of incidence of drought.



Tech to avert sandalwood trees theft



Chairman of Devaraja Urs Bamboo Plantation Committee A C Lakshman said, he would appeal to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to provide an incentive for those who develop a technology to avert the theft of sandalwood trees grown on farmlands in villages.



During a press meet here on Thursday, he assured the farmers, in response to their petition, that the government should support them with some technology like a sim card or a micro-chip for sandalwood trees, for at least those grown by farmers as a cooperative initiative, to check theft, so that the farmers derive the maximum benefit from the trees they nurture.



Stating that sandalwood had been the property of the government, wherever it was grown, till recently, since it was declared Doreswathu (meaning kings property) in the 1760s, Lakshman said, the governments intention is also to make sandalwood growers rich.



But, farmers are left with only roots of the sandalwood trees as miscreants make good with the portion above the ground. So, farmers get only around 10% of what they should actually get. Hence, a representation would be made to the government in this regard, he said.


Voluntary organisations fear that the tobacco industry lobby is working behind the scenes to get the ban on e-cigarettes lifted in Karnataka.





Public health representatives, legal experts and farmers on Thursday came together to urge the Karnataka government to stick to its ban on electronic cigarettes and not yield to the industry lobby.



Dr Upendra Bhojani, assistant director, Institute of Public Health (IPH) said states like Punjab and Maharashtra have also banned the sale of e-cigarettes. He added, It is an old tactic by the industry to create confusion among policymakers through wrong information and use front groups. He also wanted the Karnataka government to bring in a policy on the lines of the one in Punjab, where the tobacco industry is not recognised as a legitimate stakeholder in framing the tobacco control policy. The Karnataka government has taken an important step for public health by banning electronic cigarettes. However, there seem to be under-the-carpet efforts being made by the industry people to force the government to withdraw the ban. They are trying to mislead tobacco farmers who dont have any connection with the e-cigarette ban, said S J Chander, programme officer, Society for Community Health Awareness Research and Action.



Explaining that e-cigarettes, which resemble cigarettes, do not contain tobacco but only nicotine, he said, Industry people are misleading some sections of farmers in the state to oppose the e-cigarette ban. This seems to be an effort to shoot at the government from the shoulders of innocent farmers.



The Karnataka government, on June 15, 2016, through a notification, prohibited the sale (including online), manufacture, distribution, trade, import and advertisement of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, their parts and components in any shape or size of cartridges containing nicotine.
For 25-year-old Fatima, a post-graduate student and a devout Muslim, it was a memorable moment as she got the greatest gift this Eid.





Fatima was among hundreds of Muslim women, who scripted history on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr on Thursday, when they offered namaz (prayer) at the historic Idgah grounds in the state capital.



As the Lucknow Idgah, for the first time, opened its gates for the women, the latter flocked to the grounds in large numbers well before the scheduled time for offering the prayers.



I have come here for the first time to offer prayers...it is a great day for me as well as for all the women of the community...it is a giant step toward treating the womenfolk on equal terms with the men, said Fatima. She said that the decision would also help remove the misconception that women were not equal in Islam, a view that was also supported by the Muslim clerics.



There were many like Fatima in the congregation of women, happiness writ large on their faces. Almost all of them - from the young English-speaking girls to the elderly - felt that the decision to allow women to offer namaz at Idgah was a huge step. And many of the women devotees had arrived at the Idgah from remote corners of the city.



The Idgah management had made special arrangements for the women. They offered prayers inside a huge hall on the Idgah campus.
The BJP central leadership has snubbed its Karnataka unit chief B S Yeddyurappa by dropping his close associates, including MP Shobha Karandlaje, from a list he proposed for restructuring the highest decision making body - the state core committee.





Out of 22 members list sent by Yeddyurappa for approval recently, the partys central leadership pruned it to 12, all men, and retained only two prominent leaders - C M Udasi and Arvind Limbavali - from the Yeddyurappa camp.



Besides Udupi-Chikmagaluru MP Karandlaje, state general secretary N Ravi Kumar, senior leaders B J Puttaswamy, Basavaraj Bommai and C H Vijayshankar were among other Yeddyurappa followers axed from the list. Karandlaje is a general secretary of the partys state unit. She was appointed after Yeddyurappa became the state president.



Ravi Kumar, before moving to the BJP, was an ABVP activist, who is close to Yeddyurappa.



The names approved for the state core committee are: B S Yeddyurappa, Union ministers Ananth Kumar and D V Sadananda Gowda, MLAs Jagadish Shettar, R Ashok, C T Ravi, Arvind Limbavali and Govind Karjol, MLC K S Eshwarappa, Dharwad MP Pralhad Joshi, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, and former minister C M Udasi.



National General Secretary (Organisation) Ram Lal, National Joint General Secretary (Organisation) Santosh, Karnataka in-charge General Secretary Muralidar Rao and State General Secretary (Organisation) B P Arun Kumar will be permanent invitees to the meeting.



The state core committee is supposed to hold its meeting at least once a month and if needed more, said Arun Singh, National General Secretary (headquarters) in-charge Arun Singh, who released the list.



The recent appointment of state office-bearers and presidents of district units has triggered discontent against Yeddyurappa, with several party functionaries under the leadership of Eshwarappa openly questioning the Lingayat leader's unilateral decisions bypassing the core committee.



They also accused Karandlaje of high-handedness in making appointments, which she refuted.



Eshwarappa had held meetings of like-minded leaders recently. He also met party top brass in Delhi and complained against Yeddyurappa, the "high-handedness" of his loyalists in party affairs and prominence given to those from his now defunct organisation Karnataka Janata Party. His grouse is that he has not been appointed president of the Shivamogga unit of the party. Instead, Yeddyurappa chose Rudre Gowda, who contested as the KJP nominee in the last assembly polls.






The Modi government has chosen large-scale farm mechanisation as a tool to fulfil its promise of helping farmers double their agricultural income by 2022.





The Centre believes that substituting human labour on farms with machinery could help farmers save 20-25% on agricultural costs and also boost production by up to 20%.



Only increasing minimum support price and waiving off farm loans will not double farmers income. Farm mechanisation is the key for modernising agriculture sector, Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh said at a conference on innovations in agricultural mechanisation.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to double farmers agricultural income in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, the meagre increase in MSP and ignoring demands for farm loan waivers by the government had led to the opposition questioning Modis seriousness on the issue.



Agriculture Secretary S K Pattanayak said the government was working with the industry to commercialise farmers innovations in farm machinery and make it available at a cheaper price.



With farm sizes shrinking to one hectare per farmer, mechanising small and non-contiguous group of land is against economies of scale, especially in operations such as land preparation and harvesting, the minister said.



As part of the efforts to ensure that farmers get access to farm machinery, the Centre also plans to increase the number of centres for custom hiring of farm equipment.



As many as 1200 custom hiring hubs have been set up across the country for renting out farm machinery to farmers who cannot afford to purchase the same.



New strategies



Earlier, Modi had suggested a seven-point strategy to double farm incomes. The focus areas, according to Modi, could be large investments in irrigation, quality seeds, soil health, cold chain and warehousing to prevent losses, value addition through food processing, creation of a pan-India national market for farm produce, risk mitigation through crop insurance and diversifying into areas like poultry, bee keeping and fisheries.


In a late night development on Wednesday, the state CID arrested two men from Birbhum district of West Bengal for their reported links with the Islamic State.





Both of them were apprehended based on the inputs received from Md Masiuddin Musha, who was arrested on Monday.



Senior officials said, Sheikh Abbasuddin alias Amin and Saddam Hussain alias Sheikh Kalu were arrested from Labhpur in Birbhum on the basis of information received during Mushas interrogation. They were waiting at Ahmedpur station to receive Musha, sources said. Musha was deboarded from Vishwa Bharati Fast Passenger and arrested at Burdwan railway station on late Monday evening.



Officials said Musha was scheduled to meet Kalu and Amin at Labhpur and carry out some operation, details of which remain undisclosed. The police found in Mushas possession a cleaver, an improvised firearm and cartridges. He had arrived the same evening from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, where his cover was a grocery business, and was on his way to his native village in Labhpur.
A prominent city-based Islamic cleric on Thursday dubbed IS anti-Islam and said those connected to it cannot be called Muslims.





The comments came in the backdrop of terror strikes by radical groups in Bangladesh.

Imam of the Aishbagh Eidgah Maulana Rashid Farangi Mahali said some communal leaders were spreading venom against Muslims and demanded that stern action be taken against them. Decrying the militant attacks in Dhaka and Medina, he asserted, IS is an anti-Islam and anti-human outfit. People connected to the IS cannot be called Muslims and terror-related activities are completely anti-Islam.



Three people were killed on Thursday by radical Islamists in a terror strike at the biggest Edin gathering in Bangladeshs Sholakia, nearly a week after the deadly attack on a Dhaka cafe that left 22 people dead.



Multiple attacks were carried out in Saudi Arabia, including one in Medina, on Monday.


Two RTI activists on Thursday approached the High Grounds police to lodge a complaint against the representative and proprietor of Umrah Developers for attempting to bribe Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee.





In the complaint, Jayanth Kumar Hiremath and S Bhaskaran sought action against the representative and Yusuf Sharif, the proprietor of Umrah Developers, for tarnishing the image and dignity of the judiciary.



However, the police did not register any case as they had referred to the CJs name and advised them to approach the court for action.



Two days ago, the chief justice, while hearing a case on Umrah Developers vs Government of Karnataka, had said that a Bengali-speaking person visited his official residence and offered a bribe to get a favourable verdict.


The Defence Ministry may revive the stalled Kaveri engine project with French support with Paris offering technical assistance on the indigenous engine.





The development has come as one of the offsets for the multi-billion dollar contract to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.



The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) folded up its three-decade-old Kaveri gas turbine engine project after spending nearly Rs 2,000 crore as the indigenous engine could not generate adequate thrust required for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. The French experts who examined the Kaveri project felt about 25-30% development work on the engine remains, which can be completed in the next 18 months to make the engine flight worthy by 2018.



Once the engine is ready, then future upgrade of Tejas could have them in their cores rather than buying jet engines from abroad.



Failure of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment, Bangalore, to deliver the Kaveri engine forced the Defence Ministry to pick up 41 US-made GE 404 and 99 GE 414 engines for Tejas.



The Kaveri engine revival may be done by French specialist Safran, which manufactures the M88 engine for Rafale as a part of the offset. Other French majors like Thales, MBDA and Dassault, too, could be a part of the deal, which is being negotiated between the two governments.



A previous attempt by the DRDO to rope in the French company as technical consultant to revive the engine did not work out due to objections from the IAF that felt more time would be lost if the DRDO once again tries the collaboration route after spending two decades with the Russians with no result.




Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday sought a probe into the speeches of Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik.





There has been a growing demand for action against Naik after it emerged that some of the terrorists involved in the Dhaka attack were inspired by the Mumbai-based preacher.

Fadnavis has asked Mumbai Police Commissioner Datta Padsalgikar to submit a report.



Naik, founder of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Peace TV, is currently aborad and is expected to be back in Mumbai on July 10 or 11.



Report



"I have asked the police to conduct an inquiry and submit a report at the earliest," the chief minister said. The probe will scrutinise Naik's speeches, writings, visits and source of funds.



This is not the first time Naik is facing a probe for inflammatory speeches. Earlier in the day, Mumbai-based Raza Academy staged a protest outside the IRF office at Dongri. Following this, security was beefed up at the office. "Terrorism in any form is condemnable and should be seen in the eyes of law, irrespective of caste and creed. Zakir Naik's funding from Saudi Arabia needs to be closely scrutinised. People attached to his organisation need to be questioned to understand his role in the light of the statements about terrorists being inspired by him," academy founder-secretary Mohammed Saeed Noorie said. We have undertaken a protest against Zakir Naik for his inflammatory speeches...what he promotes....this is not the way Islam is taught or spread," he said.



He voiced concern about the spate of terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. "Islam is a religion of peace, it teaches peace. Those who are carrying out terror attacks are not Muslims. Zakir Naik should be banned as his speeches are controversial and inflammatory," Noorie said.




The city police have stepped up investigations into the murder of an elderly couple at their house near Vinayaka Vidya Kendra in Kodigehalli, North Bengaluru recently.



A senior police officer told Deccan Herald, All the three sons are being questioned and we are probing various angles.



The first one is about the involvement of family members who could have committed the murder.



Secondly, Muniyappa had taken loans from several people and one of the lenders might have murdered the couple after a soured deal.



Thirdly, Muniyappa used to negotiate deals for lands under litigation and someone aggrieved might have killed them.



Several people, who were frequently talking to the couple, are being questioned. Pruthvi, one of his sons living in Visakhapatnam, has also come to the city and he is being questioned with the other two sons, added the police.



Muniyappa, 68, and his wife Varalakshmi, 60, were found dead in their house with their throats slit.



Police suspect the incident might have occurred on Sunday and came to light on Tuesday morning.


For the last three years, construction of the railway over-bridge (ROB) at Byappanahalli has been stalled for want of land that was in the possession of Defence ministry.





Half of the bridge was constructed anticipating nod from the Defence ministry. All these years, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) efforts to get the land did not materialise. However, on Thursday the ministry agreed to part with almost two acres at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in the city. In return, the BBMP will hand over 8,200 sq metre-K Park located on a hillock near the Halasuru Lake.



According to a BBMP official, a portion of the K Park is already in the control of Madras Sappers, a unit of the Indian Army, which has taken it on lease from the Palike. The lease is due for renewal this year. But the BBMP has proposed to hand over the entire K Park to the Madras Sappers in exchange of Madras Engineering Group's (MEG) land at Baiyappanahalli.



In all, the state government has agreed to provide at least 400 acres to the Defence Ministry. The Defence Ministry had demanded land equivalent to the guidance value of the land BBMP requires it to part with. Since the Ministry needed a huge piece of land near Bengaluru as well as in other parts of Karnataka, the state government agreed to the demand.



The state government has agreed to provide 400 acres to the Defence Ministry of which 207 acres of BBMP land is near Anekal. Rest of the land will be provided at Hubballi, Belagavi and Sakaleshpur in Hassan district.



A senior BBMP engineer said the Defence Ministrys decision to provide land will hasten the road projects and help minimise traffic bottlenecks to a great extent.We desperately need land at Baiyppanahalli, Old Airport Road, near Jalahalli, for the widening of Subrato Mukherjee Road and for the Ejipura Inner Ring Road, he said.


Suspected Islamists carried out a deadly attack in Bangladesh on Thursday, killing at least three people at a huge prayer rally marking Eid.





This comes days after Islamic State claimed a major attack in Dhaka and warned of more violence.



Authorities said two policemen and a civilian were killed in explosions and gunfire near a prayer ground in the northern Kishoreganj district.



One of the attackers was shot dead and four of his suspected accomplices were arrested after hand bombs were hurled at the police personnel manning a checkpoint just outside the main prayer ground. The prayer gathering in Kishoreganj is by far the biggest such congregation in Bangladesh.



Two policemen, an attacker and a woman who was shot during the (subsequent) gunfight were killed, national police spokesman A K M Shahidur Rahman said.



Nine policemen were also injured. They are critical , he said.

A pistol and a machete were among the weapons recovered from the scene of the attack, close to where 2.5 lakh people had been taking part in a post-Ramzan gathering.



NSG team to visit Dhaka



A team of bomb experts from the National Security Guard (NSG) will help Bangladesh analyse and study the explosions at the Eid prayer gathering and the recent terror attack at a high-end restaurant in Dhaka, reports DHNS.





There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in Dhaka.



Bangladesh has been on heightened alert and many Eid services included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence which has gripped the country.The cleric who led the Kishoreganj prayer, Maolana Farid Uddin Masuod, has been an outspoken critic of a recent wave of attacks by Islamist extremists and he again strongly condemned Thursdays killings. The young men who think they will go to heaven (by carrying out such attacks) are wrong. They will go straight to hell, he told AFP over phone.



Bangladesh has been reeling from dozens of attacks mainly targeting secular activists or religious minorities in the last one year. Many of them have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the al-Qaeda network.



Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government has consistently denied international jihadist networks have any presence in Bangladesh, but has been criticised for failing to tackle a rise in Islamist extremism.



Indias supportIndia pledged every possible support to Bangladesh in its

fight against extremism, DHNS adds fromNewDelhi.



India stands with Bangladesh in its fight against terrorism, radicalism and fundamentalism, President Pranab Mukherjee wrote to the neighbouring countrys Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.




The NDA government has sought to withdraw an appeal filed by the previous UPA regime in the Supreme Court against the 2006 judgment of the Allahabad High Court that had stripped Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) of its minority status.





In an affidavit, the government submitted that it no longer wanted to pursue the matter. The Centre also sought to withdraw all the letters issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development allowing the varsity to reserve 50% seats for Muslims. We (government) have filed an affidavit stating that we will withdraw the appeal, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said. The apex court would consider the affidavit along with the petition filed by AMU, challenging the high court verdict.



Rohatgi maintained that AMU is not a minority institution and cited an apex court verdict of 1967.




The German parliament passed a landmark "no means no" rape law Thursday, broadening the definition of sex crimes and making it easier to deport migrants and refugees who commit them.





After years of anguished discussion on the need for tougher treatment of rape by the German criminal justice system, the new legislation finally came together following a spate of sexual assaults in crowds on New Year's Eve in the western city of Cologne.



Deputies gave a standing ovation as the law passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority, following an emotional debate.



Dubbed the "no means no" law, it explicitly covers cases in which a victim withheld consent but did not physically fight back. It brings what critics call woefully lax legislation into line with that of many other developed countries. The law, entitled "improving the protection of sexual self-determination", also lowers the bar for deporting sex offenders, classifies groping as a sex crime and targets assaults committed by large groups.



Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that there were "unacceptable gaps in protection" against sexual coercion and assault in Germany.



Chancellor Angela Merkel's cabinet signed off on the measures in March after the attacks in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women reported sexual assaults and robberies on New Year's Eve. These were blamed largely on Arab and North African men.



The draft law was toughened again by the ruling left-right coalition last month. Cologne's police chief conceded earlier this year that most culprits may never be caught over the spate of assaults, which ranged from groping to rape and inflamed public debate about a record influx of refugees and migrants.



A first attempt at prosecution in May was thrown out by a court when the alleged victim said she could not identify the defendant as her attacker.



A second trial stemming from the Cologne violence on Thursday saw a 21-year-old Iraqi man given a one-year suspended sentence for kissing and licking the face of a woman against her will. A 26-year-old Tunisian defendant received the same sentence for accessory to sexual assault and attempted sexual assault for another attack in the crowd.



Currently, victims reporting a rape to police must demonstrate not only that they verbally declined sex but also that they resisted their assailant.



The new law, which is set to come into effect in September after passage by the upper house, is intended to cover "the actual situations in which most attacks occur", Maas said.



These include cases in which the victim is taken by surprise, intimidated or threatened with other violence -- for example in an abusive relationship -- or is unconscious. "Other countries implemented this principle of 'no means no' long ago and it is high time that we have this paradigm shift in our own criminal law," lawmaker Carola Reimann of the Social Democrats told the Bundestag.




Residents of East Delhi will no longer have to visit municipal corporation offices and wait in long queues for getting birth and death certificates.



Now, obtaining such documents will be just a click away with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation all set to launch an online facility for issuing birth and death certificates. There will also be a provision to make corrections in the documents sitting at home.

The North and South corporations are likely to follow suit.



Mayor of the East Corporation Satya Sharma said the civic agency is in the last leg of preparations before opening the facility to public.



Once the mechanism is in place, residents can go to the municipal corporations website and create their account. They can obtain birth and death certificates only through their accounts, said Sharma.



There is a minimal one-time fee of Rs 20 to be paid to get a birth and death certificate online, she added.



At present, one has to pay Rs 50 for a birth or death certificate from the corporations office.



The corporation will collect and upload data on births and deaths from all hospitals, both private and government, under its limits. People can access the information using their website account.



An East Delhi Municipal Corporation official said the civic agency will inaugurate the online facility by July-end.



It will be the first municipal corporation to start an online facility for issuing birth and death certificates, said the official. People often approach the municipal corporation complaining about complexities involved in getting such documents. So the civic agency decided to launch an online facility to provide a hassle-free mechanism to residents to obtain birth and death certificates, he added.



He said the East Corporation is mulling a minimal fee for issuing a duplicate certificate. If there are errors in a certificate, they can make corrections by logging on to the website from their account, the official said.



One has to upload the required identity proof like Class X certificate or Aadhaar card, he added.




[Every fucking year. Des] 6 July 2016 (Sea Shepherd Global)  Today, at approximately 1200 local time, a pod of 30-50 pilot whales was slaughtered in the first grindadrap (grind) of the year, on the island of Vioy in the Danish Faroe Islands archipelago. The ordeal began this morning when locals spotted a pod of between 100-150 pilot whales passing by Svinoy. Several boats then drove the pod of whales approximately 11 kilometres to Hvannasund, where the whales were forced to beach, and slaughtered by locals. Faroese media outlets have confirmed between 30-50 pilot whales have been killed. Is it exactly these kinds of atrocities that authorities in Denmark and the Faroe Islands are attempting to cover-up, by refusing Sea Shepherd crews entry to the archipelago, said Sea Shepherd Operation Bloody Fjords Campaign Leader, Geert Vons. And this is exactly the reason why we continue to push the increasing global momentum to end this bloody and brutal practice. In 2015, the international crew of the Sea Shepherd ship, Bob Barker, was unlawfully denied entry to the Faroe Islands by Denmark. In 2016, a new law was passed in the Faroe Islands which requires that all Sea Shepherd volunteers must have a visa to enter the archipelago. As a result, Sea Shepherd has modified its tactics in the battle against the grindadrap. The organisations 2016 Pilot Whale Defense Campaign, Operation Bloody Fjords, sees Sea Shepherd take its battle against the grindadrap to the heart of the Faroese and Danish institutions that continue to promote this outdated practice. [more]
Vodafone India is mulling an acquisition of Telenors Indian operations in an attempt to increase its spectrum holding.

As the countrys second largest operator, Vodafone is looking to compete more effectively with market leader Bharti Airtel and newcomer Reliance Jio, which is lining up the launch of a pan-Indian LTE network. Telenors Indian unit has 54 million connections across six telecom circles.

Vodafone, which has a market share of 19%, is reportedly the forerunner to acquire Telenors operation; it could acquire the unit fully or form a spectrum trading/sharing agreement. Vodafones primary interest in Telenor is the latters 1.8GHz spectrum, which can be used to offer 4G services. Telenor, which has a market share of 5%, holds spectrum in this band across seven telecom circles; the holding is valued at around $1 billion. Vodafone meanwhile only holds 4G-capable spectrum in five telecom circles.

Vodafone will have the opportunity to acquire further spectrum in the countrys upcoming auctions in September, which is expected to be the largest ever in India. Airwaves on the block will include the highly desirable 700MHz frequency, along with spectrum in the 800, 900, 1800, 2100, 2300 and 2500MHz bands.

Along with Jio, Bharti also holds 4G spectrum across India, while third-placed Idea Cellular has 4G-capable spectrum in ten regions. The market leader has made efforts to bolster its 4G reach by signing spectrum deals over the past year, and currently offers 4G services to around 400 towns and cities over 15 regions.

While Jio has begun offering LTE services to the public, it has not fully launched its network. Indeed, the official launch of its 4G network has been pushed back several times over the past six months, although certain employees of its parent firm Reliance Industries have been able to use the network since the end of last year.
Indian company Ringing Bells launched the cheapest LED TV in the Indian market today. The Freedom TV will cost Rs. 9990 and will be sold from August 15 onwards. It is a 31.5 inch LED TV and the company claims it has 3000:1 contrast ratio with 1366x768 pixel resolution.

Further, Ringing Bells also showcased the final versions of the hallowed Freedom 251 smartphone and said that deliveries of the same will start from tomorrow. The company says it has placed an order for 2 lakh units of the phone, and will be delivering 5000 units in the first phase.

Ringing Bells also announced four new feature phones and two new smartphones in the country. The feature phones are called Hit, King, Boss and Raja, while the smartphones are named Elegant and Eegance. It added that all its feature phones will come with 180 days replacement guarantee, and smartphones with 30 days replacement guarantee.

According to Ringing Bells, as much as 95% of profits from sales of its devices (phones or TVs) will be given to charity. Mohit Goel, CEO, Ringing Bells, said that hell use all remaining profits to ensure that its Freedom 251 remains in the market. Goel said Ringing Bells is confident that it'll be able to meet the demand of consumers with the Freedom TV.

The company has struck a deal with Hike, and will be pre-loading the app on its phone, along with many other apps.

According to Ashok Chadha, President, Ringing Bells, the current losses on the Freedom 251 will be covered by profits on other products. Chadha clarified that the companys cost for the Freedom 251 is around Rs. 1100-1200. I know perception is reality, and we placed reality in front of you, Chadha added, responding to criticism about its business.

Quick Fire Info from Ringing Bells:

I know perception is reality, and we placed reality in front of you, Chadha added, responding to criticism about its business and the way things have been handled by the company. Speaking about availability in other languages, Chadha said the Freedom 251 will be reasonable when it comes to vernaculars, and the company is working on the same. The emphasis currently, is on Uttar Pradesh.

Ringing Bells is currently assembling products in India, but says 60% of the components of the Freedom 251 are already being produced in India by various parties, and Ringing Bells hopes to produce 90% of the device here.

The Freedom 251, according to Goel, is being manufactured in Haridwar. Goel, though, refused to mention the name of the company thr is handling the manufacturing. He said the names can be found on the power bank, and users can check it on the same.
Chinese technology company says 16 Samsung products infringe their patent rights, according to reports

Chinese technology firm Huawei Technologies have filed a patent case against South Korean rival Samsung to the tune of $12mn, according to news reports.

The International Business Times has reported that the telecommunications manufacturer is demanding 80mn yuan as compensation for violating patents on a variety of smartphones, including the production of the Samsung Galaxy S7.

The patent refers to mobile terminal and display-related processing methods, and the Samsung models infringing the patent were made in Samsung's Huizhou and Tianjin factories, alleged Huawei.

The patent refers to mobile terminal and display-related processing methods

In May of this year, the Chinese company said that they had brought a case against Samsung in both the United States and China, requesting compensation for patents concerning cellular communications technology, reportedly the first challenge against the South Korean firm by a Chinese rival.

Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court spokesman Wang Zhiwei disclosed to Reuters the court had accepted the case but did not provide further details such as the date of when it was filed.
Production fell 1.3% from the previous month when it increased a revised 0.5%, the Economy Ministry said. It marked the biggest decline in 21 months and was worse than forecasts for zero growth.

The report highlights the challenges German manufacturers are tackling as the commodities sector continues to come under pressure and the global economy slows. Britain's vote to leave the European Union on 23 June could further hurt the German economy as a weaker pound to euro weakens demand for exports.

"Mays sharp fall in German industrial production adds to the evidence that GDP growth in the regions largest economy slowed sharply in the second quarter," said Capital Economics. "And the recovery looks likely to ease further in the second half of the year."
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Ohio's 6-week abortion ban was a fringe idea. Heres how it became law

Ohio led a slow, determined push to steadily weaken and then nearly eliminate abortion rights. It's indicative of what has happened around the U.S.
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BETHEL, Alaska (AP)  Bethel Region High School will receive $7 million in state funding for a new kitchen and cafeteria.

KYUK-AM reports that the school currently does not have a cafeteria; at lunch the gym is split in half so some students can eat while others have class. Other students wander the school's halls during their lunch hour.





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$100M Noah's ark attraction opening today in Kentucky was partly built by Amish carpenters

Project backers say the ark is based on dimensions in the Bible.



By DYLAN LOVAN

Associated Press

Photos from Answers in Genesis [enlarge] A preview was held Tuesday for thousands of ark supporters. WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky.  A 510-foot-long, $100 million Noah's ark attraction built by Christians who say the biblical story really happened is ready to open in Kentucky this week.



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Up to five companies will be selected to do the work over five years: construction, renovation, demolition and repairs.



MIAMI (AP)  The U.S. Navy will spend $240 million to construct new buildings and repair existing ones at its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a contracting announcement published Wednesday.

Up to five companies will be selected to do the work over the next five years, the announcement said. It described the projects in general terms as new construction, renovation, demolition and repairs but did not provide details.





. . .
Court orders Montana resort founder to be freed from jail

Medina resident Tim Blixseth is out of jail, but his appeal is still before the appeals court.



By MATT VOLZ

Associated Press

HELENA, Mont.  A federal appeals court on Wednesday ordered the release of the founder of a Montana club for the ultra-rich, who has spent the last 14 months in jail for failing to account for the money from the sale of a resort in Mexico.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth's emergency motion for release pending his appeal. The two judges who wrote the order, Alex Kozinski and Richard Paez, did not explain their decision.

Blixseth was released Wednesday afternoon, Cascade County sheriff's officials said.

Blixseth's attorneys had tried and failed multiple times before Wednesday to free him from the Cascade County Detention Center, where U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon sent him in April 2015 on a civil contempt order.

Haddon jailed the Medina, Washington, resident for not revealing what happened to millions of dollars from the sale of the resort in Mexico, which was made during the Montana mountain resort's bankruptcy proceedings. Haddon had said jailing Blixseth would coerce him to fully account for the $13 million he received from the 2011 sale of the Tamarindo resort.

Blixseth's attorneys have said he has done everything he can to cooperate with the judge's orders. His attorneys reached a $3 million settlement with the club's creditors in April that closed the Mexican resort case.

Blixseth attorney Becky James wrote in the most recent appeal for Blixseth's release that keeping him in jail now that the Tamarindo case is over amounts to judicial abuse of power.

Mr. Blixseth's continued incarceration can only be viewed as punishment, for which he has been afforded no due process protections, his attorney, Becky James, said in the most recent appeal.

Blixseth is out of jail, but his appeal is still before the appeals court. He will argue that the documents he produced was a full accounting of the Tamarindo sale and that Haddon's civil contempt order was not appropriate, James said Wednesday.

Kevin Barrett, the attorney for the Yellowstone Club's creditors, did not return calls for comment. Barrett had opposed Blixseth's release, saying the former billionaire had chosen to appeal Haddon's rulings rather than comply with the orders.

Courts have previously ruled that Blixseth fraudulently transferred a $286 million loan to the club for his personal use. The Yellowstone Club's creditors are seeking more than $250 million from Blixseth.

The private ski and golf resort, whose members include Bill Gates and former Vice President Dan Quayle, emerged from bankruptcy under new ownership in 2009.

Blixseth originally bought the Mexican resort known as Tamarindo for $40 million. He sold it in 2011 for $13 million in violation of a bankruptcy judge's order not to sell assets while the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy case was pending.

The proceeds from its sale are gone, his attorneys have said.




Online training designed to educate Airmen about the new Blended Retirement System, the Defense Department system with changes on the current military retirement system, is now available via Joint Knowledge Online course number P-US1330. The course is also available to those without a Common Access Card -- to include family members -- via an alternate website The BRS was enacted into law in the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, and will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018. All currently serving members are grandfathered into the current military retirement system. However, those with fewer than 12 years of service as of Dec. 31, 2017, or Air Force Reserve component members with fewer than 4,320 retirement points may choose to opt in to the BRS during the designated opt-in period from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018.The BRS is a major change for our Airmen, said Brig. Gen. Brian Kelly, the Military Force Management Policy director. Although the majority of Airmen serving today will not fall under BRS, it is important for all Airmen, either as leaders today, or as leaders tomorrow, to understand the changes that will impact Airmen in the future.The BRS Leader Training is a 30-minute course designed to provide basic familiarity with the key components of the upcoming retirement system and the timeline for implementation. It is designed primarily for Air Force leaders at all levels, but is also open to all Airmen and others who wish to learn more about BRS.Education is key in providing Airmen the information they need in order to make informed decisions about the BRS, Kelly said. The Defense Department is on track to provide three additional courses with more detailed information within the next 18 months.An opt-in course is targeted at those eligible to opt into the new system. This course will provide eligible active and reserve component members an understanding of both the current and new systems. The course will be available in January 2017.A train the trainer course for personal financial managers, counselors and retirement services officers is targeted at those experts who serve in an advisory role to commanders, Airmen and their families. This course should be ready by fall of 2016.A new accessions course targets individuals who enter military service on or after Jan. 1, 2018. It is intended to provide those members who enter service under the BRS an understanding of their blended retirement benefits and personal options.The Air Force is taking a comprehensive approach to BRS education. Online courses are designed to provide basic knowledge and understanding, Kelly emphasized. In addition to the aforementioned courses, Airmen will receive in-person education at various points in their career, starting in basic training, and professional counseling will also be available.To learn more about the Blended Retirement System, visit militarypay.defense.gov
Security software firm Avast to buy AVG Technologies for $1.3 bn

Avast, backed by private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners, has offered to pay $25 per share, a premium of 33 per cent over AVG's yesterday closing price.

Private-equity firm TA Associates, AVG's biggest shareholder with a 13-per cent stake, has agreed to tender its shares to the transaction.

Avast, based in Prague, expects to fund the acquisition using cash on hand and debt financing.



Credit Suisse Group AG, Jefferies and UBS AG will provide $1.69 billion in financing, while Avast has contributed $150 million in equity investment.

Both companies are industry pioneers founded in the Czech Republic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and later expanded internationally in the 2000s.

Initially known as Grisoft, AVG has grown to become one of the biggest brands in desktop and mobile security apps.

It was founded in 1991 and listed in 2012; the Amsterdam-based company has grown through acquisitions, including the 2006 purchase of Ewido Networks, Exploit Prevention Labs in 2007 and Sana Security in 2009.

It also acquired mobile-security firm Location Labs in 2014 and Norwegian software maker Norman Safeground.

Founded out of Prague in 1988, Avast has now become one of the largest online security companies, and control more than a fifth of the global antivirus software market.

Avast said that it is pursuing this acquisition to gain scale, technological depth and geographical breadth and serve customers with more advanced security offerings in the core business and new innovations in emerging markets, such as security for IoT devices.

Combining Avast's and AVG's users, the company will have a network of more than 400 million endpoints, of which 160 million are mobile.

"We are in a rapidly changing industry, and this acquisition gives us the breadth and technological depth to be the security provider of choice for our current and future customers," said Vince Steckler, CEO of Avast Software.

"We believe that joining forces with Avast, a private company with significant resources, fully supports our growth objectives and represents the best interests of our stockholders," said Gary Kovacs, CEO, AVG.

"As the definition of online security continues to shift from being device-centric, to being concerned with devices, data and people, we believe the combined company, with the strengthened value proposition, will emerge as a leader in this growing market," he added.


Cllr. John ODonnell failed to make the first two payments of a settlement in a civil case on time, a court has heard.

Cllr O'Donnell agreed on March 2 at the same court to begin making weekly payments of 100 to a woman he injured in a car accident 16 years ago.

Petra Kucklick, a German native from Mill Cottage, Rooskey, Creeslough, sued ODonnell for an outstanding 33,000 debt from a personal injury claim.

She was awarded the money in 2008 but Cllr O'Donnell had stopped making payments.

After a number of cases earlier this year Cllr O'Donnell agreed to begin payments again.

However Judge Paul Kelly was told today by Ms Kucklick's barrister Laura O'Reilly that the independent politician from Kilmacrennan had missed the first two payments in April.

This was only settled this morning by cheque she said.

She also complained that although payments had to be made each Friday, these were not arriving in Ms Kucklick's bank account until the following Monday.

However solicitor Kevin McElhinney, representing Cllr O'Donnell, said the re-entry of the case was an attempt to embarrass his client.

"My client has met all his commitments in full and has been complying with the order," said the solicitor.

"This case is an attempt to further ridicule and embarrass my client."

He also objected to an application to have payments made earlier each week.

Mr McElhinney said Cllr O'Donnell had set up a standing order each Friday as he was paid on that day each week and any delay between the money leaving his account and arriving in Ms Kucklick's account was a matter for the banks.

He said changing payments to a Wednesday or a Thursday wouldn't suit Cllr O'Donnell as this was before he received his wages.

Judge Kelly agreed and said he would not change the payment date.

However he awarded costs to Ms Kucklick for today's hearing as Cllr O'Donnell had missed the first two payments, saying the politician had been in court in March and knew the dates on which payments had to begin in April.
Rossanos hair and beauty salons has, for the second time in three years, qualified to represent Ireland at the Alternative Hair Show in the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Rossanos have once again proved themselves as true industry leaders and an elevating brand, with Sligo salon Manager Marese Sweeney winning the Visionary Award Ireland 2016 at the Mansion House in Dublin.

Marese will represent Rossanos at the Alternative Hair Show in the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 2016.

Rossanos was internationally recognised as industry leaders at the Alternative Hair Show 2014 when Donegal man and business owner Rossa Danagher, was crowned overall winner at the global event.

Marese Sweeney said, To win this award was just brilliant. I was astonished. I was there with Rossa in 2014 when he won, so its just unbelievable that Ive got there now too.

Rossa Danagher said, In the hairdressing industry the Visionary Award is a test of creativity, fashion and trend. To compete at this level is a great experience.

The Rossanos Group is in operation since 1999 and is currently located in Sligo, Ballyshannon and Donegal Town.
The 39th Ballyshannon Folk and Traditional Music Festival is an enduring, wonderful asset to the town of Ballyshannon and its environs, Donegal Person of the Year, Deirdre McGlone said when she officially launched the event last week.

Speaking in the Abbey Arts Centre last Thursday night Ms McGlone, recently returned from promotional work in the USA for Harveys Point Hotel and the Donegal Association, said the festival was known worldwide and had a fantastic reputation for wonderful music and song but, she added, was also a much loved event because of the wonderful welcome offered to all.

Ms McGlone, who received her secondary education in Ballyshannon, said she was delighted to be back home and was honoured to be asked to launch the festival.

The festival runs in the Abbey Arts Centre, from July 28th to July 31st. The launch night on July 28th will also see local group Erdini launch their much awaited EP and based only on the evidence of their live set last Thursday night where they performed, the Thursday opening night will be a must attend event also.

On that night, Barry Britton who has yet again produced a masterpiece for the festival poster will, as usual, launch an exhibition of his work.

Other speakers last Thursday night at the launch included the new mayor of the Donegal County Council Municipal District, Cllr Niamh Kennedy, making her maiden speech in that role, who noted how the Ballyshannon Folk & Traditional Music Festival, the longest running Folk & Traditional Music Festival in Ireland has, since 1978, hosted all of the great names from the Irish folk and trad scene since the heady days of the late 1970's and continues today to offer itself as a vital platform for emerging folk and traditional music talent.

Through the years the festival has worked as a ticker tape of huge names in the Irish music scene, a veritable who's who with Planxty, Altan, Matt Molloy, Paul Brady, 4 Men and a Dog, Maura O'Connell, Sean and Dolores Keane, The Black sisters, Mary and Frances (who returns this year with Ciaran Goss on the Sunday night), Finbar Furey, 'The Eleanors' - Shanley and McEvoy (eleanor also returns on Friday night as part of the homage to Leitrim music and musicians) - all stepping up to microphone in the famous Market Yard Marquee, or in more recent years in the Abbey Centre 'at the top of the town', she said.

MC for the launch evening John Meehan, linked up via Skype with Ciaran Goss who, along with Frances Black, makes a welcome return to the festival. Goss spoke of happy days playing in Ballyshannon and wittily name checked Sean Ogs as a venue and its then owner Sean Og Kane for special mention.

Martina Bromley from Failte Ireland spoke of the importance the festival has as an immediately recognised brand and pledged support from Failte Ireland to what she said was one of the highlights of the summer calendar in the north west.

Chairman of the festival Eunan Doyle thanked all those who attended and in particular Erdini and the Bel Canto choir group who enthralled the audience with brilliant performances.

The headline act for this years festival is Ralph McTell.

For more information on the festival see www.ballyshannonfolkfestival.com
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.
Dundalk Youth Centre, based at Roden Place Dundalk, is a place where young people are welcomed and encouraged to express their creativity through the arts. And thats exactly what they have been doing.

A team of these very talented young people have just made a very impressive film about a young persons success in giving up smoking.

Ciggie and Me is the title of the film and it has been submitted for the Irish Cancer Societys X-HALE Youth Awards. They have had huge public support because the number of votes added up for each entry consists of the number of times it was viewed on YouTube.

X-HALE is an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society which aims to empower young people to tackle smoking in their communities and raise awareness about the dangers of smoking among their peers.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Lighthouse Cinema Dublin tomorrow (Wednesday) so by the time you read this, they could very well be the national winners.

This will be in the finale of months of hard work by youth groups nationwide who have prepared short films and projects to encourage young people to be smoke free.

The entries went out live at www.cancer.ie/xhale2016 and the one with the most views will win the Online Award as well as a Go Pro camera for their group.

The director of Ciggie and Me is Charles Hendry and the film was produced by Stacey McVeigh and Kitty Colbert.

The camerman is Ciaran Hearty and the cast is: Ciggi played Josh Challoner, Sonia played by Sonia McKeown, the Doctor by Caoimhe Kerley, Best friend by Chloe Gernon, two innocent fellas by Ryan Sherry and Shane Kerr, and the new boyfriend by Cian McGuinness.

The group wrote the script themselves and then did the filming and editing.

Sarah Chadwick, Cancer Prevention Officer at the Irish Cancer Society has been very impressed with the production.

We are so proud of everything that the young people from Dundalk Youth Centre have achieved, she said.

They have educated themselves about smoking, learned new skills, and worked together to create a piece of work that will inform and inspire other young people across Ireland and beyond.

They are leading the way in the movement towards a tobacco free society and improving the health of their local communities.

We commend their commitment to establishing Irelands first smoke free generation. We are asking the public to get behind their local group or favourite entry by watching and sharing the X-HALE 2016 playlist.

This is the sixth year of the X-HALE Youth Awards and smoking rates among young people continue to decline.

This year, 33 youth groups from around the country took part in the initiative.

And the entries submitted show that young people truly understand the dangers of smoking and the power of the tobacco industry.

The Dundalk Youth Centre has produced what hopefully will be a winner for these young people have come together to share their skills and give imaginative, witty and entertaining performances. They have shown a real commitment.

X-HALE (which stands for Xing out Harmful and Lethal Effects) has a been a hugely successful Irish Cancer Society initiative and has really succeeded in preventing young people from smoking.

According to research, about eight per cent of young people under 18 in Ireland smoke.

Through X-HALE, the Irish Cancer Society invites young people and those working with young people to join them in working towards their goal of reducing the number of young people in Ireland smoking today.

And there is no doubt that Dundalk Youth Centre have made a real contribution to this campaign with a creative and inspiring film which will take the l award it deserves.

For further information on X-HALE and to watch the entries visit www.cancer.ie/xhale2016 . Follow the X-HALE conversation using the #TheXGeneration or go to the Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/XHaleYouthAwards or the Tumblr blog www.thexgenerationxhale.tumblr.com
The first anniversary Mass in memory of Breda Geraghty (nee Flanagan) Kilsaran Castlebellingham, formerly The Four Gates Salterstown, will take place at St Marys Church Kilsaran this Friday 8 July at 7.30pm.

There was great sadness at Bredas passing last July. Breda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and fought the illness with courage, fortitude and dignity, and returned to full health after treatment, so her death was a great shock to her family, many friends and neighbours.

During those years, in her campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer, she raised over 10,000 for the Oncology Unit at Lourdes Hospital.

This was the the proceeds of a Madhatters Tea Party fundraiser. The funds were handed over to Dr Bryan Hennessy, consultant, and staff nurses at the Lourdes.

Breda was a native of Monasterboice and trained as an interior designer. She worked as a design consultant with Reilly Interiors, Eddies Interiors, Murtagh Interiors and Wogans Dunleer.

She provided an indispensable service, visiting peoples homes and advising in all areas of decor. Indeed her guidance was invaluable to her husband, Anthony, in his painting and decorating business.

Breda enjoyed life to the full. She travelled extensively throughout Ireland, America, Australia, often in the company of her dear friend Marie. She touched everyone who met her with her sense of fun and her love of life. She was seldom parted from her trusty camera on these trips and built up a pictorial archive of her adventures.

Naturally, life changed considerably when Breda and Anthony met and married. But she remained staunch in her past friendships, often having her lifelong friends visit her home.

And then came the shock diagnosis. But she faced this with courage and was undeterred. She took on the task of raising awareness of breast cancer and raised over 10,000, which was presented to the Oncology Unit at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

She spoke on radio of the need to support this worthy cause.

She was filled with admiration for the doctors and nurses who helped her through the difficult days. During this time she referred to Anthony as her Rock.

Her family and friends walked the difficult path with her, encouraging and supporting her all the way.

Breda lived a life of strong faith and often expressed the thought that she had no fear of dying.

Her family and friends can be sure that as she enjoys the reward of a life well lived.

But they can take heart at the thought that they were granted the privilege of having been touched by the life of a good and loyal person, one who remains forever in their hearts.

Bredas husband Anthony would like to thank the many people who supported him since Bredas passing.

There is not a week goes by that Im not invited to visit people, he said, and all this kindness has been truly appreciated.

He has also thanked the clergy who attended Bredas funeral:

Fr Aidan Murphy PP Termonfeckin, Fr Tom Daly Togher, Fr Phelim McKeown Kilsaran, Fr Sean Quinn Dillonstown, Fr Malachy Flanagan (cousin) Cork, Fr Bill Mulvihill PP Monasterboice, Fr Michael Hickey, Monasterboice, Fr Derek OConnell, St Marys Drumcar, Fr Mark OHagan Adm. Dundalk, Fr Gareth Campbell, Loughingall, Fr Peter Murphy PP Ardee, Fr John OLeary Ardee.

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DVD Talk Interview: Paul Feig

After nearly 20 years in development hell, a brand new Ghostbusters movie is finally here to save the world this summer, and Paul Feig, director of the smash hits Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Spy, has brought along his previous leading ladies Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig, as well as current "SNL" breakout stars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. DVDTalk had the opportunity to talk to the filmmaker over the telephone for a brief chat about improvisation, advertising, and an early scoop on how much more Ghostbusters he'll be scaring up on a future Blu-ray and DVD release.

DVDTalk: You have a reputation for making very improv-heavy comedies. When you are hearing or writing improv, what is most important to you: the concept of the character that you wrote and developed with the actor, the tone of the film as a whole that you have in your head, or just whether or not it gets a laugh when you finally test the movie?

Paul Feig: Really, it's hard to separate out all those elements. They're all really part and parcel of everything. We always just try to write the strongest possible script we can so if we get to the set and it's just a day that everyone goes brain dead, we still get a good scene. Basically, the script is a blueprint for the emotional arcs of the story, and obviously the plot, but also the jokes, and tone, which allows us, when we get to the set, to start shooting what we wrote, but for me, I very quickly start to let people change stuff, and I start changing things. On this one, when I'm working with Katie Dippold, she's always on set with me, writing jokes and handing them to me on a Post-It pad, and throwing stuff in.

We try everything, really. I always try to guard the tone. If somebody has a specific idea, yeah I'll let them do it, but...when we were doing Spy, we had one scene where Rose Byrne's character is holding Melissa hostage, she's tied to a chair. That's a hard scene anyway, because the tone had to be so razor's edge on it. We did it a couple times, and then I pitched a couple of jokes, and everybody started getting very silly with what they were doing, having fun, but suddenly I went, "Oh my God." It was chilling. "Boy, If we slip into this tone at all, we suddenly become a spoof of a spy movie." So, very quickly, "All right, everybody stop, let's not do that." But then, once we found the tone of the scene and everybody was in it, I was actually able to re-feed some of those jokes back in, and they ended up working, because they were being played very seriously.

That's all I ever ask of any actors, is to just treat it dead serious, even if it's funny and goofy. If the circumstance and the situation is absurd, it's all about how the characters face it, and they can be extreme characters, but they have to be real characters. We all know real people who are very extreme, who if you wrote them in a movie, people would go, "Nah, come on, that's over-the-top," and you go, "No, this is this person's personality!" But it has to come from the actors believing in who they are and what they're doing, and not looking down on that person that they're playing, and not having contempt for that person. Even if you're playing a villain, even a bad guy has his reasons for why he's doing what he's doing. Whether they're terrible or not, to him or her, they're saying, "this makes sense to me, and I'm doing this for a good reason."

So, it's really just managing the three-ring circus and getting everything. The editing room is where we sort it all out. But I also work with people who don't go off the rails. It's the difference between working with professional comedy people versus actors who don't normally do comedy. Some can get the tone and play it straight. With Statham, he just got immediately, "Oh, just play this dead straight, don't try to be funny." If you get people who try to be funny, that's usually just deadly, which is why you have to be careful what non-comedy people you work with that you want to turn into comedy people. It becomes clear very quickly who knows how to face it the right way and who doesn't.

DVDTalk: In Roger Ebert's review of Ghostbusters, he points out that the nature of special effects, which is very technical, and the nature of comedy, which needs to feel improvisational, are kind of in opposition to each other. This is your first big special effects comedy. I know that you had real actors on set playing the ghosts so your cast had something to bounce off of, but on the whole, did you find balancing those two things more complicated than you thought it'd be going in?

Feig: I was prepared to have to balance them, because I really study movies that go off the rails. What you see in a lot of these tentpoles, even if they're not comedies, and most of them aren't, is that the effects and the mayhem overtake the filmmaker, and they get enamored with that. So, you see all this of stuff where you say, "I know this makes sense to somebody, but I'm just watching a bunch of mayhem." That makes for movies that still make a ton of money, but when you're doing comedy especially, if people aren't invested in the characters, in their emotions, and their arcs, and their story, then you really fall apart, because nobody shows up to a comedy to be wowed by long action sequences that are full of CGI. They're expecting laughs. But I like that, because it keeps you from going off the rails.

It starts with the writing, like, "Okay, these scenes are our big setpiece scenes, but we have to figure out what's funny, what's the core of this?" If you're writing a comedy like this, you can't just say, "They fight!" or "They have a battle!" because then you are inviting mayhem. It has to be very moment to moment: this happens, which leads to this joke, which leads to this character moment, and then you design your effects and get everything ready for that. You have to be very aware of that, because there has to be an internal comedic logic or emotional logic to any of that stuff. But I don't think that only applies to comedy, and that's why there are so many tentpoles where you go, "Well, that looked cool, but I don't really know who I was rooting for!"

DVDTalk: You have a sequence that's in several of the television commercials where the Ghostbusters fight haunted parade balloons. I listen to the Interdimensional Crossrip podcast with Chris Stewart and Troy Bejnamin. They were talking about how this was a level in The Video Game that didn't get completed, and that it might've been a Harold Ramis idea that was unused from the original movie. I was wondering if you knew anything about that, if that in there for that reason...

Feig: No, no idea! I didn't realize that. Our third act is basically, at one point, the bad guy turns New York into its old, worst version, when it was more dangerous, so it's not quote-unquote "friendly corporate New York of today", but the rougher New York. So, the team goes through the streets of Manhattan, they encounter different eras, and we were doing research on old New York and found all these photos of these parade balloons from the 1920s which were just the creepiest things you'd ever seen in your life! "Oh, my God, we've got to use those!" So no, it did not come out of Ghostbusters lore. This is the first time hearing of that. I guess I should've said yes! I should've taken credit for it! It was just an idea that we thought could be cool and visually stunning.

DVDTalk: That parade balloon sequence is all over the commercials. In a recent podcast interview you talked about the marketing and how you'd prefer for it all to be a surprise. Are you completely out of control of that process or do you have some say it what goes in?

Feig: Well, it's a little like trying to hold back the ocean! Everybody gets excited in the marketing department, because there's stuff that just plays with an audience, from our test screenings, jokes and sequences that people just go crazy for, so obviously that's what everybody wants to put in the advertising, but I say, "Well, that's stuff that was really fun because nobody knew it was coming."

Look, I have a never-ending love-hate relationship with how a movie is promoted, because obviously you've gotta get people to show up, so you want to show off the cool stuff they're going to see, but at the same time, I'd rather people have a pure experience and not know anything that's coming. It's the downside of living in the internet age. People just consume so much and want so much, and I always feel like I'd rather...you know, if you leave a bunch of kids, if you let 'em loose in a candy store, they'd eat every piece of candy and pass out. It'd be nice to go, "Yeah, I know you guys all want this, but let's hold off. Come see the movie."

That's how I, as a guy growing up...Im now 53 years old, and when I saw the original Ghostbusters, I didn't know anything about it, other than we'd kind of seen a trailer that didn't really show much of anything. We just knew the guys we loved were in the movie, and it was Ivan Reitman, we'd loved all his movies, and we knew it was a comedy, and that was it. So, sitting down in that movie, from frame one, it was like, "Holy shit, what's happening?" You were just kind of blown away by everything, and I miss that!

I think it's a huge bummer that audiences don't get to have that kind of experience anymore, if they're at all on the internet. You have to actively avoid things, avoid the internet, and avoid advertising to have that experience. With social media, God forbid you don't watch "Game of Thrones" as it airing, because then it's just like, "Oh, fuck!" It happens to me constantly, you're scrolling, and you go, "What's that picture? Oh, God damn it. Now I just saw the surprise from the end of the episode." If it was up to me, we wouldn't even advertise, but you gotta get people to show up.

DVDTalk: You're working on a sequel to Spy, and I know Katie Dippold wrote a sequel to The Heat that's in development, and Ghostbusters might get a sequel --

Feig: It's not in development. The Heat sequel's not in development, it's a great script that's...sitting, waiting.

DVDTalk: Comedy sequels are really hard. Do you have a philosophy on how you approach these movies to avoid the traps that comedy sequels usually fall into?

Feig: Yeah, well if you notice, I've kind of avoided doing them! The problem with a sequel is, what's great about the first film is that it is an origin story. It's so fun to see something come from nothing, to see a circumstance grow, and what happens when you do a movie right, and it works, it means you have done a complete arc with this character or characters, so at the end they are much better off, or complete, or in a place where you wanted them to be at the beginning of the movie. So, when you do a sequel, then you're suddenly forced to either knock them back down, which sort of invalidates the first movie, or you have to find a situation where they either get a new problem, or a new thing they have to overcome. That's why they're so hard to do, you have less investment in someone who's already kind of got it together, and at the end of most movies, those lead characters have it together. You'd have to do a thing where, suddenly, someone who is a hero at the end of the first movie, you come back and they've fallen from grace, which I always think is tough to pull off, because it's like, "Well, they saved the world, so why are they now not liked anymore?" Or now they're going into a situation that's much more extreme that's going to give them a new challenge to themselves as human beings, where they're going to have to overcome something that wasn't solved by the original.

Genres are a little better for it. For instance, if we were to do another Spy, it's another mission, but at the same time, it's not just about the mission. Spy was fun because it's about this woman coming out of her shell, and rediscovering who she was. It's a tough balance to hit. But The Heat sequel that Katie wrote is really great. Just...Sandra Bullock has to want to do the movie!

DVDTalk: Wrapping up: given your previous three films all have extended cuts on home video, it might be too early to answer, but are there any plans to do a long cut of Ghostbusters?

Feig: We are literally, as I talk to you, I'm on lunch break from doing our extended cut of the movie. There will be one, and it will be a good 15 to 17 minutes longer than the theatrical feature.

DVDTalk: Finally, for my colleague Francis Rizzo III, who works at DVDTalk, any update on the hunt for a new home for "Other Space", and is there a Blu-ray in the works?

Feig: Oh, well, thank you so much for caring about it! All still in the works, all still trying to figure it all out. I desperately want to do another season. I'm so proud of that show. We're trying to figure out what kind of afterlife the first season has right now, whether we are going to put it out on DVD or Blu-ray, or if we're just going to try and post it...you know, it's been geoblocked all over the world, so that's the bummer for me. When I travel around the world, I go, "God, there's so many people who would really like this show." So I'm just trying to figure out, either we can just put it out for the world to see, or put it out on Blu-ray. But yeah, I love that show, and if we can get another season, I would be so happy.

Ghostbusters opens in US theaters on July 15th.
As Australia transitions to being a cashless country, retailers are being urged to stay ahead of the curve and embrace new payment innovations. Those who dont futureproof their businesses, but instead restrict the ability of consumers to make electronic payments, are not only missing out on sizeable business but risk becoming obsolete.

Garry Duursma, Head, Market Development and Innovation for MasterCard, recently spoke with Dynamic Business about the need for retailers, including small brick-and-mortar businesses, to meet consumer expectations around electronic payments and gain the efficiencies of embracing the Zero Dollar Minimum.

Remove restrictions to boost patronage

In April, MasterCard, together with a number of Australias banks and payment providers, launched the Zero Dollar Minimum campaign, which encourages retailers to give customers the freedom to make restriction-free cashless transactions.

The campaign draws on research commissioned by MasterCard involving a sample of 1,010 Australian cardholders. Conducted by research firm Ipsos in January, the study revealed that 84% of cardholders resent restrictions such as having to pay fees for small transactions (i.e. purchases under $10) and more than 60% prefer to pay for small transactions with their card, rather than cash, and find it frustrating when this option isnt available.

Critically, two in five cardholders (44%) said they actively avoided shops that dont permit the use of cards for low-value transactions. Young consumers, in particular, are making their frustration felt when a shop insists on a minimum spend requirement  54% of participants aged 18 to 34 are voting with their feet and taking their patronage elsewhere.

According to MasterCard, the findings suggest retailers that impose a minimum spend requirement on card users are missing out on two-fifths of their potential patronage. In other words, the stand to gain approximately 40% more business if they accept cards for transactions of all sizes.

Consumers demand freedom of choice

Duursma told Dynamic Business that consumers not only want  but increasingly expect  the freedom to purchase goods and services of any value with their preferred payment form, whether that is cash, card or another digital or contactless form of payment. Part of this freedom, he explained, is the ability to make cashless transactions of all sizes without the inconvenience of restrictions such as a minimum spend requirement.

On top of this, Duursma said consumers are increasingly becoming cashless citizens. He pointed to Galaxy research, commissioned by MasterCard, showing that two in three Australians (64%) have reduced the amount of cash they carry in anticipation of a cashless society, with more than half this number (53%) carrying less than $50 in cash. Further, one in three Australians (39%) believe retailers need to do more to embrace new payment innovations to help eliminate cash.

Duursma warned retailers still imposing a minimum limit on card transactions that consumers increasingly select or reject brands and businesses based on whether their purchasing experience was fast, convenient and seamless.

As Australia marches towards a cashless future, the retail industry has increasingly sought to remove barriers to cashless transactions, he said. To remain relevant and competitive, it is essential for retailers of all sizes  indeed, any customer-driven business  to facilitate cashless transactions. By embracing the Zero Dollar Minimum, retailers are essentially futureproofing their businesses. With the anticipated continued growth of payments using emerging technologies such as mobile payment and wearable payment technologies, retailers need to gear up and take steps to continue serving customers into the digital future, regardless of how they want to pay.

Cashless benefits outweigh the costs

Duursma said the interchange and transaction fees retailers pay for offering consumers the ability to pay for goods and services electronically with a card are  despite the concerns held by some small transaction merchants  nominal. Further, he pointed to an RBA study, highlighting the increasing cost to businesses of handling cash, compared with electronic payments.

The benefits of accepting credit and debit cards far outweigh the perceived cost, Duursma said. As research shows, consumers who are provided with payment options are more likely to complete transactions and return to the store  and that can only help a small business to grow.

In addition, Duursma explained that cashless payments are quicker, cleaner and safer than cash payments.

Contactless technology has resulted in payments being virtually instantaneous, which means faster queues and the ability to serve more customers, he explained. Cashless payments are also more hygienic  whereas cash passes through many hands, cards dont need to be exchanged. Further, card transactions reduce the volume of cash being handled and transported as well as the amount of cash in the till, minimising the risk of theft. Other potential benefits of embracing cashless payment methods and taking advantage of future developments include digitizing and consolidating loyalty solutions.

Since the launch of the Zero Dollar Minimum campaign, Duursma said MasterCard has been encouraged by its interactions with nearly 2,500 small transaction merchants in key market centres. While 47% of those merchants still have a minimum spend requirement for card transactions, the majority of merchants without this requirement indicated a preference for going cashless  and this has been welcomed by their customers.

To learn more about the Zero Dollar Minimum, including how you can participate in the campaign, visit www.no-minimums.com.au
COLUMBUS  The Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Columbus will resume operations later this summer following an $85 million conversion and expansion from ground beef to cooked meats production.

That was the news delivered by the worldwide food conglomerates Columbus plant manager David McCullough during Thursdays Platte County Fair business breakfast at Platte County Agricultural Park.

Were close to starting up here in the next several weeks, McCullough said.

The plant manager said the expanded facility at 1529 E. 23rd St. will be fully operational toward the end of the year.

The 80,000-square-foot addition to the Cargill plant has an estimated $27 million price tag. New equipment needed for the conversion to a cooked meats plant bumps the companys investment to $85 million.

Company officials initially expected production to resume at midyear, but construction delays moved that timetable back, McCullough said.

The transition has taken a long time, he said.

During Thursdays breakfast presentation, McCullough described Cargills game plan over the last year for the plant shutdown and conversion that trimmed the plants production workers from 200 to about 145 by the end of 2015.

In December, the company idled 71 production employees and retained 74. The company also retained the plants management and maintenance staff, made up of about 20 employees each.

Standing in front of the employees who were let go in December was extremely difficult, McCullough told the breakfast audience. But, he said, there were plans to help displaced workers hone their job skills.

Cargill human resources and other company officials worked with state work force development officials, Central Community College-Columbus and Platte Valley Literacy Association and other local education groups to craft an innovative retraining program for local workers.

The CCC training program that began in early January involved the 71 employees who lost their jobs attending classes five hours a day to sharpen their skills in English, math, writing and computers. Meanwhile, the state allowed them to collect unemployment benefits while not having to search for new jobs.

"It turned out to be a great program," McCullough said.

Some of the displaced workers, who had limited or no English skills, finished up the CCC classes having gained better conversational skills and told some warm stories, McCullough said.

One couple said they now look forward to visiting fast-food restaurants' drive-thru lanes and ordering cheeseburgers, while another couple talked of now being able to visit the local hospital emergency room without the need of an interpreter, he said.

The 74 production workers who were retained went to the plant site every morning, got on a school bus and attended the classroom training. At the end of their school day they returned to the plant site and fanned out to perform community service projects.

Cargill kept the retained workers on the full-time payroll during the shutdown.

When the cooked meats plant is fully operational in 2017, the facilitys workers will number about 290.

Future expansion at the Columbus plant, McCullough said Thursday during questioning by breakfast-goers, isnt restrained by space at the company site but by the communitys tight labor market.

Unless we see population growth (in the Columbus area), the tight labor market is the major constraint to expansion, said McCullough, adding that the company owns about another 80 acres around the existing plant site.
The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sir Suma Chakrabarti, will visit Seoul on 11-12 July 2016 for talks with officials and business representatives from the Republic of Korea with a view to stepping up joint investments in the EBRD regions with Korean companies.

Korea is a founding member of the EBRD and an important contributor to the Bank's work. The EBRD has already teamed up with a number of major Korean companies and is eager to further strengthen its ties with Korean industry.

I would like to deepen this cooperation, President Chakrabarti said ahead of his visit. We are keen to strengthen our outreach to Korean companies and work with them on joint investments in our countries of operations.

The EBRD was set up in 1991, initially to support the transition to open market economies of the countries of central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

It has since expanded its remit and invests in 36 countries spanning three continents  from Mongolia in Central Asia to Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean, from Estonia on the Baltic to Egypt on the Mediterranean.

President Chakrabarti will hold talks with Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ilho Yoo, who is also Koreas Governor to the EBRD.

The EBRD has made investments with Korean companies worth more than 1.6 billion, with a particular focus on Turkey, Hungary, Romania and Kazakhstan. The financing has been primarily in the energy, telecoms, infrastructure and financial institutions sectors.

Korea has also been a strong donor to the Bank, contributing some 25 million to support EBRD projects, mainly in Central Asia.
Just one quantum computer running artificial intelligence algorithms would be capable of connecting pretty much all the devices on the planet, Android creator Andy Rubin told an audience at the Bloomberg Technology Conference on Tuesday.

Rubin, who also launched Googles efforts in robotics, is now CEO of Playground, which together with Redpoint Ventures has invested in an unnamed startup working on quantum computing.

Working in concert, AI and quantum computing could yield a conscious intelligence that would underpin every piece of technology, Rubin suggested.

New computing platforms emerge every 10-12 years, and the next platform will be based on data and people training AI systems to learn, Rubin said.

Yes, were moving towards intelligent solutions, some of which will be locally controlled and others network controlled, on the edge of the network or in the cloud, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

But that intelligence just applies to the function of the device, McGregor told the E-Commerce Times. Its not like your toaster is going to be able to perform quantum mechanics.

Taking Baby Steps

Rubins vision extrapolates the way the Internet of Things could evolve.

Internet-connected household appliances already are available on the market, as are Web-connected hubs such as Amazons Echo and Googles Home.

Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon are battling for dominance in the smart home market, which will hit nearly US$122 billion by 2022, according to Markets and Markets.

Those companies, along with major automakers around the globe, also are fighting for position in the connected car market, which is projected to hit more than 70 million units by 2020, according to Global Industry Analysts.

Google, Microsoft and Facebook are working on AI technology and machine learning. More than 80 of the worlds 100 largest enterprise software companies, by revenue, will have integrated cognitive technologies into their products by the end of this year, Deloitte Global predicted. Those technologies include machine learning, natural language processing and speech recognition.

Meanwhile, IBM is racing ahead to make Watsons AI capabilities widely available. It recently opened access to its quantum processor, the IBM Quantum Experience, which runs on the IBM Cloud, to the research and scientific communities.

IBM also is working on ways to mass produce quantum computer processors, a technology Rubin reportedly considers necessary for his vision of the future.

IBM and other large companies  including Oracle, Salesforce, Google and Microsoft  also are working to leverage IoT.

The industrys going at a frantic pace right now, driven by the potential of the applications  especially in the industrial IoT applications like smart cities, autonomous vehicles, healthcare and industrial automation, McGregor said.

Were already seeing new processing architectures emerge, like those from IBM and KnuEdge, which are enabling technologies, but we are still at least a few decades away from the Minority Report scenario, McGregor noted.

No One AI to Rule Them All?

Rubins vision of one overarching intelligence running everything is reminiscent of some other failed predictions, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. One could do this  but competition, differences between nation states, privacy concerns and latency will more likely result in a lot of [such intelligences running different devices].

That said, most connected things will likely be linked in some way, both for data acquisition and control, he told the E-Commerce Times. Still, it will take a number of years to replace existing standalone solutions with better-integrated AI alternatives.

Expect a 20-year window for this vision to play out, Enderle suggested, and places like Korea, China and Japan will move more quickly than the United States does.

Should one intelligence actually end up running things, that system will be substantially more intelligent than we are, he pointed out. At some point it may call our intelligence artificial.

AI recently has been the target of grave concerns from luminaries like Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Ray Kurzweil and others.

The AIShield is an effort to create a defense if AIs should get out of hand, Enderle said, and that effort should be better supported than it currently is, given the nature of nation states and the possibility of an AI doomsday device.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced an expansion of the companys investment in India to the tune of US$3 billion  that was in addition to the $2 billion in investments it announced in 2014.

Bezos announced the new investment during the 41st annual U.S.-India Business Council Leadership Summit, which was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several top business leaders.

We have already created some 45,000 jobs and continue to see huge potential in the Indian economy, Bezos said at the summit.

The Amazon.in team is surpassing even our most ambitious planned milestones, he added.

Amazon runs 21 fulfillment centers in India and has 85,000 sellers on its e-commerce platform, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The companys plans include opening a new region for the Amazon Web Services cloud computing business and building its largest software engineering and development center outside the U.S., the Chamber reported.

When I peer into the future of India, what I see is unlimited India, Bezos said.

Foreign Investment Regs

Bezos announcement followed a recent change in Indias restrictions on foreign direct investment, which requires companies like Amazon to act as intermediaries in the local marketplace. Amazon sells much of its inventory through Cloudtail, a joint venture with Catamaran Ventures, the private investment arm of billionaire N.R. Narayana Murthy, who cofounded Infosys.

Amazon earlier this year announced a new10-acre campus in Gachibowli, an IT-focused suburb of Hyderabad, Telangana. The campus will be the largest in India and the companys biggest outside the U.S.

Amazon last year announced the launch of one of its largest fulfillment centers in Hyderabad. The new campus, which will be ready in 2019, will manage back-end operations for various business and technology teams around the world.

Telangana has been home to Amazons IT operations since 2005.

All In

It appears that Amazon is seeking to build an infrastructure just for the India market, which is good strategy given the regulatory challenges of being a foreign entity and the different e-commerce environment, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

The investment is part competitive, part political, he said, as it no doubt will curry favor with government officials in India.

With deep pockets, Amazon can outposition smaller local competitors, while buying goodwill with the powers that be, McGregor observed.

One of the worlds fastest-growing e-commerce markets, India currently is dominated by firms like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Alibaba.

India represents a rapidly expanding market with a growing middle class, Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan Program Manager Mike Jude told the E-Commerce Times.

Overall, the online retail market in India is only 2 percent of total retail sales in that country, according to Forrester Research. However, growth in e-tailing is exploding, with the market expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 44 percent, starting last year, to reach $75 billion by 2020.
The United States Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into philanderers dating site Ashley Madison, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The company, which suffered a massive data breach last year that resulted in extortion attempts and ruined lives, as well as class-action lawsuits, earlier this week announced that it hired a new CEO and a new president in April.

CEO Rob Segal and President James Millership also revealed that Ashley Madison had been using fembots  computer programs responding like real women  to conduct conversations with some of its paying male customers worldwide.

The fembots have been shut down, confirmed an Ernst & Young report commissioned by Ashley Madisons parent company, Avid Life Media.

The use of fembots might have triggered the probe by the FTC, which is tasked with guarding against consumer fraud, among other things.

The FTC declined to confirm or deny whether it is conducting an investigation, because FTC investigations are nonpublic, spokesperson Jay Mayfield told the E-Commerce Times.

Ashley Madison did not respond to our request to provide further details.

Possible Impact

Ashley Madison is seeking to rebrand itself as a service that promises discretion for participants in many types of adult dating  not just affairs. A large number of its members are singles, according to the company.

Disclosures arising from the FTCs investigation will make it more difficult to reposition Ashley Madison as safe for customers, suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Ashley Madison will want to create a new image  but as the evidence from the investigation is shared, it will reinforce the old image, making it nearly impossible for the firm to successfully pivot, he told the E-Commerce Times.

On the other hand, the probe might spice up the firms image. At the time it was hacked last July, Ashley Madison had about 40 million users; it now boasts more than 46 million.

Keeping Users Safe

Since the breach, Ashley Madison has stepped up efforts to secure its IT systems.

It hired cybersecurity firm Deloitte, whose experts apparently found several simple backdoors in its Linux servers.

Also, Ashley Madison said it expects to reach the first level of Payment Card Industry compliance by September, according to the Reuters report.

Ashley Madison earlier this year instituted masking for subscribers photos.

However, if an adversary has access to the back-end systems, the masking of profile pictures doesnt provide much protection, noted Rick Holland, VP of strategy at Digital Shadows.

Masking is a good step so long as its part of a holistic approach to improving security, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Every company is vulnerable to some degree to data breaches as long as there are people involved in the process, Enderle pointed out. Given the value of information surrounding someones extramarital affairs, I doubt Ashley Madison can afford security that would be good enough to truly ensure this wouldnt happen again.

Digital Shadows last fall discovered cybercriminal gang DD4BC was seeking to extort Ashley Madison breach victims, demanding they pay a ransom of one bitcoin for its silence. At least 17 victims paid up.

Two suspected members of the gang were arrested in January, Holland said, but recently weve had clients report they were targeted by a copycat actor. It takes time for organizations to materially improve their security maturity, so its likely that Ashley Madison and Avid Media still have significant opportunities to mature, Holland remarked.
An appellate court on Tuesday handed a major victory to the Federal Communications Commission by upholding the agencys watershed Open Internet Order, which ensures equal access to the Internet.

By a 2-1 vote, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the FCCs right to impose Net neutrality rules that essentially prevent big telecom and broadband companies from slowing down, speeding up, or blocking service based on content providers market power or willingness to pay.

Todays ruling is a victory for consumers and innovators who deserve unfettered access to the entire web, and it ensures the Internet remains a platform for unparallelled innovation, free expression and economic growth, said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.

The plaintiffs almost certainly will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to FCC Commissioner Mike ORielly, who criticized the ruling.

We all will rue the day the commission was confirmed to have nearly unmitigated power over the Internet  and all based on unsubstantiated, imaginary harms,' he wrote.

Gearing Up for a Challenge

U.S. Telecom, which led the suit against the FCC, will leave all legal options on the table for a possible challenge, said President Walter McCormick, who expressed disappointment in the decision.

Two judges on the court have unfortunately failed to recognize the significant legal failings of the Federal Communication Commissions decision to regulate the Internet as a public utility, he maintained, leaving in place regulation that we believe will replace a consumer-driven Internet with a government-run Internet, threatening investment and innovation to come.

Other telecom and broadband firms have indicated they intend to pursue a reversal.

We have always expected this issue to be decided by the Supreme Court, and we look forward to participating in that appeal, said David McAtee, senior executive vice president at AT&T, which claims to be the worlds largest communications firm.

Its high-speed mobile Internet network covers 365 million people in North America and 25 million video subscribers in the U.S., including DirecTV customers.

The major broadband companies have complained of being at a disadvantage because they have to lay out billions of dollars to develop high-speed networks, which smaller, outside competitors then get to share, noted telecom analyst Jeff Kagan.

Many of those companies want to ride that investment at no cost, he told the E-Commerce Times. If carriers decided to slow down their investment because it wasnt worth their while any longer, that would be a real problem.

The fight is likely to drag on for years, Kagan predicted. Stay tuned for the next decade of legal battles.

Equal Access

In the eyes of Net neutrality proponents, the FCCs latest victory is critical to maintaining an open and fair system that allows communities of different incomes and content providers of different sizes to get access to high-speed Internet. The fear has been that big telecom providers would be able to bias their data speeds or content quality toward the most powerful players as one way to recoup the costs of laying down cables to different communities of various economic status.

The rules will keep providers from blocking or slowing traffic and stifling innovation by speeding up traffic for those who pay, said Corynne McSherry, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, one of a number of open technology advocates that urged the FCC to defend an open Internet.

The industry is likely not only to appeal the decision, but also to attempt to persuade Congress to upend the FCCs rules through legislative means, McSherry added.

The ruling will ensure that all parties will be protected  both in terms of underserved communities having access to service and smaller firms competing against large broadband providers, according to the Open Technology Institute, another group that intervened in the case last year.

The courts decision recognizes the value of an open platform over which all voices have a space and ideas can flourish  where even the smallest startups can grow, all users access the content of their choosing, and communities can organize without interference from their ISPs, said Sarah J. Morris, senior policy counsel at OTI.

FCCs Bold Move

This decision provides a major victory for advocates of net neutrality, said William K. Norton, an associate at Baker Donelson.

In 2002, the FCC decided not to make Internet providers subject to common carrier requirements under its Brand X decision. It took public interest groups to petition the FCC to stop Comcast from discriminating and degrading Internet traffic in 2008 to get the FCC to consider Net neutrality regulations, he told the E-Commerce Times.

When the Open Internet rules were struck down in 2014, it was seen as a major blow to the Net neutrality movement. The FCCs response in 2015 to cover broadband under Title II was a bold move that actually gave it more authority to regulate the Internet than the Open Internet rules that were struck down the year before, he pointed out. So I think many were concerned that that decision would be struck down, as well.
The advent of a brave new world of connected products and services in the Internet of Things is forcing organizations of all sizes across nearly every industry to reconsider how they will interact with their customers in the future. As a consequence, a growing number of companies are thinking about how they have to redefine their businesses to better serve their customers going forward.

These ideas were showcased at the recent PTC LiveWorx conference in Boston. The event drew approximately 5,000 attendees from a wide array of enterprises worldwide to demonstrate how previously standalone technologies and applications now are converging to enable the idea of IoT to become a reality.

Acquisition Binge

For years, PTC has made its money selling on-premises product lifecycle management, service lifecycle management and related software applications to various manufacturers, industrial companies, and consumer products producers, among others.

Over the past few years, it has made a series of strategic acquisitions to focus on the unique requirements of a new generation of connected products and services.

It acquired IoT platform ThingWorx in 2013. It purchased Axeda in 2014 to enhance its IoT connectivity and security capabilities. In 2015, it acquired Coldlight to strengthen its IoT analytics, and Vuforia to add augmented reality technologies to its portfolio. In 2016, PTC bought Kepware to expand its communications connectivity to industrial automation environments.

Fundamental Changes

These moves have put PTC in the middle of the IoT market and changed the nature of its customer relationships in many ways.

First, PTC has found itself at the leading edge of an emerging market that still requires significant customer education. As a result, PTC has teamed with Michael Porter, the legendary Harvard professor, to discuss the strategic implications of IoT with corporate executives.

It also is working with brand-name customers, such as Caterpillar, to produce real-world case studies that clearly illustrate how sensor-embedded products, augmented reality technology, and cloud-based applications can be integrated to fundamentally change the nature of field service, customer support and end-user training.

For instance, rather than forcing a field worker to call a help desk when a piece of construction equipment fails, Caterpillar is teaming with PTC to deploy IoT applications and solutions that enable the field worker to identify the issue and resolve it  in many cases without help desk intervention. That can reduce downtime and customer support costs while increasing user productivity.

At the same time, Caterpillar is gathering real-time data regarding the performance and reliability of its equipment, which it can use to improve its design.

No Job for Customers

Companies used to rely on their customers to notify them of problems and risked losing them in the process, due to dissatisfaction with the quality of their products. In essence, the customer was the sensor in the old world of customer support, notifying the vendor when the product failed.

In todays world, customers are far less tolerant of product failures. They also have many more options if they become disenchanted with their vendors products. Therefore, it is imperative for vendors to redesign their products so the suppliers can assume a greater share of the burden for ensuring the availability and performance of their products.

Building connected products that are supported with more automated and interactive support tools is becoming an essential strategy for restructuring the vendor-customer relationship in the IoT.
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By Diana Tarrazo

This week is the Discovery Channels highly-anticipated Shark Week, which features programs about one of the oceans top predators. The weeks star-studded cast includes the great white and the tiger shark, which are featured in programs with names like The Killing Games,Deadliest Shark and Wrath of a Great White Serial Killer.

In the spirit of Shark Week, weve compiled a list of five lesser-known shark species that are nevertheless important members of our oceans ecosystems. Photo credit: SolarSeven / Shutterstock

While these skin-crawling names might make you tune in for a night filled with bloodthirsty man-eaters, theyre dangerously misleading. The vast majority of sharks dont deserve their bad reputationof the 400 species of sharks, only a handful pose any real threat to humans. In fact, with more than a third of all shark species at risk of extinction from commercial fishing, bycatch and habitat degradation, sharks are usually the ones who need protectionfrom us.

In honor of shark week, weve compiled a list of five delightfully strange shark species that prove these amazing creatures should be revered, not feared.

1. Goblin Shark

Goblin shark. Photo credit: Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria

Though it didnt get a casting call for the movie Jaws, the goblin shark may edge out the great white shark thanks to its terrifying jaws. This bizarre shark is widely distributed, swimming in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and its soft, flabby, bubblegum-pink body can reach up to 12 feet in length. It also boasts highly protrusive jaws bursting with needle-sharp teeth meant to trap, not slice. In fact, this is one of the only species of sharks whose teeth are visible even when its mouth is fully closed. When the goblin shark is ready to feed, it inches toward its prey, stopping when its lunch swims just out of reach. Then, the shark makes its killer move,extending its jaw three inches out of its mouth to trap its meal.

Your odds of catching one of these sharks in action, however, are slim. The goblin shark eludes human eyes with its affinity for the deep-sea, swimming at depths of more than 4,265 feet and only rising near the surface at night. There are very few recorded observations of these curious creatures and the bulk of scientific knowledge about these sharks is the result of their accidental capture in fisheries.

2. Dusky Shark

Dusky shark. Photo credit: Richard Ling

Weighing in at around 400 pounds, the dusky shark is one of the largest shark species to call the U.S. Atlantic coast its home. As formidable long-distance swimmers with major wanderlust, the dusky sharks seasonal migrations can take it on sea voyages that can top 2,000 miles. Its strength extends to its jaws, possessing one of the most powerful bites of any shark species. But in spite of their bite, dusky sharks very rarely attack humans.

Before regulations were enacted in 2000 to protect the dusky shark from being intentional capture, U.S. fishermen aggressively hunted the species to satisfy demand for shark fin soup and shark liver oil. While the 2000 ban stopped direct hunting, thousands of dusty sharks are regularly caught as bycatch in commercial bottom longline fishing gear. This fishing method targets fish like tuna, groupers and snappers, but many other species, including dusky sharks, become trapped, too. As a result, the dusky shark population remains very low and the species recovery is gravely imperiled. Government data suggests that as many as 4,000 dusky sharks are caught and discarded as bycatch each year.

Last year, Earthjustice represented Oceana in suing the federal government to finally put an end to the overfishing of dusky sharks in U.S. waters. In May 2016, Earthjustice secured a major settlement victory: the National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to complete new rulemaking at developing measures to address dusky shark conservation.

3. Longnose Sawshark

Sketch of a longnose sawshark.

True to its name, the longnose sawshark has a long, flat snout protruding from its heads that closely resembles a saw blade flanked with large teeth. Native to waters in southern Australia, these sharks aggressively move their saws from side to side, slashing at unsuspecting pray swimming by.

While this saw makes for a daunting weapon, it is also a highly adapted sensory organ. The sharks snout is covered with specialized cells capable of detecting the small electric fields put out by other fish. When a sawshark detects fish hidden in the sand or mud of the seabed, it can use its saw to dig them out. Thankfully for us humans, these sharks prefer feeding primarily on small fish, squid and crustaceans.

4. Whale Shark

Whale shark. Photo credit: Rich Carey / Shutterstock

Reaching lengths of more than 40 feet (about the size of a school bus), whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea. Contrary to their name, whale sharks are not whales at alltheyre sharks. But unlike their carnivorous counterparts, these are filter feeders. They gracefully swim with their mouths open and stretched as wide as five feet filtering tiny plankton and fish eggs out of the water. While their size alone can be alarming, these sharks are docile.

These gentle marine giants gracefully roam tropical seas and are distinguishable from other large marine mammals by the white spots that speckle their brown and gray sides. Much like human fingerprints, spot patterns on whale sharks display uniquely on each individual. This allows scientists and researchers to identify whale sharks based on their spot patterns using computer software originally made for mapping stars.

5. Frilled Shark

Frilled shark. Photo credit: Criton

With a long, serpent-like body and more than 25 rows of razor-sharp teeth, the deep-water frilled shark looks like it has come straight out of a horror movie. The frilled sharks ancestry dates back 80 million years and its prehistoric origins are clearly visible in its primitive shape. Scientists often refer to it as living fossil because it closely resembles species otherwise only known from the fossil record. Nearly all of this rare animals relatives are long extinct.

Humans rarely catch a glimpse of these shark serpents in their natural habitatthe dark waters up to 5,000 feet below the oceans surface. Relatively little is known about this species, making it all the more mythical and mysterious.

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Boyan Slats ambitious plan to rid the worlds oceans of plastic has taken another step towards reality with its first prototype to be tested at sea. The Ocean Cleanup Foundation, founded by the 21-year-old Slat, has deployed a 100-meter clean-up boom today in the North Sea in The Netherlands.

The prototype was unveiled before its main partners, the Dutch government and marine contractor Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.

The system will be installed roughly 12 nautical miles off the Dutch coast where it will undergo sensor-monitored tests for the next year. According to The Guardian, the vulcanized rubber barrier will passively coral floating trash into a V-shaped cone via the oceans natural currents. The structure is anchored at a depth of up to 4.5 kilometers by a cable sub-system.

The 100m-long barrier will be towed 20km out to sea for a year of sensor-monitored tests. Photo credit: The Ocean Cleanup

Today is a major occasion for Slat, who came up with his highly publicized concept a few years ago when he was only a teenager.

This is a historic day on the path toward clean oceans, he said.

The organization pointed out that although some trash may be caught during the North Sea prototype test, collecting plastic is not its objective. Rather, the objective is to test how The Ocean Cleanups floating barrier fares in extreme weather at seathe kind of conditions the system will eventually face when deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

At the North Sea test site, conditions during a minor storm are more severe than those in exceptionally heavy storms (occurring once every 100 years) in the Pacific Ocean, the organization said.

A rendering of Boyan Slats proposed Ocean Cleanup Project that features 60 kilometer-wide net and boom system to passively capture drifting plastic. The aim is to clean up nearly half of the Great Pacific Garbage Patchs plastic pollution in 10 years. Photo credit: Ocean Cleanup Project

If everything goes as planned, the first operational pilot system will be launched off Japans coast in 2017 to stop plastic pollution from reaching Tsushima island. By 2020, The Ocean Cleanup with deploy a full-scale, 100-kilometer-long system between Hawaii and California to tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Slat, however, noted that a successful test does not necessarily mean the North Sea prototype will survive. I estimate there is a 30 percent chance the system will break, but either way it will be a good test.

Prototype has arrived at test site pic.twitter.com/oD5GTGKnQm  Boyan Slat (@BoyanSlat) June 23, 2016

The Ocean Cleanup describes itself as the worlds first feasible concept to clean the oceans of plastic, and the team saw successful tests of scaled-down prototypes at the Maritime Research Institute Netherlands last year.

The Dutch government, which is in full support of the project, is convinced of its feasibility, as The Guardian reported. The entire project will eventually cost an estimated 300 million euros.

The Ocean Cleanup is an inspiring example of how we can tackle the growing problem of ocean pollution, Dutch Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma said. I hope that with the help of the Dutch government, Boyans prototype will turn out to be the successful solution for cleaning up the mid-ocean gyres. This is crucial to prevent permanent damage to the environment and marine life, due to the degradation and fragmentation of plastic waste materials.

Some experts have written off Slats idea. As Marcus Eriksen, 5 Gyres co-founder and an ocean scientist wrote, There are no islands of plastic, rather a smog of plastic that pervades the oceans.

UK-based Eunomia Research & Consulting recently compiled a report that shows an astounding 94 percent of the plastic that enters the ocean ends up on the ocean floor, with an estimated average of 70 kilograms of plastic per square kilometer on the seabed.

But Slat has taken his critics head-on with a 530-page feasibility report composed of 70 scientists and engineers. The report concluded that the concept is indeed likely a feasible and viable ocean cleanup technique. Their conclusion has also been peer-reviewed by external experts, Slat attested in a blog post.

EcoWatch has extensively covered the increasingly devastating crisis of ocean plastic, with roughly 8 million tons of plastic dumped into the worlds oceans every year.
Large quantities of marine debris were found in the stomachs of sperm whales that washed up dead in Germanys North Sea coast earlier this year.

The whales first surfaced in January and February near the coastal town of Tonning in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. After officials ordered a necropsy of the bodies, post-mortem results were announced in a presentation at the Multimar Wattforum Centre on March 23.

Four of the 13 whales had large amounts of plastic waste in their stomachs, and some of the garbage included a 13-meter-long fishing net, a 70-centimeter-long plastic car engine cover and the remains of a plastic bucket, according to a press release from the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park.

These findings show us the effects of our plastic society: Animals inadvertently take in plastic and other plastic waste and suffer, and at worst, starve with full stomachs, environment minister Robert Habeck said in a statement (via Google Translate).

This reminds us that we step up the fight against waste in the sea, he said.

The whales were said to be all young bulls between the ages of 10 to 15 and weighed between 12 to 18 tons. Before surfacing in the shallow waters of the Wadden Sea in the North Sea, scientists suspected that the last time the whales had anything to eat besides plastic trash was in the Norwegian Sea.

According to the press release, male sperm whales in this population spend their winter in the North Atlantic but in their search for food, they mistakenly migrated to the food-poor North Sea.

Ursula Siebert from the Hanover Veterinary College told MailOnline she does not believe the whales died from consuming marine debris. Instead, she said that heavy storms in the north-eastern Atlantic pushed squidthe sperm whales main source of foodinto the North Sea. She said the whales followed the squid into shallow waters before finally beaching on the shoreline.

As the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) explained, without support from the water, the sheer weight of the whales crushed their lungs and other organs, leading to death.

Part of a car engine and buckets are found inside whales that washed up on a German beach https://t.co/CRlpTjbn82 pic.twitter.com/I7tkMexmyX  Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 25, 2016

While the official cause of death was heart failure, its clear that human-caused ocean pollution can have a devastating impact on aquatic life.

Large amounts of plastic waste were also found in the stomachs of the sperm whales, including fishing nets, parts of a plastic bucket and even a plastic car cover. Although not the direct cause of death, vets suspect that the whales would soon experience major health problems as a result of this toxic waste, the global conservation nonprofit said.

Since January, 29 sperm whales have washed up dead on the shores of Holland, Germany, France and the UK but its still unclear how the whales got into difficulty in the first place.

Nearly 30 sperm whales have stranded across the UK, Netherlands and Germany since the beginning of the year, as well as several other species. Photo credit: Whale and Dolphin Conservation

Whale strandings occur naturally, they can also be a result of man-made activity, such as noise from oil and gas exploration, pile driving into the sea bed to build wind farms, military sonar, or from entanglement in fishing gear and collision with boats, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation said in a blog post.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation pointed out that there are more than 3,000 strandings worldwide every year, but not all of them have to end in tragedy.

The organization is working to prevent more strandings, including marine protected areas, preventing deaths and entanglements in nets, regulating boat traffic and helping to prevent collisions, and addressing pollution, including noise and sonar.

[instagram https://instagram.com/p/BA_qinTqWj1 expand=1]

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Yesterdayfive days after Vermont enacted its landmark GMO labeling mandatethe Senate voted 65-32 in a cloture vote to move a controversial GMO labeling bill forward.

This bipartisan compromise bill, introduced after years of negotiations by Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, would require businesses to label genetically modified foods. That is, if you consider a QR code, 1-800 number or a website URL a label instead of clear, concise language that 9 out of 10 American consumers want and a number of major food companies have started doing anyway. The bill would also nullify state-by-state mandates such as Vermonts and halt efforts by 30-odd states considering similar legislation.

The Senatorss bill is unsurprisingly backed by the very industry that produces and profits from such products, including the Grocery Manufactures Association, Monsanto, etc. Deep-pocketed food and beverage corporations have spent millions to lobby politicians and even sued Vermont to stop GMO labeling with the belief that GMO labels would scare consumers away and that a 50-state patchwork of rules would be confusing and costly.

The Senate is voting on a very bad piece of Monsanto-backed legislation today. Text GMO to 82623 to oppose it. pic.twitter.com/21yiDd5zpc  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 6, 2016

Incidentally, as Common Dreams reported, in data revealed by OpenSecrets.org and the Organic Consumers Association, the senators who voted yea on last weeks 68-29 preliminary vote received more than twice as much in contributions from the agriculture lobby than those who voted No ($867,518 for the supporters vs. $350,877 for opponents).

Opponents of the bill have dubbed it another version of the Deny Americans the Right to Know, or DARK Act. The earlier DARK Act, which would block state labeling laws, failed in March. The New York Times editorial board also called the latest bill flawed, stating:

While most scientists say that genetically modified foods do not pose a risk to human health, consumers should have a right to more information about what they are eating. Polls have found that a vast majority of Americans favor mandatory labels. Dozens of countries, including all 28 members of the European Union and Australia, already require similar disclosures.

Researchers have found that labels do not dissuade people from consuming genetically engineered food, which has been a big worry of farm groups and businesses. It is no surprise then that some companies, like Campbell Soup, have voluntarily agreed to label their products.

The biggest problem with the Senate bill is thatinstead of requiring a simple label, as the Vermont law doesit would allow food companies to put the information in electronic codes that consumers would have to scan with smartphones or at scanners installed by grocery stores. The only reason to do this would be to make the information less accessible to the public.

So where does that leave us? Well, the decision means that debate is now limited to 30 hours and can withstand filibuster. The final vote could happen sometime tonight or tomorrow and would only require a simple majority, or 51 votes. Efforts by Sen. Bernie Sanders to put a hold on the bill have been quashed since the cloture vote mustered more than 60 yeas.

If the legislation clears the Senate, it would go to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which has historically voted against transparency after passing Rep. Mike Pompeos bill (H.R. 1599) last year. It would then goes to President Obamas desk, who could sign the bill into law.

If it seems that the bill probably stands a chance, there are still a number of obstacles. As Politcos Morning Agriculture blog reported, Roberts did not exactly celebrate the cloture vote, adding, Strange things can happen. For instance, on Wednesday during the cloture vote, GMO labeling advocates from the Organic Consumers Association threw $2,000 in cash from the Senate balcony to the floor. They yelled Monsanto Money and Sen. Stabenow, listen to the people, not Monsanto as the bills fell, according to The Hill.

Yesterdays vote also revealed that the bill has lost some steam since last weeks 68-29 procedural vote. According to Politico, Maine Sens. Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I) voted yes last week but opposed cloture, as did Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). Meanwhile, Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Bob Menendez (N.J.) voted for cloture after opposing the vote last week. The nays added Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who did not vote last week.

Additionally, the Right-wing Heritage Foundation is also against the bill (basically, the foundation says even QR codes are too transparent) and have urged lawmakers to oppose the bill and warned it would key the vote as part of its legislative scorecard.

As for the House vote, even though the lower chamber already passed their own GMO bill, the Senate version is different enough that the House would have to vote on it again, as Grist noted.

The House has been urged by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives to take up and pass the bill before summer recess, which starts next Friday.

A spokeswoman for House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway told Politico that Conaway will await the outcome in the Senate before making any public statements regarding his position on what action he believes the House should or should not take. Hes still engaged in discussions with industry and other stakeholders on the matter.

Detractors of the bill are speaking out against further advancement of the bill. Sanders tweeted Wednesday: The Stabenow-Roberts GMO bill is confusing, misleading and unenforceable. It does nothing to make sure consumers know what theyre eating.

The Stabenow-Roberts GMO bill is confusing, misleading and unenforceable. It does nothing to make sure consumers know what theyre eating.  Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) July 6, 2016

Also, as Quartz puts it, the presidential candidate also expertly trolled the Senators who support the bill.

The QR Code is real by the way. If you dont have a QR scanner, the code links to a statement on Sanderss website defending his home states GMO labeling law.

A number of environmental and consumer advocate groups have spoken out against the bill and the Senate vote.

Friends of the Earth denounces the Senates passage of the DARK Act, S. 764, a bill which was passed under the guise of GMO labeling, food and technology campaigner Dana Perls said. This bill is a travesty, an undemocratic and discriminatory bill which preempts state laws, while offering no meaningful labeling for GMOs. If accepted, Americans will remain in the dark about what we feed our families. We are deeply disappointed in the members of Congress who supported this bill and who did not stand with the vast majority of Americans who want mandatory on-package GMO labeling.

Friends of the Earth urges consumers to call on the House and President Obama to oppose any bills that would undermine state GMO labeling laws, and to only support meaningful, mandatory on-package labeling for GMO foods, including those made with new gene editing techniques.

Food & Water Watch California Director Adam Scow criticized Sen. Dianne Feinsteins vote against consumers and for Big Food.

[The legislation] rolls back the progress that people around the country have made to get clear, on package labeling for GMOs, Scow said. The bill she voted for will leave way too many Californians in the dark when it comes to knowing whats in the food we eat and how it was produced.

Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, said, If this bill becomes law, the industry wins what are essentially voluntary requirements under this GMO labeling compromise, which does not mandate recalls, penalties or fines for noncompliance with the incredibly weak requirements of the bill that will likely leave many GMO ingredients exempt from any labeling requirements.
ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in an effort to block a subpoena that would require the oil and gas giant to hand over 40 years of internal communications relating to whether the company misrepresented its knowledge of climate change to investors.

The 33-page injunction was filed in federal district court in Fort Worth, Texas on Wednesday.

In the searing complaint, Exxon called the investigation a fishing expedition that is nothing more than a weak pretext for an unlawful exercise of government power to further political objectives.

Attorney General Healey is abusing the power of government to silence a speaker she disfavors, the complaint states.

Exxon believes Healeys April 19 subpoena violates its constitutional rights on free speech, unreasonable search and seizure and equal protection, Reuters reported. The company seeks either an injunction to halt the investigation or for the court to rule that the investigation is without legal merit.

In response to the lawsuit, Healeys office said that its investigation is based not on speculation, but on inconsistencies about climate change in Exxon documents which have been made public.

The First Amendment does not protect false and misleading statements in the marketplace, Healeys communications director Cyndi Roy Gonzalez said in a statement provided to EcoWatch.

Exxon using Big Tobacco's failed free speech defense for decades of #climate deception https://t.co/Hutt2I8tW5 via @EcoWatch #ExxonKnew  Climate Nexus (@ClimateNexus) April 27, 2016

The Boston Herald reported that Healeys broad subpoena is also demanding communications between Exxon and 12 think tanks that are critical of climate change, as well as information on whether Exxon funded the groups.

According to the Herald, Exxon does not believe it should respond to the subpoena because of a four-year statute of limitations on Healeys claims. It also has not sold fuel, owned a retail location or sold securities in Massachusetts during that time.

Exxons assertion that we cannot investigate it because the company has not engaged in business here in Massachusetts is completely preposterous and is a clear attempt to delay and distract from the real issues, Gonzalez countered. We will continue to fight aggressively on the basis of our clear legal authority to obtain the information that we need to ensure the Massachusetts public is protected.

Exxon has brought a similar suit against Virgin Islands Attorney General Claude Walker in the same Fort Worth district court. The company also says that Walkers subpoena demanding internal climate change-related records violates its free speech and should be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures.

For many months, Exxon Mobil has engaged in an unprecedented effort to limit the ability of state attorneys general to investigate fraud and unfair business practices and to protect Massachusetts consumers, investors and the public, Gonzalez said.

Healey and Walker are among 20 state Attorneys General that have launched a multi-state effort to investigate and prosecute Exxon and other industry giants for fraud and suppression of key climate science.

The coalition was convened by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who in November announced a state investigation into Exxon after reporting revealed that the oil giant had for decades known and suppressed evidence about the dangers that fossil fuels posed to the environment and then purposely disseminated false information in order to boost its profits.

InsideClimate News reported that Exxon has been cooperating with Schneidermans own subpoena, and has turned over thousands of pages of documents.

It is deeply troubling that Exxon has taken the extraordinary step of refusing to comply with a lawful subpoena sent in the course of a serious fraud investigation, Schneiderman spokesman Matt Mittenthal told EcoWatch in response to the suit against Healey. The law is clear: The First Amendment does not give any corporation the right to commit fraud.

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Glyphosate, the controversial main ingredient in Monsantos Roundup and other herbicides, is being connected to Lake Eries troubling algae blooms, which has fouled drinking water and suffocated and killed marine life in recent years.

Phosphorusattributed to farm runoff carried by the Maumee Riverhas long been identified as a leading culprit feeding the excessive blooms in the western Lake Erie basin. Now, according to a new study from chemistry professor Christopher Spiese, a significant correlation has been established between the increased use of glyphosate to the percentage of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in the runoff.

As No-Till Farmer observed from the study, DRP loads in Lake Erie increased in the mid-1990s at the same time that farmers began the widespread cultivation of crops genetically engineered to withstand multiple applications of Roundup.

For every acre of Roundup Ready soybeans and corn that you plant, it works out to be about one-third of a pound of P [phosphorus] coming down the Maumee, Spiese told the agricultural publication.

Heres how the team came to the conclusion, as No-Till Farmer reported:

Through his own and others research, Spiese found that depending on the types of metal in the soil, glyphosate does release P. For example, when glyphosate is applied to soil containing iron oxide-hydroxide, P is immediately released. But almost nothing is removed when its an iron oxide material.

Finally, Spiese took soil samples all over the Maumee watershed, applied P to them and then sprayed glyphosate to see how much P was released vs. soil that wasnt sprayed with glyphosate after 24 hours. He saw desorption occurred all over the watershed, but certain areas were higher than others, specifically in the southeastern corner.

Based on the average two glyphosate applications growers make every year, Spiese estimates that overall, 20-25 percent of the DRP runoff is caused by glyphosate. But depending on the location within the watershed, that percentage could be much lower or much greater.

Some of those sites, its less than a percent. Other sites its almost 100 percent, he says.

Previous studies have tied glyphosate to the phosphorous fueling Lake Eries blue-green algae. In 2009, Ohio Sea Grant researchers, Drs. R. Michael McKay and George Bullerjahn of Bowling Green State University, found that glyphosate could only be detected in the lake at certain times of yearafter crops are planted.

Our research is finding that Roundup is getting into the watershed at peak farming application times, particularly in the spring, McKay said.

Approximately 1,000 metric tonnes (about 2.2 million pounds) of Roundup is applied in the Lake Erie watershed per year, and it is being detected in adjacent waterways particularly in the spring, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted from McKay and Bullerjahns study.

The researchers also found that the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the lake are capable of using phosophonates.

It turns out that many cyanobacteria present in Lake Erie have the genes allowing the uptake of phosphonates, and these cyanobacteria can grow using glyphosate and other phosphonates as a sole source of phosphorus, Bullerjahn said.

Harmful Lake Erie blooms have increased at record levels over the last decade, according to the U.S. EPA and are expected to become more common due to warmer temperatures and heavy rainfall that feed algae growth.

The toxic algae rob oxygen from the waters creating dead zones where fish and other marine life are unable to survive. The algae is also a threat to humansswallowing it can cause health problems such as rashes, vomiting, numbness and difficulty breathing.

In February this year, the U.S. and Canada announced a goal to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering affected areas of Lake Erie by a total of 40 percent by 2025.
Waterways and beaches along Floridas Atlantic coast have been taken over by thick, blue-green algae blooms, prompting Florida Gov. Rick Scott to declare local states of emergency in St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach and Lee counties.

[instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BHUeKdADEoe/ expand=1]

Residents have described the foul-smelling algae as guacamole-thick, god-awful and a festering infected creepy mess. One resident has complained of health problems, telling Reuters, It is affecting all of us as far as red eyes, runny nose and the in the throat feeling.

Its heartbreaking for all of us who live, work and play along the lagoon to see how the quality of the water has declined, environmental non-profit Balance For Earth wrote on Facebook.

The source of the severe bloom is believed to stem from the polluted Lake Okeechobee, which has become a hotbed of finger-pointing.

https://twitter.com/FlaDems/statuses/748896274238234624 expand=1]

ThinkProgress reported in February that local industries have long dumped an assortment of chemicals, fertilizers and cattle manure into the lake. David Guest, managing attorney of the Florida branch of the environmental law group Earthjustice, described the lake as a toilet.

The Guardian reported that algae samples from the lake taken earlier this month found levels of toxins 20 times higher than a safety threshold set by the World Health Organization.

The officials who regulate the toxic, overflowing lake are in an unenviable position. To prevent flooding, water gets flushed from the lake into the St. Lucie River that flows to the ocean via Martin County. They cant just leave the water there either; high water levels have added stress to the aging Herbert Hoover Dike, a 143-mile levee that surrounds the lake. Floridas high rainfall only makes matters worse.

However, according to UPI, Scott said the Obama administration is at fault for failing to repair the dike.

Because the Obama Administration has failed to act on this issue, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [which regulates lake levels], continues to discharge millions of gallons of water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries resulting in the growth of blue-green algae which is now entering residential waterways in South Florida, he said. Although the president has failed to do what is needed to address this growing issue, the state of Florida will devote every available resource to find solutions for the families and businesses in this area.

[instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNF8CoBkuJ/?tagged=floridaalgae expand=1]

However, Irene Gomes, local resident and owner of the Driftwood Motel in Jensen Beach, has blamed Scott. Gomes told the Associated Press that the governor has not done enough to curb pollution from farms north of the lake or purchase land farther south where lake waters could be stored and cleaned.

Local environmental agencies, including the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, have now been tasked with addressing the blooms, including reducing the flow of water into Lake Okeechobee and creating a hotline for residents to report algae blooms.

[instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BHSeS6dAG8_/?tagged=lakeokeechobee

Deborah Drum, manager of ecosystem restoration at Martin county, told the Guardian that there is no known way to effectively clean up an algal bloom.

We have to wait for it to disperse, she said. We anticipate that it will go away but we are not sure about that now. We didnt expect this to happen so we are kind of at a new frontier.

Algae blooms have become a worsening problem in many parts of the U.S. In Toledo, Ohio a toxic algae blooms erupt across Lake Erie every year.

Sandy Bihn, executive director for the Ohio-based Lake Erie Waterkeeper environmental advocacy group, told EarthIsland Journal that climate change will exacerbate conditions leading to Eries toxic blooms. As heavy rains increase in the region, they will contribute to high runoff levels. Higher summer temperatures will also promote blooms, she said.

The Environmental Working Group wrote that for algal blooms in Martin County, Lake Erie and other parts of the country, the primary source of pollution is conventional agriculture.

Florida, you might want to take note.

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As summer gets into full swing, the people of Toledo, Ohio, begin what has become a disturbing annual ritualthe wait for a toxic algae bloom to erupt across Lake Erie. This year, however, the anticipation may be mixed with hope, as state and federal officials take on this persistent problem.

A satellite image of the 2015 Lake Erie algae bloom. Photo credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

The harmful blooms have a notorious history. In 2011, toxic algae in the open waters of Lake Eries Western Basin were 50 times higher than the World Health Organization limit for safe body contact. That same year, levels were 1,200 times higher than the limit for safe drinking water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In August 2014, toxic algae shuttered the Toledo, Ohio drinking water treatment plant for several days, leading to advisories against the use of tap water in the city. The bloom also led to warnings for Pelee Island, Ontario residents not to use lake water. In total, more than 500,000 people were impacted. And the summer of 2015 produced the largest algae bloom in Lake Erie in 100 years. While it didnt reach earlier toxicity levels, the bloom covered 300 square miles.

Lake Erie is the 12th largest lake on the planet and provides drinking water source for 11 million people. Its the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes. Ohio, Michigan and Ontario all border Eries Western Basin, which is particularly vulnerable to toxic blooms. While algae are a natural presence in fresh water systems, large harmful outbreaks are linked to excessive levels of phosphorus in the lake waters. Coming into contact with the toxic algae or swallowing algae-laden water, can cause rashes, vomiting, numbness and difficulty breathing, among other symptoms. The toxic algae threaten not only drinking water, but rob oxygen from the waters creating dead zones where fish are unable to survive.

The algae problem begins when phosphorus enters the Erie watershed, primarily through agriculture fertilizer and manure runoff. Watersheds contributing to the problem include Canadas Thames River and Leamington tributaries. In the U.S., the Maumee River Basin with its 6,500-mile watershed is the largest phosphorus contributor.

Harmful Lake Erie blooms have been on the increase over the last decade, according to the EPA. Large toxic blooms are expected to become more common as warmer temperatures lengthen the algal growing season and strong spring rain storms create greater runoff of dissolved phosphorus, the type especially potent in feeding algae growth.

Thankfully, the U.S. and Canada are stepping up their defense of the lake. In 2012, the two nations committed to an amended version of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, which was first signed in 1972. And in February of this year, the two nations announced a binational goal to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering affected areas of Lake Erie by a total of 40 percent by 2025. An interim reduction goal of 20 percent by 2020 was also agreed upon. Targets are based on phosphorous levels from 2008, a year determined to represent the average annual phosphorous load in the lake.

More than 40 Canadian and American experts were involved in the process of determining the phosphorous targets, under the leadership of Environment and Climate Change Canada and the EPA. A 40 percent phosphorous reduction would limit the annual load to Eries Central Basin to 6,000 metric tons. Ohio, Michigan and Ontario have all pledged to support the goal, which took into account both commercial interests and environmental concerns.

Having a collaborative agreement signed by two governors and the premier of Ontario is a commitment by entities that have the ability and resources to implement the Clean Water [Act] program, said Victoria Pebbles, program director with the Great Lakes Commission, an interstate compact agency that advocates for the healthy development of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region and has been involved in the target-setting process.

Toxic algae in the water surrounds Pelee Island in 2009. Photo credit: T. Archer

Even though the broad binational agreement is at the highest level of government, where the rubber meets the road when implementing Clean Water [Act] programs happens through states and provinces, Pebbles added. (The Clean Water Act gives the EPA authority to regulate certain types of pollutant discharges into U.S. waters).

The two nations have agreed to develop action plans to reach phosphorus target goals by February 2018.

While management plans are under development, some critics suggest the 40 percent target is inadequate. Sandy Bihn, executive director for the Ohio-based Lake Erie Waterkeeper environmental advocacy group, said the goal falls short because it doesnt adequately account for two significant factors: climate change and increased livestock farming in the region.

Bihn believes climate change will exacerbate conditions leading to Eries toxic blooms. As heavy rains increase in the region, they will contribute to high runoff levels. Higher summer temperatures will also promote blooms, she said.

Were never going to slow down the rains from climate change, Bihn said. More rain in a short period of time causes havoc in Lake Erie.

Manure runoff from new commercial-size livestock farms coming online since 2008 is another largely overlooked factor pertaining to phosphorus load levels, Bihn added. She believes manure management on new and existing large-scale farms could provide the single greatest relief from phosphorous overload.

We estimate manure from big barn farms is 20 to 30 percent of the [(phosphorus]) load to Lake Erie, Bihn said. If we take out that 20 to 30 percent, thats half-way to getting Lake Erie blue and healthy again.

Despite the complexities involved in reducing Lake Eries toxic blooms, Bihn is optimistic that Eries health can be restored. She pointed out that 90 percent of Eries water flows down from the Upper Great Lakes giving Erie the fastest flushing rate of all the Great Lakes. Eries waters turn over every 2.6 years, compared to 6, 22, 99 and 191 years for lakes Ontario, Huron, Michigan and Superior respectively.

If you reduce sources, like manure, we would see results almost immediately, she said.

Laura Johnson believes other solutions are key to phosphorous load reductions. Director of the National Center for Water Quality Research at Ohios Heidelberg University, Johnson sees the agricultural industrys adoption of cover cropswhich are planted during the off-season and then either incorporated into the soil or left on the surfaceas a viable solution to reducing phosphorus in the lake. Johnson explained that the added organic matter adds a sponge-like quality to the soil, curtailing runoff.

It takes five years before you see benefits, she said. But it can buffer against wet and dry years.

Only 5 percent of growers in the Great Lakes region currently plant cover crops, according to Johnson.

Johnson said a new, little-implemented farm practice also has potential to curtail phosphorous-rich runoff. The practice, called subsurface injection, deposits fertilizer a few inches below the soils surface in crop rows. Sitting below the surface, the fertilizer is protected from runoff-causing rains.

Financial support for solutions to the algae problem is growing. In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture committed $41 million over a three-year period to help Ohio, Michigan and Indiana growers implement practices reducing runoff to Lake Erie. These funds are in addition to $36 million previously committed to the effort through the 2014 Farm Bill.

While programs for reducing the phosphorus load gain steam, projections for the lakes summer 2016 outbreak forecast an average bloom, unlike the monster of 2015, according Johnson. But that doesnt mean the City of Toledo can relax. Johnson added that where the bloom settles this year, as well as its toxicity level, will depend on what weather conditions Mother Nature has in store.

Sally Barber is a Great Lakes-based magazine and news writer. She is the author of The Michigan Eco-Traveler: A Guide to Sustainable Adventures in the Great Lakes State.

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Monsanto has been staring down an increasing number of cancer lawsuits ever since the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) infamously classified Roundups main ingredient glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans in March 2015.

One such plaintiff, Yolanda Mendoza, is now speaking out about her personal injury and product liability lawsuit against the chemical titan.

Glyphosate, the main ingredient in the Monsantos flagship product Roundup, the most widely applied pesticide worldwide. Photo credit: Flickr

Three years ago, Mendoza was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was only in her mid-thirties. When asked how she felt about the worrisome diagnosis, she recalled to CBS News, [I felt] that I was going to die. I had only like a few days.

The mother of three explained to CBS that she would walk around her one-acre property with a backpack sprayer containing the controversial weedkiller and believes the product led to her illness.

After a five-month battle with the disease and intense chemotherapy, Mendozas cancer is in remission. But she now finds herself facing another giant: Monsanto.

Robin Greenwald, the head of environmental protection at personal injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, represents Mendoza and has helped file nine other cases against the St. Louis-based corporation over their blockbuster product.

Greenwald told EcoWatch that all of these cases are focused on exposure to Roundup and diagnosis of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, and the IARC has issued a strong association between glyphophate and the cancer.

Monsanto has sought dismissal of Mendozas case as well as other similar cases but the companys motions have consistently been denied. EcoWatch has seen three such court orders, one from Hawaii and two from California, that have rejected Monsantos attempt to dismiss the respective lawsuits.

Greenwald says people from around the country have been coming to her about Roundup lawsuits and have raised similar allegations that Monsanto has not adequately warned about Roundups link to cancer. She said these people come in three categories: farmers, and at least one nursery worker, who have been exposed to the compound through agricultural work; people like Mendoza who regularly apply Roundup to their own lawns and property; and landscapers who go from town to town and get exposed to the product.

Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, has touched off major global controversy after the IARCs decision about the safety of the product. The weedkiller is so ubiquitous that it was found in urine samples of 93 percent of Americans tested, according to a test conducted by the University of California San Francisco.

Monsanto has long rejected the IARCs conclusion and has demanded a retraction of their report and cited their own studies and independent studies that conclude the product is safe.

If youre using it properly, the way you should, you should be confident in the safety of that use every day, Monsantos Dr. Donna Farmer told CBS.

However, Greenwald countered to EcoWatch, Of course they are going to say that and Im not surprised they say that, adding that Monsanto has a history of denying the toxicity of its products from Agent Orange to PCBs.

Greenwald, who spoke to Mendoza the other day, says her client wants people to know about Roundups potential health risks and that she feels lucky to be alive.

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A team of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists may not have been able to enjoy fireworks this July 4, but they did witness something historic: NASAs Juno spacecraft successfully entered Jupiters orbit.

Artist rendition of Juno spacecraft orbiting Jupiter. Photo credit: NASA

The main goal of the Juno expedition, launched almost five years ago on Aug. 5, 2011, is to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter, according to the missions statement. While Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, little is known about it. Juno spacecraft is set to orbit the planet 37 times over the next 20 months.

Independence Day always is something to celebrate, but today we can add to Americas birthday another reason to cheerJuno is at Jupiter, NASA administrator Charlie Bolden said in a press release. And what is more American than a NASA mission going boldly where no spacecraft has gone before? With Juno, we will investigate the unknowns of Jupiters massive radiation belts to delve deep into not only the planets interior, but into how Jupiter was born and how our entire solar system evolved.

Teamwork! From #Jupiter to Earth: thanks, team for guiding me into orbit. And now SCIENCE https://t.co/4tR0S3XwyD pic.twitter.com/17Bia2UTkR  NASA's Juno Mission (@NASAJuno) July 5, 2016

NASAs Juno spacecraft entered the large planets atmosphere after a 35-minute engine burn, which decreased the spacecrafts velocity by 1,212 miles per hour, the administration reported. News that the burn had completed was received at 11:53 p.m. EDT Monday.

A time-lapse video captures Junos view of Jupiter beginning when the spacecraft was 10 million miles away from the planet and ending when it was 3 million miles away.

This is the one time I dont mind being stuck in a windowless room on the night of the 4th of July, Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, said. The mission team did great. The spacecraft did great. We are looking great. Its a great day.

Junos trip around Jupiter will be powered by 18,698 individual solar cells on the spacecraft.

With an array of science instruments, Juno will:

Investigate the existence of a solid planetary core

Map Jupiters magnetic and gravity fields, revealing the planets deep structure (The video below shows Juno coming in contact with the boundary of Jupiters magnetic field on June 24.)
Nestle is planning to open a bottled water plant in Phoenix. Yes, drought-stricken Phoenix, Arizona.

Arizonas capital, in the midst of an epic drought, could be home to Nestles newest water bottling plant.

According to the Associated Press, Nestle Waters will treat the citys tap water and bottle it under its Pure Life brand. The plan is to extract about 35 million gallons of water in its first year to produce 264 million half-liter bottles.

The citys water services department insists theres enough water to spare, even though Arizona is in the midst of a historic drought. As Bloomberg writes:

Phoenix produced about 95 billion gallons of water in 2015. It gets more than half from Arizonas Salt and Verde rivers, and a little less than that from a Colorado River diversion, some of which is piped into storage aquifers for emergency use. About 2 percent is groundwater. The Nestle plant would use about 35 million gallons (or 264 million half-liter bottles) when it opens in the spring, or about 0.037 percent of the volume that comes out of the citys plants and wells. So with that kind of math, and all the demand for bottled water among thirsty Phoenicians, it looks like theres plenty to go aroundeven enough for Nestle to pour out of the tap, bottle and sell for a few bucks.

Unsurprisingly, many people are wondering why it is necessary to bottle water in the middle of a desert when Arizonans can just drink it from the tap.

Arizona is in drought conditions and with more people moving here each day it is imperative that we do everything we can to conserve water, a Change.org petition signed by nearly 45,000 people states. Even on the City of Phoenix website, we are reminded that the future of our city water supply is uncertain.

A Facebook group has also been formed to protest the proposed plant.

This plant approval further reveals the breathtaking duplicity of city managers as they attempt to force residents to implement water conservation measures, wrote Dr. Anton G. Camarota, an Arizona resident and a member of the Facebook group.

The managers state that by watering your lawn wisely, you can conserve a precious resource and save money on your water bill, and it is important to conserve water as a lifestyle. Its everyones job to think about water  every time you use it  and use it responsibly. At the same time that they promulgate these platitudes, they are selling water to a private company for profit. The managers fail to see that water is not merely a lifestyle choice, in the deserts of Arizona it is the difference between life and death.

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the U.S., provides water to Arizona, California, Nevada and Mexico. In May, water levels shrunk to 37 percent fullthe lowest it has ever been. Water levels could dip even further as climate change unfolds, triggering mandatory restrictions. Federal water managers warned that they might have to temporarily reduce Arizonas allotment in 2018.

Sucking up the citys precious resource is not the only concern. Americans are now drinking water from these single-use plastic items more than soda, potentially creating mounds of plastic waste if the bottles are not properly recycled.

Bloomberg reported that Nestles chose to build a plant in Phoenix to cut down transportation costs of moving water into the region. Other factors included water quantity, water quality, regulatory burdens, local concerns and Nestles corporate perspective, according to Nelson Switzer, chief sustainability officer of Nestle Waters.

We want to be where people want us, Switzer said. Gauging a communitys welcome (or lack thereof) is a part of the process. If all of those things together make sense, then we can site, he continued. The plant is expected to create between 40 to 50 jobs.

The company said water scarcity is a real concern, and in areas where population growth is threatening to exceed available water supplies, the concern is heightened.

If Nestle builds the plant, Phoenix will be home to four bottle plants, including Pepsi Bottling Co., Niagara Bottling and DS Services of America.

Nestle is also facing opposition over bottling plants from communities in San Bernardino, California, Hood River County, Oregon and Eldred Township, Pennsylvania.

Last month, college-bound student Hannah Rousey of Lovell, Maine turned down a $1,000 scholarship money from Nestle subsidiary Poland Spring due to her objections to bottled water and the companys environmentally destructive practices.

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By Nada Culver

A staggering 90 percent of our public lands and minerals managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are open to oil and gas leasing due to fundamental flaws in the BLMs policies, according to a new report from The Wilderness Society.

The No Exit report shows that regardless of conservation value or potential energy resources, the Bureau of Land Management automatically places our public lands on the highway to oil and gas leasing. Instead of seeking to preserve some of the nearly 250 million acres of public lands and 700 million acres of subsurface mineral resources owned by the American people, the agency relies on outdated and unbalanced policies and defaults to managing public lands for energy development.

Oil and gas development in Pawnee Grasslands, Colorado. Mason Cummings / The Wilderness Society

This directly conflicts with the BLMs own guiding principle that some lands, especially those with low potential energy resources, be managed for conservation, wildlife habitat and recreation.

Public Lands Development Rigged in Favor of the Oil and Gas

Currently, nearly 32 million acres of BLM lands are leased for oil and gas development, including areas that do not contain oil and gas. Lands under lease remain unavailable for any other use, even when they are not actively under development. And the majority of these leased lands60 percentremain undeveloped due to oil and gas companies hoping for future profits if energy prices rise or the land could be sold.

In the end, it is the American people who lose because the development of our public lands is rigged in favor of the oil and gas industry. Acres of wild-land that may be too sensitive for drilling are still never made available for public use. And millions of dollars in taxpayer revenue is lost on leased lands sitting idle, as the industry avoids paying any royalties and squats on large tracks of land through a tool known as suspensions. As of April, the oil and gas industry is hoarding 19.3 million acres without paying royaltiesthats an area the size of South Carolina!

Our public lands deserve a chance at something other than energy development. To avoid defaulting our public lands to oil and gas leasing, the BLM needs to take immediate action to follow its own principles and modernize its outdated practices.

The BLM is Misguided by Its Own Guidance

It seems absurd, but the BLMs interpretation of its handbook, which lays out steps to identify whether land has potential for oil and gas development or is too sensitive for drilling, is out of step with its own guiding principles for land management.

The handbook directs the agency staff to manage BLM lands based on the potential of recoverable oil and gas deposits beneath the surface, helping to focus staff on areas with the most potential. However, the BLM does not follow through on closing lands to leasing, so the majority of lands can still be leased even if the potential for oil and gas is very low or nonexistent. This leaves us with 90 percent of BLM lands and minerals being open to oil and gas development.

The BLMs unbalanced approach to leasing and development decisions puts conservation on the back burner, leading to several problems:

1. Leased Land Can Never be Managed for Wildlife, Recreation or Land Conservation

The BLM considers any resource potential and undeveloped leases as prohibitive to other management actions that would benefit recreation, wilderness and wildlife.

This means that once BLM leases land to the fossil fuel industry, it is nearly impossible to manage it for other uses. Meaningful conservation that could occur on sensitive lands never even has a chance. Even land with very little or no potential energy development is within the grasp of oil and gas companies and out of reach of the American public.

2. Defaulting to Energy Development is Out of Step with Meeting National Climate Goals

If all leases on public lands were developed by the industry, greenhouse gas emissions from public lands would greatly set back our nations climate goals.

We now know that energy extracted from public lands accounts for more than 1/5 of the U.S. greenhouse gas footprint. Continuing to lease more and more acres of public lands to the oil and gas industry only sets us on a path towards increasing polluting emissions.

3. Public Lands Are Not Managed for the Benefit of the American People

Many Americans strongly support managing our wild-lands for something other than oil and gas development.

But most Americans never get a voice in the lands management, enjoy scenic landscapes or profit from revenue that could be generated if they were managed for something other than oil and gas. Instead, oil and gas companies hoard public lands for decades without paying royalties. Undeveloped leases generate less than two percent of total oil and gas revenue and nearly 80 million in revenue has been lost by companies not paying rent on those leases.

Most states in the West have close to 90 percent of Bureau of Land Management lands open to oil and gas leasing.

Speculative Leasing: Putting the Majority of Our Public Lands at Risk and Creating a Double Standard

The report examines how a staggering amount of land with low or no potential for development is still open to leasing, leading to speculative leasing. This means that the BLM keeps public land open and oil and gas companies lease it in hopes that energy prices will rise, cheaper methods of extraction will be invented or leases can be sold off to another company.

By allowing speculative leasing, the BLM encourages a ridiculous double-standard. While the agency prioritizes oil and gas leasing, it makes it very hard for any tract of land to meet the standard to be managed for conservation or recreation. And even if a piece of land is shown to contain abundant wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities, the BLM often declines to set it aside.

What is even worse is that the BLM sees the presence of leases, even highly speculative leases, as a basis for rejecting new conservation designations. This cycle completely undermines conservation efforts on our public lands.

Energy Must No Longer Trump Everything Else on Public Lands

It is too easy for land to be leased for oil and gas development and far too difficult to protect land for conservation. With 90 percent of our public lands and minerals open to leasing, we have several policy recommendations that BLM can enact immediately that will provide an exit for our public lands from the road to development:

Immediate guidance needs to be issued, clarifying how leasing and planning decisions can better reflect balanced management of our public lands.

Guidelines in the BLM handbook should be followed and updated to provide a better path forward on public lands management.

Lands must be closed to oil and gas development when they have conservation value and little or no potential for oil and gas.

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Scientists are bringing life on Mars closer and closer to reality by growing edible plants in soil similar to that of the red planet.

Peas being grown in Mars-like soil simulants. Photo credit: Wagningen University via Facebook

Researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands successfully grew 10 crops of which four so far have been tested and claimed edible, according to a Mars One statement. Radishes, peas, rye and tomatoes grown in Mars-like soil were deemed safe for human consumption.

These remarkable results are very promising, senior ecologist Wieger Wamelink said. We can actually eat the radishes, peas, rye, and tomatoes and I am very curious what they will taste like.

Scientists at Wageningen University have experimented with growing crops on Mars- and Moon-like soil simulants, developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, since 2013.

Potatoes growing in Mars-like soil simulant. Photo credit: Wageningen University via Facebook

The first round of experiments proved that plants could in fact be grown in the soil. Scientists then needed to test if the plants produced in the soil simulants would be edible.

Mars soil contains heavy metalsaluminum, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, chrome, nickel and leadthat could be poisonous if consumed at certain levels.

Mars One is very proud to support this important research, Bas Lansdorp, CEO and co-founder of Mars One, said. Growing food locally is especially important to our mission of permanent settlement, as we have to ensure sustainable food production on Mars.

Wamelink and teams research is being funded by a crowdfunding campaign, which run until the end of August. So far, the project has raised 12,745 euros out of a goal of 25,000. The remaining money will fund the testing of the other six crops, including potatoes.

Its important to test as many crops as possible, to make sure that settlers on Mars have access to a broad variety of different food sources, Wamelink said.

Watch Wamelink talk about the experiments in more depth in this video:

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[Editors note: Read the latest here.]

Today, in a cloture vote, the Senate voted to do away with our right to know whats in our food, revoking a popular and clear state labeling law in effect inVermont and nullifying all future state labeling initiatives.

This is a slap in the face for all of the advocates that have worked hard to pass state-level measures because they believe strongly that labels should be transparent, and people should have the choice to decide whether or not they purchase and consume foods with genetically engineered ingredients. The majority of Americans support labeling for GMOs and will hold their elected officials accountable for stripping away this transparency.

If this bill becomes law, the industry wins what are essentially voluntary requirements under this GMO labeling compromise, which does not mandate recalls, penalties or fines for noncompliance with the incredibly weak requirements of the bill that will likely leave many GMO ingredients exempt from any labeling requirements. And the bill gives companies the option to use discriminatory QR codes that require a smartphone to access basic information about the food on store shelves.

Now, we call on the House not to pass the bill. We also call on President Obama to veto the bill if it comes to his desk. On the campaign trail many years ago, he promised reform on many food issuesfrom giving family farmers a fair shot in the marketplace to food labeling, saying we had the right to know whether or not food is genetically engineered. Before he leaves office, he has one more chance to get it right when it comes to food policy that protects people over corporations. He must veto this bill.

Watch as Senators John Tester (D-MT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA) speak out today against the Senate GMO food labeling bill, with Senator Tester arguing that including the label as a QR code protects corporate food producers over consumers:

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Despite Vermonts historic GMO labeling bill coming into effect June 1, Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) are vigorously lobbying to get their industry-approved GMO labeling deal passed before Congresss summer break.

Senate Ag leaders Pat Roberts and Debbie Stabenow hope to pass legislation allowing food companies to label their products containing GMOs with a QR code instead of on-package labels.

According to POLITICOs Morning Agriculture blog, the Senate Ag leaders are using every part of the lobbying playbook, with letters being sent, staffs briefed, reports and FDA assessments flaunted, and farmers and consumers are being encouraged to inundate lawmakers with phone calls.

Roberts has been reportedly distributing a flier touting that the bill will nullify the dangerousVermont law and stop other states from passing similar legislation.

Why Big Ag loves (and consumers despise) the Senate bill to kill #GMO labeling. See flier from @SenPatRoberts. pic.twitter.com/4juPSWGmZQ  Gary Ruskin (@garyruskin) June 28, 2016

Even though Vermonts mandate comes into effect Friday, the Senatorss bill still has a small window of passage as Vermonts attorney general will not start forcing producers to label their food products containing genetically engineered ingredients until the start of 2017.

A confident Stabenow told POLITICO that enough votes will be secured for the deal to move forward, while Roberts said, We had 46 [Republicans] last time, and were hoping to get a few more. Last March, the Senate voted down Robertss previous bill that would have prohibited states from requiring genetically modified food labels. The bill required 60 votes for passage but failed 48-49.

Roberts said his latest GMO bill will be the first order of business next week and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will set up a cloture vote, according to this tweet from Agripulse senior editor Philip Brasher.

.@SenPatRoberts says #GMO labeling first order of business next week, McConnell to set up cloture vote @agripulse  Philip Brasher (@PhilipBrasher) June 29, 2016

While Democrat Senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Sherrod Brown of Ohio announced support for the bill, it is not clear if it will gather enough votes to pass. And not to mention, the bill has to pass the House and be signed by President Obama before it becomes law.

Vermonts own Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced he will try to block Senate consideration of the bill. In a statement on Tuesday, the Democratic presidential candidate said:

I am very proud that Vermont has led the country in GMO labeling. This bill would preempt what Vermont and other states have done. GMO labeling exists in dozens of countries around the world. It is not controversial. Already major food companies in our country have begun labeling their products. People have a right to know what is in the food they eat. I am going to do everything I can to defeat this legislation.

By putting a hold on the bill, Sanders can block it from coming up for debate unless the proponents can muster up 60 votes.

I will do everything I can to defeat this weak GMO labeling bill in the Senate, beginning by putting a hold on it.  Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) June 28, 2016

The Roberts-Stabenow bill has been described by opponents as another version of the Denying Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act as it includes provisions that would establish a federal program based on QR codes, a symbol, 1-800 numbers or a statement on packages referring people to websites.

While many major food companies have already started labeling their products to comply with Vermonts labeling mandate, under the new federal scheme proposed by the Senators, food makers can change their labels to a QR code.

In fact, both Campbells and General Mills have already said they support the new proposal.

We need consistency across the country. And without this national solution, we risked having a system of 50 different regulations impacting our packages, General Mills Mike Siemienas told The Olympian.

We will continue to comply with Vermonts law until Congress and the president enact legislation that pre-empts and replaces it, Tom Hushen of Campbells said. With or without new federal legislation, the Vermont label will continue to appear on shelves across most of the country and well into the future.

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The Caribbean Sea is whistling in an A-flat tone, roughly 30 octaves below the bottom of a piano.

University of Liverpool researchers detected the noise when they were analyzing sea level and sea floor pressure in the Caribbean Sea, an area that has been monitored for the past 60 years. But something unusual showed up on their ocean activity models: there were pressure oscillations across the Caribbean basin, according to Science Alert.

Photo credit: NASA

We were looking at ocean pressure through models for quite different reasons, and this region just didnt work, Chris Hughes, of the University of Liverpool, told Gizmodo.

The models kept yielding large, inexplicable oscillations of the Earths gravity field across the basin. It felt like a sore thumb, Hughes added.

Hughes and his team decided to see if they could observe the phenomenon in the ocean, Gizmodo reported. They collected pressure readings and tide gauge records from the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Grace satellite collected between 1958 and 2013. Soon, the researchers discovered that the Caribbean Sea acts like a giant whistle.

The strange sound, which cannot be heard by humans, is caused by the Rossby wave, which travels westward across the ocean. Scientists have observed the wave disappearing on the west side of the Caribbean basin and then reappearing 120 days later on the east side, according to Science Alert. The disappearance is known as the Rossby wormhole.

Hughes and his teams findings prove that the Rossby wave doesnt disappear, but is in fact still interacting with the seafloor during those 120 days. The waves resonate after hitting the western wall of the Caribbean basin and the frequency creates the whistle sound, Gizmodo said.

We can compare the ocean activity in the Caribbean Sea to that of a whistle, Hughes told Science Daily. When you blow into a whistle, the jet of air becomes unstable and excites the resonant sound wave which fits into the whistle cavity. Because the whistle is open, the sound radiates out so you can hear it.

Similarly, an ocean current flowing through the Caribbean Sea becomes unstable and excites a resonance of a rather strange kind of ocean wave called a Rossby wave. Because the Caribbean Sea is partly open, this causes an exchange of water with the rest of the ocean which allows us to hear the resonance using gravity measurements.

The noise was sped up to be audible to humans in this video:

https://youtu.be/gj9pB0rI08w

The phenomenon has been aptly named the Rossby whistle and a paper was published about it in Geophysical Research Letters.

Scientists believe the Rossby whistle could help predict coastal flooding. The whistle can vary sea level by as much as 10 centimeters (roughly 4 inches) along the Colombian and Venezuelan coast, according to a University of Liverpool release. Even small changes can increase the flood probability.

Hughes and team also believe the Rossby whistle will have an impact on the North Atlantic Ocean by regulating the Caribbean Current, which leads to the Gulf Stream.

Researchers plan to investigate the phenomenon further to understand how it affects ocean dynamics.

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Zero-waste markets are coming to the U.S. While very popular in Europe, this trend in grocery shopping isnt as well known in North America.

The Fillery, brainchild of Sarah Metz, is a place where one fills empty containers with goods, such as grains, nuts, seeds, coffee, tea, spices, oils and the like, according to the shops KickStarter page. Customers can bring their own reusable containers to the shop or purchase compostable ones to place their products in.

We aim to improve the health of our community in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and the environment by offering alternatives to the plastic entombed, chemical laden options which are ubiquitous in both pantries and landfills worldwide, reads the KickStarter page.

Metzs motivation for The Fillery came after a self-realization, she wrote in her KickStarter bio:

After lots of experimenting with recipes from my extensive library of cookbooks (thanks, mom!), Ive acquired a cabinet full of ingredients that will likely go bad before I finish them. A few days ago, I counted 10 types of flour in my cupboard. I see at least four problems with this: 1. food waste is a huge problem. 2. packaging waste is a huge problem 3. it is expensive, and 4. it takes up too much space in my tiny Brooklyn kitchen. Combine this with my frustration in trying to find conscientiously sourced, responsibly packaged, healthy groceries nearby, and you have my motivation for The Fillery.

Its hard not to notice how much waste is generated here, Metz told the Huffington Post. You walk past piles of trash that are higher than you are.

The Fillery wont just sell grocery items, Metz said. It will also be a community supported agriculture (CSA) pick up spot and a learning center. Customers will be able to take classes in how to hand-make common households necessities such as toothpaste.

Metz raised $17,075 with a goal of $15,000 on KickStarter. The campaign is closed now and she is looking for a storefront, according to the Huffington Post.

The Fillery via KickStarter

In Denver, Lyndsey Manderson, co-founder of the store Zero Market, is also concerned with the amount of plastic used and wasted today, said the Huffington Post. Shes planning on installing a tracker to show her customers how much packaging theyve kept out of landfills, and even the ocean, by shopping zero-waste.

Roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the worlds oceans each year. Plastics are becoming an increasingly common cause of death and injury for marine animals. A 2015 study Valuing Plastic by the Plastic Disclosure Project and Trucost estimated plastic caused $13 billion in damages to marine ecosystems every year, EcoWatch reported.

The Fillery via Instagram

Several entrepreneurs are dabbling in ways to clean plastics out of the oceans. One company,Plastic Whale, is fishing plastics out of the water. Boyan Slat and his Ocean Cleanup Foundation are testing a clean-up boom that would help remove plastics from the oceans.

Metz hopes to open her store sometime this year.
(Photo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines)Philippines Catholic Bishops on January 20, 2015. The new Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been a loggerheads with them and now the bishops are taking aim at him for extra-judicial killings taking place on his watch.

At least 30 "drug dealers" have been killed since Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as the president of Philippines, police say, triggering the wrath of human rights activists and the fears of the country's Catholic bishops.

The police also announced the seizure of nearly $20 million worth of narcotics, since Duterte was sworn in June 30, International Business Times reported July 5.

The former mayor of Davao city, Duterte is known as "the punisher," and won the election in May pledging to crush crime. However, his advocacy of extrajudicial killings has alarmed many.

After his oath taking, Duterte said he wanted to get rid of drug traffickers, telling supporters to "go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful."

In the past, he has also offered rewards to those who "shoot" them.

The secretary-general of the National Union of People's Lawyers, Edre Olalia said in a statement July 4 that the murder of suspected drug dealers is not a "quick fix" to the problem, Newsweek reported.

"Let us be crystal clear: the drug menace must stop," said Olalia. "Yet the apparent serial summary executions of alleged street drug users or petty drug lords which appear sudden, too contrived and predictable must also stop. The two are not incompatible."

On July 6, Duterte publicly accused five police generals of involvement in the drugs trade and said only he would be accountable for a bloody crackdown that has killed 30 people since he took office last week, Reuters reports.

POLICE AND DRUGS SYNDICATES

The president named the generals during a televised speech and said they were protecting drugs syndicates and contributing to a "deterioration of law and order" that he would fight to reverse, with no remorse for the consequences.

"It's going to be a dirty fight, it's going to be a bloody fight. I am not apologizing for it," Duterte said.

"As public authority, mine and mine alone, I assume full legal responsibility for it."

The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines had on June 20 expressed alarm at signs of vigilantism and a sharp rise in police killings, following the May general election.

In a statement, the bishops expressed alarm at reports that suspected drug pushers have been shot dead because they resisted arrest.

"We are disturbed by an increasing number of reports that suspected drug-peddlers, pushers and others ... have been shot, supposedly because they resist arrest," Archbishop Socrates Villegas, the head of the conference, said in a statement.

He was responding to national police figures showing that 29 drug suspects were shot dead between May 9 and June 15, compared to 39 killed in the previous four months of this year.

They cited reports that bodies have been paraded for the media with labels declaring their supposed crime.

The bishops also condemned the offering of financial bonuses to police who kill. They said such bounties are never morally acceptable.

The statement was a pastoral message addressed to Philippine law enforcers, but could fall on deaf ears as bishops and priests have been the subject of what Vatican Radio called "obscenity-laden attacks" from Duterte.

He has also referred to Pope Francis and the Philippine bishops as "sons of whores", and said the Church is "the most hypocritical institution," the Catholic Herald has reported.
GOODWOOD, England  Rolls-Royce has released a photo of the eighth-generation 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom luxury sedan undergoing development at the company's home here.

Pricing for the 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom has not yet been announced.

The Phantom competes in the rarefied ultra-luxury market segment against such models as the Bentley Mulsanne.

Earlier this year, the British automaker revealed that it had begun testing new all-aluminum space-frame architecture, which can be built in varying sizes and ride heights so that it can serve as the basis for all future models beginning in 2018.

It's likely that the redesigned Phantom will be the first model to feature this platform when it starts arriving at Rolls-Royce dealerships in that year.

From the teaser photo, it seems that the basic shape of the car's sides will not be radically different from the current model and that the new Phantom's generous length and large doors will continue to spell ease of entry and rear-seat comfort.

As previously reported by Edmunds, in another announcement early this year, Rolls-Royce said that the Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe convertible would be discontinued when production of the current Phantom generation ends.

Although that announcement prompted some speculation that the entire Phantom line might be on the chopping block, in this latest announcement Rolls-Royce put those rumors to rest.

"To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Phantom's death are greatly exaggerated," said Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, in a statement. "I am proud and excited to confirm that a new Phantom is on the way  and it will be a contemporary and beautiful Phantom befitting of its role as the flagship of global luxury."

Edmunds says: Shoppers in the market for an ultra premium luxury sedan might want to contact their Rolls-Royce dealer to stay up to date on the new Phantom's development.
The U.S. Supreme Courts decision to uphold the race-conscious admissions program at the University of Texas at Austin was greeted by both supporters and opponents of affirmative action as something they didnt see coming. And they said the reverberations will be felt from the most selective colleges in the country to neighborhood elementary schools.

This was obviously a big surprise, said Christina Swarns, the director of litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in New York, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the universitys plan. It demonstrates a remarkable evolution in the way [Justice Anthony M. Kennedy] thinks about these issues.

In Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (Case No. 14-981), decided June 23, Kennedy wrote for a 5-3 majority that considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission.

Kennedy had never voted to uphold a race-conscious education plan and had reportedly written a draft decision striking down the University of Texas plan the first time the high court had reviewed it in the 2012-13 term. That opinion never saw the light of day, but Kennedy did write the more restrained Fisher I decision that called for a federal appeals court to give greater constitutional scrutiny to UTs plan.

The latest decision, in what will become known as Fisher II, was indeed a surprise to anyone who traced Kennedys past decisions on race-conscious government action, including his dissent to the 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, which upheld an affirmative action plan at the University of Michigan law school, said William Consovoy, an Arlington, Va., lawyer who helped represent Abigail Fisher. She is the white student from the Houston area who sued under the 14th Amendments equal-protection clause after being denied admission to UTs fall 2008 freshman class.

In terms of the future, we always did see this as a unique case, said Consovoy, also the co-director of the Supreme Court Clinic at the George Mason University law school, which also is in Arlington and was renamed for Justice Antonin Scalia after the justice died in February.

I dont think it tells us whats going to happen going forward, Consovoy said. As I read Fisher [II], it invites another challenge.

Something Strange

Supporters of affirmative action at the university level as well as in elementary and secondary education were more optimistic that a page has been turned in the nations long debate over affirmative action in education.

Several groups primarily representing K-12 interests had filed briefs in the case backing UT by arguing that racial diversity is important at every level of education.

After the decision, National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia issued a statement saying that the mission of public elementary, secondary, and higher education is to instill in all students the values on which our society rests and to provide them all, regardless of race, with the skills and knowledge necessary to realize their full potential. That mission cannot be fulfilled without racially diverse classrooms.

Thomas J. Gentzel, the executive director of the National School Boards Association, said in a statement that it takes dedicated efforts to achieve racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity and NSBA is pleased that the court affirmed its long-standing principles in support of policies and practices that foster diversity and integration.

But Richard D. Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, who opposes race-based affirmative action and has long advocated for using socioeconomic factors to achieve diversity, said that many K-12 schools will respond to the Fisher II decision cautiously because of the continuing application of the high courts 2007 decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District.

In that decision, the court sharply limited the ways school systems that are not under federal desegregation plans could use race to assign students to particular schools. Kennedy wrote a much-analyzed concurrence in that case that outlined certain ways he believed schools could continue to take race into consideration.

(Interestingly, the only citations in the most recent case to the Parents Involved decision came in the dissent written by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on behalf of himself and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Clarence Thomas, including several times when Alito appeared to be throwing Kennedys words from the 2007 concurrence back at him.)

Kahlenberg said that research data by the Century Foundation show that school districts and charter schools have been more willing than universities to embrace socioeconomic plans, which tend to result in achieving racial as well as socioeconomic diversity.

The difference between K-12 schools and higher education in this regard is that school districts must educate everyone in their jurisdictions, and just seek to sort their student population among schools in ways that boost diversity, he said.

By contrast, in higher education, youre asking institutions to change their admissions systems and spend to recruit lower-income students, which is expensive, he said.

Still, Swarns, of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said the Fisher II decision is a big win for proponents of affirmative action at every level of education, noting that at this point, we have only three justices with clear and unambiguous opposition to race-based admissionsAlito, Roberts, and Thomas.

In his dissent, Alito said that UT has never provided any coherent explanation for its asserted need to discriminate on the basis of race, and even though UTs position relies on a series of unsupported and noxious racial assumptions, the majority concludes that UT has met its heavy burden. This conclusion is remarkableand remarkably wrong.

Upholding the Plan

Kennedys workmanlike opinion never fully responds to Alitos barrage of criticisms. The majority opinion, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor, suggests that the decision is narrowly confined to the unusual facts of the long-running UT case. (Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the case, presumably because she worked on it while serving as U.S. solicitor general early in President Barack Obamas administration.)

Kennedy focused on the role of the Top Ten Percent plan in UTs admissions. That plan, a state legislative enactment that grants automatic admission to any state higher education campus to those who finish at the top of their high school classes, has been taken as a given since its implementation in 1998, Kennedy said, creating somewhat of an artificial landscape for admissions at UT-Austin.

The fact that this case has been litigated on a somewhat artificial basis ... may limit its value for prospective guidance, Kennedy said.

He stressed that the university has a continuing obligation to satisfy the burden of strict scrutiny of its race-conscious program by responding to changing circumstances.

The University of Texas at Austin has a special opportunity to learn and to teach, Kennedy said. The university now has at its disposal valuable data about the manner in which different approaches to admissions may foster diversity or instead dilute it.

The university must continue to use this data to scrutinize the fairness of its admissions program; to assess whether changing demographics have undermined the need for a race-conscious policy; and to identify the effects, both positive and negative, of the affirmative-action measures it deems necessary.

Kahlenberg, the Century Foundation fellow, said the Fisher case had been tailor-made for Justice Kennedy to preserve the right of universities to pursue racial diversity, but not in ways in which skin color was the determinative factor.

But I didnt see this coming, where Kennedy would reverse himself [from Fisher I] and apply a very lenient standard of scrutiny, Kahlenberg said. It is inconsistent with what he had written for years and years.

Guy-Uriel Charles, a law professor at Duke University and a founding director of its Center on Law, Race, and Politics, said that Kennedys opinion seemed to reflect the mood of a nation in which race has been found to still matter a great deal.

There is a majoritarian-ness about Kennedy, Charles said. He seems to understand where the country is or where it is going, and he is the person on the court to take it there.
The U.S. Supreme Courts long-awaited decision last month in Fisher v. University of Texas , a case challenging the constitutionality of a race-conscious student-admissions policy, affirmed that the policy adopted by the University of Texas at Austin satisfied the requirements of the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The 4-3 majority opinion provided much-needed guidance to postsecondary institutions for how they can lawfully consider race in admissions.

As scholars studying racial inequality in education who have contributed to friend-of-the-court briefs the last three times the high court has considered educational diversity cases, we are heartened by this decision and by the attention it brings to the importance of diversity at all levels of education. Others have rightly hailed it as a huge victory for postsecondary institutions in their efforts to further their educational missions. But what does the decision mean for K-12 schools?

The important implications for K-12 education rest with the courts affirmation of policies that seek to further diversify and achieve the promise of equal educational opportunity for all students. As a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office illustrated, segregation by race and class in our nations K-12 public schools is rising. Research demonstrates the serious consequences these segregative trends have on students and their communities.

The Fisher case first reached the high court in 2012, after Abigail Fisher, a white female applicant who was denied undergraduate admission to the University of Texas at Austin, sought to reverse a lower-court ruling that the institutions policy was constitutional. After initially sending the case back to the lower court to conduct a more rigorous assessment, the U.S. Supreme Court finally settled the case on June 23, affirming the lower courts ruling that the university had justified its consideration of race and that its policy was constitutional.

This second opinion, known as Fisher II and authored by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, confirmed that postsecondary institutions can pursue the educational benefits of diversity when they provide a reasoned, principled explanation for how diversity serves the institutions educational mission.

Educators can consider race in their policies and practices to attain diversity, as long as they do so in a careful and limited manner."

Kennedys majority opinion resonates with his concurring opinion in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (2007), which affirmed the compelling interest K-12 schools have in diversity and in avoiding the harms of racial isolation. Parents Involved was a splintered decision that upheld these interests while striking down two districts voluntary-integration policies for not being narrowly tailored in their consideration of race. While Parents Involved and Fisher II had different outcomes, the resounding principle in both decisions is the same: Educators can consider race in their policies and practices to attain diversity, as long as they do so in a careful and limited manner.

Perhaps because of the various, conflicting opinions arguednone of which had a clear majority of justicesthe Parents Involved decision has been misunderstood to stand for the proposition that race cannot be a factor in voluntary school integration efforts. But importantly, in his 2007 opinion, Kennedy outlined strategiessome of which included the use of racethat he believed would be narrowly tailored. The key to each of those strategies was that when school districts considered race, they did not make assignment decisions based on the individual race or ethnicity of a student, but instead on the racial composition of a geographical area or other targeted efforts.

The high courts endorsement of race-conscious policies in Fisher II is a timely reminder for K-12 schools of this latitude allowed in Parents Involved, particularly because the on-the-ground interpretation of the 2007 decision by school boards and their legal advisers was often more restrictive than the decision itself. In the initial aftermath of Parents Involved, for example, some districts preemptively discontinued the use of race-conscious policies out of concern that not doing so would continue to involve them in a lengthy and costly legal process. This was an understandable reaction in light of a 2008 Dear Colleague letter from the U.S. Department of Educations office for civil rights advising school districts to use alternatives in student assignment that did not include consideration of race, such as those involving the use of socioeconomic status.

But since this initially restrictive reading of the Parents Involved decision, some school districts have employed promising race-conscious policies that can serve as examples for other districts. The Jefferson County school system in metropolitan Louisville, Ky., for instance, implemented a new race-conscious student-assignment policy conforming to the guidelines articulated by Kennedys 2007 concurring opinion. Their policy has not only survived legal scrutiny, but has also been effective in maintaining racially and economically diverse schools, according to our research.

And another school board, in Lower Merion, Pa., successfully defended a challenge to its consideration of neighborhood racial composition in the redrawing of school boundaries. Even more importantly, in December 2011, the U.S. departments of Education and Justice rescinded the 2008 Dear Colleague letter and replaced it with comprehensive guidance to districts clarifying that, under Parents Involved, race-conscious policies were, in fact, allowed . The guidance gave general examples of permissible and effective race-conscious policies and the planning process districts should go through to be able to successfully defend their voluntary-integration policies.

As Kennedy noted in Fisher II, It remains an enduring challenge to our nations education system to reconcile the pursuit of diversity with the constitutional promise of equal treatment and dignity. By affirming the legality of University of Texas at Austins admission policy, the court empowered colleges and universities to continue with their efforts by considering race in their policies in a reflective manner. In so doing, the court reminded K-12 educators and administrators of the same imperative in their efforts to attain diversity and avoid the harms of racial isolation in our society, where race continues to shape educational access and success.

The Fisher v. University of Texas decision is a reminder of the discretion left to school districts in Parents Involved to employ a wide range of strategies to reduce racial isolation and create diverse schools, including through the use of race-conscious policies tailored to a districts goals and their particular context.
InnovFin: First EIB financing under the InnovFin Energy Demonstration Project programme to support the development of commercial WaveRoller wave energy technology

In its commitment to support innovative technologies, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will invest up to EUR 10 million in AW-Energy, a pioneering start-up company from Finland which developed WaveRoller wave energy technology. The investment will support and speed up the commercial roll-out of European wave energy technology. This is the first project to be supported by the InnovFin Energy Demonstration Project (EDP) programme.

EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori and CEO of AW-Energy John Liljelund signed the EUR 10 million agreement, which will foster a new and clean energy technology, in Brussels today.

EIB Vice-President Jan Vapaavuori said: I think it would be hard to underestimate the importance of this type of pilot project that can open up untapped sources of clean energy. One of the goals of InnovFin is to support new technologies and the EIB is glad it can support this project through this instrument. The symbolic importance of a highly innovative Finnish company putting a project in place in Portugal makes this a truly European initiative.

EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, added: An investment in renewable energy technologies is an investment in Europe's leadership of these new industries. We want to support renewable energy pioneers to contribute solutions to global climate change challenges, while generating employment and sustainable economic growth at home in Europe."

AW-Energys CEO, John Liljelund, said: This is a significant milestone not only for WaveRoller and the wave energy sector, but for the ocean energy industry as a whole, which is currently on the brink of a commercial breakthrough. As a constant and far more predictable form of renewable energy than wind and solar, wave energy will be a highly valuable addition to the global renewable energy mix. Bankable technology is the cornerstone when building a new industry. Having prestigious institutions like the EIB on board adds plenty of credibility to the equation.

AW-Energy has developed a near-shore underwater device that converts wave energy into electrical power. In 2012, the company installed three 100kW demonstration units connected to the grid near Peniche, in Portugal. The strong support of the local community and municipality was essential for the project. Its progressive approach has placed Peniche on the world map as one of the most interesting wave energy hubs, attracting many wave energy developers.

The support of the EIB will help to keep the company firmly on the track of commercialisation of the WaveRoller. AW-Energy is about to install a full-scale 350kW device in the same area of Portugal. The company has identified commercial leads in six countries and has the potential objective of selling more than 50 units in the four coming years. The project will also be financed by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.

The Wave Energy Device project has the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020. InnovFin is a range of EIB Group products designed to facilitate access to finance for innovative businesses.

Background information:

InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects provides loans, loan guarantees or equity-type investments of between EUR 7.5m and EUR 75m for innovative first-of-a-kind commercial-scale demonstration projects in the fields of renewable energy and hydrogen fuel cells, helping them to bridge the gap between demonstration and commercialisation.

AW-Energy is a pioneer in the green economy and is the global leader in wave energy technology. Its flagship product, WaveRoller, is a submerged wave energy converter based on a hinged panel that is attached to the sea bed in the near-shore area. It generates electricity from the movement of the waves (surge phenomenon) and is connected to the electricity grid onshore. The company is based in Finland and operates in multiple continents. It is backed by strong owners including Fortum, a leading European utility company.

Wave energy represents the largest untapped clean renewable energy resource, with a global potential greater than the capacity of all the installed fossil fuel plants in Europe combined. AW-Energy is the predominant global near-shore wave energy developer with ongoing projects on many continents. Its flagship product, WaveRoller, is a submerged wave energy converter that creates clean electricity from the ocean waves.

The company has successfully demonstrated the WaveRoller technology with a three-unit demonstration installation in Portugal, utilizing a fully commercial grid-connection license and providing power for the local population already in 2012. AW-Energy also runs a world-unique test centre in Finland, which enables testing and fine-tuning of full-scale power take-off units in factory conditions.

AW-Energy cooperates with strong industrial partners including certification by DNV_GL and has a thorough technology certification programme running under the review of Lloyds Register, aiming for full certification. The company employs a highly professional and efficient team that manages a network of over 100 engineers and technical staff.
Elevating an Air Force career to the next level can be accomplished in many ways. For one successful Barksdale Airman, the path to future success just got even brighter.

Air Force Global Strike Command has selected Capt. Shane Praiswater, 2nd Operations Support Squadron wing weapons officer, for its prestigious Striker Pathfinder Internship.

The internship is designed to develop the commands company grade and junior field grade officers by rotating them through staff positions within multiple directorates. It provides a breadth of experience in the command, supplemented by professional development opportunities, exposure to strategic thought, and builds leadership skillsets.

According to Jeff Fugate, AFGSC program manager, the intent is to develop leaders with a broad knowledge of Air Force deterrence operations and how they interface with United States deterrence strategy, so they are able to make strategic and operational decisions.

Some of the people I respect the most in the community have gone through this program, said Praiswater. Theyre the ones who turned me on to this opportunity. They spoke well of the program and have had very successful careers.

Applicants are competitively selected, and the program is open to AFGSC bomber pilots, combat systems operators and missileers.

Praiswater is one of three exceptional AFGSC officers selected this year, with Capt. Ashley Hardwich, 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, and Capt. Romonte Sullivan, 91st Missile Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, rounding out the selectees.

Lt. Col. John Varilek, 2nd OSS commander, endorsed Praiswater as a nominee.

"It was no surprise to me that Capt. Praiswater was chosen for this prestigious program, he said. When he joined our squadron, his drive and enthusiasm for the B-52 Stratofortress mission was immediately apparent.

Varilek quickly put Praiswater in charge of a couple programs to capitalize on the leadership and tactical skill sets he saw in him.

He worked tirelessly to make his programs stand out and produce better-trained 2nd Bomb Wing aviators, enhancing our combat capability, Varilek said. I believe his natural leadership and drive coupled with the Pathfinder program's tools and training will be exactly what our Air Force needs to fly, fight and win in all current and future battlefield domains.

Praiswater says its bittersweet to be leaving the squadron hes come to love when there are a lot of exciting things happening within the B-52 community, specifically increased combat operations.

Its humbling to be selected for something like this, he said. I cant thank Lieutenant Colonel Varilek enough for pushing me forward with this, as well as the group and wing leadership."
Contenido Exclusivo La nota a la que intentas acceder es exclusiva para suscriptores Suscribirme Conoce nuestros planes

y disfruta de El Pais sin limites. Ingresar Si ya sos suscriptor podes

ingresar con tu usuario y contrasena.

Tampoco se sabe sobre que tratara la proxima pelicula del este director que sigue tan prolifico como siempre aunque tenga 80 anos.

El director estuvo hace poco en Cannes, promocionando su ultimo film, Cafe Society,

Si no puede ver el video, haga click aqui.

at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this past May. However, his offscreen comments and actions received the lion's share of attention.



In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he barreled through questions about his longtime marriage to Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his former girlfriend Mia Farrow. He called himself "immune" to the criticism of their marriage. Previn is 35 years younger than him.



"I worked right through that, undiminished," he says. "Made films all through those years and at the same rate I was making them. I'm good that way. I am very disciplined and very monomaniacal and compartmentalized."



His estranged son Ronan Farrow responded to the interview with a powerful essay in THR, in which he also addressed his sister Dylan's claims that Allen sexually abused her as a child. She wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about it in 2014, saying Allen is "a living testament to the way our society fails the survivors of sexual assault and abuse."



"I've approached the case as an attorney and a reporter, and found her allegations to be credible," Ronan wrote in his essay. "The facts are persuasive and well documented."



He also called out celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Louis C.K. who continue to join Allen films despite Dylan's allegations. Timberlake and Winslet can now be added to that list.



Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.

13:33, 25 OCT 2022
On 21 June 2016, the Chhattisgarh High Court ordered that the body of Madkam Hidme be exhumed and a post-mortem conducted which would be videoed. Hidmes family has alleged that she was raped and killed in a fake encounter by police personnel on 13 June 2016 in Gompad village, Sukma district. The police say that she was a Naxalite and a member of the Kistaram Platoon Number 8. The courts order was the result of a public interest litigation petition demanding a judicial probe into the incident (Ghose 2016), which has yet again exposed the repression faced by local residents in this part of the country and is the latest in a long and continuing series of such incidents.

The high court order clearly shows that the state government has not been following the directives of the Supreme Court, which in its order in Nandini Sundar and Others v State of Chhattisgarh (2011; Salwa Judum case) held that the Government of Chhattisgarh and the union government should cease to use all forms of civilian counter-insurgency forces like the Special Police Officers (SPOs) or Koya Commandos to combat the Maoists and Naxalites in Bastar. This judgment has been considered a landmark in the history of the conflict between the state and the Maoists. It argues that (1) Naxalism, Maoism and other forms of Left Wing Extremism cannot be fought through only a military strategy, but there is a need to address the question of deprivation and rights too; and (2) the human rights of the Adivasis of the region were being violated by both the Maoists as well as the state.
There was a sense of deja vu when two assistants of a nephrologist employed by a leading Delhi private hospital were arrested after media revelations of a kidney scandal. Though investigations are at an initial stage, the modus operandi of the alleged culprits seems horrifically similar to that of people nabbed eight years ago for running a kidney racket in Gurgaon. Luring the desperately poor into selling their organs, using fake documents and employing the facilities of a top hospital to harvest the illicitly acquired organs seem to be the stock-in-trade of those running this sordid business. As in the Gurgaon scandal of 2008, there are reports of an international angle to the affair. But the feeling that one is watching an action replay gets acute after gauging the response of the authorities. Their focus seems to be on cleaning up the organ trade which they believe can be cracked by intelligent sleuthing. As in 2008, the response has been directed at unravelling networks that facilitate this unlawful business.

This is not to belittle the significance of busting such networks. The medical anthropologist Lawrence Cohen has written how kidney zones in the countryareas where kidneys are sold in large numbershave emerged through interactions between surgical entrepreneurs, people facing grave debt, and medical brokers.
Two-thirds of Maharashtras cane is grown in drought-prone regions. As for the sugar factories, Please dont call them that, Mande grumbles. They are MLA factories  thats what they produce.

Yunus Nalaband and his wife Roshan Nalaband: Small farmers, growing mainly strawberries on their three acres. Below: their completely dried-out well

He is a strawberry farmer in his late 70s. The dug well on his three acres in old Mahabaleshwar is stone dry. His wife and he struggle to keep the farm going. They manage to, as there is still some water in their borewell. But even that little he shares, free of charge, with the temple bordering their land. The severe drought hurts his yield but not his generosity. His name is Yunus Ismail Nalaband  and he gives that water to the Krishnamai temple, the oldest symbol of the source of the Krishna river in Satara district, quite cheerfully.

Is it really my water? he asks. It all belongs to the uparwala [the almighty], does it not? His wife, Roshan Nalaband, also in her 70s, nods approvingly. Theyre both packing their strawberries in little boxes. The traders will come by to pick them up, says Roshan. The prices are higher this year because of scarcity, but that is offset by a poorer yield and lesser quality of crop. They speak, without pausing at work, of the way the water crisis is hurting them. Only Roshan breaks off for a minute to give us some water and offer us further refreshments.

Yunus Nalaband and his wife Roshan Nalaband: Small farmers, growing mainly strawberries on their three acres.

Below: their completely dried-out well







The kunda (temple tank) at the Krishnamai is empty except when it gets water from the Nalabands borewell. The tank went dry this season. The Krishnamai is just a few minutes walk from the more-visited Panchganga temple, also regarded as the symbolic source of the Krishna and four other rivers  Koyna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri. Their actual sources are not too far from here. The Krishnamai itself is probably the oldest temple in the Wai-Mahabaleshwar region. A beautiful little one, seen by locals as the home of the river goddess.

The Krishnamai temple in Old Mahabaleshwar: the little kunda in front of it is dry for the first time in living memory





My friend and colleague Jaideep Hardikar and I, together with other journalists in each of the districts we visited, went to the source  symbolic or actual  of several rivers in Maharashtra in the month of May. The idea was to journey downstream each river and talk to farmers, labourers and others living along these routes. To listen to them speak about how the mega water crisis  much larger than a meteorological drought  is affecting their lives.

While it is normal for some parts of rivers to run dry in summer, this is now happening even in their source regions, along stretches where they have never dried up. Maharashtras once perennial rivers have significantly been converted into seasonal ones, says Prof. Madhav Gadgil, who headed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. Amongst the reasons for this have been large-scale damming and a host of other activities along the course and basins of these rivers, says the leading ecologist and writer.

In six decades, I have not seen the kunda of the Krishnamai empty and dry, says Narayan Zade. Thats in a region with an annual average rainfall of close to 2,000 mm. A retired tourist guide and migrant worker, Zade spends his days sitting around this temple. He is clear though that the drought isnt just about the rainfall. He says tourists and outsiders  you people  have much to answer for.

Of course there has been major deforestation, he says. But not by locals. If one of us here cuts a couple of branches, he goes to jail. But people from outside cut and take truckloads of timber  they get away with it. While Zade too has worked as a tour guide, he says unregulated tourism has done great damage: all those resorts and places have come up causing further loss of green cover. Now, he prefers the quiet Krishnamai to the Panchganga temple bustling with tourists.

Narayan Zade at the Krishnamai temple. He blames outsiders you people  for deforestation, overcrowding and other activities that add to the water scarcity

The temples front yard has a spectacular spot overlooking the Dhom Balkawadi dam. It still has some water, but much less than it should, even for this time of the year. Years of damming and major diversions of water along the river have had an impact. There is also the chaos of never-to-be-completed lift irrigation schemes. These are at the core of the states irrigation scam.

Quite a few villages that were meant to gain from those insanely expensive schemes, but never did, are in the Khatav and Maan tehsils of Satara. The Ner dam and lake in that district are meant to supply water, both for drinking and irrigation, to a much larger number of villages, but the supply is mostly cornered by sugarcane cultivators in just 19 villages nearby. Ner is about 80 kilometres downstream from the Krishnamai.

The Ner lake and dam in Satara district: even water meant for drinking is monopolised by sugarcane growers in just 19 nearby villages

Besides Maan and Khatav, 11 other very dry tehsils here are spread across three districts  Satara, Sangli and Solapur. People from these tehsils confer each year in what they call a dushkaal parishad (drought council). They are demanding, among other things, a Maan desh, a separate drought district comprising these 13 tehsils, says Dr. Maruti Ramakrishna Katkar, a retired district medical officer.

Their present districts give them little say in anything, says Katkar. But how would seceding to form a new district help them? The old districts would be glad to see them go and be even less answerable to them, surely? He puts one of the leaders of the new drought district movement, Prof. Krishna Ingole, on the phone with us. Ingole says the shared interests of the people in that region bind them together and districthood will enhance their bargaining power.

These tehsils are about 1,000 feet above sea level and in a rain shadow zone, Katkar says. We have less than 30 rainy days annually. All our areas have seen major migrations. There are gold and jewellery workers among the migrants who send back remittances that keep the local economy going.

The water crisis is not a problem of the last year or two. Nor of a single big drought. It has built over the decades, driven largely by human hand. Why, asks retired irrigation engineer Sharad Mande in Pune, are there no long-term measures to deal with it? He answers his own question: The life of dams is 80-90 years. The life of pipelines is 35-40 years. That of water treatment plants  about 25-30 years. Of pumping machinery, 15 years. But the life of a chief minister is five years. There is no credit for long-term action. Only for what you do immediately.

Between 2000 and 2010, official data show, the states irrigation potential increased by just 0.1 per cent. That, after spending Rs. 70,000 crores on irrigation during the same decade. Over half of that, going by the findings of the Chitale Committee that probed the irrigation scam, may have been siphoned off on dud schemes.

In Maharashtra, official and Right to Information-accessed data show, the cost of a dam can increase by 500 per cent within a month after a contract for it is awarded. Or by nearly 1,000 per cent within six months. As many as 77 projects have been under execution for over 30 years. Cost overruns are bigger than the budgets of some small Indian states put together.

Groundwater is also running low in Maharashtra, where 65 per cent of the net irrigation is based on this resource. The states ban in April 2016 on the sinking of borewells below 200 feet comes three decades too late.

Even the drinking water problem is far greater than it ought to be in regions along the Krishna rivers course. A lot of water gets diverted to construction activity. There are rural to urban transfers, and agriculture to industry diversions.

Within agriculture, most of the water is monopolised by sugarcane. Even Ner lake water intended for drinking gets diverted to that crop. Two-thirds of Maharashtras cane is grown in drought-prone regions. As for the sugar factories, Please dont call them that, Mande grumbles. They are MLA factories  thats what they produce.

Each acre of sugarcane uses up to 180 acre inches of water in a year  that is, almost 18 million litres  apart from normal rainfall. An acre of irrigated hybrid jowar requires barely 10 per cent of that. A lot of people are not attacking sugarcane per se. Just grow it in regions that have the water for it, they say. Not in zones of scarcity. Cane is cultivated on 4 per cent of land, but consumes 70 per cent of irrigation water in Maharashtra.

This dugwell of ours has never been dry in six decades, says Yunus Nalaband, back in Mahabaleshwar. He and Roshan continue packing their strawberries. Mahabaleshwar accounts for close to 80 per cent of the countrys strawberry production. The two gift us a few strawberries and even some black mulberry fruit.

Barely a hundred yards in front of us is the Krishnamai temple that they supply free water to. Behind us are the three acres they still cultivate. But with water running out, these may not be, unlike in the nostalgic Beatles song, Strawberry Fields Forever.

Yunus and Roshan struggle to cultivate in the drought period, but share the little water they get from their borewell with the Kirshnamai temple




ARLINGTON, Va., July 7, 2016 - Ten distinguished members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have been named ASTRO Fellows, in the 10th anniversary year that the designation has been awarded. The 2016 class of Fellows will be recognized at an awards ceremony during ASTRO's 58th Annual Meeting, to be held September 25-28, 2016, in Boston.

The ASTRO Fellows designation, or FASTRO, honors individuals who have significantly added to the field of radiation oncology in the areas of research, education, patient care or service and leadership. Designees also have been an active or emeritus member of ASTRO for at least 15 years, giving the equivalent of 10 years of service to ASTRO through committee service and similar activities. With the addition of the 2016 class, a total of 269 ASTRO members have received the FASTRO designation since the inception of the award in 2006.

"The individuals in this class of ASTRO Fellows demonstrate both talent and commitment across multiple aspects of radiation oncology, particularly in clinical care, research, service and education," said ASTRO Chair Bruce D. Minsky, MD, FASTRO. "As is the case for our other Fellows, the clinicians and researchers in the 2016 cohort show a clear dedication to improving patients' lives and advancing our field, especially through service to ASTRO and its initiatives."

The new ASTRO Fellows include:

H. Joseph Barthold, MD, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Jennifer R. Bellon, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston

Laura A. Dawson, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto

Theodore L. DeWeese, MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore

Shalom Kalnicki, MD, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Nancy P. Mendenhall, MD, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

William M. Mendenhall, MD, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

Todd Pawlicki, PhD, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California

Timothy D. Solberg, PhD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco

John H. Suh, MD, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland

ASTRO's 58th Annual Meeting, the nation's premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology, will be held September 25-28, 2016, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The 2016 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees from across the globe, including oncologists from all disciplines and members of the entire radiation oncology team. Led by ASTRO President David C. Beyer, MD, FASTRO, the 2016 meeting will feature keynote addresses from Kathleen Sebelius, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; Thomas James Lynch Jr., MD, Chair and CEO, Massachusetts General Physicians Organization; and Jason Ragogna, general manager, SMS and Safety Alliances, Corporate Safety, Security, and Compliance, Delta Air Lines, Inc. The Presidential Symposium, "Prostate Cancer: Defining Value and Delivering It," highlights the meeting's theme of "Enhancing Value, Improving Outcomes" and will feature recent practice-changing studies and current developments in value-based care for prostate cancer. ASTRO's four-day scientific meeting will feature a record number of abstracts, including 368 oral presentations, 1,760 posters and 180 digital posters in more than 50 educational sessions and 20 scientific panels for 20 disease-site tracks. For more information about ASTRO's 58th Annual Meeting, visit http://www.astro.org/AnnualMeeting. For press registration and news briefing information for ASTRO's 58th Annual Meeting, visit http://www.astro.org/AMPress.

###

ABOUT ASTRO

ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes three medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology * Biology * Physics, Practical Radiation Oncology and Advances in Radiation Oncology; developed and maintains an extensive patient website, RT Answers; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute, a nonprofit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Two Sandia National Laboratories employees have been named recipients of 2016 Outstanding Service Awards from the New Mexico Office of African American Affairs (OAAA). Research engineer Conrad James and Theresa A. Carson, a senior manager in Sandia's Supply Chain Management Center, were recognized for their strong commitment to improving the quality of life for African Americans in the community. The 13th annual service awards recognize dedication to education, community development, health care advocacy and economic advancement for African Americans.

New network brings people together

Carson was honored for creating a professional networking group to benefit African Americans in Albuquerque. Carson and Bettye Pressley, former executive director of the Rio Grande Red Cross, co-founded a social initiative to encourage young African-American professionals to remain in New Mexico.

"We learned in discussions with those new to Albuquerque that the lack of community for African Americans causes some to seek job opportunities elsewhere," Carson said. "We saw the need for a venue where the 2 percent of city residents who are African Americans can network and share information about cultural services and become involved in community activities."

Carson said, "It's an honor to be recognized by New Mexico's Office of African American Affairs. While awards are wonderful, just knowing that we have helped to bring together African Americans within and around Albuquerque to begin the journey of forming an active community that is embracing our new residents is rewarding enough."

In Albuquerque, Carson has served as a member of the Albuquerque Academy Board of Directors, volunteered as co-planner for the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History's Discover STEM program and has served on three Calvary of Albuquerque Missionary Care Teams. At Sandia, she is the former co-chairwoman of the Black Leadership Committee and coordinator for HMTech, an educational outreach program for African-American middle school and high school students.

Improving community through legislation

James received the executive OAAA service award for his contributions to statewide policy. While a researcher at Sandia, James served in the New Mexico House of Representatives from 2011-2012 and 2015-2016. In 2013, he was appointed to the University of New Mexico's Board of Regents, where he served as vice chairman of the Finance and Facilities Committee and as a member of the Health Sciences Center Board of Directors.

"Through his work as a legislator, James has been dedicated to the community at large and all communities of color," said Yvette Kaufman-Bell, executive director of the Office of African American Affairs, who nominated him for the award. "He is a champion for education, and has made an impact on policy for our youth, our elders and our local business owners."

James said he is honored to receive the award. "My time in the legislature and on the UNM Board of Regents was very rewarding, and I am pleased I was able to make a difference in our state. New Mexico has a unique situation where legislators are citizen volunteers, and I really find it to be a great way to get people involved in helping their community, while still remaining a vital part of that community."

James said he enjoys community service because "I like examining complex problems, and then working in teams to come up with solutions. Policymaking at the state level was a perfect match for my interests."

James's research at Sandia spans neuromorphic computing, microelectronics and microfluidic devices. He holds seven patents and has published numerous journal articles.

###

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies and economic competitiveness.

Sandia news media contact: Rebecca Brock, rabrock@sandia.gov, (505) 844-7772
Philadelphia, PA, July 7, 2016 - Patients with multiple sclerosis have higher rates of depression than the general population, including people with other life-long disabling diseases. Symptoms of multiple sclerosis arise from an abnormal response of the body's immune system. Immune response has also been linked to depression, leading researchers to think it could be a shared pathological mechanism that leads to the increased rates of depressive symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis.

A new study in Biological Psychiatry supports this hypothesis, providing evidence that inflammation of the hippocampus, a region of the brain implicated in the genesis and maintenance of depression and in the pathology of multiple sclerosis, alters its function and contributes to symptoms of depression.

"This study elegantly links hippocampal inflammation to depression," said Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

The research was a collaboration between King's College London, Imperial College London, and Imanova Center for Imaging Sciences. Led by senior authors Paul Matthews and Eugenii Rabiner, the research team combined two complementary brain imaging techniques to study the relationship between hippocampal immune response, functional connections, and depressive symptoms in 13 patients with multiple sclerosis and 22 healthy control subjects. Positron emission tomography (PET) allowed for quantification of activated microglia, a measure of immune response. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessed the strength of hippocampal connections to an extensive network of brain regions involved in emotion.

First author Dr. Alessandro Colasanti, of King's College London, explained that PET imaging revealed immune activation in the hippocampus of patients with multiple sclerosis. "We also discovered that more inflammation was associated to more severe symptoms of depression," said Colasanti.

Measurements of functional brain connections with fMRI during rest showed that immune activation in the hippocampus altered its connections with other brain regions. "This study, combining two advanced complementary brain imaging methods, suggests that the inflammation of the hippocampus affects the brain function and causes depression," said Colasanti.

The findings suggest that hippocampal inflammation could be the contributing cause of high rates of depression in multiple sclerosis. The authors predict that an effective and targeted treatment of brain inflammation would help to restore brain function and protect against depression in multiple sclerosis.

###

Notes for editors

The article is "Hippocampal Neuroinflammation, Functional Connectivity, and Depressive Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis," by Alessandro Colasanti, Qi Guo, Paolo Giannetti, Matthew B. Wall, Rexford D. Newbould, Courtney Bishop, Mayca Onega, Richard Nicholas, Olga Ciccarelli, Paolo A. Muraro, Omar Malik, David R. Owen, Allan H. Young, Roger N. Gunn, Paola Piccini, Paul M. Matthews, and Eugenii A. Rabiner (doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.11.022). It appears in Biological Psychiatry, volume 80, issue 1 (2016), published by Elsevier.

Copies of this paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request; please contact Rhiannon Bugno at +1 214 648 0880 or biol.psych@utsouthwestern.edu. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Alessandro Colasanti at alessandro.colasanti@kcl.ac.uk.

The authors' affiliations, and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, Chief of Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.

About Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.

Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 5th out of 140 Psychiatry titles and 11th out of 256 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports published by Thomson Reuters. The 2015 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 11.212.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading provider of information solutions that enhance the performance of science, health, and technology professionals, empowering them to make better decisions, deliver better care, and sometimes make groundbreaking discoveries that advance the boundaries of knowledge and human progress. Elsevier provides web-based, digital solutions -- among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey -- and publishes over 2,500 journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 35,000 book titles, including a number of iconic reference works. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Rhiannon Bugno

Editorial Office, Biological Psychiatry

+1 214 648 0880

biol.psych@utsouthwestern.edu
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals the beating heart of one of the most visually appealing, and most studied, supernova remnants known -- the Crab Nebula. At the centre of this nebula the spinning core of a deceased star breathes life into the gas that surrounds it.

The Crab Nebula, which lies 6500 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus (The Bull), is the result of a supernova -- a colossal explosion that was the dying act of a massive star. During this explosion most of the material that made up the star was blown into space at immense speeds, forming an expanding cloud of gas known as a supernova remnant.

This extraordinary view of the nebula is one that has never been seen before. Unlike many popular images of this well-known object, which highlight the spectacular filaments in the outer regions, this image shows just the inner part of the nebula and combines three separate high-resolution images -- each represented in a different colour -- taken around ten years apart.

At the very centre of the Crab Nebula lies what remains of the innermost core of the original star, now a strange and exotic object known as a neutron star. Made entirely of subatomic particles called neutrons, a neutron star has about the same mass as the Sun, but compressed into a sphere only a few tens of kilometres across. A typical neutron star spins incredibly fast and the one at the centre of the Crab Nebula is no exception, rotating approximately 30 times per second.

The region around a neutron star is a showcase for extreme physical processes and considerable violence. The rapid motion of the material nearest to the star is revealed by the subtle rainbow of colours in this time-lapse image, the rainbow effect being due to the movement of material over the time between one image and another.

Hubble's sharp eye also captures the intricate details of the ionised gas, shown in red in this image, that forms a swirling medley of cavities and filaments. Inside this shell of ionised gas a ghostly blue glow surrounds the spinning neutron star. This glow is radiation given off by electrons spiralling in the powerful magnetic field around the star at nearly the speed of light [1].

The supernova explosion from which the Crab Nebula was born was one of the first to be recorded in human history [2]. This has made the Crab Nebula an invaluable object for the study of supernova remnants and has enabled astronomers to probe the lives and deaths of stars as never before.

###

Notes

[1] The star's intense magnetic field is channelling infalling gas and dust to the star's poles where it is ejected at immense speeds. Two symmetric jets of material are beamed out from the poles, sweeping out into space as the star rotates. Rather like a lighthouse beam, the jets periodically point towards Earth and present astronomers with a blinking -- or pulsing -- source of light in the sky. Accordingly, these objects are known as pulsars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulsar).

[2] The story began in the year 1054 CE, when a new star became visible in the night sky. The new star was the brightest object in the night sky, second only to the Moon. At the time, Chinese and Japanese astronomers recorded the event, and monitored the new star as it gradually faded in brightness until, after several years, it became invisible to the naked eye.

More information

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

Image credit: NASA, ESA

Links

* Images of Hubble - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/category/spacecraft/

* Peering into the heart of the Crab Nebula - https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo0015a/

* Crab Nebula in different Wavelengths - https://www.spacetelescope.org/videos/astro_b/

* Link to hubblesite release - http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2016/26/

Contacts

Mathias Jager

ESA/Hubble Public Information Officer

Garching bei Munchen, Germany

Cell: +49 176 62397500

Email: mjaeger@partner.eso.org
You've heard about physician shortages and physician burnout. But, Catholic priests? According to a researcher at Florida Atlantic University, Catholic priests in the United States are in a similar predicament with even fewer options or opportunities to retire from their diocese. And, unlike medicine, priesthood is not a lucrative profession.

There are 66.6 million parish-connected Catholics in the U.S. While the number of Catholic parishes has remained rather steady over the past 50 years (17,637 in 1965 vs. 17,483 in 2014), there has been a steady decline in the number of priests and men seeking ordination. In 1965, there were 58,632 priests in the U.S. with 94 percent of them in active ministry; in 2014, there were 38,275 priests with only 68 percent in active ministry. In 2009, the average age of a priest was 63, whereas the average age in 1970 was 35. By 2019, half of all active priests will be at the minimum retirement age of 70.

"There is little research about priests and retirement, and there is the impression that priesthood is a vocation from which there can be no retirement," said Michael N. Kane, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Social Work in FAU's College for Design and Social Inquiry, and author of "The Taboo of Retirement for Diocesan Catholic Priests," published in the Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling. "The expectation is that the priest will continue to be of service throughout his life until he is physically or cognitively unable to serve. To do otherwise may be perceived as self-indulgent or selfish. But after decades of service is it reasonable for a priest to say 'enough!'?"

Kane found that priest-respondents were not only concerned with the financial possibilities of retirement, but were equally concerned that they would not have the option to retire because of the shortage of priests in the U.S.

"There appears to be an unspoken organizational need that priests should continue in ministry, especially smaller dioceses where there are serious shortages of priests," said Kane. "Even larger dioceses will begin to feel this pressure as more priests reach the minimum age requirement in the next five years."

The choice to retire for workers in secular organizations is based on health, finances and other factors. While most individuals over the age of 65 remain employed by need rather than by choice for economic reasons, retirement for priests is rather complex.

Retirement policies in many dioceses require a minimum age of 70, a specific number of years in ministry, and the permission of the bishop. Other dioceses hold to the above policies with full retirement only possible at age 75. In prior research, Kane found that some priests had reached ages beyond 70 and were not allowed to retire. There also are aspects of church governance that are guided by flexible practices and procedures that offer latitude and discretion in decision-making.

"In many areas, bishops have the power to strictly or loosely apply rules, protocols and other criteria. Retirement is one such area," said Kane. "There is great diversity and disparity in diocesan benefit plans as there is no consistent standard applied for priests' retirement."

A national survey of diocesan financial plans for retirement found more than half of the retirement plans for priests in the U.S. were substantially underfunded. The reasons for underfunding pension plans include the unwillingness of dioceses to adequately fund these retirement plans, financial mismanagement, and maintaining these funds as a part of the diocesan structure and therefore subject for use in the settlement of lawsuits. These issues raise concerns for the possibility of retirement for aging priests in many dioceses.

"Compounding the apparent shortage of priests and their increased work demands have been the scandals that rocked the U.S. Catholic community beginning in 2002, and as a result, there has been a change in relationships between priests and bishops, with some describing them as less trusting, strained, and even stressful," said Kane.

Because of the decline in the number of priests, their strained relationships with superiors, and the continuing demand for ministerial services among the large Catholic population, priests experience mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and burnout related to their lifestyle. Some literature suggests that priests have rates of depression and anxiety up to seven times higher than the general population.

"These days, the bishop has the power to retain the priests he desperately needs," said Kane. "Of course, the priest may way walk away from the ministry, but he will probably do so with no financial support or benefit package - even after several decades of service."

###

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
Professor Tiago H. Falk of INRS's Energie Materiaux Telecommunications Research Centre has won the 2016 Young Investigator Award presented by Sigma Xi in recognition of his research excellence in physical sciences and engineering. He is the first Canadian scientist to win this award.

At his MuSAE (Multimedia/Multimodal Signal Analysis and Enhancement) Lab, professor Falk and his team conduct research at the cross-roads of multimedia communications and biomedical engineering. This research has led to assistive technology for people with disabilities as well as new tools to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease, detect autism in infants, and identify serious symptoms of depression.

The quality and originality of professor Falk's work had previously earned him two distinctions in 2015: the Early Career Achievement Award from the Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society and the Rayonnement Bell award. He is also a member of the Global Young Academy. Professor Falk will receive the Young Investigator Award at Sigma Xi's annual meeting this November in Atlanta. At the meeting, he will give a talk entitled "A Tale of Two Disciplines: How Multimedia and Biomedical Technologies Can Come Together for the Betterment of Human Kind" in which he will discuss the challenges posed by his interdisciplinary research.

###

About Sigma Xi

Founded in 1896, Sigma Xi is an international science and engineering honour society with a membership of nearly 100,000 scientists and engineers. Among other missions, it aims to encourage cooperation among researchers in all fields of science and engineering and to promote public understanding of science and its role in improving the human condition.
AMES, Iowa -- The adolescent years can be full of changes, whether physical, emotional, or familial. A new study by Iowa State University researchers suggests that when these years include prolonged periods of food insecurity coupled with harsh parenting practices, females are prone to obesity in early adulthood.

"When females who are normal weight in their early adolescence experience food insecurity, something is happening in their bodies," said Brenda Lohman, a professor in human development and family studies and the study's lead author. "This sets them on a path toward increased weight gain, so by the time they are 23, they are more likely to be overweight or obese."

As the newly released study published in the July 2016 edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health indicates, this food deprivation, when combined with other stressors such as harsh parenting, impacts a teen's development. In the study, harsh parenting was defined as hostile or aversive physical contact; punishment in response to misbehavior; or angry, critical, or disapproving behavior.

"Hardships impact how a youth's parent feels, which then impacts family processes and family dynamics," said Family Transitions Project co-director Tricia Neppl, an assistant professor in human development and family studies and Lohman's co-author along with Meghan Gillette, a lecturer in human development and family studies. "Ultimately, it impacts the adolescent."

Gender differences

While the impact of hardships on a child is undisputed, the reason why differences appear between males and females remains a mystery.

"We can't explain why the males are heavier to start in this study," Lohman said. "But more importantly, we can't explain why females are more likely to be overweight and obese when they experience food insecurity, when males aren't."

Metabolic literature suggests that when a person is deprived of nutrients or proper food on top of experiencing stressors like harsh parenting, cortisol -- which the body releases during stressful situations -- may increase, and changes in the endocrine system, essential to hormone function, can lead to greater weight gain. Further work with biological researchers is needed to determine why different pathways are being set for males and females.

"In particular, for the females, there's something between the stressful reaction of harsh parenting and not having the nutritional food," Lohman said. "We can only hypothesize right now that there's something going on metabolically in their bodies, that the stress hormones are increasing -- which is then changing their metabolic rate, their behaviors, or both over time."

Expanding childhood wellness

As research continues within the field, Lohman stresses the need to expand current views of childhood wellness to incorporate the adolescent years. As part of this effort, she serves as the chair of the Family Policy Section of the National Council on Family Relations.

"Right now, within the policy field, a lot of the focus is on wellness and education during early childhood and the infant years," she said. "The policies that are in place don't focus on the developmental years surrounding puberty, like in early adolescence. So we really need, from a policy perspective, to develop that long-term."

Lohman said she believes much of that development can come from a number of initiatives: providing educational classes in 21st century skills, partnering with doctors and pediatricians to share information with families regarding the impacts of harsh parenting and food insecurity, and launching public relations campaigns such as posting literature at food banks about harsh parenting's psychological effects.

In addition, Lohman said that progress can be achieved by working with schools to provide healthy food for teens both in and outside of the school year, and growing teen's access and availability to food stamp programming and food banks.

For example, at Iowa State, students run The Shop (Students Helping Our Peers), an on-campus food pantry housed in the Food Sciences Building. Similar programs could be developed in middle schools and high schools throughout the U.S.

Widening the view

While previous research within the field has explored the relationship between harsh parenting and food insecurity, the Iowa State study is more expansive, using prospective longitudinal data rather than merely a cross-sectional view.

Data for this research came from the Iowa Youth and Families Project, a longitudinal study of 451 adolescent youth and their family members beginning in 1989 in the rural Midwest. Adolescents were 13 years old at initial assessment and were studied in four waves, through age 16. Both mothers and fathers self-reported their food insecurity, while family interactions were observed through in-home experiences recorded on videotape.

While the family stress model used in the study was derived from a sample of rural, predominantly white families, Neppl explained that the model has been replicated with urban families, with Latinos and other ethnicities, and in other countries. The basic tenants of the model have been replicated worldwide.

"What makes our study unique is that we have multiple reporters," Neppl said. "Parent-child interactions were observed over videotape, and parents reported on their own behavior, their teen's behavior, and their household situations. Then we have youth who reported on their parents' behavior and their own behavior."

These observed interactions, as well as the additional reports, set the Iowa State study apart from many others. And, no studies to date have been able to assess food insecurity and harsh parenting over several years or then link them to obesity 10 years later.

###
From July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, IURTC completed 43 licensing agreements; there were 25 licenses in the previous fiscal year, which represents a year-over-year increase of 72 percent

INDIANAPOLIS -- Officials at Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., which protects, markets and licenses intellectual property developed at Indiana University so it can be commercialized by industry, have reported a year-over-year 72 percent increase in licensing agreements.

From July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, IURTC completed 43 licensing agreements. There were 25 licenses in the previous fiscal year.

Marie Kerbeshian, vice president of technology commercialization, said the licensing agreements show that IU innovations are highly valued by industry.

"Companies develop Indiana University innovations into products and processes that can improve people's lives around the world," she said. "Additionally, revenue and royalties are returned to IU researchers, laboratories, schools and colleges. Today's revenue can strengthen the ability of IU researchers to discover tomorrow's innovations."

The 43 licenses cover 67 technologies discovered and developed at University Information Technology Services, the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Optometry, and the School of Informatics in Bloomington, as well as the School of Informatics, School of Engineering and Technology, School of Science, School of Dentistry, and School of Medicine on the IUPUI campus.

Other facts about the licensing agreements:

Twelve licenses were signed with startups based on Indiana University intellectual property. Six of the licenses were signed with startups that currently are part of IURTC's Spin Up program, which helps IU researchers establish their own companies.

Thirty-seven licenses were signed with companies in the United States: Fourteen with Indiana companies, nine with California companies, four with Colorado companies, and two apiece with Massachusetts and Wisconsin companies. Other licenses were signed with companies in Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington.

Six licenses were signed with international companies, including two in the United Kingdom and one apiece in Belgium, Canada, South Africa and Taiwan.

Twenty-four companies that signed licenses have 500 or more employees. Nineteen companies that signed licenses have 500 or fewer employees.

Kerbeshian said commercializing IU discoveries takes several steps.

"Before IURTC technology managers can market the work to companies, Indiana University researchers must disclose it to us," she said. "We review the work and determine how best to protect it. But without IU inventors taking the first steps to disclose their work, there would be no licensing agreements, no products to improve people's lives and no revenue returned to Indiana University."

###

About Indiana University Research and Technology Corp.

IURTC is a not-for-profit corporation tasked with the protecting and commercializing of technology emanating from innovations by IU researchers. Since 1997, IU research has generated more than 2,700 inventions resulting in over 3,900 global patent applications being filed by IURTC. These discoveries have generated $133 million in licensing and royalty income, including $111 million in funding for IU departments, labs and inventors.
In a look-back study of medical records, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine concluded that a major operation to fuse the spines of children with a rare form of severe, early-onset scoliosis can be eliminated in many cases.

"We have long thought this big final fusion surgery, after years of spine straightening treatment, was always necessary, and now we have found that that's not true," says Paul Sponseller, M.D., a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an author of a report on the study appearing on July 6 in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Sponseller says the finding underscores a growing interest among patients and physicians to question the need for certain tests and surgical procedures long considered routine.

In this case, he says, the surgery in question is the so-called final surgical fusion, the last step in a lengthy treatment process for the small minority of scoliosis patients who develop curvatures in their spines shortly after birth. Most scoliosis develops in the teen years and is often treated more conservatively with braces and exercise.

Typically, the estimated several thousand U.S. children with severe, early-onset scoliosis undergo a yearslong process known as growing rod treatment. To straighten the backbone, surgeons implant a rod in the spine and periodically replace it with longer ones as a child grows.

Once the child reaches skeletal maturity, Sponseller explains, surgeons have routinely performed a final procedure in which they insert rods and screws to maintain the spine's alignment. They also use bone from a patient's hip or a tissue bank and implant it to "fuse" and stabilize the structure. Such fusion is thought to prevent the development of subsequent deformities.

However, over the years, Sponseller says, he and other surgeons noticed during the rod insertion operations that the children's spinal bones began to stiffen, or fuse, on their own, suggesting that the final fusion might not be needed.

To find out, Sponseller and his colleagues combed through an international database and picked out the records of 167 children who received growing rod treatments between 1995 and 2010. Some 137 of those patients underwent the final fusion, but Sponseller focused on the outcomes of the 30 who, in consultation with their doctors, opted out of that procedure. Half of those 30 patients were female; their mean age at first surgery was 7.1 years. They underwent an average of 5.4 lengthening procedures, and there was a mean of 3.7 years of follow-up after their last surgery.

The team found that in the three to seven years following their last growing rod surgery, the spines of 26 stayed straight. The remaining four patients were considered special cases because their rods got infected and had to be removed.

Sponseller cautions that the study was small and based on records from a variety of institutions, and that children who forgo the final fusion will require "continued observation" over the long haul. Moreover, he says, further research is needed to determine if similar results will be found for children receiving newer rod implants that can be lengthened magnetically without multiple operations.

Nonetheless, he says, the Johns Hopkins findings suggest that the hundreds of early-onset scoliosis patients currently reaching their mature height in the U.S. can likely forgo a "grueling" final procedure.

"These patients have gone through a long and arduous process," Sponseller says. "The payoff is that they often don't often need a big surgery at the end."

Sponseller's work is part of a larger effort at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere to challenge conventional wisdom in medicine and potentially do away with unnecessary medical procedures. The nationwide Choosing Wisely initiative, for instance, seeks to educate physicians and patients about more than 250 common tests and procedures that serve no conclusive or apparent purpose. Included in that list are stress tests for patients at low risk for heart disease and MRI or CT scans for uncomplicated headaches.

While early-onset scoliosis is too rare to qualify for the Choosing Wisely campaign, says Sponseller, his research does point to a new model of health care in which patients -- and their doctors -- are encouraged to question recommended treatments.

###

Other authors of the report include Amit Jain of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, John Flynn of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Suken Shah of Nemours/AIfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and the Growing Spine Study Group.

This database used in this study is funded in part by the Growing Spine Foundation.
Group A streptococcus (GAS) can cause a life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis, which spreads rapidly and destroys soft tissue. Treatment of these GAS necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI) typically requires intensive care along with surgical intervention and often amputation of the affected limb. A new study in JCI Insight provides evidence that formation of biofilm, a collection of bacteria that adhere to a tissue surface, can be a complicating feature of GAS NSTI. A team led by Anna Norrby-Teglund and Nikolai Siemens of the Karolinska Institute identified a GAS NSTI patient that seemed to respond favorably to antibiotics and surgical cleaning of the wound. Despite a lack of GAS-associated symptoms, reexamination of the wound revealed the presence of a thick layer of biofilm. Further analysis of NSTI cases revealed the presence of biofilm in a third of those studied. Moreover, the presence of biofilm was associated with higher bacterial load, extensive inflammation, and more severe tissue damage compared to wound biopsies without biofilm. The results of this study indicate that biofilm should be considered as a complicating factor of NSTI. As biofilm formation improves pathogen persistence and responsiveness to antibiotics, further work should evaluate treatment protocols clear GAS biofilm at the site of infection.

###

TITLE:

Biofilm in group A streptococcal necrotizing soft tissue infections

AUTHOR CONTACT:

Anna Norrby-Teglund

Karolinska Institutet

Email: anna.norrby-teglund@ki.se

Or

Nikolai Siemens

Karolinska Institutet

Email: nikolai.siemens@ki.se

View this article at: http://insight.jci.org/articles/view/87882?key=e814cc9a37e2551b3514

JCI Insight is the newest publication from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a nonprofit honor organization of physician-scientists. JCI Insight is dedicated to publishing a range of translational biomedical research with an emphasis on rigorous experimental methods and data reporting. All articles published in JCI Insight are freely available at the time of publication. For more information about JCI Insight and all of the latest articles go to http://www.insight.jci.org.
Influenza A viruses are responsible for seasonal disease outbreaks in humans. Influenza A also circulates among bird and some mammal populations and periodically crosses between species. The influenza A H3N2 variant (H3N2v) virus, which circulates in swine, has recently been reported in humans, especially children, and is distinct from other seasonal H3N2 strains found in humans. So far, H3N2v has only been reported in individuals that have had direct contact with pigs and causes a fairly severe disease. Current vaccines that promote immunity to seasonal human H3N2 strains do not protect against H3N2v. In this issue of JCI Insight, James Crowe of Vanderbilt University and colleagues describe the isolation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies with H3N2v-neutralizing capacity from human subjects given an H3N2v candidate vaccine. While these antibodies effectively neutralized H3N2v, they were not effective against currently circulating human H3N2 strains. However, these antibodies were able to neutralize human H3N2 strains that circulated between 1995 and 2005, indicating that these strains are highly related to H3N2v. Moreover, these results help explain why young children, who have not been exposed to earlier H3N2 strains, are so susceptible to H3N2v infection.

###

TITLE:

Recognition of influenza H3N2 variant virus by human neutralizing antibodies

AUTHOR CONTACT:

James E. Crowe, Jr.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Email: james.crowe@vanderbilt.edu

View this article at: http://insight.jci.org/articles/view/86673?key=cd5ec95d2c86e63ad430

JCI Insight is the newest publication from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, a nonprofit honor organization of physician-scientists. JCI Insight is dedicated to publishing a range of translational biomedical research with an emphasis on rigorous experimental methods and data reporting. All articles published in JCI Insight are freely available at the time of publication. For more information about JCI Insight and all of the latest articles go to http://www.insight.jci.org.
Dauphin County will soon launch a new program to combat a heroin epidemic that drug and alcohol officials predict will get worse this fall.

Cheryl Dondero, director of Dauphin Countys Drug and Alcohol Agency, painted a stark picture to Dauphin County commissioners of what is on the horizon.

I think its a fact. I dont think its a fear. I know its coming, she said. Are we going to be ready?

Dondero believes that when Pennsylvanias prescription drug monitoring law takes effect in September, it may inadvertently do more harm without proper treatment.

When doctors realize that patients are abusing the system by getting opioid prescriptions from more than one health care provider, the doctor by law must stop prescribing drugs.

Doctors are supposed to provide opioid-addiction treatment options and medications, but Dondero expects most users will turn to the more accessible and deadly heroin to get their fix.

(Heroin is) much cheaper, much more effective, Dondero said, and thats why the overdose epidemic, because why were here.

Dondero laid out a plan that would deploy a Mobile Case Unit in September. Federal and state funding would pay salaries and program costs for two specially trained managers to help combat overdoses and relapses.

This is not a 9-to-5 job, Dondero said. Addiction does not have normal business hours.

The managers would work non-traditional shifts and be on-call when needed. Dondero said the unit will partner with PinnacleHealth Harrisburg Hospital to respond to emergency room overdoses.

Dondero said if possible, unit members would meet with addicts shortly after police officers administer the overdose reversal drug, naloxone.

That person is brought back to life on the street. Theyre going to be disoriented, confused, and theyre consoled and talked to by one of our staff, she said.

Managers in the Mobile Case Unit have special experience in that many, like Dondero, are recovering addicts themselves.

At the worst of my addiction, I was probably getting prescriptions from nine to 11 doctors at any one time, she said. They kind of have a personal commitment that they have in their life that led them to this type of work.
The penis of the thistle tortoise beetle is as long as the beetle itself. Something that initially sounds exciting, can be complicated during mating. This is because the females also have a hyper-elongated sexual organ, which is additionally twisted in the shape of a spiral. How beetle reproduction can nevertheless be successful has now been investigated by Dr. Yoko Matsumura, Dr. Alexander Kovalev and Professor Stanislav Gorb from the Zoological Institute of Kiel University. In the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers report on penis specific mechanical properties, which are most suitable for propulsion into the female, and come to new conclusions about sexual selection.

Males and females prefer certain sexual partners on the basis of various external criteria. In evolutionary terms this selection has a major influence on the shape and appearance of the creatures. This effect becomes particularly noticeable in the shape of the sexual organs. However, previous research in this field concentrated more on the appearance of the organs and less on their bio-mechanical function. Using the very distinctive sexual organs of male and female thistle tortoise beetles (Cassida rubiginosa), researchers at Kiel University have been able to investigate the mechanics on the male and female reproductive system for the first time.

First of all, the postgraduate research fellow Yoko Matsumura looked at the genitalia of the female beetles using a laser scanning microscope. "Like most insects female beetles have a spermatheca. The sperm is preserved there for a while before the eggs are fertilised", says the researcher from Japan. The entrance of this spermatheca is very long and twisted as a spiral. However, the structure is not uniform, but complex, explains Matsumura: "like a telephone cable, the spermathecal duct has numerous turns, which sometimes also run in opposite directions. We wanted to find out why the beetles have such a structure." The team from Kiel has been looking for answers to this question for the last two years.

However, the beetles were not disturbed during their love games for the sake of science. "The thistle tortoise beetle is about the size of a finger nail. The penis is approximately ten millimetres long. Its diameter is ten micrometres. This is about ten times thinner than human hair. The internal lumen is only a few micrometres thick. This makes a real mechanical measurement in such an intimate area very difficult", says the biophysicist and engineer Kovalev. Instead the researchers have found a mathematical way. They were able to check various structure-function relations on the computer using a numerical model. Kovalev: "The first stage of our investigation was to see how the shape of the spermathecal duct influences sexual intercourse. The more turns there were in the opposite direction, the more energy was required for the penis to penetrate." The female structure therefore makes sex for the male beetle a real challenge.

In the second stage the researchers examined the beetle's penis in more detail. "Using a laser scanning microscope we found indications that the penis is differently stiff. Therefore, the tip of the penis is probably softer than the rest of the organ", reports Matsumura. On the basis of this hypothesis the scientists together with Professor Alexander Filippov (Institute for Physics and Engineering, National Academy of Science, Donetsk, Ukraine) drew up four mathematical models: a completely hard and a completely soft penis as well as a version with a hard penis tip and soft base and the opposite version. With the four models they tested using numerical simulation which version was the easiest to insert into the virtual spermathecal duct.

"We now know: It is important how stiff the penis is. The fastest was the penis model with a soft tip and hard base", says Matsumura. It is flexible enough to adjust to the narrow turns. The investigations in Kiel show that the physical properties of the penis are decisive with regard to the complicated structure of the female. "When we started with the project, we expected a sexual conflict among the beetles. Our research has confirmed this assumption. The female structures make penile propulsion difficult for the males", says Matsumura in summary. The soft penis tip is the male strategy to beat this "defensive system".

However, the question remains open: Why do the female beetles even have such long and twisted organs, which make fertilisation more difficult? "So far we have only been able to speculate on the reasons for this", says Matsumura. One theory states that during sexual selection the females prefer males who can insert their penis quickly. "On average the beetles have sex for 40 minutes, some couples even for several hours. While they are doing this, they can easily be captured by enemies." Further investigations are intended to provide clarity about the complicated evolutionary background to beetle sex. The effort is also worthwile from the biomimetics point of view: The composition and the mechanics of such miniature structures could provide new ideas for medical micro injection needles.

###

Original publication:

A. Filippov, Y. Matsumura, A. Kovalev, S. N. Gorb: Stiffness gradient of the beetle penis facilitates propulsion in the spiraled female spermathecal duct." Scientific Reports 6, Article Number 27608 (2016). DOI: 10.1038/srep27608

Link to original publication: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep27608

Photos are ready to be downloaded: http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-239-1.jpg

Image caption: Stanislav Gorb, Yoko Matsumura and Alexander Kovalev (from the left) from the Zoological Institute at Kiel University have investigated the sexual organs of thistle tortoise beetles using laser scanning microscopy.

Copyright: Raissa Nickel, Kiel University

http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-239-2.jpg

Image caption: Using the very distinctive sexual organs of male and female thistle tortoise beetle (Cassida rubiginosa), researchers at Kiel University have now been able to investigate the mechanics of the beetle reproductive organs for the first time.

Copyright: Dr. Yoko Matsumura

http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-239-3.jpg

Image caption: The laser scanning microscope image shows the female spermathecal duct of thistle tortoise beetles. The entrance can be seen on the left side. The beetles' vagina starts on the right.

Copyright: Dr. Yoko Matsumura

http://www.uni-kiel.de/download/pm/2016/2016-239-4.jpg

Image caption: The laser scanning microscope image shows a penis of the thistle tortoise beetle. The penis base (b) is hard. The tissue of the penis tip (c) is softer and more flexible.

Copyright: Dr. Yoko Matsumura

Contact

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Zoological Institute of Kiel University

Tel. 0431/880-4511

E-mail: yoko.matumura.hamupeni@gmail.com

Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel

Press, communication and marketing, Dr. Boris Pawlowski, Text: Raissa Nickel

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CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Since the 1970s, U.S. doctors have prescribed lithium to treat patients with bipolar disorder. While the drug has a good success rate, scientists are still unsure exactly how it achieves its beneficial effects.

MIT biologists have now discovered a possible explanation for how lithium works. In a study of worms, the researchers identified a key protein that is inhibited by lithium, making the worms less active.

While these behavioral effects in worms can't be translated directly to humans, the results suggest a possible mechanism for lithium's effects on the brain, which the researchers believe is worth exploring further.

"How lithium acts on the brain has been this great mystery of psychopharmacology," says Joshua Meisel, an MIT postdoc and lead author of the study. "There are hypotheses, but nothing's been proven."

Dennis Kim, an associate professor of biology, is the senior author of the paper, which appears in the July 7 issue of Current Biology.

Mysterious effects

Lithium's ability to act as a tranquilizer for people suffering from mania and bipolar disorder was discovered in 1949 by the Australian psychiatrist John Cade, but the drug was not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration until 1970.

Lithium interacts with many proteins and other molecules in the brain, so it has been difficult for scientists to determine which of these interactions produce mood stabilization. Some of the hypothesized targets are an enzyme that produces inositol, a simple sugar involved in cell signaling, and an enzyme called GSK3, which inactivates other proteins. However, no studies have conclusively linked these targets to lithium's effects on bipolar patients.

The MIT team did not set out to study lithium but fell upon it while exploring interactions between Caenorhabditis elegans and its microbial environment. This worm has a simple nervous system consisting of 302 neurons, most of which occur in pairs.

In a paper published in 2014, Meisel and Kim discovered that a pair of neurons known as ASJ neurons are necessary for the worm's avoidance of harmful bacteria. Previous studies from other labs had shown that the ASJ neurons are also required for reawakening from a starvation-induced hibernation state. This reactivation, known as the dauer exit, occurs when food becomes more plentiful.

As a follow-up to that study, the researchers performed a genetic screen in which they looked for mutated genes that disrupt ASJ neurons. To their surprise, one of the genes implicated by this screen was one that codes for a protein called BPNT1, which was already known to be inhibited by lithium.

BPNT1 is a protein that removes phosphate groups from a compound known as PAP, a process that is critical to maintaining normal cell function.

When the researchers knocked out the gene for BPNT1, they found that the ASJ neurons entered a dormant state and the worms could no longer execute either avoidance behavior or the dauer exit. They also found the same behavioral effects in worms treated with lithium.

New hypothesis

The findings suggest that lithium treatment silences activity in neurons that rely on BPNT1, which Meisel and Kim found intriguing because many human brain cells also depend on this protein. In humans, PAP, which BPNT1 degrades, is usually found in neurons that secrete dopamine, epinephrine, or norepinephrine, which are all neurotransmitters that stimulate brain activity.

"We think that it's perfectly reasonable to add BPNT1 onto the list of hypotheses for how lithium is affecting the brain," Meisel says. "Silencing dopaminergic neurons I would think would make you less manic because of how dopamine affects the brain."

While Kim's lab focuses on worms, the researchers hope that other labs will test the new hypothesis in other animals.

"Establishing that this happens in C. elegans, by no means does it prove how lithium works in humans, but it provides a very solid experimental foundation for exploring a hypothesis that lithium might have therapeutic effects in specific neurons through inhibition of BPNT1," Kim says. "We hope that other groups that work on mammalian systems may be interested to explore this question further."

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The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Ice sheets, deserts, rivers, islands, coasts and oceans -- the features of Earth's surface are wildly different, spread across a vast geography. The same is true for Earth's thin film of atmosphere and the mix of gases it holds, although the details are invisible to human eyes. Pollutants emitted to the atmosphere -- soot, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides -- are dispersed over the whole globe, but remote regions are cleaner, by factors of 1000 or more, than areas near the continents. A new NASA airborne campaign aims to map the contours of the atmosphere as carefully as explorers once traced the land and oceans below.

The Atmospheric Tomography, or ATom, mission is the first to survey the atmosphere over the oceans. Scientists aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory will journey from the North Pole south over the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and then across to the tip of South America and north up the Atlantic Ocean to Greenland. ATom will discover how much pollution survives to the most remote corners of the earth and assess how the environment has changed as a result.

"We've had many airborne measurements of the atmosphere over land, where most pollutants are emitted, but land is only a small fraction of the planet," said Michael Prather, an atmospheric scientist and ATom's deputy project scientist at University of California Irvine. "The oceans are where a lot of chemical reactions take place, and some of the least well understood parts are hard to get to because they are so remote. With ATom we're going to measure a wide range of chemically distinct parts of the atmosphere over the most remote areas of the ocean that have not been measured before."

While the majority of the flight path takes the DC-8 over the ocean, the science team expects to see influence from human pollution that originates on land.

"Humans produce a lot of pollution, and it doesn't just disappear when it's blown off the continents. It goes somewhere," said atmospheric scientist Steve Wofsy, ATom principal investigator at Harvard University. "We know it gets diluted in the atmosphere, it gets washed out by rain, but we want to understand the processes that do that and where and how long they take."

The suite of 20 instruments aboard the DC-8 will measure airborne particles called aerosols and more than 200 gases in each sampled air patch, documenting their locations and allowing scientists to determine interactions. The science team will use ATom's collected data on the air's chemical signatures to understand where pollutants originate, and where and how quickly these climate gases react chemically and eventually disappear from the atmosphere.

ATom is particularly interested in methane, ozone and airborne particles called black carbon, which have strong effects on climate and which all have both human and natural origins. Methane and tropospheric ozone, are two greenhouse gases that linger in the atmosphere for weeks to decades--much less time than the century that carbon dioxide remains in the air. Nevertheless, the short-term effects of methane and ozone pollution today are expected to contribute almost as much as carbon dioxide to changing the climate in the coming decades.

ATom's first flight is planned for July 28, a there-and-back trip over the tropics between Palmdale, California and the equator. On July 31, the mission begins its around-the-world trip lasting 26 days. It's the first of four deployments that will take place over the next three years in different seasons. The data collected will be used to improve atmospheric computer models used to predict future climate conditions into the 21st century as well as to provide checks and calibration in otherwise unreachable areas for several major satellite systems, including NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) and Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) and the European Space Agency's TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI).

The ATom mission is funded by NASA Headquarters and overseen by the agency's Earth System Science Pathfinder Program at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. It is one of six large airborne campaigns operating under the Earth Venture Suborbital program. ATom is led by Harvard University and managed by the Earth Science Project Office at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California. The DC-8 aircraft is maintained and based at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center.

###

Related Stories:

NASA Airborne Study Surveys Greenhouse Gases in World Tour

NASA's ATom Mission is Flying Around the World in 26 Days

Ellen Gray NASA's Earth Science News Team
As NASA satellites gather data on the first major hurricane of the Eastern Pacific Ocean hurricane season, Blas continues to hold onto its Category 3 status on the Saffir Simpson Wind Scale.

On July 6 at 2155 UTC (5:55 p.m. EDT) NASA-NOAA-DOD's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Hurricane Blas in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The image showed that Blas maintained a large eye with bands of powerful thunderstorms wrapping into the low-level center of circulation from the east.

On July 6 at 2122 UTC (5:22 p.m. EDT), the AIRS or Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared view of Blas' cloud top temperatures, revealing powerful storms around the eye. By July 7, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the eye had become a little less distinct in the morning, and the surrounding ring of deep convection has warmed over the northwestern portion of the circulation. When cloud top temperatures warm that means they are not extending as high in the troposphere and indicate that the uplift of air is weakening.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on July 7, the center of Hurricane Blas was located near latitude 16.2 North, longitude 127.1 West. That's about 1,210 miles (1,945 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Blas was moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 kph), and the NHC said this motion is expected to continue through today. A turn toward the northwest is forecast on Friday.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 120 mph (195 kph). NHC forecasts a weakening trend over the next two days and Blas is expected to weaken to a tropical storm by Friday night. For updated forecasts, visit the NHC website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.

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BROOKLYN, New York - Individuals and corporations spend millions of dollars every year on software that sniffs out potentially dangerous bugs in computer programs. And whether the software finds 10 bugs or 100, there is no way determine how many go unnoticed, nor to measure the efficacy of bug-finding tools.

Researchers at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, in collaboration with the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Northeastern University, are taking an unorthodox approach to tackling this problem: Instead of finding and remediating bugs, they're adding them by the hundreds of thousands.

Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at NYU Tandon, is a co-creator of LAVA, or Large-Scale Automated Vulnerability Addition, a technique of intentionally adding vulnerabilities to a program's source code to test the limits of bug-finding tools and ultimately help developers improve them. In experiments using LAVA, they showed that many popular bug finders detect merely 2 percent of vulnerabilities.

A paper detailing the research was presented at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy and was published in the conference proceedings. Technical staff members of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory led the technical research: Patrick Hulin, Tim Leek, Frederick Ulrich, and Ryan Whelan. Collaborators from Northeastern University are Engin Kirda, professor of computer and information science; Wil Robertson, assistant professor of computer and information science; and doctoral student Andrea Mambretti.

Dolan-Gavitt explained that the efficacy of bug-finding programs is based on two metrics: the false positive rate and the false negative rate, both of which are notoriously difficult to calculate. It is not unusual for a program to detect a bug that later proves not to be there -- a false positive -- and to miss vulnerabilities that are actually present -- a false negative. Without knowing the total number of real bugs, there is no way to gauge how well these tools perform.

"The only way to evaluate a bug finder is to control the number of bugs in a program, which is exactly what we do with LAVA," said Dolan-Gavitt. The automated system inserts known quantities of novel vulnerabilities that are synthetic yet possess many of the same attributes as computer bugs in the wild. Dolan-Gavitt and his colleagues dodged the typical five-figure price tag for manual, custom-designed vulnerabilities and instead created an automated system that makes judicious edits in real programs' source code.

The result: hundreds of thousands of unstudied, highly realistic vulnerabilities that are inexpensive, span the execution lifetime of a program, are embedded in normal control and data flow, and manifest only for a small fraction of inputs lest they shut the entire program down. The researchers had to create novel bugs, and in significant numbers, in order to have a large enough body to study the strengths and shortcomings of bug-finding software. Previously identified vulnerabilities would easily trip current bug finders, skewing the results.

The team tested existing bug-finding software and found that just 2 percent of bugs created by LAVA were detected. Dolan-Gavitt explained that automated bug identification is an extremely complex task that developers are constantly improving. The researchers will share their results to assist these efforts.

Additionally, the team is planning to launch an open competition this summer to allow developers and other researchers to request a LAVA-bugged version of a piece of software, attempt to find the bugs, and receive a score based on their accuracy.

"There has never been a performance benchmark at this scale in this area, and now we have one," Dolan-Gavitt said. "Developers can compete for bragging rights on who has the highest success rate in bug-finding, and the programs that will come out of the process could be stronger."

###

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, when the NYU School of Civil Engineering and Architecture as well as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly) were founded. Their successor institutions merged in January 2014 to create a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. In addition to programs at its main campus in downtown Brooklyn, it is closely connected to engineering programs in NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai, and it operates business incubators in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Some factors influencing low unit-level turnover: First professional degree was a baccalaureate or higher, greater variety and autonomy, and better perceived RN-MD relations

"About 80% of newly licensed nurses find their first work in hospitals," says New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing (NYU Meyers) Professor Christine T. Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN. "Turnovers are one of the costliest expenditures in our profession. In fact, costs are estimated at $62,000 to $67,000 per departure, amounting to $1.4 to 2.1 billion in expenses for new nurses who leave their first jobs within three years of starting."

Prior research on newly licensed nurses tended to focus on organizational turnover, where a nurse leaves the hospital or organization. However, there is scant literature on internal or unit-level turnover, which occurs when a nurse leaves their current assignment to take up new roles or positions within the organization or hospital.

Recently, Dr. Kovner led a team of researchers at NYU Meyers and the School of Nursing at SUNY Buffalo in conducting a study to fill in the gaps. Published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies, the study of a nationally representative sample of new nurses working in hospitals, sought to better inform unit-level retention strategies by pinpointing factors associated with job retention among newly licensed nurses.

"The internal turnover rate for the one year between the two waves of the survey was nearly 30%," said Dr. Kovner. "This turnover is in addition to those leaving the organization. This figure is substantially larger than previously reported in other studies, which estimated a 13% one-year internal turnover rate among new nurses."

The researchers looked to bolster the existing evidence on internal turnover to determine precursors to remaining on the same title and unit-type from the first to the second year of employment.

The nurses (n=1,569) were classified into four categories based their unit and title retention. 1090 nurses (69.5%) remained in the same title and unit-type at wave two, while 129 (8.2%) saw a change in title, but not in unit-type. A similarly small group of 185 (11.8%) had no change in title, but changed unit-types, while 165 (10.5%) had a change in their title and unit-type.

In addition to collecting the new nurses' demographical data, Dr. Kovner and her team assessed their perceptions of their work environment in both surveys.

"In doing this we were able to examine the changes in work environment perceptions over time between nurses who remained in the same unit and title to those who changed unit and/or title," said Dr. Kovner.

Upon analysis, the researchers found five factors most strongly associated with retention: holding more than one job for pay (negative), first professional degree was a baccalaureate or higher, negative affectivity, greater variety and autonomy, and better perceived RN-MD relations, all positively related.

"Our results point to the variables on which managers can focus to improve unit-level retention of new nurses," said Kovner.

###

Funding. Funding for this research was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Conflict of interest. None declared.

NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing is a global leader in nursing education, research, and practice. It offers a Bachelor of Science with a major in Nursing, a Master of Science and Post-Master's Certificate Programs, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and a Doctor of Philosophy in nursing research and theory development.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and School of Public Health and Health Professions constitute UB's Academic Health Center. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are working with others to build a national Culture of Health enabling everyone in America to live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit http://www.rwjf.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at http://www.rwjf.org/twitter or on Facebook at http://www.rwjf.org/facebook.
Identification of a gene needed to expand light harvesting in photosynthesis into the far-red-light spectrum provides clues to the development of oxygen-producing photosynthesis, an evolutionary advance that changed the history of life on Earth. "Knowledge of how photosynthesis evolved could empower scientists to design better ways to use light energy for the benefit of mankind," said Donald A. Bryant, the Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and the leader of the research team that made the discovery.

This discovery, which could enable scientists to engineer crop plants that more efficiently harness the energy of the Sun, will be published online by the journal Science on Thursday July 7, 2016.

"Photosynthesis usually ranks about third after the origin of life and the invention of DNA in lists of the greatest inventions of evolution," said Bryant. "Photosynthesis was such a powerful invention that it changed the Earth's atmosphere by producing oxygen, allowing diverse and complex life forms -- algae, plants, and animals -- to evolve."

The researchers identified the gene that converts chlorophyll a -- the most abundant light-absorbing pigment used by plants and other organisms that harness energy through photosynthesis -- into chlorophyll f -- a type of chlorophyll that absorbs light in the far-red range of the light spectrum. There are several different types of chlorophyll, each tuned to absorb light in different wavelengths. Most organisms that get their energy from photosynthesis use light in the visible range, wavelengths of about 400 to 700 nanometers. Bryant's lab previously had shown that chlorophyll f allows certain cyanobacteria -- bacteria that use photosynthesis and that are sometimes called blue-green algae -- to grow efficiently in light just outside of the usual human visual range -- far-red light (700 to 800 nanometers). The ability to use light wavelengths other than those absorbed by plants, algae, and other cyanobacteria confers a powerful advantage to those organisms that produce chlorophyll f -- they can survive and grow when the visible light they normally use is blocked.

"There is nearly as much energy in the far-red and near-infrared light that reaches the Earth from the Sun as there is in visible light," said Bryant. "Therefore, the ability to extend light harvesting in plants into this range would allow the plants to more efficiently use the energy from the Sun and could increase plant productivity."

The gene the researchers identified encodes an enzyme that is distantly related to one of the main components of the protein machinery used in oxygen-producing photosynthesis. The researchers showed that the conversion of chlorophyll a to chlorophyll f requires only this one enzyme in a simple system that could represent an early intermediate stage in the evolution of photosynthesis. Understanding the mechanism by which the enzyme functions could provide clues that enable scientists to design better ways to use light energy.

"There is intense interest in creating artificial photosynthesis as an alternative energy source," said Bryant. "Understanding the evolutionary trajectory that nature used to create oxygen production in photosynthesis is one component that will help scientists design an efficient and effective system. The difficulty is that photosynthesis is an incredibly complex process with hundreds of components and, until now, there were few known intermediate stages in its evolution. The simple system that we describe in this paper provides a model that can be further manipulated experimentally for studying those early stages in the evolution of photosynthesis."

By disabling the gene that encodes the enzyme in two cyanobacteria that normally produce chlorophyll f, the researchers demonstrated that the enzyme is required for the production of chlorophyll f. The experiment showed that, without this enzyme, these cyanobacteria could no longer synthesize chlorophyll f. By artificially adding the gene that encodes the enzyme, the researchers also showed that this one enzyme is all that is necessary to convert cyanobacteria that normally do not produce chlorophyll f into ones that can produce it.

Another clue that the newly identified enzyme could represent an early stage in the evolution of photosynthesis is that the enzyme requires light to catalyze its reaction and may not require oxygen, as scientists had previously suspected. "Because the enzyme that synthesizes chlorophyll f requires light but may not require oxygen for its activity, it is possible that it evolved before Photosystem II, the photosynthetic complex that produces oxygen and to which the enzyme is related. If the enzyme is an evolutionary predecessor of Photosystem II, then evolution borrowed an enzyme that was originally used for chlorophyll synthesis and used it to evolve an enzyme that could produce oxygen, which ultimately led to changes in Earth's atmosphere," said Bryant.

###

In addition to Bryant, the research team included Postdoctoral Researchers Daniel P. Canniffe and Chi Zhao, Senior Research Associate Gaozhong Shen, and Graduate Student Ming-Yang Ho.

This research was supported by the U. S. National Science Foundation; the U. S. Department of Energy through the Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC) at Washington University in St. Louis, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the DOE, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences; and a European Commission Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Global Fellowship.

CONTACTS

Donald A. Bryant

dab14@psu.edu

1-814-865-1992

Barbara Kennedy (PIO)

science@psu.edu

1-814-863-4682

IMAGES

Two illustrations related to this research are available for download at https://psu.box.com/s/9ia22zsmuffnzo4rybynxzdt4q4sibzw. The credit for both images is Donald A. Bryant lab, Penn State University

CAPTION for FIGURE 1:

This illustration is a model of ChlF homodimer based on the ribbon structure of the PsbA-PsbD core structure of PS II but lacking the water-oxidizing Mn(4)Ca(1)O(5) cluster. Cofactors are: beta-carotene (yellow), plastoquinone (burgundy), tyrosine Y(Z) (magenta), chlorophyll a (dark green) and pheophytin a (light green). The two bright-green-colored chlorophyll a molecules show potential substrate chlorophylls that are converted to chlorophyll f by this enzyme when illuminated.

CAPTION for FIGURE 2:

This illustration shows the evolutionary scheme for reaction centers (RC) in cyanobacteria. A primordial homodimeric RC (gray) led to type-1 (olive) and type-2 (cornflower) RCs by gene duplication -- leading to photosystems I and II (PSI and PSII). Gene duplication/divergence events in the type-2 lineage (dotted arrows) possibly led to homodimeric chlorophyll f synthase (ChlF; blue) and a heterodimeric PSII ancestor (blue/magenta). Alternatively, the D1 (PsbA) subunit of PSII lost its Mn4Ca1O5 cluster, leading to ChlF.
Society must align the overlapping priorities and often clashing interests of medical intelligence, national security agendas and the global health community, according to global health advocates writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. The authors of the review paper, from the King's Centre for Global Health, Conflict and Health Research, describe a pathway which, they say, will limit the blurring of the boundaries between medical intelligence, the securitisation of health threats such as Ebola and SARS and foreign policy action.

The pathway the authors are advocating relies on medical intelligence first highlighting health threats that have implications for national security before policy action takes place. The authors say that failure to follow this pathway in the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011 clearly demonstrates the adverse consequences of initiatives that blur foreign policy concerns with medical initiatives. The CIA operation to locate and kill Osama Bin Laden took place by creating a fake childhood Hepatitis B immunisation programme in Abbottabad, Pakistan. This resulted in a large-scale reduction in childhood vaccination uptake.

Research fellow and lead author Gemma Bowsher said: "In a global health security agenda, the involvement of intelligence structures best occurs to anticipate and evaluate health risks, rather than, as seen in this instance, create them."

The authors conclude: "As the concept of a global health security agenda gains traction, the fields of intelligence and public health, in addition to the humanitarian community and the military, will necessarily have to accept an overlapping of their respective discourses and a sharing of goals."

###

Notes to editors

Medical intelligence, security and global health: The foundations of a new health agenda (DOI: 10.1177/0141076816656483) by G Bowsher, C Milner and R Sullivan will be published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine at 00:05 hrs (UK time) on Thursday 7 July 2016.

For further information or a copy of the paper please contact:

Rosalind Dewar

Media Office, Royal Society of Medicine

DL: +44 (0) 1580 764713

M: +44 (0) 7785 182732

E: media@rsm.ac.uk

The JRSM is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine and is published by SAGE. It has full editorial independence from the RSM. It has been published continuously since 1809. Its Editor is Dr Kamran Abbasi.

Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 900 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. A growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company's continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. http://www.sagepublishing.com
Springer and the Swedish library consortium for universities and research institutes (Bibsam) have finalized a broad agreement for Springer Compact running through December 2018. Springer Compact is a transitional deal combining reading access and open access publishing in one payment scheme. Specifically, participating consortium members' researchers gain access to over 2,000 Springer journals and also the right to publish their research via the open access model in more than 1,650 Springer hybrid journals. Publishing articles open access helps current findings reach a larger audience, benefiting not only science but the society at large.

Bibsam is the first Scandinavian library consortium to start using Springer Compact as a means to enable researchers from over 30 member institutes, including all major universities like Gothenburg, Lund, Stockholm, Uppsala and the Karolinska Institute, to publish their research open access.

"With this agreement we intend to accelerate the transformation of the scholarly publishing systems to open access," says Wilhelm Widmark, Chair of the Bibsam Consortium Steering Committee and Library Director at Stockholm University. "A pilot in nature, its aim is to gain experience to help prepare a framework for more reasonable models of open access publishing. The substantial support from the Swedish Research Council has made it possible." Over the lifetime of the deal, Bibsam and Springer will monitor and evaluate the arrangement to ensure that it continues to meet the Swedish higher education institutions' needs and funders' requirements as the open access environment evolves.

"This is a step in the right direction to speed up the transition to open access," adds Gunilla Herdenberg, National Librarian at the Swedish National Library. "It presents a good example of what can be achieved for scholars as well as for the broader public when research institutions, libraries, and a research funder work effectively together."

Springer has already signed similar agreements with the Max Planck Society in Germany, the Association of Dutch Universities (VSNU), the Austrian Academic Library Consortium, and Jisc in the UK.

"During the last year and a half, Springer Nature has built a reliable infrastructure that reduces the administrative burden of open access publishing both for authors and their institutions," says Juliane Ritt, Executive Vice President Global Hybrid OA Initiatives at Springer Nature. "I am extremely pleased that Swedish researchers can now take full advantage of these efficient processes. Springer Compact will enable their articles to be published open access in any of our 1,650 hybrid journals without worrying about OA mandate requirements or fees. With this large-scale agreement, Springer Nature significantly supports Sweden's path to open access publishing."

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The National Library of Sweden negotiates license agreements for electronic information resources on behalf of Swedish universities and research institutes with a turnover of approximately 35 million EUR (2016). The main objective of the Bibsam Consortium is to provide both financial and administrative savings for participating institutions and favourable terms of usage. Visit http://www.kb.se/bibliotek/centrala-avtal/Bibsam-Consortium/

Springer is part of Springer Nature, a leading global research, educational and professional publisher, home to an array of respected and trusted brands providing quality content through a range of innovative products and services. Springer Nature is the world's largest academic book publisher, publisher of the world's most influential journals and a pioneer in the field of open research. The company numbers almost 13,000 staff in over 50 countries. Springer Nature was formed in 2015 through the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media. Visit http://www.springernature.com follow @SpringerNature.
LA JOLLA--The brains of some people with autism spectrum disorder grow faster than usual early on in life, often before diagnosis. A new study co-led by Salk Institute scientists has employed a cutting-edge stem cell technique to unravel the mechanisms driving the mysterious phenomenon of excess brain growth, which affects as many as 30 percent of people with autism.

The findings, published July 6, 2016 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, show that it is possible to use stem cell reprogramming technologies developed in the past decade to model the earliest stages of complex disorders and to evaluate potential therapeutic drugs.

Intriguingly, the Salk team found that stem cell-derived neurons made fewer connections in the dish compared to cells from healthy individuals. Furthermore, the scientists were able to restore communication between the cells by adding IGF-1, a drug currently being evaluated in clinical trials of autism.

"This technology allows us to generate views of neuron development that have historically been intractable," says senior investigator Rusty Gage, a professor in Salk's Laboratory of Genetics and holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases. "We're excited by the possibility of using stem cell methods to unravel the biology of autism and to possibly screen for new drug treatments for this debilitating disorder."

Autism, which affects approximately 1 out of every 68 children in the United States, is characterized by problems communicating, difficulties interacting with others, and in repetitive behaviors, although the symptoms range dramatically in type and severity. There is no known cause of autism.

In 2010, Gage, Carol Marchetto of Salk's Laboratory of Genetics, Alysson Muotri of the University of California, San Diego, and their collaborators showed they could recreate features of Rett syndrome--a rare disorder that shares features of autism but is caused by mutations in a single gene--in a petri dish.

They did so by taking skin cells from patients, adding a mix of chemicals that instructed those cells to form stem cells, and in turn, coaxing their new stem cells into neurons. The ability to form what's called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from human cells was pioneered by researchers in 2007, but some scientists were initially skeptical that the new technology could lend insight into complex heritable disorders such as autism.

"In that study, induced pluripotent stem cells gave us a window into the birth of a neuron that we would not otherwise have," says Marchetto, a senior staff scientist and the study's first author. "Seeing features of Rett syndrome in a dish gave us the confidence to next study classical autism."

In the new study, collaborating with Muotri and other scientists at UCSD once more, Gage's team created stem cells from a subset of people with autism whose brains had grown up to 23 percent faster than usual during toddlerhood but had subsequently normalized.

The neuron precursor cells derived from the patients multiplied faster than those of typically developing individuals. The finding supports a theory some experts have put forth that brain enlargement is caused by disruptions to the cell's normal cycle of division, Marchetto says. In addition, the stem cell-derived neurons of individuals with autism behaved abnormally, bursting with activity less often compared with those cells of healthy people.

Those neurons' activity seemed to improve by adding IGF-1, which is known to enhance the connections between neurons. The group plans to use the patient cells to investigate the molecular mechanisms behind IGF-1's effects, in particular probing for changes in gene expression with treatment.

Although the newly derived cells are far from patients' brains, a brain cell by itself may reveal important clues about a person, Marchetto says. "It never fails to amaze me when we can see similarities between the characteristics of the cells in the dish and the human disease," she adds.

###

Other authors on the study are Haim Belinson and Anthony Wynshaw-Boris of the University of California, San Francisco; Yuan Tian, Jing Ou, and Daniel Geschwind, of the University of California, Los Angeles; Beatriz Freitas, Patricia Beltrao-Braga, Cleber Trujillo, Eric Courchesne, Cynthia Barnes, Karen Pierce, Lawrence Eichenfield, Tiziano Pramparo and Lisa Eyler of the University of California San Diego; Chen Fu of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio; Krishna Vadodaria, Ana Mendes, Yanelli Nunez, Himanish Ghosh and Rebecca Wright of Salk; Krishnan Padmanabhan of University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York; and Kristen Brennand of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

The research was supported by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, The International Rett Syndrome Foundation, a NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, a NIMH Autism Center of Excellence Program Project grant, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, The JPB Foundation, the Robert and Mary Jane Engman Foundation, the CDMRP Autism Research Program, the University of California, San Diego Clinical and Translational Research Institute, and Autism Speaks.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

Every cure has a starting point. The Salk Institute embodies Jonas Salk's mission to dare to make dreams into reality. Its internationally renowned and award-winning scientists explore the very foundations of life, seeking new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology and more. The Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature and fearless in the face of any challenge. Be it cancer or Alzheimer's, aging or diabetes, Salk is where cures begin. Learn more at: salk.edu.
HARRISBURG  The commanders-in-chief will be heartily hailed in Harrisburg this weekend.

This is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1932, said Scott Mussell, holding a license plate with FDRs image next to a frothy mug of beer. Prohibition is a huge issue. Hes gonna repeal it.

Its just one of thousands of items expected this weekend at the American Political Items Collectors National Convention at the Harrisburg Hilton. Many collectors have already arrived and converted their hotel rooms into mini-museums. Saturday and Sunday their stuff will be on display for sale or trade, and for the public to see, in a Hilton ballroom.

The APIC national convention happens every two years. It showcases buttons and busts, banners and flags.

An authentic flag used by Abraham Lincoln will be auctioned off during the event. Honest, its authentic from Abes era.

Its from 1860. They wouldve used these in torchlight parades to promote his candidacy, explained Mussell, of Springettsbury Township, York County, and one of the conventions co-organizers.

There will be some buying, some selling and some trading, but mostly there will be lots of educating. Each item is like its own page in a history book.

This tells a lot about the history of our country, said Lon Ellis, a collector from Raleigh, North Carolina. And about the times, the turmoils, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Ugly like a photo of the Ku Klux Klan, in white hoods, proudly filling the steps of Pennsylvanias Capitol in 1925. Its selling for $350.

It is part of history, whether you like it or not, Ellis said. And collectors collect everything, thus the KKK.

Donald Trump is promising to Make America Great Again in 2016. But a Ronald Reagan campaign button from 1980 said, Lets Make America Great Again.

Collectors say an election pitting Trump and Hillary Clinton, which is likely at this point, is a memorabilia makers mecca.

Theres an abundance of pro and con, said Jack Dixey, a collector from Ohio. Theres so much controversy for both of the candidates there will be a lot of material this year, especially.

The APIC convention is underway and mostly for members until the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, the show will open its doors to the public.
The aim of their collaboration is to achieve machine-based translation between the languages of the European Union so that comprehensible texts are achieved for as many language combinations as possible. Two of the EU-funded research projects are being led by the Saarbrucken computer linguist Josef van Genabith.

Anyone who wants to learn Finnish has to be prepared to deal with a complex grammar that includes fifteen different cases. The grammatical cases are marked in part by appending syllables to nouns resulting in a dizzying array of word forms and expressive possibilities. "Teaching a computer to understand all these grammatical nuances and to translate them correctly into another language is exceptionally difficult," says Josef van Genabith, Professor of Translation-Oriented Language Technologies at Saarland University and a Scientific Director at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). His team is therefore following a different path. The computers are not fed with grammar rules and linguistic details, but are taught to recognize patterns in huge text repositories and to learn from them. In the computer linguistics community, this approach is referred to as "deep learning". The method recently made headline news when Google used the technique to beat one of the world's top Go players.

"This machine learning strategy has nothing to do with natural intelligence, but it does have similarities with the processes that occur in the human brain when we control the muscles in our bodies. Children have to learn to pick up their feet when walking in the woods so as not to trip over roots or stones. In adults, this sort of mental process runs automatically in the background, as the brain has learnt how their feet have to be placed," explains van Genabith. Computers could also be trained to learn continuously in this way and to apply the knowledge so acquired. In the case of automatic translation, the focus is not on the structures that a student would learn from a grammar book, but on the patterns that the computer recognizes and acquires.

QT21 is a consortium of fourteen leading research institutions for machine translation in Europe and Hong Kong that includes universities, research institutes, such as DFKI, and numerous companies. "Our common goal is to exploit machine learning to significantly improve automatic translation, particularly of more complex languages such as Latvian or Czech," says van Genabith, who heads the project, which was rolled out a year ago. The European Union has approved a total of 3.9 million euros for the three-year project, of which around one million has been allocated to Saarbrucken.

The European Language Resources Coordination (ELRC) is a second project lead by DFKI and Josef van Genabith in which a European consortium has been contracted by the European Commission to collect suitable language data sets that will enable the European Commission's automated translation platform (CEF AT) to be adapted and optimized for the daily requirements of public administrators in all EU Member States as well as Iceland and Norway. ELRC is one of the most comprehensive collections of language data worldwide.

"We are currently identifying all possible Language Resources covering related subject areas, such as texts and their translations from European government ministries in the areas of finance, economics, interior affairs and foreign affairs. These data sets help the European Commission to train the translation software and to adjust it to meet the requirements of public administrators and European citizens" explains van Genabith. The two-year project will receive 1.7 million euros in financial support from the EU Commission.

Improved translation software should also benefit trade within the European internal market. But that doesn't mean that translators are going to run out of work; quite the contrary, in fact, according to van Genabith: "Computers can translate huge quantities of text far faster than a human. But the translations won't be perfect, so that, depending on requirements, translators will still need to post-edit the texts."

In a webinar, Josef van Genabith explained how statistically driven machine translation works. It can be viewed free of charge at: http://www.gala-global.org/ondemand/how-does-modern-machine-translation-work-story-pictures-not-math

Research results in machine translation will be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) which will take place August 7- 12, 2016 at the Humboldt University in Berlin (acl2016.org). The scientists will present the results of an international competition on machine translation in a workshop at the conference: http://www.statmt.org/wmt16

###

Further information:

http://www.qt21.eu

http://www.lr-coordination.eu

Press photos available at: http://www.dfki.de/web/presse/bildmaterial/materialien-fuer-die-presse-genabith

Questions can be addressed to:

Prof. Dr. Josef van Genabith

Saarland University / German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)

Tel. +49 (0)681 302-2931

E-mail: josef.van_genabith@uni-saarland.de
During the Ordovician period, the concentration of CO2 in the earth's atmosphere was about eight times higher than today. It has been hard to explain why the climate cooled and why the Ordovician glaciations took place. A new study, published in Nature Communications, shows that the weathering of rock caused by early non-vascular plants had the potential to cause such a global cooling effect.

"When we can better understand the carbon cycle in the past, we can better predict what happens with the climate in the future," says Philipp Porada of Stockholm University, one of the authors of the study.

Non-vascular plants, such as mosses, hornworts and liverworts, probably evolved during the Ordovician period, around 450 million years ago. They are older than vascular plants, such as trees and grasses, and together with lichens, which are a symbiosis of fungi and algae, they formed the earliest terrestrial vegetation. Today's successors of these organisms are distributed worldwide and are characterised by their ability to survive in environments in which the supply of both water and nutrients is scarce. They are found in both cold and warm desert regions and are able to grow on rock surfaces and the bark of trees. Although they do not have real roots, they affect the surfaces on which they grow: the release of various organic acids dissolves underlying rock minerals. This process of dissolution and chemical transformation of rock minerals is called chemical weathering. Non-vascular plants and lichens may considerably increase weathering rates of the rock surfaces on which they grow. This has important implications for the climate system, since chemical weathering of silicate rocks such as granite results in a drawdown of atmospheric CO2 and may therefore lead to global cooling. During the weathering process CO2 dissolves in water as acid, and is then transported to the ocean where the carbon is buried as carbonate rock. Consequently, it has been hypothesised that early non-vascular vegetation caused an interval of glaciations at the end of the Ordovician period, when they became globally abundant. Without the drawdown of atmospheric CO2 caused by the enhancement of weathering rates, the Ordovician glaciations are hard to explain, since they started under conditions of eight times higher atmospheric CO2 than today.

"I believe that the most interesting thing about the study is that tiny plants such as mosses and lichens can influence global climate in the long run," says Philipp Porada.

"However, it is difficult to extrapolate today's weathering rates by non-vascular plants and lichens measured in the field to a global effect on chemical weathering in the Ordovician. In our study we therefore use a process-based numerical model of non-vascular vegetation to simulate weathering by these organisms in the Late Ordovician. We find a high potential for weathering, which means that the emergence of early non-vascular plants and lichens indeed may have been the reason for the Late Ordovician glaciations."

###

Contact:

Philipp Porada, Stockholm University ACES, e-mail: philipp.porada@aces.su.se, telephone +49 1 573 700 90 66

Elsa Helin, Press Officer, e-mail: press@su.se telephone: +46 8 16 40 90
In a study published online by JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, James A. Bonner, M.D., of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and colleagues assessed the rates of laryngeal (having to do with the larynx [voice box]) preservation and laryngectomy-free survival in patients receiving the monoclonal antibody cetuximab and radiation therapy (CRT) or radiation therapy alone.

Historically, locoregionally advanced squamous cell cancers of the larynx or hypopharynx have been treated with surgical resection, usually involving laryngectomy with or without postoperative radiotherapy. Although laryngectomy is an effective treatment, investigators have sought therapeutic strategies that result in voice preservation. After the realization that many patients could avoid total laryngectomy with the use of primary radiotherapy, several combination chemoradiotherapy strategies were introduced for patients with laryngeal or hypopharyngeal cancers.

This study consisted of a secondary subgroup analysis of patients who were enrolled in a randomized, phase 3 study from 73 centers in the United States and 14 other countries. Of the 424 patients included in the trial, 168 treated patients with cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx were included in the subgroup analysis (90 in the CRT group and 78 in the radiotherapy alone group). The rates of laryngeal preservation at 2 years were 88 percent for CRT vs 86 percent for radiotherapy alone. This study was not powered to assess organ preservation. Median overall survival was 27 vs 21 months for the CRT and radiotherapy alone groups, respectively. There was a 4 percent and 8.9 percent absolute improvement in laryngectomy-free survival at 2 and 3 years, respectively, for CRT vs radiotherapy alone. No differences between treatments were reported regarding overall quality of life, need for a feeding tube, or speech.

"The higher rate of laryngeal preservation that was achieved with the use of CRT compared with radiotherapy alone was encouraging," the authors write. "These results need to be interpreted in the context of a retrospective subset analysis with limited sample size."

"This treatment approach warrants further evaluation in larger populations to fully assess the potential value of cetuximab or other molecular targeting agents to augment laryngeal preservation rates."

###

(JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. Published online July 7, 2016. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2016.1228. The study is available pre-embargo at the For The Media website.)

Editor's Note: Research funding was provided by Eli Lilly and Company. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.

Note: Available pre-embargo at the For The Media website is an accompanying commentary, "The Challenges of Laryngeal Preservation," by Nabil F. Saba, M.D., and Dong M. Shin, M.D., of the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.

Media Advisory: To contact James A. Bonner, M.D., call Alicia Rohan at 205-975-7515 or email ARohan@uab.edu.

To place an electronic embedded link to this study in your story Links will be live at the embargo time: http://archotol.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamaoto.2016.1228
PHILADELPHIA--(July 7, 2016)--As the powerhouse of the cells, mitochondria are critical for every organism because of their role in producing energy while also controlling survival, but how they function in cancer is still not completely known. This is particularly important because, in general, tumor cells proliferate more than normal tissues, and scientists have speculated that mechanisms that preserve mitochondrial function are responsible for supporting tumor expansion.

Now, scientists at The Wistar Institute have identified a specific network of proteins present in mitochondria of tumor cells that is essential for maintaining a clean function of mitochondria, enabling not only the proliferation of tumor cells but also their ability to move and invade distant organs. By understanding the players involved, Wistar scientists were able to turn off individual subunits within the network, which greatly reduced the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread, suggesting an attractive new therapeutic target. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.

"This is an example of how tumors can quickly adapt to cope with their own higher biosynthetic needs," said Dario C. Altieri, M.D., President and CEO of The Wistar Institute, director of The Wistar Institute Cancer Center, the Robert & Penny Fox Distinguished Professor, and lead author of the study. "Mitochondria play a crucial role in a tumor's ability to process the energy needed to grow and spread, so identifying the mechanisms of how tumors maintain the function of mitochondria and exploit it to support abnormal cell proliferation and metastatic spread may uncover new therapeutic targets in a wide variety of cancers."

Prior studies provided evidence that the ability to control the folding and stability of proteins, or proteostasis, was important to reduce cellular stress. It has also been known that tumors hijack mechanisms of proteostasis to their advantage, but how this happened in mitochondria had remained largely unknown. The network described by the Wistar scientists answers this question and confirmed its important role in tumor development. In particular, one of the components of this network - ClpP - was found universally overexpressed in primary and metastatic human cancer and correlates to shortened patient survival. In this study alone, the scientists identified overexpression of this subunit in breast, prostate, colon and lung cancers as well as melanoma and lymphoma.

"There's quite a bit of interest in targeting pathways involved in mitochondria function, and we've identified one such pathway that may provide a 'drugable' target for a variety of cancers," said Jae Ho Seo, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Altieri lab at Wistar and first author of the study. "Other studies have shown that it is feasible to target mitochondrial proteins in preclinical models, so disrupting the network we identified in this study could shut off key processes that lead to tumor progression."

###

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants P01 CA140043, R01 CA78810 and CA190027, R01 CA089720, F32CA177018, the Italian Minister of Health grant GR2011-02351626, the Prostate Cancer Research Program under Award No. W81XWH-13-1-0193, and a Challenge Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Core support was provided by the Cancer Center Support Grant CA010815 to The Wistar Institute. Co-authors of this study from The Wistar Institute include: Dayana B. Rivadeneira, M. Cecilia Caino, Young Chan Chae, David Speicher, Hsin-Yao Tang, Andrew V. Kossenkov, and Lucia R. Languino. Other co-authors include: Valentina Vaira and Silvano Bosari from the University of Milan in Italy, and Alessandro Palleschi and Paolo Rampini from the Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Italy.

About The Wistar Institute

The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the United States, Wistar has held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute since 1972. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. wistar.org.
Chewed bark, leaves and fruit discarded by mountain gorillas provide a simple way to test the endangered apes for viruses without disturbing them, according to scientists from the University of California, Davis, studying mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in East-Central Africa.

The method is described in a study published recently in the American Journal of Primatology. The study is led by UC Davis' One Health Institute and Gorilla Doctors, a program led by the nonprofit Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project and UC Davis.

"This is the first time that viruses have been detected on plants chewed by primates," said lead author Tierra Smiley Evans, a graduate student at the One Health Institute. "This is a technique people can use without disturbing the primate's natural behaviors."

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Roughly 880 critically endangered mountain gorillas remain in the Virunga Conservation Range, which spans Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda. Roughly 60 percent of these gorillas are habituated to humans to support ecotourism in the region, putting them at high risk for contacting human pathogens.

Infectious diseases introduced by humans pose one of the greatest threats to survival of great apes in the wild, the study said.

Blood samples, and oral and rectal swabs are often used to detect viruses in primates, but to collect them, primates commonly have to be anesthetized. For the endangered mountain gorillas, anesthesia is only performed when a gorilla is sick or injured due to a human-related cause, not when they are healthy.

Simple, noninvasive sampling methods are needed to monitor the health of the mountain gorillas and other primates, ideally before a virus becomes an outbreak, the authors said.

PICK-UP STICKS

In the study, researchers followed the primates at a distance, collected plant samples chewed and discarded by 383 wild mountain gorillas and 18 golden monkeys, and analyzed them to find viruses shed by mouth.

The method proved effective for detecting both RNA and DNA viruses, which is important because RNA viruses are more likely to be transmitted from humans to wildlife and vice versa.

The new noninvasive method could be used in combination with feces and urine sampling to access the most common routes of viral shedding in wild primates. It can also be used to detect viruses in other wild species where health monitoring is critical for conservation management.

SOMETHING TO CHEW ON

Smiley Evans said that studying the mountain gorillas in their natural environment was "the best part of my Ph.D. experience. I got to go with the parks' advanced tracking teams in the morning and be with the group of gorillas for a few hours before the tourists arrived. I got to observe them, see what they were eating, and collect samples. I was able to recognize individuals after several visits to a group. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything."

Her study builds on previous work she conducted in Nepal and Uganda with primates. In that research, she coated ropes with jam or mango juice, which the monkeys used as "chew toys." Scientists retrieved the ropes to collect saliva samples.

A 'ONE HEALTH' APPROACH

The research is an example of the "one health" approach to public health and wildlife conservation embodied by Gorilla Doctors and the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project, which is led by UC Davis One Health Institute director Jonna Mazet. PREDICT conducts global surveillance to detect emerging viruses that move among people, wildlife and livestock before such viruses become pandemic. Gorilla Doctors is the PREDICT implementing partner in Rwanda, Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

"We need innovative, noninvasive techniques to sample primates that are simple to deploy in remote settings around the globe for surveillance of pathogens that could also affect people" said UC Davis professor Christine Kreuder Johnson, senior author on this study and director of surveillance for PREDICT.

###

The study's research team included researchers from the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center and Gorilla Doctors program at UC Davis; the UC Davis California National Primate Research Center; One Health Approach in Conservation in Rwanda; Makerere University Walter Reed Laboratory in Uganda; and the Rwanda Development Board in Rwanda.

In addition to Gorilla Doctors technical support and permissions of the governments of Rwanda and Uganda, the study was funded by a William J. Fulbright Fellowship to Smiley Evans and USAID's Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT project.
The University of Chicago is one of three Illinois academic institutions that will work together to help launch President Obama's Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program to enroll 1 million or more participants in a national research effort designed to find better ways to prevent and treat disease based on lifestyle, environment and genetics.

A group of health care provider organizations led by Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital and the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services LLC -- to be called the Illinois Precision Medicine Consortium -- have signed on to enroll at least 150,000 participants, including healthy people and those with pre-existing diseases, over the coming 4.5 years. Precision medicine is a growing area of study that looks at how an individual's genetics, environment and lifestyle influence disease treatment and prevention.

"This range of information at the scale of 1 million people from all walks of life will be an unprecedented resource for researchers working to understand all of the factors that influence health and disease," said Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"Over time, data provided by participants will help us answer important health questions, such as why some people with elevated genetic and environmental risk factors for disease still manage to maintain good health, and how people suffering from a chronic illness can maintain the highest possible quality of life," Collins said. "The more we understand about individual differences, the better able we will be to effectively prevent and treat illness."

In the first year, the NIH will provide $55 million in awards nationwide to assemble the partnerships and infrastructure needed for this unprecedented health care effort, called the PMI Cohort Program.

The Illinois consortium will receive $4.3 million in fiscal 2016, part of a five-year award that will total $45 million, pending progress reviews and availability of funds. The five consortium members, led by Northwestern, will work with their own partner institutions to enroll 150,000 participants. UChicago's partners include Rush University Medical Center and NorthShore University HealthSystem.

The Illinois consortium is one of four nationwide to receive an award from the NIH for this study. The other consortium leads are Columbia University Health Sciences, University of Arizona and University of Pittsburgh.

PMI Cohort Program volunteers will be asked to contribute a wide range of health, environment and lifestyle information. They will also be invited to answer questions about their health history and status, share their genomic and other biological information through simple blood and urine tests, and grant access to their clinical data from electronic health records. Mobile health devices and apps will provide additional lifestyle data and environmental exposures in real time. All of this personal information will be protected by privacy and security safeguards.

"Scientifically, this award will enable our teams to build an unprecedented research resource that will help us answer critical questions about how all aspects of our biology and lifestyle affect health and disease. This extends to multiple segments of the U.S. population and for many years to come," said Habibul Ahsan, MD, principal investigator for the University of Chicago consortium. "Practically, this award provides an opportunity for the major institutions in Illinois to work together in this historical effort."

As partners in this research, study participants will provide input into study design and implementation. They will have access to a wide range of their individual and aggregated study results. The program will focus not just on disease, but also on ways to increase an individual's chances of remaining healthy throughout life.

"What potential participants need to know is that we are equally interested in learning how we can prevent illness in the first place, but when we do get ill, which treatment options are going to work best for each of us individually," said Eric Dishman, director of the PMI Cohort Program.

The four networks of health care provider organizations will ensure that participants in the PMI Cohort Program represent the geographic, ethnic, racial and socioeconomic diversity of the country. The networks will include regional and national medical centers, community health centers and medical centers operated by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Participants also may enroll directly through the Participant Technologies Center later this year.

The NIH is on course to begin initial enrollment into the PMI Cohort Program in 2016, with the aim of meeting its enrollment goal by the end of 2020.

The Illinois Precision Medicine Consortium and its health care provider organizations and community partners intend to recruit, consent, examine and collect biospecimens from 10,000 people from diverse ethnic, social and economic backgrounds in 2016. They hope to recruit at least 35,000 additional participants a year from 2017 to 2020.

Visit the NIH's PMI Cohort Program website to learn more about the program and sign up for updates.

###
Aging, deterioration and extreme events like earthquakes and hurricanes can take a toll on roads, bridges and other structures. With damage and defects often invisible, the search is on for systems that can monitor the health of structures and alert their owners to potential problems and even impending catastrophic failure.

Several years ago, Erik Thostenson and Thomas Schumacher, both affiliated faculty members in the University of Delaware's Center for Composite Materials, began to explore the use of carbon nanotube composites as a kind of "smart skin" for structures.

Now, they have improved on this approach with the addition of another technique called electrical impedance tomography (EIT), which uses surface electrode measurements to create an image of the conductivity of a material or structure. While EIT has been used as a noninvasive medical imaging technique since the 1980s, it has largely been overlooked by the structural health monitoring community.

The UD team's development of the new approach, which applies EIT to a distributed carbon-nanotube-based sensor, is documented in a paper published in the Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation in June.

"While the feasibility of employing carbon-nanotube-based composites as sensors has been validated, the typical approach is to use a series of one-dimensional measurements collected from a two-dimensional sensing area," says Thostenson, whose expertise lies in processing and characterization of composites for sensor applications. "The problem is that this confines the possible damage locations to the grid points of the measurements. EIT, on the other hand, is a true 2-D algorithm."

The nanotube composite sensor can be adhered to virtually any shape to detect damage and to show its location within the material or structure. Other advantages are that it is mechanically robust and that its electrical properties are isotropic, or the same in all directions.

For Schumacher, a structural engineering researcher who envisions using the technique on in-service structures, major benefits of the new sensing technique are that it can be scaled up and that it is relatively inexpensive, as it doesn't require a large quantity of carbon nanotubes.

The recent paper documents the team's initial evaluation of the methodology, first by introducing well-defined damage and then by investigating a more realistic damage scenario to show the capability of the approach to detect impact damage on a composite laminate. The resulting EIT maps were then compared to visual inspection and thermograms taken with an infrared camera.

"Although we did encounter some issues with the size of cracks being overestimated and their shapes not being well represented, overall our EIT methodology was able to detect the initiation of damage well before it was visible with infrared thermography," Schumacher says. "We are in the process of making improvements to the EIT algorithm to increase its accuracy. After that, we plan to demonstrate it in the laboratory, with an aim toward scaling it up for future monitoring of real structures."

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Researchers identify bacterial infection as a possible cause of bladder condition

A team led by researchers at the University of Kent has identified bacterial infection as a possible cause of Overactive Bladder Syndrome (OAB).

OAB is a condition where the bladder muscle spontaneously contracts before the bladder is full. In the USA, it is ranked in the top 10 of common chronic conditions, competing with both diabetes and depression, with a reported prevalence of up to 31-42% in the adult population.

The researchers, including the Kent team from the Medway School of Pharmacy, found that some OAB patients had a low-grade inflammation which is missed by conventional NHS tests. This low-grade inflammation may ultimately result in increased sensory nerve excitation and the symptoms of OAB.

The study found that in these patients the low-grade inflammation is associated with bacteria living inside the bladder wall. This was an observational study which means that no conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. However, the findings may prompt the clinical re-classification of OAB and inform future therapeutic strategies. These might include protracted treatment with antibiotics to alleviate the symptoms of OAB in some individuals.

###

The research, entitled Altered Urothelial ATP Signaling in Major Subset of Human Overactive Bladder Patients with Pyuria is published in the journal American Journal of Physiology.

See: http://ajprenal.physiology.org/content/early/2016/06/27/ajprenal.00339.2015

Principal investigator was Dr Scott Wildman, of the Medway School of Pharmacy, Universities of Kent and Greenwich, and colleagues Alberto Contreras-Sanz, Louise Krska, Claire M. Peppiatt-Wildman and Stephen Kelley.

For interview requests contact Martin Herrema at the University of Kent Press Office.

Tel: 01227 823581/01634 888879

Email: M.J.Herrema@kent.ac.uk

News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news

University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent Notes to editors

1.

Other authors were: Aswini A. Balachandran, Natasha L. Curtiss, Jonathan Duckett, Obstetrics and Urogynaecology, Medway Maritime Hospital, Kent; Rajvinder Khasriya and James Malone-Lee, UCL Medical School; Matthew Strutt, Department of Microbiology, East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust; Hardyal S. Gill, Kevin M. Taylor, Department of Pharmaceutics, UCL, School of Pharmacy, London, UK; Kylie J. Mansfield, School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia; Changhao Wu, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey.

2.

Established in 1965, the University of Kent - the UK's European university - now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.

It has been ranked: third for overall student satisfaction in the 2014 National Student Survey; 16th in the Guardian University Guide 2016; 23rd in the Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2016; and 22nd in the Complete University Guide 2015.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, Kent is in the top 10% of the world's leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world. The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its 'Table of Tables' 2016.

Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality.

Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium.

The University is worth 0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes 293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals.

In 2014, Kent received its second Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education.
A molecule which, for the last 20 years has been believed to be an indicator of good prognosis in tumours has been shown to have a dark side by new research from The Universities of Manchester, Athens and collaborators, recently published in Nature Cell Biology.

The molecule p21WAF1/Cip1 (or p21 for short) is often found in association with a so-called 'master tumour-suppressor' p53. This has traditionally given doctors an indication that there is a good prognosis for cancer - the presence of p21 indicating that the p53 tumour suppressor will lead to a less aggressive tumour.

However, the new study has presented evidence that turns this assumption on its head. Scientists at The University of Manchester, part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre, alongside international collaborators, especially at the University of Athens, have shown that in tumours where the p53 molecule is deficient, p21 dramatically increases the ability of tumours to grow and spread throughout the body.

Professor Paul Townsend, one of the lead authors, along with senior author, Professor Vassilis Gorgoulis, Honorary Professor in Manchester, and Professor-Director, University of Athens, have said: "Years ago, being exposed to a lot of sunshine was thought to be one of the best ways of being healthy before we realised the harmful effects of too much could have.

"This protein has a similar effect. When the activity of wild type p53 is lost, excess production of p21 is far from a good thing. This protein which was previously thought benign turns out to have a dark side."

The findings are a result of five years' of study into p21, originally with a view to developing treatments, which increase its presence and supress tumours. While conducting this investigation the international research team noticed that in p53-deficient tumours increased p21 was actually correlating aggressive behaviour. This led them to suspect a different possibility for how the molecule was working in tumours.

In reality, p21works by deregulating the DNA replication machinery and triggering what's called replication stress. This causes genomic instability, a key hallmark of cancer.

The new findings open up the possibility of treatments being developed which counter p21, an avenue of research which has not been previously explored.

Professors Townsend added: "We now know that p21, when unleashed from p53 control, is a factor in causing the danger signs of cell replication found in aggressive tumours. Although this goes against what we have known to date, it offers the hope of developing new treatments for cancer in the years ahead."

###

The paper, 'Chronic p53-independent p21 expression causes genomic instability by deregulating replication licensing,' (doi:10.1038/ncb3378) was published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

Research was carried out at The University of Manchester, the University of Athens with contributing authors also from the UK, Spain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, USA, Denmark and Switzerland.

http://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/v18/n7/abs/ncb3378.html
COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 7, 2016) -- Lesbian and bisexual women have higher rates of obesity, smoking and stress when compared to their heterosexual counterparts, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health.

To address this issue, a University of Missouri researcher has led the first-ever national study to develop healthy weight programs for lesbian and bisexual communities. Ninety-five percent of the study participants achieved the health objectives that are critical for obesity prevention as identified by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

"Previous research has found that lesbian and bisexual communities have different attitudes, experiences and sensitivities related to weight compared to heterosexual women," said Jane McElroy, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, lead author of the study.

McElroy also serves as principal investigator of "Living Out, Living Actively," one of the five programs created in the study.

"Unlike other weight-loss programs, this study did not focus on weight loss as the primary goal of the intervention," McElroy said. "Instead, we aimed to motivate participants to achieve specific changes in lifestyle habits that would improve their overall health."

Changes included increasing minutes of physical activity, increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreasing consumption of sugar-sweetened and alcoholic beverages, and improving the overall quality of life of lesbian and bisexual women.

For the study, 266 participants enrolled in pilot programs that took place in Missouri, California, New York and Washington, DC. Each program enrolled lesbian and bisexual women ages 40 and older who were overweight. Participants were involved in weekly group meetings, nutrition education and physical activity.

The five pilot programs were developed based on feedback from community focus groups of lesbian and bisexual women. Each program used either a pedometer, gym membership or mindfulness-approach to help participants achieve healthier habits. Participants completed pre- and post-intervention surveys to measure their progress on completing the objectives.

Key findings from the study:

More than 95 percent of participants nationwide achieved at least one of the health objectives identified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, with 58 percent achieving three or more.

Nearly 60 percent of participants increased their weekly physical activity minutes by 20 percent.

Forty percent of participants cut their consumption of alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages in half.

Twenty-nine percent of participants decreased their waist-to-height ratios by 5 percent.

Participants who were enrolled in the pedometer or mindfulness programs were more likely to increase their total minutes of physical activity by 20 percent, and those in the gym group were more likely to experience a 5 percent decrease in waist-to-height ratio.

McElroy said the results from this study can motivate other communities to develop tailored interventions to support lesbian and bisexual women in achieving the active healthy lives they desire.

The study, "Healthy Weight in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: Striving for a Healthy Community," was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health.

Eight articles on the study, "Healthy Weight in Lesbian and Bisexual Women: Striving for a Healthy Community," will appear in the July/August Women's Health Issues supplement. Women's Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health, which is based at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health. The researchers have no conflicts of interest to declare related to this study.

The study is the result of a partnership between the University of Missouri and NORC at the University of Chicago. NORC at the University of Chicago is an independent research institution that delivers reliable data and rigorous analysis to guide critical programmatic, business and policy decisions.

McElroy cited the self-reporting nature of the pre- and post-intervention surveys as a potential study limitation.

Healthy weight programs and locations:

Doing it for Ourselves (DIFO) - California: Berkeley, El Cerrito, San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Sebastopol

Living Out, Living Actively (LOLA) - Missouri: Columbia and St. Louis

Making Our Vitality Evident (MOVE) - Maryland and District of Columbia: Silver Spring and Washington, DC

Strong, Healthy, Energized (SHE) - New York City

Women's Health and Mindfulness (WHAM) - California: Berkeley and San Francisco

###
Dear Editor:

As an almost daily visitor to Children's Lake in Boiling Springs, I and many others are alarmed at the steep decline in the duck population as well as other waterfowl such as Canada geese.

I and other frequent lake visitors estimate that the population decline is more that half of just a year or two ago. That's far too high to be attributed to natural selection, and since I've seen no dead ducks in the lake, that seems to largely rule out disease.

There are few ducklings or juvenile ducks, and those that are there one day and seem to be gone shortly after being sighted. I've seen no dead ducks in the lake, and have walked the trails behind the Boiling Springs pool where there are usually nesting sights. No ducks.

There have been alarming and persistent rumors in the village for months about a person or persons living near the lake killing ducks, but I would hope and pray these rumors are untrue. (People with large nets have been seen on and around the premises of the Lake, however, and a while back a swan was discovered with a broken neck.)

I would ask anyone with any information to please contact the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. It would be a heartbreaking loss and great shame to needlessly lose these wonderful and magnificent creatures that have been a fixture at the lake for decades.

Len E. Negley

South Middleton Township
Researchers at Umea University in Sweden have published new findings on the adaptation of the bacterial cell wall in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study reveals novel bacterial defence mechanisms against the immune system and how they can become resistant to antibiotics.

Bacteria are surrounded by a mesh-like structure which, similar to an external skeleton, defines the cell shape and provides protection against external attacks. This remarkable polymer cell wall called peptidoglycan, given its basic composition of sugars and amino acids, is well known for being a major target of beta-lactam antibiotics such as Penicillin.

Despite this structure having been the focus of extensive investigations on the long-lasting battle against bacterial pathogens (i.e. bacteria that cause infectious diseases), there is currently little understanding of its natural variability and the consequences of such changes on the ability of bacteria to adapt and survive in a threatening environment.

"This new study provides a powerful pipeline which permits rapid identification and boosts knowledge of cell wall biology in bacteria and opens new avenues towards the development of taxon-specific antimicrobial strategies," says infection biologist Felipe Cava who led the study at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the Department of Molecular Biology at Umea University.

One objective of the research at the Cava Lab is to find new treatment methods against infectious disease and resistance to antibiotics. The study will be of great importance to address fundamental questions on bacterial adaptation to environmental challenges such as to the natural occurring poly-microbial environments as well as to the parasitic, commensal and symbiotic relations with other organisms.

In their recent publication, the researchers investigated the cell wall chemical diversity in the Alpha-subdivision of Proteobacteria, possibly the most abundant organisms in the world. This division includes the most common bacteria in surface water, as well as some plant, animal and human pathogens. The research resulted in finding unprecedented chemical modifications in the cell wall of certain bacteria which enabled them to adapt to their environmental niche.

"We identified a novel peptidoglycan structure displayed by acetic acid bacteria, which are very relevant microbes in the food industry. One of these modifications occur in the diaminopimelic acid, a highly conserved amino acid in the peptidoglycan cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. In addition, these species have devised an original way of crosslinking their peptidoglycan mesh, which is different to what has been described for other bacteria so far," explains Felipe Cava.

The biological importance of the study is that these bacteria actually develop structural adjustments in their peptidoglycan layer to create better-fitted cell walls to live in, and colonise competitive environments.

"We showed that these modifications are not purely decorative, but instead, empower acetic acid bacteria with a higher level of protection against lytic enzymes delivered by competing microbes. Also, we showed that the cell wall structure to a certain extent elicits an innate immune system response in the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster - a natural host for these bacteria," says Felipe Cava.

Felipe Cava was appointed in 2013 as a Wallenberg Academy Fellow at the Umea University and is head of an independent research group at The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), the Swedish partner in The Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine.

The study is part of a Kingdom-wide peptidoglycan -omic research database called The MUREINome, which collects data from thousands of different bacteria species. The work has also been the result of a collaboration with researchers at the Computational Life Science Cluster at Umea University, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Swiss Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.

###
Ulaanbataar, Mongolia (July 7, 2016) - A new study by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) says that breeding populations of white-naped cranes have decreased by 60 percent in Ulz River basin - an important stronghold for the species in Eastern Mongolia.

Survey data from 2000-2001 recorded 42 territorial pairs while the most recent data by WCS documented only 17 pairs.

Eastern Mongolia supports one of the world's most important breeding populations of the white-naped crane, a species classified by the IUCN as "vulnerable," with an estimated total population at 5,500-6,500 individuals. Among the threats to the birds are habitat loss and fire.

Between 2010-2011, WCS visited a 270-kilometer (167-mile) section of the Ulz River basin where (Bradter et al, 2005) surveyed in 2000 and 2001. Additionally, during the same period, WCS extended the survey to more historic crane breeding sites with locations provided by from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. Those sites are Kherlen River, Onon River catchment and the Khurkh Khuiten Ramsar site.

"Wetland ecosystems across the steppe grasslands of Eastern Mongolia represent critically important breeding habitat for white-naped cranes," said Martin Gilbert, WCS Wildlife Veterinarian. "By revisiting areas surveyed by other researchers ten years earlier, we were able to assess how numbers had changed during a decade of severe drought."

Despite standing over 4 feet tall, the researchers found that the cranes were surprisingly difficult to observe, even in the open habitat of the Mongolian steppe. After observing 234 cranes, the scientists used occupancy modelling to estimate 867-1017 cranes inhabit the survey area, suggesting that Mongolia supports almost half of the world's breeding white-naped cranes.

In the ten years between surveys, using spatial modeling, the scientists noted that an extended drought affected Eastern Mongolia's wetland systems. Additionally, models performed by the scientists indicated that the birds prefer areas of tall wet vegetation and low grazing pressure (to allow for nesting). Several lakes and whole stretches of river that supported cranes in 2001 were completely dry by the 2010 survey, and unsuitable for breeding cranes.

Gilbert said, "Although white-naped cranes may be one of the most visible inhabitants of Mongolia's wetland communities, their habitat is critical for a whole suite of highly threatened flora and fauna. The declining numbers of cranes is alarming, and may signal wider problems, affecting many more species."The study findings, combined with declines noted in wintering counts in China, "do strongly suggest that global white-naped crane populations may indeed be in decline."

Said WCS Mongolia Country Program Director Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba: "These shrinking habitats represent a lifeline for nomadic herding communities and their livestock. Management of remaining water resources will become increasingly important as climate change progresses. Management decisions must be made with engagement of local stakeholders and be well informed by sound science if we are to meet the needs of both the cranes and local people in the decades ahead. Some of the wetland habitats are well managed and protected by herder communities who have been an active part of the WCS project work. This practice needs to be extended to other communities that share the landscape with cranes."

###

"Declining breeding populations of White-naped Cranes in Eastern Mongolia, a ten-year Update," appears online in Bird Conservation International. Authors include: Martin Gilbert, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaar, Amanda E. Fine, Losolmaa Jambal, and Samantha Strindberg.

Funding for this project was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services (Contract No. HHSN2662007 00009C); the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Scaling up Conservation Success with Sustainable Conservation Approaches in Priority Ecosystems Cooperative Agreement (No. EEM-A-00-09-0007-00); and the Wildlife Conservation Society

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world's oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.
"Recovering Biodiversity in Indian Forests" examines human influence and role of protected areas on India's mammal, bird, and plant species

Book provides policy recommendations for future protected area management

NEW YORK (July 6, 2016) - India's protected areas are at a crossroads, and a new book by top Indian scientists provides a roadmap on the way forward.

Recovering Biodiversity in Indian Forests published by Springer, demonstrates how varying levels of human disturbance manifested through different management regimes influence composition, richness, diversity and abundance of India's key mammal, bird, and plant species.

The book's lead author is G. Viswanatha Reddy, Additional Principal Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Department of Forest, Government of Rajasthan. Other authors include: K. Ullas Karanth, Director of Science - Asia, WCS; N. Samba Kumar, Additional Director - Science and Training, WCS India Program; Jagdish Krishnaswamy, Convenor and Senior Fellow at the SuriSeghal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment; and Krithi K. Karanth, Associate Conservation Scientist with the Global Conservation Program, WCS.

The book shows the critical importance of the 'wildlife preservation' approach for effective Indian biodiversity conservation. It provides examples of a practical application of rigorous methods of quantitative sampling of different plant and animal taxa as well as human influences, thus serving as a useful manual for protected area managers.

Protected areas of various kinds have been established in India with the goal of arresting decline in, and to provide for, recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem services. A model that targets 'wildlife preservation' under state ownership is practiced across the country. However, forests in India are under intensive human pressure and varying levels of protection; therefore, protected areas may also experience open-access resource use, a model that is being aggressively advocated as a viable alternative to 'preservation.

"At this juncture a reemphasis on India's basic conservation model of strictly protected nature reserves and reverence for wildlife in India's culture is needed," said Vishwanatha Reddy, lead author of the book.

The authors have evaluated the conservation efficacy of alternative forest management models by quantifying levels of biodiversity under varied levels of access, resource extraction and degree of state-sponsored protection in the Nagarahole forest landscape of southwestern India.

Said co-author Ullas Karanth: "The publication of this book to me represents the great scope that exists for collaboration between dedicated and sincere wildlife managers of India and high caliber scientific talent that is eager to work with them to advance conservation science."

Said noted conservationist Valmik Thapar in the book's foreword: "I hope this book will enlighten the average Indian forest manager so that he/she can evaluate scientifically the area under management. This will prevent frivolous interventions like manipulating habitat or even interfering with the natural cycles of animals. It is only then that he/she can take meaningful field decisions."

###

WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society)

MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world's oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.
Research published today in Cell has shown that patient-derived cancer cell lines harbour most of the same genetic changes found in patients' tumours, and could be used to learn how tumours are likely to respond to new drugs, increasing the success rate for developing new personalised cancer treatments.

Led by scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the international study discovered a strong link between many mutations in patient cancer samples, and the sensitivity to particular drugs. This could advance personalised cancer medicine by leading to results that help doctors predict the best available drugs, or the most suitable clinical trials for each individual patient.

In the first systematic, large-scale study to combine molecular data from patients, laboratory cancer cell lines and drug sensitivity, the researchers looked at genetic mutations known to cause cancer in more than 11,000 patient samples of 29 different tumour types.

They built a catalogue of the genetic changes that cause cancer in patients and mapped these alterations onto 1000 cancer cell lines. Next, they tested the cell lines for sensitivity to 265 different cancer drugs to understand which of these changes effect sensitivity.

The researchers made two significant discoveries. Firstly, that the majority of molecular abnormalities found in patient's cancers are also found in cancer cells in the laboratory. This means that cell lines are indeed useful models to identify which drugs would work best for patients. Secondly, many of the molecular abnormalities detected in the thousands of patient cancer samples can, both individually but also in combination, have a strong effect on whether a particular drug affects a cancer cell's survival.

The results suggest cancer cell lines could be better exploited to learn which drugs offer the most effective treatment to which patients.

Dr Mathew Garnett, joint leader of the study from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, said: "In this study we compared the genetic landscape of patient tumours with that of cancer cells grown in the lab. We found that cell lines do carry the same genetic alterations that drive cancer in patients. This means that drug sensitivity testing in cell lines can be used to figure out how a tumour is likely to respond to a drug."

Previous studies have sequenced the DNA of cancers from patients to identify the molecular abnormalities that drive the biology of cancer cells. Researchers have also shown that large collections of cancer cell lines grown in the laboratory can be used for measuring sensitivity to many hundreds of drugs. However, this is the first study to systematically combine these two sets of information.

Dr Francesco Iorio, joint first author and postdoctoral researcher at both EMBL-EBI and the Sanger Institute, said: "If a cell line has the same genetic features as a patient's tumour, and that cell line responded to a specific drug, we can focus new research on this finding. This could ultimately help assign cancer patients into more precise groups based on how likely they are to respond to therapy. This resource can really help cancer research. Most importantly, it can be used to create tools for doctors to select a clinical trial which is most promising for their cancer patient. That is still a way off, but we are heading in the right direction."

Dr Ultan McDermott, joint leader of the study from the Sanger Institute, said: "We need better ways to figure out which groups of patients are more likely to respond to a new drug before we run complex and expensive clinical trials. Our research shows that cancer cell lines do capture the molecular alterations found in tumours, and so can be predictive of how a tumour will respond to a drug. This means the cell lines could tell us much more about how a tumour is likely to respond to a new drug before we try to test it in patients. We hope this information will ultimately help in the design of clinical trials that target those patients with the greatest likelihood of benefiting from treatment."

###

Notes to editor

Publication:

F Iorio et al. (2016) A landscape of pharmacogenomic interactions in cancer. Cell. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.06.017

Further information: The study was based on publicly available data gathered over the past six years by global scientific collaborations: the Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Data from the study are freely available via the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI).

To enable other scientists to explore this resource, all data and appropriate tools are released via a website and as Python tool (GDSCTools).

The EBI-Sanger Postdoctoral (ESPOD) Programme offers joint projects at the EBI and Sanger Institute that combine experimental (wet-lab) and computational (dry-lab) approaches. It builds on the collaborative relationship between the two institutes on the Wellcome Genome Campus.

Selected websites:

European Molecular Biology Laboratory

EMBL is Europe's flagship laboratory for the life sciences, with more than 80 independent groups covering the spectrum of molecular biology. EMBL is international, innovative and interdisciplinary - its 1800 employees, from many nations, operate across five sites: the main laboratory in Heidelberg, and outstations in Grenoble; Hamburg; Hinxton, near Cambridge (the European Bioinformatics Institute), and Monterotondo, near Rome. Founded in 1974, EMBL is an inter-governmental organisation funded by public research monies from its member states. The cornerstones of EMBL's mission are: to perform basic research in molecular biology; to train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; to offer vital services to scientists in the member states; to develop new instruments and methods in the life sciences and actively engage in technology transfer activities, and to integrate European life science research. Around 200 students are enrolled in EMBL's International PhD programme. Additionally, the Laboratory offers a platform for dialogue with the general public through various science communication activities such as lecture series, visitor programmes and the dissemination of scientific achievements. http://www.embl.org

EMBL-EBI

The European Bioinformatics Institute is part of EMBL, and is a global leader in the storage, analysis and dissemination of large biological datasets. EMBL-EBI helps scientists realise the potential of 'big data' by enhancing their ability to exploit complex information to make discoveries that benefit mankind. We are a non-profit, intergovernmental organisation funded by EMBL's 21 member states and two associate member states. Our 570 staff hail from 57 countries, and we welcome a regular stream of visiting scientists throughout the year. We are located on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, Cambridge in the United Kingdom. http://www.ebi.ac.uk

The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam

The Netherlands Cancer Institute is at the international forefront of cancer care and research for already more than a century. The unique combination of health care and scientific research within the same institute offers great benefit for cancer patients. Specialized cancer care professionals work together in multidisciplinary teams every day to set up and carry out treatment plans tailored to the needs of individual patients because no two tumors are alike. Cancer patients or people suspected of having cancer can come to our hospital, known as the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, to make use of this personal approach and the state-of-the-art research and treatment facilities. The research institute employs more than 560 scientists investigating many aspects of cancer development, diagnosis, treatment and epidemiology. Scientists at the Netherlands Cancer Institute have excess to state-of-the-art research facilities supporting their basic, translational and clinical research. This scientific research could not be carried out without the institutional support of the Dutch Cancer Society, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the many research grants obtained by our researchers from (inter)national funding agencies, and the generous donations made by individuals that support our research program. The Netherlands Cancer Institute is the only OECI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Netherlands. http://www.nki.nl and http://www.avl.nl.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease. http://www.sanger.ac.uk

The Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. We support the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. Our breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. We are independent of both political and commercial interests. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), along with local partners, released the Colombian Orinoco River Basin Report Card -- the first of its kind in of South America -- to track progress against global water management goals. With a B- for the Orinoco river basin, the report card serves as a model for building comprehensive, community-driven, scientifically credible basin assessments that can work anywhere in the world.

"Around the world, people don't know enough about the state of their freshwater ecosystems. Even if there is scientific data about the basins, it's rarely in a format that policymakers, advocates or community members can easily understand and use," said Simon Costanzo, a science integrator at UMCES. "Report cards like the Orinoco's condense relevant data into a grade reminiscent of what stakeholders receive in schools. Suddenly the status of the basin is clearer, and informed decisions can be made on how to minimize negative impacts."

Analyses like the basin report card are designed to act as a timestamped snapshot of ecosystem and related changes, which happen slowly over a long period of time. An initial basin report card gives policy makers, conservationists and all water users a baseline by which to measure progress or decline in basin health, while subsequent reports can identify slow-moving but critical threats and provide feedback of what solutions are improving basin health. This is especially important as countries develop and try to balance growth with maintaining natural resources.

"We decided to pilot report cards under the WWF-UMCES basin report card initiative in Colombia because the nation is growing, and with the recent peace agreement after more than half-century of conflict, is poised for even more rapid development. The Orinoco itself is incredibly biodiverse and critical to the country's growth, yet vulnerable to unsustainable development," said Karin Krchnak, director of WWF's freshwater program. "But at the end of the day, the Orinoco is a river system experiencing the same issues as rivers all over the world: industrialization, extractive industries, and industrial scale agriculture. As a result, no matter where in the world you are located, this model applies to your river. Best of all, our process ensures the broadest range of stakeholders are bought into working collectively for a better future for the basin."

In the case of the Orinoco report card, WWF and UMCES convened 149 local individuals representing 71 organizations throughout the Colombian portion of the Orinoco river basin. Through a series of workshops, the stakeholders determined the most important values and threats to their basin, and then assigned indicators based on data that could be used to score those values. For example, river dolphins are a treasured species in Colombian culture, and they are an indicator species, meaning their health status is linked with the overall health status of the basins in which they live. Other indicators can be further explored online at https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/orinoco-river-basin-report-card or http://ecoreportcard.org/report-cards/orinoco-river/.

In its entirety, the report card shows a basin in transition, facing real and immediate threats from land use change, loss of forest cover, and ecosystem transformation. The results emphasize the need for integrated land use planning to ensure development occurs in a sustainable way.

Despite the proven potential of report cards, they have not yet been widely adopted. With recent technological advances and heightened global attention on water (through the Sustainable Development Goals and World Economic Forum, as examples), the time is right to increase uptake. Unfortunately, there is no easily accessible process that empowers local stakeholders to create their own report cards, nor any standardized approach that development institutions can confidently support. UMCES and WWF are changing that by refining and open-sourcing a basin report card development process that is simple to implement in places with limited resources -- where such tools and measurements are often most needed.

"The Orinoco score card is a really innovative tool," said Luis German Naranjo, WWF's conservation director in Colombia. "It is the conclusion of a participative process and helps everyone better understand some of the pressures facing a region many people see as Colombia's new frontier, especially after the recent peace agreement. With the report card, those living and working in the Orinoco basin have a crucial tool to measure and weigh the opportunities and the limits of the ecosystem."

###

About World Wildlife Fund

WWF is one of the world's leading conservation organizations, working in 100 countries for over half a century. With the support of almost 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat climate change. Visit http://www.worldwildlife.org to learn more and keep up with the latest conservation news by following @WWFNews on Twitter.
Written by ACM

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- A First EU Parliament's Step towards fully Legitimising a similar kind of reaction as that of Greece's Neighbouring Countries at the Western Balkan Routes, who notoriously decided, Alll Together and Joined by the Visegrad Group, to establish Border Checks and even Blockades in 2016 as long as Athens' New Government persisted to abstain from Pushing Back mainly Turkish Smugglers' Ships illegaly crossing into EU + Shengen External Borders to Import a Massive Influx of 1,3 Million Asylum Seekers/irregular Migrants through Turkey in 2015/2016, (thereby Succeeding to Help consideraby Cut the Number of Mass-Tresspassers in Spectacular Proportions quite Fast, and even Before a Controversial, UnPopular and Costly EU - Turkey deal entered into force, Later-on - See: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/unpopulareuvisafreefor80millionsturksuseless.html ), seems well to have been made Today by a Strong Majority of MEPs after Adopting a series of Amendments on EU Commision's proposal for the Creation of an EU External Borders' Guard Agency.



Even if it could obviously become in Future a much-Needed Amelioration, (often Debated and Welcomed Recently both by EU Citisens and various Politicians, but also by EU Heads of States/Governments' Summits, etc), nevertheless, it's not so much the anounced Establishment of that Agency in itself, (which is Expected, after Official Endorsing by an EU Summit, to be set up from Autumn 2016), that represents The Most radicaly Ground-Breaking Point :



This New EU Tool, - obviously Indispensable for a Sovereign, Independent and Safe Europe which badly Needs to become Able to Control its own External Borders, as well as in order to Safeguard EU Citizens' Free Movement around Internal EU Borders particularly at the Shenghen Area,- nevertheless, is Not Yet a Really nor Sufficiently Big Move :



F.ex., inter alia, the projected Number of EU Border and Coast-Guards would gather, at the Horizon of 2020, Only One (1) such Guard per several Dozens of Kms of EU Coast-Line (sic !), EU won't have its own Agents, but will Depend on Mobilizing, Each Time, various Quotas of National Guards "Ready to Use", lended by EU Member States, and, if it Faces a Reluctant Member Country Obstinated into practicaly Leaving its Part of EU's External Borders UnProtected, even at the Detriment of the European General Interest, it could Only Act after a rather Heavy Procedure, including an EU Parliament's Information and Consultation, an EU Commission's Proposal, and an EU Council's Official Decision.



However, it's also true that the projected EU Border/Coast Guard will be a Mechanism Working with a "2 Levels" System, i.e. mainly by Organizing Europe-Wide Information Networks on Border Protection, and mainly by Intervening on the Spot, to Help any EU Member State facing an Emergency Situation at EU's External Borders, particularly by Adding a 1.600 - strong EU Force and relevant Equipment, whenever a National Government might, eventualy, Feel Necessary to Ask for its Support.



But, a more Important (and Hotly Debated) Innovation is that a Majority of European Countries could, from now on, take Action to Protect EU's General Interest vis a vis a Refusal to move eventualy opposed by a Recalcitrant Member State which Fails to Defend its Part of EU's External Borders, even when there is a Serious Threat to Disrupt EU Citizens' Freedom of Movement inside the Shengen Area and/or to Harm Europe as a whole, as has just Voted 483 MEPs, against Only 181 Today iN Strasbourg.







Perhaps the Most Interesting and Topical Point is also that, (as EU Parliament's Rapporteur on the EU Border/Coast Guard, Artis Pabriks, a mainstream ChristianDemocrat MEP from Latvia, Repeatedly Stressed, Both by Writting, and through Press Spokespersons, as well as in a subsequent Press Conference in Strasbourg), several European Neighbouring Countries will be able to Trigger Action to Establish Checks, on a Temporary basis, and Take Full Control of their Internal EU Borders vis a vis such a Recalcitrant EU Member State which might Fail to protect its part of EU's External Borders, while also Refusing an efficient EU Direct Help on the spot, despite an External Danger Threatening also its European Neighbours.



I.e. Something which is strikingly Similar to what has just Happened, from February/Early March 2016, at the so-called "Western Balkan Route", when Serbia, FYROM, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Austria, supported also by the rest of "Visegrad" Countries (Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia : the Incoming New EU President for July-December 2016, Comp. Statement of the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, in Reply to an "Eurofora"'s Question at a Press Conference during the latest EU Heads of State/Government Summit in Brussels : http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/ficomigrationpolicymightpushbrexits.html), apparently with an Implicit Tolerance even from several Other Big EU Countries, finaly Had to Set up Internal EU Border Controls and even Closure in order to Start Stopping that Unprecedented 1,3 Million Massive Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants "Tsunami" comming through Turkey, as long as a New Government in Greece refused to Push Back the mainly Turkish Smugglers' Human Trafficking Ships (which have already provoked the Death of a Record-High Number of Refugees/Migrants by Drowning, particularly among the Poorest), at EU's External Borders in the Aegean Sea, while also using even Jet-Propulsed Tourist Luxury Big Ships, a well Organized Network of Busses and Trains in a Systematic Mass Public Transport (almost as Serbia also did by Rail, Croatia, etc), towards the Northern Borders of that Strategicaly Located EU and Shengen as well as uroZone Member Country, (Comp. f.ex.: .....).



What is really at Stake, bypasses, indeed, even what EU Rapporteur Pebrics and the Text Adopted Today in Strasbourg by a Strong EU Parliament's Majority, with 483 Votes, against Only 181, have already Warned from the outset, (See f.ex. the 1st Article of the Official Proposal for an EU Directive), by Pointing out that its "Not Only" about "Monitoring Efficiently the Crossing of (EU's) External Borders, and multifacet "Migratory Challenges", but also about Various Other "Potential Future Threats at those borders", as well as in order to "Contribute to Address serious Crime with a cross-border Dimension, and to Ensure a High Level of Internal Security within the Union", while also "Safeguarding the Free Movement of persons therein". (I.e. obviously Including current "Terrorist threats", as the Recent Deadly Attacks by Extremist Islamic ISIL's atrocious HeHeaders even of Innocent and Defenseless Civilian People in Paris and Brussels, etc., proved, since Several among those Murderous Terrorists had, precisely, Arrived Hidden inside that Huge Refugees/Migrants' Infux through Turkey and via EU+Shenghen Member Greece, including 2 Turkish and Other origins' "Djihadists", 10 surviving Pals of whom, from Strasbourg's area, were just Condemned Today by a French Court to 6 or 8 Years in Jail, and a 2/3 Security Surveillance period, after their Trip and Active, Armed Stay in the Territories of Syria which remain still Occupied by ISIL's Terrorist Bands, despite the latest Advances by International Coalition Forces on the spot).

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("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora"s Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version might be Published asap).











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Have you ever run across this anti-ID argument? We know humans design things, but we have no experience with non-human super-intelligences. You cant extrapolate from one to the other. That line flies out the window with the latest SETI proposition.

Behold Project Hephaistos  its SETI on steroids. The intelligent designers in this project may as well be gods. Advocates even admit that their aliens accomplishments meet the conditions of Arthur C. Clarkes third law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

The project comes out of Uppsala University, where Beatriz Villaroel defends her crazy idea that advanced intelligences can modify whole galaxies. Its an idea that has been gnawing at her since her first year of graduate studies, according to Shannon Hall reporting for New Scientist. Would any ID supporter be able to get away with the lack of evidence to support a design inference?

Its a cosmic game of hide-and-seek. A team of astronomers say that the next search for advanced extraterrestrial civilisations should look for stars  or even galaxies  that have vanished without a trace, as anything so unexplainable could only be due to life far more intelligent than us. [Emphasis added.]

At least ID has a pile of observational evidence to support the design inference. Design advocates dont say it has vanished without a trace.

Notice the reasoning behind Project Hephaistos, offered on their About page. It stems from utter frustration at the lack of evidence for Old SETI.

The scientific search for intelligent life in outer space represents one of the most compelling quests that humanity has ever undertaken. In recent years, astronomers have discovered large numbers of exoplanetary systems, and if one entertains the notion that intelligent life may not be unique to our planet, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) would seem like a promising endeavour. However, astronomers have now been scanning the skies for more than 50 years, without detecting any communication signals from alien civilizations. While signal-based searches should certainly continue as new and better telescopes (like the Square Kilometer Array) come on line, alternative strategies should also be considered.

Those aliens just have to be there. The evolutionary worldview demands it. Villaroel and team introduce New SETI  new and improved for discouraged SETI researchers on the verge of throwing in the towel. One doesnt know whether to compare this to New Coke or Jolt Cola.

What if the nearest extraterrestrial civilization is too far away to contact us? Or what if we are simply considered too primitive to warrant contact? Could we then still somehow detect the existence of other civilizations? Possibly. An alternative to the classical, signal-based approach is to search for signatures of alien technology  like large-scale engineering projects, interstellar propulsion mechanism and industrial pollution in the atmospheres of exoplanets. Searches of this kind (sometimes called new SETI) make no assumption on the willingness of extraterrestrial civilizations to contact us directly, Moreover, non-detections resulting from suitable designed searches of this kind can yield meaningful upper limits on the prevalence of civilizations using the assumed technologies.

No human has encountered space aliens yet, mind you, but we can infer their motivations by their silence  according to this line of evidence-free reasoning:

There must not be any aliens close enough to detect their signals. The Fermi Paradox (If theyre so smart, why havent they visited us yet?) implies they are not interested in primitive humans. Given their distance and disinterest, the only way to find them is to look for really big effects. Big effects would require the ability to modify entire stars and galaxies. Advanced technology this grandiose would be indistinguishable from magic.

And thats where the vanishing act comes in. These aliens are so smart, they can make stars, or even galaxies, vanish without a trace. Hows that for a magic act? No wonder any alien[s] able to pull off that trick would have to be far more intelligent than us, almost godly. Hence the name of the project  Hephaistos.

Project Hephaistos, named after the Greek god of blacksmiths who crafted much of the magnificent equipment of the Olympian gods (chariots, weapons and even automatons), belongs to this class of new SETI endeavours, focusing on the search for signatures of extraterrestrial technology rather than looking for signals deliberately sent our way.

A Greek god a craftsman tempting as it is to push the point, we know they are just using it as a figure of speech. Their god (alien civilization) is not omnipotent or omnipresent. (We charitably overlook the godlike image in their logo  Its full of stars!) According to ID principles, the nature of the designer is a secondary question. A design inference is justified by the effects, not from direct knowledge of the intelligent designer.

Villarroel and her colleagues are searching for things that seem impossible. If they confirm a star that has vanished without an accompanying supernova explosion or a galaxy that has disappeared from view, theres simply no physical explanation  save for aliens.

For all that ID dares to infer, space aliens could have designed biological life. It would take other evidence beyond ID to justify a supernatural or any other designer.

This leads to the startling realization that the backers of Project Hephaistos, including its researchers, funders and supporters, are de facto advocates of intelligent design. Their membership card in the ID movement is already in the mail.

Its doubtful, however, they would welcome ourwelcome. Like Richard Dawkins or the movie Contact, they would probably assert that the aliens evolved by Darwinian mechanisms, but just got a head start on us. If Uppsala is like most other universities, saying otherwise would be a CLM (career-limiting move). The preprint on the arXiv server doesnt indicate their position.

Nevertheless, one notices Villaroel using something like the Design Filter in her search for stars or galaxies that might have disappeared between one sky survey and the next. From the news release:

Even if the disappearance is real, there could still be an astrophysical explanation. Quasars  the bright centres of galaxies powered by supermassive black holes  can shut down in less than a decade and drop drastically in brightness. Stars, too, can be highly variable.

They agree, in other words, that chance or natural law should be preferred until the probabilistic resources are exhausted.

Thats why Villarroel and her colleagues plan to search for this missing object (and any others found in the future), on the largest telescopes. If it is still not visible, then they will be able to rule out most astrophysical phenomena and say with more likelihood that it has vanished. Only then will they begin speculating about extraterrestrial causes.

Says Jay Olson at Boise State in Idaho, I think its a very reasonable thing to do. Indeed. Thats why intelligent design theory uses the same line of reasoning to infer an intelligence behind DNA, animal body plans, and the fine-tuning of the universe. ID doesnt ask who the designer is. It only seeks a vera causa (true cause) able to account for the effects. Only in IDs case, the effects have not vanished; they are plain for all to see.

Photo: Temple of Hephaistos, Athens, via Wikicommons.
     :     ; -  CM      ?;  -  
Ahead of US labour market data the USD JPY exchange rate softened amid concerns of Dollar overvaluation.

While Japanese data proved largely mixed on Friday morning this failed to dent the appeal of the Yen exchange rates, which continues to benefit from safe-haven demand.

Sentiment towards the US Dollar, on the other hand, remained decidedly cautious ahead of the latest Non-Farm Payrolls report, with investors wary of another downside surprise after Mays poor headline figure.

The US Dollar has slipped against the Yen today, as have most other regular JPY rivals.

This advance seen by the Japanese currency is largely a response to the latest Bank of Japan (BoJ) speech, which has come from Governor Haruhiko Kuroda.

Kuroda has stated that the central bank will continue trying to combat deflation, by keeping the national interest rate in a negative range.

The latest Japanese Leading Index showed no change on the month in May, suggesting that the domestic economy remains in a relatively vulnerable state.

This was accompanied by a marginally better-than-expected Coincident Index, allowing the Yen to make some moderate gains over its safe-haven rival on Thursday morning.

Following the publication of dovish Federal Reserve meeting minutes from the most recent policy decision, the US Dollar softened versus a number of its major peers.

Many analysts now predict that Fed policymakers will look to hold the official cash rate until the third-quarter of 2017 at the earliest.

Although the USD JPY exchange rate softened, the Yen declined versus most of its major peers on improved risk-appetite.

Here are the latest FX rates:

On Thursday the Japanese Yen to British Pound exchange rate (JPY/GBP) converts at 0.006

The GBP to JPY exchange rate converts at 169.61 today.

The live inter-bank GBP-EUR spot rate is quoted as 1.153 today.

Today finds the pound to pound spot exchange rate priced at 1.

NB: the forex rates mentioned above, revised as of 27th Oct 2022, are inter-bank prices that will require a margin from your bank. Foreign exchange brokers can save up to 5% on international payments in comparison to the banks.

US Dollar Exchange Rates Cool from Recent Highs after Dovish FOMC

As mentioned above, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes printed dovishly, with traders calling for patience before more is known regarding Brexit.

Given that the minutes pertained to a meeting held ahead of the UKs Brexit vote, the outcome is likely to further limit the scope for a near-term cash rate increase.

According to analysts at BNP Paribas, the Fed are now unlikely to consider hiking rates throughout the remainder of 2016 and 2017.

We continue to think that the US economy is slowing. The Brexit vote was emblematic of the lurking risks on the horizon. In our view, the Committee is becoming more aware of the risks to the outlook and less confident in their forecasts for a Goldilocks outcome. We remain confident in our view that the Fed will be on hold throughout 2016 and 2017.

US Dollar overvaluation remains a considerable concern for traders. The latest US trade balance data showed the deficit widened as the strong US Dollar saw reduced export growth.

JPY Exchange Rates Cool from Recent Highs as Risk-Appetite Improves

With commodity prices rising, led by a recovery in crude oil prices, and with global equity markets positing gains; safe-haven demand cooled.

This caused the Japanese Yen to decline versus most of its major peers as investors flocked to higher-yielding assets.

The Bank of Japans (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda remains confident that Japan is insulated against Brexit fallout, but he hasnt dismissed the possibility of additional stimulus measures.

Japan's economy is expected to expand moderately as a trend. The BOJ will scrutinize risks to the economy and prices, and take additional easing steps if deemed necessary.
Hi friends



I'm currently considering living in Al Raha as its close to work and because I found some decent looking apartments on Dubizzle.



I was wondering whether its 'out in the sticks' and remote or whether there's things to do and go (eg, nice things to see/go to, restaurants, whether there's a supermarket nearby or mall etc). How's the beach there too?



I'm in my early 30ies will be initially coming alone to settle in before wife and 2 pre-school kids join. We currently live in central London so want to still be in a relatively (family friendly) yet sociable area.



If Al Raha doesn't have that is there anything you would recommend I check out?



Appreciate all your help!



Cheers
Well having heard earlier this week, (not from a man at a bar) that Osborne has admitted that prior to the vote or directly after (when he disappeared)he had not had anyone at the Treasury working on post BEXIT plans, I am not sure where your man got his info...



The pound has plunged, shares in banks, building companies and estate agents have dived, S&P and Fitch have downgraded the UKs credit rating, property funds have suspended trading and the warning of hundreds of economists dismissed by Johnson, Farage, Gove et al as worthless experts come true The sheer cowardice of Johnson and Farage immediately running away shows neither they or their BERXIT supporters had any idea what they were leading the people of the UK into.



The UK has record borrowing debts and any future plans or decisions cannot be formed until the revised forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility gives an indication of just how bad public finances will be as a result of Brexit. I am advised that this is going to be very, very bad.



My understanding is that the US and UK have a bilateral pension agreement and UK pensions are increased the same as the UK. Bigger worry is will the UK have any money to pay anything and what happens in France which appears to be turning their back  on the UK. Lot more to be concerned about than a couple of pounds a year more pension.
DejW said: Hi Welcome to our forum.



Europe is quite a big place.....stretching from Iceland to Greece, Ireland to the Ural mountains in old Soviet Russia. If you look at the map you will see what I mean. You have an enormous choice of cultures, languages, police forces, climates and schools.



The obvious question is "why France"? What will you do / experience in France that you could not do, in say, the State next door to your own in the US?



France CAN be a lovely place to live in, working in France can be difficult (but not impossible). The administration of daily life in France can be overpowering, but health care and the state education system are excellent. It can be difficult for foreigners to integrate into "real" French life.



If you bring up your child(ren) in France (or Germany, or...) then they will probably be bilingual....and that is a wonderful gift for a child. But is that your reason for moving? Being bilingual is not the same as speaking excellent French - it's more a frame of mind than a language skill.



I agree that Google will not tell you much about a country. Try looking at the tourist imformation of your own town! Often comments written about a country tell you more about the writer than the country written about. Comments in this forum are not an exception. Except perhaps Google maps steet view..that does give a very good picture (!) of what a place really looks like.



Tell us more about your motives....why? for how long (permanent or a few years?), how will you earn money? Health care? Do you want/need a plan B to get back to the US?



Anyway, I hope your dreams work out, please post your questions here, we will do our best to help you.



DejW Click to expand...

Ok, first of all I couldn't get in under the name I created yesterday, so I just made a new one. Still me though.Thank you, everyone, very much for your thoughful replies! I appreciate it very much.Of course you guys are correct about the visa issue being both difficult and important.We have been approaching it this way:We want to move abroad. We'd prefer Europe for many reasons, partly because it's close(ish) and I am already familiar (which means, hopefully, that the culture shock will be a little easier on at least one of us.) I speak some French, and it'll be a lot easier for me to keep learning a language with which I am already familiar than to completely start over. I know Switzerland is hard to crack into, so my next thought was France. And we thought, well, let's see if we find a city/area that appeals, and if so, we will see if we can make a plan to get visas. If we feel it's acheiveable, we'll start thinking more seriously about it and consider making exploratory visits. If not, we'll look at other countries. That's How we landed on France. I hope that explains our thought process a bit.Why do we want to move...We just don't want to live here any more. We would like to provide a different kind of life for our children (slower pace of life, more holidays, etc.) We'd love them to grow up properly bilingual. We would love to raise them in a place where there are dozens and dozens of languages and cultures and a great variety of different natural settings, very close by. (I.E., You can take a long weekend in Ireland in April and a week in Spain in June, or whatever, with much greater ease than we could now.) There are a lot of little reasons. And while I definitely felt American while living in Europe (in a way that I do not in the US), for the most part I was comfortable and happy and really loved it. I could happily live there forever. I miss it very much. Europe is not our only candidate though, New Zealand is also on the table. It's just so far away!Ideally we'd like to move permanantly. If I could wave a magic wand I'd like to land in Europe and raise/educate our kids there, and stay. (Hopefully they'd stay too, when they were grown!) We expect to need to work to support ourselves. Would we need an escape plan to come back to the US... Hadn't really thought that far ahead.
That was a question I had too. Since we will be retired when we come, we had planned on moving around every 6 months or so to different locations to get the local flavor. In the US, there are postal boxes you can rent that give a physical address and then a number. For instance - 1600 Mulberry Lane, #3245. It "looks" like a street address. I was hoping they had those in France too, but my searching so far hasn't found any. I guess from your reply Bev, that they don't exist. How do you think the French would feel about frequent moves? We do have a one year lease for the first stay - I figured it would be better to renew the first time at the same address. But then we want to move around - maybe 6 months in Paris, etc.

Karen
Clinton middle school history teacher Matt Shomaker, a 2000 graduate of Central High School, is spending part of his summer exploring Americas colonial history.

Shomaker was one of just a few educators who won acceptance into a summer seminar called Colonial Encounters: Indians, Europeans, and Africans. Hundreds of applications and essays from scholars around the country were submitted to the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the Monticello Teachers Institute and George Washingtons Mount Vernon earlier this year for a position in these learning opportunities. Shomaker was chosen to participate in all three.

The seminar series began on the Yale University campus in late June under the leadership of professor, historian and author John Demos. Demos is the author of The Heathen School and The Unredeemed Captive, among other works, and is an expert on early America.

According to Shomakers blog, Colonial Encounters, during the seminar, hell have the opportunity to Explore how three great population streams  Indian, European, and African  converged, clashed, and (sometimes) joined in the Americas and ultimately pointed the way toward todays multicultural society.

He plans to soak up as much new knowledge as he can over the summer, for his own interest as an historian as much as for sharing with his students in the coming years.

As an historian/educator interested in frontiers, identities, and communities, theres a lot to look forward to during my week in New Haven, said Shomaker in his blog. Were talking about the Americas, the frontier of the 16th and 17th centuries for much of Western Europe, and three groups of people on three continents with their own histories and cultural, racial and religious identities forced together in a location that two of the three groups were not prepared for.

Im excited to learn more about those convergences, to discuss them with educators from different areas and backgrounds, and to bring my learning back to share with my students and colleagues.

In July, Shomaker will be traveling to Thomas Jeffersons home, Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia to participate in the Monticello Teachers Institute. One of only 12 individuals chosen for this opportunity, he will learn from famed Jefferson scholars, have free access to the research library at the University of Virginia and the exclusive collection at Monticello. In addition, Shomaker will be helping to create educational curriculum for Monticellos education wing called Sea of Liberty.

In August, Shomaker will be visiting George Washingtons home, Mount Vernon, in Virginia. The focus of the third educational leg of the summer will be to learn about Washington, the businessman.

Most Americans are familiar with Washington, the Revolutionary War hero and the nations first president, but dont know that he preferred to spend the majority of his time managing his five farms and becoming successful in a variety of business ventures.

In this seminar, Shomaker will have access to Washingtons estate, private library and research archives and will learn from Washington scholars such as Edward Lengel, author of First Entrepreneur: How George Washington built his  and the Nations  prosperity.

Writing on his blog, Shomaker said, During my time at Mount Vernon I hope to expand my knowledge of this oft-neglected side of Washington, create videos, podcasts, and take photos to share with my students, explore the awesome collections of Mount Vernon, and develop lesson plans and ideas to bring back to my classroom and share with fellow educators.

Anyone interested can follow Shomaker this summer as he blogs about his experiences at the following sites: www.colonialencounters.edublogs.org, www.washingtonceo.edublogs.org and www.mti2016.edublogs.org.
Hi,



I am an American living in China. My boyfriend is a Nepalese medical student. He finishes his undergraduate degree next June, and we are looking for a country where both he and I could live comfortably, and find work related to our career interests. We have thought about going to America, but he really doesn't want to do his post-graduate study in America, as medical school there is so expensive. He's open to possible going there later, and taking exams to get his license to practice there, if, I really want to go back. Right now, I'm not 100 percent sure I want to live in America.



He has talked about doing his studies in Hong Kong, but I have doubts about whether I would be able to find work there (or at least work with a decent salary). I have looked into teaching there, any haven't found anything that peaks my interest (or provides a salary I'd be satisfied with).



I want to make enough to save a little, but still be able to go on vacation once a year, and not live in a dump.



My boyfriend will not be able to work, his family is somewhat well off. He gets a humble stipend from them every 6 months or so.



A little about me: in the states I worked in an office doing media creation for various companies (think making marketing videos, my degree is in film). Didn't enjoy it much. So, I went to Japan for two years, where I taught English. Then I went to China, where I am currently. My job title is Academic Advisor- I help Chinese kids study abroad in America, and of course part of that includes teaching English.



All in all I have about 4.5 years of work experience, with most of that being teaching, or education related.



I'm not interested in working with primary school students or younger. I am open to working teens, but adults would be ideal. Eventually, I'd like to work in a University under the Admissions or Advising departments. I am also open to being a Corporate Trainer, or to work in HR. However, I am not interested in doing any kind of sales related work within those realms. I am about to start online graduate school to get a Master's in Adult Education. But I won't be finished until 2018-2019 most likely.



Do you think I have a chance of finding a decent job given my background? Or should we look into trying a different country for him to complete his degree? If so, which do you recommend?
Hello, I'm ilario, I live in Puglia!I'll try to reply your questions- move to Puglia..."I think that is a good place because you can visit a lot of beautiful place, you can eat tipical food, It is a cultural place but you can enjoy your time. There is the sun, fantastic seaside etc.... "-I have booked a trip for September 2016..."If you want I can help you to find a tour guide that help you to discover the best Puglia's places."-My aim is to be living in Italy within the next eighteen months. I'm coming in September to have a look around different areas, then plan to come back a couple of times in 2017 before moving over..."If you have some questions about Italian laws and burocracy don't esitate to contact me. I can help you!"- Are there any restrictions on buying property if I'm not an Italian citizen?"There is not problem. You can buy your house. In this period the house and villa's prices are low!-Car-I've read on here that I wouldn't be able to buy a car, so I'll drive my UK car over, should I expect any difficulties with that idea?"I think that it is not difficulties but it depend from you."-Work-I've worked in UK government for thirty years, office management mainly, and I'd be looking for some sort of work, although I wouldn't have huge outgoings so I'm open to anything I can do..is it hard for British people to secure work in the region?"You can spend your professionality in a lot of works, but usually English people invest money in tourism business. "-And finally...any suggestions on where might be the best place to start looking for a property? Ryanair fly from my local UK airport to Brindisi, so that's my first point to consider...after that,..."With Ryanair flight you can go anywhere in Puglia. For example Ryanair land to Bari Airport. From Bari airport you can take all trains or bus to go anywhere."-I'm not sure what my priorities should be? I like the sound of Ostuni, also Polignano a Mare (although I'm not sure there are many properties in my price range in that are) but I'm really quite open to suggestions."These cityes are very beautiful but the house's prices are hight. You can give a look to Trani's houses. If you want I can help you."Regards ilario.
accbgb said: While cash might be a relatively small percentage of the *value* of all transactions, I do not believe non-cash transactions are a substantial percentage of the *number* of transactions made by the average Italian during his typical, average, day. Click to expand...

This is a place where a significant proportion of renters pay their rent in cash! Click to expand...

YOU DON"T LIVE HERE! Stop telling those that do how things work. Click to expand...

The ECB data I referenced estimates all financial transactions: business, consumer, tourist, resident, legal, and illegal. I do not disagree with your anecdotes. I never did; they agree with my observations. However, the plural of anecdote is not data.It is reasonable to assume that your and my observations are skewed toward the participants in the Italian economy that are relatively more cash-oriented. But you criticized me for assuming that a particular individual I don't know (and that you don't know) is heavily cash-oriented. Maybe she is! But the Italian economy, overall, is not. Even consumers, overall, on average, are not.Which happens to be illegal, or at least it recently used to be and still is over 2,999.99 euro.And you, so far, don't accept the statistical reality of modern Italy's financial system. It is a surprise to many (including to me when I first saw the ECB's data), but there it is.....What does this tangential issue have to do with this thread? And we don't even have a useful thread, still, because apparently the name of the bank that allegedly closed for a week is a state secret. It's a simple question with a simple answer, and the answer might be useful to other readers.
I know 3 Filipinas from Mindindao Island - 2 from Illigan & 1 from Butuan. Both of these citys are located at the northern edge of Mindinao, a long way from Davao, which is supposedly the safest city on Mindindao. The one from Butuan is married to an American & living in the states. He visited Butuan 2 or 3 times, then came back & stayed there for 7 months during the time they got married in Butuan. He finally convinced her to quit working and they went to the states. According to them there are absolutely no problems living in Butuan City itself, although they never mentioned going out of the city. This timeframe I mention is approx 5 to 6 years ago. They did recently (2 weeks ago) return for a very short time to attend the funeral of her brother and had no problems. The others are from Illigan. A Mother & Daughter, the Daughter is married to an American and living in the states. The Mother spends 6 months in the states with the couple & 6 months in Illigan with her Husband. During the time before they got married, he had to be more or less smuggled into and out of Illigan. Illigan is located some distance to the west of Butuan and that area is dangerous for any foreigner along with most all area to the west of there. I am assuming you would pretty much stay put in the city so probably be OK. Maybe some others will chime in with more viewpoints.



Fred
Yeah, the LTO changed the regulations in 2016 just after the APEX summit and it caught many out as there was no pre warning. I just got in, in time while on a 6 month tourist visa and did my foreign conversion of Aussie license to LTO 1 and 2, Non Professional.



Before this you could be in the Philippines for 30 days as a tourist then after this apply the LTO license with 1 class at time then waiting 1 month to get the next class. This is how the LTO did it with me. Class 1 first then 1 month later class 2. I suppose they do this to get extra money out of you for 2 applications and 2 photos and 2 issues of licenses and so on.



If you have an Australian drivers license you may be eligible to do foreign conversion of 1 or 2 on Philippines LTO license and get these "classes" onto your Australian license if you do not have them. Any other classes the South Australian drivers license office will not accept foreign conversion such as trucks and B-Doubles and heavy earth moving equipment and so on.



I took my Philippines LTO 1,2 Non Professional license back to Australia and only had to do 4 hours of Advanced Motorcycle Riders training which was 2 hours of class room and 2 hours of riding which I passed and was granted under foreign conversion full unrestricted "R" class motorcycle on my South Australian License.



The Advanced Motorcycle Riders course cost $312 AUD and another $17 AUD to get the "R" class on my South Australian Drivers License.



My problem now is I am trying to get LTO #3 Professional license as required to apply for Licensed Aircraft Engineer positions at the NAIA airport in Manila however every time the LTO in Quezon City Main, Manila turn me away because they say I do not have a 12 month working visa as per the foreigners checklist requirements. I have married a Filipino, live in Antipolo,Manila and have a 13a Permanent Resident visa which is a lifetime visa and have full working rights in the Philippines however the LTO will not buy this and tell me to go to the DOLE.



I have put another post on this forum requesting help and advice from others as to if I may be eligible to obtain the professional #3 LTO license and if so how to do this.



Thanks





Regards



Adam. Antipolo, Manila.
A Mineral Point man is being charged after he allegedly evaded police in a pursuit and was later found in a neighboring city through his cell phone.

Charles Ramsey Jr., 27, is being charged with a class D felony of resisting arrest, assault of a law enforcement officer in the third degree and property damage in the second degree.

According to a probable cause statement, on June 23, the Park Hills Police Department was contacted by Bonne Terre Police in reference to Ramsey, who led their department on an earlier police chase. The officer told the Park Hills officer that they had pinged Ramseys phone and they had spoken to his father, who told them Ramsey stated he wouldnt go back to prison and he would shoot it out with police if they tried to take him into custody.

The Bonne Terre officer reported to the Park Hills officer that Ramseys phone pinged to an apartment in the 700 block of Pennsylvania Ave. in Park Hills The report said the Park Hills officer contacted other officers to accompany him to the location to assist with capturing Ramsey.

The report said when officers arrived at the apartments they located the apartment where Ramsey was believed to be and one officer covered the rear of the building while the other two officers went to the front door. When they knocked on the door a 42-year-old man answered and officers told him they needed to speak with Ramsey.

The report said the officer has had many encounters with Ramsey in his 16-year career and he told the man at the door he knew Ramsey was in there and the man didnt need to make Ramseys problems his problems. The officer told the man to tell Ramsey he was there and the man went back inside the apartment.

The report said when he came back to the door he was holding Ramseys phone and told officers Ramsey wasnt there. The officer reported he thought the man was lying and told him that Ramsey was a fugitive and that he would be looking at charges of harboring a fugitive if they find Ramsey in his apartment at a later time.

The report said the man then asked if the police had a warrant and they advised him they did not, but that Ramsey did and that would create problems for him. The officer told the man they both knew Ramsey was in there and the officer asked if he wasnt in there, why he wouldnt let the officers look around.

The officer reported the man then stated Ramsey wasnt in there but they could look. Right before they went in, the officer watching the back of the building told him over the radio he could see someone looking out the back window. A woman came walking out of the bedroom and said she was the one looking out the window.

The woman said Ramsey left in a Ford Explorer earlier with a friend and had left his phone with her so he could keep in contact. The officer told both the man and woman he was going to search since they already had permission.

The report said the two officers began searching the apartment. The officer searched closets, kitchen cabinets and the bathroom.

The report said the officers went back to the bedroom and decided to lift the box springs off the floor because as thin as Ramsey was he could have been hiding under there. They found Ramsey lying on his back under the box springs on the floor.

The officer reported that he told Ramsey he was under arrest and to place his hands behind his back. As the officer was placing the handcuffs on his wrists, Ramsey began pulling his left arm from the officer. The officer told him not to resist but Ramsey kept struggling and kept his hands away from officers.

The report said Ramsey struggled with both officers for some time and they were finally able to get him handcuffed. Ramsey then attempted to head-butt both officers while screaming. Both the other residents in the apartment were taken into custody.

The report said they placed Ramsey in one patrol car and while they were placing the other two people in another patrol car, they heard the window bust out of the car Ramsey was placed inside.

All three were taken to the St. Francois County Jail.

Ramsey is being held on a $12,500 bond and charges are being sought against the other two arrested for giving a false report to an officer.

Bonne Terre Police Chief Doug Calvert said originally an officer had attempted to pull Ramsey over on Cherry Street near the senior apartments.

He took off in the car, drove through the grass of the Cherry Street apartments and came out on Buchheit Drive, said Calvert. He then went down Hazel Street and thats when my guys lost him. They ended up finding the car, along with a firearm in the weeds and some drugs he had thrown out.

Calvert said they found the car near the sewer treatment plant down in the weeds. He added he wasnt sure who the car was registered to, whether it was his or his dad's.

Bonne Terre is also filing additional charges against Ramsey with the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney's office.
Thursday, July 7, 2016

There have been two disturbing police shootings of black men in recent days, both incidents partially recorded on cell phones.

In Falcon Heights, Minnesota, an officer fatally shot 32-year-old Philando Castile as he sat in a car with a woman and a child. A day earlier, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed during a confrontation with two police officers outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convenience store where he was CDs. Neither of these cases have been investigated yet; the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave. In both cases, however, the initial impressions of the incidents were those of relatives of the deceased: Castiles wife and Sterlings mother. Guess what they had to say about their deceased loved ones and the police who shot them

This is, as a judge would say in a trial, extremely prejudicial. The emotional and angry reactions of the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown seized and controlled the narratives in those two cases before the facts were confirmed and the fatal encounters clarified. Today, CNN presented Mrs. Castile, who declared that placing the officer involved in her husbands death on administrative leave with pay was proof of the low value placed on black lives. She, of course, knows what happened, and that her husband couldnt possibly have been responsible in any way for his demise. The shooter should be punished now, by loss of his income, before any investigation has been undertaken or completed. Hes guiltyof racism, of murder.

Hers is an understandable but biased, emotional and unfair reaction. For that to be the first exposure many Americans have to the case is destructive to the legal process, the justice system, and law enforcement, as well as racial comity. Later this morning, we heard Castiles child screaming: Wheres my daddy? I want my daddy! This is tragedy porn. Meanwhile, the police are demonized and condemned before the facts and sequence of event have been established.

Victims families should not be asked to give their opinions on such events when the responses add nothing to the publics understanding of what happened and only biases them in favor of the idealized portrait of the victim. Yesterday, I heard Alton Sterlings mother describe him as a gentle giant, and perhaps he was. Michael Brown, however, was also supposedly a gentle giant. The fact is that two police departments dont know what happened, except that two officers shot and killed two black men. Maybe the cops were racists who executed the men. Maybe they were badly trained police who have a dangerous and biased fear of blacks. Maybe the shootings, or one of them, were justified. The investigators dont know, I dont know, you dont know. The relatives of the dead men, however , are sure that they know: Racist cops once again killed black men. They are the last people who the media should be presenting to the public, and instead they are the first.

I googled White suspect shot, just for the heck of it. Google immediately directed me to the stories of the Castile and Sterling, though to be fair, it didnt ask Are you sure you dont mean black men shot? Down the list of hits, however, was this story:

Police in Fresno, California, found themselves in a face-off with a White mob protesting a shooting of a suspect. On June 25, police responded to reports of a White male carrying a rifle on a residential street. Police confronted Dylan Noble, 19, at a gas station after a car chase for speeding down the street. According to police, Noble got out of his pickup truck, started to walk away and refused to show his hands. Fresno Deputy Chief Pat Farmer told reporters Saturday that The subject made a statement that he hated his life and made affirmative movement to the small of his back at which time he was shot several times by officers at the scene.The officers indicated they feared that Noble was reaching behind his back for a weapon and they opened fire. Noble was hit several times and later died during surgery at a local hospital. The two officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras. No weapon was found on Noble or in the vehicle.

While the shooting deaths of the two black men received national coverage, only a few news sources have covered Nobles death, which is at least as suspicious as those were. Nor has any national source interviewed his mother. Why is that, do you think?

No wonder Jesse Williams thinks no unarmed white men are shot by police.
From: Jack Marshall -- ProEthics, Ltd. For Immediate Release: Dateline: Alexandria , VA Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Im behind on posting Comments of the Day, and the first to be sprung from the backlog is this, from johnburger2013, giving yet another account of political leaders defeating the public will to pursue expensive and irresponsible projects that do not and cannot live up to the promises made to justify them. I wonder if there is a category of informed people who simultaneously deride the motivation for the Brexit vote, and yet condemn debacles like the California high-speed rail project. The issue, as it usually is, is trust. Here is johnburger2013s Comment of the Day (that day being almost a weeks ago) on the post, Californias High Speed Rail Fiasco: Here in Houston, there is a constant litany of ideas about what to do with the Astrodome, it being one of the man-made wonders of the world (until the King Dome left it in the dust). The Dome was moth-balled when Reliant Stadium (now NRG Stadium) was built about 11 years ago, after the Astros got their own facility in Downtown Houston (thank you, taxpayers), and the Dynamo got their own facility (thank you, taxpayers), and the Houston Texans got NRG Stadium (again, thank you, taxpayers). The Rockets never played there, but they have a new stadium, too (thank you a fourth time, taxpayers), so they are not to blame. The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo doesnt use the facility either, because they use NRG for their events (the parking stinks, though, as big-ass crowds of people have to take limited numbers of buses and light rail [which only goes to downtown, thank you a fifth time, taxpayers] to outlying parking venues). So, the Dome just sits there, collecting dust but is right smack dab in the middle of the Reliant/NRG complex, looking quite decrepit and sad, dreaming of its former glory. The inside of the dome suffered some catastrophic structural failures as a result of the Hurricane Katrina, and Rita evacuee debacles, but that is another story, especially after the county sold most of the seats and other niceties. The County Judge (which is essentially the mayors office for Harris County) has been droning on about plans to update, modernize, refurbish, reuse, remodel, repurpose, the facility for as long as I can remember. A 2014 referendum on the Domes future plans failed by some huge margin  something like 69% against the plans, which would have cost a minimum of $250,000,000, considering the problems associated with addressing the the internal structural and contamination problems let alone the bill to recreate the place into a multiple use convention center/family fun place. Apparently, there are asbestos issues and other things that are required just to bring the building up to code. Oh, but the intrepid County Judge just will not take no for an answer. Just last week, he proposed a new plan to convert the place into an underground parking facility, which would entail raising the Astrodomes floor to create an underground two level parking garage that would hold 1,400 spaces (thats nice). Ed Emmett (the County Judge) said creating a large open space would allow the Texans and Livestock Show and Rodeo to again use the Astrodome for special events, From there, Emmett said it would be up to the private sector to come up with an idea and money to turn the Dome into something else. Cool, eh? The County Judge said the rest of the plan calls for gutting the inside and leaving the iconic dome intact. At that point youve got 9 acres of air-conditioned, covered space that a lot of groups would like to use, he said. Emmett asked, How many of the annual festivals and gatherings that we have in this community would love to schedule and know that theyre not going to be impacted by weather? I can answer that: None. The citizens voted and the Dome lost. While the costs associated with this new gem are not publicly available, it is supposed to be voted on by the commissioners court (not the voters, though) in the near future. Best not to present to the citizens because they just dont know what is best for them. Share this:


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The San Antonio owner of organic juice bar One Lucky Duck is ditching the name and opening a new local eatery after authorities charged his sister, company founder and celebrity vegan chef Sarma Melngailis, and her husband with blowing about $2 million in mostly stolen money on casinos, travel, luxury watches and Uber rides.

Noah Melngailis, the owner of One Lucky Duck Texas, announced last week that the San Antonio juice bar would close Monday and reopen this fall as The Good Kind, a market and cafe co-run with local chef Tim McDiarmid of Tim the Girl culinary company.

Melngailis and McDiarmid filed incorporation paperwork on the new venture with the Texas Secretary of State in November  a few months after company founder Sarma Melngailis skipped town and stopped paying employees and vendors at One Lucky Duck Holdings LLC and the Pure Food and Wine restaurant in New York.

Sarma Melngailis and her husband Anthony Strangis were captured at a Fairfield Inn hotel in Sevierville, Tennessee May 10 after Strangis used his real name and credit card information to order pizza and chicken wings from Dominos Pizza.

The two, who were on the run for 10 months, were indicted on 24 counts of grand larceny, tax fraud, scheme to defraud investors, violation of labor law and other financial crimes. Brooklyn prosecutors charged the pair with stealing $844,000 from four investors, stiffing employees out of more than $40,000 in wages and failing to pay over $400,000 in New York sales taxes.

Noah Melngailis and a lawyer for Strangis did not respond to requests for comment. Sheila Tendy, a lawyer for Sarma Melngailis, declined to discuss details of the case in a phone interview.

We really just ask that the public reserve judgment until all of the facts have come out, Tendy said. An indictment is merely an indictment. Its not a conviction.

Sarma Melngailis rocketed to stardom in the raw food world after she opened Pure Food and Wine, a vegan restaurant that served dishes like beet ravioli and zucchini and heirloom tomato lasagna, in 2004 in Manhattan with then-boyfriend Matthew Kenney. She soon found herself rubbing shoulders with celebrities like Woody Harrelson, Daryl Hannah and Twin Peaks actor Kyle MacLachlan. She was inadvertently responsible for at least one celebrity pairing: Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria first met at the restaurant in February 2011 before marrying June 30, 2012, according to a New York Times wedding notice.

By 2012, Sarma Melngailis had launched juice bar One Lucky Duck in Manhattan, opened a raw food production center and Internet sales office for One Lucky Duck in Brooklyn and authored two vegan raw food recipe books.

Her brother Noah Melngailis  who worked at The Sandbar, a seafood restaurant at The Pearl, after moving to San Antonio with his now-wife in 2010  opened One Lucky Duck Texas in August 2013, according to the juice bars website.

Its unclear whether Sarma Melngailis played any role in the San Antonio locations operations. Filings with the Texas Secretary of State for Melngailis Restaurant Group LLC, the San Antonio locations parent company, list only Noah Melngailis as a registered agent and contact, while One Lucky Ducks website lists the Texas location among the companys three juice bars.

But, state and county records show the Texas juice bar  which arrived amidst a juicing boom in San Antonio that included Urth Juice Bar and Juicer Heroes  has faltered despite its placement in the trendy Pearl complex.

One Lucky Duck Texas owes Bexar County more than $2,700 in delinquent taxes and late fees for 2014 and 2015, according to the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collectors office. The county has sued to obtain the delinquent amount, court records show.

Melngailis Restaurant Group also failed to meet state franchise tax requirements, resulting in the forfeiture of its business charter in February 2014, according to Texas Secretary of State records. The state reinstated the groups registration in May 2014.

As One Lucky Ducks Texas location opened in 2013, Sarma Melngailis brought her husband Strangis  introduced to employees as Shane Fox  into the fold of her growing vegan empire, allowing him to exercise control over her various enterprises, according to the Brooklyn indictment.

The couple began to burn through company cash to finance casino outings, trips to Europe and lavish purchases. Sarma Melngailis transferred more than $1.6 million from business accounts to her personal bank account from January 2014 to January 2015, the indictment alleges. Strangis proceeded to allegedly withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from the account, spending almost $1.2 million at casinos in Connecticut, more than $80,000 at high-end watch stores Rolex and Beyer, more than $70,000 at hotels in Europe and New York and more than $10,000 on car rides with the ride-hailing app Uber.

In that time, Sarma Melngailis failed to pay her employees for five nonconsecutive months, but told them through emails that she planned to grow and expand her businesses, according to court documents. Strangis, posing as Shane Fox, told employees that he planned to buy the company on paper during a staff meeting in August 2014.

Paychecks to the companys 98 employees bounced in January 2015, prompting employees to stop working over Sarma Melngailis protests, according to the indictment. Employees sued the vegan restaurateur in New York federal court for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act and the restaurant closed.

Sarma Melngailis urged former customers in February 2015 to pony up funds to jump start her businesses, falsely telling potential investors that she withdrew company funds in 2014 to help her mother, the indictment alleges.

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.

After four investors pitched in $844,000, Sarma Melngailis paid former employees, settled bills and reopened Pure Food and Wine and a One Lucky Duck location in Brooklyn in April 2015. She told investors that she had entered into negotiations with a wealthy man named Michael Caledonia to sell the business. An investor later learned that Caledonia was in fact Strangis.

Sarma Melngailis proceeded to use business funds for personal expenses, transferring $300,000 to a Connecticut casino for her husband, charging almost $25,000 to a pair of casinos and withdrawing $100,000, according to the indictment.

Sarma Melngailis threatened to fire employees who refused to work after paychecks bounced but promised in text messages and emails to fix the situation, the indictment said.

The company closed in July 2015. Around that time, the couple left New York and traveled to Las Vegas, Louisiana and Tennessee.

Police in Sevierville, Tennessee found the couple staying in separate rooms at a Fairfield Inn after Strangis ordered a pizza, Sevierville Police Detective Kevin Bush said.

She did not eat that pizza, Bush said of the vegan chef.

Strangis and Sarma Melngailis were extradited to Brooklyn and booked at Rikers Island jail. Sarma Melngailis has since been released on bond. Each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

News researcher Michael Knoop contributed to this report.

jfechter@express-news.net

Twitter: @JFreports
The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the fatal shooting of a black man by Baton Rouge police that was captured on video, as city and state leaders appealed to a city roiled by the killing to remain calm.

Two white officers were arresting Alton Sterling, 37, early Tuesday and had him pinned to the ground when at least one of them shot him. There were indications that Sterling might have had a gun, but officials refused to say definitively whether he was armed.

The episode was partially captured on video, propelling the case to national attention, like a string of recorded police shootings before it. The shooting prompted protests, and relatives of Sterling, civic leaders and state lawmakers demanded an investigation independent of the Baton Rouge police.

I have full confidence that this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally, Gov. John Bel Edwards said in announcing the federal takeover of the case. I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.

Pleading for calm, the governor said: I know that that may be tough for some, but its essential that we do that. I know that there are protests going on, but its urgent that they remain peaceful.

The decision to have the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division, the FBI and the U.S. attorneys office in Baton Rouge conduct the investigation was welcomed by a lawyer for Sterlings family. Were confident that it wont be swept under the rug, said Edmond Jordan, who is also a state representative. I think people are confident that justice will be pursued.

Officials identified the two officers as Blane Salamoni, who has been with the police department for four years, and Howie Lake II, who has three years of experience; both have been placed on administrative leave.

A call to a phone number for Salamoni was answered by a man who said he was not the officer but who would not identify himself. When all the facts come out, they did what they had to do, he said. Then he hung up.

Salamoni is the son of Noel Salamoni, a captain in the department who is in charge of special operations, which may have factored into the decision to turn matters over to the Justice Department.

There are multiple videos that may show the conflict with Sterling, in addition to the one recorded by a bystander that has been made public, said Lt. Jonny Dunnam, a Baton Rouge police spokesman. Jordan, the family lawyer, called on police to release the videos, but Dunnam said that for now, the department was providing them only to federal authorities.

We have in-car camera video footage, we have body camera video footage and there is video at the store, Dunnam said. Of the recordings from the body cameras the officers wore, he said, that footage may not be as good as we hoped for. During the altercation, those body cameras came dislodged.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.  Psoriasis of all severities was linked to a 3.5-fold increase in risk of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and severe psoriasis upped the associated risk of Hodgkin lymphoma by about 2.5 times, in a large, longitudinal, population-based cohort study.

Psoriasis also was tied to a smaller but statistically significant increase in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said Zelma Chiesa Fuxench, MD, of the department of dermatology, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Overall, lymphoma risk was highest in people with severe psoriasis, independent of traditional risk factors and exposure to immunosuppressive medications, Dr. Fuxench said at the annual meeting of the Society for Investigative Dermatology.

Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Psoriasis affects more than 125 million people worldwide, and severe cases are a major cause of cancer-related mortality. Prior studies have suggested an increased risk of lymphoma in psoriasis patients, but it is unclear if this due to chronic inflammation, exposure to immunosuppressive therapies, or a combination of both factors, Dr. Fuxench said.

To further explore these links, she and her associates analyzed electronic medical records from THIN (The Health Information Network), which includes about 12 million patients across the United Kingdom. Adults with psoriasis were matched to up to five nonpsoriatic controls based on date and clinic location. Patients who needed systemic medications or phototherapy were categorized as having severe psoriasis. The final dataset included more than 12,000 such patients, as well as 184,000 patients with mild psoriasis and more than 965,000 patients without psoriasis.

Psoriasis patients were younger and more likely to be overweight, male, and smoke and drink alcohol than patients without psoriasis, Dr. Fuxench said. Almost 80% of patients with severe disease had received systemic therapies, most often methotrexate (70% of systemic treatments) or cyclosporine (10%), while only 1% had received biologics.

Patients with severe psoriasis were more likely to be diagnosed with Hodgkin disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma than were patients with mild psoriasis or controls. Over a median follow-up of 5.3 years, 34 patients with severe psoriasis were diagnosed with any type of lymphoma, for an incidence of 5.2 cases per 10,000 person-years (95% confidence interval, 3.7-7.3). In contrast, incidence rates for patients with mild psoriasis and controls were 3.3 and 3.2 cases per 10,000 person-years, respectively, Dr. Fuxench said.

In the multivariable analysis, patients with psoriasis were about 18% more likely to develop any type of lymphoma than were controls, an association that reached statistical significance (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06-1.31). Mild psoriasis increased lymphoma risk by 14%, and severe psoriasis upped it by about 83%, and both associations were statistically significant.

The increase in risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma was 13% greater with mild psoriasis and 56% greater with severe disease, compared with controls, and these associations also reached statistical significance. Mild psoriasis was not linked to Hodgkin lymphoma, but patients with severe psoriasis were about 250% more likely to develop it than controls, with a trend toward statistical significance (aHR, 2.54; 95% CI, 0.94-6.87).

Finally, severe psoriasis was linked to a more than ninefold increase in risk of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (aHR, 9.3; 95% CI, 4.1-21.4), while mild psoriasis was linked to about a threefold increase in risk.

These results were robust in multiple sensitivity analyses, including analyses that excluded patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or a history of exposure to methotrexate, cyclosporine, or biologics, Dr. Fuxench said. Future studies should explore the effect of treatment timing and selection on cancer risk, she added. For those of us who care for these patients, we are increasingly using systemic agents that selectively target the immune system, and these questions will arise in clinics.

The studys design made it possible to pinpoint dates of diagnosis more effectively than investigators could estimate disease duration or confirm whether patients initially diagnosed with psoriasis actually had cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, Dr. Fuxench noted. Ideally, we could have another cohort study of incident psoriasis with prospective follow-up, but lymphoma is so rare that there is currently not enough power [in the THIN database] to determine associations.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Dr. Fuxench disclosed unrestricted research funding from Pfizer outside the submitted work.
Tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 2 is significantly less likely to be detected by a MPT64 rapid antigen test than is M. tuberculosis, according to a research team based in the Gambia.

A total of 173 MGIT culture-positive sputum samples were included in the study, and the initial MPT64 test was negative in 23 samples. Just over 90% of M. tuberculosis (MTB) samples converted to positive on day 0, while only 78.4% of M. africanum West Africa 2 (MAF2) samples converted. After 10 days, 97.5% of MTB samples were positive, while conversion of MAF2 samples remained low at 84.3%.

CDC/Janice Carr This colorized scanning electron micrograph depicted some of the ultrastructural details seen in the cell wall configuration of a number of gram-positive Mycobacterium TB bacteria.

In a comparison of the mRNA transcript from samples of six MTB and five MAF2 patients who had not been treated for TB, the MTP64 gene was about 2.5 times more abundant in the MTB samples than the MAF2 samples. No association was found between conversion to positivity and sex, age, therapy, or mycobacterial growth units.

Given the relatively low cost, limited technical expertise, and shorter turnaround time associated with using rapid speciation tests, compared to alternative speciation methods, MPT64 rapid tests will likely remain one of the preferred options for timely diagnosis of suspected TB despite the possibility of false negative results. Therefore, a negative MPT64 result would require confirmation by an alternative method, such as molecular tests or culture on p-nitrobenzoic acid, depending on laboratory infrastructure and resources, the investigators noted.

Read the full study in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases (doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004801).

lfranki@frontlinemedcom.com
Those who voted to leave, singing 'Oh, I believe in yesterday'

Across the centuries, Great Britain has given the world many things uniquely British  the Puritans, Andrew Carnegie, The Beatles and, as we Americans again celebrate this Fourth of July, the United States.

On June 23, it gave the world another significant gift: a big step into the dark abyss of a go-it-alone future in todays ever-globalizing world.

Reasons

Sure, most of the United Kingdoms (UK) citizens who voted late last month to the leave the European Union (EU), or Brexit, had what they thought were good reasons to do so: an incoming tide of mostly poor, often-illegal immigrants; a costly, decidedly Europe-centered Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP; an ever-growing bureaucracy in Brussels; and a river of English money flowing out of the UK and only a trickle of EU funds flowing back in.

Now, though, with the step taken, the Leaves have discovered an unpleasant truth: Their politicians didnt tell them the whole truth about leaving. In fact, much that was said was not true. For example:

 The majority of the UKs record-setting, net 270,000 immigrants last year were EU citizens exercising their legal right to move freely within the 28-nation bloc.

 Love it or hate it, CAP is crucial to UK farmers; from 2010 to 2013, the latest data available, 40 percent of all UK farm income came from Brussels.

 EU bureaucracy is relatively tiny, about 33,000 civil servants, compared to the number of UK civil servants, 410,000, according the Wall Street Journal, and

 The Leaves claim that the UK sends the EU 350m a week (about $465 million) is a lie, according to The Guardian, a leading national newspaper in England. A more accurate figure is 136m (or $180 million), less than 40 percent of the amount claimed by Leave proponents.

While the vote is not legally binding to Parliament (whose members favored staying in the EU by an almost 4-to-1 margin), UK politicians are dancing carefully as they discuss what to do next.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who advocated for a Brexit vote during his 2015 reelection bid, was ambushed by its results; hes out come September. His opposite, the Labour Partys Jeremy Corbin, was soundly gobsmacked by colleagues in a no confidence vote June 28 and he looks to be history, too.

The only winners

So far, the only possible winner, according to one leading Leave advocate, might be British farmers who, claimed the politician, ought to receive the lions share of any former EU duties left after the nation strengthens its national health care system.

Even if Parliament agrees  a very, very long shot at best  no one has any idea if the money will cover the farmers soon-to-go CAP payments or when it might flow.

For two years at least, however, CAP will remain the key farm income scheme in the UK. Writing for the blog CAPReform.eu, Irish ag economist Alan Matthews believes any EU-UK farm program changeover (something, he says, he will deeply regret) will be a long time coming.

When it comes, however, the vote means that trade costs will rise because UK exports to the EU will no longer be considered internal trade.

Even then, he suggests, UK farmers should strive to remain in EU programs like its European Food Safety Authority, the European Chemicals Agency, and the European Emissions Trading Schemes to maintain as much mobility of goods, services, capital, and people as possible.

Farmers are heard

Ultimately, however, its people  not markets, not politics, not regulations  who will be most affected by the dramatic Brexit choice. Nationwide, it was a narrow victory for the Leaves; in the countryside, though, farmers voted more than 2 to 1 to go it alone.

Possibly, explains economist Matthews, this was because UK farmers are in the older age group

Well, the oldsters won, and what they won was something they already had  yesterday  and what they lost could be something far more fleeting, tomorrow.
I sat in the barn using an overturned bucket for an executive office chair because all the hay had been doled out to cows during the winter. Id stored documents out there because I didnt want to be reminded of my Washington job when I was in the house. And I liked sitting in the barn. Id gone from chatting with John Glenn on the anniversary of his historic space flight to commiserating with widows and calling in tranquilizers on the anniversary of their husbands deaths.

 Carolyn Jourdan, Heart in the Right Place



As political maneuverings out of Washington, D.C. bombard us, I want to share one of my old columns, first written in 2007, and updated a bit today.

As summer kicks in to high gear, if there is time in your day to pick up a good book, I recommend, Heart In The Right Place, a memoir written by Carolyn Jourdan.

I read it and wrote of it in this space in 2007, and it is one life story that has stayed with me intensely. That, friends, is a sign of a story well told.

Trouble

Carolyn is a big shot Washington political aid, moving in impressive circles, when suddenly she receives a life-changing phone call. Her mother has been taken to the hospital with serious heart trouble, and her father, a rural family physician and farmer in East Tennessee, needs her help. Pronto. Dr. Jourdan and his wife had passed up the chance to make big money in a city practice, opting instead to quietly care for the poor and ailing folks of rural Tennessee.

Carolyn, their only child, had earned two impressive degrees and landed a position as a U.S. Senate counsel, leaving Tennessee fading in her rear-view mirror. When her mother opened her eyes in the hospital just long enough to ask Carolyn to please stay and help her father, this devoted daughter found it impossible to say no.

She took a leave of absence from her high-ranking Washington position to answer phones, find time slots for needy patients, and fill out insurance and Medicare forms in her fathers small, but busy, doctors office.

At the end of their very long day, she helped her father complete farm chores.

Life-altering seems a term that falls short. This young woman suddenly finds herself seeing her father as the beloved hero that he is  a man who often accepts a peck of peaches as payment from patients who have not a dime to their name.

Her fancy lifestyle, driving a Mercedes and rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful in Washington, suddenly paled in comparison. She finds herself drowning in the emotion of watching people shes known all of her life aging and struggling with pain and no-hope endings.

This real-life tough stuff is so sharply in contrast with the well-orchestrated world of D.C. shes left behind.

Friend

The here and now forces her to focus on what is real, and what matters most. She turns to her fathers quiet, steadfast best friend, Fletcher, while doing barn chores one evening, telling him shes not sure she can continue on in her new, thankless, incredibly tough role.

The pitiful truth is that sometimes the best thing, the only thing, we can do for another person is just show up, he advises this young woman.

He points out that, in Bible stories, whenever an angel shows up, first thing he always says is, Fear not!

He explains, Well, it took me most of my life, but I finally figured out that hes not trying to comfort us when he says that. Hes giving us an order.

Its a command given more than 300 times in the Bible. The Lords telling us not to let ourselves be afraid. We cant afford to be scared. It just gets in the way of us doing whatever it is that were supposed to be doing.

Such an interpretation had never occurred to Carolyn, who writes that suddenly she realized that fearlessness didnt come from being patted on the back by God, it meant making a conscious decision not to indulge ourselves.

In the end, Carolyn made the tough decision to listen to Fletcher  to not let the fear of doing the right thing run her life, to not let her frustration send her packing back to the glamorous life of nightly news reports delivered by the prettied-up version of the doctors daughter in Washington, D.C.

Stay

She decided to stay, because she was truly needed by not only her father, but by an entire community in a poor section of East Tennessee.

This is a true story worth sharing, for many reasons. It shows the glaring differences in political maneuverings for the constituents and the real-life, day-to-day needs of those constituents, all through the eyes of one young woman who is living it, straddling that chasm of suit-and-tie idealism and the gritty, hard truth of those who sometimes have no way of getting to a doctors office for necessary follow-up care.

There are many suffering quietly with no voice, while wealthy, political-minded dress up and court their vote.

It is a reminder that life is made up of some thankless jobs, and the decisions we all must make along the way can seem mighty complicated. In the end, what will matter most? And sometimes, the hardest thing is to just show up.
The Prairie Doc: We need to be more intentional with antibiotics
Is there a future for the small family farm in the UK?

Research report on the future of the family farm in the UK, prepared by Exeter University for the Princes Countryside Fund, which recommends greater security on Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) and better access to land for new entrants.
The Princes Countryside Fund has released a research report on the future of the family farm in the UK, exploring the change that has been experienced in recent years.

The report considers a small farm to be a farm that needs the labour input of up to two people, or to use technical language, a standard labour requirement of two full time labour equivalents.

The small family farm has had a distinctive issues thrust upon them, including contributing to the rural economy, employment and environment management, but also their social and cultural significance.

It concludes by identifying the factors that will help improve the resilience of the small family farm and provides a list of recommendations for key stakeholders.

Prepared by Exeter University for the Princes Countryside Fund, the report recommends greater security on Farm Business Tenancies (FBTs) and better access to land for new entrants.

Recommendations for farmers and businesses to become more resilient

1) Adopt lifelong learning through regularly accessing advice, support and information

to help inform business decisions.

2) Develop good management and technical skills to assist with the effective day-to-day

management of a successful farm business.

3) Develop and implement a plan for succession and/or retirement from farming.

4) Collaborate with other farmers and supply chain partners, including developing local networks, peer support relationships and business opportunities.

5) If appropriate and after full market research and business advice, introduce new

enterprises to diversify farm business income.

Recommendations for the sector to support small family farms

6) The formation of a task force to carry out further examination of variable performance in agriculture with the aim of providing further evidence on the causes of variable farm business performance and the factors that help improve performance.

7) Develop a concordat between the various professional bodies who give advice to famers with a view to developing a common protocol for cross-referral and communication strategy about the range of advice and support available.

8) The Farming Help Charities in conjunction with The Princes Countryside Fund and other helping agencies should identify and equip individuals within farming areas to act as catalysts, guiding farmers to the information and support they need and assisting them in this process.

9) Catalysts should be encouraged to establish a good farming neighbours system to allow farmer to farmer peer group support, learning from other mentoring schemes.

10) Rural estates should encourage the creation of opportunities for new farm businesses by investing in the provision of new housing for existing tenants to facilitate new entrants.

11) Rural estates should be encouraged to take a lead in assisting new entrants through either Farm Business Tenancies or share farming arrangements.

12) Rural estates should be encouraged to raise the minimum term for Farm Business Tenancies to 10 years to help strengthen farm businesses and encourage longer-term planning and investment with a view to policy change

Recommendations for policy makers

13) Utilise a more flexible approach to encourage new entrants into farming through share farming arrangements and Farm Business Tenancies.

14) Consideration should be given in planning policies to allow farmers of retirement age to build a retirement house when they agree to facilitate new entrants through Farm Business Tenancies, share farming or land purchase.

15) Greater investment through rural development funding into farming entrance schemes such as Fresh Start Academies and the Fresh Start Land Enterprise matching service.

16) Discussions should be held to establish what opportunities can be addressed through adjustments to tax reliefs currently available with the specific need to attract new entrants into farming.

17) Promoters of Short Supply Chains and added value (such as social enterprises, local authorities and rural development schemes) should make engagement with small family farmers a strategic priority.

'Must read for all policymakers in the environment'

The Tenant Farmers Association has welcomed the report, describing the Princes Countryside Fund as a 'tremendous force for good'.

Chief Executive George Dunn said: "The research on family farms published today is a must read for all policymakers in this environment.

Particularly in light of the recent referendum vote which will lead to Britain leaving the European Union.

"In developing new agricultural and rural policies this report provides a ready-made platform," said Mr Dunn.

"In particular, the Tenant Farmers Association is pleased that the research report has picked up the theme of our FBT10+ campaign aimed at encouraging longer term FBTs.

"To create a resilient family farming sector we need tenant farmers to have long-term security.

"The TFA has been arguing for tenancies of 10 years or more and this has been endorsed by the research team from Exeter University.

"Farm Business Tenancies have been too short for too long and change is much overdue particularly given these tenancies have been in existence for over 20 years.

"I hope that the Government will take on board these clear recommendations from such a well-placed and independent source," said Mr Dunn.
Massey Ferguson is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the start of production of its famous Ferguson TE20 tractor.

On 6 July 1946, the first Ferguson TE20, affectionately known as the Little Grey Fergie, rolled off the assembly line at its former Banner Lane manufacturing plant in Coventry in the UK.

The tractor was the brainchild of engineer and inventor, Harry Ferguson, one of the founders of the present-day Massey Ferguson.

Key to the global success of the tractor was its unique three-point linkage implement attachment system controlled by the tractors hydraulics.

Designated the Ferguson System, this effectively turned the tractor and implement into a single working unit, replacing the previous cumbersome trailed method of implement operation.

Acclaimed as one of the most important engineering developments of the 20th century, the Ferguson System produced major advances in the efficiency of food production.

In doing so, it achieved Harry Ferguson's lifelong ambition of helping farmers affordably mechanise all aspects of crop production to better and more economically feed the world.

Rated at only 20 horsepower, the TE20 (Tractor England) was incredibly light and small, yet it easily outperformed much bigger units, and at much lower running costs.

It provided the breakthrough on which agricultural mechanisation techniques came to be based throughout the world.

Over half a million of these diminutive tractors were built at the Banner Lane plant between 6 July 1946 and 13 July 1956.

A large number of them are still at work on farms and they are prized collectors items.

'Clear aim to produce straightforward, dependable farm equipment'

"We are immensely proud of this legacy of pioneering farm machinery technology," says Richard Markwell, Massey Ferguson Vice President and Managing Director Europe/Africa/Middle East.

"Massey Ferguson continues to develop Harry Fergusons vision with our clear aim to produce straightforward, dependable farm equipment which farmers can rely on to care for their vital crops and livestock.

The Ferguson TE20s 70th anniversary inspired the current Tractors  From Factory to Field exhibition at Coventry Transport Museum and the public display of the Daniel Massey Bronze Sculpture at the Citys Herbert Museum and Art Gallery.

A key event will be 70 Tractors for 70 Years staged by Culture Coventry, a spectacular parade of Massey Ferguson and Ferguson tractors through the city to Millennium Place outside the Transport Museum on 30 July.

Tractors for the parade are being brought together by the Friends of Ferguson Heritage Club and will include a wide range of vintage and veteran models as well as some of the very latest Massey Ferguson tractors under production.
At the Livestock Event Forage Field, the benefits of new grassland leys over older pastures were emphasised in talks on how to cut feed costs with quality forage.

Ben Wixey, National Agricultural Sales Manager with forage specialist Germinal, pointed out that current reseeding rates of 2-3% per annum are far from the required rate if livestock farms are to maximise returns from forage.

Benefits including improved feed value, higher dry matter intakes, better response to fertiliser and greater stocking densities all add up to make successful pasture renewal one of the most cost-effective investments for livestock farmers, he said.

"The rewards are significant when reseeding, so our advice is always to go the extra mile with seed bed preparation, soil nutrient supply, seeds mixture selection and drilling  it will pay dividends," said Ben Wixey.

"Adopting best practice with a full grass reseed will cost 225 to 250 per acre, but this sum becomes trivial when set against the additional feed value created and  more importantly  the milk production potential of the grazed or ensiled forage over a number of years.

"As a conservative estimate, a new ley containing the best performing ryegrass varieties will produce an extra 1,000kg of dry matter per acre in the year when compared with an 8-10 year old pasture.

"In addition, because these ryegrasses will have superior D-values to the old sward that they replaced, we can expect the ME of the grass to be, on average, 0.8MJ/kg higher.

"This means we can expect an extra 13,400MJ/kg of metabolisable energy per acre, which in milk production terms is worth over 2,500 litres per year.

"Whether used for extra milk production or additional liveweight gain in growing livestock, the extra productivity per acre is significant, running into several hundreds of pounds per acre over and above the reseeding costs.

"The benefits seen in the first year should then continue for the duration of the ley  but without the costs to set against them.

"In the case of a medium term ley, under the right management, the value should continue for 4-6 years."

'Even best managed swards suffer deterioration'

Ben Wixey pointed out at Livestock Event that leys are on average replaced far less often than every 10 years.

"Even the best managed swards will suffer deterioration beyond seven or eight years, with the ingress of weed grasses inevitable though not always obvious," he added.

"Leys may look green, but typically after around eight years it is quite likely that at least half of the plant population will be weed grasses such as fescues, bents and meadow grasses.

"These weed grasses will be significantly less productive in terms of dry matter yield, will have lower D-value and be less palatable to livestock, and their response to fertiliser will be lower than modern ryegrasses."

Key points in a best practice approach to reseeding include effective control of weeds, either by spraying off the old sward or by introducing a break crop such as a forage brassica.

It is also important to rectify any soil structure problems and to carry out soil analyses to check nutrient levels.

A firm and fine seedbed is essential prior to drilling, to ensure good soil-to-seed contact, as is optimum moisture for germination.

"Having invested in the right level of preparation for the new ley, it is then vital to select the best available ryegrasses," said Ben Wixey.

"The independently compiled Recommended List is freely available to all livestock farmers, listing varieties by type and heading date groups and providing essential yield and quality information.

"Choose the best available from these lists, in mixtures that are compatible and designed to deliver your cutting or grazing requirements.

"The difference even between the top and bottom of the Recommended Lists can be significant, so dont compromise and seek to cut costs on variety selection  it will almost certainly be a false economy in the long run."
Scotland's Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing has made efforts to calm people's fears over the uncertainty EU nationals have in the UK after the EU referendum result.

"Scotland values the contribution people from Europe play in our society andeconomy.

"The government will work hard to protect their future rights in our country", Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said today.

Mr Ewing visited Scotbeef processing plant where he highlighted figures showing the European Union is the biggest destination for Scottish food exports worth a total of 724.3 million in 2015, with food and drink exports worth 1.9 billion in the same period.

He also met with met workers to welcome the role Europeans play in many of our food companies, discuss their concerns and highlight the First Ministers call for the rights of European Union nationals living in Scotland to be protected.

Economic success story

Mr Ewing said: "Scotlands food and drink industry is one of our economic success stories and our quality produce is known and loved at home and abroad.

"Our place in the European Union has been key to that success and we must protect it.

"Workers from around Europe are employed in many of our food and drink businesses, and I want to reassure them that we value and welcome the role they play in our country  both economically and in terms of civic vibrancy.

"Europe is also a key destination for much of our food, with exports worth a total of 724.3 million in 2015.

"It is clear that European workers and exports are crucial to the food and drink industry and to our economy.

"I am committed to helping the First Minister protect our place in Europe and calling for immediate guarantees about the residency status and other rights of those from around Europe that have chosen to make Scotland their home."

Scotbeef CEO Robbie Galloway said: "The integration of our skilled and semi-skilled European employees with our long-established workforce, has helped Scotbeef in its growth and development over the past decade.

"I am pleased that their integration not only into Scotbeef but into the local communities around our factories is giving them security to allow them to progress their careers and skills within our business."
First Milk has announced the appointment of Dr Sean Rickard as the independent chairman of its Member Council.

The appointment is effective immediately and follows last years governance review, which led to member approval and implementation of a leaner and more commercial Board structure and strong Member Council.

The Member Councils roles are to oversee the strategy of the business and represent First Milks farmer owners.

Dr Rickard has had a successful career as a professional economist spanning 40 years and was the NFUs chief economist between 1987 & 1995. Between 1995 & 2012 he was the senior lecturer in business economics and then Director of the MBA programme at Cranfield School of Management.

Also during this period Dr Rickard was a government academic adviser on food and rural policy.

Mike Smith, First Milks council member who led the selection process, said: "Sean perfectly fits the criteria we were looking for in an independent chair of our Member Council.

"He has established a national reputation as a champion of a productive and internationally competitive agricultural industry and is an experienced communicator."

Mike Gallacher, CEO said: "I am looking forward to working closely with Sean who brings a wealth of agricultural experience to the First Milk team.

"The business has made rapid progress in difficult circumstances over the last twelve months and this appointment; together with everything else we have put in place means we have created a strong cooperative for our members for the long term."

Dr Sean Rickard added: "I am delighted to have this opportunity to work with the Members Council and the Board to make First Milk the success its members deserve.

"For my part, I am very mindful of the responsibility that is now invested in me and I will be working hard to ensure that members are fairly rewarded for their loyalty as First Milk moves forward to realise its potential."
An electronic tag that enables farmers to remotely manage livestock welfare via their smartphone could improve farming efficiency and reduce the number of deaths during birth.

WM Systems, designed by Loughborough University Industrial Design and Technology student Ollie Godwin, is a solar powered tag that records animals heart rate and body temperature every five minutes and alerts farmers to potential health problems.

The tag, which also monitors livestock location, is ideal for use during lambing where body temperature spikes in the hour prior to birth.

Whenever a body temperature or heart rate reading is detected outside of set parameters, an alarm is signalled on the farmers phone enabling the farmer to go to the animals aid.

The innovative system is suitable for a wide range of livestock, including cows, pigs and goats, and can also signal when an animal is in distress.

With the addition of a single signal bouncer, it has a range of up to 15 miles (this can be increased further by adding more signal bouncers).

The associated app removes the need for manual data entry, reducing risk of human error and slashing the time needed to complete paperwork.

Autonomously monitors livestock welfare

Designer Ollie, who was inspired to create the tag after helping his mother lamb his sisters pedigree Zwartbles sheep, believes his invention is the first system that autonomously monitors livestock welfare.

Ollie said: "For the first time, farmers can access remote 24-hour reporting on their livestock.

"Not only will this allow farmers to react quickly when their animals need them, but it also mitigates the need for regular night visits during birthing season.

"Whether they have two lamas, 200 cows, or 2,000 sheep, the system can be customized to their needs.

"As industry profit margins continue to shrink, farmers need to explore every angle to reduce their costs.

"By automating these areas of welfare management, farmers reduce the man hours needed to care for and report on their livestock."
Flood-hit farms in Scotland are to be proposed for sites of riverbank protection and watercourse management.

NFU Scotlands officeholders have visited 15 flood-hit farms in recent days as it moves forward with proposals to minimise future flood risk to businesses, homes and farmland.

In a 1200-mile road trip, the Union visited farms in the North East, East Central, Highlands, Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway and Borders last week. Further visits are planned for Forth & Clyde Region.

On the premises visited, some of damage inflicted during the storms and subsequent floods at the start of this year included:

 One farm which had a metre of water flowing through its cattle sheds

 One farm lost a metre of topsoil from approximately 40 percent of a 50-acre field

 One farm lost two acres of land overnight in the floods

As a result of the visits, eight locations have been put forward to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) as potential demonstration sites for new river bank protection techniques.

In addition, three very large gravel bars in rivers, locally identified as having been responsible for flooding that caused significant damage to land and property, have also been put to SEPA for scientific assessment of the flood risk they pose.

'Desperately need help and support'

NFU Scotland Vice President Rob Livesey, who participated in the inspections said: "All farmers visited desperately need help and support.

"They are living with the fear that their problems with flooding are only going to get worse in the future.

"We thank those that we met for their time and their valuable input.

"As a result, eight river systems with complex and inter-related problems of flooding, erosion and gravel bars, have been put to SEPA as potential areas where NFU Scotland, SEPA and local land managers can work together to tackle the problems in an effective and sustainable way.

"NFU Scotland next meets SEPA later this month to discuss flooding measures, the roll-out of demonstration sites for river bank protection, gravel bar assessments, catchment groups, and guidance for land managers.

"It is clear, from speaking to flood-hit farmers this week, that the extent and gravity of the flooding damage last winter means that we must use these drier summer months to take action now, that will reduce the risk of erosion and serious flooding in the likelihood of further heavy rainfall this winter."
Payments made under Scotland's new Upland Sheep Support Scheme 'remain at the back of the queue' and are an ongoing failure, according to NFU Scotland.

The new scheme is designed to assist active hill farmers and crofters though a payment coupled to the number of ewe hoggs they keep.

But NFU Scotland said the payments remain at the back of the queue since the Scottish government is sorting out the debacle surrounding delayed support payments and flawed IT systems.

As things stand, no payments under SUSSS, which is worth around 6 million to the hill sheep sector, have been made.

A timetable for payments has yet to be given and confirmation of the likely payment rate per ewe hogg has not been made.

Vital improvements

However, NFUS believes vital improvements to the scheme can be made and a window of opportunity exists for Scottish Government to have changes approved by Europe that will fine tune SUSSS in time for the 2017 scheme year.

Included in the list of changes sought by the Union are a wider application period; a new retention period and the number of ewe hoggs claimed being limited to no more than 25 percent of the breeding flock that there are due to enter.

Writing to Scottish Government, NFU Scotlands Director of Policy Jonnie Hall said: "Directing precious CAP funding at those actively farming remains a key priority for Scotland.

"SUSSS was specifically designed to assist those keeping hill sheep in some of Scotlands most extensive and remote parts through making payments on the ewe hoggs being kept as the next generation of their flocks.

"However, with payments yet to be made from this vital 6 million pot, there is no clear understanding of the financial and activity benefits of SUSSS.

"Therefore, NFU Scotland is not seeking to amend the budget or payment rate components of the scheme.

"Instead, we want to make it more effective and better aligned to the interests of the hill farmers and crofters it is intended to support.

"Although having still to complete its first year, and an expectation that claims to the scheme will likely mean a reduction in the estimated payment rate of 100 per ewe hogg, we believe there are strong arguments to amend SUSSS to make it more practical and effective for those sheepkeepers reliant on Region 3 land.

"From the outset, many applicants to the Scheme have had significant misgivings about the application and retention periods.

"The application period is evidently too short, with some not able to access hill ground until after the close of the application period (16 October) due to the terms of their lease.

And many simply cannot fully gather all their eligible animals in such a narrow time frame.

Application period be altered

"As a result, we are proposing that the application period for SUSSS be altered from the existing window of 1 September to 16 October to a new application period of 1 October until 31 December.

"The 31 December deadline for the application period would then signal the start of a new retention period of 1 January to 31 March.

"NFU Scotland believes that these changes would meet the requirements of the inspection regime, and would give those farmers and crofters dependent on the scheme the best opportunity to access this support specifically targeted at them.

"In addition to the current requirement to have a minimum of four hectares of Region 3 land per ewe hogg claimed, a further control is required to help prevent overclaiming by those with an excess of ewe hoggs over and above the numbers they required to maintain their breeding flock.

"The union is proposing that the number of eligible ewe hoggs that can be claimed should be no more than 25 per cent of the ewes and gimmers of the regular breeding flock that the ewe hoggs are due to enter.

"This can be verified through the annual sheep inventory which all sheep keepers are obliged to complete every December."
The Rural Affairs secretary, Lesley Griffiths, will today announce almost 4 million grant funding for flood alleviation schemes across Wales.

Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, will visit Tal-y-bont, Gwynedd today to announce the funding, including almost 1 million funding to protect the village of Tal-y-bont and the A55.

The Welsh Government grant funding will be provided to local authorities to support small scale flood risk management schemes and undertake repairs to existing flood risk management infrastructure, damaged as a result of flooding in December 2015.

The funding includes almost 985,000 for Gwynedd Council for a flood alleviation scheme to protect Tal-y-bont and the nearby A55, an area particularly affected by last winters storms.

The funding will go towards creating an overflow drainage system, as well as earth bunds, ditches and channels, which will take flood water directly into the nearby Afon Ogwen.

It will also fund improvements to the existing watercourse to reduce potential blockages.

During the Cabinet Secretarys visit to Tal-y-Bont she will see the work already underway. This is expected to be completed this Autumn.

'An important issue for Wales'

Speaking ahead of the visit, Lesley Griffiths said: "Flooding is an important issue for Wales and one which we take very seriously.

"While last winter saw unprecedented levels of rainfall, particularly in North Wales, our changing climate means it is likely such weather events will happen more frequently.

"It is vitally important we are able to cope with this, which is why we are committed to investing in flood risk management across Wales.

"I am pleased we have been able to support the community of Tal-y-Bont following the damaging effects of the winters storms and take action quickly to get work underway to better protect the community and the important A55 road ahead of this winter."

As part of the funding, the Welsh Government is also providing almost 3 million for local authorities for small scale maintenance and repair schemes.

This includes repairs and upgrades of culverts, retaining walls, watercourses and drainage schemes to ensure resilient flood defences. The following will receive a share of the funding:

 Blaenau Gwent,

 Caerphilly,

 Conwy,

 Flintshire, Gwynedd,

 Anglesey,

 Monmouthshire,

 Neath Port Talbot,

 Pembrokeshire,

 Powys,

 Rhondda Cynon Taf,

 Swansea

 Wrexhambullet point
Within South East Asia, Indonesia was the stand out customer for Australia, taking on average just over four million tonnes of grain - mostly wheat - a year for the past five years compared to China, which takes just over 3.5mt and Japan and Vietnam which each take an average of about 1.75mt, as Australia's top four grains customers.
Fort Bragg to be known as Fort Liberty. Here's what to know.

When will Fort Bragg be renamed? Why will it be renamed Fort Liberty? How much will it cost?
A basic design principle for sanctions regimes is that crime should not pay. Yet, the OECD has just released a simulation study showing that foreign bribery can be an attractive investment for companies in many jurisdictions.

Specifically, 23 of the 41 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention have such low maximum fines that companies would still be willing to invest in a foreign bribery scheme even if it knew in advance that it would be caught and fined at the end of the bribery scenario. Clearly, this implies that fines for bribery are set too low in these jurisdictions.

In fact, the broader theme of the study is that sanctions regimes are highly fragmented. While fines are low in many jurisdictions, they are exceedingly high in others. In many cases, however, these high monetary penalties exist only on paper because they are not backed up by effective enforcement. For example, the three countries with the highest de jure fines have never successfully completed an enforcement action against a legal person. Only a few countries combine strong sanctions with active enforcement of anti-bribery laws.

This patchwork of incentives and disincentives for foreign bribery is explored using simulations of net present value for investments in foreign bribery under assumptions of both certainty and uncertainty. The simulations draw on maximum sanctions data produced by the OECD Working Group on Bribery for each of the 41 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention and on the cash flows  including both bribes and benefits  associated with a real-world bribery scheme that was the subject of a successful enforcement action.

If the net present value is positive, then the company expects to have a positive return from the bribery scheme, even knowing that it will have to pay the maximum fine available in that jurisdiction.

The simulations also show that the availability of effective systems of confiscation  that is, the deprivation of property by a competent authority, such as a court  has the potential to significantly reduce the fragmentation of incentives. Whereas 23 countries had positive returns the bribery scheme when only fines are considered, only six countries still have positive return if confiscation is available.

However, an OECD-StAR study shows many countries lack the necessary expertise and legal infrastructure to establish such systems  many schemes that exist on paper are not effective in practice.

The simulations cover only two types of sanctions  fines and confiscation  and therefore do not capture the full set of incentives facing companies. For example, they do not include other influences on the decision to bribe, such as reputation effects and executive liability. They also do not cover other types of sanctions such as debarment from public procurement processes.

Although the simulations do not present a full picture of all the ways that legal systems influence bribery, they are, in effect, a thought experiment that has clear strategic implications for the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

As a matter of high priority, fines in many jurisdictions need to go up and confiscation regimes need to be made more effective. Although improving legal systems is often a slow, painstaking process, countries are already taking steps to strengthen monetary sanctions for foreign bribery. France and Germany have substantially raised fines for legal persons in recent years, thanks in no small part to pressure from the OECD Working Group on Bribery. Other countries now need to follow suit.

_____

Kathryn Gordon is a Senior Economist based in Paris for the OECD in the Anti-Corruption Division of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. She can be contacted here.
In early June 2016, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Chinese Communist Partys corruption watchdog, attacked the governments own propaganda department, stating that it lacks depth in its research into developing contemporary Chinas Marxism and that there are also weak spots in implementing the principle of the party controls the media.

The CCDIs message with regards to where the country is heading was quite clear: strengthening socialist views in modern China as well as securing regime power through tighter Party control. What is mind-boggling about this attack is that it came from the CCDI, a commission put together, supposedly, to clamp down corruption.

That the anti-corruption body would emphasize developing Marxism and a Party-controlled media indicates that perhaps Chinas anti-corruption drive is not quite what the public thinks it is.

In November 2012, the 18th National Congress pledged to carry out an anti-corruption campaign, to commit to the rule of law and to improve governance throughout all government organs. Since then, nearly 300,000 officials including close to 100 top-level officials have been punished for corruption, according to the CCDI, 82,000 of these officials received heavy punishment including jail time and even the death penalty.

Many China observers suggested that the campaign was a tactic by Xi Jinping to consolidate his power and eliminate threats to the regimes survival. China expert Andrew Nathan pointed out that once he acceded to Chinas top office, Xi reinstated many of the most dangerous features of Maos rule: personal dictatorship, enforced ideological conformity, and arbitrary persecution.

Nathan also argues that Xi has carefully crafted his approach to promoting a cult of personality in order to shrink the gap between the top leader and the citizens, consolidating power and authority previously held by the Party bureaucracy.

Understanding what constitutes a true anti-corruption drive is vital to further deciphering Xis motivation, in addition to CCDIs underlying goal mentioned above. A legitimate, comprehensive effort to reduce corruption would be unambiguously positive for China, promoting not only its economic growth but also the development of civil society. It would involve policy reforms to reduce the discretionary power of government officials, allowing greater checks and balances be implemented. It would involve procurement reforms that increase competition and transparency, helping to prevent favoritism and bribery and ensuring the government can deliver vital services and infrastructure. It would also involve the liberation and enhancement of anti-corruption civil society groups, fostering greater public participationin public governance.

Events on the ground in China, however, paint a drastically picture. From purging high profile officials who are seen as rivals to cracking down on civil society advocates, Xi has manipulated the legal and prosecutorial institutions to remake the party and government bureaucracy while suppressing civil society groups for political purposes. This is rule by law, not rule of law.

Chinese citizens are increasingly being repressed and jailed for demanding government accountability, transparency, and the rule of law  even when they work within the system. Lawyers cannot protect business owners and their rightful properties because they themselves are jailed. The same approach is being used to crack down on groups working to develop the rule of law. For instance, Xia Lin, the lawyer who defended Transition Institutes former leader Guo Yushan, was himself detained, forcing Guos wife, a lawyer herself,

to represent her own husband at trial. Xia was also denied access to his own defense lawyer.

Furthermore, there have been no clear indications that the illicit fortunes of the disciplined officials are being effectively recovered and used in ways that improve Chinese citizens everyday lives. China still lacks proper mechanisms to ensure that business and government officials wont seek other channels to continue their corrupt dealings, and the list goes on. It is evident that Xis anti-corruption campaign has no interest in promoting transparency, arguably the most crucial element in any effective anti-corruption effort.

If Xi only targeted corrupt officials and allowed civil society advocates to play a role in government accountability, the public and private sectors may have gained a more holistic confidence in their leader and their future, thereby keeping their businesses and work inside China. Instead, Xis fear-based approach has induced negative effects from top to bottom, creating even more uncertainty for Chinas future.

____

Michelle Chen is a Program Officer in the Asia Region with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).
Christie Brinkley has tried not to put "pressure" on her relationship.

Christie Brinkley

The 62-year-old American actress and model - who is currently dating John Mellencamp - has admitted she has no plans to marry her new beau because they are just trying to let their love life flow naturally and simply enjoy spending time with one another.

Speaking about her romance with the 64-year-old musician, the blonde beauty told PEOPLE: "We're just trying to enjoy each other and not try to put too much pressure on it.

"You never really know what's going to happen. John and I are two people that have very full lives."

However, the Michigan-born star has revealed she was flattered when John first asked her for her number because she thought he was a "silent cowboy".

She explained: "It's always nice to hear that someone is interested."

And the mother of three - who has daughters Alexa, 30, Sailor, 18, and son Jack, 21 - has revealed she fell in love with her partner because they share similar interests such as oil painting.

She explained: "I could never paint in front of anybody. You don't want to be judged. But with John I don't have that feeling. It's just great to be side by side."

Meanwhile, Christie - who has been married four times - admitted it is hard to find love with someone her own age.

She previously said: "It seems like during this period that most of the guys are like 38, 39, 42, like that sort of age group.

"It's funny because I think that at that age they have nothing to prove. They're very confident and do just what they want to do. [With] men my age I feel quite invisible to them.

"I think a ten-year span is fine."
Epic animation adventure is coming our way this September and the brand new trailer for Kubo and the Two Strings has been released.

Kubo And The Two Strings

Kubo and the Two Strings comes from Laika, the studio that brought us Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls and I cannot wait to see what they deliver next.

Oscar winners Matthew McConaughey and Charlie Theron lead the cast list as they bring the characters of Beetle and Monkey to life. They are joined on Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro, and George Takei.

Art Parkinson is best known for his role as Rickon Stark in Games of Thrones but he is making his animation movie debut as he voices the central role of Kubo.

The brand new trailer has arrived and we have it for you to take a look at:

The movie sees Travis Knight making his directorial debut. However, he is no stranger to the animation genre having worked in the animation department and served as producer on ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. It will be exciting to see him make the leap into the director's chair for the first time.

Kubo and the Two Strings is an epic action-adventure set in a fantastical Japan from acclaimed animation studio Laika. Clever, kindhearted Kubo (Parkinson) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (Takei), Akihiro (Tagawa) and Kameyo (Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta.

Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Theron) and Beetle (McConaughey) and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen - a magical musical instrument - Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Mara) to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.

Kubo And The Two Strings is released 9th September.

by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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The Birth of a Nation is a movie that won't hit the big screen here in the UK until January of next year, but it is a movie that is already being tipped as an Oscar contender.

The Birth of a Nation

Yes, it is only July be we are already starting to look ahead at the movies that could be in the Best Picture Oscar mix next year... and The Birth of a Nation could potentially be one of them.

The Birth of a Nation tells the true story of Nat Turner, the slave who led a rebellion in Virginia back in 1831. Nate Parker is set to take on the central role in the film and you can see him in action in this great new trailer:

Not only is Parker on the cast list, he has penned the screenplay and will be in the director's chair; this will be the feature film debut for the actor turned filmmaker.

As an actor, we have seen Parker appear in movies such as Non-Stop, Red Tails, and The Secret Life of Bees, but this will be the biggest film role of his acting career to date.

The actor/director has brought together a great cast as Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Aja Naomi King and Gabrielle Union are also set to star.

Set against the antebellum South, The Birth Of A Nation follows Nat Turner (Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves.

As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.

The Birth of a Nation is promising to be an evocative and powerful film and looks set to be one of the early must-see films of 2017.

The Birth of a Nation is released 20th January 2017.

by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk

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Britain's Duchess of Cornwall will open the BBC South West Headquarters in Plymouth.

Duchess of Cornwall

Her Royal Highness will come down to Devon on Wednesday (20.07.16) where she will be given a guided tour of the brand new media centre, which has been redeveloped after receiving a multi-million-pound investment.

Duchess Camilla - who is married to Prince Charles - will be given the official tour of the BBC Radio Devon Studios, BBC Spotlight and the BBC Newsroom and afterwards, she will unveil a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

Leo Devine, the Head of Regional Programming, for BBC South West, said: "We are so honoured that Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall has accepted our invitation to open the new BBC South West Headquarters. As a team, we are incredibly proud of this major project which reinforces our commitment to the region's audience as the biggest national broadcaster in the area."

The new building had been installed with several energy efficient benefits from LED lighting, solar panels on the roof, free cooling and electric car charging points for BBC vehicles.

And with these facilities the headquarters has been awarded the SKA silver award in environmental credentials.
The ability to talk and the ability to hear is a simple factor in reducing the chances of losing a child. If the child has no one to speak to at home, the damage is severe. "Some of our studies have shown that if not all, most kids who are stressed, show some degree of suicidal tendencies," said Dr K John Vijay Sagar, additional professor, child and adolescent psychiatry, Nimhans.



He added, "Bullying may just be an additive factor to other stressors like academics, relationship failures and stark criticism meted out by teachers and friends. The biggest reason for children's failed emotional well-being is a lack of communication with parents."



About a year ago, Dr Mahesh Gowda, consultant psychologist, Spandana Rehabilitation Centre, received shocking news from one of his clients. "They were middle aged parents who had a son. Both parents worked and one day when they got home, they saw their son hanging from the ceiling fan. Earlier that day, he had informed his father that he would go and get his assignments from his friends. For the parents, who believed their son was excellent at academics and was doing fine, this was an inexplicable situation," he recalled.



Dr Mahesh also believes today's kids are too glued to technology and have literally forgotten how to interact with other kids their age. "Twenty years ago, we hardly knew the meaning of committing suicide.Today , it has become a lifestyle," he said.



Dr Mythili Sharma, psychologist, Adhyhara Clinic, says parents taking an extra step to communicate with their kids has worked as a tremendously effective solution. "It is months and months of effort that the parent has to put in but it is definitely worth the while. Often adolescents bottle up their thoughts, not knowing how to vent. It is extremely important for them to talk and only parents have the ability to facilitate that. The notion of 'nobody understands me' must be completely eradicated from the child's mind," she said.



Dr Sagar added that it is not just the bullied who seeks help, but also the bully. "They are, after all, children as well. The conditions at home can severely affect their growth, especially in their formative years and adolescence. They need to be sensitized and not punished."



Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts
The Indian Cotton Federation, formerly The South India Cotton Association (SICA), will be organising the third All India Cotton Conference in Coimbatore next month.

The conference will be for one-and-half days starting 19th afternoon and will end on 20th evening. It will be a platform for representatives of the entire textile value chain to exchange their views.

The conference will discuss recent policy changes, latest trends and future developments for domestic and global markets, price round up, and industry insights from other major global markets such as Bangladesh, China and Uzbekistan.

The Indian Cotton Federation, formerly The South India Cotton Association (SICA), will be organising the third All India Cotton Conference in Coimbatore next month. The conference will be for one-and-half days starting 19th afternoon and will end on 20th evening. It will be a platform for representatives of the entire textile value chain.#

More than 400 delegates including ginners, cotton and yarn traders, textile machinery manufacturers, spinning mills, and garment manufacturers.

The region in and around Coimbatore is home to nearly 50 per cent of India's spinning capacity and 70 per cent of knitwear manufacturing facilities. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Officials of the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Development have been urged to advocate for fire safety in the workplace and at home.

This was highlighted by the Ministrys Permanent Secretary, Meleti Bainimarama while closing the one day fire wardens training that was attended by his staff based in Suva yesterday.Mr Bainimarama encouraged the participants to share the knowledge gained from the empowerment process especially on the measures to take when faced with fire emergencies either at home or in the work place.You should be in a better position to undertake necessary steps to ensure that the safety of staff and our customers is prioritized to avoid unnecessary fatalities in the case of emergencies, Mr Bainimarama said.We are well aware of the increasing number of house fires and we do not wish to add to these statistics so the onus is on us to effectively promote safety in the workplace and at home.Conducted by the National Fire Authority, the training consisted of formal presentations and informal discussions on fire safety measures and the importance of having evacuation procedures at home and in the work place.-ENDS-
The bubbly Alia Bhatt, is having a really good time in London and is seen roaming the streets freely with her sister Shaheen Bhatt, and the duo are having a wonderful sister bonding!

Check out pictures of Alia Bhatt in London here!

Alia Bhatt, also met her close friends who stay in London, and visited several cafes and nightclubs with them. Both Alia Bhatt and her sister Shaheen Bhatt have posted several pictures on their Instagram account having a gala time letting their hair down in the vibrant city, London.

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Basking in the success of Udta Punjab, Alia Bhatt is taking a much deserved break from her daily routine and spending the time with her sister, is the icing on the cake.

However, Alia Bhatt, doesn't want the spotlight on her private life and keeps her personal life away from the limelight. In a recent interview to DNA Alia Bhatt was quoted as saying,

"Keeping my personal life away from the public glare just saves me from any further damage. It's more a way of caution rather than getting hurt. I feel when you start talking about it, your entire life revolves around that. I admit that it does happen by default but I am here to work and be known as an actor and not someone who has a happening personal life."

Sizzling Pics! Who Knew Ameesha Patel Would End Up Being Such A Stunning Woman
This piece of information will literally shock you! We all know that Sunjay Kapur and Karisma Kapoor are no longer together. But it seems like Sunjay has still not moved on. He created a scene at a restaurant when he saw his ex-wife with some other guy.

According to Mumbai Mirror, ''Sunjay Kapur was dining at a restaurant in the British capital with some of his friends. In walked Karisma Kapoor, along with her good friend Sandeep Toshniwal. Sunjay apparently was so piqued at seeing his former wife with her new male friend, that he began shouting and made a scene. It was only when his friends asked him to pipe down, saying he was no longer married to her, did he give in to sagacity.''

Do you want to see some rare pictures of Sunjay & Karisma, when they were married? Then click on the slider.



In the past too, we have read many stories of Sunjay Kapur's aggressive nature. "When Karisma was pregnant, she was unable to fit into a dress, Sunjay asked her mother-in-law to slap her. The actress has also reportedly said that Rani supported her son's philandering lifestyle and did not condemn his ill-behaviour towards his wife," a report in a leading daily had stated.

Also Read: Too Much Love! Katrina Kaif Liked Salman Khan's Sultan So Much That She Watched It Twice (New Pics)

Karisma Kapoor's father Randhir Kapoor too, told a daily that Sunjay is not a good man, "Sunjay is a third class man. I never wanted Karisma marrying him. He has debauchery in his system and never cared for his wife. He has been giving bull*** to her, and living with another woman. The entire Delhi knows how he is. I would not like to say anything more than this.''
For the royal couple of B-town, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, 2016 was one busy year. Both of them were busy with their work commitments and currently, the gorgeous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is in New York with her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan to spend some quality time with her.

We also got our hands on the new pictures of Aishwarya & Aaradhya that you can see below in the slides. Also, we have brought to you a few more vacation pictures of Aishwarya along with hubby Abhishek & baby Aaradhya.

Go Through The Slides To See All The Pictures:

We also hear that the actor hubby Abhishek Bachchan will join the mother-daughter duo soon in New York and like a cute family, they will travel to a few more exotic locations.

On the work front, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was last seen in Omung Kumar's Sarbjit, is looking forward to her next flick, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil which is directed by Karan Johar.

Forget SRK's Mannat! Shilpa Shetty's Bungalow's Latest Pictures

The film also casts Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Fawad Khan in the lead roles. For the first time, Ranbir, Anushka & Fawad will be seen sharing screen space with the 'beauty queen' Aishwarya and we can't hold back our excitement!

Recently, in an interview, Aishwarya had revealed how she and Ranbir gelled up so amazingly with each other.

She had said, "I met Ranbir on the sets after many years. He is adorable. He was assisting Chintu uncle on AALC. Now we are working together. We got along like a house on fire. He has an amazing sense of humour."
Janatha Garage, which has Mohanlal and Jr NTR in the lead roles has been in the news from the day of the film's announcement.

Mohanlal took to Facebook to release the Eid special poster of Janatha Garage. He also shared the first official teaser of the Malayalam version of the film..

Take a look at the Facebook post of the actor..

The latest poster of Janatha Garage has both Mohanlal and Jr NTR in it. The teaser of the film, which released yesterday has gone viral in social media circuits.

In fact, the makers also released the teaser of the Telugu version of the film. Mohanlal fans were disappointed with the Telugu teaser, as the actor was only shown in the last few seconds of the teaser.

But, the makers had something more interesting to offer. And they released the teaser of the Malayalam version of Janatha Garage, which did have Mohanlal in full-form.

The teaser gives an indication of the film being a high voltage action entertainer in the lines of other Telugu films.

The posters and teasers have definitely raised the expectations on the film. Mohanlal, would be dubbing for both the Telugu and Malayalam versions of the film.

The film which has been directed by Koratala Siva also has Samantha, Nithya Menen, Unni Mukundan, Rahman etc in prominent roles.

Janatha Garage is expected to hit the theatres during the month of August.
Yeh Hai Mohabbatein actors Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek Dahiya's big day is almost here. Along with actors, family and friends, their fans are also excited for the most talked about wedding.

Divyanka's haldi ceremony was held today (6th July) and the actress looked gorgeous in yellow lehenga. The actress was glowing and blushing at her haldi ceremony. The actress also posed for the photos,and danced at the event! Believe us... the actress looked damn pretty!

Check Out Divyanka Tripathi's Haldi Ceremony Pictures



A couple of days back, Divyanka left to her home town Bhopal. Apparently, Vivek too has left to Chandigarh from where the baraat will go to Bhopal.

Divyanka's designer Nilesh said that the actress will be wearing a maroon colored velvet lehenga with a pink colored dupatta on her special day. He also added that the actress will be wearing purple colored gown for her reception in Chandigardh.

Apparently, the guests have started arriving and Vivek was seen sharing his photo snapped with his buddy. Yeh Hai Mohabbatein's actor Karan Patel and his actress-wife Ankita Bhargava will be attending the wedding reception. Pankaj Bhatia, who plays the role of Bala, is also all set to attend DiVek's wedding.

Also Check Out: You Can't Get Over These PICS: Divyanka Tripathi Looks Pretty In Pink Dress At The Mehndi Ceremony!

It is also said that the date and mahurat for Divyanka and Vivek's wedding were decided by none other than controversial Godwoman Radhe Maa! Apparently, the wedding will also see the presence of the self-styled godwoman!

Vivek and Divyanka's Tilak and Sangeet ceremony will be held on 7th July, and the Reception will be on 8th July.

Stay locked to this space for the latest updates of the most awaited DiVek's wedding. (Image Source: Instagram)
Powerstar Pawan Kalyan is spending some quality time at his farm-house, enjoying the lovely weather in Hyderabad and doing the best of his interests, farming and animal husbandry.

When the actor's best friend and producer Sharrath Marar went to visit him, to discuss about their next film, he managed to capture Pawan in the 'Gopala' job.

"Went to the farm to discuss film only to find our 'Gopala' in the midst of nature with cows all around.#PawanKalyan", read tweet from the producer, who earlier produced Gopala Gopala and Sardaar Gabbar Singh with the actor.

Besides spreading some joy among the fan-boys of the actor by tweeting a picture, Sharrath has also put the rumors to rest, which said that the project with Dolly was shelved. Going by Sharrath Marar's tweet, their next movie in the direction of Dolly is very much happening.

Meanwhile, Pawan will be flying to London tomorrow to take part in UKTA's celebrations and will also be interacting with NRI's there, who would want to extend their support for the actor's political party, Janasena.

Only a couple of days ago, the actor was spotted in Hyderabad airpot, flying in and out for a lone vacation.
According to the reports flowing in from our reliable sources, Rakul Preet Singh was approached to play the female lead in Mahesh Babu's next film, which is to go on floors in the direction of A R Murugadoss.

Though Parineeti Chopra was almost zeroed in to romance the most desirable star, she is likely to back off from the project, due to the difficulties in adjusting the call-sheets. The film had its share of delays in hitting the floors and the Bollywood beauty is apparently failing to allot her dates, for the newly planned schedules.

So, the chances are high for Rakul to hit the jackpot. In fact, she was supposed to pair up with Mahesh in Brahmotsavam. But due to dates issues, she couldn't grab the offer earlier. This time the actress is said to be going all her way out to fit in the project, as it would also boost her career in Tamil industry.

Touted to be a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, the makers and the director are also interested in exploring the Bollywood market, with this movie. That's exactly the reason why the makers approached Parineeti, though she demanded double the amount than what our heroines generally receive.

But, it looks like things are not going in favor of Bollywood plans. Call it Rakul's luck or Parineeti's loss, it would be nice to see a fresh pair like Mahesh and Rakul. Let us know your thoughts about the team up in the comments box below.
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/06/16 -- Federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for culture and heritage met face to face today during an annual meeting to discuss their priorities, exchange ideas and strengthen relationships.

Following the meeting, which was co-hosted by the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada, ministers committed to:

-- Continue to make efforts to stimulate the creative economy. Governments, with the support of various partners, will undertake feasibility studies to further expand Canada's Culture Satellite Account. The goal is to provide a broader and richer source of data for key stakeholders, and Canadians in general, about the value and importance of culture in Canada's economy. Ministers also wish to raise more awareness of the importance of viable cultural infrastructure as a way to stimulate our creativity, improve our quality of life and have tangible impacts on our economy. -- Reflect on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and significant action that could be taken in this regard. All governments shared their plans to explore how culture can help pave the way to reconciliation and strengthen relationships with Indigenous peoples. -- Celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation. All governments will continue to work collaboratively on preparing for this important milestone. 2017 will be a year-long pan-Canadian event highlighting our culture and heritage, creating opportunities to come together, and generating economic benefits for our communities. -- Continue to support the conservation and protection of historic places in Canada. Ministers will strengthen their ongoing collaboration to ensure these witnesses of the past remain important aspects for the development of the modern, prosperous and creative Canada of tomorrow.

British Columbia closed the meeting by passing the torch to Quebec, which will host the 2017 ministerial conference.

Quick Facts

- Arts, culture and heritage represent $54.6 billion in the Canadian economy and more than 630,000 jobs.

- The Culture Satellite Account is a statistical framework created to better measure the economic importance of culture, arts, heritage and sport in the Canadian economy.

- The Culture Satellite Account expansion feasibility studies represent a combined annual investment of close to $250,000 from the Government of Canada, all provinces and territories. The objective is to develop more in-depth data on culture trade, culture tourism, digital products, volunteerism and heritage conservation, as well as an economic impact model.

- In June 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its findings and 94 Calls to Action aimed at redressing the legacy of residential schools and fostering reconciliation in Canada.

- The Canada 150 Fund has an overall budget of $210 million. Through the Fund, the Government of Canada will continue to make strategic investments in activities that support the vision of Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation and encourage Canadians to participate directly. All provinces and territories are also participating in the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation.

- In Canada, there are more than 12,000 historic sites listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, representing thousands of years of history and the building of our country.

Quotes from Co-Chairing Ministers

"British Columbia is honoured to co-host this meaningful meeting between the provinces and territories and the federal government. Collectively, we join with all Canadians to celebrate the fact that all of our provinces and territories have a rich and diverse culture, including all First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples. Arts and culture are at the heart of the creative economy, one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the world. People working in the creative sector help to drive the economy and contribute to healthy and vibrant communities."

-The Honorable Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development for British Columbia

"Working together to promote the value of culture and heritage is key to making our country stronger. Canada's upcoming 150th anniversary of Confederation is an important moment in our history, a great opportunity to unite in our diversity and show our country at its best. Our collaborations will contribute to a richer, more creative tomorrow and provide lasting legacies for future generations."

-The Honorable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Associated Links

Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

Culture Satellite Account

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada

Canada 150

Canadian Register of Historic Places (Parks Canada)

Stay Connected

Follow the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat on Twitter.

Follow Canadian Heritage on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Contacts:

Media Contact

Community, Sport and Cultural Development

Province of British Columbia

250 888-1462



Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788



Media Relations

Canadian Heritage

819-994-9101

1-866-569-6155

pch.media-media.pch@canada.ca



Media Relations

Parks Canada Agency

855-862-1812

pc.media@pc.gc.ca






SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics (SSNLF.OB, SSNNF.OB, SMSN.L) said Thursday that it expects operating profit for the second quarter to increase 17 percent year-over-year and sales to rise 3 percent.



The company's second-quarter operating profit is likely to be its best in more than two years and also exceeding the 8 trillion won mark after it reported an operating profit of 8.5 trillion won in the first quarter of 2014.



The results are likely to reflect continued strong demand for the company's Galaxy S7 smartphone series. The operating profit forecast is above analysts' expectations. The company is scheduled to report its financial results for the first quarter in late July.



Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker by shipments, had been earlier losing market share in its handset business to U.S. rival Apple, Inc. (AAPL) as well as Chinese brands. However, the launch of the Galaxy S7 smartphone series in March has boosted the company's sales performance.



According to a regulatory filing, Samsung estimates operating profit for the second quarter to be about 8.1 trillion won, or about $7 billion, above analysts' expectations of 7.8 trillion won.



The forecast represents a 17.4 percent increase from the company's year-ago quarter operating profit of 6.9 trillion won, and also marks a 20.9 percent sequential increase from first-quarter operating profit of 6.7 trillion won.



Samsung projects second-quarter sales to increase 3.1 percent to about 50 trillion won from last year's sales of 48.5 trillion won. Sales are also seen to increase slightly from the previous quarter's sales of 49.8 trillion won.



Samsung did not provide earnings or sales figure estimates for each of its business divisions.



In late April, Samsung reported a 12 percent year-over-year increase in operating profit for the first quarter from the prior year, reflecting strong sales of the flagship Galaxy S7 and S7 edge as well as improved memory product mix.



On the South Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung shares are currently trading at 1,447,000 won, up 26,000 won or 1.83 percent on a volume of 161,523 shares.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) said that it would increase prices for its wireless service. The higher prices come with larger data allowances and customers also will be able to carry over unused data to the following month.



The company will increase prices by $5 or $10 a month, depending on the plan size.



Verizon introduced a new My Verizon app and Verizon Plan. Beginning July 7, customers can choose the amount of data they want.



Verizon has also introduced a feature called Safety Mode, which avoids overage charges by slowing data speeds after an account exceeds its monthly cap. Safety Mode will be available for free to customers with an XL or XXL plan. Customers on the smaller S, M and L plans will have to pay $5 a month to access the feature.



The company noted that the low-end 'S' plan will now offer 2 gigabytes of data for $35 per month, up from $30 for 1GB earlier.



The medium 'M' plan will go up by $5 to $50 per month, while its data will rise from 3 GB to 4 GB.



The 'L' plan will now offer 8 GB for $70 per month, up from 6 GB for $60 per month previously.



The larger 'XL' plan is set to increase by $10 to $90 a month, but will now offer 16 GB compared to 12 GB before.



Lastly, the 'XXL' plan will cost $10 more at $110 a month, but will offer 24 GB instead of 18 GB earlier.



'On Verizon Plan XL and larger sizes, get unlimited talk and text from the U.S. to Mexico and Canada and also enjoy your data plan, along with unlimited talk and text, when visiting Mexico and Canada. If you're on the new Verizon Plan in sizes S, M or L, pay just $5 per line per month for calls from the U.S. To roam with your data and unlimited talk and text in Canada or Mexico, you'll use Verizon's TravelPass feature for $2 per day per line,' the company said.



The customers can have up to 10 consumer and business lines on an account. Line service charges for the new Verizon Plan remain the same: Every smartphone line is $20 per month, tablets and Jetpack devices are $10 per month, and connected devices are $5 per month. Connected devices will no longer count toward the limit for devices on an account, whether they're offered by Verizon or not. These include devices such as hum by Verizon, smartwatches, or GizmoPals.



The new Verizon Plan is also available in new sizes for small businesses with 11 to 25 lines and comes with the same great benefits of the consumer XL and larger new Verizon Plans. Monthly charges for small businesses are just $15 per month for each phone or smartphone on the new Verizon Plan.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators data for May at 1:00 am ET Thursday. The leading index is expected to be stable at 100 in May. Ahead of the data, the yen retreated from early highs against its major rivals. As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 112.12 against the euro, 131.21 against the pound, 103.67 the Swiss franc and 101.00 against the U.S. dollar. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Estonia's consumer prices continued to decline in June, though at a slower pace than in the previous month, figures from Statistics Estonia showed Thursday. The consumer price index fell 0.4 percent year-over-year in June, following a 0.9 percent decrease in May. Prices have been falling since June last year. Compared to June 2015, goods were 0.6 percent cheaper and costs for services lower by 0.1 percent. Transport costs dipped 5.2 percent in June, as prices for motor fuel became 9.8 percent cheaper than a year ago. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages slid 1.2 percent, while clothing and footwear prices grew by 3.7 percent. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in June after a 0.1 percent increase in the prior month. It was the second successive monthly spike. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
NICOSIA, CYPRUS -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 --



Atalaya Mining plc

("Atalaya Mining" or the "Company")

AGM Statement

At Atalaya Mining's (AIM: ATYM) (TSX: AYM) AGM to be held at 12.00pm (CEST) today at the Rio Tinto Mine, La Dehesa s/n, Minas de Riotinto, 21660 Huelva, Spain, Roger Davey, non-executive Chairman, will make the following statement:

"This has been an exciting and transitional period for Atalaya Mining.

During the year, the permitting process to restart the Riotinto project was largely completed and in June 2015, fully supported by some of our larger shareholders - Trafigura, XGC, Orion and Liberty, the Company successfully raised  64.9 million in an equity financing to fund its transition to a copper producer.

We have seen rapid progress on site during 2015 and to date. Following the appointment of the mining contractor, the first blast took place in April 2015. Repairs and modifications to the processing plant continued with commissioning commencing during October 2015. In February 2016, we were delighted to declare commercial production of saleable copper concentrate well ahead of schedule and under budget.

Furthermore, we have been able to advance the Expansion Project which has been refined from two initial phases and will take us to our full nameplate capacity of 9.5Mtpa by the end of Q3 2016. This has been achieved with further capital savings and a reduced timeframe from our already ambitious estimate of January 2017. Our growing workforce, which now stands at around 300 employees, has also been working hard on the Company's ongoing drilling programme which has proved successful and we look forward to announcing a new reserves and resources statement shortly.

In addition, our strengthened Board now consists of a combination of independent and non-independent directors, all with significant industry experience. This composition will be invaluable as we increase the scale of operations and progress our corporate strategy. On behalf of the Board I am also delighted to welcome Cesar Sanchez as our Group Chief Financial Officer.

Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF document.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4781D_1-2016-7-6.pdf

Enquiries:



Atalaya Mining plc

Roger Davey / Alberto Lavandeira

+34 959 59 28 50



Canaccord Genuity

(NOMAD and Joint Broker)

Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / Martin Davison

+44 20 7523 8000



BMO Capital Markets

(Joint Broker)

Jeffrey Couch/Neil Haycock/Tom Rider

+44 20 7236 1010




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Dalradian Resources Inc. (TSX: DNA)(AIM: DALR) ("Dalradian" or the "Company") announces that Jim Rutherford, a director of the Company, has been appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors. Patrick F. N. Anderson, the outgoing Chairman, will remain as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), President, and a director of the Company. In addition, as Mr. Rutherford is an independent chairman, Thomas Obradovich has stepped down as Lead Director. The board felt that this was the appropriate time to split the role of Chairman and CEO, thereby bringing the governance structure of the Company into line with the UK Corporate Governance Code. Mr. Rutherford's more than 25 years of capital markets experience and knowledge of the mining industry will be beneficial to Dalradian as the Company continues to progress its Curraghinalt Gold Project in Northern Ireland toward development.

Mr. Rutherford commented:

"I would like to pay tribute to Tom and Patrick's excellent work in guiding the board as Lead Director and Chairman and we value their continued involvement as directors of the Company. As Chairman, I am very much looking forward to working alongside Dalradian's management both to advance the Curraghinalt project and to increase the Company's profile in the London investment community. It is an exciting time to take on this expanded role as we prepare to complete the feasibility study this autumn and submit the planning application for the mine later in the year. Curraghinalt is one of the highest grade undeveloped gold deposits in the world and will bring significant economic benefits to Northern Ireland."

Mr. Rutherford joined Dalradian's board of directors in June of 2015 and has served on the Audit Committee of the Board for the past year. He has more than 25 years of experience in investment banking and investment management, both as an institutional investor and analyst and, since November 2013, has served as a non-executive director of Anglo American plc, one of the largest UK-listed diversified mining companies. Between 1997 and 2013, he was a senior vice president of Capital International Investors (a division of Capital Group, one of the world's largest and longest established investment management companies), with responsibility for investments in the mining and metals industry. Prior to joining Capital Group, Mr. Rutherford was an investment analyst with HSBC James Capel's global mining team, based in New York. He also held analyst roles with Credit Lyonnais and CRU International. He received his Bachelor of Science in Economics and Computer Science from Queen's University, Belfast (UK) and gained his Master of Arts in Development Economics from the University of Sussex (UK).

About Dalradian Resources Inc.

Dalradian Resources Inc. is a gold exploration and development company that is focused on advancing its high-grade Curraghinalt Gold Project located in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The Company is in the midst of a work program in support of a planning (permitting) application for construction of an operating mine at Curraghinalt. Components of the program include a feasibility study, an environmental and social impact assessment and underground exploration (at least 950 metres of development with associated test stoping).

In May 2016, Dalradian announced an updated mineral resource estimate for Curraghinalt, including a 109% increase in gold ounces contained in the Measured and Indicated categories compared with the 2014 resource. The current resource consists of 2.1 million ounces of contained gold in the Measured and Indicated categories (5.61 million tonnes at 11.61 g/t) and 2.3 million ounces of contained gold in the Inferred category (7.13 million tonnes at 10.06 g/t gold). For further information, see the NI 43-101 technical report entitled, "Technical Report for the Northern Ireland Gold Project, Northern Ireland", dated June 17, 2016 and prepared by Dr. Jean-Francois Couture, PGeo (APGO#0197) and Dr. Oy Leuangthong, PEng (PEO#90563867), both of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and Stacy Freudigmann, PEng (APEGBC #33972) of JDS Energy & Mining Inc.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future financial or operating performance of the Company and its subsidiaries and its mineral project, the future price of metals, test work and confirming results from work performed to date, the estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital, operating and exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, costs and timing of future exploration, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations of insurance coverage, the timing and possible outcome of pending regulatory matters and the realization of the expected economics of the Curraghinalt gold deposit. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are based on various assumptions such as the continued political stability in Northern Ireland, that permits required for Dalradian's operations will be obtained on a timely basis in order to permit Dalradian to proceed on schedule with its planned exploration and development programs, that skilled personnel and contractors will be available as Dalradian's operations continue to grow, that the price of gold will be at levels that render Dalradian's mineral project economic, that the Company will be able to continue raising the necessary capital to finance its operations and realize on mineral resource estimates and current mine plans, that the assumptions contained in the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment are accurate and complete, that results from the infill drilling program continue to be positive, that the mineral resource update is positive, that the results of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and the Feasibility Study will be positive and that a permitting application for mine construction will be approved.

Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Dalradian to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Such factors include, among others, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current and future exploration activities; the actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; meeting various expected cost estimates; changes in project parameters and/or economic assessments as plans continue to be refined; future prices of metals; possible variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; the risk that actual costs may exceed estimated costs; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

Contacts:

Marla Gale

Vice President Communications

+1 416 583 5622

investor@dalradian.com



Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)

Philip Secrett / Richard Tonthat / Harrison Clarke

+44 (0)20 7383 5100



Canaccord Genuity Limited (Broker)

Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / Martin Davison

+44 20 7523 8000




NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Jacob Frydman, a native New Yorker and real estate expert, observes that the U.S. retail property market landscape in 2016 appears much like the market in 2015, with a number of key aspects for investors to be aware of. U.S. retailers seem to be expanding internationally at a faster pace than in recent years; however, while they are gaining "brick-and-mortar" locations abroad, the reverse does not hold true, as the American retail market is often too expensive and competitive for international retailers to do well. Among American-owned companies, the physical retail market is much more closely tied to how well they have managed to attract buyers in a virtual space.

According to Reis, Inc, a company that provides reliable real estate market data, healthier neighborhoods and community retail centers are closely connected to how diversified its markets are. Right now food and beverage retailers lead in sales, with luxury and business following close behind, and then mid-range fashion in third place. Reis also points to the technology of retail chains making an impact on the market. Analysts predict that retailers who can hold onto their profits and even expand their businesses will be those who can adapt to customers' desire for seamless in-store and online shopping experiences.

Jacob Frydman notes that without attention to technology, retail will likely experience continued stress from the shifting demands of customers who increasingly prefer to shop online. For example, during the 2015 Black Friday shopping weekend, online purchases outperformed in-store purchases for the first time ever, signaling a new trend in consumer behavior during the busiest shopping season of the year. But people are not yet ready to give up physical locations for browsing, socializing or comparison shopping.

A primary example that corporate retailers will be watching closely is Amazon, already a giant in the online retail space. In the fall, it opened a physical bookstore in Seattle and will likely continue to open dozens more in a variety of markets as it tests this model. Amazon may drive other stores to adopt this same model of physical showroom that complements the digital fulfillment space. However, for some stores like Sears, JCPenney and Kmart, the struggle for a share of the U.S. business continues, and it may be too late for some companies to shift gears. American consumers will continue to see closures among corporate giants that were once household names for some time to come.

Over his 30-year career, Jacob Frydman made a lasting impression with the property investment industry. Through his vast experience in structuring, financing, and executing highly complex real estate transactions, he has acquired over five million square feet of American property and has participated in investments valued at over $2 billion. He often speaks at Columbia University and in the Master's Lecturer series at New York Law School, discussing business, law, and ethical elements of real estate management to aspiring students. Frydman is an avid philanthropist, who cares greatly for his Jewish community, and supports many other charitable committees, including The Chabad of Dutchess County and The Brem Foundation, which focuses on the eradication of breast cancer among women and men in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

Jacob Frydman -- Property Expert and Consultant: http://JacobFrydmanNews.com

Jacob Frydman -- Devoted Member and Supporter of The Rhinebeck Jewish Center: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jacob-frydman-devoted-member-supporter-050741846.html

Jacob Frydman -- Proud to Support the Brem Foundation: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jacob-frydman-proud-support-brem-031219695.html

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qYlCSBjQbU

Contact Information:

JacobFrydmanNews.com

contact@jacobfrydmannews.com

www.JacobFrydmanNews.com
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Germany's industrial production data for May is due to be released in the pre-European session on Thursday at 2:00 am ET. Output is forecast to grow 0.1 percent on a monthly basis, slower than the 0.8 percent increase seen in April. Ahead of the data, the euro showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the euro rose against the U.S. dollar, it fell against the pound. Against the yen and the Swiss franc, the euro held steady. As of 1:55 am ET, the euro was trading at 0.8549 against the pound, 1.0823 against the Swiss franc, 1.1094 against the U.S. dollar and 111.73 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - ICMediaDirect, one of the world's most renowned leaders in online reputation and a PR powerhouse, will attend this year's Affiliate Summit East (ASE) 2016 conference to share invaluable market insights and hear views of other participants on most trending issues nationwide and internationally. Scheduled to take place July 31 through August 2 at the New York Marriott Marquis in New York, the annual tradeshow is expected to bring together over 5,000 marketers, vendors, networks and media outlets. Reputation management experts at ICMD will speak on the importance of building an unparalleled online brand for businesses as well as individuals, and will tackle some of the forward-thinking strategies they utilize for successful content marketing. To access your personal or your company's Online Reputation Report, visit ICMediaDirect at http://www.icmediadirect.com.

Founded in 2003, Affiliate Summit Inc. has a proven track record in managing highly successful marketing projects and delivering numerous insightful events, educational sessions, and tradeshows. With combined experience of more than 30 years in affiliate marketing, founders of the company Shawn Collins and Missy Ward believe in the power of interpersonal networking and information exchange in today's fast-paced digital world. Their landmark events create an invaluable learning and sharing environment for thought leaders, start-ups, merchants, and vendors to discuss new opportunities for effective business development and digital innovations. With an established expertise in providing state-of-the art solutions to customers who aim to showcase their brand online in the best light, ICMediaDirect is delighted to bring first-class advice and tips on effective reputation management to affiliates and merchants at the conference that is now less than two months away. Experts at ICMediaDirect reinforce confidence in search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and emphasize the need for every brand to regularly put out content and use technological advancement to develop and maintain captivating online presence.

This year's edition of Affiliate Summit promises to feature a collection of keynotes from most influential and thought-provoking public figures in the field of digital platforms and marketing. Speaker Scott Stratten, a social media and relationship marketing expert, President of Un-Marketing and the author of four best-selling business books, is one of "America's 10 Marketing Gurus", according to Business Review USA. The final and concluding day of Affiliate Summit East 2016 will see an SEO keynote panel, featuring Bruce Clay (President of Bruce Clay, Inc.), Duane Forrester (VP at Bruce Clay, Inc.), and Stephan Spencer (Co-Author of The Art of SEO).

Established in 1996, ICMediaDirect is an award-winning PR and online reputation management company, dedicated to brand repair for companies and individuals across the globe. Its cutting-edge technological solutions and highly competitive and unmatched online reputation packages have vastly improved the Internet presence of numerous businesses, professional athletes, politicians, fortune top 500 CEOs, celebrities, among many others. Major marketing conferences and events frequently benefit from ICMediaDirect's participation and sponsorships, including Affiliate Summit, Leadscon, SES, and ad:tech conferences. To see your Online Reputation Report, visit http://www.icmediadirect.com.

IC Media Direct -- PR and Marketing News: http://icmediadirectnews.com

Reputation-Control.com -- 100% Reputation Control: http://www.reputation-control.com

IC Media Direct -- Outlines Powerful Strategies for Building Online Branding: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ic-media-direct-outlines-powerful-014916919.html

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/7/11G105634/Images/ICMD_-_Reputation_Management_-_ICMediaDirect_To_At-89d5e1d3a97fbbf6a23544d08c01c071.jpg

Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QHOeY8qAM

Contact Information

ICMediaDirect.com

TEL: 1.800.595.0821

www.ICMediaDirect.com

pr@icmediadirect.com
Electrolux results for the second quarter of 2016 will be published on July 20, 2016, at approximately 08.00 CET.

A telephone conference will be held following the release of the results, starting at 09.00 CET and continuing until 10.00 CET. The conference will be chaired by Jonas Samuelson, President and CEO of Electrolux. Mr. Samuelson will be accompanied by Anna Ohlsson-Leijon, CFO.

Slides used in the presentation will be available at Electrolux website, www.electroluxgroup.com/ir. The second quarter report will also be available at the same address.

You can listen to the presentation at www.electroluxgroup.com/q2-2016.

The details for participation by telephone are as follows:

Participants in Sweden should call +46 8 5055 64 74

Participants in UK/Europe should call +44 203 364 53 74

Participants in US should call +1 855 753 22 30

Electrolux is a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional use, based on deep consumer insight. We offer thoughtfully designed, innovative and sustainable solutions, developed in close collaboration with professional users. The products include refrigerators, ovens, cookers, hobs, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners and small domestic appliances. Under esteemed brands including Electrolux, AEG, Zanussi, Frigidaire and Electrolux Grand Cuisine, the Group sells more than 60 million products to customers in more than 150 markets every year. In 2015, Electrolux had sales of SEK 124 billion and 58,000 employees. For more information go to www.electroluxgroup.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160706006456/en/

Contacts:

Electrolux

Catarina Ihre, Vice President Investor Relations

+46 (0)8 738 60 87

or

Electrolux Press Hotline

+46 8 657 65 07.
Notice of the Meeting

Regulatory News:

CARMAT (Paris:ALCAR) (FR0010907956, ALCAR), the designer and developer of the world's most advanced artificial heart project, aiming to provide a therapeutic alternative for people suffering from end-stage biventricular heart failure, informs its shareholders and the financial community that an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2016 at 11 am at the headquarters of the Company 36, avenue de l'Europe, building The Etendard Energy III, 78140 Velizy-Villacoublay. The documents related to this meeting are available upon request from the company, or will be available on the website www.carmatsa.com, under Investors Documentation Shareholders' meetings in the applicable legal deadlines.

The principal purpose of this Shareholders' Meeting is to authorize implementation of a bonus share plan rewarding management and employees for attainment of the next key milestones in the Company's development. This bonus share plan provides for the issue of preferred shares convertible into ordinary shares at maturity, in proportion to the level of achievement of performance criteria. The preferred shares may be granted on one or more occasions by the Board of Directors on the recommendation of the Recruitment and Compensation Committee.

The performance criteria determined by the Committee and approved by the Board of Directors cover the key milestones in Carmat's development (CE marking, arrangement of financing, implementation of the production process, marketing of the bioprothesis, establishment of units in the United States and worldwide, share price performance over the period in question). The number of bonus shares that may be issued over this plan may not exceed 10% of the share capital of the company.

The strict alignment of the interests of managers, employees and shareholders during next years will be a crucial factor helping to motivate teams and to attract key personnel necessary to Carmat's development.

About CARMAT: the world's most advanced total artificial heart project

A credible response to end-stage heart failure: CARMAT aims to eventually provide a response to a major public health issue associated with heart disease, the world's leading cause of death: chronic and acute heart failure. By pursuing the development of its total artificial heart, CARMAT intends to overcome the well-known shortfall in heart transplants for the tens of thousands of people suffering from irreversible end-stage heart failure, the most seriously affected of the 20 million patients with this progressive disease in Europe and the United States.

The result of combining two types of unique expertise: the medical expertise of Professor Carpentier, known throughout the world for inventing Carpentier-Edwards heart valves, which are the most used in the world, and the technological expertise of Airbus Group, world aerospace leader.

Imitating the natural heart: given its size, the choice of structural materials and its innovative physiological functions, CARMAT's total artificial heart could, assuming the necessary clinical trials are successful, potentially benefit the lives of thousands of patients a year with no risk of rejection and with a good quality of life.

A project leader acknowledged at a European level: with the backing of the European Commission, CARMAT has been granted the largest subsidy ever given to an SME by Bpifrance; a total of 33 million.

Strongly committed, prestigious founders and shareholders: Airbus Group (Matra Defense), Professor Alain Carpentier, the Centre Chirurgical Marie Lannelongue, Truffle Capital, a leading European venture capital firm, ALIAD, Air Liquide's venture capital investor, CorNovum, an investment holding company held 50-50 by Bpifrance and the French State, the family offices of Pierre Bastid (ZAKA) and of Dr. Antonino Ligresti (Sante Holdings S.R.L.) as well as the thousands of institutional and individual shareholders who have placed their trust in CARMAT.

For more information: www.carmatsa.com

Disclaimer

This press release and the information contained herein do not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe to, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe to, shares in CARMAT ("the Company") in any country. This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to the Company's objectives. Such forward-looking statements are based solely on the current expectations and assumptions of the Company's management and involve risk and uncertainties. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, whether the Company will be successful in implementing its strategies, whether there will be continued growth in the relevant market and demand for the Company's products, new products or technological developments introduced by competitors, and risks associated with managing growth. The Company's objectives as mentioned in this press release may not be achieved for any of these reasons or due to other risks and uncertainties.

No guarantee can be given as to any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements, which are subject to inherent risks, including those described in the Document de Reference filed with the Autorite des Marches Financiers under number D.16-0221 on March 29, 2016 and changes in economic conditions, the financial markets or the markets in which CARMAT operates. In particular, no guarantee can be given concerning the Company's ability to finalize the development, validation and industrialization of the prosthesis and the equipment required for its use, to manufacture the prostheses, satisfy the requirements of the ANSM, enroll patients, obtain satisfactory clinical results, perform the clinical trials and tests required for CE marking and to obtain the CE mark. CARMAT products are currently exclusively used within the framework of clinical trials.

Name: CARMAT

ISIN code: FR0010907956

Ticker: ALCAR

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160706006461/en/

Contacts:

CARMAT

Marcello Conviti

CEO

Benoit de la Motte

CFO

Tel.: +33 (0)1 39 45 64 50

contact@carmatsas.com

or

Press Relations

Alize RP

Caroline Carmagnol, Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 54 36 66

carmat@alizerp.com

or

NewCap

Investor Relations Strategic Communication

Dusan Oresansky

Emmanuel Huynh

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

carmat@newcap.eu




Team celebrates winning the award for the second consecutive year

LONDON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Lockton's Asset Management team in London has been named "Best Insurance Broker" for the second consecutive year. The team was honoured by HFM Week, a global hedge fund publication, with the top award at the 2016 European Hedge Fund Services Awards in London.Lockton is the world's largest privately held, independent insurance broker.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386758

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090415/CG99351LOGO

"We are thrilled to receive the top accolade for a second year running," declared Henry Keville, Senior Vice President and head of London's Asset Management team."We are honoured to receive the top award again and are just delighted to have received such positive testimonials from our clients."

This award recognises hedge fund service providers that have demonstrated exceptional customer service and innovative product development during the past 12 months. The award recognises companies that have outperformed their peers and demonstrated impressive growth.

"This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team," said Keville. "Being firmly established as the leader in this category allows us to stand out in this competitive market."

About Lockton

More than 6,000 professionals atLocktonprovide 48,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, employee benefits consulting, and retirement services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and10th largest overall. For seven consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance."To see the latest insights from Lockton's experts, checkLockton Market Update.





To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/locktons-london-based-asset-management-team-named-best-insurance-broker-300294969.html
Regulatory News:

Skanska has signed a contract with the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority to construct its new administrative headquarters building in Washington, D.C., USA. The contract is worth USD 60M, about SEK 500M, which will be included in the order bookings for Skanska USA Building in the second quarter 2016.

The new headquarters will be built over an operating pump station. With about 14,000 gross square meters, it will house approximately 350 employees. This building is targeted for LEED Platinum certification.

Skanska will begin construction in 2016. The project is slated for completion in December 2017.

Skanska USA is one of the leading development and construction companies in the country, consisting of four business units: Skanska USA Building, which specializes in building construction; Skanska USA Civil, specialized in civil infrastructure; Skanska Infrastructure Development, which develops public-private partnerships; and Skanska USA Commercial Development, which develops commercial projects in select U.S. markets. Headquartered in New York, Skanska USA has more than 10,000 employees and its 2015 revenues were SEK 54.5 billion.

The information provided herein is such as Skanska AB is obligated to disclose pursuant to the EU market securities act (EU) no. 596/2014.

Skanska is one of the world's leading construction and project development companies, focused on selected home markets in the Nordic region, other European countries and North America. Supported by global trends in urbanization and demographics, and by being at the forefront in sustainability, Skanska offers competitive solutions for both simple and the most complex assignments, helping to build a sustainable future for customers and communities. The Group currently has 43,100 employees in selected home markets in Europe and North America. Skanska's sales in 2015 totaled SEK 155 billion.

This and previous releases can also be found at www.skanska.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005423/en/

Contacts:

Skanska USA

Pamela Monastra, +1 404 946 75 33

Communications

or

Skanska AB

Andreas Joons, +46 (0)10 449 04 94

Press Officer

or

Direct line for media, +46 (0)10 448 88 99
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Great Portland Estates plc (GPOR.L) reported its trading update for the quarter to 30 June 2016. Ten new lettings were signed generating annual rent of 3.6 million pounds (GPE share: 3.2 million pounds), including 0.7 million pounds pre-letting at 30 Broadwick Street, W1; 2.0% ahead of March 2016 rental values. Great Portland Estates has a further eleven lettings currently under offer accounting for 6.3 million pounds p.a. of rent (GPE share: 5.5 million pounds), 1.1% ahead of March 2016 ERV. Four rent reviews securing 3.5 million pounds of annual rent (GPE share: 2.1 million pounds) were settled at an increase of 46.2% over the previous rent. The Group said its quarterly cash collection performance has continued to be very strong, with 99.8% of rent secured within seven working days of the quarter day. A low investment portfolio vacancy rate was maintained of 3.1% at 30 June 2016. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Industrial 3D printing offers outstanding and unrivalled design freedom. Not only can this advantage be applied to the manufacturing of prototypes, but it also offers immense added value in series production - particularly with products whose design and aesthetics play a significant role in the customers' purchase decision.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160629/384734 )

So that the Belgian family-run and design-driven company Hoet was attracted to the Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology is no surprise. Since 1884, the name Hoet and the company behind it have been synonymous with contemporary design. With an eye on the exceptional freedom AM technology affords in the realization of ideas, the designer Bieke Hoet set to work on creating designs for a new eyeglass collection. Once the creative work had been completed, Hoet chose the partner Raytech to ensure the efficient production of eyeglass frames. Raytech had many years of experience and displayed the required level of expertise in Additive Manufacturing.

Developing an AM production concept

Together, Hoet and Raytech developed a production concept including the use of EOS Titanium Ti64 as the core material. Titanium is often used for eyewear frames, because it combines extreme flexibility with high strength and low weight. The metal is also one of the numerous raw materials that can be processed with EOS technology. For production Raytech decided once again to utilize its in-house EOS system EOS M 290.

The results achieved by the triumvirate of Hoet, Raytech, and EOS will not only look great, but they will be there for all to see. The realization of the inimitable classic design with its various complex and delicate lattice structures of the frames was only made possible with the EOS M 290.

With AM, it is also possible to manufacture on demand, eliminating the need to build up stocks. This not only reduces storage costs but also lowers the average production costs of the products sold. A further advantage of the technology is the short time to market, i.e. the time between the product's design and its availability in retail outlets. Just two months after the installation of the EOS system, the frames were ready to go on sale. And, if required, the manufacturing of additional stock only requires a few days.

Please find the complete English customer case study here. For further information please contact Karin Wennerberg (phone +46-317-604-642, e-Mail: Karin.Wennerberg@eos.info).
GENEVA, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Zydus Cadila Joins the MPP as New Partner

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced new generic manufacturing licences today for four antiretrovirals and hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral daclatasvir. The organisation signed licences with Aurobindo, Desano, Emcure, Hetero Labs, Laurus Labs, Lupin and new partner Zydus Cadila for a total of nine new sub-licensing agreements to produce generic versions of key World Health Organization-priority HIV and hepatitis C treatments.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/813286 )



"These new sub-licences will secure greater volumes of low-cost medicines for people living with HIV and hepatitis C in low- and middle-income countries," said Greg Perry, MPP's Executive Director. "We look forward to working with the companies to speed delivery of these treatments to those most in need of better medical options."

MPP's long-time generic partner Aurobindo signed two new sub-licences. The first allows the company to produce lopinavir and ritonavir for Africa, following MPP's agreement with AbbVie in December 2015. Aurobindo also joins six other companies in the development of Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS)'s daclatasvir, the first hepatitis C medicine in MPP's portfolio. "We are very pleased to support product development of these key medicines for both HIV and hepatitis C and to continue our work with the MPP to bring formulations and fixed-dose combinations to market very soon," said Aurbindo's Managing Director N. Govindarajan.

Desano, a Chinese manufacturer based in Shanghai, and Emcure also signed licences for lopinavir and ritonavir. "Desano welcomes the opportunity of supporting increased volumes of this crucial treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and specifically for South Africa, which has the largest HIV treatment programme in the world," said Tun Guo, Director and Company Secretary. Vik Thapar, Head of Strategy, Emcure added: "LPV/r is a life-line for people living with HIV on the continent who have developed resistance to first-line treatments. Additional, long-term supply is crucial."

Hetero, an MPP generic partner since 2012, signed sub-licences for atazanavir, an important second-line antiretroviral licensed to the MPP by BMS in December 2013 and raltegravir for paediatric use, a treatment MPP licensed from MSD (Merck & Co. in the United States and Canada) in February 2015. Raltegravir was recently recommended by the WHO as part of second-line treatment for children less than 10 years of age. "Hetero, through its partnership with MPP, has demonstrated success in creating larger access for HIV and hepatitis C treatment and now looks forward to supporting efforts to distribute low-cost versions of atazanavir and raltegravir," said Bhavesh Shah, Director-Hetero Drugs Limited.

Laurus and Lupin added to their portfolio of MPP-licensed drugs with agreements to produce daclatasvir and paediatric raltegravir, respectively. "Laurus has been working with the MPP for more than four years on HIV and we are happy to support efforts to successfully treat hepatitis C with this promising medicine," stated Raju Kalidindi Executive Director. "Lupin welcomes its fourth sub-licence with the MPP and to collaborating with the organisation on development plans for raltegravir," said Naresh Gupta, President -API Plus.

The Zydus group, based in Ahmedabad, India and a specialist in developing hepatitis B and C products has now joined MPP's growing network of generic suppliers with a sub-licence for daclatasvir as well. "We are happy to work together with the MPP and BMS to improve health outcomes by providing access to new and affordable therapies to developing countries," said Pankaj R. Patel, Chairman and Managing Director of the Zydus group.

The MPP's 13 generic manufacturing partners are currently working on more than 60 projects to develop crucial treatments for both children and adults in developing world settings.

About the Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to HIV, viral hepatitis C and tuberculosis treatments in low- and middle-income countries. Through its innovative business model, the MPP partners with industry, civil society, international organisations, patient groups and other stakeholders to prioritise, forecast and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations. To date, the MPP has signed agreements with six patent holders for twelve HIV antiretrovirals and for one hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral. Its generic partners have distributed more than three billion doses of low-cost medicines to 121 countries. The MPP was founded and remains fully funded by UNITAID.
AMSTERDAM, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Holland's leading corporate service provider for non-resident investors, INCO Business Group, has assisted the first British entrepreneurs in setting up a Dutch Company. Now it announces its first Brexit event in Amsterdam for British entrepreneurs and the opening of a Brexit Desk in London.

"We typically work with SME companies that are concerned about losing 'passporting rights' in the EU, or companies bidding for EU projects," says Dennis Vermeulen of incobusinessgroup.com. "Apart from that, we also talk with non-British investors who are re-considering their decision to establish a company in Britain. They might decide to invest in the Netherlands instead."

BBC2 viewers may be familiar with INCO Business Group since it appeared in the documentary The town that took on the tax man, in which INCO assisted a Welsh group of entrepreneurs to set up their 'Dutch Sandwich'.

More than 150 information requests have been received in the last few weeks, and 10 companies have been established since the Brexit vote. Due to this interest, INCO is hosting a StartUp Expedition July 28-29 in Amsterdam for British entrepreneurs who are planning to setup a mainland EU company as a 'quick fix'.

"We believe that the Brexit will not affect the British trading position within the EU, and it will be business as usual once the dust has settled. We don't feel there will be any long term consequences. Having said that, there is a lot of uncertainty during the transition process, and especially small or medium-sized business owners need to make decisions on how they structure their European activities. The establishment of a European company will resolve most of these concerns."

On nelcome.eu people can register for a one-day event, which includes the opening of the company and a visit to the bank. The website even promotes a Private Flight Service on its Facebook account, for those who decide to incorporate a Dutch company immediately.

"Although Brexit is currently a hot topic, INCO has always promoted the Dutch entrepreneurial climate. We don't believe that major changes will take place, but the Brexit uncertainty requires companies to anticipate. Whereas the UK government is not allowed to negotiate the exit strategy with other Member States, UK businesses are free to establish a (temporary) company in the Netherlands to ensure certain positions," adds Vermeulen, CEO of INCO Business Group. In this sense, UK businesses are able to fast-track the Brexit.

Dennis Vermeulen will travel to London next week to open its first Brexit Desk in London.

"The Brexit Desk is an initiative in cooperation with our London 'Ambassador' and will provide British entrepreneurs with information about the possibilities of setting up a company in the Netherlands, or neighbouring countries like Belgium, Germany and France." The Brexit Desk will be based at 116 Pall Mall in central London.

Have a look at http://www.incobusinessgroup.comor nelcome.eu (the StartUp Expedition)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/INCONL/

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/INCONL/events
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - Austria's wholesales prices continued to decline in June, though at a slower pace than in the previous month, preliminary figures from Statistics Austria showed Thursday. Wholesale prices fell 3.4 percent year-over-year in June, following a 4.1 percent decrease in May. The measure has been falling since June 2013. Prices of old material and scraps plunged the most by 26.6 percent annually in May, followed by other petroleum products with 16.9 percent slump. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose 0.6 percent in May, after a 1.4 percent increase in the prior month. It was the fourth month of hike in a row. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SHANGHAI, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Almost all contemporary devices require a circuit board in order to incorporate one or more chips, plus the additionally required electrical components. This creates a network that fulfills a range of tasks, from supplying of electricity, circuitry, through to the output of signals.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160627/383497 )

But with contemporary electronic products, the circuitry often has to compete for the limited space within the housing. When conventionally stacked, printed circuit boards (PCB) can no longer accommodate all of the necessary components, so that three-dimensional circuit carriers become the solution of choice. Here again, the ever-shorter life cycles of many devices pose additional challenges: injection molding is far too expensive to manufacture prototypes.

Harnessing Additive Manufacturing technology

For this reason, The German firm of Beta LAYOUT GmbH successfully harnessed EOS technology to manufacture and test the prototypes for three-dimensional circuit carriers: The company uses plastic parts manufactured by 3D printing. The innovation takes place after the printing process itself; once they've been made, the models are coated with a special finish that is furnished with an additive. The subsequent so-called 'laser direct structuring' (LDS) generates layouts, which can be turned into conductor tracks by activating the finish.

"We offer manufacturing of 3D-MID (mechatronic integrated devices) as prototypes for diverse companies," explains Manuel Martin, Product Manager 3D-MID at Beta LAYOUT GmbH. "Working with EOS' FORMIGA P 110, we are in a position to deliver high-quality products to our customers fast. What's particularly practical in all this is that we are even able to deal with orders of 3D models via websites and online shops. Additive manufacturing has enabled us to successfully expand our business model."

Technical changes lead to high level of cost efficiency

Whether for individual developers or large established companies, additive manufacturing ensures that custom-made circuit carriers can be used for the prototypes of new electronic devices. The plastic components can be produced quickly and at an attractive price. The process simultaneously offers the necessary level of precision and high component-quality, allowing the required basic body to be manufactured as if it were already a close-to series product - an aspect that should not be underestimated, particularly with test runs.

The complete customer case study you can find online on the EOS website.

For further information please contact Stephanie Cheong, Marketing Manager EOS Singapore Pte. Ltd. (phone +65 6430 0541, e-Mail: Stephanie.cheong@eos.info).
OXFORD, England, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Oxitec is delighted to have been named Social Impact Investment of the Year at the UK Business Angels Association (UKBAA) Angel Investment Awards 2016. The award recognises companies that aim to achieve significant social impact as a core part of their business model and acknowledges the key role of the investors who support them. Through its innovative biological approach to suppress harmful mosquitoes that spread disease and insect pests that damage crops, Oxitec is tackling enormous burdens placed on society in an environmentally-responsible manner.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150630/227348 )



Hadyn Parry, Chief Executive Officer of Oxitec, said, "It is an honour to have received this award from the UK Business Angels Association. Oxitec has benefitted greatly from investor support since our spinout from the University of Oxford in 2002. This backing has been instrumental in allowing us to develop new, environmentally-friendly methods of controlling insect pests that destroy crops and spread disease. I hope that the UKBAA awards encourage further investment in UK entrepreneurs."

Oxitec was nominated for the award by Oxford Capital, its key long-term investor from the company's spinout in 2002 until its acquisition by Intrexon Corporation in 2015.

For more details on the awards, visit: http://ukbaa-awards.uk/

About Oxitec

Oxitec is a pioneer in using genetic engineering to control insect pests that spread disease and damage crops, and was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Oxford University (UK). Oxitec is a subsidiary of Intrexon Corporation (NYSE: XON), which engineers biology to help solve some of the world's biggest problems. Follow us on Twitter at @Oxitec.

Oxitec Contact:

Matthew Warren

Press Officer

Tel: +44(0)1235-832-393

info@oxitec.com
TEL AVIV, Israel, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

CoolaData adds Salesforce Ventures and TEEC Angel Fund as investors

CoolaData, the pioneer in behavioral analytics, bringing a new approach to business intelligence, today announced that it has raised a total of $5.4M from Salesforce Ventures, TEEC Angel Fund and the existing investors in CoolaData's Series A, 83North and Carmel Ventures.

The funding will be used to accelerate CoolaData's worldwide growth and extend its reach into IoT and enterprise applications.

CoolaData is a cloud-based behavioral analytics platform offering companies a deep understanding of user behavior across all channels, and providing quick answers to complex business questions. As proven by dozens of CoolaData customers, its time-series analysis of user behavior enables product, marketing and business teams to discover vital information such as user acquisition, churn prediction, retention drivers and customer life-time value optimization, making companies more successful.

CoolaData's behavioral analytics complements Salesforce Wave Analytics, which empowers any business user-from sales reps to service agents to marketing managers-to get smarter about their customers with real-time, actionable insights on any device. This is particularly relevant given the increasing importance of providing more granular and personalized analytics in real-time on big data sets.

"This new funding will fuel CoolaData's growth, and our ability to reach online businesses, providing deep understanding of user behavior," says Tomer Benmoshe, CEO of CoolaData. "Our goal is to enable the product and marketing teams of our customers to obtain instant answers on a vast amount of behavioral data."

About CoolaData

Serving customers in Europe and the US from offices in Tel Aviv, London and New York, CoolaData is a pioneer in Behavioral Analytics solutions for online businesses. Its cloud-based behavioral analytics solution includes all infrastructure components for data tracking, warehousing, ETL and data enrichment through to advanced visualization. The platform empowers data-driven businesses to understand and quantify user behaviors and derive actionable insights for business growth. Visit http://www.cooladata.com to learn more.

About 83North

83North, formerly Greylock IL, is a global venture capital firm with more than $550 million under management. The fund invests in exceptional European and Israeli entrepreneurs, across all stages of consumer and enterprise companies. For more information, visit http://www.83north.com.

About Carmel Ventures

With over $800 million currently under management, several successful exits, and a growing portfolio of promising technology focused companies, Carmel Ventures is among Israel's top-tier venture capital funds. Carmel Ventures is a member of the Viola Group, Israel's premier technology-focused PE group with over $2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit http://www.carmelventures.com.

About Salesforce Ventures

Salesforce Ventures-Salesforce's corporate investment group-invests in the next generation of enterprise technology to help companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce's innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce has invested in more than 150 enterprise cloud startups since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.salesforce.com/ventures.

About TEEC-Angel Fund

TEEC-Angel Fund stands at the forefront of connecting the U.S. and China. TEEC is a Silicon Valley-based super angel fund led by a team of veteran entrepreneurs and executives with deep investment experience. Within the TEEC ecosystem of a hundred portfolio CEOs, Tsinghua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC) networks, elite accelerators, and top-notch universities, TEEC-Angel Fund supports tomorrow's star companies. For more information, visit http://www.teec-angel.com.

Contact:

Shirley Frid

Director of Marketing, CoolaData

shirley@cooladata.com

M +972-54-7930633


Seasoned IT Security Expert & Former Gartner Analyst Joins Leadership Team to Guide Long-Term Strategic Planning, Product Positioning, Public Affairs and Industry Partnerships

ATLANTA and LONDON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Blancco Technology Group (LON: BLTG) today announced it has appointed renowned IT security veteran and former Gartner analyst Richard Stiennon as Chief Strategy Officer, effective July 1, 2016. In this newly created role, Stiennon is responsible for leading the company's overall corporate strategy, including long-term strategic planning, product positioning, public affairs, analyst relations, joint ventures and industry partnerships. He reports directly into CEO, Pat Clawson.

"Richard is a powerhouse of security information, knowledge and expertise," said Pat Clawson, CEO, Blancco Technology Group. "As a seasoned IT security expert and former Gartner research analyst, he has this distinctive ability to unravel the 'how' and 'why' behind various types of security threats and the impact they can have on businesses. That is exactly the type of foresight and leadership we need to move Blancco Technology Group forward into the next year to deliver strategic guidance, educational resources and long-term value to the businesses we serve. With Richard guiding our strategy, I envision further innovation, resulting in strong growth for our business."

Most recently, Stiennon served as Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest, where he researched and reported on over 1,400 IT security vendors. Many in the industry recognize him from his days as Vice President of Research at Gartner Inc. from 2000 to 2004, where his forward-thinking insights and questioning of the corporate status quo earned him Gartner's Thought Leadership Award in 2003. His analysis of data security trends also led to an impressive profile in Network World's list of "The 50 Most Powerful People in Networking."

Touted as one of the most prolific and trusted security intellectuals in the world, Richard has also written three thought-provoking books on the alarming state of cyber war and its impact on businesses: Surviving Cyberwar, UP and to the RIGHT: Strategy and Tactics of Analyst Influence and There Will Be Cyberwar: How the Move to Network-Centric Warfighting Set the Stage for Cyberwar. His most recent book, There Will Be Cyberwar, provides a glaring look into the vulnerabilities in the Internet of Military Things and became a Washington Post bestseller in April 2016.

"Over the course of my career, I've learned that there is no single 'scary' threat to data security," said Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer, Blancco Technology Group. "But because many organizations don't fully understand how to properly manage their data and devices across the entire lifecycle, specifically data removal, it's quite common for businesses to relegate data removal lower on their list of overall IT security priorities. But as recent data breaches have shown, this lack of knowledge and prioritization is often the culprit behind a potential security risk becoming a serious data breach. Seeing Blancco Technology Group's unique technology as a critical tool in solving this problem, I felt compelled to join the company in its mission to increase awareness and education about this important, but overlooked security issue."

Over the course of his career, he has never shied away from voicing his opinions on data security and privacy, challenging the corporate status quo and fostering productive dialogues to improve how companies approach and improve data security. He has since become one of the most sought-after speakers at over 28 conferences across three continents, including RSA, CeBIT, AusCERT and National Fintech Cybersecurity Summit. In addition to writing his monthly 'Cyber Domain' column for Forbes, he is frequently quoted in major news publications, including The Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Dark Reading, GigaOm, Re/Code, TechCrunch, and ZDNet.

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco Technology Group is a leading global provider of mobile device diagnostics and secure data erasure solutions. We help our clients' customers test, diagnose, repair and repurpose IT devices with the most proven and certified software. Our clientele consists of equipment manufacturers, mobile network operators, retailers, financial institutions, healthcare providers and government organizations worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, United States, with a distributed workforce and customer base across the globe.

Blancco, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is the global de facto standard in certified data erasure. We provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail.

SmartChk, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is a global innovator in mobile asset diagnostics and business intelligence. We partner with our customers to improve their customers' experience by providing seamless solutions to test, diagnose and repair mobile assets. SmartChk provides world-class support, pre and post implementation, allowing our customers to derive measurable business results.

Media Contacts:

SHIFT Communications for Blancco Technology Group (US)

David Heffernan, Account Manager

T: (617) 779-1839

E: blancco@shiftcomm.com

SAY Communications for Blancco Technology Group (Europe)

Robert Hickling, Senior Account Manager

T: 44 (0) 20 8971 6427

E: blancco@saycomms.co.uk

Blancco Technology Group

Ragini Bhalla, Senior Director of Global Communications

T: (678) 829-8465

E: ragini.bhalla@blanccotechgroup.com
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Frankfurt am Main (ots) - On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW has signed a grant contract worth EUR 6 million with the Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). It covers the first phase of development of the Pakistani glacier monitoring system beneath the glaciers in the Karakorum region. The existing measuring systems are outdated and insufficient for the timely prediction of critical water levels and the associated protection of people living on the banks of the Indus against heavy flooding. Therefore, financing will be provided for the development of additional measuring stations, as well as the expansion of the observation centre in Lahore which can provide optimised data using more precise measuring methods.



"Many glaciers in the Himalayan region are changing as a result of climate change and are producing more melt water. If the changes and the concurrent effects on the Indus River can be better understood, improved planning of water management together with an optimised early warning system against extreme weather events will be possible and thus substantial improvement of living conditions of the Pakistani population in the region," said Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group.



Further information on KfW Development Bank is available at: www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de.



Originaltext: KfW digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/41193 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_41193.rss2



Contact: KfW, Palmengartenstr. 5 - 9, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany Communication Department (KOM), Dr. Charis Pothig, Phone. +49 (0)69 7431 4400, Fax: +49 (0)69 7431 3266, E-Mail: presse@kfw.de, Internet: www.kfw.de

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de




Download and apply Offline Domain Join (ODJ) files to remote workstations

KENDALL PARK, New Jersey, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Binary Tree today announced version 10.0 of its SMART Active Directory Migrator. Designed for enterprises of any size, this tool reduces the cost and effort to migrate, restructure or consolidate your Active Directory (AD) environment. Version 10.0 is available immediately.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160104/318869LOGO

Benefits of Version 10.0

Prompt users on remote computers to pre-login to the new domain before the actual workstation cutover event. This action caches target credentials on the local machine in preparation for an offline domain join operation.

Join remote computers that do not have connectivity to the corporate office to new domains through Microsoft's Offline Domain Join (ODJ) process. This feature allows users to login to workstations by eliminating the traditional requirement to contact a domain controller for authentication first. When used in tandem with the process to cache target credentials, minimal disruption is achieved for the remote workforce thus resulting in the ultimate end user experience.

According to Vadim Gringolts, CTO at Binary Tree, "With version 10.0, we've given enterprises with diversified workforces even more flexibility to deploy the software however they need. The goal is for users to keep working during the migration - without even noticing that you're doing a migration."

About SMART Active Directory Migrator

Binary Tree's SMART Active Directory Migrator allows you to automate and manage a migration of your AD environment - while ensuring that users have seamless access to resources in both the old and new domains. Whether your organization needs to merge, consolidate or restructure your AD environment, this tool can help you shorten the timeline for your project and reduce human error by automating complex tasks. It's simple to deploy and customize for any migration scenario and provides an intuitive UI to manage the entire migration.

About Binary Tree

Binary Tree provides organizations with the most direct and predictable path to a successful technology transformation. We offer software and services to integrate and migrate corporate email, directory and server environments. Our technology, methodology and expertise is uniquely suited to provide fast and manageable migrations, with low risk, little to no user downtime, and adapted to each customer's environment and requirements. Since 1993, Binary Tree has enabled thousands of enterprise customers to migrate more than 35 million users, including 5 million users to Office 365 alone, and facilitated some of the most complex technology transformations on the planet. Binary Tree is a Microsoft Gold Partner and a globally preferred vendor for Microsoft Office 365 migrations and solutions. The Company is headquartered outside of New York City with offices in Hong Kong, London, Paris, Stockholm and Sydney. For more information, visit us at www.binarytree.com.

Binary Tree Social Media Resources

LinkedIn: Binary Tree Inc.

Facebook: Binary Tree

Twitter: @BinaryTreeInc

Blog: www.binarytree.com/blog

Binary Tree Media Contact

AmyKelly Petruzzella, Global Marketing Director

Tel. (215)278-9628

Amykelly.Petruzzella@BinaryTree.com
SUGAR LAND, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) is pleased to be presenting a complimentary online webinar focusing in the North American Food & Beverage Industry. The webinar will be held July 12, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. CDT (10:00 a.m. EDT).

Join Industrial Info's industry experts as they discuss what is currently driving movement in the Food & Beverage Industry and what to expect in the future. Our experts will seek to answer several questions, including:

What industry segments are expected to have the most growth in the future?

What is the outlook for the beverage segment (beer, water, spirits and soft drinks)?

What are some of the key factors in the industry leading to growth and contractions?

The webinar is entirely complimentary, and participants will receive a link for "on demand" viewing after the event. Make sure to RSVP today!

Browse other industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.com.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the www.industrialinfo.com "Contact Us" page.

Contact:

Brian Ford

(713) 980-9393




PUNE, India, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

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The major drivers identified for the global Coating Pretreatment Market are rising demand for powder coatings, high growth in end-use industries, and increasing demand from developing countries. The demand from the construction application is driven by growing urbanization in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa, which resulted into increased demand for residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructure.

Chromate free coating pretreatment growing at the highest rate

Stringent government regulations in the U.S. and Europe, especially to reduce air pollution, will trigger the need for adopting new, low-pollution coating technologies. The chromate free pretreatment coatings are now used as a substitute of chromate-based pretreatment due to its environmental friendly nature. It also adheres to the regulations of REACH and other institutions. It is the fastest-growing market among all types of coating pretreatment in Europe and North America. It is used for the pre-treatment of aluminum and light alloys.

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Asia-Pacific is the largest market for coating pretreatment

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for coating pretreatment, both in terms of volume and value, followed by Europe and North America. Countries such as the U.S., China, and Germany are the major markets of coating pretreatment. Due to the increasing demand on domestic front, rising income levels, and easy access to resources, Asia-Pacific has emerged as the leading market of coating pretreatment. South America, especially Brazil, has also emerged as a key market for coating pretreatment manufacturers. Not only is the demand for coating pretreatment expected to be strong in Brazil, but its proximity to the U.S. makes it an emerging market for setting up production facilities.

Key players in the coating pretreatment market

The key players in the coating pretreatment market are Chemetall GmbH (Germany), PPG Industries (U.S.), Henkel AG & Co., KGaA (Germany), Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Nippon Paint Company Limited (Japan), Axalta Coating Systems LLC (U.S.), AkzoNobel N.V. (Netherlands), The Sherwin Williams Company (U.S.), The Valspar Corporation (U.S.), and Kansai Paint Co., Ltd.(Japan).

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Coil Coatings Market by Type (Polyester, Fluropolymer, Siliconized Polyester, Plastisol, and Others), by Application (Steel & Aluminum), and by End User Industry (Building & Construction, Appliances, Automotive, and Others) - Global Forecast to 2019

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VANCOUVER, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. (TSX: PGD) ("Peregrine" or "the Company") is very pleased to announce the positive findings of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Chidliak Phase One Diamond Development ("CP1D") of the CH-6 and CH-7 kimberlite pipes on the Company's 100%-owned, Chidliak Diamond Project on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The PEA highlights that the CP1D represents a robust, high margin, ten-year, open-pit mining project with very attractive economics. Peregrine owns 100% of the 564,396 hectare Chidliak Project, where 74 kimberlites have been discovered to date, with eight currently being identified as potentially economic. The Company also owns all of the diamond marketing and sales rights and there are no non-government royalties or other encumbrances on diamond production.

The CP1D envisages an open-pit diamond mine with a mining life of approximately ten years, producing initially from an open pit at the CH-6 kimberlite pipe with production from an open pit at the CH-7 kimberlite pipe to follow. The PEA utilizes the Chidliak resource estimate prepared by Mineral Services Canada Inc. with an effective date of June 3, 2016, that includes the 11.39 million carat Inferred Resource to a depth of 260 metres at CH-6 that was announced in an April 7, 2016 news release, plus the maiden 4.23 million carat Inferred Resource at CH-7 to a depth of 240 metres that was announced in a May 5, 2016 news release. The resources at both CH-6 and CH-7 remain open at depth and represent significant expansion opportunities which have not been included in the current economic study.

The PEA was prepared by JDS Energy & Mining Inc. ("JDS"), independent consulting engineers based in Vancouver, Canada. The JDS team has a long history of northern Canadian and diamond project experience, including the current construction of the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Highlights of the 2016 Chidliak Phase One Diamond Development PEA base case are:

-- Pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of C$ 743.7 million, at a 7.5% discount rate and a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 38.1%. -- After-tax NPV of C$ 471.2 million, at a 7.5% discount rate and an after- tax IRR of 29.8%. -- Total Life of Mine (LOM) pre-tax Free Cash Flow of C$ 1.31 billion. -- Pre-tax average annual Free Cash Flow of C$ 131 million per annum. -- After-tax payback period of two years, LOM of ten years. -- Operating margin of 72%. -- LOM average production rate of 1.2 million carats per annum, peaking at 1.8 million carats per year. -- LOM average mining head grade of 1.67 carats per tonne. -- Estimated pre-production capital requirement of approximately C$ 434.9 million, including C$ 56.7 million in contingency. -- Pre-production capital includes the construction of a 160 kilometre, all-weather road to connect to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.

The Chidliak 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

Eric Friedland, Peregrine's founder and Executive Chairman, commented: "We are very pleased with the results of this Preliminary Economic Assessment, which clearly establishes Chidliak as one of the premier undeveloped diamond resources, located in one of the world's safest, and most supportive jurisdictions for responsible mining development. With the support of all our stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, local entrepreneurs, Nunavummiut, and the Nunavut and Federal governments, we are looking forward to advancing this outstanding diamond project to the next stage of development."

Tom Peregoodoff, Peregrine's President and Chief Executive Officer, added: "The PEA marks another significant milestone for Peregrine as we continue to advance Chidliak towards a production decision. The base case shows that a Phase One Diamond Development at Chidliak could generate more than C$ 1.3 billion in pre-tax net cash flows, deliver life-of-mine, after-tax net present value of C$ 471 million, and has a capital payback period of only two years. This economic study illustrates robust economics for the Phase One development at Chidliak, which compares very favourably with other mineral development projects currently under review or construction in Nunavut. As we develop Chidliak further, we expect to identify further upside to the economics of the project through optimization studies of the Phase One mine, including the expansion of the CH-6 resource to depth and through the development of a potential, Phase Two resource expansion from the numerous other kimberlites on the property of which six currently show economic potential."

Phase One Diamond Development Inferred Resource

Summary resource data for CH-6 and CH-7 are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 Phase One Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate(i)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Grade Carats Domain (millions) (carats per tonne) (millions) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CH-6 KIM-L.NG 3.88 2.12 8.24 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CH-6 KIM-L.HG 0.76 4.16 3.15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CH-6(ii) Total 4.64 2.45 11.39 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CH-7(iii) Total 4.99 0.85 4.23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phase 1 Inferred Resource Total 9.63 1.67(iv) 15.62 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i) Stated at 1.18 mm square-mesh sieve bottom cut-off. (ii) The CH-6 Inferred Resource extends from surface to an elevation of 420 metres above sea level, or approximately 260 metres depth below surface and is open to depth. (iii)The CH-7 Inferred Resource extends from surface to an elevation of 450 metres above sea level, or approximately 240 meters depth below surface and is open to depth. (iv)Represents the Life of Mine average mining head grade. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Economic Analysis

Inputs and assumptions used in the study are shown in Table 2. In addition to the parameters shown in Table 2, the following was incorporated into the economic analysis.

-- Diamond prices for both CH-6 and CH-7 used in the study were based on March, 2016 pricing received from WWW International Diamond Consultants and escalated annually from 2016 at a rate of 2.5%. -- Commercial production achieved in 2021 using a three year construction schedule. -- Owner - operated. -- Peregrine's eligible Canadian Exploration Expense and Canadian Development Expense tax pools were utilized in the post-tax calculations. -- The analysis does not include financing costs or management fees.

Table 2. Inputs - Economic Analysis

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assumptions & Inputs Unit Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Base CH-6 Diamond Valuation(i) US$/carat 149 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Base CH-7 Diamond Valuation(i) US$/carat 114 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Price Escalation (from 2016) % per annum 2.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreign Exchange Rate US$:C$ 0.78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discount Rate % 7.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Days/Year days/year 365 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Royalties % 0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diamond Recovery % 98 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selling Cost % of price 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selling Cost US$/carat 6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(i)Base diamond valuations provided by WWW International Diamond Consultants using the March, 2016 price book and were escalated annually from 2016 at a rate of 2.5%

Base case, pre-tax and post-tax financial outcomes are summarized in Table 3. The results are presented for the all weather road option. (see Infrastructure Trade-Off Study below)

Table 3. Base-case Financial Outcomes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Parameter Unit Value ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Life of Mine (LOM) Years 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Mill Throughput tonnes/day 2,000 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Tax NPV / IRR C$millions (M) / % 743.7 / 38.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-Tax NPV / IRR C$M / % 471.2 / 29.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net Revenue (after royalties) C$M 2,462 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Pre-Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 1310.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Pre-Tax Free Cash Flow C$M 131.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total After-Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 887.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual After Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 88.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grade carats / tonne 1.67 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Average Production carats / year 1.2 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Recovered Carats carats 11.6 million ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- US$ / carat: C$ / LOM CH-6 Average Price carat 178: 228 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- US$ / carat: C$ / LOM CH-7 Average Price carat 153: 196 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Initial Capital Expenditure (CapEx) C$M 434.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sustaining Capital Expenditure C$M 48.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Operating Expenditure (OpEx) C$/tonne 94.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOM Operating Expenditure C$/ct 57.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total LOM Operating Expenditure C$ M 668 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Margin % 73 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analyses to key inputs are shown in Tables 4 through to Table 6.

Table 4. Sensitivity Analysis - Diamond Price Escalation

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Annual Diamond Price Pre-Tax Payback Escalation Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) Pre-Tax IRR (Yrs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 % $466 29.7% 2.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.5% $517.8 31.4% 2.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.0% $571.2 33.1% 1.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.0% $684.1 36.4% 1.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.5% (Base Case) $743.7 38.1% 1.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.0% $805.5 39.7% 1.7 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 5. Sensitivity Analysis - US$/C$ Exchange Rate

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Tax Payback Exchange Rate US$:C$ Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) Pre-Tax IRR (Yrs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.65 $1,063 47.3% 1.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.70 $926.4 43.5% 1.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.75 $807.6 40.0% 1.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.78 (Base Case) $743.7 38.1% 1.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.85 $612.1 33.8% 2.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.00 $392.1 26.0% 2.4 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 6. Sensitivity Analysis - Discount Rate

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discount Rate Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) After-Tax NPV (C$M) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0% $1,310.7 $887.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5% $898.2 $584.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7.5% (Base Case) $743.7 $471.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10% $614.7 $377.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12% $526.7 $313.5 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Peregoodoff added: "We were intentionally very careful in our selection of base case input parameters. The positive base case economics are based on conservative, industry standard assumptions for all key inputs. We wanted to account for all reasonable, potential and future outcomes. To that end, the sensitivity analysis demonstrates very robust project economics. For example, if the Canadian dollar were to reach par with the US dollar, or if no annual diamond price escalation were to occur, the project still has pre-tax Internal Rates of Return of 26% and 29.7% respectively."

Infrastructure Trade-off Study

As part of the PEA, JDS completed a rigorous cost-benefit and risk analysis of constructing an all-weather road (AWR) to connect the Chidliak Project to Iqaluit on a year-round basis, compared to using an enhanced-winter road (EWR), which would generally be open for approximately six weeks during late winter. As Table 7 illustrates, the economic trade-offs of the two options are minimal. While the pre-production capital for the AWR is somewhat higher, the NPV is higher for an AWR as the annual transportation and operating costs are significantly reduced. In addition, the AWR option eliminates the risks associated with loss of capacity on the EWR as a result of weather-related shut downs and eliminates the inherent cost implications of using aircraft to support the enhanced winter road.

Table 7. Economic Comparison - AWR / EWR trade-off study

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enhanced Pre-Tax All-Weather Winter Variance Unit Road Road (EWR: AWR) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Tax ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NPV (@7.5%) C$M $743.7 $710.9 -$32.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRR % 38.1% 39.4% 1.4% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payback Years 1.8 1.7 0.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After-Tax ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NPV (@7.5%) C$M $471.2 $451.3 -$19.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRR % 29.8% 30.9% 1.0% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payback Years 2.0 1.9 0.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capital and Operating Costs

Rigorous capital and operating cost estimates were prepared on a site-specific, owner operated scenario and use JDS's extensive experience working on Arctic projects. All costs incorporated factors specific to northern Canadian and Baffin Island locations. The LOM capital costs, including contingency of C$ 56.7 million, is C$ 483.6 million and is detailed in Table 8.

Table 8. Capital Costs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Capital Costs Sustaining or Pre-Production Closure (C$M) (C$M) Total (C$M) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Stripping 3.2 0.0 3.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mining Equipment 28.4 13.2 41.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mining Infrastructure/Ancillary 21.0 0.4 21.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Development and Roadworks 107.3 0.0 107.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Process Facilities 65.0 17.6 82.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Utilities 25.9 0.0 25.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ancillary Facilities 27.2 0.0 27.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Indirect Costs 51.7 0.0 51.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- EPCM 27.3 0.0 27.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Owners Costs 21.1 0.0 21.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Closure Costs 0.0 12.9 12.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subtotal Capital Costs 378.2 44.0 422.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contingency 15% 56.7 4.7 61.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Capital Costs 434.9 48.7 483.6 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The average LOM operating expense is estimated at C$ 94 per tonne processed, or C$ 58 per carat recovered. Operating cost breakdown is shown in Table 9 below.

Table 9. Operating Costs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Operating Cost $/t Processed $/carat LOM (C$M) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mining 34.74 21.24 245.8 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Processing 17.16 10.49 121.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freight 14.74 9.01 104.3 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Services 9.65 5.90 68.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- General and Administrative 18.11 11.07 128.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Operating Expenses 94.40 57.71 667.8 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(i)Average LOM mining cost is based on a LOM strip ratio of 7.2:1.

Cautionary Statement

Readers are cautioned that the Chidliak 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realised. There is no certainty that the Inferred Resources will be converted to the Indicated or Measured categories, or that the potential Indicated or Measured Resources would be converted to the Proven or Probable Mineral Reserve categories. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The estimates of Mineral Resources in the PEA and the Mineral Resource statement may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The Chidliak 2016 PEA recommends that the Chidliak Project be advanced to a pre-feasibility study level in order to increase confidence in the estimates.

Peregrine will be filing a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report on the Chidliak 2016 PEA within 45 days of this news release.

Peregrine to host conference call for investors and analysts on July 12, 2016 to discuss details of the PEA

The company will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the PEA results on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 08:00AM Pacific Time (11:00AM Eastern Time). The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-866-393-4306 or 1-617-826-1698 in Canada and the United States. Callers outside of North America may refer to https://www.confsolutions.ca/ILT?oss=1P29R8662237781 for their country-specific toll-free dial-in number.

The conference call also will be webcast live over the internet and can be accessed at the following link: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/ezbiued4. To listen to the live webcast, visit the weblink at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The conference call and webcast will be archived for later playback until December 5, 2016 at the above link.

Qualified Persons

The Chidliak 2016 PEA was prepared by JDS and is based on a Mineral Resource estimate for the Chidliak Project published as a NI 43-101 Technical Report with an effective date of June 3, 2016. JDS has a long and successful track record of delivering high-quality technical engineering and economic studies for a wide range of mineral resource companies, both in Canada and internationally. JDS is a specialized, private mineral engineering, consulting and construction company focused on adding value to mineral projects with fit-for-purpose designs and exceptional execution. The JDS team has a long history of northern Canadian and diamond experience including the current construction of the Gahcho Kue diamond mine and the Silvertip silver and base-metals mine.

The following Qualified Persons have participated in the development of the PEA, or are responsible for specific inputs into the PEA.

Table 10. Qualified Persons

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Qualified Person Company Responsibility ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gord Doerksen, P.Eng JDS Energy & Mining Inc. Project Management, Economic Analysis, Costs, Infrastructure, Logistics ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dino Pilotto, P.Eng JDS Energy & Mining Inc. Mine Plan, Production Schedule, Mine Costs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jennifer Pell, Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Diamond Valuations Ph.D.,P.Geo ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Qualified Persons named above have reviewed the scientific and technical information contained in this news release and have approved of its contents.

ABOUT THE CHIDLIAK PROJECT

Peregrine's 100 percent-owned, 564,396 hectare Chidliak Project is located 120 kilometres from Iqaluit. A total of 74 kimberlites have been discovered to date on the project, with eight being identified as potentially economic. An Inferred Mineral Resource of 11.39 million carats in 4.64 million tonnes of kimberlite at an average grade of 2.45 carats per tonne has been defined for a portion of the CH-6 kimberlite. In addition, a Target for Further Exploration ("TFFE") of 2.34 to 3.75 million tonnes of kimberlite to a depth of 380 metres below surface has been identified at CH-6. An independent diamond valuation by WWW International Diamond Consultants, of a 1,013 carat parcel of diamonds from CH-6 returned an average market price of US$213 per carat and modeled prices that range from a minimum of US$162 per carat to a high of US$236 per carat, with a base model price of US$188 per carat (all using the February 24, 2014 price book). An Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.23 million carats in 4.99 million tonnes of kimberlite at an average grade of 0.85 carats per tonne has been defined for a portion of the CH-7 kimberlite. In addition, TFFE of 0.90 to 2.36 million tonnes for a depth range of 240-320 metres below surface has been estimated for the CH-7 kimberlite. An independent diamond valuation by WWW International Diamond Consultants, of a 735.75 carat parcel of diamonds from CH-7 returned an average market price of US$100 per carat and modelled prices that ranged from a minimum of US$94 per carat to a high of US$155 per carat, with a base model price of US$114 per carat (all using the February 1, 2016 price book). A TFFE of 1.27 to 3.19 million tonnes from surface to 250 metres depth has been estimated for the CH-44 kimberlite pipe.

The TFFE's identified above are conceptual in nature and are not Mineral Resources. It is uncertain whether further exploration will result in any of these tonnages being delineated as Mineral Resources.

For information on data verification, exploration information and resource estimation procedures see the NI 43-101 technical reports entitled "Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chidliak Project, Baffin Island, Nunavut" and dated effective June 3, 2016 which is available on SEDAR and the company's website.

ABOUT PEREGRINE DIAMONDS

Peregrine is a TSX-listed diamond exploration and development company with projects in northern Canada and Botswana.

In addition to the Chidliak Project, Peregrine holds eleven diamond prospecting licences in Botswana that cover 661,330 hectares. Peregrine also controls the 8,493-hectare Lac de Gras Project in the Northwest Territories, approximately 27 kilometres from the Diavik Diamond Mine. The nine hectare, 72.1%-owned DO-27 kimberlite, located at Lac de Gras, hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 18.2 million carats of diamonds in 19.5 million tonnes of kimberlite, at a grade of 0.94 carats per tonne. It is open at depth.

For information on data verification, exploration information and resource estimation procedures see the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Lac de Gras Project Northwest Territories, Canada NI 43-101 Technical Report" dated July 15, 2014, which is available on SEDAR and the company's website.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, statements relating to the PEA and its realization, estimates of Chidliak Phase One Diamond Project economics, proposed exploration and development programs, funding availability, anticipated exploration results, grade of diamonds and tonnage of material, resource estimates, diamond valuation estimates and future exploration and operating plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.

Forward-looking statements are made based upon certain assumptions by the Company and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including assumptions regarding the economics of the PEA, the price of diamonds, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: receipt of regulatory approvals; availability of funding;anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process; market prices for rough diamonds and the potential impact on the Chidliak Project; and future exploration plans and objectives.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to achieve the PEA, availability and cost of funds, timing and content of work programs, results of exploration activities, interpretation of drilling results and other geological data, risks relating to variations in the diamond grade and kimberlite lithologies; variations in rates of recovery and breakage; estimates of grade and quality of diamonds, variations in diamond valuations and future diamond prices; the state of world diamond markets, reliability of mineral property titles, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required project approvals, operational and infrastructure risk and other risks involved in the diamond exploration and development business. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty.

Contacts:

Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.

Eric Friedland

Executive Chairman

604-408-8880



Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.

Tom Peregoodoff

President and CEO

604-408-8880



Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.

Dr. Herman Grutter

Vice President, Technical Services

604-408-8880



Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.

Investor Relations

604-408-8880

investorrelations@pdiam.com

www.pdiam.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Valsoft, a company specialized in the acquisition and development of vertical market software companies, is pleased to announce the acquisition of the assets of InnQuest Software Corporation, an established leader in the hotel management software industry.

InnQuest's popular hotel management software, roomMaster, is used in over 100 countries and by over 5,500 clients worldwide. The software was developed by hoteliers for hoteliers and has been widely praised for its intuitive performance and ease of use. roomMaster provides every software management product a hotel needs in one simple turnkey solution, including a booking engine with a channel manager linked to Expedia and Booking.com. InnQuest's office is located in Tampa, Florida, with international offices in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom with resellers in the Caribbean, Fiji, New Zealand, Cambodia, Malaysia and South Africa.

InnQuest was founded in 1995 by its President, Mr. Robert Paresi, and Vice President, Mr. Tyler White. From the beginning, they established customer delight as a cornerstone of its business and has, as a result, built an invaluable reputation among its clients.

"We have analyzed many companies in our business careers and rarely have we seen one that operates at InnQuest's level of efficiency," remarked Ouissam Youssef, Valsoft's CEO. "We intend to manage, grow and invest in roomMaster for decades to come. We are eager to pursue the legacy of service excellence started by Robert Paresi and his team, and to increase InnQuest's customer delight, which is already extremely high."

Paresi will join Valsoft's executive team (as InnQuest Founder) and advise Valsoft on strategy, future acquisitions, and the industry in general as the company continues to gain scale. Chuck Dunaj will be promoted from Director of Sales to President of InnQuest. The entire team will continue working out of the Tampa office.

"InnQuest is Robert Paresi's life painting," stated Stephane Manos, Valsoft's head of M&A. "Its current success and promising future are a consequence of Paresi pouring his heart and work into his creation."

"InnQuest Software, its employees, clients, resellers, and products are very special to me. It was extremely important to pass the torch to the right company," explained Paresi. "We were approached by many investment and hotel companies over the years. However, we quickly learned that Valsoft shared the same core values as InnQuest, which gave us tremendous confidence in the future and in the ability of the expanded team to take roomMaster to the next level. Tyler and I are committed to making this a seamless and very successful transition."

"All of us at Valsoft feel extremely privileged to be entrusted with the growth of InnQuest's roomMaster software. Valsoft will be InnQuest's permanent home and we will invest in it accordingly", concluded Stephane Manos.

Valsoft Corporation was represented internally by David Felicissimo, General Counsel. InnQuest Software Corporation was represented by Frederick K. Koenen of Schinner & Shain, LLP.

"InnQuest" is a registered trademark of InnQuest Software Corporation.

Source: Valsoft Corp.com

Contacts:

Media relations:

Leeja Murphy, Agence Pink

514 213-0045

leeja@agencepink.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE: PSE)(FRANKFURT: PNX) (the "Company" or "Pasinex") has received the next set of assay results from it's 2015 drill campaign at its 50% - owned Pinargozu zinc mine. Assays are now available for a further 22 (PPU15-009 - PPU15-030) underground diamond drill holes completed between May and September 2015. The 22 drill holes averaged 66 metres in length for a total of 1,448 metres. Amongst the results are 2.8 metres grading 37% zinc as drilling extends the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east. The previous set of drill results (released on June 23rd) had extended the mining area towards the north.

Table 1: Summary Highlights of Drill Assay Results

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Core Length Interval Drill Hole # Metres(i) Zn Grade %(ii) Core Recovery % From (metres) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PPU15-019 2.8 37.6 55 24.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PPU15-009 4.0 25.2 57 35.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PPU15-030 1.6 53.8 78 30.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i) True widths have yet to be determined. (ii)Zinc mineral is predominantly Smithsonite (which is zinc carbonate)

Steve Williams, CEO of Pasinex commented "We are very pleased to report that drilling is successfully following the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east of the mine workings. These carbonate replacement systems are connected so we expect to trace this mineralized horizon down and laterally to another thicker and richer part of the system."

A full table of assays from this drilling is available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29lKaun. Maps (Figure 5 & 6) of all drill holes covered in this release are available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29hrOM8 (Figure 5) & http://bit.ly/29r9BhX (Figure 6). Drilling indicates an extension to the east of the main mineralized zone - see Figures 3 & 4 by following these links: http://bit.ly/29oHmPe (Figure 3) & http://bit.ly/29eMsKD (Figure 4). Some 12 of the 22 drill holes (55%) intersected a mineralized horizon ranging in grade and apparent thickness between 56% Zinc over 50 centimetres to 47% zinc over four metres. Another five drill holes intersected significant mineralization varying in apparent thickness between 20 centimetres and two metres with grades between 2.9% and 9.8%Zn. A total of five drill holes did not intersect any significant mineralization. There is a sharp cut-off between high grade mineralization and barren host carbonate rock and thinner lower grade mineralization can abruptly change to thicker higher grade parts of the system. The mineralizing system delineated to date is almost exclusively zinc with local pockets of high grade silver. Lead concentrations in the mineralized zones encountered is generally well below one percent. Drilling was undertaken from drill pads shown in Figure 3. Fan drilling from the underground stations was both lateral and vertical to provide coverage.

Figure 4: Pinargozu Long Section (Looking West) is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1061776_Figure_4.pdf

Pinargozu Zinc Mine

Current mining at 60 tonnes per day is predominantly exploiting non-sulphide high grade zinc carbonate mineralization. The grade of the mined material consistently exceeds the 25% zinc threshold for direct shipping to zinc processing plants. Pinargozu is one of several exploration targets along the Horzum Zinc Trend (HZT). The HZT controls a series of Carbonate-Replacement-Deposit (CRD) type mineral occurrences. The HZT extends north of the old Horzum mine, currently operated by our joint venture partner, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS), for at least 8 kilometres - see link to Figure 2: http://bit.ly/28WVEVN. The HZT is completely under-explored. Pasinex is the first to apply advanced exploration technology and CRD exploration concepts and models to the HZT.

Quality Control and Data Verification

Samples were assayed in the SGS laboratory in Ankara. Zinc, lead and silver, assays were obtained by multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/ICP-AES Package (33 Elements) - Zn (lower detection limit: 1 ppm/upper detection limit: 10,000 ppm) code ICP40B. For high grade zinc multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/AAS Package code AAS43B. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the submission of blanks duplicate samples inserted at regular intervals into the sample train by Pasinex personnel. Duplicate pulp samples are sent to the ALS laboratory in Izmir as an umpire ISO-compliant check to confirm analytical accuracy. Drill-core samples were prepared at a standard non-certified facility at the Horzum Mine. External quality control on sample preparation is assured by reference to regular selection of duplicate coarse reject samples which are now sent to SGS. SGS-Ankara's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001: 2000 and ISO 17025: 1999.

Qualified Person

EurGeol, P.Geo. John Barry, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Barry is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control and data verification and has confirmed all procedures, protocols and methodologies used. Mr. Barry is a director and shareholder of the Company.

About Pasinex

Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE: PSE)(FRANKFURT: PNX) is a metals company which is a 50% owner of the high grade Pinargozu zinc mine which is in production and, under its DSO Program, is shipping directly to zinc smelter / refiners from its mine site in Turkey. The Company has a strong technical management team with many years of experience in mineral exploration and mining project development. The mission of Pasinex is to build a mid-tier zinc company based on building a large land within a productive CRD district in Turkey.

The Pinargozu Mine is included in the 50-50 company, Horzum Arama Isletme AS (Horzum AS), which is a corporate joint venture between Pasinex and Turkish mining house, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS). Akmetal AS is one of Turkey's largest family-owned conglomerates with the nearby past-producing Horzum zinc mine.

Visit our web site at: www.pasinex.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

PASINEX RESOURCES LTD.

"Steve Williams"

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Pasinex Resources Ltd. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, exploration results, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Pasinex Resources Limited

Steve Williams

President/CEO

416.861.9659

info@pasinex.com



Cathy Hume

CHF Investor Relations

416.868.1079 ext. 231

cathy@chfir.com




VANCOUVER, CANADA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Calico Resources Corp (TSX VENTURE: CKB) ("Calico" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful completion of its previously announced business combination with Paramount Gold Nevada Corp ("Paramount"), pursuant to which Paramount has acquired all of the common shares of Calico by way of a court approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"). Under the terms of the Arrangement, holders of Calico Shares are entitled to receive 0.07 of a share of common stock of Paramount in exchange for each Calico Share held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement.

Paul Parisotto, Calico's President and CEO, said: "We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction, which will allow Paramount to unlock the considerable value in the Grassy Mountain project for the benefit of the shareholders of the combined company. On behalf of the board of directors and management of Calico, we thank shareholders of Calico for their support."

With the Arrangement now complete, Paramount intends to cause the common shares of Calico to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange (expected on or about July 7, 2016) and Calico intends to submit an application to the applicable securities regulators to cease to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting obligations.

Further details regarding the Arrangement are set out in the management information circular of Calico dated May 26, 2016, which is available on SEDAR under Calico's issuer profile at www.sedar.com.

About Calico Resources Corp.

Calico is a Canadian company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral property interests. Calico is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Grassy Mountain Gold Project located in Malheur County, Oregon. For more information, please see the website of Calico at www.calicoresources.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the timing and ability to cause the common shares of Calico to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange; the timing and ability to cause Calico to cease to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting obligations; and the ability of Paramount to unlock considerable value in the Grassy Mountain project for the benefit of shareholders of the combined company.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Calico at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Calico to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Calico believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Calico cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, Calico assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.

On behalf of the Board,

Paul A. Parisotto President & CEO

Contacts:

Calico Resources Corp.

604.681.6855

604.684.0279 (FAX)

www.calicoresources.com




WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT: PZG) ("Paramount" or the "Company") announced today that Paramount has completed its acquisition of Calico Resources Corp. ("Calico") pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement dated March 14, 2016 (the "Agreement") after having received the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to the transaction on July 5, 2016. Calico is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Paramount issued 7,171,209 common shares to Calico shareholders as per the exchange ratio whereby Calico stockholders had the right to receive 0.07 of a share of common stock of Paramount for every common share of Calico.

At the special meeting of its stockholders held on June 29, 2016, Paramount stockholders owning approximately 97.8% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Paramount meeting, voted in favor of the arrangement proposal. Calico stockholders owning approximately 97.4% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, voted in favor of Calico's proposal at a special meeting of its stockholders also held on June 29, 2016.

-- Glen Van Treek, Paramount's President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with the overwhelming vote of support from Calico stockholders. The acquisition not only diversifies and improves our asset base but it also strengthens our stockholder composition. The addition of the Grassy Mountain project is a textbook fit to our corporate strategy and the Paramount team is looking forward to continuing its advancement towards a production decision."

Key investment highlights of the Calico acquisition are as follows:

-- Adds a second advanced-stage asset which more than doubles the Company's measured plus indicated contained ounces of precious metals; -- Significantly improves the overall gold grade of the Company's global resources; -- Increases the Company's exploration upside potential; and -- Reduces shareholder risk by diversifying the Company's assets.

The Grassy Mountain Gold Project consists of approximately 9,300 acres with its main deposit located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain gold-silver deposit has a completed Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. Please refer to the amended technical report titled "Amended Preliminary Economic Assessment, Calico Resources Corp. Grassy Mountain Project, Malheur County, Oregon USA" and dated July 9, 2015.

The PEA contemplates a 10 year underground mining operation with low cash operating costs driven by a high average underground gold grade of 5.32 g/T gold. The annual average production of 53,000 ounces of gold and 82,000 of silver yield robust economics assuming a $1,300 gold price and silver at $17.50 per ounce. At a 5% discount rate, the project produces an estimated pre-tax NPV of $144 million and a 32.6% IRR. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Consequently, there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

Paramount's immediate action plans are to improve confidence in Grassy Mountain's overall project design and development in preparation for completing a Pre-feasibility Study with the commencement of a core drilling program in 2016. The key aspects of the going forward plan are:

-- To improve metallurgical testing and to optimize the recovery process; -- To generate the geotechnical information needed for optimal mine and infrastructure design and location; -- To improve geological, geometallurgical and geotechnical models; -- To better define and potentially reduce capital cost estimates for mine construction and operation; and -- To continue with environmental data collection required for the mine operation permitting process. Grassy Mountain Mineral Inventory (1,2,3,4,5) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEASURED ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces Ounces tons Au Ag (000s) Au opt Au g/T (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T (000s) Underground 3,157 0.155 5.33 491 0.263 9.0 829 Open Pit 52,645 0.020 0.67 1,027 0.072 2.5 3,784 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 55,802 0.027 0.93 1,518 0.083 2.8 4,613 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INDICATED ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces Ounces tons Au Ag (000s) Au opt Au g/T (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T (000s) Underground 88 0.149 5.13 13 0.163 5.6 14 Open Pit 12,803 0.010 0.33 122 0.027 0.9 350 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 12,891 0.010 0.36 135 0.028 1.0 364 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MEASURED PLUS INDICATED ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces Ounces tons Au Ag (000s) Au opt Au g/T (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T (000s) Underground 3,246 0.155 5.32 504 0.260 8.9 843 Open Pit 65,447 0.018 0.60 1,149 0.063 2.2 4,133 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 68,693 0.024 0.82 1,653 0.072 2.5 4,977 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFERRED ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ounces Ounces tons Au Ag (000s) Au opt Au g/T (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T (000s) Underground - - - - - - - Open Pit 221 0.007 0.24 2 0.010 0.3 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 221 0.007 0.23 2 0.010 0.3 2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Rounding may cause apparent discrepancies (2) Underground and Open Pit material are exclusive from each other (3) tons= imperial tonnes; T= metric Tonnes (4) Underground Cut-off grade = 0.065 opt Au (5) Open pit Cut-off grade = 0.005 opt Au

Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

For more information on the Grassy Mountain Gold Project including the Preliminary Economic Assessment, please visit our website. The technical and scientific information contained in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Scott Wilson, CPG, of Metal Mining Consultants, a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Wilson is independent of Paramount and has verified the data within this release.

The common shares of Calico have been halted for trading and are to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange as of the close of business today, July 7, and the Company will cause Calico to voluntarily surrender Calico's reporting issuer status in British Columbia and will apply to the Alberta Securities Commission to terminate Calico's reporting issuer status in Alberta.

About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through the exploration and development of U.S. properties and then selling to, or entering into joint ventures with, producers for construction and operation. Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper high-grade gold mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Paramount also holds a 100% interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit for which a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") has been prepared and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. With its substantial ownership of U.S. gold resources on a per share basis, Paramount offers its shareholders significant leverage to a rising gold price.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of Indicated and Inferred Resources

This news release uses the terms "measured and indicated resources" and "inferred resources". We advise U.S. investors that while these terms are defined in, and permitted by, Canadian regulations, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. "Inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility studies, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves", as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in this category will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an inferred resource exists or is economically or legally minable.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's anticipated plans for the Grassy Mountain Project and the potential for any mining or production at the Grassy Mountain Project. These statements relate to analysis and other information that are based on expectations of future performance as set out in the PEA, including gold and silver production and planned work programs. In addition, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, Paramount's strategies and plans, the attractiveness of the Grassy Mountain Project as a development option; the exploration potential at the Grassy Mountain Project; development scenarios at the Grassy Mountain Project; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of the Company's capital to finance the Company's operations; geological interpretations and potential mineral recovery processes. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, risks relating to: uncertainty as to actual capital costs, operating costs, production and economic returns, and uncertainty that development activities will result in a profitable mining operation at the Grassy Mountain Project; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold or certain other commodities; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the United States; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, risks related to mineral exploration estimates being based on interpretations and assumptions which may result in less mineral production under actual conditions than is currently estimated and to diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as the Grassy Mountain Project is mined; and contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks.

Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: Paramount's ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; production meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. Paramount's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions should also be considered to be forward-looking statements.

Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.

Contacts:

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Glen Van Treek

President, CEO and Director



Chris Theodossiou

Director of Corporate Communications

866-481-2233




ST. ALBERT, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Enterprise Group, Inc. ("Enterprise," or "the Company") (TSX: E) is pleased to announce that, further to the Company's news release dated June 13, 2016, Enterprise has closed the transaction to divest substantially all of the assets of T.C. Backhoe & Directional Drilling Ltd. ("TCB") to TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quanta Services, Inc.

Gross cash proceeds from this transaction will be approximately $20.0 million, subject to post-closing adjustments. Gross proceeds include working capital as described in the June 13, 2016 release. All proceeds from this transaction will be deployed towards reducing Enterprise's debt.

About Enterprise Group, Inc.

Enterprise Group, Inc. is a consolidator of construction services companies operating in the energy, utility and transportation infrastructure industries. The Company's focus is primarily construction services and specialized equipment rental. The Company's strategy is to acquire complementary service companies in Western Canada, consolidating capital, management, and human resources to support continued growth. More information is available at the Company's website, www.enterprisegrp.ca.

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "could", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. In particular, this news release includes forward-looking information regarding post-closing adjustments and the use of proceeds resulting from the disposition of TCB assets. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control, including general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices and competition. Actual future results may differ materially. The Company's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015 and other documents filed with securities regulatory authorities (accessible through the SEDAR website www.sedar.com) describe the risks, material assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Enterprise Group, Inc.

Leonard Jaroszuk

President & CEO

780-418-4400



Enterprise Group, Inc.

Desmond O'Kell

Senior Vice-President

780-418-4400




CRANSTON, RI -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Nelipak Corporation ("Nelipak") announced today that it has closed on the acquisition of Tegrant Alloyd Brands of Puerto Rico, Inc., ("TABPR") a subsidiary of Sonoco Products Company, a thermoforming company based in Juncos, Puerto Rico. The business will be owned by Nelipak and operate under the name of Nelipak Healthcare Packaging.

TABPR is a manufacturer of thermoformed rigid packaging primarily for the medical market whose customers include some of the best known medical device and pharmaceutical customers in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The company's packaging products include trays, clamshells, and blisters. Under the Nelipak Healthcare Packaging brand, TABPR will further develop its thermoformed packaging products and service capabilities for the healthcare market. The employees and suppliers of TABPR have played an integral role in the company's success and will continue to do so in the future.

This acquisition strengthens Nelipak's commitment to the North American healthcare market and will allow Nelipak to take advantage of growth opportunities in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the broader Caribbean regions. TABPR's customers will have access to Nelipak's award winning design teams and modern cleanroom manufacturing throughout its global locations.

A 60-year brand, Nelipak is a global leader in the healthcare thermoformed packaging industry with a world class reputation for quality and service. Nelipak, 100% focused on the healthcare market, continues to invest in best-in-class manufacturing and cleanroom facilities delivering high end packaging to leading medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies.

"We are thrilled to expand our global manufacturing footprint and gain greater access to the Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic healthcare markets with the acquisition of Tegrant Alloyd Brands of Puerto Rico," said Mike Kelly, President and CEO of Nelipak. "This acquisition enables us to better support our global customers since many of them have operations in Puerto Rico. Additionally, the Tegrant Alloyd Brands of Puerto Rico's team and customer base complement our current capabilities."

About Nelipak Healthcare Packaging

With facilities in Cranston, RI; Phoenix, AZ: Venray, the Netherlands; Galway, Ireland; Juncos, Puerto Rico; and San Jose, Costa Rica, Nelipak Healthcare Packaging designs, develops and manufactures custom thermoformed packaging products that provide superior protection for medical devices and pharmaceuticals. The company offers medical trays and blisters, surgical procedure trays, pharmaceutical handling trays, custom built sealing machines and other value added services. Nelipak's customers consist of some of the largest and most reputable medical device and pharmaceutical companies in the world. With over 600 employees worldwide, Nelipak is focused on delivering superior quality and customer experience through world class manufacturing at each of its locations. More information about Nelipak can be found at www.nelipak.com.

Nelipak Healthcare Packaging is a trade name of Nelipak Corporation

Released by:

Sean J. Egan Group Marketing Manager Nelipak Healthcare Packaging Tel: 00 353 (0)91 709163 sean.egan@nelipak.com

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3030425



Nelipak Healthcare Packaging:

Sean J. Egan

+353 (0)91-709-163




CHICAGO, IL -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- While buying a new car may seem like an exciting venture, a recent survey conducted by a leading financial institution found that most median-income households in the 50 largest U.S. cities unfortunately cannot afford the average-priced new vehicle. Rather than spending a big chunk of the monthly budget on a new car, smart consumers are starting to look for ways to protect their current investment. Gold Eagle Co., the makers of America's #1 selling brand of fuel stabilizers and ethanol treatments, STA-BIL, has simple steps consumers can take to maintain and protect their vehicles, keeping them running better, longer.

By investing time in regular upkeep of their vehicle's appearance and mechanical maintenance, consumers can reallocate funds to other important expenditures like, education, family and fun. To help cut costs and ensure optional performance, here are some easy ways consumers can keep their current car running its best and prolong the need for purchasing new:

Check the engine oil - Make sure to check the oil regularly and more often if there is an oil leak or there is a need to add oil routinely. Try to avoid overfilling and to prevent rust and corrosion above and below the fuel line, use an oil stabilizer like STA-BIL 360 Oil Stabilizer. A good oil stabilizer will reduce friction, heat and wear and help prolong engine life.





Check tire air pressure - Once a month and before any extended road trips, use an accurate tire-pressure gauge to check the inflation pressure in each tire, including the spare. Underinflated tires will make tires wear unevenly and can negatively impact performance. In addition, keeping tire pressure at the recommended level can boost fuel efficiency. Check the tires when they are cold (before the vehicle has been driven or after no more than a couple of miles of driving). Use the inflation pressure recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer, not the maximum pressure embossed on the tire's sidewall. The recommended pressure is usually found on a placard on a front doorjamb, in the glove compartment or in the owner's manual.





Give it a wash inside and out - Give the car a good detailing both inside and out on a regular basis to prevent rust and other wear. Wash the body and hose out the fender wells and undercarriage to remove dirt, debris and road salt. To avoid the high costs of going to the detailer consumers can easily clean and protect their car by themselves by using an all-in-one cleaner like 303 Automotive Speed Detailer. It provides an instant new car shine, plus it provides an added layer of protection from damaging UV rays. For the inside, try 303 Automotive Multi-Surface cleaner to brighten and rejuvenate surfaces and fabrics. It removes even the most stubborn spots from spilled coffee, oil, grease and ink stains from virtually any material or surface.





Check air filter - Remove the air-filter element and hold it up to a strong light. If there is no light seeping through, replace it. Regardless, always follow the recommended service intervals.





Check the fluids - On cars where the automatic transmission is not sealed, check the transmission dipstick with the engine warmed up and running (see the owner's manual for details). Also check the power-steering-pump dipstick and the level in the brake-fluid reservoir. If the brake-fluid level is low, top it up and have the system checked for leaks.





Maintain the breaks - The brakes should be checked at least twice per year; more often if the vehicle is driven regularly. Engage an expert to replace excessively worn pads or linings, and have badly scored rotors or drums machined or replaced.





Change the timing belt - If the vehicle has a belt instead of a chain, stick to the manufacturer's recommended replacement interval -- usually every 60,000 to 80,000 miles. Check the owner's manual or consult a dealer. Failure to change the timing belt can result in a very expensive engine repair if the belt should break.





To learn more about Gold Eagle Co. and their family of products visit: http://www.goldeagle.com/

About Gold Eagle Co.

For more than 80 years, Gold Eagle Co. has been an industry pioneer in the production and distribution of aftermarket fluids and additives. We create products that help preserve, protect and enhance the performance of engines everywhere. We are a leader in the product development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of branded engine performance and maintenance chemicals. Privately held and headquartered in Chicago, Gold Eagle Co. is the manufacturer of leading brands, including STA-BIL Fuel Stabilizer, HEET Gas-Line Antifreeze, NO LEAK Treatments, 104+ Octane Boost, Start Your Engines!, DieselPower! Diesel Additives, 303 Aerospace Protectant and 303 Fabric Guard. To view our complete line of Gold Eagle products or learn more about the Company, please visit http://www.goldeagle.com or "like" our STA-BIL, 303 Products, Start Your Engines! or Engine Answerman pages on Facebook. For product questions, please call us at 800-621-1251 or follow us on Twitter @GoldEagleHelp.

All trademarks, service marks and trade names, including STA-BIL, HEET, Start Your Engines! , NO LEAK, ALUMASEAL, Gold Eagle, DieselPower! , Golden Touch, 104+, Cool Rides Online and 303 Products used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Gold Eagle Co. The aforesaid families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Gold Eagle Co. Any other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Bruce Kaufman

bkaufman@goldeagle.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Further to our press release dated June 20, 2016, Euromax Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: EOX)(OTC PINK: EOXFF) ("Euromax" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received final approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") to graduate from the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and list its common shares ("Common Shares") on the TSX.

The Common Shares will be listed and posted for trading on the TSX at the opening of markets on Monday, July 11, 2016 under its existing symbol "EOX". In connection with the listing of the Common Shares on the TSX, the last day of trading on the TSXV will be Friday, July 8, 2016 and the Common Shares will be delisted from the TSXV on Monday, July 11, 2016 upon commencement of trading on the TSX.

About Euromax Resources Ltd.

Euromax has a major development project in Macedonia and an exploration services company in Bulgaria. We are focused on building and operating the Ilovica-Shtuka copper/gold project in Macedonia, as well profitably deploying the wealth of exploration experience within our Bulgarian Exploration Services subsidiary.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by such terms as "proposed", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would'. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on information currently available to the Company as well as the Company's current beliefs and assumptions made by the Company. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors may include, among others, that the Company is delayed in receiving the necessary consents or approvals to graduate or at all. Readers are also encouraged to review all Company documents filed with the securities authorities in Canada, including the Management Discussion and Analysis in respect of the Company's recent financial statements under the heading "Operational and Other Business Risks", which documents describe material factors and assumptions and risks that apply to the forward looking statements in this release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Euromax Resources Ltd.

Steve Sharpe

President & CEO

+44 (0)20 3667 2970

ssharpe@euromaxresources.co.uk

www.euromaxresources.com




RESTON, VA--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Carahsoft Technology Corp., the trusted government IT solutions provider, announced today that it has been named for the seventh consecutive year to the 2016 Washington Technology Top 100 Government Contractors list. Carahsoft earned #43 on this prestigious ranking based on prime contract dollars in IT, systems integrations, telecommunications, engineering and professional services.

The Washington Technology 2016 Top 100 listing is based on an analysis of data from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation. Despite the government budget tightening over the past few years, the Top 100 prime contractors were able to sustain growth by expanding into new markets and investing in groundbreaking technologies such as cloud and managed services, and DevOps.

"Our team, along with our vendor and reseller partners, are focused solely on providing our government customers with solutions that are both innovative and cost-effective. These solutions enable them to move away from infrastructure management and maintenance, and align resources to focus on core mission goals," said Craig P. Abod, Carahsoft president.

Carahsoft first appeared on Washington Technology's Top 100 list at #99 in 2010 based on prime contract dollars of $172M. It has risen more than 55 ranks in the past seven years, driving more than $494M in the past year. In 2016, the company also ranked #3 among the 15 value-added resellers on the list and #12 among the 55 privately held companies.

Founded in 2004, Carahsoft posted more than $3 billion in bookings in 2015. The company serves as the largest government partner for many of the industry's leading manufacturers including VMware, Adobe, Symantec, Red Hat, HPE Software, SAP, EMC, and F5 Networks among others. The company is headquartered in Reston, Virginia and employs nearly 600 team members.

ABOUT CARAHSOFT

Carahsoft Technology Corp. is the trusted Government IT solutions provider. As a top-ranked GSA Schedule Contract holder, Carahsoft serves as the master government aggregator for many of its best-of-breed technology vendors, supporting an extensive ecosystem of manufacturers, value-added resellers, system integrators, and consulting partners committed to helping government agencies select and implement the best solution at the best possible value.

The company's dedicated Solutions Divisions proactively market, sell and deliver VMware, Symantec, EMC, Adobe, F5 Networks, Open Source, HPE Software, SAP, and Innovative and Intelligence products and services, among others. Carahsoft is consistently recognized by its partners as a top revenue producer, and is listed annually among the industry's fastest growing firms by CRN, Inc., Washington Technology, The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and SmartCEO. Visit us at www.carahsoft.com.

Mary Lange

703-431-8485

Email contact


DAMASCAS, MD--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Syndication Inc., (OTC PINK: SYNJ), on June 30th, 2016 reported that just 2 days after his request, the Board approved the CEO's resolution to accept an invitation from TradeStation to become a TradeStation App Store Developer. Among other terms, the invitation included an offer to feature the Company's ARCHER Trading Software as a product for sale in the TradeStation Trading App Store.

LIVE UP-TICK NEWSWIRE INTERVIEW WITH SYNDICATION & Day TradeXchange,

CEO, BRIAN SORRENTINO

Click the link to listen;

https://audioboom.com/boos/4758785-brian-sorrentino-ceo-of-syndication-inc-returns-to-uptick-network-to-discuss-archer-v2-1-and-their-inclusion-into

With an estimated 250,000 subscribers, including institutions, TradeStation is one of the largest and well known trading platforms in the world. In 2015 -- TradeStation was ranked "Best for Frequent Traders" and "Best for International Traders" by Barron's, a "Top Five" e Online Broker and #1 for Equity Trading Tools by Investor's Business Daily, and is rated Best Trading System -- Stocks and Best Trading System -- Futures for the 11th consecutive year by Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine.

"It's important to understand that we are not switching from NINJA, we are just executing our business strategy and adding a major new component to the service profile of the Day TradeXchange and ARCHER business model. I was quoted by OTC Rockstar back in October 2015 saying, "ARCHER is currently running on Scottsrade, TD Ameritrade, Trade Station, Option House, Trade King, and all other essential trading platforms, is what we believe we'll soon be saying," said Sorrentino, CEO of SYNDICATION and COB, of Day Tradexchange, (OTC Rockstar, October 28 th , 2015).

"Just executing on our mission statement," added the CEO, Sorrentino, (OTC PINK: SYNJ).

The Company opined further that this move falls in line with last month's launch of ARCHER 2.1. That upgrade made ARCHER adaptable to all index markets including individual stock equities like Apple or Amazon. The NINJA platform only allows trading on Futures, and Stock Index markets. Adding TradeStation allows ARCHER users to trade on just about any market or equity in the trading universe.

When asked to describe why ARCHER is creating such a buzz in the day trading market, the CEO responded, "Take 2 minutes, click the link below and watch todays 'Trade of the Day' video on our DTX You Tube page, and then you'll quickly understand", said CEO of Syndication Inc., Sorrentino.

SEE ARCHER IN ACTION; Trade of the Day; on YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6cbOBL89UpZEC5tKlyeBg

"FREE LIVE TRADING ROOM VISITORS PASS"

DTX invites investors and traders of all experience and those simply curious about day trading to watch and listen to our professional traders make live trade calls in the DTX trading room. To schedule a FREE LIVE TRADING ROOM VISITORS PASS simply go to www.daytradexchange.com and enter your e-mail address and a trading coordinator will contact you with arrangements, (no credit card required).

Contact the Company to register for your FREE LIVE TRADING ROOM VISITORS PASS. Additional information on quarterly, semi-annual and annual trading room subscription packages as well as the ARCHER Software lease program is available by calling DTX at 888-422-5515 or by going to; http://daytradexchange.com and entering your e-mail address. Active traders are welcome to call and take advantage of our FREE 3 DAY live trading room trial.

Day TradeXchange, where day traders trade...

DTX; Trade of the Day; on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy6cbOBL89UpZEC5tKlyeBg

ARCHER in the NEWS; http://www.syndicationinc.net/news.php

UPTICK NETWORK NEWS RADIO; Live Interview with Syndication CEO, Brian Sorrentino; https://upticknewswire.com/uptick-network-interview-with-ceo-brian-sorrentino-with-syndication-inc/

STOCK RADIO; LIVE Interview with Syndication CEO, Brian Sorrentino: http://thestockradio.com/otcpink-synj-syndication-inc-ceo-brian-sorrentino-2013.html

Follow Day TradeXchange at www.daytradexchange.com

Written Correspondence; PO Box 503, Damascus, MD 20872

This press release may contain forward-looking statements covered within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, plans and timing for the introduction or enhancement of our services and products, statements about future market conditions, supply and demand conditions, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties. Our expectations regarding future revenues depend upon our ability to develop and supply products, which we may not produce today and that meet defined specifications. When used in this press release, the words "plan," "expect," "believe," and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and changes in pervasive markets.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/6/11G105571/Images/Day_Trade_Xhange-ee8afe5036978a778f5020066e01d7a2.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/6/11G105571/Images/Archer_2-52ea5f26622bac6ea32508e72aa6da2c.JPG

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/7/6/11G105571/Images/Uptick_2-83ec157032c78ad5a858c40fe2562959.JPG

Contact:

John Ford

Director of Trading

1-888-422-5515

jford@daytradexchange.com
GREENWICH, CT--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Fieldpoint Private, the fast-growing wealth advisory and private banking firm serving ultra-high net worth families and institutions, today announced that Clay Skurdal has joined the firm as Managing Director and Senior Advisor.

The hire marks a significant geographic expansion for the company, which, during its eight-year history, has operated from offices in Greenwich, Connecticut and New York City. Mr. Skurdal will be based in Eugene, Oregon, with a clientele of families and entrepreneurs that extends from California to Washington state, and eastward across the northern Rockies and plains to the oil shale lands of North Dakota.

Robert Matthews, Fieldpoint Private's President and CEO, said that the addition of Mr. Skurdal will introduce the firm to clients looking for a fresh alternative to the traditional wirehouses and private banks. "Clay's experience and outstanding reputation will make him a valuable presence in parts of the country where we feel the Fieldpoint story will really resonate," he said.

"My decision to come to Fieldpoint came after a great deal of soul searching, and it has already wildly exceeded my expectations," said Mr. Skurdal. "The reaction of my clients has been particularly gratifying. They immediately appreciate this firm's commitment to objectivity, to advising the whole client, and to delivering to them a remarkably high caliber of investment research and wealth planning talent."

Mr. Skurdal joins Fieldpoint Private from Great Northern Advisors, an independent affiliate of Liebenthal Wealth Advisors. Prior to that, he spent nearly 30 years with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and its predecessor firms including Smith Barney, Shearson Lehman and E.F. Hutton.

About Fieldpoint Private

Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Fieldpoint Private (www.fieldpointprivate.com) is a boutique financial firm providing the highest degree of personalized, confidential wealth planning and private banking services. Catering to highly successful individuals, families, businesses and institutions, Fieldpoint Private offers a powerful combination of wealth management and strategy, family office, private banking and business banking services addressing every financial need for each of our clients including: wealth transfer advice, tax planning, aggregation and performance reporting, risk management, goals-based investing strategies, sophisticated investment selection, discreet and personalized banking, highly customized credit solutions, custom custody and trust solutions, highly attentive/responsive service and concierge services.

Fieldpoint Private was established in 2008 by 31 Founders with a specific vision and purpose. These extraordinary leaders of industry and community recognized the opportunity to create a financial firm totally attuned to people's individual circumstances. Our firm is built on a philosophy of exclusive membership and client-centricity. Working with a limited number of relationships gives every person the experience of belonging to an extremely selective group. The result is a new breed of institution established on the basis of personalization, responsiveness, and exclusivity, and an ensured commitment to impeccable service and consistently flawless execution. Our service approach offers a unique client experience custom crafted to each client's financial needs.

Media Contact:

Michael White

Chief Marketing Officer

Fieldpoint Private

203.413.9340

mwhite@fieldpointprivate.com
SANTA CRUZ, CA--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) ("Plantronics" or the "Company") today announced an expected charge of approximately $5 million in Q1 FY 2017 related to the ongoing litigation with GN Netcom, Inc. ("GN"). The Company also announced preliminary results for Q1 Fiscal Year 2017, with revenue expected to be above its previously provided guidance range of $207 million to $217 million, and both GAAP and Non-GAAP EPS are expected to be in the middle to the high end of previously provided guidance ranges after recording the impact of this charge. Prior to this charge, GAAP and Non-GAAP EPS would have been significantly above the high end of the guidance range. This information is preliminary and subject to completion of quarter-end financial reporting processes and reviews.

The charge results from an order ("Order") of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the "Court") in connection with a Motion for Sanctions brought by GN in connection with allegations of spoliation of evidence. On July 6, 2016, the Court entered the Order and imposed the following sanctions:

Monetary sanctions in the form of the reasonable fees and costs incurred by GN in connection with the disputes leading to the Order;

Punitive sanctions against Plantronics in the amount of $3 million;

Possible evidentiary sanctions, if requested by GN Netcom and found by the Court to be warranted as this case progresses toward trial; and

Instructions to the jury that it may draw an adverse inference that emails destroyed by Plantronics would have been favorable to GN's case and/or unfavorable to Plantronics' defense

The Company believes that this Order may be appealed and reversed upon a favorable resolution of the underlying antitrust case. The Company also believes that the underlying antitrust action is without merit and intends to defend itself vigorously. The Company is not accruing any financial damages related to the antitrust case.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to the estimated charge related to ongoing litigation with GN Netcom, Inc. ("GN") and the Company's strategies and expectations regarding the litigation with GN, as well as the Company's preliminary financial results for Q1 fiscal year 2017 in addition to other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated include, changes and developments in the litigation with GN, including additional rulings by the Court, changes in our assumptions or judgments regarding the litigation with GN and completion of our quarter end financial reporting and review processes.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 16, 2016 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as recent press releases. The Securities and Exchange Commission filings can be accessed over the Internet at www.sec.gov or on our website at investor.plantronics.com/docs.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth name and the Bluetooth trademarks are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and are used by Plantronics, Inc. under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

INVESTOR CONTACT:

Greg Klaben

Vice President of Investor Relations

(831) 458-7533



MEDIA CONTACT:

George Gutierrez

Sr. Director, Global Communications & Content Strategy

(831) 458-7537
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- LITE ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (the "Company") (CSE: LTE)(OTC PINK: LTCCF), a total integrated fibre optic solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it is opening a new operations office in the United Kingdom to support and accelerate its growth.

After conducting market research and engaging in numerous discussions and meetings with local Service Providers and other entities within the UK, the Company has identified significant demand and opportunity in the UK to take advantage of Lite Access' leading air blown fibre and micro-trench deployment solutions.

Led by Lite Access Chief Operating Officer, Dylan Griffiths, "Lite Access - UK" will be based in Wales, focusing its operations on delivering a totally integrated fibre solution consisting of proven and widely accepted air blown fibre technologies deployed in the most cost effective, least disruptive and environmentally friendly method available today, namely micro-trenching. A former British Telecommunications Engineer with more than 25 years of fibre optic experience, Dylan has established a track record of securing long-term relationships with telecoms, ISPs and municipalities, and of successfully establishing construction teams that strive to be innovative and professional in their approach to fibre network implementation.

Mr. Griffiths stated, "With companies in the UK such as Virgin Media and others making unprecedented investment into fibre deployment, Lite Access - UK will be in the enviable position of bringing a new and highly advantageous deployment methodology to a market with tremendous potential. The many long-term relationships we have in place at senior levels of the telecom industry in the UK will prove vital to our goal of further establishing Lite Access as the micro-trench deployment solution of choice worldwide."

About Broadband in the UK

The UK Government has been on a mission to bring broadband to every home and business. The importance of a strong, affordable internet connection in the UK has been put on similar footing as other basic services such as water, electricity and the right to receive a letter - to that end, the objective has been set of superfast speeds being available to 95% of homes and businesses by the end of 2017.

Web Links:

http://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/news-and-events/news/news-archives/2015/Virgin-Media-and-Liberty-Global-announce-largest-investment-in-UKs-internet-infrastructure-for-more-than-a-decade/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/06/14/bt-begins-high-fibre-plan-for-small-business-as-ofcom-pressure-m/

About FTTX

Fibre to the Premise (FTTX) and Fibre to the Home (FTTH), sometimes referred to as "the last mile," is the delivery of a communications signal over optical fibre from the operator's switching equipment all the way to a home or business, thereby replacing existing copper infrastructure such as telephone wires or coaxial cable. FTTX is a rapidly growing method of providing vastly higher bandwidth to consumers and businesses, and thereby enabling more robust video, internet and voice services.

Billions of dollars are being spent to upgrade communications systems and the demand for the Fibre-Optic cable manufacturing and deployment industry has surged as downstream customers upgrade infrastructure that was delayed during the recession. Wireless carriers are expanding their fiber-optic cable networks as more carriers upgrade their networks and consumers increasingly demand high-speed internet on their mobile phones, necessitating more fiber-optic cable purchases.

Communications Internet speed (or lack of) has been described by some industry experts as the single greatest economic issue facing North America today, and an ever increasing demand for bandwidth caused by streaming video and music services, smartphone usage, and consumers and businesses using cloud based and real time communication services has created a surge in investment into last mile infrastructure by internet service providers, businesses, government and educational institutions. The Fiber to the Home Council Americas states that, "Fiber-enabled applications and solutions have the potential to create value for service providers and their customers, promote economic development and enhance quality of life for communities."

About Lite Access

Lite Access is a world leader in microduct and fibre optic technologies. Using its specially designed and innovative micro-trench and micro-drill methods of deployment, Lite Access' proprietary microduct technology extends a network provider's ability to deliver true broadband connectivity directly to end-users, such as homes, government and educational institutions, and emergency response facilities. Providing a full portfolio of fibre connectivity solutions for many types of Telecom infrastructure, Lite Access has successfully deployed thousands of kilometres of microduct networks throughout North and South America, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean, Australia and Asia.

Lite Access' products have been deployed in many high profile communication networks including the Whistler 2010 Winter Olympic facilities, builds within the State of New York including Central Park, the Las Vegas strip and surrounding areas of Nevada, fibre to the home at Stanford University and numerous other locations around the globe that have adopted Lite Access as the "solution of choice" for future proof fibre optic connectivity.

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties described in the Company's Listing Statement dated May 26, 2015 available on www.cnsx.ca. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

For further information please contact:

Lite Access Technologies Inc.

1-604-247-4704

www.liteaccess.com



For investor relations please contact:

Contact Financial Corp.

Rob Gamley

1-604-689-7422

rob@contactfinancial.com






BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Germany's industrial production logged the biggest decline in nearly two years in May, largely due to weak construction and capital goods output.



Industrial output fell 1.3 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a revised 0.5 percent rise in April, figures from Destatis revealed Thursday. Production was expected to climb 0.1 percent.



This was the biggest fall since August 2014, when output dropped 2.5 percent.



On a yearly basis, industrial production decreased 0.4 percent in contrast to April's 0.8 percent increase and confounding expectations for a 1.5 percent growth.



The economy ministry said that there were less working days in May.



The ministry further said that after a somewhat weaker development in the second quarter, industrial production should continue its moderate upward trend.



Today's figures are further evidence that the German economy has lost considerable momentum after its strong start to the year, and it will probably have achieved virtually no growth in the second quarter, Ralph Solveen, an analyst at Commerzbank, said.



ING Bank NV Economist Carsten Brzeski said the latest data only confirm the picture of a two-speed economy. With the ongoing stagnation of the industry, an economic model mainly based on consumption and services might eventually turn out to be too little for sustainable economic growth.



Excluding energy and construction, industrial production dropped 1.8 percent. Production of energy gained 3.9 percent, while that of construction decreased 0.9 percent.



Other elements of production, capital goods and intermediate goods registered 3.9 percent and 0.3 percent declines.



According to a survey conducted by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), companies are concerned about trade barriers and uncertainty after 'Brexit' vote.



German exports to the U.K. are forecast to fall 1 percent this year and 5 percent next year, the survey found. The survey was conducted among 5,600 companies in Germany.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
MIAMI, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Ami James Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: AJBI) ("Ami James Brands" or "Company"), a licensing and brand management company with its core business rooted in the tattoo industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ira Morris to the position of Corporate Secretary and as a director of the Company.

Mr. Morris is a seasoned capital markets professional with over 20 years of experience in sales, financial consulting, administration, public company management, and investor and client relations. From 2008-2010, Mr. Morris was Senior Project Manager for Carpenthouse Consulting Group where he assisted in development and funding of companies engaged in the emerging states of green related technologies. Prior to serving at Carpenthouse, Mr. Morris was a consultant with Forbes & Manhattan, a leading private merchant bank, working with the company's founder Stan Bharti. Prior to his time with Forbes & Manhattan, Mr. Morris worked for over ten years as a consultant providing assistance to publicly traded companies. Mr. Morris was responsible for developing new business and long term business relationships with customers. Mr. Morris is also currently President of Black Stallion Oil & Gas Inc.

In the role of Corporate Secretary, Mr. Morris will assist the Company with all daily administrative duties, including liaising with business partners, auditors, lawyers, advisers, bankers, and regulators.

"I am very pleased to be joining the Ami James Brands team as Corporate Secretary and as a member of the board of directors," stated Ira Morris. "I am confident that my public company and capital markets experience can assist the Company to implement their business strategy and achieve their objectives."

About Ami James Brands, Inc. (AJBI)

Ami James Brands, Inc. is a licensing and brand management company with its core business rooted in the tattoo industry. From apparel and fashion, to consolidating the fragmented tattoo industry, artist and entrepreneur Ami James is arguably the most recognizable face in the tattoo world. The Company is based in Miami, Florida, the home of the legendary "Miami Ink" tattoo studio, the Love Hate Social Club.

For additional information regarding Ami James Brands, Inc. visit www.amijamesbrands.com.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Contact:

Ami James Brands, Inc.

Investor Relations

(888) 481-5999 (Toll-free)

E-mail: ir@amijamesbrands.com

Website: www.amijamesbrands.com




DALLAS, TX -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Parks Associates consumer research reports more than 20% of U.S. broadband households plan to buy a smart combination sensor in 2016, and as connected consumers adopt and install more in-home sensors, these IoT technologies will expand the connected health market. The research firm will examine the role of the smart home in expanding the connected health experience for consumers at the Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, August 30 - September 1 in San Diego.

"As a sign of rising consumerism in the healthcare markets, one-third of U.S. broadband households own and use at least one connected health or wellness device, and 40-45% of consumers with a chronic condition have used at least one health app," said Harry Wang, Senior Research Director, Parks Associates. "By tying these solutions into the smart home infrastructure, we can expand the impact of the connected healthcare market exponentially. At Connected Health Summit, we will explore new research on consumer attitudes, motivations, and behaviors to identify strategies that leverage the IoT in order to improve healthcare outcomes and engage consumers."

The session "Sensors and IoT Technologies for Connected Care," moderated by Brad Russell, Research Analyst, Parks Associates, 10:45 a.m. on September 1, will explore use cases that cross over to the smart home industry, including strategies where intelligent sensors can enable independent living and remote diagnosis and monitoring.

Speakers for the session:

James R. Mault, M.D., F.A.C.S., VP and Chief Medical Officer, Qualcomm Life

Karthik Ranjan, Director Healthcare Technology, ARM Holdings

Bill Scheffler, Director of NA Sales and Business Development, Sigma Designs/Z-Wave

"More than 60% of U.S. broadband households have someone with a chronic condition, while the number of people 65-85 will account for more than 16% of the total population by 2025," Russell said. "Market forces and government reforms are pushing healthcare to use more remote care and self-care solutions, which will integrate smart home sensors and cloud platforms to make this new model of care delivery feasible. Connected health devices and apps, built on cloud-based platforms, give consumers and their care providers the insight they need to manage health conditions in a proactive, ongoing way."

Parks Associates research notes that the home care model, complemented with a good mix of public services, community resources, family support, and private insurance, will be the most viable model for the care of the elderly and chronic-care patients going forward. Technology-supported care models hold the promise of keeping these patients in their homes while enhancing comfort via intelligent preventive and alert systems.

Conference sponsors for Connected Health Summit include Higi, ARM, Care Innovations, Honeywell, PokitDok, Z-Wave, ZigBee, the California Health Care Foundation, and MivaTek.

Registration to Connected Health Summit is open, and media are invited to secure press passes. For more information visit, www.connectedhealthsummit.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONN_Health_Smt and CONNHealth16.

Parks Associates will host a complimentary webcast "Disruption and Innovation in the Top-three Digital Health Markets" on July 28 at 1:00 p.m., which will preview key topics for Connected Health Summit. Register at http://www.parksassociates.com/health-2016.

To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About Connected Health Summit

Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers analyzes the role of innovative connected health solutions in driving changes in consumer behaviors as well as healthcare systems, insurers, and hospital networks. The event focuses on four areas of consumer health, which require active consumer participation to be successful: remote health monitoring for accountable care, consumer-centric wellness and fitness solutions, independent living technologies and services, and innovative convenience care models.

The event will take place August 30 - September 1, 2016, at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, CA. Parks Associates is accepting submissions for speakers for the event.

For more information on Parks Associates research or Connected Health Summit, visit www.connectedhealthsummit.com. To schedule an interview or to request specific research data, please contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3030695



Holly Sprague

Parks Associates

720.987.6614

hsprague@gmail.com




SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Avalara, Inc., a leading provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation for business, today announced three new connectors into Infor applications, bringing the total number of Avalara-Infor integrations to ten. These integrations coincide with the tenth anniversary of Avalara's partnership with Infor, a leading provider of beautiful business applications specialized by industry and built for the cloud.

Avalara's new integrations with Infor are: Infor LN, Infor M3, and Infor Distribution SX.e. These join existing integrations with Infor Distribution A+, Infor Distribution FACTS, Infor Lawson/S3, Infor LX, Infor SyteLine, Infor VISUAL and Infor XA. Together, these ten integrations enable Infor customers to automatically calculate sales tax for every invoice line item, in real-time, saving countless hours of manual sales tax calculations (and the potential for errors), with the confidence they're leveraging up-to-date nexus, tax rates and rules.

"As a cloud first company, it is vital that Infor align with like-minded partners able to deliver superior SaaS compliance applications to best compliment and strengthen our enterprise solutions. That is why we are pleased to join Avalara in celebrating the '10 in 10' milestone, which demonstrates just how valuable this partnership is proving to be for the marketplace," said Neil Wilson, vice president, Global Alliances, Infor. "We look forward to growing our collaborative relationship by delivering the best products to our mutual customers for years to come."

"Avalara has provided a clear and supported integration with our Infor ERP system since 2010," said Randy Morris, director, IT for Production Markets, Doe and Ingalls Brand at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Production Markets at Thermo Fisher Scientific helps Bio-pharmaceutical and Life Science customers by providing raw materials and supply chain services to make the world cleaner, healthier, and safer. "Our customers rely on us to help manage their supply chains, so it's absolutely critical that we get their transactions right," said Morris. "Avalara gives us confidence in our ability to be accurate and compliant from a tax perspective."

Avalara's mission is to be a part of every transaction in the world, in order to address tax compliance challenges faced by businesses of all sizes. To that end, the company is focused on connecting with leading applications for e-commerce, mobile commerce, ERP, POS/MPOS and accounting software. In addition to Infor, Avalara has partnerships with more than 500 transaction software providers; more than 20,000 customers use Avalara to automate their transactional tax compliance.

"Infor is a world-class partner so it's an honor to mark our 10-year anniversary of collaboration," said Avalara co-founder and CEO Scott McFarlane. "Our customers are doing business in real-time, which means they need fast, easy, accurate and affordable tax calculations occurring in the real-time 'magic moment' of commerce. Connecting seamlessly into Infor's applications makes that task that much easier."

To learn more about Infor and Avalara, click here.

About Avalara

Avalara helps businesses of all sizes achieve compliance with transactional taxes, including VAT, sales and use, excise, communications, and other tax types. We deliver comprehensive, automated, cloud-based solutions that are fast, accurate, and easy to use. Our Compliance Cloud platform helps customers manage complicated and burdensome tax compliance obligations imposed by state, local, and other taxing authorities throughout the world.

Avalara offers more than 500 hundred pre-built connectors into leading accounting, ERP, ecommerce and other business applications. Each year, the company processes billions of indirect tax transactions for customers and users, files hundreds of thousands of tax compliance documents and tax returns, and manages millions of exemption certificates and other compliance related documents.

A privately held company, Avalara' s venture capital investors include Sageview Capital, Battery Ventures, Warburg Pincus, Technology Crossover Ventures, Arthur Ventures, and other institutional and individual investors. Avalara's headquarters are in Seattle, WA and it has offices across the U.S. and in London and Brighton, UK; Brussels, Belgium; and Pune, India. More information at: www.avalara.com

About Infor

Infor builds beautiful business applications with last mile functionality and scientific insights for select industries delivered as a cloud service. With 14,000 employees and customers in more than 200 countries and territories, Infor automates critical processes for industries including healthcare, manufacturing, fashion, wholesale distribution, hospitality, retail, and public sector. Infor software helps eliminate the need for costly customization through embedded deep industry domain expertise. Headquartered in New York City, Infor is also home to one of the largest creative agencies in Manhattan, Hook & Loop, focused on delivering a user experience that is fun and engaging. Infor deploys its cloud applications primarily on the Amazon Web Services cloud and open source platforms. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.

Embedded Video Available

Embedded Video Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3030709



Sheri Renner

Director of Corporate Communications

sheri.renner@avalara.com




NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - PharmaCyte Biotech's (OTCQB: PMCB) signature live-cell encapsulation technology, Cell-in-a-Box  , is being used in treatments for both cancer and diabetes. For diabetes, the company's therapy, which is made up of pinhead-sized, porous capsules filled with insulin producing cells, will create an "artificial pancreas" for type 1 diabetics and insulin-dependent type 2 diabetics that no longer produce their own insulin. Meanwhile, for cancer, the company's therapy is made up of those same pinhead-sized, porous capsules; however, for advanced pancreatic cancer, they're filled with genetically modified cells that act as a type of "artificial liver."

First things first, PharmaCyte's Cell-in-a-Box  is not a drug delivery system. There are no drugs encapsulated inside the porous capsules for any of its treatments. Instead, for pancreatic cancer, which we will focus on today, the capsules are filled with about 10,000 live cells that are capable of converting an inactive chemotherapy drug (ifosfamide) into its active cancer-killing form -- just as the enzyme system in a patient's liver would normally do.

Keep in mind that because the chemotherapy drug ifosfamide is a prodrug or an inactive drug, it can travel all over the body and have no effect whatsoever until it is activated in the liver. Knowing that, PharmaCyte is, in a way, moving the "normal" conversion site (the patient's liver) of that inactive drug closer to the cancerous tumor by using Cell-in-a-Box  capsules and the live cells inside them to do the job of the patient's liver or to act as an "artificial liver."

So how does the treatment work and why is it important to move the conversion site closer to the pancreatic tumor?

First, we will tackle how PharmaCyte's therapy works.

The encapsulated live cells (Cell-in-a-Box  capsules) are placed as close to the patient's cancerous tumor as possible. Once implanted, ifosfamide, the aforementioned chemotherapy drug that needs to be activated in the body, is given to the patient intravenously at one-third the normal dose. The ifosfamide is then carried by the circulatory system to where the encapsulated cells have been placed. When the ifosfamide, which is normally activated in the liver, comes in contact with the encapsulated live cells in the Cell-in-a-Box  capsules, the chemotherapy drug is activated into its cancer-killing form right at the site of the cancer.

This is "targeted chemotherapy" in the truest sense, and the company's therapy has proven effective and safe to use in past clinical trials. This is how PharmaCyte will use its therapy in an upcoming Phase 2b clinical trial, so now let's discuss why it's important to move the drug activation site closer to the pancreatic tumor in the first place.

There are actually a number of reasons to move the activation site closer to the tumor. We'll start with the chemotherapy drug itself. Ifosfamide, when activated, has a very short half-life (time before it decays and no longer offers any effect), so by using the cells inside the Cell-in-a-Box  capsules to activate the drug at the site of the tumor, ifosfamide can immediately be the most effective when it's the most potent before dying off minutes later.

Without a treatment like PharmaCyte's, ifosfamide would be given to the patient intravenously and then activated "normally" in the liver, the activated drug would then affect tissues and organs other than the pancreas, and by the time it reached the pancreas, it undoubtedly would have lost much of its effectiveness. So, this, of course, means to be effective against a pancreatic tumor when the Cell-in-a-Box  capsules are not used, a large dose of the drug has to be administered.

Using ifosfamide in such large doses has proven to be damaging for tissues and organs including the patient's liver, and because the activated drug would come in contact with such other organs and good cells throughout the body on its way to the pancreas, the side effects would be intolerable; in fact, this is known to be the case.

By moving the conversion site as close to the tumor as possible, PharmaCyte is able to give a much smaller dose of the chemotherapy drug (one-third the normal dose), which patients are able to tolerate, and because of the smaller dose, the treatment can be administered without any side effects from the chemotherapy.

That's right -- chemotherapy without any side effects!

About Stock Market Media Group

Stock Market Media Group is a Content Development IR firm offering a platform for corporate stories to unfold in the media with research reports, corporate videos, CEO interviews and feature news articles. This article was written based upon publicly available information. PharmaCyte Biotech has not endorsed this article, and Stock Market Media Group was not compensated for its production.

Stock Market Media Group may from time to time include our own opinions about the companies, their business, markets and opportunities in our articles. Any opinions we may offer about any of the companies we write about are solely our own, and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice, or construed or interpreted as research. Any investment decisions you may make concerning any of the securities we write about are solely your responsibility based on your own due diligence. Our publications are provided only as an informational aid, and as a starting point for doing additional independent research. We encourage you to invest carefully and read the investor information available at the web site of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at: www.sec.gov, where you can also find all of PMCB's filings and disclosures. We also recommend, as a general rule, that before investing in any securities you consult with a professional financial planner or advisor, and you should conduct a complete and independent investigation before investing in any security after prudent consideration of all pertinent risks.

We are not a registered broker, dealer, analyst, or adviser. We hold no investment licenses and may not sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. Our publications about any of the companies we write about are not a recommendation to buy or sell a security.

For more information: www.stockmarketmediagroup.com.

Contact:



Stock Market Media Group

info@stockmarketmediagroup.com
DUBLIN, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global POS Terminals Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The global point-of-sale (POS) terminals market to grow at a CAGR of 9.12% during the period 2016-2020.



The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global point-of-sale (POS) terminals market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the sale of POS terminals, transaction fees, and other fees such as monthly fees charged by vendors. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

A trend boosting market growth is the wider adoption of contactless payment systems. Contactless payment systems are gaining popularity among merchants. In these systems, the transaction takes place with the help of NFC technology, which is present in transmitters (card, smartphone, and smartwatches) and readers. These contactless cards are placed near (within five centimeters of) a contactless reader, which can accept payments within a second. The details of such cards can also be stored on mobile devices that have NFC technology to make payments.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the rising number of card-related transactions. The increase in the use of credit and debit cards for payment transactions by consumers is encouraging the vendors to adopt payment mechanisms involving cards. Also, consumers are expected to use cards and digital money as a mode of payment more often than cash. This encourages mobile card readers to invest in the technology and market, with the assurance that merchants and consumers will process payments through card transactions.



Further, the report states that a challenge that could restrict market growth is the increase in card-related fraud.

Key vendors



- Ingenico

- Verifone

- PAX Technology

- SZZT



Other prominent vendors



- CyberNet

- Equinox Payments

- First Data

- NCR

- Spire Payments



Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive summary



Part 02: Scope of the report



Part 03: Market research methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Market landscape



Part 06: Market segmentation by EMV compliance



Part 07: Market segmentation by product



Part 08: Market segmentation by end-user



Part 09: Geographical segmentation



Part 10: Market drivers



Part 11: Impact of drivers



Part 12: Market challenges



Part 13: Impact of drivers and challenges



Part 14: Market trends



Part 15: Vendor landscape



Part 16: Appendix



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/dfrxt9/global_pos

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
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Networks of Centres of Excellence

Canada's publicly funded health care system is a source of pride and a defining value for Canadians. They rely on it for timely access to universal, high-quality and innovative treatments and services that are based on need, not on the ability to pay. To support Canadians battling cancer, the Government of Canada is investing $15 million over five years in the Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy (C3i). Immunotherapy is an emerging area of medicine that uses the power of the immune system to combat cancer. When brought to market, C3i's form of cancer treatment stands to revolutionize cancer care by providing access to non-toxic, highly efficient cures that do not rely on chemotherapy.

The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, made today's announcement alongside Gaetan Barrette, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services. They celebrated the launch of the Centre, made possible with funding through the most recent Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program competition.

Operating out of Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, C3i will combine clinical diagnostics, access to clinical trials and regulatory support to bring effective and affordable cancer remedies to Canadians and the world.

Quotes

"The CECR program helps to bridge the gap between lab-based research and a commercially viable product. Today's announcement is yet another example of the great scientific research that is being done across the country, and it speaks to the tremendous efforts that these researchers are making to produce therapies that will revolutionize cancer care in Canada. On behalf of our government, I want to congratulate the Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy."

- The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science

"Our research ecosystem needs to be balanced in a way that supports the constant interchange between discovery and innovation. Commercialization centres satisfy a very specific need by providing a solid connection between the ideas generated by foundational research and the expertise that can take the most promising ideas toward commercialization."

- B. Mario Pinto, President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Chair, Networks of Centres of Excellence Steering Committee

"By harnessing the power of the immune system, we have the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment. These are game-changing therapies, and with this support C3i can work to ensure a brighter future for cancer patients. At the same time, Canada has the expertise in this area to become a world leader and take advantage of the tremendous business opportunity presented by immunotherapy. C3i will act as a catalyst to support this development."

- Lambert Busque, Chief Medical Officer, Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy

"This valuable contribution from the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research program will enable the life sciences innovation ecosystem in Quebec to make these new therapeutic approaches available sooner to doctors and their patients. We are therefore proud to support, through the Fonds de recherche du Quebec - Sante, the establishment of C3i in Montreal, which will strengthen Quebec's expertise in cancer immunotherapy."

- Gaetan Barrette, Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services

Quick facts

-- Operating out of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital Research Centre, C3i will be a one-stop shop for the development, translation and commercialization of groundbreaking cancer treatments. -- CECRs match research expertise with the business community, facilitating the development of products and technologies at a stage in the commercialization process where it is otherwise difficult to attract private sector investment. They ensure that more of the inventive products and processes developed in Canada make it to market here as well as abroad. -- The CECR program currently funds 23 centres working in such areas as information and communications technologies, health, natural resources and energy. Created in 2007, the program invests $30 million per year in Canadian innovation.

Associated links

Centre for Commercialization of Cancer Immunotherapy (C3i)

CECR competition results

CECR program information

Currently funded CECRs

Follow Minister Duncan on social media.

Twitter: @ScienceMin

Instagram: sciencemin

Follow the Networks of Centres of Excellence on social media.

Twitter: @NCE_RCE

The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), which manages the CECR program, operates a suite of national funding programs on behalf of the three federal granting agencies: the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. NCE programs support large scale, multi-disciplinary collaborations between universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations, which focus Canada's research capacity on economic and social challenges, help commercialize and apply research breakthroughs, increase private sector R&D, and train highly qualified people.

Contacts:

Veronique Perron

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Science

343-291-2600



Media Relations

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

343-291-1777

ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca



Martin Leroux

Media and Public Affairs Officer

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

613-943-7618

media@nserc-crsng.gc.ca




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump defended his business record in Atlantic City shortly after Hillary Clinton questioned the business credentials of her rival in the race to the White House. At a rally held at the site of one of Trump's failed casinos Wednesday, Clinton made a scathing attack on his business credentials, citing the bankruptcy of Trump Taj Mahal hotel in Atlantic city, and ongoing strike of workers there. In a statement Wednesday, Trump said it is an effective and commonly used practice in business to use bankruptcy proceedings to restructure a business and ultimately save jobs. He claimed that nobody understands the economy like he does, and no one, especially not 'Crooked Hillary Clinton', will do more for the economy than he will. The businessman-turned politician said he wants to bring jobs back to America, while Hillary Clinton wants to get elected to enrich herself with power at the expense of the people. Trump claimed he created thousands of jobs and made a lot of money in Atlantic City, which was what, as a businessman, he is supposed to do for his company and his family. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, has launched the world's first universal flash storage or UFS removable data storage card that is five times faster than the typical microSD card.



The new card with 256 gigabytes or GB of storage is the industry's first removable memory card based on the JEDEC UFS 1.0 Card Extension Standard. It can be used in high-resolution mobile shooting devices such as digital single-lens reflex or DSLR cameras, 3D virtual-reality cameras, action cams and drones.



Samsung's new UFS cards will be coming in a wide range of storage capacities including 256GB, 128GB, 64GB and 32GB, and are expected to provide a significant performance boost to the external memory storage market.



Jung-bae Lee, senior vice president, Memory Product Planning & Application Engineering, Samsung Electronics said, 'By launching our new high-capacity, high-performance UFS card line-up, we are changing the growth paradigm of the memory card market to prioritize performance and user convenience above all.'



The new 256GB UFS card is well-suited for high-resolution 3D gaming and high-resolution movie playback. It will be able to read a 5GB, full HD movie in about 10 seconds, compared to a typical UHS-1 microSD card that will take about 50 seconds for the same work.



The new card can read sequentially at 530 megabytes per second or MB/s, which is similar to the sequential read speed of the most widely used SATA SSDs.



When it comes to writing, the new 256GB UFS card processes 35,000 random IOPS or Input/Output operations per second, which is 350 times higher than the 100 IOPs of a typical microSD card.



The new card will significantly reduce multimedia data downloading time, photo thumbnail loading time and buffer clearing time in burst shooting mode. All these will be particularly beneficial to DSLR camera users.



Following its introduction of the industry-first 128GB embedded UFS chip in January 2015, Samsung launched a 256GB embedded UFS memory for high-end mobile devices in February of this year.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Trevali Mining Corporation ("Trevali" or the "Company") (TSX: TV)(LMA: TV)(OTCQX: TREVF)(FRANKFURT: 4TI) announces that effective as of July 1, 2016 it has achieved commercial production at its Caribou Zinc Mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Following a successful commissioning period, Caribou is now operating consistently in a manner intended by the Company and as demonstrated in the June results with mill and underground operations delivering the strongest monthly performance to date with record mine and mill tonnage and throughput, zinc recoveries and concentrate production. A detailed description and discussion is provided below and progress highlights are as follows:

Caribou Mill - key commissioning & preliminary production statistics (figures rounded)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q1-2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Mined 191,005 58,564 57,103 72,686 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tonnes Milled 200,670 60,032 53,038 73,176 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Mill Tonnes-per- day(i) (TPD) 2,675 2,636 2,874 2,867 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Head Grades % Zinc 5.9% 6.1% 5.7% 5.9% Lead 2.6% 3.0% 2.6% 2.4% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 2.0 oz/t 2.7 oz/t 2.3 oz/t 2.4 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Recoveries % Zinc 71% 74% 78% 80% Lead 58% 57% 58% 55% Silver (in Lead concentrate) 38% 32% 31% 30% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Produced DMT (dry metric tonnes): Zinc 17,732 5,832 5,041 7,282 Lead 7,586 2,634 1,968 2,446 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Concentrate Grades % Zinc 48% 46% 47% 47% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 4.0 oz/t 5.3 oz/t 5.1 oz/t 4.7 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lead 39% 40% 40% 43% Silver - Oz (ounces)/ton 20.3 oz/t 19.5 oz/t 19.9 oz/t 21.5 oz/t ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i) Exclusive of downtime for scheduled mill servicing and maintenance cycle days.

"Declaring Commercial Production at Caribou represents a major milestone for Trevali's second operating zinc mine and strengthens the Company's position as the only current primary zinc producer on the TSX poised to benefit from the forecast zinc commodity price rally," states Dr. Mark Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO. "This achievement, during a time of challenging market conditions, is a testament to the professionalism, dedication, attitude and hard work of our Caribou team including our valued contractors and partners. Based on our experience at the Santander mine, I remain extremely confident ongoing optimizations at Caribou will continue to build upon these foundations during the remainder of 2016, exemplified by Caribou zinc recoveries in early July already averaging 82%."

With the achievement of this key milestone, Trevali will continue to implement its business initiatives in order to continue to optimize operations and ramp-up production at the Caribou Zinc Mine to further boost efficiencies, recovery rates and ultimately metal concentrate production.

Caribou Mill

During June the Caribou metallurgical team made further improvements on increasing zinc recoveries into entitlement ranges as outlined in the Caribou PEA report (see Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Caribou Massive Sulphide Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., on the Company's website or on SEDAR).

The Company continues to focus on highlighted areas for metallurgical improvement with modifications to be implemented during ongoing scheduled maintenance periods. Modifications completed during June and which are ongoing include:

-- Increase in the number of sample stations for the on-stream sample analyzer - in progress. -- SAG mill modifications, installation of newly designed lifters and shell liners - in progress and will continue during scheduled shut downs throughout the summer period. -- Pumping infrastructure including capacity and electrical upgrades are in progress. Approximately 55% of pumps are either changed and/or upgraded with the remaining works to be completed during the summer period. The upgrades are designed to result in improved circuit stability (and consequently recoveries) when handling the finely-ground process feed. -- Trial of Zn and Pb circuit modifications to recycle cleaner streams to feed streams to potentially boost recoveries - in progress. -- Plant water chemistry investigations - in progress. -- Cu circuit test work using plant feed is ongoing with additional work to be implemented following final upgrades and improvements to both the Zn and Pb circuits.

Caribou Mining

With the zinc circuit essentially de-risked, site continues to focus on underground operations in particular de-bottlenecking initiatives. Work is ongoing, however June successfully delivered the largest amount of stope tonnes to the mill to date with monthly production increasing to an average of 2,423-tpd. From July onwards mining will start reintroducing development feed tonnage, which in conjunction with other planned improvements, is anticipated to further boost production rates upwards of 2,700-tpd.

Geologically, year-to-date reconciliation to the block model is very high at 97% correlation and dilution remains below design levels resulting in underground delivering increased metal units to the mill. A 10,000-metre resource conversation drill program is in progress and will be ongoing to year-end. Mineralization remains open for expansion at depth and to the NW, and the Company classifies the exploration potential as good to excellent.

Caribou production guidance (July 1-December 31, 2016) in payable metals is approximately:

-- Zinc - 37-41 million pounds -- Lead - 14-15 million pounds -- Silver - 380,000 to 420,000 ounces

Head grades are anticipated to range from 5.9-6.2% Zn, 2.5-2.7% Pb and 65-70 grams/tonne Ag.

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

EurGeol Dr. Mark D. Cruise, Trevali's President and CEO, Paul Keller, P.Eng, Trevali's Chief Operating Officer are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Dr. Cruise is not independent of the Company as he is an officer, director and shareholder. Mr. Keller is not independent of the Company as he is an officer and shareholder.

ABOUT TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

Trevali is a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations.

The Company is actively producing zinc and lead-silver concentrates from its 2,000-tonne-per-day Santander mine in Peru and its 3,000-tonne-per-day Caribou mine in the Bathurst Mining Camp of northern New Brunswick. Trevali also owns the Halfmile and Stratmat base metal deposits, located in New Brunswick, that are currently undergoing a Preliminary Economic Assessment reviewing their potential development.

The common shares of Trevali are listed on the TSX (symbol TV), the OTCQX (symbol TREVF), the Lima Stock Exchange (symbol TV), and the Frankfurt Exchange (symbol 4TI). For further details on Trevali, readers are referred to the Company's website (www.trevali.com) and to Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

TREVALI MINING CORPORATION

"Mark D. Cruise" (signed), Mark D. Cruise, President

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company's plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation to, update such statements containing the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to statements as to: the Company's plan to prepare a new PEA for its Halfmile and Stratmat properties, the accuracy of estimated mineral resources, anticipated results of future exploration, and forecast future metal prices, expectations that environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, political, marketing or other issues will not materially affect estimates of mineral resources. These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.

These statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: fluctuations in spot and forward markets for silver, zinc, base metals and certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Peruvian sol versus the U.S. dollar); risks related to the technological and operational nature of the Company's business; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls or regulations and political or economic developments in Canada, the United States, Peru or other countries where the Company may carry on business in the future; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological or structural formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining,; diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as properties are mined; global financial conditions; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; the Company's ability to complete and successfully integrate acquisitions and to mitigate other business combination risks; challenges to, or difficulty in maintaining, the Company's title to properties and continued ownership thereof; the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors; increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel, and their costs. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty or reliance on forward-looking statements.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Trevali's production plan at the Caribou Mine is based only on measured, indicated and inferred resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Trevali's production plan at the Santander Mine is based only on indicated and inferred mineral resources, and not mineral reserves, and does not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is therefore no certainty that the conclusions of the production plans and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will be realized. Additionally, where Trevali discusses exploration/expansion potential, any potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.

We advise US investors that while the terms "measured resources", "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the US Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into reserves.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold within the United States, absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

The TSX has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Contacts:

Steve Stakiw

Vice President, Investor Relations

and Corporate Communications

(604) 488-1661 / Direct: (604) 638-5623

sstakiw@trevali.com




DEDHAM, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Rage Frameworks, a provider of knowledge-based automation technology and services, today announced that Dr. Venkat Srinivasan, founder and CEO, has been invited to speak at the Education Weekend 2016 presented by the University of Oxford. Dr. Srinivasan will present "Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Enterprise: Humans in the Era of AI" on Saturday, July 9th, 2016 from 1:00 to 1:30 GMT.

This year's theme of "The Tradition of Inquiry: A Forum in Pursuit of Scholarly and Spiritual Learning" reflects a wide array of talks and discussions after the Oxford style of learning. Presentations will be given by Oxford faculty and affiliate scholars of various disciplines. These world-class presenters will focus on topics including the compatible relationship between God and science, the neuroscience of memory, human and business in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), social entrepreneurship, ideas of leadership, ideas of persuasion, and the scholarly-spiritual history of Oxford itself, to name a few.

"I am excited to engage with members of the Oxford community and my fellow presenters on the convergence of knowledge workers and machine learning in the workplace, and the implications of this integration," said Dr. Srinivasan. "The role of AI is evolving quickly and understanding its relationship with enhancing enterprise operations is essential to leveraging its capabilities most effectively."

The RAGE AI platform enables intelligent systems with end-to-end knowledge-based automation including contextual, traceable deep learning. Where natural language is involved, using deep linguistic parsing and proprietary linguistics-based innovations it enables the understanding of the real meaning of documents and interprets them as a human would. RAGE AI significantly extends the frontier of deep learning and machine intelligence from "natural language processing" to "natural language understanding."

RAGE AI is currently used by some of the largest banks, manufacturers, consultants, high tech firms, logistics companies and biotech firms. It is offered on a subscription basis for both pre-configured solutions and custom solutions. To learn more, visit www.rageframeworks.com to explore the Rage platform and its entire suite of intelligent automation solutions.

About RAGE Frameworks: It's Possible

RAGE Frameworks Inc. is a leader in Cognitive Intelligence and Business Process Automation technology providing enterprise solutions in wealth management and business banking, breakthrough information products and custom solutions to power business transformation. Headquartered in Dedham, Massachusetts with global operations centers in Pune and Belgaum, India, RAGE offers unprecedented speed, flexibility and insight in solving today's most complex, critical business problems. For more information, visit www.rageframeworks.com or follow on Twitter via @RAGE_Frameworks.

For additional information on Rage Frameworks, contact:

Jeff Lavery or Kay Kelly

SVM Public Relations

401-490-9700

Email Contact

Email Contact




CORONA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- TrendPoint Systems Inc., the provider of an industry-leading, flexible energy monitoring platform for high density power consumers, announced today its partnership with Montreal-based, Techno-Contact. The new agreement will enable Techno-Contact to better address customers' mission-critical facility energy management and consumption with innovative power metering and reporting capabilities.

"We have created this strategic partnership with TrendPoint to bring power management solutions to our Quebec-based data center clients," said Gilles Lemay, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Techno-Contact. "TrendPoint's Power Quality Meters (PQM) and Branch Circuit Monitoring (BCM) solutions offer key power monitoring features needed by our region's colocation and data center operators. We are proud to offer world-class solutions to help optimize the energy consumption of these important facilities."

Tweet This: @trendpointinc partners with Techno-Contact for datacenter power management needs in Quebec. One stop shop for PQM DCIM BCM powermeter & 1.2 PUE rating

TrendPoint and Techno-Contact share a core mission of helping data center operators better control and manage their power distribution and associated costs. Establishing a complete solution approach, Techno-Contact will now offer facilities TrendPoint's innovative, power quality and branch circuit monitoring solutions as well as DCIM device visibility and reporting. The value-add solution will help data center IT and facility managers to identify, monitor and control power usage -- with an industry goal of achieving a 1.2 Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating.

"Data centers and colocation facilities want solutions that help identify ways to increase operational efficiency while also lowering power-related costs," said Brian White, Director of Strategic Alliances at TrendPoint. "Techno-Contact has established an outstanding reputation for tailoring power solutions to meet the individual needs of their customer base. We are confident that the introduction of our power monitoring solutions will become an important part of Techno-Contact's solution and demonstrate significant value for their customers."

About TrendPoint Systems

TrendPoint Systems designs and engineers flexible, scalable and cost-effective power metering devices for the critical facility, enabling customers to track power consumption, maximize uptime, and effectively manage power distribution assets across the facility. Built on the EnerSure monitoring platform, every TrendPoint power meter utilizes a common chipset, configuration tool and standardized communication protocols (Modbus TCP/IP, SNMP, BACnet/IP), allowing end users to integrate power metrics from high amperage main switchgear feeds down to sub-panel branch circuits with a single software driver from the DCIM or BMS application. To learn more, visit: http://www.trendpoint.com https://www.facebook.com/trendpointsystems

Jackie Lucas

PR for TrendPoint Systems

978-255-1159

jackielucas@bridgeviewmarketing.com




BOULDER, CO--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - MBio Diagnostics, Inc., a company leading a new era in rapid, on-the-spot clinical diagnostics and sample testing, today announced funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance its water toxin testing technology. The grant, titled "Portable System for Detection of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Freshwater and Marine Environments," will help advance the development and commercialization of MBio's unique platform. MBio's Array System enables users in the field to perform laboratory-quality cyanotoxin testing to help protect drinking water, monitor commercial food resources, and provide critical data for ecosystems management.

Harmful algal blooms in the United States and global freshwater and marine environments are increasing in frequency and duration. Algal blooms constitute a growing public health threat while also carrying substantial economic, ecologic, and food supply implications. A case in point is the devastating algae bloom currently affecting coastal Florida. Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on June 29 in Martin and St. Lucie Counties following the presence of algal blooms in local waterways. The Executive Order will allow state and local governmental agencies to take swift action to mitigate the spread of algal blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries. In recent years, toxic algal blooms have shut down the water supply for the city of Toledo, and closed shellfish beds in the Pacific northwest.

Working with a network of domestic and international collaborators, MBio has demonstrated a unique, portable testing platform that delivers a panel of freshwater and marine toxin test results in a matter of minutes in an easy-to-use format. The platform utilizes MBio's proprietary LightDeck  technology, which enables simple, multiplex testing in a compact system. According to MBio Diagnostics CTO Michael Lochhead, "The MBio water toxin technology has been demonstrated by researchers through multiple validation studies now published in the scientific literature. The NSF award provides critical resources to help move this important technology to commercial product."

About MBio Diagnostics

MBio Diagnostics is leading a new era in rapid, on-the-spot clinical diagnostics and sample testing. Our portable MBio Array System and disposable cartridges enable low-cost, rapid answers in 1 to 20 minutes. MBio aims to be the platform of choice for leading providers and users of clinical and analytical testing services in all market segments including: medical, veterinary, environmental, food, agricultural and military. www.mbiodx.com

Contacts



Company:

Chris Myatt

MBio Diagnostics, Inc.

Phone: 303-952-2815

Email: chris.myatt@mbiodx.com



Media:

Karen Sharma

MacDougall Biomedical Communications

Phone: 781-235-3060

Email: ksharma@macbiocom.com
BATTLE CREEK (dpa-AFX) - Kellogg's paired its popular Raisin Bran breakfast staple with Granola to offer Raisin Bran Granola in adult tastes. The company will market Raisin and Honey Granola, as well as Cranberry Almond Granola flavors. The new product will be low in fat and a rich source of fiber. Jeremy Harper, senior marketing director for Kellogg's morning foods said, '... we worked hard to keep the cereal staple at the forefront of the granola - the crisp bran flakes and sweet raisins are what we're known for.' Raisin Bran Granola will be available with a price tag of $3.99. The breakfast products company has opened its first cereal cafe in New York's Times Square to serve nourishing cornflakes dishes for breakfast. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published for comment CSA Consultation Paper 95-401 Margin and Collateral Requirements for Non-Centrally Cleared Derivatives. The Consultation Paper proposes a framework for the calculation and exchange of margin and collateral relating to non-centrally cleared derivatives.

"This proposed framework is the CSA's initial step to develop rules that protect market participants entering into non-centrally cleared derivatives by addressing counterparty risk," said Louis Morisset, Chair of the CSA and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorite des marches financiers. "The policy recommendations in this proposed framework are broadly consistent with international standards and substantially harmonized with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions' margin requirements for federally regulated financial institutions."

This Consultation Paper continues the CSA's efforts to implement regulatory oversight of the over-the-counter derivatives market in Canada, in response to the regulatory reform commitments made by leaders of the G20 countries.

The Consultation Paper can be found on CSA members' websites. The comment period is open until September 6, 2016.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

Contacts:

Alison Walker

British Columbia Securities Commission

604-899-6713



Kristen Rose

Ontario Securities Commission

416-593-2336



Mark Dickey

Alberta Securities Commission

403-297-4481



Sylvain Theberge

Autorite des marches financiers

514-940-2176



Jason (Jay) Booth

Manitoba Securities Commission

204-945-1660



Andrew Nicholson

Financial and Consumer Services Commission, New Brunswick

506-658-3021



Tanya Wiltshire

Nova Scotia Securities Commission

902-424-8586



Janice Callbeck

Government of Prince Edward Island,

Superintendent of Securities

902-368-6288



John O'Brien

Office of the Superintendent of Securities

Newfoundland and Labrador

709-729-4909



Rhonda Horte

Office of the Yukon Superintendent of Securities

867-667-5466



Jeff Mason

Nunavut Securities Office

867-975-6591



Tom Hall

Office of the Superintendent of Securities,

Northwest Territories

867-767-9305



Shannon McMillan

Financial and Consumer Affairs

Authority of Saskatchewan

306-798-4160




Country

Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Impact Mobile Inc. today announced that they have been providing the Regional Emergency Operations Centre (REOC) with the ability to send time-sensitive informational alerts to Fort McMurray residents. The service launched on June 3, 2016 as residents were beginning to return to the city, and will continue throughout the recovery process.

"The vast majority of Canadians are within arm's length of their mobile phones throughout the day, and typically read text messages within minutes of receiving them," said John Leon, SVP Engagement at Impact Mobile. "These messages will reach residents regardless of their physical location, which is exactly what's required for Fort McMurray residents during the re-settlement and recovery process."

Impact Mobile is providing the service with support of the wireless carriers that serve the Fort McMurray region. Fort McMurray residents can opt-in to receive these alerts by texting the keyword FORT to 311.

Background: 311 Service

A number of Canadian municipalities have implemented a 311 telephone service to provide residents with access to non-emergency municipal services. The 311 text messaging service that Impact Mobile has enabled for Fort McMurray residents can be implemented by any Canadian municipality to complement their existing voice-based 311 service, or as a stand-alone text-based 311 service.

Contacts:

Media inquiries:

Impact Mobile

info@impactmobile.com



Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo

pio@rmwb.ca




DUBLIN, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Internet of Things Market in the Healthcare Sector 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The global internet of things (IoT) market in healthcare sector to grow at a CAGR of 36.5% during the period 2016-2020.



Global Internet of Things (IoT) Market in Healthcare Sector 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.



The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global internet of things (IoT) market in healthcare sector for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, we consider revenue generated from segments, such as medical devices, software and system applications, and connecting technologies.



One trend that will continue to boost market growth is continuing development in sensor technologies and communication devices. Advances in sensor technologies and innovations in material sciences have led to proliferation of different types of sensors.

The expansion in sensor types has increased the availability and affordability of sensors for all industries to consume. These sensors are in high demand due to their advantages such as low power consumption and affordable prices. As a result of the automation of several processes in industries, IT is becoming an integral part of industrial automation and thus as industries embrace IoT, there are many opportunities for IT players.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the highly competitive IoT market. With the rise in digital transformation, many companies are entering into the healthcare IoT space. Honeywell, Stanley, Philips Healthcare, and IBM have introduced application program interface (API) support for their IoT-programmed products.



These products have become one of the advanced technological widgets that bring together application, devices, data, and the cloud. They help establish communications between different sensors deployed over multiple medical devices to analyze data on the cloud. API-enabled IoT services are a critical part of the hospital ecosystem and help hospitals to take preventive action for patients.



Further, the report states that one challenge that could hamper market growth is the high cost of implementation.



Key vendors



- Cisco Systems

- GE Healthcare

- Philips Healthcare

- IBM

- Qualcomm



Other prominent vendors



- Ericsson

- Honeywell Life Care Solutions

- Intel

- Medtronic

- Microsoft

- NXP

- SAP

- Stanley Healthcare

- Temboo

- Cognizant

- Zebra Technologies



Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive summary



Part 02: Scope of the report



Part 03: Market research methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Product segmentation



Part 06: Geographical segmentation



Part 07: Market drivers



Part 08: Impact of drivers



Part 09: Market challenges



Part 10: Impact of drivers and challenges



Part 11: Market trends



Part 12: Vendor landscape



Part 13: Key vendor analysis



Part 14: Appendix



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/lfj9ff/global_internet

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
EDMONTON, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- (TSX: CWB) - Chris Fowler, President and Chief Executive Officer, is pleased to announce three new appointments to CWB's executive team. This follows the planned retirements of Randy Garvey, Executive Vice President, Corporate Services, and Greg Sprung, Executive Director, Business Development, who will support the transition until August 31, 2016.

Stephen Murphy, CWB's Executive Vice President, Banking, joined CWB in March 2016. He previously held diverse, progressive business and corporate leadership roles during his 20 year tenure at a large Canadian bank. Stephen is responsible for CWB's business and personal banking, product development, marketing, equipment financing, and corporate lending. He will also oversee CWB's specialized finance businesses: CWB Optimum Mortgage, National Leasing, CWB Maxium Financial and CWB Franchise Finance.

"Stephen brings extensive relevant experience, excellent leadership capabilities and a proven ability to deliver on business objectives," said Mr. Fowler. "We're very excited to bring him on board to support our established commercial banking strategy, as well as the complementary growth of personal banking and wealth management."

Effective July 1, 2016, Darrell Jones and Glen Eastwood have moved into newly restructured executive positions. Darrell, who previously led the information services team as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Glen, who previously led the prairies region as Senior Vice President and Regional General Manager, has been appointed Executive Vice President, Business Transformation.

"Darrell's appointment demonstrates the importance of technology in our growth plans. The opportunity to leverage our recently implemented new core banking system to deliver enhanced functionality to support clients while improving our data management capacity and capabilities is significant," said Mr. Fowler. "During his time with CWB, Darrell has helped position us for future growth by re-shaping our approach to technology. This appointment reflects his important contributions to date, as well as our vision for CWB's future."

Glen will provide leadership for a strategic focus on process improvements that enhance efficiencies to support delivery of exceptional client service within our branch network. He will also oversee CWB Wealth Management and Canadian Western Trust, with a focus on developing these business lines to realize more multi-product client relationships.

"Glen's commitment to process improvement and excellent client experience, coupled with his ability to get things done, make him ideal for this new role," said Mr. Fowler. "With the implementation of our new core banking system comes the opportunity to look strategically at how we manage our business as we prepare for our next phase of growth. There is significant work to be done to realize the benefits we have in front of us, and I'm confident that Glen is the right leader to guide this work."

"As we continue to develop our established commercial banking strategy and diversify our geographic footprint, it's critical that we have the right leadership team in place," said Mr. Fowler. "We are determined to build on CWB's unique client experience, support our culture, and deliver long-term value for shareholders. In their new roles, Stephen Murphy, Darrell Jones and Glen Eastwood will help us achieve these goals and I welcome them to our Executive Committee alongside Carolyn Graham, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Kelly Blackett, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications, and Bogie Ozdemir, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer."

For detailed information about CWB's executive team visit www.cwb.com/executive-team.

About CWB Group

CWB Group (CWB) is a diversified financial services organization serving businesses and individuals across Canada. Operating from its headquarters in Edmonton, Alberta, CWB's key business lines include full-service business and personal banking offered through 42 CWB branches and Internet banking services provided by Canadian Direct Financial. Highly responsive specialized financing is delivered under the banners of CWB Equipment Financing, National Leasing, CWB Maxium Financial, CWB Franchise Finance and CWB Optimum Mortgage. Trust Services are offered through Canadian Western Trust. Comprehensive wealth management offerings are provided through CWB Wealth Management, which includes the businesses of Adroit Investment Management, McLean & Partners Wealth Management and Canadian Western Financial. As a public company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), CWB trades under the symbols "CWB" (common shares) and "CWB.PR.B" (Series 5 Preferred Shares). Learn more at www.cwb.com.

Contacts:

Angela Saveraux

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

Canadian Western Bank

(780) 441-2257

angela.saveraux@cwbank.com




DUBLIN, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Test-Environment-as-a-Service Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the global test environment as a service market to grow at a CAGR of 23.5% during the period 2016-2020.



Commenting on the report, an analyst from the research team said: A trend which is playing an important role in market growth is the growing use of cloud-based testing. Service providers are offering cloud-based testing software and solutions that target SMEs. These services are delivered on a subscription basis and follow the pay-per-use model. SMEs with limited budgets can also opt for these services as service providers provide the required IT infrastructure. Cloud computing offers a broad level of flexibility and a high degree of accessibility to testing tools and test environments from anywhere at any time. By moving IT infrastructure to the cloud, financial organizations can cut capital investments as well as the costs associated with maintenance, security, and infrastructure.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the rise of as-a-service model for testing services. As-a-service model is gaining traction in the IT market, especially in cloud-based services. As-a-service models such as SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, TaaS, and EaaS are IT solution offerings that are delivered on the basis of requirements of organizations. Testing-as-a-service (TaaS) is quickly growing in popularity, as it meets the requirements of the evolving IT landscape. TaaS offers output-based testing, covering every aspect of the lifecycle requirements.

Questions Answered:



What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in this market space?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Companies Mentioned:



CSC

HCL Technologies

IBM

Infosys

Wipro

Accenture

Atos

CA Technologies

Capgemini

Cognizant

HP

Infotree Solutions

Mindtree

QA Infotech

TCS

Tech Mahindra

Report Structure:

PART 01: Executive summary



PART 02: Scope of the report



PART 03: Market research methodology



PART 04: Introduction



PART 05: Market landscape



PART 06: Geographical segmentation



PART 07: Market drivers



PART 08: Impact of drivers



PART 09: Market challenges



PART 10: Impact of drivers and challenges



PART 11: Market trends



PART 12: Vendor landscape



PART 13: Key vendor analysis



PART 14: Appendix



PART 15: About the Author



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/kw6jw7/global

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - The European markets ended Thursday's session in the green, snapping a 3-session losing streak. After the recent sell-off, bargain hunters stepped in to grab equities at low prices. Investors exited safe havens, which had been appealing earlier this week, in favor of riskier investments.



Rising crude oil prices provided a boost to energy stocks Thursday and financial stocks recovered some lost ground. M&A activity also provided investors with some distraction, after Danone made an acquisition.



Policymakers described the 'Brexit' referendum as a major source of uncertainty for the euro area economic outlook and warned that the impact from a decision by the U.K. to leave the European Union would be significant, the minutes of the June 1-2 European Central Bank rate-setting session showed Thursday.



'There was general agreement that this was an important source of uncertainty as regards the economic outlook, and in the event that the United Kingdom voted to leave, i.e. a 'Brexit', there could be significant, although difficult to anticipate, negative spillovers to the euro area via a number of channels, including trade and the financial markets,' the report, which the ECB calls 'accounts' said.



The 'Brexit' vote has presented economic challenges as well as new opportunities that should be met to help London retain its title of the leading international financial centre, Chancellor George Osborne and the senior executives of five major investment banks said in a joint statement on Thursday.



'Britain's decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet,' they said in the statement.



'We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business.'



The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.68 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 1.04 percent.



The DAX of Germany climbed 0.49 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.80 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. gained 1.09 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.84 percent.



In Frankfurt, Volkswagen dipped 0.14 percent on news it is recalling 5,900 gas-powered Touran MPVs worldwide.



Utility RWE jumped 4.65 percent and peer E.ON rose 2.85 percent.



In Paris, dairy giant Danone soared 1.88 percent after it agreed to buy organic foods producer WhiteWave Foods for about $10 billion.



AXA Group gained 0.49 percent after announcing an agreement with Vienna Insurance Group to sell both its Life & Savings and Property & Casualty operations in Serbia and exit the Serbian market.



Technip increased 1.58 percent and Total added 0.68 percent.



In London, Associated British Foods soared 8.89 percent after issuing a positive trading update for the 40 weeks to June 18.



Marks & Spencer rose 1.63 percent. the company said its total UK sales were down 1.1 percent, and like-for-like UK sales declined 4.3 percent. Total group sales, however, increased 1.3 percent in the 13 weeks to July 2 with strong food sales and international strength.



Insurers Aviva, Standard Life and Prudential rose by 1-2 percent, and asset managers Henderson Group and Aberdeen Asset Management climbed 1-3 percent, after recent steep losses on concerns about their exposure to the U.K. commercial real estate market.



Property-related stocks such as Land Securities Group, British Land and Persimmon jumped 4-5 percent.



Germany's industrial production logged the biggest decline in nearly two years in May, largely due to weak construction and capital goods output. Industrial output fell 1.3 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a revised 0.5 percent rise in April, figures from Destatis revealed Thursday. Production was expected to climb 0.1 percent.



French foreign trade deficit decreased unexpectedly in May from a month ago, as exports rose and imports fell, figures from the French Customs showed Thursday. The trade deficit narrowed markedly to EUR 2.8 billion in May from EUR 4.8 billion in April. Economists had expected the deficit to rise to EUR 4.9 billion.



The French current account gap narrowed in May due to a fall in visible trade deficit, the Bank of France reported Thursday. The current account deficit narrowed to EUR 0.3 billion in May from EUR 2.1 billion in April.



U.K. industrial production declined less than expected in May ahead of 'Brexit' results, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed Thursday. Industrial output dropped 0.5 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a revised 2.1 percent rise in April. This was the biggest fall in five months, but was smaller than the expected decline of 1 percent.



U.K. house prices increased at a faster pace in June, data from the Lloyds Banking Group subsidiary Halifax showed Thursday. House prices grew 1.3 percent on a monthly basis in June, following a 0.9 percent rise in May. This was the fastest growth in three months and faster than a 0.3 percent rise forecast by economists.



Private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of June, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Thursday. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 172,000 jobs in June following a downwardly revised increase of 168,000 jobs in May.



Economists had expected an increase of about 150,000 jobs compared to the addition of 173,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.



With the monthly jobs report looming, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected pullback in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended July 2nd. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 254,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level of 270,000.



Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 270,000 from the 268,000 originally reported for the previous month.



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HELSINKI, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Metsa Wood's next Plan B initiative to explore possibilities of wood in solving the problems of urbanization.

Cities all over the world are in dire need of new ways to house a rapidly growing urban population. The City Above the City international wood design competition invites architects and students from all over the world to solve the challenges of urbanization in both sustainable and humane ways.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7875651-metsa-wood-the-city-above-the-city/

The world's increasing urbanization is one of the most significant issues facing humanity today. By 2050, 2/3 of the world's population will live in cities. Consequently, urban growth is fast outpacing the ability to build affordable and sustainable living space.

"We need to start building up, and stop tearing down. We have an alternative. A building extension constructed with a timber frame can be a fast, sustainable and inexpensive solution ", saysMichael Greenof Vancouver-based Michael Green Architects.

Research shows that approximately 1/4th of existing buildings are strong enough to carry additional floors made of wood. Moreover, it is the only material light enough to build quickly on to existing structures. This makes wood a highly promising building material for providing living space for billions of people - while also preserving the architectural heritage of our cities.

Wanted: a more livable and sustainable solution

The City Above the City competition is a continuation of Metsa Wood's project Plan B, started in 2015 as an ambitious project to explore the possibilities of using wood in urban construction. This year's design competition is looking for bold and ambitious plans that connect wood construction processes to an existing urban context - in a way that is friendly to both people and nature.

The entrants are encouraged to select a centrally-located building in one of the world's most populated cities and develop an innovative wood design solution that adds density through additional floors. Building additional floors with Kerto LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber) as the primary material is a central requirement for the design work. Preferred cities include London, Berlin, Paris, Washington, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Istanbul and Shanghai.

The design work itself must either integrate with an existing structure or knit itself into the urban fabric of the city. Entrants are challenged to propose construction systems that draw on the performance characteristics of a variety of wood technologies.

Winner chosen by an internationally accomplished jury

The competition will be judged by an international jury with extensive in-depth expertise in wood structure architecture and sustainable design.

Michael Greenfounded his architecture firm MGA and his not for profit school DBR | Design Build Research to focus on progressive architecture, research, education and innovation. From offices in Vancouver and Portland, he and his team of 25 designers work on international projects that are diverse in their scale, building type and location. Michael is vested in helping build healthier communities through innovative architecture, interiors, landscape, and urban design. Michael is particularly known for his research, leadership and advocacy in promoting the use of wood in the built environment with extensive international talks on the subject, including 3 TED events culminating in his 2013 TED talk which has been viewed over a million times.

Mike Kaneis a British senior lecturer at London South Bank University in architecture, and a director ofKMK Architects. Kane focuses on the ways in which cities can prepare for the climate, resources limitation and increasing urbanization. He has regularly contributed to the Energy & Resource efficiency module and has a keen interest in low-carbon and resource efficient architecture.

Stefan Winteris a professor at the Chair of Timber Construction and Structural at the Technical University of Munich. His main research interests include energy-efficient multi-story timber structures, building modernization with prefabricated components, and adhesives for load-bearing timber structures.

Metsa Wood invites participants to submit their work for the City Above the City design competition by September 30th2016 5 pm CET. The prizes of the competition include one grand prize of 10,000 ,two second prizes of 5,000  and five third prizes of 2,000 . The top 10 entries will be published.

Metsa Wood provides competitive and environmentally friendly wood products for construction, industrial customers and distributor partners. We manufacture products from Nordic wood, a sustainable raw material of premium quality. Our sales in 2015 were EUR 0.9 billion, and we employ about 2,000 people. Metsa Wood is part of Metsa Group.

Read more about the competition:planb.metsawood.com

Contact:competition2016@metsagroup.com

Images:http://databank.metsagroup.com/l/JJ2dH89K2z5-



Contact for media:

Henni Rousu, Marketing Manager, Metsa Wood

henni.rousu@metsagroup.com

t. +358(0)405548388



For press information, please contact:

Angelene Crosswell, Cohn&Wolfe

angelene.crosswell@cohnwolfe.com

t. 1-404-260-3560





(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151007/274904LOGO )

Video:

http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7875651-metsa-wood-the-city-above-the-city/


ROCHESTER, MN -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Royal Management & Development Inc. and ABODA are celebrating Broadway Plaza General Manager, Scott Eggert, for his recent "10 Who Make A Difference" award given to him by KTTC Television and United Way of Olmsted County. For 23 years, KTTC Television and United Way of Olmsted County have recognized ten individuals and groups who were nominated by community members and non-profit organizations for their impact in Southeastern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.

Eggert was honored for his volunteer work with the Kitchen for a Cause organization which also includes fellow area veterans Harry Kerr, Gary Pike, Teresa McCormack, and Jim Anderson. Together, their team designed and built a small food prep kitchen for the Zumbro Valley Health Center's 7th Street office; creating a space for their Homeless Services Team to better provide for those experiencing homelessness or lacking appropriate resources to purchase food regularly.

"The Zumbro Valley Health Center offers remarkable housing services and resources to those who are in great need in our Rochester community," says Scott Eggert. "I saw Kitchen for a Cause as an opportunity to assist local homeless veterans and support the Health Center's mission." The Kitchen for a Cause team began their project in spring of 2015 and took approximately one year to complete. In this time they raised money, designed the space, secured all materials and resources necessary to ensure a successful project and then executed their vision.

Donating time and resources is not new to Eggert who says he follows his grandfather's rule of thumb to "be passionate" in all that he does, "I love Rochester, MN and I enjoy giving back to my community." Eggert spends a significant portion of his time outside of work giving back to organizations and causes that move him; particularly those where he can help men and women who have served our country.

Broadway Plaza is Rochester, MN's premier high-rise serviced apartment building developed and built by Royal Management & Development Inc. In April 2016, complete management of the property was entrusted to ABODA, one of the industry's largest global housing providers.

"Scott's personal dedication to his community and passion for helping and honoring veterans are what make him the strong leader that he is for the Broadway Plaza property and its team," said Imad A. Baker, CCIM, Royal Management & Development Inc. president. Lee Curtis, CCHP, president of ABODA Global Housing Management added, "one of our core values as an organization is to serve our communities. We believe in the 'doing well by doing good' philanthropic and community involvement approach. Scott Eggert is the perfect example of our spirit of service."

About ABODA

ABODA is an innovative leader in global housing management services, providing end-to-end solutions to some of the biggest brands in the world, many headquartered in the Seattle area where the firm is based. ABODA Global Housing Management uses a logistics-focused approach, combining the best of program planning and administration, inventory management, execution, service delivery and technology to help corporate clients operate more efficiently and enhance customer experiences. ABODA also offers furnishings, property management, and cleaning services in the Greater Seattle Area. Employee-owned ABODA is flexible enough to meet clients' ever-changing business needs through its award-winning customer service. Learn more about ABODA at www.aboda.com or call 1-888-389-0500.

About Royal Management & Development Inc.

Royal Management & Development established in 1992, is an integrated real estate investment services company that develops and operates commercial real estate in the United States. Since its inception, RMD has focused on providing comprehensive real estate services to international investors looking for core and opportunistic investments in the U.S. market. Our diverse portfolio includes, land, commercial office, residential, retail, and hospitality properties in three U.S. markets: the Washington DC metropolitan area (the second largest office market in the U.S.); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Rochester, Minnesota -- known internationally for the presence of The Mayo Clinic.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3030976



Media contact:

Jocelyn Quall

ABODA

(425) 602-5535

Email Contact




According to the latest research report released by Technavio, the global refrigerated warehousing market is expected to record a CAGR of more than 14% until 2020.

This report titled 'Global Refrigerated Warehousing Market 2016-2020', provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging trends. For calculating the market size, this report considers revenues generated from the commercial sales of stationery supplies to educational institutes.

Request sample report: http://bit.ly/29fREB5

"Several cold chain service providers have recently started to offer end-to-end integrated services to end-users in the global refrigerated warehousing market. They are providing cold chain management services to customers and participating in their decision-making processes. Many service providers offer end-to-end cold chain management services like inventory management, order scheduling, order forecasting, warehousing, and delivery management," said Jhansi Mary, one of Technavio's lead industry analysts for warehousing and storage

Some of the other driving forces behind the growth of the global refrigerated warehousing market are as follows:

Rise in trade of frozen food and sea food products

Need to reduce food wastage

Growth of organized retail sector

Rise in trade of frozen food and sea food products

The demand for seafood continues to increase globally, and the significant population growth in China, India, and Brazil is an important demand driver in the frozen fish and seafood industry. Increased demand for seafood has led to a rise in its import and exports within countries, which required cold storage and transportation. China and Norway were the largest exporters of seafood in 2015. China's exports amounted to $20 billion, and Norway exported $10 billion worth of seafood products. While China exported to almost all countries, Norway's exports were mostly to European nations. Fresh salmon constituted the majority of Norway's fish and seafood exports. We estimate that China's exports will grow at a CAGR of 15.68% over the forecast period. The European Union was the largest importer of seafood, worth USD 26 billion. The US and Japan followed, with seafood imports by the US amounting to USD 19 billion in 2015.

Need to reduce food wastage

According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Resources Institute (WRI) about one-third of the food produced every year is wasted. Fruits and vegetables wasted about 25% at the production level. In addition, perishable food products are often exposed to fluctuating temperatures during transit and handling, which adds to the wastage. The global population is expected to increase at a rapid pace in the future, which is expected to increase the demand for food products. Based on statistics, in 2015 the number of people suffering from malnutrition or starvation was about 956 million worldwide. Therefore, because of the increase in the global population and the food wastage, the need for effective cold chains is expected to increase substantially in the future. Therefore, the increased need to reduce the food wastage is one of the key drivers contributing to the growth of the market.

Growth of organized retail sector

Organized retail refers to modern retailing wherein a licensed retailer sells several goods belonging to different categories. It is the modern form of retail or chain stores that are owned or franchised by a central store or entity. The stores are organized and use better store systems technology, including better refrigeration, than traditional/unorganized retail stores and provide consumers with convenience and foods that are safe to consume. Organized retail formats include supermarkets, hypermarkets, forecourt retailers, discounters, and convenience stores. Nowadays, an increasing number of consumers are purchasing grocery items, including frozen and chilled food from organized retail stores. APAC is witnessing a steady increase in the number of modern retail stores. With the growth of the organized retail sector and the increased consumer demand for frozen and chilled food, demand for cold chains has increased and is expected to increase further during the forecast period.

Browse related reports

Cold Chain Logistics Market in India 2015-2019

Cold Chain Logistics Market in North America 2015-2019

Global Refrigerated Transportation Market 2016-2020

Global Perishable Goods Transportation Market 2016-2020

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005029/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com

media@technavio.com
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Ambassador John Bolton announced today his endorsement of Darryl Glenn (R-CO) for the United States Senate. Glenn marks the 50 th candidate Ambassador Bolton endorsed in 2016. The John Bolton PAC will also contribute $10K to the Glenn campaign. The announcement comes as part of a larger effort by Ambassador Bolton to ensure Republicans maintain their majority in Congress.

"Darryl Glenn is a retired Air Force officer and dedicated public servant, who we need in the U.S. Senate," said Ambassador Bolton. "As a former Lt. Col., he takes seriously the threats America faces abroad and is willing to meet them with determination and strength. He will serve Colorado and America well as a senator, which is why I endorse his candidacy for the U.S. Senate."

"I'm grateful to have the support of Ambassador Bolton, a man who understands the critical link between our economy and national security," said Commissioner Glenn. "As the next U.S. Senator from Colorado, I will fight to strengthen America's influence abroad while securing our interests at home."

In the 2014 election cycle the Ambassador's PAC and SuperPAC helped Republicans gain control of the Senate, and increase their majority in the House. Ambassador Bolton will continue to endorse candidates in the months ahead of the November elections.

About John Bolton PAC (www.boltonpac.com): The John Bolton PAC was founded by former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John R. Bolton to raise the importance of American national security in federal elections. The PAC will support and contribute to candidates who are committed to restoring strong American economic and national security policies that secure America's interests in a challenging world.

CONTACT:

Garrett Marquis

gm@prismstrategygroup.com

202.709.8837
DUBLIN, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Enterprise Communication Infrastructure Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The report forecasts the global enterprise communication infrastructure market to grow at a CAGR of 16.35% during the period 2016-2020.



Commenting on the report, an analyst from the research team said: A trend which is boosting market growth is the rising preference for bundled offerings. A few companies prefer to have several vendors for different service offerings to retain an advantage during contract negotiations. However, several companies are looking for enterprise communication services from a single provider, as they are willing to compromise on a few features for smooth interoperability. In addition, the adoption of hybrid solutions has increased, adding to the complexity of managing different vendors. Many large enterprises are deploying the hybrid enterprise communication model with a single service provider.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the need for global communications solutions. Many business enterprises use advanced technologies to communicate with their employees, business partners, and clients who are located across the globe. Globalization has enabled international integration in terms of business, culture, products, ideas, and views. As a result, many business enterprises are expanding worldwide.



Questions Answered:

What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in this market space?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

Companies Mentioned Indlude:



Alcatel-Lucent

Avaya

Cisco Systems

Ericsson

Genband

IBM

Microsoft

NEC

Mitel

Unify

8x8

Aastra Technologies

Broadsoft

Configure

Corex

CSC

Orange

Polycom

RingCentral

ShoreTel

Toshiba

Verizon Communications

Report Structure:

PART 01: Executive summary



PART 02: Scope of the report



PART 03: Market research methodology



PART 04: Introduction



PART 05: Market landscape



PART 06: Overview of enterprise communication infrastructure



PART 07: Market segmentation by deployment type



PART 08: Market segmentation by end-user



PART 09: Market segmentation by application



PART 10: Geographical segmentation



PART 11: Buying criteria



PART 12: Market drivers



PART 13: Impact of drivers



PART 14: Market challenges



PART 15: Impact of drivers and challenges



PART 16: Market trends



PART 17: Five forces analysis



PART 18: Vendor landscape



PART 19: Key vendor description



PART 20: Appendix



PART 21: About the Author



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/vhgc2q/global_enterprise

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
PLYMOUTH, MN--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - Seven top-notch students from high schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin have been awarded $10,000 in scholarships from the TruStone Financial Foundation. An additional $1,000 scholarship was awarded to a graduating senior who is a family member of a TruStone Financial employee. Scholarships were awarded to graduating seniors based on academic, extracurricular and philanthropic success.

The scholarship recipients were selected among students who applied May 1 - May 30, 2016. Applicants were also asked to submit an essay explaining how financial management skills will play a role in their future career goals.

"The TruStone Financial Foundation strives to support future leaders and promote continued education," said Foundation Chairman, Tom Alagna. "Providing these scholarships is one way we can support our membership, the credit union and the communities in which we serve."

Recipients visited their closest TruStone Financial branch to accept their scholarship. Scholarship winners in alphabetical order: Blaire Bemel (Saint Paul Academy and Summit School), Pete Hotvedt (Robbinsdale-Cooper High School), Michael Kowalski (South Milwaukee High School), Paige Lauer (Tremper High School), Katie Moynihan (Apple Valley High School), Ronald Tanchin (St. Michael-Albertville High School), Adam Trelstad (Champlin Park High School) and Julia Westling (Heritage Christian Academy).

"The TruStone Financial Foundation and all those involved in the scholarship process have made a significant impact on the lives of eight young credit union members," said TruStone Financial Chief Executive Officer Tim Bosiacki. "We are excited to see how the Foundation's contribution will benefit their future endeavors and look forward to continuing to help these students throughout their financial path."

About TruStone Financial

TruStone Financial is one of the fastest growing credit unions in the Midwest with assets of $1.1 billion and nearly 98,000 members. There are 13 branches across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The credit union is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota. For more information and full membership criteria, visit TruStoneFinancial.org.

About the TruStone Financial Foundation

The TruStone Financial Foundation is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2009. This organization was established to reinforce a commitment to providing financial education in local communities. The Foundation is not affiliated with TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union.

Contact:

Katie Grindeland

Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing

Phone: 763.595.4002

Katie.Grindeland@TruStoneFinancial.org
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- K92 Mining Inc. (the "Company" or "K92"), (TSX VENTURE: KNT) is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement to raise up to $5,000,000 (the "Financing") through the issuance of up to 5,000,000 units (the "Units") of the Company at a price of $1.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one Common share (an "Offered Share") and one half of one Common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each full Warrant will allow the holder to purchase one Common share of K92 at a price of $1.50 for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance, subject to the acceleration right described below. Proceeds of the Financing are intended to be used for general corporate purposes and to give the company enhanced optionality when completing the underground incline drive from Irumafimpa to Kora, with drill testing along the way.

The restart of operations at Irumafimpa are on schedule and on budget. The crusher and mill feed system is now fully commissioned and the mill and float plant are in the final phase of load commissioning.

In addition to targeting the near term restart of operations at Irumafimpa, the Company has also commenced the planning of the underground drive from Irumafimpa to Kora. This drive will allow the previously undrilled areas between the Irumafimpa and Kora orebodies to be drill tested for potential expansion of the existing resource as well as to upgrade the known deposit at Kora.

The Company is also pleased to report that it has engaged Australian Mine Design and Development Pty Ltd of Brisbane, Australia, to complete a scoping study for the development of the Kora deposit.

K92 may engage certain finders (each, a "Finder") to assist in locating investors for the Financing and intends to pay each Finder a fee equal to 7% of the gross proceeds received from investors identified by the Finder, payable in cash and/or Offered Shares, and issue Warrants to purchase Offered Shares equal to 7% of the aggregate number of Offered Shares purchased by investors identified by the Finder. The Finder's Warrants will be on the same terms and conditions as all other Warrants issued under the Financing, including the acceleration right described below.

The Financing is intended to be completed during July, 2016 and is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). All securities issued as part of the Financing will be subject to a hold period of 4 months and one day from the closing date of the Financing.

If the Common shares of the Company trade on the TSXV at a price of $2.00 or greater for any period of at least 10 consecutive trading days, then the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to the 30th day following the date on which the Company provides notice to the holder of such acceleration in accordance with the terms of the Warrants. Any Warrants not exercised on or before such 30th day will expire and will no longer be exercisable.

On behalf of the Company,

Ian Stalker, Chief Executive Officer and Director

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Financing and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information, including statements regarding completion of the Financing and the expected use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the market price of the Company's securities, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters.. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:

K92 Mining Inc.

(604) 687-7130

(604) 608-9110 (FAX)




MALVERN, PA--(Marketwired - July 07, 2016) - CubeSmart (NYSE: CUBE) today announced that the Company will release financial results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2016 after the market close on Thursday, July 28, 2016. An accompanying conference call will be held at 11:00 a.m. ET on Friday, July 29, 2016.

A live webcast of the conference call will be available online from the investor relations page of the Company's corporate website at www.CubeSmart.com. Telephone participants may avoid any delays in joining the conference call by pre-registering for the call using the following link to receive a special dial-in number and PIN: http://dpregister.com/10088653.

Telephone participants who are unable to pre-register for the conference call may join on the day of the call using 1-877-506-3281 for domestic callers, +1-412-902-6677 for international callers, and 1-855-669-9657 for callers in Canada.

After the live webcast, the call will remain available on CubeSmart's website for 30 days. In addition, a telephonic replay of the call will be available through August 29, 2016. The replay numbers are 1-877-344-7529 for domestic callers, +1-412-317-0088 for international callers, and 1-855-669-9658 for callers in Canada. For callers accessing a telephonic replay, the conference number is 10088653.

About the Company

CubeSmart is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust. CubeSmart owns or manages 744 self-storage facilities across the United States. According to the 2016 Self Storage Almanac, CubeSmart is one of the top four owners and operators of self-storage facilities in the U.S.

The Company's mission is to simplify the organizational and logistical challenges created by the many life events and business needs of its Customers -- through innovative solutions, unparalleled service, and genuine care. The Company's self-storage facilities are designed to offer affordable, easily accessible, secure, and, in most locations, climate-controlled storage space for residential and commercial customers.

For more information about business and personal storage or to learn more about the Company and find a nearby storage facility, visit www.CubeSmart.com or call CubeSmart toll free at 800-800-1717.

Forward-Looking Statements

Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be achieved. You should not rely on our forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's future results, performance, or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks are set forth under the captions "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our annual report on Form 10-K and under the caption "Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" (or similar captions) in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and described from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC. For forward-looking statements herein, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

Company Contact:

CubeSmart

Charles Place

Director, Investor Relations

610-535-5700
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Veresen Inc. ("Veresen") (TSX: VSN) expects to release its second quarter 2016 financial and operating results on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 after the close of North American markets. The second quarter 2016 management's discussion and analysis and unaudited consolidated financial statements will be available on the Company's website at www.vereseninc.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Earnings Conference Call & Webcast Details

A conference call and webcast presentation will be held to discuss second quarter 2016 financial and operating results at 8:00am Mountain Time (10:00am Eastern Time) on Thursday, August 4, 2016.

To listen to the conference call, please dial 647-788-4919 or 1-877-291-4570 (toll-free). This call will also be broadcast live on the Internet and may be accessed directly at the following URL:

http://www.gowebcasting.com/7714

A presentation will accompany the conference call and will be available via the webcast. Alternatively, the presentation will be made available immediately prior to the conference call start time of 8:00am Mountain Time on Veresen's website at: http://www.vereseninc.com/invest/events-presentations.

A digital recording will be available for replay two hours after the call's completion, and will remain available until August 18, 2016 21:59 Mountain Time (23:59 Eastern Time). To listen to the replay, please dial 416-621-4642 or 1-800-585-8367 (toll-free) and enter Conference ID 43456977. A digital recording will also be available for replay on the company's website.

About Veresen Inc.

Veresen is a publicly-traded dividend paying corporation based in Calgary, Alberta that owns and operates energy infrastructure assets across North America. Veresen is engaged in three principal businesses: a pipeline transportation business comprised of interests in the Alliance Pipeline, the Ruby Pipeline and the Alberta Ethane Gathering System; a midstream business which includes a partnership interest in Veresen Midstream Limited Partnership which owns assets in western Canada, and an ownership interest in Aux Sable which owns a world-class natural gas liquids (NGL) extraction facility near Chicago and other natural gas and NGL processing infrastructure; and a power business comprised of a portfolio of assets in Canada. Veresen is also working to advance Jordan Cove LNG, a six million tonne per annum natural gas liquefaction facility proposed to be constructed in Coos Bay, Oregon, and the associated Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline. In the normal course of business, Veresen regularly evaluates and pursues acquisition and development opportunities.

Veresen's Common Shares, Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares, Series A, Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares, Series C, and Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares, Series E trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols "VSN", "VSN.PR.A", "VSN.PR.C" and "VSN.PR.E", respectively. For further information, please visit www.vereseninc.com.

Contacts:

Veresen Inc.

Mark Chyc-Cies

Investor Relations Director

(403) 213-3633

investor-relations@vereseninc.com




Technavio has announced the top 13 leading vendors in their recentglobal truck platooning system marketreport until 2020. The top vendors are identified taking into account their revenue, technology, geographical presence, and end-users.

Competitive vendor landscape

Truck platooning tests are being conducted across the globe and though the tests have validated the benefits associated with platooning, the market still is very far from reaching its market potential. This stems from low consumer awareness, a lack of adequate infrastructure, fickle system reliability, and relative low maturity of the autonomous vehicle technology. Technavio believes that though the market for truck platooning systems currently appears nascent because only a few vehicles are being equipped with truck platooning systems, platooning technologies may become an inherent part of every future truck engineered with standardized connected vehicle service offerings.

According to Siddharth Jaiswal, a lead analyst at Technavio for automotive electronics research, "Collaborative efforts between truck platooning system providers, connected truck service providers, R&D organizations, OEMs, transportation and logistics service providers, and regulators will play an important part in boosting the penetration of truck platooning systems in the truck market in the coming years."

Additional Insights: Which U.S. States are in Favor of Truck Platooning Technology?

Technavio research analysts categorize the global truck platooning system market vendors into two segments: key vendors and other prominent vendors

Key vendors:

Daimler

Daimler is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Daimler is a leader in the autonomous trucks market.

The company's strategy is geared to enhance safety and the company will continue to invest in autonomous technological innovations. These may help Daimler to emerge as one of the leaders in the development of truck platooning systems. The company was also one of the participants in the European Truck Platooning Challenge held in 2016.

Peloton Technology

Peloton Technology is a vehicle automation company based in Silicon Valley, California. The company's products deliver advanced safety, fuel savings, and analytics to trucking fleets. The firm is headquartered in Mountain View, US.

Peloton is a market leader in truck platooning systems development and deployment in the US and other regional truck markets. Several companies that include OEMs and Tier-I operators have invested in Peloton to promote the development and commercialization of truck platooning systems.

Scania

Scania offers heavy trucks, buses, engines, and services with a focus on low-carbon solutions. The company is headquartered in Sweden. Scania truck deliveries amounted to 69,762 units in 2015.

The company collaborated with the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, KTH, Volkswagen Research, and other partners to test vehicle platoons on a 323-mile route between the cities of Sodertalje and Helsingborg in Sweden.

Volvo

The Volvo Group manufactures trucks, buses, construction equipment, and marine and industrial engines. The firm is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Volvo Group Venture Capital is a subsidiary of the Volvo Group. In 2015, the firm made an investment in Peloton Technology to contribute to the development of platooning technologies. The company has always pursued partnerships to diversify its offerings.

Other prominent vendors:

Continental

Continental is a leading German automotive manufacturing company that specializes in tires, brake systems, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis components, tachographs, and other parts for the automotive and transportation industries. Truck platooning plans by the US Army present a significant opportunity to Continental.

Delphi

Delphi is a leading global supplier of technologies for the automotive and commercial vehicle market. The firm works to make vehicles smarter, safer, and efficient. The US Army has announced plans for driverless truck platoons with V2X in 2016; this development indicates significant market opportunity for Delphi.

Hino

Hino is a Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines headquartered in Hino-shi, Tokyo, Japan. The company is an active participant in truck platooning projects that included the Japan Energy ITS automated truck platoon project.

IVECO

IVECO is a manufacturer and supplier of commercial trucks, parts, and diesel engines. A two-truck platoon of semi-autonomous Iveco trucks traveled from Brussels to Rotterdam to demonstrate reduced fuel consumption at the European Truck Platooning Challenge in April 2016.

MAN Truck Bus

MAN Truck Bus is the largest subsidiary of the MAN Corporation and one of the leading international providers of commercial vehicles. MAN trucks and Scania trucks (Volkswagen) rely on digitally connected trucks. MAN and Scania participated in the 2016 European Truck Platooning Challenge.

Meritor Wabco

Meritor Wabco offers advanced safety technology and efficient, integrated brake systems. The firm's anti-collision and safety control systems enable adaptive cruise control systems and autonomous braking in truck platooning systems. Meritor Wabco, Peloton, and Denso have collaborated to showcase truck platooning technologies.

Navistar

Navistar manufactures commercial trucks, buses, defense vehicles, and engines. The company indicated its positivity in matters of implementing truck platooning in 2016.

PACCAR

PACCAR is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and customer support of high-quality premium trucks. Paccar's subsidiary Peterbilt Trucks and vehicle safety and component makers Peloton Technology and Meritor Wabco have participated in a study (Driver Assistive Truck Platooning) conducted by ATRI, the US Federal Highway Administration, and Auburn University.

TomTom

TomTom Telematics is a world leader in fleet management and telematics. As commissioned by the Innovation Lab recently, Simacan and TomTom have produced an online tool based on GPS. This system tracks the progress of truck platoons and the various incidents they encounter on their way; these may include roadworks, tailbacks, and accidents.

Request for sample report: http://goo.gl/2uDgis

Browse Related Reports:

Pickup Truck Market in the US 2015-2019

Global Industrial Truck Market 2015-2019

Heavy Duty Trucks Market in Europe 2015-2019

Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and our analysts will be happy to create a customized report just for you.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005045/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com
OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Department of Canadian Heritage

The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, today announced a total of $1,245,890 in funding for various organizations for projects related to the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote in Canada.

The funding will help organizations, including Equal Voices and the Girls Action Foundation, undertake activities that include a skills training program for young women, women's leadership workshops, and the creation of radio spots and a photo exhibition on outstanding women in Canadian history.

The projects will help Canadians better understand the importance of women's first right to vote in the history of Canada, and the part that this victory played in shaping the country that we know today.

Quick Facts

-- The year 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote in Canada. -- Six organizations are receiving a total of $1,245,890 in financial support for their projects to celebrate this historic anniversary (see Backgrounder). -- Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were the first Canadian provinces to give women the right to vote in 1916. This was one of the first steps toward gender equality and women's rights. -- In cooperation with the offices of the lieutenant governors, activities were organized in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to mark the 100th anniversary of the first right to vote for women in these three provinces. -- The theme of History Week, which ends today, is the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote in Canada.

Quotes

"This year, we are marking the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote in Canada. As we get closer to the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017, I am proud to support the efforts of organizations that recognize the importance of this anniversary for Canadian society and the crucial role that women have played in the history of Canada."

- The Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Associated Links

Status of Women - Women's First Right to Vote

Canadian Heritage - 100th Anniversary of Women's First Right to Vote

Prime Minister of Canada - Statement

Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba - News Release

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan - Statement

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta - Special Initiative

Canada History Week

Stay Connected

Follow us on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

Backgrounder

Canadian Heritage has provided funding for various activities marking the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote.

-- Equal Voice ($470,000) will offer a host of activities to highlight the progress achieved over the last 100 years in women's access to leadership positions. The activities include women's leadership workshops, a two-day national forum for young women from across Canada, and "Daughters of the Vote" (a women's representation project). -- Girls Action Foundation ($259,400) will organize a skills training program for young women and a photo exhibition about outstanding women in Canadian history. -- The Association de la presse francophone ($190,800) will print a special insert in French and English, to be distributed in the publications of its members as well as the members of the Quebec Community Newspaper Association. The insert will highlight the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote in 2016. It will have a special focus on outstanding French-Canadian women who, through their commitment, changed the status of women. -- Teach Magazine ($150,000) will create an interactive and bilingual digital educational resource in association with school programs. Designed for teachers and students, the resource will explore the barriers and challenges faced by women who fought for the right to vote, as well as their successes. It is intended for students in grades 6 to 12 and could be used by 3 million students and more than 100,000 teachers. -- Historica Canada ($100,690) is developing educational material for classroom use that profile the events that laid the foundations for today's Canada. The educational guides will be distributed in 7,000 schools across Canada. The programs will provide a basis for understanding foundational events in Canadian history that are marking anniversaries in 2016, including the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote. -- The Mouvement des intervenants et intervenantes communautaires en radio de l'Ontario (MICRO) ($75,000) will present a series of 25 French- language radio spots explaining the role of Canadian women in the country's economic and social development, as well as in decision making, including the right to vote.

The offices of the lieutenant governors of Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan also organized different activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote in these provinces (on January 28 in Manitoba, March 14 in Saskatchewan and April 19 in Alberta). To find out more, visit the websites of these provinces' lieutenant governors (see "Associated Links").

The theme of History Week is the 100th anniversary of women's first right to vote in Canada. To learn more, visit canada.pch.gc.ca.

Contacts:

Pierre-Olivier Herbert

Press Secretary

Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage

819-997-7788



Media Relations

Canadian Heritage

819-994-9101

1-866-569-6155

PCH.media-media.PCH@Canada.ca




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/07/16 -- Dundee Precious Metals Inc. (TSX: DPM) ("DPM" or "the Company") announced its mine and smelter production results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, additional 2016 and 2017 commodity hedging and confirmed the timing of the release of second quarter operating and financial results, together with the related conference call and webcast.

On a consolidated basis, ore milled, metals production and complex concentrate smelted in the first six months of 2016 were in line with the Company's current guidance, reflecting the sale of the Kapan Mine.

Production Highlights

Second quarter mine and metals production at the Chelopech and Kapan mines and complex concentrate smelted at the Tsumeb smelter are provided below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year 2016 Consolidated Chelopech Kapan(1) Tsumeb Consolidated Guidance (2) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q2 YTD Q2 YTD Q2 YTD Q2 YTD 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ore milled ('000s 2,165 - tonnes) 561 1,105 26 130 - - 587 1,235 2,395 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold ('000s ounces) 29.6 63.0 1.1 6.3 - - 30.7 69.3 101 - 115 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copper (million pounds) 9.6 20.2 0.1 0.7 - - 9.7 20.9 33.8 - 38.6 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver ('000s ounces) 50.0 119.2 21.2 111.3 - - 71.2 230.5 319 - 354 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zinc(million pounds) - - 0.6 2.8 - - 0.6 2.8 2.8 - 3.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complex Concentrate smelted ('000s tonnes) - - - - 44.6 102.0 44.6 102.0 215 - 250 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Payable gold in pyrite concentrate sold ('000s ounces) 5.4 15.1 - - - - 5.4 15.1 26 - 40 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Kapan second quarter results reflect one month of production prior to the completion of the sale to Polymetal International plc on April 28, 2016. 2. As disclosed in Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the period ended March 31, 2016, issued on May 4, 2016.

Second quarter Chelopech copper and gold production was in line with the 2016 mine plan. Grades in the first half of 2016 are higher than the grades expected in the second half of 2016, as planned. Chelopech remains on track to achieve 2016 guidance.

At the Tsumeb smelter, smelting rates remained in line with 2016 guidance. The new converters were brought on line during the second quarter and have performed as expected.

The planned Ausmelt maintenance shutdown commenced on June 18 with expected completion on July 11, at which point the furnace reheat process will begin. The smelter is expected to meet 2016 guidance.

The Krumovgrad approval process continues to advance in line with Company expectations. During the quarter, the Company completed the land purchase process, and submitted an application to the Krumovgrad Municipality for a construction permit. Issue of the construction permit is expected imminently, and the Company remains on track to commence construction in the second half of 2016, as planned.

Commodity Hedging

In June 2016, the Company entered into additional commodity hedges to reduce its near-term commodity price exposure and, in turn, support the advancement of its growth initiatives. In particular, the Company entered into option contracts covering 6,600 ounces of gold, representing approximately 10% of its projected payable production for the balance of 2016, and 45,000 ounces of gold, representing approximately 30% of its projected payable production for 2017. These contracts, which had a zero upfront cash cost, provide for the Company to receive a minimum price of $1,200 per ounce of gold, and maximum prices of $1,484 and $1,497 per ounce of gold for the balance of 2016 and 2017, respectively. In June 2016, the Company also entered into additional copper swap contracts in respect of approximately 14,550,000 pounds of copper, representing approximately 38% of its 2017 projected copper production, at an average price of $2.17 per pound of copper. These hedges, together with the Company's recent equity issue, were undertaken primarily to increase the Company's financial flexibility and available cash resources to support advancing its growth initiatives.

Second Quarter Results

The Company's second quarter 2016 operating and financial results are expected to be released after market close on Thursday, July 28, 2016. The press release, MD&A and consolidated financial statements will be posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.dundeeprecious.com.

The Company will hold a call and webcast to discuss its second quarter results on Friday, July 29, 2016 at 9:00 am EST. The call will be hosted by Rick Howes, President and Chief Executive Officer, who will be joined by Hume Kyle, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, together with other members of the executive management team. The call will be accessible via a live webcast and by telephone.

Second Quarter 2016 Call and Webcast (Listen/View only) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Friday, July 29, 2016 Time: 9:00 am EST Webcast: http://www.gowebcasting.com/7704 Canada and USA Toll Free: 1-866-223-7781 Outside Canada or USA: 1-416-340-2216 Replay: 1-905-694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 Replay Passcode: 3510223

About Dundee Precious Metals

Dundee Precious Metals Inc. is a Canadian based, international gold mining company engaged in the acquisition of mineral properties, exploration, development, mining and processing of precious metals. The Company's continuing operating assets include the Chelopech operation, which produces a copper concentrate containing gold and silver and a pyrite concentrate containing gold, located east of Sofia, Bulgaria; and the Tsumeb smelter, a complex copper concentrate processing facility located in Namibia. DPM also holds interests in a number of developing gold and exploration properties located in Bulgaria, Serbia, and northern Canada, including the Krumovgrad project and its 10.7% interest in Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of gold, copper, zinc and silver, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of such mineral estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production and output, life of mine, costs of production, cash costs and other cash measures, capital expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, success of permitting activities, permitting time lines, currency fluctuations, requirements for additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, reclamation expenses, the potential or anticipated outcome of title disputes or claims and timing and possible outcome of pending litigation. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "outlook", "intends", "anticipates", or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or that state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any other future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of current reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations and economic studies; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of gold, copper, zinc and silver; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, uncertainties inherent with conducting business in foreign jurisdictions where corruption, civil unrest, political instability and uncertainties with the rule of law may impact the Company's activities; fluctuations in metal prices; unanticipated title disputes; claims or litigation; limitation on insurance coverage; cyber attacks; as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's MD&A under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" and under the heading "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements" which include further details on material assumptions used to develop such forward looking statements and material risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward looking statements, and other documents (including without limitation the Company's 2015 AIF) filed from time to time with the securities regulatory authorities in all provinces and territories of Canada and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Unless required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

Contacts:

Dundee Precious Metals Inc.

Rick Howes

President and Chief Executive Officer

(416) 365-2836

rhowes@dundeeprecious.com



Dundee Precious Metals Inc.

Lori Beak

Governance, and Corporate Secretary

(416) 365-5165

lbeak@dundeeprecious.com




JAKARTA (dpa-AFX) - Japan is scheduled to release a raft of data on Friday, headlining a modest day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are May figures for current account and labor cash earnings, as well as June numbers for bank lending and the eco watchers survey. The current account surplus is pegged at 1.715 trillion yen, down from 1.878 trillion yen in April. Labor cash earnings are tipped to rise 0.5 percent on year following the flat reading a month earlier. Bank lending is expected to hold steady, adding 2.2 percent on year. The eco survey for current conditions came in at 43.0 in May, while the outlook as wat 47.3. Finally, the markets in Indonesia remain closed for Eid-ul-Fitr; they will re-open on Monday. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
CALGARY, Alberta, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pembina Pipeline Corporation ("Pembina" or the "Company") (TSX: PPL; NYSE: PBA) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a common share cash dividend for July 2016 of $0.16 per share to be paid, subject to applicable law, on August 15, 2016 to shareholders of record on July 25, 2016.

For shareholders receiving their common share dividends in U.S. funds, the July 2016 cash dividend is expected to be approximately U.S. $0.1235 per share (before deduction of any applicable Canadian withholding tax) based on a currency exchange rate of 0.7717. The actual U.S. dollar dividend will depend on the Canadian/U.S. dollar exchange rate on the payment date and will be subject to applicable withholding taxes.

Pembina's Board of Directors also declared quarterly dividends for the Company's preferred shares, Series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, and an initial dividend on the Series 13 Preferred Shares. Future dividends on the Series 13 Preferred Shares are expected to be $0.359375 quarterly, or $1.4375 per share on an annualized basis for the initial fixed rate period to but excluding June 1, 2021. All preferred share dividends are payable on September 1, 2016 to shareholders of record on August 1, 2016.

Series





Dividend Amount Preferred Shares, Series 1 (PPL.PR.A)





$0.265625 Preferred Shares, Series 3 (PPL.PR.C)





$0.293750 Preferred Shares, Series 5 (PPL.PR.E)





$0.312500 Preferred Shares, Series 7 (PPL.PR.G)





$0.281250 Preferred Shares, Series 9 (PPL.PR.I)





$0.296875 Preferred Shares, Series 11 (PPL.PR.K)





$0.359375 Preferred Shares, Series 13 (PPL.PR.M)





$0.5002

These dividends are designated "eligible dividends" for Canadian income tax purposes. For non-resident shareholders, Pembina's common share dividends should be considered "qualified dividends" and may be subject to Canadian withholding tax.

Confirmation of Record and Payment Date Policy

Pembina pays cash dividends on its common shares in Canadian dollars on a monthly basis to shareholders of record on the 25th calendar day of each month (except for the December record date, which is December 31st), if, as and when determined by the Board of Directors. Should the record date fall on a weekend or a statutory holiday, the effective record date will be the previous business day. The dividend payment date is the 15th of the month following the record date. Should the payment date fall on a weekend or on a holiday the business day prior to the weekend or holiday becomes the payment date. Dividends on the preferred shares are payable on the 1st day of March, June, September and December in each year, if, as and when declared by the Board of Directors. Should the record date or payment date fall on a weekend or holiday, the business day prior to the weekend or holiday becomes the record or payment date, as applicable.

Second Quarter Conference Call and Webcast

Pembina will release its second quarter 2016 results on Thursday, August 4, 2016 after markets close. A conference call and webcast have been scheduled for Friday, August 5, 2016 at 8:00 a.m. MT (10:00 a.m. ET) for interested investors, analysts, brokers and media representatives.

The conference call dial-in numbers for Canada and the U.S. are 647-427-7450 or 888-231-8191. A recording of the conference call will be available for replay until August 12, 2016 at 11:59 p.m. ET. To access the replay, please dial either 416-849-0833 or 855-859-2056 and enter the password 92807889.

A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed on Pembina's website at www.pembina.com under Investor Centre, Presentation & Events, or by entering: http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1102323&s=1&k=86B5BF77743D6BB8EF8F433AEBA485ED in your web browser. Shortly after the call, an audio archive will be posted on the website for a minimum of 90 days.

About Pembina

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a leading transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America's energy industry for over 60 years. Pembina owns and operates an integrated system of pipelines that transport various products derived from natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids produced in western Canada and North Dakota. The Company also owns and operates gas gathering and processing facilities and an oil and natural gas liquids infrastructure and logistics business. Pembina's integrated assets and commercial operations along the entire hydrocarbon value chain allow it to offer a full spectrum of midstream and marketing services to the energy sector. Pembina is committed to working with its community and aboriginal neighbours, while providing value for investors in a safe, environmentally responsible manner. This balanced approach to operating ensures the trust Pembina builds among all of its stakeholders is sustainable over the long-term. Pembina's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under PPL and PBA, respectively. For more information, visit www.pembina.com.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements that are based on Pembina's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In this news release, such forward-looking information and statements can be identified by terminology such as "to be", "expects", and similar expressions.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to: future dividends which may be declared on Pembina's common shares and preferred shares, the dividend payment and the tax treatment thereof. These forward-looking statements are being made by Pembina based on certain assumptions that Pembina has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release, regarding, among other things: oil and gas industry exploration and development activity levels; the success of Pembina's operations and growth projects; prevailing commodity prices, margins, volumes and exchange rates; that Pembina's future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto; the continued availability of capital at attractive prices to fund future capital requirements relating to existing assets and projects, including but not limited to future capital expenditures relating to expansion, upgrades and maintenance shutdowns; the success of growth projects; future operating costs; that any third party projects relating to Pembina's growth projects will be sanctioned and completed as expected; that any required commercial agreements can be reached; that all required regulatory and environmental approvals can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner; that counterparties to material agreements will continue to perform in a timely manner; that there are no unforeseen events preventing the performance of contracts; and that there are no unforeseen material construction, integrity or other costs related to current growth projects or current operations. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: the regulatory environment and decisions; non-performance of agreements in accordance with their terms; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on key industry partners, alliances and agreements; the strength and operations of the oil and natural gas production industry and related commodity prices; the continuation or completion of third-party projects; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities including changes in tax laws and treatment, changes in royalty rates or increased environmental regulation; adverse general economic and market conditions in Canada, North America and elsewhere; fluctuations in operating results; construction delays; labour and material shortages; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Pembina's public disclosure documents including, among other things, those detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Pembina's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2015, which can be found at www.sedar.com.

Accordingly, readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the above statements. Pembina does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws.

For further information: Investor Relations: Ian McAvity, (403) 231-3156, 1-855-880-7404, e-mail: investor-relations@pembina.com, www.pembina.com




Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2016) - Centurion Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: CTN) ("Centurion", or the "Company") announces its intention to complete a non-brokered private placement for $350,000 priced at $.05/Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one 2 year common share purchase warrant. Each warrant will be exercisable for one common share at $0.10 for the first year and at $0.15 for the second year following the closing. Closing will be subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Proceeds from this financing shall be used to complete a geological model and initial resource estimation work on its Argentinean agricultural gypsum project and for general corporate purposes.

The Ana Sofia project comprises two mining concessions totaling 50 hectares (ha) in size within a larger (approximately 500 ha) exploration permit area. Trenching and test pit sampling work completed by joint venture partner Demetra Minerals Inc. in 2014 and 2015, identified multiple, high grade, near surface gypsum layers. A successful field program has recently been completed and the data generated by this program will be released upon receipt. Pictures of the test-pit and trenching program can be viewed on the company's website www.centurionminerals.com.

Small scale producers located in the vicinity are currently extracting agricultural gypsum and selling to fertilizer distributors and farmers. Agricultural gypsum is a valuable plant nutrient and plays a vital role in maintaining soil structure and nutrient balance in South American soils, allowing greater crop yields.

On February 29th 2016, the Company announced completion of a "first tranche" private placement and issued 2,700,000 Units priced at $0.10 for total gross proceeds of $270,000. The company will not be proceeding to complete a "second tranche" of this financing.

ABOUT CENTURION

Centurion Minerals Ltd. is a Canadian-based company with an international focus on the exploration and development of gold and agri-mineral projects.

On Behalf of the Board,

"David G. Tafel"

President and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel

President and CEO

604-484-2161

This news release may contain forward looking statements concerning future operations of Centurion Minerals Ltd. (the "Company"). All forward looking statements concerning the Company's future plans and operations, including management's assessment of the Company's project expectations or beliefs may be subject to certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual performance and exploration and financial results may differ materially from any estimates or projections.
BevSpot, a Boston, Massachusetts-based provider of a platform that streamlines beverage management for the hospitality industry, closed an $11m Series B funding round.

The round was led by existing investor Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from other inside investors and new investors.

The company, which has raised a total of approximately $19m, will use the funds to accelerate its product development timeline and continue its expansion into other markets.

Founded over two years ago by CEO Rory Crawford, BevSpot provides web and mobile-based software tools that allow users to conduct alcohol inventory and invoice management on any mobile device. The company has more than 80 employees serving more than 400 customers, including restaurants, bars, hotels, nightclubs, and other establishments in more than 40 states and select international markets.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
CoolaData, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based BI behavioral analytics platform, raised $5.6m in Series B funding.

Backers included Salesforce Ventures, TEEC Angel Fund and existing investors 83North and Carmel Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its global growth and extend its reach into IoT and enterprise applications.

Led by Tomer Benmoshe, CEO, CoolaData provides a cloud-based behavioral analytics platform giving product, marketing and business teams visibility into user behavior across all channels and to discover vital information such as user acquisition, churn prediction, retention drivers and customer life-time value optimization. The companys behavioral analytics  which includes all infrastructure components for data tracking, warehousing, ETL and data enrichment through to advanced visualization  complements Salesforce Wave Analytics.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
Vert Rotors, an Edinburgh, Scotland, UK-based compressor manufacturing company, received 1.5M in funding.

Business angel syndicate Equity Gap led the deal alongside the venture capital firm Par Equity, US syndicate Aero-Den and the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.

The company intends to use the funds to increase capacity at its manufacturing facility in Gracemount, Edinburgh and expand its customer base.

Founded by Olly Dmitriev in 2013, Vert Rotors is a compressor manufacturer which specializes in low-vibration compressors designed for use in aerospace or medical technology and other applications where vibration and noise are not acceptable, and dimensions and weight are mission-critical.

Customers include Fortune-500 manufacturing companies in the EU and the USA.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
Forerunner Ventures, a San Francisco, CA-based venture capital firm, closed its latest fund, at $122m.

According to a regulatory form filed with the SEC, a total of 30 investors have invested in Forerunner Partners III, L.P.

Led by Kirsten Green and Eurie Kim, Forerunner Partners is an early stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in entrepreneurs working to define a new generation of commerce. Its focus areas include connected brands, marketplaces, mobile experiences, retail, and tools/technologies.

The firm, which has already invested in Birchbox, Warby Parker, Zozi, and Dollar Shave Club, among others 39 companies, leads or co-leads investment rounds in companies typically post launch.

Forerunners team also includes Melissa Green, Nicole Johnson, and Mary Keane.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
IDeA CCR (Corporate Credit Recovery) I Fund has launched today with a first close at 260m.

The investment platform, managed by IDeA Capital Funds SGR and developed with support and funding from the anchor investor Bayside Capital, a credit affiliate of global investment firm H.I.G. Capital, will invest in Italian mid-sized enterprises in distressed situations, aiming to help them restructure and turnaround, and consequently help banks maximize the recovery of their original loans.

Managed by a team led by Francesco Gori, former CEO of Pirelli Tyre and Managing Director of Pirelli & C., and Vincenzo Manganelli, responsible for the financial restructuring process, IDeA CCR (Corporate Credit Recovery) I includes two-sub funds: a Credit Fund and a New Money Fund.

The Credit Fund consists of the loans in eight companies contributed by seven leading banks in Italy: UniCredit, BNL/BNP Paribas, Banca Popolare di Vicenza, MPS, BPM and Biverbanca. The loans have been contributed in exchange for units of the fund. The New Money Fund provides new capital to support the turnaround and growth of the companies in the Credit Fund. H.I.G. Bayside has underwritten 50% of the fund, IDeA Capital and third party investors contributed the balance.

Raffaele Legnani, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Capital in Italy, and Giuseppe Mirante, Managing Director of H.I.G. Bayside, will join the investment committee of the Fund.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
SuperVista, the Wildau, near Berlin-based parent company of Brillen.de, a multi-channel provider of prescription eyewear in Germany, raised 45m in funding.

Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), which provides growth equity for both private and public technology companies in the US, Europe and internationally, provided the financing. Concurrent with the funding, John Doran, Principal at TCV, as well as Simon Breakwell, Venture Partner at TCV, joined Brillen.des supervisory board.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its executive team and enter new markets beyond Germany, Austria, Spain (Gafas.es) and the UK (Specsfactory.co.uk), where it currently operates.

Launched in 2012 by Matthias Kamppeter, his wife Christine Kamppeter, and Daniel Thung, Brillen.de sells prescription eyewear online to consumers and leverages a large distribution network of more than 700 affiliated traditional opticians across Germany, Austria, England and Spain.

The company currently has about 100 employees.

FinSMEs

07/07/2016
Hyderabads startup Aadya Restaurants Dosa Place has acquired Hyderabad-based food Company ChennaiChef for an undisclosed amount. Aadya Restaurants will own 91 percent in Sukashree Agro Foods (Chennai Chef).

Hyderabads startup Aadya Restaurants Dosa Place has acquired Hyderabad-based food Company ChennaiChef for an undisclosed amount. Aadya Restaurants will own 91 percent in Sukashree Agro Foods (Chennai Chef).

Chennai Chef is into retail business and has presence across major super markets over six years. The company is mainly involved in selling idly, dosa, nutri dosa batters, sambhar and rasam powders.

"We found great synergy in ChennaiChef. This acquisition will make us spread our wings into retail business too, said Ajay Koneru, Founder and Director of Aadya Restaurants.

Dosa Place, which sells dosas, idlis, tea, butter milk, lassi and badam milk, believes that this acquisition will help the company to consolidate its position in the market, grow faster and take a leadership position in this segment.

Dosa Place is Aadya Restaurants first maiden venture. As a one-stop-restaurant and service provider, the startup plans to run multiple mobile trucks across India. The firm has 35+ employees that includes master chefs, cooks, servers, managers and quality maintenance staff. We started our journey with one truck and now we are four trucks and a Quick Service Restaurant at a Drive In, Koneru said.

Talking about the company plans ahead Koneru said, We are getting into QSR segment with the brand TIDC, The Indian Dosa Company. Our plan is to have presence in at least five states in next 1 year. All the cities will have Chennai Chef Factories, Dosa Place Trucks and The Indian Dosa Company (TIDC) QSR . By 2017 December we want to go global.

The Brand Dosa Place will still remain the same for the companys trucks and will primarily focus on parties, events, weddings, among others.
Prime minister Narendra Modis African safari is ostensibly designed to offset the deep inroads made by China into the continent. It is probably a bit too little and a lot too late to play catch up. The visit to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in a four-day flurry will be more ceremonial and pleasantly crammed with standard cliches of goodwill and heightened co-operation.

It will be uphill all the way even getting to base camp being doubtful.

Any enhanced deals are not likely to dent the $200 billion investment Beijing has in Africa and the large number of boots on the ground. There are over a million Chinese in South Africa and although those of Indian origin may be more they are now fourth generation Africans and not on deputation.

Since the nineties China has been establishing a presence militarily, politically and commercially much to the consternation of Washington and the EU. In fact, the Chinese economic invasion is seen as a war being won with no gun being fired while the rest of the world sits on its hands.

If there is something substantial behind the scenes it hasnt been shared yet but it wont change the equations. The Indian PM will receive a warm welcome but winning contracts wont be easy.

China has built railways linking Zambia and Tanzania, invested in education, taken over 200,000 Africans to the mainland for training (our track record there is currently steeped in suspicion and racism) used the barefoot doctor concept in the Congo and treated over 200 million patients.

In December 2015, President Xi Jingpin pledged $60 billion to the now not-so-dark continent but one poised to be the next best thing as far as potential markets go. Nigeria is one of the biggest beneficiaries.

While there are reports circulating about Chinas nautical and military presence at a much higher level than officially acknowledged Beijing has been active in Somalia and Malis internal affairs.

Chinas supply of military hardware, including jet fighters to Zimbabwe, has been a matter of great contention in the west which is also losing the battle for influence in Africa. Sudan was also a recipient of arms and wherever there are pockets of resistance to the governments that favour business with China it would be naive to imagine the Chinese warm the benches on the sidelines.

If India should be seriously concerned it is over the building of Chinas first overseas naval base in Djibouti where the Red Sea confluences with the Indian Ocean. That is a development New Delhi cannot take lightly.

For all you know Modi might be the forward scout for the western world and one cannot discount the possibility of Washington and the EU connecting with India and South Africa to attempt to create an alternative. Miles to go, yes, but better late than never.

A wake up call with Modi as the alarm clock.

Modi does have the Indian diaspora on his side and he could use it effectively to begin spinning the Indian web in commerce and finance, education and agriculture as well as create a willing fifth column that is affluent and educated .

That said, he probably needs a rah rah rah fix here comes the hero which hasnt happened for a long time and the huge Durban population of Indian origin will make for a perfect setting as Modi gives one of his luv yall speeches and extols the achievements of the past 24 months to a madly cheering audience.

That done, when the lights go off and the garlands are dead, what will he bring home in definite terms?

With Mozambiques President Filipe Nyusi it will be more protocol and an expression of concern about Chinas naval presence in the south Asian waters. Cannot see Nyusi offering much to India beyond happy-hour promises and warm handshakes because in the past one year he was literally delivered to Beijing when a crippling national debt forced him to ask for aid from the west. It was a plea that largely went unheard. So he called China and the rest is history. The nearly $2 billion is being handled. It speaks for itself that Mozambique has not recognised Taiwan.

In Tanzania, Prime Minister Modi will have bilateral discussions with President John Magufuli and so too in Kenya with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Again, these are not likely to yield anything spectacular and will more likely turn into Indian origin spectacles.

Kenyas economy is in a Chinese vice and imports have surged 45% according to reports this week. Kenya is beholden. Tanzania is one of the three nations selected for the special project initiated in April 2015 by the Chinese called industrial capacity cooperation with several projects in the pipeline.

In this race to make deals with Africa India has allowed herself to lag so far behind that whirlwind tours will be simply ceremonial.

President Juma and Prime Minister Modi could have some common grounds because of the South African proximity to the western powers and its fears of the growing Chinese influence in the neighbourhood.

Perhaps they do have a common agenda and the other stopovers are relative window dressing for a private summit that might be privately multi-lateral on Jo-burg.

With a one point agenda; what do we do about China.
New Delhi: Just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Africa visit beginning today, the Union Cabinet approved a long-term contract with Mozambique on Tuesday for importing pulses. This arrangement will be in force for five years and will double pulses imports from the African country from a lakh tonne at present to two lakh tonne by 2020-21.

This will augment domestic availability of pulses and thereby stabilize prices, the government said in a statement. Mozambique is India's destination for the popular arhar and urad daals. On the face of it, the government has done well to sign up with this African country for increased imports but this does not begin to even scratch the surface of India's overall pluses problem.

According to industry estimates, India consumes about 63,500 tonnes of all varieties of pulses put together every single day (2.3 crore tonnes is our estimated annual consumption). With a bad monsoon year, pulses production plateaued in 2015-16, leading to a huge spike in prices during the last festival season.

Unless India takes a 360 degree view on pulses, even a combination of one good year of monsoons in 2016 and government-to-government pacts with African countries are unlikely to solve the pulses' conundrum for the long term. India remains the biggest consumer of pulses and has traditionally focused on cereals like wheat and rice, relegating pulses' cultivation to the background.

"The government needs to formulate a stable pulse policy. The policy should encompass production, processing, consumption and trade. I would say, as a crop, pulses have not received adequate policy support, research support and investment support (unlike rice and wheat). Growers need more remunerative prices and assured marketing outlets. Consumers deserve protein rich pulses (economical source of vegetable protein) at affordable prices," said agri business and commodities expert G Chandrashekhar.

What is needed is a sustained effort to raise domestic production of pulses instead of relying on increased imports - according to the government's own revised estimates, total pulses production in the country during 2015-16 was estimated to be 1.7 crore tonne while 57.9 lakh tonne of pulses were imported to meet the domestic requirements. The domestic production was thus far short of the initial government target of 2.05 crore tonne. And imports accounted for a third of pulses procurement last fiscal.

This increasing dependence on imports with little focus on enhancing in-house production is the crux of India's pulses' problem. As a country, we have increased focus on cultivation of cereals to such an extent that their production now outstrips demand. But for pulses, India has lacked a consolidated policy for production, distribution and imports. By increasing the minimum support price for pulses (done sometime back) and by signing small import contracts with African countries, we will solve very little of India's pulses' headache.

A bad drought which crippled the meager production of pulses in 2014-15 lead to a sharp spike in the prices of this essential food item last festival season. B Krishnamurthy of Four-P International Pvt Ltd, a importer and miller of pulses, points out that any long term solution to the pulses' shortfall has to be an increase in domestic production. "Solution should result in higher production irrespective of what happens to climate. What if there are two more droughts?"

Much of India's pulses' production happens on marginal lands under rain fed conditions across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Only 15 percent of the area under pulses cultivation has assured irrigation. Hence the monsoon has a direct effect on pulses' production in India. This in itself needs to change, pulses' cultivation should be protected from vagaries of weather.

Niti Ayog member Ramesh Chand was one of the authors of a piece published in the Hindu today where it was pointed out that productivity of pulses is very low in India due to several reasons. High-yielding varieties of pulses havent been developed in the absence of any technological breakthrough. Low productivity is also associated with the sharp year-on-year fluctuations due to high vulnerability to environmental stresses as well as insects and pests. "There is an urgent need to upgrade varieties, practices and policy support for pulses. Both public and private sector research should be encouraged and supported for breakthroughs in pulse technology at the earliest."

For the short term though, the pulses' problem seems to have a solution in the rain gods and increased imports. Pravin Dongre, Chairman of the India Pulses and Grain Association said over 30 lakh tonne of pulses have been contracted by Indian importers for this year's festival season. "Coupled with good monsoon, we will see a large acerage shift to pulses. Good domestic crop coupled with increased imports will bring a sharp downward correction across the pulses' basket starting September".

Dongre welcomed the government's move to enhance arhar imports from Mozambique. On its part, the government has indicated that pacts similar to that signed with Mozambique will also be inked with Myanmar, Malawi and Canada to further ease the price of pulses. Speaking to media earlier, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that unlike the present regime, where traders are free to import pulses, India has begun talks with these countries for striking a G2G pact on pulses' import. This will mean government's own agencies will buy pulses from these countries instead of only private traders, and then these agencies will release the stock into the market at an appropriate time, to keep prices in check.

This G2G route will help cool domestic prices. Media reports suggest that the Indian government will assist Mozambique by providing high quality seeds and technical assistance besides giving an assurance to buy all pulses grown there.
SHACHENG, China The Chinese government's call to the nation to build an innovation-driven economy from the top down has sparked a rush by local governments to construct new buildings in the name of supporting creativity.

Innovation centers have been popping up around the country and are set to more than double to nearly 5,000 in the next five years, according to internet research firm iiMedia. The only problem for local governments; entrepreneurs are not moving in.

Many centers are in small Chinese cities or towns, not ideal locations for attracting startups. There is no local market for their product, no local ecosystem of suppliers and fellow entrepreneurs and centers generally provide only basic amenities, such as a desk and a telephone. They lack the financial, technical or marketing expertise that many startups need.

Most incubators have occupancy rates of no more than 40 percent, iiMedia says.

The result: like steel mills, theme parts and housing before them, the country now faces a glut of innovation centers as another top-down policy backfires to leave white-elephant projects and a further buildup of debt.

"The risk of a bubble is extremely large," said Shi Jiqiang, a partner at Leilai Management, which runs day-to-day operations at a startup base in the city of Tianjin, near Beijing.

"This is both a test for government and for the managers of startup spaces ... there aren't enough entrepreneurs."

China's Ministry of Industry and IT declined to comment and the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, did not respond to a request for comment.

Beijing argues its development model that worked so well for infrastructure and real estate, powering the country through the global financial crisis, can build successful, high-tech startups.

With slogans such as "mass entrepreneurship" and "internet plus", Beijing has called for innovation centers to be built all over the country, hoping to lay the groundwork for the next Jack Ma - who founded e-commerce giant Alibaba - to emerge.

It has encouraged college students and even migrant workers to try their hand at starting their own businesses to transform China into a high-tech economy less reliant on basic manufacturing.

Almost 80 percent of the capital for the innovation centers springing up around the country is coming from the government or universities, which are state-backed in China, or a combination of sources, iiMedia said.

"In any sort of market, you want the experts making the decisions, not some technocrat or bureaucrat," said William Bao Bean, investment partner at venture capital fund SOSV, which invests in startups. "You don't tend to see too many successful companies come out of a government-based decision-making process."

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

The small town of Shacheng in Huailai county in northern Hebei province answered Beijing's call for innovation by building two 25-storey adjoining towers - one for office space and the other as an innovation center.

However, the innovation center, offering desks and a period of free rent and utilities to potential startups, is empty. The floors are littered with rubbish and dust.

Like other towns in China's industrial heartland, Shacheng is feeling the brunt of Beijing's push to reduce massive industrial over capacity. Glass and cement factories, and coal mines and steel mills have been shut down.

The town offers few signs of the central government's innovation campaign. Chinese characters hanging on a fence in Shacheng's economic zone spell out "mass entrepreneurship" but otherwise local people said they had not seen any promotion of the innovation center and they felt it was not targeted at them anyhow.

Instead, they assumed it was designed to attract students and entrepreneurs from Beijing, some four-hours away by train.

"I wouldn't consider becoming an entrepreneur. You need money to do that. No, for someone like me, I don't really have many options," said Liu Haiyang, 30, who runs a shop next to the innovation center, selling bathroom fittings.

Shacheng's local authority and the county economic planner declined to comment.

Residents said they hoped their economic fortunes would improve when a high-speed rail link with Beijing, which will cut travel time to the capital down to half an hour, is completed in 2019.

"The incubator is losing money," said a businessman with strong ties to the local government, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're playing the long game, hoping this push will create companies that pay taxes and add jobs to the local economy."

Elsewhere, some local governments have rebranded empty office space as innovation centers. At the new Yujiapu economic zone in Tianjin near Beijing, the government has designated 5.5 square kilometers for 11 incubators with at least four more on the way. The zone's flagship incubator is only 30 percent occupied, an administrative assistant said.

"All these office buildings have already been built," said Yang Dehong, a local government official. "We might as well use them, help startups reduce their costs," she said.

"And ride the wave of this (innovation) policy," added Pei Lei, another government official.

AGAINST THE ODDS

Venture capitalists say startups gravitate to where successful innovation centers are already up and running, or where they can find the right mix of a local market, talent, expertise and fellow entrepreneurs.

That generally means the big cities, such as Zhuhai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen - the five cities that top the rankings for startups in China.

"The idea that you can predict location or the idea that every geography happens to have this nascent group just waiting to be given capital to go create the next Alibaba, is just not true," said Gary Rieschel, founder of Qiming Venture Partners, a China-based venture capital firm.

Other more fundamental factors are holding back an entrepreneurial culture in China, startup experts say.

Even in towns with universities, young Chinese are often pressured by their parents to find a job considered more steady, such as in government or with a private company. Starting your own business is seen as too high risk.

The Chinese education system, which largely focuses on rote learning, also crimps the development of creative thinkers, said Bo Yiqun, chief executive of a privately run co-working space in Beijing with 85 percent occupancy.

"Innovation is related to education," Bo said. "If education levels don't rise, we can't expect innovation to catch up that fast."

Even if all those factors were in place, government efforts would have more chance of success if officials teamed up with former entrepreneurs or venture capitalists with money at stake, Chinaccelerator's Bao said.

"Where it's not worked the world over, as well as in China, is where the governments themselves are making the investment decisions," he said.

(Additional reporting by Zhang Qi, Elias Glenn, Pete Sweeney, Nathaniel Taplin and the Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Neil Fullick.)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
NEW YORK/LONDON Gold pared gains after rising to the highest in more than two years on Wednesday, as U.S. equities reversed early losses, Treasury yields turned higher after hitting record lows and investors bought bullion as a haven from risk.

Equities and some bond yields were weak earlier as fears about the impact that Britain's vote to leave the European Union will have on economic growth gripped global markets and underpinned demand for safe-haven bonds.

Gold prices largely shrugged off the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's June meeting that showed widespread unease over the so-called Brexit vote, which took place after the meeting.

"Generally the Fed is out of the spotlight while Brexit progresses," said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York.

Spot gold XAU= was up 0.6 pct at $1,363.36 an ounce by 2:59 p.m. EDT (1859 GMT) after reaching a peak of $1,374.91, its highest since March 2014.

"The minutes are consistent with our forecast for a rate hike around the end of the year, with Brexit related uncertainties likely taking earlier meetings off the table," said Royce Mendes, director and senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

U.S. gold futures GCv1 for August delivery settled up $8.4, or 0.6 percent, at $1,367.10 per ounce.

"I think this run higher is going to continue for a while, as long as expectations for Fed (rate hikes) are not going up, and you have uncertainty over Brexit," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.

Gold priced in sterling XAUGBP=R rose to its highest in over three years, touching a high of 1,069.36 pounds an ounce.

As well as investors shaken by stock market volatility fleeing to the safety of gold, the earlier drop in bond yields has cut the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), posted the biggest one-day surge in its holdings in more than six years on Tuesday. They jumped 28.8 tonnes to 982.72 tonnes, their highest since June 2013.

"We continue to expect U.S. real rates to fall from here and ultimately for equilibrium real rates to settle lower and have limited upside," UBS said in a research note. "These factors justify strategic gold allocations across different types of investors."

Silver XAG= was up 0.7 percent at $20.05 an ounce, while platinum XPT= was up 1.12 pct at $1,084 an ounce and palladium XPD= was up 1.37 pct at $606.20 an ounce.

(Additional reporting by Vijaykumar Vedala and Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by William Hardy and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
LONDON A Champagne cork popped somewhere on Centre Court four games into Serena Williams's Wimbledon semi-final and while it was a tad premature, her 6-2 6-0 thrashing of Elena Vesnina suggested she could be celebrating something special come Saturday.

The top-seeded American will be taking nothing for granted, having seen her bid to match Steffi Graf's modern era record of grand slam titles stuck one short on 21 for a year, but it was a menacing show of strength, albeit against an overawed opponent.

She dropped only three points on serve in an embarrassingly one-sided 49 minutes -- crunching down one 123mph delivery that topped the women's speed charts at this year's tournament.

From the moment the 34-year-old nonchalantly broke serve in the opening game the writing was on the wall for a leaden-footed Vesnina appearing in her first grand slam semi-final.

By the time the latecomers took their seats two games later Serena was 3-0 ahead and her place in a ninth Wimbledon title already looked in the bag.

Vesnina held serve twice in the opening set, prompting sympathetic applause, but the world number 50 was swept aside in the second set, winning only five points, as Serena marched to singles victory number 85 at the All England Club.

Few have been easier.

The six-times Wimbledon champion will play elder sister Venus for the ninth time in a grand slam final if the 36-year-old defeats Germany's Angelique Kerber in the day's second semi.

"It would be great and there would be a Williams on the trophy and that is the ultimate goal for us," Serena said.

Since winning last year's Wimbledon title she has proved surprisingly fallible, losing in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open to Roberta Vinci when a calendar Grand Slam loomed.

She then lost to Kerber in the Australian Open final and was beaten by Garbine Muguruza in the French Open final.

"It's weird, I can't believe I'm in the finals again," she said. "I'm zero and two for (grand slam finals) this year so I want to get at least one."

Vesnina, the first unseeded woman to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon since Sabine Lisicki in 2011, had served the second-most aces, after Serena, coming in to the match.

She managed four on Thursday, but it was futile.

"Let's be real, I'm guessing it's a combination of fatigue and her freezing. Her legs looked like they weighed 200 pounds each," was commentator John McEnroe's blunt assessment.

Vesnina, who will rise into the world's top 25 having been down at 122 in February, walked off smiling and made no excuses.

"I went in there with a game plan," she said. "But today it was all about Serena."

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Clare Lovell)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is examining Facebook Inc over its transfer of various rights associated with its worldwide business to a holding company in Ireland, according to court papers.

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe.

The lawsuit said the documents relate to an IRS examination of the company's tax liability for 2010, when Facebook's tax return reported royalty income from transfers of intangible property to Facebook Ireland Holdings Unlimited.

"Facebook complies with all applicable rules and regulations in the countries where we operate," Anteneh Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement on Thursday.

Facebook transferred to the Irish company rights associated with its worldwide business, with the exception of the United States and Canada, the lawsuit said.

Facebook reduces its tax bill by having non-U.S. clients pay advertising fees directly to an Irish subsidiary called Facebook Ireland Ltd.

This subsidiary reported revenues of 4.8 billion euros in 2014, the last year for which accounts are available.

But Facebook Ireland Ltd reports low taxable profit, of just 13 million euros in 2014, because it pays a significant chunk of its revenue to another Irish-registered company called Facebook Ireland Holdings, in return for the use of the Facebook platform.

The lawsuit said Facebook retained accounting firm Ernst & Young to value the transfers for tax purposes, but noted that information gathered by the IRS to date suggested that the valuation approach was "problematic."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York and Tom Bergin in London; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Richard Chang)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
NEW YORK Former Wall Street executive Andrew Caspersen pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges that he defrauded investors out of over $38 million, blaming his conduct on a gambling addiction he could not control.

Caspersen, who worked at a unit of investment banker Paul Taubman's PJT Partners Inc (PJT.N) prior to his arrest in March, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan to securities fraud and wire fraud.

Caspersen, who graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, choked up in court as he admitted to cheating numerous people, mostly family and friends, through what he called a "simple" fraud.

"It was just a means for me to get money to feed a gambling addition that was all consuming at the time," Caspersen said.

As part of a plea deal, Caspersen, 39, agreed to not appeal any sentence beyond 15-2/3 years in prison and to forfeit over $45 million, though his lawyer, Paul Shechtman, said he cannot afford that sum. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 2.

Prosecutors said Caspersen, the son of late Wall Street financier Finn M.W. Caspersen, from November 2014 to March 2016 tried to defraud over a dozen investors by claiming he would use their funds to make loans to private equity firms.

During the scheme, Caspersen worked at Park Hill Group, which he joined in 2013. The advisory firm was spun off from private equity group Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) in October and is now part of PJT Partners.

In court, Caspersen said he told friends and family that a private equity firm had given him an allocation in a "practically riskless debt instrument" and then offered them a chance to invest with him.

Instead, prosecutors said he used the $38.5 million he raised to make options trades, to pay earlier investors, and to replace over $8 million he had misappropriated from Park Hill Group, which Caspersen said he also used for gambling.

In total, he attempted to raise almost $150 million, prosecutors said.

His victims included a foundation affiliated with hedge fund Moore Capital Management and one of the fund's employees, who together were cheated out of $25 million, prosecutors said.

Caspersen, who said he also gambled away $20 million of his own money, in court apologised for harming the people he cared for the most.

"I could not be more sorry or ashamed for my crimes," he said.

The case is U.S. v. Caspersen, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-cr-0414.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by David Gregorio and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A 31-year-old obsessive texter was arrested in Delhi on Thursday for sending obscene and vulgar messages to more than 1,500 women across Delhi and NCR, reported India Today.

Mohammad Khalid, a resident of Ballimaran area in Delhi, was arrested after a woman from Ashok Vihar filed a complaint, stating that she received indecent messages from two different numbers, the India Today report added. She reported to having being harassed by a man for over a month, who threatened to kill her after she warned him.

Based on surveillance, the police nabbed the accused and recovered two mobile phones. From these phones, nearly 2,000 contacts of women were retrieved.

According to the report, Khalid had purchased three different SIM cards, using fake identification cards.

A police offer, as quoted by Hindustan Times said that the accused did that "only to pretty women, not others" and that he used to check their WhatsApp profile pictures to determine if they were attractive, and then he would start chatting with them. The accused reportedly told the police that what he did was "harmless flirting" and was "for fun".

The Hindustan Times report further said that the accused had been harassing women through vulgar texts since last August and had managed to amass over 600 GB of pornographic clips and pictures. Nothing seemed to deter Mohammad Khalid from the pursuance of his perverse pleasures.

According to a report by The Hindu, no amount of threats worked on Mohammad Khalid. If the victim's relatives called to warn him, the report said, he would lie to them and tell them that he was the said woman's former lover and create issues in their family. Desperate, many women would beg for him to stop. According to the police, Khalid said that he derived pleasure out of his victim's helplessness and even threatened his victims that he would put up their photographs and phone numbers on social media to portray them as sex workers.

The Hindu report further said that Khalid suffers from an acute case of inferiority complex, after having suffered rejection at the hands of a girl last August. The five-foot tall Khalid would often blame his height for striking out with women.

Khalid also found no solace from his family. According to another report by the Hindustan Times his family life too was dysfunctional, which troubled Khalid to no end. Driven by emotional distress, he would release his frustration on unsuspecting women.

Please dont publish my photo in the newspapers. It will bring disrepute to my family, he told the media on Wednesday, The Hindu reported.
As Eid is being celebrated across the country and the world  with Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering his warm wishes through Twitter  women in Lucknow were part of a historic act: that of offering prayers or namaaz inside the Aishbagh Eidgah, in a separate enclosure, for the first time.

Women offer Eid prayers from a separate dedicated enclosure in Lucknow's Aishbagh Eidgah pic.twitter.com/FWzCzcbanl  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 7, 2016

Offering namaaz at the three-century-old mosque, reported Hindustan Times, isn't unusual. What is, however, is the fact that barely a handful have turned up to take part in communal prayers for over a decade now. With an increase in requests to accommodate more women, the maulana provided for a larger space. Two gates were also assigned for the women.

This move comes at a time when women are demanding entry into the Haji Ali shrine and opposing the practice of triple talaq  in short a demand for equality.

Maulana Khalid Rashid, who spoke to News18, said that he wanted to dispel the belief that women were not treated equally in Islam and ensure that more common prayers will be organised. The News18 report added that although many women did not step out of their houses to attend the prayer at Aishbagh Eidgah, the ones who did were "upbeat".

An NDTV report put the women attendees count at 40 and men at a lakh.

Trupti Desai of Bhumata Brigade, who successfully spearheaded the agitation seeking entry of women in Shani Shinganapur's sanctum, told The Indian Express that the fact that women were allowed to enter Aishbagh Eidgah was a historical beginning, and a matter of great happiness. She also pressed for equality in temples, mosques and dargahs.

With inputs from PTI
A few years ago, when I was walking through the narrow alleys of Male, the capital of Maldives, I couldnt avoid noticing two distinct Indian connections  the presence of Hindi soap operas and a bearded Islamic evangelist that I was hardly familiar with. I could see him on TV at many DVD shops, which also had stockpiled Hindi soap operas dubbed in Dhivehi, the local language.

Later on, a Maldivian friend, who then was my colleague, had told me that among all the TV series, one named "Prerna" (the Indian title was Kasautii Zindagii Kay) was a superhit and the lead actor, Shweta Tiwari (they in fact called her by the name of the character she played) was a household name.

And there was one more person who was as popular, particularly among the youth  Zakir Naik  the bearded man that I saw on TV in the island. It was also the time when Islamism was beginning to spread in the tiny population of the country. Coincidentally, hardliners had begun to tighten their grip on the countrys politics.

After the recent Bangladesh terror attacks, Zakir Naik reportedly has been accused of being an inspiration for the killer squad. Media reports look at him as an evangelist of Zalafism, the radical version of Islam being bankrolled by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a practice that seeks to take believers several centuries back in time. A practice that negates the evolution of humankind, any form of progressive thinking, and modern ideas of governance and human rights.

So, the big debate in India now is the influence of Zakir Naik in radicalising Muslims at home and its neighbourhood. Reports said that his name has also been linked to the Hyderabad module which was recently busted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Bangladesh government has asked India to look for evidence of his influence on the terrorists on their soil.

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the cradles of Islamist terror funded by external agencies, we have seen how religious radicalisation acts as the first step towards creating Islamist terror. First fundamentalise their faith, and then arm them; the products from this assembly line then fast-breed themselves even as they launch into their preprogrammed course of destruction. Terror trails in other parts of the world also show the same design and execution.

So, the crucial point is radicalising the youth. That's what people such as Naik have been allegedly doing, and thats what needs to be mercilessly shut down.

It may be purely coincidental  almost at the same time as Zakir Naik's influence was alleged for the terror in Dhaka, a video of Abdul Nazer Madani, an Islamic orator and political leader from Kerala, resurfaced on social media. There's no authentication of the date of the speech, but it certainly is post-2013 because of the references he makes in the speech.

In the name of retribution, people who disrespect the prophet, what he delivers in this speech is pure venom and justification of terror. He says that theres absolutely no compromise with people who dont respect the prophet. He goes on to refer to the case of a College professor whose arm was chopped off by Islamists in in Kerala. He willy-nilly justifies this terrorist act and uses highly offensive language against the professor. To justify his position, he even cites a historical incident in which a father was beheaded by his son for challenging the prophet. The tone, tenor and the direct message in this speech is unambiguous - its a direct call for terror.

Interestingly, when a trial court recently sent eight men to jail for the same chopping incident, they were demonstratively remorseless - their pose for photos with broad smiles shocked the state.

Ironically, this is a man who the state stood by  political parties, civil society and human rights activists  when he was in Coimbatore jail for his alleged role in the blasts in the city in 1998. He was released in 2007 for lack of evidence, but had to go back to jail, this time in Karnataka, for his alleged role in the 2008 Bangalore blasts. He is still in jail pending trail. The latest video doing the rounds cocks a snook at the people who stood by him.

Zakir Naik may find an instant audience among the unemployed, poor Muslim youth across India because they have been marginalised for generations, but trying to radicalise the Muslims in Kerala is a far more sinister idea because they are an integral part of mainstream society with absolutely no reason to complain.

About 27 percent of the states population is Muslim, and according to a 1996 report by the Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad (a left wing organisation that promotes science and rational practices), they are better off than the majority Hindus on many social development indicators such as housing, landholding and sanitation while standing neck to neck with the latter on per capita income. In terms of remittances from the Middle East, a major source of household income for most of the state, Muslims account for 34.5 per cent compared to 10.4 per cent of Hindus.



Moreover, Muslims are politically very strong. The Indian Union Muslim League is the second most influential block in the Congress-led United Democratic Front, and it retains key ministries every time the UDF comes to power. Some of the biggest businesses in Kerala and best educational institutions are owned by Muslims and they dominate the socio-cultural scene as well.

Preaching hatred against others and fomenting trouble, or rather terror, among them is therefore a sinister agenda. It has no raison detre in the state and can be seen only as part of a global Islamist project.

In the 1990s, when I first heard Madani speeches on compact discs (with no Youtube, they were circulated widely through CDs), I was really concerned at the way a portly, overzealous man was playing up macabre stories of Muslim persecution in Afghanistan and Bosnia and exhorting people to align behind their faith. He was artificially importing insecurity into the Muslims in a state, where they were socio-economically and politically well-placed.

The damage has been far-reaching. For instance, the most common name in Islamist terrorism in Kerala, an alleged LeT operative, Thadiantavide Nazeer, who is currently in jail, reportedly got involved with militancy through ISS, an organisation established by Madani. Changing dress codes, increasing intolerance against reformist practices and other cultures, and the even rising incidence of moral policing point to disturbing pressure of radical thought on families and individuals.

Historically, this is how projects to fundamentalise faith begins. The ultimate result is terror on the street as we see today.

Human rights and fair recourse to justice are important, but before that channels of fundamentalisaiton have to be shut down with zero tolerance. If the present law doesnt permit radicals making inflammatory and terror speeches to be put in jail, reform it.
What prompted bureaucrat Ashish Joshi to turn into a whistleblower and take on another bureaucrat within the Delhi government? Was it an act of revenge, or a call of duty for his profession?

About a year ago, in mid-April 2015, Joshi, a 1992-batch Indian Post and Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS) officer, received a letter at his residence from the Delhi government that he had been repatriated to his parent cadre  P&T Accounts and Finance Service. He wasnt even allowed to use his official car to visit his office the next morning.

A month later, he lodged a written complaint with Delhis Anti-Corruption Branch against the recently arrested 1989-batch IAS officer Rajendra Kumar, principal secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for his alleged corruption and misuse of his position in favouring a private firm.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Joshi, who was Member-secretary (Finance) of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), said that it was the oath (We, the public servants of India, do solemnly pledge that we shall continuously strive to bring about integrity and transparency in all spheres of our activities) that the government officials take while observing the National Vigilance Awareness week that compelled him to lodge a complaint against the corruption within the Delhi government.

Excerpts:

Do you think that the arrest of Rajendra Kumar by the CBI has reached its legitimate end?

Due process of law has been followed. Based on the complaint made, it has been taken to a logical end. CBI is still investigating the matter and has come to know more which I wasnt aware of. The matter is now sub-judice.

What was the reason behind your unceremonious removal from the post of member-secretary?

As member-secretary of the Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC), I formulated mechanisms to run the DDC systematically and for the appointment of experts in the commissions panel. The basic objective of the DDC was to function similar to the Planning Commission, so we needed experts from different fields.

I wanted to bring in professionals, but DDC vice chairperson Ashish Khetan wanted to appoint party volunteers as experts by flouting the rules. I strongly objected to it. That, along with my objections to some serious issues within the DUSIB didnt go down well with the government.

You didnt lodge your complaint with the ACB while you were holding the post, but did it after you were asked to leave. Was it a kind of revenge?

Theres no question of revenge. It was the oath we government officials take while observing the National Vigilance Awareness week that compelled me to lodge a complaint against the corruption.

Like many other officials, I too was aware of the corruption undertaken by Rajendra Kumar, but I had no evidence to prove it. A month after I quit, some officials (I still dont know them personally) from the Delhi government came to me with documented proof pertaining to the financial irregularities done by Rajendra Kumar.

I filed a written complaint with Delhis Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB). When no action was initiated even after a month, I lodged a complaint to the CBI. During the process of investigation, the CBI sought the papers from ACB.

If you were aware of the corruption back then, why didnt you raise an alarm against Kumar?

How can I complain against a senior IAS officer without valid proof? I did it after I got documented proof.

What were the specifics of the complaint against Rajendra Kumar?

When Kumar was Director in the education department, and later as secretary (IT), he ensured that all IT related work in various departments should go to a particular private firm, Endeavours Systems Pvt Ltd, which was empanelled with ICSIL, a PSU.

The modus operandi was that it looked as if it was the ICSIL that was undertaking the job, which was not the fact. There were 10 companies empaneled with this PSU, but only this particular private company benefited. In case of any government work involving a large amount of money, a tender has to be floated. As secretary, Health & Family Welfare and commissioner, VAT, he flouted these norms to get contracts and tenders in favour of the said private firm. Transparency International also lodged a complaint in this matter.

What made Rajendra Kumar so important in the eyes of Arvind Kejriwal, in spite of the allegations of corruption against him, that he continued as the latters principal secretary right until he was arrested?

Because, he had not been following the laid down guidelines and rules in carrying out official work. Whatever order, CM Kejriwal used to issue, he carried it out, which many other officials didnt. He was best suited for the purpose. One such officer, Anindo Majumdar, whos currently chief secretary, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, had refused to comply with such arbitrary functioning. As a result, his room was locked and he was shunted out. The then secretary of Health department, whos in central deputation at present, went on leave in protest.

Is it true that you were finally asked to leave the DDC on the allegation that you consumed Gutka and smoked cigars inside your office chamber?

Yes, they used all kind of lies to ensure my ouster. I take paan-masala and even smoke cigarettes (not cigar) sometimes. As a responsible officer, who has served in various capacities at the Centre including at CAG office, I positively wouldnt do any such act, like smoking inside an office chamber.

Moreso, if this is the reason, then a major chunk in the government will be out of a job. The actual reason was different. I was repatriated without any notice. As per the DoPT service rules, the borrowing organisation (Delhi government and DDC) has to give a three-month notice to the officer of the parent organisation (to me), which wasnt followed. I objected to it and wrote to respective secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Telecom on this issue. As a result, they forced my exit from the Delhi government using gutka and cigar as excuses.

What was your immediate reaction after you were repatriated?

Initially, it was difficult for me. When I was repatriated to my parent cadre, I got posted in Uttarakhand, where Im working at present. I had to leave my family in Delhi due to my daughters education, whos completing her schooling. I had to give up my official residence. But, in hindsight, I feel that it was a blessing in disguise. It would have been extremely suffocating and disturbing, if I had to continue in the Delhi government.

It seems that theres resentment amongst the bureaucracy in the Delhi government. How far is it from the truth?

Theres tremendous resentment among the bureaucrats and nobody wants to work. Many have moved to the Centre, as they are demoralised. The process of consultation and democratic ways has taken a back seat. Theres no mutual respect. Senior officials are badly humiliated by the CM and his ministers. Im very happy that I have moved out.

What do you have to say about the functioning of the Delhi government, given its response in the Rajendra Kumar incident, which speaks of corruption at a top level in the bureaucracy?

The test of any state government against corruption depends on the appointments it makes at crucial and critical posts in the government, like chief secretary, director general of police, principal secretary to CM etc. The officers need to be honest, with impeccable integrity. This sends the message against corruption down the line in bureaucracy. Meritocracy gets rewarded. An officer with doubtful integrity is bound to give a bad name to a government, and every state government should be aware of it. Mere slogans of anti-corruption and good governance do not work.

Whats the reason behind the constant friction between CM Kejriwal on one hand, and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the Centre on the other?

The status of Delhi is different from a regular state, so is its functioning. They have taken an antagonistic stand against the Centre. One needs to understand that Delhi isnt just another state government, but a union territory with the status of national capital territory. Governance involving consultation, discussion and mutual trust is best suited for Delhi.

Is it going to adversely impact the citizens of Delhi, who voted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to power?

There will be an adverse impact on the implementation of schemes meant for the welfare of the people.
Change in Smriti Irani's portfolio from Union HRD ministry to textiles during the recent Cabinet reshuffle has been accompanied by a heated debate in public space. Wild conjectures, intense speculation and a tsunami of informed and misinformed opinion have surfaced over whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed his cabinet colleague a demotion, promotion or a lateral push.

To a certain extent, the interest and discussion around Smriti Irani is understandable. The minister has always been an articulate, if controversial, feisty figure not averse to taking criticisms head on  be it during a news conference or a debate in Parliament. Her background as an actor, before she joined politics, has added colour to the conversation around her.

There could be, and must be, debates about her role as a former HRD minister. Irani's critics have always held that she was too much of a lightweight  both in terms of educational qualification and political experience  to handle such a sensitive portfolio. Her confrontational nature and penchant for courting controversies have also been widely condemned.

Relieved of her duties just when she was on the verge of announcing a major initiative in a new national education policy, it is reasonable to assess whether the minister failed to carry out the responsibilities that she was entrusted with or got too entangled in the myriad controversies that dogged her tenure.

All these discussions, I reiterate, are fair and warranted.

But disconcertingly, a lot of the attacks have tended to focus on her identity as a woman and even on her physical appearance. Much of the criticism and some terrible attempts at humour targeting her are in reality thinly disguised or in some cases, blatant sexism; a rather crude try at character assassination by zeroing in on her femininity, not her abilities a politician and an education minister.

If one needed a reminder that sexism isn't an exclusively male phenomenon but part of a larger cultural discourse in which women also participate, one needs to only look at some of the comments on social media that have Irani as the target.

This blouse has been made mandatory for all women to wear, by decree of our new textile minister Smriti Irani. pic.twitter.com/qffihnqj77  Brown Sahiba (@Rajyasree) July 5, 2016

To recall, the FabIndia controversy that the first tweet refers to, broke out last year when four employees of the fashion boutique's outlet in Candolim, Goa, were arrested for allegedly setting up a CCTV camera which overlooked the store's changing room.

The Union HRD minister had lodged a complaint with the Goa Police after spotting a camera pointing towards the trial room. According to a report in Indian Express, local BJP MLA Michael Lobo, who was called to the spot by Irani, claimed the camera was installed four months ago and had recorded several people, including the minister, trying on clothes inside the changing room.

It is always better not to take casual digs at issues of such seriousness, almost as if Irani has forfeited her dignity as a woman the moment she started a career in politics.

Being at the end of sexist or misogynist jokes is nothing new for Irani, however. No sooner was she sworn in, photographs of her in swimsuit did titillating rounds in the media, a blatant message that no matter the success a woman achieves in career based on her abilities, she will remain forever trapped in her feminine identity. And if this can happen to a minister in Union cabinet, one can only imagine the plight of women who do not enjoy even a fraction of Irani's power or influence.

It is easy to blame men, sometimes even reflexively so, for falling victim to misogyny as a cultural construct which then colours their attitude towards women. But what explains the phenomenon when women themselves reveal their subliminal layering of misogyny?

Smriti Irani started her career as salesgirl at Mc Donald's. She is bk to sales of kapda. She wl start wth Modi printed saris  Bhairavi Goswami (@bhairavigoswami) July 5, 2016

. @Manekagandhibjp Another despicable being shaming Smriti Irani during the FabIndia controversy #IamTrolledHelp pic.twitter.com/mLjRe1oGNT  The Masakadzas (@Nesenag) July 6, 2016

The last tweet may also be construed as an attempt at body shaming of women which has emerged as another worrying cultural construct. In popular culture and media, women's physical appearance is always in focus. They are panned for either being fat, skinny, tall, short, flat-chested, busty, too plain, too sexy and in India especially, whether she is fair or dark-skinned. Body shaming is another way of telling the woman that looks aren't just a part of who you are, it is who you are.

The commentator, who should have known better for being an informed individual and a woman herself, disregards the fact that jokes like these allow people to believe that sexist behaviour falls within the bounds of social acceptability.

Irani, being the feisty, confident preson that she is will shake it off but there are many women who constantly face such abuse suffer from an acute loss of self confidence and depression.

A research project led by a Western Carolina University (WCU) psychology professor indicated that sexist humour can lead to toleration of hostile feelings and discrimination against women.



Sexist humor is not simply benign amusement. It can affect mens perceptions of their immediate social surroundings and allow them to feel comfortable with behavioral expressions of sexism without the fear of disapproval of their peers, said Thomas E. Ford, a new faculty member in the psychology department at WCU. Specifically, we propose that sexist humor acts as a releaser of prejudice.

All of these, little by little, contribute to the dominant perception about women who are successful in their careers  that they can only make it in this male dominated world by mis/abusing their femininity.

Wifeee sent me this.

' Modis txt to Irani - ' Sorry Honey no HRD feeling' #JumboGovtDumboGovernance @mvadera .  Tehseen Poonawalla (@tehseenp) July 6, 2016

@smritiirani is 12th, fail C doesn't knw the difference of B.Ed & Bed... how C will knw abt IIT .... She is to promote IIN... #SeeYouThere  Indrani Mishra, (@indraniiyc) May 29, 2015

The last tweet mentioned here is by Congress leader Indrani Mishra. Her Twitter bio says she is the National General Secretary at Indian Youth Congress and an INC candidate from Asansol Loksabha 2014. One would think people in position of power should act more responsibly.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's five-nation tour last month, Modi is off to a four-nation tour of African countries from 7 to 11 July. The tour is aimed at enhancing ties between India and Africa, and people-to-people relations.

Modi announced his brief visit to Africa in a tweet.

My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India & Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit. https://t.co/LaOw7lk2fp  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016

The Ministry of External Affairs echoed the same in an another tweet.

Writing a fresh chapter in India's African engagement. PM @narendramodi departs on a four nation tour of Africa pic.twitter.com/cTPTcI4qUJ  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 6, 2016

Narendra Modi began the tour by stepping foot in Mozambique on Thursday.

A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit pic.twitter.com/3e4QtZMyCP  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

The Mozambique visit commenced with a ceremonial welcome by the Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi.

A ceremonial welcome and discussions with President Nyusi...the Prime Minister's programmes in Mozambique begin. pic.twitter.com/zSPuoC9aT7  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

Here are some of the main highlights of the meet.

President Nyusi and I recognize that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today: PM @narendramodi in Mozambique  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

PM begins Press Statement, thanks President Nyusi, says that he agrees w/ his words and sentiments on bilateral ties pic.twitter.com/oXuqp5Xdc2  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

We agreed to put cooperation in agriculture on the fast track. We are also strengthening our partnership in food security: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

Mozambique has already been one of the gateways for Indian investments into Africa: PM @narendramodi at the joint press meet  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

Facilitating economic engagement. PM @narendramodi presented book on Doing Business w/ Mozambique to President Nyusi pic.twitter.com/hFi0ZwZDuJ  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

PM @narendramodi delivers toast at special banquet, recalls communities that are a living testimony to age old links pic.twitter.com/iHCgyfSzYg  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

Modi, after raising a toast to the bonds between India and Mozambique, met the President of Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo.

PM @narendramodi raises a toast: To the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between India and Mozambique.  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

Deepening the democratic connect. PM @narendramodi meets President of Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo pic.twitter.com/iinTmDLTBv  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

In some of his earlier tweets, Narendra Modi mentioned key areas he would be focusing on, in his visit to the different African nations.

Talks with President @UKenyatta, deliberations on economic & people-to-people ties will be focus of my Kenya visit. https://t.co/PGtDaEWKUU  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016

My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban & Pietermaritzburg. Here are details. https://t.co/BTF9fpGRy6  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016
Today, we pledge to walk together, with our steps in rhythm and our voices in harmony. This is not a new journey, nor a new beginning. But, this is a new promise of a great future for an ancient relationship.

The words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India-Africa Forum Summit in Delhi in October last year seemed to ring a bit hollow when he uttered them. Particularly, since at the time he had yet to undertake any constructive outreach to Africa with the exception of his meetings on the sidelines of multilateral summits. Furthermore, there was no hint of any Africa visit on the cards at the time either.

Fast-forward to 7 July, 2016, when he has the opportunity to make good on that 'promise of a great future'.

Not only is Modi on his first foray to the continent, but his visit includes four countries  Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa  all of which are crucial to Indias Africa strategy. And part of that strategy entails ensuring that India doesn't fall too far behind China  it would be incredibly naive to think that India is in a position to compete with the Chinese footprint at the moment  in Africa.

But first, let's take a quick glance at the major themes of the Delhi Declaration signed by the leaders of 41 African countries and Modi at the culmination of the third India-Africa Forum Summit:

And now, let's take a quick look at the Declaration of the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation signed in December last year:

Of course, there will be cultural exchanges and scholarships, but it's quite clear that 'development' is the currency in which both India and China are dealing with Africa.

What's in play so far?

Here's how the numbers stack up against each other:

Rather than looking at the disparity in numbers, it's probably worth looking at what sort of development this money spurs.

China's focus has been on massive infrastructure development, while India has tended to prioritise the services sector. When Chinese companies undertake projects in Africa, they bring in their own workers. But India is the world's largest creator of jobs, training and employing locals, as this World Bank report points out.

Further, observers have pointed at China's aggressive expansion in Africa, which has let to suspicion among locals, while India still enjoys historic goodwill in Africa  something that was underscored by the India-Africa Forum Summit last year.

What should India's gameplan be?

For the time being, Modi should not attempt to compete with China in its areas of strength. India has neither the finances nor the capacity to do so and it also should not aspire to be seen as a 'coloniser'  a brush with which China has found itself tarred over the course of its African experience.

The pursuit of India's national interest and carrying Africa along are not mutually exclusive concepts. Ergo, India and its companies must continue to be Africa's partner in development  human development. The construction of massive dams, ports and business centres can wait.

This will allow India to maintain a significant presence in Africa, without being drawn into the geo-economic equivalent of entering a gunfight with a pocket knife.

As he signs the inevitable slew of MoUs and agreements, PM Narendra Modi would do well to forget about what China is doing and recall his own words from October last year:
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According to NDTV, number of people dead in the explosion has risen to 4. Bangladesh police also said that at least 12 have been injured in the blasts at Azimuddin High School gate, a kilometre away from the ground, around 9am on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the extremist Sunni Muslim group released a video warning of more attacks in Bangladesh, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi activity online.

Though many past attacks, including the hostage-taking, have been claimed by the Islamic State group, Hasina's government has dismissed those claims as opportunistic, and says none of the attacks have been orchestrated from abroad. Instead, Hasina's government has accused her political opponents of backing the militant agenda in Bangladesh, an allegation the opposition parties vehemently deny.

"It is a totally political move. They are out to destabilize the government. It is a political attack to oust and topple the secular government of Sheikh Hasina," Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.

The ongoing spate of attacks begun in 2013 has generally targeted atheists, religious minorities and others considered by militants to be "enemies of Islam." There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack, but the government insisted it was carried out by domestic militants fighting to destabilize Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government and establish Islamic rule in the Muslim-majority nation.

No one claims responsibility but Sheikh Hasina govt confident that it was by domestic militants

Rahman said the attack had been brought under control. "We are still checking for other miscreants but after this incident prayers were held peacefully and we have asked everyone to go home," Rahman said.

Reports said Kishoreganj was hosting Bangladesh's biggest celebrations for the end of the Ramazan fasting month. The attack on the police position was close to an area where some 200,000 people had gathered for a prayer service in Kishoreganj town, about 140 km (90 miles) northeast of the capital, Dhaka, said district administrator Zillur Rahman.

The Islamic State video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.

Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube.

The Islamic State terror group on Wednesday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The incident comes after last week's deadly attacks in Dhaka which killed over 20 people mainly foreigners including an Indian girl.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

One suspected attacker was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off in Bangladesh's Kishoreganj. Abu Sayem, additional superintendent of Kishoreganj police, said two  including a police constable and a terrorist  died at scene. "One suspect has been held and about 13 injured," he said.

After the blast, police fired on the attackers and killed one of them, Assistant Superintendent Tofazzal Hossain said. The country's information minister said the target of the attack was the police convoy patrolling the religious gathering.

At least one of the bombs exploded during the prayer attended by hundreds of thousands of people at the sprawling Sholakia grounds the district of Kishoreganj, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital of Dhaka. The grounds hold the largest open-air gatherings for the Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

#BangladeshAttack does not seem to attack the muslims or the Hindus but seems to be targeting the democratically elected govt: Hasanul Haq

#BangladeshAttack does not seem to attack the muslims or the Hindus but seems to be targeting the democratically elected govt: Hasanul Haq

This attack indicates that theories are against Islam, clear that these are political attacks: Bangladeshi I&B minister #BangladeshAttack

Bangladesh I&B minister says that the Kishoreganj attack indicates that theories are against Islam. "Clear that these are political attacks and it does not seem to attack the Muslims or the Hindus but seems to be targeting the democratically elected govt."

Suspected Islamists carried out a new deadly attack Thursday at a huge prayer gathering in northern Bangladesh to celebrate the end of Ramazan, only days after the mass murder of hostages in the capital Dhaka. Police and media reports said there had been an explosion and armed exchanges near a prayer ground in the northern Kishoreganj district as at least 200,000 people took part in a service to mark the start of Eid.

At least one policeman was killed and five others wounded Thursday following an explosion and a gunbattle near a mass prayer gathering to celebrate Eid in northern Bangladesh, police said.

Only days after 20 hostages were murdered by suspected Islamists in Dhaka, police and local media reported a new attack by jihadists near a prayer ground where at least 200,000 people were marking the end of Ramadan in the northern Kishoreganj district.

"One police constable is dead and at least five others were injured," Mahbub, a police officer in the district control room, told AFP, without giving details of how the policeman had died.

"They threw a bomb at a police checkpost. A police constable was killed in the explosion. One attacker was killed and another was arrested," Mahbubur Rahman, a police officer in the district control room, told AFP. Tofazzal Hosain, who is the district's deputy police chief, told AFP that several people had taken part in the attack and some had been armed with machetes -- a hallmark of recent Islamist killings in Bangladesh.

"They first threw a small bomb targeting police and then attacked them with machetes. Police retaliated by returning gunfire," he said. The private Somoy TV station broadcast footage of a gunfight between police and a group of attackers and reported that the slain policeman had been hacked to death.

Azimuddin Biswas, the district administrator, told AFP that the attack had taken place on the premises of a nearby school and not on the actual prayer ground. "The congregation was not affected by the clashes," according to Biswas.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, it comes less than a week after Islamists killed 20 hostages and two policemen in an overnight siege at a Western-style cafe in Dhaka. Bangladesh has been on a heightened state of alert in the wake of the killings in Dhaka last Friday night and many services that were held on Thursday to mark the start of Eid included pleas from religious leaders for an end to the violence.

"Allah, protect our country ... and protect our children from the evils of terrorism," Mohammad Sadequl Islam, the local imam, told a gathering of around 5,000 devotees at Dhaka's Mahakhali neighbourhood on Thursday. Many of those who attended services in Dhaka could be seen openly weeping as clerics led prayers for a more peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been reeling from a growing wave of attacks since the turn of the year, many of which have been claimed by the self-styled Islamic State group or an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda network.

However Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government has consistently denied that international jihadist networks have gained a foothold in the mainly Muslim country and have said the weekend attack in Dhaka was carried out by members of a local outlawed Islamist group. All of the victims of the weekend attack in the capital, who included 18 foreigners, were hacked to death.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Bangladesh information minister said that the bomb was hurled at the police. "Over three lakh people were in Kishoreganj area to offer namaz on Eid," the minister added.

#BangladeshAttack | Bomb was hurled at a police patrol party, says Bangladesh's Information Min to CNN-News18  News18 (@CNNnews18) July 7, 2016

Thursday's blast comes six days after the brutal terror attack at a upscale cafe in Dhaka on 1 July. The Islamic State had warned of more attacks in a video. However, the Bangladesh minister rebuffed it as a terrorist attack or and attempted to delink it from religion.

#BangladeshAttack | This is a political move and has no Islamic agenda, says Bangladesh's Information Minister to CNN-News 18  News18 (@CNNnews18) July 7, 2016

With inputs from AFP
WASHINGTON U.S. President Barack Obama will seek to show a united front with his European partners at the NATO summit this week, but the long-standing alliance is facing growing criticism that Europe is not pulling its weight in the coalition.

While U.S. officials have complained for years that other NATO members need to spend more on defence, attention to the issue has intensified after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused NATO allies of "not paying their fair share" and called the alliance "obsolete."

Of the 28 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, only five countries are meeting its target of military spending equal to at least 2 percent of gross domestic product, according to NATO figures. Those countries are the United States, Greece, Poland, Estonia, and the United Kingdom.

In the wake of Britain's vote to exit the European Union, the White House has stressed its relationship with Britain and the alliance remain unchanged. But Britain's decision, and the accompanying economic uncertainty, could widen the gap in defence budgets in the alliance.

"If it is true that the consequences of Brexit will be an economic downturn in Europe and Europe has not recovered fully from 2008, that's going to be fewer dollars in government bank accounts to spend on defence," said Derek Chollet, a former assistant secretary of defence in the Obama administration.

MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE

Obama administration officials believe the United States is doing more than its fair share to contribute to European security. This year the administration announced it was quadrupling the budget of the European Reassurance Initiative, aimed at increasing the U.S. presence in the region and training with NATO partners.

Still, many European countries have stopped cutting their defence budgets.

"For the first time in really about two decades, non-U.S. defence spending among NATO allies is on the increase," U.S. ambassador to NATO Doug Lute told reporters on a call on Wednesday. "That gives us confidence that while we have a long way to go, we've turned a corner and we're moving in the right direction."

Lute said there will be no "hiding" from the issue in Warsaw, where leaders will be presented with charts that will show how much progress each nation is making toward the 2 percent goal.

The tensions over spending come as the alliance attempts to grapple with rising aggression from Russia and increasing threats of attacks from Islamic State.

Canada, the United States, Germany and Britain have each agreed to command a battalion in a new 4,000-strong NATO force on Russia's border.

Ian Brzezinski, former deputy assistant secretary of defence for Europe and NATO policy under President George W. Bush, said the new force will be a real test of NATO's military readiness.

"European resources are increasingly strained," Brzezinski said. "After two and half decades of degradation, the European allies are having a tough time coming up with the forces for this forward enhanced presence."

AN UNREALISTIC GOAL?

White House officials have pressed their NATO counterparts to step up their defence spending and U.S. officials are expected to do so again at the summit. Last week in a speech before the Canadian Parliament, Obama gently chastised the nation for not meeting its obligation.

Some supporters of NATO argue the 2 percent benchmark is an unrealistic measurement of countries' contributions to the alliance, particularly with Europe dealing with a migration crisis and prolonged economic weakness.

Heather Conley, who served as a deputy assistant secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, said it is important to recognise that countries like Germany are increasing their defence spending, even if they have not reached the 2 percent goal.

"That's what we have to focus on, not this measurement that so few are going to reach," Conley said. "It's an aspiration, but let's look at what everyone is doing now and build on it."

(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Andrew Hay and Tom Brown)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON FBI Director James Comey told U.S. lawmakers on Thursday that FBI employees who mishandled classified material in the way Hillary Clinton did as secretary of state could be subject to dismissal or loss of security clearance.

Comey addressed the issue at a House of Representatives committee hearing that lasted nearly five hours after House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that Clinton should be denied classified briefings during her campaign for the presidency.

Comey, who said on Tuesday he would not recommend that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee face criminal charges, was asked at the hearing if Clinton should face administrative punishment for the way she handled her email. "I don't think that's for me to recommend," he said.

Comey did say his employees in the Federal Bureau of Investigation would face discipline for the same behavior.

They might get fired, they might lose their clearance, it might get suspended for 30 days," Comey said. "There would be some discipline."

Presidential candidates normally get access to classified information once they are formally nominated. As director of the FBI, Comey does not have the authority to revoke Clinton's security privileges.

A group of Republican senators on Thursday asked the State Department to immediately suspend clearances for Clinton and several current and former aides based on the agency's findings.

A Clinton spokesman on Thursday criticized the hearing for its "partisan motivations," and expressed confidence that Comey's testimony had shut down any lingering "conspiracy theories" on the matter.

"Director Comey's testimony clearly knocked down a number of false Republican talking points and reconciled apparent contradictions between his previous remarks and Hillary Clinton's public statements," spokesman Brian Fallon said in a statement.

The issue of Clinton's use of private email servers has cast a cloud over her campaign for the Nov. 8 presidential election, raising questions among voters about her trustworthiness and judgment and giving her Republican presidential rival, Donald Trump, an avenue of attack.

'APOLITICAL, PROFESSIONAL' INVESTIGATION

Comey's testimony marked the first time he took questions publicly since his announcement the FBI was not recommending charges against Clinton. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted the FBI recommendation and was to appear at another hearing next Tuesday.

Comey had disappointed some Republicans by only rebuking Clinton, not recommending charges against her, for what he called her "extremely careless" handling of classified information while using private email servers.

Under persistent questioning at the hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Comey said Clinton did not break the law.

"The question I always look at is, is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conduct that violated a criminal statute. And my judgment here is there is not," Comey said.

Comey also said Clinton knew her email server at her home in Chappaqua, New York, was not authorized to receive classified information.

But Clinton may not have had sufficiently sophisticated understanding to know the emails that passed through her personal server were classified, Comey said. Only three of the FBI-reviewed emails were explicitly marked as classified and those were marked with a "C" in the body of the email, not in the header, he said.

Comey said his FBI team conducted its investigation of Clinton "in an apolitical and professional way" and he had no reason to believe she had lied to the FBI. Clinton had said publicly she never sent or received any classified information.

'IF YOUR NAME ISN'T CLINTON'

"I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double standard, if your name isn't Clinton or you are not part of the powerful elite that Lady Justice will act differently," U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said to Comey at the beginning of the hearing.

A Democratic member of the committee, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, defended Comey's actions by saying: "I firmly believe your decision was based on conviction, not convenience."

The hearing took place as Trump met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get them behind his candidacy, discussing a variety of issues, including his campaign style.

"I'm going to make you proud," Trump told House Republicans, according to a participant, Representative Tom Flores.

Ryan, who has been critical of Trump at times, said Trump and Republican House members had "a great meeting."

Comey said on Tuesday that 110 classified emails passed through Clinton's servers, which were not kept on a secure government server. He rebuked her for "extremely careless" handling of classified information but said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her or her staff criminally.

Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party.

He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, including over the case of General David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty after he knowingly shared classified information with his biographer and lover. Comey recommended Petraeus be charged with a felony, but then-Attorney General Eric Holder downgraded the charge to a misdemeanor.

(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, Alana Wise, Julia Harte and Patricia Zengerle; Writing by Steve Holland and Julia Edwards; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Washington: US President Barack Obama heads to Europe this week, possibly his last European visit, that would take him to Poland and Spain where he would attend the NATO summit and hold meetings with top European leaders following Britain's exit from the EU.

The situation in Afghanistan, the war against Islamic State terror group after attacks by it in the last month, are likely to dominate the proceedings in addition to post-Brexit European Union and Ukraine, senior administration officials told reporters on the eve of Obama's departure for Europe.

"This trip comes at an important time," said Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor.

"Certainly NATO as the foundation of transatlantic security and the cornerstone of global security, but also our ability to engage with European allies in the context of the aftermath of Brexit, some of the tensions with Russia over the last several years, and the broader concerns about the counter-Islamic State effort and the refugee situation," he said.

"So many different pressing issues that will be on the agenda at Warsaw and throughout the President's time in Europe," Rhodes said.

The US-EU meeting on Friday, he said, will be a very timely opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Brexit vote and their continued, very strong support for the European project, which has been at the center of so much security and prosperity for Europe and the US and the world.

"They'll review the circumstances in the aftermath of Brexit. They'll also be able to discuss a range of issues we're cooperating with the Europeans. That would include terrorism, migration, economic issues, Russia," he said.

In addition to attending the NATO Summit at Warsaw in Poland, Obama would also meet the Ukrainian president along with leaders of the UK, Germany, France, and Italy.

"(This is) a format that he's worked with on many issues, but in particular on Ukraine, it's an important opportunity to reaffirm our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to stress the urgency of moving forward with the implementation of the Minsk agreements, and expressing our continued determination to maintain sanctions on Russia should they not follow through on those commitments," Rhodes said.

From Poland, Obama would travel to Spain, which is the one major European country that he has not visited so far.

Doug Lute, US Permanent Representative to NATO said after the Warsaw summit, the command and control of the ballistic missile defense system will pass from the US to NATO.

"And of course, the President, in being able to meet with the European leaders and the EU leaders and certainly he'll be seeing Prime Minister David Cameron as well can get a sense from them over how they are thinking about the discussions and negotiations that they will have surrounding the British decision to exit the European Union," he said.

"It's possible that this is the President's final stop in Europe, although there may be additional changes. It is certainly his last NATO summit," he added.
Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 78F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Isolated thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 58F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
ST PAUL, Minn. The second fatal police shooting of a black man in two days sparked outrage in the United States on Thursday, this one particularly chilling because the victim's girlfriend posted live video on the internet of the bloody scene minutes afterward.

The killing of Philando Castile, 32, who was shot by a police officer after a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, prompted Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton to call on the U.S. Department of Justice to begin an investigation.

"Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers were white? I dont think it would have," Dayton told reporters on Thursday. "So Im forced to confront that this kind of racism exists, and it's incumbent upon all of us to vow and ensure that it doesn't happen and doesn't continue to happen."

Earlier on Thursday Dayton said a state investigation was already under way.

Castiles death occurred within a day of the shooting of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was killed during an altercation with two white police officers. Graphic video of that incident triggered protests and an outcry on social media.

The Justice Department said it was assessing the Minneapolis area incident but did not say if it would start a formal investigation. The department has opened an investigation into the Baton Rouge shooting.

Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, videotaped the minutes immediately following his shooting and posted it on Facebook Live. Castile, who was driving, was shot with Reynolds and her 4-year-old daughter in the car. The graphic video showed blood oozing through Castile's shirt as he appeared to lose consciousness.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, President Barack Obama said he and wife Michelle shared the "anger, frustration and grief" many Americans feel.

"All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings.... We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss."

PROTESTERS GATHER

The use of force by police against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has sparked periodic and sometimes violent protests in the past two years, and has spawned a movement called Black Lives Matter. Anger has intensified when the officers involved in such incidents have been acquitted or not charged at all.

Reynolds' video showed a police officer outside the car pointing a gun. Reynolds described what was going on, sometimes speaking calmly to the police officer, sometimes with her voice rising as she feared Castile was dying.

Reynolds said Castile was shot after police pulled their car over, citing a broken tail light. "Nothing within his body language said 'Kill me, I want to be dead,'" she said on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters gathered at the governor's mansion in St. Paul, about 10 miles (15 km) southeast of the scene of the incident, where the governor spoke at a news conference with Reynolds and civil rights activists.

When Reynolds spoke earlier in the day, people shouted "murder," and called for the arrest of the police officer involved.

"All of these killings of young black men, I am ready to take my grandson somewhere else," said one protester, Chanell Peaches Wall, 59, who said she recently moved to the area from Tennessee.

She held a placard that said "He was my son too" on one side and "No justice, no peace" on the other.

Demonstrations over the deaths of Castile, Sterling and other black men killed by police were planned in St. Paul, New York, Chicago and several smaller cities on Thursday evening, according to organizers posting on social media.

Other rallies, including one in Atlanta, were planned for Friday. Weekend protests as far away as London were being discussed on Twitter.

OFFICER PUT ON LEAVE

A statement on the website of the City of Falcon Heights, where the shooting occurred, said a Saint Anthony Village police officer discharged his gun during a traffic stop on Wednesday evening, and the unidentified driver later died at Hennepin County Medical Center from resulting injuries.

It said the officer involved had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard procedure for Falcon Heights, which is about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of downtown Minneapolis. The ethnicity of the police officer was not clear. Attempts to reach the police department for further comment were unsuccessful.

The city's website said the Saint Anthony Village police department was working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and other law enforcement agencies on an investigation.

'SHAKEN' BY VIDEO

"Many of us watched the video, and we are shaken to capacity at the thought of this," said Nekima Levy-Pounds, president of the Minneapolis chapter of the NAACP rights group.

What this signifies to us is that black lives dont really matter in the state of Minnesota.

Castile's mother, Valerie Castile, described her son as a "laid back" but industrious man who worked as a school cafeteria supervisor and enjoyed playing video games. He had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, she told CNN.

Reynolds said police had not even tried to check if her boyfriend was alive after they shot him, and it had taken at least 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

"Not one shot, not two shots, not three shots, but five shots," she said at the news conference. "They did not check for a pulse at the scene of the crime."

St. Paul Public Schools said in a statement Castile had worked for the district since 2002, and colleagues were mourning a cheerful "team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students."

VIDEO OF AFTERMATH

In the video Reynolds posted to Facebook after the shooting, she said her boyfriend had just been pulled over and explained he had a gun he was licensed to carry.

"He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket," Reynolds said. "He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm."

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

"Fuck," a distraught man is heard screaming in the video. "I told him not to reach for it."

The shooting was the second high-profile killing of a black man by police in Minnesota in seven months. Two Minneapolis police officers in November shot and killed 24-year-old Jamar Clark in a struggle that broke out when they were called to assist an ambulance crew that was helping Clark's girlfriend.

The Washington Post said Castile was at least the 506th person and 123rd black American shot and killed by police so far in 2016, according to a database it has set up to track such deaths. About 10 percent of those black Americans were unarmed, while about 61 percent had guns, the paper said.

(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney, Bill Trott, Colleen Jenkins, Julia Edwards, Karen Pierog, Michael Hirtzer, Tom Polansek; Writing by Frances Kerry and Bill Rigby; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Mumbai: Police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI.

He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."

Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Wednesday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.
Bucharest: Several hundred people from Romania's Jewish community paid tribute Thursday to the late Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate instrumental in getting his native country to face up to its dark past.

Wiesel, born in northern Romania in 1928 and who survived Auschwitz, died on Saturday in New York at age 87. He had devoted his life to keeping memories of the Nazi genocide of World War II from fading away.

"Elie Wiesel became a symbol of the struggle towards a normal society through what he lived through and what he achieved," Holocaust survivor Liviu Beris told AFP at the event in Bucharest's synagogue.

Wiesel, who settled in the United States after the war, helped challenge the widely held assumption in Romania, following decades of communist rule, that the Germans alone were responsible for the Holocaust.

In 2003 he headed a panel of experts that found that between 280,000 and 380,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews, as well as 11,000 Roma, perished on Romanian soil under dictator and Nazi ally Ion Antonescu.

Wiesel himself said that, even though he had "read everything about the Holocaust," he had had little idea of the extent of the massacres in Transdniestr  a strip of land on what is now the border between Moldova and Ukraine where there were Romanian-run death camps.

Rabbi Andrew Baker from the American Jewish Committee hailed Wiesel's work at Thursday's ceremony, which was also attended by public officials.

"It was not easy for the countries of central and eastern Europe, emerging after half a century of communism, to confront their earlier history of cooperation and collaboration with the Nazis, but Romania seemed even more in denial than most," he said.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to Elie for taking on this assignment and shepherding the work of that international commission," Baker said.
WASHINGTON Republican Donald Trump's list of potential vice presidential running mates got a little shorter on Wednesday when one prominent U.S. senator withdrew from consideration and a second said she wanted to focus on her home state.

The moves by Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa could complicate Trump's efforts to rally establishment Republicans behind his presidential bid.

With Trump looking at a self-imposed deadline of July 15 to announce his pick, there was no indication that the wealthy businessman was anywhere close to reaching what is perhaps the most important decision he will make as the presumptive Republican nominee.

Trump is looking to announce his running mate just ahead of the Republican National Convention, to be held July 18-21 in Cleveland, where he is expected to become the party's official nominee.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, on Wednesday, Trump campaigned with potential vice presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, a former speaker of the House of Representatives who is popular in conservative circles.

Introducing Trump, Gingrich tried out the role of the No. 2 with a robust attack on presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for her email practices, on the same day the Justice Department decided not to levy criminal charges over what the Federal Bureau of Investigation called her "extremely careless" handling of classified information when she was secretary of state.

"There are two Americas. There's the corrupt Washington of the old order. And there's all the rest of us. I say to you, Enough!" Gingrich said.

Trump liked what he heard.

"I'm not saying it's Newt, but if it's Newt, nobody is going to be beating him in those debates," Trump said.

Trump told Fox News he has 10 candidates on his vice presidential list, including two generals. One source said Indiana Governor Mike Pence is being pushed internally by some members of Trump's inner circle. A former congressman, Pence met with Trump on Saturday.

Corker, from Tennessee, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had wrestled privately over whether to be a contender for the No. 2 position, telling friends he had never been a surrogate for another politician.

Corker spent eight hours at Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday, then campaigned with Trump in Raleigh, North Carolina. He told reporters he withdrew because "I just felt like I was far more suited for other types of service."

"You know, its a highly political role for the next four months, he said. I view myself as deep in substance and policy, and I just think there are better ways for me to serve in the public arena."

His withdrawal eliminates an important party establishment figure as Trump tries to broaden his appeal with plans to visit Republicans in the Senate and House on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

"Corker's withdrawal could be considered a canary in the coal mine with establishment Republicans who are convinced that Trump cannot stay on message and can't stay focused on attacking Hillary Clinton without doing some type of damage to his campaign," said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean.

Some Republicans felt Trump erred by not taking full political advantage of FBI Director James Comey's statement on Tuesday that Clinton mishandled classified emails.

In Raleigh, Trump sharply attacked Clinton but strayed from the message by saying the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had done a good job cracking down on militants.

Ernst, a rising figure in the Republican Party, spent part of the Fourth of July holiday on Monday meeting with Trump.

She seemed to be leaning against the vice presidential position, and told Politico, "I made that very clear to him that Im focused on Iowa. I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate. And Iowa is where my heart is."

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Steve Holland; Editing by Toni Reinhold and Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
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Googles Now on Tap feature that was introduced with Android 6.0 Marshmallow last year is getting smarter. The latest update is bringing slew of features such as discover, improved search, in app translation.

First up, Now on Tap gets a new translate feature which can translate text on any screen, whether its an app or webpage. You will have to long press the home button and tap the Translate this screen card following which the text on screen will be translated into your phones language. You will even be able to translate multiple languages at once. The translate feature is currently available for phones with the language set to English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.

Now on Tap is also getting a Discover section that helps you learn more about things that interest you. By tapping the Discover button you will and get a stream of visual content related to what is present on your screen. Finally Now on Tap support for QR codes and barcodes lets you get useful information on the items you want to buy. You can open Now on Tap while using your camera to automatically scan QR codes and barcodes in your viewfinder. This feature will work with packaged products, books, DVDs and more.

For those unaware, Now on Tap allows you to quickly find more relevant information and context about whats currently on your phones or tablets screen when you press and hold the home button.

Google says these new features will arrive as early as today.
This year got off to a brutal start for the oil sector after crude prices slumped into the $20s in January and February. That decline forced Apache (APA 1.95%) to take several actions to reconfigure itself for a lower oil price environment. And now that oil is moving higher, those adjustments are paying off.

Rebounding crude prices, however, were not the only catalysts fueling Apache's first-half rebound. The company also benefited from another M&A rumor. Given their impacts on its stock price so far, both situations represent important variables to keep an eye on.

Focused on flexibility

While oil was still in the midst of that deep slump, Apache decided to cut its capex budget from the $4.7 billion it spent in 2015 all the way down to a range of $1.4 billion to $1.8 billion for 2016.

Though that decision was expected to cause the company's production to decline by between 7% and 11%, it would also enable Apache to remain cash flow neutral at $35 oil. Further, it would allow the company to maintain its dividend without increasing its debt level.

That decision to hold debt steady and maintain its balance sheet strength was significant for several reasons. First, it was enough to convince one of Apache's credit rating agencies that the company still warranted an investment-grade credit rating. Meanwhile, it won it praise from analysts at Wells Fargo, which upgraded the stock from market perform to outperform. Wells believes that Apache's strong balance sheet could help it outperform if commodity prices remain weak. And it not only gave Apache the flexibility to withstand another year of low oil prices, it put it in position to resume growth when conditions improved.

That improvement is just what happened; crude prices have rallied sharply since mid-February, settling down since mid-May in the neighborhood of $50 a barrel. Those higher prices should enable Apache to generate excess cash flow this year, some which could even be used to boost the company's capex budget, fueling higher production.

Apache is also benefiting from improving operations, as evidenced by its better-than-anticipated well performance during the first quarter. As a result, the company increased its full-year production guidance; if those numbers hold, its production decline will not be as steep as initially projected.

The rumor mill gets going again

As mentioned earlier, the other big catalyst for Apache's rally in 2016 was another report that the company was an M&A target. Last fall, the company received an unsolicited takeover bid from Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), which was quickly rebuffed. Anadarko may have dropped its pursuit, but not more than six months later, another report surfaced that Apache was the subject of a takeover bid, this time by Occidental Petroleum (OXY 2.01%).

According to the report, Apache had called a town hall meeting of its staff to discuss the offer. It turned out that meeting had been called to discuss layoffs, not takeover bids. However, the market is nonetheless pricing an M&A premium into Apache's stock because it believes the company remains a compelling takeover candidate for a larger oil company due to its strong balance sheet and solid North American shale position.

Investor takeaway

Apache spent the better part of this year positioning itself to operate profitably with oil at $35 a barrel. With oil now well above that price, it's poised to cash in. That said, the company could also choose to quickly cash in its chips if a suitor steps forward and makes it an offer it can't refuse.
One of the most promising niches in the real estate investment trust sector is housing for senior citizens. After all, a big swathe of the baby boomer generation is now in its retirement years, and both the number and proportion of older Americans are expected to rise significantly in the coming decades.

With that opportunity firmly in mind, several REITs concentrate most of their efforts on providing housing for seniors. Two notable, very active companies in the space are incumbent Welltower (WELL 0.07%), and Brookdale Senior Living (BKD -0.44%). Of the two, which is the superior operator in this thriving niche?

Well established

Welltower, once and for quite some time known simply as Health Care REIT, is the original senior housing REIT. It was founded in 1970, and has grown its business to the point where it now owns nearly 1,500 properties, and takes in quarterly revenue of just over $1 billion.

Although it isn't exclusively an operator of senior housing facilities -- it also holds assets in the outpatient medical segment -- they form far and away the bulk of its property list. Most are owned and operated by the company, but it also leases a number of them to partners (like, it so happens, Brookdale). In Welltower's first quarter, their collective occupancy was almost 91%.

The senior housing operating division -- the one with the proprietary-owned and proprietary-operated assets -- is the one that's been delivering for Welltower. On a same-store basis, it saw its net operating income grow by 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. This was, far and away, the best result out of the company's four divisions.

Meanwhile, normalized funds from operations (basically profitability with depreciation and smaller line items stripped out; a critical metric for REITs) saw a sturdy 5% improvement for the quarter, to $401 million.

The company plans to dive even deeper into senior housing. It has lately been divesting assets such as the Bellevue acute care hospital in New York City and buying new properties. These include a nearly 7,000 square-foot building in midtown Manhattan, which will be torn down to make room for a 15-story senior housing facility.

The purer-play rival

Compared to its peer (and partner) Welltower, Brookdale is a more purer-play senior housing operator. The great bulk of its top-line take comes from the resident fees generated by its facilities. In the first quarter, this was just over $1.06 billion, or 84% of total revenue.

But it's struggling more than its rival. As opposed to the consistently profitable Welltower, Brookdale has posted a string of quarterly and annual net losses recently, and earlier this year lowered its expectations for cash from facility operations (essentially its version of FFO).

A decline in occupancy has contributed to this. In the REIT's most recently reported quarter, the average occupancy rate slipped to 86.1%, from the year-ago rate of 87.4%. That's the opposite direction Welltower is going in the same segment -- its total occupancy rose marginally to the aforementioned nearly 91%.

Another difference between the two companies is that Brookdale is a less frequent acquirer. That doesn't, however, mean it's afraid to spend. In late 2014, it paid $1.4 billion in stock to buy Emeritus, which at a stroke expanded the company's asset list to 1,161 locations (although after divestments since then, the number has dropped to 1,121).

At a stroke, this put it at nearly the size of its rival in terms of facility count, although the costs of the acquisition are still negatively impacting the REIT's results.

Should the market's choice be yours?

Of the two stocks, Welltower is clearly the one favored by the market -- it's risen in price by nearly 13% so far this year, in sharp contrast to Brookdale's 19% decline. Investors are clearly punishing Brookdale for its red numbers and that recent chop in guidance.

But if we look at the company's CFFO, in spite of the reduction, it's still projected to rise this fiscal year, albeit modestly (by 2% to 4%) -- essentially matching Welltower's projections for growth. That stands to reason; Brookdale is a strong operator in a niche that is going to expand very significantly over the coming years.

Then again, so is Welltower. And it's the one with the better-placed facilities -- its desirable locations command richer prices; its average revenue per available room was just over $6,000 in the first quarter. For the same quarter, Brookdale's compatible figure was a bit shy of $4,500.

It's also spreading its wings, with operations in the U.K. and Canada, both of which are facing similarly graying demographics in the coming decades. Around 20% of Welltower's first-quarter revenue was derived from those two countries, up from 16% in the same time frame last year. Brookdale remains a purely U.S. operator.

Crucially for income investors, Welltower is the one that currently pays a dividend. At a quarterly rate of $0.86 per share, it yields 4.5%, which although that isn't spectacular for a REIT, it's very high compared to the average dividend-paying stock.

In my opinion, both companies are well placed in one of the best niches in the REIT space just now. I think both are good investments, but Welltower is the better company and stock.
Chipotle (CMG -6.82%) changed how Americans eat Mexican food and now it may do the same in the hamburger space.

While the company won't be adding burgers and fries to its namesake restaurants, it has made moves that suggest it intends to open a burger-based concept. The company, which attempted to trademark the phrase "better burger" earlier this year, before abandoning the effort, appears to have indirectly filed a trademark application for the name TastyMade, Eater.com reported.

The application was not filed directly by the Mexican chain. Instead it was submitted by Clement Hayes, a lawyer whose firm has worked with Chipotle for a number of years as its attorney of record, the food website explained, adding that the applicant's address is the same as Chipotle's legal firm, Messner Reeves.

Chipotle has not confirmed that it plans to use TastyMade as the name for a hamburger restaurant, but it has not been shy about its intent to explore the space. "It's no secret that we are interested in a burger concept. When we have more details to share regarding our plans, we will make those available," spokesman Chris Arnold told Eater.com.

Why open a burger chain?

While Chipotle's core brand has suffered due to its food safety scandal, with revenue dropping 23.4% in Q1, the company has continued to slowly grow two non-Mexican concepts, while expressing interest in others. "We have two non-Chipotle growth seeds open now -- ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale -- and have noted before that the Chipotle model could be applied to a wide variety of foods," Arnold told USA Today in March.

Hamburgers would be a logical move for the company because burger chains account for nearly 40% of sales for the Top 100 restaurant chains by sales volume, according to Nation's Restaurant News (registration required). That's almost double the next biggest category and three of the top 10 chains, including No. 1 McDonald's (MCD 0.34%) can generally be called hamburger chains (though they sell much more than that).

What is Chipotle going to do?

While the company has been tight-lipped about its specific plans, looking at what is has done with ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale suggests that it would approach burgers in the Chipotle fashion. That means higher-end ingredients with consumers getting the option to fully customize their orders.

The first TastyMade looks to be set to open in Central Ohio later this summer with a menu focused on burgers, fries, and milkshakes, according to Eater, which cited an anonymous source.

This would be a logical play for the company, though perhaps not at the most logical time given that its core brand still faces fallout from its recent food safety problems. Still, burgers remain an opportunity and while the space for higher-end hamburger chains has become crowded, Chipotle should ultimately do well in the space.

If TastyMade follows the ShopHouse and Pizzeria Locale example, this will not be a fast rollout. instead, the company will take its time to refine the concept before opening more stores. That's a smart way of playing things especially at a time when the Chipotle brand does not stand for quality in the way it did for many consumers in the recent past.

McDonald's does not yet have anything to worry about. It's status as the No. 1 chain by sales should be safe for a long time, but going forward Chipotle could carve out some McBusiness. It would be a pivot toward a category that has huge sales potential.
After a vigorous investigation of Hillary Clintons email server, FBI Director James Comey concluded on Tuesday that there wasnt enough evidence to indict Hillary Clinton. He claimed that Clinton was extremely careless with her emails but no charges were recommended.

On the FOX Business Network's Mornings with Maria, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed that gross negligence is the same as being "extremely careless."

[Comey] is in charge of a very proud agency that does investigations, that protects the citizens, looks after their welfare, looks after their assets and looks after their intellectual property and solves kidnapping cases and does all of these wonderful things and should not be making political decisions, former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom told the FOX Business Networks Deirdre Bolton.

Kallstrom said that FBI Director Comey is a "good and peace loving guy" but regardless, has to be tough.

The FBI Director cant be a soft marshmallow; The FBI Director has to stand up for the American people. The FBI Director has to stand up for the citizens, for the children, he said.

Kallstrom also said that the FBI Director should not be making political decisions.

Comey should have resigned or could have laid the facts out and said let the attorney general decide whether Clinton should be prosecuted or not and put that mantel on the Attorney General and not the FBI, he said.

Comey is expected to testify before Congress Thursday morning.
Huawei filed lawsuits against T-Mobile in the US and Samsung in China this week, the latest in a series of disputes over the Chinese phone maker's 4G patents.

The suit against T-Mobile, filed on Tuesday, accuses the wireless carrier of using Huawei's patented 4G technology without a licensing agreement. The 14 patents include GPRS and security standards that Huawei claims T-Mobile uses throughout its 4G data network in the US, according to the complaint.

Huawei approached T-Mobile in 2014 to discuss licensing, though T-Mobile ultimately refused to enter into an agreement, claiming that Huwaei's licensing terms weren't fair and reasonable, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

T-Mobile has invested considerable resources in its 4G networks since 2014. It now has the fastest or second-fastest 4G network in most US cities, according to PCMag's 2016 Fastest Mobile Networks test. Just a few years ago, its data network was a distant runner-up to Verizon and AT&T.

In its lawsuit, Huawei claims that its terms are fair and reasonable as required by US patent law, and asked the court to force T-Mobile to resume discussions.

Meanwhile, the company also filed a lawsuit in China in June against Samsung in a similar ongoing patent dispute over 4G standards. The filing in a court in Quanzhou comes after two earlier suits filed in California and Shenzhen in May, alleging that, like T-Mobile, Samsung did not accept Huawei's offer to license its 4G standards.

Huawei told Reuters that the Quanzhou suit was a "technical filing" to support the earlier suits.

Huawei's tough stance on patent infringement is notable for a Chinese company, which are typically on the receiving end of such lawsuits from Western, Japanese, and Korean firms. In 2014, T-Mobile sued Huawei for allegedly copying the design of a robot that it uses to test smartphone touch screens.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
While the debate continues to rage over immigration between candidates on the campaign trail, one man is urging U.S. politicians to do more than just talk about the issue.

Dan Golvach, whose son was killed by an illegal immigrant in January 2015, told the FOX Business Networks Deirdre Bolton he doesnt believe enough is being done to prevent more violent actions from happening.

My sons killer did five years in prison for attempted murder before he was let out by Obama, Golvach said. Im all fine with laws, but we have to have politicians that will actually implement the laws and I think thats the bigger problem. They dont implement the current laws that we have.

He added: I think most of the politicians that we have in office these days theyre not going to defy their donors and I think that the donor class is really big on this cheap, illegal labor. Of course you have the Democrats that are ushering in a voter bloc. Theyre not going to let something like these pesky immigration laws get in the way of their agenda.

If he had the power, Golvach said he would create a law that punishes politicians for not applying the immigration legislation presently in place.

Had they been implementing the current laws that we have, my son would still be alive and I think a lot of these people [others killed by illegal immigrants] would still be alive, but they just refuse to do ittheyre lawless.
Image source: Getty Images.

In theory, emerging-market stocks should outperform their developed-market peers over long time periods. Indeed, since the year 2001, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index has provided an annualized return of nearly 8.5%, versus a comparable 3.6% annualized return for that ever-handy proxy for developed markets, theS&P 500 Index.

Yet emerging markets are also more susceptible than larger markets to the cyclical extremes of the global economy. Over the last trailing five years, as of the end of May 2016, the MSCI index has averaged a return of -4.5%. During the same time period, the S&P 500 has achieved appreciation of nearly 12% per year.

With both developed economies and the vanguard of the emerging markets, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), currently fighting slower gross-domestic-product growth, it seems unlikely that younger equity markets will find a catalyst to outperform in the very near future.

For the brave investors who are ready to invest now to reap a payoff perhaps years into the future, let's review three of the best emerging market exchange-traded funds (ETFs), each of which offers a unique approach to capitalizing on global growth.

A blended strategy in "investable markets"

The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETFis one of the larger emerging-markets ETFs available for investment, boasting nearly $12.7 billion of assets under management.The fund seeks to replicate performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Markets Index, which contains a broad cross section of small-, medium-, and large-capitalization stocks, spread across 23 emerging-market countries.

The Investable Markets Index is designed to capitalize on the evolution of globalized mid- and large-capitalization stocks that have benefited fromdecades of growth in the most-vibrant young economies. And it doesn't leave out the smaller-capitalization stocks that are closely associated with emerging markets in the minds of many investors.

As scores of prominent, globalized companies have been nurtured in Asia, it's not surprising that the index -- and by extension, the Core MSCI fund -- is weighted toward Asian powerhouse economies. By country, the ETF's largest holdings are concentrated in China (24%), South Korea (15.4%), Taiwan (12.7%), and India (8.7%).

As for costs, the fund is notable for an extremely efficient expense ratio of 0.16%. IEMG also provides an appreciable current divided yield of 2.84%. Finally, the fund is fairly well diversified at the position level; its largest holding,Samsung Electronics Company, accounts for 3% of the total portfolio.

More quality, less volatility

Investors looking for a theme-based approach should also consider the SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Mix ETF, which tracks -- you guessed it -- the MSCI Emerging Markets Quality Mix Index. This index seeks to uncover value stocks, while minimizing volatility, and employing what it calls "quality factors" in stock selection.To achieve these goals, the index itself is created by combining three existing MSCI emerging market indices at equal weight:the EM Value Weighted Index, the EM Minimum Volatility Index, and the EM Quality Index.

The index-tracking Quality Mix ETF is fairly young, having opened for trading in June 2014. At present, the fund has $112.6 million of total assets under management. It's a relatively low-cost investment vehicle, sporting anexpense ratio of 0.30%. Yield-loving investors will appreciate its current dividend yield of 3.10%.

The ETF follows a similar country-weighting pattern as the Core MSCI ETF. China, again, is the most-favored geography (25.4% of total holdings), followed by Taiwan (14.3%), South Korea (13.5%), and India (8.5%).In another similarity to the Core MSCI ETF, the fund's largest position,Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing,weighs in at no more than 3% of the total portfolio.

A fund for the aggressive emerging-markets investor

Want to concentrate your bets? If so, the BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR ETFwas designed specifically for you. This fund delves deep with geographical conviction into China (39.1% of total fund holdings). It also places a significant wager on Brazil (16.2%), as well as Taiwan (14.8%), and India (10.6%). If you're wondering what happened to South Korea in this formulation, it's the next-biggest country holding, at 7.8%.

Reviewing the company breakdown of this fund reveals further concentration. I've reproduced a graphic from the fund's "fact page" for effect:

Image source:ADRE-BLDRS Emerging Markets 50 ADR Index Fund Fact Sheet.

The top-10 holdings in this fund make up a daring 53% of the total portfolio. Clearly, the fund's sponsors place faith in the old adage: "Fortune favors the brave." As you've probably realized after viewing the chart, the Emerging Markets 50 ADR fund is so named as it holds only 50 companies.

Comparing this composition to the Core MSCI ETF (1,948 holdings) and the Quality Mix ETF (761 holdings), we can guess that the smaller diversification has the potential to amplify the ETF's volatility versus its more-balanced competitors in the long run.

The fund has $123 million in assets under management, making it similar in size to the Quality Mix ETF. And like its peers, it also operates in fairly lean fashion, with an expense ratio of 0.30%. The fund's dividend currently yields 1.7%.

The Emerging Markets 50 ADR fund may well prove the most successful of the three ETFs we've discussed, given a suitably long holding period. But it may require more maintenance, as well. Investors should review portfolio holdings on at least a quarterly basis to follow the most-recent companies in which this ambitious, but narrowly focused fund, has directed its investing capital.

The article The Best Emerging Market Stock ETFs originally appeared on Fool.com.

Asit Sharma 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.

Developmental biotech Ziopharm and engineered biology conglomerate Intrexon recently amended the terms of two collaborations in oncology and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). While the press release cited "evolving business needs and conditions" as the reason for the new financial structure that boasts "mutual benefit" for both companies, a closer look at the deal shows investors should be adjusting their expectations accordingly.

At a glance

The Intrexon and Ziopharm collaborations sporting new financial terms involve those investigating interleukin-12, or IL-12, immunotherapy treatments for specific types of breast cancer (phase 2), brain cancer (phase 1), and GvHD (pre-clinical). The CAR-T program that includes Merck KGaAas a partner is not affected.

Under the prior terms, the companies agreed to split operating profits from any potentially commercialized products at 50% apiece. Intrexon and Ziopharm weren't shy about touting the billion-dollar potential of their collaborations at conferences and in presentations, which gave investors plenty to look forward to. But given the early stage of development for each drug candidate, potential approval, let alone profits, was always a long way off. The amended agreement makes that pretty clear -- and questions the financial potential of the collaborations.

Under the new terms, Intrexon will receive just 20% of the operating profits from any potentially commercialized products, in addition to $120 million in preferred shares of Ziopharm stock that pay a 1% monthly dividend in more preferred shares. In other words, Intrexon traded a 30% stake (50% to 20%) in future potential profits for $120 million in Ziopharm stock upfront. That represents significant dilution for Ziopharm investors (which worsens every month) and values the portfolio at much less than billions of dollars initially expected.And while Ziopharm now has an 80% claim to future potential operating profits, it has to stomach dilution whether products are commercialized or not.

Investors in each company should take the implications of the deal seriously.

Two perspectives

Ziopharm investors are now forced to shoulder a significant amount of the risk in its collaborations with Intrexon. Of course, that was always the case, as the company's pipeline of DNA therapeutics is almost exclusively dependent on core technologies licensed from Intrexon.

The amended financial terms of the collaborations increase the importance of getting products to market for Ziopharm, but data published to date don't make that a likely outcome. The partners abandoned efforts investigating a combination of IL-12 and veledimex in melanoma patients after it was shown to be almost completely ineffective. A study of 12 patientswith breast cancer resulted in a partial response in one patient with the same combination, while the study in brain cancer patients did not include a comparator arm. Simply put, the data is lacking.

Quite obviously, if Ziopharm never commercializes a single product, then the company will be essentially worthless. However, Intrexon isn't nearly as dependent on the success of Ziopharm. In a worst-case scenario, Intrexon is holding onto $120 million in worthless shares that it got for nothing -- hardly painful.

But the ratcheting down of future potential royalty payments from a single hyped up partnership shouldn't be dismissed lightly by investors. That's because most of Intrexon's collaborations look eerily similar to its relationship with Ziopharm: overhyped at an early stage accompanied by quietly reduced expectations later.

Image source: Intrexon.

Last year, Intrexon generated $88 million in revenue -- representing over half of the company's total revenue -- from collaboration and licensing deals. The idea is that these will reimburse some of the R&D expenses upfront, then transition into product revenue when products are commercialized with partners. No one is expecting a 100% success rate, but a disproportionate amount of future potential is tied up in similarly overhyped collaborations with small companies.

Last year fully two-thirds of Intrexon's collaboration and licensing revenue -- representing 34% of the company's total revenue -- was generated from partners with a market cap less than $1 billion. Worse yet, nearly all of the collaborations are licensing the same engineered biology tools as Ziopharm. Investors cannot possibly use a handful of specific clinical trials to label these tools as failures, but each failure shines a brighter spotlight on the criticisms of the scientific community, which largely question their effectiveness and market potential.

What does it mean for investors?

The amended financial structure of collaborations between Ziopharm and Intrexon don't look good for investors in either company. Ziopharm is diluting shareholders in return for an 80% stake in future potential operating profits from products with little to no data supporting their use. Meanwhile, Intrexon traded in claims to future potential operating profits for $120 million in preferred shares, which counter previous claims of billion-dollar potential for these products.

Ziopharm's dependence on Intrexon should be a red flag for investors, while Intrexon's most successful product to date -- hype -- shouldn't be dismissed as harmless public relations.

The article Intrexon Just Diluted Ziopharm Investors Big Time originally appeared on Fool.com.

Maxx Chatsko has no position in any stocks mentioned. Follow him on Twitterto keep up with developments in the engineered biology field.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.

A few rumors have surfaced recently that, if true, would mean Verizon Communications is taking some of T-Mobile's recent promotions and offering similar options to its own customers.

Reportedly, a current Verizon employee posted the new promotions online (which were republished by Ars Technica), and they include a rollover data plan, the use of slowed data speeds after the monthly data cap has been reached, and plans for calling, texting, and data when traveling in Mexico and Canada.

Verizon told CNET to "stay tuned" for a big announcement coming this week, so we'll likely find out Verizon's official plans soon.

But let's take a look at whatVerizon may be offering its customers and how it differs from T-Mobile's plans.

Verizon's carryover data

Verizon customers will be able to roll over unused data from their current month for use in the following month. According to the rumors, the rollover data has to be used up in the following month and won't be continually rolled over. The service will apply to all of Verizon's plans at no extra charge.

How this differs from T-Mobile's Data Stash feature: T-Mobile also allows all of its Simple Choice customers to roll over their data from month to month. The main difference is that T-Mobile customers can continually roll over the data for up to 12 months before it goes away.

Verizon's new Safety Mode

This oddly named feature will allow Verizon customers to stay connected online after their data allotment runs out for the month (e.g., if you pay for 12 GB of monthly data and go over, you can still use the internet, but it'll be at very slow speeds).

Customers will be able to turn the feature on or off, and it'll be included for free for XL and XXL customers (12 GB and 20 GB per month plans). Customers on other plans will have to pay $5 per month if they want the feature.

As always, customers will be able to pay for more data immediatelywhen they run out (if they don't want to use the reduced speed data), or they can wait until a new month starts to resume high-speed data usage. This differs from Verizon's former plans in which customers were charged data overage fees if they crept over their data limit.

How this differs from T-Mobile's plans: Once T-Mobile Simple Choice users use up all their data, it's slowed down to 128 Kbps (if you're unsure what this means, just know that it's essentially unusable). T-Mobile doesn't charge for any overages, and customers have to wait until the next month for their data to speed back up again if they run out (which is less likely to happen because of Data Stash -- see above).

Verizon's new call, text, and data plans for Mexico and Canada

This feature will give X and XL customers unlimited calling and texting to Mexico and Canada for free. Additional fees will apply for the S, M, and L plans. Also, when traveling to Mexico or Canada, users will be able to use their phones (calling, texting, and data) just as they would in the U.S., with no additional fees. That is, unless they have a lower-tier Verizon plan.

How this compares to T-Mobile's Mobile Without Borders feature: Again, T-Mobile has offered a similar plan for a while. The difference is that all T-Mobile's Simple Choice customers can take advantage of it -- for free.

What Verizon's trying to do

Verizon has resisted giving away customer perks like the ones listed above because, essentially, it hasn't needed to. The company has 112 million retail wireless customers, compared to T-Mobile's 65 million.

But T-Mobile has made huge customer gains over the past few years. The carrier reported 2 million net additions in the calendar second quarter, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of 1 million or more net customer additions. All of that growth has propelled T-Mobile ahead of Sprint in total customers and is starting to put pressure on Verizon and AT&T.

Investor takeaway

In the wireless carrier space, a company can only grow its customer base if it's taking customers away from another competitor -- and services like the ones listed help do that (just ask T-Mobile).

Unfortunately, Verizon is expected to increase pricesand data allotments for its smartphone plans across the board (current customers will likely be able to keep their current plans). Verizon is already the most expensive U.S. wireless carrier at a time when its former data speed and call quality advantages have nearly been replicated by the competition.

Verizon is still in a very dominant position in the U.S. wireless market and I don't expect that to change any time soon. The company is already making some early investments in 5G technology, which could eventually help the company justify its higher prices by offering a superior network.

But Verizon is walking a dangerous line of offering similar features to T-Mobile, but charging customers much more. Verizon isn't in any trouble now, but I can't help but wonder when more of the carrier's customers will start realizing the competition is offering more features, for less money, without sacrificing much in network performance.

The article Verizon Is About to Take 3 Pages Out of T-Mobile's Playbook originally appeared on Fool.com.

Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Verizon Communications. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
All companies want to make money, and what better way than to have exclusive rights to a product for a preset period of time? That's the beauty of patents. When a company is issued a patent, it can sell the item covered by the patent on the open market without having to worry about competitors coming in and snatching up a piece of the action. But the problem with patents is that they only have a limited life, and when they run out, they can significantly impact a company's bottom line. This is a particular problem in the pharmaceutical industry, where drug companies rely on patents to sell the products they work so hard to develop. That's why drug companies are often subjected to what's known as a patent cliff.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

A patent cliff is what happens when a company's revenue starts plunging, or falling off a cliff, because an established product's patent reaches its expiration date and competitors can then start selling that product. While the term technically applies to any industry, it most frequently comes into play when talking about pharmaceutical companies. When a drug company's patent run outs and competitors are able to produce generic versions at a lower cost, the original company stands to see a significant drop in revenue -- especially when it comes to blockbuster drugs, which are those that generate $1 billion or more in annual sales.

How patents work

Patents are effective for 20 years from the date of filing. In the pharmaceutical industry, what this means is that if a company files a patent for a certain drug, other companies are prohibited from copying that drug and producing generic versions for a 20-year period following the filing date. The problem, however, is that it can take years to actually bring a drug to the market, thus significantly shortening the useful life of any given patent.

According to PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, it takes a minimum of 10 years for a new medication to go from initial discovery to the marketplace, with clinical trials alone taking six to seven years on average. Furthermore, researching and developing a successful drug costs $2.6 billion on average. Because pharmaceutical companies sink so much time and money into the drugs they produce, they tend to get hit hard when their patents run out.

Patents versus exclusivity

Patents and exclusivity serve similar purposes but work differently in practice. While patents are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, market exclusivity is awarded by the FDA under specific circumstances and can run concurrently with a patent or not. The purpose of exclusivity is to promote a balance between new drug development and competition from producers of generics. During a period of market exclusivity, the FDA will not approve any other version of a given drug for use.

Challenges of the current system

Under the present system, pharmaceutical companies are constantly filing patents -- and lawsuits -- in an attempt to keep generics at bay. Meanwhile, generic companies, in turn, will frequently sue to invalidate patents. This seemingly endless stream of legal battles not only costs pharmaceutical companies money, but halts medical innovation, often making it take even longer for patients to get access to the drugs they need.

This article is part of The Motley Fool's Knowledge Center, which was created based on the collected wisdom of a fantastic community of investors. We'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and opinions on the Knowledge Center in general or this page in particular. Your input will help us help the world invest, better! Email us at knowledgecenter@fool.com. Thanks -- and Fool on!

The article What Is a Patent Cliff? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image source: Getty Images.

Tesla Motors is trying to buy SolarCity , the No. 1 residential solar installer in the U.S., to create a vertically integrated energy company of the future. But it's not the only company in the past year to try to acquire a big residential solar company in an effort to integrate multiple renewable energy products. And the last deal didn't go very well -- to say the least -- with the acquiring companyeventually falling into bankruptcy. What did we learn from that deal?

What happened last time

On July 20, 2015, SunEdison was "the world's largest renewable energy development company," and it decided to buy Vivint Solar -- the No. 2 residential solar installer in the U.S. -- for $2.2 billion in cash, stock, and convertible notes. The deal was supposed to create a vertically integrated renewable energy company with residential, commercial, and utility customers to whom it could offer solar, wind, energy storage, and other energy services.

Quickly, investors balked at the deal, SunEdison's financing sources for projects shut down, its yieldcos collapsed, and SunEdison ended up in bankruptcy. This is what happened the last time one of the top two residential solar companies in the U.S. was supposed to be acquired. And now Tesla Motors wants to repeat that process.

SUNEQ data by YCharts.

It's not that Tesla Motors and SolarCity don't make sense as a combined company. It's that there are other moving parts keeping the companies afloat that may eventually collapse.

Financing is everything in residential solar

When SolarCity builds a solar system, it doesn't typically charge customers anything up front, instead choosing to sign a long-term contract to sell them energy. Then, it cuts up tax benefits and future customer payments and sells them to investors for immediate cash. When SolarCity says this is "cash flow positive for the solar business," it means the inflows from financing are higher than outflows for building solar systems.

Here's the problem. The entire model is dependent on financing. And what we saw when SunEdison tried to buy Vivint Solar was that financing dried up for both companies. That's why the deal fell apart and SunEdison is bankrupt.

SolarCity is even bigger than Vivint Solar, so the risks are even bigger. It will require somewhere around $3 billion in financing to build 1.0 GW to 1.1 GW in solar systems this year. If funding dries up, the company will be in trouble quickly, and it could drag Tesla Motors down with it.

Building solar systems requires a lot of money

One of the challenges with SolarCity's business model is that it "owns the trucks." When you have a SolarCity solar system installed, it's SolarCity employees who comes to your home. Other companies use local contractors, so SolarCity's model is capital-intensive and higher risk.

To put a number on the exact risk, SolarCity's operating costs alone last quarter were $226.9 million, or an annualized rate of $907.7 million. These are ongoing costs and don't include the workers directly involved in installing solar systems, which would be part of the capitalized expenses. If SolarCity sees financing for its solar projects dry up, or demand waver, it has well over $1 billion in annual expenses.

These added expenses are one reason investors balked at SunEdison's buyout of Vivint Solar. They didn't see them as a good risk, and that could be the case for Tesla Motors as well.

If the market gives up on you...it's over

If Tesla Motors ends up buying SolarCity, it will be even more reliant on financial markets for debt to fund SolarCity's installations, plus debt and/or equity to fund Tesla Motors' incredible expansion plans. And if markets lose faith in Elon Musk's vision, it could be a downward spiral for both companies.

That's what happened to SunEdison, and the company quickly went from a $10 billion market cap to being worth nothing. There were no profits to fall back on, only plans for growth at all costs.

Of course, Elon Musk hopes his acquisition efforts and growth plans go better than SunEdison's did last year. We'll see if they do.

The article What Tesla and Solar City Can Learn From the Last Rooftop Solar Buyout originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends SolarCity and Tesla Motors. 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.

What: Shares of utility Duke Energy Corp jumped 10% in June, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as the company moves closer and closer to acquiring Piedmont Natural Gas' business for $4.9 billion.

So what: The North Carolina Public Staff reached an agreement in June to approve Duke's acquisition of Piedmont. Among the stipulations were a reduction in Piedmont's North Carolina customers' bills of $10 million, spread over two years, to account for synergies between the two companies. Duke Energy will also make annual charitable contributions of $17.5 million in North Carolina in the first four years after the deal.

These are small prices to pay for the acquisition of natural gas infrastructure that serves 655,000 customers in the state.

Now what: Duke Energy's biggest goal in acquiring Piedmont is to diversify its business away from the electric utility business, which has become higher risk in recent years. Customer demand isn't growing, and new energy sources like rooftop solar are encroaching on the monopoly electric business. So, buying natural gas assets gives the company the diversification it needs, along with strong cash flow in a growing business and a bigger presence on the East Coast.

The article Why Duke Energy Corp's Shares Popped 10% in June originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium 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: Nortek.

Wednesday showed the resiliency of the stock market in a way that investors have seen countless times during the seven-year-old bull market. Major market benchmarks started the day with substantial declines, and the Dow fell more than 125 points by mid-morning as investors feared further fallout from macroeconomic and geopolitical events. Yet reassurance that the Federal Reserve would look closely at the potential impact of the U.K. exit from the European Union before making aggressive policy changes seemed to cheer investors, and the Dow and S&P ended the day up about half a percent. Some stocks did even better, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals , Nortek , and SUPERVALU were among the best performers on the day.

Will Valeant have a big rebound?

Valeant Pharmaceuticals jumped 16% after getting favorable comments from analysts at Rodman & Renshaw. The company announced that its Bausch & Lomb unit's phase 3 study of its latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution for treating high intraocular pressure in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension provided significantly greater reduction in intraocular pressure than a competing treatment. Professionals believe that the therapy could offer a superior alternative to existing treatments if approved. The analyst report, meanwhile, suggested that the stock could quadruple in the near future, with several pending announcements on potential drug candidates adding the potential to restore faith in the beleaguered pharma company. A price target of $90 per share is ambitious, but even getting a portion of the way there would give shareholders a strong gain from current levels.

Nortek finds a new home

Nortek soared 38% after the maker of heating and cooling products as well as security and audiovisual solutions for residential and commercial customers received a buyout bid from U.K.-based Melrose Industries. The bid will give Nortek shareholders $86 per share in cash, setting the company's value at $2.8 billion. Nortek CEO Michael Clarke praised the deal, saying that it "will enhance Nortek's ability to further leverage its industry-leading brands and market position to continue driving profitable growth." Yet the stock closed at $86.50, and the fact that investors are pricing the shares above the buyout price suggests that they expect a potential rival bid to be even more generous going forward.

SUPERVALU satisfies shareholders' hunger

Finally, SUPERVALU climbed 9%. The supermarket chain said late Tuesday that it had entered into a long-term supply agreement with Marsh Supermarkets, a chain of about 70 grocery stores and 38 pharmacy locations in Indiana and Ohio. As Marsh's primary wholesaler, SUPERVALU will provide the company's grocery locations with a full range of grocery products ranging from produce and meat to bakery, seafood, and frozen goods. SUPERVALU's private brands will also be available at Marsh locations. With the deal expected to be finalized by September, SUPERVALU hopes that it will continue to be able to demonstrate the value of its wholesale business above and beyond its own chain of stores.

The article Why Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Nortek, and SUPERVALU Jumped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends SUPERVALU. 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: Walgreens Boots Alliance.

What: After Walgreens Boots Alliance management reported quarterly financials and indicated a willingness to work with Valeant Pharmaceuticals to make their distribution deal more successful, shares in Valeant Pharmaceuticals roared 15.6% higher on Wednesday.

So what:Forced by scrutiny to shutter its distribution relationship with specialty pharmacy Philidor last year, Valeant Pharmaceuticals inked a deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance to act as a middleman on many of Valeant Pharmaceuticals most popular medications.

Unfortunately, the agreement has -- so far -- been less rewarding to Valeant Pharmaceuticals than it has been to Walgreens Boots Alliance. Walgreens Boots Alliances fills prescriptions for Valeant Pharmaceuticals and receives a services fee for doing so. As a result, it benefits nicely as volume increases for Valeant Pharmaceuticals products.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals, however, isn't getting reimbursed from payers as quickly as it would like for prescriptions filled by Walgreens Boots Alliance, and in some cases, the amount that's getting paid to them is too low for Valeant Pharmaceuticals to turn a profit.

Now what:In Valeant Pharmaceuticals most recent quarterly conference call, newly seated CEO Joseph Papa said that management is aware of the problems its facing with the Walgreens Boots Alliance deal and that it's working on fixes.

Papa reminded investors that the distribution deal with Walgreens Boots Alliance is in its early stages and that growing pains are to be expected. Walgreens Boots Alliance executives mirrored that thinking, similarly reminding investors today that it's only months into a 20-year relationship.

Specifically, Walgreens Boots Alliance co-COO Alex Gourlay said:

Importantly, Gourlay added, "We want to help our partner to be more successful in market."

How Gourlay and Walgreens Boots Alliance can help Valeant Pharmaceuticals be more successful via their relationship wasn't clear, and it seems to me that Walgreens Boots Alliance is in the driver's seat regarding any potential changes to this deal. Nevertheless, investors latched on to Gourlay's comments as evidence that Valeant Pharmaceuticals may be able to get a handle on margins associated with scripts Walgreens Boots Alliance fills. If they can, it would be very good news for the embattled company.

The article Why Valeant Pharmaceuticals Soared 15% Wednesday originally appeared on Fool.com.

Todd Campbell has no position in any stocks mentioned.Todd owns E.B. Capital Markets, LLC. E.B. Capital's clients may have positions in the companies mentioned. Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle@ebcapital to see more articles like this.The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Valeant Pharmaceuticals. 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.
American Funds Growth Fund of America also goes outside U.S. borders to find top investments. Image source: American Funds.

Many retirement investors use mutual funds to save toward their long-term financial goals, and mutual fund giant American Funds has been one of the most popular fund families for decades. The Growth Fund of America is a favorite among retirement savers, boasting more than $142 billion in assets as of May 31 and more than 3.8 million shareholder accounts. With its goal of growing capital by investing wherever the best growth opportunities are, Growth Fund of America provides diversification and has a history of strong returns. However, the fund also often comes with added costs that can eat into your final returns.

Growth Fund of America's performance

The Growth Fund of America has produced impressive long-term returns for retirement investors. Over the past 15 years, the fund has produced an average annual return of 6.5%. That's more than a percentage point higher than the typical large-cap growth fund, and it has also beaten the S&P 500 index as well. The fund's 15-year performance puts it among the top 15% of funds in its category, and Growth Fund of America is also in the top quarter for performance over the past year and five-year period.

As a growth fund, Growth Fund of America doesn't focus on income-producing investments. As a result, its distribution yield is relatively low even for a stock fund, at just 0.6%. However, the concentration on non-income-producing securities has some tax advantages for the Growth Fund of America, as it reduces the amount of taxable income that gets passed through to investors who hold their shares in regular taxable accounts.

Fees and expenses at Growth Fund of America

Growth Fund of America's annual expenses depend on which share class you own. The Class A shares available to most investors carry an expense ratio of 0.65%, which is just over half the average among large-cap growth funds. However, that ratio includes a 12b-1 fee to cover marketing and sales-related costs.

More importantly, like many American Funds offerings, Growth Fund of America charges a sales load of up to 5.75% when you purchase shares. You can reduce the amount of the load by investing more money, with discounts available at the $25,000 level and above. Other classes of shares have different characteristics, and the retirement class options that are available to 401(k) plans and other institutional retirement funds don't charge a sales load and have expenses of as little as 0.33%.

What Growth Fund of America owns

Growth Fund of America invests almost exclusively in stocks, and more than 80% of its exposure is in U.S. companies. About 10% of the portfolio is currently invested in international stocks, with an 8% cash holding as of March 2016.

Among its holdings, Growth Fund of America concentrates on the information technology sector, holding nearly a quarter of its assets in tech stocks. Consumer discretionary and healthcare stocks round out the top three sectors, and combined, those three areas make up almost 60% of the fund's total holdings. The biggest individual stock holding by far is Amazon.com, which composes almost 7% of the fund's assets.

Who manages Growth Fund of America?

Growth Fund of America has a large team of managers, many of whom have extensive histories with the fund. Donald O'Neal has been with Growth Fund of America for 22 years, and Michael Kerr and Blair Frank have 17 and 14 years of experience at the fund respectively. The fund's advisor is Capital Research and Management Company, of which all three of its longest-tenured managers are part. A full team of a dozen individual managers helps round out the fund's offerings.

Is Growth Fund of America a smart buy right now?

The biggest obstacle for investors in Growth Fund of America is justifying the sales load. Losing up to $575 up front for every $10,000 you invest to sales charges that go to the broker selling you the fund is a big hit. The fund has done a good job of outperforming its peers by a wide enough margin to compensate for the load, and its annual expenses are low for an actively managed stock mutual fund.

If you can get access to Growth Fund of America on a no-load basis through your 401(k) plan, then the stock fund is a good choice for retirement investors. If you have to buy regular shares and pay a load, however, even the strong performance that Growth Fund of America has delivered over the years isn't enough to make the fund a clear-cut choice for long-term retirement investors.

The article American Funds Growth Fund of America: What You Need to Know originally appeared on Fool.com.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon.com. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
There's no mystery as to why LinkedIn shares spiked in June.The company agreed to a deal in which Microsoft would acquire it for $26.2 billion, or $196 per share, a roughly 50% premium on the company's stock price before the sale.

What: The social site, which calls itself the world's largest professional network, announced the deal on June 13. Before that, the company had closed May at $136.50 a share, spiking on news of the acquisition, before closing the month at $189.25, a 38.64% gain, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Image source: YCharts.com.

So what: LinkedInwas sold at a premium, in part because the company was not in a position where it needed a buyer. The social-media site had been growing, and owned a niche -- interactions based around work and careers -- that it had, more or less, to itself.Microsoft intends to respect that by allowing the company to continue to operate independently under existing CEO Jeff Weiner, who will report to Microsoft boss Satya Nadella.

Image Source: LinkedIn.

"The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world's professionals," Nadella said in a press release. "Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet."

Now what: Both companies' boards of directors have already approved the deal, which is unlikely to face any regulatory hurdles. Once the deal is approved, Microsoft plans to integrate LinkedIn into many of its products, including the aforementioned Office.

Weiner elaborates on the deal:

It's hard to see anything stopping this deal from happening, so Weiner should get his chance to do exactly that.

The article Here's Why LinkedIn Corporation Shares Jumped Nearly 40% in June originally appeared on Fool.com.

Daniel Kline owns shares of Microsoft. He does not love having to maintain a profile on LinkedIn, but is there. The Motley Fool owns shares of LinkedIn and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
One Wells Fargo Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Image source: iStock/Thinkstock.

Second-quarter earnings season is upon us, with the nation's banks set to begin reporting results next week for the three months ended June 30. How will they perform?

Not well, say analysts. All four of the nation's biggest banks are expected to make less money in the second quarter of this year than they did in the same period in 2015. The saving grace for Wells Fargo is that it's expected to do less poorly than its megabanking peers.

Bank Expected EPS-2Q16 Actual EPS-2Q15 Expected Change JPMorgan Chase $1.44 $1.54 -6.5% Bank of America $0.36 $0.45 -20% Wells Fargo $1.01 $1.03 -1.9% Citigroup $1.15 $1.51 -23.8%

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Analysts expect Wells Fargo to earn $1.01 per share in the second quarter. That's almost 2% less than the $1.03 it earned in year-ago period. While that's disappointing, however, it's certainly not as disappointing as the 20% or more declines that analysts are predicting from Bank of America and Citigroup.

The difference in expectations probably has something to do with Bank of America and Citigroup's capital markets businesses -- that is, trading and investment banking units. Wells Fargo is building an investment bank, but it still has a long way to go because its Wall Street operations matches up to these two rivals.

Additionally, at least in Bank of America's case, its earnings may have been negatively impacted during the quarter by a $415 million settlement with the SEC to resolve accusations that it misused customer cash and securities to generate profits. I say "may have been impacted" because the North Carolina-based bank could have previously set aside money to cover the claim, in which case that expense would have already been realized.

Either way, whenever one talks about earnings estimates, it's good to keep in mind that they are just that: estimates. It thereby helps to know how a specific bank -- in this case, Wells Fargo -- has tended to match up to analyst estimates in prior quarters.

The answer in Wells Fargo's case is: very well. In the 21 quarters since the beginning of 2011, the California-based bank has met or beaten expectations every quarter -- meeting four times and beating 17 times.

Data source: Streetinsider.com. Chart by author.

In a plurality of quarters it's beaten earnings-per-share estimates by $0.01, with its best performance exceeding estimates by $0.08 per share. Its average "beat" over this stretch comes out to $0.02 per share.

Thus, at least in Wells Fargo's case, it seems just as likely as not that it could end up matching its earnings per share from the same quarter last year. This remains to be seen, of course, but either waywe'll find out for sure when Wells Fargo reports earnings on July 15.

The article How Often Does Wells Fargo Beat Earnings Estimates? originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Maxfield owns shares of Bank of America and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. 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: Imagination Technologies.

Semiconductor IP vendor Imagination Technologies , known primarily for its graphics processors, recently updated investors on its strategy vis-a-vis its PowerVR graphics processor intellectual property.

The company's mobile-oriented graphics processors are well known for being best in class, particularly for high-end mobile applications. Imagination's highest-profile graphics customer is Apple , a company known for including very high end graphics capabilities in its home-grown A-series system-on-chip designs.

However, Imagination has struggled in recent years as low-end and mid-range smartphones have increasingly adopted graphics technology from much larger peer ARM Holdings . Qualcomm uses its own home-grown graphics processor family, known as Adreno.

In fact, ARM Holdings claimed in a recent investor presentation that its Mali family of graphics intellectual property (IP) now commands 50% unit share in smartphones, making it the industry's most popular graphics processor family.

In announcing its own financial results, Imagination Technologies updated investors on its strategy in both mobile graphics as well as in other markets.

First, some background

Imagination included the following chart illustrating the relative market share positions of the major graphics IP suppliers in the mobile/smartphone market:

Image source: Imagination Technologies investor presentation.

It's clear from this image that Imagination's position at the high end of the market is quite strong, no doubt due in large part to the fact that Apple uses Imagination's IP exclusively in its popular iPhone and iPad product lines. Unfortunately, the data that Imagination cites calls for the high end of the market to not grow all that much through 2020.

The low-end and mid-range portions of the market, however, are growing faster than the high end is. However, it is in these segments that Imagination's weakness becomes clear: It has just 7% of the sizable mid-range market and negligible share of the low-end market (although the revenue opportunity there seems quite small).

The strategy that the company outlined, then, is quite sensible.

Attack the mid tier and defend the high end

Imagination says that it aims to do two things. The first is to try to boost its share in the mid range of the market with its upcoming Series 8XE family of graphics cores. The second is to try to defend its leadership position at the high end of the market with its upcoming Series 8XT family of graphics cores.

Imagination hasn't disclosed details of the Series 8XT family of graphics cores, but I'm sure we'll learn more about them soon. Perhaps Apple will adopt the Series 8XT in its upcoming A10/A10X processors later this year or early next year?

Imagination has, however, talked about the Series 8XE and has, unsurprisingly, talked up area and efficiency benefits relative to the competition. The real litmus test, though, will be how broadly the technology is adopted by the important system-on-chip makers.

How does Imagination gain share?

Remember that Imagination licenses IP; it doesn't sell chips into phones directly. This means that major system-on-chip manufacturers need to choose to integrate Imagination's graphics processors over competing processors.

Imagination is unlikely to convince Qualcomm to ditch its home-grown Adreno architecture for PowerVR, so the company will primarily need to grab share away from ARM at system-on-chip makers that don't use their own graphics IP such as MediaTek, Spreadtrum, and HiSilicon.

Can Imagination pull it off? Only time will tell.

The article Imagination Technologies Group plc Sharpens Focus on Graphics originally appeared on Fool.com.

Ashraf Eassa owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Jenny McCarthy, host of Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy on SiriusXM. IMAGE SOURCE: SiriusXM.

As a subscription-model business with most of its big capital expenditures in the rearview mirror, Sirius XM Holdings is a business that can generate a lot of cash and do so reliably.

Over the past three years, it's been using that cash to buy up its own shares. But that may be about to change, and the alternative may be a dividend.

Sirius CFO David Frear touched briefly on the topic earlier in June, when he spoke with analysts at the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch Global Telecom Conference.

Frear told analysts that the "company's economics set up well as a dividend story," and he hinted that the time to consider making that move is drawing nearer.

"It didn't make a whole lot of sense to start capital returns with dividends when we were talking about it back in 2012," Frear said.

The company issued a $0.05 special dividend that year -- ahead of an anticipated tax increase -- saying that the payout "reflects the board's desire to return value to stockholders and its confidence in the long-term growth prospects of our business."

It's been the only dividend paid to date.

Although the company was generating $709 million in free cash by that year, it was limited in how it could use that cash by the covenants of its debt agreements. It also had some 6.8 billion diluted shares in circulation.

So while Sirius saw itself as an eventual dividend story then, it made little sense to try to tell that story to analysts and investors knowing that the dividend was probably still several years away, Frear said.

"It's just a tough story to tell," he said in June.

A company invests in itself

Instead, it put its money to use in a few important ways: buying back shares, entering the connected-vehicle services market, and investing in its programming.

Sirius XM committed to a $2 billion share-buyback plan that year, and it upped that amount each year after. By 2015, the plan had grown to $8 billion.

Today's outstanding share count is around 5 billion.

With subscription revenue continuing to grow at a healthy pace of around 8% annually, the company generated $1.3 billion in free cash flow last year -- double what it did in 2012.

As a result, we can see how cash flow per share has climbed over the past five years:

SIRI Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM) data by YCharts

In returning cash to investors through only buybacks, Frear acknowledges that Sirius now finds itself in an unusual situation. He said he expects discussions with the board of directors regarding "the role of buybacks and dividends," and he noted that the ultimate decision will be up to the board, not management.

"And we will see where that story takes us," Frear concluded.

If Sirius was reluctant to tell its own story as a potential dividend payer, it's at least less so now. Consider Frear's comments a teaser.

How much could it pay?

Determining how much Sirius could return to investors as a dividend will depend on how much free cash the company wants to continue allocating toward buybacks and other investments.

But as we can see from the free cash flow yield numbers in the preceding chart, it would be possible for the company to issue a sizable distribution upwards of 5%.

Measuring by net income, as some investors prefer, a 100% payout would yield 3% at June 29 share prices.

While it's unlikely that Sirius would declare an opening dividend at 100% of either net income of free cash flow -- or probably anywhere close the company's economics do, indeed, support an attractive yield at today's prices

How soon that dividend will arrive is still anyone's guess. But now that a top executive has broached the topic, we can expect it to come up again, and probably soon. Investors will want to stay tuned to that discussion. A dividend would begin a new story for the satellite-radio company -- and one that should be enticing to investors.

The article Is It Time for Sirius XM to Start Issuing a Dividend? originally appeared on Fool.com.

John-Erik Koslosky has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America. 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.

What: Shares of Matador Resources sank 13.4% in June despite several bullish notes from analysts.

So what: After bottoming out in mid-January at around $13 a share, Matador Resources' stock rallied along with crude this spring before hitting a ceiling just under $25 per share in early June. That topcoincided with oil leveling off at around $50 a barrel, knocking the wind out of Matador Resources' sails.

Analysts, however, think that the stock has further to run even though oil seems to be stuck around $50 a barrel. Sterne Agee CRT was the first one out the gate with a bullish report after it initiated coverage on Matador in early June, rating it a buy and setting a $29 price target. Its analysts were impressed by Matador's moderate leverage and exposure to the emerging Delaware Basin, which is why it thought the driller should trade at a premium to its peer group.

A couple of weeks later, Barclays also initiated coverage on Matador and cited similar positives for rating the stock equal weight and setting a $23 price target. That was followed a week later by an upgrade from hold to buy at Stifel, which has a $25 price target. Stifel's upgrade cited Matador's valuation, its record for generating high wellhead returns in the Permian, and its belief that the company can solve its funding gap by selling assets.

Several analysts believe that Matador Resources will sell its midstream assets before the end of the year to close its financing gap. That decision would certainly follow the pattern in the sector over the past few years. Just this week,Sanchez Energy sold its stake in an Eagle Ford shale midstream asset for $37 million to boost its liquidity. What's noteworthy about that deal is that Sanchez had only invested $26 million in that asset to date, so it was able to unlock $11 million in created value. Before that transaction, Sanchez sold $345 million in midstream assets to raise cash last fall.

Now what: Matador Resources had a down month, but analysts see better days ahead. In particular, they expect the company to unlock the value of its midstream assets to fund its lucrative drilling program in the Permian. Such a transaction could restart the company's stock price rally even if crude prices stay static.

The article Matador Resources Co.'s 13.4% June Swoon Defies Analysts originally appeared on Fool.com.

Matt DiLallo 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.
Anyone looking for some signs of a pick-up in U.S. manufacturing activity would have been left disappointed by 's third-quarter results. Its earnings report highlighted a company struggling manfullyin adifficult environment. In short, the positive news from the quarter relates to the company's expense management, rather than any help from its end markets. Time to look closer at what happened.

Heading into the quarter, management sounded an optimistic note, with talk of stabilization and a possible improvements to come. Unfortunately, neither stability nor improvements arrived, and sales of $727.5 million in the quarter missed even the bottom end of the $729 million to $741 million guidance range.

However, as noted above, management is doing a pretty good job of managing expenses, which allowed the company to achieve a gross margin of 45%, in the middle of the 44.8% to 45.2% guidance range. Moreover -- and this is the really positive story from the quarter -- operating expenses came in at $221.2 million compared to guidance for $229.3 million. In other words, better than expected expense control (by $8 million) contributed to net income rising $1.5 million to $64.8 million -- EPS rose 2% to $1.05.

Discussing the matter on the earnings call, CEO Erik Gershwind said, "We saw the potential for some stabilization on the horizon. Unfortunately, that did not materialize and in fact things weakened."

He went on to describe a weakening industrial economy in which customers were taking a more negative view on growth, amid a soft pricing environment. The reason?

According to Gershwind, it's a continuation of the same negative trends that have been impacting the industrial sector for the last year or so:

Low oil prices impacting energy related capital spending

Impact of the strong dollar on U.S. manufacturing

The end result is ongoing weakness among the heavy machinery and metal cutting businesses that MSC Industrial makes a substantial share of its sales to. If MSC Industrial's commentary is accurate, then could see some weakness in its welding segment in the quarter. As readers already know, inIllinois Tool Works' last set of results, management said that welding was the only segment not to be stable in the quarter. Similarly, energy-related earnings could come under even more pressure.

The company's quarter -- at least in terms of end markets -- can best be summarized by the following charts. First, here is a look at monthly average daily sales growth. As you can see below, there is no indication yet that a corner has been turned.

Data source: MSC Industrial Direct Co. presentations.

Honing in on the specific end markets, a breakout of manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing sales highlights the weakness in manufacturing.

Data source: MSC Industrial Direct Co. presentations.

Fourth-quarter guidance for sales of $730 million to $742 million implies growth of 0% to 2%, but don't get too excited -- the results will benefit from an extra week's trading. In fact, management's forecast for average daily sales to decline by 4% to 6% in the quarter represents a continuation of negative trends -- see the first chart above.

On a more positive note, guidance for gross margin in the 44.7% to 45.1% range implies a continuation of the stabilizing of gross margin at around 45% -- no mean feat in a deteriorating sales environment.

MSM Gross Profit Margin (Quarterly) data by YCharts.

With oil trading at around $50 a barrel now, investors will no doubt be hoping that conditions soon improve for energy-related manufacturing customers. Until then, the focus for MSC Industrial will be on generating expense savings in order to grow the bottom line. In a tough business environment, that's about all one can hope for.

{%sfr%

The article MSC Industrial Direct Earnings: Profit Growth in a Tough Market originally appeared on Fool.com.

Lee Samaha has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends MSC Industrial Direct. The Motley Fool recommends Illinois Tool Works. 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.
Back in April, Delta Air Lines executives assured investors that the company would return to unit revenue growth by the end of 2016. Management also committed to acting decisively to address any potential change in the demand environment going forward.

Unfortunately, Delta's passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) has fallen short of expectations again in the past couple of months. As a result, while Delta already trimmed its capacity plans in May, it could announce further capacity cuts along with its Q2 earnings report later this month.

Demand seems shaky

On Delta's Q1 earnings call, President Glen Hauenstein stated that trends were already starting to improve in the domestic, transpacific, and Latin America regions, leaving only the transatlantic region as a laggard. This made it seem like the carrier's unit revenue recovery, while slow-moving, was still on track. For Q2, Delta projected that its PRASM would decline 2.5%-4.5%: slightly better than its 4.6% decline in Q1.

However, Delta has been hit by another round of domestic fare weakness recently, particularly related to last-minute business travel bookings. The company now expects to report a Q2 year-over-year PRASM decline of about 5%.

Delta missed its unit revenue guidance for a second straight quarter in Q2. Image source: The Motley Fool.

This means that Delta's Q2 unit revenue decline is shaping up to be in line with the company's Q3 2015 performance. In that quarter, it reported a 4.9% drop in PRASM: its worst result since the dark days of 2009. Thus, Delta appears to be no closer to a unit revenue recovery than it was a year ago.

Existing cuts probably aren't enough

At Delta's investor meeting in mid-May, the company revealed that it was reducing its planned growth rate for Q4 by 1 percentage point. Domestic scheduled capacity growth now slows from about 5% in the first half of the year to 2.5% by Q4. In the international arena, Delta plans to reduce capacity in the transpacific and Latin America regions in Q4 while holding transatlantic capacity roughly flat.

Nevertheless, it's doubtful that this will be enough to get PRASM growing again. Delta's international capacity was already declining on a year-over-year basis in the first half of the year. Furthermore, the impact of "Brexit" will only make the transatlantic demand environment worse.

In the domestic market, while Delta already plans to cut its growth rate in half, it's not clear that the market can support any capacity growth without negatively impacting unit revenue.

Delta can't let this slide

Delta has attained a significant valuation premium over its legacy carrier peers in the past year or so due to its relative consistency. It has already jeopardized that valuation premium by missing its goal of returning to unit revenue growth by the end of 2015. Delta will lose a lot of credibility with investors if it can't get PRASM growing by the end of 2016, either.

There are some bright spots that could contribute to a unit revenue recovery later this year. For example, Delta is starting to sell extra-legroom "Comfort+" seats as a separate fare, rather than as an upgrade to regular economy tickets. This initiative should bolster Delta's ancillary revenue. Furthermore, the strengthening yen will boost unit revenue in Japan, one of Delta's most important international markets.

However, the persistent fare weakness for last-minute bookings suggests that companies are cutting back on travel spending. The Brexit referendum has added a new layer of uncertainty that could prompt businesses to tighten their purse strings.

In this context, Delta may need to cut capacity much more aggressively for the fall season, especially in the domestic market. Fortunately, Delta has an abundance of old planes that can be retired on short notice and at minimal cost -- so there's nothing to stop it from taking decisive action. That's exactly what it should do.

The article Time for More Capacity Cuts at Delta Air Lines? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Adam Levine-Weinberg is long January 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines. 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.
The United States has tentatively approved flights on eight U.S. airlines to Havana as early as this fall, with American Airlines Group Inc receiving the largest share of the limited routes, the U.S. Transportation Department said Thursday.

The decision, coming about a year after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations, includes 35 flights per week on American, the biggest U.S. airline in Latin America by flights. Its rival for Caribbean travel, JetBlue Airways Corp, would offer 27 flights.

The department expects to reach a final decision on the routes later this summer after receiving any objections to the proposal. It also recommended flights to Havana on Delta Air Lines Inc, United Continental Holdings Inc, Southwest Airlines Co, Alaska Air Group Inc, Spirit Airlines Inc and Frontier Airlines.

The flights to Cuba's capital would be the latest step in bringing the former Cold War foes closer together.

Last month, the Transportation Department gave airlines the green light to schedule flights to other cities in Cuba for the first time in decades. Until now, air travel to the Communist-ruled island has been limited to charter services.

The authorization of service to Havana has created a challenge for the Obama administration. Airlines applied for nearly triple the 20 daily round-trips that Cuba and the United States agreed to permit to Havana in a deal signed in February.

In extensive filings, carriers said why they were suited for the coveted routes and argued that rivals would offer inconvenient connections or higher fares.

"We hope that these selections are ones that will be helpful to the marketplace," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a press conference.

The selections were intended to offer service from large legacy airlines and low-cost carriers, and from airports and cities across the United States, he said.

Miami and Fort Lauderdale, where the largest Cuban-American population resides, received the most flights at 83 per week among six airlines.

Nonstop flights will also leave from Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New York City, Orlando and Tampa, Florida.

A total of 12 passenger airlines applied for the rights to operate flights to the city.

"These flights open the door to a new world of travel and opportunities for our customers," said Oscar Munoz, United's chief executive officer. United would fly from Newark and Houston.

Though a travel ban and trade embargo on Cuba still exist, the Obama administration has chipped away at the restrictions while pressuring Congress to lift the embargo. Travel by Americans to Cuba has increased by 77 percent within the last year, a U.S. official said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
IMAGE SOURCE: TOTAL S.A.

Sometimes, you just have to go where the money is -- or in Total S.A.'s case, you have to go where the oil is. The company recently won a 25-year contract to create a joint venture with Qatar Petroleum, taking a 30% stake in the offshore Al-Shaheen oil field. Combined with Total's current portfolio in Qatar, which already includes 134,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D) of production, the company appears very confident in the production potential from the small OPEC nation.

As an investor, should you feel as confident in Total's Qatar gambit, or should additional investments in the country be met with skepticism?

The winning bid

Total's winning bid to operate the Al-Shaheen oil field bested competing bids from oil giants such as Royal Dutch Shelland BP. Total will now replace AP Moeller-Maersk A/S , which has been in charge of operations since 1992 as Qatar Petroleum's partner for Al-Shaheen. They will form a joint venture known as the North Oil Company. The contract will run for 25 years, and begin in July 2017.

Now that Qatar has selected Total to run the oil field, though, Total's CEO,Patrick Pouyanne, has no illusions about the difficult task at hand. "Our first objective is to maintain 300,000 barrels a day," he said. "Currently that's not a given as there's a natural decline (in production) as it's a complex field." According to Pouyanne, Total will invest $2 billion over the next five years to maintain that production, while identifying opportunities to increase production from parts of the field that are undeveloped.

In addition to Al-Shaheen, Total already has major stakes in the offshore Al Khalij oil field, the offshore North Field complex, and interests in liquid natural gas plays and refineries.

Qatar's large reserves

The Al-Shaheen oil field, which pumped 300,000 BOE/D in May, makes up nearly half of Qatar's oil production. Qatar, though, as the third smallest oil producer in OPEC, has plans to increase its total production. Although OPEC quotas and oil prices could impact future increases, Qatar would like to see production from Al-Shaheen raised to 500,000 BOE/D. With its $2 billion in planned expenditures, Total is depending on this increase to expand its return on investments.

Total's Qatar expansion is actually part of the company's strategic move into the broader Middle East. In January of 2015, it won a 10% stake in the UAE's onshore oil fields under a 40-year agreement, giving Total about 160,000 BOE/D.

As Pouyanne explains: "We want to have a portfolio which can resist the volatility of oil price. That's why we like the Middle East, and Qatar in particular -- to have access to giant resources where we can have very competitive assets."

And that's an important point. As OPEC struggles to maintain its influence in global oil prices, OPEC nations still sit on some of the largest reserves in the world. That's what Total is banking on large proven reserves that it can efficiently develop to add to its worldwide production numbers. While Al-Shaheen is considered a "complex" offshore oil field, Total views it as an easier task than investing in deepwater deposits.

Total's expansion in Qatar gives it access to dependable reserves for the next 25 years, which is a smart investment at a time of volatile oil prices.

Foolish bottom line

Placing such a heavy investment within the chaos of the Middle East, at a time when OPEC is fading as the predominant oil influencer, is questionable, to say the least. But Qatar is relatively stable from a geopolitical standpoint, and even with waning influence, OPEC nations continue to sit on hefty oil reserves such as the Al-Shaheen oil field.

Total has been busy in recent months expanding in less-proven markets, such as renewable energy and undeveloped African reserves. Its move to shore up more-stable assets should leave you feeling good about its future production.

The article Why Is Total S.A. Investing in Qatar? originally appeared on Fool.com.

David Lettis has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Total. 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: AK Steel.

June was a tumultuous month, with the heavily anticipated Brexit vote looming large. That British decision overshadowed a lot of other things, pushing good news for the U.S. steel industry into the background. After the Brexit shock wore off, though, the good news sunk in. Here's why United States Steel , AK Steel , Steel Dynamics , and Nucor all rallied at the end of last month.

What's the timeline?

On June 22, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that cold-rolled steel products from countries like China and Japan were being sold in the United States at below fair value. The ITC specifically highlighted China as subsidizing its steel industry. This ruling allows the U.S. to impose countervailing and anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled steel imports.

On June 23, the United Kingdom voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union. The expectation from most market watchers going into the vote was that the country's residents would choose to remain a member of the EU. But that didn't turn out to be the case, and Great Britain voted to exit the EU, sending markets around the world into a tailspin.

On June 24, the ITC ruled that imports of corrosion-resistant steel products from China, India, Italy, Korea, and Taiwan were being sold at less than fair value. The governments of China, India, Italy, and Korea were singled out for subsidizing their steel industries in this case. Like the June 22ruling, this ruling allows for duties to be imposed on imports from those countries.

Because of the timing of these three events and the impactof the so-called Brexit vote, however, the positive ITC steel trade case news was pushed into the background.

So what changed?

As the news of Brexit sunk in, however, cooler heads prevailed, and after a few tough days, markets began to stabilize. That was when the positives of the ITC steel rulings started to sink in, sending U.S. Steel shares up 14.5% and AK Steel up 11% over the last few days of June, compared to a roughly 5% rise in the S&P 500 Index. Nucor and Steel Dynamics were up 6.5% and 5.5%, respectively. For the full month, U.S. Steel was up about 16.5% and AK Steel was up nearly 10%. The S&P was basically flat over that span. For the month, Nucor and Steel Dynamics were up around 2% and down a little less than 1%, respectively.

AKS data by YCharts.

There are a couple of reasons for the rallies at U.S. Steel and AK Steel. First, this pair has been hit much harder by the long steel downturn that started after the last recession. They are both heavily reliant on blast furnaces which tend to be higher cost and less flexible than the electric arc furnaces favored by Nucor and Steel Dynamics. Electric arc furnaces are smaller and easier to turn on and off. So Nucor and Steel Dynamics are able to adjust to market conditions more quickly.

That helps explain why Nucor has only lost money in one year over the past decade and Steel Dynamics has only lost money twice. U.S. Steel and AK Steel, on the other hand, have bled red ink in six and seven of the last 10 years, respectively. So shares of U.S. Steel and AK Steel, have, understandably, been hit much harder than Nucor and Steel Dynamics through the downturn. Which is why good news has tended to help the laggards more.

Add to this the fact that flat-rolled steel products makes up around 70% of U.S. Steel's production. AK Steel, meanwhile, counts coated steel products at about 50% of production and cold-rolled steel at 18%. Nucor and Steel Dynamics are more diversified and have an increasingly heavy focus on value-added products that haven't been as hard hit by imports as commodity-type products, which make up more of U.S. Steel's and AK Steel's businesses.

Now what should investors do?

The swift advances at U.S. Steel and AK Steel on good news, once the Brexit furor subsided, is a clear sign that there's notable upside for this pair -- assuming the U.S. steel industry continues to see improving dynamics, like trade case wins. However, Nucor and Steel Dynamics both have more flexible operations and have held up better through the long downturn. If you are an aggressive investor and believe the steel industry is on the cusp of a major upturn, then U.S. Steel and AK Steel will probably provide more recovery potential. However, if you are a bit more conservative, you might want to stick with Nucor or Steel Dynamics, just in case the industry outlook isn't as positive as you think.

The article Why U.S. Steel and Other Domestic Steel Players Rallied to End June on a Positive Note 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.
FBI Director James Comey decided to not recommend legal charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server not just because he believed the facts didnt warrant a case, but also because he feared any action would have a direct impact on the 2016 presidential election.

Thats the conclusion of several attorneys, many of them experts in so-called white collar criminal defenses, who have reviewed Comeys convoluted remarks made Tuesday in which he both provided a rationale for not charging Clinton and stated that the FBI uncovered evidence the former Secretary of State under President Obama may have violated laws by sending and receiving classified information through a private email account and server.

These lawyers have dealt directly with Comey and his staff in his capacities both as FBI Chief and Manhattan U.S. Attorney under former president George W. Bush.

A host of laws strictly forbid government officials from using private e-mail and servers rather than more secured government accountsand violations of these rules could result in charges up to a felony.

The paradox in Comeys decision these lawyers say can be found by parsing his language during yesterdays press conference. Comey said he chose not to charge Clinton because she showed no intent to violate the law, but the legal experts pointed to other cases where such a high bar of knowingly violating such laws did not come into play and resulted in charges against government employees, including former CIA Chief David Petraeus.

With that these attorneys say they believe Comeys decision not to charge Clinton came down to the political implications of such a move: Clinton would likely have to drop from the race, and her GOP challenger Donald Trump would gain a huge advantage in the 2016 presidential race.

They absolutely had enough to charge her, said Randy Zelin, a FOX Business Network contributor and founder of the law firm Randy Scott Zelin PC. The reason they didnt charge her is because it would be a disaster for the office and Comey knew this.

A spokesman for the FBI had no immediate comment. Comey will provide testimony on the e-mail probe on Thursday when he is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said in a statement that the FBIs announcement was surprising and confusing and agreed that the evidence that Comey laid out clearly shows that Secretary Clinton violated the law.

To be sure, not all attorneys were convinced that Comeys decision was politically motivated. Veteran white-collar lawyer Stanley Arkin, who served as lead counsel during the first criminal prosecution for insider trading in 1980, said he believes the FBI Director weighed the facts  including a lack of evidence such as emails or other documentsshowing Clinton intended to violate the law, which is a necessary condition for any prosecution.

The last guy to get involved with something like that would be James Comey. Hes been in law enforcement for 30 years. He heads the FBI. Hes a professional law enforcement guy with exceptional integrity,said Arkin.

But other attorneys say its unnecessary to have to prove overt intent to violate the law, as Comey suggested during his press conference on Tuesday.

They point to the legal concept of willful blindness, in which targets of investigations purposely avoid weighing the consequences of their actions, as enough to have indicted Clinton.

Ryan Blanch, founder and lead attorney at The Blanch Law Firm, said given the mountain of evidence that Clinton violated laws for receiving confidential information  including her use of numerous mobile devices to view and send e-mailsa case could be made to indict unless the prosecutor is worried about the political impact.

If you move to prosecute you may end up with Donald Trump as president, Blanch said. With cases like that, sometimes it comes down to political favoritism.

Indeed, lawyers interviewed by the FOX Business Network say the entire e-mail investigation  which began as an outgrowth of the House of Representatives investigation into the Benghazi terrorist attack-was political from the outset. It was being conducted not by a special prosecutor, but by President Obamas Justice Department on his partys presumptive presidential nominee.

Meanwhile, Comeys decision became even more politicized when, only a week earlier, former President Bill Clinton had an impromptu meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch. After news of the meeting broke, Lynch said she would defer the decision on the e-mail probe to Comey. Today, she accepted Comeys recommendation and will not bring charges against Hillary Clinton.

But Zelin believes the meeting had an impact on Comeys decision. While the FBI Chief is appointed by the president, he also reports to Lynch in her role as head of the Justice Department.

I think that Bill Clinton did exactly what he did for a very specific reason, Zelin said. It was no accident he went on that plane. He knew full well that if Loretta gave him an audience, his wife wouldnt be convicted. The second she sat down with him and they talked, it was over.
FBI Director James Comey strongly defended his decision not to recommend charges against Hillary Clinton on Thursday but told Republican lawmakers penalties such as revoking security clearances could be considered for mishandling classified information as Clinton and her staff did.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper that Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, should be denied classified briefings during her campaign.

Presidential candidates normally get access to classified information once they are formally nominated and a Clinton spokesman said Republicans' efforts to deny her the briefings was "another blatantly political stunt."

Comey, under persistent questioning at a hearing of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee, said if an FBI agent had acted as Clinton did, he would take their behavior into consideration before granting their pay, employment and access to secure information.

But Comey insisted that Clinton did not break the law.

"The question I always look at is, is there evidence that would establish beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody engaged in conducted that violated a criminal statute. And my judgment here is there is not," Comey said.

The issue of Clinton's use of private email servers has cast a cloud over her campaign leading up to the Nov. 8 presidential election, raised questions among voters about her trustworthiness and given her Republican presidential rival, Donald Trump, an avenue of attack.

Comey had disappointed some Republicans by only rebuking Clinton, not recommending charges against her, in a Tuesday announcement for what he called "extremely careless" handling of classified information while using private email servers for business.

"I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double standard, if your name isn't Clinton or you are not part of the powerful elite that Lady Justice will act differently," Representative Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said to Comey.

A Democratic member of the committee, Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, defended Comey's actions by saying, "I firmly believe your decision was based on conviction, not convenience."

Comey said his FBI team had conducted its investigation "in an apolitical and professional way" and he had no reason to believe Clinton had lied to the FBI. Clinton had said publicly she never sent or received any classified information.

The hearing took place as Trump met with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill to get them behind his campaign.

"I'm going to make you proud," Trump told House Republicans, according to a participant, Representative Tom Flores.

Ryan, who has been critical of Trump at times but endorsed him on June 2, said Trump and Republican House members had "a great meeting."

"EXTREMELY CARELESS"

Comey's testimony to the House Oversight Committee marked the first time he has taken questions publicly since his announcement this week that the FBI was not recommending charges against Clinton. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch has accepted the FBI recommendation and was to appear at another hearing next Tuesday.

Comey said on Tuesday that 110 classified emails passed through Clinton's servers, which were not kept on a secure government server. He rebuked her for "extremely careless" handling of classified information but said no reasonable prosecutor would charge her or her staff criminally.

The Clinton campaign said it was pleased by the FBI's announcement and said the Republican-led call for Comey's hearing a "taxpayer-funded sham of an inquiry" intended to hurt Clinton politically.

Comey, a Republican who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and also served in the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush, has built a reputation as a straight shooter who does not bend to pressure from either party.

He has differed sharply with the Obama administration, most recently on gun control and whether high-profile police brutality cases had inhibited law enforcement from stopping crime.

Questions about the propriety of Clinton's use of unauthorized email servers in her Chappaqua, New York, home have raised questions about her judgment from across the political spectrum.

Despite clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton can expect a further onslaught of attacks from Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who has accused her of playing by a different set of rules from the American public.

"Hillary Clinton can't keep her emails safe, and you know what, folks, she sure as hell can't keep our country safe," Trump told a recent rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, charging that the investigation was "rigged" in Clinton's favor.

Comey left the door open for other actions in the case, including downgrading security clearances for anyone who mishandles classified information as Clinton and her staff did.

(By Julia Edwards and David Alexander; Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and David Alexander, writing by Steve Holland; editing by Peter Cooney and Bill Trott)
Minimum ages for marijuana consumption may vary across Canada when it becomes legal, but authorities will be firmly against drug tourism and cross-border movement of the substance, the Liberal government's point man on the issue said on Wednesday.

The government also wants consistent nation-wide impaired-driving laws for marijuana, said Bill Blair, parliamentary secretary to the justice minister, as the country formulates a new drug law ahead of a spring 2017 deadline.

"We would like to see consistency and a consensus across the country on the best way to keep our roadways safe," Blair, the former Toronto police chief, said at an interview in his Toronto constituency office.

He said provinces should have a say, but legalization led by individual regions, such as in the United States, causes a "difficult situation," in which state laws sometimes contradict federal laws.

Canada's Liberal government said in April it will introduce legislation to legalize marijuana's recreational use. It has formed a task force that will report back in November.

Blair cautioned the government has not made firm decisions on many aspects of legalization, which will be heavily influenced by the task force's report. But he said the government does "not necessarily" need a nation-wide marijuana consumption age, citing different ages provinces have for alcohol use.

Canada intends to implement regulations to "discourage" drug tourism, as the country is taking a strict public-health approach and is not out to make money, he said.

Blair said people will not be able to take marijuana out of the country due to international conventions restricting drug movement. The government may also increase penalties for trafficking, which would remain an issue as foreign marijuana would not have adequate quality controls, he said.

He and other politicians have said that for now, unregulated marijuana sales remain illegal, despite their flourishing since the Liberals came to power.

But enforcement, handled by municipalities, has been inconsistent, and many marijuana shops continue to openly defy the law.

Blair said enforcement is ultimately not a federal matter, though he is satisfied with the current level of enforcement.

"It doesn't mean everybody needs to be in jail," he said.
Young women who get the recommended three doses of human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine have fewer abnormal Pap tests than unvaccinated women and women who only get two doses, Canadian researchers say.

HPV vaccination is intended to prevent cervical cancer and abnormal cells that can lead to cancer, but how well it's working among North American women remains unclear.

"Both HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening are important to further reduce the incidence, morbidity, and mortality of cervical cancer," senior study author Dr. Huiming Yang from Alberta Health Services in Calgary told Reuters Health by email.

The province of Alberta implemented a school-based HPV vaccination program for girls in 2008 and expanded it to include boys in 2014. The HPV vaccination program provides three doses of the vaccine over a six-month period.

Yang and colleagues studied the impact on Pap test results eight years into this program.

The researchers analyzed data on 10,204 women, 56 percent of whom were unvaccinated and the rest had received at least one dose of HPV vaccine before having cervical cancer screening.

Overall, 14.5 percent of women had abnormal Pap tests and 85.5 percent had normal tests. Most abnormal tests, nearly 94 percent, were low-grade abnormalities, but the rest were the high-grade abnormalities that could progress to cervical cancer.

Less than 12 percent of women who had received at least three doses of the vaccine had abnormal Pap results, whereas 16 percent of unvaccinated women had abnormal tests. This translates into a 28 percent risk reduction with full HPV vaccination.

The difference was even greater - a 50 percent reduction in risk - when only high-grade abnormalities were included, according to the results published in CMAJ.

Surprisingly, incomplete HPV vaccination with two or fewer doses of the vaccine was not associated with a lower risk of having an abnormal Pap test.

"Our study shows that three doses HPV vaccination is very effective in reducing cervical cell abnormalities, particularly for high-grade lesions, but two does not appear to offer similar protection," Dr. Yang concluded. "It is important to complete all scheduled doses of vaccine."

"I found it interesting that young women in this study that received two doses of the quadrivalent vaccine had similar odds of having an abnormal Pap as those who had 0 doses," said Dr. Jacqueline M. Hirth from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, who has also studied the effect of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer screening among young women.

That result should be interpreted with caution, she told Reuters Health by email, since many of the young women in this sample were under 21 years of age and may not have been receiving routine Pap screenings.

"They may have actually gone to their providers for abnormal bleeding or other symptoms, which may have prompted them to receive Pap tests that would not have met the criteria for 'routine' screenings," Hirth said.

HPV vaccination in combination with cervical cancer screening according to guidelines is important for the prevention of cervical cancer, Hirth said, because the HPV vaccine does not protect against all high-risk HPV types.

She added that it's important for women to receive all three doses of the HPV vaccine and to undergo cervical cancer screening regardless of vaccination history in order to reduce their risk of developing HPV-related cancers.
Like many identical twins, Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers, 35, have enjoyed many of lifes milestones side by side. Now, the sisters are celebrating another achievement together the birth of their first children, who entered the world on the same day, at the same time in their respective time zones, Today.com reported.

While Rodgers welcomed her baby boy at 1:18 a.m. in Denver, Colorado, Mariuz gave birth to her daughter at 1:18 a.m. in La Jolla, California. The twins hadnt planned to get pregnant at the same time.

Identical twin sisters give birth on same day at exact same time! https://t.co/mJtZtLfmSQ pic.twitter.com/BDY9hb8XYR  TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 5, 2016

"We were at our older sister's wedding recently, and, well, two pregnant chicks together, people couldn't stop talking about this," Rodgers told Today. "They kept asking us, 'Was it planned?' No! It was kind of entertaining."

But they werent exactly surprised by the coincidence.

"We've always lived in separate places, but all of us we have two sisters are very close in age and very close," Rodgers, who is 11 minutes older than Mariuz, told the news website. "But certainly there's another connection at the twin level."

Rodgers named her little boy Reid Joseph, and Mariuz named her baby girl Samantha Lynne.
Hillary Clinton. Angela Merkel of Germany. And now Theresa May of Britain. Women rule, or soon may, three of the worlds most influential democracies.

They are not alone. Christine Lagarde, of France, heads the powerful International Monetary Fund, responsible for assuring the stability of the international financial system. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotlands first minister, is a rising star. The first minister of Northern Ireland is a woman. So is the leader, and former leader, of Britains Green party. The next United Nations Secretary General might also be a woman.

After the vote among conservative Tories, British Home Secretary Theresa May now seems likely to become Britains next prime minister. Her rival in the conservative leadership race is Andrea Leadsom, the energy minister and a former banker. Angela Eagle, a Labor member of Parliament, has announced that she may try to challenge her partys incompetent leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Writing for the German daily Die Welt, Mara Delius, a woman, asserted that Merkel, May, Sturgeon, and other women politicians represent a new femokratie now being asked to clean up the mess created by the men. Thanks to these postmodern Elektras in trouser suits and rubber gloves, she writes, Europe, and the world, at last, may be in capable (female) hands.

Desperate times may demand such desperate measures. Within the past year, Taiwan, Nepal, Croatia, Mauritius and Lithuania have all elected, or re-elected female leaders to office. Last November, Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyis party won a landslide victory in Myanmars first democratic elections after 25 years of military rule.

America, too, may well be doubling down on the great feminist hope. The U.S. Attorney General is a woman. And if some Democratic party activists have their way, Mrs. Clinton could select Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, as her running mate. Thats not likely. But the prospect of an all-female Democratic ticket underscores the fact that women, finally, belatedly, are getting some respect in electoral politics.

The U.S. has lagged woefully behind Europe and even developing countries in granting women the right to rule. Margaret Thatcher, Britains Iron Lady, led Britain from 1979 to 1990, the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century. The election of Cory Aquino as president of the Philippines in the mid-1980s was widely regarded as the islands first step towards democracy. Golda Meir, Israels fourth prime minister, guided her country through peace and war from 1969 to 1974. Benazir Bhutto, of Pakistan, hardly a bastion of enlightenment when it comes to female rights, became her countrys first female prime minister in 1988, and might have won again had she not been killed by a suicide bomber in 2007. Indira Gandhi served as Indias third prime minister from 1966 to 1984, when she, too, was assassinated. Even tiny Iceland, population 330,000, has a female prime minister, Johanna Sigurardottir.

Americas resistance to females at the top is not confined to politics. In business, Facebooks chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg complained that women hold only 15-16 percent of top business jobs and board seats. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction, she said in a much watched TED talk. Even in the non-profit world, where worker bees are overwhelmingly female, men hold some 80 percent of the top jobs.

Of course, female power may not be the answer to slow economic growth, growing income inequality, deep political fractiousness and the soaring alienation of so many Americans and other citizens from their governments. In South America, Brazils President Dilma Rousseff was suspended from office last May amid charges of corruption and incompetence. In Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the former president, faces a fraud inquiry.

But Americans of both parties seem increasingly willing, or desperate enough to give women a chance. And why not? Could they possibly make more of a mess than the current crop of male leaders have made? In Britain, would Theresa May, a no nonsense engineer who supported continued membership in the European Union with little enthusiasm, have risked her countrys economic future as conservative leader David Cameron did by insisting on a referendum on continued EU membership? Would she have stomped away from politics like a spoiled child as her conservative colleague Boris Johnson did after successfully leading the campaign for Brexit? Would she whine about wanting her life back as Nigel Farage did in explaining why he, too, was deserting his UKIP party and politics at this dangerous moment of transition for Britain? Not bloody likely, as Margaret Thatcher might well have replied. No way. How much worse could a woman do?
The president of the United States is the quintessential keeper of the nations top secrets. He or she must have constant access to the most sensitive and classified information gathered by the countrys intelligence resources in order to carry out the primary duty of any president: To protect the nation.

But what if the government determines that the new president is untrustworthy and, therefore, unsuitable to safeguard the nations most closely guarded secrets? What if the commander-in-chief has a proven record of being extremely careless in mishandling classified information? And lied about it repeatedly? Would the government be justified in revoking or denying the presidents access to any and all classified data?

If this were to happen, the president would be unable to function. Critical decisions on national security could not be made without access to vital information. In short, American lives would be placed in jeopardy.

So, is this is a reasonable or remote scenario if Hillary Clinton is elected president? Lets consider the evidence.

A Litany of False Statements

According to the FBI Director, Clinton made several false statements to the American people:

1. Clinton insisted during her first news conference in March of 2015, I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. That statement was brazenly untrue. Clinton sent numerous classified emails on her unauthorized and unsecured servers.

2. Clinton then changed her story stating, I did not send or receive anything that was classified at the time, claiming the classification was made retroactively. That statement was also completely untrue. 110 emails contained classified information at the time they were sent or received.

3. Clinton changed her story yet again claiming, I never sent or received any email that was marked classified. Another untrue statement. Many of her emails were, indeed, marked classified. Comey also pointed out that such markings are irrelevant since the content, not the marking, makes them classified.

In describing Clinton as extremely careless, Comey concluded that no reasonable person in her position would have done what she did. None of these emails should have been on any kind of unclassified system.

Importantly, the FBI Director then declared that a person who engages in this activity is often subject to security or administrative sanctions. What sanctions would those be? Historically, an offending persons security clearance would be revoked. He or she would be denied access to classified information.

Revoking Security Clearance

Terminating Clintons security clearance would certainly be justified under the law. The Washington landscape is littered with officials who have lost their security access for violations much less serious than what was described by Comey in his news conference. You do not have to be charged or convicted of a crime to lose your clearance. Careless conduct and a conspicuous lack of veracity are ample grounds for revocation or denial.

Who decides? Normally, it is the department or agency that hires or employs the suspect person. Clinton is no longer employed by the State Department, but she reportedly maintains a top-secret security clearance. Upon review of the FBIs findings, State could decide to revoke Clintons clearance. With John Kerry at the helm, thats doubtful.

The basis for revocation or denial is laid out in Executive Order 12968 which, ironically, was signed by President Bill Clinton. It states:

"Access to classified information shall be granted only to employees whose personal and professional history affirmatively indicatesstrength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and sound judgmentand willingness to abide by regulations governing the use, handling, and protection of classified information.

Director Comeys description of Clintons mishandling of classified information seems to fit the above definition like a glove especially the words honest and sound judgment. And Clinton demonstrated no willingness to abide by regulations governing classified information. None whatsoever.

But would the existing Presidential Order apply to a newly elected president? Probably not. After all, a President Clinton could simply tear up her husbands order the moment she is sworn into office. Poof! Problem solved.

On Thursday, Senators introduced a bill to revoke Clintons security clearance. Even if it were to pass both Houses of Congress, President Obama would surely veto it. He can hardly campaign with Clinton one day, and disqualify her the next. Overriding the veto would stand no chance at all.

Finally, House Speaker Paul Ryan has sent a letter to the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, asking that he terminate Clintons classified access. Appointed by the president, Clapper directs and oversees all of the national intelligence agencies. However, were he to end Clintons classified security clearance, Mr. Clapper might find himself promptly jobless. He serves at the pleasure of the president. And Mr. Obama happens to be Mrs. Clintons new best friend on the campaign trail.

Hence, the likelihood of Hillary Clinton ever losing access to the nations top secrets appears well beyond remote.

But that doesnt make it right. Or fair. Or just.
FBI Director James Comey dropped a bombshell Tuesday, and as a result, is testifying before Congress on Thursday.

While admitting Hillary Clinton was extremely careless in handling highly classified information, and then outlining the ways in which she was extreme in her carelessness with highly classified information, Comey announced that the FBI recommends no charges against her.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch then issued a statement the following day announcing that the Department of Justice had officially closed the security breach Clinton case.

The outcome confirms exactly what half the country has been saying for decades about the Clintons. Hillary and Bill push the boundaries of the law or break them outright for the sake of personal pleasure, for financial gain, to leverage power, and for basic convenience, and are not held accountable.

Comey may not want to indict Hillary, but by explaining the manners in which she mishandled U.S. secrets, and then exonerating her, he just indicted the U.S. legal system.

And, confirming what the rest of us were thinking as we listened to his statement, he confessed, "To be clear, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences.

To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions. But that is not what we are deciding now." Hes talking about you and me, and anyone else unconnected to the Clintons. If we treated those documents with the same degree of recklessness that Hillary Clinton treated them, there would be major consequences. But not her; no, not Hillary Clinton. This kind of behavior on the part of someone with her leadership responsibilities inevitably leads to subordinates behaving in a similar fashion.

In fact, Comey admitted:

While not the focus of our investigation, we also developed evidence that the security culture of the State Department in general, and with respect to use of unclassified e-mail systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information found elsewhere in the government.

This isnt hard to imagine. Just observe the blurry legal and ethical boundaries Hillarys closest aides seem to be comfortable with. Her former deputy chief of staff and current vice chairman of her campaign, Huma Abedin, for example, was employed simultaneously by the State Department, the deeply controversial Clinton Foundation, the secretary of states personal office, and a consulting firm that has connections with the Clinton family for the last six months of Clintons tenure at State.

Like Clinton, Abedin used email accounts hosted by the private server. Likewise, according to emails from the Department of State, Clintons chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, involved herself in vetting politically sensitive documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

The FBI interviewed both women in the course of the Clinton security breach investigation. Suspiciously, the Clinton staffer who set up the server, Bryan Pagliano, in exchange for cooperation with the FBI, was granted limited immunity from prosecution by the Justice Department. And what about all of the people either on the sending or receiving end of the 110 messages in 52 email chains that the FBI has determined contained classified information? Are we to understand that nobody committed a crime, however small? Imagine if the intelligence community had the same loose standards as a Hillary State Department.

The next paragraph of Comeys statement lays out some of the consequences of such recklessness.

With respect to potential computer intrusion by hostile actors, we did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clintons personal e-mail domain, in its various configurations since 2009, was successfully hacked. But, given the nature of the system and of the actors potentially involved, we assess that we would be unlikely to see such direct evidence. We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial e-mail accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account. We also assess that Secretary Clintons use of a personal e-mail domain was both known by a large number of people and readily apparent. She also used her personal e-mail extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related e-mails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries. Given that combination of factors, we assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clintons personal e-mail account.

Its astonishing that the Secretary of State could behave in such a blatantly negligent waywhen the very security of those she has sworn to protect is at stake. To take just the last two sentences above, when traveling to sophisticated adversaries (i.e. China and Russia), it is common knowledge that whatever you are sending or receiving on your mobile device or laptop is being accessed by those governments. No doubt she knew this.

So, what is there to be done?

First, under no circumstances should Hillary Clinton have a security clearance, and neither should any government officialany member of her staff-- who engaged in the same kind of extremely careless mishandling of highly classified information.

Moreover, regardless of the outcome of this election or future elections, Congress should ensure those top aides never receive confirmation of appointed positions. Government staff are public servants and they serve at the pleasure of the American people. They are not entitled to a government career, and those who broke the public trust should find another way to make a living.

But most critically, the American people should deny Hillary Clinton the ultimate access to highly sensitive information by ensuring she is not elected to the highest office in the country.

The president, vice president, members of Congress, and Supreme Court justices do not hold typical clearances, which means they do not receive the kind of extensive security background investigations as a prerequisite to having access to classified material.

The electoral and confirmation processes stand in for the typical security vetting process and getting elected is a public seal authorizing access to state secrets.

Additionally, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president has the authority to set the standards for access to classified information.

FBI Director Comey has just confirmed this week that Hillary Clinton is unfit for this enormous responsibility since she cannot personally be trusted to handle state secrets with care.

For the American people to knowingly promote someone like Hillary Clinton to the highest office, to charge her with safeguarding the nations security and our Constitution, when she so clearly has neither the will nor the judgment to safeguard national secrets, would be a new, dark chapter in American history.

Not only would our county have totally become that which John Adams warned against in the 1780 Massachusetts state constitutiona government of men and not of lawsbut the American people would be endorsing this shift, choosing to be ruled by a woman so blinded by decades of corruption that she can so flippantly violate national security law while serving as the Secretary of State.

Comeys statement Tuesday should leave Americans wondering what more has she done that we just dont know about? What was she so resolutely determined to keep out of the public eye that she needed that private server and conducted official business with a private email address? What more could she do if she had the authority as chief executive, with the FBI, and the courts on her side not to mention a predominantly friendly media, if occasionally honest about her failures, is quick to forgive and eager to get back to the work of the dutiful echo chamber?

Despite all the talk about the proverbial glass ceiling, for Hillary, the sky is the limit.
This spring, the FBI released preliminary data on law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2015. With 41 officers feloniously killed, it represented a drop of nearly 20 percent from the year before. The numbers, although wholly tragic, were encouraging.

Nonetheless, it didn't take long for many of the usual critics of law enforcement to pounce on the data and declare that the proverbial "war on cops" was, in fact, no war at all.

As the admittedly biased Occupy Democrats website declared, in 2015 it was "safer to be a cop than to be a preschooler."

Of course, this type of specious reasoning is ludicrous. A perfunctory look at the raw numbers might be enough to influence the easily persuadable into believing that no war on cops exists, or that there hadn't been a better, safer time to be a police officer in decades, but as with any data set there is more to the numbers than meets the eye.

Since the outgrowth of unfettered, anti-police rhetoric took hold of the public discourse in the wake of Ferguson and Baltimore, the job of the average police officer has become more difficult and dangerous.

An unfortunate byproduct of this anti-police hysteria has been a modification in the everyday activity of the typical beat cop.

Proactive police work, long recognized for its ability to actually reduce crime rather than merely respond to it, has seen a dramatic decline in many parts of the country.

DNAInfo, an online source for news in Chicago and New York City, found that so far this year police officers in Chicago were "making drastically fewer investigative stops and confiscating fewer guns as murders and shootings have increased.

Their analysis also found that proactive stops in Chicago were down 80 percent from the year before and that the Second City saw a decline in gun arrests and gun confiscations of 37 and 35 percent, respectively.

The apparent reticence to self-initiate proactivity isnt just felt by officers in Chicago. Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute, in discussing the decline in proactive policing and public hostility toward law enforcement, wrote earlier this year, L.A. officers are advising one another that it's crazy to get out of their cars, unless it's a 911 call.

With investigative stops and proactive police work on the decline it should come as no surprise that the number of officers feloniously killed in the line of duty has also declined.

Some of the most dangerous work a police officer can engage in is directly related to proactive police work -- a high-risk vehicle stop or consensual contact with a group of individuals loitering on a dark street corner, for example.

When greater numbers of officers remove themselves from inherently dangerous self-initiated enforcement situations, the likelihood of injury or death correspondingly drops. That doesn't mean that society is any less dangerous or that the job of the average street cop is any safer, however.

If you begin to asses variables in officer behavior or pro-activity linked to morale, the data on officers killed in the line of duty begins to take on a different perspective.

Some of the pullback in officer pro-activity has been characterized as the "Ferguson Effect," or "ACLU Effect." These phenomena mark a fear on the part of the officer that his or her actions will be misjudged, mischaracterized, or even vilified and, thus, they refrain from engaging in any enforcement activity other than what they are legally and morally obliged to do.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel even noted this phenomenon last year when he said that officers had "pulled back from the ability to interdict  they don't want to be a news story themselves, they don't want their career ended early, and it's having an impact."

Sadly, data without context is no indicator of truth. The ongoing rhetorical war on police continues to make the average street cop's job more dangerous, difficult, and emotionally taxing.

The particularly unfortunate byproduct of the continued assault on American law enforcement is that all of society suffers as a result.

As officer morale continues to decline and pro-activity wanes, criminals will continue to be emboldened and crime will continue to rise.
FBI Director James Comey was summoned to Capitol Hill on Thursday to explain why orange will not be Hillary Clinton's new black.

House Republicans grilled the FBI director for hours over his recommendation not to press charges against Bill Clinton's wife.

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The FBI determined she was extremely careless, but not criminal in her handling of confidential and classified emails. They said it was not her intent to break the law and put the entire nation in grave danger.

Be sure to use that defense the next time you get pulled over in Hog Jaw, Arkansas for running that red light. Let me know how that turns out for you.

We the People are held to a much different standard than high-falootin folks like Hillary Clinton. And this sordid email affair illustrates that Lady Justice is not only blind, but she's also deaf and dumb.

There was a lot of political showmanship on Capitol Hill and to be honest I doubt much will come of Thursday's proceedings. However, there were several moments of enlightenment.

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For example, Director Comey admitted that some of Mrs. Clinton's public comments about her emails were not true. In other words, she lied. She flat-out told some whoppers.

On the claim she never emailed classified material?

"That's not true," Comey replied. "There was classified material emailed."

How about that claim that she only used one device?

"She used multiple devices," Comey told lawmakers.

And it turns out she lied about turning over all work-related emails.

"We found work-related emails, thousands that were not returned," he said.

Bless her heart, but that woman wouldn't know the truth if it was a pant suit on the 50 percent-off rack at TJ Maxx.

Its apparent that she lied to the American people, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., later said of Clinton.

But the jaw-dropping revelation of the hearing involved Mrs. Clinton's sophistication level (and they weren't talking about her impressive collection of pant suits).

The FBI director said she may not have been sophisticated enough to understand the classified markings on her emails.

"I think it's possible, possible that she didn't understand what a (c) meant when she saw it in the body of an email like that," Comey told bewildered Republican lawmakers.

What did she think the (c) meant? Cheetos? Cauliflower? Or perhaps she thought the State Department monogramed all of her documents?

I mean - you would have to be as dumb as a door knob to not know something like that, right?

Is that what the FBI director was trying to tell us -- that the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party has the intelligence level of yard mulch.

Sweet mercy, America!
The Bernie Sanders campaign is in talks with Hillary Clinton's campaign about an event next Tuesday in New Hampshire during which the Vermont senator would endorse Clinton's White House bid, sources told Fox News on Wednesday.

Clinton and Sanders officials declined to comment on the possible rally, but campaign sources told Fox News "we aren't there yet."

Sanders has withheld his endorsement of Clinton since the end of the Democratic primaries in mid-June, pressing for policy commitments from the campaign and party leaders developing the platform that will be considered at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. But he has shown signs of coming around.

The senator praised Clinton's announcement of a proposal earlier Wednesday to tackle the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt, calling it a "very bold initiative." In a positive sign for Democratic unity, Sanders said he hoped to find more areas of agreement with Clinton "sooner rather than later."

The new policy proposal from Clinton would place a three-month moratorium on loan payments for all federal borrowers. It would also ensure that families with annual incomes up to $125,000 pay no tuition at in-state public colleges and universities.

A campaign source told Fox News that the Clinton proposal was an "olive branch" to Sanders and his supporters.

Sanders trounced Clinton in the New Hampshire primary, and holding the event in the Granite State would put the two rivals in a fall battleground state where Clinton will compete against Republican Donald Trump.

It would also draw comparisons to 2008, when then-Sen. Barack Obama joined Clinton for an endorsement event in Unity, New Hampshire, a symbol-rich town where Obama and Clinton split the vote in the primary.

Sanders was wildly popular with young voters during the Democratic primaries, with many drawn to his calls for free tuition at all public colleges and universities. Clinton cast her opponent's proposals as unrealistic, saying that while she shared his concerns about rising debt, she didn't want wealthier families to be able to take advantage of opportunities aimed at the middle and lower classes.

Sanders said the plan combined "some of the strongest ideas which she fought for during the campaign with some of the principles I fought for. The final product is the result of the work of both campaigns."

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, Tamara Gitt, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., will skip this month's GOP convention in Cleveland to focus on his re-election bid, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Olivia Perez-Cubas said that Rubio, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president earlier this year, had planned to attend the convention before deciding last month to seek another Senate term.

"Florida has always been a competitive state and it will be this fall," Perez-Cubas said in a statement. "Since Marco got into the race late, he will be in Florida campaigning and meeting with voters instead of going to Ohio."

Rubio would be one of many prominent Republicans who will miss the convention, at which Donald Trump is expected to officially be named the party's presidential nominee. Others include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 2012 nominee Mitt Romney, 2008 nominee John McCain, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

Earlier Wednesday, one of Trump's former primary rivals, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker endorsed Trump in a tweet that didn't mention the real estate mogul's name.
FBI Director James Comey testified Thursday that Hillary Clintons claims -- some made under oath -- about her use of a private email server were not true, fueling Republican questions about whether in doing so she committed a felony.

In a wide-ranging appearance before the House oversight committee, Comey also said Clintons email practices put Americas secrets at risk and her actions constituted the definition of carelessness.

At the same time, Comey staunchly defended the bureaus decision not to pursue charges. He also said, We have no basis to conclude that [Clinton] lied to the FBI.

Yet he acknowledged that lying under oath is a felony, as some Republicans point to statements she made last October before the House Benghazi committee -- and plan to request an investigation. At that hearing, Clinton had claimed that nothing she sent or received was marked classified.

Comey was asked about such claims, which she also made publicly, in a pointed exchange with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

Thats not true.  There was classified material emailed, Comey said.

On her claim that she used one device, Comey also said, She used multiple devices.

And on her claim that she turned over all work-related emails, he said, No, we found work-related emails, thousands that were not returned.

Its apparent that she lied to the American people, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., later said of Clinton.

Democrats on the committee tried to make the case for Clinton that she may not have noticed or understood the classified markings in a few emails that bore them, bolstering any claim of plausible deniability. Comey indeed said there is a question over whether Clinton was sophisticated enough to know at the time what a particular classified marking signified.

Fox News was first to report on a 2012 email that carried a classified code known as a portion marking when it was sent to Clintons account.

While the hearing was underway, Clinton herself was hunkered down at her Washington home  as her campaign responded regularly to hearing highlights. The campaign flagged that Comey acknowledged during the hearing that the portion markings themselves were not properly marked.

But Gowdy and House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, whose committee hosted the tense hearing with Comey just two days after the investigation decision, both suggested a double standard was at play in the FBI decision.

It seems to a lot of us that the average Joe  if they had done what you laid out in your statement, that theyd be in handcuffs, Chaffetz said. And I think there is a legitimate concern that there is a double-standard -- if your name isnt Clinton or youre not part of the powerful elite, that lady justice will act differently.

Chaffetz voiced concern that there does seem to be no consequence.

Yet Comey repeated his claim that no reasonable prosecutor would bring this case. He said while Clinton showed great carelessness, he did not see evidence she and those with whom she corresponded knew when they did it they were doing something that was against the law.

He said no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case based only on what is known as gross negligence. At the same time, he suggested that if Clinton had worked at the FBI, she could be subject to a range of disciplinary measures including suspension or termination.

You could be walked out, he said.

Comey also denied a double standard was at play, saying no one at the DOJ would have brought such a case against John Doe or Hillary Clinton based on the facts.

Democratic committee members slammed the hearing and described the criticism of Comey as political.

Amazingly, some Republicans who were praising you just days ago  instantly turned against you, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said. In their eyes you had one job and one job only -- to prosecute Hillary Clinton.

On another front, Comey also addressed claims by Romanian hacker Guccifer that he breached Clintons personal server. The hacker, Marcel Lehel Lazar, had told Fox News earlier this year that he easily accessed the server  but Comey said that when questioned, Guccifer admitted he lied about the breach.

Toward the end of the hearing, Comey would not answer directly when asked whether the FBI is investigating the Clinton Foundation. He also said Clinton gave individuals who were not cleared access to classified material  though a campaign spokesman countered that the attorneys who sorted through the emails had Top Secret-level clearance.

The hearing comes as Republicans turn up the pressure on both Comey and Clinton in the wake of the FBI recommendation not to pursue charges in the email case. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, after receiving Comeys recommendation, on Wednesday declared the investigation over with no criminal charges issued.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., now wants Comey to release all of the unclassified findings from the agencys investigation.

Right now, there are simply too many unanswered questions, Ryan wrote in a letter to Comey.  The American people deserve to know exactly what your investigation uncovered and why the FBI came to the decision to recommend that no criminal charges be brought against Secretary Clinton.

Ryan also sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper urging him to deny Clinton access to classified information for the duration of her candidacy for president.

I firmly believe this is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure, he said.

The Clinton campaign is hitting back repeatedly at Republicans, with a top spokesman calling the bid to deny her access to classified information a stunt and the campaign saying Republicans had voiced nothing but confidence in Comey before his announcement earlier this week.

But Comey's decision, and the way he delivered it, infuriated Republicans who felt that the FBI director in his unusually detailed and critical televised statement Tuesday had laid out a sufficient basis for prosecution.

In a stinging assessment of her email practices as secretary of state, Comey rebuked Clinton and her aides for being "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the defenses and explanations she's put forward for months. But he also said there was no evidence anyone willfully or intentionally mishandled classified information.

Comey, who served as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, was appointed in 2013 to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Barack Obama.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Newly unearthed photos of President Obama in Muslim garb underscore his deep ties to the faith -- and possibly help explain his reluctance to call out radical Islam, Fox News Channels Bill OReilly said Wednesday.

The photos, aired on The OReilly Factor, were taken at the wedding of Obamas half-brother, Malik Obama, in Maryland sometime in the early 1990s, OReilly said. They were not offered as evidence that Obama is Muslim, as some of his critics insist, but to show his deep emotional ties to the religion of his father and stepfather, OReilly said.

There is no question the Obama administration's greatest failure is allowing the Islamic terror group ISIS to run wild, murdering thousands of innocent people all over the world, including many Muslims, said O'Reilly. Mr. Obama has never, never acknowledged that mistake, nor does he define the ISIS threat accurately.

That group is killing innocent people in order to impose a radical version of Islam on the world, the newsman added. The jihad is solely based on theology, perverted as it may be.

A similar photo emerged in 2008, when Obama was running for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton. In that photo, Obama was seen wearing a white turban and Muslim dress. The photo was sent to the influential Drudge Report, and Obamas campaign blamed Clinton for the smear.

"On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we've seen from either party in this election," then-Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.

The president reportedly met his older half-brother for the first time in 1985. Malik Obama now lives in a rural Kenyan village near Lake Victoria.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Wednesday formally urged Director of National Intelligence James Clapper to deny presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton access to classified information  an appeal that comes as FBI Director James Comey is set to testify on the email probe which yielded no charges.

Ryan, in a letter to Clapper, said he wants Clinton prohibited from receiving classified information for the duration of her candidacy for president.

There is no legal requirement for you to provide Secretary Clinton with classified information, and it would send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nations secrets if you choose to provide her access to this information despite the FBIs findings, Ryan wrote.

Ryan said in his letter that if Clapper decides to deny his request, he would like him to explain why he would grant Clinton access to classified information despite the FBIs findings that Clinton and her staff were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.

I firmly believe this is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure, he adds.

His letter comes after Attorney General Loretta Lynch declared the investigation into Clinton's emails over with no criminal charges issued.

Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate, said in an interview with Fox News Megyn Kelly Tuesday that Clapper should block Clinton from receiving classified briefings after the Democratic National Convention.

He said on The Kelly File he received weekly CIA briefings as Mitt Romney's running mate in 2012 and said Clinton should not be given such information "given how recklessly she handled this."

"She grossly was negligent, she mishandled classified information and now she wants to be commander-in-chief," Ryan said in the interview.

Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon fired back, pressuring any Republicans joining what he called the stunt to say whether Donald Trump should have access to the same information.

Ryan also sent a letter to Comey requesting that he release all of the unclassified findings from the agencys investigation into Clinton.

Comey is set to testify Thursday morning before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Right now, there are simply too many unanswered questions, Ryan wrote to Comey. While we have started oversight hearings, as you stated earlier this week, given the importance of the matter, I think unusual transparency is in order. I completely agree.

The American people deserve to know exactly what your investigation uncovered and why the FBI came to the decision to recommend that no criminal charges be brought against Secretary Clinton.

Meanwhile, the State Department is taking issue with at least one of the findings from the FBI investigation  that some of the emails on Clintons server had markings indicating classified information.

State Department spokesman John Kirby blamed human error for those markings, suggesting they shouldnt have been there.

Fox News was first to report on a 2012 email that carried a classified code known as a portion marking when it was sent to Clintons account -- challenging her repeated claims that nothing she sent or received was marked classified at the time.

Fox News Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
On Hillary Clintons worst day of the campaignalthough she managed not to be indicted--Donald Trump was talking about Loretta Lynch and Saddam Hussein.

Oh, and trying to find a running mate.

For all the furor over FBI Director James Comey and his decision not to urge criminal charges against the Democratic nominee, he gave Trump and the Republicans a huge gift, in the form of stinging criticism of Clintons irresponsibility in mishandling classified information.

But rather than just ride that wave, Trump tried to push the story a major step further by taking on the Justice Department and the FBI. He also detoured into lambasting a long-dead dictator, and some of his possible VP picks are withdrawing.

On balance, Trump clearly benefits from Clintons legal woes, criminal charges or not. But media skeptics say he wandered off message, distracting from the impact of the FBI evidence against her in the email investigation.

By declaring that the system is totally rigged, he is taking on Comey, a respected career prosecutor who served in the Bush administration. Thats his right, but Comey isnt running for president.

Trump is also taking on Loretta Lynch by accusing Clinton of trying to bribe her. Thats a pretty explosive charge, and its based on a New York Times story about Hillarys potential first 100 days that seems fairly well orchestrated by the campaign. It includes this line, which the Times, incredibly, published as utterly unremarkable: Democrats close to Mrs. Clinton say she may decide to retain Ms. Lynch, the nations first black woman to be attorney general.

Was that a veiled signal to Lynch that shell get to keep her job if this email investigation turns out fine? Maybethough she said after the disastrous Bill Clinton meeting that shed defer to the FBIbut it depends on whether the Democrats close to are just freelancing operatives.

Meanwhile, on the very same day, Trump drew negative attention for ruminating about Saddam Hussein: He was a bad guy  really bad guy," the presumptive Republican nominee told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina. "But you know what? He did well. He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists.

Trump has said versions of this before, but why is he talking about a long-dead dictatorwho killed huge numbers of Iraqisinstead of staying laser-focused on Hillary?

Meanwhile, in what might be called a necessary distraction, Trump is holding tryouts for a running mate. As the New York Times put it: Mr. Trumps approach to choosing a vice president  publicly testing them in the court of public opinion  feels oddly similar to the approach the candidate took on his reality television show, The Apprentice.

Well, hes not the first to hold public tryouts. But two people on the list, Bob Corker and Joni Ernst, took themselves out of the running yesterday.

Trump told Foxs Kimberly Guilfoyle yesterday there are 10 people on the list, including military names, though that doesnt seem his preference. But the clock is ticking on his choice with Cleveland approaching.

Trump has an uncanny ability to make news, but that cuts both ways. Despite his sometimes scattershot approach, the campaigns overriding story is still the FBI findings against Clinton.
Donald Trump wrapped up back-to-back meetings with Republican lawmakers Thursday on Capitol Hill -- as he tried to rally and unify members of his own party ahead of the national convention in Cleveland.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee first met with 200 House lawmakers at the Republican National Committee building in D.C.

Trump's message was, "We all need to stick together. Things will all work out in November," according to Rep. Ken Calvert of California.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., told Fox News that Trump gave a unifying speech and that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee also spoke about the Supreme Court and the economy.

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a Trump critic, told reporters that he will be a "vociferous supporter" of Trump because Franks is convinced that Democrat Hillary Clinton will "obliterate the Supreme Court, undermine this Constitution, and decimate this republic for a generation."

During his meeting with senators, Trump defended himself against some of his harshest critics.

Addressing Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse, he said, "Surely, you don't want Clinton." Sasse's spokesman, in a statement, said the senator considers the two presidential choices as a "dumpster fire," adding that "nothing has changed."

In one testy exchange, Trump recognized Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona as a lawmaker critical of him.

Flake referenced Trump's criticism last year of his colleague, Sen. John McCain, who was captured and spent 5 1/2 years in a Vietnamese prison.

Flake said he wanted to talk to Trump about those statements. The exchange, first reported by The Washington Post, left Flake unwilling to back the nominee.

"My position remains, I want to support the nomination. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said," Flake told reporters later.

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois wasn't in Thursday's meeting, during which Trump supposedly called him a loser. Asked if Trump could win his home state in November, Kirk said, "I don't think so."

"We haven't seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully," Kirk said later. "Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois."

rump defended himself against some of his harshest Senate critics. Addressing Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse, he said, "Surely, you don't want Clinton." Sasse's spokesman, in a statement, said the senator considers the two presidential choices as a "Dumpster fire," adding that "nothing has changed."

In one testy exchange, Trump recognized Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona as a lawmaker critical of him. Flake referenced Trump's criticism last year of his colleague, Sen. John McCain, who was captured and spent 5 1/2 years in a Vietnamese prison.

Flake said he wanted to talk to Trump about those statements. The exchange, first reported by The Washington Post, left Flake unwilling to back the nominee.

"My position remains, I want to support the nomination. I really do. I just can't support him given the things that he's said," Flake told reporters later.

Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois wasn't in Thursday's meeting, during which Trump supposedly called him a loser. Asked if Trump could win his home state in November, Kirk said, "I don't think so."

"We haven't seen a personality like his too much in the Midwest. Eastern, privileged, wealthy bully," Kirk said later. "Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois."

A number of leading Republicans, including some in Congress who are facing tough re-election challenges in November, skipped the meeting with Trump.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who is facing a tight election race herself, told reporters she had to attend a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing at the same time as Trump's appearance.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida said he needed to check his calendar.

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said he was scheduled to preside over the Senate, but that others would benefit more anyway from seeing Trump.

"Obviously I'm very familiar with Donald and his positions; I just came off an 11-month campaign where he was one of my opponents," said Rubio, a former Trump rival who was often mocked by Trump as "Little Marco." So some of the other folks perhaps wanted to spend more time learning more about his positions."

Another Trump rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters, "Donald asked me to speak at the Republican Convention and I told him I'd be happy to do so."

He added, "There was no discussion of any endorsement."

Thursday's meetings came just a few days after two potential vice presidential picks -- Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa -- indicated that they weren't interested in running on the same ticket as Trump.

One Republican who strongly backs Trump, Rep. Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania, said he was looking forward to his colleagues seeing a different side of Trump -- "a serious, business-like, boardroom Donald Trump -- not so much what they have been seeing on TV."

Trump's appearance came on the heels of a fiery speech in which he defended his use of a Star of David symbol in a retweet, an image that House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and others have criticized.

Instead of focusing on Clinton during his remarks Wednesday in Cincinnati, as Republican leaders would have liked, Trump mixed his attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee with a defense of the tweet, as well as earlier remarks touting former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as a killer of terrorists. Trump argues the star in his tweet was a regular star that a sheriff might use.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who was quick to endorse Trump but has criticized him for going off-script and lagging in fundraising, said he looks forward to "a frank exchange."

"All of us are anxious to win the presidential election," said McConnell, who recently has said Trump's campaign is improving. "I think the one thing we agree on unanimously is four more years just like the last eight is not a good place for the American people."

The Trump meetings took place at the political headquarters of the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, within blocks of the Capitol. Trump planned to meet first with House members.

Ensuring an overheated atmosphere on Capitol Hill, FBI Director James Comey was to testify before a House committee at the same time as the Senate meeting with Trump. Comey was summoned by House Republicans who are irate over his recommendation that criminal charges not be brought against Clinton over her handling of classified emails during her tenure as secretary of state.



Democrats are moving to find political advantage from Trump's appearance. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which tries to elect Democrats to the House, released a new nationwide ad campaign Thursday seeking to link Republicans to Trump.

The ads, focused in the districts of 10 vulnerable lawmakers, will be running on cable networks; one of them, "Sidekick," likens Trump to a schoolyard bully and congressional Republicans to the bully's sidekicks and asks: "Shouldn't they really be standing up to the bully?"

Fox News' Chad Pergram, Kara Rowland and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Construction of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia has led to the discovery of a trove of historical artifacts that offers a fascinating glimpse into the citys history.

Before construction began in Philadelphia's historic district in 2014, archaeologists from John Miller Associates (now Commonwealth Heritage Group) excavated the site for four months, returning briefly in April 2015 and May 2016. A well and 12 brick-lined privies (which are outhouse vaults that also stored garbage) dating back to the 17th century were found to contain a wealth of artifacts.

The museum on the corner of Philadelphias 3rd and Chestnut Streets opens on April 19, 2017.

A spokeswoman for the museum told FoxNews.com that a total of 82,000 artifacts were discovered during the excavation, most of them from a well and privy shafts that were sealed beneath 19th century buildings. These buildings were taken down in the 1970s when the first Visitors Center for Independence Park was built on the site.

Many of the artifacts, some of which will be on display in the museum, appear to come from a mid 18th-century tavern on the site, such as red earthenware pottery.

The carefully reassembled pieces of an English delftware punch bowl are particularly notable. The bowl features a picture of the English brigantine ship Tryphena, which sailed between Liverpool, U.K. and Philadelphia. In 1765 the ship carried a petition from the merchants of Philadelphia to their counterparts in Great Britain to reconsider the controversial Stamp Act, the first direct tax imposed on the American colonists by the British Government.

Print type, which likely came from late 18th and early 19th-century print shops, was also recovered, along with hundreds of shell fragments, probably from a button factory located on the site between 1913 and World War II. The massive granite foundations of the Jayne Building, Philadelphias first skyscraper, were also found on Chestnut Street.

The site is really a microcosm of Philadelphia history  tracing the evolution of the site from primarily residential in Colonial Times through tavern culture of the Revolution to the site of Philadelphias first skyscraper then to a button factory until the end of WWII and finally into the National Park Services Visitor Center in the 1970s, explained the museum spokeswoman, in an email to FoxNews.com.

Commonwealth Heritage Group has detailed its findings in an extensive report on the excavation.

Cities are constantly rebuilding themselves, and the construction of this new museum  right in the heart of the oldest part of Philadelphia  provided us with a rare opportunity to examine the things left behind by the people who lived and worked there, in order to learn about how the city began and how it changed, said lead archaeologist Rebecca Yamin, in a press release. This buried record of the past touches on many significant changes in the citys development, essentially creating a microcosm of Philadelphia from its very beginning to the present.

The Museum of the American Revolution recently confirmed that it purchased a rare Bible from the battle of Bunker Hill that will be exhibited when it opens in 2017. The King James Bible is inscribed by American soldier Francis Merrifield, who thanks God for sparing his life in the bloody 1775 battle.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Two continent-size blobs of hot  and possibly molten  rock can be found deep underground, about halfway to the center of the Earth, according to a new study. These curious structures  each of which is so large that it would be 100 times taller than Mount Everest  could be made up of materials that may shed light on how the Earth formed, the researchers said.

One of the blobs is located beneath the Pacific Ocean, and the other can be found beneath the Atlantic. These underground structures start where the Earth's mantle meets the core, but they send "plumes" up through the rock like a Lava Lamp, the researchers said.

Scientists now think these masses differ from the surrounding rock in more than just temperature. They're also "compositionally distinct," meaning they could contain materials not typically found in the rest of the Earth's mantle. Yet even some of the most basic information about the blobs is still a mystery.

"To me, the big unanswered question is, what is it, and how did it form?" said the paper's lead author Edward Garnero, a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University.

Scientists have observed the blobs for decades by monitoring seismic activity in the two regions. Different types of seismic waves travel at different speeds, depending on the type of rock the blobs are moving through. And by comparing the timing and delay of signals from multiple locations, seismologists can build models of what's going on in the Earth's interior.

The blobs are characterized by slower wave speeds, which suggests they are a different temperature from the rest of the Earth's mantle, the researchers said. But at some of the edges, normal wave speeds transition abruptly to low wave speeds. A pure temperature difference would result in a more gradual change, the scientists said, which suggests the blobs are likely made up of something different from what makes up their surroundings.

Because they're big and characterized by the slower wave speeds, the blobs have been called large low velocity provinces (LLVPs). And when the speed of one type of wave, shear waves, is even slower than would be expected, scientists call the areas large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs). But beyond that, not much is known about the origin or composition of these strange rocky blobs.

"The LLSVPs are definitely there, but the terrible name they have been given reflects the fact that we don't really know what they are," Richard Carlson, a geochemist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., who wasn't involved with the new paper, wrote in an email to Live Science.

The Lava Lamp comparison is appropriate  except when this Lava Lamp blob reaches the top, it spills or explodes out of the Earth's surface, Garnero said.

If an especially large "superplume" of magma from one of these blobs were to make it to the surface, it would result in "massive eruptions where the lava will come out for millions of years at a time," Garnero said. There isn't much cause for alarm, though. "The next one could be on its way," he said, "but it could be a million years away."

Scientists aren't sure if the blobs are made of material from the Earth's crust or if the chemical difference dates back to the Earth's formation.

"If we understood these 'blobs' better, that would represent a huge step forward in understanding the deep workings of our planet," Wendy Mao, a geoscientist at Stanford University who was not involved with the new paper, wrote in an email to Live Science.

The new research was published online June 20 in the journal Nature Geoscience.
In a project that sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, defense specialist BAE Systems plans to chemically grow drones in large vats.

The U.K.-based defense company is working with the University of Glasgow on the concept, which aims to grow Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in large-scale labs using chemistry. The project could help create specially-designed aircraft in weeks, rather than years.

At the heart of the initiative is a Chemputer machine that would use advanced chemical processes to grow aircraft and some of their electronic systems.

Very much a future project, scant details are available on how the Chemputer will work, although BAE systems says the machine could conceivably grow the drones from a molecular level. The technology could also be used to produce parts for large manned aircraft.

The ambitious program could be up and running sometime during this century, according to the defense company.

The world of military and civil aircraft is constantly evolving and it's been exciting to work with scientists and engineers outside BAE Systems and to consider how some unique British technologies could tackle the military threats of the future said Professor Nick Colosimo, a BAE Systems Global Engineering Fellow, in a statement.

This is a very exciting time in the development of chemistry, said University of Glasgow Professor Lee Cronin, in the statement. We have been developing routes to digitize synthetic and materials chemistry and at some point in the future hope to assemble complex objects in a machine from the bottom up, or with minimal human assistance.

Cronin, who is founding scientific director of the Cronin Group, and is developing the Chemputer, acknowledges that creating small aircraft will be very challenging, but thinks that the technology will one day become reality. Im confident that creative thinking and convergent digital technologies will eventually lead to the digital programming of complex chemical and material systems, he explained.

Potential missions for the lab-grown drones could include delivering emergency supplies for special forces and deploying small surveillance aircraft.

BAE Systems is no stranger to battlefield innovation, from huge combat tractors to 3D-vision technology for troops, although its plan to grow drones would be a significant manufacturing breakthrough.

Other organizations are also pushing the envelope for drone technology. Rutgers University, for example, has developed a propeller-driven drone that can fly both in the air and underwater.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
The 37-year-old man killed by Baton Rouge police was a good-humored person nicknamed "Big Boy" who was orphaned young, loved children and earned a living selling CDs of music downloaded from the internet, said family and friends who knew him.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the video-recorded killing of Alton Sterling, a black man who police say had a gun as he wrestled with two white officers outside a convenience store. The shooting as well as two video recordings of the incident have sparked outcry at a time when law enforcement officers nationwide are being carefully watched for their use of force.

As officials scrambled to defuse the quickly escalating situation, family and friends mourned Sterling.

Quinyetta McMillon, the mother of Sterling's teenage son, trembled as she read a statement outside City Hall. Her son, Cameron, 15, broke down in tears and was led away sobbing as his mother spoke.

"The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis," she said.

Larry Sterling said his cousin's mother died in 1989 and his father died a few years later. He said his mother, Veda Sterling Washington, and her sister Sandra Sterling raised Alton Sterling, his two younger sisters and younger brother.

"We grew up in the same household, from babies up until we was adults and moved out on our own," Larry Sterling said in a phone interview from Baton Rouge.

"Every time you see Alton, he's smiling," Larry Sterling said.

Larry Sterling and another cousin who grew up in the same household said their cousin had been selling the CDs to make money for about six years.

Sharida Sterling, also interviewed by phone, said that if she couldn't give him a ride to the convenience store, Alton Sterling would take a bus, carrying a folding table and chair and the box of CDs. She said the store management never had any problems with the informal stand, but police harassed her cousin. She suspected it was because he was black and a "big guy."

Abdullah Muflahi, the 28-year-old owner of the Triple S 24-hour convenience store where the shooting took place, said Sterling had been selling mixed CDs  rap music and other types of CDs  for a few years outside the front of his store and that he had never presented any problems. He said he used the nickname "Big Boy" for Sterling.

"He was a very happy guy, always laughing, joking around," he said. "He was never angry, never violent."

Baton Rouge police spokesman, Cpl. L'Jean McKneely said he did not have any information on whether there were any previous incidents between police and Sterling at the store. He said Sterling was a "convicted felon" but that he did not have the specific information on the crimes he was convicted of.

Alton Sterling had five children, 15, 3 and about 10 years old boys, and 1-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, Sharida Sterling said.

Larry Sterling said that, for fun, his cousin would take both their children to a movie or to the park: "The kids loved Alton."

Police confronted Alton Sterling early Tuesday after an anonymous caller said he had threatened someone with a gun outside the store, authorities said.

In a cellphone video of the incident, two officers can be seen pinning Sterling to the ground. Then someone yelled, "He's got a gun! Gun!" and gunfire erupted moments later.

At a news conference Wednesday, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said that Sterling was armed but that there are still questions about what happened. Larry Sterling said he didn't know whether his cousin had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Muflahi, who shot a video of the shooting incident, said he went outside after the police showed up and saw Alton Sterling being thrown on top of a car hood. He said he saw nothing that might have provoked the police or anything that had happened earlier regarding Sterling to prompt the arrest.

He said Sterling appeared confused as to why the police were confronting him.

"He didn't even know why they were there. He kept asking them, 'What did I do wrong?'" Muflahi said. "I hope we get justice for him."
Amid a growing outcry  and national headlines  about a massive algae bloom fouling Florida's southern beaches and rivers, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday promised to dedicate millions more to battle the problem.

Scott announced that he would ask the Florida Legislature to set aside money that would be used for a grant program to aid homeowners who voluntarily want to switch from septic tanks to central sewer systems. He also pledged to set aside money in 2017 to help communities around the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River build new wastewater systems.

Scott's promise won't do anything in the near future to remedy the algae bloom that put a smelly "guacamole-thick" muck on a stretch of beaches promoted as Florida's "Treasure Coast." But it marks a small change of direction for the governor, who has directed most of the blame for the algae bloom on the federal government.

"While the state has continued to step up and invest in important restoration projects to help South Florida waterways, it is clear that more work has to be done," Scott said in a statement distributed by his office. "It is up to all of us - the state, Florida's local communities and the federal government - to work together on long term solutions to improve the quality of our water. That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."

Hours after Scott announced his budget proposal he also formally asked authorities to declare a federal emergency due to the effects of the algae blooms that he said were due primarily to the federal government neglecting needed repairs for the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases polluted water from the lake to lower the pressure on a dike to avoid a repeat of a 1928 hurricane breach that killed 2,500 people.

Scott has not yet placed a price tag on the budget request he plans to submit to state legislators. His administration said it planned to work with state environmental officials and South Florida water management district officials on specific details. The governor did say he plans to create a program that would require local communities to put up a 50 percent match in order to be eligible for state funding.

While Scott has had some trouble winning approval for his legislative priorities in the past two years, he will likely find support for his request since incoming Senate President Joe Negron is from Martin County, one of the areas hardest hit by the algae blooms.

Negron, a Stuart Republican who has opposed proposals in the past to require mandatory inspections of septic tank systems, called Scott's proposal a "good long term policy" but he stressed that the current algae bloom affecting the region has been caused by discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Negron said one solution that is needed is to purchase land south of the lake where water could be stored before it flows south toward the Everglades. While Scott has backed many Everglades-related proposals, he and other Republicans have opposed calls to purchase land near the lake, which is owned by the state's powerful and politically connected sugar producers.

Bradley Marshall, an attorney with Earthjustice, said that Scott's latest proposal "isn't focusing on the right problem." He said that the governor should be targeting the industrial and agricultural uses that are polluting Lake Okeechobee.

"Until those pollutants are addressed, nothing is going to prevent a future algae bloom," Marshall said.
Two boys arrested with BB guns in a park were ordered to write essays about Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old who had a pellet gun when he was fatally shot by Cleveland police outside a recreation center.



Cleveland.com reported the boys, who were 12 and 15, admitted to disorderly conduct.

Police in Parma said they responded to reports of two kids with guns in a park pavilion in February and surveillance video captured the two brothers surrendering to police.



The judge asked both boys if they knew about Tamir's case and told them they're putting themselves at risk. Both were ordered to write the judge a report comparing their case to Tamir's.



The boys are due back in court on Aug. 19.
For an entrepreneur, one of the most difficult things to do is admit how little control you have.

Lets face it - you have almost no control over the demands of your customers, the intensity of your competition or the ever-increasing pace of technological changes. Even your employees seem harder to keep than before.

So, if the world is increasingly volatile, and if products, processes and people only create short-term competitive advantages, what should an entrepreneur focus on to produce sustainable success?

Culture.

Corporate culture is sometimes the only aspect of the company that doesnt have external dependencies. Technology changes. People come and go. Markets evolve. But a strong company culture can be a solitary constant, paving the way for a sustainable competitive advantage.

Here are three tips to keep in mind when it comes to building and maintaining an enduring corporate culture.

Its not about you.

Early on as a leader I learned that I had very little to do with creating culture, but I could quickly destroy it.

As CEO, a big part of my job is to hire talented, humble people, and guide and support the team in the direction that I think we need to go. But the culture isnt about me, and if its going to be sustainable, it cant be led by a single person. It has to be driven by the entire organization. Everyone, from our customer care representatives to our executives, contributes to the culture equally. All it takes is one entitled leader creating one negative change in attitude to upset years of work in establishing a cooperative, employee-centric culture.

Related: Is Workplace Culture Overrated? (Infographic)

So while I cant single-handedly create a strong culture, I need to do everything I can to support it.

Success is a lousy teacher, and spreadsheets lie.

One of the quickest paths to losing is too much success.

Often, when a company starts to do well, the team can become convinced more success is inevitable. People will point to success as proof that theres no reason to change. I cant think of any business that is successful today that will be successful doing the same thing 10 years from now. If your culture doesnt encourage people to think about what needs to change to continue to succeed, its almost certain you will fail at some point.

Theres so much talk about data and analysis these days, but I think spreadsheets and statistics are the biggest liars in the history of business. While small organizations might understand their business well enough to see past reductive, poorly structured analysis, as companies grow, they can become to dependent on spreadsheets - blindly using them as tools to prove points without understanding the most important drivers and variables.

Related: Why Company Culture Is More Important Than Ever

Your past success is only sustainable if the course ahead is not taken for granted, and if you have good decision-makers, who are able to analyze data and are given permission to tinker with success. If you consistently trust your spreadsheets more than your people, youre in trouble.

Plan a sustainable culture.

Culture doesnt become scalable and sustainable by accident. As companies grow, they often lose their way and lose the connections that were so important to them. Connections that were easy to make and maintain because everyone knew and worked with everyone else. But as your business grows, you have to invest in culture. It has to be intentional. It has to take up some of your time, just like sales and marketing.

At Payoneer, weve recently experienced tremendous growth  opening six new offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia in just the last year alone. As we added new geographies and lots of employees, it was crucial to safeguard our culture and create the sense that we are all part of the same team.

Related: 11 Crucial Interview Questions to Ensure a Culture Fit

To do this, we focused on the country managers. We scoured the new markets for professionals, who were not only smart and experienced, but who also shared the values that are so integral to our identity. We needed leaders who could be flag-bearers of the Payoneer culture, and foster a supportive and cooperative environment that would give team members room to innovate.

Our managers were given autonomy to build a team that fit these values above all else. Its not always about hiring the person with the most experience or relevant expertise, though that can seem like the quicker, easier path. To build sustainable success, we have consciously made the decision to protect our culture over short-term gains, and it has paid off time and time again.

Building a strong culture might just be the only way to sustainably succeed in a constantly changing world.
It was a case of being at the right place at the right time for a fire crew who helped to save a woman being strangled in an underpass along Interstate 80 in Utah Friday night.



"I would say it's pretty heroic even though we don't like to use those terms, these guys stepped in when they didn't have to, and made a massive impact on someone's life," said Eric Holmes, spokesman for Unified Fire Authority.

The Unified Fire crew just happened to be driving underneath the 1-80 eastbound overpass, returning from a grass fire, when they saw a car sitting in the middle of the tunnel. A man was outside the vehicle, assaulting a woman with a rope.

"Fire authorities saw the female with the rope wrapped around her neck and he was in the process of trying to hoist her up and strangle her, said Sgt. Randy Riches, of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

When the suspect, 22-year-old Juan Echevesta, saw the firefighters he tried to force the woman into the passenger seat. The four firefighters knew they didn't have time to call police.

"They felt if they were to allow the vehicle to travel down the road with her in it that her life would come to an end very shortly, Riches said.

So the first responders did what they do best, they responded.

"Firefighters were in fear that her life was in danger so they quickly rushed the car and restrained the male driver, Riches said.

Echevesta is facing charges of attempted murder and aggravated kidnapping. The Department of Public Safety said that the victim and suspect know each other but they wouldn't go into detail regarding the nature of that relationship.

Click for more from Fox 13.
A would-be burglar died after a homeowner repeatedly hit him with a machete and police shocked him with a stun gun, investigators said.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that Heather and Steven Aiosa woke up early Tuesday and saw 31-year-old Robert James Alcalde in their bedroom.

Alcalde was acting paranoid and was crouched in a corner before he began throwing things off shelves, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. Steven Aiosa grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and walked with his wife outside to load it, but the gun malfunctioned and he went back inside to get the machete.

Alcalde then reportedly went outside and tackled Heather Aiosa, and that's when her husband struck the man with the machete.

Arriving deputies fired a stun gun at Alcalde six times. He was declared dead at the hospital.
A former Georgia K-9 police officer, who was portrayed as an avid dog lover after adopting his animal partners once they retired, is accused of animal cruelty in the deaths of three dogs, officials said Tuesday.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Cherokee County Marshals Office recovered the remains of a dog at the home of former Cherokee County school police officer Daniel Peabody. Its now the third dog Peabody is accused of killing.

Peabody, a 16-year police veteran, was charged last month in the deaths of two other police dogs, including a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois named Inca that died from a heatstroke after being left in a patrol car and the 2012 shooting death of a yellow Labrador named Dale.

Peabody initially claimed Dales death was accidental due to Dale choking on a toy, the marshals office said last month in a statement. However, the investigation yielded evidence that Dale was in fact shot and killed.

The paper reported that an investigation into the death of Inca led to apparent evidence that Peabody had in fact killed the second dog in 2012. However, the evidence recovered Tuesday wasnt of Dales, but of a third dog.

Investigators found the third dogs remains at Peabodys former home in Paulding. The forensic veterinarians findings were released Tuesday, the Journal-Constitution reported.

Chief Marshal Ron Hunton said the remains recovered at the home may have been from the so-called grandmother of Inca.

Hunton said the latest findings wont affect Peabodys current charges.

According to The Washington Post, the Peabody case is one of the more bizarre animal cruelty cases because of the circumstances and the expense surrounding K-9 units. Its a felony to intentionally kill a K-9 and a perpetrator could face up to five years.

Cherokee County Marshals Office Maj. Jamie Gianfala told the Marietta Daily Journal last month that Peabody had been working with K-9s for the last five years. When he came from work on June 10 in the early evening, he immediately rushed into the house without thinking about Inca.

He left the dog in the hot car for about three hours and when he suddenly remembered he left the dog in his 2001 Crown Victoria, the dog was dead. The patrol car wasnt apparently equipped for police dogs, Gianfala said.

Hunton told the Daily Journal that Peabody was noticeably distraught about leaving Inca to die and even had to be taken to a hospital because he passed out after hyperventilating.

About a week after the dogs death, Peabody resigned.

An investigation into the death started to unravel the deaths of two other dogs.

Hunton said the investigation will continue because its the right thing to do.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted that in 2013, Woodstock police officer Chad Berry was suspended without pay for more than a week and fined just over $300 for leaving a K-9 in his patrol car where it died.

Berry was reassigned to the traffic department after his suspension and his salary was lowered.

Click for more from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Click for more from the Washington Post.
Has ships really changed since World War II? Huge steel boat with lots of big *** guns to shoot at enemy planes or other boats. There are lots of things that have changed because of technology, like a car from 1966 versus a 2016 car, but both vehicles are not that much different except for the gadgets.



There was a movie staring Kelsey Grammar about a guy (not Grammarwho was a Bird Colonel who wanted that General Star and started this boondoggle of a tank, which just got worse and worse over time because of the brass wanted to add stuff to it and basically from the get go, the tank was a complete piece of **** and how this was covered up and all the money and incompetence. Anyone know the film?
An 18-year-old Tucson man arrested on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks faces a new count after being indicted.

Mahin Khan was charged with terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism and conspiracy to commit misconduct involving weapons on Wednesday. Authorities released the indictment on Thursday.

They say Khan plotted an attack on a Motor Vehicle Division office in Maricopa County and that he made contact with an alleged member of a terrorist organization to seek weapons and instructions for a home-made bomb.

Court records do not list an attorney for Khan.

Authorities say Khan wrote in emails to the alleged member of the Pakistan Taliban that he was a supporter of the Islamic State group and was looking to carry out an attack.

He briefly attended a Tucson high school but left over disciplinary issues.
The Justice Department will monitor the investigation into the controversial shooting death of a black man by a police officer in the St. Paul, Minn. suburb of Falcon Heights, according to Gov. Mark Dayton who said Thursday he was "heartbroken for Minnesota."

Officials say the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will take the lead on the investigation into the shooting death of Philando Castile on Wednesday. Video of the aftermath appeared on Facebook Live.

In the video widely shared online, Castile's girlfriend is sitting in the vehicle next to him. Castile's shirt appears to be soaked in blood and his girlfriend is heard telling the camera "police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason." She said officers had pulled them over for a broken tail light.

Dayton said that based on the evidence, the police response was "way in excess of what the situation called for." He added, "Would this have happened if the passengers were white? I don't think it would've."

The Justice Department will assist Minnesota officials as needed and is ready to investigate further, a spokesperson told Fox News.

The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, said Thursday that other officers at the scene didn't check on Castile after the shooting, but that they tried to calm the officer involved as they put her in a police car.

State investigators said they were interviewing the officer who fired his weapon and would release his name soon. "The officer involved has been placed on paid administrative leave as per standard city procedure," officials in Falcon Heights announced.

"I grieve for Philando Castile, his family, friends, and community, and especially the child, who was in the car with him. I pray for everyone touched by this tragedy, including our law enforcement officers," Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said in a statement.

St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school, joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where he died.

Hundreds of demonstrators braved the rain and gathered to protest the shooting outside the Governor's Mansion in St. Paul, where a crowd had also convened the night before. The group swelled to over 1,000 for a time as people marched from the school vigil. Dayton waded through the crowd as protesters chanted: "What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now."

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight."

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appeared to show Castile bloodied and quietly slumped in a seat. His girlfriend describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and Castile being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol and was licensed. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

In the video, Castile's girlfriend says the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him. Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

Clarence Castile spoke to the Star Tribune from the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said his nephew died minutes after arriving.

He said Philando Castile had worked in the J.J. Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, "cooking for the little kids." He said his nephew was "a good kid" who grew up in St. Paul.

Fox News' Matt Dean and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A loud, booming noise that sounds louder than a firecracker explosion has residents  and scientists  of a Southern California town baffled.

The Pasadena Star-News reported Tuesday that the Alhambra Police Department has received reports of more than 100 reported explosions since Feb. 15. Christopher Paulson, Alhambra director of administrative service, said the highest reports of the noise have come from the northeastern part of the city.

The city had reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority to see if the noises had come from any of their projects, but Paulson said they were not the cause of the noise not had they heard the reported loud booms.

Susan Saunders has been living in Alhambra, located eight miles from downtown Los Angeles, for the last 47 years. She told the Pasadena Star News she had never heard anything like it before and has been hearing the noises sporadically since February.

Its frightening, Saunders said. We never know when its going to happen or where its coming from.

Saunders described the noise as a loud, booming sound louder than a gun shot with more force than a firework which leaves no trace that an explosion had occurred.

Alhambra officials had even asked Caltech scientists to see if there was any report of any unusual seismic activity at the time the noises were recorded.

Dr. Jennifer Andrews, staff seismologist at Caltech, told the Pasadena Star News that sensors had picked up forces coming from the peals of thunder of fireworks but found nothing abnormal about the activity.

Alhambra City Manager Mark Yokoyama expressed his frustration in the mysterious booms.

No one has seen the cause of the booms, smelled it or found remnants of fireworks, Yokoyama said, and the calls we get dont have enough specificity for us to find the source.

Saunders is interested to see how long the booms will be a mystery. But whether the noise is something extraterrestrial, she expressed some doubt, according to NBC Los Angeles.

"I believe that anything's possible, but I don't think these are aliens," Saunders said.

Click for more from The Pasadena Star-News.
Authorities in San Diego said Wednesday that another homeless man was seriously injured and set on fire by an attacker police say struck while the man was sleep in the latest spate of attacks on transients that have left at least two dead.

Police believe the same man that had killed two other homeless men and severely injured another is believed to be behind this attack. Authorities said the 23-year-old victim was not expected to survive his upper-body injuries.

"I want everyone to know that this series against our homeless is the highest priority for our police department,'' San Diego police Chief Shelley Zimmerman told reporters.

Its the fourth attack in four days on homeless men in San Diego. The attacks that began over the Fourth of July weekend have put the citys transient community on edge.

Zimmerman called the attacks despicable.

"These evil acts of violence are some of the worst that I have seen in my 34 years in law enforcement,'' Zimmerman added. This killer has targeted some of our city's most vulnerable citizens while they are asleep.''

As in previous attacks, Wednesday's victim, whose identity was being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was sleeping in the early morning hours when the assailant approached. The attack occurred downtown but the other three were in different parts of the city.

Capt. David Nisleit declined to speak in detail about why police believe all four attacks are connected but mentioned the manner in which they were carried out and witness interviews. Police had no information connecting the victims.

"It's really hard to say what our suspect's motive is. All I can say is these are senseless attacks," Nisleit said at a news conference.

On Tuesday, police released convenience store surveillance video of someone who they now identify as the sole suspect  a man wearing a green short-billed cap, jacket and backpack.

*UPDATE* HERE ARE LARGER ENHANCED PHOTOS OF THE HOMICIDE SUSPECT FROM OUR LATEST RELEASE. #SDPD pic.twitter.com/HyUEyAU31C  San Diego Police (@SanDiegoPD) July 7, 2016

Angelo De Nardo, 53, suffered extensive trauma to his upper torso and died before his body was set on fire. His badly burned remains were found Sunday morning between Interstate 5 and some train tracks. He had family in Pennsylvania.

Police have not explained the nature of the upper torso injuries or what kind of weapon was used.

On Monday, police responded to a 911 call of a 61-year-old man who suffered life-threatening injuries to his upper torso and remained in critical condition Wednesday. A few hours later, police discovered the second body, that of a 41-year-old man who bled from the upper torso.

"There's no doubt our city has been shaken by these gruesome attacks," Mayor Kevin Faulconer said at a news conference. "The last few days have been particularly harrowing and emotional for those who struggle with homelessness. These crimes are being committed against some of our city's most vulnerable people. These crimes are reprehensible."

The Alpha Project, which provides temporary housing in San Diego, has dispatched eight people to canyons, freeway ramps and other encampments to encourage transients to sleep in groups and in lighted areas, said Bob McElroy, the group's president. McElroy has been distributing pepper spray.

"People are freaking out," said McElroy. "This guy is systematically targeting people who are by themselves, kills them and sets them on fire."

In 2012, a man was charged in a rampage in nearby Orange County that left six people dead, including four homeless men and a woman and her son. Itzcoatl Ocampo, 25, died in jail before trial. Several of his victims were stabbed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from Fox 5 San Diego.
Police said Wednesday they were far from solving a mystery involving two burned bodies found in the Rochester, N.Y. area just this week.

This is the second body found burned since Monday in the Rochester region. https://t.co/SYzRDiTAOr #ROC pic.twitter.com/Svv1yAWQrm  Rochester D and C (@DandC) July 6, 2016

A witness spotted one body burned beyond recognition in a wooded part of La Grange Park in Rochester just before 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, less than two days after a body was found on the side of an isolated dirt road in Caledonia.

The first body was discovered late Monday night. Caledonia is 20 miles southwest of Rochester.

Autopsies were planned to determine the genders and causes of death for both bodies, as Rochester and New York State Police looked for a possible link in the crimes. Part of a road near the park was closed off.

Rochester authorities say they're in the early stages of the investigation. It's a "slow, methodical process," Police Investigator Frank Camp told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Officers asked anybody with details to step forward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The government says an Ohio man has pleaded guilty to plotting attacks against a U.S. military official and a local police station.

Documents unsealed Thursday say Munir Abdulkader of West Chester in southwestern Ohio was arrested in May 2015 and pleaded guilty in March.

Charging documents say Abdulkader pleaded guilty to attempting to kill officers and employees of the United States, material support of a foreign terrorist organization and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.

Sentencing was set for October. A message was left with Abdulkader's attorney seeking comment on the guilty plea.

Investigators say Abdulkader communicated with a member of the Islamic State and plotted to abduct and kill a military employee and attack a police station that was not identified.
Shhh. Listen close. Your plants are talking to you.

Thats what researchers at Vivent SARL think, anyway. The Switzerland-based company has developed something they call Phytl Signs -- a wearable device for plants.

The device comes with a stake that gets driven into the soil next to a plant, as well as a clip thats placed onto a leaf. Inside both are sensors that apparently capture and amplify the electrical signals that plants -- either indoors or outside -- emit in response to their environment. The researchers say plants will fire off signals based on conditions like light/darkness, damage to the plant, and more.

The signals are then transmitted to the Phytl Signs app on your phone or tablet.

More From Entrepreneur.com Your Boring Bike Helmet Is About to Get a Big Tech Upgrade

According to the products Kickstarter page: Is your plant thriving or is it stressed? Is it active or quiet? Are pests damaging your plants? Through their electrical signals plants show how they are responding to their environment.

So, its more about interpreting signals than actually having a conversation with your plants. Gotcha.

While Vivent SARL says it can collect these signals, it admits that no one really knows what they mean just yet. Ultimately, by decoding these signals we could help ensure the ecosystem that protects us all is thriving, the Kickstarter page says. We could feed more people, reduce the scourge of plant diseases, minimize the water used in agriculture... the possibilities are really exciting for anyone interested in the environment, sustainability, the future of food and open agriculture.

Through the app, people can join the Phytl Signs community to talk about the signals. The hope is that they eventually, someday, hopefully, maybe will decode the mysteries of plant signals. Very deep.
An attack on a Shiite shrine north of the capital has killed 37 people, Iraqi official said Friday, just hours before Iraq's prime minister fired Baghdad's security chief as public anger mounted over security failings.

According to a statement from his office, Haider al-Abadi fired the commander of Baghdad Operations as the embattled prime minister faced growing protests at the site of a large-scale bombing, where at least 186 people were killed earlier this week.

The Thursday night attack began with a volley of mortar fire on Sayyid Mohammed shrine and a nearby market in Balad, 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the Iraqi capital. A suicide bomber first targeted policemen guarding the shrine's entrance, allowing a second bomber to push into the courtyard with nine gunmen, who targeted security forces and civilians who had gathered inside to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

A third bomber was killed before he detonated his explosives, police officials said.

37 were killed in the attack and 62 wounded, according to police and hospital officials.

Police and hospital officials confirmed the death toll, speaking anonymously as they were not authorized to release information to the media.

In Baghdad, protests were growing at the scene of last weekend's car bomb attack, which was one of the deadliest since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Many Iraqis blame their political leadership for security lapses that allow such large-scale bombings to happen in territory far from the front-line fighting against IS.

Small-scale bombings occur on a near-daily basis in Baghdad, and in May a string of larger attacks, many of them claimed by IS, killed more than 200 people in a single week.

After the Baghdad attack, al-Abadi announced new security measures, but it was unclear if any of the measures have yet been implemented.

The minister of interior submitted his resignation Tuesday, but Al-Abadi has not accepted it.

The Islamic State group was pushed out of Fallujah last month after holding the city just west of Baghdad for more than two years. Despite a string of territorial defeats, IS still holds pockets of territory in northern and western Iraq, including the country's second largest city of Mosul.


The death toll in the suicide bombing at a shopping complex last weekend in Baghdad rose again Thursday, although Iraqi officials gave different numbers.

Citing Iraq's health ministry, the BBC reported 281 people had died. Hospital and police officials told The Associated Press the death toll had risen to 186, with around 20 people still missing. Earlier this week, the death toll stood at 175.

Sunday's bombing was the deadliest terror attack in Iraq in a year and one of the worst single bombings in more than a decade of war and insurgency, and it fueled anger toward Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Many Iraqis blame their political leadership for lapses in security in Baghdad that have allowed large amounts of explosives to make their way past multiple checkpoints and into neighborhoods packed with civilians.

The Islamic State terror group swiftly claimed responsibility in a statement posted online, saying the organization had targeted Shiites.

Iraqi forces, supported by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, have secured a string of victories against ISIS over the past year and a half, retaking the cities of Tikrit, Ramadi and Fallujah, which was declared fully liberated from the extremist group just over a week ago.

But ISIS has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to carry out large-scale operations in territory removed from the front-line fighting.

Al-Abadi issued a statement Sunday condemning the attack and describing the loss of life as a "painful tragedy" that "robbed Iraqis of the delight of their victories against the reprehensible (Islamic State group) in Fallujah."

"These attacks only strengthen our resolve to support Iraqi security forces as they continue to take back territory from ISIL, just as we continue to intensify our efforts to root out ISIL's terrorist network and leaders," White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, referring to ISIS by an alternative acronym.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
The Anglican reverend known as the Vicar of Baghdad -- after defiantly remaining at his Iraqi parish even as war raged all around him a decade ago -- is being investigated by the United Kingdom for allegedly paying ransom to ISIS to free sex slaves.

The Rev. Andrew White, who stayed at his pulpit at St. Georges Church -- the only Anglican parish in Iraq -- as the nation descended into war in 2003, has been suspended and his British charity placed under official investigation. The UK Charity Commission is believed to have acted on allegations that money used to redeem sex slaves ended up in the hands of the Islamic State.

We never gave the bad guys one penny, White told Religion News Service.

The Charity Commission last week confirmed that it opened a statutory inquiry into the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East on June 9, 2016.

The foundation raises money to support Whites parish, which has rescued Christians from captivity. ISIS is well-known to hold captives for ransom.

The foundation is cooperating fully with the appropriate authorities, FRRME said on its website. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an active investigation, other than to say that the foundation believes at this stage that the alleged incident stemmed from a genuine desire by Canon White to help others.

White has been a powerful voice for persecuted Christians in Iraq amid the U.S. war against insurgents that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein, as well as during the rise of ISIS. The Christian population in Iraq has fallen from an estimated 1.5 million to less than 200,000 during the war and turmoil.

White has faced an assassination attempt, reportedly been abducted and has seen his church bombed. The archbishop of Canterbury recalled him in 2014 for his own safety, and White has since been focused on charity work.

The charity brought in $4.4 million in 2014, money earmarked to aid Christians in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel. While the charity does not officially pay ransom, it does spend money to help former ISIS captives, according to White.

As you may have heard, I have been suspended from my role as president of the FRRME, White posted on his Facebook page. This is in response to some inaccurate statements I made about our work with and funding for the former slave girls taken by ISIS.

What is clear is that at no time did we pay money to any terrorists. Whilst I cannot work on behalf of the FRRME, I continue to lead worship and support individuals that we are helping.

Paying ransom for ISIS hostages is controversial. Critics say it encourages more abductions and drives up the price of ransom, but for families whose loved ones are held by the terror army, such considerations are secondary.
With the ink barely dry on the deal between the U.S. and Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from securing nuclear weapons, a new German intelligence document charges that Iran continues to flout the agreement.

Germanys domestic intelligence agency said in its annual report that Iran has a clandestine effort to seek illicit nuclear technology and equipment from German companies at what is, even by international standards, a quantitatively high level. The findings by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germanys equivalent of the FBI, were issued in a 317-page report last week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel underscored the findings in a statement to parliament, saying Iran violated the United Nations Security Councils anti-missile development regulations.

Iran continued unabated to develop its rocket program in conflict with the relevant provisions of the UN Security Council, Merkel told the Bundestag.

Merkel told lawmakers NATO's anti-missile system, including a shield in Romania and a planned shield in Poland, were deployed in response to Iran's rocket program and was "developed purely for defense" in a sign of how seriously the alliance takes Irans illegal ambitions.

One year ago, world powers led by the U.S. negotiated a nuclear deal designed to curb Irans drive to obtain an atomic weapon of mass destruction. The lifting of sanctions and the release of more than $100 billion of assets frozen since Irans 1979 revolution came in exchange for Irans pledge to forgo its nuclear weapons program and be transparent to international inspections.

The German report also stated it is safe to expect that Iran will continue its intensive procurement activities in Germany using clandestine methods to achieve its objectives.

According to an Institute for Science and International Security July 7 report by David Albright and Andrea Stricker, Iran is required to get permission from a UN Security Council panel for "purchases of nuclear direct-use goods.

While the German intelligence report did not say what specifically Iran had obtained or attempted to obtain, the more recent report said dual use goods such as carbon fiber must be reported. Iran did not seek permission from the UN-affiliated panel for its proliferation attempts and purchases in Germany, officials said.

In addition, the report identified more than 1,000 associates of Iranian-backed terror groups living in Germany, including some 950 Hezbollah members and supporters, as well as 300 Hamas members. The report implied that some of these individuals could be inside Germany working on behalf of Iran and other terror-sponsoring states.

The followers of Islamist-terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah striving for the abolition of the Jewish State of Israel are focused on their regions of origin, which is where they commit most of their terrorist acts of violence, the report said.
Fox News independently confirmed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office Thursday that there was no credence to news media reports of an assassination attempt against him while visiting Africa this week.

The official response from Netanyahus office: It did not happen.

Extra security has followed the Israeli leader abroad, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.

The Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida quoted an anonymous source saying Kenyan security officials changed the route taken by Netanyahus delegation from a Nairobi airport to a hotel on Tuesday because an explosive device was found on the original route.

In the first leg of Netanyahus four-nation trip, he stopped at Entebbe Airport in Uganda to mark 40 years after the audacious Israeli commando raid there to free more than 100 hostages of an Air France flight that had been hijacked by Palestinian and German militants. The prime minister's brother, Lt. Col. Jonathan Netanyahu, was killed in the historic rescue operation on July 4, 1976.

Netanyahu's visit is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations.

Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognized as a non-member observer state in 2012.

Netanyahu and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Thursday they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more.

Desalegn also invited Ethiopian Jews living in Israel to come to Ethiopia and invest. Ethiopian Jews have complained of discrimination in Israeli society, and hundreds recently demonstrated against what they called Israeli police brutality.

"Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel," Netanyahu said.

Israel played a prominent role in assisting newly independent African countries in the 1960s, but relations crumbled in the 1970s when Arab countries, promising aid, pressured African nations to cut ties.

Fox News' Dana Karni, Jonathan Wachtel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
North Korea blasted new U.S. sanctions on the rogue nation in no uncertain terms Thursday, saying the penalties amounted to a "declaration of a war," the AFP reported.

The Kim Jong Un's regime vowed to retaliate, according to its statement.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the dictator and 10 other senior officials Wednesday over human rights abuses. It was the first time North Korean officials were blacklisted by the U.S. over rights violations, such as running the nation's notorious gulag.

The sanctions affect property and assets within U.S. jurisdiction, Reuters reported.

Pyongyangs foreign ministry said in response that the sanctions constituted the "worst hostile act," according to a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters Thursday during a visit to Ukraine that North Korean officials at all levels need to know there are consequences for their actions and hopes they "might consider the implications."

Kerry said he spoke to his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday. He said he reiterated the importance of China's help in pressuring Kim over his nuclear weapons program.

"Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," said Adam J. Szubin, the Treasury Departments Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in a statement released Wednesday.

The secretive regime was hit with sanctions from the U.N. Security Council in March over its nuclear and missile tests. That same month, President Obama imposed sanctions on North Korea after it conducted a rocket launch that Washington and allies said incorporated banned ballistic missile technology, Reuters reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russias accident-prone aircraft carrier is set to be put to the test  if it gets there. Its history of embarrassing breakdowns may see an anticipated mission to Syria backfire.

The aircraft carrier is the largest leftover of the Soviet eras Cold War still active in the Russian navy. Now Russian government news agency Tass has declared the warship will be sent into the Mediterranean to conduct air strikes against insurgents and Islamic State in Syria between October and January.

It would be the first time a Russian aircraft carrier has ever engaged in combat.

But Moscow has also given itself some wiggle-room if the troubled 55,000-ton warship cant put to sea or launch attacks: the government news agency quotes just one anonymous source for the report.

Late last year Moscow sent the anti-aircraft cruiser Moskova to the northern borders of Syria after one of Russias combat jets was shot down for violating Turkish air space. Moscow has also repeatedly voiced its concerns at a recent build-up of US naval forces in the Mediterranean - including two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers - as part of its ongoing operations against Islamic State.

The waterways and airspace in the eastern Mediterranean is about to get crowded.

The Admiral Kuznetsov carries far fewer aircraft than its US counterparts. About 15 in total. But the ship was designed with a different purpose in mind  to carry a large number of long-range anti-ship missiles while providing air cover for its fleet.

Times have changed since the Cold War, and now the idea of power-projection through forward deployed strike fighters is much more appealing.

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A woman who was stabbed and left for dead by Palestinian terrorists who butchered her American friend in 2010 said Wednesday she was enraged by a government TV report that labeled one of the killers a heroic prisoner.

Kay Wilson, 52, was hiking near Jerusalem with Kristine Luken when Kifah Ghneimat attacked them with a machete. Luken, who was 44, was killed in the brutal attack, and Wilson, a British-Israeli national, was stabbed 13 times. The attack, and Wilson's heroic tale of survival, made international headlines at the time, and was back in the news last month.

I think Im numbIm stunned, absolutely stunnedits so rage invoking, Wilson told FoxNews.com about the video, which aired on official Palestinian TV and was reported on Palestinian Media Watch.

In the stomach-turning video, Ghneimats mother cheerfully discusses her sons favorite Ramadan dishes and laments his imprisonment.

The Palestinian TV host referred to Ghneimat as a hero, and his mother described him as kind and calm, adding his favorite meals were meat with tahini and chicken with rice.

The softball feature treatment of a vicious killer was a slap in the face to Wilson, who suffered more than 30 crushed bones at the hands of Ghneimat.

As far as [the mother] is speaking, her son did nothing wrong I think she is so far gone into her own delusion and deception, said Wilson.

The friends had been hiking outside Jerusalem when Ghneimat and his accomplice, Iyad Fataftah, approached them. Wilson initially pretended to be a Christian tourist like Luken, but the terrorists turned murderous upon discovering her Israeli ID and Star of David.

Ghneimat confessed to investigators that his only motive for the attack was to kill Jews, and that he didnt have a solid reason, according to a confession introduced at trial.

Wilson played dead with her eyes open, watching as her assailants fatally hacked Luken, who prayed to Jesus as she died. Wilson almost bled to death while trekking barefoot and gagged for more than a mile in search of help.

Ghneimat is serving two life sentences and another 60 years of imprisonment, PMW reported. His mother pleaded for his release in the video, in part so he can educate his son who does not have respect for his mother.

Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, said Palestinian terrorists are idolized in their communities.

When children see all this honor being bestowed on terrorists, they want to be honored too, Marcus told FoxNews.com. The worst incitement to terror is the glorification.

Despite the attack, Wilson insisted she doesnt feel hatred toward Muslims, noting that it was an Arab Muslim Israeli surgeon who used his knife to save her life.
American Travelers Celebrate National Park Service Centennial

Cruise Planners travel agents sell all types of vacations, including trips to the most popular National Parks in the U.S.

CORAL SPRINGS, FL (PRWEB) July 07, 2016 - This year marks 100 years of the National Park Service, which is officially celebrated on August 25, 2016. To celebrate, Cruise Planners, the nations largest network of home-based travel advisors, is encouraging travelers to visit some of the most iconic national parks from sea to shining sea.

Americans can make great travel memories exploring the great outdoors that surround us, said Vicky Garcia, COO and co-owner of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative. Many of our national parks make for ideal vacations or daytrips and vary in terms of how active or rugged they can be.

Cruise Planners travel advisors are able to plan customized vacations to national parks in all 50 states, some of which can be easily combined with a cruise vacation. Some of the most popular National Park Service destinations include:

Everglades National Park, Florida

Denali National Park, Alaska

Great Smokey Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee

Yellowstone National Park, mostly in Wyoming

We want people everywhere to embrace the opportunities to explore, learn, be inspired or simply have fun in their 407 national parks, as well as understand how the National Park Services community-based recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs positively impact their own communities, said a statement on the National Park Service website.

As a part of the centennial anniversary, the National Park Service started the Find Your Park campaign, inviting Americans to make a deeper connection with any one of the national parks, which also include monuments, memorials, historic sites, seashores, battlefields and scenic trails. The campaign is supported by Centennial Ambassadors, which includes First Lady Michelle Obama, former First Lady Laura Bush and other notable personalities such as Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Cruise Planners travel advisors take the time to get to know clients, create personalized itineraries and find the best values, ensuring every trip is amazing, Garcia said. The best way to book your next vacation, even one close to home, is using a Cruise Planners travel advisor.

About Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative

Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, is the nations largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the travel industry. Cruise Planners operates a network of more than 1,400 franchise owners who independently book amazing vacation and travel experiences for their clients. The Florida-based Home Office Team positions a nation-wide network of franchise owners for success by providing innovative marketing, booking and technology tools, as well as professional development and hands-on training with the industrys top executives. The company continues to be lauded and has been named the No.1 travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 13 consecutive years. Cruise Planners was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology, has been consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, is on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, has been ranked as the #1 travel franchise by Franchise Business Review for 5 years in a row, and was recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Sun Sentinel since it started ranking companies.

Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla. with more than 22 years of experience, Cruise Planners has achieved top producer status with every major cruise line. Accolades include numerous Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly for the past seven years, American Express Travel Representative Excellence Award for 11 consecutive years (2004-2014), American Express Agency of the Year (2010), Royal Caribbean International Chairmans Award (2015), Royal Caribbean International Presidents Award for Overall Achievement (2012 and 2014), Royal Caribbean International Home-Based Partner of the Year (2007-2013), Norwegian Cruise Line Franchise Agency of the Year (2011-2015), Celebrity Cruises Field Sales Account of the Year (2015), Celebrity Cruises Home-Based Account of the Year (2013-2014) and Celebrity Cruises Southeast Region Travel Agent Partner of the Year (2010), American Express Vacations Best of the Best Globe Award (2008-2015), Globus Family of Brands Premier Agency Partner (2009-2014), Platinum Member of the 500 Club for Sales Excellence (2014), Platinum Circle Member with Viking River Cruises (2009-2012), Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection Top Producer (2008-2014) and Regent Seven Seas Cruises Top Producer. Cruise Planners is one of the Top 50 franchises for Veterans according to GI magazine, the Top Franchise Brand for Veterans according to Franchise Business Review, has been named one of the Top 25 franchises for African-Americans by Black Enterprise magazine and is a member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association. For more information, visit http://www.cruiseplanners.com.

Stay in Touch: Media can stay up-to-date with Cruise Planners by visiting our media room, following us on Twitter @Cruisitude or on Facebook. For additional information or to make reservations, vacationers should locate a travel advisor near them. For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit our franchise website.

SOURCE Cruise Planners

Contact:

Caitlin Murphy Gardner

Cruise Planners

+1 (954) 344-8060 Ext: 117

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California Tortilla Adds Second Location in Central Florida, More to Follow in Fall 2016

Franchise Owner Expands Mid-Atlantic Fast Casual Franchise Throughout Central Florida

July 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // MELBOURNE, FL - Next week, California Tortilla will open its second location in central Florida, bringing its fresh, imaginative Mexican menu to Melbourne, FL. The fast casual restaurant is centrally located in the heart of the Space Coast, a national leading engineering and medical corridor with Florida's best retirement communities.

California Tortilla opened its first store twenty years ago in Bethesda, MD, and has since expanded northward to new markets including Philadelphia, the greater NYC metropolitan area, and made its greater Orlando debut in February 2016, opening in Kissimmee to enthusiastic reviews and throngs of new fans. Along the way, California Tortilla has developed a loyal fan base with adventurous flavor combinations, use of imagination in unlikely places, commitment to using fresh i ngredients and cooking in small batches throughout the dayall without ever taking themselves too seriously.

Dale Warden, owner of both the Melbourne and Kissimmee locations, has long been an enthusiastic fan of California Tortilla, won over by the quality and freshness of their food, and the fun of their unique, Mexican Re-Imagined brand. Though he was always a foodie, Dale spent three decades in a decidedly different industry, traveling the world as a micro-economist. But when he became an investor in Founding Farmers, one of DCs most popular restaurants, Dale decided it was time to open one himself.

For Dale, California Tortilla was the perfect fit: California Tortilla doesnt just put out a quality product, they create a one-of-a-kind experience. When you look at customer satisfaction, menu variety, the system theyre providing to franchisees, and the unit economics, in every one of those areas, California Tortilla offered exactly what I wanted. And he knew the perfect location.

Florida is now the third most populous state and demographics show that the population is booming in the Central Florida area, explained Dale. Brevard, in particularly, has started to see tremendous retail growth over the past few years, and shows no signs of slowing down!

California Tortilla Melbourne is located in the Pineda Landings shopping center anchored by Fresh Market, bringing in customers looking for value, fresh food, and a fun environment. The restaurant seats 64 inside, with additional outdoor seating available for up to 30. And for Dale and Team, this is just the beginning: he plans to open two additional locations in Central Florida this year. By end of this year, well be flying flags from the Atlantic Coast to Tampa Bay, and will have created over 130 jobs. Dale is especially proud of the friendly, professional, and local team that will be opening the Melbourne store.

California Tortilla Melbourne will celebrate the grand opening by serving free burritos and a beverage for both lunch and dinner service, on Tuesday July 12. Plus, theyll be offering free burritos for a whole year to the first 10 customers in line that morning. And judging by the success of past openings, expect to see hungry locals to turn out in droves.

Check in at the store for an exciting schedule of special events throughout the year. This location will have special meals for the kids, room for school students and select beer and wine for adults.

About California Tortilla

Fast Casual leader California Tortilla serves fresh, made-to-order, delicious, award-winning burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and salads all grounded in a foundation of Mexican cuisine yet combined with imaginative and international flavor combinations and customization opportunities, including a Wall-of-Flame with over 70 distinctive flavors and heat. They are Mexican Re-Imagined. Based in Rockville, MD, the fast-casual chain has nearly 50 locations across the East Coast in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Florida and the District of Columbia. They are best known for their fresh food, unique recipes, innovative promotions, and customer and community engagement via Twitter and Facebook.

For more information and to inquire about franchising opportunities, please visit www.californiatortilla.com or call 301-545-0035.

SOURCE California Tortilla

Media Contact:

Alicia Sellitti

alicia@adscommunications.com

917-822-9010

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Dickey's Barbecue Pit Opens with Smokin' Specials This Thursday

Dickey's celebrates grand opening Thursday with giveaways, including free barbecue for a year for three lucky guests.

July 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // LONG BEACH, Calif. - Dickey's Barbecue Pit opens its newest location Thursday with a four-week barbecue bash. To celebrate the grand opening, the new location will give away free barbecue for a year to three lucky guests, valid at the new Long Beach location. Guests can enter to win using hashtag #1FreeYearofBBQ on any social media page, by ordering online or signing up for theBig Yellow Cup Club to receive special offers and loyalty points, which can be redeemed for free barbecue.

"Dickey's Barbecue Pit now has more than 100 locations in California and continues to rapidly expand throughout the state," says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We congratulate Owner/Operator Merna Girgis on opening her new location."

Doors open this Thursday and guests can enjoy the grand opening events over the next four weeks:

Singer/Songwriter Saturdays  Enjoy live music from Martin Blasick and get a free Big Yellow Cup!

 Enjoy live music from Martin Blasick and get a free Big Yellow Cup! Thirsty Thursdays  All guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with Dickey's new reusable travel lid and straw with free refills all day. The first 50 guests will receive a free tasty treat, Dickey's butcher taco of the month!

 All guests will receive a free Big Yellow Cup with Dickey's new reusable travel lid and straw with free refills all day. The first 50 guests will receive a free tasty treat, Dickey's butcher taco of the month! Philanthropy Fridays  "You Give, We Give," guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation,Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card. Uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal.

 "You Give, We Give," guests who donate to Dickey's charitable foundation,Barbecue, Boots & Badges, will receive a gift card. Uniformed first responders also receive 50 percent off their meal. Kids Eat Free All Day Every Sunday!

Originally from Cairo, Egypt, Owner/Operator Merna Girgis is no stranger to business ownership. Having worked in her family's business for several years, she decided to branch out on her own with the largest barbecue chain in the nation. "I am excited to partner with a such a strong, growing business," Girgis says. "Dickey's Barbecue Pit is a great brand that is expanding throughout California and I look forward to serving authentic, Texas-style barbecue to the Long Beach community."

The new Dickey's Barbecue Pit is located at 1950 Ximeno Ave., Long Beach, CA 90815. The phone number is 562.494.6666.

Find Dickey's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

To find the Dickey's Barbecue Pit nearest you, go to [https://www.dickeys.com/locations].

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain, was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow-smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-runbarbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 550 locations in 43 states. This year Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" and ranked in the top ten of Franchise Times' "Fast and Serious." Dickey's Barbecue Pit was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Media Contact:

Kimberly Harms

kharms@dickeys.com

972.248.9899

Michelle George

mgeorge@dickeys.com

972.248.9899

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Kono USA Expands Management Team as Franchise System Continues to Grow

Franchisor of The Original Kono Pizza & Kono To Go Brands Hires Two Industry Leaders

July 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // Jersey City, N.J.  After opening several new locations and selling 54 franchise units across multiple markets to open by years end, Kono USA, the franchisor of The Original Kono Pizza and Kono To Go  Fresh Eats, Treats & Sweets brands, recently expanded its management team to continue growth and support existing franchisees. Matthew P. Van Note has been brought on as Kono USA Vice President, while Les Garrett joins the company as head of Real Estate Development. The two new posts come shortly after Kono USA appointed franchising and food industry veteran Steven Henry as Vice President of Operations.

Both The Original Kono Pizza and Kono To Go brands offer a menu of customizable breakfast, deli, pizza and dessert cones, all filled with fresh, quality ingredients inspired by original Italian recipes and baked in just three minutes in the brands proprietary oven. Franchisees operate out of kiosks, carts and in-line locations strategically located in high-volume traffic areas, including malls, festivals and big-box stores. The company recently opened its first franchise location in a Walmart store in Lancaster, SC.

With a wealth of experience in pizza franchising, Van Note was the Franchise Business Director for Papa Johns Pizza in New York City and the Midwest, where he grew sales by more than 5 percent for several years in a row. Van Note, a Michigan native, also worked as an area supervisor for Hungry Howies Pizza in Detroit and for Dominos in New Jersey.

Garrett, who founded Garrett Retail Advisors in Fort Worth, Texas, specializes in adding value and minimizing risk for shopping center and mixed-use real estate owners, managers, retailers and restaurateurs. As head of real estate development, Garrett will focus on scouting prime locations for The Original Kono Pizza and Kono To Go brands. The 30-year veteran of the shopping center industry has made significant contributions to the nations largest shopping mall real estate investment trusts, or REITs, including Simon, CBL, Heitman, and Westfield.

Kono USA is an innovative company that is on trend with consumer demand for convenient, customizable fill snacks, Van Note said. Franchisees have tremendous flexibility in the model they choose to operate and the name of the brand that works best in their local market. Im thrilled to help Kono continue to growth and share best practices for forging positive relationships between franchisees and the franchisor.

With a current presence in New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia and Lancaster, SC, Kono USA is quickly expanding. The first of a 10-unit deal in the Baltimore market is planned to open in June, as well as the first of 21 units in the Dallas area. In addition, a 10-unit deal was signed in California, with the first to open in San Diego in late Q3/early Q4. A 10-unit deal was also recently signed for locations throughout Georgia and a separate deal was signed for three locations in the Washington D.C./Maryland area.

Garret added, Its clear that the Kono brands are gaining traction with consumers around the country in malls and other high-traffic venues. My plan is to continue the momentum by finding prime locations for all the new franchisees that have signed on to open units.

About Kono USA

In 2013, entrepreneurs David Ragosa, Carlo Ruggiero, and Greg Kinlaw introduced the already popular European pizza-in-a-cone concept to America by establishing Kono USA and offering The Original Kono Pizza franchise opportunity. In 2015, the company expanded its portfolio to include Kono To-Go, reflecting diverse and portable product offerings of treats, eats and sweets in addition to its staple pizza cones. All products are filled with fresh, quality ingredients inspired by original Italian recipes and baked in just three minutes in a proprietary oven. There are currently more than 60 The Original Kono Pizza or Kono To-Go locations operating or in various stages of development across the United States. For more information about The Original Kono Pizza or Kono To-Go franchises, visit franchise.konousa.com or call (855) 566-6872. To learn more about The Original Kono Pizza and Kono To-Go, visit www.konousa.com.

SOURCE Kono USA

Media Contact:

Alyssa White

Fishman Public Relations

847-945-1300

awhite@fishmanpr.com

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Mobile Device Repair Franchise iDropped Inks Three-Unit Deal in Pennsylvania

Local Serial Entrepreneur to Become Brands First Multi-Unit Franchisee

July 07, 2016 // Franchising.com // Throop, Pa.  iDropped, a mobile device repair company, has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to bring two additional locations to Pennsylvania. The agreement is part of iDroppeds plan to have a total of 12 retail locations open by the end of 2016.

Mario Taffera, a Pennsylvania native and experienced businessman, has taken over the previously corporate-owned location in Stroudsburgs Stroud Plaza as of July 1. He also has plans to open a location in Covington Township this summer and another territory in northeastern Pennsylvania in 2017.

Taffera has more than 30 years of business experience and is no stranger to business ownership and operations. After successfully owning and managing several convenience stores and a safety equipment business, he chose a new path this year with a technology-based franchise.

Having raised four children, Taffera recognized the high demand for mobile-device repair services, recognizing that it will grow as the technology industry continues to blossom. His wife and daughter are joining in his new business venture, and will work in the upcoming Covington Township location. Taffera ultimately chose the iDropped franchise opportunity due to the solid systems and vendor partnerships in place and the trustworthiness and support of the franchisor, he said.

In this new chapter of my professional career, Im thrilled to utilize my business acumen to develop these three iDropped units, said Taffera. Being part of this premier electronic repair brand is something Im proud of and I look forward to bringing its highly-desired services to my community.

iDropped currently has nine open locations, including one unit that opened earlier this year in Brooklyn, NY. The company has seen significant brand growth since its inception in 2012 and has grown year-over-year total gross sales by 20 percent.

Mario is the perfect fit for the iDropped franchise system and we are confident his work ethic and business savvy will allow him to excel in multi-unit operation, said iDropped Co-Founder and CEO Chad Altier.

iDropped provides fast, on-site repair for the most popular brands of mobile devices, with a specialization in Apple products and the Samsung Galaxy phone series. Unlike many wireless retailers that require customers to go days without their phones while being repaired, iDropped strives to mend phones in an hour and other electronic devices within 24 hours. iDropped uses the highest-quality parts and supplies and supports each repair with a one-year warranty.

To further iDroppeds reach, the company is seeking additional franchise partners with an entrepreneurial spirit and interest in technology specifically to develop in the Northeast part of the U.S. The total initial investment for an iDropped franchise ranges from $60,000 to $120,000, which includes the initial franchise fee. A military discount is available to qualified applicants. Franchise partners have access to premium part suppliers, distributors and other vendors to ensure customers receive uniform, quality repairs at every location.

To learn more about iDropped and its franchising opportunity, please visit www.idropped.com.

About iDropped

As a mobile device repair company, iDropped repairs damaged iPhones, iPads, iPods, Galaxy devices and laptop computers. As technology advances, the company strives to adapt and continually learn device repairs. iDropped is committed to providing the best service, quality products and repairs and offers a one year guarantee on all parts and labor. iDropped was founded in 2012 and is currently seeking franchise partners across the United States. For additional information about iDropped and its franchising opportunities, visit www.idropped.com.

SOURCE iDropped

Media Contact:

Cassidy Obis

Account Coordinator

(O) 847.945.1300 ext. 255

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Your Pie Marks Mid-Year Point with 49 New Stores in Development; 8.86 Percent Same-Store Sales Increase

During the past six months alone, the original down-the-line brick oven pizza concept has welcomed six new stores.

ATHENS, GA. (PRWEB) July 07, 2016 - Since its inception in 2008, Your Pie has prided itself on being the original down-the-line brick oven pizza concept. But its not just their innovative spin on a classic that has helped them stand out over the years - Your Pie has never wavered from their commitment to traditional Italian pizza and regionally-sourced ingredients. Now, that commitment is paying off in a big way - Your Pie is emerging as a key player with staying power in a competitive industry: As the brand closes out its second quarter, theyre reveling in a same-store sales increase of nearly 9 percent over last year.

The first half of 2016 marked another important milestone for Your Pie - during the past six months alone, theyve opened six new stores to their growing system crossing them over into 30-plus locations with 49 more in development.

Our increase in sales and immense growth over the last year shows us two things. One, the craft pizza business is set to explode. And two, Your Pie is quickly emerging as a strong player in this booming category, said Drew French, the Founder of Your Pie. There are a lot of pizza places out there these days, but thanks to our regionally-sourced craft beer selection, unique toppings and true dedication to the art of pizza making, and commitment to community involvement, people realize were different - its really helped us come out on top in the past few years.

During the first half of 2016, Your Pie has continued to grow, signing four stores in Augusta, Georgia; one store in Cumming, Georgia; one store in Charlotte, North Carolina; one store in Jackson, Mississippi; one store in Jacksonville, Florida; one store in Flagstaff, Arizona; one store in Denver, Colorado; one store in Raleigh, North Carolina; four stores in Nashville, Tennessee; one store in Waterloo, Iowa; and one store in Bluffton, South Carolina. In addition, Your Pie recently opened new stores in Clemson, South Carolina; Mesa, Arizona; Houston, Texas; Coral Springs, Florida; Covington, Georgia and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

This growth marks a major leap for the brand. For years, most of its locations have been throughout the Southeast, but now, thanks to this new development, Your Pie is entering into untapped territory - proving that Your Pie is a universal concept that will appeal to just about anyone with an appreciation for pizza.

People want fresh, they want customized and they want to control their experience. Our dedication to hand-crafted food, a quality dining experience, and community improvement spoke for itself when we first opened in 2008, even though our concept was among the first to market, French said. People quickly realized that you really can have it all - convenience and a superior pizza. And thats something that speaks to a lot of people - whether thats in Georgia and Mississippi or Colorado and Texas.

As Your Pie continues in its mission to become a globally-admired brand, it is looking to grow the Your Pie family with passionate people who want to improve their communities by changing the way people experience pizza.

In the end, its more important that we focus on growing the right way - not growing just to grow. That starts with our franchisees - our best ambassadors are the local guys who live and breathe their community, said French. At the end of the day, our success will not only be noticeable, but sustainable.

About Your Pie

Your Pie is the worlds originator of the quick-serve, brick-oven, customized personal pizza category. A culinary entrepreneur since his teenage years, Your Pie founder Drew French combined his passion for innovative restaurant concepts with brick oven technology to create the highest quality pizza available at incredible speed. Drawing from family recipes from the island of Ischia, Your Pie uses hand-tossed dough, only fresh ingredients, homemade pizza sauces and salad dressings, and offers vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free pizzas, as well as traditional pizzas. Customers who dine at Your Pie have come to expect the best tasting pizza served with speed without sacrificing flavor. Your Pie is a state of mind and the brand stands by its motto to express your inner pizza, investing in local communities and encouraging diners to let their culinary creativity run wild. For more information about Your Pie or franchising opportunities, please visit http://www.yourpie.com.

SOURCE Your Pie

Contact:

Lauren Boukas

No Limit Agency

+1 (312) 526-3996

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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.  an Iraq War vet  blasted Donald Trumps praise of Saddam Hussein at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tuesday.



"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? ... But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good," Trump said. "They didn't read 'em the rights. They didn't talk. They were a terrorist, it was over."



In a statement, Moulton said he takes Trumps latest piece of bile personally.



"Whether you agreed or disagreed with the Iraq War, here's a sentence you would never hear from someone who served there: 'Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, but ' There is no 'but,'" Moulton said. "He [Saddam] was one of the worst dictators of the 20th century  a highly exclusive club whose membership required a commitment to evil and an exceedingly high body count."



He also slammed Trump for his praise of world leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un before saying that Trump's "admiration" for Saddam "crossed a previously inviolate line."



Moulton said that "praising the leadership of an enemy combatant directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American service members" is beyond the pale. "Some of these service members, as well as the thousands who gave their lives in the years after Saddam Hussein met his own deserved end, were my friends. All of them were 10 times the men and women that Trump could ever hope to be."



Iraq was on the U.S.'s state sponsors of terrorism list from 1979 to 1982 and again from 1990, when Saddam invaded Kuwait, to 2004. Saddam ran the country from 1979 until his capture in 2003. Human Rights Watch estimated in 2004 that in the last 25 years of Saddams Baath Party rule, his government murdered or disappeared a quarter of a million Iraqis. This figure does not include the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed fighting Iran or during the occupation of Kuwait, both which occurred under his rule.



Human Rights Watch said that about 100,000 Kurds were slaughtered by his government during the 1988 Anfal genocide in northern Iraq.



Mass graves are still being uncovered. In 2011 one was found with more than 800 bodies in it, thought to have been from executions during Saddams regime. In 2003 a grave was found containing 3,000 bodies.



Hussein was executed by hanging after a criminal trial on Dec. 30, 2006.



Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
You might want to clean up your yard  Googles watching.

A camera car operated by the omnipresent Internet company was in Corvallis Wednesday taking pictures for Street View, a feature of the Google Maps software program that provides panoramic ground-level photos of local addresses.

A spokeswoman for the Mountain View, California, company said she couldnt provide details about the vehicles movements but confirmed that it was in the area to get updated photos for Street View.

Some Street View imagery of your area is already available on Google Maps, Mara Harris wrote in an email to the newspaper, but updating our imagery is something we do from time to time as part of our effort to provide users with the most comprehensive, accurate and useful maps possible.

Street View images are stitched together from multiple photographs taken with Googles proprietary camera systems, often mounted on cars. According to Harris, Street View coverage is now available for selected cities in 77 countries.
A not-so-small niche

Study author Dr. Heather Cheng, also a Fred Hutch and UW prostate cancer researcher, had suspected for a while that a deeper understanding of the inherited mutations carried by men with prostate cancer could help doctors provide better treatments.

But I thought it would be a small, quiet niche. An important niche, but small, said Cheng. But now were finding that many, many more men have these mutations [than wed thought].

Pritchard teamed up with Cheng, Nelson, and an international group of colleagues to ask how often inherited mutations in DNA repair genes occur in men with advanced prostate cancer in which tumors have metastasized, or spread far from the original site. The team pulled together genetic information from men with advanced prostate cancer across seven different groups of patients and several institutions, including Fred Hutch, UW and SCCA.

All told, they sifted through 20 DNA-repair genes and compared the mutations in tumor and healthy tissue of 692 men. They found that nearly 12 percent of men with metastatic prostate cancer had inherited mutations  that is, mutations present in both cancerous and healthy cells  in 16 of these genes.

The Cancer Genome Atlas, a federally-funded program cataloging genetic links to cancer, offers genetic information on men with localized prostate cancer. The team found that men with advanced prostate cancer had inherited mutations in these 16 genes at nearly twice the rate of men with localized, high-risk prostate cancer and nearly six times the rate of men with localized, low-to-intermediate risk disease.

In the men studied, the scientists didnt find the rate of inherited mutations in DNA-repair genes to be higher in younger patients compared to older men, or in men with a family history of prostate cancer. They did find that men with metastatic prostate cancer are five times as likely as the general population to have germline mutations in the 16 genes. In particular, men with advanced prostate cancer have a nearly 18 times higher-than-average risk of carrying an inherited mutation in BRCA2, already well-known for increasing risk of breast and prostate cancer.

The big take home is that inherited mutations in genes that are known to predispose to cancer, more than just prostate cancer, are much higher than we ever suspected, said Pritchard. Some of the mutations, like those in BRCA2, will probably strongly increase mens risk of prostate cancer, while mutations in other genes may raise the risk only moderately, he noted. Further research will help tease out these nuances.

Intercepting cancer

The findings have clear implications for men with advanced prostate cancer, said Nelson. Two classes of drugs, known as PARP inhibitors and platinum chemotherapy, best target cancer cells with mutations in DNA-repair genes. While PARP inhibitors are not yet approved for use in prostate cancer, they are under fast-track review by the FDA. Platinum chemotherapy is not commonly used to treat prostate cancer, but results coming out of current clinical trials, including a case study published last month by Cheng, Nelson, Pritchard and their UW colleague Dr. Bruce Montgomery, suggest that men with prostate cancer and DNA-repair mutations may respond well to platinum-based chemotherapy.

For men with metastatic disease who are found to have these mutations, there are very clear treatment implications that would not otherwise be considered for prostate cancer. It would essentially expand [the patients] toolbox of treatments, said Cheng. She has set up a genetics clinic at SCCA to provide counseling and genetic testing for men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, which can be reached at (855) 557-0555.

At least one patient has already benefited from screening for inherited mutations in DNA-repair genes. Todd Braman had little hope that his disease could be tackled  until he began treatment with a PARP inhibitor. Braman, a participant in Nelsons Stand Up to Cancer study, was found to have inherited a mutation in BRCA1. This prompted Bramans daughter, Alicia, to undergo genetic screening and discover she carries the same mutation. Now that she knows of her increased cancer risk, Alicia Braman undergoes regular cancer screening at SCCA.

The implications are big in terms of intercepting and preventing a cancer because [carriers of these mutations] are at high risk, said Nelson.

Disease course for prostate cancer varies from slow-growing tumors in patients who would benefit from a light therapeutic touch to rapidly progressing, aggressive tumors. The genetic background of a patient and his prostate tumor can provide more precise information for guiding therapy, said Nelson. Oncologists ongoing struggle has been to determine who are the patients whose disease is aggressive and need aggressive therapy early  but the new findings could help untangle this issue by highlighting high-risk patients, said Pritchard.

Information on patients inherited mutations could also help steer decisions to intervene early in patients for whom they might otherwise have chosen an active surveillance, or wait-and-see, strategy, said Nelson.

BRCA mutations and cancer risk  not just for women

The findings highlight the risk that mutations in genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2 pose to men, not just women. The focus on the relationship of BRCA1 and BRCA2 to breast and ovarian cancers has led to the misunderstanding that these mutations only affect women or can only be inherited by women, said Cheng.

But if prostate cancer had been studied first, they might be known as prostate cancer genes instead, noted Pritchard.

However, more data needs to be collected on various DNA-repair mutations and how they influence cancer risk. While some mutations are well-studied, sometimes a variant of uncertain significance pops up. Its extremely important, said Nelson, that patients receive the assistance of a genetic counselor, who is trained to navigate this kind of uncertainty. Genetic counselors also help patients deal with emotions that can be stirred up, said Cheng.

I think these data really suggest that we need to engage men in discussions about genetics, where it has not been central before, said Cheng. Because mutations in DNA-repair genes can raise the risk of several cancers (including male breast cancer), men should share their whole familys cancer history with their doctors, said Nelson.

Next steps

Right now, typically only men from a family known to have BRCA1/2 mutations can have a germline genetic screening underwritten by insurance, so Nelson and his team hope the findings will lead to changes in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines (often followed by insurance companies) to include this screening.

Future work will also shed light on new cancer risk mutations and clarify how much a specific mutation may  or may not  impact cancer risk. In particular, Pritchard, Cheng, Nelson and their colleagues hope to determine which mutations predispose men to the most aggressive type of prostate cancer. They also hope to use information on patients genetics to direct men with these mutations to tailored treatment and clinical trials.

Even with this uncertainty, Pritchard said he would counsel men with metastatic prostate cancer to consider screening for inherited mutations in DNA-repair genes. If a mutation is found, I would tell at-risk family members to get tested, he said.

SCCA oncologists can discuss genetic screening and treatment options for men with advanced prostate cancer. Appointments can be made at (855) 557-0555.

Sabrina Richards is a staff writer at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She has written about scientific research and the environment for The Scientist and OnEarth Magazine. She has a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Washington, an M.A. in journalism and an advanced certificate from the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University. Reach her at srichar2@fredhutch.org.
CX Insurance Services Announces New P&C Retention Improvement Program

P&C carriers are averaging a 2% increase in retention through its program, CXIS reports

--

CX Insurance Services, Inc. (CXIS) detailed the company's new Retention Improvement Program for property and casualty insurers. Due to lower switching costs and what many see as advancing commoditization in some lines of business, consumers are more likely than ever to change insurers at renewal. The CXIS Retention Improvement Program enables P&C insurers to identify at-risk policy renewals and tactically retain them. Using a proven, proprietary mixture of web-based automation, P&C licensed services, and advanced modeling, the new CXIS program is delivering results for carriers spanning $19 billion to $100 million in direct written premium in 50 states.

"While analytics packages seemingly grow on trees these days," CXIS President Joseph Serrano said, "our program is a different blend of data and tactical business processes. Data on its own can be somewhat useless - it usually helps to actually do something with it. Our retention program is delivering results for P&C carriers because it's a balance of targeting, predicting, and tactical policy retention. We've fused technology & service together in a simple monthly subscription model, and the ROI for carriers has been remarkably compelling. So in other words, things actually get done."

Retention has long been a critical component of insurer profitability, as it costs less to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Insurers also benefit from potential cross-sell and up-sell opportunities with existing policyholders. However increasing competitive pressures and rapidly evolving online capabilities are creating retention headwinds for many P&C carriers. As in other industries, it's relatively easy for consumers to compare, price shop, and switch insurance companies in today's online environment. Web-based insurance purchasing has evolved beyond personal auto into small business commercial and other lines of business, and many predict the trend will only continue. Comparative raters and online agencies are influencing web-based purchasing behavior across multiple line of business.

CXIS is helping P&C carriers address these challenges with a unique blend of service & technology; carriers are able to participate in a pay-as-you-go monthly subscription model.

As a leading P&C operational services and production growth company, CXIS helps P&C carriers fill operational gaps, mitigate talent issues, and boost policy growth or retention. Those interested in the Retention Program or any of the other CX Insurance Services offerings can learn more at http://cxis.com.

About CX Insurance Services, Inc.:

CX Insurance Services provides licensed operational support, production growth, & retention services to P&C insurance companies. CXIS is led by a team of former P&C carrier executives with a combined 75+ years experience in P&C product, underwriting, sales, claims, & customer service functions. CXIS is 100% U.S. based, and 100% of its associates are P&C insurance certified.

For more information, please visit http://cxis.com

Contact Info:

Name: Joseph Richard Serrano

Organization: CX Insurance Services, Inc.

Address: St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Phone: 1-855-676-2947

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Cloudbooks Market Professional Survey Report 2016 : Latest Report By Radiant Insights,Inc

RadiantInsights.com has announced the addition of "Global Cloudbooks Market Trends, Growth And Forecast Report Up To 2016 : Radiant Insights, Inc" Market Research Report to their Database.

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The cloudbook was an Ultra-Mobile PC or x86 subnotebook developed by Everex using chipset, NanoBook reference, and VIA processor reference design. It competed with the classmate PC, ASUS Eee PC, and OLPC XO-1.

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In 2008, the device was categorized as the netbook. The Everex Cloudbook consist an exclusively located built-in pointing device. The cloudbook was anticipated to hold in the one hand when it was designed.

Application software in this device includes Facebook, Mozilla, faqly, and Skype, Google, and OpenOffice.org. gOS originally came with Enlightenment 0.17 as the window manager. Everex has launched windows XP hardware drivers. It makes simpler to install Microsoft's Windows XP in these devices. Operating systems used in cloudbooks are AWN-based gOS''V2 Rocket'', GNOME, and Ubuntu.

A cloudbook is a thin client notebook computer with an interface and browser operating system installed in it. They have several advantages over conventional notebooks. It also has improved battery size as compared to conventional books. Also, applications and files are linked to the consumer's account. They can be used anywhere and anytime with an internet connection. Cloudbook in the U.S was likely to be released on February 15, 2008, at ZaReason and Wal-Mart.

Request A Sample Copy Of This Report at: https://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-cloudbooks-market-professional-survey-report-2016/request-sample

Data setting in this device is stored on remote servers. Moreover, it enables automatic backup, synchronization, and updates. Taiwan Computex conference in 2011 estimated that mobile PC market may split into three forms comprising cloudbooks, tablets, and netbooks. Some of these devices consist of Everex's CloudBook and Google's Chromebook.

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See More Reports of This Category by Radiant Insights: https://www.radiantinsights.com/catalog/electronics

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Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions.

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Address: 28 2nd Street, Suite 3036 San Francisco

Phone: 4153490054

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Key Statistics on the Market Status of the Sodium Bromated Industry: Radiant Insights

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For more information, please visit http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/global-and-chinese-sodium-bromate-industry-2015-market-research-report

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A Lebanon man who has been waiting more than three years for a kidney and pancreas transplant to combat Type I diabetes was able to have the surgery this week.

Micah Evans, 40, received the organs Tuesday afternoon and is recovering at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. OHSU public relations officials did not have immediate information on his condition Wednesday but said the surgery went well.

Evans has battled diabetes for 34 years and went into total renal failure in 2011. The disease cost him his sight in his left eye, some of the feeling in his hands and feet and a good portion of the energy he used to have.

He has been on disability since 2009 and spends four hours a day, three days a week, in dialysis. Some days, it takes everything he has just to walk across the room.

Evans had been trying to get on a transplant list since 2013, but found the system is much more complicated than simply needing a transplant and having the insurance to cover it.

Because organs are such a precious resource, medical providers work hard to make sure recipients are in good physical and mental shape to care for them. Medications can affect both.

For Evans, getting on the transplant list meant completing a series of meetings with a counselor and preparing a full-scale plan for his care following the surgery.

It took time to finish all the requirements, and in the meantime his transplant coordinator changed twice, prompting new requirements.

In an interview a few days before the surgery, Evans said it felt like the hoops were constant. "Whatever they've had me do through these last several years, I've done," he said.

But earlier this year, Evans became part of the pool for a kidney and pancreas. He was even called to the hospital twice, but both times he was turned away when in turned out the organs didn't have all of the genetic markers the hospital wanted to see.

Evans remembers his reaction after that first denial, in May. "I had to get out of the car and take a walk," he said. "I had to tell myself, someone else is getting that stuff. It was the only way I could let that go.

"It sucked. I mean, it really did."

Evans said he was hoping the third time would be the charm, and as of this week, that appears to have been the case. Depending on his recovery, the next step is simply to recover.

"Generally speaking, kidney/pancreas transplant patients discharge from the hospital within seven to nine days and stay in the Portland area two to three months, where they are closely monitored by their transplant team," said Tamara Hargens-Bradley, associate director for Media Relations, OHSU Strategic Communications. "After that, they can live at home, but follow a strict schedule to continuously monitor their condition."

The transplant won't give Evans back his eyesight or undo any of the damage the diabetes has caused, but hopefully it will keep his body from succumbing to any more, he said.

As a single father of three  or five, if you count two children who recently joined his family circle  he's just looking forward to having the time and energy to spend with them that he'd like. He'd also like to go back to work, if possible.

Although insurance is covering the procedure, friends have set up a GoFundMe page online, https://www.gofundme.com/26p766hg, to help the Evans family with the extra expenses that will come with staying in Portland and caring for his children.

People also can follow his experiences through his Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MicahEvansTransplantFund/?fref=ts. His most recent post was a selfie in the hospital bed and the simple words: "Wish me luck."

Before the surgery, he said that he encourages everyone to think about signing up for the organ donor program. To people like himself, it makes all the difference in the world.

"I've got a lot of little people who still want me around, and I want to be around them, too," he said.
Lakeside Hire Launches Special New Discount Promotion

Visitors to the company's website can save 25 pounds off its already-low hire prices on top-quality scaffold towers, ladders, hoists, and more, Lakeside Hire reports

--

Lakeside Hire announced a special new offer. By signing up for the company's e-mail list at www.lakeside-hire.co.uk, site visitors can, for a limited time, obtain a coupon code good for a discount of 25 off the next ladder hire or any other order.

With next-day delivery nationwide for orders placed before 3 p.m., Lakeside Hire consistently offers the lowest prices in the industry, beating out leading competitors by an average of 69%. The easily obtainable new discount code will make it even more affordable to secure an equipment hire from a company known not only for low prices, but also for the breadth and quality of its inventories.

"We're always looking for ways to make any kind of equipment hire even more accessible to our customers," Lakeside Hire representative Matthew Browne said, "Every time we find a way to cut our costs, we pass those savings on to our customers, whether in the form of our industry-leading hire rates or by other means. We think our special new discount code is going to make for an especially pleasant surprise for many. We encourage all who might have need of a clean, safe equipment hire of their own to stop by our website to pick up their own discount."

Whether for amateurs taking on an occasional job around the house or tradespeople whose needs vary with each project, being able to hire equipment like ladders, scaffolds, hoists and winches, or material handling accessories frequently proves to be valuable. Lakeside Hire is one of the United Kingdom's leading suppliers of a full range of such assets, maintaining a huge inventory of products, all available for next-day delivery nationwide.

By carefully checking and cleaning every piece of equipment before sending it off to customers, Lakeside Hire ensures the highest safety standards, giving domestic and trade clients the confidence to pursue their goals without worry. As every item the company offers for hire has been carefully selected, Lakeside Hire clients can also be sure of unbeatable on-the-job performance in every case.

Even while maintaining this level of excellence, Lakeside Hire does so at prices that are far lower than those of competitors. Compared to other well-known suppliers like Brandon Hire, Speedy Hire, and HSS, Lakeside Hire offers savings that average 69% on a full range of equipment. With free delivery on every hire of three weeks or longer, Lakeside Hire clients consistently enjoy an unbeatable blend of quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness.

The company's new 25 GBP discount code will make it even more affordable to experience the Lakeside Hire difference. Available now at the Lakeside Hire with a quick, simple sign-up, it will be offered for a limited time.

About Lakeside Hire:

From scaffold towers and ladders to trucks, trolleys, hoists, and more, Lakeside Hire offers a full range of top-quality, carefully maintained equipment for hire. With next-day delivery nationwide and the industry's lowest prices, Lakeside Hire makes every job easier, safer, and more affordable.

For more information, please visit https://www.lakeside-hire.co.uk

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Name: Matthew Browne

Organization: Lakeside Hire

Address: Bretts Farm, Romford Road Aveley, Essex, RM15 4XD United Kingdom

Phone: 01708 874950

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If Vietnam fails to curb massive imports of steel products from China, several domestic steelmakers may go bankrupt, Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) warns.

Cheap and surplus steel products from China are set to continue flowing to Vietnam in the year-end when demand for construction steel rises, Vietnamplus reported July 5, quoting VSAs vice chairman Nguyen Van Sua.

In the first half of this year, Vietnam imported 9.6 million tons of steel products, surging 48 percent year on year, with imports from China accounting for 60 percent of the total, data from VSA shows.

As domestic consumption is limited, cheap steel from China is likely to cause local steelmakers to cut production capacity or even go bankrupt, Sua said, urging Vietnamese government to use barriers against Chinese steel imports.

A view inside a steel production facility at Shanxi Zhongsheng Steel in Fenyang, Shanxi Province, China, April 28, 2016. Reuters/John Ruwitch

The government may impose higher duty on the imports from China as an immediate measure to protect domestic production. However, in the long run local steelmakers should unite to become stronger and make more competitive products, VSAs Sua added.

Vietnam was the biggest importer of steel products in Southeast Asia and ranked seventh among the largest steel importers in the world with 18.7 million tons last year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department has already slapped duties of up to 450 percent on the steel products from China, Reuters said in late June.

China warned it could file suit at the World Trade Organization in order to protect its steel industry, after the United States said some steel imports from China were hitting U.S. producers.

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> Anti-dumping measures could turn into a double-edged steel sword

> China threatens WTO case over U.S. steel duties
Experian is considering becoming a financial services version of Amazon and offering guidance.

Richard Howells, recently appointed head of wealth, life and pensions at the credit checking company, said he was in talks with providers about creating a financial services one-stop-shop.

Mr Howells, who was previously UK retail sales director of Zurich, said Experian was still unsure about whether it would launch its own financial comparison and guidance website, or whether it would produce the technology to offer these services and allow others to white label it.

Consumers need a trusted source of information, they need a source of guidance, he stated.

They have had a bit of information and just need to go that step further. Can somebody, if I put information in, give me an idea am I heading in the right direction?

For some customers that [guidance] will be enough. They will know what they want to do and want to go and buy that Isa with that company. Others may want to compare and see who else does this. Others may feel this is all too much and want a bit of advice.

Is there currently a place where you can go to get all of that? The answer is no. We could have the capability to build that for the market or for people in the market, he continued.

We have invited people to come and have that conversation with us. We have had a number of calls from people who are interested.

Mr Howells, also the former marketing director of Bankhall, said the difference Experian would bring to launching this type of proposition is the experience of dealing with customers in a digital fashion and delivering value.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of IFA promotion service Unbiased, said anything that helps people to engage with their finances is generally a positive thing.

She said: It is encouraging that this service is recognising the need for independent advice as part of their offering, as this is the only way consumers can be sure that they are making the best choices for themselves.

But Ms Barrett said the big question may be over how well the service can match consumers to the right advice and service for them.

She said: There are already very successful operators in this market. It will be interesting to see what more this new service can offer.

Mr Howells said Experian has also launched a service for financial advisers that maps an advisers client bank against data that the credit checker has for those individuals.

When asked how much Experian would charge for that service, Mr Howells said it was bespoke.

He added Experian was also offering decision software to advice firms that could identify processes within an advisers business that could be automated, or should be subject to identity verification software.
UK stockmarkets have moved higher in early trading with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices both up 1.5 per cent in early trading, partly driven by a rebound in property stocks.

The sector has suffered in recent days, with a number of asset managers suspending trading in their open-ended property funds including Henderson, Threadneedle, Standard Life Investments, M&G and Aviva Investors.

Aberdeen is one of the latest to alter its property offerings , as late last night it introduced a dilution adjustment on its Aberdeen UK Property fund and Aberdeen UK Property Feeder Unit Trust. It reduced the dealing price by 17 per cent, while also temporarily suspending trading in the funds for 24 hours from 12 noon on July 6 until 12 noon today (July 7).

Martin Gilbert, chief executive at Aberdeen Asset Management, noted: Reducing the share price of the fund reflects the changing market conditions over the past week or so and uncertainty around prices in the property market; sellers requiring liquidity are having to market properties at sometimes significant discounts to their recent valuations.

Meanwhile Canada Life also joined the list of suspensions yesterday evening as it announced it would be deferring requests for withdrawals from the Canada Life Property Pension Fund; Canada Life Property Life Fund; Canada Life Property Pension Fund; Canada Life Property Life Fund; Canada Life UK Property Life Fund and Canada Life UK Property Pension Fund.

It stated: Following last months vote to leave the European Union, a combination of uncertainty around the pricing of commercial property assets and the recent rise in requests to withdraw from property funds, has meant Canada Life taking the decision to immediately defer requests for withdrawals. Deferring requests to withdraw allows us to protect the interests of all investors in the property fund, including those who plan to remain invested for the medium to long term.

But property securities have rebounded in early trading with stocks including Land Securities, Barratt Developments and British Land Company up roughly 5 per cent, while asset managers have also made gains, with Aberdeen Asset Management up 4.3 per cent and Henderson Group climbing 3.8 per cent.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) has increased the fair value adjustment on its 2.5bn property fund by 10 percentage points as open-ended funds in the sector continue to deter withdrawals.

LGIM had initially applied an adjustment of 5 per cent on the UK Property fund and feeder funds last week, but upped this to 15 per cent yesterday (July 6).

It has also reduced its bid-offer spread to 0 per cent, essentially allowing investors to enter the fund free of charge. Normally the fund uses the spread to cover transaction costs.

The firms decision to reduce the value of investments in the fund comes after Aberdeen increased the fair value adjustment on its own UK Property fund from 4 per cent to 17 per cent overnight.

An LGIM spokesperson said: The adjustment has been made considering the broader market response and other economic metrics.

We will continue to monitor market events closely, using all available sources and our experience of the property market. This will ensure we reflect the price of the fund fairly for those investors who might be considering investing or redeeming, and those who wish to remain invested in the fund.

Both LGIM and Aberdeen have refrained from indefinitely suspending trading, however  the tactic employed by Columbia Threadneedle, Aviva Investors, Standard Life Investments, M&G, Henderson and Canada Life Investments for their UK property portfolios.

So far this week, the industry has seen well over 14bn of property assets gated to redemptions with a further 8bn facing fair value adjustments.

The 932m Kames Property Income fund also made a downwards adjustment of 3.7 per cent, though this was prior to this weeks suspensions.

The changes have come as nerves increased on the outlook for UK commercial property in the wake of the UKs decision to leave the European Union.

UK property had already come under pressure in the run-up to the June 23 referendum. The IA UK Property sector endured a net 500m in outflows in April and May, according to Investment Association statistics.

Those redemptions had seen a spate of funds switching from offer to bid pricing in the run-up to the vote - moves which effectively wiped 5 per cent off returns for investors wishing to redeem.
Charles Anniss has left M&G Investments after 16 years, handing over majority of his responsibilities to John William Olsen.

Mr Anniss was manager on the 168m European Select fund, deputised by Mr Olsen, and deputy manager on the 120m European Smaller Companies fund, with Michael Oliveros as lead.

He also held deputy manager responsibilities on the 143m Pan European Select and 597m Global Select funds - both managed by Mr Olsen.

His lead manager responsibilites will be handed over the current deputy managers.

Mr Oliveros will now become deputy on the Pan European Select fund. Current equity analyst Kasper Mikkelsen will become deputy on the Global Select vehicle, subject to regulatory approval.

M&G chief investment officer Graham Mason said: I am very pleased that John William will take over the management of the M&G European Select fund from Charles whom I thank for his contribution over the years.
People walk through the lobby of the London Stock Exchange in London, Britain August 25, 2015. Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

It is cast as a magnet for foreign investors with an eye on Vietnam.

Dragon Capital Management Limited has listed its fund Vietnam Enterprise Investments Limited (VEIL) on the London Stock Exchange, in an explicit gesture to pull in the worlds largest institutional investors.

VEIL, the largest Vietnam-focused fund with a net asset value of around $850 million, began its first official trading on July 5. VEIL is capitalizing on the London listing to create a more transparent and liquid market in its shares, raising its profile and attracting more potential ownership.

"We are delighted for VEIL to become part of the most active and successful market for listed investment companies," said Dominic Scriven, executive chairman of Dragon Capital Group. "With its premium listing, robust governance arrangements and a portfolio management team who have been together for the last 15 years, we believe VEIL provides a strong investment opportunity for both institutional and retail investors.

After the listing, VEIL is expected to become a magnet for foreign investors who have an eye on Vietnam market.

Dragon Capitals chairman Scriven told City A.M. that essentially what we are doing is bringing Vietnam to the world  via London." He estimated that the fund has market capitalization of $900 million and cast it as "the biggest investor in the Vietnams stock market after the government."

Currently, nearly half of total net asset value under VEILs management is investment in enterprises which are still subject to foreign ownership cap.

Established in 1994, Dragon Capital has about 100 staff and manages the total asset value equivalent to over $1.3 billion.
Six open-ended property funds, representing more than 15bn in funds under management, have now implemented gates, suspending investor redemptions.

Running up close against their liquidity buffers  the pool of more liquid investments they keep in order to fund redemptions in normal markets  they have concluded that gating is necessary to avoid being forced sellers of illiquid property assets to fund the extraordinary levels of redemption seen since the UK voted to leave the EU.

This is, it must be emphasised, a prudent response in the circumstances.

The alternative, a fire sale of property assets, would be bad for all investors - a fact which the managers will have taken into account in deciding to gate. The alternative, a fire sale of property assets, would be bad for all investors - a fact which the managers will have taken into account in deciding to gate. Cathy Pitt

In the closed-ended world, Reits and property investment companies (PICs) have derated significantly since the Brexit vote and investors wanting to trade out of those companies will have to do so at a significant discount to net asset value.

The difference, of course, is that the fund managers remain free to take long-term decisions about the portfolio without having to worry about funding investor redemptions.

Why the extraordinary levels of redemption requests? Some investors will have been spooked by the generally negative effect the Brexit vote has had on sentiment as regards the UK commercial property market and will be allocating away from real estate.

Others may be making sure they get to the front of the redemption queue, perhaps having been caught out at the time of the 2008 financial crisis, which was the last time we saw significant suspensions of open-ended funds (particularly hedge funds).

Still other investors with mandates that require allocation to real estate may be redeeming units in open-ended funds at or around NAV in order to switch into Reits and PICs while they are heavily discounted and look like good value.

These gatings highlight the issues with holding illiquid assets in open-ended funds.

At the time of the global financial crisis, many investors learned the hard way that their open-ended investments were not quite as open-ended as they thought.

Indeed the Financial Stability Board recently recommended a series of proposals to address this problem, including disclosure of liquidity positions and, controversially, introducing redemption fees to act as a deterrent to opportunistic or first mover redemptions.

It will be interesting to see whether the FCA adopts any of these proposals in response to the review it has announced in response to the property fund suspensions.

Another recent development in the open-ended world (hedge funds this time) has been a trend towards launching institutional funds with a long initial lock in period.

At the same time, Reits, PICs and other investment trusts have taken steps to improve their ratings using discount management techniques such as buybacks, tender offers and continuation votes.
The pensions minister is confident she can still get on with making good policy for pensions post-Brexit.

Speaking at an event in London this week, she still expressed concern over the fact that anything which damages the economy poses a risk to pensions.

Good pensions depend on a good economy. Markets dont like uncertainty, and we are clearly in unchartered territory, stated Ms Altmann.

I hope we will get the political turmoil settled soon and do what we really need to be doing -which is making good policy for everyone in the country - who hopefully one day will be a pensioner if they arent one already.

She added increasing anxiousness that short-term politics should not undermine long-term pensions policy.

We must not lose sight of the fact that there is a long-term need for pensions. Future generations are going to need good pensions, but of course anything that damages the economy is a risk.

FTAdviser sister newspaper Financial Adviser reported retirement income experts fear that pension freedoms could unravel as a result of the Brexit.

AJ Bells senior analyst Tom Selby pointed out recent changes to the treatment of pensions on death  allowing savings to be passed on tax-free when someone dies before 75, and taxed at the recipients marginal rate post-75  may look generous in a post-EU vote world.

Alan Solomons, director of London-based Alpha Investments & Financial Planning, was also concerned that the long term repercussions of Brexit could change the face of the industry.

Brexit in the short-term is a negative, he stated. Long-term, the country cannot afford state pensions not in the way they are giving tax relief, I think that will change in the not too distant future.

Auto-enrolment will become compulsory - ultimately state pensions will be phased out - no adjustments for people under certain ages. People will have to rely on what theyve saved in auto-enrolment; this may lead to compulsory annuitisation through auto-enrolment.

ruth.gillbe@ft.com
Mixed family farms should look at whether simplifying their businesses could generate a better financial return, according to consultant Andersons.

Its Meadow Farm, a 154ha mixed model, is forecast to record a 201/ha loss from production in 2016-17, the company revealed at the Livestock Event (6 July).

This is better than in 2015-16, when the business made a 238/ha loss from production, but still results in a loss of 19/ha after subsidy payments are taken into account.

See also: All the latest news from the Livestock Event

If beef prices improve next year, the position for 2017-18 is forecast to improve so the business makes its first business surplus since 2014-15. However, this will only amount to 36/ha.

This notional business is mainly grassland with some arable cropping. There is a 60-cow suckler herd, a dairy bull beef enterprise and a 500-ewe breeding flock.

Too many things at too small a scale

Richard King, head of business research at the farm business consultant, said the key point about Meadow Farm, like many similar businesses, was that its overhead structure was too large for the output the business was achieving. This meant the level of return was not sustainable.

Fundamentally, Meadow Farm does too many things at too small a scale. We are not saying big is better, but you need to get to a minimum efficiency scale of an enterprise before it makes sense and none of its enterprises are at that level.

They key is deciding what you are good at and doing more of it and less of what you are perhaps not so good at.

Options to improve

Mr King said, for Meadow Farm, options included closing the bull beef enterprise and selling the suckler calves as stores. They had also looked at contracting out the arable side and expanding the sheep flock, which helped to cut labour and machinery costs.

As a traditional business, the farm could also be well placed to join the Countryside Stewardship scheme, which would be another way of boosting income, he said.

A beef and sheep farm, with a bit of arable, is never going to generate the sort of income that covers the overheads this sort of business is running. You need to make it a simpler business to get rid of those overheads.

Meadow Farm results and budgets /ha 2014-15 (result) 2015-16 (result) 2016-17 (budget) 2017-18 (forecast) Livestock gross margin 567 574 606 666 Arable gross margin 644 520 516 578 Gross margin 584 564 588 649 Overheads 495 491 471 493 Rent, finance drawings 310 310 318 318 Production margin (222) (238) (201) (143) BPS/SPS and ELS 229 194 181 179 Business margin 7 (44) (19) 36

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Sales of UK farmland have not missed a beat since the result of the EU referendum but tenants and landlords are taking precautions in the rental market.

Contracts were exchanged as planned just hours after the results on 24 June, and multimillion pound deals have been done in the days and weeks since.

A weaker sterling has accelerated movement from some international buyers, while others pause for breath, waiting for markets to settle.

See also: Why moving farms to Scotland offers opportunity and value

But for many, its business as usual in the land market.

Rental market measures

A number of agents reported that in reaction to the Brexit vote clients were adding a rent review clause or break clause into new agreements to account for any changes in farm incomes and support.

Bletsoes associate Chris Templar said: I am currently negotiating the terms of a new five-year FBT with no rent review or break clause. My client, the tenant, has now instructed me to include one or the other to allow flexibility.

Andrew Fallows, partner at Carter Jonas, added: Landlords and tenants are expecting to see break clauses introduced or negotiated in the light of understanding what a new CAP will look like.

The TFAs chief executive, George Dunn, said he preferred to see rent review clauses over break clauses, which could allow for earlier termination.

The biggest issue for many will be the level of rent theyre paying so they need a rent review clause which reflects the market place, he said.

Nine times out of 10 that will protect you from any adverse effects of Brexit.

Undeterred buyers

Savills said deals agreed prior to the referendum were largely being honoured and a number of new ones had been struck, while Knight Franks Clive Hopkins said he knew of a foreign buyer who had accelerated their interest since the weakening of the pound.

Tom Watson, Cundalls director in North Yorkshire, said best and final offers on 90 acres of land near Scarborough were tabled on 24 June with huge interest, and prices averaged over 14,000/acre.

Wiltshire-based Woolley & Wallis exchanged on a 1m development land sale and has since received a 1.24m cash offer on 100 acres of organic land.

Carter Jonas completed the sale of 800 acres of arable land at a price agreed pre-referendum with no attempt to renegotiate  evidence, the agency said, of the resilience in the market.

Bidwells has agreed two deals worth a total of 9.6m, Bletsoes has exchanged on two sales  one in excess of 2m, and another at 750,000, while Stags in south-west England and Rostons in the North West has also sold farmland since the vote.

What could derail stability?

Uncertainty has been the watchword ever since David Cameron announced the date of the referendum.

In 2016 there have been fewer acres brought to market than last year and fewer sales to date  caused in part by a lack of confidence.

Polling showed the farming vote leaning towards Leave which agents said had led to a calm mood around agriculture, with a business as usual attitude.

That could change once a replacement subsidy system is drawn up and farmers see whether the Leave campaigns pledge to replicate existing levels of support payments is delivered.

The next market adjustment will come once people start talking about the new subsidy regime, said Robert Fairey, Brown & Co partner.

Tax could be another sticking point. A snap budget has not yet been called, but significant changes to capital taxes could swing the market.

Cautious optimism?

Ross Willmington, partner at Symonds & Sampson, said: Farmers generally seem more positive following the drop in the pound. It will help most sectors.

The future of EU support is a concern but any change is likely to be years off.

Tania Harvey, farm agency negotiator at Stags said: Now the decision has been made buyers are happy to push on. Sellers are surprised about how positive they are.

Strutt & Parkers head of farms and estates, Mark McAndrew, added: Im cautiously optimistic. The City has reacted well, the pound has weakened which may help some farming exports and attract foreign investment.

How to create a flexible tenancy

Landlords and tenants will need to give particular thought to agreements that are likely to straddle the period when [and if] we change from an EU member to a non-member, writes Duncan Sigournay, partner at Thrings.

Duncan Sigournay, partner at Thrings Duncan Sigournay, partner at Thrings

The most significant change is likely to be the loss of BPS entitlements. If landlords require the transfer of entitlements back to them at the end of the tenancy they will need to ensure that any new tenancies capture any replacement schemes introduced by the UK government.

Both modern FBTs and older AHA tenancies should be sufficiently nimble to be able to accommodate even such fundamental changes as the loss of BPS entitlements.

One should always bear in mind that where there is uncertainly there may be a tendency for landlords to adopt a short-term approach to lettings so they can react quicker to qualify for any new payment scheme.
A young farmer who lost his foot in a farm accident involving a quad bike has warned the consequences go far beyond physical pain and suffering.

Farmers are being urged to think more about how they prevent transport-related accidents as part of the UK and Irelands annual Farm Safety Week.

Tractors and moving vehicles have claimed the lives of 20 farmworkers over the past five years and represent one of the biggest dangers on the farm.

See also: Farm Safety Week seeks to highlight machinery dangers

After losing his foot in 2008, farm safety ambassador Mark Mather from Haugh Head, near Wooler, Northumberland, is keen to highlight the harsh reality of the consequences of a farm accident.

Shotgun blast

Mr Mather was 24 when he suffered a shotgun blast to the leg while working on the 1,000ha mixed arable and livestock farm.

He was ploughing a field in readiness for a kale crop when he noticed that the barley crop in the next field was being plundered by crows.

Mr Mather returned to the house in the early evening, collecting his shotgun before heading straight out again on a quad bike which had a twitching device of decoy birds on its front rack to attract crows so they could be shot.

He was carrying the double-barrelled shotgun across his lap. It was loaded, but the safety catch was on.

He drove a quarter-of-a-mile from the farm to the first field, where he took a couple of shots, but then decided to move on to the next field.

As he turned into the field, the battery powering the front-mounted twitcher moved slightly and he leaned forward to secure it.

As a result, the vehicle veered onto a slight bank and overturned, hitting the butt of the shotgun which went off, firing both barrels into his right leg.

Mr Mathers was left conscious, in great pain and losing a lot of blood, but he couldnt get up and couldnt call for help because the battery in his mobile phone was flat.

Luckily his father received a message to say that some sheep had escaped and the search for the sheep led him to where Mr Mather was lying beneath the quad.

After being airlifted to hospital where surgeons operated throughout the night they were forced to amputate the leg at the thigh to save his life.

He then endured four or five further operations during the following weeks.

Mr Mather says the effect on his life and the farm business has been immense. He was unable to work for more than a year and on his return to work still suffered pain and weakness.

The accident also put the family and the farm under major financial strain, although neighbours were very good and came in to do the silage.

My father visited me in hospital every day and so his work time was lost, said Mr Mather.

He had to hire in extra help during the considerable length of time I was unable to work. Because my injury is so severe it means there are certain aspects of the work I can no longer do.

Stabbed in the leg

Another young farmer who learned the hard way about the dangers of farm vehicles is James Armstrong from Dumfriesshire.

Mr Armstrongs split-second decision to leap down from the tractor, rather than climb down, has had consequences for him for the past decade.

Aged just 16, and having recently passed his tractor licence test, he leapt from the tractor, falling on one of the link arms and stabbing himself in the back of the leg.

He spent five days in hospital and it took a few weeks to be able to sit down. For the next few months he had to find work off farm as he was unable to drive tractors or perform most day-to-day tasks.

Since 2006, Mr Armstrong, who is now 27, has been forced to undergo two operations, the most recent one just last year.

As a young lad I wanted to show off that I had my tractor licence. If I had climbed down, I would likely have avoided injury, he says.
Franchising News

What Are The Barriers To Franchising In Cuba?

Written by Tim Morral

Published: 7/7/2016

In 2014, President Obama announced that the U.S. would chart a course toward normalizing relations with Cuba. The business community saw the move as an opportunity to expand into a market that has been untapped for more than half a century.

A year and a half later, there are signs that -- for some sectors -- trade with Cuba may become a reality in the not-so-distant future. But there are still hurdles that present serious threats to franchises and small businesses eager to invest in Cuba-based expansion strategies.

The Potential Upside of Franchising in Cuba

In many ways, Cuba is an untapped market for franchising. The country has approximately 11 million consumers that have not yet been exposed to the juggernaut of the American franchise economy.

Cuba also represents a new market that is geographically advantageous to U.S. franchisors and franchisees. From a supply chain standpoint, it's difficult to find a more convenient location for global expansion (apart from Canada and Mexico).

In April, the U.S. International Trade Commission advised that Cuba is a suitable market for the U.S. manufacturing sector, inching Washington one step closer to lifting the trade embargo. The bottom line is that at some future point, Cuba will open up for U.S. franchising -- and early entrants will likely have the most to gain over the long term.

Cuba Franchising Challenges

Franchising in Cuba isn't all upside. Based on current conditions, franchisees face several key obstacles in addition to the common franchising mistakes that can cripple their efforts.

The U.S. Trade Embargo -- Right now, it's illegal for most entrepreneurs to do business in Cuba. Although it's believed that the trade embargo will ultimately go away, it will take an act of Congress to eliminate it -- and it will probably be a contentious piece of legislation.

-- Right now, it's illegal for most entrepreneurs to do business in Cuba. Although it's believed that the trade embargo will ultimately go away, it will take an act of Congress to eliminate it -- and it will probably be a contentious piece of legislation. Lack of Infrastructure -- There's no getting around the fact that Cuba doesn't have the same level of infrastructure as the U.S. and other highly developed markets. The lack of infrastructure could pose significant problems for franchises that rely on well-oiled supply chains.

-- There's no getting around the fact that Cuba doesn't have the same level of infrastructure as the U.S. and other highly developed markets. The lack of infrastructure could pose significant problems for franchises that rely on well-oiled supply chains. Weird Labor Laws -- Cuba is a socialist country and indigenous workers are required to be hired by Cuba's government rather than private companies. In other words, the government will be a middleman between you and your employees. Sound nightmarish? It very well could be.

-- Cuba is a socialist country and indigenous workers are required to be hired by Cuba's government rather than private companies. In other words, the government will be a middleman between you and your employees. Sound nightmarish? It very well could be. Little Disposable Income -- A desire to buy American goods and services doesn't mean much if consumers lack the income to back it up. Unfortunately, that's the situation many franchisees will face when they enter Cuba, where the average monthly income is just $20.

The trade relationship between the U.S. and Cuba is gradually thawing. Although the challenges shouldn't be minimized, the outlook for franchising is generally positive, even though we may still be several years away from seeing U.S. franchises on the streets of Havana.

But whatever shape franchising in Cuba takes, U.S. franchisees need to know what they're getting into and invest in Cuba with their eyes wide open.

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Vietnamese lychee farmers and traders have turned to new export markets to find higher prices and more stable demand.

Vietnam has exported over 10 tons of lychees to Australia, the government's online news portal cited Vietnam Trade Office in Australia as saying.

Last year, Vietnam exported its very first consignment of lychees to Australia and the U.S.. Even though the volume was small, just 35 tons combined, it was a significant step.

Industry experts expect more exports of the fruit in the years to come if the country can meet stricter U.S. and Australian standards and quarantine regulations.

Australian consumers interest in Vietnamese tropical fruit has grown well, reaching a larger customer base, from the east coastal cities of Sydney and Melbourne last year to the west coastal Perth this year.

As Australias Department of Agriculture has approved imports of lychees that are treated at a new food irradiation facility in Hanoi, Vietnamese farmers now no longer have to travel nearly 2,000 kilometers from the north to the south for fruit irradiation treatment.

The Hanoi Irradiation Center, where fruit is treated with high-energy ionizing radiation to eliminate bacteria, extend shelf life and kill invasive pests, is expected to boost the countrys fruit exports this year, according to agriculture officials.

Vietnamese lychees have become more price competitive as the new irradiation center has helped farmers cut costs.

However, the fruit, mainly shipped by air to Australia, is still not as cheap as Chinese lychees which are all shipped by sea, said Vietnam Trade Office under Vietnamese Embassy.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast that the lychee supply for the domestic market this year will record at 78,000 tons while 52,000 tons will be exported to foreign markets.

The northern province of Bac Giang, one of the largest lychee-growing areas in Vietnam, has already harvested nearly 80,000 tons of lychees, and that figure is set to rise to around 130,000.

Although Vietnam has opened up new export markets for its lychees to reduce its reliance on China, growers are still saving the pick of the bunch for traders from the northern neighbor.

China is Vietnam's biggest lychee export market, buying on average some of 60 percent of the annual crop, according to official statistics.

Statistics released by Bac Giang's Department of Trade and Industry showed that as of the end of June, Vietnam has exported over 62,863 tons of lychees to neighboring China via border gates in Lang Son, Lao Cai and Ha Giang.

Related News:

> Hanoi treatment center a godsend for lychee exports to Australia

> Vietnam earns $42mln from lychee export to China

> Vietnamese lychee exports grounded by conflicting inspection regulations
Story Highlights More than six in 10 think Bush merits blame for economy's ills

Half of Americans point finger at Obama

Little change in these perceptions since 2011

PRINCETON, N.J. -- As Barack Obama's two-term presidency enters its final months, more Americans still blame George W. Bush than Obama for the nation's economic ills. When asked how much they blame each president for current economic problems, 64% of Americans say Bush deserves a "great deal" or "moderate amount" of blame, compared with 50% for Obama.

Both presidents receive slightly less blame in the June 14-23 Gallup poll than they did the last time Gallup asked this question in 2013, but the gap has held steady over the past three years, with Bush blamed more than Obama.

The overall percentage of Americans blaming Bush a great deal or moderate amount has consistently exceeded the percentage blaming Obama throughout Obama's presidency. However, it was much more lopsided in the first few years after Bush left office -- namely in Obama's honeymoon year (2009), and to a lesser extent in 2010. That, of course, was in the aftermath of the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis that occurred on Bush's watch, an event that 60% of Americans described at the time as the biggest economic crisis the U.S. had faced in their lifetime.

Currently, a quarter of Americans blame each president "a great deal" for current economic problems. But more blame Bush than Obama "a moderate amount," leading to the finding that more Americans overall assign significant responsibility to the former president. Just 35% blame Bush "not much" or "not at all," compared with 50% assigning little or no blame to Obama.

Amount Americans Blame Each President for Current Economic Problems George W. Bush Barack Obama % % A great deal 27 25 A moderate amount 37 25 Not much 24 29 Not at all 11 21 No opinion 1 1 Gallup, June 14-23, 2016

Republicans More Likely to Blame Bush Than Democrats to Blame Obama

Americans' perspectives on each president's culpability for the current economy are largely rooted in their partisan orientation. More than four in five Democrats blame Bush a moderate amount or great deal, and a similar proportion of Republicans blame Obama to the same degree.

At the same time, Republicans are far more likely to blame Bush than Democrats are to blame Obama (44% vs. 19%, respectively). Political independents are more balanced in their finger-pointing but are still more likely to blame Bush (61%) than Obama (50%).

Amount Americans Blame Each President for Current Economic Problems, by Party ID % A great deal/A moderate amount Republicans Independents Democrats % % % George W. Bush 44 61 83 Barack Obama 83 50 19 Gallup, June 14-23, 2016

As president, Obama has not received stellar approval ratings on the economy. Since the end of his honeymoon period in 2009, more Americans have disapproved than approved of the job he is doing on the issue. However, the fact that Americans have consistently blamed Obama's predecessor more than they blame him for the country's economic problems may explain why his overall job approval rating has consistently exceeded his economic approval rating as well as Americans' general satisfaction with the country.

The following graph aligns the three ratings -- Obama's overall job approval rating, his approval rating on the economy and the percentage of Americans satisfied with the direction of the country -- from February 2009 through the most recent measure of Obama's economic approval rating in February 2016. It shows that his overall approval rating has consistently exceeded his economic rating and that both ratings have far exceeded Americans' broader satisfaction with the direction of the country.

Bottom Line

Neither the passage of time nor Republicans' attempts to pin the nation's sluggish economic recovery on Obama's policies have erased many Americans' belief that the economic problems facing the country are rooted in George W. Bush's presidency. Although half of Americans think Obama is at least moderately to blame for current economic problems, they blame Bush more.

The broader finding -- that more than seven years after Bush left office, nearly two-thirds of Americans still think he deserves significant blame for economic issues -- speaks to the magnitude of the problems Obama inherited when he took office. Americans recognized them at the time and evidently haven't forgotten who was in charge when they occurred. This awareness has likely colored the entirety of Obama's presidency -- keeping his job approval ratings at arm's length from Americans' persistently negative economic confidence and resulting low satisfaction with the direction of the country. In turn, it will likely be a major factor in how his presidency is defined in the coming years.

Historical data are available in Gallup Analytics.

Survey Methods

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 14-23, 2016, with a random sample of 1,025 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.
PS4 Neo 2016 Release Date, Update, Specs & More: Sony Skips Gamescom 2016; What It Means For The PlayStation Neo

Sony is skipping the upcoming Gamescom 2016 in Germany which debunks the rumored release of the PlayStation 4 Neo that has been circulating for weeks.

Arecently published hall plans and list of exhibitors for the Gamescom 2016 to be held in Cologne, Germany confirmed that Sony will not be attending the event. This also means that the highly anticipated PS4 Neo will not see that light of day-at least not in the August event.

Apparently, Sony is still unsure when to release the new PS4 Neo console as of June, per a report from the Game Reactor. Sony Interactive Entertainment Global Sales and Marketing Head Jim Ryan confirmed that to the outlet.

"Honestly, we haven't decided yet," he said at the time. He also told Game Reactor that they are planning the timing very carefully in line with the Sony's European event.

Of course, that does not necessarily mean that the new console will be released during the Gamescom 2016 running from August 17 to 21. This was confirmed when the company had recently opted out of attending the event per a report from iDigital Times.

Because of this lack of development, many are wondering: When will Sony's PS4 Neo be out? With Gamescom already out of question, another possibility is that the company will be holding its own event to release the new console but there has been no proof to that just yet.

The new PS4 Neo is expected to render games in 4K display which has been popular in television sets for its ultra-high definition format. It is also the representation of the first time Sony decided to power-up a console, though the apparently plan to sell it alongside the PlayStation 4.

"It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4. We will be selling both through the life cycle," said Sony CEO Andrew House in an interview with the Financial Times.
'OnePlus 3' Implements Price Hike in the UK Region

The price hike is not immediate, but if you're planning on purchasing the OnePlus 3 mobile phone in the next few days, we recommend doing it before July 11; that's at least if you live in the UK region.

According to The Verge, the currency devaluation caused by Brexit has inevitably caused the brand to increase their price from 309 to 329. Fortunately, the OnePlus company announced that the mobile's accessories will not be affected by the price hike.

The effect of Britain's apparent exit from the European Union has caused so much effect in the economy that the tech market is also forced to adapt to the situation. Among the giant tech companies however, OnePlus is the first one to announce their price increased.

Unfortunately, it's not the only brand who suffered from such price hike. Previously, Apple did the same including their accessories, affecting millions of consumers in Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada.

Dell on the other hand announced that a likely 10 percent increase on their products will be imposed in the European region and until such time the crisis is over, things are seen to stay or soar in price. A comparative observation between OnePlus 3 and the iPhone 6s Plus is featured on GizMag and looking through it, consumers might get the idea on why it is important for the brand to increase their price.

After all, the device is nothing far from the iPhone 6s Plus and with few differences between them, you might think the 20 increase on the OnePlus 3 i fair enough. The elusive OnePlus 3 brand was introduced in June 2016.

Are you hoping to get the OnePlus 3 brand this year? What do you think of the company's price hike? Make sure to get yourself informed on the latest gadgets by checking on GameNGuide.com.
High School Musical 4 Release Date, News & Update: Zac Efron Confirmed To Reunite With Vanessa Hudgens? Sami Miros Ex Now Filming For Fifty Shades Freed Movie?

Several fans are now excited for the upcoming "High School Musical 4" movie. However, new reports have stated that Zac Efron is definitely not going to reprise his role as he is now reportedly busy doing the "Fifty Shades Freed" film.

Vanessa Hudgens' ex Zac Efron now filming 'Fifty Shades Freed', says goodbye to 'High School Musical 4'

GamenGuide has previously reported that Zac Efron will be replacing Jamie Dornan in the upcoming "Fifty Shades Freed" movie. Sources have claimed that the original leading man of Dakota Johnson got fired after regularly causing production delays.

Rumor mill has also been spreading that Jamie Dornan was forced leave the "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie franchise since his wife, Amelia Warner, needs him now more than ever. According to reports, the wife of Dakota Johnson's leading man is suffering from postpartum depression and having Jamie Dornan on her side is the best thing for her.

Now that the "Fifty Shades Darker" and "Fifty Shades Freed" are reportedly currently in the works already, news about Zac Efron filming for the "Fifty Shades of Grey" sequel has become rife. Zac Efron had previously revealed that he is willing to go full-frontal if need be to make the show better.

Zac Efron still reuniting with Vanessa Hudgens in 'High School Musical 4' even with 'Fifty Shades Freed' movie

Meanwhile, new reports are now staying that Zac Efron is definitely reuniting with Vanessa Hudgens in the upcoming "High School Musical 4" movie. As a matter of fact, sources have divulged that both Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens will train the new casts of the upcoming fourth installment.

Zac Efron is reportedly doing "High School Musical 4" after filming the "Fifty Shades Freed" movie. Though this is likely to happen, everything remains to be confirmed until now.

Zac Efron and Jamie Dornan are yet to comment about the reports saying "High School Musical 4" actor will be replacing Dakota Johnson's leading man in "Fifty Shades Freed" movie. Hence, everything should be taken with a grain of salt until proven true.

"High School Musical 4" and "Fifty Shades Freed" are slated to be released in 2018, while the "Fifty Shades Darker" movie premieres on Feb. 10, 2017. Stay tuned to GamenGuide from more "High School Musical 4" and "Fifty Shades Freed" spoilers, news and updates!
Da Nang International Airport is the third airport to receive assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A group of experts from IAEA has had a working trip to Vietnams central city of Da Nang where they plan to install a radiation detection system at Da Nang International Airport, a statement from the municipal government shows.

The system, which is able to automatically detect and give warning for radioactive sources, will be installed at the immigration and customs areas. It is part of the nuclear safety and security project that IAEA is deploying to help Vietnam Customs deal effectively with risks from illegally-imported nuclear materials and other radioactive sources in order to prevent and combat possible nuclear terrorism in Vietnam.

The project will assist Vietnamese authorities to increase supervision activities and stop illegal imports of the banned materials into the country through sea, land and air routes.

Part of the Da Nang International Airport. Photo by VnExpress/Doan Loan

The countrys two main international airports, Noi Bai in Hanoi and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, already have the radiation detection system installed.

Vietnam has become a member of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management since 2013. The Southeast Asian nation signed with the United States a pact on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and participated in the Proliferation Security Initiative to stop trafficking of weapons of mass destruction in 2014.

Related news:

> Da Nang slaps fines on six illegal Chinese tour guides

> China to establish consulate general in Da Nang
CSULB alum wins gold at the 38th Long Beach Marathon  which was his first
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will open up the blueberry fields at its research station on Peoria Road on Thursday, letting the public pick fruit from 350 varieties of blueberries that would otherwise go to waste.

According to a USDA press release, the plants are grown mostly to preserve their genetic heritage and the researchers dont need much of their fruit. Kim Hummer, the sites blueberry curator, will be on the field from 1 to 5 p.m. for the open house and will be available for questions.

The research station is located about a mile south of Highway 34 on Peoria Road. The public is asked to bring bowls, rather than large buckets, to fill.
InterCommunity Health Network, the coordinated care organization for Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, has been awarded just over $11 million in incentive funding by the Oregon Health Authority after meeting a number of performance goals for 2015.

It was a marked improvement from last year, when the CCO left $3.2 million in potential incentive payments on the table after falling well short of the targets set by the state for 2014.

IHN manages health care delivery for 60,000 residents in the three-county area who are covered by the Oregon Health Plan, the states version of Medicaid. It is one of 16 regional coordinated care organizations in Oregon charged with improving the health of OHP members while lowering the overall cost of care.

Kelley Kaiser, IHNs chief executive, attributed the gains to a collaborative effort between her staff and the medical, dental and mental health professionals who provide care to Oregon Health Plan members.

Everybody worked really hard on it, Kaiser said. We really engaged our providers.

One key was getting care providers to build the state-mandated metrics into their electronic records systems so they got automatic reminders to do certain screenings or follow specific protocols when an OHP patient came into the office.

That way the physician didnt have to remember all the different pieces; it just came up for them, Kaiser said. A lot of it is around workflow and process.

IHN and the providers it works with met seven of the 17 benchmarks established by the state to measure the effectiveness of CCOs, reaching goals for adolescent alcohol and drug abuse screening, colorectal cancer screening, depression screening and follow-up, blood sugar control for diabetics, electronic health record adoption, follow-up for mental health hospitalizations and enrollment levels for patient-centered medical homes.

It also hit improvement targets (state-approved goals that still fall short of benchmarks) in six other categories: adolescent well-care visits, dental sealants for children, developmental screening, assessments for children in Oregon Department of Human Services custody, prenatal care and patient satisfaction.

That was enough to earn more than $10.9 million in performance incentives, the maximum amount IHN was eligible for. OHA withholds 4 percent of total payments to CCOs each year and puts it into a quality pool to fund incentive payments the following year. The 2015 quality pool totaled $168 million.

IHN earned an additional $77,000 because four of the benchmarks it hit qualified for bonus challenge pool funding.

Kaiser said IHN would keep 10 percent of the $11 million in incentive payments for transformation projects, pilot programs aimed at furthering the goals of Oregons outcome-based health care transformation initiative. The rest will go to the providers in the IHN network to be reinvested as they see fit to improve health care delivery in the community. (Kaiser estimated about 60 percent of the total would go to providers affiliated with Samaritan Health Services, which owns IHN, because thats the percentage of care delivered by Samaritan providers to IHN patients.)

In four areas, however, the CCO failed to achieve either the benchmark or the improvement target. Those categories are access to care, emergency room use for ambulatory care, control of high blood pressure and contraceptive use by women.

Kaiser said improving access to care is especially challenging because of Medicaid expansion in Oregon, which added 20,000 covered lives to her organizations patient rolls in 2014. IHN is working with its providers to increase capacity in a cost-effective way by adding more mid-level health care providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, behavioral health specialists, pharmacists and health navigators.

She said most health care providers recognize the need to do things differently, but it takes time to implement the new approaches.

Were making progress, but its a huge culture change for the delivery system, she said. I think the momentum is there now and its just a matter of building on that momentum for the next couple of years.
UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon with Vietnamese peacekeepers during his visit to Vietnam on May, 2015. Photo by VnExpress

The country supports U.N.'s notion on gender balance within the peacekeeping forces.

Vietnam will send two of its female military officers to join the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces, in support of the U.N.'s agenda in improving gender balance among soldiers engaged in peacekeeping operations.

Director of Viet Nam Peacekeeping Center Colonel Hoang Kim Phung said the center is currently recruiting candidates from a pool of well trained female military officers. The two recruits are expected to be dispatched by the end of 2016 or early next year, after the U.N. and Vietnam have reached an agreement on the tasks and location.

The selected officers will be put through extra specialized training programs designed to prepare them for U.N. peacekeeping operations, added Phung.

The move follows multiple requests from U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, asking Vietnam to consider sending female soldiers to work in the U.N. peacekeeping forces.

A Vietnamese military attache in the U.N. said there is a lot of work in U.N. peacekeeping units suitable for women while it has been proved that work efficiency improves when women join the military.

In some cases, female soldiers might be better than their male colleagues, such as negotiating with opposition forces, investigating and resolving sexual abuse problems in war zones, connecting peacekeeping agencies with governments and local people, he said.

Vietnamese female military officers joins with colleagues from other nations in a U.N. peacekeeping training program. Photo by VnExpress

Specific nature of the job has created an apparent gender imbalance within the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces around the world. The U.N. passed a resolution in 2000 in an attempt to resolve the gender equality issue. However, as of January 2016, women still constitute only 4.8 percent of 107,000 U.N. peacekeepers across the world.

The United Nations aims to increase the proportion of female soldiers engaged in the peacekeeping operations up to 35 percent while the current ratio is sitting at 8 to 10 percent.

Vietnam currently has five officers working in the U.N. peacekeeping forces located in South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

Related news:

> Vietnam supports United Nations mandate on LGBT rights

> UN calls for action to eliminate rising child abuse in Vietnam

> UN backs Vietnam's call for $48.5 mln in aid to combat record drought
Commission initiatives for new policies, communications and laws need to be agreed on internally. In the case of proposed laws, they need to be agreed on by the Commission before they can be adopted by the European Parliament and Council, the EU's co-legislators.
Its been a couple of months since Kyrgyzstan got Street View, so we thought we would have a look at the changes since then. As you can see below, the main additions are a near doubling of area covered in Bangladesh and Mongolia.



Street View changes between May 9th, 2016 and July 7th, 2016. Red: new, Blue: previously existing. Large version.

However, we found that as of this writing, it is impossible to actually view the new Mongolia Street View. We tried with both Google Earth and Google Maps, both of which show the blue lines, but when you drop the yellow man on the map, Google Earth just takes you to ground level view and Google Maps does nothing. The older Mongolian Street View works, as does the fresh Bangladeshi Street View.

We also came across a great example of what to do if you just cant wait for the Street View car. Notice the trail of blue dots in the screenshot below?

Google Maps user Wahidur Rahman has travelled along the road by bus and every so often captured a panoramic photo and uploaded it to Street View. It was overcast, so the lighting was poor and the imagery isnt as high resolution as typical Street View, but it is certainly better than nothing.



See in Google Maps

However, Google Earth does not currently show user-contributed Street View, so the above imagery can only be viewed in Google Maps. It used to work in the past, but appears to have been broken when Google merged Google Views with Street View.
July 7 Round up : News briefs from Bonn and the region.

Bonn Parking issues, dogs and swimming are under todays short news briefs.

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Officials are hoping to improve the parking situation in the Nordstadt (northern area of Bonn) by marking parking spots and boundaries in designated areas. The parking situation on the northern stretch of Ellerstrae and the east side of Vorgebirgsstrae is especially known for disorderly parking, sometimes blocking the sidewalk for pedestrians. Once completed, the area will be under observation and enforcement for a few weeks to check if drivers comply with traffic regulations.

A 24-year-old was mugged in the Bonn Hofgarten on Tuesday at around 4:40 p.m. The suspect apparently asked if he could buy the headphones the victim was wearing. When the owner of the headphones did not comply, the assailant tore them away and pushed the 24-year-old to the ground, attacking him. Police are searching for the suspect who is described as 15-20-years-old, with a normal build. He was wearing blue trousers, a green cap and green vest, with black clothing underneath the vest. Any tips can be called into police at (0228) 1 50.

The indoor swimming pool in Bad Godesberg, Kufurstenbad will remain closed this year and if the administration has its way, it will never reopen. In a district meeting on Wednesday evening, Mayor Ashok Sridharan said the repairs necessary are so serious that it is not a mere restoration that is required. It could not be ensured that the repairs would be lasting even if carried out. Instead, consideration is being given to the construction of an air supported dome over the Friesdorf pool.

Is your dog registered? Wachtberg will be checking in the coming weeks to make sure people have registered their dogs and paid the Hundesteuer (dog tax). The Finance Bureau wants to remind residents to register their dogs; a formula can be picked up at the Rathaus (town hall) in Berkum or downloaded at www.wachtberg.de under Rat und Verwaltung, Formulare and then Steuern, Finanzen. Questions can be referred to Petra Holenfelder at (0228) 9 54 41 40.
School system : NRW: Two billion euro to renovate schools

Dusseldorf A plan is put on the table to finance the renovation of schools in NRW, many of them in need of repair.

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The state wants to provide 2 billion euro in funding to communities throughout North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) to renovate schools in need. NRW Prime Minister, Hannelore Kraft of the SPD party, announced a credit financing concept which would not burden cities and communities. Investments could be made, for example in updating windows, restrooms and equipping schools with modern media.

At the beginning of the year, more than 1,000 principals took part in a survey about the condition of their schools. 85 percent of those questioned, reported that their schools, in part had serious deficits in terms of physical condition of the building. Reactions to the proposal were mainly positive. Udo Beckman, head of the association for education in NRW, said Its a scandal which has never been put in question, that many communities have been living for decades with schools in poor condition. Thats why we welcome the fact that the state government is finally ready to spend money to resolve the many shortcomings in these buildings.

Parent representatives were also pleased with the proposal. It was noted that schools are expected to absorb more challenges now than ever and this comes with a cost; including and integrating the handicapped, converting school programs into full days, and integrating refugee children.

Opposition came from Christian Lindner of the FDP party. He agreed with the need to renovate schools but didnt like how the financing was to be constructed through credit.
The Document is a first step to launch national and European debates about how to better connect the scientific and policymaking communities.
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Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
Is Nokia Back with an Android Smartphone? Renders of Alleged Nokia P1 Leak Online Features oi -Abhinaya Prabhu

Nokia was once the king of the mobile phone market ruling the sales. Over the years, with the growth in the smartphone shipments, the Finnish smartphone maker lost its throne to the Android device makers such as Samsung.

Later, Nokia teamed up with Microsoft to launch Windows powered Lumia smartphones, but the company was not as successful as it was in the case of feature phones. As per the deal signed with Microsoft, Nokia cannot release a phone using its own brand till the third quarter of this year.

Also Read: OnePlus 3 OxygenOS 3.2 Update Halted Temporarily

As we are in the last quarter of the year when Nokia is all set to re-enter the smartphone market, the leaks and rumors regarding an alleged Android smartphone from the maker is increasing. Nokia is roping in OEMs to make devices for it as it did with the Nokia N1 tablet.

Lately, the company signed a 10-year deal with HMD Global to make products for it. With this deal, Nokia will receive royalty payments from HMD for the sales of devices with the Nokia branding.

Nokia P1 Renders Leak

Well, a press render that allegedly reveals a Nokia branded Android smartphone likely to be called Nokia P1 has started making rounds all over the internet. As per the ongoing reports, this alleged smartphone was reportedly developed by InFocus/Sharp engineers. Remember that Foxconn acquired Sharp earlier this year, so all seems to be linked.

Also Read: TP-LINK Neffos Y5L Smartphone Announced

Nokia P1 to be a re-branded Sharp Aquos P1

The leaked render seems to be identical to the Sharp Aquos P1. Considering the limited distribution of this model, it is possible that the render could be that of a Nokia branded variant of the same. This also makes sense if you look at the names of both the phones.

Potential Specs

As the Nokia P1 could be a re-branded variant of the Sharp Aquos P1, the specs might also be identical. The smartphone from Sharp is actually available in some markets and it features a 5.3-inch FHD 1080p display. It is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of native storage space that can be expanded.

Also Read: Top 10 Best-Selling Smartphones That Have Received a Price Cut Lately

The Sharp Aquos P1 boasts a 22.6 MP main camera at its back and draws power from a 3,000 mAh battery. This battery is claimed to feature fast charging support as well. There is IP58 certification that will protect it from dust and water damage. The renders have been leaked in pink and blue color variants.

Remember the Nokia C1?

Well, the Nokia C1 was the first alleged Android powered Nokia smartphone to surface online. As per the earlier leaks and speculations, the C1 will reportedly come in two variants - one will run on Android and the other on Windows 10 Mobile.

The alleged Nokia C1 will boast a 5-inch HD 720p display and it will be powered by an Intel Atom chipset suggested the rumors. Going by the speculations, the device was expected to feature an 8 MP main snapper with LED, a 5 MP front-facer, and 2 GB RAM.

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook July 05, 2016

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in the Pentagon Briefing Room

PETER COOK: Good afternoon, everybody.

A brief statement, and then I'll be happy to take your questions.

The secretary is closely monitoring the aftermath of the brutal terrorist attacks over the past few days in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Responsibility for these attacks has not been established in all cases, but speculation has centered on ISIL.

These tragic events once again highlight why it's so important to accelerate the coalition campaign to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat in Iraq and Syria to further limit the group's ability to carry out attacks in other parts of the world and to do all we can to prevent the spread of its hateful ideology.

The attacks come as the counter-ISIL coalition has made progress in eroding ISIL's so-called caliphate, recapturing key terrain including major cities, infrastructure and economic nodes that provide ISIL with revenue and fuel its claims of legitimacy.

Today, ISIL has lost the city of Fallujah, from which it has controlled much of western Iraq and launched attacks into Baghdad. Iraqi security forces are making progress in clearing key terrain on the way to Mosul. Manbij, the final way station between ISIL's so-called Syrian capital and the Turkish border, is surrounded by a tightening cordon of Arab troops.

At the same time, ISIL's affiliates in places such as Libya, Afghanistan and East Africa are under intensifying pressure. This is notable and important progress from a year ago or six months ago, but as the tragedies in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia demonstrate, there is still much work left to do.

In fact, the military -- the military defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria, while absolutely necessary to protect innocent lives from ISIL's brutality, is only one part of a strategy that calls for defeating ISIL in its parent tumor in Iraq and Syria, targeting its cancerous spread elsewhere in the world and strengthening security in the homeland against attacks planned or inspired by ISIL.

This week, NATO nations will convene in Warsaw, where discussions among the leaders assembled will include discussions on how to strengthen the campaign against ISIL. Secretary Carter will attend, along with President Obama, and looks forward discussing the latest in the effort to deliver ISIL a lasting defeat.

And later this month, Secretary Carter will also convene fellow defense ministers from counter-ISIL coalition nations here in Washington to assess the campaign's progress and how to further accelerate it. And every day, the brave men and women of our armed forces are working alongside partner forces to end ISIL's ability to threaten innocent lives in the Middle East and around the world. And we remain committed to that mission.

With that, I'd be happy to take your questions. Bob?

Q: Peter, you mentioned the counter-ISIL meeting that's going to be held in Washington. Is there a date set for that?

MR. COOK: It'll be later this month. We'll have more details for you to come.

Q: Okay. So after the --

MR. COOK: That's right. It'll be later in July. We'll have specific details for you when we're ready to announce them.

Q: My main question is regarding the -- the big attack in Baghdad. Is there -- is the secretary concerned that an attack like that, at such a huge cost in human lives and political fallout from that, makes it even more untenable for the Iraqi security forces to go as far as Mosul, which is -- you alluded to as a coming operation, when the capital itself is apparently not well defended and vulnerable?

MR. COOK: The secretary, as you know, obviously very concerned by what happened in Baghdad, as we all are. We've seen the -- the devastation, the loss of life there. This was a significant event.

Yet, I -- I know that the secretary remains just as convinced that preventing those kinds of attacks from happening, the best way to do that is to take ISIL on in Iraq and to remove ISIL from the country to the extent possible. And that's what the coalition effort working alongside the Iraqis is trying to do, that's -- tightening the noose around ISIL in Iraq will make it harder for them to carry out attacks in places like Baghdad, in places in other parts the world.

And this was clearly a devastating attack and a painful reminder of the lethal capabilities of ISIL. But it does not alter the strategy here, and that is to go after ISIL in Iraq, in Syria as -- at an accelerated pace as aggressively as possible to try and limit their capabilities, their ability to carry out those kinds of attacks.

Q: Is it possible that as Prime Minister Abadi devotes more resources to defense of the capital that it would require more U.S. assistance in the Mosul operation in terms of either resources or people?

MR. COOK: Well, Bob, obviously we're working closely with the Iraqi government. We're constantly looking at capabilities, needs that might be present or might be needed going forward in terms of delivering ISIL that -- that defeat. But I'm not aware of any change in -- in that plan at this point as a result of what's happened in Baghdad.

The Iraqi security forces and Prime Minister Abadi's been clear about the need to not only conduct the operations in Fallujah, but also to continue the push to the north, while at the same time trying to maintain security in Baghdad.

We're confident, working closely with the Iraqi Security Forces, the Iraqi government,that we can continue to -- to pressure ISIL on multiple fronts at the same time.

Obviously, we -- we're very cognizant of what happened this weekend and -- and the concerns the Iraqis have about security in Baghdad.

Yes, Tara.

Q: Has the secretary talked to his defense counterparts in Iraq since the bombing? And is there concern in this building that you've already seen the interior minister resign that there might be additional political fallout that will make, you know, a greater U.S. presence in Baghdad harder to sell?

MR. COOK: The -- secretary, I don't have a conversation to read out to you here. If he does have a conversation, we'll let you know.

The secretary, and obviously we have General MacFarland, we have people on the ground in Iraq right now who are coordinating every single day and communicating with their counterparts every single day on the security situation in Iraq.

So we have excellent communications with the Iraqis on a -- on a daily basis. I think the secretary's view is that this, what happened in Baghdad over the weekend, should unite all Iraqis in support of the effort to defeat and -- and eliminate ISIL.

And we're going to do what we can to support the Abadi government, the Iraqi Security Forces and their efforts to do that and -- and Prime Minister Abadi has been clear on his desire to make progress in this campaign, to accelerate this campaign, and we certainly will support his efforts.

Q: How many U.S. assets have been used to assist with either, you know, securing the site or adding additional layers of protection around Baghdad?

MR. COOK: Yeah. I won't discuss force protection issues, but just to say that we're, again, in constant communication with the Iraqis about the security situation, that includes Baghdad as well. And of course we'll continue to have those conversations.

Q: Just one more thought. Do we know if General MacFarland has talked to his counterpart since the bombing?

MR. COOK: I -- I can't tell you specifically each and every one of his conversations, but I can characterize that General MacFarland is constantly talking to the top Iraqi officials, -- his -- the military counterparts, and -- but I can't tell you specifically who he's spoken to.

But obviously the ambassador has been involved. I'll let the State Department speak to that, but there's been extensive communications as -- you would expect as we -- we have extensive communications every day with the -- with the Iraqis. We did before. What happened in Baghdad and certainly afterwards as well.

Lucas.

Q: Peter, you mentioned at the podium you want to accelerate the campaign. The secretary wants to accelerate it. We have been hearing this for many months from this podium, yet the campaign doesn't seem like it has been accelerated of late and here the --

MR. COOK: Lucas, we just had the Iraqi Security Forces take Fallujah. We've had progress in -- in the last few days and the move to the north and the effort to further isolate Mosul. We've had progress in Syria.

Again, these are all part of a larger strategic campaign to -- to isolate ISIL and to -- and to take back territory and that continues to happen.

Q: Then why do you keep asking, demanding the secretary says he wants to accelerate the campaign? Every time -- you address us here from the podium, you talk about accelerating --

MR. COOK: I think -- Baghdad should be a perfect example of that, Lucas.

We -- the threat posed by ISIL, it is a serious threat, and we think that the sooner that -- that they can be eliminated from territory in Iraq and Syria, further -- the sooner they can be dealt that lasting defeat, the less likely it is that something like what happened in Baghdad can happen again.

And it does not remove the threat entirely, as we've seen, but we do think taking the fight to them is the best way to try and achieve that ultimate goal.

Q: Was the secretary surprised about the bombing in Baghdad?

MR. COOK: I think the secretary was obviously -- felt a great degree of sadness over what happened, the loss of life that the Iraqis have suffered tremendously. And this weekend was a perfect example of that. But I think the secretary has also been quite clear that the kind of threat that ISIL poses; that a military campaign alone will not be enough to defeat ISIL; that there needs to be a full range of steps that can be taken outside military -- the military campaign to ultimately defeat ISIL.

And so, I -- sadly, we're not surprised that ISIL is able to -- to strike in some fashion like this, but the goal here is to put enough pressure to take the fight to ISIL so that they're less capable to carry out these kinds of attacks.

Yes?

Q: Thanks, Peter.

Along those same lines, is there more urgency to accelerate the military campaign against ISIS after the attack in Baghdad?

MR. COOK: I think there's more urgency every day to, as you've heard from the secretary, just alluding to what Lucas has mentioned. The secretary would like to accelerate this campaign. The coalition would like to accelerate this campaign. What Baghdad does is serve as a reminder about the lethal capabilities of ISIL and that they pose a very serious threat. And it's all the more reason why there should be a sense of urgency to try and get rid of this kind of enemy as soon as possible in Iraq and in Syria.

Q: And is the Pentagon considering adjusting its strategy as ISIS appears to go from a -- more of a conventional threat to a counterinsurgency?

MR. COOK: Well, we're going to continue to assess the situation with our local partners on the ground; do what we can to adjust if needed. But our basic strategy remains the same. And again, that's to get rid of ISIL and its parent tumor in Iraq and Syria; to deal with the spread, to try and prevent the spread of the cancer of ISIL, the metastasis to other parts of the world; and to do what we can, working with our partners here in the United States and in other parts of the world, to protect the homeland.

And those three steps remain the strategy that we have in place and will continue to be.

Barbara, I see you in the back.

Q: I wanted to follow up on what Kristina was just asking because not just analyzing and assessing, but since Baghdad, and even just before that, is there any single thing you could point to that the administration is doing to try and actually help the Iraqi improve the security situation in Baghdad? As I say, not just assessing, but is the Pentagon doing -- offering, can you point to anything? Or has anything changed since Baghdad?

MR. COOK: Again, I'm not going to talk force protection measures. I think it's fair to say, Barbara, that we are -- have been even before what happened in Baghdad over the weekend, been in constant communication with the Iraqi authorities about the security situation in the country and in Baghdad in particular.

And a good example of that is for -- the fight for Fallujah. The Iraqis felt very strongly that some of the threat posed to Baghdad originated from Fallujah. We assisted the Iraqis with that fight for Fallujah. Certainly, the air support that we provided. All in an effort to try and reduce the threat posed to Baghdad and the rest of the country from the ISIL presence in Fallujah.

That's just one example of many that highlight the kind of coordination we're doing with the Iraqis on a daily basis.

Q: Of course no one suggests that Baghdad could totally be sealed up. But the administration has talked about Fallujah as being, you know, a measure of success against the threat to Baghdad and clearly we saw that completely disintegrate in this -- literally in this latest attack.

So again, is there anything -- is there anything since all of these attacks we've seen over the last several days that are ISIS-linked that you are, one, doing to improve security in Baghdad?

And more broadly, why not take a look at changing strategy? Why not see if there's something else, if there's something different that could be done?

Because you've mentioned a couple of times, you know, the administration's going to stick with the strategy and has. Why isn't it time to take another look?

MR. COOK: We believe the strategy to ultimately defeat ISIL is a sound one.

Obviously what's happened in Baghdad is a -- is a terrible tragedy and it doesn't alter our basic strategy, Barbara, but it does highlight why we're in constant communication with Iraqis, why we're working with Prime Minister Abadi, to see if there are needs and capabilities that need to be met going forward. That's an ongoing conversation.

Whether it's the effort to ultimately take Mosul, whether it's the securing of Baghdad, whether it's the holding of Ramadi, these are things that we're in constant communication with the Iraqis over.

And obviously the prime minister -- my understanding is he's announced some changes of his own with regard to the security situation in Baghdad. We'll continue to support the prime minister to the extent we can. As will other coalition nations. It is not just the United States providing some of the security and stability to the Iraqis.

And so, we'll continue to have that conversation.

Q: Sure. And you've always said -- the Pentagon has always said the security of Baghdad is one of the top priorities in Iraq, if not the number one priority. How do you currently assess the security in Baghdad?

MR. COOK: Obviously this was a terrible tragedy, what took place over the weekend. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered.

It is -- Iraq remains a dangerous place. And --

Q: How do you currently assess the security situation in Baghdad?

MR. COOK: The security situation in Baghdad remains -- as you've seen over the weekend, it remains a dangerous place. It remains a place where the Iraqi security forces have shown capabilities. Their ability to protect Baghdad in the midst of what's been going on nearby in Fallujah and elsewhere has shown some of their capabilities. But there are obviously some deficiencies.

And we'll continue to try and support the Iraqis to the extent we can in trying to address some of those deficiencies providing the kind of advice and assistance that we're able to do in Iraq.

The Iraqis -- this is -- securing the country is ultimately the Iraqis' responsibility. We'll do what we can, along with the coalition, to help them in any way we can.

Q: Very, very quickly, the battle of Abu Kamal over the last many days -- I know it's a fairly technical, localized question, but can you tell us was there any U.S. military, coalition military involvement in Abu Kamal? Did you use helicopters? Did you use any U.S. military air power in and around that battle for Abu Kamal?

MR. COOK: Barbara, I'm not going to be able to walk through every single minute-by-minute tactical situation.

But this is an effort -- an area where we have -- the coalition has provided support in the past and will continue to do so.

So I think that's consistent with what we've said previously about that -- that area and our interest in -- in supporting opposition groups, groups that are taking on ISIL, and we'll continue to provide support to groups that are willing to take the fight to ISIL, and those include some of the -- the groups in that area.

Q: But that's on the ground inside Syria in Abu Kamal.

MR. COOK: There are -- I'm not going to characterize --

Q: (Off-mic.)

MR. COOK: I'm not characterizing whether it's on the ground or air support. We continue to provide support to groups that are taking the fight to ISIL. That includes groups in that area.

Yes, Goyal. Welcome.

Q: Thank you, sir.

Two questions. One as far as terrorism in South Asia is a concern India had been fighting for over 20 years, and now, it is spreading into Bangladesh and the Bangladesh government had been fighting local - those militants. But this came as a surprise, big terrorism.

And secretary meets with the leaders like Indian leader, like Prime Minister Modi and others in the South Asia and others, do they discuss about this terrorism? Because as far as the military-to-military, I know they discuss, but also terrorism?

MR. COOK: Yes. I mean, it's a regular topic of conversation for the secretary as he meets with his counterparts and with world leaders because of the global threat, that we all have an interest seeing groups like ISIL defeated. And this is a regular subject of conversation.

Obviously, the secretary has looked to other countries to provide support for the coalition efforts, so I think you're going to expect that the secretary will have this conversation on a regular basis with world leaders going forward.

Q: Did this come as a surprise, that this kind of terrorism in Bangladesh likely to happen in Mumbai?

MR. COOK: I think it's unfortunate, Goyal. We -- we're seen this happen all too often in -- not just in the -- in Asia and Southeast Asia, we've seen it now -- just look at the locations over the last few days. We've seen Istanbul, we've seen in Bangladesh, we've seen it in Saudi Arabia at some of the holiest places in Saudi Arabia, and we've seen it in Baghdad.

And unfortunately, we've seen ISIL-inspired attacks in other parts of the world and this is a -- remains a concern. This is -- this is -- this is why we need to defeat ISIL, this is why we're doing what we're doing. And the -- if you -- if you strike it ISIL's heart in Iraq and Syria, if you make it harder for them to wage these kinds of attacks in other parts of the world, we think that is -- is the most effective thing we can do at this time.

Q: (Off-mic.)

Q: As far as the military-to-military India and U.S. relations are concerned now, several developments took place as far as several nuclear (inaudible). At least one U.S. company, Westinghouse, has decided to build six nuclear plants in India and more may follow.

So what role do you think DOD or Pentagon is playing as far as this deal is concerned or during Secretary Carter's meeting with the Indian defense minister and all of that? So what is the future?

MR. COOK: I will leave the Westinghouse and those involved with the civilian nuclear arrangement to -- to speak for themselves.

I will just characterize it, as you know, Goyal, that the secretary's been very pleased with his conversations with the defense minister and about the military-to-military relationship between the United States and India and looks forward to having that relationship grow even -- even more in the future.

Q: Thanks.

MR. COOK: Yes?

Q: Peter, I wanted to ask you about FBI Director Comey's comments following the conclusion of the investigation into former Secretary Clinton's e-mail server. He talked about how hostile actors likely hacked her server or the people that she was communicating with.

Given that she noted she was communicating with senior members of the Department of Defense at the time, has the FBI given this building any indication that any information, or indeed any access to DOD servers were also compromised? Or have -- has the DOD been looking into that?

MR. COOK: I'm not aware of any exposure or anything that we've been made aware of as a result. I know that the Justice Department had asked for e-mails and for information and that we've been as cooperative as we could be. But I'm not aware of any risk highlighted by the Justice Department investigation.

Q: Do you have any idea of who these hostile actors are?

MR. COOK: I don't. I'll leave you to Director Comey and the FBI to find out exactly what it was he was talking about -- referring to.

Q: Who are the hostile actors that DOD is concerned about with cybersecurity?

MR. COOK: Well, there are a number of possible actors that we're worried about there. They are potentially nation-states. They are terror groups like ISIL. That's why cybersecurity and defending our own networks is job one in terms of cybersecurity.

Q: What nation-states? Which ones specifically?

MR. COOK: I'm not going to get into details here, but you know that we've had -- we come under threat all the time. We -- our -- our networks are challenged all the time. And we have to do what we need to do to protect ourselves. And we're -- it's a significant investment that we're making. You can look at it in our budget. And we need to be up to the task, whether, again, it's individual actors or those acting on behalf of nation-states.

And we need to maintain our edge when it comes to cybersecurity, and we're going to continue to do that.

Q: Thank you, Peter.

Shifting to the South China Sea, there is an op-ed published in a state -- Chinese state-run newspaper today saying that the Chinese military ought to prepare for a military confrontation with the United States in the South China Sea. Given kind of the increased patrols by the U.S. of that area and the naval buildup there, can the Pentagon assure the American people that it's taking steps to decrease rather than increase the chance of a live conflict with China in that region?

MR. COOK: I think you talked about increased patrols. What I would refer to is what we're doing in that part of the world is consistent with what we've been doing for decades and the stabilizing presence of the U.S. military there, the U.S. Navy more specifically. There's nothing new about what the United States is doing.

We, as the secretary has pointed out on multiple occasions, we do not seek any confrontation with China. We're looking for a situation in which the success in the Asia Pacific, the success of so much -- so many countries in that part of the world, and the growth in the economy there, the flow of trade, that that continues and continues to grow.

And that countries in that part of the world will continue to participate in the -- in the network of security that is so critical to that -- to that part of the world, and that China be part of that. And so the -- we're going to continue to do what we've been doing, because it's been a stabilizing presence in that part of the world and nothing different about what we're doing today than we were decades ago.

Q: Does the rhetoric that -- that newspaper, the op-ed kind of seems to be using increasingly we see, does that concern the Pentagon about the chances for some sort of military confrontation?

MR. COOK: Well, I haven't read the op-ed in full, and so I won't weigh in on particular reports. But anything that -- anything that escalates tensions in that part of the world, we think is -- is counterproductive. We've made that clear. We've pointed to the diplomatic route for resolving these issues with regard to the South China Sea and territorial claims.

The United States does not take a position on those claims. We just think that they should be resolved peacefully. This UNCLOS ruling that we -- coming up soon is -- represents an opportunity, again, to resolve some of these issues in a diplomatic and peaceful fashion and we would suggest that that is a -- the proper pathway. That is a good example, the proper pathway, for resolving these kinds of disputes.

Yes.

Q: Let me ask some questions about that. There has been a newspaper report that the U.S. and Korea have reached a decision on where to place THAAD batteries in South Korea and that location is the South Korea southeastern town of Chilgok. Is this report true?

MR. COOK: I -- I can't confirm any reporter of that kind. I can just tell you that the conversations that we're having and the negotiations that we've been having with the South Koreans that continue to make progress and no final decisions have been made.

Q: So can you give us a little bit more sense of how close you are to a decision?

MR. COOK: Yeah. Um -- I -- I don't want to characterize -- I'm not in -- in the room with the parties having these conversations, but I think it's safe to say that, again, in -- these have been good conversations from the beginning. We made this alliance decision to move forward with these talks and, again, we -- no final decisions have been made but I think we look forward to seeing the outcome of these conversations.

Luis.

Q: Peter, over the last two weeks there have been two incidents involving a Russian navy ship in the Mediterranean. There were concerns expressed about their behavior toward U.S. Navy ships.

Have you communicated any concerns? How have you done so with Russia about these two incidents?

MR. COOK: Um, we have, as you know, Luis, regular diplomatic channels to -- to express our concerns about incidents at sea like this -- these kinds of -- unprofessional conduct and we'll continue to -- to use those avenues to express our concerns.

I know the most recent incident that you're referring to, our crew considered it an unprofessional maneuver by a Russian navy vessel and communicated that as -- as -- at the time.

Q: (inaudible) -- any other incidents since that one, given that we're seeing a greater frequency inside the Mediterranean towards the -- these kinds of incidents by Russian ships towards U.S. ships?

MR. COOK: I'm not aware of -- one, I don't know -- I'm -- do you have one in particular that you're aware of? You seem to know a lot about them. I'm not aware of one more recently.

Q: (Inaudible).

MR. COOK: Yeah. Okay. Sometimes you do, Luis. I'm impressed.

Yes -- (inaudible).

Q: Thank you. In the National Defense Authorization Act, which is  under that -- secretary needs to certify that Pakistan is taking enough steps against the Haqqani Network and this will release $300 million to Pakistan under CSF.

Has the secretary given that certification to Pakistan?

MR. COOK: So you're referring to the previous -- previous NDAA. My understanding that there has been a decision with regard to reprogramming some of the -- those funds for other purposes at this time.

Q: And second, when the secretary went to India, he described the relationship as a strategic handshake and when the prime minister met President Obama here -- there was a joint statement in which U.S. recognized India as a major defense partner. Can you tell us what's the difference between the two and what does it mean in concrete terms for the India-U.S. defense relationship?

MR. COOK: Well, I think the secretary's reference highlights his own view about the -- how so much of what India is working towards in terms of both its economic policies and its security policies mesh so well with U.S. policies in the same vein. I think that's what the secretary was referring to with that handshake. It's very consistent with our rebalance to the Asia Pacific. And I think he was trying to make that point in a very illustrative way.

And I think, as I mentioned earlier, the secretary is very pleased with the progress that we've made with regard to the military-to-military relationship with India, and he's very much enjoyed his ongoing work with Minister Parrikar and looks forward to having that relationship grow even further.

Yes?

Q: Thank you. So just a couple of general questions, general assessment questions about recent bombings.

When you look at the bombing in Baghdad, in Istanbul and in Medina, do these bombings suggest a change in ISIS strategy from the Pentagon's perspective, from a group that sought to conquer areas into a group that is basically more interested, just like Al Qaida once was, in causing terror through bombings and...

MR. COOK: I mean, the sheer numbers of the attacks recently would suggest that ISIL is looking to carry out these kind of attacks at the same time that it is losing territory, losing leadership, losing its finances, losing its messaging capabilities in Iraq and Syria.

And it is -- we've always said that there would be this threat, that the ability to carry out isolated terrorist attacks would remain a capability that ISIL would have. But the best way to go after ISIL and to limit its ability to carry out these kinds of attacks, and at the same time, end any suggestion of a so-called caliphate, was to take the fight to ISIL in Iraq and Syria. And we're continuing to do that.

We have seen that they do have a very lethal capability to carry out terrorist attacks and we want to do everything we can to minimize that as well.

Q: Do you feel -- (inaudible)  the reason they're resorting to these sort of bombings is a result of their failure to conquer more territory or the setbacks -- (inaudible)?

MR. COOK: I'm -- far for me to try to get into the minds of ISIL leadership as to what they're thinking. They've carried out these attacks. They still control some territory in Iraq and Syria and we're doing everything we can to reduce that. We've made progress on that front. We'd like to make even more progress. And we think in doing so, we will limit their ability to carry out these other attacks.

But they -- again, this is a lethal capability that in the case of Baghdad may have been a single truck loaded with explosives. Very hard to protect against that. But we're going to continue to do everything we can to try and reduce those threats as well, working with our partners in the region, including the Iraqis.

Q: Peter, can I just --

MR. COOK: Let me -- can I go to Thomas and then I'll come back?

Q: Sure. Thank you.

Q: I just wanted to follow up on that actually.

MR. COOK: Sure.

Q: It must be quite a strange disconnect for you to be explaining that the more you hit ISIL in the heartlands, the less they're going to have operational capabilities overseas. But we're seeing the exact opposite of that. So how do you, kind of, explain that to the public?

MR. COOK: Well, I guess, Thomas, you could look at -- would we feel any better if they had as much territory as they did a year ago when they were carrying out these attacks, you know?

We -- we have gone after ISIL at its core, at the -- the parent tumor, as the secretary refers to it, in Iraq and Syria in a way that we think has done significant damage to the group, to the organization. But at the military campaign alone, as we've said from the start, will not eliminate ISIL's ability to carry out terrorist attacks. So it is -- it is a reality that they retain a lethal capability, but that's not going to deter us from trying to do everything we can to try and reduce that capability, and that's what we're doing in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere.

Q: Are you concerned that they appear to be having a broader appeal, like the -- the guys in Bangladesh were middle class and -- you know, the ones who carried out the attack in the cafe.

MR. COOK: Of course that's a concern that their hateful message is resonating anywhere in the world. I do think, though, if you look -- and I know that my colleagues in the White House have spoken to this and at the State Department -- but if you look at the people who are responding to -- to their appeals on social media and elsewhere, there's a case that can be made that maybe their message hasn't been as well received in recent months as they've lost territory, as they've lost some of their stature, they've lost some of their leadership.

It's harder for them to message right now than it was a year or two ago. So yes, we do think there's been progress made and there is momentum in terms of the campaign in Iraq and Syria, but that does not eliminate the threat that ISIL poses, and we've seen over the last few days the very painful reality of that.

Q: Can I just ask on a different topic, NATO this week. What are -- what are some of the secretary's hopes for the summit?

MR. COOK: Well, the secretary's looking forward to the summit. It'll be his first Leaders Summit as secretary of defense. Of course, the president will be there and he'll be in support of the president.

In addition to talking about ISIL, this will be another chance to -- to highlight the importance of the NATO alliance at this particular moment in time, a chance to look at the solidarity of the alliance right now and to discuss a range of issues that are critical to the alliance and to the member nations.

Barbara. Promised I'd come back.

Q: Actually, follow-up on Russia. So Putin apparently sent Obama a July 4th message; he said he wanted to get relationship back on track with the United States. But you see all of these Russian military activities near U.S. planes, near U.S. ships, stepping it up again in Eastern Europe.

So what is the secretary's view going into the NATO summit? Just how much does he believe that Putin actually wants to get the relationship back on track? How trusting is the secretary of the Russian military at the moment?

MR. COOK: I think you've heard the secretary say on numerous occasions, including even here in the briefing room last week while I was away, that if there is a chance to -- that there -- there are areas where U.S. and Russian interests align and we can work with Russia potentially in those areas. But there are obviously activities and conduct by the Russians in recent years that causes concern and cause the NATO alliance concern, and I think that'll be evident from -- from the summit in Warsaw.

And -- well, you can look at Ukraine, you can look at the activities there and it's just one example of some of the things that causes concern and have caused the Department of Defense to reassess Russia and to reassess where we're going in terms of the relationship with Russia. We had hoped some time ago that there would be a better relationship going forward. We didn't anticipate where we'd be today, but it's a reality of where we are.

Q: So what does the U.S. military think the Russian military is up to when they come within feet of your ships and your airplanes? What does the Russian military, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

MR. COOK: I'm going to -- I'm going to leave it to you, Barbara, to check with the Russian military as to what they're doing and why they're doing it. We're making it clear to them our concerns about that kind of behavior -- the unprofessional behavior, unsafe in some cases, of behavior. That's not how we conduct business.

And -- and as with any other nation in the world, when you act in an unprofessional and unsafe manner, we're going to voice our concerns about that and we've done so.

Q: But what is the U.S. military assessment about that activity right now? You must -- there must be some kind of conclusion or assessment as to what you -- you guys think the Russian military is out there trying to do to you.

MR. COOK: Well, we're acting with our alliance colleagues and partners in NATO to strengthen, for example, our security posture in -- in eastern Europe as a result of what we've seen Russian activities with regard to Crimea and Ukraine. So, we're responding with our partners and allies, Barbara, to what we see as actions by the Russians that we think are -- are not promoting security in the region. And we'll continue to do so.

Q: Just to follow up to Barbara's question, is it time for a new message to Russia? You've been saying now for over a year that Russia's actions are unprofessional, yet they continue to do what they're doing. Is it time to send another message to Russia?

MR. COOK: Lucas, we will continue to carry out as the most important -- act on behalf of the American people in the best national security interests of the American people. And that's with regard to Russia. It's with regard to other threats out there. The secretary has identified five challenges that we're dealing with right now, all at the same time. They include Russia and its activities.

And he's made clear that if there are areas where our interests and Russia align, we're prepared to work with the Russians. But there are instances in the past few months and years that have given us concern. And we'll continue to respond to them, as we will -- as evidenced by what's going on in Warsaw with our alliance, with NATO, to try and address those concerns collectively.

But the United States is doing its part and you can look at investments we're making in our budget as a reflection of the seriousness with which we take the challenge posed by Russia and others.

I'm going to go to Tara, and then Phil, who just snuck in.

Q: Back on China --

(CROSSTALK)

Q: Does -- does the U.S. intend to abide by China's requests or direction to the various countries in the region not to enter the South China Sea between Vietnam and the Philippines while they conduct their military exercises over the next couple weeks?

MR. COOK: I'll just say broadly, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows. And we don't -- we'll just continue to hold by that. As you know, we're conducting exercises ourselves right now, including exercises with the Chinese. And we'll continue to do that as well.

Phil?

Q: Peter, could you just bring us up to date on the contribution or potential contributions from Gulf allies -- Saudi Arabia and UAE -- in Syria? When Secretary Carter spoke to us back in late January or early February, he indicated there were potential contributions to the campaign there. And as you've seen progress in Syria, are you expecting that those contributions will come on-line? Is that proposal sort of dead right now? Did it -- can you not talk about it because it's too --

MR. COOK: Well, I mean, as you know, Phil, they've been part of the air campaign and -- and I'll let those governments speak for their own contributions beyond that. But the secretary did have good conversations, continues to have good conversations with leadership in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE about the fight against ISIL and about what role those two countries can play.

Remember, there's both the military role which we think is critically important, but there's also other roles that those countries can play that would be positive in terms of reconstruction in Iraq and Syria, trying to do their part with regard to that.

There's more than just the military component, but I would say that the military component is part of ongoing discussions between this building and our counterparts at the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Q: Has there been any development on the land role in these last four months?

MR. COOK: I'll just say there have been excellent conversations going on and those will continue. And I'll let those countries speak for themselves with regard to the role they're playing in terms of any ground operations.

Okay. Thanks, everyone.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/824440/

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Counter-ISIL Strikes Hit Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, July 06, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Iraq and Syria yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 13 strikes in Syria near Manbij that struck eight separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 21 ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL tactical vehicle.

In a separate action, fighter aircraft conducted a strike in Syria near Raqqah, where a strike struck inoperable coalition equipment, denying ISIL access to it.

Due to an administrative error, two strikes were not reported and an additional strike was misreported near Ayn Isa in Syria on the combined joint task force's release yesterday, officials said. The release should have read that near Manbij, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL vehicle.

Strikes in Iraq

Fighter, attack, bomber and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 14 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL bunker.

-- Near Huwayjah, three strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL front-end loader and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed an ISIL command-and-control node.

-- Near Kisik, two strikes struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL assembly area and suppressed an ISIL rocket firing position.

-- Near Mosul, a strike struck an ISIL vehicle bomb factory.

-- Near Qayyarah, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL rocket system and an ISIL headquarters.

-- Near Ramadi, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed 10 ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL artillery piece, an ISIL vehicle, two ISIL rocket-propelled-grenade systems, five ISIL heavy machine guns, an ISIL boat and an ISIL sniper position.

-- Near Waleed, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and an ISIL fighting position.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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Centcom Counters ISIL Propaganda

By Karen Parrish DoD News, Defense Media Activity

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., July 06, 2016  While Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve's air campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant notched more than 26,000 ISIL targets damaged or destroyed as of the end of May, the war against ISIL also proceeds on other fronts.

From its headquarters here, Central Command runs two separate programs in the information war against ISIL. Through the command's Digital Engagement Team, or DET, and separately through its web operations cell, Centcom's military, civilian and contract employees work to combat ISIL propaganda in the cyber domain.

Centcom officials spoke to DoD News on background about the counter-ISIL information efforts.

Digital Engagement Team

The 11-member DET includes native-born speakers of Arabic, Urdu, Russian, Farsi, Dari and Pashto. Their job, officials said, is to represent Centcom in those languages and tailor their messaging to regional news cycles: Arabic in Arabic-speaking countries, Dari and Pashto for Afghanistan, Farsi for Iran, Russian for the Central Asian states, and Urdu for Pakistan.

Officials said ISIL's dominance in the cyber realm has diminished since the group came to prominence in 2014. Now, one official said, "You're not seeing the YouTube videos of victory parades, of lines of vehicles and black flags anymore."

Centcom officials said the main "hub" of ISIL's information campaign remains Twitter, but the group's reach has been diminished as both Twitter and Facebook "have been pretty aggressive in taking down the accounts that they can recognize or that get reported to them."

ISIL's response has been to have supporters create dozens of dormant accounts to fall back on as active accounts are cancelled, a Centcom official said. "The way that they will maintain their audience is either through a hashtag in the description of the account, or the account image will be something like a little brand that people will be able to recognize, and the account will be numbered in such a way that people can sort of figure out -- because it will be sequential in numbers or letters or some way. So people can then very quickly get back to that source."

Taking Back the Space

The "Iraqi on the street" is the audience the DET seeks to reach in its counter-ISIL efforts, officials said, and they reported that a "groundswell" of Iraqis took to Twitter in late May, right around the time Iraqi security forces began the campaign to retake Fallujah.

The DET "amplified" a popular meme that translated to "Iraqis tweeting in Iraqi." That is, in the Iraqi dialect, one official said. "And so that started kind of a meme throughout the region. They took the space back."

An official noted, "For a couple of weeks there, in the Arab world, Iraq was the top Twitter user."

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve has also weakened ISIL's hold in the cyber domain by destroying some of the facilities the group used to produce its propaganda products, Centcom officials said.

Web Operations and MISO

Centcom's other counter-ISIL social media-based effort goes by the name of Web Ops, an effort involving military information support to operations -- what used to be known as psychological operations. An official explained, "We're concerned with foreign audiences only, not domestic, whereas public affairs interacts with both."

Web Ops involves about 120 people. The group coordinates with the DET, coalition partners and the State Department to ensure themes and messages are consistent, officials said.

An official who works with Web Ops said ISIL's propaganda efforts have altered in the past two years. "In 2014, when ISIL took Mosul, they maintained a dozen official [social media] accounts that said 'We Are ISIL,' the official said. "They also relied on several dozen 'fanboy' accounts which could boast upwards of 100,000 followers. So in terms of official messaging and in terms of unofficial support messaging, ISIL could quickly and easily reach hundreds of thousands of supporters and really the whole world with minimal effort."

The official continued, "But since 2014, a combination of aggressive suspensions from social media companies, attrition and decrease in morale in ISIL's own ranks -- which we've seen play out and we've seen them express this; that there's a loss in morale -- and the third element would be counter-efforts from both governmental and nongovernmental entities. A combination of those three has gradually degraded ISIL's footprint, ISIL's ability to quickly and easily reach the masses."

ISIL's 'Bait and Switch'

Officials said one of the main narratives web ops works to amplify involves the stories of ISIL defectors.

"The main thing we see defectors complaining about is that  it was a bait and switch," one official said. "They were told they would be fighting the Syrian regime or 'the crusaders,' and instead they found themselves fighting against other Muslims -- opposition groups. That's the single most prominent complaint we hear. That's the most commonly cited reason why they leave [ISIL], because they were lied to about what they would be doing."

The official said ISIL defectors also "revealed how ISIL had staged a lot of their supposed demonstrations of power -- everything from raids on enemy strongholds to food in the marketplace, and how everything about ISIL's public persona is being micromanaged by media spinners. Fake propaganda."

Disrupting ISIL Propaganda

Web ops uses a three-prong approach, an official said: 'disrupting' adversary propaganda, exposing adversaries' hypocrisies and crimes through engagements with at-risk target audiences, and mobilizing the adversaries' opponents to more effectively combat the adversary online.

Mobilizing adversary opponents occurs, the official explained, "through regular engagement, in-language, with regional target audiences online, using factual information consistent with our approved narratives."

To locate ISIL adversaries and target audiences, the official said, "We use mostly commercial off-the-shelf regular old [searches] to identify keywords associated with the adversary's narrative, along with obviously manual analyst target-audience analysis. And for at-risk users it's a similar process; we identify common terms that are publicly searchable that indicate an individual is sympathetic to the adversary's narrative."

An assessments team works to measure the effectiveness of web operations, officials said. One noted, "MISO is a traditional military activity, and if it's directed at an adversary communications [capability], then simply countering or disrupting adversary communication could in and of itself be a measure of effectiveness."

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OIR Spokesman: Local Forces Continue Push to Mosul in Iraq, Manbij Isolation in Syria

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 06, 2016  U.S.- and coalition-backed local forces continue the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters in the push toward Mosul in Iraq and the isolation of Manbij in Syria, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Army Col. Christopher Garver said today.

Speaking live via videoconference from Baghdad, Garver offered condolences on behalf of the coalition to the families and loved ones of those killed and injured in the bombing of the Karrada district in Baghdad July 4.

"We stand with the people of Iraq and Syria and are resolved to defeat Daesh and liberate both countries from this gang of thugs and murderers that have killed and injured so many," the colonel said before updating the press on OIR operations.

Daesh is another term for ISIL.

Transitioning in Fallujah

Beginning with operations in Iraq, Garver said that in Fallujah Iraqi security forces continue to transition control of the liberated city from the Iraqi army, federal police and the Counter-Terrorism Service inside the city to the hold force -- a combination of police and Anbari tribal fighters enrolled in the Popular Mobilization Forces program.

"Elements of five Iraqi army divisions are continuing security operations in the suburbs around Fallujah. Transition to the hold force is ongoing and it is on an Iraqi timeline," he said, "but a few units have already moved from Fallujah to other locations. The last coalition strike into Fallujah in support of forces clearing the city was June 29."

In northern Iraq, the colonel said, shaping operations continue in preparation for the eventual liberation of Mosul.

ISF fighters continue maneuvering toward Qayyarah along two axes, Garver said.

Toward Qayyarah

Along the eastern axis, brigades of the 15th Iraqi Army Division continue clearing ISIL pockets from small villages to the southeast of Qayyarah. The 72nd Brigade continues to hold Kharabat Jabar and clear Hajj Ali, he said.

Ninevah police battalions are assuming the hold-force mission in the cleared towns of Kabruk, Mahanah and Kharbardan, Garver said. And in the last 24 hours, he added, the Combined Joint Task Force conducted two strikes in support of these forces.

On the western axis, the 9th Iraqi Army Division, supported by CTS forces, continued to attack north toward Qayyarah from Beiji, he said.

"We have seen tactical repositioning from the forward elements due to enemy activity along the forward edge of their formation but have once again reoccupied their most forward positions south of the town of Ramadaniyat," Garver said. The forces on this axis, he added, recently completed the clearing of the town of Makuhl.

Resistance along the western axis is light to moderate, and ISIL is using tactics that include earthworks, obstacle belts, indirect fire and suicide attacks, he said.

"In the last week the coalition has conducted 11 strikes in the Qayyarah region in support of these operations," the colonel added, and he reiterated the importance of Qayyarah and major towns in this area such as Sharqat.

"Not only do we want to clear Qayyarah because Daesh controls it," Garver said, "but Qayyarah is also important because it is approximately 50 kilometers from Mosul. This intermediate step on the way to Mosul, just as we saw at Makhmour, will allow the Iraqi security forces to posture for the eventual big fight to liberate Mosul.

Foothold in Manbij

In Manbij, Syria, he said, the operation by the Syrian Democratic Forces, led on this attack by the Syrian Arab Coalition, continues to isolate the city and fight to seize a firm foothold there.

Garver said the fighting is tough and the resistance stiff against the partnered forces, and ISIL has tried to counterattack the inner cordon around Manbij and the outer cordon of the isolation force.

"The SDF has repeatedly defeated Daesh's attempts to punch a hole through the cordon," the colonel said, noting that ISIL continues to use indirect fire and vehicle-borne bombs to disrupt the attack.

Since operations began May 21, the Syrian Arab Coalition has gained more than 1,000 kilometers and has been supported by more than 325 coalition strikes, Garver said.

Further West

Farther west on the Mara line, the vetted Syrian opposition and the affiliated moderate Syrian opposition have seized multiple villages from ISIL on the northern edge of the line, the colonel said, adding that coalition has seen rapid advances against ISIL-held villages of Tall Battal Shamail, Mazra'at Shahin, Qissah Jik and Tall Ahmar.

"We've seen Daesh fighters leaving these previously defended towns to attempt to reinforce Manbij," he said.

"As the pressure increases against Daesh in Manbij, they are demonstrating more desperation to keep Daesh strategic crossroads open for access outside Syria. And as our partner forces continue to apply pressure to Daesh across Iraq and Syria, we also continue to pressure Daesh functionally as well," Garver said.

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Obama: 8,400 U.S. Troops to Remain in Afghanistan through January 2017

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, July 06, 2016  The situation in Afghanistan remains "precarious," President Barack Obama said here today, and that is why he will keep 8,400 U.S. service members in country through the end of his term.

The president was joined for the announcement from the Roosevelt Room at the White House by Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Obama had planned to draw down the number of American troops in the country to 5,500 by the end of the year. There are currently 9,800 U.S. troops in the country.

"As president and commander-in-chief, I have made it clear that I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again," Obama said. "I strongly believe that it is in our national interests, especially after all the blood and treasure we've invested in Afghanistan over the years, that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed."

Consultation

Obama made the decision after consulting with the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson; his national security team; Congress and allies. Pegging the number at 8,400 troops will allow the United States "to continue to provide tailored support to help Afghan forces continue to improve," the president said.

The decision means the United States will maintain a presence in both Kandahar and Jalalabad. The president's announcement comes shortly before he departs for the NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland, July 8-9, where leaders will discuss the situation in Afghanistan.

There has been undeniable progress in Afghanistan, the president said, but the country -- one of the poorest in the world -- needs more time to develop governmental, military and economic capabilities.

The first U.S. troops went into Afghanistan in October 2001, he said, and attacked al-Qaida. The terror group planned the 9/11 attacks against the United States behind a shield erected by the then-ruling Taliban. The aim was to stop Afghanistan from ever being able to be a safe haven for terrorists.

"We pushed al-Qaida out of its camps, helped the Afghan people topple the Taliban and helped them establish a democratic government," the president said. "We dealt crippling blows to the al-Qaida leadership, we delivered justice to Osama bin Laden and we trained Afghan forces to take responsibility for their own security."

Missions Remain

The number of American forces will be higher than planned but the missions will remain the same, the president said. Those missions are to train and to advise Afghan forces and to support counterterrorism efforts aimed at the remnants of al-Qaida and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which is trying to gain a foothold in the country.

Afghanistan is still dangerous, as witnessed by the deaths of 38 Americans in the country since combat operations stopped in December 2014, Obama said. "We resolve to carry on the mission for which they gave their last full measure of devotion, the president said.

The United States is a leader, but it's just one nation among many seeking a safe and stable Afghanistan, Obama said. There are 41 allies and partners working in the country, fielding more than 6,000 troops of their own. The Afghan security forces have more than 320,000 members and they are providing security for the people.

"But these forces are not as strong as they need to be," Obama said. "With our help they are still seeking to improve critical capabilities such as intelligence, logistics, aviation and command and control."

The Taliban remains a threat, the president said, and in some areas they have actually gained ground against government forces.

Message to the Taliban

"My decision today also sends a message to the Taliban and all those who oppose Afghanistan's progress," he said. "You have now been waging war against the Afghan people for many years. You've been unable to prevail. Afghan security forces continue to grow stronger and the commitment of the international community -- including the United States -- to Afghanistan and its people will endure."

The only way the Taliban can end the conflict is to negotiate with the government on a lasting political settlement, Obama said.

The president said his decision will allow his successor the leeway to make changes in the U.S, mission in Afghanistan.

Following the announcement, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement that military and defense leaders made the recommendation to the president. The recommendation was made in consultation with Nicholson; Army Gen. Joseph L. Votel, the U.S. Central Command commander; and Dunford.

The U.S. troop level in Afghanistan "will enhance our ability to continue progress on our two central missions in Afghanistan: strengthening Afghan forces so they can secure their nation and prevent its use as a safe haven for terrorists," Carter said. "In consultation with President [Ashraf] Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah and the Afghan government, we and our NATO partners remain determined to help the people of Afghanistan secure a more peaceful future."

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Navy's San Clemente Island Fuel Facility Renovations Complete

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160706-21

Release Date: 7/6/2016 2:51:00 PM

By Candice Villarreal, Director, Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Office of Corporate Communications

SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center (NAVSUP FLC) San Diego celebrated the complete replacement of its San Clemente Island fuel facility during a ribbon cutting ceremony July 6.

The ceremony commemorated the conclusion of Military Construction Project (MILCON) P-704F, a $31 million project replacing fuel storage facilities and pipeline slated to ensure Navy aircraft will have the essential fueling support they need to keep flying into the foreseeable future.

The Navy-owned, coastal California island serves as a live-fire range and research facility, playing a pivotal role in tactical training for both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft squadrons assigned to Navy Region Southwest. As a result, enhanced aircraft fueling capabilities are a critical component of mission success.

"Fuel is one of the most essential resources for military forces in every theater and corner of the globe today," said Commander, NAVSUP Global Logistics Support Rear Adm. James McNeal. "The fueling facilities in the Southwest region, in particular, service one of the largest concentrations of naval forces in the world. To ensure the facility maintained optimal support levels to the fleet while also mitigating impact to the environment during such substantial construction is a very significant achievement."

"The success of this project is testament to the fantastic working relationship between NAVSUP and Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC)," continued McNeal. "I'd like to thank Rear Adm. Bret Muilenburg (commander, NAVFAC), and his entire team at NAVFAC Southwest."

During the three-year MILCON, three subterranean JP-5 jet fuel tanks were replaced with new, state-of-the art, 100,000 gallon above-ground tanks. A new pump house and pump room also complement the innumerable upgrades to the facility's fire suppression systems, truck fill stands, and leak detection systems. The intensive construction project essentially replaced an aging fuel facility with the cutting-edge, safety and mission-focused modernizations it needs to provide unparalleled warfighter support.

"It is noteworthy to consider the nature and number of tactical flight operations this facility supports," said NAVSUP FLC San Diego Commanding Officer Rear Adm. (Select) John Palmer. "The execution and ultimate success of each of those evolutions hinges on the ability of this facility and its staff to keep them ready, fueled and flying."

The San Clemente Island fuel facility issues in excess of 80,000 gallons of jet fuel each month for hundreds of Navy, joint service and allied forces aircraft.

As part of the Navy's ongoing commitment to the environment, much of the project was planned and executed according to "green building" guidelines. Those initiatives, in turn, led to the facility's current consideration for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification for groundbreaking efforts in environmental responsibility.

"To have such a busy fuel facility undergo a construction project of this magnitude -- while still meeting all mission requirements in supporting aggressive warfighter training -- speaks volumes about the caliber of personnel we have on the job," said Palmer. "Everyone involved, from our civil service and military personnel to our trusted contractor partners, has certainly gone above and beyond in ensuring this project resulted in success. I am certain I speak for America's warfighters when I thank them for their tireless efforts and congratulate them on a job well done."

NAVSUP FLC San Diego, one of eight fleet logistics centers under NAVSUP Global Logistics Support (GLS), provides operational logistics, business and support services to fleet, shore and industrial commands of the Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, and other joint and allied forces. Services include contracting, regional transportation, fuel, material management, household goods movement support, postal and consolidated mail, warehousing, global logistics and husbanding, hazardous material management, and integrated logistics support.

NAVSUP GLS provides global logistics for a global Navy. The organization is made up of more than 6,300 military and civilian logistics professionals operating from 105 locations worldwide providing an extensive array of integrated global logistics and contracting services to Navy, Marine Corps, joint operational units, and allied forces across all warfare enterprises.

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NAVFAC Marianas Awards Multiple Award Construction Contract

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160706-02

Release Date: 7/6/2016 9:04:00 AM

By Catherine Cruz Norton, Naval Facilities Engineering Command Marianas Public Affairs

PITI, Guam (NNS) -- Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Marianas awarded a Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC) to five SDVOSBs for construction and facility work primarily on Guam.

The five successful companies include Global Engineering Services Inc., a small business of California; M-80 Systems Inc., a Guam-based small business; Pacific Industrial Coatings, a Guam-based small business; Pearl Construction Environmental Service Inc., a Guam-based small business; and Relyant Global LLC, a small business of Tennessee.

Each were awarded an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) construction contract with a combined maximum dollar value of $30 million that includes a base period and four option years.

Under the terms and conditions of the SDVOSB MACC, these five contractors will compete for work issued as task orders. The work involves minor renovation and modernization, routine minor repair and maintenance projects, and will generally include all supervision, labor, safety controls, transportation, materials, equipment, permit and clearances, and other incidental work.

"This award demonstrates our strong commitment to provide maximum practicable opportunities for small businesses," said NAVFAC Marianas Deputy for Small Business Al Sampson. "These service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses will work to meet the Navy's facility needs, thereby enhancing quality of life for our service members and their families."

The first task order was awarded to Relyant Global LLC for approximately $99,600 to install window shutters for 15 homes located at Naval Base Guam, Apra Harbor. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by February 2017.

The term of the SDVOSB MACC is not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of July 2021. It was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with 14 proposals received.

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Philippine president: talks with Beijing after ruling

People's Daily Online

(CRI Online) 08:36, July 06, 2016

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he wants to talk with China over the South China Sea issue after the ruling from an international tribunal.

During a speech before the Philippine Air Force on Tuesday, the president said he wants friendly relations with China and reiterated that he was against any armed conflict.

Duterte had previously said he was open to talks with China, and even joint ventures to share resources in the sea.

But Tuesday's comments were the first since he became president confirming he was open to talks.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration is to announce its final decision on the case next Tuesday.

China has repeatedly said it would reject the ruling and refused to recognize the court's jurisdiction over the issue.

Beijing has insisted the issue should be resolved through direct talks with Manila.

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Afghan president welcomes Obama'a decision on troops number

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 11:10PM

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has welcomed US President Barack Obama's decision to maintain the bulk of American troops in Afghanistan.

"[I] welcome President Obama's decision on keeping 8,400 troops" in Afghanistan, said Ghani in a message posted on his official Twitter account on Wednesday.

"It shows continued partnership between our nations to pursue our common interests," he added.

Earlier, during a press briefing at the White House, Obama announced that he would leave behind 8,400 American forces by the year-end, nearly 3,000 more than what he had promised last year.

"We have to deal with the realities of the world as it is. We can't forget what's at stake in Afghanistan. This is where al-Qaeda is trying to regroup, this is where Daesh continues to try to expand its presence," he said.

Around 9,800 US troops are currently in Afghanistan, reportedly training Afghan forces to battle militant groups such Daesh and the Taliban.

Last October, Obama said that he would keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and slash the level to 5,500 upon leaving office in January 2017.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity still lingers across the war-torn country despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.

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US, Georgia ink defense cooperation agreement

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 5:57PM

The United States and Georgia have inked an agreement to boost security and defense cooperation between the two countries.

US Secretary of State John Kerry signed the Memorandum on Deepening the Defense and Security Relationship with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili during a ceremony in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, on Wednesday.

Kerry is on the first leg of a two-day visit to the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Ukraine ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland.

"Our partnership is resolute and it is unwavering," Kerry said in a news conference, adding, "The Georgian people have chosen, and want a Euro-Atlantic future and the United States supports that goal."

Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in 2008 after Tbilisi launched a major offensive against the independence-seeking republic of South Ossetia in a bid to retake control of the region. Russia, South Ossetia's main ally, responded to the attack by moving in its military forces and driving out Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Washington has already provided Tbilisi with military assistance but the new agreement would promote "defense and security cooperation in the areas of defense capacity building, military and security cooperation, and information sharing," according to the US Department of State.

Georgia, which hopes to join NATO, hosted joint military exercises with the Western military alliance in May in a move that was slammed by Russia as a provocative step to destabilize the Caucasus region.

Moscow and NATO have been at loggerheads in recent years over what Russia describes as the eastward expansion of the alliance. The Kremlin has increased the number of its soldiers near its borders with Eastern Europe and in surrounding countries where NATO has stationed troops.

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NATO says meeting with Russia slated for July 13

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 4:59PM

The secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) says the Western military alliance will hold fresh talks with Russia next week.

"We have decided together with Russia to hold a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at ambassadorial level ... on 13 July at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, shortly after the NATO summit in Warsaw" later this week, Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg added that the council, which serves as a mechanism for consultation and cooperation between the two sides, "has an important role to play as a forum for dialogue and information exchange, to reduce tensions and to increase predictability."

He noted that NATO-Russia discussions will focus on "the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk (ceasefire agreements."

The NATO member states and Russia met regularly until relations between Moscow and the military alliance plunged into a deep freeze following the start of Ukraine's crisis in 2014.

In April, NATO and Russia held their first meeting since June 2014, with reports saying that it ended in "profound disagreements" on issues like Ukraine and accession of new states to the military alliance.

Leaders of the 28-nation bloc will meet in Warsaw to finalize the biggest military buildup of the alliance since the Cold War. The bloc says the buildup will come in response to what it calls new security challenges driven by Russia's alleged intervention in Ukraine.

Ties between NATO and Russia have been tense for the past two years over the crisis in Ukraine, where the government and its Western allies keep accusing Moscow of having a hand in the militancy in the east while the Kremlin strongly rejects the claims.

In September 2014, the government in Kiev and the pro-Russians signed a ceasefire agreement in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk in a bid to halt the clashes in Ukraine's eastern regions.

The warring sides also inked another truce deal, dubbed Minsk II, in February 2015 under the supervision of Russia, Germany and France.

Since then, however, both parties have on numerous occasions accused each other of breaking the ceasefire.

The Minsk agreements envisage an immediate and full bilateral ceasefire, the withdrawal of all heavy weapons, prisoner exchange, local elections in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, and constitutional reform in Ukraine.

Russia has also criticized NATO's expansion policy to include countries in the Balkan region, saying the move directly harms Russia's strategic interests in the Balkans.

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Obama to leave more troops in Afghanistan than planned

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 4:57PM

US President Barack Obama has announced that more American troops than planned will stay in Afghanistan by the end of this year, when his presidency comes to an end.

During a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday, Obama said that he would leave behind 8,400 American forces by the year-end, nearly 3,000 more than what he had promised last year.

Currently around 9,800 US troops are in Afghanistan, reportedly training Afghan forces to battle militant groups such Daesh and the Taliban.

"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said a day before heading to Poland to attend a NATO summit and meet with leaders of other nations engaged in Afghanistan.

"We have to deal with the realities of the world as it is. We can't forget what's at stake in Afghanistan. This is where al-Qaeda is trying to regroup, this is where ISIL continues to try to expand its presence," said the president, who was flanked by Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford.

Obama said last October that he would keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and slash the level to 5,500 upon leaving office in January 2017.

Having failed to deliver on his campaign promise of ending the war by then, Obama now seems willing to put the fate of America's longest-running war in the hands of his successor.

"The decision I'm making today ensures that my successor has a solid foundation for continued progress in Afghanistan as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism as it evolves," Obama said, adding that the situation in Afghanistan directly affects America's safety.

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Hadi loyalists dislodge militants from army base in Yemen's Aden airport

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 12:17PM

Forces loyal to the resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, have managed to push militants out of the army headquarters at the international airport of the southern port city of Aden following an hours-long firefight.

"Troops and special forces have regained control of the base after pushing back the extremists, several of whom were killed in the fighting," the military base commander, General Nasser Sarie, told AFP on Wednesday.

The recapture of the Solaban base came after four hours of heavy gun battles, during which pro-Hadi troops exchanged rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire with the militants. The Saudi-backed forces also came under mortar fire from outside the airport perimeter.

The militants, who were wearing military uniforms, had seized the base earlier on Wednesday after detonating two car bombs that left at least 10 soldiers dead.

According to security sources, at least six Yemeni troops and around 20 militants were also killed during Wednesday's exchange of gunfire at the airport.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident, but the Daesh Takfiri terrorists and al-Qaeda militants have been active in the southern parts of the country.

The extremists have exploited the Saudi military aggression, which was launched to crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstate Hadi.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula country has seen almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015, with internal sources putting the toll from the bloody aggression at about 10,000.

The Houthi fighters took state matters into their own hands after the resignation and escape of Hadi, which threw Yemen into a state of uncertainty and threatened a total security breakdown in the country.

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China warns US over meddling in territorial disputes

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 8:33AM

A top Chinese newspaper has warned that the US would have to pay a "price" if it continues to interfere in territorial disputes between Beijing and its neighbors over the South China Sea.

The People's daily said in its editorial on Wednesday that bilateral relations and regional stability were at stake and Washington should know that "there is a bottom line with every issue, and a price will be paid if that line is crossed." The newspaper belongs to the country's ruling Communist Party.

This came as regional tensions are rising as an arbitration court in The Hague is due to announce a ruling on July 12 on a dispute between China and the Philippines over territory in the South China Sea. The case, which was brought forward by Manila, challenges China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.

"If the United States, regardless of the cost, chooses the path of 'brinkmanship' that pressures and intimidates others, there will be only one result, that is, that the US bears all the responsibility for possibly further heightening tensions in the South China Sea," the editorial also said.

"China has a solid-rock position over safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will not want anything that does not belong to it, but it will ensure that every inch of land it owns is safe and sound," it added.

Beijing said earlier that it would not be bound by the court ruling. The official China Daily, however, said on Monday that China is ready to negotiate "issues such as joint development and cooperation in scientific research if the new government (in Manila) puts the tribunal's ruling aside."

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines. The waters are believed to sit atop vast reserves of oil and gas.

The dispute has at times drawn in trans-regional countries, particularly the US.

Recently, the US has increased its presence in the Asia-Pacific region through its so-called pivot strategy, which critics denounce as a provocative policy.

Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.

The US, in turn, accuses China of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.

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U.S. To Leave 8,400 Troops In Afghanistan

July 06, 2016

by RFE/RL

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced that the United States will keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan through the end of his administration early next year, slowing the planned drawdown of the American military presence in the country.

Announcing the decision from the White House on July 6, Obama said the security situation in Afghanistan was "precarious."

He said the Taliban remains a "threat" in the country and that Afghan government security forces are still not as strong as they need to be.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed Obama's decision, saying on Twitter that it shows "continued partnership [between] our nations to pursue our common interests."

Obama had previously planned to drop troop levels from the current 9,800 to 5,500 troops by the end of 2016, but Washington has been forced to wrestle with its exit strategy as Afghan forces continue to struggle against a resurgent Taliban.

According to recent UN estimates, the extremist group currently controls more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2001.

"It is in our national security interest -- especially after all the blood and treasure we've invested in Afghanistan over the years -- that we give our Afghan partners the very best opportunity to succeed," Obama said while standing next to top U.S. military leaders.

The decision will leave the planned troop levels in place until Obama's successor takes office in January 2017.

"The decision I'm making today ensures that my successor has a solid foundation for progress in Afghanistan, as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism as it evolves," he said.

Obama, who came to the White House in 2009 pledging wind down the nation's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, said the role of American forces in Afghanistan would remain the same -- advising and training Afghan security forces and backing counterterrorism operations against the Taliban and other armed groups.

"We are no longer engaged in a major ground war in Afghanistan," he said.

Obama's announcement follows a call last month from a group of former U.S. ambassadors and commanders in Afghanistan to "freeze" the current troop level at 9,800 through the end of his presidency.

"l firmly believe the decision I'm announcing is the right thing to do," the president said.

"The United States has maintained a steadfast commitment to our Afghan partners, and President Obama's decision today is firmly in keeping with that enduring commitment," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/us- troops-afghanistan/27841921.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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U.S. And Georgia Announce Deeper Military Ties Ahead Of NATO Summit

July 06, 2016

The United States and Georgia plan to deepen their military cooperation as Secretary of State John Kerry underscored Washington's commitment to supporting the ex-Soviet nation in its long-running standoff with two separatist regions backed by Russia.

The two allies signed a new military cooperation agreement during Kerry's July 6 visit to Georgia -- his first to the Caucasus nation as secretary of state.

The signing came two days before a major NATO summit in Poland where Russian actions in Eastern Europe will be a major topic of discussion.

"The United States remains steadfast in our support of Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kerry said. "Russia's occupation and militarization of parts of Georgia's territory are unacceptable."

Russia has backed the separatist Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and recognized both as sovereign nations following a brief 2008 war with Tbilisi. Only a handful of other countries have followed suit in deeming the breakaway territories independent nations.

Kerry demanded that Russia, which maintains troops in both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, adhere to the truce ending the 2008 war.

New Framework

The memorandum signed by Kerry and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili pledges a "deepening [of] the defense and security relationship" between Washington and Tbilisi by giving Georgia access to additional U.S. military equipment, intelligence, and training.

It also aims to boost Georgia's cybersecurity and modernize the country's security forces to enable their greater integration with NATO, which Georgia aspires to join.

American security support for Tbilisi has until now largely focused on training Georgian forces for deployment in Iraq an Afghanistan.

"This memorandum provides a new framework for deeper partnership and covers fields of cooperation that are critically important for strengthening Georgia's security and enhancing its defense capabilities," Kvirikashvili said.

Kerry travels on July 7 to Kyiv, where he is expected to discuss ways of ending Ukraine's continuing war against Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

Both Kyiv and Tbilisi have sought deeper integration with the West since Russia's military seizure and forcible annexation of Ukraine's Crimea territory in March 2014 and the ensuing war in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has objected fiercely Georgia's bid for membership in NATO, which said in 2008 that Tbilisi would eventually join the military alliance.

Progress toward NATO ascension for Georgia has stalled, however, sparking frustration among top officials in Tbilisi who say that alliance members are hindering the process due to fears of an angry Russian reaction. This, Georgian officials say, essentially gives the Kremlin veto power on who can join NATO.

Kerry pledged that the alliance would reaffirm its promise of Georgian membership but could not provide a timeline for its accession.

"Obviously we have great respect for your desires as a country to be able to look to the West and engage with the West without punishment, without retribution," he said.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/kerry-traveling-to-georgia- ukraine-ahead-of-nato-summit/27841023.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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Warren Snowy and Mary Monroe co-published Elkos oldest newspaper, The Elko Independent, for nearly 40 years, while Snowy also served as a state legislator for more than three decades, helping to pass laws that improved highways and recreation in the area.

Warren L. Monroe was born in Rocklin, California, April 17, 1906. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1929 and moved to Winnemucca to work for R.C. Stitzer on the Humboldt Sun.

Monroe married Mary Johnstone in 1930. Seven years later, he formed a partnership with Stitzer and bought The Elko Independent, Elkos first newspaper established in 1869. On March 1, 1937, Snowy and Mary bought out Stitzer and moved to Elko with their young sons, Larry and Tim, to run the newspaper.

In 1941, Monroe entered politics and was elected to the state Assembly in 1941. His first term ended when he enlisted in the Army during World War II and served in the Medical Corps stationed in a British hospital. Mary, who was initially the office manager, became the general manager in Snowys absence and ran the newspaper during the war.

Upon Snowys return, he won re-election to his Assembly seat, serving 12 years before winning election to the state Senate in 1958. During his time in office, Monroe was appointed to the newly created Fish and Game Commission and worked to pass bills that improved the state highway system. Monroe also worked to pass legislation that approved the South Fork Dam project.

During Monroes years in the Legislature, Mary supervised the newspaper and commercial printing. They were both active in the community as members of the Democratic party.

Snowy served as president of the Elko Rotary and Chamber of Commerce while Mary was a member of the PEO and chaired the March of Dimes campaign. In 1986, Snowy was named a Distinguished Nevadan by the University of Nevada Board of Regents.

In 1974, Snowy concluded his final term in the Nevada Senate and the couple sold the paper to Max and Barbara Wignall two years later. Snowys front-page column Hot Copy remained a fixture of the Independent.

Snowy and Mary celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1980.
Obama: US to Maintain 8,400 Troops in Afghanistan into Next Year

by Mary Alice Salinas July 06, 2016

U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to maintain 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of his presidency leaves many unanswered questions about the best path forward as the security situation continues to worsen, experts said.

The administration had initially planned to reduce the number of U.S. troops from the current 9,800 to around 5,500 by the end of 2016. But Obama said Wednesday that the security situation in Afghanistan "remains precarious" and so he is leaving more troops than originally planned through the end of his administration.

"The Taliban remains a threat. They've gained ground in some cases, they've continued attacks and suicide bombings including in Kabul," Obama said. "Because the Taliban deliberately target civilians more Afghan men, women and children are dying and often overlooked in the global refugee crisis."

U.S. troops in Afghanistan have been working on two missions. Those missions include advising and assisting Afghan troops as they battle the Taliban and combating al-Qaida-linked extremists and efforts by Islamic State to establish a foothold in the country.

"Even as they improve, Afghanistan security forces are still not as strong as they need to be," said the president.

Obama said he made the decision to leave more troops in Afghanistan after reviewing the recommendations by his new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, and on the advice of Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other military and intelligence officials.

Dire conditions

No matter how much progress U.S. officials insist has been, overall conditions in Afghanistan remain dire, said Anthony Cordesman, military analyst and Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"You haven't seen major military defeats, but you seen a rise in casualties. You've seen some serious problems for the Afghan forces. The Afghan Air Force is having problems in growing. The Afghan police the ALP, is not doing well," said Cordesman.

He added despite efforts to reform a notoriously corrupt government, lift up Afghanistan's economy and implement costly programs to build up its infrastructure, little progress has been made.

"You are watching the economy reach a crisis point. The World Bank and other sources note that this is a serious problem in terms of stability. You see no improvement in terms of practical reform," he added.

Meeting with Afghan officials

The president said that during the NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland later this week, he will meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. He will also press coalition partners to commit troops and funding to help strengthen Afghanistan through the end of this decade.

"I'm confident they will, because all of us have a vital interest in the security and stability of Afghanistan," said Obama.

But with only a few months left in office, Obama will likely have a difficult time securing long-term commitments.

"For all of the NATO countries that are in Afghanistan, the key issue often isn't as much U.S. strategy as it is, 'Is the U.S. staying?" suggested Cordesman. "How committed is the U.S.?"

Next US administration

Obama said leaving more troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office will give the next U.S. president "a solid foundation for continued progress in Afghanistan as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism as it evolves."

The troop level decision, he added, sends a message to the Taliban that the U.S. and the international community's "commitment to Afghanistan will endure."

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Five Killed in South Sudan Road Ambushes

by Dimo Silva July 06, 2016

Five people were killed and at least three others injured in two separate incidents when unidentified gunmen attacked passenger vehicles Monday and Tuesday along the Torit-Kapoeta Road, according to state officials in the South Sudanese town of Torit.

A medical worker at Torit Civil Hospital said some of the injured are listed in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses said that in the first incident Monday, gunmen shot at a passenger vehicle near the small village of Tuhubak, 30 kilometers from Torit on the Torit-Kapoeta Road, killing the driver.

They said some of the passengers narrowly escaped death by jumping out of the moving vehicle and running into the bush.

A woman who survived said the attackers stole everything from the vehicle, including money and luggage.

"It was around 10 p.m. when they started shooting at us," said the woman, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation. "They shot the driver and he fell down, and the vehicle continued to move for some distance. When it stopped, all of us got out and fled into the bush.

"When the attackers came, they were calling for people to come out, but no one did so. I had my sister's child, who cried and the attackers came and caught me. They took everything from me and those in the vehicle."

The woman said she could not identify the men because it was too dark.

Tuesday's attack

In the second incident Tuesday, unknown gunmen shot at a Land Cruiser in an area called Idolu on the same road, approximately 10 kilometers from Torit. The driver was transporting passengers to Kapoeta.

Eyewitnesses said four people were killed on the spot, and three others  including a child  were wounded and are recovering at Torit Civil Hospital.

Wednesday, anxious residents crowded around the entrance to the hospital's mortuary, hoping their loved ones were not among the five dead.

Major General Edward Dimitiri Lokak, the Imotong State Police Commissioner, said security forces are working to prevent further attacks on the Torit-Kapoeta Road, but did not specify what measures are being taken.

The main road is about 100 kilometers north of Uganda and links the newly created Imotong state to Kenya. It is one of the new states unilaterally created by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir when he expanded the number of states from 10 to 28.

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Press Call by Senior Administration Officials on Afghanistan

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

July 06, 2016



Via Conference Call

10:49 A.M. EDT

MR. PRICE: Good morning, everyone. And thanks for joining this morning's call. Following the President's statement this morning, we wanted to give you a bit more detail on the plans he announced for our troop posture in Afghanistan.

First a bit about ground rules. This call will be on background. You can attribute what you hear to senior administration officials. It will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call. So please, we ask that you not use this material until the call is over.

So with that, I will turn it over to my colleagues to get us started.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Great. Thanks, everybody. I'll just make a few opening comments and turn it over to my colleagues here. I won't reprise the President's whole statement here, but let me just give some context for the decision that he announced today.

First of all, as he has said, over the last seven years we've made significant progress in addressing the core mission that brought us into Afghanistan in the first place, which was to degrade and ultimately defeat al Qaeda. Over the last several years, we've struck significant blows against al Qaeda, which could not have been done without our presence in Afghanistan and our ability to support an Afghanistan government that was increasingly providing for its own security, and also to have the counterterrorism platforms necessary to continue to go after terrorist networks.

At the same time, as the Afghan government and security forces have gotten stronger, we've been able to significantly draw down our forces, which peaked at around 100,000 troops to now under 10,000 U.S. troops in the country. We also have always been focused on ensuring that we are giving the Afghan government and security forces the best possible opportunity to continue to work to stabilize their country and to combat a Taliban insurgency, while also continuing to ensure that we have the necessary platforms both to support the Afghans but also to ensure that there's not a reemergence of al Qaeda or potential emergence of a terrorist organization like ISIL that could pose a greater threat in the region.

And so the President has been meeting regularly with his national security team to review the situation in Afghanistan. When General Nicholson took over, he undertook an assessment of the situation on the ground and then worked with the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to provide the President with a recommendation as to what the appropriate troop level would be for the conclusion of 2016. And again, today the President made his announcement of the troop levels that we will maintain through the end of the year, again, based on that recommendation from the Secretary and the Chairman.

I'd note importantly that we are making this announcement the day before the NATO Summit. NATO continues to be deeply invested in Afghanistan and its future. We have a number of allies who are themselves committing troops beyond 2016. We have significant contributions in terms of funding the Afghan security forces from out NATO partners. And of course, many of the allies who will be in Warsaw also provide additional assistance to the Afghan government.

So we wanted to take this step to demonstrate the continued U.S. leadership of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. We believe that this announcement will be very welcomed by our NATO allies and by the Afghan government in that it provides a clarity about our intentions and our enduring support for Afghanistan. And, again, it will allow us I think to have a more constructive discussion on Afghanistan at the NATO Summit as the alliance plans for how it can continue to support the ANSF and work together through the end of 2016 and beyond.

The last thing I'd just say is we also believe that this is the responsible way to ensure that we have the best possible plan in place to carry out the mission of training and advising and assisting the Afghans, and engaging in our counterterrorism efforts through the end of this year. And then the next President will have the opportunity to make their own determination about what additional steps to take regarding our troop presence.

So with that, I'll stop and I'll turn it over to my DOD colleague to give some more detail on the announcement.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'll just give a breakdown kind of how we were thinking of the 8,400 to support, as the President said, the two primary missions that we currently have in Afghanistan which is train, advise and assist the Afghan National Security Forces, in addition to executing our counterterrorism operation.

But the 8,400 also reflects a lot of lessons learned in the last two fighting seasons. In particular on TAA -- the train, advise, and assist mission -- we definitely have recognized the effects of having advisory capacity with the Afghans at the core level. And this is an important part of what the 8,400 will enable us to continue to do through the end of year. That means we'll be able to provide advisory capacity to the Afghan National Security Forces at the two- and three-star level out in the field, and doing it on a sustained expeditionary basis. So it's a qualitative piece that we wanted to ensure that we could continue through the end of the year.

I also would say that it enables us on the NATO front, with our Resolute Support partners, to continue to provide critical enabling capacities in support of the broader Resolute Support Mission.

So three big buckets: Robust CT. The second is train, advise, and assist all the way to the core level on an expeditionary and sustained basis, which the Afghans -- we've been using to create effect already, as well as the enabling capacity with NATO.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'd like to just add a couple words about reconciliation. We continue to recognize that this long war will only end through a political negotiation between the Afghan government and the Taliban to work out terms of peace and reconciliation. And the President's decision today to maintain a sizeable U.S. military presence continuing in the train, advise and assist role will enable the Afghan government to preserve security while it pursues a peace settlement.

President Ghani remains absolutely committed to pursuing a peace and reconciliation process. And the United States supports the Afghans going into this without any preconditions for a reconciliation process. Our position is we would support any political settlement that includes the Taliban renouncing violence, breaking ties with international terrorism, and accepting Afghanistan's constitution, including protections for women and minorities.

So, in our view, the Taliban have a real choice. They can accept the government of Afghanistan's invitation to engage in a peace process and ultimately become part of the political system of a sovereign, unified Afghanistan, which would be supported by the international community. Or they can continue (inaudible) fellow Afghans, which is what is destabilizing the country.

Q Hello, thank you. I have two questions. One, can you tell us if you budgeted for the funds for these troops to remain in Afghanistan, and just give us some idea where that money comes from? And secondly, if you could give us an update on where the negotiation and reconciliation process stands right now.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. With respect to your first question, anytime we develop options like this, we obviously look very carefully and think through what the cost associated will be. So part of the development of the option allowed us to view that work. And now what we will do is we will engage and discuss with Congress about how to ensure that we're providing the necessary support for the mission.

And in the past, we've always been able to work collaboratively with Congress to provide the necessary support for our efforts in Afghanistan. And going forward today and beyond, we'll be in consultations with Congress about that piece of the announcement.

I'll turn it over to my colleague on the other question.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So you'll recall that -- just a bit history -- that last summer, the Taliban came to the table with the Afghan government for the first and had peace talks in Murree, Pakistan. That process later came apart. But in an effort to test the proposition that the Taliban were prepared to come to the table, we worked with three other international partners -- the government of Afghanistan, the government of China, and the government of Pakistan -- to set up a quadrilateral coordinating group.

We met a number of times early in the year, and issued a call for the Taliban to come to the table to negotiate in an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process. The call was made twice, actually. Regrettably, the Taliban declined to join the process. But from our perspective, those offers still remain open. We support the quadrilateral process. And we continue to hope that the Taliban will come to the table. In the meantime, we'll continue to explore all opportunities for pursuing reconciliation.

Q Two things. One, could you talk a little bit more about how you arrived at the 8,400 number? What exactly will -- where will you draw those troops down from? A little bit about that decision process. And also this is obviously a really difficult decision for the President, who has made this a priority -- wanted to end the ground wars. This is not the drawdown as quick as he wanted to do, obviously. Can you talk a little bit about when he reached this decision, how we reached it, what pushed him to this point?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: On the first question, the recommendation on 8,400 really reflects the commanders' recent assessment, which my colleague spoke to earlier and the President obviously discussed. We took a look at the dynamic security environment in Afghanistan, we took a look at the Afghan national security forces' capabilities and where they were, and we also looked at in the short term their performance over the last two fighting seasons. And so capturing all of those lessons learned, we came to the decision and recommendation to maintain at 8,400.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, the only thing I'd add to that is that the President's guidance was to just have a recommendation about what the best presence and necessary resources would be at the end of 2016. And so the effort was to design that recommendation based on what those needs would be, what we've learned about we support the ANSF, what missioned we needed to protect and maintain. And so, again, that did allow for a slight reduction in the number of troops.

But this was not about calibrating how many troops we can reduce -- it was about designing what the best possible presence was to carry out these particular missions at the end of the year, and this is the resource request that came from the Department of Defense because of that process.

On your second question, I'd say a couple of things, Christi. First of all, again, just to reiterate in some more detail what I said earlier, I think as it relates to this effort in Afghanistan over the course of the last seven and a half years, one of the things that the President has always been very focused on in his public comments from the very beginning of his time in office is to, on the one hand, remind people of what the core mission has been in Afghanistan, which is a mission to deny al Qaeda a safe haven from which they can launch attacks against the United States and their allies. And we believe that because of our presence in Afghanistan that we've been able to put an unprecedented amount of pressure on al Qaeda in South Asia and have significantly degraded their leadership ranks and their operational capacity.

And so, in that sense, we do believe that there's an enormous amount that has been accomplished. Again, another element has always been trying to give the Afghans the best possible opportunity to stabilize their country and to deal with a protracted Taliban insurgency.

And on that second point, I think the one thing that has changed significantly is the nature of our commitment and the scale of our commitment. At the peak of the surge, we had 100,000 troops in Afghanistan -- that cost an enormous amount in terms of the sacrifice that our men and women in uniform were making, in terms of the resources to the American taxpayer. And we were in the lead in that fight. But because of the transition that we've done in building up the Afghan national security forces, we've been able to significantly draw down that commitment of U.S. troops to under 10,000 and, ultimately, to roughly 8,400.

And one of the things that has guided the President in wanting to maintain this commitment is that as the Afghans have moved into the lead, they've really been in the fight. And it's a tough fight, and we've seen them take on significant casualties, and we've seen them confront the Taliban. And we've seen them continue to desire and request our support and the support of our NATO allies. And so, given that circumstance, we have been committed to determining, what is the responsible assistance we can provide to them.

And obviously, this maintains a certain troop presence. But I think it's importance to note that it's significantly reduced from where we were. It is a presence of troops that are not in the lead for security, but rather are in a supporting role in the counterterrorism mission. And it's, frankly, very consistent with what President Obama is doing in other theaters -- like you see in Iraq and Syria, where you have U.S. forces in much smaller numbers -- not responsible for the security of a country, or not responsible for patrolling the streets in cities and villages and mountains of a country, but rather U.S. forces there in a role where we have a counterterrorism capacity to deal with potential threats to our homeland or our allies, and the support capacity, where we're bolstering partners on the ground who are doing the fighting and who are ultimately going to be responsible for security.

So I think the shift has been in what is the model. Is the model one where the U.S. is responsible for securing Afghanistan and Iraq, or is the U.S. in a supporting role, with a much smaller number, a much greater -- a much reduced risk in terms of the casualties we're taking and the resources we're expending.

So I think his decision is based on all these questions -- not just Afghanistan but Iraq and Syria. I think it's very evident what his approach is, again, which is to make sure we're doing everything necessary to disrupt and ultimately defeat terrorist networks, while significantly reducing the role of the U.S. military in terms of its ground presence and also reducing the resources associated with that presence.

Q Can you shed some light on what General Nicholson asked for in terms of authorities and troop numbers? And secondly, if you could address the CT mission and tell us to what extent the U.S. military will be at war with the Taliban in the months ahead. For some time now, their primary authority was self-defense, but that's changed slightly in the last few weeks. Going forward, to what extent are we going to be on the offensive against the Taliban?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I'll start and my colleague may want to add. First of all, I think the decisions that have taken place in the last several weeks reflect where this mission -- well, look, obviously, there are always contingencies over the next few months, but the President's view was let's make these decisions now about troop numbers and about authorities. So I think you should expect -- and it's our expectation -- that the decision that was announced on authorities and the decision that was announced today on troops is our expectation for where the mission will be in Afghanistan through the end of the President's term in office.

So, again, I'd note the caveat that he always will listen to recommendations from commanders on the ground, but we went through this process in advance of the NATO Summit so that we could establish what the appropriate authorities were for U.S. forces and what the appropriate troop number was for the end of 2016 so that we could have that kind of certainty and planning through the end of the year, and then allow for the next president and their incoming team to make any further determinations going forward. So, again, I'd expect these authorities and this troop number to be the decisions that guide this mission through the end of the year.

I'll just say one thing on -- oh, and in terms of the troop request, the recommendation that came to the President was from the Secretary and the Chairman, and informed by General Nicholson's own review, and their recommendation was the troop level that we announced today. So this matched that recommendation.

The only thing I'd say on the authorities -- and my colleague may want to add something -- is, look, our CT operations are focused on -- are not focused on the Taliban. The authority shift we made simply represents ensuring that we have the best possible capacity to come to the assistance of the Afghan security forces, based on what we've seen about how they are operating, based on what we've seen about how we can best provide support to their efforts.

And so they are the ones who are on the offensive against the Taliban. The Afghan national security forces are the ones who go on the offensive against the Taliban. We, with these authorities, are giving ourselves the capacity to come to their support in certain circumstance.

I don't know if you want to add anything.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure, why don't I go back to the new authorities that were granted to the department. So in May, the President gave the department additional authorities to be exercised within the two missions. And these authorities now permit limited U.S. combat-enabler support to Afghan in DSF to achieve what we call "strategic effect." So essential, the commander will have the flexibility to provide, in a limited way, combat-enabling support to the conventional operation.

So, for example, with the Afghans operating in the south, the commander can now use this authority to support them in a limited way to achieve a broader effect, to make sure they can maintain momentum against the Taliban. But it's going to be used in a very limited way and in support of a broader objective.

Q I wanted to follow up on the authorities issue. It has been used in a limited way already, as we learned last week. Can you describe to the extent it's been used? We know that there have been some airstrikes. I'm also wondering to what extent combat advisors have been used on the ground in light of these new authorities. Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. I don't want to get into specifics of instances when we've used them -- all I can say is that it's early going and that they have been used, and this commander is executing them in a limited way.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The only thing I'd add here is that this is just to give some flexibility to commanders on the ground where if there's a particular circumstance where the Afghans need a very specific capability in support of an ongoing operation that they're undertaking or a circumstance in which they are under attack, there is some additional space for us to provide that support. You mentioned the potential for the use of airstrikes, for example.

But this does not apply in terms of opening up the aperture for the U.S. essentially being in combat with Afghan forces against the Taliban across the country. This is about taking our training, advise and assist mission, looking at how the Afghans are operating, and seeing where we can essentially provide them some limited additional support in very specific circumstances, again, where they're on the offensive trying to achieve a certain objective, or where they find themselves in a circumstance where there's a unique capability that we can provide to allow them to continue their operations.

Q Thanks, guys. Thanks for doing the call. The President talked about other countries in the region providing a safe haven for terrorism, and you also talked about the importance of denying a safe haven for terrorists. Was the President sort of implicitly talking about Pakistan? And if so, is there something that we can expect in the next six months that the President will do to put pressure on Pakistan to not provide safe haven for terrorism?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, look, I think this has been a longstanding issue of discussion between the United States and Pakistan and between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have seen Pakistan, over the years, go on the offensive against different terrorist organizations and take a significant amount of casualties in those offensives. At the same time, we've also seen a persistent presence of extremist networks inside of Pakistan as well.

And so this is something that we have consistently raised with them. We've expressed concerns, obviously, about groups like the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, as well as, of course, al Qaeda. Again, Pakistan has cooperated with us. They have taken steps to go after some of these groups. But we do believe that they need to provide continued pressure and that ultimately it's in their security interests to, number one, work with us to root out terrorist networks, but, number two, to have a broader political resolution to the conflicts that have torn at this region. And that's why, again, we believe an Afghan-led reconciliation process should be supported by Pakistan.

But I don't know if you guys have anything to add.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: If I could add to that, I think if you check this, General Raheel Sharif, Pakistan's army chief, just today gave a speech in Pakistan saying something that we've heard before from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, that Pakistan's territory will not be allowed to be used for terrorist attacks against its neighbors. But what Raheel added today, which was very significant, is he issued instructions to the security elements -- law enforcement, intelligence, military elements -- to enforce that dictum, to ensure that the territory is not used for terrorism.

Now, we'll see how this plays out on the ground. But I think what Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had indicated to President Obama when he came to the White House here last October was a recognition that Pakistan will only be secure if there is peace and stability in Afghanistan. And Pakistan has worked with the Afghan government, Ashraf Ghani, to support a peace process that would align all forces, all the insurgents in Afghanistan in a political process to bring peace and stability to that country. So we hope that Pakistan will continue to live up to its words, and we were very pleased with what we heard from General Raheel Sharif.

Q Is it possible to characterize how the 8,400 break down between the two missions, the TAA mission and the CT mission? And does that reflect some change in balance between the current mix in terms of the 9,800?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'll see if my colleague has anything more to add, but I think -- and ultimately I think General Nicholson can speak to the specifics of the breakdown best -- but ultimately, I think that the balance reflects something very similar to where we are today. So, in other words, there's not a shift in terms of the nature of the forces from where we are with our current levels. It's just the matter that we can reduce that by a small amount while ensuring that we're continuing both of those missions with appropriate resourcing and effectiveness.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't really have much more to add to that.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So the balance is basically very similar to what the current balance is.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: What I could add -- just this weekend at the summit in Warsaw, the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the leaders of the Alliance will come together and affirm the continued commitment, both financial commitment to the Afghan security forces, but also contributions of military troops to the resolute support mission, which will continue. And that mission, which the U.S. is a major contributor, will primarily be responsible for the train, advise and assist mission, whereas the United States primarily is responsible for the counterterrorism mission.

MR. PRICE: And with that, I think we're ready to conclude. Just a reminder, this call was on background, and the embargo is now lifted. Thank you very much.

END

11:19 A.M. ED

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Daesh vows to launch more attacks on Bangladesh

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 10:24AM

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group has vowed to launch further terror attacks on Bangladesh, almost a week after it claimed that it carried out a deadly siege in the capital Dhaka, which killed 20 people.

In a new video, purportedly put on the Internet by the group on Wednesday, three Bangla-speaking men first praised the terrorist acts of the six men who conducted the deadly attack on the Gulshan cafe in the capital on Friday night. They had killed 18 foreigners and two police officers before they themselves being shot dead by security forces.

"We will not stop killing the crusaders till then; we will win or die... we don't have anything to lose," said one of the men in the footage.

Addressing the "Christian and Jewish crusaders and their allies," another man switched in English and said "what you witnessed in Bangladesh was just a glimpse, this will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win."

The bloody hostage taking ended on Saturday, after 12 hours, when commandos killed the gunmen and took another alive. Officials said most of the victims were slaughtered with machete-style weapons.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina decreed two days of national mourning beginning on Sunday. Services were held across the country in memory of the victims.

Hasina said the attacks were meant to tarnish the image of Islam and Bangladesh as an Islamic country.

"Islam is a religion of peace. Stop killing in the name of the religion," Hasina said in an address to the nation on Saturday, adding, "By holding innocent civilians hostage at gunpoint, they want to turn our nation into a failed state."

Although the terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Western-style Holey Artisan Bakery cafe, saying it had targeted a gathering of "citizens of crusader states," officials in Bangladesh have denied the claims.

"They have no connections with the Islamic State (Daesh)," Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Sunday, adding that the attackers were members of Jamaeytul Mujahdeen Bangladesh (JMB), a group banned over a decade ago.

The government in Bangladesh has repeatedly denied that international militant groups, like Daesh, have gained foothold in the country.

In mid-June, Bangladesh police armed villagers in the country's western regions with bamboo sticks and whistles to avoid terrorist attacks on secular intellectuals and members of the minority faiths.

A massive crackdown on domestic radical groups last months ended in 11,000 arrests, but opponents say the move was largely meant to silence critics and barely affected the perpetrators of hate crimes.

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The Saudi Bombings And The Legacy Of Bin Laden

July 06, 2016

by David Patrikarakos

Osama bin Laden may be dead but if the July 4 bombings in Saudi Arabia demonstrate anything to a global audience forcibly becoming, if not numbed, then wearily resigned to the horrors of jihadist violence, it's that his playbook is still in full effect -- albeit with some major alterations.

On July 4, in what were clearly coordinated strikes, three suicide attacks targeted the Saudi cities of Jeddah, Qatif and, most stunningly of all, Islam's second holiest city, Medina, the burial place of the Prophet Mohammed.

In Jeddah, a Pakistani expatriate targeted the U.S. consulate, injuring two security officers in the process. A Shi'a mosque was targeted in Qatif. In Medina, it was a security office near the Prophet's Mosque. Four guards were killed.

Both the timing of the attacks and choice of targets are vital to understanding their nature. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for them but indicators suggest that they are almost certainly the work of the terrorist group which calls itself Islamic State (IS).

The attacks took place during the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, which, according to Nicholas Heras, a Middle East researcher and the Bacevich fellow at the Center for a New American Security, "fit into the timetable of the would-be Caliphate's ongoing Ramadan campaign." Islamic State, he told RFE/RL over e-mail, "has declared the month of Ramadan as a time of bleeding [for] what it views to be infidels and enemies -- Muslims and non-Muslims alike."

Yet more instructive is the choice of targets -- and it is here that bin Laden's legacy can most clearly be seen. Bin Laden, a Saudi national himself, always denied the legitimacy of the House of Saud, which rules the kingdom, as the rightful custodian of Islam's two holiest sites for the entire global Muslim community, or Ummah -- Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed, and Medina. IS's overriding goal is to establish an Islamic caliphate as far across the world as possible; central to this goal -- in fact, almost an absolute necessity -- would be to take control of Islam's holiest territory.

In the words of Heras: "ISIS [Islamic State] would be sending a blunt message to the Saudi state, delivering a shot across the bow directed at the Al-Saud monarchy: we are coming for you."

The Pillars That Prop Up Saudi Arabia

Two primary pillars hold up the Saudi monarchy: The first is the legitimacy it derives from being the custodian of Islam's two holiest places. But it is a contested legitimacy. The Al-Saud tribe took what became Saudi Arabia by force in 1932. It has no real religious credentials and has only survived since by allowing its clerics to promote a severe brand of Wahhabi Islam across the kingdom in return for which the royal family receives much-needed religious backing. The combination of this backing and the custodianship of Mecca and Medina enhances the kingdom's influence across the Muslim world accordingly. Not for nothing is the House of Saud called "The Sunni Lion."

And here is where the attack in Medina comes in. It's a risky move for IS to say the least. An attack on Mohammed's resting place was always likely to enrage the Islamic world. Saudi Arabia's highest religious body has condemned the attacks unequivocally. Meanwhile, the hashtag #PrayForMedina has been retweeted across the Muslim world.

But the perpetrators were careful. They didn't attack the Medina mosque itself, just a security office near it; an attack which can be read as being designed to call into question the Saudi's monarchy's claim to be competent "protectors" of the two holy sites. The attack, then, targeted the Saudi state's security apparatus, not the Prophet.

The second pillar of the House of Saud is U.S. support (irretrievably entangled with the oil riches that financially prop up the kingdom). An IS attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah (which is also Saudi Arabia's most cosmopolitan city) is a clear strike against its ultimate ideological Western foe, and coming as it did on July 4, U.S. Independence Day, has an inescapable and morbid symbolism that is plain for all to see.

But it is the attack on the Shi'a mosque in Qatif that has perhaps the most dangerous regional consequences. The Middle East is already in the throes of a battle between Sunni and Shi'a, approaching almost genocidal proportions in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. For the Sunni Islamic State terrorist group, the apostate Shi'a are almost worse than the infidel West.

This attack is designed to do two things. First, as Heras told RFE/RL, IS clearly intended "to send a signal to the Shi'a of Saudi Arabia that they are infidels that should go out from the holiest lands of Islam." The second is to create more divisions between Saudi Arabia's persecuted Shi'a minority and the government, yet one more way of destabilizing the country. The fact that Qatif -- and the majority of the country's Shia population -- is located in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, where the center of the Saudi state-controlled oil industry resides, only further serves to compound the problem for Riyadh.

Beyond Saudi Arabia, Shi'a militias that are now battling IS in Iraq and Syria -- many of which are backed by Iran -- are unlikely to take the attack on the mosque well, to say the least. Brutal reprisals against local Sunni populations in both those countries -- always a distinct possibility if not often a near certainty -- are now likely to increase. In Fallujah, there is already evidence that this retaliation is under way. As history has shown, many Sunnis on the receiving end of such brutality have, with no one else to protect them, joined the ranks of Islamic State.

The planning, the execution (although imperfect), and, most critically, the apparent intended effects of these attacks indicate Islamic State is to blame. The bombings were as cunning as they were designed to be brutal, and their goal, like bin Laden's, was to send a message to the Middle East's premier Sunni state. This time, however, the stakes are higher. Islamic State seeks not just to overthrow the Saudi royal family but to conquer the state itself.

Welcome to Jihad 2.0.

David Patrikarakos is a contributing editor at the Daily Beast and the author of Nuclear Iran: The Birth Of An Atomic State. He is working on a book on social media and war.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/saudi-bombings- legacy-of-bin-laden/27841310.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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Dai Bingguo: China not to be intimidated, even if U.S. sends 10 aircraft carriers to South China Sea

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:37, July 06, 2016

The Chinese people would not be intimidated by the U.S. actions, not even if the U.S. sends all its ten aircraft carriers to the South China Sea, said Dai Bingguo, former state councilor of China, on Tuesday at the dialogue on South China Sea between Chinese and U.S. think tanks in Washington, D.C.

Dai said, first, Nansha Islands are China's integral territory; second, China remains committed to peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations and consultations with countries directly concerned; and third, the situation in the South China Sea must cool down.

The arbitral tribunal has no jurisdiction over this case. By making a so called "award", it has willfully expanded its power, which is against the UNCLOS and is null and void, he added.

He said, "We hope that the U.S. side will take an objective and fair approach regarding the arbitration, rather than criticizing China for upholding the UNCLOS from the position of a non-state party."

Dai also said, "One should not be too ready to frame the South China Sea issue as a strategic issue or interpret and predict China's behavior by drawing from western theories of international relations and history."

"It would be nothing but baseless speculation to assert that China wants to make the South China Sea an Asian Caribbean Sea and impose the Monroe Doctrine to exclude the U.S. from Asia or that China is trying to compete with the U.S. for dominance in the South China Sea, Asia and even the world," he continued.

"For China, the South China Sea issue is all about territorial sovereignty, security, development and maritime rights and interests. It is all about preventing further tragic losses of territory. China's thinking is as simple as that. And there is no other agenda behind it. We have no intention or capability to engage in 'strategic rivalry' with anyone. We have no ambition to rule Asia, still less the Earth. Even in the context of the issue in question, we have never claimed we own the entire South China Sea. We only have one ambition, which is to manage our own affairs well and ensure a decent life and dignity for the nearly 1.4 billion Chinese people," he said.

"Since last year, the U.S. has intensified its close-in reconnaissance and 'Freedom of Navigation' operations targeted at China. The rhetoric of a few people in the U.S. has become blatantly confrontational. How would you feel if you were Chinese? Wouldn't you consider it unhelpful to the U.S. image in the world? This is certainly not the way China and the U.S. should interact with each other," he added.

"Having said that, we in China would not be intimidated by the U.S. actions, not even if the U.S. sent all the ten aircraft carriers to the South China Sea. Furthermore, U.S. intervention on the issue has led some countries to believe that the U.S. is on their side and they stand to gain from the competition between major countries. As a result, we have seen more provocations from these countries, adding uncertainties and escalating tensions in the South China Sea. This, in fact, is not in the interest of the U.S. The risk for the U.S. is that it may be dragged into trouble against its own will and pay an unexpectedly heavy price," said Dai.

The daylong closed session between Chinese and U.S. think tanks was jointly organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University, in coordination with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

(Source: Xinhuanet/fmprc.gov.cn)

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China's largest military transport plane enters service

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 7:10AM

China's largest military transport aircraft has been put into service, enabling Beijing to deploy its forces around the world.

Xinhua news agency said the Y-20 plane entered service on Wednesday and will be used to move forces and cargo over "long distances in diverse weather."

It "marks a crucial step for the air force improving its strategic power projection capability," Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke was quoted as saying.

The plane will be used for "safeguarding national security as well as domestic and international rescue and relief work," Shen added.

The plane is the largest transport aircraft built in China. It has a maximum payload of 66 tons and can carry that for as far as 4,400 km, the state news agency said.

It added that the aircraft could fly from western China to Egypt with 55 tons on board.

China is engaged in territorial disputes with its neighbors in the East and South China seas.

On Monday, China's Defense Ministry said in a statement that two Japanese jets took "provocative" actions near a pair of Chinese jets in the East China Sea on June 17.

The Chinese aircraft were on routine patrol where they were met with the Japanese jets, who "even went so far as to start "lighting up" the Chinese planes with their fire-control radar," the statement said, adding that the Chinese jets responded "decisively."

"The Japanese plane's provocative actions caused an accident in the air, endangering the safety of personnel on both sides, and destroying the peace and stability in the region," the statement also said.

It further urged Tokyo to end all provocative action in the region.

Relations between China and Japan have soured over the past few years over a territorial row on the uninhabited yet strategically-important island group in the East China Sea. Tensions grew after Tokyo nationalized part of the resource-rich islands in 2012.

China maintains that the islands are inherent parts of its territory and that it has indisputable sovereignty over them, while the Japanese government regards the islands as a part of its Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture.

The islands have been under Japanese administrative control since the reversion of Okinawa to Japan from US administrative rule in 1972.

Beijing also claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety and is involved in a series of disputes with several neighboring countries over the issue.

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US imposes sanctions on Kim Jong-un over rights abuses

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 8:48PM

The United States has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time over claims that he resorts to "notorious abuses of human rights."

Pyongyang "continues to commit serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detention, forced labor, and torture," the US State Department said in statement Wednesday.

Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin also released a statement, outlining the so-called abuses by the isolated state's leader.

"Under Kim Jon-un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Szubin said.

According to a statement by the US Treasury Department, 10 other individuals and five government ministries and departments were also sanctioned.

The sanctions are said to affect properties and assets within the United States jurisdiction.

A report by the State Department to the US Congress initially put the North Korean leader on top of a list of human rights abusers and those resorting to censorship.

The report added that there are between 80,000 and 120,000 prisoners in the nuclear-armed country, who are mostly the victims of the abuses.

The United States frequently accuses its enemies of violating human rights, while it is itself blamed for violations of human rights inside and outside the country.

Apart from that sanctioning the leader of a country indicates that "there probably isn't much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution," Zachary Goldman, a former policy advisor in the US Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence told Reuters.

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Blair says to "take full responsibility" for any mistakes over Iraq war

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 19:52, July 06, 2016

LONDON, July 6 -- Former British prime minister Tony Blair said he will "take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse" over the Iraq war, after the publication of a long-awaited inquiry into the war on Wednesday.

Speaking before the publication of the report, the chairman of the inquiry John Chilcot said Britain went to war before all peaceful options had been exhausted.

He also said that the legal basis for British military action in Iraq was "far from satisfactory," stressing that British policy on Iraq was made on the basis of "flawed intelligence and assessments."

In the report, finally published seven years after the inquiry began and 13 years after British and U.S. troops invaded Iraq, Chilcot concluded that Britain's military role in Iraq went "badly wrong" and "ended a long way from success."

He noted that Blair was warned that military action in Iraq would increase the threat of al Qaeda to Britain, but war risks were not "properly identified."

In March 2003, there was "no imminent threat" from Saddam Hussein, according to Chilcot.

In response to the publication of the report, Blair said "the report does make real and material criticisms of preparation, planning, process and of the relationship with the United States."

"These are serious criticisms and they require serious answers," he said in a statement.

He also announced that he will respond in detail to the criticisms later on Wednesday.

"I will at the same time say why, nonetheless, I believe that it was better to remove Saddam Hussein and why I do not believe this is the cause of the terrorism we see today whether in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world," he added.

However, Blair defended his "good faith" in his decisions to go to war in Iraq.

"The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit. Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein, I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country," he said.

Blair said that in the report there was no falsification or improper use of intelligence, no deception of Cabinet, and no secret commitment to war whether at Crawford Texas in April 2002 or elsewhere.

"The inquiry does not make a finding on the legal basis for military action but finds that the Attorney General had concluded there was such a lawful basis by March 13, 2003," he explained.

Blair paid tribute to British Armed Forces, saying: "I will express my profound regret at the loss of life and the grief it has caused the families, and I will set out the lessons I believe future leaders can learn from my experience."

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Barzani hopes for vote on Iraqi Kurdistan independence

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 5:58PM

President of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Masoud Barzani has expressed hope that a vote would be held on the autonomous northern region's secession from the mainland.

Barzani made the remarks on Wednesday in a congratulatory message for the Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"I hope to meet with representatives of political parties and groups in the region following Eid al-Fitr to discuss the possibility of holding a referendum on self-determination and to discuss relations between Erbil (the Iraqi Kurdistan's capital) and Baghdad in line with the national interests," he said.

Barzani further called on the region's political parties and groups to discuss means of "reaching an agreement on relations with the [Iraqi] federal government."

Last month, the KRG president urged Kurdish political parties to take measures to form a united effort for a referendum on the autonomous region's independence, saying "there is no loftier goal than the right to self-determination and independence."

Barzani has repeatedly called for a secession vote, but Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has stressed the need for preserving the country's territorial integrity.

The premier has also called on the Iraqi Kurdistan to scrap any plans for independence, arguing that the autonomous region could not do without the mainland.

Falling oil prices have severely hit the Kurdish region, which like the capital, Baghdad, heavily relies on oil income to provide the majority of its funds.

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Invasion of Iraq made world 'a better place': Blair

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 4:0PM

Former British prime minister Tony Blair has defied the findings of an scathing inquiry into his decision to assist the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, saying the war has made the world a "better place."

The inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot, published its 6,000-page report on Wednesday, saying that the London's most controversial military engagement since World War II was based on "flawed intelligence" about former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs).

In response to the report, Blair said Wednesday that he accepts "full responsibility" for the decision, admitting that the invasion was based on wrong intelligence.

He expressed sorrow for the death of thousands of people, adding, however, that "the world was and is in my judgment a better place without Saddam Hussein."

Of the nearly 120,000 British military personnel who were deployed to Iraq, 179 were killed in combat. This is while, according to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored, the invasion and its subsequent occupation claimed the lives of more than one million Iraqis.

"The human cost of inaction of leaving Saddam in power would have been greater for us and for the world in the longer term," Blair said.

The former PM then asked people to put themselves in his shoes and make a "last moment decision" of the same significance for the country.

He said he had been cautious about the war and had conveyed this to former US president George W. Bush before the invasion, but Saddam had ran out of time and there was no more room for negotiation.

Blair said there was no other option left for Britain back then as London was Washington's "core partner" in the aftermath of the September 11, 2011, attacks in the US.

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Blair "took an active and leading role" building a coalition to counter the threat of terrorism, according to the Chilcot report.

However, the inquiry concluded that military action was "not a last resort," saying the UK chose to go to war before the peaceful options had been exhausted.

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Invasion of Iraq based on false perceptions: Cameron

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 2:21PM

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has responded to the Chilcot Inquiry into Britain's role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, saying Britain must never repeat the mistakes of the Iraq war.

Speaking before the House of Commons on Wednesday, Cameron said that then PM Tony Blair took the country into war based on a belief that had lost credibility by 2003.

He told the lawmakers that Iraq's supposed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) played a "central" role in Blair's decision. "However, as we now know, by 2003, this long held belief was no longer a reality."

The inquiry, headed by Sir John Chilcot and established in 2009 to investigate Britain's most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War, published its 6,000-page report on Wednesday.

The report said that the legal basis for military action was "far from satisfactory" and Blair based his case for war on "flawed intelligence" about Iraq's WMDs.

Cameron said that those MPs who voted in favor of military action, including himself, "have to take our fair share of the responsibility."

Throughout his speech, however, Cameron said Blair should not face any charges as he did not "deliberately" mislead the cabinet, although cabinet members were kept in the dark about some key decisions.

Deploying British armed forces without giving them the appropriate equipment was another major finding of the scathing report.

Cameron said the shortfall was "unacceptable" and should not happen in the future.

'Special ties with US'

Elsewhere in his remarks, Cameron said the report's findings should not prevent the UK from continuing its "special relationship" with the US, implying that London should opt for military intervention whenever its interests require it to do so.

"Just because intervention is difficult, it does not mean that it is not right or necessary," the PM said.

Blair's government sent 120,000 members of the British armed forces and civilians to Iraq, proving its role as then US president George W. Bush's chief military ally. A total of 179 British personnel were killed in the war.

This is while more than one million Iraqis lost their lives during the invasion and the subsequent occupation of the country, according to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored.

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Chilcot Inquiry: Iraq war 'unnecessary,' military action 'not last resort'

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 11:33AM

A long-delayed inquiry into Britain's role in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq has offered a scathing critique of the military intervention, slamming former British prime minister Tony Blair for being too eager to support then US president George W. Bush.

The Chilcot Inquiry, established in 2009 to investigate Britain's most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War, published its 6,000-page report on Wednesday.

The inquiry strongly criticizes the UK government's decision-making process in the run-up to the invasion.

The circumstances in which the UK decided that there was a legal basis for military action were "far from satisfactory," it says.

'Flawed' intelligence

Blair presented the case for war with "a certainty which was not justified" based on "flawed" intelligence about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD), which was not challenged as it should have been, the report concludes.

The WMD program was the basis for launching the war.

"The evidence is there for all to see. It is an account of an intervention which went badly wrong, with consequences to this day," inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot said as he represented his report.

"The lesson is that all aspects of any intervention need to be calculated, debated and challenged with the utmost rigor. And, when decisions have been made, they need to be implemented fully. Sadly, neither was the case in relation to the UK government's actions in Iraq," he stated.

Blair to Bush: I'll be with you, whatever

It has long been rumored that Blair had offered strong backing to the Bush administration during his private dealings with the US president as planning was already underway for the invasion.

It turns out, as the inquiry reveals, that Blair promised Bush back then, "I will be with you, whatever."

Blair sent an affectionate handwritten letter to Bush, praising his "brilliant" speech to the United Nations on September 12, 2002, during which the former president set out the case for war six months before it was launched.

The letter reads, "Dear George, it was a brilliant speech. It puts us on exactly the right strategy to get the job done. The reception has been very positive with everyone now challenged to come up to the mark. Well done. Yours ever, Tony."

US ties a 'determining factor'

The inquiry acknowledges that Blair's desire to preserve the UK's special relationship with Washington was a "determining factor" in the decision to join the war.

In the wake of the September, 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Blair "took an active and leading role" building a coalition to counter the threat of terrorism, according to the report.

Military action 'not last resort'

Furthermore, the inquiry concludes that military action was "not a last resort," saying the UK chose to go to war before the peaceful options had been exhausted.

'No imminent threat'

The report also maintains that there was "no imminent threat" from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Blair told British MPs before the invasion that intelligence showed Saddam Hussein had "active", "growing" and "up and running" nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Before the report was released, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled out the prospect of putting Blair on trial for war crimes committed during the war in Iraq.

The ICC said its prosecutors would instead examine the Chilcot report for evidence of war crimes by British troops, angering families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

The court said that the decision to launch the war was outside its jurisdiction, meaning that Blair would not be prosecuted.

A number of British lawmakers, meanwhile, are reportedly seeking to impeach Blair using an ancient parliamentary law.

The MPs say the former prime minister should be prosecuted for breaching his constitutional duties and taking the country to an illegal war.

Not used since 1806, the process simply requires an MP to propose a motion and support evidence for an impeachment. A simple majority is needed to convict and pass a sentence.

Blair may also face legal action from grieving families on the grounds that he exceeded his powers and that led to mass casualties. Some 179 British soldiers were killed during the course of the war.

The invasion plunged Iraq into chaos, resulting in years of deadly violence and the rise of terrorist groups like Daesh (ISIL). The war led to the deaths of more than one million Iraqis.

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British Inquiry Finds Iraq War 'Went Badly Wrong'

by Jamie Dettmer July 06, 2016

The invasion of Iraq 13 years ago by an American- and British-led coalition was "unnecessary" and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein represented "no imminent threat" to Britain or the Western powers, according to a long-awaited official report into Britain's involvement in the Iraq War.

The inquiry led by John Chilcot, a former top British civil servant, heaped blame on politicians, intelligence officials, diplomats and generals for their role in the invasion and for the conduct of the years-long military operations by Britain's forces, mainly in the south of Iraq.

In a scathing appraisal, Chilcot told a packed news conference in London that the planning and conduct of the military intervention was seriously flawed and "went badly wrong, with consequences to this day." He referenced the recent suicide bombings in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, that left more than 250 people dead.

"We have concluded that the U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted," Chilcot said. "Military action at that time was not a last resort."

As the inquiry's chairman explained the broad aspects of the monumental report, journalists continued to pick through the evidence and findings contained in 13 volumes.

Justification for invasion

Much of the Chilcot report focused on the legal basis and intelligence justification for the invasion. The report excoriates then-British prime minister Tony Blair, his ministers and the intelligence services, saying their justifications for the invasion were "far from satisfactory."

In explaining his decision to join the United States in the intervention, Blair told Britain's parliament, "Iraq has biological and chemical weapons." The claim was crucial in persuading a majority of British lawmakers to endorse the country's participation in toppling Saddam Hussein.

On Wednesday, Blair took responsibility for taking Britain into war, expressing "more sorrow, regret and apology that you can ever know or believe." However he insisted the world is a better place because of the removal of Saddam.

After seven years of investigation by the inquiry, Blair's case for the war, a conflict that led to the deaths of 179 British soldiers as well as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis by the time British forces withdrew, was laid bare Wednesday.

Among the key findings of the investigation, which has lasted longer than Britain's combat operations in Iraq and was set up by Gordon Brown, Blair's successor:

- The Blair government helped to undermine the authority of the United Nations Security Council by acting without securing majority support for military intervention

- The invasion was based on "flawed intelligence and assessments" that went unchallenged and "certainty over WMD was not justified"

- Military intervention was launched before all peaceful options had been explored

- Risks to British military personnel were inadequately planned for by the government and the country's generals

- Britain's legal basis for intervention was "far from satisfactory"

- Planning for post-war Iraq was "wholly inadequate"

The inquiry did not find that the Blair government sought to shape or influence the intelligence services' assessment of Saddam possessing WMD's  a conclusion that some of the families of dead British soldiers took issue with within minutes of the publication of the report.

Blair strikes back

Blair issued a defiant statement Wednesday, saying, "The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit. Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein, I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country."

He noted the report found that "there was no falsification or improper use of intelligence." He noted also the inquiry concluded that he had not entered into a secret deal months before with then-U.S. president George W. Bush to invade, come what may.

Blair, however, acknowledged, "The report does make real and material criticisms of preparation, planning, process and of the relationship with the United States." He added, "I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse."

To a packed House of Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government will study the voluminous report and that any future interventions must have proper planning; but, he warned that the report shouldn't deter Britain from interventions. "There are times when interventions are necessary," he said. "It would be wrong to conclude that intervention is always wrong."

Cameron also said it would be wrong to conclude that Britain should not support America. He highlighted the importance of Britain's special relationship with the U.S., adding, "Britain and America share the same fundamental values." He also said, "Our partnership is vital."

Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the intervention was "an act of military aggression launched on a false pretext" and it fueled and spread terrorism. He called for a more "open and independent relationship with the United States."

Extensive investigation

Evidence for the inquiry into Britain's most controversial military engagement since the end of the Second World War was drawn from more than 150 witnesses. More than 15,000 documents were published by the inquiry Wednesday, including 29 memos from Blair to Bush. The American president's replies have not been published following discussions with U.S. and British authorities.

The length of the inquiry has been the butt of national jokes. Delays were caused by a long wrangle with the government over access to documents and their declassification, and later it was held up by the death of an important inquiry member, historian Martin Gilbert.

The process was prolonged by months because people the inquiry planned to criticize were given the chance to comment before the finalization of the report, which runs to 2.6 million words, four times the length of Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.

It remains unclear whether the report will help the country shake off the legacy of the Iraq War. The discredited evidence that was used to propel the country into the invasion has done much to fuel general public skepticism since the war of official expertise  that in turn fed into public disdain of the government's case for remaining in the European Union and could have helped the Leave campaign secure a majority in the June 23 referendum for Brexit.

Conclusions

The report's conclusions also seem unlikely to ease disquiet about the Blair government's interaction with the intelligence services as it shaped a broad case for war. Nor will it head off growing calls for Blair to face legal repercussions.

The inquiry did not express a view on whether military action was legal. Chilcot told journalists only a court could make that judgment. Some families of British soldiers who died in the Iraq War are discussing with lawyers the possibility of taking civil action against Blair and other ministers.

Retired General Michael Rose, who has been advising families, says action might be taken for what he calls "malfeasance in a public office."

Some left-wing Labor Party and Scottish Nationalist lawmakers say they might seek to impeach the former prime minister.

The report could trigger prosecutions at the International Criminal Court at The Hague of British soldiers for incidents of war crimes and prosecutors there said they are scrutinizing the report; however, chief ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has said it is unlikely that any action would be launched against Blair, saying the court doesn't have the power to prosecute the crime of aggression.

Sarah Helm, a former journalist and wife of Blair's chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, says that Blair realized the war might destroy his reputation. Listening in on a phone conversation between Blair and Bush, she says the British leader worried that the war would be "my epitaph."

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Defenders, Critics Stand Their Ground Following British Iraq Report

by Marissa Melton July 06, 2016

Western reaction to Britain's 6,000-page report on the Iraq war reflects the remorse of hindsight, but leaders who played a part in going to war are standing by their decisions.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the president and his staff have not yet read all the way through the lengthy document, but he said President Barack Obama "has been dealing with the consequences of that fateful decision for the entirety of his presidency." He also said it is important that the United States "learn the lessons of those past mistakes."

The decision to go to war was fueled by the belief that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had a store of weapons of mass destruction that could have been used on the United States and its allies. That intelligence assessment was later proved to be mistaken.

A spokesman for former U.S. President George W. Bush, who ordered the invasion of Iraq in 2003, released a statement Wednesday saying, "Despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."

Expert: Not all alternatives exhausted

Public policy expert William Galston of the Brookings Institution told VOA on Wednesday that he agrees with the report that the international community had not yet exhausted all other options to eliminate the Iraqi threat.

He noted that U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix has maintained that the U.N. sanctions regime "was not as weak as was represented, and was not in eminent danger of crumbling, that the inspections regime was very robust, and that Saddam couldn't have done anything major without being detected or without expelling the international inspectors."

Galston says one of the big questions the report raises is "whether the status quo was as untenable as the international community said it was."

Paul Bremer, who led the occupational authority in Iraq after the invasion in 2003, wrote in Britain's The Guardian that the risks incurred by invasion were far less than those of leaving Saddam in power. He said the 9/11 attacks on the United States intensified pressure to confront international threats.

"After 9/11," he writes, "no American president could dismiss the possibility that a state sponsor would provide devastating weapons to terrorist groups, or use them itself." He notes that Saddam's government had used biological weapons against Iraqi Kurds in 1988.

Bremer concluded his piece with the assertion that "it was the correct, if difficult, decision to remove Saddam Hussein. Had we not done so, today we would likely confront a nuclear armed Iraq facing off against a nuclear armed Iran. Bad as the unrest in the region is today, that would be worse."

Threat estimates

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, now a senior fellow at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, wrote in London's The Telegraph Wednesday that the decision to invade was defensible. He said, "Intelligence can underestimate as well as overestimate a threat.  Saddam lied about his capabilities and about trashing them. Had he stayed in power, he would today have even larger chemical stockpiles."

But those opposing the decision to go to war at the beginning are also sticking to their positions. U.S. foreign policy analyst David Rothkopf of the journal Foreign Affairs tweeted his response to the report Wednesday, saying, "Somehow 'sorry' doesn't seem like enough, does it? OK after a small traffic accident maybe. A catastrophic war, no."

French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud tweeted, "May I remind everybody how France was abused and denigrated for opposing the war? France was right!" He continued, "Not only a geopolitical disaster, not only distortion and manipulation, but also a human tragedy."

And the Russian Embassy in London uncharacteristically made a joke. Playing on a British slogan from World War II, the embassy posted an image saying, "Keep calm, but I told you so."

And in Washington, the U.S. State Department renewed its travel warning on Iraq. The new warning tells U.S. citizens that travel in Iraq remains "very dangerous."

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South Korea to double loudspeakers along border with North

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 4:42AM

South Korea's military plans to double its loudspeakers along the border with North Korea to increase its broadcast of anti-Pyongyang messages.

Yonhap news agency quoted a military official as saying on Wednesday that the number of loudspeakers will be doubled by the end of the year and that new equipment will replace the old devices in order to broadcast voice to over 10 kilometers away.

"We will make more efforts to erode the morale of the North's troops at the frontline and deliver information [about the outside world] to civilians there," the official said.

The loudspeakers have been used to broadcast propaganda messages against Pyongyang across the border since August 2015. South Korea had suspended broadcasting anti-Pyongyang messages through loudspeakers since 2004.

Seoul linked the resumption of the broadcasting of the anti-Pyongyang messages to a landmine explosion that wounded two South Korean soldiers patrolling along the inter-Korean demilitarized zone in August 2015. Seoul says the mines were planted by North Korea, a claim Pyongyang has denied.

Pyongyang has repeatedly condemned the propaganda broadcast and threatened to carry out strikes against the loudspeaker units in order to turn them off.

The South Korean official also told Yonhap that the move is aimed at punishing the North for launching missiles.

On June 22, Pyongyang test-fired two Musudan mid-range ballistic missiles, which are reported to have a theoretical range of between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers, making them capable of reaching any part of South Korea, Japan and the US territory of Guam in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

According to the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, North Korea's recent missile test could facilitate the development of an operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of striking the US mainland in less than four years.

Seoul and Washington are currently in talks over the possible deployment of the US military's sophisticated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) in South Korea - a move staunchly opposed by China and Russia.

North Korea, which is under harsh UN sanctions over its nuclear tests and missile launches, says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea.

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UN humanitarian coordinator alarmed at deteriorating conditions in besieged Syrian towns

5 July 2016  The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Syria has expressed alarm over reports of deteriorating humanitarian conditions and urgent medical evacuation needs in the towns of Madaya, Foah, Zabadani and Kefraya, where more than 62,000 people are besieged.

In a statement, Yacoub El Hillo, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, called for the parties to the "Four Towns Agreement" to allow for immediate and unconditional access for humanitarian actors.

"While parties to the agreement had committed to ensure humanitarian assistance to civilians trapped in the Four Towns, we have not been able to do so since April," said Mr. El Hillo.

"We all remember too well the disturbing images of starving children in Madaya earlier this year, many of whom have died even after aid was finally allowed in. We are calling on all parties involved to ensure this doesn't happen again. Immediate and unconditional humanitarian deliveries to the four towns must take place now," he added.

Despite approval granted in May and June by the Syrian Government for the UN and humanitarian partners to provide assistance to besieged civilians in the four towns, access has not been possible because of tension among parties to the agreement, aerial bombardment in Idleb, and shelling on Foah and Kefraya, the Humanitarian Coordinator said.

Yesterday, the Government of Syria authorized "yet again" the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the four towns under the July plan, allowing the UN and partners a "unique opportunity" to reach besieged people with aid during the upcoming holy days of Eid al-Fitr, Mr. El Hillo said.

The Humanitarian Coordinator emphasized that the UN is equally concerned over the delays in conducting urgent medical evacuations from the four towns.

"Our teams stand ready to proceed with the medical evacuation of the sick and wounded. We ask the parties to let us help the most vulnerable, and put an end to the tit-for-tat approach of the agreement that does not allow for emergency life-saving responses when urgently needed," he said.

Across Syria, about 5.5 million people are in need in hard-to-reach and besieged areas with limited access to basic life-saving assistance and protection. Of that number, close to 600,000 are in 18 besieged areas including the four towns.

"The United Nations is once again calling for the immediate lifting of all sieges of civilians in Syria. Using besiegement that results in starvation as a method of warfare is a crime under International Humanitarian Law," Mr. El Hillo emphasized.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a follow-up convoy to besieged East Harasta went ahead with food, medicines and other essentials for 10,000 people. This area was last reached by a UN inter-agency convoy on 18 May, the office of the spokesperson for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted in a statement briefing.

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Russia, US to intensify Syria coordination: Kremlin

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 7:19PM

The Kremlin has announced that Russia and the US are prepared for better coordination efforts on dealing with Takfiri terrorism in Syria.

"The two parties have confirmed their desire to intensify coordination between the Russian and American militaries in Syria," said a statement released by the Kremlin on Wednesday.

"It is also important to resurrect the UN-mediated peace talks to arrive at a political solution of the crisis," it added.

The announcement was made following a Russia-initiated phone call between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Putin called on his counterpart to separate, as soon as possible, the definitions of moderate forces from the al-Nusra Front and other extremist groups," the statement added.

Moscow has long insisted that the so-called moderate opposition groups in Syria should leave the areas held by terrorists, which are targeted in the Russian air campaign.

Claiming it is unable to remove the opposition groups, Washington, however, has called on Moscow not to carry out airstrikes against the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front terrorist group.

Relations between Moscow and Washington hit its post-Cold War low, after Crimea re-integrated into the Russian Federation following a referendum in March 2014.

Russia and the US support opposing sides in Syria's five-year-old conflict. Washington's military intervention in Syria without authorization from the Damascus government deteriorated the already strained relations with Russia.

The US and its allies have also been carrying out airstrikes in Syria purportedly against Daesh positions since September 2014. According to a Washington Post report, the Obama administration is now looking to partner with Moscow in the fight against terrorists.

Since September 2015, Russia has also been conducting airstrikes against Daesh and other terrorist groups in Syria at the Syrian government's request.

'Harbinger for longer-lasting' ceasefire deals

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced hopes that a 72-hour truce in Syria was "a harbinger" for further longer-lasting ceasefire deals.

Earlier, the Syrian army declared a unilateral 72-hour armistice across the country on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"We very much welcome the Syrian army declaration of 72-hours of quiet," said Kerry at a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, adding that discussions were currently underway to extend the truce.

"We are trying very hard to grow these current discussions into a longer-lasting,... enforceable, accountable cessation of hostilities that could change the dynamics on the ground," he noted.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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Syrian army declares 72-hours nationwide truce

Iran Press TV

Wed Jul 6, 2016 9:35AM

The Syrian army has declared a unilateral 72-hour truce across conflict-stricken Syria on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The General Command of the Syrian Army announced in a statement that the truce will enter force as of 1 p.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Wednesday and will be in effect until July 8 midnight.

The development came shortly after Syrian government forces, backed by allied fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, established control over the village of Maydaa, which is administratively part of the Douma district and lies east of the capital, Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian forces recaptured the strategic village following an intense exchange of fire with members of the so-called Jaysh al-Islam.

The monitoring group further said that scores of extremists were killed and injured in the process, while several others escaped the skirmishes. Syrian soldiers and Hezbollah fighters destroyed a considerable amount of weapons and munitions in the operation.

Maydaa reportedly served as the Jaysh al-Islam's supply line to the militant-held East Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, and was the closest area to Zamir air base, which foreign-backed terrorists hold east of Damascus.

On Tuesday, an unspecified number of Daesh militants were killed and injured as Syrian military aircraft bombarded a terrorist hideout southwest of the ancient city of Palmyra, situated 215 kilometers (133 miles) northeast of Damascus.

Additionally, several pickup trucks that had heavy machine guns mounted on them as well as a number of Daesh fortifications were hit in Syrian army airstrikes against Tall Amri Village in the northeastern province of Homs.

Elsewhere in the southwestern residential area of Daraa al-Balad, Syrian troops struck a hideout of al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front militants, killing most of the extremists inside.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The UN has stopped its official casualty count in Syria, citing its inability to verify the figures it receives from various sources.

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U.S. reassures Taiwan on cooperation after missile incident

ROC Central News Agency

2016/07/06 11:04:39

Washington, July 5 (CNA) The United States has reassured Taiwan of its continuing cooperation after Taiwan's Navy mistakenly fired a live missile into the Taiwan Strait on July 1.

"We are aware of reports about the accidental firing of a missile from a Taiwan Navy vessel. We are in contact with Taiwan authorities. We regret the reported loss of life associated with this incident," U.S. Department of State East Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau spokesperson Grace Choi told CNA in an e-mail Tuesday.

Choi did not see the incident as affecting future U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

"Our policy on U.S.-Taiwan defense cooperation is unchanged and continues to be based on the three joint U.S.-China communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act," she said.

"The U.S. government remains firmly committed to supporting Taiwan's ability to defend itself, consistent with the provisions of the Taiwan Relations Act."

When asked how the U.S. viewed Taiwan-China interactions following the missile incident, Choi hoped it would not have much of an impact on relations across the Taiwan Strait.

"The United States has an enduring interest in the maintenance of peaceful and stable cross-Strait ties. We urge both sides to continue their constructive dialogue on the basis of dignity and respect," she wrote.

The incident involved a Hsiung Feng III missile being accidentally launched from a 500-ton Chinchiang-class corvette docked in Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung during a drill.

The missile hit a Taiwanese fishing boat about 40 nautical miles away and killed the boat's captain.

Military authorities in Taiwan have said the missile firing was an accident caused by a series of missteps by naval officers and sailors on the ship that was conducting the drill.

But China has demanded that Taiwan give a reasonable explanation of the incident and claimed it had very serious consequences.

Zhang Zhijun (), head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said shortly after the accidental missile firing that it had "a serious impact," without elaborating on what the impact might be.

(By Rita Cheng and Flor Wang)

enditem/ls

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ELKO  The County is applying for a preventive health and health services block grant to evaluate the needs and priorities of Elko County.

In March, Bobbi Shanks, school nurse coordinator for the Elko County School District, attended the Nevada County Health Rankings meeting with a group.

Elko County ranks No. 4 in overall health, according to an earlier presenter Marena Works, director of operations, northern area, for the Nevada Health Centers.

The county health ranking program brings actionable data and strategies to the communities to make it easier for people to be healthy, said Shanks.

The block grant opened up after the meeting, with about $7,000 available for Elko County to submit an application, she said.

A voluntary work group was formulated, with Commissioner Delmo Andreozzi, to apply for the funds and look at a planning grant for the Elko County Board of Health.

Our goals are to compile data regarding the community needs and priorities to present to the Board of Health and to research options for structure and activities related to the Board of Health, said Shanks. Our plan is to use new and existing data.

Shanks said Gerald Ackerman of the University of Nevada School of Medicine is working on a survey that will impact the proposed work.

There are 455 responses from the County, said Ackerman, in his update on the activities and status of the Nevada State Office Rural Health and the University of Nevada School of Medicine Community Health Needs survey.

He said the survey was going to be closed on July 1, but it was requested for it to remain open until Friday.

This comes after a visit with PACE Coalition and Highland Village retirement community to possibly garner more responses.

The data will be compiled between July 11 and 15.

I think youll be pretty happy with that needs assessment, said Ackerman.

The survey is approximately 47 questions.

If were going to get this information, we might as well get information people want, he said.

Ackerman said the information provided to the health board will be invaluable.

Margo Teague, of Impact Evaluation and Assessment Services, was introduced by Shanks. If the grant money is awarded, Teague could be contracted to aid in compiling data.

The grant period is from October through August. A presentation could possibly be made in August to exhibit the data.

Andreozzi asked when the County would know if the grant has been received. Shanks said it could be notified in September.

There is a deadline in July to enter the work outline. Planning would begin in October.

Due to the amount of $7,000, the group is not planning to implement services but the monies could have an affordable use for a planning grant, said Shanks.
Fraudsters steal up to $40 billion from the industry a year, says Judit Albers of A1 Telekom Austria. She tells Alan Burkitt-Gray about A1s work with the GLF to reduce the cost of crime
Almere, The Netherlands

July 7, 2015



ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V. TO HOST ANALYST AND INVESTOR TECHNOLOGY SEMINAR



ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today announces that it will be hosting an analyst and investor technology briefing on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. (PDT) in San Francisco, US, coinciding with SEMICON West 2016. The presentation will be held in room 256, Mezzanine level - West side, Moscone Center.

In this technology seminar Han Westendorp, Vice President Corporate Marketing, will present "Advanced chip manufacturing with new materials". The presentation will include highlights of ASM's advanced ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) products and technologies, as well as ASM's CVD, PECVD and epitaxy technologies.

The room will open at 7:30 am for invited attendees. Interested parties should contact Ivette van Eijkelenburg, +31 88 100 8570, ivette.van.eijkelenburg@asm.com.

About ASM International

ASM International NV, headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, its subsidiaries and participations design and manufacture equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International, its subsidiaries and participations provide production solutions for wafer processing (Front-end segment) as well as for assembly & packaging and surface mount technology (Back-end segment) through facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol ASM). For more information, visit ASMI's website at www.asm.com .

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, epidemics and other risks indicated in the Company's reports and financial statements. The Company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.



CONTACT

Investor contact:

Victor Bareno

T: +31 88 100 8500
ELKO  An Elko man is being held on $1.7 million bail as he faces multiple child sex charges involving children younger than 6 years old.

Ricky L. Minchew, 29, was transported from Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City to the Elko County Jail on Thursday.

His charges include sexual assault against a child under 14, lewdness with a child under 14, child abuse or neglect, and failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor.

This case involving Minchews stepchildren dates back to 2013, according to Lt. Ty Trouten of the Elko Police Department. The Elko District Attorneys Office did not file a complaint until April of 2015.

In the meantime, Minchew had been arrested on multiple charges and was featured in the Elkos Most Wanted column in the Free Press.

Minchew was 25 years old when he was arrested on a bench warrant in April 2013. The Elko County Sheriffs Office placed him on the most wanted list the following February, saying he was wanted on a warrant for second-offense domestic battery. According to Free Press files, Minchew allegedly drank a few 40-ounce bottles of beer, became angry, slammed doors, punched walls, yelled and screamed, then pushed a woman to the floor.

He was found guilty of harassment and sentenced in September 2014 by acting Elko Justice of the Peace Brian Boatman to serve 300 days in Elko County Jail, suspended for two years on condition of serving 210 days in Elko County Jail with credit for 41 days served, and abstaining from contact with the victim.
Danville union leader Danny Barber recently spoke out against GOP presidential candidate Donald Trumps business practices of outsourcing workers, as the United Steelworkers Union also moved to endorse Hillary Clinton.

To me, the most important thing is judging people in terms of whether they put their money where their mouth is, Barber said in a news release. His mouth says hes for us, but his wallet is bulging with money earned by sending our jobs overseas.

Barber is president of Local 831 that represents union workers at Danvilles Goodyear factory, the Goodyear service store and the United Rubber Workers Community Federal Credit Union.

Barber said Trumps wealth has been gained from outsourcing, creating hypocrisy from the campaign claims of putting America first.

Trump says he cares, but history shows he couldnt care less about hardworking Americans, Barber said.

United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard made similar comments about Trump in a blog post on the union website.

Money is indirect  though pretty darn effective  control over politicians, Gerard said. If Donald Trump is elected president, though, the 1 percent will gain direct control. Theyll have their own billionaire in the White House.

The United Steelworkers also formally endorsed Clinton earlier in June. In the release, Gerard praised her qualifications and experience, as well as her commitment to trade and labor issues.

Secretary Clinton believes in raising the minimum wage, which will not only improve the lives of millions of low-wage workers, but in fact lift the standard for all working Americans, Gerard said. She supports tax relief to help struggling families. She is committed to closing tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy to make sure every American pays their fair share.

According to U.S. Department of Labor data, Donald Trumps companies have sought visas to import at least 1,100 workers into the United States. Additionally, Trump has chosen to make several of his products overseas instead of in the United States, including clothing from Mexico, ties from China and furniture from Turkey and Germany. A few Trump products are made in America.

Trump has defended the practice in past debates, saying the U.S. cannot compete with reduced manufacturing costs and manipulated currencies.
ELKO  A mother who thought her infant was deceased upon giving birth in May was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for child abuse or neglect.

The warrant for Nikki M. Shelley, 22, of Spring Creek, was issued by Elko Justice Court, said Lt. Kevin McKinney.

The investigation was submitted to the Elko County District Attorneys Office, which decided to prosecute.

The Elko County Sheriffs Department submitted the elements of its investigation in early June, said McKinney.

The baby was born on May 18. Shelley believed she was six months pregnant when she gave birth and had not received prenatal care.

Additionally, she was hemorrhaging heavily from the birth, according to the sheriffs office.

Following the birth, Shelley called a friend, who also thought the baby was dead.

Ultimately, the child was wrapped in towels and placed into a bag, before mother and child were transported to the hospital by her friend.

The baby was found to be alive at Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital.

NNRH cared for both, until the baby was transferred to Primary Childrens Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

The Elko County Sheriffs Office and the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services investigated the incident and assessed the safety situation of the family, said McKinney in an earlier statement.

Shelley was arrested at 228 Lawndale Drive and her bail was listed at $100,000.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2016) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (FSE: YQGB) (the "Company" or "Iconic") is pleased to announce that it has been granted a Notice of Intent (the "NOI") by the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM") to commence its lithium brine drilling program at the Bonnie Claire Property (the "Property"), located 30 miles (48 km) north of Beatty, Nevada. The NOI grants Iconic the right to drill 6 of the 8 approved drill locations, that were applied for through the BLM. A drilling rig has been scheduled and will be mobilizing to the property.

The initial drilling program will consist of 3 vertical drill holes designed to test potential brine horizons, which have been identified by the Company's MT geophysical surveys (refer to June 19, 2016 News Release ). Drill targets will be spaced an average of 1.3 miles (2.1 km) apart and drilled to depths of 1,200 to 2,000 feet (365-610 m) deep. The brine target thickness to be tested, as defined by MT, ranges from 330 to 980 feet (100-300 m) thick. Lithium assays from the brine sampling should begin being received within 4-6 weeks after initiation of the drilling program. Additional details relating to the drilling program will be released prior to the initiation of the drilling.

The following is a brief summary on the Property:

The Property is a lithium brine target comprising 18,420 acres. It is located within a valley that is over +20 miles (+30 km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide into which streams from an +800 mi2 (2,070 km2) drainage basin empty. The source rocks are quartz-rich volcanics that contain anomalous amounts of lithium. Sampling of salt flats within the basin has found lithium values in salt samples ranging from 50 to 340 ppm. The deeper part of a gravity low within the valley is 12 miles (20 km) long and initial estimates are the depth to bedrock ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 feet (460-610 m) within this low. The current claim block covers the gravity low and associated mud flats that could be used for evaporation ponds if significant lithium brines are discovered in drilling.

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist (#11494) and CEO of Iconic is the Qualified Person who has prepared and reviewed this press release in accordance with NI 43-101 reporting standards.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Kern"

Richard Kern, President and CEO

Contact: (604) 336-8614

For further information on ICM, please visit our website at www.iconicmineralsltd.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com

Forward Statement: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Iconic expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, Jul 7, 2016 - Calico Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CKB) ("Calico" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the successful completion of its previously announced business combination with Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. ("Paramount"), pursuant to which Paramount has acquired all of the common shares of Calico by way of a court approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"). Under the terms of the Arrangement, holders of Calico Shares are entitled to receive 0.07 of a share of common stock of Paramount in exchange for each Calico Share held immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement.Paul Parisotto, Calico's President and CEO, said: "We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction, which will allow Paramount to unlock the considerable value in the Grassy Mountain project for the benefit of the shareholders of the combined company. On behalf of the board of directors and management of Calico, we thank shareholders of Calico for their support."With the Arrangement now complete, Paramount intends to cause the common shares of Calico to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange (expected on or about July 7, 2016) and Calico intends to submit an application to the applicable securities regulators to cease to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting obligations.Further details regarding the Arrangement are set out in the management information circular of Calico dated May 26, 2016, which is available on SEDAR under Calico's issuer profile at www.sedar.com.Calico is a Canadian company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral property interests. Calico is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Grassy Mountain Gold Project located in Malheur County, Oregon. For more information, please see the website of Calico at www.calicoresources.com.This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the timing and ability to cause the common shares of Calico to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange; the timing and ability to cause Calico to cease to be a reporting issuer and to terminate its public reporting obligations; and the ability of Paramount to unlock considerable value in the Grassy Mountain project for the benefit of shareholders of the combined company.These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Calico at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Calico to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Calico believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Calico cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, Calico assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained herein.On behalf of the Board,Paul A. ParisottoPresident & CEO604.681.6855604.684.0279www.calicoresources.com
Glen Van Treek, Paramount's President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with the overwhelming vote of support from Calico stockholders. The acquisition not only diversifies and improves our asset base but it also strengthens our stockholder composition. The addition of the Grassy Mountain project is a textbook fit to our corporate strategy and the Paramount team is looking forward to continuing its advancement towards a production decision."

Adds a second advanced-stage asset which more than doubles the Company's measured plus indicated contained ounces of precious metals;

Significantly improves the overall gold grade of the Company's global resources;

Increases the Company's exploration upside potential; and

Reduces shareholder risk by diversifying the Company's assets.

To improve metallurgical testing and to optimize the recovery process;

To generate the geotechnical information needed for optimal mine and infrastructure design and location;

To improve geological, geometallurgical and geotechnical models;

To better define and potentially reduce capital cost estimates for mine construction and operation; and

To continue with environmental data collection required for the mine operation permitting process.

Grassy Mountain Mineral Inventory (1,2,3,4,5) MEASURED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 3,157 0.155 5.33 491 0.263 9.0 829 Open Pit 52,645 0.020 0.67 1,027 0.072 2.5 3,784 Total 55,802 0.027 0.93 1,518 0.083 2.8 4,613 INDICATED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 88 0.149 5.13 13 0.163 5.6 14 Open Pit 12,803 0.010 0.33 122 0.027 0.9 350 Total 12,891 0.010 0.36 135 0.028 1.0 364 MEASURED PLUS INDICATED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 3,246 0.155 5.32 504 0.260 8.9 843 Open Pit 65,447 0.018 0.60 1,149 0.063 2.2 4,133 Total 68,693 0.024 0.82 1,653 0.072 2.5 4,977 INFERRED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground - - - - - - - Open Pit 221 0.007 0.24 2 0.010 0.3 2 Total 221 0.007 0.23 2 0.010 0.3 2

(1) Rounding may cause apparent discrepancies (2) Underground and Open Pit material are exclusive from each other (3) tons= imperial tonnes; T= metric Tonnes (4) Underground Cut-off grade = 0.065 opt Au (5) Open pit Cut-off grade = 0.005 opt Au

WINNEMUCCA, Jul 7, 2016 - Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT:PZG) ("Paramount" or the "Company") announced today that Paramount has completed its acquisition of Calico Resources Corp. ("Calico") pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement dated March 14, 2016 (the "Agreement") after having received the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to the transaction on July 5, 2016. Calico is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount.ursuant to the Agreement, Paramount issued 7,171,209 common shares to Calico shareholders as per the exchange ratio whereby Calico stockholders had the right to receive 0.07 of a share of common stock of Paramount for every common share of CalicoAt the special meeting of its stockholders held on June 29, 2016, Paramount stockholders owning approximately 97.8% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Paramount meeting, voted in favor of the arrangement proposal. Calico stockholders owning approximately 97.4% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, voted in favor of Calico's proposal at a special meeting of its stockholders also held on June 29, 2016.Key investment highlights of the Calico acquisition are as follows:The Grassy Mountain Gold Project consists of approximately 9,300 acres with its main deposit located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain gold-silver deposit has a completed Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. Please refer to the amended technical report titled "Amended Preliminary Economic Assessment, Calico Resources Corp. Grassy Mountain Project, Malheur County, Oregon USA" and dated July 9, 2015.The PEA contemplates a 10 year underground mining operation with low cash operating costs driven by a high average underground gold grade of 5.32 g/T gold. The annual average production of 53,000 ounces of gold and 82,000 of silver yield robust economics assuming a $1,300 gold price and silver at $17.50 per ounce. At a 5% discount rate, the project produces an estimated pre-tax NPV of $144 million and a 32.6% IRR. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Consequently, there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.Paramount's immediate action plans are to improve confidence in Grassy Mountain's overall project design and development in preparation for completing a Pre-feasibility Study with the commencement of a core drilling program in 2016. The key aspects of the going forward plan are:Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.For more information on the Grassy Mountain Gold Project including the Preliminary Economic Assessment, please visit our website. The technical and scientific information contained in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Scott Wilson, CPG, of Metal Mining Consultants, a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Wilson is independent of Paramount and has verified the data within this release.The common shares of Calico have been halted for trading and are to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange as of the close of business today, July 7, and the Company will cause Calico to voluntarily surrender Calico's reporting issuer status in British Columbia and will apply to the Alberta Securities Commission to terminate Calico's reporting issuer status in Alberta.Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through the exploration and development of U.S. properties and then selling to, or entering into joint ventures with, producers for construction and operation. Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper high-grade gold mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Paramount also holds a 100% interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit for which a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") has been prepared and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. With its substantial ownership of U.S. gold resources on a per share basis, Paramount offers its shareholders significant leverage to a rising gold price.This news release uses the terms "measured and indicated resources" and "inferred resources". We advise U.S. investors that while these terms are defined in, and permitted by, Canadian regulations, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. "Inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility studies, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves", as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in this category will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an inferred resource exists or is economically or legally minable.This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's anticipated plans for the Grassy Mountain Project and the potential for any mining or production at the Grassy Mountain Project. These statements relate to analysis and other information that are based on expectations of future performance as set out in the PEA, including gold and silver production and planned work programs. In addition, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, Paramount's strategies and plans, the attractiveness of the Grassy Mountain Project as a development option; the exploration potential at the Grassy Mountain Project; development scenarios at the Grassy Mountain Project; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of the Company's capital to finance the Company's operations; geological interpretations and potential mineral recovery processes. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, risks relating to: uncertainty as to actual capital costs, operating costs, production and economic returns, and uncertainty that development activities will result in a profitable mining operation at the Grassy Mountain Project; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold or certain other commodities; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the United States; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, risks related to mineral exploration estimates being based on interpretations and assumptions which may result in less mineral production under actual conditions than is currently estimated and to diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as the Grassy Mountain Project is mined; and contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks.Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: Paramount's ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; production meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. Paramount's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions should also be considered to be forward-looking statements.Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.Glen Van Treek, President, CEO and DirectorChris Theodossiou, Director of Corporate Communications866-481-2233
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) -

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Ultra Lithium Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ULI) ("Ultra Lithium" or "the Company") is pleased to announce drill core assay results from the first drill hole at its 100% owned South Big Smokey Valley brine lithium project located in Nevada.

The results of 22 drill core samples from the hole BSH16-01 indicate maximum values for lithium of 270 parts per million (ppm), boron 410 ppm, potassium 10,000 ppm, and magnesium 12,000 ppm; and the average concentration is lithium 131 ppm, boron 151 ppm, potassium 5,575 ppm, and magnesium 6,210 ppm. One sample from a 10 cm gypsum layer had lithium values below labs detection limits. These samples were taken at various depth intervals down to 1,000 feet (305 metres) below ground surface(See table for details). The Company is in the process of collecting brine water samples from this hole.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has signed a new drill contract with Boart Longyear to finish the remaining planned exploratory drilling at the South Big Smoky brine lithium project.

Dr. Weiguo Lang, CEO of Ultra, stated that, "The core sampling of the first hole not only provided positive results but also gave valuable information regarding subsurface lithology and hydrogeological conditions. We are pleased to have an experienced drill contractor to finish this challenging drill job in soft lake sediments. With Boart Longyear's drilling experience and organizational capabilities, the Company is expecting to obtain groundwater samples of the potential deeper brine targets by drilling down to 2,200 feet below surface in the next hole."

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

All the samples were shipped to Western Environmental Testing Laboratory in Sparks, Nevada, which is an US EPA accredited independent laboratory. The samples were analyzed for lithium, potassium, boron, and magnesium using Test Methods for Evaluation of Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods (SW846), Third Edition. Laboratory used its own quality control and quality assurance protocols for sample analysis.

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Afzaal Pirzada, P.Geo., a qualified person, as defined by NI 43-101 who works as a consultant with the Company.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kiki Smith, CFO

About Ultra Lithium Inc.

Ultra Lithium is an exploration and development company with a focus on the acquisition and development of lithium assets. The Company is currently focused on North American acquisitions and exploring its Big Smoky Valley Project located in Nevada, USA.

About the South Big Smokey Valley Brine Lithium Project:

The Company holds a 100% interest in the Big Smoky Valley Project comprising 659 placer claims covering approximately 13,000 acres' land located in Nevada, USA. This Project has geological conditions favourable for hosting Lithium enriched brines. The Project is located 16 miles to the north of Albemarle Corp.'s Silver Peak mine which is the only brine lithium producing project in North America, and has been producing lithium from brines since 1966. The Company has completed a ground CSAMT geophysical survey and surface sediment / water sampling programs on the project and started drilling in 2016.

View the Company's filings at www.SEDAR.com.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSX VENTURE:KTN) ("Kootenay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Haywood Securities Inc. (the "Agent") to raise aggregate gross proceeds of up to $4 million through the issuance of up to 10,000,000 units of the Company ("Units") at a price of $0.40 per Unit (the "Offering Price") on a commercially reasonable efforts private placement basis (the "Offering"). Each Unit shall consist of one common share and one-quarter of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share (a "Warrant Share") at a price per Warrant Share of $0.55 for a period ending April 21, 2021. The Warrants will have identical terms to the 23,103,969 listed warrants (the "Listed Warrants") of the Company currently outstanding and trading under the ticker 'TSXV: KTN.WT'. All securities to be issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period under applicable securities laws in Canada. Subject to compliance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company will apply to list the Warrants on the TSXV with the Listed Warrants, on the expiry of the four month hold period. The Company will also grant to the Agent an option (the "Agent's Option"), exercisable in whole or in part by giving notice to the Company at any time up to 48 hours prior to the closing date, to sell up to an additional 1,500,000 Units (the "Additional Units") at the Offering Price.

The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to fund the exploration and development of the Company's La Cigarra project in Mexico and for general working capital purposes.

The Offering is expected to close on or before July 28, 2016 (the "Closing"). Closing of the Offering is subject to certain conditions customary for financings of this kind, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including approval and acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company has agreed to pay the Agent a cash commission of 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Offering including on exercise of the Agent's Option and issue compensation warrants equal to 3% of the number of Units and Additional Units sold. Each such compensation warrant will entitle the Agent to purchase one common share at a price of $0.55 for a period of twelve months following the closing of the Offering.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any State Securities Laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to the account or benefit of a U.S. person absent an exemption from the registration requirements of such Act.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. The Company's top priorities are the advancement of the La Cigarra silver project and the Promontorio Mineral Belt, in Chihuahua, Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, respectively. The La Cigarra property is 26 kilometres from the historic mining city of Parral and boasts nearby power, good road access, gentle topography, and established infrastructure. La Cigarra currently hosts a resource estimate of 18.54 million tonnes containing 51.47 million ounces of silver in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 86.3 g/t silver and 4.45 million tonnes containing 11.46 million ounces of silver in the Inferred category grading 80 g/t silver. The mineralized system at La Cigarra has been traced over 6.5 kilometres and is defined at surface as a silver soil anomaly and by numerous historic mine workings. The La Cigarra silver deposit is open along strike and at depth and is approximately 25 kilometres north, and along strike, of Grupo Mexico's Santa Barbara mine and Minera Frisco's San Francisco del Oro mine. The Promontorio Mineral Belt includes the Company's La Negra high-grade silver discovery and its Promontorio Silver Resource. The Promontorio Mineral Belt is under option to Pan American Silver whereby they can earn a 75% interest in the project with US$16 million of expenditures and payments with Kootenay retaining a 25% carried to production interest (see news releases dated February 16 and March 4, 2016). The Promontorio Silver Resource currently hosts a resource estimate of 44.5 million tonnes containing 92 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 64.3 g/t silver equivalent and 14.6 million tonnes containing 24.3 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Inferred category grading 52 g/t silver equivalent. The Company's core objective is to create value by acquiring silver resources through discovery and acquisition and testing those resources with the ultimate goal of developing them into silver production if they are proven to be economically viable.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Information

The information in this news release has been prepared as at July 7, 2016. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. More particularly, this release contains statements concerning the anticipated Offering. Accordingly, there is a risk that the Offering will not be completely sold, and completed within the anticipated time or at all.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS.

Latin American Minerals ("LAT" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:LAT) today announced a new investor relations program aimed at broadening the corporation's investor base and enhancing on-going investor communications.

The primary communications objective will be to increase investor awareness of LAT's strategic advantages as a fully permitted, cash flow producing gold mine and an international exploration company with a portfolio of high potential projects.

Latin American minerals has retained the services of Leo Karabelas of Focus Communications of Toronto, Ontario ("Focus"), to provide a range of investor relations, market awareness and consulting services to the Company. Mr Karabelas will work with the new management team to support Latin American Minerals with interactions with media, broker-dealers, securities advisors, investment funds and members of the investment community.

Focus will receive fees of $2,500 per month. In addition LAT will grant options for the purchase of 350,000 common shares at an exercise price of $0.10 per share, vesting quarterly over 12 months and expiring after two years.

Leo Karabelas commented, "I look forward to the news stream from the resumption of commercial production and the start of the new 10,000 meter drill program at the Paso Yobai gold project in Paraguay, Basil and his team have done an excellent job funding the company and I look forward to being part of the success."

The appointment of Mr. Karabelas is subject to the requisite filings with and acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable securities.

About Focus Communications

Focus Communications is a private Toronto based firm, specializing in investor relations, corporate communications and market awareness services. Utilizing its extensive database of private investors, brokers, analysts and fund managers, Focus provides customized investor relations solutions for its clients. Focus implements a proactive and "one on one" approach in managing relationships between clients, their shareholders and the investment community for positive, long term relationships.

About Latin American Minerals

Latin American Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration and gold mining company which holds its core gold and diamond projects in Paraguay. The Company is currently expanding its Independencia Mine gold processing plant to encompass vat-leach gold recovery from mineralization extracted in open pit bulk mining activities at its fully permitted mining concession. Management has identified six gold zones for drill testing on the Company's adjacent exploration claims, which is part of the Company's 15,020 hectare Paso Yobai gold project.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
July 6

Jason B. Allison, 32, of Battle Mountain was arrested at the Elko County Jail on a warrant for two counts of failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor, two counts of burglary, and conspiracy to commit burglary. Bail: $20,500



Edwin E. Chacon, 26, of West Valley, Utah, was arrested at the Elko County Jail for use of a credit or debit card, or ID, without consent. Bail: $10,000



Kenneth R. Franklin, 38, of Groveland, California, was arrested at the Elko County Jail for the arrest of a fugitive felon from another state. Bail: $100,000



Jamie Y. Guerrero, 29, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was arrested at the Elko County Jail for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $1,630



Suzanne M. Moon, 47, of Spring Creek was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $1,241



Tara K. Raine, 19, of Elko was arrested at 560 Bullion Road for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $375



Paul T. Smith, 36, of Spring Creek was arrested at 127 Edgewood Drive for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. No bail listed.



Tucker J. Smith, 31, of Elko was arrested at 83 Foothill Drive for failure to appear after bail for a misdemeanor. Bail: $770



Nathan R. Webster, 28, of Trenton, Missouri, was arrested at Box Elder County Jail on a warrant for two counts of intent to utter a fictional bill, note or check, conspiracy to utter a fictional bill, note or check, and burglary. Bail: $35,000



Zackery D. Wheat, 27, of Elko was arrested at South Ninth and Lamoille Highway for violation of probation or condition of suspension. No bail listed.



Cesar Zepeda, 24, a transient, was arrested at 340 Commercial St. for trespassing. Bail: $195
You'd be a brave man to open yet another restaurant in Collingwood right now. Or, four brave men to be exact: Wide Open Road and Heartattack and Vine proprietors Hootan Heydari and Jono Hill have teamed up with long-time employee Mark Jacobson and head chef Daniel Dobra to open a slick cafe-restaurant hybrid on Johnston Street on Monday.

They've taken over the old Heart of Europe site transforming a once-dingy space into a light-filled bar with the help of architect Nicky Adams: mid-century modern-style booths in rich red upholstery, LA diner-style stools and low-fuss hanging fluorescents.

After stints at the Royal Mail, Brutale and most recently the Beaufort, Dobra's menu is built around all-day dining, "a restaurant that does breakfast," he says, with a carnivorous lean.

Mark Jacobson and chef Daniel Dobra of Bedford Street restaurant. Photo: Josh Robenstone

In the a.m. it's fried chicken and waffles or pancakes stuffed with macaroni and cheese; as night falls he brings out the big guns  a pork "schnitty", really a slow-roast rump par-crumbed in panko and crackling, is sure to be a drawcard, and don't get us started on the the deep-fried apple pie.

On the coffee front, expect Wide Open Road beans (naturally); Jacobson has created a special Bedford Street blend in honour of the new venue.

Looking for something stronger? There are three beers on tap, martinis and manhattans and a concise, mainly local, wine list.

Plush deep-red booths inside Bedford Street. Photo: Josh Robenstone

Open Mon-Fri 7am-11pm; Sat-Sun 8am-11pm.

11-13 Johnston Street, Collingwood
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By Staff Report

The San Angelo Tea Party will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the West Texas Training Center, 3501 U.S. 67 N.

Guest speaker Cathie Adams, who has for years been observing and analyzing the United Nations design "The Green Climate Fund," will address the question "Climate Change: Myth or Fact?"

Meetings are held the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month and are open to the public. Coffee and refreshments will be served.

For more information visit SanAngeloTeaParty.org.
San Angelo Central Bobcats host Permian in key District 2-6A showdown

The San Angelo Central High School football team will host Odessa Permian Friday in a battle of two of the four teams tied for first in District 2-6A.
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By Candace Cooksey Fulton

I called my friend Helen last Thursday. I don't call her often enough, and when I do, too often it's because I want or need something. My Thursday night call fit that description, plus it was an hour and 20 minutes past the time my mama's rules said anybody ought to call anybody.

Thank goodness Helen's always awake late and nearly always ready for whatever adventure or mission I propose. This was a special mission. If my mama were here, she'd say, "It had Helen written all over it."

Earlier that afternoon, I'd interviewed Kim Macon in Bronte for a story that ran in Saturday's Standard-Times. Kim and Willie Macon's beautiful daughter, C.J., had been killed in a car wreck coming home from high school graduation practice in May 2004. On Saturday, the family and other supporters were having a barbecue in downtown Bronte to raise money for the C.J. Macon Memorial Scholarship.

Sometimes, in just a short phone call you realize people are put in your path and vice versa for a reason. Kim and I connected  as mothers, and Christians, but mostly in that classic women-friends way. Kim talked of their grief, and the pothole-filled road they'd begun to travel the moment they had learned of C.J.'s death; how the scholarship had been their way to keep her memory alive and to allow something very good to grow out of something very tragic.

And as we were saying our goodbyes, Kim said to me, "I hope you'll come for barbecue Saturday."

I said I'd try. I wanted to. That's when I knew I had to call Helen. Helen's 16-year-old son, Kyle Crews, was killed 28 years ago in Brownwood in a hunting accident. She travels her own journey of grief and is a genuinely sympathetic ear and caring, understanding heart for other grieving mothers.

So Saturday, just a few minutes before 6, Helen and I drove up to the Longbranch BBQ and Catering in Bronte and were greeted by Kim. How long does it take for new friends to become true friends? Let me just say, we hadn't even started our homemade banana pudding dessert when the deal was sealed.

So good was the meal, and sweet was the deal, Helen called old friends she hadn't seen in years  Sid and Johnnie Eubanks, of Bronte  to ask if they'd eaten. They had. Well, Helen offered, we'd bring them a couple of meals for their Sunday dinner  and to support a good cause.

Sid and Johnnie don't live but maybe a mile from town, and were as glad to see us as we were them. We'd brought our own tea, and they invited us in "where it's cool," but we elected to sit "for a spell" under the porch shade, drink our tea and visit. And visit we did, about times forgotten and folks remembered, of work and pleasure, mowing and cattle, when and how, gains and losses, going and staying, life and blessings.

Sitting there with a view of green pastures, our conversation and birds singing the only noises to be heard, we couldn't help but know how blessed we were.

"Oh," said Johnnie to Helen, "I have something for you." She climbed the porch steps and came out with a lovely quilt that folded was almost as big as she. Each block had a calico-dressed, hand-appliqued "Pioneer Lady" in its center.

"Mother's scraps," Helen said, half in question, half in exclamation.

"I want you to take it if you'll have it," Johnny told her.

As if our visit under the shade weren't enough, Sid and Johnnie insisted we should come in for dessert. She had two kinds of homemade pie  pecan and cherry  to offer, plus a gallon of vanilla ice cream to go with them. We tried to excuse ourselves, explaining how full we were, but, what can I say. Our resistance was low, Sid and Johnnie's insistence was high. Sid's 93 and Johnnie's five years younger. It would have been rude of us to argue.

The sun was getting ready to set when we headed for the car. The couple's invitation was genuine that we should come back again. Our promise that we will is one we intend to keep.

I suppose there are standards for celebrating the Fourth of July. Fireworks, parades, patriotic shows and performances. All are fine. But let it be known, in the year 2016, I got to celebrate America with friends. It is a happiness I will remember for a while.

Candace Cooksey Fulton is a freelance writer in San Angelo. Contact her at ccfulton2002@yahoo.com.
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The following editorial appeared in the June 30 Amarillo Globe-News:

Considering how unappealing the presumptive major party candidates for president are, there is an interesting question that will be answered come November  will red-hot Texas turn a lighter shade of red? Perhaps even blue?

The political color scheme for Texas is a question because of the qualifications (or lack thereof) of all-but-official major party nominees Donald Trump (Republican) and Hillary Clinton (Democrat).

Both candidates have enough baggage to drown the most skilled airline baggage handler, which is why what happens in Texas in November will be interesting.

Could the negatives of both Trump and Clinton (more Trump in this case) change Texas?

A Democrat presidential candidate has not won the Lone Star State since 1976.

However, at least three Texas polls indicate Trump's lead over Clinton is not insurmountable, at least mathematically. (Two polls taken since June 22 give Trump single-digit percentage point leads over Clinton.)

Hence the question, which seems almost absurd  could Clinton actually win Texas in November? Let's just say there is a better chance of the thermostat dropping significantly in Hades than Clinton winning arguably the reddest of the red states.

However, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility for Clinton to do better than expected here.

As we have pointed out before, Trump did not fare well in the GOP primary in the Amarillo area. ... The reason for Trump's lack of success in these parts can be attributed to Sen. Ted Cruz, but to totally credit Cruz for Trump's thumping in the Amarillo area is not accurate. When it comes to Trump, much of his damage is self-inflicted  and many Amarillo area voters did not buy his alleged conservatism.

Here is what some are missing about Texas: Had Cruz captured the GOP nomination, there would be no discussion or question about the Lone Star State's favorite color, and Clinton's chances in Texas would be laughable. As it is, there seems to be a degree of uncertainty. However, that is because of Trump, not because Texas is suddenly color blind and turning blue.
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Education Commissioner Mike Morath has stated that the average child entering kindergarten is 12 to 18 months behind. It takes at least six years of excellent teaching for those children to catch up and be on grade-level. The cost of remediation is enormous, and children trying to catch up can be a detriment to the other children who come to kindergarten prepared to do that level of work.

Full-day quality pre-K for every child who currently qualifies for public pre-K should be implemented in Texas. That investment will pay dividends for decades into the future.

Make no mistake, these pre-K programs must be of the highest quality. We are not talking about extending nap time or other noninstructional activities. While he shouldn't necessarily dictate curriculum, the education commissioner should be given the authority to set rules to measure the effectiveness of curriculum and professional development.

You may ask: Who is eligible? Currently, children living below the poverty line, children in the foster care system and the children of military families are all eligible for public pre-K. There is a debate whether we should expand the current public pre-K program beyond those groups.

At this time, we believe expanding the program to full-day for every child currently eligible is the place to start. These are the children who need the most help.

Here's why it's important to make this happen: Long-term studies of children who attended a quality pre-K program show they are more likely to stay in school, graduate from high school and attend college. They also make more money over their lifetime and are less likely to be unemployed or end up in prison later in life. That could mean breaking the cycle of poverty in the next generation of a family.

This should be considered an investment in our children and in the viability of our future workforce. Research quoted in the Children At Risk report, "The State of pre-K," shows that high-quality pre-K, including full-day programs and small classes, produce higher returns on taxpayer investment.

An added benefit to this investment is that we will save money in the long run. We will spend far less on remediation of students in elementary, and secondary grades, and even at the college level, if these students start out on grade level and stay there. If our students start behind, they are constantly in the mode of catching up instead of moving forward.

We allow too many children at the third- and eighth-grade level to keep going in the system while not performing at grade level. We even allow children to graduate without showing they have mastered the skills necessary to get a good job or attend college. One way to attack this problem is to give every child an equal start.

Texas' pre-K program already has a history of success. We have seen increased scores on math and reading standardized tests by students who have attended pre-K. We also have seen reductions in the likelihood these children will need special education services in future grades and reductions in the chance that these children will be retained in future grades because of failure.

Last session, the Texas Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott took an important step to expand pre-K education in Texas. The governor made pre-K an emergency item, and the Legislature delivered House Bill 4 to address that emergency. It is now time for our state leaders to take the next step. Fund full-day pre-K for those who qualify.

If we do this, the likelihood of success of all Texas students will improve, not only for those who are doing well, but also for those who need our help.

Bill Hammond is CEO of the Texas Association of Business.
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Rise in death rate nationally has parallels in Tom Green County

By Casey Jones and Kenneth L. Stewart

Two prominent Princeton economists, Anne Case and Angus Deaton, published a unique scholarly article in the December 2015 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their findings show a surge in death rates between 1999 and 2013 among non-Hispanic white men and women in the midlife ages 45-54.

The change undid decades of previous progress extending life, according to Case and Deaton. More importantly, the authors show the death surge is distinct to the non-Hispanic white population in the prime of midlife. It grabs attention because people believe this demographic should be among the most likely candidates to enjoy the American dream, not losing years of life to an early death.

Intrigued by these national results, we decided to see if they apply to Texas and the local community in San Angelo and Tom Green County. We turned to the vital statistics on deaths available from the Texas Department of State Health Services to investigate.

Going back over two decades, we found there were 859 total deaths in Tom Green County in 1990. Given the population at the time, these yielded an age-adjusted death rate of 913.9 per 100,000 population. Researchers compute age-adjusted mortality rates because they enable direct comparisons across years and geographic areas, or between sex, race and ethnic subgroups with different age distributions.

Twenty-three years later, there were 1,054 Tom Green County fatalities, converting to an age-adjusted death rate for 2013 of 798.9 per 100,000. The local community achieved a 12.6 percent reduction in the overall death rate over the two decades.

The numbers for Texas were more impressive. A little over 125,000 deaths in 1990 produced an age-adjusted statewide rate of 927.6 per 100,000. In 2013, more than 178,000 led to a rate of 749.2. Texas reduced the age-adjusted death rate by 19.2 percent between 1990 and 2013.

Remembering the Case and Deaton study found mortality climbing at the national level among midlife-age non-Hispanic whites after 1998, we zeroed in on the same segments of the state and local population to see if parallels exist. Interestingly, we found strong resemblances.

The age-adjusted mortality rate for non-Hispanic white Texans ages 45-54 stood at 445 per 100,000 in 1990. It continued from there on a downward trend, reaching 409 in 1998. The rate took one more step down to an all-time low of 399 per 100,000 in 1999. Then, it turned upward, reaching a peak at 462 in 2008. It receded to 448 per 100,000 in 2013.

Fatalities among midlife whites in Tom Green County also went on a tear starting in the late 1990s. Similar to Texas and the nation, mortality for whites ages 45-54 had been in decline, entering the 1990s at 436 per 100,000 and falling to a record low of 357 in 1994. The subsequent upturn trended toward a peak high at 645 per 100,000 in 2008, then faded to 617 in 2013.

Overall, the rate of death among non-Hispanic white Texans ages 45-54 increased by 12 percent from its low ebb of 399 in 1999 to the most recently available level of 448 in 2013. Incredibly, however, the rate soared among locals by 73 percent from a 1994 low of 357 to the most recent 617 per 100,000 for 2013.

We also examined fatality trends of Hispanics in Texas and Tom Green County, since the Case and Deaton study found no increases of mortality among this group that followed the pattern among whites. Again, the investigation produced results generally in agreement with Case and Deaton.

Locally, midlife Hispanics entered the 1990s with a death rate of 565 per 100,000, much higher than Anglos in the same 45-54 age range. Nonetheless, fatalities among midlife Tejanos living in Tom Green County dropped precipitously to an all-time low of just 176 in 1994. From there, rates seesawed up and down before reaching 475 per 100,000 in 2013.

Thus, mortality among local Hispanics in the midlife years trended upward after the mid-1990s in a manner contrary to the national findings of Case and Deaton. However, in the early 1990s, the local Hispanic death rate did fall below and stay lower than the Anglo rate of mortality.

Our findings on Texas Hispanics in the midlife age range are even more in tune with the Case and Deaton study. In fact, the statewide death rate of Tejanos in the 45-54 age range follows an opposite path from that of Anglos the same age. While non-Hispanic white Texans in midlife experienced a 12 percent increase in mortality between 1999 and 2013, as noted above, the same age Tejanos saw a 9 percent decrease after 1998.

The most controversial part of the Case and Deaton study starts with the assertion that "three causes of death  account for the mortality reversal among white non-Hispanics, namely suicide, drug and alcohol poisoning  and chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis."

They go on to show national data depicting large upticks in midlife white deaths from these health issues between 1999 and 2013.

We were unable to exactly duplicate Case and Deaton's findings on the three causes of death because of limitations on the available data for the smaller numbers of non-Hispanic whites in Tom Green County compared to the overall nation. Nevertheless, we found similar patterns of increasing mortality from these causes by averaging rates over two seven-year periods of time going back to 2000.

We found, for example, that local midlife whites had a 22.7 per 100,000 average rate of suicide over the seven years from 2000 to 2006. This increased by 52 percent to 34.4 per 100,000 over the next seven years 2007-2013. We also found a 42 percent increase in deaths from drug and alcohol poisoning among Tom Green County whites in the midlife ages, and the increase in fatalities from chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis was 6 percent.

It was 1965 when psychologist Elliot Jaques applied the term "midlife crisis" to highlight the reactions of adults when people realize their own mortality and how little time they may have remaining. The idea caught on like wildfire in popular culture during the following decades, becoming a key theme in a spate of movies such as "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), "The Big Chill" (1983) and "City Slickers" (1991).

Popular writer and lecturer Joseph Campbell, known for the phrase "Follow your bliss," once described the midlife crisis as "what happens when you climb to the top of the ladder and discover it's against the wrong wall."

Of course, the midlife crisis highlighted by Case and Deaton is not about stereotypical middle-aged men or women who wildly blow up their marriage and family in a desperate quest for redemption from a disillusioned life. Instead, they reveal a health crisis bringing early death by causes such as suicide and drug poisonings accompanied by declining liver function, failing mental health and increasing disability and chronic pain.

The evidence points to a crisis of physical and mental distress hitting hard in what historically has been one of the most successful and privileged segments of the American population. It teaches us that the crisis in health is not limited to the poor, uneducated, uninsured, minority or immigrant populations who so often become the scapegoats in health care politics.

The health crisis is not about a divide between "us" and "them." Solving it not only will change the lives of "them," it also will change all of us across the nation and in your community.

Casey Jones is recently retired professor of political science at ASU. Kenneth L. Stewart is director of Community Development Initiatives at the ASU Center for Community Wellness, Engagement, and Development. Contact them at casey.jones@angelo.edu or kenneth.stewart@angelo.edu.
Aznar and Blair at a press conference in 2003. Uly Martin

An in-depth inquiry into the invasion of Iraq shows how British and Spanish leaders deliberately tried to convince the public that they were doing everything possible to avoid war.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Spanish counterpart at the time, Jose Maria Aznar of the Popular Party (PP), agreed to launch a communications strategy at a meeting in Madrid.

The Chilcot report, named after inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot, provides a comprehensive view of events leading up to the decision to go to war, and of the fallout resulting from that move.

Aznar used his influence over Latin America to pressure Chile and Mexico, who also held rotating seats at the Security Council

Blair and Aznar were very concerned about the difficulty posed by the widespread impression that the United States was determined to go to war no matter what.

Aznar told Blair that he was worried about this after meeting with then-US president George W. Bush, in whom he saw an excess of confidence.

In fact, Blair and Aznar did not do everything in their power to avoid a war or convince Bush to cancel his plans. Instead, they made efforts to provide the invasion with an appearance of legality by trying to secure a second resolution from the United Nations Security Council  the first one, passed in November 2002, was not worded in strong enough terms.

The Chilcot report contains numerous references to Aznar. But despite the famous photograph of him alongside Blair and Bush in the Azores islands, Spain does not come across as playing a leading role in the decision-making. Rather, the Spanish former leader emerges as a sidekick to Bush.

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It was the fact that France and Germany rejected going to war, and the coinciding circumstance that Spain had a non-permanent seat on the Security Council at the time, that allowed Aznar to briefly shine on the international stage.

But his star waned after his Popular Party suffered a defeat at the general elections of March 2004, which took place right after Islamist bomb attacks against commuter trains in Madrid.

A new resolution

At a first meeting in Madrid on January 30, 2003, Blair told Aznar that a new UN resolution was required because public opinion was increasingly opposed to an invasion of Iraq. Both men agreed to work towards that goal.

Mr Blair told Mr Aznar that he had told President Bush that a second resolution was politically necessary for the UK, reads the report. Mr Blair and Mr Aznar discussed the impact of a veto on the UN and, therefore, the need to avoid one; and whether it would be better to seek a second resolution in mid  rather than late February. [...] Mr Blair acknowledged that public opinion was moving against military action but suggested it could be brought round.

Aznar used his influence over Latin America to pressure Chile and Mexico, who also held rotating seats at the Security Council, although he was unsuccessful.

Blair, Bush and Aznar at the Azores Islands summit. Reuters

The British report also notes that if Bush agreed to delay the invasion until March, it was not because he felt the need for UN backing, but because his own military experts warned him that they were not quite ready to move in yet.

In mid-March, Aznar gave up on his efforts to drum up support for a second resolution, and told Blair it was better not to propose one if its approval could not be guaranteed  which it was not.

At the Azores meeting on March 16, Bush, Blair and Aznar agreed that, barring any substantial changes in the next 24 hours, the UN option was finished. In public, however, they presented their ultimatum as one last chance for peace.

Mr Blair stated that the role of the UN in post-conflict Iraq must be defined very carefully: We must give the impression that the administration was under UN authority. The clearer the UN role, the better. It was vital that UK public opinion understood that we were not taking possession of Iraqs oil, reads the report.

On April 23, a month after the invasion, when everyone was asking about the weapons of mass destruction, Bush, Blair and Aznar agreed to say that finding them was no longer a priority.

Unlike the first two leaders, Aznar never apologized for that war.

You cannot ask a friend [Bush] for help, and then, when he asks you for help in return, deny it, he has said by way of explanation.

English version by Susana Urra.
Felipe VI and Barack Obama in New York. CASA DEL REY

Spains three main opposition leaders have been asked to join King Felipe VI at a lunch he will host next Monday for US President Barack Obama.

The US leader is scheduled to arrive in Spain on July 9 on his way back from Poland, where he will attend a NATO summit that opens on Friday.

Despite good bilateral relations, this will be the first time that Obama has come to Spain on an official visit since he first took office in January 2009.

There are enough motives to oppose Obama coming here to impose his policies and interests

Carmen Calzado, Ecologists in Action

The visit to Spain, an important NATO ally, will highlight robust security cooperation, a strong political and economic relationship, and longstanding people-to-people ties, said the Presidents Press Office in a June release.

Besides meeting with acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose Popular Party (PP) won the most votes at a recent repeat election in Spain, Obama will also speak with the leaders of the parties that came in second, third and fourth.

The American president had already stated, prior to the Spanish elections, that he was willing to speak with Pedro Sanchez of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pablo Iglesias of Podemos and Albert Rivera of Ciudadanos.

All three have confirmed that they will attend the lunch event. For Iglesias, of the anti-austerity group Podemos, this will be his first event at the Royal Palace. Around 100 guests will be there, including government officials and leaders from the world of business, politics and culture.

Seville, Rota, Madrid

Arriving in Spain just a week after his wife, Michelle Obama, was here to promote her Let Girls Learn program, the president will land in Seville on Saturday night.

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On Sunday, he and Felipe VI will visit the Andalusian capital together, and later Obama will head to the US military base of Rota.

Anti-military groups have scheduled a protest outside the Rota base for Sunday, to make it clear that the US president is not welcome in this territory. Organizers are asking the local population to support their demonstration. There are enough motives to oppose Obama coming here to impose his policies and interests, said Carmen Calzado, of the green group Ecologists in Action, in statements to news agency Europa Press.

The political situation in Spain, which has been under a caretaker government ever since the first inconclusive elections of December 20, had initially made officials fear that Obama might end his term in office without once coming on an official trip.

English version by Susana Urra.
Safe Republican

Tossup

Lean Democratic

Likely Democratic

Safe Democratic

In a year of political upheaval, the 2016 gubernatorial races stand out for how little has changed in the six months since we published our last handicapping in January. No race ratings have changed since then, though weve tweaked the order slightly. Specifically, weve pushed North Carolina and Missouri slightly in the Democrats direction and West Virginia and Montana slightly in the Republicans direction.A big reason for the stability over the past six months is that several of the states with gubernatorial races this year have not yet had their primaries -- and some wont have nominees for months. Thats true in Missouri, New Hampshire and Vermont. Once the nominees are set, we may see some movement in the ratings.All told, Democrats hold nine of the 12 seats being contested this year, putting their already weak national numbers under added strain. Currently, Republicans hold a historically large 31-18 lead in governorships. (There's one independent, Alaska's Bill Walker.)Of this years 12 gubernatorial races,classifies eight as being competitive, meaning they're either a tossup, lean Democratic race or a lean Republican race.Democratic victories in each of the competitive contests would produce a two-seat gain, resulting in a reduced GOP edge of 29-18. By contrast, a Republican sweep of all competitive seats would result in a six-seat gain and a strikingly dominant overall GOP edge of 37-12. As usual, the most likely outcome is somewhere in the middle -- and however 2016 shakes out, the GOP will end the year with a continued big lead in governorships.The list below gives each race a rating -- safe Republican, likely Republican, lean Republican, tossup, lean Democratic, likely Democratic or safe Democratic -- and also rank-orders them within each category so that they go from most likely to vote Republican to most likely to vote Democratic.As expected, Herbert, a pragmatist in a solidly red state, defeated Overstock.com president Jonathan Johnson in the GOP primary in late June. Johnson had challenged the incumbent from the right. Herbert should now have an easy re-election contest against his Democratic opposition, Michael Weinholtz.In a come-from-behind primary victory, businessman and political novice Doug Burgum easily beat the GOPs convention-endorsed candidate, long-serving Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Burgum -- the former CEO of Great Plains Software, which was sold to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001 -- proved successful at retail politics, traveling more than 16,000 miles throughout the state and winning 49 of 53 counties, including Stenehjems home turf. His outsider persona played well in a year favorable to nontraditional candidates, and his business background should prove attractive in a once-booming state now grappling with depressed oil and crop prices. In November, Burgum will face Democratic state Rep. Marvin Nelson, a crop consultant, and Libertarian Marty Riske, a businessman -- neither of whom is well-known. Burgum should win easily -- and could become a governor to watch nationally.Pence is under consideration to be Donald Trumps running mate. If he isnt picked, he'll remain locked in a tight race for a second term. He's focused on jobs, highway spending and early education but hasnt fully recovered from the nationwide controversy over a religious freedom law he signed last year that spawned a pro-LGBT rights backlash. Despite an improving economy in the state, Pence hasnt benefited much. He had a 40 percent approval rating, compared to 42 percent disapproval, in a recent poll. In a rematch, he'll face John Gregg, a Democratic former state House Speaker who lost narrowly to Pence in 2012. This time around, Gregg seems to have upped his campaign game -- though the contest seems likely to be a referendum on Pence, not Gregg. Until we detect sustained movement in one direction or another, were keeping this race at tossup. And well entirely reassess if Pence runs for vice president instead.This is the likeliest Democratic-held seat to flip to the GOP in 2016. Billionaire Jim Justice won a contested primary and seeks to keep the governorship in Democratic hands in a state that has shifted strongly to the GOP in recent election cycles. But his business record includes some controversies that Republicans are trying to exploit. The GOP, on the other hand, has unified behind state Senate President Bill Cole. Cole isn't as well-known as Justice, but hes enhanced his stature recently by helping to forge a budget deal that averted a government shutdown. A Trump candidacy in the presidential race could also boost Coles prospects. Democrats with home-state credibility, however, have managed to beat the odds in past statewide races, and Justice should be able to portray himself as a business-minded outsider in that mold. Were keeping this race at tossup.McCrory is still the most vulnerable Republican incumbent in 2016, and the hubbub surrounding his re-election bid -- already the years marquee gubernatorial contest -- has only been intensified by the passage of H.B. 2. That's the law that limits transgender people from using the restroom of their choice, which provoked strong opposition from Democrats and some moderate Republicans both locally and nationally. The controversy over the bathroom bill put McCrory on the defensive and stepped on his economic message, which may have been gaining traction. The Democratic nominee, four-term Attorney General Roy Cooper who refuses to defend H.B. 2 in a federal lawsuit, has also attacked the incumbent over teacher pay and other education concerns. Observers see H.B. 2 and other controversies firing up each partys base voters, meaning that turnout in November could play a big role. The hotly contested presidential race in the state will also shape turnout, as could a trio of constitutional amendments being proposed for the ballot -- one on capping the state income tax, another that would limit eminent domain and a third that would reinforce the right to hunt and fish. Polling has consistently shown McCrory and Cooper nearly even, and that should continue through the fall. This race stays at tossup.The race in this swing state remains wide open, and it should remain that way until the Sept. 13 primary. The GOP field includes Executive Councilor Chris Sununu, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, state Sen. Jeannie Forester and state Rep. Frank Edelblut. The Democrats have a tight contest between Executive Councilor Colin Van Ostern, former Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and former state Securities Commissioner Mark Connolly.This states late primary date -- Aug. 9 -- has kept the race volatile. On the Democratic side, a competitive three-way primary is under way among Matt Dunne, a former legislator and 2010 gubernatorial candidate; Sue Minter, a former legislator and state secretary of transportation; and Peter Galbraith, a former state senator who is making a play for the partys progressive wing. With turnout expected to be low, the primary outcome is hard to predict. On the GOP side, the frontrunner is Phil Scott, a popular and moderate lieutenant governor who faces retired Wall Street executive Bruce Lisman. Scott would be considered a strong contender in the general election despite Vermonts strongly blue tinge. That's because Shumlins mixed tenure in office provides the GOP with a good time-for-a-change argument, and Scotts high name recognition and favorability (as well as his effort to distance himself from Donald Trump) gives him a leg up. That said, Scott would have to win over a significant fraction of Hillary Clinton voters to prevail, which is no easy task. Until more polling of a general contest surfaces, were leaving this one as a tossup.Bullock, whos successfully navigated difficult currents for a Democrat in Montana, will face Republican Greg Gianforte and Libertarian Ted Dunlap in November. Gianforte has deep pockets from co-founding a company that sold to Oracle for $1.8 billion, and he may be able to leverage the outsider card in a state where Trump support seems strong. Hes had a stumble or two, including the revelation that he and his wife sued the state seven years ago to remove an easement over their land that provided access to fishing. But at the same time, Gianforte, a conservative, is building bridges to moderate Republicans who have been turned off by other recent GOP candidates. Bullock, on the other hand, has racked up cash at a quicker pace than Gianforte, and hes got a record of legislative achievements to run on. This contest could definitely narrow as Election Day nears. But for now, Bullock continues to maintain a slight edge.Ahead of the Aug. 2 primary, the GOP field remains as unsettled as ever. The field includes former state House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, wealthy businessman John Brunner and former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens -- all of whom are hammering each other and bleeding money. By contrast, on the Democratic side, Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster is benefiting from his free pass to the general election, enabling him to continue solidifying his war chest for a sprint to the finish. With Missouri voters generally moving in the GOPs direction in recent years, the GOP nominee will almost certainly have a shot at winning. But until that nominee emerges and proves themselves, were keeping this contest at lean Democratic.Inslee should get a big boost from running in a blue state in a presidential year, but that doesnt mean hes guaranteed to win. He isnt overwhelmingly popular, so hell need high Democratic turnout in populous King County (which includes uber-liberal Seattle) to win a new term. Seattle Port Commissioner Bill Bryant, Inslees expected GOP challenger, is a credible though relatively obscure candidate. Bryants fundraising, however, hasnt been that impressive. If he wins the Aug. 2 primary, Bryants biggest boost could come from a concerted effort by the national GOP to help him out. If that doesnt happen, this contest could shift to likely Democratic.Brown, who took over for Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber when he resigned just months after winning a new term, is running in a special election to fill the final two years of Kitzhabers term. She's faced some unwanted issues -- the detection of toxic airborne and water-borne metals in Portland and an oil train derailment -- but shes received solid marks for her responses. A bigger challenge could prove to be a measure to raise corporate taxes that has qualified for the general election ballot. Browns public-sector union allies are battling business groups over the tax proposal, and the conflict could become intense and possibly awkward for Brown. William Pierce, former president of the Oregon Medical Association who self-funded his bid, won a contested GOP primary by running as a relative moderate, but it's going to take more than his own money to run a credible campaign against Brown in a solidly blue state in a presidential election year.Though the Delaware primary date is late -- Sept. 13 -- U.S. Rep. John Carney remains the overwhelming favorite to succeed Markell. Carney lost to Markell in the 2008 Democratic gubernatorial primary. It looks like Carney should at least have a Republican opponent -- state Sen. Colin Bonini --which was no certainty in this increasingly blue state. But for Carney, victory seems like only a matter of time.
The fatal police shooting of an African American man hawking CDs in front of a convenience store in this sweltering Southern city has once again reignited the nation's long-running debate over race, police and the use of force.The shooting by two white police officers -- as 37-year-old Alton Sterling was apparently pinned to the ground -- quickly sent angry protesters into the streets of the Louisiana capital and prompted the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to take the lead in the investigation to determine what happened."Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand, and at this point, like you, I am demanding answers," Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr. said at a news conference a day after Tuesday's shooting, promising a "transparent and independent investigation" and calling for protesters to remain peaceful.Sterling's violent death played out on a cellphone video shot by a bystander and quickly reverberated across the country, evoking images of earlier deaths at the hands of police that sparked protests in Ferguson, Mo., Staten Island, N.Y., and Cleveland -- cities which have become geographic waypoints in an evolving national drama over the policing of African American communities.Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, called Sterling's death "a tragedy.""From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident," she said in a statement. "Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin."Hundreds of angry but nonviolent demonstrators converged on the scene of the shooting, Triple S Food Mart, on Tuesday night, shouting, "Black lives matter" and "Hands up, don't shoot." Protests continued at City Hall on Wednesday morning, with mourners holding signs that read "Don't kill us."Activists compared the shooting to the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was suspected of illegally selling cigarettes and died in the summer of 2014 after a police officer put him in a chokehold.Sterling's son broke down crying and was led away as his mother, Quinyetta McMillon, described Sterling her son as a man "who simply tried to earn a living to take care of his children." A father of five, Sterling worked odd jobs as a cook and sold wares in front of the mini-mart, family members said."The individuals involved in his murder took away a man with children who depended upon their daddy on a daily basis," McMillon said.Two officers were reportedly responding to an anonymous 911 tip that Sterling had made a threat with a gun in front of the convenience store where the incident occurred; the cellphone video taken by the bystander suggested that officers found a weapon in Sterling's pocket, though there was no sign that he had touched it.The incident began on a hot, muggy morning in a poor neighborhood of Baton Rouge on Tuesday as Sterling was selling his stock of CDs in front of the Triple S Food Mart, something he had done on and off for seven years, especially since moving into a nearby halfway house.In the video shot by a local group that monitors police, the two white officers who responded to the scene shout at Sterling to get on the ground and quickly tackle him. After he is pinned down, someone is heard yelling: "He's got a gun! Gun!" and, in a matter of seconds, gunshots are heard.In a second video taken from another angle, Sterling's chest can be seen bleeding before an officer removes a unidentifiable object from his pocket.While the national debate over police shootings has prompted cities across the country to require officers to wear body cameras -- including those in Baton Rouge -- in this case the cameras being worn by both officers became dislodged in the scuffle, though they apparently continued to operate, police said.Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Dabadie rebuffed activists' calls for his resignation, though he called Sterling's death a "horrible tragedy." He said the department had turned over the investigation over to the U.S. attorney's office, and also had given federal officials custody of body and dashboard camera videos.Dabadie identified the officers as Blane Salamoni and Howie Lake. Salamoni has been on the force for four years, Lake for three years. The officers have been placed on leave, and an investigation is "ongoing," the chief said."Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand, and at this point, like you, I am demanding answers," Dabadie said.The shooting, in a city of 229,000 that is about 54% black, quickly rocketed through social media and caught the attention of national politicians and civil rights activists, including members of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson tweeted that the incident was a "legal lynching."A key question in the investigation is whether Sterling was making threats with his gun, either before or during the altercation with police. Dispatch audio released Wednesday reported the threat Sterling had purportedly made, but the story is disputed.Abdullah Muflahi, the owner of the convenience store, said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand when the police approached him, but said he saw officers take one of out of Sterling's pocket after the shooting. Muflahi released his own video of the altercation, which doesn't appear to show Sterling holding a gun.Muflahi said he had known Sterling since opening the store seven years ago. He called him "Big Boy," allowed him to sell his CDs in the parking lot and joked with him when they passed. Sterling recently had begun carrying a handgun, he said.Louisiana is an open-carry state, where a person who is at least 17 can legally have a gun on his or her body without a permit. But family members said Sterling would have been prohibited from carrying a gun because he was on probation."He told me that he had it for protection," Muflahi said. "Friends of his that also sold CDs had been bothered." But Muflahi said when he emerged from the store and raised his cellphone to film police approaching, he did not see the officers ask Sterling about the gun before tackling him. Muflahi heard Sterling ask, "What did I do wrong?" He said police did not respond."They were throwing him on top of the car, tasered him," Muflahi said. "Then they tackled him on another vehicle.They got on top of him, one of the officers screamed 'Gun!' Then there were six shots."That's when Muflahi said he saw one of the officers reach into Sterling's pocket to extract a dark-colored handgun.Sterling died from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest and back, according to East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner William Clark. His death was ruled a homicide. A toxicology report will take about 21 days, he said, and a final report will be released in two to three months. Sterling is the 558th person nationwide to be shot and killed by police in 2016, according to "The Counted," the Guardian newspaper's running account of fatal police shootings in America.Although the federal government is leading the investigation, the decision of whether to file state murder charges will likely rest with a local prosecutor -- and possibly with a local grand jury. Over the last two years, just a handful of prosecutors and grand juries have criminally charged officers in high-profile shootings, usually citing a lack of sufficient evidence of wrongdoing and high legal standards that protect officers who say that their lives or others' lives were in danger.East Baton Rouge Dist. Atty. Hillar Moore III said in a statement that he would wait until all investigations were complete before making a decision on whether to proceed with a criminal case, adding that it would likely take at least four weeks for investigators to complete their work."This hurts," Moore said of Sterling's death at a televised news conference with local police officials, adding that he was avoiding coming to "any judgment or conclusion" about what had happened.The main legal question surrounding the investigation will be simple, according to Dane Ciolino, a professor at Loyola University of New Orleans Law School: "Was the force used by these officers necessary and reasonable given the totality of the circumstances?""Just like all of these police shooting cases, like all possible self-defense cases, it comes down to the necessity of using deadly force, and whether it was necessary will depend on all the facts that are still being developed," Ciolino said. He added that Moore "almost certainly won't make a decision on his own -- you can bank on him going to the grand jury for the charging decision."Sterling family lawyer Edmond Jordan said the family was "certainly happy about the Department of Justice investigating" and called the shooting "unjustified." He said he was unsure whether Sterling carried a gun and that relatives he spoke to "were not aware that he had a gun."Records show that Sterling had a long criminal record, including a conviction in 2000 for carnal knowledge of a juvenile, and previous guilty pleas to aggravated battery, damage to property and unauthorized entry, and domestic abuse battery.McMillon said her son "should not be judged on his past.""Alton sells CDs, and he was doing just that -- not bothering anyone, and had the consent of the store owners as well."I will not allow him to be swept in the dirt," she said.The death has shocked friends and family members. Treveon Williams, 19, said he last saw Sterling a couple hours before the shooting hanging out in front of the store where they had previously passed countless hours; his mother, he said, had purchased some blues CDs from Sterling only that morning. Williams awoke to a text saying Sterling was dead.He described Sterling as a serious fisherman who loved his sons. "Every time he had free time he'd have them with him," Williams said.Williams, who is black, said he has been harassed by police in other parts of Baton Rouge. When he and his friends would get nervous seeing police approach the store, it was Sterling who would reassure them. "He would be like, 'Don't worry about them, they good," Williams said.Later in the day, the convenience store owner released footage of the incident from his own cellphone, which appeared to clearly show one of the officers unholstering his weapon and pointing it, at close range, at Sterling's chest. Later, it shows Sterling with a gaping wound to his chest, waving a trembling arm in his apparent death throes.Sterling's aunt, Sandra Sterling, collapsed in the store parking lot after watching it.Paramedics led her away from the crowd of several hundred in the lot to the back of the building. There, she sat on the concrete, hands quivering as she began to wail."I'm so mad right now!" she cried, leaning into the paramedics, eyes closed. "Y'all don't know!"Her niece, Sharida Sterling, said she was afraid to watch the second video."It's wrong what they did to him," she said. "That child didn't even fight back."Later, a crowd spanning several blocks forced traffic to a crawl as preachers, gathered for a vigil, called for unity, justice and peace.Someone had spray-painted a mural of a smiling Sterling on the storefront behind a makeshift memorial. Next door there was a painted figure with arms raised; Valencia Patterson, 34, was one of many who scrawled a message on the wall below."I hope justice be served," said Patterson, who is black. "I have a list of people that justice was never served. Even with cameras and videos, justice hasn't prevailed."Kelly Boatner, 41, a sales associate who lives nearby, came to the vigil to honor her local "CD man" and other victims of police brutality."This is such a horrific situation that has gone on for many years, and you're tired of seeing the same thing happen over and over," she said.
Democrats blocked a proposal Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey to withhold federal grant money from communities where authorities refuse to hold suspected undocumented immigrants for federal agents without a court order.The so-called "sanctuary city" legislation has been a focal point of the Republican's heated re-election campaign against Democrat Katie McGinty, and it is likely to remain one, a political expert told the Tribune-Review."He is staking out a political terrain that gives him arguments to make throughout the course of his campaign. He is going to use this in the Senate race," said G. Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster.Some of Toomey's colleagues in Washington said as much. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told USA Today that Toomey's bill was "a political tactic" that "gives him something to talk about when he goes home."The measure failed 53 to 44, seven votes shy of the 60 required to pass. But afterward, Toomey quickly pointed to the "bipartisan majority" of senators who supported his bill. That bipartisan group included two Democrats: Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana. Manchin and Toomey have allied themselves on several key legislative issues in the past, notably a failed gun control measure in 2013. Toomey's campaign also chimed in, accusing McGinty of waffling on the issue.McGinty's campaign fired back, noting that Toomey's bill would have resulted in Philadelphia losing at least $39 million in federal grant funding."Pat Toomey is working hard directly and blatantly to harm his own constituents," McGinty said in a statement.Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, has described Philadelphia's sanctuary city policies as "very radical." Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has said full cooperation between police and immigration agents discourages illegal immigrants from calling police or cooperating with investigators because of deportation fears.Toomey's legislation would have prevented any counties or cities with sanctuary city policies from receiving grant money from the Community Development Block Grant program and the Economic Development Administration.The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said at least 32 of the state's 67 counties would have lost out on a combined $62 million in funding for education, job training, affordable housing, low-income families and other programs. They included Armstrong, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland.The legislation also would have removed any liability from local agencies that honor federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detainers.Some local agencies have been reluctant to cooperate with federal agents because they did not want to be sued for unjustly holding suspected undocumented immigrants who would otherwise be released. Allegheny County shelled out $25,000 last year to settle a 2012 lawsuit by a West Mifflin woman who was held overnight on an ICE detainer after a routine traffic stop.Toomey's legislation grew from the 2015 slaying of Kathryn Steinle, 32, in San Francisco. Toomey described the accused gunman, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, as a seven-time felon who had been deported five times and released from San Francisco police custody just three months before the fatal shooting. City police didn't notify federal immigration officials about Lopez-Sanchez's release because of its sanctuary city policies, Toomey said.
On Thursday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC received the Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Premier of Queensland.

Following, at the Executive Building, Brisbane the Governor presided at a meeting of the Executive Council.

Also in the morning, at the State Library of Queensland, Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the official launch of the Australian Library History Forum and addressed guests.

In the evening, at Government House, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey hosted a reception in support of NAIDOC Week 2016 where His Excellency addressed guests.
Description

GIS - 0 7 July 2016 : The long-standing struggle of Mauritius to effectively exercise its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and the right of Mauritian citizens, including those of Chagossian origin, to return to and resettle in the Chagos Archipelago are indissociable.

This reply was given by the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, on Tuesday 05 July 2016 in the National Assembly to a Private Notice Question pertaining to our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and the appeal lodged by the Chagossians before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on the fishing rights within the so-called Chagos Marine Protected Area.

The Prime Minister underlined that Government will maintain close contact and collaboration with the Chagossian community to ensure that we continue to be on the same wavelength as regards the plight of our Mauritian citizens of Chagossian origin who were forcibly removed from the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom in the wake of the illegal excision of the Chagos Archipelago from the territory of Mauritius and the effective exercise of our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.

The Prime Minister recalled that he met Mr Olivier Bancoult last year and I propose to meet him again shortly, if he so wishes in the wake of the judgment delivered by the UK Supreme Court on 29 June 2016 in the case brought by Mr Olivier Bancoult challenging the judgment given by the House of Lords on 22 October 2008. He underlined that the UK Supreme Court dismissed Mr Bancoults application for the 2008 judgment of the House of Lords to be set aside and also ruled against a re-hearing of the appeal he had lodged before the House of Lords in the Bancoult No. 2 case.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth reiterated that our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago is of national interest and he has, therefore, always favoured a concerted approach on this issue. He added that in this context, he will consider the advisability of convening another meeting of the Committee which has been set up under his chairmanship following the Award delivered on 18 March 2015 in the case brought by Mauritius against the UK under UNCLOS.

The Prime Minister stressed that Government is strongly committed to ensuring that the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Mauritius are fully respected and safeguarded. In this regard, no efforts are being spared by Government so that Mauritius can effectively exercise its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. He further maintained that the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, forms and has always formed an integral part of the territory of Mauritius.

He recalled that Mauritius does not recognise the so-called British Indian Ocean Territory which the United Kingdom purported to create by illegally excising the Chagos Archipelago from the territory of Mauritius prior to its accession to independence, in violation of international law and United Nations General Assembly Resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, 2066 (XX) of 16 December 1965, 2232 (XXI) of 20 December 1966 and 2357 (XXII) of 19 December 1967.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth further reiterated that the Chagos Archipelago should be returned by the United Kingdom to the effective control of Mauritius by a precise date to be agreed upon and that consideration could be given to the joint management of the Chagos Archipelago pending its return to Mauritius.
Vargas Llosa in Silwan with an Israeli activist and a local Palestinian representative. Oren Ziv / Activestills

Unlike other neighborhoods of Jerusalem that are as clean as a Swiss city, the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, near the Al-Aqsa mosque, is strewn with rubbish. This is no coincidence, I suspect. Its part of a long-term plan to get rid of the 30,000 Palestinians who live here in the east of the city and replace them with Israelis.

The settlers began infiltrating the neighborhood 11 years ago, starting with the area of Batan Al-Hawa. What seemed then to be an almost anecdotal arrival of ultra-religious families moving into random houses, has since revealed itself to be part of a strategy.

Among the Israeli left there is still an idealism and a love of freedom that has disappeared from left-wing politics in a large part of the world

The settlers who have made their homes in Silwan belong to two religious movements: Elad and Ateret Cohanim. There are only 550 of them living in 75 apartments. But this is just the start. The day after my visit to Silwan, Israeli authorities announced the construction of a new building in the area to house new Ateret Cohanim settlers.

If you want to know where the settlements are located, all you have to do is look up. Israeli flags blow in the gentle morning breeze, indicating their siege-like positions, similar to those in the mountains of Hebron, encircling the neighborhood and isolating pockets of Palestinians in a kind of prison.

There is a number of ways Israeli families can get their hands on a home in Silwan; they can claim to have old documents indicating previous Jewish ownership; they can buy the house through Arabic front-men; they can threaten the current occupants until they leave; they can report the house as being built without the proper license and let the authorities decide if it should be pulled down; in some extreme cases, they simply move into the house when the occupants are out. Once in, the Israeli government gets the police or the army to protect them because of the danger of living among so many Palestinians.

This dribble of settlers will become a stream, then a lake, and finally a sea. The religious settlers who have put down their roots here are in no hurry. They have eternity on their side. This is how Israeli enclaves have expanded in the West Bank, turning it into Swiss cheese, and this is how they will take over East Jerusalem.

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It all looks official like everything else in Israel; after all, this is a very civilized country. In Batan Al-Hawa, there are 55 Palestinian families threatened with eviction, because they lack the deeds to their properties. There are also 85 homes with demolition orders because they were built without the proper permits.

When I ask Zuheir Rajabi, a staunch Palestinian defender of the neighborhood, if he believes the judges on these cases to be impartial, he looks at me as though I'm even stupider than my question. Do you think we have any alternative? he replies.

He is an earnest man who has been in jail several times. He has three sons aged seven, nine and 13 who have all been arrested at one time or another. He also has a six-year-old daughter, Darin, who clings to his legs. His house is surrounded by two settlements and he has received various offers for his house for much more than it is worth. But he says he will never sell; he will die in the neighborhood. His neighbors threats do not scare him.

I ask if the settlers in Silwan have children. He tells me that yes, they have many children, but they rarely go out and if they do, they are escorted by the police, soldiers or the private guards who protect the settlements. I consider the terrible lives of these children shut inside their homes, and I think too about the lives of their parents and grandparents who believe that by committing such injustices they are carrying out a divine plan that will get them into heaven.

Obviously, religious fanaticism is not peculiar to a Jewish minority. There are also the Palestinian religious fanatics of Hamas, and the jihadists who blow themselves up on buses or in restaurants and who target Kibbutz with missiles or attack soldiers and peaceful passersby, without understanding that these crimes only serve to widen the gulf that separates the two communities.

The religious settlers who have put down their roots here are in no hurry. They have eternity on their side

Suddenly, during our walk around Silwan, Zuheir Rajabi points out a building several stories high. The whole structure has been taken over by settlers except for one lone apartment occupied by a Palestinian family of seven. Up to now they have resisted the pressure to move despite having their water and electricity cut off; despite having to knock on the door of the settlers every time they go out; despite being bombarded with trash every time they open their windows.

While we chat, we are surrounded by small children. I ask if any of them have been arrested at any time. One of them, with a bold and naughty look in his eye, tells me, I have  four times. Each of those four times he was held for only a day and a night. They accused him of throwing stones at soldiers and he denied it and denied it until they believed him, so he escaped trial. His name is Samer Sirhan and his father was shot by a settler who left him bleeding in the street. As nobody came to his rescue, he remained there for the rest of the night. By dawn, he had bled to death.

Im telling these sad stories because I believe they give a fair idea of Israels biggest problem: the problem of the settlements, a growing occupation of Palestinian territory that has turned Israel into a bullying colonial power and which has damaged an image that was once positive and even exemplary.

There are still many things to admire about Israel. Due to tremendous hard work, it has turned itself into a first-world country with a very high standard of living. And due to intelligent, progressive policies, they have practically got rid of poverty in Israeli society.

One of its biggest achievements is having integrated thousands and thousands of Jewish people from very different cultures, speaking different languages, into a society where they live side by side, unified by the Hebrew language but otherwise with their differences intact. You dont have to look further than the million Russians who have moved here in the last few years to see that this is true.

From the moment I first set foot in Israel in the middle of the 1970s, I felt a great affection for this country. I think it's the only place in the world where I still feel like a leftist, because among the Israeli left there is still an idealism and a love of freedom that has disappeared from left-wing politics in a large part of the world.

So it causes me great pain to see local public opinion becoming increasingly intolerant and reactionary  which is the reason that the country has the most nationalistic and religious government in its entire history, with increasingly less democratic policies. To complain about them and to criticize them is not only my moral duty, it is an act of love.

Jerusalem, June 2016

English version by Heather Galloway.
Description

GIS  07 July 2016: The diverse factors influencing the adoption of e-Government services were discussed during a seminar on 5 July 2016 at Ebene Heights, in Ebene Cyber-city following the conduct of a research project on the topic of the adoption of e-Government services by Mauritians.

An initiative of the Mauritius Research Council (MRC) under its Small Scale Research and Innovation Grant Scheme, the findings of the research project highlight that lack of awareness as regards e-Government services constitutes one of the major factors hindering the publics complete adoption of e-Government services. Results also indicate that citizens, despite having the necessary computer skills, would rather choose not to use e-Government services.

According to the findings, Mauritians are reluctant to adopt e-Government services even though Mauritius is positioned second on the African continent as regards e-readiness and has the necessary infrastructure in the field of ICT. Thus, this fact is considered to be a serious challenge for Government as the success of any e-Government initiative depends on the willingness of citizens to adopt such services.

The research project has, against this backdrop, employed an extended model comprising the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) and the e-government adoption model (GAM) in order to investigate the adoption of e-Government services in Mauritius. Also, a cross-sectional survey was carried out targeting 229 Mauritians.

Other results indicate that citizens perceive e-Government services as being advantageous and that citizens do benefit from adequate facilities to access these services.

Furthermore, trust in the internet is considered to be a significant predictor of the adoption of e-Government services, while a lack of trust in online services hampers citizens uptake of e-Government services. Finally, resistance to change is the reason why citizens prefer traditional government offices rather than choosing e-Government services.
(TNS) -- Diversify the economy is Alaskas rallying cry as oil production and prices sink. First of its kind Alaska tech accelerator Launch: Alaska wants to put the idea into action with the hot-ticket item of booming Lower 48 metro areas.The program combines Anchorage municipal goals to draw more diverse businesses into the city with private investment.Five startups from Alaska, the Lower 48 and South America each received $25,000, office space at The Boardroom, housing, networking opportunities, and professional advice from a pool of mentors including former Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, Alaska Industry Development and Export Authority Executive Director John Springsteen, and a slew of capital investment and tech development experts. On Aug. 25 at the end of the 90-day program, the teams will each pitch their developed products to investors in Anchorage.In return, the incubator gets a 6 percent share of the companies eventual profits, in the meantime hooking the founders on Alaskas quality of life points to keep them here. Lower 48 cities and companies commonly use tech accelerators to get a share in potentially lucrative mobile apps and technology platforms. More than 300 exist in the U.S.Launch: Alaska planned to incubate technologies with applications relevant to Alaskas unique needs in the Arctic and energy development areas.Some of the five have clear ties to this focus. Aquilo, based in Fairbanks, is creating new technologies for drone flight, which has broad applications for both research and operations purposes for Alaskas key industries.Roborzoid is a voice recognition platform that can connect voice commands to objects ranging from microwaves to oil derricks for remote and hands-free control. The creators, from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, say they can adapt this kind of software for more than the current user demographic.Its primary users are people with disabilities, parents with children, and geeks, the founder said. But the market is huge.The voice recognition software could have potential North Slope engineering and telehealth applications, and the creators said they have already had discussions with Alaska companies interested in the platform.Other accelerator startups have less apparent focus on Arctic work and energy development but do have applications for Alaskas outdoorsy and rural residents.Heathers Choice is an Anchorage-based food box delivery service in the vein of Nature Box that focuses on outdoors meals. Kwema, a Santiago, Chile-based startup, is developing wearable technology for womens safety.Lance Ahern spearheads the program. Ahern has background in both tech development and in municipal public affairs. He founded Internet Alaska in 1994, then left for Silicon Valley in 1998 to found Fort Nocs, an online merchant infrastructure system. Most recently, he worked as the Chief Information Officer for the Municipality of Anchorage and as a business advisor for the Alaska Small Business Development Center.Ahern wants to address the common Alaska brain drain problem that plagues tech even harder than other areas.We just keep seeing great people leaving and doing what they were going to do here anyway, just doing it somewhere else, Ahern said during a June 30 networking event thrown for the accelerator teams.Anchorage is hardly synonymous with tech startups more likely to be found in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Austin, or New York City. In hopes to draw innovators to the city, the program hosts team events to attract startups to Alaskas natural beauty. A hike along the Powerline Pass trail at Chugach National Park, Ahern said, was a hit among the teams.Our teams so far have been blown away by Alaska, he said. It sells itself.Perhaps more importantly, Alaska offers lower business expenses than tech-heavy Lower 48 centers.Californias flat 8.84 percent corporate income tax rate is eighth-highest in the nation, according to Tax Foundation, while Alaska ranks as the third best state for business tax rates. Alaskas corporate income is progressive, from zero percent for companies with less than $25,000 in income to 9.4 percent for those with more than $222,000, a boon for upstart companies with limited capital. A bevy of other taxes typical to California have no Alaska equivalent, or do not apply to small businesses.Further, while Anchorages office rent is higher than the national average it pales in comparison to New York City or Silicon Valley. Startups can theoretically house their development teams here for a fraction of the cost of more traditional tech centers.Ahern himself left Alaska for Silicon Valley in the late 1990s just before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. Like others, he said he would rather have remained in Alaska but simply didnt have the option.I never wanted to leave in the first place, he said. I had to leave to take the money.Aherns problem was business infrastructure. Tech startup must-haves like venture capital funding drove him and other tech founders into more established markets. Aherns mind is dotted with examples of ideas drawn away from Anchorage in search of investment dollars.This is a guy who just raised $30 million, this guys partnering with Amazon now in Austin, this guys building his second security software company in Washington, D.C. Theres no reason they couldnt have done this here, but the local ecosystem hasnt been ready, he said.After 15 years, however, Anchorages business landscape looks far friendlier to tech startups.We have a co-working space, we have venture funds, we have a relationship with the university, Ahern said. All the pieces are here.Apart from partnerships with The Boardroom to provide working space and housing at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the program has congealed disparate Alaska investors into a single focused program.The prospect of a tech accelerator, initially begun with a Small Business Administration loan, picked up steam and now involves a host of Alaska investors. Alaska Growth Capital, Native corporation Cook Inlet Region Inc., and individual angel investors now pitch in for the total cost along with the Alaska Accelerator Fund.The Alaska Accelerator Fund is a seed capital fund created by individual community investors and the Municipality of Anchorages 49th State Angel Fund. The city of Anchorage established this fund with $13.2 million grant from the U.S. government to invest in small local business and startups.
Serious effort

A first step

Focusing on outcomes

In Austin, Texas, population 885,000, some 55,000 residents say they don't use the Internet  at all. But the City Council refuses to accept this.It is critical that every one of our residents has access to digital and communications technology, and understands technology and its relevancy to their daily lives, whether for helping with their kids homework, or looking for jobs, getting access to health information or accessing online government information, the council writes And the citys Office of Digital Inclusion is charged with making that vision a reality by working with a range of private-sector and nonprofit providers to ensure connectivity and encourage Internet use.Austins effort has drawn kudos as a model of how municipalities can help to narrow the broadband gap, recently winning a Digital Inclusion Leadership Award from the National League of Cities.To have a city office dedicated to this, that is a pretty strong indication of the seriousness that they are giving to it, said Colin Rhinesmith, author of Digital Inclusion and Meaningful Broadband Adoption Initiatives and a senior lecturer at Boston's Simmons College.As director of the digital inclusion office, John Speirs describes broadband inclusivity as being foremost a conversation, an effort to spark awareness that starts among the leaders of the citys 47 departments and hundreds of programs.We need to speak the same language in order to move forward around these goals, he said. We want digital inclusion to be a core consideration in every conversation the community has.The citys drive toward digital inclusion began when the City Council adopted a resolution calling for the development of a digital inclusion strategic plan that would map out access and adoption strategies. Planners pulled together insights from the nonprofit sector, education, public health, business and other key areas, eventually crafting a document that laid out broad strategies and specific initiatives to be undertaken.Led by a steering committee appointed by the City Council, planners met five times to get stakeholder input and craft the final document. It took just six months to develop the plan  lightning speed by most municipal standards.The process went so smoothly, Spiers said, because the City Council was clear in its goals of awareness and adoption. There was a clear directive from the very beginning: Here is what you are going to do, he said.Recognizing that lower-income households typically have had less access to high-speed connectivity, one of the city's hallmark projects has sought to redress some of those economic disparities underlying the broadband gap. The Unlocking the Connection project has brought free basic Internet access to 1,838 residential public housing units through a partnership with Google Fiber.We all want people to find better jobs, to eventually own a place, to break out of a possible social silo," Speirs said. "Internet access is a first step toward that."This public housing effort exemplifies Austins creative approach to broadband. Beyond simply laying the fiber, they also looked to find the champions in public housing who would train others [on Internet use]," Rhinesmith said. "So there is not just the connectivity, but also a real sense of community that comes with that."Training is a big part of Speirs agenda. Backed by the citys Grant for Technology Opportunities Program, the digital inclusion office funds training programs through a range of local organizations, with an eye toward fostering digital inclusion in underserved and underconnected communities.The office also is charged with maintaining a baseline understanding of the state of local residents Internet adoption, through a survey to be conducted once every three years. By taking a deep dive into the availability of broadband, factoring in such diverse factors as ethnicity, geography and income, it really helps us to zoom in on those places where we can provide the necessary skills, access and training, Speirs said.Those findings have encouraged the broadband office to devote special attention to issues of language, as one-in-four non-Internet users say they do not speak English well enough to go online. With this in mind, the broadband strategic plan calls for all libraries to make available bilingual trainers who can work with parents and children. A major nonprofit partner in the broadband effort, Austin Free-Net, makes those trainers available.While Spanish language outreach is a primary focus, the broadband effort also is increasingly developing resources for those who speak Middle Eastern languages, including identifying bilingual trainers with proficiency in those languages. This population represents a growing piece of the local demographic, and planners seek to ensure broadband inclusivity touches that group.We need to make sure we have the availability and the support for that," Speirs said, "because we know the need is there and we know it is going to grow."While the broadband effort aims to make high-speed Internet available, and also seeks to train potential users in how to make the best use of their online experience, the office now is moving to take the program one step further. Specifically, Speirs and his team are looking for ways to demonstrate the actual economic and personal impact of newfound broadband accessibility.The team is looking at data on quality of service. They are charting the price of Internet service, analyzing resident satisfaction data, testing end users for their technological skills  all in an effort to understand whether broadband access is having the desired result of helping to improve peoples social station.My core charge is to ensure we are a livable city. So we want to understand how our work impacts the residents, how it impacts their livability, Speirs said. This effort speaks to the relevancy component and it speaks to the value of the work. This will help us to demonstrate why the city of Austin should even be invested in these programs.This focus on outcomes helps distinguish Austin from other municipalities, in that it takes broadband adoption beyond the mere question of fiber availability. They are thinking about the social and economic benefits," Rhinesmith said, "talking about this as a means of social change at a very basic level."Austins inclusion efforts are guided by an unusually detailed strategic plan. For example, the guiding document declares the city needs a more consistent and engaging physical presence to fully communicate the importance of having everyone connected. The inclusion office therefore is instructed to regularly take part in community events.Likewise, the strategic plan calls for a multifaceted marketing campaign, with specific messaging tailored to different sectors. It also spells out an imperative to engage the local volunteer community.If this digital-inclusion plan has seen some solid wins, it may be in part because the city got a jump on broadband issues early on: The city established the office in 1995.The office has scored some solid wins since then. In 2013, Google Fiber helped put in place Community Connections, a program targeting 100 sites for free public broadband access. Google supplied the network while the city made the necessary hardware available not just in schools and libraries, but at museums, theaters, workforce development centers, social service offices and a range of other locations.In casting such a wide net, that early effort set the tone for how the city would go on to approach broadband inclusivity."We believe that every resident should have the opportunity to be fully engaged in the digital society," Speirs said, "and that means the plan needs to connect all of our community partners."The strategic plan clearly indicates an intention to spread the word of digital inclusion to as many corners of the community as possible. This, in turn, has become Speirs guiding principle."We all need to make technology more of a forefront consideration, whenever we are having conversations with the community and also with others in government," he said.
(TNS)  VIROQUA  Gov. Scott Walker and about 50 demonstrators played an impromptu game of hide-and-seek when the Republican governor stopped in Viroqua for a press conference where he officially launched the states Broadband Forward Community Certification Program.Many of the participants toting anti-Walker signs in front of Vernon Communications Cooperative Technology Center ran around to the back of the building when Walkers Wisconsin State Patrol escort dropped him off there.Back door Walker, they chanted in frustration over the governors relatively below-the-radar visit. After they returned to the front sidewalk and noisily coaxed honks of support from drivers on Main Street, a Vernon official asked them to move away from the front, so they grouped again at the back hoping to intercept Walker, whose caravan left quickly.Walker created the Broadband Expansion Grant Program with $500,000 in allocations in the 2011-13 biennial budget. Last year, the Republican-controlled Legislature tripled funding for the grants to $1.5 million annually for four years.The tripling is intended to advance broadband Internet access and speed to meet needs for decades to come, Walker said, noting that it is necessary not only to enhance Wisconsins quality of life, economic development to compete in the global economy, education but also aid in tourism.As much as people say they want to get away (from Internet connections), still at the end of the day, they want to check in or watch Netflix, as well as have the ability to work from home, he said.The goal is to have rapid broadband accessible throughout the state instead of lagging in some rural areas and smaller towns, he said.Asked whether broadband accessibility might have improved more quickly if he had not decided in 2012 to forego $23 million in federal grant money that would have expanded broadband networks to dozens of schools and hundreds of libraries, Walker said he would have to review the record on that question.The certification program is intended to streamline the application process for broadband access because few communities and companies were applying under the previous legislation, said Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Madison, co-sponsor of the new law who also spoke at the press conference.Telecommunications companies and communities must partner to advance broadband, Marklein said.State Rep. Lee Nerison, R-Westby, whose 96th Assembly District includes Vernon and Crawford counties and part of Monroe County and who attended the press conference as an observer, saluted the legislation.Ive got constituents who still are on dial-up, because of the southwest Wisconsin terrain of hills and valleys.Im glad to see it finally coming, said Nerison, adding that he has been involved in efforts to expand broadband since he was elected to the Legislature in 2005, when Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was in office.Despite the increased emphasis, the Badger States broadband initiatives have faced criticism in some quarters, including among demonstrators Monday, as paling in comparison with Minnesotas.Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has budgeted $20 million to improve broadband in the Gopher State, and he advocates spending another $100 million from the states surplus.Attending the press conference was Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse. She also welcomed Broadband Forwards certification measures.It streamlines the application process so communities will know how and where to apply, Shilling said.However, the measure is not nearly enough to meet Wisconsin residents needs, she said.Legislators have been talking for five to six years about making internet access fast enough, and more user-friendly, to serve not only individuals but also schools, health care facilities, economic development and tourism, Shilling said.She told of working with firefighters in Seneca to help fill out paperwork at a highway department office.They only had dial-up, she said. Nobody in this day and age should have dial-up.Many would-be internet users are trapped in what Shilling described as the last mile, being a stones throw from broadband but too far out to be connected.Vernon Communications Cooperative has done a very good job of being a leader in the quest to obtain access, speed and connectivity, said Shilling, whose 32nd District includes La Crosse, Vernon and Crawford counties, and part of Monroe County.Some businesses have resisted broadband improvements, but Vernon saw the need, she said.Shilling said she suspected the demonstrators were upset about Walkers string of private listening sessions throughout the state, a suspicion that participants confirmed.George Wilbur, vice chairman of the Vernon County Democratic Party, said a tipster notified party members about Walkers press conference, prompting them to organize a protest of not only the private sessions but also Walkers performance in general.Were fed up with the governor destroying the Wisconsin we used to know, Wilbur said, citing restraints on education, voting rights and water and the environment, among other issues.This (Broadband Forward!) bill is to cover up for the fact that he isnt doing anything, he said. This is a feel-good bill.
Market Projections

Final Thoughts

Just hours after the terrorist bombs went off in Brussels on March 22, the U.S. House Homeland Security Cybersecurity Subcommittee held a hearing to explore the market-based incentives that cyberinsurance can potentially bring to managing online risks and promoting wider adoption of cybersecurity industry best practices.After a moment of silence to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks, Subcommittee Chair Rep. John Ratcliffe echoed what everyone in the room must have been thinking: Attacks like these really cement the need for this committee to move forward with urgency on all fronts to try and prevent and protect Americans from attacks like these here in the United States.Indeed, the cybersecurity stakes have never been higher. At the same time, widespread adoption of lasting solutions to safeguard data and protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks seems more elusive than ever. And so the same question now rings: Can cybersecurity insurance improve the cyberdefense status quo for the public and private sectors?Many people and organizations think the answer is yes, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Beyond giving organizations a safety net, the DHS is hoping cyberinsurance can act as an incentive for having a better security posture, which can be done by offering more coverage and lower premiums to organizations that follow best practices and maintain strong cybersecurity.While much has been written over the past few years about the pros and cons of buying cybersecurity insurance, one missing element continues to be reliable actuarial data regarding data breaches and other cyberincidents. We know much more about the likelihood of car accidents (and how to price liability and measure risk) than we do about the likelihood and ramifications of various data breaches. When you add in technology changes, network complexities and the evolving cyberthreat landscape, the actuarial challenges become even more daunting.What is needed, say most experts, is prioritized data that can be shared into a repository to promote new kinds of cyber-risk analysis. Enter the Cyber Incident Data and Analysis Working Group (CIDAWG), which was formed by the DHS to develop key findings and conclusions about usable propositions for cyberinsurance and meaningful data sharing on incidents.The goals set for CIDAWG include building: the value proposition of a cyberincident data repository; cyberincident data points that should be shared into a repository to support needed analysis; methods to incentivize such sharing on a voluntary basis; and a potential repositorys structure and functions. After receiving public input on related questions this spring, the group plans to finalize its deliverables later this year.According to TechTarget.com , the cyberinsurance market generated $2.5 billion to $3 billion in revenue in 2015. PricewaterhouseCoopers believes those numbers will move to between $7 billion and $8 billion by 2020.Nevertheless, only 2 percent of companies in the U.S. have cyberinsurance, said Julian Waits, president and CEO of PivotPoint Risk Analytics. The biggest problem is quantifying the risk  its not linear, actuarial information is immature, and therefore insurance companies are grappling with how do we price this risk? and  what and how much they need to buy, and what theyre actually getting in return.The big question is whether this DHS committee work, along with other industry efforts by insurance underwriters to better measure cyber-risk, can move the needle in meaningful ways regarding cyberinsurance in the coming decade.In January, the Morris, Ill., City Council bought a $2 million cybersecurity policy at an annual cost of $7,183. Could the city have used that money to better protect its data from cyberattacks or to train its staff to avoid a data breach in the first place? There remain contrasting views on this question.Nevertheless, buying cybersecurity insurance is a growing trend in the private sector and with more local and state governments. In addition, the majority of new technology contracts in government require vendors to carry cybersecurity insurance policies.Five years ago, I opposed buying cybersecurity insurance in Michigans state government due to the immature market and unanswered questions. My current view is that cyberinsurance has improved and will continue to grow, becoming an important component of cybersecurity strategies in the public and private sectors.
(TNS) -- The running regulatory battle between Kansas City and Uber stands poised to erupt again over rules not yet 15 months old.In April 2015, both sides settled on the citys current ordinance, which won unanimous City Council approval. The city began issuing its purple vehicle stickers last July, allowing residents and visitors to know the driver and vehicle had city approval.The deal also allowed Uber drivers to work for 30 days under an orientation period without getting a city drivers certificate or a vehicle permit. No purple sticker.A year later, the city official over regulated industries wants to get rid of the 30-day orientation period.That will be my recommendation, said Jim Ready, manager of the citys Regulated Industries Division, which oversees taxis and ride services such as Uber.His complaint is that the 30-day program presents a danger.He said it allows a driver who skips the regulatory process and who has stopped working for Uber or a taxi service to still pull up at a popular venue  he offered Kauffman Stadium as an example  and hustle trips because they know the system.A consumer might ask for proof that a driver in a personal vehicle is legitimate, and the driver could say he or she is in the 30-day orientation period and doesnt need a certificate yet.Ready said his office finds such illegal operations regularly and wants to stop them.Weve got to do something about getting rid of the driver orientation program, he said. We cant have this nondocumented driver out in the city at any time.Ready said the city would seek input from the industry and public comment on potential regulation changes later this summer. The citys ordinance called for a review of the regulations after one year.Ive got some thoughts on how we can make this feasible, Ready said.Lauren Altmin, with San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc., said the ride-hailing company would consider the ordinance and work with the city on proposed changes.Bill George, owner of Yellow Cab, zTrip and 10/10 Taxi in the Kansas City area, said he would participate in the review. He said the 30-day orientation is not a good policy.Uber had failed earlier this year to override Kansas Citys regulations, and any communitys regulations, through the Missouri legislature. It backed a bill that would have established a statewide standard Altmin said Kansas Citys regulations present a burden to drivers who want to earn a flexible income through Uber. She said the 30-day orientation was included to reduce the burden on first-time drivers.Ubers driver count in Kansas City and throughout Missouri has suffered because of varied municipal regulations that impede Ubers ability to attract drivers, Altmin said. She said Uber quickly met a similar 10,000-driver goal in Ohio after the legislature there enacted statewide regulations that had nullified municipal ordinances , including one in Columbus.We want to reduce the red tape in front of individual drivers and make sure that its easy for Missourians who want to, to earn a flexible income, Altmin said.Uber officials had said it had targeted adding 4,000 drivers in the Kansas City area as part of the statewide goal of 10,000 drivers. The company did not provide a driver count, but Altmin said Uber works with thousands of drivers in the area and handles thousands of rides each month.Kansas City, as of June 18, had issued driver certificates to 1,387 Uber drivers.Ready said 2,532 had applied, but many of them failed to complete the certificate process as required in 60 days. The city sends letters to applicants after 30 days and again after 60 days. So far, 319 applicants have been rejected and 670 have gotten letters for not having completed the process.Meanwhile, Uber drivers with all the permits say theyre not always getting the treatment they should despite meeting the citys standards.Jess Buck has earned extra money by making more than 1,000 trips as an Uber driver since February. Early last month, however, he was turned away on a busy weekend in the citys Westport district.Bucks vehicle displays the citys purple sticker. He has a drivers certificate and the vehicle permit as required.Still, Buck, 30, of Kansas City, said a Kansas City police officer barred him from picking up Uber customers at Westport late one weekend but allowed taxi drivers ready access to pick up riders. It cost him at least two fares, and he posted an account of the incident on Reddit.I made as big of a stink as I could, and I havent had that issue again, Buck said. It was a very big problem that night.Ubers Altmin said she had not heard of the incident or similar problems.The Kansas City Police Department said its policy is to have drivers wait at specific intersections and for customers to come to the vehicles. It was unable to look into the complaint without the officers name, which Buck could not provide. Police often work privately to provide security in Westport and other venues.
A resident of La Chinita cries as she listens to news of the peace agreement on June 22. RAUL ARBOLEDA (AFP)

More information Una unidad rebelde de las FARC rechaza entregar las armas y desmovilizarse

A faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced on Wednesday that it will not disarm and demobilize despite the recent deal the guerilla groups leaders and the Colombian government signed agreeing to a bilateral and indefinite ceasefire. The statement was the units first public pronouncement against a peace process that seeks to put an end to more than five decades of armed conflict in the country.

The rebels say the deal fails to address the economic and social problems that led to the beginning of the conflict in 1964

The Armando Rios Front, 200 rebel soldiers operating in Guaviare (Southeast Colombia) who held ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt captive between 2002 and 2008, have rejected the peace deal, arguing that it fails to address the economic and social problems that led to the beginning of the conflict in 1964. The announcement comes two weeks after Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, known as Timochenko, agreed to the ceasefire after three years of negotiations.

Santos has responded swiftly and firmly to the First Fronts message, warning them that he will order the Colombian army to pursue them if they fail to disarm. If anyone who has any doubt, it is best for them to set it aside and accept [the peace agreement] because it is the last opportunity they have to change their lives, because otherwise they will end up, I assure you, in a grave or in prison, Santos said in a speech in El Retorno, Guaviare, near the territory where the Armando Rios presence is strongest.

English version by Dyane Jean Francois.
Vijay Mallya says he is determined to soak up the British grand prix this weekend, having been unable to attend a single race in 2016.

The former billionaire had his passport revoked by the Indian government amid the mess and huge debts associated with his failed airline Kingfisher.

It means he has been stuck in the UK, where the F1 circus will now race this weekend for the British grand prix -- just across the road from Force India's Silverstone factory.

"I have missed it so I am going to make full use of Silverstone," said the team's boss and co-owner.

But Mallya knows that once F1 starts packing up again on Sunday night, he will not be able to follow his troops to the next grand prix in Hungary.

"I have a huge defence on these irrational (Indian government) actions, but I am only interested in a legal settlement," he told The Times. "If that means I can't travel for another six months, then so be it."

But that doesn't mean he is not proud of his team, whose Sergio Perez has been on the podium twice in 2016.

And he says even better fortunes could await in the future, if Force India and Sauber's plea to the European Commission for fairer income governance in F1 is successful.

"We are not asking for hundreds of millions," said Mallya. "Just fairness and a level playing field.

"This is the year of the underdog -- look at Leicester City. How many people wanted Leicester to win the Premiership? Everyone. But there can be no Leicester in formula one as it is now."

(GMM)
Felipe Massa has played down the furore surrounding the Mercedes drivers' latest crash, saying what happened in Austria was just a "racing incident".

Before Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg headed to Silverstone on Thursday, they started the day at Mercedes' nearby Brackley HQ for a stern meeting with boss Toto Wolff.

It is believed Wolff will warn them of strict and clear consequences if they continue to tangle, although team orders have been avoided for now.

"We will present them with a new concept," team chairman Niki Lauda told Bild newspaper.

Marc Surer, a former F1 driver and now German-language TV pundit, said Mercedes has taken the right decision.

"Yes," he told Germany's Sky broadcaster. "Many people say formula one is already boring because of Mercedes, so to introduce team orders would only have made it worse."

1996 world champion Damon Hill agrees, declaring that if Mercedes had brought down team orders, the drivers would probably have ignored them anyway.

And "fans would rebel against the idea", he added.

Williams driver Massa, meanwhile, can't see what all the fuss is about.

He told Brazil's Band News FM: "I think it was a racing incident.

"On the last lap, who wouldn't try to fight for position? It's totally normal.

"In my view it was a racing accident, but when it's with two drivers from the same team it causes a big problem," added the F1 veteran.

(GMM)
Forget UP, Rahul To Target AP, Telangana

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has at last returned from his unknown foreign destination where he spent his holidays.

Soon after returning from the trip, he closeted with his mother Sonia Gandhi and other seniors and expressed his willingness to campaign for the party in Uttar Pradesh, his home state, to improve its prospects in the forthcoming elections likely to be held early 2017.

However, Sonia asked Rahul to keep away from UP, since he had proved a disaster in the last elections and the party cadre does not want him to step into the state. So, she asked him to shift his focus on southern states and rebuild the party there.

Sources said as part of his mothers advice, Rahul would first target two Telugu states  Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and rebuild the Congress party there.

While the party is completely down in the dumps in AP, it is battling for life in Telangana. Rahul wants to chalk out a series of agitational programmes in these states to revive the party. But whether he would be able to succeed in his efforts is a million dollars question.
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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

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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

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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
North Carolina students performed the worst theyve done in more than 20 years on national tests of reading and math performance  showing how much achievement has declined since the pandemic. Reading and math scores in the state dropped from three years ago for fourth- and eighth-grades on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. The results released on Monday by the U.S. ...
In reading the article and the comments made by City Councilwoman Sharon Hightower regarding firefighters and minorities (Greensboro council member boycotts firefighter graduation because of few minority recruits, June 30):

Its not up to the fire department to seek out minorities; they can apply like everyone else.

I have a granddaughter who is a firefighter in Florida, and she had to qualify in endurance, strength, intelligence, etc., to even get into the class.

If, at any time during the classes, she didnt perform up to the standard, she would have been dismissed. There are no redos at fires, so they must be well-trained.

Im tired of the minority racism card. Anyone who is willing to work hard and long may apply.

But it isnt easy, and youll get disqualified if youre not up to par. Thats how it should be.

If Ms. Hightower is more interested in race, religion, sex or whatever, thats her business, but if I need a firefighter, I want one who is qualified and I dont care what race, religion, sex or whatever that person is.

We have to get past this madness. I say, if you want a job, get out and look for it and work hard and it wont matter what persuasion you are.

Hard work is a wonderful thing! Lets quit baby-sitting those who arent interested in hard work.

Mickey Dixon

Gibsonville
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A magicians quip about Donald Trump during a performance at a well-known Connecticut amusement park provoked a vulgar tirade by an audience member, who was ejected from the property after interrupting the show.

The childrens entertainer, who is from Beacon Falls in the Naugatuck Valley, said he has never encountered such a harangue and was worried about his safety.

Veteran performer Jim Sisti said the incident occurred during his second show Saturday at Lake Quassy Amusement Park & Waterpark in Middlebury, where he has been the in-house magician for 14 years.

Several children on stage were asked to name their favorite food, superhero and animal by Sisti  the answers were written on pieces of paper in a lockbox that were later revealed. When a girl told the magician she liked tacos, Sisti said he poked a little fun at the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, who has been criticized for his rhetoric about Mexicans.

All I said was, Dont let Donald Trump hear you say that, Sisti told Hearst Connecticut Media. It got a huge laugh. This was pretty light on the Richter scale.

But not everyone at the 108-year-old amusement park, which confirmed the incident, was amused.

This guy stands up and he runs at the stage, Sisti said. He was so angry he was actually spitting. He said, Hey buddy, you had a good show up until that Trump joke, so (expletive) you. There were mothers putting their hands over childrens ears.

Park spokesman Ron Gustafson confirmed reports that Quassys owners, who help handle security, ejected the unidentified spectator. The park, he said, prides itself on being a family-friendly environment.

Weve never had anybody charge the stage in that regard, Gustafson said. The fellow was escorted out of the property. We simply dont tolerate that here. We dont take any political views in terms of the park itself.

Gustafson said the incident didnt rise to the level of park officials taking the mans name or banning him from future visits to Quassy.

Sisti said 100 spectators were at the show at the time of the harangue, many of whom came to his defense.

They were catcalling, Sisti said. Ive never seen this kind of rage. This is the climate were living in now.

When Trump declared his candidacy for president in June 2015, the real estate mogul and reality television personality faced a significant backlash for comments he made about Mexican immigrants.

When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best, Trump said at the time. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

For Cinco de Mayo this year, Trump celebrated the Mexican armys 1862 victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla by tweeting a photo of himself eating a taco bowl from the cafe in his Manhattan skyscraper.

We try to keep our show fresh and relevant, said Sisti, who performs as a comedian. I wasnt taking a particular political position.

I wouldnt even go near the wall thing unless I was an adult comedy club, Sisti said of Trumps campaign promise to build a massive wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

Sisti said hes not taking sides and is equal opportunity when it comes to injecting humor into his performances.

If somehow the subject of emails came up, I would have made a pretty light Hillary (Clinton) reference, Sisti said.

neil.vigdor@scni.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
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The year was 1994. A Clinton was in the Oval Office.

Yet Republicans reclaimed Congress, including the House, where they hadnt held the majority in 40 years.

The driving force behind that Republican Revolution is rising to the top of the wish list of GOP voters in Connecticut as Donald Trump settles on a running mate: Newt Gingrich.

They say that the former House speaker and 2012 presidential candidate  a policy wonk with the perspective of Washington, D.C.  is the ideal partner for the enigmatic outsider Trump.

But some cast doubts whether Gingrich and Trump could coexist harmoniously, including Benjamin Proto, of Stratford, who will be a delegate for Trump at the Republican National Convention later this month.

Look, Newts a guy who has held the highest position in Congress, second in line to the presidency, ran for president, Proto said. Hes got a very large persona. That might be difficult for him to do  to play second-fiddle to a guy who has got an even larger persona.

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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

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
No more troubles from this guy. Photo: Logan County Sheriffs Office

Everything goes down better with beer, including surrendering yourself to authorities after escaping from the county jail. The Logan County Sheriffs Office in Arkansas got a call Tuesday night from Mitchs Place, a happenin bar in the area, informing them that Shaun Higham  a man whod managed to give U.S. Marshals and multiple state agencies the slip since June 28  had wandered in for a brewski. Higham told the owner to pass along a message that, with his thirst now satiated, he was more than happy to return to prison.



Sheriff Boyd Hicks tells the Democrat-Gazette that officers showed up and found their fugitive inside nonchalantly drinking a beer (maximizing those final sips of freedom, no doubt). According to Hicks, they apprehended Higham without incident, and in fact found him very cooperative and apologetic. This may have had something to do with the fact that he was also tired, hungry, and [eaten] up with insect bites. Police transported him back to the Logan County Detention Center, where hes now being held for the original aggravated-robbery charge, plus numerous additional charges.
Large abuses- with resorts (video)

There are gaps in the procedures of social packages, which have come forward over time and time is needed to correct them. After the Government session during the briefing with journalists Chairman of the Civil Service Council Manvel Badalyan touched upon the temporary suspension of vacation component in the social packages and noted that he is mainly concerned about the factor of state sector employees. As for the abuses, Mr Badalyan noted, The civilians, likely including, I regret to say, civil servants, came to false agreements with the resorts, not spending their holidays in reality and financial transfers were made to those resorts. According to his information, those abuses are of large volumes and as those social packages are formed with state means, waste of those means should be prohibited, I think this will be a short-term suspension and that issue will be solved operatively, as the law-abiding citizens shouldnt be affected. Mr Badalyan doesnt share the viewpoint that there is short of money in the budget and thats why this optimization is carried out, Those funds are intended by the budget, and anyway those funds are allocated. I repeat, waste shouldnt be allowed here. In order not to struggle against the windmills uselessly, we now suspend so that we can fill those gaps. By the way, he added that neither Prime Minister, ministers, nor officials, including him, use those social packages.




Haiti - DR : Evaluation of bi-national program funded by the European Union





Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza in Santo Domingo, Charles Jean Jacques, the National Authorizing Officer of the European Development Fund (EDF) in Haiti and the Officer of the Dominican Republic, Ambassador Antonio Vargas Hernandez opened the 5th meeting of the Joint Committee Coordination (CCC), a space for analysis, of 3 days of evaluation and discussions on the binational Program funded by the European Union to the tune of 50.1 million Euros.



Charles Jean Jacques in his opening intervention recalled "[...] The 5th meeting of the CCC is intended to strengthen the binational approach in the implementation of the Programme. It will alloz to share experiences, strengthen the achievements and formulate a strategy to identify the different components and the orientation of the new Binational Cooperation Program [...]"



Besides the two National Authorising Officers were also present at the main table, Ambassador Roberto Martinez Villanueva, Executive Secretary of the Joint Commission of the Dominican Republic and Florence Van Houtte, of the Delegation of the European Union.



During the first two working days were analyzed the main studies that have been done in the commercial component; accompanying measures to the binational market; the Joint Committee and the binational Observatory. The program components were also reviewed.



The second day at the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) operators have shared their recommendations. Sixteen (16) of these recommendations are of punctual character, while seven (7) others are strategic.



It was a very important exercise for the Binational Program, because the majority of projects come almost to their end, it's time to share lessons learned and identify the mechanisms that can help to make them even more effective projects for the beneficiary communities.



At the close of CCC Charles Jean Jacques, the EDF National Authorising in Haiti warmly thanked "all the technicians who produced an extraordinary work of reflection in order to achieve a real change in the living conditions of the beneficiaries of two nations of the island."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17938-haiti-dominican-republic-continuation-of-informal-bilateral-meetings.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















Police only serve the interests of the authorities: human rights activist (video)

In support of Jirayr Sefilyan protest action today kicked off with the warning of the police action is unlawful. Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police Valeri Osipyan announced, You must have informed so that we could come and ensure the public order. Nevertheless, the police allowed the participants of the march to move to Baghramyan 26, clearly demanding to take the route set by the police. Members of New Armenia movement always encounter this behavior of the police. Gagik Yeghiazaryan opposes, The number of march participants is less than 100, so there is no need to inform and, in fact, it isnt illegal. The activist didnt satisfy the demand of the police on New Years Eve, when the law enforcement officers demanded not to install a Christmas tree at Liberty Square. At that time the police officers showed rude attitude, which, according to Gagik Yeghiazaryan, had its reasons. First, absence of media outlets, second, the people, who where under the influence of cold or holidays and were very passive, and the police officers werent afraid of public outburst. Vardges Gaspari, who has been known for his civil activity for about 10 years, often revolts against the demands of the police. The methods of the force structure for putting pressure on the citizens, he says, are mastering year by year. We, so to say, have entered from Stalin era to Brezhnev era and there is no need any more to break someones head, simply they threaten the way that the people already know that they shouldnt cross the line, says Mr Gaspari. Human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan hasnt recorded any progress in the behavior of the police during the rallies. Very often police officers outnumber the civilians. During the actions there are also police officers, who follow the events in civilian clothes. I call them gangs, who act against the people. First the police officer should protect the interest of citizens, and not to act as a crypto gang and attack, says the human rights activist. The employees of the police arent punished for their violence, says the human rights activist. In case of the structure, which always serves the interests of the authorities, there can be no other option. The police have proved that they serve only the interests of the authorities. We have already been convinced of it, seeing how they oppress those small rallies, marches, use violence especially against New Armenia, to mention the recent case- hitting a woman in the head, notes Zhanna Aleksanyan. So that the right to freedom of assemblies is maintained in Armenia, the human rights activist says, only one factor is needed- the police should act only within the frames of the law.
Preliminary investigation of case of throwing training grenade at Robert Qocharyans detached house completed

Preliminary investigation of the criminal case initiated on the incident that took place at the entrance of the yard of the RA second President Robert Qocharyans detached house is completed in General Department of Investigation of Particularly Important Cases. Through preliminary investigation sufficient data were obtained on the allegation that on April 15, 2016 at about 18:25 32 year-old Hovhannes Muradyan drove in a car registered in his fathers name to the main entrance of the yard of the RA second President Robert Qocharyans detached house and threw a training grenade towards the security post disrupting the work of state security officers. Besides, through inspection, conducted on April 18 in H. Muradyans apartment in the order defined by law, drug of tetrahydrokannabinol type in significant amount was found in his personal items and confiscated. On the base of the obtained evidence on April 20 charge was pressed against H. Muradyan according to the Part 1 of the Article 258 and the Part 1 of the Article 268 of RA Criminal Code. During preliminary investigation a writ was received from Avan Mental Health Center CJSC of the RA Ministry of Health informing that Hovhannes Muradyan has been registered in the center with diagnosis of Schizophrenia, paranoid form since 19.09.2014. Stationery psychiatric examination was commissioned against him by the investigator the implementation of which was tasked to experts of department of stationery forensic psychiatric examination of Nubarashen psychiatric hospital of the RA Ministry of Health. According to the conclusion N 34 H. Muradyan should be found irresponsible for the incriminated act, while committing the offence, he could not, as well as currently he cannot realize the danger of his actions, control them. He cannot participate in judicial actions in his current mental state, he is socially dangerous for himself, as well as for others, he needs compulsory treatment in psychiatric ward of special supervision. On the base of the obtained evidence the investigator made a decision to send the criminal case to court to use compulsory medical measures against the person who had committed actions forbidden by the RA Criminal Code in the state of insanity. Note; Everyone charged with alleged crime offence shall be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law. Information and Public Relations Department of the RA Investigative Committee
ons may have power in the workplace, but they are not above the law, says one Federal Court judge.A judge has labeled the CFMEU an embarrassment to the trade union movement and reasserted the law as he issued fines of $180,000 over an illegal work site blockade.Federal Court judge Christopher Jessup  in his judgment on June 30  denounced the Construction Forestry Mining & Energy Union and said its record of non-compliance had become "notorious"."That record ought to be an embarrassment to the trade union movement," he said. "Quite obviously, over the years the CFMEU has shown a strong disinclination to modify its business model in order to comply with the law."In a judgment which firmly places union activity under the rule of law, Justice Jessup fined the union and six officials  Elias Spernovasilis, Shaun Reardon, Derek Christopher, Billy Beattie and Theo Theodorou and Bill Oliver  over unlawful industrial action at a Docklands project in 2011. The union stopped delivery of a tower crane and materials to the Grocon site because it wanted the contractor to hire a fourth person on the crane crew, to be nominated by the CFMEU.Justice Jessup made special mention of the CFMEUs leadership of the blockade, from then-state secretary Bill Oliver. He said Oliver's leadership fell "well short" of the standard expected by the community and the former CFMEU king-pin was handed five fines over his involvement in the blockade, ranging from $7,300 to $6,400.Justice Jessup fined the CFMEU $85,000: Elias Spernavasili was fined $12,500; Shaun Reardon was fined $14,000; Derek Christopher, $11,250; Billy Beattie, $11,500; and Theo Theodorou was fined $9,500.The courts judgment came after the CFMEU agreed to pay Boral between $7m and $9m, and Grocon $3.5m, in civil proceedings during 2015.Fair Work Building and Construction director Nigel Hadgkiss said the Federal Court case highlighted the CFMEU's "complete disregard for workplace laws and using their industrial might to enforce its own illegitimate agenda,The issue of unions and the law has already lead to a Royal Commission into union behaviour and one major employer organisation, the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA), has called for the CFMEU and Maritime Union of Australia to be deregistered.In December last year the AMMAs chief executive Steve Knott said the government should consider deregistering the militant unions over threatened national strike action.These threats are an attempt to coerce prosecutors into dropping charges against 101 construction employees being pursued over illegal strikes in Perth in 2013, said Knott. The threats must be scrutinised by the government and condemned by the leadership of the ALP and ACTU. We cannot allow any group in our society to continually break the law and then threaten illegal strike action to force a government regulator to back down.By Mark Abernethy
eal struck between a union and employers is a chance to bring certainty to the wages bill and employ more people, but what happens when the deal is renegotiated?The question is a live one in the food industry as the existing wages and employment deal between Dominos Pizza and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA union) comes due for renegotiation this year.The deal was struck in 2009 before the national award and minimum standards. It removed the need for Dominos to pay most penalty rates, including for weekends and late nights. The deal technically expired in 2013. A similar deal was done between the SDA union and other large employers such as Coles Woolworths and McDonalds.The deal reduced the cost of employment, with the savings to Dominos being around $32m per year according to financial analysts. The deal meant most Dominos workers are paid less than if the standard award was in place.Deutsche Bank has warned of a wage bill blowout for Domino's, when the penalty rates are reinstated in the new deal. Analysts predict a return to standard penalty rates will cost Domino's an extra $32m in wages and reduce profit by around 25%.While Domino's has legally operated on its existing agreement, workplace agreements in Australia must pass the "better off overall test" and the Fair Work Commission has already found that the similar deal between Coles and the SDA union failed the "better off" test.Dominos Pizza Enterprise Ltd. has been fully aware and prepared that the wages deal must be renegotiated, said the company. It confirmed it is in negotiations with the SDA union and in the interim will move ahead on a new wages and entitlements deal that covers Dominos and its 300 franchisees.The company is committed to delivering a modern agreement which will provide more beneficial working conditions for all Dominos team members, the company said in a statement. The company has set up a hotline and email service to keep employees up to date.Negotiations between Dominos and the SDA will continue over the coming months.Domino's Pizza managing director Don Meij recently acknowledged to Fairfax Media that the total cost of paying penalty rates was unknown. "We have known about this for years and we have been working towards this date, there is no surprise in it at all.Meij said renegotiating a deal with the union had been difficult with the issue being played-out in the media."We were very close to an agreement but with all the media around Coles and McDonald's and all the different organisations that have been in the media with the SDA, that just stalled our agreement," he said.By Mark Abernethy
While 69% of industry leaders believe gender equality is within reach over the next 25 years, only 13% expect a real increase in the number of women in leadership roles over the next five years.



These paradoxical results come from the latest EY report, Navigating disruption without gender diversity? Think again, which surveyed 350 C-suite executives from the top 200 companies across 51 countries.



HC Online talked to Max Loh, ASEAN and Singapore managing partner at EY, to shed light on the reasons behind these counterintuitive survey results.



Businesses may often assume that gender parity will simply take care of itself when in reality, there needs to be a conscious effort to push the agenda, he said.



This disconnect from reality isnt so surprising, he added, since most companies operate without closely watching their internal gender metrics and data.



Despite almost universal agreement on the value of diversity, less than half of organisations have programs to formally measure their progress in achieving gender diversity.



In most cases, gender metrics are used to simply count the number of female employees on the leadership team, he noted. This totally ignores other aspects such as measuring the succession pipeline.



Questions that business leaders need to ask include: What about womens progress through the business? Or understanding when and why they leave? What about developing a future pipeline of female leaders?



Internationally, the banking sector seems to be making better progress with gender parity than other industries, Loh said.



The banking industry is making headway through a higher willingness to recognise the need to do more to attract, retain and promote women to senior leadership; a stronger focus on structured, formal programs that identify and develop female talent; and a committed use of formal metrics to track their progress.



These practices can all be replicated in other sectors to create a long-lasting plan that ultimately results in a more diverse and inclusive workforce, he added.


By Adrienne Fouts

Classic Carolinas music group The Tams, a favorite of beach music fans and shag dancers, will perform Friday, July 8 at the community of Newlands free summer concert series.

Ever since the 1960s, The Tams have been famous along the beaches of North and South Carolina, playing clubs centered around shag dancing and performing songs that became standards in beach and dance music.

Carolina beach music and the shag has become sort of a cultural phenomenon, said Steve York, member of the Greater Newland Association. The Tams still command a huge following from that generation, as well as younger people who have been introduced to that style of dancing.

Even in the mountains, The Tams style of music can be very popular. Locals who regularly went to the beach for vacations grew up with the music, York said. In addition, people from other areas of North Carolina, South Carolina and even Georgia who have summer homes in the High Country and are fans of The Tams would come out to see them play.

The Newland summer concert series is organized and sponsored by the Greater Newland Association, formerly known as the Newland Business Association. This group has the purpose of enhancing the community of Newland as well as promoting smaller, surrounding communities such as Mineola, Elk Park and Linville Falls. It is a completely volunteer organization and raises money through membership dues and fundraising events.

The summer concert series began as a way to draw people to the Newland community, to celebrate the area and to just be a fun event for locals and visitors alike.

We try to get a sense of what the people want, York said. We try to attract people from other towns into Newland, spend some tourism dollars here and walk away with a good feeling in their hearts about the community.

The concert series is held in Newland Riverwalk Park at a covered stage from 6 to 9 p.m. York suggests that visitors arrive a little before 6 p.m. in order to find parking. The music will take place rain or shine, but in the case of heavy rain or storms it will be moved to the Avery High School gym.

In addition to the free live music, a 50/50 cash drawing is held in which 10% of the proceeds go to charity and the winner takes home 50% of the remaining money. Last week, the winner of the drawing, announced halfway through the concert, won over $600.

Food and drinks will also be for sale, and concert-goers are allowed to bring their own coolers, but hard liquor and open display of other alcoholic beverages are not allowed.

York and the Greater Newland Association expect that The Tams, as well as the rest of the bands in the concert series, will draw a large crowd and show people that Newland is a great, fun place to visit in the High Country.

Music is one thing that unites people from all walks of life, York said. These concerts are free, so people can just come out, pull out their chairs and enjoy.

For more information on the weekly concerts, visit greaternewland.org.

2016 Newland Riverwalk Summer Concerts:

June 17: Soul Benefactor

June 24: Mamas Remedy

July 1: The Johnson Brothers

July 8: The TAMS

July 15: Swing Set

July 22: Maybe, Maybe Not

July 29: Arvel Byrd

Aug. 5: Dave Calvert Collective

Aug. 12: The Lucky Strikes

Aug. 19: Road Tripp Band

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Serzh Sargsyan holds farewell meeting with Ambassador of Greece

Serzh Sargsyan received today the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hellenic Republic to the Republic of Armenia Ionnis Taghis who is concluding his diplomatic mission in our country. The President of Armenia expressed gratitude to Ambassador Taghis for his personal contribution to the strengthening of the traditionally friendly relations between Armenia and Greece which, according to the President, allowed to expand the interstate cooperation in different areas of mutual interest. Serzh Sargsyan noted that during the almost four-year long tenure of the Ambassador, the bilateral relations have registered progress, and with this regard the efforts of Ambassador Taghis are highly appreciated by the Government and people of Armenia. President Sargsyan expressed hope that the next Greek ambassador to our country will continue to deepen relations between our two peoples and countries, which have centuries long history, with same dedication and vigor. The President of Armenia underscored that the newly appointed Ambassador of Armenia to Greece has been assigned to Athens with the same anticipation. Ambassador Taghis expressed gratitude to the President of Armenia for the great assessment of his work, warm words and for the assistance which was extended to him throughout this tenure in Armenia. The Ambassador said that in the last four years he felt exceptionally warm attitude and expressed his profound thanks for it. He also expressed confidence that it was the manifestation of the mutually warm feelings existing between the two nations. Ionnis Taghis assured that after leaving Armenia, he will continue to keep in his heart warm recollections of our country and will remain Armenias and Armenian peoples friend.
The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at NC State University will head to Boone, NC in the Northwest Regional Prosperity Zone on July 7 as part of its statewide FutureWork Prosperity Tour. With support from Duke Energy Foundation and Local Government Federal Credit Union, along with regional partners, Appalachian State University and Catawba Valley Community College, IEI staff and friends will travel by bus to each of North Carolinas eight Prosperity Zones, as defined by the NC Department of Commerce.

The regional convenings will introduce communities to data, themes, and resources from the 31st Emerging Issues Forum, FutureWork, where more than 1,100 business, education and policy leaders gathered to consider: As technology and demography shift, how can North Carolina prepare today to create enough good jobs for tomorrow?

IEI will engage with local high schools, higher ed institutions, policy leaders and businesses to share region-specific data and insights from the IEI FutureWork disruption Index for North Carolina and highlight county-by-county vulnerability statistics. IEI will challenge the groups to take a hard look at whether their regional talent development system is FutureWork ready.

Emerging Issues Forum participants were stunningly clear in their feedback to IEI this February: North Carolina will not be ready for the future of work unless more leaders understand the volume and pace of change that lies just beyond the horizon, said Anita BrownGraham, IEI director. Since the Forum, we have worked with sector leaders to redouble our efforts to identify high-impact opportunities to build FutureWork-ready talent development systems. Now it is time to raise awareness across the regions of our state.

The Disruption Index projects that, within a single generation, automation and related technological advances will cause North Carolina counties to lose more than 25% of their current jobs and nearly 20% of current wages on average.

Regional leaders have been unsettled by projections about the scope of inevitable upcoming job loss. But, this Prosperity Tour offers them an opportunity to focus on using the job loss numbers to determine whether their region is prepared to grow the talent demanded by the occupations that will remain in high demand, and those occupations that are yet to be created.

The Northwest Region is projected to lose 27% of its existing total wages, resulting in an economic loss of greater than $2 Billion. The Region includes Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, McDowell, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties.

To learn more about your countys vulnerability to jobs disruption due to automation, for tour dates and destinations, and to register to participate in a convening in your region, visit emergingissues.org/FutureWork/Tour.

About the Emerging Issues Forum and the Institute for Emerging Issues:

Every February since 1986, the Emerging Issues Forum has attracted leaders in business, education and public policy to discuss an issue with profound implications for North Carolinas future prosperity. For more than three decades, the Forum has helped catalyze the policy reforms, public investments and other proactive responses required to build an enduring capacity for progress in North Carolina.

In 2002, the UNC Board of Governors established the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) to lead and expand this important work. IEI is a non-partisan public policy organization that exists to enhance North Carolinas economic competitiveness. Today, the Forum stands as the signature element in IEIs diverse program of year-round engagement work across the state. Please visit emergingissues.org for more information.

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Source: SMART

The device, about the size of a U.S. dollar coin, is designed to help scientists narrow in on safe ranges of electric fields to noninvasively treat breast, lung, and other forms of cancer. The results are published online in Scientific Reports.

The paper's co-authors include Roger Kamm, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Biological Engineering at MIT, as well as research scientists Andrea Pavesi and Giulia Adriani, postdoc Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani, and student Andy Tay of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). Senior research officer Wei Hseun Yeap and associate professor Siew Cheng Wong of the Singapore Immunology Network also contributed to the report.

"We hope this device will increase interest by researchers who are exploring the effect of electric fields on different types of cancer," Adriani says. "In our study, we noticed the effect was limited to the cancer cell at the tested frequencies and intensities, but we really need to explore other cells and parameters."

An electric recipe

For the past decade, scientists have been experimenting with the use of electric fields to treat malignant cells, in an alternative cancer treatment called tumor treating field, or TTF. The therapy stems from the interaction between key cellular structures in tumors, and an external electric field.

In general, an electric field is a field of forces that act on objects that have an electric charge. An electric field can also influence the alignment of polar molecules in tumor cells, such as microtubules. Normally, these molecules are crucial for cell division, which, when it goes into overdrive, leads to tumor growth. When microtubules line up end to end to form a mitotic spindle, the cell's genetic material attaches to the spindle fibers, pulling and splitting the cell into two cells.

In the past, scientists have observed that these charged molecules respond to a low-frequency electric field, between 100 and 300 kilohertz and with an intensity as strong as the field strength of a mixer or toaster. Instead of forming mitotic spindles, the microtubule alignment is disrupted in such a way that it prevents cell division and tumor growth.

"Scientists have been trying to figure out a lot of different recipes to try to stimulate the cell with an electric field," Pavesi says. "By tweaking the intensity and frequency, you can have an effect only on the cancer cells, leaving the other type of cells unaltered, without destroying them. That's the key concept."

A company, Novocure, has since been founded to develop TTF therapies for people with brain and lung cancer. Pavesi, who has been helping to design microfluidic devices with Kamm, came up with the idea for a device to test TTF after watching a TED talk by Novocure's founder.

"Immediately, I was thinking to myself, 'This is an easy thing I can replicate in one of my devices,'" Pavesi recalls.

Gaining time

The researchers fabricated the device from PDMS, a widely used, gel-like polymer, and patterned small channels across the device. They then developed a conductive mixture made from micron-sized silver flakes and PDMS, which they cured, then injected into two channels in the device to form two tiny, separate electrodes. In the region between the electrodes, they injected hydrogels with breast or lung cancer cells as well as small tumor masses. The researchers also injected healthy human endothelial cells. The hydrogels created a three-dimensional matrix to mimic the extracellular environment.

The team subjected each cell type in the 3-D matrix to alternating electric fields at frequencies of 150 or 200 kilohertz, continuously, at an intensity of 1.1 volts per centimeter.

In the absence of an electric field, Pavesi says the cancer cells begin to proliferate and spread within two days. However, he and Adriani observed a significant slowdown in tumor progression after three days of continuous electric field stimulation: Proliferation was markedly reduced, while small masses of lung cancer cells did not disperse indicating an inhibition of their metastatic potential. What's more, healthy endothelial cells in the same device were left unaffected. The researchers hypothesize that healthy cells may require different frequencies to be influenced by an electric field, as their size and electrical properties are far different from that of cancer cells.

Adriani hopes the microfluidic device can help scientists test a wide range of electric field intensities and frequencies on other cancer cell types. While TTF therapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating brain tumors, that approval process took years to test electric fields, first in vitro, then in animals and in humans. Pavesi says a microfluidic device could speed up that process.

"Maybe by screening TTF to optimize frequency and intensity, you can at least reduce the time it takes for in vivo studies," Pavesi says. "There may be thousands of variables, but you could first try them in this device. If you find 10 that work, you can go ahead and try those 10 in the animal model."

"For personalized medicine, you can test if a recipe works for a specific person," Adriani says. "In three days, you can have an answer. And for many cancer patients who are dying of metastasis, time is everything."

Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced fraud charges and an asset freeze obtained against a Connecticut man accused of misleading people into investing in his company and then taking their money for his personal use. His victims include several women he met through an online dating website.

The SEC alleges that Thomas J. Connerton told investors that his company Safety Technologies LLC was developing a material to make surgical gloves better resistant to cuts or punctures. He claimed that several major glove manufacturers wanted the technology and Safety Technologies was on the brink of imminent deals that would result in large payouts for investors in his company. But no deals have ever been anywhere close to materializing, and Connerton has emptied the companys bank account by writing a series of checks to himself and using investor funds for his own expenses.

According to court documents filed by the SEC, among Connertons improper spending of investor funds was $20,000 for an engagement ring for his latest online date turned investor. There are more than 50 investors in Safety Technologies, including six women Connerton met through online dating and 14 others who are family or friends of those women.

We charge Connerton with lying about the state of his business and exploiting personal connections to lure in investors, said Paul G. Levenson, Director of the SECs Boston Regional Office. Investors beware: a rosy picture of a business thats about to take off could still lead to a total loss of investment.

According to the SECs complaint, Connerton failed to comply with the requirements for private offerings exempt from registration under the federal securities laws, such as providing investors with appropriate financial information and confirming that they have sufficient knowledge and experience to evaluate the merits and risks of the investment. Connerton also is not registered to sell investments. Investors can quickly and easily check whether people selling investments are registered by using the SECs investor.gov website.
THE 19TH TUSKA Festival took place at Suvilahti in Helsinki from July 1  3. The metal weekend was kicked off with the Tuska Heatseeker evening on Thursday, June 30, at legendary rock club Tavastia where Shiraz Lane , Lost Society and Santa Cruz played in front of a packed house and made sure everyone got into festival mood in time for Friday.

A hot summer day greeted the metal heads the next day, and Cattle Decapitation got the festival started full force with their powerful deathgrind. The Friday continued with performances full of energy by Mantar and Kvelertak. Lordi delivered their The Arockalypse 2006 Redux Show - and I can only imagine how sweaty it must have been under their masks and costumes with the hot summer sun shining down on the Radio Rock Main Stage. Testament sounded excellent on the main stage as well, and Behemoth performed their intense metal ritual on the tent stage. Avantasia closed the first festival day and were the first ever Tuska headliner to play until midnight as the City of Helsinki had granted permission to play longer hours on Friday and Saturday for the first time this year.

Saturday was the day of superlatives. The Finnish summer continued to show itself from its best side. That weather and the quality line-up led to the festival selling out for the day with a total of 11 000 metal heads gathering at Suvilahti. One could tell as there were people as far as the eye could see. There was something in the air from the get go - I dont mean just the promise of a thunderstorm later on. And just like the weather switched from hot to cold(er) in the evening, the music changed from fast to slow, from heavy to black.

Brymir started the day on the main stage, and the maybe slightly tired crowd woke up fast. Fuck-Ushima kept the energy and a circle pit going on the Inferno Stage. With The Dead and their doom metal provided a moment to calm before Circle took their audience on a crazy ride, and Primordial mesmerized with their beautiful melodies and heaviness on the main stage. Tsjuder kicked things up a notch, playing a raw, in-your-face Norwegian black metal gig before Turmion Katilot started the metal disco party, playing the Tuska main stage for the first time. The day powered on with Anthrax and Stam1na before anticipation reached unknown levels as it was finally time for Grammy-winning band Ghost to perform.

Even the weather gods complied in making this a truly spectacular show. The sky was ablaze  burning in 666 shades of red and purple. Ghost stepped on stage and the crowd exploded. The heavens parted and rain poured down. What an atmosphere. What a show to close the second day of Tuska.

Sunday started a bit calmer and under grey skies. This suited the artistic and powerful performance by Myrkur perfectly, alternating between almost angelic melodic parts and demonic metal growls. Morbid Vomit didnt take any prisoners and delivered a tight death metal set. Diablo and Gojira played in front of big excited crowds before things took a melancholic turn with Katatonia. Children Of Bodom closed this years Tuska and the crowd gave it their all for one last time.

Swallow the Sun deserve a special mention as they played one of the Songs From The North albums on each festival day. From the summer festival show on Friday, to the very intimate and unbelievably beautiful acoustic concert on Saturday to the dark doom gig on Sunday each and every one of them was incredible in its own right, but as an entity they were one of the most special festival experiences ever.

All in all, 28 000 visitors gathered at Tuska over three days and it was once again a magnificent festival experience.

Text

NINA RATAVAARA HT

Photos

EIJA MAKIVUOTI
YLE reported earlier that Petty Officer Juho Pylvanainen wore his service uniform while participating in the event in Helsinki on 2 July.

The Finnish Defence Forces has received considerable media attention after one of its spokespersons estimated in an interview on YLEX on Tuesday that it is not desirable that individual military officers should wear a service uniform while participating in events such as the Pride Festival.

Pylvanainen explained to YLEX that his decision to wear the uniform for the event was an attempt to take action against the discriminatory army culture and to set a positive example for the Finnish Defence Forces, as well as the 12,000 men and women who began their military service on Monday.

Captain Jan Engstrom, the director of public information at the Finnish Defence Forces, admits in an interview with Uusi Suomi that the statement may have come across as brusque and may be in need of revision.

Maybe it should be toned down a bit. It was an isolated, short comment, and it came across as too harsh, he says.

The Finnish Defence Forces, he points out, has only defined the type of events its staff members are not allowed to participate in. Our general service rules lay out the types of events you aren't allowed to attend in a service uniform []  political events, campaign ads and demonstrations, he lists.

Otherwise the service uniform is for official duties. It's not to be worn in your free time. There are some events, personal in nature, such as weddings, funerals and big birthdays where it can be worn among family members. That's basically what our rules say.

Engstrom declines to speculate on the nature of the Pride Festival but points out that it has been defined as a public event by the Helsinki Police Department. That's what I've been told. We [] have no need to evaluate [the nature of the event]. That's up to everyone to do individually, and that's what Pylvanainen did.

He also stopped short of confirming that the Finnish Defence Forces approves of Pylvanainen's conclusion that it is acceptable to wear a service uniform for the Pride Festival.

At least that's what the individual in question concluded []. We won't give orders in beforehand and no one asked us to do so. He made a personal decision, replies Engstrom.

Pylvanainen will not face any consequences for his decision, assures Engstrom.

We have a relatively straightforward equality and non-discrimination plan. It's also applied to units where conscripts perform their military service. You must be allowed to [perform the service] regardless of your gender, ethnic background, skin colour or sexual orientation. It should be an absolutely equal environment, he stresses.

We're trying to have a very open-minded approach. We don't want to isolate ourselves or our personnel from the rest of the society. As long as you don't participate in the aforementioned activities, officials have the same rights to do and move [as they please] in their free time.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Teemu Salonen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
He estimates that the ratification process may take years more than expected as every single member state, or even its regional parliament, can shoot down the agreement.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is set to be treated as a mixed agreement and is, as a result, set to require approvals from the national parliaments of EU member states, tells Hannu Takkula (Centre), a Member of the European Parliament.

It would be a blow to the economic growth and internal markets of the European Union, he writes in his blog on Puheenvuoro.

Takkula reminds that the ratification of the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement took nearly five years due to opposition from the Italian Parliament. The same cannot happen with the free trade agreement between the EU and Canada as the trade-related content of the agreement may be partly outdated as soon as four years from now, he writes.

It is a possibility that the agreement is applied on a temporary basis before the ratification process has been completed.

He is confident that the agreement would especially benefit small, export-driven economies such as Finland.

One of his colleagues in the European Parliament, Heidi Hautala (Greens), revealed in an interview with Uusi Suomi earlier this week that she is uneasy about applying the agreement on a temporary basis before it has been ratified.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Petteri Paalasmaa  Uusi Suomi

Source: Uusi Suomi
Buskers are campaigning against the new regulations (Stock picture)

The Dublin City Buskers (DCB) group is launching a campaign to overturn a Dublin City Council decision to ban musical instrument amplification in Temple Bar.

Its members have suggested they'll boycott the permit system for buskers, introduced with the cooperation of the organisation by the council last year, if councillors refuse to rescind the ban.

The group, which represents around 400 buskers, was set up when the council indicated it would regulate street performance in 2014. It held its AGM on Tuesday.

It came as the council voted to ban amplification in parts of Temple Bar, including Essex Street.

A late Green Party amendment to the motion added Temple Bar Square to the list of banned areas for amplification. The ban has been scheduled to come into force in August.

The council further voted to ban the use of backing tracks by street performers across the city - a move which is also being campaigned against by DCB.

Complaints

Outgoing chairman of the performer's group, Andy Kavanagh, said the decision to ban amps in Temple Bar would inevitably lead to a cross city ban.

"After six months they will look at it and there won't be any complaints. Of course there won't be any complaints because there won't be anyone there.

"People will have to move to Grafton Street. Then there'll be three times as many complaints there.

"Businesses will see those in Temple Bar and say if we complain we'll get a ban too," he said.

He said that the group had been cooperating with the council and had been making progress before this "slap in the face".

Mr Kavanagh accused the council of not taking the work buskers do for a living seriously and said if 400 factory workers were deprived of a livelihood, there would be uproar.

Among initiatives planned is a silent protest at some place in the city. Councillors were accused of ignorance of music and advances in technology.
A late night lock-in at a north inner city pub turned sour when three senior members of the Hutch gang were detained by gardai who were forced to draw batons when making the arrests.

The incident occurred outside the pub shortly after 4am on Monday when dozens of officers responded to a 'back-up' request from their colleagues after drunken gangland thugs threatened to shoot gardai when they attempted to arrest them.

Sources have revealed the situation 'kicked off' when officers who were patrolling the area as part of Operation Hybrid spotted two of the criminals trying to gain entry to the pub.

The duo, aged 40 and 36 and considered by gardai to be "highly dangerous", verbally abused the gardai when they were asked what they were doing.

They were quickly joined by a 42-year-old mobster who came out of the pub and the officers decided to call for back-up.

"All three individuals were clearly drunk out of their minds but they were still managing to make all kinds of threats to gardai, such as they would have them shot and so on," a source said.

Rushed

"It is because of the nature of who these criminals are that several garda units from across the north city rushed to the scene to provide assistance.

"The aggressive behaviour of the individuals continued as more patrol cars arrived at the pub and officers were forced to draw their batons.

"The situation calmed down then and three arrests were made," the source added.

The three suspects were arrested under public order legislation and brought to three separate garda stations - Store Street, Mountjoy and the Bridewell.

They are expected to appear in court to face charges such as threatening and abusive behaviour and breach of the peace.

The Herald can reveal all three men have multiple previous convictions and are considered key and loyal members of the gang which centres around Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch.

All three are from the north inner city and have been major targets for gardai for years.

They have all been under a level of surveillance since the deadly feud between their faction and the Kinahan cartel kicked-off after the murder of Gary Hutch.

The two eldest of the three men previously served lengthy sentences for their roles in an attempted cash-in-transit van heist almost a decade ago.
Franklin County man guilty of killing man, hiding body

Justin Hockenberry was found guilty of killing Demetrios "Jimmy" Kalathas in November 2019 and faces life in prison without parole.
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The United Kingdom just witnessed the release of the Chilcot report on the Iraq War. The committee, led by Sir John Chilcot, has some devastating  even if not entirely surprising  findings.

But for India, it throws up another question.

When will New Delhi be willing to confront its past, and introduce a more transparent culture around national security issues in general, and the wars it has fought in particular?

Chilcot report

The Chilcot inquiry concludes that the UK chose to enter the war without exhausting all peaceful options, and then PM Tony Blair exaggerated the threat posed by Iraqs leader Saddam Hussein. It exposes Blairs assurance to US President George Bush, I will be with you, whatever  signalling how the country surrendered its right to take decisions to a dominant partner.

It speaks of how the decision making processes that led to the war were not satisfactory, the UKs military was not equipped, the UK had little role in post-war planning, and there was no post-invasion strategy. At the end of it all, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed, and UK did not meet its stated objectives.

There is now little doubt, even among many proponents of the war in the UK, that 2003 was a costly mistake with multiple geo-political consequences. But the silver lining is that there has been an official attempt to hold those in positions of power  particularly Blair  accountable.

Commodore (retd) C Uday Bhaskar, director of the Society for Policy Studies, says, It may have taken seven years, but the report shows that UK has the moral and institutional ability to look back objectively at its own track record. It displays commendable integrity in recording that 150,000 Iraqis were killed in a war that was not justified. Even the Americans have not been able to do this so candidly.

The omerta

And perhaps that is the lesson for India, where there is often a code of silence around national security issues. Ministry files are still not declassified; intelligence organisations remain opaque without any parliamentary oversight; institutional records of decision-making processes are often weak; and the country is still to come to terms with its wars.

Take the Henderson-Brooks report on the 1962 war.

The report was commissioned to look into the reasons for the Indian rout and offer future lessons. It is understood to have blamed both the political and the military leadership. In 2014, the Australian journalist and author of an authoritative book on the war, Neville Maxwell, put parts of it on his website.

But all governments have used the cover of national security to keep it secret. The UPA defence minister, A K Antony, even said it had current operational value. When BJP was in opposition, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, called for the release of the report. But as soon as he crossed over to the other side in Parliament, and took over as defence minister (for a brief period), Jaitley changed his mind. He said, in a reply to the Parliament, that releasing the report would not be in national interest.

Most experts argue that the report will unleash a much-needed conversation about the relationship between the political leadership and the army as well as the political leadership and its intelligence arms in a modern democracy. A former diplomat told HT, If we want to create robust decision-making processes, how can we shy away from acknowledging our mistakes and having a public conversation around it?

Read | India-Pak tensions pre-occupied UK before 2003 war

India did slightly better in coming to terms with the Kargil War, in 1999. The fact that India won the war, and succeeded in pushing back Pakistan, probably enabled a more honest assessment. But it still did not go the whole way.

The government appointed the K Subrahmanyam committee to review events leading up to Pakistani aggression. It pointed out that the government was taken in by complete surprise at the intrusion. It made scathing observations about the nature of Indias intelligence structure, and made a range of recommendations to overhaul the national security structure. But critics said it should have been more direct in attributing blame.

A watered down version of the Subrahmanyam report was made public, but several chapters, and all the annexures were deemed classified and were not released. But getting the report out was not easy. What was eventually released was a sanitised version. And it became public because Subhramanyam and another member, B G Verghese, pushed hard for it. They eventually convinced the NSA Brajesh Mishra, who prevailed over the system, recalls Bhaskar.

Confronting the past

Srinath Raghavan, one of Indias foremost historians, has remarked that the Chilcot report makes a number of other points  the weakness of the Cabinet system in dealing with foreign and security policy; use and misuse of intelligence in influencing decisions within and outside government; the manner in which international law is used to legitimize decisions taken for other decisions; what happens when weaker allies abdicate their own judgments simply to maintain their influence with the dominant partner and more.

As Indias global ambitions grow, it is not immune from any of this. To ensure it does not make such mistakes, it needs to confront its own past.

Also read | 6 key findings of Chilcot probe into Britains role in Iraq war

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A section of the BJP-RSS insiders has come to view recent changes in the ministerial council as evidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi moving out of the shadows of Lutyens Delhi  where he had found himself an outsider while delivering his first I-Day address from the Red Fort.

The new inductions in the PMs team bear his stamp and that of Amit Shah, the BJPs foremost interface with its ideological fountainhead, the RSS.

A three-way dialogue among them is stated to have chiseled out the expansion and the attendant reshuffle.

The beefing up of the vernacular share in the regime was indeed dictated by ground realities in states headed for polls over the next two years: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

But unlike 2014, talent scouting wasnt outsourced or allowed to be influenced this time by what an RSS-confidant jocularly called permanent representatives of the clique forever in power in Delhi.

Read | Cabinet reshuffle: Portfolios of Modis ministers

The first round of government formation was a tale of familiar faces. He has now in his team people about whom the Delhi elite have little knowledge, he continued.

Broadly falling in that category of the little known or relatively lesser noticed are the newly-inducted Scheduled Caste (five) and Tribe (two) ministers of state.

These inductions are tied up as much with the return to limelight of two known faces pushed to oblivion in the first round of ministry making: former deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha SS Ahluwalia and former minister of state in Atal Bihar Vajpayees PMO, Vijay Goel, removed as BJP chief on the promise of a RS slot before the Delhi assembly polls. They had then faced internal resistance, or call it elitist bias if you like, the PM ignored or triumphed this time around, confided a senior BJP hand.

Read | With cabinet expansion, Modi performs a balancing act in poll-bound UP

Its believed that Goel was done in by the faction supportive of Kiran Bedi, whose candidature as Delhi CM boomeranged badly on the party. Ahluwalia for his part was sidelined for being a Sushma Swaraj groupie.

The message therefore is unmistakable for those claiming proximity to the PM  that hes his own man now on the turf he once found unfamiliar; those taking him for granted would do so at their own peril. Illustration: change of guard in ministries of HRD, information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs headed by party biggies known to be having his ear.
The BJPs cultivation of Narendra Modi as a larger-than-life figure makes the party averse to losses even in small states. There is now a structural necessity for the party to pursue aggressive politics.

The Union Cabinet reshuffle this week generates expectations that the focus of the Narendra Modi government will now be solely on governance, that the BJPs mode of politics may change and that the party may explore a less confrontational approach in national politics.

This impression has much to do with the sudden exit of Smriti Irani from the HRD ministry and her shift to the ministry of textiles. Her combative style of politics was perhaps one of the reasons why she was moved from the high-profile ministry. She had weak credentials for the complicated education ministry to begin with  and the extended controversies at JNU and the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), where she was markedly unapologetic about the governments approach, made her an easy target for the liberal intelligentsia.

Prakash Javadekars elevation as HRD minister is an inspired choice from the vantage of eliminating avoidable theatre in a charged field like education. An affable figure who is popular with journalists, Javadekar comes into the job fully aware of the need to defuse the situation. His early messaging that he himself is a product of student agitations and that dialogue can curb student unrest reflects the governments intention to tone down tempers.

But does this necessarily mean that the BJP will change tack and pursue a less aggressive approach to politics?

There are three reasons why this is unlikely to happen.

First, the saffronisation agenda in education is unlikely to be abandoned. Javadekar himself is from the RSS and will not privately disavow the former HRD minister of state Ram Shankar Katherias assertion last month that there will be saffronisation of education and the country. What is likely to change is the ministrys public representation where technocratic elements of the new education policy will be talked up while patronage to Hindutva institutions will be more discreet. In any case, Irani has made it easy for Javadekar by setting in train pathways to privatisation and saffronisation that the BJP is keen on. She provided the artillery to shift education policy to the Right, it is now time for subtler implementation to follow (which will, in turn, prompt heated debates periodically).

Read | PM Modis new cabinet has strong RSS imprint

Second, the BJPs agenda of a Congress-mukt Bharat and Modis larger-than-life image in Indian politics that has been carefully cultivated makes it difficult for the party to countenance a loss even in small states.

The BJP now holds centre stage in Indian politics but its fortunes are inextricably linked to perceptions of Modis authority. To capitalise on his personality the BJP is attempting to presidentialise politics in a federated structure and thus (naturally) prefers simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls to contest elections centred on personality. To be sure the party does need powerful state-level and regional politicians but the latter need to wed their local clout to Modis visibility to attain the requisite political cache. That at least is the presumptive theory  and since party fortunes are intertwined with Modis authority, elections wins and losses end up being reckoned as referendums on his rule. In other words, the more the BJP depends on the PM, the more liable he is for the partys electoral failures  and any single failure creates a cascading impact, at least insofar as BJPs confidence levels go.

This is why the BJP cannot afford to lose in Punjab, Goa and Gujarat where the Aam Aadmi Party is fancying its chances, hoping to either win or at least make a significant dent. And to counteract the AAPs lead in opinion polls in Punjab the BJP is adopting a confrontational approach. The Delhi Police arrested AAP MLA Dinesh Mohaniya in June while he was addressing a press conference; the CBI arrested Arvind Kejriwals principal secretary Rajendra Kumar on July 4 in a corruption case after raiding his office in December and a case was registered in Amritsar against Ashish Khetan for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. The Centre returned all 14 bills passed by the Delhi Assembly last month citing procedural lapses and it also transferred 11 officers of the Delhi government prompting accusations by AAP that the Modi government was paralysing the state government.

All these are arguably a piece of a political strategy aimed to putting pressure on the AAPs party machinery with a view to scare off potential recruits even as Kejriwal plans on extending his partys national footprint.

Read | Reshuffle exposes BJPs lack of bench strength

UP is the third reason why BJPs aggressive tactics will continue. The euphoria of the 2014 Lok Sabha victory has waned and so the BJP will likely rely on caste arithmetic and anti-Muslim posturing to rally the Hindu vote in elections next year. BJP MP Hukum Singh recently alleged that threats and extortion by a particularly community led to the exodus of 346 Hindus from Kairana. An inflammatory anti-Muslim tweet attributed to Anupriya Patel, a BJP ally from Mirzapur in UP and new minister of state for health and family welfare, has emerged. She denies tweeting that and has filed a case maintaining that it is a fake Twitter handle.

Even so, the BJP will struggle to sustain a rhetoric focused on governance, particularly since a hardliner like Yogi Adityanath is keen on being projected as a chief ministerial candidate. The party leadership cannot pick him for presentational reasons, but being a regional warlord he is unlikely to take to the slight kindly and can embarrass the central leadership at opportune moments, as will others during the campaign. Political discourse in India is unlikely to take a congenial turn anytime soon.

The views expressed are personal. Twitter: @SushilAaron

Read | Irani swapped for Javadekar, but JNU students claim change is cosmetic

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New in the city

>> Mirabella, a quaint European-style cafe meets resto-bar, is now open. The restaurant offers international delicacies such as barely risotto, vegan dishes such as raspberry rose chia pudding, and an array of deserts.

Where: Remi Bizcourt, opposite Supreme Chambers, Veera Desai road, Andheri (W); Call: 96199 94288

>> Yet another Social outlet opens in Mumbai. Fun Republic Social in Andheri features the longest bar of them all. Its menu incorporates new additions like Disco Fried Egg Black Label butter chicken and pakoda party.

Where: Fun Republic, Shah Industrial Estate, New Link Road, Andheri (W); Call: 6022 6044

Fun Republic Social.

>> The newest Bar Stock Exchange outlet has quirky pieces of art, and booths shaped like tunnels. Its menu boasts of 165 items, including misal fondue and Kolhapuri chicken pizza.

Where: Kamala Mills Compound, C Wing, Trade World, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel; Call: 2492 5556

>> A new design studio and co-working space, Meuble, also features a cafe and library (open for public). Its co-working space has a private desk, a couch corner, and free Wi-Fi for people looking out for a different working environment.

Where: Unit 2A/2B, 2nd floor, building no. 11/12, Raghuvanshi Mansion, Raghuvanshi Mill Compound, Lower Parel; Call: 88797 78577

The new design studio and co-working space, Meuble.

FRIDAY, JULY 8

>> Dance: BollyCircus: Dance the night away with a troupe of hoopla dancers, stilt-walking clowns, jugglers and an acclaimed DJ from Dubai  DJ Shadow.

Where: Club Royalty, Krystal Building, Waterfield Road, Bandra (W); Call: 4229 6000; Price: Rs. 3,000 onwards; When: 10pm onwards

>> Workshop: The Arty Party Fridays: Explore your creative side by painting the citys monsoon as you sip on a glass of wine. Artist Pissuwo will also be avaliable to answer any questions you may have.

Where: The Art Hub, Atria Mall, 3rd floor, Opposite Poonam Chambers, Dr AB. Road, Worli

Call: 6685 1179; Price: Rs. 1,000; When: 6pm to 8pm

Eid special.

>> Food and drinks: Eid Special: Celebrate the festive season at Chef Atul Kocchars first casual diner night. Dig into dishes like sop, murtabak, curry with roti prata and nasi biryani. For desert, enjoy Fijian Samai, among others.

Where: NRI, Maker Maxity, North Avenue 2, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (E); Call: 3000 5040

Price: Rs. 350 onwards; When: 12pm to 12am

SATURDAY, JULY 9

>>Theatre: Blame it on Yashraj: The play combines humour, emotions, music and dance. It is the story of a girl from a PunjabiBengali family. She is caught in the midst of her big, traditional family preparing for her marriage to a Muslim boy.

Where: Nehru Centre, Dr Annie Besant Road, Worli; Call: 2496 4676

Price: Rs.200 onwards;When: 7.30pm

>> Workshop: Cosplay: Spend the day in superhero land by participating in an interactive session about creating props for your favourite Marvel and DC hero. Learn to build items like Captain Americas cowl, or Batmans helmet.

Where: Doolally Taproom, Dalia Industrial Estate, near Fun Republic, Andheri (W); Call: 99671 02143

Price: Rs. 1,000; Email: events@doolally.in to register; When: 11am to 3pm

Cosplay workshop.

>> Walk: The Fortress that Bombay Once Was: Participate in a heritage tour that will cover the Central Library, Horniman Circle, and Flora Fountain, among other sites. Hosted by architect and history buff Jaynish Shah, it will offer you the chance to draw a parallel between old Bombay and current-day Mumbai.

Where: Central Library, Town Hall, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort; Call: 96439 82934;

Price: Rs. 770 onwards; When: 7am onwards

SUNDAY, JULY 10

>> Food and drink Early Morning Breakfast: Start your day right by digging into egg bhurji, vegan scramble tofu, and couscous upma. Pair them with beverages such as a banana honey shake, Oreo cookie shake, or a chocolate shake.

Where: Cafe Basilico, Bandra (W) & Colaba; Call: 2640 3333; Price: Rs.170 onwards; When: 9am onwards

Early Morning Breakfast.

>> Comedy: Project 420: Catch stand-up comedians Piyush Sharma, Varun Thakur, Navin Noronha, and Rahul Subramanian perform one-man sketches, unstoppable puns and more as they showcase their talents for 20 minutes each.

Where: The Jeff Goldberg Studio, Gazebo House, 133 Hill Road, Bandra (W); Call: 75069 06927

Price: Rs. 250; When: 8pm onwards

>> Talk: Savitri, Me and Much More: Actor and theatre journalist Sushama Despande will talk about her experience creating and conceptualising the play Whay Mi Savitribai, and her character in it. She will also talk about her connection with the other women saints of Maharashtra.

Where: Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Marg, Byculla (E); Call: 2373 1234

Entry: Free (Museum charges apply); When: 5pm
Shraddha Kapoor shares a special bond with director Mohit Suri. The actor shot to fame with his 2013 film, Aashiqui 2. She then went on to star in Mohits 2014 hit, Ek Villain. Now, Shraddha is shooting for her third venture with the director, which is the adaptation of the book, Half Girlfriend. She shot for the movie for a month in Delhi. The crew was happy to work with Shraddha again. They share a great rapport, says a source close to the actor.

Shraddha feels nostalgic about working with the same team again. I am reunited for the third time with Mohit and the director of photography, Vishnu Rao, along with the unit members from Aashiqui 2 and Ek Villain. We feel nostalgic when we recall the experiences we had while working on the two films in the past. I feel a special connect, not only with Mohit and Vishnu, but also with every member of the unit, says the actor.

Read: I enjoy Adityas company a lot: Shraddha Kapoor on rumoured ex-boyfriend

Shraddha enjoyed the month-long schedule of the film. We had a blast shooting in Delhi, which I consider my second home. But since we were on a tight schedule, there was no time to hang out with my family members who live there, she says.

Read: I wish the makers of Aashiqui 3 all the best: Shraddha Kapoor

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Actor Aamir Khan, who was seen celebrating the Eid with his mother on Thursday, said that people who spread terrorism or indulge in acts of terror have no connection with mazhab (religion).

Asked to comment on the spate of terrorist activities around the world which have been given a religion colour, the actor said: People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), thats what I think. Then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian...

Read: Dangal poster - Aamir Khan and his gutsy daughters are ready for the fight

Aamir Khan interacts with the media on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday. (PTI)

He added, However much they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love.

To a question whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, Aamir said: I wont comment on that. I have said what I want to.

Read: If there is one film that can break PKs record, it is Sultan, says Aamir Khan

Asked how he celebrated Eid, Aamir said: On Eid I meet my family, spent time with them. When I was small I was interested in Eidi.

Kiran and Azaad are not here, they have gone to Europe on a holiday. I give Azaad only Rs 2 Eidi, so that he doesnt get spoiled (Zyada bigaadna nahi hai), he added.
Shahid Kapoor often posts pictures with his wife, Mira, on Instagram but none has been as special as this one.

The Udta Punjab actor, in order to celebrate the first anniversary of his marriage with Mira Rajput, posted an adorable photo where the two are kissing each other. The caption reads, Happy first anniversary my love. Mira Kapoor you are my sunshine.

Happy first anniversary my love. @mira.kapoor you are my sunshine. A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Jul 7, 2016 at 5:11am PDT

The 35-year-old actor married the 22-year-old Mira on July 7 last year. The wedding was a star-studded affair where all the Bollywood biggies were present.

The couple is all-too-happily expecting their first baby in September.

Drive time with Mrs Kapoor. #holidayvibes A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Apr 28, 2016 at 1:26pm PDT

Read: Parents to be Shahid Kapoor, Mira Rajput go on a long drive

Here are some more great pics:

Back home chill vibe. A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on May 13, 2016 at 1:27pm PDT

Clicked not painted by me  see her through my eyes. A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Feb 11, 2016 at 6:24am PST

She made this year totally worth it. Happy new year you all. Make others happy this year. Keep it real and always make it count. A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Dec 31, 2015 at 2:30am PST

With my Santa #happyholidays A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Dec 27, 2015 at 1:46am PST

A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Dec 18, 2015 at 10:16am PST

 A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Dec 11, 2015 at 11:34pm PST

 A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Nov 22, 2015 at 10:31am PST

Dinner time with Mrs kapoor . A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Oct 30, 2015 at 9:42am PDT

Sunshine . A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Sep 23, 2015 at 7:40am PDT

#happybirthdaybabywife A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Sep 7, 2015 at 2:16am PDT

#Repost @mira.kapoor  Dishoom  #photobombalert A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Aug 21, 2015 at 8:37am PDT

#hitched A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Jul 7, 2015 at 5:20am PDT
Shilpa Shetty Kundra may not be active on the big screen, but she is quite busy as an entrepreneur. She is involved in several business ventures with her husband, Raj Kundra. In 2014, Shilpa launched a clothing line that manufactures saris and jeans. Now, we have come to know that Shilpa wants to launch a corporate clothing line.

Read: I am offered rubbish roles: Shilpa Shetty Kundra

A source close to the actor says, Shilpa is currently in London (UK). She will be there for a month. She is meeting some local designers to develop her corporate clothing line. She also plans to set up a store for that in London.

Juicing it up in LondonStrawberries, blueberries and bananas, yum! Always find the #goodstuff #londondiaries #iwashere #lovelife #healthychoice A photo posted by Shilpa Shetty Kundra (@officialshilpashetty) on Jul 5, 2016 at 5:03am PDT

The source adds that once she returns to India, Shilpa will get her team here to work on the new venture. She will share the research with her team of designers in India so that they can start developing the samples, adds the source.

1Charlie and his Angels my pals at dinner #sexyfishlondon #londondiaries #fun #friendsforkeeps A photo posted by Shilpa Shetty Kundra (@officialshilpashetty) on Jul 5, 2016 at 2:58pm PDT

When contacted, the Bollywood actor says, A lot can be done with a corporate line, because people spend more than half of their day at work. Merging style and comfort would be a great idea.

Read: I love my husband: Shilpa Shetty slams rumours of split with Raj Kundra
With the stress of meeting deadlines, late nights, early mornings, overdose of coffee, skipped lunches and frequent dining outs, maintaining a healthy lifestyle along with the job has become a distant dream. But, as they say its better late than never, the employers are now moving beyond gymnasiums, and recognising that a healthy, less-stressed workforce, benefits both employees well-being as well as the companys bottom line.

Manoj Juneja, 40-year-old senior sales director with Adidas Group India, juggled with a target to shed weight in the span of just two months. Juneja, who did not share his exact weight, set himself a personal weight reduction target under the companys initiative, Fitness Buddy.

I chose the fitness goal to reach double-digit weight in two months. By the end of the year, the aim was to lose another 5-7 kg, Juneja said.

Along with Juneja, around 100 other colleagues are also working towards the same goal at Adidas.

For the first time in 11 years, Juneja, achieved the target. Reason? The encouragement came officially.

According to a study, Staying@Work, conducted by a global advisory firm Towers Watson, stress, obesity, and physical inactivity, are the three most pressing lifestyle risk factors in the Asia Pacific region, which includes India.

Its not just about making a gymnasium in office. Now, the health and productivity programmes help employers meet crucial productivity goals and gain a competitive advantage, said Arijit Sengupta, senior HR director, Adidas Group India.

Setting fitness targets is a win-win proposition for both the employers as well as employees.

As the healthcare costs and lifestyle risks are increasing globally, health-savvy organisations are making efforts to control them.

Several companies and groups, including HDFC Bank, United Breweries, Marico Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra, Godrej Properties and Jubilant FoodWorks, among others are encouraging employees to opt for healthy lifestyle, by literally setting targets for the employees and rewarding them for the same.

Food services major Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, operator of Dominos and Dunkin Donuts in India, recently conducted a biggest loser competition to award the employees who lost maximum weight in every quarter.

We have also installed weighing machines at various places in our office. Also, we have procured fitbits (wearable technology device that measure data, such as the number of steps walked, heart rate, quality of sleep, steps climbed, and other personal metrics) for all our senior employees, said Biplob Banerjee, executive vice-president, HR at Jubilant FoodWorks .

Companies are also investing over pedometer-based, mass participation events. For instance: Stepathlon, a virtual platform that urges participants to walk 10,000 steps, has partnered with over 400 companies in India, including Tata Steel, Tata Power, Vedanta and Aditya Birla Group companies, in the last four years. A pedometer is a device, usually portable, which counts each step a person takes by detecting the motion of the persons hands or hips.

Companies are taking the wellness of their employees very seriously... It works not just as a wellness programme, but also as a very effective team building and engagement tool that helps organisations bring its people together to work together for a common goal, said Ravi Krishnan, CEO, Stepathlon Lifestyle, which has bagged several new clients for its upcoming race, which includes Bajaj Finserve, Zivame, Archidply and Accor Hotels.

Dont get confused when the companies talk about targets now, they may not necessarily mean turnover, but goals to reduce weight.

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The recent Cabinet reshuffle that brought in Santosh Gangwar in place of Jayant Sinha as minister of state (MoS) for finance has surprised fund managers who say the move will, however, not make any impact on their investment policies, which are based more on economic fundamentals.

It was unexpected as many thought that Jayant Sinha was doing a wonderful job, said the head of a large foreign brokerage. Many found it comfortable to deal with him given his background. In fact, during the previous confusion regarding the retrospective tax levy, it was Sinhas interactions (with foreign fund managers) that provided clarity. It calmed many FIIs (foreign institutional investors) who were worried and confused.

Jayant Sinha has been moved from his position as MoS finance to MoS Civil Aviation.

Sinha, 53, an MBA from Harvard and formerly an investment fund manager and management consultant with Omidyar Network, is well versed with the thinking of FIIs and hedge funds. When the tax department in 2015, slapped a $3.3-billion tax demand on Cairn Energy for gains made from a transaction eight years back, it stirred a commotion that unnerved many FIIs and foreign companies. The situation took a lot of interactions with the government until finally the finance ministry said in February this year that the retrospective tax would not be applied, and offered companies a one-time offer to settle all such cases. Fund managers said it was Sinhas meetings during these times that calmed markets.

However, domestic market intermediaries say the focus today is more on what is happening globally.

There is a lot of uncertainty regarding China and it is a bit unsettling that this factor is not being considered, said Mayuresh Joshi, a vice-president at Angel Broking. Also, the credit default swaps are widening indicating worries on the financial system.
JPMorgan Chase & Co could be forced to move thousands of staff out of Britain if the country loses its automatic right to sell financial services to the European Union (EU) after last months Brexit vote, bank CEO Jamie Dimon told an Italian newspaper.

Currently, banks based in the UK can sell services freely across the EU under a passporting system, considered the most significant feature of the EU single market for financial firms. But that is now in doubt after Britons voted to leave the bloc.

The key issue is the passport rule that we have in London and allows us to provide services to clients in the European Union, Il Sole 24 Ore quoted Dimon as saying on Thursday.

However, if the EU imposes new conditions on Britain ... the worst-case scenario is we would have to move some thousands of employees to other branches in the euro zone, Dimon said.

JPMorgan has 16,000 employees in Britain. Its European headquarters are in London and the bank has offices in the English coastal city of Bournemouth as well as in Scotland.

Those locations helped JPMorgan produce $14.2 billion worth of revenue last year from operations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The Debt Recovery Tribunal may pass orders on July 7 on an application by Kingfisher Airlines seeking amendment to its earlier written reply to the original application (OA) filed by a consortium of banks in the Vijay Mallya case.

Kingfisher, in its amendment application, has sought about Rs 3,000 crore from banks which it claims was to be given to it for proposed projects as per the agreement. Kingfishers counsel had said that it had incurred about Rs 3,000 crore loss as banks had not lent them money for new projects, which they should have as per the agreement. Hence, the airline said it had introduced the amendment application.

The debt laden group company Kingfisher Airlines, promoted by Mallya, owes over Rs 9,000 crore including principal loan, interest and penalties to a consortium of 17 banks led by SBI.

Meanwhile, Mallya moved to England in March and the government is using diplomatic and legal means to bring him to back to India to face proceedings against him. Mallya has been termed a wilful defaulter by three banks including SBI, Punjab National Bank and United Bank of India.

Quoting from earlier Supreme Court orders, Kingfisher Airline, in its arguments on Wednesday, pleaded to allow the application to meet justice, reports said. The DRT Presiding Officer has posted the matter for next hearing today on July 7.

Further, this application should be allowed in the interest of justice as there were the Supreme Courts directions. Allowing an amendment application is a rule and disallowing it amounts to a case of exception, the airline said.

While bankers counsel hoped that the application may not be allowed according to its (airlines) whims and fancies and that the limitation period of the right to claim amendment had elapsed.

Countering Kingfishers submissions, he said indiscreet filing of stamp duty papers by banks cannot be considered as a premise to allow Kingfishers amendment application, reports further said.

In another development last week, Mint reported that executives of Kingfisher Airlines have informed authorities that its accounting books have gone missing after a vendor took away computers and servers that had stored the financial accounts related to non-payment of dues.

SBI and banks have been fighting more than 20 legal disputes in various courts and legal agencies, including the Supreme Court of India and Debt Recovery Tribunals related to the airline, with more than 500 hearings so far. The banking consortium had already sold shares of the defunct airlines for Rs 550 crore in 2013.

Banks are also in the process of auctioning the airlines headquarters  Kingfisher House, the airlines brands and logos and Mallyas private aircraft to recover the dues.

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NEWYORK: The US said on Tuesday Indias growth rate target of 7.5% seemed overstated due to depressed investor sentiment stemming from its failure to implement crucial market reforms, but lauded Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan for his monetary stewardship.

It noted Modi governments failure to push through the land acquisition Bill and the Goods and Services Taxes Bill (GST) as the chief cause of disappointment for investors.

Many investors (are) retreating slightly from their once forward-leaning support of the BJP-led government, a US state department report said, calling government slow to match its rhetoric on reforms.

The state departments Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs prepares an annual report titled Investment Climate Statements.

This depressed investor sentiment suggests the approximately 7.5% growth rate may be overstated, added the report, which is part of state departments annual guide for Americans on the investment climate around the world.

India expects to grow by 7-7.5% in 2016-17, according to the last Economic Survey and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund expect it to grow by 7.5% over the same period.

The US state departments observation of a depressed investor sentiment should not come as a surprise, as it warned of investor discomfort even in its 2015 report. Investors have begun to wonder about the governments strategy, it said then, arguing, using the same words, it was slow to propose economic reforms that matched its rhetoric.

The 2014 report, released a month after Prime Minister Na rendra Mo di took office, spoke of expectations compared to the UP A that had allowed economic policy to drift. There are expectations that the new central government with a simple majority could steer economic policy, improve government transparency, and facilitate investment in manufacturing and infrastructure to stimulate growth and create jobs.

The 2014 report had also noted with some satisfaction the new leadership at the RBI  Governor Raghuram Rajan  that had improved policy transparency and helped restore confidence.

The 2015 report was bullish about Rajans continued monetary stewardship, which it said, together with the advent of the BJP government, made an immediate mark on investor sentiment.

But a note of circumspection had crept in already when it said investors had begun wondering about the NDA governments strategy given its inability to match its rhetoric.

As the government looks for replacement of Rajan, US State Department said: The monetary stewardship of Raghuram Rajan, the respected governor of the Reserve Bank of India, further boosted investor sentiment. It didnt note that he was leaving.

Rajan said last month that he will return to academia when his term ends on September 4.
BENGALURU: Renowned economist and Nobel laureate Joseph E Stiglitz on Thursday said India needs to be aware of its image abroad.

The difficulties faced by NGOs operating in India and the JNU controversy have put the country in the same group of nations, such as, Egypt and Russia, which can have a negative impact on foreign investors, he added. One of the very big concerns is the difficulties of NGOs to operate in India. It puts India in the same group of countries like Egypt and Russia. And that is not a group of countries that you want to be in the same family.

The other thing is obviously without my knowing all the details of JNU controversy ... the closing down action in any university puts you in a small group of same countries. Turkey is another country. Most of these countries are authoritarian in nature ... That kind of thing can have very negative effect on foreign investors.

Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001, was speaking at a discussion on Global Inequality: Causes and Consequences organised by the Azim Premji University.

Stating that India should address these issues if it wants to grow as an open economy, the 73-year-old former chief economist of the World Bank said: The important thing to realise is that if India wants to grow as an open economy, you are part of an international community and they are making judgement, whether right or wrong, and have come to astrong view about these two events that have had a very strong effect on public opinion abroad about what is being going on in the last two years.

This is purely a statement without having evaluated the validity of those (issues)... I think if those are wrong it is important for India to do better job of explaining and if they are right it is important for India to make sure that it is not doing those jobs.

US-based Ford Foundation was among the handful of NGOs placed under a watchlist in 2015 by the Centre, but was taken off the list later this year, ahead of the PMs visit to the US, Stiglitz said. Organisations like the Ford Foundation have played an important role in the development of India for decades.

He also lauded the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) as being the singlemost innovative programme from India and a lesson to the whole world.

MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of wages in a financial year for adults willing to take up unskilled manual work.
Life on Twitter can be nasty, brutish and short. Which is perhaps why within moments of the news breaking that Smriti Irani had been shifted out of the HRD ministry, her critics had pounced on her and were happily trending #ByeByeSmriti. Aunty National is now Sari National, they scoffed, a reference to her sudden move to the relatively low-profile textiles ministry. While her supporters lined up to strongly defend her, the polarising views on social media perhaps reflect just why in the end Ms Irani had to go: Quite simply, she had become far too controversial for even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, her one-time political benefactor, to be able to handle.

Make no mistake: Ms Irani is a talented politician. She is a first-rate orator, multi-lingual, charismatic and someone who can create an instant connect with large audiences. Those are all fine qualities to possess in this media age of 360-degree communication. But they need not necessarily make you an effective minister, especially in a portfolio like HRD, which requires careful handling of multiple stakeholders across the country. It is one thing to take on pesky, loquacious television news anchors (we perhaps deserve a tongue lashing at times!); it is quite another to have spats with university vice-chancellors, IIT directors, academics or state education ministers. A seeming disregard for scholarship is hardly the ideal recipe for heading a ministry that is expected to set the standard for education excellence.

Read | Smriti may be out of HRD but set to stay in spotlight

Perhaps Smriti Irani failed to recognise the difference between the exciting buzz of television studios and the relatively humdrum existence in Shastri Bhavan, where file clearances and shaping policy matter more than TRPs. By constantly appearing on the front pages, often for the wrong reasons, she acquired a larger-than-life persona, which is always a double-edged sword. Publicly upbraiding JNU and Hyderabad central university students with little sign of empathy may earn applause from ideological fellow-travellers but can be politically self-defeating since it ends up alienating the more moderate voices. The line between combativeness and histrionics, between self-confidence and arrogance is a thin one and Ms Irani ended up crossing it a shade too often. When even a seemingly innocuous tweet by the Bihar education minister addressing her as Dear Smriti Iraniji sparks an angry response, there is reason to believe that the minister is losing the plot.

And yet, one is tempted to ask whether Ms Iranis ouster is purely because of her belligerent approach or it is also reflective of a patriarchal set-up that is discomfited with strong, outspoken women who wont take a step back. After all, it isnt as if she is the only NDA minister wrapped in controversy. A Giriraj Singh, a Sanjeev Balyan or a Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti has made terribly inflammatory remarks without facing any repercussions. Its also isnt as if she was acting against the party or sangh parivar line. Indeed, when it came to admissions and appointments in key institutions or promoting cultural Hindutva, Ms Irani was seen to go out of her way to oblige the RSSs core agenda. And if energy and efficiency are the main criteria for retaining a ministry, then many others in the Modi government should have also faced the axe.

Read | Glad I was part of formulating education policy, says Smriti Irani

The truth is that from the moment Ms Irani was sworn in as a cabinet minister at the relatively young age of 38, she was the subject of envy and even misogynistic derision. Her critics, within and outside the party, questioned her educational qualifications, lampooned her for passing off a one-week course in Yale University for a degree, and even hinted that she had used feminine charm to woo the national political leadership. A Congress MP had even shockingly described her as a naachne gaane wali, a reference to her earlier avatar as a leading television serial actor. In this male-dominated boys club, Ms Irani, even while conservatively dressed in sari, with blazing sindoor and mangalsutra, was always a bit of an outsider.

Ms Irani is not a Mayawati or a Jayalalithaa or a Mamata Banerjee, all of whom are political supremos in their respective parties, and therefore can risk being brazenly autocratic without any major fallout. She is not a Sushma Swaraj, who cut her political teeth in the Emergency years and then gradually built her career. She is not a Sonia Gandhi, who benefited from the dynastical principle, or even a Vasundhara Raje, with a royal political lineage. Instead, she was a lateral entrant from a middle-class home with no political ancestry and had seen a dramatic rise in fortune in a very short span of time. Politics is hard graft; the conventional view in parties like the BJP is that individuals are expected to earn their spurs over many years of sweat and toil in the field. Her meteoric ascent meant that Ms Irani had cut through the traditional hierarchies to become the youngest BJP cabinet minister.

Read | 9 numbers that say Smriti Iranis move to textiles is not a demotion

This meant that Ms Irani was always vulnerable to any move to downsize her political growth. Which is also why she should have perhaps been more careful in her approach instead of picking fights with one and all. She had a great opportunity to prove her detractors wrong but a certain political immaturity meant that she was found out when it came to the challenges of daily administration. Maybe the HRD experience will stand her in good stead in her new role as textiles minister as she comes to terms with a bitter truth: an embecious woman in a hurry is an endangered species in Indian politics.

Read | Smriti Irani can spin a success story in textile ministry

Post-script: Those writing off Ms Irani would be doing so at their own peril. Two years ago, a senior BJP politician was contemplating moving back to his home-town after his Rajya Sabha term had ended and there was no immediate vacancy. Today, the individual is well ensconced in the Delhi durbar with all thoughts of retirement banished. He is the new HRD minister Prakash Javadekar. Maybe six months from now, Ms Irani could be one of the BJPs main faces in the battle for Uttar Pradesh?

Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist and an author

The views expressed are personal

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NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) student wing, the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), will not contest student elections in Delhi University this year.

It will, instead, launch a campaign against the muscle and money power that dominate student elections in the university.

Give us a fair mechanism, a body that will genuinely monitor university elections, and we will contest. But that framework does not exist right now. Despite a complete ban, motorcades do rounds in the university before the elections. Everyone sees this, everyone knows this but the university officials dont do anything about it, said CYSS Delhi state secretary Anmol Pawar.

According to AAP leaders, despite the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, student elections remain a largely corrupt affair, with money flowing like water.

State elections are better monitored. Every step of the candidate, every expense is meticulously logged in. If this can happen in state elections, why cant it happen in student elections, said a senior leader.

AAP and CYSS leaders pointed at how four student members were allegedly roughed up and beaten in the past three years.

The university authorities are not interested in even touching university elections. They want things to go on as they are. We want sweeping changes and a serious implementation of the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines, said Anupam Kumar Yadav, Delhi state president, CYSS.

The student party may however contest college-level elections. While no final decision has been taken, we will try and contest, said Yadav.

Some party leaders said there is another reason the CYSS will not contest DU elections. The organisation is not as strong as we would have liked and we felt it was not the right time to contest, especially when the election process is not fair, a senior CYSS leader said.

The CYSS had contested the students union elections last year but the results werent too enthusing. Out of four positions, the student outfit managed to come in second in one, third in two and fourth in one.
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday set up a committee to examine the option of moving to a new financial year cycle, replacing the existing April-March period.

The committee, headed by former chief economic adviser Shankar Acharya, will study the desirability and feasibility of moving to a new financial year cycle, the finance ministry said in a notification.

Different countries follow different financial years. For the US government, it runs from October 1 to September 30, and in Australia from July 1 to June 30. China follows a January 1-December 31 financial year.

Countries like Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Japan follow an April 1-March 31 financial year like India.

A new cycle will force changes in a string of activities, including finalisation of accounts, filing of returns and the government budget, which is usually presented in February, a month before the financial year ends. The committee, which will submit its report by December, will examine the merits and demerits of different financial year cycles, including the existing one (April-March), the ministry said.

This is not the first time India has looked at changing its financial year cycle. In 1984, the LK Jha committee had recommended moving to a January-December format.

One main argument in favour of moving away from the existing cycle is that the June-September monsoon often called the Indian economys lifeblood  sets in barely two months into the financial year, making policy making difficult.

Besides Acharya, the members of the committee are former Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, former Tamil Nadu finance secretary PV Rajaraman and Centre for Policy Research senior fellow Rajiv Kumar.

The panel will have to provide reasoning for the suitability of a financial year from the point of view of correct estimation of receipts and expenditure of the central and state governments.

It also has to state its effect on the different agricultural crop periods and the relationship of the financial year to the working season.

Besides, it will have to analyse its impact on businesses, taxation systems and procedures, statistics and data collection and the convenience of the legislatures for transacting budget work.

It will also be required to work out modalities for amendments that may be required in various statutes, laws and rules.
NEW DELHI: New human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar offered an olive branch to students on Wednesday, saying he will ensure agood dialogue with them to do away with the need to protest in colleges and universities.

To buttress the point, the 65-year-old son of a schoolteacher-mother underlined his role in student politics in college.

I am a product of students agitation. I was part of the Jai Prakash Narayan movement; we went to jail fighting it out for students rights and other educational problems. I will ensure that we have a good dialogue with students so that everyone becomes a partner in progress, Javadekar said in an interview to HT a day after he became HRD minister.

In the last 40 years I have been into education in different capacities, he said.

His conciliatory tone marks a shift from the confrontationist position during predecessor Smriti Iranis two-year stint, which triggered campus unrests over a range of issues, including PhD student Rohith Vemulas suicide at Hyderabad University and arrest of students for sedition at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, whose arrest in February over an alleged anti-national event on the campus triggered national outrage and student protests, welcomed Iranis exit but kept his fingers crossed about her successor.

We will meet him. We have our demands for bettering the education system. But we are not very hopeful, he said.

Kumar was upset with Javadekars remarks that he would build on initiatives taken by the ministry in the past two years. The new minister made a very sad statement that he will carry forward the work of Smriti Irani. Does it mean that more Dalit students will be killed in educational institutions? Does it mean that people who are close to a minister would continue to get key posts in the government? the student leader asked.

Irani allegedly pushed for punishment of a group of University of Hyderabad Dalit students, including Vemula, by sending five reminders to the vice-chancellor after a complaint from labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya. She was also accused of not reaching out to students during crisis situations, widening the government-student gap. Javadekar said he will consult all stakeholders .I will consult with everybody because education is not a party subject but everyone s subject. Education touches everyone s heart. I value all opinion. My doors will be open for new ideas. I respect the academia.

This is a huge responsibility and the PM has given it. We always think in terms of responsibility. And I am always passionate about education.

The minister, who was promoted to cabinet rank and given a new role on Tuesday for his successful stint in the environment ministry, said the challenge before him is to improve the quality of education and ensure it reaches the poor.

Jo gareeb ma baap pet kaat ke bachcho ko pad hate hai, unki asha hai ki siksha se uska bhala hoga, parivaar ka bhala hoga aur sabkabhalahoga. We have to see if education is actually fulfilling the aspirations of the poor. Education becomes total when it is not just seen in terms of employment but also for building the character and personality of a student.

Javadekar called education an emancipator, not a political issue.

If we want to build a modern, 21st century India, we need to revolutionise education. Education should become more meaningful should be student-centric, he said.

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NEW DELHI: Women abandoned by their NRI husbands can soon look forward to help from the government.

The government on Wednesday setup a three-member panel to formulate guidelines for providing safeguards to a growing number of victims left to fend for themselves.

Officials said the committee will comprise senior officials from the ministries of home affairs, external affairs and women and child development (WCD) that will also revise the standard operating procedure for dealing with such cases.

In 2014, as many as 346 cases were registered with the NRI cell of the National Commission for Women, an autonomous body under the WCD ministry. Ministry officials said the number is minuscule given the enormity of the problem.

We have been getting huge number of complaints from women abandoned by their NRI husbands and cases where their children have been taken away forcibly, WCD minister Maneka Gandhi told HT after a meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. We have decided to work on a common protocol to handle such cases and work with Indian missions in foreign countries to provide succour to such women.

Officials said possible measures the committee would consider include having a single point complaint system and fine-tuning a proposal of issuing two pass ports to women married to an NRIthe second with the husband s name as a proof of marriage.

The other possible steps include pro-active role by Indian missions in addressing complaints, revising the terms of financial assistance and dealing with ex-parte divorce issues. At present, the Indian government provides legal and financial assistance to victims through non-government organisations empanelled with the missions. However, the lack of a single-point redressal system is often cited as a drawback for victims seeking prompt relief. A senior official said the most common complaints from women in NRI marriages pertain to men keeping their wives passport and not allowing them to travel, disappearing after leaving their wives behind in India or abandoning their wives in foreign countries.

We have to remember that only in a handful of cases, victims gather courage to lodge a complaint, the official said.

In 2007, the number of abandoned spouses of NRI men was estimated to more than 13,000 in Gujarat and 25,000 in Punjab.

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NEW DELHI: The Centre withdrew on Wednesday an appeal filed in the Supreme Court by the previous Congress-led government that had sought to retain the minority tag for the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

The Narendra Modi government also withdrew all letters issued by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) under the UPA regime allowing the AMU to reserve 50% of its seats for Muslims in the faculty of medicine.

This letter along with any other letter issued from the MHRD supporting the minority status of the AMU may be treated as withdrawn, read a government affidavit filed in the top court.

The universitys identity is a contentious political issue in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is seeking to project it as an example of Muslim appeasement at the cost of the rights of scheduled castes, tribes and backward classes. The institution doesnt offer quotas to these communities.

A formal abrogation of the minority status for the university by the courts could help the BJP in its outreach to SC/STs and OBCs in the state which goes to polls early next year.

The outcome of the case could also set a judicial precedent for a similar legal battle in the Delhi high court over the status for the Jamia Milia Islamia University, which was declared a minority institution during the UPA government in 2011.

The BJP-led government argues that granting AMU minority status is in violation of the Constitution which does not permit a secular India to set up and fund institutions on religious lines.

The BJPs stand on the university is only the latest in a string of controversial moves that many see as polarising, including a campaign that claimed Hindu families were being forced out of Muslim-majority Kairana town in western Uttar Pradesh.

In its affidavit, the BJP government quoted former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi  who had told Parliament during a debate in 1972 that if this demand (minority status to AMU) is conceded, the government cannot resist similar demands from other minorities, religious as well as linguistics. In 2006, the UPA government and AMU appealed against an Allahabad High Court verdict that struck down a 1981 parliamentary amendment to grant the university minority status. The amendment circumvented a 1967 SC ruling which said the AMU was not a minority institution as it was set up the government and not Muslims.

No judgment of a court can be undone by Parliament and/ or any legislature passing a law merely undoing consequences of the said judgment. That would amount to abrogation of judicial power by the legislature and would be contrary to the very structure of the Constitution, the government told the top court.

Once the government takes back its appeal, the top court will be left with AMUs petition to decide. The three-judge SC bench hearing the case has already allowed the varsity to respond to the government stand and permitted fresh interventions in the case.

When the case comes up for hearing later this month, the bench is likely to refer the matter to a constitution bench.

During a hearing of the case in April, CJI TS Thakur had wondered if a central university could be a minority institution. We can understand a college or school being a minority institution, CJI Thakur had said.
NEW DELHI: Less than two months after he was released from jail, 77-year-old Dhani Ram Mittal  known as Super Natwarlal and Indian Charles Sobhraj in police records  again landed in jail in a vehicle theft case.

Mittal, police said, has been involved in over 130 vehicle theft cases over the years.

The septuagenarian was arrested on Tuesday in west Delhi s Paschim Vihar in a Maruti Esteem car he had stolen on Monday from Shalimar Bagh. He was on his way to sell the stolen car to a scrap dealer when he was nabbed.

Monday s theft was Mittals second car theft since his release from jail on May 4. He was last arrested in March.

For nearly six decades, Mittal has been in and out of jail in a number of cases. His areas of operation include Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Chandigarh and Punjab. Mittal has stolen more than thousand vehicles from these states.

A law graduate, the man had first worked as a station master on forged documents between 1968 and 1974.

DCP(west) Pushpender Kumar said that during the same period, he started making forged driving licences and fake registration papers.

Once he impersonated a magistrate in J hajj ar district and worked there for more than two months. During this time, he freed many criminals from jail, said a senior investigating officer.

Police sources said Mitt al works as a lawyer and provides legal help to his friends. He has been in an out of jail so many times that he has more friends in jail than outside. He helps them with their cases, the officer said.
MUMBAI: He preaches on Peace TV, but causes unrest. He wears a suit in the western style teamed with a skull cap. Hes a suave doctor who speaks fluent English, but his speeches stir up the young and the impressionable.

Zakir Naik, 51, has long been a polarising figure in Mumbai. On the radar of security agencies following reports that the terrorists behind the carnage in Dhaka were inspired by his sermons, he is now on a visit to Mecca. His supporters say he will be back in Mumbai on July 11 and will address a press conference the next day.

Naik can no more hold his public sermons in Mumbai that used to draw large crowds. Unnerved by what used to be said at these functions, the Mumbai cops have denied him permission since 2012. Britain has banned his entry since 2010 over his refusal to call Osama bin Laden a terrorist.

Hes known as an Islamic preacher, but Naik has never been popular with the Sunni and Shia clergy in Mumbai. In fact, he has more detractors within the Muslim community than outside it. In 2009, several Sunni Maulvis in Mumbai ganged up against Naik for some of his comments and around the same time the Shia community made a representation against Naik to the then joint commissioner of police, KL Prasad. Prasad played peacemaker and resolved the issue by getting Naik to apologise.

Dr Zakir Naik can be explained in one sentence  a preacher who believes in the oneness of God, sermonising in western attire and skull cap, said a senior Muslim cleric from Dongri who has seen the physician morphing into a controversial preacher over the years. He clearly says other religions have no existence at all. This is not acceptable, said the cleric who asked not to be named.

Naiks detractors say he has cleverly used controversy and his event management skills to grab attention and generate funds. Go to any mosque on Friday, you will find more people listening to the post-prayer speeches than the turnout at the much publicized events of Naik, said another senior cleric. The only difference is he has the skills to arrange funds to go on television channels and for his globe-trotting glitzy public shows, said the cleric, who too spoke on condition of anonymity

His supporters say the Madarsa-educated and Urdu-speaking mullahs are simply jealous of Naiks ability to attract the youth through his proficiency in English and his interpretation of the teachings of the Quran in a modern context.

He has a global appeal, especially among the English educated new generation who dont want to associate themselves with the paan-chewing sherwani-clad Mullahs. In fact, one would find most of his detractors in the Barelvi sect of Muslims who are opposed to his puritan version of Islam , said editor of an Urdu daily while requesting anonymity.

He was cosmopolitan in his outlook from the beginning, said a neighbour of the Naiks in Jasmine apartments at Mazgaon where the family has been living for 60-70 years. Naiks father, Abdul Karim Naik, a renowned psychiatrist, branched out from his family business of exporting seafood from his native village in Raigad district and set up his clinic at Char Nall in Dongri. Following in his footsteps, Zakir Naik (and his brother Mohammed) also did his MBBS degree from BYL Nair college when he came across Ahmed Deedat, a South African Muslim missionary of Indian origin in 1987.

This was the turning point. Naik was greatly impressed by Deedats preaching and started fashioning himself on his footsteps, said the neighbour. Naik never practiced medicine and became a serious reader of religion, before he started running the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) out of a 500 sqft room at Dongri in 1991.On week days, the room was used as a madarsa while on Sundays, Naik would host his lectures at night. His audience consisted mostly of local youths from all communities who would listen to the English-speaking preacher just out of curiosity, said an old follower of Naik.

Later, he opened the Islamic International School (IIS) where his two daughters and son are enrolled. His wife, Farhat, takes care of the womens wing of IRF.

As his following grew, the sermons were arranged in larger halls across the city and the nearby townships where he started mesmerizing the impressionable young with his ability to recall verses and couplets from various holy scriptures.

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The cutoff for Ambedkar University touched 100% for a few subjects this year.

The university is asking for a 100% cutoff from Commerce students from Delhi who want to study sociology and history at the university.

Even for those who studied arts and science in class 11-12, the cutoff is above 90% in most subjects.

It is only in economics (hons) that the cutoff for arts students from Delhi is at 89%.

As it is a state university, 85% seats are reserved for Delhi students.

For non-Delhi students, the 100% cutoff is for five courses -- BA hons in English, history, psychology, sociology, and humanities and social sciences. This is for all those students who have studied commerce in class 12.

In English, history and humanities and social sciences the cutoff is 100% is for commerce students. For psychology and sociology, science students will also need 100% marks.

Ambedkar University releases separate cutoffs for Delhi and non-Delhi students. It also releases different cutoffs for different streams.

For more on DU admissions, click here

Starting this year, the admissions are happening at the Kashmere Gate and Karampura campus.

This time we released the merit list for all subjects, said an official from the university.

This year, the varsity had received thrice the number of applications over last year for its various undergraduate courses.

A total of 26,777 applications were received by the varsity for the total 445 seats in both the campuses. Last year, the university had received 9,778 applications.
The Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) student wing, the Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS), will not contest student elections in Delhi University this year.

It will, instead, launch a campaign against the muscle and money power that dominate student elections in the university.

Give us a fair mechanism, a body that will genuinely monitor university elections, and we will contest. But that framework does not exist right now. Despite a complete ban, motorcades do rounds in the university before the elections. Everyone sees this, everyone knows this but the university officials dont do anything about it, said CYSS Delhi state secretary Anmol Pawar.

According to AAP leaders, despite the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, student elections remain a largely corrupt affair, with money flowing like water.

State elections are better monitored. Every step of the candidate, every expense is meticulously logged in. If this can happen in state elections, why cant it happen in student elections, said a senior leader.

AAP and CYSS leaders pointed at how four student members were allegedly roughed up and beaten in the past three years.

The university authorities are not interested in even touching university elections. They want things to go on as they are. We want sweeping changes and a serious implementation of the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines, said Anupam Kumar Yadav, Delhi state president, CYSS.

The student party may however contest college-level elections. While no final decision has been taken, we will try and contest, said Yadav.

Some party leaders said there is another reason the CYSS will not contest DU elections. The organisation is not as strong as we would have liked and we felt it was not the right time to contest, especially when the election process is not fair, a senior CYSS leader said.

The CYSS had contested the students union elections last year but the results werent too enthusing. Out of four positions, the student outfit managed to come in second in one, third in two and fourth in one.
Municipal corporations in Delhi are on an inauguration spree. Cash-strapped and unable to initiate development work of any kind, these civic bodies have hit upon the idea of surrogate campaigning -- renaming old projects all over again, in the hope that they will be able to woo the public before civic polls next year.

Sources said the inaugural ceremonies which invariably follow the official renaming gives local leaders a chance to interact with the public and highlight the different initiatives taken in the past for the development of the renamed place.

Until last year, the municipal corporation cleared close to 70-odd projects depending on new projects undertaken. This year, the three municipal corporations have already cleared more than 400 projects for naming and remaining. The naming committee usually meets twice a year, but the committees of the three municipal corporations have met over four times in the last six months.

The new names may range from those of local leaders, martyrs, freedom fighters and politicians, down to religious figures.

All public places are susceptible to this sudden change of name. Parks, community centres, roads (including internal roads) and even public toilets, have not been spared.

As a result, Ramleela Park in Peera Garhi will now be known as Bhagwan Parshuram Ramleela Park and a road from Gali number 190, Onkar Nagar, all the way to Tota Ram Bazar will be called Om Prakash Binjhiliya Marg.

Area councillors usually moot the idea of name change. These suggestions then go to the naming committee, which takes a call and passes it on to the standing committee. If the standing committee approves, the names are finalised by the MCD House, said a municipal official.

For instance, a park in sector 16, Rohini, has been named Swami Dayanand Saraswati Vatika, after Arya Samaj founder Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

Similarly, a road in village Dasghara has been named Dada Bhaiya Marg after the village deity.

A crossing in Keshavpuram C-7 market has been named Kranti Chowk because it is near a retirement home and cultural centre, often visited by freedom fighters.

A Maternity and Child Welfare Centre in A-Block Jahangir Puri has been named Mool Chand Maternity and Child Welfare Centre after the Late Mool Chand, an ex-metropolitan councillor.

A park in Janakpuri renamed as Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Park. (Handout)

A community hall in Shakurpur will soon be named Ram Kripal Sharma Baratghar after a local leader and social activist, according to the area councillor.

Some of these projects are also up for a second inauguration. The Bijwasan flyover, which was inaugurated by the local Congress councillor on December 25, and is now already in use, is expected to see another inauguration by the ruling BJP leaders in the coming months, said a senior official from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Senior leaders in these municipal corporations, meanwhile, said the naming of public places is an annual affair. However, they blamed the Delhi government for the current financial condition of the corporation.

The Delhi government owes us more than Rs. 3,000 crore in arrears and if there are no development projects, then the Arvind Kejriwal government is to be blamed for it. The naming of parks and roads is however an annual affair, said Ashish Sood, senior BJP leader and South Delhi Municipal councillor.

The BJP failed to generate funds in the last nine years of its rule and as a result of their inefficiency they have been left without funds. The Delhi government is in no mood to help them, said leader of opposition, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Mukesh Goel.

A stretch from Swaroop Nagar to Burari Road was renamed as Kathiya Baba Marg. (Handout)

The road from Aurbindo College to Aurbindo Marg was renamed as Inderjeet Verma Marg. (Handout)
A 36-year-old suspected criminal, who had escaped from police custody in April this year in outer Delhis Bawana while he was being escorted to a court in Sonepat, Haryana, has been arrested.

After his escape, Deepak Dabas, who was previously involved in 22 serious crimes, committed four more crimes within a span of two months. A cash reward of R1 lakh was announced on his arrest, police said.

In all the four cases, Dabas and his accomplices had opened fire at rivals to settle scores.

In one incident in which he intended to kill a rival gang member, Dabas himself sustained a bullet injury after his accomplice accidentally fired at him, said police.

Vikramjit Singh, deputy commissioner of police (outer), said Dabas was arrested on Wednesday from his hideout at Sant Nagar near Burari in north Delhi.

Dabas, a member of the Ajay Barwala gang, had shot dead his rival Devender Rathi in Begampur on January 29 this year. A month later, he was arrested with his aides Deva, Pradeep and Sunil after a gunbattle with policemen at Sector-24, Rohini. Ten firearms were recovered from them, said Singh.

On April 11, Dabas fled from police custody. Eighteen days later, Dabas shot at a tehsildar (a revenue officer) at Kharkhoda in Sonepat to settle his personal dispute.

Read: Super thief Dhani Ram Mittal, who stole over 1,000 cars, nabbed again

Eight days later, he shot at one Amit in Dwarka area but the victim survived the attack.

Dabass firing spree continued and on June 20, he and his associates attempted to kill one Manjeet Kumar over an old standing rivalry.

Manjeet was the brother-in-law of Devender Rathi whom they had earlier murdered because of a rivalry in cable TV business.

The attackers fired at Manjeet in full public view but he managed to escape. When they tried to escape, their motorcycle did not start. To rob a motorcycle, they opened fire at a passersby, injuring two people, said an investigator.

During the firing, Dabas himself got injured. His associates then fired at a businessman and robbed his Hyundai Verna car, police said.

Read: Delhi man takes car on rent, sells it, steals it the same night
The three-member Fare Fixation Committee (FCC) of the Delhi Metro, set up barely a month ago to recommend a revision in passenger fares, wants to go on a whirlwind trip to Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei to study the fare structure there.

The committee is headed by retired judge of Delhi high court justice ML Mehta and Delhi chief secretary KK Sharma and additional secretary in the Union urban development (UD) ministry DS Mishra are the other two members.

A little over a week after the FCC took charge on June 9, they sent a proposal to the UD ministry that they want to go on a three-nation tour in the second week of August to study the fare structure there before giving their recommendation.

Sources in the ministry said the proposal raised the hackles of both UD minister M Venkaiah Naidu and the ministrys secretary Rajib Gauba, who wanted to know the urgency and the purpose such a trip will serve.

But Naidu, senior ministry officials who did not want to be quoted said, gave in after the members argued that it is not the first time that an FCC is going abroad to study fare structure.

Read: 1 lakh sqm space lying vacant at Delhi Metro stations, finds study

One of the members said that earlier committees had also gone on similar study tours after taking charge. The member said there has been a precedent, ministry officials, who did not want to be quoted, told Hindustan Times.

Naidu and Gauba were not available for comments.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will fund the trip.

The last time Delhi Metro fares were revised was in 2009 when the minimum fare was increased from Rs 6 to Rs 8 and the maximum from Rs 22 to Rs 30. The DMRC has been requesting a fare increase since 2009 but hasnt been able to do so as the Centre failed to set up an FCC.

Since 2009, electricity tariff has gone up by over 90%, accounting for almost 30% of DMRCs total operating cost. It says it will run into losses if fares are not revised.

However, one hurdle still remains before the members fly off to their six-day Asian sojourn on August 6. The ministry of external affairs and the screening committee headed by the cabinet secretary are yet to give a green signal to the trip.

Read: DMRC struggling to rent out space at Metro stations

The committee has to submit its report on September 8.

This is the fourth FCC that has been set up by the government. FCCs are temporary in nature and is set up by the Centre only when a metro rail corporation requests a fare hike.

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Nine men were arrested on Wednesday in Delhi Police crime branchs raids on city markets for shops selling pirated copies of the upcoming Bollywood movie Great Grand Masti.

Nine cases under sections of Indian Penal Code and Copyright Act were slapped on them.

A total of 355 pirated DVDs of the movie, eight computers and laptops with copies of recently leaked movies, pornographic movies and clips, and other incriminating materials were seized from them.

The arrested men said they downloaded unreleased movies from various websites to their devices and sold copies via DVDs and pen drives for `10-`50 a copy, a senior police officer said.

Joint commissioner of police (crime) Ravindra Yadav said they regularly got inputs that shopkeepers sold soft copies of Bollywood movies before their official release, porn movies and obscene MMS.

He said they raided shops based on Balaji Telefilms inputs and because of the recent leak of latest movies such as Great Grand Masti and Udta Punjab.

Sources were deployed and decoy customers were sent to different parts of Delhi to develop the information, said Yadav.

Raids were conducted at Lajpat Rai Market in Chandni Chowk and those in Malviya Nagar, Kotla Mubarakpur, Tughlaqabad Extension and Seemapuri.

Read: After Udta Punjab, Great Grand Masti leaked online before its release

One Karan Kumar alias Akku was nabbed in one of the raids at Lajpat Rai market. Akku of Babbu Electronics agreed to copy Great Grand Masti and pornographic content to an undercover police officers pendrive for `50 each. Akku confessed to selling pirated copies of Udta Punjab to several persons before its official release, Yadav added.

Pirated versions of several recently released Bollywood movies like Raman Raghav, Teen, Junooniyat, Udta Punjab, Sarbjit, Housefull 3 and Veerappan were found in his laptop. It had over 500 Bollywood, Hollywood, and south Indian movies, said Yadav.

Akku, who runs a mobile phone accessories store, began selling pirated copies of movies and pornographic materials to earn an additional `10,000 every month.

Vishal alias Pappi from Lajpat Rai Market, Amit Gupta, Vikram Kumar and Devender Basoya from Kotla Mubarakpur, Ghanshyam Kumar from Malviya Nagar market, Nafees Ahmed and Deepak from Tughlaqabad Extension and Rahul from Seemapuri were the others arrested.
The recent cabinet reshuffle cut short Smriti Iranis tenure as minister of human resource development (HRD), bringing in Prakash Javadekar instead.

Her reassignment to the textile ministry is largely seen as a demotion, and likely stemmed from the many controversies during her two years, the most recent being her ministrys handling of the suicide of a Dalit scholar in Hyderabad and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sedition issue.

Read | Failing the test: Top 10 Smriti Irani controversies as HRD minister

But the many students at JNU, who were among her staunch critics, are sceptical of the change, and feel the move is cosmetic.

New HRD minister Prakash Javadekar has said that hell take forward initiatives of Smriti ji. But what was done in her tenure? There was cut in higher education budget and then 55% fund cut to University Grants Commission. Internal autonomy of universities were infringed upon which led to Hyderabad University movement and then JNU, said JNUs controversial students union president, Kanhaiya Kumar.

Kumar was among those directly impacted from the JNU row. He was jailed for almost two months on charges of sedition, which are yet to be proved. The case is still ongoing.

As the controversy snowballed into a political storm, Iranis over-zealous pitch for patriotism prompted the opposition to dub her aunty national.

Read | Modi cabinet reshuffle: After a meteoric rise, Smriti Irani suffers a hard fall

Though Kumar was quick to wish the minister bye bye, he said the changes were made with eyes on the upcoming elections. Further, he claimed the changes will only lead to increased instances of caste oppression in educational institutes, and more Dalits being murdered institutionally.

Students will be targeted in false cases, cut in education budget will be continued. Ignoring merit, on the basis of likes and dislikes, flatterers will be rewarded and given important posts and responsibilities in educational institutions This simply means that this cabinet reshuffle has nothing to do with the betterment of the country, but to get better result in the coming election, Kumar accused.

Read | Kanhaiya writes open letter to Irani, calls her anti-rational mother

Vice-president of the union, Shehla Rashid Shora, said that the reshuffle wouldnt amount to much so long as policies continued to be dictated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and corporates.

Prakash Javedkar has been an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist. What will be his stand on student politics? The government has been constantly attacking students who are raising their demands, by saying that students shouldnt do politics. What is Javedkars stand on this? she asked.

For their part, students will continue with their core demands of increasing a budget allocation for education, restoration of student unions and enactment of the Rohith Act  a law against caste discrimination in educational institutes, she added.

The ABVP though welcomed the move.

We are confident that just the way Smriti Irani took the ministry to a new height, the same will be done by Prakash Javedkar. We hope that our education policy continues to show Sankrit and Indianness, said Saurabh Sharma of the right-wing student body affiliated to the RSS.

Sharma, who was the main complainant in the sedition case, is the only ABVP member in the JNU student union.

University staff in dilemma

At Delhi University (DU), the former HRD minister was favoured by the staff as she had the four-year undergraduate programme scrapped. DU teachers had also met the minister on several occasions with demands to remove the former vice chancellor Dinesh Singh, among other things.

However, the JNU controversy bred discontent. Further, the UGCs third amendment regulation that cut down teaching positions by 50% froze the cordial relations. The DU Teachers Association had boycotted the evaluation of term papers in protest.

It is a good thing that has happened. When on several occasions we went to meet Irani with our issues, she refused. How can the minister not hear teachers when they were out in the streets? She certainly lacked vision to improve the education, said an association member who refused to be named.

But, Javadekar does not inspire much confidence either.

The new minister does not have any experience in the field so we are really worried. He is the one who has been forefront in giving approvals to big projects which would hamper the environment. We just hope he does not encourage privatisation in education as well, that is what we have been resisting, said a teacher at Hansraj College on the condition of anonymity.

Some groups, though, are counting on Javadekars experience as a senior political activist and a parliamentarian to be an asset to the education ministry.

We are hopeful he will take expeditious and effective steps to clear the cobwebs and mess created by governments since 2008. As a consequence of those policies, academic processes  teaching learning, research and innovation  suffered huge losses. Teachers have suffered owing to continued temporary, ad hoc appointments, no promotions, anti-Academic Performance Indicators, said A K Bhagi, DU executive council member and president of the National Democratic Teachers Front.

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When Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination as the BJPs candidate from Varanasi before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he said he entered the city because Maa Ganga called him. Subsequently, Mr Modi promised to clean up the river. The assurance did not surprise anyone since the issue of restoring the Ganga to its pristine state has been one of the favourite preoccupations/dreams of all governments since 1986, when the Congress launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP).

Since then, the State has spent more than Rs 4,000 crore on the river but without any visible improvement in its condition. On Thursday, Union water resources, river development and Ganga Rejuvenation minister Uma Bharti added one more chapter to the 30-year-old Ganga clean-up saga when her ministry launched 231 projects under the Namami Gange Programme (NGP)/National Mission for Clean Ganga. The Centre has earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for the project over the next five years.

Read: Namami Gange Mission: Govt to launch 231 projects on Thursday

The project aims to reduce pollution and ensure the rivers rejuvenation, and maintain minimum ecological flows in the river and environmentally sustainable development. Earlier this week, Ms Bharti said that a new Act would be formulated for a quick implementation of the programme and that five Ganga basin states  four of them are ruled by non-BJP parties  have in-principle agreed to this. The NGP will supposedly address the shortcomings of the GAP.

With the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due in 2017, the mission with its 231 projects, ranging from the construction and modernisation of ghats to afforestation, along the banks of the 2,500-km-long Ganga  part of which runs through Uttar Pradesh  is certain to add some heft to the BJPs vikas card. Plus, no one can discount the emotional connect that exists between Hindus and the river, and any project concerning the river could impact voters positively. Having said that, it is about time that the State did everything it can to clean up the river; its condition is a national embarrassment. The Centre has shown inclination to take a different route than the one that was taken under the GAP. Unlike in the GAP, the sewage treatment plan is much more holistic; private firms have been roped in to maintain and operate the plants; and importantly, involving people living on the rivers banks is also on the agenda. This aspect is important since only government efforts in such projects will never yield any success.

Read: Religious experts suggest unusual ideas at Namami Gange conclave

The Ganga has the largest river basin in India in terms of catchment area, which constitutes 26% of the countrys land mass and supports about 43% of its population. The basin is spread over 11 states. We cannot afford to lose it at any cost. The government must ensure that this new 100% centrally funded project does not meet the same fate as the GAP. And for that, implementation and strict monitoring will be critical.
The admit card (hall ticket) for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) phase 2 examination will be released on Friday. According to schedule, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the test on July 24.

Aspirants can download their admit card from AIPMTs official website.

How to download the admit card:

1) Go to the official website of the AIPMT

2) Click on the link for Candidate Login

3) Enter your registration number and password

4) Press on Login

5) Access your admit card by following the instructions given on the new page.

6) Take a print out of your admit card

NEET-2 will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Delhi for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in Medical/Dental colleges run with the approval of Medical Council of India/Dental Council of India. The test will be held in single stage and would have objective type questions.

Read more | NEET-II online registration to begin today: CBSE

NEET phase 2 results are expected on August 17, 2016.

Note: For latest updates, visit websites: www.aipmt.nic.in, www.mohfw.nic.in and www.mcc.nic.in and the websites of concerned states/institutions till the completion of final round of counselling.
Remember the floppy, the pager, the Walkman, CDs and the Discman? When was the last time you used one of these? Perhaps a decade ago. Yet, there was a time when owning a pager was considered to be a mark of success, and all the cool kids walked around with a Discman strapped to their waist. Life without these gadgets was unthinkable. But technology evolves, and so do our needs.

Whats the next to go? Wires?

Apples latest iPhone 7 coming out this fall is believed to be doing away with the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack. While iPhone is known for ditching ports and slots, retiring something so inherent to phones and music players  the 3.5mm jack has been in use since 1878  is sure to have a significant impact. Does this move point to the end of wires in our lives?

Apples latest iPhone 7 coming out this fall is believed to be doing away with the ubiquitous 3.5mm headphone jack (Photo: Apple.com)

In the emerging technology market, all products are going to run with the help of wireless technology, says Ameen Khwaja, CEO, LatestOne.com, an online accessories seller. Were moving to 5G communication to make browsing quicker, Bluetooth technology is moving from V4.2 to V5, which will double the speed and increase the data broadcasting capacity by eight-fold. And there has been significant development in wireless charging technology, he adds. Case in point: Googles Nexus 6 comes with wireless charging as a standard.

Though these innovations are significant in the wireless space, there is a long way to go for gadgets of the future to perfect wireless technology. In fact, even Apple is not ready to do away with wire just yet.

With Apples move, the wireless headphone category may get a boost. But I dont think wires will be entirely on their way out. Apple may choose to launch its own line of accessories, considering they also own Dr Dre-backed Beats electronics now, says Ankit Vengurlekar, who runs GadgetWalla.com, a tech website.

Audeze launched worlds first headphones that can connect with the help of a Lightning connector (Photo: Headphone Zone)

Wireless vs lightening connectors

Rumours surrounding iPhone 7 suggest that the company may opt to connect headphones through its proprietary Lightning charging port instead of the standard headphone jack. Apart from making it possible to launch thinner phones, this tweak will also help the company offer better sound on a decent-quality headphone.

The quality of DAC (Digital-to-Analog Convertor) makes all the difference. iPhone doesnt have a good DAC, which means that even if you plug in a quality headphone, the sound suffers, explains Raghav Somani, CEO, Headphone Zone.

His company retails high-end headphones by brands like Sony, Skullcandy and Jays, among others. But when you connect the headphone with a lightening connector, it will bypass the phones in-built DAC. It will also allow for sound to be controlled from the phone directly, through an app, he adds.

Read: Apple to stop making 16GB variants of iPhones: Report

Though many wireless headphone makers have started taking note of this development, few have launched accessories that support lightening connectors. Audeze -- US-based premium audio maker  launched worlds first headphones that can connect with the help of a lightning connector. Its only a matter of time before other headphone makers start finding ways to fit into this category, says Somani.

Headphones for generation Y

High-end audio makers like Bose, Sony, Skullcandy and Panasonic have already dived deep into the wireless category. At Skullcandy, there is a greater push to introduce newer models in the wireless segment. We have seven wireless models right now. And the number of units sold in the wireless category has increased ten-fold in the past year, says Amlan Bhattacharjya, CEO, Brandseyes, sole distributors for Skullcandy in India.

LatestOne.com is planning to expand its affordable (Rs 499 to Rs 1,599) wireless earphone range to appeal to Indian customers. Bose, known for its noise-cancelling technology, is now taking it to the wireless segment. Recently, it launched four headphone models with Bluetooth technology.

When we started three years ago, 1 in 15 headphones sold were wireless. Today, its 1 out of 3, says Somani. With so much activity in the wireless space, are we ready to go completely wire-free? According to Vengurlekar, purists will always opt for wired technology for their headphones instead of wireless as it offers better sound fidelity. Plus, going wireless means theres an additional gadget to charge, he adds.

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A day after he lost job as a Union minister, BJP MP from Agra Ram Shankar Katheria sought to compare his political opponents with barking dogs.

Katheria lost his cool on Wednesday when a reporter suggested that non-performance led to his exit from the Narendra Modi ministry.

If a lion gets hurt, dogs feel he has gone weak and start barking, he retorted. Yeh kutto ki sthiti hai, woh bhonk rahe hai; unke bhonkne se kuch farak nahi hota hai (Dont you know such dog bark doesnt make a difference)?

The 51-year-old leader, who allegedly made a hate speech against Muslims in Agra four months ago, said he would get a suitable post whenever his party constituted a new team. I had given in writing that my style and attitude is more suited for working in the organisation, he added.

I would like to work for the partys victory in the state, he said while terming Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati as the biggest saudagar (trader) of Dalit vote.

Katheria, who was a Hindi professor before joining politics, ridiculed the National Students Union of India (NSUI) for distributing sweets on his expulsion as a minister, saying some people do not get opportunity to celebrate for themselves.

He denied charges that Agra did not benefit much from his tenure as a minister of state for human resource development. I got Rs 100 crore sanctioned for an airport in Agra, but the UP government has to provide land for it. Flyovers are being constructed and for Agra Barrage; discussions have been held with (Union ministers) Nitin Gadkari and Uma Bharati, he pointed out.

Soon the prime minister will be here to announce schemes for Agra, he claimed.

A fortnight before his exit as union minister, Katheria had justified saffronisation of education, and said it was beneficial for the nation. Ten days later, he also declared that BSP legislator Swami Prasad Maurya, who is the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, would soon join the BJP.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has come out in support of an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) alumnus who challenged the appointment of Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah as the vice-chancellor of the varsity in the Supreme Court.

UGC - an autonomous body tasked with maintaining and improving standards of higher education in India - said a VC cannot be appointed if he or she has not worked for at least 10 years, the same ground on which Syed Abrar Ahmed has sought Shahs dismissal.

In its affidavit filed before the top court, the commission said AMU adopted its 2010 guidelines on the appointment of teachers to universities and colleges and as a central university AMU it bound by its regulations, even if it did not approve them.

UGC regulations have the force of law and are not dependent upon any adoption or no adoption by any state government and are to be followed by all the universities mandatorily, it stated.

The UGCs submission before the top court comes in the backdrop of the Centre taking a controversial stand on AMUs status as a minority institution. In another on-going case before the top court, the NDA government has said the central university cannot be accorded a minority status.

The Centre wants to withdraw an appeal filed by its predecessor UPA government against an Allahabad high court verdict declaring AMU as non-minority varsity.

On October 16 last year, the HC junked Ahmeds petition challenging Shahs appointment, noting there was nothing wrong with the procedure (adopted). He contended Shah, who took over on May 11, 2012, was not qualified because did not meet the minimum requirement prescribed by the UGC.

Ahmeds counsel Prashant Bhushan said the HC had erroneously refused to quash the appointment of the VC, in contradiction of the mandatory provisions of the UGC Regulation, 2010.

The UGC Regulations, 2010 was accepted and adopted by the AMU and the same was put in abeyance by the university, deliberately by an administrative order, he argued.

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New environment minister Anil Madhav Dave will be expected to continue with the project approval pace of his predecessor Prakash Javadekar, but that is only half the story.

The biggest challenge for Dave, a passionate environmentalist who once rafted the course of the Narmada, would be to restore the faith of environment lovers in his ministry, which had come in for flak under Javadekars two-year tenure.

The Javadekar era saw a paradigm shift from being pro-environment to becoming a pro-industry ministry in the name of ease of doing business while reducing community participation in environmental regulation, considered a bottleneck for growth.

Data released by the Centre for Science and Environment in May showed that about 30% of forest land diverted during Javadekars tenure was for mining purpose and rejection rate of projects in wildlife areas dramatically fell in the NDA regime as compared to the UPAs 10 years.

Even if he wants, Dave may not be able to change any of this as it was driven by the Prime Ministers Office.

That includes implementing online emission and affluent monitoring for industries, bills for disbursement of Rs 42,000 crore compensatory afforestation fund to the states and enhancing penalties for loss to environment and new rules for management of waste and plastic.

In addition, the Paris climate deal agreed on in December 2015 has to be ratified by this winter and its implementation rolled out.I will continue with the work started by Javadekar, Dave said, while taking charge on Wednesday. Development and environment go together. They are not against each other.

While the 59-year old Dave has worked on sustainable water and environment in Narmada valley, running a technical ministry with an annual budget of less than Rs 2,000 crore is a different ball game.

The commerce graduate from Indore with no prior administrative experience will have to bear in mind that the job he has taken has been highly controversial and no environment minister in the last ten years has been able to complete his term.

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Three months after the Bihar government imposed total prohibition, attendance at de-addiction centres has shrunk to a trickle even as dozens of deaths have been reported across the state.

Withdrawal symptoms seem to be the main culprit as people deal with quitting an addiction and some attempt to get their fix by other means  spurious liquor or intoxicants like drugs.

Since April, when prohibition was imposed, close to 30 deaths related to alcohol have been reported. Activists though say this number is likely to be higher as families are weary of coming forward; the new, stringent excise law metes out harsh police action in case of a violation.

Read | Bihar turns dry as CM Nitish Kumar announces total prohibition on liquor

What is more, the seizure of liquor goes on every day. To make matters worse, the addicts are taking recourse to more dangerous alternatives, viz. opium, ganjna, bhang, cough syrup and even suspected drugs, said Prem Prakash Pandey, a social activist and Red Cross functionary of Bhabhua.

The instances are many  Rajo Kunwar, a mother of five and resident of Lashkariganj in Sasaram, is in shock from the death of the familys sole bread-earner and her alcoholic husband, Prakash Sahni. Unable to handle being cut-off from his drink, the tippler died in June.

Earlier in April, three men  Manoj Kumar, Uma Shankar Rai and Ashok Das  reportedly died in Patna after they consumed raw spirit mixed with chemicals.

There was some unrest in Katihar after a retailer of desi medicine also died from similar symptoms.

But the problem isnt just among those unwilling to get over the addiction; an assistant sub-inspector of police in West Champaran died while undergoing treatment for withdrawal symptoms at the Patna Medical College and Hospital. Another police officer posted in Bihar Military Police at Dehri on-Sone committed suicide from the trauma.

There are plenty more reports from Nalanda, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Purnia, Araria, Sasaram, Samastipur and Begusarai.

Read | Few takers for de-addiction treatment in dry state Bihar

A farmers right activist in Sasaram, Manoj Singh said the problem lies in how the prohibition was enforced.

First, the government opened liquor shops at village level. And after five years, it suddenly banned it after making a large number of youths addicted to it, Singh said, adding that many addicts had migrated to neighbouring states.

In cutting off the head of the snake, Bihar seems to have left its body of alcoholics writhing in withdrawal misery.

Habitual drinkers usually suffer from acute cases of anxiety, depression, psychosis and hallucination if they try abandoning the habit all of a sudden. At times, it might lead to development of suicidal tendency too, psychiatrist Vinay Kumar said.

Government agencies though are not ready to accept the severe side effects of an alcoholic-free Bihar. Santosh Kumar, in-charge of the Nalanda Medical College Hospital de-addition centre, said the rush of addicts had decreased for the past few weeks, but said no one had fallen victim to withdrawal symptoms.

I am not sure why the addicts are not coming. May be they are able to cope with withdrawal symptoms on their own. Or else, their families might be taking them to experts for treatment, added Dr Kumar.

The black market could be one reason why people are no longer queuing up at such help centres.

There is home delivery of all brands of liquor 24x7. In fact, it has turned out to be a parallel market. If a common man moves with a bottle, he may get caught. But these people supply at will, said an advocate of Patna high court on the condition of anonymity.

The cost for feeding the addiction is that prices have doubled. One now pays Rs 2,000 for Rs 1,000 bottle and Rs 3,000 for Rs 1,600 bottle.

Though police have been regularly conducting raids, the lawyer said supplies have not diminished. The fact that bottles are being seized every day means that the supplies are coming. We dont say that we get hold of all the supplies, as we cannot do that, he added.

The prohibition has also cost the state exchequer excise revenue of Rs 4,000 crore. PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industries chairman, Satyajit Kumar, assessed an annual loss to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore to business. The ban has rendered more than 60,000 people attached with the trade, directly or indirectly, jobless, said Singh, claiming that many business houses held up their investment plans to Bihar post ban.

The Bihar government now intends to introduce a more stringent law. However, the bigger challenge remains changing the mindset. A ban does not always work. It is the motivation that works, said Tarkeshwar Ojha, a Patna-based social activist.

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Down a narrow bylane in west UPs Bisada village lies a locked house. For the first time, this Eid, the house will remain empty, shorn of its owners, deprived of the celebration it had got accustomed to.

Late on the night of September 28 last year, a mob of locals attacked Mohammad Ikhlaq in this very house. The mob alleged the family had slaughtered a cow and stored its meat for consumption. Ikhlaq succumbed to his injuries the next day.

The empty house is but a symbol of a broken village, a family in tatters and a community which is unable to exercise even its most basic rights as citizens - of eating without fear; of speaking freely; and praying and practicing their faith without looking over their shoulders.

Travails of Ikhlaqs family

Ikhlaqs immediate family shifted out of the village soon after the killing. His son, Mohammad Sartaj, is in the Indian Air Force - and he lives in a defence area, Delhis Subroto Park.

An immediate family member, who did not want to be named, told HT, What is Eid for us this time? Our Eid is no Eid. It is just a responsibility, a ritual, and we will do the namaz, but there is no happiness. The familys tryst with misfortune has continued. Earlier this week, Ikhlaqs daughter got burnt while cooking and had to be hospitalised for treatment. There is no festive spirit at home.

The relative recalled how Ikhlaq used to ensure all his children had new clothes; and how he would call up his eldest son, Sartaj, to check if he had taken a holiday to come during Eid. There is such a vacuum this time.

Read: Hearing in Dadri lynching case deferred to July 11

Jan Mohammad, Ikhlaqs brother who lives in Dadri, attests to the feeling of helplessness. It would have been difficult to cope with a family members death in any case. But the circumstances and brutality of Ikhlaqs death is such we cannot ever forget. Their house used to light up during the festival. The family cooked kheer and sent it to Hindu neighbours.

Back in the village, Moolchand, a neighbour who runs a shop at the road that forks off into Ikhlaqs home, too looks back at the celebration. It was because of Ikhlaq that we got to know Eid has arrived. We used to send sweets during Diwali; they reciprocated on Eid. It is all gone now.

Instead, what Ikhlaqs family is saddled with are a bunch of legal cases - of having to prove that the meat consumed that night was not beef, and of pursuing justice against the killers of their loved ones despite relentless pressure by their erstwhile neighbours for a compromise.

A polarised village

The impact of the killing is not confined only to the family, but the village of Bisada. It hangs like a shadow over every conversation. It has divided the village. It has made some angry, some fearful, and many quiet. It has changed cultural practices, so subtly that it would be hard to discover. Most Hindus of the village insist that while Ikhlaqs family may have left, things are normal in the village for the remaining Muslim families.

The father of one of the accused, and a former BJP activist, Sanjay Rana claimed, Eid, Shab-e-Barat and many other festivals of the Muslims are being celebrated here very peacefully since time immemorial. We grew up with our Muslim neighbours and no communal tension ever occurred in the village. He instead blamed the media for tagging the village as communal. Jaspal Rana, a shopkeeper, recalled how Hindus had constructed the mosque.

Read: Bisada residents want development of village

Overwhelming insecurity

This narrative of normalcy is so overwhelming that it has silenced people who differ, primarily Muslims.

An elderly Muslim first told HT, It is all normal now. But when asked again if anything had changed, he said, Dont use my name. And dont take my picture. I dont want villagers to come to me and say I am defaming the village. Pointing to neighbours, he added, They all think we instigate the media.

When assured that his identity will be kept secure, he says, I have never seen anything like last years incident in my life. And every day, I live with the fear that it could happen to me. It could happen to my children.

And how has life changed?

Akhtar is a carpenter and lives next to the village mosque. A fortnight ago, he and a few friends had gone to a nearby pond to take a bath. Some Hindus of the village saw and taunted them. Our children are in jail, and you people want to come and enjoy here. The Muslims, keen to avoid a confrontation, walked away. The younger Hindu men are far more aggressive.

The aggression among some of these younger men was apparent in a conversation. Shekhar was hanging around with other young friends outside a shop. After a brief conversation about some of his friends who are in jail for Ikhlaqs killing, HT asked him if he had any Muslim friends. He responded, I dont talk to these low, neech, castes.

When asked if Ikhlaqs killing had prompted them to think about moving out, Akhtar nodded. Yes, we thought about it. But we dont have the capital to start something new. This house was built by my father. We divided it up among three brothers and made it new only last year. Where will we go?

Read: Bisada turns into a political battleground

A subdued Eid

The polarisation will shape the way the village celebrates Eid. There are 20 to 30 Muslim families in a village of approximately 10,000 people.

Akhtars mother, Zarina, is sixty. She says, Earlier, we used to give food to neighbours. They used to come home. This year, nothing of that sort will happen. Another Muslim middle-aged man, who had come to the mosque next door for his prayers, said, We wont even go to homes of other Muslims. If all of us congregate at one place, we dont know how they will react.

But the most visible change, over the past year, is in the mosque. The azaan - the Islamic call to worship - is no longer on the microphone, but recited quietly inside the mosque. The call from the mosque at the end of the day during Ramzan, in effect alerting people they can eat, has been discontinued.

When asked for the reason, a Muslim resident said, Fear. But has anyone threatened them? But no one has assured us either that there will be no harm. It is then best to remain quiet, not attract attention.

Muslims of Bisada village will spend their Eid internalising that lesson - of living quietly.

(inputs from Abhishek Anand)

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The level of legal profession has really gone down. Something needs to be done about the profession. It needs some oxygen to restore its pristine glory.

This is what a bench headed by Justice Kurien Joseph said in October last year while requesting the senior bar leaders and bar council of India (BCI) to do something to retrieve the situation.

Nine months on, another bench headed by Justice AR Dave on Tuesday asked the Law Commission to examine all relevant aspects relating to regulation of legal profession in India in view of urgent need to review the provisions of the Advocates Act

Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told HT: We are going to file a review petition in the matter because the honourable court passed the order without giving us a hearing.

Last year, Mishra had said that 30% of all lawyers in India were fake, holding fraudulent law degrees. The probe against former Delhi law minister Jitendra Tomar for holding a fake law degree could be just a tip of the iceberg.

To weed out criminal elements from the legal profession, Mishra said, BCI has framed Verification Rules 2015 under which educational certificates of lawyers and their criminal antecedents were being checked and action taken.

Read: Do citizens have a right to know why a judge has opted out of a case?

This will bring out good results. But these aspects have not been looked into by the Supreme Court, Mishra said.

Once feted as members of a noble profession, lawyers often hit headlines for wrong reasons. The violence against students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University at Patiala House Courts in February exposed how advocates vent their ire in a manner that does not behoove a profession dedicated to upholding the rule of law.

It reminded many of the February 17, 1988 incident when a 2000-strong mob, including lawyers, turned violent at the Tis Hazari Courts after IPS officer Kiran Bedi arrested a lawyer.

The disturbing trend is becoming an all-India phenomenon (See graphic). But what has forced the Supreme Court to take note of is the fact that advocates are not even sparing judges.

Last year, lawyers demanding Tamil to be allowed as the medium at the Madras High Court indulged in so much violence that the High Court had to order deployment of CISF personnel to replace state police at the court complex in Chennai.

The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the HC order saying, You cannot allow the institution to be held to ransom. They (judges) felt they are totally insecure with the local police. They have asked CISF to step in. If CISF also fails then other forces may be asked to be called.

BCI had to suspend licences of 52 lawyers and transfer the disciplinary proceedings against them to Karnataka State Bar Council as the atmosphere was not conducive in Tamil Nadu.

Everything was brought under control by the BCI but recent decision of the Madras high court to take penal action against lawyers has again aggravated the situation, Mishra said.

WHEN LAWYERS TOOK THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS July 5, 2016: The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry warn lawyers who burned the effigy of Madras HC Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as part of their indefinite boycott of courts. The lawyers were protesting the recent amendments to the rules under the Advocates Act.

The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry warn lawyers who burned the effigy of Madras HC Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as part of their indefinite boycott of courts. The lawyers were protesting the recent amendments to the rules under the Advocates Act. Feb 19, 2016: BCI decides to crack the whip on a group of unruly lawyers who indulged in violence at the Patiala House Court complex during the JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar sedition case hearing. Later in March, BCI told the SC that it appointed a panel to probe the incident

BCI decides to crack the whip on a group of unruly lawyers who indulged in violence at the Patiala House Court complex during the JNUSU leader Kanhaiya Kumar sedition case hearing. Later in March, BCI told the SC that it appointed a panel to probe the incident Feb 11, 2016: Lucknow lawyers go on a rampage, burn and damage vehicles and attack police, public and journalists against the alleged murder of a colleague

Lucknow lawyers go on a rampage, burn and damage vehicles and attack police, public and journalists against the alleged murder of a colleague Sept 14, 2015: Lawyers protest before Madras HC Chief Justices bench demanding that Tamil be made the official language. The BCI suspended 15 lawyers

Lawyers protest before Madras HC Chief Justices bench demanding that Tamil be made the official language. The BCI suspended 15 lawyers March 12, 2015: Killing of a lawyer in Allahabad allegedly by a cop sparks protests from advocates who torch nearly a dozen vehicles

Killing of a lawyer in Allahabad allegedly by a cop sparks protests from advocates who torch nearly a dozen vehicles Sept 3, 2014: A group of lawyers attack the Washermenpet police station damaging several vehicles. The incident took place after an argument broke out at the time between a lawyer and a police officer about registering an FIR


Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik faces multiple government probes after reports that his speeches allegedly inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka last week.

In Delhi, a senior minister said Zakirs speeches were highly objectionable and hours later Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered Mumbai Police commissioner to probe Naiks speeches and submit a report.

The Home Ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable, Information and Broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

Meanwhile, police have been deployed outside the city office of a foundation run by Naik, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident, the official told PTI.

Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly urged all Muslims to be terrorists.

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant yesterday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the countrys interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

Read| Zakir Naik: From a suave doctor to a polarising preacher on security radar


The Union home ministry has sought the aviation ministrys permission to allow an armed security officer to accompany home minister Rajnath Singh on domestic commercial flights.

Sources said the request was made in April in view of increased security threats to the home minister, who is one of the most heavily guarded politicians in the country and has the topmost Z-plus category security cover. Singhs mobile security cover includes commandoes from the National Security Guard.

Permission has been sought for the accompanying PSO of the home minister to carry arms and ammunition on board commercial flights, an aide of the home minister said.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which reports to the aviation ministry, is said to have opined initially that only a select group of VVIPs, including the Prime Minister, President and those protected by the Special Protection Group (SPG), are allowed to be accompanied by an armed PSO on board commercial flights.

These are sensitive security-related issues. Carrying a weapon inside an airport or an aircraft requires a whole lot of clearances and coordination between various agencies, airport authorities and airlines, an official said.

It was pointed out to the BCAS, the countrys civil aviation security regulator, that there have been instances in the past where VIPs were allowed to be accompanied by armed PSOs on flights.

The facility can be extended in rare cases where there is a grave security threat, another official said.

The facility was extended to the former deputy PM and leader of the Opposition, LK Advani, former home minister Shivraj Patil and former UP chief minister Mayawati.

BCAS chief Kumar Rajesh Chandra refused comments while a top aviation ministry official said: We are examining the issue.

Sky marshals are the only other people allowed to carry weapons on domestic flights, though they are deployed randomly in the country. India started using such undercover security officers on board a commercial aircraft to counter hijacking after terrorists skyjacked an Indian Airlines Delhi-Kathmandu flight on December 24, 1999.

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Elephant poaching made national news last year after Keralas forest department seized a total of 464 kg of ivory artefacts, making it one of the Indias biggest-ever ivory hauls. The massive mission, Operation Shikaar, involved the seizing of items  roughly estimated to be worth over Rs 13 crore in the international black market  from the custody of a Delhi businessman named Umesh Agarwal.

It is believed that more than 30 tuskers from Kerala and Karnataka were killed to make these heartbreakingly beautiful pieces of art. But if the departments operation sounds like the plot of an action thriller, consider this: For the first time ever, Operation Shikaar made use of sophisticated Call Data Records (CDR) software to follow the ivory trail and track the huge criminal network, which led to the arrest of 73 accused. Truly the stuff movies are made of.

It isnt just the Kerala forest department that has tracked criminals phone records in order to hunt down the killers of their precious tuskers; investigation agencies across the country are increasingly relying on this technology. Earlier, investigators could summon the cellphone data of a suspect from a service provider, and try to understand the calls he made and the area he was in from the data provided. But with more sophisticated software now available, they are able to collect and process much more data in a matter of seconds to gather intelligence and make connections.

In cases of high priority, like national security and terrorism, law enforcers use different software that help them track the movements of suspects and their accomplices, sometimes even in real time. As soon as an investigating officer has a crime on his hands, he calls for cellphone tower data around the place of crime for the duration of the crime, or if he has a suspect, he can ask for the suspects call records for the past few days or weeks. Read along with human intelligence, the IO can draw conclusions to get hold of leads in the case.

In the United States, according to a report, the FBI has a dedicated team called the Cellular Analysis and Survey Team that is specially trained to work on software to analyse cellular data. The Delhi Police too has a team that is trained to work on this, special commissioner of Delhi Police (crime branch) Taj Hasan, who stresses that this technological information is useless unless combined along with human intelligence, said. CDR analysis or mobile phone analysis just forms one part of intelligence-gathering in an investigation.

The charge sheet of the Mecca Masjid bombing case reveals how the accused, Devender Gupta, Lokesh Sharma and Ramji, had purchased several Nokia mobile phones and 11 SIM cards using fake IDs from various locations in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Faridabad, and used them to trigger the blasts. One of the investigating officers in the case, on the condition of anonymity, explained that CDR actually provided the first major breakthrough in the case.

During analysis, investigators found that the SIM cards were put into the mobile phones of the accused and activated, providing the police with clear digital footprints at the scene of the crime. What connected the accused to the crime was that the phones with the specific International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers  the unique 15 digit code assigned to each cell phone device  and SIM cards were all found to have been used together.

In the case of the Kerala forest department, sophisticated CDR analysing software helps to process data from multiple towers of multiple service providers over a span of a few days, to understand if an unusual level of communication has taken place in the forests when a tusker dies.

It is believed that more than 30 tuskers from Kerala and Karnataka were killed to make pieces of art. (Photo: Wildlife Trust of India)

Only 6-8% of Indias elephant population is believed to have tusks, making them an unfortunate minority. Its not easy to spot a dead elephant in a jungle, an employee with the Wildlife Trust of India, an NGO that works closely with communities and government on nature conservation projects, explained. During monsoons  poachers favourite season  a dead elephant is easily lost in the thick vegetation and decomposed or finished off by other animals within days.

By the time the forest authorities go patrolling, there might be nothing for them to look at. With the help of local guides, who know the forests and the travel patterns of the elephants intimately, the poachers lie in wait in pockets and caves away from the patrolling path of the forest officials. They are often armed with local blacksmith-made guns and bullets crudely shaped out of rounded window bars, and food supplies that can last them for days in the jungle.

Though caught often by forest officials, the poachers are soon back at their job as already overburdened officers struggle with gathering evidence and putting together a case that can meander through a trial court for years. That gives poachers the courage to return to the jungle to continue hunting tuskers. Nothing demonstrated this better than the story of Sansar Chand, who literally wiped out the tiger population of the Sariska tiger reserve in Rajasthan. Though first accused at 18, the Indian judicial system left him free to live a life of crime critically endangering the wildlife that fell prey to him, until cancer claimed his life in his late fifties in March 2015.

Now, the same cellphone technology that helped the poachers get more organised and connected them to middlemen and agents are helping forest officials track them. One investigator, who asked not to be named, explained that earlier, when you got a tower dump from a mobile phone service provider, all you could know from it was that X called Y, who had a particular kind of mobile phone with a specific IMEI number, at a particular time and location. This is not intelligence, it is just data, he explained. Now, however, one can quickly look up other people that Y may have called after completing a call with X on a specific day.

An investigator can also look up the location of X between a certain time (say, between 4 and 5pm) every day, to see where X was travelling. Using these analyses and ground intelligence an investigation officer can figure out what Xs mode of transport was to a particular location. With the help of Android phones and iPhones and the GPS tagging they enable, it is now also easier to locate a person at any given point of time.

The Kerala forest department is not the only agency to use this technology to protect animals and solve wildlife whodunits. The special task force (STF) fighting organised wildlife crime has also been using CDR to drive its investigation of poachers and traffickers of the critically endangered Indian pangolin. Pangolins are nocturnal ant-eating mammals found mainly in Asia and Africa, and are in high demand for use in traditional Chinese medicines, making them the most trafficked mammals in the world.

Only 6-8% of Indias elephant population is believed to have tusks, making them an unfortunate minority. (Photo: Wildlife Trust of India)

The STF has so far nabbed 83 people from 9 states  Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Delhi, Assam and Mizoram. More arrests are soon to follow, according to the force, as the racket is spread across India and investigators are following culprits into other states too.

With the growing use of CDR, companies that analyse this information are finding increasing demand. Eighty percent of Indian crimes are now probed with the help of CDR, claimed Manoj Dubey of the Mumbai-based company Ketan Computers, one of the most sought-after firms that help police analyse call data records provided by service providers.

Though the Kerala forest department is happy with the user-friendliness of Ketan Computers software, there are many more players in the field, like the software C5 by Prosoft e-Solutions based in Belagavi, Karnataka. Interpol has its own more sophisticated tracking software that is shared with and used by the Indian investigation agencies.

The technology to trace criminals may be advanced, but it is not foolproof. Investigation officers find that informed criminals often destroy their mobile phones and SIM cards after committing a crime; some even use software that helps them place calls through another persons mobile phone.

If there was any doubt that this is the stuff of cinema, one investigator said that movies like the 2013 Malayalam film Drishyam further empowered convicts by showing how to mislead the authorities on their trail. In the movie, the hero, portrayed by superstar Mohanlal, waylays investigators about the location of a missing person by throwing the persons SIM, after inserting it in a second-hand mobile phone, on top of an interstate carrier truck. Although the missing person is dead and buried, the police believe him to be travelling across the country.

Another investigation officer shared an interesting story in which a culprit couriered his mobile phone plugged into a power bank, to throw the police off his tracks. His plan worked well as the mobile phone travelled to the other end of the country, plagued by further delays from the courier company, as police patiently tracked it for weeks.

Though caught often by forest officials, the poachers are soon back at their job as already overburdened officers struggle with gathering evidence and putting together a case that can meander through a trial court for years. (Photo: Wildlife Trust of India)

Ironically, the end customers of the illegal ivory trade are often prominent politicians, movie stars, businessman and judges of the country, said investigators, who blame them for creating the demand that drives the trade. It didnt help the case of the Kerala forest department when Mohanlal was found to be illegally in possession of 13 pairs of ivory tusks; the ministry of environment and forest and climate change reportedly ended up awarding him with a possession certificate for at least one pair  confusion remains about the amount that was actually seized.

Call data, while useful in tracking criminal activities, can become a dangerous tool in the hands of the wrong person. In June 2016, Haryana police nabbed an IT cell staffer, working under contract with Gurgaon Police, for selling CDR data of Bollywood personalities. Special commissioner Hasan assured this reporter that strict controls are in place to stop people from misusing such data.

The software by itself cant do anything, Dubey of Ketan Computers said. You have to get all the data dump from every service provider and feed it into the system. Only then can the software give you accurate readings. And in almost every state, only a police officer at the level of superintendent of police or deputy commissioner of police can demand such details from internet service providers and telecom providers, making it difficult for anyone to summon such sensitive data without security checks.

A major roadblock for forest officers fighting crime is that they have to apply to the police department to get call data from service providers, and this slows down the investigation considerably. Instead of having to resort to the inter-department request system, investigators are hoping that the government will issue power to someone higher up in their department, and give them the same authority as an SP or DCP, to call for this data.

There is one other drawback to using CDR for criminal investigations: Its value as evidence in a courtroom is limited. Courts require documentation and reports analysing CDR can be tampered with  when they are admitted as evidence, they need to be certified by competent authorities as original reports. In Indian courts CDR is rarely called for as primary evidence; and when it is submitted as secondary evidence, it is duly supported by other documents and statements.

In the United States, where CDR is often used as clinching evidence to secure sentences, the recent case of Lisa Marie Roberts  who was released after being wrongly imprisoned for nine and a half years for a murder she did not commit because her cellphone data was misinterpreted  has also called into question the legal validity of CDR as legal evidence.

The divisional forest officer of Malayattor in Kerala, K Vijayanand, credits CDR with the success of Operation Shikaar. Currently, the investigation has been rounded off and the Forest Department team is in the thick of submitting charge sheets in the 18 related cases. In six of these cases, the trials have already started. Vijayanand said that this time, his team has worked hard to ensure that poachers do not get out on bail only so they can go right back to poaching. Using CDR along with other intelligence, he is confident that they have collected enough evidence to take these cases to their just conclusions.

(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media)
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said on Thursday that all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

Singhs comments came a day after reports emerged that he attended an event of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012.

Bangladesh and India are investigating the preacher following an admission by two suspects involved in the Dhaka restaurant attack that they were inspired by him.

Singh said if the government of India or the government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naiks involvement in the Islamic State(IS), they should take action against him.

Read | Zakir Naik: From a suave doctor to a polarising preacher on security radar

Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed, Singh added.

Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his hate speech was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved to indulge in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhakas Gulshan suburb.

Read | Zakir Naiks speeches highly objectionable, action after studying them: Govt

The video shows Digvijay Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

Zakir should travel all over India, I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace, he said. We need your message to reach the country, Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office bearers of his organisation Islamic Research Foundation in Mumbais Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on July 11.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai based PR agency.

Read | Not just Dhaka attackers, Dr Zakir Naik also inspired Malwani man


It would surprise most Indians to know that Mozambique is emerging as their countrys 21st century partner in Africa. No other country on the continent best represents the convergence of energy and security interests that define the new Indo-African relationship.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reflected this by deciding to begin his four-nation African tour with this former Portuguese colony, rather than traditional continental partners like South Africa or Kenya.

It is unclear how much India has invested in Mozambique as neither Maputo nor New Delhi have up to date figures. But petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan last year said Indian state-owned oil and gas firms had already invested $ 6 billion into the Rovuma gasfield and another $6 billion will be invested by 2019.

Besides, this major Indian companies like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, the Essar group, Coal India and Damodar Ferro have put money in coal, iron ore and other minerals. The Bank of Mozambique has listed over $625 million in non-extractive investments by India as of 2013. This would indicate a total Indian FDI flow into Mozambique in the region of $8 billion--more than Indian firms have put into, say, Germany or France.

If the present investments into the gas sector come to fruition, Mozambique could become a source of liquefied natural gas for India that would rival Qatar--the source of over 90% of Indias present natural gas imports.

The additional interest for India is Mozambiques strategic location on the Indian Ocean. With a coastline of nearly 2500 km and dominance of two key maritime chokepoints to the Indian Ocean, the country is a perfect fit into New Delhis drive to build strong security relations with key littoral nations. Modi will present plans to develop the important port of Beira as part of this policy.

The Indian Navy already provides assistance to Mozambique. When the country hosted the African Union summit in 2003 and the World Economic Forum meeting in 2004, Indian warships provided security. India began anti-piracy patrols in the Mozambique Channel in 2012. Last year, the two countries agreed to look to broaden defence training beyond the navy and resurrect a dormant joint defence working group. India has now begun providing training and equipment to the countrys intelligence service. This is a country shaped like a carrier, noted a senior Indian official.

To some degree, India is picking up where it had left off in the 1980s. During the Mozambican civil war of the 1980s, the Indian navy helped Maputo fight the apartheid South Africa-backed Renamo rebel movement. This resulted in a non-hostile encounter between a South African strike craft and the Indian destroyer INS Godavari off the Mozambican coast in 1986.

If Indias present plans continue on their present path, Mozambique will emerge as one of the top two or three sources of energy imports for India, among the largest hubs of Indian investment in Africa and one of Indias closest military allies in the western Indian Ocean.
New Delhi: Not so long ago, as the holy month of Ramzan added splashes of colour in the old corners of the national capital, the political circle in Lutyens Delhi also looked forward to a few Iftar. The evening feast after breaking the fast, for them, was not just about food but also a power show involving whos who of Indian politics.

Congress president Sonia Gandhis Iftar party was one such occasion. During the UPA days, when her party was in command, the Iftar hosted at the lawns of the party office on 24, Akbar Road drew crowd from all walks of political life. Getting invited was not enough. There were undercurrents of tension to grab a plump seat, as close as possible to either Sonia or Rahul Gandhi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

For the last few years, though, Gandhi has stopped throwing such parties. This time, too, she didnt throw an Iftar, as a large part of the country was reeling under a drought-like situation.

As for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, its limited Iftar party culture has taken a further hit of late.

BJP leader Shanawaz Hussain was known for his grand Iftar parties. But ever since his party came to power, Hussains Iftar has quietly shifted to native Bihar from his official bungalow in Delhi.

Lok Jan Shakti Party chief and union minister Ramvilas Paswan is another leader who shifted his Iftar venue from the national capital to his political base. Paswan, with friends across parties, threw Iftar parties that were a big draw. Top leaders from the Congress as well as the BJP mingled freely in Paswans Iftar, making it one of the top-rated events in Lutyens zone.

Not all Iftar flavour is smothered.

This year, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal threw an Iftar that saw more than 1,000 people attending it. Congress leader Shehzad Poonawala threw his Iftar in Old Delhi that had senior party colleagues like Digvijaya Singh and Jagdish Tytler as guests.

The Congress also organized a mega Iftar in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh which has nearly 20% Muslim population. The Pradesh Congress Committee organised an event outside Lucknow and invited more than 5,000 people for the Iftar.

The BJP, however, was not in a hurry to match the Congress enthusiasm. As it is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi never hosts or attends an Iftar. This year, at the feast organized by President Pranab Mukherjee, Modi and many BJP leders were conspicuous by their absence.

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Family work kept the little sister away from Prakash Javadekars big day, when he took charge of the Union human resource development ministry.

Smriti Irani, who was shifted from HRD to the less-glamorous textiles in the latest ministry reshuffle, was expected to attend Javadekars ceremony on Thursday. He admitted as much, saying he spoke to her over the phone but she excused herself because of some family work.

Protocol does not forbid an outgoing minister to skip the event when the successor takes charge of a ministry, but the predecessor traditionally hands over charge as a rule reckoned by courtesy.

The 65-year-old Javadekar had even called on Irani at her Delhi home on Wednesday morning, a day after the Narendra Modi governments remustering exercise for its ministers that has upset quite a few of them.

Javadekar called her his little sister, later, and announced she will be around to hand over charge of the ministry she had headed for two years.

That didnt happen and Javadekar took charge with his junior ministers, Upendra Kushwaha and Mahendra Pandey, by his side on Thursday.

He kept to the line he has taken after becoming the head of HRD, which takes care of the countrys education system, underlining his focus on teamwork. There are a lot of challenges and opportunities too. All three of us will work together like Team HRD, he said, pointing to the two ministers of state.

This marked a shift from the Irani era, when excessive centralisation was said to be the byword. Junior ministers Kushwaha and his former colleague in the same rank, RS Katheria, who was sacked before the reshuffle, were not given much work and attended a few meetings during Iranis tenure, sources said.

Javadekar offered a good dialogue with students protesting over diverse issues on college and university campuses on Wednesday  another marked change in approach as Iranis stint was dotted with unpleasant and controversial confrontations with students.

Read| Javadekar talks campus peace, offers olive branch to students

The new HRD minister promised greater media accessibility, saying he will fix a time for journalists to meet him. Irani, on the other hand, had a frosty relationship with media and often got involved in public spats with journalists on Twitter.

Javadekar met senior HRD officials after taking charge. His was a conciliatory tone, not the aggressive and confrontational approach that we encountered earlier, said a senior official.

The minister revealed the goals he wants the HRD ministry to achieve on his watch GIS mapping of all educational institutions, filling vacant positions, speeding up the work on world-class universities, and the pending IIM bill.

The major challenge in the education sector is to raise the standard. Quality education is vital as it lays the foundation and builds overall personality, he said.

Also, the son of a schoolteacher-mother underscored the Modi governments focus on innovation in education. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything? Javadekar said, pointing at the culture of children being discouraged to ask questions in schools.

(with inputs from PTI)

Read| Irani swapped for Javadekar, but JNU students claim change is cosmetic

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Narendra Modi arrives in South Africa on Friday for the first official visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 10 years. What a difference a decade makes.

When Manmohan Singh met with Thabo Mbeki in 2006 India was riding a sustained economic boom, and South Africa was at the peak of post-apartheid GDP growth. The UPA government was in the first flush of achievement, and in South Africa Mbekis economic team, heavily influenced by the thinking of Amartya Sen, and indeed of Singh himself, were at the height of their power.

The relationship was also in rude health. The powerful Congress minister Anand Sharma, whose wife, Zenobia, is South African, shuttled back and forth, and substantial investments in telecoms, vehicles, and banking were underway.

It all seemed very natural. The DNA of South Africas governing party, the African National Congress, is coiled together with that of the Indian National Congress, not just in the well-known story of Mahatma Gandhis Pietermaritzburg awakening, but in the years of anti-colonial and anti-apartheid resistance that followed.

In this file photo, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with former South African President Thabo Mbeki at Resistance Monument in Durban, South Africa on October 01, 2006. (PIB)

Some of Indias brightest diplomats staffed the Pretoria and Johannesburg missions, while South Africans of Indian descent occupied influential positions in the cabinet and bureaucracy. BRICS was still just a bankers acronym, and the talk was of the India-Brazil-South Africa partnership between three regional giants with complementary political philosophies. The big democracies of the emerging world were combining market economics with social uplift, and demanding a stronger voice in the institutions of global governance.

The global financial crisis, a dramatic reversal in the fortunes of the Congress party, and equally fundamental shifts inside the ANC have since intervened and the relationship has drifted into irritation and disappointment on both sides.

Read| 5 days, 4 nations: PM Modi heads to Africa on reach-out mission

Trade has grown, but big deals have gone sour or been torpedoed: Tata has sold its stake in South Africas Neotel, Bharti-Airtel was unable to close its planned transaction with MTN following South African government resistance, and First National Bank has not been able to expand its India footprint.

There is still some co-operation in major multilateral forums, but South Africa is seen by Indian diplomats as pandering to China in the jockeying for position within BRICs - particularly over the location of the New Development Bank.

Mbeki, a technocrat and reformer with a clear vision for Africas place in the world has been ousted, after a vicious battle within his party, and replaced in 2009 by Jacob Zuma, a post-ideological figure who presides over a growing patronage network. Like the Congress in the late 1960s, the ANC is fracturing, and popular anger over corruption and broken promises of development is fueling near-daily protest.

All of this will be in sharp focus during the visit because an Indian family is at the centre of South Africas most intense political crisis since the advent of democracy.

The Gupta brothers, Atul, Ajay and Rajesh rose from humdrum trading origins in Saharanpur to control a media, mining, and IT empire in South Africa. Zumas son, Duduzane, works in one of their companies, as did one of his four wives, Bongi Ngema-Zuma. Her private house was financed with the Guptas assistance by Bank of Baroda, an extremely unusual arrangement.

The familys outsize presence in South Africa was first noticed in India when a chartered Jet Airways Airbus carrying guests to a family wedding, including Samajwadi Party leaders Shivpal Singh Yadav and Mohammed Azam Kahn, was illegally given permission to land at a South African airforce base in 2013, igniting instant controversy.

Read| From Saharanpur to South Africa: The rise of Ajay Gupta

As discontent with Zuma has risen, senior South African ANC politicians have complained publicly of the familys direct influence on the levers of power, including a decisive role in cabinet and other public sector appointments. The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters coined the term Zupta to describestate capture by the family, and trade union leader Zwelinzima Vavi calls them a shadow government.

Modis visit will be closely scrutinised in the South African press for signs of the familys presence in any of the business deals that are expected to be signed. Among their key ambitions is a role in marketing South African weapons in India now that the governments blacklisting of state-owned Denel has been lifted.

The close relationship between South Africas president and one Indian family, however, is not mirrored at the political level. South Africas congress party remains in power. When Jacob Zuma praised Jawarhalal Nehru and Indira Gandhi at the India-Africa summit in Delhi last year he was paying ritual homage to their support in the struggle against apartheid, but it struck an awkward note in a BJP-led government that has campaigned against the Nehru-Gandhi legacy.

It also seems unlikely that South Africas large Indian community will be quite as excited about the chance to see the PM live as disapora audiences elsewhere have been. South Africans of Indian descent are not NRIs. They tend to identify as South Africans first, and many are uncomfortable with Modis tough Hindutva image. The fact that he has chosen to interact with the community in Johannesburg, rather than Durban, which has a much larger Indian population, suggests he may opting for something more low-key than his usual stadium-filling show.

Amid all these stark differences, one thing remains unchanged: an Indian Prime Minister visiting South Africa must make a visit to Pietermaritzburg railway station, where Gandhi was forcibly ejected from the whites only carriage of a train in 1893, and to the Phoenix settlement where he later lived, wrote and organised.

What are we to make then, of a relationship with such deep history, and so much apparent promise, that seems to have run into such choppy waters?

Perhaps only this: Shared history is a start, but it is no substitute for a clear-eyed, carefully managed policy based on the balance of interests between a big developing economy in Asia and a medium-sized one in Africa, and it must transcend the party political connections that are at the heart of that history.

Unfortunately a compromised Jacob Zuma, and a South African establishment with little understanding of the new dynamics on Raisina Hill may struggle to get there.

Read| Indias 21st century African partner: Why Mozambique was Modis first stop


In its latest attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Thursday alleged that the NDA government is trying to sweep a Rs 45,000-crore telecom scam under the carpet.

The party cited a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)the audit watchdog whose report on 2G spectrum landed the Congress in deep water to allege that six telecom service providers had under-reported their income during 2006-07 to 2009-10, leading to revenue loss of Rs 12,488.93 crore for the government.

If loss of exchequer is calculated on the same formula for the years 2010-11 to 2015-16, the under-recovery of the government would be Rs 45,000 crore. But instead of immediately acting to recover the money, Modi government has asked for an alternative re-evaluation of CAGs findings by Telecom Ministrys empanelled chartered accountants, said Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

The Congress held Prime Minister Narendra Modi squarely responsible for the alleged attempt to cover-up the CAG report. Without the direct or indirect involvement of the Prime Minister, the telecom ministry cant appoint chartered accountants to review the countrys top audit body, Surjewala said.

There was no immediate reaction from the government.

Under the new telecom licencing policy rolled out in 1999, license fee for telecom companies are decided on the basis of adjusted gross revenue. Cellular service providers are also required to pay an additional Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC), proportionate to their income. The Congress alleged that due to under-declaration of income by six cellular companies, the government lost 12,488.93 crore in four years and possibly lost Rs 45,000 crore till 2016.

Drawing a comparison between the 2G scam, in which the BJP-led Opposition forced the UPA government to drop telecom minister A Raja, Surjewala said, It was just a notional loss but the BJP made a hue and cry. But now, when actual loss has taken place, the BJP is trying to bury the CAG report in the dustbin of history.

During the UPA regime, the Congress-led government had come under fire from the Opposition over the CAG report that said 2G spectrum allocation led to a notional loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crores.

As the Congress sensed a chance to hit back at the BJP-led NDA over a telecom scandal, the party said, This is a clear cut case of loss to public exchequer verified by CAG with the sole aim of helping friendly Crony Capitalists. In a startling revelation, the Modi Government is surreptitiously taking steps to protect the interests of six leading telecom companies by helping them avoid the payment of charges rightfully owed to the Government.

The CAG report had mentioned Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea cellular, Tata Indicom and Aircel for understating their income during 2006-07 to 2009-10.

The CAGs bid to check the books of these private companies was also challenged in the court but the Supreme Court ruled in favour for such an audit because the governments income from the Spectrum Usage charges is a part of Consolidated Fund of India. And thus the CAG under Article 266 of the Indian Constitution has the right to probe the corporate books.
Burglars broke into the residence of a BJP MLA in Mandsaur and decamped with Rs 20-25 lakh cash and 50-gram gold, police said on Thursday.

At the time of incident there was no one inside the house, located close to the government district hospital, as the legislator Yashpal Singh Sisodia had gone to Indore for some personal work.

I and my wife went to Indore for some work. There was no one in the house and taking advantage of the situation unidentified thieves decamped with nearly Rs 20-25 lakh cash and five tola (50 gramme) gold, Sisodia said on Thursday.

Superintendent of police (SP), Mandsaur, Manoj Sharma reached the spot to enquire about the incident.

Sisodia suspected that the theft was carried out by someone who was aware about the house as only those two rooms were touched where the cash was kept and the thieves did not even touch other two rooms.

It appears that they have used duplicate keys to open the almirah and its locker to decamp with the booty, he said.

Confirmed that the thieves decamped with Rs 20-25 lakh cash and five tola gold, he said, (However) they did not take away jewellery worth Rs 2-3 lakh lying in the same almirah.

Further probe was on, he said.
Taking serious note of the alleged manhandling of journalists by police, the Madhya Pradesh government has ordered registering of an FIR against the accused policemen, a senior official said on Thursday.

The order to register the FIR against the accused policemen was given after Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and home minister Bhupendra Singh visited the Government JP Hospital to enquire about the condition of injured scribes on Wednesday evening, the official said.

The accused policemen have already been placed under suspension.

State home minister ordered to register FIR against the accused policemen, including assistant sub inspector (ASI) Raghuveer Singh Dangi and others, after meeting the injured journalists, Krishnamohan Tiwari and Vijay Prabhat Shukla, the official said.

Chouhan said he was pained over the incident and added that he will ensure policemen do not behave in such manner with anyone in future.

Meanwhile, taking cognisance of the matter, Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commissions acting chairman VM Kanwar directed the police to submit a report within a week on the issue.

Senior Congress leader and the partys chief whip in Lok Sabha Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident.

Instead of providing security to the people, police is harassing innocent journalists in such a manner, Scindia said.

Congress spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi and Manak Agrawal also visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured journalists.

Three policemen were earlier placed under suspension and a police station in-charge was line-attached for allegedly manhandling two journalists of a national Hindi daily after dubbing them as activists of banned outfit SIMI.

ASI Dangi and head constables Subhash Tyagi and Santosh Yadav were suspended, while Awadhpuri police station in-charge Shikha Vaish was line attached (removal from field duties).

The incident took place in the wee hours of Tuesday when the two scribes were returning home after their duties.

Read: Cops dub 2 scribes as SIMI activists; threaten to kill them
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has lashed out at Ulemas in Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala for opting to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on the same day as in the Arab countries and Pakistan.

Kashmir and Kerala celebrated Eid on Wednesday, even as the Tehreek E Hilal Committee has announced that India will celebrate Eid on Thursday.

The MRM has objected to the two states celebrating Eid with Pakistan and said it will write to the Ulemas, to protest against what is sees as an attempt to drive a wedge between Indian Muslims.

This is regretful that UIemas have opted to celebrate on the same day as Pakistan. There are laid down rules on the sighting of the moon, which decides the day on which Eid will be celebrated. By opting for Wednesday, these Ulemas have shortened the holy month of Ramazan by one day and have wronged lakhs of Muslims, MRMs Mohamad Afzal told HT.

The BJP, of which the RSS is the ideological mentor, runs a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir. The party however, chose not to reach to the decision.

Read: 26/11 accused Hafiz Saeed leads Eid prayers in Lahore, criticises India

This is a decision of the religious leaders, the party or the government has nothing to do with this. We let the religious leaders take a call on such issues, but a majority of the Muslims in Jammu have decided to celebrate Eid on Thursday a senior BJP leader from Jammu told HT.

Last week MRM dropped Pakistan from its list of invitees for its annual Iftar, in protest against the High Commissioners comments on the attack on CRFP personnel in Kashmirs Pampore.

The MRM had invited envoys of all Muslim nations to the Iftar celebrations held in the Parliament House annexe.

Ends

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The National Commission for Women (NCW) is in the spotlight once again as all eyes are set on the decision the panel will take against Bollywood actor Salman Khan for his rape remark.

Khan was summoned by the commission to appear before it on July 8 for his remark that the gruelling workout for his new movie Sultan left him feeling like a raped woman.

Sources in the womens panel said they were not very hopeful that Khan would respond to its summon. The NCW chief is already taking legal opinion about the options available before it.

Under the existing National Commission for Women Act, there is not much the womens panel can do. It neither has the power to arrest nor penalise a person who does not turn up after being summoned. In some cases, NCW can lodge a police complaint against the person if he has committed a criminal offence. But in this case, no criminal offence has been committed, said an official.

Read | Maharashtra womens panel sends third and final summon to Salman Khan

Almost two years after the women and child development ministry proposed to amend the NCW Act and give it more teeth, it is yet to be approved by the Union cabinet.

The NDA government, instead, ended up diluting some of the key amendments proposed by the ministry. The draft bill was referred to an inter-ministerial panel that dropped key provisions, including allowing NCW officials or any other gazetted officer to enter any building/place and seize documents related to the subject matter of the inquiry and power to arrest a person who fails to turn up after being summoned.

The panel just agreed to retain the provision to allow NCW to impose a penalty of up to Rs 5,000 if a person fails to turn up after being summoned.

But till the amendments are approved, NCW will have to go by the existing provisions in the Act as per which it does not have the power to even penalise, the official added.

Also read | Sultan is a hit: Sound and fury over Salman comment signifies nothing

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The hand-made grenades used by Dhaka attackers are considered signature improvised explosive device (IED) of banned terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and two of its men died making similar kind of grenades in Burdwan in West Bengal in 2014, counter terror officials told HT.

A team of experts from the National Security Guard (NSG), the countrys elite anti-terror commando force, will visit Bangladesh to study and analyse the tactics adopted by the Dhaka attackers and their weapons and explosives.

The Bangaldeshi counter terror officials have informed their Indian counter parts that initial probe indicates involvement of JMB cadres  who may have later drawn towards the Islamic State later  in the attack Dhaka attack resulting in killing of 20 foreigners.

According to the NIA probe into the Burdwan case, the JMB had formed a network to train its cadres in the bordering areas of West Bengal and established a bomb factory as well.

The NIA recovered 94 grenades during the probe into JMBs activities in India. Besides, the federal anti-terror agency also found that hundreds of such grenades were fabricated in India and then shifted to the JMB hideouts in the Rajshahi division of Bangladesh. One of key JMB cadres who used to ferry such grenades, Kausar alias Bomaru Mizan, is still on the run, said an NIA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In all, the NIA identified 30 JMB cadres during its probe. The agency manages to arrest 20 of them and 10 are still absconding. Out of the absconders, six are Bangladeshis including Kausar.

In Bogra of Bangladesh, another accidental blast at an alleged JMB hideout again resulted in killing of two persons in April this year. We were told that Bomaru Mizan was one who had established the hideout where explosion took place, said the NIA official.

The Dhaka Tribune quoted a police official in Bogra as saying one of the Holey Artisan Bakery attackers was Bogra and he was listed out as a terror suspect whom the police was looking for.

The police official said one of his JMB associates was arrested in April this year along with an AK-22 rifle, one of the weapons used by the bakery attackers.

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Bollywood actor Aamir Khan said on Thursday that people who spread terrorism in the name of religion are the ones who dont follow it.

People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), thats what I think, then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian... However much as they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion, because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love, the 51-year-old actor said while interacting with journalists in Mumbai.

When asked about his views on whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, Aamir said, I wont comment on that. I have said what I want to.

Aamir was speaking at a special Eid press conference.

Last week, five militants hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhakas diplomatic enclave.

Besides, three suicide bombings recently struck across Saudi Arabia in a single day, including an attack at Islams second holiest site, the Prophets Mosque in Medina, where four security guards were killed.
Against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in the past week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday terrorism is the gravest threat to the world and spoke about bolstering security and defence ties between India and Mozambique, which are connected by the Indian Ocean.

After Modis wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, a significant long term agreement was signed under which India will buy pulses from this country to plug its shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a trusted friend and a reliable partner of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to Mozambique as part of efforts to strengthen the public health system of the African nation.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambiques security forces amid Modis vow to march with this African country on its path of development and progress.

We want development and economic progress to benefit the people. We also want safety and security of our people, he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after the talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

Modi said the networks of terrorism are interlinked with other crimes, including drug trafficking, to curb which India and Mozambique signed a pact.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, the Prime Minister talked about the emerging security challenges, including in the maritime areas, and said the two countries will step up security and defence cooperation.

India will help build capacities of Mozambican security forces through training and equipment, said Modi who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modis arrival in Mozambiques capital Maputo.

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen Indias bond with Mozambique, the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
A Centre vs states battle is seemingly being revived ahead of Parliaments monsoon session beginning July 18, with opposition MPs determined to block the NDA governments plan to have states bear partial costs for executing railways projects.

Earlier this year, railway minister Suresh Prabhu dashed off letters to chief ministers, calling for the participation of states to create Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to raise money from the market to execute pending projects. According to the plan, states would have to bear 51% of the project cost as against the railways share of 49%.

Sources said the Dinesh Trivedi-headed parliamentary standing committee witnessed major fireworks on the subject during its meeting on Tuesday, with some raising the federalism debate, arguing that the plan would benefit the rich states at the expense of the poor.

The move is also being seen as an attempt to decrease the fiscal burden on the Centre before integration of the railway and general budgets.

The railways have integrated the country, but the current plan will lead to its disintegration. The Constitution does not permit the government to take a unilateral decision on allocating 49% resources from the Consolidated Fund of India to one or a clutch of states at the expense of others. The railways cannot discriminate between the rich and poor states, Trivedi, a former railway minister, said.

Janata Dal (United) leader Bashisht Narain Singh said his party would oppose the governments move to gift bounties on richer states within and outside Parliament. This pro-rich government is conspiring to snatch away facilities of cheap travel from the poorest sections of society, he said.

The concept was first floated during the regime of UPA-II.

But our idea was to offer this option for port connectivity or coal linkage projects. The current government is baulking from the social commitment principle and relinquishing its fundamental responsibility of providing for safe and affordable train travel, Congress leader and former railway minister Adheer Ranjan Chowdhury said.

Although he represents Odisha  which has formalised the cost-sharing agreement - Biju Janata Dal leader Balachandra Manjhi said the concept was principally flawed.

Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy of the YSR Congress also said the central government needed to ensure that poorer states are not left behind.

Government sources, however, said that state governments have responded positively to the idea.

Seventeen states have agreed to firm up agreements with the railways. None of the states have raised the federalism question so far, an official said.

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Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung receives General Director of Doosan Vina in Vietnam Jung Yeon In. (Source: VNA)



He said Vietnam welcomes and creates optimal conditions for foreign firms to do business in the country. However, he noted that overseas firms need to pay attention to protecting the environment and fully implementing commitments and regulations in the field.The Deputy PM also urged foreign companies to ensure labor safety, take good care of workers, carry out humanitarian and charity programs, and contribute to Vietnams social welfare policies.He hailed Doosan Vinas investment in Vietnam, which helps increase the rate of locally-produced components and fuel the development of some industrial sectors, including electricity.Director General Jung Yeon In reiterated his groups motto of observing the environmental commitments, standards and regulations in Vietnam.It also has strict criteria on labor safety and care for workers, he added.He expressed his wish to cooperate with Vietnamese partners to develop mechanical engineering and increase the responsibility of the business community for social affairs and environmental protection./.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis decision to shift Smriti Irani from human resource development to the textiles ministry was widely perceived as a demotion, given that the education sector is more high-profile.

But the firebrand Irani may yet be able to find her way back to the spotlight. Her first opportunity will be on the political stage, as a campaigner in the assembly elections early next year.

I think as a woman with star value she would definitely have a positive impact if she campaigns here in UP in state elections, said Vinay Katiyar, a BJP veteran from UP.

One possible hindrance here is her frosty relations with the BJP president, and architect-in-chief of the partys political campaigns, Amit Shah.

Still, if she is able to draw big crowds, and help the BJP score victories in the state elections, especially in UP, that would go a long way to reviving her political fortunes.

Read | Kuchh toh log kahenge: Smriti Irani on reports of her role in UP elections

In the longer term, the textiles ministry might give her an opportunity to prove her administrative mettle, away from the media glare.

Though the portfolio has traditionally gone to relatively low-profile figures -- her predecessor was a minister of state with independent charge -- the NDA government has given a renewed thrust to the textiles sector. The recent announcement of a special package of Rs 6,000 crore is expected to generate one crore jobs, especially for women.

There is a huge opportunity awaiting her and she appeared to be conscious of it on Wednesday.

Read | Glad I was part of formulating education policy, says Smriti Irani

After taking charge of the new portfolio, the minister said, I am happy that I have been given an opportunity especially when a special package has been announced for the sector. This signifies that my party and especially the Prime Minister has faith that I have the capacity to implement the roadmap that was projected through the Cabinet for the rest of the country.

She also added that she is hopeful that the much-awaited new national textile policy will soon see the light of day.

The textiles ministry may be less glamorous compared to the HRD ministry, but it is no less significant.

$100 billion is the size, by revenue, that the textile and apparel industry in India is projected to reach by 2016-17, from $67 billion in 2013-14. Forty-five million people are employed directly in the textile industry, making it the largest employer after agriculture. The new textile policy aims to create 35 million additional jobs.

Read | 9 numbers that say Smriti Iranis move to textiles is not a demotion

If the high-profile minister keeps her head down to work, she might have many concrete results to show in terms of achievements as a minister.
Sixteen Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan naval personnel when they were fishing near Katchatheevu, the fourth such incident this week, a fisheries department official said on Thursday.

With this, the number of fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters have gone up to 44 since July 3.

Fisheries department assistant director KD Gopinath said the Lankan Navy surrounded the fishermen, who put to sea from here and snapped 50 fishing nets of some boats last night.

The arrested fishermen and their three boats were taken to Kangesanthurai.

They also hurled stones forcing other fishermen to retreat.

Rameswaram fishermens association president, P Sesuraja said about 580 fishing boats had ventured into the sea yesterday but the catch was poor due to the attack by the Lankan personnel.

Chief minister Jayalalithaa sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, requesting him to take steps to secure the release of 80 Indian fishermen and 101 boats seized by the Lankan Navy.

She also said the root cause of the frequent arrests of the fishermen was the unconstitutional ceding of Katchatheevu to the Island Nation.

On July 5, 17 fishermen from Nagapattinam were arrested for allegedly fishing in Lankan territorial waters, while six fishermen from Pamban in Ramanathapuram district were arrested the previous day. Five fishermen were arrested on Sunday.
Calls for peace and harmony peppered with condemnation for the terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) rang out from mosques across India as millions of Muslims celebrated a somber Eid under the shadows of religion-fuelled violence.

The run up to this years Eid has been particularly bloody across the world with two back-to-back terrorist attacks in Bangladesh and a string of blasts and suicide bombings in countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Turkey among others.

The IS is anti-Islamic and all its activities are against Islam, said Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali, the imam of Lucknows Eidgah mosque at a congregation on Thursday to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramzan.

Read | People who spread terror have no connection with religion: Aamir Khan

This terrorist organisation has no connection with Islam and Muslims of India and all across the world must condemn it, he said even as neighbouring Bangladesh witnessed yet another deadly attack; this time on an Eid gathering in Kishoreganj, 100 kilometres north of Dhaka.

Thursdays attack was the second terrorist strike in Bangladesh in less than a week. Nearly two dozen people were killed at an upscale cafe in the countrys capital last Friday after it was stormed by terrorists claimed to be from the IS.

Clerics of other cities and towns joined the Lucknow imam in denouncing the IS and its brand of violence. Islam is pro-people and peace-loving. It condemns attack on innocents. There can be nothing called Islamic terrorists. If they are terrorists, they are not Muslims, pointed out Noor-ur Rahman Barkati, the Shahi Imam of the iconic Tipu Sultan mosque in Kolkata.

Read | Celebrating Eid: Of festivities, family, friends and mouth-watering food

No religion - Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity or Islam - allows violence on innocent people. These so-called Islamic terrorists are nothing but gangs of robbers. What they are preaching is not Islam, Barkati added.

Barkati said killing innocent people could never be jihad. Jihad is all about saving mans life. They are not jihadis but a bunch of uncivilised, uncultured and illiterate miscreants. They are worse than beasts, he said. Barkati also denounced Zakir Naik, the Mumbai-based preacher alleged to be inspiring terrorists with his hate-filled sermons.

Muqarrum Ahmed, the imam of Delhis Fatehpuri mosque, urged the youth not to get carried away but read the Quran to understand the real meaning of Islam.  We also urged the Government to not arrest Muslims just on the basis of suspicion. We are very patriotic and can lay down our lives for the nation, he said.

Many thronging the mosques for Eid prayers echoed the sentiments voiced by the clerics. We prayed for Indias prosperity and an end to terrorism, said Sabiha Khan in Lucknow after offering prayers at the Eidgah mosque.

(With inputs from Lucknow and Kolkata)
When Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal touches down in Gujarat on Saturday to inaugurate the Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) campaign in the state for next years polls, he will be relying on an unusual ally: former BJP legislator Kanu Kalsaria.

The AAP has big plans in Gujarat, the home state of both prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, and 62-year-old Kalsaria has emerged as Kejriwals principal point person.

Hundreds of posters plastered across Saurashtra welcoming Kejriwal also prominently feature the three-term MLA from the tiny coastal town of Mahuva who fell out with the BJP over farmers issues.

The AAP has announced it will contest 182 seats in assembly elections scheduled next year and Kejriwals whistle-stop tour of Saurashtra is being viewed as the virtual launch of the partys electioneering in the state.

Kalsarias activist past together with the run-ins he had with Modi during his days as the Gujarat chief minister fits effortlessly into the AAPs scheme of things.

The former BJP MLA put his political career at stake when he went against the industry-friendly government of Modi and opposed the setting up of a cement factory on a wetland.

Fighting on the side of local farmers, Kalsaria won the battle and the plan for the factory was shelved.

But he lost political support within the BJP and ultimately lost the 2012 assembly election.

But he didnt give up on activism. Besides running a charity hospital in Mahuva, Kalsaria has set his eyes on opposing a mining project. Some 10,000 farmers turned up at his behest for an environmental public hearing last month over the project.

AAP phamphlet for Somnath Farmers group meeting. (HT Photo )

Disillusioned with the BJP, Kalsaria joined the AAP in 2014.

I feel the AAP has been trying to fight corruption, he says. Thought some leaders of AAP also came under the scanner, but they were sacked, he points out.

Observers say Kalsarias pro-farmer, honest and no-nonsense image is something that AAP can use to its advantage.

Kalsaria distances himself from the 2002 Godhra train fire and the communal riots that followed, both of which occurred during his first term as MLA.

I was never in favour of the fundamentalist stand taken by the BJP government. But I did not say much then. After Vajpayee, saffronisation of the BJP happened, he said.

Now, the AAP is hoping to exploit the disquiet within the farming community over poor cotton prices and inadequate power supply which apparently contributed to the BJPs poll reverses in local body elections last year.

The choice of Saurashtra for Kejriwals first electoral foray into the state is significant. He will be addressing three farmers rallies during the day in the region. With Kalaria by his side, the AAP leader is clearly hoping to win them over.
The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has decided to induct transgender employees based on their educational qualifications and experience, extending a helping hand to the marginalised section that often faces violence and discrimination.

This is possibly the first time that a major firm has given such a job offer to members of the third gender, more than two years after a landmark Supreme Court judgment gave the community legal rights.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting attended by KMRL MD Eliyas George and senior officials. The first phase of the Kochi Metro rail network, a state-centre funded PPP model, will be completed in five months.

As part of the ongoing project we have initiated a livelihood improvement programme roping in marginalized sections of the society. We will take transgenders on board, a spokesman of the KMRL said.

Police say 176 transgenders are registered officially in the state but actual numbers may be quite high as many refuse to reveal their identity due to stigma and fear of violence.

Before appointment, the KMRL will ensure that they do not have criminal records and will engage transgender employees in house-keeping, cleaning and crowd-management.

Shooed away from everywhere this will give us some respectability. Hope many such firms will come up to end our isolation and discrimination, said Shyama, a transgender person from the port city.

Last week, many members of the third gender were injured in a clash with police. The injured transpersons said they were roughed up without any provocation but police said they were rounded up while engaging in illegal activities.

Last year, Kerala had unveiled a transgender policy aimed at bringing them to the mainstream. But despite such initiatives, social workers say oppression and discrimination against transgender people continues.

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Implementing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the country should be viewed through the prism of upholding human dignity, a fundamental right, and not merely be an exercise in enforcing a directive principle, Law Commission of India chairman justice Balbir Singh Chauhan said on Thursday.

Why should it just be viewed as a debate on article 44 (which speaks of a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens under the Directive Principles of State Policy) and not article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty)? the former Supreme Court judge told HT in an interview.

The law commission, which justice Chauhan has been heading since September, is examining the issue of implementing the UCC after it received a reference from the law ministry last month.

India has separate sets of personal laws for each religion governing marriage, divorce, succession, adoption and maintenance  many of which, activists say, are tilted against women.

Read | Uniform Civil Code is good but it can wait

The ruling BJP has long been a votary of the UCC that proposes to replace these personal laws with a common set governing all citizens. But the move is opposed by sections of different communities, which see it as a bid to erase their cultural and religious identities.

Take the case of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. Does it apply only to a particular section of society? It applies to everybody considering the health of women. Nobody can say it applies only to Hindus or Sikhs or Jains. The question here is how to protect and improve the dignity of women without disturbing their religious faith, beliefs and right to worship. This Act itself is an advancement of the Uniform Civil Code There are many other examples, justice Chauhan said.

The commission met to discuss the issue for the first time on Monday. We had a session and it was decided we must collect material, consult experts on the subject and frame what are the issues involved, justice Chauhan said. Compiling a report, to be submitted to the ministry, will be a long-drawn process, he said.

Asked if the panel had set itself a deadline, he said there was none.

Read | Uniform Civil Code is good but it can wait

Justice Chauhan said now was the right time to start a debate on implementing the Uniform Civil Code, with the Supreme Court already hearing a petition on the constitutional validity of triple talaq (divorce under Muslim personal law by the husband pronouncing talaq thrice).

Pointing out that the law panel could only make recommendations, he said, It is for Parliament to debate the issue. It should be debated in the political field, at public platforms. Everybody has a right to express his views.

Justice Chauhan said the panel would consult with all sections, particularly those opposed to changes in personal laws, including the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

We want to study the matter in detail because it is a very sensitive issue. A wide range of debates and consultations is required. A step has been taken forward to get a report. I can comment only after getting the report, DV Sadananda Gowda, who recently stepped down as law minister, had said last week.

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In a first, hundreds of Muslim burqa-clad women filed into the three century old Aishbagh Eidgah to offer prayers on Eid ul-Fitr in Lucknow on Thursday.

While women offering prayers at a mosque or Eidgah isnt unusual, for over a decade, barely a few dozens have turned up to take part in the communal prayers. However, with an increase in requests to accommodate more of them, Maulana Khalid Firangi Mahali provisioned for a larger space this year.

Women offering namaz at Eidgah is not new. It has been continuing for long. But till last year, there was a small space allotted to women and nearly 50-60 women offered namaz on Eid. Following demands from women, we have made special provisions this year and a separate hall for a capacity of 7,000 has been allocated for women namazi, said Maulana Rashid.

Two gates were allotted for the entry of women at the Eidgah and provisions for mats, wazu and so on were made. Since Eidgah witnesses a congregation of about four lakh men, we have made provisions to ensure that the purdah is maintained and women are not required to struggle due to the rush. Thus separate entry points have been marked for them, he added.

Lucknow: Women allowed entry inside Aishbagh Eidgah, separate enclosure put in place for women to offer Eid prayers pic.twitter.com/yPFNQtpW5l  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 7, 2016

Given the debate on gender disparity in Islam, typically pertaining to womens rights in various spheres of their lives including divorce, the cleric said the decision to welcome more women by making special provisions for them was a way to show that they werent disregarded in the community.

By extending an invitation to women in large numbers to be a part of the Eid namaz at the Eidgah this year, we want to rubbish the misconception that the clergy and Islamic leaders are against women. We want to tell them that we are not against any right that is granted to women by Islam, said the Imam.

In Arab countries, men and women offer namaz at an Eidgah.

Shaista Ambar of All India Muslim Personal Law Board also reiterated that Islam grants women equal rights as men to pray at holy places.

This is an ancient practice that women were allowed to offer namaz at the eidgah. It is still their right and no one can stop them from doing so. This initiative would make the women feel empowered.

To make women feel more comfortable, Ambar had a mosque built in the state capital where one can visit freely and offer namaz.
Calling Islamic preacher Zakir Naiks speeches highly objectionable, government on Thursday said the home ministry will take appropriate action after studying them.

The home ministry will study (his speeches). It will take appropriate action after studying them. His speeches, as being reported in the media, are highly objectionable, information and broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in New Delhi.

Naidus remarks came a day after minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju hinted at action against the preacher, whose speeches are believed to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists, who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka.

Zakir Naiks speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken, he had said.
The Maharashtra government is set to expand its cabinet in the next two days, probably on July 8. It will induct 9-10 new faces. After the expansion of the Modi government at the Centre two days ago, the long-pending expansion plan has got a boost.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis government is running the administration at its two-third strength because it could not implement its expansion plan for various reasons. After the sudden expulsion of senior-most minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month, an expansion has become inevitable because 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The expansion is more likely between June 8 and June 9 ahead of the monsoon session starting July 18 and days before Fadnavis begins his four-day Russia tour on July 10.

Read: Everything you need to know about Modis cabinet reshuffle

The Fadnavis government, which is running the show with 19 ministers and 10 junior ministers, has 14 more berths to fill.

To avert unrest among the aspirants, the BJP will choose to keep two to three berths vacant and induct five to six legislators. The Shiv Sena has two ministers of state berths, while two smaller allies have been given one seat each. Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha will be inducted as ministers of state. The Sena is also exploring the possibility of one more cabinet berth in lieu of a berth in central ministry.

Western Vidarbha is set to get at least two more ministers  Madan Yerawar from Yavatmal and one of the three legislators from Buldhana  Pandurang Phundkar, Sanjay Kute and Chainsukh Sancheti  will be sworn in. Sambhaji Nilangekar from Nanded in Marathwada; Jaykumar Rawal from Dhule, Haribhau Jawale from Jalgaon in North Maharashtra and Suresh Khade from Sangali in Western Maharashtra are the other MLAs to be inducted. Yerawar may be inducted as minister, while minister of state for home Ram Shinde, who is from the Dhanagar (shepherd) community, is likely to be elevated as minister. By his elevation, the BJP will attempt the pacify the community, which is upset because of the governments failure to give it assured reservation ahead of the assembly elections, said a BJP party functionary, on the condition anonymity.

Sources in the Shiv Sena said it was going to await an official word from Fadnavis over the expansion. Party sources said there was no decision yet on who its final nominees for the posts will be.

However, sources in the Sena said the party will try and give adequate representation to different regions from the state. We have to ensure Northern Maharashtra and Marathwada are represented in the cabinet, along with Western Maharashtra as well, said a party MP, not wishing to be named.

Among the probables are Gulabrao Patil, the Sena strongman from Jalgaon, Jalna MLA Arjun Khotkar, Kolhapurs Sujit Minchekar, along with MLC Neelam Gorhe.

The new venue

Although it has not been confirmed officially, the swearing in is likely to take place at the atrium, the newly constructed area in the Mantralaya. The swearing-in ceremonies of the Fadnavis government took place at Wankhede stadium and Vidhan Bhavan in November and December 2014.
One in every 20 children, who were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) at Mumbais private hospitals between September 2014 and April 2016, had drug-resistant forms of the infection, revealed data by Private Provider Interface Agency (PPIA), which operates under the supervision of the BMC. Under the PPIA initiative, 1,826 paediatric cases were reported by 116 doctors during the period.

PPIA was launched in August 2014, under the civic bodys Mumbai Mission for TB control, to increase the notifications of TB cases from private hospitals. Around 50% of the citys population seeks first-hand medical help at private hospitals.

Two years ago, we did not have diagnostic GeneXpert to analyse drug resistance in TB cases. But some doctors are using GeneXperts liberally, which has given us this data, said a PPAI official.

GeneXpert is a molecular test, which diagnoses TB by detecting the presence of TB bacteria, as well as tests the bacterium DNA for drug resistance. While this is preliminary data, doctors said the number of children with drug-resistant TB could be higher after data from the government-run hospitals is also taken into account.

Dr Daksha Shah, BMCs TB officer, told HT it will take time to release data on drug-resistant cases in children. However, an official from the states TB control office said 2,159 cases of children with TB were reported in Mumbai in 2015. But the BMC is yet to study how many of these were drug resistant, the officer said.

Until two months ago, we did not separately capture the portion of paediatric drug-resistant TB in our routine reporting mechanism. Now that it has been instituted, we will have more data about drug-resistant infections in children, the official added.

A study published in the scientific journal Lancet, last month, found that 2 million children across the world were infected with multidrug-resistant TB.

Dr Vikas Oswal, chest physician, Vikas Nursing Home in Govandi, said diagnosing TB in children is a huge challenge. While adults can spit out their sputum for a confirmatory test, many children cant. In most cases, confirming that if child has TB itself is a challenge, then how does one test for its drug-resistant forms, he said.

Experts said they have to resort to invasive methods such as bronchoscopy, to collect sputum sample from children so that they can use advanced diagnostics techniques such as GeneXpert to check the drug-resistance patterns.

Another challenge in treating children with TB is no drug formulations are available that are specially manufactured for children, said doctors. We either have to crush the drugs that are meant for adults or dissolve them in water. There is an urgent need of formulations meant specifically for children, said Shah.
Police have been deployed outside the Mumbai office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose hate speech is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naiks Islamic Research Foundation office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident, the official told PTI.

He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation, the official said.

Read | Zakir Naik: From a suave doctor to a polarising preacher on security radar

Union minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju had yesterday told reporters in Delhi that, Zakir Naiks speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken.

Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly urged all Muslims to be terrorists.

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said he had written to the Union home minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the countrys interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.
The crackdown against the inter-state liquor smuggling is in full swing as the Railway Protection Force (RPF) had seized 11,582 litres of booze and arrested 158 till June this year.

Smugglers illegally transported liquor, including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) brands, to the dry state of Gujarat from the outskirts of Mumbai by using trains.

As increased surveillance on roads played spoilsport to smugglers nefarious designs, they switched to trains to dodge enforcement agencies. Most of these gangs pull the emergency chain at designated spots where their aides carrying liquor bottles board the train to evade the railway police. These illegal halts are mostly at places where tracks run alongside the road, said Anand Vijay Jha, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF (Western Railway).

In the wake of RPF raids at railway stations, miscreants started taking Gujarat-bound trains to peddle liqour.

RPF officials suspect the inter-state transportation is the handiwork of organised gangs, which operate from the Dahanu-Daman belt. They have stepped up vigil at stations and on trains since the demand for liquor goes up during the monsoon.

Investigators said smugglers board trains from station beyond Dahanu, mostly from lesser-known places such s Udhwada and Umargaon; and the consignment is unloaded in batches at Valsad, Surat, Ankleshwar and Baroda stations.

Special RPF teams were formed and some of the personnel were also posted on trains that were regularly affected due to these unscheduled halts. They keep a close eye on passengers who alight trains at unscheduled halts forced by pulling of emergency chain.

While the RPF keeps changing strategy to catch as many smugglers as possible, officials said that railway is however a popular mode of transport as there are comparatively fewer checks. If travelling by road, smugglers are likely to be caught at checkpoints manned by excise officials and police.

On many occasions, railway police personnel were found to have colluded with such gangs for a cut. We act on personnel who abet criminal when we receive complaints. If found guilty, they have to face disciplinary action and transfer. The staffers are rotated frequently to prevent collusion, added Jha.
Eid celebrations were on as usual on Thursday at Jasmine Apartment in Mazgaon, with people dressed in festival finery greeting each other. But they clammed up and walked away the moment they were asked about the occupant of a flat on the 10th floor. Thats the residence of Zakir Naik, the Islamic preacher under the scanner over reports that his teachings motivated a couple of the terrorists who killed 20 people in Dhaka last week.

There was no response to the doorbell at his residence, a next-door neighbor opened his door but refused to speak about Naik, saying leave us out of all this. This is what several other residents, including some youngsters chatting in the lobby, said.

Read: Maharashtra CM orders probe against Zakir Naik, 10-member team set up

Totally against terrorism and killing of innocent: Zakir Naik

But there were some people in the locality who were quite vocal, some supporting Naik, others dismissing him as a suave communications professional who had made it big.

For instance, Zakir Hussain (45), a resident of the same complex, disagreed with Naiks views. He follows Jamaat-e-Islami (the ideology of right wing Islamic democracy governed by Sharia law) but my family and I believe in Dawat-e-Islami (propagation of Quran and Sunnah), he said adding, Our ways are different from his since we believe in one god as opposed to Naik, who forces the world to believe in his god.

But another local supported the evangelist. Naik is a core Muslim and a scholar. What the media is showing is incorrect, said Waseem Mukadam, a senior executive in an automobile firm. For me, he is not wrong because he follows only one sect that gives importance to both the Quran and our last prophet. He is also well-versed with the Bible and the Gita and during his sessions can quote directly from them, Mukadam said.

Read: Zakir Naik: From a suave doctor to a polarising figure on security radar

Despite ban, you can still watch Zakir Naik on TV

Mukadam stressed that Naik and his family had a good reputation and were known to be very courteous. This is a man who preaches his discipline in the new era and wants to portray the teachings of Islam in a contemporary manner to modern society. However, everything that he has said is being analysed out of context currently, he said.

Muhammad Zuber (48), another Jasmine apartment resident who often bumps into Naik during prayers at the local mosque, felt that he was popular among non-Muslims too. He has always worked towards making non-Muslims understand the importance of Islam by quoting examples from the Quran. I have seen doctors, police officers and people from the affluent class visit here to listen to him, said Zuber.

But social activist Sharique Raza was pretty vocal in his opposition to the preacher. The extremist ideologies that Naik preaches must be banned in India as has been done by the UK, Canada and Malaysia, Raza said.

There is talk in the neighbourhood too about Naiks wealth. He owns many apartments in the Mazgaon and has inherited lot of land in the vicinity from his father, said a neighbour requesting anonymity.

As this correspondent hung around, trying to get Naiks neighbours to talk, security guards at the apartment turned and said leave.

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He preaches on Peace TV, but causes unrest. He wears a suit in the western style teamed with a skull cap. Hes a suave doctor who speaks fluent English, but his speeches stir up the young and the impressionable.

Zakir Naik, 51, has long been a polarising figure in Mumbai. On the radar of security agencies following reports that the terrorists behind the carnage in Dhaka were inspired by his sermons, he is now on a visit to Mecca. His supporters say he will be back in Mumbai on July 11 and will address a press conference the next day.

Naik can no more hold his public sermons in Mumbai that used to draw large crowds. Unnerved by what used to be said at these functions, the Mumbai cops have denied him permission since 2012. Britain has banned his entry since 2010 over his refusal to call Osama bin Laden a terrorist.

Hes known as an Islamic preacher, but Naik has never been popular with the Sunni and Shia clergy in Mumbai. In fact, he has more detractors within the Muslim community that outside it.

In 2009, several Sunni Maulvis in Mumbai ganged up against Naik for some of his comments and around the same time the Shia community made a representation against Naik to the then joint commissioner of police, KL Prasad. Prasad played peacemaker and resolved the issue by getting Naik to apologise.

Read: Govt may act against Mumbai-based Islamic preacher followed by Dhaka attackers

Dr. Zakir Naik can be explained in one sentence --- a preacher who believes in the oneness of God, sermonising in western attire and skull cap, said a senior Muslim cleric from Dongri who has seen the physician morphing into a controversial preacher over the years. He clearly says other religions have no existence at all. This is not acceptable, said the cleric who asked not to be named.

Naiks detractors say he has cleverly used controversy and his event management skills to grab attention and generate funds. Go to any mosque on Friday, you will find more people listening to the post-prayer speeches than the turnout at the much publicized events of Naik, said another senior cleric. The only difference is he has the skills to arrange funds to go on television channels and for his globe-trotting glitzy public shows, said the cleric, who too spoke on condition of anonymity

His supporters say the Madrasa-educated and Urdu-speaking mullahs are simply jealous of Naiks ability to attract the youth through his proficiency in English and his interpretation of the teachings of the Quran in a modern context.

He has a global appeal, especially among the English educated new generation who dont want to associate themselves with the paan-chewing sherwani-clad Mullahs. In fact, one would find most of his detractors in the Barelvi sect of Muslims who are opposed to his puritan version of Islam, said editor of an Urdu daily while requesting anonymity.

He was cosmopolitan in his outlook from the beginning, said a neighbor of the Naiks in Jasmine apartments at Mazgaon where the family has been living for the last 60-70 years. Naiks father, Abdul Karim Naik, a renowned psychiatrist, branched out from his family business of exporting seafood from his native village in Raigad district and set up his clinic at Char Nall in Dongri . Following in his footsteps, Zakir Naik (and his brother Mohamed) also did his MBBS degree from BYL Nair college when he came across Ahmed Deedat, a South African Muslim missionary of Indian origin in 1987.

Read: Not just Dhaka attackers, Dr Zakir Naik also inspired Malwani man

This was the turning point. Naik was greatly impressed by Deedats preaching and started fashioning himself on his footsteps, said the neighbor. Naik never practiced medicine and became a serious reader of religion, before he started running the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) out of a 500 sqft room at Dongri in 1991. On week days, the room was used as a madrasa while on Sundays, Naik would host his lectures at night. His audience consisted mostly of local youths from all communities who would listen to the English-speaking preacher just out of curiosity, said an old follower of Naik.

Later, he opened the Islamic International School (IIS) where his two daughters and son are enrolled. His wife, Farhat, takes care of the womens wing of IRF.

As his following grew, the sermons were arranged in larger halls across the city and the nearby townships where he started mesmerizing the impressionable young with his ability to recall verses and couplets from various holy scriptures.

Officers in the Mumbai police who have kept tabs on Naik over the years say he started courting controversy as his stature grew.

He became more and more brash and rabid, even to the point of insulting beliefs within and outside Islam in a carefully crafted strategy. The more the controversy, the more was the TRP and flow of funds from those who appreciated such thoughts, said an official who had served in the Mumbai police Special Branch.

Opinion is divided on what to do about him now. One view is that he is a fringe figure best ignored. But is that really an option?

Read: Muslims split over Zakir ban

Probe agencies take footage of his speeches

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) and the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday took footage of Zakir Naiks speeches from the special branch archives for analysis as the security establishment mulled action against him.

A senior Mumbai police official told HT that an FIR had been registered against Naik in Mumbai, as well as half a dozen police stations across the state, in 2013 following a post allegedly uploaded by him on the social media that ridiculed Hindu Gods. Investigation on that complaint is still on, the senior official said.

The police have stepped up surveillance outside the office of Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) at Dongri.

Meanwhile, sources claimed that Naik had visited Bangladesh a couple of months ago and spoken at an equal number of venues during his brief tour. However, there was no confirmation about Naiks visit to that country by the police.

Demand to ban Naik

Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Arvind Sawant has demanded a ban on Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, who is in Mecca, returning to the country.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, Sawant said This mans speeches are creating terrorists. We should not just ban his entry but also ensure that the channels that telecast his speeches are banned.

Sawant also demanded a probe into the sources of funding behind Naiks Islamic Research Fundation (IRF).

The Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, a right-wing group, also demanded Naiks arrest and demanded a ban on Peace TV, a channel he runs and telecasts his speeches on.

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The Maharashtra government is set to expand its cabinet in the next two days, probably on July 8. It will induct 9-10 new faces. After the expansion of the Modi government at the Centre two days ago, the long-pending expansion plan has got a boost.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis government is running the administration at its two-third strength because it could not implement its expansion plan for various reasons. After the sudden expulsion of senior-most minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month, an expansion has become inevitable because 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The expansion is more likely between June 8 and June 9 ahead of the monsoon session starting July 18 and days before Fadnavis begins his four-day Russia tour on July 10.

The Fadnavis government, which is running the show with 19 ministers and 10 junior ministers, has 14 more berths to fill. To avert unrest among the aspirants, the BJP will choose to keep two to three berths vacant and induct five to six legislators. The Shiv Sena has two ministers of state berths, while two smaller allies have been given one seat each. Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha will be inducted as ministers of state. The Sena is also exploring the possibility of one more cabinet berth in lieu of a berth in central ministry.

Western Vidarbha is set to get at least two more ministers  Madan Yerawar from Yavatmal and one of the three legislators from Buldhana  Pandurang Phundkar, Sanjay Kute and Chainsukh Sancheti  will be sworn in. Sambhaji Nilangekar from Nanded in Marathwada; Jaykumar Rawal from Dhule, Haribhau Jawale from Jalgaon in North Maharashtra and Suresh Khade from Sangali in Western Maharashtra are the other MLAs to be inducted. Yerawar may be inducted as minister, while minister of state for home Ram Shinde, who is from the Dhanagar (shepherd) community, is likely to be elevated as minister. By his elevation, the BJP will attempt the pacify the community, which is upset because of the governments failure to give it assured reservation ahead of the assembly elections, said a BJP party functionary, on the condition anonymity.

Sources in the Shiv Sena said it was going to await an official word from Fadnavis over the expansion. Party sources said there was no decision yet on who its final nominees for the posts will be.

However, sources in the Sena said the party will try and give adequate representation to different regions from the state. We have to ensure Northern Maharashtra and Marathwada are represented in the cabinet, along with Western Maharashtra as well, said a party MP, not wishing to be named.

Among the probables are Gulabrao Patil, the Sena strongman from Jalgaon, Jalna MLA Arjun Khotkar, Kolhapurs Sujit Minchekar, along with MLC Neelam Gorhe.
Alternative rock pioneers, the Pixies, on Wednesday released a new song called Um Chagga Lagga and announced a forthcoming album, the second since the influential group reunited. Called Head Carrier, the album will come out on September 30. It will be followed by a tour of Europe where the Boston-born band initially enjoyed a greater fan base than in the United States.

The group led by Black Francis put out a first track, a return to the Pixies hard-charging brand of surfer rock with fast-paced guitar and drums.

Read: Rocks Venerated God

Head Carrier is only the sixth album by the Pixies, who went on hiatus at their height in the early 1990s. The band reunited in 2004 but it took another 10 years until the group released a second-generation album, Indie Cindy, in 2014.

Head Carrier, which was recorded in London, will be the first album with the Argentine-born bassist Paz Lenchantin as a full-fledged member.

She had tentatively replaced Kim Deal -- also known for her band The Breeders -- who left in 2013 after years of on-off clashes with Black Francis.

The Pixies became an underground sensation in the late 1980s as they mixed distorted guitar with absurdist lyricism, as witnessed in songs such as Debaser which was inspired by Salvador Dalis surrealist film Un Chien Andalou.

The rough-around-the-edges sound and artistic sense became a major influence on alternative rockers such as Nirvana who took the global music scene in a less mainstream direction in the early 1990s.
PUNE: The governing council of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has approved key proposals, including the introduction of new syllabus, choice-based credit system and additional courses, as suggested by the institutes academic council.

Gajendra Chauhan  whose appointment as the chairperson of the institute was opposed by students citing his lack of vision and stature  chaired the governing councils meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday which cleared the proposals submitted by its academic council in June. While there was no discussion on the nomenclature of the institute, the nod to the proposals paved the way for the implementation of the vision document.

We are looking at making FTII an institute of higher learning where there will be more subjects as well as shortterm courses on offer, said FTII director Bhupendra Kainthola.

When asked if FTII will be renamed, Kainthola said, The council has not yet decided about the nomenclature, although for the sake of convenience we are calling it University of Cinema, Television & Allied Arts.

Noted filmmaker and television producer BP Singh, who heads the academic council, proposed broad basing the course content. The proposal envisages setting up of nine schools under the aegis of FTII that will offer 22 courses, including short-term courses, besides core subjects like direction, cinematography, acting, editing and sound design.

To introduce changes, small committees will be formed. Once they submit their report, the changes will come into effect by next year, said Kainthola.

The institute will introduce new syllabus from August under a semester system.

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KOLKATA: A tusker, which had been declared rogue by the forest department for killing and injuring villagers, was shot dead on Tuesday by professional hunters engaged by the government inside the dense forests of Beliatore in Bankura district of West Bengal.

Forest officials, however, managed to capture another young elephant  the tuskers associate  after tranquilising it. At least five kunkis (trained elephants) were used to capture the elephant, who was later sent to a rehab centre in north Bengal.

Killing was our last resort. We first tried to capture it, but all our efforts failed. Officials tried to tranquilise it at least seven times. The elephant attacked the forest guards who tried to dart it. Some of our men had a narrow escape. After a lot of effort, we decided to kill it, said Chandan Sinha state forest secretary.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had recently rapped the forest officials for failing to tackle the man-elephant conflict in the state that had resulted in 108 human deaths in 2015-16. At least 14 elephants were killed in retaliatory attacks in the same period.

Sources said that the tusker, standing nearly 10 feet tall, had been declared rogue in April 2015 for killing and injuring a few villagers. The animal had been on the run since and all earlier efforts to capture or kill it had failed.
The Punjab governments last minute order announcing Wednesday as a working day in schools resulted to confusion among students, due to which attendance remained low in government schools. Earlier, July 6 was declared as a holiday for Eid, but it was postponed to July 7. Unaware, many students did not turn up at schools on Wednesday.

Of 152 students at Government Primary School, College Road, just two reached the school. In another middle school in the same locality, two students turned up of total 73 students, and teachers sat idle the throughout day.

The situation was no different in other schools. Around 100 of total 750 students attended classes at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Cemetery Road. Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, with total strength of 2,500 witnessed the presence of only 250 students.

There were no such instructions till 2pm on Tuesday. Around 9.30pm, I received a message saying the official holiday for Eid is on July 7, said Sanjeev Thapar, principal of GMSSS-PAU. I called up the teachers, who informed the students, but only 250 of them attended the school.

If the authorities will inform the school-heads after school hours, it is difficult to circulate the information among all students, said a teacher, requesting anonymity.

COLLEGES REMAIN CLOSED

On the directions of Panjab University, the city colleges remained closed on Wednesday. The university website states: The colleges are directed to conduct admissions from July 7.

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Politics and religion make a volatile mix in Punjab. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) apparently lost sight of this time-tested underpinning of complex matrix of the poll-bound state. Unveiling its youth manifesto  first in a series for different sections of voters was meant to make a head start in its campaign a good six months ahead of the assembly polls. Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal chose Amritsar  the seat of religious symbolism  as the starting point for his three-day political outing.

But, things didnt follow the script and have unexpectedly turned awry for the AAP that now finds itself embroiled in political and legal mess of its own making. Its political gambit to steal a march on rivals has backfired.

Kejriwal landed in Punjab in the midst of a high-voltage row over one of his MLAs, Naresh Yadav, in the crosshairs of the Quran-burning incident in Muslim-dominated Malerkotla town on June 24. Police booked Yadav after the key accused named him as an inciter for sacrilege. Kejriwal aggressively fended off the charges against his legislator, accusing the Badal government of a political frame-up. If the Yadav episode wasnt embarrassing enough, the AAP fumbled by allegedly committing a double blasphemy  printing a Golden Temple image alongside its poll symbol, broom, on the manifesto cover and equating the document with holy books, including Guru Granth Sahib, revered as a living guru by the Sikhs. It has started a storm that is unlikely to blow over too soon.

For the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal, the AAPs stunning indiscretion came as a godsend to turn the screws on the rookie party that has been most vitriolic in its attack on the Badal clan. Though the AAP leaders, quick to realise the potential damage, apologised publicly, political damage-control didnt stop the legal consequences. The Amritsar police moved swiftly on lodging an FIR against Ashish Khetan, a leading figure in the AAPs Mission Punjab, for hurting religious sentiments on the complaint of a Sikh leader known for his proximity to the Akalis.

As if on a cue, other frontal Sikh bodies, chiefly the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Sant Samaj, and Damdami Taksal, joined the chorus against the Kejriwal outfit. Much to the AAPs discomfiture, the sensitive issue has escalated rapidly, as both the Akalis and the Congress have rejected Khetans apology  a part of their political strategy to dent the Kejriwal outfit, widely seen as a serious challenger in the Punjab poll sweepstakes. Not to be left behind, the BJP, too, is readying a barrage of blasphemy complaints against the AAP.

Clearly, the AAP has not only scored a self-goal but also handed a potent artillery to its rivals, who are in a mood to exploit its misstep to the hilt. Worse, the manifesto fiasco has given credence to the Akali refrain that the AAP is party of outsiders. Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal rubbed it in on Wednesday, saying the AAP leaders are clueless on the historical and cultural ethos of Punjab.

While the AAP battles the political and legal fallout, its troubles may have just started.

(Follow @HTPunjab for more updates)
My son did not want to go in, but they told him to enter the manhole. Hes gone now, and I am left alone. What will I do with this compensation of Rs 10 lakh? said Santosh Kumari. Her son, 25-year-old Jitender Kumar, died when he inhaled poisonous gases inside a sewer in Behlana, Chandigarh, on May 28 this year. He was not wearing any safety gear. And her story is not an aberration.

Also read : Sewermans death has UT admn, contractor throwing up muck

In violation of the law  latest being the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, 2013  against hazardous cleaning, municipal bodies across Punjab, Haryana and their shared capital, union territory Chandigarh, have sewer cleaners working without safety gear.

Though reliable data is not available on the number of deaths in the past five years, estimates for Punjab alone vary from 20, according to some union leaders, to 300, as says National Commission for Scheduled Castes vice-chairman Raj Kumar Verka. Chandan Grewal, president of Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation, puts the number at around 100, from data of various towns and also counting those working under private contractors.

Working without safety gear is actually manual scavenging, which is banned (since 1993), but the states do not count such workers. Punjab, for instance, said it has around 50 manual scavengers. Who is cleaning the gutters then in your streets? Or the open drains, or railway tracks? Verka said. Since almost all the workers are Dalits (SCs), there is historical negligence. Grewal said Punjab has about 3,000 sewer men, while as many are awaiting regular jobs, having been working as daily wagers for years.

Wheres the gear?

It is mandatory to provide masks, gum boots, gloves and oxygen cylinders besides overalls and other tools to sewer men, who get between Rs 6,000 and Rs 7,500 a month on contract; those employed on regular posts get Rs 20,000 or more.

In Chandigarh, after three decades, and two days after Jitenders death, the MC floated tenders worth Rs 26 lakh to buy the equipment, but has bought nothing a year later. In Jalandhar, plans to buy safety kits worth Rs 1 crore were announced, but nothing has been done yet, said union leader Grewal.

No safety gear is provided when we go down the manholes, said Avtar, a sewer man in SAS Nagar (Mohali). His colleague Tinku said, When we refuse to work without the gear, the contractor hires daily wagers who agree.

In Chandigarhs other satellite, Panchkula, sewerage workers are paid the lowest salaries (Rs 7,000 a month) among all staff by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), but the conditions are a shade better. We do not allow our workers to enter gutters. We use machines, HUDA superintending engineer NK Verma said. Panchkula has not witnessed a sewer workers death in at least the past five years. But Dilbag Singh, a Dalit leader who supports HUDA Sanitation Workers Union, said that protective gear should be available in case a machine fails. Ram Avtar, a sewer man, said, It is dirty work. But I have to do it to make a living. Gloves and boots will make it easier.

In Punjabs heartland, Bathinda, though, we get nothing except a dress every two years, said union leader Shyam Lal. Here, sewerage has been expanded but the worker strength is the same for years. Of the 148 workers, 15 women are not made to do manual work, neither are the 15 head sewer men. Another 54 are deputed at suction pump stations, thereby reducing the number of workers in the field to 64, said Lal. We need at least 200. He added, It is wrong to say that workers dont use safety gear. The fact is we have been given nothing.

Has any awareness and training drive been conducted among workers? Do they want to die? asked union leader Grewal.

4 kits for 185 workers

(Compiled by Harshraj Singh )

Patiala has equipment. Four gas kits for 185 workers! A proposal to buy 10 more is pending for six months. The last time sewers claimed lives here was around four years ago, when two workers died. The MC should not wait for a tragedy, said Puspinder Pathak, a union leader.

In the industrial hub, Ludhiana, MC officials say they have 30 kits. The number of sewer men here is 774 on regular jobs, and 859 on contract. Also, here the MCs claims of providing safety gear fell flat when HT did a check on the ground. In some areas, no supervisor or engineer was present. At least one worker here said its not possible to wear safety gear in the manholes of small sewer lines in the internal areas. If we wear a safety kit, we cannot turn inside the manhole. If we refuse to enter the manhole, the officers threaten to sack us, he said.

Working under a contractor, he added, My salary is only around Rs 6,500, so I remove my clothes before entering a manhole as I cant afford to purchase new ones often. I get skin infections and also cuts from sharp particles in the sewage, he added.

More than half the sewer men and safai karamacharis (sanitation workers) die before 60, of diseases they get while working in unhealthy conditions in the absence of safety gear, said Lovely Pal Disawar, chairman of a workers group. Surinder Kalyan of the Rashtriya Safai Karamchari Sangh said, Machines are being used at only some places but sewer men enter gutters commonly, he added. Even Chandigarh does not have a sewage suction machine; so the work is done manually. MC superintending engineer NP Sharma said, We have floated the tender to buy one for Rs 2.25 crore.

Mohali, Chandigarhs satellite and Punjabs trophy town, is not very different. It started mechanised cleaning but is yet to do away with manual work. After HT highlighted the matter, the MC on June 1 issued notices to all nine contractors to use kits. MC commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said, There are directions that no one will be deployed without the equipment. Violation will invite action. No action has been taken against any contractor or worker.

Whos to blame?

Verka underlined, The law says a team led by the SDO has to prepare a report before manual sewage-cleaning is done; listing reasons, the safety gear being used, and other details. If thats not done, there is provision for mandatory criminal action. But things appear to be happening only when there is a death. There is also provision for Rs 10-lakh compensation and insurance cover for all such workers, he said.

In Jalandhar, families of the four sewage workers who died on duty in the past five years have still not received compensation as the MC says formalities are left to be completed.

Activist-lawyer Pankaj Chandgothia, who has filed a case with the National Human Rights Commission over the deaths in Chandigarh, said, The MC is equally responsible for the deaths, because it is the principal contractor. And those responsible must be booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304 that deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, not under 304A for merely causing death by negligence.

Haryana any better?

In Rohtak, 40-year-old Ashok Kumar died of asphyxiation on June 29 while repairing a sewage line. He was stuck inside the pipe and six hours later his body was retrieved. According to people working with Ashok, the negligence where he died was on for the past month.

Workers had been going down the 35 feet deep manhole on the Rohtak-Gohana road without safety equipment. The workers said they didnt have rubber gloves, helmets and oxygen masks. Family members of Ashok have also alleged that rescue operation began four hours after he was stuck inside the pipeline. The contractor went into hiding and he was nabbed by police when people started protesting, Ashoks father Ratan Lal said.

Superintending engineer SK Bhatia claimed the department had all the equipment required; but he was busy to give more details.

A month before that, in Sonepat, four workers died while cleaning a sewage treatment plant without safety equipment. In their case, too, the contractor absconded. In Jind, five Dalit daily wagers died of asphyxiation the same month when they tried reviving a borewell. However, the public health department said they werent professionals.

In Hisar, which has 300 sewerage workers, regular and on-contract, the public health department claimed that no worker died in the past five years while cleaning a sewage line. In Karnal, safety gear is provided but workers rue the fact that there are only 11 regular sewer men. Most of the cleaning is done with machines and we adopt manual ways only when required; but we follow the safety guidelines, said SDO Ashok Taneja. Subhash Barocha, president of the Karnal MC employees union, said, Though we get all the required equipment for safety, problems related to salaries of contractual employees remain.

Accident

Amritsar presents a classic example of how the sewage workers life is a statistic. A man died working on a gutter line here barely a week ago, and officials insist that only two-three sewer men died while working in the past five years. Union leaders say more than 10 have died.

Sonali Giri, MC commissioner, said, Sewer men are provided safety kits; almost all deaths in recent years were purely accidental. We strictly ask them not to take any chance while working.

Executive engineer Tilak Raj added, In old times, workers did manual scavenging with sticks. Besides, sewers were opened after long times, due to which poisonous gases caused deaths. Now, manual work has been stopped. Sometimes, sewage workers do negligence which causes accidents.

But Vinod Bitta of the Safai Workers and Mazdoor Union said the MC is responsible since it is not sincere in taking safety measures. Claims of the MC officials that they provide safety equipment are totally false.

(By Aarish Chhabra, Hillary Victor, Shailee Dogra, Harvinder Kaur, Vivek Gupta, Surjit Singh, Sachin Sharma, Harshraj Singh, Hardik Anand, Bhartesh S Thakur, Neeraj Mohan, Bhaskar Mukherjee)
The body of a non-resident Indian (NRI) was found here on Thursday, four days after he went missing under mysterious circumstances at Subhanpur village of Kapurthala district.

The deceased has been identified as Ranjeet Singh, 23, a resident of Ludhiana. He had come from Kuwait on June 15 after two years to attend the bhog of his friends father in the district.

Singh had been missing since July 1 after he came to meet his friend Gurvinder Singh at Subhanpur village. Police said that when Ranjeet did not return home even on July 2, his father Inderjeet Singh called up his friend. But, Gurvinder told him that his son had left for home along with his uncle Satnam Singh after the bhog ceremony.

Following this, they registered a missing report of Ranjeet at Subhanpur police station. But, later it was found that Satnam had met with an accident, and was admitted to a nearby hospital. When he was contacted, he denied of having any knowledge of the deceased.

However, the police recovered the body from the Ramidi village flyover on the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway in Kapurthala, the same place where Satnam had allegedly met with an accident four days ago.

Police recovered the body of Ranjeet after heavy showers washed away the mud and his one hand came out of the ground.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Bholath, Navneet Singh Mahal, said that they had registered a DDR in the missing case the same day and launched the haunt to find him. The investigation is on and a case will be registered soon in the case, the DSP added. Meanwhile, the police sent the body for post-mortem and the family of the deceased has been informed.
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh said ticket aspirants had been asked to submit their applications to the state unit by August 15, here on Thursday.

Interacting with people and party workers during Halke vich Captain at the Atam Nagar assembly segment on Thursday, the state Congress chief said the party would ensure proper distribution of tickets and only winnable candidates would be considered. He said 35 tickets of the total 117 would be given to the youth.

Also read | Priyanka to campaign in Punjab? Amarinder says will invite her

He said the applications would be scrutinised before sending the list to the high command. He also directed Congress workers to support the candidate fielded party in the elections.

He claimed the Congress was getting a tremendous response from the public and the party should contest the assembly elections on its own. However, the final decision on contesting polls would be taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

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Sending the Ludhiana administration, municipal corporation and traffic police into a tizzy, the Northern Railway authorities pressed for total closure of one side of the dilapidated Jagraon Bridge following a technical inspection by its team, on Wednesday.

In May 2016, railway authorities had installed horizontal girders on Bharat Nagar side (unsafe) of the bridge to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles, stating that the 127-year-old bridge will not be able to bear heavy weight. This side of bridge connects Old City localities to Ferozepur Road.

With the bridge declared unsafe for vehicular movement, the administration is exploring alternate routes for diverting traffic.

Ludhiana deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat and other officials deliberated options for traffic diversion during a meeting.

Restriction on the entry of heavy vehicles to this side of the bridge has already led to traffic snarls on other routes. The closure will add to the chaos, said the DC Once the administration is ready with a plan and arrangements for traffic diversion, the Northern Railways will go ahead with the closure of unsafe side of the bridge.

Alternate routes one can take,if bridge is closed

Once the bridge is closed, vehicles coming from Cheema Chowk side can follow the route to Gill Chowk instead of turning towards Vishkarma Chowk on the Link Road. Commuters from Jalandhar Bypass side will have to take the route via Lakkar Bridge and Damoria Bridge.
The Congress should contest the 2017 assembly elections in Punjab on its own, the partys state unit chief Capt Amarinder Singh said here on Thursday. However, he added that the final decision on contesting polls with or without a tie-up would be taken by party president Sonia Gandhi.

To a question, Amarinder said he would invite Priyanka Gandhi to address election rallies in Punjab, adding that the Congress presidents daughter is a crowd-puller and liked by all.

Also read | Punjab only hope of rebound, stakes go up for Cong, Capt

He also said Punjab Police should not hesitate to arrest AAP MLA from Mehrauli, Delhi, Naresh Yadav for his alleged involvement in an incident of sacrilege in Malerkotla recently, adding that the police investigation in the case was headed in the right direction.

Punjab Congress president and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh addressing party workers at the grain market ground in Ludhiana Thursday. (JS Grewal/HT Photo)

Also read | Amarinder: Why are police not arresting AAPs Delhi MLA?
Donald Trump is blaming the press for the fuss over an anti-Hillary Clinton tweet that appeared to depict the Star of David atop a pile of cash.

It was his first response to the matter since his official account tweeted then deleted  the image Saturday in the face of an uproar over its potentially anti-Semitic connotations. Trumps account later posted a new version with a circle in place of the six-point star.

Dishonest media is trying their absolute best to depict a star in a tweet as the Star of David rather than a Sheriffs Star, or plain star! Trump tweeted Monday.

It remains unclear where the campaign found the image, but it previously appeared on a white supremacist message board filled with anti-Semitic messages as well as the Twitter feed of a self-identified comedian who tweeted out provocative and offensive images.

A screenshot of the image of Hillary that Trump tweeted with the six-pointed star. (Twitter)

Trumps campaign has not responded to questions since Saturday about who posted the message and where it was found.

Sarah Bard, Clintons director of Jewish outreach, said in a statement Monday that Trumps use of a blatantly anti-Semitic image from racist websites to promote his campaign was part of a pattern. Now, not only wont he apologize for it, hes peddling lies and blaming others, she added. Trump should be condemning hate, not offering more campaign behaviour and rhetoric that engages extremists.

Trump has long professed his support for Israel and his daughter converted to Judaism before her marriage. But he has come under scrutiny for repeatedly re-tweeting posts from white supremacists accounts and for not immediately renouncing the support of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke.
Islamist militants hurled handmade bombs and used machetes to attack policemen guarding Bangladeshs biggest Eid prayer service on Thursday, killing three people, nearly a week after two dozen hostages were slaughtered in the countrys worst terror attack.

Thursdays attack occurred in Kishoreganj, about 90 km north of the capital of Dhaka, where some 300,000 people had gathered for what is the countrys largest congregation for Eid, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.

Bangladesh information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the attackers targeted a police convoy patrolling the religious gathering. About nine police constables were injured. Thursdays strike was probably the first time Islamist radicals have attacked Muslims on Eid.

At least five militants carried out the attack with small bombs and then set upon police with sharp weapons, said chief district administrator, Mohammad Azimuddin Biswas.

At least two policemen were killed, one of them stabbed to death. A third fatality was a woman - a Hindu  who was hit by a stray bullet. Two attackers were killed and three arrested, Reuters quoted officials as saying. It was not immediately clear what group they belonged to.

Thursdays violence comes just days after the country suffered a deadly hostage crisis in which 22 were killed, including 20 captives. It was the worst in a recent wave of extremist attacks in Bangladesh targeting atheists, religious minorities and other so-called enemies of Islam.

Although the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack, the government has blamed home-grown militant groups of waging the violence in order to create political chaos in the country and undermine the secular government.

India on Thursday decided to send to Dhaka a four-member from the National Security Guard to analyse and study the attacks in the capital and Kishoreganj. The team will have bomb experts.

Police in Kishoreganj said Thursdays attack was possibly aimed at a liberal cleric who has led a public campaign against Islamist radical.

Maulana Farid-uddin Masud, the chief cleric of the main mosque in Kishoreganj town, collected more than 100,000 signatures, including from leading Islamic scholars and intellectuals, against a recent wave of extremist attacks in the country targeting atheists, religious minorities.

Masud had described radical Islamists as pursuing empty Islam and said those perpetrating violence would go to hell.

At least one of the bombs exploded during the prayer at the sprawling Sholakia grounds, a large field where hundreds of thousands of people gathered almost every year since the early 19th century to pray on the occasion of Eid.

After the blast, police fired on the attackers and killed one of them, said Tofazzal Hossain, assistant superintendent of police in Kishoreganj. A second attacker died in hospital.

Police cordoned off the area and searched the devotees as well as nearby houses for suspects in hiding, said resident Shafiqul Islam, who was among those offering Eid prayers.

(With input from agencies)
Bangladesh has launched a clampdown on social media sites spreading jihadist propaganda after an attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 20 hostages, including an Indian girl, were murdered, saying the countrys young were being radicalised online.

Authorities said the deadly siege at an upmarket cafe popular with foreigners had been an eye-opener, exposing the role of social media in recruiting young men to jihadist groups.

Social media has become a fertile ground for recruiting militants, the head of the telecoms regulator Shahjahan Mahmood told AFP.

The attack was an eye-opener for us. They (jihadist groups) attract the young men through social media.

The Islamic State group, which has claimed Friday nights attack, has long used social media to recruit fighters and incite individuals around the world to commit terrorist attacks.

Mahmood said the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) had ordered YouTube to remove videos of radical preachings, including those of the firebrand cleric Jashim Uddin Rahmani.

Bangladeshi Muslims offer Eid ul-Fitr prayers in Dhaka on Thursday. (AFP)

He was sentenced to five years in jail last December after his speeches were found to have incited Islamist militants to kill the atheist blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider in early 2013.

Shortly after the cafe siege, it emerged that several of the Bangladesh attackers were young, tech-savvy men from wealthy families and had easy access to social media.

The father of 22-year-old Rohan Imtiaz, one of the suspected attackers killed when commandoes stormed the cafe, has said he believes his son may have been radicalised online.

Imtiaz reportedly posted an appeal on Facebook last year urging all Muslims to become terrorists and quoting a controversial Indian preacher who has been banned in Britain, Canada and Malaysia. He was a practising Muslim. So many people are. Maybe he was radicalised through the internet, his father Imtiaz Khan Babul told AFP.

But I never checked what he was browsing... Someone may have brainwashed him.
Thursdays suspectedmilitant attack on Bangladeshs biggest congregation to celebrate Eidwas possibly aimed at a liberal cleric who has led a public campaign against Islamist radicals in the country, police said.

Maulana Farid-uddin Masud, the chief cleric of the main mosque in Kishoregunj town that was attacked, collected more than 100,000 signatures, including from leading Islamic scholars and intellectuals, against a recent wave of extremist attacks in the country targeting atheists, religious minorities.

Masud had described radical Islamists as pursuing empty Islam and said those perpetrating violence in the name of the faith would go to hell.

We believe he was the target, Tofazzal Hossain, assistant superintendent of police in Kishoregunj, told Hindustan Times.

Masud has state security and he arrived at the Sholakia Eidgah grounds in Kishoregunj on Thursday on a helicopter. It wasnt clear if he was at the mosque when the attack took place.

At least two people, including a policeman, were killed when a group of suspected radical Islamists hurled homemade bombs at security men guarding the Eid prayers in Kishoregunj, about 90 km north of the capital of Dhaka, officials said.

The attack occurred when about 200,000 people gathered to offer prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramzan.

The violence comes just days after the country suffered a deadly hostage crisis in which 22 were killed, including 20 captives. It was the worst in a recent wave of extremist attacks in Bangladesh targeting atheists, religious minorities and other so-called enemies of Islam.

Although the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack, the government has blamed home-grown militant groups of waging the violence in order to create political chaos in the country and undermine the secular government.
A car bomb killed 11 soldiers in Libyas Benghazi city as they held evening prayers on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, a military source said Thursday.

Benghazi has been hit by repeated bombings since troops under the command of controversial General Khalifa Haftar drove Islamist fighters out of most of the city earlier this year.

Haftar refuses to recognise a joint military command set by the UN-backed unity government in Tripoli, saying he still takes orders from a rival administration based in the far eastern city of Tobruk.

Wednesdays blast follows a car bomb targeting a security chief that killed two people on Sunday and a June 24 bombing that killed four civilians.

Meanwhile, a MiG-23 fighter jet of Haftars air force crashed in the west of Benghazi on Wednesday, killing its pilot, a spokesperson said.

The crash was due to a technical fault, Ahmad al-Mismari, spokesman of the Haftar-led army command, told AFP.
As protesters outside bayed for Tony Blairs prosecution, inside the building where John Chilcot delivered his damming Iraq War Inquiry report the father of a dead serviceman delivered his own verdict: My son died in vain.

Having waited seven years for the former civil servant to deliver his verdict on Britains role in the 2003 conflict, bereaved families and anti-war protesters were united in an outpouring of anger.

There is one terrorist in this world that the world needs to be aware of, and his name is Tony Blair, the worlds worst terrorist, Sarah OConnor, whose brother Bob was killed in Iraq in 2005, told a press conference following the reports publication.

The inquiry found that former prime minister Blair had taken Britain into a badly planned, woefully executed and legally questionable war in 2003.

OConnor demanded that Blair explain his actions directly to relatives of the 179 British troops killed in the invasion and subsequent occupation.

Why is he not here looking at us? If he is so sure of his decision, why is he not here looking at our eyes, and seeing our faces? she said.

Read: 6 key findings of Chilcot probe into Britains role in Iraq war

Given the chance, grieving mother Rose Gentle said she would ask Blair: Why did you kill my son?

Reg Keys, whose son Thomas died when a mob attacked a police station in 2003, accused Blair of manufacturing and massaging the intelligence reports even though Chilcot laid the blame for faulty intelligence at the feet of spy chiefs.

Outside the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London -- where Chilcot delivered a summary of his 2.6 million-word report -- more than a hundred protesters shouted Blair lied, thousands died! and war criminal Tony Blair!.

Two demonstrators were dressed up as Blair and former US president George W Bush, with fake blood dripping from their hands, while others carried placards reading: Blair must face war crimes trial, Justice for Iraq. The Hague for Blair, and Bomber Blair. Jail this criminal now.

Tony Blair is a war criminal. We knew the war was based on lies, said Michael Culver, 78.

Kim Sparrow, 52, said: Tony Blair is a mass murderer.

He knew what he was doing. Over a million people died, Sparrow said.

Read: Blair says world is better and safer after Iraq war

Although more restrained, the families were equally determined to see Blair, and other government officials, face further action.

If state officials are determined to have acted unlawfully or in excess of their powers, then the families will then decide on whether to take any necessary and appropriate action, said Matthew Jury, who is representing some of the relatives.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would not face any charges over allegations that she violated rules by using a private email server while she was US Secretary of State.

In a statement, much to the relief of the Clinton campaign, Lynch said on Wednesday she has accepted the recommendation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in this regard.

Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clintons use of a personal email system during her time as Secretary of State, she said.

I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation, Lynch said in a statement, which legally closes the case against the former Secretary of State.

Read: Hillary Clinton extremely careless but no charges recommended: FBI

However, the Republican party plans to make it a political issue during the rest of the campaigning period till the November general elections. This was evident by the statement issued by Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Reince Priebus and several other GOP leaders.

This decision by President Obamas attorney general is a slap in the face to the many Americans entrusted with classified information who play by the rules and those who have been punished for lesser offenses, Priebus said.

Many Americans will understandably have a difficult time believing the Obama Justice Department conducted a fair and impartial investigation when you have the attorney general secretly meeting with Bill Clinton and the Clinton campaign leaking Lynch could remain as AG, all just days before it was announced charges would not be pursued, he said.

Read: Obama, Clinton together on campaign trail for the first time

Those who have mishandled classified information have had their security clearances revoked, lost their jobs, faced fines, and even been sent to prison, yet Hillary Clinton is being allowed to play by a different set of rules, he alleged.

In a letter to the FBI, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley sought further details regarding the FBIs decision not to recommend charges in the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons use of a private email server.
He is sorry, but would do it again  that is, take Britain to war in Iraq.

That was the message from former prime minister Tony Blair during an over two-hour mea culpa on live television soon after the Chilcot report was released on Wednesday, piling more flak on his legacy.

Front pages of newspapers added to his agony on Thursday. Weapon of mass deception, splashed The Sun, while Daily Mail called him a Monster of delusion.

Other newspapers used his now-famous 2002 quote to former US president George Bush: I will be with you, whatever.

Noting that Blair looked a broken man on live television  gaunt, hoarse and haunted  columnists wrote that for all his defence over the years and particularly after the Chilcot report, Blair will not be able to shake off his Iraq war legacy for the rest of his life.

As relatives of British soldiers called the television performance a carefully choreographed act and one called Blair the worlds worst terrorist, he went on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday to admit that not many believed his expressions of regret over Iraq.

He said: I can regret the mistakes and I can regret many things about it but I genuinely believe, not just that we acted out of good motives, and I did what I did out of good faith, but I sincerely believe that we would be in a worse position if we hadn't acted that way. I may be completely wrong about that.

Blair, however, acknowledged the Chilcot reports critical assessment of intelligence during the build-up to the 2003 war.

"It would have been far better to have challenged them more clearly.

The House of Commons is to have a two-day debate on the Chilcot report next week, while families of British soldiers killed are considering launching legal action against Blair.

In his defence, Blair said: I wanted to make sure that America did not feel alone, that it did not feel compelled to go it alone. I wanted to build as big a coalition as possible.

And frankly I did want the UK to be their partner of choice, to be the first telephone call they made on these issues.

It is true that I took a decision, and I stand by that decision, that we should be right alongside America in dealing with these decisions post-9/11 and that included the issue of Iraq.

But it isnt correct to say we had made some irrevocable commitment to war, he said.

Blair pointed out that a lot of people in the American administration wanted to take military action immediately.

In the end, partly because of the closeness of the relationship, we persuaded the Americans to go back to the United Nations and get that resolution. When people say we were irrevocably committed in July, we werent of course.

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An eerie silence pervades the restaurants and shopping malls in Dhakas diplomatic quarter, usually teeming with well-heeled urbanites, now standing empty since the killing of 20 hostages at a popular cafe.

Five days after the siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the Bangladeshi capital, many establishments remain closed, with shaken residents of Gulshan too afraid to venture out.

Our guest numbers have gone down dramatically so the management took the decision to keep it shut for a while, said Abdul Mazid, a guard at Meraki, a well-known restaurant in the neighborhood.

The run-up to Eid celebrations that mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan usually see shopping malls overflowing with crowds and millions of dollars changing hands in just a few days.

Read: IS warns it will carry out more attacks in Bdesh

But this year Gulshan DCC market, usually bustling with Eid shoppers ahead of the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar, stand deserted.

The festivities, which start in earnest tomorrow, are likely to be subdued, with attendees instructed not to bring bags and high security at the National Eidgah Maidan in central Dhaka, where thousands will congregate for prayers in one of the largest such gatherings.

At least five gunmen stormed the bakery on Friday evening, sparking an 11-hour stand-off with police that saw victims murdered with machetes, most of them Italian or Japanese.

Around the corner from the site of the attack, Thai restaurant Soi 71 and neighboring Korean diner Suraon, which usually remain lively past midnight, were shuttered on Tuesday.

Ours is a happening business, its hard to believe how quiet it has become over the past few days, said Mohammad Farhan, manager of the upmarket Butlers Chocolate Cafe, where waiters were standing around.

It has just turned upside down.

Read: Chef at Bangladesh cafe may have been working with attackers, say police

Britain was among countries urging its citizens to avoid areas frequented by foreigners, such as international hotels, large supermarkets or clubs, while Japanese firm Uniqlo restricted non-urgent travel for employees.

As Dhaka residents attempt to regroup, fears are mounting that the attack may herald an escalation of violence in Bangladesh.

Islamist militants have been blamed for a wave of murders of foreigners, religious minorities and secular writers over the past three years.

However, Fridays murders were on a totally different scale.
An Indian origin network engineer has pleaded guilty to a revenge cyberattack on a network security company and its clients after he was fired, according to officials.

Kamlesh Patel admitted in court to hacking the computer of his former employer and three clients by using the network logons of a former colleague and deleting vital information resulting in $137,000 in damages, Massachusetts Federal prosecutor Carmen Oritz announced in Boston Wednesday.

After the 40-year-old Patel was dismissed as a senior network engineer at Baesis Inc., a network security and maintenance company based in Northborough in October 2010, he went into its network and deleted copies of its clients network configurations, prosecutors said.

Three months later he hacked the computer of Baesis and three of its clients and used a malware to delete data from their networks cutting off access to the internet and email, according to prosecutors. One company could not use to its internet-based phone system for several weeks.

Ortiz said that Patel has agreed to compensate his victims for the losses of $137,000 they incurred as a result of his crime.

When he is sentenced on September 28 by federal judge Leo Sorokin he could face a maximum sentences of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for the crimes of causing damage to internet-connected computers, and five years and $250,000 for using another persons identity to commit a crime.
Islamist militants tortured a group of Italians before killing them during an attack on a restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka last week, a legal source said on Wednesday.

The bodies of the nine Italians, most of whom worked in the clothing industry, were flown back to Rome on Tuesday. Autopsies showed that many of them had been slashed with knives and had suffered slow deaths. Some had been mutilated, the source said.

In all, 20 people died in the Dhaka assault, which started late on Friday night. The victims, mostly foreigners, included Japanese, Indians and Americans as well as the Italians.

Islamic State said it was responsible for one of the most brazen attacks in Bangladeshs history, posting pictures of the five men they said took part in the onslaught.

Read: No time safe: A look at bloody attacks around the world this Ramzan

Officials said most of the militants had attended prestigious schools or universities in Dhaka and Malaysia. One was the son of a politician.

The Holey Artisan restaurant in Dhaka where the attack took place is popular with foreigners, and investigators in Rome are looking into whether Italians were specifically targeted, a judicial source said.

Read: IS warns it will carry out more attacks in Bdesh
A suburban Minneapolis police officer fatally shot a black man on Wednesday during a traffic stop, police said, and a woman posted a video on the internet saying he had been reaching for his license and showing what she described as the aftermath of the incident.

The incident comes hours after the US Justice Department said it had opened an investigation into two police officers fatally shooting a black man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

The use of force by law enforcement against African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York has come under heavy scrutiny.

The St. Anthony Police Department said in a statement an unidentified black man was wounded in an officer-involved shooting during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota at 9 p.m. local time,

The man was taken to the hospital where he later died, police said.

Warning: The video might contain graphic content that can be disturbing for some viewers

A woman live-streamed what she described as the aftermath of the shooting in a 10-minute video posted on YouTube and briefly on Facebook. Reuters has been unable to confirm the validity of the video.

The video began with the unidentified woman in the passenger seat describing what had happened moments before while a black man covered in blood sat in the drivers seat as a police officer pointed a gun into the vehicle.

The woman said that her boyfriend had just been pulled over for a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun, which he was licensed to carry.

He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket, she said. He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm.

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene.

Officers told the woman to keep her hands up as a small child is heard briefly crying in the background.

F**K. I told him not to reach for it, a distraught man is heard screaming in the video.

The Minneapolis Star newspaper reported relatives and friends identified the man as Philando Castile, 32. Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at a school in St. Paul school district, according to the paper.

He doesnt deserve this, the woman was heard saying as she cried in the video. He was a good man.
FBI director James Comey on Thursday strongly defended before the US Congress the governments decision to not prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup. He said there was no evidence that she knew that anything she was doing was against the law or had lied to federal investigators.

Comeys appearance before the house oversight and government reform committee marked his first public statements since an FBI announcement that removed the threat of criminal charges against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee but also revived public scrutiny of her handling of classified information.

A number of Republicans suggested there was a double standard for charging everyday people accused of crimes as opposed to high-level people like Clinton. Lawmakers asked Comey if he had been hearing that, too.

Ive heard it a lot, he said. Its not true, but Ive heard it a lot.

I totally get peoples questions, he said, but the FBI was obliged to follow the law.

Comey gave his most detailed explanation to date about why the justice department concluded without charges a yearlong investigation that had dogged Clintons presidential campaign and raised questions for voters about her trustworthiness.

Our folks did it in an apolitical and a professional way, Comey said of the FBIs handling of the investigation.

Republicans said they were infuriated with the FBIs decision and confused by the way it was presented. Comey on Tuesday gave a scathing assessment of Clintons email practices, followed by his conclusion that no reasonable prosecutor would charge her with a crime.

On Thursday, Comey said the legal decision came down to a simple lack of a criminal intent.

When agents investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing, they look for evidence not only that a statute was violated but also that a person knew that what he was doing was wrong. That evidence did not exist in this case, Comey said. Although there is a law that allows for felony prosecution for mishandling classified information due to gross negligence, that law has been used only once in the 99 years since it was enacted  and that was in a case involving espionage, Comey said.

We dont want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldnt do, Comey said. That is the characteristic of all the prosecutions involving mishandling of classified information.

Comey, a registered Republican for years though he said he now is not registered in a political party, served as deputy attorney general in the George W Bush administration. He was appointed in 2013 to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Barack Obama.

Committee chairperson, rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Comey that the FBIs decision on Clinton showed a double standard for powerful people. Had the average Joe done what she had done, he said, he would go to prison.

If your name isnt Clinton, or youre not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently, Chaffetz said, adding that the FBI had set a dangerous precedent in letting her off the hook.

House oversight and government reform committee member Rep Will Hurd questions FBI director James Comey as he testifies on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (AP)

Comey specifically rebutted a litany of GOP charges including that the FBI had been biased, ignored the law, applied it unjustly or coordinated the decision with Clintons campaign. We try very hard to apply the same standard whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all, he said.

The committees top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, accused Republicans of politicizing the investigation. But he suggested that Comey had contributed to that by leaving a perceived gap between his public criticism of Clinton and his conclusion not to prosecute.

I beg you to fill the gap. Because when the gap is not filled by you, it will be filled by others, Cummings said.

Comey said that prosecutions for classified material have historically been reserved for cases of intentional or willful wrongdoing, obstruction of justice or disloyalty to the U.S. He drew distinctions between the Clinton probe and last years prosecution of former CIA director David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to sharing classified information with his biographer.

Petraeus, he said, retained a vast quantity of classified information and then lied to the FBI about it. Comey initially said the documents had been found in Petraeus attic, later correcting himself to say theyd been found in a desk.

He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do, Comey said. That is a perfect illustration of the kind of cases that get prosecuted. In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Wednesday that she accepted the recommendations and findings of Comey and of her career prosecutors and would not file charges against Clinton. Lynch is likely to face questions of her own next week at a separate oversight hearing of the House judiciary committee.

House speaker Paul Ryan speaks to the media during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Thursday. (AFP)

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has said there are a lot more questions that need to be answered and, in a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, requested that Clinton be barred from receiving classified briefings for the rest of the campaign  a move that certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump complained that the system was rigged.

The hearing served as a means to energize a conservative base that might be disillusioned with Trump, as Republicans are working to hold onto their majority in Congress. But privately, some Republicans question the decision to pick a fight with Comey, a Republican from the Bush justice department with a reputation for independence.

On Tuesday, in a stinging assessment of her email practices as secretary of state, Comey rebuked Clinton and her aides for being extremely careless in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the defences and explanations shes put forward for months. But he also said there was no evidence anyone willfully or intentionally mishandled classified information and that no reasonable prosecutor would pursue such a case.
German authorities have arrested a Pakistani man accused of spying for Iran on the former head of a group that promotes German-Israeli relations.

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that the 31-year-old, identified only as Syed Mustufa H in keeping with German privacy rules, was arrested on Tuesday in the northern city of Bremen.

They said in a statement that he was in contact with an intelligence unit attributed to Iran, without elaborating. He is alleged to have spied on the former head of the German-Israeli Society and people close to him, among others, and handed over information to Iran in October.

The ex-head of the German-Israeli group, former lawmaker Reinhold Robbe, told the Bild newspaper that he wasnt surprised by the alleged espionage and he will not be intimidated.
Suspected Islamist militants lobbed homemade bombs and fired at policemen guarding hundreds of thousands of people at an Eid celebration in northern Bangladesh on Thursday, leaving at least two people dead and several wounded.

The attack occurred in Kishoreganj, about 90 km north of the capital of Dhaka, where some 200,000 people had gathered for what is the countrys largest congregation for Eid, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramzan.

The blast killed one constable while the other dead could be one of the attackers, police said, adding they were still searching for some of the attackers in a nearby school.

Bangladesh information minister said the attackers targeted a police convoy patrolling the religious gathering.

Up to nine police constables have been injured in the attack, Inu told Indian broadcaster CNN-News 18.

Indian news channel NDTV put the toll at four but that figure remains unconfirmed. Thursdays strike is probably the first time Islamist radicals have attacked Muslims on Eid.

The violence comes just days after the country suffered a deadly hostage crisis in which 22 were killed, including 20 captives. It was the worst in a recent wave of extremist attacks in Bangladesh targeting atheists, religious minorities and other so-called enemies of Islam.

Although the Islamic State claimed credit for the attack, the government has blamed home-grown militant groups of waging the violence in order to create political chaos in the country and undermine the secular government.

Police in Kishoreganj said Thursdays attack was possibly aimed at a liberal cleric who has led a public campaign against Islamist radical.

Maulana Farid-uddin Masud, the chief cleric of the main mosque in Kishoreganj town, collected more than 100,000 signatures, including from leading Islamic scholars and intellectuals, against a recent wave of extremist attacks in the country targeting atheists, religious minorities.

Masud had described radical Islamists as pursuing empty Islam and said those perpetrating violence would go to hell.

We believe he was the target, Tofazzal Hossain, assistant superintendent of police in Kishoreganj, told Hindustan Times.

Masud has state security and he arrived at the Sholakia Eidgah grounds in Kishoreganj on Thursday on a helicopter. It wasnt clear if he was at the mosque when the attack took place. At least one of the bombs exploded during the prayer at the sprawling Sholakia grounds, which is the largest open-air gathering for Eid-al-Fitr celebrations in the country.

After the blast, police fired on the attackers and killed one of them, Hossain told news agency Associated Press.

Police cordoned off the area and searched the devotees as well as nearby houses for suspects in hiding, said resident Shafiqul Islam, who was among those offering Eid prayers.

Bangladesh newspaper Prothom Alo said Thursdays explosion took place within one km of the Sholakia grounds at about 9:20am, an hour before the Eid prayers.

The Daily Star, one of Bangaldeshs biggest newspaper, quoted sources in Kishoregunj as saying a group of six to seven militants led the attack on policemen when the latter were frisking people into the Eidgah grounds.

(with agency inputs)

Read | Islamic State warns of more attacks in Bangladesh

Dhaka attack is an alarm: The secular code of Bangladesh is under siege

Foreign hostages, merciless murders, rescue ops: All about the Dhaka attack
Home Secretary Theresa May was assured of a place on the final two-member shortlist to decide the next British prime minister as 330 Conservative MPs vote in the second round of election on Thursday, with a close contest likely for the second place.

Two leading Indian-origin Conservative MPs have extended their support to May: Alok Sharma, who campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union, and minister of state Priti Patel, who was a leading member of Brexit camp.

Of the five candidates in the first round on Tuesday, Liam Fox was eliminated after polling only 16 votes. May polled 165. After the result was declared, Stephen Crabb, another candidate, withdrew and extended support to May. Thursdays election is to decide the two-member final shortlist from three candidates: May, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadstom, but the contest is essentially between Gove and Leadsom for second place.

The winner between the final two candidates will be decided by 150,000 members of the Tory party through a postal ballot. The winner, who will replace David Cameron as the next party leader and primer, will be announced on September 9.

Sharma told HT: Theresa has very real experience from the private sector and fantastic experience at the very top of government. She will command respect from Delhi to Dublin, from Brussels to Beijing.

I believe serious times call for a serious candidate. Someone who is very experienced at the highest levels. Someone who is highly competent. Someone who will command respect on the international stage, he added.

Patel said: Theresa May is the only candidate best placed to deliver and there no other candidate who comes anywhere close to her experience, or record of strong leadership. She shares the steely determination I always admired in Margaret Thatcher.

Equally important will be the need to unite our party and our country. We must end the tribalism and divisions seen in the Referendum between leave and remain and focus on defining our place in the world and putting core Conservative principles and values into action, she added.

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Three astronauts blasted off into the early morning sky in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft from Russias Baikonur cosmodrome Thursday, heading towards the International Space Station.

First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of Nasa and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at around 0136 GMT.

All is well on board! said mission control in comments relayed by Nasa TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.

Footage also showed Ivanishin and Onishi giving each other fist bumps to celebrate the successful launch.

Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the crafts solar panels.

The Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz MS space ship carrying the crew to the International Space Station. (AP Photo)

The trios launch was delayed by two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle.

The crafts journey to dock at the ISS will take two days -- longer than the usual six-hour flight -- to give ground control more time to monitor the tweaked systems performance.

Nasas Kate Rubins will be the first woman aboard the ISS since Italian Samantha Cristoforetti returned to earth with the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman (199 days) in June last year.

The molecular biologist-turned astronaut will also become the first person to sequence DNA in space during her mission.

Rocket is on the launchpad, crew is ready to go! #AstroKate the Nasa Astronauts Twitter handle tweeted prior to her launch.

Rubins launch caps an exciting week for Nasa as the US space agencys unmanned Juno spacecraft entered orbit around distant Jupiter Tuesday after a journey of nearly five years.

Onishi, who trained as a pilot on Japans largest commercial airliner, is the eleventh Japanese national to enter space.

His journey to the ISS, where he will participate in experiments connected to the Japanese space agencys Kibo program, coincides with the Tanabata star festival celebrated across his homeland.

The last Japanese astronaut to spend time at the ISS, Kimiya Yui, returned to earth from the ISS in December alongside NASAs Kjell Lindgren and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko.

Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin has already logged over 165 days in space following his first mission at the ISS in 2011 and 2012 and has a background as a military pilot.

US astronaut Kate Rubins, left, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin, centre, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, members of the main crew of the expedition to the International Space Station, walk to report to members of the State Committee prior to the launch of Soyuz MS space ship. (AP Photo)

Following docking at ISS, Rubins, Ivanishin and Onishi will join current ISS commander Jeff Williams of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin.

The ISS space laboratory has been orbiting Earth at about 28,000 kilometres per hour (17,400 miles per hour) since 1998.

Space travel has been one of the few areas of international cooperation between Russia and the West that has not been wrecked by geopolitical tensions over Ukraine.
Donald Trump has tried to brazen out rejections from rumoured vice-presidential picks, saying no one asked them. But now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is being turned down by some whom he may have asked.

Bob Corker, a powerful senator who has had some very high-profile interactions with Trump, said on Wednesday he was not interested, and suggested the post go to his daughter Ivanka Trump instead.

And Joni Ernst, a popular woman senator from Iowa who might have helped Trump with women voters as his running mate, took herself off the table after a lengthy meeting with the candidate.

Trump still has a shortlist of people who have not said no and who are being vetted by his campaign  governors Chris Christie and Mike Pence and former speaker Newt Gingrich.

But the real estate mogul, who plans to announce his pick before the party convention, may be running out of options and may have to settle for whoever says yes.

Former Senator Marco Rubio, who ran against Trump for the party nomination, was among the first to rule himself out, and so was Indian-American governor Nikki Haley.

Even when some, such as Senator Jeff Sessions, said they were willing and waiting for a call from Trump, a narrative of Trumps vice-presidential search being in trouble began to take shape.

The only people who are not interested in being the VP pick are the people who have not been asked! the nominee said in a tweet last Monday, just days before Corker said no, publicly.

He was not suited for the job, Corker told multiple interviewers. And to MSNBC he said, His best running mate, by the way, would be Ivanka.

Trump had clearly wanted Corker, who as Senate foreign affairs committee chairman would have brought the ticket the national security heft that the candidate clearly lacks.

With Ernst also taking herself off, after her meeting with him earlier this week that he tweeted about, his options are shrinking - at least among lawmakers, where his search has been focussed so far.

Trump, who has pitched himself as a non-politician, has said he would need his VP pick to be someone who can help him with legislative affairs, of which he has no experience.

His shortlist (or wish-list), therefore, is dominated by lawmakers such as Corker, Gingrich and Ernst followed by administrators such as Christie and Pence, both serving governors.

He met with Pence, who is Indiana governor, and his family earlier this week, and tweeted about it. And appeared with Corker and Gingrich at campaign events.

He seems to have turned his VP search into something of a show, The New York Times pointed out in an article headlined: Donald Trumps New Reality Show: The Running Mate.

At a campaign event on Wednesday with Gingrich, Trump said, Im not saying its Newt, but if its Newt, nobody is going to be beating him in those (vice-presidential) debates.

So, the search  and the show  goes on.
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon hopes China will urge North Korea to cooperate internationally on human rights, his spokesman said on Thursday, after the United States sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for rights abuses.

The secretary-general believes that discussion of human rights concerns allows for a more comprehensive assessment and action when addressing security and stability concerns on the Korean Peninsula, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Washington blacklisted Kim for the first time on Wednesday in a move diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.
The US Department of Justice on Wednesday said it was closing the case over Hillary Clintons use of a personal email system when she was secretary of state, and that no charges will be pressed against anyone.

Attorney general Loretta Lynch said in a statement she was not pressing charges against anyone on the recommendation of FBI director James Comey.

The FBI director had on Tuesday said that though Clinton and her aides were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information  we are expressing to Justice our view that no charges are appropriate in this case.

The FBI director was over on Capital Hill on Thursday explaining his decision, which has angered Republicans who were hoping to get an indictment to end her bid for the White House.

Comey stood his ground and defended the decision, pushing back against suggestions that Clinton was granted leniency because she is a Clinton, a highly-connected politician.

House committee chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican, said, If your name isnt Clinton, or youre not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently.

Comey, also a lifelong Republican, responded: We try very hard to apply the same standard whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all.
Police locked down parts of Britains Houses of Parliament on Thursday after a Muslim lawmaker was sent an envelope containing white power, sparking fears of a chemical or biological attack.

Nazir Ahmeds office in the House of Lords, the car park and the terrace were closed for an hour and a half after he found the powder in a letter containing racist abuse.

They were treating it as a chemical or biological incident, the peer told AFP, adding: Thank God it was not dangerous.

I have received racist, abusive, insulting and Islamaphobic letters before, but never with white powder.

This was frightening, as our colleague Jo Cox was murdered a few weeks ago.

The letter had been screened before it reached his office, but lawmakers are on heightened alert after Labour Party MP Cox was gunned down on the street in her constituency last month.

A local man, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, has been charged with her murder in the northern English village of Birstall, one week before the EU referendum.

Britains shock vote to leave the European Union on June 23 came after a divisive campaign focused on immigration, and was followed by a surge in racist incidents.

Ahmed thanked the police and parliamentary authorities for their swift action.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers were alerted to reports of a suspect package at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT). The security alert ended around 2:00 pm.

It was a suspicious package that had been delivered the Houses of Parliament. There are no reports of any injuries or illnesses, a spokeswoman told AFP.

A spokesman for the House of Lords added: Peers car park and parts of the terrace were closed temporarily but have now been reopened.

The closure was put in place while a package containing a white powder was investigated by specialist police units, which is standard procedure.

The powder was found to be non-harmful.
Imprisoned transgender soldier Chelsea Manning was briefly hospitalized this week, the US Army said Wednesday amid media reports the famous intelligence leaker had attempted suicide.

Mannings legal team, however, was unable to contact their client to ascertain the circumstances surrounding her visit to the hospital.

Army spokesman Colonel Patrick Seiber told AFP that Manning had been taken to a local hospital in Kansass Fort Leavenworth area on Tuesday morning.

She was returned to the disciplinary barracks yesterday morning, Seiber said, without providing any information on Mannings medical condition.

Celebrity news site TMZ.com cited an unnamed source saying Manning had tried to hang herself and was currently being monitored.

And CNN, citing an official who also spoke anonymously, said Manning was hospitalized after an apparent suicide attempt.

Mannings lawyer Nancy Hollander reacted furiously to the apparent disclosure of medical information to the media, noting shed had no word from the Army about Mannings condition.

Were shocked and outraged that an official at Leavenworth contacted the press with private confidential medical information about Chelsea Manning, yet no one at the Army has given a shred of information to her legal team, Hollander said in a statement.

The attorney said she had been due to call Manning on Tuesday only to be told by Army officials that the call could not be connected.

The Army has told (Mannings) lawyers that the earliest time that they will accommodate a call between her lawyers and Chelsea is Friday morning, Hollander said.

Her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being... are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelseas current situation, she added.

Army officials did not immediately respond to a request for response on Hollanders comments.

Originally called Bradley, Manning was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offenses after admitting to handing classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

After sentencing, Manning announced she identified as female and later obtained legal authorization to change her name and receive hormone therapy.

She remains, however, in a mens military prison in Kansas, where she is appealing a 35-year sentence.
ADEN: At least six Yemeni troops and around 20 militant attackers were killed on Wednesday in an assault on a military base near the international airport of Yemens southern city of Aden. The assault began when two suicide bombers blew up their cars, followed by armed militants storming the Solaban base.

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LONDON: During the build-up to the 2003 Iraq war, top leaders of the Tony Blair government were more engaged in dealing with rising tensions between India and Pakistan after the 2001 parliament attack in New Delhi, with the possibility of a nuclear conflagration.

Several leading lights of the government at the time, including former foreign secretary Jack Straw, told the Iraq Inquiry headed by John Chilcot that the prospect of an India-Pakistan war in the summer of 2002 was a far more real and present danger to us than the conflict in Iraq.

Two historical military actions cited during discussions before invading Iraq was Indias intervention in East Pakistan in 1971, which created Bangladesh, and the liberation of Goa from Portugal in December 1961, committee records show.

The committee was told Straw was chiefly preoccupied with trying to persuade India and Pakistan back from the edge of a war. Straw recalled the tensions in a memorandum to the committee and during his oral deposition.

The memorandum said: Immediately after 9/11 the foreign policy priority for the UK was Afghanistan. Towards the close of the year, following the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament on 13 December 2001, the possibility  verging it appeared at times on the probability  of a military engagement between India and Pakistan became an added preoccupation for the UK government, and the US.

It added, The joint US/UK endeavour to avoid such a serious regional conflict was the foundation of the very close working relationship which I developed with the US Secretary of State, General Colin Powell.

In his deposition, Straw said: Then on 13th December 2001 there was the attack by Islamist terrorists against the Lok Sabha in Delhi. That led to a series of events which over the following months led to a mobilisation of conventional forces by India and Pakistan and the possibility that they might begin to threaten each other with their nuclear forces. I got completely immersed in that. With Colin Powell, with his deputy, with David Manning, we were backwards and forwards to India and Pakistan throughout that period to persuade and cajole the Indians and Pakistanis to pull back from a military confrontation. We were dealing hour by hour with the India/Pakistan issue.

The five-member inquiry committee that severely indicted the Tony Blair government for invading Iraq included Indianorigin Usha Prashar, a member of the House of Lords.
DHAKA/NEW DELHI: The Islamic State warned on Wednesday of more attacks in Bangladesh until Shariah law is established, saying in a new video last weeks massacre of 20 hostages in a Dhaka cafe was only a glimpse of what is to come.

The video, posted on IS-affiliated websites, reflected the terror groups focus on Bangladesh in recent months. Besides claiming the killing of several secular bloggers and Hindu priests, the IS chief for the country said he intends to use his fighters to mount guerrilla strikes inside India.

What you witnessed in Bangladesh...was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the Shariah is established throughout the world, said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali in the video monitored by SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadi organisations.

The video, which began with pictures of recent attacks in Paris, Brussels and Orlando in the US claimed by the IS, was shot in the groups de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria.

Three fighters featured in the video are of Bangladeshi origin and they spoke in a mix of Bengali and English.

The fighters said Bangladesh is part of a bigger battlefield to establish the caliphate proclaimed by the IS in 2014 and the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery was revenge for the killing of Muslims by crusaders.

Police said on Wednesday that Saiful Islam Chowkidar, a pizza chef killed, was probably in league with the attackers.

Chow kider carried no arms but was seen moving and running with the five gunmen during the siege, said counter-terrorism police chief Monirul Islam. Police said on Tuesday Chowkidar was shot dead by mistake but Islam revised that, saying his death was not accidental, although police were unsure how he died and the role he played.
WASHINGTON: Their joint appearance was to be the event of the 2016 White House race, so far. And it was, except President Barack Obama, the campaigner-in-chief, stole the show.

As the presumptive Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, spoke, Obama, perched on a backless stool behind her, acted out some parts of her speech, specially those about him.

He eagerly joined her supporters in chanting Hillary, Hillary, and even led them a few times. And when it was his turn at the microphone, the president was a quintessential surrogate.

Im ready to pass the baton, Obama, who had his sleeves rolled up, said to applause. And I know that Hillary Clinton is going to take it. And I know she can run that race.

The president and his onetime secretary of state appeared jointly for the first time this election season, just hoursafter Clinton received a mixed reprieve on her private email use.

The FBI said earlier on Tuesday that though Clinton, as secretary of state, and her aides had been extremely careless using a private server, it was not recommending charges against her.

Neither Obama nor Clinton referred to the FBI announcement  and it was noted  and plunged headlong into the race, in which they both have as much at stake as the other.

Clinton needs Obamas testimony as acharacter witness to change a continuing perception of her as dishonest and untrustworthy and her high un-favorability ratings.

Obama was right on cue at the joint appearance, in North Carolina, blaming it on politics. He started by recalling how popular she was when she had just left office. Shewas agreat secretary of state, he said. Before the whole political machinery got moving. You remember that? It wasnt that long ago. Its funny how that happens.

And he tore into presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who he constantly referred to as the other guy or just the guy, saying tweeting is easy, but sitting behind the Oval Office desk isnt.
LHASA: In my heart, the sunburnt Tibetan said of his plans to observe the Dalai Lamas 81st birthday before quietly fading into a crowd of tourists and believers heading into the Sera monastery outside Lhasa on Wednesday morning.

Elsewhere in the city, the Dharamsala-based spiritual leaders birthday wasnt celebrated with any kind of fervour.

Furtively would probably be a more appropriate word to describe how Tibetans marked the occasion across the Tibet Autonomous Region and especially in the capital Lhasa.

The Communist Party of China (CPC)-led government forbids any public celebration of the birthday of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a revolt in the remote region.

At Potala Palace, which was the Dalai Lamas erstwhile residence, things appeared normal with visitors crowding the 13-storey world heritage structure and military-trained firefighters keeping a close watch on them.

The government has branded the internationally revered monk as a splittist and a wolf in monks robes.

Beijing says he incited a large number of self-immolation cases  more than 130  in which Tibetans set themselves afire, demanding his return to China and more rights for the community.

The Chinese government is lenient about the Dalai Lamas mention i n some Tibetan regions, such as Shangri La, where his photos are often displayed in homes.

But not in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Nearly all Tibetans Hindustan Times spoke to in Lhasa on Wednesday remained silent or changed the conversation when it came to the birthday.

One put a finger to his lips. Others said no one was celebrating it  at least not openly.

Lhasa was instead busy completing preparations for the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet, an international seminar with participants from scores of countries and experts on Tibet from across China.

His birthday is not important to the Chinese. It is not an important date. Do you see any abnormal security in the city? The locals are not bothered, said Li Xiaojun, director at the State Council, Chinas cabinet.
BATON ROUGE: The US Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation on Wednesday into the video-taped police killing of a black man who was shot as officers wrestled with him on the pavement outside a convenience store. The announcement came a day after the killing of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, who authorities say was confronted by police after an anonymous caller said he had threatened someone with a gun outside the store where he was selling homemade CDs. In a cellphone video taken by a community activist and posted online, two officers had Sterling pinned to the ground, and gunfire erupted moments after someone yelled, Hes got a gun! Gun! The shooting fueled anger and protests.

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In this post, hoteliers can learn what it means to be 'in the cloud' with key points to consider before changing their systems.

It's no secret technology is a hotelier's new best tool. To be in the cloud, to have cloud services or to be cloud-based are expression commonly heard when hoteliers are looking for tech products and services. The cloud is basically the Internet and hosted services or products become available to anyone with Internet access. It works in a similar way to your email and social media platforms. No downloads, no installations, and direct updates without a click.

According to Gartner7, office suites, digital content creation, and business intelligence tools are the top three growing areas of cloud-based software in 2016. This increase is a response to the wide needs that can be solved through the cloud. Some of the solutions for hotels are property management systems, booking engines, channel managers, housekeeping systems, sales, and catering, or activity schedules, among other. All in the tip of your fingers from mobile devices and computers.

As a consequence, unmanageable and inconvenient hardware and infrastructure needed before is no longer necessary, reducing operational costs and freeing space and time for other activities. Although time is not an abundant resource for hoteliers, moving to the cloud means gaining some time and flexibility at work. Until now, it was not possible to check-in and out guests from the lobby, confirm reservations from the bar, and overview housekeeping from a smartphone, a laptop and/or a tablet.

Some cloud characteristics are very appealing to the hospitality industry. With so many different solutions in the market, we have made a checklist of the essentials and compare before you decide to go to the cloud.

Where is the cloud?

Although we have said the cloud is essentially the Internet, there has to be a physical location where the information is stored and connected to the Internet. For example, our Base7booking servers are in two different highly secured locations in Zurich, Switzerland. Facebook has one of its many data centers in the edge of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, and Apple has different servers in California and Oregon in the United States. Coming back to our servers, by having two different locations we can rely on having the information constantly running even if one of them is down due to maintenance or overload.

What happens if there's no Internet?

You want to make sure you're information is available both online and offline, and the servers are constantly updated with your guest registrations, calendars, invoices, and housekeeping. Some cloud providers like Google Drive offer offline access to documents, assuring the next time users have a connection the files update on their own. Our users have multiple daily backups and can use Base7booking offline with the latest information saved on the server.

How safe is the cloud?

Data encryption and backups can save your life. Encryption is the most effective way to secure data and only users with a key or code can read and access the encrypted file or cipher text. Our users can count on triple encryption, and as we mentioned before multiple daily backups. Safety is a top priority.

How much help do you have?

Support before, during, and after transitioning to the cloud is essential and you definitely want to have support during the process. During migration, hoteliers will want to provide all the necessary information to the cloud to have it available and complete. Finally, some support is essential once you're totally functioning on the cloud. As you can see, help and support is always needed. Enquiring about how often, at what time, through what medium the providers offer support and help to users is key. In Base7booking we also provide training to the hotel staff who will use our systems before and during onboarding, and provide 24/7 support to our users.

These are the main points to observe and compare when looking for hotel solutions. The impact hoteliers can see in their daily life and operations can be huge with the right tools.

Do you have any questions related to cloud services? Let us know in our social media in Facebook or @Base7booking, and we'll do our best to help you.
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Despite significantly reducing both overhead and labour costs, hotels in Abu Dhabi were unable to offset the decline in revenue across the major operating departments this month and as a result year-on-year profit per room dropped by 6.9%, according to the latest data from HotStats.

Despite significantly reducing both overhead and labour costs, hotels in Abu Dhabi were unable to offset the decline in revenue across the major operating departments this month and as a result year-on-year profit per room dropped by 6.9%, according to the latest data from HotStats.

In addition to a 3.7% drop in RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room), a decrease in Food and Beverage (-11.1%) as well as Conference and Banqueting (-25.4%) revenue on a per available room basis, contributed to a 7.8% decline in TrevPAR (Total Revenue per Available Room) at hotels in the UAE capital in May.

Whilst savings were made in labour (-8.5%) and overhead (-4.8%) costs, hotels in Abu Dhabi suffered further year-on-year declines in profit per room in 2016 and year-to-date, GOPPAR (Gross Operating Profit per Available Room) has now fallen by 11.5% to $83.61. Despite this, hoteliers are still maintaining a respectable 33.4% profit conversion.

Cairo Hotels Profit Performance Continues to Grow Amid Challenging Conditions

Year-on-year profit per room at hotels in Cairo increased by 33.3% in May, despite the city facing ongoing challenges to its business and leisure visitor profile.

The EgyptAir plane crash this month was the latest in a number of incidents which are likely to impact top line performance at hotels in the Egyptian capital, alongside the hijacking of the EgyptAir flight in March and challenging economic conditions following years of political turmoil.

However, the hotel market in Cairo remains buoyant, with hoteliers achieving a 30.7% increase in RevPAR for the month as a result of growth in both occupancy (+9.5 percentage points) and achieved average room rate (+13.9%) to $117.92.

The growth this month contributed to a 25.5% year-to-date RevPAR increase, which has been fuelled by a particularly strong performance in the commercial segment, with the uplift in May contributing to increases in the achieved rate in corporate (+12.8%) and residential conference (+53.1%) segments in the five months to May 2016.

On a rolling 12-month basis, hotels in Cairo have now recorded a 136% increase in profit per room over the last 22 months, to $55.45 in the 12 months to May 2016 from $23.51 in the 12 months to July 2014.

Key Events Give Jeddah Hotels Respite from Profit Decline

Hotels in Jeddah recorded a 47.6% year-on-year uplift in profit per room in May as high volume levels as a result of key events enabled hoteliers to leverage top line performance.

Events such as the FM Expo, Outdoor Design & Build Show and The Hotel Show enabled hoteliers in the Saudi capital to record a 10.8 percentage point uplift in occupancy as well as a 24.5% increase in achieved average room rate, which contributed to a 42.9 % increase in RevPAR.

It was a welcome uplift in performance for hotels in Jeddah, which have suffered consecutive months of profit decline since September 2015, contributing to a 12.7% drop to $148.21 in the 12 months to April 2016.

Top line growth was fuelled by a 76.7% increase in the achieved rate in the Other segment, to $454.49 this month from $257.15 during the same period in 2015, with the segment accounting for 33.2% of all revenue from the rooms department. This was in addition to the 22.1% of rooms revenue derived from the residential conference segment.

Despite year-on-year growth in May, year-to-date GOPPAR at hotels in Jeddah remains 9.8% behind 2015 performance at $132.84.

Click here ( Adobe Acrobat PDF file) to view full the report.



HotStats provides two reporting tools to hoteliers:

Our unique profit and loss benchmarking service which enables monthly comparison of hotels performance against their competitors. It is distinguished by the fact that it provides in excess of 100 performance metric comparisons covering 70 areas of hotel revenue, cost, profit and statistics providing far deeper insight into the hotel operation than any other tool.

Our latest innovation in daily revenue intelligence, MORSE. Amongst its reporting are daily and highly granular market segmentation metrics as well as distribution channel and source of booking analysis. It takes daily market intelligence to a whole new level.

For more information contact:

Enquiries

+44 (0) 20 7892 2241

enquiries@hotstats.com
Kobe Bryant has been retired for a few months now but the retirement gifts are still coming. The most recent came in the form of a Lakers themed 67 Pontiac, courtesy of Snoop Dogg who recently shared some detailed images of the whip on his instagram account.

While the unbelievable car has to rank as one of Kobes best retirement gifts, dont sleep on all the work that Nike is putting in on the Kobe 11 to honor his career. Theyve recently honored the Black Mambas Olympic run with a special USA Kobe 11 Elite Low and theres a slick Great Career Recall pair coming later this Summer.

Think hes content with the new Pontiac, though.

Item #1
Entitled 'Ole', it will be the second effort from the pair following their chart topping hit 'Blame'.

They've been out and about boasting that 'Ole' is even better than 'Blame'.

In fact, it's the complete opposite to the dance tune 'Blame' according to Newman who revealed to Digital Spy; "It's just chilled, and I know Calvin's really, really proud of it as well. He says it's one of his favourite songs he's ever written."

The pair have been making their presence known on social media which is typical of a gradual buildup to some big music news.

John Newman A photo posted by Calvin Harris (@calvinharris) on Jun 29, 2016 at 10:36am PDT



And that news is here. Newman has announced on his Twitter account that 'Ole' will be with us tomorrow.

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New music coming Friday.

Follow me on @Spotify to hear Ole first. pic.twitter.com/K4vbFLbXuc  John Newman (@JohnNewmanMusic) July 6, 2016



So the wait isn't long to see what all the talk from Harris and Newman is about on this 'Ole' number.
After watching this clip, you're guaranteed to want to go watch the full offering.

Cillian Murphy always delivers.

Sean Ellis' dramatization of the 1942 secret mission to assassinate the conductor of the Holocaust, Reinhard Heydrich is a bold and brave move. Ellis instilled his faith in Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan and their ability to deliver a performance that conveys the anguish, decisions and turmoil faced by these Czech spies. A weighty mission to even contemplate, officers Josef Gabcik (Cillian Murphy) and Jan Kubis (Jamie Dornan) are met with skepticism and ridicule. The first clip has surfaced online and it only whets our appetite for Anthropoid to be released.



Anthropoid had its world debut at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival earlier this month and is set for our cinemas later this year.
Despite the advice from the attorney General that the bill was unconstitutional a number of Government TDs supported the bill, which aimed to allow abortion in limited circumstances in Ireland.

The Fatal Foetal Abnormalities Bill, put before the Dail by Wexford TD Mick Wallace (pictured), was defeated today. The final tally was 45 in favour and 95 against.

This result followed a decision by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny, made under considerable pressure, to allow a free vote by independent members of the Government on the issue. Among those said to have voted in favour of the bill are Minister for Transport Shane Ross, Super Junior Minister in the Department of Health, Finian McGrath and Minister of State for Training and Skills, John Halligan.

The bill was also supported by five Fianna Fail TDs  Robert Troy, Niall Collins, Timmy Dooley, Fiona OLoughlin and Lisa Chambers. Had all of Fianna Fail voted against the government, the bill would have been passed.

The Government had been advised by the Attorney General, Maire Whelan, that the bill is unconstitutional, on the basis that it conflicts with the provisions of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution (1983). That advice and todays decision must surely increase the pressure on the government to repeal the Eighth Amendment. A recent Red C opinion poll found that 87% of Irish people of voting age are in favour of expended access to abortion in Ireland.

The Dail debate and decision have to be seen against the backdrop of the experience of Amanda Mellet. In 2011, she discovered that her pregnancy of 21 weeks involved a case of fatal foetal impairment, as a result of Edwards Syndrome. Amanda wanted to have an abortion  but that was not permitted in Ireland.

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She travelled to England, to have a termination in Liverpool Womens Hospital, but after 36 hours of labour, she had to travel home without staying overnight  at which stage she was still bleeding.

Amanda subsequently made a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee, which argued that Irelands failure to allow abortion represented a violation of her human rights.

The determination made by the Committee in response to this complaint was absolutely clear: that Irelands prohibition on abortion had subjected Amanda Mellet to intense physical and mental suffering. It also stated that this countrys criminalisation of abortion had caused her shame and stigma, and that her suffering was made even worse by the barriers which make information about the healthcare options available to her difficult to access. The Committee also stated that Amanda had been subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. And they concluded that her right to privacy had been violated.

In addition, more generally, the Committee found that Ireland discriminates against women like Amanda, who choose to terminate pregnancies in cases of fatal foetal impairment, compared to women who decide to proceed with the pregnancy even after a fatal foetal impairment has been diagnosed. The latter receive public health care and insurance cover, whereas those like Amanda, who decide to have an abortion, have to bear the full cost themselves.

All told, it is a damning assessment of Irelands treatment of women.

The Eighth Amendment needs to go, Colm OGorman of Amnesty International says in an article in response, in the Irish Times today, and a legal and healthcare framework be put in place that respects womens and girls rights.

The issue of the Eighth Amendment is also covered in an extraordinary interview with Trinity College Senator, Lynn Ruane, in the new issue of Hot Press.
David Yost, the actor who played the Blue Ranger in the 90's Power Rangers series has accused Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston of homophobia.

David Yost, the actor who played Billy Cranston, the blue power ranger in the original 90's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, has accused Bryan Cranston of homophobia.

When asked on twitter how he felt about the Breaking Bad star's casting in the forthcoming Power Rangers reboot movie, Yost replied, 'Not cool. I'm not a fan of homophobes'

?Not cool. I'm not a fan of homophobes https://t.co/QfJ5O60ay0 last page last line. Fey/gay = a problem https://t.co/qVHwILjNVV  David Yost (@David_Yost) June 22, 2016

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Yost referred to an interview with IGN where Cranston revealed that he had done dubbing work for the series. In honour of the work he did the writers named The Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston, after him.

'The Blue Power Ranger's last name is Cranston.' Cranston said, and finished,'He's the fey one, that's the problem'.

Cranston has signed on to play 'Zordon' in the Power Rangers reboot which he compared to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy in an interview with The Huffington Post.
Last Friday throughout the entire trading session just 1,200 of Catasys Inc (OTCMKTS:CATS, CATS message board)'s shares got traded. When trading resumed after the holiday investors showed a bit more interest but the daily volume still remained below 10 thousand shares. Yesterday, however, all that changed and CATS saw over 265 thousand of their shares changing hands, the biggest volume for the company since October 2015. The intense buying propelled the stock up the chart to a close at exactly 80 cents per share and a daily gain of 21.2%. Can the sudden spike in interest be attributed to the new PR that CATS issued before the start of the session?

Yesterday the company announced the launch of its OnTrak solution in the state of Virginia, the latest in several similar press releases since the start of June. In around a month the states in which the company has operations have increased from 13 to 18. In addition, CATS reported a 175% increase in enrollment in its OnTrak programs as well as a 68% increase in revenues for the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2015.

Underestimating the risks surrounding CATS is not advisable, though. Despite the revenue growth the financial state of the company still fails to inspire much confidence - as of March 31, 2016, Catasys had:

 $262 thousand cash

 $1.3 million total current assets

 $13.7 million total current liabilities

 $728 thousand revenues

 $4.3 million net loss

The cash position of the company is particularly depressing with the quarterly report stating that as of May 12 CATS had a balance of just $78 thousand cash on hand. Historically the required funds for the company's operations have been raised through the sale of shares and notes to affiliated entities. Last year 8.2 million shares priced at just $0.30 were sold for approximately $2.5 million in proceeds. This year $900 thousand, amount subsequently increased by $400 thousand to $1.3 million, were raised through a promissory note issued to Acuitas Group Holdings, LLC, a limited liability company owned 100% by the CEO of CATS. As part of the note agreement warrants for the purchase of 650 thousand shares at $0.47 per share were also issued.

If it hasn't already CATS will soon need to once again look for outside sources of funds which could have a negative impact on the performance of the stock. Use caution and do extensive due diligence before committing to any trades.
Supernova Energy Inc (OTMKTS:SPRN, SPRN message board) has been trading into obscurity for quite some time. The company stock rarely records any traded shares, whatsoever, and the daily percentile movements are almost non-existent.

Meanwhile, the company bares the OTC Pink Limited Information sign in the OTC marketplace website, and for good reason. The latest financial report that SPRN has filed covers the quarterly period ended September 30, 2015 and contains the following numbers of prime interest.

cash: $1,734

current assets: $3,742

current liabilities: $727,795

revenues: $1,209

net loss: $429,160

These numbers are pretty terrible and leave no questions about the bad performance of SPRN. Someone, however, decided to intervene. The method was to pay pumpers to promote the stock. A series of newsletters received $25 thousand in order to promote the stock and it had an effect.

The pump emails came in Tuesday and managed to push SPRN 27.30% up the charts, to a close at $0.47. A total of 954 thousand traded shares generated $428 thousand in daily dollar volume. The ticker is heavily traded in todays session as well, which leaves a lot of room for profit for the people who decided to pay $25 thousand to pump the company stock.

This, combined with the horrible financial state of the company should be warning enough for people to do their due diligence and weigh out the risks before putting any money on the line.
The Houston Independent School District announced Thursday that it will test for lead in drinking water at nearly all campuses over the next three years in "an abundance of caution" amid national health concerns.

The state's largest school district said it tested five of its 288 schools at random in March and found that lead levels in all samples were acceptable.

The district will start by testing all its elementary schools for the toxic metal during the upcoming academic year. All middle schools will be tested in 2017-18, and high schools not being rebuilt as part of the voter-approved bond program will undergo testing the following year.

The announcement followed a public request in June from union leader Orell Fitzsimmons. During a school board meeting, Fitzsimmons called on the district to test for lead in all schools.

"I'm so ecstatic that they're actually doing testing," Fitzsimmons, field director of United Labor Unions Local 100, said Thursday. "I think they're going to find some lead. And once they find lead, then the timeline's going to be expedited."

Marc Edwards, the Virginia Tech professor who recently helped uncover the water problems in Flint, Mich., said he can "almost guarantee" that Houston will have troublesome levels of lead in some schools, if the tests are conducted appropriately.

Edwards applauded HISD for rolling out testing, even though federal law does not require any such checks.

"The worst examples are the schools that never test because then you just don't know," Edwards said. "The sooner you get the bad news, the sooner you can prevent harm to your kids."

Schools built before 1986, when Congress passed a lead ban, are most at risk for having tainted water. Lead generally affects children more than adults and can cause serious health problems such as brain disorders, heart and kidney disease, and reduced fertility.

HISD estimates the cost to test its elementary schools will total $130,000. It did not provide cost estimates for testing at middle and high schools.

The Cypress-Fairbanks, Klein and Clear Creek school districts said they rely on local utility districts to ensure water safety. The area's other large public school districts did not respond to questions sent via email late Thursday.

Nationwide, about 1 percent of children from 6 months to 6 years old have been found to have elevated levels of lead, a significant reduction from decades ago, said Dr. Marcus Hanfling, assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine who runs a lead and environmental clinic in Pasadena. Historically, he said, young children are tested for lead  and then a search for the source of the problem starts.

"This approach, checking the school water from a precautionary standpoint. makes more sense," he said.

The five HISD schools already tested are: Wharton Dual Language Academy; Hogg Middle School; Henderson Elementary School; Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men; and McReynolds Middle School. A district spokeswoman said there are no records of lead testing in prior years.
You can always count on Claudia Schmuckli to challenge you with confounding art, then explain it with absolute intellectual clarity, in context with the canon of art history.

She has made sense of exhibitions that seemed to have little in common, from the near-nothing sculptures the late Tony Feher fashioned from found objects to the complex polemics of the Eurasia-focused collective Slavs and Tatars to the mythical film installations of Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler.

Soon she'll be doing all that and more in California. Schmuckli is leaving her post as the director of University of Houston's Blaffer Art Museum to begin a new job as curator-in-charge of contemporary art and programming at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco on Sept. 1.

Schmuckli, a native of Switzerland, said leaving Houston was bittersweet  she just bought a condo that she had planned to move into on Sept. 1  but the job was "too exciting a challenge to turn down."

She will be tasked with building a new department for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, an organization that encompasses two encyclopedic museums, the De Young and the Legion of Honor. That involves acquiring a permanent collection of contemporary works, organizing temporary exhibitions and staging contemporary art "interventions" at both museums to redefine their visitors' engagement with contemporary art, she said.

One of Houston's most sophisticated contemporary art thinkers, Schmuckli joined the Blaffer's staff in 2004 and has directed the museum since 2009, forging a reputation as a pivotal figure in the presentation of contemporary art.

Schmuckli also oversaw the award-winning 2012 renovation of the Blaffer by WORK Architecture Company (WORKac). The most significant facility improvement in the Blaffer's 43-year history, that project transformed and expanded the interior spaces and added an entrance with a glowing facade that boosted the museum's visibility and visitor accessibility.

In 2015, under Schmuckli's watch, the museum received the largest gift in its history, a $1 million bequest from longtime benefactor Jane Dale Owen (1942-2014). Schmuckli has also played a key role in planning the University of Houston's new College of the Arts, which is set to launch on Sept. 1.

"Given how far Claudia has advanced the stature of Blaffer Art Museum's exhibitions and programming within the University of Houston, the greater Houston arts community, and the international art world over the past seven years, it's not surprising that an institution of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's caliber came calling," said Andrew Davis, acting dean of the College of the Arts. "We will miss her and the valuable role she has played in helping plan the new College, but we heartily congratulate her on this well-deserved appointment."

Schmuckli has known Max Hollein, the new director of Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, since the late 1990s, when they both began their careers at New York's Solomon R. Gugenheim Museum.

Hollein said Schmuckli's experience in a variety of museum environments and her pioneering expertise in the contemporary field makes her a "perfect match" for his organization.

"With our broad and diverse collections and multiple platforms for programmatic exchange  from exterior courtyards and major galleries to theater spaces  the de Young and Legion of Honor offer a wide range of possibilities for a unique contemporary program in the Bay Area," he said.

Schmuckli will return, briefly, for the opening of her next Blaffer exhibition, "Analia Saban," on Sept. 23. And she's far from finished in Houston. She has shows scheduled through 2018. She is curating shows by The Propeller Group and Julia Brown for next year, and the Blaffer co-commissioned a video installation by Hito Steyerl that is currently in the Berlin Biennial and will come to the Blaffer in 2018. She has also planned a new iteration of the Houston Area Exhibition, which will have a new name and a guest curator in 2018.

The University of Houston College of the Arts, which oversees the Blaffer, will conduct a national search for Schmuckli's replacement.
A former north Texas high school drama teacher who exchanged videos and photos with a Michigan teenage boy he planned to visit has been charged with receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents filed Friday in federal district court in Fort Worth, 24-year-old Matthew Keller of Watagua considered the teenager to be his boyfriend and was in contact with him for 18 months, starting when the boy was 13.

RELATED: Tip in Australia leads to Texas teacher's child porn arrest

Authorities learned about the relationship after one of the boy's parents alerted police in Eastpointe, Michigan, on June 7. Eastpointe, which borders Detroit. The boy was 15 years old when his parent contacted police.

According to court documents, the teenager's parent learned Keller was planning a trip to meet with him in Michigan, prompting the parent to contact police.

The Macomb County Sheriff's Office in Michigan contacted Keller using the teenager's phone after receiving permission from the boy's parent. Court documents say Keller was skeptical and wanted to video chat with the teenager to prove it was him. Keller ultimately decided not to fly to Detroit because he thought he would get arrested, according to the court documents.

SEE ALSO: Homemade explosives found during child porn investigation

When a sheriff's office investigator made a direct call to Keller, court documents say he admitted to meeting the boy online about two years ago. Keller told the investigator the teenager sent him approximately 25 nude photos and 25 nude videos.

The teenager told authorities that Keller sent him pictures and photos and told him to delete them afterward, according to the court documents.

The website where Keller met the teenager was not disclosed in the court documents.

Keller told authorities he was a drama teacher at Southwest High School in Fort Worth.

On June 28, a Tarrant County criminal investigator and forensic examiner contacted the federal Homeland Security Investigations' Dallas Child Exploitation Group to execute a search warrant at Keller's Watauga home. Watauga is about 14 miles northeast of Fort Worth.

RELATED: Man gets 22 years in child porn case

Federal agents seized a computer that had a video from late November 2014, which showed the naked teenager in handcuffs, the court documents read.

Keller remains in federal custody and was scheduled to have a detention hearing Wednesday in federal court in Fort Worth, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

If convicted, Keller could face between five and 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of of supervised release, according to the justice department.

Court documents do not state when Keller was released from his teaching role.
A candidate for Missouri governor will speak at a town hall meeting Friday in Houston.

Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL and conservative outsider, will share his plan to take on career politicians and turn Missouri around from 4-5 p.m. at the meeting room inside the Houston Rural Fire Department. The stop is part of his Mission for Missouri Bus Tour.

Onsite registration will be available or online via Eventbrite: https://goo.gl/438yHt
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Category Female Male Engineering 18% 82% IT 19% 81% Construction & roading 26% 74% Automotive 29% 71% Transport & logistics 30% 70% Trades & services 31% 69% Architecture 37% 63% Executive & general management 38% 62% Manufacturing & operations 39% 61% Agriculture, fishing & forestry 40% 60% Sales 45% 55% Marketing, media & communications 47% 53% Banking, finance & insurance 50% 50% Science & technology 50% 50% Government & council 50% 50% Property 51% 49% Hospitality & tourism 52% 48% Other 54% 46% Accounting 56% 44% HR & recruitment 57% 43% Retail 59% 41% Customer service 59% 41% Healthcare 66% 34% Legal 67% 33% Office & administration 71% 29% Education 71% 29

Pay band Percentage of applications Male Female $0-$39,999 47% 53% $40,000-59,999 54% 46% $60k-$79,999 66% 34% $80k-$99,999 69% 31% $100,000+ 70% 30%

seems the gender divide is still alive and well in New Zealands employment market as recent job data reveals distinct splits across industry and salary.The latest Trade Me Jobs data analysed applications made to the 65,000 roles advertised in the second quarter of 2016 and found significant gender splits in several sectors with men dominating applications in the executive and general management sector.Trade Me Jobs spokesman Jeremy Wade said some difference was so be expected but admitted he was surprised at the extreme imbalance for some job types.We looked at all the applications from our members over the past three months and in sectors like engineering and IT, more than 80 per cent of the applications are from men, he revealed.While public sector roles such as banking and finance were evenly split between male and female applicants, Wade said more than 70 per cent of applications for roles in education and office administration were from women.Wellington-based Wade acknowledged that its tempting to point fingers while looking at the disappointing data but urged all employers to address the imbalance.This isnt about playing the blame game, and no one person or industry is at fault here, he stressed. Were all responsible for ensuring we have workplace equality and diversity.We need to have this conversation and think about what were doing that might be inhibiting people from getting into industries and roles where they can do great work.He also said those employers who are in areas of extreme imbalance are hurting themselves as much as potential applicants.Looking at these numbers we think there are a number of employers missing out on a diverse range of applicants, which in many cases is not a good thing, he said, adding that Trade Me itself has begun to promote IT as a fantastic career path for women.The data not only revealed that certain industries and roles were imbalances, but also pointed out to a worrying trend in compensation.Women are much less likely to apply for a high-paying role, and we saw this peak for six-figure salary roles where the proportion of women applying is just 30 per cent, he revealed. Theres a close relationship between lower average pay rates and sectors that are typically female-dominated, such as education.IT and engineering roles consistently appear in Trade Me Jobs top 10 highest paid roles each quarter while education and office/administration roles were typically lower paid.Id never advocate that any job hunter chases money over enjoyment and satisfaction, but the value placed on particular roles is an important conversation for us to have, Wade said.On a more positive note, the data revealed that New Zealands employment market is currently favouring employers.Between October last year and March this year we saw hot competition from job hunters, despite healthy listing numbers. That pressure has eased slightly over the last three months, with a few exceptions the balance sits firmly in favour of employers still at this stage.For all the latest HR news and info straight to your inbox, subscribe here
11-year old employment law case against HSBC has been wrapped up with the courts finding the bank had breached the rights of Johanna Abela  a private clients manager  through unjust disciplinary action.The verdict took too long to come through however, with Abela passing away from cancer in 2013. In light of these circumstances, the courts awarded 603K - the equivalent to NZ$938,935 to her heirs instead, the Times of Malta reported.Abela had been indefinitely suspended from the bank on 1 March 2004. A letter of charge accusing her of gross misconduct was later issued on 8 April in the same year.After an internal disciplinary board found her guilty, she was downgraded. An internal appeals board validated this decision, changing the downgrade to a disciplinary transfer and final warning.On 8 July 2005, Abela filed a writ claiming that defects and irregularities within the hearing breached the common principles of justice.The application, signed by lawyer Tonio Azzopardi, said among other things that Abela was not allowed to present her own witnesses or cross-examine those testifying against her.Furthermore, an anonymous document was allegedly used as evidence against her.Saying that both the disciplinary and appeals boards had failed to act in an impartial, independent manner, she said the investigation breached her rights and were thus null and without effect. She asked the court to support her in these allegations.HSBC denied these claims.In the final judgment, Madam Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima said the bank had failed to convince her that the process taken against Abela was fair and without prejudice.Although the bank had requested that the disciplinary procedure against Abela be reinitiated instead of having to pay costs, the courts decided that since she was no longer alive this was no longer an option.The firm was ordered to pay damages included the wages and commission with costs and interests that Abela would have received up until the time her cancer symptoms deemed her too ill to work.For all the latest HR news and info straight to your inbox, subscribe here
After Pennsylvania dad Andre Palmer had worked all night at his third shift job, he still managed to get to his sons hospital bedside.

Palmers 20-month-old son A.J. was admitted to York Hospital Pediatrics after suffering an asthma attack, KTLA 5 reports. When the dad arrived after his shift, his wife Amy was asleep in a chair.

When Amy later woke, she saw her husband sleeping under her sons hospital crib. She then took a photo and posted it to Facebook where it has now gone viral with over 3,000 likes.

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In her post, Amy praised her husband for his dedication to their family, adding that he deserves the Father of the Year award.

I thought to myself after working all night he didnt have to come to the hospital, the mom told KTRK. He could have went home to sleep.

Many Facebook users were also touched by the dads sweet dedication to his son. In the comments, one woman wrote: I don't know you but I had to comment on your photo, there is so much evil in the world today and that just touched me!! That picture is [worth] a 1000 words!!! Prayers to you and your precious family!!!

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Ok I just started crying!!!! another said. We need more dads like him!

I would have never imagined that [the photo] would have touched so many people.

In just two days, Amys photo racked up hundreds of likes, shares and comments on Facebook, from friends and strangers alike.

I am so overwhelmed with so much emotion right now, the mom wrote in a new post on Thursday. I would have never imagined that [the photo] would have touched so many people.

According to Amy, her husband was literally exhausted after he finished working and had dropped off their daughter to daycare early that morning.

I didn't leave him there, she continued. I quickly got him up into the bed/chair I was sleeping in, but not before taking the picture that I felt spoke volumes about the good person, husband, and father he truly is. Our son is doing much better and is now at home resting. Thanks again for all of the support, we truly are so appreciative!!!!

ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
UPDATE: Since this article was published actor Jim Carrey released a statement addressing White's suicide note and autopsy report. "When I came to Hollywood to make it as a comedian, I soon learned that the details of my private life would be handed out to the media like free dinner vouchers. I never dreamed that the people I love most in the world would also be on the menu. What a shame."

Jim Carrey's ex-girlfriend Cathriona White was inconsolable after their breakup, according to a suicide note released by a coroner months after her death.

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The 30-year-old died in her Los Angeles home last September after overdosing on prescription drugs, and an L.A. county coroner's report, obtained by ITV, revealed she left two notes addressed to Carrey.

The two had broken up a week beforehand, and in one message, she said she couldn't bear to live any more.

"I've spent three days now in disbelief that you're not here," she wrote.

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 20: Actor Jim Carrey (R) and Cathriona White leave the 'Late Show With David Letterman' taping at Ed Sullivan Theater on May 20, 2015 in New York City. (Photo: Ray Tamarra/WireImage)

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"I can go on broken-hearted and try to put the pieces back. I could, I just don't have the will this time. I'm sorry you felt I wasn't there for you. I tried to give you my best part."

In the other note, she asked Carrey's "people" to sell her possessions and give the money to her family.

"Please forgive me. I'm just not for this world," she wrote.

In a cryptic tweet sent a few days before her death, she said she hoped she had "been a light" to her "nearest and dearest."

Signing off Twitter, I hope I have been a light to my nearest and dearest.  to yo all  Cathriona white (@littleirishcat) September 24, 2015

According to the coroner's report, which People.com also obtained, White died of suicide and had several different prescription pills in her body, including painkillers, a sleep aid and a drug used to treat high blood pressure. Carrey had also sent White texts asking about the location of his painkillers.

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One of White's friends, Dennis Bradshaw, told police that the Irish stylist often got "really down" emotionally and spoke of her and Carrey's tumultuous relationship, which was on and off since they met on a film set in 2012.

About two weeks after her death, Carrey tweeted a moving tribute.

Love cannot be lost.  pic.twitter.com/XxPYOhkdzc  Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) October 10, 2015

He also carried her casket at her funeral.

TIPPERARY, IRELAND - OCTOBER 10: Jim Carrey attends the funeral of Cathriona White on October 10, 2015 in Cappawhite, Tipperary, Ireland. (Photo: Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)

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In a statement Carrey released last year, he said he was "shocked and deeply saddened by the passing of my sweet Cathriona."
The only declared federal NDP leadership candidate is standing in solidarity with Black Lives Matter Toronto in the wake of the group's protest at the Toronto Pride parade.

Ontario NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo, who serves as a critic for LGBTQ issues, released a statement Wednesday on behalf of her party's LGBTQ committee.

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"We want to express our concern for the alarming amounts of hateful speech that BLM TO has been a target of since their non-violent direction action during Sunday's Toronto Pride parade," the statement reads. "We recognize that BLM TO is an irreplaceable part of our community and represents voices of those who have been marginalized and excluded for too long."

Members of Black Lives Matter Toronto shut down Canada's largest Pride parade for about 30 minutes Sunday with a peaceful sit-in. The parade only resumed when Pride Toronto's executive director signed a list of specific demands, including more funding and community space support for racialized communities and a ban on police floats in future parades.

That proposed exclusion has already proven to be the most contentious issue, particularly after Pride Toronto later said it didn't sign off on banning floats associated with police. Toronto Mayor John Tory also released a letter of support to the Toronto Police Association, saying he would have "serious concerns" if officers could not participate in future events.

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Black Lives Matter Toronto says it has been flooded with hate mail and racist messages this week.

In the statement, DiNovo and committee members state that while many take part in Pride as a celebration, the event remains "inherently political." They say it should come as little surprise that Black Lives Matter Toronto was selected as an honoured group by event organizers.

"Historically, our communities came together and organized for safer spaces for all of us. Black drag queens and Black Trans and queer folks were some of the original organizers of Prides across the world," it reads, adding that activists reminded Pride of its "roots" as a march on behalf of marginalized people.

"The non-violent direct action undertaken by BLM TO at the Pride parade was a warranted taking up of space."

LIVE REPLAY: Watch the Black Lives Matter sit-in unfold at the Toronto Pride parade:

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DiNovo, an ordained United Church minister, has represented Toronto's Parkdale-High Park riding since 2006. She has long been considered a champion of the LGBTQ community and tweeted last week that she has participated in Pride events for more than 45 years.

#Pride2016 This weekend I will have attended Pride over 45 years #onpoli#cdnpoli  Cheri DiNovo (@Cheri4NDPLdr) June 30, 2016

When she launched her leadership bid last month, DiNovo said LGBTQ rights would be a core principle on which she would fight.

She also made specific mention of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Saying Black Lives Matter should be more than lip service," she said at the time. "It must mean an end to systemic racism."

With files from The Canadian Press

Also on HuffPost

Toronto Pride Parade 2016 See Gallery
City Of Edmonton

A project to build one of the world's greenest communities in Edmonton could be one step closer to reality.

On Wednesday, a representative of Axiom Group told the city's executive committee his company would be able to use waste heat from sewage to heat buildings in the proposed Blatchford development.

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'Not science fiction?'

So its not science fiction? asked Mayor Don Iveson, according to the Edmonton Journal. Because its been suggested this is flight of fancy to use this kind of technology. But youre a real live company that does this for a living?

The Blatchford development would see Edmonton's former City Centre Airport turned into an entirely eco-friendly, mixed-use community for 30,000 residents.

The project began as the result of an international competition in 2010 to find a design that would turn what was once the first licensed airfield in Canada into a sustainable community.

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A rendering shows what the Blatchford development will look like once complete. (Photo: City of Edmonton)

The winning design was ambitious, featuring stormwater lakes, carbon-neutral development and a focus on economic and social sustainability.

Using sewage for heat might seem strange but waste heat is already used to warm several communities around the world, including Vancouver's Olympic Village.

In March, council voted to delay the project another year as some councillors were concerned aspects of the development, like the sewage heat initiative, might be too risky for taxpayers.

"This makes me really uncomfortable," Coun. Michael Oshry told CBC News.

Now, the fact that companies are willing to build the technology is a positive sign for the project's future.

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This is a transformational agenda for the city, Gary Klassen, the general manager of the City of Edmontons development branch, told The Globe and Mail.

Also on HuffPost:
OTTAWA  A referendum on electoral reform would cost taxpayers an additional $300 million, Canada's chief electoral officer said Thursday.

Marc Mayrand told the special committee on electoral reform that Elections Canada needs a minimum of six months  under the current Referendum Act  to plan for a vote.

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"We've started to develop contingency plans, trying to identify what needs to be done. A referendum hasn't been done since 1992," he said.

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand appears as a witness at an electoral reform committee on Parliament Hill on Thursday July 7, 2016. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP)

The last time the federal election agency organized a referendum, it was for the Charlottetown Accord, which was rejected by a majority of Canadians.

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When asked by Green Party Leader Elizabeth May how much a referendum might cost, Mayrand responded: "[By] our estimate, under the current Referendum Act, it would be about $300 million to run a referendum."

He later told MPs that a referendum could be done by mail "which would reduce costs considerably" but the current legislation doesnt allow for it.

May is opposed to a referendum, but the Conservatives are pushing for one.

She told reporters the focus on holding such a vote is a "red herring" that is getting in the way of the committees work to live up to what the Liberals promised during the 2015 election  to get rid of the first-past-the-post system. "That is a promise I want to hold them to. That is a promise Canadians want."

"I think our electoral system needs to be accepted by our citizens if we want them to have confidence in it."  Conservative MP Gerard Deltell

The Conservatives want to talk about a referendum, May added, only because they like the current first-past-the-post system. "Its the only way they got 100 per cent of the power with 39 per cent of the votes," she said.

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The Liberals also obtained a majority government last fall with 39.5 per cent of voter support.

Conservative democratic institutions critic Scott Reid said he is concerned that the Liberals will run out of time and wont be able to consult Canadians directly on the choice of electoral system because of the campaign promise to have a new voting method by the 2019 election.

Reid said he thinks the $300 million price tag is also reasonable.

"If we are worried about the cost of democracy," he said, "we should suspend having any future elections.

"Clearly, our democracy is worth this amount."

Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand speaks to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May on Parliament Hill. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP)

The Tories asked Mayrand whether he thought a referendum is necessary before electoral changes are made. He said it is up to MPs to decide but that he thinks changes to the electoral system need "social acceptability."

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"Our electoral system needs to be accepted by our citizens if we want them to have confidence in it," he told Conservative MP Gerard Deltell.

The Liberal government is unlikely, however, to call for a referendum on a new voting system. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he believes a referendum would only lead to maintaining the status quo.

Voters in British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island rejected changes to the voting system when they were asked in provincial referendums.

Monsef lays out case against referendum

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef told committee members Wednesday that the current first-past-the-past system is antiquated and that she feels that since 63 per cent of Canadians had voted for parties  the Grits, the NDP and the Greens  that championed electoral change during the last election campaign, the government has a mandate to change the system.

"Referenda do not easily lend themselves to effectively deciding complex issues," she told the committee. "They can [lead] and have often led to deep divisions within Canadian and other societies, divisions which have not been easily healed," she added, perhaps alluding to the United Kingdom's recent example with Brexit.

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Monsef said she wants to ensure that Canadians who tend to vote in lower numbers in general elections, such as the young, those who rent homes rather than own, those without high school diplomas, new immigrants and single parents, are included in the government's consultations on electoral reform.

"My apprehension with a referendum is the possibility that it will provide an incomplete picture of what Canadians want," she told MPs.

Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef appears as a witness at an electoral reform committee on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday July 6, 2016. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP)

The Conservatives suggested a consultation process of even 50,000 people could not replace one that involved millions of Canadians.

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Citing his role as an "administrator of elections," Mayrand declined to weigh in on the issue.

"There are all sorts of ways of engaging Canadians. I believe that this committee will be tasked exactly with that and its up for them  they are the elected officials  to determine which is the best way to engage and reach out to Canadians," he said.

The Tories also asked former chief electoral officer, Jean-Pierre Kingsley whether he thought Canadians should be consulted through a referendum or whether parliamentary consultations, kitchen clubs and local town halls would be sufficient.

Ex-watchdog testifies

"Its an election initially that is the [best] way, because we are a representative democracy," said Kingsley, who headed Elections Canada from 1990 to 2007.

"The introduction of a referendum was problematic, when we talked about it in 1992. We said it should only be used to settle constitutional questions because nobody wanted to see that implant itself in our system as a regular way of settling things."

Mayrand told reporters he doesnt think the current referendum legislation needs to be updated for a referendum on a non-constitutional matter but that he needs sufficient time to plan for one. He expects to have some indication by December that the government will be calling one, he said. Then, he can prepare for a referendum in May or June and have the required time to plan for a vote with four days of advance pollings and special ballots and still have the two years Elections Canada needs to also plan for widespread changes to the voting system  if that is what is decided.

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With previous files

ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
The Donald Trump campaign and the Brexit vote are two sides of the same coin: A wave of xenophobic, anti-globalization sentiment that, at its most extreme, results in violent acts of racial hatred.

But the big question remains: Why is this happening?

Economist Branko Milanovic of the City University of New York believes he has an answer, or at least the economic side of the answer. And it has to do with what has happened to peoples incomes over the recent decades of globalization. In a blog post at the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Milanovic asserted that the Brexit and Trump crowds are, in essence, at the losing end of "the greatest reshuffle of incomes since the Industrial Revolution."

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Milanovic charted the change in household earnings worldwide over two decades of intense globalization, from 1988 to 2008. What he found was that globalization lifted all boats, as the saying goes  except one. And that boat is the one in which Trump and Brexit supporters are sailing.

(Chart: Branko Milanovic / Centre for Economic Policy Research)

The chart above shows the change in incomes among different income groups in 120 countries around the world, covering 90 per cent of the worlds population. The biggest income jumps were for people in the middle of the global earnings ladder (point A on the chart). According to Milanovic, this group largely consists of the burgeoning middle class in the developing world, particularly China and India.

The single smallest jump in income belonged to the people at point B on the chart. Seven in 10 of these people are lower-income earners in the developed world  the retail and fast-food worker descendants of the Wests shuttered factories. These people saw virtually no income growth over two decades, even as virtually most others saw solid (though varying) wage growth.

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These demographic groups are globalizations biggest losers, and its these people who largely compose Donald Trumps support base. When Trump (or even Hillary Clinton) criticize NAFTA or the proposed TPP trade deal, these are the voters they are talking to.

The town of Redcar, England, was once an industrial powerhouse. Its foundries produced the steel for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. But its job-creating industries are gone, and the town voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union. (Photo: Renee Clement via Getty Images)

But Milanovic says you cant simply blame the rise of Asias middle class for the decline of the Wests working class. The global economy is too complex to draw a straight line from Asias boom to western job losses, Milanovic says.

But these two events did coincide, and the plausible narratives linking them, whether made by economists or by politicians, make the correlation in many peoples mind appear real, Milanovic wrote.

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Still, Milanovics research does point towards a solution to the rise of the new xenophobia: Bring jobs back to the struggling factory cities of the Western world.

Sadly, thats a task thats much easier said than done.

Also on HuffPost
National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy is discussing with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) the possibility of expanding a credit line with the limit of $300 million raised at the end of 2015 from the bank to buy natural gas in Europe, Naftogaz Ukrainy Commercial Director Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

He said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday that the current credit line could be expanded or a new line could be opened.

Naftogaz Board Chairman Andriy Kobolev added that Naftogaz has currency on its accounts. The holding bought it to buy gas and pump it to underground storage facilities.

As reported, Naftogaz Ukrainy and EBRD signed a $300 million revolving loan agreement in October 2015. The funds are provided to buy gas in the EU by Naftogaz.

In 2015, the holding bought around 1.7 billion cubic meters of gas at average price of $193 per 1,000 cubic meters (at the delivery point). Noble Clean Fuels Limited, Engie SA, Axpo Trading AG, E.ON Global Commodities SE and Eni trading&shipping S.p.A. supplied gas.

Naftogaz Ukrainy said on May 20, 2016 that the holding fully paid the principal of the $300 million loan and the interest to the EBRD and in a week it announced a new tender to select gas suppliers to buy gas using the bank's funds.
Conservative leadership candidate Michael Chong says he isn't interested in reopening old fights on the thorny matter of Quebec nationhood.

But the longtime Ontario MP was still left unimpressed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's remarks at Montreal press conference this week that "Quebec is a nation."

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Appearing alongside Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, Trudeau was asked about criticism he received from Parti Quebecois leadership contender Martine Ouellet. She took umbrage with a Canada Day message in which the prime minister referred to this country as "one nation."

Tory MP Michael Chong holds a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, May 16, 2016. (Photo: Matthew Usherwood/CP)

"Canada is a nation, Quebec is a nation," Trudeau told reporters, according to the Montreal Gazette, before expressing his incredulity that the debate seemingly keeps going.

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Chong famously quit Stephen Harper's cabinet in 2006 rather than support a motion from the then-prime minister recognizing that the "Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada." The motion, seen by some as an attempt to trip up Liberal MPs who were running for that party's leadership, passed easily.

Chong told The Huffington Post Canada Thursday that he agrees that this matter was "settled in the democratically elected" House of Commons a decade ago.

But he also said that his personal view on the matter hasn't changed.

"I don't stick my finger in the wind to figure out which way the wind is blowing and to figure out my principles, which is what the prime minister  who once opposed this motion  is appearing to do," Chong said.

"I don't stick my finger in the wind to figure out which way the wind is blowing and to figure out my principles, which is what the prime minister  who once opposed this motion  is appearing to do."

Trudeau spoke out against Quebec nationalism in 2006, some two years before he was elected to the House. In a CTV interview at the time, Trudeau called Quebec nationalism an "old idea" and said that while "some people these days are wrapped up in this idea of nation for Quebec," the notion "stands against everything my father ever believed."

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Chong said that while "reasonable people can disagree" about these issues, Trudeau needs to be consistent, particularly on "quasi-constitutional questions about the nature of the country."

"I think the incoherence and the inconsistency of his positions is dangerous," Chong said. "He's the head of government and I think he needs to be careful about what he says and I think he needs to be consistent about what he says. He's clearly not done that."

Chong does not believe the stand he took 10 years ago will hurt his support in Quebec during the leadership contest or if he becomes Tory leader.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard at Montreal press conference on Tuesday, July 5, 2016. (Photo: Ryan Remiorz/CP)

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"Until the last election, Mr. Trudeau had the exact same position on the motion of 10 years ago," he said. Liberals won 40 of Quebec's 78 seats last fall.

"I want to emphasize that my candidacy is focused on strengthening Canada, it's focused on the things that unite us," he said. "I won't be revisiting old debates that focus on our differences."

Chong has "no regrets" about his decision to step down from cabinet, even if it meant he never returned to Harper's inner circle.

"I believe that you need to have convictions and principles that guide your decisions," he said.

Supported gender-neutral anthem

Though he is running to become Tory leader, Chong recently broke with most Conservatives to support the Liberal government's controversial assisted dying law and Liberal MP Mauril Belanger's private member's bill to make the national anthem gender-neutral.

Chong has made the case that he voted for the government's assisted dying legislation because he felt it contained enough restrictions to protect vulnerable Canadians. And he argued in a blog post last week that, while not perfect, it is better than no law at all.

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On the emotional debate around changing 'O Canada' by replacing the lyrics "all thy sons command" with "all of us," Chong said he wished Liberals had worked to achieve consensus.

He said he ultimately voted for the change because he felt it was important to acknowledge that "Canada has changed" and, in particular, to show respect for women who serve in combat.

"Both men and women die in the defence of Canada and its values," he said.

The only other declared candidates for the Tory leadership so far  MPs Kellie Leitch and Maxime Bernier  voted against changing the lyrics.

'New generation of leadership'

A belief that the country has changed is one reason Chong thinks it's time for a "new generation of leadership" in his party.

The son of a Chinese immigrant father and Dutch immigrant mother, Chong can quickly rhyme off all the cities that shut out Tories in the last election, including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

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"We need to ensure that the party reflects the diversity of this country today," he said. "And that's one of the reasons why I put my name forward."

With a file from The Canadian Press

ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
Sophia Popalyar, age 2, gets what she wants.

And if that means a meeting with the country's defence minister, then it shall be done.

Popalyar had been devastated that she couldn't meet Harjit Sajjan on Canada Day. (Naturally, the toddler thought all MPs lived on Parliament Hill.)

But after her heartbreak was captured in a video, Sajjan followed through on a promise to meet her.

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"I met my new friend Sophia today. When she grows up, she wants to be Prime Minister. I bet she will," Sajjan wrote in a Facebook post, along with a photo of the two of them.

Her meeting with Sajjan included a tour of the House of Commons, where she got to try out the seat of House Speaker Geoff Regan:

When you get to meet your hero and sit in the chair of the speaker of the house! pic.twitter.com/FYIiRWZcLi  Fawad Popalyar (@popalyar) July 7, 2016

Popalyar has long been a fan of Sajjan's, and recognizes the defence minister immediately on TV, her dad told The Huffington Post Canada on Monday.

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"We've talked about him a lot and Sophia's taken an interest in him," her father said.

This is the second cabinet minister the little politico has met so far. In December, she hung out with Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef, who is originally from Afghanistan, like Popalyar's parents.

"We're going to be voting for [Sophia] someday, I should probably get to know her," Monsef told the Peterborough Examiner at the time.

With files from Maham Abedi

Also on HuffPost
Free Tahmid/Facebook

The family of a University of Toronto student detained in Bangladesh is appealing to the federal government for help.

Tahmid Khan was rescued, along with 12 other hostages, from a violent attack on a Dhaka cafe on July 1, according to CBC News. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the siege, which killed 20 people and two police officers.

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Khan has been detained ever since and is being interrogated on suspicion of having involvement in the attack, according to the National Post.

'Limited' options

His family sent a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, asking him to extend consular services for Khan.

But a spokesman told the broadcaster because Khan is a permanent resident, and not a Canadian citizen, there are "limits" to what the ministry can do to help him.

Marlys Edwardh, a lawyer who wrote the letter to Dion, told CBC News that Khan's lack of citizenship does not exclude the government from offering consular assistance.

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"It really depends on whether the Bangladesh government will extend that courtesy," she said.

Khan's cousin Rasheek Irtisam told The Canadian Press he's worried Bangladeshi authorities will present a case against him.

A collection of photos of Khan posted to a Facebook group called Free Tahmid. (Photo: Free Tahmid/Facebook)

If that happens, "it will take years" for the case to go through the system, he said.

Khan's family is worried authorities may think he's linked to those behind the attack.

"We are thinking that he's being interrogated because he's of the same age group as other terrorists, so we think they might think he has a link," said Irtisam. "He was definitely not involved."

Supporters recently launched a Facebook group called Free Tahmid to push for his release.

"The only thing right now that can stop the tears of his mother is the safe return of her son," the group's info page states.

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"How can we let his mother go through such agony as she is constantly blaming herself that she inadvertently brought this upon her son by making him come home? Cant we do anything to soothe her agony?"

With files from The Canadian Press

Also On HuffPost:
World has 70 years' worth of oil left: study

Russia, Saudis still have the advantage

Canada faces NAFTA competition for oil markets

The Canadian oil industry in recent years has faced new competition from the very country where most of its oil is sent  the United States.

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A new study on oil reserves shows just how serious that competitive threat has become. According to data from oil and gas consultancy Rystad Energy, the U.S. has surpassed Saudi Arabia and Russia to have the worlds largest oil reserves.

The U.S. has 264 billion barrels of oil, compared to Russias 256 billion barrels and Saudi Arabias 212 billion.

We have done this benchmarking every year, and this is the first year weve seen that the U.S. is above Saudi Arabia and Russia, Rystad analyst Per Magnus Nysveen told The Guardian. As recently as three years ago, the U.S. was in fourth place on oil reserves.

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Thats not to say that oil suddenly and magically appeared under American soil. The industry measures recoverable oil reserves  not the total amount of oil under a country, but the amount that can be economically and legally extracted.

The U.S.s oil deposits are growing thanks to fracking  a process of using water and chemicals to break open rock and extract the tight oil inside. With this oil counted towards the U.S. reserves, the country turns out to have more oil than anyone had previously thought.

This data confirms that there is a relatively limited amount of recoverable oil left on the planet.  Per Magnus Nysveen, Rystad Energy

By Rystads estimate, the world has just short of 2.1 trillion barrels of recoverable oil reserves left. If the global production rate of 30 billion barrels per year remains unchanged, that amounts to 70 years worth of oil.

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Noting research showing that the worlds car population is set to nearly double to two billion by 2035, Rystad says its becoming very clear that oil alone cannot satisfy the growing need for individual transport.

Analysts note that, while the U.S. has the most oil, the cost of extracting American tight oil is much higher than in conventional Russian or Saudi oil fields.

"The rise in prominence of the U.S. doesn't diminish the role of Saudi Arabia or Russia, which have some of the cheapest [costs] to produce oil in the world, analyst Richard Mallinson told the Financial Times.

But it could diminish the role of Canadas oilsands. The International Energy Agency earlier this year noted that Canadian oil is facing increased competition from both of the countrys NAFTA partners, the U.S. and Mexico (which is privatizing its oil industry).

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With the U.S. rejecting the Keystone pipeline and producers facing new competition, Canada will have to find new markets for its oil, the IEA said.

But the search for new markets is faring little better than the Keystone pipeline gambit. The Federal Court of Canada recently revoked approval for the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have shipped Alberta oil to a deep-sea port on the B.C. coast, for export to Asia.

Observers say the courts decision has thrown a large question mark over the future development of the oilsands. Its unknown yet how the federal Liberals will respond to the courts move. The pipeline was originally approved under the previous federal Conservative government.

Even as competition heats up, the oilsands are preparing to add more to the world's oil supply. The IEA estimates that production will grow by another 800,000 barrels per day, thanks to expansion in existing projects, even though low prices mean new oilsands projects have come to a standstill.

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Also on HuffPost
Chris Wattie / Reuters Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2nd R) takes part in a news conference with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan (L), International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (2nd L) and Foreign Minister Stephane Dion in Ottawa, Canada, February 8, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

By Alex Neve

Celine, a tenacious grassroots women's human rights defender in Chad, once asked me, "If our views are not sought and we are not free to express them, how can we hold the government to their promises?"

She has, to say the least, been outspoken in her own views and unrelenting in her own efforts to open the space for women's voices in Chadian politics and decision making. She has also paid a considerable price, including arrest, imprisonment and times spent in hiding.

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From the moment Foreign Minister Stephane Dion and International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau took up their posts in November, they have been tasked with working together to "champion the values of inclusive and accountable governance, peaceful pluralism and respect for diversity, and human rights including the rights of women and refugees." Those values of governance, pluralism, diversity and human rights are now a major theme in the international assistance review.

Celine's words of wisdom from the frontlines underscore how central this theme must be to all of Canada's global efforts, be it international assistance, multilateral diplomacy or bilateral relationships. Three key dimensions to take on board are enabling participation, confronting discrimination and ensuring access to justice. All are grounded in universal human rights.

Women, men and youth must be free to participate in the debates and processes that lay the ground for good governance and lead to good public policy. Yet around the world Amnesty International has documented a worrying trend in exactly the opposite direction. The rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association are increasingly ignored, restricted and blatantly violated worldwide.

We see it in laws that impose unjust limits on the activities of NGOs, cut off their access to financial support from abroad, and institute criminal offences such as insulting state officials, blasphemy and overly broad definitions of terrorism. We see it as well in arrests, attacks and killings of human rights defenders. Civic space is shrinking. Defending human rights is more dangerous. Fear is rising.

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Canadian assistance efforts must boost the efforts of activists working to promote human rights in their communities.

Discrimination continues to be rampant on every continent. Every treaty, declaration or set of principles dealing with human rights protection or international development guarantees equality and prohibits discrimination. Yet the lived daily reality is that people's futures, dreams and prospects are inextricably determined by their gender, the colour of their skin or their social background. Until that reality shifts from exclusion to inclusion, international development efforts will be inherently undermined.

There are three areas of leadership which Canada should pursue in confronting discrimination. One, longstanding, is women's equality. A shift from saving women and girls from harm and abuse, to empowering women and girls as agents ready to claim and uphold their rights is essential.

A second, more recent, is sexual orientation and gender identity. Expanding beyond a limited but important focus on tackling criminalization of homosexuality to a broader framework of gender equality is needed.

The third, a glaring failing which must be rectified, is respect for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Canada's recent unconditional support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples domestically provides the framework needed for our global efforts.

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Finally, promises inevitably remain empty without implementation and accountability. And that is impossible without access to justice, particularly for the most marginalized communities.

One key priority is opening up access to justice for individuals who suffer human rights harms associated with the operations of Canadian mining, oil and gas companies in their communities. In recent years Canadian international cooperation programming encouraged Canadian mining investment around the world, but without any commitment to addressing the inevitable human rights concerns that arise.

Given the extensive global reach of Canadian extractives companies, we have an incumbent responsibility to ensure access to justice when people's well-being and livelihoods are impacted when Canadian firms come exploring and digging. It must be a priority to establish an extractive sector ombudsperson and put in place other measures that open up access to justice in this area.

The overarching message? Canada's international assistance efforts should stand on three pillars: actively standing up for human rights, promoting the universality of all rights for all peoples, and ensuring justice and accountability when governments and other actors don't deliver on their obligations and promises.

This blog was first published on July 6 in the Hill Times

Alex Neve is Secretary General at Amnesty International Canada

The views expressed in this blog are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the positions of CCIC or its members.

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Khalid Al Mousily / Reuters Iraqi men light candles during Eid al-Fitr as they mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, at the site of a suicide car bomb attack over the weekend at the shopping area of Karrada, in Baghdad, Iraq July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily

As the month of Ramadan comes to a close, a recent wave of terror attacks have rocked the Muslim world, tainting what is supposed to be the celebration after the fast. As an aid worker for Islamic Relief Canada we are tasked with the responsibility of responding to the crises of the world as they unfold. However we are often criticized by those who suggest that our efforts do nothing to challenge the systems of power that enable the global inequity and injustice we respond to every day.

It's true, Islamic Relief is not a Panacea. Although our unique position in regards to Muslims and the Middle East places us in an exclusive position to engage with communities in a way other organizations cannot. Years of failed Western policy decisions and a myriad of foreign interest groups have left sour tastes in the mouths of many, leading to skepticism of even the most renowned aid agencies. It is in this crucial vacuum where Islamic Relief can play a major role, not only providing aid, but in combating extremism.

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Exposing the antithetical nature of groups who use violence in the name of religion is imperative.

Tackling extremism includes tackling its roots. After the heinous crimes perpetrated against Charlie Hebdo in Paris last year, the world united around the adage that read "violence can never silence an idea." It is imperative that this same methodology be applied when challenging extremist ideologies. A war against a group like the self-proclaimed Islamic State must be fought ideologically in order for the ideology to disappear "ideas must be defeated intellectually or the ideas will remain." Military interventionism has not proven its effectiveness in deterring such groups, rather they have proven to be a great recruitment tool.

A recent piece published in the Nation Magazine covers the stories of ISIS militants captured as prisoners of war. Some had joined because of political grievances related to losing innocent family members while others were simply out of work and out of options with which to feed their families. Islamic Relief's ability to mitigate these risk factors is unparalleled. In addition to providing food, clothing, medicine, education, and shelter, Islamic Relief's development program can provide meaningful work to help give purpose to those who feel lost and without option. Islamic Relief also carries its distinctive Islamic brand which would act to alleviate suspicions of foreign interests, and can act as a source of legitimate Islamic authority to counteract anathematic ideologies.

Exposing the antithetical nature of groups who use violence in the name of religion is imperative. Highly literate societies are best equipped to challenge doctrinal claims by the extremist fringe. As a trusted name in the region, Islamic Relief is in the prime position to provide the required services and to make an impact -- the opportunity to support such an organization should not be underestimated.

Ahmad Khawaja is from Islamic Relief Canada

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ALSO ON HUFFPOST:
The five things you need to know on Thursday July 7, 2016

1) WHATEVER AND EVER, AMEN

What a day that was. Chilcots excoriating statement, Blairs two-hour live TV defence, lame duck Camerons Commons reaction, Corbyns defiant speech. It was yet again a case of stop the news, I want to get off.

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Those of us in the lock-in to get an embargoed read of the Chilcot Report (believe me, its nowhere near as much fun as being in a pub downing illicit Guinness) quickly realised this was going to be no whitewash. Whitehalls very own Godot had stopped the waiting and everyone was struck by just how forthright he was. Grounded in evidence, carefully written and utterly rigorous, the Iraq Inquiry report is everything that the Blair governments WMD dossier was not.

Chilcot certainly didnt bury his intro. In fact he got his rhetorical highlighter pen out to underline in his statement perhaps the one Blair-Bush memo that will forever now act as a shorthand for their relationship on Iraq: Blair would be with the US President whatever. For all Blairs emphasis on his conditions included in that memo (and he obviously did get Bush to go down the UN route), Jonathan Powell and David Manning, and Chris Meyer, all thought it was a big mistake to offer what looked like a blank cheque for military action. Our list of the best Blair-Bush memos is HERE.

My analysis of the Chilcot Report is HERE. Owen Bennetts piece on Blairs extraordinary press conference is HERE.

Given the length of the report there will be more news nuggets to come out in coming days and weeks. Those who said we would see nothing new were wrong. We had details of the MI6 source who watched Sean Connerys Hollywood movie The Rock to wrongly claim nerve agents were being kept in glass vials. We had the letters showing that Blair himself effectively wrote his own legal advice by declaring - with no documentation - that Saddam was in material breach of UN weapons curbs.

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Today, the blame game has shifted to the United States and the Bush administrations unshakeable determination to go to war. And like Chilcot, the suggestion is that UN weapons inspectors should have been given six more months. Sir Jeremy Greenstock says Blair did his best to get the Americans to go down the UN route but ultimately they just wanted to go ahead. I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early," he told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight.

More will emerge. From his tears and his anger at being called a liar, few can say that this was a Whatevs former Prime Minister, when it comes to Iraq. But that one word, Whatever, will haunt him for the rest of his days.

2) WHAT A BOLES UP

The final two in the Tory leadership contest will be announced after todays second ballot around 4.30pm. Theresa May is guaranteed to go through of course and the only issue is whether Michael Gove could possibly get any votes to overtake Andrea Leadsom.

Leadsom campaign chief Tim Loughton warned darkly on Newsnight on Tuesday against any shenanigans of MPs from the May camp lending their votes to avoid a potentially risk run-off with his candidate among the party members.

And sure as day follows Newsnight, Goves own campaign manager Nick Boles has popped up to gift his opponents more evidence of the student politicking charge that has dogged the Justice Secretary ever since he knifed Boris Johnson.

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In a text sent to about a dozen May supporters, Boles also laid bare the Portillista roots of the Govian Policy Exchangers and their metropolitan contempt for the traditional views of the partys grass roots. I am seriously frightened about the risk of allowing Andrea Leadsom onto the membership ballot. What if Theresa stumbles? Are we really confident that the membership won't vote for a fresh face who shares their attitudes about much of modern life, like they did with IDS?

Boles has long been ridiculed by colleagues as the epitome of a wonk-gone-wrong, an MP whose ambition for the next ministerial promotion is legend in the Tea Room. The word hapless doesnt do him justice. Few remember his disastrous first contact with real-world politics, when he was made Boriss early chief of staff in City Hall in 2008 and had to quit after a series of deputy mayoral resignations and blunders. Only the late Sir Simon Milton rescued the Boris mayoralty. Boles was a big Boris backer, until last week, dont forget.

Boles apologised last night, trying to distance Gove from his text, but the damage was done. Still, the attacks on Leadsom continue, not least claims that she has embellished her CV like an Apprentice wannabe and offered to show her tax return only to MPs who wanted to see it.

And last night Grant Shapps emailed Labour as well as Tory MPs to ask for backing for a fast-tracked leadership race. He said hed written to party chairman Lord Feldman.

3) ELEMENTARY, WATSON

Jeremy Corbyns closest allies have been saying it for nearly a fortnight, but some Labour MPs just didnt believe them: the Labour leader is not going to quit. Ive been amazed that MPs have been amazed at Corbyns stubborn refusal to go.

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After the mass resignation from his front bench and the vote of no confidence, many thought he just has to go, doesnt he? But hes still there and only a leadership challenge - or the NEC saying he needs nominations to get on a ballot - can get rid of him. Here's one clue to the zen-like calm Corbyn appears to have: as the political fallout swirled around this weekend, he attended the annual general meeting of his East Finchley Allotment association. And he's getting lots and lots of support from activists, not least for his Chilcot speech last night.

Tom Watson is due to have more private conversations today but it was always elementary that Corbyn would refuse any requests to quit from union chiefs as much as he would his MPs. The trade unions, where those with hardline views have long out-organised and outvoted opponents by appealing to a soft-left membership, have for years offered a glimpse of what Labour would look like under a Corbyn-like leader.

Talk of party splits is played down by MPs for one good reason: the unions really do make up the backbone of the party. Still, those unions know they too have to find a way for the MPs to somehow resolve the impasse.

That chicken coup charge of the Corbynistas was always going to stick unless someone came out with their 51 nominations. Will Angela Eagle or Owen Smith finally strike? Or will we replace Chilcot with a new tragicomic Westminster play about the thing that never arrives, Waiting for Corbgo?

The Telegraph quotes one senior Labour MP: "It's finished. He will win easily in a second contest if he is on the ballot, it's everything we wanted to avoid. The MP added: "He is losing support of the membership by the day, there is no doubt about that, but they just sign up new members to replace them. He is Teflon in that sense. Other potters think they still have time on their side, but do they?

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BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR

Normally I put up a light video to cheer you up. Today, theres no getting away from this extraordinary footage of Alton Sterling shot by two white cops in Louisiana

4) HOUSE RULES

The Remainers often talked about the economic shock that Brexit would produce. They may have been better advised to talk about the slow burn, long term effect of quitting the EU. The FTSE 100 bounced back, even sterling recovered a little, and Mark Carney made clear he would do everything to ensure financial stability.

But now two weeks after the vote we are seeing evidence of what could be irreversible movement. The FTSE is slowly dipping, sterling continues to fall, and company after company is making plans for an alternative future. The risk of Project Fear turning into Project Fact looms large.

Another three commercial property funds have been forced to suspend trading as post-Brexit fears for the sector among retail investors continue to snowball. Columbia Threadneedle, Henderson Global Investors and Canada Life said they will not allow customers to cash in shares in their property funds, citing liquidity pressures. This follows similar suspensions of withdrawals from the flagship commercial property funds of Standard Life, Aviva and M&G earlier this week. Together the six funds are worth more than 14billion.

5) EYE-TO-EYE, CONTRACT

Jeremy Hunt was in the middle of Health Questions when the BMA vote came through on Tuesday. But not a single MP was sharp enough to raise in topical Qs the junior doctors momentous decision to reject the contract on weekend working. Was this because the Shadow Health team is inexperienced? Or because all eyes were kinda elsewhere on the Tory leadership race?

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Yesterday, Hunt decided he had no choice but to impose the contract from October. Inevitably, he was accused of burying bad news under the media snowstorm of Chilcot. Yet just as our two main political parties are split over their futures, so too are junior doctors, with a fair chunk clearly read to accept the deal as they best they are likely to get.

And like our main parties, theres a split between those who prefer radical options to those who just want a pragmatic approach. More strikes look likely, which may mean Hunt gets his wish and stays at Health until 2020. That would be a very Theresa May-like thing to do.

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The not-so-subtle suggestion from Danny Alexander was clear enough: whichever way the undecided voter turned, she'd be confronted with the uncomfortable reality of an entrenched, out of touch political class pulled increasingly to the extreme. Look to the center, however, and now the discerning voter could seek refuge in the outstretched arms of the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury himself. Indeed, the visual was designed to firmly stake out the middle ground by the Liberal Democrats, the only major party that, as the campaign poster implied, had managed to retain its ideological integrity while representing those segments of society fed up with decades of partisan deceit.

Yet as history has shown, most people preferred the clowns to the left or the jokers to the right over being stuck in the middle with the Lib Dems. The voice of reason and moderation offered little by way of electoral inspiration or emotional appeal. It wasn't enough being the brake on a Tory coalition partner that, left to its own devices, would run rampant with everything from austerity to the Snooper's Charter. People wanted something to believe in, and as far as they were concerned the Lib Dems weren't serving it.

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That is, until the near farcical fallout from the EU referendum. As double dealing engulfs others, tens of thousands of new members are joining the ranks of a party that a year ago risked permanent political purgatory. Brexit has reignited a passion within the Lib Dem leadership not seen in years, with Tim Farron delivering a blistering call to arms less than 12 hours after the result had been declared. The cautious rhetorical platitudes that bogged down the party throughout the last election had given way to visceral anger. Far from preaching exclusively to a loyal band of the converted, the Lib Dems tapped into a national nerve, moving unconditionally out of no-man's land and taking a firm position on a contentious, if not defining issue. In what would otherwise be seen as reckless abandon for prudence, they were now boldly standing up for something big and were doing so with a fiery rage.

It is no surprise that they would take a decisive stance on Europe. Internationalism, openness and inclusivity cut to the very core of what it means to be a Lib Dem. Nick Clegg went so far as to challenge Nigel Farage on national television on the issue in the run up to the 2014 local elections. Since the outset of the referendum campaign, the Liberal Democrats were unapologetic, and at times alone, in their outspoken support for the EU and its myriad benefits to the UK. It would also be unfair to suggest that the Lib Dems have never previously come out strongly on a divisive national debate. Indeed, from the Iraq War to equal marriage, they have courageously navigated perilous political waters.

What is refreshing this time around is the fervour with which the party is now drawing battle lines. Those lines no longer correspond to an ideological divide or calculated coordinates on an outdated, binary spectrum. For the Lib Dems, those lines are as stark as the borders with which eurosceptics wish to enclose the UK.

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In contrast to the imagery evoked by the now infamous campaign poster, the Lib Dems can move beyond their role as the temporary hideout of the tired and disaffected who are out of options and have nowhere else to turn. Far from being an amorphous, ineffectual alternative, they have been reanimated, assuming a distinctive identity defined by what they're fighting for, and not just by what they are against. Their surge in numbers demonstrates an ability to proactively attract people based on the merits of their position, rather than relying solely on absorbing by default the discontented of their opponents.

Get it wrong, and the party is in danger of descending deeper into the electoral abyss. A staunchly pro-EU stance, criticised by some as undemocratic and anti-liberal, could alienate huge swaths of voters in marginal seats that overwhelmingly broke for leaving. What is more, there is the risk that situational exigencies will attract voters who may feel ultimately let down by subsequent decisions, once again punishing the party they felt betrayed their initial promise come election time. Nor is it enough to build an identity around a single issue.
The total claims of Russia's OJSC Gazprom against national joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy for the take-or-pay condition outlined in the 2009 contracts and challenged in court could reach $60 billion by 2020, Naftogaz Ukrainy Commercial Director Yuriy Vitrenko has said.

He said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday Gazprom's claims have so far mounted to $29.2 billion, and, taking into account the contract term, $29.5 billion more could be accrued. Gazprom has also added a further $2.2 billion as the difference in price for supplies at the end of 2013 and early 2014.

Taking into consideration the cost of the issue, Naftogaz Ukrainy is very careful in gas purchases from Gazprom aiming not to weaken its legal position in Stockholm, Vitrenko said.
Alistair Burt, Health Minister, resigned this week. It's important news. It's not because of a scandal, nor (as he joked) because resignations are contagious. He's just stepping down. Hardly worthy of headlines compared to the Brexit story, the leadership contests or the Chilcot enquiry, is it? Well actually, yes.

A minor minister's resignation might not appear to be big news, but whilst we're distracted by the headlines it is these minor players and their under-the-radar policy moves that reveal a stark insight into where our public services are heading. And the prognosis is bad.

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During Alistair Burt's short stay at the Department of Health since 2015, he has pushed to cap pharmacy spending, equating to a 170m cut for pharmacy services (like flu jabs). The knock-on effects from a pharmacy cap will effect everyone and seriously damage the NHS. Bad policymakers are seldom caught red-handed like this, but everyone's too busy reading Chilcot to notice Burt leaving in the wake of a million signature petition against his legacy.

The pharmacy cuts sprang from DoH plans to stealthily cut NHS spending by cutting around the famously ring-fenced portions of the NHS budget. They discovered that pharmacies are the only access point to publicly-supported healthcare that is more numerous in the UK's most deprived neighbourhoods than affluent ones. Burt proposed a plan to reduce the density of these so-called "cluster pharmacies". The cuts will reduce the number of UK pharmacies by about 20-24%, the bulk of them in the UK's poorest communities. This is not a "one nation" Conservative policy. It's also going to backfire on the DoH and the next Health Minister if the cuts go ahead as planned.

Research conducted by the Quadrangle Research Group for the National Pharmacy Association puts this cut into context. There are three main points to note:

Firstly, this proposal disproportionally hits the UK's poorest neighbourhoods. The UK's poorest 10% of neighbourhoods will lose 22% of their pharmacies, whereas the 10% most affluent will lose only 1%. Scale that up and the poorest 50% of the country will bear three times more closures than the 50% better off. Pharmacies rank as the top healthcare provider for minor ailments like ear ache, constipation and sore throats, and are used heavily for advice on using medicines by mothers and female OAPs. So this cut removes an important service from the poorest mums and grannies in the country more than any other demographic group.

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Secondly, the pharmacies most likely to close are small, independent chains (British SMEs, not big tax-avoiding offshore corporations like Boots). This policy targets one of the few categories of small business that survives in deprived areas more than affluent ones, removing an important tax revenue source from weakest local economies with the highest levels of unemployment.

Thirdly, the NPA research showed that respondents named their nearest GP, A&E or NHS Walk-in Centre as the place they were most likely to visit if their nearest pharmacy closed. On a nationwide basis, this will put at least 1 million more people through struggling NHS services every week. When you combine that patient increase with the fact GPs are retiring three times faster than new GPs are being recruited and the high attrition rates for A&E doctors, that sudden rise in NHS patients will cost the nation significantly more than the 170m it saves.

Burt's legacy will reduce healthcare provision in the areas with the lowest life expectancies in the UK, close SMEs in the UK's weakest local economies, and force more people into NHS services where they are struggling the most. It is a national health crisis in the making.

It is a policy that illustrates precisely how the current administration is, through bad planning, disproportionally loading the pain of austerity onto our poorest communities. It's also a policy that will eventually increase everyone's waiting times to see the GP or receive emergency care. 52 million more NHS visits per year? Does that sound like a sensible plan to anyone? No wonder Burt is resigning.

Yet there is barely a ripple of comment in the political press. There is still a chance, albeit very slim, that the cuts could be voted down in Parliament, but this seemingly minor policy is unlikely to get much of a hearing in the wake of the Brexit upheaval, if there's time to debate it at all.

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As I awoke to the news that more than half of Britain had voted to leave the EU, I felt sad and surprised. The world hasn't ended and the drawbridge has not been pulled up, but I fear for where the UK may be headed. I voted remain and would do so again, because I believe that the EU has made a valuable contribution to unity, peace, cooperation and understanding in Europe. Prior to 23 June, I could have moved to Madrid, Paris, Stockholm or Rome whenever I wished to live, work or study.

Whether freedom of movement is a casualty of the EU referendum remains to be seen, but ending it was an avowed desire of a significant proportion of Brexit voters. Others may not feel any affinity towards Europeans, but I do. Some of us have a tendency to look back, without a trace of irony, on how "great" Britain is. If we really were great, we wouldn't have chosen isolation, shirking the many challenges that Europe faces, from the refugee crisis to Russian aggression.

The referendum was never truly about letting Britons have their say. It was a political manoeuvre that David Cameron hoped would enable him to take complete control of the Conservative party and banish the issue of Europe at our expense. He gambled with the futures of millions of people for purely selfish reasons. The British public have had decades of stories peddling EU myths, ramping up fears about migration, decrying "unelected bureaucrats" and making it seem as if the UK is a powerless victim of EU grand designs and follies. It has been a convenient bogeyman, blamed for all of society's ills.

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I doubt that Cameron genuinely believed, against a backdrop of wilful misinformation, that we were capable of making such a fundamental decision. This is not said out of bitterness because my side "lost" the vote. We may yet all lose. The people who voted to leave because of legitimate, or unfounded, fears about high levels of EU migration, when it looks likely that little will change in this regard. Those who championed the out cause because they were told that our EU contribution would go towards the NHS. Voters who wanted to retake control, when any deal in the UK's economic interest will likely see "rule from Brussels" continue. And those who trusted the leave side only to subsequently discover that jobs could be lost.

The EU is also not to blame for the war in Syria. It has been largely ineffective in the face of the millions of people coming to Europe to escape a brutal conflict, but the entire world has been paralysed by Syria. Many Brexit voters used the referendum to register their dissatisfaction with what Britain has become. Will the government be held to account for its role in shaping our country? No, because the EU has supplanted it as the bullseye on the pub dartboard.

I am no great lover of the EU. It is bureaucratic and often wasteful, and the euro is a deeply flawed construct. Moreover, the EU has wilfully imposed austerity and unemployment on Greece and allowed 20% of Spaniards to be out of work. However, despite what we are told, the UK has never been shackled by Brussels; we have long enjoyed opt-outs, subsidies and privileges. It is doubtful that, with Britain a committed participant, a European army would have been created or Turkey would have joined the EU. For decades, we got much of the best of Europe while avoiding some of the worst of it. Who knows what we will get now.

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Older voters, who largely backed leave, will be mostly unaffected by being unable to go to university in Prague without paying exorbitant fees, or find work in Berlin without needing a visa. Many younger people, including the 16 and 17-year-olds denied a vote in the referendum, are facing a country where buying a house is impossible without a parental endowment, where university education costs 9,000 a year, where the Conservative party looks likely to rule for decades and where the attitude towards "foreigners" is becoming increasingly toxic.
Nigel Roddis / Reuters

Labour is an internationalist party. It is woven through our history and at the heart of a principled desire to change our world for the better. We know that our responsibility to one another transcends national borders and demands that we do not turn the other way from suffering abroad.

The publication of the Chilcot Report will lead to renewed soul searching over our future international commitments. I was neither for nor against the war, rather I served in it. As an elected representative today my duty is to scrutinise the basis for that decision with dispassionate care. We must freely and frankly debate the mistakes that were made so they may never be repeated. We need to undertake our analysis in a forensic manner. Only by doing so will we regain the trust and confidence of the public in making these decisions.

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War is hell. Destruction is wreaked and lives are wasted. It always carries a terrible human and moral cost. Iraq demonstrates that the consequences of war and the costs in its aftermath can be far greater than predicted. That places a great burden on decision makers and for the planning of operations.

We live in an imperfect world where both action and inaction have consequences. So there are no perfect options. The right choice will often be contested and unclear, without prior knowledge of the outcomes. Yet we can find broad agreement around the principles of serving the national interest and taking the path that results in the least human suffering.

In an uncertain world we will have to make difficult decisions in the future. There will likely be a time when Britain and our allies find there to be no acceptable alternative to war. So it should be with regret and following the most careful consideration that we decide it is right and necessary to use force. The process to enter any conflict must be exceptional. Public trust is paramount. Maintaining it demands that decision makers apply the same focus throughout the campaign as at the start.

It is an accepted truth that our ability to make these decisions is made more difficult after Iraq. So let us ensure we have a better process in place ready. That means acting on the key lessons in the Chilcot Report as a matter of urgency. In Parliament I asked the Prime Minister to review how intelligence is shared with MPs before votes on military action. I believe this must proceed alongside wider consideration of steps which could improve understanding between MPs, the armed forces and our intelligence services as these decisions are made.

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If you break it, you own it. That simple principle should have consequences for how we conduct operations in future. It was a mistake not to adequately plan for the reconstruction of Iraq, just as it was a mistake to disband their security forces. The removal of a dictator altered the regional balance of power with destabilising effects. Today the Middle East is less secure and increasingly volatile. Sectarian tensions which predate Iraq now fuel discord across the region.

Our public debate must also not lose sight of the need to reflect on the Afghan mission. A conflict longer than Iraq which cost many more British lives. In Afghanistan we should have treated societal problems with the same focus and seriousness as the military aspects. That is a lesson we should apply to the region today.

Learning the lessons from conflict contributes to building a more secure world. The sense that we must never again allow the horrors of WW2 provided a catalyst for institutional reforms. It was the post-war Labour government that joined the United Nations and NATO. Labour principles ran through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed a Labour MP and trade union leader, Charles Dukes, served on the drafting committee. Labour should lead this work, just as the last Labour Government finally put the European Convention on Human Rights into British law.

We must actively engage to shape the global system, following in that long tradition of putting Labour principles into action. From failed states, to terrorism and climate change, threats are becoming more diverse and diffuse today. Preventing future conflicts will require us to address underlying causes of insecurity. So we must continue to tackle corruption, to lead international efforts for multilateral nuclear disarmament, towards a more just and equitable world.

Public trust underpins politics. Once lost, as it was following the Iraq conflict, it is hard to regain. The publication of Chilcot demands that reforms happen now so that we never repeat that flawed process. That is how we rebuild trust and learn the lessons of Iraq.

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In the fortnight since we unexpectedly Brexited, I have met many depressed individuals, some to the point of complete despair. How, they wonder, will Britain ever prosper again in this brave new world?

Here I offer a small part of the solution: It's Free Trade, but not as we currently know it.

David Cameron sensibly used to insist that if you sat round the Cabinet table then it was part of your job to sell Britain abroad. You know the kind of thing. Fill a plane with business people. Fly to some far flung place. Arrive and commend the many benefits of buying British goods and services to new partners; often in the fastest developing countries in the world.

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As Party Chairman, my seat around that table was actually secured as Minister Without Portfolio. And of course, without a department to manage, I ended up doing more than my share of trade negotiations and talks.

Back in 2014 I found myself chairing the grandly named Joint Economic Trade and Co-Operation (JETCO) Summit in Vietnam. On landing I was whisked off to the Vietnamese Communist Party headquarters in Hanoi. Settling into an oversized chair in the Great Hall Of The People, the Deputy Prime Minister entered and we enthusiastically discussed our deepening relationship in trade, education and financial services. We got on well. And then it dawned on me. My hosts were extremely welcoming, but could it be that my title of "Party Chairman" has quite a different connotation in Communist Vietnam?

Either way, sadly all that pomp and grandeur was completely out of kilter with that which we could actually achieve for our long-term trading relationship. For whilst I was able to negotiate away some communist customs red-tape, which was causing irritation to British exporters, the really meaty gains all fell under the remit of the European Commissioner for Trade.

Frustratingly, time and again I found myself responding that I would add the latest issue to a growing list which I would raise with the EU Commissioner on my return. Time and again, the opportunity to truly develop our own trade relationship was thwarted during that JETCO 2014 summit.

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Now Vietnam enjoys growth of six to seven percent a year, so they are reaching the point where they need the kind of services that Britain specialises in - like help building their own stock market, and so on. Yet depressingly the Vietnamese/EU Free Trade Agreement has been in progress for years. And it moves at a snail's pace. Beginning back in June 2012, there are few signs that it will draw to a conclusion any year soon.

And as I travelled across South East Asia to advanced economies like Taiwan and Singapore, and developing ones like Malaysia, I discover the same lack of Free Trade Agreement in market after market. Each pointed to EU negotiations which started years ago. None of them are likely to draw to a conclusion anytime soon. If at all.

This makes no sense. Think tank Open Europe estimates that striking a series of Free Trade Agreements with South East Asian economies, as well as China, India and Japan, could boost our own GDP by as much as 0.6%. Enough to start addressing some of the negative impact of leaving the EU.

And of course, there are even bigger fish to fry globally. Amazingly, we don't for example have a Free Trade Agreement signed with a closest partner it the world - the USA.

In short, we have become a bit lazy sat within the EU trading block. With Free Trade Agreements covering just 66% of our global trade, we have fallen a long way behind the likes of Australia, Canada and Norway who have 80% of their trade covered by FTAs.

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So let's accept that we are to leave the EU, but resolve to turn it to our advantage. For the sake of all those who despair for our future, it's time to look outwards and start negotiating those Free Trade Agreements. Even if we start this Autumn, I bet we can still wrap them up before a single one of those long-discussed, yet never ending 27 country EU Agreements kicks in.

Now how's that for a tonic for Brexit depression?
The Chilcot Report confirms what most British people knew in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Despite the misleading jingoism of tabloid newspapers and TV stations, it was clear that Iraq posed no threat to the West. Saddam Hussein had no involvement in Islamic terrorism and invading Iraq would likely trigger a civil war that would promote future terrorist dangers.

The boomerang from Blair's bombing was entirely predictable. Also clear was the illegality of invading another nation, if not explicitly authorised by the UN Security Council making a direct reference to Chapter 7 of the UN Charter. Yet in early 2003 this principle was under threat as the British Prime Minister pushed for a new resolution at the UN Security Council to authorise strikes. That he came close to subverting a fundamental basis of international law, non aggression between nations, shows just how dangerous the man was becoming. That he failed, helps keep open the possibility that he may one day face justice.

In 2003 I was working at the United Nations in Geneva. Tony Blair's arguments for regarding Iraq as an imminent danger, requiring us to threaten invasion, were so obviously false that many saw them as a masquerade. As Chilcot now confirms, Blair's government sought a pretext for an invasion, rather than seeing it as a last resort. As I felt the invasion was inevitable, a key concern was to ensure that Blair would not abuse the role of the UK on the UN Security Council to trash international law in a selfish effort to protect him and his administration. Additionally, some of us at the UN were concerned about what UN authorisation for a destructive invasion of a Muslim country by Western powers would do to the reputation of the UN worldwide. We were aware of the potential dangers to UN staff doing important work in difficult regions.

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What could staff at the United Nations do? I had been told by many colleagues, and the Human Resources department of the UN, that international civil servants needed to remain neutral on inter-governmental disputes. In particular, they pointed out "The Status, Basic Rights and Duties of United Nations Staff Members". So I took a look. The commentary of this document explains that "international civil servants have a special calling: to serve the ideals of peace, of respect for fundamental rights, of economic and social progress and of international cooperation". Discussing with colleagues, we thought that communicating our common commitment to the UN Charter would be in accordance with the calling and status of international civil servants.

I quickly drafted a letter to send to the 10 non permanent members of the UN Security Council, expressing UN staff's ongoing support for the UN Charter. Within a day of asking, 56 staff and consultants based at 12 UN agencies had signed the following letter, which was faxed to government missions in New York in February 2003.

"Dear (non-permanent Security Council member)

As staff and consultants of the United Nations we seek to carry out our duties in promoting peace, human rights and social progress, in accordance with the Charter of this organisation. Clearly such work is complex, never complete, and can always be improved. Therefore we must all remain aware of the founding principles of the UN when conducting our work.

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Today we face a unique moment in the history of the UN. We believe the current political situation challenges all of us to uphold the founding values of our organisation. As the UN Charter puts it:

"We the Peoples of the United Nations [are] determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of War... and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of man and women and nations large and small..."

That "scourge" includes the loss of life and impacts on human rights, social development, and environmental protection. Currently the world community needs to respond to famine in Africa, growing political disaffection and fundamentalism, and global economic instability. In addition, it is now widely accepted we need to combat, not contribute to, environmental degradation. These concerns are central to the UN's mandate and we believe they should be considered in any deliberations at the Security Council, as they are in other UN fora.

From the refugee camps of Guinea to environmental programmes in Sri Lanka, the success of the UN requires the trust of the people it seeks to serve. We cannot underestimate the importance of this trust for our work. The UN must remain a beacon of hope, not become a target of hate.

Therefore we are hopeful that as a Security Council member faced with the joint burden and blessing of upholding the UN's Charter, you will diligently consider the wider consequences of any decisions for the future of this institution and the world community it serves.

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We write this letter to you as people involved in the UN's activities, but also as citizens of our world, in the knowledge that you can continue to uphold the hope that is at the heart of our institution.

In our personal capacities and in peace, sincerely yours."

Signatories to this letter came from relevant specialist institutions, such as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA), United Nations Office of the Iraq Programme (UNOIP), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Childrens' Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Thanks to Wikileaks, we now know that the US security agencies were bugging the communications of the non permanent members of the UN Security Council. Fortunately the diplomats from some smaller countries on the Security Council at the time, including Guinea and Cameroon, did not cave in to warnings about not complying with the wishes of USA and UK. They rejected a resolution to authorise an attack.

The following year, Kofi Annan stated the obvious: the attack was illegal as it was not authorised by the Security Council. So the grounds remain open for accusations of war crimes. For any crime, a key question is motive. It is why Tony Blair asks us to believe he had the best of intentions. But those who commit crimes are not taken on their word; rather we must look for evidence of a motive. I don't know the man, nor his colleagues from back then. Mo Mowlam did. In 2002 she wrote that the proponents of war know that "a war against Iraq could unleash revolutions, disposing of pro-western governments, and replacing them with populist anti-American Islamist fundamentalist regimes... it is because I am sure that they fully understand the consequences of their actions, that I am most afraid. I am drawn to the conclusion that they must want to create such mayhem." Ms Mowlam speculated on whether George Bush's government wanted this mayhem as justification for maintaining a massive military presence in the region so they could exert influence over oil producers for the next decades. Exactly why Blair and his close political allies would go along with that is bizarre. If Blair ever does face trial, then evidence for motives will need further examination.

After the release of the Chilcot report we are finally hearing some apologies. But apologies mean little if nothing is done to achieve justice, or to learn from mistakes, or put right some of the harm done. Where is the justice? Time will tell. Where are the lessons from mistakes? Just recently the UK parliament again voted for airstrikes within another state, using arguments that Britain can re-interpret international law as and when they see fit. The founding basis of the UN was to stop powerful countries deciding for themselves how to behave in matters of war. It seems Britain's parliament have still not learned the dangers of their hubris. Where is the effort to put right the harm done? Although being a major donor in the region, the UK still takes very few refugees, a heartless response given involvement in unleashing destructive forces in the region.
As we approach the first anniversary of the Iranian nuclear deal, tens of thousands of activists and Iranian dissidents are set to rally this Saturday in Paris, calling for Tehran's nefarious conduct at home and in the region to be tackled. One of the primary messages at this rally will be to condemn Iran's role in the massacre of the Syrian people and to demand an end to its assistance to the Assad government.

Little attention has been paid to Iran's role in not only propping up a dictatorship in Syria, but in fuelling a sectarian strife there and in Iraq that has created and sustains groups like Daesh. Iran's behaviour has been nothing short of criminal, and its ongoing involvement in the spread of terror has to be confronted in order to obtain a durable peace in the region.

Iran's policy of aggressive expansion has not slowed down after the nuclear deal, but has in fact intensified during the Presidency of that over-rated and so-called "moderate" Hassan Rouhani. Besides the continuing military and logistical involvement in support of the Syrian dictatorship, there is support of Shiite militias in Iraq, and ongoing support for armed groups in Yemen. Behind each of these conflicts is a callous strategy by Tehran designed to expand its sphere of influence and gain a stronger foothold throughout the Middle East.

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In Iraq, Tehran has taken advantage of the calamity created by Daesh in order to reassert its hegemony in the country. Despite the removal of its chief ally in Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki, the rampant sectarian repression inflicted by his government continues and Iran continues to pour its military and logistical strength into the conflict. This includes armed forces, and the presence of IRGC commanders to lead Shiite militias, many of whom should clearly be deemed guilty of war crimes.

It's fairly obvious that, had Iran not propped up the dictatorship of Assad, the chaos from that country would not have spilled over into Iraq and Daesh would be virtually non-existent. Instead, we are left with a bloodbath in Syria, genocide in Iraq, and a crisis in Yemen, as Iranian backed rebels march across the country.

Iran's policy of "exporting the revolution" is intended to re-energise a demoralised base, to maximise whatever is left out of its legitimacy abroad and to cover up its failures at home. The regime has sought to create icons out of its war heroes by popularising their exploits abroad, as evidenced by the fervour surrounding its General Qassem Soleimani. The regime recognises its diminishing appeal at home, particularly among Iran's youth. It uses, therefore, an aggressive foreign policy in order to maintain a perpetual state of crisis internally - a strategy it employed to prolong the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's, and to excuse its crack-down on dissent and opposition internally.

Long past is the time to end the West's policy of appeasement towards the mullahs in Tehran. It only emboldens their lust for power and expansion. The international community must meet its responsibility to effect an end to Tehran's inflammatory actions in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The U.S., with the U.K., has surely some obligation to identify with the Iranian people and with their organized resistance, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

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Its President, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, has for decades been unwavering in her promotion of NCRI's 10 point plan for a democratic Iranian future. As common dissent grows within Iran, the ayatollahs would become more vulnerable to domestic pressure if that were able to display more evidence of international sympathy. Their extreme sensitivity to the activities of the Resistance in general and Mrs. Rajavi in particular points toward Tehran's Achilles heel.
The publication of the Chilcot Report into the UK's involvement in the 2003 Iraq war has as its focus the events that led up to the flawed decision over the UK going to war, and to some extent the other side of the equation; the impact of this flawed decision-making on the conduct of the subsequent 'nation-building'.

The report is inevitably UK-centric. Its conclusions relate to the UK government's aims and decision-making processes, (somewhat muted in impact since parliament's two votes on the UK going to war in Syria), and to the UK's preparedness in pursuit of the aims of the war.

The UK media on the other hand have focused on the role of the then UK Prime Minister Blair, his dealings with the US authorities, and the extent to which his relationship with his own government was characterised by mendacity.

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The first regional government I appointed, in Basra, lasted almost intact until the Governorate elections, and some of my appointees took national roles. One of which, Judge Wael Abdul Latif, told the Guardian earlier this week; "Basra was the first province in Iraq to organise local elections. The British worked well, they met with locals sheikhs and attended their tribal councils. When I asked their military for a bridge, they built it in one month."

However, the seeds were sown in 2003 and 2004 for the carnage that followed, and which continues today.

The most well-publicised blunders, often attributed to occupation governor and famed Neo-Con, Jerry Bremer, were the 'sacking' of the Iraqi army, leaving them with no role or income; the banning of Ba'athists from the top four tiers of government, removing valuable experts many of whom had joined just to get a job; and the lack of planning for multiple insurgencies, believing instead that the US would be welcomed and be able to start with a blank sheet of paper to remake Iraq in America's image.

However, attempts were made to recover from these blunders and some decisions were reversed. Whilst probably too late, such corrections were doomed anyway because of more 'hidden' blunders which were much more fatal to recovery.

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First, the personnel. In Baghdad and elsewhere, experts being sent to sort out problems in 2003 and 2004 were being politically vetted. In some areas there was a strict 'Neo-Cons only' policy. This was catastrophic, given that in US terms, most public international law experts and experienced senior international development specialists were Democrats or 'liberal' Republicans. Some senior folks were straight out of college, and many more had never been outside the US before. Most never left their bases. It wasn't so much that they knew nothing about Iraq, it was that they thought they didn't need to.

Second, the law. To establish rule of law you need ... rules (ie the legal system). Under the Laws of Occupation the existing body of law and legal processes continue, except where the occupier decrees otherwise. To get the system up and running quickly, such decrees need to dovetail in with the existing legal framework, and be specific about which laws and parts of laws were being replaced.

The Coalition in Baghdad however issued sweeping decrees sometimes glibly, without even bothering to find the existing laws. A complete set of relevant laws came into my hands on discs. Coalition officials, including British, had thus no interest. The legal system and rule of law was doomed to failure by not knowing what the law to be enforced actually was.

Third, the institutions. When protestors gathered in Nasiriyah to protest lack of clean water, it was the provincial council (governorate) they marched to. Without the Ba'sathist dictatorship making unilateral decisions, they expected a reversion to the highly devolved Iraqi constitutional set up, until then only tokenistically adhered to.

This system was undermined and then destroyed from three directions; whilst there were billions of dollars sloshing around, only a negligible amount was sent to the newly-appointed Provincial/Governorate Councils... the system became heavily centralised (and corrupt) in Baghdad; the Coalition favoured groups of 'consultants' running projects which bypassed non-national institutions and created an 'overlay' of foreigner-run bodies across Iraq often leaving mega-projects unfinished as money 'disappeared'; much Baghdad money was channelled via local branches of central government ministries, who at the local level were controlled either by Ba'athist thugs who had sidestepped the cull, or by representatives of violent militias or murderous Saddam-backed tribes, taking commissions for projects.

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Finally, political timetables were vacillating, in order to try and favour Washington-based diaspora parties. Elections were set at laughably short timetables, and then switched to a couple of years later when it became clear diaspora-based parties were as yet unpopular. They never became popular. Given good educational levels, elections should have been local first, provincial second and national third, in order to bring in 'neutrals'. But by the time of national elections, militias had popularly expanded to protect neighbourhoods, sectarian conflict had arisen in the vacuum, and foreign powers had acquired their client groups. More importantly, Western policy was divided by pursuing an anti-Ba'athist strategy, and pursuing a 'War of Terror' agenda, at the same time.

In the end, what Western policy objective was achieved here ?

Some colleagues in Washington still claim Western aims were at least partially met, including former PM Blair. They claim that an anti-Western dictator was deposed, and an opponent of Israel and Western interests has been replaced by a weak, failed state. What's more, the same group claims that aims would have been wholly achieved if the military had received more resources and better equipment; some complaining that the 'whack-a-mole' approach to insurgency needed another 400,000 troops.

However, if the underlying US aim really was to create a failed state and 'neutralise' Iraq as a source of potential resistance to US policy in the Mid East, then, yes, the Iraq invasion in 2003 was successful.

The question which Chilcot doesn't ask, is 'what was the foreign policy aim, and was it the right one... and could better aims have been achieved without a war ?'

To me the evidence was always clear that Saddam was removable without war. Moreover, the aims of better relations with Mid East states, countering Saudi 'oil-based-negotiating power', and realigning Iranian relations, were all possible without such carnage and blowback.

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It is 20 years since the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal from an adult cell. It took 277 gruelling attempts, but when it was at last successful, it was a truly pivotal moment.

The creation of Dolly was hailed as a triumph for science, and although there was a wave of public mistrust in the procedure, we were soon being told how cloning would revolutionise medical research and treatment for humans. For animal welfare, on the other hand, it was a disaster.

Cloning involves great suffering. The surrogate mothers who carry clones often undergo difficult births and Caesarean sections. Many clones die in the early stages of life from cardiovascular failure, respiratory difficulties, abnormal kidney development and defective immune systems.

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Dolly's birth made cloning, and a range of associated biotechnologies, acceptable - even glamourous. It lent credence to the view that animals may be regarded as 'things' placed in this world simply for our convenience. We can treat them as machines that can be fine-tuned to make them more efficient. It took us further away from the notion that animals should be allowed to take pleasure in life without being confined in cages or overcrowded sheds, or manipulated to make them ever more productive.

Which animals will be cloned? The highest yielding cows, the fastest growing pigs, and the sows with the largest litters. Traditional selective breeding has already driven many farm animals way beyond their physiological limits. Cows have been pushed to produce such high milk yields that after just three to four years many are spent, and because they can no longer produce enough milk, they are prematurely culled. Chickens have been bred to grow so quickly that their legs often cannot properly support their bodies; as a result many suffer from painful leg deformities. Cloning will exacerbate all these issues, as the industry will seek to clone animals from the most extreme end of the spectrum of fast growth and high yields.

Genetic engineering, or genetic manipulation (GM), comes from the same stable as cloning. It is no longer part of a disturbing future: it's hard upon us. US regulators have already given the go-ahead for GM farmed salmon to enter the human food chain.

Now, scientists have developed gene-editing, and with just a snip here and a slice there, we can make animals even more suitable for our use. They claim this will be used for benign purposes, such as developing hornless cows, but harsh experience of biotechnologies suggests this too will be used to push animals to greater productivity with predictably harmful effects on their well-being.

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In the UK and the EU, Government pours taxpayers' money into agri-tech determined to drive animals to higher yields and to shore up the crumbling edifice of factory farming. A government body called Innovate UK uses public money to fund chromosome manipulation in farmed salmon, to increase the viability of industrial pig production and to accelerate the rate of genetic improvement in chickens, even though this 'improvement' has led to millions of chickens suffering from leg and heart disorders over the last four decades.
"Is there any way of delivering mankind from the menace of war?" asked Albert Einstein in a letter he wrote to Sigmund Freud in 1932. The report of The Chilcot Inquiry into responsibility for the catastrophic invasion of Iraq, is a grim reminder of Einstein's still-unanswered question.

While many commentators have focussed their attention on the pivotal role played by former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Chilcot Inquiry has presented us with a far more disturbing, much more wide-ranging, and more deeply troubling portrait of institutional failures and responsibility.

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In the course of its seven years of work, the inquiry called 129 witnesses. Its report criticizes the UK's Joint Intelligence Committee (which concluded that Saddam Hussein could not be removed without an invasion) and the secret intelligence service MI6. Although the report points out multiple failures on the part of the cabinet to hold "substantive discussion of the policy" over the course of 26 meetings, ministers nonetheless exercised their collective responsibility by taking the decision to invade Iraq on 17 March 2003, and parliament voted in favour the following day. In the background, like a spectre, is the brooding failure of US policy and planning that led to an invasion called by then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield "a light footprint."

Ultimately it is a portrait of a Culture of War.

Just over 72 hours before the report's release, 250 Iraqi civilians were blown apart in the lastest devastating bombing in the heart of Baghdad - joining the estimated 500,000 killed in war-related causes since the joint US/UK invasion in 2003. "The country has not had a day of real peace since then," said BBC correspondent Jeremy Bowen reporting amidst the wreckage and mourners in Baghdad. "Plenty of Iraqis have made up their minds that the invasion and occupation pushed them into an agony without an end."

The flickering images of young Iraqis picking by hand among the ashes of the blast for human remains are an almost unbearable reminder - if one could possibly be needed - of the dark harvest of our recidivist addiction to war.

The Culture of War

"The culture of war has been an integral part of human culture from early in human evolution," says David Adams, author of The History of the Culture of War. "Every aspect of human culture has been profoundly influenced by it, including family structure, the upbringing and education of children, distinctions between men and women, the invention and maintenance of the state, the invention and maintenance of exploitation and racim, and the resultant economic systems including international trade and globalization."

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As Einstein prophetically told Freud, "This issue has come to mean a matter of life and death for civilization as we know it; nevertheless, for all the zeal displayed, every attempt at its solution has ended in a lamentable breakdown."

"A valuable contribution"

Whatever it's detractors may say, The Chilcot Inquiry has done us a service by making it uncontestably clear that the decision to go to war was not an aberrant moment, inexplicably interrupting a long-standing tradition of global peace, economic justice and respect for human rights. Rather, it was the continuation of a violent and self-destructive global habit to which we are collectively addicted. Indeed, we glorify extreme violence, are entertained by it, and invest huge resources in preparing and planning for it.

There is a particularly chilling moment in Section 6 of the Chilcot report which points out that the the Ministry of Defence was examining military options from as early as April 2002. By December of that year, the report states, "the deployment of 3 Command Brigade was identified as a way to make a valuable contribution in the initial stages of a land campaign if transit [for UK ground forces] through Turkey was refused. The operational risks were not explicitly assessed."

This questionable perception of "value" on the part of both the UK and US military planners and their political masters is one of the key issues at the heart of the catastrophe they masterminded. As negotiations at the United Nations failed to produce sufficient Security Council support for military action, a relentless war logic assumed the ascendency.

The report quotes Tony Blair's own memoirs from March 2003. He had written to President Bush, saying more time was needed to secure the support of Chile and Mexico:

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"It [the proposal for tests/more time] was indeed a hard sell to George. His system was completely against it. His military were, not unreasonably, fearing that delay gave the enemy time - and time could mean a tougher struggle and more lives lost. This was also troubling to my military. We had all sort of contingency plans in place . . . There was both UK and US intelligence warning us of the risks."

"A military timetable should not be allowed to dictate a diplomatic timetable"

The increasing professional and political pressure that was applied for the war option provides the background to one of the most telling of the inquiry's recommendations: "A military timetable should not be allowed to dictate a diplomatic timetable." The report goes on to state that "it is therefore important to guard against overstating what military action might achieve and against any tendency to play down the risks."

If we look at the report's exhaustive analysis against the larger backdrop of humanity's global priorities, we see the full consequences of overstating what military action can achieve. Many of our nations, at least their leaders, -- as well as many who seek to change the social order -- appear to have much greater confidence in the war option, than in diplomacy, peace work, and the other vital purposes of the United Nations.

"The world spends almost twice as much on weapons in one day than the United Nations spends for our global mission of peace, human rights and development in one year." Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon told the United Nations in 2012.

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Within two years of his assessment, according to a 2015 report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, total expenditure on international conflicts had reached more than $14 trillion (8.9 trillion) a year. The spending amounts to 13% of global GDP and is roughly the combined value of the economies of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Spain and Brazil.

The most senior voice to be raised on this question most recently was that of Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union. Speaking at a conference this year to mark the 30th anniversary of the Reykjavik meeting between the former Soviet president and his US counterpart, Ronald Reagan, in 1986, he warned that invasions have brought no real solutions to problems, and only resulted in eroding international law and establishing a "cult of force."

"Problems and conflicts of the last two decades that could well be solved through peaceful political and diplomatic ways," he said, "were dealt with through the use of military force. That was the case in former Yugoslavia, in Iraq, in Libya, and Syria,"

But the culture of war is far more than a question of failed diplomacy, and spending on weaponry. It rests on underlying assumptions about human nature, the governance of society, and the alternatives we believe are open to us at this or any other critical juncture in history.

Is war inevitable?

We have inherited a belief that war is an indelible trait of our species. Some argue that

we have inherited it from our animal ancestors. Others believe it is, and always has been, in our genes. There is also the ultitarian view, sometimes mistakenly described as Darwinian, that aggressive behaviour is evolution's preferred tool for selection and survival.

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So pervasive are these beliefs - and so devastating are their consequences -- that UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, invited 20 of the world's leading scientists in the fields of genetics, biology, animal behaviour, anthropology, sociology and psychology from 13 countries to examine them. They met in Seville in 1986 and their conclusions, subsequently adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO, said there was no evidence to sustantiate any of these claims.

The notion that our species is genetically, biologically, instinctually, or pre-determined in any other way to choose war is "scientifically inaccurate" they said. "It is a product of culture." They drew their report to an end with these words:

"We conclude that biology does not condemn humanity to war, and that humanity can be freed from the bondage of biological pessimism. Just as 'wars begin in the minds of men', peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us."

Is the tide turning?

There is some evidence - still inconclusive - that the tide may be turning. "If we go back to the beginning of the 20th Century," argues David Adams who took part in the meeting of scientists in Seville, "there was very little consciousness that war must be abolished. Really the idea, the consciousness, that we must abolish the institution of war is something that grew during the 20th Century. Now as we enter the 21st Century I would say it is possible that a majority of people in the world really believe it is time to abolish war."

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No matter how dreadful the track record of humanity has been over the last 130 years, there have been developments unprecedented in our history. We now have the United Nations (71 peace-keeping missions since 1948); the International Red Cross (active in war zones worldwide, including the protection of civilians and prisoners of war); the Geneva Conventions (the treaties of the rules of war); a growing body of international law including the prevention of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity; and the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of war crimes.

None of that was there before.

Is Chilcot another sign of the times? Whatever you may think about the conduct and report of the Chilcot inquiry, you are unlikely to find many other invasions and conquests in history where the apparent victors have been held up to scrutiny by a publicly-funded, independent civilian inquiry. It called an extraordinary number of civil, political and military figures to give testimony, forced secret documents into the open, and twice summoned the political war-leader of the attack and military occupation to appear before it.

Speaking at the formal launch of the report, Sir John Chilcot said, "Above all, the lesson is that all aspects of any intervention need to be calculated, debated and challenged with the utmost rigour."

That rigour is needed now as never before, especially given the fact, pointed out by Mihkail Gorbachev, that the Iraq debacle is only one in a litany of disastrous acts of worship to the "cult of violence".

It's not just war

Now, thankfully, it is not just war, but violence of all kinds - racial, inter-communal, inter-gender, domestic and self-harming - that is coming under rigorous scrutiny.

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There is now a body of thought that holds, to the surprise of many, that violence has, in fact, been on a long trajectory of decline. Professor Stephen Pinker, in his monumental The Better Angels of our Nature, argues that human beings are becoming less violent and more altruistic. His exhaustive statistical analysis demonstrates that far fewer of us die in war and violent attacks (as a proportion of the world's population) than did our ancestors. Critics question this. John Gray, the political philosopher says, "Rather than war declining, the difference between peace and war has been fatally blurred."

Chilcot has given us a glimpse into that deadly blurring. The invasion of Iraq was the work of minds mesmerized as if by a wargame. Ultimately they dragged entire nations into their own myth-making, lies and lethal, self-generated momentum. In the end, they were tragically impervious to the fact that 15 million people in over 800 cities came out onto the streets urging them to come to their senses. It was the largest global protest ever to take place.

Faced with the continuing human toll - individual, societal and global - of our resort to violence in all its forms, the World Health Organization, in 2002, commissioned a investigation into violence as a public health issue. In his foreword to the World Report on Violence and Health, Nelson Mandela, wrote:
In the summer of 2014, all eyes fell on the tragic events of the 51-day war in Gaza, infamously known as Operation Protective Edge. The harrowing stories of death, loss and destruction, sparked a monumental show of solidarity across Britain, with many calling for an end to the killing of innocent children and civilians, and demanded a long lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Today marks the second anniversary of the beginning of the war, and it is a crucial time for us to remember Gaza. The war saw over 2200 people killed; almost 1500 were Palestinian civilians, of which 551 were children, as well as 68 Israeli soldiers and seven Israeli citizens. While the ceasefire promised a new beginning involving new pledges and hopes, two years on, these promises have not transformed to reality.

Only 30% of aid pledges have been delivered and more than 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza are still homeless. Meanwhile a number of hospitals continue to lie in ruins, and whole neighbourhoods have no access to running water.

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A key aspect of the ceasefire agreement was to ease the devastating restrictions on the movement of people and goods coming in and out of Gaza. Over the course of a near decade long blockade Israel has controlled access to medical supplies and construction materials, such as cement, which are needed to rebuild homes, schools and hospitals demolished in the war. Only 10% of the 11,000 homes that were completely destroyed have, to date, been rebuilt.

The psychological effects of war and blockade cannot be underestimated. Half the population in Gaza are children, and those aged 6 and above have already lived through three wars and many have only ever known a life with blockade. Moreover, being effectively trapped in a small and densely populated area has caused a multitude of problems for Gaza's residents, including severe depression, trauma and anxiety. According to a report by the Euro Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, suicide rates in Gaza have risen over 30% in the last three years alone.

And then there is the dire economic situation. Unemployment levels have soared to 43%, resulting in the highest unemployment rate in the world. Among the worst off are fishermen, who are prohibited by the Israeli authorities from fishing beyond six nautical miles. This has had a devastating impact on their catch and ultimately, their livelihood with over 95% of fisherman in Gaza in receipt of humanitarian aid. Many have families and cannot provide even the basics such as food or school uniforms for their children.

The ruling to limit the fishing zone to this parameter is in violation of the Oslo Accord of 1993, which states fishermen should be allowed 20 nautical miles of fishing space. Despite this, fishermen's lives are continually put at risk; if they go beyond the six mile limit, they can be shot at, arrested or have their boats confiscated.

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The Government of Israel implemented the blockade of Gaza quoting security fears, however countless INGOs, human rights organisations and politicians across the globe see this as a form of collective punishment to the 1.8 million civilians trapped inside, which is illegal under international law.

Humanitarian agencies are taking measures to address the protracted crisis. For example, the international charity ActionAid is working with Palestinian partners to provide income opportunities and psychosocial support to women and children. However ActionAid and other organisations point to the absence of any viable plan or seemingly the political will to end the illegal occupation and thereby alleviate the entrenched cycle of poverty, periodic wars and aid dependency.

But what can we do in Britain to help end the humanitarian crisis? First, our long-term strategic aim should be to put pressure on our government to call on Israel to end the humanitarian crisis by lifting the blockade on Gaza. While Israel has legitimate security concerns to consider, it is clear that the blockade has failed to bring real security to Israelis and has had devastating consequences for the entire population of Gaza.

Second, in the short term the Israeli government must remove certain goods from its "dual use" list. This list refers to materials Israel believes could be used for military purposes and includes steel bars, cement, and wood - items essential to civilian life and found in homes, offices, schools and hospitals across Europe. X-ray machines and pumps needed to power water and sewage lines are also included in the list, thus impacting on quality healthcare and access to clean drinking water.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has dismissed Prosecutor in Rivne Region Anatoliy Kovalchuk.

A respective order was signed by Lutsenko on July 6, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office has reported.

Rivne region is on the radar screen due to a notorious case related to the illegal production of amber. As was reported earlier, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced on July 4 that 32 people were suspected of creating a criminal gang to illegally mine amber in forests in the region, causing environmental damages.

Lutsenko in turn said he would remove regional prosecutor Kovalchuk from performing his duty, and would completely replace the heads of the regional prosecutor's office in due course, as it has been revealed that law-enforcement agencies in Rivne region were engaged in the illegal amber production.

Kyiv's Holosiyivsky district has recently ruled to arrest all five suspected persons in the amber case for two months with a UAH 2.7 million bail option.

Deputy Prosecutor of Rivne region Andriy Borovyk was among the arrested.
Breastfeeding. Although I have spent my entire working life trying to improve care for women who want to breastfeed, I still hesitate to write openly about it. This is because breastfeeding is such a fraught subject in the UK, often viewed as difficult to achieve, and sometimes seen as unnecessary because of a mistaken perception that formula milk is a close second best.

Each time I write about breastfeeding I face a dilemma. On the one hand, there is more evidence than ever before that breastfeeding has long-lasting and profound benefits for both mother and baby. On the other hand, simply stating this fact causes pain and anger for the many families who tried really hard to breastfeed but were not able to. I really do understand that pain, because those people are also my own friends and family.

But does that pain and anger mean we ought to keep quiet about breastfeeding? Or should we do everything we can to remove those barriers which prevented women from successfully breastfeeding in order that more babies can be breastfed in future?

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At the start of this year powerful new evidence funded by the Gates Foundation and published in the Lancet delivered a resounding verdict: breastfeeding saves lives and improves health in every country in the world. It helps reduce obesity, cancer, diabetes and leads to higher IQ. But the Lancet report also found that women are constantly failed by the societies in which they live, because without a supportive environment around you, breastfeeding can become almost impossible.

In the UK we have excelled at placing barriers in the way of women who want to breastfeed, whilst at the same time insisting that "breast is best" - a lethal combination which sets women up to fail and then makes them feel really guilty about it. The result is that the UK has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

In the past, well-meaning breastfeeding promotion has sometimes been insensitive and over-zealous. This can and is changing with maternity units and health visiting services working hard to ensure that care is mother-centred and free from judgement.

But at the same time we have a far bigger mountain to climb in terms of removing the barriers - social, cultural, practical and economic - that prevent successful breastfeeding.

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Today, Unicef UK is launching a campaign to Change the Conversation around breastfeeding. The aim is to stop piling pressure on individual women to breastfeed, and instead build an environment that is supportive of breastfeeding for any woman who chooses to do so by removing the barriers which block successful breastfeeding.

In our Change the Conversation campaign we are calling on health departments across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to lead the way in removing the barriers to breastfeeding. These barriers are many and varied; they include insufficient professional support to get breastfeeding off to a good start, not enough community support to deal with problems a bit further down the line, a lack of understanding about how important breastfeeding is for health and brain development, and numerous clever formula milk adverts that undermine a woman's confidence in her own body's ability to make enough milk for her baby.

There are also ways that those of us who are not politicians can help to remove barriers. We can call on shops and restaurants to be breastfeeding-friendly, ensure that our workplace has breastfeeding-friendly policies, be non-judgmental around how an individual woman is feeding her baby (an outsider can never know the different pressures she may have come under), and of course, gently speak up on behalf of a breastfeeding woman if she is being given a hard time in a public place.

What we really need to address is the fact that breastfeeding cannot be the responsibility of an individual mother living in a society that normalises bottle-feeding and makes out breastfeeding to be controversial, difficult and unnecessary. That is the conversation we need to change. Instead, let's talk about removing the barriers that stop women breastfeeding, and then allow mothers to carry out their own informed decisions with dignity and respect. Above all, by adding your voice to our campaign, let's insist our governments show leadership and respond to the overwhelming evidence around the benefits of breastfeeding.

There are four things that health departments must do to build a society supportive of breastfeeding:

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1) Develop a National Infant Feeding Strategy Board in each of the four nations, tasked with creating a strategy and plan to deliver the goal of ensuring more babies are breastfed.

2) Include breastfeeding in all policy areas where it has an impact: obesity, diabetes and cancer reduction; emotional attachment and subsequent school readiness; improved maternal and child mental health; wellbeing in the workplace and environmental sustainability.

3) Implement effective evidence-based initiatives such as the Unicef UK Baby Friendly Initiative across all maternity, health visiting, neonatal and children's centre services and local peer to peer support.

4) Protect the public from harmful commercial interests by adopting, in full, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
You'd have to be hiding under a rock not to notice the storm cloud that's descended over the UK since in the past 10 days.

From the shock of the initial news, ( "I can't believe it", "I don't have words", "It can't be true") ,to denial ( "Well they'll have to call another one", "People didn't even know what they were voting for!"), and anger (one look at your Facebook feed will provide enough evidence for that.)

Now comes the bargaining with endless petitions, and analysis of potential get out clauses and game plans. It is quite clear the UK public have not quite reached the acceptance stage yet.

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I have heard a lot of less politically charged people suggest that people "get over it", or "move on". It's true, it's not the end of the world. We haven't just declared war. No one has died. So why are many of us reacting as if the grim reaper has just paid a visit to British Isles?

Whether or not it is a proportionate reaction to the future in front of us we don't yet know. Without knowing the specifics of how and when we will exit the European Union, how are we supposed to understand the impact? And this comes to the crux of the issue, and the main reason why people have been close to self combustion over the past week; uncertainty. The scariest of situations for humans lies in the unknown.

The Psychology Behind The Doom And Gloom

Psychological studies have shown that uncertainty heightens both positive and negative emotions making us more reactive.

"Uncertainty about a possible future threat disrupts our ability to avoid it or to mitigate its negative impact, and thus results in anxiety."

The truth is, we've never been in this situation before. We don't know how to predict what's going to happen next. We don't have similar past experience or information that we can analyse to give us a clue. We're in the dark and that's scary.

And these are just a few parts of our life where uncertainty breeds anxiety:

Our Jobs

For most of us, our jobs are our identity, they are our daily routine. No matter which side you're on Brexit is undoubtedly going to have an impact on the way we do our jobs, where we work and potentially if we'll be able to keep our jobs at all!

The ability to work in any one of the 28 EU members is no longer guaranteed. As a major economic hub of Europe a lot of my London friend's jobs involve them flying to multiple European cities often several times a week. Are we going to need visas to do this now? Are we even going to be able to do business with our European neighbours in the same way anymore? What about that transfer to Berlin you've worked the past 5 years towards? Many industries have legislation intrinsically linked to the EU (law being one of them), does this mean people will need to retrain?

For a lot of us our careers are integral to our identities, the uncertainty around how much these will change is understandably triggering anxiety among many working age people.

Our Citizenship

Since the referendum result was announced Northern Ireland has received more than 4,000 passport enquiries from UK citizens( a big jump from its average 200). The surge was so great that Ireland's foreign minister has appealed Britons to stop the rush as it threatens to overwhelm the system. Remaining a part of the EU is about more than just a status, it's rooted in opportunity.

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For example a number of my friends have given up their own nationalities in favour of a British passport. Up until now it has been one of the most powerful passports in the world. Now they feel duped and let down, maybe even regretful, uncertain that they will have the same opportunities in the future.

"It is easy to imagine that the rather sleepy world of residency and citizenship applications will be overrun by the sheer volume of applicants in the coming months. Typically, the application process is one that takes several years, but there will be so many people under pressure to obtain the correct documentation that these rules will almost certainly need to be revised, both in the UK and the rest of the EU."

Our Finances

We all saw the value of the pound plummet in the hours and days after the result was announced. This was enough to give the public palpitations and now there are warnings of further consequences to come. With the pound continuing to fall against most major currencies people are understandably concerned about more than just the increased price of an ice cream on their next holiday.

"If this persists, things the UK imports, such as oil (affecting domestic fuel prices and petrol), foreign cars, coffee, bananas and clothing, will cost more. Overall, then, the general price level may rise meaning that your income will not stretch quite so far... A weak pound affects industry as well and so may impact on jobs. Company costs will rise if they import their raw materials and most firms will be hit by higher fuel prices."

Once again it is the uncertainty of the situation that is naturally creating a feeling of anxiety, which as we know can often be a cause of market instability in itself. Pensions, mortgages, and savings may all be affected by a slow- down in the economy with quantitative easing already being discussed as a potential measure.

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Our Relationships

Last, but certainly not least, one of the main reasons that people have been reacting with such strong emotion over the past week (and the main reason I keep welling up), is down to the impact Brexit might have on our relationships. If we have lived and worked in a multi-cultural part of the country, chances are we will have friends from other EU countries. You might even originate from another European country yourself.

Despite being assured by politicians that the rights of EU migrants to live and work in Europe won't change, the situation is as yet unclear. Without legislation to protect it, Freedom of Movement will no longer be guaranteed, as it has been in most of our living memories.

In the course of the next 5 to 10 years (or however long it takes to officially exit the EU), we may lose friends, romances, potential life partners, alongside our rights to join our friends or partners in their countries.
ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATHStill images from video show Alton Sterling as he is shot dead by police during an incident captured on the mobile phone camera of shop owner Abdullah Muflahi in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 5, 2016. Video taken July 5, 2016. Abdullah Muflahi/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

It's a headline we have become all too familiar with: "police kill (another) black man." Cell phone video, filmed by witnesses in a nearby car, is now circling the Internet. The footage provides at least some of the details from the shooting death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rogue, Louisiana.

The sad thing: both of these cops will eventually go free.

48-seconds of video

It's nighttime, but the video still captures two police officers outside a convenient store yelling at an African American man to "get on the ground!" One cop rushes the man, now identified as Alton Sterling, then throws him on the hood of a car and the two tumble down onto the pavement. The assisting officer quickly comes in to help physically restrain the suspect. As the first officer appears to frisk Sterling, the cop yells, "he's got a gun, gun!" The second officer takes out his firearm, points it directly at Sterling and says: "You fucking move, I swear to God!"

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Over the next two seconds, some unintelligible words are spoken, and there appears to be some sort of struggle, where Sterling and the officers move. Two shots ring out, presumably from the officer's gun.

At this point, the camera quickly pulls away and the onlookers in the car begin screaming. Then two or three more shots seem to be fired in the background. One person in the car says the cops just "killed this boy."

A preliminary autopsy report states that Alton Sterling died from "multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and back."

What the law upholds

Witnesses claim that Sterling did not brandish a gun and that the officers removed the weapon from his pocket after the shooting. However, early reports suggest that the police first tazed Sterling and they can easily claim they feared for their lives, since they discovered a gun, told Sterling not to move, and he continued to struggle.

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From a legal standpoint, the Baton Rouge officers will argue that they acted with "due force" while detaining Sterling.

If history is any indicator, the officers responsible for this death will walk free, just like the officers responsible for the deaths of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, and countless others. (Four officers are still up on charges in the Gray case, though legal experts predict the outcome will likely follow the two officers already acquitted.)

The cops who shot Sterling will not be held accountable because the law protects their lethal use of force. At the same time, the law denies Sterling's Constitutional rights of "due process" under the law and his protection against "cruel and unusual punishment."

In many ways, this is how legislation has been structured throughout U.S. history: to favor law enforcement and subjugate the rights of African Americans and other people of color.

Another statistic

Those who knew Sterling remember him kindly as a member of the community who liked to joke with others. With permission from the owner of the convenience store, where he was shot, Sterling sold CDs and DVDs to make a living.

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Unfortunately, Alton Sterling will become another statistic. Those numbers represent the fact that African American men are disproportionately killed by law enforcement everyday -- and are twice as likely to have police triggers end their lives.

Latinos and Native Americans are also killed by law enforcement at disproportionately high rates, and police harassment is a regular occurrence in their communities. Altogether, people of color accounted for almost half of 1,134 police killings in 2015, even though they are only 38 percent of the total U.S. population.

African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos make up the majority of those killed by police while unarmed (54 percent in 2015). These officers rarely see jail time or receive reprimand for these actions. Law enforcement has killed 560 people (and counting) already this year and into the tens of thousands over the past few decades.

Routine

It's unfortunate that the law protects cops who escalate tense situations instead of de-escalating them and using non-lethal force. But this is not only one percent of police officers or just a few bad apples -- it's systematic and routine.

And the routine will continue. If he touches on it, President Obama might stand before cameras distraught at the shooting. Hillary Clinton may reignite her call for police to wear body cameras -- although police were wearing cameras when they shot Sterling, authorities claim the devices were knocked off during the struggle.

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Republicans won't say much at all, though the real estate mogul might chime in to blame the victim who was "resisting arrest" -- and mass media will be all over this, reporting his outlandish, yet now ordinary, comments. The NRA will remain silent on Sterling's 2nd Amendment gun rights.

What will we do?

When we think power is out of our hands, it's important that we continue to speak up, make sure people hear the message, and continue to put pressure on authorities for restructuring the police system in our communities.

The bottom line is not about whether or not these officers go to jail; they won't. It's about gathering support and continuing to recruit people to a movement who haven't yet been receptive to the message.
A high angle view of the Yasuni National Park in the remote jungles of Ecuador.

YASUNI NATIONAL PARK, Ecuador -- Ecuador is a beautiful country on South America's west coast, and despite its small size, it has an extremely diverse landscape -- including the Amazon rainforest, the Andean highlands and the Galapagos Islands. I recently conducted a research expedition to Ecuador, and it was an unforgettable experience to say the least.

During our travels through the mainland and the Galapagos, we encountered an incredible diversity of frogs, snakes, lizards and salamanders. Without further ado, here are my top 10 favorite amphibian and reptile encounters:

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1. Rain Frogs

Our first night in Sumaco, Ecuador was a rainy one, perfect conditions for peeping rain frogs.

An itty bitty Dendropsophus minutus perched on my finger.

2. Fringed Leaf Tree Frog

The Fringed Leaf Tree Frog (Cruziohyla craspedopus) is one of the most fantastic amphibians in the Neotropics

Living in high canopies, the Fringed Leaf Tree Frog is very difficult to spot.

3. Banded Tree Anole

A female Banded Tree Anole, characterized by those brilliant blue eyes.

This male Banded Tree Anole's bright dewlap is used to grab the attention of females and to defend his territory.

A Banded Tree Anole, perched on a leaf in the Yasuni National Park.

4. Amazon Tree Boa

An utterly gorgeous Amazon Tree Boa coiled around a tree in Yasuni.

A close-up of the Amazon Tree Boa.

The juvenile Amazon Tree Boa has a much redder underbelly than the adult.

The baby Amazon Tree Boas can be a little ... bitey.

5. Glass Frogs

Glass Frogs are incredible little amphibians. Their backs are mainly lime green but their underside is totally translucent. You can even see their little hearts beating.

Glass Frogs are one of my favorite critters in the cloud forest of Mindo. They lay their eggs in a clutch on leaves above a stream; when the tadpoles are developed enough to swim, they drop down into the water and venture off to become beautiful translucent frogs.

6. Tropical Salamander

Tropical Salamanders win the most adorable, squishy animal award, hands down.

We typically spotted these little guys on night hikes in Sumaco.

7. Geckos

A large gecko we found snacking on moths near a light at the Yasuni Research Station.

If it weren't for geckos, humans might never have invented sticky adhesive nanostructures. Gecko toes contain thousands of hair-like setae, and it wasn't until 2002 that the mechanism for their adhesive ability, which is based on van der Waals forces, was discovered.

8. Galapagos Iguanas

Galapagos Marine Iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) have short, flat noses so they can feed on algae in the ocean.

Current research and genetic data on Land Iguanas (Conolophus subcristatus) suggest the Marine Iguana split from the Land Iguana around 4.5 million years ago, forming the two different and distinct species we see today.

The night sky on the Galapagos Islands at the Floreana Lava Lodge

9. Giant Galapagos Tortoise

Galapagos Giant Tortoises likely arrived at the islands around 2-3 million years ago by drifting from South America before diversifying into as many as 15 subspecies.

Giant tortoises are one of the longest-lived vertebrates, living over 100 years on average.

A treehouse located in the highlands of Santa Cruz island, where wild Giant Tortoises gather.

10. The Rare Pinocchio Lizard

The Pinocchio Lizard (Anolis proboscis) is an endangered anole found in the cloud forest of Mindo; only the males possess strange horns.

The Pinocchio Lizard has a very mossy pattern to camouflage with the wet moss in the canopy.

The Pinocchio Lizard's nose is used to attract females and defend territory from rival males.

I hope you enjoyed these incredible reptiles and amphibians as much as we did. Special thanks to Lucas Bustamante from Tropical Herping and thanks to TROPIC for hosting us during our visit to the Galapagos. If you want to plan your own trip, visit Destination Ecuador.

For more you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram!
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Georgian Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze in Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The United States and Georgia agreed Wednesday to boost their military cooperation in a signal of America's commitment to Georgia's defense and a not-so-subtle message to Russia ahead of this week's NATO summit. (David Mdzinarishvili/ Pool Photo via AP)

As the heads of state and government for the 28 members of NATO gather in Warsaw Friday and Saturday, there are choppy waters ahead for the venerable alliance.

At the top of the agenda is the fraught relationship with Russia, which has been especially roiled since the invasion of Georgia in 2008, followed by the failed "reset" with Moscow, the invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. The nations on the eastern edge of the alliance, especially the Baltic countries and Poland, remain nervous and unsettled by Russian behavior.

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The tension has increased over the past year through a series of exercises held both by NATO and Russia, and Russia has reportedly scheduled hundreds of such exercises over the coming months. Russian military aircraft and warships have also been extremely aggressive in confronting NATO ships and planes over international waters and in international airspace, especially in the Baltic and Black Seas.

At the summit this week, NATO will likely make key decisions that will ratchet up the tension, notably continuing forward with a complex and highly capable ballistic missile defense system that the Russians insist is directed against their strategic rocket forces. NATO will also begin deploying four 1,000-soldier battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland on a rotating basis -- a move that Russia says is a direct violation of agreements executed at the end of the Cold War that precluded permanent stationing of troops on the border of Russia. Both of these actions will exacerbate the already volatile state of tension between NATO and Russia.

At the moment, neither NATO nor Russia appear willing to have a coherent dialogue.

As always, there are two sides to the conversation, and at the moment, neither NATO nor Russia appear willing to have a coherent dialogue. Along with military decisions, NATO will offer a high-level, ambassadorial set of talks with Russia. And the secretary general, former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, continues to express his willingness for an open conversation to reduce tensions. In all likelihood, Russia will continue to increase the level of military activity along its NATO borders, as President Vladimir Putin finds taking this approach plays well with his domestic constituency: his approval ratings remain stratospheric, despite the economic effects of U.S. and EU sanctions put in place following the Crimean annexation.

While some NATO countries will continue to press for a more realistic dialogue with Russia, the prospects are dim at the moment for progress, given the failure of the Minsk agreements to truly take hold and create a stable situation in southeastern Ukraine. The best hope for an accommodation, strangely, rests on events to the south: both Russia and NATO have a shared interest in creating stability in the Levant, destroying the so-called Islamic State and reducing the resultant migration, which includes radicalized jihadists. NATO will take some minor steps toward addressing the challenges on its southern border -- sending airborne early warning aircraft, warships and a small training mission for Iraqi forces -- but to really settle the challenges of Syria will require cooperation between Russia and the West.

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Just as Russian participation was a key ingredient in stabilizing the Balkans 20 years ago, NATO and Russia will need to cooperate to achieve a political and diplomatic solution in Syria, sort out the future (hopefully quite limited) of the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and put a stake through the heart of ISIS's territorial ambitions.

The best hope for an accommodation rests to the south: Russia and NATO have a shared interest in creating stability in the Levant.

Creating a fulsome conversation with Russia that would include addressing its concerns over the sanctions regime, completing the Minsk agreements and stabilizing Ukraine, coordinating military operations against ISIS and finding a path to removing Assad over time and stabilizing Syria -- all this will be on the minds of NATO leaders. But such a sweeping agreement will take time. The Syria peace talks led by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have stalled, despite his best efforts and yeoman work. It will not be realistic to fully address all of this until after the U.S. election.

In the meantime, NATO should press for a high-level conversation with Russia to reduce military confrontation in the Black, Baltic and Arctic Seas; continue to discuss Syria with both Russia and regional players; increase its own military engagement in Iraq against ISIS; encourage Russia and Turkey to reduce their acrimony (which appears to be happening as Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are again talking); try to create a larger zone of cooperation with Russia in Afghanistan, where interests in a stable situation align; and at least discuss Arctic cooperation (another friction point but a potential zone of coordination as well).

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It is an ambitious agenda but the approach to Russia should be: "Confront where we must, but cooperate where we can." Building a stable, peaceful and coherent Europe must include Russia. A grand bargain with Russia is possible over time, but it will be rough sailing coming out of Warsaw.
Note: Our accounts contain the personal recollections and opinions of the individual interviewed. The views expressed should not be considered official statements of the U.S. government or the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. ADST conducts oral history interviews with retired U.S. diplomats, and uses their accounts to form narratives around specific events or concepts, in order to further the study of American diplomatic history and provide the historical perspective of those directly involved.

Mstislav Rostropovich, considered one of the greatest cellists of the twentieth century, was born in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan in 1927. Graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, Rostropovich quickly established himself as the preeminent concert cellist in the USSR, collaborating with composers such as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Britten. In 1955 he married Galina Vishnevskaya, a soprano at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Though he was immensely popular as a musician, Rostropovich's outspoken political views and support of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn and other dissidents prompted the Soviet government to restrict his foreign travel and performances within the Soviet Union.

In 1974, while in France for a series of performances, Rostropovich requested permission from his government to travel to New York for a concert at Lincoln Center. The musician made the trip west with his family despite his government's refusal, and his Soviet citizenship was revoked in 1978. In 1990, as Mikhail Gorbachev worked to reform the USSR, Rostropovich returned to Moscow as conductor of the U.S. National Symphony Orchestra for a series of performances, and in that year his Soviet citizenship was restored. He died in Russia in 2007. This account was compiled from interviews by ADST with Peter Murphy (interviewed beginning April 1994), a consular officer at Embassy Paris, and Philip Brown (January 2012), a Minister Counselor for Press and Cultural Affairs at Embassy Moscow. You can read the entire account on ADST.org. This Moment was edited by Thomas Zadrozny.

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MURPHY: I handled a rather particular visa case. It involved the noted Soviet [cellist and conductor] Mstislav Rostropovich, his wife Galina Vishnevskaya and their two daughters (seen left). One cold winter day towards the close of business at the Embassy - dark, windy and very cold - as only a Paris winter late afternoon can be, I was about to see my last appointment of the day - Mrs. Arthur Rubinstein [the wife of the concert pianist.] I believe this was in the winter of 1978. I went out to the waiting room and found her engaged in deep and animated conversation with a short, pudgy Russian who was introduced to me as "Slava" Rostropovich.

I confess I did not recognize the name but Mrs. Rubenstein told me he was a well-known musician in the Soviet Union. She also offered to translate for the gentleman as he spoke no French or English. It turned out that the Soviet government had given Rostropovich, his wife and children permission to come to Paris for a series of concerts, but he was obliged to return to Moscow immediately upon their conclusion, which was in a week or so from the date of our meeting.

Rostropovich had, in the meanwhile, received an invitation (which he showed to me) to perform three concerts at Lincoln Center in New York City. He had been that morning to visit the consular section of the Soviet Embassy in Paris to request that his passport be amended to permit a week's travel for himself and family in New York. The Soviet authorities laughed at him and said that it would take the Foreign Ministry at least two months to reply to such a request - and the answer would surely be NO!

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Rostropovich was really worked up at this point in the conversation and threw his passport on my desk. "You tell them they can keep it," he said to me. "I want to be stateless. I'll give up my Soviet citizenship if they won't let me go to New York."

220px-Mstislav_Rostropovich_and_Galina_Vishnevskaya_NYWTS_croppedI calmed him down and told him that I knew my colleague - the Soviet Consul General - and would speak with him in the morning. Rostropovich arranged to return to my office with Mme. Rubenstein the following day. In my conversation the next morning with the Soviet Consul General, I explained what I knew of the situation and told him that his nation would lose one of its greatest musicians if he was unable to obtain permission for the short visit to New York. (Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya seen at right.)

Needless to say, permission arrived from Moscow in two days - - and off the family went to New York City ... never to return to the Soviet Union! Their flight was denounced in the most vile of terms by the Soviets, and the family was stripped of their Soviet citizenship. A couple of years later, Prince Ranier of Monaco granted the family Monegasque Service Passports to enable them to travel at will.

We often saw Slava and Galina over the years, and wherever he was performing, my wife and I had gratis front row seats. When he became director of the National Symphony in Washington we often heard him perform. We were invited to both daughters' weddings. Also, at the palace in Monaco, Slava performed for a select group for the 25th Wedding Anniversary of the Prince and Princess. We were guests in the Palace at that time for the weekend of celebrations - having come from Genova where we were posted... Slava and his wife are among the most delightful people I have ever met. They will be ever grateful to me for my small part in their escape to the West at a time when travel was extremely difficult for Soviet citizens - even world famous Soviet citizens! Rostropovich never forgot my part in his "American adventure."

BROWN: On February 13th, 1990 the National Symphony Orchestra came to Moscow, and returning as their conductor was Mstislav Rostropovich. It was the first time he had been back in the Soviet Union since he had been exiled. Years earlier, when he and his wife Galina Vishnevskaya were traveling abroad, his passport and his citizenship had been taken away, but during that period, he had done well. He was now the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra. So his return was a highly symbolic event.

I went to the airport with the ambassador and the minister of culture for his arrival and he was greeted by a mass of journalists and well-wishers. I knew his sister and her husband quite well, so we were swept up in the arrival of the orchestra. There were press conferences and luncheons in his honor and two concerts.

At the first concert, he conducted the same program as the last time he had conducted on that stage before he went into exile - Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 and Shostakovich. Shostakovich was one of his mentors, so there was symbolism all over the place.

The audience included, in a special box, Raisa Gorbachev [wife of Mikhail Gorbachev]. He did a number of encores. All of the encores were by Russian composers until the very last which he didn't introduce at all. He simply turned, picked up his baton and conducted the orchestra in "Stars and Stripes Forever." The message was clear. All the other music was Russian. That's where he came from. What he knew best was Russian music. But the final encore said something about where he was now. Politically he was now an American, Stars and Stripes Forever.

People stood and clapped rhythmically. It was a moving event. The next night, he not only conducted but he played the Dvorak Cello Concerto, one of the pieces he had recorded and one of the most famous pieces for cello. Then he went on to Leningrad and did another performance there.

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Social Studies teachers are always looking for movies to help bring history alive for students. Many movies look like they have potential but questionable historical validity and outright misrepresentation make them less than useful. The latest entry in the category "Movies You Should Not Show in History Classes" is Free State of Jones.

Free State of Jones is another in a long line of Hollywood White Savior movies. Each of these movies has some good pieces for classroom use, but I am wary of the underlying message. In Mississippi Burning (directed by Alan Parker 1988) FBI agents are portrayed as heroic supporters of the African American Civil Rights movement, which they certainly were not. In Dances with Wolves (1990) we learn about the battle for survival of the Lakota Sioux who see their primary food supply, the buffalo, slaughtered by White Americans. The story in the movie, however, is not their story. It is the story of a White Civil War veteran played by Kevin Costner who takes up their cause and way of life. Much of the movie Glory (1989) is the story of a White army officer who commands an African-American Civil War unit. In Cry Freedom (1987) and Gandhi (1982), the narrators are White newspaper reporters. In Schindler's List (1993), the central character is a Nazi industrialist. Missing (1982) is about an American searching for his son in Chile after the overthrow of the Allende government.

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In each of these movies other peoples' stories somehow become the story of a White savior. It does not make them bad movies, and often they stay consistent with the historical evidence, as we know it. The real question is whether these movies distort the past by placing White men played by prominent actors (Gene Hackman, Costner, Matthew Broderick, Kevin Kline, Martin Sheen, Liam Neeson, and Jack Lemmon) at the center of every story. It is an act of cultural imperialism that makes big-budget movies more marketable to White audiences. Remember, they needed a member of the Jarhead clan to lead the indigenous people of Pandora to victory over the greedy corporate mining interests that wanted to rape their planet.

We now have a new Hollywood contribution to White super-heroes promoting the cause of victimized people, Matthew McConaughey as Newton Knight in Free State of Jones. The movie purports to tell the "true story" of a Confederate deserter who organized a militia in Mississippi swamp country. The movie militia includes Whites, formerly enslaved Blacks, women, and children. First they fought against Southern forces trying to capture Knight and keep local Blacks enslaved and then against local Whites and the Klan trying to deny freedmen basic human and citizen rights. McConaughey is the outlaw who becomes a leaders and a hero and while technically remaining married to his White wife has a second family with his Black wife.

A review of the movie in Variety describes McConaughey's character as "Kevin Costner in "Dances with Wolves" crossed with a saintly Marxist professor crossed with a white version of Malcolm X" and "little too good to be true." It also dismisses the movie as "pious and stiff-jointed," designed "to lift us up to that special place where we can all feel moved by what good liberals we are."

In the New York Times, columnist Charles Blow charges the movie tries "desperately to cast the Civil War, and specifically dissent within the Confederacy, as more a populism-versus-elitism class struggle in which poor white men were forced to fight a rich white man's war and protect the cotton trade, rather than equally a conflict about the moral abhorrence of black slavery." At one point, Knight supposedly declares "somehow, some way, sometime, everybody is just somebody else's nigger." Blow dismisses the movie as an act of distortion.

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The movie's director, Gary Ross, created a website to address historical issues raised by potential detractors. A problem with the movie, acknowledged by Ross, is that although there is documentation of collaboration between White "Unionists" and Black maroons, self-liberators who escaped to the swamps and hills, in other parts of the South, there is no solid evidence that Knight's forces were interracial. This is a serious admission by Ross, because interracial participation in Knight's militia is the core of the movie's message.

A major character in the movie is Moses, a self-liberated Black man, that Ross acknowledges is fictional. Moses is is added to the cast because Ross believes "It would be irresponsible to simply tell a story of white yeoman resistance to the Confederacy without depicting African American resistance as well. The extent to which African Americans were agents in their own emancipation has been too often understated in both historical texts and films." But why not tell the story of Black resistance to enslavement and the struggle for freedom without McConaughey/Knight?

In a time of racial division in the United States, Free State of Jones is an inspiring story of racial alliance. Supporters of Bernie Sanders can just feel the "Bern" when McConaughey says the South is just fighting the Civil War so the wealthy planters can stay rich. And mostly the story of Jones County as shown in the movie is true.

But because the Jones County rebellion was so unique, how important was it? Reconstruction failed because of the power of the Klan and the White elite and because Southern Blacks were abandoned by Northern politicians and industrialists. Far more Southern Civil War veterans joined the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups in reestablishing a racist regime than stood for racial equality. That is the true story of the post-Civil War South.

The result was 100 years of Jim Crow segregation in the South and a nation still divided along racial lines. Do we really need Matthew McConaughey's Newton Knight to be the new Hollywood face of the battle to end racial injustice in the United States?

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People believe that the process of becoming a physician is the natural reward for those who have an aptitude in science and a willingness to work hard. For many of us, however, it's not always that easy. Along the way to realizing our dream, some of us wind up hitting a pothole or two. When this happens, help may be needed. Sometimes that help can come from an unusual source.

I met Alex Novikoff in the men's room on the fifth floor of the Ullmann Building at Albert Einstein College of Medicine on a warm afternoon in early June 1974, while pursuing summer research in the department of biochemistry. I was drawn to work at Einstein not only because of its excellent scientific reputation but also because of its "humanistic" values, which included a strong opposition to any form of discrimination.

Dr. Novikoff had entered the men's room in order to urinate; I'd entered it 15 minutes earlier in order to have a good cry. Concerned at finding me standing in front of the sink consumed with tears, Dr. Novikoff asked what was wrong, and if there was anything he could do to help.

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I'd run in there after finding out I'd been rejected from the Tulane University School of Medicine. My mother had called the lab after finding a letter from the school's admissions committee in the mail. I didn't need to hear any more than the letter's first line: "We regret to inform you..." it read.

Tulane had been my last chance. Although each of the other 34 schools to which I'd applied the previous fall had already rejected me, Tulane had placed me on its waiting list. But now, with this rejection, I realized that come September, I would not be attending any medical school in the United States.

My eyes had filled with tears as soon as I'd heard my mother's words. Not wanting my colleagues in the lab to see me crying, I'd run into the men's room and begun bawling. By the time Dr. Novikoff came in to empty his bladder, I was beginning to get myself back under control.

Although I'd been working in Dr. Englard's lab as a summer volunteer for the past two weeks, Dr. Novikoff and I hadn't yet met. I knew little about him--just that he was the head of the lab down the hall, that with the copious amount of curly gray hair that stuck out from his head in all directions, he looked like the quintessential mad scientist, and that, though he'd acknowledged me with a nod whenever we'd passed in the hall, he didn't seem all that outgoing or welcoming. So it was a surprise when, seeing me standing in front of the sink crying, he asked if he could help.

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I explained what had happened. "I've wanted to be a doctor all my life," I managed to get out between the sobs and sniffling and gasping for air. "But now it looks like I'm not going to be able to do that."

Novikoff flashed a wry smile at me. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Twenty-two," I told him.

"Twenty-two..." he repeated. "You're working in Sasha's lab?" I nodded.

"Are you planning on staying on in the lab?"

"I'd originally planned to be here until I started medical school in the fall," I responded. "But now that that's not going to happen, I don't know what I'm going to do. It's like my life's already over...."

"Your life is not over," Dr. Novikoff replied. "Your life hasn't even started. You're a baby. Listen, you have the world at your feet. You can do whatever the hell you want to do. All you have to do is set your mind to it and stick to the plan. You can accomplish anything you want to accomplish."

Having finished, he took his place next to me at the sink and began washing his hands. Before leaving, he said, "Now get back to the lab, and get on with your life."

I washed my face and headed back to the lab. The fact that this very senior scientist who didn't know me from Adam had cared enough to give me a pep talk had really touched and inspired me. And I knew he was right. I vowed to begin looking into other options, convinced that no matter what I needed to do, come September, I would be going to medical school somewhere in the world.

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Later, I began to find out who this Dr. Alex Novikoff actually was. After hearing his amazing story from my colleagues in the lab, I found myself even more inspired by the man's words.

Dr. Novikoff had been a founding member of Einstein's faculty. An internationally known cell biologist, he'd made major contributions to science and medicine, and come close to winning a Nobel Prize for his work on the team that discovered and characterized lysosomes. But he was known for much more than his contributions to biology. In 1947, after getting a Ph.D. at Columbia and working as an instructor at Brooklyn College, Novikoff secured a full-time position at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. For five years, he quietly went about his work, carrying out his research, publishing papers, teaching and securing grants.

But in the early 1950s, his idyllic career was interrupted. For a brief period in the 1930s, while he was teaching in Brooklyn, Novikoff, a lifelong Marxist, had been a member of the Communist Party. In April 1953, at the height of the McCarthy era, having been named as a "fellow traveler" by two colleagues from Brooklyn College, he was subpoenaed to testify before the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Faced with the committee's request that he provide the names of two additional colleagues from Brooklyn College, Novikoff steadfastly refused, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Within months, Novikoff was fired by the University of Vermont. In justifying the dismissal, the university stated that he'd failed to exhibit "the qualities of responsibility, integrity and frankness that are fundamental requirements of a faculty member." Although he had a national reputation and some grant funding, he could not find another job. No educational institution would hire a scientist who had been blacklisted. And so, at age 40, with a wife and two children, Alex Novikoff appeared to be unemployable.

In desperation, he wrote to anyone he could think of who might help him secure a position. In June 1953, having heard that a new medical school named for Albert Einstein was being built by Yeshiva University in the Bronx, Novikoff wrote to Professor Einstein in Princeton, pleading with him to intercede on his behalf. On July 4, Einstein wrote back to Novikoff, agreeing to put in a word for him with the directors of the new school. On July 9, only five days later, Novikoff received a letter from Dr. Harry Zimmerman, the new school's associate director, confirming the intercession of Professor Einstein and assuring Dr. Novikoff that when the task of staffing the school got under way, he and his work would be considered. Two years later, Novikoff moved to Einstein, becoming a founding member of the department of pathology. Over the next 32 years, he made major contributions to science.

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Having almost had his professional life ended as a result of his political beliefs, Alex Novikoff had known true adversity and had conquered it. Hearing his story, I realized that my failure to gain acceptance to an American medical school was insignificant compared with what he'd overcome. And after hearing this story, I knew that if he had succeeded, I could succeed as well.

In the next few days, I managed to secure a seat in the preregistration class at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. It wasn't ideal, and I was going to have to leave home and be separated from my family and friends for six years, but I understood that this was my chance. Later that summer, on my last day at work, I entered Dr. Novikoff's lab to thank him and tell him how much his words of encouragement had meant to me. "What words of encouragement?" he asked. "What are you talking about?" When I reminded him of our meeting in the men's room and repeated the words he'd said to me, his response was "I said that? Are you sure it was me you were speaking to? I never would have said anything like that."

I'm not exactly sure why Dr. Novikoff hadn't remembered the conversation we'd had less than three months before, but I think he was trying to protect his cover. He'd worked hard to cultivate his hard-edged, no-nonsense persona; I can't imagine he would have been eager to have the people who worked with him begin to think that he'd turned soft. So he disavowed all knowledge of our talk.

As it turned out, I spent only a few months in Dublin. With the encouragement of Dr. Englard, before leaving for Ireland, I filled out another application to Einstein. On December 13, 1974, the day after I arrived home for Christmas vacation, I returned to the Bronx for an interview. On December 17, I received a letter in the mail from Einstein's admissions committee. The letter began, "We are pleased to inform you... ." I started medical school in the Bronx in August 1975; I've been here ever since.

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I've always been thankful to Dr. Novikoff for his words of encouragement in the men's room on that afternoon in 1974 (even if he seemed not to remember them). And I've always been proud to be a member of the Einstein community, a place where even a blacklisted communist who had been barred from every other medical school in the country could find a home and flourish. It is my hope that the welcoming attitude that greeted Alex Novikoff in the 1950s will continue into the future.

Dr. Marion is professor, departments of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology and women's health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a member of the division of genetic medicine, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore.

***


I first learned about Clara Gaymard 10 years ago. She's an incredibly accomplished businesswoman, and she manages it all while being a mom of 9 kids! Clara worked really hard to build her career in parallel to everything else. She recently founded a new investment vehicle (RAISE) with Gonzague de Blignieres, a successful financial advisor. Together, they're taking an innovative approach: 50% of their carried interest will go to help social organizations in France.

You're considered to be one of the world's most powerful women. What is one piece of advice you have for women who want to make their mark in the business world?



I wish I knew! I have only tried to follow a few rules: serve a project, a vision, or an ambition that is bigger than yourself. Believe in what and who you trust and do your best. And don't try to have all the answers, just try and see what happens. Life is full of surprises for women who have open arms.

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Women have to overcome two obstacles.



First, no self-censorship! Don't wait for people to allow you to have your own ideas and vision, and don't try to find too many excuses in what doesn't work for women today. Of course, some things in the legal or cultural background of any country still have to change. But the biggest change will come from women themselves: take your fear under your arms with you and continue your journey! It is difficult to kill the fear, but you can use it as a tool to make you more accurate.



Second, don't apologize for being a woman. Of course, men and women are different: differences in the way we look at the outside world, differences in the way we interact with other human beings or relate to our inner self. And guess what? That's an opportunity for the business world. Diversity - whether it derives from academic background, cultural, social, gender - is key to success, because it allows you to adapt to a wider array of events that occur in your in your business environment. It is about you to decide if you want to be part of the future.

You sit on the board of a number of nonprofits. What is one cause you support that is very meaningful to you?



With Gonzague de Blignieres, we decided to create RAISE, a company that helps companies to grow. Our shareholders are the biggest and most successful companies in France. We invest in medium size companies and give returns to our shareholders. But we, the team, give fifty percent of our profits to a foundation dedicated to entrepreneurship. I have been the chairperson of RAISE Foundation since 2013, and we have an ecosystem of 1200 young entrepreneurs. We provide them financial assistance (100000 loans), networking opportunities with other entrepreneurs and potential clients, and several mentorship or expertise programs.



Our goal is to create a lasting cultural change in favor of entrepreneurship. For instance, we recently published a study called David and Goliath about the relations between growing start-ups and big French corporations. In France, compared to other countries such as Germany, there is no sense of a common purpose between companies that differ in age and size: the Davids have to take their chance, and the Goliaths have to give them a chance!

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Can you tell me more about the Women's Forum for the Economy and Society? What would you do to promote more women in senior leadership positions?



The Women's Forum for the Economy and Society was created in 2005 by a group of international women business leaders. Its aim is to bring together ambitious women from every corner of the world, through an annual session and other events. One key point to understand: this forum is not about how the world sees women, but rather about how women see the world. Women often have to perform certain tasks that men know less about: as women, we have acquired some cognitive and relational strengths - the so-called "soft-skills" business pundits write and talk about - that allows us to make a real difference in the world, locally and globally.



What we are already doing to promote women is to rely on examples so that every ambitious woman is encouraged to take her chance: in the 2015 edition of the Women's forum, there were 1300 participants from 76 countries, including 250 speakers and 26 political figures from around the world.

In an interview with Forbes, you mentioned that having a family and being a mother was very important to you. How has motherhood shaped you as a leader?



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Building a career and building a family at the same time shaped me as a leader with distinctive skills. I really believe that having a family gives you very useful and practical skills in business: how to anticipate, to delegate and give responsibilities and empowerment, resist to the unpredicted, and among all others, be a good listener. A lot of business leaders tend to give all their available attention to showing their analytical skills and building political coalitions with actors within the company and in the outside environment, instead of dedicating their talents to what really matters : have the good vision and empower the people around you to make it happen.



Raising nine children while building a career gave me something more: a sense of how to create consensus and of the importance of small rituals, a sense of kindness and of pushing every person around me to its fullest potential. Our innovation-driven era needs more diverse leaders: motherhood shaped me as a leader who can encourage people around me to be leaders of their own kind!

Finally, do you think by doing good, you're more successful?


With another NeoCon in the rearview mirror, it's time to reflect on what the show tells us about the state of our industry. As technology untethers us from a set work location, in recent years we have seen a great shift in the allocation of floor space. New types of collaboration spaces and individual work spaces are emerging that account for a much larger portion of the overall square footage, and furniture spend. With 2016 perhaps marks the first year since the advent of systems furniture, it was difficult to find a cubicle in the Mart. But don't be fooled. The cubicle has not yet disappeared. In many jobs, systems furniture still is a major component; at least for now. What we can read from this trend is an audible shift in the industry that gives us a glimpse of what may be to come.

Mark Hirons, Design Principal with CannonDesign in Chicago says, "While the final curtain has closed on Neocon 2016, there is an understanding that in many cases the showrooms will be reestablished to reflect for clients more of the 'real items' that respond to their actual needs. Overall what you are seeing is the major manufacturers repositioning themselves to be able to capture a broader spectrum of informal settings- that are increasingly growing as a percentage of the floor space. It has been interesting to see smaller, innovative and aggressive companies come into play to respond to the market need...and likely where more major manufacturers were realizing potential vulnerability. For that reason, many of the largest players are boldly proclaiming their capability in the ancillary space. That said, the perception vs. reality of cultural changes for clients and the resultant degree of ancillary furniture's impact within spaces will continue to be a balance of the increasing array of choices."

Still, many are predicting that the results of this shift in floor space allocation and budget will have significant impact on our industry as a whole. It's those effects that have not been fully realized yet. So while cubicles are far from disappearing, it's important to look at the scope and potential impacts of these shifts.

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Image: Allsteel showroom NeoCon 2016

Reality #1: Spend on ancillary is increasing.

Julie Deignan, Director of CBRE Furniture Advisory Services says, "Depending on the geographic region and the industry, today the ancillary spend on a furniture project can be anywhere between 30 percent to 80 percent of the total spend." This wide variation has a lot to do with geographic variations in the market, however it is growing everywhere. "In the Midwest, professional service firms spend an average around 30 percent on ancillary furnishings while a tech company will be closer to 50 percent. On the West Coast however, a tech company's ancillary spend can be as high as 80 percent. In lieu of workstations and private offices, they may have height adjustable or freestanding tables throughout their office."



Image: National showroom June 2016

This shift in budget allocation has also been recognized by BIFMA, the industry's leading trade association, that is in the process of redefining its categories to create a more accurate picture of the types of furniture being purchased today. Tom Reardon, Executive Director at BIFMA says, "We have been tied to old product categories and definitions for a while. There's a reason for doing that. If you are a tracker of that data, there are ties to history and you really can see the trends as they develop over time. We have gotten to a point that categorizing the way we did 20 or even 10 years ago isn't relevant anymore. Despite what it may do to historic trend lines, we have to evolve."

Additionally, while BIFMA historically has reported with the large, major manufacturers in this industry, it also is making a concentrated shift to be more inclusive. Reardon says, "We also are making a huge push to include smaller and more ancillary manufacturers. The shift in floorplate is driving this inclusivity because we are striving for relevance in today's world. We want our product categorization and definitions to be relevant to everyone and useful in making business decisions." Included in their new, inclusive initiatives is shifting from being U.S.-only to North America-driven (including Canada and Mexico) as well as adding new specialized product categories such as healthcare and educational furniture products.



Image: KI Showroom NeoCon 2016

Reality #2: Ancillary tends to be more profitable for dealers and manufacturers than systems business.

In recent conversations with dealers (all of whom declined to be directly quoted in this article) it is notable that the ancillary business tends to be much more profitable than traditional systems business for dealers. Dave Bloch, President of Indeal, presented some significant statistics at a recent NeoCon rep gathering. Bloch says, "I was at a 28M dealer not too long ago, [a dealer that is] one of the more successful, well-run and profitable dealerships. They are doing exactly half of their business with their aligned manufacturer (which is low), and half with non-aligned manufacturers. Their profit margins are at 14 percent on aligned business, but at 28 percent on the non-aligned sales. Most dealers are in the range of 50-70 percent of their business with their aligned manufacturer. Major markets are typically closer to the 70 percent range."

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Bloch regularly speaks with aligned dealers in all of the major markets, and predicts that we are on the brink of what he calls, "some pretty significant change." He explains, "In our industry, sales historically have been driven by convenience. There are some heavy incentives for aligned dealers to drive volume to their major manufacturer, but right now many of those dealers are struggling with profitability." Bloch estimates that a large transition period is coming. "This partially is due to the average age of ownership preparing to retire, but has been augmented by the fact that private equity has yet to invest in our industry." He predicts that, in the very near term, restrictions will change that will finally make it attractive for private equity firms to purchase dealerships. But as the major manufacturers drive toward fewer, stronger distributors, the initial purchase price of a large dealer severely limits the pool of potential investors. Still, these new players have the potential to drive a major shift in how the selling model happens; from a convenience, relationship-driven sale to a more profit-driven sale.

This newfound variety also adds complexity at the dealer level, so it SHOULD be more profitable to manage. David Solomon, Managing Principal of Solomon Coyle, a consulting firm focused on contract dealers says, "There's more competition than ever for the client's dollars. Dealers report that the number of vendors they are now engaging have roughly doubled in one year. This alone adds complexity to the project and compounds the budget and schedule risks. But there is huge opportunity for the dealers that can embrace the complexity and strip out the associated risk for the client. This applies not only to ancillary furniture but also to the growing demand for solutions that integrate furniture, architectural, AV and technology products."



Image: Humanscale NeoCon 2016

All of this is exciting for smaller, ancillary manufacturers in terms of opportunity to play in this industry that largely has been dominated by six giants. But from a product design perspective, it also is exciting for the larger systems manufacturers that are innovating in this space.

Reality #3: It's an exciting time to be in the contract interiors market.

If there's one conclusion this should leave us with, it's that change can be exciting. For those who recognize and embrace it, rather than resisting or fearing it, the future is limitless. Change leaves doors open for innovation, new business opportunities and most of all: progress.

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This article originally published in the Bellow.Press Business of Furniture on July 6, 2016. It is republished here with permission.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has indicated fruitful cooperation with the United States in bolstering Ukraine's defense capacities and has said he hopes it will be further strengthened.

"We have noted the importance of our cooperation in bolstering defense capacities of our state. The U.S. assistance to the reform of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, deliveries of equipment and hardware, and joint exercises and practices are an important stage of building efficient cooperation and coordination in the field of defense. I am sure that this cooperation will only grow in the future," he said at a joint press briefing with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Kyiv on Thursday.
New Zealand is a teeny tiny country so when someone is making it big in the world it makes us so proud we want to shout it from the rooftops. We may be a small country, but do not lack support to our fellow Kiwis! Here are the top 7 New Zealand travel bloggers and influencers that are taking over the world as we know it and you need to follow right now!

Jub from Tiki Touring Kiwi

I got the pleasure of meeting Jub in April on a famil trip to Indonesia. He's a kind vegan Kiwi bloke with a long beard and has travelled to over 40 countries. He's explored some pretty amazing parts of the world including Mongolia, Russia and Belarus with a dream to visit 60 countries by the end of 2016! Jub is a man with no plan and taking each day as it comes. Be sure to check him out on Snapchat (jubunator), he's quite a laugh!

Kyle from Bare Kiwi

Kyle is a New Zealand Instagram king with a travel blog and YouTube channel. With over 35,000 followers, he is one to follow closely. He takes some of the most beautiful pictures of New Zealand which he features on his account! He's passionate about showing travellers the beauty of NZ. Taking the road less travelled Bare Kiwi is a guy you should follow if you want to see the true Aotearoa (New Zealand).

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Sonja from Migrating Miss

Sonja is an inspiration! She's lived in a lot of corners around the world such as the United States, Australia, Canada and Spain, where she is currently. She loves to promote the expat lifestyle as a Kiwi living her dream and sharing her passion of travelling the world. Sonja left her cosy house at the tender age of 16 to move to the United States for a year, and has claimed it was her first best decision. Follow her adventures on her blog, Instagram and Facebook - her photos are beautiful!

Phil from Broken Limitz

Phil was bored of the 9-5 work life as a carpenter so he decided to chase the big money in the Australian mines like a lot of Kiwis do. It took 4 months for him to realise that money cannot buy you happiness so he booked a one way ticket to Europe via Thailand to pursue his dream of travelling the world. Now you can see him on his laptop writing about his adventures on his website Broken Limitz. He's travelled to over 40 countries and has had some amazing experiences you must read about! He also takes some epic pictures that are featured on his Instagram, he has over 30,000 people following him on there!

Katie has been travelling the world and living abroad for over 12 years now visiting beautiful places such as Belize, Fiji and Peru. She has a quite impressive list of destinations she has visited so far. Katie decided to start a blog so she could document a 13 month trip she was doing through the Americas so she could keep her family and friends in the loop. These days she blogs with an audience from around the blog and is considered one of New Zealand's top travel bloggers! Make sure you follow her adventures on Instagram and Facebook too, it will make you want to book a one way ticket!

Jon from Jon Is Travelling

Jon didn't want to get a 'real' job so he left New Zealand after he finished university in 2010 which is why he pursued teaching in Taiwan and later in Singapore to save some money. Since 2014, he took the leap of a lifetime as a nomad living out of his suitcase as a fulltime traveller. He has a wicked Kiwi sense of humour so be sure to read his stories that he publishes on his website. At the moment, he is on an epic trip around India so be sure to follow his adventure on Instagram!

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Anita from Anita Hendrieka

Anita is a 23-year-old Kiwi passionate about travelling and inspiring others to get off their couch and go see something new. Leaving home at 19 she bought a one-way ticket to London not knowing a single soul or what she was going to do but she knew she was doing the right thing. It was a crazy 2 years living and working in the UK as she fell in love with the world and in love with a man. Nowadays you can find her in New Zealand, London or anywhere in between! You can follow her adventures on her blog, Instagram or Facebook.
In the global race towards a modern digital government, one unlikely former Soviet republic is showing the rest of us the way forward.

Named 'the most advanced digital society in the world' by specialist tech magazine Wired, Estonia has grabbed attention by offering 'e-residency' to anyone from anywhere, but its transformation of how the state works in the internet age goes far deeper than the headlines. And Estonia is now preparing for another leap forward. Instead of replacing existing services with digital equivalents, it is creating new things only possible in a digitally native country.

The government provided free public wi-fi in most populated areas as early as 2002. It introduced online voting for all elections in 2007, by which time 94% of tax returns were also being filed electronically. Because the Estonian tax office automatically fills in much of the form, the average return takes five minutes to fill out. Everything from prescriptions to court papers to the minutes of Estonia's Cabinet has been made paperless.

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Estonia in dark green with the European Union in light green.

Then 18 months ago the country launched its pioneering e-residency scheme. It allows anyone to become a digital resident of the country, meaning they can very simply register a company in Estonia, open an Estonian bank account and start trading. Because all that paperwork - and filing tax returns - is so much radically simpler than in other countries, Estonia hopes that people will register their companies there and use online services that contribute to the Estonian economy.

Since the project was launched, more than 10,000 people from 127 countries - including Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe - have applied to join. The first major hurdle - that applicants still needed to visit the country to be fingerprinted - was removed after six months; and the government has now drafted legislation making it possible to open a bank account without visiting a branch, making the whole process remote.

What Estonia wants to do next is of another order entirely. For example, if you go to the doctor, he already has your medical records, but, says Digital Policy Advisor Siim Sikkut, 'We could tie in so much more decision support - genomic information, my whereabouts data from my cellphone - and make the treatment much more effective. We've only scratched the surface in terms of the information we can make available and the analytics we could employ.'

Much can also be automated. At the moment, if you have a child, you can register its name and apply for child benefit online, but the state actually already knows a child has been born, so the next step is to pro-actively ask for a name and start paying benefits without any application.

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The Estonian digital identity connects via the USB drive.

The most impressive example of that is bound up with the future of e-residency. Starting next year, Estonian companies will be able to automate their taxes and financial reporting. The subsequent step is to link up the Estonian tax office with those of other countries, so that for an e-resident actually living and paying taxes in say, France, it could make sure the French state gets the tax it is due without that person having to do anything at all.

So a French resident with a company trading solely in France might still register it in Estonia, simply because its infrastructure is so much easier to deal with.

Moreover, it would mean that people and companies could move between linked countries - in this case, ideally all those in the EU - without needing to do any paperwork, whether online or not. It would also mean that people could live in one country and work in another or earn money in more than one country or set up a company in more than one country without having to fill in any forms.

Estonia is working on this particularly with its neighbour Finland. Helsinki and Tallinn are only 50 miles apart, albeit separated by the Gulf of Finland, and 60,000 Estonians already commute to the Finnish capital. The two cities are also planning to build the world's longest undersea tunnel to make commuting easier.

So why has this small Baltic state led the way towards digital government? Having no natural resources and a declining population meant that it very quickly embraced comparatively cheap digital means of enticing people to stay and do business in Estonia. It presently allocates around 1% of its spending - $90-100million - for IT, and in addition to creating efficiency savings for companies there it has built infrastructure allowing the development of tech companies like Skype, Transferwise and Pipedrive.

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The old town of Tallinn, the Estonian capital.

That is why the state is willing to take on administrative work like filing tax returns. Says Sikkut, 'We see our role as government is to bear these sorts of costs. We are building an infrastructure for companies to run themselves.'

Despite its pioneering work, however, the population has still declined by 15% over the past twenty years, i.e. one in every seven Estonians living there in 1992 has either died or emigrated.

Moreover, the digital revolution has not been without its problems. There are ongoing privacy concerns about the amount of centrally held information, and the state has wrestled with the governance of its IT effort.

Having experimented with a centralised service like the GDS in the UK, and with a highly decentralised approach, which led to duplications, people working at cross-purposes and incremental improvement rather than radical leaps forward, it appointed a government CIO in 2011 and is now trying a model in which departments are responsible for their own IT, but strategy is decided centrally. Despite progress, there remains a high degree of variation in departments' capacity for this sort of work.

Nonetheless, this tiny country of 1.3million people has blazed a trail which many others would do well to follow. As Sikkut puts it, 'Everyone has figured out that people don't want to bother with the government. They want to just have things done. In our case, we have a good shot of actually making it happen. We are able to integrate things much better because of the infrastructure we have and, secondly, we are already building this, not just talking about it.'

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Source: Pixabay

AsiaToday reporter Jina Koh - The match between Go master Lee Se-dol and Google DeepMind's artificial intelligence (AI) program AlphaGo. A certain international programming contest is called The AI Challenge. That's right. One of the hottest topics in the world for the Millennial Generation is the battle between machines and humans.

Who will rule the world? Will AI someday dominate humans?

DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said that humans are the ones who created an artificial intelligence. He emphasized that he puts more weight on human's creativity and that human values will be more dignified in the future. However, it seems just meaningless to the Millennials, or the young generation in their 20s and 30s. What they really need is not the future of humanity, but rather their present.

Many young people around the world are suffering from the same problem. Not being able to live a perfectly normal life by getting a job, earning money, and buying homes. That goes the same for Korean youth.

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Two young Koreans accepted our interview. What are their views of their present?

A: The most urgent thing was getting a job when I came back to Korea. It's not affecting now, obviously, but the process of preparing for employment had a negative impact on dating, friendship, and even family relations that are important factors of my life. I have a job now, but it was true when I was looking for a job. It's because there is keen competition. You need to get a certificate, study for high English scores and take a general knowledge test as well. You have to prepare for job interviews when you join a study group. Besides, it's necessary to attend English language academy for TOEIC Speaking Test. B: Same here. There is nobody in Korea who is not desperate for a job. Since economic power is the first priority in Korea, if you live hand to mouth, it simply means you are an incompetent person. People think that you have given up everything although you have not. A : I came back from Canada in December 2014. My first job was working in a hotel. Although it wasn't what I really wanted to do, I had to get a job. But once I got the job, I regretted it and quit it soon. B : I've stayed in the United States for a year. The original purpose was to try living abroad before getting 30. But I didn't have much money, so I started doing part-time jobs. By then, I had to do a job that required physical labor at the LA Airport.

'A' started doing part-time jobs during high school and university when he lived in Canada for 7 years. Now he has a job in Korea. 'B' grew up in Korea, flew to the US and came back to Korea after a year. He has been working for a company for 10 years now in Korea.

What they shared is about their life in Korea, abroad, employment and their present life. This interview may be subjective, and it should not be generalized. In some ways, young people around the world might be suffering from the same problem, but the depth of pain might be different. You cannot express the difference numerically. Perhaps, whether you agree or disagree with the interview may depend on your personal life and relations.

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First, let's take a look at the most important factor, income.

According to the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) database, incomes of South Korean households headed by those in their 20s and 30s fell last year for the first time amid rising youth unemployment rate and soaring house prices. The same goes for young Western people in their 20s. Their income was much less than the previous generation. The Guardian said there is an unprecedented inequality between generations.

Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), warned, "Young people were hit hard by the Great Recession in 2008, and their labor market situation has improved only little since. This is the problem we must address now urgently. Kicking it down the road will hurt our children and society as a whole."

A: I went to Canada when I was 11th grade, and came back in 2014. Counting out the period in the army, I had done just part-time jobs for 7 years. I came to Korea because it was not easy to get a job in Canada. I lived in the region where most of the companies were involved in the oil industry. It's the richest region in Canada. By the time I graduated, however, small companies went bankrupt because of the oil crisis. Even large companies cut down thousands of people every quarter. It was tough for a foreign graduate. I sent in resumes, but it wasn't easy. They didn't call me. Things changed dramatically, and I decided to return to Korea. In Canada, I worked in a cafe, Japanese restaurant, and fast food restaurant, and made $10 an hour. The prices were high, but the condition was better than here. Also, Koreans had to work more under Korean owner. In that case, you get less money, you know. B: It's the same in the US. I went to the US with L-1 visa, but I got paid hourly, so it wasn't different from a part-time job. The prices were not that high considering the hourly wage. I got $12 an hour at the airport. You got 1.5 times when you did overtime work or worked on holidays, so I earned at least 2 million won (approx. USD $2,000). I was able to pay rent, eat, and even enjoy cultural life with it. It's quite satisfactory unless you have a specific desire to have a particular job.

You could live an ordinary life abroad with reduced income, due to relatively lower prices. The interviewees' hourly wage of $10-12 per hour was much higher than minimum wage in Korea. Still, it's tough to live in Korea with only part-time work.

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As it can be seen from the layoffs in Canada, a global recession income involves income losses, and impacts on home purchase. In Korea, it's highly likely that ordinary wage earners cannot buy a home even after working for more than 10 years. Things are pretty much the same abroad.

KB Institute of Finance recently released a report entitled "The US Millennial Generation and Housing Market Entry Possibility", and revealed that 36% of the Millennial generation, or the American version of Give-up generation, were possessing their own house while only 18% of Korean young people in their 30s were owning a house.

In 2014, nearly 36% of US households under 35 years of age owned a house, down 7% from the 43% of their same-aged counterparts in 2005. This is due to rising student loan and declining employment.

20% of the Millennials lived in their parents' home. 40% of Millennials who live in their parents' home appears to be driven by loan repayment, unemployment, college enrollment, and more. Around 61% of the Millennials lived in a rental house.

Things are worse in Korea. According to the data by the National Statistical Office in 2014, people in their 30s accounted for just 18% of apartment owners in Korea.

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However, the worse problem is that there are just too many young people around the world.

Source: Pixabay

In the recent article in The New York Times entitled, "The World Has a Problem: Too Many Young People", the newspaper said, "At no point in recorded history has our world been so demographically lopsided, with old people concentrated in rich countries and the young in not-so-rich countries."

The newspaper warned, "It's the youth bulge that stands to put great pressure on the global economy, sow political unrest, spur mass migration and have profound consequences for everything from marriage to the growth of cities."

According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), people between the ages 10 and 24 represent over a quarter of the world population, and most of them live in developing countries.

In India, some one million young people turn 18 - coming of age, looking for work, and registering to vote. Of course, today's young people are given more educational opportunities than their parents; and they are more connected to the world than any generation before them, which makes them more ambitious. However, many of them are in no position to land a decent job at home.

International Labour Organization (ILO) said that two out of every five young persons of working age are either unemployed or working jobs that don't pay enough to escape poverty. Of course, young people in developing countries have more jobs, but most of them are temporary and low-paid.

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The same goes for the developed countries. Europe's youth unemployment is 25%. In the United States, 17% of young people aged between 16-29 are either not going to school or jobless. But do people enjoy more comfortable and leisurely life-style in developed countries?

A: Korea's lifestyle is so fast-paced and competitive. On the other hand, things are more peaceful in Canada, and people of my age puts emphasis on harmonious balance of things. They focus on the balance of life such as love, family, and career. But here in Korea, job is the top priority. There are advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of living in Canada is that you are basically secured to have a high salary and excellent welfare. You only work 8 hours before you go home. Your lifestyle is more leisurely. However, the disadvantage is that you could fall behind. You don't improve yourself. Of course, it depends on you. When I ask my friends what they are going to do after graduation, the answer is the same. "I will go to some oil company." This is definitely not the way of self-development. B: Life in Korea operates at a faster pace than it does in Canada. But talking about money, which is necessary for living, isn't it the same in other countries? It's just that Koreans tend to think that they should enjoy a comfortable life when they get old, while most people in other countries don't.

In the future, the Millennial generation will lead consumption and politics, and change everything. It's obvious. The US is experiencing a political revolution led by Millennials, the children of Baby Boomers, ahead of the US presidential election. Of course, some media outlets warn that they should not treat electoral politics as 'Hollywood blockbusters'.

The same goes for Koreans. The younger generation, who will lead the politics, economy, society, and culture. should seek changes in Korea. They are responsible to design their own story based on their tough life.

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Hand holding gun, close-up, b&w

Not 24 hours after celebrating America's "Freedom" on the 4th of July, Alton Sterling was executed by a police officer in Louisiana for selling CDs in front of a convenience store. Before we could even process the idea of this father being snatched away from his family, Philando Castile is murdered in Minnesota by a police officer for reaching for his wallet in front of his girlfriend and her daughter.

There is an open season on black men and it started well before these killings, in fact it's been open season on black men since when we first arrived in this country centuries ago. Whether it was the slave patrols of colonials times, the Klu Klux Klan, Hoover's FBI, the sheriff and deputies of the old south, or police officers of today the black man's liberties have always been infringed upon.

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I just finished reading "Freedom Summer: The Savage Season of 1964 That Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy" by Bruce Watson. The book presents finely rendered portraits of the courageous black citizens and Northern white volunteers who refused to be intimidated in their struggle for justice, and the white Mississippians who would kill to protect a dying way of life.

Officers of the law would literally kill a black man in cold blood with no explanation and walk away scot-free. What made matters worse was most of the officers, faith leaders and politicians of the south were also leaders of the Klu Klux Klan.

We haven't advanced far beyond the heinous acts of the 1960's. And because of America's many societal advances and integrations, many have forgotten that we are still fighting for justice and equality against a corrupt system.

In fact, in 2006 The FBI issued a warning in a 7-page unclassified report, "White supremacist infiltration of law enforcement", that white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan were increasingly seeking to infiltrate law enforcement. It's been 10 years since this report was released and we still have white supremacist leading in our law enforcement. They are police officers, states attorneys, judges, politicians all leading in a corrupt system.

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We are caught up in a vicious cycle that needs to change:

Officer shoots and kills innocent black man Officer is placed on Administrative Leave The media criminalizes the victim (mug shot, criminal record, etc.) The community gets upset and protests #BlackLivesMatter The system responds by taking some action to calm the outcry Ten months later grand Jury doesn't indict Officer goes home to their family Community goes back to normal until next incident

Is this the future our black ancestors fought so hard to achieve?

How do we win against the perils of hatred, bigotry and injustice?

We must never rest! We must never give up! We must keep fighting! We've got to disrupt the system!

"Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro" - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - In a letter from a Birmingham jail.

It seems like for every step forward, we as black men are pushed two steps backward. "Grey's Anatomy" actor Jesse Williams delivered an impassioned speech at the BET Awards on race relations in America. We were inspired, ignited, felt empowered. So how does law enforcement respond - by executing two innocent black men (in other words, remember your place).

The fight today is much more than just about race. It's about who has the power. And the old guard is fighting tooth and nail to keep the power and keep things the way they are. But the inevitable is happening whether they like it or not. In 50 years America will no longer be majority white. And most of our leadership will look like the diverse cultures this country represents. Black, Hispanic, Asian, Gay, and the list goes on.

I literally just came off a national tour with

celebrating the contributions of black men in communities across the United States. There are tons of things we can do as a people to win the fight for equality and justice. Some of which include:

disrupting the system

disrupting economic engines

voting

holding your elected officials accountable

getting to know your law enforcement

weeding out racists who work in law enforcement

telling children the truth about race in America

running for public office

governing our own communities

financially supporting organizations in the fight for equality

debunk the myths and lift up the positive stories about black men

Now these recommendations are not the end all be all because most of these things are happening, but we need to work better together because we are stronger together. There are more of us that want better for this country than those who want to keep things the same.

During Freedom Summer under the direction of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and other civil rights organizations, the volunteers, both black and white, ran health clinics, established Freedom Schools to educate and empower African-Americans and sponsored voter-registration drives. Members of all races worked together to build a strong community that tackled all fronts of the civil rights movement.

Dr. King's words remain vital even 60 years later. When justice is the goal, everything else is secondary. The focus must always be forward. The moral ethos of American culture can be a reality for all if we continually fight for it as an entire community not just when tragedy strikes. The focus must always be on building an America that works for everybody.

Let's work together to close the open season on black men.
Supreme Court of the United StatesUnited States Supreme Court in Washington DC with Blue Sky background

The Supreme Court's just-completed October 2015 term was supposed to mark a dramatic comeback for the tribunal's once-dominant contingent of five conservative justices.

After taking it on the chin in the previous term on a variety of hot-button issues, including same-sex marriage, the legality of Obamacare's income-tax credits and racial discrimination under the Fair Housing Act, conservatives were thought to have a 5-4 voting advantage on a slew of new politically charged cases this time around.

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With the panel's resident firebrand--Justice Antonin Scalia--leading the charge, the big question was whether the court's right flank would hold together as it tackled new appeals on affirmative action, public-employee unions, Obamacare's contraception mandate, presidential powers over deportation policy and abortion rights.

But before any of the most controversial decisions were rendered, Scalia died in his sleep in February while on a hunting vacation. His passing was without question a defining moment, and a historical watershed. Combined with the Senate's refusal to hold hearings on the president's nomination of a successor--District of Columbia Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland--Scalia's demise left the court in a potentially crippling 4-4 ideological stalemate.

From a judicial standpoint, stalemate is rarely a good thing, especially in the halls of the nation's most powerful legal body, which is tasked with providing the final answers to the most pressing questions of constitutional law.

Basically, when the Supreme Court divides evenly in a case, it has three options: It can defer rendering a decision and hold the matter over until it can be reconsidered the following term. It can refrain from issuing a decision on the merits and remand a case back to the lower courts. Or it can issue a one-sentence "per curiam" order, declaring simply that the judgment of the lower court is affirmed--an outcome that establishes no new legal precedent and in effect operates to leave the lower-court ruling intact.

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So how did the dynamic of an eight-member court play out sans Scalia? Here's my scoreboard for the term's biggest opinions.

The 4-4 Decisions

With Scalia gone, the court issued four evenly split per curiam affirmances. Three came in major cases, two of which resulted in liberal victories and one in a conservative win.

The biggest liberal gain concerned public employee unions and so-called "fair-share" fees in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, decided in March. Friedrichs was the third time since 2012 that the court had been asked to determine whether assessing partial fair-share fees in lieu of full dues on nonunion employees to help cover the costs of collective bargaining amounted to coerced speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Given the tenor of the oral argument conducted in January, when Scalia was still alive and irascible as ever, the union seemed poised to sustain a crippling defeat. But in his absence, the panel deadlocked. The association's victory before the Ninth Circuit was preserved, and the fair-share system and public unionism as a whole averted a massive setback.

Another liberal win was chalked up in Dollar General Corp. v. Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a case argued in December but not decided until late June. Unable to form a majority, the court's 4-4 tie permitted a Fifth Circuit decision to stand that broke new legal ground, recognizing the authority of a Native American tribal court to hear a civil suit for sexual abuse against a major corporation operating on trial land.

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Conservatives, however, picked up a crucial win in United States v. Texas, a volatile 26-state challenge to President Barack Obama's executive actions calling for deferred deportation of the undocumented parents of U.S. citizen children and lawful permanent residents, and the expansion of an earlier program aimed at deferring the deportation of specified classes of undocumented youth. The court's 4-4 tie effectively reinstated a nationwide federal district court injunction against the executive actions, placing a staggering 5.5 million immigrants at risk of deportation.

The court was also unable to reach a merits decision in another set of high-profile lawsuits dealing with the application of Obamacare's contraception-coverage mandate to religious nonprofit organizations, colleges and schools. Although not formally expressed as a 4-4 tie, the court punted on the cases and by a unanimous 8-0 vote sent the parties back to the lower courts with instructions to find a way to reach a settlement.

The Liberal Landmarks

Scalia was gone but not forgotten in the two biggest liberal decisions of the term: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, on affirmative action, and Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt, on abortion rights.

Fisher concerned a challenge to the University of Texas' race-conscious affirmative action plan. The case had been before the panel previously, but in 2013 was sent back to the Fifth Circuit for additional fact-finding, courtesy of a 7-1 majority opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, with Scalia concurring, and Justice Elena Kagan recusing herself due to prior participation in the litigation while she was solicitor general during Obama's first term in office.

The case came back to the high court after the Fifth Circuit once again approved the Texas program.

In a second round of oral arguments last December, Scalia viciously attacked the Texas program, famously remarking: "There are those who contend that it [affirmative action] does not benefit African-Americans to ... get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less advanced school, a ... slower-track school where they do well. One of the briefs pointed out that most of the black scientists in this country don't come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they are being pushed too hard in classes that are too fast for them."

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With Kennedy again writing for a 4-3 majority (Kagan remained on the sideline), the court upheld the Texas plan in a decision released Thursday. In sharp contrast to Scalia, Kennedy celebrated the values of academic diversity in breaking down racial stereotypes and preparing students for an increasingly multicultural economy and society. "Considerable deference," he wrote, "is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission." It was the first time Kennedy had opted in favor of a race-conscious affirmative-action plan.

On abortion, Justice Stephen Breyer took the honor of penning the majority 5-3 opinion in Whole Woman's Health, released last week. The decision struck down an omnibus Texas statue, known as HB2, that would have required abortion clinics to meet the physical specifications of ambulatory surgical centers and clinic doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. Together, the requirements would have forced at least half the state's clinics to close.

Rejecting Texas' contention that HB2 was designed to protect women's health, Breyer concluded that the state had presented no evidence to show that abortions routinely performed in doctors' offices and outpatient clinics are unsafe. To the contrary, he observed: "[I]n the face of no threat to women's health, Texas seeks to force women to travel long distances to get abortions in crammed-to-capacity super-facilities."

Going even further, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg declared in a smoldering concurrence, "It is beyond rational belief that HB2 could genuinely protect the health of women, and certain that the law 'would simply make it more difficult for them to obtain abortions.' "

Both Ginsburg and Breyer reasoned that the Texas law ran afoul of both of the court's foundational abortion precedents--Roe v. Wade from 1973, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey from 1992--because it placed an undue burden on the constitutional right of women to safe and legal abortions.

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Ginsburg also left no doubt that similar legislation across the country targeting abortion clinics and providers under the ruse of safeguarding women's health would not "survive judicial inspection." Indeed, the day after deciding Whole Woman's Health, Ginsburg and her colleagues let two appellate court decisions stand that had blocked abortion restrictions in Mississippi and Wisconsin.

In addition to affirmative action and abortion, liberals tallied important victories in the areas of redistricting in Evenwel v. Abbott and domestic violence in Voisine v. United States.

In Evenwel, the court held unanimously that Texas could base its state voting maps on total population (a liberal metric that includes children and noncitizens) rather than on registered voters, generally a more conservative subgroup in the Lone Star State. In Voisine, by a margin of 6-2, the court upheld a lower-court judgment prohibiting people convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence from legally purchasing firearms.

The Death Penalty and Juvenile Justice

Before his death, Scalia voted along with seven other justices in January in Hurst v. Florida to overturn Florida's death-penalty sentencing procedures because they unconstitutionally limited the role of juries in capital cases and improperly expanded the powers of trial judges.

Scalia, however, was the author of an 8-1 decision (Kansas v. Carr), also issued in January, that upheld the Kansas death-penalty statue. He took no part in the balloting in Foster v. Chatman, decided in May, in which the court held that a black Georgia death-row inmate's conviction had been unconstitutionally tainted by racial discrimination in jury selection.

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In the year's most significant juvenile justice case (Montgomery v. Louisiana), decided in January, Scalia scripted an acerbic dissent from the court's decision to overturn a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) that had been imposed on an aged defendant who had been incarcerated since 1963 for killing a deputy sheriff. The court's majority opinion brought Montgomery's case into line with contemporary decisions that found LWOP sentences for juvenile offenders unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.

Conservative Triumphs

The current term was not without conservative victories, even without Scalia.

In Utah v. Strieff, on a division of 5-3, the court validated the drug-possession conviction of a Salt Lake City man who had been illegally detained by a local police officer and then subsequently searched when the officer learned the man had an outstanding arrest warrant for a minor traffic violation. The search turned up drug paraphernalia and one baggie of methamphetamine.

The majority opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, weakened the reach of the longstanding "exclusionary rule" and the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine, which prohibit the introduction of evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Justice Breyer, regrettably, joined Thomas. Justice Sonia Sotomayor lodged a scathing dissent, protesting that illegal police detentions plague minority communities throughout the nation.

In perhaps the most important conservative win, all eight justices voted to vacate the political corruption conviction of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, who had been indicted for accepting $175,000 in loans, gifts and other benefits from Republican businessman Jonnie Williams, in return for official acts favorable to Williams' business interests.

Writing on behalf of the entire court, John Roberts held that the state had failed to show a "quid pro quo" relationship between Williams' gifts and the alleged official acts of corruption. Although Roberts never cited the court's 2010 Citizens United decision on campaign finance, his narrow construction of the concept of political corruption paralleled the narrative adopted in Citizens United.

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Looking Ahead to Next Year and Beyond

All things considered, this was a good term for liberals and progressives. But anyone thinking that more smooth sailing lies ahead should be advised that the court's current 4-4 split, which presently tilts leftward on many topics, won't last long.

As I have written in this column before, like it or not, the next president will have the opportunity to reshape the court for a generation. Scalia is gone already, and Justices Ginsburg and Kennedy will be in their 80s come Election Day. Justice Breyer will be 78.

Barring some sort of political earthquake, that means that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will get to name as many as four new justices (or possibly five, if recent rumors that Thomas is considering retirement have any basis). No matter whom you intend to vote for, that is an awesome prospect that no one can ignore.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., delivers his "Where We Go From Here" speech, Friday, June 24, 2016, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

There's been truly horrible news the past couple of days: Google Alton Sterling or Philando Castille if you somehow missed it. And there's been nasty political news: Donald Trump and his 'sheriff's star.' Those events are, sadly, predictable, and all the more troubling because of that predictability.

Buried in the newsfeed, however, is one event that seems weird -- and troubling too, though in a different way. That's the story that members of the House Democratic caucus booed Bernie Sanders in a meeting on Wednesday.

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Really? Booed the guy that 45 percent of Democrats supported in the primary? Booed the guy that all year long has been the most favorably viewed politician in America? Booed the guy that got more votes from young people in the primaries than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined?

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. The boo-ers, anonymously, told reporters that they didn't like the fact that he hadn't yet officially endorsed Hillary Clinton, that he was continuing to press for changes to the platform. If all you care about is getting reelected, then this insistence on issues is annoying. But it's precisely the thing that's drawn people to Bernie in such numbers.

I've spent a good deal of the past year volunteering for Bernie, most recently as one of the five people he named as his representatives to the platform drafting committee. That means I've gotten to travel to a number of his rallies, always filled with cheering people. They're not there because he's so much fun to listen to: his talks are 90-minute lectures about issues. There's nothing focus-grouped; it's more like a classroom. And that's what people liked, because those issues actually matter to people's lives.

His willingness to keep fighting for those issues is a great favor to the Democratic party. In the last few days the Clinton campaign has acceded to his suggestion of free public college for most students -- and in the process they've built a bridge to alienated young voters. It's possible that the rural, working-class voters who backed Sanders as they've backed no Democrat for decades might actually be swayed away from Trump if she'll do the same thing on the TPP trade agreement. One other huge issue left unaddressed, an issue with huge generational implications: climate change, where Bernie is still pushing as he has for many years.

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The point of politics, as Bernie explained, is not to win elections; it's to win change. But the odd thing is, he's done both. Coming from nowhere, against the entire party establishment, backed by virtually none of the House members who now insist he sit down and shut up, he came within a whisker of winning the nomination. You would think they'd show, if nothing else, some respect for his political ability.

Especially since that political ability lies in making a deep, real connection with voters. When Democratic politicians jeer him, they jeer those voters, which is a kind of political malpractice. I doubt Bernie cares very much, but the rest of us care.


The Signs of Captivity:

America is 55th in the world in 4G LTE speeds and falling behind, according to Open Signal.

"Data overage charges crushing cellphone customers", CNN writes

"Study Finds Special Access Market Concentration Cost Consumers & U.S. Economy150 Billion Since 2010", Consumer Federation of America

"Cable TV Subscribers Still Unhappy"... Very unhappy, according to Consumer Reports

The advertised89.99 Time Warner Cable Triple Play is deceptive and F@#X!?--now 126% above the advertised price, (July 2016) Huffington Post

"Verizon confirms plans to raise prices by up to10 per month", BGR News

"Pennsylvania Investigating State of Verizon's Landline Service", Consumerist

"CWA Petitions Maryland Public Service Commission to Investigate Verizon Service Quality", CWA

"FCC Lays out its Big 5G Push", Engadget, (Shame 5G doesn't exist yet.)

See a pattern? 'Maximize profits and deliver less service' might come to mind. Or another way to say it is - 'Screw the customer in as many ways as possible', would be close. Maybe -'this is a failure of the regulators to actually fix what's broken', would seem logical.

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For the most part, everything in the above list is about the control of America's critical infrastructure--the telecommunications wires. Who has high-speed, who doesn't, who has real choice vs faux competition--or who is being shut off or not maintained or...

And while there are some in the back shouting - But it's all wireless... Sorry, the three main companies--AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink, that control most of the wires also control all wireless--as cell sites, hot spots, etc. all end up connecting to a wire. (CenturyLink has a deal with Verizon.) Even the over hyped "5G", which does not exist and may never exist as advertised or that reach most of America, is a 'fiber-to-the-antenna' service - i.e., a fiber optic wire that has lots of small cell antennas attached.

There are also the cable wires, and through mergers, Comcast and Time Warner Cable-Charter, are part of just a few companies controlling America's phone, broadband, Internet, cable, and wireless communications.

And, at this point, this is all one, big, happy family comprised of a few companies that are not seriously competing and are not allowing/making it easy to compete to use primary critical infrastructure.



A Few Twists & Turns are in Play

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First, there has been a shift over the last five+ years. In 2010, Verizon changed management to have former Verizon Wireless CEO, Low McAdam, take over - and become a 'mobile-first' company. AT&T is also following suit. In its 2015 annual report AT&T proclaims that it is "mobilizing your world".

In fact, AT&T and Verizon discussed the plans for shutting off customers and moving them to wireless in their statements over the last five+ years. In 2013, AT&T claimed it was planning to deploy 4G LTE in 25% of their rural areas.

"In the 25 percent of AT&T's wireline customer locations where it's currently not economically feasible to build a competitive IP wireline network, the company said it will utilize its expanding 4G LTE wireless network -- as it becomes available -- to offer voice and high-speed IP Internet services."

So the current plans that have been in the works for a while are to 'shut off the wires' in large parts of the US and force-march customers onto wireless. And it is now being carried out--and this is cause for concern.

This wireless plan, however, is different; it is to replace the fiber-to-the-home plan, but, ironically, as you will read, it is to put more fiber optics in the neighborhood for small cell antennas--I'll get to this in a second.



'Special Access': The Guts of the Networks.

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Like I said, wireless is controlled by the wires - and a new focus has been emerging to deal with the guts of the networks, known as 'special access', (renamed 'Broadband Data Services'). These are copper or fiber optic wires that are used by the companies or competitors to offer wireless, or for end user business lines, from ATM machines to alarm services.

Think of them as--the phone companies have been able to get control of the roads as well as control of the gas--and they can then ration it, sell 'hi-test' or 'sludge', or charge what they want.

The recent Consumer Federation of America study showed that these services were costing consumers and the U.S. economy $150 billion since 2010--about $75 billion in overcharging over the last 5 years, and a total of $150 billion that includes economic harms caused by the excesses.

Going back to the opening bullets, the control over these networks means that the overages on cell service, the ability of Verizon to just 'raise its rates', and even the speed of 4G, are all tied to special access--and overcharging.

Special Access Wires are Just Part of the State Utility Wires.

One thing most people don't understand is that these are identical to wires used for telephone service, and they are part of the state utilities, and most of America's wireless and business services are controlled now by essentially these three companies, AT&T, Verizon and Centurylink, who don't compete seriously for wireline services--and have the monopoly share of the wires in their territories. And the true irony is that most of these territories were separate companies when the original Ma Bell, AT&T, was broken up in 1984. Like a bad joke, Humpty Dumpty returned.

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Thus, besides 'shutting off the wires' and doing a force-march of customers onto their wireless--their plan is to also keep the guts of the networks for themselves to use for their own wireless services.

And it is the details of what's happening with Verizon in Boston that shows we are at the end game.

Boston, the New Battleground.

Verizon announced that it was going to spend $300 million in Boston on a FiOS TV deployment over the next five years. Verizon had been asked multiple times to come to Boston before, and the telco just shrugged.

And when Verizon agreed, most have reported that Verizon's Boston roll out was to be FiOS fiber-to-the-home, (FiOS is based on fiber optic wires). Verizon management also stated that it was going to wait to deploy any more fiber-to-the-home anywhere else until it had done some work in this city.

This means Verizon has stopped deploying fiber optic services throughout its entire territory--that's the entire US East Coast--from Massachusetts to Virginia, and has no plans of finishing Baltimore or Albany, Buffalo or Alexandria.

But there was a darker story. It appears that this was more of a plan to build out the fiber wires, paid for by the wireline utility, but to have them be used for wireless 4G and 5G- and this would replace the wires to the home and the copper wires.

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And there are plenty of reasons - subplots, to do this. Verizon saves money doing wireless vs putting in the wires. Verizon gets to block all of the competitors who are not allowed to use the 'new fiber build outs'; it harms the companies that depend on the existing copper wires, such as the alarm industry, not to mention all of the new competitors who are planning on doing DAS 5G deployments--which requires fiber optic wires. And it harms the unions - as Verizon Wireless is NOT a union shop and the antennas, etc. will be done by contractors.

To the customer, this means that Verizon will have the control of the wireless service and could charge by the gig like it does for its current wireless products. It also could mean less speed, as no 5G services exist today, except in isolated tests, and 4G, which was supposed to be 100Mbps--never made it; America is 55th in the world in 4G. And competitors can't use these new wires so there could be no one else coming to town.

And these wireless services require that fiber optics are installed. AT&T's U-Verse is a copper-to-the home service so it can't simply offer 5G, if it ever shows--and few, if any, companies will plan to extend the fiber needed to rural areas.

Alongside this, Verizon will 'shut off the copper', which it claims is losing money. But it is not discussing their controls over the 'special access' wires; i.e., the fiber being put in, which is mainly not for 'fiber to-the-home', but 'fiber to the antenna'--is classified as 'special access'.

As we detailed recently, the Verizon NY 2015 Annual Report clearly shows that there are massive cross-subsidies afoot between and among the special access services and the state phone networks, and that the networks are profitable once these cross-subs were eliminated.

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This plan also leaves the rest of Massachusetts not completed and since the plan appears to be to wait until the wireless 'test' is deployed to see how it goes-- this means that the rest of the East Coast is being held hostage.



Scorecard: What's Really Been Deployed.

Regardless of the hype, last year we collected the data about the larger Verizon states, including using Verizon's own press releases. This next chart supplies the basic info. "FIOS", supplies the number of 'homes and businesses' who can supposedly get FiOS, while the "Locations" were created from the US Census, and cross-referenced with the FCC's data on the telcos.

Verizon has only 41% coverage of FiOS and this is the 'high' number. As found by the City of New York's audit of Verizon's NYC franchise agreement to have 100% completed by July 2015, Verizon never finished the build and left major holes in deployment.

Instead, as listed in the front list of bullets, there are investigations about the condition and maintenance of the networks in Maryland, Pennsylvania and other states.

I note: Verizon's 2015 annual report shows that Verizon appears to not care about the wired deployments. Verizon FiOS TV had only 5.8 million customers at the end of 2015, and over a three year period added about  million. Add an additional million+ for Internet only - then look back at the chart above for 'locations' covered, and we do not have a pretty picture.

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Thus, Verizon never showed up to offer serious cable competition, much less serious broadband competition to the majority of customers in their territories.

This is not to let the cable companies off the hook. But, we all know that competition requires that there are two or more companies offering a 'better deal'. Verizon's packages have not only almost identical pricing for services, but they include all of the made up fees and questionable charges that Time Warner Cable has implemented... i.e., the industry is now one, big happy family.

The String of Broken Promises

Unfortunately, there is a long history of making 'promises' to deploy fiber optics - and none were ever fulfilled. Every state had an 'alterative regulation' plan where changes were made to the state regulations that gave the companies more money to build out their fiber optic networks - and this started a decade before FiOS.

For details see "The Book of Broken Promises", now on sale as a cheap PDF.

I can hear the questions and statements now:

What about the Internet and Net Neutrality?

Aren't the set top boxes going to solve this?

Isn't AT&T rolling out fiber optic networks now?

What about Google fiber and muni buildouts?

I love my IPhone.

Isn't the FCC going to fix special access in their current proceeding?

What are you proposing to fix this mess?
I'm a wedding caterer. It may sound glamorous, but I've spent most of my 27-year career packing food into boxes and making salad dressing. The only glamorous moment is the five minutes at the end of the wedding when the newlyweds hug and kiss me. Once every blue moon I get a standing ovation.



No good wedding professional should be in it just for the money. There has to be something more. We are, after all, in the business of love.



It's an honor to help create someone's dream-come-true wedding. It's also a lot of pressure. A wedding can be the most important day in someone's life. Or not. I've had a few clients who should get the equivalent of frequent flyer miles for all the weddings they've had.



Over the years, I've catered a lot of same-sex couples' weddings. I love getting those first calls. "My fiancee is a woman. We want to make sure you don't have an issue with that," the nervous sounding woman on the phone says.



"A gay wedding! You have hit the jackpot! Now only do you get a great wedding caterer but you get a great gay wedding caterer! And bonus points, your new Jewish mother!"



WIN!



Back in the day, I tried to erase the sting of not being able to legally marry by infusing extra love into the gay weddings I catered. Adding a little more cilantro or a touch more ginger was a far cry from federal rights, but hey, it was something wasn't it?



Stepping out of the kitchen to watch my heterosexual couples say "I do" has been a mixture of joy and pain. I was truly happy for them, but sad for my own community. Isn't love just love?



Then Massachusetts happened. And guess what? The world didn't end! Happy couples raced to my beloved home away from home in Provincetown and got legally married.



Massachusetts didn't fall into the abyss; it made a boatload of money. Little by little, state by state, gay marriage started to spread. I would have thought New York, the capital of cool, would have led the pack, but we lagged sadly behind until, finally, finally we jumped into the marriage equality mix.



Then Edie Windsor decided to fight for her rights. I took one look at her on news and knew she would win. Who could say no to Edie? It was like saying no to Betty White. She was fierce and proud and adorable. My girlfriend and I had the pleasure of hanging out with her at a book event, and after laughing and chatting for a half-hour, she turned to us and said, "I know this sounds crazy, but I really love you guys!"



SWOON! We love you, too, Edie!



Thanks to Edie and the wonderful team of trailblazers who worked with her, I finally got to cater gay weddings that were legal all across the United States. At long last, LOVE WINS!



Times have changed, painfully slowly but surely. I went from standing on a float in the gay pride parade in the '80s with my fist in the air screaming for gay rights to having brunch on 18th Street and then leaning against a wall as the parade marched by holding a small sign that read, "Gay caterers spice it up."



Walking down the street holding my lover's hand was life threatening when I first came out in 1982. In 1989, a gang of kids surrounded my girlfriend and I walking down the street holding hands in the West Village. One of them reached for a gun. I still don't know what would have happened if a cop hadn't driven by. I guess you might not be reading this.



Today, I see young gay couples fearlessly holding hands all the time. Sometimes I shake my head and think aloud, "These kids have no idea how much we had to fight for the safety they take for granted." But I met an older woman once, a pre-Stonewall lesbian, who said the same thing about me.



Mostly I look at the beautiful young gay couples giddily walking past me and feel joy. Maybe, just maybe, all the hoping, and dreaming and praying is over and the world really has changed. Maybe love really does win.



Then Orlando happened.



My chefs and I were prepping for a wedding when we heard the news.



"Orlando." Growing up that word only ever mean one thing; Disney World! Fun and magic and Mickey Mouse waited in Orlando, Not the senseless murder and maiming of innocents just trying to have fun in a gay club.



It was a crisp sunny lovely day on Sunday, June 12th. The wedding we catered was at the Picnic House in Prospect Park, Brooklyn.



The bride and groom were floating on air. The bride's mother hugged and kissed me. Everyone was smiling, as we served hors d'oeuvres to the happy wedding crowd, I looked out the window. There were dozens of children laughing and playing in the grass.



"We all start out like that, don't we?" I asked my sous chef.



"Not all of us," she said.



My girlfriend taped the 70th annual Tony awards show for me so I could watch it when I came home. I threw myself into a hot shower and washed the curry sauce off my hands and arms then settled in.



That last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep was Lin-Manuel Miranda's emotional acceptance speech for "Hamilton."



"Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside!"



The next day I made a simple sign that read "ORLANDO" and put it in the window of my catering company.



A group of teenagers just out of school walked by. One of the boys looked at my sign as he trotted past and gave me the thumbs up.



If I see a gay couple holding hands in Tompkins Square Park today, I think I will kiss them.


A member of the West Side NAACP speaks at the U.S. Dept. of Justice's first public forum surrounding its investigation of CPD.

Only about 30 people showed up to the first of a series of four forums designed to gain insight into Chicagoans' true feelings towards their police department.

As part of the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights investigation into CPD -- an effort born largely out of public outrage over the controversial Laquan McDonald video -- the forums are supposed to be another means for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to educate the public on the nature of the investigation and get feedback from Chicagoans on their relationship with the police.

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But at the June 20 forum at West Side college Malcolm X, few people showed up, leaving one attendee wondering how well publicized the first forum had been.

"What were the methods of outreach that you used to inform the community about this public hearing? 'Cause I'm seeing a lot of empty seats here," said Isaac Lewis, publisher of a west side community news site.

A DOJ representative stressed that the department had sent out notices to over 200 Chicago-based community groups the week prior. The DOJ twitter handle @civilrights first tweeted about the event on June 15, five days before the first forum.



Empty seats at the June 20 U.S. Dept. of Justice forum, the first of four.

The investigation into CPD was prompted by uproar over the release in November of a video depicting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald being shot 16 times by Chicago Officer Jason Van Dyke. The video, which showed McDonald walking away from Van Dyke at the time he was shot, received national attention and sparked criticism towards Illinois State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's handling of the case. At that time, U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon requested a formal investigation from the U.S. Department of Justice in order to determine whether systematic racism plagues the Chicago Police Department.

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That investigation, which began in December, has been looking into CPD's systems of accountability, use of excessive force, and racial, ethnic or other disparities in the way officers treat individuals during interactions. The DOJ will also scrutinize the Independent Police Review Authority, a body independent from CPD which investigates police misconduct.

"It's really important for us to hear from you," Christy Lopez, deputy chief of special litigation in the DOJ's civil rights division, told attendees. "We know that our findings will not be either complete nor accurate if we don't get the insights and perspectives of all of you."

Lopez, who's written a brief on the "widespread" issue of police making illegal arrests, most recently oversaw the civil rights investigation of the Ferguson Police Department in 2014. That investigation found evidence of both implicit and explicit racial bias present within the Ferguson Police Department.

At the public forum June 20, DOJ representatives said they've already heard from over 400 community members regarding their experiences with the Chicago Police Department. The team has made numerous visits to the entirety of the city's police stations in addition to participating in ride alongs with 60 officers throughout Chicago.

While Fardon was not in attendance, Patrick Johnson, a supervisor attorney at the U.S. Attorney's office, spoke in his place.

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"This was a top priority of Mr. Fardon's," Johnson said." He hoped that the investigation would address and start correcting some of the trust that's been eroded between the Chicago Police Department and residents of the city."

The West Side branch of the NAACP, which spoke out multiple times at the forum, raised questions around a pending police union lawsuit which could result in the destruction of a trove of citizen complaints against police going back to 1967. While the unions have maintained the records should be destroyed, legislation introduced in Springfield earlier this year could prevent that.

Johnson responded that the DOJ had written a letter to the city requesting that the records be kept safe at the very least throughout the duration of the DOJ investigation.

Department of Justice officials said they expect the investigation of CPD to be complete before 2017.

Two additional forums remain through the month of July -- for additional details, click here.
The U.S. will provide additional $23 million in humanitarian aid for residents in Donetsk and Luhansk regions hit by the conflict in eastern Ukraine, U.S. State Secretary John Kerry told a joint briefing that he attended together with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the total of U.S. humanitarian assistance since the start of the crisis exceeds $135 million.

"The funding announced today will support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international humanitarian organizations as they provide for the basic survival needs of thousands of vulnerable people. This contribution is available to help supply food, clothing, bedding, access to medical care and supplies, shelter materials, repair of key infrastructure, and more," reads a posting on the website of the diplomatic agency.

"In addition, U.S. assistance will help address humanitarian needs in parts of eastern Ukraine affected by the ongoing conflict. This assistance will be implemented through a number of international non-governmental organizations, and will support shelter, water and sanitation, and livelihoods programs, in areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions on both sides of the line of control," reads the statement.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 31: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence speaks during a press conference March 31, 2015 at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pence spoke about the state's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act which has been condemned by business leaders and Democrats. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

I wrote a satirical column for the Huffington Post two months ago that said that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence had signed an executive order that banned what he called "gay colors" to be worn by boys in public elementary and secondary schools in the state.

Pence, the column said, referred to pink, chartreuse, teal, and magenta, in particular, as "gateway colors" for young boys who might have an inclination toward homosexuality.

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I thought about the column when I read that Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, is vetting Pence as a possible running mate.

Trump is reportedly interested in Pence because of the governor's popularity among evangelical Christians. Evangelicals have so far been reluctant to support Trump in part because meeting the candidate requires traveling through Dante's nine layers of hell.

Pence shouldn't have to worry about compromising his Christian principles to become Trump's running mate. There's not much left to compromise.

Pence regularly touts his Christian faith, but is selective in how he applies it. He uses The Bible to justify his intolerance for gays but ignores scripture when it comes to feeding the hungry, comforting the persecuted, and helping the needy.

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Pence signed the euphemistically named Religious Freedom Restoration Act that critics said legalized discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

Pence and the GOP-controlled Legislature revised the law after corporations and organizations such as Salesforce, Eli Lilly, Alcoa, Cummins, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and the NCAA threatened to leave the state.

Bigotry isn't just bad religion; it's also bad business and bad politics.

The outrage over RFRA cost the Indiana economy possibly 12 conventions and up to $60 million in economic impact, reported Visit Indy, Indianapolis's tourism bureau.

It also has jeopardized Pence re-election bid. His approval rating is falling - particularly among Republicans -- and his lead over Democratic challenger John Gregg has disappeared.

Pence says his faith is rooted in The Bible, and, in particular, the half-dozen or so verses that condemn homosexuality. That faith apparently ignores the hundreds of verses that instruct us to be tolerant, compassionate, and understanding, to care for the poor, sick, and needy.

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In late 2014, Pence cut tens of thousands of Hoosiers off food stamps, saying it would be "ennobling" for poor people.

Pence lowered the corporate income tax in the state, which meant less money for towns and cities to go to underfunded schools and libraries.

This, Pence no doubt thought, will be "ennobling" for teachers and students - especially in poor school districts.

In late 2015, Pence ordered an end to the resettlement in Indiana of Syrian refugees who were fleeing their war-torn country. The Archdiocese of Indianapolis, putting its religious principles into practice, defied the governor and accepted the refugees.

A federal judge overruled Pence's order by saying the governor lacked the authority to block the refugees.

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Perhaps Pence would have acted differently if he had sought counsel in The Bible as he apparently did when supporting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
After working on the set of a TV pilot recently, I posted a photo of a rare event: a predominantly female crew.

Within hours, one of the male crew members replied: "Somehow the six men who were also contributing a bit kind of got forgotten. I'm here to remind that we were in the trenches as well." Never mind that I'd posted many other photos of male cast and crew members throughout the shoot -- this was the one that grabbed his attention. Because I named -- and celebrated -- the difference between this and the overwhelming majority of crew photos.

My fingers started twitching, burning to type a flaming response. "Seriously? Are you kidding me? Because I post one without male representation, highlighting a celebratory moment, you feel excluded? Can you imagine what it might feel like to almost never see people who look like you in a photo recognizing achievement?"

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But I took a breath, because I know this guy. I like this guy. He's smart and funny and super-talented. I forced myself to remember to wonder "What's going on in his world, that would make him post such a public statement?"

I also heard the echoes of others who'd asked "Why do you need a parade? Where's my parade?" and whose response from the very first #BlackLivesMatter was #AllLivesMatter.

Blessed are those who don't need a parade or a hashtag for their innate worth is already legally and culturally recognized.

Blessed are those who, when they hear of a crime, don't hold their breath, silently praying that the person convicted doesn't share their race.

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Blessed are those who, when they hear of a mass shooting, don't cringe, anticipating the public response if the murderer happens to claim their religion.

Blessed are those who, when attacked after a frat party or working late, aren't asked why they were alone after dark or were wearing those kinds of clothes.

Blessed are those who, after being violently assaulted on the street, aren't asked why they were holding their loved one's hand or flaunting their identity.

In America, blessed are the heterosexual, white, Christian-identified men for they can make mistakes and commit crimes and no one thinks all heterosexual, white, Christian-identified men are criminals.

Given a choice between an annual parade or daily privilege, what would you pick?

It's natural to say "What about me? My life isn't a cake-walk." And it likely isn't. So pretend for a moment: Add to the challenge of your life the possibility of legally losing your job because of who you love so that daily you have to choose between making a living or living a lie. Add to it that your skin tone causes people to hold their bags a little tighter when passing you on the sidewalk at dusk. Add to it that you're a woman in your mid-30s and your manager casually asks if you're thinking of starting a family soon and you know he's considering which employee to promote. Add to it that your children come home and ask what 'deported' means.

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And once you've virtually experienced a few of those -- on top of just trying to get through your day -- ask yourself: Would you be tired of people automatically deciding your skills, qualities and aspirations because of what you look like?

Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are heterosexual, white men. I'm not bashing anyone -- including my filmmaker friend -- for not inherently knowing what it is like to be negatively judged based on gender, race or sexual orientation and having to work twice as hard to have half a chance. It's not their fault they were born with a certain privilege and have wisely taken advantage of the readily-available resources at their disposal. I certainly have, as the white daughter of educated parents who instilled in me the knowledge that I would go to college and the belief that I could be anything I wanted to be.

And while that privilege has helped me overcome some of the cultural barriers of being a woman and a bisexual lesbian, it also gives me responsibility: to use whatever advantages I have to support those who are also trying to make their way in the world, to honor their struggle to be visible and have a voice, and to celebrate their accomplishments.

Believe me, I'd gladly trade my parade for legal recognition and my hashtag for a level playing field where words and history aren't stacked against achievement.

For so long, women were deemed incapable of being scientists, astronauts, presidents, soldiers. As late as last week, at (openly gay) Army Secretary Eric Fanning's Welcoming Ceremony, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter proudly showcased the Army's inclusiveness. His words, however, inadvertently revealed how far women have yet to march: "We've opened all combat positions to women who can meet our standards." I wanted to jump up, disrupt the ceremony and ask "Do you let men into combat positions if they don't meet your standards?" Of course not -- and yet he felt it necessary to include that disclaimer when talking about women. Because women still have to prove that if they have the title, they've really, really earned it.

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Originally published in the Chapel Hill News on June 29, 2016.

The lynchpin underlying support for House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act, is the notion that transgender people ought to use bathrooms that match their biological sex, not their gender expression. Otherwise, the reasoning goes, it will be too easy for men to dress up as women and assault girls and women in public bathrooms. Although there are no reported cases of trans people manipulating public spaces to harm others, the bill passed with uncommon speed.

Bodily excretion is a phenomenon that allows us to recycle nutrients, convert fuel into energy, and cleanse our system. It is central to the maintenance of the remarkable bodies we have been given, which grow, heal, adapt and transport. Yet despite our knowledge that the process is essential to our entire species, we make laws to prevent, not assist, people relieving themselves. A lack of empathy comes not from social difference but from spiritual laziness: Every person has had moments when we desperately needed to go but could not, whether because of environmental constraints or our own bodies malfunctioning. Despite momentarily acknowledging our own suffering, we fail to see that suffering in others for whom excretory needs are not accommodated.

Power seeks to preserve a binary understanding of humanity, but the complexity of human individuality proves that system to be a house of cards. In terms of gender, many people take on a mixture of characteristics and behaviors but perform as a man or a woman, while others identify as "genderqueer" and do not identify as either a man or a woman. "Trans" is a large umbrella term open to anyone whose gender identity does not neatly align with their biological sex, while plenty of people who do not identify as trans also perform gender subversively.

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In "Queering Bathrooms," sociologist Sheila Cavanagh investigates the plight of LGBTIQ individuals and the impact of not conforming to binary gender expression in the space of public restrooms. Cavanagh points to the way transphobia arises from an unfounded belief that a person's gender expression is threatening to others: "Gender non-conformity and/or trans identities are, irrationally, felt to be contagious or, at the very least, disorienting to many non-trans people."

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory defends HB2 by arguing: "This shift in policy could also create major public safety issues by putting citizens in possible danger from deviant actions by individuals taking improper advantage of a bad policy." Lieutenant Gov. Dan Forest notes in a campaign ad, "If keeping men out of women's showers and bathrooms protects just one child or one woman from being molested or assaulted, then it was worth it."

The unfounded fear of the other is manipulated to legitimize both discrimination and brutal violence against the bodies it marks as transgressive. Karen Remley, the CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics, lambasted HB2 for "creating a hostile environment for transgender adolescents, all implying the same message: 'You're different, something is wrong with you, you need to change in order to fit in here.'"

The alienation, marginalization, and assault on trans people takes its toll: 41 percent of trans people attempt suicide compared to 1.6 percent of the general public.

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So what does the Christian doctrine of incarnation reveal about what is at stake in HB2? Clearly, Jesus was an ally to people on the margins, as he himself lived a life that constantly transgressed against power structures and transcended insider/outsider status. It can easily be imagined that Jesus would identify with contemporary victims of gender-based violence, not with the authorities who perpetrate and facilitate these assaults.

Nevertheless, some imagine the brutality of transphobia as "tough love." The Christian Action League of North Carolina's executive director, Baptist pastor Mark Creech, asserts that supporting HB2 is "a proper application of loving the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul and your mind."

Against this punishing vision, 19th century Anglican theologian Charles Gore asserts the human life of God's son demonstrates God's love is not only "universal in range" but "unerringly individual in application." He maintains that love is "supreme perfection" and its "range over all creatures diminishes nothing from its particular application to each individual." In other words, our need to access excretory relief is universal; our intersecting identities of race, gender, and so on, are particular and unique. God's love is with humanity in both.

House Bill 2 reveals our insistence on a binary mode of thinking that hinges on a fear of mixture. The threat of impurity is mobilized in the form of transphobia.

The institutionalization of discrimination and the legitimization of violence can never align with the radical love demonstrated through the incarnation. A Christian doctrine of injustice is what should be incomprehensible, not the reality of diversity. As a community, Jesus calls Christians to construct an "us" that avoids a "them." All people need to excrete, so marking and excluding some bodies from public restrooms creates two classes of "human" and "non-human."

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When I last visited Paris, exactly two years ago, Charlie Hebdo, Bataclan, the Brussels and Istanbul airport attacks, and this year's other terrorist attacks had of course not yet occurred. While France (and Europe more generally) have regrettably become no strangers to such attacks (there have been scores of attacks in France alone during the post-War period, and more than 20 since 2003), something has clearly changed since 2014. Apart from the evolving and heightened security protocol in many public places, there is palpable, underlying sense of fear. You can tell by the looks on people's faces in the Paris metro, for example, and by how numb Parisians have become to the barrage of intrusions by security personnel, inspecting their bags in so many public places.

The sad truth is, the distinction one could make -- until only very recently -- between Paris and any number of other cities around the world vis-a-vis security protocols, has slowly disappeared. Yes, there has for some time been a protocol that went above and beyond what most countries in the West experience as a routine, but today, security forces armed with automatic weapons patrol all the major tourist destinations in Paris, from the Champs-Elysees to the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre. At the Eiffel Tower, tall metal fences now surround its perimeter, and all visitors must first pass through a security cordon before they may enter the grounds. At the Louvre, bags are now checked prior to being able to enter the line for the "formal" security check, before tickets may even be purchased. And, bags are checked before entering train stations and shopping centers. In short, Paris has become a city under siege, and it is hard to imagine that, once this type of security protocol has been established, it will be relaxed any time soon.

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So, in a sense, the terrorists have already won. They have succeeded in changing the way people live throughout the world, they have already succeeded in forcing governments and businesses to spend vast sums to implement heightened security measures, and they have succeeded in creating a climate of fear that is pervasive. In reality, they need not even continue to attack Western targets. The damage has been done. Perhaps they will not stop until what is now happening in Paris happens in the U.S., Canada, the UK and those other nations where the type of security protocol that is more common in Nairobi and Manila becomes the norm throughout the world. No doubt, that is a part of their longer-term objective.What is left unsaid is how ineffective many of the protocols that have been implemented will actually prove to be. Airport-style security procedures did not stop the Brussels and Istanbul attacks from occurring.

Apart from the armed forces roaming the streets with the automatic weapons, most of the security personnel performing the bag and person checks are not even armed. My hotel had an x-ray scanner for people, but not bags (for which a casual visual inspection sufficed), but neither of the security personnel were armed. The train station across the street had security personnel, but no x-ray scanner for people or bags. This implies that it is simply a question of time until the next attack occurs, and it begs the question, why even bother implementing a protocol if it is so inadequate? Don't people realize that doing so achieves much more from a 'feel good' perspective than providing effective security?

What a sad commentary on the state of our world, that one of its greatest cities has been reduced to a series of blockades on free movement, where people behave like robots, automatically queuing and opening their bags for inspection, casting a suspicious eye on their neighbors and fellow travelers, and wondering if they could become a statistic at any time. It does take away from the joy of just being in a magical city like Paris, but more importantly, if Paris can be reduced to this type of 'normality', we must assume that it is simply a question of time until London, New York, and even Tokyo succumb to the same thing.

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Taken to its next logical conclusion - that eventually, cities such as Paris will have adopted extensive security measures for as long as the Nairobis and Manilas of the world have - perhaps there is no limit to how disruptive terrorists (who are the vast minority) will be able to exert power and influence over the rest of the world's population. To be realistic, we must assume that the tyranny of this minority may only have just begun.
The Brussels, Istanbul and Paris terrorism attacks on soft targets and airports are all designed to maximize fear among two target populations: citizens and tourists. Citizens of the places where terrorist attacks occur must of course endure daily fear about whether they will become a statistic in the course of going about their daily business. They do not have a short-term choice about where they live and work -- but tourists do. Like Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups before them, ISIS is now specifically targeting tourists and their destinations to achieve their objectives.

One need look no further than the downing of Metrojet Flight 9268 (at Sharm el-Sheik) and Egypt Air Flight 804 (from Paris to Cairo, widely believed to have been the result of terrorism) to see what kind of impact acts of terrorism can have on a nation's tourist industry. In 2010, the amount of revenue earned by Egypt through tourism was estimated to have been in excess of $12 billion, accounting for 11% of the country's GDP, more than 14% of its foreign exchange reserves, and attracting nearly 15 million visitors . In 2015, that figure was already just under half that amount, at $6.1 billion . In the first quarter of 2016, Egypt attracted just over 1 million visitors. Egypt has seen this before, following the Luxor attacks in 1997 and the changes in government during the Arab Awakening. It took the industry many years to recover.

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In 2014, a record 37 million tourists visited Turkey, accounting for almost 5% of GDP . As of April of this year, year-on-year tourist arrivals had already fallen by 35% to 2.5 million for the period, the largest drop in 22 years. Visitors from Russia had declined 92% (the result of the fallout from the downing of the Russian military jet earlier in the year), and substantial drops had been reported from tourists from a variety of (particularly European) nations. Given the number of terrorist attacks that have already occurred in Turkey this year, the Istanbul airport bombings must be considered the death knell of Turkish tourism for the short-term.

Cost Effective Terrorism

The sad truth is, terrorism can be very cost effective. In 2004, for less than $1,000 Al Qaeda bombed Spanish trains and succeeded not only in its objective of punishing the Spanish people and government for their support of the war in Iraq, but also in achieving a Spanish pullout from the American-led coalition forces in Iraq. The added bonus was the ability to ultimately change the Spanish government, as the Socialists were swept to power in the wake of the bombings. By any measure, that is good value for money. The fact that so much can be achieved by spending so little is certainly an incentive for other terrorist groups to want to try to do the same thing.

Spending so little to achieve so much was nothing new for Al Qaeda. It is estimated that for less than half a million dollars they achieved all that was 9/11, which resulted in the loss of some 3,000 lives and more than $50 billion in property and related damages. For $74,000 Jemaah Islamiah (an Al Qaeda affiliate) killed more than 200 and temporarily ruined the tourist industry in Bali in 2002. Other examples of cost-effective terrorism in include:

The IS spending less than $10,000 to finance the Paris attacks in 2015, resulting in the deaths of more than 130 people;The twin truck bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 200 people in 1998 for $10,000; andThe bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 people in 2000 for less than $10,000.

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One of the lingering impacts of these attacks was that Al Qaeda and IS permanently raised the price of travel-related security, at great cost in terms of time and effort expended by millions around the world, and the firms that operate those modes of transportation. The cost and resources required to implement airport-style security for trains and buses is simply too prohibitive and unrealistic, which is why they are, and will remain, exposed and targets of at-will attacks.

The New Soft Target Normal

We have known for some time now that terrorist groups prefer to attack "soft" targets because they usually lack proper security, and there are many more soft targets than hard targets. Hotels (Mombassa), restaurants/night clubs (Bali), museums (Tunis), places of worship (Istanbul), trains (Madrid) and buses (Israel) are targets of choice. This being the case, there should be greater effort made to implement at least minimal security for soft targets that have any reasonable appeal to terrorists. If this can be done in developing countries with meager financial resources, it should be achievable in the developed world.

In Manila, for example, the entrances to the metro rail system are checked in the same way entrances to department stores, office buildings, and shopping centers are checked. Security personnel check everyone's bag or purse as individuals enter. Is this a guarantee that a bomb will not be smuggled onto a train? Of course not, but apart from providing some peace of mind, it is a sufficient deterrent to prevent would-be bombers from attacking with impunity. Had such a system been implemented in Madrid, most, if not all, of the bombs would likely have been detected. Surely, Manila would have experienced many more bomb attacks on its metro rail system if it did not have this rudimentary system in place.

The root of the problem is that businesses tend to be more reactive rather than proactive when it comes to risk management more generally, and governments tend to be reactive rather than proactive on the subject of terrorism. Will countries around the world that currently do not have security systems and personnel in place in shopping malls, movie theaters, office buildings, and other public places ultimately need to do as the Philippines has done? The answer is '"yes", and businesses should be prepared to share the cost of implementing these measures. The stakes have never been higher for citizens, businesses and countries. The knock-on effect of crippling a country's tourism industry can be devastating, as anyone in the tourism industry in Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, and host of other countries can attest.

What the Istanbul bombings have demonstrated is that, even having taken stern precautions against airport bombings by screening people and bags before entering the Ataturk Airport, the same kind of carnage that occurred in Brussels earlier this year can still occur, with a similar body count. The advantage is presently in the terrorists' court. Only a sea change in how individuals, businesses and governments think about and combat terrorism will turn the tide. If we fail to get in front of this problem in an effective manner now, the tide may never turn.
On Thursday, June 30, New York's FOX 5 news proved there is great public interest in learning more about the complexities of Lyme disease.

Despite airing at 10:30 p.m., the "Lyme and Reason" special drew strong ratings as it delved into issues surrounding Lyme disease that few news programs ever do, including the fallibility of diagnostic blood tests, common misdiagnoses, potentially fatal heart complications--including an interview with Neil Spector, a medical doctor who was told by other physicians that his failing health was little to worry about--and then required an emergency heart transplant to save his life.

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New York is one of the "ground zero" areas in which Lyme disease is endemic, with New York City only a little over 100 miles from Lyme, Connecticut--the town where Lyme was first discovered and described. Yet, as Susan Green, legislative council for NatCapLyme, told FOX5NY, "this disease is in every state in the country...it is not selectively a northeastern disease." NatCapLyme is the primary community resource for Lyme disease patients in one of the country's most hard-hit areas, the Washington, D.C. region.

Lyme, in fact, is an epidemic, with the the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting over 300,000 new cases contracted by American people every year. This statistic was revised from an estimated 30,000 in 2013--yet the FOX5NY special is the first of its kind. Why?

Because, as discussed in the special, there is great resistance from medical authorities--particularly the CDC and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)--to acknowledge abundant current scientific evidence and countless patient reports of Lyme symptoms that persist and worsen following their recommended maximum 28 day treatment with antibiotics.

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The CDC has been notoriously quiet about Lyme disease, focusing almost exclusively on prevention (avoiding ticks, recognizing the bullseye rash that many Lyme patients never see) and avoiding conversation about poor diagnostics, newer research than that on which the IDSA treatment guidelines are based, and complexities relating to persisting Lyme symptoms. Emily Lampa, lead investigative reporter for a Salisbury, Maryland ABC news program, revealed that she was refused an interview by anyone at the CDC in May, for a story she produced as part of Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

FOX5NY had better luck in securing a CDC interview. Paul Mead, chief of epidemiology and surveillance activity of the Bacterial Diseases Branch of CDC, confirmed in an on-camera interview that the Center continues to endorse the two-tiered ELISA and Western blot blood diagnostics that, as Susan Green described, have been proven to result in false negative readings for at least half of patients who are tested. Mead, on behalf of CDC, maintains that the two-tiered test is "reliable" in later stages of Lyme; however, as Green discusses at length in the above interview, this is not the case for many patients, for a number of reasons, one of which has to do with the many species and strains of Borrelia bacteria that may cause Lyme or "Lyme-like illness," but which never will result in a positive Lyme disease blood test.

(NatCapLyme has facilitated the passing of laws in Virginia and Maryland requiring that doctors inform patients about the failings of these tests, which usually are not explained to patients by doctors.)

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Although Fairfax, Virginia-based George Mason University and Ceres Nanosciences recently created a urine-based Lyme disease test that was shown in a trial to be more accurate than the two-tiered Lyme disease test, the CDC still only endorses the traditional two-tiered ELISA + Western blot testing process. "In general," Mead said, "CDC recommends that people rely on FDA-approved tests for the diagnosis of Lyme disease."

I contacted the CDC Clinician Outreach and Community Activity office to inquire about the urine-based test and received this reply from someone named Will (no last name was given):

...we have not evaluated the Nanotrap(r) Lyme Antigen test. CDC supports the development of new testing methods for Lyme disease and encourages laboratories to submit their newly developed tests to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clearance in order to ensure that the highest quality diagnostic tests are available.

(It is worth noting that the average cost to secure FDA approval of a new medical device is $24 million, which can present delays and sometimes even indefinitely prohibit creators of better and more accurate devices from securing FDA approval.)

According to LymeDisease.org's Lorraine Johnson, the CDC did not officially reject non-FDA approved diagnostic tests until 2013. Johnson writes:

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The CDC does not have jurisdiction over the FDA, of course. And, the FDA permits the marketing of tests that do not have FDA approval. Many tests on the market today fall in this category. What the announcement means is that physicians and insurers will be less likely to accept non-FDA approved tests. This means that patients who want these tests will need to pay for them out of pocket. It also means that the entrenched lab tests that simply do not work will have more of the market to themselves.

The Meade interview presents a perplexing dichotomy. Meade states--consistent with CDC's messaging--that the concern about Lyme disease specialists treating patients who have persisting symptoms is that "there is no evidence" (other than over 300 peer-reviewed, published articles) for Lyme bacteria that persist after short-term antibiotic treatment, and that patients are "treated with therapies that are sometimes harmful. There are cases of patients who have died as a result of long-term therapies for Lyme disease." When citing these cases, the CDC never mentions, for example, cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy for years and succumb to the illness, or to the poisonous treatment, anyway. The conversations, which sometimes invoke one or two anecdotes of patients who die, for example, from an infected IV port used to administer antibiotics, don't discuss that across the board, hospital mistakes are the third leading cause of deaths in the United States. The publisher of the cancer journal Oncology states that "infections are among the most common, potentially serious complications of cancer and its treatment"--yet, the CDC doesn't recommend against chemotherapies for this reason, or because chemo often fails and is toxic to the body. The CDC and IDSA frequently use this argument against treatment Lyme disease patients.

Similarly paradoxical, CDC's current priority of raising awareness about and preventing the spread of Zika virus among the American population focuses--as the CDC should--on protecting the overall public health. Yet, CDC's approach to Lyme disease often is to refuse interviews that would serve to inform the public, to deny an abundant and growing body of evidence for persisting Lyme disease, and rather than focusing on raising awareness and containing the Lyme epidemic--the fastest-spreading bacterial infection in the country--CDC personnel and publications consistently cite chemotherapy-like risks to individual patients from treatment instead of, as it does with Zika and most other infectious diseases, focusing on containing the greater public health threat. This makes no sense.

FOX5NY's Teresa Priolo asked Meade about patients who are misdiagnosed with multiple sclerosis, ALS and other diseases and succumb directly or indirectly, and then are diagnosed after death with Lyme disease.

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"Reports of cases of Lyme being mistaken for other diseases are really quite rare," Mead said. "Some...patients were actually seriously harmed by being given a diagnosis and long-term therapy for Lyme disease when in fact their underlying condition went untreated."

I can only speak anecdotally, but my story in a nutshell: I was diagnosed with and treated for Lyme in 1997, at age 18 or 19. Undertreated. By age 33, doctors thought I might have multiple sclerosis or possibly even ALS. Tests were inconclusive but ruled those out. At 36, I was re-diagnosed with Lyme, as well as bartonella and babesia coinfections. After approximately six months of antibiotic treatment, I was no longer semi-disabled. My recovery has continued.

Last month, I met a young woman in her early 30s who was born ill. She was diagnosed at a young age with multiple sclerosis and treated for it. She was then un-diagnosed with MS and instead diagnosed with Crohn's disease, and treated with biologic medications. She was given a partial colectomy and treated with biologic medications that have destroyed her body. She could not turn her head without turning her whole body, and I heard her bones crack every time she moved a joint. She was ultimately diagnosed with Lyme disease, and it was determined that she was most likely born with it.

I have met scores of people who were initially diagnosed with MS or another condition and then were found to have Lyme disease, underwent treatment, and recovered a great deal of wellness as a result. Based on my personal experience and my personal encounters, this is not a rare occurrence. With approximately 10,400 new cases of MS diagnosed each year, according to the CDC's own data, Lyme disease is 30 times more prevalent--and yet physicians continue to be encouraged to look for something, anything, other than Lyme disease when patients with symptoms that could be attributable to Lyme disease present. This is, by way of great understatement, nonsense.

Thank you, and congratulations, to FOX5NY, Teresa Priolo, and all others who are making real efforts to inform the public about this epidemic. This type of coverage is overdue, but it's more necessary than ever. For journalists who haven't scratched the surface of the complexities and controversies surrounding Lyme disease, read through these questions and start doing your homework. The success of FOX5NY's special report is evidence that the public is hungry for information about Lyme disease, recognizing the threat through word of mouth that cannot be contained.

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As international markets settle down, as the global news media turn their fickle attention to other bogeymen, as Brexit Shock fades (everywhere but in the U.K. and some offices in Brussels), so does the acute concern that swept the world immediately after that stunning decision. As we always do, we pay less heed to threats that don't seem as obvious and urgent, that are no longer on our radar screen. But we do so in this case at great peril, because the British vote has made clear a profound threat facing the fragile world in which we live.



Why did a narrow majority of Britains opt for independence from the European Union? Because "Leave" campaigners lied? Yes. Because many people are angry at government? Yes. Because people at the lower end of the economic spectrum feel threatened by immigrants? Yes. But the heart of what explains this vote was best captured by Frans Timmermans, Dutch first vice president of the European Commission, when he said that Brexit reflects "...a broad sentiment in Western societies that we have lost control of our destinies." Loss of control. A gnawing corrosive threatening sense of powerlessness not over politics or immigration or the global economy, but over something much deeper, much more threatening. Brexit voters, like hundreds of millions of people throughout the developed world, feel they have lost control over their lives and futures. Research on the psychology of risk perception by Paul Slovic, Sarah Lichtenstein and many others, has found that a lack of control makes us deeply afraid, for our very safety and survival.

Control is empowering, reassuring. A lack of control makes any circumstance more frightening. Driving a car offers a convenient example. Behind the wheel, we feel safer. But move over to the passenger seat and we turn into front-seat drivers, our feet twitching at an imaginary brake or accelerator pedal, our hips and shoulders subtly shifting as if to steer, the tail lights ahead seemingly closer than they looked when we were driving...when we had control. The analogy to Brexit is apt.

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Whether it's control over something as obvious as the car we're in, or something less obvious but vastly more important to our sense of safety and well-being - our lives, our futures, "our destinies" - the phenomenon is the same. Far more than conscious reasoning and rational evidence-based objective decision making, how we perceive the world, and how we act, and how we vote, is controlled by subjective affective instincts whose principal function is to protect us, literally to help us survive. And one of the most powerful of those subconscious instincts is the need for a sense control.

Why were "Leave" voters angry at the EU government? For taking away control over their lives as citizens not of Europe but of England and Wales. (The Scots and Northern Irish voted to "Remain".) Why were Brexit voters fearful of immigrants? For taking away control over their economic security. And why did many "Leave" voters cast what they said was a protest vote against the establishment? They were angry at the wealthy and the political elites for using money and power to take control of society away from 'the people', who at least ideally in a democracy are supposed to run things. Sound familiar America? France? Austria? Greece?

In her eloquent New Statesman essay I Want My Country Back, Englishwoman Laurie Penny captured the profound importance of control when she noted that the "leave" vote came from "huge areas of post-industrial decline and neglect, where people are more furious than Cameron and his ilk could possibly understand". "In depressed mountain villages and knackered seaside towns and burned-out former factory heartlands across the country, ordinary people were promised that for once, their vote would matter, that they could give the powers that be a poke in the eye." Brexit was a vote to fight back against a world that had left millions feeling vulnerable. Voters were trying to get their hands back on the steering wheel.

Which makes its lessons ominous across the developed world. Penny's descriptions fit so many communities in the United States, France, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Holland and elsewhere, where the same anti-immigrant, anti-government, ultra nationalist sentiments are rising, where fear mongering politicians are succeeding by offering people a renewed sense of control with slogans like "Let's take our country back". They are promising empowerment to the disempowered, a sense of control for those who feel they've lost it.

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The nationalist appeal of "OUR country" also demonstrates how deeply disempowered and vulnerable people feel. We are social animals, dependent on our groups, our tribes, for our safety and well-being. Research has found that the more worried we are, the more we turn to the groups with which we most strongly identify (nationality has always been one important tribe with which we identify) for a sense of belonging and and protection. After all, together as a group we have more power and control than we do as individuals. Strident nationalism is empowering to anyone who joins that tribe by waving the flag, and it is especially appealing to those who feel vulnerable and powerless. (Ironically, the nationalism in disempowered countries that so often ripped Europe apart in the past led to the creation of the EU and the European project in the first place.)

So while the world's attention moves on, Brexit has made us aware of profound perils we dare not ignore. The vote is already energizing the same divisive passions elsewhere; America's Donald Trump "This won't be the last", France's Marine Le Pen "The people's spring is inevitable", Holland's ultra-nationalist politician Geert Wilders "Now it's our turn." Brexit has legitimized the anger and tribalism and racism that has been festering beneath a veneer of civility in so many places, as the increasing number of overtly racist confrontations in the U.K. attest. And it is entirely possible that the dramatic decision in the U.K. will foster international antagonisms that threaten not only global commerce, but peace itself? Russia's Vladimir Putin celebrated the vote. Those threats are greater today than they were on June 23rd. They are why we dare not let the lessons of Brexit fade from our attention.

At this fragile moment in history we must recognize what's really going on - that hundreds of millions of people are so fundamentally afraid that they are losing control over their lives that they are lashing out in destructive ways. Only with that recognition can we focus on the critical challenge of restoring people's faith in their economies, their governments - in democracy itself - and re-establish the reassuring sense that we do have some say over our own lives and destinies.

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Summer has officially begun its reunion tour, performing at all the Tanglewood festivals of me and just like that the file drawer that houses my seasonal memories has been flung open and I am awash with memories of summer days gone by.

When I was little, my blue collar parents somehow managed to magically pony up enough proletariat scratch for a shared cabana out on the south shore of Long Island, Silverpoint, where we dutifully went, we Jews of the desert, hungering for as much sand as possible. I suppose it was our Eastern European genes. Plus we shared the cabana with an Israeli family, The Kamils, so that made it even more outdoor temple.

The beach of those days was what the Brill Building composers and lyricists wrote about rhapsodically. It was not the beach of today by any stretch of the imagination. It was quieter, almost reverential, save for the occasional transistor radio that dared to blare rock and roll or the you-are-there Mel Allen and Red Barber calls of the Yankee game. Everything about the radio felt more intimate at the beach. It was like it was broadcasting your innermost thoughts and desires, matching them up perfectly, with just the right sun giddy tune.

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The air smelled like Atlantic Ocean and the lighter fluid which ignited the grills like a sea of mini Pompeis.

We all slowly dissolved into brown over those months, like slow cooking bacon. Girls wore bikinis that seems to magically make them shimmy when they walked. The concession dispensed unimaginably cold Popsicles that made your tongue stick to them and over at the public pool, a million people bathed together like slap happy seals.

My dad was lord of the blue and orange striped chaise chair in those days. He was a hard working workerbee and those weekends and occasional getaway week days were beyond therapeutic for him.

It felt like he sunk deeper into the sand than most. His contented smile were more radiant than the virtually defeated but not quite smile that he would flash in the winter when he would finally make it home after having battled his way through gobs of silent snow and the bitter rivalry of commuters.

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On weekends, at the end of a hard fought beach day, which sun narcotized my sister and I by that point, we would fly home in our oversized Ford Apollo On car rocket. I would crawl up to the now long lost shelf area that was wedged above the back seats against the arched rear window where I would settle in like a tail fanning cat, marking my nap territory, as the fast moving stars above whirled past like I was looking through the fast spinning lens of a cardboard kaliedescope.

A mournful, unbearably heartfelt Frank Sinatra was transmitted directly to us, like a phone call from Mars via William B. Williams whose smooth, dipped in vintage whiskey voice could be heard with crystal clarity on the softly lit, ivory keyed radio. Frank and all the other crooners sounded like they were singing only for the lonely and exclusively for us. They were, after all, the perfect soundtrack for this very moment. Surely they must have known that. They were grown ups after all and grown ups, especially moms and dads, always seemed to know exactly what was needed to be provided.

My dad would puff away at his Bering Plaza cigar/ritual peace pipe as delicately as a first grade kiss, while my mom dissolved to the consistency of pancake batter, touched no doubt, by the moment of perfection that was the culmination of virtually every single dream that she had ever had.

We sailed like rich people on a south of France yacht, heading for the concrete sanctuary of our tiny apartment in Hollis, Queens which always seemed to be waiting for us like a tail wagging happy to see you dog.

The creamy dreaminess that lulled us into that sublime state of summer serenity feels, today, as remote and benign as the corner curling, color fading snapshots of our family albums that sit on forgotten back shelves or in the deep, holy hell jungle of our closets, feeling, I would imagine, every bit as invisible as as the plain faced, mournful wallflower girl at a school dance. I feel their presence. I can almost hear them call my name and perhaps they are. Because in truth, they are forever ready to be called up, by the conscription of our innermost heart, ready to parachute back into the war zone of our lives, behind tall the enemy lines that we've created, ready to follow to the death the five star common sense general of our day to day life maneuvers.

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The summer and the heat still have the power to hypnotize me, like the scent of fresh cut roses, with every sensory awakened bite of corn, fresh strawberry or wedge of watermelon. They become my one way ticket back, far, far from the lunatic rantings of politicians, the endless news of cops obliterating yet another black boy or the frantic fear of terrorism.
Living in New York City for the summer, the entire family is learning that personal space is much smaller than it is in Texas - not only in apartments and theatre seats, but also in restaurants. More often that not, once seated for albeit a fabulous meal, you will be close to the strangers seated next to you. Very close.

You never know whom you are sitting next to, what company they work for or with, and who they may know that would be oh-so-interested in the information you are discussing freely in public. Wonder Husband and I heard all sorts of private company information at a sushi restaurant on 51st and 6th in New York City. Two executives in the financial sector were having quite the "private" conversation. One started that conversation with, "Please don't repeat this, I probably shouldn't even be telling you this."

When discussing business in a public place, here are five helpful tips:

Watch Your Volume

We all tend to speak louder in a crowded restaurant, trying to be heard above the din. That loud voice easily carries over to the table next to you. Or maybe even farther.

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Ask For Another Table

If you really need to have this private conversation in this particular location, do your best to get a table away from others, one in a corner, or at least a table in the quietest area in the establishment so you don't have to speak loudly to be heard.

Does It Have To Be Said?

Is this really important information or just gossip? If you don't want something repeated, don't say it in the first place.

Write It, Don't Say It

If the information is that sensitive, write it on your phone, show it to the other person, then delete it. A text is not a good idea in this situation. That can be shared as well.

Pick A Better Location

If this is a private conversation that must be conducted then pick a place no one can overhear you. Period.

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A Bubble Test Form with a pencil broken in half resting on the form.

Many parents and educators are outraged by the over-testing and misuse of testing that has been embedded in federal policy since the enactment of No Child Left Behind in 2002. No high-performing nation in the world tests every child every year in grades 3-8, as we have since the passage of NCLB.

Young children sit for exams that last up to 15 hours over two weeks. The fate of their teachers rests on their performance. Parents remember taking tests in school that lasted no more than one class period for each subject. Their tests were made by their teachers, not by a multinational corporation. Parents can't understand how testing became an endurance trial and the goal of education.

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Politicians claim that the tests are necessary to inform parents and teachers and the public how children in one state are doing as compared to their peers in other states. But this information is already reported by the federal test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Parents have figured out that the tests don't serve any purpose other than to rank their child. No one is allowed to see the test questions after the test. No child receives a diagnosis of what they know and don't know. They receive only a score. In every state, the majority of children have been ranked as "failures" because the testmakers adopted a passing mark that was guaranteed to fail close to 70 percent of children. Parents have learned that the passing mark is not objective; it is arbitrary. It can be set to pass everyone, pass no one, or pass some percentage of children.

In the past 14 years, parents have seen the destruction of neighborhood schools, based on their test scores. They have seen beloved teachers fired unjustly, because of their students' test scores. They have seen the loss of time for the arts, physical education, and anything else that is not tested. They have seen a change in their local public schools that they don't like, as well as a loss of control to federal mandates and state authorities.

In the past, testing companies warned that tests should be used only for the purpose for which they were designed. Now, these corporations willingly sell their tests without warning about misuse. A test of fourth grade reading tests fourth grade reading. It should not be used to rank students, to humiliate students, to fire teachers and principals, or to close schools. But it is.

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Communities have been devastated by the closing of their neighborhood schools.

Communities have seen their schools labeled "failing," based on test scores, and taken over by the state or national corporate charter chains.

Based on test scores, punishments abound: for students, teachers, principals, schools, and communities.

This is madness!

What can we as citizens do to stop the destruction of our children, their schools, and our dedicated educators.

Opt out of the tests.

Use the power of the powerless: Say NO. Do not participate. Withdraw your consent from actions that harm your child. Withdrawal of consent in an unjust system. That's the force that brought down Communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Vaclav Havel and Lech Walensa said no. They were not alone. Hundreds of thousands stood with them, and the regimes with their weapons and tanks and heavy armor folded. Because the people said no.

Opting out of the tests is the only tool available to parents, other than defeating the elected officials of your state (which is also a good idea, but will take a very long time to bear fruit). One person can't defeat the governor and the local representatives. But one person can refuse to allow their child to take the toxic tests.

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The only tool and the most powerful tool that parents have to stop this madness is to refuse to allow their children to take the tests.

Consider New York. A year ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo was in full attack mode against teachers and public schools, while showering praise on privately managed charters. He vowed to "break the monopoly" known as public education. The New York State Board of Regents was controlled by members who were in complete sympathy with Cuomo's agenda of Common Core, high-stakes testing, and evaluating teachers by test scores.

But in 2015, about a quarter million children refused the state tests. Albany went into panic mode. Governor Cuomo convened a commission to re-evaluate the Common Core, standards, and testing. Almost overnight, his negative declarations about education changed in tone, and he went silent. The legislature appointed new members, who did not share the test-and-punish mentality. The chair of the New York State Board of Regents decided not to seek re-appointment after a 20-year career on that board. The Regents elected Dr. Betty Rosa, a veteran educator who was actively supported by the leaders of the opt out movement.

Again in 2016, the opt out movement showed its power. While official figures have not yet been released, the numbers evidently match those of 2015. More than half the students in Long Island opted out. Federal and state officials have issued warnings about sanctions, but it is impossible to sanction huge numbers of schools in middle-class and affluent communities. The same officials have no problem closing schools in poor urban districts, treating citizens there as chess pawns, but they dare not offend an organized bloc in politically powerful communities.

The opt out movement has been ridiculed by critics, treated by the media as a front for the teachers' union, belittled by the former Secretary of Education as "white suburban moms" who were disappointed that their child was not so bright after all, stereotyped as privileged white parents with low-performing children, etc. There are indeed black and Hispanic parents who are part of the opt out movement. Their children and their schools suffer the greatest penalties in the current testing madness. In New York City, where opt out numbers were tiny, parents were warned that their children would not be able to enter the middle school or the high school of their choice if they opted out.

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Thus far, the opt out movement has not been discouraged or slowed by these tactics of ridicule and intimidation. The conditions have not changed, so the opt out movement will continue.

The reality is that the opt out movement is indeed a powerful weapon. It is the one weapon that makes governors, legislators, and even members of Congress afraid of public opinion and public action. They are afraid because they don't know how to stop parents from opting out. They can't control opt out parents, and they know it. They offer compromises, promises for the future, but all of this is sham. They have not let go of the testing hammer. And they will not until opt out becomes the norm, not the exception.

In some communities in New York, opting out is already the norm. If politicians and bureaucrats continue on their reckless course of valuing test scores more than children, the opt out movement will not be deterred.

Save your child. Save your schools. Stop the corporate takeover of public education. You have the power. Say no. Opt out.
The United Kingdom's decision to exit the European Union will not influence the granting of visa-free travel to Ukraine, head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador Jan Tombinski said, answering the relevant question from journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The UK does not accept a large part of the provisions of the Schengen legislation, Tombinski also said. The UK is not a party to the talks, he said.
The race for the Best Animation Feature Film Oscar is on. Finding Dory may be the most touching and sentimental contender. On the other hand, The Secret Life of Pets has got to be the coolest of the challengers so far. It's a thoroughly amusing comedy thanks to the over-animated Kevin Hart and dour sarcastic Louis C.K. Those two make the lead characters vibrant. They make you want to get your bark on.



(Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures)

Kevin Hart and Louise C.K. co-star in the animated comedy The Secret Life of Pets.

A funny script by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio and crisp direction by Chris Renaud and co-direction by Yarrow Cheney, the team behind Despicable Me, help get things off to a good start. They get you into the heads and mindsets of Manhattan pets who may be more aware than their owners can imagine. These animals are gaming the system.

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When Katie (Ellie Kemper, The Office) shuts the door of her New York apartment, she has no idea what her rescue dog Max (Louis C.K.) does. He's a sociable terrier, the big paw on campus in her building. In a language they understand, pets behind closed doors converse. Max is pals with the selfish, snippy cat Chloe (Lake Bell), who purrs, "As your friend I don't care about you, or your problems."

And it is with those deaf ears that Chloe listens to Max pour his heartache out after Katie brings home a big buffoon mutt named Duke (Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family), who steals Max's thunder and their owner's attention. The two jealous, love-envy dogs scheme against each other. Both want to be the solo pet. Their testy, backbiting squabbles find them out on the street, with their dog collars gone, and captured by animal control--dogcatchers. They're in luck when a renegade small white bunny rabbit named Snowball (Kevin Hart) frees a dog from the catchers' paddy wagon and liberates them too.

Max and Duke follow Snowball to his underground, sewer lair. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows had a similar setting.) The belligerent bunny leads an army of pets who've been abandoned by their owners. In a voice as militant as a gang leader's, Snowball tells a room full of followers, "All of us have suffered at the hands of humans. They say they love us, then they throw us out." His militia group, "Flushed Pets," is out to destroy humanity as revenge for their ill treatment. Afraid for their lives, Max and Duke must swear allegiance to Snowball and his guerrilla movement.

Meanwhile, a feisty Pomeranian named Gidget (Jenny Slate) notices the love of her life Max is missing. She assembles a group of friends to find and rescue him: Buddy the dachshund (Hannibal Buress, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), Mel the over-zealous pug (Bobby Moynihan, SNL), Sweet Pea the parakeet (Tara Strong), Norman the guinea pig (Chris Renaud) and a slightly untrustworthy and ravenous hawk named Tiberius (Albert Brooks) who licks his beak and salivates when he sees little animals.

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It's a nice setup for antics that take viewers around the city of New York, from the gutters of Manhattan to the bowels of Brooklyn and the famous bridge that connects the two boroughs. Watching the animals don human characteristics and dialogue is very reminiscent of the Looney Tunes days with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweety. Indeed, some of the shtick, like watching Max and Duke get sucked into a sewer whirlpool or eating themselves into a stupor at a sausage factory, feels like vintage comedy.

The key difference between the classic old cartoons and this new rendition is the urban setting and the cheeky, malicious over-the-top clown fest that comic actor Kevin Hart instills in the very rebellious and crazed Snowball. That motor mouth, hellfire rabbit should start drinking decaf. Jenny Slate's interpretation of Gidget reaches a pinnacle when she pimp smacks a bald pink feral cat named Ozone (Steve Coogan, Philomena) who is reluctant to give up Max's whereabouts. Also the steady, optimistic yet insecure portrayal of Max by Louis C.K. gives the entire film solid footing.

Production design by Eric Guillon along with Colin Stimpson's art direction creates streets of colorful town houses that look like they were ripped out of a pastel storybook. Computer graphics supervisor Bruno Chauffard also contributes to a very distinct and visual appeal that makes the footage (91 minutes long) fun to watch. And the pacing (editor Ken Schretzmann) is near perfect. No time for a nap, you're on your feet the entire time.

This film deserves its PG rating with its reckless but funny talk about killing pet owners in revenge. It's an absurd notion that raises a smile if you are of a certain age. But if you're a little one (six under), this plot device might need some explaining by an adult. Parents, even while they are smirking, may wish the Flushed Pets characters' rebel-rousing propaganda was a tad less extreme and threatening.

At some point in this animal story, the creatures figure out they will have to work together to survive and conquer. That is the message adults and kids will have internalized when they exit the theater with an inner glow brought on by the charm only mischievous pets can bring.

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Sandra Sterling, aunt of Alton Sterling, is comforted at a vigil outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

In the space of a few days Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian Rice is scheduled for trial in the death of Freddie Gray, the Justice Department announced that it will conduct a probe into the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. and one has been called for in the shooting of Philando Castile in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb. Three cities, three deaths, three instances where police officers are on the hot seat. The odds are that Rice, just like the three other Baltimore officers who were acquitted in the Gray case, and the officers involved in the slaying of Sterling and Castile, won't have to worry about a conviction or indictment.

Here's why. The victims, Gray, Sterling and Castile, as in a disproportionate number of other cases of police slayings, are young African-Americans or Hispanics.

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It's an uphill battle for prosecutors to overcome both pro-police attitudes and negative racial stereotypes. Stanford University researchers recently found that even when many whites are presented with evidence that the criminal justice system is loaded with racial bias toward blacks they are more likely to support tough, draconian laws such as three strikes, tough sentencing and increased incarceration. The galling conclusion of the researchers was that informing many whites that African-Americans are significantly over-represented in the prison population "may actually bolster support for the very policies that perpetuate the inequality."

The negative perceptions of blacks, especially black males, by much of the public are not the only problem in effecting effective legal measures against police violence. There is no ironclad standard of what is or isn't an acceptable use of force in police misconduct cases. It often comes down to a judgment call by the officer. In the Rodney King beating case in 1992 in which four LAPD officers stood trial, defense attorneys painted King as the aggressor and claimed that the level of force used against him was justified. This pattern has been evident in a number of celebrated cases since then. It's made even easier to sell the notion that somehow the victims bare culpability for their deaths by dragging in their past: Gray for drug dealing and Sterling for several felony arrests and a prison stint. Police then claim that they feared for their lives in confronting them and they use deadly force solely in self-defense. If brought to trial judges and juries routinely buy this line and acquit.

The police agencies that are on the hot seat for a dubious shooting or another act that results in the death of a civilian investigate themselves. There is almost never an independent, outside agency that will conduct a truly impartial investigation. In the rare cases that a case is bound over to a prosecutor to determine charges, the prosecutors rely heavily on the police report on why and how the officer used deadly force. Those reports are, of course, compiled, written and carefully vetted by police investigators and officials. In nearly all cases, if there is a prosecution, the officer will be charged with lesser offenses, or in some cases overcharged, which clouds the evidence and testimony. Police unions quickly step in and retain top gun defense attorneys, with lots of experience defending police officers accused of misconduct. Police unions bankroll their defense and spare no expense. Cops rarely serve any pre-trial jail time, and are released on ridiculously low bail.

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If the cops are tried by a jury, police defense attorneys seek to get as many middle-class people, whites and even blacks and Latinos, on the jury as possible. The presumption is that they are much more likely to believe the testimony of police and prosecution witnesses than black witnesses, defendants, or even the victims.

The code of silence is another powerful obstacle to convicting bad cops. Officers hide behind it and refuse to testify against other officers, or tailor their testimony to put the officer's action in the best possible light.

Prosecutors often are barred from using statements made during internal investigations of officer misconduct in court proceedings on grounds of self-incrimination. This knocks out another potentially crucial prosecution weapon.

Then there are the judges. The Baltimore police defendants chose to take their chances with a judge, rather than a jury. It was a good, relatively safe call. Studies on judicial bias, both overt and implicit, have found the bench anything but impartial. Judges make decisions on bail, pretrial motions, evidentiary issues, witness credibility, and jury selection, and instructions to the jury.

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Judges also can and do weigh the status of the defendant in the community, and the support that he or she gets from notables. In the case of police officers who appear in court, they face judges who in many cases they have faced often as police officers testifying in criminal cases, they are known quantities. They also have a phalanx of family members and police supporters standing solidly with them in court. They are anything but the average run of the mill common criminal, and judges are well aware of that.

Three officers in Baltimore walked in the Gray case. Whether there will be any charges against the Baton Rouge officers involved in the Sterling and Castile slayings is problematic at best. This tells much as to why cops repeatedly walk free in dubious deadly force cases.
Just when you thought ISIS militants couldn't add anything more gruesome to their image, they proved us all wrong again on Tuesday when they targeted Prophet Mohammad's Mosque in Madinah. The Mosque (known in Arabic as al-Masjid al-Nabawi) is one of two holy shrines the kingdom hosts, and was one of three locations in Saudi Arabia targeted by terrorists on the same day.

Internal investigations are underway to reveal the identity of perpetrators and whether or not the attacks were coordinated. Until then, it is safe to say that all three cases carry ISIS-like fingerprints, both in terms of execution and motives.

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More importantly, and contrary to what some may think, ISIS does declare the kingdom an enemy, and only a few weeks ago, an ISIS leader called upon his horrid clan worldwide to launch attacks against their foes throughout Ramadan (the Muslim holy month of fasting which concluded yesterday).

The first attack, which occurred near the American Consulate in the coastal city of Jeddah, may have not only been meant as a jab at the West; but had it not been prevented it would have definitely 'poisoned the water' between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The second attack targeted two Shiite mosques in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The Shiite sect are a minority in the kingdom and have previously had their own issues with the government. However, they (Shiites) are also a declared enemy of ISIS. As such, had this attack been successful it would have also managed achieve two things: kill Shiites while also creating tension between this minority and the government by making it seem as if they weren't properly protected by the kingdom's security forces.

Google Maps: A map showing Jeddah, Qatif and Madinah - the three locations in Saudi Arabia targeted by terrorists on the same day.

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A horrific scenarioYet, the most significant of all three attacks was definitely the attempt on the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah. There are no words that could describe the horrific impact this attack - had it been successful - both in terms of symbolic significance and the potential number of casualties.

So far, media reports have carried the following scenario: the bomber arrived to the mosque from the southern side during the sunset prayers (the time of breaking the Muslim fast). He was then stopped by Saudi security forces who informed him that he was attempting to enter a restricted area which is only meant to be used as an exit passage for the people praying inside the mosque.

Assuming that he (the bomber) was there to pray and break his fast, the officers offered him to join them for iftar. However, the bomber ran towards the mosque before he was stopped by the guards.

Surrounded with nowhere to run, the terrorist detonated the bomb killing himself and the officers whose bravery and sacrifice prevented the attack from harming tens of thousands of innocent worshipers.

Condemnation is not enoughAs expected, the Madinah attack resulted in a wave of solidarity and condemnation across the globe. However, just because it was foiled, we shouldn't simply move on or ignore its significance.

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Indeed, this is an attack that - literally - targeted the heart of Islam itself. As such, it must serve as an eye-opener to any remaining ISIS sympathizers among us who may still believe that their evil creed has anything to do with humanity, let alone Islam.

And to those who are not ISIS sympathizers, but remain silent or indifferent... now is the time to speak up. Most definitely, if this horrid attack doesn't stir unprecedented worldwide protests, then we - Muslims - deserve to be called nothing less than 'hypocritical'.

Why do protests only occur only when 'the West' is perceived to have humiliated Islam with, for example, a Danish cartoon or by something as trivial a British school teacher innocently agreeing that her Muslim students call their teddy bear Mohammad?

Isn't an attack on a holy mosque which contains the prophet's resting place a far bigger insult to Islam? Or does an insult become acceptable if it the perpetrator was "one of us?" (Obviously, the answer is 'no')

However, it could also be argued that what is needed now is not anger nor protests. All we need is to apply and accept common sense; after all, it wouldn't be logical to believe that someone would attack the prophet... in the name of this same prophet!

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Last year, former President Jimmy Carter was interviewed by radio talk show host Thom Hartmann. Carter warned that the American political system was producing a country run by Oligarchs with unlimited bribery.

The Carter interview occurred one year ago and although it received little attention at the time, it spoke directly to the need for an insurgent political movement like the one fostered by Senator Bernie Sanders. See a short segment of the interview here.



The segment is only 90 seconds long but it was long enough to set the stage for 2016 primary. The Thom Hartmann Show airs weekday afternoons from 4 to 6 p.m. on KCAA Radio

Let's do some forensics on Carter's warning by asking a hypothetical question that's analogous to the 2016 election mess. This will be a little harsh but I think it fits the 2016 election cycle perfectly.

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If you fell neck deep into a sewer, and someone threw another bucket of "it" at you, would you dunk your head to get out of the way?

Too harsh... NOT! The leadership of both major political parties have us neck deep in a political sewer and the whole thing stinks like fermenting excrement. It's enough to make a Dung beetle puke.

Carter made it clear in his genteel manner that it's time to admit that our election process is fatally flawed and that a political system governed by big money will destroy the structure on which it's grafted. It's like a parasite that poisoned its host and as a result, Americans are headed toward a general election with no good choices.

During my lifetime, most presidential candidates that rose (or floated) to the top have either been unapologetic megalomaniacs or affable dunces. Several with both attributes have become President.

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This year's offering has to be the worst. Neither party has offered up a candidate of national prominence who is worthy of the job.

Secretary Clinton is a Wall Street Democrat who is dragging enough baggage behind her to fill a military cargo plane. She has more flip flops than an old hippie. The Democratic Party is celebrating because she did not get indicted. Is escaping indictment the new threshold for presidential qualifications?

Lest we forget... The Clintons supported destructive trade agreements, outsourcing of jobs and business consolidations that are dismantling the middle class. It's the legacy of their era and we will get another 4 to 8 years of it if the big money interests have their way.

Senator Sanders was my personal choice, even though his only business experience was running political campaigns. Although Sanders never ran a business or met a payroll from business earnings, his proposals for the economy have a ring of truth and authenticity that resonates with millions of Americans, but nominating a Bernie Sanders is impossible when the nominating process is rigged from the top down by a spider's web of money and unfettered, established and entrenched power.

Now we arrive at the gated world of Donald Trump. Although I hesitate to throw rocks from my glass balcony, I must point out that Donald Trump presents himself as a family man and business genius with conservative values, even though he fathered children by three wives and spent so much time in litigation that his lawyers should have reserved parking with monogrammed name plates in front of countless courthouses.

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Obviously, President Carter was right about the mess we created. But can aging baby boomers do anything to fix our mess, now that most of us are too old to fight and too fat to run; except for a few who are running for president?

Hopefully, young people can learn from our mistakes and accept the task of rebuilding the credibility of our political system because regardless of your political persuasion, you must admit that "The Party Is Over" until a new group of leaders takes control.

Make no mistake about it. The Democratic Party is the only political vehicle in existence that can't keep young people and their ideas locked out indefinitely.

Don't try to start another political party. Dozen of third parties have failed and those that remain are ineffective. Instead, encroach upon the centers of entrenched political power and take the power by any legal means.

Forget the Republican Party. Regardless of its stated goals, it always represents the status quo interests of the business community. Therefore, it's too brittle to be reformed. It simply breaks under pressure. Until it breaks, it blindly assimilates reformers from the far right with a hive mentality that resembles the Borg in the Star Trek series. Don't waste your time, treasure and energy with republican party politics.

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If young people really want reforms like those proposed by Bernie Sanders, they must wrestle the Democratic Party away from the Wall Street crowd who dismissed them during the primaries.

Young people must dismantle the political machine at the local and state level that suppressed the votes of millions of first time voters and then refused to count the votes of so many others.

To win, young people must be ready to take some lumps, both figuratively and possibly literally.

So, stand up young people! Your numbers are in the millions and your timing is perfect. The Democratic Nation Convention is coming up soon. Make it your vehicle. Make it your convention. We're counting on you.

With that in mind, I will leave you with these words from Frederick Douglass.


Last month, Intact America proudly marched in New York City Pride for the 11th year in a row. In an event already known for being outrageous, our big, bold float created quite a stir. Banners proclaiming "#ForeskinPride" and "Men with foreskin don't have higher rates of anything...except pleasure" astonished, and then quickly delighted onlookers. As our dancers and supporters passed out condoms and other swag, and the incomparable blues powerhouse Ms. Blu sang and extolled the value of the foreskin to the crowd, parade watchers welcomed us with open arms.

In stark contrast to all the fun and frivolity we experienced at Pride, the straight world is not always so welcoming. In other settings, intactivists are often met with derision or dismissed outright as crackpots. But the LGBTQ community "gets" why we do what we do, and why the anti-circumcision movement is so important. We've noticed there are five basic reasons for the strong affinity, summed up below

1. We don't mess with Mother Nature.

For decades, the LGBTQ community has fought for the basic human right of all people to be who they are. Intact America celebrates the right of every child - male, female, or intersex - to keep and enjoy the whole body that nature gave them. LBGTQ supporters and intactivists share a common belief that babies are born perfect, and that it is wrong to surgically remove a perfectly normal part of a baby boy's body to fit cultural norms.

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2. We are outsiders.

The LGBTQ community gets what it is to be an outsider. For years, people opposed to involuntary circumcision have been denied participation in baby fairs, medical conventions, children's rights groups, and even organizations that work to end female genital mutilation. Those groups fear we are "too controversial, too confrontational, and too challenging" of a medical establishment that promotes and profits from medically unnecessary surgery. The LGBTQ community understands what it's like to be stigmatized, what it's like to have one's voice silenced or ignored for taking people out of their comfort zones, and how much hostility one faces by questioning what most people think is "normal" - if they think of it at all.

3. We have to come out of the closet!

Time and time again at Pride, and in our everyday conversations with people, we are thanked for taking the subject of circumcision "out of the closet." Circumcision is still a topic from which too many Americans shy away. Americans are uncomfortable talking about penises, intact or otherwise, but intactivism has made it okay to have adult conversations about penises, foreskins, and sexual pleasure. Ignorance is the real enemy here, because the more you know about circumcision, the more likely you are to oppose it. The LGBTQ community understands you have to take risk and step out of the closet to educate people in order for society to change.

4. We love our children.

Straight or gay, cis- or trans-gendered, we all are parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles who want the best for our children. We know that strapping babies onto a restraint board and cutting off a body part, often without effective anesthesia, for no medical necessity is wrong. As David Grant, an extraordinary Intact America volunteer who has helped organize our Pride march for several years, says, "The LGBTQ community has always felt they were not getting the full story about circumcision, and what they were being told seemed so counter-intuitive to how we treat our children. They know this practice is wrong and are relieved that someone is speaking out against it."

I quote David again: "What the LGBTQ world needs to understand is that no matter how much your parents may have grown to love you just as you are, if there were some surgery at infancy that would ensure you grew up to be straight, there would simply be no LGBTQ community to celebrate at Pride. Parents would most likely alter you, and for the same reasons they circumcise their boys: culture, religion, and wanting us to fit within their comfort zone. Sorry, that's not for me and it's not for my LGBTQ family, either."

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5. We value sexual pleasure.

Everyone likes sex, but the LGBTQ and intactivist communities are committed to ensuring a healthy sexual future for all people. The foreskin is the most erogenous part of the male body, provides natural lubrication, and makes sex more pleasurable for men and their men and women partners. (P.S. The original reason for circumcising boys was to lessen their sexual desire, especially masturbation. That should tell you how important the foreskin is for sexual pleasure.)

At Pride this year, we gave out three by five inch cards - the surface area of the adult male foreskin, which has highly sensitive nerve receptors both inside and out - with instructions on how to make a "fauxskin." (1. Fold the card lengthwise. 2. Roll it into a tube. 3. Woo Hoo!) It certainly got our point across.

David explains: "Foreskin is a glorious thing; it's a 'transformer-penis,' with many different moods and looks during various stages of erection and gives you more options sexually. Cutting it off basically reduces the function of the penis to its most basic abilities: peeing and procreation."
Review of The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right. By Michael J. Graetz and Linda Greenhouse. Simon & Schuster. 468 pp. $30.

In August, 1986, a month before Warren Burger retired as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Justice Lewis Powell declared that there had been no counterrevolution by the Burger Court: "None of the landmark decisions of the Warren Court were overruled, and some were extended." Responding to criticism that the Burger Court "lacked a sense of direction," Powell added that "these observations should make little sense. The great strength of the Supreme Court is that we have no policy or purpose other than 'faithfully and impartially' to discharge our duties 'agreeably to the Constitution and laws of the United States.'"

Michael Graetz, a professor of law at Columbia University Law School, and Linda Greenhouse, the Supreme Court correspondent of the New York Times for three decades, acknowledge that the Burger Court did not reverse the important rulings of the Warren Court. However, in this informative, accessible, and meticulously detailed new book, they argue that the Burger Court "hollowed out" Warren Court precedents. Far from having no policy or purpose, Graetz and Greenhouse demonstrate that for the Burger Court (four of whose members were appointed by President Nixon) equality and the rights revolution "took a back seat" to the prerogatives of states and localities, the "efficiency" of the criminal justice system, and the interests of corporations and elite institutions. And the Burger Court established the jurisprudential foundation for the even more conservative Rehnquist and Roberts courts that have followed.

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Drawing on the personal papers of the justices, Graetz and Greenhouse provide close readings of the most important Burger Court cases. In a series of decisions, they indicate, the Burger Court weakened the requirement (in Miranda v. Arizona) that police inform suspects in custody that they had a right not to say anything that might incriminate them. Limiting the definition of custody, the Court allowed unfettered police questioning in a variety of circumstances. And they allowed authorities to exaggerate evidence they had or threaten suspects with harsh charges to elicit confessions.

Equally important, the Burger Court limited the right to legal representation (in Gideon v. Wainright) by refusing to require that every court appointed defense lawyer "act like a reasonably competent attorney." And, according to the authors, the Burger Court refused to reign in prosecutors who tabled excessively harsh charges to increase the likelihood of a plea bargain.

By ratifying public school financing based primarily on local property taxes because it provided parents "the freedom to devote more money to the education of their children," fostered innovation, and competition for excellence (in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez), Graetz and Greenhouse point out, a "tone deaf" Burger Court virtually guaranteed that the nation's schools "would remain grossly unequal."

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By allowing Amish parents in New Glarus, Wisconsin to pull their children out of public school at the end of eighth grade (in violation of the state's compulsory education law) because their religion prohibited exposure to secular instruction beyond the basics necessary to be competent workers, even though they did not provide them with "substantially equivalent" schooling (Wisconsin v. Yoder), Graetz and Greenhouse indicate, the Burger Court opened the door to the 2014 Hobby Lobby decision, which exempted a religiously observant commercial retailer from having to provide contraception coverage to thousands of workers as part of its employer health insurance.

The Burger Court, the authors write, also shrugged off dissents by William Rehnquist (of all people!), who foresaw the far-reaching consequences of extending First Amendment to commercial advertising. And in Buckley v. Valeo, the Court dismissed as "ancillary" any claims of a constitutional government interest in democratizing the outcome of elections by restricting the money spent by the affluent and already influential to enhance the voices of the less powerful. The "Rosetta Stone of campaign finance jurisprudence," Buckley v. Valeo laid the groundwork for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which eviscerated the public financing of political campaigns, in essence ended limits on contributions by individuals and special interest groups, and extended First Amendment free speech rights to corporations.
A coordinated hunger strike by Iranian political prisoners is gaining international support and reminding the world that the Iranian dissident movement is far from defeated.

Over the past month, human rights groups have reported that at least five political prisoners are on hunger strike in various prisons throughout Iran.

Jafar Azimzadeh, a prominent labor activist and president of the Free Union of Workers of Iran has been on hunger strike since April 30th to protest the "repression of activities of workers and teachers by the security charges," and is reportedly in critical condition. Azimzadeh is currently serving a six year term of imprisonment in the notorious Evin Prison in Iran, and has reportedly spent periods in solitary confinement and been subjected to torture.

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Azimzadeh was reportedly arrested for coordinating an effort to gather 30,000 signatures in support of labor organizing in Iran, as well as organizing labor protests and actions in a country which continues to repress labor and undermine workers rights.

In an open letter to Deputy Labor Minister Hassan Hefdahtan, Azimzadeh dismissed the charges against him and other activists as politically motivated and refused to back down from his sharp criticism of the Rouhani administration and the regime as a whole.

"In the three-year lifespan of the [Hassan] Rouhani administration, the majority of the most effective independent labor activists and teachers have been prosecuted under national security laws and given long prison sentences...Most of these individuals were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry under the current government and all of them were charged with 'assembly and collusion against national security' and faced maximum penalties in the Revolutionary Court."

According to Iranian human rights groups, Azimzadeh's wife petitioned Tehran's Prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi regarding her husband's deteriorating health. Dolatabadi reportedly told her: "I will do nothing for him, even if he dies."

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Photos of an emaciated Azimzadeh have circulated on social media, as activists around rally behind his hunger strike and demand improvements in the treatment of political prisoners in Iran. The defiance displayed by Azimzadeh in his gaunt state is reminiscent of Bobby Sands and other famous political prisoners who were determined to test their will against the brutality of a repressive state.

Azimzadeh's case has won support both inside and outside Iran. Earlier this month scholar and activist Noam Chomsky signed a letter along with more than 20 distinguished academics and activists from around the world calling for Azimzadeh's release. Human rights activists have also participated in tweet storms and campaigns to raise awareness with regard to his case.

Other Iranian political prisoners have gone on hunger strike to protest the lack of judicial due process and abuse within the Iranian penal system. A list of 182 political prisoners recently signed a statement declaring their support for Azimzadeh and starting their own temporary hunger strikes in solidarity with him.

Kurdish political prisoner Ayoub Assadi has reportedly been taken to solitary confinement in a bid to end his hunger strike which has lasted more than 20 days. Assadi has been subjected to torture and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his affiliation with Kurdish opposition groups. Another Kurdish prisoner, Mohammad Abdollahi, has been on hunger strike since May 29 in protest of his prison conditions and the pronouncement that his execution could occur at any given time. He was sentenced to death for his affiliation with Kurdish opposition groups.

The spirit of Azimzadeh and the defiance of Iran's political prisoners is an embodiment of hope for Iran's dissident movement, reminding us all that even the most defenseless can wage a heroic struggle against tyranny, and the hunger for freedom can overcome all other earthly desires.

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UPDATE (7/11): On June 30th, Jafar Azimzadeh was granted a temporarily release from Evin Prison following a two month hunger strike. Although he remains at risk of future incarceration and is set to attend a new court date, his hunger strike and the international campaign that followed was a success.


The Knocks (photo: Rachel Couch)

The Knocks are one of the best bets for what's next in pop music, as their eventual ascension to superstardom is all but secured. There is no production duo crafting catchier, stickier, or, to put it bluntly, better pop tunes in business today, and yet they remain one of the best-kept secrets from the masses.

After a long ramp up and many years of honing their sound and growing their fan base, the New York City-based twosome released their debut full-length album 55 last year to rave reviews and the glee of their expectant fans. It's only been a few months since the CD made waves, but already The Knocks have changed it all up, giving their own songs new sounds and reimagining everything they just spent so much time creating in the first place.

Today, the band releases 55.5, an EP of remixes of the songs originally featured on 55. Remix EPs are nothing new, but this is different. Instead of reaching out to some of their favorite producers and remixers, The Knocks remade all of these songs themselves, turning each tune into a brand new piece of art.

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In addition to giving me the pleasure of premiering the 55.5 remix EP in its entirety, the band answered a few questions for me. Check out their thoughts below...as you listen to their new collection, of course.

Why remix your own album yourself?

We have always been very connected to the DJ and dance communities as we are DJs ourselves, so we wanted to create spinnable versions of some of the less dance-driven material on 55.

What do you want people to take away from these remixes that they didn't get from the album?

These remixes bring a whole new energy to the originals. Our mentality going in when we decided to do this EP was to make edits that you could dance to in any club environment or at an after-party. It's a whole new vibe and we are happy with how they turned out.

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Do you guys have a favorite remix from this grouping?

Not sure about a favorite, but we had a blast making the "Love Me Like That" remix featuring Carly Rae Jepsen. We love spinning it in our sets and we even performed it live with Carly at Governors Ball. The crowd reaction has been amazing.

Any favorite remixes you've done for other artists?

We did a remix for Of Monsters and Men's song "Little Talks." Unfortunately, it came out but was taken down a day later. So it goes...
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 1 : Passengers are seen at the Ataturk International Airport after the air traffic and working process returned to normal following terror attack in Istanbul, Turkey on July 1, 2016. (Photo by Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

ISTANBUL -- Three days after the attack at Istanbul Ataturk Airport that left 45 people dead and hundreds wounded, Turkish Airlines flight TK004 bound for Istanbul is ready to take off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport with its 300 plus passengers.

Among them is the Yldrm family from Gaziantep, a Turkish city on the Syrian border and home to thousands of refugees escaping the war and the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

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ISIS, or Daesh in Arabic, has been blamed for several of the attacks that have occurred over the past year in Turkey. Recently, 17 people, including 11 foreigners, have been detained in connection with the latest incident.

Seeing one of the most beautiful cities in the world and its inhabitants go through this tragic attack is heartbreaking.

As Gate 3 is about to close, the Yldrm family's 31-year-old son is ordered back to the boarding counter to be questioned and have his fingerprints scanned. Although he is given no official explanation, Yldrm guesses that his name, a common one in Turkey, may have shown up on a passenger blacklist. Security is taken seriously by Turkish Airlines even thousands of miles away from Istanbul. Soon, Yldrm's callback is understood to be a mistake; he receives an apology from staff for the inconvenience and goes back to his seat. The plane is now ready to take off. Istanbul is my hometown. We are used to constant security checks in our daily lives. There are multiple checkpoints at the entrances to shopping malls -- even at subway stations in this city. And Istanbul's airport itself is known for its tight security. Seeing one of the most beautiful cities in the world and its inhabitants go through this tragic attack is heartbreaking. In his condolences to my country, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry summed up the problem: "Daesh and others like it know that we have to get it right 24/7, 365. They have to get it right for 10 minutes or one hour."

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The terror attacks, and the standoff until recently with Russia over the downing of one of its fighter jets late last year, have so far cost the Turkish tourism industry dearly. In May 2016, tourist arrivals were down by 35 percent, according to Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Turkey needs the support of the international community and the patronage of the roughly 42 million visitors that pass through its main airport yearly, more than ever.

Bullet holes are still visible to travelers passing through the airport days after the attack. (Ilgin Yorulmaz)

It's Eid season here, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, a time when domestic and international travel volume often increases. Yet the mood on this New York-Istanbul flight is somber -- but defiant. The staff shows every sign of pride and resilience. Once airborne, some members of the staff tell me of the shock they experienced when their team first heard of the attack last week. They knew colleagues who were slightly wounded. A large group of victims of the bomb were Turkish ground services employees waiting for the service bus to take them home. Still, loss of life could have been worse had the attack happened later, "because the airport gets busier later in the evening," one of the stewards noted.

Arber Gocaj is on the same flight. He runs a restaurant in New Jersey with his family. En route for holidays to his native Albania via Istanbul, he tells me that he initially planned to fly another European airline. When the tickets there were sold out, he chose to fly Turkish Airlines. It is his first time flying with this airline, and he seems very pleased with it. His family, however, is still apprehensive about him flying into Istanbul Ataturk Airport so soon after the bombings. As for the security concerns at the airport, Gocaj is confident that he is safe. "They can't bomb the same place twice," he says.

The terrorist attack also hit close to home for my family. Visibly shaken, my globetrotting husband calculated that he passed through that airport 130 times last year alone. "It could have been me," was all he could say.

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My globetrotting husband calculated that he passed through that airport 130 times last year alone. 'It could have been me,' was all he could say.

When we finally land at Ataturk at 5 a.m. on Saturday, the place is quite busy despite the early hour. Travelers emerge from flights from places like Amsterdam, Colombo and Tokyo. Areas affected by the explosions are boarded up. Bullet marks on the columns and shattered glass are a stark reminder of the tragedy that just occurred. Mesut, who works at a hotel information desk across from Simit Saray, the bagel shop, tells me that he escaped the bombs by just three minutes. He had left his post and gone out to have a cigarette. "I finished my cigarette and was headed to the car to get some sleep when the first bomb exploded," he says.

Waiting for my connecting flight to Izmir, I find the atmosphere eerily calm. Tebby Khutsoane has just arrived from the U.K. with her family that morning and is waiting to board a flight to Bodrum. Four days ago, she was driving in Oxford when she heard on the radio the news of the explosions. Although they did go ahead with the trip four days later, they decided to cancel the Istanbul leg and chose to transfer to Bodrum. "Some of the members in our group felt nervous to spend time in Istanbul, so we decided to go straight to Bodrum," she tells me.

Twenty-three-year-old student Oguzhan Ylmaz and his father, Celal Ylmaz, are traveling to Antalya from Istanbul. When the news of the bombings broke, "I immediately thought of my older sister," Oguzhan says, "because she travels a lot by air." Luckily, his sister had decided to drive from Izmir to Istanbul that day instead of taking the plane. Coming to the airport this morning, his father found it odd that there seemed to be barely any increase in security in the perimeter of the airport after such a serious attack. "There should at least be stronger police visibility to discourage further attacks," he tells me.

A memorial for victims of the attack is put on display in Ataturk Airport. (Isa Terli/Anadolu Agency Via Getty)

Everywhere -- in the lounge, on the bus to the plane -- passengers talk to each other of close calls and changed plans at the last minute, which probably saved their lives. Some passengers leave the terminal and exit through the international arrivals hall. This is where my family namesake Ali Zulfikar Yorulmaz, a veteran taxi driver, was killed. Yorulmaz had been dropping off a customer, reports said. Fahrettin Can, the head of Airport Taxi Drivers' Association, spoke angrily at the funeral of Mustafa Bykl, another taxi driver killed with Yorulmaz: "We are here. We are not afraid of terror or terrorism. We are here continuing to do our business and we are with our nation and government. ... God damn PKK, God damn ISIS and God damn terrorism," he said defiantly as the imam asked for blessings from the crowd for the deceased. Yorulmaz was one of three drivers who lost their lives in the attack.

Now, it almost seems surreal to imagine hailing a cab outside the arrivals gate like I've done dozens of times before. Luckily today, I don't have to: I transfer at the airport, stay for a few hours inside and continue my journey to Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey on the Aegean coast. As I finally disembark at Izmir after a 12-hour journey, a stewardess smiles at me and says, "Iyi Bayramlar!" "Happy Eid!" I hope it is a happy one for me and for my fellow Turks and foreign travelers in and outside of Turkey.

Earlier on WorldPost:
Three years ago, I made the decision to apply to Harvard Kennedy School. My decision to apply was not very surprising. While I wasn't sure which school I would attend, graduate school was always on my radar. What was surprising, however, was what little I understood about my motivations.

Throughout the two years, I often wondered why I came to graduate school. I was passionate about economics and development and I wasn't looking for a career change. I was also one of the youngest in my class, which implied that I had the least "real-world" experience.

While entering, I didn't quite know what I wanted to take out of this experience - and I think many are in this situation. Through the grueling and time-consuming problem sets, I was confronted with thinking through this question. Now, nearly two years later, I can tell you what I took away from my HKS experience:

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1. It's all about the people. I often wonder if I will ever again sit in a room with so many diverse perspectives, intellectual insights, and passionate voices. My classmates were by far the best part of my experience. In my case, my peers came from diverse professional backgrounds and represented over 20 different countries. Sure, I learned from class assignments and problem sets, but I learned far more from my peers. I learned from them in and out of the classroom - through both professional and personal interactions. My perspective was deepened and my perceptions were challenged. Through this time, I also created lifelong friendships and have a vast network of life advisors around the world.

2. Leaving your comfort zone can be rewarding. There are many ways to challenge yourself. For me, these were sometimes relatively simple things like raising my hand in class or attending office hours with an intimidating professor. Sometimes, they were a little less simple - like taking a computer science course with no programming background or running for "President" in Steve Jarding's Making of a Politician course. For the record, I took CS-109: Data Science and highly recommend it. The summer was the best time to take a risk and do something unconventional. I physically left my comfort zone by moving to Tirana to work with the Albanian Government and explored a foreign and beautiful part of the world. This experience pushed me to discover interests I didn't know I had.

3. Give and seek mentorship. Having good mentors will shape your journey - but being a good mentor can be even more rewarding. As I started at HKS, former younger colleagues asked for guidance and advice, and with whatever little knowledge I had acquired, I replied. I found these conversations helpful to understand my own motivations. I was also fortunate to find great mentors who have guided me over these past years (shout out to Dan Levy). It's important to cultivate and maintain these relationships. Having had the privilege to serve as one of Dan's course assistants in API-209, I hope I'll always be a part of Dan's Mafia :).

4. Understand your narrative. Exploring yourself can be somewhat challenging. My class hosted a weekly Speaker Series where two classmates presented any part of their life story for 30 minutes. In thinking through my story, I introspected to piece together my narrative and reflected on how I became the person I am. I also took coursework that forced me to dig into my past and uncover my underlying motivations. While initially I thought this was simply an academic exercise, I later realized this was powerful as it helped me connect to people and express myself. In a way, I feel liberated and more confident in who I am.

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5. Take time to explore your curiosities. HKS provided me with an opportunity to explore many facets of myself. I had an amazing opportunity to get involved with the India Conference at Harvard as a Co-Chair. While I knew it would be time consuming, I did it - and in the process, I explored a whole new skillset. I learned to work on a team, exercise 'grace under pressure', manage teams, handle logistical issues, and interact with students from various schools at Harvard. During my second year, my curiosities took me in many different paths: learning to code in Python, applying to a startup venture competition, writing op-eds for the Huffington Post, choreographing a dance for the talent show, and spending a year analyzing female labor force participation in Afghanistan.

6. Life is not always linear. The most important realization for me is one that I still struggle with. Thus far, life has felt more or less linear - but this will not always be the case. I assumed that post-graduate life would be easy; after all, I had checked all the boxes and completed all the years of education to be successful. But, graduate school wasn't the solution if I was looking for a linear path - there will be setbacks, there will be bumps. Graduate school equipped me with the tools I need to be successful, but it's up to me to decide how I want to use those tools.

As I exit and transition from HKS, my motivations and goals are clearer. I have realized that it's important to reflect and understand what you want to takeaway from any experience. Our motivations will change, but it's important to acknowledge that and to always update our priors.
Dzerzhynsk City Court in Donetsk region has sentenced a Donetsk native, who had held the post of the assistant commander of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) State Security Ministry's counter-intelligence detachment, to 11 years in prison.

During the court hearings it was established that a 42-year-old Donetsk native had sided with the DPR on his own initiative in May 2014, taking up the position of the assistant commander of the DPR State Security Ministry's KOT counter-intelligence detachment.

In June 2015, he was detained by employees of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and arrested.

During the court proceedings the man did not plead guilty.

For committing the criminal crimes, which are enshrined in the Ukrainian Criminal Code's articles for "committing of a crime by a group of people," "the conduction of an aggressive war" and "participation in a terrorist organization" the court ruled to sentence the defendant to 11 years in prison with the confiscation of all of his property.
Instead of shared housing, a better name for this might be "shared living." The phrase describes an arrangement that is used more and more commonly in homeless services across the country to give participants faster access to housing. It is the agreement between two or more unrelated adults to share an apartment or a house. If this sounds a lot like an old roommate arrangement you have been a part of before, that's because that's all it is: two or more people agreeing to share living space for a determined period of time.

The difference with regular roommate households or group houses is that, in this case, staff assists people in securing the living situations.

So, what is shared living and what is it not?

In shared living arrangements, tenants usually sign individual leases with landlords that govern the conditions of their stay in the households. Unlike other rental agreements, each lease starts when the individual signing it moves it. This means that within the same household, each tenant is on her or his own schedule in relation to the lease period covered. In other words, leases are likely to expire at different times in the year.

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Because many of the programs securing living situations in such households are short-term rapid rehousing programs, members of the same household may be at different stages of their service cycles with the organization. For instance, a household member may already have graduated from the program when a new household member with a few months left in the program moves in.

This is important in terms of exchanges within the household and of the perception community members might have of households like these. For service providers, it also adds complexity because some housemates are done with services while others are actively participating in them, meaning that expectations are different.

From the point of view of community perception, these households are just like any other shared households. They are made up of people of have an economic interest in lowering their rental expenses by sharing living space so they can live within their means.

One thing these households are not is group homes. They are not residential programs and do not have to be licensed as such - even in cities where landlords are required to license all their rental properties. The licenses these landlords obtain are only for renting purposes.

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By extension, neighbors should not feel that these households have to be "monitored" like residential rehabilitation programs. It is helpful for staff to be mindful of this. The presence of the household in the neighborhood does not have to be justified.

Another perception to undo in this relatively new model for service providers is the idea that somehow the homeless services organization that has assisted people in obtaining this housing is responsible for the site. It's not.

The organization is responsible for providing services to each person in the household, but not for the site itself. The landlord is responsible for the site. The house or apartment is not a "facility." It is a place where two or more people have chosen to live together and are responsible for their own tenancy.

It is also important for service providers to remember that the organization does not belong in the relationship between a tenant and a landlord. The single adults moving into these households have the right to interact with their landlords directly and service providers should be careful not to undermine them by providing assistance when it is not necessary.

Of course, there is a lot staff can do through supportive counseling and community relations to help solve problems that may arise between a tenant and a landlord, but, in the end, the legal agreement is between the two people whose names are on the lease: the tenant and the landlord.

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This model is flexible and allows thousands of people to secure housing they can afford faster. It also allows some people to find added stability and to create families of choice. Because of this, it presents tremendous potential for homeless services organizations in the country. Just like with any other service model, service providers should pay close attention to boundaries to ensure that program participants get the most out of it.

There is also a great need to educate landlords, neighbors, and the media so new neighbors in shared households set up this way integrate well and are not stigmatized.

A better understanding of the shared living model will also shelter homeless services organizations from misrepresentation by the media that sometimes assume that the service provider is opening facilities all over town in a rapid and, perhaps, irresponsible way. This is simply not the case. Instead, the organization is helping people who are living doubled up, on the street, or in shelters move into homes they can afford for the long term on limited budgets.
There are a lot of slimy fish in the Republican Party. Think of all the men who have been caught, gutted and decapitated by Donald Trump. There are those bottom-feeders gasping for their last breath of GOP air, like Bob Dole and John Boehner, who support him. And then there's that Suckerfish Chris Christie, who glommed onto Trump like a parasite and just might get the VP nod for his efforts. There's the Blobfish Mitch McConnell, one of the worst defenders of the faith, but a supporter of Trump nonetheless. Don't forget John McCain, the man Trump filleted with his comment, "I like people who weren't captured." McCain's now supporting that same man for president. But worst of all might be the Jellyfish known as Paul Ryan. Despite his near weekly criticisms of the candidate, he still supports him.



You've got to wonder what it would take for these men and their Republican brethren to permanently denounce the poisonous Puffer Fish in our midst. It's certainly going to take more than racism and bigotry: they've all obviously come to terms with his alienation of Latinos, Muslims, women, blacks and Jews. Just in the last month or so, we've endured the Mexican judge travesty and the Hillary Jewish star meme mess. Just this week, Ryan called Trump's Star of David tweet anti-Semitic. In case you missed it, the meme, which apparently originated on a white supremacist's Twitter feed, shows Hillary Clinton next to a Jewish star calling her "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" over a pile of money.



"Look, anti-Semitic images, they've got no place in a presidential campaign," Ryan told WTMJ's Charlie Sykes Tuesday.



Oh, you really stung him, Paul Ryan.



There is a blog post circulating this week that could be the whale that swallows all of them whole. It's an op-ed that the Huffington Post and other sites have put out there. Some sites have cast doubt over its validity, and it's notable that most mainstream media outlets haven't touched it, so far. The HuffPost blog is called, "Why the New Child Rape Case Filed Against Donald Trump Should Not be Ignored," by Lisa Bloom.



To summarize, a woman filed a federal lawsuit against Trump for raping her in 1994 when she was just 13 years old. The plaintiff accuses Trump of initiating sex with her four times at the home of convicted pedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, Trump's friend. The fourth time, the woman says Trump tied her to a bed and raped her. She claims he hit her and threatened to harm her and her family if she told anyone.



Here's the twist: there is supposedly a witness who said in court documents that she would find young women for Jeffrey Epstein and bring them back to his house with promises of money and modeling contracts. In this case, the witness said she recruited the plaintiff from Port Authority in New York, and personally saw her being forced to engage in sexual acts with both Trump and Epstein.



Taking a giant step back from the story, of course Trump is innocent until proven guilty. Of course there are going to be opportunists who come out of the woodwork at strategic moments to ruin a controversial candidate, or for financial gain. That could certainly be the case here. But Bloom does make a good case for why the media should watch this lawsuit, and why she thinks it holds water.



I wonder how many of the Paul Ryans, Chris Christies and John McCains - all fathers of girls - have read this post. These middle-aged and older white, Christian men haven't felt the personal sting of Trump's continuous barrage of hateful words, memes and tweets throughout this campaign.



But since this story involves a child, maybe they'll pay closer attention. If it turns out that there is any truth at all to this lawsuit, maybe the men of the Republican Party will stop flailing like fish hauled out of the sea, find their spines and recapture their souls. One would have thought that would have happened long ago, after Trump skewered his first war hero and reporter, after he put groups of people out to sea, wholesale, after his disgusting quotes about women piled up like stacks of fish guts. The list of offenses is so long and vile that the Grand Old Party has become numb to it - much in the same way it's numb to gun violence. And we know where we are on that one.



So what will it take for the Republicans come up from the depths and see the light? Maybe it won't be this latest Trump story, but sadly, it's going to have to be a whale.
In March of this year, when I attended the World Culture Festival in India, and was afforded the chance to invite Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to come to The Ohio State University and speak with my colleagues about his work, I could hardly imagine he would say yes. Even more surprising is that a humanitarian as busy as he is could fulfill the invitation so soon, arriving only three months after me and my Art of Living Columbus community invited him.

On June 27th, sponsored by various colleges and departments, Sri Sri started his Ohio State visit with a talk on his peace and mediation work. With all the religious conflict, terrorist attacks, and gun violence in the world happening right now, his talk seemed all the more relevant and timely, which is perhaps why the room was filled with so many of OSU's administrative, faculty, and student leaders. It was a packed house.

He stated there are several basic shared values that we cannot compromise and that should be viewed above our religious, ethnic, or cultural situations. Gender equality, animal rights, and environmental stewardship should be adhered to as shared human values, and a rational scientific approach must be our guiding light.

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When asked by Dr. Rick Herrmann, the chair of the Political Science Department at Ohio State University, whether Sri Sri saw a conflict between science and spirituality, Sri Sri stated the he did not see a tension, and that eastern philosophy and science were complimentary.

There are two strains of (spiritual) thought, the orient and the occident. The occident says we first believe and then we will experience one day. In the orient, it is the opposite, we first experience and believe later. Science says we first experience and then we believe. This is why, in the east, science and spirituality were never in conflict, because their parameters or modus of operandi is the same.

Perhaps because of Sri Sri's adherence that one should first experience something before believing is why his approach to world peace starts with the person, at the individual level. He states that "societal movements are formed by individuals. The individual is the basis of the society. It is the individual that makes decisions in the society. If they are disturbed or if their perception is colored, what will result in their decisions?" As a long time student of Sri Sri's, I can say from personal experience that he walks the talk by helping the smallest of personal problems to the largest of societal issues.

While he was in Columbus, he took the time to give me advice on my professional and personal development, my health issues, and he even took the time to talk to me about my relationship concerns. In fact, he dealt with the latter for a solid 20 minutes, and even took the time to pause and meditate on it before giving a solid answer about how he thought I should best proceed. He did not judge, and in fact he even treated the topic in a playful manner. Not long after that, he attended to a text about the terrorist attack in Istanbul, and 20 minutes later, I walked him to the stage at OSU's Archie Griffin Ballroom, where he led 750 people through meditation in the "Get Happy Columbus" workshop.

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His ability to stay centered as he tends to the smallest of issues and the largest of catastrophes astounds me. One of his secrets, he will share with you, is our own breath.

The breath helps you to calm down your own emotions. When your emotions are calm and serene your intellect becomes very sharp and your perception, observation and expression improves. Your intuitive ability also improves. The breath is the link between the body and mind. The emotions in the mind make many people feel bad or upset. What to do when one is upset, angry, jealous, or traumatized? When these negative emotions come up it is the breath that helps you reverse the situation. It makes you peaceful or happy. It empowers one to handle one's own mind and keep the mood upbeat.

OSU research scientist Sathya Dev Unudurthi, who works for the OSU Davis Heart and Lung Institute, has a hobby of researching breathing and meditation techniques. Sathya tells me that Sri Sri's main technique, the Sudarshan Kriya or SKY, has been scientifically validated to enhance brain, hormone, immune and cardiovascular system function, and significantly reduce stress, depression, anxiety and PTSD.

Because of all the recorded benefits, many of Sri Sri's breathing programs have been used in some premier colleges in India to reduce suicide, and positive results in both mental and physical health have been documented. In addition to breathing he said we need to increase our joy and enthusiasm on campuses, and one way to do this is by making more friends. "If you can't be friendly with 500 youth in your school, how can you be friendly with 6 billion people on the planet? How do we induce the tendency to make friends? When campuses become more friendly people will feel safe and the violence will go down, and when there is more compassion, there will be more togetherness and belongingness."

Is it possible that the solution to some of the most complex problems American campuses are facing today, such as school shootings, anxiety, and depression, starts with something so simple as being more friendly with each other? Sri Sri thinks this is part of the solution.

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Throughout the talk, it was hard not to be inspired to do more in the world, as Sri Sri spoke about his successful endeavors with FARC in Colombia, the Yazidis in Iraq, where Art of Living volunteers helped rescue 8,000 women from the grip of ISIS, and saved many more from starvation and isolation. He also spoke of peace-building in Pakistan, his wellness programs in Kashmir, and his meditation program in Africa.

However, Sri Sri stated that all of this work was just a small drop in the ocean and that more needed to be done to solve some of the more complex issues our humanity is facing - encouraging that "if you have this question on how we can improve the world and how we can improve the situation, I would like you to keep the question alive in side of you. And if you come up with good ideas please let me know."

He concluded the talk urging the audience not to get despondent in their work for a better world, by reminding us of the importance of having conviction in our actions. "When you know what you are doing is good and you are here only to give something, you don't get disheartened, you just continue doing what you do. When we are convinced about what we are doing, we are unshaken."

*All Photo Credit goes to Morgan Clarke in the Office of Student Life at The Ohio State University
Everyone, it seems, hates Wall Street. Presidential candidates compete to see who can most excoriate bankers. The 2016 Edelman Trust barometer ranks financial services and banks next to last on the list of trustworthy industries, Comedian John Oliver's screed against his 401(k) plan racked up 4 million views in two weeks.

But why the antipathy? Finance is necessary if we are to grow our economy, provide jobs, reduce poverty, build a climate-friendly infrastructure, and solve a host of major societal problems. So why is there such a strong sentiment that those of us in finance reap an unfair share of the financial rewards without a care for the rest of the real world?

Simply put, the financial system does not deliver the value it should to real economy and to ordinary, non-financial sector families. Yes, finance performs essential functions that business and citizens need -- from safekeeping our money to facilitating payments, but it does so inefficiently and the cost is expensive.

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At its core, finance is a service industry, One valuable service is "intermediation," a fancy word for "taking money from point A where it is, to point B where it is needed". This can mean pooling savings to fund your mortgage, financing a factory, or creating your retirement savings.

It costs about two percent to move money from point A to point B, which sounds reasonable, but consider this: That figure that has not materially changed since the age of the railroads. In those 130 years, we have invented computers, cars, and telephones; landed people on the moon, eradicated diseases; increased life expectancy. In almost every human endeavor, we have become more productive. Except in finance.

This is not to say there have been no efficiencies at all. We have electronic transactions, better risk-shifting ability, credit cards, automatic teller machines, affordable mortgages, more efficient trading markets, and a host of other improvements. But, the benefits of these Wall Street advances have not reached main street. One reason is that the number of financial intermediaries has grown exponentially. One study found that it takes 16 financial agents to escort your money from point A to point B. Another study documented more than 100 fees that could affect your retirement savings. Each intermediary needs to be paid, so that while each of those 100+ transactions for which fees are being paid may be more efficient, the aggregate is not.

Let me be clear: The people who work in finance are generally well-motivated and hard working. And despite the demonization it suffers, finance is not evil. Indeed, it's societally positive. But it has become inwardly-focused, serving the needs of the next intermediary in line, rather than those at either point A or point B, the places where the financial sector intersects with the non-financial economy. A service industry that forgets who its customer is should not be surprised when those customers think the service is sub-par.

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We can do better.

Here are some pragmatic ideas to diffuse the anger, rebuild trust and re-tool a more efficient financial system, these ideas must become more widespread:

Reduce the number of agents: Large asset owners, such as a number of Canadian pension plans, are increasingly making direct investments rather than going through intermediaries.

Make the fees we pay explicit: Markets move on information, but the fees we pay today are often hidden or confusing. Making fees transparent encourages investors and borrowers to select lower cost alternatives. Denmark and Holland passed legislation forcing disclosure of many more costs than are disclosed in the U.S. today. The US Department of Labor estimates that similar transparency in the US would save some $12.2 billion, and that is just from savers not having to search for the data. That $12.2 billion in savings doesn't even count what will be saved from workers making more informed decisions.

Stop oversimplifying the world and pretending we know the future: The real world is complicated. Modeling it is, at best, difficult. Using those models to predict the future with certainty is impossible; value at risk analyses suggested that the market moves in 2008 were so rare that they should have occurred only once every 73 to 603 trillion billion years. They happened twice in a month. Combine state of the art models with judgement: Goldman Sachs avoided the worst of the crash by noting that the real world was not performing the way the models predicted.

In sum, we can "fix" finance. We can cut that two percent of incremental cost of capital. That will increase wealth for everyone, fight poverty, grow employment and combat income inequality. Yes, finance is socially positive. But it can be more effective in serving average people and real economy.

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Refugees and migrants wait to be registered at the refugee camp near the village of Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, September 13, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo

In 2016, Europe and much of the world are confronted with ever more complex and interconnected social, political, economic and security challenges. Some are still struggling to make sense of what has become a potential unraveling of a multinational institution as solid as the European Union.

Rather than strengthening European unity and cooperation in the face of the challenges faced by its members, there are centrifugal forces tearing Europe apart. Those in England, the so-called Eurosceptics who sowed the seeds of British exit from the EU, have paved the way for a UK much diminished in size and global influence as it approaches the inevitability of an independent Scotland and a reunited Irish Republic.

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The cauldron of the Middle East wars and the endemic poverty plaguing much of the African Continent have uprooted more than 60 million people. As many of the uprooted seek shelter and a new life in the old Continent, some European leaders and people have shown great heart in welcoming their fellow humans. Understandably other European leaders and communities have been less generous, reacting often out of ignorance and fear. I do not use the word "understandably" to condone the xenophobic mindset of many in Europe. But in any given society different people act or react differently in similar circumstances.

Today's United States, Canada, Latin American States, Australia and New Zealand were largely created when the religious wars and extreme poverty in Europe prompted a movement of people unmatched in the preceding centuries. Today we are living witnesses to an ongoing and irreversible demographic transformation of Europe; a continuation or repetition of the massive movement of our own ancestors in an earlier age.

No matter how high and thick the walls are, no fortress in Europe can stem the tide of people fleeing wars and poverty. The demographic transformation of Europe from a predominately aging Judeo-Christian continent to a vibrant and younger multiethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural Europe is unstoppable. These phenomena are not always entirely peaceful, and sadly many will suffer immensely. But with wisdom, determination and compassion, Europe can emerge rejuvenated and stronger in the long run.

Even a cursory study of the past and recent events should serve as a stark reminder that empires, regimes, governments, elected and non-elected come and go. From the glittering Roman empires to the Third Reich, the Soviet Union, American triumphalism and, now, the rise of China and India --- all are passing phenomena. Only the people are a permanent feature; some born and surviving in the midst of wars, some starving and dying of poverty in the midst of opulence, but the people will always be there.

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Wise leaders design institutions and projects that serve the people. The institutions may adapt as people's needs, desires and priorities evolve and change. But the successful and lasting ones are rooted in serving the needs of the people on the ground.

As no power is eternal, as the strong ruler of today may be the servant of tomorrow, those in power today would be wise to embrace the virtues of humility and compassion, embracing those on the fringes of power and opportunities. Europe --- this region of great nations that accomplished great things for humanity, but also invented the Inquisition, colonialism, slavery and two World Wars -- must reinvent itself as a region of solidarity and compassion, to reconnect with its people, the old and the new.

No one can suggest that European governments "look the other way" on terrorism in their midst. I am not a romantic pacifist who believes that force must never be used. Force is necessary when it is the only option available to prevent genocide. Bosnia, Rwanda, the Killing Fields of Cambodia are just some reminders that non-use of force to prevent genocide and mass atrocities is equivalent to surrender of our morality, a betrayal of the victims.

But the preferred option, where possible, should always be a united effort toward the prevention of conflicts, and dialogue and mediation to settle disputes. When these are actively, creatively and patiently exercised in a timely fashion, more often than not they produce better results.

Applying this to the most pressing of today's conflicts, the conflict in Syria, has been hindered by errors on all sides. The Assad regime erred by not making real efforts in reaching out to those wanting more freedom. The opposition erred in overestimating its own power, refusing to negotiate with the regime, demanding instead its resignation, underestimating the staying power of the Assad regime and failing to account for the fears that inspire the actions of the Alawite minority in power. Europeans and Americans also underestimated the Assad regime and misread the complexities of the Arab Spring. Euphoric with their pyrrhic air campaign against Muhamar Ghadafi of Libya, they believed they could arrange another regime change. All miscalculated. The "consequences" are in the middle of Europe, the hundreds of thousands of Syrians pleading for refuge and shelter.

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The other stark reality to be faced is that the fragmentation of the twentieth century European Nation-States is rooted in events more than 20 years ago, when the shaky ground upon which the mighty Soviet Union was erected collapsed. Americans and Western Europeans celebrated the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, the demise of the USSR, the end of post-WW2 Yugoslavia. In their euphoria they did not think twice about moving EU and NATO boundaries eastward, ever closer to the gates of the weakened and hungry Russian bear.

Europe must seek to engage Russia and normalize relations. Instead of moving planes, tanks and troops closer to the Russian border, it must seek to understand Russian pride, and the fears and reasons behind their actions. Sound bites about Putin being the new "Russian Tzar" and Russian "expansionism" are not going to help bring back Europe and Russia to normal levels of cooperation.

Europe and Russia cannot continue to drift apart. The factors that the two regions hold in common are far greater than the factors that divide. Together, this vast region, with its endless resources and highly motivated and educated people, working in an honest and innovative partnership for peace and progress, could transform the world.

As always, these things are easier said than done. How can Europe or the US normalize relations with Russia in the face of the annexation of Crimea? How can it deal with the continual tide of refugees seeking to escape conflicts at home in the Middle East?

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My best advice to EU members today is to set aside what are, for the time being, irreconcilable differences, reengage each other, explore areas and ideas of common interest, namely on how best to address the global economic and financial crisis, bring an end to the Syria conflict, address the refugee crisis both in its humanitarian dimension and political and economic dimensions; address extremism and terrorism in a united manner, both through sharp intelligence and prudent action and through understanding and resolving the root causes.

There are no short cuts to peace; we build peace in our homes, families, villages, towns, block by block. Peace is the work of patient and dedicated people with missionary zeal, people who have empathy for those who suffer the most: women, children, elderly. Peacemakers must have heart and compassion.
By Adele Charbonneau

In February 2016, the Sustainable Development Goal Network proposed an indicator for target 11.7 - public spaces accessible to all as "the average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, disaggregated by age group, sex and persons with disabilities." Such information comes at a time when there's been a movement to make cities more accessible and livable to all. Indeed, creating accessibility is empowering those who would otherwise be isolated in order to give them an opportunity to be an active part the possibilities offered by society. In four cities, various actors have implemented projects to enhance the integration of people with disabilities.

In Medellin, the program "Improvement without Barriers" by the Institution for Social housing and Habitat (ISVIMED) aims to improve the quality of life of the disabled poor and their families. According to Lou D'Angelo, the idea is to intervene in their houses in order to adapt the spaces to the specific needs of the beneficiaries. One of the project's requirements is that the beneficiary earns no more than two minimum wages. The program is entirely financed by the city of Medellin, and the low cost of each intervention enables the program to reach a relatively high number of houses for a limited budget (US$1.3m). Yet, the main difficulty that the program met was the lack of reliable data on disabled in Medellin. As they could not identify potential beneficiaries themselves, ISVIMED promoted the program through the media, and pushed people to present themselves. As a consequence, the program probably benefited to the most connected and integrated.

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Apart from housing, in public spaces people with disabilities most often find inaccessibility to public infrastructure one of the biggest barriers to community cohesion. Tam Nguyen presents Disability Research and Capacity Development (DRD) Vietnam, an organization "striving everyday to contribute [their] work to create a barrier-free society for people with disabilities", which smartly chose public toilets to advocate for people with disabilities accessibility. Their story began in 2014 when the HCMC government cooperated with Sacombank to pilot a number of public toilets which were proudly declared to be people with disabled-friendly. DRD organized a group of their members, among whom were people with different physical challenges, to try out the toilets and give feedback. Despite being free of charge and remarkably spotless, the toilets were in fact unfriendly for people with disabilities for a long list of reasons. DRD also highlighted positive examples of disabled-friendly toilets in HCMC through creative video clips.

For Marcela Scarpellini, the city of Caracas is also challenging for those who are not fully able-bodied, especially when it comes to the state of sidewalks and roads. The organization Caracas Accessible came up with the idea of painting small potato sacks and filling them with cement and placed them in the space between the street and the sidewalk - spots where ramps should be placed. The exercise showed that remedies could be that simple, fast and low-cost, while making a very big difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Caracas Accessible have also undertaken projects with the Municipality of El Hatillo, in which they are helping design and plan punctual interventions in public spaces that would normally facilitate the displacement of people with disabilities. Together have gathered neighbors in order to discuss laws on the matter, as well as to listen to other needs people may have in order to find ways of integrating them into the plan.

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Disability is not only physical; it is related to an umbrella of impairments, which also includes mental illness. In India, Association of People with Disabilities (APD) engages with slums in Bengaluru and other small towns to identify, build capacity and attempt social integration of people with mental health disability. The APD India works across several verticals of livelihoods, education, healthcare and advocacy to empower the people with disabilities. Keeping in tandem with this gap, APD commenced a community mental health program in 2004. The program has been operational for more than 10 years now. Aditi Hastak highlights the recent stats, which record that 1,137 people with mental disorders were identified and involved in the health program in 2013-14 and 947 in 2014-15. While working with individuals to improve the situation is on-going, engagement with communities and government agencies for capacity building is also happening. Yet, a major factor that still needs attention is the availability of experienced and specialized professionals in taking care of such cases.

These articles presented initiatives from around the world to improve the mobility of people with disabilities in cities. Check out more of the discussion on innovations for greater equitability on URB.im and contribute to the debate.
We all know that Independence Day July 4th is a national holiday celebrating the fledging American colonies' Declaration that they were no longer Britain's satellite territory. The 13 colonies were "independent" and no longer connected to the mother ship, so to speak. Such clear boundaries can be made between national states [with or without a fight!] A Black or White definition of IN or OUT is conventional when talking about our country's original Declaration of Independence. [ We see that the British continue to struggle - witness the Brexit dilemma today.] But what does "independence" mean in human relationships?

I. COUPLE UNIT. I say we celebrate INTERDEPENDENCE day, today, in the month of July, and every day of the year! I'd like to say to you how "INTERdependence " in relationships, especially between two lovers, is a delicate - some say paradoxical -- balance between independence and connection. Yin and Yang. So I propose that not getting this balance "right" i.e. acceptable to both partners, can contribute to folks deciding to split up. I'll explore here with you how to do this balance -- in your present, or future relationships.

The Yin-Yang symbol is the closest I've found to depict the metaphor that psychologist Stan Tatkin calls a "couple bubble" [Wired for Love (2011), Wired for Dating (2016)]. When I look at relationships, my own, colleagues, and those of the couples with whom I work in therapy, I can confirm that secure functioning healthy relationships are two whole people who come together to create a unit [call it a 'bubble' if you like]. As you journey on your Life's Road together, you remain connected by an invisible cord. If you stumble, the other is there to help you up. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. What's not good for the goose, also not good for the gander. I have your back, you have mine. Thus, both backs are covered! Who else do you awaken at 3am with a nightmare? No one likes being so awakened.... but I do it for you, and you for me. In sickness and in health ..... those vows are indeed real boots-on-the-ground.

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II. A LITTLE HISTORY. Gestalt psychology or gestaltism (German: Gestalt [talt] "shape, form") is a major contributor to the PACT [Psychobiologic Approach to Couples Therapy] in which I've trained. As a theory of mind from the Berlin School of experimental psychology, Gestalt psychology examines laws that help up acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in our seemingly chaotic world. Gestalt psychology's central principle is that the mind forms a global whole with self-organizing tendencies. That is, when the human mind's perceptual system forms a percept or gestalt, the whole has a reality of its own, independent of the parts. Our brain tends to generate whole forms, especially when recognizing global figures, instead of collections of simpler and unrelated elements (points, lines, curves...).

"The whole is other [not greater] than the sum of the parts" is the correctly translated famous phrase from Gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka, This is not a principle of addition," he has been quoted. "The whole has an independent existence."

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So I suggest to you that there's you, there's me, and then there's our Couple Unit. Our Whole is other [ not greater] than you or me. It's a separate interdependent unit.

III. A LITTLE DEFINITION. Defining "dependence" as relying on someone or something is neutral. Our society prides itself on our frontier beginnings with its emphasis, and perhaps myth, of self-sufficiency. Our culture has demonized dependency as weakness and neediness, and especially "co-dependence" as even more extreme.

And further, Codependence has a bad name; since this concept and definition is associated with Alcoholics Anonymous... the designated 'alcoholic' and [often] a partner are labeled as 'codependent'. Such a label is triggered when you see expressed excessive needs to be taken care of, leading to submissive and clinging behavior and fear of separation.

Interdependence differs from Co-Dependence. What I'm saying here is that interdependence develops from a deep connectedness and intimate bonding. This profoundly satisfying sense of safety and secure functioning does not happen [with most couples] automatically. The development of interdependence happens when couples intentionally learn who is the other. What makes them tick. When and why they stop ticking. And how to soothe each other when the tick tocking becomes irregular or dysfunctional.

IV. HOW TO INTERDEPENDIZE YOURSELVES. [NB: Yes. I just made up that word. I like it because it captures the fact that to become, to be, an interdependent couple is a process. An ongoing process. Ah, perhaps a lifelong process. ]. Multiple psychological theories can be interwoven to give you an idea of how interdependence develops in a child in a healthy way.

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SEPARATING. INDIVIDUATING. "Separation-individuation" is a foundational conception in psychology. Margaret Mahler developed this idea as a theory based on infant and toddler observations in her NYC clinic in the late 1950's. In order to become our own "individual" self, we need to "separate" from the adults who raised us. The process starts on a physical basis when the toddler learns to walk upright on his own two feet. Wow, I can walk away from Mom/Dad.

Add ATTACHMENT THEORY to this picture. The more securely attached the toddler is to his primary caretaker[s], i.e. the less ambivalent about this bond, the freer emotionally and physically he'll feel to explore his environment. A more securely attached toddler will typically scoot off and explore his surround, then touch back with Mom/Dad either visually or come back to connect physically, then scoot off again. A less securely attached toddler might cling to his caretaker, on the one hand, or on the other hand play alone in what looks like a mechanical way. The balance of coming and going is what's crucial.

STAGE THEORIES. Other stage theories emphasize a similar balance of coming and going. To and Fro. In and Out. Up and down. You get the idea. All stage theories in psychology that I can think of embrace some aspect of this Ying/Yang... Loss is built in: in order to move forward, you must leave something behind.

JEAN PIAGET. The cognitive psychologist began in the 1930's to talk about how childrens' thinking differed inherently from that of adults. He noted that when you take in something new you modify it. ["Assimilate" then "accommodate".] Thus growth happens when a child changes an object to meet his needs. But his mental structures also adapt to newness by changing to meet environmental needs. Yin Yang.

ERIK ERIKSON. Another example. In the 1950's he developed 8 psychosocial stages of development from birth to death. And his wife and collaborator Joan Erikson added a 9th stage. In each stage, you confront, struggle, then master new challenges. The conflict between individual biological forces and sociocultural forces needs to be negotiated. A toddler in Stage 2 [ages 1-3] eventually masters autonomy over his body thereby avoiding the shame and doubt brought on by his loss of control over his body.

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SIGMUND FREUD. Even earlier, starting at the turn of the 20thcentury, Freud was writing about the predictable psychosexual stages whereby children's interest and behavior focused on specific body parts as they matured, e.g. the mouth during breast-feeding, the anus during toilet-training. Disappointment or failure [e.g. due to physical dysfunction, parental or societal disapproval] might mean you stopped ["fixated"] at a particular stage, left unresolved and preoccupied with issues related to an earlier erogenous zone and psychological themes.

V. YOU AND YOUR COUPLE UNIT. What does this theoretical background mean for you? For your relationship? I believe that relationships progress in stages too. In a Yin-Yang, In and Out process. So take the pulse of your Interdependent Couple Unit. Do you have complementary or similar strengths? [ You make dinner. I'll clean up. I'll put the kids to bed tonight, if you do those bills]. Do you have similar or different anxieties? Emotional triggers? How well do you know one another? esp. your own and your partner's attachment style ... which means you know when to lean in to soothe the other... and when to lean back to give the other space.
People demonstrate in the street as police cars pass outside the Triple S convenience store in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Alton Sterling, 37, was shot and killed outside the store by Baton Rouge police, where he was selling CDs. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Yesterday, Alton Sterling was executed by a police officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The video of the encounter is gruesome, and it should shake you to your core, no matter the color of your skin. The police tackled him to the ground, pinned him and shot him at close range. By definition, this is an extrajudicial killing. It's not dissimilar to what happened to Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Mike Brown, Sandra Bland, Rekia Boyd and a long line of Black people who have lost their lives at the hands of a corrupt and racist criminal justice system. We know their names, and it's up to us to say them.

I feel an extraordinary amount of anger and sadness today, but that pain cannot compare to what our Black friends and colleagues are experiencing. As a White person, I will never know the extent of this sort of pain. I can, however, offer some modest advice to other White folks who are trying to figure out how to be good allies on a day like today.

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1. If you're White, don't look to your friends of color for answers today. If you haven't already grappled with the extent to which our criminal justice system -- from the police to prosecutors to prisons -- treats Black people differently than they treat you, today is not the day to start reaching out. If you're eager to learn, talk to other White people who have been engaged in this work, as one of their primary roles as allies is to lessen the burden that people of color have for the education process around issues of justice. Now also is a good time to do some independent reading and research. If data moves you, read Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow, which catalogues the extent to which the American criminal justice system disproportionately, and unjustly, punishes Black people. Once you've spent some time educating yourself, then you should have some conversations with friends of color, but you should spend most of the time listening to them.

2. What happened to Alton Sterling is, in fact, about race. If you are tempted to change the subject to something else, please resist that urge. Police kill Black people at a rate disproportionate to both criminal activity and their presence in the population at large. Campaign Zero has done an extraordinary job of cataloging both the extent of this problem, and its relationship to race. What happened to Alton Sterling does not happen to White people.

3. Be aware of a few standard, and racist, media tropes about Black victims. In the wake of police executions, you are bound to hear a few things that distract from the real issues. One of those storylines is that "he was no angel," wherein the media will outline the various ways in which the victim behaved inappropriately in the past. None of this matters, and it certainly does not change the fact that the police killed the person outside of any legal process. I smoked pot when I was in high school, for example, and if the police used that as justification to murder me, that would be ludicrous. The second narrative that will emerge is that the killing of Alton Sterling is part of the "Ferguson effect," wherein police killings are linked to increases in crime. This is not true, as there is no statistical connection between local crime rates and police killings:

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They'll say black people are killed by police because of "crime" when there's no correlation between the two issues. pic.twitter.com/VaY4zNMKlX  Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) July 6, 2016

The final storyline to avoid believing is the notion that the real problem is "Black on Black" crime. Bringing this up is an attempt to change the subject away from the extrajudicial killing of Black people by the police. Not to mention, the vast majority of crimes are committed within racial groups, so "White on White" crime is just as prevalent as "Black on Black" crime.

4. As a White person, you are in a unique position to influence the perspectives of other White people. If the illegal killing of Black people by the police bothers you, as it should, talk to your White friends about it. There are many nuances and ambiguities in institutional racism, but the police committing murder is not one of them. In many cases, having these conversations will not be easy. The more you talk about race, however, the easier it will become. You might even change some minds, particularly among family members. If you're already spending time talking to other White people about race, now is a good time to help other White people develop their skills.

It is never too late to make a personal commitment to being a more active ally in the movement for Black lives. A year ago this month, folks were fighting to take down the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol, after the massacre at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. A year ago this month we started wondering what happened to Sandra Bland. Correcting these injustices is the work of generations, not years or months. If you're a White person on the sidelines, we need you in the fight. Please raise your voice, particularly today.
July 7, 2016

Two major news stories here in the U.S., both chilling, point out how readily U.S. authorities will murder people based on race and the slightest possibility of a threat to those in places of power.

On July 5th Baton Rouge police killed Anton Sterling in a Louisiana parking lot. Sterling was a 37-year-old Black father of five selling CDs outside of a local store. As captured on widely seen cellphone video, two officers tased him, held him with their hands and knees down on the ground and then shot him multiple times at close range. The officers pulled a gun out of Sterling's pocket after they had killed him but witnesses say Sterling was not holding the gun and his hands were never near his pockets. The situation might have escalated further but clearly little concern was shown for the sanctity of a human life deemed a threat to officers. In the witness-recorded video one officer promises, "If you f---ing move, I swear to God!"

Police departments in the U.S. often arrest and all too often kill citizens on U.S. streets based on "racial profiling," Young men of certain demographics are targeted based on their "patterns of behavior" for confrontations in which officers' safety trumps any concern for the safety of suspects, and which easily ramp up to killing.

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And so it is abroad. The week's other chilling news involved the long-promised release of U.S. government data on drone strikes and civilian deaths. The report covered four countries with which the U.S. is not at war. From 2009 through 2015 in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya the U.S. admits to its drone strikes having killed between 64 and 116 civilians, although these numbers are only a small fraction of even the most conservative estimates on such deaths made by credible independent reporters and researchers over the same period. With U.S. definitions of a "combatant" constantly in flux, many of the 2,372 to 2,581 "combatants" the government reports killed over the same period will have certainly been civilian casualties. Few eyes in the U.S. watch for cellphone video from these countries, and so the executing officers' versions of events are often all that matters.

In June 2011 CIA Director John Brennan stated there hadn't been "a single collateral death" caused by drone strikes over the previous eighteen months. Ample reportage showed this statistic was a flat lie. Marjorie Cohn notes that what little we know of President Obama's 2013 policy guidelines (still classified) for decreasing civilian deaths is inconsistent even on the point of a known target having been present. Many strikes are targeted at areas of suspicious activity with no idea of who is present.

As Philip Giraldi notes, a March 2015 Physicians for Social Responsibility report claims that more (perhaps far more) than 1.3 million people were killed during the first ten years of the "Global War on Terror" in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Adding Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen, he finds the current total might easily exceed 2 million with some estimates credibly going to 4 or beyond. He fears the data released July 1st will end up normalizing the drone program, writing: "The past 15 years have institutionalized and validated the killing process. President Clinton or Trump will be able to do more of the same, as the procedures involved are 'completely legal' and likely soon to be authorized under an executive order."

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The July 1st data minimizes civilian deaths by limiting itself to countries with which the U.S. is not at war. But the United States' drone arsenal is precisely designed to project violence into areas miles from any battlefield where arrest, not assassination would before have been considered both feasible and morally indispensable in dealing with suspects accused of a crime. U.S. figures do not count untold numbers of civilians learning to fear the sky, in formerly peaceful areas, for weapons that might be fired without warning. The drones take away the very idea of trials and evidence, of the rule of law, making the whole world a battlefield.

In the U.S. neighborhoods where people like Alton Sterling most risk summary execution, residents cannot be faulted for concluding that the U.S.' government and society don't mind treating their homes as warzones; that lives of innocent people caught up in these brutal wars do not matter provided the safety and property of the people outside, and of the people sent in to quell disorder, are rigorously protected.

My friends and sometime hosts in Afghanistan, the Afghan Peace Volunteers, run a school for street kids, and a seamstress program to distribute thick blankets in the winter. They seek to apply Mohandas Gandhi's discipline of letting a determination to keep the peace show them the difficult work needed to replace battlefields with community. Their resources are small and they live in a dangerous city at a perilous time. Their work does little, to say the least, to ensure their safety. They aim to put the safety of their most desperate neighbors first. It makes no-one safer to make our cities and the world a battlefield. The frenzied concern for our safety and comfort driving so much of our war on the Middle East has made our lives far more dangerous. Can we ask ourselves: which has ever brought a peaceful future nearer to people in Afghan or U.S. neighborhoods- weaponized military and surveillance systems or the efforts of concerned neighbors seeking justice? Gigantic multinational "defense" systems gobble up resources, while programs intended for social well-being are cut back. The U.S. withholds anything like the quantity of resources needed for the task of healing the battle scar the U.S. and NATO have inflicted on so much of the Muslim world. If our fear is endless, how will these wars ever end? We have to face that when the U.S. acts as self-appointed "global policeman," what it does to poor nations resembles what those two officers did to Alton Sterling. We must temper selfish and unreasonable fears for our own safety with the knowledge that others also want safe and stable lives. We must build community by lessening inequality. We must swear off making the world our battlefield and be appalled to hear the U.S. government seem to tell the world "I will kill you if you f---ing move."

Kathy Kelly (kathy@vcnv.org) co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vcnv.org).
Beyond playing a critical role in solving some of the most pressing challenges of our time, volunteering is also lauded for the benefits it also bestows upon the giver. Studies highlight that volunteering makes people feel wealthier, happier, healthier, and even time rich.

More recent claims also share that people develop soft and technical skills through volunteering; with leadership, collaboration, and innovation being some of the most frequently mentioned.

Indeed, in the programs we manage, we see consistent skill development being reported by the very people that are also solving real world challenges. However, we are the first to highlight that there is a right and wrong way to volunteer to both ensure a real impact is being made AND that skills are being developed by the volunteer. We call this Experteering.

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Microsoft developer Anand Mariappan, center, works with local tech-startup employees in Kampala, Uganda as part of Microsoft's International Skills-based Volunteering Program - MySkills4Afrika (Mariappan)

"...employees who practiced specific skills more often during their volunteering experience reported greater improvements in those skill" "Improvements in some skills were higher among employee volunteers who completed a greater number of pre-volunteering preparation courses" "...must include meaningful work that takes volunteers outside their comfort zone"

Designing Effective Volunteering Programs

At MovingWorlds, we're thrilled to see this new and rigorous research as it strongly enforces our own

for connecting people to Experteering projects overseas:

They must be real projects identified by local operators They are skills-based projects Experteers must go through a thorough planning process, which includes learning, goal setting, and reflection They focus on timely completion, transferring skills, AND long-term sustainability

To teach is to learn twice: Ashanka, pictured here, is teaching strategy skills and process. (Photo by Ashanka Iddya, also featured in SSIR article: Optimizing International Corporate Volunteer Programs)

The benefits of skills-based volunteering are indeed vast, and this is why we see companies gravitating to more skills-based volunteer programs. This is a very important shift for the world at large, too. One of the leading barriers to progress is a lack of access to talent, so when people volunteer their real skills, they're doing more to solve the biggest challenges of our time. According to David:

"While more research is needed to better understand how to best promote employee skill development through volunteering, it seems clear that corporate volunteering programs can lead to a win-win-win for employers, employees and the communities they serve."

However, David also warns that many corporations do not follow this formula

"Many other settings in which employees volunteer do not include all three, or even any, of these conditions. Some are largely limited to one-day events where employees pick up garbage or raise money for a cause they didn't choose to support."

While day-of volunteer events might make for OK publicity, they create very little impact for volunteers, and often times even less for the organizations they try to support.

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As we shared in Fast Company, programs needs to be designed around the people they engage. While these "human centered" programs were once more challenging to launch, technological and process innovations, like the MovingWorlds system, make it easy to manage and scale programs like this.
Ukraine and Russia are seeking a format of returning Ukrainian prisoners staying in Crimea within the framework of diplomatic negotiations under a formula similar to the one used in exchange of political prisoners between the two countries, Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko has said.

"Now these are closed diplomatic negotiations under a similar formula used in exchange of our political prisoners. We are considering an option for a simple physical transfer of those who expressed desire to serve his sentence in the territory of Ukraine," he told journalists in Kyiv.

The minister also noted the "Savchenko law" should be applied to part of Ukrainian citizens staying in prisons in Crimea and "some of them have to be released ahead of time."

"Now the main issue is what transfer mechanism will be determined with that party," Petrenko stressed.

He admitted that could be "a separate exchange with written commitments that we provide guarantees for their safety and take to the territory of Ukraine." The convention on extradition of convicts to serve their sentences could be also applied, the minister said. But Ukraine does not agree on this option because it considers Crimea to be Ukrainian territory, while the convention provides for transfer of convicted persons from the territory of another state.
RALEIGH, NC - JULY 5: Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump motions to the crowd while leaving the stage after a campaign event at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts on July 5, 2016 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Earlier in the day Hillary Clinton campaigned in Charlotte, North Carolina with President Barack Obama. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

We find ourselves four months before a crucial presidential election here in the United States.

This along with the time honored tradition of seeing both parties throwing everything they can to gain public favor.

Donald Trump though has opted to work from a style only becoming of personified "me" - this has been achieved between the concepts of building walls around our borders to the deportation of illegal aliens as demonstrated time and again that HIS goals are strictly for personal gain -- not to those of the benefit for those who he stands to represent.

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With the tragedies in Orlando, Turkey and Bangladesh taking the forefront of news wires we hear him talk about implementing waterboarding to his repertoire of resistance breaking techniques.

All while many of the millennial voters who attend the rallies have proven online and through interviews their too limited knowledge of our United States history along with political experience on the global state of affairs.

Too many on this critical issue to America, just passing our Independence Day, have never known not too long ago a generation where threats of Austrian leaders spoke of radical reform for that country in which adopting those policies would "make it better" for all and soon by building walls and killing families at the cost of six millions lives lost.

Today, our European allies currently view Donald Trump as a farce making our Country too often resemble a bastard child hidden in the shadows of society.

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Please note, Donald Trump is a man who openly stated he encouraged that the families of terrorists be executed as well -- in complete contradiction of the Geneva Convention. If an American government were to undertake measures such as this one, every treaty this Country is a signatory to being a part of comes into question.

The year is 2016 and the United States has already implemented a series of social movements which have helped to solidify itself to the world as once again being a leader of moral leadership.

How and why?

Many reasons exist but let's examine purely good works by America.

Science and research have created technology to drive a growing economy for generations.

Yes -- Industry has forced America to globalize.

Yes -- Many Americans have become wealthy.

Just as America has lost jobs, it should not be lost that many live far better off globally for ensuring for humane labor standards abroad.

Unless that this, you have the last name Trump. Then opportunity is an education course away history would have you believe.

Even certain states have raised the minimum wage. More states will.

And it is expensive for business. It's also more expensive not to pay the American worker, who gets up daily, does the job to not earn a living wage more.

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People should recall that many of our senior citizens and those past fought valiantly on the shores of Europe hoping to prevent the idealism branded by the Nazi party from spreading worldwide. Today their grandchildren have walked over that sacrifice ten fold by supporting words which although spoken in modern context resonate from similar suspicions and views over seventy years ago.

How far does Trump wish to take us?

How many more lives will be at risk if we blindly follow and support views that violate every known treatment of prisoners to begin with?

Not to mention of course the ramification and retributions which would bound to follow suit should he become president and implement these policies to our forces.

Donald Trump knows how to capture the attention of his audience (look at the ratings for the Apprentice) but his promises have time and again resulted in let downs and failure (Remember Trump Airlines?) and although he paints himself as the next greatest leader by "taking care of our Veterans" without any policy specifics whatsoever.

Rather than uniting us together as a great nation if elected, this country will be beyond divided internally. America in the views of the UN will become the brunt of jokes and cause for concern of war crimes trials. For those who like the idea of waterboarding -- please refer to geography and remember that certain countries follow "an eye for an eye" which we too are slowly moving towards unless we recognize the truth for what it is.

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The truth of the matter is that when headed to the voting booth on election day, Americans need to know this country will not survive a Donald Trump presidency.
Many friends in my circle had the first seaside experience in Montenegro. For those of us who originate from Serbia, the story of our Montenegro travels would sound something like this: first with parents and then with friends we would glide all the way southern on bumby Serbian roads while we made an obligatory late break in Zlatibor mountain motels to taste grill delciacies and refresh ourselves. Travelling on the plane is of course possible, but it does not enable us to experience this synaesthesia of flavours, movements, sounds and images.

Then several hours later we would wake up a bit stiff from lying on the bus or car seat but grinning like the dawn in front of us. We are almost there: the Adriatic sea awaits us and we could see through the window all the best of it: the sparkling water, the gorgeous beaches, the exotic trees dancing slightly in the breeze, and the narrow road in front of us, just in the middle of mountainous landscape, magnificent yet prone to erosion.

This time the Balkan travelling experience had the similar charm, but our intention for travelling included something extra than simply sunbathing and swimming: the 4th Spark.me conference in Montenegro brought 500 participants from the region and beyond who are committed about digital innovation and business.

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The cherry on the top was the keynote speech of Brian Solis who does not need any particular introduction. With his insightful writing and curiousity about cutting-edge innovation Brian became a sought-after keynote speaker and best-selling author yet he describes himself in these words, ''There's no time to be guru, there's too much to learn. I spend all my time being a student.''

You can watch entire Brian's speech here thanks to the courtesy of fantastic Spark.me organizing team.

Brian defines himself as a digital analyst, anthropologist, and futurist. Thus, such cross-section between technology and sciences (both social and natural ones) is what the leaders in the 21st century need, while they do not need to be called leaders at all.

One of my bookshelf priorities is his new book X where he created a reading experience for the audience with the current 6-minute attention spans and who consumes content through microblogging. ''In 2016 attention spans of our teenagers are 60 seconds.'' For those reasons there are no typical table of contents and there are no wordy sentences in X, making it the ultimate epitomy of customer experience.

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Here are 20 quotes of Brian Solis that resonated most with me during Spark.me 2016. I am certain they will #LightUpYourSpark, as well.

1)If you wait for somebody to tell you what to do, you are on the wrong end of the innovation.

2)We got new technology but we do the same s**t. We need more people doing crazy s**t. It is us that prevents us. We tend to allow things to stop us from changing.

3)You are early adopters. What takes to reach you now is different than yesterday. We are all in control of experiences we have.

4)You are who you are trying to reach.

5)Once you have felt a personalized experience it becomes a new standard for you.

6)You always have to be learning and the greatest part of it is to unlearn.

7)How deeply is tech engrained in our lives?

8)On the other side there is a person and when I realize that I try to understand and give something unique.

9)The people we try to reach have created an ego-system. We are all becoming digital introverts who have forgotten how to communicate in real life.

10)On average people look at their phones 1500 times each week. We are 177 minutes on the phone per day. Think about ways how it reprograms our brains.





11)It all boils down to creating an experience people will share.

12)Embrace the moment when you have my attention and I have yours.

13)We see the world as we are.

14)Micro moments: People are looking ay YouTube videos; be useful, relevant and engaging in the moments that matter. Life is always on and the experiences are always on. Storytelling -> Experience architecture -> User-centric design.

15) Design is art optimized to meet objectives. For my daughter a magazine is an ipad that does not work.

16)How can objects be different? Remote controls, the save icon, the book and the conference. When you try to answer this question think about, ''What is somebody trying to do and how do they process the information?''

17)Find people who will celebrate your ideas.

18) #dontquityourdaydream

19)In the world full of machines humanity is the killer app.

20)What is logical to you it is not logical to somebody else. Speak the language of your tribe.

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Let me know in the comments section how you liked the article. If you have the opportunity to listen to Brian Solis live, take the chance.

What are your favourite innovation resources, networks and conferences?
The world that your parents grew up in is no more.

Gone are the days of graduating from college and working one job for 40 years until you can collect your pension.

Things don't work like that anymore.

In 2016, the modern job world is fast-paced and rapidly changing. Potential employers care more about efficiency and skill than the years of experience under your belt.

Now, more than ever before, we live in a world where the market rewards passion more than anything else. Whether you are "pursuing your passion" or bringing your passion to your pursuits, the modern market pays for this handsomely.

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So with that in mind, here are 4 pieces of essential career advice tips for all of your millennials out there.

1. Travel.

While this may seem like a counterintuitive first tip for an article giving career advice, it is not.

Let me explain.

We live in a society where people are expected to have the next 50 years of their life planned out by the time they are 22. I all honesty, most people hardly know what they want to do tomorrow.

Traveling, especially to third world and developing countries will expose you to new cultures, new ways of living, and teach you more about yourself.

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Travel expands your personality, and gives you time to find a career path you'll truly enjoy, more so than if you immediately took a job out of college.

In the big scheme of things, no one is going to turn you down for a job because you spent a year backpacking through Thailand and Vietnam, volunteering and building shelters.

But that one year may teach you something about yourself that changes the whole trajectory of your life.

2. Base your job off of your personality, not the paycheck.

If you're an introvert who prefers tinkering with computers, why in the world would you apply for a job as a salesman?

Conversely, if you are a die hard extrovert and love spending time with people and discussing new ideas, why in the world would you try and become a legal analyst?

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While our education system encourages the idea that everyone should be standardized and should fit into neat little boxes, this is far from the truth.

People have very different personalities and have a propensity to lean towards different things.

Take a career test to figure out who you are and what you enjoy doing. Base your job off of that.

In the end, no amount of money will make you happy if you are doing a job that is completely incongruent with who you are as a person.

3. Don't be afraid to be broke.

Society has built up this image of success in all of our minds that involves 25 year olds driving Lamborghinis and throwing yacht parties after a huge IPO where they made $25,000,000 from 18 months of work.

While that occasionally happens, this should not be the stick that you measure yourself by.

Your 20s are a time to try new things. To start a business and fail. To take a job you don't know if you can handle and see how you do. To leave home and volunteer in Africa for 2 years.

When you look back on your 20s, you will never regret marching to the beat of a different drummer. You will likely never look back on amazing experiences wishing you had given them up to earn more money.

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For most people, their 20's are the time in their life where they have the fewest responsibilities and the most freedom. Take advantage of this, and don't let the fear of losing money hold you back.

4. Try your hand at entrepreneurship.

Now more than ever, millennials are claiming that they want to be entrepreneurs.

They want the fast paced action of working on a startup, growing their dream, and pushing through adversity until they reach success. Who can blame them?

Entrepreneurship is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things a person can do. The gratification you get from growing your business from a small 1-person website into a national powerhouse is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

However, you have to act!

You see, when Bentley University surveyed millennials, they found that 66% want to be entrepreneurs. Since 2013, however, only 4% of businesses have been owned by someone under 30!

If you want to be an entrepreneur, then do it now! Don't wait until "someday," because that day never comes.

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The worst that can happen is it fails, you learn something and have a valuable skill set to take with you to your next venture.

At best, you start the business of your dreams and spend the rest of your life working on something you love and never having to worry about money again.

I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty good tradeoff to me.

Conclusion

Millennials live in an amazing time.

Never before in history has one of the richest people in the world been under 30 years old and self made.

Never before has a college dropout been able to travel the world and build a multi-six figure business while doing it.

Never before has there been so much upside to entrepreneurship with so many downsides, and never before has there been a market that not only allows people to make a living fortune doing something they were passionate about, but actively encourages them to do it.

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You live in an amazing time, and it is up to you to make the most of it.
The following is one in a series of adapted excerpts from "America's Other Army: The U.S. Foreign Service and 21st-Century Diplomacy."

Anjalina Sen is a diplomat of a peculiar kind. She finds diplomatic receptions "a bit more onerous than sleeping in a bamboo hut for a week." It makes sense, then, that she has spent her nine years in the Foreign Service so far working mostly on refugee issues.

"We do a lot of business at receptions, but the field work I do is phenomenal," she said. "Talking to refugees about their experience, their hopes and dreams, and figuring out how to bring that up with our policy -- that's what gets me really excited. I'm often in refugee camps, so I spend a lot of time in flip flops. I don't like wearing a suit."

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Born to a Canadian mother and an Indian father, Sen grew up in Brazil, Mexico and Portugal. After working on Wall Street, she made what seemed a natural career choice for someone with her cosmopolitan upbringing.

Soon after joining the Foreign Service, she found herself in the middle of the now-infamous passport crisis of 2007, when new entry requirements for Americans traveling to Canada and other countries in the Western Hemisphere caused a huge flood of passport applications, overwhelming the State Department. In a very unusual move, Sen and most of her entry-level colleagues were assigned to an emergency task force to help ease the load.

"We didn't have enough computers and had to hand-adjudicate passport applications," she said. "But it was a great bonding experience, and I'm still really close with the people I was on that task force with."

After her mandatory consular tour, which she spent in Guangzhou, China, Sen became a refugee officer in Bangkok. That was the start of a career path that is highly unusual even in an already unusual organization like the Foreign Service. While most officers try to take a variety of assignments over the course of their careers, Sen has stayed true to refugee work ever since, helping to protect refugees across Asia and the Middle East, and to resettle some of them in the United States.

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"I see my job as translating cultures and negotiating to find similarities," she said. "We do a lot of monitoring and evaluation. The U.S. is usually the largest donor in the camps I visit, so we fund nutrition, medical services, preventative and curative healthcare, water and sanitation, gender-based anti-violence and other programs. We don't get out and tell the story very much. We do humanitarian work, but we don't benefit from it necessarily."

In addition to the humanitarian reasons, Washington spends significant resources to help refugees -- regardless of whether they end up in the United States -- out of concern that large camps full of desperate people with no prospects and decent living conditions could ignite violence and cause regional instability.



According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were more than 65 million forcibly displaced people worldwide in 2015. Among them were more than 21 million refugees, over half of whom were under the age of 18. That same year, U.S. government data shows that the United States admitted nearly 70,000 refugees, most of whom were from Burma and Iraq. Washington was criticized for accepting only 1,682 Syrians in 2015.

Sen said the process of designating displaced people as refugees and resettling them is rather long. "We have several bars to meet before we can even consider sending them to the U.S.," she explained. "UNHCR has the international mandate, and individuals enter the process as persons of concern. Then they become asylum-seekers, go through refugee status determination, and then get the refugee designation. However, that doesn't mean they are refugees under U.S. law quite yet -- for that to happen, UNHCR has to formally refer a person for resettlement, and then the Department of Homeland Security has to make a decision on admissibility to the United States."



Throughout that lengthy and uncertain process, those displaced people need protection and assistance, and that's where Sen and her colleagues come in. "We are in a situation where no one is willing to speak for these people but us," she said. After Thailand, she was posted to Iraq, followed by a public diplomacy assignment in Colombia. But she missed refugee work and left Bogota early, eventually returning to Iraq and then heading to Lebanon. She will be dealing with refugees again for the next three years in Turkey, beginning later this summer.

As hierarchical as a government bureaucracy is, Sen sees significant change for the better in the Foreign Service -- especially in her line of work -- compared to other countries' diplomatic institutions. "I have family in the Indian Foreign Service, and it's so hierarchical," she said. "When I look at my counterparts, it's very much about your rank. Here, it's about getting the work done, and I feel empowered."

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For a long time, Sen was concerned that her personal life might suffer because of her work. She was in a long-term relationship when she joined the Foreign Service, but during her first tour in China, her boyfriend was able to come only as a tourist on short-term visas. Employment was out of the question. "We had different ideas about what we wanted our lives to look like," and the relationship ended, she said.

"Many of us join the service as double-income families, but then all of a sudden we drop to a single income -- and it's often the lower income," said Sen, who was single for about six years until 2015, when she met her current boyfriend, an American, in Lebanon.

"In most cases, we have partners who are just as educated and motivated, and we are asking them to sit out on their career for lengthy periods of time," she said. "That aspect of Foreign Service life is very difficult."
"Making mistakes humbles you and allows you to learn," Dr. Patricia Rekawek advises the residents as she addresses the Mount Sinai Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science on graduation night. As an incoming wave of newly-minted doctors arrives to enter the grueling grind of residency, this group of seven trained physicians is departing to begin their careers.

Brought together by a shared passion for women's health, through 24-hour shifts and late-night takeout, Dr. Rekawek, Dr. Whitney Booker, Dr. Rachel Carroll, Dr. Sara Farag, Dr. Alicia Robbins, Dr. Ann Tran, and Dr. Shannon Wallace hail from the four corners of the globe - from South Africa and Libya to California and Queens. They have made New York City their home for the past four years as they learned the art of obstetrics and gynecology. Beyond patient care, one of their most important duties as chief residents was the training of junior residents, and I have been a grateful beneficiary of their mentorship throughout my intern year.



"Scalpel." Dr. Wallace calls for the instrument and the nurse presents me with a knife. I take it and, for the first time, I press the blade against the patient's taut skin. The edges part with ease and reveal a network of blood vessels, membranes, and fat. We work meticulously through the layers of the abdomen, finally approaching the uterus - the shelter to the new life about to emerge. My hands are shaky and inexperienced and my mind is untrained. Yet Dr. Wallace guides me through each step, patiently waiting for my needle to pierce the muscle in the right place, for my forceps to grasp the right tissue. Anticipating my next move, using two hands simultaneously to retract tissue and cut suture, suctioning fluid and tying knots to make it look easy for me - this is the mark of a good surgeon. Dr. Wallace started in my position and now, four years later, she is a confident surgeon, a master of her craft.



Two months later I'm fighting fatigue at 3 o'clock in the morning when I hear hysterical crying from a woman rapidly approaching my door. "I'm losing my baby!" she screams, and I jump up to assess her. "How many weeks pregnant are you? What number pregnancy is this? Are you bleeding?" I quickly ask as I put on gloves to examine her. My heart sinks after I learn she is 16 weeks along in her first pregnancy and I feel a tiny head protruding from her dilated cervix.

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I call Dr. Robbins to let her know the patient is having a miscarriage as we wheel her down the hall. The labor floor erupts in chaotic chatter as the nurses quickly work to obtain vital signs, draw blood, and place an IV, and I reflexively raise my own volume to comfort the patient through her desperate sobs. Dr. Robbins walks calmly into the room and, within minutes, establishes a comforting, compassionate rapport with our anguishing mother. Her sobs subside and her breathing evens. With intelligent responses in understandable language, Dr. Robbins provides reassurance and hope for the young woman, as she answers the inevitable question, "Why is this happening to me?" I'm impressed with the genuine concern and the compassionate bedside manner she has developed despite the challenging hours and workload of the past four years.



This is the process of residency: through diligent work and repetitive practice we hone our skills to become competent physicians. Residents are the first doctors to see each patient in the emergency department, and we assess whether they are healthy or sick. Residents read CT scans and MRIs to determine whether cancer has spread. We perform surgeries and deliver babies.
Beauty and the Brain: Five ways a Daily Yoga Practice Has Helped to Heal Brain Injury

One year ago at thirty-five years old, I suffered a Post-Partum Stroke. An Acute Subarachnoid Hemorrhage; otherwise known as a brain bleed. I lost my vision, left side function, and the ability to enjoy being alert and present with my brand new baby daughter. The months following my stroke I was hit with the aftershocks of PTSD, Anxiety, Post-Partum Depression, and general fear and loathing throughout my body. I sought healing out through the traditional channels of therapy, support groups, regular doctor visits and the like; and I attribute the beginning of my journey toward healing to those first steps. The real change and deep healing occurred when I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try alternatives on for a change. So I started with Yoga. I was weak and fractured physically and mentally the day I stepped onto the mat for the first time. I could barely make it through the class; and I became aware of just how far I had fallen away from my own body. But something kept bringing me back...and within a few weeks I had established a daily practice. No matter what the day held, I made it a priority to show up on the mat and face all those events and issues that had at one time paralyzed me.

Lisa Bertke, the owner and operator of Prana Yoga where I was attending classes noticed my dedication. I told her of my journey through brain injury and the struggles I encountered in the aftermath, and she encouraged me to continue my practice; assuring me that yoga could indeed heal and transform my life. Curious to know exactly how a yoga practice could change my brain and body I asked her to sit down and allow me to interview her. She granted me her time and here are five ways that yoga can change the brain, body, and soul.

1.Asana (the poses)

I wanted to know how these poses and movements had anything to do with the mind. What did the physical activity have to do with balancing the mental activity? Through my practice and through speaking with her I came to learn that these poses are the beginning of the journey. Moving the body and breath through poses brings the focus inward. B.K.S. Iyengar says that the poses are inherent concerning mental stability. Stretching and breathing from the center of the body outward toward the extremities moves prana (life force) to all the parts of the body. Calming the nervous system and bringing life and energy to the body on a cellular level. We cannot have a balanced mind without a balanced body. So the asanas are the starting point on a journey inward. I always thought that clarity started with me and extended outward into the world; my theory was turned around as I practiced the poses. Clarity starts with the physical body, and goes inward toward the inner sheaths of our body; and if properly focused can bring us through the sheaths to our true self.

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2. Pain

The pain and struggle of the Asanas are nothing to be afraid of, neither should they be dismissed. Physical pain can become a teacher. When I wobble and topple and stretch to my edge I am bringing awareness into places that at one point were previously ignored. There is good pain and bad pain. Bad pain of course should be addressed and then corrected as to prevent injury. But the pain of pushing deeper into a pose, stretching with breath a bit deeper, sweat dripping and legs shaking to establish strength should be welcomed. That pain has helped to dissolve my anxiety and pacify my mind. It has built mental fortitude in a once shaky and disturbed mind. The pain has brought me deeper inside this broken body and been a healing balm for the corners of my consciousness.

3. Pranayama (Breath Work)

I was the poster child for panic attacks. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard "just breathe" throughout my life and how many times I have disregarded that advice. How in the world does breathing do anything for me when I am spiraling down into the depths of fear and anxiety? I used to consider breathing as a distraction from fear; now I realize that breath is the very essence of courage. Through breath work I have lowered my blood pressure, built lung capacity, and balanced the left and right side brain. A little bit of breath work every day has prevented me from having a panic attack in the past four months. And when I feel one coming on, I go straight to the tool box to pull out Pranayama to bring me through my fear.

4. Meditation

Again I was skeptical. Stop my thoughts? Sit without thinking? My mind is an anxiety autobahn, there was no way to still it, or so I thought. My first few attempts at meditation were just that. Thoughts swirling through my brain and the more I tried to stop them the more the spiraled deeper. Then through my practice and interviewing my teachers I learned that it is not about stopping thoughts; rather allowing them to pass through without grabbing onto them and riding them as they go on their crazy bull ride. To sit, see them, and allow them to do their dance, breathe, and move through back to calm and clarity of mind. I began to think of thoughts as ripples on the surface of a clear lake, eventually they subside as they flow out from the center. Calming and stilling my mind has probably been the most crucial tool in healing my brain. Meditation has allowed my brain to take a break, calmed the vessels and allowed positive grooves to take shape where there once were negative patterns. The wonderful thing about the brain is that it is always changing; and we can change our minds. We can let those old negative paths of patterns grow over and begin to set foot on a more positive trail; and the more we walk the trail of positivity, calm, joy, and quiet the clearer path becomes.

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5.Service

My practice of yoga has encouraged me to give back. All that I have reaped, I want to share with others. Yoga has allowed me to be more compassionate towards myself and those in and outside of my life. Humble practice of serving others is an ancillary benefit of learning compassion and can transform the brain as well. We can get outside of our ego where fear and panic reside, and allow our good natured selves to shine; even if it goes unnoticed. The subtle gifts we can share with ourselves and others have eternal benefits.
Why are incarceration rates in the US so high relative to other countries? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.

Answer by Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama, on Quora:

There is no question that the Zika virus is an emergency. It's why President Obama has been tracking it since the outbreak first surfaced in Brazil, and it's why he asked Congress to join him in his efforts to combat the spread of the virus since February. Mosquito season has now started, and the Obama administration is doing all it can to meet the needs of state and local health officials who are working to protect their communities.

There are almost 3,000 Americans who have confirmed cases of Zika. More than 500 pregnant women have evidence of being infected, and those are just the confirmed cases.

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Recognizing the urgent need, we've identified and redirected close to $600 million in funds as a stopgap measure to jumpstart time-critical activities, such as alerting healthcare providers and the public, providing public health laboratories with diagnostic tests, and investigating and reporting cases both domestically and internationally.

However, it is not enough to address the Zika threat. That's why, for five months now, President Obama has been asking Congress to do its part and provide emergency funding to help officials effectively implement necessary control measures. And yet, they have failed to act.

Without this funding, states and communities will not be able to hire as many responders to spray in locations where a mosquito transmission of Zika may have been reported. The development of a vaccine will be delayed. There will not be testing available for everyone who needs it, especially women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Congress must act now, pure and simple.

The President is briefed regularly on our efforts to combat the virus on the ground by his homeland security and public health teams - including Health and Human Services Secretary Burwell, the CDC's Director Dr. Frieden, and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci. In fact, the President was briefed just this morning. Here's what he said:

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"When there are emergencies, when there are public health emergencies, when we know that we have the chance to prevent serious tragedies in the lives of families and protect the health and safety of our populations, and particularly our children, then...politics need to be set aside. So Congress should not leave, should not adjourn until they have this done."
What has been widely-adopted by fifty four nations as a universal government-supported health care system was first proposed by a most unlikely arch-conservative, German autocrat in 1883. Today the success of such a health care model remains irrefutable -- except in the US.

Now recognized as the Father of the modern welfare state which included an old age pension (forerunner to Social Security), Germany's First Chancellor of a newly united nation, Otto von Bismarck, sought to avoid political unrest (such as the Paris Commune of 1871) as he shrewdly undercut the Socialists to win support of workers and stem the flow of immigrants to the US.

The concept of providing citizens with a compulsory national health care system actually dates back to Prussian conservatives of the 1840s who had strong social predispositions along with a sense of obligation to its citizenry. Unfortunately neither today's conservatives nor liberals in the US have exhibited a similar commitment to its people as those Prussian conservatives did over one hundred years ago.

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Since then, the US, which considers itself as the 'indispensable' nation, the world leader of all other nations, a health care-for-all-public option has been left to a for-profit insurance industry of modern-day fast talking, hucksters -- not unlike those who expected to profit from the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

After WWI, any effort to establish a government sponsored health care system in the US became a target for red-baiting associated with 'socialism' and "communism.'

In 1915 , the American Association of Labor Legislation (AALL) introduced a bill that would provide coverage to citizens earning less than $1200 annually with costs shared among the insured, employers and government. Even the American Medical Association (AMA) initially supported the AALL although later backing off as many of its state affiliates did not support the legislation. The commercial insurance industry opposed the AALL and the AFL (American Federation of Labor) objected to the compulsory requirement (contained in all universal health care plans) as akin to communism.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Social Security Act was forced to exclude a health care option to assure passage of SSA.

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The Wagner-Murray-Dingell bill of 1943 would have provided comprehensive compulsory health care for all funded by payroll taxes but was overwhelmed by opposition from the AMA, American Bar Association, American Dental Association, Chamber of Commerce, American Hospital Association, Protestant and Catholic Hospitals and the American Farm Bureau.

In 1945, California Governor Earl Warren attempted to create a state sponsored health care program that was also blocked by the opposition.

Even as the 1948 campaign saw a landslide of Democrats elected to the 81st Congress, President Harry S. Truman's proposal for a bold comprehensive health care insurance plan for all American citizens was predictably defeated.

It took a Rhode Island Congressman in 1958 to focus on health care for the elderly which dramatically shifted the debate, pitting the AMA and insurance industry against senior citizens and members of the public who expected to someday become senior citizens.

As a result of compromise with the medical and insurance industries, Medicare/Medicaid were adopted in 1965 with former President Truman being awarded the first Medicare card. Although Medicare was not the all-inclusive thorough insurance plan Truman had envisioned, it has become (with its imperfections) a model of progressive health care enjoying enormous public support proving that capitalism did not collapse with a government-sponsored health care system.

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At this point, it is worth mention that Canada also had no health care system for its citizens until the province of Saskatchewan stepped up in the early 1960's and adopted their version of what the Prussians had done the century before. Once the success in Saskatchewan was evident, other provinces adopted their public health care program as Canadians took to the streets and began an impassioned, vigorous national campaign, until the government acquiesced. Voila -- the Canadian Health Care System was born in 1984.

The Affordable Care Act was adopted in 2010 by a Democratically controlled Congress with the House of Representatives Progressive caucus vowing to never, ever vote for anything but a 'public option.' One by one they caved, having been persuaded that their new President's ability to function was at stake. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh) was the last holdout. So again as before, politics was more important than providing the public with a functioning health care system.

With the health insurance industry standing prominently between the patient and their health care, the ACA's promise of "comprehensive reforms that improve access to affordable health coverage for everyone and protect consumers from abusive insurance company practices" has not lived up to the hype. As the fourth ACA enrollment period is scheduled to begin November 1st, its stability as a viable entity on which the public may rely for constant, reliable health care insurance remains questionable with double-digit premium increases, market withdrawal by some insurance providers and a reduction in services indicate that the Act has not stabilized sufficiently four years after implementation.

It comes as little surprise that a recent Health and Human Services report identified a 1.6 million 'drop out' rate of those who had signed up for subsidized coverage but failed to follow through with a paid premium. With eleven million participants still in the plan, enrollment has been lower than anticipated, customers have had more ailments than anticipated; thereby lowering insurance company profits more than anticipated.

In addition, the Kaiser Family Foundation's recent "Analysis of 2017 Premium Changes" found "steep" premium increases nation-wide. The Analysis, which focused on the lowest cost silver plans in thirteen US cities as the plan most often chosen by consumers, cited Denver with a 14 per cent increase since 2015 and an average monthly increase in premiums up from $266 in 2016 to $304 in 2017. According to Kaiser, the number of insurers participating in Colorado's Connect for Health exchange began at ten in 2014 and is expected to drop to seven in 2017.

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Offering little reassurance to Colorado's 350,000 uninsured residents and 700,000 underinsured, the state's four largest health care providers have proposed double-digit premium increases to their individual plans that will leave more than 92,000 Colorado residents in pursuit of new health insurance coverage. Humana and United Healthcare, like any corporation dedicated to a profitable bottom line, are abandoning the individual market along the Western Slope of Colorado impacting 20,000 residents.

In an example of flawless timing, ColoradoCare (aka Amendment 69) easily qualified for the ballot after a wildly successful petition drive, is a health care system owned by the public through its payroll tax, and is poised to step in and provide a Medicare-for-all health care system for all state citizens pending voter approval on November 8th. Amendment 69 supporters designed a plan with no deductibles, no co-pay for primary care, no annual enrollment while eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and a reduction of mushrooming administrative costs that will save an estimated $4.5 billion.

Whatever slim benefits of the ACA may exist, there remains the question of how the federal government can continue to allow its corporate insurance conglomerates to dominate health care as it continues to display a flagrant disregard for the American public's health needs as it has for more than a century. It would seem obvious that the goals of a for-profit health insurance industry and a publicly-funded health care system are mutually exclusive.

Push back to ColoradoCare is being organized by the awkwardly-named Coloradans for Coloradans funded by the Koch Brothers and other bigwigs and industry organizations that have a vested interest in the defeat of Amendment 69. They can be counted on to raise the same outworn threats and fears to bamboozle voters with the usual scare tactics that have been used in the past. The Colorado State Republican party, including its members of Congress and the State House and Senate have all announced their opposition to Amendment 69.

Unexpected opposition surfaced recently as NARAL Pro Choice Colorado announced it believes that, if adopted, Amendment 69 would restrict abortions based on an 1984 Constitutional amendment that banned state funds for abortions. Case law cited by a ColoradoCare attorney indicates that if adopted, Amendment 69 would supersede the 1984 statute. If passage occurs, NARAL may find that its job has been successful -- abortion rights will become universal.

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July 17th marks two years since Garner was killed after police in Staten Island placed him in a choke-hold. As we get ready for a memorial march in New York, I am shocked at the parallels between the Garner and Sterling deaths -- which are horrific and eerie. Both were selling products in front of a store trying to subsidize an income for their families, and both tragedies were caught on video that if it did not exist, no one would have believed those of us that stand on the side of justice in these cases. While responding to the rallying cry in Baton Rouge, I was shocked to see yet another incident in Minnesota, this time involving the death of Philando Castile by police -- whose aftermath was also caught on video. Technology has allowed the marginalized, oppressed and voiceless to have a voice, but now we must harness that ability to deal with police reform systemically, instead of episodically.



For years, organizations like my National Action Network have pushed for accountability and reform across the board. We have repeatedly stated that the problem is not isolated; it's not a Louisiana problem; it's not a Minnesota problem; it's not a Staten Island problem -- it's a national problem that requires national reform of police culture and the criminal justice system itself. Nothing short of that will turn this calamity around. We must have independent investigations and prosecutions so that police are held accountable by an objective neutral entity, and the community is assured that there isn't even an appearance of a conflict of interest. Officers cannot be investigated by those that they interact with on a daily or regular basis -- that is common sense. Secondly, there must be extensive training and residency requirements that police live in the cities that they serve. That is the only way that they will respect and treat that community fairly.



There has been stunning silence of national officials and candidates running for everything from the highest office in the land to Senate and House seats and more until there is a tragic killing. And when those who consistently raise these issues and even win some cases get involved, we're branded as "troublemakers" before and after a case. In 2016, there are many important, priority issues in front of us and we must deal with them all, but none is more important than police reform. Some of us have advocated for this for decades, and will continue to advocate for it which is why we are still called by family members and communities while others philosophize, give interviews and move on.



This year alone, there have been over 550 people killed by police according to "The Counted" data tracker by The Guardian. When the rest of the world looks at us to uphold the values of democracy, freedom and justice, we cannot fail our own citizens. This is a systemic problem across the country and requires a revamp from the top down. We need national reform for a national disease. It's Louisiana and Minnesota today, and it could be anywhere else tomorrow. Our communities, our mothers, fathers and grandparents are tired of telling their children to be fearful of those that should be serving and protecting us. And they are tired of watching their loved ones die at the hands of those who have such little regard for the value of our lives.



While technology and social media have played a great role in disseminating information, raising awareness and galvanizing people, we need reform measures on the books without delay. We will not preach our way out of this, we will not march our way out, we will not tweet our way out, nor hashtag our way out. Rather, it will take all of the above along with national legislative action to change the structure and culture of policing, and enact true accountability. Instead of people competing for face time after a horrific incident like that of Alton Sterling or Philando Castile, it is change time. After continual death and a lack of justice, people demand action; our electeds and those running for any office must provide an adequate solution. We cannot continue to deal with each loss on a case-by-case basis.



A systemic problem requires systemic reform.
MIAMI, FL - JUNE 02: Travelers go through the TSA PreCheck security point at Miami International Airport on June 2, 2016 in Miami, Florida. As the busy summer travel season heats up the Transportation Security Administration is encouraging people to sign up for the TSA PreCheck program to save time going through the airports security lines. Those enrolled in the program can leave their shoes, light outerwear and belt on during the terminal screening process as well as keeping their laptop in the carry-on suitcase without having to remove them at the checkpoint. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"Please be gentle."

The story is too easy to believe. At the Memphis airport, a confused, nervous teenager sets off the metal detector -- possibly because she has sequins on her shirt -- and is told she needs to come to a "sterile area." Armed guards show up to escort her. She's terrified.

This happened a year ago. The girl, then 18, is Hannah Cohen. She was flying -- at least that was the idea -- back to Chattanooga with her mother, Shirley Cohen, who had just passed through the checkpoint and was waiting for Hannah when, according to a lawsuit the family recently filed, a TSA horror story began.

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One other thing: Hannah had just undergone what was to be her final treatment for a brain tumor at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. She'd been going through this treatment since she was 2 years old. The treatment -- radiation and surgery -- impaired her ability to function: "The brain tumor had left Hannah blind in one eye, deaf in one ear and partially paralyzed," according to The Guardian. When the guards grabbed her arms, the girl pulled away and tried to escape.

"Seeing the scene begin to unfold, Shirley" -- who had a broken foot -- "hobbled to a supervisor standing nearby," the Guardian continues. "'She is a St Jude's patient, and she can get confused,' (Shirley) said. 'Please be gentle. If I could just help her, it will make things easier.'"

Instead, the guards threw Hannah to the ground, smashing her face. Finally, all her mother could do was snap a photo. The girl was taken away -- to jail. Mom and daughter were separated for 24 hours. Hannah finally appeared before a judge. The charges against her were dropped.

A year later, the family filed a lawsuit.

Maybe there's more to the story than this. An airport spokesperson said as much to a local paper. Cause and effect may be more complex than the photo of Hannah's bleeding face that hit the news. But whatever the justification, or lack thereof, for the behavior of the airport security guards, what we have is one more example of Authority -- the nation's security apparatus -- reacting with brute force to a complex social situation. This does not make us safe.

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What we have instead is a bureaucratic illusion of safety. James Bovard, in an op-ed column last year in USA Today, called it "security theater" -- a "routine that is far more effective at subjugating Americans than protecting them." He cited, for instance, an NBC story indicating that Transportation Security Administration agents, in June 2015, failed to detect "95 percent of the weapons and bombs smuggled past them by Inspector General testers," seeming to suggest that airport security is almost completely pointless.

I say this not to blame the security personnel. They're doing a difficult job, almost certainly without proper training. And if they're armed, the complexity of their social encounters magnifies exponentially. As I wrote last December, in the wake of a briefly newsworthy police killing:

"In Chicago, a police officer shoots a teenager walking in the middle of the street 16 times, almost as though the gun took control of the officer's consciousness. Barbara Ransby, a professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago, interviewed recently by Democracy Now, pointed out that, because of budget cuts, only about 20 Chicago police officers have received crisis intervention training.

"My God, budget cuts! In a country that's waging perpetual war and raking in billions from the global sale of weapons. Yeah, the boy had been acting erratically. But real public safety for the city of Chicago would have included safety for Laquan McDonald, the 17-year-old killed by police officer Jason Van Dyke.

"I fear we're reversing the evolutionary process. We've surrendered to simplistic, impulsive, fear-based 'safety' and we're reaping the consequences, one broken soul at a time."

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We're reaping the consequences, indeed. Security is more than a matter of guns and enemies. As we militarize the illusion of security, more and more we become our own worst enemies.

"We imagine a line between good and evil . . ."

These are the words of Philip Zimbardo, addressing an Association of Psychological Science convention some years ago. He continued: ". . . and we like to believe that it's impermeable. We are good on this side. The bad guys, the bad women, they are on that side, and the bad people never will become good, and the good never will become bad. I'll say today that's nonsense. Because that line is ... permeable."

Zimbardo is the researcher who conducted the famously horrifying Stanford Prison Experiment in 1971, in which a group of psychologically healthy male college students were assigned to play the role of prison guards, while another group of college kids were the pseudo-prisoners. Given such power, the guards quickly turned into a collective of sadists. The experiment had to be shut down early. Zimbardo called the phenomenon the Lucifer Effect. Ever since, he's been sounding the warning that ordinary men and women, in a context of too much power (think, for instance, Abu Ghraib), can cross that line and turn into representatives of evil.

And consider, as Bovard pointed out, that an early TSA motto was "Dominate. Intimidate. Control."

This is the context in which I hear, all too clearly, a mom call out, "Please be gentle." And I think about a nation that has no idea how to protect itself.

- - -

Robert Koehler is an award-winning, Chicago-based journalist and nationally syndicated writer. Contact him at koehlercw@gmail.com or visit his website at commonwonders.com.

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Poroshenko: We will fight for liberation of every Ukrainian

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has met with Colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ivan Bezyazykov, who was liberated from captivity of militants yesterday, reads a posting on the presidential website.

Congratulating the military on his return, the head of state emphasized liberation of Ukrainian citizens from captivity of militants was one of the main tasks.

"We will fight for the liberation of every Ukrainian. No matter whether he is a colonel, soldier, volunteer or civilian," Poroshenko noted.

Every day the president receives reports on the situation of Ukrainian captives from the presidential commissioner for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Iryna Gerashchenko.

According to the president, the liberation of the colonel was not easy because Russia was blocking the process. He noted the exchange of 25 Ukrainian captives for 50 militants had been blocked in Minsk.

The military expressed gratitude to the president and everyone involved in the process of his liberation.

"This liberation came true due to the Security Service, volunteers and you," Bezyazykov said.
A woman mourns for the victims who were killed in the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O'Kitchen Restaurant, at a makeshift memorial near the attack site, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Minutes before, the upscale restaurant had been brimming with life. "I was waiting for my food when they walked inside--young, barely a year or two older than me, wearing jeans and t-shirts. They looked like the other customers. Within minutes they pointed their weapons at us, killed the foreigners and took us hostage," says Tahmid, a 17-year-old who survived the terrorist attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At a nearby table, Nadia Benedetti, an Italian, was at her farewell dinner with friends and colleagues from Italy. Her face beamed as she saw the laughter in her friends' eyes, listened to the sound of clattering silverware and wondered how fond she has become of this place. The next morning, police recovered her stabbed, lifeless body along with 17 others.

The 11-hour terrorist standoff that ended Saturday morning took 28 lives, including five assailants, two police officers, 17 foreigners and three Bangladeshis. While the incident was underway, ISIS claimed responsibility, releasing images of the victims and attackers online. As I scrolled through the pictures and videos, I felt I was reading about a restaurant in Kabul or Aleppo, or a page from a Khaled Hosseini novel.

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The Bangladesh I remember is hospitable and tolerant. Yet, like 165 million Bangladeshis, it dawned on me this is happening in Dhaka. This was home.

Since 2013, Bangladesh has been grappling with a growing number of machete attacks and killings targeting secular writers, free speech advocates, and human rights activists. This April, my friend Xulhaz Mannan, a gay rights activist and staff at U.S. Agency for International Development and his friend, Tanay Majumder, were hacked to death at home. Last year, American-Bangladeshi writer and curator of Bengali blog Mukto-Mona, Avijit Roy was killed at Ekushey Book Fair, the country's largest annual gathering of writers and publishers. Local extremist groups claimed these attacks. The sophisticated planning of the hostage standoff, however, suggests the growing involvement of ISIS beyond the Middle East in countries like Bangladesh. For many native Bangladeshis like me, the tension between the secular values and fundamentalist Islam is rooted history. A fast growing metropolis with one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, the fabric of the Bangladesh's making tells a story of identity conflict. In 1947, the partition of the British colonial Empire into India and Pakistan had overt religious reasons--Hindus and Muslims hastily clumped together to occupy separate lands, irrespective of ethnic and cultural identities.

Despite being separated by 990 miles of Indian territory, the provinces of West and East Pakistan were administered by a central government based in Karachi. Pakistan underwent several constitutional changes between 1948 and 1962 in attempts to balance secularism with the Islamic state. In 1962 a new constitution made few concessions for Bengalis in the East and gave legal support to martial law. The Awami League, then led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman advocated for an autonomous government and, eventually, liberation of East Pakistan. In December 1971 after 9 months of war, an independent, democratic and secular Bangladesh was established.

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For 25 years, I have known my national identity to blend seamlessly with my cultural and religious ethos. Growing up, I remember a religious teacher coming to our house and teaching us to recite the Qu'ran in Arabic. My siblings and I were never told what it meant, however that didn't stop us from celebrating Bengali New Year in April. We broke fast during Ramadan by sharing our meal with everyone around us irrespective of religious and ethnic identities just as we helped Christian friends decorate Christmas trees and devoured the sweets served at temples during Durga Puja, the Hindu festival. Most of my Bengali Hindu friends have family ties in Kolkata, the Western state of India, with whom we share more cultural heritage than our once Muslim counterpart in Pakistan.

In 2013, I found myself chanting slogans on the streets for a secular Bangladesh. The movement erupted in Shahbagh, the epicenter of Dhaka, when the government started trying the war criminals of 1971, men, who, in independent Bangladesh, had risen to positions of influence within Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh's largest Islamist political party. People gathered in the streets to protest punishments that they saw as too lenient, even politically expedient. By the fourth day, the slogans had evolved; they now sought revenge on years of Jamaat's control in national policy and ban on religious scribes and institutions.

In the months after Shahbagh, it became clear to me that we were struggling with an identity crisis. It was no longer enough to be just Bangladeshi - you had to be secular or a fanatic believer. To belong, you either had to embody the white liberalism under your brown skin and speak fluent English, or be clad in an ankle-length punjabi and graduate from a madrassah.

Having undergone two traumatic separations in quick succession, the modern Bangladeshi identity is a hotchpotch of religious and cultural values. In the backdrop of this crisis, when ISIS released the photos of the assailants, Bangladesh was taken aback. Three of the five assailants were educated abroad, watched English Premiere League and came from affluent families. They were the picture of the secular youth we had painted in our imaginations, the boys we would gladly live next door to. Now, we were thunderstruck and confused - had terrorism hit the safest parts of our homes? Have we been alienating the wrong people in the name of liberalism?

This crisis we face today is existential. For four decades, divisions along religious and cultural lines have been systematically nurtured through Bangladesh's education system--a handful of private English-medium schools following Western curriculum, with a majority of Bengali-medium schools under national curriculum, and the plethora of registered and unregistered madrassah following two streams of Islamic curriculum.

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Through these rigid divisions we have oppressed intelligent and compassionate religious education in urban youth the same way we have oppressed sex education. Most teenagers I know in Bangladesh will turn to the Internet, to pornography, to learn about the human body. It now seems most teenagers I know in Bangladesh will also go to the Internet to learn about religion, where they may find a rogue preacher with misconstrued ideas. Similarly, we have alienated impoverished, madrassah students from aspirations of becoming filmmakers.

The current administration under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been in denial of ISIS and miliant Islamist presence in the country, discarding the incidents as disconnected pangs of violence. There is precedence for this. In 2005, the government then helmed by Khaleda Zia only admitted to the presence of Islamist militants after a wave of simultaneous bomb blasts gripped the nation. If the current government wishes to keep the people's faith, it needs tackle the issue it at its core - starting with a disorganized education system that promotes division and competition over inclusiveness and conversation. At home, it is time to reconcile our religious and cultural identities into a fluid national identity that can evolve into the global one we are proud of.

After Friday's terrorist attack, I spent a few minutes looking up one of the assailants on Facebook. We had 37 mutual friends, all from the liberal social circle I am familiar with. Since January, he'd been missing from home. Now a picture of him, smiling while bearing the ISIS flag was going viral. Within minutes, he was 'unfriended' by everyone; we now only have one mutual friend, someone who lives on a different timezone.

I couldn't help but wonder: is this the way his friends turned their backs on him when he was just beginning to question his religious identity? Was the only person he could talk to an ISIS recruiter? As the world tries to fathom the senseless terrorist attacks from Paris to Istanbul to Dhaka, it's time we dig deeper into our systems and start asking why.
The first time I visited New York City must have been 1981. I thought it was the late 1970s, but the shows I remembered seeing, all happened in 1981. Thanks to the internet, it's pretty easy to verify when a Broadway production happened.

I was part of a Moorhead State college theatre tour, and we all rode on a bus for 19 hours to reach New York City. Taking 19 hours to travel anywhere should probably be prohibited. The hotel we stayed at was dimly lit, especially in the corridors, which was a good thing because we couldn't clearly see the vermin scurrying down the hall.

I saw The Pirates of Penzance with an impressive Kevin Kline playing the Pirate King. Oh, those boots! Barnum with Jim Dale, but not Glenn Close, because she had left the show a few days before. And, although I didn't see the play Lunch Hour, with Gilda Radner and Sam Waterston, I did wait at the stage door with other fans of Gilda and when she emerged (with an apple in her mouth) I handed her a postcard which she autographed.

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I was walking down the street, right in front of my hotel when I physically bumped into Donald Sutherland. He was wearing a winter army type jacket, with the fur lined hood. It's possible it was the same one he wore in the movie M*A*S*H, because it looked just like it. When I looked up and recognized a movie star, I immediately blurted out, "Oh! I really liked you in Animal House!" He gave me a questioning look, said "thank you" and walked away. He was in Animal House you know. He played the professor who lowers the shades in his house to get a few students stoned, and then later, he sleeps with one of them. (Boon's girlfriend Katy) It's a fairly small role, and in his final scene, he's walking away from the camera, wearing only a sweater and when he lifts his arms it exposes his naked butt.

Animal House was an odd film for me to mention, considering Ordinary People was playing in the theaters at that time and he was considered a frontrunner for an Oscar nomination. I hope he was flattered, rather than creeped out.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, January 13, 2009. The award is the highest civilian honour that is given in the United States. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES)

The long-awaited "Report of the Iraq Inquiry" was finally released this past Wednesday, July 6, 2016. The Inquiry, better known as the "Chilcot Report" (so named after the man, Sir John Chilcot, who sat at the head of the Committee of Privy Counselors empowered by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom to conduct the investigation) was empowered in 2009 to delve into the decision by United Kingdom to use force in the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003, and the consequences of that decision.

The contents of the report and its conclusions are damning to the government of then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and, by extension (using the premise of guilt by association) the administration of then-American President George W. Bush. The report simply confirms what was already known or suspected regarding the fiasco of the war in Iraq, inclusive of the failure to discover the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction used to sustain case for war, and the intelligence upon which that case was made. If anything, the Chilcot Report is a manifestation of collective frustration and impotence, given that it does not go far enough in criminalizing the actions of the Blair government with regard to its conduct in the lead-up to the war in Iraq, and it comes far too late to have any relevance in shaping public opinion in a manner which could have produced meaningful political results. In this, the report is merely an exercise in historical investigation, and an inadequate one at that.

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I have been a steadfast critic of the war in Iraq, and by extension the policies used to justify that war. This criticism comes not from a moral foundation of inherent opposition to conflict (hardly likely, given my status as a former Marine who fought in the Gulf War), but rather as one who played a key role in the conduct of disarmament inspections in Iraq, as a member of the United Nations Special Commission, or UNSCOM, from 1991 until 1998. In this role, I was intimately familiar with the issues regarding the potential threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and the intelligence information behind such analysis. I have, since 1998, spoken and written on this topic numerous times, and my words have been proven prescient. One of these occasions was captured in a cable written by the American Charge d'Affaires in Abu Dhabi, a gentleman named Thomas Williams, who attended a presentation I made in February 2003 at the Zayef Center for Coordination at the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sultan Bin Zayef.

Mr. Williams dutifully cabled the following report back to his superiors at Foggy Bottom:

Ritter predictably derided [Secretary of State Colin Powell's] "smoke and mirrors" presentation, noting that the U.S., bent on regime change, is determined to undermine the inspection' process...Ritter posited that as long as the U.S. focus is on regime change, the international community must remain suspicious of U.S. policy. He described U.S. Iraq policy as being part of a grander design aimed at regional transformation and took issue with what he characterized as our unilateralist approach. Ritter predicted a popular Iraqi uprising against a U.S. occupation of Iraq, coupled with broader instability in the region which could result in the downfall of some Arab government.

I stand by my comments today, and believe they have withstood the test of time. But they were made in February 2003, prior to the invasion and subsequent fiasco that was the collective US-UK experience in Iraq. They were made in near isolation and were drowned out by a larger media-driven effort to applaud and support the joint American-UK drive to remove Saddam Hussein from power. Other than the timing of our respective efforts (mine in 2003, Chilcot's some 13 years later), my presentation at the Zayef Center has this much in common with the Chilcot Report -- a futile effort at injecting truth into a larger debate on the role of fact-based assessments behind the illogical and largely fictional case for war.

Nothing in the Chilcot Report took me by surprise. If anything, my admittedly incomplete review of the massive amount of information contained in the report to date (comprised as it is of some 2.6 million words) indicates that the Chilcot Report did not go far enough in underscoring the malfeasance and clear intent at deception that lay behind the so-called "intelligence failure" used to underpin Tony Blair's (and by extension, George W. Bush's) drive toward war in Iraq. There are numerous examples to support my argument, but one in particular comes to mind: the failure on the part of the Chilcot Report to explore the issues surrounding "Operation Mass Appeal," a disinformation effort run by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, or MI-6) in the years 1997-1998 where UNSCOM provided the SIS with intelligence of low value (i.e., of such poor quality as to be demonstrably false and/or incapable of being acted on by inspectors) for the purpose of being recycled in the foreign media, using SIS-controlled editors and writers, so as to produce news stories capable of influencing public opinion on Iraq (the fact that these stories, although initially planted in eastern European or South Asian media, could eventually be recycled into UK and U.S. outlets, and as such influence British or American subjects, was of little to no concern for the SIS at the time) (at the time UNSCOM participated with the SIS in "Operation Mass Appeal," Russia and France, together with Iraq, were engaged in a concerted propaganda effort designed to undermine the credibility of the inspectors and their work) (UNSCOM's embrace of "Operation Mass Appeal," however misguided it might have been, was designed to serve as counter-propaganda for the purposes of bolstering the viability of the inspection process, and not fabricate a case for war.)



If there were real justice in the world today, Tony Blair and his ilk would be held accountable before a tribunal.



I had revealed the existence of "Operation Mass Appeal" in a series of interviews given to the UK press back in November 2003, in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The SIS, in characteristic fashion, initially denied the existence of such an operation. Later, when called to task by the Butler Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction (on which Sir John Chilcot sat, and before whom I gave testimony), the SIS recanted its denial and admitted to the operation, albeit couched as a "one-of" involving a single report in May 1998. The Butler report simply brushed over my testimony that I had met with the SIS New York Station Chief in October 1997 to discuss what was at the time identified to me, by name, as "Operation Mass Appeal," that I sought and gained the approval of Richard Butler, the Chairman of UNSCOM, shortly thereafter to coordinate the transfer of intelligence in the possession of UNSCOM specifically approved by Richard Butler for this purpose to the SIS for use in "Operation Mass Appeal," and that the first transfer of intelligence took place in February of 1998. Robin Butler, the Baron Butler of Brockwell, like Sir John Chilcot, seemed disinclined to dig deeper into the culture of lies and distortion that colored the issue of intelligence and Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, and as such limited the conclusions reached to matters of negligence and incompetence, as opposed to criminal intent. The role played by the SIS in feeding disinformation to an unsuspecting public in order to solidify support for disingenuous policy was perhaps too much for distinguished gentlemen such as these to bear, and as such the matter was left unexplored.

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The fact remains that the United Kingdom is a small country with an outsized heart and unrealistic ambitions as to its significance in the world. The Chilcot Report underscores this reality, without saying as much, by detailing the efforts of the government of Tony Blair to legitimize American regime change policies in Iraq by focusing on defining Saddam in terms more palatable for its domestic audience, as well as a skeptical Europe -- unrepentant, defiant and representing a real danger in the form of retained weapons of mass destruction. Truth, however, was quickly subordinated to process, and evidence manufactured to comport with political objective. While the Blair government could not outright support a policy of regime change, its actions were that of a compliant co-conspirator as the United States suborned the credibility and stature of the United Kingdom by turning it into little more than an echo chamber of the larger American-driven push toward war with Iraq based largely on the false premise of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction which, we now know, simply did not exist.

There is a trend today amongst the liberal media in the United Kingdom to seek to hold Tony Blair singularly accountable for his role in the Iraq war. This is wrong. Tony Blair was but the political manifestation of a larger reality that the United Kingdom -- in its entirety, and not simply the ruling class -- was trapped in a "special relationship" with the United States that had reduced its role more akin to that of a compliant mistress, and never a co-equal. Millions may have marched against the war in Iraq in London in September 2002 (including yours truly.) But at the end of the day, millions more remained either silent or were in active support of the policies of the Blair government. And the people of the United Kingdom haven't learned a damn thing, as witnessed by their passivity in the face of UK involvement in the Libyan fiasco, and similar saber rattling elsewhere. Even the decision not to support an expansive role for the UK military in Syria was driven more by the reality of limitations than any moral posturing.

This is the true tragedy of the Chilcot Report. The document details historic errors far too late for any meaningful politically relevant repercussions, thereby cementing the notion of immunity among those in power, and impotence among the populations they represent. There are no lessons to be learned because the events detailed in the report happened a long time ago, and political memories are short, especially when there are near-zero ramifications for those who failed. The decision to invade Iraq on falsified and misleading intelligence simply isn't relevant to the reality of the present, beyond establishing a historical framework for analysis that few will pay attention to. The 2011 decision to withdraw from Iraq, and the consequences of that action in terms of the near-collapse of the Iraqi government and the rise of ISIS, drive the current discourse far more than events that transpired in 2002-2003, and whose roots go back even further, to 1991 and the decision to disarm Iraq of WMD in the aftermath of the Gulf War.

If there were real justice in the world today, Tony Blair and his ilk would be held accountable before a tribunal. So, too, would George W. Bush and his fellow American decision-makers. But we live in world where the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for the Presidency of the United States, who voted in favor of invading Iraq back in 2002, gets a virtual pass on that decision, while her Republican opponent is derided for inarticulately pointing out the fact that the Middle East was a much safer and saner place during the reign of Saddam Hussein than it is today. The media, ostensibly the watchdog of truth, is neither intellectually equipped nor morally inclined to engage in a meaningful discussion of the significance of the Chilcot Report. The report is, in many ways, representative of an inconvenient truth, and brings to mind the fictional exchange between Lieutenant (JG) Kaffee and Colonel Jessup in the movie "A Few Good Men":

"I want the truth!" Kaffee demands.

"You can't handle the truth!" Jessup retorts.



Unlike Hollywood, where justice ultimately prevails based upon the truth patiently revealed, the reality is that the Chilcot Report will be relegated to the trash bin of history by people who simply cannot handle the truth, condemning the present generation, and the future, to make the same mistakes, over and over and over again.
Frustrated by the lack of alternative options for stylish breastfeeding mothers after the birth of her own children, Chicago-based former art restorer Andrea Newberry took to the Internet, taught herself to sew, and started her own line of edgy wear for the punk rock mom. Leche Libre is a Mad Max version of post-maternity wear, and cool enough that even non-breastfeeding women are drawn to her unique designs. I had a chance to chat with Newberry over email about her journey from post-partum to fashion designer, and then some.

What was your thought process in starting your line of clothing?

Andrea Newberry: After the birth of my first kid I had a really hard time finding clothing to easily breastfeed, and the ones that were made me feel frumpy and completely like a different person. My personal style is edgy, punk, and urban but the clothes that were available were super delicate, flowy and soft looking. I wasn't sure who I was anymore as a new mom and I couldn't even wear clothing which made me feel like me. I was so overwhelmed taking care of my baby that the thought of taking care of myself seemed impossible, so I just sort of went with what was available but I felt like I was completely losing myself and it was a depressing feeling.

After the birth of my second child, I knew there had to be a better way. I was just learning to sew at the time, so I started making a few things for myself with breastfeeding access, and whenever I would wear them out I got so many compliments about the design. People would freak out when they realized my dress was functional for breastfeeding. I wanted to see if other women were having the same issue. I posted a survey on my Facebook page and asked friends to share. I got 500 responses within 48 hours. I knew I was on the right track and should keep going. I spent the next couple of years teaching myself sewing, fashion design, and fashion business to be able to launch Leche Libre in December of 2014.

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On your website you describe the ethos of Leche Libre's brand as 'based on the concept of discrete anti-authoritarianism.' Could you tell me more about this?

AN: One thing which has always irked me about being a woman, and listening to the struggles of my women friends, is that we've been taught, both subtly and in overt ways that we need to ask permission for everything we do. I find myself constantly apologizing for asking questions or taking up too much space. Growing up as a woman in our culture there is this feeling that you can't be too loud, you have to be demure. Be beautiful, but don't say too much. When it comes to standing up for ourselves, whether it's asking for pay raise or encountering negative feedback for breastfeeding in public, it's often hard for women to assert our rights.

Discreet anti-authoritarianism is about empowering women to take up our space and do what we need to do for ourselves and our children. Breastfeeding in public is legally protected, so really it's just cultural norms we're up against. As a woman, the act of going against social norms is always a subversive act and can be stressful. I want Leche Libre to represent a powerful strong motherhood. If women are taught to be quiet, then we'll just quietly and discreetly go about the business of living our lives the way we want and not giving in to negative feedback telling us to cover up and be ashamed of our bodies. I design my clothing to make it super easy to breastfeed discreetly, so you can just go about living your life and do your thing and not have to worry.

So it's like a marriage between fashion and activism, what a fascinating idea. Do you have a background in fashion? What went into starting a business like this?

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AN: Prior to this, I had no experience in the fashion industry at all. If you had told me five years ago I would be starting a fashion line, I would have laughed in your face.

I started this for two reasons: I felt the lack of clothing for breastfeeding women and I wanted to make clothing which fit that need.

The second reason was to help pull me out the post-partum depression I was experiencing after my son was born. In two years, I had gone from being a working woman with a dynamic urban social life to a stay at home mom with two children under the age of two. I loved being a mom, but I felt like I had disappeared as a person. I was always a creator and maker of things, so I decided to take on the ambitious project of teaching myself to design clothing to try and start a small Etsy shop selling clothing for breastfeeding as a way to get myself out of my deep depression. I threw myself into it. It was very hard and exhausting. I watched Project Runway to understand the process, and watched YouTube videos to learn how to sew in zippers. My son was a very fussy baby so I worked with him strapped to my back in a baby carrier. I would swap childcare with friends and take any spare moment to work on my project. As I went on, I knew I wanted something more than just a small Etsy shop and I've worked to launch Leche Libre as a professionally manufactured fashion line.

As I went through the process, I started to get a better handle on my new self as woman and mom. I needed the business project to help me remember myself and I want to bring that into my clothes and help other new moms regain themselves right away so they don't have to go as far down the rabbit hole as I went.

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I love the strong lines and bright colors of your clothing. What inspires your designs?

AN: Like most products for moms, breastfeeding apparel is designed in a very soft maternal way. I want to represent modern motherhood more powerfully. Power is often represented in masculine imagery, so I like the idea of playing with inserting more masculine and hard-edged themes into my designs for moms. I like to play around with the mixing of the nurturing of breastfeeding with themes traditionally representing a more masculine aesthetic like camouflage prints, studs, and hard metal zippers. For my new sweatshirt design, I was playing with the idea of making it look like army surplus for space marines. If women feel beautiful in Leche Libre garments, that's awesome, but my main goal is to make them feel powerful.

I also like to look at men's streetwear brands and skateboarding brands to see how they're presenting a certain kind of lifestyle of rebellious freedom. I want to infuse a bit of rebelliousness in my clothing to empower women to thwart negative cultural conditions which limit our growth as individuals. Skateboarding has always skirted social constrictions and it's a culture which is full of rebel rousing and has a fresh feeling of freedom, youth and vitality. I'd like to represent the modern mom lifestyle in a more dynamic and punk rock kind of way. Motherhood is rarely represented as cool. Like once you have a baby you become some old washed up Mommy, devoid of sexuality and fun. Who cares about being soft and beautiful? Let's just get rad. I want women to feel the vitality and freedom of being able to breastfeed on the go and look super cool while doing it.

"Let's get rad." I love that! And when it comes to your clothes, what kinds of fabrics and materials do you use?

AN: During my beta testing phase, I've been experimenting with different materials. When I first launched, I was using an all organic hemp/cotton blend with recycled poly. It's a super high quality sustainable material, but it pushed my price points too high for the average mom. I'm always walking the tightrope of running an ethical business with my strong desire to make the Leche Libre brand as accessible as possible. I'm working with different materials, including sourcing from remnant houses which are left overs from large manufacturing. By using these materials, we keep the materials out of the landfills. I'm working with a small manufacturer out of Milwaukee. I'm on a first name basis with all the women who will be making my collection and they're awesome. I'm also in the process of starting a relationship with Work Shelter, an amazing fair trade manufacturer in India which gives women at risk a safe place to live and get professional training in production sewing. I love the idea of empowering women on both sides of the process!

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What kind of reactions do you get when out and about in your line? Have you experienced any of that problematic negative behavior towards women breastfeeding in public?

AN: I'm always amazed at how much people love the dresses whenever I wear them out. I have people commenting just on the style and then when they find out they are functional breastfeeding apparel, they freak out. They talk about how easy it is to look good and take care of their kiddos while out and about. I've gotten feedback from other women that they get a lot of positive comments from people about the fact that the dresses are functional for breastfeeding. It seems to be a conversation starter.

I have experienced negative behavior in the past when breastfeeding in public, mostly through passive aggressive or weird comments. Most of the really hurtful negative interactions I've had, have been online with comments about the fact that my son looked too old to be breastfeeding and how women should cover up. I feel like people are a lot more quick to criticize online than in real life, but all the criticism adds up and can make you insecure on and offline. I think the best thing we can do is to create supportive networks which empower us and not give into the messaging which takes away our power.

You do a lot of activism around the issue of breastfeeding in public, why is this an important issue for you to speak openly about? Does it shape the work you do when designing and promoting your company?

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AN: I feel as though breastfeeding in public is a very key struggle for feminism and equality. We are shamed for breastfeeding in public and told to cover up, yet there are two-story billboards over the expressway of women in little more than underwear. Our culture wants to use female sexuality to sell stuff, but then shames us for using our breasts for what they are meant for. It's very upsetting to me. By normalizing breastfeeding, not only are we doing what is best for our babies, as well as using our bodies for what they are naturally designed to do, but we are also reclaiming ownership of our bodies and striking a blow against the objectification and sexualization of women's bodies.

Leche Libre is a mission of passion for me. I want to make it easier for women to live an empowered experience by being able to regain ownership of their individuality after having a baby, by loving the look of their body after having a baby and by being able to do what they want with their body in a way which connects them with the ancient power of birth and breastfeeding that all mothers carry in our bodies. I also just want to help women to look and feel super cool. Cause I think women and moms ARE super cool. I want to make it as easy as possible for breastfeeding moms to step out with confidence and style without losing their edge.
Four Incredible women changed the way I look at education and women in the global scope of life and humanity. I have had the most amazing career thus far, but the last two months have truly been epic and surreal. Leslee Udwin, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon, and Helen Mirren all took time to grace my lens for the most interesting and thought provoking interviews about education and supporting an initiative that was created by director Leslee Udwin.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with all four on separate occasions and talk about the Think Equal initiative and how educating the world will bring peace and substance to communities globally.

Leslee's documentary India's Daughter shed light on what was going on in the world and how education was a key to driving love and humanity globally.

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Susan Sarandon is one of the most iconic people on the planet. Her body of work, along with her contributions to charity and great causes are just some of the many fantastic things she continues to accomplish.

I had the rare chance of connecting with her for a one on one about her feelings towards education for children globally.

She was delightful and surrounded by a wonderful team that really cares about supporting her work and the work of organizations like Think Equal.

I remember our time in New York together quite fondly, she had just come out of a shoot in the room adjacent to us with the most elegant Geena Davis who popped her head in to say goodbye. Which was one another moment that I will never forget. Susan took the time to have a dialogue with me about Think Equal and its important work globally. She was delightful and very thoughtful with everything she spoke to me about. I am left in admiration with this woman that I have watched all my life. Susan Sarandon is a true global hero and I can say that in person she is everything you can imagine and more.

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See and excerpt of my interview with Susan here:

"Education of the head without education of the heart, is no education at all."

-Aristotle

Think Equal constructs and delivers an international curriculum, and acts as a global resource for educating the hearts of the world's children, and not merely their heads. The detailed, extended curriculum is a holistic approach to education, which provides concrete strategies, exercises and tools to secure an education in empathy, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, conflict resolution, respect, equality and diversity. Its objective is to break the cycle of discrimination and violence, and create a new generation of global citizens who can rise to the many challenges facing the 21st century.

Think Equal is the first implementation program of the objectives, which we have been merely talking about since the Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1928. It meets 6 of the 13 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our team includes world-renowned experts and visionaries in education, human rights, gender, neuroscience, and psychology, and embraces the latest, visionary philosophies on inclusive and holistic education.
Last month's vote by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union gives control over trade policy back to British officials, who are now faced with the difficult task of creating new domestic institutions and formulating trade and other international economic policies. Some of their immediate work is obvious. The UK must negotiate a new economic relationship with Europe, both with the EU and with non-EU countries. The UK must also restructure its relationship with its trading partners at the WTO.

Beyond that, UK trade policy is more open ended, with a great deal of discretion on future directions. Brexit might lead to some short-term economic disruptions, but it is also a great opportunity for expanding free markets and free trade.

While trade policy has some domestic components, these days it is largely an international issue. Governments negotiate mutual reductions in trade barriers, with international agreements to enforce their commitments. But there are many models for these negotiations, with different countries taking different views about what a trade agreement should involve. The UK has a blank slate in front of it and thus has many options available. The two most important questions for future UK trade agreements are: (1) With whom should the UK negotiate, and (2) what should it negotiate about?

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As noted, the UK will be negotiating a new relationship with the EU and with other European neighbors. There are questions, though, about how the UK should select other trade negotiating partners. To maximize the value of its initial trade negotiations, the UK should think about several factors: (1) Which countries have the most to offer in terms of a substantial economic relationship; (2) with which countries would the negotiations be the smoothest; and (3) which countries would involve the least external controversy in a trade negotiation.

Weighing and balancing all of these factors, the best candidates for the initial trade negotiations would be Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; and perhaps South Korea and Japan as well. These countries maximize the potential value of an international economic agreement; deals could be done relatively quickly; and they would minimize any controversy.

The second question for the UK in deciding on an approach to trade agreements is what to negotiate about. Some ongoing trade negotiations have dragged on for years. The UK should push for quick agreements that are done in one or two years.

To achieve this, the UK should consider a streamlined approach to negotiating trade agreements that focuses on core trade liberalization issues, and leaves out the more complex and controversial regulatory and governance issues -- such as intellectual property -- that have led to delays in other trade negotiations. In this regard, UK trade agreements should cover tariff reductions, services liberalization, and opening procurement markets; there should also be a placeholder for negotiating future mutual recognition agreements for trade in specific goods and services.

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With regard to tariffs, the UK should be bold and propose zero tariffs on all products. Trade negotiations can get bogged down in balancing out the demands from each side for continued tariff protection of certain products, and in determining how long phase-out periods should be. However, the simplest and most beneficial tariff policy is to remove all tariffs as quickly as possible.

Services are traded differently than goods, and the barriers tend to be regulatory in nature. That makes services negotiations inherently more controversial than simple tariff lowering. With services trade, the UK should focus on liberalizing particular areas that are less sensitive.

A cross-cutting area, which covers both trade in goods and services, is government procurement. The UK should push hard in these negotiations to open its market and those of its trading partners.

Beyond these core issues, there is the potential for mutual recognition of domestic regulations related to product standards and services qualifications. But trying to negotiate these issues comprehensively has proved extremely controversial in the TTIP context, and is unlikely to have greater success in the UK trade negotiations. Instead, the UK agreements should merely refer to the possibility of future discussions on specific products, and leave this issue for a later date.

One final area where the UK has an opportunity to be bold and do something innovative in a trade negotiation is trade remedies, which covers antidumping duties, countervailing duties and safeguards. Ideally, the UK would use these measures in a very limited manner, or even not at all, as part of its domestic trade regime. But practically speaking, these trade measures are a core part of today's trade policy world, and it is unlikely the UK will abandon them. However, what is possible is that, for its trade relations with close trading partners, the UK might consider a mutual decision not to apply trade remedies.

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This year has seen warplanes and warships operated by U.S. and its allies, on one side, and Russia on the other side, continue to repeatedly engage in dangerous maneuvering in proximity of each other over the skies of Syria and in the Mediterranean Sea. The probability that these confrontations, if continued, would end in another shoot-out is not negligible. Therefore, leaders on both sides to take joint legal and practical steps to prevent their militaries from dragging them into an unintended armed conflict with each other. The July 13th sitting of the NATO-Russia Council offers a good opportunity to discuss these joint steps.

The latest in the series of air confrontations between U.S. and Russia over Syria was reported to have occurred on June 16. On that day Russian Su-34 bombers dropped bombs on U.S.-supported rebels of a New Syrian Army in the At-Tanf area, prompting American Navy to scramble two F/A-18 Super Hornets in response. The Russian planes then left the area, but once the two U.S. jets left the skies over At-Tanf to refuel, the Russian aerospace forces made another run at the same target. U.S. military commanders insist that they immediately sought to contact their Russian counterparts via a communications line, which has been established in accordance with a memorandum on safety of fights that the two sides signed on October 20, 2015. But that hotline is apparently meant to avoid air accidents rather than call off strikes, which might have given the Russian military an excuse to avoid responding immediately to the U.S. call. In fact, the U.S. military didn't get to confer with their Russian counterparts until June 17th. The day after Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu flew to Syria to meet with Bashar Assad. Now imagine Shoigu's plane was in the Syrian airspace at the time of the actual incident and not two days after. Would the Su-34 pilots have then taken a more confrontational stand, entering a dog fight with the approaching F/A-18s, especially given the fact that Russia is still smarting from the shoot down of a Su-24 by Turkish air force last year?

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The probability of such a deadly development is still low compared to days of the original Cold War. I have counted at least 250 incidents when planes of US, USSR and their allies were either shot or damaged outside official zones of armed conflicts in the course of that Cold War. But while low compared to the days of the Cold War, the current probability of NATO and Russian warplanes or ships engaging in a shooting battler is not negligible, as the numbers of near-by misses, which Western and Russian warplanes and warships have been involved in recently, demonstrate. And, as we know, the risk equals probability multiplied by consequences. The consequences of U.S. and Russian militaries stumbling into an open armed conflict because of a mid-air or high-seas collision would be devastating, in my view. To lower that grave risk, Russia and U.S. militaries should have a serious discussion of how to avoid confrontations in the air in the zone of the Syrian conflict. If that requires modification of the October 2015 memorandum to allow both sides to urgently ask to call off strikes, then that should be done. If Russia's claims that U.S. has repeatedly spurned its offers to draw a common map that would contain up-to-date information on the locations of existing forces in Syria are true, then U.S. should also get serious about drawing such maps.

Looking forward and beyond the zone of the Syrian conflict, U.S. and its NATO allies should have a serious discussion of how US-Soviet agreements on avoiding incidents in sea and air could be multilaterized. Perhaps, NATO members can work out a common position at their July 8-9, 2016 summit in Warsaw and then propose to Russia during the July 13th session of the NATO-Russia Council to transform the 1972 US-Soviet agreement on prevention of incidents on and over the high seas and the 1989 US-Soviet agreement on prevention of dangerous military activities from the bilateral format to the multilateral NATO-Russia format. United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, Greece, and Portugal have similar agreements with Russia on prevention of incidents of high seas that are similar to the 1972 U.S. agreement between Moscow and Washington, while Canada and Greece also have agreements on prevention of dangerous military activities. However, almost a dozen of NATO members do not have such agreements with Russia, even though they abut seas. These countries include Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovenia.

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NATO and Russia should also discuss extension of the 1972 agreement to incidents under the high sea because collisions of nuclear-armed submarines could be even more dangerous than nearby misses of ships and planes. The Russian side could be particularly amenable to such extension if only because it was ne of Russia's most respected defense intellectuals Andrei Kokoshin who initially proposed such extension. The sides should also discuss including concrete mechanisms on actual prevention of incidents in such existing multi-lateral agreements, as the 2011 Vienna Document and Convention on International Civil Aviation, including, perhaps, a requirement for warplanes to fly with their transponders turned on at all times while in international airspace.

In addition to enhancing multilateral and international agreements on prevention of incidents, Russian and Western leaders should also make sure their military commanders do not take unauthorized actions that increase risk of an accident that could make sides stumble into a conflict. Some might think in Russia commanders take no such risks, but this is not the case, according to Vladimir Putin. In a documentary on Russia's taking of Crimea, which aired on Russian television in March 2015 Putin said that Russian commanders had chosen not clear their actions in engagement of U.S. military at least one occasion during the Crimean crisis. In the documentary commander of the Russian Black Seat fleet Alexander Vitko describes how "it was decided" to send a Su-24 attack plane to fly low over the deck of USS Donald Cook in April 2014: "We had to show use and resolve to use force." Then documentary's creator Andrei Kondrashov asks Putin to comment on that incident and Putin says: "It was not my decision. It was hooliganism on their (commanders') part and didn't tell me anything about it."
It appears that most cruise lines do not want to spend the money needed to protect young passengers from drowning in their pools. If it is not that they are trying to save money, I cannot understand the reason why they continually resist hiring and placing trained and competent lifeguards at their pools.

Perhaps they argue that they would be exposed to even greater legal liability by not positioning the lifeguards in the proper places, not training them correctly, or for their failure to respond quickly enough. However, if they can find people qualified to get a massive mega cruise liner with 6000 passengers and crew from Miami to Cozumel three times a week, they can hire some Red Cross-approved teenagers who want to make some money and live on a cruise ship for three months--and most importantly save some lives.

Unfortunately, until the cruise industry--Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, and Carnival--puts passenger safety ahead of profit, parents will need to make sure they put their vacation on hold whenever their kids want to enjoy the pools. Cruise lines simply prefer to place the responsibility for pool safety on untrained parents who have been plied with unlimited drink packages and spa days, and can easily fall asleep or be distracted from maintaining constant visual contact with their kids who are splashing around in overcrowded swimming pools with dozens of strangers.

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For example, last week RCCL's Anthem of the Seas was forced to make an emergency return to port shortly after it left the Port of Bayonne, New Jersey, after an eight-year-old Dutch boy nearly drowned in one of the ship's swimming pools. The child, found unconscious, was airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and is currently on life support.

RCCL released the following statement:

"On Thursday, June 30, an eight-year-old boy onboard Anthem of the Seas was treated by the ship's medical team after an accident in one of the ship's swimming pools, but required additional medical attention," a representative for the cruise line said in a statement. "Royal Caribbean's Care Team is providing support to the guest's family."

Cruise ships today have evolved into floating theme parks, complete with high-wire obstacle courses and waterslides. And like amusement parks, they need lifeguards who are trained to protect both children and adult passengers from harm.

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What can parents do to protect their young kids who use the pools on cruise ships? As an experienced cruise ship accident attorney, I have investigated dozens of cases where children have been injured in and around swimming pools and other water attractions on cruise ships.

Here are five things all parents need to know to keep their kids safe on cruise ships this summer:

1.Keep your eyes on your children at all times.

2.Don't bring a book, magazine, game, or even your cellphone to the pool as this can lead to momentary distractions.

3.Do not drink alcohol while watching your kids in the pool.

4.If you need to use the restroom, make the kids get out of the pool and accompany you, rather than leaving them alone.

5.Do not trust strangers to keep their eye on your children while you get a spa treatment, grab a beer, or hit the casino.
As the Veep stakes continue on both sides of the aisle, I was struck by the three potential candidates that are being most talked for the Trump ticket. Newt Gingrich, Mike Pence and Chris Christie. One thing each of these potential vice presidents share is their opposition to marriage equality.

While each Veep candidate has accepted the Supreme Court ruling, Newt Gingrich said post the Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, "No one should think today's ruling ends anything. It just shifts the field of conflict." Where is the new field of conflict? The so called religious freedom front. Its star is Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

Last year, Pence became the poster boy for anti-LGBT legislation when he signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law in Indiana. Pence said RFRA "ensures that Indiana law will respect religious freedom and apply the highest level of scrutiny to any state or local governmental action that infringes on people's religious liberty." Corporate leaders nationally and in Indiana disagreed. The response was immediate with potential boycotts of Indiana by the NCAA and other corporations. Ultimately, RFRA was amended to have a "fix" to ensure that the measure did not discriminate against any Hoosier. Many in the LGBT community were not satisfied with the "fix."

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Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence, both anti-marriage equality advocates that think the new front to attack LGBT folks is through religious freedom bills. Yet they are two of the top choices for VP on the Trump ticket? Talk about an anti-LGBT dog whistle.

Then there is Governor Chris Christie. His record on LGBT issues is mixed at best. No support of marriage equality or adoption rights. Christie has stated he stopped defending New Jersey's same-sex marriage ban because "when I know I've been defeated, you don't bang your head against the wall anymore and spend taxpayer money to do it." Presidential candidate Christie remained silent for two days during the Indiana RFRA controversy and finally said he was confident that Pence would fix the problem. To his credit at least Christie thought the law needed to be fixed after assessing the political winds.


Photo Courtesy of: Foodstampsnow.com

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, obesity is defined as excess amount of body weight that may come from muscles, bone, fat, and water. Most often, however, obesity is the medical term used to refer to someone who has excessive fat on their body.

Rather we as Americans choose to admit it or not we are in a health crisis. Two in three adults are by definition considered to be overweight or obese and 1 in 20 adults are extremely obese. While it is possible that genetic make-up could determine just how fast and easily you put on weight it is not the only leading cause of obesity.

According to medical journals the human body needs a certain amount of calories in order to function properly. On average your body weight overall does not change as long as the numbers you take in equal the number of calories you born in physical activity. The odds of being healthy are actually in your favor. The problem comes in when you choose to not only eat healthy but you neglect daily exercise that will aid you in burning those calories you had taken in throughout the day. Inactivity is the enemy to your health.

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While there is no single cause that points to exactly why so many Americans struggle with obesity a recent study has left many individuals in awe. The United Sates Department of Agricultural reviewed numerous statistics from 2007-2010 in order to identify pertinent information in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and found that those who use food stamps have a higher likelihood of becoming obese than those who do not use the food stamp program.

To be exact it was reported that 40% of the individuals on the food stamp program are obese. This study comes just months after many political figures in the Republican party were criticized for attempting to make receiving food stamps a much harder process.

Earlier this month North Carolina law officials implemented a brand new food stamp policy that will force those who want to continue to receiving their benefits to either work, volunteer or enroll in classes for at least 20 hours each week. This new policy is an attempt to get North Carolina food stamp recipients to get moving and be active.

In addition to upgraded food stamp policies several companies have begun to design new products that work to curb hunger including one product called CBD Oil, which promotes that it has the ability to help individuals consume less food for longer periods of time.

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The European Union countries will not support a decision to change the wording of the Association Agreement with Ukraine because this will entail the need to ratify the document again, Ambassador Jan Tombinski, the head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said.

At a meeting of the European Council in late June, the leaders of the European countries told their Dutch colleagues that any substantial changes, which would force the other members to ratify the Association Agreement again, were not the path they should be contemplating, he told journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte reported on the matter in parliament, and the EU is awaiting the Dutch parliament's response to this initiative, Tombinski said.

Earlier the Netherlands held a referendum during which a majority voted against the association with Ukraine.
Recently the San Francisco Examiner reported that in the 2013-2014 school year, students with disabilities made up 11% of the high school student population, but those same students made up 37% of suspensions.

Why are SFUSD students with disabilities being suspended at disportionately higher rates?

This fact is staggering and is not aligned with the social justice, inclusion and equity values that we believe in as a city. The article revealed that for some students, their "behavioral challenges" are related to their disability - concerning because students may be disciplined for behaviors linked to their disability.

San Francisco's Board of Education has begun to address the disproportionate application of suspensions in its 2015 resolution, Solutions Not Suspensions, championed by Coleman Advocates and Commissioner Matt Haney. Alternatives to suspensions was a game changer because it brought to the forefront an issue that still is highly discriminatory and harmful to many African American and Latino students.

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Addressing the racial bias with a mandate to keep our kids in school was clear, but the Examiner's article reveals that we have to be just as in our efforts to address the same issues for students with disabilities.

Depending on how you look at it, the encouraging - or incredibly troubling part - of this issue is that San Francisco is leading the way on reducing suspensions nationally. The rate of students with disabilities being suspended across the country is even worse. It is a cold reminder that the disability community is too often marginalized in our society and social justice movement.

These issues we're seeing in schools connect to the lack of acceptance and participation in the workforce. Our kids with disabilities already have a massive hill to climb, and taking them out of school because of behaviors linked to their disability does nothing to build them up or prepare them for entering a work environment. In California, 67% of people with disabilities are unemployed. That's not a reality we're willing to accept. We need solutions for school sites and employers if we're going to be serious about solving this issue.

We need a culture shift to normalize disabilities. SFUSD has an opportunity to pave the way to educate everyone - students, teachers, parents and the broader community - that we can no longer discriminate against people with disabilities - but instead we should be working together to find alternative paths for people to be successful. We cannot punish kids for disabilities and behaviors outside of their control.

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Our schools and our city should be leading the way in improving our schools, lifting up and hiring more people with disabilities and working to get them in leadership roles.

We have always been a city that aspires to accept and celebrate people no matter who they are or where they come from. When we're suspending our students with disabilities at such alarming rates, we are not living up to our values as a city.

Let's stop casting our youth with disabilities away, and empower them to be productive, empowered and integrated members of our community.
In the 60 years since I (TBB) first started practicing pediatrics, medical science has made many advances possible. Today's doctors have access to new vaccines and surgical procedures that we could only dream of when I started out.

Yet science has also revealed that raising healthy children requires more than the latest medical treatments. When children grow up in poverty -- as over one out of every six in the United States do (Wimer, Fox, Garfinkel, Kaushal, and Waldfogel, 2013) -- the experience can have dire consequences.

Babies born poor face lifelong consequences for health, mental health, and success in school and in life. Asthma, obesity, diabetes, and learning disabilities are just some of the challenges that children who grow up poor are more likely to face (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2015). And they are far more likely to remain poor as adults (see for instance, Greenstone, Looney, Patashnik, and Yu, 2013). This means that their babies, too, are at higher risk of being born -- and dying -- poor.

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The challenges that children living in poverty face are profound and unfair. Americans of every stripe know that babies don't choose the circumstances they are born into. And they don't choose the lifelong consequences of childhood poverty either.

Our healthcare system can't treat all the effects of growing up poor on child and adult health. In order to stave off the chronic illnesses of childhood and adulthood caused by poverty, we need to start promoting economic mobility at the beginning of life.

We have federal programs that help reduce child poverty, the most significant being the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2015). Collectively, they lift five million children out of poverty every year, more than any other federal initiatives (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2015).

But the evidence tells us we have to do even more. The incidence of poverty in our nation is higher for children than for any other age group. Children under three have the highest poverty rates of all because their parents are often poorly paid or can't work because they must stay home to provide care (see, for instance, Redd, Karver, Murphey, Moore, and Knewstub, 2011).

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One major shortcoming is the limited reach of the child and earned income tax credits, which provide no support to the most vulnerable of all: the over 5 million children who live in households with no earnings (Harris, 2012). The impacts of this oversight fall hardest on young African-American and Latino children and young children in families headed by women. They are the children most likely to live in households without the minimum levels of income needed to qualify for the tax credits (Harris, 2012).

Another concern is that even for families eligible for the tax credits, the payments arrive once a year in a single lump sum. New research shows that big shifts like this in a family's income have serious negative impacts (Mullainathan and Shafir, 2013). It's not hard to see how trying to make ends meet for months on end before the money comes in can raise the stress level for parents and make it harder for them to focus on their children in all the ways they want to.

Providing a dose of economic protection for children living with poverty should be a priority for the next Administration and Congress. In the House, Rosa DeLauro, Nancy Pelosi, and Sander Levin have introduced a bill that would be a good start. It would create a new "young child tax credit" for families with children under three, providing a monthly credit of $125 per child for both middle class families and those living in the deepest poverty. In the Senate, Michael Bennet has proposed a bill to triple the current child tax credit for children under six.

These policies would be surprisingly cost-effective. Dollar-for-dollar, they would lift more children out of poverty than additional investments in the current tax credits because they help those who are too poor to benefit from today's programs (Garfinkel, Harris, Waldfogel, and Wimer, 2016). At the same time, they could save hundreds of billions of dollars each year in preventable healthcare costs, crime, and lost productivity (see for instance, Holzer, Schanzenbach, Duncan, and Ludwig, 2008).

We know these approaches work. England cut child poverty in half over ten years in large part by increasing their universal child tax credit for all kids (Waldfogel, 2010). Canada's national child tax credit has had impressive results as well.

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As doctors and child advocates who care for children, we want them to have the opportunity to grow up to be healthy, productive members of our society. To help them realize their potential, healthy economics may be one of the best remedies of all.

End notes:

Bennet, Michael. 2015. "Senator Michael Bennet Introduces Bill To Improve Child Tax Credit." Generation Progress. http://genprogress.org/voices/2015/11/25/41267/senator-michael-bennet-introduces-bill-to-improve-child-tax-credit/

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. 2015. "Chart Book The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit." Updated, November 2, 2015. http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/chart-book-the-earned-income-tax-credit-and-child-tax-credit

DeLauro, Rosa. 2016. "Delauro Introduces Young Child Tax Credit Act." http://delauro.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2223:delauro-introduces-young-child-tax-credit-act&catid=2&Itemid=21

Garfinkel, Irwin, David Harris, Jane Waldfogel, and Christopher Wimer. "Doing More for Our Children." The Century Foundation. 2016. https://tcf.org/content/report/doing-more-for-our-children/

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Greenstone, Michael , Adam Looney, Jeremy Patashnik, and Muxin Yu. June, 2013. "Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education." The Hamilton Project. Brookings. http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2013/06/13-facts-higher-education

Harris, David. "The Child Tax Credit: How the United States Underinvests in Its Youngest Children in Cash Assistance and How Changes to the Child Tax Credit Could Help," Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University School of Social Work, 2012, http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac%3A175200.

Holzer, Harry J. , Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Greg J. Duncan, and Jens Ludwig, "The Economic Costs of Childhood Poverty in the United States," Journal of Children and Poverty 14, no. 1 (2008): 41-61,

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2007/01/24/2450/the-economic-costs-of-poverty/

Mullainathan, Sendhil and Eldar Shafir. Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much. Time Books, Henry Holt and Company, LLC. New York, NY. 2013.

Redd, Zakia, Tahilin Sanchez Karver, David Murphey, Kristin Anderson Moore, and Dylan Knewstub. 2011. Two Generations in Poverty: Status and Trends among Parents and Children in the United States, 2000-2010. Child Trends Research Brief #2011-25. Washington, DC: Child Trends. http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Child_Trends- 2011_11_28_RB_PovertyStatusTrends.pdf

Waldfogel, Jane. 2010. Britain's War on Poverty. New York, NY: Russell Sage.

Wimer, Christopher, Liana Fox, Irwin Garfinkel, Neeraj Kaushal, and Jane Waldfogel. "Trends in Poverty with an Anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure."Working Paper 13-01 (Columbia University, 2013), available at https://courseworks.columbia.edu/access/content/group/c5a1ef92-c03c-4d88-0018-ea43dd3cc5db/Working%20Papers%20for%20website/Anchored%20SPM.December7.pdf

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Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera is talking big yet again. This time it's about demilitarization. Speaking in Colombo on July 6, Mr. Samaraweera said that the government hopes "to complete the demilitarization process" by 2018. And we're not just talking about the war-torn Northern and Eastern Provinces, the foreign minister is referring to the entire country.

Where is this coming from? Should a statement like this be taken seriously? "The top brass in the army still call shots with this crisis ridden government," says Colombo-based journalist Kusal Perera.

Perhaps Mr. Samaraweera would be willing to reveal the precise number of troops currently stationed in the north and the approximate rate at which a military drawdown would occur. In light of the foreign minister's remarks, should we look for the defense budget to finally stop growing?

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In fact, 18 months into President Maithripala Sirisena's tenure, demilitarization has yet to begin and the military remains heavily involved in civilian life in the north and east. What's more, various government officials - both civilians and military personnel - have justified the country's continued militarization on specious national security grounds. This even happened last month.

Frankly, if demilitarization is such a high priority for the government, then the president and the prime minister should be conveying that message to the public. "A weak, conflicting leadership shared between President Sirisena and [Prime Minister] PM [Ranil] Wickramasinghe will not be able to handle demilitarization, even if their government survives that long in one piece," notes Perera.
Protestors hold a banner reading 'Black Lives Matter' during a demonstration in Berlin, on July 10, 2016 with the motto 'Black Lives Matter - No Justice = No Peace' as protest over the deaths of two black men at the hands of police last week. / AFP / dpa / Wolfram Kastl / Germany OUT (Photo credit should read WOLFRAM KASTL/AFP/Getty Images)

He was walking in his hoodie, carrying Skittles and an ice tea. He was selling cigarettes. He was selling CDs. She was pulled over for changing lanes without signaling. He was pulled over for a broken taillight. He was walking down the stairs, because the elevator was broken. He was standing on his front porch. She was sleeping on her grandmother's couch. She was standing with her boyfriend on a corner.

He was registering people to vote. He had whistled at a White woman, so they say. He was standing on his front lawn. He was standing on a motel balcony.

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A man's body is slammed against a car, he is wrestled to the ground, face smashed into pavement. My head hurts, watching, feeling the rub of the asphalt. I have been here before. The familiar sense of suffocation. Hard to breath with your face in the concrete. Subdued, they are sitting on him, on me. He is tased. I am tased. I am shot. In the chest. I can't breathe. In the back, it is on fire. I am lying there, I use my hand to reach up to touch the bleeding space. I am dying. I am dead.

He is us; that is our blood oozing out onto the pavement, our children weeping as our image is plastered in the media.

He is dead. We are dead. Reciting from our graves the names of the all-too-many killed at the hands of the state or by those who know the state will exonerate them.

A little girl sits in the back seat, her mother is praying over and over again, "Please Jesus, don't let them have killed my boyfriend." He is bleeding, slumped over, a pulpy mess where his arm should be. She watches, she listens, and we see what she sees, hear what she hears. There is a policeman holding a gun in the window, pointing at him, who is moaning. Mommy is talking into the phone, making a video. She has to get Mommy's purse. Now we are in the police car. Mommy is crying, she is losing it. I am afraid, but I think she is more. I tell Mommy, "I am right here with you."

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The man is dead, they killed her childhood.

They killed our childhood, they killed us all, and we and our children are screaming, and afraid, and traumatized. Their blood is in the ground, which is crying out, "How long, O Lord?"

Our dead bodies choking in the dirt struggle to scream, "When will it end? When will our lives matter, when will Black Lives Matter?"

We know this hatred is not inherent; we know that are not born to hate. We learn to hate.

It starts with a suspicion, that the so-called Negro is inferior, fueling fake science to support the hatred. Biblical myths have fueled the hatred. Cain kills his brother Abel, and God is angry. Cain is marked or cursed with dark skin or Black skin. Southern Baptists used this so-called curse to justify slavery. Brigham Young -- the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- the Mormon Church -- used this so-called curse to argue, in 1852, that Blacks could not be priests in the denomination, a ban that was lifted 125 years later. Noah cursed his son Ham, and according to some Jewish, Muslim, and Christian believers, the curse was for his progeny to be slaves.

And so it is, condoned by broken theology, and now by cultural conscription, that Black lives matter so little in our nation that they can be pummeled, kicked, tossed, tased, trashed, shot, killed, and discarded. With little consequence. With impunity. As though they are less than animals.

This hatred of Black flesh so deeply imbedded in our culture. It must be addressed for the sickness and sin it is.

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What must we do?

1.)There must be repentance. We must acknowledge that to be silent is to agree, to be complicit. That we have not done enough, must be whispered in confession booths, must be prayed from pulpits, must be preached in sermons. God's creation includes beautiful Black bodies and when we disregard their lives we disregard the God who created us all. We mock God, and that is not acceptable.

2.)We must create a revolution, a love revolution, that acknowledges that each body is awesomely and wonderfully made in the image of God, who delights in all flesh, in Black flesh. The revolution is specific, it begins with each relationship. An acknowledgement of particularity. A deep listening of story. We cannot be conceptual revolutionaries, we must not be closet prophets. We must know an "other" and love them and carry them inside us at all times. With empathy.

3.)We must revise the narrative. The story of White supremacy is a lie that must be disrupted on the level of culture, society, and legislation. At the level of system and government. And this must begin at home at our dinner tables, in our congregations, at our fellowship hours. Our outrage must create a revised narrative, a new story. A story in which all of God's children are seen and cherished as wonderful, gorgeous, beloved, valued, fabulous, awesome mirrors of the image of God.

4.)And though this work is for all of us, I would be remiss if I did not say that White people have a special role to play in changing this story. You who have privilege must own it. There is no more time for denial. You who have privilege must teach your children that they have privilege and with it comes responsibility. To open doors for others. To share power, to step back from power. To learn how to follow Black lives into the trenches, and to be willing to be taught. You must be willing to learn. Read Black history, because it is your history. Bring those stories to the classroom, to the church school room, and to the pulpit. Read the Bible for the stories of the people of color in it. Disrupt the Whiteness of Jesus/Yeshua and claim his Afro-Semitic roots. You must tell other White people that they have power and you must not mince words. You must -- because you are truth-tellers -- tell the truth. Because the truth will set us all free.


By Thomas Harding





WOLLANK

1890

Sitting astride his horse, Otto Wollank made his way slowly through a narrow avenue of ripening vines, towards a lake, shimmering in the early-morning light. The way was sandy and treacherous, he had to be careful that his mare did not slip on one of the many stones, or brush up against the gnarly, twisted branches that marked his path. But there was no rush, for Otto was in a contemplative mood, considering whether he should acquire the estate through which he rode.

Of average height, and with a round chin and unimposing physique, the twenty-seven-year-old would have made scant impression, were it not for the enormous moustache which he sported below a white fedora, tilted gamely to one side.

From a bluff at the vineyard's edge, he looked out at the land around him. At the estate's centre lay the beautiful Gro Glienicke Lake. Two and a half kilometres long and five hundred metres wide, the lake was large enough to sail a dinghy, but smaller than most of the other waterways which dotted the Brandenburg countryside. There was good fishing here, Otto had been told: one could catch carp and eel, orwith some skilla pike, up to one and a half metres in length, which swam through the lake's deepest sections.

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Otto Wollank

To the east and west of the lake a thick forest hugged the shore: a mixture of black alder, towering trees, with thin dark trunks, whose green triangular crowns blotted out the sky, and willows, whose branches reached out over the lake's edge. Below, growing in the sandy soil, spread a sweet-smelling blanket of ground elder, lilac and irises. In the lake's shallows, tall grasses swayed, alternating with a patchwork of lilies from whose pads pink, white and yellow flowers erupted.

To the north of the lake lay marsh, and then an ancient woodland filled with oak and Scots pine. These woods contained a rich variety of wildlifedeer, wild boar and red foxeach an attractive target to a hunter. Beyond these woods, to the west, stretched out the Doberitzer Heide, a wide-open heath that had been used by Prussian soldiers as a training ground for over a hundred years.

The lake's margins went undeveloped, without a single house, jetty or dock along its shore. Unsurprisingly, the area was a haven for birds: giant white cranes, who passed through from Siberia and Scandinavia on their way to Spain; bitterns with their loud calls booming out from the dense reeds; swans swimming in pairs on the water; and woodpeckers, drilling the trees nearby.

Advertised as one of the largest parcels in the state of Brandenburg, the estate contained some of its prettiest and most productive land. And while decidedly rural in nature, it was only a morning's ride to two major cities, Berlin and Potsdam. The property itself had many names. To some, it was known as the 'Ribbeck Estate' after the renowned Ribbeck family who had owned it from 1572 to 1788. But the Ribbecks had not lived at the property for more than a century and, it having changed hands so many times since, most of the locals now called it the 'Gro Glienicke Nobleman's Estate', or more simply the 'estate'. For the past sixty years the land had been owned by the Landefeldts, a local family with farming in their blood. But after years of mismanagement and falling profits they had been forced to sell.

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On offer was four thousand Morgen of land, a Morgen being equal to that area which one man and one ox might till in a morning, roughly equivalent to two-thirds of an acre. In all, the estate was two and a half kilometres long and four kilometres wide. In addition, the sale included an array of farm buildings, plus the cattle, pigs, goats, geese and horses that populated the fields and barns, the farm machinery, and that year's harvest.

Otto turned his horse round and retraced his steps back towards the village of Gro Glienicke, on the northern end of the western shore. It was an ancient settlement, one of the oldest in the region, dating back to 1267, and an insular place, populated by families who had lived here for generations, who knew each other's business, who feared strangers. With the exception of one Catholic couple, all of Glienicke's three hundred or so villagers were Protestant. The little stone houses were built along the Dorfstrae, or village street, a road that ran along the lake's western side, constructed a hundred metres from the water's edge. There was a grocery and a baker's, a small stone-faced school, and a windmill. At the village's centre was the Drei Linden Gasthof, a two-storey inn that for centuries had served as a local watering hole, and which was fronted by three lime trees. In Germany, as in other European countries, the lime was a sacred tree, whose presence protected against ill luck.

At the lake's northern tip, two hundred metres from the lake shore, stood the schloss, or manor house. Three storeys high, the schloss was built of white brick, with a shallow-pitched roof and tower, and contained more than twenty bedrooms and sixteen fireplaces. Inside, the living and dining rooms had floors of wide oak planks, the stairs rose in steps of polished marble and the walls were covered with the finest plaster. Its front hallway ceilings were adorned with colourful frescos: one showed a scantily clothed man firing an arrow at a flock of flying cranes; another depicted a bare-breasted woman looking coyly aside, as angels showered her with petals and serenaded her with a golden harp.

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As he continued on around the estate, Otto saw the workers busy with their labours. White-scarfed women, in clogs and long grey dresses, pulled large square-shaped tins from the oven, providing endless loaves of bread for the village. A line of labourers knelt in a wide muddy field next to round-bottomed wooden baskets, placing small potatoes in long rutted rows. Grey-capped men, in shirts and vests, walked behind horses, encouraging their charges with long whips, as they ploughed one of the many fields. Meanwhile, others bound giant bushels of wheat with twine, the windmill behind them, its four sails beating the air. Each of their faces appeared old, weather-beaten, unsmiling.

This land appealed to Otto. It was a gentle place, full of potential, yet uncrowded, unhurried and steeped in tradition.

* * *

Gro Glienicke lay fifteen kilometres west of Berlin's city boundary. While life had changed little for this small Brandenburg village, the same could not be said of Berlin, for, by 1890, it had established itself as the most important city in Germany.

Nineteen years earlier, Berlin had been declared the capital of a new German empire. Until that time, Germany had been a fragmented country, without an effective central economic, military or political structure. Since 1871, Germany and its twenty-five kingdoms, principalities, grand duchies and cities, had been joined together as a single empire, overseen by Kaiser Wilhelm I.

It was also in 1871 that Berlin had been chosen to host the empire's Reichstag, or parliament. The members of this Reichstag were directly elected by men over the age of twenty-five and it was led by a chancellor appointed by the Kaiser. As the seat of government, the city attracted powerful interests, supported by legions of professionals, each with their own retinues, families and domestic staff. Then there was the military, with its influential officer class, whose presence was felt everywhere in Berlin. Almost every day a troop of soldiers was seen parading or marching through the city streets. Military uniforms were worn both on and off duty, and they had become a statement both of fashion and social standing. With barracks located in Berlin and the nearby city of Potsdam, tens of thousands of soldiers lived in or around the city.

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Meanwhile, Berlin had established itself as one of Europe's centres of intellectual and cultural excellence. Its Friedrich Wilhelm University boasted an impressive list of former students and academics, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Georg Hegel, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Similarly, Berlin's Kaiser Friedrich Museum was one of Europe's finest, exhibiting extraordinary Byzantian and Egyptian antiquities, as well as paintings from the masters: Raphael and Giotto, Rembrandt and Holbein.

In 1888, Kaiser Wilhelm was succeeded by his son, Friedrich III, who died of cancer of the larynx after ruling for only ninety-nine days. Friedrich's son Wilhelm II then took the throne, aged only twenty-nine. Since that time, Wilhelm II had ruled from an enormous white-stoned baroque palace on the banks of Berlin's River Spree. Forming the hub of royal patronage and command, the palace was serviced by thousands of courtiers and bureaucrats, accountants and engineers, artists and bankers.

Following these momentous changes, the imperial city was transformed in a few short years from a sleepy provincial town into one of Europe's leading metropolises. Attracted by the rapidly expanding economy, and the opportunities that it provided, a rush of newcomers entered the city. Berlin's population doubled, from 800,000 in 1871, to over 1.6 million by 1890.

As part of this expansion, large tracts of land on the city outskirts were developed. The vast majority of these new buildings were apartment blocks, often hastily and inexpensively built, and before long, two-thirds of the city's residents were tenants. Many of the developers came from the middle classes, and were soon amassing vast fortunes. One of these developers was Otto Wollank.

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* * *

Born on 18 September 1862, in Pankow, a northern suburb of Berlin, Otto was the eldest son of five children. Tragedy struck early when his thirty-four-year-old father, Adolf Friedrich Wollank, died when Otto was only five years old. Luckily for the family, Adolf left a large inheritance, having purchased hundreds of acres of land in Pankow during the middle of the nineteenth century, before Berlin's massive population explosion, when prices were still cheap.

After graduating from school in 1881, Otto enrolled in agricultural college in Berlin, undertaking work experience on various farms in northern Germany. He also travelled to France, Italy, North Africa, Greece and Turkey during this period. At the age of twenty, Otto began his military service, enlisting with the 2nd Dragoon Guards regiment, with whom he perfected his riding skills and practised basic military techniques. He then joined the Danzig Death's Head hussars, known to include some of Germany's best horsemen and to produce military advisers to Kaiser Wilhelm.

After leaving the cavalry, Otto took over his father's property business, growing it rapidly over the next few years. It was relatively easy to make money. All Otto had to do was find willing buyers, a simple matter given the city's shortage of new homes. Within a short while, he was turning a massive profit. The question was: how to invest it?

Otto was an ambitious man. He wished to progress beyond his father's status as a tradesman. During his time as an officer in the army, and while selling property in Berlin, Otto had learned that the corridors of power were controlled by the aristocracy. No matter how much wealth was accumulated, it was close to impossible to find political favour unless one was a member of the nobility. To fix this problem, he would have to purchase a rural estate, with the hope that this would make him suitable to marry into a noble family. Which is why Otto Wollank had ended up surveying the estate in Gro Glienicke.

On 18 February 1890, apparently satisfied by what he found, Otto Wollank made an offer to purchase the estate, which was accepted. So it was that four days later, on 22 February, the landowner, Johann Landefeldt, and the purchaser, Otto Wollank, met at the Spandau courthouse located ten kilometres north of Gro Glienicke. There, at quarter past eleven in the morning, they signed their names to the purchase contract: in exchange for 900,000 marks, Otto Wollank was now the Rittergutsbesitzer, or landlord, of Gro Glienicke.

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* * *

Over the next few years, Otto worked tirelessly, throwing himself into modernising the estate. Keen to apply the scientific methods he had learned at college, he reorganised the manor farm. Using fertilisers and pesticides he increased crop yields. He built a new steam-powered mill to grind the wheat more efficiently. He introduced pasteurisation to milk production, extending its shelf life, and then developed a chain of shops in Berlin in order to sell the milk. Next, he built a brickworks, diversifying the estate's income beyond those of a traditional farm, providing bricks for houses on his estate, as well as the village beyond.

Along the lake's sandy northern shore, he planted a vineyard. Young vines were laid out in long rows, held up by trellises that stretched from the estate's entrance, at the Potsdamer Tor, down to a bluff overlooking the lake. Once the vineyard was established, labourers picked the grapes, which were then crushed and juiced, before being fermented in large metal vats that Otto had installed in one of his barns.

Concerned for the welfare of his workers, Otto converted an old farm building into a nursery. As the labourers' children grew up, the nursery added on a kindergarten and then a school. Initially, the local landlords remained unsure of this Berlin interloper, who had purchased his way into their rarefied circle, but the villagers warmed to their new landlord. In an unpublished family history, a member of the Wollank clan later recalled that Otto was a good landlord who cared for the workers. More than this, he was viewed as 'gutig und mitfuhlend,' or 'kindly and compassionate'.

On 15 June 1894, four years after arriving in the village, and now aged thirty-one, Otto married Katharina Anne Marie, a twenty-three-year-old local girl from an established Brandenburg family. A year later, they had their first child, Marie Luise, and then, eleven months later another, Ilse Katharina. A third daughter, Irmgard, was born almost exactly a year after that, but she died when only two days old. Finally, they had a son, who was born on the twenty-third day of the first month of the new century. He was baptised at the schloss, and given the name Horst Otto Adolf. Otto was thankful that at last he had a male heir.

The schloss was a wonderful place to grow up. Educated at home, Marie, Ilse and Horst had plenty of time to play in the fields and woods. Their father built a wooden playhouse for them, an ornately carved structure that was tall enough for an adult to stand, and wide enough to host a tea party for their friends.

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As soon as they were old enough, the children were allowed to swim and sail on the lake, exploring its islands, hidden beaches and coves. Although Horst was often unable to participate in the more arduous recreational activities due to his persistent ill health, he was taught to ride a horse, and to shoot with an air pistol, and later with a hunting rifle. The girls, meanwhile, contented themselves with singing lessons in the front parlour.

Every October, the villagers and the Wollanks came together for the Erntedankfest, or Thanksgiving festival, to celebrate the gathering of the harvest and the good fortune of the village. Assembled in the schloss' courtyard, the villagers awaited the landlord's arrival. The men were dressed in their Sunday-best suits; the more affluent wore fedoras and ties, others sported peaked caps. The women wore formal dresses and were accompanied by boys in lederhosen and girls in frocks. Also present were the men of the fire brigade, their belts and buckles gleaming, the village pastor, and the nightwatchman, who lived in a house next to the Drei Linden and who provided security to the village in the absence of a police force.

After some time, the landlord's family joined the crowd on the front steps of the schloss, greeted by the villagers. A few moments later, children were pushed forward carrying the Erntekrone, large wreaths of wheat and flowers tied to long poles from which hung multicoloured ribbons. After the landlord had thanked everyone for coming, he led them away from the schloss, with his family at the head, marching along the sandy lane which ran around the northern tip of the lake, past farm buildings and the new vineyard. At the end of the lane they walked under the Potsdamer Tor, the stone arch that marked the entrance to the schloss and its manor park, and upon which was carved the Wollank family crest: the head of a black wolf and a crown painted in the red and white colours of Gro Glienicke. Now on the Potsdamer Chaussee, the procession turned left at the fire station, and down to the fourteenth-century stone church.

While the rest of the party entered the church through the large wooden doors on the nave's northern face, the Wollanks arrived via the landlord's personal door, on the eastern side of the building. Inside, the church gleamed following the renovation recently paid for by Wollank: a crown of gold-fringed alabaster hung above the colourfully decorated pulpitpainted in rich greens, blues and reds; an enormous oil painting of Christ was placed behind the altar, on which were inscribed the words Ecce Homo; an oil painting portraying the Last Supper featured a former owner of the estate, Hans Georg Ribbeck, as one of the disciples; and at the ceiling's centre, the sun appeared through a hole in the painted clouds, on which was written the Hebrew word for God, .

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As to Otto Wollank himself, his situation appeared stable and secure. The estate was developing nicely. The harvest had been good. His villagers were well fed and his wife and three children were healthy and happy. Sitting in the lord of the manor's box, located to the left of the altar and above and in front of the rest of the pews, its side emblazoned with the family crest, and singing the harvest festival songs, Otto's life had never seemed better.


This week people gather at 60 events across North America to mark the third anniversary of the Lac Megantic oil train disaster. Stand organizes the Stop Oil Trains Week of Action to help raise the voice of communities who oppose these dangerous, unnecessary trains. In 2016, elected officials joined our call for a stop to oil trains.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Oregon Governor Kate Brown are challenging federal railroad officials on the safety of trains carrying millions of gallons of explosive, toxic crude oil. They join Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley, Washington Senator Cantwell, and New Jersey Senator Booker on a long and growing list of state and local elected officials who understand that the oil trains rolling through American cities and towns are too dangerous for the rails. Or, in the words of New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a year ago, "a reckless gamble that we just can't afford to make."

Concern about these dangerous trains spiked again following the June 3 derailment and explosion in Mosier, Oregon. A rare windless day in the Columbia River Gorge prevented the fire from spreading to nearby homes or a school just a few hundred yards away. But the potential threat, and the inability to contain and control an oil train fire, was not lost on first responders to the inferno of explosive crude in Mosier. "What's at stake?" asked Mosier fire chief Jim Appleton in an interview with the Oregonian:

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"Do we want to test the abilities of a small town again to respond to Armageddon? Or just understand, it's not worth the risk. It ain't worth shareholder value. I know the railroad's argument. But we need to tell them: You can't ship that cargo."

July 6 marks the third anniversary of the fatal oil train disaster in Lac Megantic, Quebec, that took the lives of 47 people. In the three years since that 2013 disaster we've seen more than a dozen major oil train derailments and explosions in the US and Canada. Mosier was another close call. In January Christopher A. Hart of the National Transportation Safety Board recognized the threat when he said, "We have been lucky thus far that derailments involving flammable liquids in America have not yet occurred in a populated area... But an American version of Lac-Megantic could happen at any time."

The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters first asked for a ban on oil trains in 2014, and followed up their request in a June 8 letter to Governor Inslee citing the danger from an oil train fire:



"...evidence keeps growing that there is no safe way to transport Bakken crude. A derailment and fire in dry wildfire fuels with high winds could easily overwhelm available personnel and equipment in many parts of our state and grow into a conflagration of immense proportions."

A week after the Mosier derailment and fire Governor Inslee responded to federal railroad officials that he was not "interested in symbolic measures," and called for a halt to oil trains traveling through Washington until railroads meet six specific safety improvements. In a joint letter to the administration Oregon Senators Wyden and Merkley requested, "that the FRA place a moratorium on unit trains transporting crude oil and other hazardous materials through the Gorge until the FRA has issued a final investigative report for the Mosier accident."

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown was even more direct, calling for a moratorium on oil trains in the Columbia River Gorge, "until the strongest safety measures are put in place by federal authorities to protect Oregonians."

The railroads and oil industry, meanwhile, have ignored calls for safety improvements or a halt to oil train traffic while investigations move forward. Railroads point to common carrier requirements and federal preemption to ignore requests from fire fighters, local and state, and even federal, elected officials. Railroads like Union Pacific and even more so BNSF, and their owners, like Warren Buffet, cast morality aside and hide behind the thin veil of federal authority to avoid dealing with safety concerns about oil trains.

Imagine oil trains running down the Columbia River Gorge in between the burnt out skeletons of the derailed Mosier oil train cars cast along the sides of the tracks. It actually happened. Oil continues down those same tracks and thousands of miles of other rail lines in our cities and towns without any changes to the inspection system that led to the conflagration in Mosier. The exclusion of safety and fire officials, and all local and state elected officials, in decisions about rail safety leaves the protection of the 25 million Americans living in the blast zone tracks in the hands of the Warren Buffet and the other railroad executives of the world who care more about making even more money than public safety.
The new buildings on campus are modern monstrosities. The path to the rocks in the gorge where we used to swim is roped off for safety reasons.

Three decades after my four-year jaunt in a place called Ithaca, it is now time to tour campus with my youngest child and I do so with bittersweet feelings.

Cornell University in upstate New York is a curious mix of the American Dream -- a large university founded in the 18th century as both a private and land-grant collection of colleges.

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On its polyglot campus, with jaw-dropping views of steep gorges and serene waterfalls, you can find the son of an Ohio farmer, the scion of a Swiss hotel chain, an aspiring union activist or a preppie economics major all sitting side by side on the Arts Quad. With seven different colleges for varied academic or career interests, Cornell is truly a melting pot of cultures and a hothouse of intellectual challenges.

But being situated in a quiet corner of central New York it is subject to the whims of the climate gods. The old joke is that Ithaca has two seasons: winter and July 4th.

As I write this, on the day of our national independence, there is no more beautiful place in the northeast than Ithaca in the summer. The winding hiking trails, the breathtaking views in the national parks, the vistas from the top of the rolling hills, these all make me yearn to dwell in a place like this.

But today is not about me or my nostalgia for the past. It is about my intellectually curious and idealistic daughter, who is searching for the right fit for her upcoming four-year journey. An avid hiker and lover of nature, she was smitten by the beauty of Southern California, and the laid back culture she recently witnessed at Berkeley.

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The schools of the south we toured -- University of Virginia and William and Mary -- were probably a step too far into an unfamiliar culture after growing up in Manhattan (and Queens and now Brooklyn). Wesleyan and Yale in Connecticut were in the right range, so they will probably stay on the list, as will Brown in Providence, the site of a recent one-week writing program.

Looking for the right college these days is a fraught adventure for both parent and child. In my day, mom and dad were mostly oblivious, allowing me to apply wherever I wanted. I didn't really tour schools until that few week period between acceptance and decision time. It was a mad dash then to figure out quickly where I might fit in best.

I am not one of those parents who really want and need one of their children to attend their alma mater. So far, the two older ones have not and so this time around is the last chance.

How to balance one's desire to present your school in a positive light without seeming pushy? This is the task at hand now and it will not be easy.

Returning to Ithaca after more than three decades stirs up many emotions and memories. But it's really my daughter's new memory-making that lies ahead and I must allow that to play itself out with me as a mere spectator.

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Can't wait to see how this chapter begins. For her, the best is yet to come.
Dark skinned man looking straight into camera

America is sick and she's crying out for help. She is in desperate need of healing of an illness that has plagued her for far too long. I believe America's most notable ailments are greed, racism and fear; and they're all related. And they are all costing young black men their lives.

We have seen in the last 48 hours alone multiple incidents of young black males losing their lives at the hands of non-black police officers. Before we could all even come to terms with our feelings and emotions from the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Wednesday, we wake up on Thursday to the news of another young black male, Philando Castile, being shot and killed by a police office in Falcon Heights, Minnesota the night before. I do not have words for my emotions right now. But I know that something has to be done, and as emotional as the symptoms of America's sickness are making me feel, I know that my part of the remedy cannot be an emotional one.

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America's sickness is costing black males their lives at an alarming rate. According to data tracked by The Guardian, Castile makes the 136th black male killed by police in 2016 -and we just hit July. The most concerning part about the deaths of black males like Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and a list of many more, is that these deaths all could have been avoided had it not been for one of America's biggest sicknesses, the perception of black males in America and the fear that comes with it.

I know that many Americans may not want to hear this, but we as a nation are still dealing with the residue of unresolved trauma from slavery. I believe that the tragic loss of lives of young black men at the hands of law enforcement officers is the residual effect of a time of slavery that was clearly rooted in greed, which led to racism, and now breeds fear. This unresolved trauma has made America sick, and this sickness is having -- and will continue to have -- long-term detrimental effects on all of us; white, black, and brown.

America as a whole has been conditioned to believe that black males are dangerous, threatening and irresponsible predators with ill intentions. America has also been raised to believe that when you encounter a well-intentioned, well-educated, caring, responsible, and productive black male, that he is an exception to the rule. I have experienced this first hand throughout my life and continue to experience it every day.

This sickness that America is suffering from hurts us all. It hurts us socially and it hurts us economically. The family unit is the backbone and strength of America's culture and American values. When law enforcement officers allow their fears of black males to pull the trigger in an instant because they have bought into the stereotypes of the threatening black males, they are destroying families. They are destroying the social welfare of our entire society. These events result in the resentment of an entire generation of fatherless sons and daughters who want nothing more than to make someone pay for their loss. Too often authority figures can get so caught up in exercising "authority" that they neglect to acknowledge that their behavior is the source of the problem.

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Fatherless children are much more likely to drop out of school, get involved in criminal behavior, or end up in jail. Unless that's part of the plan...

The potential values, behaviors and choices of a generation of fatherless, traumatized and disengaged men and women, however, is an issue for all of us, not just the families directly involved.

It hurts us all economically as well, because we are destroying a richly diverse talent pool of valuable sources and resources of creative, innovative and imaginative minds. African Americans have a well-established track record and history of contributing to popular American culture in ways that have greatly fueled the American economy. These contributions range from fashion, to technology, to music and to medicine. Not to mention the spending power that African Americans represent that greatly stimulate our economy. Removing black males from family units greatly decrease the ability for any of these dynamics to occur.

This is not just an issue with law enforcement and Black America. This sickness is widespread, and Law Enforcement is just one area that needs to be treated -- it needs to be treated fast. This sickness has infected our financial institutions, our law making process, our law enforcement institutions, our educational institutions, our media institutions, and even our faith based institutions.

To remedy this sickness we need to first acknowledge it. Then we can give America the healing she deserves and so desperately needs.
Because I love adventurous travel, there is one destination that I have avoided, thinking it was lacking any activities other than lazy days spent on the beaches. The Dominican Republic, well known for it's pristine beaches and all-inclusive resorts, is not a place most thrill-seekers like myself would consider for a vacation. However, on my journey throughout the Northern Coast of the country, I quickly realized that this is in fact an adventurer's paradise. Though there are many places to engage in similar adventures, there is no place that has so many varied activities in such a condensed area.

Still, most of the Dominican Republic's visitors head straight for to the beaches of the Punta Cana area, never encountering anything outside of the resorts. For this reason, sadly, the Dominican Republic is a place that few visitors actually experience authentically. Many visitors have an unrealistic fear of venturing outside of their large resorts, which is unfortunate because this type of experience generally lacks the local culture, food, and soul of the country.

There are so many incredible activities, and below are just a few that I tried during my visit. However, you have been warned. If you participate in these activities, your adrenaline will spike, you will end your days tired and satisfied with a big smile on your face. In addition your trip will result in once-in-a-lifetime memories.

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SCUBA Dive

One of the most exciting things about traveling to a tropical destination is taking a look at what is under the sea. SCUBA diving is one of my favorite activities, and I try to do it in just about every country that I visit, as each destination harbors its own unique aquatic life. The warm waters of the Dominican Republic's Northern Coast are perfect for those who are experiencing SCUBA for the first time, and it makes an excellent place to earn your certification. Diving is is serious, and many unexpected things can happen underwater, therefore I suggest going with a reputable company. I went with Dive Cabarete. They took all of the proper precautions, and, unlike many other dive companies I have been out with, I did not feel rushed. The dive master also encouraged me to check my own equipment. Often times, the dive shops check it and tell you that everything is okay; however, since I have already been to the decompression chamber once, I prefer to check my own equipment.

Interact With Monkeys



Photo by Jim Vondruska

This was by far one of my favorite experiences while in the Dominican Republic. At Monkey Jungle, they have zip lines for those looking for a thrill ride, but the highlight is their squirrel monkey interaction. Here you can get up close and personal with the monkeys. They will jump down from the trees and swarm you as you feed them their favorite fruits. They start jumping on your shoulders and head and even playing with your hair. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that is definitely worth the visit.

Incredibly, this place isn't just for monkeying around.. In addition to taking care of the monkeys, all of the proceeds made from the zip lines and monkey interactions go towards a free clinic on the premise. The clinic provides much needed medicine and healthcare free of cost for many of the locals.

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Surf Like a Pro

The calm warm waves of the Cabarete area make for an excellent place to learn how to surf, as the waves are pretty tame. There are ton's of companies to choose from, but I went out with 3-2-1 Takeoff because of their great location and reviews. I knew how to surf before my trip, but what I liked about their lessons was that each person gets their own helper (called a 'Dolphin') to either help you catch your first wave or perfect your technique. Visitors who are already excellent surfers will enjoy Cabarete and Kite Beach for practicing new tricks, or for trying their hand at kitesurfing. Kite Beach is known to be one of the best kitesurfing areas in the world. Understandably so, as it always seems to have a strong breeze.

Explore by ATV

I loved exploring the Northern Coast by ATV, for it was adventurous and gave me a new perspective on the area. I went down some dusty dirt roads and even visited a local's home. Lastly, my guide then led us to a lagoon where locals hang out to barbecue and cool off from the summer's heat! This was a great way to combine interacting with locals and adventurous activity.

Jump, Slide and Climb Through 27 Waterfalls

Be sure to bring water shoes to the Dominican Republic, because the waterfalls are stunning and something to not miss. The Damajagua Cascades make for an incredibly unique day in the waterfalls and natural pools of water, defying everything my mother taught me. The day starts by hiking up to the top of the 27 waterfalls with a local guide. From there you can jump off ledges and water-slide down waterfalls into natural pools. Thanks to my guides at Iguana Mama, I had assistance to keep me safe and tell me where to aim my jumps so I wouldn't get up close and personal with any rocks. This experience certainly isn't for everyone, but there are walk-arounds if any of the jumps or slides are too big. I did all of the jumps, but the biggest one took some coaxing after I started shaking when I looked down, I could hear my mother's voice "Don't ever cliff jump, Valerie, it's very dangerous!". Sorry mom. At least it was an environment with guides around that know the waterfalls like the back of their hand!

Whitewater Rafting in Class 5 Rapids

Just a couple of hours outside of Puerto Plata is the mountain town of Jarabacoa. Jarabacoa is home to the Dominican Republic's longest river, Yaque Del Norte, with some incredible class 5 rapids. I took a recommendation from a friend and went with Rancho Jarabacoa. White water rafting here is not for the faint of heart. Our raft's guide was catapulted off the rear of the raft and sent flying into the water, while our raft continued down some pretty intense rapids. Luckily, they were prepared and our guide hopped back in before we took a few major drops. White water rafting is definitely an experience not to miss while you are in the DR if you love exciting activities in uncontrolled environments. If you prefer to sit this one out, Rancho Jarabacoa has some small horses that you can ride, but they made me more nervous than the rapids.

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Tackle Your Fear of Heights in a Cable Car Ride

Mount Isabel will have you asking yourself "Am I in the Caribbean or am I in Brazil"? High above the tree-tops, with it's own Christ the Redeemer statue, Mount Isabel De Torres is worth a visit! This one is probably only considered adventurous if you have a fear of heights (which I don't), but the cable car ride up to the top of Mount Isabel De Torres is worth taking! The views are spectacular, you get a panoramic sweep of the entire area. It's best to visit in the mornings, as clouds tend to move in later on in the day.
Donald Trump likes to brag he's not a politician. And he's not; he's a hustler, a scam artist, a grifter, a modern-day PT Barnum who deserves congratulations for running the ultimate con on the American people. He's a carnie with a glob of inedible cotton candy on his head.

Financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission reveal someone focused on the best interests of Trump Inc. rather than the country. To him, we are the designated losers in this year's rigged edition of "Presidential Apprentice."

In 2000 Trump told Fortune Magazine, "It's very possible I could be the first presidential candidate to run and make money off of it." And that's obviously the goal. He's got four and a half months to make as much money as possible and is full speed ahead pursuing his windfall like a kid on Halloween a half hour before curfew.

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For the New York businessman, it is now, has been and always shall be, all about the Benjamins. His wife and kids are on the payroll. So is an ex- wife and a couple of contestants from "The Apprentice." And probably John Miller, the name he used when masquerading as his own publicist.

Almost a fifth of the money he spent in the month of May went to his companies, subsidiaries and properties. He billed his campaign over 400 grand for an event at the Florida resort, Mar- A- Lago. Where Trump lives. His home. Undoubtedly did that thing hospitals do by charging a hundred bucks for each ply of toilet paper. Trump branded toilet paper of course. Got to get me some of that.

Another half million went to Trump Tower, the other place he lives. He's charging himself to sleep in his own bed. Wonder if Melania charges as well. Trump even paid himself 3 grand. Which works out to 750 bucks a week. An attempt to find out how the other 99% lives? Not likely.

Paid out four and a half million to TAG Air for private jets. And guess who the CEO of TAG Air is? That's right. Don the Con. Some other products the campaign purchased are Trump Wine, Trump Steaks, Trump Water and we shouldn't be surprised to discover an itemized expense for Trump luggage to carry around the Trump ego.

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All that talk about self- funding was just more snake oil sold to us rubes. Another bogus plea from the Nigerian Prince of politics. He didn't give money to his campaign, he lent it $37 million and expects to be paid back by the Republican National Committee. The man is the Florence of malfeasance.

He loans money to the Trump Campaign which spends money on his properties, then solicits contributions from wealthy donors to pay himself back the money he loaned his campaign to buy stuff from himself.

This has to be straight out of a course at Trump University. Double Dipping 101. His scampaign is nothing but a circle jerk of a shell game with the GOP as the mark. Paul Ryan has a big old X on his back that can only be seen under infrared light.
Merkel to pay official visit to Kyrgyzstan next week

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will pay her first official visit to Kyrgyzstan on July 13-14 at the invitation of Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, the Kyrgyz presidential press service told Interfax on Thursday.

Atambayev and Merkel "will discuss a large number of issues relating to the state of affairs in and prospects of the further deepening of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Germany," the press service said.

"The leaders will also exchange opinions of the topical issues on the international and regional agendas," it said.

The two leaders are expected to give a press conference after the negotiations.

Merkel will also meet Kyrgyz parliamentarians, including parliamentary speaker Chynybai Tursunbekov, and representatives of the Kyrgyz civil society.
By Alex Eisman

I felt like I was on Mars, yet I was only 90 minutes south of Miami. I was a 15-year-old in Havana, two years before the United States restored diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Decaying buildings and streets resembled a ghost town, but people -- not to mention intimidating anti-American propaganda -- were everywhere. It was scary. However, once I arrived at Havana's El Patronato Synagogue, I relaxed. The Director greeted me with a hug in front of a particle board filled with photos of Jewish-Cuban families.

"Bienvenido a mi casa."

"Gracias." Flustered that I could not communicate with her any further, I turned to the translator. "Please thank her for this incredible hospitality."

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She led me into the dining hall, pointing to a wall and speaking rapidly in Spanish. The translator said, "This is where we plan to hang your paintings."

I had been invited to display six large abstract biblical canvases. My path to this moment started with an eye-catching infomercial and my everlasting persistence. At the headstrong age of six, I had become fixated with an infomercial of a middle-aged woman painting flowers. It looked so cool. I, too, wanted to paint pretty flowers. I managed to wear down my mother to take me to buy a how-to book, brushes, paints and canvases. Within a few days, my first flower appeared on my canvas.

I soon began developing my own style as an artist. My artistic style has since evolved with my observations of life as a series of shapes, forms and colors that lead to meanings, narratives, and journeys. My work has developed into explorations of the human body in multimedia.

Six of my paintings interpreting the biblical story of Joseph and Pharaoh hung at my brother's Bar-Mitzvah a few years ago. A Jewish-Cuban artist saw them and exclaimed: "You must show in Cuba."

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I immediately said yes. Again, I wore my parents down. It was far more difficult to persuade them to allow me to make this trip than it was to convince them to buy art supplies years ago.

"Cuba? No!"

Still, I researched ways to obtain a visa, identified possible places to stay and finally convinced my own synagogue to sponsor the trip. Six months later, I entered El Patronato for the opening of my exhibit, feeling a wave of humidity. The air conditioner was broken but this did not diminish the enthusiasm of the audience of one-hundred. I was humbled by the crowd's many questions.

"What does it mean to have your paintings displayed in a synagogue?"

Sweat poured down my face as I thought about that first question. I forgot my prepared answer, but I knew the experience was bringing me closer to my Jewish heritage. I was an agnostic in an atheist country discussing Judaism and the Bible. I walked into the synagogue as a stranger and left several hours later as though I had been there all my life.

I returned to New York and expanded my art into teaching. For the past two summers, I have volunteered to teach art to underprivileged children.

"Today we are going to be drawing sunflowers," I said to my students.

I walked around, offering assistance. Then I stopped at Steven. He had drawn a man and a dinosaur fighting over a flower. "Steven, what do we have here?"

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"The dinosaur grew the flower, and the man came, and . . ." He continued his story for another minute. It was incredible. He followed my model and directions to create his own direction, his own narrative.

"Continue, Steven!"

I push my students to develop the mentality not just to think outside of the box, but to create a completely new box. As a largely self-taught artist, I embody this mentality. Perhaps that is why I can feel at home in a place that feels like another planet.


The failed rafter Walter Marrero Velazquez arrived in Las Tunas Monday. (Courtesy)

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 July 2016 -- Bearded, hungry and full of frustration, Walter Marrero Velazquez returned to the same island that saw him leave on a flimsy craft. On 20 May the group, consisting of 24 rafters, was intercepted by the US Coast Guard while clinging to the American Shoal lighthouse, eight miles off Sugarloaf Key in the Florida Keys. The case ended up with four of them deported to Cuba and the other 20 taken to the US Naval Base at Guantanamo, to await further action.

Marrero Velaquez arrived in Puerto Padre, Las Tunas on Monday and only now is seeing the information about "the lighthouse rafters" published in the international press and by independent reporters. A few hours ago he learned about the emergency appeal presented by five attorneys from the Democracy Movement and its rejection by Judge Darrin P. Gayles, whose decision opened the way for them to be deported.

The rafter remembers each one of the 42 days he spent in the custody of American authorities. "At first we were in a smaller boat, but then they put us in at least three larger ships, known as 'cutters' or 'mother ships," he told 14ymedio by phone.

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The repatriation occurred on 30 June, with the first stop in Havana, and on the 4 of July, American Independence Day, the rafter was taken to Las Tunas, where lack of fuel meant that the police could only transfer him to Puerto Padre hours later. Others of those repatriated were returned to the same province, while two of them reside in Havana.

In the Cuban capital, immigration authorities and the police asked them some questions about the origin of the fragile craft's engine. "They wanted to get information out of us," said the rafter, who had to sign his statement but didn't receive a "warning letter." In the interrogations they never suggested to him not to repeat the illegal departure from the country.

While on the "mother ship," Marrero Velaquez came to count 160 Cubans intercepted at sea who were returned to the island. "The amount of food they gave us was very small, like enough for a six-month-old baby," he complained. "I lost 15 pounds during the days I spent there," he said.

The young man, 20, said that when they protested the meager ration they were pushed and handcuffed. The hullabaloo raised by the group was not expected in such cases, but it did little good, he recalls. Situations like that led them to write a collective letter which they threw into the sea in a bottle, like desperate castaways.

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"We have spent 37 days sleeping on the floor, the food is for dogs, they mistreat us to the point of violence and we have companions who are sick in the head, it is hell," explained the two-page missive written by hand. The bottle was fund by a fisherman who didn't even speak Spanish and who gave it to the authorities. Held incommunicado, without the ability to contact attorneys, that letter was the only chance the rafters had to tell about what they were experiencing.

The SOS message managed to get the case re-heard, and gave them the chance to travel to the Guantanamo Naval Base, an area administered by the United States in eastern Cuba. But the young man from Las Tunas preferred not to take advantage of that opportunity.


Six members of the Cuban volleyball team have been detained in Finland without the press explaining what crime they are accused of. (Volleyball World League)

14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 7 July 2016 -- My father came home with his head spinning. "What is the crime that several Cuban athletes in Finland are accused of?" He had only heard the official statement signed by the Cuban Volleyball Federation read on primetime news on Monday and published in the written press. The text did not clarify the imputed misdeed, so my father speculated: "Illegal sale of tobacco? Theft? Public scandal?"

The rape of a woman, for which the athletes are presumed responsible, was not mentioned in the statement, which constitutes an act of secrecy, concealment of the truth and disrespect for the audience. The official press acts as if we are small children with delicate ears to whom they cannot mention any gory details. Or worse still, as if we don't deserve to know the seriousness of the accusations.

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What happened, again makes clear the straitjacket that prevents information professionals from doing their jobs within the Communist Party-controlled media. This is something that many of them bear with pain and frustrations, while others--the most opportunistic--take advantage of the censorship to do work that is mediocre or convenient for the powers-that-be.

Why has no prominent Prensa Latina correspondent in Europe gone to Finland to report minute-by-minute on what is happening with the athletes from the island?

We suffer omissions of this type every day in the national media. These absences, now chronic, belie the winks that accompany Cuban first vice-president Miguel Diaz-Canel's call for a journalism more attached to reality and without self-censorship. Where, now, is that official to urge the reporters to investigate and publish the details regarding the fate of the volleyball players?

It is very convenient to urge the journalists to be more daring and to take the time to guide them to be cautious or to remain silent. Such duplicity has been repeated so many times over the last five decades that it has inculcated in the collective imagination the idea that the press is synonymous with propaganda and with being an informer, a representative of the government.

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Filmmaker Chandrashekhar Reddy recalls the first time he stepped inside a coal mining pit. It was in mid-2012, near Lad Rymbai, Meghalaya. It was pitch-black, of course, and he could feel the oxygen levels falling as he descended down a slippery wooden ladder, terrified that he might fall off.

When he got to the bottom, he realised he lacked the flexibility to actually navigate the tunnels, the so-called 'rat holes', which are barely big enough for a fully grown adult to crawl through. "I had to be put in a cart and wheeled around in turns by some of the other men working there," he said, in a conversation with HuffPost India. "Despite the lack of oxygen, I saw some of them smoking in there, which, from my knowledge, is quite dangerous, as every mining activity results in the release of methane, which is flammable."

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Reddy had the good fortune of being educated enough to fully understand all the dangers of spending close to eight hours a day working in mines such as these. The subjects of his recently released documentary Fireflies In The Abyss, however, either do not or have no choice.

One of them is an 11-year-old boy named Suraj, whose family hails from Nepal. In the film, we see him, a sprightly young lad with one bad eye but plenty of enthusiasm, crawling easily into the 'rat holes' of the area's labyrinthine mines: part of an illegal operation that was only officially banned by the state in April this year.

Fireflies In The Abyss, which got a limited theatrical release across India last Friday, invites us to look at the lives of Suraj and other such miners, many of whom seem to be illegal immigrants from Nepal and Bangladesh. Produced, directed, and shot (largely on a camcorder) completely by Reddy, over a period of six months in 2012, it is a sobering look at a community that seems to be trapped in an ouroboros of mortal danger coupled with deadly addictions. It premiered to strong acclaim in October 2015, at the prestigious 20th Busan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea. Earlier this year, it was selected for the 23rd edition of the coveted Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, Canada.

Men and boys, like Suraj, make up this workforce, putting their lives on the line to take home an average of Rs 8,000 per week. As a character in the film notes, that's better money than what labourers working in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia make. However, in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, these men find little else to spend their money on aside from booze and gambling.

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"The first time I visited Lad Rymbai, which is about four-and-a-half hours away from Shillong [the state capital], it felt to me like a 'boom town'," says Reddy. "The roads are non-existent but there's 24-hour truck traffic. Every second shop is a liquor or meat shop. You can see men gambling on the streets."

This vice-laden lifestyle, coupled with the dangerous work they do in mines without any protective gear, makes them age faster than they seem to realise. In the film, one can see that most of them look older than their ages (a result of working in low-oxygen conditions), have rotting teeth, and are constantly coughing (a tell-tale sign of chronic bronchitis).

To gain their trust, however, Reddy had to lead the exact same lifestyle as them for months. "I did everything  drank the same liquor, ate the same food, smoked beedis  but one thing: drinking water," says the filmmaker, who worked as a media professional in Mumbai for 15 years before moving to the United Kingdom in 2009, working for production houses based in London and Bristol developing India-related films. "It was the only thing I compromised on, because the water there is contaminated by coal or just generally unfit for drinking."

Four years after he shot the film, he has lost track of some of the characters, since they keep moving around. Suraj, who works to support his alcoholic father, attempted to give it all up and go to school more than once, but has returned to the area and continues to crawl into rat-holes for coal. Another character, Nishant, who dreamt of becoming a photographer, has returned to Nepal and is currently doing odd jobs in Kathmandu.

Watch the trailer below.

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'Fireflies In The Abyss' is playing in select theatres in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, and Kolkata
ASSOCIATED PRESS A Freedom 251 smartphone, which is to be priced at Indian Rupees 251 or USD 3.6 approximately, is shown during its release by an official of Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd. in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.(AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

The world's cheapest phone will finally be in the consumer's hand from tomorrow. The company Ringing Bells will be delivering a batch of 5000 phones from July 8. The final price of the phone will be 291 as there are delivery charges of 40.

Today the makers of the Freedom 251 are holding an event where they will be announcing the new affordable LED TV which will also be named Freedom. This TV is priced under 10000. The TV is a 32-inch device. Mohit Goel who is the founder of the Ringing Bells is claiming that they already have significant units ready to go on sale.

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The registration for the purchase of the TVs will be starting from July 25 and the actual sale of the TV will take place from July 1. A total of 1 lakh units will be sold in the first batch.

The event will also see a new range of smartphones unveiled by Ringing Bells. There is no certainty over the specification or the price range for these phones. Goel has claimed that after the event they will start the delivery process of the first 5000 Freedom 251 phones.

"I was facing a loss of 930 per handset. We have imported the parts of the phone from Taiwan. I recovered 700-800 from app developers and revenue generated through advertisements on Freedom 251 website. After selling the device for 251 (cash on delivery), the total loss per handset is expected to be in the range of 180-270," Goel told IANS.

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The company is also planning to make a bunch of apps for Freedom 251. Goel wants to generate revenue from those apps. He wants the apps to be priced from 1 to 3. One of those apps is a cloud storage service called WhiteCloud.

Ringing Bells has very ambitious plans. Goel wants the government to invest a ridiculous amount of 50000 crores to fuel the Digital India movement with the Ringing Bells. He said that if Narendra Modi invests the money they can make almost 750 million people part of the digital revolution. In fact, on June 28 he sent a letter to the Prime Minister about the investment.

"The government can make the phone -- under our Freedom brand -- from some other vendor. I have no objection to it. To make such phone for every Indian citizen, the government needs to allocate funds from its Digital India initiative. The motto behind the company is to fuel the Make in India and Digital India movements," said Goel.
Navesh Chitrakar / Reuters A Nepalese woman holds a placard that reads

NEW DELHI--Mohammed Khalid, the 31-year-old man, who was arrested on Wednesday for tormenting around 1,500 women with vulgar messages and calls, is believed to have been driven by the sadistic pleasure he derived when the victims begged him to stop harassing them.

His only aim was to harass his victims and see them helpless," Vijay Singh, DCP (North-West) told The Hindu.

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Apparently, Khalid was so annoyed because a girl turned down his proposal in August last yeat, he turned into a nightmare for hundreds of women.

During interrogation, Khalid told the police that said he used to call up a random number.

"If the call was received by a woman or a girl, he used to save it and then through WhatsApp viewed their profile picture. If he liked the picture of the woman, he would start sending vulgar messages and obscene video clips through WhatsApp," said the officer.

Police got to know about the harassment after one victim lodged a complaint in Ashok Vihar police station on May 30.

The complainant said she had been receiving obscene and abusive messages on her mobile phone from two unknown numbers.

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When the police tried to track down the accused, they found out that the SIM card had been procured with fake documents. When one of the investigating officers called the number, the accused reportedly threatened him.

He challenged us to catch him, a police officer told Indian Express.

Nightmare Khalid

It would just start by sending a good morning or hi/hello message to his unsuspecting victims. Some of them would also respond politely. Soon, the 'good morning and good night texts would be replaced by scores of messages, pornographic videos and abusive calls.

If any of the victims relatives called to warn him, he would lie to them and say he was the womans former lover, often creating serious trust issues in their families, reports The Hindu.

Driven by desperation, many victims would plead with him to stop.

He enjoyed seeing his victims fear for their reputation. He harassed these women as retaliation for his failed proposal. He wanted revenge, said the DCP.

That's not all. If anyone tried to take on Khalid, he would threaten to put up their photographs and phone numbers on social media to portray them as sex workers.

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How Khalid Was Caught

A team comprising Inspectors Virender Kadyan and R K Maan, Sub-Inspectors Sanjeev Arora, S Sandeep Kumar, Parveen Sharma and Naveen Kumar, and Constable Vinay Kumar was put together under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police Vikas Kumar to investigate the case.

Searching for a clue, the police team reached Sadar Bazar area from where the SIM cards were purchased and he often got his phone recharged.

We questioned people within a 200-metre radius and got to know that he works in a bag shop in Sadar Bazaar. There were six bag shops and policemen in plainclothes visited each shop. While they were in the shop, other police officials called on the number of the accused. When they were visiting Khalids shop, his phone started ringing, a police officer told IE.

Two months after the first complaint, the police team arrested accused Mohammad Khalid from his fathers bag shop in Sadar Bazar area, said Vijay Singh, DCP (north west) on Wednesday.

Police found all the obscene messages and video clips sent by the accused to his victims, stored in the mobile phones. Examining the mobile phones used by the accused, police stumbled upon contacts of more than 1,500 women and girls who were put through "perpetual trauma" and "mental agony" by him.

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Altogether, the accused had phone numbers of 2,000 women and girls living in the Delhi national capital region (NCR), they said.

Most of his victims avoided approaching police perhaps due to his threat to malign their image and out of fear of disclosing their identity, the DCP said.
VIDEO: Congress' Digvijaya Singh clarifies on 2012 video #StopZakirNaikhttps://t.co/21f4qOgjrP  TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 7, 2016

NEW DELHI -- In wake of him attending an event of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in 2012, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday said all provocative speeches by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned.

"If the speeches are to be banned...all provocative speeches on religion by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians should be banned," Singh told media here.

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The conference was for Communal Harmony and against Terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against Innocents being killed.  digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) July 7, 2016

If GOI or the Govt of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS they should take action against him.  digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) July 7, 2016

My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown. I spoke against Religious Fundamentalism and appealed for Communal Harmony.  digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) July 7, 2016

He said if the Government of India or the Government of Bangladesh has any evidence against Naik's involvement in the ISIS, they should take action against him.

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Issuing a clarification, Singh said he spoke against religious fundamentalism and terrorism in his speech at the conference organised by Zakir Naik, adding that he had also appealed for communal harmony.

"The conference was for communal harmony and against terrorism. It was also to explain that Islam is against innocents being killed," he added.

Naik is in the midst of a controversy after his 'hate speech' was reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved to indulge in the July 1 terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka's Gulshan suburb.

The video shows Digvijay Singh saying that people like Zakir Naik can bridge the gap between Hindus and Muslims.

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"Zakir should travel all over India. I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace," he said. "We need your message to reach the country," Singh had told Zakir Naik back then.

The office bearers of his organisation 'Islamic Research Foundation' in Mumbai's Dongri are being questioned by a team of the Mumbai Police.

Zakir Naik is reportedly in Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage and would return to India on 11 July.

He will be addressing a press conference the next day to respond to the allegations against him for which he has hired a Mumbai based PR agency.

Also On HuffPost India:
ASSOCIATED PRESS Yemenis exchange greetings after Eid al-Fitr prayers that mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, July 6, 2016. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

This Eid comes with a heavy heart. It has been a long night's journey into Ramadan. Orlando. Syria. Dhaka. Baghdad. Medina. It's a long and bloody list of carnage wrought by Islamic State or claimed by Islamic State.

But in a procession of horrors, Medina has stood out even though its body count was lower. It's being regarded as vindication that Islamic State attacks its own and has no red lines whatsoever. It was proof that we can say that there is nothing Islamic about Islamic State.

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Zeid Ra'ad Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says "This is one of the holiest sites in Islam, and for such an attack to take place there during Ramadan can be considered a direct attack on Muslims all across the world."

"It's like a stab in the heart of every Muslim," tweeted Jenan Mousa, a reporter for Al Anan TV. In India the Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq denounced the attack saying "Such elements who carry out these attacks in the name of Islam have in fact nothing to do with the religion and its teachings."

(In this Monday, July 4, 2016, file photo released by Saudi Press Agency, SPA, Sheikh al-Faleh, deputy director of the Prophet's Mosque, kisses the forehead of a man who was injured when a suicide bomber attacked a mosque Monday, at a hospital in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Press Agency via AP)

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But in a procession of horrors, Medina has stood out even though its body count was lower. It's being regarded as vindication that Islamic State attacks its own and has no red lines whatsoever. It was proof that we can say that there is nothing Islamic about Islamic State.

Even Abu Sulayman, a cleric with Al Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, tweeted "The #MedinaBlast is a criminal act that Muslims must condemn."

The Medina attacks thus help buttress the arguments of those who want Islamic State to be seen as simply terrorist rather than as "Islamic terrorist". "Either they are literally attacking their own religion which is psychotic," says Jonathan AC Brown, the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization at Georgetown University.

Or "they're so intent on delegitimizing the Saudi government they don't care about doing violence in this sacred place." Perhaps they do care somewhat.

Unlike the other attacks, Islamic State did not rush to claim credit either in Saudi Arabia or Turkey. But the Medina attacks help make the case that the Islamic State is a common enemy of both the West and Muslim countries and countries like India. Calling the Medina attacks a "potentially disastrous mistake", Washington Post's David Ignatius says it could open up the possibility of a "command structure that truly fuses the resources of the U.S., Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan and many other nations that have been targeted by Islamic State terrorists." Or are in the terror organization's crosshairs like India as the video after the Dhaka attack makes clear.

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Unlike the other attacks, Islamic State did not rush to claim credit either in Saudi Arabia or Turkey. But the Medina attacks help make the case that the Islamic State is a common enemy of both the West and Muslim countries and countries like India.

This is a group that faced with loss of territory in Iraq is changing its strategy from a caliphate at home to spreading terror abroad according to a report in The Los Angeles Times. Even if a video released by them after the Dhaka cafe attack warns this is a glimpse of what's to come unless Sharia is established around the world, that sounds more like posturing from a group whose dreams of a Caliphate in Iraq feel under heavy attack.

(A woman mourns for the victims who were killed in the attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery and the O'Kitchen Restaurant, at a makeshift memorial near the attack site, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi)

The logic is understandable and appealing especially to those who have knocked their heads against the brick wall of the likes of Donald Trump who want to make saying "Islamic terrorist" the litmus test of truth-telling. After the Orlando nightclub attack, Trump taunted both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton for not using the phrase "Islamic terrorist". He demanded Obama resign and provoked a sharp response from the President about whether saying the phrase would actually make America safer or just demonize an entire religion.

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Until we value all human life as simply human life, we will not truly see Islamic State as simply terrorist. Everyone they kill and maim matters. If they are to be delegitimized in the eyes of those who flock to them, that process cannot be only about Medina. It must include every other attack perpetrated in their name.

Yet brandishing the Medina attack as proof of Islamic State's unholy terror cannot be the only litmus test possible. Of course Medina is special in its place in the heart of every devout Muslim or even those not so devout. It is one of the holiest sites and an attack on it comes with special significance just as an attack on the Vatican City or the temples of Varanasi would be seen as an attack on those faiths. On the other hand, in the Dhaka attacks we hear reports that the hostages were made to recite the verses of the Quran and those who could were spared. Those who could not were killed. The killers were acting in the name of Islam even if Islamic leaders condemn their actions as unIslamic.

But the flip side of this story is that those who want to use Medina to condemn Islamic State as reprehensible terrorists not as (misguided) holy warriors will need to follow through with their arguments to their logical conclusion. They cannot begin and end with Medina. If these fighter and ideologues are to be delegitimized in the eyes of those who are mesmerized by them (as apparently the young attackers in Bangladesh were) those who condemn Medina will have to equally vociferously condemn the attacks on an Orland gay bar or a Dhaka cafe. There cannot be different standards of condemnation  one for pilgrims at Medina, one for club goers in Orlando, one for airplane travellers in Istanbul, one for diners in Dhaka.
Zeljko Bozic via Getty Images calendar closeup

It could mean a lot of headache  at least for paperwork.

The government has set up a committee to look into the feasibility of changing the financial year from the current April to March cycle.

While the timing and the cycle of the new financial year is undetermined, the committee will report its findings on the possible benefits from such a move by end of December. It will also have to report on the rationale behind its recommendations and what it means for reporting and estimation of receipts and centre and state expenditures.

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The committee, which will be headed by former Chief Economic Advisor Shankar Acharya, will also have to assess the possible impact on businesses, taxation systems and procedures, statistics and data collection, among others.

In case, there is a change in the financial year, the panel will also look into the modalities including a possible transition period, the timing of the change, change in tax laws during that period, and amendments in statutes, among other measures.

The committee will also include former Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar, former Tamil Nadu Finance Secretary PV Rajaraman and Rajiv Kumar, a fellow at the Centre for Policy Research.

India has explored the possibility of changing financial years before. In 1984, it considered moving to the calendar year  January to December. One rationale in favour of a different financial year is the arrival of the monsoon soon after the new financial year starts, a potential hurdle to policy-making, said the Hindustan Times.

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CNBC via Getty Images CNBC EVENTS -- Pictured: Joseph Stiglitz, ecomonist and Professor at Columbia University, speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, 'The Future of Impact', hosted by former President Bill Clinton, at the Sheraton Times Square in New York City, on September 28, 2015 -- (Photo by: Adam Jeffery/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- Incidents such as the crackdown on the Jawaharlal Nehru University students who expressed dissent, and "the difficulties for NGOs to operate in India," shows the country in a bad light, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said while giving a lecture on Global Inequality: Causes and Consequences.

Stiglitz said that JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar's arrest had gone down badly abroad, and India was at the risk of being clubbed with authoritarian regimes such as Russia, Egypt and Turkey, which could be a turn off for investors, Livemint reported.

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There is a spotlight on what is going on in India and when there is that kind of closing down action in any university, it puts you in a small group of countries... Turkey is the other country that is in the small group," he said, the newspaperreported.

"And most of those countries are authoritarian in nature and one should know that that kind of thing can have very negative effects on foreign investors, he said.

If the international community had formed the wrong impression of India then the Modi government needed to do a "better job of explaining" itself to the outside world. If those (judgments) are wrong, India should do better job of explaining it, he said.

Stiglitz also said that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is certainly a very big risk for the global economy," Press Trust of India reported.

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I certainly think he is a very big risk for the global economy. I think the damage he has done already by raising the spectrerepresents a force of instability in global financial and trade system, he said.

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Ukrainian army positions in Donbas came under 57 attacks on Wednesday, July 6, the press service of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters wrote on Facebook on Thursday morning.

"The Russian occupation forces continue shelling the ATO positions. Fifty-seven barrage incidents were observed in the past 24 hours, including 30 in the Donetsk sector alone, there were 16 attacks in the Mariupol sector, and 11 in the Luhansk sector," the report said.

Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk sector were shelled by 120mm mortars in the villages of Troitske and Novoselivka Druha, and the town of Avdiyivka. Troops stationed near the villages of Verkhniotoretske and Novhorodske, and Avdiyivka came under 82mm mortar attacks.

The village of Lebedynske in the Mariupol sector was bombarded by 152mm artillery guns, while 120mm and 82mm mortars were used near the village of Shyrokyne. Weapons of infantry combat vehicles and an anti-tank rocket system were fired near the village of Novohryhorivka. Sniper activity was observed near the town of Maryinka, the report said.

Ukrainian army positions near the town of Popasna and the villages of Novo-Oleksandrivka, Bohuslavske and Novozvanivka in the Luhansk sector came under random fire of 82mm mortars and grenade launchers as provocation to make Ukrainian troops fire back.
Rupak De Chowdhuri / Reuters A cycle-rickshaw puller moves the wreckage of a car to a scrap yard in the eastern Indian city of Siliguri February 2, 2010. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA - Tags: TRANSPORT SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) FOR BEST QUALITY IMAGE: ALSO SEE GM1E72E1CNX01

The government is mulling a cash payout among a slew of incentives for people willing to surrender their vehicles older than 11 years.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is proposing a vehicle modernisation policy aimed at voluntary scrapping of old polluting vehicles and reducing air pollution. The government hopes to take up to 28 million vehicles off the countrys roads.

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The scheme will be applicable to the vehicles bought on or before March 31, 2005, and the replacement vehicle will need to be BS-IV compliant, which is going to be rolled out nation-wide by April 2017.

Under the proposed draft policy, people who surrender their old vehicles and buy new ones are likely to receive benefits including up to 8-12 per cent discount on the total cost of the new vehicles; value of scrap material from the old vehicles; and a partial excise duty rebate of up to 50 per cent.

However, the scheme, Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Plan (V-VMP)' appears to have hit a roadblock on one of the incentives. According to a Times of Indiareport, the revenue department has said no to the excise rebate incentive under consideration.

TOI reported citing sources that the revenue department may opt for other alternatives such as a cash payout upfront. The transport ministry plans to have further consultations for the new proposal, the report said.

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Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said the draft policy is also expected to boost sales of automobile manufacturers leading to higher production capacity utilisation and the automobile manufacturers would support the government in this initiative "financially by giving special discounts to customers buying vehicles under this scheme."

In addition, SRTU (state road transport undertaking) buses may be given complete excise exemption to ensure higher participation and modernize state's bus fleet.
ASSOCIATED PRESS A Freedom 251 smartphone, which is to be priced at Indian Rupees 251 or USD 3.6 approximately, is shown during its release by an official of Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd. in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016.(AP Photo/Saurabh Das)

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

Mohammed Khalid, a 31-year-old man, who was arrested on Wednesday for tormenting around 1,500 women with vulgar messages and calls, was driven by the sadistic pleasure he derived when the victims begged him to stop harassing them. According to reports, his only aim was to see his victims helpless.

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Raunak Banerjee, a 14-year-old student from Bengaluru was so scared of heights that he couldn't even stand on a table. But last week, the Class IX boy jumped off the 10th floor of his apartment building after returning from school. A suicide note in his schoolbag said he couldn't take the bullying by his peers any more but did not name anyone or specify where the bullying took place.

Backed by a glowing Madras High Court judgment on a petition that sought to forfeit all copies of his controversial novelMadhorubagan, Tamil writer Perumal Murugan on Wednesday said that he wanted to savour the moment  seen as a major victory for creative freedom in a nation where religion often dominates public discourse. A bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanaraya, made the observations in its detailed judgment on a batch of petitions for and against the Tiruchengode-based author who faced protests from Hindutva and caste outfits, over the novel.

Main News

21 security personnel, including two police officers were injured in a clash in the Kashmir Valley after Eid celebrations on Wednesday because senior separatists were disallowed from congregational prayers. Violence broke out immediately after Eid prayers at Idgah in Srinagar, Sopore in Baramulla district and in Anantnag. Locals accused the security forces of bursting tear-gas shells without provocation.

Noted Islamist scholar Salafist Zakir Naik has been caught in the middle of a controversy after investigations revealed that his sermons and ideology inspired Rohan Imtiaz, one of the perpetrators of the recent terror strike in Dhaka. But a combination of ambiguity on terror, arguments that verge on anti-Semitism, notions of superiority of one religion and use of modern technology has made Zakir difficult to ignore both for followers and security agencies.

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AAP leader HS Phoolka on Wednesday said that to atone for the party's 'unintentional mistake' of putting up a picture of the Golden Temple on it youth manifesto, he would participate in a sewa on the weekend. He also made an appeal to party volunteers to do the same.

Off The Front Page

A Kolkata resident had to face a scary threat from a cab driver when he yelled at her, saying that if she didn't shut up, he'd kidnap and then rape her. The woman, who had booked the app cab believing it was safe, had to jump off the moving car. Now, the suspect, identified as one 28-year-old Santu Parmanik, has been arrested and charged with molestation and criminal intimidation.

Controversial Noida-based startup Ringing Bells has announced that the company will begin delivering the Freedom 251 smartphone from 8 July. The company has said that the delivery will be made only to 5,000 customers, and they will be charged 40 extra for delivery.

Indian travellers spend a lot of time glued to their smartphones due to their 'fear of missing out' on anything while they are away, says a recent survey. Hotels.com Mobile Travel Tracker survey showed that Indian travellers spend 50 per cent more time on their smartphones while on a vacation. The global study was conducted among 9,200 travellers across 31 countries.

Opinion

Anil Madhav Dave, Prakash Javadekars replacement in the environment ministry, has done some work on green issues, which could be a new beginning for the ministry, writes Bahar Dutt in Mint. "Prakash Javadekars move from the environment ministry, where he was minister of state (independent charge), to the human resource development (HRD) ministry with a full cabinet rank is being seen as a reward for him. But what is the legacy that Javadekar leaves behind," she asks.

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An attribute of PM Narendra Modi's cabinet reshuffle is the recognition that politics is, first and foremost, about social mediation, writes Pratap Bhanu Mehta in The Indian Express. "Certainly, while there are three or four ministries that deserve better, within political limits, a message has been sent about performance. But the talent debate can also be naive in two respects: The metric of performance as measured by the media is often off the mark. Second, the real issue is: Will the relationship between the PMO and the ministries also be transformed? Will this be genuine cabinet government or an all powerful PMO with a large entourage in tow," he says.

The Madras High Court must be lauded for upholding the rights of writer Perumal Murugan. But for speech to be truly free, the judiciary must stop asking literature to justify its aesthetic or its intent, writes Gautam Bhatia for The Hindu. "Until that time, individuals such as Murugan, who are lucky enough to have their cases heard by progressive judges, will triumph; but free speech will lose, and lose again," he says.

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Reuters Photographer / Reuters Dr. Zakir Naik, a world renowed Islamic scholar, delivers his speech inSrinagar September 7, 2003. Thousands gathered to listen to Naik whoarrived in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir onSaturday to deliver his speeches and interact with Kashmiri Islamicscholars, during his three-day tour. REUTERS/Danish IsmailFK/FA

Zakir Naik, the firebrand Indian Islamic preacher, who is banned in the United Kingdom, Canada and Malaysia for his hate speeches against other religions, is the latest headache for Indian security agencies.

Naik has been in the news recently since his sermons are believed to have inspired two of the five terrorists, who hacked 20 people to death at a cafe in Dhaka, last week.

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On Wednesday, Minister for State, Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju said that Naiks speech was a matter of concern and that agencies were working on it.

Rijiju also told reporters that India has good relations with Bangladesh, especially with regard to fighting terrorism, and said, Terror can be defeated only through close coordination and by fighting together (against it).

The 51-year-old leader has long been a polarising figure in Mumbai.

However, Naik can no more hold his public sermons in Mumbai that used to draw large crowds. The Mumbai cops have denied him permission since 2012, unnerved by what used to be said at these functions.

Naik, a suave doctor who speaks fluent English, interspersed with Bambaiya Hindi, calls himself an Islamic preacher.

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However, he has never been popular with the Sunni and Shia clergy in Mumbai. In fact, he has more detractors within the Muslim community that outside it.

Though the Mumbai resident runs Islamic Research Foundation and Peace TV, a channel, according to its website, dedicated to promotion of Truth, Justice, Morality, Harmony and Wisdom for the whole of humankind, his speeches don't really reflect any peace.

Take a look at his speeches:

1. On why Muslims should become terrorists:

If bin Laden is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him. If he is terrorizing Americathe terrorist, biggest terroristI am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorizing the terrorist, he is following Islam. Whether he is or not, I dont know, but you as Muslims know that, without checking up, laying allegations is also wrong, Naik said in this speech.

Naik has repeatedly denied these statements, claiming that the said video was doctored.

2. On sex slaves:

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"If you do not have the means to marry, marry a slave woman and give her freedom.." He said this is what the Quran encourages. However, he said it can't work vice-versa. According to Naik, it can't work if a woman wants to do the same. Only a man has such rights.

3. Where, Naik spoke about how to beat one's wife 'gently':

"If you have a son, and he wants to jump from the roof, you will admonish him." According to Naik, Allah has given permission to men to beat women. But, he says, men should beat their wives 'lightly'. "As far as the family is concerned, a man is the leader. So, he has the right," he says.

4. On why Islamic countries should not allow people of other faiths:

"Propagation of other religions is prohibited. Even construction of any place of worship is prohibited," he said.

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Explaining why Islamic countries shouldn't allow people of other faiths to build their places of worship, Naik gives an example. He says he asks Non-muslims who they will pick as a teacher for their school, if there are three teachers-- The candidate who says 2+2=3, the one who says 2+2=6 or the one who says 2+2=4.

"As far as religions are concerned, we (Muslims) know that only Islam is the true religion in the eyes of God.

5. Death penalty for people who leave Islam:

According to Naik, in case, somebody wanted to convert to another faith, and leave Islam, then capital punishment was the most 'humane punishment' for him.

6. On why homosexuality is wrong and prohibited:

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"LGBT Community are patients suffering from a sinful mental problem," he said in this video. "It's because they watch pornographic movies. The TV channels are to be blamed," he said.

7. On how to defend Talibans:

"If Osama Bin Laden is for truth, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist," he said.

8. On how chopping of hands for stealing is not that bad a thing:

Naik said that whoever does a wrong will be punished for it, so chopping somebody's hand for stealing is not a bad idea. According to the 'Islamic preacher', America should implement this as a law to reduce crimes in the country.

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9. On how playing music is a sin:

The 'Islamic preacher' says that music intoxicates a person and that it is like alcohol. He also says that other Muslim scholars who did not call it a sin were misguiding fellow Muslims.

10. On how the theory of evolution is just a 'theory'.

According to him, Darwin's evolution theory is completely baseless.

"What Darwin said was only a theory. There is no book saying the Fact of Evolution  All the books say Theory of Evolution," he said.
Advocates say healing takes time after former police officer arrested

After a former Hutchinson police officer was arrested in a series of rapes and sexual assaults, victim advocates worry some victims might stay silent.
Ukraine and the United States share the view that Russia and Russian-backed militants are responsible ensuring security in Donbas, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"There is full understanding that Russia and the militants it supports are solely responsible for the halt to the peace process in Donbas. We, the Ukrainians, are committed to the implementation of the Minsk agreement, which is a road map for peace in Donbas. But we have emphasized previously and reiterate that there could be no effective settlement without ensuring stable and comprehensive security [in the region]," he said at a joint briefing with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Kyiv on Thursday.
A federal appeals court has struck down an Obama administration requirement that insurance companies cannot sell certain types of health insurance as a separate, stand-alone product.The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the White House had gone beyond the terms of federal law, committing administrative overreach in barring the sale of fixed indemnity insurance  coverage that pays consumers a fixed dollar amount regardless of how much is actually owed to the provider.Disagreeing with Congresss expressly codified policy choices isnt a luxury administrative agencies enjoy, the Court said in its opinion.The Obama administration had cracked down on fixed indemnity insurance as it is normally less comprehensive than the minimal essential coverage required under the Affordable Care Act. Issued in 2014, the rule restricted fixed indemnity policy sales to people who already had the more comprehensive coverage that meets ACA standards.[Fixed indemnity insurance] is an inadequate substitute for major medical coverage, the administration said. It does not provide protection against major medical expenses.The administration worried the coverage may also confuse consumers, who may mistakenly buy fixed indemnity insurance in then mistake belief that it provides comprehensive coverage. Typically, these policies provide coverage only for specified diseases, like cancer. Under the policies, consumers have fewer protections as they do not have to provide the essential health benefits required by the ACA.Allowing their sale as a standalone product would undermine the ACAs goal of maximizing the number of individuals who have comprehensive, major medical coverage, the Obama administration said.The court, however, noted that the coverage has generally been exempt from federal oversight  including under the ACA  and that Congress did not give even the slightest indication that it meant to alter that exemption with the ACA.The plaintiffs, who sell fixed indemnity insurance, successfully argued that the rule would destroy the market for the products.Even after the Affordable Care Act, lower-income consumers may not be able to afford major medical coverage, said Quin M. Sorenson, attorney for Central United Life Insurance.In states that do not have expanded Medicaid eligibility, as many as three million people fall into a coverage gap  they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to qualify for subsidies in the public insurance marketplace. Fixed indemnity plans can provide some coverage where otherwise none exist, Sorenson said.He was supported by an amicus curiae brief drafted by Wisconsin and 10 other states.Fixed indemnity insurance is a rational choice for these individuals because it provides meaningful access to the healthcare system, the brief said.The ruling in the case, Central United Life Insurance v. Burwell, was issued by a panel of judges including Janice Rogers Brown, Patricia A. Millett and Douglas H. Ginsburg.
Following the amendments, worker injury claims have dropped 62% from 2012 (the last year of available court numbers) to 2015 (first full year of the commission). This decrease represents the reallocation of state resources to the service of injured workers who validly need [the commissions] help, Liotta suggested.

The number of personnel from the workers comp Court to the Commission has dropped 47%, and salaries and other employment costs reduced by 37% in the first three yearsfigures that would interest taxpayers concerned about having to pay more. Additionally, since switching from a court to a commission, the current number of judges has dropped from 14 to nine and could decrease even more in the future.

In a written statement recently published by News OK, Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commissioner Mark Liotta shared that his agency has done its best in pursuit of the grand bargain; ensuring that employers are kept safe from debilitating lawsuits while guaranteeing proper medical treatment and adequate recompense for injured workers.Liottas statement was published July 6 on the News OK website.The commissioner said that while most work-related injury claims were genuine, Oklahomans were all too familiar with the previous system being fraught with fraudwhether on the part of the claimant, the employer, the insurer, or even the medical provider. With the old system, it seemed that the injured worker only received a portion of the benefits he or she was due.Liotta then mentioned that landmark reform was enacted by Legislature and signed by Governor Mary Fallin in 2014 that replaced the Workers' Compensation Court with the Workers' Compensation Commissionan agency Fallin asked Liotta to head. This was coupled with a new benefits structure. Oklahoma was the 49state to enact such changes, Liotta noted.Despite ongoing criticism against the amendments, Liotta highlighted the significant effects the reforms have made:Liotta stressed in his statement that the commission is on a firm foundation with capable staff and sustainable processes, working to serve workers, employers, and taxpayers instead trying to fulfill a court system. He also underscored that the agencys focus is hearing cases with deliberate speed, so workers receive prompt treatment, which leads to better medical outcomes and swifter return to employment.
The Ukrainian authorities have started to take steps specified in the Minsk Agreements and Kyiv is ready to continue taking actions in this direction, but for this purpose security in Donbas must be provided, United States Secretary of State John Kerry said at a joint briefing with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said Ukraine has made significant efforts towards the Minsk Agreements' implementation and initiated the processes of granting Donbas special status, decentralization and amnesty.
Vehicle Towing Boat Catches Fire Near Pontoosuc Lake

Reader John Friend submitted this photo of the blaze.



Reader John Friend submitted this photo of the blaze. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Firefighters were able to save a boat after the vehicle towing it caught on fire.

Deputy Fire Chief Mark Cancilla said he and six firefighters from two engines responded to Upper North Street, near Pontoosuc Lake between Zucchinis Restaurant and Hancock Road, shortly after 2:30 Wednesday to find a Honda Pilot towing a boat fully involved.

Firefighters blocked off the road and ran two hose lines to extinguish the blaze in just 15 minutes  quick enough to save the pontoon boat from further damage.

"It was a hot fire. It damaged the pavement," Cancilla said.

The occupant had gotten out of the SUV and escaped injury and no firefighters were harmed. Traffic was detoured over Hancock Road for about a half hour while the firefighters worked in temperatures approaching 90 degrees.

"It probably wasn't more than 15 minutes to put it out. It was great teamwork, especially in this hot weather," Cancilla said.

The front seats on the boat had begun to melt and catch fire when firefighters arrived, but the crew was able to halt any further damage.

"We saved the boat," Cancilla said.

Cancilla said it appears that the fire started when the trailer hitch broke and jammed into the rear wheel of the Pilot. The spark led to the fire  possibly fueled somewhat by a leak in the transmission line.

The Department of Environmental Protection was called in because a storm drain nearby goes into the river. Cancilla said firefighters plugged the drain up in hopes of preventing any contaminants from finding its way in.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association provides the following tips for towing trailers.

General Handling

Use the driving gear that the manufacturer recommends for towing.

Drive at moderate speeds. This will place less strain on your tow vehicle and trailer. Trailer instability (sway) is more likely to occur as speed increases.

Avoid sudden stops and starts that can cause skidding, sliding, or jackknifing.

Avoid sudden steering maneuvers that might create sway or undue side force on the trailer.

Slow down when traveling over bumpy roads, railroad crossings, and ditches.

Make wider turns at curves and corners. Because your trailer's wheels are closer to the inside of a turn than the wheels of your tow vehicle, they are more likely to hit or ride up over curbs.

To control swaying caused by air pressure changes and wind buffeting when larger vehicles pass from either direction, release the accelerator pedal to slow down and keep a firm grip on the steering wheel.

Braking

Allow considerably more distance for stopping.

If you have an electric trailer brake controller and excessive sway occurs, activate the trailer brake controller by hand. Do not attempt to control trailer sway by applying the tow vehicle brakes; this will generally make the sway worse.

Always anticipate the need to slow down. To reduce speed, shift to a lower gear and press the brakes lightly.

Acceleration and Passing

When passing a slower vehicle or changing lanes, signal well in advance and make sure you allow extra distance to clear the vehicle before you pull back into the lane.

Pass on level terrain with plenty of clearance. Avoid passing on steep upgrades or downgrades.

If necessary, downshift for improved acceleration or speed maintenance.

When passing on narrow roads, be careful not to go onto a soft shoulder. This could cause your trailer to jackknife or go out of control.

Downgrades and Upgrades

Downshift to assist with braking on downgrades and to add power for climbing hills.

On long downgrades, apply brakes at intervals to keep speed in check. Never leave brakes on for extended periods of time or they may overheat.

Some tow vehicles have specifically calibrated transmission tow-modes. Be sure to use the tow-mode recommended by the manufacturer.

Backing Up

Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. To turn left, move your hand left. To turn right, move your hand right. Back up slowly. Because mirrors cannot provide all of the visibility you may need when backing up, have someone outside at the rear of the trailer to guide you, whenever possible.

Use slight movements of the steering wheel to adjust direction. Exaggerated movements will cause greater movement of the trailer. If you have difficulty, pull forward and realign the tow vehicle and trailer and start again.

Parking
The state Department of Public Health approved the expansion project in April.

BMC Opens Center For Long-term Addiction Treatment

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Half of BMC's new Clinical Stabilization Services center is filled just hours after it opened.

The new center at Berkshire Medical Center is a "step down" level of care for those who just went through detoxification. Instead of being waitlisted at outpatient services or released back home, those struggling with addiction can now stay up to 30 days in the new unit to continue fighting the disease.

"It is really good that we can offer these services because there is such a gap," Shannon McCarthy, program director of the McGee Recovery Center and director of the new center, said.

The new unit, which opened on Thursday, is "clinical" instead of medical. Currently, someone entering the McGee unit gets short-term care for just three to five days, being monitored for detoxification withdrawals. Now, once completing that instead of being sent back out, the new unit provides support groups, wellness programs, Suboxone or Methadone treatments, and programs intended to address underlying issues to the substance abuse.

There will also be family support programs and helping the patients find sober housing and teach life skills. The staff will provide the next level of care for someone overcoming addiction and connect them with social services or structured outpatient programs. The closest centers providing such services were located in Springfield and Holyoke.

"Twenty-two employees were hired for this unit," McCarthy said. "It is more of a clinical team."

From there, the patients can transfer to the Keenan House, which is operated by the Brien Center, or other programs.

The 30-bed unit was made possible through the Department of Public Health, which approved the hospital's proposal to create the long-term care unit. The state provided start-up funds in the form of furniture, beds and a two-week orientation.

Additionally, the state will reimburse costs for a period of six months as a last resort for patients without an insurance policy to cover the stay, though McCarthy said most of the patients have sufficient coverage because of a change in laws requiring providers to cover more of the recovery.

"About 12 years ago insurance providers paid for a longer detox," McCarthy said, adding that over time insurance companies began to scale its coverage back to only essentials such as short-term detoxification.

But now, companies are covering more and in the new unit patients can stay on site 24 hours a day for 14 to 30 days.

The need is particularly striking in Massachusetts and in Berkshire County, which led to the state asking for proposals to increase the number of beds. The request was for "hot spots" of shortages, which includes Berkshire County.

"There are other CSSes across the state but there are few beds," McCarthy said.

Locally, McCarthy said a decade ago 70 percent of entering the addiction programs were for alcohol. That has changed, and now 60 percent is for opioids. Further, the McGee unit is saw 300 more patients in 2015 than the previous year.

The unit is voluntary but will also have an option for courts to mandate as conditions on such things as parole. The unit is available to all of Berkshire County and McCarthy said 15 patients are already on the unit. The hospital isn't sure if more beds will be needed but will be monitoring the progress of the new unit as the year goes on.

"Right now 30 beds should fill a need not available right now," McCarthy said.

The new unit is located on the first floor of the Edward A. Jones Memorial Building and was put together in 45 days. The hospital sent in its proposal to the DPH in November and was given the approval in April. Since then, the space was renovated and the staffing hired.

BMC is the first to open the additional beds under the request for proposal.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that one of the key issues he discussed with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and other Ukrainian political leaders was progress in conducting reforms, including judicial reforms, the war on corruption, decreasing the influence of oligarchs, as well as strengthening Ukraine's financial system.

Speaking at a press opportunity in Kyiv on Thursday, Kerry said the necessity for reforms was one of the key subjects of his talks. He thanked Poroshenko and his team for "taking clear steps," adding that more steps still need to be taken. The top U.S. diplomat also stressed the importance of good relations with the IMF and transparent privatization of state assets.

The top American diplomat said Ukraine is currently conducting many reforms, but much remains to be done.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry believes it is fairly possible to implement the Minsk Agreements for eastern Ukraine and find a way acceptable to all parties to the negotiating process before the expiration of the current U.S. administration's term in office.

Speaking at a joint news briefing with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Thursday, Kerry said he had certain optimistic expectations and was sure that, in the time remaining before the end of U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration's term in office, there is a good opportunity to start the process of the Minsk Agreements' full implementation.

Kerry believes it is necessary to find a way forward that will integrate interests of all parties and provide guarantees to all parties, as there are more than two of them.

The Minsk agreements can be implemented in a way in which all parties have guarantees that their needs are respected, he said.
Global data centre infrastructure supplier, Minkels, part of the publicly traded company Legrand, has signed a Solution Partner Agreement for EMEA with channel partner ICTroom  a data centre integrator with offices located throughout Europe. The Solution Partnership is aimed at further enhancing the cooperation between Minkels and ICTroom, to offer customers ultimate deployment flexibility required for setting up future-proof data centres.

ICTroom works with all kinds of data centre solution brands and is always looking for the best 'fit' for their customers. To find the best customer fit, ICTroom normally sets up taskforces  with the customer  for market comparison and evaluation of all solutions available. According to ICTroom, Minkels stands out in a positive way because of the comprehensive portfolio in the field of data centre infrastructure. This channel partnership agreement provides Minkels and ICTroom with the opportunity to bolster mutual ties while enhancing flexibility in customer deployment.

"We see ICTroom as a knowledge organisation with a vision that fits well with the philosophy and methodology of Minkels, says Ramon de Groot, Business Unit Manager Netherlands | Export Director, Minkels. Our engineers are finding each other more often and are thus working together on integrated designs, for example in the area of data centre security. With the Solution Partnership, we seal our good relationship. We have high expectations of our partnership in the EMEA region."

"We have jointly taken up many projects that we completed successfully," says Jeroen van der Reijken, Sales Director ICTroom. "Recently we have completed one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the Netherlands for Cegeka, a European ICT Group with 3,500 employees and offices across Europe." Ramon de Groot adds: "The brand new data centre includes several Minkels solutions  such as Next Generation Cold Corridors  and is very flexible, secure and energy efficient (PUE of 1.14)."

It is precisely this shared focus on flexibility but also modularity that ensures a good chemistry between the two companies, according to ICTroom. Van der Reijken: "Minkels, being part of Legrand, has a very broad data centre solutions portfolio of excellent quality. This gives us the opportunity for one-stop shopping while also offering flexibility. Thus, we can offer customers a pay-as-you-grow environment, with the ability to gradually implement new technologies."

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Thumbs up for a successful Suzuki Ciaz Bank Test Drive! SPH General Manager for Automobile Shuzo Hoshikura and SPH Managing Director and Treasurer Norminio Mojica together with representatives from different banks during the Suzuki Ciaz Bank Test Drive

The all-new Suzuki Ciaz, launched in the country last April, has piqued the interest of thousands of car lovers who want to try the next-level comfort and road handling excellence of this subcompact sedan, prompting Suzuki Philippines to hold a test drive for bankers last May 31, 2016.

A total of 27 representatives from the leading names in the banking industry road tested the Ciaz which boasts of best-in-class fuel efficiency, a sporty yet elegant exterior design, and other advanced features.

Suzuki Philippines General Manager for Automobile Mr. Shuzo Hoshikura beams with pride over the apparent positive response of the market to the newest member of Suzukis B-segment vehicles. Since the introduction of the all-new Ciaz in April this year, the number of inquiries and request for test drives we have been receiving about this sedan has pleasantly surprised us. With this overwhelming response, we believe that the Ciaz will be one of our bestsellers this year, and contribute significantly to the companys continuous growth. We hope that with this model as well as all of our other best-loved vehicles, we will be able to top last years impressive 52% y-o-y growth, Hoshikura said.

Suzuki's latest Ciaz sedan brings innovation and next-level driving experience for Filipino drivers

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IMF and The Netherlands Launch New Program to Boost Capacity in Eastern and Southeastern Europe

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs have launched a three-year capacity building program for nine countries in eastern and south-eastern Europe. The Netherlands-IMF Capacity Development Partnership Program will focus on strengthening economic institutions to foster economic growth and stability in the region, with supporting sound macroeconomic policies.

The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders has committed 12 million euros (about US$13.3 million) to the program, which will focus on strengthening institutions in public finances (including revenue mobilization and public financial management), monetary and financial areas (e.g, bank supervision and crisis preparedness), statistics, and macroeconomic management. This program will benefit countries represented by the Netherlands at the IMF Executive Board  Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine  as well as Albania and Kosovo. The program builds on previous and ongoing IMF capacity development work in eastern and south-eastern Europe.

Background Information

The Netherlands is a strong supporter of IMFs Capacity Development activities, having contributed approximately US$38 million over FY201016. As an early supporter of IMF multi-partner vehicles, it has contributed to regional centers in Africa and global funds focused on key topics, including Revenue Mobilization (RMTF), Managing Natural Resource Wealth (MNRW), Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), and the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT ).

Bilateral programs complement the IMFs multi-partner vehicles (regional technical assistance centers,regional training centers, and global funds) to assist member countries in building strong institutions and improving the implementation of their economic policies.

Follow IMF Capacity Development on Social Media:

Twitter: @IMFCapDev Facebook: IMFCapacityDevelopment

www.imf.org/capacitydevelopment
The European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs has voted in favor of recommending that the European Parliament lift visa requirements as soon as possible for Ukrainian citizens who make short trips in the Schengen zone, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said.

"The European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs recommends that visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens who make short trips in the Schengen zone be lifted as soon as possible. We expect the Committee on Civil Liberties and Home Affairs to make a positive decision as well," Klympush-Tsintsadze said on her Facebook account on Thursday.

For his part, European Parliament member Jacek Saryusz-Wolski wrote on his Twitter page that the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs had adopted his opinion supporting visa-free travel to Europe for Ukrainian citizens.

This decision was supported by 43 people and another three voted against it, he said.

For its part, the European Union's Delegation to Ukraine said that the committee had also voted in favor of a recommendation to abolish visa requirements for citizens of Kosovo and Georgia as soon as possible.

The EU Delegation also said that the committee's members had adopted three conclusions calling on the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs to accept this recommendation because these countries had made significant progress in introducing criteria to qualify for visa-free travel. Such a step will help promote people-to-people contacts, they said.

The idea of granting visa-free travel to Ukrainian citizens was supported by 42 MEPs from the committee, three voted against it and another six abstained. A similar decision with regard to Georgia won the backing of 43 MEPs, five voted against it and another three abstained. Thirty-eight committee members supported such a decision for Kosovo, seven voted against it and another six abstained.

The conclusions of the Committee on Foreign Affairs will subsequently be forwarded to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, which will vote on lifting visa requirements for Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo after the summer recess, the EU Delegation said.
Two Litters of Mountain Lion Kittens Born in Santa Monica Mountains

Thousands Oaks, California - National Park Service researchers recently discovered two litters of mountain lion kittens in the eastern Santa Susana Mountains. A total of five kittens, three females and two males, were eartagged and returned to their respective dens earlier this month.

The Santa Susanas are a large mountain range that provides a critical habitat connection between the Santa Monica Mountains to the south and Los Padres National Forest to the north.

"Despite the challenges mountain lions in this area face, the animals we've studied appear to be reproducing successfully," said Jeff Sikich, a biologist with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "The real challenge comes as these kittens grow older and disperse, especially the males, and have to deal with threats from other mountain lions and also road mortality and the possibility of poisoning from anticoagulant rodenticide."

The first litter of kittens, tagged June 8, are two females now known as P-48 and P-49. Their mother is P-35, an approximately six-year-old female that the National Park Service has been tracking since April 2014. Based on remote camera images, biologists suspect her previous kitten, P-44, did not survive into adulthood.

The second litter of kittens belong to P-39, an approximately five-year-old female researchers began tracking in April 2015. She gave birth to three kittens, a male known as P-50, a female known as P-51, and another male known as P-52. The den, discovered on June 22, was located in a cave-like area hidden beneath large boulders.

In both cases, the father is suspected to be P-38, based on GPS locations of him traveling and spending multiple days with P-35 and P-39 months before the kittens were born. Samples from the kittens were taken for genetic testing, in order to determine paternity with certainty.

Researchers locate the kittens' den by analyzing the GPS locations transmitted from the mother's collar. For the first three weeks after the kittens' birth, the GPS points are typically localized in a cluster that is then used to determine the den's location. Even with GPS device in hand, the den can be difficult to find because of the thick brush and hidden crevices that mothers choose to hide their kittens in for protection.

These are the tenth and eleventh litters of kittens marked by National Park Service biologists at a den site. Two additional litters of kittens were discovered when the kittens were already at least six months old.

Since 2002, the National Park Service has been studying mountains lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains to determine how they survive in an increasingly fragmented and urbanized environment. Funding for mountain lion research in the Santa Monica Mountains is provided in part through private donations to the Santa Monica Mountains Fund.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities.
Deputy Secretary of State Blinken To Host Trilateral Meeting With Japanese, South Korean Counterparts

Washington, DC - Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host a trilateral meeting with his counterparts, Republic of Korea First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama, July 14 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The meeting will be the fourth round of Deputy-level trilateral consultations and will continue our close coordination with these two important U.S. allies on shared regional and global priorities.
Naval War College Holds STEM Camp, Stimulates Student Scientists

Newport, Rhode Island - Seventy-eight high school students from public, private, and charter schools in the New England area participated in U.S. Naval War College's (NWC) Starship Poseidon Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Camp, June 26 to July 1.

"This program is designed to offer students the opportunity to experience science and technology as real applications in the Navy," said Lewis Duncan, NWC provost. "The United States currently has a deficit of engineers and scientists and we need them to keep our country on the leading edge of technological progress, so programs like these are an essential investment in our shared future."



The STEM project at NWC began in 2012 with the camp's first group of just 30 students, and it has been steadily growing ever since.



"Our approach is to bring different types of students together," said William F. Bundy, NWC professor, director of the college's Gravely Naval Warfare Research Group, and program lead of the camp. "There are students with backgrounds in physics and chemistry who have taken advanced placement courses. We also bring in students who have not taken those subjects in earnest, so they can talk about STEM programs with their peers. The students encourage each other."



NWC's Cmdr. Joseph Santos, program administrator for the camp, agreed.



"Each group has an even distribution of students," Santos said. "We make sure there are a proportionate number of students of all grades, backgrounds and genders in each."



During the weeklong camp session, students participated in several interactive projects of their choice, from water filtration experiments to building hydraulic robotic arms. The events were jointly led by six active-duty military members from the NWC and seven civilian educators from various STEM professions.



The students experienced tours of facilities at Naval Station Newport, as well as field trips to the Battleship Cove Naval Heritage Museum, the New England Institute of Technology, Naval Submarine Base New London, and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. During these trips, students get the opportunity to meet and pose questions to young engineers who work with technology.



"These students are being exposed to things that they've never seen before," said Santos. "You can see the incredible interest in them -- their fascination. They're energetic."



At the end of the week, each student received a certificate signifying their completion of the program. In addition, awards were given to students who displayed intellectual potential or peer-leadership.



Some students who participated in the camp have been accepted to U.S. Naval Academy and Coast Guard Academy programs.



"It's a good program in terms of exposure, and we've seen some very positive results," Bundy concluded.
Department of Homeland Security Announces the Countering Violent Extremism Grant Program

Washington, DC - Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Grant Program, with $10 million in available funds. This is the first federal assistance program devoted exclusively to providing local communities with the resources to counter violent extremism in the homeland.

As I have said before, given the nature of the evolving terrorist threat, building bridges to local communities is as important as any of our other homeland security missions, said Secretary Johnson. This new grant program is an important step forward in these efforts and reflects the Departments continued commitment to protect the homeland and uphold our values.

In addition to state, local and tribal governments, non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education are eligible to apply. These grants will help scale community-led initiatives across the country to address the evolving terrorist threat, including international and domestic terrorism. Specifically, funding will support training, community engagements, and activities that challenge violent extremist narratives used to recruit and radicalize individuals to violence.

The Departments efforts to partner with local communities are a central part of its CVE mission. These grants will empower local communities to provide resources to friends, families and peers who may know someone on the path toward violent extremism, encouraging community-based solutions to deter an individual well before criminal or terrorist action, which would require the attention of law enforcement.

This grant program was developed by the DHS Office for Community Partnerships in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Office for Community Partnerships builds relationships with local communities and leads the Departments CVE mission, focusing efforts to find innovative ways to discourage violent extremism and undercut terrorist narratives.

For more information on the FY16 CVE Grant Program, visit DHS.gov/cvegrants and Grants.gov.
On the Occasion of the Union of the Comoros' National Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State John Kerry: "On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I congratulate the people of Comoros as you mark the 41st anniversary of your independence on July 6.

"The successful elections Comoros held earlier this year reflected principles that the United States holds in high regard  respect for the democratic process and for the right of every individual to vote freely and without fear. The United States values its friendship with the people of Comoros and we look forward to working with you in the future in support of shared prosperity, regional security, and development.

"I wish the people of Comoros a joyful national day, and a peaceful year."
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Im taken aback when I walk into a hotel room in Edinburgh to chat with Rebecca Miller, as the director seems to stare me down. When I look quizzically at her, she chirps: Oh, I was just admiring your sneakers, I need to buy a new pair. And thats about as lowbrow as the conversation gets.

It seems wrong to posit Miller in the context of men, given that her films are joyous celebrations of sisterhood. Her latest, Maggies Plan, sees Julianne Moore and Greta Gerwig play academic experts in fictocritical anthropology, the academic field that blends personal narratives, fiction and criticism. But the fact of Millers personal narrative is that she is the daughter of playwright Arthur Miller and married to Daniel Day-Lewis, even if the key influence was probably her mother, the Austrian photographer Inge Morath.

Like her mother, Miller is making bold strokes in what was once considered a mans world. Shes flipped the screwball comedy dynamic, so that in Maggies Plan we have two intelligent women, battling over a man, who despite his exalted position in academia, is a bit of a ditz.

I started looking into that whole world, says Miller. Its a genuinely interesting field with great writing. But its also so absurd. I liked it because it was its own world with stars. I wanted to see these movie stars playing these academic stars.

Greta Gerwig and Julianne Moore play academics in Maggies Plan (Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett/Rex/Shutterstock) (Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

Miller wanted the film, developed from stories by Karen Rinaldi, to offer snapshots of our time. It is particular pertinent on the demise of the nuclear family and what that means for relationships. The 53-year-old director asks: What are men and women to each now? At this time when necessity  and the rule book  have been thrown out of the window. You can have a family in so many ways, we can be friends and procreate, or use science, and we can be parents even if we are gay. It puts a lot of emphasis on choice and freedom.

The film arrives as America seems to be embracing the cult of personality in Donald Trump. She shudders at the mention of the Republican presumptive nominee, still believing he he will not become president: I cannot see it happening.

But she also admits that the film shows the signs of a divided nation  a situation that Brits will know all too well after the European referendum vote. She wanted to make a film that had thoughtful people in it: "it is important to say that this is us [America] too, we are the nation that elected Barack Obama. We are very divided in a lot of ways and the press tends to present things in a block. There is not a whole lot of nuance. We are either presented as one thing, or the other. Right now we are being presented as the nation of Donald Trump.

Its perhaps no surprise that the daughter of the man who wrote The Crucible, about the Salem witch trials, as a condemnation of McCarthyism that was sweeping America in 1953, would feel that there is a sense of deja vu about the current climate of blame. One that doesnt have a habit of ending well. Fear is a powerful thing and worked for a long time. To combat it is a daily effort  to think: Im not going to react to the fear, Im not going to live my life out of fear.

The climate of fear and hate-mongering led Miller to believe that comedy was the best way to deal with the dilemmas posed in the film. I dont want to talk about big subjects in a weighty way. This film has a serious heart, in that it wonders 'what is our culture going to look like? Thats a serious subject to me. It could be approached in a dramatic way, like [Ingmar Bergmans] Scenes from a Marriage, but I thought that the way things are now, it is best to take the opposite route; if everything looks dark and dire, maybe comedy is the way to open that door. It creates a levity through lightness.

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It also helped that she found Moore on top form. I lived for a long time with a Chilean philosopher and he had a lot of European academic friends. I based Julianne Moore on no one specific, but I know that she could be from that world, no problem. Julianne came on early: it was like Moore and I hooked into each other, there was a tone set, and then everything followed that tone.

Originally, Miller wanted to pursue painting. But that changed when she was 21: I was living in an artist commune in Germany. I graduated from college and I was going to be a painter. Then I went to the cinema in Munich and saw La Dolce Vita, and it blew my mind. I thought: fuck, I want to make films.

Cinema married her passion for images, words and music. At the time she imagined that her films would more resemble Tarkovsky than Woody Allen: I was always painting my dreams. My first films were not narrative films. They were without a beginning and an end. They were gallery pieces. At the time I would really have been stunned to think that I would be making films for people to watch in an audience.

This dreamlike quality can be seen in her films, Angela (1995) and The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005), whereas the narrative drive of films such as Personal Velocity (2005) and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) comes from always having written short stories. More recently in between the films, shes been writing novels.

Its a career that would satisfy any dreamer, even if  as her new film highlights  things rarely go to plan.
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Legendary Hollywood actress Olivia De Havilland  who turned 100 on 1 July and whose career is celebrated this month at BFI Southbank in London  is as well known for her feud with her sister Joan Fontaine as she is for the many classic movies she made.

This feud wasnt just a case of professional rivalry. The sisters heartily loathed one another from earliest youth. De Havilland was born first; according to her sibling, she bitterly resented the arrival of another child who was going to steal away their parents affections.

One July day in 1933 when I was 16, Olivia threw me down in a rage, jumped on top of me and fractured my collarbone, Joan Fontaine blithely confided to People magazine when she was promoting her autobiography, No Bed Of Roses, in 1978.

For her part, De Havilland told the press that the enmity between them was fuelled by Fontaines waspish remarks about De Havillands husband, novelist Marcus Goodrich. She said something about Marcus that hurt me deeply. Then, there was the rivalry for roles and for Oscars.

Smiling for the camera: Joan Fontaine at home with Olivia De Havilland (Everett Collection/Rex/Shutterstock) (Everett Collection/REX/Shutterstock)

The media relished the idea that two real life Hollywood legends were seemingly behaving as grotesquely as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in Robert Aldrichs Whatever Happened To Baby Jane (1962). This relish was heightened by the fact that De Havilland and Fontaine both played their share of demure ingenues on screen.

Critics wrote of De Havillands healthful seeming and likeable temperament. She was more Maid Marion than Cruella de Vil. Early in her career, she became accustomed (as David Shipman wrote of her) to standing on the sidelines looking pretty, mostly to gaze adoringly at Errol Flynn. Fontaine, meanwhile, excelled as nervous, repressed heroines like the character she played so brilliantly in Alfred Hitchcocks Rebecca.

The extent of the feud between the sisters has sometimes been overstated. They may not have got on very well at all but they didnt sabotage each others careers. Instead, they went to extreme lengths to ignore one another.

In his biography of Gone With The Wind producer David O Selznick, David Thompson suggests that Fontaine actually helped De Havilland land her role in the film, albeit with ulterior motives. Melanie must be a plain simple southern girl, the director stipulated. What about my sister? Fontaine (considered too chic for the role herself) responded. Fontaine also paid tribute to De Havillands gumption in standing up to Jack Warner over the notoriously restrictive contract system under which Hollywood stars worked. (De Havilland successfully took Warner Bros to court in the early 1940s to have the system changed.)

There have been several other pairs of sisters who have worked successfully in Hollywood without having to elbow each other aside in order to do so. Constance Bennett was once Hollywoods highest-paid actress. She looked demure but was ruthless (Pollyanna Borgia was the nickname given her by Mary Pickford) and starred in films with titles like Sin Takes A Holiday and Lady With A Past. Her great rivalry was with Gloria Swanson and she had no trouble with her younger sister, Joan Bennett. It helped that the sisters were from a family of actors (their father Richard Bennett was a celebrated Broadway actor) and that Constance was already well established in Hollywood when Joan began to forge a reputation.

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There is plenty of scandal and colour in the lives of both the Bennett sisters  marriages, divorces, husbands shooting suspected lovers  but little sign of any enmity between Constance and Joan themselves. Constance was the bigger star; Joan is better remembered today. It seems a fair trade-off. In the 1940s, Joan became a muse to the great Austrian-German director Fritz Lang and played dark, complex roles in Langs noirish thrillers like The Woman In The Window and Scarlet Street, which are still frequently revived.

Sisters Lillian and Dorothy Gish starred together in Orphans Of The Storm in 1921 (Moviestore Collection/REX/Shutterstock)

In the silent era, Lillian and Dorothy Gish were the original screen sisters but they started as colleagues rather than rivals. Their father, James Gish, was an alcoholic who abandoned the family. Their mother, Mary Gish, took jobs acting to pay the rent and also put the daughters on stage. Screen legend has it that they went to visit an old friend now calling herself Mary Pickford (they had known her as child actress, when she was called Gladys Smith). Pickford was working at Biograph Studios for filmmaker DW Griffith, who promptly decided to put them both under contract.

Lillian, in particular, blossomed, becoming one of the best loved movie stars of her era. There were hints, though, of cracks in their relationship. As Lillians biographer Charles Affron wrote, Dorothy couldnt have been unaware that Lillian was considered the prettier of the two and was preferred by Griffith. Lillian, described by Griffith as an exquisitely fragile, ethereal beauty, got all the plum roles. In public, the sisters protested they were devoted to one another, but there were tensions between them.

Since Lillian and Dorothy Gish, many other sisters have carved out screen careers. Recent examples include the Tilly sisters (Meg and Jennifer), the Arquettes (Rosanna, Patricia, Alexis), the Fannings (Dakota and Elle) and the Maras (Rooney and Kate.) If theyve bickered with one another, theyve managed to keep it very quiet. When it comes to feuding sisters, that is why De Havilland and Fontaine are still the names everyone reaches for.

Olivia de Havilland: The Woman Who Changed Hollywood is at BFI Southbank in London throughout July
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One of the great mysteries surrounding Marvels upcoming film Doctor Strange regards Mad Mikkelsens character.

The comic book studio has seemed intent on not revealing the Danish actor's character; all we officially know is that hes a magical antagonist who believes he is doing good (but our heroes believe is bad).

Finally, after months of rumours, Marvel has seemingly let slip his characters name in a prelude comic book. Apparently, his name is Kaecilius.

 Doctor Strange - Teaser Trailer

In the original comics, Kaecilius is merely a minion of Baron Mordor, having a minor role, yet here is one of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, working with The Ancient One as well as other powerful spell-casters to protect the realm.

The prelude details how Kaecilius and the other Masters defeat an evil woman for the Eye of Agamotto, a magical item that will eventually come to Stephen Strange. Hwoever, despite being on the heroes side in the first comic, he will no doubt switch sides in the forthcoming comic sequel.

33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Show all 34 1 /34 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 1. Captain America: Civil War Release date: 6 May 2016. Iron Man and Captain America are set to face off in this superhero blockbuster that will feature nearly all the Avengers but wont be an Avengers film. It will also mark the first time Spider-Man will feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Sony having made a deal with Marvel Studios. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 2. X-Men: Apocalypse Release date: 27 May 2016. Following the success of Days of Future Past, Apocalypse will follow the young X-Men team as the battle against Oscar Isaacs titular villain as he gathers his four horsemen; Magneto (Fassbender), Angel (Hardy), Storm (Shipp), and Psylocke (Munn). Expect carnage and no Wolverine. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 3. Suicide Squad Release date: 5 August 2016. The first supervillain film, Suicide Squad is also based in the DCEU (DC Extended Universe, where Batman and Superman live) and will introduce the world to Margot Robbies Harley Quinn and Jared Letos Joker. One of the more exciting upcoming DC films thats for sure. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 4. Doctor Strange Release date: 4 November 2016. Benedict Cumberbatch will debut in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Captain America and Iron Man live) as the Sorcerer Supreme. The film already has an incredible cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachael McAdams and Tilda Swinton. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 5. Untitled Lego Batman film Release date: 20 February 2017. Kicking off 2017 is the Lego version of Batman, who will lead his own spin-off, having already featured in the amazing Lego Movie. Will Arnett voices the titular character, while Zach Garfianakis - from the Hangover - will voice The Joker. But will he better than Leto? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 6. Untitled Wolverine film Release date: 3 March 2017. Having not starred in X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine will return to the big screen in a solo film which was recently made R-Rated following the success of Deadpool. It is expected to be Hugh Jackmans last outing as the titular character. Fox 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 7. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Release date: 5 May 2017. Chris Pratt and the crew are returning to space in the sequel to the surprisingly successful Guardians of the Galaxy. According to director James Gunn, the film will not feature Thanos, even though he will to play a major role in phase MCU Phase 3. Cast includes newcomers Kurt Russell and Pom Klementieff, as well as, rumour has it, Sylvester Stallone. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 8. Wonder Woman Release date: 23 June 2017. Gal Gadot is returning to the DCEU in her very own film, marking the first female-led superhero film on this list. Chris Pine is on board to play Wonder Womans love interest. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 9. Untitled Spider-Man reboot Release date: 7 July 2017. Yes, it is another Spider-Man reboot, having previously been redone with Andrew Garfield as the lead. However, this time it is part of the MCU, with Tom Holland as the titular character, and a heavily rumoured cameo by Iron Man could be in the pipeline. We can dream. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 10. Untitled Fox film Release date: 6 October 2017. In a strange announcement, Fox decided to withhold the release of Gambit until a future, as-yet unannounced date, which could be here, or this could be a completely separate project. Many suspect Deadpool 2 could nicely fit here, Fox capitalising on the success of the first film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 11. Thor: Ragnarok Release date: 3 November 2017. Chris Hemsworth will be returning as the Norse God in his third solo MCU film. Flight of the Conchords Taika Waititi is on board to direct, and promises a fun adventure that will likely lead into Marvels next project, Infinity War. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 12. Justice League Part One Release date: 17 November 2017. Hot on the heals of Thor comes Justice League Part One, the first DCEU team-up flick which will see Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg work together to fight bad guys. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 13: Untitled Fox film Release date: 12 January 2018. Kicking off 2018 will likely be the second Deadpool film, but then again, this could very well be another X-Men team-up. Theres also talk of an X-Force film, with Deadpool and other mutants teaming up to fight evil. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 14. Black Panther Release date: 16 February 2018. The first non-white male-led superhero film in the MCU comes in the form of Black Panther, with Chadwick Boseman reprising the titular role, having also starred as the Panther in Civil War. Creeds Ryan Coogler is on to direct what could be a very exciting film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 15. The Flash Release date: 16 March 2018. The Flash will be the first DCEU film since Justice League, and sees Ezra Miller take the lead. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were supposed to pen the film before Disney snapped them up for the Han Solo-film, leaving Seth Grahame-Smith to take charge. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 16. Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 Release date: 4 May 2018. And so, we finally get to the point of all these Infinity Stones! Thanos will be the big bad, with the Avengers needing to team up to defeat their biggest foe yet. It has previously been described as the end of the Avengers as we know it. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 17. Ant-Man and The Wasp Release date: 6 July 2018. Peyton Reed will be back to direct this surprise sequel to one of the better received MCU films. While the name is ridiculous, at least Marvel are finally having a leading female superhero. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 18. Untitled Fox film Release date: 13 July 2018. Again, not much word on this one except it is thought to be X-Men spin-off New Mutants, something Josh Boone has been hit up to write. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 19. Animated Spider-Man Film Release date: 20 July 2018. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Amy Pascal - the team behind the live-action Spider-Man films - are producing this unrelated animated adaptation of the hero. Because you can never have too much Spider-Man, right? 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 20. Aquaman Release date: 27 July 2018. Another Justice League spin-off, Jason Momoa plays the leading man. Furious 7s James Wan is on to direct, but little else is known about the film. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 21. Captain Marvel Release date: 8 March 2019. Weve hit 2019, and the first confirmed superhero film will be the first proper female-led MCU film. No-one is confirmed to be in the titular role of Carol Danvers just yet. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 22. Shazam Release date: 5 April 2019. Dwayne Johnson stars as the villain in this DCEU film which will be somewhat separate to the other DC films. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 23. Avengers: Infinity War Part 2. Release date: 3 May 2019. The conclusion to the long drawn MCU saga. Expect a big finish with at least a few planets being destroyed. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 24. Justice League Part Two Release date: 14 June 2019. Soon after the Infinity War story reaches its conclusion, so will the Justice Leagues. Not much is known, except Darkseid will likely be the villain for at least one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 25. Inhumans Release date: 12 July 2019. The concept of Inhumans (or Marvels mutants) has already been introduced in TV, through Marvels Agents of Shield, yet the film is expected to introduce the Royal Family who have yet to be seen in the show. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 26. Cyborg Release date: 3 April 2020. Having debuted in Justice League Part One three years previously, Cyborg will finally be making his own outing, with Ray Fisher as the titular character. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 27. Untitled MCU film Release date: 1 May 2020. The first of three untitled Marvel films. There are a couple of contenders, the first is a likely sequel to Spider-Man with Sony, or a third Guardians of the Galaxy film, thus finishing the trilogy. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 28. Green Lantern Corps. Release date: 19 June 2020. Before you start to worry, this has nothing to do with the Ryan Reynolds-starring flick that hit cinemas a little while ago. Instead, this will be another DCEU film that will likely spin-off from Justice League after the Green Lantern Corps cameo in one of the parts. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 29. Untitled MCU film Release date: 10 July 2020. As well as Spider-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy sequels, a Doctor Strange or Black Panther one could fit in nicely here. Or perhaps Black Widow may finally get the solo-film she deserves. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 30. Untitled MCU film Release date: 6 November 2020. Some speculators also think a Blade film could fit in here, marking over 20 years since the first Blade. But many believe the character may be better suited to a Netflix series, as with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Theres also talk of a Runaways film reaching cinemas at some stage. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 31. Untitled Ben Affleck Batman film Release date: TBA. Now were onto the TBA release dates, the first of which is a Batman solo film, written and directed by Ben Affleck. When this is due, no one is quite sure but expect it sooner rather than later if Batman v Superman is a success. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 32. Suicide Squad 2 Release date: TBA (rumoured 2017). A sequel to Suicide Squad is expected to come in 2017 according to recent reports, but nothing has been confirmed. If the first is successful, it should come as no surprise for Warner Bros to rearrange their schedule to fit in this surefire hit. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 33. Venom Release date: TBA. This is an odd one, as it has been confirmed Sony are wanting to release a Venom film completely unrelated to the upcoming Spider-Man reboot. Venom, as you may know, is a Spider-Man villain, intrinsically linked to Spider-Man, so it seems odd they would release a film unrelated to the rebooted project and not linked to the MCU. 33 Superhero films set for release between 2016 and 2020 Anything else? Well, now you mention it, theres also that sequel to Fantastic Four that has seemingly been dropped by Fox. Plus, theres the Gambit film which has been put on hold (but will likely fill an untitled Fox slot so we havent added it extra). Then again, it could be shoehorned in somehow Marvel

Meanwhile, Tilda Swintons The Ancient One has caused controversy among fans, many of whom have accused Marvel of whitewashing the classically Tibetan character. Head of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feig, has since defended the casting, saying: We didnt want to play into stereotypes.
Unless Russia meets commitments to de-escalate Donbas, sanctions will remain in place

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the United States will maintain sanctions against Russia until Moscow fulfills its obligation to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine.

Unless Russia fulfills all of its obligations concerning the de-escalation of the situation in Donbas, the sanctions will remain in force, he said at a joint press briefing with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Thursday.

According to Kerry, the same applies to the situation in Crimea.
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With Chris Evans having spectacularly quit Top Gear after hosting for a single season, attention has turned to the shows previous hosts - Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May - and their new show, The Grand Tour.

The show, which will launch on Amazon Prime later this year, is being filmed in various spots around the world, the first of which will be in Johannesburg, South Africa. If that sounds a little too far to travel, UK neednt worry, as the trio will also be filming a show over here.

A prize draw has been launched, the prize of which is a place to attend the filming and meet the presenters after; enter here, the deadline is the 12 July.

Things you never knew about Top Gear Show all 14 1 /14 Things you never knew about Top Gear Things you never knew about Top Gear Top Gear isn't really for adults It's 'aimed at people with a mental age of nine', according to executive producer Andy Wilman. BBC Things you never knew about Top Gear Planet Earth loves it... Top Gear is screened in more than 100 countries worldwide and has millions of fans. BBC Things you never knew about Top Gear ...but not all motoring hacks do You might think Jezza was a hero of the motoring hack world but that's not strictly accurate. Telegraph journalist Neil Lyndon summed Top Gear's 21st birthday last year up well: 'Does that mean Billy Bunter and his gang finally get forced out of the Fourth Remove and into long trousers?' BBC Things you never knew about Top Gear The Top Gear theme tune is a classic rock song Seven-minute instrumental 'Jessica' by The Allman Brothers was a hit in 1973. Top Gear has recorded its own version now but used part of the original recording at first. One for the road trip playlist. Things you never knew about Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson couldn't get much more controversial if he tried The presenter is currently suspended from the BBC following a 'fracas' with a producer over a steak dinner. Past scandals include a string of racism allegations. PA Things you never knew about Top Gear This Porsche caused all sorts of trouble in Argentina The Top Gear team were forced to flee Argentina after locals took offence at the car's number plate - believing it was a deliberately provocative reference to the Falklands War of 1982. AP Things you never knew about Top Gear If it's car-buying advice you want, look elsewhere It's an in-joke in Top Gear that they don't do car tests. You would be mad to make a purchases based on Jezza's verdict. Getty Images Things you never knew about Top Gear Richard Hammond had a near-death experience filming Top Gear The 'Hamster' was filming a Top Gear segment in a dragster called Vampire when its front-right tyre burst at 288mph. Hammond spent two weeks in a coma but luckily went on to make a full recovery. He requested that no mention of the crash was made in future Top Gear episodes. Getty Things you never knew about Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson is more than a little bit taller than Richard Hammond Nine inches, to be precise. Rex Things you never knew about Top Gear Top Gear used to offer real advice Before these lads took over, it was a real car-reviewing show with presenters such as Angela Rippon, who gave practical reviews of down-to-earth workhorses such as Cavaliers or Mini Metros. Getty Images Things you never knew about Top Gear Those 'reasonably priced' cars take quite a battering Denis Chick, of Vauxhall, is brave to have lent the show a fleet of his Astras. He said: "Vauxhall Astra sales would not improve if everyone drove like Jimmy Carr around the Dunsfold track." The comedian hilariously took his test car's front off-side tyre clean off its rim. BBC Things you never knew about Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson is a YouTube star Stray down the motoring internet hole and you'll find lovingly posted videos of 'Clarkson the early years' with incredibly loud hair reviewing 1990s cars in an oddly sensible manner. Very disturbing viewing. Getty Images Things you never knew about Top Gear There have been multiple Stigs Racing driver Perry McCarthy was stuntsman The Stig on the first two series of Top Gear - here's the man under that famous helmet. Rex Features Things you never knew about Top Gear Ben Collins was The Stig for eight years Ben Collins was The Stig on Top Gear for eight years. He left amid a clash with the BBC when he unmasked his identity and published an autobiography. Collins thinks Top Gear has 'lost some of its sparkle'. Rex Features

While a ticket ballot was opened for the Johannesburg show, no such thing has been opened in the UK, making the prize draw the only way to get tickets at present. The location and date of filming have yet to be announced.

Clarkson also announced on Twitter the trio will be filming in the piazza Dei Signori in Vicenza, Italy.

Meanwhile, the BBC have announced they have no plans to replace Chris Evans on Top Gear, many concluding Matt LeBlanc will take over as the shows primary host.
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Girl power has been given a feminist remake for the 20th anniversary of the Spice Girls, with a new video for Wannabe calling for an end to violence against women ahead of a United Nations meeting in September.

The Global Goals campaign has released a parody of the iconic 1996 hit, which heard Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary and Sporty Spice tell all future lovers that before any zigazigah-ing, theyd gotta get with their friends. Simply meaning be friends with them back in the Nineties, friends before boys, no funny business.

UPDATE: The Spice Girls have announced official reunion under the name GEM

Launched by the Project Everyone initiative set up by Love Actually filmmaker and Comic Relief founder Richard Curtis, the empowering viral clip emphasises the need for greater awareness of a number of key womens issues, from the gender pay gap to child marriages. It stars a range of stars from across the globe, including Canadas Taylor Hatala, Sri Lankas Jacqueline Fernandez, Nigerias Seyi Shay and the UKs M.O.

More than 250,000 have viewed the video since its upload on Tuesday, with both Victoria Beckham and Mel C applauding it on social media.

This is about modern day girl power. the videos British director MJ Delaney said. The Spice Girls were about a group of different women joining together and being stronger through that bond. These differences are what we want to celebrate in this film while showing there are some universal things that all girls, everywhere, really really want.

Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Show all 19 1 /19 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Afghanistan Recommendation: I urge the Government of Afghanistan to adopt legislative reforms to ensure that sexual violence offences are not conflated with adultery or morality crimes and to establish infrastructure for the delivery of protection, health and le gal services to survivors. I call on the Ministry of the Interior to accelerate efforts to integrate women into the Afghan National Police, thereby enhancing its outreach and its capacity to address sexual and gender-based violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Central African Republic Recommendation: I urge the authorities of the Central African Republic to ensure that efforts to restore security and the rule of law take into account the prevention of sexual violence and that monitoring of the ceasefire and peace agreement explicitly reflects this consideration, in line with the joint communique of the Government and the United Nations on the prevention of and response to conflict-related sexual violence signed in December 2012. I further encourage the authorities to make the rapid response unit to combat sexual violence operational and to establish a special criminal court Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Colombia Recommendation: I commend the Government of Colombia for the progress made to date and its collaboration with the United Nations, including through the visit of my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict in March 2015. I encourage the authorities to implement Law 1719 and continue to prosecute cases of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure that survivors receive justice and receive reparations. Conflict-related sexual violence should continue to be addressed in the Havana peace talks, as well as in the resulting accords and transitional justice mechanisms. Particular attention should be paid to groups that face additional barriers to justice such as ethnic minorities, women in rural areas, children, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals and women abused within the ranks of armed groups. I encourage the Government to scale up its protection measures and share its good practices with other conflict-affected countries Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Congo Recommendation: I urge the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure full implementation of the armed forces action plan against sexual violence, to systematically bring perpetrators to justice and to deliver reparations to victims, including payment of outstanding compensation awards. I call on donors and the United Nations system to support the Government in its efforts and to pay increased attention to neglected areas, including unregulated mining regions Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Iraq Recommendation: I commend the Government of Iraq for its national action plan for the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and urge its swift implementation, including by training its security forces to ensur e respect for womens rights. Programmes to support the social reintegration of women and girls released from captivity by ISIL are urgently needed, as is community-based medical and psychological care. The capacity of the United Nations system should be enhanced through the deployment of Womens Protection Advisers or equivalent specialists Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Libya Recommendation: I urge the national authorities in Libya to implement Decree No. 119 and Resolution 904 of 2014 to ensure redress for all victims, including those affected by the current conflict, through the establishment of multisectoral services and the adoption of legislation to categorically prohibit sexual violence Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Mali Recommendation: I urge the Government of Mali, with support from United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict, to develop a comprehensive national strategy to combat sexual and gender-based violence and to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers so that services can reach remote areas. I further call on all parties to ensure that conflict-related sexual violence is addressed in the inter-Malian dialogue and that perpetrators of sexual violence do not benefit from amnesty or early release Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Myanmar Recommendation: I urge the Government of Myanmar to continue with its reform agenda and, in the process, take practical and timely actions to protect and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and to ensure that security personnel accused of such crimes are prosecuted. Sexual violence should be an element in all ceasefire and peace negotiations, excluded from the scope of amnesty provisions and addressed in transitional justice processes. It is critical that women be able to participate consistently in and influence these processes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Somalia Recommendation: I reiterate my call to the Federal Government of Somalia to implement the commitments made under the joint communique of 7 May 2013 and its national action plan to combat sexual violence in conflict, including specific plans for the army and the police. I encourage the adoption of a sexual offences bill as a matter of priority Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life South Sudan Recommendation: I urge the parties to the conflict in South Sudan to adopt action plans to implement the commitments made under their respective communiques. I call upon the Government of South Sudan to address the negative impact of customary law on womens rights and to reflect international human rights standards in national law. I also encourage the African Union to make public and act upon the report of its Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sudan (Darfur) Recommendation: I call upon the Government of the Sudan to grant the United Nations and its humanitarian partners unfettered access for monitoring and the provision of assistance to people in need in Darfur. Given that there has been grave concern over sexual violence in Darfur for more than a decade, I encourage the Government to engage with my Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict to develop a framework of cooperation to address the issue comprehensively Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Syria Recommendation: I acknowledge the Governments invitation to my Special Representative to visit the Syrian Arab Republic and call upon the authorities, in the context of such a visit, to agree on specific measures to prevent sexual violence, including by members of the security forces. I condemn the use of sexual violence by ISIL and all other parties listed in the annex to the present report and call on them to cease such violations immediately and allow unfettered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Yemen Recommendation: I urge the authorities in Yemen to undertake legislative reform as a basis for addressing impunity for sexual violence, ensuring the provision of services for survivors and aligning the minimum legal age of marriage with international standards. I further call on the authorities to engage with local community and faithbased leaders to address sexual and gender-based violence and discriminatory social norms Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Bosnia and Herzegovina Recommendation: I urge the relevant authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize legislation and policies so that the rights of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence to reparations are consistently recognized and to allocate a specific budget for this purpose. I further call upon the authorities to protect and support survivors participating in judicial proceedings through, inter alia, referrals to free legal aid, psychosocial and health services, as well as economic empowerment programmes Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Ivory Coast Recommendation: I urge the Government of Cote dIvoire to ensure the effective implementation of its national strategy to combat gender-based violence and the action plan for FRCI, and call on the international community to support these efforts. It is critical to accelerate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and strengthen law enforcement to ensure that ex-combatants who have been reintegrated into the transport sector do not pose a risk to women and girls who are reliant on those services. The Government and the international community must provide monitoring and awareness-raising to mitigate the possibility of a recurrence of sexual violence in the context of the presidential elections to be held in October 2015 Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Liberia Recommendation: I call on the Government of Liberia to continue its critical efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence including through the United Nations-Government of Liberia Joint Programme, and in the context of recovery from the Ebola virus epidemic Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nepal Recommendation: I encourage the Government to ensure that survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are recognized under the law as conflict victims, which will enable them to access services, judicial remedies and reparations. I further call on all parties involved in the transitional justice process to ensure that the rights and needs o f survivors of sexual violence are addressed in institutional reforms and that these crimes are excluded from amnesties and statutes of limitations Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Sri Lanka Recommendation: I call upon the newly elected Government of Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of sexual violence, including against national armed and security forces, and to provide multisectoral services for survivors, including reparations and economic empowerment programmes for women at risk, including war widows and female heads of household Countries where sexual violence has become a way of life Nigeria Recommendation: I encourage the Government to implement its national action plan on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) to ensure that womens protection concerns are mainstreamed throughout its security operations. I also call upon the authorities to guarantee security in and around internally displaced persons camps and to extend medical and psychosocial services to high-risk areas



Global Goals rallying statement written alongside the clip reads: In 2015 world leaders promised to put girls and women first when they signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, fix climate change and tackle inequalities.

Girls and women are disproportionately affected by these challenges and are key to building resilient communities to withstand them.

Thats why we need to ensure World Leaders and the Secretary General of the United Nations listen to the voices of girls and women and put them first in policies and plans.

2016 is our chance to use our collective power and tell world leaders what we really really want for girls and women. If you make the noise, well get your message to world leaders at the UN in September. The Global Goals will only ever be achieved if governments, businesses, communities and you invest in girls and women.
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An all-female cast of thirteen Syrian refugees takes to the stage for this remarkable venture. They weave their own personal stories into an eloquent modern re-working of an ancient text -- Euripides' Women of Troy (415 BC) with its eponymous captives waiting to shipped from the sacked city into slavery.

First staged in Jordan in 2013, Queens of Syria has already been the subject of an award-winning documentary by Yasmin Fedda about a process that started off as a drama therapy workshop in Amman. The end result is an inspiring example of how the benefits of group endeavour and the encounter with a great classical anti-war play have given these women the confidence to speak out  both in terms of the parallels with their own traumatic experiences and in protest at the routine prejudices nursed against refugees.

In Zoe Lafferty's intense production, the cast sometimes intones chorally but mostly the piece is intent on emphasising how this worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War, with 4 million Syrians having fled the country, is suffered by individuals who have their own singular reasons for identifying with Andromache or Cassandra. Some of performers are required to recall harrowing personal events and you can feel them (Reham Alkahim, especially) bravely steeling themselves to recount their stories  of a mother, say, kidnapped when she goes to meet her son's kidnappers and then ransomed only to discover that they had already butchered him. Or the nightmare of childbirth in a war-zone, and being driven into exile shortly thereafter with a sick baby.

But the piercing homesickness of life in exile makes itself felt perhaps even more powerfully, as we hear in letters to family members with evocative touches that summon up, say, the distinctive scent of a Damascus dawn. The women reveal the sentimental objects (picture of a brother; coffee pot; offspring's awards certificates) they took into exile and resolve that their children will rebuild Syria in contrast to Troy which, as they are all too uneasily aware, was obliterated.

Presented mostly in Arabic (with surtitles), the piece does have flashes of English  as, for example, when they satirise the patronising requests and questions asked of refugees (Tell us about your journey, How come you have a smart phone?). This sequence leads to the riposte: do I have to be ashamed because there's a civil war now in my country? And to the angry, confrontational how did killing people people become normal  shame on you.

It's a compelling - and humbling - show.

Queens of Syria is at the Young Vic till 9 July, then tours to Oxford, Brighton, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh and Durham before a West End gala performance at the New London Theatre, 24 July
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She was in the checkout queue at her local supermarket when she realised she had to pounce. Wendy Jones had been looking for Muslim women to interview about their sex lives for her new book, and she knew that the young girl in a headscarf packing her vegetables would be perfect. Of course I was mortified, but I only had a few minutes, so I just showed her the manuscript and blurted out something about it being anonymous and confidential. We got into an email exchange and I built up her trust over a period of months. I just knew that this lady was so full of beauty and spark and wisdom... and I was right.

The resulting interview with Jannah, 19, from west London, is just one of the kaleidoscopic oral histories that make up The Sex Lives of English Women. All the women were given anonymity for taking part in the book, so all of the names mentioned are, of course, aliases. Theres Olive, 35, from Leeds, a Buddhist nun who watches porn and wants a threesome, and Jackie, 47, from Eastbourne, who at one point was sleeping with ten different men a day. We also hear from Mary, 94, from Norfolk, who as a Land Girl had a staggering amount of sex with strangers by the side of the road. We learn what it feels like to have your penis turned into a vagina, to feel like you have fat labia, and to be a gynaecological nurse who cant have an orgasm.

Jones, 48, whose previous works include a collaborative (auto)biography of Grayson Perry, came up with the idea of convincing women to tell all about their sex lives seven years ago. In the history of literature in English there arent many books by women and the vast majority of them are books telling women how to be women, she tells me by phone from her home in north London. From medieval mystic Margery Kempe to the wit of Caitlin Moran, via Germaine Greer and countless womens magazines, every generation has been sold an idea of how to be, but no one has asked Tell me what its really like for you to be a woman.

She focused on English women as a way of exploring the duality in our culture between the stiff upper lip and Carry On slapstick  neither of which rang true. I remember thinking Who are these women that I walk past on the street, stand next to in the playground, sit next to on the underground? What is their life really like? I wanted to know very deeply.

Through word of mouth, social media, and sheer gumption (she even approached OAPs on a train), Jones tracked down 27 subjects of varying ages, races and religions and, armed with her tape recorder, simply asked them to tell her about their sexuality. Often the women would say This will be boring or Ive not got much to say and lo and behold, two hours later! The unedited transcripts came to half a million words  the same length as War and Peace, Jones adds proudly. Only Im pretty sure War and Peace doesnt feature bondage, vampire bites and a pornographic re-enactment of a Frys Turkish Delight advert.

Reading The Sex Lives of English Women is like eavesdropping on an intimate group of female friends having the kinds of conversations which only happen (in my experience) four or five wines in. Every few pages I found myself guffawing, wincing, or narrating particularly shocking passages out loud to my other half. Some stories are more successful than others  the burlesque dancer who opens the collection doesnt reveal much (so to speak), the Girl Guide leader who refers to having organisms didnt hold my attention  but more often than not its a peek into inner lives one would never normally get to hear about.

Writing the book was an eye-opening experience for Jones as well. I was listening and digesting huge amounts of hope and pain and trauma and secrecy and abuse and vivacity and life, she says. They cried, I cried. We roared with laughter. Often the person was shocked that they had done this, and I was shocked too. There was a lot of Oh my goodness, did you really? Sex is often very, very funny. It seems to me that everyones caught in flagrante sometimes.

As Jones states in her introduction, through our sexuality our humanity is revealed; and, as with the best oral histories, the personal widens out to become the political (take the young Asian woman who fantasises about a white man admiring her bum I think thats something to do with my subconscious...colonialism of something). Its not surprising that Jones studied the great American statesmen of oral history, Studs Terkel, as part of her PhD and jokingly calls him my homeboy.

In the interests of equality, Jones is currently in the process of interviewing English men for a follow-up, and she points out how important it is, in the age of porn and sexting, to allow people the space to talk about the reality of sexual experience. And what a fascinating job it must be to hear it all. My favourite line in the book comes from the Muslim lady who says there were educations along the way, says Jones. For me, writing this book, Id have to agree. As a reader Id definitely second that.

The Sex Lives of English Women: Intimate Questions and Unexpected Answers by Wendy Jones (Serpents Tail, 9.99) is published today
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Up to 80,000 banking and finance jobs could be moved from London to other centres in Europe in a job exodus worse than all the years of the financial crisis because of Brexit, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

BCG asked 360 leading bankers in the UK, France, the US and Germany about their thoughts on the impact of Brexit in the run up to the referendum.

They said London could be drained of 20 per cent of jobs, worse than the 55,000 jobs lost in London's financial sector during the years of the financial crisis between 2007 and 2010.

Banking jobs including international payments transations, investment banking and trading are likely to be affected, BCG said.

Insurance, pharmaceutical and biotechnology jobs could also go, the company said.

Dr Wolfgang Dorner, banking expert and head of BCG Frankfurt, urged Germany cities and companies to welcome the influx of professional staff.

He said German cities: "should prepare for job relatocations in various industries and actively seize the opportunities offered by this influx of qualified workers."

France has also promised to welcome bankers and banking operations if companies lose passporting, or the ability to do business with the whole of the EU, after Brexit.

Banks and other companies are discussing whether they will need to move European headquarters to the EU to keep the same privileges.

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Show all 6 1 /6 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you More expensive foreign holidays The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more nito100 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you No immediate change in immigration status The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Higher inflation A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation  a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods  food and clothes being the most obvious  but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Interest rates might rise The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Did somebody say recession? Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economys future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018 AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you And we wouldnt even get our money back All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget Getty Images

Before the vote, Stuart Gulliver, HSBCs chief executive, said that Brexit could see 20 per cent of its 5,000 London investment bankers moved out of London to Paris.

 Richard Branson: 'Virgin has lost a third of its value'

Goldman Sachs also issued several warnings that it would be likely to move some staff out of the City if the UK voted to quit the 28-member bloc.

Both banks reiterated their commitment to the UK after the referendum results came in and said they would not make any immediate staffing changes.
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A number of international investment banks have pledged to help the City of London retain its status as the worlds number one financial centre in the wake of the shock Brexit vote, despite fears of a financial services jobs exodus from the capital.

In a statement organised by the Chancellor the Exchequer George Osborne, the banking chiefs, including Michael Sherwood of Goldman Sachs and Bill Winters of Standard Chartered, say the Brexit vote clearly presents economic challenges but that they have a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre.

Praising the Citys advantages the statement said: It has one of the most stable legal systems in the world, a brilliant workforce and deep, liquid capital markets unmatched anywhere else in Europe, all of which are underpinned by world class regulators.

However, the statement - which is also signed by senior representatives of JP Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citi - stops short of saying that the institutions will not move jobs and operations out of the UK capital.

The future of global investment banks in London has been intensively scrutinised due to fears they could ultimately be stripped their passporting rights post Brexit, which enable them to sell financial services across the 28 member bloc while their Europan subsidiaries are headquartered in the UK capital.

The chief executive of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon explicitly warned before the referendum that the giant Wall Street bank could move up to 4,000 jobs out of the UK and into continental Europe in the event of Brexit.

Other bank chiefs made similar warnings, although the banks themselves did not make any comment in the immediate wake of the vote, saying they would wait to see the likely shape of the UKs future relations with the EU.

UK ministers will be keen to preserve these banks passporting rights in negotiations with the EU, although it is very far from clear that other EU leaders would agree.

The French prime minister Manuel Valls has, since the 23 June vote, attempted to tempt London-based international banks to relocate to Paris, saying he wants the French city to be the financial capital of the future.

A new survey of leading bankers around the world by Boston Consulting Group suggests that 80,000 banking and finance jobs could ultimately leave London for Europe in the wake of the Brexit vote, creating more employment damage for the capital than the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

 Richard Branson: 'Virgin has lost a third of its value'

The full statement released by the Treasury:

"Britains decision to leave the EU clearly presents economic challenges which we are determined to work together to meet.

We will also work together to identify the new opportunities that may now become available so that Britain remains one of the most attractive places in the world to do business.

One of Britains key economic strengths is that it is a world leading financial centre.

It has one of the most stable legal systems in the world, a brilliant workforce and deep, liquid capital markets unmatched anywhere else in Europe, all of which are underpinned by world class regulators.

In recent years it has established itself as a global hub for renminbi, rupee, Islamic finance and green finance, as well as leading in new markets such as FinTech.

Today we met and agreed that we would work together to build on all this with a common aim to help London retain its position as the leading international financial centre."

Signatories and attendees

Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne

Mr Bill Winters, CBE, (Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered)

Mr Michael Sherwood, (Vice Chairman and co-CEO, Goldman Sachs International)

Mr Alex Wilmot-Sitwell, (President (Europe and Emerging markets excl. Asia), Bank of America Merrill Lynch)

Mr Robert Rooney, (CEO, Morgan Stanley International)

Mr Viswas Raghavan, (Deputy CEO and Head of Investment Banking (EMEA), JP Morgan)

Mr Jim Cowles, (CEO, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Citi)
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The Government has urged the UKs biggest public companies to boost female representation in senior roles by the end of the decade after it was revealed that the number of female appointments on boards in the UK has fallen to a five-year low.

Ministers are calling on FTSE 350 businesses to ensure a third of boardrooms seats are filled with women by 2020.

Sir Philip Hampton, chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, chair of UBM are leading the review.

They will consider how to drive improvement and identify the obstacles preventing womens progressions, with findings to be presented to the Government by the end of 2016.

It comes after a new 2016 Female FTSE Board report warned that the proportion of new appointments going to women has plunged to a five-year low.

(Statista (Statista)

The report by Cranfield University, City University London and Queen Mary University London found that the overall percentage of women on FTSE boards has however increased compared to March 2015.

The proportion of women on FTSE 100 boards is up from 12.5 per cent to 26 per cent, according to the Lord Davies gender equality report.

Louisa Watt, a partner and head of debt and claims trading at Cadwalader, an international law firm behind the Women in the City Programme, said now is a fantastic time to be a woman in business.

One, because you have very strong female political leaders who are now in the limelight and getting their day in the media, and everyone is looking to them to help solve the crisis.

But also because of the fact that we have womens networks and sponsorship programmes that were never available before, so I think there are more opportunities now for women to help and support each other in leadership roles, she told the Independent.

Watt said the next generation of women leaders should not repeat the mistakes of their superiors, who had to fight for their own place in the limelight as opposed to offering mentorship and advice.

We should take on board all the issues that we dealt with as we were moving up in our careers, to actually help women further down the road, because you can take delight in someone elses success, Watt said.

Miranda Pode, a UK managing partner at Egon Zehnder, a consultancy firm working with businesses to help women fulfill their potential, has committed to help companies to reach the target of 25 female chief executive of FTSE 100 companies by 2025 up from five in 2014.

Pode said it is encouraging to see diversity is increasing around the boardroom table.

The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Show all 15 1 /15 The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Angela Merkel - German Chancellor German Chancellor Angela Merkel has retained her number one ranking for topping this years Forbes list for the fifth consecutive year and ten times in total. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Hillary Clinton - Presidential candidate, United States Clinton, who could become the worlds most powerful leader in 2016, has been featured on the list every year since it launched in 2014. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Melinda Gates - Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda Gates has cemented her dominance in philanthropy and global development to the tune of $3.9 billion in giving in 2014 and more than $33 billion in grant payments since she founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with her husband in 2000. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Janet Yellen - Chair, Federal Reserve, Washington, United States Janet Yellen made history in 2014 when she became the first female head of the Federal Reserve. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Marry Barra - CEO of General Motors Mary Barra made history by becoming the first female CEO of General Motors. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Christina Lagarde - Managing director, International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde is entering the last year of her first term heading the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the organisation which serves as economic advisor and backstop for 188 countries. Under Lagarde the IMF has supported efforts to increase female labor force participation as way to reduce poverty and inequality. The UK, Germany, China, France and Korea have endorsed Christine Lagarde for another term as the head of the IMF. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Dilma Rousseff - President, Brazil Dilma Rousseff, who has been elected in 2010, is Brazil's first female president. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Sheryl Sandberg - COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of bestseller Lean In, joined the company in 2008 and became the first woman on its board four years later. Sandberg helped the social network go public and expand digital revenue. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Susan Wojcicki - CEO of Youtube Susan Wojcicki is CEO of YouTube, the worlds most popular digital video platform used by over a billion people across the globe. She oversees YouTube's content and business operations, engineering, and product development. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Michelle Obama - First lady, United States Michelle Obama, the 44th first lady of the United States has focused her attention on issues such as the support of military families, helping working women balance career and family and encouraging national service. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Park Geun-hye - President, South Korea Park Geun-hye is the first female leader of a country that has the highest level of gender inequality in the developed world. In her inauguration speech, she promised to prioritise both national security and economic revitalisation. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Oprah Winfrey - Actress, Director/Producer, Entrepreneur, Personality, Philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, a former queen of daytime TV has proven she can thrive without a talkshow. Her 'The Life You Want' tour sold out stadiums from Newark to Seattle in 2014. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Ginni Rometty - CEO of IBM Ginni Rometty joined IBM in 1981 and later became the first woman to lead the company. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Meg Whitman - CEO of Hewlett-Packard Meg Whitman is the only woman to have headed two large U.S. public companies: eBay and Hewlett-Packard.Until Marissa Mayer's arrival at Yahoo, she was the only female head of a leading Internet-based company. The world's 15 most powerful women in 2015 Indra Nooyi - CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo. Mrs. Nooyi leads one of the worlds largest convenient food and beverage companies, with 2008 annual revenues of more than $43 billion.

The big challenge in the UK is now no longer women in the boardroom but women at executive level, where we have seen glacial progress, Pode said.

Many CEOs are appointed from internal candidates, which means the inclusion of more women in leadership pipelines and identifying and developing this potential is key, she added
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The Chilcot Report had a large cast of characters, people whose names were often in the news 13 years ago, not so often now. So where are they, and what have they been doing, those key players in the story of why we went to war in Iraq?

Tony Blair

May 2003: Tony Blair addressing British troops in Basra (Rex)

When he left Downing Street in 2007, he could have stayed in the Commons, as Sir Edward Heath did for a great many years, or he could have followed Margaret Thatcher into the House of Lords, or accepted a knighthood, like Sir John Major. He did none of these. He has refrained from any involvement in domestic British politics and has not received any formal honours  for which he might have earned respect, except for two huge shadows on his reputation.

One is his decision to go to war in Iraq, the other is his commercial activities since leaving office. It can be much profitable being an ex-politician than a serving politician. Tony Blair has made millions selling his services around the world as a speaker and consultant. The governments he has advised include those of Kazakhstan, Abu Dhabi, Albania, Colombia, Kuwait, Mongolia, Serbia and Vietnam. He also advises the investment bank, JP Morgan, and the Swiss insurer, Zurich International. The Blair family own several properties in London or nearby, which are said to be worth 25m. He also runs charities, and did not receive a salary for his role as a peace negotiator in the Middle East. In July 2014, he claimed that he spent two thirds of his time on unpaid work, and that his wealth was less than 20m. There are doubts about whether he is really that hard up.

Jack Straw

February 2003: Jack Straw at the UN Security Council (Rex)

As one of only three men in the Cabinet for the entire 13 years of Labour government, and a former holder of two of the great offices of state, Jack Straw had an almost automatic right to a peerage when he left the Commons in May 2015, and was expecting to receive one. Unfortunately for him, he was secretly filmed in February 2015 apparently offering his services for cash. Though he was cleared of misconduct, Jeremy Corbyn has not recommended him for a peerage or knighthood. He has worked as a well-paid consultant to a commodities firm ED&f Man and is a visiting professor at University College, London. In July 2015 he was appointed to the commission reviewing Freedom of Information law.

Geoff Hoon

March 2003: Geoff Hoon gives a Ministry of Defence press briefing (Rex)

The former Defence Secretary had a spectacular fall after being caught in a newspaper sting just before he was due to quit the Commons at the 2010 election, offering services for money. He was banned from Parliament for five years. His appeal to the European Court of Human Rights was rejected. However, in May 2011, he secured a highly paid job with the helicopter firm AugustaWestland, which won a big defence contract when Mr Hoon was Defence Secretary..

Alastair Campbell

September 2003: Alastair Campbell arrives for The Hutton Inquiry hearing set up after the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly (Rex)

Tony Blairs former spin doctor drew much of the flak over the inaccurate claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, but Sir John Chilcot judged that the accusation that Mr Campbell had tampered with intelligence reports was not true. Since he left Downing Street in 2003, Mr Campbell has prospered as a freelance writer and speaker.

Sir John Scarlett

August 2003: John Scarlett arrives to give evidence at the Hutton inquiry (Getty)

The former intelligence chief did not escape criticism from Chilcot. He seemed all too uncritical of Tony Blairs messianic certainty that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. When he left MI6 in October 2009, he soon picked up highly paid positions with the accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, the US bank Morgan Stanley, and the security firm Chertoff.

Peter Goldsmith

November 2003: Lord Goldsmith leaves No. 10 Downing Street (Rex)

The Chilcot Report does not solve the mystery of why the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, changed his advice on the legality of the Iraq War at the 11th hour. He quit the government in June 2007 and returned to practising law, and is currently in charge of European and Asian litigation for the law firm Debevoise and Plimpton. One of his jobs was advising the former President of Mongolia, Nambaryn Enkhbayer, who was accused of corruption.

Donald Rumsfeld

October 2003: Donald Rumsfeld gives a lecture about directing the response to the 9/11 attacks (Getty)

The US Defence Secretary  under Gerald Ford in the 1970s and under George W Bush  was determined that the US would invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein, and had little patience with Tony Blair's pleas that they at least try to get authorisation from the United Nations. He resigned in 2006, under heavy criticism for his handling of the war, and founded an educational foundation. He was back in the news in June as an enthusiastic supporter of Donald Trump.

Condoleezza Rice

March 2003: The US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice with the White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer (Getty)

As George Bushs security adviser at the time of the Iraq War, and later as Secretary of State, she was arguably the most powerful woman in the world. Now a professor at Stanford University, she was approached to run against Donald Trump for the Republican nomination but chose not to.

Colin Powell

May 2003: Colin Powell arrives in Berlin for a visit to Germany (Rex)

General Powell, who pronounces his first name to rhyme with rollin, was Secretary of State and the voice of sanity in the Bush administration, who tried to talk the President out of going to war in Iraq, but supported him when the decision was made. In retirement, he has been very critical of Mr Bush.

Tommy Franks

April 2003: General Tommy Franks at the newly named 'Baghdad International Airport' (Rex)

The General who commanded the US invasion force retired only two months later, wrote a best-selling memoir, and travelled the world as a speaker.

Dick Cheney

October 2003: Dick Cheney speaks about terrorism and defends the Iraq invasion (Getty)

George Bushs vice president and alter ego was one of the hardliners who pushed him into invading Iraq. Since 2009, he has constantly turned up on television as a critic of Barack Obama. In May, he was one of the first Republican grandees to declare his support for Donald Trump.

Paul Bremer

January 2003: Paul Bremer has talks with George Bush at the White House (Getty)

He was the diplomat appointed to run the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq in 2003. He ruled Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004, and made the highly controversial decision to disband the Iraqi army. Since 2004, he has earned money as a speaker, writer, consultant and company director. He is also an artist.

Hans Blix

February 2003: Hans Blix addresses the UN security council on the search for weapons of mass destruction (Rex)

The Swedish diplomat was in charge of the UN team looking for weapons of mass destruction before the Iraq war, who annoyed George Bush and Tony Blair by not finding them. He has since campaigned for peace and disarmament. In 2010, he was appointed head of the International Advisory Board of the United Arab Emirates nuclear energy industry.
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Lawyers representing Chelsea Manning have criticised the US military for allegedly cutting their contact with the imprisoned whistleblower amid concern over her health.

Manning, 28, was rushed to hospital this week. Unconfirmed reports suggested she had tried to take her own life.

The former US army soldier is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas for leaking over 700,000 classified documents to Wikileaks. She filed an appeal against her prison sentence in May.

A spokesperson for the US Army told the Associated Press Manning was taken to hospital early on 5 July and has since returned to barracks. The spokesperson said Mannings condition is being monitored but would not comment on why Manning needed to be treated in hospital.

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.

Manning's lawyer Nancy Hollander said a privileged legal call was cancelled on Tuesday, with the prison claiming the call could not be connected despiter the team waiting by the phone.

She told the Independent his lawyers have still not been able to make contact this morning.

Hollander said Mannings legal team are shocked and outraged that private medical information about Manning was apparently leaked to the press, yet no one at the army has given a shred of information to her legal team.

Manning's sister, Casey Major, said she also was unaware her sister had been taken to hospital until being notified by journalists.

We call on the Army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea's current situation, Hollander said in a statement.

Manning, who is transgender, has documented some of her experiences of prison and transitioning in blogs.

Hollander and the US Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jaden Smith says he wears skirts and continues to fight gender stereotypes in the hope that it will one day mean children can wear anything they want without being bullied.

Earlier this year, the actor and son of Hollywood couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, featured in a womenswear campaign for fashion powerhouse Louis Vuitton wearing a skirt.

While this brought Smiths gender fluid style to the mainstream, hed been spotted challenging fixed gender norms before including when he wore a dress to his high-school prom.

When asked by Nylon where he gets the confidence to keep pushing societal boundaries he said: "You just have to believe in yourself, you know. The world is going to keep bashing me for whatever I do and Im going to keep not caring.

Im going to take most of the blows for my fellow MSFTS [his brand]. So you know, in five years when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he wont get beat up and kids wont get mad at him. It just doesnt matter, he said. Im taking the brunt of it so that later on, my kids and the next generations of kids will all think that certain things are normal that werent expected before my time.

Famous and gender fluid Show all 12 1 /12 Famous and gender fluid Famous and gender fluid Miley Cyrus "I didnt want to be a boy. I kind of wanted to be nothing. I dont relate to what people would say defines a girl or a boy, and I think thats what I had to understand: Being a girl isnt what I hate, its the box that I get put into" Getty Images Famous and gender fluid Tilda Swinton Actress REUTERS/Vincent Kessler Famous and gender fluid Andreja Pejic Transgender model Getty Famous and gender fluid Elly Jackson La Roux singer Getty Images Famous and gender fluid Milla Jovovich Model and actress Getty Famous and gender fluid Jaden Smith All black is pretty much my go-to look. If somebody is just wearing something for the blogs, that's really sad because they're not living for themselves, versus someone wearing a kimono who's having an awesome time. I really look to see, do you care more about what other people think, or are you having fun? Getty Famous and gender fluid Casey Legler Former Olympic swimmer, now models exclusively for menswear designers Getty Famous and gender fluid Jared Leto Actor and musician Famous and gender fluid Glenn Close Actress Reuters/Mario Anzuoni Famous and gender fluid Grace Jones Actress, singer, and model Rec Features Famous and gender fluid Annie Lennox Singer Famous and gender fluid Boy George Musician Getty Images

Smith is one of several high-profile individuals challenging gender stereotypes by publicly styling themselves however they wish and rejecting the premise that certain items of clothing are restricted to one gender.

Ruby Rose has spoken openly about identifying as gender fluid while the rapper Young Thug, who last year told GQ ,90 per cent of my clothes are womens, recently starred in a campaign for Calvin Klein where he proclaimed there to be no such thing as gender.

In my world, you could be a gangsta with a dress, or you could be a gangsta with baggy pants. I feel like theres no such thing as gender, he said.
The leader of the Batkivschyna faction Yulia Tymoshenko has declared she is in favor of a broad opposition formation.

"The opposition can be created by the Batkivschyna faction, the Radical party, Svoboda, People's Control, which is headed by Dmytro Dobrodomiv and the People's Will party, which is headed by MP Derevianko [Yuriy Derevianko]," Tymoshenko told journalists in the Verkhovna Rada lobby on Thursday.

Batkivschyna leader noted that Samopomich wouldn't join the broad opposition so far, but "we're trying to conduct negotiations with them."

According to Yulia Tymoshenko, the opposition must be united, including extra-parliamentary opposition forces to start consolidating the country to confront the terror that the current authorities started against the Ukrainian people."

In addition, regarding the work of the parliament Tymoshenko suggested the Verkhovna Rada not to go on summer vacations.

"Today there is a draft resolution that is registered by me personally so that the parliament and deputies wouldn't go on vacation," Tymoshenko said.

According to the faction leader, deputies shouldn't go on vacation when the state is in decline. "We will call on all the parliamentary forces to vote for a resolution for abandoning the holidays," Tymoshenko said.
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Mila Kunis has ridiculed Donald Trumps anti-refugee rhetoric and has said her own experience of being a refugee does not fit into his damning stereotypes.

Kunis, 32, who is known for her roles on That 70s Show and Ted, travelled with her family from the Ukraine to the US on a religious-refugee visa and said she has no intention of "blowing the country up".

Kunis fled the Ukrainian SSR for Los Angeles in 1999 at the age of seven. Her family were Jewish and there was rising wave of antisemitism engulfing the country.

We came here on a religious-refugee visa, she told Glamour. And Im not going to blow this country up. Im clearly paying taxes. Im not taking anything away.

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'

So the fact that people look at whats happening and are like, Pfft, theyre going to blow sh-t up?

Kunis expressed sadness at the rise of anti-refugee sentiment within the US but said it could not be solely attributed to Mr Trump and America had to blame itself.

It saddens me how much fear weve instilled in ourselves. And going from there to the whole, Hey, lets build a wall between Los Angeles and Mexico. I dont even have to answer that one. Theres no point. Its a really great sound bite. And it got him far.

Nobody should be mad at him; we did it to ourselves."

Immigration is one of the cornerstones of the Republican presidential frontrunner's campaign and Mr Trump has also repeatedly expressed anti-immigrant sentiment in speeches. Early during his campaign launch he said would build a great, great wall along the border with Mexico to keep Mexicans from entering the US.

What's more, in a speech on Syrian refugees in New Hampshire in February of this year, Mr Trump said he had a "bigger heart than anybody in this room, but shortly afterwards said he had absolutely no problem with looking Syrian children in the face and telling them to leave.

 10 of the scariest things Donald Trump has ever said

Kunis, who grew up in a family of seven, recalled how her parents worked multiple jobs while also studying in college and going to night school to learn English.

My parents went through hell and back. They came to America with suitcases and a family of seven and $250, and thats it.  My dad worked - f*** if I know - seven jobs? He painted a house. He would deliver toilets. He drove a cab, delivered pizzas.

But growing up poor, I never missed out on anything. My parents did a beautiful job of not making me feel like I was lesser than any other kids.
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Margot Robbies cover interview in Vanity Fair is polarising opinion for not one but two reasons.

The 26-year-old actress has emerged as an A-List actress in recent years ever since she gave a performance, praised by critics, in the Wolf of Wall Street alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, a far cry from her soap star career origins in Neighbours.

So it was no surprise when Robbie was selected to feature on the cover of the Conde Nast title this month, given her huge success in a relatively short period of time.

The issue has indeed received much attention and traction on social media, however, for the wrong reasons.

The first bout of criticism came in response to the way Australia, Robbies home country, is represented in the article by writer Rich Cohen, who refers to Australians as throwback people and describes the country as being America 50 years ago.

As I said, she [Robbie] is from Australia, he writes. To understand her, you should think about what that means. Australia is America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why you go there for throwback people."

The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes Show all 7 1 /7 The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "My Ferrari was whitelike Don Johnson's in Miami Vicenot red" Paramount Pictures The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "Ive been a poor man, and Ive been a rich man. And I choose rich every f*****g time." Paramount Pictures The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "I take Quaaludes 10-15 times a day for my back pain. Adderall to stay focused. Xanax to take the edge off, pot to mellow me out, cocaine to wake me back up again, and morphine...Well, because it's awesome" Mary Cybulski/AP The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "My name is Jordan Belfort, the year I turned 26, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week" (Leonardo Dicaprio pictured as Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street) Paramount Pictures The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "I had lots of nicknames: Gordon Gekko, Don Corleone, Kaiser Soze; they even called me the King. But my favourite was the Wolf of Wall Street" Paramount Pictures The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "Money doesn't just buy you a better life, better food, better cars, better p***y  it also makes you a better person"(Pictured: Jordan Belfort, the real Wolf of Wall Street) GETTY IMAGES The Wolf of Wall Street: Most outrageous quotes "Act as if! Act as if you're a wealthy man, rich already, and then you'll surely become rich" (Pictured: Jordan Belfort, the real Wolf of Wall Street) Michael Loccisano

Upon describing Robbies childhood ambitions of becoming an actress, the magazine says: An ambitious Australian actor views Hollywood the way the Martians view Earth at the beginning of The War of the Worlds, before describing how as a child she stayed with relatives who lived in the hinterland of the hinterland, where there really were kangaroos and a dingo really will eat your baby.

Ironically, the article goes on to quote Robbie saying shes reluctant to discuss this aspect of her upbringing because it encourages stereotypes.

Reaction on Twitter to the representation of Australia has varied from those who are angry to those who simply mocked it.

Its not just its depiction of Australia which has upset some readers as others have questioned the long descriptions of Robbies appearance, describing the article at best as fawny, at worst, misogynistic and accused the magazine of not doing justice to Robbies achievements.

In the article, Cohen describes the actress entering the bar they are meeting at: I dont remember what she was wearing, but it was simple, her hair combed around those painfully blue eyes. We sat in the corner. She looked at me and smiled.

Elsewhere in the profile, she is also described as sexy and composed even while naked but only in character. After Robbie discusses how awkward she finds filming sex scenes, Cohen concludes the feature with: We sit for a moment in silence. She was thinking of something; I was thinking of something else.

Representatives for Vanity Fair, Cohen and Robbie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Former celebrity publicist Max Clifford has been found not guilty at Southwark Crown Court of indecently assaulting a teenage girl.

Clifford was accused of indecently assaulting a 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between October 1981 and May 1982 at his central London office.

The 73-year-old was eventually charged on one count of indecent assault.

He previously convicted on eight counts of indecent assault against four girls aged between 14 and 19 and is currently serving eight years in prison.

The PR guru was one of several male celebrities who were detained under Operation Yewtree which was set up to look into historic child sex abuse in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

The prosecution said Clifford had "used his position of power" to "humilate" the alleged victim into performing a sex act on him after he locked her in his office.

Prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC told the court: "The defendant is a sexual bully who took advantage of his position of power over the youth of the victim to engage in sexual activity she made it plain she did not want to do.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA

"The defendant ignored her wishes and persisted in his actions, knowing she did not consent."

The alleged victim, who is now married with children, said Clifford insisted she wore skirts to work and would leave "explicit" Polaroid photographs of women on his desk for her to see.

But Clifford denied having taking pictures of "wannabe girls" saying he had been passed "maybe 100" Polaroid images of "young women with their legs wide apart" over his career but never used them.

He claimed the woman's reasons for coming forward were "financial" and denied her allegations that he had made threats to kill her during the alleged incident.

From the witness box he said: "I am not a bully, it's not my nature. I stand up for myself and I stand up for others. I wouldn't bully or compromise a 17-year-old.

"I am a target now."

He has also continued to deny his earlier convictions.

Additional reporting by PA
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The question of whether Tony Blair should face legal action for his conduct over the Iraq war has been raised after the damning verdict of the Chilcot report.

Lord Ken Macdonald, former director of public prosecutions, said said Mr Blairs behaviour could amount to the criminal offence of misconduct in public office.

It seemed very likely Mr Blair had roundly abused the trust placed in him by the public, Lord Macdonald told the Times.

The Liberal Democrat life peer, who was head of the Crown Prosecution Service between 2003 to 2008, said Mr Blair had twisted the evidence and the law to take Britain to war in 2003.

Mr Blair had behaved in a disreputable way to win tainted legal backing for massive armed conflict, he said.

This was in reference to an assurance the former Prime Minister made to the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, that Iraq was in further material breach of a UN resolution requiring it to disarm.

Lord Ken Macdonald (AFP/Getty Images)

Lord Macdonalds comments were made after the long-awaited release of the Chilcot report which concluded Saddam Hussein posed no imminent threat at the time of the invasion.

According to Sir John Chilcot, the war was unleashed on the basis of flawed intelligence and the former Prime Minister deliberately blurred the lines between what he believed and what he knew regarding Iraqs capability to deploy weapons of mass destruction.

But while Sir Chilcot said the legal basis for UK military action was far from satisfactory, he did not rule on its legality, as that can only be done by an internationally recognised court.

Alex Salmond, the former Scottish First Minister, has called for Mr Blair to be investigated by the International Criminal Court for a crime of aggression.

I'd like to see the ICC investigate a crime of aggression but I don't think that's going to happen, he said on his LBC radio show.

Mr Salmond also said Mr Blair should face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

 Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

Shadow Commons leader Paul Flynn said the inquiry's findings amounted to an utter condemnation of Mr Blair's terrible decision to commit British troops to the US-led invasion and prosecution of the former statesman should be given serious consideration.

And Sir Jeremy Greenstock, a former British ambassador to the UN, has said the UK was pushed into entering military action too early by the US.

I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early, he told the BBC.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will face questioning on the implications of the report's findings for Britain's future role in the world when he appears before a Commons committee on Thursday.

How the British media covered the Iraq War Show all 6 1 /6 How the British media covered the Iraq War How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Mirror, 6 January 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Guardian, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Daily Mail, 22 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Sun, 20 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War

Responding to the reports conclusions, Mr Blair said he accepted responsibility without exception or excuse for his decision, but refused to acknowledge that the war had worsened the political situation in the Middle East.

It is claimed that by removing Saddam we unleashed terrorism in the Middle East today, he said in a statement.

I profoundly disagree. Saddam was himself a wellspring of terror, a continuing threat to peace and to his own people. Had he been left in power in 2003, then I believe [...] he would once again have threatened world peace.

Families of some of the 179 military personnel killed in Iraq described the former PM as a terrorist, and Jeremy Corbyn offered an apology on Labour's behalf for what he branded a stain on our party and our country.

But Labour leader Mr Corbyn stopped short of calling for his predecessor to be tried for war crimes, as some had expected.
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Two children aged two and three have died after a car crashed into a loch south of Oban on the west coast of Scotland.

Police Scotland confirmed the deaths of the toddlers after the car went into Loch nan Druimnean near the village of Kilmelford.

Coastguard teams, firefighters, police and two helicopters were involved in the search operation after the incident at about 4pm on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland told The Independent: A 36-year-old woman was taken to Oban hospital as a precaution. The [bodies of] the children were recovered by divers.

She said relatives had been informed about the deaths and police were appealing for information to try to establish how the car ended up in the loch.

The vehicle went into deep water and had not been recovered from the loch.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA

It appeared that a passerby may have tried to help those in the car.

One local, who did not want to be named, told the Daily Record newspaper: I saw a guy being ushered along the road by two members of the public, he had bare feet and was in his boxer shorts and he looked soaked, like he had been in the water, I don't know what he was doing.


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A committee of MPs has resoundingly rejected Nicky Morgans choice for the new head of Ofsted, citing a lack of teaching experience and passion for the role.

The Government says Amanda Spielman, the current head of the exams regulator Ofqual, would be the person best placed to succeed as chief inspector of Britains schools, taking over from the incumbent Sir Michael Wilshaw at the end of the year.

However, members of the Education Select Committee disagreed after interrogating Ms Spielman on her suitability for the position last week, concluding that she failed to understand the complex role and were deeply troubled by her responses on child protection.

MPs said Ms Spielman did not convince [them] she had a clear understanding of primary education, childrens services, special educational needs and a range of other aspects of the role.

The report continued: Ms Spielman did not demonstrate the passion for the role that we would have hoped for. She did not refer to the chief inspector's role in raising standards and improving the lives of children and young people.

We were deeply troubled by Ms Spielman's statement that "you cannot say that the buck stops with Ofsted" on child protection.

We did not leave the session with a clear sense of how Ms Spielman would go beyond Ofsted's mission statement to translate it into practice or of the direction she saw Ofsted taking under her leadership.

 Nicky Morgan - wholly unnecessary strike

While Ms Spielmans knowledge of secondary education was deemed to be exemplary, the potential future chief inspector failed to show any appreciation of all the other aspects of the job, MPs said.

The rejection of the nominee will be a source of embarrassment for minister Nicky Morgan, who said she was surprised and disappointed by the committees conclusions while emphasising Ms Spielmans proven track record as a leader.

A former chartered accountant, Ms Spielman worked for investment bank Nomura International until 2001 before moving into the education sector and becoming a policy director for the Ark academy chain in 2004.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA

Conservative committee chairman Neil Carmichael meanwhile said it was unusual for MPs to reject the governments choice for a public appointment, but said Ms Spielmans application left the committee unconvinced she was right for the position.

The Department for Education may reopen applications for the post if Ms Spielman withdraws or is now rejected by the government, or may eventually appoint the other shortlisted candidate Toby Salt.
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The Government has unveiled plans for age verification on porn websites in its new Digital Economy Bill, set to come into force in 2017.

Just how the ages of the users of sites will be monitored is unclear, but the issue has alarmed privacy campaigners, since it could mean having to register a credit card with a porn website. Owners of adult sites could be fined up to 250,000 if they don't check people's ages.

The Open Rights Group, which campains for privacy and free speech online has said: "While preventing children from seeing pornography is a worthy aim, age verification is fraught with difficulties if infringements of privacy and free expression are to be avoided."

To enforce the measures, the Government suggested a new, separate watchdog be created. The body would be able to alert credit card companies, even if the websites themselves didnt cooperate.

The Government has introduced a raft of restrictions on porn in recent years, which has been seen by many as a crackdown on personal freedoms. But stricter controls on adult content online have been supported by the children's charity the NSPCC. The charity has found that half of schoolchildren admit to seeing sexual and violent material on the internet and that children wanted to copy the behaviour they had seen on porn sites, despite the majority of respondents saying porn didnt help them understand consent.

7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Show all 7 1 /7 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Claude Shannon (1916-2001) Shannon took the work done by Boole and re-purposes it for computers, allowing us to understand how to share information with the. It begun information theory  a system of thought that would let us build the internet Getty 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) The internet now is largely algorithms: formulas or procedures that computers can run to solve problems. Those are so deeply integrated into our world that they are almost invisible. But Lovelace created the first one, in the early 19th century, helping lay the groundwork for the machine learning and artificial intelligence that now runs the internet Getty 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit George Boole (1815-1864) Boole helped formulate the kind of logic that would allow the internet and the binary that powers it to flourish. The structures of thinking that he proposed would eventually come to allow computers to understand us, and power the search engines that we use to get around the internet Getty 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Leonard Kleinrock (1934-) Kleinrock helped formulate the idea of packet switching, a central part of the way that computers are able to share information with each other over networks. The theoretical frameworks that he proposed would eventually become the same technology that allows almost every computer in the world to send and receive information from the internet Getty 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Vint Cerf (1943-) and Robert Kahn (1938-) Together Cerf and Kahn helped invent the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP). Those two technologies decide how computers communicate each other  in essence creating the internet as we know it Getty 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Ray Tomlinson (1941-) Life online wouldnt be what it is today without email. Tomlinson created a system to allow people to send messages to each other over ARPANET Andreu Vea 7 people who helped create the internet and dont get any credit Larry Roberts (1937-) Larry Roberts helped create ARPANET, a military network that helped uncover and prove many of the technologies that would go on to power the internet. While Tim Berners-Lee often gets hailed for creating the web, Roberts also contributed to the early work that went into helping him Michel Bakni

The bill also includes harsher new copyright laws. Those found guilty of copyright infringement could be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

Open Rights said: The proposals could mean individuals who share or link to files could receive custodial sentences  even if they have not made any financial gain. This would be excessive and could mean sharing a file online would lead to a greater custodial sentence than physical theft.

The new digital scheme also includes a right legal right to high-speed broadband. Under the Broadband Universal Service Obligation businesses and individuals would have a connection of a minimum of 10Mbps.

 We need to talk about porn

The bill should make it easier for customers to switch telecoms providers, by making it the companys responsibility to manage the move between networks, rather than the customer.

There are also plans to open data sets within the public sector, helping with connectivity. The Government claimed this would help tackle fraud as well as improve the services. First proposed in the Queen's Speech, the bill aims to help the UK become a "world leader in the digital economy".
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Academy trust schools are no better than ones run by local councils when it comes to raising standards, a major study has found.

Research by the Education Policy Institute ranked local authority schools and academy trust schools alongside each other.

The ranking found that academy trusts with at least five schools were among the worst schools for raising performance both at primary and secondary level.

The institute which conducted the research is chaired by David Laws, the former Liberal Democrat education minister who has previously backed policies on turning more schools into academies. He said successive governments had been in denial about failing academy schools. A lot of political capital has been invested by politicians in presenting academy schools as a success, he argued.

Mr Laws revealed that when he was a minister the Department for Education had held internal data showing weaknesses in academy trusts but had been reluctant to publish it while advocating expansion. A separate report published by the Sutton Trust has also found that academy trusts are not providing good enough education for disadvantaged pupils.

David Laws, former Schools and Education Minister (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The two warnings come following a government commitment for all schools to become academies.

Angela Rayner, Labours shadow education secretary, said Conservative fixation on academies was undermining education.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA

This is yet more evidence that the Tory governments obsession with academies as a one-size-fits-all approach for school improvement is deeply flawed, she said. There remain enormous challenges facing our schools under the Tories, and their fixation with structures is failing our children.

Roy Perry, chairman of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, said some schools might be better off with councils.

Councils have long been highlighting the fact that school structures are not a magic bullet to improve education, and what really matters is outstanding teaching and strong leadership, he said. Every school and every community is different, and head teachers need the freedom to choose, in partnership with parents and councils, the structure that is most appropriate for them.
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Andrea Leadsom has admitted that she "didn't really like" the gay marriage law passed in 2013 because of the "clear hurt" it caused to Christians.

In an interview after her speech in Westminster, Ms Leadsom, a Conservative leadership contender, said that she did not like the same-sex marriage legislation and would have preferred for it to include civil partnerships for heterosexual people.

She told ITV: I believe the love of same-sex couples is as every bit as valuable that of opposite sex couples  absolutely committed to that. But nevertheless, my own view actually, is that marriage in the biblical sense is very clearly from the many many Christians who wrote to me on this subject  in their opinion  can only be between a man and a woman."

Asked whether she agreed with them, Ms Leadsom added: No I dont actually agree with them. I dont agree with them to be specific. But what I do think is that I would have preferred for civil partnerships to be available to heterosexual and gay couples and for marriage to have a remained a Christian service for men and women who wanted to commit in the eyes of God.

Civil partnerships are called marriage as well. As in registry offices marriages are still marriages. The concern I had was the potential compulsion for the Church of England so I dont think that the Anglican Church should be forced down a route where many Christians arent comfortable about it. My own view on it was to positively abstain.

This is not about do I consider gay couples to be any less worthy of marriage than heterosexual couples  not at all, its exactly the same. The issue is one I have around the consequences, the very clear hurt caused to many Christians who felt that marriage in the Church could only be between a man a woman. I think weve muddled the terms of marriage, civil partnership, church etc. I would have liked that to have been clarified.I didnt really like the legislation  that was the problem. But I absolutely support gay marriage.

It came after Ms Leadsom promised to "banish the pessimists" in what was billed to journalists as a major speech on the economy. Ms Leadsom, however, delivered a series of soundbites that lacked any real substance. Rather the revealing her vision for Britains future outside the European Union, the junior energy minister who received 66 votes from MPs in the first round of voting on Tuesday, promised to banish the pessimists and prosperity for every corner of the country.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

Ms Leadsom also failed to take questions despite controversy over her CV and attempts by a member of rival Mr Gove's team to keep her out of the run-off vote for party members by urging supporters of frontrunner Theresa May to back the Justice Secretary in the final round of the MPs' ballot today.

Instead, her campaign chief Tim Loughton and proposer Penny Mordaunt led a march of blue T-shirt clad activists to Parliament, chanting: "What do we want? Leadsom for leader. When do we want it? Now."

Setting out her vision in London, Ms Leadsom added  in contradiction to the strategy she adhered to during her time in the Treasury  that prosperity should be our goal not austerity.

She added: My first task is to show how great we are as a nation  lets banish the pessimists, she said to a rapturous applause.

 Leadsom at candidate rally

This is after all the country that gave the world the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, the right to own property, the English Language, and the free market we are a remarkable people and we have so much more to give.

Ms Leadsom continued: Today I want to speak to the markets, as well as the nation. No one needs to fear our decision to leave the EU. We will do so carefully, reassuring our European friends and those businesses who are worrying about change.

Trade must be the top priority  continued tariff-free trade with the EU, continued free trade with those countries we have agreements with as a current member of the EU and vitally, seizing the opportunities to take up new trade agreements with fast growing economies around the world, Ms Leadsom added.

Conservative leadership contender Andrea Leadsom gives a speech on the economy at Millbank Tower (PA)

The junior energy minister, however, failed to elaborate on how she would secure Britains access to tariff-free trade with the EU in the face of such vocal opposition from European heads of state. Just 48 hours before her speech Donald Tusk, the European Council President, reiterated that Britain must accept the EUs four freedoms and cannot have access to the single market a la carte.

Following her speech and the march, Penny Mordaunt promised that Mrs Leadsom would set out a "third way" to solve the apparent dilemma over the single market and free movement.

The Defence Minister told the Press Association: "If she's on the ballot paper tonight you will see her throughout the campaign outline different elements of this in more detail. "But what, if you like, the unique selling point of Andrea is, that the other candidates haven't got anywhere near, is that she understands the single market and the free movement issue - but there is a third, and that is restoring certainty and stability."

Taking a swipe at the frontrunner in the Tory leadership contest, Theresa May, Ms Leadsom added: I will not use peoples lives as a bargaining chip in some negotiation people need certainty and they will get it. I say to all that are legally here that you will be welcome to stay.
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Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has urged the UK government to make a quick withdrawal from the European Union in order to reduce economic uncertainty.

The growth of the British economy will be heavily dependent on the new trade agreements the UK negotiates with the EU, Ms Lagarde said.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Lagarde said: We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making.

She added that the Brexit vote was already having an impact on global growth, and had affected the IMFs world economic forecasts.

IMF economists previously hoped to upgrade their 3.2 per cent global growth forecast, but in the wake of the UKs referendum result, that now looked unlikely, Ms Lagarde said.

Should the UK follow the Norwegian model, in which Norway has access to the single market in exchange for free movement of people, then the UKs economy would only shrink by 1.5 per cent by 2019, in comparison to how it would be if the UK remained in the EU, according to the IMF.

But if the UK negotiated a deal under the terms and tariffs of World Trade Organisation rules, the IMF expects to see the British economy contract by 4.5% compared to what it would have been as an EU member.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA

The IMF does not have a scenario for the prolonged period of uncertainty currently facing the UK, in which article 50 is not triggered and the UK remains in limbo, having voted to leave, but without beginning to do so.

No, we do not have that, Ms Lagarde said. We doubt that it would be sustainable politically, geopolitically.

The pound recovered slightly against the dollar on Thursday, breaking the $1.30 mark after dwindling to $1.28 earlier in the week.

But many analysts expect the recovery to be temporary.

Goldman Sachs has said the pound could go as low as $1.20 against the dollar in the next three months, levels not seen since the summer of 1985.
BEIJING, July 6 -- The South China Sea seems unsettling, with the final award by an international arbitral tribunal approaching and heavyweight politicians and diplomats exchanging heated words.

High-level Chinese and U.S. think tanks held a forum in Washington on Tuesday dedicated to the topic.

However, compared with turbulent regions in other parts of the world, where many face life-or-death situations daily, very little is actually happening in the Asian tropical waters.

Except, of course, frequent visits by U.S. warships and fighters to the region in response to infrastructure upgrades by China within its territorial waters.

It raises the question whether resources and attention are wasted on something that should not be an issue.

China and the Philippines have had a dispute since the latter invaded and occupied islands and reefs belonging to China in the 1970s.

But the two countries have agreed to settle the disputes through bilateral negotiation. For years there were no serious confrontations worthy of international interference.

It was the Philippines that unilaterally initiated the arbitration on the disputes in 2013. The Chinese government has every right not to accept or participate in the arbitration.

For one reason, the arbitration proceeding under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) does not apply to disputes such as the one between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Also, why go international when the two sides have not exhausted means to negotiate between themselves? There are plenty of precedents that show introducing a third party only complicates things.

In the South China Sea, a third party is never a buffer, but only an accelerator of tensions.

The United States, which is an ocean away, practically invited itself in the name of freedom of navigation and flight. This notion is hardly justified, since more than 100,000 vessels from various countries sail through the South China Sea without incident every year.

It is wise to foresee a risk and prevent it from happening. But the United States' meddling in the South China Sea is more like a self-fulfilling prophecy, born out of dark motives to insert itself in power plays in East Asia.

Whatever its Asian strategy, the United States would not want the situation to grow out of control and become a real confrontation with China, nor is that China's intention. But China will not back down on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the arbitration panel's ruling would be "an opportunity for China and the rest of the region to recommit to a principled future, to renewed diplomacy, and to lowering tensions, rather than raising them."

Mr. Carter has put his hope in the wrong place. It is not Beijing, or The Hague, or the Nansha Islands, but Washington where he should look for changes.
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The Government has refused to support a motion passed in the House of Commons calling for EU nationals to be guaranteed the right remain in Britain following the vote for Brexit.

A total of 325 Tories failed to turn up for Wednesday's debate, which saw 245 MPs demand protection for European citizens to just two opponents from the Ulster Unionist Party.

Douglas Carswell, Ukips only MP, was among those voicing his support for the Labour motion alongside the Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats Green Party, Plaid Cymru and others.

Boris Johnson led a small contingent of Conservative rebels demanding the strongest possible reassurance to be given, following Theresa Mays refusal to publicly rule out deportations.

 Theresa May admits future of EU citizens living in the UK is uncertain

The former London Mayor claimed the Leave campaign had promised the status of European citizens already living and working in the UK would be protected but acknowledged peoples uncertainty and fear.

I think it is absolutely right to issue the strongest possible reassurance to EU nationals in this country, not just for moral or humanitarian reasons, but for very, very sound economic reasons as well, Mr Johnson said.

They are welcome, they are necessary; they are a vital part of our society.

He was among five Tories, including Zac Goldsmith, Philip Hollobone, Richard Fuller and Dr Tania Mathias to support Labours motion in Parliament on Wednesday.

Some EU nationals living in the UK have said they fear for their future (Reuters)

It was proposed by shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham, who hailed the votes success on Twitter and said the Government would be unable to retreat.

Mr Burnham told the Commons the three million EU nationals living in the UK should not be used as bargaining chips in negotiations on the UKs exit from the union and must be given the right to remain.

The Labour MP hit out at the Home Secretary, who is currently the favourite in the Tory leadership contest, for muddying the water after last months referendum.

One could only speculate that she made these comments in a bid to woo the grassroots of the Tory Party in her current situation, Mr Burnham said.

He suggested backdating the status guarantee to 23 June and called for British citizenship to be offered to EU nationals working in the NHS or public services.

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Show all 6 1 /6 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you More expensive foreign holidays The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more nito100 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you No immediate change in immigration status The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Higher inflation A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation  a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods  food and clothes being the most obvious  but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Interest rates might rise The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Did somebody say recession? Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economys future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018 AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you And we wouldnt even get our money back All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget Getty Images

Ms May has faced fierce criticism over her refusal to give firm assurances that EU citizens living in the UK will be allowed to stay, having suggested the issue will play a part in negotiations with Brussels.

Ministers have suggested it would be unwise to guarantee the status of EU nationals in the UK until a similar guarantee is in place for British people living abroad in EU countries.

There have also been suggestions that a guarantee would provoke an influx of European immigration before the split from Brussels is complete.

James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, rejected the accusation that the Government was treating EU citizens as bargaining chips but said the Government was unable to support Labour's motion.

In the approach the Government takes and the agreements we make, we will never treat EU citizens as pawns in some kind of cynical game of negotiation chess, he told MPs.

Any decision to pre-empt our future negotiations would risk undermining our ability to secure those arrangements and protect the interests of EU nationals and British nationals alike and to get the best outcomes for both.
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The Electoral Commission has said it appreciates the frustration of hundreds or possibly thousands of expats who were unable to have their say on the UKs membership of the European Union because of missing postal votes.

Infuriated voters have reported more than 500 cases to The Independent where they registered but did not receive their papers in time for the historic referendum.

Those affected live in dozens of countries across the globe, including Thailand, Australia, the US and across the channel in France.

 Future of British people living in Europe not secure, admits Cameron

Some voters, many of whom said they backed Remain, have called for a re-run of the referendum over the farce.

One man is investigating the possibility of a class action lawsuit with a London solicitors firm over the denial of a fundamental right.

Spencer Wain, who lives in Brussels, said: If there were literally thousands who like me were disenfranchised  with the right denied only to prisoners and sectioned mental health cases - then we need to get a class action against the local councils, the electoral commission, and ultimately HM Government.

Hundreds of people have sent proof of their registration to The Independent, with the vast majority within the deadline set by the Government.

But there were reports of some embassies publishing the wrong date, voting packs sent abroad with insufficient postage, administrative delays and mistakes including incorrect addresses and even countries.

In one blunder, one man found out his postal vote had been accidentally sent to an address in Australia, rather than his home in Austria.

Chris Lennon's letter was dated 13 June but not posted until 30 June

In another case, Chris Lennon received a letter from Glasgow City Council dated from 13 June but with a postmark showing it was not dispatched to his address in Amsterdam until 30 June  a week after the referendum.

There is no central office where votes for expats are dispatched, with the duty falling to local authorities, and while some councils admitted delays, others blamed postal services abroad.

Matthew Trigg, who lives in Sydney but is registered to vote in Wandsworth, London, condemned the system as archaic.

The Electoral Commission should be given full control of the electoral role and the handling of ballots, and be given access to the extensive network of foreign missions so voters who are overseas have the option to vote in person, he said.

And the issue is not confined to expats  several British residents have also contacted The Independent saying their postal votes failed to arrive even when sent between addresses in the UK.

Brexit reactions  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions  in pictures Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

The Electoral Commission said it could not provide a figure for the number of lost or delayed postal votes and those affected, but that 52 queries had been received on the matter.

A law currently being considered in Parliament could change the process for future elections.

The Overseas Voters Bill commits to the introduction of internet voting for Brits living overseas, although there are serious concerns over fraud and the bills provisions have not been finalised.

A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said expats had been encouraged to register by 16 May to allow time for postage, or alternatively register for a proxy vote instead.

We appreciate the frustration that any overseas voters who could not cast their vote for the EU Referendum will have felt, she added.

From the 16 May, we advised overseas electors to consider applying for a proxy vote rather than a postal vote, if they were concerned that they would not receive their postal ballot pack in time.

With regard to the overall conduct of the referendum, the Commission will be producing a statutory report covering issues including those affecting overseas voters later this year."
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MI6, desperate to find evidence which would prove that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, thought they had at last struck gold  a source with phenomenal access to the highest echelons of the Iraqi regime, one who would be the key to unlock the secrets of a chemical and biological arsenal.

The prized undercover asset not only confirmed that the WMD programme was going full blast but that the regime was actually building more facilities. The head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, was confident that the man would even produce a CD with everything in it. Under the circumstances the services reporting of a  significant breakthrough seemed, if anything, to be an understatement.

Doubts, however, began to creep in. One MI6 officer pointed out that the sources description of the device and its spherical glass contents was  remarkably similar to the fictional chemical weapons portrayed in the film The Rock. In the film, according to the blurb which accompanied it, a FBI chemical warfare agent, played by Nicolas Cage, is sent on a mission with a British spy, Sean Connery to stop a mad general, Ed Harris, from launching chemical weapons on Alcatraz Island into San Francisco.

 Chilcot report: Key points from the Iraq inquiry in 90 seconds

Nevertheless, what the Iraqi agent had to say played an important part in the conclusions of the dodgy dossier on Iraqs WMD. Crucially, the material was not shown to the real experts on the subject, the scientific analysts of DIS ( Defence intelligence Staff) by the JIC ( Joint Intelligence Committee) who were putting the document together.

The Chilcot report points out that  The SIS ( MI6) report should have been shown to relevant experts in the DIS who could have advised their senior managers and assessment staff. Expert officials in the DIS questioned the certainty with which some of the judgments in the dossier were expressed.

The inquiry also noted "Sir Richard Dearlove's personal intervention, and its urgency, gave added weight to a report that had not been properly evaluated and would have coloured the perception of ministers and senior officials. The report should have been treated with caution.

The great scoop was unraveling fast. It was noted by MI6 on 2nd February 2003 that the source had failed to provide the information expected. By 18th February, the man was being described in MI6 notes as a liar who had been misleading them for a long time. But MI6 failed to tell others involved in producing the dossier about the debacle. Reports from the Iraqi was still being issued in April, a month after the war had begun.

MI6 finally met the source in June 2003. He had only been involved in Iraqs chemical programme, in a minor capacity, before 1991. He denied providing any of the tantalizing material attributed to him. MI6 "concluded that its source was a fabricator who had lied from the outset". In July 2003, the  intelligence was officially withdrawn. The Chilcot Inquiry noted "the withdrawal of the reporting was done in a very low key manner compared with the way in which the original intelligence was issued.

The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Show all 20 1 /20 The most iconic images from the war in Iraq The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child in central Iraq, March 29, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An explosion rocks Baghdad during air strikes March 21, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi woman watches U.N. weapons inspectors leave Saddam airport in Baghdad March 18, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi girl holds her sister as she waits for her mother (R) to bring over food bought in Basra March 29, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Marine Corp Assaultman Kirk Dalrymple watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad's Firdaus Square, April 9, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq US Marines kick in a door while securing a building next to the main hospital in central Baghdad April 15, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A soldier of U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division (Task Force Ironhorse) searches through dense vegetation around the Diala river where Iraqi militants are hiding outside Baquba early November 13, 2003 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi detainee gestures toward U.S. soldiers through bars of his cell at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad May 17, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Mays, a young Iraqi Shi'ite girl, cries after a mortar shell which landed outside the family's home in a Najaf residential area injured her uncle August 18, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. Marines carry an injured colleague to a helicopter near the city of Falluja, November 10, 2004 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi man suspected of having explosives in his car is held after being arrested by the U.S army near Baquba, Iraq, October 15, 2005 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A wounded Iraqi woman is helped after several bomb attacks in central Baghdad, July 27, 2006 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq A man runs down a street warning people to flee shortly after a twin car bomb attack at Shorja market in Baghdad, February 12, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi girl holds her hands up while U.S. and Iraqi soldiers search her family house in Baquba early June 30, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi woman tries to explain that she has nothing to do with illegal fuel as soldiers from the 2nd battalion, 32nd Field Artillery brigade patrol search for illegal fuel sellers in Baghdad August 6, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. President George W. Bush (L) walks in front of Humvees with Defense Secretary Robert Gates (C) and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice following remarks to the press after nightfall at Al-Asad airbase in Anbar Province September 3, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq U.S. soldiers blindfold an Iraqi man after arresting him during a night patrol at the Zafraniya neighborhood, southeast of Baghdad September 4, 2007 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq An Iraqi baby lies in a cradle while a woman argues with U.S. soldiers of 1/8 Bravo Company searching for weapons, explosives and information about militants in the area during a foot patrol in a neighbourhood of Mosul June 26, 2008 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Policemen cry during a funeral of their colleague a day after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Jihad district November 3, 2010 Reuters The most iconic images from the war in Iraq Staff Sgt. Keith Fidler kisses his wife Cynthia, as their son Kolin looks on, during a homecoming ceremony in New York, April 8, 2011 for the New York Army National Guard's 442nd Military Police Company's return from Iraq Reuters

The withdrawl of the evidence was not known by ministers giving evidence to the inquiry by Lord Hutton into the death of Dr David Kelly in 2004, but was known by them at the time of inquiry by Lord Butler in the same year.

The  Hollywood episode was just the most colourful of many flaws in the dossier in which there was exaggeration and omission in the intelligence. The JIC broadly produced what Tony Blairs government wanted to hear and it remained silent when the Prime Minister even ignored what caveats there were in the dossier to make his case for war.

Sir John Chilcot said :  In the House of Commons on 24 September 2002, Mr Blair presented Iraqs past, current and future capabilities as evidence of the severity of the potential threat from Iraqs WMD.

 He said that, at some point in the future, that threat would become a reality. The judgments about Iraqs capabilities in that statement, and in the dossier published the same day, were presented with a certainty that was not justified. It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged, and they should have been.

The view of Britains intelligence community before the decision to produce the dossier was that the threat from Iraq was viewed as less serious than that from other key countries of concern --- Iran, Libya and North Korea. But this did not suit the government and Jack Straw, the then foreign secretary, played a key role in trying to make Iraq a target.

The government had commissioned an intelligence paper on the WMD threat from rogue states. On seeing it, on 8th March 2002, Mr Straw wanted to stress  Good, but should not Iraq be the first and also have more text? The paper has to show why there is an exceptional threat from Iraq. It does not quite do this yet. On 18th March, the report noted, the foreign secretary decided that a paper on Iraq should be issued without mentioning other countries of concern. However, four days later,  Mr Straw was advised that the evidence would not convince public opinion that there was an imminent threat from Iraq. Publication was postponed.

 Tony Blair: Soldiers did not die in vain

The operation to find evidence that would convince the public that military action was justified was under way. The task of doing this, through a dossier, was given to John Scarlett, the chairman of the JIC.

The JICs starting basis was to totally ignore the possibility that Iraq may not actually have any WMDs.  At no stage was the hypothesis that Iraq might not have chemical. Biological or nuclear weapons or programmes identified and examined by the JICIraqs statements that it had no weapons or programmes were dismissed as further evidence of a strategy of denial.

In a foreword he wrote to the dossier, Mr Blair declared that  assessed intelligence had  established beyond doubt that Saddam Hussein had  continued to produce chemical and biological weapons, that he continues in his efforts to develop nuclear weapons, and that he had been able to extend the range of his ballistic missile programme.

But, the report points out :  the assessed intelligence had not established beyond doubt that Saddam Hussein had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons  The main text of the dossier said that there had been  recent production. It also stated that Iraq had the means to deliver chemical and biological weapons [but] it did not say that Iraq had continued to produce weapons. The report also points out  the dossier made clear that, as long as sanctions remain effective, Iraq could not produce a nuclear weapon.

The report stresses that  the firmness of Mr Blairs beliefs, despite the underlying uncertainties, is important in considering how the judgments in the Foreword would have been interpreted by Cabinet and in its discussions and by Parliament.

By allowing this to happen, said the report, John Scarlett and the JIC had failed in its duty.  The JIC should have made that position clear because its ownership of the dossier, which was intended to inform a highly controversial policy debate, carried with the responsibility to ensure that the JICs integrity was protected.
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A Labour MP who told Jeremy Corbyn to sit down and shut up as he spoke about the Iraq War in the House of Commons has been accused of thuggish behaviour.

Ian Austin heckled the Labour leader during his speech following the publication of the Chilcot report during which he apologised on behalf of the party for taking Britain to war.

Mr Corbyn called the war an act of military aggression, launched on a false pretext and said the subsequent colonial-style occupation led to the rise of Isis.

But Mr Austin told Mr Corbyn to shut up and shouted youre a disgrace until the Speaker, John Bercow, intervened.

Gavin Newlands, the Scottish Nationalist MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire, tweeted it was a typically pathetic and thuggish heckle during what he called Corbyns fantastic dissection of Blairs lies and deceit.

Former Channel 4 Economics Editor Paul Mason called Mr Austin a warmonger and noted he had opposed the setting up of an inquiry into the war.

Mr Austin actually voted against the inquiry the first time eight times the subject came before the Commons but eventually voted in favour of the Chilcot inquiry set up by then Prime Minister Gordon Brown in June 2009 along with the majority of Labour MPs, according to TheyWorkForYou. He was not an MP in 2003.

Columnist Owen Jones also waded into the argument calling Mr Austin an astonishingly unpleasant person and a bully.

He later asked his Twitter followers to stop sending abuse Mr Austin, saying his calling out Ian Austins unpleasant behaviour isnt an excuse for people to be abusive to him.

Other Twitter users accused Mr Austin of being rude:

Mr Austin, a former key supporter of Mr Brown, has heavily criticised Mr Corbyn in the past.

In an article for The Times commenting on the furore, he said: The Chilcot Report will never settle arguments about whether the war was right or wrong, but it should lay to rest allegations about bad faith, lies or deceit."

He said there was no justification for saying evidence was confected as he said Mr Corbyn had suggested in the Commons.

In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of the military personnel who died in Iraq, leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Dawn Holmes, the mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes who died in Iraq, is consoled by solicitor Matthew Jury as she leaves the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report A family member holding a photograph of Stephen Robert Wright (R), outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, after the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict stand together outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre after the outcome of the Chilcot report Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War talk at a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War react after listening to Sir John Chilcot presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London AP In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Family of those who died in Iraq speak to the media as they leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after Sir John Chilcot presented The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Victoria Jones (L), a relative of a British soldier killed in Iraq, holds a copy of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, by John Chilcot, at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London Reuters

To listen to Tony Blairs critics, you would think that Iraq had been a peaceful haven of tranquillity before 2003. Nothing could be further from the truth," he continued.

Of course we must learn the lessons of mistakes made after the invasion of Iraq, but we must also learn the lessons of not taking action too.

He concluded: Thirty years in protest movements and meetings where everyone agrees with him mean Jeremy has never had to think about complex problems and difficult solutions, which is why he is struggling to lead a mainstream political party, let alone persuade people to see him as their prime minister.

The Independent has sought to contact Mr Austin for comment.
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Tony Blair has claimed the Iraq War was not in vain after being asked whether he was deluded over the decision to invade and its aftermath.

The former Prime Minister has been defending his decision following the results of Sir John Chilcots inquiry, which concluded that the legal basis for the conflict was far from satisfactory.

The events in Iraq did not go the way we wanted them to, Mr Blair said in an interview on Radio 4s Today programme.

There were mistakes made, the intelligence was wrong and I relied on itof course I in retrospect that we didnt challenge it.

 Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

Saying he thought about the decision for Britain to joint he US invasion of Iraq every day, Mr Blair maintained that he did not regret it.

He added: I sincerely believe that we would be in a worse position if we hadnt acted in that way. I may be completely wrong about that and these are very difficult judgements.

When presenter John Humphrys asked whether Mr Blair was deluded, he persisted that the struggle was not in vain.

Why dont they say they disagree? he asked. What if we had left him there? What would he have done? What would the consequences would have been in the Arab Spring? Look at Libya today, look at Syria today.

Some relatives of the 179 British soldiers killed during the conflict are calling for criminal prosecution over failings in military planning and preparedness.

The Chilcot report did not draw conclusions on the legality of the actions but provided a damning indictment of the lead-up to the conflict and UKs response to warnings over the chaos and terror that would sweep Iraq after the removal of Saddam Hussein.

In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of the military personnel who died in Iraq, leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Dawn Holmes, the mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes who died in Iraq, is consoled by solicitor Matthew Jury as she leaves the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report A family member holding a photograph of Stephen Robert Wright (R), outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, after the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict stand together outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre after the outcome of the Chilcot report Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War talk at a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War react after listening to Sir John Chilcot presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London AP In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Family of those who died in Iraq speak to the media as they leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after Sir John Chilcot presented The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Victoria Jones (L), a relative of a British soldier killed in Iraq, holds a copy of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, by John Chilcot, at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London Reuters

It said Saddam posed "no imminent threat" at the time of the invasion and the war was unleashed when diplomatic efforts had not been exhausted, on the basis of "flawed" intelligence that was not subject to sufficient challenge or oversight.

The probe found the military intervention ended six years later "a very long way from success", with the "humiliating" spectacle of UK troops in Basra making deals with local militia who had been attacking them.

Evidence revealed that in July 2002 - eight months before Parliament approved military action  Mr Blair committed himself in writing to backing the US president over Iraq, telling him: "I will be with you whatever."

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he would like to see the former Prime Minister investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime of aggression and face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

Families of some of the military personnel killed in Iraq described him as "the world's worst terrorist" and Jeremy Corbyn offered an apology on Labour's behalf for what he branded "a stain on our party and our country".

Before the report's publication the ICC said it was conducting a "a preliminary examination with respect to the situation in Iraq" to determine if an investigation should be launched.

It added: "An important distinction must be borne in mind between war crimes, which fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the crime of aggression, which, at the present stage, does not. These are two very distinct crimes with their own legal elements of criminality."
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Q: Why are we asking this now?

After a seven-year wait, and half a decade late, the report into the Iraq War has finally been published. But grieving families, campaigners and politicians alike feel many unknowns remain about what the future holds for Tony Blair, those who were affected by the invasion, and the Iraqi people.

Here, we examine some of the key issues.

Q: What is the immediate fallout?

The initial statements have been made by some of the key figures. Tony Blair, who led the invasion of Iraq as prime minister in 2003, accepted responsibility for mistakes but said decisions were taken in "good faith".

Current premier David Cameron, who voted for war 13 years ago, said: "Members on all sides who voted for military action will have to take our fair share of the responsibility."

 Families on Chilcot Inquiry

Sir John Chilcot, author of the report, said the Government "failed" in certain aspects.

Alastair Campbell, Mr Blair's former director of communications, said: "There was no secret deal," and denied "sexing up" the intelligence that led to a war declaration.

Campaigners admitted the report was not a whitewash, and the immediate reaction from outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in central London, where the document was being digested on Wednesday, was a positive one.

Recommended Read more Blair faces fresh prosecution calls after Chilcot report

Q: Can Mr Blair be tried for war crimes?

Organisations including CND and the Stop the War Coalition have long campaigned for the former premier to be tried for war crimes, describing him as a murderer.

The fact that the Chilcot Report did not confirm the legality of military action leaves the issue open, particularly as the author found the circumstances in which the government formed a legal basis for war were "far from satisfactory".

Certainly, there is currently no involvement by UK police. It may be that families seek private prosecutions against the former prime minster.

How the British media covered the Iraq War Show all 6 1 /6 How the British media covered the Iraq War How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Mirror, 6 January 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Guardian, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Daily Mail, 22 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Sun, 20 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War

Q: How likely is it that private prosecutions will go ahead?

Lawyers for the families of the Iraq victims have said it is too early to tell whether this will happen or not.

Lawyer Matthew Jury, whose chambers McCue & Partners represent some of the relatives, said it would take "weeks and months of full and proper consideration" before decisions could be made.

Families leaving London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre on Wednesday, having had an opportunity to read the report, would largely not be drawn on what legal opportunities remained open to them.

Q: What has this done to Mr Blair's reputation?

If there was any doubt before the inquiry about his legacy as prime minister, the Chilcot Report has cemented it.

The introduction of the minimum wage, the Good Friday Agreement, three consecutive general election wins - all these will largely fade into obscurity. While the words "Suez" and "poll tax" may come to define previous premiers, Mr Blair will be known simply by the mention of "Iraq".

 Chilcot report: Key points from the Iraq inquiry in 90 seconds

Q: And the Labour Party?

Typically split. The response to the Chilcot Report is almost a microcosm of the party itself. MPs are divided.

Embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn - a staunch anti-war campaigner - again claimed MPs were "misled" over the basis for going to war, despite not mentioning his predecessor by name.

But Mr Corbyn, believed to be on the cusp of facing a leadership challenge, was heckled by his own MPs as he gave his response to the report.

Q: What impact did the invasion have on Iraq?

Dr Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East and North Africa programme at think tank Chatham House, said we are now living with the "global consequences" of war.

She said: "The Islamic State (IS) and the present conflicts in Iraq and Syria are part of the legacy of the invasion of Iraq, and the repercussions are being felt worldwide through IS terrorist attacks and the waves of migrants from Syria and Iraq heading to Europe."

 Sir John Chilcot delivers report

Q: Will the report have an impact on Iraq?

It is unlikely. Just days ago, 175 people were killed in Baghdad as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to a bloody conclusion in one of the deadliest series of attacks in the country for years.

Dr Khatib said: "The Chilcot Report points out the mistakes of the past, but in doing so what it says is ultimately not new because Iraq as well as the international community have been living with the impact of those mistakes for 13 years.

"The report recognises that the removal of a dictator or the military eradication of a terrorist group are not enough to steer countries towards a better future. But this has already been demonstrated through Iraq's trajectory since 2003."

Q: What does Iraq need?

Experts say a stabilisation plan is needed, and one that goes beyond technical military assistance and pays serious attention to good governance as well as to the need for a new social contract between Iraqi citizens and the state that fully guarantees their rights.

Press Association

For seven years the nation has awaited the publication of the Chilcot report on Britains involvement in the Iraq War. It has now finally seen the light of day, and at 2.6m pages long is one of the largest reports ever published. To help you make sense of it all, and get the latest commentary, we have published a series of articles on the inquiry and the fallout from the UK's intervention in Iraq.

Tony Blair convinced himself Iraq had WMDs  but intelligence 'did not justify' his certainty

How to read the report in full

A timeline of the Iraq War and the disasters that ensued

What happened to the key players in the Iraq War?

Chilcot? Chaff? Dodgy dossier? an Iraq War glossary

Who is Sir John Chilcot, the ex-civil servant leading inquiry into the Iraq war?

The inside story of how Tony Blair led Britain to war in Iraq

Who were the 179 British soldiers who died during the Iraq War?

How many UK soldiers died in Iraq? And at what cost? The war in numbers

The 7 key questions of Chilcot answered

Tony Blair, the Iraq War, and the words of mass destruction that continue to deceive
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1. Was the invasion legal?

Not only does Sir John not offer a judgement on whether the law was legal  nor does he answer the intriguing question of why the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, altered his legal advice just before the tanks rolled across Iraqs borders. It notes that twice, in January 2003, Lord Goldsmith gave Tony Blair advice on the legal issues, which no one else in the Cabinet saw. On 7 March, 12 days before the outbreak of war, Lord Goldsmith delivered his view that the safest legal course would be for the US and UK to persuade the UN Security Council to pass a new resolution authorising military action. By 13 March  when it was apparent that there was not going to be a new UN resolution  he arrived at the better view that the invasion would be legal none the less.

Why? Sir John Chilcot does not appear to know. His conclusion is that Lord Goldsmith should have been made to supply a written explanation, but no one in the Cabinet at the time called for it.

2. What was the truth about the French veto?

Tony Blair and Jack Straw have consistently blamed the French President, Jacques Chirac for the fact that they never asked the UN Security Council for a second resolution authorising the invasion. On 10 March 2003, Chirac gave a television interview in which he said that UN policy was to disarm Iraq peacefully through weapons inspections, but that some UN members  he meant the US and UK  were now saying that "in so many days we go to war". Therefore France would say no to a second resolution "whatever the circumstances".

Did those words, "quelles que soient les circonstances", actually mean that the French were never going to countenance military action? Or were they ripped out of context to give the UK an excuse for not going back to the UN to seek support for the war? Critics of Blair have insisted that his words were twisted, and that Chirac had clearly stated immediately beforehand that, if weapons inspections were allowed to run their course, circumstances might ultimately arise in which regrettably, the war would become inevitable  in other words, France would support a second resolution.

Some, including Clare Short, have suggested that this subtle misrepresentation was deliberate, while Stephen Wall, Blairs former EU adviser, gave evidence to that effect to the Chilcot inquiry. Wall added that Blair gave Alastair [Campbell] his marching orders to play the anti-French card".

Does Chilcot agree? Was Chirac smeared? Sir Johns report does not say.

3. Should Blair have known there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq?

The former Prime Minister is rebuked in Sir John Chilcot's report for the foreword he provided to a dossier presented to Parliament in September 2002, which referred to Iraqs possession of WMDs as if that were a known fact. The intelligence reports were not so emphatic, Sir John said, but he accepts that Tony Blair firmly believed that those WMDs existed.

Those who claim that Blair knowingly lied about WMDs point to an interview that Saddam Husseins son-in-law, Hussein Kemal, gave to CNN after he defected to Jordan in 1995. Kemal said: Iraq does not possess any weapons of mass destruction. I am being completely honest about this. He was in a position to know because he had been in charge of Iraqs weapons programme. We now know that he was telling the truth. Why wasnt he believed? More specifically, was Blair aware of that part of Kemals intelligence when referred to it in the Commons on 10 March 2003 and assured MPs that it was contrary to all intelligence that Saddam had decided unilaterally to destroy the weapons? If so, was he not misleading Parliament? And, if not, would it not be helpful to clarify the matter?

Unfortunately, Chilcot appears to have nothing to say on this question.

4. Did Blair mislead us about preparations for war?

For public consumption, Tony Blair maintained almost until the day the invasion began that Saddam Hussein could avoid war by complying with UN Security Council resolutions. This would seem disingenuous. Hard liners in the Bush administration such as Vice President Dick Cheney and the Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld were not interested in UN resolutions or WMDs  they wanted to send in the troops to overthrow Saddam regardless.

Given that there was a clear difference between the aims of the US and UK governments, why did Tony Blair send that private note to George Bush in July 2002 saying I will be with you, whatever  around the same time that he told journalists that no decision has been taken to go to war. Blair now claims that the note was not a commitment to join the US in going to war. In that case, what did it mean? Was there ever any possibility that the US could have gone to war without the British? And, crucially, what does Sir John Chilcot think about such fundamental questions?

His report does not say.
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The Labour Party is truly in danger of splitting apart, shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Owen Smith has said, as he urged MPs to allow time for crisis talks between Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson to succeed.

In a statement issued on Thursday morning, Mr Smith  who is tipped as a potential leadership contender  did however hint that he would challenge Mr Corbyn if necessary, saying: I stand ready to do anything I can to save and serve the party.

It came as Unite union boss Len McCluskey arrived in Westminster to broker further talks between senior Labour figures over Mr Corbyns future. The Labour leader was last week rocked by the resignation of most of his frontbench and a vote of no confidence that was backed by 172 MPs, and calls to resign from across the party.

 Corbyn on Chilcot Inquiry

However, Mr Corbyn has stood firm, backed by shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and the major unions, who argue that he has an overwhelming mandate to lead from Labour party members. In a bid to break the deadlock, talks have been held between Mr Corbyn and Labours deputy leader Tom Watson.

Mr Watson, along with many MPs, has said he considers Mr Corbyns position to be untenable. Mr Smith has suggested that this weekend could be crucial, and urged MPs to allow talks to progress.

Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Show all 12 1 /12 Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn's reshuffle Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn and the Syria bombing vote Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn asks questions from the public at PMQs, meanwhile backbenchers plot to oust him Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn is unavailable to attend the Privy Council Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Conference rejects Corbyns call to debate Trident Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn At Labour conference Corbyn and McDonnell press for a Robin Hood tax Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyns hopes for a new politics look optimistic in the face of a media barrage Dave Brown on Jeremy Corbyn Corbyn enters Labour leadership race

Over the last week, I have been contacted by hundreds of Labour members and MPs deeply worried that the Labour Party is truly in danger of splitting apart. I share those fears and call on everyone in our movement to do all we can to avert such a disastrous outcome, Mr Smith said.

I stand ready to do anything I can to save and serve the party. Yesterday, I spoke directly with Len McCluskey of Unite and met with our leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to explore what I can do to try and heal the rifts that have opened up in our movement. On behalf of the trades unions, Len has reassured me that the talks he has opened up between Jeremy and Tom Watson have been productive and has asked that they are given more time this weekend to see what further progress can be made towards a resolution.

Recommended Read more Corbyn apologises on behalf of Labour for joining Iraq War

Jeremy has also reassured me that he is engaging in talks with an open mind. I believe that all of us whose priority is to restore unity in the Labour movement and give us a chance to defeat our only true enemy, the Tories, should give these talks every chance to succeed. That is what I intend to do and I urge all my colleagues to do likewise.

So far only former Shadow Cabinet member Angela Eagle has publicly said she will challenge Mr Corbyn in a leadership contest if he does not stand down. However, Mr Smith is understood to be considering a bid. Ms Eagles own challenge suffered a setback yesterday after party members in her constituency overwhelmingly voted to support Mr Corbyn.

A new leadership contest would come down to a vote among members, which Mr Corbyns team is confident he would win. The party has signed up at least 100,000 new members since the EU referendum. Some are understood to have joined in order vote to oust Mr Corbyn, however, the leaders team is confident that the vast majority signed up in order to back him in a leadership contest.
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As Macbeth said in one of the Simplified Shakespeare for GCSE texts Michael Gove once tried to outlaw in schools: Oh God. I have totally ballsed this up.

We shouldnt laugh, because the consequences for us all are uniquely terrible, but one minor footnote to the Tory leadership ballot is that in the second round, with five candidates having been whittled down to three, Michael Goves votes actually decreased by two, down from 48 to 46, and as such he will forever after be known as Britains worst political serial killer.

Criminologists argue over the precise meaning of that term. How many killings are required to qualify as a serial killer? But having dispatched his old best mate David Cameron in spectacular and prolonged public fashion, knifed the favourite to replace him in an even more ugly spectacle, and then to be derailed in the act of botching a third attempt surely meets the criteria.

That a shabby little leaked text message was what came finally to expose him was fitting enough in the end. On Wednesday night, Goves campaign manager Nick Boles texted potentially wavering Tories saying: In the national interest surely we must work together to stop AL [Andrea Leadsom]? Political machinations, like rhythmic gymnastics, do not make life easy for those whose job it is to judge them, but the minus two it achieved in votes seems like a fair enough score for his efforts.

 Theresa May vs Andrea Leadsom - who will be the next PM?

Arguably this does the man a disservice. Cameron and Johnson are hardly his only victims. In a short concession speech, Gove said he now hoped for a civilised, inclusive, positive and optimistic debate about Britains future. Hope indeed. Hope for a civilised debate when theres a 500 per cent rise in reported incidents of racism. Inclusive when the favourite to be next Prime Minister pointedly wont rule out deporting three million people. Positive when the currency and the stock markets are crashing, all the major banks are about to forecast self-inflicted recession and if you point this out to the people whose fault it is theyll accuse you of talking Britain down. And optimistic because, well, when everything else has gone thats all youve got left.

Hope eh? As Billy Bob Thorntons Bad Santa warns an overly entitled nine year old boy: Kid. Hope in one hand and sh*t in the other and see which one fills up faster.

Recommended Read more Leadsom and Theresa May make final ballot as Michael Gove eliminated

Of course, the man himself has recast his act of Boriscide as a heroic dash into a burning building to drag out the vulnerable baby that was the nation, an analogy that slightly loses its way when you consider who it was that set the building ablaze in the first place.

Goodbye to the visionary then. The radical. And welcome to the only two people left standing at the end of the Westminster Chainsaw Massacre. One, a Home Secretary of six years service, whose greatest hits include driving Immigrants Go Home billboards around racially charged neighbourhoods and whose unrivalled longevity in the role owes most to a unique approach to it in which every potential cock-up has been outsourced to G4S, and the other an anthropomorphised Daily Mail Comments section.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

At some point, in the quiet moments to come, Britains worst political serial killer will have plenty of time to reflect on whether it was all worth it. Dont imagine hell change his mind. The defining characteristic of the radical is that he knows hes right. But there is cause for sympathy. Serial killers find gratification for their abnormal desires in the act of killing itself. For Gove it was a means to an ends that never arrived. Britain broken for a dream unfulfilled. A tragedy for us all to share. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
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Parts of the Houses of Parliament have been shut down while police investigate a suspected chemical incident.

Doors and windows are reportedly being closed after police said a suspicious package had arrived at the Palace of Westminster.

Nobody is currently reported to have been injured or made unwell in the incident.

Recommended Read more Westminster Bridge closed after suspicious vehicle seen by Parliament

A number of House of Lords peers are reported to be stranded on the House of Lords terrace overlooking the Thames, unable to re-enter the building.

The Parliamentary estate as a whole is still open and not currently on lockdown.

As of 2pm a police officer in a hazardous material suit was seen exaimining the suspicious package.

Other officers were also spotted on the scene, with the investigation appearing to proceed calmly.

There are unconfirmed reports that an envelope containing "white powder" was sent to a House of Lords peer.

The alert comes on the anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: A suspicious package has been delivered to the Houses of Parliament.

Officers are at the scene examining the contents of the package.

There have been no reports of any related injuries or illnesses at this time."
At a dialogue on the South China Sea issue held on Tuesday in Washington DC, dozens of Chinese and US experts agreed that the South China Sea issue should not block China-US ties and both sides should reach a consensus through dialogues to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Fifteen US scholars from major academic institutions, former diplomats and over 10 Chinese experts attended the dialogue.

Former Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo pointed out that China is by no means the perpetrator of the South China Sea issue, but the victim.

For decades, the Philippines and other countries have been illegally building, deploying soldiers and staging provocative actions on parts of Chinas Nansha islands, he explained.

Charles Freeman, a senior US diplomat, noted that Chinas rights over the South China Sea are based in historical rights .

China was the first to exercise sovereignty over the islands and the adjacent waters of the South China Sea.

In 1945, in accordance with the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration, China recovered the Xisha and Nansha islands illegally occupied by Japan during World War with the aid of the US, he added.

Freeman further stressed that the arbitration case unilaterally initiated by the Philippines was driven by domestic political factors as the government wanted to avoid criticism from its own people for failed foreign policy.

As we have seen, in the past several days, some leading legal scholars in Europe and elsewhere has said that the whole thing is just an illegal operation, it is a violation of procedure and law, William Jones, Washington Bureau Chief for Executive Intelligence Review, told Peoples Daily.

For the Philippines, this arbitration game is just to evade its obligation to consult with China, he explained. Whatever the verdict may be, it is just to put pressure on China and force China to draw back on its sovereignty claims.

It is to create obstacles, not to reach solutions. added Jones.

Wu Shicun, President of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), told Peoples Daily that when it comes to the South China Sea issue, no one should ever think that China will make compromises.

China has every reason to not participate or accept the arbitration, he said, adding that the country will staunchly safeguard its sovereignty over the South China Sea and never concede on issues concerning its core interests.

Attending scholars also criticized the US for choosing sides over the South China Sea issue even though it claimed not to do so.

The US has acknowledged and respected Chinas sovereignty over the Nansha islands for a long time after the Second World War, Dai said.

To be blunt, when the US states today that it does not take a position on issues of territory, that actually amounts to back-peddling and defiance of the post-war international order it helped build, he added.

The US is neither a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea nor a coastal state of the South China Sea, yet it always takes center stage on the issue, complained Zhu Feng, Executive Director of the Collaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University.

The US uses the South China Sea case as an instrument to force China to dial back rights protection operations in the region, and accept the occupation of islands and reefs in the South China Sea by multiple countries, so that it could further undermine Chinas maritime rights and interests, Zhu noted.

Former US Congressman Ron Paul warned in a recent interview that it is dangerous, pricey and unnecessary for the US to stir up disputes in the South China Sea with China.

The Third Fleet they are sending there is the USS William.P. Lawrence which is a destroyer and they wouldn't get a picture up of that to show the significance of this. This is not like a diplomatic way, this is intimidation and threats, said the former congressman.

Michael Swaine, a reseacher with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believed that it will be extremely foolish to let the South China Sea issue damage the outcome of China-US relations.

In a keynote speech, former US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte called on both sides to cherish the fruits reaped from bilateral ties, saying that the two sides have conducted extensive cooperation in trade, economy, tackling climate change and other areas since they established diplomatic ties.

The think-tank dialogue on the South China Sea issue was organized by Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University of China and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and jointly hosted by the NISCSS and Wilson Center.
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A petition calling for Tony Blair to be expelled from the Labour party has received a flurry of signatures in the wake of the publication of the Chilcot report.

The 2.6 million words long report found the Iraq War was unleashed on the basis of flawed intelligence and the former Prime Minister deliberately blurred the lines between what he believed and what he knew regarding Iraqs capability to deploy weapons of mass destruction.

Recommended Read more Blair admits he should have challenged Iraq War intelligence

Sir John Chilcots seven-year inquiry said the legal basis for UK military action was far from satisfactory, but did not rule on its legality, as that can only be done by an internationally recognised court.

Responding to the damning findings of the Chilcot Inquiry, Mr Blair has defended the decision to go to war insisting it was taken out of good motives and he believed the Middle East would be in a worse state today had Saddam Hussein not been removed.

 Legal Basis for Military Action "Far From Satisfactory" - Chilcot

However, speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme he said he carried regret over his failure to challenge the intelligence on Iraqs weapons of mass destruction.

The families of dead servicemen have called for Mr Blair to be taken to court and former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said he should be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime of aggression and face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of the military personnel who died in Iraq, leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Dawn Holmes, the mother of L Cpl Sarah Holmes who died in Iraq, is consoled by solicitor Matthew Jury as she leaves the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report A family member holding a photograph of Stephen Robert Wright (R), outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, after the publication of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq War PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Families of soldiers killed in the Iraq conflict stand together outside the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre after the outcome of the Chilcot report Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War talk at a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives of military personnel killed during the Iraq War react after listening to Sir John Chilcot presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London AP In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after listening to Sir John Chilcot present The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Family of those who died in Iraq speak to the media as they leave the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London PA In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Relatives and friends of military personnel killed during the Iraq War attend a news conference after Sir John Chilcot presented The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster Getty Images In pictures: Families of Iraq War victims react to Chilcot report Victoria Jones (L), a relative of a British soldier killed in Iraq, holds a copy of The Report of the Iraq Inquiry, by John Chilcot, at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in London Reuters

As demands for retribution over the Iraq War grow among the general public a historic petition entitled Expel Tony Blair from the Labour Party has generated renewed support.

The petition argues Mr Blair is working against the interests of the Labour party and refers to comments he made about Jeremy Corbyns Labour being a dangerous experiment.

It is not a direct reaction to the invasion of Iraq, but following Sir Chilcots inquiry it now sits at more than 20,500 signatures.

Other petitions to take off in the wake of the Chilcot report's publication include a Parliamentary petition entitled Enact a law making deception and lying by politicians a criminal offence signed by nearly 4,500 people; an Arrest Tony Blair for War Crimes appeal; and a Call for Tony Blair to be prosecuted or war crimes.

Labour leader Mr Corbyn apologised on behalf of the party for Mr Blairs disastrous decision to go to war in Iraq.

Speaking at Church House, Westminster on Wednesday Mr Corbyn said: The decision to go to war in Iraq has been a stain on our party and our country.

He made the announcement after apologising at a private meeting with families of some of the 179 British servicemen and women killed in Iraq, veterans of the military operation and Iraqis who lost family members.
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A pro-European Union MEP from Lithuania is to stand to become the next leader of Ukip, he has announced.

Antanas Guoga, a professional poker-player more commonly known as Tony G, said he would be the candidate to represent eurosceptics who had changed their mind after the effects of Brexit had become apparent.

Given that recent research suggests that 1.2 million Leave voters regret their choice, UKIP needs a pro-European candidate to broaden the debate and represent the UKIP voters who have changed their mind, he said.

Mr Guoga said he had reviewed the Ukip party constitution and believed he was eligible to stand.

I am writing to you today to confirm my intention to run for the position of leader of Ukip, he wrote in a letter to the partys returning officer Roger Bird.

I reviewed the leadership credentials and the party constitution and see no reason why a man of my standing cannot apply. So, I sincerely hope you receive my application in good faith.

The MEP sits for Lithuanias Liberal Movement party, a centre-right conservative liberal party. It has two MEPs.

In the European Parliament he sits with the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats in Europe  the same group as the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Guoga pledged to give his salary to the UKs National Health Service if elected  joking: this time for real  a reference to Vote Leaves rubbished 350 million for the NHS claim.

Ukip is to have a leadership election after Nigel Farage announced he would stand down.

Possibly successors include Paul Nuttal, Steve Wolfe, or Suzanne Evans.
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Theresa May has promised to be bloody difficult during Brexit talks with the European Commission president while speaking at a hustings for Tory MPs before the second round of voting to choose the partys new leader.

Referring to unguarded comments recorded by Sky News by Tory former chancellor Ken Clarke, in which he referred to Mrs May as "a bloody difficult woman", the Home Secretary joked that the next person to share his view would be Jean-Claude Juncker.

Ken Clarke might have found me to be a 'bloody difficult woman', said Mrs May. The next person to find that out will be Jean-Claude Juncker, she added with her response receiving cheers from MPs, ITV reports.

The hustings also saw Andrea Leadsom, who came second in the first round of voting in the partys leadership race on Tuesday, say that she would not be releasing her tax returns, as other candidates have, unless she made the run-off on Thursday.

The minister told MPs they could come to see a summary of her tax affairs personally if they wanted to.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

Michael Gove, who fished third in Tuesdays vote, was questioned over what some MPs see as his "betrayal" of Boris Johnson, but the Justice Secretary said he had decided to run because he thought the former-London mayor was not suited for the job.

He was also challenged over a text sent by his campaign manager urging Ms May's supporters to vote tactically in the second round of voting in the Tory leadership battle on Thursday in order to block Ms Leadsom from the final run-off.

 Theresa May admits future of EU citizens living in the UK is uncertain

Campaign manager Nick Boles has since been forced to apologise after the text was leaked and said over Twitter that Mr Gove did not know about it let alone authorise it, adding it does not reflect his views.

The Home Secretary is expected to be confirmed on Thursday as one of the two contenders chosen by MPs to go forward in a vote of around 150,000 Conservative members to elect a new leader - and prime minister - on 9 September.

She comfortably won the first round of voting on Tuesday with 165 votes and has promised to "unite [the Conservative] party and the country" in the wake of the EU referendum.

Mrs May was followed by Andrea Leadsom with 66 votes, Michael Gove on 48 and Stephen Crabb on 34.

The former defence secretary Liam Fox was eliminated from the race after receiving only 16 votes from MPs.

Mr Crabb later withdrew from the leadership contest and both he and Dr Fox announced their support for Ms May.

In addition to his comments about Ms May, Mr Clarke was also heard telling former colleague Sir Malcolm Rifkind that Michael Gove was so right-wing he would likely start wars with at least three countries and that he did not really think Andrea Leadsom wanted to leave the EU.

Additional reporting by Press Association
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Tony Blair has admitted he should have challenged the intelligence reports that informed his decision to take Britain to war in Iraq.

Responding to the damning findings of the Chilcot Inquiry, the former Prime Minister again defended the decision to go to war and insisted that it was taken out of good motives and that he believed the Middle East would be in a worse state today had Saddam Hussein not been removed.

However, speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme in his first one-on-one interview since the reports publication, he said that he carried regret over his failure to challenge the intelligence on Iraqs weapons of mass destruction, which Sir John Chilcot said was flawed. The inquiry ruled that the intelligence led Mr Blair to present the dangers of Saddam Husseins weapons programme with a certainty that was not justified.

 Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

Asked what aspects of the war and his conduct he regretted, Mr Blair said: Regret for the loss of life. Insofar as there were mistakes made, insofar as the intelligence was wrong and I relied on it, of course. Of course I regret in retrospect that we didnt challenge it.

When you go back over it, for example on the intelligence, yes in retrospect it would have been better to have challenged it, and I understand the mistakes in planning and so on and so forth and there are lots of things I take responsibility for and have expressed deep regret for, he added.

Mr Blair, who has said he takes full responsibility for mistakes made by his government, but nevertheless refused to apologise for the decision to go war, said that he now accepted some people would never believe the sincerity of his regret for the loss of life caused.

Sometimes, the problem is, I feel until I actually say to people, OK, I wish we hadnt joined the American coalition, I wish we hadnt got rid of Saddam, until I say that, people wont really accept that I mean my regret, he said.

I can regret the mistakes and I can regret many things about it but I genuinely believe not just that we acted out of good motives, and I did what I did in good faith, I sincerely believe we would be in a worse position if we hadnt acted in that way. I may be completely wrong about that. These are incredibly difficult judgements.

How the British media covered the Iraq War Show all 6 1 /6 How the British media covered the Iraq War How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Mirror, 6 January 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Guardian, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Daily Mail, 22 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War Daily Telegraph, 21 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War The Sun, 20 March 2003 How the British media covered the Iraq War

He was however, defiant over the reports revelations that he was given explicit warnings by the Foreign Office and intelligence services that the invasion of Iraq could plunge the country into a sectarian conflict that would fuel the rise of extremist groups  a prediction that would prove grimly accurate.

In his statement accompanying the reports publication, Sir John said: Mr Blair told the Inquiry that the difficulties encountered in Iraq after the invasion could not have been known in advance.

We do not agree that hindsight is required. The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and Al Qaida activity in Iraq, were each explicitly identified before the invasion.

However, Mr Blair told Today that warnings on sectarian violence had been very, very limited. He also defended his record on the supply of vital equipment to British troops, following the reports conclusion that soldiers were sent into combat under-prepared, and that the Ministry of Defence had been slow to respond to the emerging threats to troops, such as improvised explosive devices during the occupation of Basra.

I dont recall a single occasion on which we were asked for more resources, more equipment and didnt say yes, he said, adding that Downing Street had sent out the message to the armed forces that there was no resource limitation.
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Tony Blairs decision to commit troops to the Iraq War was taken on the basis of flawed intelligence, before peaceful options had been exhausted and without any adequate plan for the future of the country and its millions of citizens, the Chilcot report has concluded, in a comprehensive and damning assessment of the former Prime Minister and the war that will define his place in history.

The report, 2.6 million words long and seven years in the making, concluded that the consequences of the invasion were underestimated, British troops were sent in unprepared, and that the planning and preparation for rebuilding a devastated country after the fall of Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.

But in a show of defiance, Mr Blair, visibly emotional, said that the decision to join George W Bushs invasion had been the right one, that he had made it in good faith and that with the same information, he would do it again.

"The intelligence assessments made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong, the aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody than we ever imagined. The coalition planned for one set of ground facts and encountered another," he said.

"And a nation whose people we wanted to set free and secure from the evil of Saddam became instead victim of sectarian terrorism. For all of this I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe."

But asked to look the families of the 179 British servicemen who died in Iraq in the eye and say he did not mislead them he added: I can look not just the families, but the nation in the eye and say I did not mislead this country, I made this decision in good faith on the information I had at the time, and I believe that it is better that we took that decision.

I acknowledge all the problems that came with that decision, I acknowledge the mistakes and accept responsibility for them. What I cannot do and will not do is say we took the wrong decision.

While Sir John Chilcot said that the report could make no judgement on the legality of the war, he concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided there was a legal basis for war were far from satisfactory.

There were calls for legal action against Mr Blair to be considered from some of the families, from Labour frontbencher Paul Flynn and from the Scottish National Party.

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn issued an apology on the behalf of Labour, calling the war a stain on our party and our country, and urging Britain to back reform of the International Criminal Court so it could deal with such situations more effectively.

That apology is owed first of all to the people of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost and the country is still living with the devastating consequences of the war and the forces it unleashed. They have paid the greatest price for the most serious foreign policy calamity of the last 60 years," the Labour leader said.

The apology is also owed to the families of those soldiers who died in Iraq or who have returned home injured or incapacitated. They did their duty but it was in a conflict they should never have been sent to.

The UK, he added, should now "join the 30 countries including Germany and Spain that already support giving the International Criminal Court (ICC) the power to prosecute those responsible for the crime of military aggression"

David Cameron, who voted in favour of the invasion in 2003, said that lessons must be learned from the findings of the Chilcot Report, and called on all MPs who voted for the war to bear their share of responsibility for the mistakes made in the conduct of the war and the subsequent occupation.

Previously classified memos published alongside the report reveal the extent of collaboration between Britain and the US in the run-up to war. Mr Blair pledged to Mr Bush in July 2002: I will be with you, whatever.

And as early as December 2001, the two men had discussed toppling Saddam Hussein.

"How we finish in Afghanistan is important to phase 2. If we leave it a better country, having supplied humanitarian aid and having given new hope to the people, we will not just have won militarily but morally; and the coalition will back us to do more elsewhere," says Mr Blair in the memo.

"We shall give regime change a good name which will help in our arguments over Iraq."

 Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

Sir David Manning and Jonathan Powell, advisors to Mr Blair, both urged him remove the with you whatever line from the July memo, concerned that that it would close off options, the report reveals. Mr Blair had not discussed or agreed the commitment with his colleagues, it says.

The report also makes clear that, far from Mr Blairs assertion in his evidence to the inquiry that the full consequences of the invasion could not have been known, he had received explicit warnings that the intervention could plunge the country into sectarian violence that would fuel the rise of Islamist extremism.

A Foreign Office paper on Islamism in Iraq, shared with the Americans in December 2002, even foreshadowed the rise of extremist groups like Isis which went on to exploit the chaos of post-war Iraq.

It warned that it was likely groups would be looking for identities and ideologies on which to base movements and anticipated that a number of emergent extremist groups would use violence to pursue political ends.

 Chilcot report: Key points from the Iraq inquiry in 90 seconds

Isis, which 11 years after the invasion declared a caliphate in Iraq, remains in control of vast swathes of the country, including its second city Mosul, and has claimed responsibility for Sundays bombing in Baghdad, the death toll of which has risen to 250  the worst such attack since the invasion in 2003.

Mr Blair told the Inquiry that the difficulties encountered in Iraq after the invasion could not have been known in advance, Sir John said, as he released the report in London on Wednesday morning.

We do not agree that hindsight is required. The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and Al Qaida activity in Iraq, were explicitly identified before the invasion.

By July 2009, the invasion had led to the deaths of probably many more than 150,000 Iraqis, with a million displaced, Sir John said.
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Nigel Farage has given his backing to Andrea Leadsom in the Conservative Party leadership contest, after she emerged, along with Theresa May, as one of two candidates in the running to become Britains next prime minister.

Recommended Read more Leadsom and Theresa May make final ballot as Michael Gove eliminated

Ms Leadsom came second in Thursdays Tory leadership vote, garnering the support of 84 MPs, but lagged significantly behind the Home Secretary Ms May who won 199 votes.

Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, was eliminated from race after being pushed back into third place with just 46 votes.

The leader of the party  and Prime Minister  will be chosen in a ballot of around 150,000 Conservative Party members in nine weeks time.

Responding to the result, Mr Farage, the former Ukip leader and Leave campaigner, said over Twitter: Congratulations to [Andrea Leadsom]. Important the next Prime Minister is a Brexiteer  she has my backing.

The next Prime Minister will face the hugely challenging and delicate task of disentangling Britain from the EU, whilst attempting to maintain the best possible deal for the country and Ms Leadsom, a prominent Leave campaigner, has previously refused to rule out the prospect of Mr Farage taking part in future Brexit talks.

Speaking on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Ms Leadsom was asked if, as leader, he would include Mr Farage in exit negotiations.

The favourites in the Tory leadership race Show all 5 1 /5 The favourites in the Tory leadership race The favourites in the Tory leadership race Theresa May The longest-serving Home Secretary in 100 years took a back seat in the referendum campaign. While backing Remain, she did not hit the campaign trail and delivered only a handful of speeches and interviews, and was critical of many aspects of the EU, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Hedging her bets allows her to now emerge as a unity candidate, and she is said to have been building up her back-room staff in preparation for a leadership bid. She has the significant advantage of having served in one of the great offices of state, in a steady and competent manner that has won her many admirers within party and the civil service. At a time of great instability, it may be that she is viewed as steady hand on the tiller. Mrs May does however, lack the star quality of a Boris Johnson and party members may doubt her ability to connect with ordinary voters PA The favourites in the Tory leadership race Michael Gove The Justice Secretary may be able to set himself up as the thinking Torys Brexit candidate. Made an enormous political and personal decision to back Leave, taking on his old friend David Cameron. He performed well during the TV debates, and will be an admired figure among Eurosceptic Conservatives. Along with Johnson, he will be hindered by the fact that he led a very divisive campaign, characterised by blue-on-blue action. MPs may also judge that he lacks Boris Johnsons wider appeal with the electorate. Possibly more likely that he will settle for being his new bosom buddy Boriss Chancellor Getty The favourites in the Tory leadership race Stephen Crabb Highly-rated Work and Pensions Secretary, raised on a council estate, so could reach out to non-traditional working class Tory voters Getty Images The favourites in the Tory leadership race Andrea Leadsom Minister of State for Energy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change is one of the most prominent figures in the Leave campaign, seen to have performed well in TV debates Rex Features The favourites in the Tory leadership race Liam Fox British Conservative MP and former Secretary of State for Defence, as sources said he will stand for the leadership of the Conservative Party AFP/Getty

Mr Marr said some people claim Mr Farage is the "great victor of this [Brexit], in many respects, he should be there [ in the Brexit negotiations] and not pushed by the Westminster establishment."

Ms Leadsom replied: I wouldnt want to get into who would do what. What we need is somebody to lead the campaign who really believes in the opportunities.

Mr Farage has served as an MEP but is widely disliked in the European Parliament. He was, however, one of the most crucial figures on the Leave side in the referendum campaign.

Ms Leadsom, who entered parliament only six years ago, said on Thursday her top priority would be to guarantee tariff-free trade with the EU after leaving.

Her prominent role in the Brexit campaign is seen as one of her main advantages in the ongoing contest for the Conservative leadership as it may play well with grassroots party members who have strong eurosceptic leanings.

Ms Leadsom has put her 25 years' experience working in financial services at the centre of her campaign to become leader, but some of her career credentials are being called into doubt. Reuters spoke to five of her former colleagues at Invesco, including four in senior management positions, who said Ms Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money.

She told the BBC that questions about her career record were "ridiculous" and her CV was "all absolutely true".

Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, has also endorsed Ms Leadsom. Following the Thursday's vote he said Ms Leadsom is "well placed to win" the Conservative leadership and will "replace absurd gloom" with an "optimistic approach".

Additional reporting by Press Association
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More than 90,000 parents in England and Wales were fined a total of 5.6m over the last academic year for taking their children out of school for holidays during term time.

The fines for the academic year ending in 2015 are almost four times higher than for 2012-13, when parents were issued with an estimated 1.5m in fines.

The number of fines issued also increased dramatically, from 24,853 in 2012-13 to 92,784 in 2014-15.

Schools in Lancashire issued 4,279 fines over the last academic year, more than any other area. Doncaster issued 3,559, Bradford 3,445, Leeds 3,435 and Derbyshire 3,174.

The findings come from a Freedom of Information request by Santander Bank. It said families who take their children on holiday outside of the school term can pay almost 70 per cent more than they would if they booked the same trip during term time, making a 60 fine a small price to pay for bigger savings.

A spokesman for the bank said: Its perhaps unsurprising as parents planning an overseas break during the school summer holidays face premiums of up to 68 per cent in some instances, equivalent to an extra 1,771.

On average, trips to some of the most popular overseas holiday destinations such as Spain, France and the USA are 21 per cent more expensive for a family of four during the school holidays.

Until September 2013, headteachers were able to use their discretion to allow parents to take their children out of school for up to 10 days a year.

But new rules from the Department for Education (DfE) now only allow headteachers to authorise absences in exceptional circumstances such as funerals.

If parents break the rules, the local council can issue a fine of 60, which doubles if it remains unpaid after 21 days.

But a high court case has thrown the rules into doubt after father Jon Platt, of the Isle of Wight, refused to pay a fine for taking his daughter out of school for a trip to Disney Land in Florida.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. 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In May, Mr Platt won his case at the high court, and the fine was overturned. The court said that parents whose children had good school attendance could be allowed family absences.

Despite the win, the DfE is understood to be financially backing the Isle of Wight council in taking the case to the Supreme Court.
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More than a third of councils in England have refused to take in Syrian refugees due to the cost of housing and supporting them.

So far, councils have only made arrangements to take in 8,146 refugees of the total of 20,000 David Cameron has pledged the UK would accept.

A survey of councils by the Local Government Chronicle revealed that of the 152 councils who oversee social care, 53 authorities are not offering to take in any refugees.

The councils which have not offered to take in any refuges have said this is largely because the money the government gives to councils for each refugee does not cover the cost of resettling them.

Councils receive 8,500 for each refugee in the first year they arrive, which gradually falls to 1,000 in the fifth year.

But councils are already under financial pressure as the government has cut local authority funding by a third since 2010.

Council leaders estimate the governments resettlement payouts will only cover 70 to 80 per cent of the costs, the Times reported.

Ten councils in Manchester are not taking part, though discussions with the government are ongoing.

In London, 11 of the 32 boroughs have agreed to take in a total of 521 refugees.

Lancashire is the area taking in the most refugees in England, with 600 due to be resettled there, while Gloucestershire is taking 560 and Kent 520.

According to the Home Office, the resettlement scheme had seen a total of 2,441 people taken in by the UK for the year ending March 2016. Of these, 1,667 people, half of whom were under 18, were also granted humanitarian protection.

Writing about the research, Local Government Chronicle editor Nick Golding said: The British governments offer was initially limited to funding humanitarian assistance in the countries surrounding Syria to which the vast majority of refugees fled.

"Public disquiet eventually forced it to promise sanctuary to 20,000 refugees deemed particularly vulnerable. It falls to councils to offer places to refugees in each area."

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. 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He said councils in Gloucestershire, Kent and Lancashire deserve particular credit for taking in hundreds of refugees, but said not every area can provide equal assistance.

Some are already struggling to manage the impact of immigration, he said.

Some, especially in London, are unable to offer housing support to people who grew up locally, such is the pressure on housing.

"Whenever there is significant new immigration, it is essential that communities remain cohesive."
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The son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has been released from prison, according to his lawyer.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was sentenced to death last July for alleged war crimes during the Arab Spring revolution that overthrew his father in 2011.

Mr al-Islams lawyer, Karim Khan, told France 24 his client had been set free on 12 April and is well and safe and in Libya.

The release was made in accordance with [Libyan] law, he said, suggesting Gaddafis second son would not face any future charges.

Mr Khan said Mr al-Islam was released under an amnesty declared before the UN-backed unity government led by Fayez al-Sarraj took over in March.

Mr al-Islam, who is 44 and has a PhD from the London School of Economics, is still wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during his fathers regime.

According to Mr Khan, this case should be dropped, as Mr al-Islam has already been tried and sentenced in Libya.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in court in Zintan, north west Libya (Reuters)

Mr al-Islam was held by a militia in Zintan, north west Libya, when he was sentenced to death by firing squad in absentia by a court in Tripoli.

He was found guilty of orchestrating a campaign of murder, torture and the bombardment of civilians, having denied all charges.

Eight others were also condemned to death, including the Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, who as also Gaddafi's brother-in-law.

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

Muammar Gaddafi, commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi, originally took power in a coup in 1969.

He died in October 2011 after weeks of protests in disputed circumstances after being taken prisoner by opposition militia members.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been forced to deny reports claiming two men tried to assassinate him during a tour of Kenya this week.

Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jarida claimed Kenyan security forces rushed to stop attackers attempting to target the prime ministers convoy during his five-day state visit to the African continent.

The report said Mr Netanyahus security guards were advised to change the route of the convoy, and said police had arrested two suspects shortly after the incident.

"After the convoy changed its course and arrived in a safe hotel, it was discovered that Kenyan intelligence had exposed a plan to attack vehicles in the original course. Thus, the decision to change the course saved the Israeli delegation," an anonymous source told the newspaper.

Mr Netanyahu quickly dismissed the claims and said he knew nothing of such an incident taking place during a press conference alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Thursday.

Looking visibly surprised at the reporters question, he told journalists: The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it.

The claims were also denied by Kenyan officials, with interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka telling Associated Press: An attempted assassination can't be secret. It has to be something visible, and to my knowledge there was absolutely nothing of the sort.

Kenyas chief of police Joseph Boinnet added: Im not aware, and there was no such thing at all. Those are lies.

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. 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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 Netanyahus visit is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by an Israeli prime minister for nearly 30 years, travelling between Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.

The Prime Minister is always protected by heavy security when he goes abroad, given continual high threats against Israeli targets around the world.

Following the press conference Mr Netanyahu and Mr Desalegn said they would renew cooperation in the fight against extremism, and they signed agreements to increase ties in technology, agriculture and more.

"Israel has a special place in Ethiopia and Ethiopia has a special place in Israel," Netanyahu said.

As many as 130,000 Ethiopian Jews, called Falashas, are thought to live in Israel, having emigrated there since the 1980s.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

My friends,

I am delighted to attend the China-US dialogue on South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks jointly organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University and meet with old and new friends. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both organizations for putting this dialogue together and my sincere thanks go to all of you here who have for long cared for and supported the development of China-US relations.

I became honorary president of the Institute of International and Strategic Studies at Peking University after retiring from government. In this sense, I can also be counted as a think tank scholar. I very much look forward to having candid and in-depth exchanges with all of you for mutual enlightenment.

Since the door of communication between China and the US opened more than 40 years ago, China-US relations have come a long way despite twists and turns and produced tremendous and extraordinary outcomes. This has not only benefited the people of China and the US, but also the whole world. Fast growth of relations between these two major countries in a short span of 40 years can be described as nothing short of a miracle in the history of major-country relations.

Three years ago, in June 2013, President Xi Jinping and President Obama held a successful meeting in Annenberg, Sunnylands. Since then, guided by the strategic consensus of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, the two countries have continued to make important progress in the building of a new model of major country relations. China and the US have joined hands in promoting progress in a wide range of fields in bilateral relations and addressing major issues bearing on mankind's future and destiny. Their trade volume and two-way investment have both scaled new heights. The two countries have stepped up macro-economic coordination which effectively facilitated world economic recovery and growth. China and the US have signed 3 joint statements on climate change, playing a crucial leading role for reaching the Paris Agreement on climate change. The two sides continued to broaden practical cooperation in military-to-military, law-enforcement, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges. They have conducted close coordination and cooperation on international and regional hotspot issues and major global issues such as Iranian nuclear issue, Korean nuclear issue, Syria, Afghanistan, peacekeeping, international development and global public health. Such cooperation has benefited both countries, and bolstered international confidence in the continued growth of China-US relations.

China and the US are two major countries with very different histories, cultures, social systems and values and at different levels of development. As such, it is only natural that they would encounter differences and challenges in their relations. What's important is to increase strategic communication in a candid way and handle and manage differences in a constructive manner. Furthermore, we should endeavor to transcend differences by focusing on and expanding cooperation. The South China Sea could well have been an example of this approach.

For a period of time, the South China Sea which used to be a rather quiet place has become not so quiet. The situation there has heated up to a quite unusual degree, drawing extensive international attention. What has really happened there? I noticed that reports and comments on this issue tend to take a static view from a certain angle, and thus have not shown the full picture of the South China Sea issue. In my view, to study an international hotspot issue, it is necessary to seek truth from facts by fully considering the relevant international background, tracing the historical development, and thoroughly reviewing how the concerned parties have interacted on this issue. Only in this way can one see the whole picture, tell right from wrong and draw the right conclusion. In this vein, I would like to focus my speech on the historical facts of the South China Sea issue and China's policy on this issue. And I will endeavor to view and handle the South China Sea issue from the perspective of China-US relations and explore ways to genuinely cool down this issue and restore calm to this part of the world.

I. Nansha Islands are China's Integral Territory

Historical materials of China and many western countries corroborate the fact that it was the Chinese people who were the first to discover, name, develop and administer the islands in South China Sea, and that the Chinese Government was the first to peacefully and effectively exercise continuous sovereign jurisdiction on South China Sea islands. During the Second World War, Japan illegally invaded and occupied China's South China Sea islands, which were restored to China after the war. Pursuant to Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which were cornerstones of the post-war international order, Japan shall return the stolen Chinese territory to China. Following the end of the war, China restored Taiwan, Penghu Islands, Xisha Islands and Nansha Islands illegally occupied by Japan.

Many of you were probably not aware of this, but China's actions to restore the islands were supported by General Douglas McArthur. China's military and government personnel were ferried by U.S.-provided military vessels to Xisha and Nansha Islands to hold the restoration ceremony. After that, the United States filed applications to Chinese authorities on Taiwan to conduct geodetic survey in some of Nansha Islands on many occasions.

All this shows that the return of Nansha Islands to China is part of the post-war international order and relevant territorial arrangements. For a long time since the end of the War, the United States has recognized and in reality respected China's sovereignty over Nansha Islands. China's sovereignty over South China Sea islands, as part of the post-war international order, is under protection by the UN Charter and other international law. To be blunt, when the U.S. states today that it does not take a position on issues of territory, it actually amounts to back-peddling and defiance of the post-war international order, which the United States itself has participated in building.

There are sufficient grounds to state that on the South China Sea issue, China is completely at the receiving end of encroachments. For a long time, the South China Sea had remained trouble free and calm. But since the 1970s, the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries have illegally occupied 42 islands and reefs in China's Nansha Islands by force, which gave rise to disputes over territory in these islands and reefs. Over several decades, the Philippines and Vietnam carried out large scale construction and deployed armaments on them and continued to take provocative actions at sea. These illegal occupations and provocations are violations of international law and the UN Charter, and should be universally condemned. The world can see that on the South China Sea issue, China is by no means a wrong-doer or trouble maker, but rather a victim. According to international law, China has every right to self-preservation and self-defense. It possesses the ability to recover the above-mentioned islands and reefs. However, in the interest of regional peace and stability, China has all along exercised enormous restraint, and sought peaceful settlement through negotiations. In recent years, China has taken actions only as compelled response at a minimal level to unbridled encroachments by certain countries on China's rights and interests. Stand in China's shoes for a moment, if it was the United States who was challenged with such provocation, it would have long resorted to force to recover the illegally occupied islands and reefs.

II. China remains committed to peaceful resolution of disputes in the South China Sea through negotiations and consultations with countries directly concerned.

The Chinese Government was the first to propose and has consistently followed the position of "shelving disputes and pursuing common development." Its consistent position on the South China Sea issue includes the following three elements:

--Disputes should be settled peacefully through negotiation and consultation, and managed through rules, norms and operating mechanisms;

--Shared interests should be expanded through joint development and cooperation;

--Freedom of navigation and overflight should be upheld and peace and stability maintained.

These are both China's basic policies and solemn pledges on the South China Sea issue. For the past several decades, the South China Sea region has maintained stability on the whole, and the relevant disputes have been kept under control. Southeast Asia has been able to achieve robust growth, and is seen as an example of peace, stability and prosperity and a magnet of cooperation in the eyes of many countries and regions. This is a great contribution China and its neighbors have made to the international community.

As the biggest coastal country of the South China Sea and a country dedicated to peaceful development, China sees peace and stability of the South China Sea as bearing on its vital interests. That is why China will never resort to force unless challenged with armed provocation. Despite the negative impact of factors both within and outside the region, China has not lost confidence and will stick to its policy of seeking peaceful settlement through bilateral negotiation and consultation, for the following reasons.

First, peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation and consultation best reflects adherence to international law and the basic norms of international relations. According to the UN Charter and the Declaration on Principles of International Law, negotiation is the primary way for peaceful settlement of international disputes. The UNCLOS stipulates that countries concerned should settle maritime delimitation disputes through negotiations as the first recourse, and China and ASEAN countries also made such solemn commitment in the DOC. The fact is, China has benefited from the existing international order, and has firmly observed and upheld such order. China will continue to honor its due obligations, earnestly fulfill international and regional responsibilities, uphold the integrity and authority of the UNCLOS and other international law, and safeguard the rule of law.

Second, to settle disputes peacefully and through negotiations has been a successful practice of China in implementing international rule of law. Back in the 1950s, China has proposed addressing historical boundary issues through consultation under the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. In the following decades, China has resolved its boundary questions with 12 out of 14 land neighbors through negotiations. They have surveyed and demarcated around 20,000 kilometers of boundaries, about 90% of China's land boundary. China and Vietnam have delimited maritime boundary at the Beibu Gulf through negotiation. Of all boundary talks, those between China and Russia lasted for over 40 years, between China and Vietnam on land boundary over 30 years, and on Beibu Gulf over 20 years. I personally have participated in some of the boundary talks, and I believe that peaceful negotiations can best reflect countries' own will and sovereign equality and have unique strength and efficacy in addressing complex territorial and maritime disputes. There is no reason why disputes in the South China Sea cannot be resolved through peaceful negotiations.

Third, peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation and consultation is the only viable way to manage and resolve the South China Sea issue. The truth is, the parties concerned in the South China Sea issue have all along been working in this direction, which is also a clear provision in the DOC. The parties have established mature and effective mechanisms to this end, and the COC consultation has been making notable progress. Despite all this, the Philippines went on a pervert course of initiating arbitration without prior consultation with China. This is nothing but an act of imposition by the Philippines on China, and a culmination of the Philippines' actions to advance its illegal claims. The truth behind the arbitration case is political intrigue, whereby certain countries have been deliberately provoking problems and stirring up tensions, eager to see turbulence in the South China Sea. The arbitral tribunal has no jurisdiction over this case. By making a so called "award", it has wilfully expanded its power, which is against the UNCLOS and is null and void.

By taking a position of not participating in or accepting the arbitration, China is upholding its own rights and interests under international law and safeguarding the integrity and authority of the UNCLOS. We hope that the U.S. side will take an objective and fair approach regarding the arbitration, rather than criticizing China for upholding the UNCLOS from the position of a non-state party. The final award of the arbitration, which will come out in the next few days, amounts to nothing more than a piece of paper. China suffered enough from hegemonism, power politics and bullying by Western Powers since modern times. The Versailles peace conference at the end of World War I forced a sold-out of Shandong Province. The Lytton Commission, sent by the League of Nations when Japan invaded China's northeast provinces, only served to justify Japan's invasion. Even the U.S.-led negotiations on San Francisco Peace Treaty excluded China. These episodes are still vivid in our memory. That is why China will grip its own future on issues of territorial sovereignty, and will never accept any solution imposed by a third party.

III. The situation in the South China Sea must cool down.

The temperature of the South China Sea is now high enough. Some people even clamored for "fight tonight". If such momentum went unchecked, accidents could happen and the South China Sea might sink into chaos and so might the entire Asia. Should that happen, it will be countries around the South China Sea, the Asian countries and even the United States itself that will suffer. We must not let this happen, and not allow Asia to become another West Asia and North Africa. Anyone intent on fueling the flames and unleashing disastrous outcomes will be held accountable by history.

Cooling down temperatures in the South China Sea requires concrete efforts by all countries concerned.

First, the urgent priority is to stop the arbitration case initiated by the Philippines. If the tribunal insisted on its way and produced an "award", no one and no country should implement the award in any form, much less to force China into implementation. And the Philippines must be dissuaded from making any further provocation. Otherwise, China would not sit idle.

Second, China and the United States have neither disputes over even one inch of territory nor fundamental clash of interests in the South China Sea. The South China Sea issue should not be allowed to define China-U.S. relations. Rather, this issue should be put in perspective against larger bilateral relations and be transformed into an area of cooperation rather than arena for confrontation. We must forestall undue disruptions or damages to the overall China-U.S. relations as a result of differences over this issue. The people of China and the United States will not forgive us, if we let the basically sound China-U.S. relations cultivated by both sides over the past forty years be ruined by mis-judgment and mishandling over this issue.

I have made Chinas position and views clear. Let me conclude with a few more personal observations.

First of all, even if the United States is unable to go back to its position of recognizing China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands, it should honor its stated position of not taking sides on issues concerning territorial disputes. If the United States is truly committed to peace and stability in the South China Sea and the wider Asia-Pacific and a rule-based order, it should judge the issue on its merits, respect facts, oppose or restrain provocations by certain countries against China and encourage countries directly concerned to settle the disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation and implement the DOC fully and effectively.

Second, one should not be too ready to frame the South China Sea issue as a strategic issue or interpret and predict China's behavior by drawing from western theories of international relations and history. It would be nothing but baseless speculation to assert that China wants to make the South China Sea an Asian Caribbean Sea and impose the Monroe Doctrine to exclude the United States from Asia or that China is trying to compete with the United States for dominance in the South China Sea, Asia and even the world. Unlike traditional western powers, China, an oriental civilization that goes back five thousand years, has distinctive culture, values, political thinking and view of the world. For China, the South China Sea issue is all about territorial sovereignty, security, development and maritime rights and interests. It is all about preventing further tragic losses of territory. China's thinking is as simple as that. And there is no other agenda behind it. We have no intention or capability to engage in "strategic rivalry" with anyone. We have no ambition to rule Asia, still less the Earth. Even in the context of the issue in question, we have never claimed we own the entire South China Sea. We only have one ambition, which is to manage our own affairs well and ensure a decent life and dignity for the nearly 1.4 billion Chinese people. China's right to rise peacefully and deliver a better life for its people should not and will not be taken away by anyone.

Third, the United States's heavy-handed intervention in the South China Sea issue needs to be scaled back. There is deep concern about the United States continued reinforcement of its military alliances in the Asia-Pacific and forward deployment of its military assets. Since last year, the US has intensified its close-in reconnaissance and "Freedom of Navigation" operations targeted at China. The rhetoric of a few people in the United States has become blatantly confrontational. How would you feel if you were Chinese and read in the newspapers or watch on TV reports and footages about U.S. aircraft carriers, naval ships and fighter jets flexing muscles right at your doorstep and hear a senior U.S. military official telling the troops to be ready "to fight tonight"? Wouldn't you consider it unhelpful to the U.S. image in the world? This is certainly not the way China and the United States should interact with each other.

Having said that, we in China would not be intimidated by the U.S. actions, not even if the United States sent all the ten aircraft carriers to the South China Sea. Furthermore, U.S. intervention on the issue has led some countries to believe that the United States is on their side and they stand to gain from the competition between major countries. As a result, we have seen more provocations from these countries, adding uncertainties and escalating tensions in the South China Sea. This, in fact, is not in the interest of the United States. The risk for the United States is that it may be dragged into trouble against its own will and pay an unexpectedly heavy price. Hopefully, the countries, whose recent course of action has been driven by reckless impulse, will engage in some cool-headed thinking and realize that China has been living alongside them peacefully as a friendly neighbor for several thousand years. Neither had this neighbor invaded anyone nor interfered in any country's internal affairs. Neither is this neighbor pursuing any regime change nor building confrontational political or military blocs. All China's endeavors are focused on protecting its sovereignty, security and development interests and it has no intention to seek dominance or hegemony. Those countries will eventually see that it is the friendly China that will remain their neighbor for generations to come instead of some faraway superpower that is, for the moment, their ally.

Fourth, China and the United States need to find ways to manage their differences constructively. As I said, the South China Sea issue boils down to disputes between China and a few other littoral states. Given that these disputes are not going to be settled any time soon, the key question is how these disputes should be managed pending final resolution. Should parties provoke each other over these disputes, aggravate tensions and encourage confrontation? Or should they downplay the disputes, shelve their differences and expand cooperation? The answer is apparent. China has all along been committed to resolving the disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation. Even though the South China Sea is clearly not an issue between China and the United States, China is willing to maintain communication with the United States on maritime issues and work with the United States and all other parties to keep the situation under control, considering our shared interest in peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Our two sides may work together to find ways to jointly promote regional peace and stability through constructive dialogue on matters such as regional confidence-building, effectively managing disputes and advancing maritime practical cooperation.

Fifth, China and the United States need to expand their positive maritime agenda. Both countries support freedom of navigation and overflight. As long as the US does not use that as a pretext to challenge China's sovereignty and security interests, the two countries can cooperate on a global level to safeguard such freedom. Closer cooperation is also called for in a wide range of ocean-related fields such as marine environmental protection, marine science and research and maritime law-enforcement to give a stronger boost to China-U.S. interaction at sea.

I was born at the height of the Second World War, and as a 75-year-old man, I either lived through or witnessed the evolutions of relations between some major countries. I have studied the Korean War, Vietnam War and Iraq War and how these wars took a heavy toll on the United States. Since the turn of the century, I had the further privilege to chair China's strategic dialogues with the United States and some other major countries, which were of great depth and quality and helped produce common thinking between our two countries on building a new model of major-country relationship. I love my country and people and have nothing but profound goodwill towards the American people. I wish for the best of China-U.S. relations and for both our countries. We must work together to avoid strategic mistakes pushing us into conflict or confrontation. Some of my remarks today might sound a little bit harsh, but I said them with the best of intentions. You may consider them words spoken from the heart of a friend of the United States.

Wang Anshi, a famous Chinese poet who lived in the Northern Song Dynasty wrote, "We should not be afraid of the clouds blocking our view, because we already are at the highest elevation." It means that only by adopting a strategic vision and minimizing distractions can one understand where the trend is moving. In a globalized world full of opportunities and challenges, as the biggest developing and developed countries and the world's two largest economies, China and the United States shoulder more common responsibilities and face more common challenges in driving world economic recovery and promoting international peace and security. There is so much potential of cooperation yet to be tapped. What we need is not a microscope to enlarge our differences, but a telescope to look ahead and focus on cooperation. Both Chinese and Americans are great nations with insight and vision. As long as the two sides work for common interests, respect each other, treat each other as equals, have candid dialogue, and expand common ground, China and the United States will be able to manage differences and find the key to turning those issues into opportunities of working together. I have no doubt that China-U.S. relations will embrace a great future.

To conclude, I wish the dialogue a full success.

(Dai Bingguo, Former State Counciler of People's Republic of China)

Washington D.C July 5, 2016
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The same week that two black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were shot dead by the police, one black congressman said he has given advice to his grandson at college in case he is stopped by police.

You've got to deny your manhood if you want to ensure that you come home alive, said James Clyburn from North Charleston. "That is the kind of conversation I ought not to be having with my grandson."

He first met the mother of Walter Scott, the black man who was shot eight times by police in the back, when Mr Clyburn was in his twenties.

As another two men have died in the hands of white law enforcement, members of the Congressional Black Caucus looked somber and tearful during a press conference on Thursday.

"Racism continues to attack our country like a malignant tumour," said caucus member and congressman Hakeem Jeffries.

They pledged to fight against an epidemic of guns and police violence against unarmed black men and women. So far this year, police in the US have killed more than 500 people, they said.

Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Show all 10 1 /10 Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Gerald Herbert/AP Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Alton Sterling/Facebook Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Google Maps Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Family Handout

Chairman of the caucus and democrat George Butterfield said: No longer are we going to sit back and allow the Republican leadership to ignore this issue."

Congressman Cedric Richmond from Louisiana, the home state of Mr Sterling, who was shot dead on Tuesday morning, told the press that he is working with authorities to get the facts out and draw conclusions.

I will tell you that whats very uncomfortable is, who are you going to believe - me or your lying eyes? The video is very clear and disturbing, he said.

Alton Sterling was defenceless on the ground when the white officer pulled out his gun

Mr Richmond added they are still awaiting more footage from the policemens dash cam and surveillance tape from inside the convenience store next to the carpark where the 37-year-old father was killed.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters from California said she could hardly sleep after hearing the news of both men.

She said how she has fought against police violence for decades in Los Angeles and watched how police methods like the choke hold - which killed Eric Garner - and the battering ram migrated from the West Coast across to the East.

People protesting after the death of Philando Castile (EPA)

One of the first cases she worked on in January 1979 was centred on Eulia Love, a 39-year old black widow who was shot dead on her porch in front of her two daughters because she could not afford her gas bill and prevented policemen from turning it off.

This is not a new situation for me, she said.

Let me say to the police around this country: dont kill another black man. [] You've got to stop this killing and we cant be silent anymore.

Philando Castile was shot in front of his girlfriend and his four-year-old daughter in Minnesota when he was stopped by police for a broken taillight. He was told to get his license. When he reached to get it, he was shot.

Mr Sterling was selling CDs outside a convenience store when police received a report that he had threatened someone with a gun. They pinned him on the ground, Mr Sterlings gun still in his pocket. Holding him down, they shot him several times in the chest.
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A US court is for the first time considering the constitutionality of a warrantless government surveillance programme operated by the National Security Agency.

Lawyers for Mohamed Mohamud have argued that surveillance evidence used to convict the Somali-American man, found guilty of plotting to bomb a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, was gathered in a manner that was unconstitutional.

The lawyers laid out their arguments on Wednesday before a panel of judges of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Portland, close to the plaza where Mohamud tried detonating a fake bomb that was part of an undercover operation.

Crowds at the Portland event Mohamud was convicted of trying to bomb (AP)

The Associated Press said that Mohamud is appealing his 2013 conviction on the grounds that he was entrapped by undercover federal agents posing as Al-Qaeda members and that the warrantless surveillance of his foreign communications violated his rights.

Stephen Sady, Mohamuds lawyer, urged the court to grant his client a new trial on the grounds that the evidence used against Mohamud should never have been permitted in the courtroom.

Mr Sady told the judges that using surveillance information on foreigners, which does not require a warrant, to spy on any Americans they communicate with was an incredible diminution of the privacy rights of all Americans That is a step that should never be taken.

Government lawyers defended the programme, claiming it was legal under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to access information on Americans that was obtained through foreign communications.

 Edward Snowden signs up to Twitter

Lawyer Kelly Zusman said: The query is not a search. Its simply a means by which we access the information we have already lawfully acquired.

A law amended in 2008 by Congress and known as Section 702, enables internet surveillance programmes known as Prism and Upstream that were first disclosed publicly in a series of leaks by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden three years ago.

Prism gathers messaging data from Alphabet Incs Google, Facebook Inc, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and other major technology companies that is sent to and from a foreign target under surveillance. Upstream allows the NSA to copy web traffic flowing along the internet backbone located inside the United States and query that data for certain terms associated with a target.

Mohamud, a naturalised US citizen who was then 19, was found to have attempted to remotely detonate a fake car bomb planted near a square crowded with thousands of people, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

His case challenges the admissibility of evidence brought to trial obtained under a foreign intelligence statute on grounds it does not allow the government to retain and access content of communications belonging to Americans.

The AP said that officials have conceded that data about Americans is sometimes incidentally collected under these programs, and later used for domestic criminal investigations. Critics see it as back-door surveillance of Americans without a warrant.

The government has not disclosed which program was used to surveil Mohamud and only alerted him and his lawyers to how evidence against him was collected after his conviction.
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Divorced couples who remarry should abstain from sex and live as brother and sister, and homosexual relationships produce moral confusion, according to a leading US archbishop.

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, known within the Catholic Church for his conservative views, has set out a series of new guidelines on sexual propriety in his archdiocese.

The guidelines, published on the archdiocese website, read: Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist.

With the help of grace, mastering the self is possible  and this fasting from physical intimacy is a strong element of spiritual preparation for an enduring life together

The archbishop also asked priests within the 1.5million-strong Philadelphia congregation to help Catholics attracted to people of the same sex who find chastity very difficult

He used the guide to argue parishioners with a same-sex attraction can and should live out heterosexual marriages with children, avoiding same-sex intimacy.

Archbishop Chaput said homosexual relationships offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which he believes could produce moral confusion within the community.

Accoring to the guidelines, "those with predominant same-sex attractions are therefore called to struggle to live chastely for the kingdom of God".

They add: In this endeavor they have need of support, friendship and understanding if they fail.

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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. 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People in same-sex partnerships, remarried parishioners and unmarried couples should not be allowed to serve on Catholic councils, Archbishop Chaput added.

Such "irregular" relationships "offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community," the guidelines state, acknowledging it is a "hard teaching."

 The UK's favourite sex positions

The guidelines came into effect on 1 July and were apparently influenced by Pope Franciss teachings in his exhortation on family life Amoris Laetita, released in April this year.

Archbishop Chaput is known to be one of the most strongly conservative figureheads in the US Catholic Church and has consistently been a vocal opposer of gay marriage.
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A British man has pleaded not guilty to charges over an alleged plot to assassinate presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump with a police officers gun at a Nevada rally.

Michael Steven Sandford, 20, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of federal charges of disruption of an official function and two counts of firearm possession, according to the Associated Press.

A grand jury indicted the English-born Mr Sandford, who previously told the court that he drove to Las Vegas from California to kill the New York business tycoon. He was arrested at an event at the Treasure Island hotel-casino on 18 June.

Mr Sandfords mother has told court researchers that the defendant mental health troubles, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, and had also previously suffered from anorexia.

A magistrate judge questioned Mr Sandfords competency to stand trial at a hearing on 20 June, but a federally appointed public defender said that he was fit to take the stand.

The US Secret Service said Mr Sandford told police he had planned to kill Mr Trump for more than a year, during which time he lived in Hoboken, New Jersey, where he reportedly overstayed his visa and was living out of his car.

Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall  and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY

Mr Sandfords father said his son had lived in New Jersey for 18 months. He then drove across the country to California.

The 20-year-old was reported to have been at a Battlefield Vegas shooting range the night before the alleged assassination attempt, firing off some 20 rounds from a Glock 9mm pistol.

Security was tight at the 18 June rally, as attendees had to travel through metal detectors upon entrance.

Mr Trump had reportedly complained that the tight security  run by the Secret Service, Las Vegas police and the casino  had prevented some people from seeing him speak.

Im not happy about it, but I have to put up with it, Mr Trump said in his speech. They didnt bring enough machines.

The Secret Service said that Mr Sandford had another ticket to a Trump rally in Arizona later that day.

A federal judge set a trial date of 22 August.
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The shooting of a second black man in just two days by police has sparked outrage across the US.

Philando Castile was shot dead in his car in front of his girlfriend and child in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St Paul, Minnesota.

His girlfriend, Lavish Reynolds, recorded the man slowly bleeding to death as the officer continued to point his firearm into the car on Facebook Live.

She said they had been pulled over for a broken tail light and the 32-year-old was shot as he reached for his wallet.

Mr Castile later died in hospital.

Ms Reynolds described the scene repeatedly throughout the video: He told him that it was in his wallet, but he had a pistol on him because hes licensed to carry. The officer said dont move.

As he was putting his hands back up, the officer shot him in the arm four or five times.

The officer is heard yelling I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.

Alton Sterling was shot dead by police in Baton Rouge, Louisana while selling CDs outside a supermarket (Alton Sterling/Facebook)

The 10-minute video shows Ms Reynolds being arrested and put into the back of a police car along with her four-year-old daughter.

It is believed she is still in custody at the time of writing.

It comes just a day after the killings of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Mr Sterling was shot in the chest and the back by police officers while selling CDs outside a supermarket.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr claimed both officers body cameras fell off during the incident.

Witnesses report police officers acted aggressively and Mr Sterling, although armed, did not get his gun out.

The killings have provoked outrage among US civil rights groups including the Black Lives Matter movement.

The video of Mr Castiles death, which was removed from Facebook, has been reposted on Twitter along with the images of Mr Sterlings death.

***Warning: The tweets below show graphic content

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the spot in Baton Rouge where Mr Sterling was shot to light candles and paint of a mural of him on the side of the Triple S Mart convenience store where he was killed.

They said prayers and carried placards saying "Hands up, don't shoot", "No justice, no peace" and "Stop killing us".

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called his death a "tragedy" and said her prayers were with his five children.

She said: "From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the colour of their skin."

A third black man, Derawn Small, was also killed by an off-duty police officer on Sunday in Brooklyn, New York after their cars almost collided.

Police said Mr Small got out of his car and began punching Office Wayne Issacs through the open window - but eyewitnesses say Officer Issacs was the aggressor.

A law enforcement official who had watched CCTV of the incident said Mr Small leaned into the car and the officer shot him.

Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Show all 10 1 /10 Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Gerald Herbert/AP Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Brittany Weiss/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Bryn Stole/Twitter Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Alton Sterling/Facebook Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Google Maps Protests after Baton Rouge police fatally shoot Alton Sterling Family Handout

But construction worker Lloyd Banks, who saw the shooting, told the New York Daily News both Mr Small and Officer Issacs got out of the car.

He said: The cop just jumped out and started screaming.

He just shot him right there on the street. Delron was unarmed. His wife and kids were still in the car. They saw everything.

A vigil for the father of three was held in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening and his family and friends have demanded justice.

More than 100 black men have been killed across the US by police officers in 2016, the Guardian reports.
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FBI Director James Comey has faced a grilling from congressional Republicans, who were angered by his decision not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server during her tenure as Secretary of State.

Mr Comey, called to attend a hastily convened hearing at the Capitol in Washington DC on Thursday, was accused of having set a dangerous precedent that would permit government officials to handle classified information sloppily without fear of consequence.

Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, suggested in his opening statement that Ms Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, had escaped prosecution solely because she was part of the powerful elite.

Announcing the findings of the FBIs probe on Tuesday, Mr Comey said Ms Clinton and her aides at the US State Department had been extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly-classified information.

But, he added, We did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information. Their conclusion, he said, was that no charges are appropriate in this case.

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch accepted the recommendations of the FBI and prosecutors, closing the criminal case against Ms Clinton and outraging Republicans, many of whom had hoped for an indictment to derail the Democrats presidential bid.

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan wrote to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, requesting he deny Ms Clinton access to classified information for the duration of the 2016 campaign. He argued she should not be given top secret intelligence briefings, as is common practice for presidential contenders, given her past "carelessness" with such information.

There is no legal requirement for you to provide Secretary Clinton with classified information, and it would send the wrong signal to all those charged with safeguarding our nation's secrets if you choose to provide her access to this information despite the FBI's findings, Mr Ryan wrote.

At Thursdays hearing Mr Chaffetz, also a Republican, told Mr Comey: It seems to a lot of us that the average Joe, the average American  if they had done what you laid out in your statement, that theyd be in handcuffs.

In his testimony to the committee, the FBI Director insisted the agency's investigation of Ms Clintons emails and email practice had been conducted competently, honestly and in an apolitical and professional way by people who didnt give a hoot about politics.

Mr Comey confirmed that some of Ms Clinton's past statements regarding her emails had been untrue, including her insistence that she had not sent or received any messages marked as classified. The FBI investigation in fact found three documents marked as classified on her private server.

However, he went on, the evidence also suggested that the former Secretary of State was not particularly sophisticated with respect to classified information and the levels and treatment, nor was she as technically sophisticated as others might assume, given her status.

Democrats on the committee praised the FBI Director for his probity. Maryland congressman Elijah Cummings said the investigation had been extremely thorough and insisted Republicans were so irate only because it had not reached the predetermined outcome that they wanted.

Himself a Republican, Mr Comey served as Deputy US Attorney General under President George W Bush, and earned a reputation for integrity after a 2004 showdown with the White House, when he refused to reauthorise the warrantless wiretapping of US citizens.

Mr Comey, along with several other Justice Department and FBI officials, threatened to resign in protest over the issue, eventually relenting after the White House made changes to the eavesdropping programme, which he ultimately endorsed as legal.

At the hearing over the Clinton emails investigation, the FBI Director made clear he was aware of the political importance of the probe and the subsequent decision not to propose charges against a presidential candidate. Asked if he had been surprised by the sharp criticism of his conclusions, he said: Im not surprised by the intense interest and the debate."
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The family of a young black man whose fatal shooting by a traffic officer was live streamed on video, have accused police of executing African American men across the country.

Valerie Castile, the mother of Philando Castile, said she had watched the video of her son being shot on Wednesday night and was outraged. She said young black men and women were being shot by the very people who had taken an oath to protect them.

We know black people are getting killed. I told [my children] that whatever you do [if you get pulled over by police and told to do something] comply, comply, comply, she said on CNN.

The killing of Mr Castile, 32, who was shot after being pulled over in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, came just hours after the US Justice Department opened an investigation into the shooting of a black man, Alton Sterling, by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday.

The incidents are the latest in a string of fatal encounters between police officers  usually white  and black or minority suspects, that have sparked outrage and protests across the country. Campaigners have called for an overhaul of the entire justice system, saying the repeated incidents prove the problem is not simply the result of one or two bad apples.

Philando Castile was shot dead on Wednesday night in Minnesota (Family)

Such incidents have gained national attention largely as the result of the ubiquity of mobile phones with video capability. As a result, a handful of police officers have been prosecuted for incidents that may previously have escaped such attention.

Yet the video captured of Mr Castiles death is remarkable, even in an nation where gruesome evidence has become commonplace, because it was live streamed and his fiancee, Lavish Reynolds, narrated what was happening around her. Her four-year-old daughter was present when the shooting took place.

 Falcon Heights shooting

You shot four bullets in him, sir. He was just getting his licence and registration, sir, Ms Reynolds is heard to say, as she sits in the passenger seat of a car. Later she adds: Oh my God, please don't tell me he's dead. Oh my God, officer have you just killed my boyfriend.

Mr Castiles family said they were grateful that Ms Reynolds had been able to film the incident otherwise they would not have known what had happened. "These things are happening because there are no checks and balances in the justice system. African Americans are being executed by the police," said Ms Castile.

She said that her son and his sister were licensed to carry weapons. Yet she said her daughter had told her recently that she was scared to carry her weapon as she feared she lived in a country where police shot first and asked questions later.

A statement from the St Anthony Police Department said an unidentified black man was wounded during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, at 9pm. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Ms Reynolds can be heard saying on the video that boyfriend had just been pulled over for a having a broken tail light and explained that he had a gun he was licensed to carry.

He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket, she said. He let the officer know that he had a firearm and that he was reaching for his wallet, and the officer just shot him in his arm.

One man, who is not identified, is heard saying: F***. I told him not to reach for it.

Police said a handgun was recovered at the scene and that the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was investigating the incident.

On Thursday morning, protesters gathered outside of the mansion of Governor Mark Dayton in St Paul, about 10 miles southeast of the scene of the incident.
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An Uber driver in Florida has been arrested after he was accused of refusing to give a ride to a blind man and his guide dog. He was also accused of hitting the man with his vehicle as he drove away.

Reports said that Robert Stigile, who was visiting Orlando from California, was at a restaurant with a group that included other blind people, when he ordered a van from Uber.

But CBS said that when Uber driver Simon Nau arrived to pick up Mr Stigile, he said that he did not transport animals. Mr Stigile explained that the dog - a yellow labrador - was a service animal and that he was blind.

The London trial is expected to last until Tuesday next week (YouTube)

Yet that, allegedly, was not sufficient explanation for the driver. He has been accused of driving away, and hitting Mr Stigile as he did so.

The alleged incident happened on July 4 at a Bahama Breeze restaurant in Orlando. Mr Stigile asked the restaurant valets to call the Orange County Sheriffs Office to file a complaint.

Mr Nau has been charged with failing to transport a blind person with a service dog, and battery.
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Donald Trump has made the rounds of Republicans in Washington DC in a bid to convince the partys elected officials that he ought to be their standard-bearer at Novembers presidential election. But while GOP leaders insisted the meetings with Senators and House members had gone well, the presumptive nominee reportedly clashed with some behind closed doors.

In a private meeting with Senate Republicans on Thursday, Mr Trump singled out three Senators who have failed to endorse him. Mark Kirk of Illinois, who recently withdrew his endorsement following the property moguls racially charged attacks on a federal judge, did not attend the meeting. Mr Trump described him as a loser in comments to his fellow legislators.

Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a conservative who has consistently criticised Mr Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, spoke with the presumptive nominee but declined to discuss their exchange after the event. A spokesman for Mr Sasse told reporters that he continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire.

Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, who has criticised Mr Trump for his tough rhetoric on immigration, which is likely to alienate many Latino voters in the Grand Canyon State, told the businessman that he was not yet prepared to support his candidacy. According to the Washington Post, Mr Trump threatened to attack Mr Flake on the campaign trail.

Sources told the newspaper Mr Flake then implored Mr Trump to stop attacking Mexicans, while Mr Trump predicted Mr Flake would lose his Senate re-election bid in the Autumn  only to be informed that Mr Flake is not running for re-election this year. The testy exchange will have done little to cultivate party unity ahead of the GOP convention in Cleveland this month.

The presumptive nominee also met privately with Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. Messrs Trump and Cruz fought a bitter primary battle, during which Mr Trump cast aspersions about Mr Cruzs wifes looks and aired unfounded claims that the Senators father was complicit in the JFK assassination.

Mr Cruz has so far declined to lend Mr Trump his endorsement. Before withdrawing from the presidential race in May, he described the reality TV billionaire as a pathological liar and a narcissist at a level I dont think this country has ever seen.

Mr Cruz said on Thursday that his discussion with Mr Trump had been "positive and productive" and that he had agreed to speak at the Republican convention - but, he added: "There was no discussion of any endorsement."

Mr Trumps meeting with GOP House members is thought to have been friendlier than his Senate encounter, as he sought to reassure congressmen that his candidacy would not endanger their prospects in down-ballot 2016 races. While Republicans are united in their desire to defeat Ms Clinton, many remain unpersuaded that Mr Trump is up to the task.

In his remarks, the presumptive nominee vowed that as President he would appoint conservative justices to the Supreme Court, which has been touted by GOP leaders as the best reason to rally behind Mr Trump, regardless of his failings. House Speaker Paul Ryan said after the meeting that Mr Trump did a great job engaging with our members, and I think our members appreciated it.

The meetings came as Mr Trump continued to defend himself over a recent controversy, telling supporters in Ohio on Wednesday that his campaign should never have deleted and replaced his tweet featuring a meme of Hillary Clinton, a pile of money and a six-pointed star, which commentators have condemned as anti-Semitic.

Though he did not mention that particular furore on Thursday, Mr Trump did reportedly complain about the media coverage of his recent comments regarding Saddam Hussein, whom he described on the stump as a really bad guy, even as he praised the late Iraqi dictator for, he claimed, being so good at killing terrorists.

The rolling controversies around Mr Trumps campaign have caused concern among those Republicans who hoped he could become a more measured and disciplined candidate in a general election. Speaking to journalists later on Thursday, South Carolina congressman Mark Sandford said he wasnt particularly impressed by Mr Trumps outreach efforts.

It was the normal stream of consciousness thats long on hyperbole and short on facts, Mr Sandford said.
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At least four people have been killed and several injured in a bombing and shooting attack at the largest gathering for Eid prayers in Bangladesh.

An estimated 200,000 people had gathered at the Eidgah in Sholakia on Thursday morning when militants hurled homemade bombs at police and started a gun battle.

Graphic footage showed a young man being carried through the crowds unconscious and covered in blood.

 Bangladesh in mourning after deadly Dhaka cafe siege

Two police officers and at least two others died, according to local reports, and one suspected attacker was captured by security forces.

They threw a bomb at a police checkpost. A police constable was killed in the explosion. One attacker was killed and another was arrested, Mahbubur Rahman, a police official, told AFP.

Police cordoned off the area and searched the devotees as well as nearby houses for suspects in hiding, said resident Shafiqul Islam, who was among those offering Eid prayers.

It was the second terror attack to hit the country in a week, after Isis militants massacred 22 people at a cafe in Dhaka.

The so-called Islamic State said it was targeting crusaders in the capital city after gunmen separated foreigners and ordered Muslims to recite verses from the Quran, killing anyone who could not.

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

Italian, Japanese, Indian, American and Bangladeshi citizens were among those murdered in the attack, which marked a significant escalation following three years of increasingly frequent machete attacks on secularists, religious minorities, academics and LGBT activists.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday's attack, but the government insisted it was carried out by domestic militants fighting to destabilize Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government and establish Islamic rule in the Muslim-majority nation.

It is a totally political move. They are out to destabilize the government. It is a political attack to oust and topple the secular government of Sheikh Hasina, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.

The Bangladeshi government has persistently denied the involvement of Isis, al-Qaeda or other foreign terror organisations in recent attacks, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A new Isis propaganda video released on Wednesday threatened more attacks in Bangladesh, where the group announced its expansion last year.
BEIJING, July 6 -- Jing Hanchao, vice president of China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Wednesday that all of its open trials would be broadcast live on the Internet from July 1.

Jing said the live webcasts will be significant progress for judicial openness. With full transparency of trials online, the public can better play their supervisory role.

Live broadcasts will also drive judges to strengthen their capabilities, thus improving the judicial system, Jing added.

Furthermore, Jing said live webcasts will create a large amount of data that will help jurists study China's legal system.
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A 76-year-old author was arrested and held for three days by Malaysian police after allegedly insulting the countrys prime minister in a WhatsApp message.

The suspect, who goes by the name Pa Ya on the messaging application, posted a photograph to on the group Malay Political Commentary on Saturday which was deemed to be offensive by police.

The mans mobile phone was seized during his arrest at home in Petaling Jaya near Kuala Lumpur and was taken into custody. He was released on Wednesday afternoon on bail.

The office of the public prosecutor confirmed it was still deciding whether to charge the man for insulting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, under section 233 of Malaysias strict Communications and Multimedia Act.

The law allows the state to prosecute anyone who sends online content that is "obscene, indecent, false, menacing or offensive in character with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person", although the definition of the act has been stretched to protect royalty and political leaders.

In a statement police commissioner Wan Ahmad Najmuddin Mohd said: The photo has insulted and hurt the feelings of Malaysians.

The man was released after concerns about his high blood pressure and kidney problems, a police source told The Star.

In June a Malaysian teenager was jailed for a year for posting derogatory comments about his states royal family on Facebook.

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. 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As well as a jail term, the charge carries a fine in excess of RM50,000 (9,200).

In May, Johors crown prince Tunku Ismail publicly appealed to police not to arrest anyone else making derogatory comments about him or his family under the multimedia laws.

Last month, Malaysian street artist Fahmi Reza was charged in court for producing a clown caricature of the prime minister that went viral.
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North Korea has said US sanctions imposed on leader Kim Jong Un by the United States are a "declaration of war".

The move by the US was described as the worst hostile act against the country in a statement issued by Pyongyang's foreign ministry carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

The US Treasury Department imposed the sanctions on the North Korean leader and 10 other senior officials on Wednesday. They are set to affect property and other assets within US jurisdiction.

It was the first time that North Korean officials have been blacklisted by the US over human rights violations.

Inside the daily life in North Korea Show all 19 1 /19 Inside the daily life in North Korea Inside the daily life in North Korea People reading a newspaper at the metro station Inside the daily life in North Korea Thoughts of the leaders on the tram. They have about a dozen of these on every tram, all with different thoughts Inside the daily life in North Korea Young people training for a big upcoming festival Inside the daily life in North Korea People at the Pyongyang's annual marathon Inside the daily life in North Korea Many stars on one of the trolleys in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea An intimidating poster in a primary school in North Korea. Inside the daily life in North Korea Solar panels installed on a street lamp. Inside the daily life in North Korea A poster on the window next to one of the venues we visited in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea Kids playing football next to the Arch of Triumph. After a while tourists were allowed to join, so some of us did Inside the daily life in North Korea Class in an educational center in Pyongyang (where people over 17 years old can attend any classes they choose after school, for free) Inside the daily life in North Korea People waving at me during the Pyongyang marathon Inside the daily life in North Korea People having a great time dancing at a public park Inside the daily life in North Korea A metro driver in a metro station in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea Fireworks to mark the birthday of the Eternal President Kim Il Sung on our last night in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea My wonderful tour guide at a public park Inside the daily life in North Korea One of the parks in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea A person rowing some boats for the day at a river in Pyongyang Inside the daily life in North Korea The National War Museum Inside the daily life in North Korea Public park in Pyongyang

Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J Szubin said in a statement: "Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture.

In an initial response to the sanctions Pyongyang urged Washington to withdraw them immediately and threatened to instantly cut off all diplomatic channels if they failed to do so.

A statement said: "The United States has dared to challenge the highest authority of ours, committing the worst-ever hostile act that goes beyond confrontation over the so-called human rights issue. This constitutes an open declaration of a war.

"Now that the US has made a declaration of a war against us, all issues arising from relations with the US will forthwith be handled in accordance with DPRK's [the official acronym for North Korea] wartime laws."

 North Korea party congress

Pyongyang will take "extremely strong countermeasures" in response, it added, but did not provide any more detail.

Speaking to reporters on a visit to the Ukraine on Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry said North Korean officials at all levels needed to "consider the implications" of their actions.

He added that he spoke to his Chinese counterpart on Wednesday and reiterated the importance of China's help in pressuring Kim over his nuclear weapons program.

Earlier this year, Congress passed a new law requiring US President Barack Obama to deliver a report within 120 days on human rights in North Korea.

It designated sanctions for anyone found responsible for human rights violations. Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule the Stalinist state, topped the list.

Inside North Korea, however, Kim is considered infallible and a 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to him by name in connection to human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

Additional reporting by agencies
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A father and his boyfriend are to appear in court charged with raping the formers 10-month-old daughter in south Australia, while the babys mother was on a training course.

The unnamed pair, both aged 50, were arrested in Victoria and sent back to Sydney on Wednesday night after they allegedly sexually abused the child and took naked pictures of her over a three-hour period in April 2015.

Police claim the fathers boyfriend had a Skype conversation with an associate two days after the attack, saying: Her mother was out for a while. We did not have enough time to do everything we wanted to unfortunately, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In a separate conversion prior to the attack, he is alleged to have said: [The father] and I will have time on our own with her. Incest turns me on so much.

During a raid on the couples home in Melbourne, police are said to have found large amounts of illegal material on their computers including child pornography as well as details of incriminating Skype conversations.

Neither the men nor the child can be identified for legal reasons.

The baby was allegedly in the care of the two men while the child's mother was out at a training course for a few hours. Neither of the men were at Waverley Local Court for a hearing on Thursday.

Court documents reveal one of the men is facing seven separate charges, including having sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and using a child under 10 for the production of child abuse material.

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. 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The second man is also charged with having sexual intercourse with a child under 10, inciting the commission of having sexual intercourse with the child, and producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material.

New South Wales detective inspector Peter Yeomans said the child had been taken into care, and described the case as abhorrent.

The sexual assault or alleged sexual assault of a 10-month-old child is beyond belief, he added.

Police in south Australia are continuing their investigation into the case.
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George Osborne's post-Brexit decision to cut corportaion tax as a way of attracting firms to invest in Britain has been criticised by EU leaders as triggering a "race to the bottom".

Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, said Germany had "no intention" of doing likewise after Mr Osborne announced UK corporation tax would be cut by five per cent.

Presenting his 2017 budget in Berlin, Mr Schauble said his country was not opposed to fiscal competition" but that it had to be "fair.

The German finance minister added: "[Mr Osborne] made the announcements and I hope he'll elaborate on them."

The EU's economic affairs commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, has also expressed concern over Mr Osborne's decision, saying: "We should not enter into exacerbated fiscal competition between ourselves."

Mr Osborne announced his plans to cut corporation tax following the Leave vote, emphasising the need for Britain to focus on the horizon and the journey ahead and make the most of the hand we've been dealt.

The chancellor claimed the reduction would make the Britain a super-competitive economy with low rates, signalling to multinational corporations that in spite of Brexit, the UK is still "open for business".

The decision has been criticised for threatening to scupper Britain's negotiation position with the EU, countering the union's drive in recent years to try and harmonise taxes across the bloc.

Former director general of the World Trade Organisation, Pascal Lemy, claimed it was "not the right way psychologically to prepare" for negotiations over tax and trade with the EU.

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Show all 6 1 /6 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you More expensive foreign holidays The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more nito100 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you No immediate change in immigration status The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Higher inflation A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation  a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods  food and clothes being the most obvious  but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Interest rates might rise The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output Getty 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you Did somebody say recession? Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economys future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018 AFP/Getty Images 6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you And we wouldnt even get our money back All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget Getty Images

The decision was also criticised by John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, who described it as a panic tax cut, saying it didn't "send the right message to those countries that wish to establish a co-operative relationship with us in the future".

Mr Schauble said the Brexit vote had not had "any negative effects" nor affected Germany "so far", but added that they would see if that remains the case.

Mr Osborne has proposed to cut the corporation tax from 20 per cent to 15 per cent, but he has given no target date for the cut.

Tax rates currently stand at 33 per cent in France, 30 per cent in Germany, 31 per cent in Italy and 40 per cent in the USA.
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A controversial Swiss law prohibiting Islamic dress has been used to fine a Muslim convert and a businessman, who protested the ban.

The rule, which came into effect in Ticino on Friday, was voted in by referendum and outlaws face-covering headgear.

Nora Illi and Rachid Nekkaz, who are prominent campaigners for the rights of Muslims, walked in the streets of Locarno in full Islamic dress soon after the rule was introduced.

They were stopped by police officers, who fined Mr Nekkaz, a French-Algerian national, 180 (CHF230). Ms Illi, from Zurich, who converted to Islam when she was 19, will receive a penalty of up to 7,700 (CHF10,000).

In 2011, Mr Nekkaz set up a million euro fund to help women all over the world who chose to wear a veil or burka where it is not allowed.

As the protest was being carried out by Ms Illi and Mr Nekkaz, local government officials collected signatures calling for a nationwide ban on the burka.

Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art Show all 4 1 /4 Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art 89458.bin COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art 89461.bin COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art 89468.bin COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART Xanadu reborn: new Museum of Islamic Art 89454.bin COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART

The law, which began as a peoples initiative, received 65 per cent of the vote in Ticino in 2013. The majority of Ticino are Roman Catholic.

It was approved by the local government in November, after the countrys Parliament ruled it did not contradict Swiss federal law.

Georgio Ghiringhelli, who drew up the proposal said the ruling would send a message to Islamic fundamentalists who he claimed were in the country.

Those who want to integrate are welcome, irrespective of their religion, but those who rebuff our values and aim to build a parallel society based on religious laws, and want to place it over our society, are not welcome," he said.
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German lawmakers have voted in favour of a strict new rape bill that will allow sex crime victims to file criminal complaints if they reject their attackers with a clear "no".

The "no means no" law comes after hundreds of alleged sexual assaults took place in the west German city of Cologne during New Year's Eve celebrations.

German minister for women, Manuela Schwesig, said: "In the past there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldn't be punished. The change in the law will help increase the number of victims who choose to press charges, lower the number of criminal prosecutions that are shelved and ensure sexual assaults are properly punished."

According to Justice Ministry figures, only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8 per cent of rape trials result in a conviction. Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didn't resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised or feared greater violence if they objected.

Eva Hoegl, a lawmaker of the centre-left Social Democrats, dismissed criticism that it's difficult to prove in court if someone said "no" when there are no independent witnesses.

She said similar concerns were raised before marital rape was criminalised in 1997. In future, if a member of a group carries out a sexual assault, others in the group can also be prosecuted for failing to intervene.

Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Show all 13 1 /13 Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism outside Cologne Cathedral on 5 January after the assaults Oliver Berg/EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Women protest against sexism in Cologne following the rash of sex attacks on New Year's Eve Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police initially failed to mention the assaults in report the following morning EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police officers patrol in front of the main station of Cologne, Germany AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks German far-right supporters demonstrate at Cologne`s train station (Reuters) Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police used pepper spray to control supporters of Pegida, Hogesa (Hooligans against Salafists) and other right-wing populist groups as they protested against the New Year's Eve sex attacks on 9 January, 2016 in Cologne, Germany Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use a water cannon during a protest march by supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016 Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Police use pepper spray against supporters of anti-immigration right-wing movement Pegida, in Cologne, Germany, January 9, 2016. Reuters Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Artist Mira Moire protests naked in Cologne against the mass sex attacks on New Year's Eve AP Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks A demonstrator holds a sign in German that reads 'No violence against women' during a demonstration in the wake of the sexual assaults on New Year's Eve, outside the cathedeal in Cologne, Germany, 09 January 2016. EPA Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Counter demonstrators hold up a sign reading "Against sexism, against racism" as they protest against a demonstration of the islamophobic movement PEGIDA at the train station in Cologne, Germany, on January 9, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Germany reacts to Cologne New Year's Eve attacks Demonstration by a womens group on Saturday (AP) AP

The measure was criticised as unworkable and possibly unconstitutional by legal experts.

The new law also allows authorities to more easily deport foreigners who are convicted of sexual assaults, a measure seen as a direct result of the Cologne attacks. Prosecutors in Cologne received more than 1,100 criminal complaints following the New Year's assaults, including about 500 allegations involving sexual crimes.

The first trial for sexual assault, against two men from Algeria and Iraq, began yesterday in Cologne.
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Irans supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has branded the US a vicious source of problems in the Middle East that has driven wars and insecurity in the region.

He said the US government was trying to make the world forget Palestine, which he described as the most important problem in the Muslim world, and said Israel will receive a slap.

In a speech for the fast-breaking festivities of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, the supreme leader said: The only way to confront these plots is identifying the real enemy and standing up against it..

They want to deny the existence of a geography and a nation, while Palestine has a history of thousands of years and the Palestinian nation also owns a land and these realities cannot be forgotten, Irans Fars News Agency reports him saying.

He also claimed the US has been practically supporting terrorism and had exacerbated political conflicts in Syria leading to the civil war.

He said: They turned a political conflict into fratricide and then brought some people from different parts to Syria and Iraq and created today's insecurities and problems in the region through their financial and weapons supports and using illegitimate oil revenues.

Addressing recent terrorist attacks in the Middle East, the supreme leader heaped scorn on those who wanted to impose a fake Islam, but added the attacks were the result of actions by the US, UK and Israel.

He said: Unfortunately, this year's Eid al-Fitr in some countries was turned into mourning by those terrorists who want to replace the real Islam with fake Islam at the order of their leaders; and these crimes are the outcome of nurturing terrorists by the security services of the US, the UK and the Zionist regime.

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

US-Iranian relations have improved slightly in recent months after the US repealed sanctions against Iran in exchange for reduced nuclear activity, however, US support for Israel has long been a source of diplomatic division between the countries.
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An Iraqi woman who lived in Baghdad through the entire Iraq War has described her familys hope turning to horror as the city descended into chaos.

The woman, who can only be identified as NM because of fears for her safety, was a 24-year-old student when American and British forces launched their invasion in March 2003.

Two days after she handed in her masters thesis, Operation Iraqi Freedom started and thousands of troops entered the country to topple Saddam Hussein.

While most of Baghdads civilians fled the capital, NMs family decided to stay in their home expecting a short air campaign like the one they withstood in the Gulf War.

 The Iraq War in Numbers

We just thought it was going to be a few exchanges of bombing  we never expected it was going to be that massive and that Saddam was going to be overthrown, she told The Independent.

But then my father turned on the news and we watched one of the statements from the minister of culture and communications and he was shaking and shivering.

He was so scared, you could see it on his face. We knew the army was collapsing.

Days later the electricity was cut, leaving the family struggling to get news from the outside world, but there were soon warnings of coalition forces moving towards Baghdad from the south-east  towards the al-Zafraniya district where they lived.

I could see the planes coming above our house, NM recalled.

The air raids were the worst  we heard all the bombing at night and you would wake up in the morning and it carried on.

When the sirens started, all the family would gather in one room, waiting for death.

All Iraqi families do the same  if we are going to die, we will die together.

The Iraq War: A timeline Show all 16 1 /16 The Iraq War: A timeline The Iraq War: A timeline 11 September 2001 Terrorists belonging to al-Qaeda use hijacked aeroplanes to kill 2,996 people in attacks on the east coast of the US. AP The Iraq War: A timeline 12 September 2001 Tony Blair promises George W Bush that the UK will support the US, whatever the President decides to do. AFP/Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline 25 March 2002 Jack Straw, Foreign Secretary, warns Blair that invading Iraq would be legally dubious. Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline June 2002 Tony Blair asks defence officials to outline options for UK participation in military action against Iraq. afp/getty images The Iraq War: A timeline 24 September 2002 The government publishes a dossier about the threat from Iraqs weapons of mass destruction. A foreword by Tony Blair states that Saddam Husseins military planning allows for some of the WMD to be ready within 45 minutes of an order to use them. It is subsequently alleged that this dossier was sexed up for political reasons. Getty The Iraq War: A timeline 2 October 2002 Congress authorises President Bush to use military force against Iraq. Getty The Iraq War: A timeline 8 November 2002 UN Security Council passes resolution 1441, insisting that weapons inspectors be allowed back into Iraq and calling on the regime to give up its WMD or face the consequences. Simon Walker/AP The Iraq War: A timeline 18 July 2003 David Kelly, an expert in biological warfare, is found dead after being named as the source of quotations used by the BBCs Andrew Gilligan to suggest that the dossier of September 2002 had been sexed up. Lord Hutton is appointed to chair a judicial inquiry into his death. GETTY IMAGES The Iraq War: A timeline 13 December 2003 Saddam Hussein is captured near Tikrit, after nine months in hiding. REUTERS The Iraq War: A timeline 2 March 2004 Bombings in Baghdad and Karbala kill nearly 200 people: the worst attacks since the fall of Saddam. Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline 14 September 2005 Bombs in Baghdad kill 160 people and injure more than 500. EPA The Iraq War: A timeline 30 December 2005 Saddam Hussein is executed. Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline 28 May 2009 The last British combat troops leave Iraq. Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline 24 November 2009 The Chilcot inquiry holds its first public hearing. Getty The Iraq War: A timeline 2 February 2011 The Chilcot inquiry holds its final public hearing. AFP/Getty Images The Iraq War: A timeline 21 January 2015 Sir John Chilcot confirms that his report will not be published before the general election in May 2015. Getty Images

With rumours of advancing troops raping and killing civilians, NMs parents fled with their six daughters and three sons into the countryside in neighbouring Diyala province.

They lived in tents with dozens of other families, sheltering in an orchard with no water or electricity until news came on 9 April that Baghdad had fallen.

The message was to go back home so we went, NM said. When we entered Baghdad we saw coalition forces on checkpoints.

They were fine, they were just standing there greeting people and directing them, but we knew our country was now occupied.

She described her familys happiness at the removal of Saddam and their short-lived hopes for a new and democratic Iraq.

It was a dream, we never thought it would happen, NM said. We had reached a point where everyone thought he was invincible.

But within days of the dictators downfall her optimism started fading as looting and violence swept through the city, and relations between Iraqi civilians and coalition forces soured.

We saw the coalition forces riding through our streets like cowboys, NM said.

British soldiers take cover in Basra in southern Iraq in 2003 (Getty) (Getty Images)

If one bullet was shot towards them they would open fire at everyone, Iraqis were dying every day.

One day after the fall of Baghdad we discovered the truth  that they did not come to save Iraq, they were destroying it.

We knew they had an agenda, and that agenda was oil.

Recommended Read more Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein

She said her faith in the occupiers was destroyed by the interim leaders installed in the Coalition Provisional Authority, many of whom lived in the UK and US for several years, and the catastrophic ruling to ban members of Saddams Baath party from public office and education.

NM had herself been urged to join the party, with membership considered compulsory for advancement, and saw her friends and colleagues among thousands of civil servants, politicians, teachers and doctors removed from their posts.

Everyone was a member, you didnt have to believe in Saddam Hussein, but they banned everyone, she said. I knew good teachers, good people who lost their livelihoods.

As unemployment spiked, crime and disorder spread amid increasing sectarianism that boiled over into virtual civil war.

In June 2003 my favourite professor was killed, NM said. He was an Armenian Christian, he was loved and respected by everyone.

It was lawless, anyone who had a problem with anyone just went and killed them.

We started to see black flags on the walls  sometimes they would say what people were killed for.

A wounded Iraqi woman is helped after several bomb attacks in central Baghdad July 27, 2006 (Reuters)

The jihadist symbols signalled the rise of groups including Abu Musab al-Zarqawis al-Qaeda in Iraq, which would later go through a series of mergers and splits to become Isis.

In the predominantly Shia neighbourhood where NM lived, military checkpoints sprung up but they were not enough to stop bombings at the local market, terror attacks and executions.

In 2007, NM and her mother left their home to see two bodies hanging from electricity poles.

My mum said dont look up, she recalled. We still dont know who they were.

Sir John Chilcots damning report into Britains role in the Iraq War found that at least 150,000 Iraqis died in the conflict and more than a million were displaced.

But the Iraq Body Count project puts the death toll since 2003 at 251,000, including 179,000 civilians who died in aerial bombardment, IED explosions, suicide bombings, executions and murders  almost half in Baghdad.

The group attributes 9,270 deaths solely to US-led forces in the first two years of the conflict, but the vast majority to the lawlessness and insurgency they failed to prevent.

The seven-year Iraq Inquiry found that Tony Blair had been warned of the risk of sectarian fighting, insurgency and the rise of terror groups including al-Qaeda before the invasion but went ahead with inadequate planning and resources to maintain order.

Protesters wearing a former British Prime Minister Tony Blair mask and former U.S. President George W. Bush (AP)

In a damning set of findings, Sir John found that the UK failed to respond to the deteriorating security situation in Baghdad and south-eastern Iraq and did not a have the resources or strategy to protect civilians.

NM said she was angry and disappointed that there was no official call for Mr Blair to face prosecution.

This is how the worth of Iraqis is measured? she said. I hoped that Blair would be held to account and will be on trial not just for going to war in Iraq but the injustice to the Iraqi people.

Throughout the death and chaos, NM managed to complete a PhD and went on to become an academic.

But even her university was not safe from the violence and persecution and she was forced to flee Iraq last year after receiving death threats from a Shia militia.

Now she lives in the UK, desperately following news of the so-called Islamic States almost daily bombings and contacting her family to check they are safe.

Saddam was a tyrant but we were all Iraqis and we had a common enemy, but now you are a Sunni or a Shia or a Kurd or an Arab, NM said.

They have overthrown one Saddam and now we have lots of Saddams. Iraq has gone from bad to worse.
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Yazidi women and girls as young as 12 are being advertised for sale as sex slaves by Isis fighters on the instant messenger apps Whatsapp and Telegram.

The apps have also been used to share databases of photographs so that the women can be identified at checkpoints if they try to escape Isis-controlled territory.

Telegram and the Facebook-owned company Whatsapp each use end-to-end encryption, which means the companies themselves are not able to access the messages of users.

In many of the photos on the messaging services, the women and girls are dressed in fine clothes and are sometimes heavily made-up.

An estimated 3,000 women and girls are currently held captive by Isis, also known as Islamic State or Daesh. The majority were taken prisoner in 2014 when Isis fighters attacked their villages in northern Iraq.

The Yazidis, a religious Kurdish community, have been attacked and killed by Isis in both Iraq and Syria, in what constitutes an act of genocide according to United Nations' investigators.

Attempts have been made to rescue the women, but many who do so are killed, according to the Associated Press.

An enslaved Yazidi woman appears on a messenger service (AP)

Ahmed Burjus, the director of Yazda in the UK, an organisation that was formed to support the Yazidi community in the aftermath of the 2014 genocide, told The Independent: "We condemn the inaction of social media websites such as Telegram, Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp, for allowing the trade of the Yazidi women and children.

"Social media websites [such as] Twitter and Facebook have not responded to requests to remove materials such as auction pages [selling] Yazidi women.

"[Isis] are also insulting Yazidi families everyday through these apps by sending pictures of their kidnapped members."

In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra Show all 4 1 /4 In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra The iconic Temple of Bel prior to being blown up by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in September 2015 and the remains of the temple after Syrian troops recaptured the ancient site In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra he Arc de Troimphe (Triumph's Arc) prior to being destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group jihadists in October 2015 and the remains of the iconic structure after government troops recaptured the ancient city In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra The once vibrant museum is now full of empty displays after the destruction of artefacts In Pictures: Isis loses control of Palmyra Corbis The Monumental Arch is among the many lost structures and treasures Corbis

Mr Burjus added the organisation was concerned Yazidi children were being used as a recruitment tool by Isis on social media. Multiple pictures have emerged of Yazidi children posed, raising index fingers in apparent allegiance to Isis.

"A week ago a Yazidi child called his family through Whatsapp and told his mother: 'You are Kafir [ a non-Muslim] and we are coming to kill you.'

"Social media apps are the way Isis is recruiting hundreds of young Muslims every month."

Whatsapp said they do what they can to fight extremist messaging, including disabling accounts once they become aware of the activity.

Matt Steinfeld, a spokesperson for Whatsapp, told the Associated Press: "We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and disable accounts when provided with evidence of activity that violates our terms.

"We encourage people to use our reporting tools if they encounter this type of behaviour."
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Saudi Arabian officials say 19 people have been arrested, including 12 Pakistani nationals, following three bomb attacks that struck the country on Monday.

The Kingdoms interior ministry said in a statement on Thursday that authorities had also identified suspects in two of the three attacks.

A suicide bomber who killed four security officers and wounded five near a mosque in the western city of Medina on Monday was named as 26-year-old Saudi national Na'ir al-Nujiaidi al-Balawi.

 Medina mosque attacked

The ministry said three suicide bombers took part in a second attack, also on Monday, outside a Shia mosque in the eastern region of Qatif, in which no civilians or police were wounded.

They have been named as Abdulrahman Saleh Mohammed, Ibrahim Saleh Mohammed and Abdelkarim al-Hesni, and are all understood to be in their early 20s.

On Tuesday, officials identified the suicide bomber who struck outside the US consulate in Jiddah in a third attack on the same day. The attacker was named as 34-year-old Abdullah Qalzar Khan, a Pakistani resident of the Kingdom who arrived 12 years ago to work as a driver.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the Jiddah and Medina attacks, nor the attack at the Shia mosque. The nature of the attacks and their apparently coordinated timing suggested Isis could be to blame.

Additional reporting by Associated Press
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy is far more prepared for the Rim of the Pacific naval exercises this year than it was in 2014, the first time that China participated.

Vice-Admiral Nora Tyson, commander of the US Third Fleet and the Combined Task Force commander of RIMPAC 2016, said she believes that China's second participation shows better preparation.

"I think the staff better understood the process and understood what the planning process was, and therefore was better prepared for it in 2016 than 2014," she said.

The PLA Navy fleet for RIMPAC 2016 is composed of five ships: the missile destroyer Xi'an, the missile frigate Hengshui, the supply ship Gaoyouhu, the hospital ship Peace Ark and the submarine rescue vessel Changdao. Three helicopters, a marine squad and a diving squad are also participating, with 1,200 officers and soldiers taking part.

The size of the crew is smaller than only those of the United States and Canada among the 26 nations participating in the exercises.

Wang Sheqiang, commanding officer of the Chinese fleet Task Force 153, described RIMPAC 2016 as a pageant for the world's navies.

"China's participation this time will help strengthen the professional exchange and practical cooperation between the Chinese Navy and other navies, help enhance the friendship among the participating nations and help build a new type of military-to-military relationship between China and the United States," he said.

During the exercises, which began on June 30 and will conclude on Aug 4, the PLA Navy fleet will participate in drills including gunfire, damage control and rescue, anti-piracy, search and rescue, and diving and submarine rescue.

RIMPAC also will enhance China's capability to deal with threats in nontraditional security fields and to ensure and promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Wang said.

Vice-Admiral Tyson, the first woman to lead a US Navy fleet, said a country is usually invited the first time as an observer, while the second time it brings its ships and aircraft.

"Having participated as an observer and having participated by bringing ships and aircraft, then they may be considered for a leadership position," she told the opening news conference for RIMPAC 2016 on Tuesday at S-1 Pier of Pearl Harbor, where the participating navies have assembled.

Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, host of this year's exercises, agreed. "You don't want to push nations too early to play too big a role within the structure of the RIMPAC," said Swift.

He said the participating nations are joined by a shared interest in maritimecooperation in the Pacific, "where we are all locals, all locals here at RIMPAC, and that's regardless of geographic size, military might or economic strength".

A total of 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in the exercises in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
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Inside a ramshackle tent, seven days after she was married, Fayrouz Ahmed Haider softly recounted how she ran away from her 25-year-old husband when he tried to force her to have sex.

It would have been better if my marriage had been delayed, she said.

Fayrouz is 11.

Child marriages have long been woven into Yemens social fabric, driven largely by poverty and ancient traditions, as in many parts of the world. But before the civil war began last year, international and local activists had made progress toward ending the practice. They were campaigning for a law setting 18 as the minimum age for marriage and for girls to remain in school.

Now, those efforts have stalled. As the war grinds on, community leaders and aid workers are noticing that more and more girls, some as young as 8, are being married off to help their desperate families. Tens of thousands of families have been displaced, losing their homes and possessions.

Fathers are thinking, If I have a daughter at or near puberty, I should try to get her married as fast as possible to lessen expenses,  said Ahmad al-Qurashi, the director of SEYAJ, a well-known Yemeni nonprofit organization working to protect children.

Fayrouzs mother needed a blood transfusion. The family sold their belongings after fleeing airstrikes in the northern city of Saada last year. But the money raised was not enough to pay their debts to the hospital and relatives.

Their shy daughter, a shade under 4 feet tall, became their only source of income.

We needed the money from the dowry, said her father, Ahmed Haider Sayed. Or else, I would never have married her off.

The rise in child unions is the latest, and among the least visible, indicator of the wars disproportionate impact on children. Across this nation, the Middle Easts poorest, more than 1,000 children have been killed  nearly one-third of all civilian deaths  since the conflict began in March 2015, the U.N. Childrens Fund says. About 1,500 children have lost limbs or have been otherwise maimed.

Sixty percent of child casualties were from airstrikes by a U.S.-backed coalition led by Saudi Arabia, according to the United Nations, which last month placed the kingdom on a blacklist of countries violating childrens rights in conflicts. But after Riyadh denounced the figure as exaggerated, the United Nations removed it from the list.

The coalition is battling an alliance of Shiite Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who gained influence in the chaotic aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings of five years ago. The Saudis and their allies are seeking to restore Yemens government to power.

Today, hospital wards are filled with children suffering from bullet and shrapnel wounds. Others are severely malnourished. Thousands have died from hunger or preventable diseases. Children are widely used as soldiers or to man checkpoints. More than 1,600 schools have shut down.

Less than two years ago, Fayrouzs future looked more promising. She was getting an education. Her father was working as a laborer in Saada. Yemen was in a humanitarian crisis long before the war began, and aid agencies were providing food, medicine and other assistance for their community.

In January 2015, after pressure from activists, Yemen set a minimum age of 18 for marriage in a new constitution. But then the war began and the Houthis did not ratify the document. Today, Yemen still doesnt have a legal minimum age for marriage.

One charity, the Danish Refugee Council, recruited community leaders in Saada to raise awareness about the dangers girls face when they marry young and become mothers. Yemen has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world, with girls as young as 12 dying at childbirth, aid workers informed the residents.

We tried to prevent child marriages, and there was some impact, said Abdo Ali Salim, an elder who worked with the charity. The community knew all the bad effects.

But the conflict has forced most international aid agencies to curtail their operations. Funding for local groups assisting children, including SEYAJ, has shrunk dramatically. Even the United Nations is struggling to obtain funds as more publicized conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere compete for donor money.

14-year-old Fatma with her husband, 21-year-old Zaid Ahmed Ali (Sudarsan Raghavan)

The efforts of courts, police and social service organizations to protect women and children have also been disrupted by the war.

In the absence of the rule of law, assaults, rape and other forms of harm to females have also risen. Gender-based violence, including child marriage, has noticeably increased in Yemen due to the conflict, although the situation before was already of concern, said Fahmia Al-Fotih, an analyst with the U.N. Population Fund in Sanaa.

When their home was bombed and their livelihoods shattered, Fayrouz and her family fled to Khamer, a drab, sandy town 52 miles north of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which has attracted thousands displaced by the war. There, their problems worsened. Few aid agencies came to help. Families began sending their children into the towns center to beg for food, community leaders said. As desperation grew, girls became a commodity.

On a recent day, eight community elders sat in a camp, some chewing khat, the narcotic leaf favored by most Yemeni men. Seven have married off their girls this year.

Even Salim, the elder who worked at the charity, is preparing to marry off his two daughters, ages 13 and 14.

I want to feel secure of their futures, if only for economic reasons, he said.

Mohammad Ali al-Ansi married off his two girls, ages 13 and 14, in April.

My heart is bleeding inside, but I was forced to do this, he said. I have no job. Its difficult for me to feed my 10 children.

He received $1,600 in dowry for each of his girls, he said.

But after paying for their weddings and meeting other debts, the money has nearly run out.

If things get worse, theres no doubt Ill marry off my 12-year-old daughter, Ansi said.

Dressed in a traditional black head-to-toe abaya, Fatma waited for her 21-year-old husband, Zaid, to return home. She is Ansis 14-year-old daughter.

Outside their tent, boys kicked a ragged ball and girls skipped rope. But Fatma spent her day cooking and washing clothes for her in-laws.

When asked the name of her husbands family, Fatma didnt know it.

She remembers her father telling her and her sister, Amal, that the family needed money. She remembers that Amal was in tears because her new husband was taking her to another region. The two sisters have not seen each other since their weddings.

I am too young to be married, Fatma said. I want to study. I want to learn how to write.

I have sacrificed for my family, she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Minutes later, her husband arrived at the tent, and Fatma went silent. He said Fatma was at a good age to marry. When asked if she could attend school, he shook his head no.

Shes a little too old for school, he said.

Of the experiences of all the recently married girls in the camp, Fayrouzs stands out.

When she got married, she was scared, said Thabit Gaid, an elder. This is a crime. Shes still a kid. I dont believe shes 11. She looks more like 10.

Community elders were so concerned that they made Fayrouzs husband sign a document saying he would not consummate their marriage until she reached puberty. He agreed and paid $2,000 in dowry, with a promise to pay $400 more at a later date.

On the wedding day, Fayrouz said, she was thrilled to be the center of attention.

I was going to live a life like my mom and dad, she recalled. I was happy.

But that changed when they reached her husbands home near Saada. That night, he started to flirt with her, she said. Then he ordered her to get into his bed. Scared, she ran into a bedroom and locked herself inside.

He wanted to sleep with me, Fayrouz said. But I ran so fast. I called my father and he called my grandfather.

Her grandfather, who lived in the same town, came immediately.

They acted innocent in front of my grandfather, Fayrouz recalled. When he arrived, I was dressed, packed and ready to leave.

They returned to Khamer. But shes still married. Theres no way her parents can afford to return the dowry money.

Shes staying with us until she reaches puberty, said Fayrouzs father, adding that her in-laws will pay the remaining $400 only after she returns.

Washington Post
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The topic of sex has always been somewhat out-of-bounds in Ireland, but thats all set to change with the launch of a groundbreaking new university-taught course in the country.

Dublin City University (DCU) has announced it will be offering a programme in sexuality and sexual health education for the first time come September.

Recommended Read more University offers gender neutral sexual consent classes to students

The institution announced on its website the courses content will focus on developing knowledge around the diversity of sexualities, culture and sexual health education and promotion.

The programme will also work to equip participants with appropriate, accurate, evidence-based, up-to-date knowledge, and free from discrimination, gender bias, and stigma.

DCU said the launch had come shortly after a national sexual health strategy highlighted how the importance of promoting sexual health, wellbeing, and reducing negative sexual health outcomes could only be achieved by high-quality training for relevant professionals.

The same strategy also found over 35 per cent of women had experienced an unplanned pregnancy, and that the highest rate of STIs was among those under the age of 25 and sexually active gay men.

Furthermore, negative sexual health outcomes were found to be prevalent in early school leavers, young people in care or aftercare, people with disabilities or mental health challenges, and in the LGBT community.

The idea for the course came after discussions between lecturers and students on DCUs Masters degree course in sexuality studies, reports the Irish Examiner.

DCU programme chair and lecturer in sociology and sexuality studies, Dr Mel Duffy, told the site: When we talked about the education the students had, they reported having had very minimal sexual education at second level.

Denise Proudfoot, a lecturer in Nursing at DCU, added: The course will deal with everything from STIs to contraception and cervical smears.

Recommended Read more Bristol University students react to watching porn in experiment

Dr Duffy also acknowledged how society has changed enormously in the last number of decades, adding: But significant work still remains with regards to discussing our sexual health, sexual identity, and gender identity in an open and transparent manner.

Research has shown embarrassment is still a major factor when it comes to discussing sex and sexuality, and this is of significant concern when it comes to educating our future generations. This course will approach these topics free from stigma or bias, delivering up-to-date and evidence-based content. It is about providing the knowledge and is of significant interest to professionals working in this field, but so too to those who will have to deal with these topics - in any capacity - whether it is in a school, home, or work setting.

Anita Ghafoor-Butt, training and development manager with the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) - which helped to devise the course - added: This programme provides an integrated and best practice approach to sexual health within a quality assured framework at a third level institution. The IFPA will also facilitate delivery programme modules, in partnership with DCU, and will provide practical and evidence-based learning on sexual health and wellbeing.
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Looking over the mirror-still water from the cabin, I reflected that while ocean cruises are big business and with river cruises becoming more popular too, lake cruises remain a world apart  capturing a particular tranquillity that you dont get on the open sea or on waterways.

We had flown into Helsinki, capital of a country with 188,000 lakes and a proud tradition of shipbuilding, and stayed at the Indigo, a hotel converted from a shipping office near the seafront.

From the coast, we headed inland on a four-hour train journey north-east to Savonlinna, which sits on a narrow isthmus in the sprawling lake Saimaa. Julys opera festival was in full swing, and the sound of a soprano trailed across the water from a harbour-front restaurant hosting an afternoon recital.

Before dinner, there was time for a swim, so from a sandy beach I plunged into the dark, whisky-coloured waters in front of Olavinlinna castle, where the festivals main performances are held, then emerged for a warming sauna overlooking the harbour.

The next morning our boat was waiting  one of several wooden craft that sail from mid-June to mid-August (summer days are long but transient here)  to Kuopio and back. The MS Puijo was built as a tug in 1914, when Finland was still a grand duchy of the Tsarist empire  only next year does Finland celebrate the centenary of its independence. Before it was ceded to Russia in 1809, the country was part of the Swedish empire for nearly a millennium, and the 15th-century Olavinlinna castle was one of its eastern defences, built to protect the unstable border. As the drawbridge opened to let the Puijo through, we crossed into a medieval battleground. Our own fears were a little more prosaic, however  dark clouds were looming. It was time for coffee and pastries inside.

Bridge to Olavinlinna castle located in Savonlinna (Shutterstock)

We gazed out of the ships large windows over the ever-changing landscape. Although Saimaa is Europes fourth largest lake, it is scattered with an archipelago of 14,000 islands, so at times in this Moomin-esque landscape we were cruising through narrow, rocky channels, while at others we could scarcely see the lakes furthest shores.

Puijo was navigated  Swallows and Amazons-style  with leading marks showing the captain where to go as we approached a narrow passage. These two bright white triangles, clearly visible against the green forest walls, revealed the route when aligned.

It was at stops in these channels, by villages of wooden houses painted in traditional colours of red and white, that most of our fellow passengers came and went at the nine ports of call. The Puijo can accommodate 150, but even in peak season there were rarely more than 30 of us on board. As Europes least densely populated country, three-quarters of Finland is covered by the forest that dominated the scenery around us, its mossy floor roamed by bear, elk, wolves and the occasional human berry-picker.

While we tucked into a fish lunch, we scanned the horizon for fellow pescatarians  seals. Finland is home to one of the worlds three remaining colonies of fresh-water seals, a relic of the ice age. Even as late as 12,000 years ago an ice sheet more than two kilometres thick covered the country. Not only did the retreating ice leave the seals stranded inland, it created the bewitching, fissured landscape that we were travelling through, although the seals proved more elusive.

The MS 'Puijo' (Colin Nicholson)

Later, we would raise our eyes from our novels to point out the odd lonely village, a yacht, children paddling at the beach of their mokki  the lakeside cottage that almost every Finn escapes to over summer weekends  or an interesting rock formation. After sailing some 150 kilometres north, the cathedral spires of Kuopio, came into sight. We could have slept on board, but the Puijos four cabins are on the small side, so we opted for a hotel with en-suite sauna instead.

Though we arrived at 7.30pm, we had plenty of time to look around town. It never gets properly dark at this latitude in summer, with just a few hours of dusk-dawn  as it is known in Finland  around midnight in a landscape where one day merges into another. From its landmark revolving restaurant tower, diners can watch as the sun scarcely dips below the horizon before rising again.

Most passengers do the cruise one-way, with the option of breaking the journey at Savonlinna by visiting nearby attractions such as Punkaharju, a beautiful spit of land that is home to Lusto, a surprisingly engaging forestry museum; or Kerimaki, home to the worlds largest wooden church.

The tranquil waters of Lake Saimaa (Shutterstock)

But with our books only half-read, we boarded the Puijo again the next morning and let ourselves be carried by the water. At times the boat travelled sideways like a rally car as it fought strong currents. But inside all was calm, and from the locks that link this maze of lakes, we gazed at rapids that threatened to engulf fishermen, up to their waders in water, and kayakers, who followed their leader like ducklings. Even in still waters, doughty tugs pulling long islands of timber seemed to be reduced to a standstill, as the Puijo pushed on.

When we approached Savonlinna, the drawbridge that would later take us to a performance of Boris Godunov opened for us once again. It was to be a dark, brooding opera that befitted the backdrop of a castle and with its Russian history, reminded us of the tumultuous background of a now serene and tranquil region.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Helsinki is served by Finnair (0870 241 4411; finnair.co.uk), BA (0344 493 0787; ba.com) and Norwegian (0843 3780 888; norwegian.com/uk).

The capital is linked to Savonlinna by train (vr.fi) or plane (airlink.fi).

Cruising there

Sailings on the MS Puijo (00 358 44 766 2460; mspuijo.fi) from Savonlinna to Kuopio or back run from 20 June to 13 August and cost from 95pp one-way or 150 return not including food or drink. It costs an additional 30 to stay overnight. The boat leaves Savonlinna at 9am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Kuopio on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Staying there

Hotel Indigo Helsinki (00 358 200 48105; hotelindigo.com). Doubles from 155

Hotel Seurahuone and Tott in Savonlinna and Puijonsarvi in Kuopio (00 358 20 1234 600; sokoshotels.fi). Doubles from 120

Visiting there

The Savonlinna festival (operafestival.fi) runs from 8 July to 6 August.

More information

visitfinland.com
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Want to draw some comfort from two of the greatest tragedies to befall this country in the past couple of decades?

Im talking, of course, about Brexit and the Iraq War, which has managed to temporarily knock the former from the top of the news thanks to the much-delayed publication of the Chilcot report.

Some time ago I was discussing Brexit with a colleague and they put forward a scenario where the UK did quite well outside the EU as a sort of big Switzerland. To do that Britain would, of course, have to remain in the single market, but lets presume that we do and consider some of its virtues.

Switzerland has its challenges. Its banking sector fared no better than ours in the aftermath of the financial crisis, and it has taken quite a few knocks (deservedly) over its use by wealthy individuals to hide their assets from the taxman. Its economy also took a nasty hit when the Swiss Central Bank performed an unexpected volte face on the Swiss franc.

Brexit reactions  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions  in pictures Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

However, the forecasts for Switzerland are for modest growth, as opposed to our impending recession, and it remains a much richer country than the UK based on per capita GDP. The countrys neutrality doesnt hurt when it comes to that; the Swiss dont involve themselves in wars, even when they arguably should (see: 1939-1945).

Most of the time, when people discuss wars, they (understandably) focus on the human cost. But the economic cost is also quite considerable. Back in 2010, the estimated cost of the UKs involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan was a staggering 18bn, just for military operations on top of the normal defence budget. And even that was according to official figures that did not cover some considerable expenses, such as troops' basic salaries, or the significant cost of providing long-term care for the seriously wounded. You can also add hundreds of millions of pounds on aid and security for UK officials working out there.

And so it goes on. Wars are ruinously expensive undertakings. A Britain outside the EU, intent on becoming a big Switzerland, should be less likely to get involved in them  at least in theory. Well have less financial flexibility for a start, not to mention our reduced international prestige. Then there is that Chilcot report, with all its recommendations about what should happen before we embark on any future cavalier undertakings, plus a population that seems to want its leaders to put Britains interests at the front of the queue. Which presumably means that, as well as turning our backs on Europe, theyd prefer it if they werent so keen to play poodle to the American pitbull. Involving oneself in other peoples conflicts wouldnt appear to tally with the will of the (Brexit) people.

 Chilcot report: Key points from the Iraq inquiry in 90 seconds

So well sit outside the EU, adopt a position of neutrality, concentrate on banking, cuckoo clocks and chocolate, or our own equivalent, without the stain of any Nazi gold in our banks or the cost of any future conflicts. Hooray.

Hang on, whats that? Theresa May, the favourite in the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister, wants a Commons vote on Trident  a 15bn white elephant that we can never use. She claims she wants it because shes worried about Russia and North Korea. And, more to the point, she still wants invitations to all the big countries parties.

Oh dear. Better shelve those dreams of being big Switzerland. It looks like well still be (poor) Little Britain after all.
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The UK is finally catching up with its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies by inching ever closer to becoming a fully-fledged tax haven. And thats without any of the sunshine to ease the pain.

Despite ongoing concern over corporate tax avoidance, George Osborne has announced that he plans to slash corporation tax from 20 to 15 per cent. The aim of the measure is to signal to multinational corporations that in spite of the uncertainty over Brexit, the UK is open for business. The new rate, if implemented, would give the UK the lowest corporation tax of any major economy.

In response to the announcement, the OECDs head of tax Pascal Saint-Amans said: "A further step in that direction would really turn the UK into a tax haven type of economy. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has similarly warned that Osborne is "offering up Britain as a tax haven".

This isnt just political point-scoring. According to Nicholas Shaxson, the definition of a tax haven is a country which offers low tax rates, refuses to cooperate with other jurisdictions in exchanging information, and where local politics is beholden to financial services  which sounds an awful lot like the UK right now. Back in 2007, when corporation tax came in at 20 per cent, the IMF identified Britain as an offshore jurisdiction. The lower rate set by Osborne this week is sure to compound the problem.

This would be of great benefit to the UK if companies taking up residence here meant increased business investment, GDP, jobs and tax revenues in the long term. However, rather than creating a competitive economy, as the Chancellor hopes, the lower corporation tax levies wont increase labour productivity or efficient use of resources.

 Osborne abandons 2020 budget surplus goal

According to the New Economics Foundation: The UK already has one of the lowest corporation tax rates of all the major developed economies. Yet since the 2008 financial crisis, the UK has continued to suffer low growth in productivity, and a lack of sufficient fixed capital investment. There is no serious economic evidence that suggests lowering tax rates for business actually leads to improved private sector performance and overall economic competitiveness. In fact the evidence is inconclusive with some studies even suggesting that the opposite may be true."

In fact, any gains would be restricted to Londons financial sector where high-value services from the city are bought and the highest paid jobs are located. The whole point of a tax haven is that the local economy is kept from benefiting from the financial fertile off-shore rules. In fact, this is the measure used by the IMF to spot tax havens.

Ordinary workers will have to pay higher income tax to compensate for low corporation tax. It is worth noting even at this point that income tax stands at 20 to 45 per cent, compared to the 20 per cent rate for corporation tax. This means an ever-increasing shift in income from workers to multinational companies. It also means cuts in government spending and therefore public services, a tune weve all heard before. The Tax Justice Network told The Independent: "It will create a bigger wedge between the rates of corporate and personal income tax, providing even greater incentive for high-income people to re-label their income as corporate income. That in turn, of course, will reduce income tax revenues  which is likely to result in lower revenues for public services, and a more unequal income distribution. People who voted for Brexit in part as a response to economic marginalisation, and the sense that public services were under great pressure, are likely to find this policy exacerbates exactly those issues."

The policy would also serve to increase inequality globally as countries compete to offer the lowest tax rates in order to attract investment opportunities.

In the words of ActionAid: Poor countries are the big losers in this race to the bottom as they are particularly dependent on corporation tax. Healthcare, schools and other key public services are left starved of resources as they are deprived of tax revenues, hitting women and children hardest. Osbornes efforts to turn us into a tax haven are hardly revolutionary  and they can hardly be expected to benefit anyone except the elite few.
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The most important thing is Tony Blair insists he made his decision in good faith. So it hardly matters that a two-and-a-half-million-word official report finds him responsible for incalculable global carnage, because he says he meant well. Its just like if you drive the wrong way up the motorway and cause 40 deaths in a pile-up, you havent done anything wrong if you thought you were going the right way.

When asked whether he regrets going to war, Blair repeated that hes not sorry for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. But that wasnt the question. Its similar to Oscar Pistorius answering a question about whether he regrets his decision to shoot by saying I dont regret getting rid of that bathroom door, Id been meaning to get it replaced for months. In any case, even the man filmed in 2003 smashing Saddams statue with a hammer said in an interview: If I met Tony Blair I would spit in his face.

Yet there were still MPs who voted for the war, who yesterday claimed the people of Iraq were grateful for Blairs actions. Maybe theyre right, and spitting in your face is one of those customs that means different things in different countries  when you come back from Iraq drenched in gob it means they adore you.

One of these MPs, Ann Clwyd, said yesterday it was too easy to make judgements with hindsight. But the Chilcot report says the outcome of the Iraq War did not require the benefits of hindsight, as every aspect of the disaster was explicitly identified before the invasion.

 Tony Blair: Soldiers did not die in vain

One possible explanation is Blair and his supporters were responding to the wrong report: theyve read the FA dossier on why England lost at the Euros by mistake. Tomorrow Blair will say: I had no way of knowing the growth of al-Qaeda would be assisted by playing Wayne Rooney in midfield.

Still, we were all duped I suppose  except for the millions of us that went on marches, and Nelson Mandela, and France, and the Pope, and the chief weapons inspector, and Africa, and most of the United Nations, and the Middle East, and Robin Cook. But no one could be expected to believe those idiots over the Murdoch press and George W Bush.

Blair insisted, before the invasion, that Saddam could prevent war if he complied with his and President Bushs demands. But the demands were to give up weapons of mass destruction, the weapons that we now know for certain he didnt have. So the only way Saddam could have complied, would be to make a pile of weapons of mass destruction and then destroy them, while Blair and Bush stood over him screaming hurry up, heres some plutonium, make more weapons otherwise you wont have enough to scrap.

We also know that while Blair claimed Saddam could avoid war, hed promised Bush: Ill be with you, whatever. And as Bush appeared to be committed to war, both of Blairs statements couldnt be true.

The way round this was to prove Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, whether he did or not. So he lapped up any intelligence that suggested that, no matter how crackpot, and paraded his dossier that included parts of a students essay found on the internet, and a description of chemical weapons copied from a Hollywood film starring Nicholas Cage.

He could have been handed an entire dossier of film plots and happily have read it as proof, announcing: Saddam also has a Death Star, and talking apes that can steal all the bananas from Cyprus in 45 minutes, and plans within the next five years to chase singing nuns across Austria.We have no choice but to invade.

The bulk of Labour MPs, desperate to please their boss, went along with it. Some, along with Blair himself, say theyd do the same again.

You have to admire people who, when presented with a report detailing how they voted for the biggest military catastrophe of the age, causing oceans of abject misery, can reply: Thank you very much. And Id do it all again if I had to, because I have a strong sense of duty. This is why its understandable that this week  of all weeks  many of those MPs are demanding Labour gets rid of its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who opposed the Iraq War and predicted the destruction, and replaces him with someone who went along with the cobblers pilloried in a damning report.

Corbyn may have been proved right on Iraq, but hes hopeless on important matters  such as how he does up his tie. One MP who supported the war even heckled Corbyn. I didnt catch his remark exactly, but presumably he yelled: how dare you be vindicated rather than exposed as a war-mongering sycophantic idiot.

Blair himself, to get over the stress of helping to cause the odd hundred thousand perish here and there, went on to earn vast sums advising dictators such as the President of Kazakhstan. So to be fair, when he says he doesnt regret the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, maybe he does really. Because if Saddam was still around, Blair would probably be charging him 50,000 a day for his advice.

Almost every figure who had to participate in the invasion, whether political or military, accepts it was an avoidable fiasco, and now theres a giant report to confirm it. Theres just Blair, still ranting incoherently in a corner, with no interest in the truth or the consequences of his actions, his words driven solely by personal bitterness, like the final racist juror in 12 Angry Men.

Still, he used to pray with Bush, so maybe one day theyll descend, hand-in-hand to an eternity of damnation, and Blair will turn and smile at his friend, whispering: See, Im a man of my word, Ill be with you whatever, forever.
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It has been a difficult couple of weeks for all of us in the Labour Party. Every day I read reports of Labour MPs tearing into our party in full public view, instead of tackling the crisis facing our country. Its almost enough to make me despair for the future of our party and the future for the UK. But throughout it all, I have been reassured by the calm and determined leadership shown by Jeremy Corbyn.

Ive always known that Corbyn is a leader - not one cast from the typical macho mould, but a democratic and thoughtful leader whose strength comes from his ability to listen and understand peoples concerns. But this week I didnt just see him as a leader; I saw him as something else.

I saw him as Prime Minister.

When I heard the conclusions of the Chilcot inquiry, it brought back all the anger that I had towards Tony Blair for taking us to war in Iraq. Im sure that Corbyn  who has devoted his life to opposing war  felt the same. But instead of saying I told you so, or settling scores in the Labour Party, he provided much needed moral leadership. Corbyn spoke to the country as a whole, to the families of our soldiers whose lives were needlessly lost, to the Iraqis whose country was torn apart and to the millions of British citizens whose democracy was undermined by a decision to go to war taken on unreliable information.

Recommended Read more Chilcot has underlined exactly why Labour needs Jeremy Corbyn

Meanwhile, David Cameron and the Tory Party were trying their hardest to avoid responsibility. They are trying to pretend that Iraq is a Labour Party problem, despite 139 out of 166 of their MPs voting for war at the time (Cameron included). Similarly, there are some within Labour who are refusing to hold their hands up and admit they made a mistake. Worst of all are the MPs who tried to use this day of national reflection to attack their elected leader: Ian Austin MPs heckling of his own leader with, Shut up! while Corbyn made a speech criticising the war makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I watched Corbyn apologise for the Iraq War on behalf of Labour, and my eyes welled up. This period is a stain on the proud history of my party, and the democratic traditions of this country. Jeremys apology will finally allow us to move forward.

The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Show all 11 1 /11 The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He called Hezbollah and Hamas friends True. In a speech made to the Stop the War Coalition in 2009, Mr Corbyn called representatives from both groups friends after inviting them to Parliament. He later told Channel 4 he wanted both groups, who have factions designated as international terror organisations, to be part of the debate for the Middle East peace process. I use (the word friends) in a collective way, saying our friends are prepared to talk, he added. Does it mean I agree with Hamas and what it does? No. Does it mean I agree with Hezbollah and what they do? No. Reuters The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn thinks the death of Osama bin Laden was a tragedy Partly false. David Cameron used this as a line of attack at the Conservative Party conference but appears to have left out all context from Mr Corbyns original remarks. In an 2011 interview on Iranian television, the then-backbencher said the fact the al-Qaeda leader was not put on trial was the tragedy, continuing: The World Trade Center was a tragedy, the attack on Afghanistan was a tragedy, the war in Iraq was a tragedy. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is haunted by the legacy of his evil great-great-grandfather False. A Daily Express expose revealed that the Labour leaders ancestor, James Sargent, was the despotic master of a Victorian workhouse. Addressing the report at the Labour conference, Mr Corbyn said he had never heard of him before, adding: I want to take this opportunity to apologise for not doing the decent thing and going back in time and having a chat with him about his appalling behaviour. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn raised a motion about pigeon bombs in Parliament This one is true. On 21 May 2004, Mr Corbyn raised an early day motion entitled pigeon bombs, proposing that the House register being appalled but barely surprised that MI5 reportedly proposed to load pigeons with explosives as a weapon. The motion continued: The House believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again. It was not carried. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He rides a Communist bicycle False. A report in The Times referred to Mr Corbyn, known for his cycling, riding a Chairman Mao-style bicycle earlier this year. Less thorough journalists might have referred to it as just a bicycle, but no, so we have to conclude that whenever we see somebody on a bicycle from now on, there goes another supporter of Chairman Mao, he later joked. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn 'Jeremy Corbyn will appoint a special minister for Jews' False so far. The Sun report in December was allegedly based on a rumour passed to the paper by a Daily Express columnist who has written pieces critical of the Labour leader in the past. The minister did not materialise in his shadow cabinet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn wishes Britain would abolish its Army False. Another gem from The Sun took comments made at a Hiroshima remembrance parade in August 2012 where Mr Corbyn supported Costa Ricas move to abolish it armed forces. Wouldnt it be wonderful if every politician around the worldabolished the army and took pride in the fact that they dont have an army, he added. The caveat that every politician must take the step suggests Mr Corbyn does not support UK disarmament just yet. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn stole sandwiches meant for veterans False. The Guido Fawkes blog claimed that the Labour leader took sandwiches meant for veterans at at Battle of Britain memorial service in September but a photo later emerged showing him being handed one by Costa volunteers, who later confirmed they were given to all guests. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He missed the induction into the Queens privy council True. After much speculation about Mr Corbyns republican views and willingness to bow to the monarch, his office confirmed that he did not attend the official induction to the privy council because of a prior engagement, but did not rule out joining the body. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem. Partly true. The Labour leader was filmed standing in silence as God Save the Queen was sung at a Battle of Britain remembrance service but will reportedly sing it in future. Mr Corbyn was elusive on the issue in an interview, saying he would show memorials respect in the proper way, but sources said he would sing the anthem at future occasions. The most ridiculous claims made about Jeremy Corbyn He is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cheese True. The group lists its purpose as the following: To increase awareness of issues surrounding the dairy industry and focus on economic issues affecting the dairy industry and producers.

But I also imagined what would have happened had history been different; had it been someone else standing there. We could have had a statement from someone who not only voted for the war but someone who opposed there being an inquiry in the first place. There are plenty of MPs to choose from who voted both of those ways. Perhaps, if they were on the stand, they would have apologised; perhaps they would have shirked responsibility. Either way, their credibility has been irreparably damaged.

As Tony Benn once said, politicians can be split into two categories. There are the signposts who say This is the right direction whatever the weather. And whether you agree or disagree, you know where they stand. The other group are the weathervanes whose position alters with the change of wind. Politics needs more signposts; Im grateful that we have one in Jeremy Corbyn.

 Jeremy Corbyn apologises on behalf of the Labour Party

The last week has seen Jeremy and much of the membership attacked endlessly by media commentators and some of our MPs. I have been among those supporting Party members democratic rights.

Last night, I helped to organise a Momentum rally in support of Jeremy, his ideas and the movement behind them. Over 2000 people attended at less than 48 hours notice. I wanted Jeremy to speak, but he was unavailable. He must have felt pressure to focus on the internal wrangling in the party, and to shore up his support - but thats not why he was busy. Instead, he was spending the evening with the families of fallen soldiers and of the Iraqi civilians who lost their lives. In true statesmanlike fashion, he took the decision that the country must come first.

The contest in the Labour Party is over, and the movement in support of Corbyns ideas has grown dramatically. Now we must all focus on the next challenge: helping him become our Prime Minister. This week, hes proven himself more than capable.

Faduma Hassan is a teacher and Labour activist from Brent, and a Momentum National Committee member
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Please permit me to disagree with just one point made by Patrick Cockburn in his excellent article about the Chilcot report. The opposite of expert is not amateur. The opposite of expert is probably fool, and I don't believe it is too distant from the truth to describe the two Prime Ministers named as extremely foolish in their approach to Iraq, rather than amateurish.

To say the opposite of expert is amateur is to denigrate a large number of amateurs who are extremely knowledgeable, capable and competent in their chosen field, and may indeed be considered experts in that field.

Maybe more interesting to note is that the opposite of amateur is professional. A professional does something for money or reward, often quite significant, whereas an amateur does something for the sheer love of the subject itself without claiming beneficial reward.

Maybe instead of describing the two named Prime Ministers as having a strong smell of amateurism in their behaviour, Patrick Cockburn should have described them as professional fools.

Phil Rolandi

Frimley, Surrey

I think people need to be clear about one thing. If Blair had not taken us into the Iraq war, the outcome would have been just the same, except the only deaths to have been avoided would have been in the British armed forces. The US would have gone ahead with the invasion without the UK, and the post-conflict carnage would have still played out.

Blair's commitment to the US, to be with you whatever, needs to be seen not in the context of 9/11 but rather through the prism of New Labour, and the desire of the Blair/Brown axis to position themselves as a safe pair of hands, both in the way they ran the economy (giving independence to the Bank of England) and the defence of the realm, in providing unequivocal support to the special relationship. This was part of their triangulation strategy by which they neutralised Conservative opposition.

For Blair, flushed with the success, and probably hubris, of his minor military engagements in Kosovo and Sierra Leone, the prospect of becoming a real wartime PM (as with his hero Thatcher) was clearly beguiling, and he was way too quick off the mark in pledging his unequivocal support for Bush. This aspect of Blair's messianic leadership is skillfully analysed by John Kampfner in his 2003 book Blair's Wars.

Blair's legacy? There could surely have been no greater one than if Blair had stood firm with his European counterparts in opposing the war, and had been the man who used his undoubted powers of persuasion, and Special Relationship, to get George W Bush to stand down his military and let the arms inspectors finish their task.

 Blair on Iraq: From 2002-16

Ian McBain

Loughton, Essex

Isnt time for Britain to have a written constitution? The awesome power to decide on going to war, or entering a political union with others, should not be left to one person on behalf of an entire nation of millions. The present problems leaving the European Union present enough evidence to show that the people should have been consulted before the decision to join. Likewise, the consequences from the decision to go to war with Iraq would be more tolerable today had the people been consulted before committing the lives of many.

A momentous decision that will have national and international consequence should be approved by Parliament, and only sent to the people in a referendum by a two thirds majority vote in both houses. A referendum to reverse a bad decision creates chaos and anxiety.

Frank Phipps QC

Kingston, Jamaica

Have people forgotten how Saddam's regime treated the UN weapon inspection team? They were treated with utter contempt, despite warnings from the Security Council. It begs the question whether the UN is fit for purpose in a modern world.

Simon Ripley

Gateshead

When I was a proper person (albeit a student) and not a crumbly to be ignored, I was hitchhiking through the Netherlands and decided to stay over in Amsterdam in 1971. There I met another hitcher from Ljubljana, which was then in Yugoslavia.

One thing she said has always stuck in my mind: When [then-president] Tito goes from Yugoslavia, the country will fly apart and I shall leave the homeland I love, because it will be impossible to stay. She was no fan of Tito and no doubt her words were politically motivated, but she and her family had realised that someone has to hold things together. It all came to pass, and I hope she was OK.

In the light of Chilcot, those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Whether Santayana, or Burke, or whoever, the meaning holds. But then, what do experts know when war is the object? Pace Kelly, Blix et al.

Helena Ankhart

Brixham, Devon

Is there any wonder there was such a rush to depose Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the Labour Party before the Chilcot report was published. He and his main supporters, despite the whip voted against the war, clearly the right course of action for any MP that believed in democracy and the futility of war. Hilary Benn, Tom Watson, Angela Eagle were all supporters of the war. Why, now they have had their coup, are they not challenging Jeremy's leadership? We all know the answer. But now they have come this far, they will have to make a challenge. How long will we have to wait?

Angela Elliott

Hundleby, Lincs

Europe divided

The lack of any plan after the referendum has caused chaos, just as lack of any plan for the Iraq war has caused bloodshed ever since. We were let down by Tony Blair and have been let down again by David Cameron. Parliament should vote to remain in Europe. It is the job of parliament to take care of the country, despite the vote to leave.

Liza Russell

Address withheld

Oh Britain, Britain, Britain! How many more deeds, events and British politicians are going to shame us?

I used to be proud to say Im British because of what I thought we stood for. But judging by the actions of those British politicians who have appeared in the media over the past couple of weeks, we must seem a very immoral, shameful, hypocritical bunch. It does not bode well for us travelling abroad or just meeting folk from other countries in the future as, rightly or wrongly, we will be prejudged by the actions of our fellow countrymen and political leaders, and welcomed accordingly.

It's going to take a long, long while to rebuild our image and reputation in the world. Listen up, world, please. We're not all like them!

Linda Bateman

St Albans

I have been following the aftermath of the disastrous Leave result of the Brexit referendum from afar, and would just like to add my voice to that of those readers who are calling for a second referendum. It is surely iniquitous that such a crucial issue should be decided by such a narrow margin, with 28 per cent of registered voters not making it to the polls, as well as the fact that it now appears that many people were not sure what they were voting for.

I certainly think a second referendum should be held, and that perhaps, for this one time only, voting should be compulsory, as in Australia. I am totally unimpressed with all the British parliamentarians. Maybe a speedy general election would be a good idea? Theresa Mays idea of repatriating EU citizens who have made their home in Britain is, I think, extremely heartless.

We have many problems in South Africa, as I'm sure most people are aware  but at least we have a written constitution, and a constitutional court, which is the final court of appeal.

Celia Chalmers

Johannesburg, South Africa

Brexit reactions  in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions  in pictures Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions  in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions  in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA

The comments by the European Commission trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom that the UK will not be able to start talks on a new trade arrangement with the EU until other aspects of its exit have been settled should act as a wake-up call to us here in Scotland. Between Brexit and the signing of any new trade deal, business between the UK and EU would be conducted under World Trade Organisation rules, damaging businesses and economies within the UK.

In the worse-case scenario, it could take up to a decade for the UK to negotiate a new specific trade deal with the EU. Scotland has a higher reliance on trade as a contributor to our economic output than the rest of the UK, with just under half our international exports destined for the EU, and we will therefore see our economy hit hard.

However, we have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of those companies who would potentially look to relocate from the rest of the UK to an independent Scotland as providing a gateway to the EUs single market. Edinburgh indeed has the potential to take the UKs finance crown from London as financial companies look to move operations, which a number are already looking at doing.

The right-wing think tank the Centre for Policy Studies has warned that an independent Scotland could be a Greece without the sun and hypocritically warned that Scotland leaving the UK would entail significant economic risks.

It is the UK Conservative Government that has created significant economic risks for Scotland, but we have a tremendous opportunity to deliver huge economic benefits for our nation. This requires us to take control of our own affairs within the EU as full members. The rest of the UKs loss could prove to be Scotlands gain.

Alex Orr

Edinburgh

Junior doctors ignored

The past fortnight has been particularly eventful for our government. Britain has voted to leave the EU, the Chilcot report has finally been published and the Department of Health has announced a new, imposed contract on junior doctors.

These three events have baffled me. On one hand, we have chosen to listen to 52 per cent of the general public  laymen  on an issue as important as our position in the EU. On the other hand, we have decided to ignore 58 per cent of junior doctors, professionals, on the safety and appropriateness of their new contract. And all at a time when a 2.6-million-word report, which took seven years to write and cost more than 10m, essentially criticises the Government for the poor use of information and intelligence.

Sir John Chilcot himself comments that the expectation now is that it should not be possible in future to engage in ... an endeavour on such a scale and of such gravity without really careful challenge, analysis and assessment and with collective political judgement being applied to it. How therefore is it possible for us to embrace the message in the Chilcot report, leave the EU and impose a contract on junior doctors, all at the same time?

I find it embarrassing to be British at the moment and this level of stupidity, ignorance and failure to apply common sense really underpins why.

Dr Stephen Wythe

London N16

No link between Ukip and the Rotary?

I am not sure why Matthew Norman, in his article on Nigel Farage, should have coupled Ukip and Rotary International (The 1950s was not quite the paradise Rotarian and rural Ukippers care to believe). Rotarians belong to an international charitable organisation whose aims include supporting worthwhile activities in local communities and getting rid of Polio. Ukippers, on the other hand, belong to a national political organisation whose aims include pulling out of the European Community and getting rid of Poles. I would like to think that they are not easily confused. Rotary's aims don't need testing in a referendum. They are also aims for the 21st century and have nothing to do with nostalgia for the Fifties.

Michael Hoey

Emeritus Professor of English Language

University of Liverpool

Govish propaganda?

What trouble the Gove camp do have with personal communications. First the email, now the leaked text message  both full of information about the failings of an alternative prime ministerial candidate. They could surely not be viewed as Govish propaganda? Could they?

H Tearle

Harrogate

Spinning the tracks

Your report regarding the dropping of the HS2 station in Sheffield is a good example of spin by anti HS2 campaigners. This is not to make cuts, but recognises the need for a city centre station, something the City Fathers have advocated from day one.

Doug Flack

Derby

Education, education, education

This week 47 per cent of primary school children in Year 6 have been reported as failures due to the changes in expectations. Edcucation Secretary Nicky Morgan thinks this is OK.

What does she think those children will be feeling? These children have resilience, but there is so much they can take. The SATs tests have been a large part of their final year at primary school and this is what they get for the hard work they have put in. What about the teachers who have also worked so hard to get them to the standard?

And we wonder why we have children who rebel and teachers who change career. Let's hope Nicky Morgan sees the error of her ways.

K Nicholas

Christian Malford, Wiltshire

No wonder kids can't pass The 3 Rs. The Department for Education need to improve their standards, instead of dropping their standards to make themselves looking good.

Caroline Light

Salisbury
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The Chilcot report has identified a number of failings in government decision-making. It is disturbing to note that the Brexit decision repeats many of them, including: judgements on the severity of the threat presented with a certainty that was not justified; policy based on flawed assessments; consequences that were underestimated despite explicit warnings; and planning and preparations that were wholly inadequate. The report concludes that in the future, all aspects of any intervention need to be calculated, debated and challenged with rigour. Perhaps the most useful lesson we can draw from Chilcot is that the Brexit decision should be challenged with rigour.

Geoff Foster

London

In the lead up to the Iraq War there were many voices saying it was a bad idea and imploring the government not to do it. History has proved them right. Today many voices are imploring the government not to go through with Brexit. All the scenarios suggested look worse than continued membership of the European Union. The effects are already being felt on job security, savings and property. Please think. Is it worth all this anguish and uncertainty? I implore the Government: dont do it.

Kathy Hall

Derby

The Chilcot report should reveal more facts related to the decision in 2003 to invade Iraq that resulted in unplanned human suffering, financial chaos and political turmoil. Given that the EU referendum seems to be creating similar disastrous consequences, an inquiry now would help to ensure that prompt remedial action could be taken on its findings.

Victor Lawrance

London

Hans Blix

One question John Rentoul selectively doesnt ask: what about Hans Blixs widely reported statement at the time that, in his professional view, there were no weapons of mass destruction, nor indeed the capability for producing them in Iraq, and his request for more time to demonstrate that? His official statements should not be lost in the convenient fog of misinformation from a PhD student that seemingly lets people off the hook. Just as the missing second UN resolution, Blixs stance (and, indeed that of Dr David Kelly) was rubbished. I hope, but without much hope, that Chilcot at least gives Blix an honourable mention.

Beryl Wall

London

Scotland can take the UKs place in the EU

Numerous television and newspaper reports confirm that the reason given for voting Leave was to get their country back. Should the success of Vote Leave in England be seen as a vote for English Independence? If this is confirmed through a referendum for English Independence, England, as a separate country, could leave the EU, and Scotland would be left to take up the existing UK membership.

Malcolm MacLeod

Fife

Where is the risk assessment?

In many areas of planning, in case it goes pear shaped, UK law requires a contingency plan. For example, the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) places a legal requirement on the employer to carry out a risk assessment and, if an accident is reasonably foreseeable, put in place a contingency plan to minimise the outcome of that potential accident.

It is a great pity that our legislators didn't, or were negligent, in performing this simple task in the event of a Leave majority. Perhaps l am being naive expecting politicians to think logically.

Mike Bone

Suffolk

How many referendums do we need to have?

In answer to Grete Petrie (How many referendums do we need to have?), a referendum is not the same as a general election: the former happens once or twice in a lifetime and is decided by PR; a general election happens every five years and sadly is not decided by PR. Will people stop saying that the EU is not democratic? Who do they think votes for their MEPs? We the people do  the last time I looked, that was called democracy and also the last time I looked, on 22 June, Britain was pretty successful and great, I'm not so sure now.

A Fitzwilliam

Tunbridge Wells
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The lorry bomb detonated in Baghdad by Isis over the weekend which killed 250 civilians was the deadliest attack in Iraq since the toppling of Saddam Hussein. In 13 short years, global insecurity has turned full circle.

Rather than protecting the world from terrorist attacks, the invasion of Iraq has made it more likely.

David Cameron has even said that Isis is so dangerous it poses an existential threat to our country.

In parliament today, Cameron concluded his response to the Chilcot inquiry by reiterating this point and urging us all to learn the lessons of Iraq as we try to combat the growing menace of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his evil terror network.

Surely no one, not even Tony Blair, could be accused of imagining that our meddling in the Middle East would have delivered such devastating consequences for the world.

Recommended Read more I read the Chilcot report as I travelled across Syria this week

But today we learned that our Prime Minister was explicitly warned in 2003 of the risk of an upsurge in terrorism and yet still decided to commit the country to war.

Sir John Chilcot, in a report that has been worth every day of the seven year long wait for its publication, set out the recklessness of Blairs position in the starkest possible terms.

He said: Blair had been warnedthat military action would increase the threat from Al Qaida to the UK and to UK interests. He had also been warned that an invasion might lead to Iraqs weapons and capabilities being transferred into the hands of terrorists.

Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP

This had been one of the justifications for the invasion of Iraq: that by not acting we risked letting Saddams chemical weapons fall into the hands of terrorists.

Yet Blair told the inquiry he could not have known at the time that the invasion would trigger such an apocalyptic outcome.

To this Sir John says: We do not agree that hindsight is required. The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and Al Qaida activity in Iraq, were each explicitly identified before the invasion.

Recommended Read more Chilcot has underlined exactly why Labour needs Jeremy Corbyn

In fact the Joint Intelligence Committee specifically told Blair the intelligence services believed that combat operations against Iraq would trigger AQ attacks against the West. More worryingly, MI6 suspected AQ had sleeper cells already in Iraq ready to strike.

Blair has tried to defend himself against the claim that the invasion was directly responsible for the creation of the Isis terrorist group which plagues the world today.

He says that the inchoate terrorist organisation only came into being many years later. And that it exploited the unregulated space of northern Syria rather than Iraq. But let us be clear: Isis was directly spawned from AQ in Iraq. In 2004, a year after the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and formed al-Qaeda In Iraq, which became a major force in the insurgency.

Recommended Read more The Chilcot report is a powerful vindication of Charles Kennedy

In February 2003 the Joint Intelligence Committee almost spelt out the possibility of exactly this kind of terrorist conflagration. In a top secret memo entitled 'INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: WAR WITH IRAQ' it concludes: Al Qaida and associated groups will continue to represent by far the greatest terrorist threat to Western interests, and that threat will be heightened by military action against Iraq. The broader threat from Islamist terrorists will also increase in the event of war, reflecting intensified anti-US/anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world, including among Muslim communities in the West. And there is a risk that the transfer of CB (chemical and biological) material or expertise, during or in the aftermath of conflict, will enhance Al Qaidas capabilities.

Lord Michael Williams was the former adviser to the then Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. He is in no doubt about the consequences of not heeding this piece of crucial intelligence. Speaking to an Australian television station he said: The dangers posed today in Iraq and in Syria by Isis to Britain and Australia and the US are far, far greater than anything ever posed by Saddam Hussein. These people would like to kill on a large scale in London, New York and in Sydney. That was never the case with Saddam Hussein, despite the many abhorrent aspects of his government.
(Global Times) 08:10, July 07, 2016

US companies worry about transparency, unfairness

The entrance to the China (Tianjin) Pilot Trade Zone in North China's Tianjin Photo: IC

China's anti-corruption campaign is conducive for foreign companies to compete in the domestic market and could help clean up the country's business environment, experts said Wednesday, following the release of a US government report that cited transparency issues over the ongoing campaign and potential unfair treatment as concerns for US companies.

"The anti-corruption crackdown could help level the playing field and will raise foreign capital in China," He Weiwen, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

He's comments came after the US State Department on Tuesday released its Investment Climate Statements for 2016, saying that corruption remains endemic in China, and the lack of an independent press, as well as the fact that all bodies responsible for conducting corruption investigations are controlled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), hamper the transparent and consistent application of anti-corruption efforts.

However, those claims are baseless, He said, because anti-corruption investigation procedures cannot be transparent. Transparency comes to play only when the anti-corruption case is presented in court, and that is the practice as well in foreign countries and regions, he said.

To fight rampant corruption in the medical/pharmaceutical sector, China's health authority issued "black lists" of firms and agents involved in commercial bribery. Several of the blacklisted firms are foreign, the US investment report said.

"Foreign companies are expected to strictly comply with Chinese laws and are forbidden from pursuing business opportunities through bribes," He noted.

In 2014, a Chinese court found UK drug maker GlaxoSmithKline guilty of bribing doctors to prescribe its medicine, according to media reports.

More opening-up

While China was the world's top destination for foreign investment in 2015, broad sectors of the economy remain closed to foreign investors, said the US investment report.

Nearly 500 US companies surveyed in 2015 by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) cited inconsistent regulatory interpretations and unclear laws as their top challenge in doing business in China.

Other difficulties include labor costs, obtaining licenses, the shortage of qualified employees and managers, and industrial overcapacity, according to the 2016 China Business Climate Survey Report AmCham China released in January.

However, member companies recognize the progress that has been made in areas such as intellectual property rights and anti-corruption and are supportive of continued efforts, said AmCham China, noting that the majority of US companies are still optimistic about the Chinese market's growth potential.

"China has remained consistent on opening up its market since the 1980s, and government policies have played a big role in providing greater market access to foreign investors," said Huang Wei, director of the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Huang told the Global Times Wednesday that China's market is not as open as those in developed economies, but the domestic business environment stimulates the growth of foreign capital.

"Overseas companies have not left China because they don't want to lose such a large market," she said, noting that some firms have left China because of the sluggish world economy.

Although China's economic slowdown continues to pose a challenge to both Chinese and European companies, China still remains a vital destination for European firms, with 47 percent reporting that they plan to expand their operations, much lower than 86 percent in 2013, the European Union Chamber of Commerce said in a survey in June.

China must recognize that the opening-up process is slow due to many obstacles posed by firms whose interests would be hampered, and the opening-up task is not easy, said He.

The country is stepping up efforts to promote economic reform and the opening-up of more sectors, even in some high-tech sectors, experts said.
Ireland must consider breaking diplomatic ties with Egypt over the detention without trial of a young Irishman for the past three years, Dublin's parliament has heard.

Trade sanctions against Cairo were also urged over the "nightmare" treatment of Ibrahim Halawa, who was arrested aged just 17 as he sought refuge in a mosque during a political protest in 2013.

His mass trial - alongside almost 500 co-defendants - was postponed again for the 14th time last week and put back until October.

Mr Halawa, a student from south Dublin, has spent more than 1,000 days in a prison where conditions were described by Amnesty International as "truly horrific".

The Irish parliament, the Dail, has unanimously backed a cross-party motion demanding his immediate release and attacking the "unacceptable infringement of his basic human rights".

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan spoke of his "acute frustration" at the failure of persistent diplomatic efforts to secure the young man's return home.

These have included two face-to-face meetings between Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, he said, as well as telephone calls as recently as last week.

"This case remains the highest consular priority that we have and I will do everything possible to secure the return of Ibrahim Halawa and see him back in Ireland as soon as possible," Mr Flanagan told the Dail.

But during a special parliamentary debate on the case, Mr Flanagan was urged to take a more hardline approach with the Egyptians, including the consideration of a special delegation to Cairo, trade sanctions and the suspension of diplomatic ties.

Catherine Martin, deputy leader of the Green Party, said if all diplomatic efforts fail "it may become necessary that some consideration be made to suspending diplomatic relations".

"Ibrahim Halawa, we say his name loudly and clearly here today, so Egypt hears our one united voice," she said.

"Ireland will not stand for this."

Roisin Shortall, a former junior minister and co-leader of the Social Democrats, said everyone in the Irish parliament accepted Mr Halawa's detention "is an outrage".

"It is now undoubtedly time to step up official efforts and consider trade sanctions if that is what is required," she said.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said some of the suggestions had merit, particularly a full parliamentary delegation to Cairo.

"It is utterly and totally foreign and alien to us that this would happen in the civilised world," he added.

Mr Halawa's family, who were in the Dail for the debate, are to reapply for a presidential decree in the latest attempt to secure his freedom.

They say he has been tortured, received electric shocks, beaten, spat on and moved without their being made aware of his whereabouts.

He is also facing a possible death penalty.

Mr Halawa was arrested in August 2013 in the Al Fath mosque near Cairo's Ramses Square where his family said he was taking refuge as a "day of rage" was held over the removal of president Mohamed Morsi.

His sisters were released on bail.

Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian government to intervene to secure Mr Halawa's release through the use of pardons and presidential decrees.
No room for complacency, particularly given the potential impact on visitor numbers from the UK, said IHF president Joe Dolan

Almost all Irish hoteliers have seen an increase in business this year, but are concerned that Brexit will have a negative impact.

And a survey from the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) shows that hoteliers have identified local rates as the most pressing issue affecting their cost competitiveness.

The quarterly barometer from the federation reveals that 49pc of hoteliers are "very concerned" about Brexit, with 46pc saying they're "concerned".

The UK accounts for 40pc of overseas visitors to Ireland. The slump in the value of sterling against the euro is certain to impact the number of travellers visiting Ireland from the UK. Prior to the EU referendum, British visitors had enjoyed a strong currency differential when visiting Ireland.

IHF president Joe Dolan said that the concerns expressed by hoteliers following the referendum reflect the "significant risks" the sector faces. He said many hotels and guesthouses are still in recovery mode.

Read More: Government must be ready to fight for the 220,000 jobs in food sector

"This comes at a time when the increasing cost of doing business in Ireland already poses a serious challenge for tourism businesses," he said.

"While it is too early to predict the full effect that the decision will have on Irish tourism, there can be no room for complacency, particularly given the potential impact on visitor numbers from the UK and business levels within the domestic market."

A recent report by CBRE said that the Brexit vote "has the potential to have severe repercussions for the whole and tourism sector in Ireland".

Read More: Exit talks need 'cool heads and time' says Honohan

The latest barometer found that 30pc hoteliers are still concerned about the viability of their business over the next 12 months, notwithstanding any impact from the UK's pending departure from the EU.

But 90pc of hoteliers said they've seen stronger business so far this year than in the first half of 2015.

The number of overseas visitors to Ireland is 14pc higher in the year to date, with the number of British visitors up 16pc in the period.

Two out of three hoteliers are seeing an increase in home-grown business with an uplift in consumer confidence leading to more people taking holidays and short breaks at home, said the IHF.

Of those hotels catering for corporate meetings and business events, 60pc have seen an increase in this area of their business compared with last year, according to the IHF survey.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Dolan stressed that the 9pc special VAT rate that was introduced to support the hotel and some other services sectors, remains a key component of the industry's revival.

Of the hoteliers surveyed, 73pc having increased staffing levels over the last 12 months and the vast majority planning to either take on additional staff or maintain current levels over the coming next year, they told the IHF.

The survey also found that 89pc of hotels will benefit from refurbishment and increased capital investment over the next 12 months, while 63pc intend to increase their marketing spend.

CBRE said this week that 15 hotels were sold in Ireland in the second quarter, bringing the total number of hotel sales in the first half of the year to 29.
Former Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan has called for cool heads and a slow negotiation process after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The former Trinity College Dublin economist is currently a fellow at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in the US.

He's still best known here for his role in negotiating the EU/IMF bailout in 2010, famously intervening on RTE's 'Morning Ireland' to say a rescue deal was inevitable.

Having seen the EU's decision making aparatus close up during the criss, Mr Honohan said that striking an exit deal with Britain will again test Europe's governance structures.

In an article published on the Peterson Institute's website, he said British people had "been battered by misinformation and prejudice in the referendum campaign".

Read More: IDA faces new French smash and grab bid for City jobs

Mr Honohan added that it had been difficult to establish from British officialdom what their game plan actually was in the run-up to the "ill-advised" referendum vote.

In relation to options now open to the UK, access to Europe's single market will mean rights for emigrants, he said.

"Their (Britain's) traditional tolerance and moderation may reassert itself to allow acceptance of a less isolationist solution than seems currently in the cards," he said.

Read More: Government must be ready to fight for the 220,000 jobs in food sector

"But that would also require the British government to acknowledge and address the legitimate concerns of those parts of society that have suffered most and feel most threatened by the evolution of the economy in recent times."

Whatever the outcome, Mr Honohan said Britain cannot fully address the irritants that drove the vote, particularly among older Britons, to exit.

"These include dissatisfaction with austerity-induced cutbacks in public services, a sense that policymakers are out of touch and beyond the effective control of the average voter, and the mistaken projection of these concerns onto the European Union and in particular on the visible increase in inward migration seen as driven by EU rules."
IDA ceo Martin Shanahan and chairman Frank Ryan reporting on the first half of the year results in Dublin. Photo: Maxwells

THE IDA will seek additional resources from Government amid signs the battle to win investment in the wake of the Brexit vote is intensifying.

France yesterday launched a major push to win bankers away from the City of London, a signal that the gloves are coming off in the war for jobs and investment.

France is offering extended tax holidays for executives who move back from abroad, allowances for perks like school fees and promised that regulators in the Bank of France will fast track licence applications from financial firms looking to relocate.

Meanwhile, in Brussels the European Parliament vowed to step up its campaign for tax harmonisation inside the European Union - despite Irish opposition and Britain's move this week to slash its key business tax.

Here, IDA chief executive Martin Shannon said his agency's drive to win new business for Ireland kicked off within hours of the result of the British vote being known. "This wasn't a surprise, we had our homework done," he said.

Read More: Government must be ready to fight for the 220,000 jobs in food sector

He played down the impact of UK Chancellor George Osborne's decision to slash corporation tax to 15pc, saying it was not unexpected and still above our rate.

But he admitted that high personal taxes here, especially the low level when the top rate of income tax kicks in, is being raised as a concern by prospective investors.

"It is clearly an issue that comes up, I'm on the record as saying I believe we need to ensure personal tax rates are competitive," he said.

The IDA began contacting new and existing clients in the immediate wake of the result, and has seen heightened levels of activity ever since the result came in, he said.

Read More: As sterling slumps, 95pc of Irish hoteliers fear impact of Brexit on visitor numbers from the UK

Last year was a record year for inward investment, and the trend continued in the first half of 2016, he said.

The 115 investments announced in the first half of the year will add 9,100 jobs, and is up on the same period in 2015.

Traditionally strong sectors for Britain including financial services and technology investment are among key targets for Ireland, he said.

The IDA chief said he met Central Bank Governor Philip Lane on Monday and "shared perspectives" on the impact of the Brexit and potential shift of finance firms from London to Dublin.

Read More: Exit talks need 'cool heads and time' says Honohan

The two agencies will keep in close contact he said, but will not discuss specific projects.

Funding for the IDA has increased from 130m in 2014 to 155m last year and will be higher again this year, he said. An additional 35 staff have been hired on three-year contracts and the agency is now looking at the need to extend that programme, he said.

"We are still in the market for more resources though we are conscious of the tightness of the public purse," he said.

The French government pledged yesterday to make its tax regime for expatriates the most favourable in Europe in what's seen as a land grab for London banking business displaced by Britain's decision to quit the European Union.

"We want to build the financial capital of the future," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said at a hastily arranged visit to the annual conference of France's financial industry lobby Europlace.

"In a word, now is the time to come to France."

It's a radical shift for France's financial sector which has often complained of government ambivalence towards the industry.

Brexit aftermath, p3
JPMorgan Chase and Co has warned that it may have to move a few thousand of its London-based staff to other eurozone offices as a result of Brexit.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Sole-24 Ore, the bank's boss Jamie Dimon said he is still unsure what is going to happen but maintains the majority of its staff was set to stay in the UK.

"The worst case is that we might have to relocate a few thousand people to other offices in the Eurozone," Mr Dimon told the newspaper.

Amongst the questions posed by the banking chief was whether or not the UK could maintain the passport rule in its exit negotiations with the EU.

Under current legislation, firms with operations in the UK are able to sell their services to the other member states.

Mr Dimon conceded that if that ability wasn't maintained he may look to move some of the bank's 16,000-strong UK staff elsewhere.

The New Yorker also believes that the outcome of the vote could be reversed saying the country could still be incentivised to stay within the union.
IF the United Kingdom leaves the European Union there is virtually no possibility the movement of goods, services and individuals across the Irish border will continue as now. Much will depend on the nature of post-Brexit negotiations and it is impossible to say with any absolute certainty what a post-Brexit UK business environment will look like. What is clear is that for many areas, and in particular the agricultural and services sectors, it will be more complicated and expensive if they wish to do business outside the UK.

Brexit will change the basis on which the UK and, of necessity Northern Ireland, trades regionally and globally. It will also impact on how the Republic positions itself.

It would become the sole English-language entry point (besides Malta) for international firms seeking to do business in the EU. This would undoubtedly represent an advantage. Second, to set up in Ireland or import/export through Ireland, international businesses would only have to comply with a single set of regulations to access all other EU states.

A business setting up in Northern Ireland, on the other hand, would have guaranteed access to the rest of the UK under a single set of rules - but not necessarily access to the EU under the same rules. How easy it would be to access the EU market from a post-Brexit UK will depend entirely on the trade model chosen by the EU and the UK.

However, agreeing such a model will take time, and the interim uncertainty would make it difficult to attract both foreign and domestic investment. Ireland would not face such uncertainty, amplifying the different positions of it and Northern Ireland.

This is clear when one looks at the support the agricultural industry now receives. Farmers in Ireland would continue to have unrestricted access to the EU market as well as continuing to receive substantial subsidies. While, for now, the UK government has promised to continue agricultural support in Northern Ireland in the event of Brexit, there is no guarantee that this support would continue in the longer run.

Perhaps more seriously, Northern Ireland's agricultural industry would, post-Brexit, have to compete with the highly protected industry in Ireland and the rest of Europe. It would be in the same trade position as countries such as Australia, New Zealand and developing agricultural exporters such as Brazil, Argentina and Kenya.

Non-EU countries have, for many years, been arguing at the World Trade Organisation for reductions in agricultural support within Europe and the USA, but with very little success. Given that talks at the WTO are at a standstill (in no small part because of a lack of movement on agriculture) and the current trend towards mega-regional arrangements such as the EU-US TTIP trade agreement, it is unlikely that WTO membership will provide the UK with a more 'global' position in agriculture or other industries.

If Britain remains in the European Economic Area (EEA), alongside Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, the free movement of goods and services between Ireland and the UK would be maintained, although the UK could set its own border tariffs. But, as seems likely, a more comprehensive withdrawal, or a Swiss-style agreement with the EU, would mean that UK goods and services become subject to the EU's external tariffs.

This option would increase import and export costs for a significant number of products as well as introducing a plethora of restrictions to cross-border movement of services. Any of these options would also mean an end to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to farmers which would naturally have a knock-on effect on the agri-food sector.

It is easy to assume that such changes will only hit business and not the private consumer, however, this is only a partial view. Personal items are ordinarily exempted from border charges; but anyone operating a small business, or moving products across the border for work purposes, would need to declare what those products were and pay levies on them according to the EU's WTO tariffs.

While a lot of products come with a zero tariff, not all sectors benefit. Cigarettes and cigars, for instance, are hit with a 33-58pc import duty.

A wide variety of consumer products, such as make-up and personal hygiene items, textiles and basic building construction items (such as doors and windows) face import charges of between 4pc-8pc.

Clothing is generally hit with import duties ranging from 8pc-17pc, and cars face import duties of 10pc-20pc, depending on their size and purpose. In the end, import tariffs are pushed onto the consumer in purchasing price, so many products moving across the Irish border could suddenly become anywhere from 5pc to 2pc more expensive.

The impact upon the agri-food and farming sector is particularly revealing. Most agricultural products and livestock are subject to EU import tariffs of between 6pc-22pc. UK agri-food products would find it difficult to compete with heavily subsided EU produce on the global market without reducing their basic costs in order to be competitively priced. Even within the UK, it is likely that suppliers will use the cheapest available option which, due to CAP subsidies, may very well still be EU products, even with the imposition of UK tariffs on imports from the EU.

Statistics from the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs demonstrate that direct EU payments to farmers represent 87pc of annual farm income in Northern Ireland. The Department also confirmed that in the ten years to 2014, CAP Single Farm Payment alone totalled 2.5 billion in Northern Ireland.

While the UK government stated that initially it would match CAP support in the event of Brexit its previous reform proposals indicate that it may be unlikely to match the current levels of subsidy or would require more from farmers in return for support, for example in environmental protection.

When it comes to services, both setting up a business abroad or taking a job is relatively straightforward under EU free movement of services rules, Post Brexit, these will be covered by the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Service, which is significantly less open to services movement than the EU.

Non-EU nationals temporarily staying and working in the EU, unless they are in senior management, will find far more barriers to travel. Post-Brexit, virtually all UK nationals would need to satisfy national immigration requirements to temporarily stay and work in any of the 27 EU member states, including Ireland.

The Remain and Brexit campaigns do not agree on much, but all sides concede that withdrawal would have consequences on how goods and services move between EU states and the UK.

With both Ireland and the UK in the EU, from a business perspective, the Irish border is visible only on maps; but as the UK's single land border with the EU, it may become a crunch point at which tariffs and regulations start to apply.

Dr Aoife O'Donoghue is senior lecturer, Durham Law School. This is an extract from a 'Constitutional Conundrums' paper produced by a group of academics in the UK working on Northern Ireland and Brexit. It is available at www.niconstitution.org
Northern Ireland will be the area of the European Union that is "most exposed" to the impact of Brexit, a senior Irish business leader has warned.

John McGrane, director general of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce (BICC), said those who believe Westminster will spend money saved from ending the UK's membership of the EU on Northern Ireland need to realise "that isn't going to happen".

There had already been "disinvestment" in London stretching back for the last few months, and any benefits to Irish border areas due to weaker Sterling would be short-term, he argued.

And he predicted that the South, which is the second biggest market for firms in Northern Ireland after the UK, will spend less in the North.

Mr McGrane, who worked for 40 years as a financial services professional with the Royal Bank of Scotland/Ulster Bank group in Ireland, said that clarity on what form the UK's new relationship with the EU will take was needed "very quickly".

He was speaking yesterday at the SDLP-organised 'We Are The 56pc' event. The SDLP has warned that the North's First Minister Arlene Foster has no authority to join negotiations to exit the EU after Northern Ireland voted to remain.

BICC, a private sector organisation that represents businesses with all-Ireland interests, had campaigned for a reformed EU under the slogan, 'Lead not leave'.
The European Union's "pantomime villain" says he is not leaving his Brussels job just yet, and hopes to export his independence movement across the bloc.

Former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said yesterday that he will keep his seat in the European Parliament until Britain finally exits the EU, but said he would miss it when he finally leaves.

"I shall miss it enormously - I've had an absolute whale of a time," Mr Farage said.

"I shall miss the theatre and I shall miss the drama there has been inside the European Parliament."

Mr Farage was speaking to reporters in Strasbourg yesterday. "I'll miss being the pantomime villain. I so enjoyed them all booing at me and shouting," Mr Farage said.

The firebrand politician, who once boasted about pocketing 2m of EU taxpayers' money to fund his cause, relinquished the Ukip leadership this week following the UK's June 23 vote to leave the EU. However, he said he was staying on as an MEP to keep an eye on EU divorce proceedings and to inspire like-minded movements across the bloc.

"I do find myself now freer, and I will be working with parties and political movements across the rest of Europe who are looking to get their independence back, too," he said.

Mr Farage has been the European Parliament's bete noire for the last 17 years, best known for his derisive addresses to the EU chamber at its monthly meetings in Strasbourg.

In 2010 he famously said that the then European Council president Herman Van Rompuy had the "charisma of a damp rag" and last year called France a "pipsqueak" in a "German-dominated" Europe.

His mocking tone drew the ire of European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans yesterday, who urged MEPs not to let their "democratic mandate be ridiculed or diminished".

In an impassioned speech to a packed parliamentary chamber, Mr Timmermans blasted those calling for the resignation of Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker as "politically weak, morally questionable, intellectually lazy".

"Is that all you have to offer? Destroy for the sake of destruction, rather than build something for your citizens?" he said.

He also made an apparent dig at Mr Farage and former London mayor Boris Johnson, who gave up on his Tory leadership bid following the referendum.

"What we have seen is that political choices have real consequences for real people," Mr Timmermans said. "These are not games we are playing. As politicians you have responsibilities. Face up to them, don't run away when you are scared of the consequences of your actions," he said.

Mr Farage, for his part, insisted that he would stick around until the UK's EU divorce was final.

And he has urged the British government to trigger the exit procedure "as soon as is reasonably possible".

"This is not going to be like Denmark or Ireland, or the Netherlands or France," he told journalists, referring to countries that have rejected EU treaties in the past.

"This result will stand - I am certain that we are going to leave the European Union."

He said that he was "bullish" about the UK's hand in the negotiations, given its economic weight in the world.

Mr Farage also warned against Britain selecting a Norwegian-style relationship with the EU, arguing that the single market was in fact a "protectionist club".
There are almost 35,000 residents in the UK in receipt of an Irish pension, according to new figures provided by Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar.

More than 18,000 of these individuals live in England, while almost 2,000 currently have addresses in Northern Ireland.

The figures relate to the Irish State pension, and the Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's pension.

And Mr Varadkar also confirmed that there are in excess of 135,000 recipients of the UK state pension residing in Ireland.

The significant number of individuals in receipt of benefits has heightened concerns about the impact of Brexit.

Independents 4 Change TD Tommy Broughan, who obtained the information through a parliamentary question, said the figures show the absolute necessity of protecting those receiving pensions.

"Obviously there is a very large number of people in Ireland and the UK in receipt of pensions - there is a hugely close bond between us," Mr Broughan told the Irish Independent.

"The recent Brexit result has thrown up huge questions. I'm not convinced the Government is properly prepared for the impact it will have.

"I think all necessary steps should be taken to protect entitlements on both sides of the Irish Sea so there can be no negative impact," the Dublin Bay North TD added.

The large level of individuals in receipt of these entitlements has prompted Mr Varadkar to declare that the issue must be at the forefront of the post-Brexit negotiations.

The Dublin West TD, pictured below, said these individuals must now be protected.

"Following the outcome of the UK referendum, negotiations on the UK's future relationship with the EU will take time.

"In the interim, it is important to stress that all payments made by the Department of Social Protection, including those to recipients who are resident in Britain and Northern Ireland, and payments from the UK to residents in Ireland, will continue to be paid," Mr Varadkar said.

My overriding priority in my role as Minister for Social Protection is to ensure that cross-border workers and pensioners have their incomes, pensions and other benefits fully protected as part of the new arrangements that will have to be negotiated between the UK and the EU, and bilaterally between Ireland and the UK. In addition, liability for the payment of social security contributions in the case of cross-border workers, people who have been posted to work in the UK or who are working in the UK and in Ireland will continue under the current arrangements.

"The Irish Government will prioritise the needs of its citizens and residents," he added.
American tax authorities are examining Facebooks transfer of intellectual property from the US to subsidiaries in Ireland.

Court papers filed today in San Francisco detail US authorities moves to force the company to produce documents to help with the tax probe.

The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday at a federal court in San Francisco in an effort to enforce Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summonses served on Facebook.

The case centres on legal rights that were transferred from Facebook in the US to its companies in Ireland. The IRS claims valuations of the assets at the time, which were relevant to Facebooks US tax bill, were problematic.

The documents being sought relate to an IRS examination of Facebooks tax liability for 2010.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is taking a "soft-landing" approach in exploring ways to renew friendly ties with China, which have been strained in the past years over the disputes in the South China Sea, analysts said on Wednesday.

This is a departure from his predecessor Benigno Aquino III, under whom the Philippines unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China in 2013 over the dispute at the Permannent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

At his first cabinet meeting after he was sworn in on June 30, Duterte, who had said he was open to talking with China about the territorial dispute, stated, "If we can have peace by just talking I'll be really happy."

Richard Heydarian, an associate professor at De la Salle University, said Duterte "is taking a significant different approach, constantly emphasizing necessity for direct engagement and revival of bilateral ties."

"He is signaling that neither the maritime disputes nor the arbitration case should negatively define the texture of overall bilateral relations," Heydarian said.

He said that Duterte was aiming at "a soft-landing" especially after the arbitration verdict is handed down on July 12, "which may mean not aggressively criticizing China."

In exchange, Heyadarian said Duterte will most likely seek for concessions in the South China Sea.

"A lot of horse trading is on the horizon," he said.

NOT EVEN "WAR OF WORDS"

Even before he assumed the presidency, Duterte has made it clear that "I am not ready to go to war," referring to the worst scenario of fighting between China and the Philippines over the disputes in the South China Sea.

Benito Lim, a political science professor, said Duterte wanted to engage China, making his position clear to China that he wanted direct talks and that he did not want to engage China in war, not even "war of words."

"It means that he wants to explore other avenues aside from letting the situation fester in the standoff," Lim said in an interview, adding that Duterte "is trying to look for ways and means by which this long-time standoff can be removed and then agree on things that are mutually beneficial."

Lim said this is a logical step on the part of the Duterte administration, adding that both countries can move on by forging "cooperative and beneficial agreements."

"He is sending a message to China that both countries can agree on mutually beneficial agreements instead of a standoff," Lim said.

"Exploring other avenues by which there can be agreements that are equally beneficial to both is better than saying bad things about each other," he said.

Moreover, he said that Duterte was "addressing" Philippine national interests by making this reconciliatory move with Beijing.

Duterte has said that the Philippines will charter a course of its own, shifting away from Aquino government's overarching dependence on U.S. military support.

"We will chartering a course of our own," Duterte has said.

"It will not be dependent on America, and it will be a line not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interests," said Lim.

Asked what the implication of Duterte's "softening move" will be on the country's relations with the United States, Lim said, "Philippine interests will not be formulated whether the international community would look at it with approval or not. It would be in the interests of the Philippines."

Lim said Duterte's statement that he would wait for the ruling and study its implications meant that even if it were in our favor "he will still examine the consequences of what that decision means."

TO HAVE STRONG TRADE, INVESTMENT RELATIONS

Rommel Banlaoi, director of the Center for Intelligence and National Security Studies, said Duterte wanted to open direct talks with China on many facets of diplomatic relations like economic and trade, and not just about political issues like the South China Sea.

Banlaoi said Duterte was not just exploring ways "to revive the stagnant relations between Beijing and Manila but he also wants a better economic ties with China."

"Duterte does not want the bilateral relationship with China to revolve around the dispute on the South China Sea, meaning that his administration is willing to talk about other, more equally important aspect of the relations," Banlaoi said.

In an editorial on Monday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer said that despite its territorial dispute with China, it is possible for the Philippines to have strong trade and investment relations with China, adding one major avenue for this is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

"The AIIB has been described as modern and multilateral, or China's 21st-century answer to lenders like the World Bank and the ADB (Asian Development Bank). And the Philippines will be better off borrowing through a more transparent window now," the editorial said.

Banlaoi said Duterte was fostering an independent foreign policy, "a policy that is not pro this and against that" despite what he described as "tremendous pressure" from strategic partners like the United States and its allies in the region.

"It's a difficult and delicate balancing act," Balaoi said, adding that Duterte was determined to have good relations with everybody.

On the forthcoming arbitral ruling, Banlaoi said the administration has already said that it will carefully study the ruling before taking the next step.

"My reading is that the administration will make sure that its next step will support its position to bring back good ties with China," he said.
Embattled Anglo-Irish explorer Tullow Oil, which is headed by Aidan Heavey, has raised $300m via a convertible bond offering that will be used to help finance its capital investment in west and east Africa.

Its shares slumped over 15pc as investors digested the news.

Tullow said the offering would diversify its sources of funding and give it access to a new investor base.

The company has been hit hard by the rout in oil prices. It posted a pre-tax loss of $1.3bn in 2015, compared to a $2.04bn loss in 2014. Its revenue fell 27pc to $1.6bn last year, and its share price is currently about a quarter of what it was two years ago.

The company is cutting $500m in costs under a three-year restructuring programme. It has also axed about 40pc of its staff.

"The proposed convertible bond issue will further diversify Tullow Oil's sources of funding and give the company access to a new investor base," according to chief financial officer Ian Springett. "As per our most recent trading statement, our focus will continue to be on strengthening the balance sheet and deleveraging the business."

Tullow Oil's huge TEN project off the coast of Ghana, where it is the lead operator, is due to deliver its first oil within the next two to five weeks.

Tullow owns a 47pc stake in the TEN field. It has a 35pc holding in the huge Jubilee oil field, which is also offshore and close to the TEN project.

Tullow had net debt of $4.7bn at the end of June.

Its capital expenditure this year is estimated at $1bn, which a huge chunk of that connected to the development of the TEN field, which is expected to produce about 80,000 barrels of oil a day.

In the first half of 2016, Tullow's west Africa working interest oil production averaged 51,900 barrels of oil a day. That was below previous guidance, with output at the Jubilee field having been affected by a technical issue. Gross production in June jumped to about 90,000 barrels a day, however.

The company also extracts gas in Europe, where production in the first half of the year averaged about 6,800 barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Tullow also undertakes exploration activity in Kenya, and is also operational in South America.

Despite Tullow's shares falling yesterday, RBC Capital said that its shares could be boosted later in the year, as the firm is "turning a corner".

RBC pointed out that Tullow will realise a material increase in production and free cash flow during the second half of 2016 as the TEN project comes on stream.

In April, the oil producer announced its lenders had agreed to extend a revolving loan facility by a year and to increase flexibility on another, helping Tullow keep its finances in order amid weak crude prices.

"The fact that the company needs $300m after the recent reassessment of its borrowing facilities is a bit of a surprise to us," said analysts at Stifel, who recommend selling Tullow shares.
Plain package cigarettes to be sold from this summer after EU ruling

Tobacco companies have seen their tax bill surge in the opening five months of the year as the industry has been accused of stocking up on branded cigarettes.

According to a report in the Irish Daily Mail, tobacco firms have shelled out almost 500m in tax in the opening months of the year, which represents an 81pc increase on the same period last year.

The increased tax spend comes ahead of the imminent plain packaging ban. However, companies will be allowed to sell off whatever remaining stock they have left - branded or otherwise up until May 2017.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show a major spike in the volume of cigarettes that are being imported into the country too.

During the opening quarter of the year 600 extra tonnes of tobacco were brought in.

Legislation that will see plain packaging introduced is being used as a method to deter smokers and children from being enticed by branding.

Anti-smoking groups have accused the industry of stockpiling branded cigarettes to get children hooked on them ahead of the looming ban.

Revenue has been contacted for comment by Independent.ie.
The French have thrown down the gauntlet to the Irish in the battle to secure the benefits of the so-called Brexit Bounce.

Four thousand British executives have just received a love letter from Paris. The letter, written by the head of the Paris regional government to officials of companies of all sizes a day after the UK voted to leave the European Union on June 23, extols the business advantages of the French capital.

Listing everything from location and infrastructure to a well-trained workforce and world-class services, it makes a case for them to move operations and jobs to the region.

"The Paris region offers an unparalleled quality of life," with its hospitals, schools and cultural offerings among its strong points, Valerie Pecresse, the head of the regional government, wrote in the letter.

The French move should serve as something of a wake-up call to Dublin and other cities across Europe which are now eyeing the spoils of the British referendum result, and making a pitch to businesses large and small that want to secure access to the single market of the remaining 27 EU countries.

French and German politicians have already been sparring over whether Frankfurt or Paris should take over London's euro-clearing business.

Paris Europlace, a lobby for the French financial industry, is using its annual conference next Wednesday to lay out the case for Paris over its competitors. Unusually, Prime Minister Manuel Valls will speak at Europlace's banquet lunch, taking the stage with Pecresse and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau pledged that all bank licence applications from other EU member states will be processed swiftly.

"We will do more in the future to enhance the attractiveness of the Paris financial centre. The government will do its part," Villeroy de Galhau said, hinting that Valls will make an announcement in his lunchtime speech.

"We're urging British business to think about what's next, move on and come to Europe," Pecresse said in an interview. "Let's not be naive: This is a competition and others also want these jobs."

Pecresse, a former Cabinet minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, is pressing President Francois Hollande to drop any thought of imposing a financial transaction tax that countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands haven't signed up to.

She said she will be sending the Socialist a letter in coming days in which she argues that the government needs to make itself more fiscally attractive to expatriates by offering them special tax regimes and no levies on foreign earnings.

The Paris government estimates that about 30,000 financial sector jobs are up for grabs with the UK's departure from the EU, with approximately 30,000 more posts possible from other industries.

With 12 million residents and a geographic position that offers easy rail access to London, Brussels, western Germany, the Alps and the Mediterranean, there is no reason why the French capital can't compete, Pecresse and other French officials say.

"We're the only truly global city seeking this business,"she said. "Frankfurt doesn't have our depth, Dublin is on Europe's periphery."

(Bloomberg, with assistance from Francois de Beaupuy and Geraldine Amiel)
THE Government must be ready to act to protect the 220,000 jobs in Ireland's most important indigenous industry, the agri-food and drink sector, warned the boss of Dawn Farm Foods.

Larry Murrin, chief executive of the company, said his biggest concern in the short term was the impact of the uncertainty following Brexit on British consumer behaviour.

It came as Bord Bia's chief executive Aidan Cotter warned 180 food and drink exporters at a Brexit market conference that they were in "new and unchartered waters" with the UK still Ireland's single most important market with 41pc of food and drink exports worth 4.4bn destined for British shop shelves.

He said they would be working to help food and drink exporters manage currency volatility.

"The wider food and agri sector in this country, it is not just 100,000 farm families, it is 220,000 food and agri jobs including the farmers," said Mr Murrin. "It is the most important indigenous sector that Ireland Inc has and to that extent it must be protected.

Read More: IDA faces new French smash and grab bid for City jobs

"It is not good enough to say about the resilience in the industry, this is unprecedented. I'm not saying the Government should come out and act tomorrow but certainly I think the Government needs to be ready to act."

Mr Murrin warned it would be "all hands to the pump" if they want to maintain market share in arguably the most sophisticated and competitive food service market in the world.

"In the medium term I'm very concerned about the exchange rate. I don't know where I'm going to find 16pc to wipe off my costs," he said.

Read More: Exit talks need 'cool heads and time' says Honohan

Eoin Donnelly, managing director of Lily O'Brien's which sells 50pc of its high-end chocolate range to the UK, said it would all depend on how consumers react to the Brexit and the company would be forced to look at how they can become more "lean" by cutting costs.

Paul Finnerty, chief executive of beef processor ABP, warned it would have "very substantial consequences" for the industry and ultimately the primary producers as he warned the UK economy was already "fragile" before Brexit.

Mr Finnerty, whose firm employs 5,000 in the UK, said they were going to see a "pulling down of the shutters" and a "pro-British agenda" heightened.

The businessman said he was concerned that the timeframe for the UK to strike agreements, such as a trade deal for South American beef, was a lot shorter than people expected.

He warned sterling has depreciated by 25pc since last November against the euro.

John Fahey, senior economist with AIB, warned sterling was "vulnerable to further falls" due to the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty.

In the case of a "disorderly" exit that is protracted with no trade deal, he warned sterling could return to 2011 levels, hitting 90p against the euro.

AIB also moved to revise Ireland's economic growth rates downwards by 2pc over the next three years on the back of the Brexit move and currency fluctuations.
BlackBerry will no longer manufacture the BlackBerry Classic, a beloved, updated model of the original that made the company a smartphone leader before Apple and Samsung dethroned it.

Chief Executive Officer John Chen introduced the Classic after joining the company in 2013, bringing back the raised- button keyboard that BlackBerry enthusiasts loved, and which his predecessor, Thorsten Heins, let fall by the wayside with his push to full touch-screen devices.

The decision to end production of the Classic is one step further toward eliminating the BB10 operating system, which will now only be running on the Passport model, in a pivot to newer phones running on the Android platform.

Chen is also increasingly focused on software as revenue from handsets has declined over the past two years.

In the latest fiscal quarter, BlackBerry sold 500,000 devices, compared with 600,000 in the previous quarter.

"The Classic has long surpassed the average lifespan for a smartphone in todays market, Ralph Pini, general manager for devices and chief operating officer, said. "We are ready for this change so we can give our customers something better."

The company is working on two more Android phones, in addition to its introductory model, the Priv, including a cheaper option. Still, analysts have called on Chen to cut losses in handsets and get out of the hardware business so it will stop being a drag on revenue.

Chen has insisted that the hardware unit will reach profitability by September, but also said the "Number one goal" at the company is to ramp software and services.

"The company is under a lot of pressure and odds are good BlackBerry will have to sell or shut down the [hardware] segment," said Desmond Lau, an analyst at Veritas.

BlackBerry is still on track to deliver the next version of its BB10 software next month with a second update to follow in 2017, according to the memo.

One of the biggest group of Blackberry fans over the years has been government workers, due to the phones reputation for security and its finger-friendly keyboard. Now it seems even Senators will have to give them up.

An e-mail to Senate staffers last week said that once the company depleted its current stock of about 600 BlackBerry phones, there would be no more more BlackBerrys issued, except in the case of warranty exchanges, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Tonnes of rice donated by China and Bangladesh meant for delivering to the earthquake victims are being sold in Nepal's capital Kathmandu.

Considering that the donated rice could be rotten due to prolonged storage after failing to distribute them among the quake victims, the Nepalese government recently took decision of selling them in the market.

As per the government's decision, the state-owned Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has started selling around 1,730 tonnes of rice in the Kathmandu Valley. It has also planned to sell additional donated rice in other major cities.

"We started selling the rice for the last two weeks as there was high chance that the rice could rotten if kept in warehouse for more time," NFC spokesperson Pawan Kumar Karki told Xinhua.

The company has set up mobile teams that are moving from place to place selling the rice at reduced price compared to market rate.

There were reports that some of the rice brought from Bangladesh had started to rot.

Immediately after the earthquake on April 25, 2015, China and Bangladesh had donated around 10,030 tonnes of rice to distribute among the earthquake victims in 14 worst affected districts.

Even after more than a year since donation was provided, the Nepalese government only distributed around 2,600 tonnes to the needy people from quake-affected zones while the rest remained in the NFC's warehouses.

Out of remaining rice, the NFC dispatched 3,400 tonnes to five districts in the Karnali region in the far western part of the country which has been facing food crisis in the recent months due to prolonged drought.

As per the government's plan, the rice will be distributed under 'food for work program' to the people of Karnali.

The people from the area will be mobilized in the road construction program and will be given rice as the payment.
Red Rock actors are paid less than their counterparts on rival soap Fair City.

The Herald has learned that the stars of Red Rock produce the goods on set for around 344 per day - 25pc less than Fair City actors, who are paid 459 for a day shift.

RTE's daily rate for actors on the long-running show was revealed earlier this year under the Freedom of Information Act.

The state broadcaster came in for much scrutiny when it emerged that the total bill per episode was around 55,000.

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In Ballymount, TV3 execs have invested 7m into their first foray into soapland and Red Rock has been enjoying a run of critical acclaim recently.

The show looks set to be filmed all year round next year, forgoing a summer break, but it is not clear how much actors stand to earn from any extended periods of filming.

An episode of the show is usually filmed in two days but no details about the show's schedule on its return to screens in September will be revealed until TV3's autumn launch.

At the moment, the actors are on a break from filming for the summer and may pursue independent projects.

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The last series ended on a cliffhanger, with viewers left wondering who was behind dodgy cop Brian McGonigle's murder.

Red Rock producers refused to comment on actors' pay.

An industry source pointed to the fact that the staff work a lot harder to produce a high quality show without the "luxury" of state funds and ad revenue. Competition has been stiff between the two Irish soaps since the TV3 drama hit Irish screens in January 2015, despite the shows being aired on different days.

Red Rock has picked up three Irish Film and TV Awards (IFTA), including the gong for 'best soap'.

Video of the Day

It's quality will be tested overseas when it will launch on BBC One next Monday at 1.45pm, in a slot usually occupied by Doctors. Red Rock has also been picked up by Amazon in the US.

The show's producer Gareth Philips (inset) has previously worked on Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
Sandra Sterling, reacts during community vigil in memory of her nephew, Alton Sterling, who was shot dead by police, at the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Reuters/Jeffrey Dubinsky

Hundreds of mourners have gathered in Baton Rouge for a second night of protest, prayer and remembrance following the death of a black man who was fatally shot as he scuffled with two white police officers.

Alton Sterling, 37, was shot early on Tuesday as he wrestled with two white police officers outside a small supermarket where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed.

Mobile phone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against black people.

In the latest death, a Minnesota officer shot a black man in a car with a woman and a child about on Wednesday in an incident where the aftermath of the killing was streamed on Facebook Live.

Moving quickly to keep tensions from boiling over in Louisiana, Democratic governor John Bel Edwards asked the US Justice Department to lead a civil rights investigation into the killing.

"I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least," the governor said at a news conference.

Sandra Augustus, an aunt who helped raise Mr Sterling after his mother died, spoke to the crowds on Wednesday night with a tearful, broken voice.

She said a second video that emerged showing the moments before her nephew was shot left her angry.

"I'm angry, but I'm not angry enough to hurt nobody," Ms Augustus said. "I'm not angry enough to go into the street. I'm not angry enough to curse the police out. But I'm angry and I'm mad because they took something from me that I never ever will get back."

Terrance Carter, Mr Sterling's 28-year-old nephew, wore a t-shirt with his uncle's image printed on it. He said the police went too far.

He said: "They did it wrong. They could have handled it better than they did. They didn't have to shoot him."

But he added that the family was not condoning violent protests.

"The family just wants it to be peaceful," he said. "I understand right now it's bigger than us, but at the same time we're just trying to work through this and be smooth with it."

In a statement, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the shooting a tragedy and said trust between police and the communities they serve needs to be rebuilt.

"Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn't consider them as precious as others because of the colour of their skin," Mrs Clinton said.

Police said a gun was taken from Sterling after he was killed early on Tuesday.

It was not clear from the footage whether Mr Sterling had the gun in his hand or was reaching for it when he was shot. A witness said he saw police pull a gun from Mr Sterling's pocket after the shooting.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie Jr said Mr Sterling was armed but that there are still questions about what happened.

Mr Dabadie, who called the shooting a "horrible tragedy", said: "Like you, there is a lot that we do not understand. And at this point, like you, I am demanding answers."

Mr Sterling was confronted by police after an anonymous caller reported being threatened by someone with gun outside the store, authorities said.

In the video, one of the officers tackled Mr Sterling, and the two officers pinned him to the pavement.

Someone shouted: "He's got a gun! Gun!"

One officer pulled his weapon from his holster. After some shouting, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The camera pulled away before more shots were heard.

The officers, identified by the chief as Blane Salamoni, a member of the department for four years, and Howie Lake II, who has been on the force for three years, were placed on administrative leave, which is standard department procedure.

Lake was involved in another police shooting in December 2014. He told detectives investigating that shooting that he fired six or seven times when a suspect refused to drop his gun, threatened to kill himself and pointed his revolver at officers. The man was wounded by police.

In the shooting on Tuesday, authorities would not say whether one or both officers fired their weapons or how many times.

The store owner, Abdullah Muflahi, released a video that he said he shot from a slightly different angle. He said Mr Sterling was not holding a gun during the shooting but that he saw officers remove one from his pocket afterwards. His video shows an officer reaching into Mr Sterling's pocket to grab an object.

Mr Muflahi said an officer fired four to six shots into Mr Sterling's chest.

The street protest continued into the night on Wednesday. People danced on cars and trucks, blocked traffic, and demanded justice. The protests were peaceful, and there was no sign of police even as the protests blocked a thoroughfare through that section of Baton Rouge.

Kristen George, a 25-year-old restaurant manager, came to the protest with her two-year-old son Amazen and her wife and her nine-year-old son. Ms George said she wanted to show her children the meaning of a civil rights protest.

"It's hard out here for a black man in 2016," she said. "I don't want them to feel scared to stand up for their rights."

Nefertiti Queen, a 34-year-old activist, predicted the protests in Baton Rouge would continue and remain peaceful as long as the authorities take the right steps in the investigation.

"It's peaceful right now, but if the people don't get what they want, it might get like Ferguson," she said.

She said she spent some time protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, after the controversial police shooting of Michael Brown, a black man who was unarmed.

"People will get frustrated if they don't get answers," she said.

Baton Rouge, a city of about 229,000, is 54% black, according to census data, and more than 25% of its people live in poverty.

Police said they have dash-cam video, bodycam video and store surveillance footage of the shooting that will be turned over to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department will look into whether the officers willfully violated Mr Sterling's civil rights through the use of unreasonable or excessive force.

Similar investigations, which often take many months, were opened after Mr Brown's shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and following Eric Garner's chokehold death in New York City.
A young man has launched a campaign urging people to spend a day in a wheelchair following a series of difficulties he experienced on a train.

Sean OKelly was travelling in a wheelchair by DART from Dalkey to Clontarf earlier this year for a driving lesson when there was no one there to assist him off the train when he arrived and the stations lift was out of service.

It was just the straw that broke the camels back, Sean, from Dalkey, told Independent.ie.

When a wheelchair user wants to travel with Irish Rail, they are advised to provide at least 24 hours notice that they plan to travel to ensure that someone is there to help them on and off. Bus Eireann issue similar advice to wheelchair users.

The driver had to let me off, he said.

In come cases, passengers have brought me off. Drivers have refused in the past. Its disgraceful, he said.

Sean (23) then went on to exit the station, but the elevator was broken.

I rang Pearse Station and they sent someone from Killester to help me off.

However, theres not always someone around to help, says Sean.

There have been many situations where Ive been stuck. We, as wheelchair users, should be able to go where we want, when we want, he said.

Having to provide 24 hours notice is discrimination.

Im 23 years old. I should be able to go out and have fun spontaneously. Every move from my house has to be planned.

In response to the situation, Sean launched a campaign  A Day in my Wheels.

Im challenging the public and politicians to spend a day in my wheels. Im challenging Minister for Disability Finian McGrath, Minister for Health Simon Harris and all local councillors to take on my challenge.

Sean wants people to experience the challenges that society brings that he faces each day.

We are a minority in this country. We are pushed aside, almost forgotten, he said of his feelings about the wheelchair community in Ireland.

Sean is campaigning through his Facebook page to encourage people to spend a day in a wheelchair and experience the difficulties he, and many other wheelchair users, face each day in an effort to improve the lives of the 40,000 wheelchair users in Ireland.

Follow Seans campaign here.
Lance Corporal Ian Malone, who was killed by a sniper in Basra Photo: Damien Eagers

A Dublin mother whose son was killed in the Iraq War says that no report will make her loss any easier to bear.

Corporal Ian Malone, from Ballyfermot, was killed in Basra by a sniper's bullet in 2003 when the British and US armies invaded Iraq.

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The 28-year-old served with the British Army's Irish Guards and was the first Irish-born soldier to be killed during the Iraq War.

His mother May, her partner Tom, and Ian's siblings Michelle, Debbie, Carol and Edward, last night said the damning Chilcot report does not provide the family with any comfort.

Read more: Tony Blair on Chilcot report: 'I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse'

His heartbroken mother revealed she watched Tony Blair's statement on television and didn't take any comfort in his response.

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"There will never be a satisfactory answer, there really was no need for the war," Ms Malone told the Irish Independent last night.

"There were an awful lot of questions asked, but he didn't answer any of them.

"We listened to it and it was like double Dutch to us.

"It's not going to do anything, he made a great emphasis on putting the blame on his advisors. It's just a blame game, there is going to be no result for any families involved.

"It will be a big carnival affair for a few weeks and then it will all calm down.

"It doesn't mean much to the family, nothing will bring Ian back. Life has to go on."

Read more: Long wait for answers for relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq ahead of Chilcot report release

Tom said calls for Mr Blair to face war crimes wouldn't achieve anything. He added the Malone family do not believe any further reports or inquires would be helpful.

An emotional May last night recalled the final time she saw her son was at her birthday several months before his death.

May and Tom were having a few drinks in the local pub and heard on the news that two soldiers had been killed in Iraq - but she didn't question if it was her son.

It was only when they walked home that she realised a car from the British Embassy was waiting at her house to deliver the devastating news that her son had been killed.

Read more: 'Please stop saying I was lying' - says former UK Prime Minister Blair after Iraq war inquiry

"That's the life he wanted, he really wanted to join the army, so what could we do? We couldn't stop him.

"He's gone now and we can't turn back the clock. I don't want to be angry, Ian wouldn't want that," May added.

His family said Ian applied to join the Irish Defence Forces, but was rejected due to his age.

Ian's funeral was the first with a uniformed British military presence south of the border since 1922.
Gwen Finlay, of Cherrywood, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin pictured leaving the Four Courts following a Circuit Civil Court hearing.Pic: Collins Courts

Gwen Finlay, of Cherrywood, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin pictured leaving the Four Courts yesterday following a Circuit Civil Court hearing.Pic: Collins Courts

A driving instructor, who owes more than 170,000 arrears on her mortgage and over 40,000 in credit card debts, today lost her home when a bank was granted a possession order against it.

Barrister Stephen Byrne told the Circuit Civil Court that Gwen Finlay, of Cherrywood, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, now owed KBC Bank Ireland a total of 606,000 which included mortgage repayment arrears of 171,000.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane, who ordered that the bank be allowed to re-possess the house by mid-October, said Ms Finlay also owed credit card debts of 30,000 and 12,000 on which no payments were being made.

Mr Byrne, who appeared with Beauchamps Solicitors for KBC, had told the court Ms Finlay had been repaying the bank 5 a week, which she had recently upped to 20 a week, when monthly repayments on her debt should be 2,665.

Judge Linnane heard that Finlay had taken out loans totalling more than 566,000 over several years from 2001 with her home at Cherrywood as security.

The judge said Ms Finlay had been paying 20 a month until recently when she increased the monthly repayment to 100, more than 2,500 short of the necessary monthly repayment.

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It is not in dispute that there is default in respect of repayments, Judge Linnane said. Ms Finlay in recent times increased her monthly payments to 100 and because of this she contends she has entered into a new binding arrangement with the bank.

Judge Linnane told Finlay that was not the case and the bank had comprehensively dealt with points she had raised in five sworn affidavits before the court.

The judge said that a Standard Financial Statement Ms Finlay had furnished to the bank last September detailed arrears of 143,000 existing on the mortgage at that time.

She has credit card debt of 30,000 and 12,000 in respect of which no payments are being made. She does not have a permanent job and her income is 1,132 a month, Judge Linnane said.

Judge Linnane said there were also two judgment mortgages registered against her interest in No 34 Cherrywood.

She said the loan was clearly in significant arrears and mounting with no prospect of any arrangements being entered into now.

This is just a situation that is deteriorating day by day and I am making an order for possession of the property in question with a stay of three months on execution of the order, Judge Linnane said.

Dismissing a plea for an extended stay by Finlay, who represented herself in the case, Judge Linnane said the court proceedings had been in being for 18 months and had not just come out of the blue on her.

It was up to the bank if it wanted to give her more time.

Mr Byrne said it had been the banks intention to suggest a stay of only a month or two at the most.
A woman charged with murdering her colleague by driving him into a harbour, where he drowned, told a paramedic: He shouldnt have been there. I drove the car into the water, her trial has heard.

The paramedic was giving evidence to the Central Criminal Court yesterday on the second day of the 29-year-olds trial.

Marta Herda of Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow is charged with the murder of 31-year-old Csaba Orsas on March 26, 2013.

The Polish waitress has pleaded not guilty to murdering the Hungarian at South Quay, Arklow.

Paul Quinn testified that he was called to the quay around 6.15 that morning, where he met Ms Herda.

She was soaking wet, distraught, cold and shivery, he recalled. There was white foam coming from her mouth.

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He said that he and his colleague treated her for hypothermia before taking her to hospital in Loughlinstown.

He said he tried to talk to her in the back of the ambulance during the 45-minute journey.

She would repeat the name, Csaba. She was concerned, he said. Csaba was the passenger in the car.

He was asked if she mentioned who was driving.

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Marta said she was driving, he replied.

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Mr Quinn said that she kept mentioning that Csaba shouldnt have been there. He became concerned that there might have been an assault so he questioned her.

She said: He shouldnt have been there. I drove the car into the water, he said.

A witness, who lived near the quay, testified that she was woken by a woman screaming that she had been raped.

Christina Byrne testified that she went outside once she heard the words: Help. Ive been raped.

I walked up to the top of the road, she said, recalling that her neighbour had also gone out. The girl seemed very upset She was dripping wet.

She was cross examined by Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending, who thanked her for going out to help.

He put it to her that her neighbour, Maria Travers, had also thought that she had heard the word, rape, but had accepted under cross examination that the woman might not have said this.

My own client cant remember what she said, he had told Ms Travers. But theres no suggestion that she was raped, so I suggest it may be possible she didnt say that.

Ms Travers agreed that it was possible because she didnt speak Polish and because an echo in the area might have distorted the words.

Would you accept the same thing? he asked Ms Byrne.

No, she replied. Id be 100 per cent sure.

He suggested that she wasnt being honest when she said she was certain and asked if it was possible that she was mistaken.

No, she replied.

Mr O Lideadha had earlier indicated that the States case was that his client had lured Mr Orsas to his death. He was questioning the garda dealing with phone records.

Garda Michael Hall had collated records of calls and text messages between the accused, the deceased and some of their colleagues at the Brook Lodge Hotel in Aughrim.

A number of the calls were made between 5.20am and 5.37am that day.

He agreed with the barrister that the prosecution opened the case, saying that how the accused and deceased came to be together that morning may be of significance.

So these are potentially important calls, suggested Mr O Lideadha.

Garda Hall agreed.

Read More

The prosecution case is that these are suspicious communications and the accused has effectively lured the deceased out to his death through these calls, continued the barrister. Isnt that the case?

However, Garda Hall said that all he could say was whats on the phone records.

The jury also heard that the deceased mans injuries were consistent with drowning.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy was giving evidence of the results of the autopsy she carried out on the deceased.

There was abundant bloodstained froth in his airways, she said. His lungs were double the normal weight and overinflated. Their appearance was consistent with death due to drowning.

The trial has now gone into legal argument before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy. It will continue on Monday before the jury of eight men and four women.
A Donegal man who was charged with possession of firearms and IRA membership before the Special Criminal Court in March has been additionally charged with possession of ammunition.

Shane Rowan (39), of Forest Park, Killygordan, County Donegal was today charged with the possession of 78 rounds of 9mm parabellum calibre ammunition at the same address on March 9th this year.

Detective Garda Leanne Cruise, of the Special Detective Unit, told the court that she met Mr Rowan at the court today, where she read over the charge to the accused man, before cautioning him.

Mr Rowan made no reply, she told the court.

Previously, Mr Rowan was charged with the possession of three assault rifles, including a Chinese Type 56, a Romanian PM63 and a Zastava M70, as well as three magazines suitable for use in each rifle, at Tuiterath, Balrath, Slane, County Meath on March 9th.

He was also charged with possession of 75 rounds of assorted manufactured 7.62 by 39mm calibre ammunition at the same place on the same date.

Additionally, Mr Rowan was charged with membership of an unlawful organization styling itself the Irish Republican Army, otherwise Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the IRA, also on the same date.

The book of evidence for all four charges was served on Mr Rowan today and the court heard that his case will be heard on July 19th.

Mr Justice Paul Butler, presiding with Judge Alison Lindsay and Judge Cormac Dunne, remanded the accused man in custody until that date.
A paedophile film-maker worked with young people while awaiting trial for a string of child sex attacks.

Aiden Patrick Molloy was last week jailed for two years after he was found guilty of a six-year campaign of sex abuse against a young schoolgirl.

The girl was molested by Molloy several times between 1998 and 2004, when she was aged between 13 and 19.

Concerns have been raised that the 55-year-old worked with children after being charged with sex offences.

Molloy, from Loughbracken Road, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone described himself on business websites as a film-maker.

He owns his own production and filming company called Molloy Films. Before his conviction, a large portion of his work involved filming weddings, Christenings, school, sporting and community events.

Following a complaint to police, Molloy was charged more than 18 months ago with indecently assaulting the schoolgirl on a number of occasions.

He pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. But despite the nature of the charges against him, he continued to work with youngsters.

It is understood that those who commissioned him were unaware of the allegations.

Earlier this year, just a few months before he was due to stand trial, he filmed a number of schoolgirls for a charity event.

And in December, he filmed a Christmas Santa run featuring several children.

A source close to the case said: "It is indefensible that this man was working with children and young girls while awaiting trial on extremely serious sex abuse charges.

"To make it worse, no parents were notified that the man working with their children was accused of child sex offences.

"This man is extremely manipulative. He is not a nice man, but for many years was able to fool so many people."

In May, Molloy was found guilty by a jury of three charges of indecent assault on the girl that he molested.

Last week, a judge jailed him for two years and placed him on the sex offenders' register.

The judge said, however, that he would not make an order banning the defendant from working with children upon his release from prison.

He explained the court was satisfied, having regard to all the circumstances, that it was unlikely Molloy would commit any further offences against a child.

The judge added that it was therefore unnecessary to disqualify the defendant from working with children under the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults Order.

He did, however, impose a Sexual Offences Prevention Order prohibiting Molloy from having contact with children under the age of 16, apart from unavoidable contact taking place in the course of everyday life, for a period of five years.
An accountant alleged to have misappropriated 161,000 of a charitys funds has agreed to meet its representatives in the coming days.

Greg Walsh consented to orders sought in the High Court by Carline Learning Centre, a State-funded charity in west Dublin providing supports for disadvantaged teenagers.

The charitys chairman, John McKernan, has claimed in an affidavit that cheques amounting to 161,000 were paid to Mr Walshs business and two other entities unrelated to Carline throughout 2014.

Mr Walsh was the charitys treasurer at the time and was trusted to deal with its accounts and pay its bills.

Some of the cash had been supposed to the used to meet PAYE and PRSI obligations.

But these went unpaid, said Mr McKernan, and the charity now owes the Revenue Commissioners 72,500.

When the matter came before the High Court this morning, Carlines barrister, Eamon Marray, said matters had moved on and Mr Walsh had given undertakings to cooperate with the charity.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan heard documentation had been submitted by the Revenue Commissioners confirming amounts owed to it.

Mr Walsh has agreed to give undertakings in relation to six orders Carline had sought in a notice of motion to the court.

These include that he return all monies in his possession which are the property of the charity, that he disclose the whereabouts of the charity funds he allegedly diverted and misappropriated, and that he not impede the charity in its efforts to recover those funds.

He also agreed to furnish the charity with all documentation in his possession relating to the diverted money and not to dissipate his assets below 250,000.

A meeting between Mr Walsh and Carlines auditors is set to take place in the coming days.

The matter will return to the court next week.

On Wednesday, counsel for Carline was given permission to serve proceedings on Mr Walsh at short notice.

The charity, which receives over 500,000-a-year from State bodies and has offices in Lucan, submitted a complaint to gardai the previous day.

Mr Walsh, with an address in Chapelizod, has yet to comment on the allegations against him.

Mr McKernans affidavit said concerns about financial irregularities stretching back to 2014 surfaced in May and June of this year.

He said a limited investigation was carried out after it was discovered Revenue liabilities had not been paid.

Mr McKernan said the investigation revealed what can only be described as serious irregularities in certain books and records.

It was discovered that entries in the stubs of the charitys cheque book which indicated cheques had been drawn down in favour of the Revenue in fact related to cheques paid to Mr Walshs company.

When challenged on the issue, Mr Walsh wrote to the charity on June 14 saying that accounts were up to date.

But Mr McKernans affidavit said Mr Walsh failed to offer any credible explanation.

It described a letter written by Mr Walsh as a work of fiction which was not in any way substantiated by paperwork and figures to hand.
A dialogue on the South China Sea between Chinese and US think tanks was held in Washington DC on Tuesday. The dialogue came at the right time as political forces of the US and the Philippines are now meddling in the waters of the South China Sea.

The dialogue not only told the US strategists Chinas resolution and capability to defend its own interests and rights, but also demanded they reconsider the US position on the South China Sea issue.

As a country outside the region, the US is not directly concerned with the South China Sea issue. But in the last few years, the US has been aggravating the tension in the area by using the South China Sea issue as a tool to achieve its own strategic interests.

After then US Secretary of State proclaimed the country's re-entry into Asia-Pacific in 2009, senior US officials have been hyping the South China Sea issue on different occasions and pointing fingers at Chinas claims. They even instigated regional countries including the Philippines to make troubles for China.

For instance, freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is not a problem, but the US has labeled it one for its own interests. The Pentagon even flexed its military muscle by deploying aircraft carriers, strategic bombers and missile destroyers.

What the US did greatly increased risks in the region, but it at the same time cemented Chinas determination and capability to safeguard its own interests and rights. The US must bear this fact in mind.

The dialogue also focused on how to prevent the South China Sea issue from dominating the China-US ties and generating a negative spillover effect.

At this time, the US must reevaluate its South China Sea policy with the big picture of China-US ties in mind.

China hopes the US can make a rational choice between risk control and brinkmanship, but at the same time China is also well prepared for any risky actions the US might take. A wise choice for the US would be to play a constructive role in the South China Sea issue.

For a long time, China has been developing Sino-US relations with a long-term and strategic view, and committed itself to managing divergences in a constructive manner.

In the Asia-Pacific region where the two countries share common interests, China is also willing to work with the US to defend regional stability and prosperity by building an inclusive friendship network together.

However, if the US sticks to its brinkmanship, it will possibly accelerate the tension in the South China Sea.

China has rock-solid determination to safeguard its sovereignty and territory. It will not ask for anything that doesnt belong to it, but will fight for every inch of its territory within its sovereignty.

Michael Swaine, a senior researcher with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace once wrote in an article that the ongoing dispute over the South China Sea threatens to drive China-US relations permanently in a far more adversarial, zero-sum direction and destabilize the region.

His words are not sensational given the regional influence of both China and the US. The risky actions of the US may bring temporary sensations, but it will definitely pay the price once it crosses the bottom line drawn by China.
The lawyer for a woman charged with murdering her colleague by driving him into a deep harbour has indicated that the States case is that she lured him to his death.

Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC was questioning a garda dealing with phone records on Thursday morning - the second day of the 29-year-olds trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Marta Herda of Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow is charged with the murder of 31-year-old Csaba Orsas around 6am on March 26, 2013.

The Polish waitress has pleaded not guilty to murdering the Hungarian at South Quay, Arklow.

Garda Michael Hall testified that he had collated records of calls and text messages between the accused, the deceased and some of their colleagues at the Brook Lodge Hotel in Aughrim.

A number of the calls were made between 5.20am and 5.21am that day.

He agreed with the barrister that the prosecution opened the case, saying that how the accused and deceased came to be together that morning may be of significance.

So these are potentially important calls, suggested Mr O Lideadha.

Garda Hall agreed.

The prosecution case is that these are suspicious communications and the accused has effectively lured the deceased out to his death through these calls, continued the barrister. Isnt that the case?

However, Garda Hall said that all he could say was whats on the phone records.

The jury also heard that the deceased mans injuries were consistent with drowning.

State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy was giving evidence of the results of the autopsy she carried out on the deceased.

There was abundant bloodstained froth in his airways, she said. His lungs were double the normal weight and overinflated. Their appearance was consistent with death due to drowning.

The trial continues this afternoon before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of eight men and four women.
The trial of a woman charged with murdering her colleague has heard that a witness noticed a woman arguing on the phone in a car shortly before the accused is alleged to have driven him into a deep harbour, where he drowned.

Paul Hickey was giving evidence to the Central Criminal Court yesterday on the second day of the trial.

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Marta Herda (29), with an address at Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow, is charged with the murder of Csaba Orsas (31) around 6am on March 26, 2013.

The Polish waitress has pleaded not guilty to murdering the Hungarian at South Quay, Arklow.

Mr Hickey testified that he left his home for work around 5.20am that morning.

Within five minutes, he walked past a gold or silver Volkswagen Passat parked half on the Wexford Road and half in a parking space. The engine was running, he said.

He explained that this was not something he would usually notice on his way to work. He could generally count the number of cars he would see at that time on one hand.

He said he had noticed this car before because it had rubber eyelashes over the headlights.

"I could see someone in the car alone, on the phone, very animated, like some argument was going on," he said, confirming that the person was female.

He said he could see her gesticulating with her hand.

He said a cyclist passed him later as he made his way through the town, and the same car with the same driver passed him soon afterwards.

"Even though it was half five in the morning, I noticed the car never overtook the bike, even though it had a chance to...That's why I really took notice."

He said the driver was still on the phone and still animated.

"It actually sounded like a heated argument," he said, explaining that the car was travelling very slowly. "I heard a loud voice."

He was asked about the tone, but said it was hard to tell "with a different language".

He said that at one stage the car pulled in for 10 to 15 seconds and he believed that the driver was still on the phone at that time.

He learned about the incident at the harbour later that day.

"I seen the car that I'd seen that morning had been pulled from the river," he said. "I contacted the guards."

Under cross examination by the defence, he agreed that he hadn't mentioned an argument in his statement to gardai that day, but had used the word 'animated'.

The court later heard that Ms Herda had two mobile phones, one that she used for the majority of her contact with the deceased and one that she used to contact others.

Garda Michael Hall testified that, from his analysis, Ms Herda used the first phone to call other people.

He said that in the 48 hours or so before the incident, she called the deceased 12 times; eight of these calls were from her second number.

During the same time, the deceased called her 13 times and sent her nine texts. All the calls and seven of the texts were to her second number.

The trial continues.
A heartbroken Dublin woman has said the Chilcot inquiry confirmed her familys fears that her brother died in vain in Iraq.

Corporal Ian Malone, from Ballyfermot, was shot by a sniper during an ambush in Basra in 2003.

The 28-year-old was the first Irish-born soldier to be killed during the Iraq war.

On Wednesday, Ians mother May and his siblings Carol, Michelle, Debbie and Edward were provided with a copy of Sir John Chilcots report.

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It was a hard day for us yesterday but we were happy with the findings in the report, Carol Malone told RTE Radio Ones Liveline.

We got the answers that we wanted, we believed that it was a war that shouldnt have happened and Sir John Chilcots findings clarified that we were correct in thinking that they shouldnt have gone to war.

We feel that he did die in vain, but Ian wouldnt have wanted to do anything else, she said.

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She added that her mother May has struggled in the weeks leading up to the publication of the report, and had been forced to relive the trauma from 13 years ago.

It brings an awful lot up for my mother, its taken an awful lot out of her losing him, and it doesnt get any easier as people say, Carol said.

In particular, Ive found this year very difficult without him and its the thirteenth year. I dont know if its the Chilcot report coming out and bringing it all back, but its been particularly difficult.

Although the family were invited to the UK to hear the report being delivered, they decided to stay in Ireland and read through it together as a family.

Carol described the inquirys findings as heartbreaking, but said she and her family are determined not to harbour bitterness.

Tony Blair has to live with all of those deaths on his hands, and you can see it has taken its toll on him. Hes the one who has to lie down at night and think of all those innocent people who died.

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We wont live our lives in bitterness, Ian wasnt a bitter person and he wouldnt have wanted that, it would eat you up inside. We try to remember him as he was and the good things that he did, she said.

What we would hope from the report is that lessons will be learned from this or in a couple of years time well have a very similar situation again.

On the night that Ian was killed, May had been having a few drinks in the local pub with her partner Tom.

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We got a knock at the door, at the time the British attache was there, him and his wife came in and they asked for my mum. He had been killed that day, Carol recalled.

We genuinely thought they were going to say he was injured, we hadnt even contemplated that he could have been killed. A couple of days later, we got his last letter: Im too handsome to die young  a fantastic ending, it gave us a little giggle, even though he was gone he was still making us laugh.

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Carol remembered her brother as a happy man and said he loved the work he was doing in the military.

As young as he was, he got to see a lot of the world, he was stationed out in Poland, in Germany, in Kosovo and Canada. Those opportunities wouldnt have been available had he stayed here, because he was just going from warehouse job to warehouse job and there was nothing really for him, he wasnt happy, she said.

When he went out there, he loved it. It was what he wanted to do, and we could see how happy he was when he came back to visit.

He thought they were going in there and they were going to make Iraq a safer place for the locals and everyone else, but it hasnt turned out that way.

Despite the heartache and stress that the Chilcot report brought back for the whole family, Carol said they want to remember how her beloved brother lived, not how he died.

Well remember him as a bright, brilliant man who was full of fun and had a great sense of humour. Were so proud of him and for what he achieved in his short life, she said.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny's leadership has been brought into sharp focus following his "shambolic" attempt to establish a post-Brexit all-island forum, as well as his controversial decision to allow Independent ministers a free vote on abortion.

The Fine Gael leader was strongly criticised and openly questioned at a meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party last night.

One of the main issues raised was the Government's botched attempt to establish the all-island forum, without consulting DUP leader and First Minister Arlene Foster in advance.

Read more: Taoiseach forced to scrap plans for North-South 'All-Ireland forum' to deal with Brexit

But several backbenchers also let fly over the decision to allow the Independent Alliance to vote freely on the issue of Mick Wallace's bill on fatal foetal abnormalities, which comes before the Dail today.

Read more: Serious tension on abortion risks Government stability

Three backbench TDs stood up at the meeting and criticised Mr Kenny in a move that will heap pressure on the embattled Taoiseach. Cork South West TD Jim Daly said Mr Kenny should have "stood up" to Mr Ross at the Cabinet meeting this week.

Louth TD Fergus O'Dowd mentioned the issue of "leadership" on three occasions in what is perceived by some within the party as a call for Mr Kenny to be replaced.

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Carlow/Kilkenny TD Pat Deering, who described Mr Ross this week as an "a la carte minister", told the meeting that he completely endorses the view that the Alliance's request for a free vote should have been shot down.

Several sources present said there had not been a meeting in months where the party leadership came under such stringent attack.

Read more: Alliance told to fight FG for free vote on abortion

Mr Kenny did not properly address the criticism, instead emphasising the importance of Ireland putting up a robust response to Brexit.

However, there was surprise when Mr Kenny re-appointed James Reilly as the party's deputy leader just weeks after he was effectively sacked.

"We now have a scenario where there are two political corpses running the party," one TD suggested last night.

But the dissent over Mr Kenny's leadership was clear before last night's meeting.

Read more: Brexit: Threat to Irish 12.5pc corporation tax as UK bids to slash rate

It emerged that Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan would have "strongly advised" against the Government's botched approach to the establishment of an all-island Brexit forum had he been consulted in advance by the Taoiseach.

Fine Gael ministers and senior Government figures also believe relations with the DUP have been "severely damaged" after efforts to establish the forum took place without first contacting First Minister Foster.

It's also emerged Ms Foster learned of the proposals through the media just hours before the North South Ministerial Council meeting in Dublin Castle on Monday. The DUP leader slapped down Mr Kenny over the plan, which has now been effectively scrapped.

But well-placed Government sources told the Irish Independent that Mr Flanagan would have advised against the Government's approach to the issue had he been consulted. It is also felt a longer period was required before any such proposal should have been tabled from Dublin, sources say.

Read more: The Border Brexodus - shoppers to go North amid fall of pound

Fine Gael TD for Waterford John Deasy last night said it is clear the credibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs has been damaged as a result.

"It's now clear the department was blind-sided and its credibility has taken a huge hit in the eyes of some senior Northern politicians," Mr Deasy told the Irish Independent.

"When the most senior political office in the land does a solo run without consulting the critical government department, it constitutes a major malfunction within Government," he added.

But Education Minister Richard Bruton dismissed criticism and said Mr Kenny is in a "pivotal" position in the post-Brexit negotiations.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael TDs expressed anger over alleged leaks to the media while the meeting was taking place. One suggested there should be a "signal blocker" on the room while party chairman Martin Heydon said it had been suggested to him previously that TDs should place their phones in a bucket on arrival.
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae has condemned the shooting of cattle by army marksmen as a disgraceful, despicable act.

Speaking in the Dail today, the Kerry TD said: I think its absolutely an outrageous act for our army to be used to shoot five cattle.

The people that were involved who ordered the people to pull the trigger  theyre a disgrace, not the people who shot the gun but the people who gave the order. Shame on them, absolute shame on them.

He added: Its outrageous, it shouldnt be tolerated.

Education Minister Richard Bruton responded by saying that the shooting was the last resort for reasons of public safety in a containment strategy, as the cows were believed to have TB.

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On Tuesday, shocking images emerged from a Co Monaghan farm showing five heifers lying dead on the grass with blood seeping from their gunshot wounds.

The cattle, previously owned by farmer John Hoey from Carrickmacross, were shot dead by members of the Defence Forces after unsuccessful attempts by bankruptcy officials to seize the animals.

Mr Hoey told the Irish Independent that the incident has destroyed him.

My head is busted. My son hasnt said a word since, he said.

Chris Lehane, the official bankruptcy assignee, said all other possibilities were exhausted before Defence Forces were called in to assist with the cull.

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I have a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue open to me to resolve the problem, he said.

Mr Lehane also noted that extensive TB testing had been carried out on the farm with the Department of Agriculture.

The results of those tests proved positive in the herd, greatly restricting what I could do with the animals, he said.

However, Mr Hoey told the Irish Independent that he was not informed that the cattle had TB.
Leo Varadkar has conceded has conceded that todays opinion poll  showing a surge in Fianna Fail support - is bad for the Government.

Mr Varadkar also warned the Independents  whose support dived 8pc - that publicly bickering with Fine Gael in Government will continue to erode their support.

But the Social Protection Minister  among those tipped to succeed Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach  insisted that he has full confidence in Mr Kenny who must be allowed time to consider when he wants to stand down, as he has pledged, before the next general election.

Mr Varadkar was speaking on Kildare local radio, KFM, where he said that four controversies which hit Government this week alone cannot all be laid at the Taoiseachs door.

When the poll result of this Ipsos MRBI survey for The Irish Times is compared with last February's general election, it puts Fine Gael at 24pc (down 2pc), Fianna Fail 33pc (up 9pc), Labour 5pc (down 2pc), Sinn Fein 16pc (up 2pc) and Independents and Others 22pc (down 8pc).

In the past four days the Taoiseach has been publicly rebuffed by Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster on his idea for an All Ireland Forum to handle the Brexit fallout. He has also had to cave in Independent Ministers in the Coalition and allow them a free vote on abortion legislation.

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The Government has also been hit by the forced resignation of former Senator Joe OToole from the water commission. There has also been controversy about the appointment of the Taoiseachs advisor, Andrew McDowell, to a prestige EU post in the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB).

Mr Varadkar said the EIB appointment came after an independent selection process and he had no knowledge of Independent Transport Minister Shane Ross blocking the appointment of former Fine Gael Taoiseach, John Bruton. But he conceded that the latest poll findings were bad and sent a message to Government.

The poll today is a bad one. It puts Fianna Fail nine points ahead of Fine Gael. It does send a bit of a message to Government and tell us that we need to get down to business and start doing the peoples business, Mr Varadkar told KFM presenter Shane Beatty.

But the Social Protection Minister also carried a warning for Independents whose support has fallen 8pc. He said Labour in Coalition had also suffered when they publicly quarreled with their government partners.

Mr Varadkar said this week's public spat where Independent Ministers insisted on a free vote about fatal foetal abnormalities on a bill by Independent TD, Mick Wallace, had undermined public confidence.
'Mr Kenny needs to realise that the 'Brexit' result requires an extraordinary and unprecedented effort from the Government of the day' Photo: Tom Burke

On Monday, he was slapped down by the North's First Minister and DUP leader Arlene Foster.

On Tuesday, he capitulated to Shane Ross on the issue of abortion before being questioned and mocked by Opposition leaders in the Dail. But yesterday Enda Kenny realised first-hand that his authority as leader of the Government, as well as his own party, is fast becoming eroded.

The scene was set during 'Leaders' Questions' when Meath West deputy Peadar Toibin labelled the Taoiseach "Calamity Kenny".

Mr Toibin was probably quoting Fine Gael backbenchers who have begun using that particular term to describe their leader in conversations with this newspaper.

It really is a sorry state of affairs when Sinn Fein backbenchers feel they are now in a position to, on a daily basis, mock every pronouncement of political leaders willing to step up to the plate.

Mr Toibin is of course a member of the party that yesterday decided to "reprimand" two of his colleagues for failing to toe the Sinn Fein line on none other than hare coursing.

Nonetheless, Mr Toibin's sneeriness was to be replicated as the day progressed.

His party leader Gerry Adams joined in, describing Mr Kenny's attempt to establish a cross-island 'Brexit' forum as "clumsy and incompetent". So after being dubbed clumsy, incompetent and a calamity by the Sinn Fein party, the Taoiseach entered the comforts of the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting.

This was a meeting of some of his greatest supporters, his own ministers and TDs.

His own people.

And yet, the criticism, hostility and frustration was levelled at the Taoiseach from all fronts.

In fact, it seems like the only person in the room less popular than Mr Kenny was Shane Ross, or 'Lord Ross', as he is now often described.

Why, TDs asked, did Mr Kenny fail to pluck up the courage to face down his Transport Minister, particularly on an issue that the Government's chief legal adviser, Attorney General Maire Whelan, has deemed to be unconstitutional?

He failed to provide a proper answer in a short response that had little substance.

Jim Daly and Pat Deering, two backbench TDs who probably are not best pleased at being overlooked for a junior ministry, led the chorus of condemnation.

And wait! Did a parliamentary party member call for Mr Kenny's head?

After Louth TD Fergus O'Dowd chose, in almost Judas-like style, to mention the term 'leadership' on three occasions, word trickled out that a revolt was in the offing.

Mr O'Dowd was in fact referring to the change of leadership ahead of the next election that has been promised by the incumbent.

"However, there is no doubt a shot had been fired," noted one minister present.

Wexford TD Michael D'Arcy was next up. The newly elected deputy told Mr Kenny backbenchers are furious that members of the "lunatic left" seem to be given more speaking time than Fine Gael members.

"It's like the parliament of Albania," Mr D'Arcy said.

After what has been a torrid week, the Taoiseach is surely wondering whether the departure date that only he knows should now be brought forward.

If Mr Kenny does decide to plough on - as many of his colleagues are urging him to do - he needs to change tack.

He needs to re-assert his authority over a Government that seems to stumbling along at a time when leadership is required more than ever.

Mr Kenny needs to realise that the 'Brexit' result requires an extraordinary and unprecedented effort from the Government of the day.

If he doesn't have the energy, or ability, to lead that effort, there are plenty of people in the party who do.
The South China Sea arbitration unilaterally initiated by the Philippines was a weak substitute for realistic but honest foreign policy, and the US should have urged the Philippines to return to a diplomatic resolution, an American expert on foreign policy said.

Abraham SofaerGeorge P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and National Security Affairs, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, told Peoples Daily that USs conclusion that China is unwilling to negotiate in good faith is a mistake.

Recently, the spokesmen of Chinas Foreign Ministry has time and again reaffirmed Chinas adherence to dialogue and consultation in settling the South China Sea issue.

In the past months, the US has increased its military presence in the South China Sea, which is seen by Beijing as proof that Washington is directly supporting the Philippines arbitration case.

Douglas H. Paal, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie endowment for international peace, in a written interview with Peoples Daily also shared the point that negotiation would be far preferable to arbitration as a solution to the South China Sea disputes.

Tensions in the South China Sea have been on the rise since the Philippines initiated an arbitration process in 2013, backed by the United States, who said it was not taking sides in the island disputes.

China has made it clear it rejects the arbitration process, stressing that the arbitration process counter to the spirit of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Beijing also says the arbitration process is essentially related to sovereignty, which is not regulated by the UNCLOS.

Chas Freeman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 1993-94, also told Peoples Daily that a bilateral settlement through negotiations was always and remains the best solution to the South China Sea disputes for all interested parties.

According to the veteran diplomat, Chinese confrontations with U.S. naval vessels conducting surveillance operations in waters just beyond China's territorial seas have greatly complicated China's ability to take a strategically dispassionate view of the situation with the Philippines.

Chas Freeman also stressed that Manila's decision to go to court was motivated by the then Philippine government's desire to score political points, and the International Tribunal's attempt to exercise jurisdiction over the issues posed by the Philippines has clearly stiffened rather than relaxed China's position and complicated rather than facilitated a diplomatic solution to the existing problems.
An American vulture fund, evicting a family of four from their home for mortgage arrears, will make a 400m return on their 80m investment  and also pay almost no tax in Ireland.

Social Democrat TD Stephen Donnelly today told the Dail that a family of four in Kilkenny, struggling to get back on their feet, could not service the 350,000 mortgage sold to a US firm known as Oaktree Capital and trading in Ireland as Mars Capital.

Mr Donnelly said the firm paid 140,000 for the mortgage and got a 58pc discount for most of the loans they bought. The Kilkenny familys mortgage was sold to Mars Capital for 140,000  a mortgage the family could now service.

He said the family and other mortgage holders had been barred from bidding for their own loan.

Its very good news for Mars Capital because they believe that for their 80m investment they will get a return of 400m, Mr Donnelly said.

Mr Donnelly said that Mars Capital structured their affairs to ensure the only amount of income exposed to tax was 1,000.

An examination of Mars Capitals accounts is a master class in tax avoidance, Mr Donnelly told the Dail.

Mr Donnelly said their interest income was 4,559,904 and their administrative costs were 4,558,904  a difference of just 1,000.

Replying for the Government Education Minister Richard Bruton said Deputy Donnelly should bring any tax concerns he had to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners.

Mr Bruton said the Revenue had enhanced powers given them by Government to deal with these issues.

The Minister said help was available for people in mortgage arrears and they should access this.
A State-funded charity providing supports to disadvantaged teenagers has claimed a board member misappropriated up to 161,000.

The allegation was made in proceedings initiated yesterday by Carline Learning Centre against its treasurer, Greg Walsh.

It is claimed most of the cash was paid through cheques to Mr Walsh's business, Walsh & Company Accountants.

Some of the diverted money was supposed to have been used to cover PAYE and PRSI obligations. But it is claimed the cash was not handed over to the Revenue Commissioners, leaving the Dublin-based charity owing 72,500 in taxes.

The charity, which receives over 500,000-a-year from State bodies and has offices in Lucan, was given permission by the High Court to serve proceedings on Mr Walsh at short notice.

The matter will return to the court today, where lawyers for the charity have been asked to provide further information before they can apply for orders seeking the repayment of the cash and information about the whereabouts of the money.

A complaint was submitted by the charity to gardai on Tuesday, the Irish Independent understands. Sources said Mr Walsh, with an address in Chapelizod, had stepped aside voluntarily from the board.

He did not return calls seeking comment last night.

Read more: Director of Dublin charity Carline 'misappropriated' 161k of its funds - court hears

An affidavit entered in court from the charity's chairman, John McKernan, said concerns about financial irregularities stretching back to 2014 surfaced in May and June of this year.

He said "a limited investigation" was carried out after it was discovered Revenue liabilities had not been paid.

Mr McKernan said that Mr Walsh had been appointed treasurer in May 2014 and had been completely trusted and relied upon to maintain the charity's books and ensure all of its bills were paid.

He said the investigation "revealed what can only be described as serious irregularities in certain books and records".

It was discovered that entries in the stubs of the charity's cheque book which indicated cheques had been drawn down in favour of the Revenue in fact related to cheques paid to Mr Walsh's company.

When challenged on the issue, Mr Walsh wrote to the charity on June 14 saying that the accounts were up to date.

But Mr McKernan's affidavit said Mr Walsh failed to offer any credible explanation.

It described a letter written by Mr Walsh as "a work of fiction which was not in any way substantiated by paperwork and figures to hand".

Barrister Eamon Marray, for Carline, read out details regarding around a dozen cheques, ranging in value from 4,000 to 27,000, which had been made out to Mr Walsh's firm.

A further cheque for 4,280 was made out to a company called Bezique Ltd, which had no connection to Carline.

A sum of 7,860 was paid to a "W Banks", who had no association with the charity.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said the court had to be provided with full information, including documentation outlining sums owed to Revenue.

He said the allegations were serious ones, involving "deceit, fraud and embezzlement" and he wanted to be satisfied the charity had put its claims to Mr Walsh.

Mr Justice Gilligan also questioned why there was no letter to Mr Walsh setting out Carline's concerns when the payments went back to 2014.

He also questioned whether certain payments could have been Mr Walsh's fees, but was told by Mr Marray they were not as his role was voluntary.
John Hoey at his Annacroft livestock farm outside Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan. Inset, marksmen from the Defence Forces were called in to shoot the cattle. Photo: Pat Byrne

A devastated farmer at the centre of a bankruptcy case said his former cattle did not deserve to be shot dead by army marksmen.

Shocking images emerged from a Co Monaghan farm on Tuesday morning which show five heifers lying dead on the grass with blood seeping out of their wounds.

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The cattle, previously owned by John Hoey from Carrickmacross, were shot dead by the army after unsuccessful attempts by bankruptcy officials who were trying to recover assets.

Mr Hoey, who lives at Annacroft farmhouse near Carrickmacross, where he has been farming since 2011 with his partner Aisling Nic Ardaile and son Mack, said the incident has "destroyed him".

"They're supposed to be helping me sell off my assets, not gunning them down in front of me," Mr Hoey told the Irish Independent.

"These animals were worth a thousand a piece to anyone. This has destroyed me. My head is busted. My son hasn't said a word since."

The official bankruptcy assignee, Chris Lehane, said that the Defence Forces were called in to assist with the cull after all other possibilities were "exhausted".

This was carried out with approval from the Department of Agriculture and the co-operation of gardai.

"I have a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue open to me to resolve the problem," Mr Lehane said.

Mr Lehane said the farm has been visited over several weeks with extensive TB testing carried out with the Department of Agriculture.

"The results of those tests proved positive in the herd, greatly restricting what I could do with the animals," he said.

However, Mr Hoey, who said he is involved in bankruptcy proceedings over a 300,000 personal guarantee, told the Irish Independent he never saw any paperwork to state the animals had tested positive for TB.

Mr Hoey said 30 cows and calves were removed from the farm last month but officials failed to catch the five heifers last week after trying for eight hours.

He said that on Monday the animals were running for their lives and headed towards the farmhouse when they were shot.

"I could hear the shooting from my bedroom and I ran out and tried to save them," he said.

"Can you imagine looking out your window and seeing your cattle getting mowed down in the field  it's not fair. These animals did nothing to deserve what happened to them.

"I was running behind the last animal as they riddled her with bullets. She dropped down dead in front of me."

He said a garda vehicle was used to drag three carcasses from near the house to a waiting van.

The Department of Agriculture said the Defence Forces carried out the "humane destruction" of the five animals due to a "significant concern for public safety".

"This operation was carried out at the request of the official assignee responsible for the herd, in conjunction with An Garda Siochana, the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine and the Defence Forces, in keeping with official protocol," the spokesperson added.

"The carcasses were removed and excluded from the food chain."

Mr Lehane said he had tried to take the cattle off the farm with experienced cattle assistants and it had on some occasions been carried out successfully.

However, he said at times it proved more difficult as the "cattle were in large fields and were wild and dangerous."

Mr Lehane alleged cattle were "wandering over the roads, endangering the local community, road users and the cattle" and removal of the remaining five cattle was not possible due to "security issues".
Overpaid charity chiefs, who are using money which should be going to a good cause to boost their salaries are facing a crackdown.

Charities Regulator John Farrelly, who recently took over as head of the watchdog, said the size of some charity executive salaries is unacceptable.

He told the Irish Independent he will use his powers to force charities to ensure public donations and funds are used for the purpose intended.

"The salary should be commensurate with the role, the scope of the organisation and its income. That is how it works in most sectors and that is how it should operate in the charity sector," he added.

Not all charity chiefs have declared their salaries, but a significant number are paid over 120,000.

Mr Farrelly said he is drawing up regulations to compel charities to prove to him that salaries are in keeping with the range and finances of their organisation.

He wants them to provide evidence that money which should go to the charity's core work is not being wrongly channelled into high salaries.

The regulator's ultimate power is to de-register a charity if he feels rules are being breached.

Mr Farrelly said he also will be telling charities they need to be transparent so that people know where their money is going to and "who it is going to".

He was speaking as the public was left reeling by the extent of financial abuse at Console, the suicide bereavement charity.

Console's interim chief executive David Hall, who was installed this week to try to rescue the charity, warned that it will have to close its doors shortly if it is not given additional funding by the HSE.

He said it costs 100,000 a month to run Console and HSE funding amounts to just 70,000. Some 70,000 is owed to the Revenue Commissioners and there are also unknown legacy debts.

He has found no secret stash of funds which would help bail out the charity.

Former chief executive Paul Kelly, who is in a psychiatric hospital, spent lavish amounts of donations and HSE funding on his salary, cars and travel.

Console, which continues to provide a key service to the bereaved, enjoyed an income of over 5m in recent years.

But much of the cash was squandered using credit cards.

Around 53,000 which was deposited by the HSE is all that was left in the bank account. Another 100,000 is in the Console account in the UK.

Meanwhile, Mr Farrelly said he will get new powers of investigation from September.

Asked if the Console scandal was the tip of the iceberg he said he has no evidence of that.

However, he urged anyone with information and concerns about a charity to bring it to the attention of his office.

He said there are around 3,000 small local charities around the country which also need to register with his office, and they may be unaware of the obligation.
A Dublin band has apologised after they failed to show up to a wedding last Friday.

Delorean, a 1980s tribute band, were booked to play at a wedding in Galway, and the couple were shocked when the hours passed with no sign of them and no notice of their cancellation.

The groom wrote online: It was only when the hotel wedding planner came to our table at 8:30pm to say that the band hadn't set up and had we a contact number for them that we realised something very bad was up.

Luckily, the couple had booked a wedding DJ separately, but the groom said the bands absence caused a huge amount of panic and stress for him and his wife.

I feel so sorry for my wife. She is still so upset that her big day was ruined, he added.

Since the wedding, Deloreans Facebook page has been flooded with comments from disgruntled guests.

In absolute disbelief of the unprofessionalism and complete disregard that this band had for a couple, last weekend, when they didnt show up for their wedding, wrote one user.

Another described the move as heartbreaking.

It was such a beautiful fairy tale wedding until the band did not show up. How could human beings be so cruel as to do this to a couple on their special day?

The brides mother also took to Facebook to write: What a disgrace, we her mother, father, family and friends who travelled from Australia, California, Canada, Switzerland, Amsterdam, Wales and England were so disappointed.

I would not like any other couple to feel the way our daughter and her husband felt on that night, supposed to be the most important day of the start of their new life together, their wedding day.

I cant express the way I felt and will never forget the disappointment for such a lovely young couple.

Speaking to Independent.ie, the bands lead guitarist Thomas Brunkard said they had apologised to the clients.

Delorean have been in the wedding business for six years and we know and value the importance of each of our clients' big day. It was with much regret that we had to cancel last Friday's performance at late notice and we extend publicly the apology we gave our clients privately, he said.

Any wedding supplier would concur that this is a professional's worst nightmare. There's always a risk that something can go wrong and after nearly four hundred shows the probabilities fell against us.

Nobody can prepare for every outcome and in this case we truly had no alternative despite preparing processes for nearly every worst case scenario.

Mr Brunkard said the reasons behind the cancellation were between the band and the client, but he expressed his regret that they couldnt perform.

Some of the comments online suggest we were deliberate saboteurs though in our business reputation is everything so any supplier cancelling can only occur in an extreme situation.

We deeply regret that despite our best efforts circumstances prevented us from performing.

He added: Now that we have seen the worst possible crisis in this regard, this will make us better prepared in future and in time we hope to share the lessons of this unfortunate series of events with our fellow wedding suppliers.
A photo of a father sleeping under his sons hospital bed has gone viral for all the right reasons.

Andre Palmer, from Pennsylvania, was exhausted from finishing his third all night shift, but headed straight to his young sons bedside in hospital.

Palmers wife Amy told KTRK-TV that she was asleep in a chair in the room when her husband came in.

"I thought to myself after working all night he didn't have to come to the hospital," Amy said. "He could have went home to sleep."

When Amy woke up and saw her husband, she snapped a photo of him sleeping soundly on the floor underneath his 20-moth-old sons crib.

This a picture of a hard working man dedicated to his family, wrote Amy on Facebook alongside the photo.

After working all night third shift, hes right here with his son who is in the hospital. Hes so tired but hes here!!

Father of the year award goes to Andre Palmer! I love you more than words baby, she finished.

Amy has since expressed her gratitude for the support the family has received since the post when viral, and has said that their son is home from hospital and doing much better.

I am so overwhelmed with so much emotion right now. I just want to take a minute to thank everyone who reached out to us whether by sharing the story, commenting, or sending messages.

I took the picture because I thought what a selfless thing for my husband to do. He could have went home after work, he could have asked me to get up. I would have never imagined that it would have touched so many people.

The original post has since gone viral, receiving over 3,000 likes and three hundred shares.
Amy Regan (Infinity Fundraising), Ronan OGara and Ovia Cisang (Infinity Fundraising) in Dundrum Shopping Centre, Dublin, where Haiti charity Haven is is running a competition to give away a BMW 116d

The latest winner of Havens National Car Draw, Corkonian Amy Walsh has picked up her brand new BMW.

Amy Walsh of Ballygarvan picked up the cherry red 116d BMW from Kearys BMW Showroom on Thursday after winning the draw at the Cork Summer Show on 19 June.

All proceeds of the National Car Draw go towards the work Haven does in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Antonia King, the General Manager of Haven said: Haven is delighted to announce the winner of this competition as Amy Walsh. All funds raised will aid Havens work on the ground in Haiti, where our sustainable development projects are transforming lives and rebuilding communities.

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The non-governmental organisation has provided training to over 78,000 people and works to build social enterprise, skill and education in Haiti.
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Dan O'Brien Opinion While we catastrophise about Covid, we ignore risk of running out of cash

We Irish view the world in an increasingly strange and unhealthy way. We catastrophise about Covid in a way other European countries do not. We focus on how bad the effects of the virus could get, on how many more restrictions might be imposed by Government and how helpless we are in the face of the virus.
China has held the title of worlds largest robot market for three consecutive years, from 2013 through 2015. Also in 2015, the sales of robots for industrial use in China exceeded the same sales number for Europe, according to a recent report from thepaper.cn.

The same report states that the total number of robots sold in 2015 exceeded 68,000, which is a 30.3 percent rise from 2014.

The report was issued by Song Xiaogang, secretary general of the China Robot Industry Alliance, during the 2016 China International Robot Show (CIROS) that opened on Wednesday in Shanghai.

Specifically, some 36.8 percent of robots sold were deployed in the automobile industry. While the robots working with car manufacturers are mostly foreign brands, domestically-made robots were most frequently used in the metal product manufacturing industry, the report said. The most popular models on the Chinese market are multi-joint robots, with a growing percentage of domestic brands winning larger shares of the market.

Even the high-end industry is beginning to provide low-end products, indicating the massive popularity of robots in today's market. However, we must prevent this trend from growing more pronounced. Companies should be more innovative in their research, development and application of technologies. They must also avoid pointless competition, said Wang Weiming, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, during a forum at CIROS.

According to Wang, there are over 40 robot industrial parks across China and more than 800 large-scale robot manufacturing companies.

Wang Ruixiang, president of the China Machinery Industry Federation, said that the robot industry is a key parameter in judging a countrys mechanical industrialization. China began to list its robot industry as strategically important in 2014, thepaper.cn reported.
John Chilcot and Donald Trump have one thing in common. In their utterly different ways, they share misgivings about what happened in Iraq.

Britain went to war on the basis of flawed intelligence "before every peaceful option had been exhausted," and military action was "not the last resort," the former civil servant has soberly concluded. Speaking at a campaign rally a few hours before Mr Chilcot's report, Trump - who has declared the world would be "100 pc better off" if the likes of Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were still around - conceded the Iraqi dictator might have been a bad guy. "But you know what he did well?" asked the Republican presidential candidate. "He killed terrorists. He did that so good."

But there the tenuous similarities end. Britain yesterday appeared convulsed by fury and vindictiveness, largely directed at one man, Tony Blair. Here in the US, by contrast, the Chilcot report has generated so far nothing but deafening silence, despite its being the most compendious postmortem yet on the biggest single foreign policy blunder by the US since Vietnam.

The sins of the Americans were the sins of the British, magnified tenfold: the breakdown of intelligence, or rather its wilful trampling by politicians bent on war; the scandalous lack of planning for the invasion's aftermath; the wrongheaded decisions to disband the Iraqi army and de-Ba'athify Iraq's civic administration; the war crimes exemplifed by Abu Ghraib; the conflict's cost in blood (most of it Iraqi) and treasure ($2 trillion and counting) - not to mention the geopolitical damage, from the rise of Sunni extremism and Isil to the unwitting but entirely predictable boost to Iran's influence in the region. Both flowed from America's misbegotten adventure in Iraq.

Just as in Britain, Iraq was a colossal collective failure by the ruling US establishment and elites. Remember the supine votes of Congress giving George W Bush carte blanche for his war, the derision heaped upon the few dissenting voices like Brent Scowcroft, Bush senior's national security adviser? Or the stream of erroneous reports in 'The New York Times' no less, hyping Saddam's WMD threat?

But America has moved on. The country's attention span is famously short. The focus now is on a tumultuous presidential election just four months off, for which the nominating conventions are days away. The repercussions of Hillary Clinton's email let-off by the FBI dominate the headlines and cable news, interrupted only by uproar over a new killing of a black man by white police, this time in Louisiana. Iraq, who cares? It's history.

But it isn't history, and America should care. For one thing, some 5,000 US troops are now back in Iraq, "advising" the Iraqi government and army on defeating Isil. The country is in chaos, epitomised by the latest bombing in Baghdad in which 250 Iraqis have died, an atrocity claimed by Isil.

Up to a point, America's seeming indifference now can be defended. One of Blair's correct observations - in a letter to Bush setting out his difficulties at home - was that "people just don't have the same sense of urgency post 9/11 as people in the US". Iraq flowed from the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Britain experienced nothing similar until July 7, 2005, and then on a smaller scale. The intelligence supposedly linking Saddam with al-Qaeda was as flawed as that over the WMDs, but Bush and his Vice-President Dick Cheney hyped it relentlessly.

Yes, the US hasn't set up its own Chilcot process, for a total accounting of the war. But there have been dozens of investigations, by Congress, the Pentagon and other bodies, as well as countless books. Then there was the 9/11 Commission report of 2004. Admittedly, this last did not directly deal with the Iraq invasion, but it authoritatively debunked the Bush administration's suggestions, then accepted by a majority of Americans, that Saddam was somehow involved with 9/11.

Raw anger towards George W Bush, akin to that now directed at Blair, has mostly subsided, helped by the public praise and honour routinely heaped upon the military here, something inconceivable in Britain. The 43rd President, we are told, spent Chilcot day, his 70th birthday, biking with wounded veterans.

Nonetheless reputations have been shattered. Bush will be remembered as the Iraq War President. Dick Cheney's place in history's villains' gallery is assured by his role as the conflict's great enabler. So is that of Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defence and ruthless Washington operator who gave a lesson in how not to run a war. Colin Powell's services to his country are numerous. But he will be remembered for his UN speech selling the phony intelligence about Saddam's WMD.

But none of this, any more than John Chilcot's huge and worthy tome, guarantees what is most important: that a scandal like Iraq never happens again. Nobody does set piece postmortems like the British. If only similar thoroughness were used to stop such scandals before they happen. As Bush would put it, a bit of pre-emptive action.
When you ask Labour MPs how the party travelled from Tony Blair to Jeremy Corbyn in just eight years, many reply with just one word: "Iraq". The view runs through the party, from ardent Blairites to ultra-loyal Corbynistas.

The Iraq War has cast a long shadow over Labour. It prevented Blair securing a bigger majority than the 66-seat one he won in 2005, down from 167 at the previous election. That deprived Gordon Brown of a bigger cushion that might have saved him when he fought his only general election as prime minister in 2010, and lost.

The explosion over Iraq among Labour members was delayed, but always bound to happen. Behind the scenes, Ed Miliband devoted enormous amounts of energy to keeping the party united. But when he stood down as leader last year, the fuse was lit. Members who had quit, many over Iraq, returned to vote for Corbyn in the leadership election. Many of those who had remained seized their chance to bury New Labour. Although there were other concerns - such as being Tory-lite on the economy - Iraq was a symbol of everything they disliked. The result: a derisory 4.5pc of the vote for the Blairite Liz Kendall, and an incredible 59.5pc for Corbyn, then chair of the Stop the War Coalition and a campaigner against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

So will the publication of the Chilcot inquiry finally lift the shadow from Blair and his party? It is unlikely to do so, given the stronger-than-expected criticism of Blair from John Chilcot in his report. It is not the establishment whitewash Blair's critics feared.

In his summarising statement, Chilcot levelled severe criticisms at the former prime minister on a long list of topics: that the UK chose to join the invasion before the peaceful options for disarmament by Iraq had been exhausted; the absence of proper cabinet government; the unjustified presentation of evidence claiming Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction; the failure to challenge "flawed intelligence"; the lack of planning for the aftermath of the invasion; the fact warnings were ignored about its likely impact, including the threat to the UK from al-Qaeda, internal strife in Iraq and regional instability and, crucially, saying that the UK-US relationship does "not require unconditional support where our interests or judgements differ".

The findings are worse for Blair than his allies were hoping. The report will not dilute the anger still felt towards him by many in his party, as well as outside it. Thinking back to conversations I had at the time, a huge part of the New Labour project was about not being Old Labour. For Blair, who defined himself against his party, that meant changing the perception that Labour was weak on defence. It was also about ending anti-Americanism and showing Labour could work with a Republican President in George W Bush, to deny the Conservatives any opening. Blair remembered well the humiliatingly brief White House meeting accorded to Neil Kinnock by Ronald Reagan in 1987; Blair went to the other end of the spectrum. It was also about Blair's charm offensive with the media in general, and Rupert Murdoch in particular.

Blair allies say that, on Iraq, he did not have the option of stopping a war as he knew Bush was going to invade at some point. The question was whether to support it. So he gently pushed Bush down the UN route and, when that failed to produce a second resolution, the above factors came into play. Realising the scale of opposition among Labour MPs, Bush told Blair at the last minute: "I'll let you out of it". But Blair decided to be there. He told Bush on the eve of war: "Well, it might be my epitaph." Bush laughed. Blair was not joking.

In a declassified memo published by the Chilcot inquiry, Blair told Bush: "I will be with you, whatever." That says it all in just six words.

Whisper it softly, but Blair wants to be loved, or at least treated with more respect than he has been since leaving office in 2007. Chilcot's critical verdict will not help him achieve that ambition. Blair allies had hoped the report would finally draw a line under the conflict and that the achievements of the New Labour years would forge a much better legacy for the man who won three general elections.

Apart from Iraq, there is a good story to tell: the minimum wage; investment in public services; tax credits to boost the incomes of the low paid; civil partnerships; abolition of Section 28, which banned councils from promoting homosexuality; the Good Friday Agreement and devolution for Scotland and Wales.

Blair offered strong leadership, a centrist government, a positive approach to Europe and influence in the world. David Cameron tried to copy it, styling himself as the "heir to Blair", but destroyed his career by calling an unnecessary EU referendum. As a result, Cameron will forever be known the man who took the UK out of Europe. Some labels are so sticky that politicians can never throw them off: Ed Miliband knifed his brother David; Michael Gove assassinated Boris Johnson. And the Blair legacy will continue to be summed up in one word: "Iraq".
There is a sadness shared by many in Ireland to see former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair face his greatest political challenge ever - the damning Chilcot Report.

We remember the positive role he played in the Irish peace process, leading to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. No British prime minister, before or since, has shown the level of engagement and determination that Blair displayed in helping to end decades of civil strife and to seek a solution that was not Brit-centric.

Then it all went so badly wrong. With the emergence of George W Bush as 43rd President of the United States of America in 2000, the skewing of traditional Labour values by the leader of New Labour accelerated an ideological shift to the right from which the Labour Party has never recovered.

Blair knew how to woo the American public and political elite by flying straight to Washington DC in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.

There was a cocksureness as he made his historic address to the US Congress on Capitol Hill on July 17, 2003, less than four months after he had hitched the British war wagon to Bush's so-called 'War on Terror'.

"We", Blair boldly declared, "are bound together as never before."

His address was interrupted 18 times by applauding US senators and congressmen, happy to bestow on Blair the mantle of revered international statesman, summoned to validate the second US-led war on Iraq, 13 years after the first. Blair, and they, were under increasing pressure because their pretext for by-passing the United Nations and going to war in Iraq - weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) - had not, and would not, be found.

As he finished his address, a thunderous bi-partisan standing ovation was met by his boyish grin of delight. It was, without doubt, the pinnacle of his global statesmanship.

Then he was off to Tokyo, stepping sprightly up the steps of his waiting aircraft, basking in the afterglow of a great US Imperial benediction. He turned, a broad grin beaming from a happy head, and waved a final farewell to his hosts.

It was a very different Blair who emerged through the same aircraft door 14 hours later. Gone was the grin. Gone was the glow. Ashen faced, he spoke to the waiting media with a voice that confidence had deserted. He was visibly shaken when a journalist asked: "Have you blood on your hands, Mr Blair?"

Word had come through that one of the UK's most respected scientists, David Kelly, had been found dead in a wood near his home. While not confirmed, it appeared he had committed suicide. There are some who believe he was murdered. Either way, Blair knew the implications.

While Blair basked in the glory of Capitol Hill, Kelly was bleeding to death. He had been hounded in the weeks before, accused by Blair's government of leaking to the BBC intelligence dossiers on Iraq that he had contributed to. The BBC contended that the government had 'sexed up' the reports in order to justify the war aimed at finding WMDs. Weapons that did not exist.

Thirteen is not a lucky number for Tony Blair. Thirteen years after the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War - which he championed as Bush's cheerleader - began. And 13 years after the second Gulf War, the Chilcot Report delivers a damning verdict on his leadership.

It is clear from the report that he recklessly gambled and lost his potential to be a respected and influential world statesman in the political casino of Capitol Hill. Ever since he ignored popular anti-war opinion and led his country into Iraq, Blair has been a wounded man.

These words are not written with ill-will but with genuine sadness, remembering the positive role he had played in Ireland and might have continued throughout the world. But that memory pales into insignificance when considered against the backdrop of at least 200,000 lives lost, a political vacuum that allowed fundamentalism to mutate, and the destabilisation of the region, the aftershocks of which are still being felt.

While Blair attempts to mitigate his losses in the aftermath of the Chilcot report, pleading that his decisions were made "in good faith", that is no consolation to the families of British soldiers who lost loved ones in an inglorious campaign. Many are calling for him to be prosecuted and will feel that Chilcot, while stopping short of accusing Blair of outright lies, has unearthed enough to justify criminal charges. For Blair, Chilcot is not the end. It is just the beginning of another cycle.

I had the opportunity to witness the loss of respect Mr Blair has earned. It was at the state memorial to the late President Nelson Mandela in 2013, in Johannesburg.

The year before, in an opinion piece for the 'Observer' newspaper, Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote that both Blair and Bush should be taken to the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the Iraq war. "The then leaders of the United States and Great Britain," Tutu wrote, "fabricated the grounds to behave like playground bullies and drive us further apart. They have driven us to the edge of a precipice where we now stand - with the spectre of Syria and Iran before us."

At the end of the Mandela memorial, Blair approached Tutu sporting his boyish grin with the hand of friendship extended, suggesting that he held no grudge against the old man for what he had written. Tutu was less effusive, cordially but coldly greeting the former prime minister. Blair indicated he would like to have a photo taken with Tutu and went in search of a photographer. He had no sooner turned around when Tutu disappeared.

Thirteen years ago this month, Blair was happy to hide in the royal 'we' when he told the US Congress: "Let us say one thing. If we are wrong, we will have destroyed a threat that, at its least, is responsible for inhuman carnage and suffering. That is something I am confident history will forgive." Will it? Tutu and Chilcot suggest otherwise.
Lorna Foran presents a creation by Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / BERTRAND GUAY

Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Gucci Cruise 2017 fashion show at the Cloisters of Westminster Abbey on June 2, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for GUCCI)

Lorna Foran presents a creation for Maison Margiela during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT

Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

Lorna Foran walks for Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / BERTRAND GUAY

Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

She may have started out in the Kildare suburbs, but Lorna Foran has come a long way from her humble Irish roots.

The Celbridge-born beauty just started modelling last year, and she has gone from strength to strength.

With long, flowing red hair and a tall, willowy figure, the 25-year-old (now based in London) has a pre-Raphaelite beauty that has charmed the British fashion industry, landing her editorials in highly influential publications like AnOther, Tank and i-D.

She made her catwalk debut last month, walking for designer of the moment Alessandro Michele in Guccis cruise 2017 show.

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Whatsapp Lorna Foran walks for Jean Paul Gaultier during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / BERTRAND GUAY

In the hallowed cloisters of Westminster Abbey, Lorna donned a high-necked Victorian-style gown in blushing pink.

Today, she graced the couture catwalk at Paris Fashion Week, where she modelled the decadent designs of Maison Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier.

At the end of a week filled with red carpet-ready tulle and bejewelled gowns, John Gallianos couture spectacle for the French house offered an eccentric alternative, as Lornas thigh-high wellingtons and metallic lips nodded to the creative directors origins as a club kid in 1980s London.

Lornas luminous complexion made a perfect match for the lustrous palette of greens, browns and reds at Jean Paul Gaultier.

Expand Close Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Maison Margiela Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

The loosely nature-themed collection saw the flame-haired beauty swathed in a silver fox and a show-stopping, figure-hugging gown.

Lorna said she was overjoyed that the legendary French designer featured her in his show, and described him as a lovely man.

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Its been mad, the nerves! she told Independent.ie.

Im super busy the rest of this week, staying in Paris to shoot and then back to London.

Expand Close Lorna Foran presents a creation for Maison Margiela during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lorna Foran presents a creation for Maison Margiela during the 2016-2017 fall/winter Haute Couture collection fashion show on July 6, 2016 in Paris. / AFP / FRANCOIS GUILLOT

Up until recently, Lorna had been working as an assistant retail manager, but after turning down a couple of big modelling jobs because of scheduling conflicts, she decided to go part-time.

Earlier this year, Lorna told us: Its a bit scary, because its the first time Ive done a job that doesnt have a 9-5 routine five days a week.

Lorna tries to get home to visit her family in Kildare every six months or so, but said her parents are finding it hard to wrap their heads around her new career path.

I think my mam is slowly getting it, and the more big names I drop to her shell be impressed, but she thinks its a bit strange. My dad hasnt a notion, but I dont really mind it that way.

Expand Close Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lorna Foran walks the runway during the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2016-2017 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on July 6, 2016 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Lorna says shes keen to stay out of the spotlight, but now thats shes brushing past the likes of Alexa Chung and Anna Wintour in the front row and walking for some of the worlds most iconic designers, she certainly wont stay that way for long.
A car at the scene of the shooting in Minnesota (AP)

A video has emerged on Facebook Live of the aftermath of a fatal shooting of a black man in Minnesota by a police officer during a traffic stop.

The video appears to show a woman sitting in the passenger seat of a car next to a bloodied man who had apparently been shot by a police officer standing outside the vehicle.

The woman in the video, which was posted on Wednesday night, says her boyfriend let the officer know that he had a firearm which he was licensed to carry and he was reaching into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. She said the officer then shot her boyfriend four times.

The incident follows the fatal shooting of another black man who was shot as he scuffled with two white police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In the video the woman describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light".

A clearly distraught person who appears to be the armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The woman in the video said the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him. Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

The woman responds saying: "You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir."

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying "I'm scared, mommy" at one point.

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says: "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

The man, named by relatives as Philando Castile, died minutes after arriving at hospital following the incident in the Falcon Heights suburb of the state capital, St Paul.

St Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle at around 9pm local time in the St Paul suburb of Falcon Heights on Wednesday.

Mr Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where Mr Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school, died.

Speaking to US new channel CNN early on Thursday, Mr Castile's mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

Valerie Castile said: "I think he was just black in the wrong place."

She added that she had told her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do in order to survive.

Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but said he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Mrs Castile said: "I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight in the US since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The US Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Mr Sterling, who was black, fought with two white police officers outside a small supermarket.

Mr Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told reporters he believed that because his cousin was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled".

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late on Wednesday, around 200 protesters chanted and demanded action from Democratic governor Mark Dayton outside his mansion in nearby St Paul. By Thursday morning, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite light rain.

Mr Castile's nephew Clarence spoke to reporters from the Hennepin County Medical Centre, where his nephew died.

He said Mr Castile had worked in the JJ Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, "cooking for the little kids". He said his nephew was "a good kid" who grew up in St Paul.

Minnesota court records online show Mr Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

AP
Chinas Taihang engines have become a significant, large-scale presence in the military, making China the third country in the world that has mass deployment of domestically-produced high-thrust engines for military use, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) annual report.

AVIC's social responsibility report showed that the company is capable of independently conducting research and development on the next generation of high-thrust aerial engines, along with advanced drones such as Wing Loong, which have also been deployed in the military.

The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force has deployed no less than 400 Taihang engines in five air force regiments. Various types of fighter jets are equipped with the engine, including the J-11B and J-15 carrier-based fighter jets, reported China Science Communication, a news site under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. So far there have been no crashes due to engine failure among Taihang engine-equipped fighter jets, the news site also noted.

Some doubts have been voiced about the originality of the Taihang engine, as there are people who believe the Chinese-made engine is a copy of its Western counterparts. However, according to China Science Communication, the development of the Taihang engine was based on accumulated experience and technological advances gathered since 1978. The engine was also based partially on its predecessor, WS-6, which spent some 20 years in development.

Meanwhile, the engine also took inspiration from the control system of Russia's AL-31F aircraft turbofan engine, China Science Communication admitted, calling the Taihang engine a result of independent development combined with technology from the Soviet Union and the U.S.

China has become the fourth country in the world to independently design and produce large transportation aircraft, as well as the third country to independently develop stealth fighter jets, the AVIC report said, adding that China has advanced its air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles to the fourth generation.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, left, at Kigali International Airport in Rwanda (AP)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports of an attempt on his life in Kenya during his African tour this week.

Mr Netanyahu said he knew "nothing" of an assassination attempt and said he was learning about it for the first time during a press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa.

"The answer is we know nothing about it because there is nothing in it," Mr Netanyahu said.

He made the remarks in response to a reporter's question.

The Israeli prime minister is protected by heavy security in Israel and overseas, given high threats against Israeli targets around the world. Israel's fifth prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish extremist in Tel Aviv in 1995.

Mr Netanyahu's four-nation Africa visit this week is the first to sub-Saharan Africa by a sitting Israeli prime minister in nearly three decades. He has visited Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda while pursuing closer security and other ties with African nations.

In exchange for its expertise in security and other fields, Israel also wants African states to support it at the United Nations, where the Palestinians were recognised as a non-member observer state in 2012.

Israel played a prominent role in assisting newly independent African countries in the 1960s, but those relations crumbled in the 1970s when Arab countries, promising aid, pressured African nations to limit or cut ties.

AP
Michael Sandford pictured at a Donald Trump rally in June - he has pleaded not guilty to attempting to grab a police officer's gun in a bid to kill the US presidential candidate

A British man has pleaded not guilty to attempting to grab a police officer's gun in a bid to kill Donald Trump.

Michael Sandford, 20, allegedly tried to snatch the weapon during a rally at Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas on June 18.

He is said to have told police he had travelled to the Nevada city to kill Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for the US presidential election, according to court documents.

Sandford, dressed in a yellow prison uniform and wearing leg irons, appeared at a federal court in Las Vegas.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of disrupting government business and official functions and two charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a gun.
Tourists at the Banteay Srey temple in the Angkor complex (AP)

Cambodian authorities are banning visitors to the famed Angkor temples who dress immodestly.

Long Kosal, a spokesman for Apsara Authority, which oversees the archaeological complex, said local and foreign tourists will be required to wear trousers or skirts below the knees and shirts that cover their shoulders.

Those not dressed appropriately will be required to change their clothes before being allowed to enter the site.

He said the ban, beginning on August 4, is being brought in because wearing revealing clothes disrespects the temple's sanctity.

About 2.1 million foreign tourists visited Angkor last year.

AP
Donald Trump has tried to assure Republican Congress members that he shares their party's goals.

But the billionaire businessman's first appearance before the party's rank-and-file failed to soothe some deep concerns about his undisciplined presidential campaign.

Protesters chanted in sweltering heat outside, while inside a packed room at the Republican National Committee, Mr Trump urged his fellow Republicans to come together in order to defeat Hillary Clinton in November.

Some welcomed Mr Trump's reassurances but others who have been wary of the reality TV star's incendiary comments and off-putting campaign style said they remain unconvinced.

Pennsylvania congressman Charlie Dent said: "I said before the meeting that Donald Trump has a lot of work to persuade many Americans, including myself, that he is able to lead this great country. I still need to be persuaded."

Mr Trump's appearance came on a circus-like day on Capitol Hill, with FBI director James Comey giving evidence to a House committee about Mrs Clinton's email practices, summoned by Republican members furious about his decision that she should not face criminal charges.

Dozens of protesters awaited Mr Trump, shouting slogans and waving signs that said labelled him "Dangerous, Divisive, Deceitful". Protesters chanted, "Donald Trump, he's a fraud. Sending our jobs far abroad".

They held up large photos of Republicans, including vulnerable senators, wearing Trump campaign hats, as the billionaire arrived with his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, said there was a lack of energy in the room.

He said: "I'm not a Never Trump guy, I've said I want to get there. I'm a Republican and I want to support the nominee. But things like the Saddam Hussein comment are not helping me get there."

He was referring to Mr Trump having praised the late Iraqi dictator's terrorist-killing prowess. Mr Trump defended himself over those comments, saying it was an example of the media twisting his words.

North Dakota congressman Kevin Cramer, a loyal Trump supporter, said: "Here I was very critical of Saddam Hussein, saying he's a very, very bad guy, evil guy. And I wake up and I look at the media and they say I love Saddam Hussein."

House speaker Paul Ryan said Mr Trump sought to put the Saddam comment "into context, so people understood the context in which he was speaking about getting tough on terrorism".

Mr Trump offered some what they wanted to hear. He talked of repealing US President Barack Obama's health law, reducing regulatory burdens, overhauling tax laws and getting the US Supreme Court to "be one that is more reflective of the values of the country," according to Georgia congressman Tom Price.

He said Mr Trump delivered a "great unifying speech" and his listeners were "very receptive".

Mr Ryan told reporters: "We clearly have a presumptive nominee who wants to work with us on moving this agenda forward."

But others sounded unimpressed.

South Carolina congressman Mark Sanford called the meeting "a necessary check in the box". He said his concerns about Mr Trump are "tone and tenor".

Mr Sandford said: "I like a lot of what he says, but not how he says it."

The gatherings came less than two weeks before the Republicans' national convention, which a number of leading members, including some in Congress, are missing.

A number of members also planned to miss Thursday's meetings. Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, in a tough re-election race, told reporters she had to attend a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing instead, while Florida senator Marco Rubio said he was scheduled to preside over the Senate.

It came on the heels of a fiery speech by Mr Trump on Wednesday night in which he defended his retweet of the image of a six-pointed star alongside a picture of Mrs Clinton on a field of hundred dollar bills.

Many saw the symbol as a Star of David and considered the image to be anti-Semitic, and Mr Ryan and others criticised the retweet.

Instead of focusing on Mrs Clinton during his remarks on Wednesday in Cincinnati, as Republican leaders would have liked, Mr Trump mixed his attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee with a defence of the tweet as well as earlier remarks complimenting Saddam. Mr Trump argued that the star in his tweet was a star that a sheriff might use.

The meetings come as two potential vice presidential picks - senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Joni Ernst of Iowa - indicated that they were not interested in running on the same ticket as Mr Trump.

Democrats sough to capitalise on Mr Trump's appearance on the Hill. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a pair of adverts linking Republican Congress members to Mr Trump.

AP
German exports to the UK have been forecast to fall by 5% by 2017

A German business group is forecasting that Germany's exports to the UK will slip 1% this year and drop by 5% in 2017 following British voters' decision to leave the European Union.

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry said it previously predicted a 5% increase in exports to the UK this year but revised its assessment because of the pound's fall and the prospect of weakening investment.

The UK was the third most popular destination last year for German exports, taking goods worth 89.3 billion euro (76.21 billion).

The group said most businesses expect bilateral trade to remain constant during Brexit negotiations but many expect it to fall once the UK has left the EU, with extra bureaucracy and legal differences a concern.

AP
I guess a Nuremburg trial might have been a better place to sort out the minutiae of the Blair-Bush crimes Britain committed to go to war in the Middle East.

We brought about the deaths of up to half a million people, most of them Muslims who were as innocent as Blair was guilty. A Nuremburg-style court might thus have concentrated more on the mass Arab victims of our criminal expedition than the heinous guilt and "profound regret" - his words, of course - of Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara.

Sure, Blair didn't tell the truth about the intelligence on weapons of mass destruction before going to war, or about the Foreign Office warnings of the chaos that would overwhelm Iraq and now pretends that the Chilcot report has proclaimed him innocent when in fact it says he is quite the opposite.

But a prolonged study of the report, rather than the necessarily swift precis we have been fed these past few hours, may produce lines of enquiry far more distressing than the conclusions in the easy-to-regurgitate, simplified and shorter version handed out to the media. Besides, our concentration on the iniquitous Blair, while itself an understandable response to Chilcot, has provided a worrying diversion from the mendacity that still today afflicts Britain's political class, its prime ministers and party leaders, and their insulting attitude towards those they claim to represent.

Hearing the first news of Sir John Chilcot's epic work of literature while I was travelling across Syria was a disturbing experience.

Not just because the plague of Islamist cruelty spreading outwards from Raqqa was (despite Blair's nonsense to the contrary) a direct result of the Iraqi inferno; but because the UK's own present, though discredited, prime minister used Blairite falsehoods to persuade MPs to bomb Isil targets in Syria last December. Remember the nonsense about the 70,000 "moderate" rebels who needed our help, even though they don't exist and were manufactured by the very same Joint Intelligence Committee on which Blair relied for his criminal adventure?

Chilling And when MPs questioned this claptrap, they were haughtily put down by General Gordon Messenger, deputy chief of the defence staff, who said that for security reasons these various rebel units could not be named - even though we know the identity of these ragtag CIA outfits and of their inability to fight anyone. The appropriately named Messenger went along with David Cameron's fantasy and was duly promoted, just as John Scarlett, the JIC's chairman who provided all the duff "intelligence" to Blair, was later knighted.

And so Britain went to war against Isil in Syria - unless, of course, Isil was attacking Assad's regime, in which case it did nothing at all, despite all the outrageous huffing and puffing of Hilary Benn about pre-war fascism. Condemn Blair we will, poor chap, but don't think that anything changed in the six years Chilcot spent writing up his Biblical tome.

And that's the problem. How can Blair say, as he did the moment the Chilcot report was published, that it should "lay to rest allegations [sic] of bad faith, lies and deceit"?

After all, what's the difference between Iraqi WMDs that don't exist, 45-minute warnings that are falsities, 70,000 non-existent Syrian "moderates" and a fictitious NHS windfall of millions if Britain left the European Union?

There are many versions - and misquotations - of that most cynical of Nazi propagandists, Joseph "the bigger the lie, the better" Goebbels, but it is impossible not to be shocked by some of his observations.

"The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence," he wrote in 1941.

"Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, it should be a big lie, and one should stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous."

What is chilling about these words is not that the wartime English Goebbels maligned, nor that Winston Churchill (who was his special target) did actually lie. Given the struggle against Nazism - and despite Churchill's observation that truth in war should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies - the British had a virtuous ability in the 1939-45 conflict to tell the truth even when a bit of Blairite flummery might have sufficed to cover up Britain's defeats.

No, what is frightening is that Goebbels's words apply so painfully to English politicians today.

Who do we know after the report, for example, who keeps up their big lies even at the risk of looking ridiculous? I fear, in an awful way, that small men who want to walk in big shoes - who actually think they are Churchill and take their country to war - are committing the very lies of which their political ancestors were largely innocent. Perhaps the key to all this was captured in Chilcot's contention that Blair relied more on his "beliefs" - whatever that dangerous word obscures - and the judgment of others.

Thus he can tell us - and tell me as I drove in from the Syrian desert city of Palmyra, whose desecrators brought their vile practices from the Iraqi disaster that Blair helped to create - that "I do not believe [that Saddam Hussein's removal] is the cause of terrorism we see today whether in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world".

All this duplicity, of course, is to form part of the "full debate" that Blair now threatens in the aftermath of the Chilcot report.

He is going - heaven spare us -- to "set out the lessons I believe future leaders can learn from my experience". But Blair doesn't need to bore us all over again. They've already been imbibed by Dave "70,000 moderates" Cameron and the Brexit lads who are now self-destructing amid the very lies they told - and which may achieve all that Goebbels wished for: the end of the United Kingdom.

In this context, the Chilcot report is not so much a massive work of investigation into the sins that took the UK to war in 2003, but just another chapter in the story of our inability to control a world in which Britain's public relations politicians treat their people with contempt, kill some of their soldiers and slaughter hundreds of thousands of foreigners without any real remorse.
Chinese telecommunications equipment and services provider Huawei Technologies Co. confirmed on Wednesday that it has filed patent infringement suits against its rival Samsung Electronics Co. in two courts in China as part of a series of intellectual property rights (IPR) disputes the company is currently dealing with, according to a report made by Caixin.com.

According to another report made by Quanzhou-based Southeast Morning Paper, Huaiwei alleges that a total of 16 Samsung products infringed on the company's patent rights. As such, Huawei is demanding 80 million yuan ($12 million) as compensation from Samsung (China) Investment Co., the Beijing-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, along with joint defendants Samsung Electronics Huizhou Co., Tianjin Samsung Telecom Technology Co., the telecom operator and the electric appliance firm in Quanzhou.

According to the report, the Chinese company has filed the suit with Quanzhou Intermediate People's Court in southeastern China's Fujian province and with Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in southern China's Guangdong province.

Huawei alleges that it was granted a patent for certain technical solutions on terminal displays by China's State Intellectual Property Office on June 5, 2011, according to a report by China Business News. However, Huawei declined to comment on the details of the suit in an interview with Caixin.com as it is still ongoing.

Huawei has been actively and strategically treating IPR as a battlefield to help the company compete against global tech giants such as Apple Inc. and Samsung.

In 2015, Huawei invested 15 percent of its annual revenue, $9.2 billion, in research and development, while over the past decade the company's total investment has exceeded $37 billion, according to Huawei's 2015 financial report, published in April.

Reuters has reported that Huawei's suit against Samsung is for patent infringement related to the unlicensed use of fourth generation (4G) cellular communications technology.

In addition to the legal action against Samsung, Huawei also filed a patent suit against U.S. telecommunications operator T-Mobile U.S. Inc. with a U.S. district court in eastern Texas on Tuesday (U.S. time). That case is regarding a 4G wireless license Huawei granted to T-Mobile on terms and conditions that Huawei alleges were fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND).

T-Mobile's U.S. firm refused Huawei's FRAND offer but nevertheless continued to use its technologies, according to a legal document published on the U.S. document-sharing website scribd.com.
Sir John Chilcot leaves the stage after presenting The Iraq Inquiry Report at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London Photo: REUTERS/Dan Kitwood/Pool

MPs and the families of servicemen and women who died in the Iraq War and its aftermath reacted with relief that John Chilcot's report was not the whitewash they had feared.

They had been nervous after previous official reports into the war - notably the Hutton inquiry into the circumstances around the death of David Kelly, the UN weapons inspector - had failed to hold officials and ministers properly to account.

Lord Hutton's inquiry was criticised because it cleared the government of publishing information about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction that it probably knew was wrong. The concerns had led the families to threaten earlier this week to boycott the report's publication.

Ronnie Barker, whose son Private Lee Ellis died in 2006, said she had broken into tears when reading the report and realising it was critical of the authorities. Pte Ellis was 23 when he was killed along with Captain Richard John Holmes by a homemade roadside bomb that exploded beneath their vehicle.

Ms Barker said the report had found the vehicle he was travelling in was "not fit for purpose". She said: "We went in thinking it was going to be a whitewash, but I actually cried."

Mr Chilcot spent many hours with the families in 2009 to help frame the scope and focus of the inquiry.

Eddie Hancock from Wigan, whose 19-year-old son Jamie was a kingsman (private) with the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment when he was killed in Basra in 2006, said Chilcot had "done exactly as he said he would - it wasn't a whitewash by any means".

He added: "He's fulfilled the promises that he made in 2009. What he has actually said is that [Tony] Blair undermined the United Nations.

"Now, if somebody does that, you would think that the act was illegal. He's also misled parliament, he's fabricated facts and misrepresented them."

Thorough

Colin Redpath, whose son L/Cpl Kirk Redpath of 1st Bn Irish Guards died in 2007, said: "There was talk of a whitewash, but I was really surprised today with what Sir John Chilcot came out with. I think it was a great result for the families and something to work on. I think it was very thorough."

In the House of Commons, the report was praised for its thoroughness by David Cameron, the UK prime minister, and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader.

Mr Cameron said it was a "difficult day" for the families of the 179 British servicemen and women and 23 British civilians who died during the 2003 conflict and its aftermath.

He said he hoped the families could "draw at least some solace from the depth and rigour of this report and above all some comfort from knowing that we will never forget the invaluable service and sacrifice of their sons, daughters, husbands and wives".

Mr Corbyn said the report "rightly dug deep into the litany of failures" of planning for the invasion and its aftermath.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Syrian children walk amidst destruction during an activity organised by a charity group in Jobar, a rebel-held district near Damascus Photo: AMER ALMOHIBANY/AFP/Getty Images

US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday he hoped a 72-hour truce in Syria was "a harbinger" that more ambitious and long-lasting similar deals could be struck.

"We very much welcome the Syrian army declaration of 72 hours of quiet," Kerry told a news conference in Tbilisi, adding that discussions were under way to try to extend the truce.

"We are trying very hard to grow these current discussions into a longer lasting ... enforceable, accountable cessation of hostilities that could change the dynamics on the ground," he said.

The Syrian military declared a 72-hour "regime of calm" covering all of Syria from 1am yesterday (10pm Irish time on Tuesday), a military source told Reuters, although fighting and air attacks have been reported since then.

The truce is to expire at midnight tomorrow local time, according to state TV.

This is the first time Syrian authorities have declared a blanket truce for the whole country.

It was unclear if militant bodies, such as Isil, are excluded from the ceasefire. The government of Bashar al-Assad considers all armed opposition to be terrorists. The last truce - a high-profile "cessation of hostilities" brokered by the US and Russia - was declared on February 27 and excluded militant groups such as Isil and al-Qa'ida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front.

For weeks, it sharply reduced violence in much of the country. However, the exclusion of areas under the militants' control opened the door for disagreements over who else was considered a terrorist group and would therefore be excluded from the ceasefire.

The February ceasefire finally collapsed with a government offensive in the northern province of Aleppo, where a coalition of armed opposition groups has strongholds and cooperates with the Nusra Front.

Yesterday, a powerful armed rebel group, which is in control of areas in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, said there was no ceasefire on the ground.

Yasser al-Tayeb, a spokesman for the Army of Islam group, said clashes with pro-government forces have not let up.

Pro-government forces are pressing on with their ground offensive on Mayda, in the eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus, which they launched on Tuesday, Mr al-Tayeb said.
Colonel Tim Collins, who made a famous 'eve of battle' speech to British troops to prepare them for the Iraq War Photo: Giles Penfound / Royal Logistics Corps / MoD

As a battlegroup commander during the invasion of Iraq, I can say that all of the calamities that followed the ousting of Saddam Hussein were known about or feared before military action was begun. This is the key fact that the Chilcot report recognises.

It was evident on the ground, where a series of grave strategic errors unfolded. First, no attempt was made to understand what would be needed in a post-conflict Iraq and what steps should be taken to stabilise the country in its immediate aftermath. The second blunder was the disbanding of the Iraqi army and the police. On April 8, 2003, I negotiated the surrender of the Iraqi 10th Division, telling them to go home, but stressing that they would be needed in the future. Little did I suspect that the entire Iraqi army would be disbanded within weeks. This would lead to a disaster.

Expand Close Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred bodies of Westerners dragged from their cars and set alight hang from a bridge over the Tigris river in Fallujah in 2003 Photo: AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed / Facebook

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Whatsapp Iraqis chant anti-American slogans as the charred bodies of Westerners dragged from their cars and set alight hang from a bridge over the Tigris river in Fallujah in 2003 Photo: AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed

That decision, taken by the country's interim authority under Paul Bremmer, was completely at odds with what I understood to be the clear message that was being sent to the Iraqi army leadership prior to the conflict by our information operations.

Senior Iraqi officers were told, time and again, that if they removed Saddam or if he fell, we the West (mainly the US and UK) would seek stability through the Iraqi army and back them in running the country as the local framework for order and stability ahead of democracy and future elections.

Instead we sidelined them. This strategic blunder saw the growth, arguably, of the most effective insurgency in history since the American Revolutionary War.

In the vacuum of disorder in the British-run south of the country, various insurgent groups readily took advantage of the naive unpreparedness that characterised the response. These groups were assisted, encouraged and supplied in no small part by the regime in Iran.

And herein begins our third strategic blunder - handing the strategic advantage in the region to the Iranians.

It is barely disputed that the power behind the current Iraqi presidency is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its charismatic leader Major General Qasim Sulaiman.

As invasion gave way to insurgency back in 2003, our troops struggled to react to the profound change in the situation around them.

When I spoke to my soldiers in my infamous eve of battle speech, I was trying to prepare them for the horrors of war. But the fury of the insurgency completely stupefied the coalition's young men and women in uniform.

In the south, the British Army went into denial, with politicos trying to spin their way out of it; they would eventually cave in and exchange militia prisoners for an end to attacks.

Further north, the US Marines responded with fury when the bodies of killed marines were mutilated. Long rows of the blackened bodies of insurgents laid out in the sun for "forensic reasons" secured an undertaking from fighters in Anbar province to stop harming the bodies of marines or even touching them.

And as Improvised Explosive Devices everywhere became more sophisticated, the penny dropped that new drills and techniques had to be delivered to aid survival in the absence of the necessary equipment. But equipment was only ever part of the puzzle. It takes time to harden young minds. Some of our soldiers were able to find a way to calm their minds on return. For some the mental scars will never heal.

Today, in Iraq, the horror continues in many grotesque forms. But it is too easy to pretend that the sectarian attacks, between Sunni and Shias, have nothing to do with the invasion of 2003.

Last weekend more than 250 people were killed by a bomb claimed by Isil. But who leads Isil?

The answer is that at its heart are former Ba'athists, led by Saddam's resourceful and cunning deputy, Lt-Gen Izzat Ibrahim Al Douri. He was the King of Clubs in the famous pack of playing cards issued by the US military before the invasion.

The regime, clearly, has not been completely changed.

Col Tim Collins was commanding officer of 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment.
Chelsea Manning, the military whistleblower serving a 35 year sentence, was rushed to hospital after reportedly trying to take her own life.

A US media report said that Manning, who is being held at in a cell at the US Military Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, was taken to hospital early on Tuesday morning. CNN said that it was believed that the 28-year-old had tried to kill herself.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of this. A spokesman for the US Army said he was waiting for an approved statement before being able to comment. The Washington Post reported that the military said Manning had since been returned to her cell but provided no other details.

Mannings lawyer, Nancy Hollander, said in a statement that she was shocked and outraged that an official at Fort Leavenworth provided confidential medical information about Manning to the media but had not shared anything with her team. She said she had been due to speak with her client at 2pm on Monday but was told she could not be connected.

Despite the fact that they have reached out to the media, and that any other prison will connect an emergency call, the army has told her lawyers that the earliest time that they will accommodate a call between her lawyers and Chelsea is Friday morning, she said.

We call on the army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelseas current situation.

Manning was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years imprisonment, with the possibility of parole in the eighth year after being convicted of leaking classified material to Wilileaks.

Manning, who was born Bradley Manning, said in a statement after the sentencing that she had felt female since childhood and wanted to be known as Chelsea.

Chelsea Manning suspected of attempting suicide. Was taken to a hospital Tuesday from Fort Leavenworth, CNN.  Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) July 6, 2016

Big: Political prisoner's lawyer says Army is blocking even scheduled calls from attorney. https://t.co/AJiN6YomOX  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) July 6, 2016

As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me, she said at the time.

I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition.

Last year, in a legal first, the US Army granted her hormone therapy to transition while serving her sentence at the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks, deeming it medically appropriate and necessary.

Approval came after she filed a lawsuit against the army because she said she had been been denied the treatment she needed for over a year.

Last week, Manning wrote an essay for the Guardian in which she welcomed the militarys decision to end its ban on transgender people in service, but arguing that the reforms did not go far enough in establishing equality.

The Samaritans can be contacted by phone at 116 123. This number is FREE to call. The 1life Freephone is available 24 hours a day at 1800 247 100 or text the word HELP to 51444. The 1life service is of particular relevance to people who are feeling very low, have had suicidal thoughts.
People offer flowers and light candles to pay their respects to the victims of the hostage crisis in Dhaka (AP)

Two Bangladeshi policeman were killed and nine other officers were wounded on Thursday in a grenade attack on a security checkpoint in a town hosting Bangladesh's biggest celebrations for the end of the Ramadan fasting month, officials said.

The attack on the police position was close to an area where some 200,000 people had gathered for a prayer service in Kishoreganj town, about 140 km (90 miles) northeast of the capital, Dhaka, said district administrator Zillur Rahman.

Two of the attackers were killed, Rahman said.

The militants attacked police with "sharp weapons" after the grenades exploded, said Mohammad Azimuddin Sheikh, another senior district official.

Rahman said the attack had been brought under control.

"We are still checking for other miscreants but after this incident prayers were held peacefully and we have asked everyone to go home," Rahman said.

The violence rattled nerves less than a week after militants killed 20 people, mostly foreigners, in an attack on a cafe in the capital claimed by the Islamic State militant group.

It was one of the deadliest attacks ever in Bangladesh, where al Qaeda and Islamic State have made competing claims for a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.

The government has dismissed those announcements and insists that the violence is homegrown.

After last week's attack, Islamic State warned that the violence would continue until Islamic law was established worldwide, saying in a video that the Dhaka assault was just a hint of what was to come.

Expand Close Police in Bangladesh have questioned family members of attackers who stormed a restaurant and killed officers and hostages (AP) / Facebook

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Ramadan ended this week with the Eid al-Fitr festival across the Muslim world.
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By Ron Barnett, rbarnett@greenvillenews.com

Even as it continues to argue in the state Court of Appeals that it should be allowed to develop a coal-ash landfill near Liberty, MRR Pickens has asked a circuit judge to order Pickens County to allow it to move ahead with construction of a landfill on the site not designed to hold coal ash, according to court documents.

The company bases its argument on statements made at a hearing in February, in which the county's attorney said the county doesn't object to MRR building a Class 2 landfill, which is designed only for nonhazardous materials such as construction debris.

"To date, Pickens County has failed to comply with the Court's Order by refusing to move forward on any of MRR Pickens' requests to allow it to begin construction of the landfill in conformance with the Class 2 Permit issued on Nov. 3, 2008," the motion says. "Pickens County is continuing to erect roadblocks and is significantly delaying MRR Pickens' rights to a Development Permit."

Attorney Gary Poliakoff, who is representing the county in MRR's $25 million lawsuit, said the company's application includes design changes that were approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control in 2015, after the company decided to seek a contract to dispose of more than 70,000 tons of coal ash per year there.

Coal ash contains contaminants such as arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, cadmium and chromium, and has been linked to increased risk of cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

"If they're going to operate a construction and demolition landfill, that's absolutely fine with us, but we do not want them trying to put their foot in the door and blast it open to allow coal ash or other things," Poliakoff told The Greenville News.

"MRR, as best as we can tell, still seems adamant to push what they view as their entitlement to deposit coal ash at Pickens County, despite the new statute," he said, referring to a law that was adopted by the state Legislature this year barring coal ash from being put in Class 2 landfills.

The county had approved a land use permit nine years ago for construction of a landfill for construction debris, but MRR did nothing with the property until last year, when it got the health department to alter its permit to include a liner for coal ash while retaining the Class 2 designation.

"Basically, Pickens County's position is that the 2015 permit modification was issued unlawfully because they violated several different regulations to avoid giving notice to Pickens County or to the public," Poliakoff said.

He also said, "The county has always agreed and remains in agreement for them to develop and operate a landfill strictly in accord with the 2008 permit."

Robert Goings, an attorney for MRR, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

In a letter to Poliakoff, Goings says MRR is agreeing to develop the site in accordance with the 2008 permit.

Goings adds, "However, by doing so, MRR Pickens is not waiving and is specifically reserving all rights it has to construct and operate the landfill in accordance with the permit as modified in 2015.

"Therefore, MRR Pickens specifically reserves the right to modify its development plans in the event it receives a court decision affirming its right to proceed under the 2015 modified permit."

In asking Circuit Judge Robin Stilwell to order the county to allow construction of a Class 2 landfill, MRR cites the judge's Feb. 22 order, which notes that both sides agreed on that issue.

"Therefore, upon concession by each party, the parties shall operate under the constraints and allowances of the subject permit issued Nov. 3, 2008, during the pendency of this action," his order says.

The County Planning Commission revoked MRR's land use permit in January, an action which is being appealed in court.

Another permit, called a development permit, which is administered by the county's Community Development Department, is also required for construction to begin, according to MRR's motion. That's the permit it says the county is now refusing to issue.

The company responded in writing to questions from the Community Development Department, saying that a proposed leachate storage pond, designed to hold contaminated runoff, is "optional" for construction to begin.

"Therefore, without waiving its right to include the leachate storage pond in the event MRR Pickens receives a court order allowing it to do so, MRR Pickens agrees at this time to a development permit from the county that has the condition it is not to construct the leachate storage pond unless and until it receives authorization to do so," according to the company's letter.

Other changes from the original design, such as the buffer zones, resulted from a change in the designation of a creek on the property as a protected wetland, according to the letter.
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By Woody Locke, Westminster

The Declaration of Independence again! It happened in 1776 when the people rid themselves of a tyrant who was morally corrupt. He was somewhat of an intelligent dictator who met behind closed doors with devious cohorts. I am referring to Great Britain's departure from the E.U. Not unlike Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama who forced the purchase of a product upon we the people. And now, the leaders of the Democratic Party are attempting to enrich themselves by using a "sit- down" protest, disrupting the Legislature concerning terrorist activities. These few ignorant parasites, led by Georgia Rep. John Lewis, printed publications begging for money to help them fight for gun control.

And now we have a woman who, as an influential individual in a very powerful position, has met behind many closed doors with leaders of foreign countries with a covert ambition to gain wealth. Her hidden personal communications server revealed she had transmitted top secret information to parties unknown. In addition she had managed to destroy 30,000 transmissions. She is the only secretary of state to receive hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign nations directly to her foundation.

It appears the FBI and investigative agencies, including our U.S. attorney general, may have received instructions from higher authority prohibiting indictment of Hillary Clinton for traitorous activities.

Finally: A man's ambition is very small, who will write his name of a bathroom wall, but a woman's ambition is greater still, who will sell her country for a dollar bill.
Facing the reality of Japan's warplane scramble over the East China Sea, China should be prepared for military conflicts, Chinese military expert Liang Fang said in a recent interview.

According to a statement on the official website of China's Ministry of National Defense, two Chinese Su-30 fighter jets were executing a routine patrol over the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on June 17 when they were approached at high speed by two Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-15 fighter jets.

In an interview with People's Daily Online, Liang said that this was a very dangerous action that could have come at the cost one or more lives in the case of a fatal plane crash.

The Defense Ministry has accused Japan of aggressive behavior in the East China Sea, claiming that Japanese provocations nearly resulted in a dogfight between aircraft of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and the JASDF. The statement also said that the Japanese planes used a fire-control radar to "light up" the Chinese aircraft.

The ministry has accused Japan of endangering the safety of personnel on both sides, and of destroying the peace and stability in the region.

Liang said that JASDF has paid excessive attention to China. Japan's tracking of China's military aircraft affects normal patrols and threatens the safety China's pilots. Liang also said that China should speak up in the case of emergencies and devise different plans to deal with different situations.
Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors.

KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary.

No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account."

www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others.
DHAKA, July 7 -- At least five people, including several policemen, were injured in bomb explosions on Thursday morning at the entrance of Sholakia Eid prayer ground in Kishoreganj district, some 117 km northeast of Dhaka.

The largest congregation of Eid prayer in Bangladesh was being held there on the occasion of Eid ul-Fitr that marks the end of the Muslims' holy fasting month of Ramadan when the bombings occurred.

Witnesses described hearing several explosions at the scene at around 9:30 p.m. local time.

It was not known immediately who launched the bomb attack.

A police official told Xinhua from Kishoreganj that security has been beefed up after the bomb explosions in which three policemen and two people were injured.

"We're closely monitoring the situation," said the official who did not like to be named.

The explosions came about a week after a terror attack on a restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave Gulsan in which 20 people including 18 foreigners were killed.
Boys volunteer to deliver food to female classmates of Wuhan Technology and Business University in central China's Hubei Province, July 7, 2016. The main roads inside the campus has been blocked by torrential rains. (Source: ctdsb.net)
To err is human, to forgive is divine. And in this case our Bollywood stars are the ones who make mistakes and their fans are the ones with a forgiving heart. So what if they are celebrities, whose lives are constantly under public scrutiny, many of them have made major embarrassing blunders in terms of what they speak. And while we are an advocates of freedom of speech and expression, sometimes such mincing of words does fall back when these actors end up making a fool of themselves all thanks to their loose tongues.

Check out how some of them came under fire due to their controversial comments.

1. Priyanka Chopra said something unpleasant about Kashmir!

ommcomnews

She is an international star. But there was a mistake she made once, that left many back home fuming. She was returning to Delhi from Srinagar after wrapping the shooting of Saat Khoon Maaf. And what she thought would express her happiness about finishing work, she made a shocking blunder in one of her Twitter posts. She wrote "Sorry I have been away... shooting in Kashmir has been insanely tiring... last day in Srinagar... off to Delhi this afternoon!". But this caught the eye: "Phew... will b (sic) back to civilisation soon... yayayayaayayayya!!" This lead to enough uproar and she later had to render a clarification.

2. Abhishek Bachchan took credit of doing some stunts from his body-double!

Bachchan Junior had talked about how he did some death-defying stunts in Raavan without using a body-double. Remember how he jumped mountains, hung from cliffs and dived the 80-foot Hoggenakkal falls in Karnataka? But even before cinefans could laud his efforts, it turned out that he was lying! Bangalore-based diving champion, MS Balram, later claimed it was his work. It did leave Bachchan in an embarrassing spot for his mistake!

3. Preity Zinta mixed up the names of a political and a historical figure.

deccanchronicle

The actor mixed up the names of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan with Rajput King Prithviraj Chauhan. Zinta had tweeted, "Prithviraj Chauhan is r new CM; he's the namesake of a fearless Rajput King! We hope he can b an inspiring leader & do justice 2 his name (sic)!" None other than Big B corrected her. "Preity, its Chavan not Chauhan." It left every eye and ear popped up at Zinta's ignorance.

4. Sidharth Malhotra called an actress, a journalist!

Sid turned an anchor during an award show for the first time. And his nervousness was quite apparent, considering the amount of mistakes he made while hosting his segment. But the major goof up came when he called Citylights actress Patralekha as "Patrakar" (journalist). Though Patralekha took it sportingly, Sid later apologised. And the channel tried to cover up for all his blunders, by adding a fun, impromptu segment to the show with actors commenting on Sidharth's hosting!

5. Preity Zinta addressed Sonakshi Sinha as Sonam Kapoor.

tribunereporter

That's not all. At an awards ceremony Zinta kept referring to Sonakshi Sinha as Sonam Kapoor, without even realising her major mistake. It was only when Sonakshi herself corrected her on stage, that she understood what she had done!

6. Sonakshi Sinha thanked Vikramaditya Motwane for his "terrible" job!

bharatstudent

But Sonakshi also has a history of some funny goof-ups. During the promotions of her film Lootera, instead of thanking director Motwane for his "terrific" job, she went on and made things "terrible" by mixing the two words. She was totally washed in embarrassment!

7. Ajay Devgn gave a new portfolio to Mamata Banerjee!

daijiworld

The actor doesn't do everything right. During an event in 2010, he made a blunder by addressing Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee as the Information and Broadcasting Minister. Though his slip-of-tongue provided comic relief to the event, it did leave Devgn totally aghast!

8. Alia Bhatt's famous couch-embarrassment on Koffee With Karan!

browngirlmagazine

We never had a more goofed-up rapid-fire on the show before Alia-Siddharth-Varun's episode. The actress was asked who was the President of India to which she confidently replied, "Prithviraj Chavan". Oh no! But Alia took it too sportingly and even went on to do an AIB spoof video taking a dig at her own ignorance!

9. Jackky Bhagnani congratulated "Masala" instead of Malala!

Malala Yousafzai received congratulations from all corners when she won the Nobel peace prize. But among the horde of wishes, we are sure one message must have caught her eyes specifically. Jackky made a major major typo error in a tweet, when instead of writing Malala, he wrote "Masala". We are sure people got the 'masala' for the day!

10. Anu Malik completely changed the identity of an actress!

mid-day

We know he is way too confident. But it seldom becomes his over-confidence too. Malik has a major slip-of-tongue to his credit. During an award ceremony, the music composer announced the name as Nishant Bhandari. While a clueless audience waited for the winner to come up on stage, he quickly laughed off his mistake and corrected it to Pyaar Ka Punchnama actress Nushrat Bharucha! Ouch!

11. Anushka Sharma made blunder in writing the name of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

The actress got into a foot-in-mouth situation when she wrote revolutionary Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's name in one of her tweets, instead of former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, while paying homage. It took little time for her to become the butt of jokes.

Enough has been said after Salman made the blatant mistake of comparing his hard work in Sultan with that of a "rape woman". Understandable that he didn't exactly mean what he said, but it caused enough fury among people and social activists, who sought an apology. Though the actor never said sorry, Sultan surely got some free publicity!

(Also read: Sultan Review: Bhai Gets Emo In A Predictable Underdog-Takes-All Saga With Love Story Twists!)
indianexpress

Aamir Khan is one Bollywood actor who has never shied away from from speaking on social issues and current affairs. In fact, he has often received flak for voicing his opinions in public, but that hasn't stopped Aamir from speaking out the truth.

And now, Aamir has spoken out against terrorism, stating that it has got nothing to do with religion. He was recently quizzed about Zakir Naik's comments and Aamir had a fitting reply.

He said, "According to me, there's no comparison between terrorism and religion; they have nothing to do with religion. May they be Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian, they actually have nothing to do with religion, although they shout in the name of religion. If they would have actually loved their religion, they would have known that religion teaches us love."

ndtv

For the unversed, according to a Bangladesh newspaper, militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader and one of the perpetrators of last week Dhaka's diplomatic zone terror attack quoted the controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. Naik, during his lecture on Peace TV, reportedly urged all Muslims to become terrorists. Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.
Leaving a gun unattended could be dangerous. In fact, according to a report, a total of 12,942 people in the United States were killed in 2015 in a gun homicide, unintentional shooting, or murder/suicide. Even worse, kids shot an average of one person per week in the same year, often injuring or killing themselves, just because they were able to get on their hands on a gun. There are countless stories of these type of incidents, with 1,085 cases reported this year alone.

Here's the perfect solution to keep your gun safe!

gizmag

An Israeli startup has come up with a smart cartridge-shaped locking device 'Zore X' that allows quick access to the gun in an emergency, even in the dark, and prevents any unauthorised discharge of rounds.

indiegogo

It features a calibre specific locking unit, manual combination lock and even has Bluetooth connectivity so you can unlock it using your phone. The company is running an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for commercial production.

indiegogo

ZORE X

Zore X is priced at $199.00 (Rs. 13,419) and if all goes to plan, it will be headed your way in February in 2017.

Watch the full video here to know how it works!
In death, Faraz Hossain has proved his bravery yet again. Of all Dhaka shooting victims, Faraz Hossain had chosen to stay behind even after the militants had permitted him to leave. Not ready to leave his friends and other hostages behind, the 20-year-old decided to stick with them, until the very end.

Then, after Faraz Hossain's family received his body after the deadly siege at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka, Bangladesh, they noticed the palm of his right hand had been sliced clean through.

Facebook/Faraz Hossain

The wound suggested the 20-year-old Faraz, the family's beloved youngest child, had grabbed the attacker's sword and tried to fight back.

"There were a lot of visible signs on his body that he fought hard," Zaraif Hossain, Faraaz's brother, said.

Facebook/Faraz Hossain

Faraz, a student at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, was visiting family back home in Bangladesh when he was caught up in the 10-hour hostage crisis on the evening of July 1.

By the time the attack was over, Faraz was among 20 hostages and two police officers who had been slaughtered. Six attackers also were killed, according to authorities.

Also Read: This Is Faraz Hossain - A Bangladeshi Muslim Who Died In The Dhaka Attack, Refusing To Abandon His Friends

Faraz was home to visit family before leaving for an Eid holiday to mark the end of Ramadan, his brother said. A recent photo shows the two brothers and their mother in the middle looking relaxed during a family trip to Moscow.

Facebook/Manish Garg

When his family learned about the hostage-taking, they called Faraz repeatedly, but he didn't pick up the phone. Zaraif also sent Facebook messages, which were marked as "seen" until about 12:30 or 1 am.

But then Faraz either stopped receiving or seeing the messages. Zaraif believes that must have been around when his brother was killed.

Facebook/Faraz Hossain

"He was our baby," Zaraif said, remembering a boy who was so gentle as a child that he didn't want to wrestle with him.

Faraz was a Bangladeshi Muslim, who was studying at the Emory University in the US. He was among the 20 hostages killed in the terror attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery. Among the dead were Indian student Tarishi Jain and Bangladeshi American Abinta Kabir.

He was on his summer vacation and was meeting his two friends at the cafe. And while facing certain death, he stood by his friends and fellow hostages, refusing to part with them even when he could have walked out to save his own life. Hailed as a 'hero', Hossain made the ultimate sacrifice while offering 'hope' to those who were tortured by the militants for not being able to recite verses from the Quran.

"I couldn't even play fight with my brother because he was so fragile," Zaraif said. "But I guess he was far from fragile and the strongest of us all."
A special team of India's elite counter-terrorism squad- National Security Guard (NSG) will travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh to assist the local investigators in probing the terror attack last week.

BCCL

The team which comprises of experts in post-blast analysis and counter-terror operations, will visit the site of the siege attack last week and the site of the blast in Kishoreganj earlier today.

The siege and gun attack on a popular restaurant in the diplomatic avenue which began late on last Friday continued till Saturday and left 22 people killed including one Indian student.

Even though the ISIS claimed responsibility of the attack Bangladeshi government is blaming homegrown terror outfits Ansarullah Bangla Team and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh for the strike.

AP

Two major terror attack in a matter of less than a week in its neighbourhood is a matter of concern for New Delhi amid fear of ISIS expanding its wings to the sub-continent.
Christianity, Hinduism and Islam came together - at a funeral pyre.

Reuters

At the funeral pyre of 70 year old Hindu Keerthi Srinivas, his son Sharath refused to set it aflame, because he had converted to Christianity.

Yakub Bi, a Muslim woman who had performed the ceremonial last rites for Srinivas stepped in to do the duty.

Yakub Bi and her husband, Md. Mahboob Ali runs an old-age home in Telangana. Srinivas had been a resident at the home for 2 years, and had died after suffering a stroke.

thehindu

"We have vowed to serve the old and infirm and we definitely care for them, when it comes to giving them an honourable farewell from the material world, Yakub told The Hindu.

Srinivas had not supported his conversion to Christianity, and his son had fought back - refusing to light his funeral pyre. Yakub performed the ceremonial three rounds of the body as per Hindu customs. We have only one religion and that is serving people. We honour the sentiments of our inmates, she said.
It is an unusual sales pitch-but it is happening. In poll-bound Punjab four villages are up for grabs if you are an interested buyer.

Daily Mail

These four villages, Muthianwali, Channanwla, Chuhriwala and Kerain in Punjab's Fazilka district were put up for sale by the residents themselves.

Their reason? The government have failed to provide them even basic facilities like water and power.

They have put up posters across the villages which says that they have been abandoned by the governments.

Daily Mail

"We are leading a miserable life. The men do not get brides as proposals are turned down on the grounds that we even lack the basic amenities. The politicians gave false assurances which were never fulfilled," Ravinder Kumar, a resident was quoted by Mail Today.

It couldn't have been any more embarrassing for the state government as the villages fall under Jalalabad the assembly constituency of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The ruling SAD-BJP alliance is expected to face a tough challenge from the AAP in the assembly elections next year.
The face-offs of Nathu La and Cho La in Sikkim in 1967 where Indian Army killed over 400 Chinese soldiers are among its lesser known heroics, but it were these skirmishes that shattered the myth of Chinese invincibility and gave Indian Army a thumping victory over Chinese.

googlemap

This is how it happened at Nathu La

Nathu La was the only place in 4000 km long Indo-China border where two armies were separated by a meagre 30 yards. Chinese held the northern shoulder of the pass while Indian Army had the southern shoulder. Two dominating features south and north of Nathu La namely Sebu La and Camels back were held by the Indians.

iamsouvik

It started with scuffle between sentries

Sentries of both the forces used to stand barely one meter apart in the centre of the Pass which is marked by Nehru Stone, commemorating Pandit Jawaharlal Nehrus trek to Bhutan through Nathu La and Chumbi Valley in 1959.

On 6 September 1967, an argument soon turned into a scuffle in which the Chinese Political Commissar fell down and broke his spectacles. Chinese went back since they were thin in size. Indian Army, however, in order to de-escalate the tension decided the lay a wire in the centre of the Pass from Nathu La to Sebu La to demarcate the perceived border. The task was given to jawans of 70 Field Company of Engineers assisted by a company of 18 Rajput deployed at Yak La pass further north of Nathu La.

ndtv

The actual face-off

The wire laying was to commence at first light on the fateful morning of 11 September 1967. With first light, the engineers and jawans started their bit of erecting long iron pickets from Nathu La to Sebu La along the perceived border while 2 Grenadiers and Artillery Observation Post Officers (AOPO) at Sebu La and Camels Back were on alert.

Soon, the Chinese arrived. Their Political Commissar, with a section of Infantry came to the centre of the Pass where Lt. Col Rai Singh, Commanding Officer (CO) of 2 Grenadiers was standing with his commando platoon.

The Chinese asked CO to stop the fencing. But Lt. Col was adamant as orders were clear. The argument soon turned into scuffle and once again the tiny Chinese Commissar got roughed up.

BCCL

Chinese went back to their bunkers, but this time returned to salvage their insult. Minutes later a murderous medium machine gun fire from north shoulder of Nathu La ran riot and jawans of 70 Field Company and 18 Rajput were caught in the open. Among the Indian causalities was Col Rai Singh who succumbed to the bullet injuries. He was awarded MVC later. Two other brave officers  Capt Dagar of 2 Grenadiers and Major Harbhajan Singh of 18 Rajput rallied a few troops and tried to assault the Chinese MMG but both died a heroic death. They were posthumously awarded Vir Chakra and MVC respectively. Within the ten minutes, there were nearly seventy dead and scores wounded lying in the open on the pass.

Indians in retaliation opened fire from artillery observation posts and as a result, most of the Chinese bunkers on North shoulder and in depth were completely destroyed and Chinese suffered very heavy casualties which by their own estimates were over 400. It was followed by a ferocious counter strike from the Mountaineers, Grenadiers and Rajputs which included close quarter combat also.

The artillery duel thereafter carried on relentlessly, day and night. For the next three days, the Chinese were taught a very good lesson.

On September 14th, Chinese threatened to use Air Force if shelling didn't stop.

But by then a lesson was taught to the Chinese. Col Raj Singh and Maj Harbhajan Singh were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra posthumously while Capt Dagar was awarded the Vir Chakra.

Another duel at Cho La (1st October 1967)

It again started with sentries

Minor scuffle between Sikh sentries and the Chinese on 30th September on a flat patch of icy land of about five metres on the unmarked boundary was the start of the stand off. Indian sentry roughed up the Chinese and he lost his tunic button.



wikipedia

Information of scuffle reached late to CO, Major KB Joshi, but he didn't waste anytime in telling Lt Rathore about anticipating a Nathu La like backlash. The CO decided to take stoke of the situation and thus reached Rai Gap area on the way to De Coy positions in morning.

While the Indian Sentry at post 15450 was visible, Major Joshi also observed that the post was being surrounded by a section strength of Chinese troops. Major Joshi at once informed Lt. Rathore of what he had seen. The later informed Major Joshi that the Chinese Coy Commander and the political commissar were staking claims to the boulder at the sentry post.

When Gorkha taught them a lesson

Naib Subedar Gyan Bahadur Limbu was having a heated argument with his counterpart at the sentry post during which he rested his right foot on the boulder under dispute. The Chinese kicked his foot away. Gyan put his foot back and challenged them. Events were moving quickly.

By this time the Chinese had taken up position, presumably because their commander had already taken a decision to escalate the incident. And one of the Chinese sentries bayoneted Gyan wounding him in the arm.

BCCL

The Gorkha's response was swift and soon both arms of the Chinese who hit the JCO were chopped off with a Khukri. At this point the Chinese opened fire and the two sides engaged in a firefight at close range. Lance Naik Krishna Bahadur, the Post Commander, then led a charge against the Chinese in the vicinity who were forming up for an assault. Although hit and incapacitated, he continued to harangue his men forward.

Rifleman Devi Prasad Limbu directly behind his Post Commander was already engaged in a close quarter battle with the enemy and his Khukri took off five Chinese heads.

But he was soon claimed by a direct hit. For his actions he was awarded a Vir Chakra, Posthumous. Meanwhile at Pt. 1540 Lt. Rathore was wounded in his left arm as soon as the firing started. He nevertheless continued to lead until he was hit in the chest and abdomen and died thereafter.

From here on Major Joshi took over immediately and his accurate mortar fire on Chinese positions around Point 15450 put an end to further activity in this area.

CO took matter in his hands

While Point 15450 was temporarily quiet, Tamze and the Rai Gap area came under rocket and RCL fire at around 10:50 am. The mortar position at Tamze came under heavy pressure as it threatened the rear of the Chinese positions. J&K Rifles stationed there suffered heavy casualties when one of their bunkers received a direct hit by RCL fire.

Soon, Major Joshi's escort was killed and a handful of Chinese soldiers tried to move towards Major Joshi's party. These troops withdrew after Major Joshi took down two Chinese. The fighting, however, continued.

Chinese wanted to shift the location of fight and hence stopped firing. But immediately retaliated by bringing down fire on Timjong's position, another position closer by.

Major Joshi, undaunted, even though alone, continued to fire until all ammunition was exhausted. By 11:30 am troops were withdrawn back from Pt. 15450 under covering fire from MMGs on Pt. 15180.

9gag

Though the Chinese shot green lights indicating a ceasefire but at Pt. 15180 Major Joshi noticed some enemy troops lined up just below the crest at Rai Gap and engaged them, forcing them to scatter. while thwarting them back into their territory, Major Joshi shot four more.

The last assault

Despite great show, Pt 15540 was still under Chinese control. Thus operation was launched at 1700 hours after he met his men at camp. Soon Captain Parulekar and B Coy were given the task to capture Pt 15540, but they fumbled in dark.

Chinese fired magnesium flares to see the activity but failed. Captain Parulekar realised it was risky to move further, thus he waited. At 06: 40 pm, Major Joshi ordered Parulekar and the platoon to outflank the enemy from a north-west direction, while the rest of the company and supporting mortars were readied for a frontal assault.

The offensive was about to be launched when the Chinese saw Indians occupying key positions to nail them. Thus they retreated and Pt 15540 was captured without firing a single shot.

During the whole standoff, the Chinese lost more than 50 soldiers while Indian Army conceded 15 of its valiant soldiers.
"Akdom chup! Toke kidnap kore rape kore debo" (Shut up, or Ill rape you). Uber cab driver Santu Parmanik probably thought that one sentence would get him laid

It got him beaten up instead, because his 27 year old target was in no mood to be a victim.

newsx

The woman, a Jadavpur University student and a friend had booked an app-cab at JD block in Salt Lake at around 10pm on Monday. "It was okay till my friend got down near Aranya Bhavan. Suddenly, the driver started speeding up and took a left where he didn't need to," she told the Times of India.

He took another off-the-route left lane at Bijan Bhavan and she protested:

"The lanes were deserted so I insisted on taking the main road. He agreed and continued to drive till FD block, where he again tried to enter a lane on the left," the woman said. While she protested the driver said the lane would save time. The driver kept arguing about the route, and then drove past her designated drop point. "This alarmed me and I asked him to stop. Suddenly , he flew into a rage," she recounted. The driver threatened to rape her if she uttered another word, she says.

She jumped out of the moving car

youngfeministfund | representational purpose only

Not many media outlets have reported what happened next - she attacked him, landing kicks on his shin and the back of his knees and fled, the Telegraph reported.

"I had taken self-defence lessons in school around 15 years ago and all that training suddenly came in handy. I remembered that I had to hit him hard on his shin bone to stop him and kick the back of his knees to make him fall," she told the newspaper. "I mustered all my strength and targeted his shin bone and the back of his knees." The driver was arrested soon after she made her police complaint. He was also driving rashly, and the woman says he threatened to dump her body after raping her, something he'd done to many other women

Uber had an odd response when she informed them of the incident - they said the cab driver was "suspended".

When she asked why he was not fired, the company official said that his cab not show up on her app. "I was flabbergasted," she said. The woman's lawyer Saumyajit Raha said that Parmanik has been charged under IPC 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman to outrage her modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Uber has given us the following response w.r.t the issue:

"We have shared the driver and trip details with the police and will continue to support investigations as required. The driver has been blocked from using our platform. The background check conducted on the driver indicates no prior criminal record."
Amidst raging controversy over rights of women to enter places of worship, main Eidgah Aishbagh in Lucknow, for the first time, had a dedicated section for women at the Eid-ul-Fitr namaz held on Thursday morning.

Caroline Watson/flickr use as Representative Image

The move comes at a time when instances of women being denied entry to Haji Ali Durgah and sanctum sanctorum at Shani temple in Maharashtra have made headlines with women organisations demanding equal rights on access to places of worship at par with their male counterparts.

The Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) has petitioned the Bombay High Court seeking a ruling that bans restrictions on women visiting Haji Ali Durgah in Mumbai, with the hope that a favorable ruling from the court would mark a major step forward for women's rights in India.

"This is the first time a separate enclosure exclusively for women namazis is being put in place for the EId-ul-Fitr namaz in Taiyab Hall of Eidgah," said Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli.

"We are making special arrangements so that they (women devout) are not forced to jostle through the crowd to reach to the enclosure," he said. As such, arrangements are being made for the first time and the enclosure will be big enough to accommodate 500 women. "If we find the turnout of women larger than our estimate, we will make arrangements accordingly in future too," he said.

Representative Image

Decision of the clerics at Eidgah has been hailed by women activists who described the development as "better late than never".

The chief of All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) Shaista Amber said: "Such decisions will only help women come out in large numbers and offer prayers during Eid. It will give our sisters an opportunity to attend the 'Khutba' (sermon) which is a very important part of Eid prayers," said Amber. The AIMPWPLB chief said such practices should be followed during other religious congregations as well.

Also Read: Jaipur's Jama Masjid Has Allowed Women To Offer 'Individual Namaz'

Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Tasoof Abbas too has welcomed the move saying that Islam does not discriminate between men and women. "They have equal rights which should be respected by all," he said, adding: "This is the right step in the right direction and we should all come forward to encourage such practices which are within the precinct of the Sharia."

reuters/Representative Image

Edah Imam Khalid Rasheed, however, claimed that women have been attending namaz at Eidgah but in a very small number. "This time, however, we have special arrangements for them and this will encourage more women to attend such functions in the days to come," he said and added there was no restriction on women offering namaz with men while performing the sacred Haj, so how can anyone put restrictions on women offering prayers elsewhere. "I have been to many countries where women offer prayers at masjids in separate enclosures to maintain sanctity of hijab and purdah," he said.
YONGJING, July 7, 2016 -- Water level of Liujiaxia Reservoir is lowered to respond to the upcoming flood season in Yongjing County, northwest China's Gansu Province, July 6, 2016. The Liujiaxia Reservoir, which locates in the upstream of the Yellow River, released more water recently to respond to the flood season. (Xinhua/Shi Youdong)
Finding himself in the eye of the storm for allegedly inspiring two terrorists in Dhaka attack and the head of the ISIS module busted in Hyderabad, controversial televangelist Zakir Naik has broken his silence.

irf

Currently in Saudi Arabia for Umra, Naik said he was not shocked that the Dhaka attackers knew him.

"The largest percentage of my Facebook followers are from Bangladesh... 90 per cent of Bangladeshis would know me, including senior politicians, philanthropists, common men, students and more, 50 per cent would be my fans. Am I shocked that the attackers knew me? No," he said.

He also termed ISIS un-islamic and called the terror group enemies of the Muslim faith.

On another controversial issue, his alleged reluctance to term Bin Laden a terrorist, Naik said the clip in question was doctored.

NPR

"Many of the clips you find on YouTube are doctored and I have been quoted out of context," Naik told CNN News 18.

"I have not done research on him, (Bin Laden) I don't know him. Neither do I call him a saint or a terrorist. Since I haven't researched on him so how can I condemn him or condone him?" Naik added.

Meanwhile the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is reportedly planning strict action against cable operators carrying Peace TV which airs Naik's preachings. The channel has no operational license in India. The multi-lingual channel which is uplinked from Dubai, is available across world including India, through cable operators.

According to DNA the channel which was launched in 2006 is run through donations Naik's Islamic Research Foundation International recieves, mostly from Britain.

YouTube

In 2012 the channel had come under scrutiny by the Office of Communications (Ofcom), Britain's broadcasting watchdog, for telecasting volatile content that advocated killing a non-Muslim for propagating against Islam.
Driven by radical beliefs, twin brothers allegedly killed their mother in Saudi Arabia after she tried to stop them from joining ISIS in Syria.

thetimes.co.uk

The June 24 killing, in a country where respect for elders is seen as a bedrock of society, whipped up a storm of debate over the possible influence of a mediaeval Islamic scholar revered as a forerunner of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam.

Saudi interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki said the pair were suspects in the killing.

"The only thing (we have established) is that they (the twins) follow Takfiri ideology," Turki told Reuters, using a phrase which Saudi authorities use to refer to Islamist militancy. "The case is still under investigation," said the spokesman.

In a statement after the attack, the interior ministry said that the twins, Khaled and Saleh al-Oraini, were arrested on suspicion of stabbing their 67-year-old mother Haila, their 73-year-old father and their 22-year-old brother at the family home in the capital Riyadh.

Reuters

The father and brother were in hospital in a serious condition, while the alleged attackers were arrested trying to flee across the border to Yemen, media said. Reuters was unable to confirm the status of family members or the whereabouts of the suspects.

"Had this come from drug addicts or ignorant youth, it would not have been unusual," Saudi writer Mohammad Ali al-Mahmoud said. "The shock is that it came from a pair of religious children acting in the name of Islam."

This is the fifth killing of family members by suspected terrorists in Saudi Arabia since July last year, the online Saudi news website akhbaar24 reported on June 26.

There have been similar cases of other killings of close relatives by ISIS members, including a widely reported incident in January in which a suspected militant killed his mother in public in the Syrian city of Raqqa because she had encouraged him to leave the group.

The killings compounded fears of radicalistion in the kingdom. On Monday, suicide bombers struck three cities in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their daily fast observed during the holy month of Ramadan, killing at least four security personnel and themselves.

Impassioned Debate

The case has caused impassioned debate because Islam teaches that devotion to caring for elders is a pathway to heaven.

Some scholars and media commentators have asked if it was the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya, a 13th century Islamic scholar from Damascus known for his fatwas (religious opinion) about takfir that were behind young terrorists killing family members they regarded as apostates.

ISIS embraces the concept of takfir, often quoting Ibn Taymiyya to exhort its followers to kill other Muslims seen as apostates, including relatives. The word takfir is derived from the Arabic word kafer, which means unbeliever.

Reuters

It was Ibn Taymiyya who inspired the founder of Wahhabism, the 18th century Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Abdul-Wahhab.

Wahhabism, the religious movement espoused by rulers of Saudi Arabia, demands rigid adherence to what it sees as Islam's original practices and a rejection of more modern ideas.

These links, as well as shared practices such as the use of beheading as a means of execution, led some Western commentators to accuse Riyadh of sympathy with groups like ISIS which holds territory in Iraq and Syria.

However, Western-allied Riyadh says Ibn Abdul-Wahhab was a reformer. The Saudi government rejects any talk of links between his message and that of modern terrorists, denouncing ISIS and al Qaeda as terrorists and religious heretics.

But Riyadh's official stance has not prevented scholars and commentators from seizing on the latest killing to dissect the degree to which Ibn Taymiyya is responsible for motivating today's jihadists.

Legacy Of IBN Taymiyya

"Some are angry at me for pointing out the legacy of Ibn Taymiyya in the religious violence that is sweeping us," prominent scholar, Abdul-Salam al-Wail, professor of sociology at King Saud University, wrote on his Twitter account.

"To the Shaikh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyya), human life is cheap and his legacy clarifies this," he added, using the honorific of the renowned scholar, who spent time in jail for his beliefs and who resisted Mongol invaders.

Wail said that while Ibn Taymiyya was a prolific scholar for his time, he pointed to his fatwas that permit a son to kill an apostate father, saying they contradict the essence of Islam.

The case drew a rare intervention from the Saudi Islamic affairs minister, Saleh bin Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, who was quoted as saying that Ibn Taymiyya's fatwa allowing a son to kill his father had been taken out of context.

"The statement by the Shaikh al-Islam, may God have mercy on him ... is intended for if they meet at war in which the son is on the side of the faithful and the father is on the side of apostates," he was quoted by Rashed bin Othman al-Zahrani, deputy chairman of the Electronic Islam Academy, as saying.

"This means that only in this case and it does not contradict the verse which states: be kind to thy parents," the minister added in comments published in al-Hayat, al-Jazirah and other Saudi media outlets.

Reuters

Writing on Twitter after the killing, columnist Mohammed al-Sheikh called for reviewing "our readings of the theological heritage of Ibn Taymiyya" to clarify it belonged "to a different time and different circumstances. Otherwise, terrorism will not end."

Al-Mahmoud said the first step in fighting militant ideology would be by opening up Ibn Taymiyya's teachings for debate.

"What is needed now is to drain this swamp, by opening the door to criticising our heritage," the writer, al-Mahmoud, told Reuters. "What is needed is to shake the confidence in these teachings that are being imported from our distant past."
For the first time, the USA has moved to impose a sanction on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the countless accounts of torture, assault and execution of his people.

Reuters

Seeing Jong Un in direct violation of human rights, the US Department of Treasury held him and 10 other North Korean officials responsible for torturing and killing political prisoners in the numerous prison camps the Supreme Leader has under his control.

Xinhua/Polaris

What goes on in these prison camps?

Nearly 80,000 to 120,000 people are being treated to third degree torture in Jong Un's prison camps.

Reuters

"Under Kim Jong-Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labour, and torture," said Adam Szubin, under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury.

The network that runs parallel to these camps

The US has also cited in its report that a different ministry being supervised by Jong Un owns an entire nexus of police stations, detention centres, and labour camps that perpetuate intimidation and extreme levels of torture.

Reuters

The US has also said that an alarming number of people are aware of this human rights abuse and once identified with proper evidence, it could seriously damage North Korea's existing leadership and pave the way for a welcome change.
ISIS terrorists keeping sex slaves or selling them is nothing new. The savages in the terror group have been doing this ever since they appeared on the horizon and started taking women from their occupied territories as captives.

Now a leaked 'ad' posted by an alleged ISIS fighter on an encrypted messaging service have revealed the shocking nature of the "trade."

AP

A girl for sale is "Virgin. Beautiful. 12 years old.... Her price has reached $12,500 and she will be sold soon," the post in Arabic reads.

It appeared on an encrypted conversation along with ads for kittens, weapons and tactical gear. It was shared with the Associated Press by an activist with the minority Yazidi community, whose women and children are being held as sex slaves by the extremists.

AP

In addition to this there was another similar ad on WhatsApp for a mother with a 3-year-old and a 7-month old baby, with a price of $3,700. "She wants her owner to sell her," read the posting, followed by a photo.

AP

According to activists and organizations working in Iraq and Syria, there are around 3,000 women and girls held as sex slaves by ISIS.

IS sells the women like chattel on smart phone apps and shares databases that contain their photographs and the names of their "owners" to prevent their escape through IS checkpoints.

universalfreepress

Last year a fatwa of ISIS had emerged which dealt with 'how to deal with sex slaves."

It had also come to light that captive girls were given away as sex slaves as "prize" for winning competitions.
A 38-year-old construction worker named Lin Jun was impaled on five steel bars after he fell from the fifth floor to the third floor of a construction site in the city of Suining in southwestern China's Sichuan province on July 6.

After surgery, he was listed as being in critical condition in an intensive care unit at the Hedong Hospital affiliated to Zhongxin Hospital in Suining.

Lin went to work on the fifth floor as usual on the morning of July 6. His fall occurred shortly after starting work that day. After the accident, several workers immediately rushed down to the third floor and found Lin with five steel bars piercing his body.

The workers called the fire department for help. The firefighters brought Lin to Hedong Hospital. After a six-hour operation, all five of the steel bars were removed from Lin's body. Fortunately, none of the bars pierced his internal organs.
"An Act of Military Aggression Launched on a False Pretext"





Jeremy Corbyn's Response to the Chilcot Report

July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - The Labour leader says "those who took the decisions" must "face up to the consequences of their action".



Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Before addressing the issues raised in the Iraq Inquiry report, I would like to remember and honour the 179 British servicemen and women killed and the thousands maimed and injured during the Iraq war, and their families as well as the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq launched by the US and British governments 13 years ago.

Yesterday I had a private meeting with some of the families of the British dead as I have continued to do over the past dozen years.

It is always a humbling experience to witness the resolve and resilience of these families and their unwavering commitment to seek truth and justice for those that they lost in Iraq.

They have waited seven years for Sir John Chilcots report.

It was right that the inquiry heard evidence from such a wide range of people and that the origins, conduct and aftermath of the war should have been examined in such detail.

But the extraordinary length of time it has taken to see the light of day is clearly a matter for regret.

I should add that the scale of the report running to 6,275 pages to which I was only given access at 8 oclock this morning means that todays response by all of us can only be a provisional one.

Mr Speaker, the decision to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003 was the most significant foreign policy decision taken by a British government in modern times.

It divided this House and set the government of the day against a majority of the British people as well as against the weight of global opinion.

The war was not in any way as Sir John Chilcot says a last resort.

Frankly, it was an act of military aggression launched on a false pretext as the inquiry accepts and has long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international legal opinion.

It led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of refugees.

It devastated Iraqs infrastructure and society.

The occupation fostered a lethal sectarianism  as the report makes clear - that turned into a civil war. Instead of protecting security at home or abroad, the war fuelled and spread terrorism across the region.

Sundays suicide bomb attack in Baghdad which killed over 250 people, the deadliest so far, was carried out by a group whose origins lie in the aftermath of the invasion.

By any measure, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been for many a catastrophe.

Mr. Speaker, the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 on the basis of what the Chilcot report calls flawed intelligence about the weapons of mass destruction has had a far-reaching impact on us all.

It also led to a fundamental breakdown in trust in politics and in our institutions of government.

The tragedy is that while the governing class got it so horrifically wrong - many of our people actually got it right.

On February 15th, 2003 over 1.5 million people spanning the political spectrum, and tens of millions of other people across the world, marched against the impending war in the biggest demonstration in British history.

It wasnt that we those of us who opposed the way underestimated the brutality or crimes of Saddam Husseins dictatorship. Indeed, many of us campaigned against the Iraqi regime during its most bloody period when the Thatcher government and the US administration were busy supporting that regime  as was confirmed by the 1996 Scott Inquiry.

But we could see that this state, broken by sanctions and war, posed no military threat and that the WMD evidence was flimsy and confected, that going to war without United Nations authorization was profoundly dangerous, that foreign invasion and occupation would be resisted by force and would set off a series of uncontrollable and destructive events.

If only this House had been able to listen to the wisdom of our own people when it voted on 18th March 2003 against waiting for UN authorization through a second resolution the course of events might have been very different.

All but 16 members of the benches opposite supported the way  whilst 140 members of my own Party voted against it  as did many from other Parties.

But none of us will take any satisfaction from this report. Instead, all of us, and I believe everyone in this House, we have to feel saddened at what has been revealed and what we must now reflect on.

In addition to all those British service people and Iraqis, civilians and combatants who lost their lives in this conflict, there are many members of this House who voted to stop the war but who have not lived to see themselves vindicated by this report.

First and foremost, Mr Speaker it would do us all well to remember Robin Cook who stood over there 13 years ago and said in a few hundred words in advance of the tragedy to come what has been confirmed by this report in more than two million words.

The Chilcot Report has rightly dug deep into the litany of failures of planning for the occupation, the calamitous decision to stand down the Iraqi army and to dissolve the Iraqi state.

But the reality is it was the original decision to follow the US president into an unprovoked war in the most volatile region of the world and impose a colonial-style occupation that led to every other disaster.

The governments September 2002 Dossier with its claim that declaring Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be deployed in 45mins was only the most notorious of many deceptions.

As Major General Michael Laurie told the inquiry  and I quote: "We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war rather than setting out the available intelligence.

Military action in Iraq not only turned a humanitarian crisis into a humanitarian disaster, it also convulsed the entire region just as intervention for regime change in Libya in 2011 has sadly left the country in the grip of warring militias and terror groups.

And the Iraq war increased the threat of terrorism to our own country, as Baroness Manningham-Buller, former head of MI5 made clear to the inquiry.

There are many lessons that need to be drawn from the Iraq war and the investigation carried out by Sir John Chilcot and his Inquiry for our country, government and parliament as well as for my party  and indeed every other Party.

They include the need for a more open and independent relationship with the United States, and for a foreign policy based on upholding international law and the authority of the United Nations which always seeks peaceful solutions to international disputes.

We also need much stronger oversight of the security and intelligence services, full restoration of proper cabinet government, and to give parliament the decisive say over any future decision to go to war based on objective information and not just through government discretion but through a War Powers Act which I hope this Parliament will pass.

And as, in the wake of Iraq our own and other western governments increasingly resort to hybrid warfare based on the use of drones and special forces, our democracy - and our democracy is crucial and important - needs to ensure that their use is subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny.

There are no more important decisions a Member of Parliament ever gets asked to make than those relating to peace and war.

The very least that MPs and the country should be able to expect is rigorous and objective evidence on which to base their crucial decisions.

We now know the House was misled in the run-up to the war and the House must now decide how it should deal with that 13 years later, just as all those who took the decisions laid bare in the Chilcot report must face up to the consequences of their action whatever they may be.

Later today, I will be meeting a group of families of military servicemen and women who lost loved ones, Iraq war veterans and Iraqi citizens who have lost family members as a result of the war that the US and British governments launched in 2003.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Information Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or sponsored by the originator.) Privacy Statement
Thoughts After Chilcot



By Craig Murray July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - I hope today that people will remember Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Carne Ross, and Katherine Gun, who were all prepared to give up excellent careers to stand against the war in Iraq. Blair is still a creature of absolute self-serving slime. His attempt yesterday to justify the invasion of Iraq as an effort to prevent a 9/11 on British soil is dishonest in every way. Blair knew full well that Iraq had nothing at all to do with 9/11  that was his still friends and financiers the Saudi elite. The intelligence advice in advance of the invasion he received was unequivocal that it would increase the threat to the UK, and it directly caused the attacks of 7/7. The broadcast media seem to think the Chilcot report is an occasion to give unlimited airtime to Blair and Alastair Campbell. Scores of supporters and instigators of the was have been interviewed. By contrast, almost no airtime has been given to those who campaigned against the war. Camerons speech to parliament was such an out and out, and dishonest, apologia for the invasion that it bore no relationship to the report. Corbyn is no orator, but his genuine moral outrage was justified. The Blairites who heckled him from behind during his speech are disgusting. If any meaningful democratic choice is to be offered to people in England and Wales, the Blairites have to be removed from the Labour Party to join with their fellow Tories. The SNP are playing a blinder on Chilcot. I do hope Salmond moves forward with impeachment, not least because it will both force the Blairites to expose themselves, and reveal the deep feelings against Blairs actions in the military linked wing of the Tory party. As predicted, Chilcot had to repeat the Butler Inquirys verdict that the intelligence was not fixed, because Chilcot was himself on the Butler Inquiry. It is a lie, the intelligence was knowingly fixed. Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010.
The US Needs Its Own Chilcot Report





Tony Blair wasnt the principal architect of this catastrophic war. The US should investigate George W Bush for his decision to invade Iraq



By Trevor Timm

July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Guardian "- As the UK parliament released its long-awaited Chilcot report on the countrys role in the Iraq war on Wednesday, there have been renewed calls all over Britain to try former prime minister Tony Blair for war crimes. This brings up another question: what about George W Bush?

The former US president most responsible for the foreign policy catastrophe has led a peaceful existence since he left office. Not only has he avoided any post-administration inquiries into his conduct, he has inexplicably seen his approval ratings rise (despite the carnage left in his wake only getting worse). He is an in-demand fundraiser for Republicans not named Donald Trump, and he gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak at corporate events. The chances of him ever saying in public, I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you can ever believe, as Blair did on Wednesday, are virtually non-existent.

The only thing close to the Chilcot report in the US was the Senate intelligence committees long-delayed investigation on intelligence failures in the lead-up to Iraq, released in 2008. The Democratic-led committee faulted the CIA for massive intelligence failures and the Bush administration for purposefully manipulating intelligence for public consumption. It led to a couple days of headlines, denunciations from the Bush White House (still in office at the time) and that was it.

After that, the Senate intelligence committee continued to lavish the CIA with praise, increase its budgets and provide only a modicum of oversight, despite the many scandals that preceded and succeeded the report. When the same intelligence committee later investigated illegal CIA torture  also directed by the highest levels of the Bush administration  they didnt even bother mentioning the top officials who designed and sanctioned the program, only the anonymous (read: redacted) underlings who carried it out.

Bush himself suffered no consequences and, by that time, was claiming that the Iraq surge had worked, a misleading drumbeat meant to obscure his calamitous original decision. Barack Obama took prosecuting Bush officials for anything related its war on terror off the table before his administration ever took office, and his administrations stance on torture turned a blatant war crime into a policy dispute. And that was that.

House Republicans investigations into Benghazi has lasted far longer than any sort of investigation into Iraq, despite there being little doubt that the Iraq war was the biggest foreign policy disaster of the last quarter century. Not only did it lead to the deaths of well over a million people, but the US has spent trillions of dollars fighting it, and its chaotic ripple effects throughout the Middle East continue to dominate US foreign policy. Most notably, the war spawned the terrorist group Isis, which the US will likely spend the next generation fighting.

Coincidentally, a scathing new biography of Bush was published Tuesday by renowned historian Jean Edward Smith, and it sounds like its closer to an indictment than anything an official governing body has come close to producing. Smith, who devotes a substantial portion of his book to the lead-up and aftermath of the Iraq war, concludes: Whether George W Bush was the worst president in American history will be long debated, but his decision to invade Iraq is easily the worst foreign policy decision ever made by an American president.

Beyond Bush, the political elite in the US has faced almost no punishment for supporting the invasion of Iraq. Dick Cheney and company are also living comfortably in retirement, and both political parties have nominated people who supported the invasion in 2003.
Putin LOSES IT, Warns Journalists of War 'I Don't Know How to Get Through to You People' Video



'How do you not understand that the world is being pulled in an irreversible direction?'



Vladimir Putin has finally taken the kid gloves off.



July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " RI "- The Russian president was meeting with foreign journalists at the conclusion of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 17th, when he left no one in any doubt that the world is headed down a course which could lead to nuclear war. Putin railed against the journalists for their "tall tales" in blindly repeating lies and misinformation provided to them by the United States on its anti-ballistic missile systems being constructed in Eastern Europe. He pointed out that since the Iran nuclear deal, the claim the system is to protect against Iranian missiles has been exposed as a lie. The journalists were informed that within a few years, Russia predicted the US would be able to extend the range of the system to 1000 km. At that point, Russia's nuclear potential, and thus the nuclear balance between the US and Russia, would be placed in jeopardy. Putin completely lost patience with the journalists, berating them for lazily helping to accelerate a nuclear confrontation by repeating US propaganda. He virtually pleaded with the western media, for the sake of the world, to change their line: We know year by year what's going to happen, and they know that we know. It's only you that they tell tall tales to, and you buy it, and spread it to the citizens of your countries. You people in turn do not feel a sense of the impending danger - this is what worries me. How do you not understand that the world is being pulled in an irreversible direction? While they pretend that nothing is going on. I don't know how to get through to you anymore. Does anyone in the reeking garbage heap that is mainstream western media have a conscience? Do they even have enough intellect to get what Putin is saying - that they are helping to push the planet towards World War III?
I Travelled Across Syria And Saw For Myself What Blair's Actions Caused



Whats the difference between Iraqi WMDs that dont exist, 45-minute warnings that are falsities, 70,000 non-existent Syrian moderates and a fictitious NHS windfall of millions if Britain left the EU?



By Robert Fisk July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - " The Independent "- I guess a Nuremburg trial might have been a better place to sort out the minutiae of the Blair-Bush crimes we committed to go to war in the Middle East. We brought about the deaths of up to half a million people, most of them Muslims who were as innocent as Blair was guilty. A Nuremburg-style court might thus have concentrated more on the mass Arab victims of our criminal expedition than the heinous guilt and profound regret  his words, of course  of Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara. Sure, Blair lied about the intelligence on weapons of mass destruction before going to war, then lied about the Foreign Office warnings of the chaos that would overwhelm Iraq and now  today  pretends that the Chilcot report has proclaimed him innocent when in fact it says he is quite the opposite. But a prolonged study of the report, rather than the necessarily swift precis we have been fed these past few hours, may produce lines of enquiry far more distressing than the conclusions in the easy-to-regurgitate, simplified and shorter version handed out to the media. Besides, our concentration on the iniquitous Blair and his lies, while itself an understandable response to Chilcot, has provided a worrying diversion from the mendacity that still today afflicts our political class, our prime ministers and party leaders, and their insulting attitude towards those they claim to represent. Hearing the first news of Sir John Chilcots epic work of literature while I was travelling across Syria was a disturbing experience. Not just because the plague of Islamist cruelty spreading outwards from Raqqa was (despite Blairs nonsense to the contrary) a direct result of the Iraqi inferno; but because our own present, though discredited, Prime Minister used Blairite falsehoods to persuade MPs to bomb Isis targets in Syria last December. Remember the nonsense about the 70,000 moderate rebels who needed our help, even though they dont exist and were manufactured by the very same Joint Intelligence Committee on which Blair relied for his criminal adventure? And when MPs questioned this claptrap, they were haughtily put down by General Gordon Messenger, deputy chief of the defence staff, who said that for security reasons these various rebel units could not be named  even though we know the identity of these ragtag CIA outfits and of their inability to fight anyone. The appropriately named Messenger went along with David Camerons fantasy and was duly promoted, just as John Scarlett, the JICs chairman who provided all the duff intelligence to Blair, was later knighted. And so we went to war against Isis in Syria  unless, of course, Isis was attacking Assads regime, in which case we did nothing at all, despite all the outrageous huffing and puffing of Hilary Benn about pre-war fascism. Condemn Blair we will, poor chap, but dont think that anything changed in the six years Sir John spent writing up his Biblical tome. And thats the problem. When Blair can say, as he did the moment the Chilcot report was published, that it should lay to rest allegations [sic] of bad faith, lies and deceit  without a revolution in the streets against his bad faith, lies and deceit  then you can be sure that his successors will have no hesitation in swindling the public again and again. After all, whats the difference between Iraqi WMDs that dont exist, 45-minute warnings that are falsities, 70,000 non-existent Syrian moderates and a fictitious NHS windfall of millions if Britain left the European Union? There are many versions  and misquotations  of that most cynical of Nazi propagandists, Joseph the bigger the lie, the better Goebbels, but it is impossible not to be shocked by some of his observations. The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence, he wrote in 1941. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, it should be a big lie, and one should stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous. What is chilling about these words is not that the wartime English Goebbels maligned, nor that Churchill (who was his special target) did actually lie. Given the struggle against Nazism  and despite Churchills observation that truth in war should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies  the British had a virtuous ability in the 1939-45 conflict to tell the truth even when a bit of Blairite flummery might have sufficed to cover up Britains defeats. No, what is frightening is that Goebbelss words apply so painfully to English politicians today. Who do we know after the report, for example, who keeps up their big lies even at the risk of looking ridiculous? I fear, in an awful way, that small men who want to walk in big shoes  who actually think they are Churchill and take their country to war  are committing the very lies of which their political ancestors were largely innocent. Perhaps the key to all this was captured in Sir Johns contention that Blair relied more on his beliefs  whatever that dangerous word obscures  and the judgement of others. Blair accepts responsibility Thus he can tell us  and tell me as I drove in from the Syrian desert city of Palmyra whose desecrators brought their vile practices from the Iraqi disaster that Blair helped to create  that I do not believe [that Saddam Husseins removal] is the cause of terrorism we see today whether in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world. All this duplicity, of course, is to form part of the full debate that Blair now threatens in the aftermath of the Chilcot report. He is going  heaven spare us -- to set out the lessons I believe future leaders can learn from my experience. But Blair doesnt need to bore us with his lies all over again. Theyve already been imbibed by Dave 70,000 moderates Cameron and the Brexit lads who are now self-destructing amid the very lies they told  and which may achieve all that Goebbels wished for this country: the end of the United Kingdom. In this context, the Chilcot report is not so much a massive work of investigation into the sins that took us to war in 2003, but just another chapter in the story of our inability to control a world in which Britains public relations politicians treat their people with contempt, kill some of their soldiers and slaughter hundreds of thousands of foreigners without any real remorse.
If You Like Obama, Youll Love Trump!





By William Blum

July 07, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Oh, what fun we have with the nonsense that flows out of the mouth of Donald J. Trump. The man is suffocatingly banal, racist, dishonest, inarticulate, uninformed, uneducated, narcissistic, a bully, just plain stupid, and an asshole (or in the immortal words of my people  a schmuck!) I would guess that as the boss of his own enterprises for many years, with the power and the habit of firing people, he eventually became deeply accustomed to not having his thoughts seriously questioned or challenged, to the extent that he really believes the crap that comes out of his mouth and doesnt really understand what others actually think of him.

But if we look at what comes out of the mouth of The Barack is there any reason to castigate The Donald for his supposedly outrageous or weird way of expressing himself? Heres a sample:

 On numerous occasions, in reply to a question about why his administration has not prosecuted the Bush-Cheney gang for mass murder, torture and other war crimes, former law professor Obama has stated: I prefer to look forward rather than backwards. Picture a defendant before a judge asking to be found innocent of any crime on such grounds. On other occasions, Obama, without apparent embarrassment, has stated that nobody is above the law. (A public figure can be labeled stupid not just for saying or doing stupid things, but for not even realizing that the public will SEE his words or actions as stupid.)

 Asked whether he would apologize for Washingtons role in Chiles 1973 military coup which overthrew the democratically elected government and replaced it with a dictatorship, Obama replied: Im interested in going forward, not looking backward. I think that the United States has been an enormous force for good in the world. (June 23, 2009)

 Question from CNN, 2008: Do you think the US should apologize for any mistakes that it has made in the past? Obamas reply: I dont think the US should ever apologize for anything.

 Obamas speech to the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2014 where he classified Russia to be one of the three great threats to the world along with the Islamic State and the ebola virus.

 Obamas declaration that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. This is standard political correctness which ignores the indisputable role played by Islam in inspiring Orlando and Long Beach and Paris and Ankara and many other massacres; it is the religion that teaches the beauty and godliness of jihad and the heavenly rewards of suicide bombings.

 After Turkey intentional shoot-down of a Russian warplane along the Turkish-Syrian border, instead of rebuking Turkey, a NATO member, for its absolutely reckless behavior - or expressing sympathy to the Russians - Obama asserted that Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and its airspace.(November 24, 2015) Turkey later apologized to Russia, but Obama didnt.

 In September 2013 Obama stood before the United Nations and declared: I believe America is exceptional.

 On March 9, 2015 Obama declared Venezuela an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.

 Obama spoke of the principle that no country has the right to send in troops to another country unprovoked (March 3, 2014) (Do our leaders have no memory or do they think weve all lost ours?)

 Im good at killing. (Just imagine Trump saying this.) Obama has claimed the power to murder anyone anywhere by drone. Nixon had an enemies list, but this drone king has a personal kill list. Obamas use of drones against jihadist leaders, and anyone else who happens to be too close, has essentially rescinded the leading principle that was established in the Magna Carta 800 years ago  the presumption of innocence.

 Imagine also The Donald joking  as Obama did  about using a drone on his daughters boyfriends: Theyll never know what hit them.

 Obama, State of the Union speech, 2012: This generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world.

 On May 28, 2012 the president declared that Vietnam was one of the most extraordinary stories of bravery and integrity in the annals of [US] military history.

 After taking over the White House in 2009, Obama called Afghanistan the good war

 Obama, explaining the US/NATO devastation of Libya in 2011, turning it from Africas highest standard of living into a desperate failed state, based on made-up reports about Ghaddafi carrying out atrocities: Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. (March 28, 2011)

 Said Obama: A US refusal to intervene in Libya would be a betrayal of who we are. (How true.)

 In March 2011, as the US/NATO bombardment of the people of Libya continued, day after day, the White House insisted that it was a limited humanitarian intervention, not war.

 All the forces that were seeing at work in Egypt are forces that naturally should be aligned with us, should be aligned with Israel  if we make good decisions now and we understand sort of the sweep of history.(March 4, 2011) Egypt quickly became a brutal dictatorship.

 State of the Union address, 2011: And weve sent a message  to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.

 Obama: Im not somebody who discounts the sincerity and worthiness of President Bushs concerns about democracy and human rights. (Washington Post, January 19, 2009)

 Obama: President Bush was right that Irans ballistic missile program poses a significant threat [to Europe and the US]. (September 30, 2009)

I believe that Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him. That is a source of strength and sustenance on a daily basis. (Obama, Washington Post, August 17, 2008)

 June 22, 2009: Obama says America is fully prepared for any action by North Korea. (Thank god; after the nuclear attacks by China and Russia it was great to not have to worry about North Korea. But there was still Iran.)

 Obama, speaking about Russia, July 7: In 2009, a great power does not show strength by dominating or demonizing other countries. The days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over.

 During a visit to Baghdad April 7, 2009, Obama praised the US military for their extraordinary achievement in Iraq.

 Obama: To ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad, we all share the belief we have to maintain the strongest military on the planet. (December 1, 2008)

 Speaking to a joint session of Congress: I can stand here and say without exception or equivocation that the United States does not torture. (Washington Post, February 24, 2009)

 There is no spying on Americans. We dont have a domestic spying program. (Obama on The Tonight Show, August 7, 2013)

 Just 18 days before the disastrous Gulf oil spill in 2010 Obama said: It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally dont cause spills. They are technologically very advanced. (Washington Post, May 27, 2010)

 Obamas pep talk December 2010 to US troops in Afghanistan in which he lauded them as the finest fighting force that the world has ever known. (George W. Bush: the US military is the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world and the greatest force for human liberation the world has ever known.) Try and top those lines, Donald.

 As a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama lauded whistleblowers as part of a healthy democracy [who] must be protected from reprisal. In 2012, the campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama boasted on its website that he had prosecuted more whistleblowers in his first term than all other US presidents combined.

 Obamas claim that the U.S. has been For nearly seven decades the anchor of global security. (September 10, 2013)

 Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians its an act of terror. (April 16, 2013); I was elected to end wars, not start them. Ive spent the last 4 1/2 years doing everything I can to reduce our reliance on military power as a means of meeting our international obligations and protecting the American people. (September 6, 2013); The bottom line is, nothing of significance, nothing of benefit results from destructive acts. (November 25, 2014)

Thus spoke the man who carried out military attacks against Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria.

 Obama (CBS News, February 13, 2013): I urge this Congress to come up with a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change.

Sam Smith asked: Does he also want, for example, a bipartisan market-based solution to cancer?

 In his book The Audacity of Hope Obama wrote: I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.
The kidnappers of the Lagos State expatriate contractor working on the expansion of the Epe Township project in Lagos have demanded N155 million ransom for his freedom.

The expatriate, one of the workers working for Granebury Construction was kidnapped while working on site on Monday evening.

A Police source who doesnt want his name in print said the kidnappers had demanded N155 million to secure the release of the expatriate.

It was gathered that, Police had stepped up both land and aerial surveillance and were combing every nooks and crannies of Epe to rescue the expatriate.
Some Abia State leaders, including traditional rulers, traditional prime ministers and others, have called for the immediate swearing-in of the governor-elect of the state, Dr Uche Ogah.

Swearing-in Ogah, they said, was the wish of Abians.

The group noted that no amount of intimidation would make the governor-elect renounce his mandate as he had always said he would not dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since it was where his destiny of becoming the governor of the state lay.

Addressing reporters in Umuahia, the state capital, while reading a communique at the end of their meeting yesterday, the leader of the group and traditional prime minister of Ibeku Kingdom, Chief Uche Akwukwaegbu, said there was no alternative to Ogah.

Akwukwaegbu said: This forum frowns at the negative reactions of some reactionary forces who see the Abuja High Court and INEC decision as hasty, as people who are used to disobeying court orders, which President Muhammadu Buharis administration is fighting hard to change.

This forum views the attitude and reaction of the Adolphus Wabara-led Abia Concerned Elders as that of people who are yet to cue into the President Buhari change mantra.

The public is advised to disregard the information contained in the communique as sponsored by those who have contributed in no small measure to the collapse and stunted growth of our dear Abia State.

This forum would not have responded to the communique, as published in the media by the so-called Concerned Elders, if not for the falsehood, distortion of facts and misleading effects on the people as contained in their so-called communique.

As the true representatives of the people of Abia State, we condemn the purported meeting in Abuja by some people from Abia State in the name of Concerned Elders of the state as their resolutions do not reflect in any way the reality on the ground.

The true position of things in Abia is that all Abians  male and female, young and old, irrespective of clan, religion and political group  are yearning for Dr Uche Ogah, hence the hilarious and wild celebration that was witnessed on all streets and villages in the state.

All interest groups, professional bodies, youths and womens groups and community leaders passionately desire a turnaround in the state, and everyone is happy that a court of law has finally restored the mandate of the peoples choice, Dr Ogah.

Consequently, we urge the Wabara-led acclaimed Elders Forum not to pretend that it does not know the right thing to do, which is to advise former governor of the state to honourably quit and respect the rule of law.

We, therefore, emphatically declare our unwavering support for the court ruling, demanding the swearing-in of Dr Ogah immediately, as the Abuja Federal High Court ordered.

The communique, which was signed by 23 members, said the groups would continue to stand on the side of truth and patriotism, as exemplified by the Abuja Federal High Court, which is to swear in Ogah as Abia State governor.
File Photo

A 13-day trip to Sweden was suddenly interrupted when a Chinese tour group of 43 people was robbed of their passports. After speaking with the local Chinese embassy, temporary passports were issued to the tourists for their return trip home. As of July 6, the last of the tourists have gotten home safely.

The robbery occurred when the Chinese group went to visit Stockholm City Hall on June 30. During lunch, a white man wearing a headset and playing on an iPad suddenly rushed forward and snatched the tour guide's bag. He quickly jumped into a car waiting in front of the restaurant and escaped.

Inside the bag were the passports of every single group member, as well as some cash belonging to the guide. The group managed to catch the license plate of the robber's car, but local police later verified that the car had a fake plate. The tour guide said they could no longer continue to travel without passports.

Many tourists requested compensation from the travel agency, Beijing Datang Travel Agency, after returning home. One employee of the agency said: "After the loss of the passports, we paid for all accommodations and restaurant fees, as well as for the return tickets. The agency's net loss from the trip has already reached nearly 1 million yuan." The employee promised that there will be compensation, but a specific compensation package is still being negotiated.
A newly married couple from Belgium recently experienced a serious hitch in their China travel itinerary. They planned a budget trip with a cost of 4,000 yuan for two people, but because of insufficient planning and a serious language barrier, they were forced to ask for help from the police when they lost their way and ran out of food.

The newly married couple are also fresh college graduates. They started their trip to China on June 12. The trip was meant to be their graduation present as well as their honeymoon. Neither the wife nor the husband can speak Chinese. They know only some simple expressions and greetings, which they learned after arriving in China. Hitchhiking along the road, the couple was sometimes refused. They finally arrived in Chongqing on July 4.

At one point, running out of food, the couple had to ask for help. Zhang Qin, a man who briefly stopped for the couple as he was driving by, reported the exchange to police after the trio failed to successfully communicate. The couple told police that they had lost their way and were almost out of money.

The local police provided them with food and drinks after they told their story. With only 1,100 yuan left, the couple now plans to go to Zhangjiajie, a famous tourist site in China. Police helped them to pick the most economical route and wrote out itineraries for them in both English and Chinese to make it easier for the couple to ask for directions. One officer left them with the warning that, although budget travel is a way of life, travelers still need to pay close attention to safety.
"More than 6,000 ducks in my duck farm need to be relocated to a safe place as they are trapped in a flood zone," a villager told a traffic police officer named Yi Yurong in the city of Jurong, Jiangsu province at 2 p.m. on July 5.

Yi left for the duck farm immediately after he received the call. At that time, the water level in Jurong's Nanhe Dyke was already quite high, and the duck farm with more than 6,000 ducks was near the dyke.

Yi controlled traffic around the duck farm to ensure that a truck, by which means the ducks would be transported, could arrive at the scene quickly.

Confronted with the danger of a dyke breach, Yi and another traffic police officer volunteered to help workers at the farm drive the ducks onto the truck. Their help was particularly valuable since the farm had too few workers to wrangle so many ducks at the same time.

The two traffic police officers, together with the farm's employees, worked on their task from 7 p.m. on July 5 until 2 a.m. on July 6.

Due to continuous torrential rains in Jiangsu in recent days, many places in the province have been affected by flooding. The city of Jurong is one many flood-affected areas in Jiangsu.
The San Francisco Bay Area added 120,500 tech jobs in the last five years, for a growth rate of 61.5 percent percent. Major U.S. cities, generally, all saw double-digit growth in tech employment, according to a new report.

There is a fair chance that good number of San Francisco's tech workers came from the Boston area, according this study, 2016 Scoring Tech Talent by CBRE, a real estate services firm.

This report puts the nation's tech population at 4.8 million, and says tech employment has grown by about 1 million over the last five years. Of this total, 37 percent work for tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple. The balance is made up of people employed outside the tech sector, in industries such as banking and healthcare.

CBRE 2016 Scoring Tech Talent report The total tech labor pool, the five-year growth rate, the increase over five years and the concentration of tech workers in the overall labor force.

The San Francisco area has nearly 317,000 tech workers, which make up 10 percent of all jobs in this region. It's followed by the Washington D.C. area at 241,230 jobs, a growth rate of 24 percent over the last five years.

Boston was 10th on this list of top technology employment markets, with 111,290 tech workers. It had the smallest growth rate, of 13 percent.

But Boston also saw the largest "brain drain" of tech workers, some 17,225, according to CBRE.

What CBRE did was to look at how many technology-related degrees were produced over a five-year period, and then matched it against how many tech jobs were created in that same market, said Colin Yasukochi, the director of research and analysis at CBRE and the report's author.

Boston is producing "more degrees than jobs," said Yasukochi.

For employers, Boston ought to be a place to recruit workers as well as a place to establish an office, said Yasukochi.

Boston's talent pool is a leading reason General Electric recently announced plans to move its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston.

Some other cities that produce more technology grads than jobs include Phoenix, which saw a brain drain of 12,500 over five years. In Los Angeles, it was 11,156, and for Pittsburgh this figure was nearly 10,000.

Labor costs are the most dominant cost for tech companies, said Yasukochi. In San Francisco Bay area the average payroll cost for 250 people totaled nearly $31 million. In New York, number two on the list of most expensive cities, it was $26.5 million. But if you are willing to locate in Charlotte, N.C., the 20th most expensive city, this same 250-person payroll will cost $23 million.

The rising costs in the large markets will help the smaller markets, Yasukochi said.

The number one small tech labor market was Kansas City, Missouri, with a tech labor force at 48,500 and a five-year growth rate of 42 percent. It was closely followed by Charlotte, N.C., at just over 47,000, but at a growth rate of 75 percent.

What do Kansas City and Charlotte have in common?

Lower cost and availability of talent were factors shared by each city, said Yasukochi. But both cities have also invested in high-speed broadband networks, "which has had a major impact on stimulating technology growth" in those two markets, he said.

The Kansas City area was the first Google Fiberlocation in the nation. Charlotte is getting Google Fiber as well.

This story, "Boston is nation's top tech-talent exporter" was originally published by Computerworld .
Global stocks mixed ahead of US GDP, Europe rates decision AP - 1 hour ago Global stock markets are mixed ahead of an update on the U.S. economy and a European Central Bank meeting that is expected to raise its key interest rate to a 13-year high to fight stubbornly high inflation... $SPX : 3,830.60 (-0.74%) $DOWI : 31,839.11 (+0.01%) $IUXX : 11,405.90 (-2.26%)

Samsung officially names third-generation heir Lee chairman AP - 1 hour ago Samsung Electronics has officially appointed third-generation heir Lee Jae-yong as executive chairman, two months after he secured a pardon of his conviction for bribing a former president in a corruption... $SPX : 3,830.60 (-0.74%) $DOWI : 31,839.11 (+0.01%) $IUXX : 11,405.90 (-2.26%)
Plans for a new Self Storage Ventures (SSV) facility proposed by Gallacher Development LLC in Oak Creek, Wis., have been tabled until the citys July 12 plan-commission meeting. Board members unanimously voted on June 28 to postpone voting on the developers rezoning request because they hadnt had adequate time to review the plans, according to the source.

SSV has proposed construction of an eight-building, 900-unit self-storage facility at the corner of College and Howell Avenues. The vacant lot at137, 147 and 209 E. College Ave. and 6304 and 6340 S. Howell Ave. is nearly 6.5 acres. The facility would include a storm-water pond at the corner of the intersection, with one of two larger buildings stretching around half of the pond, the source reported. Hours of operation would be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

According to a rendering presented at the June meeting, access to the property would be off College Avenue via two entrances just before the intersection. One would be outside the facilitys perimeter fencing, allowing potential tenants access to the office.

Property access isnt currently allowed off Howell Avenue, however, SSV is looking to obtain authorization from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation for at least one access for emergency purposes, the source reported.

Online documents on the citys website show the plan commission recommended the common council approve a rezoning from highway business to manufacturing with a conditional use for self-storage during its June 14 meeting. The documents state "structures built on these properties may require the review and approval of the Federal Aviation Administration and Milwaukee County.

Based in Sacramento, Calif., Gallacher Development specializes in the acquisition, development, disposition, financing and management of self-storage properties.

SSV is a privately held company, wholly owned by Gallacher Development and Solidcore Partners of Denver. Collectively, the companies provide SSV with analytic standards, capital, underwriting, and real state relationships across the United States as well as parts of Europe and South America.
Update 7/11/17  Just a year after opening its facility in Park City, Kans., Store in a Wink is expanding its property with two new buildings. The new structures will comprise 6,000 square feet of space in 53 units. Once complete, the site will contain more than 190 units.

The facility is currently operating at full occupancy, said Winkley, adding the company will have more news in the coming weeks, according to the source.

Jerry Winkley, the former owner of five ServiceMaster Cleaning & Restoration by Clean in a Wink franchises, has opened his first self-storage facility in Park City, Kan. Store in a Wink at 4825 N. Hydraulic offers drive-up and warehouse units as well as enclosed and outdoor vehicle parking. The facility also provides U-Haul truck rentals and sells moving and packing supplies.

The business is a family affair, with Winkleys wife, Lisa, handling bookkeeping and daughter, Wendy, working part-time as an office manager while she also trains to be a chef. The Winkleys son, Jonathan, has autism and is also involved in the operation. While Jerry wanted to be engaged in a local business again, he also was motivated to further Jonathans life-skills development, Winkley told a source.

Jonathan, 28, maintains the property and provides security. The Winkleys are hopeful he will eventually work his way into customer service. Prior to the self-storage launch, Jonathan was employed at a Dillons supermarket, and he continues to serve as a church usher. [Hes] showing that adults with autism can do much more than people imagine, Jerry told a source.

The Winkleys launched their first ServiceMaster franchise in 1988 in Wichita, Kan. The couple grew the business to include five locations, with four listed among the ServiceMaster Top 50, which are selected from thousands of locations, according to the ServiceMaster website. The corporate headquarters purchased the Winkleys franchises in 2014. Jerry Winkley remained active in the businesses as a consultant through his sales-training company, Business by Design.

ServiceMaster offers heavy-cleaning services, 24-hour fire and water damage restoration, residential and commercial air-duct cleaning, mold and mildew remediation, carpet and upholstery cleaning, and janitorial services.
Update 10/14/16  Gunpowder Capital has acquired its first self-storage property for $299,000. The fully automated facility in Madoc, Ontario, was purchased through the companys subsidiary, GP Self Storage. Automation tools are available to handle unit reservations, payments, access to the property and security, according to a press release.

GP is pursuing other self-storage facilities that offer opportunities for the automated platform, the release stated. After conducting due diligence, the company decided not to pursue the second storage property it had intended to acquire.

"We are very pleased to have completed our first self-storage acquisition, Haber said. This acquisition complements our recent real estate purchase and provides hard assets and consistent cash flow against our merchant banking business, which can be more cyclical in nature. We continue to look at expanding both of these operations as well as additional business lines that may benefit our stakeholders."

The Madoc transaction included $150,000 in cash, with the remaining balance on a 15-year loan with a 4.1 percent interest rate. The facility is currently generating $33,000 in annual revenue, according to the release.

7/6/16  Gunpowder Capital Corp., a Toronto-based merchant bank and advisory firm, has formed GP Self Storage Inc. as a division to pursue interests in self-storage. The company has also signed separate purchase agreements to acquire two storage facilities in Ontario, Canada. Gunpowder is still negotiating the financing but has made a refundable deposit of $30,000 toward the properties, according to a press release. The deals are expected to close within the next 45 days.

"We are very pleased to have entered into the agreements to acquire these facilities. As I've previously stated, the corporation strongly believes that real estate provides an excellent long-term investment to its shareholders, said Paul Haber, chief financial officer. Unaudited net income for both facilities is currently $59,000 per annum, and the combined return on investment is 8.4 percent, which we feel in these market conditions is a very strong ROI.

Gunpowder believes it can improve the profitability of the two facilities through renovations and improvements to management, Haber added.

The formation of the self-storage division comes on the heels of launching GP Realty Inc., a division created to pursue interests in other forms of real estate. Gunpowder is in the process of acquiring a residential property in London, Ontario.

Based on their initial acquisition targets, the new divisions are expected to generate $110,000 per year in gross revenue, the release stated. The business-development team continues to be 'sector agnostic,' and continues to source business-acquisition opportunities that will generate immediate revenue and ROI," said Frank Kordy, interim CEO.

In conjunction with the launch of the self-storage division, the companys board of directors declared a dividend of $0.20 per outstanding Series A Preferred shares. The dividend is payable on Aug. 6 to shareholders of record on June 30.

Gunpowder Capital invests in private and publicly traded businesses. Listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, the company also offers financial and executive-level support services.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 7

Trend:

A meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states will be held July 12-13 in Astana, Kazakhstan, to discuss the legal status of the Caspian Sea, said Russian Foreign Ministrys spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova July 7.

At the meeting, the foreign ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran will discuss cooperation between the Caspian states in determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea, Zakharova added.

It is planned to summarize the implementation of the decisions adopted earlier by the presidents of the five Caspian littoral states and outline a plan for further work, Zakharova added.

She noted that determining the legal status of the Caspian Sea is a priority for all the littoral states.

The Caspian states  Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran  signed a Framework Convention for Protection of Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.

Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian seabed in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to this agreement in May 2002.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on delimitation of the Caspian seabed and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.

Additionally, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
"Your insurer has no part to play other than having your back"
Hedge fund firms that set up reinsurance companies will struggle because too many rivals had the same idea and investment results have been disappointing, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings.

Money managers entered the reinsurance business to gain access to permanent capital, in some cases more than $1 billion. They also sought a tax advantage by setting up operations in locations such as Bermuda. Reinsurers provide coverage for primary carriers.

Its a crowded trade, S&P analyst Taoufik Gharib said by phone. Hedge fund reinsurers, they dont have a long track record, and theyre trying to compete.

It will be difficult for such ventures to generate sufficient returns because many have yet to post an underwriting profit, Gharib said.

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., which is linked to Dan Loebs hedge fund, is trading for less than its initial public offering price and is on track for its third straight annual decline in New York trading, stung by both sub-par investment performance and unprofitable insurance contracts.

David Einhorns venture, Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., has also posted losses on weak underwriting results and faltering investments.

Significantly Riskier

These strategies tend to be significantly riskier and consume considerably more capital than those typical of traditional reinsurers, the S&P analysts wrote in the report, adding that some of the firms could become carcasses on the side of the road, without specifying which ones.

S&P cited the closing of ventures since early 2015, including ones tied to Paulson & Co. and Cliff Asness AQR Capital Management, which shuttered after hedge fund startups pushed down reinsurance pricing. Investors are also becoming more hesitant. Oaktree Capital Group LLC this year scrapped plans to form a reinsurer with XL Group Plc.

Money managers are better off pairing with an existing reinsurer because they can then gain access to a wider class of clients, S&P said.

BlackRock Inc. formed a Bermuda-based operation last year with the insurer that is now known as Chubb Ltd.

Blackstone Group LP joined with reinsurer AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. to raise money for a venture.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers Reinsurance
Taiwan told schools and offices along its eastern coast to close early Thursday as Typhoon Nepartak threatens to unleash strong winds and heavy rain across the island through Friday. Airlines canceled or rerouted flights in and out of Taiwan.

The first typhoon to form in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year recorded sustained winds of 198 kilometers an hour (123 miles per hour) gusting to 245 kilometers an hour, the Central Weather Bureau said. As of 4:15 p.m., the storm was 300 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwans Hualien. Wind and rain is expected across the whole island tonight and Friday, the agency said.

Schools and government offices in Hualien and Taitung were closed from 4 p.m. today, the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration said in a statement posted on its website. The capital city of Taipei said it would announce any Friday closures before 10 p.m. local time. Financial markets wont be open if Taipei offices are closed, the Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange said.

Strong winds are likely to lash the island in the early morning of July 8, Wu Wan-hua of the Central Weather Bureau said in a broadcast shown on cable news channels.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. canceled or rerouted 41 Taiwan flights scheduled on Thursday and Friday. Taiwans largest carrier China Airlines Ltd. canceled flights into or out of southern Taiwans Kaohsiung between 7 p.m. Thursday and before 2 p.m. Friday. High speed rail service will be suspended Friday until 5 p.m.

In China, the meteorological administration forecast Nepartak to make landfall on the coast of Fujian province Saturday morning.

With assistance from Miaojung Lin.

****

[Editors note: According to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide, Typhoon Nepartak is the first named storm in the western North Pacific basin since mid-December 2015, setting a new record for the longest period (200 days) without a tropical storm in the basin in 66 years.

Nepartak is forecast to continue intensification, potentially reaching the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, said Christopher Bednarczyk, scientist at AIR Worldwide, in a statement issued on July 6.

However, it is moving into an environment with cooler ocean temperatures than its current location, which is projected to contribute to weakening prior to landfall, he said.

Nepartak is projected to bring torrential rains to Taiwan, with 100 mm [4 inches] of rainfall anticipated. Significant storm surge is also projected, as waves of up to 13 meters [43 feet] have already been reported at sea, he continued.

Inland penetration will be mitigated by the steep elevation along the islands east coast, although flooding, landslides, wind-borne debris, coastal flooding, and damage or interruption to infrastructure (power, transportation systems etc.) can be expected, AIR Worldwide said.

Movement over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan will weaken the storm before it has a chance to turn northward and make a potential second landfall in eastern China on Saturday, AIR said, noting that there still exists considerable uncertainty about the possible impact to China.

Typhoon Activity in Northwest Pacific

Bednarczyk said the Northwest Pacific Basin produces more tropical cyclones than anywhere else in the world. On average, this basin spawns 29 tropical cyclones each year  20 of which reach typhoon status. This high frequency can be primarily attributed to the extremely large expanse of very warm water in the basin.

In Southeast Asia (i.e., Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Saipan, Taiwan and Vietnam), Taiwan experiences the third-highest number of landfalling tropical cyclones, or two per year on average, after the Philippines, which ranks first, and Vietnam, which ranks second, he explained.

According to AIR, while high winds typically cause the most tropical cyclone damage in other parts of the world, rain-induced flooding often causes the most damage in the Northwest Pacific Basin.

Property Damage

Property damage in Taiwan is generally distributed equally between wind and flood, but storm surge also contributes to damage, AIR said. Storm surge is significant in the west coast of Taiwan, and could heavily affect Taipei area and Kaohsiung area through Tamsui River and Love River. The deep bathymetry of the east coast minimizes storm surge risk on that side of the island.

Strictly enforced building codes throughout the nation have resulted in structures with generally good wind resistance, AIR said, noting that residential insurance take-up rates in Taiwan are low and commercial take-up rates vary.

The population of Taiwans eastern coast  the region most vulnerable to flood  is quite high, which increases the risk of loss of life and destruction of property, the modeling company said. Industry impacts will depend on the direction and intensity of Hurricane Nepartak at landfall, as well as duration post-landfall.

Source: AIR Worldwide

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Flood Aviation China
The state says a packaging company in suburban Detroit is being fined nearly $250,000 for alleged worker safety violations.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the fines for AJM Packagings plant in Southgate.

MIOSHAs General Industry Safety and Health Division conducted two inspections and said that it found several violations, including nine considered serious. The state says the company has the opportunity to contest the citations and penalties.

AJM president Robert Epstein says the company is pursuing an appeal. He says the alleged violations are way out of whack with the reality in the plant.

Epstein says a state inspector was very aggressive and the company is a good public citizen.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Michigan
SFM Mutual Insurance Co., a Midwest regional workers compensation insurer, has acquired Barrier Free Access, a Byron, Minn.-based provider of safe patient handling products, design consultation and training to medical facilities throughout the Upper Midwest.

Through selling and training on products such as overhead patient lifts, Barrier Free Access helps facilities across the continuum of care protect their employees and patients from injury.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, more workers are injured in the healthcare and social assistance industry than any other sector.

Barrier Free Access started in 1991 as a division of a construction company specializing in home remodeling to allow individuals with disabilities to stay in their homes. The company phased out of construction and became a distributor for a wide variety of products designed for acute, post-acute and residential healthcare facilities.

The company has offices and a showroom in Byron, Minn., and recently opened a new design and training center in New Brighton, Minn. The companys staff includes experts in nursing, ergonomics, service and construction management.

Over its 25 years in business, the company has grown steadily by working with customers to identify their needs and then collaborating on a solid plan to meet them.

Source: SFM Mutual Insurance Co.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Training Development Minnesota
Michigan-based insurance agency, BHS, has joined RiskProNet International, an association of independent insurance brokers in North America.

Founded in 1939, BHS has a history of providing innovative products, services and expertise for the businesses and families it serves. BHS offices are located in Grandville, Holland, Hudsonville, Byron Center and Kalamazoo, Mich.

RiskProNet member firms have combined annual revenues of $688 million and more than $6.5 billion in annual written premium.

Through its alliances with brokers around the world, RiskProNet members can serve clients in more than 100 countries. Each member is an equal owner in the association.

RiskProNet International is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif.

Source: RiskProNet International

Topics Michigan
A U.S. judge has slashed a $500 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy unit over allegedly defective metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants to approximately $151 million.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in the Northern District of Texas said he was compelled to reduce the verdict under a Texas state law limiting punitive damages according to a specific formula.

In March, the five plaintiffs and three of their spouses had been collectively awarded roughly $360 million in punitive damages, along with $140 million in compensatory damages, following a two-month trial.

Kinkeade also denied J&Js bid to set aside the verdicts and order a new trial. The company had argued jurors were biased by hearing irrelevant and unfair evidence during trial. Plaintiffs lawyers had claimed the company was seeking an improper do-over after its trial strategy backfired.

Mark Lanier and Richard Arsenault, lead lawyers for the Pinnacle plaintiffs, said they disagreed with Texas cap on punitive damages but were pleased J&Js bid for a new trial had been rejected.

A lawyer for J&J, John Beisner, said that the company is confident that the trial verdict will be reversed on appeal.

J&J and DePuy are facing roughly 8,400 lawsuits over the devices, which plaintiffs say contain design flaws that cause them to fail. The lawsuits claim friction between the devices metal components can shed ions into the bloodstream, leading to injuries such as tissue death, bone erosion and high levels of metal in their blood.

J&J and DePuy have denied any wrongdoing in connection with developing and marketing the devices. DePuy stopped selling the metal-on-metal version of Pinnacle hips in 2013. That year, it paid $2.5 billion to settle more than 7,000 lawsuits over another metal-on-metal hip device, the ASR, which was recalled in 2010.

The $500 million verdict in March was the second in a trial involving Pinnacle hip devices. J&J was cleared of liability in the first trial, which involved a single plaintiff and ended in 2014. A third trial involving multiple plaintiffs is scheduled for September.

The case is In re: DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. Pinnacle Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, 11-md-02244, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas).

(Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Tom Brown)

Related:

Topics USA Legislation Texas
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Michael Riley has issued several emergency orders to address the response and claims handling process from severe flooding that hit the state June 23.

The three emergency orders signed and dated by Riley on June 28, 2016, apply to insurers operating in the state and include suspending the normal time frame for claims handling and settlement for claims arising from the recent catastrophic weather event.

The orders apply to the 44 counties where West Virginia Gov. Early Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency, including: Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Greenbrier, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monongalia, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Taylor, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood and Wyoming.

Initial damage assessments released July 1 by state officials said the floods destroyed 1,500 homes, ravaged 125 businesses and caused $36 million in damage to roads. Another 4,000 homes were damaged in the floods. In some areas, homes were swept off their foundations by raging flood waters, with some houses even catching fire. Many homes were filled with feet of muddy water.

In Emergency Order 16-EO-03, Riley suspended the normal time frames and procedures for claims handling and settlement related to the considerable damage caused by significant rainfall, rockslides, mudslides, and flooding to private and public property from the June 23 storm. The new claims rules address the following items:

Acknowledgement of notices of claims

Answer of inquiries from the insurance commissioner

Replies to other pertinent communications

Provisions of assistance to first-party claimants

Establishment of investigatory procedures

Duty after investigation

Notice of necessary delay in investigating claims

Unreasonable delay

The emergency order remains in effect for claims reported through and including August 15, 2016, unless extended by the commissioner.

The other two emergency orders also address the handling of the significant number of storm claims that insurers should expect to receive from the catastrophic event.

Emergency order 16-EO-04 authorizes the licensing of additional emergency adjusters to meet the demands of the public in the affected counties.

Adjusters must register by letter to the commissioner by the supervising adjuster of insurance company within 20 days of the date on which the non-licensed person is to begin adjusting activity. The registration will be valid for 90 days of the date of the registration letter, but an extension may be requested by the supervising adjuster or insurance company.

The final order, 16-EO-05 relates to the consideration of insurers and insurance-related entities when dealing with matters related to collection of premium, cancellation, nonrenewal, documentation or policy provisions of their customers in the flood-affected counties.

Citizens of this state have suffered and continue to suffer and [insurers, producers and all other insurance related entities subject to regulation in West Virginia] should take such consideration into account when dealing with matters relating to [policies and claims], the commissioner said in his emergency order.

The order notes that those affected by the devastation from the weather event may be unable to receive mail or respond to correspondence, or pay insurance premiums in a timely manner, and may need additional time to act or respond.

Riley ordered an extension of 30 days for insureds to respond to any notices sent or pay premiums due between June 23, 2016 and July 23, 2016. The order does further state that insureds with claims from the June 23 weather event must comply with their obligation to provide information and cooperate in claim adjustment or investigative process related to the claim.

This order remains in effect until July 23.

Complete details of the orders are available on the West Virginia Department of Insurances website.

Related:

Topics Claims Flood Windstorm Virginia
CSE Insurance Group, a West Coast property and casualty insurance provider, has released a new landlord insurance product to address the complete needs of landlords.

The coverage is currently available in California, but will become available in Arizona and Nevada in coming months.

Key coverage features and enhancements:

175 percent dwelling extended replacement cost

Up to $3,000 for loss caused by back up of sewers and drains

$1 million premises liability and personal injury

Extended fair rental value

Bed bug or bed bug infestation remediation coverage

Landlord personal property and theft coverage up to $2,500

HOA loss assessment coverage up to $2,500

$1 million premises liability and personal injury

Eviction expense reimbursement coverage  New to the market

New to the market Functional replacement cost coverage for older homes

Ordinance or Law  increased limits coverage

Personal property replacement cost coverage

Highest deductible options in the industry

Equipment breakdown coverage

Service line coverage

Earthquake coverage

CSE Insurance Group is a multi-line provider of personal, commercial property and casualty insurance.

Topics California
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 7

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Commercial banks in Uzbekistan have imposed restrictions on the use of conversion cards starting from July 1.

In 2013, Uzbekistan stopped the sale of foreign currency to resident individuals. The country then introduced a mechanism for non-cash foreign currency sales, allowing converting Uzbek national currency in personal plastics card into foreign currency with its transfer to Visa or MasterCard Exchange cards.

Representatives of several major banks of Uzbekistan told Trend that starting from July 1 Uzbek citizens, who live abroad, will be able to withdraw only $300 per month from conversion cards in ATMs, as compared to the previously set limit of $100 per day.

In addition, the conversion cards will no longer be accepted by terminals of retail and wholesale trade enterprises in Turkey, China and the UAE.

It is still possible to pay for accommodation, food, treatment and education using the conversion cards outside of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistans Central Bank was unavailable for comments on the issue.

In Uzbekistan, the conversion cards can be used to purchase air tickets or to transfer foreign currency to foreign bank accounts to pay for treatment or education.

The money on these cards can be withdrawn in the national currency.

Uzbekistan permits taking cash foreign currency in an amount equal to $2,000 abroad without a permit.

The country allows taking over $2,000 in foreign currency only with a permission of the Central Bank or authorized banks, while the foreign currency equal to $5,000 can be taken out of the country only with the Central Banks permission.
Nel secondo semestre del 2016 il rapporto deficit Pil e stato pari allo 0,2%, in miglioramento di 0,7 punti percentuali su base annua. Lo rileva lIstat evidenziando che si tratta del livello piu basso dal secondo trimestre 2007. Guardando al dato cumulato, relativo al primo semestre dellanno, lindebitamento netto si e attestato al 2,3% del Pil, anche in questo caso in calo a confronto con lo stesso periodo dellanno precedente (era al 3,0%). Scende anche la pressione fiscale, al 42,3%, -0,4 punti in un anno.

Nello stesso periodo sale invece il potere dacquisto delle famiglie che e aumentato dell1,1% sui tre mesi precedenti e del 2,9% sullanno. Anche in questo caso il dato tendenziale e il migliore dal secondo trimestre del 2007. La crescita e aiutata dallandamento dei prezzi, ma sale anche il reddito disponibile, che rappresenta il valore nominale (1,3% sul trimestre e +2,8% su base annua). In aumento anche la propensione al risparmio delle famiglie consumatrici, al 9,6% (+0,9% sul trimestre precedente e +1,4% sullo stesso periodo del 2015), valore piu alto dal 1/o trimestre del 2010.

Cala la pressione fiscale, aumenta il potere di acquisto e il risparmio delle famiglie mentre il rapporto deficit Pil migliora  ha commentato Ernesto Carbone, componente segreteria del Pd. Sono segnali importanti che indicano un Paese in ripresa e la cosa piu rilevante e che cio avviene in un contesto internazionale estremamente difficile. Le riforme producono effetti positivi che con le misure in elaborazione vogliamo rafforzare sul lato della crescita e dellequita sociale.
Honeywell International (HON) generated $34.4 billion in sales for the fiscal year 2021. It has successfully solidified itself as a Fortune 500 company by expanding into numerous industries and offering varying products. Honeywells success is partially attributable to the numerous acquisitions that it has completed.

Honeywells five-year strategic plan from 2014 to 2018 called for $10 billion in mergers and acquisition spending. Without these subsidiaries, Honeywells operations would not be as diversified in regards to products, geographical location, or industry.

Key Takeaways Honeywell made a number of acquisitions over the last decade, with its biggest ever happening in 2015.

In 2015, Honeywell made its biggest buyout, paying $5.1 billion for Elster Group. It also purchased Intelligrated for $1.5 billion that same year.

It also purchased Intelligrated for $1.5 billion that same year. Over the last few years, its made big bets on sensing and detection systems with various companies.

Honeywell has become more focused on downsizing, completing spinoffs of its homes and transportation systems businesses.

Honeywells strategic goals for the period of 2014 to 2018 included allocating $10 billion for mergers and acquisitions.



1. Elster Group

Honeywells largest acquisition was of Elster Group from Melrose Industries PLC. The 2016 acquisition was completed for $5.1 billion. Honeywell was attracted to Elster Groups high-growth product areas and geographical locations.

Elster Group is a leading provider of gas, electricity, and water meters, including all associated communications and software solutions. It reported $1.670 billion in revenues, $532 million in current assets, and $2.46 billion in intangible assets for 2015.

2. EMS Technologies, Inc.

For $491 million, Honeywell purchased EMS Technologies. The 2011 acquisition expanded Honeywells position in the global scanning and mobility industry. EMS Technologies specializes in rugged handheld vehicle-based products. Items sold within the aviation department include rugged data storage, surveillance applications, antennas, and terminals.

3. Intelligrated

Honeywell acquired Intelligrated in July 2016 for $1.5 billion in cash. Based in Ohio, Intelligrated employed over 3,000 individuals and was expected to report annual sales of around $900 million in 2016.

Intelligrated is being utilized in Honeywells sensing and productivity solutions unit within the companys Automation and Control Solutions division. Honeywell incorporated Intelligrateds supply chain automation solutions within Honeywells current workflow performance processes.

4. Intermec

In 2013, Honeywell completed the acquisition of Intermec and spent $600 million in cash on the deal. Intermec provides value to Honeywell in numerous ways, including innovative products, engineering expertise, a broad global distribution channel, and valuable technology in the AIDC industry.

Intermec is a leading provider in computing on mobile devices, radio frequency identification services, printing solutions, and data collection products. Intermec was integrated into Honeywells scanning and mobility division.

5. Kings Safetywear

For $331 million, Honeywell bought Singapore-based Kings Safetywear in 2011. The deal expanded Honeywells customer base as KWSs operations were strategically placed in high-growth areas. Its Otter, Kings, and Oliver brands of steel-toe-capped boots are sold primarily in Australia, Asia, and Europe. Honeywells motivation for completing the deal was tied to bolstering its workplace safety equipment segment of the business.

6. Norcross

In 2008, Honeywell paid $1.2 billion to acquire Norcross Safety Products (NSP). NSP produced respirators, helmets, protective gloves, and other protective gear for industrial workers as well as firefighters. Based in Illinois, Norcross became a piece in Honeywells Automation and Control Solutions division.

7. RAE Systems

Honeywell announced in 2013 a definitive agreement to acquire RAE Systems Inc. The privately-held manufacturer makes gas and radiation detection systems. Its products include a full line of fixed and transportable sensing and detection devices sold to the government, emergency response sectors, and industrial entities. At the time of the deal, RAE Systems products were utilized in over 120 countries. Founded in 1991 and based in California, RAE Systems was purchased for $340 million.

8. Sperian Protection

In September 2010, Honeywell completed the purchase of Sperian Protection, which manufactures personal protective equipment used in general industry, construction, fire services, and electrical safety segments. Honeywell paid $1.4 billionor 1.5 times annual salesfor Sperian. Sperian specializes in head protection (sight, hearing, and respiratory gear) as well as body protection (clothing, gloves, footwear).

9. Xtralis

In early 2016, Honeywell entered into a definitive agreement to buy Xtralis, which is a global provider and industry leader of aspirating smoke detection, as well as security video analytics software. Honeywell paid $480 million in the deal. Xtralis customer base includes Fortune 500 companies, iconic sites, and infrastructures worldwide. Its products are used to protect data centers, historical buildings, airports, and manufacturing sites. Xtralis was headquartered in Ireland with 500 employees.

Going Forward

Honeywell has been relatively quiet on the acquisition front. Instead, the company has taken the opposite approach, completing various spinoffs. This comes as the company got a new CEO in 2017, Darius Adamczyk. Over the last couple of years, Honeywell spun off its transportation systems, homes, and ADI global distribution businesses.

What companies does Honeywell own? Honeywell has 75 subsidiaries, of which 70 are 100% owned by the company.Included are Elster, Grimes Aerospace Company, Intelligrated Systems, Maxon Corporation, and Novar Systems.

Who owns Honeywell? AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell in 1999. Soon after the acquisition, AlliedSignal adopted Honeywell's name to preserve the brand's image and reputation.
What Are the Big Three Automakers?

The Big Three in the automotive industry is a reference to the three largest car manufacturers in the United States: General Motors Company (GM), Stellantis (STLA), formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, and Ford Motor Company (F). The Big Three are sometimes referred to as the "Detroit Three." All three companies have production facilities in the Detroit area, so their performance has a significant effect on the city's economy. Employees of the Big Three are represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union.

The companies' major competitors include international automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Company, Hyundai Kia Auto Group, and Nissan Motor Company.

Key Takeaways The Big Three often refers to the three largest car manufacturers in North America: General Motors, Stellantis (formerly Chrysler), and Ford Motor Company.

After decades of dominating the U.S. and global markets, the Big Three have lost significant market share to automakers from Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

Competitors of the Big Three automakers include Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, companies that have attracted a loyal customer base for their reliable, fuel-efficient cars.

The Big Three have all invested heavily in the development of electric vehicles, hoping to gain back market share with their new lines of environmentally friendly cars.

The Big Three continue to maintain a large market share in the U.S., but globally, only Ford has been able to capture a market share comparable to other global brands.

Understanding the Big Three Automakers

For decades, the Big Three automakers dominated the U.S. and global markets; however, after the oil crisis of the 1970s and the subsequent run-up in gasoline prices, Japanese automakers began cutting into the Big Three's market share. Toyota, Honda, and Nissan attracted a loyal customer base seeking lower-priced, fuel-efficient cars. By the mid-1980s, the Japanese automakers continued their pressure on the Big Three, extending their brands into lines of luxury cars as well.

In the United States, the automotive industry contributes about 3% to the overall gross domestic product (GDP) of the country, manufacturing close to 10.88 million vehicles in 2019 and 8.8 million in 2020.

Since then, General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford have faced a wide array of other challenges, including poor management, labor disputes, and rising production costs. The profits (and losses) of the Big Three are thought to be an indicator of the state of the overall U.S. economy. During the financial crisis in 2009, Chrysler and GM both closed thousands of dealerships, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and were bailed out by the U.S. Treasury through a loan under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The Big Three by the Numbers

We can see how "big" the Big Three really are by reviewing some key metrics, such as market capitalization and market share.

Market Capitalization

Market capitalization (also called "market cap") refers to the total market value of a company's outstanding shares of stock. The market cap for a company is a simple calculation that multiplies the number of outstanding shares by the current price of the stock. As of Dec. 31, 2021, General Motors had a market cap of $91.8 billion, Ford had a market cap of $85.7 billion, and Stellantis had a market cap of $59 billion.

The market cap calculation shows a company's worth as determined by the stock market. In comparison, Toyota's market cap for the same time period was a significantly higher $250.6 billion, an indication that the market values Toyota as a company more than the Big Three.

Market Share

Market share is another interesting statistic to review because it shows the size of a company in relation to its market and its competitors. We can use the percentage of market share to compare the Big Three's sales to total industry sales.

In the first half of 2021, General Motors was the leading automaker by market share in the United States, capturing 16.48% of the car and light truck market. Coming in second was Toyota, with a market share of 15.01%. In third place was Ford, with an 11.92% market share, closely followed by Stellantis at 11.48% and Honda at 10.02%.

In terms of revenue, the leading automotive makers globally are Toyota and Volkswagen.

However, when we take a look at the global market share, we get a much different picture of the Big Three. In 2020, Toyota ranked at the top of the list, capturing 8.5% of the global automotive market share by brand. Volkswagen came in second with a 7.8% market share, followed by Hyundai at 5.4%, Ford at 5.1%, Honda at 4.8%, and Nissan at 4.2%. Clearly, the Big Threewhich once dominated the global marketshave faced strong competition, losing their market share to automakers from Japan, South Korea, and Europe.

Special Considerations

The popularity of the Big Three's cars and trucks has faced continued opposition from other carmakers, especially as American buyers seek to purchase more "cross-over" vehicles and SUVs. Going forward, hybrid gasoline-electric and all-electric vehicles are expected to account for an increasing number of car sales.

This is particularly true as more governments enact mandates that require the switch to a higher percentage of electric vehicles (EV) on the roads. The Big Three have all invested heavily in electric vehicle development and production. The future success of the Big Three could rely on their ability to sway consumers to purchase their cars over EV manufacturer Tesla Motor Inc., their biggest rival in the EV marketplace.

What Are the Big Three Automakers in China? The big three automakers in China by market cap are BYD, SAIC Motor, and NIO.

What Are the Big Three Automakers in Japan? The big three automakers in Japan by market cap are Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.

What Are the Big Three Automakers in Germany? The big three automakers in Germany by market cap are Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW.
What Is a Frozen Account?

A frozen account is a bank or investment account through which no transaction can be made. Account freezes are normally the result of a court order and, in some cases, they may be done by the bank itself. This usually occurs when the account holder has unpaid debts to creditors or the government, or when there is suspicious activity detected through the account.

Key Takeaways A frozen account is a bank or investment account through which no debit transaction can be made.

Account freezes are normally the result of a court order and, in some cases, they may be done by the bank itself.

When a bank account is frozen, it may be because of money owed to another individual or business.

Account freezes are not permanent, and generally require certain actions from the account holder before they can be lifted.

Understanding Frozen Accounts

Frozen accounts do not permit any debit transactions. When an account is frozen, account holders cannot make any withdrawals, purchases, or transfers, but they may be able to continue to make deposits and transfer into it. Put simply, a consumer can put money into an account, but cannot take money out of it. There is no set amount of time that an account may be frozen. Freezes are usually lifted once the account holder satisfies the conditions of the freeze.

When a bank account is frozen, it may be because of money owed to another individual or business. Account freezes may also be the result of outstanding debt to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Any creditor that has a judgment against an individual can also have their bank account frozen. The creditor can actually freeze the account for up to twice the amount that is owed.

In order to process an account freeze, banks and investment firms must first receive a court order. When a bank receives the judgment, it is legally bound to place the freeze on the account immediately and is not required to inform the account holder. The institution may also be able to temporarily freeze the account in certain instances without a judgment.

Financial institutions must freeze accounts immediately after they receive a court order and are not required to inform account holders.

When, and if, the institution sends a notice to the account holder, the consumer can look for the lawyer and phone number listed on the notice. If they did not receive a notice after the account was frozen, they can call the bank and ask for the lawyer's name and phone number so they can attempt to settle the account.

Reasons Accounts May Be Frozen

Accounts may be frozen for a number of reasons. Regulators or a court may freeze accounts if the account holder fails to disburse payments that are due or other violations. In addition to bank accounts, brokerage accounts can also be frozen by the Federal Reserve Board under the stipulations of Regulation T concerning cash accounts and the purchase of securities. A 90-day freeze is done to prevent free-riding, a prohibited act where an investor attempts to buy and sell securities without fully paying for them. During such a freeze, the investor may continue to purchase securities; however, they must pay for the trades in full on the date they are made.

Banks may also freeze accounts if they believe the account activity is specious or not in compliance. This may stem from actions the bank suspects were fraudulent and perhaps not taken by the account holder. For instance, a sudden and suspicious exorbitant withdrawal or transfer to an overseas account may indicate an account has been compromised. Accounts may also be frozen if the owner passes away and an heir or administrator to the decedents estate has yet to be named.

If an individual is found to be complicit in certain crimes, their accounts may be frozen, potentially including those held jointly with spouses and business partners. An account may also be frozen by a bank or a court of law if the owner is suspected of illegal activity. Account holders may request that the bank or institution freeze their accounts.

How to Unfreeze an Account

Account freezes are not permanent and generally require certain actions from the account holder before they can be lifted. The account freeze is lifted if, and when, payment is made in full to clear an outstanding debt to a creditor or the government. In some cases, the creditor may be able to settle the debt for a lower amount.

In cases of suspicious activity, the bank generally lifts a freeze order after an investigation is complete. If illegal activity is detected, or if the account holder is found to be complicit in any fraud through the account, the account may be permanently closed, and any remaining funds may be seized.
The annual impact of leaving the EU on the UK after 15 years (difference from being in the EU) EEA Negotiated bilateral agreement WTO GDP level  central -3.8% -6.2% -7.5% GDP level -3.4% to -4.3% -4.6% to -7.8% -5.4% to -9.5% GDP per capita  central* -1,100 -1,800 -2,100 GDP per capita* -1,000 to -1,200 -1,300 to -2,200 -1,500 to -2,700 GPD per household  central* -2,600 -4,300 -5,200 GDP per household* -2,400 to -2,900 -3,200 to -5,400 -3,700 to -6,600 Net impact on receipts -20 billion -36 billion -45 billion

*Expressed in terms of 2015 GDP in 2015 prices, rounded to the nearest 100

Adapted from HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives, April 2016.

Leave supporters discounted such economic projections under the label "Project Fear." A pro-Brexit outfit associated with the U.K. Independence Party, which was founded to oppose EU membership, responded by saying that the Treasury's "worst-case scenario of 4,300 per household is a bargain-basement price for the restoration of national independence and safe, secure borders."

Although Leavers stressed issues of national pride, safety, and sovereignty, they also mustered economic arguments. For example, Boris Johnson said on the eve of the vote, "EU politicians would be banging down the door for a trade deal" the day after the vote, in light of their "commercial interests." Labor Leave, the pro-Brexit Labour group, co-authored a report with a group of economists in September 2017 that forecasted a 7% boost to annual GDP, with the largest gains going to the lowest earners.

Vote Leave, the official pro-Brexit campaign, topped the "Why Vote Leave" page on its website with the claim that the U.K. could save 350 million per week: "We can spend our money on our priorities like the NHS [National Health Service], schools, and housing."

In May 2016, the U.K. Statistics Authority, an independent public body, said the figure was gross rather than net, which was "misleading and undermines trust in official statistics." A mid-June poll by Ipsos MORI, however, found that 47% of the country believed the claim. The day after the referendum, Nigel Farage, who co-founded UKIP and led it until that November, disavowed the figure and said that he was not closely associated with Vote Leave. May also declined to confirm Vote Leave's NHS promises since taking office.

Brexit Economic Response

Though Britain officially left the EU, 2020 was a transition and implementation period. Trade and customs continued during that time, so there wasn't much on a day-to-day basis that seemed different to U.K. residents. Even so, the decision to leave the EU had an effect on Britain's economy.

The country's GDP growth slowed down to around 1.4% in 2018 from 1.9% in both 2017 and 2016 as business investment slumped. The IMF predicted that the country's economy would grow at 1.3% in 2019 and 1.4% in 2020. The Bank of England cut its growth forecast for 2019 to 1.2%, the lowest since the financial crisis.

The U.K. unemployment rate hit a 44-year low at 3.9% in the three months to January 2019. Experts attribute this to employers preferring to retain workers instead of investing in new major projects.

In 2018, the pound clawed back the losses it suffered after the Brexit vote but reacted negatively as the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit increased. The currency could rally if a soft Brexit deal is passed or Brexit is delayed.

While the fall in the value of the pound helped exporters, the higher price of imports was passed onto consumers and had a significant impact on the annual inflation rate. CPI inflation hit 3.1% in the 12 months leading up to November 2017, a near six-year high that well exceeded the Bank of England's 2% target. Inflation eventually began to fall in 2018 with the decline in oil and gas prices and was at 1.8% in January 2019.

A July 2017 report by the House of Lords cited evidence that U.K. businesses would have to raise wages to attract native-born workers following Brexit, which is "likely to lead to higher prices for consumers."

International trade was expected to fall due to Brexit, even with the possibility of a raft of free trade deals. Dr. Monique Ebell, former associate research director at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, forecasted a -22% reduction in total U.K. goods and services trade if EU membership was replaced by a free trade agreement.

Other free trade agreements were not predicted to pick up the slack. In fact, Ebell saw a pact with the BRIICS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa) boosting total trade by 2.2% while a pact with the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand was expected to do slightly better, at 2.6%.

"The single market is a very deep and comprehensive trade agreement aimed at reducing non-tariff barriers," Ebell wrote in January 2017, "while most non-EU [free trade agreements] seem to be quite ineffective at reducing the non-tariff barriers that are important for services trade."

June 2017 General Election

On April 18, May called for a snap election to be held on June 8, despite previous promises not to hold one until 2020. Polling at the time suggested May would expand on her slim Parliamentary majority of 330 seats (there are 650 seats in the Commons). Labor gained rapidly in the polls, however, aided by an embarrassing Tory flip-flop on a proposal for estates to fund end-of-life care.

The Conservatives lost their majority, winning 318 seats to Labor's 262. The Scottish National Party won 35, with other parties taking 35. The resulting hung Parliament cast doubts on May's mandate to negotiate Brexit and led the leaders of Labor and the Liberal Democrats to call on May to resign.

Speaking in front of the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, May batted away calls for her to leave her post, saying, "It is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party"the Tories' official name"has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons." The Conservatives struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, which won 10 seats, to form a coalition. The party is little known outside of Northern Ireland, judging by a wave of curious Google searches that caused the DUP's site to crash.

May presented the election as a chance for the Conservatives to solidify their mandate and strengthen their negotiating position with Brussels. But this backfired.

"The election served to diffuse, not concentrate political power, especially with regards to Brexit," wrote Sky News political correspondent Lewis Goodall. "Ever since election night, Brussels hasn't just been dealing with Number 10 but in effect, the House of Commons too."

In the wake of the election, many expected the government's Brexit position to soften, and they were right. May released a Brexit white paper in July 2018 that mentioned an "association agreement" and a free-trade area for goods with the EU. David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary and Boris Johnson resigned as Foreign Secretary in protest.

But the election also increased the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. The Financial Times predicted that the result made May more vulnerable to pressure from Euroskeptics and her coalition partners. We saw this play out with the Irish backstop tussle.

With her position weakened, May struggled to unite her party behind her deal and keep control of Brexit.

Scotland's Independence Referendum

Politicians in Scotland pushed for a second independence referendum in the wake of the Brexit vote, but the results of the June 8, 2017 election cast a pall over their efforts. The Scottish National Party lost 21 seats in the Westminster Parliament, and on June 27, 2017, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said her government at Holyrood would "reset" its timetable on independence to focus on delivering a "soft Brexit."

Not one Scottish local area voted to leave the EU, according to the U.K.'s Electoral Commission, though Moray came close at 49.9%. The country as a whole rejected the referendum by 62.0% to 38.0%. But because Scotland only contains 8.4% of the U.K.'s population, its vote to Remain (along with that of Northern Ireland, which accounts for just 2.9% of the U.K.'s population) was vastly outweighed by support for Brexit in England and Wales.

Scotland joined England and Wales to form Great Britain in 1707, and the relationship has been tumultuous at times. The SNP, which was founded in the 1930s, had just six of 650 seats in Westminster in 2010. The following year, however, it formed a majority government in the devolved Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, partly owing to its promise to hold a referendum on Scottish independence.

2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

That referendum, held in 2014, saw the pro-independence side lose with 44.7% of the vote; turnout was 84.6%. Far from putting the independence issue to rest, though, the vote fired up nationalist support. The SNP won 56 of 59 Scottish seats at Westminster the following year, overtaking the Lib Dems to become the third-largest party in the U.K. overall. Britain's electoral map suddenly showed a glaring divide between England and Wales, which was dominated by Tory blue with the occasional patch of Labour red, and all-yellow Scotland.

When Britain voted to leave the EU, Scotland fulminated. A combination of rising nationalism and strong support for Europe led almost immediately to calls for a new independence referendum. When the Supreme Court ruled on Nov. 3, 2017, that devolved national assemblies such as Scotland's parliament cannot veto Brexit, the demands grew louder.

On March 13 that year, Sturgeon called for a second referendum to be held in the autumn of 2018 or spring of 2019. Holyrood backed her by a vote of 69 to 59 on March 28, the day before May's government triggered Article 50.

Sturgeon's preferred timing was significant since the two-year countdown initiated by Article 50 ended in the spring of 2019 when the politics surrounding Brexit could be particularly volatile.

What Would Independence Look Like?

Scotland's economic situation also raised questions about its hypothetical future as an independent country. The crash in the oil price has dealt a blow to government finances. In May 2014, it forecast 20152016 tax receipts from North Sea drilling of 3.4 billion to 9 billion but collected 60 million, less than 1% of the forecasts' midpoint.

In reality, these figures were hypothetical, since Scotland's finances are not fully devolved, but the estimates were based on the country's geographical share of North Sea drilling, so they illustrate what it might expect as an independent nation.

The debate over what currency an independent Scotland would use was revived. Former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who was Scotland's First Minister until Nov. 2014, told The Financial Times that the country could abandon the pound and introduce its own currency, allowing it to float freely or pegging it to sterling. He ruled out joining the euro, but others contended that it would be required for Scotland to join the EU. Another possibility would be to use the pound, which would mean forfeiting control over monetary policy.

Upsides for Some

On the other hand, a weak currency that floats on global markets can be a boon to U.K. producers who export goods. Industries that rely heavily on exports could actually see some benefit.

In 2015, the top 10 exports from the U.K. were (in USD):

Machines, engines, pumps: US$63.9 billion (13.9% of total exports) Gems, precious metals: $53 billion (11.5%) Vehicles: $50.7 billion (11%) Pharmaceuticals: $36 billion (7.8%) Oil: $33.2 billion (7.2%) Electronic equipment: $29 billion (6.3%) Aircraft, spacecraft: $18.9 billion (4.1%) Medical and technical equipment: $18.4 billion (4%) Organic chemicals: $14 billion (3%) Plastics: $11.8 billion (2.6%)

Some sectors were prepared to benefit from the exit. Multinationals listed on the FTSE 100 saw earnings rise as a result of a soft pound. A weak currency was also a boon to the tourism, energy, and service industries.

In May 2016, the State Bank of India (SBIN.NS), India's largest commercial bank, suggested that Brexit would benefit India economically. While leaving the Eurozone meant that the U.K. no longer had unfettered access to Europe's single market, it would allow for more focus on trade with India. India would also have more wiggle room if the U.K. was no longer under European trade rules and regulations.

UK-EU Trade After Brexit

May advocated a "hard" Brexit. By that, she meant that Britain should leave the EU's single market and customs union, then negotiate a trade deal to govern their future relationship. These negotiations would have been conducted during a transition period once a divorce deal was ratified.

The Conservatives' poor showing in the June 2017 snap election called popular support for a hard Brexit into question. Many in the press speculated that the government could take a softer line. The Brexit White Paper released in July 2018 revealed plans for a softer Brexit. It was too soft for many MPs belonging to her party and too audacious for the EU.

The White Paper said the government planned to leave the EU single market and customs union. However, it proposed the creation of a free trade area for goods which would "avoid the need for customs and regulatory checks at the border and mean that businesses would not need to complete costly customs declarations. And it would enable products to only undergo one set of approvals and authorizations in either market, before being sold in both." This meant the U.K. would follow EU single market rules when it comes to goods.

The White Paper acknowledged that a borderless customs arrangement with the EUone that allowed the U.K. to negotiate free trade agreements with third countrieswas "broader in scope than any other that exists between the EU and a third country."

The government was correct that there was no example of this kind of relationship in Europe today. The four broad precedents that existed were the EU's relationship with Norway, Switzerland, Canada, and WTO members.

The Norway Model: Join the EEA

The first option was for the U.K. to join Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein in the European Economic Area (EEA), which provides access to the EU's single market for most goods and services (agriculture and fisheries are excluded). At the same time, the EEA is outside the customs union, so Britain could have entered into trade deals with non-EU countries.

But the arrangement was hardly a win-win. The U.K. would be bound by some EU laws while losing its ability to influence those laws through the country's European Council and European Parliament voting rights. In September 2017, May called this arrangement an unacceptable "loss of democratic control."

David Davis expressed interest in the Norway model in response to a question he received at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. "It's something we've thought about but it's not at the top of our list." He was referring specifically to the European Free Trade Association, which like the EEA offers access to the single market, but not the customs union.

EFTA was once a large organization, but most of its members left to join the EU. Today, it comprises Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Switzerland; all but Switzerland are also members of the EEA.

The Switzerland Model

Switzerland's relationship with the EU, which is governed by around 20 major bilateral pacts with the bloc, is broadly similar to the EEA arrangement. Along with these three, Switzerland is a member of the European Free Trade Association. Switzerland helped set up the EEA, but its people rejected membership in a 1992 referendum.

The country allows the free movement of people and is a member of the passport-free Schengen Area. It is subject to many single market rules, without having much say in making them. It is outside the customs union, allowing it to negotiate free trade agreements with third countries; usually, but not always, it has negotiated alongside the EEA countries. Switzerland has access to the single market for goods (with the exception of agriculture), but not services (with the exception of insurance). It pays a modest amount into the EU's budget.

Brexit supporters who wanted to "take back control" wouldn't have embraced the concessions the Swiss made on immigration, budget payments, and single market rules. The EU would probably not have wanted a relationship modeled on the Swiss example, either: Switzerland's membership in EFTA but not the EEA, Schengen but not the EU, is a messy product of the complex history of European integration andwhat elsea referendum.

The Canada Model: A Free Trade Agreement

A third option was to negotiate a free trade agreement with the EU along the lines of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, a pact the EU finalized but didn't fully ratify with Canada. The most obvious problem with this approach is that the U.K. had only two years from the triggering of Article 50 to negotiate such a deal. The EU refused to discuss a future trading relationship until December of that year at the earliest.

To give a sense of how tight that timetable is, CETA negotiations began in 2009 and concluded in 2014. But just over half of the EU's 28 national parliaments actually ratified the deal. Persuading the rest could take years. Even subnational legislatures can stand in the way of a deal: the Walloon regional parliament, which represents fewer than four million mainly French-speaking Belgians, single-handedly blocked CETA for a few days in 2016.

In order to extend the two-year deadline for leaving the EU, Britain needed unanimous approval from the EU. Several U.K. politicians, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, stressed the need for a transitional deal of a few years so that (among other reasons) Britain could negotiate EU and third-country trade deals. But this notion was met with resistance from hard-line Brexiteers.

Problems with a CETA-Style Agreement

In some ways, comparing Britain's situation to Canada's is misleading. Canada already enjoys free trade with the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was built on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This means that a trade deal with the EU was not as crucial as it is for the U.K. Canada's and Britain's economies are also very different: CETA does not include financial services, one of Britain's biggest exports to the EU.

Speaking in Florence in Sept. 2017, May said the U.K. and EU "can do so much better" than a CETA-style trade agreement, since they were beginning from the "unprecedented position" of sharing a body of rules and regulations. She did not elaborate on what "much better" looked like, besides calling on both parties to be "creative as well as practical."

Monique Ebell, formerly of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research stressed that even with an agreement in place, non-tariff barriers were likely to be a significant drag on Britain's trade with the EU. She expected total U.K. foreign tradenot just flows to and from the EUunder an EU-U.K. trade pact. She reasoned that free-trade deals do not generally handle services trade well. Services are a major component of Britain's international trade; the country enjoys a trade surplus in that segment, which is not the case for goods.

Free trade deals also struggle to rein in non-tariff barriers. Admittedly Britain and the EU started from a unified regulatory scheme, but divergences would only multiply post-Brexit.

WTO: Go It Alone

You want out? You're out. If Britain and the EU weren't able to come to an agreement about their relationship, they would have had to revert to WTO terms. But this default solution wouldn't have been straightforward either. Since Britain is currently a WTO member through the EU, it will have to split tariff schedules with the bloc and divvy out liabilities arising from ongoing trade disputes. This work has already begun.

Trading with the EU on WTO terms was the "no-deal" scenario the Conservative government presented as an acceptable fallback, though most observers see this as a negotiating tactic. In July 2017, U.K. Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox said, "People talk about the WTO as if it would be the end of the world. But they forget that is how they currently trade with the United States, with China, with Japan, with India, with the Gulf, and our trading relationship is strong and healthy."

But for certain industries, the EU's external tariff would have hit hard: Britain exports 77% of the cars it manufactures, and 58% of these go to Europe. The EU levies 10% tariffs on imported cars. Monique Ebell of the NIESR estimated that leaving the EU single market would reduce overall U.K. goods and services tradenot just that with the EUby 2230%.

Nor would the U.K. only be giving up its trade arrangements with the EU: under any of the scenarios above, it would probably have lost the trade agreements the bloc struck with 63 third countries, as well as progress in negotiating other deals. Replacing these and adding new ones would have been an uncertain prospect. In a September 2017 interview with Politico, Trade Secretary Liam Fox said his office, which was formed in July 2016, turned away some third countries looking to negotiate free trade deals because it lacked the capacity to negotiate.

Fox wanted to roll the terms of existing EU trade deals over into new agreements, but some countries were unwilling to give Britain (66 million people, $2.6 trillion GDP) the same terms as the EU (excluding Britain, around 440 million people, $13.9 trillion GDP).

Negotiations with third countries are technically not allowed while Britain remains an EU member, but even so informal talks have begun, particularly with the U.S.

Impact on the U.S.

Companies in the U.S. across a wide variety of sectors have made large investments in the U.K. over many years. In fact, American corporations have derived 9% of global foreign affiliate profit from the United Kingdom since 2000. In 2014 alone, U.S. companies invested a total of $588 billion into Britain. The U.S. also hires a lot of Brits, making U.S. companies one of the U.K.'s largest job markets. The output of U.S. affiliates in the United Kingdom was $153 billion in 2013. The United Kingdom plays a vital role in corporate America's global infrastructure from assets under management (AUM), international sales, and research and development (R&D) advancements.

American companies have viewed Britain as a strategic gateway to other countries in the European Union. Brexit will jeopardize the affiliate earnings and stock prices of many companies strategically aligned with the United Kingdom, which may see them reconsider their operations with U.K. and European Union members.

American companies and investors that have exposure to European banks and credit markets may be affected by credit risk. European banks may have to replace $123 billion in securities depending on how the exit unfolds. Furthermore, U.K. debt may not be included in European banks' emergency cash reserves, creating liquidity problems. European asset-backed securities have been in decline since 2007. This decline is likely to intensify now that Britain has chosen to leave.

Who's Next to Leave the EU?

Political wrangling over Europe is not limited to Britain. Most EU members have strong euroskeptic movements that, while they have so far struggled to win power at the national level, heavily influence the tenor of national politics. In a few countries, there is a chance that such movements could secure referendums on EU membership.

In May 2016, global research firm IPSOS released a report showing that a majority of respondents in Italy and France believe their countries should hold a referendum on EU membership.

Italy

The fragile Italian banking sector has driven a wedge between the EU and the Italian government, which provided bailout funds to save mom-and-pop bondholders from being "bailed-in," as EU rules stipulate. The government abandoned its 2019 budget when the EU threatened it with sanctions. It lowered its planned budget deficit from 2.5% of GDP to 2.04%.

Matteo Salvini, the far-right head of Italy's Northern League and the country's deputy prime minister, called for a referendum on EU membership hours after the Brexit vote, saying, "This vote was a slap in the face for all those who say that Europe is their own business and Italians don't have to meddle with that."

The Northern League has an ally in the populist Five Star Movement, whose founder, former comedian Beppe Grillo, called for a referendum on Italy's membership in the eurothough not the EU. The two parties formed a coalition government in 2018 and made Giuseppe Conte prime minister. Conte ruled out the possibility of "Italexit" in 2018 during the budget standoff.

France

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's euroskeptic National Front, hailed the Brexit vote as a win for nationalism and sovereignty across Europe: "Like a lot of French people, I'm very happy that the U.K. people held on and made the right choice. What we thought was impossible yesterday has now become possible." She lost the French presidential election to Emmanuel Macron in May 2017, gaining just 33.9% of votes.

Macron has warned that the demand for "Frexit" will grow if the EU does not see reforms. According to a February 2019 IFOP poll, 40% of French citizens want the country to leave the EU. Frexit is also one of the demands of the yellow vest protesters.

When Did Britain Officially Leave the European Union? Britain officially left the EU on Jan. 31, 2020, at 11 p.m. GMT. The move came after a referendum voted in favor of Brexit on June 23, 2016.

What Were the Reasons Behind Brexit? There were many reasons why Britain voted to leave the European Union. But some of the main issues behind Brexit included a rise in nationalism, immigration, political autonomy, and the economy. The Leave side garnered almost 52% of the votes while the Remain side received about 48% of the vote.

How Many Countries Are Part of the EU Post-Brexit? Britain's departure from the European Union left 27 member states. They are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden,

The Bottom Line

The European Union was established in November 1993 with the Maastricht Treaty. The original members included Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Fifteen other countries would gain membership in the union. Rising nationalist sentiment, coupled with concerns over the economy and British sovereignty led the majority of voters in the U.K. to leave the EU. Britain left the union at the end of January 2020 in what is commonly called Brexit. But the move didn't come without challenges. It required two years of negotiating a deal and a year-long transition period before everything became final.
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Vancouver, British Columbia - October 26, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mining / Metals / Green Energy Stock News - Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN / OTCQB: DFMTF/ FSE:35D) is pleased to announce high-grade Rare Earth Element ("REE") assay results from one additional core hole, totalling 383 metres (m), collared within the northern area of Defense Metals' 100% owned Wicheeda REE Deposit.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, July 7

Trend:

Germanys chancellor Angela Merkel will pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan July 13-14 at the invitation of the countrys President Almazbek Atambayev, RIA Novosti reported citing the Information Policy Department of Kyrgyz presidents office.

During the visit, Merkel and Atambayev will discuss the current status and prospects for further intensifying the cooperation between the two countries.

Moreover, the two parties are expected to exchange views on the topical issues of the international and regional agenda.

During the official visit, Merkel will meet with representatives of Kyrgyzstans legislative body led by the parliament speaker Chynybay Tursunbekov, as well as with NGO representatives and society.
The autopsy report of Cathriona White, the 30-year-old Tipperary-born makeup artist and former love of actor Jim Carrey, has revealed tragic details about her final days before White took her own life.

She was found dead in her rented home, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, on September 28 of last year. White was laid to rest in her hometown of Cappawhite, Tipperary, in October. Carrey was one of her pallbearers, as were other family members. Hundreds of Cappawhite residents and other mourners attended the funeral.

Whites autopsy report, obtained this week by the Daily Mail, reveals that White had broken up with Carrey just a few days before her death, had taken some of his prescription medication from his home, and, according to the Irish Mirror, weighed a tragic 84 pounds at the time of her death. Earlier reports state she was an undocumented immigrant and converted Scientologist.

In a suicide note addressed to Carrey (care of his assistant Nicole Montez who, with Whites friends Dennis and Lena Bradshaw, discovered her body) found on the dining room table of her home, White wrote:

Ive spent three days now in disbelief that youre not here. I can go on and try to put the pieces back together. I could, I just dont have the will this time.

Im sorry you felt I wasnt there for you. I tried to give you my best part.

I don't really know about burial or that sort of thing, She wrote. You are my family so whatever you choose will be fine.

Please forgive me. I'm just not for this world.

The note was signed Dewdrop, believed to be Carreys pet name for White.

The report sates that White had no known mental health issues during her time in the US, though her friends noted depressive qualities, and her former husband, Mark Burton, from whom she was separated, said he was aware that his former wife suffered with depressive episodes and had spoken about suicide.

Carrey and White had gone through an on-again-off-again relationship since 2012. They first separated in 2013, during which time, Whites friend Jenny Burpee told investigators, her friend ceased eating and sleeping for nearly a year. The couple later reunited in 2014.

In September of last year, four days before her death, White wrote a sign-off from her Twitter account, which friends only saw once it was too late. On that day  September 24  White sent Carrey a text message asking that he call her if he was awake. They had a three-minute-long Face Time conversation a few hours later.

On September 27, the day before White died, Carrey sent her a text message asking her if she knew where his prescription painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, which had been under his sink, had gone. She did not reply to that message.

The official report from the Los Angeles County Coroners Office states that White died from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs including zofran, propranol, percocet and ambien.

Updates on this story:

Mother of Jim Carrey's Irish girlfriend sues him for wrongful death

Jim Carrey trial over death of Irish girlfriend to go ahead

---

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency, do not leave them alone. Remove any firearms, drugs or sharp objects from the area. If possible, take them to a walk-in clinic at a psychiatric hospital or a hospital emergency room. Otherwise, call 911 or the suicide hotline.

For those living in New York, the Irish organization Pieta House is free and available to anybody.

Pieta House New York is free to all and located in the New York Irish Center, 10-40 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, New York, 11101.
Heavy Irish taxes on alcohol mean it is cheaper to buy a bottle of Irish whiskey in the US than in Ireland.

According to analysis carried out by the Irish Support Your Local campaign, whiskey lovers can expect to pay $47 for a bottle of Irish whiskey in Ireland, while American whiskey drinkers have to hand over just $30 for the very same bottle in the US.

Recent research has shown Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe in which to buy alcohol, with a massive 70 percent of the cost of a bottle of whiskey going to into the government's coffers through excise tax and VAT (Value Added Tax, that is, sales tax).

The Support Your Local campaign has now called on the government to reassess the effects the high tax levels have on Irish businesses and lower the tax on alcohol in the next budget.

While Irish whiskey tourism is on the up and expected to grow by over 60 percent by 2025, visitors may be shocked when they find they can often purchase two bottles of Irish whiskey at home for the price [of one] in Ireland, said Michael Storan, campaign manager of Support Your Local.

Ultimately, Ireland is the shop-window for Irish whiskey and these high prices driven by high excise, are a worry to the industry.

Excise also hits Irish whiskey distillers trying to get a foothold in the Irish market. They need a robust home market before they can scale to export the product. At the moment government policy on alcohol excise is simply not allowing this to be a realistic option.

Read more: Top ten Irish whiskeys as the world falls in love again

Great to see @HazelwoodSligo building a new distillery! Hopefully we can tackle this problem now too! pic.twitter.com/eXUeAjYOFT  Support Your Local (@SupportUrLocal) April 29, 2016

According to research from Support Your Local released in 2015, Ireland has the second highest rate of excise tax on alcohol in the EU and the highest EU excise in place for wine, a product on which 15 other EU member states pay no tax.

Sales of Irish whiskey have soared in the US in the past decade, rising 400 percent. Sales increased by 19 percent in 2015 alone, easily beating its main rivals from Scotland, Canada, and US home brands.

The Support Your Local campaign, sponsored by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), aims to highlight the financial and social contribution made by the drinks and hospitality industry to the Irish economy and to Irish tourism, in particular.

As well as addressing the issue of alcohol misuse, DIGI focuses on the drinks industry's economic contribution in Ireland.

To coincide with the launch of their 2016 campaign, DIGI released their commissioned report from economist Tony Foley revealing that 204,000 Irish jobs are supported by the drinks industry across as many as 7,193 pubs, 3,233 off-licenses (liquor stores), 631 licensed hotels and 2.406 licensed restaurants.

The report also showed an increase in the number of craft breweries and distilleries throughout the country, with 57 now in operation.

Foley estimated that these aspects of the hospitality sector have a combined turnover of $7.9 billion (7.1 billion).

The national economic impact of the drinks industry and wider hospitality sector is substantial. Of note is the fact that the drinks industry and wider hospitality sector makes a significant contribution to the economic life of towns and villages outside of urban centers, Foley said.

This is supported by the vast network of pubs, restaurants, hotels and independent off-licenses, which have a presence in every constituency across Ireland.

One key driver for growth in the drinks industry is craft  with a huge increase in the number of breweries and distilleries opening across Ireland in recent years.

Storan added: In 2016, the Support Your Local campaign will be continuing to highlight the positive contribution of the drinks and wider hospitality sector over the coming months  When we say Support Your Local, we are calling on communities to support your local farmer; support your local distillery or brewery; support your local pub, restaurant, hotel or independent off-license; and support your local community.

Whiskey tourism has been on the rise in Ireland with new tours and whiskey academies emerging.

In general, the consumption of alcohol in Ireland has fallen in the past few years, after reaching a high in 2001. Data collected by Dublin City University Business School found that consumption had fallen by 23.9 percent in the last 15 years. We now rank ninth on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) list of countries by annual per capita alcohol consumption.

H/T: Irish Times
Lunar eclipses were very important to the ancient Celts. In their book Timeless Wisdom of the Celts, Steve Eddy and Claire Hamilton explain that the Celts were more influenced by the moon than the sun. Lunar eclipses were not something to fear but were associated with the rabbit and the hare, both symbols of fertility.

Many historians believe the Celts created a festival of light to welcome an eclipse, which they were capable of predicting.

Steve Eddy and Claire Hamilton write, To the Celts, time was circular rather than linear.

"This is reflected in their commencing each day, and each festival, at dusk rather than dawn, a custom comparable with that of the Jewish Sabbath.

The Celts even had their own moon-God. In Irish mythology, Elatha or Elathan (modern spelling: Ealadha) was a prince of the Fomorians and the father of Bres by Eri of the Tuatha De Danann.

The imagery surrounding him (he visits Eriu at night by sea on a silver boat) suggests he was their moon god.

The preoccupation with the nighttime was also reflected in their year beginning with the festival of Samhain on October 31 when nature appears to be dying down.

Tellingly, the first month of the Celtic year is Samonios, Seed Fall: in other words, from death and darkness springs life and light. Caesar confirms this and offers an explanation (Conquest of Gaul, VI.18):

"The Gauls claim all to be descended from Father Dis [a god of death, darkness, and the underworld], declaring that this is the tradition preserved by the Druids. For this reason, they measure periods of time not by days but by nights; and in celebrating birthdays, the first of the month, and new years day, they go on the principle that the day begins at night."

Another reason for the importance of night in the Celts reckoning of time lies in their regard for the moon and the feminine principle which it represents.

Certainly, there is some evidence that they observed the solar festivals of solstices and equinoxes, and especially the summer solstice. It is also true that the Druids most sacred plant, mistletoe, was associated with the sun. However, the waxing and waning of the moon were of far greater importance.

The Celts showed their respect for the moon by using euphemisms such as gealach  meaning brightness, and never referring directly to the moon.

Manx fishermen followed this custom up until the nineteenth century, referring to the moon as Ben-rein Nyhoie  queen of the night.

More persuasive, however, is the evidence to be found in the Celtic calendar. The earliest-known Celtic calendar is the Coligny calendar, now in the Palais des Arts in Lyon, France.

It dates probably from the 1st century BC and is made up of bronze fragments, once a single huge plate. It is inscribed with Latin characters but in Gaulish.

It begins each month with the full moon and covers a 30-year cycle comprising five cycles of 62 lunar months, and one of 61. It divides each month into fortnights rather than weeks, with days designated  from observation  as MAT (good) or ANM (not good).

Each year is divided into thirteen months. The Coligny calendar achieves a complex synchronization of the solar and lunar months. Whether it does this for philosophical or practical reasons, it points to considerable sophistication. The lunar months given on the Coligny calendar are as follows.

The translations are based on those of Caitlin Matthews: [Celtic names Modern months Meaning] Samonios October/November/Seed-fall, Dumannios November/December Darkest depths, Riuros December/January Cold-time, Anagantios January/February Stay-home time, Ogronios February/March Ice time, Cutios March/April Windy time, Giamonios April/May Shoots-show, Simivisonios May/June Bright time, Equos June/July Horse-time, Elembiuos July/August Claim-time Edrinios August/SeptemberArbitration-time Cantlos September/October Song-time.

The last lunar eclipse took place on March 23, 2016.

The most recent blood moon total eclipse took place on April 15, 2015:
Since the shock vote by Britain to leave two weeks ago, the Irish government has been continually emphasizing that we are embedded in the EU and will remain there.

Despite all the complications that Brexit could create for us, Ireland's future is with Europe, the government says. And politicians from all sides agree (even Sinn Fein, which used to be strongly anti-EU some years back).

The consensus is that although we must do everything we can to preserve our special relationship with the U.K. -- our billion euro a week in trade, the free travel agreement with mainland Britain, and the current invisibility of the border between us and Northern Ireland -- we have to stay in the EU. Coming out of the EU is unthinkable for us, it is argued, although the reasons why this is the case have not been spelled out clearly. Instead we are simply told that leaving the EU would be a disaster, so there's no point in even discussing it.

It's not quite as simple as that (is it ever?) and we will come back to that in a moment. The first thing is that we were just as surprised here as everyone else in Europe at the British decision and just as shocked at the vista of uncertainty it opens up.

Official Ireland had not expected it to happen and had not worked out what they might do if the Leave side won. They have no Plan B. So they are clinging to the security of what they know best, our default position of being a model member of the EU.

They are not saying it in public, of course, but Official Ireland is quietly hoping that the decision in Britain on EU membership will be reversed in another referendum there in the next few years. That suggestion has also been made in the U.K. and is being rejected as undemocratic by the Leave side, which won the referendum by the narrow 52 to 48 percent margin.

But that is nonsense. It could take at least two or three years to work out a trade deal between the U.K. and the EU if the negotiations are as protracted and difficult as expected. Only then will the full effects, both positive and negative, of leaving the EU be clear -- which they never were during the recent campaign -- and it would be justifiable at that stage for the U.K. government to ask the British people whether they want to leave or stay on that basis.

This is something we know all about here. Our constitution requires that major changes in the EU must be approved by a vote of the Irish people rather than just the parliament, as is the case in other European countries. This led to Ireland holding referendums on two important EU treaties, the Nice Treaty in 2001 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2008, both of which were necessary to reshape the way the EU worked as more countries joined.

Those of you with long enough memories will know the consternation caused in the EU when the Irish people voted no in both cases. In each case we were asked to vote a second time, one year later, when some negotiations had taken place and the consequences of rejection were fully explained. And in each subsequent referendum the Irish people reversed their earlier decision and voted yes.

So the possibility of Britain being asked to vote a second time is not surprising to us, even though right now it may seem outrageous to the victorious Leave side in the U.K. That will change over time -- and there will be plenty of time. It may be next year before the formal process for the U.K. to leave the EU is triggered; it could take two years to complete and even longer before a full trade agreement is finalized.

By then, as the reality becomes apparent, there could be wide popular support for another referendum.

Having said that, if Brexit does become a reality, there will have to be some serious thinking here about whether it is better for us to stay in the EU or not. Much will depend on the deal Britain works out and what that will mean here for the border with the North, our trade with the U.K. and free travel there. Merely repeating the line about us being part of Europe will no longer be enough.

It's true that being in the EU has been very beneficial for Ireland. Since we joined in 1973, Ireland has received more than 72 billion in EU funding, much of it for farming and under various schemes designed to help weaker member states. In the same period we contributed around 42 billion to the EU, so we have got out far more than we put in.

But eaten bread is soon forgot. In recent years our situation has changed, and as one of the more developed economies we are now net contributors, putting in a few hundred million euro a year which goes to the poorer new member states in eastern Europe.

Britain, on the other hand, has been a net contributor since it joined Europe at the same time we did. The same resentment that emerged in the U.K. to this outflow of funds could well develop here in the future.

Just as in the U.K., there are many depressed areas in Ireland where people probably feel the money could be better spent at home. That is why almost all of England, apart from London, voted Leave.

Particularly across the north of England, in cities and towns where unemployment is high and support and services are low, people voted against the EU because they could see no reason to vote for it. It's similar to the disappointment and resentment that is evident in the rust bucket belt in America.

Too much of the commentary in the U.K. following the Brexit vote ignored this and characterized Leave voters simply as xenophobic, racist Little Englanders. That cohort was part of the Leave vote, it is true, but the majority were ordinary people who are fed up with the EU and the yawning gap between its high-minded aspirations and the reality they see on the ground.

Just because many of them want immigration to be controlled does not make them racist. It has to do with housing shortages and overcrowded schools and hospitals, not race.

As the fastest growing major economy in Europe, the U.K. has been a magnet for immigrants from poorer parts of eastern Europe in recent years, with the equivalent of a new city arriving each year. Last year, for example, immigration there exceeded the combined populations of the Irish cities of Cork, Limerick and Galway.

For the middle classes and the better off in the U.K. this is not a problem and may even by welcome when they need a cheap Polish plumber or a cheap carer for their elderly relatives. For ordinary working class people, however, it can be very much a problem, resulting in a persistent downward drag on pay rates and intense pressure on public services.

The official statistics which claim that because many are young and single these immigrants are actually net contributors to the British economy are not convincing to many voters in the U.K. because it all depends on how you measure the effect of their arrival and what is and is not included when costs are measured.

The same concerns about immigration that are evident in the U.K. are also visible in Ireland, although the rate of new arrivals from Eastern Europe has slowed since our economy crashed.

During the boom years here our rate of immigration was the highest in the developed world, higher than in the U.K. or the U.S. If Brexit does become a reality and we remain in the EU, that high level of immigration could resume, particularly if we are seen as a back door into the U.K.

The failure of the EU to recognize these concerns in Britain and do something about them was a major cause of the vote for Brexit. In many ways the EU authorities -- particularly the Brussels elite who run the show -- have only themselves to blame.

Their inflexible adherence to the so-called four freedoms which are regarded as fundamental principles in the EU was -- and continues to be -- a serious mistake, a utopian ideal that ignores the concerns of so many EU citizens, not only in the U.K. but also in France, Germany and other countries where right wing parties are growing quickly in response.

These four freedoms, on which access to the EU single market of 500 million people depends, are the free movement of goods, services, capital and (the critical one) people.

In theory that is good for economic development and produces a level playing field. The problem is getting there. With hugely different levels of economic development across the enlarged EU, the result of the process is to produce severe strains in places like the U.K.

The whole immigration question is much wider than just economics, of course, since despite what Marx thought people are not the same as capital, goods or services. When they move they bring with them different cultures, beliefs and social behavior patterns and integration with the host population can be fast, slow or may not happen at all.

Uncontrolled immigration between EU countries ignores this. It's an ideal that comes with a price, a price that is paid not by the Brussels bureaucrats but by ordinary people.

Added to this is the widely held perception -- not just in the U.K. -- of the EU as an undemocratic bureaucracy which meddles far too much in the lives of its citizens with directives and regulations that frequently appear to be unnecessary, or even ridiculous, and take little account of national differences. A particularly sore point in the U.K. is the power of the European Court to negate or override local decisions, either by parliament or local courts.

It's not true that the EU is undemocratic, but its workings are so remote that it often seems that way. Also, there are usually good reasons why common regulations (on things like food or the environment) are agreed but they don't always make sense when they are implemented at local level.

The overall impression that many people have of the EU, in the U.K. and elsewhere, is that it makes sense in some ways, mainly for business, but a lot of the time it is irrelevant and extremely annoying.

Certainly for Ireland, in spite of how much we gained in earlier decades, recent experience has been mixed.

We benefit from foreign companies who set up here to gain access to the single market. But immigration into Ireland has posed real difficulties in some areas like north county Dublin, and support for these communities is patchy at best.

Farming used to be the big winner here and a large part of farm income still comes from EU supports. But the EU has made an absolute mess of the dairy sector, for example.

The biggest bugbear for us, of course, is the way we were forced by the EU into the bailout, which loaded over 60 billion on to Irish taxpayers and which we will be paying off for decades. Ostensibly this was to save the Irish banks and the Irish economy.

In reality the EU was terrified of contagion leading to banking failures across Europe so the real purpose was to protect the European banking system. And the Irish taxpayer continues to pay for all of it!

Since then, the EU has decided that in future banking failures in a particular country will be handled on a Europe-wide basis from a central fund. But there is an absolute refusal by the EU to make this retrospective and lessen the burden carried by Ireland. So the EU spirit and the high-minded aspirations only go so far.

On balance, most economists and other experts favor us staying in the EU. But if an IrExit vote were held here one wonders if the result would be much different from the outcome in the U.K.
The Catholic church in Philadelphia will allow couples who are divorced and civilly remarried to accept Holy Communion only if they adhere to a life of chastity, according to new guidelines published within the archdiocese this month.

Catholics who wish to participate in Holy Communion but are divorced and remarried without an annulment must live like brother and sister state the guidelines, published by the conservative archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput.

Those attracted to the same-sex are also advised to practice chastity if the wish to remain welcomed in the Church. The guidelines state that a couple in an active, public same-sex relationship, no matter how sincere, offer a serious counter-witness to Catholic belief, which can only produce moral confusion in the community.

Those with predominant same-sex attractions are therefore called to struggle to live chastely for the kingdom of God. In this endeavor they have need of support, friendship and understanding if they fail, it continues.

The document goes so far as to suggest that those attracted to somebody of the same-sex can still lead a heterosexual life.

Those who work in pastoral ministry often encounter persons with diverse forms of same-sex attraction, it states. Many such persons have found it possible to live out a vocation to Christian marriage with children, notwithstanding experiencing some degree of same-sex attraction.

Known as one of the staunchest conservatives in the US Catholic Church, Chaput published the guidelines, which came into effect last July 1, in response to Pope Francis recently published document Amoris Laetitia (Joy of Love) which urged bishops to be more accepting of those who lived outside of the Churchs doctrine.

Released in April, the Pope expressed his views on divorcees and same-sex relationships, calling on bishops to show greater flexibility in Church teaching to bring Catholics back to the Church, while allowing his bishops the opportunity to interpret the document as they saw fit.

The new seven-page Philadelphia guidelines represent Chaputs own interpretation - one of the first to be released following the Pope's statement. Chaput has previously served on the Synod (gathering of bishops) that advised Pope Francis in the creation of his Amoris document and was just last month appointed by the the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as chairperson of a five-bishop committee that will promote the teaching of Amoris in the US.

With the new rules set out, the Archbishop addresses Catholic married couples, Catholics and Christians who are separated or divorced and not remarried, Catholics and Christians who are divorced and civilly-remarried, couples who cohabitate and are unmarried and persons who experience same-sex attraction, suggesting chastity for the most part.

So far 86% voting w/ @PhillyMayor re: Holy Communion as opposed to Archbishop Chaput https://t.co/6J3HmhmJYg vote at https://t.co/UCpx3FqWfX  Michael Smerconish (@smerconish) July 7, 2016

The tweet the mayor sent out in responding to Archbishop Chaput's new rules for sexually-active gays/divorcees. https://t.co/UzbvXlpdAG  Matt O'Donnell (@matt_odonnell) July 7, 2016

Most time is spent on the civilly remarried, however, who Chaput says should be welcomed by the Catholic community although Church teaching requires them to refrain from sexual intimacy. There are an estimated 4.5 million Catholics in the US who are divorced and remarried without an annulment.

This applies even if they must (for the care of their children) continue to live under one roof. Undertaking to live as brother and sister is necessary for the divorced and civilly-remarried to receive reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance, which could then open the way to the Eucharist, the guidelines continue.

Even where, for the sake of their children, they live under one roof in chaste continence and have received absolution (so that they are free from personal sin), the unhappy fact remains that, objectively speaking, their public state and condition of life in the new relationship are contrary to Christs teaching against divorce.

Concretely speaking, therefore, where pastors give Communion to divorced and remarried persons trying to live chastely, they should do so in a manner that will avoid giving scandal or implying that Christs teaching can be set aside.

Chaput also advises priests in his archdiocese to urge couples to separate if they are cohabiting and are not looking to get married.

The guidelines state: Often cohabiting couples refrain from making final commitments because one or both persons is seriously lacking in maturity or has other significant obstacles to entering a valid union. Here, prudence plays a vital role. Where one or another person is not capable of, or is not willing to commit to, a marriage, the pastor should urge them to separate.

If the couple are cohabiting but look likely to marry, chastity is once again recommended.

Where the couple is disposed to marriage, they should be encouraged to practice chastity until they are sacramentally married, the rules advise.

They will find this challenging, but again, with the help of grace, mastering the self is possible -- and this fasting from physical intimacy is a strong element of spiritual preparation for an enduring life together.

Although Chaputs guidelines are being received as a conservative take on Amoris, there has been much dispute as to the meaning of Pope Francis document and the extent to which is should be regarded as flexible on Church teachings, as Chaput claims he "states clearly that neither Church teaching nor the canonical discipline concerning marriage has changed."

Drastically different interpretations of "Amoris Laetitia" aired: Chaput, Antonelli, Schonborn differ over Communion https://t.co/T4UdV607OS  James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) July 7, 2016
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 7

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Lithuania discussed the current status and prospects for bilateral cooperation, said the Uzbek parliaments lower house.

The discussions were held by a delegation of Lithuanias parliament, led by head of the Group for Interparliamentary Relations with Uzbekistan Valerijus Simulik, and deputy speaker of the legislative chamber of Uzbek parliament Sarvar Otamuratov.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on cooperation between the higher legislative bodies of Uzbekistan and Lithuania.

They emphasized the necessity for further expanding the interparliamentary cooperation and intensifying the exchange of experience in lawmaking.

Simulik noted that the Group of Lithuanian Seimas (parliament) for Interparliamentary Relations with Uzbekistan plays a great role in further expanding the relations between the two countries.

The Lithuanian delegation also held talks with the leadership of Uzbekistans Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations.

During the talks, the parties discussed the prospects for cooperation in trade, economy and investments, transportation and logistics.
Remembering the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his influence on Robert F. Kennedy on the anniversary of his assassination (April 4, 1968).

Editor's Note: On this day, April 4, in 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennesse. His death inspired RFK to give one of his greatest speeches. On the anniversary of his death, the article below from Dermot McEvoy looks at the development of Kennedy's political career and how his attitude to civil rights and MLK changed over time.

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down in Memphis. A short time later, Senator Robert Francis Kennedy, running for the office of President of the United States of America, touched down in Indianapolis.

Despite warnings from the mayor and chief of police that he was in hostile territory, he immediately headed for the black ghetto. There, in 556 extemporaneous words, in maybe the best speech delivered in America since the Gettysburg Address, he told the crowd of the countrys loss.

What we need in the United States, said Kennedy, is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus, he said. He wrote: In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. 

Sixty-three days later Robert Kennedy would be dead.

Forty-eight years later the U.S. is still presented with many of the problems Kennedy spoke about, but its almost impossible to imagine any of the candidates who ran for president in the 2016 election showing such compassion, let alone quoteor even pronounceAeschylus.

Read more: How Martin Luther King inspired a Northern Ireland uprising

Bobby Kennedy had come a long way from being one of Senator Joe McCarthys hatchet men only fifteen years before. If there ever was a politician disguised as a riddle, it was Kennedy. Former Boston Globe journalist Larry Tye decided he had to decipher that riddle and "Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon" (Random House) is the result.

I wrote about Bobby partly because he was a hero of mine growing up, Tye told IrishCentral, and I wanted to learn more about him and see if Id been right in embracing him. As important, I pick my subjects for the same reason every biographer does: because their small and human story is a lens into a bigger, more cosmic one. In Bobbys case, his transformation over his 20-year career lets us see how America was changing (for the better) from the Eisenhower era of the 1950s through the tumultuous 1960s. Nobody better reflected that change than Bobby and nobody was more instrumental in steering it.

Tye never met Kennedy, but he had some important ins to the Kennedy family. I did go to a small high school outside Boston with Bobbys son David and his nephew Chris Lawford, said Tye. Bobbys brother Ted was one of my best sources during my 15 years at the Boston Globe, and over the years I met others in the Kennedy clan, through work and play.

Perhaps his biggest coup was getting Kennedys widow, Ethel, to talk to him. How did he pull that off? I came along at the right timewhen Ethel was sensing her mortality (she just turned 88) and, I think, was ready to talk. I had several friends who were friends of hers and vouched for me. And I was plain lucky.

Read more: Martin Luther Kings legacy for the undocumented immigrant children

Most politicians, if they evolve politically, evolve from left to rightRonald Reagan being a prime example, going from New Deal Democrat to Arch-Conservative. Kennedy, however, went the opposite direction, compounding his riddle.

Its one of several ways in which Bobby defied intuition and custom, said Tye, which he relished doing. Most people get more conservative as they age partly because they lose their idealism and reach, but Bobby got more idealistic the more he saw wrongs that needed righting and he reached ever-further in trying to change things that made him angry. Would that more politicians did that, and more of the rest of us.

Of course, politicians we admire evolve, but politicians we despise are called flip-floppers. Why wasnt Kennedy a flip-flopper?

Something deeper was involved, insists Tye. Bobby, I am convinced, changed in ways that were deeply felt and painfully arrived at. Hed always been a balance between tough and tender, and the more he sufferedwith the tragic death of two brothers and a sister, up-close encounters with poverty and pains, and the costs of a war he had strongly backedthe more the tender came to dominate. Another difference: Flip-floppers change in the direction of the prevailing political winds, whereas Bobby changed on issues like Vietnam before being anti-war was popular and when it could and did cost him his relationship with a very powerful president, Lyndon Johnson.

Kennedy was a fairly devout Catholic, an Irish one at that. Did that have any bearing on his evolution?

Any faith, said Tye, and especially Catholicism, can push one in either ideological direction, since theres scriptural and clerical support for liberalism and conservatism. In Bobbys case, he took practical and spiritual direction from his devotion to his faith and it was a central part of what drove and sustained him."

Kennedy liberal detractors always bring up Kennedys association with Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose tactics would add a new definition to the dictionary: McCarthyism. Yet Kennedy never abandoned him, even traveling to Wisconsin for his funeral in 1957. Looking back at both of their careers, they certainly were a political odd-couple.

Bobby was firmly anti-Communist in the 1950s, explained Tye, and he felt that Senator McCarthy was one of the only public figures willing to stand up to the Reds. Bobby was devoted to his father, and Joe Kennedy was devoted to Joe McCarthy. And Bobby badly needed a mentor, and Joe McCarthy served that role for Bobby in a way that was real and made clear he was a friend as well as a boss.

Of course, there was another character in this political menage a trois who has just shot back into the newsRoy Cohn. It has recently been revealed that Cohn in the years before he died of AIDS, was a political mentor to none other than Donald J. Trump. Not surprising, as much as Kennedy admired McCarthy, he loathed Cohn.

Bobby was jealous that Cohn was running McCarthys staff, explained Tye, while he was a junior staffer who Cohn treated like a go-fer. Bobby chose to blame Cohn for the McCarthy Committees excesses, which was right in that Cohn was mean and dogmatic and demagogic, but it let McCarthywho, after all, was Cohns bossoff the hook far too easily. For his part, Cohn hated Bobby because he saw him as a spoiled rich kid, which he was, and because he knew Bobby got the job because McCarthy was beholden to rich Joe Kennedy, which he was.

One of the great ironies of Kennedys political life was that he was bedeviled by two Senator McCarthys: Joe in the beginning and Gene at the end. IrishCentral asked Tye if he thought Kennedy would see the terrible irony in this mad juxtaposition?

I do think he saw the irony, albeit reluctantly, replied Tye. He also must have bitten his lip when Lady Bird Johnsons press secretary accurately quipped in 1968, It took Bobby Kennedy seventeen years to come out against McCarthy, and then it was the wrong one. 

Probably the best statement Tye made about the JFK/RFK relationship was: Bobby was all Gaelic, bristling with energy and trusting his gut. If the Church had been their calling, Jack would have been pope, Bobby a parish priest.

What, exactly, did Bobby get out of being the parish priest of the Democratic Party? It was the place, replied Tye, at the grassroots, where Bobby felt he learned the most, contributed the most and felt most appreciated. Jack never pretended to like the grunt work and aspired to be president from the instant he was elected to Congress. Bobby had trouble imagining himself as a senator, then as president, although he was much more qualifiedfrom having done his grunt workthan his older brother, whod always been removed and pretentiously pope-like.

Kennedy, as his brothers Attorney General, gradually began to evolve from right-winger to lefty. As AG he was in charge of desegregating colleges in the south and the mayhem, violence, and murder made a deep impression on him.

The Cuban Missile Crisis also had a profound impact on him. Tye is extremely critical of Kennedy and his maneuverings during the crisis and some of the self-serving things he wrote in his book on the crisis.

He and the world had come closer to a nuclear holocaust than it had at any time before or since, says Tye, and it sobered him as it did everyone. It also eventually tempered his hatred of Castro and resolve to depose him, but that took a bit more time. The sad thing is that Bobby felt the need, because of his political ambition and determination to whitewash Kennedy history, to embellish and whitewash his role in the crisis when he wrote about it in his book 'Thirteen Days.' He was an advocate of the dovish naval blockade, but only later; at first he was among the most militant of the hawks.

RFK was so right about so many things: poverty, civil rights, apartheid in South Africa, Vietnam, and his amazing prediction that there would be a black president within 40 years. What does this out-of-the-box thinking tell you about him? And how come so many peoplemany so-called intellectualsgot so many of these things wrong?

It tells me that he had the confidence to admit hed screwed up, says Tye, which most intellectuals dont. And he had the foresight to cut through the crap and see the essence of the situation, whether it was Vietnam or civil rights, but only the second time around, after hed made mistakes and learned from them.

After President Kennedys assassination, Bobby went into a depression in which he emerged a different man. Kennedy had a great love of children which was best expressed in a wonderful, heartfelt moment a month after JFKs assassination.

Kennedy was visiting a school when a little boy yelled Your brothers dead! The outburst stunned the onlookers, but Kennedy put them at ease when he told the little boy, Thats all right. I have another brother.

Kennedys emergence from his profound depression took just about a year, culminating in his bid for New York's US Senate seat.

It was partly that his Senate campaign, notes Tye, made him see that he still had a role to play in the politics and policies of the nation and that the public responded to him as separate from and nearly equivalent to the beloved assassinated president. It also gave Bobby the most essential of cures for situational depression: time and distractions.

After his election to the Senate Kennedy started championing the causes of the rural poor, the Chicanos, the blacks in city ghettos, and the forgotten whites. No one ever got elected in American politics by being a hero to these forgotten people, as we can see in present-day politicking. Why did he do it?

Because, says Tye, he couldnt not do it, the way he was moved by seeing starving kids in the Mississippi Delta, abused ones in the grape and lettuce fields of California, and forgotten oneswhite as well as blackin Brooklyn and Queens and upstate New York. Its also that he was crafting a new politics where those forgotten Americansblack, brown, and blue-collar whitewould form a new, triumphant electoral coalition.

Tye added, Instead of following a straight line from conservative to liberal, he had skipped straight to revolutionary.

A remarkable statement, but was Bobby Kennedy truly a revolutionary?

In every sense of the word, insists Tye. He was willing to try new, untested, and unpopular solutions. He was as impatient as hell and ready to topple anyone who stood in his way. He was familiar with old-style politics and politicians and hated both. All that was apparent in his attitudes about everything from poverty to fighting the wrong wars. What we lost the night Bobby was killed was the tough liberalor perhaps tender conservativeIve spent my life waiting and hoping for.

Senator Kennedy concluded his speech that awful night in Indianapolis by saying: Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.

Today, on that very spot in Indianapolis, stands the Landmark for Peace Memorial, a remarkable sculpture that shows Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. reaching out for one another, perhaps contemplating giving each other a High-Five when their lifes work is finally accomplished.

---

Dermot McEvoy is the author of the "The 13th Apostle: A Novel of a Dublin Family, Michael Collins, and the Irish Uprising and Irish Miscellany" (Skyhorse Publishing). He may be reached at dermotmcevoy50@gmail.com. Follow him at www.dermotmcevoy.com. Follow The 13th Apostle on Facebook.

* Originally published in 2016.
Britains Iraq war inquiry may not appear to have much relevance to us in Ireland but it has because it critiques the biggest single act of war that begat the orgy of international terrorism that has since spread from the Middle East to western Europe and affects us all.

The report concludes that Britain chose to join the US invasion before peaceful options for disarmament had been seriously considered by either Blair or US president George W Bush.

While the report acknowledges that Iraqs president Saddam Hussein was undoubtedly a brutal dictator, the UKs decision to attack and occupy a foreign sovereign state for the first time since the Second World War was entered into without considering the consequences.

Chilcot found there was a genuine belief in Washington and London that Hussein had chemical and biological weapons and was trying to acquire nuclear weapons, but no serious consideration was given to the counter-argument that he did not possess any such weapons of mass destruction.

The reality for us today is that, as a result of the invasion, a country was ruined, millions of innocent Iraqis were slaughtered, British soldiers were killed, and terrorism has spread across the Middle East and beyond.

The ongoing tragedy is that the families of those British soldiers killed in action have now learned that their loved ones died without cause or justification in an unnecessary conflict that need never have happened.

Among those who died in Iraq during the invasion was 28-year-old Lance Corporal Ian Malone, from Ballyfermot in Dublin, who was a member of the British Armys Irish Guards. The conclusions of Chilcot report can only add to the heartache of his family and the families of the other British soldiers who died during the war.

The decision to invade has had devastating consequences that we are still dealing with today. It destabilised Iraq and provided the hotbed for Isis and other terrorist groups to emerge after the fall of Hussein.

It is not possible, or even desireable, for western powers to use force to bring down brutish regimes or nations with laws abhorrent to our sensibilites. If that were the case, Saudi Arabia, whose laws include the execution of practising gay men and women, would be a target. Instead, it is a trading partner.

The Chilcot report will also have the unintended consequence of making Donald Trump sound saner than usual.

The presumptive Republican candidate for the White House praised Hussein for killing off terrorists in his country. The US shouldnt have destabilised Iraq, now the Harvard of terrorism and a hotbed for Islamic State 13 years after the US-led invasion, said Trump.

His comments brought a swift rebuke from White House rival Hillary Clinton but the reality is that they will resonate with millions of Americans and British alike.
Update 8.22pm: A Junior Minister has tonight defended the shooting dead of five cattle by Army marksmen earlier today.

Speaking on behalf of the Justice Minister, Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, David Stanton, said that the measures were necessary and followed protocol.

The Defence Forces carried out the humane cull of five animals on a farm in Co Monaghan due to a significant concern for public safety, he told the Dail.

It is not correct, as has been alleged, that the cattle were treated inhumanely or that this case involves the operation of debt collectors.

He added: The protocol between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defence was invoked and the animals were culled by Army personnel in line with the protocol.

The Cork East TD later stated: The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has confirmed that the carcasses of the five cattle have been removed and are now excluded from the food chain.

It is clear, Deputies, that very specific and difficult circumstances arose in this case, and that it was a matter for the Official Assignee to discharge his legal responsibilities as best he could in those difficult circumstances.

In doing so he relied on the services of other State agencies who performed their functions in accordance with their remit. It is clear from the comments which he has made, and after consulting with various agencies, that he did not believe any alternative viable strategy could be adopted.

He added: I accept, of course, that, it is a matter of regret that it did not prove possible to dispose of the cattle in another manner.

I hope Deputies can appreciate that the actions taken in this case by the various agencies involved would not have been taken lightly or where realistic alternatives existed.

Earlier:

A farmer whose five cattle were killed by Army marksmen has said he is angry at the loss of his animals, and how they were shot.

Speaking to Cork 96FM's Opinion Line, Monaghan farmer John Hoey said he had been working on his farm on Tuesday morning at about 11am when he heard shots being fired in the distance.

He walked up through the farmyard and said he saw a patrol car driving past.

He walked into the farmhouse, looked out the front window and saw four cattle running across a meadow in front of the house. He ran out and saw gunmen firing shots. He said three heifers dropped dead in front of him. One other ran the opposite direction, and stopped. He said he ran towards her, but she too was shot dead.

My Hoey said he did not know the Army had been called in to his farm as part of a debt-collection exercise when it had proven difficult to round up the cattle. He said eight men had been shooting.

Authorities said the animals had TB, had bolted free and could not be caught by normal means, but My Hoey denied that they were infected, and added he could have brought the animals in "in 10 minutes" had he been given the opportunity to do so.

The animals were part of a herd being seized as part of bankruptcy proceedings at the 200-acre farm. Farm equipment and other animals in the herd were previously removed from the property.

My Hoey said each of the five dead heifers was worth 1,500 each.

"If you are trying to help a man out (with his debts), I don't know where shooting animals comes into it," he said.

In a statement to the Irish Farmers' Journal, the official assignee in bankruptcy Chris Lehane said he had made the decision to have the cattle killed after failing to remove all the wild and dangerous (with) experienced cattle assistants.

As Official Assignee I have a duty to recover value from assets of bankruptcy estates and it is clearly not in my interests to kill cattle, nor would I do it, without firstly having exhausted every other possible avenue open to me to resolve the problem, he said.
Tony Blair is facing growing calls to be brought to court over his role in taking Britain to war with Iraq following the damning verdict of the Chilcot Report.

Mr Blair has been put on notice by families of dead servicemen that he may face legal action over what flowed from his decision to tell US president George Bush "I will be with you whatever" eight months before the 2003 invasion.

Meanwhile shadow Commons leader Paul Flynn said the Iraq Inquiry's findings amounted to an "utter condemnation" of Mr Blair's "terrible" decision to commit British troops to the US-led invasion and prosecution of the former statesman should be given "serious consideration".

Former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said he would like to see Mr Blair investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for a crime of aggression and face parliamentary action to stop him holding public office again.

A former British ambassador to the UN has said the UK was "pushed" into entering military action too early by the US.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond will face questioning on the implications of the report's devastating findings for Britain's future role in the world when he appears before a Commons committee on Thursday.

A defiant Mr Blair refused to accept accusations from service families that he had been wrong and reckless as he insisted he would make the decision to go to war again if presented with the same information about the threat posed by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein at the time.

Mr Blair's stance was at odds with the report's finding that war was not the last resort, but that Britain triggered military action before all options for a peaceful resolution to the crisis had been exhausted.

Families of some of the 179 military personnel killed in Iraq described the former PM as a "terrorist", and Jeremy Corbyn offered an apology on Labour's behalf for what he branded "a stain on our party and our country".

But Labour leader Mr Corbyn stopped short of calling for his predecessor to be tried for war crimes, as some had expected.

Mr Blair insisted he could look the families in the eye - and the nation - and state that he did not mislead anyone over the invasion, the service personnel did not die in vain, and he was right to do what he did.

The long-delayed Chilcot Report insisted Saddam posed "no imminent threat" at the time of the invasion, and the war was unleashed on the basis of "flawed" intelligence.

And in a withering assessment of its aftermath, the probe found the military intervention ended six years later "a very long way from success", with the "humiliating" spectacle of UK troops in Basra making deals with local militia who had been attacking them.

Mr Blair said he took responsibility for "mistakes in planning and process" identified by the report, and felt "more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know" for the grief of those whose loved ones died.

Key findings in the 2.6 million-word report included:

:: The case for war was presented with "a certainty which was not justified";

:: It was based on "flawed" intelligence about the country's supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which was not challenged as it should have been;

:: The US-led coalition resorted to force to remove Saddam before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted and in a way which undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council;

:: Planning for post-conflict Iraq was "wholly inadequate", with shortfalls in armoured vehicles to protect UK troops which "should not have been tolerated".

The report did not support claims that Mr Blair agreed a deal "signed in blood" to topple Saddam at a key meeting with Mr Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2002.

But it revealed that in July that year - eight months before Parliament approved military action - the PM committed himself in writing to backing the US president over Iraq, telling him: "I will be with you whatever."

Military policeman's father Reg Keys said it was clear Mr Blair "deliberately misled" the country and that his son Tom "died in vain".

Roger Bacon, whose son Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb, said the families reserved the right "to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts".

Sarah O'Connor, whose brother Bob died when a military plane was shot down near Baghdad in 2005, branded Mr Blair "the world's worst terrorist".

Speaking on his LBC radio show, Mr Salmond, now the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman at Westminster, said he wanted action to be be taken against Mr Blair.

He added: "I'd like to see the ICC investigate a crime of aggression but I don't think that's going to happen.

"I'd genuinely like to see a prosecution for that offence in this country but I'm not certain that's going to happen."

Before the report's publication the ICC said it was conducting a "a preliminary examination with respect to the situation in Iraq" to determine if an investigation should be launched.

It added: "An important distinction must be borne in mind between war crimes, which fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC, and the crime of aggression, which, at the present stage, does not. These are two very distinct crimes with their own legal elements of criminality."

Jeremy Greenstock, who was UK ambassador to the UN in 2003, told the BBC that Mr Blair had wanted a UN resolution backing military intervention in Iraq, but senior US officials thought it was a "waste of time".

"I felt that at the time, the British felt it at the time, I think the prime minister felt it at the time, that the Americans pushed us into going into military action too early," he said.
Bord Bia hosted a Dublin event for 180 Irish food and drink exporters, with inputs from UK food retail market experts. Participants shared views on the post-Brexit trading landscape, and outlined Bord Bias measures for supporting companies.

Britain takes 41% of our food and drink exports, valued at 4.4bn, said Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter.

If we cant resolve the uncertainty, and clearly we cant, our hope is that at least we can now begin to learn how we can deal with it and live with it. Our ongoing close contact with our clients will inform our future supports for the sector.

The briefing included UK market insights from James Walton, IGD; Joanna Walker, former retail buyer in UK; and Jon Copestake, editor and chief retail analyst at The Economist.

Views were offered by Irish exporters Larry Murrin, CEO of Dawn Farm Foods; Paul Finnerty, CEO of ABP Food Group; and Eoin Donnelly, MD of Lily OBriens.

Bord Bia is to hold a workshop later this month on volatility, advising exporters on how to access the right data and manage volatility via negotiation and financial and contractual considerations.

Bord Bia will also provide an ongoing online financial outlook resource.

Bord Bia is also to invite client companies to programmes focused on consumer and market insights.

It will seek to deepen its customer engagement by amplifying existing trade events, meet the buyer sessions and pursue opportunities to promote Irish products in the retail and food service environment.

These measures were informed by one-to-one contacts with our clients and our post-Brexit survey, said Aidan Cotter.

Our goal is to assist companies, maintain competitiveness through providing advice on managing volatility impacts, provision of consumer and market insight, deepening customer engagement and extending market reach.
At yesterdays publication of the agencys performance review for the first half of 2016, IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan said Ireland currently has one of the most competitive, consistent and transparent tax regimes in the world; which  along with our access to the European Single Market  acts as a huge attraction to foreign companies looking to invest.

Earlier this week, UK chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans to speed up Britains scheduled reduction of its corporate tax rate (it had originally planned lowering from 20% to 17% by 2020) in a bid to attract business that may be put off by the countrys vote to leave the EU.

However, Mr Shanahan yesterday raised the issue of doubt surrounding Britains continuing access to the Single Market.

Lowering the corporate tax rate doesnt mitigate against uncertainty over access to the Single Market. One does not compensate for the other.

"We already knew the UK was on this trajectory [of lowering its corporate tax rate]; we expect such competition.

"All this doesnt mean Britain wont be competitive, but things like talent availability will play an increasingly major part in our own competitiveness going forward, he said.

Also present at yesterdays event was new Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell-OConnor, who was at pains to reiterate the Governments corporate tax stance.

Our corporate tax rate is 12.5%, is 12.5%, is 12.5%, and it has served us really well, she said, adding that keeping our competitive edge will depend as much on lowering business costs and ensuring skills availability as having a competitive tax rate and base.

The minister added that available talent is the issue most raised by foreign multinationals, in relation to Ireland, not corporate tax rates. She said she was fixated with maintaining Irelands competitive advantage regarding foreign direct investment (FDI).

While saying the full impact of the Brexit vote  on the European and global economies and FDI  is still largely unknown, Mr Shanahan said the IDA will be bidding for any investment looking to leave the UK.

That movement is likely to come from the technology and international financial services/fund management sectors.

Mr Shanahan said Ireland has appropriate regulatory systems and commercial capacity to deal with increased investment.

Were confident we can deal with the increased level of investment, he said, noting that there is two million square feet of commercial office space coming on stream, with more in the planning stages.

The agency wrote to all client companies to reiterate Irelands commitment to the EU in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote and plans to increase its marketing abroad to get the message across to non-client companies.

Bloomberg yesterday reported France has done likewise, with the Paris regional government writing to 4,000 UK executives to promote the business advantages of the French capital, the day after the UK referendum vote.

The Paris region offers an unparalleled quality of life, the letter read.
Following the announcement last December of Namas plan to finance the building of the homes, a complaint was submitted to the European Commissions Competition Directorate by a number of property developers, who claimed the financing by the Government agency raised issues about state aid.

The five builders  New Generation Homes, MKN Properties, David Daly, Paddy McKillen and Michael OFlynn - argued when the State received EU approval in 2009 to establish Nama the goal of the agency was to help repair the balance sheets of the banks, and the agency has now gone beyond its remit.
Germanys influential Bild newspaper took Volkswagen to task for failing to compensate more than two million affected owners after chief executive Matthias Mueller rejected compensation in Europe as an excessive burden.

Little support is likely from the German government, with the Transport Ministry not planning to seek fines.

The regulator is instead relying on a recall to resolve customer complaints and an ongoing criminal investigation to determine whether any further measures are warranted.

We now have a situation in which Volkswagen is required to return the cars to a legally compliant condition, German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt said in Berlin.

That is what is appropriate to remedy the damage thats been done.

While Volkswagen is paying affected US owners as much as $10,000 (9,000) each as part of a $15.3bn settlement, Germany has balked at harshly punishing the manufacturer over rigging vehicles to turn on full pollution controls only during official tests.

Germany, closely tied to Volkswagen via the state of Lower Saxonys 20% stake and the political influence of the carmaking giant, proved a low-cost fix that consists of a software upgrade and in some cases a piece of pipe with mesh on one end.

Adding on compensation could be crushing for Volkswagen as any deal in Germany would also probably apply to all 8.5 million tainted cars in Europe - 17 times the number in the US. Thats not stopping critics though.

Its not acceptable the government doesnt take any real consequences from the emissions scandal and gives a blank check for tricks and deceptions, said Oliver Krischer, a member of Germanys Bundestag from opposition Green Party who is leading a parliamentary investigation committee.

It needs to be explained why companies in Germany dont pay fines. Its also not OK that European drivers are treated worse than American VW drivers, he said.

Instead of payments, German customers get a letter and an appointment at the workshop to fix the cheating diesels, Bild wrote in story published yesterday. Are German customers second class?
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 7

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Irans sedan car imports registered a huge fall by 81 percent and stood at 2000 cars during the first three months of the current fiscal year (March 20-June 20).

Iran imported $322.74 million worth of cars during the period, 31.4 percent more year on year in terms of value, according to the Iranian Customs Administrations latest report.

The Islamic Republic also imported $477.12 million worth of cars and car parts in total in the 3-month period.

It should be noted that Iran has banned importing cars with engines up to a 2500CC capacity.

During the first three months of the current Iranian fiscal year Iran exported 27.78 million tons of non-oil goods worth $10.472 billion. In the meantime, Iran imported 7.263 million tons of goods worth $9.1 billion.
Poppy Mernagh, who is just two and a half years old, contracted enterovirus and pneumonia late last month which led to her developing a condition called Transverse Myelitis, that only affects one person in 800,000.

The condition causes inflammation to the spinal cord which can in turn cause damage to nerve fibres which may be irreversible.

She is paralysed from the chin down and unable to breathe by herself and doctors will only be able to assess the extent of damage to her nerve fibres once the inflammation has dissipated.

On the fundraising Facebook page Poppy is described as a lively little girl: "...she was always up to mischief and devilment. She was a very independent, vibrant and quite advanced for her age. Poppy could go nowhere without people commenting and adoring her beautiful curly hair."

She is currently being treated at the ICU in Temple Street hospital, Dublin.

A further complication to Poppy's battle to get better has been her diagnosis with Non-Polio Acute Flaccid Paralysis.

Her mother Jennifer has had to leave her job to care for her and friends of the family have set up a page for well-wishers to donate to the cost of Poppy's family's living expenses.

"Our feelings over the least 10 days have ranged over the full spectrum of emotion. The shock as a fully active "live wire" little girl, Poppy was first diagnosed with tonsillitis which then became pneumonia and then morphed into Transverse Myelitis resulting in total paralysis from the chin down.

"The journey over the last week has been one where little signs of progress were quickly followed by a worsening condition. Our spirits and hopes raised to be dashed with the new reality and the worry for the future life for our Poppy.

"We have been fortified by the amazing generosity of spirit that our friends and colleagues have shown us and this gives us strength. The staff in Temple Street Children's hospital have been wonderful and we take comfort in knowing that Poppy is in the best of hands."

The page has so far raised in excess of 4,000.

You can donate to Poppy's fund here .
ICMSA president John Comer said Mercosur, in particular, could be extremely negative for Irish farmers, and it is inconceivable that talks can continue in the fog of uncertainty and confusion surrounding Brexit.

In relation to existing trade agreements, Mr Comer noted that some deals contained significant concessions to certain third countries, to take account of their historical trading relationship with the UK.

He said these concessions cannot be continued following Brexit  for example, concessions for New Zealand lamb exporters.

Meanwhile, Brexit has played a role in a major change of track in EU trade negotiations.

The European Commission announced this week that EU member state parliaments will have to ratify the trade agreement between the EU and Canada.

Up to now, the decision on CETA had depended solely on the European institutions.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) talks with Canada began in 2009.

Cecilia Malmstrom, the EUs trade commissioner, said it is the most ambitious trade agreement that the EU has ever concluded.

However, it is now highly unlikely it will be fully ratified before a summit meeting with Canada in October, because the approval of 38 national and regional parliaments across the EU will be needed.

There is a significant chance that some parliaments, such as Bulgaria and Romania, will reject the treaty, because of the refusal by Canada to lift visa requirements for their nationals.

There had been criticism from many European capitals that the deal shouldnt be decided only in Brussels.

Ms Malmstrom said the political situation in the EU (including Brexit) called for the agreement getting more explicit support in each member state.

The move represents a rare bit of good Brexit news, at least for Irish farmers who fear trade deals, particularly with South American countries.

A Mercosur-EU deal would cost the EU agriculture sector 7.8bn, according to IFA  but Mercosur or any other trade deal would presumably also now have to be ratified by national parliaments.

However, avoiding damaging deals would be scant compensation for Irish farmers if the UK  our main food trading partner  leaves the EU, and decides to do its own trade deals with Mercosur, or with Commonwealth countries such as Canada and New Zealand.
Federation president Deirdre Hickey reminded members of the milestone anniversary at the recent summer federation meeting, which was held in the community hall in Ballinspittle.

The June 22 meeting included a visit from Sr Stephanie Coughlan of the Sisters of Marie Reparatrice, an order founded in France in the mid-19th century by young Belgian woman Emilie dOultremout.

Since 2012, Sr Stephanie has spearheaded a knitting program supplying vests, caps for teens and blankets for the needy in areas like Tanzania, Malawi, Chernobyl, Uganda, Kenya, Madagascar, Congo, Haiti, and Ethiopia, as well as migrants in Calais. Thousands of knitted items have been delivered so far.

South Cork vice-president Margaret OReilly and East Cork vice-president Nuala Stack presented over 800 knitted items to Sr Stephanie. If any reader would like to do some knitting, phone 087 986 0536.

Guest speakers Mary Piccio and Lynda Twomey from Cork Federation-nominated 2016/2017 charity Special Olympics Munster spoke about the organisations work.

Aoife OSullivan displayed her gold and double bronze medals for achievements in gymnastics at last years Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Another highlight of the meeting was the announcement of competition winners.

Esther Cahill from Mourneabbey Guild took first prize for summer fun bun, with two Ballinspittle members, Nuala White and Bernie Hannon, taking second and third prizes.

The brown bread competition winners were Mary OConnor of Bishopstown Guild in first place and Watergrasshill ICAs Kathleen Barry in second place.

Mourneabbey ICA will represent Cork Federation in the national pitch and putt competition. n Meanwhile, Eleanor Calnan of Leap Guild was named federation treasurer.
Neil Shanahan, 2, from Farranshone, Limerick City, is being treated at Temple Street Childrens Hospital, Dublin, for multiple injuries after falling off a balcony on the sixth floor of the Strand Hotel last Saturday.

He had ventured into a lift in the hotel which took him to the sixth floor where he made his way to a balcony and fell five storeys, landing on patio furniture on the first floor of the hotel.

While the toddler sustained multiple injuries to his internal organs, Fr Pat Seaver, a neighbour and local curate of St Munchins Church, said: The news seems to be pretty good, so Im told.

A relative was telling me that the neurosurgeon looking after Neil has made positive sounds.

My experience of doctors, is that in these type of cases they tend to be more cautious than optimistic, but this seemingly was more optimistic. Thats good news.

Fr Seaver said he had learned that after the toddler had been rushed from the hotel by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick, he woke up and tried to pull the tubes out of his nose, so they decided to sedate him.

He said the news on Neil seems good.

Fr Seaver said he had been at the hotel on the afternoon in question, chatting with Neil, his one-year-old brother, and their mother Martina, at a coffee morning organised by the Farranshone Residents Association.

Neil and the other children were flying around, they were having such fun. It all seemed so safe. We were all in the bar/restaurant area, and no one obviously thought he would go into the lift and up onto the sixth floor, Fr Seaver added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the local community said a special Mass will take place at St Munchins Church at 6pm this evening , to support Neils recovery.

We want to spread the word that everyone is invited, not just the local community. It is to show solidarity with the Shanahan family.

So many people were asking what they could do... The more elderly residents of Farranshone dont have access to social media and they havent been able to show their support for the family, so they wanted to have a Mass.

A neighbour said: They [family] must be going through hell.

Local councillor Frankie Daly said he was praying for the toddler every day.

My thoughts and pray- ers are with that young innocent little boy. Im praying for him every day, said Mr Daly.
Enda Kennys aides at government buildings now have to find a replacement for Mr McDowell, who spearheaded budget plans and key Fine Gael policies in recent years.

Two names being discussed in political circles last night included Ciaran Conlon, who until recently was a special adviser to Richard Bruton, as well as senior civil servant Colm OReardon, a former government adviser.

However, Mr McDowell will remain on in his role over the summer which will give Mr Kenny space and time to replace him.

Mr McDowell has been appointed as Irelands nominee for the position of vice-president of the European Investment Bank, a post with a 275,000-a-year salary.

His move is seen as a big loss for Mr Kenny, especially as the Government struggles to deal with the impact of Brexit and prepares for its next budget in October.

Sources in government buildings on Merrion Street say Mr McDowell will be hard to replace, especially after being at the heart of government since 2011.

But some opposition TDs have taken issue with his appointment and said that it lacks transparency and was given to one of Mr Kennys closest allies.

Labours Alan Kelly said: Out of three people nominated out of a process that we dont understand or know about that hasnt been transparently put forward, all of a sudden the chief economic adviser, at a time of Brexit may I point out, is being appointed to this plum job.

The Tipperary TD claimed Transport Minister Shane Ross, if he was still in opposition, would have objected to the appointment and claimed it was jobs for the boys, but given that Mr Ross was now at cabinet and sought special permission for a free vote this week for an abortion bill in the Dail, had decided to support Mr McDowells appointment.

The closest aide to the Taoiseach has been appointed to the most plum job that you can be appointed to in such a role... If Ross was in opposition, he would have been jumping up and down, shouting about jobs for the boys.

Mr Kelly told RTE he was not doubting Mr McDowells abilities, but that this is not new politics, this is old politics of the worst kind.

We have a minister [Ross] now sitting at the table who effectively made his career about transparency about public appointments and jobs for the boys but now given the fact he is sitting at cabinet, he is willing to give this up, he is willing to suck this up.

Government officials maintain a clear interview process was used in deciding Mr McDowells appointment, including whittling down 10 applications to a shortlist of three with a panel of senior civil servants selecting the winning applicant.
At a heated meeting of the parliamentary party in Leinster House, Mr Kenny was confronted by a barrage of criticism from TDs over the direction the party was taking.

In a pointed jibe at Mr Kenny, Louth TD Fergus ODowd called for new leadership in Fine Gael, with several calls for Mr Kenny to stand up to Independent Alliance Minister Shane Ross.

Speaking after the meeting, several TDs said the chances of a snap general election in the New Year have risen significantly given the events of the week.

Mr ODowds comments were seen as a coded attack on Mr Kenny. At least five other TDs, such as Kerrys Brendan Griffin, Carlow- Kilkennys Pat Deering, and Louths Peter Fitzpatrick were damning in their criticism of the direction of the party at present.

To widespread bemusement, Mr Kenny stood up and told members that following a long conversation, he was reappointing James Reilly as deputy leader of the party, even though he had lost his Dail seat in Februarys general election.

Considerable bemusement as Enda Kenny reappoints James Reilly as deputy leader despite losing dail seat #iestaff  Daniel McConnell (@McConnellDaniel) July 6, 2016

TDs did not expect the announcement, as the position was widely expected to go to Tanaiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

According to several sources, Ms Fitzgerald was upset at the announcement, of which she had clearly been unaware.

She almost fell out of her chair with the shock. She did not look happy, said one TD.

However, the meeting was dominated by criticisms of the lack of leadership, as well as a lack of speaking rights for backbenchers under new Dail rules.

Cork South West TD Jim Daly and Clare TD Pat Deering both criticised the Taoiseachs failure to stand up to Mr Ross on the abortion bill, which will be voted on by the Dail today.

Kerry TD Brendan Griffin said a free vote should have been given. He also made a key intervention by saying Fine Gael needs to prepare for every eventuality, such as another election.

Brendan Griffin

Given that Mr Kenny is not standing again, many present took Mr Griffins comments to mean a change of leader is needed.

However, the tone and tenor of Mr Fitzpatricks direct criticisms surprised many.

Peter [Fitzpatrick] had a right go saying the party he joined is unrecognisable to the party today. He had a right go at junior ministers who just six months ago would have been saying the same thing, said one source.

Mr Reilly lost his Dublin Fingal Dail seat at the last general election, but was appointed to the Seanad by Mr Kenny.

Last month, Mr Kenny said: No. James is not the deputy leader of the party. Obviously, he was the deputy leader and he did a very good job.

Several TDs noted the lack of support for Mr Kenny in the room from his loyal supporters, as has been the norm on previous occasions when he was under fire.

It was like they didnt want to annoy or upset any potential successor. That hasnt happened before, said one source.

Party chairman Martin Heydon confirmed there was a general discussion on the future of the party, but added that some initial online reports of the meeting had been overstated.

There was a general discussion around the future of where the party was going, and that included planning for a snap election which can happen when you have a minority government and leadership was raised in that context, said Mr Heydon.

There was a discussion as to our preparedness for the autumn ahead. Every party has to be prepared, especially if there is a general election down the line.

Leadership and everything that goes with that is all in the mix but it wasnt a hugely long discussion.

Meanwhile, Mr Kenny blindsided and embarrassed Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan and his department by not involving him in his botched attempt to establish an All-Ireland forum to deal with Brexit, Fine Gael TDs have said.

In the Dail yesterday, Fianna Fail TD Pat The Cope Gallagher defeated Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan by 69 votes to 68 to become leas ceann comhairle.
Irans police force says the terrorists, who recently killed four Iranian borders guards in the countrys southeast, have fled into neighboring Pakistan, Press TV reported.

Taking advantage of the Pakistani governments negligence, the terrorists have fled into Pakistani soil, the IRNA news agency quoted police spokesman General Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi as saying on Thursday.

The four guards lost their lives in an ambush by terrorists in the border region of Jakigour in the southern Sarbaz district of Sistan and Baluchestan Province on Wednesday.

The attack was followed by clashes in which a number of terrorists were also killed or injured, an unnamed informed source said.

The timely and self-sacrificing reaction of our countrys border guards in countering these people prevented their entry into our countrys soil, but during the confrontation, four members of zealous police border guards were martyred, the official said.

Following the incident, senior border officials in the region asked Pakistani security and border officials to immediately follow up on the case and help arrest and return the terrorists to the Islamic Republic.

Iranian forces have recently engaged in clashes with terror groups, thwarting their terrorist activities on the frontier and within the country, arresting several of them and confiscating large amounts of explosives and bomb-making materials.

Last month, a police officer and five members of the so-called Jaish ul-Adl terror group were killed in the Khash region in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
The volunteer-run Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen (One) is appealing for public help, indicating it needs at least 600,000 annually to run services with plans to increase them in line with the rise in homelessness among former members of the army, naval service, and air corps.

Chief executive of One, Ollie OConnor, said single men in particular were falling through the cracks and they were now seeing much younger former servicemen in trouble than ever before.

There are a lot of ex- soldiers sleeping rough, he said. In the UK, one in every four veterans has become homeless at some stage.

We dont have exact figures available to us in this country but we are likely to have a similar type of problem.

One provides residential centres in Dublin, Athlone, and Letterkenny and has drop-in advice centres in Dundalk and Limerick.

At any one time we are probably providing accommodation for 40 residents, said Mr OConnor. Ten years ago the vast majority of residents were aged over 60, Now the vast majority are under 60.

Accommodation is very expensive for somebody who is in a broken relationship and is still responsible for the upkeep of a family.

All One fundraisers are unpaid volunteers, as are its board of directors.

Since 1994, when One built its first residential facility at Queens St, Dublin, more than 700 ex-personnel have been provided with a place to stay, and many others have been helped in various ways.

Mr OConnor said One wants to increase its drop-in centres by opening services in Cork, Kilkenny, and Mullingar. It is appealing to businessmen who may have an unused premises to donate the building to the organisation.

Loneliness is a big thing for some former members as the Defence Forces was seen as their family. They can drop in for advice, or simply a chat and a cup of tea, said Mr OConnor.

The organisations Fuschia Appeal 2016, to raise funds for its services, was launched yesterday by chief of staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett.

Mr OConnor said: The Fuchsia Appeal enables us to help former colleagues who are having a difficult time and sometimes without a home.

Many of these people gave outstanding service to the State and to the United Nations and for one reason or another have fallen on hard times.
The clinic which operates out of a hospital in the capital Sofia and runs this weekend, is advertised on social media as promoting the use of bleach enemas and unregulated blood products on children.

Discredited medic Andrew Wakefield, who links the MMR vaccine to autism, said Irish parents are among those who bring their children to the clinic.

Speaking at a conference in the US, he described an Irish couple who brought their children for the untested medical treatments in Sofia. The former medic, whose licence was revoked, told how an Irish couple had spent their life savings travelling to Bulgaria for the treatments which include ingesting unregulated blood products and a form of electro shock therapy.

They couldnt get care in the UK or Ireland because in those countries now, bowel disease in children with autism is synonymous with vaccine injury and doctors are too frightened to care for their patients as they should so they go to Bulgaria, he said.

The clinic is advertised on Facebook pages which are used frequently by Irish parents advocating the use of bleach enemas on children with autism.

Autism rights group, Autistic Rights Together, criticised the lack of legislation governing the dangerous treatments and the governments failure to prosecute those advocating their use.

A spokesperson said: We are extremely concerned and disappointed by the lack of effective action on this issue by the relevant government bodies.

The individuals who are promoting and selling these unproven, unregulated, and dangerous products are not being prosecuted,

Legislation is urgently needed to bring these treatments and products under control, and enable the prosecution of anyone operating outside such legislation, the spokesperson said.

Prof Michael Fitzgerald  the first professor of child and adolescent psychiatry in Ireland  warned of the dangers of using untested treatments on children with autism.

Parents need to be vigilant and to ask themselves has this treatment been scientifically tested? Has it been compared to existing standard treatments? he asked.

These people who back the anti-vaccination movement are turning the clock back and have led to the deaths of Irish children. Links between the MMR vaccine and autism have been studied exhaustively and have been continuously disproved.
The 30-year-old originally from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, was found dead in her rented LA home on September 28 last year after taking her own life.

The young woman, who was 5ft 3in in height, had only been dead for several hours despite not being seen for four days prior to her death.

The Dumb and Dumber star sent his personal assistant, Nicole Montez, to Ms Whites rented home at Briarwood Drive, Sherman Oak, just outside LA, after becoming concerned when he could not reach her on the phone.

A suicide letter addressed to Carrey found on the dining room table at her home, read: Ive spent three days now in disbelief that youre not here. I can go on and try to put the pieces back together. I could, I just dont have the will this time.

Cathriona White left a suicide letter addressed to Jim Carrey.

Im sorry you felt I wasnt there for you. I tried to give you my best part.

Her letter also said: Jim, Im not for this world please forgive me. I dont really know about burial or that sort of thing. You are my family so whatever you choose will be fine.

She then asks for her furniture to be sold and any monies to be given to her family.

The end of the note has Dewdrop in what appears to be her signature. There was no date on the note.

The last phonecall she had with Carrey was a FaceTime call at 9.48am on September 24 and it ended 30 minutes later. There was also a text message from the star at 3.37pm three days later on September 27 asking her if she knew where his painkillers went from under the sink and mentioned that there was a full prescription with anti-inflammatories for his back and the bottle was no longer there.

The reports says: Given this, it appears that the bottles with the name Arthur King, found on her bedside table were the prescriptions he was referring to.

Ms White was found dead in bed dressed in a T-shirt and underwear. There was no sign of trauma and foul play was ruled out.

A friend, Jenny Burpee, who was one of the people who found her body, said in her statement to the coroners office that Ms White had dated Carrey for several years but that the couple had broken up in 2013. The pair started dating again early last year.

Ms Burpee said after Carrey had unexpectedly broken it off with Ms White three years ago, she literally had not eaten or slept for a year afterwards.

The report also shows that CCTV checked by Carreys personal assistant found that Ms White was last seen entering her home four days before her body was found on September 24 and had not left again.

The beautician and make-up artist had broken up with Carrey days before. The report shows she had told friends prior to her death that ...she was madly in love with Jim and that their relationship was a rollercoaster... that she tied her identity to his and that she felt he was slipping away from her.

The official document confirms that she was previously married to Mark Burton who said that he was aware that his former wife suffered with depressive episodes and had spoken about suicide.

In a report released by the Los Angeles County Coroners Office, the investigation into the cause of her death was due to suicide as a result of overdosing on multiple drugs. The drugs found beside her bed had the name Arthur King on them.

Texts seen on her phone from Carrey asked where were his pills for his back.

Jim Carrey carrying Cathriona Whites coffin at her funeral in Cappawhite, Co Tipperary. Picture: Eamon Ward

The investigator Kelli Blanchard said in the autopsy report that Ms White did not have any other injuries and her body showed early signs of decomposition.

The report states that she had no known mental health issues in the US but that friends said that she did have depressive qualities and may have attempted suicide two years ago following the ending of a relationship years previously.

It also states that friends went to her residence after they had heard from a third party that she had just broken up with her boyfriend a week previously.

The Tipperary native was found in her bed surrounded by prescription bottles.

Dennis Bradshaw, along with his wife Lena and Carreys personal assistant Nicole Montez, became concerned about her when they had not heard from her.

They tried to gain entry through the front door of her residence, where she lived alone at Briarwood Drive, Sherman Oak, but the door was locked. They managed to gain entry through a side entrance, they found her lifeless body in the master bedroom. She was holding a mobile phone in her hand. Mr Bradshaw found Carreys number on her phone and called and told him Ms White was dead.
The meeting in Dublin, which will be attended by representatives from services across the country, was called last night after it emerged that staff are owed hundreds of thousands of euro in salaries, due to the scandal that has engulfed the organisation.

A trawl of records examined by Mr Hall in the past 48 hours has uncovered more details of the precarious finances of the charity, which is also struggling to fund vital suicide prevention and bereavement services, due to years of alleged funding misappropriation by disgraced ex-chief executive Paul Kelly.

While health minister Simon Harris and senior HSE officials have said they are doing all they can to address the issue, Mr Hall last night told them in phonecalls that, unless they provide a solution to the scandal now, he will be left with no option but to wind up services under his control.

All I can say is there is a significant deficit in funds. There is significant money owed to staff. I cant guarantee services will continue without a solution being given, Mr Hall told the Irish Examiner. The HSE havent met with me in the two weeks since this happened. A meeting has been promised with ministers Harris and [Helen] McEntee, but nothing happened. No meeting, no solutions. Nothing.

Neither a spokesperson for Mr Harris nor a senior spokesperson for the HSE responded to phonecalls on the matter last night.

Simon harris

However, it is understood the Department of Health and the HSE are considering how to address the crisis at the charity, with the possibility they may increase funding or resource other suicide prevention charities to take over Consoles services.

It is believed the department and the HSE have held off on making a decision on what step to take next, as details are still emerging.

However, Mr Hall told officials from both State bodies last night, after two weeks of discussions, a decision now must be made, and that the onus is on the State to fully fund Consoles services, which depend on 70,000 a month from the exchequer and 30,000 in donations.

The standoff came a day after the Revenue Commissioners and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement contacted Console to inform the charity they are initiating seven-year and criminal investigations, respectively.

The Public Accounts Committee will today hear calls for ex-ministers to be publicly grilled over the Console crisis, while further internal audit details of the charity showed HSE officials were repeatedly blocked from accessing information.
Greg Walsh, of Walsh and Co Accountants, Walkinstown, Dublin, has been a director of Carline Learning Centre, Clondalkin, Dublin, since 2004 and has also been its accountant and treasurer, the court heard.

Eamon Marry, counsel for the charity, said that investigations so far revealed money of the order of 161,000 from Carlines accounts appeared to have been diverted or allegedly misappropriated by Mr Walsh.

Concerns were raised as a result of an outstanding liability of 72,500 to Revenue, he said.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan declined to grant Mr Marrys application for an ex-parte order freezing Mr Walshs access to the charitys finances after the judge expressed concerns that the allegations had not been formally put to the accountant before the matter was brought into court.

He granted permission to serve the proceedings at short notice on Mr Walsh and said he wanted documentation from the Revenue to back up his claims that payments to the Revenue from 2014-16 were up to date.

Mr Marry told the court he was seeking an order restraining Mr Walsh from dealing with any monies or property belonging to Carline in his possession and that he pay the monies back.

Mr Justice Gilligan said Mr Walsh had written a letter on June 10 explaining the Revenue payments had been accounted and that an error had been made but he was available to assist in every way. These were serious allegations and the judge wanted to know the urgency of the situation.

In a sworn statement, Carline chairman John McKernan said the charity had been registered as a company with charitable status since 1997 and has found increased demand for its educational, training and support services for girls and boys 12 to 18. It was principally State-funded with some charitable donations.

Carline relied on Mr Walsh as its treasurer and accountant. Concerns were raised in June when a cheque raised for Revenue was drawn in favour of Mr Walshs father, counsel said. It was later confirmed there was an outstanding liability to Revenue of 72,500.

Mr Marry said Carline was satisfied there were a number of cheques involving substantial sums made out either to Mr Walsh personally, his accountancy firm, his father, a W Banks and a company called Besik which had no connection at all with Carline.

Mr Walsh had told the charity that cheques were due to be paid to the Revenue but it transpired they were made out to others, counsel said. Mr Justice Gilligan said the court had to be provided with full information particularly in light of Mr Walshs explanation that accounts were up to date for the last three years. He wanted to know what engagement there had been between Carline and Mr Walsh about these matters.

When the judge suggested certain payments could have been Mr Walshs fees, counsel said absolutely not. The judge said he also wanted to know what happened when the charitys monthly statements came in which would show what was happening with cheques.

Carline came to court because of concerns it would not get a satisfactory explanation, counsel said.

The case will come back before the court today.
Speaking at a Leinster House briefing outlining how harmful drinking affects children, chair of the Oireachtas cross-party group on alcohol harm, senator Frances Black, said children living with parents who drink excessively often suffer in silence.

The wide range of harms that are caused to children as a result of harmful drinking in the home is known as hidden harm, as the harm is not often visible in public and largely kept behind closed doors, she said.

These vulnerable children do not know where to turn for help, and the impact of harmful parental drinking has a deep and long-lasting impact.

Barnardos head of advocacy June Tinsely said the negative impact alcohol has on family functioning is too often underestimated.

Alcohol Action Ireland previously revealed that a national audit of child neglect cases showed alcohol misuse by parents was a factor in 62% of neglect cases.

The cross-party group is backing the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill, which aims to reduce our high levels of alcohol consumption in Ireland.

ISPCC CEO Grania Long said the organisation sees the bill as a key step in helping to change our attitude to, and relationship with, alcohol, and said: Children and young people have repeatedly told us they want their exposure to alcohol reduced  it is our responsibility to deliver on their aspirations.

The ISPCC said regular heavy drinking by parents damages the childs relationship with their parent, causes a child to live with undue stress, and, if the addiction is severe, can lead to child neglect.

Barnardos also reported how parental alcohol abuse can place an undue burden on older children who have to get their younger siblings up in the morning, for example, as their parents are too unwell to care for them.

Barnardos said that while the impact of heavy drinking on children varies depending on the frequency and severity of the alcohol misuse, it can result in children feeling confused and rejected by a cycle of broken promises.

Ms Tinsley said children living with parents with an alcohol addiction experience irregular and inconsistent parenting.

It can affect their school life with children of parents with chronic alcohol problems more likely to have problems at school in terms of learning difficulties, reading problems, poor concentration, and generally low performance, she said.

Ms Long warned: Parental behaviour influences that of a child and no more so than in relation to alcohol. ISPCC support workers particularly point to occasion-related drinking as affecting children, such as around Communion and Confirmation time.

The Governments Public Health (Alcohol) Bill proposes minimum unit pricing which would mean a 500 ml can of Guinness with 4.2% ABV would have a MUP of 1.66 while a bottle of white wine with 12.7% ABV would have an MUP of 7.52.

Under the bill, alcohol advertising would be banned near schools, playgrounds, and at bus and train stations. A broadcasting watershed is also planned.
Gerard Forbes told the Circuit Civil Court he was woken at 7.30am in the darkness of his studio apartment by raised voices and torchlight shining in his face from the window that two gardai had used to gain entry.

Mr Forbes, of Flat 1, No 10 Bessborough Parade, Rathmines, Dublin, said he was pushed against a wardrobe and when he tried to phone a Garda station, his mobile was grabbed from him and thrown against the wall.

I was then pushed into a chair and told to stay there as a garda opened the door of my flat and went to the front door of the house to let in other gardai, he told Judge Francis Comerford.

Mr Forbes told his counsel, John Ferry, two gardai who entered his room wore uniform but refused to give their names or numbers.

Mr Ferry told the court in opening a claim by Mr Forbes for damages for negligence, breach of rights, trespass and assault, and false imprisonment, that the gardai had not shown any search warrant.

He said it was two-and-a-half years after the November 2011 garda entry that Mr Forbes had been supplied with a warrant. He had referred the matter to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission.

Counsel Peter Leonard told the court a full defence and denial of Mr Forbess allegations had been entered in the claim against the Garda commissioner and justice minister.

He said Garda evidence would be that Forbes invited one garda into his apartment after he had appeared at the window and that the garda had thanked him for his co-operation as he let his colleagues in to search another flat.

Detective Garda Kevin Lawless, who entered Forbess apartment through the window, told the court w

hen there was no answer to the front door he noticed a window slightly ajar and had opened it to gain entry.

He said when he met Mr Forbes, he had pointed to the garda flash across his chest.

Mr Forbes had remained passive, calm, and indifferent, according to Det Garda Lawless, and had said thats fine to him and gestured towards his apartment door.

He said he thanked Mr Forbes and let his colleagues in to conduct a search for a female target who had been arrested in the upstairs flat.

Judgment was reserved.
It has also emerged that Independent Alliance ministers have been told that their decision to defy cabinet collegiality and support an opposition bill on abortion will be a one-off.

Independent TD Clare Daly described an inhuman situation whereby an expectant mother knew her baby would not survive but was forced to go abroad for a termination.

The Dail will today vote on legislation to allow abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities, a bill the Government say is unconstitutional.

Ms Daly told the story of two sisters, one whose baby died in the womb. The other sister wrote to the TD outlining her situation where her baby had been diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormality. The woman outlined her concerns about having to go abroad for a termination.

The dignity shown to the tiny corpse of my nephew in the hospital, in the mortuary and on his first and final journey home will not be extended to my son as he will have to be locked in the boot of the car on a ferry journey back across the Irish Sea or his ashes delivered by a courier weeks later, along with Amazon and eBay purchases.

Ms Daly claimed this was the Taoiseachs Ireland.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny denied he was blocking any changes in law and reiterated plans for an assembly in the autumn which will assess changes to abortion laws.

Mr Kenny said a bill by Independent TD Mick Wallace to allow for terminations for fatal foetal abnormalities, to be voted on in the Dail today, would not be touched by any medic in the country.

Mick Wallace

This bill is not good for women, it is bad for women, he said. It is inadequate and that means that it does not answer the question the good lady asked in her letter to the deputy [Daly].

Those at the top of the medical profession had declared that proposals in Mr Wallaces bill were grossly and wholly inadequate.

In a reference to counselling facilities, Mr Kenny said he believed services surrounding these events and instances should be improved but he stopped short of saying if terminations should be allowed or not.

Ms Daly asked Mr Kenny to publish the Attorney Generals advice, which the Government says advises that Mr Wallaces bill is unconstitutional.

But the Taoiseach said the forthcoming assembly would help decide on the matter and denied that he was blocking any changes in the law.

The deputy may not believe in or want that process, but it is something that is a way to look at the Eighth Amendment and its ramifications for the many women around the country who have had to deal with trauma, stress, and pressure, said the Taoiseach.

I agree that the services that should be provided for people can be improved.

It has emerged that Independent Alliance Ministers have been granted a one-off free vote today to support Mr Wallaces bill.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that view to RTE, stating: I think there is an understanding that this is a one-off exception.

The minister added that he did not believe the situation would be repeated in the future.
There is considerable anger within Fine Gael and Mr Flanagan is known to be less than impressed with the turn of events, which saw DUP leader Arlene Foster humiliate Mr Kenny on Monday.

Charlie is less than happy to say the least. This was nothing to do with him. This was a flyer out of Endas office which blew up in his face, said one minister.

Ms Foster publicly slapped down Mr Kennys forum idea, which had been floated during the weekend by two ministers, saying enough North-South mechanisms exist at present.

But it has turned out that Mr Flanagan, who has responsibility for Northern Ireland, was not involved in the proposal.

Mr Flanagan, who has distinguished himself in the Northern portfolio since taking over the brief in 2014, has sought to build a strong relationship with the unionist community.

Charlie Flanagan

In the run-up to Ms Fosters slapdown, Mr Flanagan had held a number of meetings with Ms Foster and at no stage was the idea of a cross-border forum discussed.

Charlie had a very good meeting with Arlene Foster last week in Belfast and he had a very good meeting on Monday at the North-South council, a source close to Mr Flanagan said yesterday.

Several Fine Gael TDs, speaking to the Irish Examiner, vented their fury at the failure of Mr Kenny and his office to refer the matter to Mr Flanagan.

Waterford TD John Deasy said Mr Flanagan and his department have been blindsided by Mr Kennys office.

You would have to worry about the damage that has been done to the credibility of the Department of Foreign Affairs. They are the lead department on these matters; they were blindsided badly, said Mr Deasy.

It is embarrassing, a massive mistake in a peace process which is delicate at the best of times. Kennys office have embarrassed Charlie in the eyes of the DUP, said another TD.

In the Dail on Tuesday, Labour leader Brendan Howlin said Ms Fosters rejection of the Taoiseachs proposal was a humiliation.

Mr Kenny on Monday was forced into conceding that his plan was in ruins.

It wasnt to be. Obviously, it couldnt function effectively unless you had buy-in from everybody, Mr Kenny conceded, but not without some attempt to explain his efforts.

I still think the forum suggestion is a good suggestion  I dont believe there should be a veto, he said.

Ms Foster said the matter had never been discussed with her.

Arlene Foster

That seemed to gather some currency over the weekend. But it was not discussed with me at any time over the weekend or indeed before. It was not discussed today, Ms Foster said on Monday.

There was no proposal at the North-South Ministerial Council in relation to the forum. Therefore, there was nothing to be rejected as it were, said the Norths first minister.
The Government has opted for a gap-funded model to deliver rural broadband which includes a 26-year contract with private providers, at the end of which the networks would be privately owned.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin told the Dail the mistake of privatising Eircom  which one Fianna Fail TD yesterday admitted was a massive blunder under its rule  was about to be repeated with broadband.

The urban-rural digital divide was highlighted in the Dail yesterday evening, with many TDs providing anecdotes of businesses being forced to relocate, farmers missing grant deadlines, and primary schools without broadband.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten made a personal promise to deliver high-speed broadband to every home in the country.

Speaking during Leaders Questions, Mr Howlin said: We have poor broadband in this country, particularly in rural areas, because of the decision by Fianna Fail to privatise Eircom in the biggest economic mistake this country made until Fianna Fails even more disastrous mistake in giving the blanket bank guarantee in 2008.

This Government is about to repeat that mistake.

Enda Kenny

Mr Kenny said the decision to opt for the gap model will allow the Government to spend serious amounts of money in other areas such as education and health.

That is a choice that has to be made, and the Government made its choice clearly, said Mr Kenny.

We do not intend to repeat what happened with Eircom.

During a Dail debate on a broadband motion brought by rural Independent TDs, Fianna Fails Timmy Dooley acknowledged that privatising Eircom had been a bad decision.

My party took a decision which at the time seemed like the correct one, he said of the Eircom sale. We were told the return to the State would build more schools, water and sewerage schemes, and public housing.

As a result of that decision, which was taken in good faith by all concerned at the time, there were significant delays in the rollout of broadband, which has put us well behind the European average in terms of the penetration of broadband.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath said people living in rural Ireland are not looking for favouritism or special treatment, and only seek to be treated equally.

He highlighted a case of one constituent who had an online assessment for an army position; despite going to an internet cafe, the internet crashed halfway through and, as a result, she failed to get a place. She had failed her exam as far as the authority was concerned. Thats not right, he said.

Noel Grealish highlighted the massive digital divide between rural and urban areas.

Down the country people in rural areas are struggling to get a speed of even 1mb, not much better than the old dial-up system we used to have when the system was in relative infancy, he said.

Business: 17
The "Integrated Ground Test" conducted by the Israeli Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) and the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) lasted for five days and ended on June 22, the Ynetnews media outlet reported.

"We tested the systems' ability to work in tandem until the point of interception, without launching the missiles. In fact, we had one Israeli eye and one American eye on all of the targets, at the same time, and so we could see and operate better," an unnamed IMDO colonel told the news outlet.

During the drills, the United States and Israel tested real-time communication between six different missile defense systems: Israeli Arrow 2 and 3, David's Sling as well as US Aegis Ships, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot, according to the news portal.

The sides simulated a scenario with thousands of missiles launched from Iran and Lebanon at the same time.

The Israeli Defense Ministry called the test "another milestone in the missile defense program, which is a cooperation between the US and Israel," the Ynetnews said.

Israel has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars on developing missile defense systems over the last ten years to protect the countrys territory from possible missile attacks from Palestinian territories as well as to respond to developing Iranian missile program.
Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald revealed plans yesterday to send a selection team to Lebanon within weeks to select the additional refugees, who are due to arrive in spring 2017.

The decision to increase the number of refugees being accepted in Ireland under the resettlement strand of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is a direct result of the slower than anticipated arrival of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy because of administrative issues on the ground there, she said.

My decision reflects the Governments commitment to welcome vulnerable refugees fleeing war and conflict and is another positive step towards delivering on Irelands overall commitment to accept 4,000 persons, she said.

Once in Ireland, these refugees will have access to vital health and education services.

Our focus will be on helping them to rebuild their lives here in Ireland.

The Government announced plans last September to accept up to 4,000 people under resettlement and relocation programmes as part of the states response to the European migrants crisis.

Under the resettlement strand, the government has so far this year provided a safe haven for 273 of the 520 refugees it committed to take from Lebanon.

The balance of the 520 have been security screened and are now undergoing health screening in Lebanon before their transfer to Ireland later this year.

Of the 273 who have been admitted, 250 have completed language training and orientation programmes, while 23 are still undergoing the training while staying at the emergency reception and orientation centres (EROCs)  the Hazel Hotel in Monasterevin and the Clonea Strand Hotel in Dungarvan.

Most have since been housed in Kerry, Cork, Clare, and Limerick. A further 38 Syrians arrived from Greece in recent weeks and are also living in the EROCs.

The Governments IRPP taskforce met last week to discuss the migrants crisis, and got an update on the technical issues delaying the transfer of refugees from Greece and Italy.

The Greek authorities have now agreed that they will double the numbers available for transfer to Ireland to 40 persons every four weeks with the prospect of this number increasing further later in the year, said Ms Fitzgerald.
The Irish Examiner understands the possibility of the two politicians being hauled before the Dail Public Accounts Committee will be raised at the committees first meeting since the election today.

The request, which will come at the same time as an emergency meeting of Console staff called last night during which they will be told they are hundreds of thousands of euro out of pocket and services may have to be wound up, is expected to be raised by new PAC chair and Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming.

While to date the only Console meeting planned with the powerful committee is with the HSE next Friday, Mr Fleming is expected to raise the matter when discussing a similar request from fellow PAC member and Fine Gael TD Alan Farrell for Console members to attend separate public questioning.

Technically, the plan for former ministers could also include Mary Harney, but there is disagreement among PAC members over whether such a request would involve further complications due to the fact Ms Harney is no longer a TD or senator.

As such, it is likely to be limited to Mr Reilly, now a senator, and Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar, who served as health ministers between 2011-2014, and 2014-2016 respectively.

The move came as it emerged last night that Consoles interim chief executive David Hall has called an emergency meeting with staff today to tell them services may be wound up immediately due to alleged Government failure solve the charitys financial crisis.

The meeting in Dublin, which will be attended by representatives from across the country, was called after it emerged staff are owed hundreds of thousands of euro in salaries due to the scandal engulfing the organisation.

David Hall

While Health Minister Simon Harris and HSE officials have insisted they are doing all they can to address the crisis, Mr Hall last night told them in tense phone calls that unless they provide a solution to the scandal now, he will be left with no option but to wind up services under his control.

The PAC meeting is also expected to hear further concerns raised in the still unpublished HSE internal audit report into the crisis-hit charity and the actions of disgraced former chief executive Paul Kelly.

The 200-plus page document is understood to have included repeated criticism by the auditors that they were hampered from accessing key files by Mr Kelly and other officials, and that files were regularly in poor condition and difficult to follow.

Amid fresh concern about the health of the charity sector, Fine Gael TD Jim Daly has written to Mr Harris asking him to allow an amnesty for other charities with irregularities in their accounts to come forward.

Charities regulator John Farrelly yesterday admitted much of the sector remains unregulated, and that new powers announced this week to come into force on September 5 are needed.
Gavan Murphy, aged 31, of St Aidans Park, Marino, Dublin, pleaded guilty to cultivation of cannabis plants at St Aidans Park, on August 12, 2015.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardai went to Murphys house after receiving a tip-off.

During a search of the house they found his garage had been converted into a grow house, Garda Trevor Bolger told Eilis Brennan, prosecuting.

The garage was kitted out with grow tents, a heating system, and tin foil.

The garage contained 12 mature plants, and another 33 medium and small-sized plants.

Gardai also found three jars containing cannabis buds and seeds in the bedroom of the house.

Gda Bolger said the estimated street value of the plants was 44,000, on the basis that all 55 plants would come to fruition and yield buds and seeds.

Murphy told gardai he was growing the cannabis plants for personal use to avoid buying the drug, and said half of the plants would die within a week.

Murphy said he got all the tents secondhand on eBay. He has no other convictions.

Judge Melanie Greally suspended a sentence of three years on condition that Murphy remain drug-free.
Sean Carraher, aged 55, of Stradbrook Hill, Blackrock, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to harassing Sergeant Conor Gilmartin between March 2009 and May 2011.

Sgt Gilmartin told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court he first came into contact with Mr Carraher in 2007 when he was arrested and taken to Shankill Garda Station over an unrelated matter.
The Government has been accused of a lack of urgency over the drugs problem and of failing to show leadership on the issue.

During a debate on the Misuse of Drugs Bill 2016 in the Dail last night, Sinn Fein TD Jonathan OBrien said the legislation is about as far away as you can get from the promises in the programme for government.

Punitive legislation as a policy response does not work and has never been proven to work and this bill simply creates scapegoats rather than solutions, he said.

Mr OBrien said the bill is about being able to say that this Government is doing something about organised crime, regardless of whether it works or not.

If the State as a whole was serious about addressing drugs use they wold be interested in investing in communities affected by it.

Mr OBrien said all money and assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau should be pumped back into vulnerable communities impacted by drugs and gangland crime.

He added that there are a lack of facilities and treatment options for those who want to get off drugs.

Fianna Fail TD John Lahart said political leadership is badly needed to combat the drugs and criminal gang problems, but so far this has been sadly lacking.

The Governments new strategy on drugs will not be ready until at least the end of the year, he said.

The minister will be aware that drugs are at the root of a huge amount of petty criminal activity in Ireland: People rob things to feed their habit.

Political leadership is badly needed in this area and in this Government so far, it is sadly lacking.

Mr Lahart said there does not seem to be any urgency in implementing legislation to target gangland crime and, although he welcomed the bill, he said it can only be truly welcomed as one of the measures that are required.

Independent TD Maureen OSullivan said it is very regrettable that it had taken gangland deaths for the Government to act.

Backing the bill, Fianna Fails Jack Chambers said: Every day we hear stories of individuals, families, and communities around the country that have been devastated by drugs. I welcome the renewed focused on this area, and also the development of the new national drug strategy which will shape our policies in trying to tackle this issue in the coming years.
Mr Coveney expects there will be no shocks when he meets environment commissioner Karmenu Vella to outline how Ireland intends to comply with EU law while also freezing water charges.

Government sources insist plans for the independent expert water commission are still on track, despite chairman Joe OToole resigning this week over his views about charges.

Mr Coveney said yesterday that he had wanted Mr OToole to stay on but that he had no alternative given what happened.

Fianna Fail and other parties had questioned his position following remarks he made, including to the Irish Examiner. In an interview, Mr OToole criticised left-wing politicians, said he supported the polluter pays principle, and suggested that there was bundles of money to invest in Irish Water.

I think he would have done a very good job, the minister told Sean ORourke on RTE. However, his views created problems, as water is such a sensitive issue.

Joe OToole

He did make a mistake in being overtly forthright in his views The water commission has to have the confidence of the two big parties who put it together, said Mr Coveney, referring to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

The minister said he now expects to appoint the replacement chairperson before the weekend.

Meanwhile,a spokesman for Mr Vella last night told the Irish Examiner that the position of the commission was made clear in Mr Vellas reply to a question from MEP Marian Harkin.

This reply, which it highlighted, said Ireland had adopted established practices around water charges in 2003. There are disputes over whether this means Ireland has to pay water charges and whether it is entitled to a get-out out clause when it comes to complying with the water directive.

The commissioners spokesman said Mr Coveney had sought the meeting to clarify the necessary next steps for implementing the Water Framework Directive.

Meanwhile, Ervia, the parent of Irish Water, has had four members appointed to its board. These include Keith Harris, currently non- executive director and chair of the audit committee of South Staffordshire Water as well as Fred Barry, former chief of the National Roads Authority. The two other members appointed are Christopher Banks, who was board commercial director at Scottish Water from 2002 to 2014, and a former CEO and chairman of Tesco Ireland, Tony Keohane. Mr Keohane will appear before the the Oireachtas Committee on Housing before his formal appointment can be finalised, said Mr Coveney.

Mr Coveneys office said the process for the appointments was conducted in line with the procedures for making appointments to State boards through the public appointments service.

Elsewhere, the energy regulator has launched plans to assess Irish Waters performance and to allow the public grade its work.

The monitoring system will cover a number of areas of performance of Irish Water  customer service, environmental performance, quality of service for water supply, security of water supply and sewerage service.
Last week, sarcoma patients protested outside the gates of Leinster House in support of the continued employment of Alexia Bertuzzi at St Vincents University Hospital in Dublin.

Yesterday, seven members of the Sarcoma Action Group met the minister for an hour to highlight their concerns and tell their stories.

Dr Bertuzzis contract expired last Thursday. More than 15,500 people have signed a petition asking that the high level of sarcoma care continues at St Vincents.

Sarcoma affects between 200 and 250 people in Ireland annually and, with 50 different types, is not easily diagnosed. The cancer is curable if caught early but patients need a plan drawn up by a specialist.

Pauline Kavanagh from Balbriggan, Co Dublin, whose daughter Louise,17, was diagnosed with sarcoma in her spine last September, said they were happy with the meeting.

There will be a sarcoma oncologist taken on within a three-month timeframe and, Mr Harris said he would get back to us within 24 hours about the reinstatement of Dr Bertuzzi, said Ms Kavanagh.

We want Dr Bertuzzis contract extended until a permanent sarcoma specialist is appointed. It was a good meeting. The minister listened to everything we told him.

Pamela Fowler from Arklow, Co Wicklow, said her son, Ryan, 16, went public about having sarcoma because he was doing so well under Dr Bertuzzis care.
Barry Burns, aged 42, of Bath Rd, Balbriggan, Co Dublin. had contested a taxi regulation charge of not driving as directed by his passenger.

John Conroy told the court he travelled a lot for work and gets a taxi from the airport to his home in south Dublin. He always asked to be taken via the M1 and the fare was 35, he told Judge Miriam Walsh at Dublin District Court.

However, on March 20, 2015, when he went to take a taxi, the driver told him the M1 was closed and did I see the screen in the airport?

Mr Burns told him he would have to take an alternative route that would cost 10 or 15 more.

He used his phone to search the internet to see if the M1 was blocked while the driver asked him should he go via Finglas or the M50. He said the driver was talking to him about where he worked and I would be able to claim the expense in any case.

He wanted to go via the M1 and claimed the driver told him the M50 would be quickest. He said he felt under pressure to agree.

The witness alleged when he arrived at his home the fare was 64.40 and he had to go into his house to get money from his father. He said the driver provided a receipt which stated M1 closed due to accident.

In cross-examination, he told a defence barrister that he did not complain to the driver because the whole atmosphere was not pleasant, that is the way I go, through the tunnel, I felt under pressure, adding: I said fine, go the M50.

During the journey he tried to search the internet to see if the M1 was blocked but his phone was too slow. When he got home his mother called gardai to check.

I wanted to go the M1 and I was told there was an accident and it was blocked, that was not the case, he said.

Mr Burns rejected the allegations and said he let Mr Conroy choose the route. He denied mentioning screens in the airport with traffic information.

He recalled traffic was heavy and claimed he told Mr Conroy there must have been an accident somewhere and the passenger said he wanted to get home quickly.

He agreed with Garda Sergeant Michael Higgins there was a quicker, alternative route but he claimed the passenger chose the way to go. He also claimed he and Mr Conroy chatted throughout the journey.

The defendant denied he had issued a receipt shown to court saying it had no identification information and he said the signature was not his.

He agreed in a statement to Garda Sgt Higgins he had said the fare was 64 but he j accepted 60.

In his evidence in court, he said that he told Mr Conroy he would take 55 but was given 60.

Judge Walsh said it may be a difference of just a fiver but it was a discrepancy and she found him guilty.

The trial heard no evidence of any accident on the M1.

Judge Walsh noted that Burns, who has been a taxi driver for 10 years, had no prior criminal convictions.

She also ordered him to pay 130 in witness expenses.
Marta Herda, aged 29, of Pairc Na Saile, Emoclew Rd, Arklow, Co Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Hungarian man Csaba Orsas, aged 31, at South Quay, Arklow, around 6am on March 26, 2013.

At the Central Criminal Court, Paul Hickey testified that he left his home for work around 5.20 that morning. Within five minutes, he walked past a gold or silver Volkswagen Passat parked half on the Wexford Rd and half in a parking space. The engine was running, he said.

He said he had noticed this car before because it had rubber eyelashes over the headlights. I could see someone in the car alone, on the phone, very animated, like some argument was going on, he said, confirming the person was female.

Mr Hickey said a cyclist passed him as he made his way through the town, and the same car with the same driver passed him soon afterwards. He identified himself from CCTV footage captured on the main street. He said the driver was still on the phone and still animated.

He learned about the incident at the harbour later that day. I seen the car that Id seen that morning had been pulled from the river, he said. I contacted the guards.

Under cross-examination by the defence, Mr Hickey agreed he had not mentioned an argument in his statement to gardai that day, but had used the word animated.

The jury also heard that a postman found Mr Orsas front door open about two hours after the car entered the water.

Stephen Mitchell testified that he was delivering post to Brookview Court in the town around 8.15am when he noticed the door to one house was ajar. The jury had already heard that this was the home of Mr Orsas.

The court later heard that Ms Herda had two mobile phones, one that she used for the majority of her contact with the deceased, and one used to contact others.

Garda Michael Hall testified that gardai did not get records for her second phone, but did for her other phone, which he said was the one she had originally told them about in interview.

He gave details of 10 missed calls from Ms Herda to a mutual acquaintance between 5.06am and 5.17am on the day of the incident. She then called the deceased three times, the final call being at 5.35am and lasting two minutes.

Garda Hall said that in the 48 hours or so before the incident, Ms Herda called Mr Orsas 12 times; eight of these calls were from her second number. During the same time, the deceased called her 13 times and sent her nine texts. All the calls and seven of the texts were to her second number.

The trial continues.
Gwen Leost Kane, Mr Justice Anthony Barr said, suffered a fracture dislocation of the right ankle and was in a plaster of paris for seven weeks and on crutches for 16 weeks.

The judge said he was satisfied Ms Kane had given a fair and accurate account of her symptoms and disablement from the time of the accident to the present time.

She had suffered extreme pain at the time of the accident on her sons first birthday in 2011 and cannot now take part in Breton folk dancing, cycle, or walk long distances.

She had been pushing her son Gabriels buggy outside the sea lion enclosure when the accident happened.

My ankle was completely shattered. It was a terrible feeling. I was on the ground in the rain for an hour waiting for the ambulance, she had told the court, but said zoo staff and members of St Johns Ambulance tended to her.

In evidence Ms Kane said she fell backwards after slipping and heard her bone crack.

It has affected my life a lot. I used to wear a lot of high heels. It was a happy family day out and we were going to go home and take photographs for my son Gabriels birthday, she said.

Ms Kane, aged 43, from Beechdale Court, Firhouse, Dublin had sued the Zoologicial Society of Ireland over the fall while on a visit to the Zoo at Phoenix Park on June 12, 2011. She claimed that there was a failure to adequately supervise the premises to ensure the sea lion enclosure and its surrounding amenities, visitor walkways, and viewing area were safe for persons expected to walk through that area even in wet weather.

She also claimed an accumulation of rainwater had been permitted on a pedestrian walkway and the metal manhole cover.

Mr Justice Barr was told liability was admitted in the case and it was before the court for assessment of damages only.

Making the award, Mr Justice Barr said that Ms Kanes progress since the accident had been set out in medical reports and she continues to experience pain in the right ankle on a daily basis.

She is not able to walk long distances, nor to cycle her bicycle. This has been a cause of distress to her as she used to participate in charity walks and charity cycles prior to the accident.

She is not able to run, nor can she walk on uneven ground or on wet grass or sand. She is unable to participate in Breton dancing which she had done prior to the accident, he said.

The judge said he accepted the evidence that these symptoms will be permanent.

The judge also noted Ms Kane has been left with two scars 10cm and 7cm long on either side of her ankle.

He awarded 105,000 in general damages and for pain and suffering to date and in to the future.

Mr Justice Barr also allowed special damages of 9,988, bringing the total award to 114,988.
NATO envoys will hold a further formal meeting with Russia on July 13, days after the alliance's summit in Warsaw, in a sign Washington and Moscow want to defuse tensions in Europe.

The forum bringing together Russia and its former Cold War adversary NATO last met in April after an almost two-year hiatus as relations sank to their lowest level in decades over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

The NATO-Russia Council will meet again at ambassadorial level in Brussels next week following the NATO summit in Warsaw in which Western leaders will cement a new deterrent against what they say is Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Russia's envoy to NATO said Moscow would focus on the decisions taken in Warsaw, reiterating its view that the alliance's military build-up is risking peace in central Europe.

"The main focus will be on military security in the wake of decisions to be taken at the NATO summit in Warsaw," said Russian ambassador Alexander Grushko. "We hope for a frank and serious dialogue on the issues related to the increased NATO activities near Russian borders and their impact on the security and stability in Europe and its regions," Grushko said.

The West and Russia remain at odds over Ukraine and whether NATO has the right to expand eastwards, but the Russia-NATO Council session hints at a willingness to patch up diplomatic ties and avoid any accidental clashes in the region.

"Our discussions will focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk Agreements," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

He was referring to the peace deal signed in Belarus last year that aims to end the conflict involving pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"We will also look at military activities, with a particular focus on transparency and risk reduction, as well as the security situation in Afghanistan," the statement said.NATO envoys will hold a further formal meeting with Russia on July 13, days after the alliance's summit in Warsaw, in a sign Washington and Moscow want to defuse tensions in Europe.

The forum bringing together Russia and its former Cold War adversary NATO last met in April after an almost two-year hiatus as relations sank to their lowest level in decades over Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.

The NATO-Russia Council will meet again at ambassadorial level in Brussels next week following the NATO summit in Warsaw in which Western leaders will cement a new deterrent against what they say is Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Russia's envoy to NATO said Moscow would focus on the decisions taken in Warsaw, reiterating its view that the alliance's military build-up is risking peace in central Europe.

"The main focus will be on military security in the wake of decisions to be taken at the NATO summit in Warsaw," said Russian ambassador Alexander Grushko. "We hope for a frank and serious dialogue on the issues related to the increased NATO activities near Russian borders and their impact on the security and stability in Europe and its regions," Grushko said.

The West and Russia remain at odds over Ukraine and whether NATO has the right to expand eastwards, but the Russia-NATO Council session hints at a willingness to patch up diplomatic ties and avoid any accidental clashes in the region.

"Our discussions will focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine and the need to fully implement the Minsk Agreements," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

He was referring to the peace deal signed in Belarus last year that aims to end the conflict involving pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"We will also look at military activities, with a particular focus on transparency and risk reduction, as well as the security situation in Afghanistan," the statement said.
Carol Sanders, aged 50, formerly of Ralahine, Ballybrack, Co Dublin told her mother, you have to die, during the attack at the home they shared in Ballybrack on November 24, 2015.

Sanders, an alcoholic who suffers from a personality disorder, pleaded guilty to producing a weapon in a manner likely to intimidate her mother, Mary Sanders. Two other charges of producing a weapon, and an assault charge, were taken into account by the court.
ITS 10pm on a rainy night in Inchigeela in the 1980s. A knock on Dan McCarthys parents door. Outside, Con Joe Lucey with a pot of jam, come to see Dan off to America after a fortnights holiday at home. More than 30 years on  in his Canton, Massachusetts, home  McCarthy recalls Con Joes words that night: I have some jam here, well have a couple of sandwiches.

The memory is sparked by a 1964 black and white photo of Con Joe. It is one of about 60 images that will feature in Iveleary, An Exhibition of Photographs of Uibh Laoire at the Town Hall Gallery, Macroom, from July 8-28. The photos were all taken by McCarthy on brief visits home to Inchigeela in the 1960s and 80s. He had emigrated to America in 1960, having lived in England and Wales in the 1950s. He joined the US army in late 1962 and within 12 months was assigned to an army base in Germany  Erlangen in Northern Bavaria.

The first thing I bought was a camera, the best I could afford  a Voigtlander Ultramatic, a German camera with a 50mm lens. It was like having a Cadillac. Thats what I used to take all my black and white photos with in the 1960s.

Sean OSullivan, chairperson of Uibh Laoire Historical Society, notes in the brochure for this exhibition that a photo is not the end of a story but the start of one. McCarthys exhibition will spark myriad stories. Theres the 1964 photo of Garda Charles McCarthy  Charlie the Guard  in front of McCarthys house at Graigue, about 1km west of Inchigeela Village.

His main mission back in my schooldays was chasing truants. Later, when wed all grown older, wed stand around with him and talk about when he used to chase us back to school.

McCarthy recalls developing the photo at his base in Germany. My German instructor said, Look at his head, at that bald spot and the sun shining off it  youve got to work on that, make it darker. When I got back to Ireland I told him.

Fr Gerard Creedon and Fr John Buckley (later bishop)

The people in McCarthys photos were his friends, his family, his neighbours. Theres a 1960s photo of his mother, Mary, getting water from the spring; another of her in 1983 with her 10-year-old grandson, Neil  McCarthys son  drinking water at St Gobnaits Well, Ballyvourney. (He thinks his parents probably put his passion for photography down to his having become a bit of a crazy American).

And theres a photo of a very young Bishop John Buckley with Fr Gerard Creedon, now a US-based priest in Virginia and a close friend of the Kennedy political dynasty  in McCarthys photo hes a seminarian holding a hurley with a sliothar poised 6in above it.

They were all friends of mine, says McCarthy. And it shows in the photos, says his Inchigeela neighbour, Joe Creedon. In the 60s people were shy about being photographed and often averted their gaze. In these images the subjects obviously knew and trusted the photographer and smiled directly at him and his lens.

Wandering around his home-place and its hinterland, McCarthy  77 next month  recalls his words to these people hed known since birth as he was about to capture them on film: Hey fellas, I just want to take a photo of you  I have this camera here.

Dennis Murray and Sean ODonovan.

In those days, when money was scarce and nobody could predict where technology would take us, they didnt know much about photography, he says. I wouldnt have either, if I hadnt gone away.

Norah Norton, curator of the exhibition, says she fell in love with the photos the moment she opened the email with attachments she received from a US-based cousin. The first image she looked at was a very boyish, relaxed-looking Bishop Buckley. Next was a bunch of children and teenagers standing on the village street and I began to recognise them as [now] very established middle-aged people. It reminded me of a time when people were a little bit different, when there was innocence and openness.

Though she usually curates very different exhibitions  by contemporary visual artists  she showed McCarthys photos to Cork County Council Arts officer Ian McDonagh. He said go for it.

The photos, she says, bring her back to a time when everything felt more connected. There is, for example, a photo of Jimmy OSullivan  local postman for years  with his mailbag and bike. He came in rain and snow. Hed bring you the latest news, from what was in the Cork Examiner to someones cow dying. At weekends, we played bowls with him. We pitched pennies on Sunday afternoons. It was a game of skill. I can just see Jimmy now. He was a massive penny-pitcher, recalls McCarthy.

A photo of Dora OSullivan pouring petrol into a can made McCarthy smile even when he snapped it. I thought it was funny. Petrol was rationed then, and here was someone pouring it into a one-gallon can.

Postman Jimmy OSullivan

Theres a photo of Mary ORiordan, named Mary the Chair, says McCarthy, because she used a wheelchair. She was one of the first in Inchigeela to get a car [adapted]. And theres one of Connie ORiordan, who had the shop right across from the church in Inchigeela. McCarthy wanted a portrait photo. I took it with a good camera, a Mamiya RB67 with a 90mm lens. Im standing way back from him but I got a close-up.

Over 20 years ago, a man named Michael Creedon contributed a photo of himself with a friend to a series of books published by Iveleary Historical Society. He later thanked the society for printing it because people in the future will know we were there and wont forget us. McCarthys photos are from an age when the camera didnt lie, when people stood up as they were, without artifice  a time long before we were saturated with selfies and numbed by the sameness of bland happy poses.

In these photos, McCarthys subjects look out with curiosity, interest, and innocence, with respect and roguishness, with humility  and a willingness to go along with this crazy American and local boy. And in doing so, they and McCarthy ensured people will know they were there and wont forget them.
The last couple of years have seen an explosion in the comics industry here as Irish artists and writers are seeing their work in Marvel and DC titles, as well as 2000AD, while there many more self-publish their work.

Recognising the increasing scene of self-publishing, comic store Forbidden Planet Dublin announced its first ever Small Press Day event for this Saturday, July 9. The cream of Irelands small press scene will be out showcasing the diversity of comics work published in this country at the spacious Filmbase centre on Curved St.

Among the many exhibitors showcasing their work and skills, as well as participating in discussions, is Rob Curley, a pioneer of small press publishing in Ireland. Having opened the independent comic store Sub City with his brother Brian in 1994, Curley is intimately involved in comic book culture.

In 2003, he he founded Atomic Diner Publications.

When I was younger I always had notions of doing my own comics and then maybe ten years into the shop I just decided Id like to maybe come up with my own ideas, says Curley of his foray into self-publishing.

I was doing a degree in social science at the time. Part of that was American history. I was into that so a combination of my love of comics and of history the first one I did was Freakshow, which was based in New York in the 1950s and it was my kind of take on Americana of the time. It went quite well.

SMALL PRESS DAY 2016



FREE event highlighting self published comic creators



Filmbase, Dublin 2 on July 9th pic.twitter.com/UqCcvelEVv  Forbidden Planet Dublin (@FPDublin) June 15, 2016

Curleys enthusiasm nearly got the best of him. He began printing 5,000 copies of his comic thinking it would be an easy sell.

I realised thats not how it goes, he reports. Current print runs are around the 500-1,000 mark, and Curley finds it easier to keep it on a small scale and distribute it himself.

But the market for comics is a growing one. Having opened an outlet in Galway, Sub City will open another on Dublins Mary St to coincide with Small Press Day.

There is also a growing appetite for comics that arent just concerned with superheroes; Atomic Diner as well as other small press outlets reflect that in the variety of styles and genres published.

Indeed, many of the countrys most successful comics makers got their start in small press. Declan Shalvey, Will Sliney, Nick Roche, Stephen Mooney, Stephen Thompson, and PJ Holden all started out that way.

Many received their first break through Curley, the writer of the Crimson Blade series.

While there have been many conventions held here, Curley regards Small Press Day as a significant milestone in Irelands comic evolution. Its great to highlight the talent and show people beyond the comic community there is an indigenous community out there, he says.

One, its important that people can cut their teeth on it, learn their trade. I think even more important than that that its a place where people can express their own ideas through the art of comics. I guess once people do get taken up by big industry, even though its a goal of a lot of people, their own creativity in a sense goes out the window because they just have to abide by the company line. So I guess for Small Press it is a place where a lot of creativity happens.
The first ever Irish university taught course on sexuality and sexual health education will begin in September at Dublin City University. Running parallel to that programme will be another first  this autumn, DCU will also offer a taught course on relationships and sexuality for people with intellectual disability.

In a country where sex, sexual relationships, and even sexual health has traditionally been taboo, the initiative by Dublin City University is a visionary one, and it has attracted strong social media interest within days of the launch of both courses.

The graduate certificate in sexuality and sexual health education is the first ever taught course of its kind  that is, one that is not studied through research. It is aimed at anybody dealing with young people and the issues around sexuality  youth workers, community workers, social workers, people working in the public health services such as doctors and nurses, non-governmental organisations in the field, and youth groups such as Foroige.

Some organisations have their own programmes on sexuality but, as far as I could establish, there are no actual training programmes offering evidence-based practise and up-to-date knowledge in the area of sex and sexual health education, says Dr Mel Duffy, lecturer in Sociology and Sexuality Studies and chair of the masters degree programme in sexuality studies at the university.

Its about enabling adults  teachers, mentors, youth workers  to be able to talk, and listen, to young people, and enable them to learn.

The idea for both courses originated in discussions with students who were taking the universitys masters degree course in sexuality studies, explains Dr Duffy, who is also chair of both the new programmes.

When we talked about the education the students had, they reported having had very minimal sexual education at second level, she reports.

This, she says, was the seed: It created the notion that we need to do something which enables people who teach at second level to give them the skillset to implement the RSE Programme.

Recent research, she points out, has shown that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies remain significant public health issues and that embarrassment about discussing sex, sexuality and contraception are a challenge when delivering education and information. On top of this, barriers still exist in relation to open communication around sexual identity and sex, particularly when parents and teachers are communicating to children and young people.

In response to all of this, Dublin City University devised the graduate certificate programme in sexuality and sexual health education in conjunction with the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).

This programme is the first of its kind in Ireland and provides an integrated and best-practice approach to sexual health within a quality assured framework at a third level institution said IFPA training and development manager, Anita Ghafoor-Butt.

Sex and sex education is always a controversial topic  whether about the increasingly fraught issue of consent, to the growing concern about the impact on young people of instant access to graphic sexual acts and hard-core pornography:

There is a pressure on people now to look sexual and to participate in behaviour that, if they were in a position to make choices, they would not engage in, Dr Duffy observes.

Its very much about enabling young people to make decisions they are happy with  if they decide to participate in something, that they are happy to do it, but if they decide not to engage, that they are able to say no and live with the pressure that others may put on them. The course will look at how we learn about sex and sexuality as teachers. It will look at the history and the theories that underpin our way of thinking, the history of sexuality and the language we use. Students will have to think about how to apply it in the settings in which they later find themselves.

In teaching about the pedagogy of sexual and sexual health, we have to enable people to be open and be able to answer questions. Our society has changed enormously in the last number of decades, but significant work still remains with regard to discussing our sexual health, sexual identity and gender identity in an open and transparent manner.

Research has shown, she says, that embarrassment is still a very big factor when it comes to discussing sex and sexuality.

This course will approach these topics free from stigma or bias, delivering up-to-date and evidence based content. It is about providing the knowledge. Its expected that the one-year programme, which begins in September with 25 student places, will be of significant interest to professionals working in this field, and, she says, will provide support to those who will have to deal with these topics, in any capacity, whether it is in a school, home or work setting.

The sexual health element of the course is significant. Studies have found that more than 35% of women have experienced an unplanned pregnancy and that the highest rate of STIs was among young people under the age of 25 and among men who have sex with men.

The research shows that early school leavers, young people in care or aftercare, people with disabilities or mental health problems, young adults and LGBT people are most at risk of experiencing negative sexual health outcomes.

Denise Proudfoot, a lecturer in Nursing at DCU with a strong research interest in sexual health with be teaching in this area:

I will be focusing on sexual health and sexual health promotion. What were trying to do is equip participants such as teachers, nurses, and GPs, with the skills in talking about sexual health with people across the lifespan.

Its about helping people to be more comfortable in tacking issues with clients and patients down the line, Ms Proudfoot explains.

Sex and sexual health are quite sensitive topics, she says, so its important to equip professional workers with the skills to respond effectively to these issues in whatever context they may arise:

The course will deal with everything from STIs, to contraception and cervical smears.

In parallel to this programme, DCU will also offer the first Irish university-taught relationship and sexuality course for people with intellectual disabilities, the Graduate Certificate in Relationships and Sexuality Education for People with Intellectual Disability.

Recent research, says Dr Duffy, has identified people with intellectual disabilities as a vulnerable group and warned that negative attitudes and a lack of specialised care to support participation in decision-making can compromise the level of sexual health support received.

Under existing legislation, sexual relationships for people with intellectual disabilities are complicated by legal and technical issues surrounding the capacity to consent to both medical treatment and sexual intercourse. The idea of this new course, she says, is to enable those who work with people with intellectual disability (ID) to answer questions:

People with intellectual disability grow up and become teenagers and adults. They need to be allowed to live their lives  and they must be enabled to do so.

We must look at how that happens, she says, adding that students will learn how to deal with whatever issues arise: A lot of us dont see people with intellectual disability as sexual beings who need intimacy, and this course is about teaching the people who work with them to acknowledge their full humanity.

The course aims to provide students with the knowledge to assist people with ID to make informed decisions about their sexual health, intimacy, relationships and friendships.

Its about knowledge and choice and ensuring people with ID receive this knowledge and support through sexual health educators, says Dr Duffy, adding that it would train a generation of educators in sexuality and sexual health while advocating for the creation, where necessary, of social policy surrounding the issue of sexual health and intimate relationships for people with ID.

The accredited programme will be of significant interest to people working in child and/or adolescent services, sexuality/pastoral education at primary, secondary or tertiary levels, healthcare professionals and service providers in healthcare environments.

Prospective students require a second class honours or Level 8 degree. For those who do not have a second-class honours degree, experience working in appropriate fields is taken into account.

For more information, see www.dcu.ie and www.ifpa.ie.
HE cant prove it, but Fr Jerry Daly thinks he was one of the first priests in the world to turn his altar around when word emerged from Vatican II that priests could now face the congregation. It was the 1960s and Fr Jerry was a missionary in Indonesia, catering to several villages in the Kai Islands.

I never liked having my back to the people. It was bonkers. You cant communicate with people when youve got your back to them.

Back then, Fr Jerry  a member of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart  was at the cutting edge of change. Now 84 and living in the MSC retirement community in Cork, hes still pushing for change. Only radical solutions will work, he believes, for a Church thats sleepwalking into the future.

Its why he has published his memoir, An Endangered Species, as a way of raising some urgent truths about the Church he has served for 60 years  a service that included ministering in a very English parish during and after Bloody Sunday, as well as witnessing the atrocities of apartheid while a missionary in South Africa.

Born on the Sheeps Head peninsula, West Cork, Fr Jerry is unflinching about the Catholic Churchs decline in Ireland: Only 4,000 priests active, the vast majority aged over 50, many over 70.

In 25 years, there will be fewer than 200 active priests for the whole country. Mass attendance is down to 40% nationally, to 2% in some Dublin parishes. A small older population is supporting the Church.

On a recent Saturday, in a Cork parish where he says weekly Mass, there were 50 girls for First Communion.

They were asked to come back for Sunday Mass. Only five or six came. Thats par for the course. First Communion has become a rite of passage.

He lays much blame at the door of intransigent Church leaders, believing theyve still got their backs to the people. He contrasts Archbishop of Tuam Dr Michael Nearys honest appraisal of the crisis facing the Church (on the very edge of Europe, we are hearing the last vestiges of Christendom in their death rattle) with Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martins assertion that what we have to do is find worthy candidates who are able to live as celibate priests in the tradition [of] the Latin rite.

For Fr Jerry, saying and doing nothing is no longer an option.

We have to read the signs of the times, become realists and adjust the sails.

This, he says, means listening to the most up-to-date human, scientific and technological developments and to the instincts of the Churchs own members, to all people of good will.

Clerical child sex abuse, he calls the greatest scandal ever to happen in the Catholic Church.

He cites both ignorance and cover up by the Church as huge contributing factors.

[Church leaders] had no idea as to the nature of this perversity. Unfortunately, their first impulse was to save the good name of the institution.

The Church, he believes, has done everything possible to ensure children are protected, but we can never undo the past.

He is scathing about the Churchs top-down authority structure, citing philosopher Bertrand Russells words about the failure of religion: Any average selection of mankind, set apart and told that it excels the rest in virtue, must tend to sink below the average.

In Confession  about matters like birth control  he says: Conscience is personal and sacred. We talk about conscience being informed. Life itself informs conscience.

He believes general absolution is a practical solution for people who find going into a confessional box difficult.

He sees no scriptural or theological reason why women cant be priests and believes celibacy should be optional; in England, he worked with Anglican priests who defected to the Catholic Church and stayed married.

He thinks Pope Benedicts translation of the Roman Missal is gibberish and garbage, citing, for example, the word passion that once meant suffering, but now means something completely different.

Pope Benedict

He believes the way forward for the Church is to ordain community elders, working alongside fulltime priests, not acting like clergy and not called clergy. These would have a leadership role  people would look up to them as living the Christian life  and they would gather the kind of small Christian communities so popular in Africa: Ten or 20 people, living near each other, meeting weekly in one of their homes, reading scripture, singing hymns, praying for those needing prayers and helping neighbours in need of help. All these small communities would meet together on a Sunday whenever a priest was available for Eucharist. Hes unsure though how to adapt it to our urban society.

Fr Jerrys memoir  of an eventful life  is full of humanity. He recounts the pain of leaving for the missions in 1961, wondering would he ever see his mother again and how it cut me to the heart to see a small nephews tears.

Theres humour too. Singing isnt his strong suit and he recalls his efforts met with stifled laughter by his music-loving Indonesian congregation. One Sunday, when I turned to sing Dominus Vobiscum, there was an immediate response from a nearby cockerel: Cock-a-doodle-doo! There was pandemonium among the congregation.

Fr Jerry is upbeat in his suggestions for Church renewal. At 80 plus, his belief in a God who loves him is stronger than ever.

I see Him in the bits and pieces of life.

An Endangered Species, Columba Press, 14.99.
THE Kenendys of Boston were and still are America's First Family, and its most prominent Irish-Americans and Irish-Catholics.

Joseph and Rose's third son, Robert Francis, was and still is the most mysterious and alluring of their nine extraordinary offspring. He started his professional life as a cold warrior and ended it as his nation's hottest-blooded and most promising liberal.

He was precisely the tough liberal - or perhaps tender conservative - that his countrymen seemed to long for when, on the eve of his most decisive victory in his campaign for president in 1968, he was assassinated.

In the history of America, there have been but two non-presidents with whom our relationship was so intimate that we recognize them by their initialsRFK and MLKand we must reach back to Teddy Roosevelt to find even a president known by an appellation as dear as Bobby.

He was, in a way, our little brother, too, which made the loss that much more harrowing when, hours after his most momentous political triumph, an assassin halted his campaign of conciliation.

The dueling aspects of Bobbys political soul were part of his breeding. His father, the speculator and kingmaker Joseph P. Kennedy, saw his third son as the runt of his litter of ninethe lamest athlete, the most tongue-tied speaker, the least likely to matter to the world.

Those same traits made Bobby the pet of his mother, Rose, yet even she worried that he was girlish.

Rather than keeping him down, his parents low expectations drove him to achieve at any cost. To please Rose, Bobby would pray five times a day, while at the same time he embraced too many of his fathers less saintly causes and tactics.

But this striving shaped Bobby in ways that werent obvious to his parents and political rivals. While his more assured siblings were confidently charting their own courses, he was listening, learning, and developing a sensitivity that derived from his never being sure he could measure up. The obedient Catholic half of his nature was at war with the rebellious Irish side. All of which left him as vulnerable as he was fierce.

His brother Jacks death plunged Bobby into grief and despair, but it ultimately freed him to find his own path, just as their oldest brother Joe Jr.s death during World War II had first tormented Jack, then liberated him. Bobby went through nearly a year of undiagnosed and unacknowledged depression, convinced that his meaningful life, along with his career, had died in Dallas.

It wasnt only his closest brother that he had lost, but a father whose guiding light had been dimmed two years earlier by a shattering stroke. Decisions that were preordained by his birth order now were his alone and excruciating. Should he run for the Senate or quit public life? Was it okay to challenge his sitting president or must he wait his turn?

Slowly, he saw that people believed in him for himself, not just because of his family and his losses. Bobby Kennedy grew not by reading books, as Jack had, nor by chumming around with the brainy and powerful the way his father did. Experience transformed him.

He came to understand poverty the way a novelist might, or a priest, sitting on the dirt floor of a shotgun shack in the Mississippi Delta trying to connect with a starving toddler. It was the same with farmworkers and coal miners.

To Bobby, policy was personal and power was its handmaiden. More opportunities were handed to him, and snatched back, than to anyone else in public life, and both sets of experiences stretched him.

He turned his back not just on parts of who he had been, but on fundamental aspects of the presidency of the brother he worshipped. He led the charge against the very war in Vietnam for which he and Jack had planted the seeds. He fiercely advocated for a civil rights agenda to which JFK had mainly paid lip service.

Within five years of John F. Kennedys death, Bobby was asserting himself as a politician on the opposite side of the ideological spectrum from where he beganstriving, as he put it, to seek a newer world. The country was in transition politically and culturally, and so was Bobby Kennedy.

Tye's book - Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon - was published July 5 by Random House, and is available at Amazon.Com and most bookstores.
The shock is passing and, with it, thankfully, much of the darker analysis from a commentariat miffed that the mob didnt or couldnt listen to the elegance of their argument. The British electorate has spoken, albeit by a small margin. It wants a divorce, the terms of which are for another day.

The unexplored question is whats really driving the disenchantment? The narrow view is that the British simply want to escape rule from the imperial capital in Brussels. This is the neat Little Englander explanation favoured by critics that masks their own prejudices, but what if its part of a wider disenchantment? Look north of the border and Scotland simmers with resentment at being ruled by an elite in Westminster.

Why would most Scots swap pax Britannia for pax Germania? Across the pond, American working and middle classes are rallying around gifted populist Donald Trump. The billionaire has tapped so deeply into their sense of disengagement with the Washington elite that they are happy to turn a blind eye to his bombast, ethics, and temperament. But why are millions of people opting for Boris and Trump in the first place?

Donald Trump

In Ireland, such disenchantment has delivered a minority administration bristling with Independent TDs. Is the sharp fall in support for conventional political parties telling us something else is happening, that Brexit is just another manifestation, that the underlying desire is to regain a sense of control?

Lets not forget that the interconnectedness and inherent instability of the recently created global economy has inflicted unexpected and nasty whiplash effects from afar, such as the US housing credit burst, leaving voters with a deep feelings of vulnerability and unfairness.

The diffusion of sovereign power in key areas to the unelected EU Commission has not been counter-balanced at the roots of society through a diffusion of power from the national parliament to the people through the strengthening of local government and community involvement in policy-making.

The result appears to come from a feeling of helplessness heightened by clear evidence that wealthy corporations and the ultra-high net worth are lunching out at the expense of the workforce, a feeling that the deck is stacked.

Its early days in the evolution of next models of Government but the future ought to be very different to the past, with much more involvement by the people in deciding policy through regular plebiscites, thus constricting the power of national politicians to decide whats best from within the bubble of parliament, while trying to control popular sentiment by manipulating conventional media.

The British have spoken, so what happens after the initial posturing and hyperbole settles and money starts talking?

As ever at the outset of negotiations both sides look irreconcilable, the next Conservative leader, who has to be in situ by September 9, will be tasked with giving effect to Brexit while, on the other side, the EU will be tasked with preventing contagion and using the exit to press for deeper integration.

The most likely outcome, despite the theatrics from the EU, will be some kind of associateship that swaps diminished access to the Single Market in exchange for sidestepping rules especially those surrounding free movement of labour. This still sees Britain leave the EU but remain part of the extended family, operating within the EU sphere and abiding by a constructive set of new rules in order to access its markets and not the rules of the European Free Trade Association.

Can Brexit be reversed?

This is unlikely without a general election putting a pro-EU government in power, an outcome that could result from austerity which follows recession as night follows day. Already there are signs that the British economy is stalling, a position that is being closely monitored by the Bank of England, standing by to cut rates and increase quantitative easing to lessen the damage.

The next move is with the British Government which is likely to activate Article 50 by year end and thus begin the horse trading. The EU, during the negotiations and despite what is said at press briefings, will test for opportunities not to lose Britain over a failure to compromise which is at the heart of how the EU does business.

It is possible that the EU, concerned about the economic side impact of a British slowdown, softens its position to a point which allows Brexit to be avoided through a second popular vote on a new package, allowing Britain to withdraw its Article 50 submission.

The central case however is an exit by 2019, with legacy negotiation going on for several years in an accommodation that sees Britain outside the European Economic Area but with customised access that benefits both sides. Quite where this will leave the home Union with Scotland and Northern Ireland is an open and difficult question.

Eddie Hobbs is a financial advisor www.eddiehobbs.com
It is said that good things come to those who wait. If so, then the European Unions new global strategy on foreign and security policy, more than a decade overdue, must be a very good thing.

Actually, it is exactly what Europe needs. But the timing of its release  in the immediate aftermath of the UKs vote to leave the EU  could relegate it to irrelevance. How the EU moves forward with the strategy will be a bellwether for the future of the European project.

The strategy, developed by Federica Mogherini, high representative of the union for foreign affairs and security policy, does precisely what it should: It provides a coherent guiding vision and a flexible framework for adopting concrete policies. It strikes the ideal balance between realism and ambition, recognising the EUs limitations and pinpointing the improvements that are needed.

The strategys grounded perspective is apparent from the first sentence: We need a stronger Europe.

This signals a major shift from the previous, outdated strategy, issued in 2003, whose much-maligned opening sentence declared: Europe has never been so prosperous, so secure, nor so free.

Specifically, the strategy emphasises the importance of the EUs enduring soft power, in which prospective enlargement plays an important role, while acknowledging that soft power alone is not enough to ensure security.

Moreover, it implicitly establishes the right sequence for the development of the EUs approach to the world, by offering a far more specific vision for addressing regional challenges than it does for global challenges. The message is clear: The EU needs to get its act together within its neighbourhood before it can grasp a broader role.

All of this is well and good, but it will amount to nothing if EU leaders do not join up, as Mogherini puts it, to ensure that the strategy fulfills its potential. And, so far, the outlook does not look particularly promising.

Brexit, which has thrown global markets into turmoil and raised serious questions about the unions future, has eclipsed the release of the security strategy, which barely got a mention in the conclusions of the latest European Council summit.

Making matters worse, instead of inspiring much-needed soul-searching among EU leaders, the British referendum seems to have spurred many to allow national political interests, not to mention personal ambitions, to guide their thinking.

This self-serving impulse was on display in European Parliament president Martin Schulzs fiery comments calling for the UK to invoke Article 50 (the withdrawal procedure) immediately  a move surely intended as a shot across the bow of his political rival, German chancellor Angela Merkel, who had called for deliberation and time.

Martin Schulz

It can also be seen in French president Francois Hollandes tough posturing, which seems motivated by the expectation of a battle with the far-right National Fronts Marine Le Pen in next years presidential election.

And it is abundantly clear in the struggle between the European Council and the European Commission for control over the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, in which the council is concerned primarily about upholding the autonomy of the member states.

This is precisely the kind of short-sightedness that has long undermined the EUs image in the world and, by reinforcing the impression of fecklessness and ineptitude, in the member states as well.

If it continues, Brexit could, as the doomsayers warn, be the EUs downfall. If, instead, EU leaders rise to the challenge that Brexit poses and come together to realise the vision set out in the global strategy, the EU could emerge from this tumultuous period stronger than ever.

In uncertain times, Europe must decide how it will address the existential challenges it faces.

The sensible way forward is to minimise weaknesses by maximising collective strengths. The alternative  for each country to go its own way, as the British have chosen to do  would be reckless. But the most dangerous approach, the one that would bring the most strife and insecurity, would be to continue pretending to be united, while acting independently.

Already, EU leaders have missed an important opportunity. They could have woven the process of defining Europes aspirations, and of drafting a security strategy that reflected them, into broader discussions of what the EU should be, including at the most recent European Council summit. They should not also miss the opportunity presented by the strategy that has been produced.

Such opportunities do not come along every day. Whether the new EU strategy symbolises the start of a new chapter for Europe or a dead letter about a defunct project will depend on whether European leaders can overcome their parochialism and commit to cooperation. The early returns are not promising.

Ana Palacio, a former Spanish foreign minister and former senior vice-president of the World Bank, is a member of the Spanish Council of State and a visiting lecturer at Georgetown University
What is our problem with a woman deciding for herself? If we legalise abortion, the only arbiter of when it is accessed must be the pregnant woman. Any other kind of abortion law is disgraceful, demeaning, unenforceable, and fundamentally dishonest.

I respect any honest argument whether for or against the legalisation of abortion. But I hate the mealy-mouthed dishonesty which has Dail deputies rallying around Mick Wallaces call for legal abortion for pregnant women after they have been examined by two medics who have jointly certified that their babies will not live long outside the womb.

I hate it almost as much as the original ironically named Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill which allows for the termination of an unborn babys life if the pregnant mother says she will otherwise terminate her own life.

Only with that gun to their heads did the TDs of Leinster House feel it allowable that a woman should have the right to end her own pregnancy. Except the gun was plastic and they were holding it to their own heads.

Everyone knew it was a trick to distract our attention from their responsibility to move towards a referendum on our abortion laws.

Todays vote plays the same trick. I keep seeing in front of me the image of a woman in a magicians cabinet on a stage. The magician keeps finding new slots in which to insert his knives but the woman keeps smiling.

She is a woman caught in a desperately unwanted pregnancy and the magicians are the TDs who are trying to get her out of the cabinet. They slice her every which way they can but the last thing they think of is opening the cabinet, when all the time she just needs to be let out. She needs a referendum on the Eighth Amendment and if it is repealed she needs as full and as frank a discussion of new abortion legislation as this reasonably healthy democracy can provide.

I would be in favour of precisely what Leo Varadkar has said he does not favour  abortion on request or demand  and I would make the time limit as short as is practicable. If you are morally opposed to abortion I understand that the time limit doesnt make any difference.

I believe most women invest more in their pregnancies as time moves on and most do not suffer terrible grief over early miscarriage, by which nearly a quarter of pregnancies end. If a woman requests an abortion within this eight- to 10-week period she is unlikely to suffer physical or mental consequences. She knows that and like most she adjusts her moral compass accordingly. Womens moral compass is often different to mens because their experience of life is often different than mens.

An unborn baby depends on a womans body in a way which is not articulated by our Greek-Judaeo-Christian morality, made by men for men. In it, there is a simple distinction between individuals and it is easy to accord them all the same human rights. In a womans body there is no easy distinction between her being and that of her baby, a distinction which grows as the baby grows.

I wish no woman ever felt the need to end her pregnancy but if she really wishes to it is impossible to stop her and stay within the parameters of basic human rights. She will find a way, as women have always found a way since time began.

Attempting to ban abortion wont stop it and will always be subject to the kind of questions Mick Wallace is raising today. The only thing that will reduce the rate is changing the society in which women make these decisions.

What infuriates me about Wallaces bill is the idea that the State would pick and choose the babies which are to have full human rights, that it could put into law that an unborn baby with little chance of much life outside the womb is more abortable than a healthy baby. What infuriates me is that that Mick Wallace, Clare Daly, Shane Ross, Finian McGrath, John Halligan, and others would attempt to be judge and jury on which kind of pregnancies should continue and which shouldnt. And much, much worse, it infuriates me that John Halligan, Sinn Fein, Labour, and others would attempt to be judge and jury on whether a baby resulting from rape or incest should live or die.

Josef Mengele comes to mind, picking and choosing between the good, the bad, and the ugly. Do I think our society is damaged by the fact that most disabled kids get to be born? No. Do I think the UK gains from the fact that 90% of kids diagnosed disabled in the womb are said to be aborted? No.

Do I think the UK, where abortion is legal at 24 weeks, is a jurisdiction in which, in the words of TD Kate OConnell, a civilised and compassionate approach to womens health is par for the course? No. Should any bill be passed by conscientious deputies legalising abortion without a time limit, except where the womans life or health is at risk? No.

By singling out babies which we describe wrongly as incompatible with life for special treatment, we risk going back to how it was 30 years ago when Fiona Cronin was told Andrew, her baby with anencephaly, had died when in fact he was still alive 27 hours later. He was, as she says, rejected and hidden away when all his mother wanted to do was hold him for what little time they had. She wasnt asked and so Andrew lived and died without the comfort of her presence.

Wallaces legislation silences the mothers voice in a different way. It is underpinned by the belief that she should be the last person to make the decision, that we must get that crisis pregnancy off our consciences by externalising the blame.

Mick Wallace

She would have killed herself and the baby, your Honour. The baby was incompatible with life, your Honour.

This is the script we follow, when all the time everybody knows that Mick Wallace and Clare Daly are hoping these terminally ill unborn babies will spring the magicians cabinet for all women who are pregnant and wish they werent.

And, notwithstanding their undoubted sympathy for the women in question, it is basically a political ploy.

And every TD in Leinster House today will make a decision about despairing parents and sick babies to bolster their own political position, whatever it is. No-one will tell the truth.

If a woman requests an abortion within this eight- to 10-week period, she is unlikely to suffer physical or mental consequences
While acknowledging that the report had uncovered many mistakes in the preparation for war, Mr Campbell said its core findings had laid to rest a string of allegations made by Tony Blairs critics, including the claim that the former PM secretly pledged to join the US in military action at a 2002 meeting with president George Bush in Texas.

In a staunch defence of his former boss, Mr Campbell rejected claims that Mr Blair was cavalier about military action, insisting that he did everything he could to prevent war and agonised ceaselessly about its possible consequences.

In a blog released shortly after the publication of the Iraq Inquiry report, Mr Campbell said: That is four inquiries now which have cleared me of wrongdoing with regard to the WMD dossier presented to Parliament in 2002, and I hope that the allegations we have faced for years  of lying and deceit to persuade a reluctant Parliament and country to go to war, or of having an underhand strategy regarding the respected weapons expert David Kelly  are laid to rest.

The report had shown there was no secret deal, there was no lying, there was no deceit, there was no sexing up of the intelligence, said Mr Campbell. What there was was a decision, a set of decisions, which ultimately had to be made by the prime minister.

Mr Campbell said conspiracy theorists continued to claim Mr Blair took Britain to war for oil, or to please Mr Bush or because of a Messiah complex.

But he insisted: I was one of the few people who saw the process of his making the decision close up, virtually round the clock, around the world.

Far from seeing someone hell-bent on war, I saw someone doing all he could to avoid it. Far from seeing someone undermine the UN, I saw him trying his hardest to make it work.

"Far from seeing someone cavalier about the consequences of war, I saw someone who agonised about them, and I know he still does, as do all who were there, part of his team.

Mr Campbell said the world was a better place for the removal of Saddam Hussein from power.

He rejected claims that the Iraq war had led to the rise of the Islamic State terror group.

IS had risen in Iraq, Syria and Libya and become a threat to Europe largely because of the premature departure of international troops from Iraq and a failure by European powers to intervene to prevent the emergency of failed states, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Two Syrian citizens were killed in the Turkish province of Hatay, near the border with Syria, as a result of explosion of an improvised bomb, the Hurriyet newspaper reported July 7.

The explosion occurred when the Syrians were preparing the explosive device, according to the report.

Following the explosion, police found a lot of ammunition in the apartment occupied by the Syrians.

A criminal case was launched and an investigation is underway.

According to the Turkish Office for Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Emergency (AFAD), there are three million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Reaction to the Chilcot Report was swift and angry, with calls for legal and political action against Tony Blair.

Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, said John Chilcots report underlined everything the group had been saying for more than a decade.

She said: We have been saying for years that Blair was disregarding the UN and was in this hideous relationship with George Bush.

Chilcot should not be the end of the matter  it must be the beginning of legal and political action against Blair.

John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace, said: This report confirms what we already knew  that the Blair government led Britain into a disastrous war on a drumbeat of exaggerated threats, guesswork dressed as intelligence, and windy rhetoric.

The formidable challenges humanity is facing today require international co-operation more than ever before.

"We cannot have a healthy environment without peace, and we cannot have peace without a healthy environment. This is why Greenpeace will keep campaigning for both.

Kate Hudson, general secretary of CND, said the report was a damning indictment of the conduct of Mr Blair.

She said: All the big questions about lies and the legality of war have now been answered. It is clear that Blair was a prime minister with very little concept of democracy and little respect for international law or the United Nations.

He seems to have pursued his own path, with the United States, completely outside the normal legal or political process.

Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: We took absolutely no pleasure in being proved right about Iraq a decade ago and we take no pleasure in it now, but those responsible for what was a horrendous crime must be held to account.

The Liberal Democrats opposed the military intervention in 2003 under the leadership of Charles Kennedy. Current leader Tim Farron said: Blair was fixated in joining Bush in going to war in Iraq regardless of the evidence, the legality or the serious potential consequences.

He said Islamic State  also known as Daesh  had taken hold because of the absence of post-conflict planning.

Mr Farron said: Charles Kennedys judgment has been vindicated in every respect.

"I hope those in the Labour and Conservative parties who were so forceful in their criticism of him and the Liberal Democrats at the time are equally forceful in their acknowledgements today that he was right.

He added: I hope Sir John Chilcots findings can in some way provide comfort to the families of the British servicemen and servicewomen who lost their lives, and to the people of Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have lost their lives and a generation has been shaped by this illegal war.

Far from being Bushs passenger, Blair was his co-pilot in taking this catastrophic decision which has destabilised Iraq, provided the hotbed for Daesh and tarnished Britains reputation around the world.

Tory MP James Heappey, who served in the Army in Iraq, tweeted a photo of the inquiry with the caption: So why was I really in Basra?

Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards claimed Labour MPs attempts to unseat anti-war leader Jeremy Corbyn are linked to the report, tweeting: The reason for the Labour coup v Corbyn now clear #Chilcot.

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: Chilcots report is damning for Blair, his cabinet and all those MPs who voted to take this country into an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. Iraqis continue to pay the price for an invasion that took place long before other options for a peaceful resolution were explored.

Senior Labour MP Frank Field, who voted for the war, said: What is now clear is the total incompetence of Tony Blair in launching a war and having no plan for the day after the Iraqi regime was overthrown.

"That gigantic political error resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis, as well as 179 British soldiers.

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen said: Its a tragedy that politicians and their advisers failed to properly assess the human rights consequences of such a massive military operation, including the horrible sectarian violence it helped unleash, and its also a tragedy that the horrors of Abu Ghraib and cases like Baha Mousa all followed.

Hundreds of thousands of people died in Iraq, during the invasion and its extended aftermath, including UK service personnel. Its therefore vital that lessons are learnt after Sir John Chilcot has so comprehensively pointed towards what some of those are.

Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey said: Chilcot confirms what millions of us knew in 2003  the case for war had not been made. It was an unnecessary conflict, launched on the basis of flawed intelligence, secret diplomacy and with no sound legal basis.

It has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and made both the Middle East and the wider world less secure.

Today our thoughts must be with those who lost loved ones, and with the people now living in the wretched insecurity that followed this war, but it is long past time that those responsible were held to account.
Captain Doug Beattie, who was a Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Irish Regiment, said it needs to be recognised that Iraq has suffered terribly.

The 50-year-old from Portadown in County Armagh said the Chilcot report spreads the jam of blame across many people and organisations.
Monsignor Aldo di Cillo Pagotto, 66, the archbishop of Paraiba, resigned under the article of canon law that allows bishops to retire early for grave reasons that make them unfit for office.

Francis appointed an administrator to run the archdiocese until a permanent replacement is found.

In a farewell letter, Monsignor Pagotto admitted he had made mistakes and that he had accepted into the archdioceses priests and seminarians who had committed serious errors. He blamed his own merciful ingenuousness and said he did so because he wanted to give them a second chance.

The pope recently issued new procedures to expel bishops who shield paedophiles, amid an outcry from victims groups that bishops have long escaped punishment for moving abusers around rather than reporting them to police.

The new procedures do not come into effect until September, meaning Monsignor Pagotto was forced out under existing procedures in place at the Vaticans office for bishops.

Italian news agency Ansa said that in 2015 the Vatican sent an envoy to Paraiba to investigate. As a preliminary sanction, Monsignor Pagotto was prohibited from ordaining priests and deacons or welcoming in any priests or seminarians expelled from other dioceses.

At the time of the Vatican intervention, Brazilian media reported on a letter from a parishioner alleging Monsignor Pagotto had had sexual relations with an 18-year-old man, the Zenit Catholic news agency reported.

Zenit said he successfully had the news reports deleted from internet searches.

In his farewell letter, Monsignor Pagotto blasted what he called defamatory news reports that, he said, had distorted and divided the church.
Saddam Hussein was a bad guy, right? ... But you know what he did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good, Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Prior to the US invasion, Iraq was listed by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Hussein suppressed dissent in his country and used poison gas against 5,000 Iraqi Kurds.

Jake Sullivan, a Clinton senior policy adviser, said Trumps praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds.

Sullivan said such comments demonstrate how dangerous he would be as commander-in-chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks.

Trumps foreign policy pronouncements have proved controversial, even within the Republican Party that is poised to nominate him for president in a few weeks.

He has said the United States is too fully engaged around the world and has questioned the role of NATO and said the United States has been taken advantage of by nations benefiting from its security cooperation and troop presence.

Some critics within the Republican party have said his policies suggest an isolationist stance in an increasingly dangerous world.

Sens John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, partners among Republican congressional critics of Obama administration foreign policy, carried out a fact-check on Trumps national security statements earlier this year at a Capitol Hill hearing.

On April 19, when the Army general selected to lead US forces in South Korea testified before the committee, McCain seized the opportunity to undermine Trumps suggestion that the US withdraw its forces from the South because Seoul isnt paying enough to cover the cost of the American military presence.

Isnt it the fact that it costs us less to have troops stationed in Korea than in the United States, given the contribution the Republic of Korea makes? McCain asked Gen Vincent Brooks.

Yes, Brooks said, telling McCain the South Koreans pay half, or $808 million annually, of the US presence there.
House speaker Paul Ryan said Comeys decision defies explanation and leaves many questions unanswered. The oversight and government reform committee called Comey to testify today, and the judiciary panel announced that attorney general Loretta Lynch would appear next week.

The FBI should give us all of their findings, Ryan said, claiming Clinton is competing for commander-in-chief here, so I think theres a whole accounting that needs to happen.

Jason Chaffetz, chair of the committee, said Comey would testify before his panel today. The FBIs recommendation is surprising and confusing, he said.

The fact pattern presented by director Comey makes clear secretary Clinton violated the law. Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable.

Democrats on the committee attacked the decision as political. Republican after Republican praised director Comeys impeccable record of independence  right up until the moment he issued his conclusion, said the committees top Democrat, Elijah Cummings.

The only emergency here is that yet another Republican conspiracy theory is slipping away.

The FBI is supposed to be insulated from partisanship, with directors appointed to serve 10-year terms under legislation passed in 1976 following J Edgar Hoovers extraordinary 48-year tenure. Comey is a Republican first nominated to a senior justice department post by George W Bush and tapped to lead the FBI in 2013 by President Barack Obama.

Comeys declaration that no charges are appropriate against Clinton is drawing a deluge of Republican criticism, even though Comey prefaced it by calling Clinton extremely careless in her handling of highly sensitive information. He also suggested she sent emails with information that was classified at the time, contrary to her previous claims.

What really just mystifies me is the case he makes and then the conclusion he draws, and what bothers me about this is the Clintons really are living above the law. Theyre being held by different set of standards. That is clearly what this looks like, said Ryan.

And this is why were going to have hearings, and this is why I think that Comey should give us all the publicly available information to see how and why they reached these conclusions.
Mr Straw, who was foreign secretary at the time of the 2003 invasion, said difficult decisions were made in good faith, based on the evidence available at the time.

The former Cabinet minister said he did not take at face value the intelligence about Saddam Husseins weapons of mass destruction  which John Chilcot found was flawed  and disagreed with the Iraq inquirys conclusion that diplomatic options had not been exhausted at the time of the invasion.
The UK home secretary is in pole position after getting the votes of half the Tory partys MPs (165) in the first round of the contest on Tuesday, and securing the backing of two rivals.

She is expected to be confirmed today as one of the two contenders chosen by MPs to go forward in a vote of around 150,000 Conservative members to elect a new leader, and prime minister, on September 9.

In a statement ahead of an MPs hustings, Ms May said that Tuesdays vote showed she was the only candidate able to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone.

I have been clear from the start: the party and the country deserve an open, honest, robust debate  and the next leader needs to have won a mandate to lead.

So there should be no deals, no tactical voting, and no coronation.

Ms Mays supporters have dismissed suggestions that some of her backers tactically lent their support to justice secretary Michael Gove on Tuesday in the hope of keeping energy minister and prominent Brexit campaigner Andrea Leadsom off the ballot paper.

Although she enjoys an unassailable lead among MPs, some supporters fear her path to the leadership could be blocked by Eurosceptic activists preference for a candidate, like Ms Leadsom, who actively campaigned for Britain to leave the EU.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox was eliminated from the contest after polling lowest among the five contenders, and offered his backing to Ms May, saying: Experience matters.

Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who quit after coming fourth, said Ms May was the only candidate who could unite our party and form a cohesive and strong government.

Ms Mays dominant first-round performance and Ms Leadsoms strong showing in second place with 66 votes paves the way for an all-woman run-off.

In a move that will put pressure on her rival, Ms May published her tax return, meaning that Ms Leadsom is the only remaining candidate yet to do so.

Her campaign manager, Tim Loughton MP, said it was not an issue and told the BBC she would publish a summary as soon as she gets time away from speaking to colleagues and fighting this campaign.
Sarah Mariuz and Leah Rodgers delivered their babies at 1.18am last Thursday. Rodgers son, Reid Joseph, was born first, on Mountain time in Denver. An hour later, Mariuz delivered her daughter, Samantha Lynne, on Pacific time in La Jolla, California.

The 35-year-old sisters hadnt planned to be pregnant at the same time but ended up with due dates just four days apart.

The sisters and their babies are both doing well.

Peppa topples Disney

England:

The home of Peppa Pig World in Hampshire has beaten Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris in a ranking of Europes best amusement parks.

Paultons Park, which features a section dedicated to the pre-school television character, was number six on the TripAdvisor list.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach was the only other UK entry in the top 10, at number nine. The positions were based on the quantity and quality of reviews for amusement parks over 12 months.

Robbery tit-for-tat

Albania:

Tirana International Airport and the Albanian interior ministry have entered a tit-for-tat fight, blaming each other for a robbery at the airport.

Last week three masked gunmen robbed an armoured car loading 1m belonging to a private bank on to a plane. The robbers illegally entered the take-off area by breaking through the fence surrounding the airport.

Airport spokeswoman Arlinda Causholli said, according to the law, the maintenance of public order and security in the territory the car crossed outside the airport fence is the sole responsibility of state police forces. Saimir Tahiri, the interior minister, said police take care only of the passengers at the terminal, warning that TIAs contract to operate the airport should be reviewed.

Mittens the mascot

England:

A cat has been adopted as the official mascot of a police force after a five-year-old girl wrote to the chief constable asking why they only used dogs.

Mittens, who belongs to Eliza Adamson-Hopper, will now be used as part of Durham Constabularys Mini Police initiative after the youngsters letter hit the headlines.

Eliza received a reply from chief constable Mike Barton, thanking her for the suggestion and saying he would pass the idea on to an inspector. He also included a drawing of his own cat, Joey, on the back of his letter.

Burglars returns to scene

USA:

Someone stole a car from a South Carolina home but later returned it, police said.

The burglar broke into the house in Conway last Wednesday and stole a set of keys for the car, then came back late on Thursday or early on Friday and took the vehicle.

Police are not sure how long the burglar kept the car, but it was returned to the home over the weekend. A surveillance camera captured a picture of the suspect taking the car. No arrests have been made.

Flat-packed flowers

England:

An online florist has been criticised by the advertising regulator after sending a bouquet which arrived flat-packed for the recipient to assemble.

The eFlorist.co.uk homepage featured an image of its Parasol bouquet showing lilies, carnations, roses, and gerberas in a glass vase, with the promise that our expert florist will personally create your bouquet using the finest and freshest pink, lavender, and mauve stems.

An advisory down the page said the image was for illustration purposes only, and may vary, while smaller text said arrangements did not include a vase, flower basket, or container unless otherwise stated.
He relied on flawed intelligence and legal advice to go to war, a seven-year inquiry has concluded.

It criticised Blair on a range of issues, saying the threat posed by Iraqi dictator, Saddam Husseins supposed weapons of mass destruction had been over-hyped and the planning for the aftermath of the war had been inadequate.

Blair said that he had gone to war in good faith, that he still believed it was better to remove Saddam, and that he did not see that action as the cause of terrorism today, in the Middle East or elsewhere.

The only Labour prime minister to win three general elections, Blair was in office for 10 years, until 2007, and was hugely popular in his heyday, but Iraq has tarnished his reputation and legacy.

The inquiry report, about three times the length of the Bible, stopped short of saying the war was illegal, which will disappoint Blairs many critics.

We have, however, concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for military action were far from satisfactory, said John Chilcot, the inquirys chairman.

Blair said the report should exonerate him from accusations that he lied, which have been made by relatives of some of the 179 British soldiers who died in the conflict.

The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies, or deceit, he said.

Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein, I took it in good faith, and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country.

But the soldiers relatives said they would study the report to examine if there was a legal case.

We reserve the right, ourselves, to call specific parties to answer for their actions in the courts, if such a process is found to be viable, said Roger Bacon, whose son died in the war.

The report shed light on what happened between Blair and Bush in the months leading up to the March, 2003 invasion, an interaction that has long been the subject of speculation about secret deals and pledges.

In a memo dated July 28, 2002, eight months before the invasion, Blair told Bush: I will be with you, whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties.

The planning on this, and the strategy, are the toughest yet. This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War.

Chilcot said Blair had sought to influence Bush, offering Britains support while suggesting adjustments to the US position.

But Chilcot said that Blair had over-estimated his ability to influence the US. Chilcots report also said there was no imminent threat from Saddam in March, 2003, and that the subsequent chaos in Iraq should have been foreseen.

By 2009, 150,000 Iraqis, mostly civilians, had died, and more than a million had been displaced.

Britain joined the invasion without exhausting peaceful options and undermined the authority of the United Nations Security Council by doing so, the report said.

It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and they should have been, Chilcot said.

He also said that the Blair governments judgments about the threat posed by Iraqs weapons of mass destruction were presented with unjustified certainty.

No such weapons were discovered after the war.

Chilcot said Blair changed his case for war from focusing on Iraqs alleged vast stocks of illegal weapons to Saddam having the intent to obtain such weapons and being in breach of UN resolutions.

That was not, however, the explanation for military action he had given before the conflict, Chilcot said.

Iraq remains in chaos. Islamic State controls large areas of it and 250 people died on Saturday, in Baghdads worst car bombing since the US-led coalition toppled Saddam. The inquirys purpose was for the British government to learn lessons from the invasion and occupation.

We cannot turn the clock back, but we can ensure that lessons are learned and acted on, Britains prime minister, David Cameron, a Conservative, told parliament.

It is crucial to good decision-making that a prime minister establishes a climate in which its safe for officials, and other experts, to challenge existing policy and question the views of ministers, and the prime minister, without fear or favour.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, told parliament the war was an act of aggression based on a false pretext and it had fuelled terrorism.

Key findings
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Three people were killed in an armed attack on a restaurant in Turkeys Diyarbakir, the Anadolu Agency reported July 7.

Three more people were wounded in the attack. All of the casualties are Turkish nationals.

The report didnt elaborate on the attackers identity.

The Diyarbakir police started searches for the attackers, said Anadolu Agency.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Following the publication of the Chilcot Report, the former prime minister said that the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the hardest, most momentous, most agonising of his 10 years in office.

For that decision I accept full responsibility, without exception, without excuse, he told a news conference, his voice near breaking.

For all of this I express more sorrow, regret and apology than you may ever know or can believe.

Addressing the media in London shortly after the release of the report, Mr Blair said: I recognise the division felt by many in our country over the war, and in particular I feel deeply and sincerely  in a way that no words can properly convey  the grief and suffering of those who lost ones they loved in Iraq, whether members of our armed forces, the armed forces of other nations or Iraqis.

The former prime minister said he would never agree that those who died or were injured in Iraq made their sacrifice in vain.

They fought in the defining global security struggle of the 21st century against the terrorism and violence which the world over destroys lives, he said.

Their sacrifice should always be remembered with thanksgiving and with honour when that struggle is won, as it will be.

Mr Blair said he was aware that some families of the dead cannot and do not accept this is so and that there are those who can never forget or forgive me for having taken this decision and who think that I took it dishonestly.

But he said while the report contained criticisms, it showed there were no lies, parliament and the cabinet were not misled, there was no secret commitment to war, intelligence was not falsified and the decision was made in good faith.

Mr Blair said: The intelligence assessments made at the time of going to war turned out to be wrong, the aftermath turned out to be more hostile, protracted and bloody than we ever imagined. The coalition planned for one set of ground facts and encountered another.

And a nation whose people we wanted to set free and secure from the evil of Saddam became instead victim of sectarian terrorism.

He said he profoundly disagreed with claims Saddams removal had caused the upsurge in terrorism in the Middle East.

He said: Saddam was himself a wellspring of terror, a continuing threat to peace and to his own people.

"If he had been left in power in 2003, then I believe he would have once again threatened world peace and when the Arab revolutions of 2011 began, he would have clung to power with the same deadly consequences that we seen in the carnage in Syria today.

"At least in Iraq, for all its challenges, we have today a government that is elected, is recognised as internationally legitimate and is fighting terrorism with the support of the international community.

He added: The world was  and is  in my judgement a better place without Saddam Hussein.

Mr Blair accepted the report made serious criticisms of the way decisions were taken, adding: I accept full responsibility for these points of criticism, even when I do not fully agree with them.

He insisted he did not commit Britain to war months before the invasion began with his note to US president George W Bush which declared I will be with you, whatever.

There was no rush to war, he said. The inquiry rightly dismisses the conspiracy theory that I pledged Britain unequivocally to military action at Crawford, Texas, in April 2002.

Blair vowed support for Iraq action whatever

Gavin Cordon

Tony Blair privately assured George Bush eight months before the invasion of Iraq that he would be with the US president whatever when it came to dealing with Saddam Hussein, the Chilcot Inquiry has disclosed.

In a six-page memorandum to Mr Bush, marked Secret Personal, Mr Blair argued that toppling the Iraqi dictator was the right thing to do and that the crucial issue was not when, but how.

The document, dated July 28, 2002, is among 29 letters and notes sent by Mr Blair to Mr Bush between 2001 and 2007 to be released by the inquiry.

In it, the British prime minister set out a strategy for presenting Saddam with an ultimatum demanding he admitted United Nations weapons inspectors back into Iraq in the expectation that he would screw up, providing a cause for war.

I will be with you whatever. But this is the moment to assess bluntly the difficulties. The planning on this and the strategy are the toughest yet. This is not Kosovo. This is not Afghanistan. It is not even the Gulf War, he wrote. Mr Blair frankly admitted that he could not be sure of support in Britain for his plan  even among members of his own government  while public opinion elsewhere in the world was likely to be strongly opposed.

If we win quickly, everyone will be our friend. If we dont and they havent been bound in beforehand, recriminations will start fast, he wrote.

He went on: And  and here is my real point  public opinion is public opinion. And opinion in the US is quite simply on a different planet from opinion here in Europe or in the Arab world.

In Britain right now I couldnt be sure of support from Parliament, Party, public or even some of the Cabinet. And this is Britain. In Europe generally, people just dont have the same sense of urgency post 9/11 as people in the US.

Mr Blair acknowledged that there would be reluctance in the US about taking the issue to the UN Security Council, but insisted it was the best way to provide them with a legitimate case for military action.

We dont want to be mucked around by Saddam over this, and the danger is he drags us into negotiation. But we need, as with Afghanistan and the ultimatum to the Taliban, to encapsulate our casus belli in some defining way, he wrote.

This is certainly the simplest. We could, in October, state that he must let the inspectors back in unconditionally and do so now, i.e. set a 7-day deadline.

There would be no negotiation. There would be no new talks with (UN Secretary General Kofi) Annan. It would be take it or leave it.

I know there will be reluctance on this. But it would neutralise opposition around the UN issue. If he did say yes, we continue the build-up and we send teams over and the moment he obstructs, we say: hes back to his games.

Thats it. In any event, he would probably screw it up and not meet the deadline, and if he came forward after the deadline, we would just refuse to deal.

The prime minister emphasised the importance of presenting the evidence about Saddams supposed weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as well as trying to establish a link with al Qaida in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York the previous year  although none was ever found.

If we recapitulate all the WMD evidence; add his attempts to secure nuclear capability; and, as seems possible, add on Al Qaida link, it will be hugely persuasive over here, he wrote.
Burma Ethnic Armed Groups Seek Common Ground: Sources

Signatories and non-signatories of the nationwide ceasefire agreement will meet to prepare for an ethnic summit, where groups will discuss building a federal union.

Signatories and non-signatories of last years nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) will hold a meeting to prepare for an upcoming ethnic summit, where groups will cooperate toward building a federal union, sources said.

The meeting will take place in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on Friday and will include representatives from the Coordination Team (CT)a delegation that represents eight NCA signatoriesand leaders from the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of nine NCA non-signatories.

Khun Myint Tun, chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) told The Irrawaddy that the meeting is in preparation for the upcoming ethnic summit, which is planned for July in Mai Ja Yang, a conflict-torn region in Kachin State, northern Burma.

Ethnic leaders will talk about what we have done thus far in the peace process and how to cooperate in the future regarding our stand on whether or not to sign the NCA, said Khun Myint Tun, whose PNLO signed the NCA.

They will try to find a common objective in order to establish a federal union in our nation, he added.

Representatives of the eight ethnic armed organizations that signed the NCA met with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma Army Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing in late June, and proposed their plan to hold an ethnic summit in Mai Ja Yang.

The ethnic representatives will use the summit to talk about the upcoming Union Peace Conference, which was proposed by the state counselor and is scheduled for late August. Suu Kyi instructed government bodies to include both NCA signatories and non-signatories in the conference. She will meet UNFC leaders in July to hear their recommendations for the peace process.
Burma Ma Ba Tha Leaders Demand Govt Action Against Rangoon Chief Minister

The Buddhist ultra-nationalist group threatens to ignite protests if the govt does not punish Phyo Min Thein for describing Ma Ba Tha as not necessary.

RANGOON  Threatening to ignite nationwide protests, the Buddhist ultra-nationalist group known by the Burmese acronym Ma Ba Tha has called for action to be taken by the countrys leadership against the Rangoon Chief Minister for his criticism of the organization.

Rangoon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein said during a meeting with the Burmese community in Singapore on Sunday that Ma Ba Tha was not necessary in Burma, since the country already has the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committeethe clerical council appointed by the government that oversees monastic discipline.

Upon returning from Singapore on Wednesday, Phyo Min Thein was confronted by a small protest by Ma Ba Tha supporters outside of the Rangoon International Airport. When asked by reporters what he thought of the demonstration, the minister confirmed his previous statement, saying, We do not need Ma Ba Tha.

In response to his comments, senior Ma Ba Tha leaders called an urgent meeting at their Rangoon headquarters on Thursday.

We seriously condemn the Rangoon Chief Ministers intentional attempt to destroy Ma Ba Tha, the group said in a public statement released after the meeting. We will send a request to President U Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to take action against Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein, who said Ma Ba Tha is not necessary.

The organization identified Thursday, July 14, as a deadline for the government reprimand. It also insisted that Ma Ba Tha is a lawful association, claiming that it can be classified as a non-governmental missionary group, while describing the Sangha Maha Nayaka as an authoritative clerical organization.

Wirathu, one of the groups leading monks infamous for engaging in anti-Muslim hate speech, confirmed during a press conference after Thursdays meeting that, if the government fails to take action [against Phyo Min Thein], we will instruct our members across the country to stage a nationwide protest.

When asked by The Irrawaddy to comment on Phyo Min Theins criticism, Wirathu said he was demanding an investigation into who is backing the Rangoon regional leader.

While other international monks associations from foreign countries have paid us a lot of respect and are even proud of our Ma Ba Tha, why is this Buddhist chief minister saying that the country does not need Ma Ba Tha? he asked.

The nationalist monk also emphasized Ma Ba Thas importance by referring to it as an organization that fights for rights for our people and that addresses problems created when other religions insult [the people] or violate their rights.

Since it was founded in 2014, the group has garnered international notoriety for its hardline anti-Muslim stance, which frequently spills into hate speech. It boasts multiple branches across Burma.

In 2015, Ma Ba Tha successfully lobbied for the passing of four laws imposing restrictions on religious conversion, polygamy, interfaith marriage and childbirth. Rights groups have condemned these Protection of Race and Religion measures as discriminating against both women and religious minorities.

Additional reporting by Kyaw Phyo Tha.
Burma Police Raid Elephant Poaching Ring in Irrawaddy Division

Authorities apprehend a member of an elephant poaching ring, along with guns, hides and tusks, in the Myittaya forest reserve, while three others escaped.

Authorities apprehended a member of an elephant poaching ring on Wednesday near Bhamo Creek in Irrawaddy Divisions Myittaya forest reserve while three other members managed to escape.

We raided the poaching ring at night while they were asleep, after they had heated the elephant meat [to preserve it]. Police tried to grab their guns because they were loaded. But, they woke up and three of them got away amid gunfire. A forest police officer grabbed the other one, said Ngapudaw Township ranger Win Zaw, who took part in the raid.

Acting on a tip from locals, forest police force second lieutenant Hein Zaw Tun, Ngapudaw sub-township police station commander lieutenant Kyaw Zin Aung, ranger Win Zaw and a village administrator teamed up and followed the poaching ring for three days in the forest before finally conducting the raid on Wednesday night.

The poacher, who is from Ngaphe Township, was arrested with two percussion lock firearms, gunpowder, poison, elephant hides, elephant meat and two tusks, according to the Ngapudaw Forestry Department.

The three escapees were also from Ngaphe Township and police are still after them, said Win Zaw.

Poaching rings usually include four to five people with at least two to three guns. They kill elephants and transport the tusks, hide and meat to Mandalay, he added.

The Forestry Department will prosecute the arrested poacher under laws protecting wildlife and natural areas.

A local police station in Pathein Township also raided a five-member poaching ring from Ngaphe Township in January. Police arrested two members, but three othersincluding the ringleaderescaped.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
Burma Student Charged For Sending Violent Text Message

A young male university student has been charged for sending a text message with violent content to a young woman, which he claims was accidental.

RANGOON  A 17-year-old male private university student has been charged by Rangoon police under section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for sending an SMS text message with violent content to a young woman on Saturday.

At a Wednesday press conference, Rangoon Division chief of police Col Win Naing said that the offending student, Min Khant Maung Maung, had testified to the police while being placed under custody on Monday that he had accidentally sent the message to the young woman.

The student explained to the police that he was a keen computer game enthusiast who likes to joke with his gaming colleagues over SMS. On this particular instance, he mistyped the recipients phone number before sending one such joke.

Police Major Hla Wai read the offending message at the press conference: Got 80 AK-47 assault rifles and 20 C-4 bombs. Will attack Junction Square car park and Myanmar Plaza [both major Rangoon shopping complexes] around 2 p.m. on July 10. When the mission is completed, come to withdraw the money, Yakuzi.

The young woman who received this message, Theingi Kyaw of Rangoons Botahtaung Township, informed the township police the same day.

The Rangoon Police chief said, Honestly, we didnt want to take action against him.

He admitted that the police were initially shocked by the message and immediately tracked down the number of the 17-year-old student who had sent it.

He said they decided to press charges against the young man to make an example to the public not to communicate such bad jokeswhich, if disseminated widely, could cause instability in society.

Since last month, the Rangoon police have beefed up their street presence in relative crime hotspots such as Hlaing Tharyar, South Dagon, Thanlyin and Kamayut townships, in a special drive to reduce murder, rape and violent crime.

The drive is officially being conducted with the collaboration with local residentsunder the norms of community policingand the police have claimed a 60 percent reduction in crime compared to previous months.
Burma US Ambassador Meets ANP and Muslim Community in Sittwe

The American Ambassador discusses party politics with the ANP and citizenship verification with stateless Muslims on his first trip to Arakan State.

RANGOON  United States Ambassador Scot Marciel made his first trip to Arakan State on Wednesday. Talks were held in the state capital Sittwe with the Arakan National Party (ANP) and with stateless residents of a segregated Muslim ward, Aung Mingalar.

Tun Aung Kyaw, secretary of the ANPwhich represents the interests of the Buddhist majority in Arakan Statetold The Irrawaddy that they received the ambassador at their head office in Sittwe.

Scot Marciel, who started his post as US Ambassador to Burma in April, reportedly asked ANP leaders about their relationship with the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and the ANPs plans for developing Arakan State.

Tun Aung Kyaw said they were unable to respond to the latter, since we have no power to carry out development in the state.

This was a pointed reference to their marginalization by the NLD, which controls the Arakan State government and appointed the chief minister from within their own ranksangering the ANP, which has the largest plurality of seats in the state parliament, and which has since vowed to act in opposition to the NLD.

The ANP have also been excluded from a high level committee on Arakan State, chaired by Suu Kyi and featuring the NLD chief minister alongside various Union ministers.

During the meeting, the ANP secretary said his party would collaborate with the NLD on any project that could deliver positive impacts for the Arakanese. However, they would respond strongly if the NLD were to do things unacceptable for the Arakanese.

Such unacceptable actions may include granting citizenship to large numbers of stateless Rohingya Muslims. The ANP have been adamant that most of those who self-identify as Rohingya are illegal Bengali migrants who do not belong in the state.

The ANP have previously insisted that any granting of citizenship is carried out in strict adherence to the 1982 Citizenship Law, which precludes citizenship for most Rohingya as an unrecognized ethnic group in Burma.

Scot Marciel then proceeded to Aung Mingalar, the only Muslim enclave remaining in Sittwe after anti-Muslim riots in 2012. It functions effectively as an internment camp, with a heavily armed police presence and restricted access in and out.

Zaw Zaw, an Aung Mingalar resident who was present at the meeting, said the ambassador had come to see the situation on the ground for himself.

Muslim community leaders complained to the ambassador that, contrary to their expectations, their condition had not changed significantly under the new NLD government. Particularly, they wished to regain freedom of movement, so as to access medical care and education and to participate in trading, as was the case before the 2012 riots.

Our first priority is to get back [to a] normal situation, Zaw Zaw told The Irrawaddy after the meeting.

He said that, during the 30-minute meeting, they discussed the governments new scheme of issuing National Verification Cards (NVCs) to stateless Muslims, as a precursor to being scrutinized for citizenship eligibility under the 1982 Citizenship Law.

The scheme has been met with suspicion by Muslim communities in some areas of the state, in part because the new cards bear no information on the religion and ethnicity of the bearer.

Prior to his trip to Arakan State, the ambassador had met in Naypyidaw with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, who branded the NVC scheme a positive first step for stateless Muslims aspiring to Burmese citizenship.

However, according to Zaw Zaw, the residents of Aung Mingalar expressed distrust in the process. They considered it an unnecessarily convoluted and uncertain undertaking for those families who had lived in Arakan State over multiple generations.

According to Zaw Zaw, the ambassador promised to relay their concerns personally to Suu Kyi, although he did not specify when he would do so.

Some freelance journalists have posted on Facebook that the meeting in Aung Mingalar was closed to outsiders and they had been unable to gain information about it.

Aung Mingalar resident Zaw Zaw commented on the relatively light security presence during the meeting, and the absence of state-level ministersin direct contrast to the visit by Yanghee Lee, United Nations rapporteur for human rights in Burma, on June 23.

Its quite strange. Nobody followed him, he said.

At the conclusion of her visit in Burma, Yanghee Lee publicly criticized the police in Arakan State for their intrusive conduct, which included photographing and questioning local interlocutors before and after her meetings with them.

The US ambassador also met with the speaker of the Arakan State Parliament San Kyaw Hla along with other state government officials. The ambassador declared the US governments intention of supporting agricultural development in Arakan State, although he reportedly did not go into the specifics of such engagement.

Throughout the various meetings held in Sittwe, the ambassador avoided using either of the contentious terms Bengali or Rohingya. In April, Burmese ultra-nationalists protested outside the US Embassy in Rangoon against the Embassys use of the term Rohingya in a public expression of condolence over deaths in a recent boat accident.

According to a subsequent Facebook post from the US Embassy, the ambassador also hosted a dinner for trade officials in Arakan State, to discuss U.S. assistance efforts and how business and trade can improve the lives of communities in Arakan State.
Business FMI Stock Prices Drop

The price of First Myanmar Investment shares drops 16 percent in the Yangon Stock Exchange, putting the companys stock at its lowest value yet.

RANGOON  Four months after the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) began trading First Myanmar Investment (FMI) shares, the price has suffered a drop of 16 percent, putting the companys stock at its lowest value yet.

On Thursday, share prices for FMI, one of Burmas largest public companies, fell to 21,000 kyats (US$18), a decline from 25,000 kyats (more than $21) in June.

FMI share prices are declining this month more than last month, an official from the YSX told The Irrawaddy. The company opened trading on March 25 at 26,000 kyats per share, with stock peaking at 41,000 kyats ($35) one month later. Shares later stabilized at around 30,000 kyats (nearly $26).

According to the FMIs official website, the FMIs trade volume is 2,371 shares, reaching a value of more than 47,790,000 kyats (nearly $41,000). The market value of outstanding shares was listed at just over 493.8 billion kyats (nearly $423 million) on Thursday.

Tun Tun, chief financial officer of FMI, told the local 7 Day Daily newspaper on Wednesday that one explanation for falling prices could be the international impact of the recent Brexit vote in the United Kingdoma referendum held in late June in which the British public voted to leave the European Union (EU).

Like other international markets, here we are directly affected by Britain, he told the Burmese media outlet.

However, local economist Aung Ko Ko disputed this claim, pointing out that such external circumstances would not likely affect a local stock exchange market in Burma, particularly since the country does not currently have strong economic ties to Britain.

If some [Burmese] companies have relationships with EU companies, it might have some impact. In my view, the there may be other reasons why the FMIs prices have declined, Aung Ko Ko said.

One explanation, he said, could be that the governmentthe market regulatoris limiting the minimum and maximum number of shares to be traded.

If the regulator has not fixed the minimum and maximum prices for those listed companies, the market will become more dynamic and more people will be interested in investing here, like Thailand, Aung Ko Ko explained, adding that Burmas stock market is quiet in comparison to that of its neighbors.
Whose Land is it Anyway?

The governments focus on resolving land disputes is welcome, but justice requires a careful approach sensitive to the complexities on the ground.

The farmers of Kyon Dayel Village were ecstatic to read in the newspaper that Ayer Shwe Wah was releasing 40,000 acres of land that the company had acquired under the military governments 1990s Lowland Development Project.

The farmers remember distinctly the day in 1999 when big machines arrived in their fields and company representatives told them the land now belonged to the project.

But, after 15 years of waiting, the farmers were dismayed to learn that the land would not be returned to them; instead, the tenant farmers who had leased the land from Ayer Shwe Wah since 1999 had applied to register this released land themselves.

According to the now defunct Parliamentary Land Investigation Committee, the military, government ministries, and private companies have released or given back over 400,000 acres to the State since 2013. This is only a fraction of the 2 million acres that the Farmers Affairs Committee in the Upper House of Parliament believes could be considered confiscated.

In reality, this returned land often doesnt reach the individuals from whom it was initially taken.

At least 25 percent of land grab or local land dispute cases handled by the network of paralegals working with Namatia legal empowerment organization focused on land rights in Burmainvolved farmers trying to access and restore their rights over land that had been released.

Rather than being fully resolved by the formal government mechanisms, historic land disputes between government ministries, the military, or companies and farmers are now transforming into local inter-communal conflicts.

A report to be released next week by Namati highlights several reasons why this happens.

Firstly, a complex history of land-related laws in Burma contributed to the development of an unofficial shadow system of land tenure and possession in the country; and laws and mechanisms for resolving land disputes remain opaque.

In many instances, official records do not reflect actual land use, limiting the evidence available for farmers to reclaim their land.

In the case of many of the Kyon Dayel farmers, land that their families had been farming for over 50 years at the time of confiscation still appears on official maps as grazing land. By the letter of the law, this would make those farmers ineligible for compensation or restitution.

Second, there is no legal definition of original farmer or guidance on how to resolve cases when there are competing claims.

Are the Kyon Dayel farmers original farmers, even though they were farming grazing land? Should the tenant farmers who benefitted frombut were not complicit inthe land confiscation be stripped of any rights to the land that has formed the basis of their livelihoods for the past 15 years?

Thirdly, farmers reclaiming seized land must present two key pieces of evidence that are difficult for many to obtain. These are: proof in the form of tax receipts or eyewitness testimony that they previously possessed the land; and specific maps and coordinates that demonstrate that the same plot of land has been released.

Such maps and coordinates are not publicly available; accessing them remains a function of whom you know. This creates opportunities for those with powerful connections to take advantage of the system.

Finally, the return of land at the local level is managed through the General Administration Department (GAD). This is where the complexities around the issue come into focus.

Evidence suggests that the military was involved directly, or indirectly through family connections, in over 50 percent of land grab cases handled by paralegals working with Namati. The militarys oversight of the GAD, via the Ministry of Home Affairs, creates a conflict of interest in the resolution of these cases.

Since January, the National League for Democracywhich now heads the governmenthas prioritized the resolution of land grab cases and to that end established the Central Committee on Confiscated Farmlands and Other Lands, tasked with monitoring state and divisional governments handling of land disputes and the return of seized land.

On July 1, Naypyidaw Council chairman Myo Aung announced the central committees aim of settling all land grab disputes within six months.

This high-level attention is great news for the country and thousands of farmers whose land was taken without due process or compensation. But, the committee would do well to take a measured approach to the resolution of these cases.

Putting in place guidelines and transparent mechanisms that are truly responsive to the complexity of these cases on the ground, and which the average citizen can understand, is important to ensuring that land disputes do not morph into inter-communal conflicts.

Burma has one shot at providing restorative justice to these farmers: getting it right should take precedent over clearing the docket quickly.

Caitlin Pierce is the Myanmar Policy Advisor for Namati, a legal empowerment organization focused on land rights in Burma.
Juno probe arrives in Jupiter today, with a successful orbital insertion around the gas giant. (Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA has achieved a breakthrough, yet again, and this time it involves the most giant planet in the solar system - Jupiter. The space agency has confirmed that it has received signals suggesting that its spacecraft, Juno, has started orbiting Jupiter.



The American space agency has finally received signals from 540 million miles across the solar system, according to CNN. The Juno team at NASA cheered and hugs each other as "Welcome to Jupiter" flashed on screens in the mission control center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California.



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The entry of the Juno spacecraft into the orbit of Juno was indeed a tricky one. The spacecraft had to slow itself down to a speed that allows it to be pulled into the orbit. This was ultimately achieved when the spacecraft fired its main engine for 35 minutes straight while hitting the brakes to slow it by 1,212 miles per hour.



Juno was launched almost five years ago under a mission that aimed to study the evolution and composition of the giant gaseous planet. It is the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter after Gallileo, which was purposely crashed in 2003 to protect its discovery about the presence of a possible ocean beneath Jupiter's moon Europa.



A preliminary check conducted by researchers at the space station suggests that the spacecraft is doing fine. The instruments aboard spacecraft were turned off by the team on Earth before the execution of the tricky orbit maneuver.



The aim of the mission involving Juno spacecraft this time is to understand how the solar system initially formed, according to USA Today. Researchers believe that Jupiter was the first planet that formed within the solar system and hence, it could hold clues to how the entire system formed in the first place.



Throughout the mission, Juno will have to take a dip beneath the radiation belts to collect data. Since that involves a lot of risks and would expose the spacecraft to enough radiation, Juno will take a dip only once in every two weeks and the duration of the dip would be restricted to only a few hours.



The research team behind the mission has equipped the spacecraft with a radiation-shielded titanium vault that possesses a majority of equipment aboard Juno. This is a step to minimize exposure.



The following is a real time simulation of the NASA'a Juno mission:






Thursday, July 7th, 2016 (10:50 am) - Score 1,347

Mobile operator Vodafone has today launched its new Community Indoor Sure Signal (CISS) project, which will use fixed line broadband connections to help deliver 3G mobile coverage to 100 rural community hubs (pubs, village halls etc.) where signal quality is usually weak or non-existent.

The somewhat stop-gap solution appears to build off Vodafones existing Rural Open Sure Signal (Femtocell) technology, which is being used to expand 3G network coverage across almost 100 isolated rural communities. But the ROSS programme still struggles with indoor coverage and thats where the new scheme comes into play.

Under the CISS programme a community hub, such as a village pub, will be asked to plug one of Vodafones femtocell based Sure Signal+ (v2.2) devices into their fixed line broadband router and this then uses the broadband service in order to help relay a 3G mobile signal around the property. Vodafone has been selling this kit to customers for years, so its not a new idea.

Apparently a successful pilot has already taken place at The Bear and Ragged Staff pub in Bransford, near Worcester, and Vodafone is now calling for other rural community hubs with poor mobile reception to apply for the system by 1st September 2016. After this the operator intends to announce the first selected communities during autumn 2016.

Jorge Fernandes, Vodafone UK Chief Technology Officer, said: Reliable mobile coverage and mobile internet are vital to the economic and social well-being of rural communities. By installing our units, we can ensure that rural hotspots continue to play an important role in rural community life.

Lynda Williams, The Bear and Ragged Staff, said: We are absolutely delighted with our Vodafone Sure Signal+ unit which is providing our business with excellent Vodafone mobile coverage. Being located in a rural area, this is something we have struggled with but Vodafone have provided us with a solution. It was extremely easy to install and within minutes we were connected to the world!

However there is a catch, which is that the successful applicants will need to supply an unlimited fixed line broadband connection that can deliver download speeds of at least 4Mbps and uploads of 2Mbps (easier said than done for some of the most remote communities). Obviously this will suck some of your connection speed, although for many it might be a price worth paying.

Each indoor Sure Signal device should provide up to 50 metres of 3G coverage (note: building materials, such as thick walls, can impact this) and they make use of the 2100MHz band for the signal itself.

Naturally only Vodafone customers will be able to use the 3G coverage provided by Open Sure Signal and the operator hints that it might add support for 4G in the future, but this has yet to be confirmed and fixed lines would probably need to be even faster to support it.
A Long March 2F rocket lifts off on Sept. 29, 2011, in Jiuquan, Gansu Province of China. A more powerful version of the rocket, the Long March-7, successfully launched earlier this week. (Photo : Getty Images)

China is slowly but surely making progress in terms of space exploration, something that the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) should be worried about.



The Asian giant is taking baby steps toward its ultimate goal of occupying space outside the Earth but NASA is just shrugging it off.



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While the Chinese rocket launch on Saturday was barely a huge leap, it definitely confirms that the country is bent on reaching its long-term goal even if it takes time.



Baby Steps



On Saturday, thousands of tourists witnessed the launch of the Long March-7 rocket from the new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center.



A number of news outlets caught word of the launch but shrugged it off thinking that while it was the first time that such an event is made public in China, it definitely is not something that has not been done before.



However, Ars Technica believes that the debut of the Long March-7 is a way of putting China "firmly staked its position as one of the world's great space-faring nations."



According to the outlet, the rocket is just one among a fleet of Long March rockets that "will allow China to build and service a new space station."



Such space station, says Ars Technica, will be up and running as soon as 2022 and that Saturday's launch was the delivery of cargo resupply vehicles to the space station.



NASA Refuses to Work with China



Despite this, NASA still remains unperturbed and maintains that China would not be allowed anywhere near the International Space Station (ISS).



A report from Tech Insider featured the main reason why NASA cannot work with its Chinese counterpart: a bill passed in 2011 that "expressly forbids NASA from working with China" due to reported high risk of espionage.



According to the CMSA Deputy Director General Wu Ping, the space American agency should rethink this, especially now that China is gradually seeing the fruits of its efforts toward the ultimate goal of space exploration.



"Space exploration is the common dream and wish of humankind," Wu said in a press statement." We believe that the implementation of the agreements will definitely promote international cooperation on space exploration and create opportunities for United Nations Member States, particularly developing countries, to take part in, and benefit from, the utilization of China's space station."



Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao, who also serves as the commander of the ISS, echoes Wu's remarks, saying that if the Americans do not do anything, the country will lost its "leadership in human spaceflight."






For years the world has heard warnings of climate change. In fact, many would attest to odd weather patterns and hotter-than-hot summers as of late.

However, a look at the Antarctic Sea over the past decade shows that the levels of sea ice have in fact risen. Logically, this would mean that the temperature in that area has lowered. However, scientists have debunked this thinking by explaining natural climate fluctuations.

Nature World News reports that a study has been published explaining this anomaly. The study itself touches on the phase change of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation, which is the long-term fluctuation of the Pacific Ocean. According to the study, the change in phase of the IPO will likely cause a chain reaction of climate impact. This then affects the sea ice formation in the Antarctic region.

A negative phase in the IPO reflects temperatures that are cooler than average. The Antarctic region has experienced this since the change in phase back in 1999. And it is because of this negative phase that the level of sea ice has increased by almost five times the average amount.

According to the lead author of the study, Gerald Meehl, people need to look at the combination of naturally occurring variability as well as the planet's response to increasing greenhouse gases. "It's never all one or the other, but the combination that is important to understand."

Science Daily adds that the negative phase of the IPO, which has led the Pacific to be cooler than average, has changed tropical precipitation. As a result, there have been drastic changes in winds, which extend all the way to Antarctica.

The ultimate output is the Amudsen Sea Low, which is the deepening of a low-pressure system off the coast of Antarctica. Sea ice is blown north from the winds generated on the western side of the system. This ice that is blown north has resulted in the expansion of sea ice coverage.

Co-author of the study, Cecilia Bitz of the University of Washington summarizes the study as follows: "Global warming causes only weak Antarctic sea ice loss, which is why the IPO can have such a striking effect in the Antarctic. There is no comparable natural variability in the Arctic that competes with global warming.


The brand new Android Nougat is expected to be released soon. While the previous idea was that the system would debut in the upcoming Nexus handset, it seems that Google has other plans.

According to Pocket Lint, Google will be releasing its very first set of Android Wear devices in the form of smartwatches. These new gadgets will reportedly fall under Google's Nexus line, following its line of successful Nexus phones and player.

However, Google will stay away from its traditional route and will manufacture the device without the help of a partner. This will be very interesting since Google has thus far looked outside of the company in order to match their software with the proper hardware.

Two devices are expected to come out, each differing greatly from the other in order to suit specific needs. The first is currently nicknamed Angelfish and the other is called Swordfish.

As Android Police reports, Angelfish will be the larger of the two. The design has visible lugs with a housing shape that curves where the body meets the band. It has three buttons on the right edge, with the middle crown button notably larger than the other two. The device is expected to come with GPS, LTE and a heart-rate monitor.

Angelfish is relatively thick at about 14mm in cross section. In diameter, it spans 43.5mm. It is expected to come in a matte dark gray finish. All in all, it strikes a balance between sporty and subdued.

The other, codenamed Swordfish, will be the smaller and lighter option. It has a gentle and rounded shape, with a single button on the right edge of the body. It is expected to be less advanced than the Angelfish, as it will not have GPS or LTE installed.

The body diameter is 42mm and just 10.6mm thick. The Swordfish is expected to come in three colors: silver, titanium and rose gold.


The search giant Google has announced on Wednesday, June 6, that it has acquired the French startup Moodstocks.

According to Tech Crunch, Moodstocks is an image recognition startup based in Paris. The company develops machine learning based technology for image recognition. Its software apps are used by developers to create APIs for smartphones.

The acquisition has been announced on a Google blog. On the other side, on Moodstocks company's homepage is announced that the API and SDK developed by the company will be discontinued soon. As a division within Google, Moodstocks will still remain focused on building great image recognition tools.

The two companies did not disclose the terms of the deal and it is unknown how much Google has paid for Moodstocks. The French startup has been launched back in 2008, being co-founded by Denis Brule and Cedric Deltheil. The company has been working on improving image recognition via mobile devices.

Google doesn't specify whether it will be incorporating the Moodstocks tech solely in its own consumer services or whether it will be launching its own SDK for developers in order to incorporate more imaging services into apps. Up to date it is only known that Google plans to bring Moodstocks' team and the company's tech into its France based R&D operation.

Vincent Simonet who heads up Google's R&D center in France said in a short statement that Google sees Moodstocks' work contributing to better image searches. The service is currently already offered by Google, but thanks to Moodstocks' knowledge base it will now going to be improved.

It is unknown at the moment whether Moodstocks' image recognition apps will remain focused on smartphones or they will find applications elsewhere. Moodstocks' machine learning algorithms could also be applied in other areas, such as in Google's searches or in an existing app like Photos. According to Phandroid, with Google's interest in artificial intelligence, it is likely that their latest acquisition could eventually help bolster Google services.
While iOS 9.3.3 is still in its developer beta phase, it is rumored that Pangu might soon release iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak.

Many fans of iOS jailbreaking had hoped to see an iOS 9.3.2 or iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak released before WWDC 2016. Since the Apple event is over, now some are hoping that a iOS jailbreak release comes out before iOS 10 is launched.

According to GameNGuide, Pangu revealed that is shifted its attention to iOS 9.3.3 even if to this date older version like iOS 9.3.2 have yet to be given a proper jailbreak launch. Reporter Stephen Chang announced on his personal blog, that the Pangu team's update is hinting that a 9.3.3 jailbreak is coming soon.

During this year's Mobile Security Conference (MOSEC), in Shanghai, China, Pangu team mostly discussed the increasing level of security implemented by Apple with their newest builds of iOS. Pangu revealed at end of their presentation that they already had Cydia running on the beta version of iOS 10.

According to Christian Today, this could mean Pangu is set to launch the jailbreak for iOS 9.3.3 within the next few weeks. But given that the jailbreak for iOS 9.1 was only released this past March, this may take more time than expected.

Vangelis, who is a member of one of the co-host teams of the event, the POC team, has also posted a message on Twitter revealing that Pangu have shown progress with iOS 9.3.2 jailbreak. It is possible that this means Pangu will be able to launch the iOS 9.3.2 and iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak soon, since it has only very few issues left to deal with.

According to Forbes, an iOS 9.3.2 jailbreak would be coming out this week. At the event held by Pangu last July 1, the team showed off an iOS 9.3.2 jailbreak demo. This also offers fans a glimps of a possible jailbreak of iOS 9.3.3. According to Techno Buffalo, the attention may have just shifted to the higher version of Apple's famed operating system.
Chinas National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) changes GDP calculations to include research and development expenses. (Photo : Getty Images)

China tweaks the computation of the countrys gross domestic product to include expenses made for research and development, bringing its 2015 GDP to around $130 billion.



According to the South China Morning Post, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed the recalculation on Tuesday.



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The bureau said the changes were necessary in order to "reflect the contribution to growth from innovation." The new calculations were also made in order to reach the international standards recommended by the United Nations.



However, Channel News Asia reports that the constant changes to the computation bring to light doubts in the credibility of the statistics presented by the bureau.



The outlet said that this was the second time in a single year that the country tweaked calculations of its GDP, with growth rates now raised to 7.9 and 7.8 percent in 2012 and 2013 from the 7.7 percent from the previous calculation.



"Questions have repeatedly been raised about the accuracy of official Chinese economic statistics, which critics say can be subject to political manipulation. Even Premier Li Keqiang has reportedly expressed doubts about the data," the outlet noted.



Channel News Asia also cited a statement from International Monetary Fund spokesperson Gerry Rice, who appealed for better data quality from the country.



"It's important that China does continue to improve its data quality to reflect the fast-changing structure of its economy," he was quoted as saying in Sept. 2015.



Some researchers also do not believe the figures presented. Among them is Fathom Consulting, a research company based in London who said that the growth rate should only be at 2.4 percent.



In China's defense, Tim Condon of the Singapore-based ING research firm said that doubts will always be present, especially if the estimates are not persuasive or comprehensive enough.



"There are people out there who simply don't believe the economy is growing at 6 or 7 percent. . . . People like that will never be persuaded," Condon added.


To thrive, not just survive, SMEs need access to the same tools that are driving the top end of town. No business  not even a corner store  is too small to embrace big data and analytics.

Online accounting provider for small to medium business Xero has partnered with Microsoft to release content pack integration for Microsoft Power BI. It will allow its 700,000+ users to analyse their data, surfacing insights so they can make smart and informed decisions.

Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool, used to analyse data and share insights. Its perfectly suited for any business, or accountants and bookkeepers to monitor business performance and get answers quickly, with rich analytics available on every device.

Xeros general manager for global strategic partnerships, James Maiocco, says, Business tools today are smarter and more connected than ever and finally available to the small business sector. Were delighted to integrate further with Microsoft Power BI to give our users enterprise-ready tools to analyse information from Xero to make smart, informed decisions.

The Xero content pack offers enterprise-level business intelligence to small business with 25 key business metrics in a rich visualisation environment. This interoperation serves up key performance indicators like relevant revenue vs expenses, profit loss trend, debtor days and return on investment in beautiful interactive dashboards surfacing new insights in new ways.

The collaboration between Xero and Power BI empowers small businesses and their advisors to unleash the power of big data to drill down into a specific business metric like cash position and automatically generate Quick Insights in seconds.

Natural language queries and mobile apps make developing new insights easy and accessible, making Xeros data actionable when small businesses need it, anywhere, anytime.

Integrations with Power BI and Office 365 extend Xeros reach and usability and allow small businesses to extend their Microsoft investments to easily view their Xero data alongside other critical business data, including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, MailChimp, Insightly, Google Analytics, Zendesk and Stripe.

Sequel VCFO chief executive David Boyar says, Imagine that you can show your client the performance of their entire business in a single dashboard. That is proper game changing. Thats why the Xero integration is so important because finance data holds it all together and has the accountability.

Xero is also integrated with Microsofts Office 365 suite and has a range of third-party apps and templates to expand this to inventory, invoicing, time and expense tracking and much more.
Serko, a leader in the Australian and New Zealand online small to medium business travel space, has previously announced its partnership with Xero, a leading online cloud accounting provider, to integrate its travel system with Xeros expense management.

The app, targeted at SMEs with less than 150 employees, offers a simplified version of the same well-established platform used by large corporations. It will launch on 25 July and is expected to have a huge following from Xeros half a million users.

Unlike any existing online travel booking system, Serkos online functionality will be complemented by expert offline support from Helloworld for business, corporate traveller, and Flight Centre business travel. These will offer travel expert services on an on-demand basis which means travellers only have to pay if and when they need their services.

Darrin Grafton, Serko chief executive, understands the challenges that small to medium businesses face when it comes to booking and managing business travel, and not only wants to give them access to the same technology and travel deals, but also the same customer service as their larger counterparts.

If you have a problem when youre away on business, you need to be able to speak to someone that knows what theyre talking about, and the services of Helloworld for business and Flight Centre will be an important asset in ensuring serko.travel customers can book and manage their travel in the most efficient way possible.

The support from Flight Centre and Helloworld for business will complement partnerships with some of the biggest travel brands in the region, including Expedia, Wotif, Booking.com, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and AVIS, who provide all the content, Grafton said.

Research undertaken by TNS Research in New Zealand confirmed that 46% of the one million+ SMEs in NZ and Australia travel regularly for work. These SMEs book an average of 30 trips per year, with approximately six hours of an owner operator or employees time being spent on booking and managing each travel itinerary.

The research highlights that there are two main booking methods used by SMEs today. Approximately 33% of SMEs regularly book via a travel agent and 66% book directly on supplier or aggregator websites, which tends to be a time-consuming and inefficient process, considering that between 25% and 40% of business trips change at least once.
If you know what Microsoft Dynamics 365 is  essentially cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) for both small to medium enterprises and large enterprises  you may be interested in its new direction.

First, Dynamics can be almost anything you want it to be  useful in finance, HR, supply chain, project management, customer relationships, customer experience (CX) and business intelligence, big data, and analytics. It is used more as a platform on which specialists can build whole of company applications.

That is why its announcement of Dynamics 365 which unifies Microsofts CRM and ERP cloud solutions into one cloud service with new purpose-built apps to help manage specific business functions, including financials, field service, sales, operations, marketing, project service automation and customer service and its AppSource store  allowing business users to find and try out more than 200 line-of-business, software-as-a-service apps, add-ins, and content packs from Microsoft and its partners  is so important to users.

It also fires a very loud warning shot over the bow of Salesforce, Oracle, SAP, Adobe, and other CRM/ERP vendors. If Microsoft can deliver the depth of product they claim, both on and off premises, then it will be a leader in this space.

Borrowing a word from HPE  composable  Takeshi Numoto, corporate vice-president, Microsoft cloud and enterprise said, Were focused on having business interactions be composable in a rich way.

Composable is more than a buzz word although it is more used in hardware than a software sense. In the later, it essentially means removing requirements for hard coded monolithic software and relies on using numerous separate apps and APIs to do the work. This gives enormous flexibility for updating and changing, and it is ideally suited to an agile, DevOps, cloud or hybrid environment. It is perhaps the biggest programming revolution since OOP (object oriented programming) and recognises the need for APIs to connect with apps.

To put this into Dynamics perspective, it allows integration with Office 365, Cortana, Power BI, Bing, IoT, and a huge number of apps. The standardisation and consistency of composable schema enable partners to build innovative applications and to automate business processes spanning the entire business process spectrum with confidence their solutions can be easily deployed and used across Microsoft's entire customer base.

Numoto adds, To drive impact, businesses need to be able to modify and innovate on a range of products, not just in silos. The challenge has been how to get all the functionality to work together. The pace of innovation from Satya Nadella has given us the freedom to do this.

There is a video here.
The Germany-based SUSE Linux has joined the Microsoft enterprise cloud alliance, offering what it says is the only supported Linux high-performance computing workload on the Azure public cloud.

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) distribution, that is cloud-based, includes automated updates through the Azure platform.

SUSE was the first commercial Linux provider to partner with Microsoft, with its parent company at the time, Novell, signing a patent-licensing agreement back in 2006.

In recent years, more of Microsoft's dealings have been with Red Hat, the biggest open source vendor, and Canonical.

SUSE has also become part of the Microsoft test drive programme, in order that prospective customers can evaluate SLES for high-performance computing via the Azure marketplace.

A media release said SUSE provided the only commercially supported Linux for HPC available via Microsoft Test Drive.

More than 11,400 applications are certified and supported on SLES in global data centres with Azure.

"With built-in site replication and disaster recovery, customers experience performance, security and reliability comparable to on-premise alternatives," the release claimed.
Consumer and small business NAS vendor QNAP is moving into the enterprise market.

The QNAP Enterprise ZFS NAS ES1640dc features the new FreeBSD-based QES operating system which provides flexible storage pools, simplified management, high-performance SSD cache, near-limitless snapshots, SnapSync, block-based data deduplication, in-line compression and thin provisioning with reclaim.

It is designed for virtualisation and virtual desktop environments.

"VDI applications usually contain lots of duplicate data, and block-based data deduplication and data compression can help reduce storage usage, achieving optimal virtual desktop performance as deduplicated virtual desktops become easier to cache," said product manager Waterball Liu.

OpenStack support includes iSCSI Cinder Node drivers and provides block-level storage space to virtual machines.

The ES1640dc is also certified for VMware vSphere 6.0 and is compatible with Microsoft Hyper-V. VMware VAAI and Microsoft ODX are supported for increased performance. The QNAP vSphere Client plug-in, web plug-in and QNAP SMI-S provider simplify the management of virtualisation environments.

On the hardware side, ES1640dc features Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2 processors, 32GB RAM, battery-protected DRAM write cache, dual 10GbE ports, redundant power supplies and dual active-active controllers for "near-zero downtime". The 40Gb ethernet is optional.

The 3U chassis accommodates 16 SAS hard drives or SSDs. SATA SSDs can be used by adding the optional SAS-to-SATA interposer.

"The ES1640dc adopts dual active-active controllers to provide the utmost reliability and high availability," said Liu.

Similarly, the EJ1600 expansion enclosure connects via dual path mini-SAS for continuous operation in the event one of the cables is disconnected.

"The new QES operating system provides superior system functionality, but also provides a similar user experience as our well-reputed QTS operating system to make it easier for existing QNAP NAS users to learn the system," added Liu.
There are more than one million Australian standards, a vast amount of government legislation (red tape), and a mountain of risk management guides. What if you could get them online in one place?

SAI Global has announced the launch of a new eCommerce store as the next phase in its $8m digital transformation program. It aims to provide customers with digital and mobile access to SAIs broad range of products and to promote seamless integration of products into their existing risk management solutions.

The eCommerce store provides one-stop and round-the-clock access to purchase SAI Globals training and e-Learning courses, legislation and over one million AS standards products. It will be operational in Asia Pacific in July and in Europe and the Americas by the end of September.

SAI Global chief executive Peter Mullins said, Consumers are seeking to better manage the risks in their organisations and operations through innovative digital solutions and flexible, mobile access to up-to-date information, including standards. To meet their expectations and to ensure we are at the forefront of risk management offerings, we are investing significantly in the ongoing digital transformation of our business.

Global workplaces are becoming more reliant on smartphones and tablets as businesses seek faster, more mobile ways for their people to access essential tools and information, including business standards. Recognising this trend, we are focusing on seamless device accessibility of our content for the modern workplace."

ASX-listed, Sydne- based SAI Global employs about 2000 people across 29 countries and 51 locations across Europe, North America, and Asia. It helps organisations manage risk, protect reputation, and perform better in an increasingly complex and interconnected ethical and regulatory environment. Its solutions include risk management software, standards and regulatory content, and ethics and compliance learning. Its services include risk assessments, certification, testing, and audits. In Australia, it is also a leading provider of settlement related services; company, personal and property information.
Australian IT spending forecasts for 2016 have been revised upwards from $79.9 billion to $83.3 billion by analyst firm Gartner due to currency fluctuations, demonstrating the strength of growth in the market compared to the continuing flat spending forecast globally.

In its Q216 update issued on Thursday, taking into account currency shifts, Gartner has lifted total Australian spending on IT upward from $79.9 billion, as reported in April, to $83.3 billion.

IT services is the biggest spending category in Australia, with software the fastest growing segment, while spending on devices  mobile phones, tablets, PCs and printers  is forecast to fall.

Across the Tasman in New Zealand, IT spending is forecast to reach almost NZ$11.3 billion, an increase of 1.9% from 2015. However, when reported in US dollars, there was a decline due to currency fluctuations.

Communications services is the biggest spending category in New Zealand, while software is the fastest growing segment. Like Australia, NZ spending on devices is also forecast to fall.

Worldwide, the Gartner forecast for IT spending at US$3.41 trillion continues to be flat, mainly due to currency fluctuations, at 0.0% in 2016 compared with 2015, but slightly up from last quarter's forecast of a 0.5% fall.

According to Gartner, this is not exactly a rebound from the 6.0% decline in IT spending in 2015, but it is good news.

Gartner says the rapid rise in the value of the US dollar against most currencies during the past couple of years has put a currency shock into the global IT market.

While some currencies, such as the euro, improved against the US dollar during the first quarter of 2016, none have recovered back to 2014 levels, Gartner observes.

On the Brexit decision by the UK, John-David Lovelock, research vice-president at Gartner, cautions that there is likely to be an erosion in business confidence and price increases which will affect the UK, Western Europe and worldwide IT spending and will be reflected in next quarters forecast update.

While the UK has embarked on a process to change, that change is yet to be defined. The leave vote will quickly affect IT spending in the UK and in Europe while other changes will take longer.

Staff may be the largest immediate issue. The long-term uncertainty in work status will make the UK less attractive to new foreign workers. Retaining current non-UK staff and having less access to qualified new hires from abroad will impair UK IT departments.

According to Lovelock, 2016 has marked the start of an amazing dichotomy.

He says the pace of change in IT will never again be as slow as it is now, but global IT spending growth is best described as lacklustre".

"The year 2016 is when business focus turns to digital business, the Internet of Things and even algorithmic business. To fund these new initiatives, many businesses are turning to cost optimisation efforts centering around the new digital alternatives; for example SaaS instead of software licences, voice over LTE [VoLTE] instead of cellular, and digital personal assistants instead of people, to save money, simplify operations and speed time to value.

It is precisely this new breadth of alternatives to traditional IT that will fundamentally reshape what is bought, who buys it and how much will be spent."

Other key findings of the spending forecast include:

 Data centre systems' spending is projected to reach US$174 billion in 2016, a 2% increase from 2015;

 Global enterprise software spending is on pace to total US$332 billion, a 5.8% increase from 2015;

 Devices spending is projected to total US$627 billion by the end of 2016;

 Spending in the IT services market is expected to increase 3.7%, totaling $898 billion; and

 Communications services spending is projected to total $1.38 trillion in 2016, down 1.4% from 2015.

To access this latest global IT spending forecast, click here.
Li Vows to Help Make Piraeus Port the 'Top-level' Gateway for China-Europe Trade Route

Premier Li Keqiang responds to journalists' queries in a news briefing in Beijing. (Photo : Reuters)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has pledged to work with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to transform Piraeus into a premier port in the Mediterranean, after the signing of the landmark concession deal, China Daily reported.



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Tsipras made his official visit to China after China COSCO Shipping Corp. was given approval by the Greek Parliament on June 30 to purchase a major stake in the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA).



COSCO signed an agreement in April, acquiring a 67-percent stake in the PPA.



During their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Li took off his tie as a gesture of support to Tsipras, who swore not to wear a tie until Greece has emerged from its debt crisis.



"We are willing to make efforts with Greece to forge the Piraeus Port into a top-level port and logistics center in the Mediterranean, and make it a major gateway on the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Route and Asia-Europe interconnection," Li said.



A transport highway is being constructed that begins in Hungary and runs through Serbia and Macedonia, and ends in Piraeus, the southern end of the China-Europe land-sea route, which is expected to facilitate the delivery of goods between China and Europe.



A 35-year deal was secured by China COSCO in 2008, which enabled the Chinese company to operate the two container terminals in the port.



"We firmly support the integration of Europe and have always believed that a prosperous and stable European Union is in the interests of all sides," Li said, noting that China has "paid great attention to changes in the situation in Europe."



Tsipras said that the deal's approval would result in greater cooperation in trade as well as tourism, culture, shipping and new technologies.



Aside from the agreement confirming the transfer date for the port's operation, nine other cooperation agreements were signed between the two countries.



The Greek prime minister's five-day visit started on Saturday, July 2. He is also scheduled to go to Shanghai.


US-based digital marketing agency Search Optics has announced that Tom Wright will head its APAC operations as managing director, working from its Sydney Office.

Search Optics has a strong track record in the US, UK, Canada and South America, helping OEMs and car dealers with digital marketing strategies and technology to help them generate higher quality leads and improve sales. Overseas clients include General Motors, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, and Volkswagen.

Wright will be working closely with Australian OEMs and local dealer groups to help them adopt more effective digital marketing strategies to attract higher quality leads and improve sales.

With many consumers now using mobile to evaluate vehicles when deciding on purchases, many dealers miss out on sales opportunities because of old-fashioned technology, with many not using mobile responsive websites.

Wrights appointment aligns with Search Optics continued growth strategy and a strong focus on the automotive industry.

He joins Search Optics as a highly successful leader with extensive knowledge in the digital advertising and digital technology platforms. He has a global MBA from Manchester Business School. During a career of more than 16 years, he has created and delivered digital transformation strategies in senior leadership roles throughout EMEA and APAC, including Auto Trader, News International, Trinity Mirror, Thoughtworks and Sopra Steria.

With sales, consulting, business development and marketing experience, Wright has provided solutions to many major automotive OEMs, including Audi, BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Nissan, Rolls Royce and Volkswagen. He also has a deep understanding of the car dealership network, having sold directly and indirectly to them for more than a decade.

Wright said, Australia is a key growth opportunity for our rapidly expanding global brand. Our international focus, combined with local talent, ensures we can deliver highly tailored solutions to clients in each of our key markets. From my early observations in Australia, as we have seen in other markets around the world, OEMs, dealer groups and owner/operator dealerships can implement digital strategies that are far more effective. For example, a mobile first approach will generate better leads and drive more sales.

David Ponn, chief executive, Search Optics, said, At Search Optics we understand the importance of supporting our customers based on the nuances, opportunities, and challenges within each local market. With his deep background in digital and the automotive industry, Toms leadership comes at a crucial time for our growth and our customers in Australia and Asia Pacific. His wealth of knowledge will be a great asset to our customers who are looking to get more from their current digital marketing efforts.

With more than 1300 Google-certifications, the most in the industry, Search Optics won the Google Premier SMB Partner Mobile Champion Award in North America in 2015, proving its extensive expertise and capability for providing tangible results through practical tactics that bring in fresh sales leads.
Go back a decade or so and the most tech thing in your car was the radio. That has changed.

Volkswagen  Das Auto  and LG  Das Lifes Good  are collaborating on a new cross-over platform to enhance vehicle connectivity and convenience. Using the latest in cloud technology, the new platform aims to offer drivers access to features such as smart home services and location-based services from their vehicles. Aber warten Sie, es gibt mehr. But wait, there's more, with the duo set to:

Develop technologies that bring together the connected car and the smart home, giving drivers the ability to control and monitor smart devices in their homes  such as lights, security systems and household supplies  from the road.

Develop a notification centre that understands the context and delivers notices in an intuitive and safe manner and also provides optimised recommendations for drivers to respond, based on real-time situations.

and notices in an intuitive and safe manner and also provides optimised recommendations for drivers to respond, based on real-time situations. Develop optimized next generation infotainment technology for connected cars.

Richard Choi, head of the LG Cloud Centre, said, LG Electronics and Volkswagen are teaming up to develop the next generation of connected car platform that allows wide integration with smart home services and adoption of open IoT connectivity technologies. We think LGs expertise in smart technology, together with Volkswagens leadership in the automotive space, will revolutionise the way drivers interact with their vehicles.

This is not the first time VW and LG have collaborated.

LG was one of the first electronics companies to commit itself to the automotive industry with the launch of its vehicle components division in July 2013. LG has been working closely with Volkswagen since 2007, supplying advanced audio-visuals products for vehicles and building its reputation for reliability and technological innovation.

In March 2015, Volkswagen subsidiary Italdesign Guigiaro unveiled its GEA concept car at the Geneva Motor Show with seven key components supplied by LG Electronics, including the holographic display, connected smart watch, rear lamp, and camera. In July, LG was selected as Volkswagens strategic electronics supplier and also listed as a partner company on its FAST (future automotive supply tracks) program. At CES earlier this year, the two companies successfully demonstrated an advanced smart home service that could be controlled remotely from a vehicle.

LG is also flexing  literally  its muscle to build flexible POLED (plastic OLED) displays for cars. It uses OLED technology on a plastic substrate to allow for flexible, bendable displays. There is also talk of building OLED into the windscreen, rear view mirror, or as part of the overall printed dashboard.

Not to take anything away from LG but rival sibling Samsung is also looking at POLED  showing off a rollable smartphone display at SID 2016 in May. It is a 5.7, 2560 x 1440, 551 ppi, panel printed on .3mm thick plastic and weighs just 5g. It has a rolling radius of 10R  allowing it to be rolled in a tube just 10mm wide. Thats exciting and serves to reinforce the future of OLED everywhere.

iTWire has an article on flexible displays  rollable, foldable and more here.
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China is set to break another record as it is scheduled to launch the world's first quantum satellite next month. (Photo : Getty Images)

China is set to launch the world's first "hack-proof" quantum satellite next month, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.



According to the article, quality checks and ground testing were finished at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The satellite is scheduled to depart early this month for the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia.



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The launch, expected to be held in mid-August, will be done aboard a Long March 2D rocket, as stated on a report posted on the central government's website.



Scientists believe that the project could help provide solutions to vital problems including securing information.



"With the rapid advancement of quantum technology in recent years, it is widely believed that quantum computers will soon be available, but such a computer would be so powerful, it could crack every encryption method currently in use," the SCMP wrote. "The only way to ensure communications remain secure in the coming technological era is by using a quantum network."



The report noted that the protection of data using this technology is based on a basic quantum physics law; that is, any information carried via a particle in quantum state cannot be cloned nor measured without having the information itself destroyed.



Researchers expect that the quantum satellite could establish a Sino-European link, proving that quantum Internet---a network on a global scale--is feasible.



Should the technology work, it could also be applied in the government and military. For instance, Beijing could be able to communicate with a nuclear submarine located in the Pacific without worrying if the information could be decoded.



Through this project, experts are also eyeing to shed light on the so-called "quantum entanglement," wherein particles can be connected in a manner that when one changes its state, the other is instantly affected, even though they are apart.



Scientists have already achieved such phenomenon on the ground at a distance of 100 kilometers. Nonetheless, the soon-to-be-launched satellite would make it possible for the experiment to be carried out in outer space.



This technology would allow information to travel without the need of any physical medium at speeds that may be greater than light. It could also make interstellar, even intergalactic, communication as though the sender and the receiver are making a phone call on Earth.


Town sued over denied water service The town council met in executive session last week to discuss its defense after a lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by a Jamestown homeowner who was denied permission...

Scout earns Eagle rank with boardwalk work A local Boy Scout is the latest member of Troop 1 Jamestown to lead an environmental project at a wildlife sanctuary in his mission to attain the Eagle rank. Alex...

State: Steer clear while deer breeding As deer begin mating during the rut, public safety officials are urging drivers to be cautious on the roads because herds tend to move around more frequently during this time....
Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA recently opened a new innovation lab in Copenhagens hip meatpacking district. (Photo : Reuters/Neil Hall)

Many Chinese consumers are demanding IKEA to issue a recall on their chests and drawers in China.



IKEA, a Swedish furniture maker, has already announced the recall of 36 million unstable chests and drawers in Canada and the United States. This came after the deaths of six children that were linked to IKEA's Malm line that included various chests and dressers for children and adults. The firm implemented the recall after the release of an order by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).



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According to the CPSC, a child was killed every two weeks because of furniture tipping over.



IKEA, on the other hand, had already received 41 complaints from buyers of the Malm line chests and drawers. A child in Pennsylvania died when a six-drawer dresser fell on him. Another 23-month-old boy was killed in Washington after getting pinned down by a three-drawer Malm dresser.



Some Chinese consumers used social media to express their concerns and many of them felt that IKEA was discriminating them. They wondered why the recall policy was not applied outside of North America and Canada.



Xian Jiaxin, an IKEA representative in China, said that the Malm line of chests and dressers are still available in outlets across the country. She assured the public that the products are safe, provided that these are fastened to the wall. Clear instructions come with the packaging of the product.



Chinese regulations state that all furniture that have a height of more than 24 inches must be fastened to the wall. However, the Shenzhen Consumer Council still called for "equal and nondiscriminatory protection in any country and any place," in a statement issued last Thursday.



Further investigation will be conducted by the council to look into the safety of the products.



IKEA has not yet issued any response.


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A drum tower is flooded at a riverside park in Rongjiang county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, on July 2, 2016, after heavy rain caused the water level in the river to rise. (Photo : VCG)

Super typhoon Nepartak brought incessant rain to the city of Wuhan last Wednesday. The Chinese city drowned in floods after an overnight spate of heavy downpour.



The city has been on red alert after the nonstop rains that poured since Tuesday.



The floods have already affected 26 provinces.



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Because of the heavy rains, over 32 million residents had their water and power supplies cut. Residents were also trapped and could not have access to rescue teams.



There were already 186 reported dead and 46 individuals still missing, according to the report of The Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.



The report also stated that there were about 56,000 homes that collapsed and more than a million people displaced and relocated.



Reports indicate that there are about 100 milllion people dead or missing nearthe Yangtze River.



The Chinese government announced a red alert when rainfall level hit 1.8 feet, the highest in the city's history.



Chinese Premier Li Keqiang went to Wuhan to oversee relief operations as more winds and rains are expected.



"With the worst perhaps yet to come this month and next, the country must take precautions and prepare to keep residents safe," Li said.



This latest disaster is similar to the flooding that hit China in 1998. However, the rains that hit the city now is spread out through the region and the magnitude of the impact is further stretched.



Billions of yuan have been spent by the Chinese government from 1998 to 2002 to control the flooding from the Yangtze River. The estimated total amount of spending for infrastructure is 17 billion yuan. Experts said that the money spent on flood control infrastructure is not enough to meet the demands of highly populated urban centers.


A federal judge has given Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. until 10 a.m. Friday to respond to a shareholder lawsuit's request for an expedited briefing schedule.

The request is on James Graham's motion for a preliminary injunction on Krispy Kreme's $1.35 billion sale to an affiliate of JAB Holdings Inc. Graham's goal is to halt a July 27 shareholder vote on the proposed sale.

Meanwhile, a N.C. Business Court judge is set to address in a teleconference at 11 a.m. Friday a request by Krispy Kreme to consolidate five shareholder lawsuits into one case in that court.

Those five lawsuits originated or are in Forsyth Superior Court, although the one involving Barbara Grajzl was accepted by the business court June 17.

On May 8, Krispy Kreme disclosed its potential sale in a deal valued at $21 a share. The companies expect the deal, which requires regulatory and shareholder approval, to close in the third quarter. The company would be taken private but retain local management and headquarters.

The company claims its motion, submitted June 30 in federal court for the Middle District of N.C., would make unnecessary Graham's separate federal shareholder lawsuit.

Krispy Kremes attorneys want Grahams lawsuit stayed until Business Court Judge James Gale can decide on the consolidation motion. Some of those lawsuits also contain expedited hearing requests.

Judge William Osteen Jr., who recently took over the federal case, said in his decision that "this court has reviewed the (Graham) pleadings, but is not prepared to express any opinion on the merits, including any issues of abstention, that may arise as a result of the parallel state court proceedings."

Osteen said the expedited briefing schedule would be able to address any relevant issues before the federal court "rather than awaiting final resolution of preliminary issues now proceeding in state court."

"Such a process would at least prepare this court to proceed if necessary."

Shareholders Stuart Bonnin and Melissa Weers have agreed to transfer their complaints to the business court.

If necessary, Forsyth Superior Court will set a formal schedule for hearings on the appointment of lead plaintiff and lead counsel, the expedited discovery motion, and the request for a preliminary injunction.

Graham filed his federal lawsuit June 13. He accuses the company of disclosing materially incomplete and misleading information in a May 31 regulatory filing that included a narrative of how the deal was made.

Graham accuses Krispy Kreme insiders of being motivated by the prospect of potentially cashing out illiquid equity holdings (including stock options and restricted stock units) to reap immediate, if inadequate, benefits. Illiquid is the state of an asset that is not readily convertible into cash.

Graham is asking the federal court to halt the shareholder vote until the board of directors makes supplemental financial disclosures available. He is requesting oral arguments on his request by July 22.

Krispy Kremes board submitted in a June 27 regulatory filing additional financial disclosures for fiscal years 2017 to 2023.

Grahams attorneys claim the disclosures are flawed because they dont factor in several potential financial, operational and strategic changes between now and fiscal 2023.

The board also disclosed that its top four executives could walk away with a combined $13.58 million in cash and stock if their jobs were to be terminated without cause within two years of the company being sold. All four executives joined the company within the past 2 years.

Krispy Kremes attorneys claim that Grahams request for class-action status would take too long to reach a decision by the federal court, jeopardizing the July 27 shareholder vote.

The attorneys cited an example by federal Judge Graham Mullen, who stayed a lawsuit in the Western District of N.C. involving the sale of Harris Teeter Supermarkets in favor of multiple shareholder complaints filed in the business court. Graham's attorneys have countered by claiming the Harris Teeter case has no bearing on his complaint.

Krispy Kremes attorneys claim that Grahams lawsuit and the other five lawsuits essentially are the same in terms of defendants, general complaints and injunction request. The attorneys claim that Grahams complaints would be addressed in any business court resolution reached.

Mr. Graham is currently a sole shareholder seeking to single-handedly enjoin this $1.35 billion transaction and potentially deprive thousands of other Krispy Kreme shareholders of the 25 percent premium contemplated by the acquisition, Krispy Kremes attorneys said in their motion.

However, most of the shareholder lawsuits cite analysts projections  also reported in the Winston-Salem Journal  that Krispy Kremes share price could be worth up to $27 a share. That would value the company at $1.68 billion, or $330 million higher than the JAB offer.

The business court is known for being effective in resolving shareholder disputes, such as the claims made by the Krispy Kreme shareholders.

In most instances, a judge is able to persuade the company to disclose additional financial information sought by shareholders so that all shareholders can make a more informed decision on their vote.

The judge also is able to reach a compromise with shareholders that typically allows the shareholder vote to be held as planned.

For example, the court negotiated a settlement between shareholders and Reynolds American and British American Tobacco about Reynolds $29.25 billion deal for Lorillard.

Another example was the settlement reached between shareholders and NewBridge Bancorp about its $456 million sale to Yadkin Financial Corp.

Grahams attorneys have argued that while defendants are touting the fairness opinion of (financial advisor Wells Fargo Securities LLC) to the companys shareholders as proof that the merger consideration is fair, they have omitted meaningful material information that is necessary for shareholders to make an informed decision, according to the complaint.

Grahams attorneys say that Krispy Kreme failed to fully disclose to shareholders Wells Fargo Securities client relationship with JAB. He claims that relationship presents a potential conflict of interest with its advising.

Plaintiff and all putative class members will suffer irreparable harm if they are forced to decide whether or not to vote their shares in favor of the merger without access to the material information, the complaint said.

Grahams lawsuit, and those of other shareholders, criticized the Krispy Kreme boards willingness to agree to a no-shop clause that prohibited the board from taking any JAB offer to another potential buyer, as well as requiring the board to inform JAB if it receives an unsolicited offer.

The board said in the narrative that accepting the no-shop clause was necessary to secure JABs $21 a share offer.

The complaint chided the board for not going beyond Wells Fargo Securities conclusion that a similar offer was not in the marketplace, as well as questioning the groups earnestness in seeking other potential suitors before the no-shop clause was agreed upon.
An X-ray image of the Perseus Cluster from NASAs Chandra Observatory. (Photo : NASA/CXC/Stanford/I.Zhuravleva, et al.)

Japan's Hitomi spacecraft was originally launched in order to detect supermassive black holes however, a month after its launch last February, the probe lost contact with ground mission control. The unmanned space observatory may have been unable to finish its main mission however, mission scientists were able to reveal some new science obtained by the craft, during its short life.



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During this time, Hitomi obtained crucial data that involves observations of the Perseus Cluster, which is a massive group of galaxies, amounting to thousands, and is estimated to measure 2 million light years across, which is also the largest cosmic object ever seen in the universe.



The gas core of this colossal galaxy cluster was seen with slow movement than first predicted by astronomers. Even if this cluster did seem to be teeming with activity and energy, its core is apparently host to a supermassive black hole, which can affect the total kinetic movement of this structure, that poses as a mystery to astronomers.



According to Eric Miller of the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the gas in this regional core is expected to be mixed up, however, it's not. This suggests an unusual, really quiet activity compared to the chaos seen from the black hole.



NASA along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) launched Hitomi as an X-ray observatory to study and record the most powerful cosmic events in the known universe. Its main mission is to examine galaxy clusters, supermassive balck holes and supernova explosions. These powerful cosmic events emit massive amounts of X-ray beams that can reach Earth.



Hitomi targeted the Perseus Cluster which is some 250 million light years away from Earth and for one month that Hitomi was in operations, the spacecraft recorded powerful X-rays emanating from this distant galaxy cluster. Hitomi detected iron and hydrogen, including crucial data such an temperatures within the cluster.



Its untimely demise occurred after studying this cluster, when the probe began to lose out of control in orbit, as its solar panels caused the spacecraft to hurtle in space, which led to the doomed mission. After this incident, mission controllers lost contact with the spacecraft which was initially planned to be in operations for another three years. On April 28, mission scientists called off any last effort to regain contact with the lost probe.



These new findings are published in the journal Nature.


The vacant Lowe's store at Milwaukee's Midtown Center. Credit: Angela Peterson

By of the

The vacant Lowe's store at Milwaukee's Midtown Center has been sold to a local investor that plans to redevelop the building for light industrial use.

The 134,000-square-foot building, 5800 W. Hope Ave., was sold by Lowe's Inc. for an undisclosed price to an affiliate of Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors LLC.

The building has been vacant since the Lowe's home improvement chain closed the Midtown store in 2009. Phoenix said in a statement it plans to lease the building to a single industrial tenant, and has two prospects interested in the site.

Phoenix operates 10 industrial buildings, totaling over 1.5 million square feet, on Milwaukee's north side.

The Midtown building becomes the latest local former big box store to be redeveloped into light industrial space, a category that includes both assembly and distribution center use. Others include the former American TV and Appliance, in Brown Deer, and a former Walmart store, near W. Brown Deer Road and N. 76th St.

However, similar efforts to redevelop the former Targer store, also on W. Brown Deer Road, and the soon-to-close Sam's Club, on N. 76th St., have resulted in a clash between Ald. Chantia Lewis, whose district includes those properties, and neighborhood business operators and the Department of City Development.

Meanwhile, the rest of Midtown Center faces an uncertain future after one of its other anchor stores, a Walmart, closed in January.

The 408,500-square-foot Midtown is owned by an affiliate of Tarrytown, N.Y.-based DLC Management Corp., which bought the property in 2014 for $47.2 million. It covers 44 acres bordered mainly by W. Capitol Drive, W. Fond du Lac Ave. and N. 60th St.

Walmart's closing reduced Midtown's occupancy rate from 86% to 46%, according to space figures compiled from DLC Management's website. That doesn't include the separately owned Lowe's building.

Midtown opened in 2002, replacing the former Capitol Court mall. The city helped finance it with $7.7 million through a tax incremental financing district.

By 2013, Midtown's property taxes paid off that debt, and the financing district had a $2.3 million surplus.

Instead of closing the financing district and shifting Midtown's property taxes to the city, Milwaukee Public Schools and other local governments, the Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett created a $3.5 million fund to help attract new businesses to Midtown.

City funds helped pay for renovations to attract a 25,000-square-foot Planet Fitness and a 5,900-square-foot Rue 21 clothing store. Both opened in 2015.

Also, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in December announced it will open a new clinic within a 20,900-square-foot former Office Depot store, at 5433 W. Fond du Lac Ave., this summer.

The Lowe's building sale was brokered by Dan Rosenfeld, of Mid-America Real Estate.
OnRamp OnRamp offers conversation and connections among the entrepreneurs who are shaping Wisconsin's economy, and brings corporations and start-ups together at statewide events. To contribute to this blog, contact Joe Kirgues at joe@gener8tor.com or Matt Cordio at matt@skillspipeline.com or Scott Resnick at resnick@hardindd.com. SHARE

By ,

After hearing Kerry Frank, founder of Comply365 share her story about moving her fast-growing tech startup from Illinois to Beloit, Wisconsin at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conference I was interested in heading down to this city located about an hour southwest of Milwaukee to see what is going on.



While in Beloit, I got a quick tour of the Ironworks campus from Erin Clausen, the community manager of IronTek a local coworking space for entrepreneurs. Ironworks and IronTek are being developed by the Hendricks Group a commercial real estate development company owned by Diane Hendricks who is also the co-founder of ABC Supply Co. a Beloit entrepreneurial success story. After the tour I was convinced that the Ironworks development is the epicenter of technology entrepreneurship for this town of around 37,000 residents.

Heres a quick walk-through of my tour through Beloits tech entrepreneurship scene

IronTek is a coworking space that is home to early-stage companies (many with a technology component) the space also hosts community events such as the Stateline Wordpress meetup and is home to IronTek U a unique program that pairs high school students with mentors from local companies hoping to retain young talent in the region.

Comply365, one of Wisconsins fastest growing enterprise software companies. Comply365 develops checklist software for some of the worlds largest airlines and other major corporations. In 2014 Comply 365 raised a $12 million Series A from Drive Capital, venture capital firm launched by ex-Sequoia Capital partners that invests exclusively in Midwest-based tech companies.

Acculynx has developed a cloud-based software solution that helps Contractors become more organized, create less waste, track and develop leads, and better manage their companys overall financial performance. Acculynxs solution includes CRM, real-time distributor pricing, roof sketch, production scheduling, estimating, customizable workflow, accounting and document storage modules and more. You could accidentally mistake Acculynxs office, which includes a slide between the first and second floor for being located in Silicon Valley.

FatWallet an online shopping company that was acquired by Japanese eCommerce giant Rakuten also has a sizeable office located in Ironworks.

After my short trip to Beloit here are some observations as to why Beloit is becoming an attractive place for tech companies to locate:

(1) Significant amounts of private investment from the Hendricks Group. Strong startup communities are built by successful entrepreneurs who make it a conscientious effort to pay it forward, Diane Hendricks co-founder of ABC Supply Co. certainly has invested a significant amount of cash in developing the infrastructure for Beloit to become a tech hub. The assets they have invested include, the Ironworks facility where the majority of Beloits tech-based business and the IronTek space are located, as well as other community amenities and assets that make Beloit an attractive place to live, work and play in.

(2) Wisconsins business climate is strengthening. Due in part to the efforts of Governor Walker who played a hands-on role attracting Comply365 to locate in Beloit. Wisconsin has been able to attract tech firms to locate in Wisconsin.

(3) Due to Beloit's location on the Illinois/Wisconsin border employers have the ability to attract talent from Northern Illinois and Southeast Wisconsin.

(4) Beloit Colleges CELEB program, located in the heart of downtown, is developing entrepreneurial thinkers and problem solvers with liberal arts backgrounds to fuel the local talent pool.

Beloits tech community is nascent and should be on your radar. It will be exciting to watch Beloit's tech continue to grow over the next couple of years
Protesters wave signs in front of the Triple S Mart on July 7 in Baton Rouge, La. Credit: Getty Images

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I'm going to say something out loud that many African Americans are not willing to say: It's scary and stressful being black in America. Over the last two days, the killing of two black men by police were captured on video. In Baton Rouge, La., Alton Sterling was shot and killed by police after he was pinned to the ground. He never pulled a gun and for now, his only crime (if you want to call it that) was selling CD's and DVD's in front of a store.

The graphic video shows two officers on top of Sterling. As he was held down, at least one of the cops is heard saying "If you (expletive) move I swear to God." Next thing you see is an officer pulling out his gun, pointing it at Sterling's chest and you hear shots ring out.

Next you hear an officer yell, "Get on the ground."

Sterling's arm comes up and shakes uncontrollably as his life leaves his body.

As the news spread of the shooting, people begin to protest. They are angry. At a press conference, Sterling's son breaks down in tears screaming that he wants his daddy back.

Despite this public execution, there are some who still want to talk about what Sterling could have done to prevent this tragedy from occurring.What the 37-year-old father of five could not do is change his race.Before I could wrap my mind around Sterling's death, I wake up this morning to see that yet another black man was killed in Minnesota during a traffic stop by an officer on Wednesday.

That deadly encounter occurred in the city of Falcon Heights.

Philando Castile, 32, was shot several times by an officer while sitting in his car and strapped in by his seat belt. His girlfriend, captured Castile's final moments as he slumps over in his seat as the officer continues to point his gun at Castile while standing outside of the car.

Diamond Reynolds, gives a clear narration of what occurred in the video. She said they were stopped for a broken taillight. She said Castile had done nothing wrong and she says he was shot while reaching for his driver's license and registration that the officer requested.

"Please, officer, don't tell me that you just did this to him," Reynolds said. "You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir."

Reynolds streamed the video to Facebook. She is ordered out of the car and handcuffed before being placed into a squad car with her daughter who is seen several times in the video trying to comfort her mother. "It's OK, Mommy. It's OK. I'm right here with you."

This is trauma to the worst degree and we are exposed to it all the time. What kind of effect do you think this will have on us? Or already had on us? On Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, who is white, stated the obvious when he said that "police wouldn't have shot and killed Philando Castile if he'd been white."

I'm angry because I see dozens of times where white criminals fight back and even shoot at officers and they live to tell about it, but a black man selling CDs or reaching for his license is considered a threat and killed.

This doesn't sit well with me. There will be some who bring up that same tired argument of blacks killing blacks like that gives police a permit for open season on people of color. People who say this are just as much a part of the problem as the police. Blacks who kill blacks and whites who kill whites go to prison most of the time. Dylann Roof, who was armed with a handgun when he entered a South Carolina church and gunned down nine black parishioners, was somehow taken into custody and lived to tell about it. He even got Burger King on his way to booking. And now his attorneys are asking for federal charges to be dismissed unless the death penalty is taken off the table.

Something is wrong with this picture.

Cops who kill blacks most of the time get away with it. Sure it may go on their record, but for the most part, they keep their jobs and continue to work as police. This is what citizens have a problem with and the numbers back this up. Based on The Counted's data, black males between the ages of 15 and 34 were nine times more likely to be killed by police than any other demographic. This group accounted for 15% of all 2015 deaths from law enforcement encounters, despite making up just 2% of the U.S. population.

The outrage from the black community is raging at a fever pitch, but it takes anger from other communities to help make some real change in the way people are treated once in custody.

There appears to be more outrage from the white community over a gorilla killed in a zoo than of police killing black men on the streets every day.

How many more blacks have to die before tensions boil over?
Matthias Koehler (left) and Thomas Renier work on a CNC machine at Hermle Machine Co. Hermle has changed its management structure, leaving the president position vacant and having three vice presidents share duties. Credit: Angela Peterson

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When the president of Hermle Machine Co. left for another job earlier this year, rather than replace him, the company's board of directors decided to leave the job vacant.

Now, vice presidents Manuel Merkt, Gunther Schnitzer and Eric Olender share the duties once overseen by Robert Komljenovic, president of the machine tool maker based in Franklin.

It's a permanent change, according to Hermle Machine Co. There's no longer a president and CEO of the company that is the North American division of German-based Maschinenfabrik Berthold Hermle AG.

Komljenovic was company president for six years. After he left in February, the board of directors contemplated how to move forward without dramatic changes in management.

Merkt said he and the other two vice presidents made a pitch that they could run the company without the need for a president and CEO.

"Since we worked together for quite a while, we know each other. We have frequent meetings where we discuss projects and current issues," Merkt said.

In Germany, it's more common to have companies where the decisions are shared by a management team rather than have a top executive with that authority.

Merkt and Schnitzer had similar career paths, working their way up through the ranks of the company in Germany while advancing their knowledge of engineering. Schnitzer has been with Hermle for 15 years in a variety of roles in customer service and sales.

Olender is the only member of Hermle's top management born and raised in the United States. His interest in manufacturing and machining began at an early age as his father spent many years working on CNC (computer numerically controlled) machines in the Milwaukee area.

Hermle machines are used in many industries, including aerospace, medical and energy.

The German parent company chose Franklin for its North American headquarters, in part because of the Milwaukee area's strong heritage in the machine tool industry.

Hermle always had a traditional management structure, with a company president, until the recent change.

Now, the three vice presidents are responsible for making the final decisions in their respective areas of expertise.

Decisions can be made quicker that way, Merkt said, as the vice presidents no longer have to wait for the president's approval.

If there's a conflict about a management decision, the vice presidents can turn to the German parent company and the board of directors for a resolution.

Members of the management team are represented on the board, and each member has their own area of expertise.

"That's why we thought it might be a good idea here as well," Merkt said.

So far, he said, no customer has insisted on dealing only with a president and chief executive officer.

Knowing that there's more room at the top for someone could be encouraging for someone aspiring to become a manager.

"We wanted to change the atmosphere in the company, to set it up more as a team. We are trying to develop people within the company as well, and show them that there is room for growth here," Merkt said.

Some businesses have two people who share the role of president, sometimes on an interim basis.

"This isn't like (Hermle) is trying to groom two people for the job and, ultimately, pick one as part of a succession plan," said Doug Fisher, an assistant professor in Marquette University's College of Business Administration.

The plan should work, provided there are good decision-making procedures in place and the three vice presidents have the right attitudes, according to Fisher.

"So much of leadership isn't about the office or the title. It's the desire of the individual. As long as they have that 'we want to make this happen' desire, it will work," he said.

In addition to having its North American headquarters in Franklin, Hermle has employees in Ohio and California. The 71-year-old company's manufacturing is done in Germany.
Alibaba and SAIC have teamed up to design a smart car and plan to develop self-driving technology. (Photo : Facebook)

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba teamed up with the nation's largest automaker SAIC Motor to demo a smart car equipped with the YunOS operating system on July 6, Wednesday. The web-connected car that links to smartphones is scheduled to go on sale sometime this year. Meanwhile, the tech company hopes the "Internet car" will help it to develop autonomous vehicle (AV) technology faster.



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SAIC is one of China's "big four" state-owned automakers. It was founded in 2011, while the former company Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation was formed in 1995.



Alibaba and SAIC gave a live demonstration of the new smart car in eastern China's city of Hangzhou. Alibaba Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Wang Jian said that the new platform will lead to driverless car tech, according to Reuters.



RX5 is the name of the connected car and is now available for pre-order. The Alibaba/SAIC vehicle costs about $22,300 and deliveries are set to begin in August.



Alibaba shared some of the features of RX5 via smartphone or wearable settings. They include personal greetings, favorite music, and preferred destinations.



The Internet car could also use Alibaba's Alipay payments service. It could help with tasks such as filling up a gas tank, paying for parking spaces, or buying a cup of coffee.



Alibaba's own services will be key to the car's functionality. However, the Chinese company stated that it would also open YunOS to third-party developers.



The two companies have been laboring on the SUV for the past two years and spent a total $160 million on the project.



Other large tech companies have already developed a platform that connects smartphones to vehicles. They include Apple and Alphabet's Google.



However, companies are still racing to produce robot cars for the retail market. Auto industry experts predict that will not happen until at least 2020.



In related news, an art gallery owner from a Detroit suburb recently told police that his 2016 Tesla Model X SUV was in Autopilot mode when crashed, according to Detroit Free Press. It is unclear if the semi-autonomous Autopilot feature failed to work properly.



Later this month the United States' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will provide guidelines for rules of the road in AV research.



Here's a video on smart cars in China:






Brooks guilty on all 76 counts in Waukesha Christmas Parade rampage

A jury has convicted Darrell Brooks Jr. of killing six people and injuring dozens of others by driving through the 2021 Christmas parade.
By of the

A wind farm on the drawing board in western Wisconsin took another step forward Thursday when regulators resolved concerns raised in a court ruling last summer.

The Highland Wind Farm in St. Croix County could move toward construction by the end of this year, the project's developer said after the Public Service Commission's vote.

Opponents of the project, however, may seek to go back to court, which they did after the PSC approved the project in 2014.

The wind farm would generate 102 megawatts of electricity and cost about $250 million to build.

Commissioner Phil Montgomery, who has been supportive of the project, expressed frustration that the project has moved at such a snail's pace.

"Four years ago a company came to the state of Wisconsin to do business, and to create jobs, by producing a product," he said. "And four years into this we still find this company not having a definitive answer, still not having invested that money and still not having created those jobs."

The project was first rejected by the PSC in 2013 and then approved in 2014 with special noise restrictions for certain residences near the project.

After a St. Croix County judge overturned the case, he asked the commission to justify the special restrictions it granted for certain residences, and why other residences weren't eligible for the special noise restrictions.

At their meeting Thursday, PSC commissioners said there wasn't ample evidence to warrant the special restrictions, so they voted to let the project proceed without them.

In response to the court ruling, the commission also took into account recent studies that examine potential health impacts from wind turbines. That included recent reports by the state's wind-siting council as well as peer-reviewed studies and articles submitted by both Clean Wisconsin, which supports the project, and the Town of Forest, which has opposed it.

The Town of Forest had wanted the PSC to hold a new round of hearings on the project to take evidence on what types of noise restrictions should be placed on homes near turbines. They cited concerns about health effects from shadow flicker and turbine noise raised by residents near other wind farms in Wisconsin, including the Shirley wind farm built by Emerging Energies in Brown County.

But Ellen Nowak, who chairs the commission, said the peer-reviewed studies and reports reviewed by the commission found no "causal link has been established" between wind turbines and health impacts.

Nowak voted with Montgomery to move the project forward. Commissioner Mike Huebsch abstained, saying he was not on the commission when the project was first considered.

Nowak originally opposed the project but noted that the circuit court decision upheld the PSC permit in many respects.

"I respect the judicial review process and respect the outcome of that process," she said, adding, "This is not time to re-litigate issues" that were previously decided.

In an interview, Bill Rakocy of Emerging Energies said he was thrilled by the PSC's vote.

"Every stakeholder from every perspective imaginable has made comments, and we appreciate the fact that there's that much interest in our project, and it's exciting to see that the things we have been maintaining for years have once again been proven out," he said.

Nowak said during the PSC's meeting that she expected the case will land back in court.

The attorney for the Town of Forest said the town would respond to the PSC action next week.

Rakocy said he hoped that instead of spending money litigating the project, the town and residents would see financial benefits from letting the project move forward.

Financial benefits would come in the form of shared revenue payments for the town and county governments as well as for property owners who live within one-half mile of the spots where turbines will be built, he said.

Twitter: twitter.com/plugged_in

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Barge photo: Designed by famed architect Louis Kahn in the 1970s, the "music boat," as it's sometimes called, docks in a harbor, folds open and presents classical music concerts. Courtesy

Mary Louise Schumacher Art City An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue. SHARE The Stony Island Arts Bank. home to important archives related to black culture, set up in an old bank on Chicago's south side by the Rebuild Foundation. Tom Harris

Sometimes it's important to pause and recognize great instincts, even if that's all they are.

Two would-be projects  a floating theater and a museum in Sherman Park  represent an opportunity for art to address and perhaps bridge some of Milwaukee's cultural, racial and economic divides.

The question is, can the budding organizations behind the Milwaukee Arts Barge and the The Next Museum turn good instincts into well articulated plans that will attract and inspire community support  and, of course, funding.

Let's start with the Milwaukee Arts Barge. If you believe art is more suited to a gallery or a theater stage than a boat built to haul coal, think again.

This group, which includes area arts groups, water advocates and architects at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, wants to bring experimental theater, dance, music and film to a floating stage.

Milwaukee's waterways are a beautiful resource but also places of divide, said Antonio Furgiuele, a research fellow at UWM's School of Architecture and Urban Planning who is leading the Milwaukee Arts Barge effort.

Milwaukee's racial, economic and political segregation is something that can be identified physically within the urban landscape and that in some places coincides with boundaries made by the rivers, Furgiuele argues. The hope is to transform such places into sites of community gathering.

"This would be better here in Milwaukee than it would be in most places in the world because of the potential social impact," he said.

The group has been doing research for about a year and is forming a board and launching a fundraising campaign, efforts Furgiuele describes as "quite aggressive." The hope is to acquire a slow-moving barge in the next year or so and begin programming in 2018, perhaps sooner.

The barge itself will likely cost $75,000 or $100,000  before it is "souped up" and made performance ready, Furgiuele said.

The barge would dock at various sites along Milwaukee's three rivers and lakefront, and possibly other Great Lakes cities such as Detroit, Cleveland or Buffalo, where audiences could gather for events. The hope is that local arts groups would create original, challenging, site-specific works that utilize the city as a backdrop.

The group has talked about "activating" places such as Bradford Beach, Summerfest, the Inner Harbor, Marsupial Bridge Park, Estabrook Park and Riverside Park, Reed Street Yards near the Harley-Davidson Museum and various locations along the Riverwalk.

During the week, the barge could be used for water-related advocacy and education, Furgiuele said.

Culture has been floated on barge-like vessels before.

Precursors include a floating film series in the bay at Yao Noi Island in Thailand in 2012, artist Doug Aitken's "Black Mirror" video installation in Greece in 2011, the orchestra-ready barge designed by architect Louis I. Kahn in 1976, the "Theater of the World" staged during the 1979 Venice Biennale and the 50-person orchestra that played Handel for King George I on the River Thames in the 18th century.

While Furgiuele has started to navigate some of the various governmental regulations that would be involved and is in discussions with the Harbor Commission and Milwaukee's Department of City Development, among others, there are still unanswered questions.

Does the creation of a unique venue ensure the creation of equally unique, site-specific performances? Will the organization help seed and facilitate projects in line with its mission? Will admission be free to events held along public spaces? Where will revenue come from? How would the Milwaukee Arts Barge become financially sustainable in the long term?

Artist Reginald Baylor recently described The Next Museum in a Journal Sentinel opinion piece as inspired by Milwaukee's manufacturing history and meant to "spark a robust economy." Baylor and a diverse array of community organizers want to turn the former Schrager's Auction Galleries building, a gorgeous Greek Revival building and former church in Sherman Park, into a museum of sorts.

Again, there's a critical insight here. So many of Milwaukee's mainstay cultural attractions  including the gleaming white Milwaukee Art Museum on the lake  are downtown and in privileged neighborhoods. In other words, Milwaukee is a culturally segregated city.

Reclaiming a pocket of the north side of Milwaukee, a city known to be one of the most segregated in the U.S., for a culturally significant enterprise seems more than apt.

The plan is for the former auction house at 2915 N. Sherman Blvd., featuring one of the largest architectural domes in the state, to become a home for nonprofit organizations, artisans, performances, exhibits and educational programming.

There are precedents for this, too. Two immediately come to mind. Nationally recognized artists Theaster Gates and Mark Bradford have created art centers in struggling neighborhoods in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas, respectively.

Gates' and his Rebuild Foundation have been recognized internationally for rescuing cultural artifacts that are meaningful in black culture and transforming underutilized spaces on Chicago's south side into vibrant gathering places.

For example, the Stony Island Arts Bank houses the Johnson Publishing Archive, a collection of books and periodicals donated by the publisher of Ebony and Jet; a collection of glass slides featuring art and architecture; thousands of racist objects that Gates calls "negrobilia" and the record collection of Frankie Knuckles, "godfather" of house music.

The Black Cinema House hosts screenings of films by and about people of color, and the Dorchester Art + Housing Collaborative rehabbed homes to provide housing, including for artists.

Gates, who is not just an artist but also a trained urban planner, comes by this work naturally and is incredibly focused in his goals and articulate about his mission. He's also had several important, institutional partnerships with architects, developers, the City of Chicago and the University of Chicago, where he is the director of the Arts and Public Life program.

Bradford, an artist known for creating layered, abstract works from urban ephemera and a 2009 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation genius grant, founded Art + Practice in Leimert Park, on Los Angeles' south side, two years ago. It is around the corner from the hair salon his mother once ran.

The unique art center provides real-deal art exhibitions, under the curatorial eye of the prestigious Hammer Museum, and social services and art programming for children in the foster care system. The 20,000-square-foot campus includes a technology lab, classrooms, a curated film and lecture series, exhibition spaces.

By contrast, the description for the Next Museum is less articulated at this stage. The plan is ambitious and broad, perhaps too broad.

"I knew that if I stood up here you guys were going to ask 'How are you going to this?' 'Who is going to do this?' 'When are you going to do it?' 'Where are you going to do it?' Baylor said at a recent meeting, designed to introduce the art community and community advocates to the idea. "And I can tell you I don't know."

I left the meeting moved by the identification of the site as a place of possibility but confused about the particulars of the plan, which are still being worked out.

So, once again, there are questions to answer. Will Baylor be able to articulate a more complete vision like Gates or Bradford? Does he want to? If not him, then who? What institutions might be willing to put their name to the project?

The Milwaukee Arts Barge and the Next Museum both represent meaningful insight  but not well articulated plans as yet. Our city has a history of getting excited about "creative placemaking," including many projects with less ambition and insight than these two and many efforts that ultimately don't fulfill their promise.

Can these budding organizations develop and attract the vision and support they need?

Mary Louise Schumacher is the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic. Follow her on Twitter (@artcity), Facebook (www.facebook.com/artcity) and Instagram (marylouises). Email her at mschumacher@journalsentinel.com.
In Focus SHARE Marlon Brando plays Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 screen adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. Journal Sentinel files

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Here's what's playing, inside and outside, at alternative movie venues this week.

Milwaukee Art Museum

"A Streetcar Named Desire": Marlon Brando remade the art of screen acting with his performance in this Oscar-winning, 1951 adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play, with Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. Showing in conjunction with the exhibit "American Epics: Thomas Hart Benton and Hollywood." 6:15 p.m. Friday, Lubar Auditorium, 700 N. Art Museum Drive. Free with museum admission: $17; $15 for students with ID and seniors 65 and older; free for museum members, Wisconsin K-12 teachers (with ID or pay stub), and kids 12 or younger.

mam.org

Friday Night Flicks / Port Washington

"Minions": This summer's most popular yellow, gibberish-speaking creatures are back, and in the market for a supervillain to follow. Dusk Friday, Veteran's Memorial Park bandshell, Port Washington. Free.

portwashington.recdesk.com

Lakefront Movies / Veterans Park

"Jurassic World": They're tampering with the laws of nature again, and it turns out just about how you think it will in last year's blockbuster update, with Chris Pratt as a raptor-whisperer out to save the day. Dusk Saturday. Free.

1010 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive;countyparks.com

Monday Night at the Movies / Waukesha

"Grease": Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta play two of the movies' oldest high school students in the summer-lovin' 1978 musical. 8 p.m. Monday, Cutler Park, 321 Wisconsin Ave., Waukesha. Free.

waukesha-wi.gov

Movie Time / Charles Allis Art Museum

"Lillian Russell": Alice Faye, Henry Fonda and Kenosha native Don Ameche star in this 1940 musical biopic about one of the biggest stars of turn-of-the-century showbiz. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. $7; $5 for students and seniors; free for museum members.

1801 N. Prospect Ave.;charlesallis.org

Movies in the Grass / South Milwaukee

"Jurassic World": The regenerated dinosaurs are back (see Veterans Park, above). Dusk Wednesday, South Milwaukee farmers market, 11th and Madison avenues. Free.

southmilwaukeeblog.com

Moonlit Movies / Oconomowoc

"Minions": The little yellow guys (see Port Washington, above) were the top vote-getters on Moonlit Movies' Facebook page. Dusk Thursday, Fowler Park. Free.

Moonlit Movies' Facebook page

 Chris Foran
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Federal prosecutors say a 30-year-old Milwaukee man has been a pimp for at least six years and operated a multistate sex-trafficking operation, fueled in part by drug dealing.

Jaboree Williams recently was charged with sex trafficking in federal court in Milwaukee and has been jailed since his arrest in Oshkosh on drug charges one year ago. His co-defendant, Chrystal Schuppe, faces conspiracy charges related to trafficking after authorities say she rented and purchased cars Williams used to transport his victims.

In jail calls recorded earlier this year, Williams was heard saying he "sold drugs" and had made $10,000 "fast as hell" selling heroin, according to court records.

Williams forced one of his sex-trafficking victims, identified as "Victim 2" in court documents, to introduce him to customers in Oshkosh and sell heroin, marijuana, fentanyl and prescription painkillers, authorities said.

A confidential witness told investigators that's how he ended up meeting Williams, who sold him heroin, including the batch that he and a female friend used, which led to his friend's overdose, court documents show. Oshkosh firefighters revived the woman with two doses of naloxone, better known by its brand name Narcan.

Two weeks later, Oshkosh police arrested Williams.

Extensive criminal background

Authorities believe Williams has been a pimp since at least 2008, when he pleaded guilty to a charge of pandering after Milwaukee police arrested him as he drove a woman to a prostitution date with undercover officers.

Officials have said pimps commonly receive pandering charges rather than human trafficking charges because their victims often are afraid to cooperate with law enforcement. Without their testimony, prosecutors cannot prove trafficking.

Williams was off the streets from April 2012 until October 2014 as he served time in prison for an armed robbery charge. When he was released, he requested his extended supervision be transferred to Illinois, which was granted.

While still under supervision, Williams restarted his trafficking ring in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Minnesota and Washington, D.C., authorities say.

Like many traffickers, he advertised his victims online, would travel with them for the prostitution "dates" and return for his probation officer meetings, according to the federal criminal complaint.

Prosecutors say he did not have a driver's license or legitimate source of income, so he had others lend or rent cars for his use and eventually had Schuppe, his co-defendant in federal court, buy a Cadillac sedan that he used for sex- and drug- trafficking.

Victims threatened

Investigators interviewed three sex-trafficking victims who said Williams forced them to work as prostitutes, took all their money and ruled through fear and abuse.

According to the criminal complaint:

The family of one victim called police in January 2015 after she was taken from her house. When police found the woman, she told them Williams wouldn't let her leave, used force to keep her under his control and always found her whenever she tried to escape. She said he took her to multiple states, prostituting her by placing ads online and threatened to kill her family if she left him.

Once in Indianapolis, he became enraged, took her ID, credit cards and cellphones. She tried to stop him and he punched her in the face before fleeing.

A second victim  Victim 2 who police say connected Williams to drug users in Oshkosh  said Williams learned she was in Milwaukee through her friends' postings on Facebook. Williams contacted her on Facebook in January 2015 with a message that said: "Lets go get this money."

The woman went with Williams and a woman identified as the first victim to Waukegan, Ill. Williams promised she would keep a portion of the money from prostituting.

The woman later said she felt manipulated by Williams, who told her he loved her and wanted a family with her. He ultimately took all of the money she earned, which she estimated to be $30,000. The woman said she was typically fed once a day and Williams would determine what she would eat.

She once tried to hide money from him because he kept threatening to leave her stranded out-of-state in unfamiliar cities. When he discovered that, he beat her repeatedly. The woman started using Percocet, a prescription painkiller, which Williams would give her after assaulting her. Once she was addicted, Williams also would withhold the pills to manipulate her.

The third victim was Williams' neighbor. They became friends in the spring of 2015. The woman had a young child and was about to become homeless. Williams placed prostitution ads for her online and said they would split the earnings. That never happened. The woman saw him beat other women and was afraid for her safety and the safety of her child.

She said she never would have agreed to travel with him if he had told her the truth.

The case against Williams not only involves allegations of sex- and drug-trafficking, but also witness intimidation.

According to court documents:

Williams was recorded on a jail call in March telling a potential witness to hide letters and phones. Two months later, he was recorded chastising another witness who said she spoke to law enforcement. Williams said he had prepared her for this, she should have stood strong and that he was disappointed in her.

Later that day, after the witness said investigators asked about his phones, Williams told her to "trash" them.

Schuppe also is accused of obstructing the investigation into Williams. She called Williams while he was in jail and was recorded saying she did not tell the "feds" that Williams had gone to Atlanta as part of the sex-trafficking operation.

Federal prosecutors filed the criminal complaint against Williams and Schuppe on June 24. Williams already was in custody and a warrant was issued for Schuppe. She was arrested last week.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee.
El Beso in Greenfield is one of three restaurants owned by a family, several of whom have been charged with tax evasion. Credit: Jerry Luterman

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A New Berlin man charged last year with tax evasion by paying employees at Omega restaurant on S. 27th St. in cash has pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion.

An indictment charged that Gus Koutromanos, 69, paid workers about $385,000 in cash over two quarters in 2012, resulting in an underpayment of more than $100,000 in payroll taxes. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing in September, but prosecutors agreed to recommend a six-month sentence if Koutromanos pays $50,000 toward restitution by then.

A similar but far bigger case charged at the same time, against a Franklin family that owns three other restaurants, may be headed for a similar resolution.

Paul and Freida Bouraxis, their son Andreas Bouraxis, and son-in-law Reiad "Ray" Awadallah, are charged with conspiring to hide profits from their restaurants, Omega Burger in Franklin, El Fuego in Milwaukee and El Beso in Greenfield.

The 33-count indictment included bank fraud and tax fraud counts against Paul Bouraxis, 66, and personal and payroll tax fraud counts against his son. His son-in-law is charged with filing falsified personal income tax returns. Freida Bouraxis, 61, is charged only with the conspiracy.

Federal prosecutors say they skimmed $100,000 a month from the businesses, while telling their bank that they were barely getting by.

Prosecutors followed the indictment with seizures and a civil forfeiture aimed at more than $1.7 million in cash plus other assets they say the Paul Bouraxis bought with the criminal proceeds  expensive jewelry, gemstones and thousands of ounces of silver ingots.

Associated Bank told investigators it wouldn't have loaned Bouraxis as much money as it had if it had known about the stockpile of wealth.

Authorities found $1 million in cash in safe at El Beso, and another $2 million in Greek and other European bank accounts.

But nearly a year later, nothing much has happened, other than a judge granting a request to declare the case complex, which means certain deadlines get extended.

"There's a lot of material, no doubt, but we do expect everyone will resolve with pleas in the next 30 days," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Jacobs.

The seized assets would go toward paying of any negotiated tax liability, expected to be in the seven figures.

The defendants remain free on recognizance bonds, with the OK to travel in the state, northern Illinois and to a big swath of Florida. One even got permission recently to take a family vacation to the Grand Wailea resort in Hawaii next month.

The restaurants remain in operation.

An affidavit from IRS Special Agent Zachary Stegenga last year indicated that separate sets of books seized along with the cash and valuables show that Paul Bouraxis was not only skimming about $100,000 a month from cash restaurant receipts, he was also loaning money to other local businesses and individuals and not reporting the interest they paid.

Through the 1990s and 2000s, Associated Bank had loaned Bouraxis about $10 million for various business and real estate ventures. Around 2009, the bank became concerned about Bouraxis' ability to make payments, and agreed not to foreclose for several months, but in 2010 finally sold off the loans at a big loss.

The forfeiture case has been on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case. Several of the defendants, and some corporate entities, have claimed various seized assets. The government argued that proceeding with discovery in the civil forfeiture could jeopardize prosecution of the criminal case.

The defendants have filed documents denying that any of the seized assets are the proceeds of illegal activity.
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Police are investigating two separate break-ins at car dealerships that occurred early Thursday morning in Mount Pleasant.

The Palmen Dodge Chrysler Jeep dealership was hit around 1:30 a.m., as well as a Toyota dealership near Highway 20 and I-94, according to WITI-TV.

The general manager of the Palmen Dodge Chrysler Jeep dealership told WITI-TV the thieves busted a window with a tire iron and attempted to back a Jeep out of the dealership. Officials said no vehicles were stolen from the dealership.

Another break-in happened a few miles away at a Toyota dealership. It wasn't clear if any vehicles were stolen in that incident.

The TV station notes this is the third time in the past week that a car dealership in Mount Pleasant has been targeted for a break-in.
By of the

Over the past three decades, state and local expenditures on prisons and jails have increased more than three times as fast as spending on elementary and secondary education, according to a new brief released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Education.

While overall spending on education dwarfs that of corrections, it said, expenditures on public prekindergarten through 12th grade education rose by 107% to $534 billion between 1979 and 2013, compared with a 324% spike in corrections spending to $71 billion.

In Wisconsin, over the same period, it said, expenditures on education rose 72% to $9.8 billion, while spending on corrections rose 351% to $1.4 billion.

The report comes as the nation examines its dramatic rise in incarceration rates since the 1970s, and state and federal policy-makers attempt to disrupt what is derided by many as the school-to-prison pipeline  both of which numerous studies have shown disproportionately affect the poor and young people of color.

Like other reports before it, it notes that the United States has just 5% of the world's population but accounts for more than 20% of the world's incarcerated.

"Budgets reflect our values, and the trends revealed in this analysis are a reflection of our nation's priorities that should be revisited," U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said in a conference call with journalists Thursday arranged to discuss the report.

"For far too long, systems in this country have continued to perpetuate inequity," King said. "We need to invest more in prevention than in punishment, to invest more in schools, not prisons."

The report, described by King as the first of its kind, draws on data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and other sources.

Among the findings:

Over the 33-year period, the percentage increase in spending on corrections varied among the states, from 149% in Massachusetts to 850% in Texas.

At the same time, K-12 expenditures rose from 18% in Michigan to 326% in Nevada.

Among the states, Wisconsin ranks 32nd in terms of its increase in per-pupil spending, which rose 69% to $11,186 over the three decades.

It had the 13th highest percentage increase in per capita spending on corrections, up 241% to $323.

The report notes similar trends in higher-education funding.

On average, it said, state and local expenditures on higher education per full-time-equivalent student fell by 28% between 1989 and 2013, while per capita spending on incarcerations rose 44%.

Wisconsin's higher-ed funding fell by 12% to $1.45 billion, while spending on incarceration rose 192% to $1.43 billion.

The U.S. spends about $80 billion annually on corrections.

The number of people incarcerated in state and local facilities more than quadrupled from about 490,000 in 1980 to more than 2 million in 2014  even as crime rates have fallen  due in part to the enactment of lengthy, mandatory-minimum sentencing laws.

In exploring the link between education and incarceration, it said two-thirds of state prison inmates did not finish high school and that young black men ages 20 to 24 who lack high school diplomas or an equivalent have a greater chance of being incarcerated than being employed.

It asserts that investing in education, and particularly early childhood education, can reduce criminal activity by altering student behavior, improve access to jobs and lower incarceration rates.

Efforts to reach Wisconsin Legislative leaders  Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) and Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse)  were unsuccessful.

Milwaukee Public Schools declined to comment.

Wisconsin has about 22,000 inmates, and it incarcerates more black men as a percentage of the population than any other state.

A coalition of faith and community leaders launched a campaign in 2012 to halve the prison population, but it has not made a significant impact.

Joe Ellwanger, a retired Lutheran minister who has helped lead the campaign, said the national figure "unfortunately also reflects our state's spending priorities."

"Each biennial budget in Wisconsin, for the past 10 years, has increased spending on incarceration and decreased spending on K-12 public education," said Ellwanger. "Such spending priorities have clearly stoked the school-to-prison-pipeline."
Abortions in Texas plummeted about 15 percent during the first year after approval of tough restrictions that the U.S. Supreme Court has since struck down a decline that activists say shows how hard it had become to get an abortion in America's second-largest state. Credit: Associated Press

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The Christian Science Monitor recently ran two articles: The first was headlined, "Inside Texas's abortion wars." The other, "The 'pro-life' answer to abortion clinics."

Both articles describe the battle between choice and life advocates.

It occurred to me that both sides have a similar goal, which is to reduce unwanted pregnancies.

The "choice" camp believes that ending an unwanted pregnancy is a private and personal decision.

The "life" group thinks that ending a life is morally wrong.

Both camps could help to reduce abortions by working together.

Both groups know that underground abortions will take place if abortion is illegal. The wealthy will go where it is legal, or at least safe, and the poor will do as they have previously.

In my opinion as a futurist, technology will shortly make abortion clinics obsolete because a woman will be able to abort without the assistance of a doctor. Whether this technology will be approved or not by the FDA is irrelevant as the technology will be as available as illegal drugs are now. In addition, recent Supreme Court cases are curbing the current strategy of shutting down clinics. Both sides have a common interest in reducing unwanted births now.

By working together, both sides will accomplish much; continuing to battle will accomplish little.

The first step is sex education for both youths and adults.

Youth programs, such as Pearls for Teen Girls, might be an approach that should be studied. It helps young girls gain confidence so that they will not have sex merely to be accepted. It and other educational programs have succeeded in reducing unwanted pregnancies in Milwaukee County dramatically.

Some churches such as mine begin sex education at an early age. There is a detailed and tested curriculum and teachers who undergo extensive training. Our incidents of unwanted pregnancies are rare.

Sex education for adults is also important and needs to be expanded. Planned Parenthood had 8,000 participants in its education programs; 70% were in Milwaukee, 20% in Madison with the remainder around the state. Sixty-seven percent were Latino/Latina and 18% were white. Interestingly, 35% who went through their sex education programs were 31 to 50 years old. This is not what one would expect. Females made up 63%, which makes sense.

Adoption is expensive and slow. Both groups could work to improve adoptive parents' skill sets, speed up the background checks, reduce the costs and have better follow-up. This improvement for adoption would signal that there is an alternative to women who get pregnant and seek an alternative.

Foster care has gone through many stages in Wisconsin but it also could be improved, could use more funds, and volunteers. Children's Hospital should be applauded for its efforts in this area.

One part of foster care that needs more attention is kids aging out of foster care. This is something that The Teller Foundation that I run has worked on with non-profits.

Why is improving adoption and foster care important? Because women and girls with unintended pregnancies might be more willing to give up their children if they knew they would have a good home.

Research should be conducted on the reasons why women terminate their pregnancies. Are some women who are older and have children overwhelmed by a new family member? Is it rape? Assault? Incest? Objective and unbiased research is needed so that these problems can be addressed.

My point is that both sides need to reduce unwanted pregnancies and they could and should work together toward that goal.

In these times of violence and discord, we need to work together on this issue.

Bob Chernow is a Milwaukee businessman, the past vice chair of the World Future Society and president of The Tellier Foundation.
The Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft, carrying three Expedition 48-49 crew members, launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:36 p.m. EDT Wednesday, July 6, 2016 (7:36 a.m. Baikonur time, July 7). (Photo : NASA/Bill Ingalls)

On Wednesday, July 6, a spacecraft launched carrying three astronauts from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 9:36 P.M. EDT. Aboard the new Russian Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft is a new crew from Russia, United States and Japan, who are headed to the International Space Station.



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The new crew for the ISS includes NASA's Kate Rubins, Russian Roscosmos' Anatoly Ivanishin and JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Takuya Onishi. The three astronauts will run tests on modified systems for two days where they will then dock at the space station at 12:12 A.M. EDT on Saturday. This crew will join the Expedition 48 aboard the orbiting space laboratory, along with NASA Commander Jeff Williams and Roscosmos flight engineers Oleg Skripochka and Alexey Ovchinin.



NASA announced that the Expedition 48 members will now spend a duration of four months filled with 250 scientific experiments across the fields of Earth science, biology, human research and technology development.



Apart from this, the new crew aboard the ISS will also receive and install the first ever international docking adapter of the space station, that will be crucial for the arrival of "space taxis" or commercial space vehicles from the U.S. This new docking port will be sent via SpaceX's ninth commercial resupply mission, which will be installed with built-in systems for automatic docking.



Shortly after their arrival, the crew members are also expecting to receive Orbital ATK's sixth commercial resupply mission, including two Russian Progress capsule resupply flights, which will all sustain this mission, delivering several tons of food and research supplies including fuel.



The new and upgraded Soyuz spacecraft is developed and manufactured by Russian aerospace manufacturer RSC Energia, where the Soyuz MS-01 will also be docked at the space station for the rest of the mission as a rescue vehicle for the crew, in the event of an emergency that which will safely transport the crew back to Earth.


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BETHLEHEM (Maan)  An Israeli army commander testified on Wednesday in the ongoing trial of Elor Azarya, an Israeli soldier accused of shooting and killing a prone Palestinian in Hebron in March, saying that there was no justification for the shooting, which has been labeled by the UN as an extrajudicial execution.

Col. Yariv Ben Ezra, the highest ranking commander in the case, reportedly told the military tribunal that Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif did not pose any danger to life when Azarya killed him.

Ezra testified that he had never seen a soldier depart so extremely from the [Israeli armys] rules of engagement as Azarya did in the Hebron shooting, according to Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post.

Al-Sharif was shot and wounded alongside Ramzi Aziz al-Qasrawi on March 24 after the two allegedly stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli soldier near a military checkpoint in the Tel Rumeida area in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron. Al-Qasrawi was also killed on the scene in contested circumstances which Israeli human rights group BTselem has claimed may also constitute an execution.

A video released on the day of the shooting showed Israeli medics tending to the wounded soldier while ignoring al-Sharif for several minutes, before Azarya stepped forward and put a bullet through his head.

According to social media reports from reporters present at the hearing, Ezra also admitted that Israeli medics gave priority to the wounded Israeli over the Palestinians, despite the severity of their injuries.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Ezra wrote a report the day before the shooting documenting cases where Israels emergency medical services had been unwilling to care for injured Palestinians, stating that while protocol dictates priority should be given to Israeli soldiers and settlers, it is the duty of medics to treat Palestinians as well.

Israeli paramedics have long received heavy criticism by human rights groups for routinely refusing to treat or ignoring wounded Palestinians, while also preventing members of the Palestinian Red Crescent from reaching Palestinian victims in urgent need of treatment.

Ezra described to the court how events unfolded after the initial shooting that subdued al-Sharif and al-Qasrawi, when he was informed a second shooting had taken place.

When two commanders explained to him that Azarya said after the shooting that Terrorists should be killed, Ezra understood something irregular happened, Haaretz quoted him as saying.

Ezra said it had been apparent early on that Azarya was unwarranted in killing al-Sharif and that the more information was added that day, I understood that the shooting had not been justified. Since the shooting took place in a situation where life was not in danger, and the more I watched the video clip later, I understood that better.

The commander also rejected previous arguments made by Azaryas attorneys that the soldier acted out of self-defense because he suspected al-Sharif was booby trapped with explosives or could have reached for a knife, saying such claims were disconnected from reality.

Ezra echoed previous arguments that there was nothing out of the ordinary about al-Sharifs jacket that could have raised suspicions he was concealing a bomb, and that he only became aware of that version of events after hearing reports from Israeli media later in the day.

Throughout the first stage, I heard no such claim about any such thing. The first time I heard of that suspicion was at noon, through the media, when the event was publicized. Not on my way to the site, not at the site  the subject of fear of a bomb never came up.

Ezras statements corroborated the testimony given by another Israeli army commander in the case, who told the court in June that there had been no operational justification for the shooting, and that Azarya told him directly This terrorist was alive, and he needs to die.

Claims that the young Palestinian could have reached for a knife were also dispelled after new video footage surfaced last month, capturing events after Azarya executed al-Sharif, showing an Israeli ambulance driver kicking the knife towards the body, which had been far out of arms reach.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli army prosecution on Tuesday claimed that Azarya conspired with the ambulance driver who kicked the knife, to conceal to Azarya acted out of revenge rather than self defense.

When questioned by the prosecution, the ambulance driver confessed he in fact moved the knife to ensure that later Palestinians could not claim a knife wasnt there.

Additional footage released by Human Rights Defenders (HRD) in Palestine also showed an Israeli soldier kicking the knife, before the the fatal shooting, which HRD said represented a clear violation of international law.

Palestinians have long held fears that Israeli soldiers and settlers tamper with crime scenes involving Palestinians, with human rights groups accusing Israel of practicing a policy of extrajudicial executions since a wave of violence erupted in October, leaving more than 220 Palestinians and some 32 Israelis killed.

Via Maan News Agency

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

Ruptly: Israel: Tensions spark in Israeli Knesset after deputy calls IDF soldiers murderers'
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An Interview with Anand Gopal by Charles Davis | ( TeleSur) |  

The United States is winning the war on terror, just as it always has. The Islamic State group is on the defensive, Col. Steve Warren told reporters earlier this year. In Iraq, it has reportedly lost 40 percent of its territory since an international coalition led by the U.S. began bombing the country, again, in August 2014. In Syria ,it has lost 20 percent of its territory, the coalition claims.

Thats the story in 2016. A similar tale was spun in 2011.

The story of Americas victory over terror in Mesopotamia needs to be told, wrote Walter Russell Mead, a foreign policy expert at the neoconservative Hudson Institute, nearly five years ago. At that point, just a few months before President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of most U.S. troops in Iraq, the mood was triumphant, with those who backed the 2003 invasion and occupation claiming retroactive justification from the fact that, after years of insurgency, the Sunni Arabs of Iraq made a fateful decision, as Mead put it. They chose America over al-Qaida.

And indeed they had, for a time, for a good deal of money. At its peak, 103,000 Sunni fighters, were put on the U.S. payroll and proclaimed the Sons of Iraq, paid to attack al-Qaidas local affiliate rather than U.S. occupation forces. And it workedagain, for a time, for a good deal of money.

When most U.S. troops left in December 2011, those who had run al-Qaida in Iraq out of the country were supposed to be incorporated into the Iraqi states security forces. Instead, Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikfresh off an election loss to a secular, nationalist coalition, which proved to be no obstacle to the U.S. and Iran insisting he remain in powerhad his countrys Sunni sons thrown in prison, tortured and disappeared. Despite the vanquishing of al-Qaida, the clumsily sectarian system that the U.S. installed after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein remained in place, with a sectarian strongman backed by foreign powers at the top.

The factors that contributed to the Sunni insurgency and the rise of extremism were left in place, so three years laterafter the Maliki government answered non-violent, non-sectarian protests demanding equality before the law with a hail of bullets, mirroring the response of other authoritarian regimes in the regionthe insurgency returned, Sunnis returning to the fight against a state created by occupation years after the occupation itself had ended. By 2014, al-Qaida in Iraq had rebranded as the Islamic State and came roaring back across the border with Syria, proclaiming itself the savior of a repressed minority as it sought to exterminate any minority that was not Sunni.

Today the U.S. is once again at war with Sunni extremists in Iraq as well as Syria, and this time that wara very real one, with airstrikes that have likely killed over 1,000 civiliansis supported even by those opposed to prior interventions.

I voted against the war in Iraq, U.S. senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders says on his website. The only good it served was to destabilize an entire region, and create the environment for al-Qaida and ISIS to flourish.

As for the war in 2016, Sanders believes the United States should be part of an international coalition, led and sustained by nations in the region that have the means to protect themselves. In other words: the policy being pursued by the Obama administration today, where U.S. airstrikes support and U.S. weapons arm largely Shia militias known as Popular Mobilization Forces that are organized and trained by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thats the war thats being won, according to all of the governments waging itincluding, lest one forget, the government of Iraq.

Writing in The Atlantic this month, war correspondent Anand Gopal paints a rather different picture: one where the war against the Islamic State is being won, militarily, while the forces fighting it lose the hearts and minds of a Sunni population that feels no less terrorized by the sectarian extremists the U.S. empowers today compared to the sectarian extremists it first created when it decided in 2003 to introduce war in a country that had not attacked it, once considered the gravest of all war crimes.

Regime change without worrying about what happens the day after you get rid of a dictator does not make a lot of sense, Sanders has said. After the feel-good victory one must plan for the day after, and no one much likes to do that.

A valid point, but as Gopal observesbased on the sort of on-the-ground reporting increasingly absent in an online world of 140-character talking points stretched into 800-word, half-thought pieces with a high bounce rateits one being ignored by all those backing a war policy today without a thought as to what comes next; without paying much if any attention to the evil that the U.S. and its allies, new and old, are empowering to replace the evil they seek to destroy.

teleSUR spoke to Gopal, an award-winning war correspondent who has covered Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria for publication such as Harpers, The Nation and the Wall Street Journal, about the U.S.-led war on the Islamic State and what ordinary people witnessing that war firsthand think about the claim that its being won.

The U.S. has been bombing the Islamic State in Iraq since August 2014, arming and in some cases providing air cover for these Popular Mobilization Forces. The U.S. of course says its succeeding and Iraqi forces have taken back some territory. You just got back from Iraq. Is that the perception among people you spoke to, that the U.S. and its allies are winning the war against the Islamic State?

Well, when you talk about winning the war you really have to distinguish between the military situation and the broader political situation. So militarily, absolutely it is the case that the anti-ISIS forces, which is the U.S. and the Iraqi government and Iranian forces, are indeed defeating ISIS on the ground. ISIS has lost a great deal of territory in the last year and it will most likely continue to lose territory.

But if you look at the broader political situation and really look at the reasons why ISIS was produced in that area in the first placethe underlying sectarianism and the sense among some sections of the population that the Iraqi state is deeply corrupt and abusivetheres been no headway on those issues. Its just as bad and abusive as it was a year ago or two years ago, and so the underlying issues that led to the rise of ISIS really havent been affected, which means even if we see the military defeat of ISIS on the ground, it doesnt necessarily mean well see peace in Iraq; it doesnt necessarily mean that we wont see another insurgency or other types of violence that will continue for a long time because of the U.S.s actions and the Iraqi states actions.

I wanted to talk to you about those underlying factors. Of course the U.S. invasion in 2003 and subsequent occupation created fertile ground for these sort of extremist groups, but when the U.S. withdrew most of its troops in December 2011 we were told that al-Qaida in Iraq, the predecessor to the Islamic State, was mostly defeated. The question being: the U.S. occupation is often seen as driving extremism, so what explains the resurgence of al-Qaida in Iraq since most U.S. troops left?

I think its actually right that al-Qaida iness Iraq was largely defeated by 2011, but the U.S. in its withdrawal had left essentially a deeply broken and shattered society, and its really from the ashes of that society that al-Qaida in Iraq was able to reemerge. The reason why al-Qaida in Iraq was able to be defeated in the short-term was because of what was called the Anbar Awakening, which essentially was the U.S. throwing lots of money and guns at insurgent forces, bribing them to stop fighting against the U.S., and thats what they did.

A lot of the forces that were fighting the U.S. and Iraqi governments stopped, but that wasnt accompanied with any sort of political reconciliation. These are militias and forces that had been fighting for years, and without any reconciliation, without any attempt to try to absorb these forces into the Iraqi armed forces, or more generally into Iraqi society, essentially led to these forces reemerging as an insurgency again, and thats what happened a couple years after the U.S. left.

There was a protest movement in 2013 that was mostly led by Sunnis who were demanding equal rights and demanding an end to some of the counter-terrorism laws that were in place since the days of the occupation, in which thousands of innocent people had been swept up and tortured or killed by the Iraqi state. The protest movement was drowned in blood by the government and it was through that processthe destruction of the protest movement and the lack of a broader reconciliationthat the insurgency reappeared in Iraq, and within the insurgency al-Qaida in Iraq was able to maneuver to get a dominant position.

As I understand it, those protests werealthough they were mostly Sunni, they were explicitly non-sectarian. And as you note in your article, Iraqi Sunnis have kind of lagged behind the Kurds and Iraqi Shias in terms of embracing the kind of identity politics thats been forced on Iraq by the U.S.-written constitution. We know about the crackdown, and how it parallels the crackdown in neighboring Syria, but how did a crackdown on a non-sectarian protest movementhow did highly sectarian Sunni extremists exploit that?

Well, there was actually two waves of the protest movement. The first was actually in 2011, and that wave, which was actually dubbed the Iraqi spring, that was happening around the same time as the other uprisings in the Arab worldthat one was much less sectarian in character. It had Sunnis and Shias and a strong secular component as well. So you had elements of the left, for example the Iraqi Communist Party, and Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, succeeded in dividing that protest movement; divide and conquer. He arrested certain elements of ithe isolated the secular elements of itand through various ways succeeded in sort of forcing the sectarian character on that movement.

Essentially the state declared war on a section of its population and so we have what we have today.

So by the time 2013 rolled around, and you had a second wave of those protests, it had a much more of a Sunni character in the sense that it was predominantly in the Sunni areas where the protests were taking place. But even then it wasnt really an avowedly sectarian protest movement. There was an element of that movement that was articulating for a separate Sunni state, but there were also others who were just demanding an end to the de-Baathification laws and to some of the counter-terrorism laws. But the movement faced a lot of repression. I think this mirrors what happened in Syria, where you had unarmed protesters that were gunned down; you had people who were thrown in prison; anybody who was associated with the protesters was called a terrorist  was called a member of al-Qaida; there were widespread accounts of torture.

In this way slowly the movement mutated into an armed struggle, and in the process of becoming an armed struggle the forces that had the access to the most guns and the most money were some of the hard-line insurgent groups, including the old Baathist organization and al-Qaida in Iraq, and so those groups were able to rise to the top in the general breakdown of the protest movement. Really very similar in some respects to what happened in Syria.

Was any of this preventable, in your view? After the U.S. withdrew, was there anything that could have been done to stop Iraq from going down this sectarian road? Obviously Nouri al-Maliki was propped up by the United States, and also Iran. Was there anything they could have done to pressure him not to carry out this crackdown, or was this kind of set in motion by the U.S. invasion and occupation and we were always going to end up in a not very good place?

I think if you look at it broadly, what youre seeing is the failure of the integration of different segments of society as a result of the post-2003 order, and so if you look at it that way it really is sort of a structural consequence of the way in which the U.S. invaded and established the occupation. I think the odds were stacked against any sort of peaceful outcome. But I dont know if anything is strictly preordained because there were lots of specific moments along the way which were clearly moments that had exacerbated tensions.

Ill give you a couple examples. One is 2010, the Iraqi parliamentary elections, when a movement, Iraqiyawhich was a non-sectarian group, a secular groupactually won the elections and Maliki maneuvered to undo those results. He was backed by President Obama on that in what was essentially a power grab. And that led toward retrenching sectarian politics from the top. And during the protest movements there were a number of incidents when the Sunni elites were actually looking to make connections with the Iraqi state but they were arrested or turned away or in some cases tortured.

The key moment there was when Maliki decided to pull the army out on various protest encampments. Tribal militias took over the protest grounds and the Iraqi government just started shelling these areas, killing hundreds of people in Fallujah. Essentially the state declared war on a section of its population and so we have what we have today.

Can you shed any light on the thinking of the Maliki government? As you note, they were more than willing to deploy armed force against nonviolent protesters. But when the Islamic State came roaring back across the border from Syria the Iraqi army fled, and Maliki was widely criticized for not taking the threat seriously. What explains that? Why deploy lethal force against nonviolent protesters who you are calling al-Qaida but be hesitant to do so against actual al-Qaida?

Well, thats a good question. An issue from Malikis perspective is, if you look at the Anbar Awakening, there are cases where the U.S. basically put every military-aged male in a town on the payroll and said that, you are a member of the Sons of Iraq. There were 60,000 people who are technically part of the Sons of Iraq program and this is far greater than what the Iraqi state had the capacity to absorb.

In terms of why Maliki was so willing to open fire against protestersISIS, actually, its biggest victories, particularly in Mosul and Fallujah, those victories werent really military victories. They were really political victories first, and what I mean is that if you take, for example, Fallujah, tribal revolutionaries took Fallujah and then ISIS kind of came in from within that and coopted parts of the revolutionary movement and took it over slowly. And they had a lot of local support in doing that.

Same in Mosul. They had a lot of local support. That sort of accounts for why those places fell so quickly. They had support from within and so it was very difficult for the army to go in and actually fight and take it. That accounts for the semi-collapse of the army in the face of ISIS because theyre seeing towns that all of a sudden overnight are becoming ISIS strongholds and none of the soldiers were willing to go into what was going to be an almost certain bloodbath. Thats why the Iraqi state was unable to take over these places very quickly.

Im sure youre familiar with the fact there are a lot of conspiracy theories in Iraq trying to explain the rise of the Islamic State. I saw a poll the other week that said many Iraqis believe the Islamic State was a deliberate creation of the United States. Im wondering: During your travels in Iraq, what did Iraqis tell you? And Im also curious whether theres a sectarian divide on this. It seems to me that maybe Sunnis might be more willing to argue that ISIS was the result of state repression that they exploited, whereas perhaps Shia Iraqis might be less willing to concede their government and its pursuit of sectarian policies led to the rise of the Islamic State.

Well, even among Sunnis though, those who very clearly describe to me the outcome of these policies, it is a fact that many of those Sunni groups and Sunni leaders who initially allied with ISIS in 2014 have now realized that it was a terrible mistake because ISIS has destroyed their communities. And so theyre also opposed to ISIS and so one of the ways they account for it is they say it was created by the U.S. as a way to destroy the Sunni movement. Its a very popular conspiracy theory.

Among Shias and others, they would also say the same thing: that it was created by the U.S. to destroy Iraq. The only difference you might see between the two groups is that a lot of Sunnis will tell you that the United States and Iran are secretly working together and have created ISIS and theyre running it, and they will point to the Shia militias and other groups (benefitting). Whereas, youre less likely to hear Shias say that Iran is part of the problem, but they will say that the United States and conspiracy theorists  theyre all agreed that the United States created ISIS. Its a very widespread belief.

I want to talk about the relationship between the U.S. and Iran in terms of policy in Iraq. Its kind of amusing: Ayatollah Khamenei, on his Twitter account, kind of hints at these conspiracy theoriesthat the U.S. is not really serious about fighting the Islamic State, suggesting it created that problem to justify a perpetual presence in Iraq. But in reality, it seems Iran and the U.S.their policies are complementary. The militias are trained by the Islamic Republic and are armed and given air cover in some cases by the United States.

Do Iran and the United States effectively have the same policy in Iraq, and what is that?

I think they have very similar policies; theyre working in parallel, almost. The Iranian militias tend to have a much stronger presence towards the north of Baghdad, for example in Diyala. Whereas in Anbar the U.S. has successfully lobbied to keep the Shia militias to a limited role. Ultimately, at the end of the day, theres a de facto alliance between the two sides. Theyre both working to try to stabilize the Iraqi state and defeat ISIS. Both appear to agree on keeping Haider al-Abadi in place, and his position right now is very precarious due to protests. So you have this very complicated situation in which Shia militias that are in some cases even receiving U.S. air power in Iraq are fighting against ISIS and certain Shia militias are going to Syria to support Bashar al-Assad, who the U.S. at least ostensibly is opposed to. So its extraordinarily complicated, but in Iraq I think it is the case that there is a de facto alliance thats become stronger since the Iran deal.

Both Iran and the United States seem to share this sectarian conception of how Iraq should exist. In the case of the United States, one could perhaps chalk it up to a patronizing Orientalism that only sees foreigners in terms of their ethnic group or religious identity. In the case of Iran, it just seems like cynical, power politics; theyd rather like to have a state that identifies as Shia next door. Is that a correct interpretation? And is there any hope of a non-sectarian, unified Iraq arising if two of the most influential foreign powers there dont share that vision?

Absolutely the U.S. and Iran share a sectarian vision of Iraq, and for the U.S. that has been the case since the beginning. Iraqis will tell you back in 2003, 2004, they would try to go meet with the U.S. in one of the pre-parliamentary councils, and everyone had to say whether they were Sunni or Shia or Kurd, and people would say, "Im a communist. Im secular." They would say, "It doesnt matter. Youre Sunni or Shia."

The U.S. had this very sectarian mentality that is sort of a classic way in which outside forces deal with local populations; the British and the French have done the same thing, historically. Despite that, I think theres surprisingly theres still hope for non-sectarian, anti-sectarian politics in Iraq. Even now, in the last nine months or so, theres been a big, powerful protest movement in Baghdad, protesting against lack of services, lack of electricity, the deep, widespread levels of corruption in government. Until the last couple months it was largely a secular movement, one that had participation from Sunnis and Shias, and also one that had participation from various secular forces, from trade unions, from communists and others. And in the last two months that movement has sort of been taken over by Moqtada al-Sadr, and its become much more of a Shia Islamist movement. But the demands are still non-sectarian demands. Theyre demanding to end the sectarian quotas in government, to end the patronage system in government. And what youre seeing in the last year, and what you saw in 2010, you see the flourishing of a cross-sectarian politics.

I think whenever the levels of violence drop, as in 2010, or how it was this past summer when the threat to Baghdad from ISIS receded, you tend to see the Islamist forces losing ground and some of the more secular forces gaining ground. I think that shows that theres still a real possibility for non-sectarian policies. It really depends on the levels of violence and it depends on the will of outside forces as well, who tend to use sectarianism as a way to pursue their own ends.

Can you speak at all to what has given rise to this protest movement? As youre saying, now it has a little bit more of a not necessarily sectarian color, but its more of a Shia Islamist movement with Moqtada al-Sadr endorsing it. Why is al-Sadr endorsing this? Why would Iraqi Shiites be upset with a system that, at least from an outside perspective, it seems that they benefit from at the expense of the Sunnis?

The movement started last summer because of the soaring temperatures and the fact that there was no electricity in large parts of the country, especially in Baghdad. This is just a basic failure of state services and so thats how the movement began. But it grew to address the rot thats at the core of the Iraqi state. For example, all the political parties are patronage parties; posts are doled out to specific parties. Many people argue they havent really delivered anything for ordinary people, and while its true that broadly speaking after 2003 Shias have benefitted, relative to Sunnis, its not like Shias are doing well either. The price of oil has collapsed. The state is moving toward austerity politics, where some of the social services are being gutted. Its not fun to be a Shia in Iraq, its just the challenges are different than being a Sunni, and so theres a lot of dissatisfaction with and anger towards the government, toward officials, and thats why theres a demand to remove this patronage system and have a technocratic government. That was the demand for months and months.

Moqtada al-Sadr got involved in February for complicated reasons. One reason, I think, is hes trying to sell himself as a nationalist. His militia, his people, are probably the least sectarian today of any of the Shia militias. Hes gotten behind the protests and given it a lot of muscle, to the point where now, once his people got involved, the Abadi government was actually forced to draw up a new cabinet that was full of technocrats. And when he did that all the entrenched interests, the Islamist parties, Malikis side, they fought back and demanded that he retract it. So now Abadi is in a very precarious situation, caught on one side between a mass movement, and the Sadrists, and on the other side by the Islamist parties and the old elite that was brought here by the United States in 2003, which means that we may see in the coming months a coup, we may see in an overthrow of Haider al-Abadi. We dont know whats going to happen, but it looks to be an explosive situation today.

I wanted to touch on what is essentially the focus of your article in The Atlantic, which is the Popular Mobilization Forces. Theres a specific line in there where you point out that NGOs and human rights workers have been documenting cases, and they allege thatin certain areas, at leastanti-ISIS forces may have killed as many Sunnis as ISIS has. Obviously in the United States, in large part because of the terrorist attacks that ISIS has carried out in the West, we have this focus on the Islamic State as a kind of exclusive evil. With respect to Syria, a very common thing to say would be like Bernie Sanders in the last Democratic debate: Assad and ISIS are bad, but we have to deal with ISIS first.

Are we focused too much on the Islamic State at the expense of a holistic approach to the problems of the Middle East?

Absolutely, I think its a major problem. With Sanders comments that we have to deal with ISIS before we deal with Assadit actually doesnt make sense to do that, because Assad helped produce ISIS. His bombing and torturing guaranteed that groups like ISIS would emerge. Same in Iraq: the sectarianism of the state and the militias helped produce ISIS. The danger becomes that if you look at just the immediate problem of the Islamic State, you end up deputizing the same sorts of actors that helped produce the problem youre trying to fight in the first place. Thats a problem in Syria and Iraq.

Can you explain what sorts of abuses the Popular Mobilization Forces have been accused of carrying out?

The militias have been accused of a whole range of things, from extrajudicial killings to horrific torture to you name it. A lot of things we tend to associate with ISISbeheadings and the mass slaughtermost of them have done that as well its just that they, like the Assad regime, tend to do these things without the camera rolling. They have a different audience. They have a different constituency that theyre trying to reach. But every one of these groups is extremely brutal.

I write about in this article one Sunni family describing what they have gone through. They flee ISISand flee the brutality of ISISonly to deal with the brutality of Shia militias in Baghdad. And theres many, many stories like that. There are cases where after territories have been liberated from ISIS that militias have gone in and set houses on fire, set people on fire, and all sorts of horrific things.

These are things that tend not to get talked about in the West, particularly so with Assad. If you get a chance to look at the photographs of people who were in Assads prisons and see the horror that is unfolding on a daily basis thereISIS pales in comparison to what Assad has been doing in terms of inflicting terror on a population.

In the United States, it seems the political establishment and the leading candidates for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations, theyre all basically in agreement that the Obama administrations strategy for fighting the Islamic State is more or less working. No one has the stomach for another ground invasion, so this kind of half-in approach of airstrikes and proxies on the ground, whether its these Popular Mobilization Forces or the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, the perception is that this working.

If you had the opportunity to speak to any of these candidates, or President Obama himself, and you were asked whether this strategy is working, what would you tell them? What would you recommend to U.S. politicians who, for better or worse, are determined to continue intervening in Iraqs affairs?

Its hard for me to say only because I think that U.S. politicians, when they are talking about these things, they tend to look at it from a completely different framework than I am. These policies either work or dont work with respect to what they perceive to be U.S. national security interests and so in that sense you can see that ISIS is being defeated and it may seem that this is helping U.S. national security interests.

Im actually less interested in what is perceived as U.S. national security interests and more interested in what ordinary people on the ground in Iraq or Syria view as being in their interest. And there you see a real divergence, because the U.S. just does not have the track record of acting in the interests of ordinary peoplethe U.S. or any other state, for example Russia or Iranin that region. Any kind of strategy that relies on the policies of on high, in many ways will be doomed to fail, instead of looking at whats actually happening on the ground. So, for instance, in Syria, since the partial ceasefire weve seen a blossoming of the protest movement that had been more or less crushed for a few yearsa protest movement thats not only protesting against Assad, but also against Jabhat al-Nusra, which is the al-Qaida franchise in Syria.

An enormous amount of power still exists among social movements and ordinary people on the ground, but they tend to get smothered by the policies of major states like the U.S. and others.

That makes total sense. Obviously U.S. politicians are interested in the perceived U.S. national interest and theyre not so much concerned about Iraq as a functioning stateas long as its functioning enough to keep ISIS there, contained, and not in the West.

Exactly. Keep it on life support.

Charles Davis is an editor at teleSUR. Follow him on Twitter: @charliearchy

Via TeleSur



Related video added by Juan Cole:

France24:  Iraq displaced: Falluja residents trapped outside of town
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

I wont disguise my impatience with the of the Chilcot Report on Britains involvement in the 2003-2016 Iraq War. Most of it comes as no surprise to me. I chronicled it at the time, and it wasnt actually hard to find information about shenanigans if you looked hard enough.

The report did not make a determination about whether the war on Iraq was illegal. But that actually in my view is all that matters. There have been noble wars that failed. There have been noble wars that were pyrrhic in character. Those like Tony Blair who continue to defend going to war do so on the grounds of noble war gone wrong.

This was not a noble war.

Our predecessors in the twentieth century experienced the two World Wars, which killed on the order of 75 million people. In 1945, world leaders were determined not to repeat that experience, and they crafted the United Nations charter in order to forestall it. They determined that aggressive warfare would not be permitted. Hitlers invasion of Poland was sheer aggression. Japans conquests in Southeast Asia were pure aggression. Of course, the Japanese just did to what is now Indonesia in a short period of time what the Dutch had done to it over centuries. The Dutch were fully as brutal in Aceh as the Japanese were when they took over.

The post-WW II order, if it was to give up aggressive warfare, also had to give up colonialism, which it gradually for the most part did (the French let Morocco and Tunisia go but tried to hold on in Vietnam and Algeria, with disastrous consequences).

Article 39 of Chapter 7 goes like this:

Article 39 The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security.

In other words, it is the Security Council that decides if an international trouble spot should be responded to by war. The Chilcot Report shows that George W. Bush had no intention of even seeking a UNSC authorization, and Tony Blair was among those (along with then Secretary of State Colin Powell) who convinced Bush that just falling on Iraq with no pretense of an international process would look bad.

But despite threats and secretly proffered bribes, Bush and Blair were not able to browbeat the UNSC into authorizing the war. They blamed France, but it wasnt just France. If the UN General Assembly had voted, Bush and Blair would have lost very badly. The world couldnt be convinced that there was a casus belli (legal justification for war) here.

The UN Charter also allows immediate action to defend oneself. But although Iraq had invaded Iran and Kuwait in 1980 and 1990 respectively, in 2002 it was minding its own business and had not attacked either the US or Britain.

Despite the leading US role in crafting it, the US political establishment has for the most part seen the UN Charter as a detraction from US national sovereignty, and after the fall of the Soviet Union, Washington gloried in being the sole superpower. The US is a very nice country, but it has a long history of aggressive warfare, and even today suggesting at a Georgetown cocktail party that the US is in any way constrained by international law is to risk a lot of wry knowing grins.

Some would argue that sometimes in the real world the UNSC gets hung up because of the veto of the 5 permanent members, and you have to go around it. But in this case, Bush couldnt even get NATO to want to go around it. There was no consensus. Bush met with Blair and the Portuguese and Spanish presidents before launching his war, because apparently those were the only European countries he could find to support him.

So thats it. You dont need anything else. The Iraq War was an act of pure aggression, no different in moral or legal standing from Hitlers invasion of Poland. That is what Bush and Blair made themselves. Small Hitlers, betraying all the hopes of the generation of 1945, which dreamed of forestalling further such atrocities.

Had the war been launched in response to Saddam Hussains own attack on Iran in 1980, and had there been a consensus at the UNSC for such a move, it could have been justified. But in 2003 there was no international emergency calling for such a war. The level of Western hypocrisy can be measured, however, by the lack of any move to punish Iraq for invading Iran and starting an 8-year war that killed hundreds of thousands. Worse yet, the Reagan administration actually swung behind Iraq in 1983, allied with Saddam, and shielded him from charges brought by Iran to the UNSC that he used mustard gas and perhaps Sarin on Iranian troops at the front. And then the Reagan administration authorized the sale to Iraq of precursors for anthrax. The joke in 2003 was that Bush was asked how he knew that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons, and he responds, We still have the receipts.

There are those, whether pacifists or persons of the left, who believe that all military interventions by Western powers should be opposed. For the leftists, this position seems ahistorical, since even Stalin was glad enough to ally with the American bourgeoisie against Hitlers murder machine. Stalin was pretty far left. As for pacifism, it faces the moral challenge that St. Ambrose brought up, which is if you let a third party be killed when you could have stopped it, you are as guilty as the murderer.

Those who argue that the Iraq War has been a disaster are correct, but that in and of itself is no reason to have opposed it. The Gulf War of 1991 that pushed Saddams forces back out of Kuwait had several downsides. Thousands of Shiites were massacred in the aftermath, and tens of thousands of Kurds were at risk of starvation or genocide. But the Gulf War was a just war. It protected Kuwait, a UN member, from being aggressively absorbed by another state. It garnered strong international support, including a UNSC resolution. The army George H. W. Bush assembled in the Saudi Eastern Province included fiercely independent countries such as Syria and Argentina.

So you cant argue that Blair did the wrong thing because the outcome has been a disaster.

He did the wrong thing because what he did was illegal in international law. Moreover, his methods were dishonest. He lied to his own cabinet, and he hid from them the possibility broached by his own Attorney General, that they could be prosecuted at the Hague for launching a war of aggression. He also lied to the public, repeatedly saying he hadnt decided on war when he long since had. He also got pressure from BP the oil company, which was afraid Britain would be cut out of new Iraqi oil deals by the Americans. He has never spoken about this.

The Bush-Blair war of aggression in turn authorized many others, and other countries have sometimes openly cited the Iraq War as justification for their own belligerence, or as proof that the West lacks legitimacy when it criticizes the aggression of others. To the hundreds of thousands dead in Iraq, the millions wounded or displaced, must be added the toll from the wars of choice W. unleashed on the world.



Related video:

Euronews:  Sir John Chilcot outlines key findings of report into Iraq war
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By Rebecca Gordon | (Informed Comment) |  

So now its official. The British Chilcot Report confirms what the world has known for 13 years: the invasion of Iraq was a legal, strategic, and moral disaster.

The report runs to 12 volumes  2.5 million words  but its primary author, Sir John Chilcott, announced its key findings to the world early on July 6:

 We have concluded that the U.K. chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. Military action at that time was not a last resort.

 The judgments about the severity of the threat posed by Iraqs weapons of mass destruction  WMDs  were presented with a certainty that was not justified.

 Despite explicit warnings, the consequences of the invasion were underestimated. The planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein were wholly inadequate.

 The government failed to achieve its stated objectives.

 Mr. Blair and Mr. Straw blamed France for the impasse in the U.N. and claimed that the U.K. government was acting on behalf of the international community to uphold the authority of the security council. In the absence of a majority in support of military action, we consider that the UK was, in fact, undermining the security councils authority.

The world could have told Chilcot all of that back in February 2003, before the March invasion.

Actually, the world did speak up then, and resoundingly. So huge were the demonstrations around the globe, so unanimous was the international repugnance and outrage at the Bush and Blair administrations drive to war, that the distinguished journalist Jonathan Schell named the peoples of the earth the other superpower. And it wasnt only the worlds people. Even their rulers objected. For once, Schell wrote in the Nation magazine, the majority of the worlds governments spoke up unequivocally for the majorities of their peoples.

The world spoke up, but Bush and Blair and the U.S. congress and the British parliament stopped their ears and raced relentlessly on to disaster.

Of course it wasnt their disaster. They werent the ones who watched as their country descended into chaos. They werent the ones who lost their homes, their limbs, or their lives. The Iraq War has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and many more injuries. It has uprooted millions more, and has left what was once a modern, developed nation of twenty-four million people in utter physical, political, and economic shambles. The invasion, accompanied by ruthless aerial attacks in Baghdadand followed by years of abusive, poorly planned, and under-staffed occupationunleashed an earthquake of destabilization that continues to shake the region today.

In the years following the invasion, over a million refugees fled to neighboring countries like Syria and Jordan. The latters population already included millions of Palestinian refugees. As many as 2.5 million Iraqis became internally displaced. And the damage continues to this day. Far from solving the problem of terrorism with shock and awe, the Iraq War and a disastrous occupation plowed the field for a new crop of terrorist associations, including the so-called Islamic State.

Instead of bringing stability to Iraq and the larger region, the war brought to a boil long-simmering class, ethnic and sectarian hostilities in Iraqi society and has rendered ordinary life almost impossible for more than a decade.

That earthquake of destabilization? The Chilcot report says it was not only predictable, it was predicted. The risks of internal strife in Iraq, active Iranian pursuit of its interests, regional instability, and al Qaeda activity in Iraq, said Chilcot, were explicitly identified before the invasion.

Its Not a Bug; Its a Feature

Not only were those risks identified before the invasion, but members of the Bush administration, including Vice President Dick Cheney and his longtime associate Paul Wolfowitz, actually came into office with an explicit plan to bring them about. The story goes back to 1996, when Wolfowitz and others wrote A Clean Break  a policy paper prepared for Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then, as now, the Israeli prime minister. The authors argued that Israel can shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey and Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria. Such a campaign would begin by removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraqan important Israeli strategic objective in its own rightas a means of foiling Syrias regional ambitions. The ultimate goal would be a realignment of power in the Middle East, with Syria destabilized, a Hashemite king ruling Iraq, and a new regional alliance among Turkey, Jordan, and Israel.

Syria has certainly been rolled back in a civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and made over half its population either internal or external refugees.The US invasion or Iraq did not cause the Syrian civil war, but it unleashed the shock wavesas Wolfowitz and his co-authors predicted and hopedthat made it possible, as well as creating the conditions for the rise of extremist forces like the Islamic State.

Netanyahu rejected A Clean Break, perhaps because one of its key suggestions was that Israel should also make a clean break from its dependence on US aid. But in 1998 a group calling itself the Project for a New American Century presented a similar proposal to then-president Bill Clinton, who to his credit, rejected it. The list of those who signed the PNAC letter reads like a Whos Who of the neoconservative elite who helped pave the intellectual path to the Iraq nightmare, including Elliott Abrams, Richard L. Armitage, William J. Bennett, John Bolton, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Zalmay Khalilzad, William Kristol, Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, R. James Woolsey, and Robert B. Zoellick. Many of them found work in the new Bush administration, and when the terrorists struck on 9/11, they were ready with what seemed to them an obvious response  an invasion of Iraq.

Its clear, too, from the Senate torture report and other public records, that U.S. torture in the war on terror began because Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush needed a reason to invade Iraq. The CIA tortured Abu Zubaydah into saying that Saddam Hussein was in league with al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks. They shipped a Libyan named Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, who probably had been an al Qaeda trainer, to Egypt. There he was waterboarded until he agreed to the proposition that, as President Bush put it in an October 2002 speech to the nation, Iraq has trained al Qaeda in bomb-making and poisons and deadly gases. Donald Rumsfeld wrote his famous memo okaying torture at Guantanamo in hopes that someone there would say the same thing. In 2006, the Armys Inspector General interviewed a Major Paul Burney, who had been stationed at Guantanamo at the time. [A] large part of the time we were focused on trying to establish a link between al Qaeda and Iraq, he told the IG, and we were not being successful in establishing a link between al Qaeda and Iraq. The more frustrated people got in not being able to establish that link, there was more and more pressure to resort to measures that might produce more immediate results.

Holding Someone Accountable

Theres much more to be said about the Chilcot report and its implications. One important point is that in addition to being a human disaster, the war on Iraq was illegal under international law, as Kofi Anan said within six months of the invasion. Chilcot skirts the issue of legality, observing, The inquiry has not expressed a view on whether military action was legal. That could, of course, only be resolved by a properly constituted and internationally recognized court. We have, however, concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for UK military action were far from satisfactory.

It is long past time for a a properly constituted and internationally recognized court to begin to hold the men and women who started the Iraq War responsible for their actions. Lets hope the Chilcot report marks the beginning of real accountability for the crimes of this illegal war.

Rebecca Gordon is the author of American Nuremberg and Mainstreaming Torture. She also teaches philosophy at the University of San Francisco. Contact her at www.mainstreamingtorture.org .

American Nuremberg
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) - Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE:PSE)(FRANKFURT:PNX) (the "Company" or "Pasinex") has received the next set of assay results from it's 2015 drill campaign at its 50% - owned Pinargozu zinc mine. Assays are now available for a further 22 (PPU15-009 - PPU15-030) underground diamond drill holes completed between May and September 2015. The 22 drill holes averaged 66 metres in length for a total of 1,448 metres. Amongst the results are 2.8 metres grading 37% zinc as drilling extends the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east. The previous set of drill results (released on June 23rd) had extended the mining area towards the north.

Table 1: Summary Highlights of Drill Assay Results

Drill Hole # Core Length

Interval Metres* Zn Grade %** Core Recovery % From (metres) PPU15-019 2.8 37.6 55 24.4 PPU15-009 4.0 25.2 57 35.5 PPU15-030 1.6 53.8 78 30.2

* True widths have yet to be determined. **Zinc mineral is predominantly Smithsonite (which is zinc carbonate)

Steve Williams, CEO of Pasinex commented "We are very pleased to report that drilling is successfully following the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east of the mine workings. These carbonate replacement systems are connected so we expect to trace this mineralized horizon down and laterally to another thicker and richer part of the system."

A full table of assays from this drilling is available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29lKaun. Maps (Figure 5 & 6) of all drill holes covered in this release are available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29hrOM8 (Figure 5) & http://bit.ly/29r9BhX (Figure 6). Drilling indicates an extension to the east of the main mineralized zone - see Figures 3 & 4 by following these links: http://bit.ly/29oHmPe (Figure 3) & http://bit.ly/29eMsKD (Figure 4). Some 12 of the 22 drill holes (55%) intersected a mineralized horizon ranging in grade and apparent thickness between 56% Zinc over 50 centimetres to 47% zinc over four metres. Another five drill holes intersected significant mineralization varying in apparent thickness between 20 centimetres and two metres with grades between 2.9% and 9.8%Zn. A total of five drill holes did not intersect any significant mineralization. There is a sharp cut-off between high grade mineralization and barren host carbonate rock and thinner lower grade mineralization can abruptly change to thicker higher grade parts of the system. The mineralizing system delineated to date is almost exclusively zinc with local pockets of high grade silver. Lead concentrations in the mineralized zones encountered is generally well below one percent. Drilling was undertaken from drill pads shown in Figure 3. Fan drilling from the underground stations was both lateral and vertical to provide coverage.

Figure 4: Pinargozu Long Section (Looking West) is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1061776_Figure_4.pdf

Pinargozu Zinc Mine

Current mining at 60 tonnes per day is predominantly exploiting non-sulphide high grade zinc carbonate mineralization. The grade of the mined material consistently exceeds the 25% zinc threshold for direct shipping to zinc processing plants. Pinargozu is one of several exploration targets along the Horzum Zinc Trend (HZT). The HZT controls a series of Carbonate-Replacement-Deposit (CRD) type mineral occurrences. The HZT extends north of the old Horzum mine, currently operated by our joint venture partner, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS), for at least 8 kilometres - see link to Figure 2: http://bit.ly/28WVEVN. The HZT is completely under-explored. Pasinex is the first to apply advanced exploration technology and CRD exploration concepts and models to the HZT.

Quality Control and Data Verification

Samples were assayed in the SGS laboratory in Ankara. Zinc, lead and silver, assays were obtained by multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/ICP-AES Package (33 Elements) - Zn (lower detection limit: 1 ppm/upper detection limit: 10,000 ppm) code ICP40B. For high grade zinc multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/AAS Package code AAS43B. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the submission of blanks duplicate samples inserted at regular intervals into the sample train by Pasinex personnel. Duplicate pulp samples are sent to the ALS laboratory in Izmir as an umpire ISO-compliant check to confirm analytical accuracy. Drill-core samples were prepared at a standard non-certified facility at the Horzum Mine. External quality control on sample preparation is assured by reference to regular selection of duplicate coarse reject samples which are now sent to SGS. SGS-Ankara's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001: 2000 and ISO 17025: 1999.

Qualified Person

EurGeol, P.Geo. John Barry, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Barry is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control and data verification and has confirmed all procedures, protocols and methodologies used. Mr. Barry is a director and shareholder of the Company.

About Pasinex

Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE:PSE)(FRANKFURT:PNX) is a metals company which is a 50% owner of the high grade Pinargozu zinc mine which is in production and, under its DSO Program, is shipping directly to zinc smelter / refiners from its mine site in Turkey. The Company has a strong technical management team with many years of experience in mineral exploration and mining project development. The mission of Pasinex is to build a mid-tier zinc company based on building a large land within a productive CRD district in Turkey.

The Pinargozu Mine is included in the 50-50 company, Horzum Arama Isletme AS (Horzum AS), which is a corporate joint venture between Pasinex and Turkish mining house, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS). Akmetal AS is one of Turkey's largest family-owned conglomerates with the nearby past-producing Horzum zinc mine.

Visit our web site at: www.pasinex.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

PASINEX RESOURCES LTD.

"Steve Williams"

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Pasinex Resources Ltd. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, exploration results, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
The blue-green algae bloom is visible in this image of Lake Okeechobee, acquired on July 2, 2016, by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite. (Photo : NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. )

Florida's southern rivers and beaches are now teeming with toxic, foul smells from a massive algae bloom, where Governor Rick Scott is now urging legislators to spend millions of dollars to combat this invasive overgrowth.



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On Wednesday, Scott announced that he will request for the Legislature to create a local state grant program to help homeowners to switch from septic tanks to centralized sewer systems where he also sent a proposal that this funding will be used come 2017 so that communities on the Indian River Lagoon and the Caloosahatchee River can develop and build new waste water management systems.



This bloom is partially caused by septic waste from Lake Okeechobee discharges including septic tank runoff seeping into the state's waterways. Among those that are plagued by the stench is a regional stretch of beaches known as Treasure Coast, as algae blooms are described by locals as thick as guacamole.



In Florida, Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater body across the state however, it is extremely polluted with runoff that originates from human waste and animal feed and fertilizer which are all conducive for algae blooms. Now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are now managing this flooding, in order to release water from the lake into nearby rivers and lagoons.



According to Florida Atlantic University's Bill Louda, there is too much nitrogen and phosphorous being dumped into the state's natural waters and of course, there will be a reaction. According to Senator Marco Rubio on Friday that this situation is already reaching catastrophic water conditions, as he called for an emergency declaration from Washington.



Rubio says that allowing emergency funds can assist businesses that are devastated by these algae blooms, and hopefully, healthcare agencies can take immediate action to investigate the long term impact of this filth that can spread deadly bacteria to communities in Florida.



However, Louda says that this will not be eradicated immediately due to a potentially disastrous domino effect on the ecosystem. If algae dies they are also killing sea grass, where good macro algae and phytoplankton could also die, which feeds the fish and everything else.



Since this algae movement is very rapid, this can shift into winds and the tides which makes it challenging to predict where this algae bloom will appear next, taking weeks for this to completely disappear and wash away.


WINNEMUCCA, NEVADA--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) - Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE MKT:PZG) ("Paramount" or the "Company") announced today that Paramount has completed its acquisition of Calico Resources Corp. ("Calico") pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement dated March 14, 2016 (the "Agreement") after having received the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia to the transaction on July 5, 2016. Calico is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Paramount issued 7,171,209 common shares to Calico shareholders as per the exchange ratio whereby Calico stockholders had the right to receive 0.07 of a share of common stock of Paramount for every common share of Calico.

At the special meeting of its stockholders held on June 29, 2016, Paramount stockholders owning approximately 97.8% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the Paramount meeting, voted in favor of the arrangement proposal. Calico stockholders owning approximately 97.4% of the shares present in person or represented by proxy, voted in favor of Calico's proposal at a special meeting of its stockholders also held on June 29, 2016.

Glen Van Treek, Paramount's President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with the overwhelming vote of support from Calico stockholders. The acquisition not only diversifies and improves our asset base but it also strengthens our stockholder composition. The addition of the Grassy Mountain project is a textbook fit to our corporate strategy and the Paramount team is looking forward to continuing its advancement towards a production decision."

Key investment highlights of the Calico acquisition are as follows:

Adds a second advanced-stage asset which more than doubles the Company's measured plus indicated contained ounces of precious metals;

Significantly improves the overall gold grade of the Company's global resources;

Increases the Company's exploration upside potential; and

Reduces shareholder risk by diversifying the Company's assets.

The Grassy Mountain Gold Project consists of approximately 9,300 acres with its main deposit located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain gold-silver deposit has a completed Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. Please refer to the amended technical report titled "Amended Preliminary Economic Assessment, Calico Resources Corp. Grassy Mountain Project, Malheur County, Oregon USA" and dated July 9, 2015.

The PEA contemplates a 10 year underground mining operation with low cash operating costs driven by a high average underground gold grade of 5.32 g/T gold. The annual average production of 53,000 ounces of gold and 82,000 of silver yield robust economics assuming a $1,300 gold price and silver at $17.50 per ounce. At a 5% discount rate, the project produces an estimated pre-tax NPV of $144 million and a 32.6% IRR. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Consequently, there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

Paramount's immediate action plans are to improve confidence in Grassy Mountain's overall project design and development in preparation for completing a Pre-feasibility Study with the commencement of a core drilling program in 2016. The key aspects of the going forward plan are:

To improve metallurgical testing and to optimize the recovery process;

To generate the geotechnical information needed for optimal mine and infrastructure design and location;

To improve geological, geometallurgical and geotechnical models;

To better define and potentially reduce capital cost estimates for mine construction and operation; and

To continue with environmental data collection required for the mine operation permitting process.

Grassy Mountain Mineral Inventory (1,2,3,4,5) MEASURED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 3,157 0.155 5.33 491 0.263 9.0 829 Open Pit 52,645 0.020 0.67 1,027 0.072 2.5 3,784 Total 55,802 0.027 0.93 1,518 0.083 2.8 4,613 INDICATED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 88 0.149 5.13 13 0.163 5.6 14 Open Pit 12,803 0.010 0.33 122 0.027 0.9 350 Total 12,891 0.010 0.36 135 0.028 1.0 364 MEASURED PLUS INDICATED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground 3,246 0.155 5.32 504 0.260 8.9 843 Open Pit 65,447 0.018 0.60 1,149 0.063 2.2 4,133 Total 68,693 0.024 0.82 1,653 0.072 2.5 4,977 INFERRED tons (000s) Au opt Au g/T Ounces Au (000s) Ag opt Ag g/T Ounces Ag (000s) Underground - - - - - - - Open Pit 221 0.007 0.24 2 0.010 0.3 2 Total 221 0.007 0.23 2 0.010 0.3 2

(1) Rounding may cause apparent discrepancies (2) Underground and Open Pit material are exclusive from each other (3) tons= imperial tonnes; T= metric Tonnes (4) Underground Cut-off grade = 0.065 opt Au (5) Open pit Cut-off grade = 0.005 opt Au

Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

For more information on the Grassy Mountain Gold Project including the Preliminary Economic Assessment, please visit our website. The technical and scientific information contained in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Scott Wilson, CPG, of Metal Mining Consultants, a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Wilson is independent of Paramount and has verified the data within this release.

The common shares of Calico have been halted for trading and are to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange as of the close of business today, July 7, and the Company will cause Calico to voluntarily surrender Calico's reporting issuer status in British Columbia and will apply to the Alberta Securities Commission to terminate Calico's reporting issuer status in Alberta.

About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Paramount Gold Nevada is a U.S. based precious metals exploration company. Paramount's strategy is to create shareholder value through the exploration and development of U.S. properties and then selling to, or entering into joint ventures with, producers for construction and operation. Paramount owns a 100% interest in the Sleeper Gold Project located in Northern Nevada. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper high-grade gold mine, totals 2,322 unpatented mining claims (approximately 60 square miles or 15,500 hectares). Paramount also holds a 100% interest in the Grassy Mountain Gold Project which consists of approximately 9,300 acres located on private land in Malheur County, Oregon. The Grassy Mountain project contains a gold-silver deposit for which a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") has been prepared and key permitting milestones have been accomplished. With its substantial ownership of U.S. gold resources on a per share basis, Paramount offers its shareholders significant leverage to a rising gold price.

Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Estimates of Indicated and Inferred Resources

This news release uses the terms "measured and indicated resources" and "inferred resources". We advise U.S. investors that while these terms are defined in, and permitted by, Canadian regulations, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and not normally permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. "Inferred resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility studies, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves", as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in this category will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of an inferred resource exists or is economically or legally minable.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's anticipated plans for the Grassy Mountain Project and the potential for any mining or production at the Grassy Mountain Project. These statements relate to analysis and other information that are based on expectations of future performance as set out in the PEA, including gold and silver production and planned work programs. In addition, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, Paramount's strategies and plans, the attractiveness of the Grassy Mountain Project as a development option; the exploration potential at the Grassy Mountain Project; development scenarios at the Grassy Mountain Project; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of the Company's capital to finance the Company's operations; geological interpretations and potential mineral recovery processes. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, risks relating to: uncertainty as to actual capital costs, operating costs, production and economic returns, and uncertainty that development activities will result in a profitable mining operation at the Grassy Mountain Project; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold or certain other commodities; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the United States; the uncertainties involved in interpreting geological data; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, risks related to mineral exploration estimates being based on interpretations and assumptions which may result in less mineral production under actual conditions than is currently estimated and to diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources as the Grassy Mountain Project is mined; and contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of gold exploration, development and mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and gold bullion losses (and the risk of inadequate insurance, or the inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks.

Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: Paramount's ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; production meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. Paramount's future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions should also be considered to be forward-looking statements.

Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.
VANCOUVER, CANADA--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) - Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. (TSX:PGD) ("Peregrine" or "the Company") is very pleased to announce the positive findings of an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Chidliak Phase One Diamond Development ("CP1D") of the CH-6 and CH-7 kimberlite pipes on the Company's 100%-owned, Chidliak Diamond Project on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The PEA highlights that the CP1D represents a robust, high margin, ten-year, open-pit mining project with very attractive economics. Peregrine owns 100% of the 564,396 hectare Chidliak Project, where 74 kimberlites have been discovered to date, with eight currently being identified as potentially economic. The Company also owns all of the diamond marketing and sales rights and there are no non-government royalties or other encumbrances on diamond production.

The CP1D envisages an open-pit diamond mine with a mining life of approximately ten years, producing initially from an open pit at the CH-6 kimberlite pipe with production from an open pit at the CH-7 kimberlite pipe to follow. The PEA utilizes the Chidliak resource estimate prepared by Mineral Services Canada Inc. with an effective date of June 3, 2016, that includes the 11.39 million carat Inferred Resource to a depth of 260 metres at CH-6 that was announced in an April 7, 2016 news release, plus the maiden 4.23 million carat Inferred Resource at CH-7 to a depth of 240 metres that was announced in a May 5, 2016 news release. The resources at both CH-6 and CH-7 remain open at depth and represent significant expansion opportunities which have not been included in the current economic study.

The PEA was prepared by JDS Energy & Mining Inc. ("JDS"), independent consulting engineers based in Vancouver, Canada. The JDS team has a long history of northern Canadian and diamond project experience, including the current construction of the Gahcho Kue diamond mine, in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Highlights of the 2016 Chidliak Phase One Diamond Development PEA base case are:

Pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of C$ 743.7 million, at a 7.5% discount rate and a pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 38.1%.

After-tax NPV of C$ 471.2 million, at a 7.5% discount rate and an after-tax IRR of 29.8%.

Total Life of Mine (LOM) pre-tax Free Cash Flow of C$ 1.31 billion.

Pre-tax average annual Free Cash Flow of C$ 131 million per annum.

After-tax payback period of two years, LOM of ten years.

Operating margin of 72%.

LOM average production rate of 1.2 million carats per annum, peaking at 1.8 million carats per year.

LOM average mining head grade of 1.67 carats per tonne.

Estimated pre-production capital requirement of approximately C$ 434.9 million, including C$ 56.7 million in contingency.

Pre-production capital includes the construction of a 160 kilometre, all-weather road to connect to Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut.

The Chidliak 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.

Eric Friedland, Peregrine's founder and Executive Chairman, commented: "We are very pleased with the results of this Preliminary Economic Assessment, which clearly establishes Chidliak as one of the premier undeveloped diamond resources, located in one of the world's safest, and most supportive jurisdictions for responsible mining development. With the support of all our stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, local entrepreneurs, Nunavummiut, and the Nunavut and Federal governments, we are looking forward to advancing this outstanding diamond project to the next stage of development."

Tom Peregoodoff, Peregrine's President and Chief Executive Officer, added: "The PEA marks another significant milestone for Peregrine as we continue to advance Chidliak towards a production decision. The base case shows that a Phase One Diamond Development at Chidliak could generate more than C$ 1.3 billion in pre-tax net cash flows, deliver life-of-mine, after-tax net present value of C$ 471 million, and has a capital payback period of only two years. This economic study illustrates robust economics for the Phase One development at Chidliak, which compares very favourably with other mineral development projects currently under review or construction in Nunavut. As we develop Chidliak further, we expect to identify further upside to the economics of the project through optimization studies of the Phase One mine, including the expansion of the CH-6 resource to depth and through the development of a potential, Phase Two resource expansion from the numerous other kimberlites on the property of which six currently show economic potential."

Phase One Diamond Development Inferred Resource

Summary resource data for CH-6 and CH-7 are shown in Table 1 below.

Table 1 Phase One Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate*

Domain Tonnes

(millions) Grade

(carats per tonne) Carats

(millions) CH-6 KIM-L.NG 3.88 2.12 8.24 CH-6 KIM-L.HG 0.76 4.16 3.15 CH-6** Total 4.64 2.45 11.39 CH-7*** Total 4.99 0.85 4.23 Phase 1 Inferred Resource Total 9.63 1.67**** 15.62 * Stated at 1.18 mm square-mesh sieve bottom cut-off.

** The CH-6 Inferred Resource extends from surface to an elevation of 420 metres above sea level, or approximately 260 metres depth below surface and is open to depth.

***The CH-7 Inferred Resource extends from surface to an elevation of 450 metres above sea level, or approximately 240 meters depth below surface and is open to depth.

****Represents the Life of Mine average mining head grade.

Economic Analysis

Inputs and assumptions used in the study are shown in Table 2. In addition to the parameters shown in Table 2, the following was incorporated into the economic analysis.

Diamond prices for both CH-6 and CH-7 used in the study were based on March, 2016 pricing received from WWW International Diamond Consultants and escalated annually from 2016 at a rate of 2.5%.

Commercial production achieved in 2021 using a three year construction schedule.

Owner - operated.

Peregrine's eligible Canadian Exploration Expense and Canadian Development Expense tax pools were utilized in the post-tax calculations.

The analysis does not include financing costs or management fees.

Table 2. Inputs - Economic Analysis

Assumptions & Inputs Unit Value Base CH-6 Diamond Valuation* US$/carat 149 Base CH-7 Diamond Valuation* US$/carat 114 Diamond Price Escalation (from 2016) % per annum 2.5 Foreign Exchange Rate US$:C$ 0.78 Discount Rate % 7.5 Operating Days/Year days/year 365 Royalties % 0 Diamond Recovery % 98 Selling Cost % of price 4 Selling Cost US$/carat 6

*Base diamond valuations provided by WWW International Diamond Consultants using the March, 2016 price book and were escalated annually from 2016 at a rate of 2.5%

Base case, pre-tax and post-tax financial outcomes are summarized in Table 3. The results are presented for the all weather road option. (see Infrastructure Trade-Off Study below)

Table 3. Base-case Financial Outcomes

Parameter Unit Value Life of Mine (LOM) Years 10 Average Mill Throughput tonnes/day 2,000 Pre-Tax NPV / IRR C$millions (M) / % 743.7 / 38.1 After-Tax NPV / IRR C$M / % 471.2 / 29.8 Net Revenue (after royalties) C$M 2,462 Total Pre-Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 1310.7 Annual Pre-Tax Free Cash Flow C$M 131.2 Total After-Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 887.4 Annual After Tax LOM Free Cash Flow C$M 88.8 Average Head Grade carats / tonne 1.67 LOM Average Production carats / year 1.2 million Total Recovered Carats carats 11.6 million LOM CH-6 Average Price US$ / carat : C$ / carat 178 : 228 LOM CH-7 Average Price US$ / carat : C$ / carat 153 : 196 Initial Capital Expenditure (CapEx) C$M 434.9 Sustaining Capital Expenditure C$M 48.7 LOM Operating Expenditure (OpEx) C$/tonne 94.4 LOM Operating Expenditure C$/ct 57.7 Total LOM Operating Expenditure C$ M 668 Operating Margin % 73

Sensitivity Analysis

Sensitivity analyses to key inputs are shown in Tables 4 through to Table 6.

Table 4. Sensitivity Analysis - Diamond Price Escalation

Annual Diamond Price Escalation Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) Pre-Tax IRR Pre-Tax Payback (Yrs) 0 % $466 29.7 % 2.1 0.5% $517.8 31.4 % 2.0 1.0% $571.2 33.1 % 1.9 2.0% $684.1 36.4 % 1.8 2.5% (Base Case) $743.7 38.1 % 1.8 3.0% $805.5 39.7 % 1.7

Table 5. Sensitivity Analysis - US$/C$ Exchange Rate

Exchange Rate US$:C$ Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) Pre-Tax IRR Pre-Tax Payback (Yrs) 0.65 $1,063 47.3 % 1.4 0.70 $926.4 43.5 % 1.6 0.75 $807.6 40.0 % 1.7 0.78 (Base Case) $743.7 38.1 % 1.8 0.85 $612.1 33.8 % 2.0 1.00 $392.1 26.0 % 2.4

Table 6. Sensitivity Analysis - Discount Rate

Discount Rate Pre-Tax NPV (C$M) After-Tax NPV (C$M) 0% $1,310.7 $887.4 5% $898.2 $584.1 7.5% (Base Case) $743.7 $471.2 10% $614.7 $377.4 12% $526.7 $313.5

Mr. Peregoodoff added: "We were intentionally very careful in our selection of base case input parameters. The positive base case economics are based on conservative, industry standard assumptions for all key inputs. We wanted to account for all reasonable, potential and future outcomes. To that end, the sensitivity analysis demonstrates very robust project economics. For example, if the Canadian dollar were to reach par with the US dollar, or if no annual diamond price escalation were to occur, the project still has pre-tax Internal Rates of Return of 26% and 29.7% respectively."

Infrastructure Trade-off Study

As part of the PEA, JDS completed a rigorous cost-benefit and risk analysis of constructing an all-weather road (AWR) to connect the Chidliak Project to Iqaluit on a year-round basis, compared to using an enhanced-winter road (EWR), which would generally be open for approximately six weeks during late winter. As Table 7 illustrates, the economic trade-offs of the two options are minimal. While the pre-production capital for the AWR is somewhat higher, the NPV is higher for an AWR as the annual transportation and operating costs are significantly reduced. In addition, the AWR option eliminates the risks associated with loss of capacity on the EWR as a result of weather-related shut downs and eliminates the inherent cost implications of using aircraft to support the enhanced winter road.

Table 7. Economic Comparison - AWR / EWR trade-off study

Unit All-Weather

Road Enhanced Winter

Road Pre-Tax Variance

(EWR:AWR) Pre-Tax NPV (@7.5%) C$M $743.7 $710.9 -$32.8 IRR % 38.1 % 39.4 % 1.4 % Payback Years 1.8 1.7 0.0 After-Tax NPV (@7.5%) C$M $471.2 $451.3 -$19.9 IRR % 29.8 % 30.9 % 1.0 % Payback Years 2.0 1.9 0.0

Capital and Operating Costs

Rigorous capital and operating cost estimates were prepared on a site-specific, owner operated scenario and use JDS's extensive experience working on Arctic projects. All costs incorporated factors specific to northern Canadian and Baffin Island locations. The LOM capital costs, including contingency of C$ 56.7 million, is C$ 483.6 million and is detailed in Table 8.

Table 8. Capital Costs

Capital Costs Pre-Production

(C$M) Sustaining or Closure

(C$M) Total (C$M) Pre-Stripping 3.2 0.0 3.2 Mining Equipment 28.4 13.2 41.6 Mining Infrastructure/Ancillary 21.0 0.4 21.4 Site Development and Roadworks 107.3 0.0 107.3 Process Facilities 65.0 17.6 82.6 Utilities 25.9 0.0 25.9 Ancillary Facilities 27.2 0.0 27.2 Indirect Costs 51.7 0.0 51.7 EPCM 27.3 0.0 27.3 Owners Costs 21.1 0.0 21.1 Closure Costs 0.0 12.9 12.9 Subtotal Capital Costs 378.2 44.0 422.2 Contingency 15% 56.7 4.7 61.4 Total Capital Costs 434.9 48.7 483.6

The average LOM operating expense is estimated at C$ 94 per tonne processed, or C$ 58 per carat recovered. Operating cost breakdown is shown in Table 9 below.

Table 9. Operating Costs

Operating Cost $/t Processed $/carat LOM (C$M) Mining 34.74 21.24 245.8 Processing 17.16 10.49 121.4 Freight 14.74 9.01 104.3 Site Services 9.65 5.90 68.2 General and Administrative 18.11 11.07 128.1 Total Operating Expenses 94.40 57.71 667.8

*Average LOM mining cost is based on a LOM strip ratio of 7.2:1.

Cautionary Statement

Readers are cautioned that the Chidliak 2016 PEA is preliminary in nature and is based on Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA will be realised. There is no certainty that the Inferred Resources will be converted to the Indicated or Measured categories, or that the potential Indicated or Measured Resources would be converted to the Proven or Probable Mineral Reserve categories. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The estimates of Mineral Resources in the PEA and the Mineral Resource statement may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The Chidliak 2016 PEA recommends that the Chidliak Project be advanced to a pre-feasibility study level in order to increase confidence in the estimates.

Peregrine will be filing a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report on the Chidliak 2016 PEA within 45 days of this news release.

Peregrine to host conference call for investors and analysts on July 12, 2016 to discuss details of the PEA

The company will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the PEA results on Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 08:00AM Pacific Time (11:00AM Eastern Time). The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-866-393-4306 or 1-617-826-1698 in Canada and the United States. Callers outside of North America may refer to https://www.confsolutions.ca/ILT?oss=1P29R8662237781 for their country-specific toll-free dial-in number.

The conference call also will be webcast live over the internet and can be accessed at the following link: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/ezbiued4. To listen to the live webcast, visit the weblink at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The conference call and webcast will be archived for later playback until December 5, 2016 at the above link.

Qualified Persons

The Chidliak 2016 PEA was prepared by JDS and is based on a Mineral Resource estimate for the Chidliak Project published as a NI 43-101 Technical Report with an effective date of June 3, 2016. JDS has a long and successful track record of delivering high-quality technical engineering and economic studies for a wide range of mineral resource companies, both in Canada and internationally. JDS is a specialized, private mineral engineering, consulting and construction company focused on adding value to mineral projects with fit-for-purpose designs and exceptional execution. The JDS team has a long history of northern Canadian and diamond experience including the current construction of the Gahcho Kue diamond mine and the Silvertip silver and base-metals mine.

The following Qualified Persons have participated in the development of the PEA, or are responsible for specific inputs into the PEA.

Table 10. Qualified Persons

Qualified Person Company Responsibility Gord Doerksen, P.Eng JDS Energy & Mining Inc. Project Management, Economic Analysis, Costs, Infrastructure, Logistics Dino Pilotto, P.Eng JDS Energy & Mining Inc. Mine Plan, Production Schedule, Mine Costs Jennifer Pell, Ph.D.,P.Geo Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Diamond Valuations

The Qualified Persons named above have reviewed the scientific and technical information contained in this news release and have approved of its contents.

ABOUT THE CHIDLIAK PROJECT

Peregrine's 100 percent-owned, 564,396 hectare Chidliak Project is located 120 kilometres from Iqaluit. A total of 74 kimberlites have been discovered to date on the project, with eight being identified as potentially economic. An Inferred Mineral Resource of 11.39 million carats in 4.64 million tonnes of kimberlite at an average grade of 2.45 carats per tonne has been defined for a portion of the CH-6 kimberlite. In addition, a Target for Further Exploration ("TFFE") of 2.34 to 3.75 million tonnes of kimberlite to a depth of 380 metres below surface has been identified at CH-6. An independent diamond valuation by WWW International Diamond Consultants, of a 1,013 carat parcel of diamonds from CH-6 returned an average market price of US$213 per carat and modeled prices that range from a minimum of US$162 per carat to a high of US$236 per carat, with a base model price of US$188 per carat (all using the February 24, 2014 price book). An Inferred Mineral Resource of 4.23 million carats in 4.99 million tonnes of kimberlite at an average grade of 0.85 carats per tonne has been defined for a portion of the CH-7 kimberlite. In addition, TFFE of 0.90 to 2.36 million tonnes for a depth range of 240-320 metres below surface has been estimated for the CH-7 kimberlite. An independent diamond valuation by WWW International Diamond Consultants, of a 735.75 carat parcel of diamonds from CH-7 returned an average market price of US$100 per carat and modelled prices that ranged from a minimum of US$94 per carat to a high of US$155 per carat, with a base model price of US$114 per carat (all using the February 1, 2016 price book). A TFFE of 1.27 to 3.19 million tonnes from surface to 250 metres depth has been estimated for the CH-44 kimberlite pipe.

The TFFE's identified above are conceptual in nature and are not Mineral Resources. It is uncertain whether further exploration will result in any of these tonnages being delineated as Mineral Resources.

For information on data verification, exploration information and resource estimation procedures see the NI 43-101 technical reports entitled "Mineral Resource Estimate for the Chidliak Project, Baffin Island, Nunavut" and dated effective June 3, 2016 which is available on SEDAR and the company's website.

ABOUT PEREGRINE DIAMONDS

Peregrine is a TSX-listed diamond exploration and development company with projects in northern Canada and Botswana.

In addition to the Chidliak Project, Peregrine holds eleven diamond prospecting licences in Botswana that cover 661,330 hectares. Peregrine also controls the 8,493-hectare Lac de Gras Project in the Northwest Territories, approximately 27 kilometres from the Diavik Diamond Mine. The nine hectare, 72.1%-owned DO-27 kimberlite, located at Lac de Gras, hosts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 18.2 million carats of diamonds in 19.5 million tonnes of kimberlite, at a grade of 0.94 carats per tonne. It is open at depth.

For information on data verification, exploration information and resource estimation procedures see the NI 43-101 technical report entitled "Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. Lac de Gras Project Northwest Territories, Canada NI 43-101 Technical Report" dated July 15, 2014, which is available on SEDAR and the company's website.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation, statements relating to the PEA and its realization, estimates of Chidliak Phase One Diamond Project economics, proposed exploration and development programs, funding availability, anticipated exploration results, grade of diamonds and tonnage of material, resource estimates, diamond valuation estimates and future exploration and operating plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.

Forward-looking statements are made based upon certain assumptions by the Company and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including assumptions regarding the economics of the PEA, the price of diamonds, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: receipt of regulatory approvals; availability of funding;anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process; market prices for rough diamonds and the potential impact on the Chidliak Project; and future exploration plans and objectives.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, uncertainties relating to the Company's ability to achieve the PEA, availability and cost of funds, timing and content of work programs, results of exploration activities, interpretation of drilling results and other geological data, risks relating to variations in the diamond grade and kimberlite lithologies; variations in rates of recovery and breakage; estimates of grade and quality of diamonds, variations in diamond valuations and future diamond prices; the state of world diamond markets, reliability of mineral property titles, changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required project approvals, operational and infrastructure risk and other risks involved in the diamond exploration and development business. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty.
The US Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Louisiana [official website] on Wednesday announced an investigation [press release] into the recent police killing of a black man, Alton Sterling, which was recorded on video. Sterling was shot and killed by police officers Tuesday outside a Baton Rouge convenience store where he was selling CDs. US Attorney Walt Green said:

The FBIs New Orleans Division, the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Louisiana have opened a civil rights investigation into the death of Alton Sterling. The Justice Department will collect all available facts and evidence and conduct a fair, thorough, and impartial investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation we are not able to comment further at this time.

The killing, which was recorded on two separate videos, has sparked protests.

The killing comes amid a national conversation about police use of force, particularly against black citizens. In May Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed into law an amended hate crimes bill [JURIST report], referred to as the Blue Lives Matter law, including police, EMS personnel and firefighters in the category of those protected. The bill has drawn the contempt of some civil rights groups, including the Black Lives Matter movement. Earlier this year the US Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation [JURIST report] of the San Francisco Police Department following the shooting of an unarmed African American. In December an Ohio grand jury decided not to indict [JURIST report] two officers involved in a 2014 shooting resulting in the death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Earlier that month the DOJ announced that it would be opening a full investigation [JURIST report] into the Chicago Police Department following the 2014 police shooting death of a black teenager.
The findings of the seven-year inquiry, led by Sir John Chilcot [official profile], into Britains role in the invasion of Iraq [JURIST backgrounder] were delivered [statement] on Wednesday in the form of a scathing verdict against former prime minister Tony Blair [Britannica profile] and his administration, which stated that the war was based on flawed intelligence and assessments and had been launched before peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted. More specifically, the Chilcot Inquiry [report materials] concluded that the judgements about the severity of the threat posed by Iraqs weapons of mass destructionWMDwere presented with a certainty that was not justified, There was no imminent threat from Saddam Hussein, and [t]he planning and preparations for Iraq after Saddam Hussein [Britannica profile] were wholly inadequate. While stating that determination of whether the military action was legal is the prerogative of an international court, the inquiry concluded that the circumstances in which it was decided that there was a legal basis for UK military action were far from satisfactory. Chilcots statement reminded that a UN Security Council majority was lacking at the time of the invasion, and further concluded that the UK was, in fact, undermining the Security Councils authority by proceeding with military action. As for the post conflict period, Chilcots statement concluded that, [t]he Governments preparations failed to take account of the magnitude of the task of stabilising, administering and reconstructing Iraq, and of the responsibilities which were likely to fall to the UK. Stating that a vital purpose of the inquiry is to identify the lessons that can be learned from the Iraq experience including management of relations with allies, Chilcot remarked that, [t]he UKs relationship with the US has proved strong enough over time to bear the weight of honest disagreement. It does not require unconditional support where our interests or judgements differ.

The Iraq War has generated accusations of war crimes and atrocities, aimed at the different parties and countries involved in the conflict. On Saturday the Telegraph reported that the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] will not prosecute Tony Blair [JURIST report] for war crimes in connection with the Iraq War. The Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq War that began in July 2009. The inquirys purpose has been to examine the period before the UK ended their troop presence in Iraq in 2009 and after the summer before the September 11 attacks in 2001. The inquirys objective was never to answer [Guardian report] whether the Iraq War was legal.
The Obama administration imposed new sanctions [press release] on North Korea on Wednesday, taking the unusual step of placing the countrys leader Kim Jong Un and 10 other officials on a blacklist for human rights abusers. The sanctions would bar US individuals and businesses from dealing with Kim and the other officials named and would freeze any assets that they might have in the US. The Department of Treasury [official website] announcement was accompanied by a congressionally mandated report [text] from the State Department [official website] on atrocities in North Korea. The report lists various forms of atrocities including sexual violence, deliberate starvation, severe beatings, forced abortions and secret executions. State Department spokesperson John Kirby stated [press statement] that Human rights abuses in [North Korea] are among the worst in the world.  The government continues to commit extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced labor, and torture. Kirby estimated that up to 120,000 people, including children, are held in North Koreas political prison camps. Warning that Kim is capable of resisting any pressure from these latest sanctions, Kirby expressed hope that This puts them out in the domain in a way they wouldnt necessarily have been.  There is a power in naming them.

This is the second time [JURIST report] in less than four months that North Korea has been sanctioned by the US. These wave of sanctions from the US and UN, however, have appeared to have little effect. The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) [official website], a South Korean think-tank reported in April [JURIST report] that despite minor progress in certain areas, UN efforts at improving human rights in North Korea have not led to real improvement. North Korea has been an international source of concern due to the countrys human rights record and instability. In March UN human rights investigator Marzuki Darusman [official profile] urged [press release] the UNHRC to push for the prosecution of top North Korean government officials for crimes against humanity [JURIST report]. In February Darusman asked the UN to provide North Korea with notice [JURIST report] that Kim Jong Un may be investigated for crimes against humanity. The US House of Representatives [official website] in January approved [press release] legislation that would increase sanctions against North Korea for its continuation of nuclear testing [JURIST report]. Japan and the EU circulated [JURIST report] a draft UN resolution in November condemning North Koreas human rights abuses and encouraging the UN Security Council to refer the country to the International Criminal Court [official website], noting reports of torture, limits on freedom of mobility, restrictions on freedom of speech, restrictions on freedom of religion, privacy infringement, arbitrary imprisonment, prison camps and more.
The latest 500 is a worthy update of what had already been a big seller, especially in European countries. Like Mini, this is an expanding franchise, as the 500e, 500X, 500L and 500 L Living/MPW prove. FCA has further plans to add even more derivatives, each of which should aid the ongoing cause of a major revival in the fortunes of the Fiat brand.

Free Report What's next for the Automotive industry? The theory of the peak car  particularly in the triad markets of the US, West Europe and Japan  and the need for sustainable transportation have driven the pivot to mobility in the automotive industry. Both of these drivers are motivating OEMs to change, while society at large is interested in sustainable transport. GlobalDatas forward-looking report provides you with insights into the direction that the automotive industry is heading in the next few years. It covers: The forces transitioning automotive to mobility services

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Nine years ago this month the 500 went on sale. Nine! It took FCA a long, long time to give this crucial model a facelift, with these changes only appearing in 2015.

Production is still split between Poland and Mexico, though there is external assembly of one major module, in that the roof of the cabrio is put together by Magna Car Top Systems. FCA builds multiple variants of the 500 series at Toluca: the 500, 500 Cabrio, 500e (plug-in/EV), 500 Abarth, 500C Abarth & 500 Turbo. The Mexican factory also makes the 500 for the Brazilian market (Mexico and Brazil have a free-trade agreement) as well as for China.

The Cinquecento was the launch model for Fiat Powertrain Technologies' small engine family. The first unit was an 85hp 875cc two-cylinder engine ('TwinAir'), launched in Europe in September 2010. Since then, a 105hp version has become available and of course there is also the 1,248cc four-cylinder diesel well known from so many FCA and Suzuki models.

It's a pity that the US side of FCA doesn't think the little in-line two-cylinder motor would work in North America, as it's a cracking engine. Instead, FCA equips the NAFTA-spec cars with normally aspirated and turbocharged 1.4-litre Fiat gasoline engines. These it manufactures in Dundee, Michigan.

The 500 built in Mexico differs quite a bit from the Polish-made original. As well as the larger engine, there is an optional automatic gearbox compared to the automated manual offered for Polish-built cars. The car itself was also extensively modified for US regulations: there are larger bumpers and different headlamps. North America's 2016 model year 500 and 500c were carried over but the 2017 model year range should have its own facelift.

In addition to the 0.9 TwinAir (85hp or 105hp) and '1.3' litre Multijet (the 1,248cc diesel), there is also a 1.2 litre LPG 69hp bi-fuel for certain markets. The two-cylinder engines' CO2 levels are 90g/km for the 85hp unit and 99 for the 105hp. 'Eco' configurations of the 1.3 Multijet 95hp and 1.2 litre 69hp limit emissions to 99 grams of CO2 per kilometre. Finally, for some markets, the engine line-up also features a TwinAir 0.9 65hp normally aspirated unit, plus of course the 1.4 litre petrol.

The revisions to the front end of the latest model bring it bang up to date and while the facelift at the rear is perhaps less successful, owners can at least show others that they have this year's car. There are fewer changes on the inside, so the eight-ball gear knob and shiny silver plastic door handles remain but they also still look great. Some things, such as the seat heat adjuster, are flimsy and not something you'd see in an equivalent Toyota or Honda model given those companies' cars' reputations for being so long lasting. The uConnect infotainment system I would award top marks to, though, as it is simplicity itself to use at the first attempt.

The Twin Air engine is also brilliant. It's not especially quiet but who cares when it sounds this good, even if it does have a lumpiness about it when idling after a cold start. There's a retro turbo boost read out which builds in an arc of lights on the outside of the fuel gauge to the right of the big circular speed reading. This is in a funky 1960s-style font. To the left of the speedo is a temperature readout and arcing it is the tacho, which has a redline commencing at 6,000rpm.

A couple of less than ideal things are electric window switches positioned either side of the gear lever so you need two hands to open all the glass upon entering a hot car, and your left hand will be off the wheel for a few more seconds than can be ideal should you want to lower or lift the passenger one whilst driving: there is no one-touch function. Another example of penny pinching by FCA is the lack of an auto position for the headlights stalk. Having said that, you can leave the lights on and not be assailed by a noisy buzzer or beeper, so in practice you just drive with full lights on at all times (or off, if you want). Lock the car and the lights are extinguished.

The rear windows are fixed and there are no vents in the B pillars so it can be a sweaty or chilly first few miles for anyone who has to sit back there. You won't find much legroom in the rear nor any nice squishy plastic there or elsewhere though the door trims do at least have some sections of soft synthetic material set into all the other hard grey plastic. No such luck for those in the rear seats as their elbows will meet the same stuff. The test car was saved by having some attractive lightly coloured seat coverings, with '500' stitched into the front ones.

The boot is a surprisingly good size and has a proper spare tyre beneath an easily lifted piece of carpet. Another great touch is a loop of thick nylon instead of the usual scooped out channel into which you need to put your fingers. So often this solution is less than ideal as the positioning isn't always at a logical angle for quick and easy closing on the first attempt. However, in this case, one light tug on the black strap is all that's needed.

Back to the two-cylinder engine. Pop the bonnet and you might wonder where the little motor is, such is its size. The battery looks huge by comparison, as does the TwinAir's pedestrian friendly compressible cover. Sure, it won't win any awards for low levels of NVH at idle but once the coolant is warmed and you get it a few revs it really starts to sing. That said, the TwinAir is neither as melodic nor as free running as the Volkswagen Group's new 1.0-litre three-cylinder TSI with which I was recently taken, but it's still a delight. And we should all celebrate the fact that what used to be called Fiat Powertrain was given the go-ahead to develop something as off beat as this, if you'll pardon that unintended pun.

People will mistakenly call this a city car but to me, any vehicle which is condemned to spend most of its life in low speed traffic should not have a manual transmission, as the car FCA UK supplied did. The gearshift isn't the slickest in its class but the ratios are beautifully placed apart and you won't arrive at your destination with ears buzzing after a motorway trip. The key to that is a tall sixth gear which means the little 500 hums along merrily at 70-80mph but you'll need to drop back to fourth for overtaking on any section of carriageway with an incline.

Another reason to doubt the 500's credentials as a vehicle for people who live in a crowded conurbation is the difficulty of judging where the front end finishes. The wiper helps you check where the rear ends and you also get a backing up beeper, which makes FCA seem especially cheap for not equipping the car with a front radar sensor. At least the turning circle is narrow.

Project 332: the next 500

We're still two years away from the release of the next generation 500 of modern times but already much of the basic information has leaked out. The current model had to be expensively re-engineered for US emissions and crash regulations and is thus quite different under the skin from Europe's car. FCA won't make that mistake again, and it is even believed that the car for the Americas will no longer be built there. The Tychy plant now operates on two shifts, while FCA US needs capacity at Toluca (Mexico) for other future models so one model for the whole world is likely to be made in Poland.

In addition to replacements for the three-door hatchback and cabriolet, there should also be a five-door variant. This will not only push FCA's baby into a new segment but it's where others are headed too  the Mini is too big and too expensive to be a rival but Groupe PSA is said to be planning a five-door bodyshell for the next DS 3 and as we know, Ford of Europe's Ka replacement will be the five-door Ka+. Will GM do the same with the follow-up to the Opel/Vauxhall Adam? It seems likely.

The additional 500 may be called 500+ or 500SW and unlike the 500, which will be based upon a revamp of the existing New Small architecture, the variant with extra doors should use SUSW ('Small Wide'). Remember the Fiat Punto? It's very much alive and sells surprisingly well in Italy despite its age. FCA's JV with Tata Motors also builds a version of it in India and it's these two related models which 500+ or 500SW is meant to succeed. It will likely appear ahead of the next 500 and should be available not only as a hatchback (project code: X6H) but also as a sedan (X6S) depending on the region. Production should be in Poland, India, China and possibly Mexico too.
Wal-mart China Strike (Photo : Labor Notes)

Wal-Mart's labor problem is not only in the U.S. A strike started last week in its China operations over new work schedules designed to overhaul the retail giants struggling business in the Asian giant due to competition from e-commerce sites and the economic slowdown.



Epoch Times reported that the strike started in two outlets in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on July 1 where more than half of its 200 workers joined. Two days after, the Chengdu and Harbin branches joined to protest the comprehensive calculation of working hours which Wal-mart implemented in mid-May.



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Besides walking out of their jobs, the workers  in red shirts which are their uniform  chanted slogans and carried placards protesting the new policies.



Yahoo Finance reported that the employees are protesting the new work schedule wherein staff would work 11 hours on weekends and a maximum of four hours on weekdays. Some workers fear it would result in lower pay and affect their opportunity to have second jobs.



Wal-mart U.S. claimed the majority of its employees in China support the new system, and for those who need more information about the system, it is willing to communicate with the workers on a consistent basis.



Wal-mart China has a total of about 100,000 employees. It opened its first outlet in China in 1996. Although the company expanded into online retailing, the worlds largest retailer was no match to Chinas ecommerce sites that in June, Wal-mart China sold its online business to the second biggest ecommerce operator in the country.






French dairy giant Danone has entered into an agreement to acquire WhiteWave Foods in a deal that values the Alpro maker at US$12.5bn and doubles Danones size in the US market.

Danone and WhiteWave this morning (7 July) revealed that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will see Danone pay $56.25 per share for the company. WhiteWave shares closed at $47.43 in New York yesterday and Danone said the offer represents a premium of approximately 24% over WhiteWaves average 30-day price of $45.43.

Danone said it expects the transaction to be solidly accretive to earnings within the first year after closing and to deliver above 10% accretion based on expected run-rate synergies thereafter. The transaction is expected to result in approximately $300m of EBIT synergies by 2020, the company noted.

The deal will be 100% debt financed, Danone revealed.

WhiteWave generated sales of $4bn in 2015 and the company operates a stable of brands in North America and Europe that operate in the high growth natural and organic sectors. Since WhiteWave went public in 2012, it has seen a compound annual growth rate of 19%. Its categories span premium organic dairy, plant-based dairy alternatives, fresh foods and coffee creamers and scale brands include Silk, So Delicious, Vega, Alpro, Provamel and Horizon Organic.

Announcing the agreement, the companies said it was a perfect match of vision, culture and business. Danone CEO Emmanuel Faber said that the alliance would progress Danones aim of supporting healthier and more sustainable eating habits as well as advancing the groups 2020 strategy to generate sustainable and profitable growth.

We found in WhiteWave the perfect alliance as we both believe in a healthier future and are conscious of our power to lead society forward, Faber commented. This unique combination positions us better to address tomorrows consumer trends and represents a great opportunity to step change the ambition of our plan for an Alimentation revolution and to accelerate our path towards strong sustainable and profitable growth by 2020.

Faber also stressed that the deal will extend Danones footprint in North America: It will allow us to enhance Danones growth profile and reinforce our resilience through a broader platform in North America.

Following the closing of the transaction, Danones North America footprint would increase from 12% to 22% of its total portfolio and Danone will become one of the leading players on the US fresh dairy shelf.

Danone chairman Franck Riboud added: We believe WhiteWaves size, positioning and geographical footprint fit perfectly with Danones strategy and that it is the right transaction at the right time.

Riboud said that the company is also proposing that Greg Engles, WhiteWave chairman and CEO, be appointed to the Danone board of directors.

Engles said that the acquisition provided WhiteWave shareholders with value and stressed that the tie-up with Danone would enable WhiteWave to reach its next phase of growth. Upon completion, the companies said WhiteWave will be able to leverage its position as part of a larger global company with substantial financial, geographic and operational resources.

Danone intends to integrate its North American operations with those of WhiteWave which, when the deal closes, will operate as a Public Benefit Corporation.
The brother of one of the jihadists who blew themselves up in the deadly Paris attacks last November was jailed Wednesday for nine years on terror-related charges.

Karim Mohamed-Aggad, whose brother Foued was identified after the November 13 attacks which killed 130 people, was accused of fighting as a jihadist while in Syria between December 2013 and April 2014.

Another six defendants of the so-called Strasbourg group who were in the war-torn country at the same time also received jail terms of six to eight years, of which they must serve two-thirds before having any chance of early release.

The formal charge was criminal association with a view to commit acts of terrorism.

The Paris court also ordered that the defendants, all suspected members of a jihadist cell based in Strasbourg, northeastern France, be added to France's terror watch list.

Francoise Cotta, Mohamed-Aggad's lawyer, said he was considering appealing the sentence.

She said the court had "made a decision based on fear in a France that is afraid".

During the 10 days of hearings in late May and early June, the defendants, now aged between 24 and 27, were anxious to shake off the association with Foued Mohammed-Aggad and the Paris attacks.

They said they returned to France from Syria after witnessing fighting between rebel groups.

They said they had wanted to fight the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and to join their recruiter Mourad Fares but they did not specifically want to join the Islamic State group.

One testified that their trip had no more than a "veneer of religiosity".

At a hearing in May, defence lawyers objected to the prosecutor's decision to use leaked IS documents that list the defendants as "combatants".

The documents, acquired by Sky News television in March, include an estimated 173 names of French citizens or residents of France, said a source close the probe, but the defence questioned their authenticity.

Foued Mohamed-Aggad travelled with the same group to Syria but did not return home with them.

Nearly two years later he blew himself up at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris where 90 people were murdered.

Fares was known to French intelligence for recruiting jihadist fighters through social media and the Internet.

Fares -- whom France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has described as a "particularly dangerous individual" -- was arrested in August 2014 in Turkey before being handed over to the French authorities.

He is in preventive custody awaiting trial.

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It is unclear if Egypt will take action in retribution against the Italian move

Egypt regrets a decision by the Italian parliament to suspend the supply of military spare parts to Cairo, saying it will negatively affect cooperation in the field of countering illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and dealing with the situation in Libya and other fields where Italy has received Egyptian support.

In an official statement Wednesday, Egypts foreign ministry said the decision was inconsistent with demands for continuing cooperation between the investigating authorities in the two countries on the Giulio Regeni incident.

Last week, Italys Senate voted to halt supplies of spare parts for Egypt's American-made F16 warplanes in protest at Cairos handling of the investigation into the killing of Regeni, whose body was found by a Cairo roadside in February bearing signs of torture.

The Italian move is considered the first commercial measure taken by Italy against Egypt over the issue.

The statement added that the Italian decision was also contrary to the mutual goal of fighting terrorism, due to its negative effect on Egypt in that field.

The foreign ministry added that the Italian side was handed documents and investigation results by the Egyptian side in full transparency, while "This took place at the same time where Egypt has not yet received enough answers over the killing of Egyptian citizen Mohamed Baher Sobhi Ibrahim Ali and the disappearance of Adel Mouawad Heikel in Italy.

The ministry said it was astonished that the Italian parliament failed to criticise or take action against Cambridge University for not cooperating with Italian authorities.

It remains unclear what procedures might Egypt take in retribution for the Italian decision. However, the statement said that Egypt would always remain keen on its special relationship with Italy, hoping that Italy shows the same care and diligence.

The head of the Egyptian Parliaments Foreign Affairs committee and former foreign minister Mohamed El-Oraby described the Italian decision as an unjustified escalation, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported on Wednesday.

El-Oraby preferred if the investigations related to Regeni were separate from the course of relationships between the two countries.

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The interior ministry initiative comes amid the Eid holiday, where in recent years harassment against women has spiked

Egypts interior ministry has designated phone numbers and an email address to receive complaints from citizens over crimes related to human rights and violence against women.

This comes in the framework of the interior ministers keenness to communicate with citizens and preserve their rights and not compromise personal freedoms, as well as enforcing the law on everyone without any exception, an interior ministry statement read.

The interior ministry has been deploying female police officers on the streets to confront sexual harassment during Eid festivities, where reports of sexual harassment in crowded areas rise during the three-day holiday.

Sexual harassment was criminalised in 2014. The law imposes jail terms of no less than six months and/or fines of EGP 3,000 to EGP 5,000 (roughly $338 to $563) on those who are found guilty of sexual harassment in public or private places.

The ministry's human rights department provided the email address of [email protected] to follow up on crimes involving violence against women.



For human rights complaints, the department provided the email address of [email protected] and these phone number (01126977222 - 01126977333 - 01126977444).

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Egypt called on Israel to cancel the illegal settlements decision and to put an end to its policy of escalation and the killing of hope for the Palestinian people

Egypt said it is highly concerned following a decision by Israel to build new illegal settlement homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a Wednesday foreign affairs ministry statement read.

[The decision] undermines efforts to resume the [Palestinian-Israeli] peace process, the statement added.

On Monday, Israel said it had approved 560 new settler homes for the occupied West Bank in the illegal settlement of Maale Adumim.

Media reports also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin also gave approval for the planning of 240 new homes in East Jerusalem settlement neighbourhoods, as well as for 600 units for Palestinians in the city's Beit Safafa district, AFP reported.

Egypts foreign affairs ministry also said it condemns the Israeli governments continual expansion of illegal settlement housing on occupied Palestinian land.

The timing of this escalation, according to the statement, is unjustified as it coincides with regional and international efforts to encourage Palestinians and Israelis to build trust, and resume peace talks.

The statement called on Israel to cancel the illegal settlements decision and to put an end to its policy of escalation and the killing of hope for the Palestinian people.

Egypt has been a strong advocate of the right of Palestinians to establish an independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

France held an international conference in June, where neither Israelis nor Palestinians were invited, that aimed to reinitiate peace talks and lay the groundwork for a full-fledged peace conference to be held by the end of the year

Palestinians have welcomed the French initiative but Israeli officials have said an international conference would not work, and that only direct talks between the two sides can bring peace.

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Two years after Gaza's last devastating assault by Israel, rights groups vented frustration Thursday over the slow pace of reconstruction in the Palestinian territory and lack of war crimes prosecutions.

A coalition of leading NGOs urged Israel to lift its blockade of the impoverished Gaza Strip, while Amnesty International said it was "indefensible" that no criminal cases had been brought for alleged war crimes.

The July-August 2014 Israeli war against Gaza killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side, and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes in Gaza.

Reconstruction has been painfully slow, with the United Nations taking over a year to rebuild its first destroyed home.

Israel has maintained a blockade on the enclave, limiting the entry of many goods essential for construction that officials allegedly fear could fall into the hands of the Hamas rulers of Gaza and be used for another military build-up.

The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) -- an umbrella body for major international NGOs working in Israel and the Palestinian territories -- said in a report ahead of Friday's anniversary of the outbreak of the assault that Israel's decade-long blockade was "severely impeding reconstruction and recovery" in Gaza.

"Unless it is lifted, Palestinians living in Gaza will be unable to move on with their lives and live in freedom, dignity and safety," said Chris Eijkemans, country director at British charity Oxfam, a member of AIDA.

The AIDA statement called on "world leaders to live up to their commitments and press for an immediate end to the blockade."

In a separate report, Amnesty International said only three Israeli soldiers have been charged over the war, all for minor offences.

"The fact that no one has been held to account for war crimes that were evidently committed by both sides in the conflict is absolutely indefensible," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa head.

"Two years have passed and it's high time the wheels of justice started turning."

In Gaza, although new roads have been constructed, many areas remain desolated and the economy has ground to a standstill.

More than 120,000 homes were at least partly damaged, while around 20,000 were left totally uninhabitable in the war, according to the United Nations.

The Mediterranean enclave's unemployment rate of 45 percent is one of the highest in the world, while child labour has doubled over the past five years, according to Palestinian estimates.

Sohad al-Masry, a 40-year-old housewife, lost her home in the war, in which her cousin was killed.

"I don't like to remember but I am sad," she told AFP. "They have not rebuilt the destroyed houses, the siege and closure (continue), and there is unemployment."

Fears of another Israel offensive, which would be the fourth since 2008, have grown in recent months after Israeli forces uncovered two Hamas "attack" tunnels allegedly reaching across the border.

After a brief flare-up in May, leaders on both sides have talked of being ready for another conflict.

"I am very worried a fourth war is coming. The occupation is threatening war on Hamas's tunnels," said Mohammed Abu Daqa, 26, who works in a government school.

He called on Hamas to reconcile with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement, which runs the West Bank, to whip up global support for lifting the siege of Gaza.

"But unfortunately Hamas and Fatah are not ready for a reconciliation," he said.

*The story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push for his country to be granted "observer status" at the African Union gained the backing of continental heavyweight Ethiopia on Thursday.

"Israel is working very hard in many African countries. There is no reason to deny this observer position to Israel," said Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as Netanyahu began the last leg of his four-nation Africa tour this week.

The position of observer is granted to some non-African countries that wish to engage with the AU, follow proceedings and address its gatherings. Israel had been an observer at the AU's predecessor organisation but its status was not renewed at the AU's founding in 2002.

The 54-member organisation, headquartered in Addis Ababa, would be an important diplomatically for Israel, as is Ethiopia which begins a two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2017.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has used his country's AU observer status since 2013 to attend AU summits, deliver addresses and shore up diplomatic support in the long-running dispute with Israel.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Netanyahu bemoaned the "gap between what is happening in practice... and in multilateral institutions".

"Africa for us is a major strategic effort," he said, repeating a mantra heard in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda in recent days.

"All African countries can benefit from renewed cooperation with Israel," he said. "Israel is coming back to Africa."

Relations between Africa and Israel have been strained over the years. In the 1960s the Arab-Israeli conflict drove a wedge between African countries, many of which were embroiled in liberation struggles, and Tel Aviv.

Later, wars between Israel and its neighbours in 1967 and 1973 led North African nations to urge sub-Saharan African states to cut ties with Israel, which many did.

Israel's support for the apartheid regime in South Africa -- which ended in 1994 -- also soured relations with much of the rest of the continent.

Hailemariam said differences can be overcome "by engagement not isolation.

"Israel needs to come to Africa and we need to engage with Israel," he said.

Netanyahu, who was accompanied by a 70-strong Israeli business delegation, praised Africa's -- and Ethiopia's -- economic potential.

"For too long Africa was treated like an afterthought by much of the world. Many focused on its problems, few saw its opportunities. No longer! We are clearly seeing Ethiopia's potential and Africa's potential," Netanyahu said.

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President Barack Obama's decision to slow the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan will be welcomed at the NATO summit this weekend. It will provide aid for allied forces and bolster U.S. efforts to get more pledges of support for the war from U.S. allies.

Obama's move quells lingering questions within NATO about America's commitment. And it will allow the U.S. military to expand its work with Afghan forces as they face a resurgent Taliban and a troubling presence of Islamic State fighters in the country.

Obama will leave 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan into 2017, rather than cut the force to 5,500 at the end of the year as initially planned.

Military commanders, lawmakers and allied leaders had pressured the administration to maintain the current 9,800 troops in Afghanistan.

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KEARNEY - Uncertainty surrounds Dave and Susan Grove of Kearney following the foreclosure of their home earlier today (Monday).

KEARNEY - Uncertainty surrounds Dave and Susan Grove of Kearney following the foreclosure of their home earlier today (Monday).

Susan Grove said this afternoon she is uncertain how soon her family must vacate its southwest Kearney home or where they might be moving.

They've lived in the home for eight years but had not heard yet today from their mortgage company how soon they must vacate the house.

Community support has been encouraging, Susan said. "We've had lots of calls. Their prayers are with us. Some are offering monetary gifts."

She said a fund might be established to assist the family later, but because the Groves are planning to declare bankruptcy, they cannot possess the money now.

The Groves' financial problems began almost seven years ago. Their daughter, Allison, suffers from cyclical vomiting and hearing loss. During the years they sought answers about their daughter's illnesses, the Groves traveled numerous times to Denver and charged travel expenses to credit cards. The debt grew until a job loss and a mortgage refinance backfired. Combined, the financial problems left the Groves buried in debt.

Earlier today at the foreclosure auction at the Buffalo County Courthouse, Susan sat on a wooden bench and cried. Embraced by a friend, she wept as an attorney completed the proceedings on the home at 707 W. Eighth St.

U.S. Bank National Association, trustee for Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, purchased the property during the public auction for $135,000. The Grove's owed $177,500 on the bi-level, single-garage home.

Members of their church, Family of Christ Lutheran, and community organizations had helped the Groves in correcting their 11-year-old daughter's hearing loss. In 2006, Allison received a cochlear implant and hearing aid. Today she is learning to use the devices effectively, but the family continues regular trips to Denver so doctors can adjust the implant and hearing aid.

Allison still suffers from the cyclical vomiting, which is triggered by stress or excitement.

She lapsed into a vomiting episode on Sunday, Susan said, and is being treated at Good Samaritan Hospital. Allison's vomiting occurs as frequently as once a month and lasts two or three days.

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For an update, see Tuesday's Kearney Hub.
KEARNEY  Judge John Icenogle sent a clear message to Buffalo County Jail inmates: If you assault a corrections officer, youre headed to prison.

Wednesday, Icenogle sentenced Eddy Money Cervantes, 24, to 18 to 20 years in prison for felony second-degree assault of jail Sgt. Rosario Perez Nov. 26 while Cervantes was in custody at the jail. Perez suffered injuries to her back and bicep when Cervantes pushed and shoved her as he left his cell while Perez was moving another inmate from the cellblock area.

Cervantes mother, Lisa Cervantes of Kearney, wiped tears from her face as Icenogle gave the sentence. As Eddy Cervantes was led from the courtroom in handcuffs, he smiled at his mother and said, Bye, Mama. I love you. I will be home soon.

With good time, Cervantes could be eligible for parole in nine years and could be discharged in 10 years. Icenogle gave him 16 days credit for time served.

Cervantes isnt the only former Buffalo County Jail inmate to get Icenogles message.

Steven Hillman, 18, is serving a one-year prison sentence for punching a male corrections officer in the face in October 2010.

In January, Megan Welch, 19, was sent to prison for 10 to 18 years for kicking and head-butting three female corrections officers as they tried to restrain her and spitting in the face of one of the officers.

At Cervantes hearing Wednesday, his public defender, Brandon Brinegar, argued his client simply bumped Perez.

But Deputy Buffalo County Attorney Mike Mefferd quoted the presentence investigation report, which said Cervantes was at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney three times, has never been employed and has 40 entries on his adult criminal record. The presentence evaluator also quoted Cervantes as saying the last few times he has been in prison, hes had a behavioral problem.

Cervantes also admitted to being a member of the East Side Locos gang.

This offender is likely intimidating, threatening, dangerous or even brutal. This is a violent person, the evaluator wrote.

Reading from the presentence investigation report provided to him by the state probation office, Icenogle said Cervantes record shows convictions for many felonies, including robbery, burglary, drugs, assault and theft.

Youre not a person who should really be on the streets, he said.

Mefferd also tried to prove Cervantes was a habitual criminal, meaning he had been twice convicted and sentenced to prison. However, he was unsuccessful because of what Icenogle called insufficient documentation in Hall County District Court.

Anyone who has been twice convicted and sentenced to a year or more and committed to prison can be deemed a habitual criminal. Court records say Cervantes was previously convicted and sent to prison in 2007 for robbery in Hall County and a 2005 conviction for attempted burglary in Colfax County.

Brinegar argued Mefferd didnt have sufficient documentation to prove Cervantes had proper legal counsel at the time he was convicted in Hall or Colfax counties. Icenogle postponed the hearing 45 minutes while Mefferd obtained the records.

But even after obtaining and studying the document from both counties, Icenogle said it still wasnt clear whether Cervantes had legal representation at his conviction or even if Cervantes was present during the hearing.

Thats all the documentation they have, Your Honor, said a frustrated Mefferd.

Icenogle is one of four judges in the Ninth Judicial District, which serves Hall and Buffalo counties.

Based on the lack of proper documentation, Icenogle ruled Cervantes wasnt a habitual criminal.

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KEARNEY  A Kearney man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distributing more than a pound of methamphetamine in the Buffalo County area.

Brandon Reynolds, 25, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Omaha for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 500 grams, or nearly one pound, of meth. Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Reynolds. He was convicted in December.

Court records outlined the case against Reynolds:

On March 27, 2009, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled Reynolds over for speeding on Highway 30 near Sodtown Road, east of Gibbon. Reynolds pulled over to the shoulder of the road, then took off driving a 1995 Mazda before the trooper could make contact with him.

The subsequent chase reached speeds between 75 mph and 120 mph in eastern Buffalo County.

At one point during the chase, Reynolds threw a bag containing  ounce of methamphetamine out of his window. The chase continued into Hall County, where Reynolds fled on foot.

Following a short foot pursuit with the trooper, Reynolds was taken into custody. During an interview with police Reynolds admitted before being stopped for speeding he had just picked up the meth from his supplier, which police recovered.

After Reynolds arrest police located five cooperating witnesses who attributed more than 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds, of meth, to Reynolds dating back to August 2007.

Reynolds has been in federal custody since November.

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OMAHA (AP)  The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday vacated the sentences of three men ordered imprisoned for life without parole when they were teenagers, citing a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down such sentences.

The rulings came in the separate appeals of Douglas Mantich, 37, who was sentenced for his role in a 1993 shooting death in Omaha, and Eric Ramirez, 22, and Juan Castaneda, 21, both sentenced for their roles in a 2008 Omaha shooting rampage that left two dead and one injured. The court ordered the three to be resentenced.

According to the court record, Mantich was 16 years old when he joined several other gang members in a stolen minivan in which Henry Thompson was later shot to death and his body dumped in east Omaha. He was sentenced to life in prison the following year, after witnesses and police testified that Mantich admitted to firing the shot that killed Thompson. Mantich denied being the shooter at his trial.

Ramirez and Castaneda were 17 and 15, respectively, when they and another teen, Edgar Cervantes, carried out three separate shootings on Nov. 12, 2008, that took place within a 30-minute span, killing Tari Glinsmann and Luis Fernando-Silva. A third victim recovered from his wounds. Police said robbery was the motive.

Cervantes was sentenced to 115 years for reduced charges of robbery and weapons use in exchange for his testimony against Ramirez and Castaneda, who were each convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and a slew of weapons counts.

The state Supreme Court upheld the convictions of all three on Friday, but found the U.S. Supreme Court has determined that teenagers cannot be locked up for life without the chance of parole.

In Mantichs case, the states high court found, in a split decision, that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling applies retroactively to people in custody. It ordered post-conviction relief for Mantich by resentencing him according to a new state law  enacted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court finding  that calls for a sentence of 40 years to life for juveniles who commit first-degree murder.

The majority of the court found as Massachusetts, Mississippi and Illinois have  that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling is a categorical ban on the imposition of a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole for juveniles, Supreme Court Judge Kenneth Stephan.

But Nebraskas Chief Justice Mike Heavican and Judge William Cassel disagreed, saying in a dissent that applying the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling retroactively would undermine the finality of judgments.

If a judge allows his or her perceptions of fairness to intrude, the decision ceases to be an application of law and becomes an application of the judges personal biases and preferences, Cassel wrote.

An attorney for Mantich, Adam Sipple of Omaha, lauded the Friday opinion, noting that more than 20 others in Nebraska prisons were sentenced to life without parole as teens.

In the cases of Ramirez and Castaneda, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that their first-degree murder sentences, too, should follow the new state law for juveniles. But the high court also found that the lower court was wrong to order their deadly weapons use sentences to run at the same time as their sentences for attempted murder, attempted robbery and conspiracy. Instead, the high court said, the sentences should run one after the other, adding between 20 and 30 years to their time behind bars.

Were pleased the convictions were upheld and trust the sentencing courts will ensure these men face tough penalties that reflect the seriousness of their crimes, said Shannon Kingery, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office.

An attorney for Ramirez, James Martin Davis of Omaha, acknowledged that the high courts finding likely did little to lessen his clients time in prison.

We were hoping that we could get the conviction overturned, Davis said. We were hoping to get a new trial.

Douglas County Public Defender Thomas Riley, who represents Castaneda, did not immediately return a phone message Friday seeking comment.
Egypt's Al-Azhar, the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, strongly condemned the "despicable" terrorist attacks that struck two Saudi Arabian cities Monday.

The Islamic authority affirmed in a statement late Monday the sanctity of human life and religious places of worship, condemning "efforts by terrorists and extremists to involve mosques in their conflicts."

Four people were killed in a suicide bombing outside the Prophet's Mosque in Medina, Islam's second holiest site.

Also Monday evening, at least one suicide bomber and a car exploded near a Shia mosque in the eastern city of Qatif, several hours after a suicide bomber struck near the U.S. Consulate in the western city of Jeddah. Two security officers were wounded in the attack.

The prestigious religious institution extended condolences to Saudi King Salman, reaffirming it "stands by Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism" while urging international unity in the face of extremism.

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A man arrested by Laredo Police over 40 times is once again behind bars.

Police say Christopher Corpus was arrested for having outstanding warrants for evading arrest and failure to ID as a fugitive.

He was arrested last year for allegedly snatching a woman's purse at a Dairy Queen.

Police say he has been arrested over 40 times for several offenses like theft and robbery.
A traffic stop lands a teen in hot water after police discover he's been behind several vehicle burglaries at an apartment complex.

Police say Guillermo O'Brien was arrested Thursday morning during a traffic stop.

This is where police discovered he had been behind the car burglaries that happened last May.

They found several duffel bags with stolen items from the incident.

O' Brien was arrested and charged with burglary of a vehicle.
Judges will be in town next Wednesday to assess our credentials in the bid to win the prestigious title of European Capital of Culture.

They will be determining exactly how embedded the bid is across the three counties of Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford. They will also examine the strength of the regions cultural offering, and the depth of involvement of the community and stakeholders.

Local people will have an opportunity to view the Three Sisters 'bid book'  the 100-page document setting out the region's case to be ECoC 2020. It will be on view here at City Hall this Friday, July 8.

The document has been kept confidential until this point, so the event will give attendees an exclusive, first glimpse of the contents.

The book is currently being evaluated by the ECoC selection panel, ahead of its hugely anticipated visit next week.

Members of the Three Sisters Bid Team will be on hand on Friday to guide people through the book, while a range of photographs by Alan Higgins, which were specially commissioned for the document, will also be displayed.

Everyone from the south-east region and beyond is welcome to come along and view our Bid Book, of which we are immensely proud, says bid director Michael Quinn.

The local people, who have shown such great support for the Bid, and been so enthusiastic with the outpouring of pride in the region, will be very interested to see the vision we have laid out for hosting the 2020 European Capital of Culture.

One of the things the ECoC panel will be looking at is the depth of local support for the bid. People can show their support in the crucial last few days of the selection process by liking Three Sisters Facebook page, following @3sisters2020 on Twitter and Instagram using #BitForTheBid, and using Three Sisters social media badge available on www.threesisters2020.ie.

Winning the title will promote our region throughout Europe and the vast benefits will be felt by generations to come, says Mr Quinn.

We are encouraging everyone to come along and chat about these great opportunities with members of the Three Sisters bid team, who have been doing such incredible work behind the scenes, and who will be on hand to guide people through the book at these wonderful events.

Following the ECoC panels visit, and a presentation by ten members of the bid team, the 2020 winner will be formally announced on July 15.
Kilkenny County Council has been forced to hand back over 700,000 in special development charges on the Central Access Scheme due to the project not beginning on time.

The council received the contributions on the CAS from 2005 to 2007. Section 48 (12) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 sets out that if the proposed works have not commenced within five years of the date of payment - or have commenced, but have not been completed within seven years of the date of payment  the local authority is obliged to refund them.

On receipt of two applications, amounts totalling 703,000, plus interest, were calculated. Having sought legal advice on the matter, payment was made.

The council has said that the contributions were not allocated to the Central Access Scheme project, and will thus have no impact on its funding.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Meanwhile, the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) was strongly critical of the council's decision to alter development contribution rates on renewable energy developments.

Since 2007, Kilkenny's development contribution scheme set out a charge of 5,000 per wind turbine, which last year became 5,000 per MW of the development's installed capacity. In the new scheme, the charge is 10,000 per MW (with exemptions for projects below 0.1MW).

In its submission to the draft scheme, the IWEA described the change as 'significant and unjustified', and called for the re-instatement of 5,000 per turbine. The IWEA argued that the new rate is 'both unreasonable and damaging to the successful deployment of renewable energy'.

Its submission said that the renewable energy sector was the only one being targeted, and that there were no options for reduced charges to promote uptake of renewable energy sources.

In her response, Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council Colette Byrne said the charge of 10,000 per MW is not considered unreasonable, as it is comparable to that of other local authorities in the south-east region.

The chief executive also pointed to the exemption for renewable energy developments less than 0.1MW, and said that grant schemes are available from the SEAI.

There were six submissions in total made to the council on its draft development contribution scheme, which needed to be amended to account for all types of renewable energy.

In one of three submissions he made, Christopher O' Keeffe said that the council should favour the development of renewable energy sources, and called for non-renewable sources to face a charge of 20,000 per MW.

The chief executive reviewed all submissions and ultimately recommended no change to the draft scheme as published. The scheme will apply to the end of 2017, and up until a new scheme is adopted.
Okay, the pain of tax-return time should be subsiding. And its months before you need to start thinking about year-end maneuvering to give yourself the upper hand over Uncle Sam next spring. But rather than dream of a lazy summertime snooze in a hammock, get revved up about the financial rewards you can reap with some down-and-dirty tax planning.

Close the books on 2015. First things first: If you filed for an extension to complete your 2015 tax return, shake off the notion that youll wait until mid-October to finish the job. The extended deadline this year is October 17 because the 15th falls on a Saturday, but thats no reason to procrastinate. By now, you should have received late K-1s showing partnership income as well as any corrected 1099s. No more excuses.

The IRSs free-file program, which gives taxpayers free access to commercial return-preparation software, is still available for 2015 returns. If your adjusted gross income is $62,000 or less, check it out at www.irs.gov (opens in new tab).

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If you have a refund coming, the sooner you file, the quicker youll get your money. If you owe more than you paid with your extension request, settling the debt now will limit the interest and penalties demanded by the IRS.

Before you pay any failure to file or failure to pay penalty, check to see if you qualify for first-time abatement relief. The IRS can waive the penalties if you filed and paid on time for the previous three years and have paid, or arranged to pay, the taxes due for 2015.

Speaking of your 2015 return, consider whether the bottom line is sending an action memo to you. If you got a big refund, maybe you should adjust your withholding, if youre still working, or your estimated tax payments for 2016 if youre paying on investment and retirement income. The average refund so far this year is $2,732, just a bit above last years. Thats about $225 a month. If your financial situation is similar, you could be racking up a big refund for next spring.

Wouldnt you rather have your money as you earn it? If so, file a new W-4 form with your employer to claim one or more extra allowances. That will cut withholding. Our easy-to-use tax withholding calculator can help you set the appropriate number. Conversely, if you owed a bundle when you filed your tax return, you may need to cut withholding or bump up the estimated payments figured on Form 1040-ES.

Boost retirement savings. The maximum contribution for 401(k) and 403(b) plans remains the same as last year: $24,000 for those age 50 and older at the end of the year and $18,000 for younger workers. If youre not maxing out, consider whether you can afford to save more.

If you opt for a traditional, pretax account, boosting your contribution wont put a dollar-for-dollar dent in your take-home pay. If youre in the 28% bracket, for example, adding an extra $500 a month to your 401(k) will cut your take-home by just $360.

If your company offers the Roth option, contributing after-tax dollars would cost you the full $500 in this example . . . but the payoff would be tax-free withdrawals of both contributions and earnings in retirement (see: When Its Time to Tap a Roth 401(k) for more).

If youre at the limit for your company plan, dont forget that you can contribute to an IRA as long as youre still working. You can contribute $6,500 ($5,500 if youre under 50) to either a traditional or Roth IRA, or a combination of the two. Contributions to traditional accounts are fully or partially deductible, unless youre covered by a company plan and your adjusted gross income exceeds $71,000 on a single return or $118,000 on a joint return. Note, though, that deposits to traditional IRAs are not permitted beginning in the year you turn age 70 1/2.

There are no age restrictions for nondeductible contributions to Roth IRAs, but there are income limits. The right to contribute to a Roth is phased out as income rises between $117,000 and $132,000 on a single return and from $184,000 to $194,000 on a joint return.

Although you generally must have earned income to contribute to an IRA, if your spouse isnt working, you can make a deposit to a spousal IRA for him or her, as long as you have enough income to cover the contribution.

Deal with RMDs. The first baby boomers reach age 70 this year, which means hundreds of thousands more IRA owners will need to take required minimum distributions for 2016. Regardless of whether its your first distribution or not, the RMD is based on the balance in your IRAs at the end of 2015. The total is divided by a factor provided by the IRS in Publication 590-B. (For most IRA owners, the divisor is 27.4 for someone who turns 70 this year, for example, and 18.7 for someone who turns 80.)

The later in the year you take your required payout, the longer your money gets to grow in the tax-sheltered environment. If 2016 will be your first RMD, you can postpone the withdrawal to as late as April 1 of next year; otherwise, December 31 is the deadline. If you can choose between this year and next, consider your expected tax brackets in each year and how adding the RMD to your taxable income might affect the taxation of your Social Security benefits and your Medicare premiums.

Two points about RMDs: First, you dont have to spend the money; you can transfer it to a taxable account. Second, you can always take more than the RMD if you need to.

Or you can give it away. Congress has made permanent the provision that permits IRA owners age 70 and older to transfer up to $100,000 from their IRA directly to a charity. Such transfers count as your RMD, but the money does not show up in your taxable income. In the past, such gifts were usually made at year-end because Congress habitually let this break lapse and revived it at the end of the year. Now, you dont have to wait. If such generosity is in your plans, contact the charity to arrange the gift.

Make the most of generosity. Giving away an RMD isnt the only potentially savvy way to make a donation. If you are planning a significant gift to your church, synagogue, alma mater or other charity, dont automatically reach for your checkbook. Turn to your portfolio instead.

The law has a special rule to encourage gifts of appreciated property, such as stocks, mutual fund shares or real estate. As long as you have owned the asset for more than a year, you can deduct its full market value rather than just what you paid for it. And neither you nor the charity have to pay tax on the appreciation while you owned it.

Because it can take a while to arrange for the transfer of ownership, now is a better time to plan such gifts than as part of a year-end tax-planning frenzy. (Never give away property that has declined in value. Youre better off selling, claiming the capital loss on your tax return and then donating the proceeds of the sale for your charitable write-off.)

Make gifts to the family. You can give up to $14,000 this year to any number of individuals without having to worry about the federal gift tax. If you and your spouse join in the gift, the limit rises to $28,000 per person . . . or $56,000 to a couple. If you are planning significant gifts to children or grandchildren, consider using appreciated assets rather than cash.

Lets say you and your husband want to give your son and his wife $50,000 for the down payment on a house. Because thats under $56,000, you wouldnt even have to file a gift tax return. But instead of cash, lets say you give the children $50,000 worth of stock that you paid just $30,000 for years ago. If you sold the stock, youd owe capital-gains tax on $20,000.

But by giving the shares away, you also give away that tax bill. Your tax basis transfers to the children and, if theyre in a lower tax bracket when they sell the shares, the extended family saves some money on the $20,000 profit. If the children are in the 10% or 15% bracket, in fact, at least part of the gain would be taxed at 0%.

Beware, though, that the kiddie tax can put the kibosh on these savings if youre making gifts to grandchildren. For children under age 19 (or under 24 if they are full-time students), investment income in excess of $2,100 this year will be taxed at their parents rate, not their own.

Move to a new state? If this summer brings a move to a new state, brace yourself for a slew of tax changes. Sure, Uncle Sams rulebook stays the same, but state income, sales and property taxes vary widely. Differences can be particularly surprising when it comes to how states tax retirement income and special property tax breaks for retirees. Study the estate and inheritance tax landscape, too.

Getting up to speed quickly on new rules and regulations will pay off. For an overview of how different states tax retirees, check out our Retiree Tax Map.
The bwSync&Share service allows users to store data online and synchronize with various end devices. (Picture: KIT/PowerFolder)

Online storage services for science are subject to special requirements which commercial products do not offer, for example with regard to volume, availability, data protection, data security and flexibility. The service operated at KIT, bwSync&Share, can now be used by all scientific institutions across Germany within the German National Research and Education Network (DFN). For the first time this gives institutions outside Baden-Wurttemberg the option to use an online storage service tailored to the needs of research and teaching in Germany. The University of Rostock is the first user within DFN.

The bwSync&Share service allows employees and students of participating institutions to store data on KIT's systems, and synchronize them between desktop PCs and mobile devices. What's more, users can make their stored data accessible to other users by assigning appropriate access rights. Users who are not part of a participating institution can also be given access rights.

The University of Rostock is the first university outside Baden-Wurttemberg to be part of the largest German university cloud  bwSync&Share. The service is incorporated via the German National Research and Education Network (DFN) and is hosted by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The Steinbuch Centre for Computing (SCC) at KIT has built this service in collaboration with PowerFolder, a cloud service provider. This now allows around 15,000 students and 3,000 employees to create an account under the name Uni Rostock Box in Karlsruhe, including 10 gigabytes of storage and featuring customized web and app design.

KIT now offers the online storage service bwSync&Share via the DFN cloud beyond the boundaries of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. (Picture: KIT)

Research results, term papers, pictures and videos can be saved, shared and synchronized. The service can be accessed via desktop systems, smartphones, tablets or a web interface across all platforms, providing users with maximum convenience. Users can access the service easily using the login details from their own local institution without the need for additional access data.

Unlike with most commercial providers, data is not stored at foreign server locations but at KIT, so within German jurisdiction. Communication between the users' end devices and the central storage systems is encrypted. Data access is restricted to the users who make the data available, and to other (possibly external) users authorized by them.

The storage service is partially funded by the Baden-Wurttemberg Ministry of Science, Research, and the Arts, making it free of charge for members of regional universities and institutions of higher education. DFN institutions from outside Baden-Wurttemberg can subscribe to the service for a fee.

Institutions outside Baden-Wurttemberg can get information on how to access the service here:

https://www.dfn.de/dfn-cloud/bwsyncshare-in-der-dfn-cloud/

Users from Baden-Wurttemberg will find information here:

https://www.scc.kit.edu/dienste/bwSyncAndShare.php

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
TAD SOOTER / KITSAP SUN A view of the Wheaton Way Apartments site, looking southwest from Broad Street.

By Tad Sooter of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  Developers plan to build more than 160 apartments on a vacant field in East Bremerton.

The Wheaton Way Apartments, as the project is dubbed now, would occupy 7 acres west of Wheaton Way, between Hanford Avenue and Broad Street, near Arby's. A site plan filed with the city shows 10, three-story apartment buildings spaced across the site, with an office and recreation center at the east end.

Kitsap Transit owns a 4-acre parcel between the property and Wheaton Way, and it plans to build a transfer center there.

Reed Kelley, a partner in development group Wheaton Way Apartments LLC, said Kitsap's hot rental market made a multifamily project in Bremerton attractive.

"We're thinking it's a pretty good bet," Kelley said, noting low apartment vacancy rates and rising rents on the peninsula.

Wheaton Way Apartments LLC bought its three parcels from The JWJ Group LLC in May for about $1.28 million, according to assessor's documents. The group submitted site development and building permit applications to the city in June. The applications are under review.

Kelley said construction could begin by the fall if permitting goes smoothly. The project was divided into three phases in the permit applications, but Kelley said it could be built in a single phase, which would reduce the construction timeline to about 16 months. He believes the group could begin leasing apartments by spring 2017.

The buildings will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units, starting at about $1,100 a month. Large Kitsap apartment complexes reported an average rent of $1,077 in the first quarter of 2016, marking a 12 percent increase from the previous year, according to Apartment Insights Washington. The vacancy rate for the county was about 4 percent. Second-quarter statistics are not yet available.

Wheaton Way Apartments is the latest in a wave of major multifamily projects in Bremerton. The 71-unit 606 Apartments recently opened on Burwell Street. The 80-unit Spyglass Hill Apartments are under construction on Highland Avenue, above the Manette Bridge, while a OneBuild project will add 51 units to the former Nite Shift Tavern property.

The city approved another 109 apartment units near Evergreen-Rotary Park. That development has been listed for sale.
By Andrew Binion of the Kitsap Sun

PORT ORCHARD  A man who scouted newspaper obituaries to target houses to burglarize and tried to execute the crime while loved ones were at the funeral was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison.

Shane Michael Grinde, 38, declined to say anything before Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Forbes handed down the sentence. He pleaded guilty to a count of residential burglary, attempted residential burglary and possession of heroin.

Forbes sentenced him to 50 months in prison.

"You are targeting people in the worst stages of grief," Forbes said, adding Grinde's actions were not typical of other residential burglaries. "That's pretty horrible."

Authorities were led to Grinde in February after a grieving South Kitsap father became suspicious of a man who appeared at his house during his daughter's funeral, ostensibly looking for a lost cat.

On a hunch, Brian Lowery contacted the family of person who recently died and whose obituary listed the funeral and warned them to be on guard.

Piper Lowery, 12, died in January of the flu. Brian Lowery said he didn't want another family to feel victimized in their vulnerable moment.

Grinde showed up at the house near Long Lake, bringing with him a picture of a cat and burglary tools. Lowery joined with a family member who is an off-duty Spokane police officer to help detain Grinde until he was arrested by a Kitsap sheriff's deputy.
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Linda Driver, Bremerton

Frustrated with money's influence

Donald Trump is right about trade agreements shaped for the benefit of corporations and the rich. He is right about the loss of jobs. As of this date, I haven't heard anything else that he is right about.

I'm a woman, and I believe that in Donald Trump's mind, women are for sex and minorities are for filling low wage jobs. He has lots of other faults.

For years have been an active, liberal, contributing, volunteering Democrat. I am also disgusted with the Clinton's and their appeasements of the corporations (who have a greater influence and more free speech then the rest of us, according to the Supreme Court). I'm not working or contributing this year. That was decided when there was an advertisement letter that made it obvious that corporations, banks, and big money finance her campaign.

We need a revolution in our country to have the common people represented by their government. I share the national frustration. Money for families is harder to come by in America. Most of it is going to those who already have too much. I've lost patience with the politicians who value money and power more than service.

Republicans and Democrat should read Robert Reich's columns in the Kitsap Sun. Don't laugh at Bernie Sanders rage or his efforts to make the system fairer. Support people like Elizabeth Warren who will fight and expose power brokers. We are losing our democracy and need to speak out loudly to get it back.

This presidential election is about the lesser of two evils.
A screen grab from a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation video shows counterfeit pills being analyzed in a lab. (TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION)

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By Kristi L. Nelson of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Over the past week, Middle Tennessee has seen a "massive increase" in overdoses by people taking a drug they believe to be the prescription painkiller Percocet, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation warned Thursday.

But the pills are actually adulterated Percocet pills containing "potentially lethal ingredients," the TBI said in a news release, warning "more overdoses and deaths are likely" as more of the pills enter circulation, possibly fanning into other parts of the state.

"We want to make the public abundantly clear that these pills being made in clandestine labs present a very real and life-threatening danger to anyone who takes them," TBI Deputy Director Jason Locke said. "We can't stress enough that the pills people buy on the streets can and do contain deadly elements."

Locke said the agency is investigating the source of the pills.

Over the past year, the TBI has warned of dozens of case studies from counties across the state of "pills shaped, colored and stamped to look like a particular type of prescription medication" that lab analysis found was something else entirely.

"In May 2015, a Tennessee law enforcement agency recovered what appeared to be several 30mg pills of oxycodone during a traffic stop," Locke said in the release. "Each was the same size and featured the signature A/215 stamp characteristic of oxycodone. However, laboratory analysis performed by TBI forensic scientists indicated the pills were counterfeit and did not contain oxycodone. Instead, they contained fentanyl, a pain killer 50 times as potent as heroin that can be deadly in high doses."

The TBI had warned of fake Percocet pills containing fentanyl back in February, with TBI Director Mark Gwyn saying then that drug dealers are preying on residents with drug addictions. A January investigation in Cookeville turned up 300 pills stamped to look like Percocet but containing the more potent opioid.

"Buying or using fake pills is unwise for many reasons, the most important of which is the possibility of death from overdose," Tennessee Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Reagan said then. "We strongly advise those with dependence on pain pills to seek help, as addiction is a treatable disease. Family and friends of those with dependence should obtain naloxone," the prescription overdose antidote that can be given after an overdose until paramedics arrive.
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A 23-year-old call processor at the Knox County E-911 Center has so endeared herself to co-workers they are contributing vacation days, paying her insurance and have arranged a blood drive since a severe nerve disorder put her in a hospital.

On Monday, Medic Regional Blood Center will hold a blood drive from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at First Lutheran Church, 1207 N. Broadway, to benefit Tiffany Russell. The blood drive is designed to replace blood already given Russell and to offset blood supplies she'll require in the future.

Russell is a LaFollette, Tenn., resident who on May 14, 2012, started working at the E-911 Center as a call taker. The single woman's commitment to the job and how she treated people making emergency 911 calls made Russell a favorite among her co-workers.

"That's all she thinks about is her job," said Melissa Boone, who oversees standards and compliance at the E-911 Center. "She's very good at what she does."

Boone said Russell about 18 months ago began experiencing unusual health issues. Russell collapsed unconscious in Boone's office and was rushed to a hospital.

Russell learned she has dysautonomia, a nerve disorder that disrupts signals between the brain, spinal cord and various organs.

"At one point she couldn't walk and was told she wouldn't walk again, but she has," Boone said.

Alan Bull, interim director of the E-911 Center, said employees came to him for approval of the blood drive and to share their vacation days with Russell to ensure she gets a paycheck. Bull said employees also are contributing money to maintain Russell's insurance coverage.

Russell is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where a physician familiar with dysautonomia practices.
By Megan Boehnke of the Knoxville News Sentinel

State Rep. Andy Holt on Thursday hailed an opinion from the Tennessee attorney general that the lawmaker said supports his position that traffic enforcement cameras are operating illegally in the state.

Holt, R-Dresden, who garnered attention in May when he set fire to a citation in a video posted on his Facebook page, called for a class-action lawsuit to return money to citizens who had been ticketed through the camera enforcement. He also called municipalities using the cameras "greedy" and "money-hungry" and said he was preparing a letter to send to district attorney generals across the state asking them to issue a cease-and-desist order for all enforcement cameras.

"It's in the best interest of our state and our citizens to see all photo enforcement come to a halt until we can verify the process by which all these photo-enforced citations are being enforced," Holt said. "If they expect individuals to follow the law, these municipalities and companies should be following the law and right now that's in question."

Attorney General Herbert Slatery sent his three-page opinion to Holt on Wednesday after the legislator requested in March that the state's top lawyer examine the legality of red-light cameras.

Slatery determined the employees of traffic camera companies could not review video footage from the cameras and determine whether a violation had occurred before sending footage to law enforcement. Rather, Tennessee law says only officers commissioned by the state or certified by the Peace Officer Standards Training Commission "and no one else" can review video evidence and decide whether a violation occurred.

Slatery wrote that this analysis is not contrary to his office's previous statement that a vendor could "provide information which the city's law enforcement department could then use to decide whether and whom to cite for these traffic violations."

Holt argued this is not what is happening in most cities in Tennessee.

"I don't think that this decision impacts every photo enforcement camera across the state of Tennessee," he said. "But I think it's very clear from the marketing information and other statements made by these companies that this practice is very common. This is prescreened, scrubbed and sent back to municipal police departments for a rubber stamp signature."

Knoxville's deputy law director said Thursday the city "respectfully disagrees with the attorney general" and that at least parts of the opinion contradict the earlier opinion issued by the office.

"The statute does not prohibit that review of the data before submitted to the city," said Ronald Mills, an attorney for the city. "I can't state this for certain for every jurisdiction  but I'm hoping it's true  but no vendor has ever made a decision to issue a citation in Knoxville."

Vendors focus on screening footage that shows illegible license plates, blurry images, plates that cannot be matched to the vehicle or when there's nothing to suggest a violation may have occurred, Mills said.

The law department began reviewing the opinion Thursday and it's too soon to say what recommendations attorneys will make to the police department, Mills said. The city's contract with the Arizona-based American Ticket Systems ended in February, though it's been extended for a few months at a time as the city prepares to solicit bids on a new contract.

The opinion could have an impact on that request for proposals, including possibly sending all footage to KPD officers directly without any prescreening, Mills said.

"It's our intent to abide by (Slatery's) opinion, even if we may disagree with it," Mills said.

In Knoxville last year, drivers paid nearly $1.2 million in fines from camera-enforced citations, according to KPD. The city collected $309,363 of that amount, with most of the money going to the vendor.

The law enforcement agency also said accidents in intersections equipped with cameras dropped 3 percent between 2014 and 2015. Crashes, however, are up 10 percent in those intersections so far this year.

Holt joined state Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, this year to sponsor a bill that requires all citations resulting from traffic cameras to include a notice to drivers that not paying the fine does not affect credit scores, credit reports, driver's licenses or automobile insurance rates. The bill went into effect on April 27 when it was signed by Gov. Bill Haslam.

---

Fines collected from photo-enforcement citations

2015

Total collected: $1,198,424

Fines paid to city: $309,363

Fines paid to American Traffic Solutions Inc.: $889,061

JAN. 1-MARCH 31, 2016

Total collected: $316,672

Fines paid to city: $82,561

Fines paid to American Traffic Solutions Inc.: $234,111

Source: Knoxville Police Department

---

By the numbers

Crashes at intersections with red-light cameras went down 3 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the Knoxville Police Department. They went up 10 percent during the first quarter of 2016 compared to the previous year.

Year | Angle crashes | Rear-end crashes | Total crashes

2014 | 98 | 185 | 341

2015 | 83 | 176 | 328

Change | -15% | -4% | -3%

JAN. 1-MARCH 31:

2015 | 19 | 55 | 85

2016 | 18 | 52 | 94

Change | -0.5% | -0.5% | +10%

Source: Knoxville Police Department
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By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel

OAK RIDGE  President Obama jokingly asked whether he could get one for his upcoming birthday.

Vice President Joe Biden, in a visit with the president to a Clinton factory where it was on display, gave it a thumbs-up and acted ready to jump in the driver's seat.

It is a street-legal, 3-D printed, carbon fiber replica of the classic 1963 Shelby Cobra race car, and it's on display this month at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

Scientists and engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were on a hurry-up schedule using cutting-edge 3-D printing technology to design a car to show the president and vice president during their January 2015 visit.

"We were challenged to see who could come up with the most elegant design, and we realized we were terrible at that," recalled Lonnie Love, group leader at the lab.

Then, he said, "We asked ourselves, 'What's the coolest car?' "

The Shelby Cobra sprang to mind, he said.

Love said the lab's high-tech 3-D printing machine took the design, sliced it into layers and within 24 hours the finished product emerged. Equipped with an electric motor, with intricate details including oak leaves etched inside the headlights, the car's titanium roll bars were also 3-D-printed.

The Cobra has been exhibited in Europe, went on a tour of the U.S. and was featured in the Farragut Independence Day Parade. Lab representatives will be available at the museum from 10 a.m.-noon on Wednesdays to discuss the creation. The museum, 300 S. Tulane Ave., is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
University of Tennessee students are already using Ayres Hall Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, following the $23 million renovation to the building named after UT President Brown Ayers. The building was built in 1921 for $689,000.

By MJ Slaby of the Knoxville News Sentinel

The $2.48 million settlement of a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Tennessee could also end two federal investigations into how UT handles sexual violence cases  but there's no guarantee those probes won't continue.

According to the agreement between UT and the eight unidentified women who filed the lawsuit, two of the women, through their counsel, will ask for the federal complaints they filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to be dismissed, and the women "will in good faith attempt to assure their dismissal."

Related:

UT complaint

OCR request for information from UT

A list of sexual violence investigations open at the postsecondary level (as of Wednesday, July 6, 2016)

The women had 10 days from Wednesday to make the request, so the OCR's latest list of such investigations, released Wednesday, still showed the UT cases as open.

The OCR complaints, filed more than a year ago, put UT on the growing federal list of colleges and universities under investigation for complaints related to sexual violence complaints.

That list first drew the spotlight when it was released in May 2014 with 55 schools. As of Wednesday, there were 199 schools, including UT, with 255 cases under investigation.

Like the lawsuit settled this week, the OCR complaints alleged UT had a "hostile environment" for the complainants and that the university didn't respond "promptly and adequately" to sexual violence cases, according to the letters from the OCR to UT.

Those complaints were filed May 15, 2015, and May 18, 2015  roughly nine months before the Title IX lawsuit was filed in February 2016 in U.S. District Court in Nashville.

Since the OCR complaints were filed, UT was notified of investigations in June 2015 and July 2015 and then in August 2015. The university responded by turning over a long list of documents requested by the OCR.

Since then, UT has not heard from the OCR about the next step, said Margie Nichols, UT spokeswoman.

On Thursday, a U.S. Department of Education spokesman referred to the OCR's case processing manual on what might happen next.

According to the manual, the OCR may close a complaint if it is withdrawn, unless the OCR already has "sufficient evidence to support a finding."

Federal officials don't comment on specific cases.

The OCR will close a complaint if the same allegations were filed by the same person in a state or federal court, according to the manual. An OCR complaint can't be re-filed after the court proceeding if a dismissal with prejudice was filed, as in the lawsuit against UT.

The manual adds that similar to a withdrawn complaint, if the OCR has "sufficient evidence to support a finding" or if there are allegations in the OCR complaint that are not made in court, the OCR investigation can continue.

Letters from the OCR to UT list the same allegations as the complaints in the lawsuit.

Portions of the letters were redacted by UT, so it's unclear whether those redacted sections or the full complaints include additional allegations.

Christina Mancini, an associate professor who studies campus sexual assault at Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, said it's a gray area as to whether the OCR will close its investigation.

She noted that even if the investigations are closed, that doesn't prevent a new complaint by someone who wasn't a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Others could come forward if there really is a hostile environment on campus, Mancini said.
SHARE Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.

By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel

WASHINGTON  In light of recent police shootings, Rep. Steve Cohen asked Thursday for a congressional hearing on his proposal for independent prosecutors to investigate cases of deadly police force.

"Both instances were caught on video and show white police officers killing black men," the Memphis Democrat said of the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

"This has become all too common," Cohen said. "Black lives matter."

Cohen's bill, known as the Police Training and Independent Review Act, attempts to prod states and local governments to pass laws mandating that allegations of deadly police force be handled by independent prosecutors, who would decide whether to pursue indictments. States that don't mandate independent investigations could lose 20 percent of their federal criminal justice funding.

Cohen filed the bill last year, but it has yet to receive a hearing. Cohen is seeking a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee.

More details as they develop online and in Friday's News Sentinel.
FILE - In this March 5, 2016 file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

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By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel

WASHINGTON  Tennessee Republicans in Congress gave Donald Trump high marks for his meetings with GOP lawmakers Thursday and said they're committed to seeing he's elected president.

"Mr. Trump was well-received by House Republican members," said Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin. "He focused on his agenda for getting the economy moving and bringing people together. There was great energy and enthusiasm in that room, and with Donald Trump at the top of the ballot, we are all ready to take on Hillary Clinton this November and hold our majorities in the House and Senate."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood described the meeting as positive.

"He took questions from many members, addressed the issues, and focused on unity and winning in November," she said.

With the Republican National Convention kicking off in Cleveland in a little more than a week, Trump made the rounds on Capitol Hill in meetings billed as a chance for lawmakers to get to know the presumptive GOP nominee for president.

In his meeting with House Republicans, Trump spent roughly a half-hour talking about policy and issues such as caring for veterans, strengthening the military and repealing and replacing Obamacare, said Rep. Scott DesJarlais of South Pittsburg.

For many lawmakers, it was their first chance to hear Trump speak in person. They responded to his remarks with several standing ovations, DesJarlais said.

"He's got this underappreciated charisma that I think will help him moving forward," said DesJarlais, who has been acting as a liaison between Trump's campaign and the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Rep. Phil Roe of Johnson City liked what he heard from Trump.

"I was very happy about his call to work together with Congress and his support of our conservative agenda," Roe said.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Ooltewah called the meeting "very productive" and said he looks forward to the upcoming convention.

U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville also called the meeting "very positive."

"The House Republican Conference is uniform in support of his campaign," Duncan said. "He said many of the same things he talks about at his rallies, but he also gave us an update on his expanded fundraising efforts."

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Trump had "a good, hour-long visit" with senators.

"I asked him about education and national security, and I liked his answers," Alexander said. " I especially liked his commitment to make sure that as president he would implement the law fixing No Child Left Behind the way Congress wrote it and restore local control of education."
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Maybe Hillary Clinton shouldn't have to worry about prison, but she surer than anything should not be an unchecked president of the United States.

As secretary of state, she was reckless in ways that could endanger American lives. It's probable some of our worst enemies have read every email word she wrote and received. Maybe they have already used some of that information against us  or will.

That's what we got from a world-watched press conference in which FBI Director James Comey said he was not recommending criminal prosecution over Clinton's email adventures. He said interviews, a diligent investigation of thousands of documents and still other research showed no criminal intent on Clinton's part. But it's not as if the FBI found nothing amiss.

He said, for instance, that Clinton and her colleagues "were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information." Despite her lies to the contrary, Clinton had to know some of it was indeed top-secret stuff and, said Comey, she had to know something else  that the sloppy system she was using was "no place" for the communications in which she was engaged.

Whatever your politics may be, do you think it possible any halfway responsible person would not have sat back one day and asked herself what in the world she was doing? After all, being secretary of state is one of the more important positions in the world and the information she was dealing with could have adverse impacts on all kinds of matters if it fell into the wrong hands. Wouldn't it at least have occurred to her that the system could easily enough be hacked?

Comey in fact said that it seemed possible that "hostile actors" did hack her computers. As I heard an expert explain before the press conference, nations such as Russia, China and Iran probably had access to every word that went between her, the president and other officials. Just consider for a moment what that maybe means. Might Iran, for instance, have been that much better prepared to outwit us in negotiations over a nuclear deal?

Clinton has all kinds of problems. A real biggie is that she is not trustworthy. Reflect on the unbelievable conflicts of interest with the Clinton foundation, the speeches given for hundreds of thousands of dollars and the hidden conversations with special interest groups and on and on. Defenders say, well, no quid pro quo has been absolutely proven. Right. And Jesse James was never convicted of robbing a bank.

Even so, Comey's advice against prosecution does not strike me as unreasonable. By countless observations, he is an honest man and there is in fact an important legal principle that provable criminal intent should be a major factor in deciding whether or not to try someone in certain kinds of cases.

Comey also said, however, that many who acted as Clinton had could be subject to security sanctions. Think about that for a minute  we could end up with a president who otherwise might not be able to obtain a national security clearance.

It's true that the alternative to Clinton this year is in many ways more frightening than she is. What seems to me hugely important is for Republicans to get enough votes in House and Senate races to help forestall disaster through checks and balances.

Jay Ambrose is a columnist for Tribune News Service. He may be reached at speaktojay@aol.com.
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The task force created to develop a proposal to expand TennCare has come up with a program that would first cover veterans and people with psychological or substance abuse issues before possibly extending it to virtually all low-income Tennesseans.

The proposal as unveiled last week is more complex and less appealing than Insure Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam's plan that has federal approval but failed to gain traction in the Legislature. Still, the 3-Star Healthy Task Force managed to erect a framework that could support nearly universal health coverage for Tennesseans living in or near poverty.

House Speaker Beth Harwell created the task force after Insure Tennessee failed to get a floor vote in either chamber of the General Assembly this year. The task force's chairman, Rep. Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, briefed USA TODAY NETWORK reporters on June 29 in Nashville on the proposal's general outlines.

Under the proposal, people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level who can show proof of an honorable discharge from the U.S. military or a diagnosis of a mental illness would qualify for coverage in the first phase. If the first phase meets benchmarks in enrollment, costs, health outcomes and more, coverage would expand to anyone making up to 138 percent of the poverty level  $11,880 a year for individuals.

Sexton said the proposal would include work and education initiatives to help people get jobs that would enable them to buy commercial insurance. Other features of the plan would encourage concurrent behavioral and physical health treatments while discouraging the use of emergency rooms for primary care.

Members of the task force have presented the concept to officials at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which must sign off on Medicaid expansion alternatives. Sexton said he expects to negotiate details with CMS over the next several months.

While the focus on veterans and people with mental illness at the outset is honorable, the proposal is inferior to Insure Tennessee. Insure Tennessee would cover veterans and those with mental illness and substance abuse problems, too, as well as the rest of the Medicaid expansion population  an estimated 380,000 people, many of them the working poor. Insure Tennessee is laced with incentives also, and has the virtue of CMS approval.

Sexton said the federal government would pay 65 percent of the tab during the first phase, as opposed to an eventual 90 percent under Insure Tennessee. Tennessee hospitals, many of which are struggling because of the failure to expand Medicaid, agreed to pay the state's portion of Insure Tennessee funding, and Sexton anticipates they would do the same for the task force proposal.

A full assessment of the task force's proposal is impossible without more details, and CMS approval for the novel approach is by no means assured. Still, it moves the debate in the right direction. Haslam's plan appears preferable, but the important consideration is expanding the state's Medicaid program to cover its economically disadvantaged citizens. Tennesseans would be healthier if all had access to health care coverage.
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In response to the letter "Women must take more responsibility for rape," let me first state that I have zero tolerance for self-righteous people framing victims of rape as irresponsible. That letter condones rape, so long as it happens to women who don't take responsibility as the writer sees it.

You will never reduce incidents of sexual assault by having women stay away from parties and boys. You only change the victims.

Rape is caused by rapists, not by women's irresponsibility. Placing the responsibility on women is victim-blaming and is one of the root problems in a society where sexual assault is rampant. Just ask the girl in Saudi Arabia who was just sentenced to 200 lashes for being gang-raped.

The last paragraph of the letter is a paradox that perfectly demonstrates why victim-blaming is an issue. You can't spend an entire letter shaming victims for being in what the writer considers the wrong situations and then slam them for not coming forward and pressing charges when it does happen.

A culture of victim-blaming is one that keeps victims ashamed, helpless, alone and quiet. It's little wonder they don't name their attackers when people like the writer are ready to pounce with self-righteous questions like "What did you think was going to happen?" It allows campuses to similarly blame victims. So much so that many victims of rape on campus have been told to stay quiet about the attack, threatened with expulsion, punished or expelled for coming forward. Educate yourself before you rush to attack victims.

Women are not to blame for the crimes committed against them. If anything, society is to blame. For in a society where victims are held responsible, perpetrators continue to victimize with impunity. And that's the kind of society that letter promotes.

Torva Logan, Knoxville
Knoxville leader takes helm as Urban League CEO after national search

The Knoxville native and public servant brings community leadership experience and a passion for equality to follow Phyllis Nichols as its leader.
Knoxville man sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for sexually exploiting 14-year-old

JULY 7, 2016 at 11:23 a.m.







David K. Turner of Knoxville was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison. Image by Stark County, Ohio jail.

KNOXVILLE  David K. Turner, 24, of Knoxville, has been sentenced to serve nearly 20 years in prison for traveling to Ohio to sexually exploit a 14-year-old.



Turner previously pleaded guilty to a four-count indictment that charged him with sexually exploiting a minor, distributing a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, coercing and enticing a minor, and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.



According to prosecutors "Turner started their relationship online, led her to think of him as her boyfriend and encouraged her to run away from her family."



All forms of child exploitation are deeply troubling, and this case illustrated how quickly online child exploitation can lead to sexual exploitation said Acting United States Attorney Carole S. Rendon. Mr. Turner coerced a girl that he knew was only 14 to perform sex acts on camera and then planned to take her across the country in the hope of further exploiting her.." Published July 7, 2016
Unionized workers at Samsung Heavy Industries hold a four-hour rally at its shipyard on Geoje Island, South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. Marking the first strike among the nation's "big three" ship builders this year, they demand withdrawal of the company's restructuring plan. / Yonhap



By Jhoo Dong-chan

Workers at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) held a four-hour rally Thursday to protest the company's restructuring plan, marking the first time that unions of the nation's "Big Three" shipbuilders might all call a strike.

Unionized workers at SHI gathered at the square in front of the union building at 1 p.m. and took to various parts inside the company's shipyards at Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, demanding a withdrawal of the company's restructuring plan. It came after a 90-minute protest on Wednesday at the shipyard.

According to the union, 5,000 workers participated in the rally.

"The company is pushing for a layoff plan under the name of an early retirement scheme without workers' consensus," a union worker said.

"The plan includes firing workers every month and reducing various in-house welfare programs. We, workers, should exercise our power to protect our right to live.

"We had expected the company to withdraw the restructuring plan but our hope was ignored."

Workers and management had several meetings this week to discuss the restructuring but failed to find middle ground.

Last month, SHI said it would fire 1,500 workers and have executives return wages.

Creditors have approved the plan, which also involves selling non-core assets and suspending production facilities, including floating docks, to cope with the fall in orders.

Unionized workers at SHI voted on the strike on June 28, and 92 percent of them agreed to take action against the company's decision.

The SHI workers' strike was carried out first among the nation's three debt-ridden shipbuilders.

SHI workers held a similar strike two years ago. Workers at the ailing Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine (DSME) Engineering are also set to take similar actions against the restructuring plans.

Workers at DSME approved a strike proposal during the re-voting for the action earlier this week while HHI's unionized workers are expected to vote next week.
By Ha Woon-sik





Ha Woon-sik

The world is currently in the midst of a major paradigm shift in power generation.

Today when a new power plant is built somewhere in the world, it is just as likely to use renewable energy as it is fossil fuel. As of 2015, 870 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity have been added to the global electric power system since 2005. This was not just a fad, but rather it was the start of a decades-long transformation of the global power system.

Korea has not been an exception in the need to move toward renewable energy. Recently, the fine dust pollution issue has troubled the country with heightened concerns. Coal-fired power plants are found to be one of the major sources of fine dust. Consequently, the Korean government has announced its plans to gradually transform coal-fired power plants into ones using renewable energy.

It is evident that the interest in cleaner and more sustainable energy sources has been rising over time; and the obstacles to environmentally-friendly power generation, mostly pointed out as high cost and inefficiency, are being removed with technological innovations.

Thus, even with current advancements in technology, renewable power has become increasingly cost competitive.

It has become more grid-friendly and price compatible with existing electric power systems. For instance, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for onshore wind power has declined by 15 percent in 2015 from 2009, enabling wind power to be the least cost-heavy source of electricity generation in many jurisdictions around the world.

As such, environmental friendliness is no longer a cost-consuming value to uphold but another opportunity.

This is evident with GE's commitment to renewable energy. Through the "ecomagination" initiative, GE has been developing and deploying technologies that maximize resource efficiencies, economics and environmental performance.

As of 2015, the technology solutions within the ecomagination portfolio have generated over $200 billion in revenue since its inception in 2005. As of 2014, GE's business operations have cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent, energy intensity by 31 percent, and freshwater use by 42 percent.

Recently, such a commitment toward green energy was also recognized by Guinness World Records for the first time.

The Bouchain plant located in France was earned the title of the world's most efficient combined-cycle power plant based on an achieved efficiency rate of up to 62.2 percent. This was made possible by GE's HA gas turbine, which delivers more flexibility than ever before and helps pave the way for greater use of renewable energy.

As we live in a digital society today where digital capabilities are unleashing a new paradigm for renewable energy, the power of data-analytics is enabling higher efficiencies and greater output.

For example, GE's digital wind farm allows customers to connect, monitor, predict, and optimize both unit and site performance. The technology can boost a wind farm's energy production by up to 20 percent and could help generate an estimated $50 billion in increased value for the wind industry.

Korea, with its well-established IT infrastructure, has an advantage to leverage such digital opportunities. The Korean energy industry should welcome the shift toward a digital era and nurture software and big data analytics to lead the next phase of power generation.

Challenging the existing norm and boldly investing in R&D is the key to development of innovation, which will open new doors to connecting the economy and environmental-friendliness.

Cost-competitive and environmentally-sustainable power generation technologies are more than just an aspiration; they are now the reality.

Looking ahead, business innovations coupling integration of hardware and digital capabilities will expedite the drive for a greener world.

The writer is CEO of GE Power Korea
By Kim Jae-won





Hong Ky-ttack

Korea faces risk of losing its vice president and chief risk officer (CRO) post at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) as the China-led development bank seeks to kick Hong Kyttack out due to his problematic supervision of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSEM) as chief of the Korea Development Bank (KDB).

AIIB President Jin Liqun said that the bank would replace him soon because it was crucial to have a strong management team running the international organization.

"We will very quickly have him replaced. We assure you there will be no disruptions in this whole process," said Jin in an interview with CNBC.

His comments came two weeks after Hong left for a six-month absence from the AIIB. Hong did not attend the bank's general assembly in Beijing last month.

The government said that there is no guarantee that a Korean could win the post again.

"The CRO will be chosen through open competition," said Hwang Keon-il, a director general in charge of international finance at the finance ministry. "The government cannot recommend someone for the job."

Hong drew criticism for failing to supervise DSME properly  the shipbuilder has been under investigation by the prosecution over accounting fraud worth more than 5 trillion won. KDB is the major shareholder of DSME, having a 30 percent stake in the company.

He had taken the helm of the policy lender for three years before joining the AIIB in February. The lifelong economist was supported by the Korean government to get the job as the country has a 3.8 percent stake in the AIIB, the fifth-largest portion among its 57 members.

Market watchers said that Hong's case showed that the country lacks knowledge and strategy in holding influence in international organizations, though it contributes significant financial resources to them. They said that the government needs to nurture talent who can represent the country's interests in such organizations

Meanwhile, AIIB chief Jin said that the bank seeks to draw 30 more members, including Hong Kong, to expand its role around the world. The bank was initiated by China which criticized American leadership in the International Monetary Fund, and the Japanese-led Asian Development Bank.

The U.S. objected to the establishment of the AIIB, but its allies, including the U.K. and Korea, joined the lender, seeking to win big development projects from the bank. It started with $100 billion in capital last year.
Familyhood





Joo-yeon (Kim Hye-soo) is a successful actress feeling her life is empty, even though she seems to have everything she could hope for. Thinking that having a family would make her life complete, she announces in public that she is pregnant. Directed by Kim Tae-gon.

The Hunt





When gold is discovered in a remote mountain area, Dong-geun (Cho Jin-woong) heads to the mountain with a group of hunters. There they get involved in an accident. Ki-sung (Ahn Sung-ki) witnesses the scene and chases them. Directed by Lee Woo-chul.

The Legend of Tarzan





This film depicts the action-filled adventures of Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgard). Years after he has left the jungles of Africa, he has been invited back to the Congo. He hesitates to return, leaving his new life in the United States and his beloved wife Jane (Margot Robbie) behind. Directed by David Yates.

Finding Dory





Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is a blue tang fish who suffers memory loss every 10 seconds. One thing she does not forget is that she is separated from her parents as a child. She embarks on an epic journey to find them. Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane.

Seondal: The Man who Sells the River





Kim Seondal is a genius swindler who allures people with his handsome appearance. The film depicts a wild adventure of his swindling team trying to steal tobacco, starring YooSeung-ho, Ra Mi-ran, and Ko Chang-suk. Directed by Park Dae-min.
By Lee Jin-a



Korea will be under the influence of powerful typhoon Nepartak from Sunday, said the state weather agency on Thursday.

"The super typhoon is forecast to influence all parts of Korea while passing the west coast of the peninsula," the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Thursday.

Nepartak, which was 510 kilometers southeast of Taipei as of 9 a.m. Thursday, is moving west-northwest and expected to strike Shanghai on Saturday.

The typhoon will then keep advancing north, reaching the Korean Peninsula at the weekend.

"We forecast that heavy rain will start in Korea under the influence of Nepartak on Sunday," the agency said. "But there is a possibility that the typhoon could be downgraded to a tropical storm when it hits China."

Nepartak, which is packing winds up to 240 kilometers an hour, started near Guam. It is the first typhoon of the year and has a radius of 200 kilometers.

"We encourage residents to take necessary precautions to protect lives and property ahead of the typhoon," the KMA said.

Meanwhile, Philippine forecasters have warned fishing boats not to venture out to sea and commercial ships to watch out for big waves as the typhoon is approaching.

Taiwan cancelled dozens of flights and shut schools and offices on Thursday as the island braced for a direct hit from Nepartak.
/Courtesy of Twitter



By Lee Han-soo

"Smoking cafes" that allow people to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes have become a burning issue.

Since January 2015, Korea has banned smoking in restaurants and cafes. Under the new law, the establishments were mandated to have a separate, enclosed smoking room with no chairs or tables.

The new cafes do not serve customers but give them paper cups so they can get coffee from vending machines. This allows the venues to be licensed under food vending laws  not as a restaurant  avoiding the ban on chairs and tables in smoking lounges.

The first controversial smoking cafe opened late last year in Yong-in, Gyeonggi Province, and has expanded to more than eight branches nationwide.

"The smoking cafe in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, has 500 customers on a daily basis," said Hwang Ki-ju, the founder of Win Win Korea, who owns the franchise, according to Maeil Business Newspaper, a business daily. "On weekends, we see more than 1,000 customers."

He says the franchise has also entered Seoul, with the first outlet opening at Hyewha-dong.

The company plans to have 50 branches by the end of this year.

"It's totally legal in every form," Hwang said. "The merits outweigh the negatives in that it decreases indiscriminate smoking."

But officials are not happy.

"According to the law, smoking in restaurants is illegal, but this does not mean that it is legal to smoke in food vending entities," a Ministry of Health and Welfare official said. "We are currently looking at options to put a stop to the franchise, such as fixing our amendment."
By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold vice foreign ministerial talks next week in Hawaii to discuss North Korean issues, including its nuclear program, according to Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday.

The meeting, scheduled for July 14, will bring together South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama in Honolulu.

The main agenda for the fourth meeting of its kind will be issues related to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs as Pyongyang has increased tensions with its military provocations. They are also expected to seek ways to work together on major regional and global issues.

"The meeting is expected to provide a chance for the three countries to discuss how to coordinate their response to provocations by the North, including the June 22 launch of intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and to monitor the implementation of sanctions and exchange views on how to step up sanctions on the North," the ministry said.












Finnish expert says basic income will guarantee good life



By Kim Se-jeong





Jan Otto Andersson

A Finnish basic income activist expressed his support for cash handouts to young residents by the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday.

"It is a start for basic income. Concentrating on youths is the right thing to do at a time when things are more precarious for young people," Jan Otto Andersson, a retired university lecturer on economics and a 30-year basic income advocate from Finland, told The Korea Times.

He is in Seoul to participate in the Congress of the Basic Income Earth Network, a global alliance of basic income academics and activists, until Saturday. He visited Seongnam on Wednesday.

The municipality of Seongnam gives 500,000 won a year to city residents between ages 19 and 24 as an effort to support young residents struggling to find jobs in the name of "youth dividends." The money is given to them as vouchers they can spend only in the city, which the activist praised. "A voucher is a good idea."

Basic income is a concept in which all citizens and residents in a country, city or province receive money from the local or central government unconditionally and indefinitely.

Several countries have run pilot projects, including Canada, India and the Netherlands, where meaningful, positive changes have taken place in residents' lives, according to basic income advocates.

Finland will also begin a two-year project in 2018.

"It was supposed to begin in early 2017, but the way things go, I would say it will start in January 2018," said the activist, who was deeply involved in drafting details.

The Finnish government is reviewing the details drawn by experts to determine whether it fits the country's constitution before writing the project into law.

The budget will be 20 million euros. It is unclear how many will be invited to participate in the experiment, but Andersson estimates the amount will be between 700 and 800 euros per person per month.

Basic income is still an unfamiliar concept for Korea, where the central government criticizes Seongnam's initiative as a populist policy misusing the taxpayers' money.

Yet, local activists believe basic income can be a solution to problems here, ranging from inequality between the rich and the poor, poverty, lack of a welfare system and the absence of public solidarity.

Andersson also said a basic income is possible for Korea.

"If it happens in Korea, it will be a lower sum than the one in Norway, for example. But it's not the amount that's important," he said. "It will change the lives of the people. Experiments in poor countries show the effects to be far greater than in better-off countries."

Supporters of basic income believe it will be the ultimate solution in making human life sustainable when employment isn't steady or doesn't guarantee adequate income. They also strongly believe the scheme will encourage people to care for others and foster a more inclusive society.
A sinkhole was found in the road near the Lotte World Tower on Tuesday, raising safety concerns over the new building. / Yonhap



By Lee Jin-a, Park Si-soo

A 1.5 meter-wide sinkhole was discovered on a road just a few blocks from an under-construction skyscraper in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, on Tuesday, causing traffic congestion for 30 minutes.

The hole was soon filled up, but it reminded people of unexplained sunken roads and pavements near the construction site in 2014, reigniting fears of sinkholes and raising safety questions over the 123-story Lotte World Tower that will be completed by the end of the year.

Lotte Group, which owns the building, said the hole had nothing to do with the building's safety.

Police said the hole was about two meters deep and a meter wide.

"Heavy rain was believed to be the primary reason for the land subsidence," investigators said.

Seven sinkholes -- small and large -- have been discovered near the skyscraper since 2014.
By Lee Kyung-min

Shin Young-ja

Lotte Foundation Chairwoman Shin Young-ja, 73, was placed in detention Thursday on charges of embezzlement and bribery, after the Seoul Central District Court issued a warrant for the eldest daughter of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho.

She is the first Lotte owner family member to face arrest since the prosecution began investigating the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate early last month.

She is suspected of receiving some 3 billion won from companies in return for placing their counters in favorable locations at Lotte's duty free shops, including 1.5 billion won from disgraced former Nature Republic CEO Jung Woon-ho.

Although the companies paid in the form of "consultation fees" to a luxury goods logistics company owned by her son, surnamed Jang, prosecutors believe that the money was ultimately delivered to Shin, the de facto owner of the son's firm.

She is also suspected of embezzling some 4 billion won in company funds by registering her three daughters as company board members so they could receive salaries, until 2013.

Shin herself is believed to have fraudulently received the salary as well after opening a bank account with a name borrowed from a senior company official.

Prosecutors are looking into Lotte's affiliates in which Shin is registered as a board member or stakeholder, following allegations that she used the affiliates to created a slush fund by fraudulent accounting and conducting illicit intra-group financial transactions.

Prosecutors said that Shin was questioned not only for her personal corruption but also over group-wide irregularities.

In response, while Lotte Group tries to distance itself from her by claiming that the investigation is focused on her, it is also showing concerns because she might offer the prosecution testimony unfavorable to her half-brother, group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, in return for leniency.

The chairwoman, who served as the CEO of Lotte Shopping between 2008 and 2012, has been deeply involved in the group's logistics business since 1983 when she began participating in group management as an executive.

She stood at odds with her younger half-brother Dong-bin after he took the reins of power from their father and withdrew her food companies from the snack business at Lotte Cinema chains in 2013.

Last year, she went to Japan to attend a shareholders' meeting alongside her father and eldest half-brother Dong-ju to vote in favor of dismissing Dong-bin from the group chairmanship.
(From left) Ban Ki-moon, Kim Jong-un and Park Geun-hye



By Ko Dong-hwan

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited the leaders of the two Koreas to an international conference in November, raising speculation about whether the leaders will face each while the North's nuclear threat continues.

Ban sent the invitation for the World Conference on Sustainable Transport in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on June 15, according to the Hankook Ilbo.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Jung Youn-kuk said Thursday the presidential house received the invitation but has not decided who will participate in the November 26 and 27 conference.

The invitation is seen as Ban's effort to bring the two leaders together. During his visit to South Korea in May, Ban said he is "always willing to bring peace to the Korean Peninsula" and mentioned North Korean high-ranking officials among his contact list.












By Yi Whan-woo

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will step up provocations in reaction to the United States' first-ever sanctions on him for human rights abuses, analysts said Thursday.

They said tensions will also rise on the Korean Peninsula, claiming the sanctions, imposed Wednesday, will infuriate the young, unpredictable North Korean leader.

"The U.S. sanctions will work as a mechanism that will hold Kim responsible for North Korea's suppression of human rights," said An Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korea Studies. "Pyongyang will not tolerate that and it will mobilize all possible means to show its anger for openly humiliating Kim."

Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University, said, "The dictatorial regime will ratchet up harsh rhetoric against the U.S." He cited that the dictatorial regime has been paranoid about outside criticism of its leader.

It is expected that key North Korean government organizations, including the newly-created State Affairs Commission, will mobilize an anti-U.S. rally or issue a statement denouncing Washington according to Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute.

North Korea is keeping mum after the U.S. Treasury Department placed Kim and 14 North Korean officials and eight entities on its blacklist, Wednesday.

This is the first time North Korea's head of state has been personally sanctioned, and also the first time that any North Korean officials have been blacklisted in connection with rights abuses.

The action was made in line with a recommendation from the U.S. State Department's report on human rights violations in North Korea.












Tension to rise; Seoul to seek moderating role



Finally, the United States has played its trump card on North Korea.



Washington has put the North's young dictator, Kim Jong-un, on a black list  together with 14 of his subordinates and eight state organizations  for human rights violations.



No doubt, Kim deserves this naming and shaming for, as Washington cited, "intolerable cruelty such as extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture."



True, this step is symbolic as the existing penalty, reinforced by the toughest-ever U.N. sanctions, has already frozen assets, if there are any in the U.S., and bars its firms from doing business with the North.



However, the latest one could be different for several reasons.



First, it aims at affecting middle and low-ranking officials, the Wall Street Journal said, quoting a U.S. official as saying, " more and more people in North Korea  are conscious that the political situation on the Korean Peninsula may change  in their lifetimes." The statement may lead one to conclude that the U.S. may seek a change in the North or has already detected such signs.



Second, blacklisting Kim was unexpected even a month ago but came against the background of domestic politics. The current U.S. government has been under fire for its "strategic patience," or doing nothing, according to critics. Presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has hammered the Obama administration and likely Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, offering to meet the North Korean dictator. Obama and Clinton have been in need of countering Trump.



Third, the announcement also came amid a hegemonic standoff between the U.S. and China. Although China, the only benefactor of Pyongyang, has reluctantly joined the U.N. sanctions, it still sees a strategic interest in keeping the North alive, obviously because trade between the two is not fully interdicted as required in the sanctions.



Plus, contention over the South China Sea has pitted the two superpowers against each other. Washington wants to encircle China by marshalling India, Indochina, the Philippines and other countries to counter Beijing's claim over the resources-rich Spratly Islands located close to one of the world's most important sea routes.



Put these together and it would be made plain that tension could rise significantly as the North is set to react sharply to the U.S. act of criminalizing Kim  he being idolized as a demigod in his country. The period of this rising tension may last more than a year because the new U.S. government takes office in January after the November election and needs time for pertinent policy development. This could also accompany a higher chance of confrontation on the peninsula  if not a military clash, an act of terror or sabotage, as the government has repeatedly warned.



Seoul is left with little room for independent maneuver, already betting heavily on a hard-line policy against the North. President Park Geun-hye says the North should give up its nuclear weapons or it would be meaningless to have talks for talks' sake. The North sees its nukes as the only guarantee for survival and is trying to make its nuclear arsenal even more sophisticated. So the next year or so could be dangerous.



If Seoul can't change the situation outright, then it should bring some small but effective adjustments to help keep things under control. One such adjustment is a delayed deployment of the U.S. terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) system, one that is vehemently opposed by China and Russia.




By Donald Kirk

LONDON  Here in the eye of Typhoon Brexit, the airwaves, internet and print media reverberate with the shockwaves of what is seen as the End of Britain as we know it or a tempest in a teapot. The roar of the storm is such that it can only be compared to the ruckus of royal infidelities and rumors and rubbish that transfixed the British media in decades past.

If one thing is missing from all the statements and counter statements, charges and counter-charges, claims and lies heard over here, it is a whiff of royal scandal that would really rivet attention. In the coffee shops and pubs of swinging London, the question of whether Britain "leaves" or "remains" in the European Union or tells Brussels and all the other exponents of Euro-trash to get stuffed has about as much traction and appeal as, oh, the North Korean nuclear issue at a typical Starbucks or Coffee Bean or Cafe Bene in Seoul. I mean, okay, the pols and papers and talk-show yakkers can rant and rave as they wish, but most people really have more important things to think about.

That blase judgment would quickly evaporate if only Prince so-and-so or Princess so-and-so would do everyone a favor and get it on, say, with a Brexit campaigner, for or against makes little difference, or just do something so certifiably awful as to mesmerize the nation. As it is, we're left with a cast of politicians making statements that all the commentators and editorialists have fun parsing to death but leave most people bored or confused or both.

All that is really noteworthy and disappointing is that Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and a pro-Brexit zealot, has dropped out of the campaign to succeed David Cameron as prime minister. The reason why this is so disappointing is that Johnson, like Donald Trump, is noted for a weird hairdo in which his peroxide blond hair explodes from his head in a singular style that really identifies him.

Johnson's hairstyle isn't exactly the same as that of Trump, who has somewhat less hair but does the best he can with the able assistance of a hair-dresser who makes sure his dyed-blond locks flow distinctively as his personal trademark. Were Boris still in the race and ultimately successful in his bid to become prime minister, and if Trump managed to win the U.S. presidential election, we would have the makings of an Anglo-American summit featuring two of the world's most powerful national leaders joined together not only in ideology but in hairstyle.

The Brit might say, "Give Us Back our Country," the Yank might say, "Make America Great Again," all of which would sound as similar as the zeal with which they groomed their hair. In their private off-record moments, they would no doubt be exchanging tips on how to manage their lustrous locks.

Ah, but sadly, that's not to be. Here as the political winds and waves roar around us, we have to recognize that a woman totally unknown in the U.S., and presumably everywhere else except in Britain, is now the front-runner for prime minister.

That would be Theresa May, the home secretary, who has said emphatically there can be no re-referendum on Brexit, that Britain has to get on with it and pull out of the EU as 52 percent of the voters decided. She has also upset a lot of people, including rivals in her own Conservative Party, by saying the fate of three million immigrants from eastern Europe who have come here legally is a matter up for negotiation, not a guaranteed right.

While Johnson faded fast, May is now a favorite of the Brexit crowd, as epitomized by the lavish support given her by the popular middle-market tabloid the Daily Mail.

In a commentary for the paper, May ranted not about Brexit or immigration, the topic that accounts for Brexit's popularity among voters who can't stand "foreigners" overrunning their tight little island. Rather, she called on Britain to buck up its defenses against international terrorism, declaring, "The world has become a more dangerous place than it has been for many years."

It was, said May, "vital for our national interest that we maintain what is the most significant security and military capability in Europe" and "project our power around the world." That said, she rattled off challenges ranging from Russian President Vladimir Putin threatening "nuclear forces in Crimea" to North Korea continuing "to defy international law with its nuclear program," and "its provocatively flaunting of its nuclear capabilities."

Those are tough words, far tougher than Trump's saying South Korea doesn't need U.S. troops and he'd be glad to chat with Kim Jong-un. While the Brexiters are chanting, "Give us back our country," she's warning we may have to fight a real war to survive. That's a message that resonates louder than the war of words over leaving the EU  or even comparative analysis of the hairstyles of Johnson and Trump.

Donald Kirk, journalist and author, www.donaldkirk.com, has been covering war and peace in Asia for decades. He's at kirkdon4343@gmail.com.
By Yoon Sung-won



Overseas examples of takeovers within the same industry being disapproved show that the Fair Trade Commission's (FTC) disapproval of the proposed merger of SK Telecom (SKT) and CJ HelloVision (CJH) was the right decision, industry sources said Thursday.



The sources pointed out that antitrust authorities in advanced countries have prioritized fair competition in judging proposed mergers and acquisitions (M&As), opposing takeovers that may strengthen monopolies.



"The criteria of both European and U.S. regulators have been the same as they have disapproved merger proposals as the merged entities might undermine competition," the source said. "The merger between SKT and CJH should duly be disapproved as it has been expected to consolidate a monopoly in the domestic telecom market and escalate consumer burden with a hike in telecom expenses."



The industry source cited that the European Commission (EC), the administrative body of the European Union (EU), disapproved a proposed merger of the U.K.'s second-largest mobile carrier O2 and the fourth-largest British telecom firm Three UK on April 11.



At that time, Three UK tried to take over O2 for 17.6 trillion won ($15.21 billion). If the proposal had passed, Three UK would have had a market share of more than 40 percent.



Before the EC's disapproval, Britain's antitrust bodies Competition and Market Authority (CMA) and Ofcom said they were against the proposal as it may hamper the balance of the telecom market and expand telecom expenses.



"EU regulators disapprove merger proposals if they think the deal, which will result in a decrease in the number of competitors, may lead to cost hikes and scale down consumer choice," the source said. "The EU's latest decision is the second disapproval after a similar case in Demark in 2015 and it is expected to maintain the same stance."



In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also set fair competition as the key factor in reviewing merger plans between telecom companies.



In 2015, the FCC forbade Comcast, the country's top cable television provider, from taking over Time Warner Cable (TWC). As a business operating in the nation through its terrestrial broadcasting subsidiary NBC Universal, Comcast might have drawn worries about hypertrophy and excessive vertical systemization, the source said.



On the contrary, the FCC approved Charter's proposal to acquire TWC and Bright House Network. The approval was made as the three regional cable broadcasters had overlapping business areas of less than 1 percent even after the merger, the source said.



The FCC pointed out that the merger of SKT and CJH constitutes integration of a nationwide business and a regional operator and cannot be equated with the approved deal between Charter and TWC.



After the news that the antitrust watchdog had rejected SKT's takeover of CJH, the opponents of the merger welcomed the decision.



Besides KT and LG Uplus, which would have directly been affected had the takeover deal been approved, civic groups for fairness in market competition and workers' job security also said the disapproval was well deserved.




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PRESS RELEASE

Some in Congress Ready to Release 28 Pages; It May Come to That

July 6, 2016 (EIRNS)At a press conference held in front of the U.S. House of Representatives today, U.S. Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), together with representatives of the 9/11 Families Mrs. Terry Strada and others, demanded that Obama and the his intelligence establishment release the still classified "28 pages" final chapter of the Congressional 9/11 Report, and do it before the 15th anniversary of the attack that killed 3,000 Americans.

The Congressmen declared that the American people are entitled to know the truth; that the families are entitled to know, and that the citizens are entitled to know. Rep. Walter Jones told the press, "One country is responsible for 9/11." And that country is being protected by Obamas intelligence establishment, just as it was protected by George W. Bushs.

The Congressmen have introduced legislation calling on Obama to release the pages; new legislation (H. Res. 779) calls on the Intelligence Committee to publish it in the Congressional Record.

But for the first time before the press today, Representatives Jones, Lynch and Massie discussed the approach of Senator Mike Gravel, in reading the classified Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam War into the Congressional Record in 1971. Lynch said that the there was an attempt to prosecute Senator Mike Gravel for reading classified documents, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld his right to do so under the "speech and debate" clause of the U.S. Constitutionby a 9-0 vote.

Representative Lynch told the press,
PRESS RELEASE

Indias First River Diversion Completed in One Year

July 6, 2016 (EIRNS)Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu today released water into the Polavaram Right Main Canal (PRMC) through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS), interlinking the Godavari and Krishna Rivers in West Godavari district, PTI reported today. The project was completed in one years time.

The highlights of the project are:

Surplus floodwater of more than 300 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) which is now discharged into the sea will be used to green the lands;

Through the PLIS, the government will divert 80 TMC of Godavari River water to the Krishna River;

24 pumps have been erected to pump water into the PRMC;

Besides irrigating 530,000 hectares in Krishna and West Godavari districts, the water released from the project will also stabilize the Krishnas Delta area served by irrigational canals.

The Godavari is the second-longest river in India after the River Ganges, having its source at Maharashtra in the West. It flows east 910 miles before emptying into Bay of Bengal. The Godavari and The Krishna are both called Peninsular rivers, and their interlinking is the first of Indias proposed 30 river-interlinking projects. Two other inter-linking projects are presently in progress.
PRESS RELEASE

Russia Continues To Lay Down Heavy Political Covering Fire in Run-Up to NATO Summit

July 6, 2016 (EIRNS)Russian government officials continue to slam at NATOs provocative policies, on the eve of the July 8-9 NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland. At a press conference today, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin described his discussions with NATO officials in the following way:

"One by one, they are normal guys, but when they gather togetherthey are devil incarnates. It is a relic of the Cold War. What they are doing now toward Russia, its allies, its partnersthis is really going too far. They are openly building up not as much military capabilities as military rhetoric,"

Rogozin said.

"NATO is not a useful organization. NATO should have been dissolved long ago, and the Russian president talked about it. In principle, this organization was set up exclusively for conflicts, for wars, for aggravating the situation,"

Rogozin concluded.

In a similar vein, Anton Mazur, the head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna OSCE conference on arms reduction, stated yesterday:

"Despite our warnings of counter-productivity and risks of NATOs eastwards expansion, the borders of the biggest military bloc have nearly reached Russian borders. Works have started in the territory of new members to develop military infrastructure. New formats of military activities have been launched on the ground, in the air and at sea, including a mission on air patrolling and multinational exercises."

He added that the BMD facilities in Romania and Poland mean that NATO
PRESS RELEASE

EIR Featured Prominently in Washington Press Conference on South China Sea

July 6, 2106 (EIRNS) At a press conference in Washington today, held by the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies and the National Institute of South China Sea Studies and attended by some 70 plus Chinese and American journalists, three leading Chinese scholars and two American scholars, including EIRs Washington Bureau Chief Bill Jones, were featured. The interest in the topic was at its height with the imminent decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague on the Philippines request for a decision on the matter. The decision by the arbitration court, which China refused to be a part of, and therefore, whose decision China will not abide by, is seen as a means for the U.S. to up the ante on its freedom of navigation gambit in the South China Sea, pushing the region closer to war.

The Chinese scholars included Dr. Wu Shicun, the president of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies, undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person in China on the issue of the South China Sea; and Professor Huang Renwei, the vice president of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, one of the foremost think-tanks in China.

The press conference also benefited from a significant question asked from the floor by Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche.

The Chinese side presented their position on the South China Sea, underlining their case for not accepting arbitration in a matter where there had been no negotiations between the Philippines and China because of the Philippines refusal to engage in discussions. Sending the case to the court was also a violation of the Declaration of Conduct signed by all the Southeast Asian Nations, including the Philippines, committing themselves to resolve the territorial disputes through negotiation. The arbitration decision is seen, therefore, as a case of collusion between one of the parties in the dispute and the referee, with, of course, the backing of the United States, which insists it is not a party in the dispute.

U.S. Naval Academy professor Brian Mulveny presented the mainstreami.e., Obama Administrationview, namely that the U.S. can send their military vessels wherever they want in freedom of navigation operations and that China has to adhere to whatever the arbitration court decides.

In his comments, EIRs Jones underlined the importance of the visit of the Chinese delegation because of the war danger posed by the concentration of military forces in the region by the U.S. and its allies, and because of the systematic distortion of Chinese position in the U.S. media.

U.S. policy has been totally wrong-headed, Jones said.

Instead of trying to build a comprehensive relationship with China socially, economically, politically and militarily, it treats China like an outside predator even in its own region. Instead of trying to facilitate Chinas relations with its neighbors, it has strengthened its Cold War alliances and encouraged them to get tough with China,

Jones said.

And when the arbitration decision comes down next week, the U.S. will start harping that China must accept this as a tenet of international law, a position which many legal experts even in the U.S. consider as absurd.

I ask myself, Jones said,

how would the U.S. react if it had a fleet of foreign vessels belonging to an alien alliance patrolling 12 miles off of Californias coast? Well, I think we know how the U.S. would react, but China would tend to show more restraint,

he said.

China has put forward an important good neighbor policy with its Belt and Road Initiative," Jones said,

offering hope and development for a region that is still plagued by poverty and destruction. And the U.S. has seen this as hostile intent by China, in spite of the fact that the U.S. has been invited to take part in this major program of infrastructure development.

If nothing else, the South China Sea crisis has shown us most clearly that we need a new type of relationship between our two countries, perhaps in line with what President Xi envisions with his idea of a major power relationship. Because if we continue with the zero-sum game of geopolitics, it will only lead to war.

The reaction from the audience was enthusiastic, with several questions directed to Jones.

In an intervention from the floor during the Q&A session, Schiller Institute President Helga Zepp-LaRouche again broached the war danger in a question directed to Mulvaney.

"There are many military experts internationally who are warning that the situation today is more dangerous than at the height of the Cold War,

she said.

Furthermore, we are about to experience another financial crash worse than 2008. I think the terrorist activities, especially of the last two weeks, in Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, and European countries clearly show that terrorism is out of control. And actually with the Brexit, the European Union is in a process of disintegration, very dramatically. "So my question is: Can Mankind not rise to a higher level of cooperation and go for a New Paradigm where geopolitics is overcome and replaced by the commons aims of mankind? I mean, the world is in dire need for the United States and China to work together, because I think without the two countries joining hands, the world is in trouble. So the question is: Can the world move to a New Paradigm of peaceful cooperation for the future tasks of all of humanity?"

In response to Mrs. LaRouches question, Mulvaney downplayed the danger of any serious military conflict in the South China Sea, saying foolishly that if an incident occurs in the region it wont lead to war, but will be contained. (Perhaps on the thesis that a single bullet does not a war make. But tell that to Archduke Franz Ferdinand.) Mulvaney also tried to ridicule the need for a new paradigm, saying that he would love a world in which people lived together in harmony, but, consummate pragmatist that he was, he said that this was not the world we lived in.

After the event, many journalists came up to Jones asking many more questions on the South China Sea crisis and how China should react to the arbitration decision.

The press conference followed two days of private discussions with the Chinese delegation, one with the Carnegie Institute for World Peace (something of a misnomer) and the other with the Schiller Institute and friends, including Schiller Institute president and founder, Helga Zepp-LaRouche.
PRESS RELEASE

U.K. Parliament Committee Urges NATO-Russia Dialogue

July 6, 2016 (EIRNS)The Defense Committee of the British parliament has issued a 58-page report on the eve of the NATO summit, urging that "a meaningful dialogue" occur between NATO and Russia, lest "we run the risk of a descent into conflict that may be preventable through better communication." Like many other political forces and groups across Europe, of variegated ideological outlooks, a section of the British parliament has clearly gotten very nervous about the insane drive to war with Russia coming from the Obama administration and the British Monarchy.

"Dialogue between NATO and Russia is essential to reduce the risk of military escalation and misunderstandings between them both," the report says.

"We should expect any NATO military consolidation to be mirrored on the Russian side of the border. Further militarization of the border in this way could increase the risk of misunderstandings, miscalculation or accidents."

The report also calls for military-to-military dialogue with Moscow

"both before and during the Warsaw summit [to] reduce the potential for an unintended escalation of hostilities."

Despite its other features (denouncing Russias "annexation" of Crimea, calling for sanctions to be maintained, etc.) Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov welcomed the British report:
This is not a true story, Delia Ephron insists in the acknowledgments section of her novel Siracusa. All characters and circumstances are fictional.

Why this cautionary note? Perhaps Ephron  whose late sister Nora Ephron famously skewered her ex-husband, the journalist Carl Bernstein, in her 1983 novel Heartburn  is especially attuned to the pitfalls of the roman a clef. Certainly, her characters, with their penchants for deception and self-deception, skew unsympathetic. And one of them, a writer, is perpetually calculating how he can transform his lifes events into fiction  obviously, for Ephron, who is also the daughter of screenwriters, a fraught enterprise.

The skillfully wrought plot of Siracusa turns on two couples on the cusp of middle age whose marriages and fragile friendship are strained to the limits by a joint vacation to Rome and the Sicilian town of Siracusa. Ephron masterfully builds suspense while foreshadowing  perhaps too amply  the disasters to come.

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Michael Shapner, the star of the four principals, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, memoirist and would-be novelist whose celebrity rests on a foundation of lies. As a storyteller, he plays with facts, his wife, Lizzie, tells us. As for lying, in this story, which is also my life, I will make a case for the charm of it, Michael says.

Lizzie, by contrast, is an unpleasantly blunt freelance journalist with her own writerly insecurities and career woes. She worries too about Michaels self-absorption and waning interest in her, and her vulnerabilities make her the novels most likable character  not a high bar.

As for lying, in this story, which is also my life, I will make a case for the charm of it.  Michael Shapner in Delia Ephrons Siracusa

The other husband is the flirtatious Finn Dolan, a water-taxi driver turned restaurant owner in Portland, Maine. He is a Republican, a wine connoisseur and a clandestine smoker. His wife, cultured and prissy, is Taylor, with an Upper East Side pedigree and an obsession for planning, meticulous packing and five-star accommodations. She holds her husband in contempt, dislikes Lizzie, finds Michael attractive and is emotionally enmeshed with a bizarrely shy daughter named Snow. The 10-year-old, on the verge of a strange erotic awakening, sleeps in the marital bed with her mother and whispers nasty observations to the adults who dote on her.

Finn and Lizzie have a connection, a summer fling they enjoyed before their marriages. They remain friendly, even though, as Lizzie puts it, the time between when we fell for each other and drove each other crazy was no time at all.

We begin Siracusa wondering: Will the seductions of Italy cause their romance to flare? Will Taylor, who shuns sex with Finn, and Michael, who has his own lover, even care? Then the plot twists. Kath, Michaels girlfriend, shows up when she is least wanted, evolving into a stalker and spurring murderous impulses.

The story, with its balance of improbabilities and inevitabilities, unspools in short, first-person bursts  all of it seemingly retrospective, composed after the trip has ended. The narration rotates among the husbands and wives, who relate the same incidents from different perspectives, sometimes with altered details. Occasionally, a narrator will flash back to the more distant past -- or forward to the psychological aftermath of the Italy trip, perhaps ruing the clues missed and the words unspoken.

In its preoccupation with unreliable narration and marital betrayal, Siracusa evokes not only Akira Kurosawas 1950 film Rashomon, but also Ford Madox Fords 1915 modernist masterpiece The Good Soldier and Showtimes ongoing dramatic series The Affair. Theres even an echo of Ian McEwans 2001 novel, Atonement about passion, guilt and how writers distort lives for literary ends.

Ephron, who was widowed last year, is interested in the fluid, complex terrain of long-term marriage. Husbands and wives collaborate, Lizzie says, hiding even from themselves who is calling the shots and who is along for the ride. Later, she will suggest to Finn that some people  dump all their misery into marriage. Should one marry someone who knows you, she asks, even intuits your secrets, or from whom you can remain hidden? And why marry at all? Marriage, she says, cant protect you from heartbreak or the random cruelties and unfairnesses life deals out  .

As much as it is a marital dirge, Siracusa is also a meditation on writing  specifically, on the difficulties of embodying life in fiction. Finn, like Michael, warns that he will be an unreliable narrator: I can tell my story as well as the rest of them. Although Ill mess with you now and then, I warn you.

Michael, in italic passages, rewrites his life, promising during a romantic excursion with his wife to a Roman cemetery to steal every moment of this adventure for my novel, every feeling  . But he notes too the gap between life and fiction, the fact that in life one rarely knows which remarks of the hundreds uttered in the course of a day will turn out to be auspicious, while [i]n fiction, foreshadowing is planted and flagged  .

Ephron excels at re-creating the atmosphere of Siracusa, with its serpentine streets, rocky outcroppings and tattered buildings  with bow-shaped delicate wrought-iron balconies. Her writing captures the tastes and aromas of the markets and the restaurants, where her characters savor wine, oranges, gelato, figs and spaghetti tousled with tiny clams, baby tomatoes, parsley, and showered with toasted bread crumbs.

In the end, Siracusa, like life, is a tad disappointing, its culminating disaster coming as something of an anticlimax. In its wake, we get neither love triumphant, nor justice, nor even a tragic catharsis  just a marital dissolution and some petty literary vengeance.

Through Lizzie Ephron reminds us that we want to believe that good comes of bad and all the absurdities play out in your favor. Siracusa suggests maybe not; or maybe, as with our vision of shifting colors illuminating a house at sunset, its all a matter of time and perspective.

Julia M. Klein, a cultural reporter and critic in Philadelphia, is a contributing editor at Columbia Journalism Review and a contributing book critic for the Forward. Follow her @JuliaMKlein.

::

Siracusa

Delia Ephron

Blue Rider Press: 304 pp., $26
Scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 U.S. cities  including Los Angeles  won tentative government approval Thursday, advancing President Obamas effort to normalize relations with Cuba.

Eight U.S. airlines are expected to begin round-trip service as early as this fall between the United States and the Cuban capital, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. It has been more than 50 years since the last scheduled air service from the U.S. to the island nation.

The U.S. cities are: Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, N.J.; New York; and four in Florida  Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. Of the 20 daily nonstop flights allowed to Havana, 14 will be from Florida, home to the U.S.s largest population of Cuban Americans.

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The airlines are Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United.

Foxx said the decision wont be final until later this summer after a 30-day public comment period. Last month, the Transportation Department announced the approval of six U.S. airlines to begin service as early as this fall to other Cuban cities. That plan, if ultimately approved, would require that the airlines begin service within 90 days of the issue date of a final order.

A year and a half ago, Obama announced with Cuban President Raul Castro that it was time for the longtime adversaries to begin a new journey. Washington has since reopened the U.S. Embassy in Havana and taken other steps to bolster ties.

Conservatives in Congress have been unwilling to lift the trade embargo of Cuba, which includes a travel ban. That means most Americans still cannot legally visit Cuba. But the administration has eased rules to the point where travelers are now free to design their own people-to-people cultural exchange tours with little oversight.

Airlines must still record  and retain for five years  the official reasons passengers give for traveling to Cuba, so reservation systems have been revamped to let passengers select one of the 12 permitted categories. They include family visits, official business and educational or religious activities.

U.S. citizens interest in visiting Cuba has swelled 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.

Currently, the first commercial flight to Cuba is set to be flown by Silver Airways on Sept. 1 from Fort Lauderdale to Santa Clara. Now that the Havana routes have been announced, one of the other airlines might try to start flying even sooner if final U.S. approval comes quickly and airline operations are ready.

U.S. carriers have been working quietly for months to prepare for Cuban flights. Several airlines already serve the island nation with charter service; American has been flying to Cuba since 1991, the longest of any airline. Last year, American flew 1,084 such charter flights, followed by JetBlue with 221.

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Southern California Edison on Thursday warned that its customers could face higher costs related to the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant if regulators overturn a settlement agreement.

In an 80-page filing with the California Public Utilities Commission, Edison argued that the agreement reached over San Onofres closure should stand based on past legal precedent involving other settlement agreements and the normal process of closing power plants.

The utilitys filing was its first detailed response to an order that could lead to full reconsideration of the settlement agreement, which left consumers on the hook for $3.3 billion to permanently close the nuclear plant in 2013.

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Edison argued that under the agreement customers were only paying for past investments to build and maintain the nuclear plant  not the mistakes that led to its closure.

Reconsidering the settlement could increase customer payments, the utility said.

We believe this public process will allow interested parties to review the settlement and confirm for themselves that it should stand, Ron Nichols, Edisons president, said in a statement.

Consumer advocates filed their own arguments Thursday in favor of reconsidering the settlement. They argue that Edison should be held responsible for the premature closure of San Onofre in June 2013 after faulty replacement steam generators were installed at the plant.

The advocates, led by San Diego lawyer Michael Aguirre, a former assistant U.S. attorney, also maintain that Edisons failure to report back-channel communication between Edison representatives and commission representatives about San Onofres closure cloud the integrity of the agreement.

Before the PUC can take any corrective steps on San Onofre, the circle of officials who knew about the secret San Onofre deal  have to step away, Aguirre said in an interview. He said the prefabricated agreement hurts public confidence.

In May, public utilities Commissioner Catherine J.K. Sandoval and Administrative Law Judge Maribeth Bushey issued the ruling to reopen the case in large part because of the revelations about the unreported talks.

In particular, the ruling cited a meeting between Michael Peevey, who was commission president, and Stephen Pickett, who was Edisons vice president for external relations, during an energy industry junket in Warsaw, Poland.

Regulators in December fined Edison $16.7 million for failing to report the talks.

In light of our December 2015 penalty levied against Edison  it is prudent to review whether the settlement reached before those disclosures remains in the public interest and in accordance with our settlement rules, Sandoval wrote in May. It is important to reopen the record and hear from the parties through their filings in the CPUCs proceeding.

The settlement agreement was designed to resolve how $4.7 billion in expenses related to the nuclear plant would be paid.

The agreement stated that consumers would be responsible for $3.3 billion of the costs and shareholders of Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, which together owned the plant, would shoulder the rest.

Out of the $3.3 billion, Edison customers were assigned most of the costs  about $2.5 billion.That has amounted to about $2 a month for the average residential customer.

Some of the consumer burden has been reduced because of insurance payments and other credits. Edison now says that its customers costs are down to $2 billion. That number could drop even further, the utility argues, if it is successful in a lawsuit with the contractor that handled the steam generator replacement.

Edison notes the utilitys shareholders paid $696 million for the steam generators themselves, while customers paid $168 million, which covered the period in which the generators were working.

Our shareholders, and not customers, are appropriately paying for the faulty steam generators from the day they were no longer providing power, Nichols stated. The portion of customers bills attributable to San Onofre is not related to the faulty steam generators, but to pay for other reasonable investments in a plant that provided safe, reliable, low-cost power for nearly 30 years.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

Follow me at @ivanlpenn

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Tesla Motors autopilot feature was engaged during a nonfatal Friday crash  the agencys second inquiry into the automakers self-driving technology in as many weeks.

The wreck involved a Tesla Model X in Pennsylvania.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the driver in that crash told police that he was using Teslas assisted driving feature, which helps motorists steer, stay in lanes and drive at the speed of traffic. The vehicle reportedly hit a freeway guardrail and struck the center median before flipping onto its roof.

Last week, the agency disclosed a separate investigation into a fatal crash in Florida in May that involved a Tesla Model S. The driver in that crash was using Teslas assisted driving feature at the time of the incident.

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The electric car manufacturer said Wednesday in a prepared statement that it received a message from the vehicles computer July 1 indicating a crash had occurred, but more detailed logs were never transmitted.

We have no data at this point to indicate that Autopilot was engaged or not engaged, a Tesla spokesperson said in a statement. This is consistent with the nature of the damage reported in the press, which can cause the antenna to fail.

The company said it has been unable to reach the driver.

It is not possible to learn more without access to the vehicles onboard logs.

NHTSA said in a statement that it is collecting information from the Pennsylvania State Police, Tesla and the driver of the Model X to determine whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash.

The driver involved in the crash, Michigan art gallery owner Albert Scaglione, declined to comment.

tracey.lien@latimes.com

Twitter: @traceylien

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UPDATES:

2:24 p.m. Thursday, July 7: This article was updated with additional information.

This article was originally published on Wednesday, July 6, at 6:15 p.m.
Snapchat doesnt do enough to warn teenagers and parents about sexual content on its app, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by celebrity attorney Mark Geragos on behalf of a family.

The suit concerns articles hosted on Snapchat, including People share their secret rules for sex and 10 things he thinks when he cant make you orgasm. Such material is adult-rated content that parents would likely prohibit had they known its found without restrictions on Snapchat, according to the lawsuit.

One the worlds highest-valued technology start-ups at an estimated $16 billion, Snapchat primarily serves as a forum for friends to trade messages, photos and videos. But last year, the Venice company began promoting articles and videos from several media companies, including BuzzFeed, MTV and Cosmopolitan magazine. The articles can be forwarded to other users  of whom there are at least 150 million each day, with an estimated 25% under age in the U.S.

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Though Snapchats terms of service warn users not to send sexually explicit messages, the document doesnt warn that they might encounter offensive content on Discover, where articles and videos are found. And it doesnt tell people that there might be ways  such as third-party monitoring software  for minors to avoid the inappropriate material. To sign up for Snapchat, users must say they are at least 13 years old (the same minimum age at competitors such as Facebook and Twitter).

To Geragos, the circumstances add up to a violation of federal law that merits a $50,000-a-day civil penalty.

A lot of the sites have taken the affirmative approach of dealing with this, but Snapchat isnt one of them, said Geragos, known for representing convicted murderer Scott Peterson and celebrities including Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.

Snapchat spokesman Noah Edwardsen said in a statement that the company hasnt been formally served the lawsuit, but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support.

That last remark could become a big issue in the case, should it move forward.

Citing a federal law, courts have generally held Internet companies immune from lawsuits concerning material distributed on their service by third parties.

But the lawsuit describes Snapchat as anything but a passive player in distribution. Because Snapchat handpicked media companies for Discover and advises them on content strategies, the start-up shouldnt get immunity, attorneys contend. Snapchat generates revenue from ads placed between the content.

About 25 people contacted Geragos over the last year complaining about how Snapchat was making it easy for children to find crude images and sexual references, he said. Others were concerned about drugs and alcohol being a common topic.

The lawsuit points to several from last weekend, including a BuzzFeed article that took screen shots of facial reactions in popular Disney movies and captioned them with references to sexual intercourse.

Adults might find such articles clever, but many wouldnt want their children exposed to that, the lawsuit states.

An unnamed minor and the childs parent, Lynette Young, are listed as lead plaintiffs in the filing, which seeks class-action status.

Snapchats user agreement bars class-action filings and mandates all disputes go through arbitration, unless users opt out by writing the company within 30 days of joining.

A hearing hasnt been scheduled in the case, filed at U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

paresh.dave@latimes.com

Twitter: @peard33
A long-time Los Angeles gallery puts on its final show. A German photographer explores Brazils tropical Modernism. And wild installations take on identity, alienation and the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. Plus: The wry drawings of a California ceramicist and the flamboyant designs of a prominent Palm Springs architect. Here are six events to check out this week:

Alex Da Corte, A Season in Hell, at Art + Practice. An exhibition by the New Jersey-born conceptual artist includes a series of works inspired by French poet Arthur Rimbauds influential prose poem, A Season in Hell, which explores topics of morality, desire and death. In video and in sculptural installations  works that employ banal consumer goods and pop cultural tropes  Da Corte takes on these topics and others, touching on issues of identity, alienation and instability. Opens Saturday at 4 p.m. and runs through Sept. 17. 4339 Leimert Blvd., Leimert Park, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu and artandpractice.org.

Closing Celebratory Show, at Rosamund Felsen Gallery. On the Los Angeles gallery scene since 1978, Rosamund Felsen is bidding farewell to her space with this group exhibition featuring works from her stable of gallery artists  which includes figures such as painters Karen Carson and Steven Hull and sculptors Jacci Den Hartog and Tim Ebner  among countless others. Opens Saturday at 3 p.m. and will remain on view through the summer. 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, rosamundfelsen.com.

Fast Forward: The Architecture of William F. Cody, at the Architecture and Design Museum. A new exhibition looks at the career of one of Palm Springs most notable Modernist architects  known for a range of designs (some quite flamboyant) that included homes, condominiums, commercial centers and the temple-like El Dorado Country Club for a clientele that included Frank Sinatra, Walt Disney and Bing Crosby. Opens Sunday at 4 p.m. and runs through Sept. 25. 900 E. Fourth St., downtown Los Angeles, aplusd.org.

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Veronika Kellndorfer, Tropical Modernism: Lina Bo Bardi, at Christopher Grimes Gallery. The German artist explores the work of Brazilian Modernist architect Lina Bo Bardi  among other influential Brazilian designers  in works that place silkscreened photographic images onto reflective glass paneling. The focus, ultimately, is on unusual pairings  of the architecture and Brazils riotous plant life. Opens Friday and runs through Sept. 2. 916 Colorado Ave., Santa Monica, cgrimes.com.

Disappear Here: Music Made in L.A. at the Hammer Museum. This week, the museum kicks off a four-week music series tied to its Made in L.A. biennial that features free live concerts by L.A. musicians and DJs. The party kicks off tonight with a show by Poolside, Carlos Nino & Friends and Aaron Byrd, followed by gigs in coming weeks featuring Peanut Butter Wolf, Ceci Bastida and Tokimonsta. Because this is L.A., there will be food trucks. Its the law. The Poolside show begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

Ken Price, Drawings, at Matthew Marks Gallery. The gallery is displaying more than 40 drawings from the estate of the artist, one of the largest West Coast presentations of the famous ceramicists work on paper. He produced often whimsical and otherworldly renditions of mundane objects, as well as sketches for possible sculptures. The exhibition will also feature a small selection of the three-dimensional works. Opens Saturday at 3 p.m. and runs through Sept. 10. 1062 N. Orange Grove Ave., West Hollywood, matthewmarks.com.

FINAL WEEK

Sam Gilliam, Green April, at David Kordansky Gallery. An exhibition of large-scale works by the Washington, D.C.-based painter focuses on pieces from the late 1960s and early 70s  many of which had never before been exhibited. This includes his so-called slice paintings (in which he folds a wet canvas in half to create an abstracted imprint) as well as his drape paintings, stretcher-less canvases that he suspends from the walls and ceilings. Through Saturday. 5130 Edgewood Place, Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, davidkordanksygallery.com.

Andrea Bowers, Triumph of Labor, at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects. Bowers is an artist who has long been interested in questions of politics and labor. Here, she looks into different types of labor activism. This includes a series of drawings inspired by historic political graphics of women, photographs she has taken at labor rallies and her photo-realistic drawings of activists. A final gallery displays two sculptures that explore the dilemma of low wages and high tuition in higher education. Through Saturday. 6006 Washington Blvd., Culver City, vielmetter.com.

Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty, at the Orange County Museum of Art. The New York-based painter and photographer has long played with the tropes of feminine beauty in works that seamlessly stir the alluring with the mildly grotesque. Through Sunday. 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, ocma.net.

Alex Israel, at the Huntington. In 2012, the San Marino library and museum unveiled the first of its contemporary interventions with low-key works by Ricky Swallow and Lesley Vance. With this installation, the Huntington got bolder, featuring a series of interventions by painter Alex Israel, whose pop-inspired canvases and objects touch on topics such as celebrity, glamour and power. Through Monday. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, huntington.org.

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

Fred Reichman and Eleanor Ray, at the Landing. Artists from opposing coasts (he from postwar San Francisco, she from contemporary New York) produce paintings that ruminate on mundane settings. Reichman depicts spare backgrounds and quiet scenes: A sleeping figure, a brooding cat, an open window. Ray, in the meantime, depicts quiet studios and fragments of urban settings. Through July 16. 5118 W. Jefferson Blvd., West Adams, Los Angeles, thelandinggallery.com.

Jose Montoya, Abundant Harvest: Works on Paper / Works on Life, at the Fowler Museum. Throughout his life, activist, poet and painter Jose Montoya drew  on whatever was at hand: napkins, hotel stationery and notebooks. And in those drawings he recorded the quotidian aspects of Mexican American life in the United States: dogs and children, women and sailors, pachucos and pachucas, the architecture of low-lying Central Valley neighborhoods, industrial warehouses and agricultural settings, as well as the glamorous profile of lowrider cars. It is the first comprehensive look at this vital Chicano artists drawing practice. Through July 17. UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Drive N., Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu.

Deanna Thompson, at Kayne Griffin Corcoran. The California painter has a posthumous exhibition (she died last year) that brings together images of isolated desert homesteads and paintings of cars. They are simple works that emanate a vibrating intensity. Through July 30. 1201 S. La Brea Ave., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, kaynegriffincorcoran.com.

Ed Moses, Moses@90: Phase Two / New Works, at the William Turner Gallery. The L.A. painter has been marking his 90th birthday with various exhibitions and events. After an initial phase ending Saturday that includes works from throughout his career, he is presenting new work at his Santa Monica gallery  abstracted self-portraits and other works, many of which have never been seen. Through July 30. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Ste. E-1, Santa Monica, williamturnergallery.com.

Deanna Templeton, What She Said, at Little Big Man Gallery. The Huntington Beach photographer has a one-woman show that explores the nature of moody female adolescence  gathering works that show images of teens looking both demure and defiant. Says Templeton in her exhibition statement: I see my own struggles, disappointments and bravery in these girls. Through July 31.1427 E. 4th St., Unit 2, downtown Los Angeles, littlebigmangallery.com.

Robert Mapplethorpe, The Perfect Medium, at the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum. A two-part exhibition spread over a pair of L.A. museums explores the photographic legacy of an artist who brought as much grace to images of flowers as he did to S&M. The LACMA portion features early drawings, collages, sculptures, Polaroids, still lifes and archival material. The Getty will present his more formal portraits, along with the infamous X Portfolio, with its elegant S&M imagery. The LACMA show runs through July 31. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, lacma.org. The Getty exhibit also runs through July 31. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Royal Hawaiian Featherwork: Na Hulu Alil, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For centuries, long cloaks, capes, and other attire were painstakingly layered with the bright plumage of birds. Today, fewer than 300 examples of these exquisite garments exist  which makes this show of feather works, once donned by Hawaiian royals as far back as the late 18th century, a rare treat. Through Aug. 7. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, lacma.org.

Carl Berg, With a Little Help From My Friends, at the Torrance Art Museum. A series of prints created by the artist showcases abstract music and lyrics from the favorite albums of his family and friends. Also on view is Grafforists, an exhibition that gathers works by artists preoccupied with the most elemental types of mark-making. At 2 p.m. July 9, the museum will have Berg in house to host a discussion about his work. Through Aug. 13. 3320 Civic Center Drive, Torrance, torranceartmuseum.com.

Routine Pleasures, at the MAK Center. Michael Ned Holte, who served as curator on the last Made in L.A. biennial at the Hammer, has put together a group show that focuses on artists who value focus and process over producing shiny objets  termite art as opposed to white elephant art. This includes works from L.A. artists such as Harry Dodge, ceramists Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Michael Frimkess, sound artist Steve Roden and others. Just the antidote to overheated art market shows. Through Aug. 14. Schindler House, 835 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood, makcenter.org.

Tim Youd, 100 Novels, at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. As part of this long-running project, Youd retypes novels by famous authors in locations connected to the works  using the same typewriters employed by the writers. At LACE, he is retyping John Rechys infamous hustling novel City of Night on an Underwood Model S (the typewriter Rechy rented to write his book). Youd also makes related sculptures and paintings that tie in with these performances. He is typing City of Night from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. until 3 a.m. Saturday morning at the gallery. He then will retype Rechys novel Numbers at the Fern Dell entrance to Griffith Park from July 6-15 from 11am to 4pm. The sculptures will be on view at LACE through Aug. 14. 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, welcometolace.org.

Eau de Cologne, at Spruth Magers. The gallery has gathered works by five artists key to its development  Jenny Holzer, Rosemarie Trockel, Louise Lawler, Cindy Sherman and Barbara Kruger  all of whom subtly address womens roles in very different ways. The pieces on view date to the 1970s, when many of these figures first began to achieve artistic renown. Through Aug. 20. 5900 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, spruethmagers.com.

Shio Kusaka, at Blum & Poe. In her second solo show at the gallery, the Los Angeles ceramic artist is presenting a new body of work inspired by existing forms  from beach balls to porcelain animals  all presented on a single pedestal 100 feet in length. Also on view is a new exhibition of the work of Francoise Grossen, the Swiss artist known for her textile and fiber works (who recently has come to the attention of Los Angeles at Hauser Wirth & Schimmels debut exhibition, Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women. Through Aug. 20. 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, blumandpoe.com.

Division: Reflections and Shadows, with Los de Abajo Printmaking Collective with guest artists, at SPARC. Organized by curator Marietta Bernstorff, this exhibition consists of a series of new works by the L.A.-based collective, along with pieces by friends and colleagues, that push the genre while exploring the nature of borders, both physical and imagined. Through Aug. 20. 685 Venice Blvd., Venice, sparcinla.org.

Sam Maloof Woodworker: Life/Art/Legacy, at the Maloof Foundation. The foundation is celebrating the centennial of the birth of the renowned Southern California woodworker, whose elegant objects and furnishings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. The exhibition will feature more than 60 objects from throughout the artists life, including furnishings, drawings, photographs and other ephemera. The show is part of a years worth of events that will celebrate Maloofs life and work. Through Aug. 27. 5131 Carnelian St., Alta Loma, malooffoundation.org

Made in L.A. 2016: a, the, though, only, at the Hammer Museum. The third iteration of the Hammers SoCal-focused biennial keeps things wondrously minimal, featuring thoughtful exhibits by only 26 artists that jumps between art-making styles, ideas and generations  from the powerful totemic wood sculptures of Kenzi Shiokava to the bright, graphic paintings of Huguette Caland to the humorous research-based installation of Daniel R. Small. The show is a testament to the notion that, in Los Angeles, many ideas can bubble to the surface at once. Through Aug. 28. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, Los Angeles, hammer.ucla.edu.

In Focus: Electric! at the Getty Museum. Electricity: It powers your home, it powers your work and it powers the phone on which you are likely reading this post. This photographic exhibition at the Getty gathers historic images that showcase the allure of light and power. Through Aug. 28. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Art of the Austronesians: The Legacy of Indo-Pacific Voyaging, at Fowler Museum. A look at the legacy of Austronesian-speaking peoples gathers art and artifacts from the Philippines, Indonesia and other points in the South Pacific. This includes nearly 200 works, from wood sculptures to ceremonial textiles to canoe prow ornaments. Through Aug. 28. 308 Charles E. Young Drive N., Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu.

Duchamp to Pop, at the Norton Simon Museum. Drawing mostly from the Norton Simons permanent collection, this exhibition looks at the influence Duchamp likely had on generations of artists, from assemblagists to pop painters  figures who have appropriated elements of the everyday world and transformed them into art. Through Aug. 29. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016, at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. The debut exhibition at the citys newest gallery tackles more than half a century of sculpture by women, featuring key works by important international figures (Louise Bourgeois, Lee Bontecou) and key California artists (Ruth Asawa, Clare Falkenstein). Pieces range from the ethereal (Lygia Papes golden threads) to downright hilarious (Lara Schnitgers lacy/cat/fur assemblage sculptures). Altogether, the show offers an alternative to the narrative of the macho man postwar painting scene that has so dominated the story of 20th century art. Through Sept. 4. 901 E. Third St., Los Angeles, hauserwirthschimmel.com.

Gronks Theater of Paint, at the Craft and Folk Art Museum. The Los Angeles artist Gronk (born Glugio Nicandro) is widely known for his career as a painter, conceptual artist and for his work with the inventive 1970s collective Asco. He is also a longtime set designer, one who has built and painted elaborate sets for performances, plays and avant-garde operas, including works by the celebrated director Peter Sellars. This exhibition that tracks a long-running practice that melds art and architecture with the theatrical. Through Sept. 4. 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, cafam.org.

Claire Falkenstein: Beyond Sculpture, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The 20th century California artist, whose name has is circulating once again after being included in the debut exhibition at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, is now the subject of her own retrospective, tracking her entire career, from the 1930s to the 90s. (She passed away in 1997.) The artist, who worked in San Francisco and Los Angeles  as well as Paris  produced prints and murals, among other works, but she is best known for her sculpture: in particular, her often gritty assemblages made out of wire studded with chunks of glass. Through Sept. 11. 490 E. Union St., Pasadena, pmcaonline.org.

Danielle Abrams, Quadroon, at the Grand Central Art Center. A reference to someone who is one-quarter black, the term quadroon gets at the absolutist ways in which race is viewed in the United States. (Someone who is part black is regarded simply as black.) Abrams is part Jewish and part African American, and in this video installation, she picks apart the myriad elements  beyond simple ethnicity and race  that come together to make up any one persons identity. Through Sept. 11. 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, grandcentralcenter.com.

Hito Steyerl: Factory of the Sun, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A video installation by the German artist takes the viewer into a dystopia where the movements of workers are harvested to create artificial sunshine. The piece, which debuted at the Venice Biennale in 2015, is a mash-up of contemporary communication, told as video game, news report documentary film and Internet video. Through Sept. 12. MOCA, 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, moca.org.

Reflections on the Self, at the California African American Museum. Drawn from the museums permanent collection, this wide-ranging exhibition looks at the representation of the self, examining the idealized and mythicized ways that artists have portrayed pop and cultural icons, from Malcolm X to Thelonious Monk to a New Orleans grand marshal. Also on view at the museum is Oh Snap! West Coast Hip Hop Photography, which will feature an array of hip-hop artists who came up in the 90s, such as Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur and others. Through Sept. 18. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, caamuseum.org.

MOLAA at Twenty: 1996-2016, at the Museum of Latin American Art. The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach is celebrating two decades in existence with a show that draws from the museums permanent collection of more than 1,600 objects. These include works by renowned Modernists Joaqun Torres-Garca and Wifredo Lam, Argentine conceptualist Len Ferrari as well as contemporary figures such as Alexandre Arrechea and Patssi Valdez. Through Jan. 1. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, molaa.org.

Senses of Time: Video and Film-Based Works of Africa, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For one of its long-term installations, the museum has gathered works of video or film by contemporary African artists that explore the body and the looping nature of time. This includes pieces by figures such as Yinka Shonibare, Sammy Baloji, Berni Searle, Moatax Nasr and Theo Eshetu. Through Jan. 2. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

Non Fiction at the Underground Museum. An emotionally charged exhibition curated by the late Noah Davis, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles brings together works that explore issues of race and violence. This includes important works from MOCAs permanent collection by artists such as Robert Gober, Kara Walker, Henry Taylor and David Hammons. Through March. 3508 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, theunderground-museum.org.

Geographically Indeterminate Fantasies, hosted by Providence College Galleries. Dont worry if youre nowhere near Providence College in Rhode Island. A new digitally-minded exhibition by the art writing team at Art F City features more than two dozen works by artists who use animated GIFs to create work  from Brenna Murphys dizzying electronic architecture to Jacolby Satterwhites pulsing alternate universe. Its the sort of thing that will encourage you to spend quality time online (and away from awful Facebook). pcgalleries.providence.edu.

Islamic Art Now: Part 2 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Contemporary works from LACMAs permanent collection by 20 artists who live in or have roots in the Middle East look at questions of society, gender and identity. Runs indefinitely. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah.
Right from the start, Hollywood struggled with the Vietnam War, a conflict that deeply divided public opinion and defied easy representation on-screen.

The 1968 John Wayne film The Green Berets, released at the height of the conflict, was an old-fashioned war drama and ignored the moral gray areas of the increasingly confused war effort. Other movies dealt with the issues only indirectly or focused on the stateside antiwar counterculture that was growing parallel to the conflict. It wasnt until well after the last chopper left Saigon in 1975 that Hollywood attempted a more in-depth look at the conflict, with Michael Ciminos The Deer Hunter leading the way.

Ciminos recent death brought back memories of The Deer Hunter and other great Vietnam War films. Here are some of the best:

The Deer Hunter, 1978

Michael Cimino, left, on the set of The Deer Hunter, with Robert De Niro in the center, wearing a beret. (Neal Ulevich / Associated Press) (Test)

The epic, three-act drama takes an intimate look at working-class friends torn apart by war. The still-shocking Russian roulette scene, in which Robert De Niros and Christopher Walkens characters leave their fate to a game of chance at the hands of their Viet Cong captors, served as a metaphor for the war itself but was met with a great amount of controversy for its depiction of Vietnamese forces. Still, The Deer Hunter was one of Hollywoods earliest attempts to grapple with the absurdities of the war while it was still an open wound for 1970s America. The film took the best picture Oscar and put Cimino on the map as an A-list director.

Coming Home, 1978

Jon Voight and Jane Fonda in Coming Home. (United Artists) (Test)

Just as the 1946 drama The Best Years of Our Lives humanized World War II vets returning stateside after surviving the horrors of combat, this Hal Ashby-directed best picture nominee depicted the struggles of a paraplegic Vietnam vet re-adjusting to civilian life and finding temporary solace with another solders wife. Stars Jon Voight and Jane Fonda won Oscars, but it was eclipsed by Deer Hunter for best picture.

Apocalypse Now, 1979

Marlon Brando, left, and Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now. (United Artist) (United Artist Corporation )

The troubled making of Francis Ford Coppolas surrealistic, divisive Vietnam-by-way-of-Conrad epic nearly killed the obsessive director, but a Palme dOr win at Cannes and Oscar nominations for picture and director were only the beginning of the films lasting legacy. Portraying Americas time in Southeast Asia as one very bad trip, many of its iconic moments  the Ride of the Valkyries helicopter attack, Dennis Hoppers hopped-up hippie photojournalist, the deadly river journey  have become some of pop cultures most recognizable depictions of war.

Platoon, 1986

From left: Willem Dafoe , Charlie Sheen, who acts as a stand-in for Stone, and Tom Berenger, in Oliver Stones Platoon. (Roland Neveu / LightRocket via Getty Images) (Roland Neveu / LightRocket via Getty Images )

Veteran-turned-filmmaker Oliver Stone  who earned a bronze star and a purple heart during his infantry stint in Vietnam  turned his real-life experiences into Oscar gold with this caustic best picture winner. Taking place entirely in country  there are no homecoming sequences or flashbacks to civilian life here  Platoon examines the conflict from the point-of-view of foot soldiers, including dissent among the ranks, corrupt officers, friendly fire and brutal war crimes.

Full Metal Jacket, 1987

Stanley Kubrick s Full Metal Jacket. (Warner Bros.) (Test)

For his first film in seven years, Stanley Kubrick turned his perfectionists eye on the chaotic nature of Vietnam for Full Metal Jacket. Essentially two films in one, Jacket is most famous for the boot camp sequences in which real-life drill instructor R. Lee Ermey terrorizes a batch of new recruits in the most dehumanizing ways possible. The films second half sends Pvt. Joker (Matthew Modine) into the abyss of hellish warfare, with the English countryside amazingly standing in for Hue, Vietnam.

Born on the Fourth of July, 1989

Tom Cruise in Born on the Fourth of July. (Test)

After tackling the culture of greed in 1987s Wall Street, Stone returned to the Vietnam War era, this time with a portrait of the controversial soldier-turned-activist Ron Kovic (who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated script based on his autobiography). A critical and commercial success, it earned Tom Cruise his first Oscar nomination. Stone was also nominated for direction, and he would finish his loose Vietnam trilogy with 1993s lesser-known Heaven & Earth, although the wars specter was never far from his subsequent films.

ALSO:

'Snowden' trailer: Can Oliver Stone make whistleblowing suspenseful?

From the Archives: 'Heaven's Gate': The film flop that reshaped Hollywood

Appreciation: Michael Cimino, a 'Hunter' in pursuit of an uncompromising vision
How He Fell in Love is a far more pensive, less sentimental romantic drama than its moony title might imply.

To that end, writer-director Marc Meyers takes an effectively naturalistic, quasi-European approach to telling this Gotham-set tale of a misjudged affair, allowing scenes to breathe when they could have just glibly hurtled past. The downside: The story, although intelligent, is not quite unique or essential enough to merit the films protracted running time.

He is Travis (Matt McGorry), a floundering musician who meets decade-older, married yoga teacher Ellen (Amy Hargreaves, recently cast in the upcoming Netflix series 13 Reasons Why) at the bucolic wedding of his ex-girlfriend. Back in the city, Travis reunites with Ellen when he drops into her studio for some downward dog. A tentative romance blooms, hotel room-assignations ensue.

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Title aside, the story is as much about Ellen as Travis, especially once her much older real estate mogul husband, Henry (Mark Blum), starts affecting the Travis-Ellen dynamic. Thats when things truly get interesting; Blum and Hargreaves are excellent together in several highly resonant, soul-baring scenes.

As for the appealing McGorry (Orange Is the New Black), he might have made a stronger impression here if he were portraying a deeper, more soulful character. But as written, his Travis feels too callow and reactive, his proclamations of love for Ellen too in the moment, for us to fully invest in his amorous journey.

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How He Fell in Love

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts, Beverly Hills
Theres a moment early on in Captain Fantastic when Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen), while driving his six kids around in a lovingly refurbished old school bus, catches one of his teenage daughters reading Lolita. For Ben, a fount of erudition and progressive thinking, this discovery is not cause for alarm, but rather a chance to nourish his childs intellect. What does she think of Lolita? Its interesting, she says. Interesting is a nonword, Ben retorts, pressing her further. Give us your analysis.

Wise words for both the aspiring literary scholar and the jaded film critic to live by, and Ill do my best to heed them with regard to Captain Fantastic, a well-acted, suspiciously slick comedy-drama written and directed by the actor Matt Ross, whom you may have seen on TV series such as Silicon Valley and American Horror Story. Like Ross 2012 feature filmmaking debut, the intimate two-hander 28 Hotel Rooms, Captain Fantastic first screened at the Sundance Film Festival, where it largely won audiences over with its disarming blend of quotable cleverness and meticulous emotional calculation  if disarming is the word for a movie about a guy who gives his kids military-grade hunting knives as presents.

For several years, Ben and his wife, Leslie (Trin Miller), have raised their offspring somewhere in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, in scornful retreat from the material corruption of the modern world. The severity of their existence goes well beyond foraging for food and dressing like hippies. Ross, sharing with the cinematographer Stephane Fontaine a fine eye for verdant scenery, choreographs the Cashes curious routine with a mix of great-outdoors roughness and bright-hued, hand-crafted whimsy, as if Wes Anderson were directing a boot-camp recruitment video.

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They begin their days with an exhausting physical regimen that can range from running and stretching to high-altitude rock climbing in a torrential downpour. They end their nights around a campfire, playing music with makeshift instruments, and reading Dostoevsky, Eliot, Jared Diamond and other works that Ben has approved for the cultivation of sharp, nonconformist minds. They spout Marxist ideology, speak any number of languages, and reject Christmas in favor of Noam Chomsky Day. Bens eldest son, Bo (George MacKay), is enough of a scholar to have earned admission to several Ivy League schools  a fact he keeps hidden from his father, who would be appalled by the idea of his son caving in any way to the establishment.

 Viggo Mortenson stars in Captain Fantastic.

Bos desire for independence and normalcy is echoed even more strongly by his 12-year-old brother, Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), who alone seems to resent their father for his stubborn pride (and possibly for naming him Rellian). This youthful rebellion is not the first warning that the Cashes aggressively rustic way of life may be untenable. Nor is it the only sign that Captain Fantastic, for all the affection and admiration it lavishes on this unconventional family  rounded out by teenage twins Kielyr (Samantha Isler) and Vespyr (Annalise Basso), and the youngest ones, Zaja (Shree Crooks) and Nai (Charlie Shotwell)  might be an altogether more conventional movie than it fancies itself.

Like any number of fairy tales and family melodramas, the story is set in motion by a parents untimely death. Leslie, we learn at the outset, abruptly left the family a few months earlier, and recently committed suicide after a long struggle with mental illness. Not one to infantilize his children by shielding them from difficult truths, Ben calmly explains what has happened, occasioning a strained, unpersuasive display of collective grief  one that the film quickly shoves aside in favor of bold, defiant action, as the Cashes decide to steer their bus toward the big city, crash Moms church funeral and honor her wish to be cremated in a Buddhist ceremony.

There are plenty of comic misadventures en route, including some creatively inspired shoplifting, the shrewd bamboozling of a traffic cop, and several irritatingly smug, lazy jabs at Christianity. There are also abundant opportunities for heated truth-telling and morose self-realization, as when Bo, experiencing his awkward first fumblings with the opposite sex, grasps how socially ill-equipped his upbringing has left him.

At its best, Captain Von Trapp  sorry, Captain Fantastic  is deft enough to keep you guessing about whether it endorses Bens unyielding worldview. It goes without saying that Dad should stop taking parenting tips from Ted Kaczynski and let his kids have access to decent healthcare. But our views of the matter are mildly complicated, not only by the fact that the world probably would be a better place if more kids could expound at length on the Constitution, but also by the sly, grounded intelligence of Mortensens performance.

In retrospect, the actors work in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Road were good preparation for the role of a father leading a mini-fellowship through physically inhospitable environs. His display of mountain-man sternness and grizzled sensitivity is compelling enough to briefly complicate your feelings toward a man who  whether hes crashing his wifes funeral in a hideous red suit or stepping out fully nude in public  is an objectively intolerable human being.

Bens raging narcissism is such that the kids, with the exceptions of the two older boys, rarely register as more than vessels of charming precocity. Some welcome pushback is offered by Bens sister and brother-in-law (Kathryn Hahn and Steve Zahn), even if their more traditional child-rearing methods have produced two dull specimens of Xbox-addicted mediocrity. There is also Leslies father (Frank Langella), whose overbearing disapproval and vast suburban manse give you some understanding of why his daughter might have wanted to leave. Best of all, there is Leslies mother (a moving Ann Dowd), whose impulses toward acceptance and sympathy make her, almost by default, the wisest and most reasonable voice in the picture.

But the one you really long to see and hear more of, sadly, is Leslie herself. As much as it recalls the family road-trip shenanigans of Little Miss Sunshine, Captain Fantastic may also remind you of The Descendants, Alexander Paynes drama about a man trying to make peace with his wife as she lies dying. If that womans unfortunate voicelessness served its dramatic purpose, the careful removal of Leslie from this picture feels like more of an evasion  an easily exploitable hook in a movie that, as its treatment of Bens daughters suggests, doesnt like its female characters too vocal or headstrong.

By the end, the films initially beguiling charm has curdled into a dispiritingly familiar mix of sentimentality and self-satisfaction  buoyed along by a crooning, twinkling score that makes the final product feel as subversive as an Enya album. I dont mean to make Captain Fantastic sound terrible; it doesnt risk enough to earn that designation. But in largely succumbing to the very complacency its characters claim to abhor, it turns out to be  I hate to say it  a far less interesting movie than it appears.

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Captain Fantastic

MPAA rating: R, for language and brief graphic nudity

Running time: 1 hour, 58 minutes

Playing: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, and the Landmark, Los Angeles
Most B-pictures imitate other movies, but writer-director Mickey Keatings Carnage Park steals so freely that it almost becomes derivative in an original way. Equally inspired by Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers and the seediest of 70s drive-in exploitation, Carnage Park is a frequently repellent film thats nonetheless cleverly constructed.

In essence, this is the story of two bank robbers and their hostage, who make the mistake of driving onto the desert property of psychopathic marksman Wyatt Moss (played by Pat Healy)  who then hunts them for sport. That premise, though, barely describes the film.

After a bit of quasi-philosophical opening narration that recalls Blood Simple, Keating bounces between the mayhem out in the wilderness and flashbacks to what led the characters into Wyatts trap. The local sheriff (Alan Ruck) shows up to help, but his longstanding connection to the killer prevents him from getting too involved.

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As the hostage, Ashley Bell gives a strong performance, even though too much of it consists of her screaming in terror. Genre stalwart Larry Fessenden also has a memorable cameo as another of Wyatts prey, and Giona Ostinellis Morricone-esque score, coupled with a handful of old country-pop classics, adds to the overall vibe of retro-homage.

None of those elements entirely mitigates how violent, abrasive and over-familiar Carnage Park is. But Keating does recombine the commonplace into something impressively intense and nightmarish. He puts a personal stamp onto well-worn material.

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Carnage Park

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Playing: Laemmle NoHo7, North Hollywood
Our Little Sister has to be seen to be believed. Not because it depends on huge explosions or special effects but because it doesnt.

A delicate, unforced meditation on the bonds of family and the joys and wonders hidden in everyday life, this film is able to move audiences without apparent effort, and that must be experienced firsthand to be appreciated and understood.

One of the favorite films at Cannes 2015, Our Little Sister is the latest work by master Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, a writer-director-editor whose wonderfully human films include After Life, Nobody Knows, Still Walking and Like Father, Like Son, the last of which won the Cannes jury prize in 2013.

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This time, working from a graphic novel by Akimi Yoshida, Kore-eda focuses on sisters and their relationship to one another, starting with three siblings in their 20s who live together in an old ramshackle family house in the charming seaside town of Kamakura south of Tokyo.

But more than this, Kore-eda, as always, focuses on family, on how people relate to each other and the way life in all its inescapable complexity simply happens to the films protagonists and those they know and love.

Our Little Sisters plot kicks in when the three Koda sisters receive the news that their kind but useless father, whom they havent seen or heard from in 15 years, has died.

Traveling to the funeral in a small town, they meet Suzu (Suzu Hirose, described in the press notes as the Busiest 16-Year-Old in Japan), the shy half-sister they didnt know they had. Shes the daughter of their father and the woman, also now dead, who broke up his marriage to their mother.

On an impulse, but one shared by her siblings, oldest daughter Sachi (Haruka Ayase) invites Suzu to move to Kamakura and live with them. And this, despite warnings from the womens acerbic great aunt that a child is not a pet, is just what happens.

Its no surprise that Sachi was the sister who spoke up. A hard-working nurse, she is not only the oldest of the three but also the take-charge, most responsible one, a role she took on while still a teenager when the siblings mother took off.

Middle sister Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa), who works for a bank, is a different sort. More outgoing and fun-loving, always on the lookout for a boyfriend or a beer, she is mocked by Sachi for indulging men and ruining them, though simply having a good heart may be the cause of it all.

Chika (the single-named Kaho), the youngest Koda sister, is someone else yet again, a genial goofball who works in a sporting goods store and has her eye on a mountaineering co-worker who lost six toes in an attempt on Mt. Everest. Neither of her sisters quite understands her taste in men.

Suzu, the wide-eyed newcomer, is as eager to fit in with her siblings as they are for her to feel welcome. Over the course of a years four seasons, Our Little Sister slowly gets into the rhythm of their lives, both as individuals and a group, as time-sensitive tasks like the picking of plums and the making of plum wine occupy their spare time.

As shot by Takimoto Mikiya, Our Little Sister is visually attentive to the beauties of the changing landscape, with a marvelous bicycle ride Suzu takes through a veritable tunnel of blooming cherry blossoms being a special high point.

It is the nature of director Kore-edas style, which is warm and approachable without being in the least sentimental, that Our Little Sister deepens almost without our noticing it, effortlessly taking us inside the particular dilemmas of these intertwined lives.

One of the key statements in Our Little Sister comes by way of the sisters late grandmother (an everyday presence because of an in-house shrine), who believed that every living thing takes time and effort.

Its a sentiment that the director, interviewed in Cannes when the film debuted, fully supports. For the sisters to form a real family, you need a lot of time, he said. That expresses the essence of this film.

Our Little Sister

In Japanese with English subtitles

MPAA rating: PG for thematic elements and brief language

Running time: 2 hours, 6 minutes

Playing: Laemmles Royal, West Los Angeles
Looking for new products and ways to freshen up your skin for the summer? Or want to learn to make bold makeup choices for date nights and special occasions? Then you might be in luck if you attend the annual Beautycon Festival Los Angeles from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown L.A.

Beautycon Media Chief Executive Moj Mahdara said she anticipates between 12,000 and 15,000 people will attend the day-long festival for beauty panels, makeup tutorials and music and to visit with representatives from cosmetic and lifestyle brands.

General admission tickets are $50.99, and special admission ticket packages are available at other price levels. Click here for additional information and tickets.

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This is the fourth Beautycon Festival Los Angeles. Mahdara said other Beautycon events in London and New York have been festive occasions because of the high energy of people in those cities, and she doesnt expect less from the L.A. crowd. Festival organizers plan to expand the event to Mexico City and Singapore next year.

Mahdara said L.A.s Beautycon is exciting because dozens of well-known content creators for social media and video platforms including SnapChat and YouTube live in L.A., and several often attend the beauty festival. (Some of the content creators featured on the guest list section of Beautycon Festival L.A.s website are Koleen Diaz, Sierra Furtado and Tiffany Ma.)

Festival organizers said the idea behind the festival is to explore what beauty means.

Makeup doesnt make you pretty, said R.J. Rousso, who oversees corporate communications for Beautycon Media. Makeup is fun. Makeup is an expression.

Scheduled panel discussions during the festival will address lifestyle and beauty topics including what people would say to a younger version of themselves and what advice female entrepreneurs have for those looking to become entrepreneurs in the beauty industry.

The festival also will be an outlet for more than 75 beauty and lifestyle brands including LOreal Paris, SheaMoisture, Garnier, Kendra Scott, India Boulevard and QVC. Festival organizers said attendees will receive makeup and beauty product samples during the event and get a chance to learn how best to use those products.

The Beautycon lineup will include a performance from pop-rap duo Jack & Jack. Also, media outlets including Bustle, BuzzFeed and Cosmopolitan will be at the festivals media village doing Facebook Live interviews with attendees.
Fox News Channel is using ratings to launch a counterattack against fired anchor Gretchen Carlson, who is suing the networks chief executive, Roger Ailes, for sexual harassment.

Carlsons complaint, filed this week in Superior Court in New Jersey, accused Ailes, chairman and chief executive of Fox News, of undermining the anchors career at the channel because she complained of a hostile work environment. The suit also alleges that Ailes made sexual advances that were rebuffed by Carlson and that he directed innuendo-filled comments toward her.

Ailes has denied the allegations and Fox News, which is not named in the suit, is maintaining that Carlsons contract was not renewed June 23 because her audience levels were below the rest of the network. Carlsons suit said her ouster from Fox News is in retaliation for ongoing complaints about her work situation.

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Citing Nielsen data, Fox News pointed out that The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson has delivered the lowest number of viewers in the 25-to-54 age group of any program on the channel since the first quarter of 2014, excluding its overnight shows. Advertisers seek to reach 25 to 54 year olds when they buy commercials on news programs.

Fox News also cited data that showed ratings improvement on Fox and Friends after Carlson was replaced on the program in 2013. Although ratings are influenced by events in the news, viewing of Fox and Friends went up 16% in the 25-to-54 demographic in the 15 weeks after she was replaced by Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Attorneys for Carlson said the claim that she was not renewed for rating reasons is demonstrably false.

In a statement, Carlsons attorneys, Nancy Erika Smith and Martin Hyman, said that after she was removed from her co-host slot on Fox and Friends, the top-rated morning program in cable news, she was given a challenging time slot and denied support and promotion. Despite this, she succeeded and was the number one cable news show in her time slot in total viewers.

Carlsons ratings rose in her last month on Fox News, as viewing of cable news has increased across the board because of intense interest in the presidential campaign.

From May 30 through June 23, Carlsons program averaged 1.22 million viewers, compared with 789,000 for her 2 p.m. Eastern time competition, CNN Newsroom. But CNN did lead in the 25-to-54 demographic with 190,000 viewers compared with 186,000 for Carlson. Carlsons program was up 25% from June 2015, while CNN gained 26%.

As for Ailes denial of the allegations, Smith and Hyman said in a statement, We challenge him to deny, under oath, that he made the statements attributed to him in the complaint.

A public relations battle will play out in the meantime. Privately, a Fox News executive noted that Carlson sent a thank you note to Ailes after the Sept. 16 meeting in which he is alleged to have said to her, I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago, then youd be good and better and Id be good and better.

Smith confirmed that the note was sent. Carlson sent thank you notes after every meeting, she said. She was being polite and trying to keep her job. The real question is Does Ailes refute that he suggested they should have had a sexual relationship?

Ailes has denied making the statements Carlson attributes to him in the complaint.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com
Tickled: In the June 29 Calendar section, an article about controversy over the documentary Tickled misattributed a comment made during an audience Q&A with a co-director of the film. It was David DAmato, not Kevin Clarke, who told co-director Dylan Reeve, As we say in New York, Los Angeles TV, You need to lawyer up. You need to get criminal counsel. Also, the article said Clarke had asked filmmakers to release unedited footage that he said would prove unethical behavior. He was referring to unedited audio recordings, not video.

Iraq bombings: In the July 6 Section A, an article about recent Islamic State bombings in Iraq said that a map by the group Brilliant Maps showed all car bombings in Baghdad from 2003 to 2014. In fact, the map was created by the Guardian newspaper, based on WikiLeaks data, and showed combat-related fatalities, including those that were caused by IEDs.

Voter guide: In the July 3 California section, an article about the November ballot propositions said a ballot initiative to curtail bilingual education was approved by California voters in 1994. It was approved by voters in 1998.

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If you believe that we have made an error, or you have questions about The Times journalistic standards and practices, you may contact Deirdre Edgar, readers representative, by email at readers.representative@latimes.com, by phone at (877) 554-4000, by fax at (213) 237-3535 or by mail at 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. The readers representative office is online at latimes.com/readersrep.
The first bike-share system in Los Angeles will launch Thursday, marking the end of a years-long push to join the ranks of dozens of other cities across the world that have similar programs available for commuters and tourists.

Transportation officials have hailed the arrival of bicycle sharing as a sign that the worm has turned in car-choked Los Angeles.

The car capital of the world is being redefined to embrace new modes of transportation, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero said.

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If you want to give the system a spin, heres what you need to know.

What is bike-share?

Bike-share is a short-term rental program that allows users to pick up a bicycle at one station and return it to any other station in the system. It is designed for short, point-to-point trips. It also aims to bridge the so-called first mile, last mile gaps between transit stations and destinations.

Los Angeles is relatively late to the bike-sharing game. Similar programs are already in place in most major U.S. cities and in 25 countries in Europe.

Where are the stations?

The stations are available only in downtown Los Angeles. Many are near key destinations, including Union Station, Grand Central Market, Staples Center and the 7th Street/Metro Center station.

There will eventually be 65 bike-share stations, but some wont be open Thursday because of installation delays caused by construction downtown, Metro said.

So, can I ride a bike Thursday?

If youve already purchased a pass, you can ride as much as youd like. People who dont want to buy a pass can start riding Aug. 1.

Riders can use their Metro fare cards to unlock a bicycle from the docking stations. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

How do I pick up a bike?

Use Metros online bike map or app (available on iOS and Android) to see which station is closest.

If youve purchased a pass, you can walk up to the docking area, touch the silver button next to a bike, scan your Metro TAP card, and pull out the bike. The fare will automatically be deducted.

Those who dont want to commit to a pass can pay per ride with a credit card at the attached rental kiosk.

How much does it cost?

Riders without a pass will pay $3.50 for the first half-hour and $3.50 for each half-hour after that.

Those who plan to use the system more regularly can buy a pass on Metros website. The two pass options are:

A $40 annual fee, which reduces the cost of each half-hour riding period to $1.75

A $20-per-month fee, which includes unlimited free trips shorter than 30 minutes

That sounds kind of expensive.

At $3.50, a half-hour ride will cost twice as much as a one-way ticket on Metro. But for pass holders, the $1.75 per-trip price matches the transit fare, and our transit fares are low, Sotero said.

Metros passes are more expensive than in some U.S. cities, including New York, where a monthly pass costs $15 and includes unlimited rides of 45 minutes. A pass for the Washington, D.C., system costs about $8 per month and includes unlimited 30-minute rides.

Removing the requirement to pay a hefty membership fee upfront makes it easier for low-income users to access the system, Deputy Executive Officer Laura Cornejo said.

Are there discounts available?

Until Oct. 1, the normal $3.50 price for a half-hour ride will be discounted to $1.75.

If I qualify for a discount on Metro fares, do I get a discount on bike-share?

Metro will waive the fee for the $40 annual pass for low-income riders whose households qualify for the rider relief discount program, Cornejo said.

The agency is also working to upgrade its digital fare payment system to allow discounts for students, seniors and the disabled.

Can I transfer to Metro after I use bike-share?

Yes, but you will have to pay again to enter the Metro system. Metro had considered allowing free transfers between buses, trains and bikes  essentially, integrating bike-share into L.A. Countys public transit network  but that feature wont be available for at least a year.

So, now that the Expo Line is open to Santa Monica, can I pick up a bike in downtown and take it to the beach?

Metro doesnt recommend it. Santa Monica has a bike-share system that opened last year, but it isnt compatible with L.A.s. That means youll keep racking up charges until you return the bike downtown.

Riders try out Santa Monicas new bike-share system, Breeze, on the day of its launch last year. (Nick Ut / Associated Press )

Why arent the systems compatible?

Long Beach, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and UCLA have all selected the same vendor as Santa Monica, which means those systems will be compatible with each other, but not with Metros.

Metro officials selected a different vendor, and have maintained that the dual systems wont be a problem. Others have fretted that it could confuse people who are unfamiliar with the systems  especially new riders and tourists.

Can I take the bike on a bus?

The bikes weigh 40 pounds and arent designed for that. Officials recommend dropping off the bike before boarding.

How do I return it?

Wheel the bike into any available docking space. Wait for the light to flash green, and listen for three beeps.

What if all the slots are full?

There are about twice as many slots as bikes, so you mostly wont have trouble finding a space. If you do, you can extend your trip by 15 minutes for free and move to the next-closest station.

What if the bike gets stolen while Im using it?

File a police report and call Metros bike-share customer service line: (844) 857-BIKE.

I dont live or work downtown. When will bike-share come to my neighborhood?

Metro plans to expand the system to Pasadena next year, and then to possible future sites in Hollywood, Venice Beach and East Los Angeles.

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laura.nelson@latimes.com

For more transportation news, follow @laura_nelson on Twitter.
A 3-year-old girl in Central California died after she pulled the trigger on a loaded gun and shot herself in the head, authorities said.

The girl, who was visiting the city of Lemoore from Southern California, found the gun Saturday in an apartment, according to the Lemoore Police Department. Police announced the shooting on Wednesday.

Officers were called to a residence just before 1 p.m. after a person reported that a child was suffering from a head wound, police said in a statement.

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Paramedics found the child lying on the bedroom floor with a single gunshot wound in her skull.

The handgun was near her body, police said.

She was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police said her name will remain confidential.

NEWSLETTER: Get essential California headlines delivered daily >>

The girls family was visiting two women who live at the apartment, but neither roommate was present during the shooting, police told the local ABC affiliate KFSN-TV Channel 30.

Lemoore police Det. Matthew Smith told The Fresno Bee that the child wandered into the bedroom. Her mother, sibling and a family friend later heard a loud bang from another room.

The gun was registered to an unidentified friend of the one of the roommates and was not equipped with a lock.

I believe it could have been avoided by simply securing a firearm, Smith told the news station.

Police are investigating the case as reckless endangerment of a child resulting in death as well as negligent storage of a firearm. One of the roommates and the guns registered owner could face criminal charges, police told the news station.

Family members are cooperating with the investigation. No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed.

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For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.
An off-duty reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department fatally shot a man Wednesday inside a Covina restaurant, authorities said.

The shooting was reported about 3 p.m. at the Carls Jr. restaurant in the 500 block of North Azusa Avenue, according to Covina police Sgt. Gregg Peterson.

A man allegedly brandished a gun inside the restaurant and confronted the off-duty reserve officer, who responded by shooting the man in the upper torso, Peterson said in a statement. Police described the man as a robbery suspect.

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Los Angeles County firefighters responded to the restaurant and pronounced the man dead at the scene. His name was not released pending notification of his family.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, LAPD Officer Drake Madison said.

Covina police did not identify the name of the off-duty reserve officer.

The shooting is under investigation by Covina police and the LAPD.

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.

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Several dogs killed in fire near Palmdale animal shelter; 5 people injured

UPDATES:

7:54 p.m.: This article was updated with the handgun recovered at the scene and the LAPD assisting in the investigation.

This article was originally published at 5:38 p.m.
The family of a man allegedly shot at least 17 times by deputies in East Los Angeles has filed a federal lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, the familys attorney said.

Eduardo Edwin Rodriguez, 24, was shot and killed around 3 a.m. on Feb. 14 after he and two others were pulled over by deputies at Whittier Boulevard and Ferris Avenue.

Deputies had noticed a car that appeared to have been stripped and left in a supermarket parking lot, authorities said. They also spotted a van parked nearby with a woman in the drivers seat.

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The parking lot has been used to dispose of stolen and stripped cars before, authorities said said, so the deputies drove around the block to have a closer look at the car and the van.

On their second pass, the deputies observed that the van had three occupants, two males and one female. When the van pulled out of the parking lot, the deputies followed and then pulled the vehicle over because it had no light on the license plate, police said.

The driver and one passenger, following deputies orders, exited the van toward the deputies, authorities said, but the man in the front passenger seat, later identified as Rodriguez, resisted.

Rodriguez was being fidgety and making the deputies nervous by reaching for his waistband, Lt. Eddie Hernandez said in the days after the shooting.

He kept saying he needed his cellphone, and she [one of the deputies] was doing everything she could to keep his hands from the waistband area, Hernandez said.

The deputy repeatedly told Rodriguez to keep his hands on the dashboard, Hernandez said, and had to force him out of the vehicle because he wouldnt get out on his own.

As the deputy was pulling Rodriguez from the van, Hernandez said, her partner, who was on the other side of the vehicle, shouted that he saw a gun.

The deputy was still trying to control Rodriguezs hands, Hernandez said.

Rodriguez freed his hands after a minute and a half of a pretty violent struggle, Hernandez said. At that point, the deputy believed Rodriguez was going to reach for a gun so she fired her weapon, as did another deputy who had been standing behind her.

According to the complaint, Rodriguez was shot at least 17 times, mostly in the back of his torso and the back of his head. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m., coroners records show.

At a news conference Wednesday, Rodriguezs family insisted that he was not armed. But investigators found a .22-caliber revolver on the ground where Rodriguez exited the van, Hernandez said.

Im just here for him, for his kids. We all miss him a lot and, well, were asking for justice, and we dont think its right what he went through. He shouldnt have suffered the way he did, Rodriguezs girlfriend, Stephanie Yanez, told reporters.

Authorities believe Rodriguez had tucked the gun into a back brace he was wearing, Hernandez said, and the deputies did not realize it had fallen during the struggle.

Jorge Gonzalez, the familys attorney, said the deputies had no reason to shoot.

Theyre trained to respect the sanctity of life, he said, yet they shot him when he was unarmed at the time of the shooting and they shot him in a manner so excessive.

Gonzalez argued that the deputies lost control and panicked, causing their training to go right out the window.

What are they going to do with those deputies? This is why theyre up in arms all over the country, Gonzalez said. This is why people are upset in Baton Rouge, La., and in Minnesota. These are outlandish uses of force  but the departments arent doing something about it.

The sheriffs department declined to comment.

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Investigators are asking the public to help identify a man believed to be responsible for defacing a mural in Venice that bears the names of the 2,273 soldiers counted as missing in action or prisoners of war in Vietnam.

The mural along Pacific Avenue was vandalized shortly before Memorial Day, prompting outrage and condemnation by community leaders.

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On Wednesday, detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department said they had identified four of the graffiti monikers that were painted on the mural: Noner, Pheb, Snake and Liter.

Investigators also released an undated surveillance image of the man believed to be Noner.

The moniker, which appears in all-uppercase letters, is related to a Bay Area tagging group, according to a statement from the Sheriffs Department.

A man walks past the Vietnam veterans mural, which was covered with plastic after it was vandalized just before Memorial Day. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Investigators believe the man who uses the nickname travels between Los Angeles and the Bay Area.

Endless Canvas, a blog that publishes photos of street art and graffiti, has featured images of Noners work in Brooklyn, Oakland and other parts of the East Bay.

Anyone with information about the identity of Noner or others suspected of being involved in the murals graffiti is asked to contact detectives at (888) 950-7233.

For more news in California, follow @MattHjourno.
Nearly eight years ago, Los Angeles Countys transit agency embarked on a huge construction initiative aimed at adding new subway lines, freeway lanes and light rail routes.

Before that, the Los Angeles Unified School District took on a massive plan for building dozens of elementary, middle and high schools.

Now, political leaders at Los Angeles City Hall are looking to persuade voters to approve a $1.2-billion property tax increase to pay for initiatives to help and house the homeless. If the bond measure passes, the city will find itself responsible for its own sprawling construction initiative -- this one focused on home-building for the citys neediest residents.

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With a bond measure, the city will have to develop a housing machine that has a single purpose and focus, said City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana, who advises Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council. And that focus is to build at a massive scale.

The measure, headed for the Nov. 8 ballot, would generate considerably less money than the programs run by Metro and L.A. Unified. But it would thrust the city into the real estate business in similar ways.

Under state and federal law, proceeds from a bond measure must go toward bricks and mortar facilities, Santana said. The city is currently required to own the land where the bond-funded housing is built, he said.

Theres plenty of land available in areas where NIMBYism wont come into play.  Mark Tarczynski, an executive vice president with Colliers International

As a result, officials are preparing for the possibility of acquiring hundreds of parcels, from nuisance motels to underused parking lots, over a decade. Those sites would then be rented for $1 a year to groups that develop permanent supportive housing  subsidized apartments that offer substance-abuse counseling, mental health services or other on-site resources.

What we dont want to do is build more government-owned public housing, Councilman Jose Huizar said. Thats why we will work with the private sector. But given that the bond measure will require us to own the property, we could perhaps do long-term leases and get creative in other ways.

The strategy could leave city officials facing the same obstacles that have bedeviled private real estate developers for years.

Among those challenges are outdated zoning, requirements for multiple planning department approvals, opposition from neighbors and possibly legal challenges based on the states environmental laws, said Carol Schatz, chief executive of the downtown-based Central City Assn., which focuses on real estate development.

For that reason, the city will need to work closely with organizations that are seasoned in the construction of homeless housing, said Schatz, whose group supports the bond measure.

It would be hard for an entity without development experience to walk into this scenario and be able to build a new project in a timely manner, she said.

A bond program could raise other thorny policy questions. Should the city acquire a site if it would mean demolishing rent-controlled apartments? Should a housing project be placed next to freeways, where land is frequently cheaper? Or should the city avoid such locations out of concern for health effects from vehicle emissions?

If city leaders attempt to acquire properties near skid row, where significant numbers of homeless people live on sidewalks, they will face the high prices of the downtown real estate market, said Derrick Moore, principal of the retail properties group at the firm Avison Young. But if they look for land in the suburbs, there is a greater likelihood they will face neighborhood resistance, Moore said.

Mark Tarczynski, an executive vice president with the real estate company Colliers International, offered a more upbeat take, saying Los Angeles has more than enough properties that could be easily acquired and where residents would support housing for the homeless.

Theres plenty of land available in areas where NIMBYism wont come into play, he said.

Santana said his office is already looking to improve the citys process for approving housing developments. And he maintained that every part of the city would have to do its part in accommodating homeless facilities.

We ultimately are all part of the solution, he said.

If the bond measure passes, developers of homeless housing will, in many cases, simply identify sites and recommend them to the city for purchase, said Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, president of L.A. Family Housing, which owns 375 units of permanent supportive housing.

Klasky-Gamer doesnt expect much will change at City Hall under a bond program. Because city officials already provide funds for subsidized housing projects, they have long been tackling the big questions about where and how those developments should be built, she said.

This just increases the volume, which is what has to happen if were going to make a significant dent in ending homelessness, Klasky-Gamer said. We need to do something to change the pace.

City leaders are also holding out hope that they will be permitted to use the bond proceeds to provide direct loans and grants to developers of homeless housing. At this point, that arrangement has not received legal clearance from the citys bond counsel, Santana said.

The council may go to court to obtain a judges permission to send bond funds directly to housing developers  a process that could take six months to a year. But seeking a judges approval could also leave the city open to a legal challenge from groups opposed to the use of bond funds, city analysts say.

As it acquires properties, the city would also have one tool available that private developers lack: the power of eminent domain  that is, the legal right to force an owner to sell. That power already exists when the city obtains land for new fire stations, police stations and other facilities.

Councilman Mitch OFarrell said the city should make a commitment to not use eminent domain as part of the bond program. The very prospect of eminent domain, he said, could hurt the measures chances of passage among homeowners and businesses.

The term scares our constituents, said OFarrell, who represents neighborhoods from Echo Park to Hollywood.

Santana, the high-ranking city analyst, said it is highly unlikely the city would use eminent domain as part of its bond program.

Its always our last resort, he said.

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david.zahniser@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidZahniser
A personal driver was shot early Thursday after he crashed during a robbery attempt in the Hollywood Hills, police said.

The robbery occurred about 2:30 a.m. when the driver dropped off a female passenger in the 3200 block of Velma Drive, said Officer Liliana Preciado, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Reports indicated that the driver was with Uber, but Preciado said he did not work for the ride-sharing company, police said.

The woman was then approached by a gunman who demanded money. When the gunman realized she didnt have cash, he forced her to call the driver and ask him to return to the neighborhood, Preciado said.

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The driver returned to find the gunman and woman, she said.

Once the driver realized he was being robbed, he backed up his car. In doing so, his car crashed, overturned and landed on its roof, Preciado said.

The gunman then approached the driver and shot him, she said. The gunman fled before police arrived to the area.

The driver, who was not identified, was taken to an area hospital, where he was undergoing surgery Thursday morning. His condition was not immediately known, Preciado said.

The woman was not injured during the robbery, she said.

For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter

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Marian Bergeson, a pioneering Orange County politician who was the first woman to serve both in the state Senate and Assembly, has died. She was 90.

Bergeson championed educational issues for much of her political career. But in the mid-1990s, as an Orange County supervisor, she helped guide the battered county government out of its bankruptcy.



For the record: An earlier version of this story said Marian Bergeson won the primary and general election in 1976. In fact, she lost the primary to a fellow Republican, then ran as write-in candidate in the general election, which was won by Democrat Rob Cordova. It also stated that Bergeson won her seat in the Senate in 1986. It was 1984.

For many accomplishments, Bergeson could make light of her trailblazing record. People used to say, How can you deal with smoke filled-rooms? Id make them perfumed rooms, she told the Daily Pilot in 2015.

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Bergeson, whose resume also included state secretary of education and Orange County supervisor, died Wednesday morning at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, said former Mayor Evelyn Hart, a close friend. Bergeson had been battling pancreatic cancer.

Marian was a great lady, and shell be missed, as she was an inspiration to women, Hart said. My best memories of her were the love she showed back to this community of Newport Beach  We all knew we could call on Marian when we needed her, even when when she was busy in Sacramento.

Educational issues comprised much of Bergesons political career. But in the mid-1990s, as a county supervisor, she helped guide the battered county government out of its bankruptcy.

When she and her husband, Garth, moved to Newport Beach in the late 1950s, she saw leadership opportunities in the burgeoning community. In 1959 and 1960, Bergeson raised $1,200, went to City Hall and got the ball rolling on getting Mariners Library built.

She won a seat on the local school board and became president of the California School Boards Assn.

In 1976, Jim Slemons, the Republican candidate for an Assembly seat in Orange County was accused of bringing pornography through U.S. Customs.

Bergeson, also a Republican, ran against Slemons but lost. She became a write-in candidate in the closing days of the general election, but that contest was eventually won by Democrat Ron Cordova.

In 1984, Bergeson won a seat in the state Senate. After her stint on the Board of Supervisors, she served as then-Gov. Pete Wilsons education secretary. She went on to the California Board of Education.

An elementary school in Laguna Niguel was named for Bergeson. The aquatics center at Corona del Mar High School is also named for her.

Current Newport Beach Mayor Diane Dixon called Bergeson an inspiration and a trail blazer filled with optimism.

In addition to her husband, Bergeson is survived by three children. A daughter, Nancy, died in an unsolved murder in 2009.

Chan writes for Times Community News.
The Spanish Town Mardi Gras Parade has long been known for its borderline humor. But this year, some wondered if the Baton Rouge tradition had gone too far.

One of the floats displayed a sign that said Pink Lives Matter with a drawing of a flamingo being beaten with a police baton and a sign around its neck saying, I cant breathe. Some observers were angered because they thought the float was mocking the death of Eric Garner and the Black Lives Matter movement his death helped inspire.

Garner died in 2014 in New York City after being put in a chokehold by police and repeatedly pleading, I cant breathe.

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Now the Louisiana capital has rocketed back into the news following the death of a black man named Alton Sterling, who was pinned down and shot by police Tuesday outside a convenience store. The incident has prompted a federal investigation and, again, has renewed concerns about race, police and the use of deadly force.

It has also left some questioning whether some entries in the citys colorful and risque parade stoke racist sentiments.

Another float in the parade, which is held annually by a nonprofit dedicated to preserving Baton Rouge traditions, appeared to refer to Freddie Gray with the words Freddie Gray Goose. Gray suffered fatal spinal cord injuries after being transported in a police van in Baltimore last year. His death touched off citywide street protests.

Southern University law student Shelley Moore was among those who thought the floats in the February parade crossed the line.

What is funny about a man being choked to death by the police? Where is the humor in a man being placed in the back of a police vehicle and thrown around so violently that his spine was almost severed? I am not amused, Moore wrote in a blog post.

To accept what I witnessed as the Spanish Town Parade today is to accept outright racism, and I will not stand for it, she added.

Bill Brumfield, president of the Spanish Town Parade since 2001, defended the float, saying it was not meant to be racist.

Our attempt was to say all lives matter  black, white, yellow, pink, everybody. Everybodys life matters. We dont draw color distinction, he said.

Brumfield, who has been the subject of some of the parades jokes in the past, explained that organizers dont attempt to control the floats content in any way.

They are allowed to express themselves however they see fit, said Brumfield.

Last time I checked, this is still America and I believe we still have the right to free speech. If youre offended by someones opinion, then take it up with him, he said.

The Spanish Town Mardi Gras website declares, our worldview is that poor taste is better than no taste at all! 

Tara Wicker, a Baton Rouge councilwoman, heard multiple complaints about the floats and said that she had communicated with attorneys about how to place general regulations on the parades content without infringing on 1st Amendment rights.

When you put together an event, you have to look at how it is going to be perceived by the community. How are people going to respond? How are people going to feel? she said.

Racial tension is not new in Baton Rouge. The town is divided by what Wicker calls the citys Mason-Dixon line, which she said separates the predominantly black north from the majority white southern portion of the city. Wickers council district spans both sides of the divide.

For a long time the segregation was by design. No we are living with the results of years of discrimination, Wicker said.

In 2015, many Baton Rouge residents signed the St. George Petition that sought to separate the citys southern region from the north. Signatories said they wanted to see their tax dollars better spent to improve schools, but opponents felt the petition was racially motivated.

Although the petition failed by a small margin, organizers said they plan to reintroduce it next year, The Advocate reported.

Racial discrimination also affects police work in the city, according to Wicker, who said she is looking to remedy the issue with community policing and programs that incentivize police to live in the neighborhoods where they work.

We do have pockets of police officers that for whatever reason are not sensitive to certain communities, and it comes out in the ways that certain members of that community are treated, she said.

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FBI Director James Comey on Thursday vigorously defended his decision not to file criminal charges over Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, at times lecturing incredulous Republican lawmakers on the fine line between being careless and committing a crime.

The hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee divulged few new details about the FBI investigation, beyond a revelation by Comey that the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate may not have understood the meaning of small classification markings in the bodies of three emails that indicated those paragraphs were considered confidential.

The session was the latest example of how the email scandal has become a political Rorschach test, with Republicans expressing anger and frustration at the decision not to prosecute, and Democrats defending Comeys integrity and independence against withering attacks from the other side of the hearing room.

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In his testimony, Comey reiterated that the FBI had uncovered no evidence that Clinton knowingly sent classified information despite displaying great carelessness and a lack of technical sophistication. The Justice Department on Wednesday accepted that recommendation and formally closed the investigation.

I do not see evidence that is sufficient to establish that Secretary Clinton or those with whom she was corresponding both talked about classified information on email, and knew when they did it that they were doing something that was against the law, Comey said.

Asked why Clintons conduct could not be prosecuted under a 1917 law involving gross negligence, the FBI director noted that only one other person had been charged under that provision in the past 99 years and that defendant had engaged in espionage. He questioned the constitutionality of the law.

We dont want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldnt do, Comey said.

Comeys rationale did not satisfy Republicans, who expressed concerns that the FBI and Justice Department were showing deference to Clinton and would have prosecuted someone else in similar circumstances.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the committee, said he was mystified.  We believe that you have set a precedent, and its a dangerous one. The precedent is that if you sloppily deal with classified information, if you are cavalier about it, and it wasnt just an innocent mistake and this went on for years, then there is going to be no consequence.

Despite being pressed repeatedly by Republicans, Comey declined to say whether he believed Clinton lied in her public statements about the email server. He said he believed she had been truthful to FBI agents during her 3.5-hour interview on Saturday.

I have no basis for concluding that she was untruthful with us, he said.

 FBI Director James B. Comey held a news conference about the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of private email as secretary of State on Tuesday.

In response to GOP questions, he did agree that if someone under his supervision had engaged in similar conduct, there would be administrative consequences, though no criminal prosecution.

He also expanded on his comment Tuesday that a very small number of the emails  bore markings indicating the presence of classified information.

Republican critics had pounced on that revelation as evidence that Clinton lied when she insisted she never sent or received emails marked classified.

Comey told lawmakers that none of the three emails in question had headers marking the emails as containing classified material. Instead, he said, the body of three emails contained markings  the letter C in parentheses  that indicated the information within that paragraph was confidential, the lowest level of classification.

The director agreed that a sophisticated government employee should have recognized what the marking meant, but said he believed Clinton may not have. I think its possible, possible she didnt understand what a C meant when she saw it in the body of the email like that.

Separately, State Department officials have disputed whether the information in those emails should have been marked confidential in the first place, attributing it to human error. They said the information  which involved possible conversations between Clinton and foreign officials  no longer was deemed confidential by the time the emails were sent. Democrats said the disclosure vindicated Clinton.

One of the few moments when Comey broke his calm demeanor and expressed frustration came in response to a statement from Florida Republican Rep. John L. Mica that his constituents believed there was something fishy about the timing of Comeys announcement  just hours before President Obama joined Clinton at a campaign rally.

The FBI director grew a bit stern and said he hoped Micas constituents would look me in the eye and listen to what Im about to say: I did not coordinate that with anyone  the White House, the Department of Justice, nobody outside the FBI family had any idea what I was about to say. I say that under oath; I stand by that. There was no coordination.

The hearing, and another next week involving Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, are part of an effort by GOP leaders to keep the Clinton email controversy at center stage, even as Clintons campaign attempts to put the issue behind it.

In choosing to attack Comey and question the integrity of the probe, Republicans may have missed an opportunity to draw out the directors more damning public condemnations Tuesday of Clintons mishandling of classified materials.

FBI agents had found that 110 emails in 52 email chains contained information that should have been marked and treated as classified when it was sent on Clintons personal server, including eight chains containing information that was top secret, the highest level of classification.

Instead GOP lawmakers frequently pressed Comey, also a Republican, to justify his own actions, effectively forcing him to defend Clintons conduct as not rising to the level of criminal activity.

Chaffetz signaled that Republicans were not going to let the issue go with a single hearing. He indicated he would like the FBI to look into whether Clinton committed perjury during her congressional testimony over the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack, when she denied sending materials marked classified on her private email server. Other lawmakers said they would ask the FBI to turn over more information about what Clinton told agents during her interview.

Democrats, on the other hand, accused Republicans of seeking to score political points, not get at the truth.

I firmly believe your decision was not based on convenience but on conviction, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat, told Comey.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) said the hearing was political theater. Its not even the pretense of trying to get at the truth.

ALSO

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Cleared but no clean bill of health: Email issue to linger for Hillary Clinton until election day
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Thursday forcefully condemned the police officers involved in the shooting of a 32-year-old black man, singling out the shooting as an example of racism and an incident that would have played out differently if it didnt involve black Americans.

Would this have happened if the passengers were white? I dont think it would have, said Dayton, speaking at a news conference Thursday after protesters had gathered earlier in the day in front of the governors St. Paul mansion demanding justice for Philando.



For the record: The headline on an earlier version of this post said a fatal police shooting was captured on a Facebook live stream. The apparent aftermath of a fatal police shooting was caught on the live stream.

Philando Castile was fatally shot Wednesday in what began as a routine traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb. Castiles girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her daughter were also in the car.

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Late Thursday, a county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying that Castile died of multiple gunshot wounds. Shortly after, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety released the names of two officers involved in pulling over the car Castile was driving. They are Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser.

Officer Yanez approached the vehicle from the drivers side and Officer Kauser from the passenger side, the department said in a statement. At one point during the interaction, Officer Yanez discharged his weapon, striking Castile multiple times. No one else was injured. A gun was recovered at the scene.

Additional responding personnel from the Roseville Police Department and St. Paul Fire Department removed Castile from the vehicle and provided medical attention until the ambulance arrived, the statement continued, saying that Reynolds and her daughter were taken to the Roseville Police Department, where Reynolds gave a statement to investigators. Afterward, a Roseville police officer brought Reynolds home.

The statement said both officers have been with the St. Anthony police for four years and have been put on paid administrative leave. It added that officers in the department do not wear body cameras and that the investigation is ongoing.

The dramatic cellphone video of the aftermath of the shooting broadcast live on Facebook by Castiles girlfriend has drawn demands for a federal investigation, demonstrations around the region and scrutiny from politicians, including President Obama.

All of us as Americans should be troubled by these shootings. They are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of a broader set of racial disparities that exist in our criminal justice system, said Obama, who referenced the shooting in Minnesota and another in Baton Rouge, La., where Alton Sterling, 37, was killed during a police encounter.

Obama emphasized his view that the majority of police officers were upstanding public servants. Still, he said, change has been too slow in troubled police departments around the country.

We can do better than this, Obama said, adding later that the data show black folks are more vulnerable to these kinds incidents.

The nearly 10-minute video that was posted late Wednesday captures Castile moaning in pain with blood soaking his white T-shirt. The arm of what appears to be a police officer, likely Yanez, shakily points a gun through the car window at the man. Reynolds said she filmed the scene after her boyfriend had been shot three to five times.

We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back and the police just  killed my boyfriend. Hes licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his ID and his wallet out of his pocket and he let the officer know that he  had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm, a woman who was a passenger in the car says in the video.

The officer interrupts, tells her to keep her hands visible. I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj 

You told him to get his ID, sir  his drivers license, Reynolds says she told the officer.

Oh, my God, please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that, she then says.

The shooting occurred in Falcon Heights, a sleepy St. Paul suburb known for hosting the state fair, and happened less than two days after the fatal police shooting of Sterling, whose death has sparked street protests and now is being investigated by the Department of Justice.

Interim St. Anthony Police Chief Jon Mangseth confirmed the shooting at a short news conference early Thursday. He said that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was handling the investigation, a standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, Mangseth said, adding that the officer was put on paid administrative leave. He said police are aware of the video.

See the most-read stories this hour 

At one point in the video, which was streamed live and viewed more than 1 million times, officers can be heard ordering Reynolds out of the car as she asks about her young daughter, who was in the back seat.

The phone appears to fall to the ground as it records, and later captures Reynolds in the back of a police car with her daughter, who tells her, Its OK, mommy. Its OK. Im right here with you.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday afternoon alongside the Minnesota governor, Commissioner Mona Dohman of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety suggested the video would be an integral part of the investigation and among the evidence the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which she oversees, would turn over to the county attorney.

Public opinion is different because the public has seen that video, Dohman said.

Whether Castile had a gun permit was not public information in Minnesota, Dohman said, and she would not confirm Reynolds claim that he did.

Sam Castile, 90, Castiles grandfather, said Thursday that the funeral had not been scheduled. He described his grandson as a happy, gentle man who would not get in fights or trouble, and was shocked to hear of his death.

Demonstrators gathered early Thursday near the site of the shooting as a second crowd grew outside the governors mansion, holding signs that said Justice for Philando. NAACP leaders, including Minneapolis NAACP President Nekima Levy-Pounds, called for an investigation into the shooting, saying, Enough is enough.

We are just beyond outraged at the fact that a 4-year-old witnessed the death, said Levy-Pounds, referring to Reynolds daughter. She called the shooting murder and said it showed that black lives dont really matter in Minnesota.

Gov. Dayton, who earlier said he had spoken with the White House and asked for a federal investigation, in the afternoon released a letter to the Department of Justice with Democratic representatives Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum and Democratic senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar demanding the department immediately initiate a federal investigation. They joined a chorus of politicians and federal officials who spoke out on Castiles death.

The Justice Department had not opened an investigation as of Thursday evening but a spokesman released a statement suggesting it was possible.

The Department of Justice will continue to monitor the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation into the death of Philando Castile and stands ready to provide assistance to the Bureau as needed, the statement said. The department is prepared, as necessary, to conduct further investigation and consider this matter under applicable federal law.

The department opened an investigation into the earlier police shooting in Baton Rouge, where Sterling was killed outside a convenience store.

FBI Director James B. Comey, who testified in Congress on Thursday, was also asked about the shooting. Comey said he had been briefed on the situation and would expect well be involved.

On Thursday morning, a friend of Reynolds streamed a news conference on Facebook where Reynolds elaborated on the shooting and described Castile, who worked at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul and had worked for St. Paul Public Schools since 2001.

Reynolds said police kept her in jail overnight and did not attempt to aid Castile after he was shot, an account that conflicted with that of Minnesota officials.

We got pulled over for an allegedly broken taillight, said Reynolds, who said the officer asked her and Castile if they knew the light was broken.

As we said no, he tells us to put our hands in the air and asks for identification. My boyfriend carries all his information in a thick wallet in his back pocket. As he reaches for the wallet, he lets the officer know, I have a gun on me.

I yell, He has a license to carry! Reynolds said, describing the moment before she said she heard a boom boom boom boom!

Reynolds said she and Castile were returning from the grocery store and had just dropped off her sister, who lives near the fairgrounds.

He was never a bad man; he never did anything to hurt anyone. He was the quietest, most laid-back person youd ever meet. He was loving. Nothing within his body language said, Kill me. 

Asked why she broadcast the video, she said: I wanted everyone in the world to know that no matter how much police tamper with evidence, how much they stick together  I wanted to put it on Facebook and go viral so that people can see. I wanted people to see.

ALSO

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Months before Alton Sterling was shot, Baton Rouge parade floats seemed to mock Black Lives Matter

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UPDATES:

8:48 p.m.: The story was updated with the identity of the officers involved.

4:23 p.m.: The story was updated with comments from President Obama and other officials.

2:39 p.m.: The story was updated with comments from the governor of Minnesota.

10:45 a.m.: The story was updated throughout with staff reporting.

The story was originally published at 2:47 a.m.
Good morning. It is Thursday, July 7. How is this for adorable? Video footage of new mountain lion kittens in the Santa Susana Mountains. Heres what else is happening in the Golden State:

TOP STORIES

Diverse student body

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UCLA and UC Berkeley, the flagship campuses of the University of California system, boosted admission offers to in-state residents as well as Latino and African American students, officials said. The news follows criticism that the UC system needed to diversify its elite campuses. We are happy to welcome to the university so many more Californians, a diverse, high-achieving group of both freshman and transfer students, said UC President Janet Napolitano. Los Angeles Times

Trust issues

In Oakland, efforts to help young victims of sex trafficking have been complicated by Oakland police officers involvement with one of the girls. They were participating in the human trafficking of this girl. Passing her around from area to area, giving her breaks  they became the pimp, said John Burris, a civil rights attorney. Some now question whether police will have problems gaining the trust of the victims theyre trying to help. Los Angeles Times

Construction boom?

A proposed $1.2-billion housing bond in the city of Los Angeles would set off a major construction initiative if passed by voters in November. City officials would have to buy up hundreds of parcels and then rent them for $1 a year to groups that develop permanent supportive housing. The strategy could leave city officials facing the same obstacles that have bedeviled private real estate developers for years. Los Angeles Times

DROUGHT AND CLIMATE

Bone dry: The last five years in downtown have been the driest since official record-keeping began 140 years ago. Since July 2011, downtown Los Angeles has had 38.79 inches of rainfall. The phenomenal ongoing water conservation by state residents as we enter the hottest summer months clearly shows Californians understand we remain in stubborn drought conditions statewide and that saving water is just the smart thing to do, said Water Board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus. Los Angeles Times

Climate change: Californias redwoods may be the new weapon in the fight against global warming. The trees remove and store more carbon from the atmosphere per acre than any other forests. One scientist at Humboldt State University believes that attribute may be more important than the trees lumber. Mercury News

Low levels: The water in Lake Mead has reached a historic low. I think weve proven over the last 20 years that we can effectively work together to find solutions that really work. And as long as we continue to do that, the water war wont happen, said Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources. Los Angeles Times

L.A. AT LARGE

Lucrative discovery: Biotech firms are fighting over a cancer drug developed at UCLA. The takeover battle shows how lucrative the market for new cancer treatments has become as companies charge prices that would be enough to buy a home in some areas of the country. Los Angeles Times

Cheap flight: Youll be nickeled and dimed on this $99 flight from Los Angeles to Iceland, but its probably worth it (even with that 12-hour delay). Right now, I found a flight from LAX to Iceland and Paris and back again for less than what it costs to go from Burbank to Ohio. Iceland, I promise you, is much nicer than Cleveland. Los Angeles Magazine

Historical homes: The Snow White Cottages in Los Feliz, built by Walt Disney for his animators, used to be charming and affordable. Now charm will cost $2,750 a month. (Heres a brief history on the cottages.) Curbed LA

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Politician passes: The first woman to serve in the California Assembly and Senate died Wednesday at the age of 90. Marian Bergeson represented Newport Beach in the state Legislature and also served as the 1990 Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, an Orange County supervisor, a state education secretary, a member of the state Board of Education and an appointee to the state Transportation Commission. A retired legislative staffer said she was very much the lady, but with an adventurous spirit. Sacramento Bee

Null and void: Did you receive a ticket at Katella Avenue and Bloomfield Street in Los Alamitos? It may be invalid now that engineers have found the light switched from yellow to red faster than state law allows. The tickets from those red-light cameras can cost as much as $500 a pop. Orange County Register

Vaccine rules: Parents will no longer be able to opt out of vaccinating their children for religious reasons in California. Heres how the new law will work when the school year rolls around in the fall. 89.3 KPCC

CRIME AND COURTS

Suspect wanted: Police are looking for a man who raped two women in West Los Angeles. The attacks took place on the same street in the Sawtelle area July 2 and July 4, officials said. The rapist is described as a violent sexual predator. Los Angeles Times

Tech attack: An Oakland man is accused of firebombing two Google Street View cars and shooting out the windows of a Google office. Raul Diaz told police he attacked the tech firm because Google was watching him, and that made him upset, according to a statement. Mercury News

Senseless beatings: A fourth homeless man was attacked in downtown San Diego on Wednesday and police believe the same assailant is behind the recent assaults. In this latest case, the man was beaten and set on fire. Victims in two of the attacks have died as a result of their injuries. We consider him extremely dangerous. We need to have him removed from the community as soon as possible, said San Diego Police Capt. David Nisleit. San Diego Union-Tribune

A homicide: The death of a 21-year-old sailor during a Navy SEAL training exercise was a homicide, according to the San Diego medical examiner. James Derek Lovelace died May 6 after he was repeatedly dunked underwater by an instructor. The medical report found actions, or inactions, of the instructors and other individuals involved were excessive and directly contributed to the death. San Diego Union-Tribune

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Found in the desert: More than 450 bodies have been found in Imperial County since 1990. Authorities say 90% were undocumented immigrants crossing the border. No other border county faces such a problematic combination of border crossings, deceptively deadly terrain and limited resources in its coroners office, which is responsible for identifying the deceased. Desert Sun

Underground treasure: There are a lot of old ships buried under San Franciscos Financial District. As the ships collapsed, their timbers were mixed with dirt, rubble, ballast stones and whatever residents could find to create land where there was once water. Gradually the cove was filled in, and the abandoned vessels became a permanent part of the infrastructure. SFGate

Outta here: Californians are flocking to the Pacific Northwest. Call it Droughtlandia. Pacific Standard

All aboard: Wheres Hyperloop when you need it? One mans train journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles. BuzzFeed

Happy hour: Ever find yourself suffering from writers block? (We wouldnt know anything about that) How about mixing up a California Distraction to power through? LA Review of Books

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego will have clouds and a high of 73 degrees. Los Angeles will have clouds and a high of 79. In Riverside, temperatures will reach 90 degrees as the clouds clear for sunshine. It will be cloudy and 65 in San Francisco. Itll be sunny and 86 in Sacramento.

AND FINALLY

Todays California Memory comes from Myles Omel:

Over the years, I have traveled from one end of our state to the other many times, and I have been a witness to many great social, political and environmental changes, but none better than the changes that were made over the past 10 years to the what is now known as the Presidio National Park at the northern-most tip of the San Francisco peninsula. The landscaping improvements made to the recreational areas surrounding this former military fort and to the state highways connecting it to our citys famous Golden Gate Bridge have been nothing short of spectacular.

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Alice Walton or Shelby Grad.
Californians smartly rejected a ballot initiative in 2012 that would have required warning labels on groceries containing genetically altered organisms. It was bad policy based on nothing but conjecture. Theres no evidence that eating GMO-laden foods is harmful to humans.

But GMO warning labels may be forced on food sold in this state nonetheless. If so, we can thank a tiny state with a population smaller than San Francisco. In 2014, Vermont lawmakers gave in to fear mongers pushing junk science and adopted a GMO labeling bill that took effect Friday. Thats too bad for Vermonters, who are just starting to realize that the new law will mean, at least for the short term, the withdrawal of thousands of products from their grocery stores. But it may prove problematic for consumers in the rest of the country too.

It is wrong to let the baseless fears of certain consumers dictate national food policy. A warning label, however mild, connotes danger.

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Thats because the U.S. Senate may very well pass a national GMO labeling bill this week to appease the freaked-out food industry, which has legitimate concerns about the cost and confusion of rejiggering its supply chain. A compromise worked out by Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), leaders of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, is a watered-down version of Vermonts mandate that would preempt state labeling laws, including those passed in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine.

The Roberts-Stabenow bill would require food labels to disclose the presence of GMOs but would allow for different ways of doing it. Manufacturers could meet the requirements with text, a symbol or a QR code linking to a website with more information. The bill would also exempt products that consist mostly of meat or are made by very small manufacturers.

GMO label supporters, misguided though they are, ought to be pleased theyve managed to parlay a small score in Vermont into a national victory. But some are complaining about what theyve dubbed the Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK) Act because it isnt as strict as Vermonts law.

We agree that this bill is troubling, but for a different reason. It is wrong to let the baseless fears of certain consumers dictate national food policy. A warning label, however mild, connotes danger, and that unfairly stigmatizes approximately 70% of the packaged food in our grocery stores.

For all the consternation about frankenfood, there is no scientific evidence that foods with GMOs are dangerous to humans  and scientists have been looking closely for that evidence. In May the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded in a sweeping study that GMO crops should be considered just as safe as the non-GMO versions.

If food manufactures want to tout their GMO-free status, thats fine. But the government should not be in position of forcing them to do so in the absence of any verified threat to human health.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Its easy to be skeptical about the Obama administrations latest effort to bring an end to the civil war in Syria  a proposal that the U.S. and Russia coordinate their military operations in that country.

After all, the supposed united front between Washington and Moscow has repeatedly collapsed. Moscow has seemed more interested in propping up its client, President Bashar Assad, than in pressing for the political transition it has supported at the United Nations.

Frustrating as it may be, exploring the possibility of cooperation with Moscow in Syria is still preferable to ... U.S. military action.

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But long shot or not, renewed cooperation between the U.S. and Russia is more likely to produce a negotiated end to the fighting than the alternative proposed by President Obamas critics: U.S. military action against Assad. The latter proposal was offered last month by 51 State Department staffers who publicly dissented from administration policy, advocating that the U.S. attack Syrian forces with stand-off weapons such as remotely launched cruise missiles.

Not only would such attacks ratchet up U.S. military involvement in Syria, which so far has focused on Islamic State and similar groups, not the Assad regime, but they could lead to a confrontation with Russian forces. The same problem would arise if, as some suggest, the U.S. attempted to establish a no-fly zone in Syria.

On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin had called Obama to discuss the situation in Syria and the need for better coordination between the two countries. That announcement followed the declaration by the Syrian military of a unilateral three-day cease-fire timed to coincide with festivities marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Secretary of State John F. Kerry announced that the U.S. would seek to extend this latest cessation of hostilities.

Late last month, the Obama administration proposed that the U.S. and Russia join in an expanded air campaign against Al Nusra Front, Al Qaedas Syrian branch. As part of the arrangement, Russia would desist from attacking opposition groups recognized by the U.S. If Putin is receptive to the U.S. proposal, it could lead to a broader cooperation between the two countries in pressing for the political transition in Syria called for in a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Five years ago, Obama stated that it was time for Assad to step down. But U.S. efforts to dislodge the brutal leader through support of moderate opposition groups have been an embarrassing failure. The administration now seems to recognize that stopping the fighting in Syria (where 300,000 people have died since 2011) and defeating Islamic State and Al Nusra Front are more immediate priorities than ousting Assad  though it continues to argue that he eventually should step down.

Frustrating as it may be, exploring the possibility of cooperation with Moscow in Syria is still preferable to trying to oust Assad through U.S. military action.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
A year or so ago, I sat across a dinner table from an optimistic young woman (in her 30s, a millennial) and sternly explained to her why Hillary Clinton, were she to become the Democratic presidential nominee, would never pick Elizabeth Warren for a running mate. I deployed several reasons from my arsenal, the most pressing being that picking Warren would be an inherently risky move and Clinton had never been a risk taker. It would be out of character and therefore jarring to the public.

I told my friend that I would be delighted to see a Clinton-Warren ticket, but it was simply never going to happen.

You may have grown up in the era of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, well, Hillary Clinton, I said, but there are still a lot of Neanderthals out there who think a woman cant be trusted with the security of the free world because shes too hormonal (regardless of her age) and erratic. Put two women in that position and the resulting misogyny would be so inflamed that it could impede the important work of government.

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Despite the you go, girl veneer of a two-woman ticket, I added, it would simply be too much, too soon.

My friend told me I was wrong. She said I needed to have a little more faith in the American voter and in Clinton. She told me I was operating with an outdated mindset.

Today, as the Democratic National Convention approaches and Clintons decision grows imminent, I still suspect Im right that Clinton will never choose Warren. And more than ever, I would love to be wrong.

The reasons that diehard progressives want to see Warren as the vice presidential nominee are obvious. She would bring some much-needed electricity to Clintons campaign. Her reputation as a populist crusader might offset Clintons as a member of the establishment elite. She might even get some of the more intransigent Bernie Sanders voters to quit stomping their feet and start working for the Democratic candidate already.

Theres no question in anyones mind  even, and maybe especially, in the minds of her enemies  that Clinton is tough.

Best of all, choosing Warren would be  pardon the metaphor  downright ballsy.

Theres no question in anyones mind  even, and maybe especially, in the minds of her enemies  that Clinton is tough. She is weathering the harsh assessment that FBI Director James Comey delivered about her self-proclaimed email mistake. She has both won and lost grueling political campaigns. She has shown almost superhuman resilience in the face of decades of scrutiny and attacks. She has navigated a complicated marriage. As secretary of State, she demonstrated a willingness to deploy military force that, fairly or not, got her labeled a hawk.

Toughness is not necessarily the same thing as gutsiness, though, and Clintons reputation for being calculated and strategic can too often feed the impression that her political passions take a backseat to her personal ambitions. Thats why the smart money for her VP pick remains on the safe choice, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, whose white male centrism promises to make Clinton seem less scary for those inclined to be scared.

But for those inclined to be bored by Clinton, a little scariness could translate into excitement. The thrill would come not just because of Warrens undeniable appeal for a certain segment of voters but, crucially, because choosing her would offer us a glimpse of a wilder, more fervent Clinton than the one usually on view.

Its no accident that the story of Clinton delivering a blazing 1969 Wellesley commencement address about, among other things, the art of making what appears to be impossible possible, retains an almost mythic quality among her devotees. She ditched her notes briefly to challenge the previous speaker, Sen. Edward Brooke, whom she perceived was defending President Nixon. In that younger Clinton, we can see a fearlessness thats gone by the wayside. That Clinton didnt hold her finger up and test the wind. Listen to the audio and hear her taking charge, consequences be damned.

If Clinton chooses Warren as her running mate, it would be the ultimate throw down. It would be unabashedly bold, which is why I still think its unlikely. If it happens, Ill apologize to my millennial friend. And coming from a Gen Xer, thats its own kind of throw down.

mdaum@latimescolumnists.com

Twitter: @meghan_daum

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
Americans watched with detached amazement as British voters embraced the blatant lies of pseudo-populists and turned the structure of their nation on its head.

We should not be smug, however. A Brexit-scale event could happen here. Indeed, right now a quiet campaign to call a new constitutional convention  with the ostensible purpose of proposing a balanced-budget amendment  is gathering momentum in the United States.

Like Brexit, this would risk grave damage to the global economy. It would also drastically reduce Americas standing in world affairs  far more than handing the presidency to an incoherent, shop-worn reality TV star.

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Article 5 of the Constitution allows for two paths to change the Constitution. The first is for an amendment to be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate and ratified by three-fourths of states. Thats how its been done 27 times. But Article V also allows for two-thirds of the states to come together to demand Congress call a constitutional convention to propose amendments.

An effort to call a convention to propose a balanced-budget amendment garnered some attention in the 1970s and early 1980s but fell well short and was abandoned. Now, after a hiatus of 28 years, campaigners have again been peddling constitutional convention resolutions in statehouses.

The effort is spearheaded by a hodgepodge of right-wing advocacy groups, among them the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, Citizens for Self-Governance and the American Legislative Exchange Council, the latter being the corporate-funded group that gave us stand your ground gun laws. By its proponents dubious math, the constitutional convention push is just six states shy of reaching the required two-thirds of the states. They are now targeting seven states with Republican legislatures, and four more with split control, to close that gap.

Even if a balanced-budget amendment were the only item on a conventions agenda, that would be a disaster. Locking the worlds largest economy into a fiscal straightjacket would preclude any effective response to economic recession, forcing deep cuts in unemployment benefits and other aid at the very moment they are most needed. Suggested provisions that would allow supermajorities in both houses to waive the balance requirement would provide little relief. Consider that this year, neither chamber of Congress could muster a simple majority to pass a budget. If Congress fails to agree upon a balanced budget, who decides on the cuts? The president, acting unilaterally? The courts?

The bigger threat is that a constitutional convention, once unleashed on the nation, would be free to rewrite or scrap any parts of the U.S. Constitution.

The bigger threat is that a constitutional convention, once unleashed on the nation, would be free to rewrite or scrap any parts of the U.S. Constitution. Do we really want to open up our nations core defining values to debate at a time when a serious candidate for the White House brags about his enthusiasm for torture and the surveillance state, wants to open up reporters to lawsuits, scoffs at the separation of powers and holds ideas about freedom of religion that are selective at best?

Convention proponents claim that some of this countrys founders intended for constitutional conventions to be limited to a single purpose. But that just sidesteps the critical question: which institution could and would enforce any limits on a rogue convention? The only precedent we have  the convention of 1787  quickly shredded its mandate to propose modifications to the Articles of Confederation. The specific danger of a runaway convention prompted the late Chief Justice Warren Burger to state his opposition a constitutional convention in a 1988 letter to conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly.

Todays proponents of a constitutional convention brazenly assert that they should be able to add together 12 state resolutions passed in recent years to the 16 passed decades ago. That would put them only six states shy of the 34 needed to call a convention. The Constitution gives Congress  acting without the possibility of a presidential veto  authority to call constitutional conventions.

Of course, cobbling together the results of two entirely different periods of state legislative action and resolutions with quite different terms would be a completely unprincipled thing for Congress to do. But then, so is admitting that remarks by your partys presidential candidate are textbook racism but endorsing him anyway.

Depressingly, some progressives who ought to know better are going along with the constitutional convention idea in the far-fetched hope that an amendment might emerge to reverse the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision that gutted campaign finance laws.

As the November election approaches, liberals and conservatives alike will bombard voters with declarations of love for the Constitution. A good way to demonstrate that love would be to take a stand against this dangerous adventure. All candidates for Congress should be pressed for their stance on a constitutional convention.

The Congress we elect in just four months could well be asked to call a constitutional convention based on purported demands of 34 states. Those who care about this countrys most basic values can no longer ignore this danger.

David Super teaches law at Georgetown University.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
To the editor: I find it utterly terrifying but not surprising that Donald Trump has allied himself with the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., who never allows the constitutional protection against unlawful search and seizure to get in his way and dresses jail inmates in pink underwear for his own amusement. (Elite Republicans tried to ignore them. Now theyre shaping Donald Trumps immigration policy, July 4)

I realize that incarceration is for punishment, but that does not make the inmates his personal playthings. I can only imagine the sort of practices he would encourage in the already torture-inclined Trump. For two men who cling so fervently to the 2nd Amendment, they seem to have an unhealthy disregard for the others.

Regardless of their stand on illegal immigration, it is their methods that frighten me. Stop and search (or deport or herd into a neighborhood where you can monitor) first, and ask questions later. And when it comes to the presidents birthplace, never let facts get in the way of your fiercely held beliefs.

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They both give the bully pulpit a whole new meaning.

Elise Power, Garden Grove

..

To the editor: The estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States, who embody a sense of entitlement and demand to stay and become citizens, have polarized our country like never before. I have a suggestion for how to decide their fate in a fair and nonpolitical manner.

We should hold an election with the following yes-or-no questions: Should the illegal immigrants be offered amnesty (if they have not broken any other laws)? If yes, should they be offered a path to citizenship?

However, the only citizens allowed to vote in this election should be those who waited in their native countries for a period of five or more years for permission to come here legally. I believe they would be in the best position to determine the fate of those who sneaked across the border or overstayed their visas.

Then Congress should abide by their collective decision and make it so.

Jan MacMichael, South Pasadena

..

To the editor: Trump no longer is a clown or an entertainer. He is a deadly serious politician who has a real chance of becoming president.

Yet you and other newspapers give him gobs of free publicity that can only endanger our futures. He has a point of view and is one candidate for one office, and as such he should be given only a fraction of the space and time available in the media. Instead, we see his face and read or hear his words in a volume that defies reason.

Patricia Anderson, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Hillary Clinton is relieved that the Justice Department is not going to indict her for using private email servers that put top-secret information at risk. That is a bit like a bull rider at a rodeo feeling happy the raging animal broke two of his legs, smashed six ribs and crushed his skull but didnt kill him. Sure, the worst didnt happen, but neither Hillary nor the bull rider is walking away unscathed.

In a 15-minute announcement Tuesday, FBI Director James B. Comey said his agencys investigation of the former secretary of States mishandled email did not find sufficient grounds to bring charges against Clinton, but he accused her and her assistants of being extremely careless with classified communications that could have been easily hacked by foreign agents. Comey also undermined Clintons version of events, thereby reinforcing a broad public perception that she is not an entirely truthful person.

1 / 51 la-1491523602-y7ephyarj1-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 51 la-1491368625-0bgh58ihw8-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los angeles Times) 6 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 51 Trump inspires millions to take to the streets -- to oppose him. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 51 Cartoon caption contest winner at the DENT conference in Sun Valley, Idaho: Jon Duval, executive director of the Ketchum Community Development Corporation. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 51 Old radicals and big media descend on Selma (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 51 Horsey imagined the creation of the Ann Coulter phenomenon in this cartoon from 2007. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 51 This David Horsey drawing is a reconfiguration of a cartoon he first published in 2006. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 51 Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, should give Cliven Bundy a call. After Sterling loses his NBA franchise and the deadbeat Nevada rancher loses his cattle, the two old racists will both need a buddy. Maybe they can team up together and open an all-white rodeo. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 51 Besides sending a chill up the spine of the international community, Vladimir Putin has accomplished one other thing by seizing Crimea and threatening the rest of Ukraine: Putin has brought back the bear. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 51 The right-wing insurrection at the Bundy ranch in Bunkerville, Nev., has taken another weird turn with new revelations about the family history of Cliven Bundy. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 51 David Horsey / Los Angeles Times (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

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Where Clinton had claimed she chose to use a single private server for the sake of convenience, Comey indicated she had actually used several private devices. Where Clinton had claimed only emails with personal information had been deleted by her staff before her messages were turned over to the government, Comey said the FBI found that a number of messages concerning official business had been dumped. Most damning of all, where Clinton had asserted that no messages passed through her private server that were classified at the time they were sent or received, Comey said the FBI found 110 messages that were, indeed, classified when Clinton had them in her system.

There are probably at least a few Democrats  from Bernie Sanders fans to boosters of Vice President Joe Biden  who are thinking they would have been better off had Clinton been indicted. Then, the party could have pushed her aside and nominated a candidate for president whose negatives are not so disturbingly high. Now, Democrats must rest their hopes on the fact that the Republican nominee is even more disliked by the electorate. In a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 53% of respondents said they had a negative view of Clinton, while 60% viewed Donald Trump poorly. Perhaps even more significantly, 61% of those polled expressed alarm about the 2016 presidential race.

Theres plenty of reason for Democrats to be alarmed. In a normal political year, they would be romping to victory over a narcissistic celebrity businessman who provokes outrage every time he opens his mouth or spews out a tweet. Instead, millions of American voters are attracted to the mans total lack of governmental experience and disturbingly simplistic views about the global economy and international affairs, thus leaving him only a few points behind in national polls. Meanwhile, despite her impressive resume and potential to make gender history, the Democrats standard-bearer is repeatedly tripped up by controversies big and small and past misjudgments that come back to haunt her.

Rather than riding high on their own candidates appeal, Democrats must count on Trump to do something so supremely offensive that voters in pivotal swing states will be scared into casting their unenthusiastic ballots for extremely careless Clinton in November.

David.Horsey@latimes.com

Follow me at @davidhorsey on Twitter

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Fascinated and repelled, deeply engaged but dismayed over their choices, American voters are closely following the 2016 presidential campaign at record levels.

And while theyre dissatisfied with the candidates, voters nonetheless have been making up their minds about which one to back. Four months before the election, the share of voters calling themselves undecided is unusually low; so is the share who say they might change their minds.

Theyve settled on candidates even though fewer than half in either party said they were even fairly satisfied with their options. Four in 10 said they found the choice difficult because they didnt think either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump would be a good president  a view most widely shared among Trumps fellow Republicans. Many in both parties said their vote would be cast against the other candidate more than in favor of the one they back.

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Those are key findings of a new poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, which paints a detailed picture of an electorate convinced that this election matters more than most and seemingly determined to make the best of an unhappy choice.

As a two-term presidency draws to a close  a time when voters typically look for a shift in direction  Trump has clearly captured voters desire for change. Some three-quarters said they believed he would bring change to Washington; a majority, including her own supporters, did not think Hillary Clinton would.

The problem for voters is that most who see Trump changing things believe it would be for the worse. Only about one-third of voters said they believed Trump would change things for the better.

The survey was taken before FBI Director James Comey sharply criticized Clintons handling of classified information in emails while she was secretary of State, but announced that no criminal charges would be recommended against her. Whether those events will significantly affect voter opinions wont be clear for days.

The survey found widespread doubts among voters about whether Clinton is honest and truthful. Thats especially true among Republicans, but also among Democrats who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders in the primaries.

But while voters were skeptical on that score, Clinton held a lopsided advantage on other key candidate traits: By 56%-30%, voters said the phrase personally qualified to be president applied more to Clinton than Trump. By 53%-36% they said the same about the words would use good judgment in a crisis.

Those assessments help explain why Clinton has held a sizable lead in most nonpartisan polls for weeks. The Pew survey found her with a nine-point advantage over Trump, 45%-36%. When Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was added to the mix, he took 11% of the vote, drawing equally from the other two.

Very few voters said there was even a chance they would change their minds: Among Clinton voters, only 6% said they would consider backing Trump, and among Trump voters, only 8% said they would consider Clinton.

Thats a far smaller share than in the last four elections. In 2000 and 2008, the last two elections without an incumbent, 20% to 25% of voters at this stage of the campaign said they might change their decision.

In addition to voters judgments of the candidates personal characteristics, the election is also being driven by the coalitions that have formed behind each of them.

As he showed throughout the primaries, Trump appeals strongly to a large group of white voters, particularly older whites and those who did not graduate from college.

Clinton has built strong majorities among the groups that twice elected President Obama, including blacks and Latinos, young people and unmarried women.

Despite her well-documented struggles with young voters during the primaries, Clinton now leads Trump by 2-1 among voters younger than 30, racking up a bigger advantage with them than Obama had at this point in 2008.

Thats true even though only about a quarter of young people said they were satisfied with their choices  a drastic drop from the nearly seven in 10 who expressed satisfaction during Obamas first run for president in 2008.

Clinton also leads, 52%-40%, among college-educated white voters. If that holds, she would be the first Democrat to win a majority of college-educated whites since pollsters started asking such questions during Harry Trumans presidency.

As she heads toward becoming the first woman to be the presidential nominee of a major party, Clinton has built a sizable lead among women of her generation  doing significantly better than Obama did among women 50 and older. She also has a whopping 37-point lead among unmarried women, a core group for Democrats.

Those demographic breakdowns matter not just because voters feel the tug of tribal loyalties, but because people from different racial or ethnic groups and of different levels of education and income have distinct priorities among issues.

Across the board, most voters care about the economy and terrorism. But voters of the millennial generation also put a high priority on the treatment of racial and ethnic minorities and of gays and lesbians. Clinton held a wide lead over Trump as the candidate best able to handle those issues.

Trumps voters put a higher priority on immigration than do most of Clintons voters. The chief exception on her side are Latino voters, who ranked immigration among their top issues and heavily favored her. As a result, although immigration is one of the driving forces behind Trumps support, its an issue on which voters as a whole gave the edge to Clinton.

On another issue that Trump has emphasized  trade policy the two so far have fought to a draw, the poll indicated.

By a small but significant margin, Clinton continues to draw more support among her fellow Democrats than Trump does among Republicans.

More than half of Republicans said they dont expect their party will unite this year; only 38% said it would. On the Democratic side, about three-quarters of voters expect the party to unify, and about 85% of those who voted for Sanders in the primaries said they now back Clinton.

On the Republican side, two issues in particular appeared to trouble voters who have doubts about Trump: his stands on immigration and foreign policy. Among Republicans who backed someone other than Trump in the primaries, almost three in 10 said Clinton would do a better job than him on making wise foreign policy decisions.

Roughly three-quarters of voters said the outcome of the current election really matters. Thats the highest level since Pew began asking in 2000.

Eight in 10 voters say they have given the election a lot of thought  again the highest level in 24 years, the survey found. And the share who find the campaign interesting  77%  is the largest in two decades although a similarly large majority said the campaign was too negative.

The Pew survey was conducted by telephone, both landlines and cellphones, from June 15-26, among 2,245 American adults, including 1,655 registered voters. It has a margin of error for the registered voter sample of 2.7 percentage points in either direction.

David.Lauter@latimes.com

For more on Politics and Policy, follow me @DavidLauter

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As Dallas police hunt for snipers, politicians start to weigh in

Politicians have begun to comment publicly on the killings of four Dallas police officers Thursday night by snipers who targeted them during a downtown protest against recent shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Dallas Democratic mayor issued a plea for unity.

Calling the shootings the citys worst nightmare, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings urged Americans to support the officers and just grab each others arm and say were in this together.

It was a call echoed by the states Republican governor, Greg Abbott.

In times like this we must remember -- and emphasize -- the importance of uniting as Americans, he said in a statement.

Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton, the presumptive nominees of their respective parties, had spoken out about the shootings late Thursday. But partisans on both sides offered their views.

Among the most provocative was former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), who blamed President Obama and Black Lives Matter protesters for the killings in a series of tweets, at least one of which was later deleted.

Obama says Cops are racist so 2 uneducated black thugs shoot 10 Dallas Cops tonight, killing 4. Wake up silent majority. Stand w our Cops, he tweeted.

He added: Its time 4 patriotic Americans to stand up & stand against all the Cop haters - from Obama to the thugs on the street. Its way past time.

Obama says Cops are racist so 2 uneducated black thugs shoot 10 Dallas Cops tonight, killing 4.



Wake up silent majority. Stand w our Cops.  Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 8, 2016

Others were more restrained, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who came in second in the GOP presidential nominating contest.

Men & women of law enforcement selflessly run into harms way to save the lives of others. May God protect them and bring peace upon Dallas, he tweeted.

Men & women of law enforcement selflessly run into harm's way to save the lives of others. May God protect them and bring peace upon Dallas.  Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 8, 2016

On the Democratic side, national party leaders put out a statement that focused on this weeks shootings of two black men, Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana, by police officers.

Twice this week, first in Baton Rouge, La., then in St. Paul, Minn., tragic, deadly incidents in which black men were killed by police officers have left families and communities shattered while re-igniting anger and racial tensions in cities across the country, said the statement by DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and black caucus chair Virgie Rollins  Thoughts and prayers are not enough. These fatal confrontations are yet another reminder that similar incidents have been and continue to be a serious problem in our nation, and they expose a larger issue plaguing our criminal justice system.

They turned to the police officer shootings at the end of the fourth paragraph of a five-paragraph statement.

 While most protesters have made their voices heard peacefully, tonights shooting of officers in Dallas is unacceptable and a reminder that the time to address these tensions and find common ground is long overdue, they said.

Other Democrats focused more heavily on the deaths of the Dallas officers.

Paul Begala, a longtime Clinton confidant and an advisor to a pro-Clinton super PAC, cited Obamas words from earlier in the day that said slain police officers lives matter as much as those of black Americans.

Prayers for Dallas. Prayers for peace, he tweeted.
A total of 80,000 people gathered at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday to compete in the second regional preliminary round of the talent search program "Superstar K" on cable TV music channel Mnet. Traffic along the boulevard in front of the stadium matched the level of peak rush hours on a week day as the auditions ran all day from 11 a.m. past 9 p.m. at 27 booths. Those who took part had already passed a preliminary round conducted over the phone with a success rate of 10:1. A total of 710,000 people across the country took part in the first "Superstar K" audition back in 2009. This number rose to 1.34 million in 2010 and 1.93 million this year, equivalent to four percent of Korea's population. The contestants varied in age from elementary school students to senior citizens.

Seoul's Jamsil Stadium is packed with contestants participating in a preliminary round of the talent search program "Superstar K" on Sunday.

Koreans' desire to add their names to the list of current celebrities has reached such heights that 10 audition programs are now being aired on terrestrial and cable TV stations. Most are divided into seasons and the same format is repeated every year. The deluge of audition programs has raised concerns about their side effects, as many of the students who turn up to compete do so at the expense of their studies. "I need to be studying for my college entrance exam, but this audition is crucial in determining my future," said one 18-year-old female. "My parents still don't know I'm competing." Most of the contestants said they wanted to challenge for auditions on other channels, such as "Korea's Got Talent" on tvN and "Star Audition" on MBC. "Even if I fail, I doubt I'll regret having competed. I plan to audition for all of the singing competition programs that are planned for this year," said one 29-year-old office worker.

There are even signs that people may be jeopardizing their professional lives in order to compete, as they jump from one audition to another with little regard for their employers in their bid to find a shortcut to stardom. Criminals are also capitalizing on the new trend of audition fever. One person claiming to be a talent scout appeared at a preliminary audition in Busan posing as a manager for famous entertainers and received money from some contestants by promising them fame and fortune. At another audition in Daegu, a female contestant alerted broadcast staff after being accosted by a man who offered her a "special" audition. The man claimed to run a talent agency that manages a famous girl group in the country. This prompted organizers to put up posters at the audition hall warning contestants not to talk to people claiming to be talent managers. "Broadcasters are being blinded by ratings to attract viewers and they are coming up with their own audition programs, which is hampering efforts to nurture new talents and promote mass culture," said Song Jong-gil, a mass media professor at Kyonggi University. "Once the popularity of this fad wanes, the programs will be pulled off the air one by one and I worry about the lingering side effects."
Trump says he admired Saddam Hussein only for how he killed terrorists

Donald Trump defended his praise of Saddam Hussein at an Ohio rally where he spent nearly an hour heaping scorn on television networks for the way they have covered his presidential campaign.

I dont love Saddam Hussein, Trump said of the late Iraqi dictator on Wednesday. I hate Saddam Hussein. But he was damn good at killing terrorists.

The Republican business tycoon also said an aide should not have removed a six-pointed star from a recent Trump tweet that was widely denounced as anti-Semitic. It showed his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, a pile of cash and the star, later changed into a circle, with the caption, Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!

They took the star down, Trump complained. I said too bad; you should have left it up. I would have rather defended it. Just leave it up and say no, thats not a star of David; thats just a star.

Trumps angry remarks in a key battleground state where Clinton is outpacing him in advertising and organization distracted from his effort to highlight the FBIs condemnation of her use of a private email server when she was secretary of State.

Read More
Im Christina Bellantoni, and this is Essential Politics.

Hillary Clinton stepped up her trolling game Wednesday, going after Donald Trumps business record in Atlantic City with a Trump Plaza sign on his shuttered casino visible behind her.

I want you to understand what [Trump] did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he would do if he wins in November, she said. Everything falls apart, people get hurt, and Donald gets paid.

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(Dont miss our December investigation into Trumps Atlantic City history.)

Clinton also mocked Chris Christie, suggesting to cheering supporters the Republican New Jersey governor should start doing his job rather than following Donald Trump around holding his coat.

After her speech, Clinton visited the picket line outside Trumps Taj Mahal to show her support for union members protesting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

At the end of the day, her team took it a notch further, tweeting this with a link to a livestream of Trumps own campaign event in Ohio: Newly discovered footage that could destroy Donald Trumps campaign if everyone saw it: https://hrc.io/29o1O1I

For his part, Trump defended his business record via a long statement and with rapid response, and later compared Clinton to a mosquito.

He also auditioned one possible running mate in Newt Gingrich, heaping praise on the former GOP House speaker. He teased that if he did choose Gingrich, no one is going to be beating him in debates.

Meanwhile, another two possible running mates pulled out of consideration Wednesday.

TRUMPS BIG HAUL

Trump announced having raised more than $26 million in June, a rebound from an anemic haul the previous month.

He raised an additional $25 million jointly with the Republican National Committee and contributed $3.8 million himself. Clinton raised $68.5 million for her campaign and the Democratic National Committee in June.

Melanie Mason reports that Trumps improved financial showing in June should placate some Republicans who were alarmed by his dismal fundraising effort in May; Trump brought in just $3 million in contributions and ended the month with a paltry $1.3 million on hand.

For the latest, keep an eye on Trail Guide and follow @latimespolitics.

SANDERS AND STUDENT LOANS

Clinton Wednesday significantly expanded her plan for increasing the affordability of higher education, an effort to shore up support from Bernie Sanders and his young fans.

Her primary rival praised the new proposal to grant tuition-free enrollment at in-state public colleges and universities for students from families making up to $85,000 annually. The income benchmark would increase over four years to $125,000, applying to an estimated 80% of families, Chris Megerian reports.

At the same time, House Democrats booed when Sanders told them during a private meeting on Capitol Hill, the goal is not to win elections but to transform America. Lisa Mascaro reports on details from the discussion, where Democrats pressed the senator to offer a timeline for when he would be endorsing Clinton.

CLINTON, TRUMP HAUNTED BY THEIR OWN FLAWS

The last few days have provided fresh evidence of characteristics Clinton and Trump have that are not beneficial to a presidency, to say the least, Cathleen Decker writes.

Evaluating the dustup over Trumps tweets, the fallout over Clintons emails as secretary of State and an ugly tenor in the campaign overall, Decker finds that the winner in Novembers election will enter a White House that has historically seemed only to enhance, not mitigate, the shortcomings of its occupant. She writes that each of them could be haunted in the future by their own failings and that a campaign that is less inspirational than dispiriting could flow into a troubled administration.

The Justice Department officially closed the email investigation Wednesday.

DEMOCRATS SUGGEST CONGRESSMAN IS A SIDEKICK TO TRUMP THE BULLY

One California Republican will be targeted by a new Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ad campaign starting Monday. National Democrats are working to tie vulnerable Republicans to Trump with two ads that are aimed at younger women, Jazmine Ulloa reports.

See the two spots that will run in freshman Rep. Steve Knights district.

SANCHEZ IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Orange County congresswoman Loretta Sanchez says her vote against the Iraq War and Patriot Act at a time when the nation was reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks showed she had the courage and expertise to represent California in the U.S. Senate.

But in November, Sanchez will face off against front-runner Kamala Harris, Californias twice-elected attorney general, and the odds appear stacked against her. Sanchez hopes to overcome by campaigning heavily on her knowledge of military affairs and threats to national security, acquired over her two decades in Congress. But shes also been prone to embarrassing political gaffes. Phil Willon lays out some of the major accomplishments, surprises and missteps in Sanchezs political career.

Heres our earlier rundown of the major milestones in Harris career, including a few that might earn her a gold star or a demerit, depending on a voters perspective.

TODAYS ESSENTIALS

 Sanchez is backing a November ballot measure to repeal the death penalty. She said executions were an ineffective deterrent and that attempts to reform the death penalty process have been fruitless.

 Harris blamed inflammatory political rhetoric for an increase in hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities in the state. She never mentioned Trumps name, but it was pretty clear who she was talking about.

 Lawmakers and political insiders remembered Marian Bergeson on Wednesday, who died earlier in the day in Orange County. Bergeson was the first woman to serve in both the state Assembly and Senate. She was 90.

 The draft convention platform of the Democratic Party urges states that want to legalize marijuana to go for it.

 The 15-year-old war in Afghanistan will get handed off to a third president, President Obama announced Wednesday.

 Trump has broken a record. And not the good kind.

 Who will win the November election? Give our Electoral College map a spin.

LOGISTICS

Miss yesterdays newsletter? Here you go. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox daily. And keep an eye on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics?

Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez says her expertise on national defense and global security in an era of worldwide volatility and deadly terrorist attacks makes her the clear choice in Californias U.S. Senate race.

Throughout her campaign, Sanchez has held up her votes against the Iraq War and the Patriot Act shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as examples of her political courage amid intense pressure to support those measures. In the House of Representatives, Sanchez also fought to allow women in combat and to protect members of the military from sexual assaults. She has also supported efforts to reduce the federal deficit.

Her rival in the November election is fellow Democrat Kamala Harris, the clear front runner, who has served as Californias attorney general and San Franciscos district attorney and has received endorsements from the California Democratic Party and Gov. Jerry Brown. Sanchez, however, argues that Harris lacks experience in the cutthroat politics involved in the legislative process, casting doubt on her ability to be effective in Washington.

Here are some of the noteworthy milestones in Sanchezs political career, including those that landed her in hot water:

1. Voted against the Iraq War and Patriot Act

A U.S. Marine stands watch as others take a moment to rest after taking over two houses in a predawn mission in the Jolan Heights area of Fallouja, Iraq in 2004. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) (Test)

In 2002, Sanchez was among the 133 House members who voted against the authorization for the use of military force against Iraq.

The resolution passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, however. Among those voting in favor were then-New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

"People forget how difficult, how hard, and how unpopular that vote really was," Sanchez said while speaking at a Democratic Foundation of Orange County luncheon in 2015. "I was spit at. I had to have bodyguards when I came back to Orange County.

President George W. Bush had requested congressional approval, saying it was necessary to pressure Iraqi President Saddam Hussein  by force, if necessary  to destroy his suspected weapons of mass destruction programs.

Sanchez said her experience on the House Armed Services Committee made her question the long-term implications of an invasion, and whether the U.S. might find itself bogged down in a war in the Middle East.

Rep. Loretta Sanchez discussing her position on the Iraq War in 2003 on C-SPAN.

Sanchez said she had been just as skeptical of the Patriot Act, the legislation approved by Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, which gave law enforcement agencies vastly expanded powers to track terror suspects.

She said the information later made public by former National Security Administration contractor Edward Snowden revealed that federal authorities collected massive amounts of data on phone calls made by law-abiding Americans.

2. Advocate for women in the military

A female marine stands in formation along with her male compatriots on November 10, 2010, at Camp Delaram in Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Paula Bronstein / Getty Images) (Paula Bronstein / Getty Images)

Sanchez, the second ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and chair of the Women in the Military Caucus, has spent years advocating for the U.S. military to end its policy prohibiting women from combat positions. She introduced legislation in 2011, 2012 and 2014 to do just that, though none of the bills went anywhere.

Sanchez argued that the combat exclusion policy failed to recognize that women had already been serving on battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan. The policy also hindered the ability of women in the military to advance up the the chain of command, since combat experience is required for certain promotions.

In December, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced an end to the Pentagon's formal ban on women in combat jobs, allowing them to serve in all artillery, infantry and other frontline units for the first time.

In September, the Marines released a study of women in combat skills tests that concluded that women hurt combat capability. The Marines had requested to be exempted from the policy, but the request was denied.

Sanchez also worked on a bill with Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) to provide federal whistleblower protections for people who report sexual assaults in the military. The legislation passed the House unanimously and was later folded into a defense policy bill.

In 2013, a bill proposed by Sanchez to require commanders to include sexual harassment in performance evaluations and to hold them accountable for the climate in their units was adopted into the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act.

3. Voted to shield gun makers from lawsuits

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Test)

In 2005, Sanchez voted in favor of legislation that shielded the gun industry from liability for the criminal or negligent acts of gun owners, with certain exceptions.

The law, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, was approved by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush. The bill superseded existing laws in California and other states that allowed victims of gun violence to sue gun makers and dealers.

Sanchez said the measure protects lawful businesses from being hit with frivolous lawsuits, comparing it to allowing a person injured by a drunk driver to sue a car manufacturer.

She also defended her record on gun control, saying she has supported a ban on high-capacity magazines and has backed requiring background checks for people who buy weapons at gun shows. Sanchez said she has consistently received poor grades from the pro-gun National Rifle Assn.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has endorsed Harris in the Senate race, and the groups president, Dan Gross, referred to the 2005 vote by Sanchez when it was announced.

While her opponent may feel the gun industry, whose products kill 90 Americans every day, deserves a free pass in the form of special legal protections  Kamala Harris doesn't, Gross said in the statement.

Still, the Brady Campaign endorsed Sanchezs 2006 reelection bid for Congress  just a year after the 2005 vote  as well as her reelection campaigns in 2008 and 2010. The Brady Campaign also gave the Orange County congresswoman a thumbs-up grade on gun issues in 2014.

4. Beat conservative firebrand B-1 Bob Dornan

Loretta Sanchez, with her campaign manager John Shallman, arrives in Washington in 1996 for orientation sessions for new members of Congress. (Alex Garcia / Los Angeles Times) (Test)

In 1996, Sanchez was a little-known financial analyst from Anaheim when she ousted Orange County conservative Rep. Robert B-1 Bob Dornan for Congress, beating him by just 984 votes.

Few had given her any chance against the bombastic former Air Force pilot, who earned his nickname after he became a top pitchman for the 1980s-era jet bomber.

Sanchezs own Democratic Party endorsed another candidate in the primary, and her only political experience before that was a failed bid for Anaheim City Council.

Dornan gained a national following in part for his stands against abortion, gay rights and liberalism and for his fervent support of the military, anti-communism and gun rights. During his successful 1992 reelection campaign he said that every lesbian spear-chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated.

President Bill Clinton, labor groups, environmentalists, advocates of abortion rights and gay rights and celebrities all campaigned on Sanchez's behalf.

The newly elected congresswoman arrived in Washington in 1996 as a Democratic superstar, and as an incarnation of the political ascension of Latinos in Orange County, California and across the U.S.

She survived a bitter fight with Dornan as he attempted to overturn the results. He claimed the election was tainted by illegal ballots cast by noncitizens. Sanchez defeated him a second time him in a rematch in 1998.

5. A Playboy Mansion fundraiser and other political dust ups

Playboy Mansion (Jim Bartsch) (Test)

In 2000, Sanchez angered Democratic Party leaders and presidential nominee Al Gore by scheduling a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion during the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Sanchez, co-chair of the Democratic National Committee, was stripped of her speaking role at the convention because of her steadfast refusal to relocate the fundraiser for Hispanic Unity USA, a political action committee that was raising money for a Latino voter registration drive.

In a letter, then party chairman Joe Andrew chastised Sanchez, saying that Democrats and womens groups found the planned fundraiser at the estate of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner to be neither appropriate nor reflective of our partys values.

Sanchezs supporters noted that many Democrats, including Gore, had accepted campaign contributions from Playboy executives.

Sanchez ultimately moved the event. She regained a spot on the convention speakers list the next day, but refused to accept it.

It wasnt the last time Sanchez was involved in a political stir:

In 2007, Sanchez quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus saying that it was, in part, due to caucus chairman Rep. Joe Bacas demeaning manner toward women and his gossiping that she was a "whore, which he denied.

At the California Democratic Party convention in May 2015, Sanchez was speaking to party activists when she tapped her hand to her mouth in imitation of a Native American war cry when describing the difference between Native Americans and Indian Americans. She was forced to apologize.

For years, Sanchez sent out racy Christmas cards featuring her cat Gretzky. In one, the congresswoman was sitting on a motorcycle wearing a tank top, with Gretzky perched on the handlebars.

Following the deadly terrorist attacks in San Bernardino and Paris, Sanchez said 5% to 20% of Muslims worldwide supported the idea of a caliphate  a strict Islamic state. The congresswoman was criticized by immigrant rights group and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Sanchez said the figures she mentioned have not been repudiated by any credible source.

6. Voted for controversial deficit reduction plan

Sanchez has tried to cultivate an image as a moderate on budget issues, joining a group called the Blue Dog Coalition dedicated to fiscal conservatism.

She supported a failed effort to reduce the federal debt that was based on the recommendations of the bipartisan Bowles-Simpson commission, which President Obama appointed in 2010 to address the nations debt challenges. The recommendations included spending caps, increasing gas taxes and, among the more controversial proposals, raising the retirement age for Social Security benefits.

Sanchez also was one of 63 members of her party who opposed the 2008 bank bailout.

She did vote for the 2009 economic stimulus package, the auto bailout and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to tighten the regulation of Wall Street and the finance industry.

7. Missed congressional committee meetings

A Times review of Sanchezs attendance in Congress shows she missed 13 of 18 House Homeland Security Committee meetings from January through early November 2015, tied for the second-worst attendance on the committee. She missed the vast majority of her subcommittee meetings and half of the full meetings in the 2013-14 congressional term.

Sanchez also missed more floor votes in the House  more than one in five  than all but two other members in 2015, according to Congressional Quarterly. That's a drop from her previous terms in Congress, when she cast votes more than 90% of the time in all but one year.

Sanchez told the Times in December that she doesn't recall missing many Homeland Security hearings, but added that her responsibilities on the Armed Services committee expanded greatly when the ranking Democrat was away from Congress because of two hip surgeries.

Sanchez said she also spent more time in California, in part because her father has Alzheimer's and because her elderly mother also needs care.

8. Lacks a signature bill, but delivered for water project

Gov. Jerry Brown holds glasses of reclaimed at the Orange County Water District Groundwater Replenishment System. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) (Test)

Last year, CQ Roll Call classified Sanchez as among the "debate shapers and swing votes on its list of the 25 Most Influential Women in Congress.

But the Orange County Democrat has not offered a successful signature bill that members of Congress covet, though her party held power for four years of her 20-year tenure.

Still, Sanchez boasts of delivering federal funding for Orange Countys Groundwater Replenishment System. The treated water is used to recharge the local groundwater basin and provides enough water for nearly 850,000 residents.

Election 2016 | California politics news feed | Sign up for the newsletter

phil.willon@latimes.com

Twitter: @philwillon

ALSO

Kamala Harris strengthened, Loretta Sanchez weak as general election begins, new poll finds

For a comeback in her Senate race, Democrat Loretta Sanchez may need the help of Republicans

California's next senator could be a Latina. Will her past mistakes get in the way?

Updates on California politics
Graduating high school seniors who came through the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank program are making their parents and club administrators proud as they receive college/university acceptance letters and scholarships from some of the most prestige schools in the state and country.

Twin brothers Artin and Arthur Kasumyan have been accepted on full scholarships to Yale University, where they plan to study engineering.

Two other members, Fritz Landeros and Veronica Eudave, are headed to UC San Diego. Landeros plans to study engineering, while Eudave will explore child development.

Six additional members will enroll locally at Cal State Northridge, tackling subjects such as psychology or nursing, and a few still need some time before they declare a major. Azusa Pacific and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will also be welcoming club members this fall as well as Cal Lutheran, UC Santa Barbara and College of the Canyons in Valencia.

Several club grads also received scholarships from the College Futures Foundation and the Taco Bell Foundation.

We couldnt be more proud of these teens, said Shanna Warren, chief executive of the club. For many, they will be the first in their families to attend college and that is a huge accomplishment.

The club offers a college-bound program to all high school teens, Warren said. Participants receive one-on-one case management help at no charge to ensure their individual success. The program offers resources and guidance for financial aid, SAT and ACT exams and college admissions. There are also workshops, guest speakers and tutoring available.

I believe the Boys & Girls Clubs programs are some of the best programs out there. Seeing so many of our members planning their college experiences proves the point, Warren said.

The nonprofit Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley has served the community of 20 years. Today, some 2,000 young people ages 6 to 18 participate in programs at the main club and 18 local school sites.

No child is ever turned away for an inability to pay. For more information, visit BGCBurbank.org or call (818) 842-9333.

If you ask me, these students achievements exemplify the clubs motto  Great Futures Start Here.

Panhellenic bestows scholarships

The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic has presented its annual scholarship awards to two Burbank women.

The Panhellenic is a community-based organization encompassing the Glendale, Burbank, La Canada, La Crescenta, Sunland and Tujunga areas, with member volunteers from one of the 26 sororities recognized by the National Panhellenic Conference.

Established in 1947, the groups charter is to support todays young women from the area in their pursuit of higher education.

Awards of varying amounts are given annually to eligible area high school senior women who are planning to attend a four-year college or university in the fall, as well as to eligible area college women who are active members in good standing of a conference sorority.

The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic sponsors an annual benefit luncheon to raise money for the scholarships.

The college sorority member scholarship recipient is Lauren Cruz, of Burbank, who is a freshman at UC Irvine and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.

High school scholarship recipient Tianna Wolfe graduated from Bellarmine-Jefferson High School and will attend Woodbury University.

Glendale Panhellenic officers and volunteers for the 2015-16 year included President Georgine Archer, Burbank, Delta Gamma; Vice President/Benefit Chair Kim Westhoff, Glendale, Alpha Omicron Pi; Secretary Elaine Chapman, La Canada Flintridge, Kappa Kappa Gamma; Treasurer Jerri Johnson, Pasadena, Sigma Sigma Sigma; Benefit Co-Chair Julie Weller, Glendale, Delta Zeta; Scholarship Social Chair Marta dePaula Cea, La Canada, Pi Beta Phi, and Scholarship Chair Janice Paul, La Canada, Delta Delta Delta.

Scholarship committee members included Rondi Werner Redmann and Deb Ann Orfalea, Glendale, Zeta Tau Alpha, and Rachel Clugston, Los Angeles, Delta Phi Epsilon.

The Glendale group is recruiting volunteers to become sorority alumnae chapter delegates or individual members. High school and college women interested in information about or assistance with conference sorority recruitment in fall 2016 or spring 2017 can find more information at glendalepanhellenic.org.

--

JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.
A bill making its way through the California Legislature would limit religious colleges ability to claim an exemption from federal Title IX laws barring discrimination against LGBT students and faculty.

Under California Senate Bill 1146  which passed the state Senate in May and is currently undergoing amendments in the state Assembly  only institutions preparing students for pastoral ministry would be allowed to claim a religious exemption.

In any other religious school receiving federal money, students who believe they have been discriminated against due to their sexual orientation could sue the college.

Human Rights Watch calls the Title IX religious exemption a license to discriminate.

In California, at least seven religious colleges have applied for the exemption, including Biola University, Simpson University and William Jessup University.

Some see the bill as a way to ensure LGBT students are protected, while others feel it would infringe on religious freedom.

In many ways its an existential threat to religious colleges that want to live according to the principles of their faith in their community, Quincy Masteller, general counsel of Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula told the Catholic News Agency.

Q: Should religious colleges receiving money from the federal government be allowed to claim a exemption to Title IX regulations?

Wow. Let us be clear  religious institutions want the right to discriminate against the LGBTQ community. How does this relate to ethics; how is this American; how is this showing concern for humanity? They claim their values demand they discriminate. Why is this ridiculous notion even entertained? Since when is this country or religious freedom about allowing discrimination? I seem to remember slavery was justified dogmatically as well. Should we reinstate other discrimination on religious grounds?

Lets understand this even further. If they dont get all-encompassing exemptions, they at least want special exemptions for pastoral care programs to have the right to discriminate? Consider what pastoral care is. Its emotional support for all gods children. How exactly is discrimination emotional support?

I am sick and tired of churches playing the victim by reverse claims of religious discrimination. There is no such thing in this instance. They are being underhandedly and deceitfully polemical in order to redirect the issue.

The religious right is so fond of saying the same thing over and over regardless of truth. So, please indulge me as I yet again repeat what David Silverman of American Atheists said: Cloaking your bigotry in religion doesnt make it any less bigoted and calling you out on your bigotry isnt persecution, its accountability. But, unlike the religious rights disingenuous mantras, this statement is actually true.

Joshua Lewis Berg

Humanist Celebrant

First of all let me make clear that I am against all forms of discrimination be it sexual, national, racial or governmental.

Looking at the Title IX exemptions for religious institutions being narrowed to only ministerial students looks like the government is discriminating against the universities who are discriminating against LGBT students in the first place. The 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the ultimate Federal law, states that, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

While discrimination in any form is wrong, the California Senate, which is supposed to act in concert with the Constitution, is for certain prohibiting the free exercise of religion by limiting the Title IX exemption to only ministerial students. The basic moral axiom here is two wrongs dont make a right.

Now before I am attacked for supporting discrimination at all, let us remember that the Declaration of Independence also guarantees us inalienable rights, such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Being LGBT does not mean you give up any of your rights as an American. We dont know the sexual orientation of the blind lady with the scales. So, remember, red, white and blue are still resident colors of all rainbows.

Rabbi Mark Sobel

Temple Beth Emet

Burbank

When I attended Biola University, I had to sign a faith statement as well as agree to a particular moral code. If I recall correctly, the code was a no drinking/fornication/occultism policy for all students. Most new students signed the statements and agreed to never drink until they graduated. Devil worship was likely not going to be anyones practice who chose to attend Biola anyway, and sex-before-marriage was just off the table for most biblically obedient Christians (regardless of Biolas stated requirement).

Now, as far as these codes went, they were incumbent upon all students. There were no provisions for applicants who wanted to learn at Biola, but who would sacrifice to Satan on their off hours, or who spent their study time getting hammered at dive bars, or who practiced promiscuity to their hearts desire. These were reasonable, moral prohibitions that the government had no problem with until now.

But think, if there was to be no heterosexual sex, there certainly would be no homosexual, pedosexual, or beastiasexual, or Q-sexual (latest addition to LBGT) or any other sexual behavior or positive representation. Sex is morally confined to male/female marriage and nothing else, biblically speaking. This is a school that inculcates biblical morality, not one that teaches secular auto mechanics or which doesnt concern itself with the souls of its pupils.

The point of the schools existence is to produce godly alumni. If then, there are those who would object to the schools moral code, then they ought to find themselves places to attend that dont mind immorality and have no objection to perverse lifestyles. This is what it boils down to: a politically motivated group, that defines itself by its peculiar sexual proclivities, striking out against the good morality of a Christian institution, simply because that institution receives government funding like every other university in the country, but requires them to sign the same moral statement I did. They hate the morality, so they hate the college, and they want to punish it by defunding its mission.

Look, there are womens colleges, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and many institutions that receive aid, and which select their attendees based on gender or race  yet they still qualify for government monies because they exist to benefit this country by providing education to distinct demographics (just like Biola). Suppose the school wanted to train chefs, but a lobby of food haters and anti-cooks demanded equal representation in the staff and student body, would that make any sense? No, it would be a recipe for disaster, and so is this ridiculously discriminatory California bill.

Rev. Bryan A. Griem

Tujunga

I am opposed to exemptions to Title IX regulations or to the rules of any other federal aid programs. I do not want my tax dollars going to institutions who are allowed to discriminate. Religious colleges can very easily live according to the principles of their faith in their community by simply not accepting federal money.

Attorney Mastellar gives two examples that he describes as conduct or activity that violated our Catholic character: a transgendered male seeking to live in a womens dorm or a same-sex wedding taking place in a campus chapel.

In either scenario, it strikes me as extremely unlikely that the individuals would have any interest in using the facilities at a Catholic college. Be that as it may, if an institution is receiving federal assistance they ought to have to abide by all the laws and regulations that apply to any other recipients.

This is not a threat to anyones personal freedom to practice their religion. This is equal treatment under the law.

Roberta Medford

Atheist

Montrose
For the first time, the United States put North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the U.S. sanctions list for human rights abuses.

Along with Kim, 22 other entities and individuals were placed on the blacklist for their role in serious human rights violations, hunting down defectors or censorship in North Korea.

"We have identified 23 individuals and entities in our report, one of those individuals is Kim Jong-un, we have made the judgment that he is rather plainly, ultimately responsible for the actions of his regime including its repressive policies toward his own people," a senior U.S. official announced Wednesday.

Acting Under Secretary of Treasury Adam Szubin said, "Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture."
Karma Automotive, a Costa Mesa-based electric-car maker, plans to introduce a new model this summer.

The Revero, a luxury sedan, is being made at Karmas Moreno Valley production facility. Pricing and a launch date were not disclosed.

Karma was formerly known as Fisker Automotive and Technology Group, also based in Costa Mesa. The company is owned by Wanxiang Group, an international automotive component conglomerate.

Karma recently hired Dennis Dougherty as its president and chief operations officer.

Dennis brings with him extensive operations experience in the U.S., China and Mexico, which will be invaluable as we launch the Revero and expand our global footprint, Chief Executive Tom Corcoran said in a statement.

Cannabis medicine company moving to Irvine

Cannabis Science Inc., which develops cannabis-based medicines, announced that it is moving its headquarters from Colorado to Irvine.

The company said the move to 19800 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 300, is temporary and that it is looking at Washington, D.C., as its next headquarters.

Being in California puts Cannabis Science in closer proximity to its vital laboratory resources, key distributors and many patients, according to a news release.

The company said it sees potential in California because the state is looking to legalize recreational use of marijuana with a vote in November.

Photo-shoot store opens at Fashion Island

Blink Inc., a photo-shoot store, has opened at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

The business offers shoots starting at $25. Walk-ins and reservations are accepted.

Whether youre an aspiring blogger who wants editorial-quality photos to [a] corporate executive looking for head shots or an engaged or expecting couple who want stylish portraits, Blink Inc. is perfect for anyone looking for sleek, professional images, Easther Liu, chief marketing officer for Irvine Co. Retail Properties, said in a statement.

Blink Inc. is in Atrium Court, next to Restoration Hardware.

Irvines Park Place honored with industry award

Park Place in Irvine was recently honored during the Building Owners and Managers Assn.'s conference and expo in Washington, D.C.

The mixed-use campus off Michelson Drive received the Outstanding Building of the Year award in the renovated-building category.

Park Place is owned and managed by LBA Realty. It was built in the 1970s and later underwent an extensive renovation, with enhancements to building entries, landscaping, common areas and amenities.

Ultra Mobile names chief operations officer

Ultra Mobile, based in Costa Mesa, recently named Sherrie Simmons as its chief operations officer.

Simmons will be responsible for streamlining product release cycles and improving overall efficiency with new launches, overseeing innovation and development initiatives, according to a news release.

Simmons, a graduate of Cal State Fullerton with a masters from Cal Poly Pomona, has worked for Toyota, Nissan and other companies.

Sherries background and skill set in both technology and operational management will be instrumental in driving Ultra Mobiles continued growth at this stage of our development, Ultra Mobile President Tyler Leshney said in a statement. At this pivotal moment in Ultras growth, we were looking for talent that complemented the companys scrappy development mentality with a thorough understanding of global operations.

Irvine company promotes language-learning

Neuroscientists Kaveh Azartash and Dhonam Pemba, who earned their Ph.D.s from UC Irvine, have developed language-learning products designed to help young children.

Their Irvine-based company, Kadho, distributes electronic games and e-books that teach children how to learn sounds associated with 12 major languages.

For more information, visit www.kadho.com.
A new Civil Justice Research Institute expected to open this fall at the UC Irvine School of Law will be getting more than a half-million dollars in funding from Newport Beach class-action attorney Richard Bridgford and litigation funder Bentham IMF.

Bentham, which has locations in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, has committed $300,000, while Bridgford pledged a $250,000 investment.

Overall, the institute has $1 million in funding.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

The institute, led by the law schools dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, will research factors that may limit access to Americas court system. Those factors include inadequate funding of state and local courts, restrictions on class-action lawsuits and limits on punitive damages, according to a news release.

Chemerinsky said the institute will give students a chance to participate in cutting-edge research.

Were excited to be joining Dean Chemerinsky and UC Irvine School of Law in taking a disciplined look at the economic distortions in our system, Allison Chock, head of Benthams Los Angeles office, said in a statement. The institute will also look to the remedies that can help level the judicial playing field for litigants.

Bentham plans to be part of the institutes advisory board.

Bridgford, founding partner of Bridgford, Gleason & Artinian in Newport Beach, was a sponsor of the law schools 2015 Public Service Award dinner that honored U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer.

Bridgford did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

--

Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Observers in cooler and more prosperous nations often look down on warmer and less-prosperous nations having trouble managing their affairs (the famous North-South divide) and ask, Is X country ungovernable? Its always asked with a sort of sniff, as if to say, Whats wrong with those people?

Well, now, with Brexit, the question comes up about Britain, that other Eden, that demi-paradise, that happy breed of men, as Shakespeare put it.

They had a prime minister, but he announced he would step down. They had another candidate, but now he doesnt want the job. They dont want to be a part of Europe, but they really do. They knew what Brexit meant when they voted, but now theyre not sure.

Is Britain ungovernable? What happened?

Heres a scary thought. Theres been a cultural shift in Britain, and theyve shot themselves in the foot, because they dont believe in themselves anymore. How did they get to the point where they dont believe in themselves?

Satire. Humor is supposed to be healthy. But maybe it has limits. How strong can a government be if it is constantly ridiculed?

Post-structuralism. This is a popular philosophy that says, basically, nothing is true. How can you make a decision if none of them is right?

Deconstruction. This is another popular philosophy which, well, tears things down.

Anti-authoritarianism. How can anyone rule if everyone is defiant?

Aggressive conflict. Yes, theres a certain value to frankly airing differences. There is also a certain value to respect and courtesy.

Those marvelous Brits, in an unnoticed series of stages, seem to have ended up with a culture in which chaos and conflict are the norm, ridicule is chic, defiance is the attitude du jour and sensible, cooperative functioning is passe.

I certainly hope Americans dont make that same mistake.

--

Dr. STEVE DAVIDSON is a clinical psychologist in Newport Beach.
Three Glendale residents were among 16 people indicted in Los Angeles for their alleged involvement in manufacturing and distributing synthetic drugs commonly referred to as spice, federal officials said.

Glendale resident Faisal Iqbal, 34, and his wife, Sana Faisal, 32, were arrested Wednesday, while Iqbals 65-year-old father, Mohammad Iqbal, who was also indicted, is a fugitive believed to be in Pakistan.

The father and son are suspected of operating businesses in the skid row area of Los Angeles to facilitate and oversee the production and sale of the drug, sold wholesale to bodegas and convenience stores under names like Crazy Monkey and Mad Monkey, according to the federal indictment.

Packaged in bright colors with cartoon labels, the drug, produced to mimic the high of marijuana, is designed to attract teenagers who cant legally buy pot, but federal officials said its extremely dangerous.

Though the drug is labeled as potpourri with disclaimers like not for human consumption, and DEA compliant, federal officials said the defendants knew the drugs were being sold for human consumption.

One of their co-defendants, North Hollywood resident Fidencio Garcia, 25, allegedly tested the drug by smoking samples to make sure they were of sufficient quality, according to the indictment.

To manufacture the drug, chemicals  analogues of controlled substances  are often mixed with acetone to create a mixture thats then sprayed onto plants, like marshmallow leaves, to create synthetic marijuana, according to court records.

The products were allegedly sold to customers in multiple states, including California, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, South Carolina and Utah. The trio is also accused of attempting to hide their profits.

The indictment was part of a nationwide crackdown on synthetic drug distribution that included an operation in Los Angeles that targeted three organizations that allegedly manufactured and distributed thousands of kilograms of synthetic cannabinoids.
A man who says he was wrongfully accused of groping another mans genitals in the locker room of a 24 Hour Fitness in Glendale is suing the city and the Glendale Police Department, as well as the gym, for negligence, false arrest and defamation, records show.

Vahe Ambarsoomzadeh argued that police failed to conduct a proper investigation and independently review surveillance video that would have exonerated him, and instead relied on a gym worker who falsely identified him as a suspect, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which was recently moved to federal court.

Glendale City Atty. Mike Garcia on Wednesday denied the claims.

The city is going to defend the lawsuit, he said. We dont think what theyve said weve done constitutes any legal liability for the city, and we deny that the arrest was false.

A representative of 24 Hour Fitness said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

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One evening in February of last year, a gym-goer reported to the front desk at a 24 Hour Fitness in Glendale that about half an hour earlier, a man who was 6 feet 2, wearing a towel, yellow/white flip-flops and two earrings in one ear followed him into the shower room, asked for help turning on the shower and groped the victims genitals, according to the lawsuit.

Ambarsoomzadeh, a 27-year-old attorney who filed the lawsuit, argued in the complaint that he did not match that detailed description  hes nowhere near 6 feet 2, wasnt wearing yellow/white flip flops and doesnt have his ears pierced  and surveillance footage shows that he was not in the mens locker room at the time of the alleged crime.

Despite the mountain of exculpatory evidence, Ambarsoomzadeh was arrested the following month and charged with one misdemeanor count of sexual battery, the lawsuit states. The charge was later dismissed, according to the Los Angeles district attorneys office.

Reasonable training and supervision, the lawsuit claims, would have led to Ambarsoomzadehs exoneration.

Ambarsoomzadehs attorney was unavailable for comment.

He was interrogated by the police, who, without so much as reviewing surveillance video, ignored his pleas and protestations of innocence, the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, the gyms loss-prevention manager sent Glendale police a screen shot of the surveillance footage of a suspect leaving the gym that evening. The manager allegedly misidentified that person as Ambarsoomzadeh.

When reached Wednesday, Garcia did not know if someone else was arrested in connection with the battery.

Surveillance footage showed that Ambarsoomzadeh actually left the gym 15 minutes later, according to the lawsuit.

Three Glendale police officers, along with the gyms loss-prevention manager, are also named as defendants in the complaint.

Glendale city attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case. A hearing on the motion is slated for next month.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
Three meetings to discuss the development of a plan for south Glendales future will be held this month.

The South Glendale Community Plan will include elements that address the sentiments of residents in that area, ranging from new park space to traffic congestion, similar to a north Glendale plan adopted by the City Council in 2011.

This series of meeting follows an effort by the city that started in the fall of 2013 through mid-2015, where the city sought suggestions regarding what improvements residents would like to see in south Glendale.

Events such as a community festival and a Halloween event were held to gather input from residents.

In 2014, the city received the Public Outreach Award of Merit from the California chapter of the American Planning Assn. for its outreach efforts on the South Glendale Community Plan.

The upcoming meetings will be an opportunity for residents, city planners and council members to establish land-use policies that are exclusive to the neighborhood, said Alan Loomis, the citys deputy director of urban design and mobility.

Principally, what its useful for is being able to provide clarity as to how the community would like to evolve in the future, he said.

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Once adopted, these types of plans usually stay in place for 20 to 30 years, Loomis said.

The north Glendale plan, for example, adhered to community feedback to keep the former Rockhaven Sanitarium open to the public as well as establish improvements and welcome signs on Foothill Boulevard.

Refreshing outdated guidelines could have prevented the controversy over the Aloft hotel project proposed at Brand Boulevard and Dryden Avenue, he said. Opponents of the project said the building was too big and out of character with the neighborhood.

The various controversies that percolate up against developments such as the Aloft hotel  is the result of a plan for the city being 30 years out of date, Loomis said. It doesnt reflect anything resembling current demographics.

Rondi Werner, president of the Adams Hills Neighborhood Assn., said she already has plenty of issues in mind that could be addressed.

Her concerns include too many restaurants in her part of town doubling as banquet halls as well as a lack of park and open space in south Glendale.

If the Armenian American Museum winds up in Central Park, were going to lose even more park space, Werner said.

Additional traffic and density from the mixed-use development boom in downtown Glendale is also negatively affecting the quality of life in south Glendale, she said.

Another issue Werner would like discussed is overdevelopment in her own neighborhood via a streamlining process enacted three years ago that allowed some smaller multiunit apartments to be built with only staffs approval, not a city commission.

There should be a moratorium on further redevelopment until we see once all the pipeline projects have been finished, and people start living there, Werner said.

Councilman Ara Najarian said density will have to be addressed but that discouraging new housing tends to drive up prices, while more units promote affordability.

He added that there are no surprise issues. Its well known that density, parking, traffic and open space are among the top items for discussion.

The real challenge is going to be working with planning staff, with residents and the council to try and create a plan, which will, through its implementation, alleviate those issues, Najarian said. Thats where the skill is involved.

City Council members will attend each of the workshops and be presented with background information that planning staff has spent more than a year compiling, Loomis said.

After the workshops are held, council members will make their recommendations, and an environmental impact report will have to be conducted on the proposed south Glendale plan. A final version could be adopted as soon as next summer, Loomis said.

The first workshop will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday at the Planning Hearing Room, located at 633 E. Broadway, Room 105, and there will be a presentation about south Glendales development history.

The second workshop will be held on July 19 at the same place and time, and attendees will go over the future of the neighborhood. The third and final gathering on July 26  also at the same place and time  will give an overview about transit in south Glendale.

Werner was critical of the meeting times because people who have day jobs wont be able to attend.

Najarian said if the timing of the meetings does impact turnout, he would be in favor of adding some evening workshops.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian
Glendale police caught two men  one with the word ignorant tattooed on his neck  suspected of robbing three pharmacies at gunpoint, including one in Glendale, police said.

Thomas Davis, 20, of Inglewood, and Jose Lopez, 28, of Los Angeles, were both charged with three counts of robbery with a special enhancement that they each used a firearm, according to Glendale Police Sgt. Robert William.

The robbery in Glendale dates back to the morning of May 21, when two hooded men entered Central Avenue Pharmacy, located in the 100 block of West California Avenue, and drew their weapons while telling a customer to stay quiet.

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Wheres your oxycodone, 30 milligrams, Davis said, according to police. An employee told him that the narcotics were in a locked cabinet.

Davis then asked the worker to show him to the cabinet, and the worker complied.

There, Davis, who has the ignorant tattoo,reportedly used the tip of his gun to sort through the medications. He then demanded promethazine syrup, grabbing two bottles of the syrup and putting them in a black travel bag, William said.

Before leaving, the pair demanded money, and the worker opened the cash register. They fled with narcotics, as well as about $500 in cash.

Half an hour later, the duo allegedly robbed a San Fernando pharmacy, during which they again demanded promethazine syrup. Detectives later discovered that the night before, they did the same thing at a pharmacy in North Hollywood.

Investigators used surveillance footage and other means to identify the suspects, William said.

During a search of Lopezs home, police reportedly recovered several firearms, as well as promethazine syrup bottles.

Police have not arrested the getaway driver.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
Around 30 years ago in the middle of a Bible study class at a Seventh-day Adventist Church in Glendale, something close to a miracle took place.

It was the 1980s. The AIDS epidemic, and the panic that went along with it, was in full force. But Carlos Martinez needed to tell his truth. And so, on a Wednesday morning, while sitting with 30 senior women, Martinez listened to the worries of a mother whose son had died from cirrhosis of the liver and the anguish she felt at how beatings at home could have driven him to become an alcoholic.

And then, he decided it was time to speak.

I am dying of AIDS, he said. I contracted AIDS in a gay singles bar, and if God can forgive me, he can forgive you.

What the women did next was a moment that former pastor Rudy Torres, who was at the Bible study, told me was the most phenomenal experience hes ever had in all of his ministry.

They stood up and hugged him. Around 30 Seventh-day Adventist women who were 65 years old and older cradled Martinez in an unexpected outpouring of love and support, at a time when exact knowledge about the transmission of the disease was unknown.

The Glendale City Church, which has now been part of the city for more than 100 years, was never the same again.

We just created a community where people felt safe and included, and part of the family, which, of course, we all were, Torres said.

An atmosphere of inclusiveness was born, a place where people of all backgrounds took refuge. Since the Bible study class that changed everything, the Glendale City Church has quietly become known in the Seventh-day Adventist community as a unique place, a house of worship that does not discriminate, but accepts its members as they are.

In fact, more than 200 people in its congregation dont even live in California, tuning into worship services online every week. Despite the distance, theyve chosen to be part of the church because of the legacy its pastors have helped create.

This is especially important given how deeply ingrained the religion is for its 18 million worldwide members, one million of whom are in the United States. Its also significant because of the Seventh-day Adventist official stance on LGBT issues, where gay members are asked to remain celibate, conversion therapy has been known to be used and homosexuality is considered to be inconsistent with biblical teaching.

I know it gives hope to a lot of people in our denomination, both gay and straight, to say well at least there are some people and some leaders and a pastor who does see me as a child of God, that God desires my happiness and created me this way, said Todd Leonard. That he didnt make a mistake with me.

Leonard is Glendale City Churchs current senior pastor, and one in a line of leaders who have shaped the church into what it is today. In fact, its precedent as a forward-thinking church was set long ago. Four decades before the LGBT community became one of the most pressing social issues of our time, the church accepted once-known social taboos like interracial marriage and divorce. Now, it has services in Armenian and Romanian, too.

To some members of the Seventh-day Adventist faith, the churchs openness to the LGBT community has been revolutionary, to some revolting. The church has been harshly criticized, with some seeking to thwart their plans for acceptance of anyone who wants to worship, regardless of sexual orientation.

Leonard, who grew up in Atlanta, understands. It wasnt long ago that he might have felt the same way. But many years ago, as a pastor in a church in conservative northeast Tennessee, he met several people from the LGBT community. He began to wrestle with his beliefs and the compassion he had for the people he met, who were in pain, standing right in front of him and wanting to know if they were loved by God, he said.

I couldnt talk about it as a theory about whether we should or not, Ive got somebody right here in tears who longs to be loved by God, he said. I finally just said to myself, you know what? Theres no reason why we shouldnt be completely comfortable and welcoming.

It was Leonard who first told me about Martinez, who eventually ended up in the AIDS ward at a Hollywood hospital. It was there that he became one of the only patients who had not just constant visitors, but any visitors at all. More than 50 members of the Glendale City Church would show up to see him.

One day when Torres went to see him, the head nurse called out to ask who all these people were that flooded the hospital at all hours to visit Martinez.

I said, we are members of the Glendale City Seventh-day Adventist Church, Torres told me. And he is one of ours.

What has happened since Martinezs legacy sparked a change? Next time, join me as I attend Saturday worship services at the Glendale City Church and meet some of the members who have found comfort in its walls, creating a place thats less about what your background or sexual orientation is, and more about what truly matters: community.

This is the first in a two-part series of columns. The next column in this series will run July 9.--

LIANA AGHAJANIAN is a Los Angeles-based journalist whose work has appeared in L.A. Weekly, Paste magazine, New America Media, Eurasianet and The Atlantic. She may be reached at liana.agh@gmail.com.
With new officers in place, members are prepared to kick off a year of activities that stay true to the groups name  Glendale Beautiful.

Mayor Paula Devine conducted the installation at the meeting on June 14. Matt Gangi is president, assisted by Vice President Mary Jane Boltz, Secretary Judy Gorham, Treasurer Myrna Bunzey and directors Roberta Medford, Lenore Solis, Sharon Weisman, Frank Chander, Reza Iman and Chris Chorebanian.

Established in 1950, Glendale Beautiful promotes, encourages and protects the beauty of the community and helps the city preserve and commemorate the contributions of early residents to California history at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael.

Members help to enhance the citys landscape through the groups Arbor Day activities each March, in partnership with the city of Glendales Community Services and Parks Department. Glendale Beautiful members encourage the public to make donations of trees to be planted in parks and public areas while honoring loved ones, organizations or causes.

To date, more than 7,500 trees have been added, and our efforts have helped the city of Glendale earn the designation of a Tree City U.S.A. for over 30 consecutive years, Gangi said.

Glendale Beautiful has recently presented educational programs about drought-tolerant native landscaping. The group also recognizes commercial and public properties for exemplary landscaping with annual awards each April. It recently honored projects that implement eco-friendly initiatives to help protect the environment.

We hope that presenting these awards and leading educational programs will encourage the local community and beyond to make steps toward a more sustainable future, Gangi said.

Glendale Beautiful docents lead tours and facilitate self-guided visits to the Casa Adobe de San Rafael. The group also organizes an open house the second weekend in December at Casa Adobe, which members festively decorate with luminarias and ornaments.

The groups next fall dinner, a fundraiser to support improvements and activities, will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 8 at the Casa Adobe, 1330 Dorothy Drive.

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Salvation Armys Zone is $12K richer

Everythings coming up yellow roses for womens organization LAureole and its major philanthropy  the Glendale Salvation Armys Zone after-school program.

President Mary Owen welcomed everyone to the groups final luncheon meeting of the year in May at the Oakmont Country Club. Joan Taylor presented a check for $12,000 to the Salvation Armys Lt. Jessica Sneed.

The funds were raised at the Perennial Rose Fashion Show in spring, also at Oakmont. Taylor was chairwoman of the event. Yellow roses seemed to bloom everywhere from the exquisite invitation cover to the table centerpieces created by Sheri Gfeller.

Eight members modeled luscious fashions from Holiday Hats & Gowns. Six youths from the Zone program showed styles from Sears Glendale, which they were able to keep. Olivia Ontiveros commentated the show, while Mel Dangcil provided piano accompaniment.

Those modeling were Katie Castellani, Laurie Castellani, Shirley de Perini, Irene Goodell, Dianne Graebner, Grace Sheldon-Williams, Susan Skiffington, Carole Stonebraker, Cindy Cornejo, Diego Puga, Noe Puga, Anthony Salvador, Alexa Toledo and Roxanna Toledo.

The Salvation Armys Zone after-school program strives to provide an environment for safe social interaction, personal development and recreation.

Also at the May meeting, Kathryn Kashuba was installed as president. Serving with her are Goodell, programs; Marilyn Hewitt, luncheons; Taylor, ways and means; Stonebraker, membership; Bonnie Kunkle, treasurer; Marilyn Galvez, recording secretary. The group has served Glendale since 1967, which means next year marks its 50th year serving the community.

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Flag Week creator honored

The Crescenta Valley American Legion Post 288 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1614 gathered for breakfast on June 11 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of National Flag Week and recognize their local Hero, Vito Cannella, who was instrumental in establishing Flag Week nationally.

It was Cannella and his buddy, the late Bill Bailey, as members of the Crescenta-Canada Rotary Club, who first sent a letter to then President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, asking him to initiate the national observance, said Lynn McGinnis, past commander of the American Legion.

Cannella has continued to write to the White House every year since to make sure the tradition continues.

Cannella received a proclamation from the American Legion and another from the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In addition, he was presented with a certificate of appreciation from the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, a certificate of appreciation and recognition from the La Crescenta Town Council and an American flag folded just for him from the American Legion.

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.
In a built-out city like La Canada Flintridge, finding a way to accommodate the potential development of several high-density, multifamily dwellings is a difficult proposition.

So when local lawmakers were required by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HDC) in 2014 to zone for 343 units of residential space for such projects in the housing element of the citys general plan, they looked for areas of town that might work.

One section, located near Jo-Ann Fabric on Foothill Boulevard, contained a promising mix of apartment-type housing and commercial properties. Another area was identified south of Foothill, in between Union Street and Indiana Avenue north of the Foothill (210) Freeway, for having a combination of housing and businesses.

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The city rezoned approximately 4.4 acres from what was known as Commercial Planned Development (CPD) and R-1 zones, and they rezoned these to R-3, which is a high-density residential use, Deputy Director of Community Development Susan Koleda explained to council members in a meeting Tuesday.

The idea is that the areas would eventually transition away from commercial use and allow for more multifamily housing to be built. As such, the six commercial buildings in these locations, and the businesses they contained, may continue operations but now have a legal non-conforming status that prohibits their expansion in the newly identified residential zones.

What exactly counts as expansion, however, was brought before the City Council Tuesday by staffers not keen on seeing the city fall out of compliance with state regulations and then have to pay the price by being required to create zoning for even more high-density projects in the future.

We have had some questions from potential tenants as well as the property owners over what types of uses can continue in what we now call legal non-conforming structures, Koleda said.

Business owners like Gary Zentmyer, who operates a development company and leases spaces in a building at 1434 Foothill Boulevard, understood they could not physically expand current operations under the new zoning rules.

But when Zentmyer was informed by cautious city planners he also might be prohibited from selling or leasing property to any business that might require a conditional use permit  including office space, fitness centers or businesses selling alcohol  he brought his concerns to the council.

No new CUP applications are being accepted by the city for the properties. This has, of course, hampered our leasing efforts somewhat, Zentmyer said in a public hearing. I would support any path which would result in our having substantially the same rights and use options wed had under the CPD zoning. Anything less than that feels like a taking.

Koleda asked council members to select from three possible options moving forward. The first would be a full-court press on R-3 zoning prohibiting any perceived expansion, including conditionally permitted uses.

The second would grant existing structures an exemption that would allow for the continuation of commercial uses, including businesses needing CUPs to operate, so long as those buildings were not substantially modified or added onto.

The third option would create a formal review process for legal non-conforming uses, and apply that process citywide. City officials explained how option 2 might draw scrutiny from the state and trigger an HDC review.

There was concern that if we dont recognize these legal non-conforming uses, if we allow them to expand, we may not fall within compliance of the Housing Element, City Manager Mark Alexander clarified.

The three council members present (Dave Spence was absent and Terry Walker recused herself for owning a business within the R-3 zone) said business owners should not be constrained due to zoning matters beyond their control. They directed staff to amend the R-3 zone to incorporate an exemption for existing commercial uses, as described in option 2.

Even though there may be some hesitation, in terms of some repercussions from HDC ... its my feeling option 2 is really the clear avenue to get us straightened out, said Mayor Pro Tem Mike Davitt.

Councilman Len Pieroni agreed.

We want to do everything we can for the people who are there so they can maintain and do whatever they want to do with their properties, he said.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
A La Canada treasure went on the market in March, when longtime landholders decided to list an undeveloped 1.31-acre lot on the northwest corner of Berkshire and Commonwealth avenues thats been in their family for more than 60 years.

The property offers stunning views of La Canadas foothills and is a rare sight on Berkshire Avenue, where the citys recent building boom is made evident by a number of large-scale mansion projects going on parcels once occupied by 20th-century homesteads.

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Henry Suarez is the Dilbeck Realtor handling the listing for the area family, whose name he keeps private at their request. He says he was contacted directly by the property owners, longtime friends of his, earlier this year. The current asking price is $7,995,000, which might seem a bit steep were it not for the sheer visibility of the property.

Everybody was congratulating me, because anybody who knows La Canada knows this lot, Suarez said, estimating hes taken at least 100 calls about the property in the past few months. Everybody wants to know how a lot in the center of La Canada has stayed vacant for so long.

The parcel is a gem, not only to those in the real estate business but to local historians who only need to hear the cross streets to know the exact property in question.

Tim Gregory, a Lanterman House archivist who also works as a building biographer throughout Los Angeles County, said the lands ownership likely dates back to 1911 and to California Sen. Frank Putnam Flint, the citys namesake and owner of the Flintridge Co.

It amazes me its been sitting there that long, Gregory said of the parcel. Its a beautiful site.

A photo from the Valley Sun archives, taken sometime in the 1920s, depicts a tract office with a Flintridge Co. sign conducting business at a bustling pace. The photos caption indicates the property was one among some 1,700 acres in the vicinity purchased by Flint.

In 1912, Flint built himself a home on Berkshire Avenue, cleared winding horse trails in between parcels and entertained visions of annexing the land to the city of Pasadena and developing it, before plans fell through in the wake of a family scandal involving oil stocks, Gregory said.

After World War II, the parcels were subdivided and sold off individually. Several model homes were built by renowned architects, including Paul Williams, many of which still exist today.

Per square mile, [Flintridge] has probably got more architectural and historic significance than the rest of La Canada, Gregory said. When youre walking down those winding streets in Flintridge, you feel like youre in a special place. It has a differentness to it.

Although hes had no takers yet, Suarez admits having such a well-recognized property among his listings is great for business.

If nothing else, its great advertising, the Realtor said.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
Last week, the Great Genealogy Adventure took an unexpected twist.

Twelve years ago, we found Cousin Dan on Ancestry.Com. Being new to the whole genealogy thing, we immediately invited Dan and his brother to our home, sight unseen. Dan was a cousin on the elusive Torres side of the family.

They say you should be cautious about people you meet on the Internet, but meeting Dan turned out to be the best thing ever. Through Dan, we met 350 living descendants of my husbands second great-grandfather. At the last reunion, there were dancers, artists, lawyers and veterans from every branch of service. That, plus amazing food. We heard about the Hacienda days, and how my husband was descended from cowboys and cowgirls.

A few months ago, Dan told us hed found some new cousins.

How? I asked.

One of us took the DNA test, he replied.

There are a lot of concerns about DNA privacy. Even if the consent forms to a research project state that your analyzed genome will be kept private, chances are that it will be disclosed.

Personally, I dont mind. Im old enough not to worry about gene discrimination, crime identification or running for office. (Wouldnt you want to see the candidates genetic psychological screen from www.promethease.com? There are 189 pages of interesting facts, such as an increased resistance to the bubonic plague. But that would invade their privacy.)

In an era where refrigerators can monitor your conversations, privacy is a big concern. The biggest risk is to our children and grandchildren. Last year, state Assemblyman Mike Gatto proposed legislation to protect the privacy of 16 million Californians whose frozen blood samples were stored in a biobank. For the last 30 years, theyve been storing blood, taken from heel pricks, from almost every baby born in California as part of a project to screen for health disorders. According to a Feb. 1, 2015, article in the Los Angeles Times, California keeps the frozen samples indefinitely, unlike other states.

Our family genealogy team has come up with a plan. In an effort to preserve the privacy of genetic data, weve asked other relatives to submit their DNA for testing on Ancestry.Com, always under someone elses account and under pseudonyms. The hard part is remembering all the passwords.

The prospects were so fascinating that I sent in my DNA sample too. Heres what I found: I am 99% what we all know I am, and 1% something else, something so unexpected, but totally illuminating.

The 1% is Viking.

Ancestry calls it Scandinavian, but thats an obvious misnomer when its only 1%. If your grandmother comes from Denmark and your grandfather from France, youd expect to see 50% Scandinavian and a mixture of other stuff. But when you are 99% pure, with no other northern European roots, the facts are obvious.

I feel bad for my 50th great-grandmother.

As for the health screen, I spent $5 at www.promethease.com and got a lengthy report. One gene predisposes me to weight gain, but another makes me thinner. I am likely to be resistant to the Black Death. I am unlikely to be addicted to opiates. There was a bunch of information about how I metabolize different prescription pharmaceuticals, none of which are prescribed for me.

My trainer, Muscle Mike Padgett, put the results into perspective. He told me that our health is not only determined by our genes, but by our lifestyle. Then he had me hop on the treadmill.

Most of the time, I listen to Padgett, at least 99% of the time. The only exception is when Im forced to channel my inner Warrior Queen. You can spot her right away. Shes the one with the knife.

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ANITA SUSAN BRENNER is a longtime La Canada Flintridge resident and an attorney with Law Offices of Torres and Brenner in Pasadena. Contact her at anitasusan.brenner@yahoo.com. Follow her on Instagram @realanitabrenner, Facebook and on Twitter @anitabrenner.
When President Obama touches down Friday in Poland, hell land on a continent roiled by the British vote to leave the European Union, but he is there to confront the critical juncture facing another Western institution: NATO.

The 28-nation military alliance is contending with a confluence of challenges, including Russian incursions in the east, attacks by Muslim extremists on European capitals and the threat of cyberwarfare. Together, they are testing whether NATO is capable of reshaping itself for 21st century battles, or at risk of becoming a Cold War-era relic.

Even the Republican seeking to succeed Obama, Donald Trump, has openly questioned NATOs relevance and capacity to serve U.S. interests.

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There hasnt been another inflection point like this for the alliance since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 89 to 1991, said Ambassador Doug E. Lute, the U.S. permanent representative to NATO.

At his fifth NATO summit, Obama can seize on his final opportunity to shape the institution as he did during the leaders last meeting in Wales two years ago, when the rise of Islamic State and Russias annexation of Crimea led the alliance to recommit to what Obama said were the will, the resources and the capabilities to fulfill its mission.

The issues have presented new challenges but also fresh purpose for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which will add a 29th member, Montenegro, at the summit.

Although the territorial advances by Islamic State that so concerned leaders at the 2014 summit have been turned back, the ongoing Syrian civil war as well as the terrorist networks demonstrated ability to strike beyond the Middle East, into European capitals directly and perhaps inspiring attacks like the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., underscores the threat to NATOs southeastern front.

To the east, Russia continues to be a provocative force in Ukraine as well as for the Baltic and Black seas countries, leading NATO to undertake a rotation of four battalions in Eastern Europe.

Obama spoke Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him to end increased fighting in eastern Ukraine and to make progress on the agreement reached in 2014 in Belarus to halt the war in Ukraine, according to a White House summary of their call.

The U.S. will ask NATO members to commit additional resources along the alliances eastern boundaries as were reassuring those allies and making clear to Russia that we will not tolerate any type of aggression or intervention within NATOs borders, said Ben Rhodes, White House deputy national security advisor.

To the south, NATO partners are also grappling with a flow of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea while standing ready to support a fledgling government in Libya.

And the alliance has moved into new terrain with a dedicated focus on cyberthreats, now considered on the same level as threats by air, sea or land. Member nations are trying to decide how to cooperate on cybersecurity and what might constitute a cyberattack that would trigger Article 5 of NATOs treaty, which stipulates that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.

There is a lot of angst about offensive cyber, but active defense requires some offensive actions, retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former supreme allied commander of NATO, said at a recent summit hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. So there are policy decisions that need to be taken.

To that end, NATO is establishing a high-level intelligence post as part of its reorientation toward fighting modern, global threats. On Thursday, two top U.S. officials  James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, and Marcel Lettre, the undersecretary of Defense for intelligence  called for the post to be filled by November.

What will probably be Obamas final visit to Europe as president also bears the scars of the one that preceded it. In April, he stood beside British Prime Minister David Cameron to make a vigorous case for a vote by Britons to remain in the European Union. Days later in Germany, Obama, an avowed internationalist, urged the broader European community not to turn its back on its unique experiment in multilateral governance.

Obama and EU leaders will meet Friday for special sessions devoted to managing the fallout from Britains vote, which has emboldened nationalist movements elsewhere. Part of Obamas challenge will be working to ensure that leaders understandable preoccupation with the European Union does not distract from NATOs security goals.

Whether the European Union preserves its economic sanctions against Russia  a policy that Britain championed  will be one crucial test.

Its impossible to overlook what a major blow [Brexit] is  to 60 years-plus of American policy promoting European integration and trans-Atlantic cooperation, said Jeffrey Rathke, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former deputy director of the NATO secretary generals private office.

How the United States can shore up its European partners will be an important outcome, even if its not directly on the NATO agenda.

The president will hail increased defense spending by NATO partners, according to the White House, which Obama has called for.

For the first time in really about two decades, non-U.S. defense spending among NATO allies is on the increase, Lute said. So that I think gives us confidence that while we have a long way to go, weve turned the corner and were moving in the right direction.

In addition to pressure from Russia in Eastern Europe and the fight against Islamic State, alliance leaders will also focus during their two days in Warsaw on the future of the NATO-led campaign in Afghanistan.

Obamas first NATO summit early in 2009 centered on the new presidents desire to follow through on a key campaign pledge, to bring the war to an end, beginning with new commitments of support from alliance members that ultimately brought about the NATO-led coalition in place in the country today.

The presidents announcement Wednesday that he would delay his planned drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, while expected, was nonetheless likely to be greeted warmly by coalition partners that had committed military resources to Afghanistan long beyond 2017.

Obamas 20th trip to Europe will extend beyond Poland. On Saturday, he will travel to Spain for a mix of business and pleasure, with a sightseeing trip through Seville followed by meetings Monday in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

Administration officials noted that Spain was the largest European nation Obama had yet to visit as he arrives at the midpoint of his eighth year in office.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

For more White House coverage, follow @mikememoli on Twitter.

ALSO

In Londons financial center, resignation about Brexit  and a hope that nothing will change

Nigel Farage, head of the UK Independence Party, resigns after Brexit victory

After Istanbul airport attack, officials say Turkeys next move depends on the U.S.

UPDATES:

12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with details about a new NATO intelligence post.

This article was originally published at 8:30 a.m.
Those who rose up against the Syrian government in 2011 celebrated when armed groups pushed its forces out of parts of the countrys north.

But the relief was short-lived. Since 2012, jihadists and rebels have carried out a chilling wave of abductions, torture and summary killings that often echoed the heavy-handed ways of government security forces, according to a report released this week by the monitoring group Amnesty International.

The report focused on five opposition factions operating in the northern provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, including the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra Front and the hard-line Ahrar al Sham. All five are accused of abductions; two are also accused of torture.

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Three of the groups have received military and financial support from a joint operations center in southern Turkey organized in part by the CIA.

When it comes to the torture, we can see these armed groups [using] the same methods as the government, said the researcher in charge of compiling the report, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The scale is smaller of course, but theyre using the same torture methods, and they use interrogation techniques where they force someone to confess.

The researcher said human rights violations are likely undercounted, because people are hesitant to report them out of fear for their safety. Its such a delicate issue, people were refusing to speak about this many people refused for us to mention their interviews in the report.

Syrian children play on a street with plastic toy guns in a rebel-held district of the northern city of Aleppo on July 6, 2016, during celebrations for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Ameer Alhalbi / AFP/Getty Images )

Many civilians live in constant fear of being abducted if they criticize the conduct of armed groups in power or fail to abide by the strict rules that some have imposed, Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Amnesty International, said in a statement. In Aleppo and Idlib today, armed groups have free rein to commit war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law with impunity.

The groups targeted lawyers, activists, journalists and even children - including two that have yet to be recovered.

One child, a 14-year old boy, was taken when crossing into Syria to visit his grandparents. His family was told that Ahrar al Sham, which controls the Bab Hawa crossing between Turkey and Syria, was holding him and had put him in solitary confinement.

The other child was 16 when he was abducted in 2012 from a friends house in a town north of Aleppo. A relative told the rights group that fighters had called the childs mother and told her they had her son. They even beat the child as he was talking to her.

Victims also included minorities, mostly those from Sheikh Maqsoud, a predominantly Kurdish neighborhood in Aleppo city controlled by a Syrian Kurdish militia known as the Peoples Protection Units.

The report documents 24 cases of abduction and five cases of torture, including that of Halim, the pseudonym used for a humanitarian worker abducted by militants from Nour Al-Din Zinki in July 2014 while working in a hospital in Aleppo city.

Halim said he was interrogated six to seven times and was told to confess to charges of spying and providing the hospitals GPS coordinates to the Syrian government.

When I refused to sign the confession paper, the interrogator ordered the guard to torture me.... He placed my hands above my head and forced me to lift my legs in a perpendicular position, Halim said.

He then started beating me with cables on the soles of my feet. I couldnt [bear] the pain so I signed the paper.

An official with Nour Al-Din Zinkis legal office, Khaled Shihab, said in an interview on social media that the group does not tolerate human rights violations.

We have adopted humanitarian law and are known as moderates, Shihab said. He insisted that Amnesty had not done its due diligence, at least in the case of Halim.

This person could have gone to any doctor and had their wounds examined and then given the report to Amnesty to show he was tortured, but he has no report of this, he asserted. He also said there was no such detention center in the location Halim mentioned.

We are ready to be held accountable, but its not acceptable to do this without proof.

Several groups and their associated courts apply a severe interpretation of Islamic law allowing corporal punishments that amount to torture. The report, however, details cases of torture against only two factions, Al Nusra Front and Nour Al-Din Zinki.

Some of the most damning accusations were leveled at Al Nusra Front and Ahrar al Sham. Both groups impose punishments that amounted to torture, Amnesty said. They apply the death penalty for some crimes, such as apostasy or adultery.

A member of Ahrar al Shams political office, who refused to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said all accusations of misconduct in the report would be investigated.

We dont care if there is one violation or a thousand, were ready to sit down with Amnesty and go through all of the details and discuss this. We have asked for a more solid relationship with them, he said.

Were not claiming we make no mistakes. This is a civil war. But there is a difference between something being part of a policy or an exception, he said. We believe this report came out too soon, and it will be employed politically by the government.

Bulos is a special correspondent.
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On 6 July Mexicos federal chamber of deputies gave final approval to an amended legislative package of secondary legislation linked to the establishment of a national anti-corruption system (SNA).

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The People's Daily editorial comes as Beijing ramps up efforts to assert its stance ahead of a ruling by an international tribunal in a case filed by the Philippines challenging China's claims to most of the South China Sea. China is boycotting the case before The Hague-based court and says it will not accept the verdict.

The flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party on Wednesday warned Washington that there would be a "price" to pay if it crosses China's "bottom line" by meddling in disputes over the South China Sea.

The paper said that bilateral ties and regional stability were at stake and that the U.S. should recognize that "there is a bottom line with every issue, and a price will be paid if that line is crossed."

"If the United States, regardless of the cost, chooses the path of 'brinkmanship' that pressures and intimidates others, there will be only one result, that is, that the U.S. bears all the responsibility for possibly further heightening tensions in the South China Sea," the editorial said.

"China has a solid-rock position over safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. It will not want anything that does not belong to it, but it will ensure that every inch of land it owns is safe and sound," the paper wrote.

The newspaper has previously accused Washington of seeking to turn the South China Sea "into a powder keg" and warned it not to underestimate China's determination to defend its territorial claims.

China on Tuesday also started holding seven days of military drills around disputed islands in the sea.
Military authorities will install about a dozen more propaganda sound systems on the border with North Korea to increase pressure on the regime.

"We're going to double the numbers of loudspeakers in the demilitarized zone in response to the continued nuclear and missile threats from North Korea," a government source said Wednesday.

Currently, sound systems are set up at 11 locations along the frontline and five to six loudspeaker vehicles ply the roads.


The estranged husband of Samsung heiress Lee Boo-jin is suing her for a W1.2 trillion share of her assets (US$1=W1,165).

According to legal sources on Wednesday, Im Woo-jae, now relegated to an adviser at the minor subsidiary Samsung Electro-Mechanics, also filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Family Court seeking a divorce and alimony of W10 million.

In January a court accepted a divorce claim filed by his wife and awarded her custody of their son, who is in elementary school. Im was given visitation rights once a month but appealed ruling.

Under the Korean law, a spouse who seeks wealth division is required to file a divorce petition as well.

The W1.2 trillion Im is seeking marks a record marital asset claim in Korea. Im's lawyer said Lee's total assets are estimated at around W2.5 trillion. According to conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com, her stock holdings alone were worth W1.72 trillion as of June.

Im has long insisted that he does not want a divorce and is not interested in her money. But legal sources projected that he would eventually seek a share of her assets.

Asked about the reason for the U-turn, Im's lawyer said, "There was a major change of heart, but I can't go into details right now." Legal sources believe that the prosaic cause was new rules on asset division cases that became effective on July 1.

Until then the processing fee for asset-division lawsuits between divorcing couples was a flat rate of W10,000. But now it increases in proportion to the amount being sought. In other words Im would have to pay W2.1 billion in processing fees if he seeks W1.2 trillion in property.

Instead he filed his lawsuit at the end of June just before the new regulations kicked in.

The final decision will depend on how Lee accumulated her wealth and what role her ex-husband played in amassing the fortune, though it may be difficult to apply conventional standards to a man who was carefully groomed as the son-in-law to the Samsung chairman.


Two Bethlehem men were arrested Wednesday night after a traffic stop led to the discovery of heroin and fentanyl in their car, city police said.

During the stop in the 1200 Block of Stefko Boulevard, Officer Emily Falko saw a joint and several syringes in plain view in the vehicle.

Police searched the car and found five bags of heroin, a bag of loose heroin, approximately four grams of fentanyl, and numerous drug paraphernalia including a scale, rubber bands, small baggies and cotton balls, as well as $1,140 in cash.

The driver, Jonathan LaSalle, 24, of the 3600 block of Linden Street, is charged with possession of heroin and fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver heroin and fentanyl, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a prohibited offense weapon related to an expandable baton, and several traffic violations.

LaSalle was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail.

The passenger, Roddley Watson, 38, of the 1000 block of East Fourth Street, is charged with possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and receiving stolen property related to a stolen credit card found in the vehicle. Watson was released and will be cited via a mailed summons, police said.

Fentanyl is mixed with heroin to increase its potency, Chief Mark DiLuzio said in a news release, and has been the cause of numerous heroin overdoses deaths in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.

DiLuzio urged anyone with information on drug activity or any other crime, to contact the Bethlehem Police Department Tip Line at 610-691-6660 or the Bethlehem Police Department 911 Center's non-emergency line at 610-865-7187.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Northampton County judge declared a mistrial after a New Jersey man charged with driving into two police officers failed to show up for court a second day in a row.

Jhamaer Keyes, 29, of Winslow Township, went to the emergency room at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees, New Jersey, on Wednesday with heart failure.

Jhamaer Keyes

Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano thinks he's faking the condition to stall the trial and ordered him to appear Thursday morning.

When he failed to appear again, his attorney, Anthony Rybak, asked for the mistrial rather than proceed with the trial without Keyes.

"I didn't think it would be fair to try it without him being there," Rybak said.

Giordano ordered Rybak to obtain a letter from Keyes' doctor verifying his condition. The judge set a hearing for 9 a.m. Tuesday to determine how to proceed.

Rybak said he spoke to Keyes' aunt Thursday, who verified he's still receiving medical treatment. But Rybak has not been able to speak with Keyes.

Keyes is accused of pinning a police officer between his car and a police car and running over another officer's foot during a drug sting on Sept. 28 at the Value Place hotel in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania.

Keyes allegedly went to conduct a drug deal, but when he realized he had been set up by police he quickly put his rental car into reverse, then sped forward, pinning Bethlehem Township police Officer Dean Wilson between his car and an unmarked police car, authorities said.

Officer Ed Fox fired shots at Keyes' back tire to try to minimize Wilson's injuries. Keyes allegedly rammed the car backward and forward until he could squeeze through and drive away. Fox suffered an injured foot and Wilson injured his arm.

Keyes recklessly drove away and reached 120 mph on Route 22 before he got away, according to police.

Keyes is charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, five counts of reckless endangerment, and single counts of criminal mischief and fleeing police.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
Gerald Achey of Bethlehem had a way of grabbing the attention of total strangers in his travels, family and friends recalled Thursday.

Anjie Kulp of Bethlehem met Achey, 27, more than a decade ago at Musikfest. Achey, who religiously attended every day of the 10-day festival annually, walked up to her, chatted about his interests and the pair became inseparable.

"He had a real caring personality; he was like the big brother I never had," said Kulp, who is five years younger than Achey. "He was basically that 'go to' guy whenever you needed advice."

Brina Achey of California, Gerald's youngest sister, often would do just that.

"I could talk to him about anything," she said. "Gerald set people free. To me, he was my crazy brother who did all this crazy stuff, but to others in need, he helped change their lives. He knew how to set those who were troubled free."

In recent weeks, the pair chatted about Gerald's plan to ride his motorcycle through the mid-west and meet with Brina in California. They then planned to get back on his bike and ride the coast.

Kulp had just been on a ride with Achey in recent weeks, leaving behind the helmet he lent her at her house. Neither knew Wednesday evening would become Achey's final ride doing what he enjoyed most.

At 7:25 p.m., state police said a pickup truck partially drove into the oncoming lane of Brookside Road in Lower Macungie Township while rounding a curve and struck Achey's motorcycle. The pickup was being driven by a 32-year-old Lansdale man.

Achey was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lehigh County Coroner's Office. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

Sierra Marcelino, 20, Achey's best friend, was riding with him and was injured when she hit debris from the crash and her motorcycle slid into a guard rail, Brina Achey said. Marcelino remains hospitalized, but has been keeping in touch with the family, Brina Achey said.

Achey was the father of a 6-year-old daughter, Ava.

He was a doting father to his little girl, Brina Achey said.

"Ava was his whole life, his life trajectory completely changed when she was born," Brina Achey said. "Everything was about Ava."

Achey leaves behind his parents, mother Karen Henriksen and stepfather Wilbert Rufe of Bath; and Father Gerald Achey Sr. and stepmother Judith Morgan of Bethlehem. He had been living with his grandmother, Judith Achey.

He is also survived by his siblings Hannah Mattos of Hellertown; Jeremy Achey of Bethlehem; Josiah Achey of Hellertown; David Dzienis of Ohio; Nicholas Dzienis of Maine; and Brina.

Services are pending.

Loyal friend

Andrew Wyffels of Bethlehem Township recalled meeting Achey at Musikfest more than a decade ago.

A prankster, Achey ran up to Wyffels -- a stranger at the time -- with yellow police tape wrapped around his body. Achey might have been the guy a stranger would just shake their head at and keep walking, but Wyffels said he saw something different in him.

"He just came bouncing up -- like a total jokester," Wyffels said. "It was oddly appropriate given the sort of person he was."

The pair eventually chatted and exchanged contact information. Wyffels said they remained in contact because Achey was loyal, constantly hitting him up just to hang out and was interested in maintaining friendships.

"There was this loyalty among his friends -- he held himself and other people to that standard," Wyffels said. "He definitely was consistent in his moral outlook."

In his free time, Achey enjoyed riding his motorcycle and was a member of the Facebook motorcycle riding group page, "We meet at Sheetz to Ride." He had plans to stop by Sheetz the day he died, according to a posting on the Facebook page.

Sarah Clement, of Bethlehem, also met Achey at Musikfest, saying he was easy to talk to and they, like the many others, became fast friends. He was someone to lean on, she said, noting he once walked her home when she missed the bus.

"It just started down pouring rain on us," she said. "We went under an overpass to wait until the rain died down and we just started singing random songs."

'Magical person'

Brina and Gerald were very close as siblings, Brina Achey said.

They looked like identical twins, shared a bedroom and often completed each others thoughts. When they wanted to fool other family members, they switched clothes and could pass as the other, Brina recalled.

"He was just a magical person," she said.

Achey attended Freedom High School and most recently was employed with Salukas & White in construction. He had been helping his grandmother renovate her home, Brina Achey said.

Henriksen, who called her son by the nickname, "Yoop Yoop," said he would always do things to cheer his mother up. It wasn't uncommon when she was having a bad day to find a watermelon in the microwave oven, she said.

Thursdays were "mother-son days," in which Achey put aside time to catch up and watch television with Henriksen.

"Gerald was just the best kid," she said. "And our lives are never going to be the same."

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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National health bosses have said they are to stop surgery for children born with heart defects at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital.

They say it is unlikely that the hospital will be able to meet new standards and it intends to stop paying for the services.

In a letter to John Adler, the chief executive of Leicester's hospitals, the regional director of specialised commissioning for the London region, Will Huxter, said: "We are taking these steps because we believe that they are in the best interests of patients with congenital heart disease and their families, including those yet to be diagnosed, who will need these services in the future.

"We believe that by ensuring that all patients across the country are able to benefit from services that meet agreed national standards the quality of care they receive will be improved."

Mr Adler has responded by saying he believes the decision is "wrong."

In a series of staff briefings he said that the trust "will not sit by while they (NHS England) destroy our fabulous service."

He said that one of the standards cited by NHS England was that Leicester's hospitals were unlikely to meet was each surgeon carrying out 375 operations a year

Mr Adler added: "Over the last 18 months we have made excellent progress, with the support of our charities and partner organisations, to meet the standards set by NHS England through the new congenital heart disease review.

"We have expanded the number of beds, improved our outcomes, invested in staffing and briefed architects to create a new single site children's hospital which will meet the co-location standard.

"We are confident that our clinical outcomes are now among the best in the country so we strongly disagree with NHS England's decision."

The first Mr Adler knew about the NHS England decision was in a letter from Mr Huxter dated June 30 and giving him until July 5 to respond on "factual accuracy."

The future of the pioneering Ecmo - extra corporeal membrane oxygenation - treatment is also likely to be affected.

Campaigners have vowed to fight the decision and it has caused anger among city and county councillors.

Leicester West MP Liz Kendall said she was furious about the decision.

She said: "The children's heart surgery unit at Glenfield provides a superb service to families throughout the East Midlands.

"Decisions must be based on what's best for children and the latest evidence on clinical outcomes shows that the East Midlands Congenital Heart Centre is one of the best performing surgical centres in England.

"Closing the unit would also compromise our paediatric intensive care unit, with a knock on effect on other vital children's services in Leicester, and put at risk our world leading ECMO service which is the largest in the country, with the only national patient transport service.

"Ensuring children get the very best quality of care is my absolute priority and I will work with the local community, clinicians and other MPs to fight this decision.

"I am today writing to the Secretary of State for Health to set out my opposition to its closure and request an urgent meeting.

"We successfully fought to save the heart unit in 2013 and we will now fight to save it again."
The first comprehensive history of Irelands most important military base was launched at the Curragh Camp recently.

Publishers, Newbridge based Merrion Press reported a huge crowd of well-wishers, army personnel, historians, friends and family gathered in the Ceannt Officers Mess for the launch of Soldiers of the Short Grass - A History of the Curragh Camp by Dan Harvey, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Irish Defence Forces.

The book was launched by author and columnist Kevin Myers who praised author Dan Harvey for his terrific scholarship stating, he has so many arrows to his bow.

Publisher Conor Graham, said this book adds to a suite of Kildare/military titles he has published, which also include In A Time of War: Kildare 1914-1918, and Kildare Barracks: From the Royal Field Artillery to the Irish Artillery Corps.

Spotted amongst the assembled guests were local author James Durney  whose latest book The 100 Kilo Case has been in the top 10 for several weeks, Mayor of Kildare Cllr Brendan Weld; Reggie Darling, Chair of the Curragh Historical Group; photographer Oliver McCrossan (many of whose photographs feature in the book), as well Brigadier General Joe Wilson

Author Dan Harvey who has since departed overseas was delighted with the evening and spoke about how this first complete history of the Curragh Camp demonstrated how vitally and inextricably entangled the military heritage of the Curragh is with that of the Irish Defence Forces and indeed with the story of Ireland overall. The book is available from all good bookshops including, Barker and Jones in Naas and Farrell & Nephew in Newbridge.
The two Kildare Chamber of Commerce bodies have taken steps to reassure local businesses after the fallout of the Brexit vote.

Speaking after the recent UK vote to leave the EU, North Kildare Chamber CEO Allan Shine said the announcement has huge ramifications for Kildare businesses. Our offices have been inundated with queries in relation to What happens next?. The uncertainty has made business very nervous.

In response, the North Kildare Chamber has organised a briefing with EU public affairs consultant and former Renua TD Lucinda Creighton on July 13 at the Osprey Hotel at 7.30am. This briefing is essential for businesses to attend. Over the next few weeks, we expect to have a clearer understanding as to what the implications will be for business, he said.

Titled Steering your business through unchartered Brexit waters, the Brexit Breakfast talk will hear from Ms Creighton, who is a barrister, former Minister for European Affairs and now practices as an EU public affairs consultant.

While this is not the result that we believe is in the long-term interests of the Irish economy, the UK will continue to be a key partner for Ireland into the future. We are now entering entirely uncharted waters and there will be a period of uncertainty with numerous regulatory and financial risks for business.

He said a clear framework for a UK exit must be agreed and put in place that minimises disruption and enables businesses to plan for the new reality.

Meanwhile, President of Kildare South Chamber, Sean Dunne, said local businesses had discussed the possible ramifications of Brexit at a special meeting with the Ambassador of Britain recently.

He advised people not to panic and that typically in these situations the markets often overreact. I believe things will settle down, he said.

He said the UK would join other countries like Norway and Iceland, who have trade agreements with the EU and Ireland would continue to trade with Britain as it always has done.

He acknowledged that equities were down 20%. Mr Dunne said many exporters would have guarded against the drop in value of currency, but if it did not rectify itself in the coming weeks and months, they may face difficulties.
A man accused of plotting with others to steal cash from a cash-in-transit van in Celbridge will say he was under duress at the time of the attempted robbery.

A man accused of plotting with others to steal cash from a cash-in-transit van in Celbridge will say he was under duress at the time of the attempted robbery.

Joseph Warren (30) of Belclare Crescent, Ballymun is accused of conspiring with criminal elements including Alan and Wayne Bradley and the late Eamonn Dunne.

Deirdre Murphy SC, opening the prosecutions case against Mr. Warren, told the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that they would hear evidence that in 2007 these criminal elements began watching the Chubb security company cash depot in Sandyford, Dublin.

She said that they would be told that a Chubb employee, Daryl Caffrey, was acting as an inside man and giving the men information about cash delivery routes.

In early Autumn 2007 he gave the men the registration numbers of four Chubb jeeps, she said, and that Alan Bradley used these to obtain key codes that would open the jeeps.

She said on the morning of November 02, 2011 Warren, Michael Chino Ryan, Jeffrey Morrow, Dunne and Alan and Wayne Bradley gathered in four vehicles.

The vehicles travelled to near the Chubb Ireland headquarters and from there followed a cash-in-transit van, a Nissan Patrol loaded with 1.25 million, to Celbridge.

The van made its first delivery of 70,000 at the Applegreen Service station on the N4 before arriving at Tesco in Celbridge at around 10am.

She said they would be told that after the driver got out to deliver the cash Mr Warren and Mr Ryan approached the van. She said the evidence would be that Mr Ryan had keys for the jeep and Mr Warren had a con saw  a powerful saw which can cut through metal  running.

She said that the keys Mr Ryan had were for four Nissan Patrol jeeps but not the one they were trying to open in Celbridge. Mr Ryan tried a number of times to open the van but failed and the pair withdrew.

Gardai moved in and all six men were arrested. She said that gardai seized a walkie talkie which Mr Warren had on him, the set of keys, white boiler suits and six mobile phones.

Ms Murphy said that Mr Warren made a number of formal admissions. He admitted he was there with the others, that he was lawfully arrested and that all exhibits were lawfully seized.

She said: Mr Warren is seeking to raise a defence of duress where he says, I was there, but I wasnt there willingly.

She said it is the States case that Mr Warren was not a victim but was a player and that he associated voluntarily with Eamonn Dunne.

She told the jury that Dunne was shot dead in the Faussaugh House pub in April 2010 and that Mr Warren may say that he was threatened by Dunne.

Mr Warren has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with others between January 1 and November 11, 2007 to steal cash from Chubb Ireland at Tesco supermarket on the Shackleton Road in Celbridge on Nov 2, 2007.

The trial continues before Judge Patrick McCartan and a jury of seven men and five women. It is due to last for four weeks.
Despite the current weather being anything but good for winning turf, locals will be happy to hear turfcutting is set to return to three Leitrim bogs from 2017.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys announced that drafting of legislation has been approved as a matter of priority for the de-designation of 39 raised bog Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) and the part de-designation of 7 raised bog NHAs.

Cloonageeher Bog on the Leitrim-Longford border and Corracramph Bog are on the list of the priority raised bogs to be de-designated NHAs. Rinn River bog, also on the Leitrim-Longford border, will be part de-designated next year if the legislation goes though.

There are currently 75 raised bogs with legal protection, covering roughly 23,000 hectares and a further 73 blanket bogs are also designated as National Heritage Areas.

The Minister will now submit the General Scheme of the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht for pre-legislative scrutiny.

The publication of the legislation is identified as a 100 Day Action in the Programme for a Partnership Government.

Minister Humphreys said, This legislation is an important step forward in terms of securing a long term resolution for turf cutters. The legislation will implement the recommendations of the Review of Raised Bog Natural Heritage Area Network, which was approved by Government in 2014.

It concluded that Ireland could more effectively conserve threatened raised bog habitats through focused protection and restoration of a reconfigured network, she added.

It is expected the legislation, having gone through the necessary Dail procedures should be voted upon by the end of this Dail term or make it to the top of the list for the Autumn sitting.

So potentially by the end of this year, turf cutting will be permitted once more on three bogs in Leitrim where it was previously outlawed.
In the press and broadcast media so far there has been conflicting information from Conservative leadership candidates, Labour and UKIP about the future of the Freedom of Movement of EU citizens if and when we leave the EU; the status of EU Nationals already here in the UK and UK citizens already living and working in other Member States. The latter is open to interpretation as so far it would appear to address the individual works and lives in one single Member State.

One group of people appearing to be forgotten are the Cross-Border Workers.

No-one as yet has mentioned those who are employed by one Member States company and after tour of duty returns to live in the family home in the UK.

This raises some questions:

Are actual figures available knowing how many Cross-Border workers there are with connections to the UK either by living in the UK and working in another Member State or vice-versa?

Will the British Government make provision for Cross-Border workers in the negotiations as a separate issue if we fail to have reasonable access back into the European Single Market?

Will current Double Taxation Agreements remain in place or will they have to be re-negotiated with Member States?

The Referendum result has placed the UK in unchartered waters in an unprecedented period in British history. Anyone who has taken advantage of the European Single Market should not be penailized for where they choose to work or choose to live because 52% of the country wants to the country to withdraw from the European Union. One feels there should be a red line as a minimum standard on both sides of the negotiating teams which protects everyones residency and workplace status as at June 23rd, 2016.

* Scott Kennedy-Lount is Treasurer of Leicester City Liberal Democrats
Sheffield Full Council yesterday was met with a large pro-EU rally with speakers from all parties and other groups, including Sheffield Lib Dem group leader Shaffaq Mohammed.

The debate continued in the chamber, on item 10, which was moved up the agenda in response to the demo. Sheffield is one of those councils that has this kind of debate quite regularly in full council, the business of running a council being decided in cabinet. Whether this is a good use of everyones time is questionable, but it is how we do things.

I think it is fair to say that the Labour and Greens in their amendments and their speeches inside and outside the town hall, were more accepting of the result, and less enthusiastic about fighting on than the Lib Dem position. This is understandable  Labour in particular, creaking in their heartlands, are desperate to reconnect with people voting on the issue of immigration above all else. Though they have been saying we must reconnect for years and havent yet worked out how to do it.

I believe that an immediate rerun is not justified, but as the leave campaign existed in three incompatible versions and promised as they see it all the benefits of EU membership with none of the costs, it is justified to put an actual exit package back to the voters, when such a thing exists.

Clearly the Tories do not have a plan for how to approach article 50 negotiations, and I suspect even a new leader may take many months to develop this plan. Labour, at the moment could not agree the best way out of a wet paper bag. With government and opposition in disarray, everyone else needs to clearly put their demands for their priorities for the Article 50 negotiations. Access to the single market for manufactures is more important to Sheffield than the passporting of financial services. Participation in EU science programmes is also of enormous value to our universities. And lets not forget regional regeneration funding, though that is a harder ask to sustain when most of the net recipients voted to leave.

Other regions, nations, industries, farmers and fishermen need also to make their demands loud and clear. When government doesnt know what to do is the best time to influence it. My view is that once we add up all the benefits of EU membership we want to retain, continued membership might just suddenly seem a much better idea.

But wait, I am forgetting. Somebody must have a plan. What about UKIP  the party whose entire existence has been leading up to this point? They must know what to do next. I refer to clause (i) of the UKIP amemdment (which should be on the web link above before long):

believes that this rudderless Government and the weak Opposition, along with all political parties, should now pull together to develop a smooth process for Brexit and instigate Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon when it considers it is the right time to do so, thereby commencing the two year exit period;

Not only do UKIP not know how they want to go about implementing their one single central policy, they want a parliament, largely of remainers, to come together and agree when it should happen, which may not be for some considerable time.

I am gobsmacked. If even UKIP have got cold feet on Brexit, it is time for the country to think again.

I leave you with new member, Madeleina Kay and Im sorry we left EU.



* Joe Otten was the candidate for Sheffield Heeley in June 2017 and Doncaster North in December 2019 and is a councillor in Sheffield.
Jim Wallace delivered this speech in the House of Lords on Tuesday. We thought readers might wish to read it in full.

My Lords, as I expressed during our discussions last week, I was devastated by the result of the referendum. I, along with many Noble Friends and many Liberal Democrats, have a profound and deep-rooted commitment to partnership with our European neighbours. Internationalism is in our very DNA. Our commitment is not to an institution in a particular form; rather it is a commitment to the beliefs and ideals of the wider European undertaking of a peaceful, prosperous and united Europe, kindling a spirit of reconciliation and mutual cooperation among members.

This is something that I and many Noble Friends have striven for our entire political lives. So the result of the referendum last week is felt very personally on these benches.

We cannot be expected to give up core beliefs  nor will we. We believe that Britain should be an outward looking country which can thrive, innovate and lead in an open, global economy. A country which works with those who share our values to overcome our common adversaries and sees the future benefits of close relations with our neighbours and natural partners, investing in each others economies and sharing in prosperity so that Britain can be even greater than it is now. The cry to Take Back Our Country is not one to which I would subscribe, because I do not believe that I ever lost my country. Reflecting the words of my much-missed friend Charles Kennedy, I too have multiple identities  Scottish, British and European.

My Lords, I am also a democrat. And so I accept and respect the result of the referendum, even if I am saddened by it. I also approach the result with some humility, as I know that I have to accept my fair share of the responsibility not just for the result of the referendum, but for the collective failure of politicians, institutions and the media to make the positive case for the EU and the benefits that it brings to this country.

The referendum should give everyone in public life pause for thought. Too often the European Union was used as a distraction from failures in government. As my Hon. Friend the Member for Westmoreland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron, has said, the vote was a collective howl of frustration at the political class, at big business, and at the global elite.

My very deep concern, my Lords, is that as we go forwards there is likely to be more dissatisfaction, and more frustration, as people realise that much of what they have been promised will not be possible. The sad reality is that the alternatives offered by the Leave campaign will do nothing to help those in Englands poorer regions, not least because the Leave campaign offered very contradictory positions of what life outside the European Union will be like.

This, my Lords, poses very fundamental questions for liberal democracy and to parliamentary democracy, which is based on attention to evidence, reasoned debate, willingness to compromise and tolerance. Politics involves and endless conversation in which we learn about other people and see things from their point of view, trying to balance their needs against our own. You recognise the existence of different groups, interests and opinions and try to balance or reconcile those interests. As Bernard Crick wrote in his book, In Defence of Politics:

Politics is a way of ruling divided societies without undue violence.

Yet we have seen some very troubling and violent scenes since 23rd June. We have seen that anger and frustration be translated into some very nasty incidents of racism and xenophobia. Scores of racist encounters have been documented online. Over the course of the weekend following the vote, the National Police Chiefs Council revealed that hate crimes reported to the police had risen 57% compared to the corresponding days four weeks previously.

The Brexit votes seems to have legitimised the prejudice of some people to the point where they are targeting people who are visibly different. Of course its a small minority who perpetrate such outrages, but to the victims, the impact is 100%, and to the communities from which the victims come, the fear is all too real. My Lords, this is completely unacceptable. It must stop. This is not my Britain.

My Lords, I believe that there are many layers and facets to why so many people voted to leave the European Union. The vote was symbolic of a rejection of British multiculturalism; of concerns about pressures on our schools, hospitals and GP surgeries; the housing crisis; the banking crisis; insecurities about employment and the decline of traditional industries.

For me, my Lords, the answers to these questions, are both domestic and international. There is much than can be done in Westminster, and there is much that could have been done standing shoulder to shoulder with our European neighbours. And if those that led the campaign to leave the EU have answers, we need to hear them now.

Do they want to be in the single market or not? What level, if any, of freedom of movement do they wish to see?? How will they retain the Citys passported access to European financial markets? Which taxes will go up and what spending will go down?

How will they secure a bright future for our children and young people? One of the defining features of the reaction to the referendum outcome has been the utter dismay and even anger of young people, who believe that they have been deprived of the opportunities and freedoms which our post-war generation came to take for granted. Whichever side of the referendum divide we were on, we owe it to our young people to keep alive hope and establish co-operative links which will provide opportunity.

My Lords, there is a host of unanswered questions and during this debate, a number of my noble friends will want to pose a number of them from their particular areas of expertise. I hope the Noble Lady, the Minister, will take this in the spirit that it is intended  some constructive suggestions to feed into the work of the unit that is being led by the Rt. Hon. Member for West Dorset, Mr Letwin.

For my part, my Lords, I would like to concentrate on some further constitutional questions, in particular the role of Parliament and of your Lordships House.

Last week I asked about the process for triggering Article 50. I still await an answer.

Article 50 states:

Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

However, there is currently very little clarity as to what the UKs constitutional requirements are in this regard. Will this be done by the Prime Minister acting alone, using Royal Prerogative powers? Will there be consultation with Parliament, or a debate and vote in both Houses? Does the Prime Minister need the consent of Parliament to act? Should there be legislation? There has been much debate and discussion as to how Article 50 might be triggered, but there is no legal certainty.

My Lords, whilst I can see that there is a case for leaving to the new Prime Minister, the issue of when to trigger Article 50, this administration must surely have a view as to how it should be triggered. It would be of benefit to Parliament and the country for the position to be clarified as soon as possible.

Secondly, my Lords, what will be the role of Parliament in carrying out its scrutiny functions and its important constitutional duty in holding the Government to account during the process of negotiation with the other EU member states? What part can be played by the European Union Select Committee of this House, and by the European Scrutiny Committee in the Other Place? It would be extremely helpful to have an indication of the principles which will underpin parliamentary scrutiny of this process.

And how will the Government involve Parliament in deciding which laws and regulations that have derived from Europe we will keep and which we will replace? Once these decisions have been made clearly much legislation will be needed to give effect to this process. Can the Noble Lady, the Minister, confirm that Parliament will retain its important scrutiny function in this regard?

There are of course wider constitutional implications following the result of the referendum. Scotland and Northern Ireland both voted strongly to remain in the EU. How will the Government consult with the Scottish Parliament  not just the Government  to ensure that the needs of Scotland are properly reflected in the negotiations? Will Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Government officials be seconded to take part in the work of the special Cabinet Office unit?

As I said, I do not expect the Noble Lady, the Minister to respond to all of these questions today, nor do my Noble Friends. However, I would welcome a commitment from the Noble Lady, Baroness Anelay, that the unit under Mr. Letwin will give the most fulsome consideration to the issues that we on these benches are raising today, and that she will return to this House, on a periodic basis, to ensure that we are kept well-informed on the progress of negotiations and that the Government will make good use of the expertise in this House going forwards.

But in the meantime, my Lords, I am concerned at what seems to be the abdication of responsibility by the Government in relation to a number of matters. Its only the sixth sitting day since the referendum, but already we are tiring of the expression,

The Prime Minister has been clear that decisions on issues relating to the UKs exit will be for a new Prime Minister. I am therefore not in a position to make new policy announcements in this area.

But on one issue, in particular, this administration can take a lead and state unequivocally the EU nationals settled in this country can continue to stay. The case for such an unequivocal commitment was eloquently made by the noble lord, Lord Dobbs yesterday.

What kind of morality would make bargaining chips of the lives and livelihoods of people legally and responsibly settled here, their families, their livelihoods, their hopes? My Lords, its not even as if it is a practical bargaining position. A government which cant even manage to deport foreign criminals with no right to remain, is not credibly going to be able to deport up to three million EU citizens. In its dying days, surely the Prime Minister and his Ministers can show some moral fibre and pull something honourable, decent and fair out of the wreckage of his government?

Nor do we need to await negotiations with 27 other EU countries to start tackling some of the real divisions that we are seeing in our country. Progressives can come together, now, to work to heal our fractured country. We can come together, to fight for a common cause  a better future for all the people of the UK.

There is so much more that unites us than divides us. We cannot let this unity fade away.

* Jim Wallace is leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords and was Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999-2005.
David Rendel at the 2003 London march against the Iraq war. David described voting against the Iraq invasion, in the House of Commons, as his proudest moment.

Last Monday, a memorial event was held for former Liberal Democrat MP, David Rendel. This was at the Corn Exchange theatre in Newbury. Family, friends, colleagues and former constituents of David filled the hall to overflowing.

The tributes started with a film of Davids life put together by Rachael Clarke, Deputy head of policy of the Liberal Democrats. This film included video footage and photos from Davids political and family life.

One piece of film, which I had not previously seen in full, was of the 1974 Oxford versus Cambridge Boat Race when David rowed at number three in the Oxford team, which beat Cambridge by 5.5 lengths and set the new time record for the race. It is an extraordinary piece of film, because it shows that Oxford were ahead of Cambridge from the very first stroke!

The event included tributes which reflected the different sides of Davids life  family, working in Newbury, at Westminster and as a friend.

During the tribute from Davids eldest brother, Robert, we heard that David was extremely competitive in rowing. He dramatically improved the rowing performance of his college, Magdalen. When new students arrived, he would be at their door within 30 minutes, asking if they wanted to join the college rowing club, lest they be snapped up by any of the other clubs.

And this competitive streak showed in Davids politics later. We heard how he was very determined in signing up new members, how he would always encourage members to canvass a few more streets as the sky drew dark.

We heard that the most frequent word used to describe David was courteous. Indeed, I think David was the politest person I have ever met. We heard about Davids gentleness, his caring nature and his huge capacity for hard work. The speakers told of Davids impeccable honesty and integrity, his immense commitment to helping others, his leadership of campaigns to build the Newbury by-pass, rescue and refurbish the building we were in, the Corn Exchange, re-open Greenham and Crookham Commons to the public and establish a new hospital for West Berkshire.

Don Foster, now Lord Foster, who worked alongside David in parliament, told how David championed a myriad of causes with huge tenacity. As Higher and Further Education spokesman for the party, for example, he endlessly asked questions and made speeches about visas for foreign students.

In his tribute, Portsmouth Liberal Democrat leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who was Davids agent for numerous years, said:

I sometimes wonder if David really was right for our time in politics or whether he would have been happier in an earlier and nicer time, but his honesty and integrity shone through. Politics, Newbury and the Lib Dems have all lost a man of great kindness, great humanity and great presence.

The event included some magical choral singing including one of Davids three sons, John.

Former Newbury Liberal Democrat agent, Chris Day, was asked by Davids family to read out part of the Preamble to the Constitution of the Liberal Democrats. I think that brought moistness to the eyes of many present.

Afterwards there was time in the Corn Exchange function room for old friends of David to share memories of him, surrounded by memorabilia from past elections and his life.

This was a splendid and moving tribute to a wonderful man, who will be greatly missed.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
What is a liberal? Its a question that we need to answer, and answer now.

The public have known for some time, or thought that theyve known, what the Conservatives and Labour are. For years these parties fitted nicely in to easily defined boxes, but thats changing. Are Labour the Corbynite members on the left? Or the more centrist, so-called Blairites that hold the PLP? And in the Tories, is it the moderate pro-European majority, or the Eurosceptic, UKIP-flirting right?

My great grandfather was a prominent Communist Party member in his community, who went to Spain to train the Republican navy against Francos Fascists. Socialism runs deep in my family, and for a number of years I was a Labour Party member, of a similar mind to those who now take to the streets to defend a vision of socialist activism embodied by Corbyn and McDonnell. But something has changed in our country, and many of us have changed with it.

I draw upon my great grandfathers experience as I reach the age that he was when he travelled to a divided Spain. He went with ideological certainty on his side, determined to join his international and Spanish comrades in a glorious struggle for the people against the extreme right. Alongside him in Spain were such illustrious figures as George Orwell, who famously imagined a dystopian vision of Britain where those in power operated with the doctrine of a boot stamping on a human face, for ever. His cause was righteous and noble, but before his eyes he saw it fall apart.

He learned that in factions on the extreme right any division in policy are ultimately stamped from debate, and on the extreme left differences in opinion result in collapse, until those differences are likewise brought to a close by threat. By the end of the Spanish Civil War, Republican factions fought each other on the streets of Barcelona and Madrid. The Fascists won, and readied their boots.

If he were alive today Im certain that my great grandfather would take a look at the factional Labour Party, and then at the rise of the right which ultimately led to the harnessing of fears in the EU referendum campaign, and he would see history repeating itself again.

In such a period of division and uncertainty among the electorate we need a new voice. A strong voice, firm in its determinations and its message. In an age of hard left and right, with all the ideological in-fighting that non-negotiable extremes tend to foster, that voice needs to be open, inclusive and honest. It needs to be heartfelt, passionate and inspiring. It must be liberal, and it must be vocal.

Please do not shy from speaking up. The fate of our country and the legacy of those that built it must be defended from extremity and disaster. Tell your friends, your MPs, the press and the wider public what it means to be a liberal. Educate them on the values that liberals stand for. Speak loudly and proudly for the rejection of past mistakes, and for tolerance, common sense and honesty. Cut through the chaos and division of competing factions within government and its opposition, and fill the void with the progressive message of the Liberal Democrats.
Its not often we put health warnings on posts, but we do need to today. Its not the post thats the problem, its more the programme were suggesting you watch. Last nights Question Time had one of its most habitually annoying contributors, David Starkey and if you watch it here on BBC iPlayer, he will make you very cross indeed.

I was quite amazed that I managed to get through the whole hour without either wine or even swearing out loud, even though the historian did everything he possibly could to live down to his reputation and beyond. His personal nadir was when he was trying to make out that children could have some responsibility for their own sexual assaults. And calling Mehdi Hasan Ahmed wasnt much better.

I wouldnt have bothered watching, to be honest, if Sal Brinton hadnt been on. How would the new Lib Dem President fare on her first major public outing in the role. Actually, she did very well, giving by far the best, most compassionate, human answer to the question about the 44 year old teacher whose suspended sentence for having sex with his pupil has caused so much annoyance after the judge suggested the girl groomed this married man nearly 3 times her age.

Sal wondered what it must be like for her to hear the sorts of things being said about her and hoped that she was getting the sort of support she needed.

She was good on the web snooping stuff, saying that the Snoopers Charter that the Tories are so keen on was a step too far and a real infringement of personal liberty.

There was a bit of a cringeworthy moment when Labours Douglas Alexander started talking about the importance of civil liberties. That would be the same Labour that was so desperate to make insulting religion an actual offence.

There was also Mehdi Hasan and the farting. That was pretty clever.

So do watch  and we are being spoiled because Tim Farron is on next week. Quite often you will find that there is no Liberal Democrat on the panel in weeks where we have a unique perspective, so it was great to have Sal there fighting our corner on free speech and civil liberties.

You might also want to know that Norman Baker is on Any Questions tonight at 8 pm and Nick Clegg is on Andrew Marr on Sunday morning.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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MORE than 4,500 patients are waiting excessive times for scans at University Hospital Limerick, according to new figures released at a recent HSE regional health forum meeting.

Statistics, released by the UL Hospitals Group, at a HSE West regional health forum in June, show that there were 3,082 patients waiting for MRI scans, 1,142 patients waiting for ultrasound scans, and 502 waiting for a CT scan.

In response to the figures, which were requested by Sinn Fein councillor Malachy McCreesh, UL Hospitals Group stated that it expresses regret that patients have to wait excessive times to access an MRI and ultrasound scans.

Both services are working to full capacity using existing resources and patients are prioritised clinically with the highest priority given to acute inpatients. As above, work is ongoing to implement a range of service improvements initiatives in order to reduce the wait time.

Approximately 3,500 MRIs are performed at UHL every year, which typically take 20 to 40 minutes per patient. A spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group stated that, to address the waiting list, UHL has gone to tender within the private sector to clear the MRI outpatient waiting lists.

The figures show that there were close to 2,500 patients waiting for scans for more than a year.

Cllr McCreesh, who represents the Limerick City West district, described the waiting times as disgraceful.

Cllr McCreesh, who represents the Limerick City West district, described the waiting times as disgraceful, and said that the Government should never have allowed it to get to this stage in the first place.

It is not acceptable that patients do not have immediate access to diagnostic analysis in order to determine clinical need. The requirement for UHL to tender within the private sector to clear the MRI outpatient waiting lists is a confirmed admission that adequate investment has not been provided to support this public hospital.
A DRUNK motorist drove 28 kilometres on the wrong side of the M7, hitting 130km/h at one stage, Nenagh District Court was told.

Kenyan national Sidney Zangat, with an address at 603 Windmill Apts, Dock Road, Limerick, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, drink driving and driving without insurance on November 30, 2105.

Judge Elizabeth MacGrath was told that Mr Zangat drove up to the Limerick Tunnel where he did a u-turn and then drove back on the southbound carriage in the wrong direction.

Gardai with their blue light flashing attempted to get Mr Zangat to stop, but he wouldn't.

A garda patrol car followed him on the opposite side of the meridian, hitting 130km/h at one stage in the pursuit.

The defendant eventually pulled into a truck lay-by at Newport at 5.35am where the Gardai arrested him on suspicion of drink driving.

A subsequent reading showed Mr Zangat had 158mgs of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

It also transpired that Mr Zangat had no insurance.

Judge MacGrath was told the chase had started at 5am.

Solicitor David Peters, for Mr Zangat, said his client was 29 years old and originally came from Kenya. He was married to a Polish woman and they had one child.

What he did was inexcusable. It is lucky nobody was hurt, said Mr Peters, who revealed that his client may now face deportation because he would have a criminal conviction.

Explaining the circumstances around the incident, Mr Peters said: His wife went to visit friends in the UK and he was invited to a party. He made the decision to take the car. He cant explain his actions.

The solicitor described Mr Zangat as a very quiet, courteous gentleman.

Appealing for leniency, he told the court that a jail sentence would lead to problems having the couples child cared for and Mr Zangats wife would have to give up her job.

In mitigation, Mr Peters said motorway exits were not obvious if you are on the wrong side of the road.

Judge MacGrath accepted that the options of getting off the motorway were limited if you were on the wrong side, but said it was a very serious offence.

Thankfully, nobody was put at risk," she added.

She jailed Mr Zangat for six months, which suspended for two years on his own bond of 500, for dangerous driving.

She fined him 250, with a three-year disqualification for drink driving, and fined him 150, with a two-year disqualification for driving without insurance.
FIVE years after his son was kidnapped and a ransom of 105,000 was paid, Tom Kelleher, the former Newcastle West postmaster, has lost his appeal to the Supreme Court where he claimed the termination of his contract by An Post was unfair.

But the Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, found in his favour on one issue and allowed Mr Kellehers appeal that he was not obliged to meet An Posts demand for 50% of the unrecovered ransom money of 31,525.

The incident which ended in the Supreme Court judgement last week, occurred on June 28, 2011 when Tom Kelleher Snrs son, Tom, was kidnapped at gunpoint and taken hostage. At the time, Tom Kelleher Snr was on holiday and left another son, Ronan and two employees in charge of the post-office.

They obviously feared for Tom Jnrs life, the judge said, and agreed to hand over 105,000.

The appellants ordeal was not, however, over because these events set in train a disciplinary process which ultimately resulted in the termination of his contract qua postmaster, together with a finding that he was contractually liable to pay An Post 50% of the missing moneys, the judge stated.

Subsequently, 41,950 was recovered by the gardai and returned to An Post leaving Mr Kelleher with a demand for 31,525.

In terminating Mr Kellehers contract, An Post claimed that he had failed to follow security procedures as staff did not contact the dedicated emergency telephone line and had handed over the money without any contact having been made with gardai, An Post or Mr Kelleher Snr.

They also claimed, after an audit, that there had been misuse of company funds as Mr Kelleher had taken 12,000 in advance for his holiday.

And An Post claimed they had found that deposits from a number of businesses had not been processed on the day received and that Mr Kelleher had allowed unauthorised access to a company system.

Mr Kelleher vigorously rejected these charges and complained, in September 2011, that the investigation was being conducted in an unfair way and that so many matters had been predetermined.

In October, however, Mr Kelleher wrote again to An Post, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan noted, and struck a rather more conciliatory tone: he accepted that his understanding in relation to the hostage helpline had been incorrect. He also gave an assurance that if he were to be re-instated that in future all staff would be fully conversant with the specialised anti-hostage safety procedures.

The appellant also accepted that he should not have drawn down the 12,000 in advance of the holiday, saying it was the first time he had done anything like that. He assured An Post that he was scrupulously honest and that he would never do anything like this again. He further accepted that the password log-in procedures had not always been strictly adhered to, but again assured the company that this breach of security procedure would not be repeated

The judge also noted that Mr Kelleher insisted that in future he would make every effort to ensure that deposits were processed in a timely fashion without any further delay.

The judge quoted from Mr Kellehers letter in which he wrote: the experience that myself and my family have endured since June has been traumatic and devastating and one which will haunt all of us for a very long time to come. At this stage I simply want to get back to work and try, as best I can, to restore some normality for myself and my family.

But, Mr Kellehers appeal failed and the termination of his contract stood. He subsequently took a High Court case claiming unfair procedures and no liability for the unrecovered monies. He lost his case in 2013 and his appeal to the Supreme Court was dismissed last week by Mr Justice Gerard Hogan.

The judge however allowed his appeal against the demand for 31,250.  It is true that under the terms of the Postmasters Manual  which is, in effect, a contract between the parties  a postmaster is contractually liable to repay missing moneys if this is caused by the negligence of the postmaster in question, the judge stated. But, he added, An Post had no entitlement unilaterally to specify the sums which it contends were due from the appellant for breach of contract.

 If An Post claims to be entitled to this sum, then where (as here) such is disputed, it must sue the appellant in substantive proceedings for unliquidated damages for breach of contract, he stated.
PEOPLE will have a chance to show their solidarity with the Shanahan family, whose son Neil fell off the balcony of the Strand Hotel in Limerick city, this Thursday evening.

St Munchins Church in Clancys Strand will host a special Mass at 6pm this Thursday evening, where prayers will be offered for the two-year-old.

He remains in a serious condition in Temple Street Childrens Hospital, Dublin after the fall on Saturday.

There has been an outpouring of support to the family, who live in Farranshone on the citys northside, with Mayor Kieran OHanlon hoping to visit his parents Martina and Tommy, who are maintaining a constant vigil by their sons bedside.

Neil fell from the sixth-floor balcony while a fundraising community for the Farranshone community was taking place.

It is understood the youngster  who has two siblings  wandered away from his parents in the restaurant on the ground floor.

In a tragic sequence of events,he was able to board the lift which took him to the top floor. Then he walked out onto a table on the balcony, before falling five storeys, landing on patio furniture at the first floor.

Despite young Neil sustaining multiple injuries, Fr Pat Seaver, a neighbour and local curate at St Munchins Church, said he understands the child is improving.
THE mother of a two year old boy who fell from the sixth floor of a hotel in Limerick has said she is "overwhelmed" by the love and support she has received since the tragic accident.

Miracle toddler Neil Shanahan from Farranshone in Limerick city is in a stable condition in hospital after falling 20 metres from a balcony on the top of the Strand Hotel in Limerick at lunchtime last Saturday.

His parents Michael and Martina have been keeping vigil at his bed side in Temple Street Hospital in Dublin, where despite sustaining serious injury his condition is now described as stable.

In a Facebook post the toddler mum's Martina Collins, shared a photo of a wall hanging over her son's bed at the Intensive Care Unit in Temple Street Hospital.

The wall hanging shows a little boy with a parachute.

"This is the image above our little boy's bed at the Intensive Care Unit in Temple Street. Neil fell six stories on Saturday from the top of the Strand Hotel and despite sustaining serious injury we are pleased he is now stable," Martina wrote.

"We are overwhelmed, yet again of the amazing love and support of a wonderful family and many friends and neighbour's. Prayers of healing at St Munchin's Chruch Thursday at 6pm, With much love in our hearts Mike and Martina xxxx".

The Shanahan family had been attending a parish coffee morning organised by the Farranshone Residents Association in the Strand Hotel when Neil, the second youngest of three children, wandered off.

The community gathering was held on the ground floor of the hotel. However unbeknownst to those involved in the search for the toddler - which was initially concentrated in the immediate vicinity - the two year old had made his way into a lift and managed to travel to the sixth floor of the hotel from where he climbed out onto a balcony and fell 20 metres.

It is understood the two year old's fall was broken by a table on an outside seated terrace area.

The toddler was initially cared for at the scene by a doctor who happened to be in a nearby hair salon and who rushed to his aid before the ambulance arrived and he was taken to University Hospital Limerick.

He was later transferred to Temple Street Childrens Hospital in Dublin.

Limerick Fianna Fail TD Willie O'Dea, who came upon the scene of Saturdays accident, has encouraged as many people as possible to attend Thursday's mass at 6pm in St Munchins Church at 6pm where locals will gather to pray for Neils full recovery.

His family are obviously devastated. It was an horrendous thing to happen; its impossible to put yourself in the place of the family and imagine what they are going through, but I suppose the best contribution we can make is to hope and pray for his safe recovery and that is the purpose of the mass on Thursday evening, said Deputy ODea.

I imagine it will be well attended. I think it should be well attended and if its at all convenient for people they should turn up and join in prayers for his recovery and also to show support and solidarity with the family.

The newly elected Mayor of Limerick Cllr Kieran OHanlon said he has received many calls to his office from people concerned about the welfare of the little boy.

Mayor OHanlon said: It is a living nightmare for his family. Our thoughts and prayers are with him. Sometimes we believe in miracles, and hope he will pull through.

The mayor  a father-of-four and a grandfather to two toddlers  added: Parents can do everything they can to mind kids, but you turn your back for a minute and they are gone. Its very hard. It is so difficult.

Overall, we all hope he will pull through, and pull through in good health, he added.
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Jul 7, 2016, 5 AM

Catalog cover for the March 28, 1950, Harmer, Rooke & Co., Inc., sale of Congressman Ernest R. Ackermans complete proof sheets on card from the Earl of Crawford collection.

The catalog cover for the Sept. 13-14, 1967, Robert A. Siegel Auctions sale, part 5, of the Josiah K. Lilly collection of the complete proof sheets on both card and India paper from the collection of Congressman Ernest R. Ackerman.

Richard Taylor, right, and Falk Finkelburg, left, taken at the American Stamp Dealers Association National Postage Stamp Show at Madison Square Garden, November 1976, in New York City.

By James E. Lee

This months column is a departure because I want to share with you the story of two very special people who influenced my life in such a way that I followed them into the stamp business.

How people matriculate into this business has always intrigued me. Rarely does one come out of high school or college and say, Well, tomorrow I am going to be a professional philatelist.

My journey into philately started on Christmas Day in 1955, when I received a Minkus My First Stamp Album under the Christmas tree.

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When I turned 12 in 1960, I started attending meetings of the Beverly Hills Philatelic Society on Friday nights at the Ridge Park Field House on the southwest side of Chicago. There I started trading and buying and selling stamps.

The passion grew even in high school, but the collection went into hibernation when I was in college.

When I finally graduated in 1971 and came back to Chicago, I dusted off my album and picked up where I had left off.

During a visit to the office of Fred Israel, up on the Northside, on Fullerton Avenue, to pick up approval pages for my uncle, a bourse dealer in Racine, Wis., Fred asked if I would like to see his stock of United States. He had sheets of regular and commemorative issues from the 1920s and 1930s.

Fred asked if I would like to act as his wholesale agent. That was it: I was hooked.

Every Friday night after work I would pick up material from Fred and spend Saturday crisscrossing Chicago, visiting dealers and helping them fill out their stocks.

While I enjoyed working with 20th-century United States material, my passion had turned to collecting the 1861 issue.

I realized early on that at my age I didnt have the resources to compete for the material of my dreams. It was at that point in time I responded to a classified ad in Linns Weekly Stamp News for essays and proofs. The dealers name was Falk Finkelburg in Coram, N.Y.

In 1972, most essays and proofs were relatively cheap when compared with the corresponding stamps. The essays were far more interesting than the stamps, and the colors on the proofs blew away the colors on the issued stamps.

I still have a carbon copy of that first letter to Falk, and it still resides in the back of a file several inches thick that contains more than 20 years of our correspondence.

Over the years he graciously answered each and every question that I posed to him. He became my teacher and mentor. He was the source for all original research that had been done in the area of essays and proofs.

Back then one would have had to hunt through long forgotten back issues of the American Philatelist, Stamps Magazine, The Essay Proof Journal, and various other publications to find articles and information. The Scott catalog contained nothing on essays.

As the years passed, technology evolved, and my philatelic library and clipping files grew. I was able to develop a significant pool of knowledge on my own. What started out as a short letter of inquiry has today turned into my lifes work.

Falk died about a year before I went full time with my business. However, he had known for some time the direction that I was headed, and he prepared me well.

A few days before the sale of his collection of essay and proof material in September 1999, I was honored to meet with his daughter and son-in-law in New York to appraise all of the working notes and research files that he had amassed over the years.

I was also able to acquire all of this material, which included all of the research material that had been developed by his mentor, the late Dr. Clarence Brazer. Today those materials have been organized and repose in a large filing cabinet in my office.

Lightning struck a second time in my life in November 1977 at Chicagopex. While passing through the aisles, I came across a dealer who had proofs under the glass on his table. His name was Richard Taylor, a dealer from Mansfield, Ohio. He had a booth at the show along with his son Mark.

This was the first time that I ever encountered proofs at a show. I remember spending more than an hour with him while poring over a stockbook filled with sets and singles before making a purchase.

This was the beginning of a friendship that has transcended almost 40 years. Dick became my second mentor. It was from him that I learned the story of the Earl of Crawford card and India proof sheets.

The Kleeman brothers of the Nassau Stamp Co. purchased the collection of the late Earl of Crawford from the earls estate in England in 1916 and brought it back to the United States. They eventually placed the sheets with Congressman Ernest R. Ackerman of New Jersey.

At the time of his death, Ackermans collection was bequeathed to the Smithsonian. However, for some unknown reason, the sheets wound up in two separate Harmer, Rooke & Co., Inc., sales in March 1950 and June 1951.

All of the complete sets of sheets were purchased by the Weill brothers of New Orleans, who in turn sold them to Josiah K. Lilly, the pharmaceutical magnate in Indianapolis, Ind.

They next turned up in Robert A. Siegels sale of the Lilly collection, part five, sold on Sept. 13 and 14, 1967. They were purchased by Bob Siegel and Richard Taylor and split right down the middle.

Siegels half would up on the West Coast with Stephen D. Bechtel Sr. Dick gradually cut up most of his sheets and offered sets, blocks, and plate blocks during the next 50 years.

Dick single-handedly moved proof collecting to the mainstream of philately with his half of the sheets. Over the years he has provided collectors with pristine examples of both card and India paper plate proofs of every issue from 1847 through the Columbian issue.

The knowledge and advice that he has shared with me over the years has been priceless and helped guide me to the path I have followed as a fulltime professional philatelist since May 1990.

As a side bar, Dick celebrated his 100th birthday in June. He is just as vibrant, humble, hardworking, and friendly as when I first met him in 1977.

My October column will return to being on message, with a look at how you can form a collection of essays and/or proofs on a modest budget. You dont have to spend many thousands of dollars to build a significant collection, and you can still enjoy the journey.

Read more Essays and Proofs columns:

A look back at the W. Curtis Livingston collection

Henry Lowenbergs experiments to prevent stamp reuse

Interest in Henry Lowenbergs essays
Jul 7, 2016, 6 AM

A Republika Srpska 20pf Fight Against Tuberculosis postal tax stamp (Scott RA35), issued Sept. 14, 2014. The design shows the lungs as an upside-down tree growing from a pot.

A Republika Srpska 2-mark Map of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska souvenir sheet of one (Scott 163). The souvenir sheet was issued Jan. 10, 2002, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Republika Srpska.

By Rick Miller

Since its formation in 1992, Republika Srpska has been one of the most prolific modern issuers of postal tax stamps.

Postal tax stamps are stamps that show payment of a required tax on mailpieces mailed on a certain date in a given period of time. Additional stamps are required to pay postage on the mailpiece.

Republika Srpska stamps are listed in Vol. 1 of the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue under Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serb administration).

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The first Republika Srpska postal tax stamp, a 15-para Robert Koch stamp (Scott RA1), is shown nearby.

The imperforate stamp, printed by lithography, was issued Sept. 14, 1997. It was required on all mail posted the week of Sept. 14-21, 1997. Sept. 14 to 21 in Republika Srpska is Anti-tuberculosis Week. The design shows a pair of lungs with a portrait of Koch on the right lobe and the cross of Lorraine on the left lobe.

Postally speaking, Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of those places where you really cant tell the players without a program.

Bosnia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 14th century. In 1878, it came under the administration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1908, the Habsburgs annexed it outright.

Although ethnically the population is overwhelmingly Slavic with most of the people speaking Serbo-Croatian, the population is divided by culture and religion.

Those who are Roman Catholic, write in Latin letters, and whose culture is closely aligned with Central Europe are Bosnian Croatians. Those who are the descendants of converts to Islam under the Ottomans are Bosniaks. And those who are Serbian Orthodox Christians, write in Cyrillic alphabet, and whose culture is aligned with Serbia are Bosnian Serbs.

It was Serbian outrage over the annexation of Bosnia that led directly to the outbreak of World War I. After WWI, Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later known as Yugoslavia). With the fall of communism in 1990, Yugoslavia began to come apart at its national seams.

Tensions between Bosnia and Herzegovinas three main population groups erupted into open warfare in 1992. The Croats and Bosniaks generally cooperated against the Serbs, but occasionally took a break from cooperating to fight each other.

During the war, horrible atrocities were committed by all sides against unarmed and helpless civilians. However, the Serbs were the most organized and vicious in their campaign against enemy civilians.

In 1995, a NATO bombing campaign forced the Serbs to the peace table and the agreement known as the Dayton Accords was hammered out ending the war. Under the Dayton Accords, the country became the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska.

The boundaries of the federation can be seen on the 2-mark souvenir sheet of one (Scott 163) shown nearby. The area of Republika Srpska is shown in dark magenta, while the rest of the country is in pink.

The souvenir sheet, printed by lithography and perforated gauge 13, was issued Jan. 10, 2002, to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of Republika Srpska.

The tricolor and national crest of Republika Srpska can be seen in the selvage at the right of the souvenir sheet. A serial number is printed in the selvage to the left of the stamp.

Although the federation officially has two political entities, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, it has three postal administrations. The federal government does not issue stamps. The Bosniak postal authority, based in Sarajevo, issues stamps; as does the Croat postal authority based in Mostar; and Republika Srpska based in Banja Luka.

Issues of all three postal administrations are valid for domestic and international mail in their respective areas of cognizance.

Tuberculosis remains one of the worlds least controlled infectious diseases among humans.

At present, about one-third of the worlds population is infected with tuberculosis bacteria. About 1 million people die of tuberculosis every year.

In developed nations, those who develop active tuberculosis are quickly treated and the disease is usually brought under control. In poor and undeveloped nations, medical help is often not available. Children in rural areas are particularly vulnerable.

Tuberculosis is most dangerous to people with weakened immune systems. About one-third of all patients with HIV who die, actually die of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains a huge health problem in most of Eastern Europe.

Koch (1843-1910) commemorated on the first Republika Srpsak postal tax stamp, was a German doctor and microbiologist. He was the first to identify the agents that cause tuberculosis, anthrax and cholera. The father of medical microbiology, in 1905 he received the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his work on tuberculosis.

Republika Srpska normally issues two postal tax stamps a year: one for the fight against tuberculosis and one for the Red Cross.

The tuberculosis postal tax stamps are required on all mailpieces posted the week of Sept. 14 to Sept. 21. The Red Cross postal tax stamps are required on mail posted May 8 to May 15. No Red Cross postal tax stamp was issued in 1997.

A 10-pfennig Cross of Lorraine and Oak Leaves postal tax stamp (Scott RA9) is illustrated nearby. The stamp, printed by lithography and perforated gauge 10, was issued Sept. 14, 2001.

The cross of Lorraine has been an anti-tuberculosis symbol since 1902. French physician Gilbert Sersiron advocated its use as a symbol of the crusade against tuberculosis.

Oak has been used in herbal remedies for centuries. The tannins in oak leaves, roots and acorns bind with proteins in human tissue to form a barrier against bacteria and reduce inflammation. Herbalists use snuff made from powdered oak root to treat pulmonary tuberculosis.

A 20-pfennig Stop TB postal tax stamp (Scott RA19) is illustrated nearby. The stamp, issued Sept. 14, 2006, was printed by lithography and is perforated gauge 10.

Interestingly on the stamp, the English word Stop is spelled in Cyrillic letters, while the abbreviation TB is given in Latin letters. At least the B is Latin; the T is the same in both alphabets.

One of the more interesting designs of a Republika Srbska postal tax stamp is shown on the 20pf Fight Against Tuberculosis postal tax stamp pictured here (Scott RA35).

The stamp, issued Sept. 14, 2014, is printed by lithography and perforated gauge 9. The design represents the lungs and bronchial passages with an upside-down tree growing from a pot.

In Republika Srpska, hospitals in Foca and Trebinje have tuberculosis wards. Tuberculosis control departments have been established in Bihac, Brcko, Doboj, Foca, Travnik, and Trebinje. Funds raised from the postal tax stamps go to help fund all of these facilities.

More Stamps of Eastern Europe columns:

Belarus European history reflected on stamps

Stamps show history of development of Christianity in Moldova

The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Jul 7, 2016, 3 AM

The Ireland 75 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme stamp (Scott 1672) is a good buy in the $2-to-$2.50 price range.

By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

One hundred years ago, soldiers from the United Kingdom, Australia, Bermuda, Canada, India, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, and France were battling German troops in the Battle of the Somme. One of the bloodiest battles in history, it raged from July 1 to Nov. 18, 1916, ending without victory on either side.

There were 60,000 Allied casualties on the first day (20,000 killed in action). Total Allied losses in the battle included almost 147,000 killed in action or missing. German casualties included 164,000 killed in action or missing. When the wounded and those taken prisoner are added in, total Allied casualties were about 624,000 and German casualties were about 465,000.

Ireland was part of the United Kingdom in World War I. Irish soldiers served on all fronts of the war. Approximately 3,500 Irish soldiers were killed in the Battle of the Somme. Of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded for action on the first day of the battle, three were awarded to Irish soldiers.

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General interest in the Somme is peaking in this centennial year. Events in Ireland, notably the Easter Rebellion, and the eventual establishment of the Irish Free State have tended to overshadow Irish participation in WWI. With the perspective gained in the passage of time, Irish contributions have begun to be recognized.

On June 26, 2006, Ireland issued a 75 90th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme stamp (Scott 1672). The 2017 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the stamp in mint never-hinged condition at $2.50, roughly double face value. The stamp is popular with topical collectors of militaria and other related topics. We think it is a good buy in the $2-to-$2.50 price range.

Keep reading about World War I stamps:

Great Britain stamps focusing on WWI events of 1916 issued June 21

Kellehers WSS-NY 2016 sale topped by high-denomination World War I-era overprint

Better never than late? Bulgarias post-WWI set caused quite a furor
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Look at Earth compared to other rocky planets in the neighborhood, and the first thing that would likely jump out is that there's A LOT of water. So how did 70 percent of our planet's surface become covered in this essential life ingredient?

That question is the subject of lively scientific debate, it turns out.

There are two prevailing theories: One is that the Earth held onto some water when it formed, as there would have been ice in the nebula of gas and dust (called the proto-solar nebula) that eventually formed the sun and the planets about 4.5 billion years ago. Some of that water has remained with the Earth, and might be recycled through the planet's mantle layer, according to one theory.

[What Will Happen to Earth When the Sun Dies?]

The second theory holds that the Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury would have been close enough to that proto-solar nebula that most of their water would have been vaporized by heat; these planets would have formed with little water in their rocks. In Earth's case, even more water would have been vaporized when the collision that formed the moon happened. In this scenario, instead of being home-grown, the oceans would have been delivered by ice-rich asteroids, called carbonaceous chondrites.

More and more research suggests that asteroids delivered at least some of Earth's water. (Image credit: ESA/P. Carril)

Follow the water

Scientists can track the origin of Earth's water by looking at the ratio of two isotopes of hydrogen, or versions of hydrogen with a different number of neutrons, that occur in nature. One is ordinary hydrogen, which has just a proton in the nucleus, and the other is deuterium, also known as "heavy" hydrogen, which has a proton and a neutron.

The ratio of deuterium to hydrogen in Earth's oceans seems to closely match that of asteroids, which are often rich in water and other elements such as carbon and nitrogen, rather than comets. (Whereas asteroids are small rocky bodies that orbit the sun, comets are icy bodies sometimes called dirty snowballs that release gas and dust and are thought to be leftovers from the solar system's formation.)

Meteorite EET 83309 contains tiny fragments of opal, a material that requires water to form. In this backscattered electron image, a narrow opal rim surrounds a bright metallic mineral inclusion. (Image credit: H. Downes)

Scientists have also discovered opals in meteorites that originated among asteroids (they are likely pieces knocked off of asteroids). Since opals need water to form, this finding was another indication of water coming from space rocks. These two pieces of evidence would favor an asteroid origin. In addition, deuterium tends to gather farther out in the solar system than hydrogen does, so water formed in the outer regions of the system would tend to be deuterium-rich.

[See Photos of Meteorites Discovered Around the World]

And on top of that, the rocky inner planets hold relatively little water (relative to their masses) compared with the icy moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and even the gas giants themselves. That would support the idea that in the inner system, the water evaporated, while in the outer system, it didn't. If water evaporated on Earth it would have to be replaced from somewhere else, and water-rich asteroids are abundant in the outer reaches of the system.

More supporting evidence comes from NASA's DAWN spacecraft, launched in 2007, which found evidence of water on Ceres and Vesta, the two largest objects in the main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.

This false-color image of Ceres from NASAs Dawn probe highlights the differences in surface materials across the dwarf planet. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

Earth's water is complicated

A slam dunk for asteroids? Not so fast. For this scenario to work, the isotope ratio had to have stayed the same in the oceans over the last few billion years.

But what if it didn't?

Lydia Hallis, a planetary scientist with the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, thinks that the hydrogen present on the early Earth had much less deuterium in it than it does now. The ratio changed because in the early history of the Earth the radiation from the sun heated up both hydrogen and deuterium. Hydrogen, being lighter, was more likely to fly off into outer space, leaving more deuterium behind.

[What If Earth Were Twice as Big?]

Also, in the last several years, newer models seem to show that the Earth retained a lot of water as it formed, and that the oceans might have been present for much longer than anyone thought.

Hallis and her colleagues looked at hydrogen isotope ratios in ancient Canadian rocks, some of the oldest rocks on Earth. The isotope ratios looked a lot less like asteroids and a lot more like the water one would expect from the early solar nebula in the region  the rocks had more ordinary hydrogen and less deuterium. But the current ocean ratio looks like asteroids. That would seem to indicate something changed in the last few billion years. The research was published in Science in 2015.

If the Earth's oceans were formed from water on our own planet, rather than asteroids, that would solve a couple of problems for planetary scientists. One is why Earth seems to have so much water in the first place. Another is why life, which as far as anyone knows requires water, seems to have appeared so quickly once the Earth had a solid surface.

Besides the work of Hallis, other scientists have studied ways water could be recycled from Earth's interior. In 2014, Wendy Panero, an associate professor of earth sciences at Ohio State, and doctoral student Jeff Pigott proposed the theory that Earth was formed with entire oceans of water in its interior. Via plate tectonics, that water has been supplying the oceans. They studied garnet, and found it could work with another mineral, called ringwoodite, to deliver water to the Earth's interior  water that would later come up as the mantle material circulated.

Complicating the picture, neither of these hypotheses is mutually exclusive. Asteroids could deliver water while some could come from the Earth's interior. The question is how much each would deliver  and how to find that out.

So this mystery will remain one, at least for a little while longer.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.
Fossils of the key groups used to unveil the Eocene-Oligocene extinction in Africa with primates on the left, the carnivorous hyaenodont, upper right, rodent, lower right. These fossils are from the Fayum Depression in Egypt and are stored at the Duke Lemur Center's Division of Fossil Primates.

About 34 million years ago, a "lost extinction" in Africa wiped out the majority of primates, rodents and carnivores that preyed on the two groups. Species vanished in a slow-motion wave that spanned millions of years and yet went undetected by scientists  until now.

This previously unseen extinction bridges two geologic epochs: the Eocene (55.8 million to 33.9 million years ago) and the Oligocene (33.9 million to 23 million years ago). When the Eocene's greenhouse climate began shifting toward the icehouse temperatures that marked the Oligocene, sea levels dropped, the Antarctic ice sheet grew, and approximately two-thirds of all animal species in Europe and Asia went extinct.

Related: Wipeout: History's most mysterious extinctions

However, researchers thought that life in Africa had escaped this fate, and that animals there were shielded from the worst impacts of a cooling climate by their nearness to the equator. A spotty African fossil record from that period offered scientists few clues about what really happened to the continent's animal life as Earth cooled; a new look at animal lineages recently showed that climate change at the Eocene's end took a devastating toll on African mammal life, too.

Using hundreds of fossils spanning tens of millions of years  from the middle of the Eocene into the Oligocene  scientists reconstructed evolutionary timelines in family trees across five African mammal groups. The researchers focused their attention on two groups of primates, two rodent groups and one group of extinct carnivores known as hyaenadonts ("hyena teeth") that preyed upon rodents and primates, they reported in a new study.

"In Africa, we just don't have the density of the fossil record that you see on other landmasses," said study co-author Erik Seiffert, professor and chair of the Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. "So, we had to figure out a way to extract as much information as we could, which is why we used this fairly novel approach," Seiffert told Live Science.

Dental CT scans show that mammal teeth became less diverse during the early Oligocene extinction events. Here is an example of the three-dimensional tooth shape of a lower molar of a fossil anomaluroid rodent. (Image credit: Dorien de Vries, University of Salford)

(opens in new tab)

The authors used what fossils they had to track species diversity and loss over time in those animal groups. As they did, patterns began to emerge, showing that around 34 million years ago, a cooling Earth lopped off entire branches of those mammals' family trees. Species diversity didn't drop abruptly, as is often the case in global mass extinction events. Rather, the decline happened over millions of years, until 63% of the species in those mammal groups had disappeared.

"Over the course of 4 million years, we see this gradual slow loss of all of the lineages that had been present in the late Eocene," Seiffert said. "The biggest trough of that lineage diversity curve really bottoms out at 30 million years ago, and then starts to pick back up around 28 million years ago."

When those groups began to diversify again, many of the new species had evolved new traits that weren't present in species that came before the extinctions, according to the study. For example, rodent and primate species that emerged during the Oligocene had different tooth shapes than their extinct cousins, hinting that these animals were adapted to survive in different ecosystems than their predecessors experienced.

"Extinction is interesting in that way," study co-author Matt Borths, curator of Duke Lemur Center Division of Fossil Primates, said in a statement (opens in new tab). "It kills things, but it also opens up new ecological opportunities for the lineages that survive into this new world."

Was it global cooling that extinguished those African mammals? While that was probably a factor, other evidence from Africa and the Arabian peninsula from around 31 million years ago suggests that unusually active volcanoes may have posed another insurmountable challenge to their survival, Seiffert said.

"All this volcanic activity that would ultimately lead to the rising and development of the Ethiopian highlands, it started around 31 million years ago with some really dramatic volcanic super-eruptions," he said. "That part of eastern Africa was continually being altered by these volcanic events. If not necessarily causing extinctions, those constant changes to the environment may have been at least delaying diversification in some of these lineages."
There may be such a thing as too many turtles, according to scientists investigating why so few turtle eggs were hatching on Raine Island, located on the tip of Australias Great Barrier Reef.

For more than 1,000 years, green sea turtles have nested on Raine Island, where they dig pits to lay and bury their developing eggs. Yet after a millennia of fruitful nesting seasons, the island has recently had a drop in the rate of successful hatches  now less than 30 percent, even in undisturbed nests.

With protective coral along the broad sandy beaches, and no land-based predators, scientists were stumped as to why an otherwise ideal nesting location would have so few baby turtles hatching from eggs and scuttling down to the water. [Photos: Thousands of Baby Turtles Hatch in Brazil]

Seawater was the first suspect. Scientists thought flooding of the nests during high tides was killing newly laid eggs, which cannot survive underwater. Sand was added to a section of the beach in 2014, raising it by 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters), but hatching rates were still extremely low. Then in 2015, hatching success doubled, leaving scientists to question what had changed.

A new theory from researcher David Booth of the University of Queensland suggests that the island's popularity for nesting is to blame for the plunge in hatching success.

Fewer turtles laid nests on the island in 2015, Booth said in a statement. That bit of information suggested that "a density-depending effect was limiting hatching rates even in nests that remained undisturbed throughout incubation, rather than the environmental conditions."

The Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection estimates as many as 60,000 female green turtles swim from their feeding grounds in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Torres Strait and the West Pacific to the tiny Raine Island to lay their eggs.

The number of turtles to visit the island each nesting season is highly variable, Booth told Live Science, "with as few as 5,000 in a very low nesting year." An estimated 15,000 females visited the island in the 2014-2015 nesting year, while only 5,000 did so in 2015-2016.

With a high number of nests, nutrients and oxygen beneath the sand could be used more quickly. Nest density could also increase the levels of bacteria in the nests, the researchers said.

"Because the nests generally remain undisturbed by other nesting turtles, the most likely explanation is low oxygen or high carbon-dioxide levels, or an increase in disease-causing microorganisms," Booth said.

To test his theory, Booth will investigate whether pumping air into the nests will boost the hatching rate. If correct, nesting density could explain a similar phenomenon of low hatching rates in other turtle populations, such as Olive Ridley turtles, he said.

The hypothesis is scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting for the Society for Experimental Biology today (July 7) in Brighton, England, and has yet to be published in a scientific journal.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to include information on why turtle nesting varies from year to year.
Find out everything there is to know about fish and stay updated on the latest news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and fish pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about these fascinating creatures as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about fish.

Related Topics: Great Barrier Reef, Ocean, Cats, Dogs
Discrimination maps for classifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subgroups, inside the masks that resulted in the highest accuracies. A: between patients with MCI that converted to Alzheimer's disease (MCIc) and subjects with subjective cognitive decline (SCD); B: between MCIc and patients with MCI that remained stable (MCIs).

The devastating neurodegenerative condition Alzheimer's disease is incurable, but with early detection, patients can seek treatments to slow the disease's progression, before some major symptoms appear. Now, by applying artificial intelligence algorithms to MRI brain scans, researchers have developed a way to automatically distinguish between patients with Alzheimer's and two early forms of dementia that can be precursors to the memory-robbing disease.

The researchers, from the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, suggest the approach could eventually allow automated screening and assisted diagnosis of various forms of dementia, particularly in centers that lack experienced neuroradiologists.

Additionally, the results, published online July 6 in the journal Radiology, show that the new system was able to classify the form of dementia that patients were suffering from, using previously unseen scans, with up to 90 percent accuracy. [10 Things You Didn't Know About the Brain]

"The potential is the possibility of screening with these techniques so people at risk can be intercepted before the disease becomes apparent," said Alle Meije Wink, a senior investigator in the center's radiology and nuclear medicine department.

"I think very few patients at the moment will trust an outcome predicted by a machine," Wink told Live Science. "What I envisage is a doctor getting a new scan, and as it is loaded, software would be able to say with a certain amount of confidence [that] this is going to be an Alzheimer's patient or [someone with] another form of dementia."

Detection methods

Similar machine-learning techniques have already been used to detect Alzheimer's disease; in those implementations, the techniques were used on structural MRI scans of the brain that can show tissue loss associated with the disease.

But scientists have long known that the brain undergoes functional changes before these structural changes kick in, Wink said. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging has been a popular method for tracking functional changes, but it is invasive and expensive, he added.

Instead, Wink and his colleagues used an MRI technique called arterial spin labeling (ASL), which measures perfusion  the process of blood being absorbed into a tissue  across the brain. The method is still experimental, but it is noninvasive and applicable on modern MRI scanners.

Previous studies have shown that people with Alzheimer's typically display decreased perfusion (or hypoperfusion) in brain tissue, which results in insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to the brain.

Training the system

Using so-called perfusion maps from patients at the medical center, Wink's team trained its system to distinguish among patients who had Alzheimer's, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive decline (SCD).

In these brain scans, the classifiers can be represented as discrimination maps, where a red color indicates that the intensity at that location contributes to the likelihood of the images belonging to the more advanced stage, and a blue color to the likelihood of belonging to the less advanced stage. (Image credit: Radiological Society of North America)

The brain scans of half of the 260 participants were used to train the system, and the other half were then used to test if the system could distinguish among different conditions when looking at previously unseen MRI scans.

The researchers discovered that their approach could distinguish between Alzheimer's and SCD with 90 percent accuracy, and between Alzheimer's and MCI with 82 percent accuracy. However, the system was unexpectedly poor at distinguishing between MCI and SCD, achieving an accuracy of only 60 percent, the researchers found. [10 Ways to Keep Your Mind Sharp]

Tantalizingly, preliminary results suggest the approach may be able to distinguish between cases of MCI that progress to Alzheimer's and those that don't, the researchers said.

In the study, there were only 24 MCI cases with follow-up data to indicate whether each patient's condition progressed to Alzheimer's, with 12 in each category. Therefore, splitting them into two groups  one to train the system and another to test its ability to classify the condition in unseen scans  was not feasible, the researchers said.

In a preliminary analysis the system was trained on all 24 cases leading to training accuracies of around 80 percent when classifying these groups and separating them from the other main groups.

But without a separate prediction group, it was impossible to test the system on unseen scans, the researchers said. Combined with the small sample size in the study, Wink said, it is too early to draw any firm conclusions, though the preliminary results are encouraging.

Real-world applications

Ender Konukoglu, an assistant professor of biomedical image computing at ETH-Zurich, a science and engineering university in Switzerland, said combining machine learning and ASL is novel and could have significant clinical applications, but more needs to be done to validate the approach.

The most valuable application is the ability to distinguish between MCI cases that progress to Alzheimers and those that dont, but the sample size in this study is too small to assess the reliability for such use, he said. "Larger cohorts might show that ASL imaging combined with machine learning is able to classify the MCI groups, but until then, it is difficult to talk about the clinical applicability of the methods presented here, Konukoglu told Live Science.

Wink agreed that one way to improve accuracy would be to use bigger data sets. But the approach his group is working on is creating machine-learning techniques that can use a broad variety of data from different imaging devices, he said.

Christian Salvatore, a researcher at the Institute of Molecular Bioimaging and Physiology of the Italian National Research Council, said the research is innovative but doesn't introduce any new techniques. It is simply an application of a well-known machine-learning toolbox for neuroimaging analysis to ASL, he said.

But the classification performances are good, Salvatore said, and the approach also helps identify brain regions of interest to doctors when diagnosing these conditions. This is something many researchers using machine learning for neuroimage analysis neglect, he said.

"Clinicians want to 'see' results  they don't trust a black box that only returns the predicted label for a patient," he told Live Science. "So, maps of the most important voxels [3D pixels] for classification are quite necessary."

Original article on Live Science.
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The ongoing dispute at Longford manufacturer Cameron cranked up a notch last week as staff served notice of their plans to commence industrial action in two weeks time.

Union officials from Unite, the trade union representing workers at the Aughafad plant, said the action will involve four weekend stoppages to overtime starting on July 15.

A notice of industrial action will be served on the company today (Thursday), said regional officer Willie Quigley.

There will be a ban on overtime as that is a big thing in terms of running the show there.

The move comes almost two months after seven employees were compulsorily laid off, bringing the total number of redundancies at the company to 45.

That prompted a Labour Court ruling, in May, to afford affected employees two weeks pay per year of service alongside their statutory entitlement.

However, the company has so far failed to meet the terms of that recommendation, leading to an escalation in tensions between management and staff.

We actually thought the employer had got off lightly but they havent cooperated, added Mr Quigley.

As the prospect of industrial action intensifies, a row involving the staging of an unofficial protest by former workers outside its gates has also escalated.

The company has so far stayed silent on the topic but there are claims that those taking part in the protest have received letters from both the company and a Dublin based law firm.

Former employee Alo Kelly was one of four people taking part in what he termed an assembly last Friday.

I dont know of any other situation where workers turned up outside a factory and within four days they had letters got threatening them with the High Court, he said.

Having served the firm for the past for almost 37 years, Mr Kelly applauded the decision of his former colleagues to proceed with industrial action.

We are grateful and we do feel they are taking a stand in their own interests because if we are treated like this how can the union negotiate anything else in there and go to the Labour Court when they can just turn around and say it doesnt suit me I am not going to abide by it.

Seamus Clarke, who was one of six workers given compulsory redundancy, said threats of legal action would not deter the group in their efforts.

All we are looking to do is for the company to abide by the rule that the Labour Court made, he said.

We are here for the long haul, he concluded.
Local News, Arts & Culture, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 07 2016

Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE) invites everyone to a Meet the Artists Reception to honor special needs artists.

Old Bethpage, NY - July 5, 2016 - Family Residences and Essential Enterprises (FREE) invites everyone to a Meet the Artists Reception to honor special needs artists participating in their Fine Art and Art Therapy Programs who have their mixed media constructions exhibited at the The LENZ Winery on 38355 New York State Route 25, Peconic, NY. The reception will be held at The LENZ Winery on Friday, July 8, 2016, 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

The LENZ Winery, one of Long Islands oldest and most prestigious North Fork vineyards, has long been a supporter of FREE. They have hosted a number of showcases for artwork created by members of FREEs art program.

FREE, a leader in the field of human services dedicated to helping individuals of all abilities realize their full potential believes that Art Therapy provides a powerful means for healing and communication for anyone, but especially for people who find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings through spoken words alone.

The exhibit runs from June 30th, 2016  September 5th, 2016. Landscape Constructions was their first professionally juried competition of artwork created by the Artists of FREE. Over one hundred fifty pieces were vigorously created over a six month period for this years collection. One hundred and six qualifying pieces were put before an esteemed panel of judges from the New York art and business community as the finalists. Fifty three Landscape Constructions were selected by the judges. The collection consists of two tiers of excellence, with Tier One containing the first through third place winners, seven pieces awarded with honorable mention and the next best fifteen pieces.



2nd Place Winner - FLORIDA by Peter B.



Tier Two contains the remaining twenty eight works. The wide ranging depictions of sky, land, water and other natural elements are interpreted through three styles of art. Realistic, impressionistic, and abstract multi- media constructions were created with some artists making up to six renditions to arrive at their final submission.

The artists represented are the finalists whose quality of work rose high enough to have garnered entrance into this prestigious collection. Their courage and strength led them down the challenging path of self-revelation and allowed them to talk to us through the hidden language of images, colors and symbols.

While the artwork is beautiful to look at it is important to recognize the incredible depth of emotional release that took place over months of work with all of our dedicated staff. It was their patience and unerring commitment to stay the course and believe that our artists could reach high to not only see their healing image, but also commit it to permanent form for all to share in their vision.



3rd Place Winner - SUNSET AT THE BEACH by Diane E.



Over the years much has been written about the healing power of art as therapy and the creative process of spiritual self-expression, especially for individuals who may find it difficult to express their thoughts and feelings through spoken words alone. The images on view are a testament to this healing power, as our artists have embraced feelings of trust, hope and resolution, offering them an alternative to conflict and fear, which unfortunately characterizes much of the consciousness present in our world today.

The LENZ Winery, one of Long Islands oldest and most prestigious North Fork vineyards, has long been a supporter of FREE. They have hosted a number of showcases for artwork created by members of FREEs art program.

All are encouraged to view the works and perhaps purchase a piece. The proceeds of sales go towards supporting the artist and their program.

About Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE)

Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) founded in 1977 and headquartered in Old Bethpage, benefits and proudly supports more than 4,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. It is the mission of FREE to help individuals of all abilities realize their full potential. FREE provides a diverse array of supports and services including: housing, recovery services, transition to work, employment, day, community and family services, respite, crisis services, education and after-school support, primary and specialty health care and advocacy. For more information, please call 516-870-7000 or visit www.familyres.org.

About The LENZ Winery

Founded in 1978, The LENZ Winery has some of the most mature vines in the region and given the extensive replanting of California vineyards to avoid further damage from the phylloxera louse, in the country as well. All LENZ wines are estate bottled, meaning they are made from grapes grown entirely in the LENZ vineyards. We strive to create wines that will be among the very best of its type, made anywhere in the world. The LENZ Tasting Room is open daily from 10am - 6pm. For more information, please call 631-734-6010.
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Press Releases

By Tom Needham Published: July 07 2016

The three directors of Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, The Witness and Indian Point will be Tom Needham's guests this Thursday at 6 P. M. on WUSB's The Sounds of Film.

Stony Brook, NY - July 7, 2016 - The three directors of Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, The Witness and Indian Point will be Tom Needham's guests this Thursday at 6 P. M. on WUSB's The Sounds of Film.

Vaxxed: from Cover-Up to Catastrophe is directed by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a former gastroenterologist and medical researcher who was accused of fraudulently writing a research paper linking vaccines and autism. In this movie, he accuses the CDC of manipulating and destroying data of an important study about autism and the MMR vaccine. Dr. Wakefield, who will be interviewed on the show, was recently in the news when Robert DeNiro decided to feature the film at the Tribecca Film Festival. After a public outcry, DeNiro finally dropped the film from the festival.

Tom Needham said, "I am so glad that the Sounds of Film provides a platform for provocative directors to talk about controversial topics like autism, nuclear energy and witness apathy."



Photo: Kitty Genovese.

Another film receiving a tremendous amount of attention is the documentary, The Witness. Director James Solomon will be on the program discussing the story of a brother's journey to unravel the the truth about the historic death and little known life of Kitty Genovese, who was allegedly murdered in front of 38 witnesses and has become a symbol of urban apathy. The Witness is being screened as part of the Port Jefferson Documentary Series on July 8th at 6 PM at the Long Island Museum.



Indian Point

Lastly, Ivy Meeropol, the director of Indian Point, will be on the show discussing issues related to the infamous Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, which is located just 35 miles from New York City. The film offers a look at the dangers of a possible Fukushima-style disaster, the role of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and a startling reality check for our uncertain nuclear future.

About the Sounds of Film

The Sounds of Film is the nation's longest-running film-themed radio show. For over 28 years, the program has delivered a popular mix of interviews and music to listeners all over Long Island, parts of Connecticut and streaming live at wusb.fm. Recent guests include Michael Moore, writer Chris Hedges, Diane Ravitch, Kurtis Blow, Billy Joel and director Mike Leigh.
Family & Parenting, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: July 07 2016

FCA chosen as one of six new sites across NYS to operate a new facility for people in recovery and families impacted by addiction.

Mineola, NY - June 29, 2016 - Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, President/CEO of Family & Childrens Association, publically thanked Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez today for choosing FCA as one of six new sites across NYS to operate a new facility for people in recovery and families impacted by addiction.

The funding for the new site was made possible through the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). FCA will receive approximately $1.75 million in funding for the new facility over five years, or about $350,000 per year. FCAs key partners in this new endeavor include: The Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), the Long Island Recovery Association (LIRA) and Families in Support of Treatment (FIST).

The Long Island Recovery Community and Outreach Center (LIRCOC) will provide a community-based, non-clinical setting that is safe, welcoming and alcohol/drug-free for any member of the community. The facility will respond to the local areas specific needs related to obtaining substance abuse treatment services and addiction recovery support, while promoting long-term recovery through skill building, recreation, wellness education, employment readiness, civic participation opportunities, and other social activities.

LIRCOC will be centrally situated near the Nassau/Suffolk border on public transportation lines, and will be accessible not only during the daytime hours, but also during evening and weekends, to meet the needs of individuals and families who may be in need of assistance at varying hours. The new facility will serve 250 individuals before the end of 2016 (partial year due to start-up), 400 individuals in the second year of operation, and 500 individuals the third year, 625 in the fourth year and 725 in the fifth year of funded operations for a five-year cumulative total of 2,500 persons served from grant inception through December 31, 2019.

On behalf of FCA and the thousands of people we serve every year, I am deeply grateful to Governor Andrew Cuomo and Commissioner Arlene Gonzalez-Sanchez for giving us the resources to create a long-awaited and much-needed recovery center on Long Island. It is an honor to be recognized by New York State and OASAS for our ongoing work on Long Island. It is our intention in the midst of an unprecedented heroin crisis, to create a center that will assist this very vulnerable population on their journey towards wellness, said Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, President/CEO of Family & Childrens Association.

The announcement was made during a press conference held today at FCA headquarters in Mineola, NY.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
President Barack Obama called the security environment in Afghanistan precarious and said today he will keep more troops on the ground in Afghanistan than previously planned. Obama repeatedly promised to end the US mission in Afghanistan before the end of his administration in 2017, but a worsening security situation stemming from previous ill-timed reductions in force and a resilient Taliban proved that to be impossible.

Instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year, through the end of my administration, Obama said in a briefing at the White House.

Despite admitting the deteriorating conditions, Obama announced he will reduce the number of troops in the country by 1,400 by the end of 2016. Obama did not explain how withdrawing an additional 1,400 US forces this year will aid in the fight against the Taliban and its allies. The Taliban has regained ground in the strategic province of Helmand and other areas in spite of direct US military support to Afghan forces.

Obama admitted that the Taliban has continued to wage an effective insurgency and has taken control of territory.

The Taliban remains a threat, Obama said. Theyve gained ground in some places.

There are currently 9,800 troops in country conducting an advise and assist mission to Afghan forces as well as counterterrorism operations. Those two missions will not change, he stated.

The admission that security in Afghanistan is worsening is a dramatic shift by the Obama administration. Previously the administration maintained that Afghan forces were capable of sustaining combat operations with minimal or no US assistance.

However, this view flew in the face of the realities on the ground. The Taliban waited out the US surge that targeted their bastions in the south, and began attacking vulnerable Afghan forces when US troops began their withdrawal. By 2014, the Taliban gained control of a handful of far-flung districts while maintaining a guerrilla campaign throughout the country.

By the summer of 2015, the Afghan government admitted that four districts were under Taliban control. A study by The Long War Journal indicated that by the beginning of October 2015, the Taliban controlled 29 districts and contested another 36.

The Afghan government, which has notoriously underestimated the threat posed by the Taliban and areas under the jihadist groups control, admitted in late June 2015 that nine district were now controlled by the Taliban and another 40 are heavily contested. The Long War Journal estimated that the Taliban controls 39 districts and contest another 43.

Perhaps the most worrisome indicator of deteriorating security in Afghanistan is the discovery of al Qaeda training camps in the country. Al Qaeda operated two large scale training camps, including a large facility, in the Shorabak district in Kandahar for more than a year before they were discovered by US forces. One of the camps occupied an area of 30 square miles and was well provisioned with weapons, ammunition, communications gear, and other equipment. In October 2015, a large US military strike force took four days to clear the two al Qaeda camps in Shorabak. More than 150 al Qaeda fighters are thought to have been killed during the operation.

The US military only discovered the location of the two camps in Shorabak after raiding another in Paktika province in July 2015. Abu Khalil al Sudani, one of al Qaedas most senior figures, is thought to have been killed during that raid. Al Qaeda obviously assessed the situation in Paktika as being safe enough to place one of their top leaders there.

The Shorabak raids shocked the US military and intelligence and forced them to revised its long-held estimate of 50 to 100 al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan upwards to 300 in country. For more than six years, The Long War Journal has warned that official estimate of al Qaedas presence in Afghanistan is erroneous, and the jihadist group remains a significant threat to this day. [See LWJ report, US military admits al Qaeda is stronger in Afghanistan than previously estimated.]

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of 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 ninth episode of Ayman al Zawahiris Islamic Spring series was released on social media on July 2. The timing of the release, as with previous episodes, was likely delayed. For instance, Zawahiri references his bayah (oath of allegiance) to Taliban emir Mullah Mansour, who was killed in a US airstrike in May. The al Qaeda leader does not mention Mansours death.

Most of Zawahiris words are dedicated to praising the Muslims of East Turkistan for their dedication to waging jihad around the globe. East Turkistan encompasses the Xinjiang region of China.

Specifically, Zawahiri lauds Shaykh Abu Muhammad al Turkistani, also known as Hasan Mahsum, who founded the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which is now called the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP). Mahsum was killed by Pakistani forces during a raid on an al Qaeda camp in late 2003.

Mahsums successor, Abdul Haq, is a US and UN-designated terrorist who was appointed to al Qaedas elite shura council in 2005. Abdul Haq currently leads the TIP, which fights alongside al Qaeda in jihadist hotspots such as Afghanistan and Syria.

Zawahiri discusses the history of the Talibans Afghanistan at length, arguing that the Taliban has consistently offered refuge for jihadists who were forced to flee their home countries. The al Qaeda master features Mahsum in his recounting of history, even including him in a Whos Who list of legendary jihadists.

Zawahiris recognition of Mahsum is just the latest indication that the TIP is part of al Qaedas international network.

Late last month, the TIP released an audio message from Abdul Haq that was embedded in a longer video. The production was littered with al Qaeda references and clearly signaled, once again, the TIPs extensive connections to Zawahiris global operation. [See LWJ report, Turkistan Islamic Party leader criticizes the Islamic States illegitimate caliphate.]

China is an atheist occupier

Early on in the new video, As Sahab (al Qaedas propaganda arm) includes footage of Muslims being oppressed by Chinese authorities in Xinjiang. Al Qaeda has consistently portrayed Muslims as the victims of various aggressors, thereby seeking to capitalize on the discontent within local Muslim populations.

As the images are displayed, Zawahiri blasts the Chinese government as an atheist occupier, saying that Chinese authorities prevent the Muslims of East Turkistan from performing their religious rites and forces them to change their religion.

Zawahiri says the Muslims of East Turkistan revolted against this torrent of Chinese atheism, leading to more than 40 uprisings. Eventually, the al Qaeda leader says, this revolt was transformed into a jihadist movement against the Chinese invaders.

The battle today is one in which the jihadists of East Turkistan must convince the Muslim peopleto return to rule under Islam, Zawahiri argues, thereby thwarting the calls of atheism regularly spouted by the Chinese government. This battle also entails the proper education of children in Islamic doctrine and the rules of sharia. According to Zawahiri, this is the path that will supposedly lead the ummah [worldwide community of Muslims] to return to Islam.

Zawahiris rhetoric is consistent with al Qaedas guerrilla warfare strategy.

Al Qaeda cites local grievances and then filters them through an ideological lens in an attempt to buttress the jihadists cause. This strategy is aided by Chinas heavy-handed policies, which fuel popular discontent in Xinjiang. The government has, for example, tried to banned Muslim civil servants from fasting during Ramadan.

However, jihadists are not the only ones who reject these policies, as the opposition to Chinese authorities in Xinjiang includes other organized actors and ordinary citizens.

Jihadist hijrah, or migration

Al Qaedas new Islamic Spring video contains several arguments intended to undermine the legitimacy of the Islamic States so-called caliphate. At one point, a clip of Ali Abu Muhammad al Dagestani, the deceased leader of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE), is introduced. Dagestani, who was killed by Russian forces in April 2015, was a fierce critic of Abu Bakr al Baghdadis project. In the audio, Dagestani criticizes Baghdadi for splitting the mujahideens ranks and declaring a caliphate without properly consulting other jihadist leaders.

Zawahiri holds up the Talibans Afghanistan as a counterexample to the Islamic State, claiming it was a model of jihadist unity. (In reality, the jihadists argued amongst themselves in pre-9/11 Afghanistan as well.)

The al Qaeda master begins this argument by pointing to the examples of Abdullah Azzam, widely considered the godfather of modern jihadism, and Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the founder of al Qaeda in Iraq. Both Azzam and Zarqawi were unable to wage jihad against Jews from their home countries, Zawahiri says, so they emigrated to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they joined the Afghan mujahideen. Zawahiri notes that later, after the 9/11 attacks, Zarqawi migrated to Iran and then to Iraq.

Zawahiri and As Sahabs propagandists emphasize that the Talibans Afghanistan was a safe haven for jihadists from around the globe.

Osama bin Laden himself migrated to Pakistan, Sudan and Afghanistan for jihad, Zawahiri points out. Bin Laden established the Global Islamic Front to wage jihad against the Jews and Crusaders and then pledged allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful Mullah Omar, who was the Talibans first leader.

Zawahiri argues that the jihadists were united in this approach, as Zarqawi, Abu Hamza al Muhajir and Abu Omar al Baghdadi all swore their fealty to Omar by virtue of their bayah to bin Laden. This argument is implicitly directed at the Islamic State, as Abu Hamza al Muhajir and Abu Omar al Baghdadi led the Islamic States predecessor (the Islamic State of Iraq) until their demise in April 2010.

Abu Muhammad al Turkistani (Hasan Mahsum) also pledged allegiance to the Talibans Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Zawahiri says.

Defending the Talibans Islamic emirate and waging jihad in the Levant

To emphasize the importance of the Talibans pre-9/11 rise, al Qaeda shows multiple clips of Abu Musab al Suri in the video. Suri is a key ideologue who is frequently included in al Qaedas propaganda to this day, even though it is widely suspected that he is still imprisoned inside Syria. Most of Suris classes were recorded prior to the 9/11 attacks.

The clips in Episode 9 of the Islamic Spring are from one of Suris famous marker board lectures in August 2000. In it, Suri praised the Taliban as a true Islamic state that was established despite the wishes of the international regime. This was accomplished, Suri argued, after the last Islamic caliphate disappeared decades earlier. Suri praises the Taliban for enforcing Islamic sharia law and harboring Muslims.

Zawahiri picks up on this theme several times. Among those harbored by the Taliban were the muhajireen [emigrants] and mujahideen of East Turkistan, Zawahiri says. He notes that Turkistani (Mahsum) was among the prominent figures of jihad  such as Azzam, bin Laden, Suri, and Zarqawi  who migrated to support Islam.

Afghanistans mountains and valleys know well the mujahideen from East Turkistan, Zawahiri tells viewers, as the Uighur jihadists defended the Talibans Islamic Emirate against hypocrites supported by the international community.

As Sahabs video singles out Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud as one of these supposed hypocrites. A montage includes scenes of Massoud asking for Western assistance in order to defeat the Taliban. Al Qaeda assassinated Massoud just two days before the 9/11 attacks.

The East Turkistan mujahideen fought in Tora Bora, Waziristan, and many other areas in Afghanistan during Americas latest Crusade against Afghanistan, Zawahiri says, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal.

Some of the Uighur fighters who allegedly participated in the Battle of Tora Bora, and received training at a camp in the Tora Bora Mountains, were detained at Guantanamo.

Zawahiri also lauds Uighur mujahideen for quickly supporting their brothers in the Levant. He is clearly referring to the TIP. (A clip of Al Nusrah Front leader Abu Muhammad al Julani is included to underscore his groups joint efforts with the TIP.)

The Uighurs jihad in the Levant proves that the Arab Springs course will be corrected, Zawahiri claims, according to the translation obtained by The Long War Journal. He then blasts Islamist groups that supposedly betrayed their ideological beliefs.

The Arab Spring was wasted and lost by groups claiming to be Islamist, but that compromised with secularists, Zawahiri charges. The Islamic Spring that has replaced it is based on rule by sharia, dawa [proselytization] and jihad in the cause of Allah until the caliphate is reestablished on the prophetic methodology, Zawahiri claims.

Zawahiri says that the upcoming victory in the Levant by Uighur jihadists (in the TIP) and their comrades will show the people of Egypt and Tunisia that the path of dawa and jihad is the only way to achieve victory for ummah.

According to Zawahiri, the mujahideen brothers from East Turkistan have proven that the ummah does not recognize nationalist boundaries. You confirm the meaning of the mujahideens unity against the fierce campaign of Crusaders, Safavids [Shiites], Nusayris [pejorative word for Alawites in Syria], and secularists, all of whom seek to eradicate jihad and Islam, the al Qaeda master tells the Uighur fighters.

Screenshots from Islamic Spring, Episode 9

Zawahiri cites the examples of Abdullah Azzam and Abu Musab al Zarqawi, both of whom waged jihad in Afghanistan:

The video includes a few scenes from Abu Musab al Suris lectures:

In another clip, Ali Abu Muhammad al Dagestani, the deceased leader of the Islamic Caucasus Emirate (ICE), criticized the Islamic States so-called caliphate:





In a video segment recorded prior to the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden discussed the importance of swearing bayah (oath of allegiance):

Zawahiris oath of allegiance to Taliban emir Mullah Mansour, who was killed in May, is included in the video:

The Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) fights alongside Al Nusrah on a daily basis. A clip of Al Nusrah Front emir Abu Muhammad al Julani is included to emphasize the unity of their forces:

Zawahiri praises the Uighur fighters for defending the Taliban against hypocrites such as Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud:

As Sahab includes quotes from the 9/11 Commission Report to underscore Massouds cooperation with the US:

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.
Childrens furniture fails to meet safety standards, says watchdog

From:Shanghai Daily | 2016-07-07 01:34

SOME childrens furniture on the market is not as safe as it looks, the citys consumer rights protection watchdog said yesterday after conducting inspections.

Furniture checked by inspectors had sharp edges, did not have safety holes for ventilation, and lacked display warnings as well as proper wall fittings, said officials.

The checks follow controversy over IKEA furniture being sold in China after six children in North America were killed in tip-over accidents.

Childrens furniture failing to meet safety standards could easily lead to safety incidents, particularly during the summer vacation when children are left alone at home unmonitored, said Liu Yueguo, a furniture expert with the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission.

China requires that childrens furniture does not have sharp edges; does not have glass parts below 1.6 meters; and that wall fittings be provided for cabinet products that are higher than 60 centimeters.

The rules apply to furniture designed for users between the ages of 3 and 14.

Several desks labeled Red Apple, a big domestic furniture brand, on sale at a mall in Putuo District were found to have sharp edges and two wardrobes did not have ventilation holes.

Furniture for children with over 0.03 cubic meters of enclosed space must have two separate ventilation holes in case they become trapped inside, according to the national standard.

The sellers of the furniture claimed the furniture was for users above age 14, but their brilliant color, cartoon decorative features and size indicated they were intended for use by those who are younger, commission officials said.

A Kooka mirror over 1.6 meters in height produced by a Guangdong Province furniture firm and a mirror labeled Color Life made by a company in Guangdong were found to be potentially dangerous for children, according to the commission. Both were being sold in Putuo.

Both the sellers and producers have been asked to address the matter, said the commission.

On June 29, IKEA announced it would recall 35.6 million chests and dressers, including the popular Malm line, in the United States and Canada, after six children were fatally crushed after the furniture toppled over.

However, IKEA has refused to recall similar products in China, provoking accusations of discrimination and consumer rights violations from the Shenzhen Consumer Rights Protection Commission and Chinese lawyers.

In response, IKEA said its products sold in China meet the countrys national quality standard and no injuries caused by its furniture have been reported.
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.
Drug price reform will 'improve services'

2016-07-07 10:35

Patients receive treatment at a Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital in Dongguang county, Hebei province, in June. Fu Xinchun / For China Daily

China's top pricing regulator launched a new round of drug pricing and healthcare financing reform on Wednesday in the latest attempt to improve the nation's public healthcare system.

The pricing reform is expected by the end of 2020, by which time financing of all public hospitals will mainly depend on healthcare services and government compensation, rather than markups of drug prices, according to a guideline issued by the National Development and Reform Commission.

"The 15 percent markup that hospitals add on drug prices will no longer be a way to finance public hospitals," said Zhu Dezheng, head of the commission's drug pricing division.

Zhu said reduced income from the markups will be balanced by raising prices for basic healthcare services, such as nursing care.

A total of 200 pilot cities will cancel the drug price markups by the end of this year, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

"Markups on drug pricing used to be a reasonable track for hospitals to generate income in the past because of low public funding, but it has become a skewed incentive that increases the cost for patients. Hospitals tend to prescribe expensive drugs," said Zhu.

Some hospitals receive more than 40 percent of their income from drug price markups, he said.

"The zero markup will provide a positive incentive for hospitals to improve healthcare services and upgrade treatment technologies," he said.

Hospitals will have more freedom to adjust the prices of healthcare services in the future, as the commission pledged to gradually narrow the scope of government-mandated pricing.

While addressing the impact of the reform on patients, Zhang Ziling, an official at the Human Resources and Social Security Department in Jiangsu province, said patients who rely mainly on prescriptions will benefit more from the pricing reform than those who require services such as surgery.

"The overall level of medical expenses levied on patients is not expected to increase," said Zhang.

The nation has been pressing ahead with healthcare reform, and the pricing scheme for healthcare services and drugs are among the key tasks, Premier Li Keqiang stressed during a State Council meeting earlier this year.
Photo story: bringing healthcare to under-fives in rural Mozambique

7 July 2016



Mozambique still faces major challenges in reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality, despite making significant progress over the past decade. Because so many children live beyond the periphery of the health system, primarily in rural settings, there is a need to bring services closer to communities.

The Mozambique Ministry of Health embarked in 2010 on an ambitious programme to revitalise the community health workers (CHWs) programme, with a goal to train and deploy approximately 5,000 new CHWs over the course of five years. CHWs are trained to provide diagnostic and treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea for children less than five years old. They also provide first aid to their community members, act as a link to the health services and conduct health promotion activities.

This strategy aims at bridging the access gap and reducing care seeking delays by bringing life-saving services closer to childrens homes. Malaria Consortium has been supporting this effort in Mozambique since its inception, providing technical as well as implementation support in Inhambane province.

Despite the training and deployment of CHWs across the province, the majority of sick children living in CHW catchment areas are still not taken to a CHW for early treatment. Only providing treatment in communities through CHWs may not automatically lead to more timely care seeking, as decisions taken in the home depend on other factors, including caretaker awareness of illness symptoms and perceptions of appropriate treatment.

Malaria Consortium undertook an operational research to better understand the most detrimental bottlenecks in the CHW programme. This study entails interviewing families who have lost a child through illness while living in an area served by a CHW, to collect their stories and understand why some children fall off the pathway to survival.

The findings will help us understand whether the delays take place in the home, on route or at the provider, and we will be able to identify the opportunities for intervention and formulate recommendations that will enable policy review and revision and guide decision-making.

Training of researchers and testing of survey tools in close collaboration with the provincial health directorate, at Malaria Consortium's Inhambane office. Field testing the survey tools is key to ensure they are adapted to the context and will allow collection of meaningful and quality data. Upon arrival in Maxixe district, north of Inhambane town, the research team pays a courtesy visit to the local community leader to get his authorisation and support for the study. Bonding with families who have lost a child is very important, in order to gain trust and access to sensitive information around such a traumatic event. [1/2] Bonding with families who have lost a child is very important, in order to gain trust and access to sensitive information around such a traumatic event. [2/2] Working closely with local leadership is also key to gain access to communities and families and facilitate the implementation of the study. Local leaders provide invaluable information for mapping communities to be included in the survey. Meeting with community leaders and CHWs serving the area selected for the study. Between 1st and 15th February, a total of 145 families across 12 districts of Inhambane province were interviewed. Field work is sometimes challenging... ... where the car cannot go, the team sometimes has to walk long distances to reach isolated communities. Conducting interviews [1/4] Conducting interviews [2/4] Conducting interviews [3/4] Conducting interviews [4/4] 14 1

Country: Mozambique

Keywords: Health system strengthening | Maternal, neonatal and child health | Community delivery

Related content

27 May 2011 Malaria Consortium Programme Partnership Arrangement
2016 China Cultural Festival launches in Russia

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-07-07 16:16

The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4, 2016. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4. Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui, Chinese Vice Cultural Minister Ding Wei and about 1,500 officials and representatives from the two countries attended the event.

In the light of the 2014-2016 cooperation agreement signed by the cultural ministries of China and Russia, the event will feature Chinese cultural weeks, folk music, traditional dances, dramas and martial arts, in the form of some 30 activities.

Artists and performers from about eight cities and provinces of China would share their latest creations with Russian people during the festival. The event will further deepen the cultural communication and cooperation between the two nations.

China and Russia agreed to hold cultural festivals in the 1990s. Now, the festivals have become the most influential flagship cultural events, being held on the largest scale and with a wide audience.

The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4, 2016. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The opening ceremony of the 2016 China Cultural Festival was held in Moscow in Russia on July 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
On April 5, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) issued Joint Circular 05/2016/TTLT-BKHCN-BKHDT providing details and guidance on the handling of cases where enterprise names infringe IP rights. The new joint circular, which came into effect on May 20, is the first official regulation ever issued on this subject in Vietnam, and is expected to prevent circumstances in which names of companies are identical or confusingly similar to protected IP objects of unassociated IP holders, and aim to take advantage of the IP holders' reputations.

Change and removal of infringing elements

The joint circular clarifies that enterprises which use names containing elements which infringe other holders' trade marks, geographical indications or trade names, and which use those names on goods, means of business or service, signboards or business transaction papers, will commit industrial property infringement. An infringer will be requested to terminate the use of the name, or conduct procedures to change its name or business lines. If the company does not voluntarily comply, the change can be forced. Further non-compliance can lead to the revocation of the company's business registration certificate.

Under the new provisions, whether an enterprise name infringes on IP rights is determined by competent enforcement authorities or individuals empowered to impose administrative sanctions in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property. This takes the form of a written conclusion on infringement which can be either: (1) the conclusion of an inspection by a competent enforcement authority or (2) a decision on administrative sanctions by a competent individual that requests the enterprise to change its name or remove infringing elements from its name.

When a written conclusion on infringement is issued in the form of a conclusion of an inspection, the IP holder and the infringer will have 30 days from the date of the conclusion to negotiate and settle their dispute. If no settlement can be reached through negotiation, the IP holder will be entitled to petition the Business Registration Office (BRO) to demand a change in the infringer's name within two months. After that, if the infringer has not conducted the name-changing procedures, the BRO will be responsible for bringing the case before competent enforcement authorities in the field of planning and investment and competent authorities for examination and inspection in accordance with IP laws.

Although this procedure contains some specific steps, it does not completely address how to resolve incidents that have passed the two-month time limit mentioned above. After being informed by the BRO, the competent authorities will examine and inspect the infringer, and are able to issue sanctions with remedies forcing the infringer to change its enterprise name or remove infringing elements from the name. These sanctions then open the case to further possibilities.

Revocation of business registration certificates

Competent authorities are able to issue sanctions requiring a change in an enterprise's name or the removal of infringing elements from a name with or without a notice from the BRO. Accordingly, infringers will have to change their names within 60 days from the effective date of the sanctions. If the infringers do not comply with the given remedies, the authorities will cooperate with the BRO in order to handle the cases.

The BRO will issue a notice to the infringers requesting them to report and explain the case, in accordance with the Enterprise Law. If neither report nor explanation is submitted on time, the competent authorities in the field of planning and investment will be responsible for handling the administrative violations of the infringers. Notably, if the infringer does not respond within six months, the BRO will revoke its business registration certificate.

It should be noted, however, that the revocation of a business registration certificate is only permitted under the Enterprise Law if a report is not submitted upon request. It is difficult for the BRO to deal with circumstances in which infringers send back their reports on time, and unclear under the law how such cases should be handled. Faced with such situations, the joint circular still raises concerns in relation to revocation of business registration certificates on the basis of IP infringement alone.

In addition to the introduction of detailed procedures with specific timeframes, the Joint Circular sets out the responsibilities of and requires cooperation among competent authorities in the handling of disputes between enterprise names and IP rights. Although it leaves some uncertainty in the process of handling infringing names, Joint Circular 05 is a groundbreaking regulation for the time being.

Loc Xuan Le Son Duc Nguyen

Tilleke & GibbinsHAREC Building, 4th Floor4A Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam Tel: +84 4 3772 6688Fax: +84 4 3772 5568vietnam@tilleke.comwww.tilleke.com
Thiruvananthapuram: The Crime branch on last day submitted a report recommending a criminal probe against SP Sukeshan, the investigative officer in the bar bribery case. Meanwhile, the State Police Chief Loknath Behra handed over the report to the government.

In the report, the crime branch alleged that Sukeshan conducted a slanting inquiry in the bar case, revealing investigative details. The crime branch imputation also pointed that Sukeshan probed the case with preconceived notions.

Earlier former Vigilance Director Sankar Reddy also demanded a probe against Sukeshan, stating that he had connived with bar owner Biju Ramesh to trap three Ministers.
Dhaka: The terror outfit Islamic State on Wednesday issued a new video warning the Bangladesh government of more attack by saying that the last week's attack in Dhaka was just a start.

In the video, the terrorist said that the attack will continue until 'Sharia' is established throughout the world. Though Bangladesh government refuted IS presence behind Dhaka attack, the security has been beefed up in the country.

The video come days after an Islamic gunman stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave late on Friday claiming the lives of 22 people.
Jiemian.com received over 3 billion B-round of funding

By:Jiang Wenran | From:english.eastday.com | 2016-07-04 14:11

Shanghai, July 3- After nearly 90 million A-round of investment received in September 2015, Jiemian.com, a new media project of Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG) again has been accepted by the capital market.

Jiemian.com yesterday announced that it has achieved a total over 3 billion B-round of funding, led by PetroChina's Kunlun Trust and a following investment.

Launched in September 2014, the project regards original commercial report as its core with a layout of 26 channels. Focusing on the citys high-end users, Jiemian.com provides one-stop information, investment, shopping, recruitment and social services.

The leading investor Kunlun Trusts secretary of the party committee and chairman of the board Wang Liang noted that the SUMG has done a lot of practice and strategic layout in new media.

Jiemian.com is a good example which enjoys a brand-new developing pattern of state-controlled + team incentive + multiple shareholders + rounds of hatch, Wang is looking forward to the two sides comprehensive strategic partnership in the future.

When it comes to the development direction, Hua Wei, chief executive of Jiemian.com disclosed that they will enter the original video and audio field.

We will form a shooting team of more than 50 passionate young people and plan to release three multimedia products next month at the earliest, said Hua.
Marie Claire newsletter Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Thank you for signing up to . You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions (opens in new tab) and Privacy Policy (opens in new tab) and are aged 16 or over.

Is this one of Kate's most trend-wise fashion moves to date?

In what has got to be one of her most trend-wise fashion moves to date, the Duchess Of Cambridge attended the The Art Fund Prize for Museums and Galleries, in a dress by Brazil-born, London-based designer Barbara Casasola.

Paired with nude stiletto sandals, the off-shoulder white dress was undoubtedly more experimental than any of Kates usual go-to silhouettes, capturing SS16 (opens in new tab)s cold shoulder trend, and giving a welcome boost to the young designer labels profile.

It is, at the same time, a classic Kate move in that shes dressing diplomatically, choosing to wear one of Brazils coolest, classiest new designer names just weeks before the Rio Olympics start. Her sartorial message is subtle but clear  in choosing the dress by the Brazilian designer, who shows at London Fashion Week, Kates showing her support and turning our attention to the region in preparation for kick off on 5th August. Pretty clever, right?

(Image credit: Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock)

Solange Knowles, Rita Ora, Gwyneth Paltrow and Alicia Vikander have all called on Casasola since her labels launch in 2013, rating her super-flattering pleated dresses and her feminine tailored jumpsuits. The designers journey has been an interesting one. Born in Brazil, she studied at Londons Central Saint Martins before moving to Milan to work with Roberto Cavalli.

Cavalli was like a real school for me, she previously told Marie Claire Runway. I think I really learned from Roberto was that you need to have a woman, and she needs to be real, and if she exists, if shes there, and you design for her, your brand means something.

Mr Cavalli is very quotable, when you work with him 12 hours a day, you could write a book! I knew before I started my label who I was designing for and I also knew that that woman needed certain things that are not out there.

And now that woman is, perhaps, the most high profile woman in the world. Not bad, hey?
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced 18 proposed grant awards for projects under the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects Program. The program, also known as the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants, is a new competitive grant program established under the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to provide funding for nationally significant highway, bridge, and freight projects.



Five port authorities are on the list of proposed grant awardees:



1. Georgia Ports Authority ($44 million)

2. Massachusetts Port Authority ($42 million)

3. Port of Coos Bay ($11 million)

4. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ($10.67 million)

5. Maine Port Authority ($7.72 million)



The FASTLANE program requires DOT to notify the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee at least 60 days before a grant is awarded for a project. A complete list of projects selected by DOT is available on the House T&I Committee website.



Discretionary freight funding is a top AAPA priority. Congress authorized $800 million in funding for the FY 2016 FASTLANE program.
Freight rates for large capesize dry cargo ships on key Asian routes could move higher next week on a potential ship shortage, higher cargo volumes and storms in China that could disrupt sailing schedules leading charterers to scramble to fix replacement tonnage, ship brokers said.

"We do not have a lot of ships available off Brazil to load cargo at the end of July. That will likely support freight rates," said a Shanghai-based capesize broker.

That came as capesize rates from Brazil to China hit a seven-month high on July 4.

"Hopefully, rates will climb up to near $10 a tonne," the broker added.

The Big Three Australian miners - Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group - have largely been absent from the spot-chartering market this week after freight rates climbed to a three-week high on Monday, although they have subsequently slipped.

"When the market is hot, miners are always inclined to wait for rates to fall," the broker said.

That has fuelled sentiment that miners will return to the market next week with a raft of new cargo requirements.

Bad weather in China during the weekend caused by super typhoon Nepartak is likely to cause port congestion and unloading delays, which would affect vessels while they try to fulfill their next charter. That would force charterers to pay higher rates to fix alternative vessels, brokers said.

"Right now the market is falling, but it will be a bit firmer next week. The typhoon will create delays," said a Singapore-based capesize broker.

"We should see rates pick-up next week," the Singapore broker said.

Capesize charter rates for Western Australia-China climbed to $4.63 per tonne on Wednesday, up from $4.51 per tonne last week. Rates rose to $4.78 per tonne on July 4, the highest since June 15.

Freight rates from Brazil to China hit $9.49 per tonne on Wednesday compared with $9.37 per tonne the previous week. They soared to $9.71 per tonne on July 4, the highest since Dec. 2.

Charter rates for smaller panamax vessels for a north Pacific round-trip voyage jumped to $5,822 per day on Wednesday, from $5,153 per day on the same day last week.

There was stronger sentiment this week on all panamax routes with firm rates on Asian trades, Norwegian ship broker Fearnley said in a note on Wednesday.

Freight rates in the Far East for smaller supramax vessels held steady on positive sentiment, brokers said.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index rose to 694 on Wednesday from 640 last week.





(Reporting by Keith Wallis; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
The Port of Ningbo has integrated CargoSmarts software for shippers and forwarders to meet new container weight requirements with its electronic platform for exchanging data between logistics providers, as well as between logistics providers and government agencies, the port said.

CargoSmart Limited also announced that Ningbo E-port has extended its cooperation with CargoSmart to meet the new container weight requirements for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention.

Shippers and freight forwarders can now submit the verified gross mass (VGM) of their Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan export containers through Ningbo E-port's platform at no additional charge.

In addition, they will gain visibility to a dashboard with VGM submission deadlines and status for 30 ocean carriers and customs clearance to help ensure timely exports.

The Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan is the fourth largest port in the world in terms of container throughput. Over 30,000 shippers and forwarders manage their multiple carrier shipments through Ningbo E-port's online portal. As of July 1, 2016, shippers named on the bill of lading are required to submit the VGM of their cargo before ocean carriers' cut-off times, otherwise their cargo may be held at the port, incur costly demurrage charges, and experience departure delays.

"Enhancing our platform through integration with CargoSmart's system lets our customers meet the new SOLAS requirements," said Xu Wei, deputy general manager of Ningbo E-port. "CargoSmart's solutions enable our customers to comply with minimal changes to their current shipping documentation submission process and gain additional shipment visibility online to keep their cargo moving."

Shippers currently make booking requests, submit shipping instructions, and track cargo through Ningbo E-port's portal, which is supported by CargoSmart's EDI service. They can now submit VGMs to multiple carriers through the centralized portal to minimize changes to their existing documentation process and the effort to manage VGMs.

After Ningbo E-port captures the VGM information from shippers, forwarders, and Ningbo Terminal's weighing service, CargoSmart transmits the data to carriers.
Scorpio Tankers Inc. announced that it has received a commitment for a loan facility up to $300 million from ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Nordea Bank Finland plc, acting through its New York branch, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB.



The loan facility will be used to refinance the existing indebtedness on 16 MR product tankers, has a final maturity of five years from the first drawdown date and bears interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 2.5 percent per annum.



The loan facility will be comprised of a term loan up to $200 million and a revolver up to $100 million, and the availability can be used to finance up to 60 percent of the fair market value of the respective vessels. The loan facility is subject to customary conditions precedent and the execution of definitive documentation.
The DP1 jack-up vessel Thor owned by the DEME Group has completed a short stay at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque (DSDu). During her time at the yard her hull was repainted in the new DEME livery and her thrusters inspected.



Measuring 70 metres by 40 metres, she spent four days in one of the yards drydocks. A special docking solution was required due to the size of her aft thrusters, which are 3.825 metres high. Standard dock blocks are just 1.80 metres. Fortunately, her design supplied the answer as well as the problem, and her four legs were used to maintain the hull at the height required to keep the thrusters clear of the dock bed while the inspection was conducted. In order to spread the considerable load of each leg, wooden platforms were positioned beneath them to ensure that no damage was done to the dock. Following the successful completion of the assignment, Thor departed for Antwerp.



Carlos de Vliegere, Sales Manager for Belgium, commented: Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has an excellent relationship with the DEME Group. During 2014 and 2015 we drydocked and repaired 11 vessels for them.



DSCs ability to react quickly and deliver fast turnarounds with short lead times is valued by the client, as is the quality of the work. Additional projects that DSC has undertaken in the current year for DEME include a thorough maintenance, repair and survey programme in the spring for the 20,000 tonne fallpipe vessel Flintstone, at Damen Shiprepair Amsterdam.



At Damen we do our utmost best to continue and strengthen our relationship with the DEME group, added Carlos de Vliegere. We look forward to receiving the next vessel for drydocking and maintenance at one of our yards.


2016 Navigation Season Thematic Program kicked off, 3070 Ocean Music Festival as opening event

By:Jiang Wenran | From:english.eastday.com | 2016-07-04 16:49

Shanghai, July 3- Although a coastal city, Shanghai citizens are more familiar to Suzhou River and Huangpu River rather than surrounding waters. 3070 Ocean Music Festival kicked off yesterday at China Maritime Museum to deliver a message of loving and protecting the ocean.

The name of the music festival symbolizes the coverage rates of land and water area on the earth surface, respectively 30% and 70%. During the festival, musicians from Norwegian Academy of Music and Shanghai Conservatory of Music provided visitors a feast of six live instrumental performances, perfectly integrating music, maritime history and culture.



China Maritime Museum, joint hands with Oriental Danology Institute and the Norwegian Consulate in Shanghai, started Navigation Season Thematic Program 2016 from July 1 and will last to October 31, with the music festival as its opening activity.



More events are followed including maritime knowledge competition, the Olympic show & sailing experience, ocean-theme film screening and maritime arts workshop, etc., providing maritime carnival full of both eastern and western marine culture and diversified interactive activities.


EU antitrust regulators accepted on Thursday an offer from Maersk, the world's largest container shipping liner, and 13 other competitors to change their pricing practices.

The companies agreed to publish binding actual rates 31 days before they go into effect, with the figures acting as a price ceiling. Under the current system, they only publish the amount of the increase, not the final price.

The other 13 firms are No.2 player MSC, No. 3 CMA CGM, Germany's Hapag Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, Taiwan's Evergreen Marine, China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) , OOCL (Orient Overseas Container Line), South Korean firms Hanjin and Hyundai Merchant Marine, Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha , United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and Israeli company Zim.

Reuters reported on June 28 that the Commission would accept the offer.





(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)
General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $116 million contract modification for the continued development of the Virginia Payload Module (VPM). Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD).



The VPM will comprise four large-diameter payload tubes in a new hull section to be inserted in Virginia-class submarines, boosting strike capacity by 230 percent.


EURONAV has selected Jotuns Hull Performance Solutions (HPS) for two of its Suezmax vessels.



The agreement will see Samsung-built sister ships M/T Cap Guillaume and M/T Cap Philippe receive coatings of Jotuns advanced SeaQuantum X200 antifouling, alongside full suites of measurement sensors applied to their hulls. The applications, taking place at upcoming dry dockings at Keppel Shipyard in Singapore, will increase vessel efficiency, cut fuel costs and reduce CO2 emissions substantially compared to standard market alternatives.



Speaking of the decision to choose Jotun HPS, Theodore Mavraidis, Fleet Technical Manager at EURONAV, explains: Optimising hull performance delivers clear environmental and business benefits, cutting emissions while enabling reduced fuel use and bunkering costs. This helps us provide the best performance and value for all our stakeholders.



Jotuns HPS has been assessed as a very promising choice. Not only because of its coating technology, but also due to the teams expertise in determining hull performance and providing documented proof of effectiveness. This gives us complete insight into return on investment. Were looking forward to experiencing the long-term benefits of HPS over the coming months and years.



George Vranakis, Jotun Hellas Marine Manager, says the unique HPS guarantee provides another compelling argument for EURONAV, and the rest of the industry, to choose Jotun.



He comments: We work closely with our customers to monitor performance in accordance with the recently established ISO 19030 methodology. Our technology gives them an in-depth and real-time insight into hull performance, demonstrating the efficacy of our silyl methacrylate coating when it comes to keeping hulls clean and reducing speed loss.



We also offer customers our High Performance Guarantee, whereby if we dont hit set performance targets we reimburse the cost of the HPS upgrade. That shows our total confidence in this solution, while giving shipowners complete peace of mind. In a market where cost control and accountability are increasingly important, its a key point of difference.



Jotun and EURONAV signed the two-vessel contract after meetings at this years Posidonia, where Jotun held a special seminar to update the industry on the arrival and implications of ISO 19030, which prescribes practical methods for measuring changes in ship-specific hull and propeller performance.



HPS launched to the market in 2011. Jotun recently released data for the first ever five year dry-docking of a vessel treated with the solution - Gearbulks Penguin Arrow. This showed that, across the 60-month operational period, the vessel recorded a fuel saving of USD 1.5million, cutting CO2 emissions by some 12,055 metric tons.
The newly inaugurated Panama Canal may not be as beneficial as it seems for container ship carriers, says Xeneta, a benchmarking and market intelligence platform for containerized ocean freight.

Although the new sets of locks and deeper, wider shipping channels will potentially double the waterways capacity, giving neo-panamax vessels access for the first time, the increased efficiencies may actually undermine rates  deepening the crisis for a segment already suffering the strains of severe over capacity and cut-throat competition.

Xeneta - which boasts a database of more than 12 million contracted ocean freight rates, crowd sourced from more than 600 major international businesses  has charted a spectacular fall in container rates over the last two years. As an example, the short-term market average rate for transporting a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Rotterdam has fallen by over 60 percent since Summer 2014 (currently standing at $941).

The Panama Canal extension, opened on June 26 by the 9,472 TEU Cosco Shipping Panama, was meant to be a boon for carriers, giving vessels carrying around 13,000 TEU's all-water access from Asia to the crucial U.S. East Coast ports and inland markets. But, according to Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund, this neo-panamax shortcut could come at a crippling cost.

On the face of it improved transit times and two way traffic deliver huge benefits for container carriers, Berglund said, facilitating more cargo to the U.S. East Coast and Caribbean ports faster and cheaper. However, there could be real trouble brewing on the horizon.

Firstly, the neo-panamax vessels have to attract trade to this fresh route, and this could initially force them to keep rates artificially low - the last thing the industry needs. Then we have the fact that more ships will be able to compete on the East Coast, potentially pushing rates even lower, Berglund said.

This will most probably be exacerbated by the newly arriving fleets of 18-20,000 TEU megaships  MSC has four in the pipeline now  causing a cascading of existing tonnage onto attractive routes, like the East Coast. It all spells, what could be, an impending financial disaster for a segment currently defined by consolidation, new alliance-building, and on-going uncertainty.

Berglund is backed up in his analysis by Rosemont College Professor Andrew Lubin, a specialist in container freight and logistics. He notes that, at present, 68 percent of container movement from Asia into the U.S. East Coast comes via the West Coast, but believes that about 10-14 percent of that will be diverted to the Gulf and East Coast ports within the year.

Faster transit times and the fact that carriers switching tonnage to the East Coast will now be able to avoid West Coast labor unions will boost vessel numbers and therefore competition, he said. Increased competition has an obvious impact in the market - lower rates.

Berglund concludes that this is only the latest development for an industry that is currently in a constant state of flux.

Rates across the more than 60,000 port-to-port pairings we cover are changing all the time, Berglund stated. For shippers, freight forwarders and carriers to keep pace with developments, and get the right price for their cargoes, they have to use software such as ours to exploit the true potential of big data.

Information is knowledge and, especially in a market like todays, has to be the cornerstone of every key business decision.
1798 - Congress rescinds treaties with France, and the Quasi War begins.



1846 - During the Mexican-American War, Commodore John D. Sloat, disembarks from his flagship frigate, USS Savannah, at Monterey and claims California for the U.S.



1915 - Thomas A. Edison becomes the head of the Naval Consulting Board, which screens inventions for the Navy.



1944 - USS Mingo (SS 261), USS Skate (SS 305), USS Sunfish (SS 281), USS Flasher (SS 249), and USS Bonefish (SS 223) sink up to eight Japanese ships.



1944 - While serving with the Fourth Battalion, Tenth Marines, Second Marine Division during the Battle of Saipan, Pfc. Harold C. Agerholm uses an abandoned ambulance and makes repeated trips for three hours under heavy rifle and mortar fire, single-handedly evacuating approximately 45 wounded men until mortally wounded by a Japanese sniper. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity," he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.



1948 - The first six enlisted women are sworn into Regular Navy: Chief Yeoman Wilma J. Marchal; Yeoman Second Class Edna E. Young; Hospital Corpsman First Class Ruth Flora; Aviation Storekeeper First Class Kay L. Langen; Storekeeper Second Class Frances T. Devaney; and Teleman Doris R. Robertson.



1979 - USS Emory S. Land (AS 39) is commissioned at her homeport of Norfolk, Va. The submarine tender is named after Adm. Emory S. Land, an officer noted for his designs of submarines.





(Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division)
The 11-strong crew of the MT Maro has been released after being held for two years in Nigeria.

The ruling was made on June 30 and, after securing emergency travel documents, the crew arrived in Delhi, India on July 3 to be reunited with their families.

The seafarers ordeal began in July 2014 when the ships engine failed and it drifted into a stretch of Nigerian waters. The ship was arrested and accused of straying into Nigerian waters without permissions. The Indian crew, with a Nigerian captain, found themselves imprisoned and there began a series of court battles to prove their innocence.

Revd Boet van Schalkwyk, a chaplain for international maritime charity, Sailors Society, has been working with the National Seafarers Welfare Board of Nigeria (NSWBN) and offering his support to the seafarers.

Boet said, Sailors Society is greatly relieved to hear that the crew have been released after such a traumatic time. We are pleased we could offer our help, alongside the NSWBN, to ensure that the crew has been cared for.

The families of the MT Maro crew had no idea what had become of their loved ones until communication was established in August 2015.

Boet and a fellow chaplain were given the go-ahead to visit the prisoners and were able to offer welfare support and counseling in September 2015. It was the first interaction the crew had had with the outside world since their arrest.

We were able to provide them with friendship and a listening ear, as well as practical items such as books and money for toiletries, Boet said. The horror was still there and frustration was high. We wanted to give them hope.

Boet, who also manages Sailors Societys Crisis Response Centre for seafarers who have experienced trauma, kept in touch with the seafarers and their legal team. After a long-running trial the seafarers release was finally secured and Sailors Society chaplains local to the seafarers will be available to offer support and welfare where required.
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A new edition of BIMCOs Dispute Resolution Clause has been published. New wording has been added to the US law, New York arbitration option to ensure that non-maritime contracts (such as shipbuilding contracts) are not inadvertently excluded from the scope of the clause.

The amended wording is designed to avoid arguments about the application of the clause to different categories of contract under US law. A second amendment excludes the mediation provision when New York arbitration is chosen.

This is because the approach to mediation in the US differs from other jurisdictions, such as England. Parties who have agreed New York arbitration are still at liberty to mediate all or part of their dispute, but slightly different procedures to those stated in the clause will apply.

An update to the Singapore arbitration option applies a higher Small Claims Procedure cap amount of USD 150,000, which is the figure used in the latest edition of the SCMA Rules.

There are no other changes to the BIMCO Dispute Resolution Clause. The amended wording will be incorporated into all new and revised BIMCO documents to provide options to arbitrate in London, New York, Singapore or an alternative venue chosen by the parties.

The full Clause will be known as the BIMCO Dispute Resolution Clause 2016 and will supersede the 2015 edition.
The trade unions FNV and CNV Vakmensen, the Rotterdam container companies and the Port of Rotterdam Authority concluded consultations on employment in the container industry.

The trade unions will present the outcome of the negotiations to their members with favourable advice.

The most important part of the negotiation result is that the companies involved will offer a job security guarantee until 1 July 2020, to those of their employees who already had an employment contract for an indefinite period by 1 January 2015 and who are covered by a CLA of the corresponding company.

Furthermore, the Port Senior Fit Scheme will be extended to employees aged 60 years. It has also been agreed that the 120 employees of ailing RPS will be offered a customised solution.

The companies and the Port Authority have come to mutual agreements on the financing of the aforementioned measures. This involves an amount in the order of twenty to thirty million.

The container companies involved in the consultations are ECT, APM Terminals, RWG, Matrans, ILS and Unilash. The trade unions will present the outcome of the negotiations to their members with favourable advice. Due to the holiday period, it will take until the second half of August to complete the member consultations.

Compared to six months ago, when a proposal by the employers was rejected by the unions, two things have essentially changed.

The most important one is that a custom solution has been found for the 120 employees of RPS, a company that performs agency work especially for container companies. RPS is heading for bankruptcy and is therefore unable to provide its employees job security guarantees like the other companies can.

The trade unions insisted that a solution would be presented for the employees of RPS at the time the job security agreement was concluded. In recent months, an inventory was made of what such a solution would be and what costs is would involve.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority and the shareholder of RPS make the funds available to provide this customised solution.

The past period has also shown that growth in the container industry cannot be taken for granted. Last year, the handling of containers in Rotterdam fell by 0.5%. The figures for the last six months are also negative.

This sheds a different light on the aforementioned four-year job security guarantee compared to six months ago. It is unprecedented that unions and companies have succeeded in coming to this agreement despite the market being under such pressure.

This also applies to the expansion of the Port Senior Fit Scheme. It will now apply to employees who were born between 1952 and 1956. As of the age of 60, they will now be able to work 60% at a salary of 95% and 100% pension accrual. This allows for a substantial reduction of the working capacity. A condition for the use of the scheme is the obligation to retire at the age of 65.

The container terminals of ECT, APMT and RWG and the service providers / hiring companies Matrans, ILS and Unilash employ more than 3,700 people. The realisation of two new, highly automated terminals on Maasvlakte 2 in the past few years, increased concern that the shift of cargo from the existing terminals to the new ones would cause a loss of jobs at terminals on Maasvlakte 1.

Estimates suggest that, depending on developments in the sector, this may involve 200 to 800 jobs until 2020. In the same period, several hundred people will also retire. Meanwhile, a total of more than 500 people are working on the two new terminals.
The latest of Transnet National Ports Authoritys (TNPA) nine new tugboats has set sail from the Durban premises of contractor, Southern African Shipyards, on Thursday, July 7, destined for its new home at the Port of Port Elizabeth.

The tug was ceremonially launched as Qunu in May alongside a third tug, Cormorant. Qunu was named after the Eastern Cape home village of former President, the late Nelson Mandela and is due to arrive in Port Elizabeth on Friday, July 8.

She is the second of two new tugs built for the port as part of this large-scale fleet replacement project. The first, Mvezo  named after the Eastern Cape birthplace of Mandela  was unveiled at the port in April by President Jacob Zuma.

Valued at R1.4 billion, the nine-tug contract is the largest single contract TNPA has ever awarded to a South African company for the building of harbor craft.

TNPA Chief Executive, Richard Vallihu, said after the tugs ceremonial launch last year, The building of these tugs demonstrates that this country has the expertise to compete in the global shipbuilding industry and to use the maritime economy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa, in line with the governments Operation Phakisa initiative.

Qunu will be handed over officially to the port in the coming weeks. Two tugs each will be allocated to the Ports of Durban, Richards Bay and Port Elizabeth, while Saldanha, which handles the largest carriers, would receive three tugs.

The tug building project kicked off in August 2014 and five tugs are under construction simultaneously at any given time due to the projects tight deadlines.

TNPA program manager Thandi Mehlo, Senior Marine Engineer, said TNPA had 29 tugs presently in service nationally, but the requirement for more powerful tugboats had increased in line with bigger commercial vessels calling at South African ports more frequently.

TNPAs new fleet will include nine tugs that are 31 meters long with a 70 ton bollard pull. The older tugs have 32.5 to 40 ton pulls, Mehlo said.

The increased bollard pull of these new generation tugs meets international standards and they also feature the latest global technology. The tugs have Voith Schneider propulsion which makes them highly maneuverable and able to change the direction and thrust almost instantaneously while guiding large vessels safely into our ports, Mehlo said.

Durban based Southern African Shipyards, which owns and operates the largest shipyard in Southern Africa, also built TNPAs previous 12 tugs. The company scooped the latest contract through an open and transparent process. Its employees have a 12 percent stake in the company, which has 60 percent black ownership.

Subcontractors on the project include well-known multi-nationals such as Barloworld Equipment, Siemens, Voith Schneider, as well as local contractors such as Bradgary Marine Shopfitters.

CEO Maharaj said his company had created a minimum of 500 direct and 3,500 indirect jobs through the project. We have also committed to ensuring that each tug has a minimum of 60 percent locally manufactured components, while partnering with international companies on the remaining aspects that cannot be manufactured here, for example the engines and propulsion units, he said.

Maharaj said the intention was to maximize local content and spread the benefits of the project to black suppliers, women- and youth-owned businesses. Ultimately South Africa will achieve a socio-economic benefit of more than R800 million as a result of the Supplier Development Plan attached to the contract, he said.

In addition a number of national and international training and development opportunities are being created for local employees.

TNPA also has a large training program in place for engineering and deck cadets to ensure that the vessels have skilled people in place to operate them.
Premier Li Keqiang made a non-stop visit to Fuyang in Anhui province, Yueyang in Hunan province and Wuhan in Hubei province on July 5 -6, to inspect flood control and rescue and relief work in areas along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.

This years flood season started earlier, with intense and large-scale heavy rainfall of long duration. To ensure major rivers and lakes are safe during the flood season and protect peoples lives and properties is of extreme importance. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to this work. General Secretary Xi Jinping and other leaders of the central leadership have given important instructions and directives. Relevant departments of different parts of China have made solid efforts for flood prevention and control.

The Huaihe River is a disaster-prone area, historically. Premier Li visited the Wangjiaba Dam in Fuyang, Anhui province. The dam is known as the most important dam on the 1,000-kilometer-long Huaihe River.

Premier Li Keqiang visits Wuhans Yangtze River embankment on July 6, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

He carefully observed water coming from upstream, inquired about developments in the flood situation, and asked working personnel to stay vigilant to such changes and make accurate and timely forecasts based on monitoring. Premier Li also heard briefings from the head of the Huaihe River Water Conservancy Commission. He said that July and August are critical months for flood control.

The harder battle is yet to come. The Commission should always bear safety in mind and never slacken efforts. It should work in a well-coordinated way between the upper stream and lower stream, make good preparation for various kinds of emergencies and gain the initiative in flood control and disaster relief, he said.

When visiting Zhengtaizi embankment in the Mengwa flood storage area, Premier Li asked local residents about their production and living conditions, as well as food and drug preparation for the flood season.

Premier Li Keqiang visits Wuhans Yangtze River embankment on July 6, 2016.[Photo/Xinhua]

He inquired about measures taken to ensure that the embankment is strong enough. He told local officials that they are in charge of a critical area for flood control in Huaihe River. They need to make sure that priority is always given to peoples lives and property, work in advance, and put in place safeguards to make people more confident that they will prevail over the disaster.

The Premier said that the Party and the government will continue to give more support and make sure that the flood storage lowland does not become a lowland for peoples livelihoods.

Baishiling village is an urban village in Yueyang city. Due to continuous heavy rainfall, many houses have been submerged. Premier Li arrived here despite the rainfall, carefully inspecting the flood situation, and asking how the relocation is going.

He said that now, many cities have seen floods within the city area. This is due to intense rainfall, and it also reflects an historical deficit in urban construction.

He asked for efforts to be made to ensure proper settlement for the affected population and for speeding up the renovation of shanty towns and the construction of an underground pipeline corridor to address this weakness and scar on the city and to raise disaster response capacity both above ground and underground.

The Premier also visited Jingjiang, the most dangerous section of the Yangtze River. He inspected the power-pumped section along the Jingjiang River in Yueyang city and the Liuyehu section of the Jianxinyuan embankments of the Dongting Lake, checking the water level and dam situation there. Leading officials of the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission briefed the Premier about their flood control efforts.

Premier Li said that ensuring the safety of the main embankments is critical to flood control and must therefore never be taken lightly. As the main flood season has just arrived, the situation could get worse before it gets better.

It is important to make all-weathered patrols of the embankments, reservoirs and other projects. Efforts must not be slackened in the slightest way. Contingent plans must be made in light of the latest developments to ensure the overall safety of major rivers, lakes and the basin area throughout the flood season.

The rainfall in Wuhan city has exceeded 600 mm in one week, leading to the rapid rise of water levels of the Yangtze River and Han River, both of which have passed the warning line. The non-stop torrential rains have caused piping in one section of the main embankment in the city along the Yangtze River.

Premier Li went to the site and inquired about the situation on the ground from soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army, armed police, water conservancy workers and other personnel fighting on the front line and asked them whether there exist fresh risks in the surrounding areas.

He said that taking care of a densely-populated area means heavy responsibilities. Although the embankment is much more solid than before, we still should not drop our alert, he said. Even one ant hole may cause the collapse of a solid dyke.

This piping incident is a cause of alarm for us. We are in a critical period for flood control. It is imperative to fill up all loopholes and guard against invisible perils, cement the embankment and gather useful experience. We need to remove all hidden dangers and ensure the safety of the people.

The water level of the Longwangmiao section of the Yangtze River has passed the warning line and is above the city roadbed. Wading through the river water, Premier Li inspected the embankment consolidation and material preparation.

He said that for flood control, prevention is the foundation, control is the key, while people is at the core. It is important to strengthen patrol and inspection, remove risks and leave nothing to chance. We must ensure safety for the tens of millions of citizens in Wuhan. Having withstood the test of massive flooding in the past, we are in a better position with greater confidence to safeguard our homeland. he said.

The central government will lose no time in allocating flood prevention and disaster relief funds in support of local efforts. We will guide different parts of China to make accurate early warnings, set aside adequate materials, make available a strong task force, take prompt actions in response to emergency and work in concert to win the hard battle of flood control this year. he added.

Vice-Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jing also took part in the inspection tour.
Italian emergency workers have recovered 217 bodies from the wreck of a boat that sank in the Mediterranean in April 2015, killing some 500 migrants, the Navy said on Thursday.

The sinking was one of the worst known disasters involving migrants trying to reach Europe by sea. Thousands of people a year, many of them fleeing war in the Middle East, have crossed the Mediterranean in unseaworthy or overcrowded boats.

In 2015, at least 3,770 people are thought to have died on Mediterranean routes, mostly by drowning when their boats capsized.

The vessel was hauled off the seabed and taken to a naval site in southeastern Sicily last week. Its sinking about 135 km (85 miles) north of Libya, from where it departed, jolted the European Union into stepping up Mediterranean rescue efforts.

Originally at least 700 people were thought to have died in the disaster, based on survivor testimony. A Navy official said last week he thought some 300 bodies were still in the hold, which added to 169 recovered from the nearby seabed would bring the death toll closer to 500.

A team of 150 professionals and volunteers from the Navy, fire service, Italian Red Cross and a forensic team of Milan university professors have been working around the clock to remove bodies from the fishing boat and examine them.

Autopsies have been carried out on 52 of the victims, and police scientists coordinated by a local public prosecutor have begun making reports on their findings.





(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Keppel Corp Ltd said it entered into an agreement with Royal Dutch Shell to form a joint venture company, which will establish a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business in Singapore.

The two companies will have a 50 percent stake each in the joint venture. Its principal business activity will be to supply LNG bunkering operations services in Singapore to ships and any other marine vessels in the Singapore port and other related services, Keppel said in a statement on Thursday.





(Reporting By Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Genting Hong Kong announced that the three shipyards in the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern bought this April will be named as MV WERFTEN*, be managed in Wismar and will focus on building large new cruise ships. Lloyd Werft located in Bremerhaven and bought last September will focus on its prior business of repairs, conversion and building of megayachts.

To make MV WERFTEN one of the worlds most modern and efficient cruise shipyards, we will invest 100 million euros in a thin plate laser welding line, a cabin module factory, a new covered section block building hall, the modernization of manufacturing control systems and new executive and employee offices and facilities, said Tan Sri KT Lim, the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Genting Group.

Jarmo Laakso has been appointed Managing Director of MV WERFTEN. Mr. Laakso has more than 35 years experience in building passenger ships, including the latest generation of mega cruise ships, such as the Quantum of the Seas. Mr. Laakso has a unique yard and owner perspective as he has worked for Meyer Werft from 1998 to 2004 and for Royal Caribbean International from 2005 to 2015, Tan Sri KT Lim added.

We highly appreciate the commitment of Genting Hong Kong, said Harry Glawe, Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns Economics Minister. This is a strong signal and a clear statement of Genting on the shipbuilding industry in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern  and in particular on the shipyards Wismar, Rostock and Stralsund.

MV WERFTEN will deliver the first four luxury Crystal River ships in 2017, the first of a series of 20,000 gross tonnage Crystal Endeavor Class polar expedition yachts in 2018 and the first of a series of 201,000 gross tonnage Star Cruises Global Class cruise ships by 2020. The planned annual output of MV WERFTEN will be stepped up in future years to eventually build two Neo-Panamax cruise ships of over 200,000 gross tonnage each and one Panamax cruise vessel a year. MV WERFTEN has docks, fabrication halls and painting shops which are all covered and, as a result, is able to produce cruise ships of the highest quality and workmanship, valued at more than 2.5 billion euros, the shipbuilder said.

We will build on the strength of the 1,400 employees of MV WERFTEN, Laakso said. We have hired and are still hiring more people with cruise shipbuilding experience who, with the current workforce, will make MV WERFTEN one of the most efficient and innovative cruise shipbuilders in Europe.

Lloyd Werft in Bremerhaven will continue to be led by Managing Director Rudiger Pallentin, Dirk Petersjohann and Carsten Haake and focus on its previous business repair and conversion and will, with its recently established Lloyd Werft Design Center, strengthen its ability to build megayachts.





*Note: MV is the abbreviation of the German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern where the three yards are located and Werften is the plural form of Werft
STUARTAt a presentence report/sentencing hearing Wednesday, a judge in Patrick County Circuit Court took under advisement for one year the cases of a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, woman who previously pleaded guilty to sale of marijuana and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.

Judge Martin F. Clark Jr. ordered Chelsea Jordan Hutchens, 26, to come back to court for review every three months for a year, to contact the probation office monthly, to serve one day in jail and to pay court costs. Clark said that if Hutchens complies with all the terms he will dismiss the charges at the end of the one year period of advisement.

To take a case under advisement means the judge "deferred formal sentencing to give the defendant a chance to complete certain conditions," Patrick County Commonwealths Attorney Stephanie Vipperman explained in an email.

Probation officer Ron Weiss testified that except for the charges against her, he was impressed with Hutchens. He said she had a good family background, good educational background, good work history, no criminal record and was very cooperative with him.

Hutchens testified that she recently received an associate degree and had a high grade point average, that she has worked almost a year as a manager at a restaurant, and in several months plans to begin the process of applying for admission to a university.

Hutchens also testified that she had hung with the wrong people and used poor judgment concerning the occasion in question. She also said she did not fully understand what she was getting herself into on that occasion. However, she said she took responsibility for her actions. "It was my choice," she said.

Hutchens and co-defendant Mitchell Dale Whittington, 26, of Winston-Salem, were charged in connection with an incident on May 1, 2015. (Whittington was charged with distribute marijuana and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. He pleaded guilty to the charges March 14, and on May 16 a judge took his cases under advisement, and he was placed on supervised probation for one year, according to court records.)

According to the commonwealths summary of evidence and Vipperman, the following is alleged:

On April 29, 2015, Postal Inspector Melissa McAllister intercepted a package addressed to 31 Hubert Road, Martinsville. A federal search warrant was obtained and the contents consisted of 3 pounds, 3 ounces of marijuana.

A "controlled delivery" (monitored by law enforcement) was executed on April 30, 2015.

The summary of commonwealths evidence says: "A male subject arrived a short time later and picked up the package. The VSP (Virginia State Police) executed a traffic stop as he began to drive away, and detained the subject. The subject was then interviewed and agreed to cooperate with the police. The subject admitted he was expecting another package at a different residence. That package was intercepted and searched as well. It contained 1 lb. 0.7 oz of marijuana. The subject agreed to set up a meeting with  (a person suspected of masterminding the operation who has not been charged) who was supposed to pick up the boxes from him."

The meeting was set up for May 1, 2015, at an address on County Line Road, Bassett, in Patrick County, which was the original male subjects residence. At about 11:35 a.m., Whittington arrived driving a blue Ford Explorer and his girlfriend, Chelsea Hutchens, arrived driving a white Chevy sedan. Whittington exited his vehicle, went to the front door of the residence, and after having some small talk with the original male subject, Whittington took both boxes and started back to his vehicle. At this time, members of the Virginia State Police tactical team took both Whittington and Hutchens into custody.

(Vipperman said authorities have not released the name of the original male subject because he cooperated.)

According to the commonwealths summary of evidence, after waiving his Miranda rights, Whittington said the plan was to pick up the marijuana for a friend (the man authorities suspect of masterminding the operation) and take it to North Carolina. Whittington said he had been to this house once before to pick up a package with that friend and that that friend had given him a couple of ounces from that package, which he sold for profit.

After waiving her Miranda rights, Hutchens said she knew the packages were marijuana and were illegal. She told officers that she planned to get a portion of the marijuana at $300 from Whittington at $300 an ounce to sell herself.

Virginia State Police Special Agent J.D. Braziel delivered the two boxes to the state lab for analysis. One box was determined to contain 15.770 ounces of marijuana and the other, 2 pounds, 15.4 ounces of marijuana.

Hutchens testified Wednesday that she thought primarily what she would receive from the transaction would be money for gasoline, and beyond that was up in the air.

Hutchens lawyer, Harold E. "Chip" Slate II, argued that, except for the charges against her, she had an exceptional pre-sentence report, that she aspires to become a math teacher or a physical therapist, that the incident she was charged with was "a single mistake," and "lapse in judgment" and that she was the "lesser actor" in the incident, among other things.

Judge Clark said he felt what it amounted to was that she was a low-level drug dealer who was a user. (Hutchens told him she has not used marijuana in more than six months.) Clark said he senses her "co-actor" was more deeply involved in the incident than Hutchens was.

Also in Circuit Court on Wednesday, Raymond Samuel Martin, 45, of Stuart, was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison, all suspended except for 11 months active behind bars. He was placed on supervised probation for three years, and ordered to pay $1,200 in fines and to complete a substance abuse treatment program. Originally charged with three counts of sale of oxycodone, he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of three counts of possession of oxycodone. (The charges were amended after the death of natural causes of a confidential informant, "who worked a number of defendants," according to Vipperman.)

The incidents involving Martin were alleged to have happened on May 6, 8 and 9, 2013, and involved a total of 18 oxycodone pills.

Martins lawyer, Perry Harrold, argued that Martin has an alcohol problem.

Also in Circuit Court, during a bond hearing, Judge Clark set a $17,000 secured bond for David I. Ezzell, 39, of Richmond, on charges of sale of a schedule 1 drug (Ecstasy), conspiracy to sell schedule 1 drug and possession with intent to distribute marijuana (one-half ounce to five pounds) in connection with an incident July 27, 2013 at Floyd Fest.

Paul Collins reports for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at paul.collins@martinsvillebulletin.com.
MARTINSVILLE- The road to Nicaragua is paved with good intentions, at least thats how Taylor Frick sees it.

This October Frick and several members of her church, Mercy Crossing in Martinsville will be heading to Nicaragua in partnership with Because We Care Ministries.

I will be going with the 3G Mission Team and Because We Care Ministries and sharing Gods love with the people of Nicaragua, Frick explained.

Founded in 2000 by Dr. Donald Gillette, BWCM is a Christian non-profit organization with an evangelistic mission. They witness through various relief ministries to the people of Nicaragua

We have two teams going. I am going the first week from the 8th to the 15th. While there, we plan to do food distribution, evangelistic rallies, medical clinics as well as some house and church construction, said Frick.

Spreading the Gospel of Christ is also on Fricks agenda.

This is not Fricks first rodeo in missions. Last May in conjunction with Mary Baldwin University, where shes a student, Frick traveled to study intercultural communication in Haiti.

While there we worked with Father Fred, who is a priest for the Episcopal Church, explained Frick. We interacted a lot with the students in his school and through the help of many organizations we donated school supplies, laptops and some fun activities.

Frick attributes Haiti to changing the way she looks at life.

It was honestly one of the most moving experiences of my life. There are not enough words to explain the tremendous impact that it had on my heart and life, she said.

Frick has done her homework for this trip and knows exactly what she has signed up for.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In 1998, 750,000 people lost their homes and their possessions by Hurricane Mitch, said Frick. With an extreme lack of healthcare, the leading cause of death among children under a year old is intestinal infectious diseases and malnutrition.

The total cost to go on the trip is $1,500, and Checkered Pig in Martinsville held a fundraiser earlier this summer to help with the cost.

Although I do not have another Spirit Night at the Checkered Pig set up right now, they have been super supportive of my travels and have done a Spirit Night for both Haiti and Nicaragua, said Frick.

While some people might consider this a dangerous trip, Fricks mind is at peace.

I feel led to go on this trip so I have no reservations about it whatsoever, said Frick.

Starting her senior year at Mary Baldwin University, Frick is majoring in Psychology, with a double minor in Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution and Leadership Studies, with an emphasis in Community and Social Change.

There is still time to donate to Fricks trip. She has a GoFundMe page which can be found by searching on gofundme.com for Taylor Fricks Nicaragua Mission.
Those who rule through deceit, hypocrisy and violence always look over their shoulder for the creeping spectre of truth. They do so more restlessly as they begin to feel the march of history catching up to them and the antiquated system they rest their privileges on. And such is the epoch that we are entering today as capitalism has dug itself into the deepest crisis in its history. The crisis is so deep that it is no longer in the realm of absurdity for the ruling class to think that the only way out is to keep digging until they come out of the other side.

The more bankrupt and backward is the ruling class, the more crass and vulgar are their methods in stemming the tide of rising class struggle. The Indonesian ruling class can be counted among them. They have the blood of hundreds of thousands of communists on their hand to prove it.

The Repression Began

In the past few months there has been an increased anti-democratic repression by the state apparatus and reactionary paramilitary outfits that have been known to be connected to the army. While violation of democratic rights is not uncommon in Indonesia, there has definitely been a marked intensification of such violation recently. The wave of repression began around February when a festival called Turn Left Festival, which was organized by a heterogeneous group of Left-wing intellectuals, students, and artists, were forcefully dispersed. Scores of reactionary protesters hand in hand with the police intimidated the organizers and accused them of being communists.

The main theme of the festival was to rehabilitate the history of Left movement in Indonesia  particularly the history of PKI (Communist Party of Indonesia)  that has been distorted by the Soeharto regime. As one of the organizers said: The festival aims to inspire the young and make them aware of the need to learn history that hasnt been twisted, [in order] to build a better Indonesia. I'm wondering why the government is so afraid of the festival. But the reason is clear. Even though the content of the festival -- and the intellectuals around it -- is very confused, the ruling class is afraid of anything that might resurrect the revolutionary memory of the PKI in the hearts and minds of workers and youth. Truth is a stubborn mole that can burrow its way out of anything.

The organizers of the festival have made it clear that they are not communists. In fact they believe that communism, Marxism, and Leninism are dead and irrelevant. Hence their bewilderment as to why the government was afraid of the festival. But the ruling class disagrees wholehearted with them on this point. While capitalist media and ideologues keep delivering eulogies for Marxism, the more far sighted sections of the ruling class know full well of the danger of communism, especially during this period when capitalism can no longer inspire confidence even amongst its most diehard adherents.

The repression accelerated in the next few months with the banning of a number of public meetings and screenings of a documentary entitled Buru Island, My Homeland. The documentary tells the stories of former detainees of a prison camp in Buru Island that housed tens of thousands of communists and communist sympathizers who were rounded up following the 1965 counter revolution by Soeharto. This low-budget film hardly carries any outright radical message. It is more like a sad reunion of former Buru Island detainees, old and defeated, and whose only desire is for the government to recognize that the Buru Island gulag did exist. But even this very harmless film ruffled the feather of the ruling class. Basic democratic demands, such as rehabilitation of history and dignity of those wronged by the New Order regime, carries such a weight that the regime cannot tolerate them in the slightest.

A monologue about Tan Malaka, the leader of PKI in the 1920s, entitled Saya Rusa Berbulu Merah (I am a Red-furred Deer), was also cancelled following intimidation and threat from Islam Defenders Front (FPI). FPI is one of the most notorious reactionary groups in Indonesia. Their members wear distinct white robes and have amongst their daily activities the raiding of nightclubs and brothels in order to blackmail owners of these joints some money and liquor. With the excuse of defending Islam and protecting society from godless communists, it has been given impunity by the government to attack Left-wing meetings and activities.

The rather harmless and apolitical ASEAN Literature Festival also did not escape intimidations from the police and reactionary organizations who objected to some of its programs that dealt with LGBT issues, Papua, and 1965. The so-called Alliance of Muslim Society and Students staged a rally in front of the venue and accused the organizers of the festival of having a disguised agenda to champion communist ideas, provoke separatism and promote freedom of expression for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The police threatened to withdraw the event permit if the organizers did not change their program.

Repression Stepped Up

Feeling confident, the authorities stepped up their repression by going after books that they consider to be subversive, particularly those about the 1965 counter revolution and the PKI. The army and the police raided a number of bookshops and confiscated books about 1965. Intelligence agents made rounds and visited bookstore owners, asking them if they are selling any Marxist books.

But the government overplayed their hand. They took their confidence too far that it quickly turned into a display of absurdity. Boneheaded police and army officials strived to outdo each other as to who could be the most rabid anti-communist crusader, perhaps expecting a promotion at the end of the day. Authorities began sweeping just about any stores looking for merchandises that carry not only a hammer-and-sickle symbol but also anything that had a resemblance to it. A T-shirt store owner was arrested for selling T-shirts of German-based thrash metal band Kreator featuring an album cover that has hammer and sickle on it. The police released the store owner after their lengthy[!] investigation found that the sellers sold the T-shirts purely for business purpose ... [and they found] no evidence of treason.

Shortly after, two youths in North Maluku were arrested and charged with spreading communism for wearing a T-shirt with a play-on-words acronym of PKI. The two youths are indigenous rights activists who uploaded their photo on their Facebook account wearing the said T-shirt with a comment Mr. Dandim (Military District Commander), will I also be arrested because of this T-shirt? The T-shirt reads Indonesian Coffee Lovers, which is meant to be a play on word of PKI and a clear playful jab at the authorities. But this was enough for the army to pick them up in the middle of the night and jail them for spreading communist ideas. Their rooms were ransacked and in it the army found evidence of six communist books. One of them was Reason in Revolt which was recently published by Militan Indonesia. The police eventually had to release them when it became clear that they lacked the evidence to pursue this case.

This absurdity was finally crowned by a recent statement made by a retired Major General Kivlan Zen in a symposium titled "Protecting Pancasila from the threat of the PKI and other ideologies". There the old general said that two weeks earlier the PKI was founded again after more than 50 years being destroyed. According to him, the party now has 15 million members with well-established party structures from provincial level to village level ready to strike in 2017. The headquarter of this reborn PKI was said to be located in a building around Kramat Raya area in Central Jakarta, where the new Central Committee is meeting. When checked by members of the media, this alleged PKI headquarter turned out to be an abandoned building that has not seen a soul in it for decades. The building used to be owned by the PKI before it was attacked and burned by anti-communists mob in 1965, but now it stands empty with bushes and weeds growing around it.

Ruling Class Out of Touch

The senile retired general with his wild statements is a reflection of the state of the ruling class in Indonesia, or at least a section of it, that has lost touch with reality. His was only the most extreme and inevitable expression of the anti-communist paranoia that has been plaguing the whole ruling class. When the government warns the public day in day out that communism is lurking in the dark corner ready to strike back lest people stay vigilant, it is only a matter of time before some people really buy into this black propaganda and takes it a step further into a realm of fantasy.

Such wild statements - and Kivlans was not the only one - and the arbitrary arrests that the army and the police have been conducting to crack down on communist symbols, have had people shaking their head at the stupidity of government officials and reactionary forces like FPI, a stupidity which is quite well established and has been the object of ridicule by a wide layer of people. Responding to the medias questions on whether or not communist movement is resurrecting or whether the police have been excessive in their actions, the Indonesian National Police spokesman, Boy Rafli Amar, suddenly found himself becoming a dialectician: One cannot answer yes or no to that question. If there is no communist resurrection, but how come there are signs of it. A truly dialectical answer, albeit one which was unconsciously arrived at through sheer ignorance!

In their crusade against the fictional danger of communism, the ruling class have made themselves look like fools. But there is a method in such foolishness and absurdity. A society in deep social, political, and economic malaise is abound with the signs that Mr. Amar and the Indonesian ruling class are fearful of, the signs of the spectre of communism. The October 3rd 2012 general strike (Getok Monas), the first since 1965, and the following wave of strikes and labour actions was one of those signs. Even though the workers movement has been temporarily defeated and is in retreat, the ruling class cannot help but feel that the workers will learn from their mistakes, wake up from their shallow slumber, and strike back with a greater confidence. Workers are lowering their heads but their discontent and disgruntled feelings are seeping through and palpable to the ruling class.

In general, the ruling class can feel that the ground that they are standing on is shaking as capitalism on a world scale is spiraling into a destructive vortex. They recall experiencing this before in the 1960s, and thus they naturally associate any turbulent period to the existence of PKI. But there is no PKI to be found, no communist leadership at the head of the movement, which is a problem on its own on the part of the proletariat movement. Hence the above dialectical answer by Mr. Amar that communism is coming back but also not coming back, that there are signs of communist resurrection but it is not quite there as well.

There is some truth in Mr. Amars statement. Communism is indeed in the air, but it has yet to materialize, an issue that we will examine later in this article. In short, just like Marx once said, the spectre of communism is haunting Indonesia. In this land where people are weighed down by superstition, it is believed that those who die in a violent and unnatural manner will never rest in peace. Their soul will keep haunting those responsible for their death to seek retributions. This partly explains the psychology of Indonesian ruling class, their exaggerated fear of the return of communism. They had massacred hundreds of thousands communists in manners that are beyond human comprehension. Communists were tortured in ways that make Spanish inquisitions look benign; they were mutilated like cattle; their bodies were thrown into the rivers in such large numbers that they got clogged. For this inhumane crime the ruling class always feel haunted by the vengeful spirits of those they massacred, partly because of their superstition, and partly because of their own class instinct. The latter plays a more decisive factor, but the former gives this fear a particular tinge of paranoia.

Ruling class split

The ruling class is also split into two on the question of how to approach the nations dark past, ie. the 1965 massacre. One more moderate section, is taking a milder and more reconciliatory stance, while another, more hard-line section refuses to budge at all. In essence this is a split between the liberal democratic wing of the ruling class on one side, and the old Bonapartist wing that revolves around Golkar and the army on the other side. Since the 1998 Reformasi, when the Bonapartist wing lost their grip on power as Soeharto was overthrown by the masses, there has been an uneasy balance between these two wings.

The liberal democrats wish to reform the state in order to make it modern, to establish a bourgeois democratic state based on the rule of law in order to avoid excessive use state violence that could provoke a revolution. The 1998 Reformist movement was a revolution that almost engulfed the whole society in a fire that once started would be difficult to extinguish until it burns down everything that is old. The 32-year brutal military rule played a key role in piling up the flammable materials. The liberal democrats wholeheartedly believe that the only way to build a stable capitalism is through bourgeois democracy, through reconciliation of the past so that there is no longer festering wounds that could rip apart the fabric of the society. It has to showcase to the whole people that capitalism is a system that can redeem itself, that it did make a mistake but it can acknowledge and redress it.

Jokowi was elected president with the support of the democrats, who flocked to his side because their democratic sensibility was offended by Prabowo, a military-man with a Bonapartist tendency who ran as the other candidate. Once elected, the democrats demanded from Jokowi and his government a return for their kind services in the form of a number of democratic reforms. One of them is on the question of the 1965 massacre. Thus in April the government, working with scholars, human rights activists and various 1965 survivors organizations, organized the 1965 Tragedy Symposium. The symposium was expected to take a historical approach [in order to] uncover the truth so that we can obtain a comprehensive understanding of events surrounding the 1965 tragedy and to make recommendations to the government. But since the beginning this symposium has been a very uneasy compromise that the government made with the democrats.

The symposium was opened with a speech from Chief Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan, a retired general and one of President Jokowis most trusted and influential ministers, While he spoke of finding a comprehensive solution [to the 1965 tragedy] so that it doesnt become a burden for the future generation, he explicitly ruled out any official apology from the government. He also ruled out any rehabilitation of the victims of the massacre: We have to see, because for rehabilitation, how many people do we have to rehabilitate? How about those who were also killed by the PKI, who wants to rehabilitate them?

On whether any perpetrators would be brought to justice, retired general Agus Widjojo, a well-known reformer in the army who spearheaded this symposium, also made it clear that there couldnt be any retributive justice since it would be difficult to find the perpetrators or even evidence. But this statement was immediately disputed by many human right activists who have amassed heaps of evidence of gross human right violations, enough to be admissible in the court of justice. There is always evidence for such a wide scale massacre. Mass graves pepper the whole Indonesian archipelago. There is no lack of witness, as almost every village was touched by this massacre, where local villagers were either made victims for being associated with the PKI (mostly through its peasant organization, Peasants Front of Indonesia) or forced at gunpoint by the army to participate in the killings lest they wanted to be accused of being communist sympathizers. The perpetrators can be readily found in army barracks and army high command headquarters. In fact the main active perpetrators are still openly boasting how they shed the bloods of hundreds of thousands of people in order to save the nation from the peril of communism. What Agus Widjojo fears was that bringing the perpetrators to justice could open a pandora box that might drag in too many people in power.

It is clear that a section of the ruling class - and even a small layer within the army, exemplified by the two army figures mentioned above - wants to move on and is hoping that any form of reconciliation would make up for the hundreds of thousands that they had brutally tortured and murdered. They want the whole nation, and especially the future generation of youth, to move past the 1965 tragedy, for contained in that tragedy is the historical memory of a proud and courageous communist movement that they wish to keep out of sight from the youth. But in practice they couldnt even offer basic democratic measures that would normally be considered standard practice in bourgeois democratic societies in dealing with human rights violations: public apology from the state, formation of some form of truth-seeking or fact-finding commission, legal proceedings to try the perpetrators, reparations for the victims, rehabilitation of victims. There is too much at risk as the whole foundation of the regime is built upon the skulls and bones of the 1965 massacres.

It is also worth noting that there is one fundamental thing that differentiates the Indonesian 1965-66 massacre from many other massacres of similar magnitude (the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, etc.), in that it was a mass killing conducted openly as a class war on the part of the capitalist class. The crushing of PKI and the accompanying killings were celebrated by the capitalists all over the world as the great victory over communism. Time Magazine reported it as the best news for the West in Asia for many years, while the New York Times gave the headline A glimmer of light in Asia. It was the bloodiest White Terror in history. Hence it is the only mass killing in the 20th century that despite its sheer magnitude and cruelty receives very little attention from the whole civilized world. There has never been a serious pressure from the various bourgeois human rights institutions to investigate the 1965 tragedy, because it would implicate too many parties and uncover too many embarrassing things, especially for the US imperialism.

A much larger layer of the ruling class, the Bonapartist wing, refuses to budge at all on the question of the 1965 massacre. They are taking a hard-line position of no concession on the matter of 1965. It would be wrong to attribute their hard-line attitude to their ignorance of human rights. On the contrary, they know all too well that today the world is entering into troubled waters which is ripe for the return of communist ideas, and hence their stubbornness in sounding the alarm of the latent danger of PKI at every chance they get.

Jokowis cabinet was split over this question, with Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu openly opposed the 1965 symposium that was organized by the government. He also voiced his disagreement with Jokowis instruction to locate mass graves of the victims of the 1965 massacre. Immediately after the 1965 symposium, Ryamizard held a meeting with retired army leaders and various reactionary Black-Hundred-type religious and youth organizations to talk about how to anticipate the resurrection of PKI movement. His message, which could be read as a threat, to Jokowi and the democrats is clear: [With] meetings to provoke here and there [referring to public meetings surrounding 1965], there could be a bloodshed far more dangerous than 1965.  I remind people, again and again I remind people. If there is bloodshed, I have told you so. I am not provoking, but just reminding.

What we are witnessing here is a classic split inside the ranks of the ruling class, between those who believe in reforms from the top to prevent revolution from below, and those who believe that reforms could instead embolden the masses and open the gate to something that they cannot control. President Jokowi was trying to balance between these two wings. He tries his best to appease the democrats while not offending hardliners like Ryamizard, and he has failed miserably in both of his aims. The symposium that Jokowis government organized, marked by his absence which was clearly a compromise to those who objected to it, is criticized heavily by the liberal democrats for being toothless and whitewashing. But even this tokenistic toothless symposium was too much for the hardliners. The wave of anti-communist propaganda and intimidations was no doubt also a response to what the hardliners perceive as the overtly accommodating stance of Jokowis government to the plight of the liberal democrats on the question of 1965.

How to fight repression

Seeing an increase of repressions many on the Left were quick to sound the alarm that the New Order is making a comeback. Their paranoia is informed by their ignorance of class politics. They do not have an inkling of how the classes move and how class struggle develops, thus they see the rise of Bonapartist military rule simply as a result of choice made by certain individuals or groups.

Bonapartism - i.e. naked rule by the sword over society - comes as a result of a deep crisis and impasse in the society, where class struggle has been fought to a stalemate. On one hand, the proletariat have waged a mass revolutionary movement that shakes the whole society from top to bottom, but find themselves unable to bring the movement to its final conclusion: revolutionary conquest of power. On the other hand, the bourgeoisie was too weak to defeat the proletariat and bring order to the society ripped apart by fever-pitch class struggle. Under this set of circumstances, the army - the armed bodies of men and women of the bourgeois state - could step in to take control in order to bring back order.

The Soeharto regime was that Bonapartist regime that came about as a result of the impasse in the 1960s. The workers and peasants movement, under the leadership of the PKI, was a behemoth that threw the whole Indonesian society into a revolutionary turmoil. The ruling classes were paralyzed, not knowing how to deal with the growing power of the PKI. But the leadership of the PKI refused to take power and embark on a socialist revolution, as they saw the next stage of Indonesian revolution as a national revolution. Thus the whole society found itself hung in the air. Who would make the first move? The leaders of PKI had made up their mind that they would not make the first move, i.e. to take power by revolutionary means. With that they have renounced their right to victory, and on September 30th, 1965, the army made their move and installed a brutal regime that lasted for 32 years.

Indonesia is not in such situation today. We have yet to enter a period of sharp and open class struggle. The capitalist class would not unleash a military dictatorship against the population until it has exhausted all other options to establish order. It is far cheaper - economically and politically - to rule through parliamentary democracy and illusions than through the naked rule of sword alone.

There is a habit amongst the Left to respond to any manifestation of anti-democratic actions on the part of the regime with New Order boogeyman. On one hand it is a reflection of their intellectual laziness as mentioned above. On the other hand it is a reflection of the opportunism and class collaborationism that dominates todays Left - With the New Order always around the corner, it is therefore justified to form a popular front with all democratic forces. This also colors their methods in fighting anti-democratic repressions. Instead of mass militant actions, they opt for more civilized methods that are acceptable to the liberal democrats: press conferences, petitions, appealing to the state for protection, legal challenge.

What is needed to successfully challenge the terror and intimidations from state apparatus and reactionary groups is militant mass actions, particularly ones which are led by the working class and their trade unions. Self-defence groups should be formed by trade unions, which will not only protect the workers from thugs hired by the bosses to break their strikes, but also provide protections to all social activists from all forms of intimidations. This way the working class can establish itself as the only class that is consistent and principled in fighting for democracy. Clearly, the movement cannot rely on the state to guard its democratic rights.

Building a Revolutionary Leadership

The increased wave of anti-communist terror and intimidation should not be seen with pessimistic eyes. In fact it is an admission of fear on the part of the ruling class. The ground beneath their feet is shifting and they can feel the spectre of communism in the air. The crisis of capitalism on a world scale has created a very fertile soil for communism to grow again, particularly in Indonesia where living conditions are unbearable for the masses and the conducts of the ruling classes can only inspire disgust.

There might not be 15 million members of PKI at the moment as retired general Kivlan would like to believe, but there are millions of youth, workers and students - who are open to revolutionary ideas. These are the revolutionaries that will grow into battalions of communists which will strike fear into the hearts of the ruling classes. Thus serious, persistent and consistent attention has to be afforded to these layers. A Bolshevik organization has to be built that will be able to gather these in its ranks and temper them with Marxism. Let us not disappoint our Defence Minister and his reactionary colleagues who truly believe that the force of communism is gathering strength!
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SPRINGFIELD -- Just run your fingers through the golden brown kernels of hickory-smoked, German-grown rye grain set out to dry at Copper Moon Distillery and the room fills with a strong vibrant aroma that's sweet without smelling of candy, smokey without smelling of burnt coffee.

"I can't wait to find out what it's like when the finished whiskey comes out of the barrel," said owner Scott Santaniello, whose distillery and workshop fill a few rooms in the lower floor of the sprawling Indian Orchard Mills complex.

The former mill building is now host to a a variety of small companies and artisans, as well as Santaniello's still. He had it built by a local sheet metal shop in 2013.

Santaniello has a state-issued farmer-distiller license on the wall. Everything Santaniello does -- including names of the liquors and the descriptions on the bottle -- must be approved by government agencies up to and including a division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

The rye whiskey, which may be available later this year, will join Copper Moon's Oak Barrel Bourbon Whiskey, which came out in February, and earlier, still-in-production varieties Devils Daughter white whiskey and the flavored Apple Pie Moonshine and Lemon Moonshine.

Santaniello also plans to introduce next year a whiskey made with "wash" -- basically beer -- provided by Berkshire Brewing Co. in South Deerfield.

The wash Santaniello will use will be heavily flavored with peat, just as the grains used to make Scotch whisky are flavored with peat, said Gary Bogoff, Berkshire Brewing president and founder.

"So it should have some interesting flavors," Bogoff said in a telephone interview.

He's had a similar partnership with Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Sheffield.

"What is exciting to me is that we have a partnership with another local artist," Bogoff said.

Berkshire Brewing distributes Santaniello's liquor. Bogoff said it does well locally in an increasingly competitive market.

"When it comes to craft anything -- liquor, beer, wine, food -- there are so many people jumping in the market right now. Competition is very stiff. It's even from the big brands who see this market as a threat. They are jumping in too with their own craft brands."

At the same time, all those competitors do have a growing market of would-be gourmands waiting to at least sample, if not buy craft, products.

"I think people are drinking better products than they were normally accustomed to," Bogoff said.

Copper Moon is in liquor stores all over Massachusetts and Connecticut. In a few weeks, Santaniello's whiskeys will be sold in Rhode island as well.

"Its very satisfying," Santaniello said. "I'm happy I have been able to convert some bourbon drinkers away from the 'big boys,' the major brands. That tells me I'm doing a good job."

Santaniello established Lazy Valley Winery in 2007 to some success. But tastes changed over the years, with more and more consumers looking for distinctive liquors.

The clear whiskey is not aged. It comes that way right out of the still. Darker spirits take on their color as they age. By legal definition, bourbon must be aged in a new vessel made of American Oak.

But that is the end of the process. At first, Santaniello collects his grains in a recipe of proportions he's developed. He grinds them and mixes them with hot water with yeast in tanks where they steep and ferment.

He pointed to a hole in the top of one aging tank.

"Put your nose to that and tap the lid," he said.

The unmistakable alcohol-laden scent of whiskey came pouring out.

From the fermenting tanks, the beer-like liquid goes to the still.

"I know I wanted a pot still because of the flavor," he said.

But he needed it to be efficient, so he had the fabricators install stripper discs in the stack with tiny pinholes. The pinholes capture the water vapor as the the mixture boils, sending the alcohol on through to be cooled back down into liquor.

Then it is on to the aging barrels and packaging.

On a recent day, Santaniello spent the morning filling tiny nip bottles with bourbon to keep up with liquor store demand.

"I'm here all the time," Santaniello said, adding that his daughters help out on their college breaks. "There is always something to do. But I like it. If you have patience, you really have something in the end."
CRRC, the Chinese company building a Springfield factory to supply cars to the MBTA, and its business partner faces quality questions in Singapore, according to news reports out of Asia.

Channel NewsAsia reported that 26 of 35 trains delivered to Singapore transportation officials in 2013 were found to have cracks in the bogies, a railroad term for the frame that attaches the wheels to the carriage.

The Singapore Land Transport Authority also told Channel NewsAsia that the cracks "are not safety-critical and do not affect the train's systems or performance."

FactWire, a Hong Kong-based investigative news outlet, reported that 35 trains were shipped back from Singapore to the factory of CSR, a unit of CRRC, in China. FactWire, which crowd-sourced photos of the trains wrapped in green covers, said problems with the trains were kept secret both in Singapore and in China.

Factwire also reported that CSR-made trains have experienced a series of problems in Singapore including exploding batteries and cracked passenger windows.

The Singapore project was a joint effort with Japanese conglomerate Kawasaki, which was responsible for overseeing and designing the trains and making the train bogies. CSR Sifang, which is part of CRRC, was responsible for the cars, according to Factwire.

The site said CSR also was responsible for assembling the trains and conducting factory tests.

CRRC is moving into the North American market in both Boston and Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, CSR Sifang America won a $1.3 billion contract in March to build 846 cars for the Chicago Transit Authority at a factory to be built on the city's Southeast Side.

In Massachusetts, CRRC MA received a $566-million state contract in 2014 to manufacture 284 subway cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Boston area's mass transit system, at a factory to be built in Springfield. Of those 284 cars, 152 are for the Orange Line and 132 for the Red Line. It is expected that it will take five years for CRRC to deliver the cars.

Massachusetts went without federal funds on the project in order to require that the cars be assembled in the state.

CRRC chose the former Westinghouse plant property on Page Boulevard for its factory. Once up and running, the plant will need 150 employees, and CRRC officials have said they plan to make Springfield a hub for their North American expansion.

A CRRC spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions from The Republican about the problems with the Singapore cars and CRRC's plans in North America.
FLORENCE - Florence Bank announced today the recent promotion of Beverly A. Beaulieu of South Hadley, MA to the position of Senior Vice-President/Director of Retail Banking.



In her new role, she will have responsibility for the Bank's Retail Banking operations and direct and supervise the Retail Administrative staff and Managers throughout the Bank's branches, as well as the Customer Service Center. Beaulieu first joined Florence Bank in 1996. Prior to her recent promotion, she was Branch Manager at the King Street office, and then served in the capacity of Vice-President/Retail Sales & Merchandising Manager.



Her industry experience prior to joining Florence Bank was at a regional bank where she began her career as a Branch and Special Projects Manager, before being promoted to a Regional Mutual Funds Manager managing 16 sales representatives, and then to Regional Sales Manager, supporting more than 40 branches. The Mount Holyoke College graduate holds a B.A. in Education and French.



John F. Heaps, President & CEO at Florence Bank, said, "We are very pleased to promote Beverly to this key role as Senior Vice-President/Director of Retail Banking. She has been an integral part of our team for two decades and has always served the Bank and our customers with enthusiasm, expertise and professionalism."



Beaulieu serves on the Executive Leadership Team at the American Heart Association, Western MA Chapter, is a member and volunteer at the Greater Holyoke YMCA, and a member of Mount Holyoke's Pioneer Valley Alumnae Club.




carlson suit.jpg

From left, Gretchen Carlson (FOX News photo), Roger Ailes (AP photo) and Steve Doocy (FOX News photo)

The parent company of FOX News has launched what it described as an "internal review" of sexual harassment allegations levied against CEO Roger Ailes, as well as the conduct of "FOX & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy, by a former host Gretchen Carlson.

"The Company has seen the allegations against Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy," 21st Century Fox said in a prepared statement. "We take these matters seriously. While we have full confidence in Mr. Ailes and Mr. Doocy, who have served the company brilliantly for over two decades, we have commenced an internal review of the matter."

In an eight-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Carlson alleged that she was removed from "Fox & Friends" in 2013 after she complained about behavior by Doocy, and was moved to an afternoon program as a way to diminish her presence at FOX News. She also alleged she was subsequently propositioned sexually by Ailes, who had called her a "man hater," who needed to "get along with the boys." She claimed Ailes' decision to end her career at FOX News on June 23 was retaliatory.

Ailes denied the allegations in a statement released on Wednesday evening.

"Gretchen Carlson's allegations are false. This is a retaliatory suit for the network's decision not to renew her contract, which was due to the fact that her disappointingly low ratings were dragging down the afternoon lineup. When Fox News did not commence any negotiations to renew her contract, Ms. Carlson became aware that her career with the network was likely over and conveniently began to pursue a lawsuit," Ailes said. "Ironically, FOX News provided her with more on-air opportunities over her 11 year tenure than any other employer in the industry, for which she thanked me in her recent book. This defamatory lawsuit is not only offensive, it is wholly without merit and will be defended vigorously."

Until last month, Carlson was hosting a 2 p.m. news program, "The Real Story With Gretchen Carlson," on the network. The show consistently won its time slot, averaging 1.1 million viewers in recent months, according to The New York Times. From April to June, Carlson's show was the 24th-highest-rated cable news show in the closely tracked demographic of viewers 25 to 54 years old.

Carlson's lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, told CNNMoney her client is only suing Ailes, not FOX News, which hired the former Miss America and CBS anchor back in 2005.

Carlson Complaint by Mediaite on Scribd
Westfield City Hall

8.22.13 | WESTFIELD |

(Manon Mirabelli)

WESTFIELD - The open fields behind South Middle School will again serve as the staging area for the city's 2017 Independence Day celebration.

The city hosted this year's celebration July 2 and Mayor Brian P. Sullivan and Community Outreach Coordinator Amber Danahey this week called the event successful.

Crowds attending festivities that included a Fireworks for Freedom show were estimated at between 8,000 and 10,000, Sullivan said.

"There were few, if any, negative incidents during the evening-long event," the mayor said.

The city resumed sponsorship of the celebration this year after the Rotary Club announced last year it was refocusing its efforts on a summer fest program on Elm Street scheduled for next month. The city also had to find a new location for the event which, for many years, had been held at Stanley Park.

"The Rotary Club provided great assistance in the transition and I have hear of no incidents during the celebration," Sullivan said this week.

"There are a few things that will need a little tweaking but overall I think the celebration went off quite smoothly," the mayor said.

Parking July 2 was allowed on most streets and a city and private parking lots throughout the area including South Middle School, City Hall, Westfield Senior Center on Noble Street, Abner Gibbs School, Noble Hospital, YMCA and Amelia Park.

Sullivan said he plans to review data on where people parked during the event and where they watched the fireworks from.

"We want to ensure homeowners and businesses were not inconvenienced because of the celebration," the mayor said.

Major sponsors on July 2 included Westfield Gas & Electric, Whip City Fiber, City of Westfield, WSKB Radio, Westfield News and other local businesses. Numerous donations were also received by residents.
By Paul Gentile

I applaud the Springfield Republican editorial staff for publishing another oped filed by bankers intent on accusing credit unions of deceptive behavior in their July 1 piece titled, "Credit unions flaunt tradition for sake of growth and at expense of taxpayers."

While such opinion pieces are misaligned and biased (their conclusions are based on a study paid for by the Mass. Bankers Association), it is an opportunity to reinforce the importance of credit unions in our nation's financial services system and the role of cooperatives in our economy as we are celebrating our country's birthday. It is also a time to fact check their claims and let consumers decide.

The bank authors say credit unions don't pay taxes. Not true. Credit unions pay all the local real estate and payroll taxes that banks do. Credit unions' not-for-profit cooperative structure does provide exemption from income taxes. Many industries in America have a not-for-profit cooperative alternative, from food and retail co-ops, to utility and housing co-ops. Credit unions are just one more co-op option Congress created. They provide a value proposition for consumers who prefer the local control and delivery of services that co-ops provide. Co-ops are designed to give back to their members, not shareholders or a small group of upper management or board members.

There are more than 40,000 co-ops in the country and they play a key role in fueling the country's growth. There's a reason the U.S. Congress carved out this cooperative model and defends it when attacked. Co-ops provide a profound check and balance with the for-profit sector. It is very healthy for the economy and America, but bankers don't seem to want any check and balance.

The bankers again complain about credit unions encroaching on their business, but the fact is banks dominate the marketplace in Massachusetts. Credit unions account for just 7% of deposits in the state. In contrast, 25 of the largest Massachusetts banks account for nearly 80% of deposits. The largest Massachusetts bank has nearly $120 billion in deposits  four times greater than all Massachusetts credit unions combined!

Their complaints can only lead you to believe they think there should be no competition to banks. I am sure many businesses would like no competition, but it doesn't drive the best results for consumers. As we just celebrated the country's birthday, our history tells us that monopoly industries are not good for the country or consumers.

The bank authors seem to be OK with "small" credit unions, but they attack "large" credit unions. The banker authors don't want to look at the credit union system as a whole because when you do you see the average credit union has $26 million in assets and the average bank has more than $400 million. The bankers seemed obsessed with size arguments, yet they fail to recognize that regardless of size, all credit unions have the exact same structure. It's not the size that makes credit unions different, it's the structure.

While we are doing fact checking, I challenge the bankers to find where in the Federal Credit Union Act it says that credit unions were designed to be "small." They can't, because it is nowhere in the Act. Credit unions are simply designed to serve their member-owners under a cooperative, not-for-profit structure.

Another fact check on the bankers: They say "large" credit unions are more profitable than banks. While the banks are figuring out what is "large" and "small," the facts once again show banks are doing just fine. The average net income of Massachusetts banks over the last three years is 76 basis points. For Massachusetts credit unions, it's 58 basis points. The more important fact about net income is that at a credit union, net income goes back to further serve the membership, not satisfy shareholders. The bankers also leave out the stock options and stock structure that most banks operate in, even community banks.

We don't attack the banking model because we think the country benefits from both a strong banking system and a strong credit union system, but if the banks want to compare models and see where resources are going, it's certainly worth studying.

Paul Gentile is president and CEO of the cooperative credit union association.
umass.jpg

UMass tuition and fee costs are projected to rise between 5 and 8 percent this fall.

(THE REPUBLICAN FILE)

Tuition and related costs at public universities in Massachusetts is still a pretty good deal when compared to the higher cost of private institutions.

For many families and students, however, it is reaching a breaking point. Massachusetts officials will have to address ways to keep college affordable for middle-class families at some point, and there is no time like the present.

University of Massachusetts president Marty Meehan projects an increase of 5 to 8 percent at the system's five campuses, including Amherst. Other state universities are experiencing similar increases with Westfield State students, for example, paying 5.2 percent more in tuition and fees this fall.

At UMass, the cost for in-state student this fall is currently estimated at $26,444, including $14,596 for tuition and $11,848 for room and board. Tuition for out-of-state and international students is estimated at $31,420.

How high is too high? According to Meehan, applications to the five campuses have quadrupled since 2010. The cost of a UMass education is still enticing when compared to higher costs at private institutions.

If rising tuition is not yet a crisis, though, it is an alarming and growing problem. A two-year tuition freeze was terminated with a 5 percent increase last year.

If tuition and fee increases become an annual custom, large numbers of students will be priced out. That may be happening already, despite the encouraging application numbers.

If students who cannot afford private schools must also confront the overwhelming challenge of paying for public institutions, their options will go from difficult to bleak.

Meehan has maintained that Massachusetts has trailed other states on supporting public education, in part because the state's prestigious private universities have influenced the education picture in ways not evident in other states. That is unfair to UMass and to the students who rely not only on the five-campus state university, but on other state institutions to make higher education within their reach.

Tight fiscal times require the setting of priorities. It's hard to imagine a higher priority than education of our young people so that they can compete in the challenging job market that awaits them.

Massachusetts officials must do better to avoid reaching the breaking point that comes nearer with each tuition increase. Providing a more stout support of public education will not be easy, but no one should dispute that it would be worth it.
SBA 504 Loans offered statewide! Real estate and equipment, acquisitions, renovation, and new construction. Low, fixed-rates up to 25 years with as little as 10% down.
In May Gov. Steve Bullock announced that MarCom, LLC  an Idaho-based company that does work in radiological controls, environmental remediation and cyber security and has an office in Butte  was among 12 companies to receive funding from the program.

Annie Pentilla [email protected]

Full Story: http://mtstandard.com/butte/idaho-based-tech-company-with-butte-office-gets-from-state/article_ead4c34a-622b-56b1-bd35-2ee969af9549.html
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr. Motegi Toshimitsu, has announced an official visit to the Republic of Mauritius, among other African countries, for the consolidation of the diplomatic relationships.

His arrival is scheduled in the evening of the 12th December 2020. On the 13th of December 2020, he will be meeting with the Honorable Nandcoomar BODHA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of the Republic of Mauritius, as well as the Honorable Pravind Kumar JUGNAUTH, Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius.

Through the visits to these four countries, the Minister MOTEGI plans to strongly promote diplomacy that combines inclusiveness and strength in Africa. Specifically,

(1) through cooperation for the realization of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific,

(2), promotion of Japanese companies investment in Africa, and,

(3), to exchange opinions on cooperation for the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), scheduled to be held in Tunisia in 2022.

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Col. Eric Shafa assumed command of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, July 7, 2016.

Shafa is the former commander of the 47th Mission Support Group, 47th Flying Training Wing, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. He is following Col. Andrea Tullos, the wings commander since June, 2014, who is going to the Pentagon to take command of the Air Forces security forces.

As he took assumption of command, Shafa thanked Tullos for her commitment and previous leadership of the wing.

01:18 | Colonel Shafa Assumes Command

Shafa received his commission in 1993 through Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps from San Jose State University. He entered active duty in May 1994. He has held operational assignments at the flight and squadron level, served as an Afghanistan/Pakistan Hand, and commanded a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan. He has also served in headquarters staff positions at Air Force Special Operations Command, U.S. Central Command and Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

As the 42nd ABW Commander, Shafa will lead the wings mission to provide the foundation for success for Air University, the 908th Airlift Wing, the Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate and more than 30 tenant units. With a population of more than 12,500 active duty, reserve, civilian and contractor personnel, the Maxwell-Gunter community has a significant economic and cultural impact on the River Region.

My wife, Beth, and I are very excited to be joining the River Region and to continue to build and strengthen the partnership in the best hometown not only in the Air Force, but in America as a general city. The relationship between the base and the community is symbiotic and remains instrumental to each others success, said Shafa.

This is a return to Maxwell for the new commander. He is a graduate of Air Universitys Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff College.

To my Airmen, I am humbled and privileged by the extraordinary opportunity to lead and serve the fine men and women of the 42nd Air Base Wing, he said. The Air Force is the smallest weve been since 1947 and although our numbers are rising slowly, what each unit does matters now more than ever never forget that you are the fuel that ensures the success of all of our mission partners and the intellectual and leadership center of the Air Force.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.


Chances are, when you think of the country of Colombia, the two Cs come to mind: cocaine and crime. While this may have been true 30 years ago, the country has come a long ways in terms of eliminating drug and crime issues and shedding its bad reputation. Just a couple weeks ago, the Colombian government signed a ceasefire treaty with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a guerrilla organization, paving the way for a peace treaty and stability in the country.

Invest in Bogota, a public/private organization dedicated to helping existing businesses with promotion and exposure within the capital city, as well as encouraging new national and international companies to set up shop in Bogota, invited us on a press tour of the city to learn more about its healthcare sector. Starting at the Meditech Conference that was going on in the citys convention center during our visit, we circled around the city over three days, visiting various device companies, medical foundations, and clinics.

The current medical scene in Bogota (and the entire country) that we witnessed was an interesting mix of both high- and low-tech, highlighting the difficulties and triumphs within the healthcare industry.



One of our first stops was to the Cirec Foundation, a clinic that provides prosthetic limbs to the many Colombians who cannot afford them. As we toured the facility, we observed how each prosthetic arm and leg was hand-crafted using techniques that would probably be considered outdated in some countries. But we also heard stories of the many patients, namely children whose limbs were blown off by old landmines or amputated as a result of falls into illegal mining pits, who have been served by Cirec. We also learned about Cirecs work with Carlos Arturo Torres, a Colombian industrial designer who developed an award-winning Lego-based prosthetic limb called the IKO.

Despite the difficulties Colombians have to face in terms of healthcare, the country has actually long been a pioneer in medical innovation. During our visit to the Shaio Clinic with its emphasis on cardiology, we had the opportunity to meet Dr. Jorge Reynolds, who played a major role in realizing artificial cardiac pacemakers. His pacemaker was literally a car battery and vacuum tubes to regulate the voltage and timing, connected to the inside of the patients chest with a few very large wires. Though 80 years young, Dr. Reynolds directs research at the Shaio Clinic and has recently developed a self-powered nano-pacemaker smaller than a grain of rice, and will be starting clinical trials of it in just a matter of months. He is also involved in the development of a digital stethoscope that utilizes the cloud to assist with the diagnosis of heart sounds.

Another medical pioneer we met was Dr. Carmen Barraquer, of the Barraquer ophthalmology schools and clinics in Barcelona, Spain and Bogota, and one of the foremost experts in the field of refractive vision correction. Throughout the 1940s-50s, her father, Jose Barraquer, developed the surgical technique that would evolve into LASIK and related vision correction surgeries. Today, the Barraquer Clinic in Bogota constantly receives the most advanced ophthalmological devices and utilizes new, cutting edge surgical procedures. We were told that Dr. Barraquer, who is in her 70s, still receives laser vision correction systems direct from manufacturers in Germany for guidance and testing before they are released for sale.



One final example of advanced medical technology in Bogota was Insimed, a training center for physicians that uses the latest in medical simulation technology. Much like Stanford Universitys medical simulation center that we visited a few years ago, Insimeds training approach uses high-tech mannequins, laparoscopic and endoscopic simulators, and even a daVinci robotic surgery trainer. The didactic simulations also include additional discussion and feedback in one of Insimeds connected conference rooms. According to Insimeds director, the center is the only fully independent training center in the Americas, and Colombias location and low cost makes it attractive to physicians from not only Latin America, but even from the U.S. and all around the world.

Our tour of Bogota ended, appropriately, in the emergency department of San Ignacio University Hospital. There, we witnessed the reality of Colombian healthcare; overcrowded halls and extremely long wait times reminded us that we were still in a developing country. But even in the hustle and bustle of the ER, the hospital staff prided themselves in a specially made waiting room chair that could recline, hold an IV drip, and accommodate a meal tray to make the long stay just a little more bearable.

In conclusion, Colombia has a very pioneering spirit when it comes to medical technology. Despite some lack of resources as a still developing nation, an imperfect healthcare system, and a not-so-positive reputation based on its checkered history, Colombians have found a way to make things work, and in some cases, have shown themselves to be ahead of the curve in medical technology. With numerous tax incentives, a strategic location, and a friendly culture with a low cost of living, the government is hoping to make Bogota the capital of medical technology in Latin America. If the country continues to make as much progress in the next 20 years as they have in the past 20, we think its certainly possible.

Scott would like to thank Ligia Escudero, David Canal, Juan Sebastian Perez, and the rest of the Invest in Bogota team for hosting!
July 06, 2016

REQUESTS FOR QUOTATIONS and EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Dear Vendors:

International Business & Technical Consultants, Inc., IBTCI, a USAID contractor implementing a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) project in DRC,is pleased to issue the following competitive Requests for Quotations (RFQ)and Expressions of Interest(EOI) for the IBTCI DRC MECC Kinshasa based office during the period of performance:

I. Request for Quotations for Guarding and Security servicesfor the IBTCI DRC MECC Kinshasa based officein providing security and access control services with qualified, trained and devoted guards; alarm supply and installation; monitoring and response service with maintenance during the period of performance.

II. Request for Quotationsto contract Internet Services Provider for the installation of computer equipment that will allow access to internet services for it Kinshasa based staff located in Gombe. The quote should provide cost associated with wiring supplying information technology equipment and soft allowing a staff of approximately access to the internet and e-mail services.

III. Request for Quotationsfor purchasing a High speed printer/photocopierfor the IBTCI DRC MECC Kinshasa based office during the period of performance

IV. Seeking Expressions of Interest for Translation firms in the DRC: IBTCIs MECC project will require translation services for short and medium length reports and other documents and occasional interpretation services. Translations and interpretation will be from French to English and English to French. Expressions of Interest (EOI) must include a one page capabilities statement highlighting the organizations: 1) ability to produce high quality translations for large internationally-funded programs, international organizations, or governmental agencies (Congolese or foreign); 2) familiarity with technical writing relating to economic development, health, education, or other donor-funded development sectors; and 3) ability to produce quality content under tight-deadlines. Qualifying organizations must be able to demonstrate geographical presence in Kinshasa and relevant past performance information.

FOR DETAILED REQUIREMENTS, PLEASE READ ATTACHED FILES.

Please submit all items electronically at DRCMECC@ibtci.com by 5:00 PM close of business hours(Kinshasa Time) Monday, July18, 2016.

If you have any questions, please contact at +243 897781598/ +1 703 749 0100, or send an email to DRCMECC@ibtci.com

Offeror Submission

IBTCIrequires all quotations to be submitted in writing using the attached price template, with a cover letter and a statement that the terms and conditions of the purchase order are accepted and the representations and certifications have been completed and signed. The offer should include the following elements:

* Quotations to include the following:

Pricing details of services or equipment to be provided (unit and total prices).

This offer must be signed by an authorized company representative .

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Offer validity: at least three (3) months from the RFQ due date

* Proof of capacity to provide similar services/equipment in the DRC by providing at least two purchase orders awarded by other international organizations. (please redact/delete any proprietary information).

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IBTCIanticipates issuing a total not-to-exceed Purchase Order in USD to the vendor whose quote meets the above requirements and receives the highest possible score. IBTCImay choose to award only part of the activities in the solicitation, or issue multiple awards based on the solicitation activities.

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The following terms and conditions apply to this RFQ:

The vendor is responsible for all costs to prepare its quotation.

IBTCI will make the award based on best value technical and price quotation.

Incomplete quotations may be rejected at IBTCIs sole discretion.

Any exceptions or additions to the terms and conditions may result in a determination that your quotation is not compliant and will be rejected.

IBTCI may contact offerors to confirm contact person, address, quotation amount and that the quotation was submitted for this solicitation.

IBTCI is exempt from all taxes and VAT taxes, see attachment 6.

IBTCI reserves the right not to make an award.

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Mazda North American Operations has launched a new Web site that focuses on providing an improved customer experience.

MazdaUSA.com aims to align with Mazdas move to the near-premium landscape and better engage with customers throughout the car-buying and -owning process. It was developed and designed by Mazdas creative partner, WPPs Garage Team Mazda, along with global digital agency Mirum.

Mazda is focusing on creating a unified look for the entire brand in order to engaging their customers in a consistent way across all interfaces. The newly designed Web site is another important step in the evolution of the Mazda brand, says Eric Watson, director of marketing operations for Mazda North American Operations.

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The Web site redesign came about in order to transition the existing site from an old platform that was built with a legacy system with no enterprise CMS, to a platform that included a larger focus from a business perspective and allowed us to tell our brand story, Watson tells Marketing Daily.

The company has been working with concepts, development and customer testing for the past 18 months, he says.

We developed the new site to combat against the existing hard-coded system that took a significant amount of development work and testing every time we made a change, which made it difficult to quickly turn-around changes to the site, Watson says.

The new site also integrates customer research and industry benchmark studies to deliver an intuitive user-friendly Web site.

While looking at existing user traffic to our old site we noticed that over 60% of our traffic came from mobile devices, so the redesign of the Web site focuses on our mobile users first, Watson says As a result, the interface of the site is fully responsive to adjust to any size device, providing excellent display, motion and user experience. We also built the Web site on a Mazda global platform, providing benefits of collaboration, utilizing similar features, and faster to market options as Mazda Corporate develops one format for all regions.

The new site aims to limit the steps it takes for customers to engage in the shopping process  from building a vehicle, searching inventory or accessing a dealership Web site, he says. Current owners also benefit from the redesign, with an easily-accessible owners section that features helpful reference materials on the brand and the vehicles they own.

The design, look and feel of our Web site was created in collaboration with our vehicle designers to best express the vision of our new vehicle design and full global visual identity. Watson says. The introduction of the redesigned Web site is the first step toward customer digital engagement and provides a platform that is flexible to grow with our vision of delivering a great customer experience.
by Sara Guaglione , July 6, 2016

Conde Nast International is launching Vogue Arabiaonline this fall, with a Saudi princess tapped to spearhead the new edition.

Vogue Arabias Web site will display content in both Arabic and English, marking the first time the publisher will roll out a bilingual site. The print version of Vogue Arabia is planned to launch in 2017 and will be the 22nd international edition of Vogue.

The most recent new editions created were Vogue Ukraine and Vogue Thailand in 2013.

It makes sense to start with digital, Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive of Conde Nast International told Business of Fashion. In the past, the focus was always to produce the print product first, with the digital product as a secondary play. Now digital is front and center and at the forefront of any business strategy.

Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz has been appointed editor-in-chief. She is married to a member of the Saudi royal family and is the co-founder and director of exclusive boutique DNA.

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The Arab world consists of 350 million people, and they never had a Vogue, Abdulaziz told the Financial Times. The time has come, and it has been a long time coming.

Vogue Arabia will be distributed in several Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. BoF also reports that Conde Nast International plans to distribute the new magazine edition in cities like London, Paris and Milan.

Per a WWD report, Saudi Arabians are the second-largest international shopper market in London, right behind the Chinese, and followed by the Qataris.

For Vogue Arabia, Conde Nast International will continue to partner with Dubai-based media company Nervora. The two companies currently collaborate on the Style.com/Arabia Web site, which will soon relaunch to become the new Vogue Arabia.

Caterina Minthe, the current managing editor of Style.com/Arabia, will become Vogue Arabias features director.

Other fashion titles already circulating in the Middle East and North Africa region include Harpers Bazaar Arabia, Elle Oriental and Marie Claire Arabia.
by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 6, 2016

Its daunting enough for reporters who take on the rich and powerful, but this normally doesnt involve dishing it out to your own boss. Thats where Dana Schwartz of The New York Observer found herself this week, as she publicly demanded an explanation from the newspapers owner, Jared Kushner, over an allegedly anti-Semitic image included in a tweet by his father-in-law, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

As was widely reported over the weekend, Trump re-tweeted an ad that had appeared on some white supremacist Web sites, accusing Hillary Clinton of corruption with what many argued was a Jewish Star of David appearing against a background of cash. While the Trump campaign changed the image to a circle and responded that the first symbol was intended to resemble a sheriffs badge, critics claimed it was an intentional coded anti-Semitic message.

Schwartz, a culture reporter for the NYO, saw it that way. She confronted Kushner about the tweet, as well as the anti-Semitism of Trump supporters who sent her hate mail online when she wrote about it.

The challenge came in an open letter that appeared in the newspaper, apparently with the knowledge of editor-in-chief Ken Kurson, who is also Jewish. In the most pointed passage, Schwartz demanded: Im asking you, not as a gotcha journalist or as a liberal, but as a human being: How do you allow this? Because, Mr. Kushner, you are allowing this.

Kushner, an Orthodox Jew who is married to Trumps daughter Ivanka (who herself converted to Judaism before their marriage), has no official role in the Trump campaign. But he is said to have considerable sway over key strategic matters, along with Trumps own adult children.

Kushner and Kurson both issued public responses to Schwartzs open letter, stating their belief that Trump is not anti-Semitic or racist, and that the tweet was, in essence, a mistake made by underlings. Kushner described Trump as an incredibly loving and tolerant person who has embraced my family and our Judaism since I began dating my wife. I know that Donald does not subscribe at all to any racist or anti-Semitic thinking.

Kurson wrote, in part: All presidential candidates attract people whose support makes them uncomfortable In my opinion, Donald Trump is not a Jew hater.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, July 6, 2016

Illinois residents who are suing Google for allegedly violating a state privacy law regarding "faceprints" are urging a judge to reject the company's argument that the state measure is unconstitutional.

"This argument is without merit," counsel for Lindabeth Rivera and Joseph Weiss say in court papers. They add that Google's compliance with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act "poses no risk of burdening interstate commerce whatsoever."

The Illinois residents' papers, filed late last week, come in response to Google's contention that requiring online photo services to follow a state privacy law regarding "faceprints" would be unconstitutional.

The legal dispute dates to March, when Rivera alleged in a potential class-action that Google Photos unlawfully stores faceprints of "millions" of other state residents. Weiss later filed a similar lawsuit, which was consolidated with Rivera's.

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They accuse Google of violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which requires companies to obtain written releases from people before collecting certain biometric data, including scans of face geometry. That measure, passed in 2008, also requires companies that gather biometric data to notify people about the practice, and to publish a schedule for destroying the information.

Rivera said in her complaint that she doesn't have a Google Photos account, but that photos of her were uploaded to the service after they were taken by someone else. Google "analyzed these photos by automatically locating and scanning plaintiffs face, and by extracting geometric data relating to the contours of her face and the distances between her eyes, nose, and ears -- data which Google then used to create a unique template of Plaintiffs face," she alleges.

Weiss says he has a Google Photos account and uploaded 21 photos of himself. He says Google used data from those photos to create a faceprint of him.

Google recently asked U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang to dismiss the case for several reasons, including that it has no way of knowing whether a photo depicts an Illinois resident. Therefore, Google argues, applying the Illinois law to photos would effectively regulate activity that doesn't have a connection to the state. The company argues that this result is unconstitutional, because only Congress can regulate interstate commerce.

"If BIPA is interpreted to apply to Google Photos, it would have the 'practical effect' of regulating conduct occurring entirely outside of Illinois," Google argued in court papers filed earlier this year. "It would also subject Google to inconsistent regulations and usurp the ability of other states to make their own policy choices regarding digital photos."

But Rivera and Weiss counter that Google should use IP addresses and "geo-tracking data" to refrain from collecting biometric data from photos uploaded from Illinois. "Google can determine whether a particular photograph is subject to the regulations of BIPA -- that is, whether a photograph is uploaded from within Illinois -- by analyzing whether an Illinois-based IP address is associated with the device uploading the photograph," they argue.

Chang has scheduled a hearing in the matter for August 2.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, July 7, 2016

Mazda North American Operations has launched a new Web site, tying the style with the look and the feel of its latest automobiles. In fact, the marketing team collaborated with vehicle designers in research and development to pick a look and feel that expresses the automaker's vision.

The Web site -- built in partnership with Mirum, as part of Garage Team Mazda -- offers intuitive, shopping tools and navigation filled with information on local inventory, video, visuals and animation. An interactive guide assists in finding specification on models.

Through search marketing and online banner ads, Mazda links consumers to the content on the Web site. About 60% of the traffic lands deep in the Web site and not on the home page, directing consumers to exactly what they seek, said Eric Watson, director of marketing operations for Mazda North America Operations. "About 40% lands on the home page," he said.

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"The paid campaigns are still focused on the users' search behavior," said Denny Pezic, business director at Mirum Agency. "The difference is that Mazda's new site now points users to more relevant content. Mobile campaigns point users to more specific destinations for high volume search terms."

Designers analyzed the traffic on the previous site to determine the way people search and browse for information before making design decision.

The new Web site adds price and availability to mobile searchers and shoppers. "About 60% of the Web site traffic comes from mobile devices," Mazda's Watson said.

Concept and testing took about 18 months. Modules make up the Web site, making it easier to switch different pieces of content and landing pages as automobile models change, added Ben Rounsefell, group manager and digital for CRM and mobile marketing at Mazda North America.

"Within the build feature, we had a liner process, but now it has become much easier to change colors and switch features," he said. "We looked at the pain points from the previous process and made sure the new site had a much better flow."

Since launching the site, Mazda has seen an increase in the number of people building a vehicle.
by Sara Guaglione , July 7, 2016

After weeks of speculation from Politico and the New York Post, Gannett confirmed Wednesday that they have acquired the North Jersey Media Group, which includes prominent daily The Record.

Also included in the sale are the neighboring daily The Herald News, dozens of community newspapers and other affiliated digital media properties like the website northjersey.com.

Gannett expects the acquisition to contribute approximately $90 million in annual revenues. Its portfolio of U.S.-based daily newspapers now totals 109. The price of the sale was not disclosed.

Gannett continues to execute on its local market growth strategy. This latest acquisition positions the company to be the leading news provider in the state of New Jersey, stated Robert Dickey, president and CEO of Gannett.

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The Record is New Jersey's second-largest newspaper behind The Star-Ledger.

The sale brings an end to a decades-long family ownership of The Record, the latest in a pattern of big media companies buying out local, privately owned daily newspapers. The Borg family had owned The Record since 1930.

The Borg family built a strong foundation over the many decades of its ownership of North Jersey Media Group. We will continue to build upon its legacy of strong journalism, successful community engagement and effectively connecting advertisers to the audiences they seek, stated John Zidich, president of domestic publishing at Gannett.

Gannett has been aggressively purchasing media properties this year. In April, the company bought Journal Media Group for $240 million , attempted to complete a takeover bid for Tribune Publishing this spring and in June purchased marketing services firm ReachLocal for $156 million.

Also this January, the Mead family sold The Times Publishing Co. to New Media Investment Group Inc., after completely owning or controlling the company for 127 years. Last December, Gulfshore Media LLCs Sarasota-based titles were sold to Portland-based SagaCity Media.
by Sara Guaglione , July 7, 2016

announced it will partner with CBS andto cover the Republican and Democratic conventions in Cleveland and Philadelphia later this month.

CBS News will have a physical presence at what The Atlantic is calling its Convention HQ. The network is converting Blue Point Grille in Cleveland and the Field House in Philadelphia into a space where morning briefings with newsmakers, lunch forums and evening "Cocktail Caucuses" networking and interviewing events will occur.

Convention HQ is also the hub for The Atlantics newly expanded political reporting team.

Journalists from CBS News and CBSN, including Face the Nation anchor and political director, John Dickerson, will work with The Atlantic to participate in each others events and broadcasts in both cities.

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The Atlantic is also teaming up with Refinery29, a digital media company for millennial women, to focus on the influence of women voters and candidates in this election. The two publishers are co-hosting two events to take place in both Cleveland and Philadelphia.

Young Women Rising: Americas Next Top Voter? explores the power of millennial women at the ballot box and Pathways to Power: An Atlantic Forum on Women in Politics will explore avenues to inspire young women to build a career in politics," according to a statement.

Pathways to Power is underwritten by Running Start, She Should Run and All in Together.

A full list of The Atlantic's events and programs at the Republican and Democratic national conventions is here.

In efforts to expand its political coverage in preparation for the upcoming elections, TheAtlantic.com launched a fully redesigned Politics & Policy section in January, as well as its 2016 Distilled elections hub.


by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, July 7, 2016

Music service Pandora didn't violate a Michigan privacy law by allegedly disclosing information about users of its free service to Facebook, the state's highest court said this week.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said in a unanimous decision issued Wednesday that the state Video Privacy Protection Act doesn't apply when companies stream music to users for free. That law prohibits companies that rent, lend or sell music (as well as books and videos) from disclosing customers' identities without their consent.

The ruling stems from a longstanding lawsuit brought against Pandora by Michigan resident Peter Deacon, who alleged in a potential class-action that the service wrongly disclosed his music-listening history to all of his Facebook contacts that also used Pandora. The allegations date to 2010, when Pandora partnered with Facebook for the first version of its "instant personalization" program. In its original form, instant personalization automatically shared logged-in Facebook users' names and photos with outside companies. People could opt out, but at launch the feature operated by default.

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U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong in Oakland, California dismissed Deacon's lawsuit, ruling that Michigan's law -- which is more than 20 years old -- doesn't apply when companies stream tracks. She said the law only applies to companies that lend, rent or sell material.

Deacon appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals; that judges on that court then asked Michigan's highest court to rule on whether Deacon can proceed against Pandora under the state's privacy law.

The Michigan Supreme Court said this week that Deacon didn't show that he either "rented" or "borrowed" the music streams he accessed through Pandora.

"For a listener to constitute a person who 'rents' a sound recording, he or she must, at a minimum, provide a payment in exchange for that recording," Judge Stephen Markman wrote for the court.

Markman added that Deacon didn't allege that he paid Pandora for a premium membership. But the opinion notes that even if Deacon had done so, he still wouldn't necessarily be considered a "renter."

The Michigan Supreme Court also said that Deacon didn't "borrow" the streams, because he never "returned" them to the service. "Put simply, the music-streaming program offered by defendant only involved the delivery of a sound recording to the listener; there was no corresponding 'return' of a recording or its equivalent from the listener to defendant."
by Jess Nelson , July 7, 2016

Get Our Jobs Back Inc., a Super PAC supporting Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, announced that it would increase its digital marketing ad spend to millions of emails per week ahead of the 2016 election.

The Super PAC is led by Steven Hoffenberg, the chairman of financial services company Towersinverstors.com and CEO and publisher of Christian faith-based online publication PostPublishing.Buzz.

In 1995, Hoffenberg pleaded guilty to a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of $475 million.

The Trump Super PAC plans to spend $50 million in digital marketing campaigns from now until Election Day on November 4. As evident by the name, Get Our Jobs Back Inc. claims that the U.S. job market has suffered at the hands of the Obama administration and that Donald Trump would provide more job opportunities to Americans as president.

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market has actually seen steady improvement during the Obama administration. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7% in May 2016 and the number of long-term unemployed and number of those who have lost jobs have also both declined, according to the Bureau.

Donald Trump has faced challenges with his email marketing campaign. Trump has a critical issue with spam in his email marketing, and his sending of fund-raising emails to foreign politicians has landed him in hot water with the FEC.

According to The New York Times most recent calculations, Clinton has out-fund-raised Trump by five to one. Clinton has raised $334.9 million but has only spent $195.7 million, while Trump has raised $67.1 million but has spent $64.6 million of it.
Researchers have developed a genetic risk score that they say could pinpoint which adults are at risk of developing Alzheimers disease decades before symptoms arise.

Share on Pinterest Researchers suggest a higher polygenic risk score may indicate a higher risk of Alzheimers.

Elizabeth C. Mormino, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown, and colleagues reveal how they used the score to identify possible indicators of Alzheimers disease (AD) in healthy adults as young as 18.

The researchers recently published their findings in the journal Neurology.

AD is one of the most devastating and challenging diseases of our time, affecting more than 5 million adults in the United States, with this number expected to triple over the next 30 years.

The study authors note that the pathophysiologic processes of AD are believed to occur for at least a decade before symptoms of the condition appear.

Given that current clinical trials are testing whether therapies can slow memory and thinking decline among people at risk for the disease, it is critical to understand the influence of risk factors before symptoms are present, says Mormino.

While the exact causes of AD remain unclear, it is thought that genetics play a role. For example, studies have shown that people who possess a form of the APOE gene  known as APOE e4  are at increased risk of the disease.

In addition to the APOE gene, to date 21 common genetic variants have been associated with AD in large genome-wide association study meta-analyses, say the authors.
Compared with most other communicable diseases, hepatitis has risen in global importance since the 1990s. It is now a leading cause of death and disability worldwide and kills at least as many people as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, or malaria.

Share on Pinterest At 1.45 million deaths a year, viral hepatitis now ranks among the worlds leading infectious diseases  such as TB, AIDS/HIV, and malaria.

This is the main finding of an international study  led by Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and the University of Washington in Seattle  published in The Lancet.

The study  which analyzes data from 1990-2013 on 183 countries  is timely, as the World Health Organization (WHO) launch a major new effort to tackle viral hepatitis.

The findings should prove of crucial importance to global health policy, note the authors.

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver, an important organ that processes nutrients, filters the blood, and fights infections. If the liver becomes damaged or inflamed, then these functions are impaired.

While heavy use of alcohol, toxins, some drugs, and certain medical conditions can cause hepatitis, it is most often caused by a virus, of which there are five types: A, B, C, D, and E.

Hepatitis is mostly spread through contact with bodily fluids, except for types A and E, which spread through food or drink contaminated with feces. In the United States, the most common types of viral hepatitis are A, B, and C.

Most deaths worldwide due to hepatitis are due to types B and C, which cause liver damage (cirrhosis) and liver cancer. Symptoms of these infections include fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), and nausea. However, some infected people do not have symptoms, and they may not find out they have hepatitis until they develop serious complications.
GPs think more needs to be done to improve the quality of end-of-life care in the community.

That's one of the insights gained from a survey of British GPs conducted by the University of Warwick and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

More than 500 doctors completed the survey about end-of-life care (EOLC) in general practice. The research was led by Dr Sarah Mitchell an NIHR doctoral research fellow at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick and Dr Catherine Millington-Sanders, Marie Curie/RCGP Clinical Champion for EOLC

Dr Mitchell said: "The findings suggest that GPs perceive limited progress in terms of enhancing the quality of end-of-life care that is delivered in primary care. This must be considered in terms of the increasing number of patients who require EOLC, and a pressured and changing primary care environment in the UK."

Hospices

The research, Providing end-of-life care in general practice: findings of a national GP questionnaire survey has been published in the British Journal of General Practice. In addition to general practice, the survey respondents worked in a wide range of settings including care homes, hospices, care homes for people with learning disabilities, out-of-hours services, genitourinary medicine clinics, prisons, and geriatric services.

Four clear areas of concern for GPs emerged from the survey: continuity of care; patient and family factors; medical management; and expertise and training.

Continuity of care was identified as being of vital importance in the provision of EOLC in primary care. Only 122 out of 492 (24.8%) responders stated that they always had the chance to discuss EOLC wishes with patients. As one of the survey respondents wrote;

"Time to spend with patients which we do not have and time to spend with patients which has been eroded by increasing workload in all areas. 10 minutes in surgery and a little more on a home visit to make life enhancing decisions and arrangements is insufficient even if we are "EOL experts".'

GPs also stated they had concerns about the lack of time to have sensitive care planning discussions with patients and families. In addition they highlighted the issue of the timing of those conversations, particularly for those with non-malignant disease. This was felt to lead to a lack of responsiveness to patients' wishes, as well as avoidable pressure on the emergency care system, particularly in the context of lack of integration with out of hours care.

Palliative care

Issues relating to adequate symptom control, access to specialist palliative care services including hospice beds, and access to medication were described. Symptom-control. Sudden deteriorations in a patient's condition and inadequate symptom-control were identified as a consequence of avoidable delays in clinical assessment and accessing or administering medication.

The fourth area of concern, lack of experience and a lack of training was mentioned frequently in relation to GPs and community staff, including staff in care homes. When asked about this 19 out of 513 (3.7%) stated that they had had no training in the delivery of EOLC, and 112 out of 513 (21.8%) stated they had received inadequate training. Adequate training was reported by 321 out of 513 (62.6%) responders. The remaining 61 participants (11.9%) answered 'other' to this question highlighting the need to actively seek out training courses in EOLC.

Dr Mitchell said: "Service delivery concerns in EOLC should remain a priority area for policymakers and researchers. With primary care in the UK now under unprecedented pressure the way in which high-quality EOLC in the community is achieved requires urgent consideration.

"This is particularly relevant as 'new models' of primary care emerge, such as GP super-practices and federations In this context, this questionnaire survey was designed to capture an up-to-date insight into the experiences of GPs providing EOLC in the community".

Article: Providing end-of-life care in general practice: findings of a national GP questionnaire survey, Sarah Mitchell, Joelle Loew, Catherine Millington-Sanders, Jeremy Dale, British Journal of General Practice, doi: 10.3399/bjgp16X686113, published 6 July 2016.
A new study authored by University of Calgary researchers in the Journal of Adolescence examines the pornography viewing habits of adolescents and observes the way in which religious attendance significantly tempers such actions.

The study, conducted between 2003 and 2008, which surveys adolescents on their pornography usage into young adulthood (between the ages of 13 to 24) shows that pornography consumption` increases sharply with age, especially among males (although there is some increase with females too). However, these age-based increases in pornography viewing are decidedly lesser among those who attend religious services.

"We were able determine that there is a barrier effect at play wherein religious social control encourages adolescents to view less pornography over time," says Kyler Rasmussen, lead author of the study and a PhD student in the University of Calgary's Department of Psychology. "This increase in pornography consumption as adolescents get older isn't as drastic among those who attend religious services. We can see that religious attendance is a factor in shaping the trajectories of pornography viewing in adolescents."

Rasmussen adds: "Some might see it as a vindication of the role of religion, in that it can shape the behavior of young adolescents in a positive way."

The data collected for this project was obtained from the National Study of Youth and Religion, a research project spearheaded by sociology professors at the University of Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A nationally representative telephone survey of 3,290 English and Spanish speaking teenagers and their parents, it was designed to investigate the influence of religion and spirituality on American youth.

Rasmussen came across this publically available data and was drawn to the one question in the survey, which, to his knowledge, had never been properly explored, focusing on the pornography viewing habits of adolescents. At the time Rasmussen was taking a course on social statistics with Alex Bierman, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and he asked Bierman to be his co-author on the study, applying the methodology of social statistics to the available data on adolescent porn usage.

A study of pornography consumption among adolescents is one of crucial importance, says Bierman, because this age bracket represents a critical time in a person's social and sexual development. While educated opinions may vary on the potentially harmful effects of pornography consumption among adults, with adolescents certain red flags must be raised.

"At this stage in life, when individuals are learning about sexuality and sexual relationships, do we want them learning these things from a source that has been known to often reinforce detrimental and misogynistic stereotypes?" asks Bierman. "That may not be healthy."

"Therefore, trying to understand the influences that shape porn usage and its trajectory with age is an important question for our society."

So what is it about attending religious services that would help steer adolescents away from viewing pornography? "People in religious communities learn that there are expected patterns of behavior," says Bierman. "It may be the notion of a divine significant other who watches over them and there may also be a social support component. When you become integrated within a moral community where pornography is used less often and is, in fact, discouraged, this may shape and deter pornography usage. There's a kind of social control function at play."

Bierman notes that the data collected for this study was gathered between 2003 and 2008 and since that time pornography has only become more prevalent in our society of social media and smart phones. "There's more free access to pornography online than ever before," he says. "We probably underestimate the extent to which pornography is available to adolescents."

While the research would seem to be a testament to the positive influence of religion on adolescents, Rasmussen feels that the study's ramifications might reach beyond that. "I think it's important to try and figure out what it is about religiosity that steers these adolescents away from pornography," he says. "Let's see if we can figure that out and apply it outside of a religious context. Clearly there are people who aren't religious who still don't want their children watching pornography and being influenced by it. So if we can take those aspects of religion that are working and apply them in a family setting or a secular setting, that might be really worthwhile."

Article: How does religious attendance shape trajectories of pornography use across adolescence? Kyler Rasmussen, Alex Bierman, Journal of Adolescence, doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.03.017, published online 16 April 2016.
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Depending on the treatment already initiated, the G-BA specified ibrutinib or best supportive care (BSC) as appropriate comparator therapy for the second group. The first group included patients for whom chemotherapy is indicated and patients for whom this is not the case. The appropriate comparator therapy was either chemotherapy optimized for the individual patient at the physician's discretion, preferably in combination with rituximab, or, again, ibrutinib or BSC.Due to the ongoing risk assessment process at EMA, the manufacturer did not submit data from the continued first-line treatment. It also presented no data for the group with relapsed or refractory CLL for whom chemotherapy is indicated. An added benefit of idelalisib in comparison with the appropriate comparator therapies is therefore not proven for these two research questions.As in its first dossier, the manufacturer submitted data from the studies GS-US-312-0116 and GS-US-312-0117 for patients with relapsed or refractory CLL for whom chemotherapy is not an option. As already explained in dossier assessment A14-35, these were unsuitable for the comparison with the appropriate comparator therapy. Additional data from the final data cut-off of one study and from an interim analysis of the other study, from which the manufacturer itself also derived no conclusions, also did not change this. Hence the manufacturer's conclusion on the added benefit was based on the same data as in 2014.In the overall consideration, an added benefit of idelalisib is not proven for any of the subpopulations also in the modified therapeutic indication.The dossier assessment is part of the early benefit assessment according to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG) supervised by the G-BA. After publication of the dossier assessment, the G-BA conducts a commenting procedure and makes a final decision on the extent of the added benefit.Source: Eurekalert
There ain't no way to find out why a snorer can't hear himself snore ~ Mark Twain

Snoring arises due to obstructed breathing. This can be caused by infections like cold or by an anatomical deformity in the nose or throat. However, the most common cause of snoring is, that the muscles in and around the throat relax too much when we are asleep due to which the opening in the throat becomes narrow and air has difficulty in passing. This turbulent airflow causes tissues of the nose and throat to vibrate and the noise produced by these vibrations is called snoring.

It is estimated that 45% of men and 30% of women snore on a regular basis. Snoring worsens with weight gain and age.

Snoring is a sign of troubled breathing during sleep. It can cause sleep deprivation. Breathing becomes irregular due to snoring. There is a temporary pause in breathing while snoring. These pauses can last up to 10 seconds and can be repeated several times during the night. This means that the body does not get the desired oxygen supply during this period and one does not feel fresh after waking up despite a well-rested period of sleep. It may lead to daytime drowsiness, irritability, lack of concentration and sometimes even decreased libido.

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It is important to find out if snoring is a primary problem or is related to any other underlying disease.

Snoring may be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Research shows that people with OSA have an increased risk of suffering from hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and strokes.

Latest research has also associated loud snoring with the development of carotid artery narrowing due to atherosclerosis. Carotid artery supplies blood to the brain from the heart.

Snoring can be a nuisance and disturb another person if he or she sleeps in the same room and deprive them of sleep. Anothny Burgess quite rightly says  Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.

The treatment of snoring can include non-surgical options or surgical options. It may mean weight reduction, using dental devices or nasal CPAP device. Currently radio-frequency energy or laser also is being used. More importantly a person who snores can follow the following to avoid snoring -
A wall was built overnight less than 10m from an elderly couple's doorstep and a trench has been dug beyond the wall, which was their road for the past 32 years.
On July 5, 2016, the defense committee of the British House of Commons published a comprehensive report on UK and NATO's relations with Russia, titled "Russia: Implications for UK Defense and Security."[1] The report stresses that the forthcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw should reassess the following: NATO's doctrine and capability to respond to both the speed of Russian deployment, and the implications of Russia's ability to keep the West in the dark until it is ready to initiate military action. The report also underlines that the NATO summit should be an opportunity to acknowledge the rapid militarization of the Russian state and develop measures to counter it, and in particular how to strengthen the NATO deterrent in the Baltics and Poland.

The report also concludes that Russia has increasingly demonstrated military aggressiveness in different regions, as well as the ability "to create confusion, fear and doubt in others, including NATO member states." In order to remove such doubt the alliance cannot suffice with "Lukewarm responses [that] will not gain respect from Russia, will not improve our relationship with Russia, nor engineer a more palatable environment for European defense." Russia must be convinced that "Article 5 would be triggered should NATO consider that one of its member states has been the subject of an armed attack."[2] The report states: "It is likely that Russia will continue to use military means and unconventional warfare as ways of reasserting what it believes to be its rightful role on the international stage." Another report recommendation calls for renewing EU sanctions on Russia in July and pressing the British government to place travel bans on a larger slice of the Russian leadership. However, the report insists that dialogue between NATO and Russia remains essential for reducing the risk of military escalation and misunderstandings between both countries.

Russian officials were generally critical of the report, and some of their reactions are provided below:



Vitaly Podvitsky, Ria.ru, July 5, 2016

Kremlin Spokesperson Accentuates The Positive, But Insists That NATO's Expansion Eastward Is The Real Challenge To Europe's Stability

Commenting on the report, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin prefers to look at the positive side of the document - the part emphasizing the need for cooperation with Russia. Peskov said: "I would prefer to look at the report through a positive lens, because - despite [our] disagreements -it contains an idea about the necessity to restore the dialogue."[3] He then added: "Much to our regret, the British side is famous for its passion for curtailing, fully curtailing dialogue in various areas, including the most sensitive and the most important ones...Therefore, the desire to communicate is a source of satisfaction, which fully conforms to Moscow's consistent stance that both international issues and bilateral problems can only be addressed by means of dialogue."[4] Peskov then criticized the chapter in the report dedicated to Crimea. He stressed that Moscow rejects the term "Russia's annexation of Crimea"[5] and the report's comment that Russia's "military intervention in eastern Ukraine" represents "the biggest challenge" to the region's stability. From Moscow's perspective, Peskov said, it is NATO's eastward expansion that represents the greatest challenge to stability in Europe.[6]

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson On UK Defense Committee's Calls To Renew EU Sanctions: 'You Are Exiting The EU, Aren't You?!'

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the document, and viewed the Leave victory in the Brexit referendum, and the British Parliament's presumption to recommend the renewal of EU sanctions as contradictory. Zakharova wrote on her Facebook personal page: "The Defense Committee of the British Parliament has called for promoting the expansion of the EU sanctions against Russia by including in the corresponding list more Russian government officials...You are exiting the EU, aren't you?! And you know the negative impact of the sanctions policy on the EU, don't you?! And you still push the Europeans to the precipice. This is absolute impudence and meanness."[7]

Russian Senator Klintsevich: '[The Report] Uses Phrases From The Arsenal Of The Cold War'

Senator Franz Klintsevich, first deputy chairman of the defense and security committee in the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament, said: "The British committee's recommendations were written specifically ahead of the Warsaw Summit... Instead of meaningful suggestions aimed at reducing tensions they use phrases from the arsenal of the Cold War... I think that arguments about the importance of a dialogue between Russia and NATO do not change the overall perception of the recommendations' assessment...You cannot have dialogue about everything while simultaneously speaking about nothing. First we should define the parameters of such a dialogue. And this is exactly what the British MPs do not do, but they are engaged in just labeling us..."[8]

Senator Kosachev: The Call For Dialogue Coupled With A Call For Deterrence Is 'Doublethink'

The Federation Council foreign affairs committee chairman, Senator Konstantin Kosachev, said that the UK Parliament's report conforms to NATO policy. Kosachev charges that the call for dialogue coupled with the call for deterrence is "doublethink" by definition. According to Kosachev, NATO is reinforcing itself on the eastern flank while leaving a window open not for dialogue, but for Russia's capitulation. In his assessment NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's recent interview to the Russian news agency Interfax.com is proof positive of this policy. In the interview, Stoltenberg said: "The alliance's relations with Russia depend on a clear, constructive change in Russia's actions, which demonstrates compliance with international law and with its international obligations and responsibilities. So the ball is in Russia's court."[9] According to Kosachev, Stoltenberg's sentence "the ball is in Russia's court" is tantamount to a demand for Russia's surrender.[10]

Arbatov: The British Act As We Do In The Real World Of International Politics

Alexey Arbatov, CEO of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations' (IMEMO) Center of International Security sought to present a more realistic approach in an interview with Kommersant.[11] The UK may be on its way out of the EU but it remained a leading power in NATO and the most important US ally in Europe.

It was normal for a country to seek dialogue while taking measures to reinforce deterrence: "There is no internal contradiction. This is politics, in which the mutual interests and conflicts are present. We do exactly the same: on the one hand we increase the nuclear deterrence potential, build up general military forces, including in the European part of Russia along the borders and in the Arctic, while on the other hand we suggest cooperation in Syria including joint operations against terrorists. It's not an 'either-or' question, it's about what you accentuate. If the main accent is confrontational, then the cooperation issues shrink to non-existence. If the main accent is on cooperation - the confrontation deescalates."

Senator Morozov: The Anti-Russian Rhetoric Is The UK's Way To Compensate Itself For Losses Incurred By Brexit

Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs member Senator Igor Morozov said: "The threat from the East, emanating from Russia, is now the main argument of London's political rhetoric. In this way, they try to compensate for political and image losses incurred as a result of Brexit. Statements about the need for dialogue in this case I believe are only a trick."[12]

Duma Deputy Speaker: 'This Report Is Just Another Aspect Of An Unfolding Elections Campaign'

The Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Sergey Zheleznyak said: "Now, at a time when Britain voted to leave the EU and questions are arising about the [Brexit] procedures, [the government] needs to project some strength. This warmongering report is intended for domestic needs more than for the external audience. Great Britain also wants to signal to other European NATO countries that it is ready to be a front post of warmongering and confrontation vis-a-vis Russia." Zheleznyak added: "We also understand that this report is just another aspect of an unfolding elections campaign. The departing prime minister [David Cameron] and a new prime minister will need political support - and, probably, this report is just a means for gaining support from the conservative and radical parts of Britain's society."[13]

Endnotes:
Introduction

On May 24, 2016, Elie Hanna, a journalist for the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to the Syrian regime, published excerpts of the draft of a "Russian constitution for Syria," which included what he called "substantial changes to the current constitution." The daily later reported that the draft was the result of U.S.-Russia talks.[1]

In recent months, there have been numerous reports of U.S.-Russia talks regarding a Syrian constitution, particularly after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in March 2016, after visiting Moscow, that the sides had agreed on a timetable for drafting a constitution and on a framework for a political transition by August 2016.[2] This relatively short timeframe could indicate how much work has already been done on a constitution. The London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat later reported that during Kerry's visit, Russia had given him a draft constitution, whose details were not published, and that U.S. and Russian officials had discussed it in Switzerland during April 2016.[3]

Debates regarding the Syrian constitution have been ongoing for several years, including with the sponsorship of Western elements such as the Carter Center and the International Peace Initiative for Syria (which comprises human rights activists and academics from around the world who are working to promote a peace process in Syria), and with the participation of various Syrian oppositionists and regime affiliates. The U.S.-Russia talks could be based on ideas raised in these forums.

Such U.S.-Russia talks on a Syrian constitution - if the reports in Al-Akhbar and Al-Hayat about them are accurate- are in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which states that a new Syrian constitution is to be drawn up by the "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance" established in Syria as part of the transitional phase - that is, a constitution can only be drafted by the Syrians themselves after such governance is established. Additionally, it is unclear how this statement by Kerry, and the U.S. -Russian talks themselves, are in line with the efforts by UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura during the Geneva talks between the Syrian regime and opposition aimed at arriving at a declaration of constitutional principles to form a temporary constitutional framework for the transitional period.

Furthermore, if the Russian draft published by Al-Akhbar is genuine, then it reflects a split between Russia and the Syrian regime and Iran over the future and identity of Syria - a split that reportedly also exists between these allies regarding the management of the battle on the ground. If this draft was formulated in coordination with the U.S., as Al-Akhbar claims, then it can also indicate a split between the U.S. and the Syrian opposition headed by the High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

This document will review the details of the Russian proposal as published in Al-Akhbar, and reactions to it:

Lebanese Daily Publishes Russian Draft For Syrian Constitution: Government Decentralization, Eroding Of State's Arab-Islamic Identity, Restriction Of Presidential Powers

On May 24, 2016, journalist Elie Hanna wrote in the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is close to the Syrian regime, that "Russia had finished drafting a new Syrian constitution," and hinted that there were disagreements between the allies regarding this constitution. He wrote that the debate on the constitution was taking place "far from the Syrian territory that is 'bound' by the ceasefire imposed by international [elements, and also far] from the stalled political talks in Geneva," and added that, in his opinion, there was "a hidden struggle and tug-of-war even between the allies over the Syrian constitution and its language." He stated further that "behind the storm of disagreements at the [Geneva] negotiation table regarding the transitional governing body and the timetable there lurk dozens of committees [representing] international organizations and governments that are [all] examining different drafts for a new Syrian constitution," but that the "the U.S. and Russia are the most active on this front..."[4]

According to Hanna's report, the draft includes "substantial changes and new articles that are different from those of the constitution [from 2012] that is currently in force" and which would mean substantial improvement in the status of ethnic and religious minorities, while cutting back on regime centralization by granting legislative and executive authority to local administrations, which exist today in accordance with the 2012 constitution. These changes are in line with Russia's public support for Syrian minorities, and with a February 2016 statement by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov vis-a-vis Russia's hopes that the political process would lead to the establishment of "a federal republic" in Syria.[5] Likewise, the draft reduced some of the president's powers, but left control of security apparatuses and the military in his hands.



"New Russian draft for Syrian constitution" written in blood via puppet Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad (Arabi21.net, May 24, 2016)

Improving Status Of Ethnic, Religious Minorities vs Syria's Arab And Islamic Identity

According to the report, the Russian draft obscures Syria's Arab and Islamic identity and enhances recognition of the identities of its ethnic and religious minorities. It states that the word "Arab" is removed from the state's name - it is now "the Syrian Republic" - and that "the apparatuses of Kurdish cultural self-governance and its organizations will use the Arabic and Kurdish languages as equal [in status]." Furthermore, every local administration will be permitted to use the language spoken by the majority of the residents within its jurisdiction in addition to Arabic, if this is approved by local referendum.

As for the status of Islam, the draft omits Article III of the 2012 constitution, which states that the president must be Muslim and that Islamic tradition is the primary source of legislative authority.

Also according to the report, the obscuring of the state's Arab and Islamic characteristics continues with the purging of the oath of office for senior officials of all religious and ethnic symbolism. Al-Akhbar wrote that the oath proposed in the Russian draft makes no reference to the oath-taker's Muslim or Arab identity, and reads: "I hereby swear to honor the country's constitution and laws; to honor and protect human and civil rights and liberties; to defend the state's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity; and to always act according to the interests of the people." The current oath of office (emphases added) is: "I swear by Allah the Almighty to honor the country's constitution, laws, and its republican regime; to protect the people's interests and liberties; to preserve the homeland's sovereignty, independence, and freedom; to protect its territorial integrity; and to work for social justice and for the unity of the Arab ummah."

Restricting Government Centralization vs. Local Administrations, Which Gain Legislative Authority

In addition to increasing cultural autonomy for local administrations by enabling them to add their local tongue as an official language, the draft also grants them autonomous legislative powers. It states that there will be a "Regional Assembly" comprising members of local administrations, which will have legislative powers alongside the current Syrian parliament - the name of which will be changed to the People's Assembly. These two bodies, the Regional Assembly and the People's Assembly, will be the two houses of parliament, and will constitute the legislative branch "on behalf of the Syrian people." The Regional Assembly, it states, will be independent and its members will be entitled to immunity. Further, both Assemblies will have the power to elect members of the Supreme Constitutional Court - a power which is currently in the hands of the president. This Regional Assembly will also have powers vis-a-vis the president - it will retroactively ratify a presidential declaration of general military mobilization, and preapprove a presidential declaration of a national state of emergency. Additionally, in the absence of a president or prime minister capable of carrying out presidential duties, the Regional Assembly will have presidential powers.

The draft constitution stipulates that elections for the Regional Authority will be held one year after the ratification of the new constitution. There was no mention of whether Assembly members are to be elected directly by the people or chosen by members of the local administrations.

Reducing Presidential Authority

The Russian draft cited in Al-Akhbar reduces some of the powers currently held by the president, in several areas:

Candidacy: A presidential candidate must be over 40 and a Syrian citizen. Eliminated is the requirement that a candidate be Muslim. Other requirements omitted in the draft are the stipulations that both a candidate's parents be natural-born Syrian citizens and that a candidate cannot have a non-Syrian spouse.

Term Limits: As in the current constitution, the Russian draft sets the presidential term of office at seven years, and mandates a two-term limit. The president elect will be sworn in by both the Regional and People's Assemblies.

Role and powers: The president will continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In case of a military attack or a threat to the country, the president can take measures to stop them, and must inform the Regional and People's Assemblies that he has done so. He may launch a general military mobilization and a national state of emergency with the approval of the Regional Assembly. The Al-Akhbar report does not note whether the president will have absolute authority over the armed forces as he does under the 2012 constitution.

The draft states that the president has the authority to "define the general trend of government action and to oversee the implementation of laws and the operation of state apparatuses." This departs somewhat from the current constitution, which grants the president the power "to determine the general policy of the state and to oversee its implementation."

Another new clause in the Russian draft states that the president will "mediate between the authorities and the state and society."

While it does not set out the president's legislative authority, the draft also does not explicitly state that he has none. According to the draft, the president must approve laws passed by the Regional and People's Assemblies. However, if he opposes any law, the Assemblies can vote on it again, and if it passes by a two-thirds majority, the president must then approve it.

The draft also shifts the power to appoint and remove state employees and military personnel from the president to the government, including members of the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Expanding Governmental Authority

In addition to revoking the president's power to appoint and remove state employees and military personnel, the Russian draft constitution also gives the government the authority "to sign franchise agreements with foreign companies, and agreements that include extra-budgetary expenditure." The government, it says, is politically accountable for its actions vis-a-vis the president; however, in contrast to the 2012 constitution, it does not explicitly state that the president may prosecute its members. Furthermore, the government is accountable to the Regional and People's Assemblies, which, with a simple majority, can propose a vote of no confidence in the government.

The Al-Akhbar report also did not clarify who appoints the government or who selects it members.

Restricting The Power Of The Armed Forces

The 2012 constitution states that the military and armed forces are "a national institution charged with defending the homeland's territorial integrity and regional sovereignty, and serve the people's interest and defend its goals and national security." It states that the armed forces are not subordinate to the people, but to the president. The Russian draft appears to restrict the power of the armed forces, stating that they will be "under society's oversight" and will not involve themselves in politics or in the process of transfer of power. It "bans extra-governmental military operations or operations of a military nature outside the authority of the state."[6] The new draft is vague on the issue of conscription, stating generally that "Syrian citizens will carry out military service is accordance with the law"; in contrast, the 2012 constitution states that "mandatory military service is a sacred duty mandated by law."

Demoting The Ba'ath Party

According to Al-Akhbar, the draft effectively revokes the Ba'ath Party's current dominance as the country's ruling party, stating that "no ideology can be seen as collective or obligatory." It also eliminated the allotment of half of the seats in parliament to the labor and farming sector, which is the Ba'ath's power base.[7]

Reactions To The 'Al-Akhbar' Report

Russian News Agency Denies Report On Russian Draft

The day after Al-Akhbar published its report, the Arabic-language website of the official Russian news agency Sputnik, reporting from its Damascus bureau, cited a "knowledgeable source" who claimed that "Russia had presented no draft of a Syrian constitution" and that the media reports refer to a document drafted by the Carter Center following 15 rounds of talks with members of the Syrian opposition in coordination with the UN and the office of Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. The source added that the Carter Center document, which is known as the "transitional constitutional document," was not Russian in origin, and that "the Russian government has not presented any draft constitution to Syria, because Moscow respects the sovereignty of the Syrian state. The new constitutional document [published in Al-Akhbar] was drafted by the opposition and the U.S., and concerns the transfer of most presidential power to the transitional government."[8]

It should be mentioned that this news item appeared only on the Arabic-language Sputnik website, not on the Russian-language one. It also did not explicitly state whether the source it cited was Russian or Syrian. However, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA, the source was Russian.[9]

The Carter Center website features a document dated May 8, 2016 and titled "Syria's Transition Constitutional Options." However, it is unclear whether this is the document referred to by the Sputnik source, because, alongside some articles that are similar in their content to the document published by Al-Akhbar, such as those limiting the president's powers, there are also substantial differences between the two documents. For instance, the Carter Center document retained the 2012 constitution article stating that the president must be a Muslim - unlike the Al-Akhbar document, in which it was omitted. Additionally, the Carter Center document defines Syria as "Arab" and preserves the language of the oath taken by state officials, and makes no mention at all of the Regional Assembly, which is granted extensive powers in the Al-Akhbar document.

Other Sources Corroborate Al-Akhbar Report On Russian Draft Constitution

Al-Akhbar dismissed the denials, reporting on May 27 that the draft constitution it had published was only a "small portion" of the Russian proposal for a future constitution, which has U.S. approval in principle. It insisted that the draft does indeed exist, that it was the result of Russia-U.S. talks and that it reflected the Russians' "excessive flexibility" vis-a-vis U.S. proposals. It stated further that the proposal had been presented to the Syrian and Iranian regimes, and had "sent major shock waves through Damascus," which had effectively rejected all the sections that eroded the president's powers and Syria's Arab identity. Stressing that the draft was non-binding, the paper stated: "Moscow knows that it cannot impose a constitution that will eventually be subject to referendum, and knows that the 'high threshold' of the proposal is expected to come down in accordance with amendments to it by its ally [the Syrian regime]... Damascus knows that a constitution will not be forced upon it..."

The paper stated that its motive in publishing the draft was not political but purely journalistic, but added that its purpose was "to expose improper intentions regarding Syria's future" and that "it is not possible to be neutral with regards to a plan to divide Syria..." [10]

Corroboration of the existence of a Russian draft constitution appeared in the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat some two months before the Al-Akhar publication. On April 2, 2016, it reported that during a Moscow visit, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had received from his counterpart Sergei Lavrov a draft of a new Syrian constitution "based on a document drafted by legal experts close to the Syrian regime." The Americans, it added, were studying it. On June 2, 2016, Al-Hayat reported that the Russian draft was 24 pages long and had 85 clauses, that it had been given also to the Syrian and Iranian regimes, and that both had amended, in very similar ways, the sections regarding the president's legislative and executive powers, with the aim of retaining them.[11]

Further corroboration came from Syrian oppositionist sources; however, they also stated that Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad had approved the draft. Thus, the same day Al-Akhbar published the draft, the oppositionist website all4syria.info wrote: "This proposal is genuine. Russia finished drafting the constitution some two weeks ago and presented it to Assad, who approved it. Russia informed its representatives in the Syrian opposition - Dr. Ilian Masaad, Randa Kassis, Qadri Jamil, and Ahmad Hisso[12] ... regarding the text of the proposal, telling them that there was no turning back from it and that they must adopt it... and present it as is as their own proposal. [They were warned] that anyone opposing it would be dealt with harshly..."[13]

Dr. Faisal Al-Qassim, senior Syrian journalist for the Qatari Al-Jazeera TV and an opponent of the Assad regime, wrote on his Facebook page: "[Assad] accepts the Russian proposal to manage Syria on a sectarian and ethnic basis, and to transform it into a non-Arab republic, after destroying it and expelling its people."[14]

Syrian Regime Angrily Denies Reports: Only Syrians May Debate The Syrian Constitution

Regime representatives denied that any Russian draft had been presented to Syria, and criticized its reported contents. On May 26, 2016, two days after Al-Akhbar published the draft, Syrian Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi rejected the report and stated that Syria had no information about it. He stressed that "the Syrian people alone will be asked about any new constitution."[15]

The following day, the Syrian Presidency's Facebook page posted this message: "Over the past two days, we have received numerous questions regarding reports in some media outlets regarding 'a draft of a new Syrian constitution presented to Damascus' and 'Syrian amendments' to that constitution. Additionally, there have been debates and analysis on this issue in the media and on social networks. In order to prevent any confusion, we wish to stress that no draft constitution has been presented to Syria and that all media reports on this matter are groundless. Any new future Syrian constitution will not be presented by foreign [elements], but will be purely Syrian. Syrians alone will debate it and agree on it, and it will then be brought to a referendum. Nothing else has value, or significance."[16]

Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad also rejected the draft published by Al-Akhbar, stating that the Syrian regime opposed Syria becoming a federation, as indicated by clauses regarding the status of the Regional Assembly and Kurdish autonomy. He said: "We once again stress that the solution to the Syria crisis should result from an agreement between the state leaders and the people. A political arrangement should be based on several points, the main ones being preserving the integrity of the people and the sovereignty of the state. This rules out the possibility of dividing the state or agreeing to a federal region as the Kurds demand... Any talks that exceed this framework are unacceptable to our leadership."[17]

The official Syrian daily Al-Ba'ath also addressed this issue, stating that a constitution could only be drafted after terrorism was eliminated, and that the Arab identity of the state must not be eroded. It stated in an editorial: "...The problem is not the constitution... What constitution, what political life, and what social contract [can be discussed] while terrorism is rife throughout the country and the ummah...? We cannot speak about a constitution... a political track, a broad government, or a transitional period so long as UN Security Council Resolution 2253 [concerning the fight against ISIS] is being disregarded, or Article 8 of Security Council Resolution 2254 [calling on countries to stop supporting ISIS and other terrorist organizations in Syria] is being circumvented. We cannot achieve anything before eliminating terrorism..."

The newspaper also stressed Syria's Arab identity: "Neither the war, nor the previous, current, or next constitution will change the identity of the Syrian Arab Republic... Syria cannot have a sustainable political society that is disconnected from national identity and Arabism..."[18]

Syrian Regime Opponents Reject Notion Of Russian Constitution

The Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC) - the opposition's representative to the Geneva talks - rejected the Russian draft outright without addressing its content; it stated that any constitution would be drawn up by the Syrians alone, and only after the start of the transitional period. HNC Deputy Chairman Yahya Al-Kodmani called the draft a trial balloon, and stressed: "We must hold talks on a constitution [only] after establishing the transitional ruling body... The Syrian people, whether regime supporters or opponents, will not consent to the Russians imposing a constitution on us."[19]

HNC advisor Marj Al-Baqai called on the authors and distributors of the draft to apologize to the Syrian people for circumventing them.[20]



"Syrian Constitution" - a mirror image of the "Russian Constitution" (Orient-news.net, May 24, 2016)

Independent Syrian oppositionist Dr. Kamal Al-Labwani was harsher in his response, and warned that the Russian proposal pushes Syrians to adopt extremism and terrorism, which will eventually be turned against Russia as well: "...Russia drafted a constitution for the Syrian people, which it is trying to impose by way of [its] Sukhoi jets... The Russians believe that the end of this act of massacre [i.e., the Syria war] begins with a constitution, as though Syria's problem is this or that article in the constitution that is faithfully implemented by Bashar [Al-Assad] and his gang, and as though a constitution changed by Russia [will induce] Bashar to change his behavior and become kindhearted, thus eliminating the need to topple him... Instead of striking the mass murderer and handing him and his gang over to international tribunals, they offer us a constitutional solution after all these mass graves, as though the reason for them was a mistake we made in drafting our previous constitution..." Al-Labwani warned: "This attempt is a new aggression and a new weapon being drawn in the face of a people that has nothing left but extremism and terrorism as a means to defend its honor... You [Russians] are forcing our people to support, sponsor, and export terrorism... The only response to this flagrant arrogance that legitimizes crime and rewards its perpetrators is nothing but blind violence by suicide attackers that strikes fear in the hearts of anyone collaborating [with it] wherever they are. If the humiliation is the constitution that you impose on others, expect fear and terror to be the constitution that they impose on you..."[21]

The draft published in Al-Akhbar was also criticized in pro-Syrian-opposition Arab media. Thus, several hours after the Al-Akhbar report was published, the Saudi Al-Arabiya website published a harsh response titled "Russian-Iranian Constitution for Syria Eliminates Its Arab Identity." It stated:



Al-Arabiya report headline

"It seems that Russia, which has conquered Syria in deed, not [just] words, has taken sole control of the country, after [Bashar] Al-Assad transferred it to his allies Moscow and Tehran. Iran applied pressure for the removal of the title 'Arab' from the name of the republic, for the erasure of [Syria's] Arab identity, and for melting it by means of constitutional changes - which can be said, at the very least, to be a 'constitutional war' on Syria...

"If there is truth to today's leak [of the draft constitution by Al-Akhbar], then Assad has sold what remains of Syria, after he destroyed, killed, ruined, and gifted it to the Russians who fought for him, and this is [also] a cry of 'onward' to the intervention by Iran, which seeks primarily to eradicate the Arab identity of Syria - and, as a matter of fact, not only of Syria..."[22]

Additional Debates On Future Syrian Constitution In Various Forums

As noted, the report on the details of the Russian draft constitution did not emerge in a vacuum. Debates on Syria's future constitution have been ongoing, inside and outside the Syrian regime, at various political and academic venues, and with the participation of both Syrian and foreign elements. Evidence of this can be seen in Assad's response to Kerry's statement that the U.S. and Russia had agreed that a constitution should be drafted by August 2016; Assad told the Russian news agency Sputnik: "We can present a draft constitution within a few weeks. The experts are there. There are finalized proposals that can be combined..."[23]

The issue of the constitution was also raised in a meeting between Assad and French National Assembly members in late March 2016. National Assembly Member Nicolas Dhuicq said after the meeting that Assad had expressed his objection to the article in the current constitution granting Muslims the exclusive right to become president and showed willingness to expand local administrations' powers and liberties, but vehemently opposed Syria's becoming a federation.[24]

Furthermore, the London-based Saudi daily Al-Hayat reported, on March 27, 2016, that the Syrian regime's delegation to the Geneva talks had "new amendments to the 2012 constitution" on three topics: removing the clause stating that the president must be a Muslim; setting a presidential term of seven years with a two-term limit starting with the next election; and the selection of the president by parliament as opposed to by direct elections.[25]

Starting in 2013, the Carter Center has held meetings and debates with Syrian elements "from across the political and sectarian divides," [together with representatives from the U.N., E.U., and U.S. administration regarding possible constitutional and governmental models for the transitional period in Syria. On May 8, 2016, after a round of debates in Beirut that began in January 2016, the Carter Center published a draft of Syria's Transition Constitutional Options. To date, this is the most detailed public document outlining the constitutional framework for the transitional period in Syria.

This document states that the preferred option is to amend the current constitution, which has been in effect since 2012, and to append to it a declaration of constitutional principles. The oppositionists' proposal to enact the 1950 constitution, which was in force prior to the rise of the Ba'ath party in 1963, during the transitional period, and the proposal to draft a new constitution for this period, were both rejected by the other participants in the meetings.

This draft limits the president's executive and legislative powers: For example, he cannot appoint and fire the prime minister and cabinet members; he remains commander-in-chief of the armed forces but does not hold "absolute authority" over them as under the 2012 constitution; and he has the authority to issue dictates and orders, but they must be subject to the law. According to the draft, the transitional period will see the establishment of a legislative body; one third of this body's members will be chosen by the current parliament, one third by the HNC, and one third by an international organization. There will be separation of powers; a civil system will be established to oversee the security apparatuses and military.

The Carter Center draft also presented two options for the interim governing body that will run the country during the 18-month transitional period: either the government, which will likely comprise representatives from the regime and opposition and will have full powers, or a body combining the presidency and the government.[26]

Another constitutional initiative came from the International Peace Initiative for Syria - a group of human rights activists and academics from around the world working to promote a peace process in Syria. In April 2016, the group met in Vienna with politicians, legal experts, and Syrian opposition activists and regime associates, in order to draft a constitutional principles document. However, the participants were only able to agree on a few general principles such as a democratic and egalitarian Syria, a separation of powers, and non-centralized governance while preserving Syria's territorial integrity.[27]

Apparently, as part of the efforts to draft a constitution and obtain the Syrian opposition's seal of approval for it, Russia has sponsored what it called "an intra-Syrian opposition stream." In early March, Syrian officials from Damascus who call themselves oppositionist, even though some are reportedly regime supporters,[28] arrived on a Russian aircraft at the Russian air base in Khmeimim, northern Syria, and met with Russian representatives. A statement issued after the meeting called for drafting a new constitution "that can achieve democracy and independence for a secular Syria, while preserving the rights of all citizens regardless of religion and ethnicity."[29]

However, the ideas raised in all these debates have yet to be presented to the public, and have therefore not sparked the same debate as the Russian draft published by Al-Akhbar.

* N. Mozes is a research fellow at MEMRI

Endnotes:
On June 27, 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of the pilot in the downing of the Russian Su-24 plane over the Syria-Turkey border in November 2015. The Kremlin website reported that in his letter, Erdogan said that Russia is Turkey's friend and strategic partner, and that the Turkish authorities do not want to ruin relations between the two countries. Erdogan wrote: "We never had the desire or deliberate intention of shooting down the Russian Federation plane."

The letter went on to say: "[Turkey] undertook much effort at great risk to retrieve the Russian pilot's body from the Syrian opposition and bring it back to Turkey, where pre-burial procedures were carried out in accordance with religious and military procedures. We performed this work at a level worthy of our two countries' relations. I would like once again to express my sympathy and deepest condolences to the family of the Russian pilot who was killed, and I say I'm sorry. I share their grief with all my heart. We look on this Russian pilot's family as we would a Turkish family and we are ready to undertake any initiative that could lessen the pain and severity of the damage caused."[1]

Below is a review of cartoons published in pro-Kremlin media outlets on the subject. The cartoons below underline that Erdogan backed down to Russia, hoping that normalization with Moscow would have positive effects on the economy. They also stress that following Turkey's backing down to Russia, Ukraine will also soon apologize. The only problem, the cartoons point out, is that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko does not know how to write "sorry." The cartoons also accuse Turkey of sponsoring the Islamic State (ISIS).

Erdogan Backs Down And Apologizes To Russia



Vitaly Podvitsky, Sputniknews.com, June 28, 2016.

The cartoon above, on the Russian government-funded news agency Sputniknews.com, was captioned: "He finally did it!... Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan has stubbornly refused to apologize for the downing of the Russian Su-24. But it seems like the president cannot stomach such dire relations with Russia. His apologies came as a bolt from the blue, but there is light in the end of the tunnel."



Vitaly, Vk.com/13studiya, June 27, 2016.

In the cartoon above, a Russian Cossack tells Erdogan: "Why is your tail between your legs? Only yesterday you barked so loud! So loud!"



Vk.com/13studiya, June 27, 2016.

In the cartoon above, Erdogan tries to emerge from the sewage and calls the Kremlin. The answering machine says: "Mr. Erdogan, you have reached the Kremlin. In order to apologize please dial 1, in order to pay compensation please dial 2."



Vitaly Podvitsky, Ria.ru, June 27, 2016.

In the cartoon above, Erdogan says into the phone: "Hello! Hello! Moscow? Hello?" The graffiti on the broken walls reads: "Perspectives," "Relationships," and "Economy."

Ukrainian President Poroshenko Wants To Apologize To Russia, But Doesn't Know How



Twitter.com/sharzhipero, July 1, 2016.

In the cartoon above, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says to Erdogan: "Hi, listen, did you really extended apologies to Russia?" Erdogan replies, "Yes." Poroshenko says: "What did you say? Ok, what's next? Beg your pardon or bAg your pardon?"



Twitter.com/sharzhipero, July 4, 2016.

In the cartoon above, Poroshenko says to Erdogan: "Hello! Recep..." Erdogan says, "Yes, my dear!" Poroshenko asks: "How do you write it correctly, I'm sorry or I'm sAorry?"

Ukrainian President Poroshenko Does Not Want Erdogan To Apologize



Vitaly Podvitsky, Ria.ru, June 28, 2016.

On June 29, 2016, soon after Erdogan wrote to Putin, Poroshenko stated that Erdogan had not apologized to Russia, but "merely expressed his condolences to the family of the dead pilot." He added: "I believe that the Turkish president's position is absolutely understandable."[2]

Turkey Accused Of Sponsoring Terrorism



Vk.com/13studiya, July 6, 2016.

In the cartoon above, Erdogan says: "You know, I'd love to visit Crimea - to look at the sunset and the seagulls. And for that reason I will conquer the whole world by using ISIS, which I rented."



Vk.com/13studiya, June 29, 2016.

The cartoon above, published following the June 28, 2016 attack at Istanbul's Ataturk airport that was blamed on ISIS, shows a dog representing "ISIS" biting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who says, "Disgusting dogs, you feed them, you breed them..."

Endnotes:
In his July 5, 2016 column for the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, under the headline "Uprooting Extremism," Hussein Shobokshi called on the Muslim world to do what Germany did to combat Nazism after World War II, in order to purge itself of its own sources of extremism.

Following are excerpts from his column:[1]

"When the Nazi regime fell, and Adolf Hitler was defeated at the end of World War II... Germany decided to comprehensively, deeply, and seriously put its house in order. It examined itself in depth, objectively, and gravely, and found that the primary solution to its problem was uprooting the Nazi ideology.

"Thus began a decisive campaign to uproot the direct and indirect influence of Nazi ideology on anything related to Germany's heritage, culture, ideology, arts, and politics. They dug through the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Kant, sifting through their writings with a fine-toothed comb, for fear that they had played a part in influencing others and paving a clear path to extremism and, later, to Nazism. Moreover, they also turned to [Germany's] musical heritage, and banned performances of music by the renowned German musician and composer Wagner, to which Hitler had listened regularly. They banned his music, fearing that it would be a factor influencing people's ideology and encouraging extremism. [2]

"Germany realized that it was facing a critical challenge that would obligate it to decide, in all seriousness, whether to be or not to be. In light of the gravity of this situation, it had to face the complex problems of Nazism unceremoniously and with an iron fist.

"This is precisely the crisis that the Muslim world is facing - its ability to deal with the extremism hidden in the pages of some writers, that are used by extremists to legitimize and ingrain their positions, acts, and crimes.

"Today we witness the repeated murders and terror [attacks] by the organizations of blood and death, such as Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah, and ISIS; they murder and destroy based on fatwas and bizarre opinions. So long as this matter is presented and handled with kid gloves, we will never obtain results that are serious, helpful, influential, or vital. We must realize fully that we need to take a number of steps to uproot the ideology of terrorism, and that the road will be wearisome. We must be convinced that we are not doing this in order to please the West or anyone else, but rather to protect the religion and Islamic societies against this danger, since they will suffer its heaviest damages and the most victims.

"This issue is crucial and very grave. Ramadan has passed; the terrorist organizations' attacks have not ceased; and blood is running in the streets in almost every Islamic country. It is our duty to purge and purify the sources of extremism - and if we do not, there will, sadly, be no end to the ordeal of blood[shed]...

"The eyes tear up at the sights of murder and blood."
The Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs, Nikos Xydakis, met at the Foreign Ministry today with the Slovak Ambassador to Athens, Peter Michalko.



During the meeting, which took place in a friendly atmosphere, Ambassador Michalko set out the priorities of the Slovak Presidency in the second half of 2016. Reference was made to issues to be discussed at the Informal Meeting of the General Affairs Council, which is to take place on 24 and 25 July, in Bratislava.



In the conversation that followed, emphasis was put on current issues, including the refugee issue, the economic crisis and the future of the European Union, through the prism of the new state of affairs arising from the result of the UK referendum.
On the margins of the Prime Ministers visit to China (1-6 July 2016), the Deputy Foreign Minister for International Economic Relations, Dimitris Mardas, visited the World Commerce Valley Yanjiao - International Trade City on Sunday, 3 July.



Yanjiao is an exhibition space being created in Sanhe province, Hebei, 35 kilometers from Beijing. The 2,400 acre exhibition space includes a Greek booth.



Mr. Mardas also presented the plan for the Island of Art to two Chinese investors who have already decided to invest in our country in the sectors of tourism, food and culture.



Mr. Mardas also met with a representative of Chinas largest construction company (300,000 executives, 2 million workers, 8 subsidiaries abroad), which is participating in a number of projects with the countrys railways. The purpose of this meeting was to explore the potential for joint ventures with Greek firms in the Middle East and Africa. This matter will be explored further within the framework of the visit of high-ranking executives of the company to Greece in the coming time.



Finally, Mr. Mardas visited the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), an organization that pursues closer relations with peoples throughout the world.
Online court records show 28-year-old Robert Sheets, of Holtwood, pleaded guilty to a trespassing citation and a misdemeanor drug charge in the bizarre June 21 incident.

That's when police say the woman arrived at her Conestoga Township home to find a note on the door saying, "Don't be scared when you come, Bob is here."

The woman's boyfriend told police he knew Sheets, but not well and hadn't seen him in a long time. The couple hadn't given Sheets permission to stay at their home.

Lancaster County authorities dropped a felony trespassing charge against Sheets in return for Tuesday's guilty pleas. He was fined more than $500.
A veterans group is criticizing as inadequate the work of a congressional commission that concluded the Veterans Affairs Department still has "profound deficiencies" in delivering health care.

The Concerned Veterans for America, an Arlington, Virginia-based organization that advocates for greater choice in veteran health care providers, described the panel -- of which it was a part -- as "broken," in part for failing to vote on its own recommendations.

"Basically we  have a broken commission, and because of a broken commission we have a broken report," said Darin Selnick, senior veterans affairs adviser for organization, which hosted a teleconference on Wednesday after the release of the panel's report.

Selnick, who served on the commission, participated in the teleconference with Stewart Hickey, a fellow commissioner and former executive director for AMVETS, and Dan Caldwell, vice president for political action at the Concerned Veterans for America.

The report includes some recommendations that Selnick and Hickey said they could support, such as creating a board of directors to oversee the Veterans Health Administration, eliminating the 30-day and 40-mile restrictions on using the Choice Act for non-VA care, and adopting a BRAC-like system to shut down unneeded VA facilities.

But they panned the overall package as continuing the status quo. They also criticized the commission for not putting each recommendation to a vote -- something that the chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees had wanted -- and for not publishing on the commission's website a letter dissenting from the recommendations.

Selnick specifically accused Nancy Schlichting, the panel's chairwoman, of preventing substantive changes, and commission member Phillip Longman, senior editor of The Washington Monthly, of using his magazine to smear members such as himself for pressing for reforms to give veterans greater private-sector choices.

"[Schlichting] had her own agenda. She felt that veterans were broken, were old, felt veterans couldn't take care of themselves, so the VHA had to be the one to take care of it," he said, referring to the Veterans Health Administration. "She focused and derailed any efforts that went against her perceived support of the status quo and fixing of the existing choice program."

Caldwell, CVA's political action head, slammed "left-wing news outlets and the Washington-based leadership of certain veterans' organizations" for making false claims that some commission members would profit from reforms that would increase private health care options for veterans.

He singled out Longman for a Washington Monthly report that the libertarian billionaires David and Charles Koch were funding his organization and using it to push for privatization of VA health care. The group's ties to the Koch brothers have long been known and reported on.

Military.com was unable to reach Longman for comment, though Schlichting rejected the idea that she or anyone else on the commission steered its recommendations.

"I can't even understand how anyone can come to that conclusion. We had 12 commissioners," she told Military.com. "It was a consensus to create those recommendations.

"It's a very comprehensive," she said of the review. "It's everyone's work. I chaired the commission but I had no more vote than anyone else."

Hickey is a retired Marine Corps officer, former chief executive officer for Hyndman Area Health Center in Pennsylvania and former national head of AMVETS. He blamed organized labor and veterans service organizations -- in particular the Disabled American Veterans -- for influencing the commission in a way that harmed veterans.

"I just felt that during this whole period, we spent more time listening to the government employee union, [and] veterans service organizations, who represent five or six million veterans out of 22 or 23 million veterans  and they had undue influence over the results that were achieved," he said.

Hickey said he would like to have seen the commission recommend VA health care administered by a non-profit government corporation and run like Amtrak or the U.S. Postal Service, "where we're not getting politics into the mix.

"But once again lobbyists -- which for veterans are the VSOs in DC, worked with some of the commission members and tried to thwart the efforts of those who wanted to see really VA reform," he added.

Two of the leading veteran service organizations -- the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans -- were by and large supportive of the recommendations. But they also had concerns about some of them.

Both organizations said they had reservations about a board of directors overseeing Veterans Health Administration. The Disabled American Veterans said the board would be less answerable to the president than a VA secretary, who is a political appointee and cabinet officer.

Garry Augustine, DAVs executive director, dismissed Hickeys talk of VSO influence as sour grapes.

As far as our influence on the commission, its nice to give us the credit but theyre just frustrated they didnt get what they wanted, he said.

Concerned Veterans of America has been viewed skeptically by some of the longtime veterans' organizations for some time, though any ill feelings that veterans service organizations had for the Koch-linked group were kept below the surface until recently. Last month, the American Legion -- without identifying Concerned Veterans for America by name -- called it a "mouthpiece" for special interests looking to privatize VA health care.

In all, the commission's final report makes 18 recommendations. Among these:

VHA should use local expertise to establish high-performing, integrated community-based health care systems across the county;

Enhance clinical operations with more effective use of providers and other health care professionals, and with improved data collection and management;

Develop an appeals process that provides protections to veterans at least comparable to those afforded patients in other federally-supported programs;

Adopt a methodology for continuous improvement to support VHA transformation and consolidate continuous improvement and best practices under the Veterans Engineering Resource Center;

Eliminate disparities in health care among veterans treated in the VHA system by committing adequate personnel and funding to eliminate the causes of the problems creating the disparity, and ensuring that the VHA Health Equity Action Plan is fully implemented;

Develop and implement a robust strategy for meeting and managing VHA's facility and capital-asset needs, including a program -- to be established by Congress -- enabling the VA to close down properties it determines are no longer needed;

Modernize VA's information technology systems and infrastructure to improve veterans' health and well-being and provide the foundation needed to transform VHA's clinical and business processes;

Transform the management of the supply chain in VHA;

Establish a board of directors to provide overall VHA care system governance, set long-term strategy, and direct and oversee the transformation process;

Require leaders at all levels of the organization to champion a focused, clear, benchmarked strategy to transform VHA culture and sustain staff engagement;

Rebuild a system for leadership succession based on a benchmarked health care competency model that is consistently applied to recruitment, development, and advancement within the leadership pipeline;

Transform organizational structures and management processes to ensure adherence to national VHA standards while also promoting decision making at the lowest level of the organization, eliminating waste and redundancy, promoting innovation, and fostering the spread of best practices;

Streamline and focus VHA organizational performance measurement using core metrics identical to those used in the private sector, and establish a personnel performance management system for VHA health care leaders that is distinct from performance measurement, is based on the leadership competency model, assesses leadership ability, and measures the achievement of important organizational strategies;

Foster cultural and military competence among all VHA care system leadership, providers, and staff to embrace diversity, promote cultural sensitivity, and improve veteran health outcomes;

Create a simple-to-administer alternative personnel system, in law and regulation, governing all VHA employees, applies best practices from the private sector to human capital management, and supports pay and benefits that are competitive with the private sector;

Require VA and VHA executives to lead the transformation of human resources, commit funds and assign expert resources to achieve an effective human capital management system;

Provide a streamlined path to eligibility for health care for those with an other-than-honorable discharge who have substantial honorable service; and

Establish an expert body to develop recommendations for VA care eligibility and benefit design.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct the attribution in the seventh paragraph and the quote in the 15th paragraph.

-- Bryant Jordan can be reached at Bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at@BryantJordan.
Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare

Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV.
What would have been the first victory for New Syrian Army rebels against the Islamic State quickly turned into an embarrassing rout last week when U.S. warplanes covering the advance diverted to another target 200 miles away in Iraq.

The diversion, first reported by The Washington Post and later confirmed by Pentagon officials, contributed to the collapse of the rebels offensive against the southeastern Syrian border town of al-Bukamal.

NSA fighters fled into the desert, leaving behind their equipment, including U.S.-supplied .50 caliber machineguns. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed to have killed 40 of the U.S.-trained and equipped NSA fighters while capturing 15.

U.S. warplanes conducting airstrikes to clear the way for the NSA offensive on June 28 suddenly departed under orders to join air attacks by U.S., British and Iraqi aircraft on a massive ISIS convoy moving toward the Syrian border from the area southwest of Fallujah, about 40 miles from Baghdad.

More than 100 vehicles reportedly were destroyed and hundreds of ISIS fighters were killed, according to the U.S. military and the Iraqi Security Forces.

Army Col. Chris Garver, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, hinted at the diversion of air power in a briefing to the Pentagon on Wednesday but told the Washington Post that "You have a finite number of resources, and you try to get the biggest bang you can out of the resources you have. Prioritization was given to one target over another."

In the Pentagon briefing, Garver said that the NSA was regrouping following the failed offensive on al-Bukamal, which had been billed as an attempt to sever one of the last ISIS lines of re-supply and communications between Syria and Iraq through the Iraqi border town of al-Qaim.

"It's not an overwhelming defeat because the New Syrian Army is still in the fight," Garver said. "They're still partnered with us. We're still providing them support and whenever they go, conduct another operation, you know, we'll -- we'll be sure to let you know."

"Al-Bukamal is an important area, as is Al-Qaim," Garver said. "That's a place where Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS) had never been attacked on the ground before. And now they have been attacked on the ground. And that operation, frankly, was very confusing for them and we see movement right now" by ISIS to reposition forces."

The NSA reportedly has received military training in U.S.-run camps in Jordan, but most of their training and equipping was conducted at their base in the southeastern Syrian town of al-Tanf. Garver stressed that U.S. advisors were not with the NSA on the ground in the offensive. "This was not an accompanied mission," he said.

The base at al-Tanf was hit twice earlier this month by Russian air strikes, even after the U.S. military used emergency channels to ask Moscow to stop after the first strike, according to U.S. officials.

In a statement Thursday, the New Syrian Army pledged to continue the fight against ISIS and appeared to characterize the defeat at al-Bukamal more as a raid or probing attack rather than an offensive aimed at capturing the city.

"Our forces successfully departed at the conclusion of the raid," the statement said. "We will continue to conduct operations to remove Daesh." The statement contrasted with remarks by NSA spokesmen after the retreat into the desert.

Muzahem al Saloum, a spokesman for the NSA, told Reuters "We have withdrawn to the outlying desert and the first stage of the campaign has ended."

"The news is not good," another NSA source told Reuters. "I can say our troops were trapped and suffered many casualties and several fighters were captured and even weapons were taken."

In another briefing to the Pentagon last week as the attack began, Garver also said the intent was to capture al-Bukamal. "The announced purpose of this attack by the New Syrian Army, also known as the Ketab Allah Akbar, or KAA, is to liberate Abu Kamal (al-Bukamal) and cut Daesh military supply lines in the Euphrates Valley between Syria and Iraq," Garver said.

"As with our other partner forces, we are providing advice and assistance to KAA and strikes in support of their operations. Last night, we conducted eight large strikes on Daesh targets near Abu Kamal, including two tactical Daesh units, an intelligence training center, a headquarters, a training camp, a known bed-down location for fighters and a Daesh vehicle," Garver said.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

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NATO leaders at the opening of the Warsaw Summit on Thursday promised enhanced security measures to counter Russian Aggression despite Britain's recent decision to leave the European Union.

On Friday and Saturday, leaders of the 28 NATO allies and many partner nations will meet for a landmark summit to hammer out plans to strengthen its "deterrence and defense, and projecting stability beyond its borders," according to a NATO press release.

"Allies will agree to deploy four robust and multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, on a rotational basis," the release states.

"A multinational framework brigade in Romania will provide a tailored presence in south-eastern Europe," it states. "NATO will also take further steps to improve cyber defences, civil preparedness and to defend against ballistic missile attack from outside the Euro-Atlantic area."

Leaders will agree to extend the organization's training mission in Iraq and to broaden its role in the central Mediterranean. They will also approve the deployment of Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance aircraft to support the global coalition to counter Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, also known as ISIS, according to the release.

"Today, NATO is faster, stronger and more ready for any challenge," officials said in the release. "The decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit will help to ensure the safety of our citizens for years to come."

These bold statements come at a time of increased instability in Europe with the so-called Brexit, which has spurred numerous questions about the U.K.'s commitment -- and ability -- to be a part of the continent's collective defense.

Seeking to reassure nervous allies, Secretary of State John Kerry said after hastily-arranged meetings in Brussels with NATO's leadership that the U.S. commitment to the Europe "will not change one iota as a consequence of the vote that has taken place" in Britain in mid-June to leave the European Union.

The Brexit fallout on the efforts of the U.S. and NATO to counter Russian aggression in Europe are expected to be minimal, at least in the short term, National Security Adviser Susan Rice has said.

The U.S. military for months has been conducting joint exercises with other NATO military units in eastern Europe to reassure allies and deter Russia from attempting future operations similar to its incursion into Ukraine in 2014.

So far NATO's military response to Russian military involvement in the Ukraine has come in the form of small-scale airborne operations involving several countries.

Swift Response 16, which began May 27 and is scheduled to run through June 26 in Poland and Germany, will include more than 5,000 soldiers and airmen from the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

Swift Response will demonstrate the allies' ability to respond to a crisis scenario from staging bases in both Europe and the U.S. within 18 hours of notification.

A battalion of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, will make a 10-hour transatlantic flight -- including en-route refueling, mission planning and parachute rigging -- from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to parachute into the exercise area near Torun, Poland.

The Pentagon also recently announced it plans to deploy an armored brigade combat team to Eastern Europe in February. That plan essentially calls for the constant presence of a third brigade in Europe. Two are already permanently stationed in Europe -- a Stryker brigade and an airborne brigade. And now a brigade will rotate in and out on a continual basis, according to the Associated Press.

In addition to these three combat brigades, the United States has agreed to commit one battalion along with three allied battalions on Europe's eastern flank, according to Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

Conley noted that Russia has stated that it will move three divisions to the Western Military District. The country has been rebuilding and modernizing its military since it invaded Georgia in 2008.

The growing consensus is that since the Georgia-Russian conflict, the Russians have put substantial focus on modernizing their military and particularly focusing on rapid mobilization, Conley said.

Russian military forces are to deploy, some have estimated, upwards of 80,000 forces within 48 hours, she said.

Since NATO's last summit in Wales in 2014, allies have implemented "the biggest increase in collective defense since the Cold War," according the NATO press release.

Last year, allies also increased defense spending for the first time in many years.

There have been 27 previous summits. The first one was in December 1957. The last one was in Wales in September 2014. This one is the first to be hosted in Poland and the first to be chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Fifty-eight official delegations will participate in the event, including all 28 NATO allies, Montenegro -- whose accession to the organization is currently in the ratification process, 26 partner countries and representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

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Defense Department officials have no specific timeline for when military family members and retirees will be able to receive transgender-related care through Tricare, they said this week.

"We anticipate that this new coverage will be in effect in the near future and will allow ... non-surgical gender transition care and treatment for all Tricare beneficiaries, said Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson, a DoD spokesman in a statement.

New proposed Tricare transgender treatment rules that allow for hormone therapy and mental health counseling for "gender dysphoria," the clinical name for those who identify as a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth, were published in the Federal Register in early February and open for public comment until early April.

A ban on openly serving transgender troops was lifted by Defense Department officials June 30, with plans to offer transgender treatment, including sex-change surgery, to active-duty service members within 90 days.

"Bottom line: Service members with a diagnosis from a military medical provider indicating that gender transition is medically necessary will be provided medical care and treatment for the diagnosed medical condition," Sakrisson said.

But that coverage does not include military family members and retirees. They are instead governed by Tricare rules, which currently prohibit transgender assistance.

The proposed Tricare rules would cover everything but surgery, according to officials. To receive that treatment, Tricare users will likely have to pay out of pocket outside of the Tricare system.

Advocates with the American Military Partner Association (AMPA), which supports gay and transgender military families, said the current rules are "outdated."

"We've made tremendous progress for our transgender service members, but it is absolutely imperative that we don't forget about our transgender military kids and spouses," said Ashley Broadway, AMPA's president. "Outdated Tricare policies must be updated so that these military family members have access to the critically important and medically necessary care they so desperately need."

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "The only constant is change."

To which Army wife Estelle Hunt adds, "You never get used to it."

Estelle and her husband, Staff Sgt. Todd Hunt of the 25th Infantry Division Band, received 30 days notice to PCS, or to make a permanent change of station move.

Todd is PCSing, unaccompanied, for a year in South Korea. Estelle and their four children are relocating to Washington state, which is where Todd will be stationed once he completes his mission in South Korea.

This isn't the first time the Hunts have had to PCS, and Estelle is handling the move like a pro. She has two of her children at a Boy Scouts camp, so they are not underfoot. Her other two children are out of the way in a bedroom watching television. She has a mental list of all of the things she needs to do: Clean the house, book hotel rooms, keep track of the movers.

In the middle of all of this, she even finds time to hand the author of this article a pen to take notes.

"I am stressed," she admits with a laugh. "Yes, I cry myself to sleep. Yes, I take long showers, but after awhile, you realize you just have to deal with it. The movers are here with their truck; you have to go. You pull your big girl pants up and dig in.

"It helps to remind myself that somebody always has it better and somebody always has it worse," she added. "I've had to PCS where I had a whole year to prepare. Then again, I've heard of people who had to move in two weeks. You need a back up to a back up to a back up plan."

Maintaining a sense of humor is also a must. That's her husband's job.

Or as he put it, "I'm out of my AOR (area of responsibility). This is a Household 6 and part of (Estelle's) AOR. I'm out of my lane here."

Then he dutifully picked up a broom and started sweeping debris tracked in by the movers.

If the Hunts have demonstrated anything, it's that a positive attitude and an ability to roll with the punches may be more important than any list of PCS tips.

That said, what follows are some basic PCS tips from the Military One Source website.

Important PCS Paperwork

ORDERS. Keep your original set of orders with you at all times. Having more than one copy with you is also a good idea.

IDENTIFICATION. Military IDs, driver's licenses, Social Security cards, passports and birth, marriage and naturalization certificates may be needed immediately by various organizations upon arrival.

VEHICLE DOCUMENTATION. If you're driving to your destination, your vehicle title or lease information and proof of vehicle inspection, registration and insurance are a must.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION. For security purposes, personal checks, any hard copies of recent bank statements, and credit and debit cards should travel with you.

HOUSING INFORMATION. Carry the household inventory that your moving company provided, as well as contact phone numbers and lease or mortgage paperwork.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS. Any applicable documents, like divorce or annulment paperwork from a previous marriage, wills, custody or adoption paperwork, and any powers of attorney should travel with you.

SCHOOL OR EMPLOYMENT RECORDS. Carry any transcripts, report cards or grade sheets that your children may need for school registration. You or your spouse may need transcripts, a current resume and letters of recommendation to look for or begin employment after a move.

MEDICAL AND VACCINATION RECORDS AND PHYSICIAN INFORMATION. Previous medical and dental records should be submitted to new physicians and dentists, and vaccination records will likely be needed for school registration and for some employment.

Prepping Children and Teenagers for PCS

Go to the installation youth center. Whether or not your child wants to hang out at the Youth Center, visiting will let you know what activities are available.

Become an active member of the installation community. Participate in family activities, clubs and other recreational activities to meet other families.

Encourage your teenager to find a part-time job. If you move during the summer, a part-time job will keep your teenager busy and provide a way to meet people.

Locate youth programs. Learn about the local Boys & Girls Club, the 4-H Club, YMCA or other youth programs. The military and family support center can help you locate them.

Look for opportunities in the religious community. Find out if the military chapel or other faith organization has an active youth group.

Tap into the service member's network at the new command. Ask co-workers and neighbors what their own children do for fun.

Pets and PCS

Research the pet policies at your next duty station. Some destinations, like Hawaii, have strict regulations and quarantine requirements, which may spell a longer (and costlier) preparation process. Double-check that all veterinarian certifications are in order. Use a military vet, if possible, as they are more familiar with the paperwork required for PCS moves. Call the airline or go online to find out about any flight restrictions your pet may face. For example, some airlines impose a "pet embargo" at certain times of the year on dog breeds that have respiratory issues due to the structure of their face. Many airlines also may limit the number of pets on each flight, whether they are flying with passengers or in cargo.

Crate-train your pet. Also, be sure your crate fits on the plane, is correctly labeled and has your name, your pet's name and your destination address clearly written on it.

Shipping Vehicles for a PCS

The government will ship a typical family car, but may not ship your recreational vehicle or a large truck with a heavy camper shell. There are weight restrictions, as well as restrictions on certain types of vehicles.

Modified vehicles. Low riders, lift kits, upgraded speakers and other non-factory modifications must meet special requirements to be shipped. The regulations vary by country, so be sure to check with your relocation office for information specific to your new duty station.

Time limits. There are strict time limits governing how late after your departure or before your return your car can be shipped. These limits vary by service branch.

Don't plan on moving extra household goods in your car. There are strict regulations on what may be placed in the car, as well as weight limits on the vehicle.

Depending on the country or state of your new home, you may have only a short time to license your vehicle after you arrive. Be aware of the regulations. You can find information about licensing your vehicle from the relocation office.

Buying a car at your destination. If you are a two-car family, you may choose to buy a car after you arrive at your new installation. Be aware that some vehicles in foreign countries -- even those made by American companies -- may not be legal to drive when you return to the United States.

For up-to-date information about shipping your vehicle, visit the Defense Personal Property system at move.mil. For more on shipping your vehicle overseas, see this Military.com article.
The Cardinals have placed star infielder Matt Carpenter on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain, the club announced. Hell be replaced on the active roster by catcher Michael McKenry, whose contract will be purchased.

[Related: Updated Cardinals Depth Chart]

Things werent looking good from the moment Carpenter walked off the field clutching his side last night, as the club sent signals that there was significant concern. His timeline remains unknown, and will obviously depend upon how he progresses, but this is the sort of injury that will need to fully clear up before a player can attempt a rehab assignment.

St. Louis has now lost two huge bats from its lineup in short succession. First baseman/outfielder Brandon Moss is also out with an ankle injury. Both rate among the top 15 players in the National League by measure of wRC+ (minimum 250 plate appearances). Thats quite a bit off offense to strip out of a lineup, even if one or both can return without lengthy absences.

Fortunately for the Cards, other developments over the course of the year will help to fill the void. Aledmys Diaz has emerged as a quality option at short, while Jhonny Peralta is back (though he has been dealing with pain in his surgically-repaired thumb). Kolten Wong and Jedd Gyorko remain on hand, though neither has been particularly productive, while Matt Adams has been plenty capable at the plate at first.

The situation behind the dish is another area of concern, though, as the club recently lost Eric Fryer on waivers when it brought back reserve Bryan Pena. Now the latter has returned to the DL, leaving first-time big leaguer Alberto Rosario as the back-up to Yadier Molina. Now McKenry will help bolster that unit. Hes not well-regarded with the glove, but has shown life with the bat and owns a useful .301/.424/.569 batting line in 151 Triple-A plate appearances on the year.
7:09pm: Gonzalez went on-record with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post to deny that he is interested in being traded by the Rockies. Nothing is true, because, obviously I havent talked to anybody and havent said that to anybody. Not my wife or my kids or my mom, said Gonzalez when asked if he wanted out of Denver. Whenever I get home, Im frustrated because maybe I didnt do well, or we didnt win the game, but I never complain about it  or say I want to go somewhere else.

Gonzalez went on to praise the Rockies emerging core of young players, mentioning Trevor Story and Jon Gray by name and saying that he wants to be a part of the next contending Rockies club. I have been here for a lot of bad moments and tough situations, so I want to see the bright (side), he told Saunders. I want to be here when that happens.

4:02pm: Heyman now tweets clarification that Gonzalez is amenable to a trade but hasnt had a meeting with team officials on the matter. Rockies GM Jeff Bridich denied that a meeting took place when asked by SB Nations Chris Cotillo (links to Twitter), adding that hes never had a strong desire to deal his star outfielder and will be patient as it pertains to the deadline.

12:25pm: Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez expressed an interest in being dealt in a recent meeting with the Rockies front office, Jon Heyman of todaysknuckleball.com reports. Colorado could explore deals for both CarGo and fellow outfielder Charlie Blackmon this summer, per the report.

Gonzalez, 30, is running up a .319/.368/.556 batting line with 18 long balls on the year. While you have to discount that somewhat for his home-field advantage at Coors, theres little question that hed be a premium offensive asset on the trade market. With a $17MM salary this year and $20MM due for 2017, Gonzalez isnt cheap  but he does come with a much more affordable contract than hed command on the open market. Despite his variety of past injury problems, Gonzalez has been healthy in 2016 and doesnt come with a hugely lengthy contract commitment.

The team has received similar production from Blackmon, who is hitting .305/.371/.496 with a dozen home runs and eight stolen bases. Though he isnt running as much as he did last year, and is considered more of an average defensive center fielder than a top-flight glove-man, theres plenty of value here. Thats all the more true given Blackmons reasonable $3.5MM salary and two future years of control. Hed quite likely be the premier center field-capable player available.

Its worth bearing in mind that the club is far from committed to a selling posture, let alone parting with either or both of these core players. Colorado is on the outskirts of the playoff picture, but Heyman suggests that theres some encouragement on the teams ability to compete.

Still, theres a big gulf separating the Rox from the division-leading Giants, and it seems that Gonzalez isnt sanguine about the organizations chances. Per Heyman, hes increasingly frustrated at the clubs performance and wants to play for a winning club.

Rockies GM Jeff Bridich has already shown a willingness to part with well-loved superstars, as he shipped out shortstop Troy Tulowitzki last summer in a bid to bolster the teams stock of young pitching. Certainly, both Gonzalez and Blackmon would profile as major assets that should draw top-quality prospects if they follow Tulo out the door.
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Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias performs July 9, 2016 as part of the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City.

(Courtesy photo)

National Cherry Festival 2016

When: Through July 9, 2016

Where: Open Space Park, Traverse City

Acts: July 8-Cheap Trick; July 9-Gabriel Iglesias; July 9-Fireworks Finale (10:30 p.m.);

Tickets: cherryfestival.com or call (231) 947-4230.

It's not surprising that comedian

Gabriel Iglesias

would answer the question, "How are you doing" with a food reference.

"Fantastic! I just had lunch," he said in a recent interview with MLive.

That's the way he rolls (no pun intended), especially when you consider his now signature line: "I'm not fat, I'm Fluffy."

That line, which became a popular TV Special, as well as his mostly clean comedy routine, has established the California comedian as one of the industry's biggest stars.

He's everywhere!

Late last year he landed a gig with SiriusXM's Raw Dog Comedy channel to host Gabriel Iglesias' Stand-Up Revolution Radio, an exclusive weekly comedy series. (It airs on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm ET.)

Before that he had a recurring role on ABC's "Cristela," which has led to his own pilot. In 2017 he will reprise his role as "Jimmy" in the animated film "The Nut Job 2."

But it's his stand-up that gets him the most attention. Currently on his "Fluffy Breaks Even Tour," the Chula Vista native is celebrating his 20th year in the business.

He recently filmed his sixth 1-hour comedy special at the Allstate Arena in Chicago to two sold-out shows with a total of 20,000 fans in attendance. The special will be released as a Netflix Original.

And he's just returning from an overseas tour in Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia.

As the youngest of six children and raised by a single mother, Iglesias uses a mixture of storytelling, characters, sound effects and personal experiences to share his experiences.

He doesn't write out his jokes. He just tells stories.

That realness (especially about his weight), has made him popular among a broad demographic. He's even labeled a clean comedian.

"It's just a label that was put on my shows because I don't drop as many F-bombs as most comics," he said.

"If I see a kid in the front row I tend to keep it friendly, but if I can't see them and I have an issue and I need to vent, there's another F-word you'll hear besides Fluffy," Iglesias said.

Plus, he said, his support acts tends to take care of that side of the comedy, thank you very much.

Fans love opener Martin Moreno, who is now going by a new nickname, Guru. "Ask him about it," Iglesias said at the end of our interview.

Is he nervous about playing a new market and the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City?

"I've been all over Michigan," he said. "I think I'm going to be OK.

"I think the city that caught me the most off guard was Saginaw. By the end of the night I was drunk and calling it Sag-Nasty, which is apparently the norm."

Does he love cherries?

"I like cherries on my ice cream," he said.

John Gonzalez is a member of the Life + Culture team at MLive. He covers food, beer, travel, events and coordinates Michigan's Best with MLive's Amy Sherman. Email him at gonzo@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Complete Michigan travel, destination and event information available via Michigan.org
ANN ARBOR, MI -- Grief counselors are available Thursday, July 7, at Ann Arbor's Skyline High School to help students and staff members affected by the death of an English teacher.

Christopher Peterson, 42, died Sunday while kayaking in Lake Huron.

He taught at Skyline High School since 2009, according to Ann Arbor Public Schools.

"There truly are not words to express this loss. His warm heart, genuine smile and commitment to instilling in others his love of learning and literature will be greatly missed," said Skyline High School Principal Cory McElmeel in an email to families.

Grief counselors are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday in rooms A208 and A210 at Skyline, 2552 N. Maple Road. For students in summer school, counselors are available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Huron High School.

The high school will provide additional assistance for students having a particularly difficult time. Parents can call 734-994-6515.

Grief affects people differently and advised parents to watch out for changes in sleep patters and eating habits, emotions such as anger, worry or clinging and the loss of interest in usual activities, McElmeel said in the email.

Lindsay Knake is a cops and courts reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com.
Editor's note: This post was updated to include a comment from Kerri Putnam's attorney, Anne Argiroff.

WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - The Michigan Court of Appeals has denied parenting rights to a woman who sought to maintain contact with the child born to her former same-sex partner during their relationship.

Kerri Putnam, of Washtenaw County, and Michelle Lake were in a romantic relationship from 2001 to 2014, according to court documents. Shortly after their relationship ended, Putnam denied Lake's requests to spend time with the child Putnam gave birth to in 2008.

Lake said she has a right to parenting time with the child, but the appeals court did not agree.

The crux of the decision, delivered Tuesday, July 5, is that Lake and Putnam were never married. Same-sex marriage was prohibited in Michigan and Florida, where the couple lived during their 13-year relationship, until the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared such bans unconstitutional.

Still, Judges Colleen O'Brien, Patrick Meter and Douglas Shapiro did not find evidence that Lake and Putnam would have married if they had legally been able to. Because of that, the Court of Appeals overturned Washtenaw County Circuit Court's 2015 decision to grant Lake parenting rights.

"In another case, the facts may very well be sufficient to demonstrate that the parties would have married if not for the ban on same-sex marriage, and in such a case I believe the courts would be required to recognize the parental rights of the non-biological parent and determine custody and parenting time consistent with the best interests of the child," Shapiro wrote in his concurring statement.

Lake's attorney Jay Kaplan, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, called the appeals court's decision "incredibly disappointing." He said the child viewed Lake and Putnam as his parents and it would beneficial for the boy to maintain contact with them both.

"It results in some very devastating consequences for families, mostly the child," Kaplan said. "What this decision has said to this mom is the doors are closed to you. ... This cannot be the status quo in Michigan that one person can unilaterally erase a parent out of someone's life."

Anne Argiroff, Putnam's attorney, defended Putnam's right to make decisions she feels are in the best interest of her child.

Lake's argument centered on Michigan's equitable-parent doctrine, which says someone who is not the biological father of a child born during wedlock may still be granted parenting rights if three conditions are met: the husband and child acknowledge their father-child relationship; the husband expresses a desire to have parental rights to the child; and the husband accepts the responsibility of paying child support.

Lake says she meets those three requirements and should be considered the child's parent. But the court pointed out Putnam and Lake's situation does not fulfill the crucial stipulation that the child must be born during wedlock.

"Stated differently, it is, in our view, improper for a court to impose, several years later, a marriage upon a same-sex unmarried couple simply because one party desires that we do so," the appeals court's decision states.

Kaplan sees that as a continuation of years of discrimination against same-sex couples. He said it is "disingenuous" for the court to expect evidence the couple would have married at a time that their union would not legally have been recognized.

Argiroff thought the court made a "well-reasoned" ruling.

"The bottom line is that the State cannot retroactively impose a marriage simply because one person now desires that the courts do so," she said. "The parties did not marry."

Lauren Slagter covers K-12 education for The Ann Arbor News. Contact her at 734-255-1419, lslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter @LaurenSlagter
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A car drives by downtown Ann Arbor's newest public parking garage on First Street on April 6, 2016. The garage opened just over two years ago. There are talks now of once again expanding the downtown parking system.

(Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR, MI - The question of whether downtown Ann Arbor might need more public parking has resurfaced.

It came up at the Downtown Development Authority's meeting on Thursday, July 7, as the DDA board considered a resolution to set aside $1 million for the construction of future public parking spaces.

Al McWilliams, an avid cyclist and transit advocate who was named vice chairman of the board on Thursday, pushed back on that, questioning whether more automobile parking is the way to go.

His comments sparked a discussion that led the board to amend the resolution to stipulate the money could be used for construction of future public parking or other transportation infrastructure, including alternative transportation.

The Ann Arbor DDA board meets on July 7, 2016.

In addition to alternative transportation, DDA board member John Mouat said the DDA might find it will need to invest more in electric vehicle charging stations or technology related to autonomous vehicles in the future.

By changing the wording of the resolution, the DDA is keeping its options open for how it might spend the money in the future.

But the DDA does have an interest in planning for construction of additional parking to support downtown's growth and vitality, reads Thursday's resolution approved by the board.

The DDA's Finance Committee recommended the DDA set aside funds each year to enable the future construction of additional public parking spaces, and the DDA is now beginning that process by setting aside the first $1 million.

John Splitt, a downtown business owner, was the only board member who didn't support the change to the resolution, saying he liked how it was originally worded for a specific purpose -- to add more parking downtown.

Rishi Narayan, the board's new chairman, voted against the final amended resolution. He suggested there was no need to rush it through and the board could have taken more time to get the wording right.

There were questions about what the DDA should call the fund if the money could be used for purposes other than parking.

The DDA has managed the city's public parking facilities since 1992. Last year, the DDA commissioned a study that determined the system is at full capacity in terms of mid-day parking demand, limiting potential for new growth.

The report encouraged the DDA to continue to support alternative transportation programs and consider adding more parking downtown.

The city and DDA have built two new parking garages in recent years -- the Library Lane underground garage off Fifth Avenue and the First and Washington garage -- but the parking system is still at or near capacity at times.

The study conducted by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. found that residential and employment growth is projected to increase peak demand for long-term parking within the system by 860 vehicles by 2019.

That includes 409 as a result of residential growth and 451 as a result of commercial growth.

"Given the fact that, during daytime peak conditions, there is no excess capacity within the DDA system, on-street or off-street, this provides a base measure for a likely 2019 supply deficit," the report stated.

The study assumed residential vehicle ownership rates and mode shares for downtown travel would continue at present levels.

Overall, the public parking system managed by the DDA includes about 5,050 spaces in eight garages, 630 spaces in cashiered or permit lots, and about 2,200 metered spaces, including on-street meters and metered lots.

The Nelson/Nygaard study suggested an expansion of the Ann/Ashley parking garage on the west edge of downtown. The garage was designed many years ago to accommodate up to three additional levels of parking.

"This structure is located in an area of downtown that has seen significant residential and commercial growth," the report states.

"The DDA is currently exploring options for realizing this expansion potential, including potential funding partners. Additional floors could add as much as 375 spaces to this increasingly popular facility."

Another idea recommended for further study was expanding the DDA-funded go!pass program, which provides bus passes good for unlimited free rides to downtown employees, to target residential developments.

McWilliams said his takeaway from last year's study is that it will be impossible to solve downtown's parking problems by adding more parking, because the system will keep filling up. He said downtown Ann Arbor is becoming increasingly dense and it's "on the curve of critical mass," so there should be more focus on alternative transportation.

Splitt agreed more parking alone won't solve downtown's capacity problems, but he said it is one tool in the toolbox.

DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay said it would be expensive to build more parking, but a future DDA board might decide to do that and it would require financial resources. She said setting aside funds now to plan for that possibility isn't a firm commitment by today's DDA board to build more parking.

Mouat, a local architect, said downtown is changing and tech firms are taking over spaces and fitting more employees into them.

"So, that's a really interesting issue," he said.

The DDA board also voted Thursday to set aside $60,000 for the third phase of study for the Ann Arbor Connector light rail project. The study is expected to begin in early 2017 with the University of Michigan funding most of it.

The city's 2016-17 budget approved by the City Council in May assumes the next phase of study will cost $3 million, with U-M paying 90 percent, the AAATA paying 6 percent, and the city and DDA each paying 2 percent. That works out to $60,000 from the city and $60,000 from the DDA.

The DDA board also voted Thursday to amend a contract with Maven, a new car-sharing service launched by General Motors in downtown Ann Arbor.

The DDA supports car-sharing services in the interest of reducing the number of cars downtown and reducing congestion and the need for parking.

In February, the DDA approved a contract with GM that provided 10 parking spaces for Maven cars in DDA parking facilities. GM has requested 16 additional spaces, but the DDA at this time is agreeing to an additional eight, bringing the total up to 18, six of which will be electric vehicles.

Those will be spread throughout the system, including the Fourth and William garage, Forest Avenue garage, Liberty Square garage, Ann/Ashley garage, First and Washington garage, Fourth and Catherine lot and 415 W. Washington lot.

In addition to covering the monthly rent for the spaces, GM will be asked to provide funding for six EV locations, which will include costs associated with equipment at its current two EV spaces, as well as costs for four additional EV locations.

The DDA board also voted on Thursday to establish a $4 million budget for a major streetscape improvement project on Huron Street.

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI - Three people were injured, including one critically who had a pickup truck roll onto his arm, after a crash on U.S. 23 on Tuesday, July 5, officials say.

Authorities were called about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to southbound U.S. 23 south of Washtenaw Avenue for a rollover crash, said Michigan State Police Sgt. Mark Thompson.

Preliminary investigation showed a semi-truck was changing lanes when it side-swiped a 2011 Ford F-350, causing the pickup truck to lose control and rollover several times, Thompson said.

Pittsfield Township firefighters found one patient partially inside the pickup truck with his armed pinned under the vehicle, according to a release from the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety.

Firefighters had to use equipment to lift the vehicle off the person's arm before he could be transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in critical condition, according to the release.

Thompson confirmed a 58-year-old Columbus man riding in the pickup truck was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A 34-year-old Toledo woman, who was also riding in the pickup truck, was also hospitalized with significant injuries, Thompson said.

Neither the 35-year-old pickup driver from Toledo nor the 31-year-old semi-truck driver from Cleveland were injured in the crash, he said. A 59-year-old woman from Columbus, Ohio, who was riding in the semi-truck suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Police do not suspect drugs, alcohol or speeding to be factors in the crash, Thompson said. No one has been cited or charged in the incident and the crash remains under investigation.
RBOEO1ds_400x400.jpeg

Lisa Rudgers

(Photo provided/University of Michigan)

ANN ARBOR, MI - Lisa Rudgers, who has served as the University of Michigan's vice president for global communications and strategic initiatives since 2011, is leaving the university and is starting a new consulting practice.

In her second stint with the university, Rudgers was responsible for developing communication strategies to enhance U-M's visibility locally, nationally and internationally. As an executive officer, she was a member of the senior management team, advising deans, directors, executive officers and the president regarding communications.

Rudgers announced her decision to join consulting partner Julie Peterson - who also once served as an administrator for communications at U-M - in their new practice, Peterson Rudgers Group, which will officially launch on Sept. 1. She made the announcement via Facebook and could not be reached immediately for comment.

U-M Spokesman Rick Fitzgerald confirmed Rudgers was leaving the university, with her last day set for Aug. 31.

"Those of us in the communications department have certainly enjoyed the privilege to work with her," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said no decision has been made regarding an interim for Rudgers' position and that decision will be made by the president's office.

U-M President Mark Schlissel said Rudgers' knowledge and professionalism will be missed.

"Lisa has invariably provided me and the institution with outstanding service and sage advice across a broad and ever-changing array of issues and challenges," Schlissel said in a statement. "I will miss her professionalism and her personal warmth and enthusiasm."

Rudgers oversaw U-M's central communications activities, including media relations, public affairs, marketing, web, social media, Freedom of Information Office and Michigan Radio.

She also served as the university vice president for communications from 2000-07, playing a crucial role in developing the public outreach messaging and related strategies surrounding the university's defense of the admissions lawsuits up to the U.S. Supreme Court. During that same time period, Peterson served as associate vice president for communications at U-M.

Rudgers directed communication around many presidential and university initiatives, including the president's China initiative, the digital library initiatives and the University Research Corridor. Other U-M efforts under her leadership included revamping the university's internet gateway and the En Espanol web portal.

Rudgers left the university in 2007 to launch her own consulting firm, Lisa Rudgers & Associates. Her client portfolio included the University of Michigan, the University Research Corridor, the University of Chicago and the University of Texas-Arlington. She returned to U-M in 2011.

Previously, Rudgers served as assistant vice president and director of public relations at Michigan State University, marketing director and director of news and communications at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and account executive at Media Logic, Inc. marketing/PR firm in Albany, New York.

Prior to launching her own consulting practice in 2015, Peterson recently served eight years as vice president for communications at the University of Chicago.

Peterson Rudgers Group will focus on strategic planning, vision and goal setting, communications and leadership and organizational development for higher education and related institutions.

Peterson and Rudgers will work in support of organizations that advance the world's knowledge, including colleges and universities, foundations, nonprofits, start-ups, and other entities with a related mission.

Rudgers was one of U-M's highest paid employees, earning a base salary of $306,000 in 2015.

Martin Slagter covers higher education for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at mslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter.
UM vigil.jpg

University of Michigan students will host a vigil honoring Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot by law enforcement on Tuesday, July 5, in Louisiana. The vigil is set for 8 p.m. in the Diag. MLive file photo

ANN ARBOR, MI - A University of Michigan student-directed "Rest in Peace" vigil in honor of Alton Sterling is set for 8 p.m. Thursday, July 7, in the Diag.

The vigil comes in the wake of the death of Sterling, 37, who was shot early Tuesday, July, 5, as he wrestled with two white police officers outside the convenience store where he sold music and movies on compact discs. Police say he was armed, according to The Associated Press.

Cellphone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests, coming at a time when law enforcement officers across the country are under close scrutiny over what some see as indiscriminate use of deadly force against blacks.

Sterling was the second black male to be fatally shot by law enforcement in two days after a Minnesota officer shot a man in a car with a woman and a child around 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb. The man has been identified as Philando Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Although Thursday's vigil is student-organized, University of Michigan's Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs is promoting the event as means of bringing people together during a time of tragedy.

"For us, it's about trying to get the word out for students so that they knew something was happening," said MESA Director Trelawny Boynton, who will speak during the vigil. "For me, it's important to be in community in times like this, because it makes meaning of things that are awful."

Martin Slagter covers higher education for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at mslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter.
DETROIT-- A group of thieves smashed their way into a beauty salon and got away with $50,000 worth of hair bundles and hair extensions early Wednesday morning.

According to WDIV, Local 4 News, at around 4 a.m., a car smashed into the security gate of AR Virgin Hair, located on Telegraph Road, where thieves then entered the salon to steal the merchandise.

A call to the Detroit Police Department seeking further information was not immediately returned.

"They can take it to any other hair store. And they're probably going to re-sell it, or even just on the street. There's a market, definitely," store owner Carolyn Gillette told Local 4.

A surveillance camera showed three men walking alongside the building before the incident occurred. A U-Haul truck is then seen pulling into the parking lot, triggering alarms at 4 a.m.

This wasn't the first time the AR Virgin Hair had been burglarized, according to the report.

Police are reviewing the surveillance footage and investigating the matter.
This Account has been suspended.
A newly built Myanmar-Lao friendship bridge will boost commerce between the two nations and will also allow more direct trade with Thailand, Vietnam and China, but the bridge remains closed while authorities on both sides struggle to agree on where the border demarcation should lie.





The presidents of Myanmar and Laos opened the bridge, which connects Eastern Shan States Tachileik district to Long district in the Lao province of Luang Namtha, in May last year.

The bridge is symbolic because it will be the first time in recent years that the two countries have been connected by an official border trading point and U Myint Oo, chair of Tachileik Border Trade Chamber of Commerce, told The Myanmar Times that Myanmar officials are eagerly awaiting the start of trade.

But there have been delays in surveying and agreeing on the border line, and despite the bridges completion last year it is still not open to commerce, he said.

Shan State Chief Minister U Linn Htut has been presented with the case for allowing trade flows across the bridge to begin as soon as possible, he added.

But the authority to agree on the border line lies with the Union government, and a final agreement is likely to require a memorandum of understanding between the two countries.

While the immediate benefit of an open bridge would be greater trade with Laos, the bridge would also help join Myanmar with Vietnam, by creating a road link connecting the Kyaukphyu deep sea port and special economic zone in Myanmars Rakhine State with the Haiphong Seaport in Vietnam. The zone is due to be developed by a consortium of Chinese companies, though progress has been slow.





Trade with China would also be simplified if the bridge was to open. At present, Chinese imports to Myanmar come through the Mong La border point, in a largely lawless city in a region controlled by the United Wa State Army and an affiliated group.

Imports and exports across this border point are hit with an additional tax, which Chinese importers are willing to pay but Myanmar exporters are not.

Instead, Myanmar exporters wanting to reach China transport their goods to Bangkok port, where they are then shipped out of the Gulf of Thailand and across the South China Sea to their final destination.

If trade can pass over the friendship bridge this opens up a new overland route to China for Myanmar exporters.

If they want to re-export Thai-made products or export Myanmar minerals, they can load them on trucks on their way to China after passing over the [friendship] bridge, said U Myint Oo.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
Farmers and agricultural industry bodies are demanding that farmland is accepted as collateral for bank loans, but implementing such a system is fraught with problems, officials told The Myanmar Times.





Residential and industrial land qualifies as loan collateral in Myanmar, and the Myanmar Rice Federation is backing farmers in pushing for farmland to be accepted too.

The main obstacle to their success is a 2013 law designed to protect farmers rights, which contains a provision that prevents their land from being confiscated. This provides a level of economic security, but it also makes it hard for lenders to accept farmland as collateral, because a banks ultimate access to the land is uncertain.

The main issue is that there is no clear answer as to what should happen to farmland that is mortgaged when a farmer cannot pay back debt, said U Soe Tun, deputy chair of the MRF.

Banks are not clear on whether the law protecting against confiscation affects the mortgage process or not, he said. So they do not dare accept farmland as collateral.

Myanmars farmers, meanwhile, suffer from a lack of infrastructure, machinery and capital. The amount of financial help the government offers to the agricultural sector is just too small, U Soe Tun added.

The countrys farmers rely mainly on loans from Myanmar Agriculture and Development Bank, which provides loans of K150,000 per acre for a maximum of 10 acres. But farmers complain that the amount is too small, and the 10-acre limit too low.

The K150,000 provided by MADB is not enough to cover the costs of farming an acre of paddy efficiently and buying fertiliser, said U Thein Aung, chair of the Free Farmers Association.





Myanmar had made extensive plans since 2012 to mechanise the agricultural sector, but most farmers still depend on renting machines from the government to plant and reap paddy, he added.

Even if the necessary by-laws [for mortgaging farmland] are not enacted the government still needs to arrange some plan where farmers can buy the machinery they need in instalments, said U Soe Tun.

He thinks one possible solution to the legal issue is for the laws and regulations protecting farmers rights to make a clear distinction between arbitrary confiscation and cases where the land has been mortgaged.

The 2013 law was enacted under the previous government, but the by-laws and regulations, which typically provide crucial details as to how Myanmar laws should be applied, have not yet been written, he said.

If the country is to improve its agricultural and local business sectors, these by-laws need to be written as quickly as possible, he added.

MADB and Myanmar Apex Bank (MAB), meanwhile, have started accepting farmland as collateral for loans, but only as part of a limited test case.

We are starting to disburse loans by accepting farmland ownership certificates [as collateral] but we cant extend that system to many farmers, U Chit Khaing, chair of the MRF and MAB, told The Myanmar Times. We need to consider if the farmer really needs the capital, or if they are borrowing for things other than agriculture.

This pilot system is being rolled out through the MRFs branch offices, and depending on the results it could be extended, he added.

But so far using farmland as loan collateral is only for farmers that are acquainted with a bank, said U Thein Aung. We want to see a system where banks are allowed to seize farmland, but that also allows farmers the loans they need.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
The last in a series of flyovers commissioned by the former Yangon Region government will fully open once its second phase is completed later this month, said U Sein Win, a project engineer.





We will finish it in the middle of this month, he said.

Spanning the junction of three major roads, the Y-shaped structure was built in two phases. The first, which has been open to traffic since April, connects Banyar Dala Road to U Chit Maung Road and the second links up with Ashae Myin Pyin Kwin Road, known in English as East Horse Racecourse Road.

The project, built by Shwe Taung Development, cost about K22.5 billion (US$19.2 million) and was awarded to the company as part of a controversial tender that many believed to be a misuse of local government funding.

Two other major flyover projects were built in Yangon last year, by Capital Development at the Kokkine junction for K13.97 billion and by Crown Advanced Construction at 8-Mile, at a cost of K15.8 billion.

Another four flyovers were built in the 2014-15 financial year. In total, the seven flyovers have cost an estimated K126 billion.

The new government has recognised concerns that the cost of building flyovers outweighs their benefits, and in April Yangon Region parliament voted to redirect K32.2 billion earmarked for two new flyovers to build roads on the citys outskirts.





The two flyovers were slated for the junction of Kabar Aye Pagoda and Parami roads, and North Okkalapa junction, but regional Minister for Planning and Finance U Myint Thaung said the money would be better spent outside the Yangon City Development Committee area, which encompasses 33 of the regions 45 townships.
Rice prices are falling in quiet rainy-season trading, as a weaker yuan makes Myanmar exports to the worlds second-largest economy less competitive and arrests in China in connection with the rice trade discourage buyers across the border.





{modal url=http://www.mmtimes.com//files/images/mte/2016/di327/rice-production-larg...} {/modal}

U Thein Zaw, chair of the Mandalay rice trading centre, said on July 5 that the price of ordinary rice exported to China is down by K500 in each category. Trading is quiet, so prices are reduced, he said.

The Chinese yuan has depreciated by 12.75 percent to the kyat this year according to Central Bank of Myanmar data, while U Thein Zaw said that traders have been discouraged by arrests in their own country.

The big traders are not coming down from China much, so local traders here are not very active. In Yangon summer rice is selling at a discount of K400 or K500 per basket, he said.

Seasonal difficulties have also slowed trade. A transaction that normally takes a week can take 15 to 20 days in heavy rain, to get across the border and back, he said. The rain has been so heavy that some shops have closed altogether. Traders sometimes come back with unsold stock.

A survey by Yezin Agriculture University found that Myanmar might be losing up to 4 million tonnes of paddy each year  equivalent to half a years food supply for the country  through wastage, the university said last week. Of the 14 million tonnes produced, about 8 million tonnes are consumed in Myanmar, and 1.18 tonnes exported, mostly to China.

Translation by Khine Thazin Han
Nearly 4000 people in northern Rakhine State have been displaced by flooding across five townships, with more heavy rain expected over the coming days, according to the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.





U Kyaw Lwin, a senior official from the state relief and resettlement department, said most of the displaced residents are from Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun, Buthidaung and Ann townships. They have been given temporary shelter at nearby monasteries, but may soon need to move again as further rain is anticipated to extend the flooded zone.

They have been shifted inland far from where it is flooded now, but many more are still suffering as the storm continues, he said.

Ann township has so far seen the most residents displaced, with over 2000 people relocated. Kyauktaw saw 650 people moved to higher ground. The total number of people affected by the latest monsoon battering has yet to be tallied however, as the DMH has not been able to get in contact with several townships.

The rain is continuously falling. We are trying to provide relief supplies to them, said U Kyaw Lwin.

According to the Rakhine State governments information department, two state ministers visited the flooded area yesterday.

A government team went [yesterday] to Kyauktaw and Mrauk-U townships and we are trying our best to provide as much aid as we can but we are also facing trouble and cannot access some places because the roads are washed out, said U Min Aung, head of the state governments information department.





Residents are not expected to get any reprieve over the weekend as heavy rain is forecast until July 9.

U Ba Thaung, a resident of Kyauktaw township, said even the areas offering shelter to displaced families may soon be flooded. He added that the government relief team has so far been unable to reach Kyauktaw township.

We need a lot of food and drinking water now. If the rain keeps coming we will have no place to resettle since the place we are staying will also soon be flooded, he said.

According to the education department of Rakhine State, over 400 schools have been closed due to the floods.

Daw Khin Khin Hlaing, a resident from Mrauk-U township, said the express road between Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships is under at least 2 inches of water. Cars are not currently allowed to drive along the highway.

The flooding is very bad. Some local civil societies are trying to help, she said.

I dont know exactly how many people are staying at monasteries, but as far as I can tell it is a lot because almost all houses, markets and villages have been completely flooded. Many people have lost their homes, she added.

{modal url=http://www.mmtimes.com//files/images/mte/2016/di327/natural-disaster-ris...} {/modal}

Last year, Rakhine State was hit hard by annual floods. More than half of the 103 deaths tallied nationally from the record-setting floods occurred in Rakhine, with five townships in the north classified as disaster zones. Nearly 80,000 flood victims in the western state needed to entirely rebuild their homes.
A leading proponent of the Buddhist nationalist cause is urging the government to learn from the lessons of history and call them what he and many other Buddhists say they are: Bengalis. The issue has been a major headache for the new government and does not look likely to go away any time soon, with additional protests planned over terminology for the Muslim population in Rakhine State who self-identify as Rohingya.





My message is that the last prime minister, U Nu, made the historical mistake of recognising the Rohingya term for Bengalis  which they used for political profit  So I would like to tell the government that they would invite a similar bad experience if they follow the bad precedent, said Ko Naung Taw Lay, secretary of Myanmar Nationalist Network.

Nationalists are planning on staging another protest over the terminology on July 10. Participants intend to march from Yangons Shwedagon Pagoda to the Bo Sein Mann grounds in Tarmwe township, according to a member of a Rakhine youth organisation.

The government has adopted the preferred terms the Muslim community in Rakhine State and likewise the Buddhist community in Rakhine State as the best way to describe the states Muslim and ethnic Rakhine respectively. The previous government had used Bengali to refer to the Muslim community.

The new phrases are not to Rakhine nationalists liking, and thousands turned out to protest across Rakhine State on July 3. A day later, the state government ceded in some part, announcing that it would refer to the Buddhist majority as Rakhine ethnics.

Ko Naung Taw Lay said the Union government should take a cue from its Rakhine State-level counterpart, saying the July 4 reversal on terminology was pointing out the mistake of the central government.

If we called them Buddhists from Rakhine we would be mixed in and lost from the national races list, he said, referring to the roster of 135 official races and ethnicities established in the 1980s.

And if we called them Muslims from Rakhine, the Kaman ethnic  who also believe in the Islamic religion  they would be mixed in and lost from the national races list, he added.





The Kaman of Rakhine State are recognised among the 135 national races, while Rohingya are not.
One person was killed and seven were injured yesterday when a landmine was detonated in Namtu township in an area affected by ongoing fighting.





One was killed in the blast and three people were seriously injured and sent to Lashio Hospital, said Sai Hseng, who worked with the Tai Youth Network to help victims of the explosion. Another four people were hurt but were not in a serious condition so they were sent to the hospital in Manton.

The area where the landmine blast occurred has seen clashes between the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Tatmadaw.

Locals said they were helping the RCSS carry things to their destination, Sai Hseng said. Locals accused the TNLA of laying the landmine that went off but no one could confirm that.

In June, one man was killed by a landmine in Namkham township.

Shan State locals are demanding the government clear landmines from conflict areas surrounding villages in the northern part of the state.

The Kachin Ethnic Network sent a letter in February requesting that the military and armed ethnic groups clear the landmines.

European governments are supporting demining projects but established demining organisations have not been able to start work in Myanmar, despite the signing of last years ceasefire agreement.





For demining, we need permissions, EU ambassador Roland Kobia told The Myanmar Times in May. We have not had that chance so far.
The Karen National Union is creating job opportunities for Kayin women whose lives have been uprooted by fighting between the KNU and the Tatmadaw, according to central liaison officer Major Saw Shee Sho.





Job opportunities were created in five administrative units after the ceasefire agreement was signed, he said on July 3, referring to an October 2015 peace pact inked with the government and several ethnic armed groups. Women suffered very much during the clashes. Now, they can support themselves without having to rely on support from others during the restoration period.

The new jobs  so far more than 1000 households have benefited, the KNU says  are mainly in the agriculture and livestock-rearing sectors.

Activist Ma Sinthiyar Win from Hpa-an township said the initiative may help women recover from trauma due to the fighting.

Women who have work to do can forget the mental damage caused by the clashes, she said.

But many women also want local job opportunities for men so that families can live together.

If the situation is getting better [in Myanmar], we dont want our husbands to have to work in Thailand, said Daw Sein Kyi of Hlaingbwe township, where the KNUs Brigade 7 is stationed. We want the family to live together.





Women get K5000 (US$4.25) a day for the new work created by the KNU, a sum that is still not enough to cover the cost of living, Daw Sein Kyi said.

New job opportunities are also being created in Myawady townships Laykaykaw, a project village constructed jointly by the KNU and the government designed for civilians displaced by conflict. Currently, there are over 1700 households, Maj Saw Shee Sho said.

Fighting between the KNU and the Tatmadaw in Kayin State dates back nearly 70 years and has varied in intensity and scope over the decades, causing more than 100,000 people to flee, Kayin officials estimate. Though a major Tatmadaw offensive from 2005 to 2008 displaced tens of thousands of civilians, recent years have seen relative peace in Kayin State, with the KNU reaching a bilateral ceasefire accord with the government in 2012.

Many of those driven from their homes sought refuge across the border in Thailand. About 80,000 people from Kayin State are now living in refugee camps in Thailand, teacher U Myo Min Naing said.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees puts the total border camp population at about 120,000, with a segment of that figure from neighbouring Kayah State.

Following State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis trip to Thailand at the end of last month, the government announced that the two countries had agreed to cooperate over the return of families displaced to camps along the border. Nearly 200 refugees have already volunteered to be returned, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said citizenship scrutiny will be conducted soon.

Building on its 2012 bilateral pact, the KNU was one of eight non-state armed groups to sign a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement with the government last year, under the administration of then-president U Thein Sein.

The availability of jobs is one of the key concerns as discussions in recent years have turned to refugees eventual resettlement in Myanmar.

Translation by Khant Lin Oo
An ethnic armed group has sent a letter to the president and state counsellor demanding that eight civilians detained by the Tatmadaw be released immediately.





The Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) added that 23 detained troop members also need to be released.

The civilian villagers from Theinni township in northern Shan State were accused of aiding the SSPP and a case was filed against them under the Unlawful Association Act on June 2.

Tatmadaw soldiers alleged that the villagers were seen carrying out an order given by the SSPP to collect data about the number of households, villagers and businesses in Pan Son village. A police officer from Theinni township told The Myanmar Times that the villagers had been sent to Lashio Prison.

We are working together for peace and national reconciliation, but this kind of behaviour [by the Tatmadaw] destroys trust, said Colonel Sai Phone Han, a spokesperson for the SSPP/SSA. We ask the president and Daw Aung San Su Kyi to release them in the name of the peace process and national reconciliation.

The letter, dated June 26, was also reportedly sent to Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Northeastern Command Major General Phone Myat, Senior General Yar Pyae and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy chair U Khun Htun Oo, according to Col Sai Phone Han.

But yesterday, Presidents Office director U Zaw Htay told The Myanmar Times that no such letter had been received.

SNLD spokesperson Sai Laik criticised the Tatmadaw for continuing to prosecute people under the Unlawful Associations Act for connections to groups that have already signed state and Union-level ceasefires.





The Tatmadaw needs to make it clear that it will not detain civilians in conflict zones, he said.

In their letter, the SSPP/SSA stated that they are saddened that these arrests continue to take place, hampering attempts to move the country toward peace.

They are torturing the detainees during the process of interrogation, said Col Sai Phone Han.

He added that the SSPP/SSA had released Tatmadaw soldiers who had been detained during clashes, including one colonel, two warrant officers, one sergeant, two corporals, one lance corporal and two privates.
The National Environmental Policy is getting an upgrade from the version first enacted in 1940.





The reworked policy is nearing completion, though the draft still needs to be fully reviewed, U Hla Maung Thein, interim director general of Environmental Conservation Department, said at a workshop yesterday.

We expected to finalise the draft after this workshop, but we will need a thorough review of the draft based on today discussions, he said.

Members of the Pyithu Hluttaws Resources and Environmental Conservation Committee discussing the draft yesterday suggested including companies in the review process.

A final version of the draft policy will be posted on the departments website when it is ready, U Hla Maung Thein added.

Everyone can make suggestions on our final draft. We will carefully consider suggestions and whether they should be included in the draft, he said.

We will hold discussions again with the aim of making sure it is a workable policy.

The police revision is being funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), with technical support provided by the Finnish government.





Translation by Zar Zar Soe
Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein was greeted at the airport by a mix of supporters and nationalist protesters yesterday as he returned from a controversial trip to Singapore.





While abroad, the chief minister reportedly said there is no need for the hardline Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion, better known by its Myanmar language acronym Ma Ba Tha.

During a July 3 meeting with Myanmar citizens living and working in Singapore, the chief minister said that he views the nationalist monk association as redundant, given that there is already a State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Ma Ha Na) to handle Buddhist issues.

In fact, since Ma Ha Na already exists in Myanmar, the country does not need Ma Ba Tha, he said. He repeated the sentiment to reporters outside the airport yesterday.

Nationalists who were gathered outside the airport shot back that Ma Ha Na has nothing to do with protecting nationality or religion.

The assembled protesters declined to state which organisation, if any, they are a part of, or who had led the gathering to see the chief minister return to Yangon.

Protester Ma Myat Su Mon said yesterday that those assembled dispute the chief ministers remarks and added that nationality and religion in the country will suffer should Ma Ba Tha be dissolved.





I want to ask him why he didnt talk about other religious organisations or groups. There are a lot of religious groups in our country so he shouldnt just focus on Ma Ba Tha, she said. He needs to learn the difference between Ma Ba Tha and Ma Ha Na.

The nationalist association has been struggling to regain its footing following last Novembers election and the landslide National League for Democracy victory. Several Ma Ba Tha members had thrown their political support and clout behind the then-incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party.

As the chief ministers convoy made its way through the gates of Yangon International Airport, about 10 protesters held up hastily written homemade signs that said We dont want U Phyo Min Thein and We object to U Phyo Min Thein saying we do not need Ma Ba Tha.

On the other side of the road, dozens of NLD supporters welcomed U Phyo Min Thein back to Myanmar.

One of the NLD members, U Aung Than, told The Myanmar Times that the NLD crowd had come out in force after hearing that nationalists planned to stage a demonstration.

If they do something to our chief minister, we are ready to protect him, U Aung Than said.

Several police were also deployed near the airport.

Ma Ba Tha member U Maung Maung said the committee has not yet come to a decision about whether to meet with the regional government or the NLD over the remarks, but added that a statement on the issue will soon be released.

I want to say only that the chief minister is not very knowledgeable about the difference between Ma Ba Tha and Ma Ha Na, he said.

Additional reporting by Aung Kyaw Min
Parliament has instructed the Yangon government to inspect land-use permits disputed by farmers in Hlegu township.





Nearly 80 Kyun Kone villagers were granted ownership of disputed farmlands, said U Soe Tint, who recently lost his farm, which he said he worked for 20 years.

I got the letter from the Amyotha Hluttaw this month, he said. It said that theyd asked the Yangon government to review the case that granted the villagers the land and determine if it was legal or not. We also asked for help from the National League of Democracys main office in the letter. They also promised us they will report it to the Yangon government.

In 1985, former village administrator U Tin Maung Win turned 607 acres of farmland over to the military at the request of General Sein Lwin. The military farmed there for 10 years and then began granting annual permits to local farmers. In total, 41 farmers were granted permits until 2014, when the military abandoned the land and 77 Kyun Kone villagers, including the village administrator, applied for permits from the Hlegu township farmlands administrative department.

The villagers got the permits while the 41 farmers, many of whom had been farming there for 20 years, were rejected, according to the farmers who lost lands.

We farmers are jobless after losing our paddy fields, U Soe Tint said yesterday.

Daw Lay Lay Win, who said she lost the 14 acres she had worked for 18 years, said if the farmers tried to plough the fields now they could be sued.

Our reports were declined by the police, the reason being that we had no ownership documents when our paddy fields were ploughed by villagers, she said. Now, we dont dare to farms our fields.





She said that the new landowners are killing the old landowners livestock with poisoned paddies.

Three farm families had their ducks poisoned, Daw Lay Lay Win said yesterday, and I also lost my 30 ducks to their poisoning.

The Public Complaint Committee of Myanmar, after reviewing the letter sent by U Soe Tint on behalf of himself and 21 other landless farmers, advised hluttaw to inspect the land-use permits to make sure they agree with the 2012 farmland laws.

On June 24, the 41 dispossessed farmers protested, demanding that the Yangon chief minister review the case.

U Tin Myint, the Kyun Kone village administrator who was recently granted rights to some of the 607 acres, declined to comment yesterday when contacted by The Myanmar Times.
Resettlement and tax-sharing will top the agenda of the civil society groups forum that will be held in tandem with the 21st-century Panglong Conference.





Headed by Yangon Region Minister for Social Affairs U Naingan Lin, who is also a member of the government peace team, the working committee formed for the Civil Society Organizations Peace Forum will meet with the civil society groups this coming week in Yangon to draft a terms of reference (ToR).

Daw Doi Bu, a member of the committee, said they have received the proposed draft.

We will start drafting the ToR on July 13 in Yangon, she said. The resettlement and rehabilitation of IDPs [internally displaced persons], resource and tax management, and tax-sharing are topics currently proposed in the ToR submitted by them, she said.

In the political dialogue framework, the topics of talk proposed for the Union Peace Conference, or the so-called 21st-century Panglong Conference, are politics, social, economic, security, and land and environmental issues.

In May, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told peace negotiators to reduce the topics of the Union Peace Conference from five to two  politics and security.

She also said that a forum of civil society groups should run parallel to the 21st-century Panglong Conference. The intention of holding the CSO Peace Forum is to share tasks in the political dialogue and to save time, Daw Doi Bu said.





While political and security matters will be discussed in the 21st-century Panglong Conference, the social, economic and environmental issues will be discussed at the CSO Peace Forum, she said.

Naw Mu Hpaw Htoo of the Sustainable Development Knowledge Network, who was involved in drawing up draft terms of reference last week in Yangon, said the draft would be scrutinised by the civil society groups.

We will present the draft to them, but I think they will accept it, as it has been written based on the terms of the peace dialogue framework and the nationwide ceasefire agreement, she said.

There are two political dialogues: One is the 21st-century Panglong Conference at the Union level and the other is the national-level political dialogue.

The national-level dialogue, better known as state-level talks, can be held by representatives from the Union government, armed ethnic groups, parliamentarians, military personnel, representatives from ethnic communities, civil society groups, and other appropriate individuals.

At the state-level political dialogue, topics can focus on politics, economic, social, security, and land and environmental issues. Specific ethnic, regional and local affairs can also be discussed.

However, the talks should be in accordance with the guidelines set by the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, a body formed to oversee all levels of the political dialogue.

The results of the peace forum of civil society organizations will become suggestions sent to the Union Peace Conference. After discussion at the Union level, the results will be forged into the Union Peace Accord.

When parties to the peace dialogue have agreed the Union Peace Accord, the Union parliament will endorse the legitimacy of the accord by passing it as a special treaty. The government will then implement the agreements and contents of the accord.

The government has scheduled the 21st-century Panglong Conference for sometime before the end of August. Before the peace conference, the state counsellor will meet with a senior delegation of the United Nationalities Federal Council, which is led by General En Ben La, on July 17, according to U Khun Myint Tun, chair of the Pa-Oh National Liberation Organization.

Armed ethnic groups, including both those that did and those that did not sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement, will have a summit in Mai Ja Yang in Kachin State, the Kachin Independence Armys stronghold, before the end of this month.
To say that its blustery with a chance of fireworks in the Philippines is putting it mildly.





A week ago, on June 30, Rodrigo Duterte, a former veteran mayor of Davao City in southern Mindanao, was sworn in as his countrys new leader at the presidential palace in Manila.

He is best known for making outrageous statements about gunning down felons and drug dealers, about the Pope being a son of a whore, and about how a lot of journalists are corrupt and deserve to be shot.

Many of his campaign promises were expressed in language far too earthy for a family newspaper, but they certainly got his message across and gave him global notoriety.

He became the Donald Trump of Asia, and despite being a last-minute candidate, won the May 9 presidential election in a landslide, garnering 16.6 million votes, more than 6 million ahead of his nearest rival.

It was an awesome victory. But what does it mean? Sure, Duterte can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk? What exactly is he going to do? And how will it impact the region?

The answer is likely to be: quite a lot.





Duterte means what he says about cracking down on crime and breaking open the cosy, nepotistic culture of Imperial Manila, as he has called the capitals political, economic and religious elite.

Not only has he got clearly proven street smarts and mass voter appeal, but also he has a full and well-thought-out agenda and a legislature thats now packed full of his loyalists.

Indeed, many former opposition politicians, including top figures from the Liberal Party of former president Benigno Aquino, have now signed up to join Dutertes Philippine Democratic Party for a Strong People.

Perhaps his greatest strength is that he owes nobody anything  not the military, not the mega-rich landowning families, not even the church  which is astounding given that 83 percent of the population is fervently Catholic.

His closest parallels are the equally outspoken and ruthless Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad, both veterans at wielding an iron fist in a velvet glove.

Duterte shares their drive to boost development and reduce inequality, but unlike them, enriching his in-laws seems of lesser concern than mounting a real shock-and-awe attack on corruption and crime.

If his methods provoke protests from the media, human rights groups and others, both inside and outside the country, they fall on deaf ears.

Duterte has been entrusted with a massive mandate and is evidently determined to use it to push forward with his agenda come what may.

He has already spelled out 10 critical goals, and much to the surprise  and delight  of the business community, he has placed opening up the economy and cutting red tape at the top of the list.

Given his strong focus on fighting crime, there were fears he would be distracted from the economy and allow the gains made under Aquino to lapse, but he has vowed continue the same fiscal policies.

After soliciting advice from the best economic minds in the country, his team has outlined a plan for much-needed tax reform, more infrastructure spending and greater foreign investment.

Yes, its a catch-all wish list, and its not sexy like shooting robbers and rapists, but its what the Philippines needs right now.

And using his earthy oratory, Duterte has ordered the slashing of mountains of red tape that have routinely delayed the approval of development projects and new investments.

Perhaps the best example of how he intends to shake things up is the way he has vowed, if necessary, to push through constitutional reforms to eliminate legal roadblocks to outside investment.

Specifically, Duterte has said he will seek to abolish a provision that restricts foreign ownership in local companies to less than 40pc and totally precludes them from some sectors.

That move alone should boost investment and job growth, especially if supplemented by a proposal to emulate his Davao City model and have business permits issued within 72 hours.

Aside from these and other much-lauded economic plans, and of course his vigilante strategy for exterminating bad guys, perhaps the most intriguing initiative to come from the new president concerns China.

Given his tough-guy image, many had expected he would take an equally tough stance with Beijing over the sovereignty of disputed islands in the South China Sea.

But when Chinas President Xi Jinping congratulated him and said hed like to get bilateral ties back on a healthy track, Duterte called Xi a great leader and said he was ready to negotiate directly with Beijing.

This week, Beijing said it would be happy to do just that if Manila would agree to ignore a ruling  expected on July 12  on the territorial conflict by a United Nations tribunal at The Hague in Holland.

That might be a step too far, even for Duterte, since he has already said that his government will not surrender sovereignty over the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which lies off the coast of the Philippines.

Still, his overture to Beijing marked a profound change from the stance of the outgoing administration, as did his startling offer to communist rebels in the south to enter peace talks and even to join his cabinet.

Duterte invited the exiled leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Jose Maria Sison, to return home and work with the new government to resolve their differences.

How far that will go is anyones guess, but clearly the new presidents six-year term will be marked by strong actions as well as earthy language, in contrast to the tepid indecision of his predecessor.
Popular Ghanaian actor John Dumelo has tipped award-winning musician Sarkodie as the best in Ghana.

According to the entrepreneur, Sarkodies style easily courts international interest although most of his songs are in the local language.

There is a ranging beef between the hiphop act and fellow musician M.anifest over who is the better after the duo engaged in war of words over song composition, which went viral on social and mainstream media a few days ago.

Touching on the controversial issue, Dumelo said he is enjoying the beef, adding it is good for the industry.

Its rare to find someone [Sarkodie] rapping in the local language and going international, Dumelo told Bola Ray on Starr Chat. However, he added: It will be hard to take sides. Beef is needed.

Profile

Dumelo is the first Ghanaian citizen to hit one million likes on Facebook. He is a famous actor and entrepreneur.

He had his secondary education at Achimota School and further studied at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he studied Civil Engineering.

He was nominated for categories Most Promising Actor and Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 6th and 7th Africa Movie Academy Awards respectively.
Nairobi (AFP) - The African Union said it plans to pull its soldiers out of Somalia where they are fighting jihadists by December 2020, according to a statement issued Wednesday.

The "exit strategy" formulated by the AU's Peace and Security Council calls for the staggered withdrawal of 22,000 troops in the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to begin in October 2018 and be completed by the end of 2020.

The plan was made public this week, following a meeting held in Addis Ababa on June 29.

The AU said "transfer of security responsibilities" would then be handed over to "a capable, inclusive and effective" Somali national army.

Currently the bloated and largely ineffective Somali army is more a collection of clan militias, with various international militaries providing poorly-coordinated training to different units.

AMISOM troops deployed to Somalia in 2007 to defend the internationally-backed government against attacks by the Shebaab, a Somali-led al-Qaeda affiliate still carrying out attacks on civilian, military and government targets in the capital Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia and the region.

Last month Uganda -- the largest contributor to AMISOM with 6,200 soldiers -- threatened to withdraw its troops by the end of 2017, but has since backtracked.

Kenya also threatened this year to pull out its 3,700 troops after the European Union, a major donor to the mission, cut funding by 20 percent saying African countries must bear more of the burden of soldier salaries.

Somalia was supposed to hold national elections this year but is instead going to hold what diplomats call a "limited franchise election" in which ordinary citizens do not participate. The UN now hopes a one-person-one-vote election will be possible in 2020.
Paris (AFP) - Two former Rwandan mayors will appeal their conviction and life sentences for taking part in the massacre of hundreds of Tutsis during the country's 1994 genocide, their lawyers said Thursday.

"We shall appeal this conviction," said Francoise Mathe and Philippe Meilhac, criticising the motives of the Paris court in deciding it.

Octavien Ngenzi, 58, and Tito Barahira, 65, were Wednesday found guilty of "crimes against humanity", "massive and systematic summary executions" and "genocide" in their village of Kabarondo, where some 2,000 people seeking refuge in a church were hacked to death.

Ngenzi and Barahira denied the charges at an eight-week trial which found that they were "supervisors" and "executioners" in the massacre at the height of the genocide in which 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were killed by Hutu extremists.

Theirs was the stiffest genocide sentence ever handed down by a French court. In 2014, former Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa received 25 years in solitary confinement for genocide and crimes against humanity.

Ngenzi and Barahira, as well as Simbikangwa, were arrested in France and judged under universal jurisdiction which permits states to rule on serious crimes regardless of where the wrongdoing was committed or of the accused's nationality or residence.

Mathe criticised the verdict as "imprecise and vague and riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions 22 years on from the killings, a time gap sufficient in his view to mean reasonable doubt exists over the role of the accused.

Unlike the trial of Simbikangwa, an 11-page document setting out the evidence against the former mayors laid down the main elements of the case against them, but lacking details of specific witness testimony in a manner which preferred "quantity to quality" of evidence, the defence lawyers said.

They also argued the case had been conducted "chaotically" and "without a clear and complete vision of the situation", while the accused had been, in their view, "excluded from debates" to the extent that "they were treated as undesirable guests at their own trial."

Meilhac decried what he said were "contradictions in chronology which were fundamental in that, according to declarations by different witnesses, the accused were sometimes in different places at one and these (contradictions) were unable to be examined."

Michel Laval, acting for a number of civil plaintiffs in the case, said he was satisfied with the guilty verdict and could not comment on the length of the sentence handed down as that was in the remit of the court.

By comparison, former army colonel Theoneste Bagosora, considered to have directed the genocide, was handed a life term commuted to 35 years on appeal by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

The tribunal handed down sentences ranging from several years to life in jail to other mayors also found culpable of atrocities.
Former Chief Executive of Kumasi Asante Kotoko Herbert Mensah has joined the call for peace and harmony amongst faiths as Muslims across the world celebrate Eid-Al-Fitr.

Mr Mensah said the world is going through difficult times which demands that people of faith will consciously work together towards peace building.

He is convinced the period of Ramadan will usher a period of spiritual awakening and tolerance among all faiths.

"May this period lead us to reach out to what is best in us as members of the human family," he said in a statement.

"May Allah accept your acts of worship and sacrifices and may his peace and mercy reign among all the nations of the earth. This prayer is particularly relevant in a time of great confusion and distress in the region that gave birth to the three Abrahamic faith(Judaism, Christianity and Islam)," he added.

His call for peace buttresses the president's admonition for parents to keep an eye on their children and to prevent them from being influenced by negative religious extremists.

President John Mahama in his address to Muslims at the end of Ramadan said some individuals are hiding behind religion to commit acts of terrorism against mankind.

Islam has nothing to do with violence, he stressed, and regretted recent acts of terrorism that left dozens killed in Baghdad.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com
A former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has blamed the National Communication Authority (NCA) for the recent spate of foul language on media platforms in the country.

Professor Kwame Kakari says the lack of transparency in the operations of the NCA is primary to be blamed for uncouth comments in the media.

The NCAs provision of radio frequencies in the country is not transparent creating more problems for us, he said.

The communication lecturer at the School of Communication, University of Ghana made these comments on Joynews/MultiTVs news analysis programme, PM Express, in reaction to the recent threats issued to some Supreme Court judges by two panelists on an Accra-based radio station, Muntie FM.

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Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | Email: [email protected]
The 2016 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akufo-Addo has assured Ghanaians that he will deliver on all his promises if elected as President.

Nana Addo contends that all the policy alternatives he is offering the electorate are well thought through and will be implemented for the benefit of Ghanaians if given the mandate.

The NPP flagbearer while speaking at the Campaign launch of the party's Dome Kwabenya parliamentary candidate, Adwoa Safo said every time the NPP is working to bring development in the country, you will get people telling us that we can't do it.

During the 2012 election I said if you vote for me I will ensure free senior high school education, so all our youth will go to school. [President] Mahama said I was bragging and lying to Ghanaians. But after being voted, he said he will do the same thing and that he will build about 200 community senior high schools in the country.

Nana Addo told the teaming NPP supporters that till date he [President Mahama] has built only five, so between the two of us, who is deceiving Ghanaians?



By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
President John Mahama is expected to begin his Accounting to the people tour in the Upper West region today.

The tour is expected to last for three days.

The President will be commissioning projects and cut sod for new ones.

The visit comes in the wake of criticisms against the quality of some of the projects being commissioned by the President.

Speaking to Starr News ahead of the visit, some residents of the region said they expect the President to give the area the same attention he has given other regions of the country.

The Upper West tour comes immediately after the visit of Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

The president has already been to the Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Western and Eastern regions as part of his Accounting to the People tour.
Maputo (Mozambique) (AFP) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday kicked off a four-nation tour of Africa, as India scrambles to catch up with its Asian rival China's strong presence on the continent.

"My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India and Africa, will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit," Modi tweeted before his arrival, the first by an Indian leader to the southern African country in 34 years.

Modi held talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo and will also take in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya during the five-day tour.

India has been working to build ties with African nations as it vies for a greater share of the continent's natural resources. Last year, it hosted a summit of Africa's heads of state in New Delhi.

Its economic footprint in Africa is dwarfed by that of China, whose trade with the continent topped $200 billion last year.

But India is gaining ground, led by private entrepreneurs with a keen interest in the continent's burgeoning energy sector.

Modi's Africa tour will focus on hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food, according to Indian officials.

Later Thursday, Modi will head to South Africa for a two-day state visit, holding talks with President Jacob Zuma on Friday in Pretoria and meeting business leaders.

India is now South Africa's sixth largest trade partner, with two-way trade reaching $5.3 billion in 2015-16.

South Africa has been vocal on the need to reform the UN Security Council, making it a natural ally in India's long-running campaign to be made a permanent member.

India and Africa are together home to a third of the world's population, but neither India nor any African country has a permanent seat on the council, which is made up of China, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

With 1.3 million people of Indian origin, South Africa also has the largest diaspora population in Africa, a major element of Modi's diplomatic push across the world since taking office two years ago.

On Friday evening, he will address a thousands-strong audience at a stadium in Johannesburg, having hosted similar rallies for the diaspora in cities from New York to London.

While in South Africa, Modi is also expected to honour Mahatma Gandhi's time in the country.

India's independence hero lived in South Africa for 20 years, working as a lawyer and activist campaigning for the rights of Indian people.
07.07.2016 LISTEN

Introduction

Mr. Amponsah could hardly believe his eyes. He had just been refused a B visa to attend her daughters graduation ceremony in the U.S. He walked dejectedly out of the US consulate in Accra towards his expectant wife who stood some yards away across the road. How could the officer refuse me the visa? he bellowed in anger and bewilderment. I had every document that they required of me.

I answered all questions. What makes the officer think that I will leave my well-paid job to live in the U.S. He snapped his hands in disgust and added: the officer did not even bother to look at my documents despite my attempts to let him do so.

This scenario is a familiar occurrence at many U.S. consulates. Many feel gutted and are unable to understand why the consular officer (CO) refused them a visa without bothering to look at their documents.

Why did the CO refuse look at my documents?

The Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) provides that the CO must determine an applicants eligibility to receive a visa and on the basis of the applicants personal interview and other relevant documentation. It provides further that the CO should provide the visa applicant with an opportunity to present evidence establishing the veracity of his or her application in either oral or written form. Clearly, this means that the CO should examine your evidence in adjudicating your eligibility for the visa.

However another part of the FAM provides that nonimmigrant visa applicants are not required to submit extensive documentation in support of their cases. It states that the CO should carefully consider whether to require documents of applicants. It additionally provides that if local documents are unreliable, easily and often forged, or otherwise implausible, the CO should consider the utility of requiring them of applicants as they add no value to the adjudication. And considering that the burden of proof for establishing eligibility lies with the applicant, it appears that the CO is not bound to require documents of applicants in order to determine their eligibility for a visa.

Why bother carry documents if the CO will not look at them?

The B visa is generally not a documentary application. Your eligibility for the visa is therefore not conditioned on the strength or weight of your documents. Nonetheless, it is always important to carry along your documents even if you think the CO will not look at them. As we noted in the FAM, your eligibility for the visa is determined on your personal interview and other relevant documentation. This means that the CO may request to see your document at any time during your interview. Whiles the CO may request to see your document, he is not bound to do so, and in the majority of the cases, will adjudicate your eligibility for the visa without requesting to see them.

What must I do then to establish my eligibility?

Your personal interview remains the true test for your visa eligibility. Your oral evidence involves the statements made by you at your interview. Whiles putting together a number of documents may be necessary for your interview, it is far better to channel your time in reviewing the information on the documents and the information you provided on your Form DS-160. The CO may not look at the documents of all the houses and the fat bank accounts you may have carried along. Your eligibility is determined beyond these.

The Form DS-160 is the primary document available to the CO at the time of your interview. Make sure it is fully and accurately completed. A Form DS-160 riddled with basic errors will usually raise concerns about your credibility. Be confident and be who you claim to be. I always tell people: How could the CO believe that you have strong financial ties to your home country when you hardly look like the person you claim to be or your answers at the interview raises doubts on your claimed caliber?

To be continued

Emmanuel Opoku Acheampong

Disclaimer: This article only provides general information and guidance on U.S. immigration law. The specific facts that apply to your matter may make the outcome different than would be anticipated by you. The writer will not accept any liability for any claims or inconvenience as a result of the use of this information. The writer is an immigration law consultant and a practicing law attorney in Ghana. He advises on U.S., UK, and Schengen immigration law. He works part-time for Acheampong & Associates Ltd, an immigration law firm in Accra. He may be contacted at [email protected]
Aspiring Member of Parliament for Troubu Constituency, Maame Efua Sekyi-Aidoo has become the talk of town after successfully organising a free medical screening for folks of Pokuase in the Ga West District.

This was part of activities slated to climax Ghanas republic day took place on July 1, 2016 at the Agric Park, near Mayera Junction.

The exercise which saw over 1,000 beneficiaries from within and outside the constituency included screening for Hepatitis B, Malaria, blood pressure check for Hypertension among others. Specialists from the renowned hospitals in the region also provided expert services in Eye Care, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) as well as Breast Examination for women. The medical care also included the provision of drugs.

Paramount among the benefits was a sponsored registration of 400 children and adults onto the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Speaking at the event, the political activist who doubles as an entrepreneur expressed her excitement at the inclination of the people at seeking preventive health. She bemoaned the beneficiaries to develop a bigger sense of concern for their health-related issues, as she registered her willingness to continue to impact the lives of others.

We need to ensure a healthy nation  within ourselves and around us. It is embedded in the popular saying that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation, it is important for us to take good care of our bodies and keep a clean surrounding. It is my fervent hope that our quality of lives improves as the days go by. We wont relent on our effort to make society a better place, she stressed.

She was hopeful to regularise the initiative and as well extend the exercise to nearby towns.

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Is Fred Agbenyo trying to pull off an Amedeka Assassination Plot against members of the Wood Supreme Court, when he arrogantly asserts that We wont allow the Supreme Court to be like kakai to come and scare Ghanaians and wont allow Ghanaians to express themselves? (See Supreme Court Judges Are Scaring Ghanaians  Agbenyo Adomonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 7/6/16).

For those of our readers who may either not know or may not have heard about the man, Mr. Fred Agbenyo is described by the media as the Deputy Communications Officer of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Mr. Agbenyos beef is that, somehow, Justice Sulley Gbadegbe did not have the right to put key operatives of the so-called Independent Electoral Commission (EC) on notice that the Apex Court would not sit duck while Chairwoman Charlotte Kesson-Smith Osei and her NDC-shilling Associate Commissioners recklessly plunged the nation into civic chaos.

Now, I dont know how old Mr. Agbenyo is, but I would solemnly advise that before he proceeds any further to get himself into serious trouble, he may do himself and those among the executive echelons of the National Democratic Congress who think like him great good by revisiting the landmark SIB Report, brilliantly and meticulously put together by the blue-ribbon Azu-Crabbe Commission that investigated the brutal abduction and savage and summary execution of the three Akan-descended Accra High Court judges.

To be certain, they were actually Supreme Court judges, but for the imperious decision of the Acheampong-led junta of the so-called National Redemption Council (NRC)  later the Supreme Military Council (SMC-1)  to abolish the august institution of the Supreme Court of Ghana.

I highlight the ethnicity of the slain judges because the SIB Report clearly established the fact that the Mafia-style assassination of Justices Cecilia Koranteng-Addow, Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong and Fred Poku-Sarkodie indisputably had an ethnic-cleansing tinge to it.

We are also forced to underscore the fact that the criminal masterminds of the assassination of the judges were predominantly of Anlo-Ewe extraction. And so far, the most vehement critics of the Supreme Court, among the front-row members of the National Democratic Congress, have significantly and predominantly been of Anlo-Ewe descent.

Other than Mr. Agbenyo, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, the Deputy Education Minister and NDC-MP for Tongu-North, has made similar rabidly anti-Supreme Court remarks within the past two weeks or so. This is not the least bit surprising because Mr. Okudzeto-Ablakwa and Dr. Edward Omane-Boamah, the Communications Minister, are notorious judicial scofflaws.

The deleterious impact of the Rawlings Posse on the judiciary over the past three decades cannot be underestimated. Even so, these impenitent nation-wreckers and schoolyard bullies had better be warned that 2016 is a wholly new era, and that any dastardly attempt to seriously undermine our hard-won Ghanaian democracy will be fiercely resisted.

Needless to say, Mr. Agbenyo and his fellow political and ideological truckers have every right to criticize decisions and opinions rendered by the Supreme Court, but they have absolutely no right, whatsoever, to attempt to either disrespect or intimidate any members of the Supreme Court and the institution of the judiciary as a whole. It also bears underscoring the fact that the judiciary has the singular role of jealously safeguarding modern Ghanaian civilization and our national cohesion and stability in ways that cannot be convincingly said of the Presidency. To wit, the Supreme Court is the soul and conscience of the nation.

That the likes of Messrs. Agbenyo and Okudzeto-Ablakwa would convert themselves into fanatical surrogates of the Electoral Commission, in the ECs patently criminal battle against the Supreme Court, ought to give all peace- and democracy-loving Ghanaians great cause for concern. The crystal clear strategy of the Mahama-led government of the National Democratic Congress here is to relentlessly bulldoze its way through a systematic and sustained stonewalling and possible total abortion of the Supreme Court-ordered National Voters Register-cleansing exercise. This must not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Not even if President Mahama rather cynically and deviously pleads for the fully mounted EC guerilla warriors to be allowed the peace of mind to do what they have been known to do best these days  that is, thoroughly corrupt and rig elections for the NDC bullies and terror-mongers.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
Accra (AFP) - Nine people were killed in a stampede at a party in central Ghana to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a public official told reporters on Thursday.

"We so far have nine people who are dead, six females and three males," said Nurudeen Hamidan, the head of the Asokore Mampong municipal assembly, in the city of Kumasi.

There was no immediate comment from the police in the city, which is 255 kilometres (160 miles) northwest of the capital, Accra.

But Hamidan said three bodies have been identified so far and six people were injured, one of them critically, and were receiving treatment in hospital.

The party was organised on Wednesday at a community centre in the Asawase area of Kumasi as the climax to the Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of a month of fasting and prayer.

Local member of parliament Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka said carnivals were often held to celebrate the occasion but in the past have been marked by clashes between youths.

Organisers had told police the carnival would end by 9:00 pm (2100 GMT) and a group, thought to number about 300, moved to the community centre, where a fight reportedly broke out, he added.

"In a bid for people to rush out... there was this stampede," said Muntaka, from President John Dramani Mahama's National Democratic Congress.

But Hamidan said there were conflicting reports about the cause of the tragedy and a security meeting had been called for Thursday afternoon to determine what happened.

"People are saying so many things. Some are saying that there was a lights out and the meter sparked and the sound of the meter made people agitated," he said.

"Others are saying that they finished the programme, they were leaving and there was a stampede along the way.

"As to what caused the actual stampede the security agencies are working to unravel what happened and we will take it on from there."
Maputo (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday kicked off a four-nation tour of Africa, vowing to be "a trusted friend" of Mozambique after talks with President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo.

Modi set the tone for his continental visit by announcing a raft of cooperation agreements as India scrambles to catch up with its Asian rival China, which has a strong presence across Africa.

He will also take in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya over his five-day trip.

"Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need. And what Mozambique requires is available in India," Modi said.

"In Mozambique's march towards economic prosperity, India will walk every step of the way.

"We will be a trusted friend in your development and a reliable partner in ensuring a bright safe and secure future for our people."

Modi, the first Indian leader to visit Mozambique in 34 years, said the two countries would work together on agriculture, defence, security and healthcare.

India has been working to build ties with African nations as it vies for a greater share of the continent's natural resources. Last year, it hosted a summit of Africa's heads of state in New Delhi.

Its economic footprint in Africa is dwarfed by that of China, whose trade with the continent topped $200 billion last year.

India is gaining ground, however, led by private entrepreneurs with a keen interest in the continent's burgeoning energy sector.

But relations between India and the continent have been strained in the past by incidents of alleged racism, with African ambassadors as recently as May claiming after the brutal murder of a Congolese teacher that African nationals in the Indian capital live in a "pervading climate of fear and insecurity".

- South Africa -

Modi's Africa tour will focus on hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food, according to Indian officials.

Later Thursday, Modi will head to South Africa for a two-day state visit, holding talks with President Jacob Zuma on Friday in Pretoria and meeting business leaders.

India is now South Africa's sixth largest trade partner, with two-way trade reaching $5.3 billion in 2015-16.

South Africa has been vocal on the need to reform the UN Security Council, making it a natural ally in India's long-running campaign to be made a permanent member.

India and Africa are together home to a third of the world's population, but neither India nor any African country has a permanent seat on the council, which is made up of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States.

With 1.3 million people of Indian origin, South Africa also has the largest diaspora population in Africa, a major element of Modi's diplomatic push across the world since taking office two years ago.

On Friday evening, he will address a thousands-strong audience at a stadium in Johannesburg, having hosted similar rallies for the diaspora in cities from New York to London.

While in South Africa, Modi is also expected to honour Mahatma Gandhi's time in the country.

India's independence hero lived in South Africa for 20 years, working as a lawyer and activist campaigning for the rights of Indian people.
The Municipal Chief Executive for the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly, Nurudeen Hamidan has said the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) and other security agencies are investigating circumstances that led to the death of nine persons in a stampede at Asawase in the Ashanti Region.

The BNI are also on the ground picking intelligence for us, Hamidan said.

Nine persons died while six others got injured at the Asawase community centre during a jam to climax the Eid-ul Fitr celebration.

Reports indicate that there were over 300 celebrants at the community centre.

Cause of Stampede

There are conflicting reports on the cause of the stampede but speaking to Citi News, the MCE, who is also the head of the Security Council in the area said they will meet around 2:00pm today [Thursday] to discuss the matter.

I went to the scene of the community centre. People are saying so many things. Some are saying that there was lights out and the metre sparked and the sound of the metre made people agitated and others are saying that they finished the programme, they were leaving and there was a stampede along the way. As to what caused the actual stampede, the security agencies are working to unravel what happened and we will take it on from there. I have convened a municipal security meeting at 2pm today and we are going to look into the issue.

Some observers

He also said persons found to have been behind the stamped will be dealt with.

When we meet whatever decision that comes out we will make it known to the public but we want to say that if it was caused by an act of negligence or find anyone culpable in this issue, the person will be dealt with according to the laws of this country, Hamidan added.

Rush to leave venue triggered stampede

Meanwhile, one of the survivors, Charles Amoah Boateng revealed the rush to leav e the building triggered the stampede.

Some observers

The show started at around 9pm. It ended at about 2am. At that time, all the lights were off. And people were rushing to get out. Some of the doors were also locked. So we all got stuck at one entrance which was also not big enough, he recalled.



By: Godwin A. Allotey & Laurettah Timah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Follow @AlloteyGodwin
WHO recently announced new recommendations to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment outcomes for multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) through the use of a novel rapid diagnostic test called MTBDRsl, and a shorter, cheaper 9-12 month treatment regimen. The new treatment regimen can be completed in 9-12 months less than half the time required by the current 24-month treatment standard used worldwide.

Costing less than $1000 per patient, this new regimen is not only much less expensive than the current standard regimen, but it also reduces the duration of treatment by 12 to 15 months. It is expected to dramatically improve the current low cure rate and potentially decrease deaths due to better adherence to treatment and reduced loss to follow-up. MDR-TB is defined as TB that is resistant to at least rifampicin and isoniazidthe two most effective drugs for treating drug sensitive TB. Resistance generally stems from inadequate treatment or improper use of medicines. MDR-TB can also spread directly from one person to another. MDR-TB is difficult and expensive to treat, and can also be fatal. According to WHOs Global TB Report of 2015, 5% of all global TB cases are of MDR-TB. This translates into 480,000 cases every year. Only 25% of these are detected and put on treatment, and only 50% of those treated are cured.

In a recent webinar organised by CNS (Citizen News Service) on this important issue (see recording: www.bit.ly/june16-recording ), Dr Fuad Mirzayev, Medical Officer at the WHO Global TB Programme, clearly spelled out the WHO recommendation A shorter MDR-TB regimen of 9-12 months may be used instead of the conventional regimen in adults, PLHIV and children with rifampicin resistant TB (regardless if isoniazid resistance is confirmed or not), who have not been previously treated with 2nd line drugs and in whom resistance to fluoroquinolone and 2nd line injectable agents has been excluded or is considered highly unlikely, It is NOT recommended for patients with 2nd line drug resistance, or with extra pulmonary TB, or for pregnant women. In such cases individualised conventional MDR-TB regimens should be used.

To rule out resistance to second-line drugsa critical prerequisite for eligibility of MDR-TB patients for the shorter regimen, WHO recommends the rapid diagnostic test MTBDRsl that gives results in just 24-48 hours. This DNA-based LPA (line probe assay) identifies genetic mutations in MDR-TB strains, that make them resistant to fluoroquinolones and injectable second-line TB drugs. Evidence review for shorter MDR-TB regimen was based on meta-analysis of results of initial programmatic studies conducted by The Union, Damien Foundation, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium, involving 1205 patients with uncomplicated MDR-TB. Data for 515 patients under the Damien Foundation pilot programme, using a 9 month treatment regimen in Bangladesh, shows a cure rate of 82.1% and overall success rate of 84.5%.

This study was followed by the Union coordinated first multi-country MDR-TB patient cohort study of 1000 patients in 9 countries of West Africa (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Central African Republic, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda), treated with a modified Bangladesh regimen. Dr ID Rusen, Senior Vice President, International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union), shared that, Interim analysis of 408 patients has demonstrated 82.1% treatment success rate, demonstrating that the 9 month regimen can be successful in other environments than Bangladesh, and also in settings with high HIV prevalence.

Currently on going is the Union-sponsored and USAID supported STREAM study (Standardised Treatment Regimen of Anti-TB Drugs for Patients with MDR-TB) to evaluate other shortened regimens for patients with MDR-TB. STREAM Stage 1 study has been ongoing in Ethiopia, South Africa, Vietnam and Mongolia, and results are expected in 1st quarter of 2018. STREAM has recently expanded to test two additional shortened treatment regimens using bedaquiline, a new medicine produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. This expanded arm will evaluate a 9 month alloral regimen, that does not require painful injections, and an even shorter simplified 6-month regimen. This STREAM Stage 2 study envisages to enroll 1155 patients in at least 10 countries by end of 3rd quarter of 2018 and initial end point results expected in 3rd quarter of 2020, informed Rusen. WHOs recommendation will have profound implications for countries like India that are beset with the epidemic of MDR-TB. The adoption of a shortened regimen will not only reduce the burden on patients and on healthcare systems, but also improve cure rates.

Dr Sunil Khaparde, Deputy Director General of Revised National TB Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, conceded that India has the highest TB burden (2.2 million cases every year) and highest MDR-TB burden also with 72,000 MDR-TB cases every year and only 28,000 of these are treated. He said that the new shortened regimen holds a lot of promise and will be more rational and cost effective for India. The conventional treatment takes at least 18-24 months to complete and has only 50% cure rate. Patients find it difficult to take the very toxic 2nd line drugs for such a long period. This prolonged treatment period creates adherence problems and often results in treatment interruption and loss to follow up. The new regimen will definitely improve adherence and hence cure rate, he said.

Although formal clinical study for the shorter regimen has not been conducted in India, but Khaparde assured that very soon the proposal for roll out of this new regimen will be put up before the expert committee. Jose Luis Castro, Executive Director at The Union, has rightly remarked that, Statistics clearly show that MDR-TB is an increasing burden and much of this is due to a failure of basic TB control. The international TB community must advocate for investment in the expansion of quality basic services and preventative care on the frontline where it matters most. The onus is on us all to ensure that access to correct treatments, both for patients and health care providers, increases exponentially. Countries need to move quickly to implement the new regimen by formally incorporating it into their national TB guidelines. Accurate and early diagnosis along with shorter, cheaper and more effective treatment can help countries deliver on their promises to end TB by 2030 or earlier as envisaged in Sustainable Development Goal 3.3.

Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service  CNS

(Shobha Shukla is the Managing Editor at Citizen News Service (CNS) and has reported on global health related issues consistently for decades. Follow her on Twitter: @CNS_Health)
On Thursday, June 9 this year, Liberia formally rolled out the drums in celebration of their being Ebola  free.

According to medical science, Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filovirus (Ebola virus), whose normal host species is unknown.

In 2014, this strange virus wrecked countries in the West African sub-region, leading to 11,300 deaths and 28, 000 cases. To a larger degree, this huge casualty failure could have been avoided. From all indications, the Ebola spiral was largely as a failure of states in their quick response.

For some school of thoughts it is rather strange that Liberia is celebrating her Ebola free status some two years after the virus struck havoc in the country.

The last Ebola patient in the country was declared negative on 4 December 2015, and the country was declared Ebola free by the World Health Organization, WHO, an agency of the United Nations, UN, on 14 January 2016.

On the last count, a total of 4, 800 citizens lost their lives in Liberia, to Ebola. Again, like any other West African countries that were ravaged by the virus, the alarming rate of death was due to the gassy response of government.

By October 2014, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia had lost more than 4,000 lives to Ebola due to boring response by governments, Zaya Yeebo, a Ghanaian journalist and commentator on Pan African affairs, said on December 4, 2014.

Another leading voice on the subject matter, Crisis Group, an international group working to prevent conflict worldwide, said, The international reaction was equally problematic and rightly criticized as dysfunctional and inadequate by many observers. Early warnings were largely ignored until cases began cropping up in the U.S., WHO, which had stalled for far too long on declaring an international health emergency, then proved incapable of mounting an effective response. The Security Council was forced to create a new body to scale up and coordinate operations  with variable results  the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).

Years Of Neglect

Since 1970s, Ebola had been and the response remained weak. Yeebo said that there was a claim by Kofi Annan, a former Secretary General of the UN that the response was weak, because the virus was affecting Africans.

The Journalist said that the claim was rather questionable with a view that the West perhaps hadnt a glimpse idea that Ebola would leave the shores of West Africa and penetrate Europe and America.

The reason, according to Patrick Martin from World Socialist website, The giant pharmaceutical companies that control medical research saw little profit in saving the lives of impoverished villagers in rural Africa.

So far, we know that research has been conducted on possible cures and vaccines funded by the US Pentagon, for dubious reasons. The US claims that this research was to protect US soldiers who might be deployed to the jungles of central Africa. How many US bases are located in Central Africa to warrant this approach? However, claims that the Ebola research carried out by the US Pentagon as an antidote to whether the virus could be weaponised for use against potential enemies in my view, seems more credible. The chickens have come home to roost, Yeebo opined.

The Ebola epidemic was coming at a time West Africa was recovering from decades of conflicts. This pummeled health infrastructures. Continuing, Yeebo added, "In the 1980s through the 1990s, these countries implemented neo-liberal reforms imposed by Bretton Wood Institutions, International Monetary Fund, IMF, and World Bank, whereby welfare systems were abandoned in exchange for donor support."

There was lack of accountability in Ebola funding in the countries, the civil society initiatives that bridge socio-political bonding and help create a more shared approach to crisis response were not fully incorporated into the response team, health systems were weak.

"It was only after the second wave of Ebola cases threatened the very stability of the affected countries that authorities took concerted action (with the help of Non-Governmental Organizations, NGOs, international agencies on the ground and donors), starting with the engagement of community leaders. Particularly in Liberia, they slowly learned what did not work and how to better communicate appropriate precautions and necessary cultural changes, eg, handling of deceased relatives that finally helped bring the epidemic under control," Africa Report, 28 Oct 2015, said.

Using Ebola To Resolve Geopolitical Interests

Across West Africa and the world, travel bans were placed in severely affected countries as anxiousness about Ebola hyped in 2014. Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were the most hit with Nigeria on the flaccid.

Ten countries, including the United States and Spain, were affected, and the world recorded more than 28,000 cases as was articled.

During the 2014 Ebola epidemic, West African countries, which were officially declared of Ebola on 22 March 2014 in Guinea, six countries in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone) were severely affected.

Quoting Martin, Yeebo said, What makes the Ebola virus disease even more worrying is the fact that the United States, Britain and other countries are using this crisis to resolve their geopolitical interests. The US sent in 4,000 troops (marines) to Liberia. President is calling on his top guards to prepare to intervene. On the other hand, the UK government has also announced its intention to send 3,000 soldiers to Sierra Leone. Historically, American Marines are routinely used to restore public order or enforce consent.

He asked, If these countries are not at war, and there is no civil disobedience, why send in troops instead of doctors and nurses? In contrast, Cuba sent 160 Doctors and nurses to Sierra Leone, and will send additional 296 health care workers to Liberia and Guinea. The approach of the Cuban government is humanitarian whilst the approach by the US and UK governments is militaristic, seeking to exploit the crisis for geopolitical reasons. The real agenda of Washington is to secure a basis for its Africa Command (AFRICOM), up to now excluded from the continent by local opposition, thus advancing the interests of American imperialism against its rivals, particularly China.

Lack Of Clarity On Response Efforts

Kim Yi Dionne of Washington Post on July 15, 2014, reported that government did not help matters with responses to the epidemic.

Dionne said, A significant challenge in responding to public health problems is coordinating across these actors. Part of the challenge is the lack of clarity on who should lead response efforts. Ultimately, the success or failure of the Ebola response relies on the ordinary people who are at risk of becoming infected.

Political parties hijacked the response for vain glory, there was greater lack of cross-border cooperation and information sharing on the health crisis, the UN Security Council barely paid close attention to the governance challenges in these countries where citizens trust in their governments and institutions was elusive; there was vacuum in the Economic Community of West Africa, ECOWAS, regional health surveillance, communication and coordination mechanisms.

Dionne noted that on June 30, 2014, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf declared that government would put-on-trial anyone reported to be holding suspected Ebola cases in homes or prayer houses. Similarly, Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma had also made such statement as Sirleafs.

The Washington Posts reporter argued, The statements were mischievous and capable of brewing increase in traffic of assumed Ebola cases to formal health institutions, where people can be properly isolated, subsequently allowing others who may have come into contact with a suspected case to be traced; ultimately curbing the outbreaks spread. But is the threat of prosecution the best motivation for increasing health-seeking behaviour? If a government is ill-equipped to provide basic health services in far-flung regions of the country, how equipped is that same government to prosecute evasion of health care?

Ebola Surmounted

However, the apprehension all over the world by July 2014 was that Africa will not be getting over her Ebola outbreak very soon. But she did, upon that there was poor health infrastructure in the affected countries. Before then, Sierra Leone and Liberia had been destroyed by wars and refugees fled into Guinea where health services were already poor. There was dearth of health personnel in these countries with Liberia having just 0.014 doctors per 1,000 people.

From March 2014, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres), MSF, teams treated 10,376 patients in West Africa including 3,804 patients in Guinea, with the authorities saying that 110 health workers died from the virus in the country.

Sources say "Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) sent a specialized team to Gueckedou on March 18 2012, just six days after another of their teams already in Guinea (working on a malaria project) had learned from Guineas Health Ministry about what was then characterized as a mysterious disease. Conversely, with respect to coordinating response across the countries, there seems to have been greater delay. For example, it was not until July 2 2012 that the WHO convened a special meeting bringing together health ministries and partners involved in the Ebola outbreak to discuss a collective response. Only today is the WHO activating operations at a Sub-Regional Outbreak Coordination Center it recently established in Conakry."

Bold Steps Taken

Despite the glaring shortcomings, health workers took blood samples for Ebola virus testing at screening marquees. Jingles, campaigns and the media were awash, all sensitizing the masses to wash their hands and know measures to address any suspected victim of the virus. Local ministries of health of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, Nigeria, WHO, (MSF, CDC, UNICEF, Institute Pasteur, European Mobile Laboratory Project (funded by the European Union), all responded.

At many public places, sterilizers were mounted at the entrances. People cleaned their hands with them. In 2012, Uganda recorded what analysts said was one of the more successful Ebola responses in history after the epidemic claimed 17 lives among 24 confirmed cases. The country had set up CDC, a lab at Ugandas Virus Research Institute specifically tasked with the rapid diagnosis of viral hemorrhagic fevers (including Ebola) two years before the 2012 outbreak. Six days into the 2000 Uganda Ebola outbreak, donor community enhanced the Ugandan government Ebola budget (adding $400,000 to the governments $285,000).

West Africa Not Sleeping

Upon the certification that Liberia is free from the virus, responses and sensitizations are still ongoing for any eventual outbreak across West Africa.

Sorbor George, chief of communication at the ministry in Liberia, told AFP, We have been carrying on a sensitization campaign. This campaign will continue, and we will still be in readiness to contain any eventual outbreak.

It is hoped they will walk their talks in order to avoid more agonizing deaths.

Odimegwu Onwumere is a Rivers State based poet, writer and consultant. He won in the digital category, Nordica Media Merit Awards 2016, Lagos; and the International Award for Excellence in Journalism 2016, Geneva.Tel: +2348057778358. Email: [email protected]
07.07.2016 LISTEN

A nation which allows her women to die in the process of bringing forth life only exists on borrowed time.

 (quotes Niran Adedokun, Premium Times, May 4, 2013).

With the deploring of more than 2,600 midwives to over 650 rural health centres across Nigeria, 650,000 Mama kits distributed for safe delivery, 2,300 midwives being trained in life-saving skills, 650 rural centres furnished with communication links to the national operations hub, 160 medical officers being trained in emergency obstetrics, Mary Thompson, 34, is one of the expectant mothers in Nigeria that prefer religious homes to hospitals. This is against the backdrop of the country meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of reducing child mortality rates by a third in 2015.

"Maternal health is one of the big health issues facing Nigeria today. A womans chance of dying due to complications around pregnancy and birth in Nigeria is 1/15, compared to 1/5000 in developed nations. It is estimated that more than 53,000 women and 250,000 newborns die each year due to preventable causes," (Making a difference with the Midwives Service Scheme, March 1, 2016).

For this aim, Nigeria was among countries in May 2013 that sent their policy makers that converged on Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, towards spawning political obligation and supply assets to condense maternal mortality and attain universal admittance to reproductive health. The conference in Malaysia was the third edition of the Women Deliver Conference, an international meeting collectively put by Women Deliver, an encouragement assemblage encompassing a league of organizations.

The Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria was quoted in 2013 as saying that a regular number of 45 women died from pregnancy problems every day between January and March. However, the expectant mothers have a confidence that with their faith in their different religions, the aspect of reception to quality health and family planning are not for them. Officials say that this state-of-mind has resulted to a lot of women losing their lives in the cause of child delivery in the religious homes being that the time they ought to have used to visit a hospital they instead use it to stay in different prayer homes supplicating, looking for Utopian miracle that most times is elusive.

The World Health Organization (WHO) refers infant mortality to the death of infants and children under the age of five. WHO says, In 2011, 6.9 million children under five reportedly died down from 7.6 million in 2010, 8.1 million in 2009 and 12.4 million in 1990. Global statistics on the challenge reveal that child mortality is more prevalent in the sub-Saharan Africa with about half of child deaths being recorded there.

Methodically, for every 1,000 new born babies, 90 to 100 die in Nigeria within the first week of life. Experts say this is as a result of difficulties during pregnancy and delivery. The Nigeria Human Rights Commission (NHRC) lends its voice to that of UNICEF, saying, "Nigeria was one of the countries in the world with high maternal and infant death rates with a ratio of 545-630 per 100,000 live births, or 75 per 1,000 live births on the infant mortality index, according to the United Nations, UN."

The main causes of neonatal deaths are birth asphyxia, premature birth and severe infections including neonatal tetanus. Children also die from largely preventable communicable diseases compounded by malnutrition. These children do not need to die as over half of them could be saved by low cost, evidence based, cost effective interventions such as routine immunizations, the administration of oral re-hydration therapy as indicated, appropriate antibiotic use, nutrient supplementation, the use of insecticide-treated bed nets and improved breast feeding practices, (UN Millennium Project report).

Most of the religion-believers expectant women have a narrow way-of-thinking, believing that since a woman is pregnant, the next level is to deliver her of the child. But they are most times oblivious that there are wobbly situations of pregnancy related impediments like obstetric fistula, which leads to caesarean section: a situation that occurs after a woman in labour must have exhausted all avenues for normal delivery. Religious faiths quite often make these expectant mothers situations very unfortunate. With an account that 40 percent of the worldwide commonness of obstetric fistula is counted in Nigeria in 2014, there is an evaluation of between 400,000 and 800,000 cases of obstetric fistula, especially in the northern part of the country and with an indication of 20,000 novel cases per year, said to be the highest in the world.

From the above explanation, it is not a bolt-from-the-blue why Nigeria still ranks high the list of countries with towering maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. Figures from the UN World Population Prospects and the Institute for Health Metric Reports (2010) are that the country has a ratio of 545 per 100,000 live births on the maternal mortality index and 75 per 1000 live births on the infant mortality index. Aside that the Federal Government by 2014 budgets about $3m annually to provide free family planning facilities for Nigerians, many pregnant women will not avoid going to their religious organizations for total therapeutic solutions to their situations than going for gesture measures.

Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under-five year olds and 145 women of childbearing age. This makes the country the second largest contributor to the underfive and maternal mortality rate in the world. Underneath the statistics lies the pain of human tragedy, for thousands of families who have lost their children. Even more devastating is the knowledge that, according to recent research, essential interventions reaching women and babies on time would have averted most of these deaths, contains in a report by UNICEF.

Thompson does not just visit prayer house to seek assistance for her pregnancy; in 2015, Nigeria remained too slow to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality by a third, says UNICEF. The argument is that unnecessary or healable infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea, measles and HIV/AIDS account for more than 70 per cent of the estimated one million under-five deaths in Nigeria, because malnutrition still remains the fundamental cause of morbidity and mortality of a large proportion in Nigeria.

Similarly, a womans chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 13. Although, many of these deaths are preventable; the coverage and quality of health care services in Nigeria continue to fail women and children. Presently, less than 20 per cent of health facilities offer emergency obstetric care and only 35 per cent of deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendants, the report says.

In 2009, Nigeria harangued reducing maternal mortality in the country in relation to the stipulated target of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the year was gone without her meeting the target. Nigeria is still not listed among the 10 countries seen to have made rapid progress to meet the goals. Yet, WHO blames haemorrhage, infections, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion and obstructed labour as among the problems besetting pregnant women in the country. In another vein, the international body sees bacterial infection, variants of gestational hypertension  including pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome, obstetrical hemorrhage, ectopic pregnancy, puerperal sepsis (childbed fever), amniotic fluid embolism, and complications of unsafe or unsanitary abortions as amongst the challenges facing pregnant women.

WHO bemoans that over 90 per cent of maternal deaths occur in developing countries, while 45 per cent of postpartum deaths occur within 24 hours of delivery; so it warns against malaria in pregnancy, pointing at it as a supplier to increasing maternal mortality. It causes premature infants with stumpy birth weights due to intrauterine growth retardation. A bulletin of the WHO 2014 reports that investments in health systems with universal access to services delivery (e.g. skilled birth attendance, contraceptive prevalence rate), health workforce (e.g. doctors per 1 000 population), information (e.g. health information systems), medical products, vaccines and technologies (e.g. measles vaccine coverage), financing (e.g. total health expenditure per capita), health systems governance (e.g. adoption of enabling policies for womens and childrens health), can help reduce problems of morbidity and infant mortality in the country.

Others are sectors outside health: investments and policies that are health-enhancing, promoting vibrant rural and urban communities, including through infrastructure development (e.g. electricity: kilowatt hours/capita), ensuring universal enrolment and completion of primary education and expanded access to post-primary and higher education (e.g. girls primary school enrolment), improving environmental management (e.g. access to clean water), building national capacities in science, technology and innovation (e.g. number of scientific publications, Global Innovation Index), population dynamics (e.g. total fertility rate, % urban population), womens political and socioeconomic participation (e.g. % female parliamentarians), overcoming inequalities and realizing rights (e.g. Gini; ratification of human rights treaties), economic development (e.g. GDP per capita).

Odimegwu Onwumere is a Rivers State based poet, writer and consultant. He won in the digital category, Nordica Media Merit Awards 2016, Lagos; and the International Award for Excellence in Journalism 2016, Geneva. Tel: +2348057778358. Email: [email protected]
By George-Ramsey Benamba, GNA

Accra, July 7, GNA - President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday advised Muslims youth not to allow themselves to be used by terrorists groups to taint the image of Islam that stands for peace at all times.

He called on them to resist all attempts by political leaders to use them as thugs during the electioneering activities this year.

"As we are approaching elections, they will come for you to engage in all kinds of activities that will undermine the peace and stability we are enjoying and if they come, tell them to go to Burma Camp and not Nima or any other Muslim community."

President Mahama, who gave this advice during the Eid Fitr prayers at the Black Star Square in Accra, said it is unfortunate that most terrorists use Islam to harness their goals although the religion had all the times epitomised peace in the society.

The Eid Fitr prayers are used to mark the month-long prayer and fasting as part of the five pillars of the Islamic faith.

Hundreds of Muslims from all over Accra thronged the Black Star Square to have their annual prayers after fasting to ask for Allah's forgiveness.

President Mahama commended Ghanaians for the peaceful co-existence among all religious and ethnic groups in the country and urged all to maintain the status quo by relating well irrespective of their political, religious and geographical persuasion.

He said Ghana had come a long way with struggles for independence and other freedoms and should therefore not allow ourselves to be used as agents of destruction and instability.

The President promised that government would continue to do everything under its purview to protect peace and stability the country is enjoying.

He urged Ghanaians not to be scared of fear and panic that is likely to be created especially before, during and after the general election.

He said much as every Ghanaian has the liberty to question anything that is considered undemocratic; it is about time to give the Electoral Commission the peace of mind to perform its constitutional duties.

On electricity, President Mahama said the Electricity Company of Ghana has carried out some re-alignment, which would give financial respite to consumers although the system could not be equated to subsidies.

In a speech read on his behalf, Sheikh Nuhu Sharabutu, National Chief Imam called on Ghanaian Muslims to continue to show love to their underprivileged colleagues even after the month of Ramadan.

He appealed to government to put in place measures that would ensure free, fair and acceptable general election.

GNA
Most of the NDC faithful are such that they never accept their wrongdoings. The more they are faulted for doing wrong, the more they insist on their ground, doing further worse things. This unique characteristic of the NDC is very dangerous for Ghanas democratic dispensation.

On the 29th of June 2016, some two Montie FM programme panellists, Alistair Nelson and Ako Gunn, went on air to issue death threats to the Supreme Court judges if they dared make any ruling that compels the Electoral Commission to delete the names of the alleged NHIS registrants from the voters register.

Even though one of them, Alistair Nelson, has since rendered his heartfelt apologies to the judges for his irresponsible and infantile behaviour, with Ako Gunn denying he made any such threats, I shall still advise the Supreme Court not to temper justice with mercy. They must be punished with a prison term to serve as deterrence to would-be perpetrators of similar outrageous public outbursts against the judges for all silly and selfish reasons.

Barely had this case surfaced with the public peeved at the crazy audacity by Ako and Alistair to exterminate the judges, when another NDC sycophant in the person of Fred Agbenyo, the Deputy Communications officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), went on air with his version of show of disrespect for the Supreme Court.

Fred Agbenyo is furious at Supreme Court Justice Sulley Gbadegbe for querying Charlotte Osei, thus, As you are standing here, you cannot even tell us the date of the exhibition. Tell us when it is going to be done.

Fred, in showing his insubordination to the Supreme Court, had the following to say on Peace FMs Kookrokoo Morning Show of Tuesday 5th July 2016, I thought that statement from the judge was very unfortunate, it amounts to inciting the public against Electoral Commissionwe wont allow the Supreme Court to be like kakai to come and scare Ghanaians and wont allow Ghanaians to express themselves,. Check the below web link for the bragging by Fred Agbenyo as published on Ghanaweb.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Supreme-Court-judges-are-scaring-Ghanaians-Agbenyo-453276

What has the Supreme Court done of late to be compared to scarecrow (kakai) as vehemently protested by Fred Agbenyo? How will Fred stop the Supreme Court from scaring away Ghanaians and how are the Supreme Court judges frightening off Ghanaians? When they ask Mrs Charlotte Osei, the Chair of the Electoral Commission, to do the decent thing in order not to plunge Ghana into trouble, does that amount to scaring Ghanaians? It doesnt scare you one bit. Does it?

For the stupid bravado put up by Fred in the wake of the murderous intentions expressed openly in public towards the judges, I invite the court to cite him for contempt. He has to be made to face the same fate as may be suffered by Ako Gunn and Alistair Nelson. It is about time these NDC guys were made to understand that it does not pay to go about with puffed chest fooling or committing crimes in the hope that nobody will dare challenge them because they are untouchables; their party is in government. That period of practice of selective is gone! They must be held accountable for their actions.

The Supreme Court judges had the chance to stamp their authority to save not only Ghana but also, the entire African continent from corruption and abuse of power by governments during the declaration of verdict on Election 2012 petition. However, they chose not to go with the truth as made evident on live telecast of the court proceedings hence the numerous problems being faced by Ghanaians today, with the latest being the silly but serious threats to the lives of judges by certain NDC scumbags.

In order not to repeat the mistakes of yesteryears, I call on the Supreme Court to punish not only Ako Gunn, Alistair Nelson, Fred Agbenyo but also, that Maassa Musa, alias Mugabe, who has been using his radio programmes to foment troubles against NPP and innocent Ghanaians for all that he stands to gain.

No matter what the NDC bigots do, President Mahama and the NDC will be voted out of power come election 2016. Sooner than later, Charlotte Osei will see how stupid she has been with her utter insolence and intransigence to the Supreme Court and the people of Ghana.

Let her be aware that, Obstinacy is the cause of the horns of the hornbill.

I wish Ghanaians including all court judges well. The evil that the mentioned NDC people are planning will rather be their portion.

Rockson Adofo
Policy Think Tank, the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has painted a rather grim picture of the future of Ghanas oil and gas exploration sub-sector.

According to ACEP, the level of exploitation in the sector is worrying and must be checked.

Addressing a forum in Accra to launch what it calls citizens manifesto on oil and gas ahead of the November polls,the Executive Director of ACEP, Mohammed Amin Anta, said the increasing depletion of the current oil reserves is not the best.

Given the current level of inactivity on Ghana's exploration map, we are worried about the future of the oil industry in Ghana. We are currently depleting reserves without replacing them at the same level. Even as we deplete without replacing them at the same level, there are oil companies that are holding inactive petroleum.

Oil giants predict gloomy times

Oil giant Tullow earlier predicted tough times ahead for the oil industry in the coming months, when prices of the commodity on the world market started declining.

The price of a barrel of the commodity earlier fell below 40 dollars, the lowest since 2009, while the price of Brent Crude fell 5.3% to 40.73 dollars a barrel.



By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Abu Ramadan's suit against the Electoral Commission (EC) challenging the credibility of the voter's register was not in the interest of Ghanaians, the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) has intimated.

According to the party, the suit presented to the Supreme Court and the subsequent order for the removal of people who registered as voters using NHIS cards as proof of Ghanaian citizenship, was irrelevant as the reliefs granted will not make the voters' register credible.

Speaking to Citi News, National Secretary of the PPP, Murtala Mohammed, intimated that the Abu Ramadan suit was more in the interest of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The point is that, it has nothing to do with the judgment and the court. It has everything to do with the interests. Don't forget it is Abu Ramadan, Nimako versus the Electoral Commission, Attorney General cum NDC. Abu Ramadan, Nimako cum NPP versus Electoral Commission, Attorney General cum NDC. It is the interest that we are trying to awake Ghanaians to. They are not in the interest of the state because what they are fighting for is not the solution, he stated.

Dealing with minors, non-Ghanaians and deceased persons more important

According to Mr. Mohammed, the only way to truly ensure a clean register is to adopt the use of National Identification Cards as proof of Ghanaian citizenship for purposes of enrolling onto the voters register.

In his view, this would root out the more pertinent issues having to do with minors, non-Ghanaians and deceased names on the register.

Why do you fight for national insurance registrants on the register when we have minors on the register? We have deceased people on the register and we have non-citizens. I am telling you that the argument is that, these numbers are more than the National insurance [NHIS] registrants.

Abu Ramadan's successful suit

The apex court ordered the EC to expunge from the current voters' register the the 56,000 persons it presented as having registered with the NHIS card as a proof of identity.

The ruling followed a suit filed by Abu Ramadan, and Evans Nimako, who in 2014 won a lawsuit that barred the use of NHIS cards for registration of potential voters.

The two, among other reliefs, wanted the current register declared inappropriate for the November polls. The ruling was a clarification of the court's judgment on the voters register delivered on May 5 , 2016.

The ruling resulted in many different interpretations with the EC stating that, the court had not ordered an outright deletion.

Thus, Abu Ramadan went back to the Supreme Court to seek an interpretation of the its earlier ruling on the validity of the current register.



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Geneva (AFP) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday it would help Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo launch a mass vaccination campaign against a yellow fever outbreak ravaging the two countries.

The campaign will aim to immunise 15.5 million people in the two countries by the end of August, Bruce Aylward, the WHO's chief on outbreaks and health emergencies, told reporters.

He described it as "an unprecedented push."

Yellow fever has been raging in Angola since December, especially in the capital Luanda, where there have been 3,552 suspected cases, 875 confirmed cases and 355 deaths.

Cases have been imported to Kinshasa in DR Congo, where the virus has begun spreading locally and is believed to have killed 75 people.

The country has recorded 1,300 suspected cases, and 68 confirmed cases -- 59 of which are direct importations from Angola.

But seven were spread locally on the ground, "and that is what we are trying to stop very, very quickly," Aylward said.

WHO has for months been voicing alarm about the urban nature of the outbreak, and the potential for "explosive spread".

The two affected countries have already made "a huge effort" to rein in the outbreak, Aylward said, pointing out that some 14.5 million people have already been vaccinated, most of them in Angola, helping slow the outbreak considerably.

The idea now is to quickly more than double that number during the so-called "dry season", when there is least risk of spread, immunising some eight million people in Kinshasa, three million more inside Angola and another 4.3 million along the border between the two countries.

There is no specific treatment for yellow fever, a viral haemorrhagic disease transmitted in urban settings mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

The disease can have a mortality rate of up to 50 percent, but is often not considered as big a threat as Ebola or Zika, since there has long been a very efficient vaccine against it, Aylward said.

Yet the percentage of people immunised against yellow fever remains low in many parts of Africa.

It costs about $2.50 to vaccinate one person, bringing the total cost of the planned push to $34 million, of which $14 million is already funded, according to WHO.

The organisation has been informing international donors of the desperate need for the additional cash, Aylward said, adding that Angola and DR Congo would also pay a large portion of the bill.

WHO has urged vaccination of all travellers to and from Angola and DR Congo to keep the outbreak from spreading, but has stopped short of declaring the situation a global health emergency.
07.07.2016 LISTEN

A new report published by Vodafone Group reveals that smartphones are increasing opportunities in Ghana and that seven out of ten micro-entrepreneurs are likely to face difficulties continuing their business without a smartphone.

Authored by independent experts, Towards a more equal world: the mobile internet revolution looks at how the shift to smartphones and data services in emerging markets represent a turning point.

The specific opportunities of mobile internet access for disadvantaged groups are identified and policy steps governments can take to address inequalities are recommended.

Drawing on three in-depth studies in three developing countries  Ghana, Kenya and India - the report examines different facets of the challenge.

In Ghana, consistent with other findings in the report, businesses in urban communities are doing more with their smartphone and its resources than their rural-based counterparts.

Micro-entrepreneurs surveyed use their smartphones in critical business operations, such as improving the use of customer records for production planning and marketing campaigns.

Seven out of 10 micro-entrepreneurs who use mobile services to find market prices in their sector, keep mobile records of customers, and use customer records for campaigns are in urban communities. Micro-entrepreneurs with lower levels of education are also less likely to access new revenue activities and may also fail to experience the related benefits.

In Kenya: Where women face barriers to educational, entrepreneurial and social activities. It was found that women place greater emphasis on the importance of smartphones in connecting them to their family and the world beyond. Over two-thirds of business women experienced an increase in income due to a smartphone. However, even with equivalent education and income levels, women use their smartphone for fewer tasks and less frequently. Education is a central driver of smartphone ownership and use, whereas income is not.

In India, the impact of information and mobile access on yields can lead to a 50% increase in a small farmers revenue where the correct inputs are used and better knowledge is applied. A 1% increase in yields leads to a 0.6  1.3% reduction in poverty, having a greater impact than prices alone.

Commenting on the report; Diane Coyle, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester, said:

In the years since the start of the global financial crisis, inequality has come to the forefront of the policy agenda. The UNs Sustainable Development Goals demonstrate the commitment of governments to addressing inequality. For emerging market economies, growth and poverty reduction are still vital challenges, but there is also a need to ensure the benefits of growth are shared widely.

Additionally, Howard Williams, Professor Emeritus at the University of Strathclyde added:

Access to communications services and networks plays a vital role in enabling individuals and businesses to tap into new opportunities. Mobile is particularly important for people in marginal groups with low incomes or status, especially in emerging markets.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | GN
NSIA Insurance Ghana is rolling out a series of activities aimed at simplifying the experience of purchasing insurance and redeeming insurance claims among Ghanaians.

This involves both online and offline activations such as tit-bits, games, quizzes and trending activities that seek to demystify insurance among the uninsured in the country.

Dubbed Insurance Made Easy campaign, the initiative takes effect from July 1, 2016, to enable the public to enjoy hassle-free insurance services from NSIA.

The company is spearheading this in the industry to instill the culture of insurance among the youth (under 30 years) and thereby help address the apparent public apathy towards insurance.

The Managing Director of NSIA Insurance, Mrs. Mabel Nana Nyarkoa Porbley noted, the move is geared towards changing the generally negative perception that insurance is a mere commodity rather than a necessity for financial management and planning for the future.

Insurance is so much more than just a guarantee of compensation; it is about rebuilding and restoring hopes. By launching this campaign, we seek to assure our existing and prospective clients of our commitment to deliver comprehensive services promptly with our online and streamlined processes as well as claims payment to customers she said

Mrs. Porbley added NSIA is poised to reposition itself as a leading insurance company in the country by reaching and whipping up interest in insurance among the over 5million internet users with this campaign. According to her, the company is in this bid introducing a new mascot, Nsia onto the Ghanaian market to provide that friendly face for the campaign.

We are introducing in the Ghanaian insurance industry, a fresh face and character who represents the everyday Ghanaian to walk us through insurance the NSIA way  making insurance easy. He is Vibrant, Youthful, Bold, Innovative and Tech Savvy. NSIA is here to make insurance easy! To be bold innovative and tech savvy just as its Nsia character she concluded.

NSIA is targeting to year reach millions of Ghanaians in the process and significantly increase insurance patronage by the end of the year.

Story by Ghana| Myjoyonline.com
The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), has revealed that the two Montie FM panelists accused of threatening the lives of Supreme Court Judges, admitted to same when they were interrogated by the Bureau.

This contradicts the claims by one of the suspects, Godwin Ako Gunn, that he did not make such comments or even appear on the radio program where the comments were made.

The BNI in a statement noted that, it questioned the two suspects, Alistair Tairo Nelson and Ako Gunn on June 3, and the two [2] suspects admitted making those statements and acknowledged that their remarks were regrettable and unfortunate.

The two were reported to have threatened to finish the Supreme Court judges if they made any judgment against the Electoral Commission in the ongoing court case challenging the validity of the voters' register

However, the statement from the BNI also indicated that, the two were incapable of carrying out such a threat and acted out of needless bravado.

Further checks by the BNI have however established that, the suspects were incapable of carrying out their pronouncements but did so in a show of needless bravado. Nevertheless, our investigations are ongoing and the suspects are reporting to the BNI three times a week.

Ako Gunn and lawyer claim innocence

The BNI's statement contradicts claims by the lawyer for Mr. Gunn, Chris Ackumey, who contended that, his client did not make such comments .

In statement signed by his lawyer, Chris Ackumey, and addressed to the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Mr. Gunn demanded an apology from the GBA, which released a statement condemning him for the threats.

In the statement, Mr. Ackumey said, my client vehemently denies being on the said programme on the 29th of June, 2016 as a panelist on Montie FM as alleged and to that extent could not have uttered the alleged death threats on the Judges attributed to him.

BNI warns media, citizens

The BNI has also cautioned all Ghanaians to shun all inflammatory language with the potential to cause fear and panic in the society.

As part of our constitutional mandate to safeguard Ghana's political environment for all Ghanaians, we advise all discussants to avoid intemperate and inflammatory language and innuendoes We also advice media house owners, show hosts, panelists and other radio communicators to conduct all discussions with decorum, tolerance and respect for the constitutional rights of others. This will ensure peace before, during and after the upcoming elections.

We will not hesitate to invoke the full sanctions of the law against any media house which ignores this warning, the statement added.

Find below the full BNI statement.

The Bureau of National Investigation [BNI] on 3rd July, 2016 questioned two [2] radio communicators, namely Alistair Tairo Nelson, forty-one [41] and Godwin Ako Gunn, thirty-nine [39] on comments they aired on MONTIE FM, an Accra-based radio station, attacking Justices of the Supreme Court. The arrest was premised on the fact that their comments were considered provocative, inflammatory, and unacceptable and had the potential of creating security challenges. In arresting the two [2], the BNI took into consideration the current volatile security situation in the country as we inch towards the 2016 elections.

At the interrogation, the two [2] suspects admitted making those statements and acknowledged that their remarks were regrettable and unfortunate. Further checks by the BNI have however established that the suspects were incapable of carrying out their pronouncements but did so in a show of needless bravado. Nevertheless our investigations are ongoing and the suspects are reporting to the BNI three times a week.

The BNI further observes that thus far, several electronic and print media outlets have become notorious for their intemperate vituperations, personal attacks and outright insults, among others. This is a serious security concern that we will not allow to fester. As part of our constitutional mandate to safeguard Ghana's political environment for all Ghanaians, we advice all discussants to avoid intemperate and inflammatory language and innuendoes that have the tendency to create fear and panic and that tend to cause breaches of the peace.

The Bureau notes that the rights of self-expression and media freedom are enshrined in our constitution, and several governmental and nongovernmental institutions such as the National Media Commission (NMC), the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and other Civil Society Organizations, recognized by statute or otherwise, have a primary responsibility to regulate the communication sector and avoid inflammatory commentary that has the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the country.

The Bureau assures the judiciary, the good people of Ghana and all foreigners within the jurisdiction that we shall continue to work with all the other State Security Agencies to ensure their safety at all times. We also advice media house owners, show hosts, panelists and other radio communicators to conduct all discussions with decorum, tolerance and respect for the constitutional rights of others. This will ensure peace before, during and after the upcoming elections.

We will not hesitate to invoke the full sanctions of the law against any media house which ignores this warning END

Issued From: BNI HQ, ACCRA 07/07/16



By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Government and the minority have clashed over the use of 11 million grant given to Ghana by the Belgium government for the water expansion program for the people of the Nsawan-Adoagyiri area.

Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Frank Annor Dompreh is alleging that failure by government to properly account for the money has resulted in the Belgium government withdrawing an additional 5 million for the project.

Mr Dompreh says government was supposed to have built a reservoir tank to store raw water but failed to do so.

"There is some sort of dishonesty on the part of the Ministry. We met the Water Resource Commission and the Ministry and it became clear that because they failed to render an account to the Belgium government on how they useed the money we failed to access an additional 5 million that the Belgian government was willing to dole out to us," he re-emphasised.

He said when they met with Parliament's Committee on Works and Housing, the Ministry was unable to answer questions on what use the money has been put to.

However, in an interview on Joy News, the Deputy Minister of Water Resources Works and Housing, rubbished the claims saying government fully complied with conditions under the grant.

He explained that the existing water treatment plant at Nsawan which takes it raw water source at the Densu River has an installed capacity of 790,000 gallons per day and currently supplies water to Nsawam and its environs.

According to Samson Ahi, the MP failed to ask the question on the floor of Parliament adding, "all these issues would have been explained to him better if he had come to ask on the floor of parliament."

Mr Ahi said with the 11 million, government undertook an expansion of the Nsawam water system to add 1.6 million gallons per day and currently the project has been completed and it is serving the people of Nsawam and surrounding communities.

He said it is a lie that government was to receive a further 5 million after accounting for the 11 million.

The Deputy Minister recounted that the only time he was asked about the monies was when a deputy ranking member of Parliament made some allegations on Adom FM during the water crisis in Nsawam-Adoagyiri.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Abubakar Ibrahim | Email: [email protected]
you are here:
For property investors looking to get into the market, supply could be a good thing. Excess supply will either stagnate or depress prices.

Property is such a topical subject, and its not hard to see why. Around 70% of dwellings within Australia are owner occupied. So if to property values change, it will gravely affect the wealth of everyday Australians.

Many have already predicted that Australian property is doomed. We are in a bubble, they say, and house prices will crash like they did in the US. But the comparison between the US and Australia is a stretch, to say the least.

We have nowhere near the relaxed lending regulation that the US had. Sure, it might be easy to get a loan. But you need a 20% deposit; and you must be looking to buy a particular type of property. Only if you do this will things run smoothly.

By particular property, I mean that which the banks look on favourably. This usually wont be studios or high-rise apartments. In fact, many lenders will stay away from apartments less than 50 square metres.

Why are they so concerned about these types of property? Well, for one, they dont perform well historically. Regulation is now tighter than ever. So why would banks want to gamble on risky loans?

Banks are in fear of the what if question. What if the borrower defaults? What if we cant redeem our initial capital? Banking profits are becoming less attractive. So the last thing they need is to lose their initial investment on risky loans.

But right now, it is not the average homeowner thats finding it hard to get a loan. Rather, it is Melbourne-based developers. Developers are struggling to get traditional lenders to fork out the money. And it could be due to a supply problem.

Funds drying up

According to a survey by the Urban Development Institute of Australia, three out of five Melbourne developers are struggling to access bank funding.

The institute asked 50 developers how the current environment was affecting business. The recent policy and regulatory changes have definitely tightened lending practices. So, of course, developers are feeling anxious.

Around 60% of respondents said capital was increasingly unavailable. Traditional lenders are playing hardball when it comes to funding. And around 78% of developers expected at least one of their projects to face delays.

But when theres a will, theres a way. If developers dont want to miss out on opportunities, they might turn to other sources. Third-tier lenders might be the answer for many struggling developers.

Think of third-tier lenders as banks. They can be individuals or corporations who lend to other individuals. I know it sounds pretty much like a bank, but third-tier lenders arent under any regulatory agencies. And because of this, their lending rates are usually much higher.

Some third-tier lenders are asking developers for as much as a 50% deposit. If developers cannot put up the cash, they might not even consider lending at all.

Traditional banks usually require a 30% deposit from developers. So, as you can imagine, the 50% that some third-tier lenders are asking for seems a bit outrageous. But if the developers want to stay in the market, it is one alternative to accessing necessary funding.

And as third-tier lenders help out developers, theyre also indirectly helping out property investors. How? If a property investor decides to buy an off the plan apartment, theyre at the whim of the developers contract.

The deposit (5% in some cases) and repayments are attractive for low wage earners. Yet investors could end up buying from a developer whose funding fell through. This means the developer, for various reasons, wasnt able to fund the build.

Therefore, the investor will lose their deposit in most cases. And theyll receive no apartment either. However, if third-tier lenders can help the developer fund the project, then everyones happy. Well, at least the three parties involved, anyway.

How much supply is there really?

With developers finding it hard to obtain funding, youd think construction would slow down. But this might not actually be the case.

CoreLogic research analysts Tim Lawless and Cameron Kusher released a New Settlement Risk Report this year. The report looks at the number of units due to settle over the next six, 12, 18 and 24 months.

Across capital cities there were 92,102 new units set for completion over the next 12 months. And over the next two years this figure is expected to rise to 231,129.

So is more supply a good thing? It depends who you ask. For property investors looking to get into the market, supply could be a good thing. Excess supply will either stagnate or depress prices. Therefore, first time investors can continue to save without prices running away from them.

Yet if you ask developers, excess supply is obviously not great. The prices at which they sell new developments is reduced. And it makes it more difficult for them to obtain funding from traditional lenders.

Just this year alone there were 1,846 apartments under construction in Melbourne. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of this year. And 4,432 more apartments are expected to come onto the Melbourne market in 2017. But we will soon have to fill all these new apartments coming onto the market.

Of course, some of the 1,846 apartments are likely already paid for. Developers usually wont start building before they have sold a number of apartments already. But will aggressive developers leave a long lasting mark on Melbourne apartment prices?

The prices to come

Excess supply will place downwards pressure on prices. So Melbourne apartment values could stagnate or even drop in the near future. But its important to make a distinction here. If apartments within Melbournes CBD are oversupplied, then those prices will be adversely affected.

Houses and apartments within the inner city, or slightly further out, might not be affected at all. They most likely wont be affected because of one word: scarcity. There isnt a constant stream of construction and high rise apartments going up in inner city or suburban areas. So these areas dont experience downwards pressure like Melbourne apartments would.

As it stands, developers have two options. They can either hold off on new developments, or they can keep building, cutting margins even lower. But with the amount of new apartments going up, it does look like prices will keep rising.

Harje Ronngard,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning

PS: Most people think great deals in Aussie property are already all gone. This is the worst attitude to have. Why would you take financial advice from some self-proclaimed guru? Instead, why not do your own research. Take control of your financial future. But where do you start?

If youre interested in investing in property, check out Money Mornings property expert Callum Newmans report Australian Real Estate Game Plan. In the report, Callum reveals the eight letter word that really drives property values. Its the ultimate guide to help you start your future property plan, and its free !

To get your copy of Callums report, click here.
July 07, 2016

Libya - Part III - The Return Of The King Saif Gaddafi

by Richard Galustian

In an article in early May, I wrote "Keep in the back off your mind the potential future importance of Saif Gaddafi."

The news of the release from a Libyan prison in Zintan of Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, heir apparent to his late father, is surprising to many outsiders but it nothing to what may come next - a return in some form to power.

In Libyas 2011 Arab Spring uprising, Saif joined his father and sons on the barricades, castigating NATO-backed rebels in a bitter revolutionary war. While those rebels later cornered and killed his father Muammar and brother Moatasim in Sirte, Saif was captured alive trying to flee through the Sahara desert to Niger.

It may be his good fortune that the units capturing him were from Zintan, a mountain town south of Tripoli, who later went to war with Islamist led Libya Dawn which captured the capital in 2014. When a mass trial was held of former regime figures there, Zintan refused to hand Saif over, sparing him the brutalities inflicted on other prisoners including former intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi and his younger brother Saadi, who was filmed being beaten in a Tripoli prison cell.

Zintanis were no friends of the former regime, fighting against Gaddafis forces as one of the most effective rebel outfits during the uprising that was won by NATO bombing.

But from the few accounts of those allowed to visit him in a closely guarded compound somewhere in the town, he has been treated well, living under what amounts to house arrest, until now.

A year ago a Tripoli court operating under Libya Dawn auspices sentenced him, and either others including Al Senussi, to death. Up in Zintan, not much changed for Saif, with Zintan still digging in its heels and refusing to hand him over to Tripolis grim Al Hadba prison.

The shambolic UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) under a puppet PM who operates out of Tripoli naval base, the only part of the city they control, however appears to be responsible for the amnesty order given in April to Saif and other prisoners removing their death sentences and ordering them to be freed.

Since then, Saifs location is a mystery, but Zintans attitude to him is tempered by their alliance with former Gaddafi-supporting tribes, including those from Beni Walid and Warshefani, in their brutal battle with Libya Dawns Islamists. The Gaddafi tribe itself has a base south of Zintan around Sebha, making common cause with the Zintanis against Libya Dawn militias who control the capital and lord it over the GNA.

Before the Libya uprising, Saif criss-crossed the globe pushing an agenda for democratization he hoped would reform the country. Whether the drive was not serious, or whether it was frustrated by his hardline siblings Moatsem and Khamis, is impossible to know, but he emerges from captivity to find Libya a changed place something he predicted.

Saif al-Islam in February 2011 gave a speech foretelling of what was to come. And he was right There will be civil war in Libya  we will kill one another in the streets and all of Libya will be destroyed. We will need 40 years to reach an agreement on how to run the country, because today, everyone will want to be president, or emir, and everybody will want to run the country.

Saif knew his country would be torn apart if his father regime was forced out by the West.

The brutalities of his fathers regime have since been matched by those of some of the militias that overthrew him, most visibly the grim beating of his brother Saadi in a Tripoli jail which his captors filmed in gruesome detail.

Many of the tribes that once supported Gaddafi are now battling Islamists and their opportunistic Misratan allies of Libya Dawn, and will see in Saif a figure who can unify their demands not to be squeezed out of Libyan political life.

Opposition to him taking a political role it can be argued is softening because he was never part of the muscle of the Gaddafi regime, spending much of his time in London moving around the gilded circle of rich tycoons, academics and Tony Blairs political elite.

There is, in other words, an opening for a man who was castigated by rebels for dismissing their rebellion on Gaddafis green TV during the uprising, but who never fired a shot in anger. With his release, he might get a shot at the plan he always said he wanted; to reform his country and unite key tribes who feel marginalized by Libyas power brokers.

Pieces are falling into place for him to possibly take part in some kind of grand council. With the GNA unable to persuade either of Libyas other two governments to join it, there are calls for a wider mediation effort, with Saudi Arabia and importantly Oman, offering mediation, to be discussed in Brussels on 18th July with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

In this battered, chaotic country, with governments fighting each other and IS, Saif Gadaffi may find a new role as part of the solution rather than the problem.

In the past 24 hours since the news broke he had been freed, Libyans across the country from different towns and cities have held pictures of Saif shouting his name. To my knowledge it's the first time any pro-Gaddafi demonstrations have been evident in so many parts of the country since 2011.

It's time Saif played a role with other libertarians in and outside Libya promoting the old constitution and particularly banishing members of the former AQ affiliate, LIFG.

Rumors are abound that Saif will give a press conference very soon. That's going to be very interesting indeed if it happens.

Posted by b on July 7, 2016 at 16:32 UTC | Permalink

Comments
Valuations within the consumer defensive sector have remained elevated, trading at around a 4% premium to our fair value estimate. From our vantage point, this premium reflects a rotation into higher-quality names amid the uncertainty within the global macroeconomic landscape, along with investors' appetite for yield, the strong shareholder returns that characterize the sector, and continued optimism for merger-and-acquisition activity in the space.

The first quarter of 2016 was challenging for many consumer companies; as expected, however, defensive firms delivered more stable results than many firms on the consumer cyclical side especially clothing retailers. In general, organic revenue growth remains positive but relatively uninspiring across the consumer defensive landscape.

Although the consumer staples space tends to be fairly defensive in a more challenging market climate, global consumer spending, particularly in emerging markets, remains tepid. But beyond these pressures, we expect the pace of emerging-markets growth to exceed more developed markets in the longer term, given favourable demographic and disposable income trends.

Given that most competitively advantaged firms in the sector are relatively mature, although some are benefiting from increasing exposure to emerging markets, we think market expectations for low- to mid-single-digit revenue growth are reasonable. We don't see many firms mispriced based on unrealistic revenue growth assumptions.

Companies Need to Cut Costs to Drive Growth

In light of the persistent pressure to accelerate top-line growth, cost-cutting remains a key area of focus for consumer defensive firms looking to drive bottom-line growth. But in this ultracompetitive environment, we don't believe the bulk of the savings derived from cost-cutting activities will merely drop to the bottom line; rather, we contend that these initiatives offer an effective means by which to free up funds to support brand investments and, ultimately, a firm's competitive positioning.

But this take hasn't always aligned with the market. We still believe that the market's overly optimistic outlook regarding the long-term market expansion trajectory for Campbell Soup (CPB) has sent shares of the leading soup manufacturer to lofty heights.

However, while few moaty firms in the consumer-defensive space are screaming bargains, we see value in a handful of competitively advantaged firms that have more muted margin assumptions baked into their shares. For example, we think the market is overlooking the margin opportunity for Danone (DANOY). We see 15% upside to owning Danone's shares.

We also see long-term upside to owning higher-risk European grocers, such as Tesco and Carrefour (CA), although near-term results could be volatile. These firms still face intense price competition from discounters, alongside general market deflation, driven by lower commodity prices. These dynamics have resulted in declining sales and margins for several quarters, prompting many investors to give up hope that these firms will recover. However, traditional U.K. grocers such as Tesco are progressing toward competitive price architectures, more sustainable margins, and healthy volume increases, giving us confidence that conditions could normalize over the medium term.

Stock Picks

Sainsbury (SBRY)

Star Rating: 4 Stars

As one of the largest grocers with a well-known history in the United Kingdom, Sainsbury has enough scale to compete with other large rivals on price while also touting its areas of differentiation. Sainsbury has been one of the few traditional firms to increase market share over the past few years, and its solid online and convenience-store presence should continue to fuel growth. In addition, the firm's above-average private-label penetration, Nectar loyalty program, and consumer banking services could bolster customer loyalty and drive solid like-for-like sales growth.

However, switching costs are virtually nonexistent in the grocery industry, and it's not clear that no-moat Sainsbury's points of differentiation are strong enough to ensure that excess returns on capital can be sustained over the long term. Despite numerous challenges, Sainsbury is well positioned to capture incremental share in the faster-growing convenience store channel, in our view, and we view shares as attractive at current levels.

Tesco (TSCO)

Star Rating: 4 Stars

Given its standing as the largest food retailer in the U.K., we portend that Tesco's scale should allow the company to invest in its value proposition and ultimately maintain its leading U.K. market share position. Price cuts remain a headwind, though, as Tesco attempts to improve the competitiveness of its products relative to those of discounters. While these price cuts could continue to weigh on profits, we see signs that Tesco's shift to more everyday low prices is having a positive effect.

With Tesco's challenges so clear for all to see, we believe the market's forecast, which projects declines in like-for-like sales to persist for a decade and operating margins around 2.5%, is a bit dire. As such, we contend that Tesco's positive traffic trends, sharper prices, and solid online and convenience-store businesses are getting less credit than they deserve.
Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
The dynamism in Canadas real estate segment is yielding significant dividends for all levels of government, according to a renowned economist and industry forecaster.In an analysis published online by the Canadian Real Estate Association, Altus Group chief economist Peter Norman said that housing market activity accounted for approximately $9.3 billion in tax collections annually from 2012 to 2014. Of this, $1.2 billion went to municipal governments nationwide, $4.6 billion to provincial governments, and $3.1 billion to the federal government.In the same period, Canadian housing supported around 171,650 jobs per annum, and around $23.7 billion of ancillary spending per year stemmed from the purchases and sales of homes.Norman stated that the national funds generated by real estate markets should not be underestimated, explaining that revenue is supplemented by sales taxes on goods and services spending (appliances, lawyers, moving services, renovation products, contractors, etc.), sales taxes on newly-built or substantially renovated homes that are then sold through MLS Systems, municipal fees related to inspections, hook-ups, certifications or other matters, land transfer taxes, income and payroll taxes related to the direct jobs created and income taxes related to the indirect and induced employment generated.The contributions of British Columbia and Ontariowhich play host to Canadas two most in-demand residential marketsalong with Quebec played a central role in keeping the engines of internal revenue running, as the three provinces comprised more than 80 per cent of housing taxes.The real estate industry makes a lot of people happy: first-time buyers in their new homes, move-up buyers levering home equity into dream homes and move-down empty nesters happily planning their next stage in life. Now we can add one more group to this list: governments!
The Bank of Canada is still suffering from a lopsided gender ratio despite its publicly stated commitment to diversity, according to an internal report acquired through access-to-information laws.In a Reuters story published by The Globe and Mail, the document showed that women formed between 19 and 37 per cent of the BoCs hires in 2014, with the lowest percentage in the career stream that had a masters degree as a prerequisite.In the Banks senior professionals category, women accounted only for 26 per cent of the 110 staff in this segment as of 2015, the report revealed. Meanwhile, 9 out of the 23 existing executive leadership positions in the BoC are filled by women.It is certainly not an unusual scenario that the banks talent pipeline of women narrows at more senior career levels, according to the document, adding that more can still be done to improve gender balance at all levels.The internal report was created right after Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus appointment of Canadas first gender-equal cabinet last year. Currently, the cabinet has more women than men after a male minister stepped down last May.The BoCs situation stands in sharp contrast to recent figures from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, which showed that women comprised approximately 55 per cent of the countrys 257,034 civil servants.
Breakthroughs in drilling technology, many pioneered by Texas companies, may have finally toppled the global order in energy.

American drillers ability to squeeze oil and gas out of once impenetrable shale rock has given the United States the largest recoverable oil reserves in the world, surpassing both Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to a new study by the Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy.

Its a milestone that forecasts greater power and influence in global markets for U.S. producers, which have long been buffeted by the decisions and actions of Saudi Arabia and Russia, analysts said.

The U.S. will surpass them as not only the largest resource holder but also the largest producer of oil, said Jarand Rystad, founder and managing partner of the consultancy. Itll happen by 2020 for sure.

The independent, three-year analysis by Rystad Energy found that the nations recoverable oil reserves have climbed to 264 billion barrels  including 60 billion in Texas  overtaking Russia, with 256 billion barrels, and Saudi Arabia, with 212 billion barrels. Recoverable reserves are the oil deposits that can be extracted within the industrys financial and technological constraints.

Rystads findings are another example of the profound impact of the so-called shale revolution, which by opening vast new reserves of oil and gas, have transformed the United States from net importer to net exporter, and remade global energy markets. Less than adecade ago, analysts were predicting severe shortages and $200 a barrel oil; today the world is awash in gas and oil, a glut that has led prices to crash and turned a boom into a bust.

Oil prices fell to as low as $26 a barrel in February. U.S. crude settled at $46.60 a barrel in New York Wednesday.

U.S. producers to rebound

The oil-market crash induced a $1 trillion pullback in drilling activity over the past two years, taking scores of North American drillers with it. Continental U.S. oil production has fallen by more than 800,000 barrels a day since it peaked in April 2015, and its expected to keep dropping until prices recover further.

But those cutbacks in production, coupled with growing global demand, could leave the world undersupplied by 5 million to 10 million barrels a day by the end of the decade, Rystad said. Over time, U.S. oil producers could take advantage of the gap in energy supply and demand because theyre faster than other producers, given the right mix of time and money.

As the recent boom showed, with enough capital, land-based drillers can move in and out of shale plays with relative ease, unlike deep-water projects that take years to bring into production. That dexterity gives shale drillers influence over global supply and demand and a part to play in the oil market.

The United States has shifted to a market-maker role, said Bob Fryklund, chief upstream strategist at IHS Energy in Houston. Its a new, flexible supply.

The question now is whether private U.S. companies can become efficient enough to make money pumping those barrels out of shale formations, allowing them to earn profits at lower prices. Oil production costs have come down 35 percent since crude prices began their slide four years ago. But as crude prices creep back up, costs could rise about 10 percent, for now.

Change in the next decade

Even if shale drillers can get the prices to drive another surge in production, the nations shale advantage could start to fade by the middle of the next decade as drillers exhaust fields that can be tapped at lower costs and move to more expensive reserves.

Itll be a quick comeback for shale, Rystad said. But eventually additional volumes will be quite expensive, so they will struggle to have a lot of growth in the late 2020s.

Shale plays, oil sands and other unconventional resources make up nearly a third of the 2.1 trillion barrels still financially and technologically feasible to recover. That total figure is about 70 times the amount of crude used up each year. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and five other big oil companies together hold just 10 percent of the 2.1 trillion barrels, Rystad says.

Rystad Energys reserves estimates often appear different from official figures published by foreign governments, which vary widely in methodologies. The U.S. government, for example, has used more conservative estimates for its reserves than nations within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Rystad Energys analysis, which focused on existing fields, new discoveries and yet undiscovered fields, used a consistent methodology to compare reserves of different countries. The consultancy essentially measured reserves oil field by oil field.
Strengthening commodity prices are beginning to give a boost to activity in the Permian Basin oil patch.

Still, the Texas Permian Basin Petroleum Index continued to decline in May, posting its 18th consecutive monthly decline. The May index is down 33.8 percent from May 2015 and has fallen 44 percent since reaching its peak in November 2014. Karr Ingham, the Amarillo economist who prepares the index, said that the pace of decline slowed with the May figures.

Oilfield activity in the Permian Basin certainly has not ground completely to a halt as a result of low prices, Ingham said. The rig count has declined by about 70 percent, but that means 30 percent of what was considered the high-water mark continues to operate even in the current low-price environment.

Crude oil prices rose for the third consecutive month, with the May price averaging $43.38 a barrel. While down 22.5 percent from the May 2015 average of $55.95, it is still well above the February average of $27.08 a barrel. For the year, oil prices are averaging $34.20, down 29.5 percent from $48.52 averaged in the first five months of 2015.

Natural gas prices continued to mirror crude oil prices, with the May average of $1.75 down 34.5 percent from the May 2015 average of $2.67 per Mcf. For the year, natural gas prices are averaging $1.82 per Mcf, down 31.9 percent from the $2.67 averaged in the same period of 2015.

Ingham said strengthening prices are beginning to positively affect the rig count in the Permian Basin, but the average rig count continues to decline. The rig count averaged 121 rigs in May, down only slightly from 123 in April and down sharply from the peak 467 in November 2014. The May rig count average is 36 percent below last Mays 189, and the year-to-date average of 141 rigs is 48.4 percent below the 2015 year-to-date average of 273 rigs.

The Railroad Commission issued 334 drilling permits in May, 24.8 percent below the 444 issued last May. The commission has issued 1,603 permits so far in 2016, down 25.4 percent from the 2,149 permits the agency issued at the same time a year ago.

A few rigs were added in June as prices improved (but) the declining drilling permit and rig count numbers have yet to translate to lower levels of crude oil production in the region, Ingham said.

Crude production volumes in May and year-to-date are 7.9 percent above year-ago levels. The value of those production volumes continued to sink amid low price levels. The May value of oil production was $1.87 billion, down 16.3 percent from $2.24 billion last May. Production values so far this year are $7.77 billion, down 24.1 percent from $10.24 billion last year.

Natural gas production volumes in May were 12.7 percent above the previous May and are up 13.2 percent so far this year as compared to the first five months of 2015. Natural gas production values in May were $250.1 million, down 26.1 percent from $338.5 million last May. Values so far in 2016 are $1.38 billion, down 22.9 percent from $1.796 billion last year.

Production volumes were up even as operators reported fewer crude oil and natural gas completions. Operators reported completing 410 crude oil wells in May, down 52.7 percent from the 866 reported last May. For the year, operators have reported 2,251 oil well completions, down 59.3 percent from the 5,530 completions reported last year.

Operators in May reported seven natural gas wells, down 46.2 percent from the 13 reported last May. Operators have completed 102 natural gas wells so far this year, up 6.3 percent from the 96 reported a year ago.

Oil and gas employment in the Permian Basin continued to sink amid the continued low crude oil price environment. Oil and gas employment in May sank 11.1 percent to average 26,930 jobs compared to the May 2015 average of 30,305 jobs. The year-to-date employment average is 27,389, down a sharp 15.5 percent from the 32,395 averaged in the first five months of 2015.
DEL RIO, Texas (AP)  A South Texas man must serve life in prison for running a human smuggling ring in which some immigrants were tortured to extort money from their relatives.

Eduardo Rocha Sr. was sentenced Wednesday by a federal judge in Del Rio. Prosecutors say the 45-year-old Rocha since 2013 operated the gang-related ring from Carrizo (kuh-REE'-zuh) Springs, with ties to Mexico.
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP)  The fatal shooting of a black man in his car by a Minnesota police officer went viral Thursday, its aftermath broadcast live over Facebook by the victim's girlfriend, who cried that he had just been shot "for no apparent reason."

The shooting happened late Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights. The interim police chief in nearby St. Anthony, Jon Mangseth, said he was aware of the video but had not seen it.

In the video, the woman describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed. She says he was shot as he reached for his wallet.

The video appeared to be genuine, but The Associated Press could not immediately verify it with family members, and authorities did not confirm its authenticity.

As word of the shooting spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. They identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Castile's girlfriend said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. Diamond Reynolds told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

Gov. Mark Dayton called for the Justice Department to investigate and said the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had opened its own investigation.

Speaking to CNN early Thursday, Castile's mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Castile's exact age was not immediately clear. Relatives said he was 32. Reynolds said he was to turn 35 later this month.

Police did not release any details about the officer who fired except to say he had been placed on paid administrative leave. Reynolds described him as Asian.

It was the second fatal shooting this week, coming only days after a black 37-year-old man was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's shooting, which took place after he scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that because Castile was a black man driving in a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it."

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Dayton, a Democrat. By daybreak, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite a light rain.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Mangseth said he was "made aware there was a livestream on Facebook" but that he did not know anything about its contents.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

A school principal who worked with Castile described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks said she hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney, said as rain began to fall. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is Enough.'"
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Some government officials and politicians are ...
Sonora, CA  Thursdays at local library and rec centers are summer grocery pick-up days for scores of Tuolumne County students needing nourishment.

Last summer, the Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency (ATCAA) launched a program where kids in Tuolumne County could grab a free sandwich and snack weekdays at the county library and local rec centers. Trying something different this year, ATCAA Food Bank Director Lee Kimball says the agency refused federal monies to experiment with a riff off of their Free For Kids (FFK) grocery program already offered during the school year at local elementary schools.

Kimball says last summers program model of serving individual pre-made meals, while developed and introduced (as previously reported here) under federal program guidelines, it is more geared for urban than remote rural areas like the Mother Lode. By using locally donated money instead of federal program funds  and a set-up that works more like FFK or Meals On Wheels  she maintains that ATCAA can more effectively get food to the kids who need it most. Describing the FFK effort Kimball enthuses, I am really proud of this program because we actually started it and it redeveloped itselfkind of went viral nationwidea lot of places call it Backpack. Targeting such households as those with single parents that are also low-income, she estimates that well over a third of the children in these families are living below poverty level.

Summertime Hunger Surges

Currently, Kimball reports that children remain among her neediest demographics in the county  even more so during the summer  when the free and subsidized breakfast and lunch services are not available. This provides an additional seasonal strain on households that might only be receiving $254 a month in food stamps.

A typical scenario for FFK  and the summer program  according to Kimball, might be a single mom working part-time somewhere, such as at Walmart, or even full-time at just above minimum wage. She cant get off at 10 to get more food. So we send bags of kid-friendly, easy to prepare food that will fit in a kids backpack once a week to school. The child gets to own the bag of food, so if there is more than one, each sibling gets his or her own bag full of kid-friendly, easy-to-prepare foods like breakfast cereal with shelf-stable milk, peanut butter and canned soup, along with nutritious snacks.

How the summer program works is that, once enrolled, kids or an adult who signs for them, picks up their weekly grocery bag at the designated location they chose; either at Sonora Library or one of the participating county rec centers. The summer bags include bread and fresh fruit for added nutrition, which Kimball says are items that are too difficult to send home during the school year in a backpack. We want to ensure that these kids are getting not just calories but some stable nutrition that will get them through the summer months, she explains.

For Summer Supporters, A Shout-out

The summer food program is augmented by the Motherlode Food Project, Bimbo Bakeries, and the Farms To Families program through the California Association of Food Banks, whose foods come for the cost of transport and bags. Kimball gives all three high kudos for their support. ATCAA then fills in the gaps by purchasing some of the more expensive items such as cereal, peanut butter, tuna and the shelf milk.

Each parent can enroll their child  confidentially, of course  and so we know for sure that these are the kids whose families needs the support, Kimball continues. The forms, which require a parent or guardian signature, are available through the Food Bank office and at the food pick-up locations (listed below).

As the summer food program rolled out in mid-June, about 70 students had pre-enrolled, according to Joie Reeves, ATTCA program manager. While that number has grown to over 100, the goal is to enroll as many as possible with a target between 200 to 300, which roughly represents ten percent of what Kimball estimates as the overall need within Tuolumne County.

Down To The Nitty Gritty

Those interested in signing up for the summer program may do so at the Thursday grocery pick-up locations, which additionally offer kids activities and programs: the county library in Sonora (480 Greenley Road); and county youth centers in Groveland (18950 Highway 120), Jamestown (10540 7th St.), and Tuolumne (18636 Main St.).

The program runs through August 18, a week before schools start up again on August 24. Tentative plans for the coming school year are to incorporate the service, for those who request it, with the FFK grocery program for more seamless food delivery.

As a final note Kimball encourages interested summer program supporters to give her office a call. We are in need of volunteers for all our programs who can drive and have a clean DMV [record] and in the warehouse to help prepare these bags. For more details just call the Food Bank office at 209 533-1397, extension 228.
The White House View Photos

Sacramento, CA  A new Field Poll looks at the Presidential race and the opinions of Californians about the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian candidates.

The poll, which ended July 2, found that 50% of likely state voters support Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, 26% like Republican Donald Trump and 10% support Libertarian Gary Johnson. Additionally, 14% of voters remain undecided.

Looking at regions, Clinton has the most support in Los Angeles County, where 64% plan to vote for her, 11% for Trump, 6% for Johnson and 19% are undecided. Trump and Johnson do better in the Central Valley with 40% for Clinton, 38% for Trump, 15% for Johnson and 7% undecided.

Breaking down the state into two categories, coastal and inland, Trump leads the inland counties with 37%, Clinton 36%, Johnson 14% and undecided is 13%. In the coastal counties, Clinton has 55%, Trump 22%, Johnson 8% and undecided is 15%.

The poll also found that 53% of likely state voters have a favorable view of Clinton and 24% have a favorable view of Trump. Since the poll ended on July 2nd it remains unclear what, if any, impacts of news coverage and developments over the past week have had on either candidates favorability.
Washington D.C.  Local Congressman Tom McClintock has some strong words for Democrats who participated in a recent sit-in on the House floor June 22nd and 23rd. He calls it replacing the rule of law with the rule of the mob. McClintock calls participants, the lawless Left and says I hope the American people took a long hard look at it, and understand the threat to our democratic traditions and institutions that this conduct reveals.

Representative John Lewis of Georgia and Rep. John Larson of Connecticut were leaders among 50-60 who remained on the House floor prompting a House vote to recess early for the July 4th holiday weekend and turn off cameras. The Democrats who refused to leave during the recess used their phones to stream online to over a million individuals via Periscope and Facebook, demanding Congressional action to combat gun violence. The Associated Press reports, It was not the first time the minority in the House commandeered the floor, but was the first time social media allowed the world to see it, giving Democrats a public relations success and a megaphone. McClintock says serious damage was done that day to our orderly process of government and it cannot go unchallenged. Doing so would establish a dangerous and corrosive precedent

Pressure has built on Capitol Hill following the shootings at a gay nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people and injured 53 others. The assailant, Omar Manteen, was on a terrorist watch list from 2013 to 2014 and legally purchased a Sig Sauer .223 caliber assault rifle and a Glock 17 in June 2016. He was killed in a shootout with police.

Congressman McClintock acknowledged the Democrats are seeking to use the recent terrorist attacks as justification for making it harder for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves. He calls it A strange logic and details how Democrats continue to bring up the issue for a vote and continue to be voted down. McClintock says sorry, thats called democracy. The majority of their colleagues simply disagree with them  for some very good reasons. Some Replulicans and the NRA do not support denying certain people gun ownership, a constitutional right, without at least an effective appeal process in place first.

McClintocks full remarks are in his new blog Rules for Radicals here.
A couple formerly from Polk County is accused of ripping off their senior citizen neighbors for tens of thousands of dollars.

Frank and Linda Glarrow ran "My Florida Mobile Home Sales"

Multiple complaints that the Glarrows misused payments for mobile home sales

Linda Glarrow now facing fraud charges

George Frank Glarrow and Linda Glarrow previously ran a company called "My Florida Mobile Home Sales." The couple did much of the work for the business out of their home at Lake Juliana Landings.

Helen Mello and her daughter Linda Logan moved from Rhode Island to Auburndale and bought a mobile home through the Glarrows' business. They said the Glarrows' promised and promised that all of their government fees would be paid, but they weren't. Mello and Logan found themselves out nearly $2,000.

Mello said she finally confronted Linda Glarrow just as she was getting ready to pull out for Alabama.

"She kind of gave a little smile, shrugged her shoulders and said 'Do whatever you have to do,'" said Mello. "I wanted to punch her in the face."

Bo Howell said he had a similar experience of unpaid fees, and he tried to confront the Glarrows one last time before they left town.

"His neighbor said he was gone to lunch, so I came back an hour and a half later and he had already packed up the truck and left for Alabama and we never got anything from them," said Howell.

All total, four groups claim the Glarrows took their money but didnt pay government fees for titles, registration and taxes. In one case, the couple is accused of not paying the seller for his mobile home after getting the money from the buyer.

Investigators said the losses from all the cases combined come to about $28,000.

Authorities have since extradited Linda Glarrow from Alabama and booked into the Polk County jail on fraud charges. Prosecutors havent extradited Frank Glarrow from Alabama because he has serious health problems.

But the whole situation has left Helen Mello with a lot of heartache.

It's like somebody went into my chest and ripped the heart out and said 'you don't need this anymore.'"
Two years after Florida lawmakers legalized a low-potency strain of medical marijuana shown to treat severe epilepsy, the drug still isn't available. The situation prompted a challenge of the state's nursery licensing policy that reached a Tallahassee courtroom Wednesday.

Loop's Nursery appealing rejection of its application for license

Nurseries who were granted licenses do not have product available

Health officials fear potential precendent set by reversal



Gainesville-based Loop's Nursery is appealing the Florida Department of Health's rejection of its application to grow the marijuana strain, popularly known as 'Charlotte's Web.' The department made five grower licenses available, awarding them to the nurseries that scored highest on multi-pronged evaluations.



The winning nurseries, however, are months away from bringing product to an underserved market.



"They're not growing. They're still not growing. They don't even have greenhouse space completed," Holley Moseley said during a break at Wednesday's hearing, held at the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.



Moseley's daughter, RayAnn, suffers from severe epilepsy. Her story helped convince legislators and Gov. Rick Scott to approve the Charlotte's Web law in 2014. Now, with Loop's Nursery promising a speedy harvest should it win its appeal, Moseley thinks an exception should be granted.



"There are kids waiting for treatment that deserve treatment, and the Department of Health is fighting the nursery who's saying 'we're ready; we can do this; we can make this happen now.' That's what this is all about," Moseley said.



Health officials, however, warn that disregarding the state's licensing policy and allowing another nursery to enter the medical marijuana business could create a dangerous precedent. If voters approve Amendment 2 in the fall, which would legalize full-strength medical marijuana, the new law could then draw on the regulatory framework being applied to Charlotte's Web.



"They're locked in. They're locked in by law," Eduardo Lombard, a lawyer for the Department of Health, told the hearing officer overseeing the nursery appeal case. "Whether they like the fact they're locked in or not is not the point. The point is we are done."



The Department of Health has estimated the Charlotte's Web strain of medical marijuana should become available in Florida by September.


With concern about algae blooms from Lake Okeechobee mounting in South Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday announced plans to set up a grant program to get rid of septic tanks in communities in the affected areas.

Gov. Rick Scott: Aging septic tanks a factor in algae blooms

Proposal for next year's budget: match grants to get rid of septic tanks

Sen. Bill Nelson calls on Congress to pass water bill

Scott wants lawmakers to fund a 50/50 grant matching program for communities affected by discharges from Lake Okeechobee. The money would be used to move residents from septic tanks to sewers systems to curb pollution.

"It is up to all of us  the state, Florida's local communities and the federal government  to work together on long-term solutions to improve the quality of our water," Scott said in a news release Wednesday. "That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. "Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies, and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."

The proposal would not go to lawmakers until 2017, when they would decide on the 2017-2018 budget.

Discharges from Lake Okeechobee have been blamed for the recent growth of blue-green algal blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary and the Caloosahatchee Estuary, which run east and west of the lake.

However, Scott contends septic systems and wastewater are also a major problem for the estuaries.

Scott's proposal would help communities along the Indian River Lagoon, including the St. Lucie Estuary. It's not known if that would include Brevard County, which had its own problems with brown algae blooms in the Indian River Lagoon earlier this year.

The announcement included no mention of dealing with increased water in Lake Okeechobee by sending it south. Environmentalists and Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, said Scott and the Florida Legislature should be using Amendment 1 funds to buy land from U.S. Sugar to divert water to the south of the lake rather than east and west of the lake. The governor has avoided any discussion of doing so.



NASA took this satellite picture from Lake Okeechobee on July 2, 2016. It shows blue-green algae within the lake. The St. Lucie Canal is to the east of the lake. (NASA)

Sen. Bill Nelson: Pass bill to move Lake Okeechobee water

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, water from Lake Okeechobee historically would flow freely over the south rim of the lake and into the Everglades when the water is at a high stage. That area is now the Everglades Agricultural Area. The lake was not even connected to the St. Lucie River until the St. Lucie Canal was constructed in the 1920s.

The water that feeds Lake Okeechobee is primarily rain water that flows into the lake from several sources, including the Kissimmee River and the Kissimmee Basin in south Orange County, which provides more than 60 percent of the water into the lake.

Today, lake levels are managed by the Herbert Hoover Dike, which was constructed after a hurricane in 1928 caused the lake to flood, killing thousands.

The Corps of Engineers manages the aging dike, and the federal government has not allocated money to repair the dike. The Corps releases water into the St. Lucie Canal and the Caloosahatchee River to reduce lake levels. Last week, the Corps announced that it would reduce the amount of water released.

The South Florida Water Management District has been directed to find other places to store water, including the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes to the north. Florida Power & Light offered to take some into a cooling pond near one of its plants in Martin County.

However, the lake has taken in a large amount of rain this year.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bill Nelson made another push Wednesday to get lawmakers to pass a water bill that would allow the Army Corps of Engineers to move forward with the Central Everglades Planning Project and move more water south of Lake Okeechobee.

Congress is back in session, but its last working day before break is July 15, and it already has a mountain of legislation to go through. Congress doesn't return to Washington until Sept. 6.



This graphic shows the water system that flows into the Everglades, from the Kissimmee and Fisheating Creek Drainage Basin down into the Everglades itself. (Army Corps of Engineers)
An Uber driver was arrested on International Drive the evening of July 4 after being accused of refusing to allow a blind person's service dog to ride in his van.

Uber driver arrested after denying ride to blind man with service dog

Simon Pierre Andre Nau says he didn't know he could be arrested

Nau says he was concerned for his kids, who suffer from allergies



Simon Pierre Andre Nau, 60, of Kissimmee, was booked into Orange County Jail just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, charged with battery and failure to transport a blind person in the company of a seeing-eye dog.

Nau told us Wednesday the arrest report is one-sided.

According to an Orange County Sheriff's Office report, the rider, who was with a group of other blind people at Bahama Breeze on I-Drive, used the Uber app to summon a ride at about 10:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

When the driver, later identified as Nau, arrived, he told the man, "I don't take dogs."

I didnt expect to pick up people with dogs because in my mind I was thinking of my daughter who is allergic of dog hair, Nau said Wednesday.

The rider told Nau that the animals in the group were service dogs and not pets. According to the arrest report, the rider said Nau told him, "I don't care."

With the van's door still open, and the man standing near the front passenger door, Nau started to pull away, the report said. The van's door hit the man on his left side. Fearing he'd be dragged, the rider said he swung at Nau while yelling for him to stop the van.

Nau, however, tells a different story.

He said that when he arrived, he opened the back door to let the dog in and then noticed that it was a large group. He said the group of riders was hostile toward him from the beginning. But when he saw several service animals, he became concerned there would be a lot of dog hair in his van and worried about his children, who are allergic to dog hair.

"I have kids, and all of them are allergic to dog hair," Nau said. "My daughter has asthma and is very allergic to dog hair  she has to go to hospital.

Nau said the caller grabbed his shirt, beat him and hurt him. He only left after everyone was out of his van and at least 10 feet back. The driver stated he checked the Uber policy on the app after leaving the area and realized he is required to pick up people with service animals.

Nau said he turned around to pick up the group. When he arrived, the people told him the police were on the way, he said.

The officer told Nau he could be arrested for denying service to the person with the service dog. "I laughed. I did not know this," Nau said, before being arrested.

Uber has temporarily deactivated while it investigates. In a statement, the company said, Driver-partners are expected to accommodate riders with service animals and comply with all accessibility laws. Weve reached out to check on the rider's well-being and are grateful nobody was seriously injured.

Florida law and the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act protects those with disabilities who need a service dog from any discrimination by public accommodations. That includes transportation.


Orlando and Tampa, as well as eight other cities across the United States, were selected to get commercial air service between the United States and Havana, Cuba, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Thursday.

Orlando, Tampa are two of 10 selected cities

8 airlines expected to begin round-trip service as early as fall

4 cities in Florida: Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale

"Today we take another important step toward delivering on President Obamas promise to reengage Cuba," U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. "Restoring regular air service holds tremendous potential to reunite Cuban American families and foster education and opportunities for American businesses of all sizes."

A dozen U.S. airlines applied for the chance to operate scheduled passenger and cargo service to Havana. Collectively, the airlines applied for nearly 60 flights per day to Havana, exceeding the 20 daily flights made available by arrangement between the two governments.



Eight U.S. airlines are expected to begin round-trip service as early as this fall between the U.S. and the Cuban capital, Foxx said. It has been more than 50 years since the last scheduled air service from the U.S. to the island nation.

The U.S. cities are: Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; Los Angeles; Newark, New Jersey; New York; and four in Florida  Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa. Of the 20 daily nonstop flights allowed to Havana, 14 are from Florida, home to the largest population of Cuban-Americans.

The airlines are Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United.

Foxx said the decision won't be final until later this summer in order to provide a 30-day public comment period. Last month, the Transportation Department announced the approval of six U.S. airlines to begin service as early as this fall to other Cuban cities. The government's decision, if made final, would require that the airlines begin service within 90 days of the issue date of a final order.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Florida schools are bracing to receive lower school grades this year from the Florida Dept. of Education. DOE is set to release the new grades next week.

Florida Standards Assessment a factor in determining school grades

Test is only in its second year

School leaders feel test, calculations do not produce accurate assessment

Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins and Seminole County Superintendent Walt Griffin are cautioning parents that school grades may be lower than last year.



District leaders said those grades don't accurately represent their districts.



"It is important for our community, especially our parents and students, to know that learning gains are now more difficult to attain. If we see a decrease in school grades, it will likely be because of the new and complicated learning gains structure," said Jenkins.

The state uses student test scores to help determine school grades. The problem, according to many school leaders, is the test scores will be judged against scores from last year, which were purposely inflated because it was the first year of the test.

School leaders have long complained the new tests do not yet have a sufficient baseline to use in school grade calculations. The FSA is only in its second year.

Marion Brady, a retired teacher and education writer, says standardized testing is one of the pitfalls of education in the 21st century.



"I'm opposed to the whole concept of standardization because I think its at odds with how humans learn," said Brady, who runs the site Reality Based Learning.

"Nobody has yet invented a test that can measure quality of instruction or quality of learning, Brady said. What gets measured is something that can be counted and what can be counted are the number of answers that kids can remember, at least remember long enough to take a test."

Griffin, Seminole Countys superintendent, says the whole learning gains calculation, which is a factor in determining school grades, is complicated and confusing.

It needs to be overhauled and completely revised, Griffin said.

The Orange and Seminole school districts are part of the Central Florida Public School Boards Coalition, which also includes Brevard, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Marion, Osceola, Pasco, Polk, Sumter and Volusia counties.

The coalition says it will continue to advocate for a more accurate and improved accountability system.
RadioInk.com, an online magazine that covers the broadcasting industry, is reporting that Plainview-based High Plains Radio Network has now expanded into a third state.

Late Tuesday, RadioInk posted a story online indicating that HPRN has acquired KEYB-FM, KJOK-FM and KKRE-FM in Altus, Oklahoma, from Altus FM Inc.
Six area school districts have been awarded a total of $84,448 to bolster high-quality pre-kindergarten programs.

Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Tuesday announced that the state has awarded more than $116 million to enhance Pre-K programs at 578 school districts and charter schools throughout Texas. State lawmakers approved the grant program during last years legislative session after Gov. Greg Abbott named early education as his top legislative priority, though some pre-K advocates argued that the grants didn't go far enough.

The six school districts receiving grant funding within the Herald circulation area are Floydada, Hale Center, Kress, Olton, Petersburg and Silverton ISDs.

The funding will reach nearly half of the state's more than 1,200 school districts and charters, according to The Texas Tribune. Qualifying districts can receive up to $1,500 per student under the program, but received $734 per student. Grant awards ranged from $3,600 for smaller school districts to $9.2 million for the Houston school district, the state's largest. The awards will be paid out in two installments: the first one coming immediately and another this fall.

--Floydada ISD was awarded $28,635 in two $14,229 installments.

--Hale Center ISD will get $19,091 -- $9,487 now and $9,604 this fall.

--Kress ISD gets $6,611 in two $3,285 installments.

--Olton ISD gets $16,889, in $8,496 installments.

--Petersburg ISD was awarded $7,345 ($3,650 per installment).

--Silverton ISD will receive $5,877 ($2,920 per installment).

"Implementation of this important grant program, which remains a priority of Gov. Abbott, provides important educational support to our youngest Texans," Morath said in a statement. "By working to ensure and expand high quality prekindergarten programs across our state, we take an important step toward ensuring every child is prepared for the classroom from the very first day."

The passage of House Bill 4 during last year's legislative session was uncertain at times amid criticism from staunch conservatives  including those on a panel that advises Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick  who saw it as an expansion of state-funded pre-K.

Early education advocates also lobbed criticisms at the legislation, hoping it would emerge stronger from the legislative meat grinder. They complained that it did not mandate  or fund  full-day pre-K or fully restore a similar, $200 million grant program lawmakers gutted in 2011. (The state currently funds half-day pre-K programs for students who are needy, including those in foster care and those from military families.)

But Abbott, and the lawmakers who championed the legislation on his behalf, stressed that the grant program would incentivize high-quality programs by allocating funding to districts that met certain standards including certified teachers and a parent engagement plan. It also would require districts to report pre-K enrollment and other indicators to the state for the first time, as they do for K-12.

At one point, the program was pegged to receive $130 million. That later fell to $118 million.

It will be a challenge for school districts to turn these relatively small grants into sustained improvements in program quality and student performance, said Stephanie Rubin, CEO of Texans Care for Children, in a statement. These pre-K grants are a good step but state leaders will have to continue the $118 million per school year investment and support other community pre-K improvement efforts to see real returns for kids.

The childrens policy organization emphasized that the $734 per-student grant award falls far short of the maximum $1,500 allowed under program. Twenty-eight districts that applied for the funds were either denied the grants or ultimately chose not to participate in the grant program, the group noted in a news release.

(The Texas Tribune contributed to this article.)
Californians are saving an extraordinary amount of water, new records show, even after winter rains prompted state regulators to begin easing drought-driven restrictions on cities and towns.

The State Water Resources Control Board reported Wednesday that urban water use dropped 28.2 percent in May compared with the same period in 2013  the second-biggest monthly reduction since the states water rationing program began last year. Mays savings followed an impressive 26.1 percent reduction in April.

With state regulators relaxing water rules, however, some are doubting whether such high levels of savings will continue  and whether they even need to. Already, many water agencies have passed the states new stress test and are no longer required to save water under a policy being praised by suppliers and criticized by conservationists.

Were not out of a drought yet, said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of the conservation advocacy San Francisco Baykeeper. Once the mandatory rules are lifted, theres not as much incentive to conserve. I dont see this much of a conservation rate staying in place.

The state water board loosened its conservation policy this spring in response to complaints from local water providers who said near-normal rain and snow last winter gave a sufficient boost to supplies. The agencies said top-down regulation was no longer needed.

Agencies set targets

State regulators in June began allowing the local agencies to set their own conservation targets as long as they have enough water on hand to weather three more years of drought.

Nine of the states 10 largest water suppliers, including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and East Bay Municipal Utility District, said they met the states supply requirement and consequently do not have to commit to any savings.

The policy is a far cry from the one initiated a year ago that set specific cuts of up to 36 percent for suppliers.

The change has prompted many local water agencies to ease conservation rules for homes and businesses, from allowing outdoor watering more days of the week to eliminating caps on total water use.

2 Danville fountains

This month, East Bay water officials allowed Danville officials to turn on two park fountains popular with children. The play features at Hap Magee Ranch and Sycamore Valley Parks had been closed because they didnt recirculate the water, which officials previously had deemed wasteful.

Our water supply is in good shape, said Andrea Pook, spokeswoman for EBMUD, noting that El Nino-fueled storms filled the agencys reservoirs to average levels for the first time in years.

The district also recently stopped requiring households to use less than 1,000 gallons of water a day, a limit that yielded thousands of violations and many hefty fines.

Even without such rules in place, Pook expects customers to continue saving water at close to the 24 percent level of conservation averaged over the past year.

Turf lawns and toilets

The East Bay water agency, like many other suppliers, has encouraged customers to make physical changes to their homes, such as installing turf lawns and water-efficient toilets, that will result in a lifetime of conservation.

Some suppliers have put money into new sources of water, like desalination plants.

When we looked overall at how the state was doing in getting through the drought, the urban and suburban sector was by far doing the best and was really the most drought-resilient, said Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. A lot of local agencies have made a lot of investment in storage and supply diversification.

Substantial reductions

Through May, urban water providers had cut back 24.5 percent during the past 12 months, according to the new state numbers. Mays conservation rate was second to only July 2015, when suppliers saved 31.4 percent.

As good as the numbers have been, many say the state should not ease up on the local agencies, noting that their savings can be a boon for wildlife that enjoy healthier rivers and farmers who want fuller reservoirs.

Its a finite resource, said Choksi-Chugh, and to decide that your region should use more use is just not appropriate.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
An SUV speeding out of control smashed into a Sea Cliff mansion in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon and burst into flames, killing the driver and lighting the house on fire, officials said.

Everything you need to know to stay safe amid this heat wave

The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. when the sport utility vehicle crashed into the garage of the home on the 100 block of 32nd Avenue, said Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department.

The SUV wound up on its side and on fire, half into the structure, which suffered extensive damage. Fire crews had the blaze under control within a half-hour, according to Baxter. No one was inside the home at the time, though firefighters pulled two dogs to safety.

Moments before striking the house, the SUV slammed into a vehicle leaving a repair shop on 32nd Avenue at Clement Street, said mechanic Thomas Cheng, the owner of the shop.

I heard a bang, Cheng said. A really loud bang. Like, Bang! Like metal hitting metal.

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The vehicle leaving the repair shop was severely damaged, but the driver was not injured. The speeding SUV then struck three parked cars, knocking off their side mirrors, before continuing north on 32nd Avenue. Debris from the struck vehicles littered the street and sidewalk.

The debris field is three blocks long, said police Sgt. Matt Friedman.

The SUV then passed a home where house painter Divino Martins of Richmond was working.

It was very loud, and the car was going very, very fast, Martins said. It was crazy. It sounded like an airplane.

Moments later, the SUV failed to negotiate a curve on 32nd Avenue and slammed into the garage of the mansion. The driver, who police said appeared to be an older man, was not immediately identified. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash.

The owner of the home was at the scene and cooperating with the investigation, but declined to comment to reporters.

Steve Rubenstein and Hamed Aleaziz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com
#SPC Group Deceased factory worker's family sues bakery giant SPC chairman The family of a young worker who died while working at an affiliate factory of food and beverage giant filed a complaint against the group's chairman on charges of violating the w...
A 36-year-old woman who leaped to her death at a construction site last year should have been safely in the custody of San Francisco General Hospital, but she went missing just hours earlier while on an involuntary psychiatric hold, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the womans father.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, contends that staff members at the city-run hospital either lost or accidentally discharged Haneefah Nuriddin, who was mentally compromised when she was admitted to the facility, and seeks unspecified damages from the city for negligence.

The case raises new questions about security at San Francisco General, where administrators in conjunction with the Sheriffs Department promised reforms after a patient was found dead in a hospital stairwell after going missing for 17 days in 2013.

Were working on the premise that theres a security problem at the hospital, said attorney John Burris, who brought the lawsuit on behalf of the victims father, Benjamin Nuriddin. We know we had a person who was mentally impaired, she got lost in the process and she was found dead.

Haneefah Nuriddins body was discovered May 1, 2015, inside a construction site in Lower Pacific Heights, about 3 miles from the hospital and about 12 hours after she had been reported missing, according to the lawsuit. The city medical examiners office reported the cause of death as blunt force injuries resulting from jumping off a building.

Neither hospital officials nor leaders at the Sheriffs Department, which manages security at the medical facility, would comment on the case, citing policies not to discuss matters in litigation. The city attorneys office did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

Nuriddin had a long history of mental illness after suffering a breakdown in her mid-20s, when she worked as a model, according to her family. She had been treated numerous times at San Francisco General.

On April 30, 2015, the lawsuit states, Nuriddin was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold at the hospital under section 5150 of the state Welfare and Institutions Code, meaning she was deemed dangerous, suicidal or gravely disabled.

She was reported missing that evening, the suit says, after being transported from the psychiatric unit to an appointment elsewhere on the property. Burris said it was not clear whether Nuriddin had slipped out of hospital custody or been improperly discharged by staff.

The fact that they were looking for her suggests that she shouldnt have been discharged, he said. And given her mental state, she shouldnt have been discharged.

The hospital came under heavy criticism in 2013 when Lynne Spalding, 57, walked out of her room despite being under close observation. Spalding, who had been treated for a bladder infection at the hospital, was found dead in a nearby stairwell more than two weeks later, after a search was called off.

Spaldings body was finally found during a routine stairwell check. That discovery came four days after a doctor reported to a nurse that he had seen a woman slumped in a stairwell. No one searched for her at that time, however.

A federal investigation of Spaldings death found systemic failures in hospital procedures, which hospital officials and sheriffs deputies pledged to address.

An autopsy found Spalding died of dehydration and liver problems related to alcoholism. The medical examiners office said she had been dead several days, but could not tell exactly how long. San Francisco agreed to pay nearly all of a $3 million settlement with Spaldings family.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
Plans to rezone a property that Tesla is eyeing for its first San Antonio showroom got a thumbs-up from the city Zoning Commission on Tuesday.

The commission approved the request to rezone the 1.4-acre property, at 23011 Interstate 10, to allow for vehicle sales. City Council will consider the request on August 4.

Tesla filed an inquiry with the city in April asking if the property could be used as an electric vehicle showroom and service station under its current zoning. But its unclear whether Tesla is involved with this application for a zoning change.

The application was submitted by the propertys current owner, Unobtanium Property Solutions LLC, a company led by local tech pioneer David Monroe. Unobtanium is selling it to local commercial real estate firm Concord Properties, which plans to lease it to a tenant, said Ken Brown, an attorney at Brown & Ortiz who is representing the firm. He said he didnt know the identity of the tenant.

Reached by phone, Concord Properties Vice President Chuck Reger said he couldnt discuss the property because of a confidentiality agreement. David Monroe didnt respond to a request for comment.

On Tuesday, Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said in an email the company plans to have a presence in San Antonio and (is) currently evaluating different locations. She didnt answer a question about whether it is considering the 23011 Interstate 10 site.

The property includes a 12,700 square-foot building that would be used as an automotive showroom if the rezoning is approved, according to plans submitted to the city by Unobtanium Property Solutions.
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KaloBios Pharmaceuticals took further steps Thursday to cut ties with ousted CEO Martin Shkreli, whos now facing fraud charges, by announcing plans to buy back his shares and and significantly reduce his shareholder power.

The small Brisbane biotechnology company, which emerged from bankruptcy last week, signed an agreement with Shkreli, a onetime hedge fund manager who earned international notoriety last fall after he raised price of an antiparasitic drug by more than 5,000 percent.

That drug was produced by Turing Pharmaceuticals, which Shkreli founded. He bought KaloBios in November and became CEO.

KaloBios fired Shkreli in December, after his arrest on securities fraud charges unrelated to KaloBios or Turing, and filed for bankruptcy.

As a condition of the plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, Shkrelis holdings in the company shrank from 47 percent to about 14 percent.

As part of Thursdays deal, KaloBios has the right to repurchase any or all of Shkrelis shares for six months beginning 61 days after June 30, the date the company emerged from bankruptcy.

This agreement is another step in the companys pursuit of revitalizing its reputation, said Dr. Cameron Durrant, who took over as KaloBios chairman in January and became its CEO in March.

Durrant said the agreement, combined with the companys emergence from bankruptcy, helps to hit the reset button and move forward.

The 33-year-old Shkreli, dubbed pharma bro and Americas most hated man for his brazen attitude in the face of criticism, has denied the allegations of securities fraud.

But he is known for his colorful public persona. Since last fall, he bought the lone copy of an album by Wu-Tang Clan, a hip-hop group, for $2 million and has inspired the development of a musical in New York.

KaloBios has taken steps to distance itself from its former CEO, whose tenure Durrant recently described as brief but disastrous.

In that period, Shkreli raised concerns by telling investors he planned to raise the price of a drug that the company bought the rights to develop that would treat the insect-borne Chagas disease. This did not happen, and the drug has not been federally approved yet.

KaloBios in April announced plans for a clearer pricing model and said it would refuse to engage in price gouging.

Thursdays deal also restricts Shkreli from selling his stock to any third party for less than $2.50 per share, or a 10 percent discount to the volume-weighted average price in the prior two weeks.

He also loses the right to nominate directors to the companys board.

In a separate agreement, KaloBios said it had settled class-action litigation associated with Shkrelis tenure.

Victoria Colliver is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vcolliver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @vcolliver
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Whataburger, Taco Bell and two of the nations largest convenience store chains are among several companies planning to bring new locations to the San Antonio area in the coming months.

7-Eleven and Circle K, whose parent companies are currently in a bidding war to purchase San Antonio-based CST Brands Inc., are making headway on their targets home turf. CST operates the Corner Store brand of convenience stores.

Circle K has submitted plans to build a 5,811-square-foot convenience store and gas station at 3724 Thousand Oaks Drive on the citys North East side, across the street from a Corner Store, according to records from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Construction is expected to begin Dec. 1 and end March 1.

7-Eleven, meanwhile, plans to spend $800,000 to finish out an existing building and construct a fuel station canopy at 5738 Babcock Road on the citys North West side. Construction is estimated to last from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1.

The foreign owners of 7-Eleven and Canadas Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., Circle Ks parent company, have each entered bids for CST, Reuters reported in June. A consortium of private equity firms including Blackstone Group and Apollo Capital Management also offered to buy CST. CST is reportedly considering another round of offers before deciding whether to sell.

CST isnt slowing growth as it makes that decision: the company this month filed plans to begin construction on a $1.5 million convenience store and gas station at 13794 Potranco Road in December.

Here are seven other new retail projects slated for construction in the San Antonio area within the next few months, according to recently filed records at the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records:

Click through the slideshow above for more on when and where businesses are opening in San Antonio.

Fast-food chain Taco Bell plans to spend $1.15 million to build two restaurants in San Antonio by January: one at 722 Seguin St. on the citys East Side and another at Potranco Road on the citys far West side. The chain submitted plans earlier this month to bring its more upscale Cantina concept to downtown San Antonio.

San Antonio-based burger chain Whataburger plans to build a $750,000 location in Windcrest, but records do not give an exact address. Construction is slated to begin in August and end in November.

Sandwich chain Jimmy Johns plans to build out a space in the Bandera Court Shopping Center at 731 Bandera Road on the citys North West side for its 20th San Antonio-area store. Construction is expected to cost $200,000 and last from August to October.

Bushs Chicken, an Austin-based chain of fried chicken restaurants, expects to begin construction on a 3,000-square-foot restaurant at the intersection of Loop 1604 and Hausman Road on the citys North West side, near the University of Texas at San Antonio main campus. Construction will cost an estimated $400,000 and last from September to January.

Potbelly Sandwich Shop plans to add a third San Antonio-area location at the Forum Shopping Center on the citys North East side. A $283,000 renovation on an existing tenant space is expected to wrap up by December.

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc., a fabrics and crafts store, plans to set up shop in a former Hancock Fabrics store at 3142 SE Military Drive. The company plans to begin a $126,000 renovation in August and finish by September.

Have a scoop about local retail or store openings? Questions, complaints, tips? Email me or follow me on Twitter at @JFreports.
The San Antonio owner of organic juice bar One Lucky Duck is ditching the name and opening a new local eatery after authorities charged company founder and celebrity vegan chef Sarma Melngailis, his sister, with multiple counts of fraud.

Melngailis and her husband Anthony Strangis were captured at a Fairfield Inn hotel in Sevierville, Tennessee, May 10 after Strangis used his real name and credit card information to order pizza and chicken wings from Dominos Pizza. The couple is accused of blowing about $2 million in mostly stolen money on casinos, travel, luxury watches and Uber rides.
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About 2,000 angry protesters marched through downtown Oakland, blocking traffic on Interstate 880 and pouring red paint on the front door of an Oakland police station in solidarity with two black men fatally shot by police officers this week in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Cars were backed up for hundreds of yards in both directions on the elevated downtown freeway after hundreds of protesters swarmed up the on-ramps around 8:45 p.m. and began dancing, playing music and spray-painting slogans on the pavement. Other protesters climbed to the top of a semitrailer that was stalled in the huge traffic jam.

Burn it to the ground, one protester wrote in black spray paint in the middle of the freeway.

Another group of protesters stood facing a long line of helmeted Oakland officers at Sixth Street and Broadway in a tense, quiet standoff.

More for you Manifesto found at the home of Dallas gunman

The march through downtown Oakland and the freeway protest, which followed an hour-long rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza, was loud, emotional and generally peaceful. One protester was being treated for a minor medical condition.

No justice, no peace, no racist police, the crowd hollered as it proceeded south on Broadway to the police station at Seventh Street, where they encircled the front door and threw what appeared to be red paint on it. At some point later, the doors were also smashed. There were no arrests. An unidentified male freeway protester was being treated for a seizure, authorities said.

During the freeway blockage, hundreds of stalled motorists sat in their cars with their windows rolled up. Others got out and walked around. A dozen police on motorcycles drove onto the freeway, but, after seeing that they were outnumbered by hundreds of protesters, turned around and left.

One protester pointed a small projector at the side of a stalled white truck and displayed images of the two slain men from Louisiana and Minnesota. Other protesters lit a small bonfire in the middle of the roadway and tossed empty cardboard boxes into it.

Another protester, Antoinette Young of Oakland, said she favored taking stronger action.

I think black people need to stop marching and begging, she said. It hasnt gotten us anywhere. Were being slaughtered like its a sport.

I got to get home, said Luis Andrane, a stuck motorist from Oakland. Im hungry and tired.

Another stalled motorist, Megan Chunn of Alameda, sat in her car and said she supported the demonstration.

I think its very much warranted, she said. You can feel the energy in the air.

Brothers Miles and Avery Vonherrmann were on their way to pick up their mother at the San Jose airport when they got caught in the protest.

We support the cause, Avery Vonherrmann said. We just dont understand what it has to do with traffic.

Around 10 p.m., a handful of cars managed to maneuver free of the jam and continue southbound before a group of protesters rushed to set up another blockade at the spot and prevent any more movement of traffic.

As the freeway blockage neared the three-hour mark, some protesters were sitting cross-legged on the roadway and others were dancing, shouting and linking arms. A large number of motorists trapped in the backup said they supported the demonstration.

Its a real thing that theyre protesting, said Chris Owens, who was trying to get to his San Leandro home. You cant just summarily execute people.

A line of police officers walked toward protesters blocking the southbound lanes of I-880 shortly before midnight. Most of the demonstrators scattered as police advanced. Multiple officers pushed protesters back and cleared the southbound lanes, but protestors remained in the road in the northbound lanes.

The protest began around 7 p.m. with speeches before a small crowd in the plaza, where speakers called for justice and police accountability.

This has to stop, said Ike Pinkston, one of the San Francisco hunger strikers who had fasted during the spring in an attempt to oust San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr. Im speechless. Ive watched officers manhandle us. Its all on video. This is terrible. Man, they cant keep killing us like this.

The crowd called aloud the names of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the two slain men, and also shouted, Accountability now!

Another speaker, the uncle of slain BART passenger Oscar Grant, called on the crowd to remember that the power lies with us.

We can bring a change as we come out in numbers to make that happen, said Cephus Uncle Bobby Johnson Jr., the uncle of the man shot and killed by a BART police officer at the Fruitvale Station in 2009.

The event, billed as the Shut It Down Rally & Action, was sponsored by the organizations Live Free and Anti-Police-Terror Project.

The Rev. Ben McBride of the Oakland Leadership Center, lead organizer for the rally, said his daughters are afraid that the police are going to kill their father.

This is not about anybody putting together a riot or inciting violence, he added. We participate in nonviolent protest and direct action.

Sterling, 37, was killed Tuesday in a scuffle with two police officers in Baton Rouge, La. Video footage showed Sterling was pinned to the ground by officers when he was shot. Castile, 32, was shot Wednesday during a traffic stop in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, Minn.

For #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastile, and for all the women trafficked and exploited by the rapists and murderers in Oakland Police Department and across the Bay Area, said the rally organizers post on social media. For all who are displaced from their neighborhoods and robbed of opportunity. We march. We act. We Shut It Down.

Around 8 p.m., the crowd grew several times larger and McBride announced, Lets take the intersection right now  lets go!

The crowd moved quickly south on Broadway, waving signs and banners.

Police, stop killing our children, police, stop sexually exploiting our young people, McBride hollered. Until black lives matter, there will be no peace in these streets.

Chronicle staff writer Steve Rubenstein contributed to this story.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @JennaJourno
Napa police officers subdued a mentally unstable woman who repeatedly asked officers to shoot her during a nearly two-hour standoff Wednesday evening  the same day San Francisco police officers peacefully resolved a similar situation with an armed man asking officers to kill him.

The Napa incident started around 5:50 p.m. when officers responded to the 3800 block of Rohlffs Way on reports of a trespasser, said Napa Police Capt. Jennifer Gonzales.

Gonzales said the caller knew the unwanted guest, but the relationship between the two was not clear. The trespassers name was not released because she was not arrested.

The caller told a police dispatcher the woman, 33, had alcoholic drinks with her, had a history of violence and was known to possess weapons. When patrol officers trained in crisis intervention arrived, they found the woman cutting herself with scissors, Gonzales said.

Police asked her to drop the scissors, but the woman refused. Instead, Gonzales said, she asked officers to shoot her.

After nearly two hours of negotiations, the woman started to lunge in a threatening manner toward officers, prompting them to shoot her with rubber bullets, officials said. When those projectiles didnt work, officers used a stun gun to make the woman drop the scissors, Gonzales said.

Officers seized the scissors and took the woman into custody around 7:45 p.m. Authorities gave her medical and mental health treatment. She will not face any charges, Gonzales said.

All of our officers have been trained to engage with people in crisis, she said. Our priority was to get her treatment.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Think twice before you ask a chef his favorite restaurant run by a friend  at least when that chef is San Antonio's own John Russ of Luke.

"That question is similar to asking 'who is your best friend?' because we (chefs) equate food with love. Whom we love the most is usually the one that makes our favorite foods," Russ recently told Uproxx writer Ariel Woodruff.
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Instagram is providing a look into the Hamptons rager that reportedly resulted in an Airbnb rental home littered with "used condoms" and awash in alcohol last weekend, prompting a pending $1 million lawsuit.

The New York Post's Page Six reported Brett Barna, a 31-year-old hedge fund manager, is about to be sued by the owner of a 9-bedroom Airbnb rental, touted as a $20 million, 'true masterpiece' of the Hamptons. The home was allegedly rented  and wrecked by Barna and his throngs of Champagne-spraying revelers  during a raucous, "Wolf of Wall Street"-style shindig on July 3.

RELATED: Lake Travis boat parties flood social media as 2016 summer revelers take over

Barna worked as a portfolio manager at Louis Bacon's Moore Capital Management, according to Page Six. The anonymous home owner said Barna name-dropped his position and ties to Bacon when moving through the process of acquiring the $27,000 rental to host #Sprayathon, an all-day bacchanal supposedly benefiting charity, with a live playlist by rapper Ace Hood, the site reported.

The owner claims he was under the assumption that the party would be for 50 people, because that's what Barna promised under their rental agreement.

"He said there would be 50 people at the event and it was for animal rescue," the owner said in the Page Six interview. "But the only animals there were the people, a thousand of them."

A source told the site #Sprayathon raised $10,000 for Last Chance Animal Rescue and that cleaners were contracted to leave the house in "good condition."

RELATED: The rich kids of Instagram take Spring Break 2016

The owner painted a contrasting scene in his conversation with Page Six.

"They drowned themselves in Champagne, they had midgets they threw in the pool, they broke into the house, trashed the furniture, art was stolen, we found used condoms," the owner said. "So many people were there that the concrete around the pool crumbled and fell into the water. It was like 'Jersey Shore" meets a frat party."

He continued, saying he is waiting to serve Barna with a "massive lawsuit."

The party boy has a reputation of hosting problematic functions. According to the site, last year's #Sprayathon resulted in a brush fire started by party goers at the home of actor Kevin Sorbo.

On Thursday, CNBC reported Barna was fired by Moore Capital Management for his wild weekend escapades.

RELATED: San Antonio native, Los Angeles Laker Jordan Clarkson 'casually dating' Kendall Jenner

"Mr. [Brett] Barna's personal judgement was inconsistent with the firm's values," the company said in a statement to the site. "He is no longer employed by Moore Capital Management."

"Brett was last seen on Sunday chugging Champagne with two midgets," the homeowner told Page Six.

Click through the gallery above for a peek into the debauchery that got Barna fired and at the center of a possible lawsuit.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
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Albany

After a legislative session in which reducing outside income for lawmakers generated talk but no action, income disclosure forms for member of the Senate and Assembly were posted online earlier this week by the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

Senate Republican leader John Flanagan's form said he received between $100,000 and $150,000 in 2015 from the Long Island law firm where he served "of counsel" for several years. Upon taking over the leadership post in early May 2015 following the arrest of former GOP leader Dean Skelos, Flanagan said he was renouncing his legal practice.

"I believe that all my energies are going to be devoted to this job on behalf of my colleagues and on behalf of the people of the state of New York," he said at the time.

Even so, Flanagan's legal earnings last year were within the same range he had reported for the previous three years. (JCOPE requires filers provide ranges of income or asset values, not specific sums.)

The 2015 form said Flanagan "did not provide direct services in 2015" but "provides indirect services to the law firm in the areas of corporate, trusts, tax certiorari, wills and estates, land use and planning which are the principal subject areas of the law firm's practice."

On Wednesday, Flanagan spokesman Scott Reif said the lawmaker had not performed any private legal work since taking the leadership position, and that his 2016 firm would show no income from the firm.

Sen. Jeff Klein, leader of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference, left his own law firm in March 2015. Klein took the extra step of providing specific numbers for his income, which included $41,000 from the firm and another $10,000 in legal fees from two catering companies.

The Assembly's Democratic Speaker Carl Heastie reported no outside income.

In the Capital Region, Sen. George Amedore, R-Rotterdam, reported between $206,000 and $325,000 from construction and real estate entities, principally the Amedore Group Inc.

Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Schenectady, reported taking in between $20,000 to $50,000 in investment income. The 83-year-old is not seeking another term.

Sen. Kathy Marchione, R-Halfmoon, reported receiving between $50,000 and $75,000 in pension and minimal investment income.

Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Bethlehem, disclosed earning between $20,000 and $50,000 from his law practice.

In the Assembly, Democrat Phil Steck was the top earner in the regional delegation, disclosing between $100,000 and $150,000 in income from his law firm.

Cohoes Democrat John T. McDonald pulled in between $75,000 and $100,000 as a co-owner of Marra's Pharmacy.

Democrat Carrie Woerner reported between $20,000 and $50,000 from her work for MeetMax Conference Software, a division of The Wall Street Transcript.
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STAMFORD  State labor officials found a 13-year-old boy doing electrical work Thursday at the New School on Strawberry Hill Avenue.

Nancy Steffens, spokeswoman for the Department of Labors Wage and Workplace Standards Division, learned of the violation on Thursday and immediately sent inspectors to the school, where they found the boy working for D.F. McDermott, an electrical contractor out of Ansonia.

Steffens said the inspectors told the boy he was not allowed to be working, but he continued anyway. Inspectors then called Stamford police, who arrived and found the child helping his father with electrical work, Sgt. Carl Strate said.

Police removed the boy and his father from the construction area, but they did not arrest anyone.

There was no criminal violation of risk of injury under our statutes, Strate said. There was no criminality at all.

The owner of the electrical company, David McDermott, did not immediately return a request for comment. Steffens said the labor department has no record of violations from the firm.

The school, once home to Sacred Heart Academy, is an extension of Rogers Magnet Elementary and will open in September for kindergarten and first grade. The entire expansion is estimated to cost $77 million, to be funded partly by the state.

City Engineer Lou Casolo, whose office manages the project, said the contractor was hired by the citys Information Technology Department to install digital whiteboards, also known by the brand name Smart Board.

It was a plug-and-play operation, from my understanding, Casolo said.

It was not immediately clear how long the boy had been working on the site. All of the work will be reviewed, Casolo said.

Sharon Beadle, a spokeswoman for Stamford Public Schools, released a short statement on the incident.

While the work being performed at 200 Strawberry Hill is not under the jurisdiction of the school district, we were informed of the situation this afternoon, she wrote Thursday. We are confident that the proper measures are being taken to remedy the situation. Of course, the safety of all children is a top concern for the school district.

Elizabeth Carlson, an assistant to Mayor David Martin, said the case is being handled by the labor department and city officials would not comment.

The New England Regional Council of Carpenters called the incident deplorable.

For a kid in the richest city in Connecticut, in a first-world country, he should not be living a third-world nightmare, said Ted Duarte, a senior organizer for the union. I guess the thinking is if its for kids, it should be built by kids.

Duarte addressed the dangers of electrical work.

The craft of the electrician is probably the most dangerous there is because working with electricity can kill you, he said. Is this kid trained?

Steffens agreed.

Todays situation was very dangerous, she said, noting that electricity is not one of the very limited number of occupations teenagers can undertake.

Minors are allowed to work in landscaping, general yard work and brush painting, according to the labor department. But anyone under 18 is prohibited from working with electrical tools, circuits or equipment.

With summertime being here and students being out of school, its really important to remember that young people are not be on work sites like that, Steffens said.

Staff writer John Nickerson contributed to this report.

noliveira@hearstmediact.com, 203-964-2265, @olivnelson
BRIDGEPORT  A suspect in a fatal Bridgeport hit-and-run was in custody in Maryland on Thursday, awaiting extradition.

Lorenzo Anthony Doke, 33, whose last known address was in Big Rapids, Mich., was arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service on a warrant obtained by Bridgeport police, Detective Robert Winkler said. Upon his return to Connecticut, Doke is to be formally be charged with first-degree manslaughter and evading responsibility in the operation of a motor vehicle. He is being held on a $400,000 bond.

Doke was initially found Sunday at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, but could not be arrested there with the Connecticut warrant. The Port Authority Police Department detained him long enough for Bridgeport officers to interrogate him, at which time he confessed to pushing the victim out of his tractor-trailer on Wordin Avenue the day before, and running him over, police said.

The PAPD had no New York criminal charges on Doke, so he had to be released, Winkler said. We subsequently prepared an (extraditable) arrest warrant, had a prosecutor review it and had a Connecticut Judge sign it.

More for you Fatal Bridgeport hit and run ruled a homicide

Ricardo Rose, 56, of Prospect Avenue in Bridgeport, was killed Saturday in what police said was a drug deal gone bad. Bridgeport Police Lt. Christopher LaMaine said the incident took place after the truck driver drove around the Wordin Avenue neighborhood, looking for crack cocaine. The driver eventually found Rose, who agreed to sell him crack cocaine obtained from a third party, LaMaine said.

This suspect has no connection to Bridgeport, LaMaine said. He happened upon the victim and asked if you can get me some crack. 

After the drugs were secured and the driver had smoked some of the crack, he revealed he had no money to pay for it, LaMaine said. An altercation followed and, as the driver pushed Rose from the truck, the victim fell under the wheels and was run over, LaMaine said.

The suspect was not arrested on Sunday because local police departments cant take suspects across state lines without an extraditable arrest warrant, Winkler said.

The (Port Authority Police) had no New York criminal charges on Doke, so he had to be released, he said. We subsequently prepared an arrest warrant, had a prosecutor review it and had a Connecticut judge sign it. We kept eyes on Doke until the warrant was signed and immediately alerted the United States Marshals Service, who quickly took him into custody.
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Inexperienced negotiators may have squandered $700,000 when a computer-services contractor walked away from a $3.7 million job upgrading an online system in the state Workers Compensation Commission.

The $700,000  representing 20 percent of the contract  was kept by the Houston-based vendor when the project was canceled by the state Department of Administrative Services, which reported that an existing case-management system used by other state agencies could have been used instead, according to a report issued Thursday by the State Auditors of Public Accounts.

After the payment was made, the vendor required the state to provide test cases and other work that appeared to have been negotiated in the contract price, said the audit report. The vendor requested additional amounts, yet there were questions about whether certain deliverables were met.

The Department of Administrative Services, which was at least partially responsible for the lack of oversight, froze the contract in December of last year and Attorney General George Jepsens office is negotiating for restitution of some or all of the $700,000 with Metex Inc.

Jaclyn Falkowski, communications director for Jepsen, declined to reveal details of the negotiations with Metex.

Our office is in discussions with the counsel for the company about this matter, she said.

Auditors John Geragosian and Robert M. Ward reported that an early payment requirement in the agreement should have been a red flag, but the inexperienced negotiators let the language stay in the contract.

The 16-member Workers Compensation Commission heads a $19 million fund available to help pay claims for injured workers.

In many ways its like one hand not knowing what the other is doing, Geragosian said in a Thursday interview. Were always concerned that agencies not enter into contracts until they know exactly what they are getting.

The audit report said that there was no explanation why the compensation commission entered into a contract for work that could have been performed in-house.

In a statement accompanying the audit, the Workers Compensation Commission denied that its contracting process was flawed.

But the auditors, in the final word, said there was a general lack of documentation on the whole issue.

We could not confirm that the most qualified vendor was selected or that the final determination would have remained the same considering the questions that arose regarding the evaluation of the vendors, Geragosian and Ward reported.

kdixon@ctpost.com;
WILTON  After 40 years of fighting fires, veteran firefighter Kevin Plank is no stranger to hard work.

After all, Plank spent 29 years in Danbury holding various ranks, from volunteer to firefighter and all the way up to lieutenant. From there, he came to Wilton in 2008 as a line firefighter and, with 32 years of service already under his belt, he elected to re-enter the Connecticut Fire Academy as a recruit and  as Deputy Chief Mark Amatrudo pointed out  he showed the entire class of young guys how its done.

Because of his work ethic and a never-say-never attitude, the Wilton Fire Department promoted Plank to deputy fire marshal on Tuesday morning.

Getting compliance with codes is hard work. Its not on any owners priority list. Inventory, profits and payroll are probably the order of the day. Ive seen fire marshals like him get compliance with easy explanations and good reasoning, said Fire Chief Ronald Kanterman on why Plank is the most qualified man for the position.

While Plank may be an amiable guy, Kanterman warns not to mistake his kindness for weakness.

Its the old speak softly and carry a big stick. The big stick in this case is the CT Fire Code. Hes a reasonable and intelligent guy. All of this aside, dont mistake his kindness for not having to follow the fire safety code. He will carry out his sworn duties as required, said Kanterman.

Not only did Kanterman commend Plank on what he called his great personal mannerism, but he also pointed to the Planks extensive resume holds as reason enough for the promotion.

Plank holds a number of different certifications, including Fire Officer I and II, Safety Officer, Hazardous Materials Technician, Emergency Medical Technician, Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention and Fire Instructor I.

Plank is also a decorated firefighter.

Not only was he distinguished by Danbury as the Firefighter of the Year, but he was also honored with an Award for Bravery, Honorable Service Award, EMS Award and three Unit Citations.

Plank began his training for deputy fire marshal back in February, and since then he has participated in five grueling months of fire code training, fire and arson investigation training and hazardous materials code school.

It was pretty tedious, Plank admitted. When looking up codes, every code leads you to some other code, and that code leads you to another code, so it was one big troop.

In addition to attending classes for three days a week for five months, Plank also worked at the fire department during the rest of the workweek, not to mention his duties at home as both a husband, a father and grandfather.

While hes looking forward to his new role in the department, Plank said that this promotion will certainly have its challenges as well.

When youre a firefighter, everybody wants to see you and youre their heroes, said Plank. But, when youre in the fire marshals office, youre costing people money by making them fix things that dont meet code, so people definitely look at you differently.

These negatives come with their positive counterparts though, said Plank. Plank mentioned that hes especially looking forward to teaching young kids about fire safety in his new capacity.

Additionally, the new deputy fire marshal also wants to initiate a program geared towards teaching elderly citizens how to ensure fire safety around their homes.

ptomlinson@hearstmediact.com; (203) 354-1046; Tomlinson_PE
WESTPORT  When Rebecca Ellsley purchased her home in 2000, it was a 1,400-square-foot mashup of three log cabins. It had one true bedroom, one bathroom, a kitchen in disrepair and what she thought was the head of blonde moose hanging over the fireplace.

Sixteen years later, a lot has changed on the property at 4 Partrick Lane in Westport, dubbed Moose Lodge as indicated by a 16-foot sign on the homes exterior, but the rustic feel of an Adirondack cabin and the head above the fireplace remain.

A funny story, Ive never actually seen a moose, Ellsley said. ... and I later found out that head is actually a caribou, but Id already named the house Moose Lodge so it stuck.

Ellsley, who is also the listing agent for the property through Higgins Group, listed the home  which she lovingly refers to as camp  for $3 million earlier this year. After almost two decades of expanding and restoring the home, shes run out of projects and is ready for something new. But with experience in design  and having grown up in the only other log cabin in Westport  the property is truly a step into the mountains of the Adirondacks.

Upon moving in, Ellsley immediately set to work restoring the original cabins, which were transported from the Adirondacks park in upstate New York in 1910. Though Ellsley said its unclear why, she said its believed the cabins were transported to be used by the Stonyboat Arts Society in Westport.

Within the first year, Ellsley restored the original cabins, including the rare vertical log room, and added special insulation between the logs. She restored the kitchen, and expanded the house to add additional bedrooms and formal living spaces. Now totaling nearly 6,000 square feet, the home is still surprisingly cozy. The property is one of just two log cabins in Westport. Ellsleys parents live in the other one where she grew up.

This is allowing you to be in the Adirondacks and in downtown Westport at the same time," Ellsley said.

Though the exterior is now covered in a wavy paneling so the original part of the home matches the expansions, inside visitors can still see the Lincoln Log-style construction and exposed log beams. Every detail of the interior  particularly in the expansion where creating a cohesive feel was important to Ellsley  was carefully selected. In the guest bathroom, for example, she chose special tiles depicting moose, fish and other animals. The twig tiling, bear light and fish sink complete the rustic room.

Throughout the home, Ellsley selected antler chandeliers, river rock flooring and engraved furniture to match. Carved wood bear cubs hold up her mattress and climb up the TV stand. In the dining room, the tables and chairs were brought from a camp in the Adirondacks, and the stair railings are all twig style to complete the woodsy feel of the home. Because the furniture is so specific to the home, Ellsley said she might be willing to sell the property with many of the furnishings.

I wanted to keep the Adirondack style, Ellsley said. Its not country western, were in New England. And I love bringing the outdoors in and I wanted to keep the camp feeling. I know its not for everyone, but I hope someone will love this place as much as I do.

Attached to the home is what Ellsley calls the Party Barn. The space, which has a full second kitchen, could be used as a studio space, in-law apartment, home office or an actual party barn. A second floor deck that runs between the loft in the party barn and the master bedroom overlooks the spacious backyard where an old wooden swing hangs from a large tree. There, Ellsley has hosted a live band on more than one occasion for parties with 80 to 100 guests.

I could see anyone living here, a family, a young couple, Ellsley said. But they better like the holidays and they better like to party because youll always have people here. Its a place people love to visit, especially in the winter.

KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt
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FAIRFIELD  Residents of Bridgeports Black Rock neighborhood are raging over tax hikes in the citys budget and some see a solution: Get out of Bridgeport and join Fairfield.

But the path is unclear for secession  dubbed Brexit in keeping with the British referendum  although in Nutmeg land the Br in Brexit stands for Bridgeport.

Fairfield officials, meanwhile, seem less than lukewarm about the idea.

I think that would be a very complicated transaction, First Selectman Mike Tetreau said. I realize that the neighborhood  from what Ive read in the paper  is concerned about the taxes in Bridgeport. However, Im not sure what the benefit to the town of Fairfield would be at the moment. No one has approached the town to test feasibility officially anyway.

Taxation with representation

On July 1, a Facebook page titled, Petition: Should Black Rock Return to Being Part of Fairfield? popped up and has 84 likes so far. The founder behind the page is Realtor Diane Rello, a Black Rock resident since 2004 who was among about 450 at Bridgeports City Council meeting on Tuesday upset over the tax hikes.

The only solution I see is to completely secede from Bridgeport and annex ourselves back to Fairfield, she said. I dont think that we can get a tax abatement at all.

Early settlers arrived in the Black Rock area in 1644, Fairfield bought some remaining land from a group of Native Americans in 1681 and the neighborhood joined Bridgeport in 1870, according to the Bridgeport Librarys History Center website. Bridgeport itself was chartered in 1836, according to the citys website.

Black Rock includes two full census tracts with a population of 9,073 and 4,544 houses, as of the 2010 U.S. Census. The neighborhood also incorporates part of a third tract that has a total population of 1,297 and 393 houses, as of 2010.

Rello is hoping to use the page to gauge interest and then create an official petition for the neighborhood to secede and join Fairfield. She also plans to use it to find attorneys, accountants or other experts to help advise on the exit process.

But some are skeptical of the sceptered isle approach working for Black Rock.

I think the practicality of it is pretty low, said State Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, who represents the area.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, meanwhile, launched his own Facebook City Hall Live video not directly addressing the idea of succession, but instead the pain that the new tax bills and the impact of reevaluation caused in Black Rock and some parts of the citys north end.

That taxes went down for some in the city, Ganim conceded doesnt help those hit with the bad end of revaluation. He insisted the city is still on a good course.

As for the idea of secession from the city, Ganim spokesman Av Harris said Friday that the mayor believes very strongly that Black Rock is an essential part of Bridgeport.

We look forward to working with members of the community to improve their situation and we are very sympathetic to the plight the people in Black Rock finds themselves in, Harris said. Municipalities in Bridgeport need more options than just property taxes.

Runaway neighborhood

Town officials in Fairfield say adopting Bridgeport would not be a simple  let alone likely  process.

Even considering annexation would require a look at town infrastructure  from schools to roads  as well as a complete financial analysis, he added. Tetreau said the decision would ultimately need to be a referendum issue in the town.

The people of Bridgeport have serious issues to deal with, Tetreau said. But I think the best solution is always coming together and looking for common ground and exploring all options for moving forward.

James Marshall Lee, a Black Rock resident and budget watchdog said the whole idea was born out of frustration. If someone is really interested in proceeding they need to do the research, he said.

Stafstrom, meanwhile, said Bridgeports burdensomely high mill rate is not simply a neighborhood or municipal issue. Some of the blame, he says, lies with the state.

For far too long, Connecticut has turned a blind eye to its cities, letting them suffocate under the legacy costs they incurred generations ago in order to be the post-war, industrial drivers the State relied upon to build our 20th Century economy, Stafstrom said.

John Weldon, a Black Rock resident who has run for the school board, said while it is easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm of the idea of making his neighborhood part of Fairfield, the idea is really a complex one and in the end, not very practical for anyone involved.

I don't see where it would be of benefit to Fairfield, Weldon said. In the end, though, just packing up and "running away from home" is not the answer, as tempting as it may be.

Rello, however, said she believes becoming part of Fairfield it would increase Black Rock property values, lower property taxes and allow residents to benefit from the towns services.

The City of Bridgeport doesnt seem to be very interested in lowering taxes, she said.

Linda Conner Lambeck contributed to this report

LWeiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16
What was first reported as shots fired at San Francisco General Hospital on Thursday turned out to be a bang from an illegal firework, prompting a heavy police response and extensive search of two building by scores of officers from multiple agencies, police said.

Just before 2 p.m., someone called police, reporting hearing something sounding like gunfire at a building at 900 Potrero Avenue, said Officer Giselle Talkoff, a San Francisco police spokeswoman.
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A self-described Zetas financial operator said the gang paid top government officials in the Mexican border state of Coahuila in exchange for help from police during testimony Wednesday in San Antonio.

Rodrigo Humberto Uribe Tapia, 41, told jurors that he twice met with the personal aid of then-Coahuila governor Humberto Moreira, who served from 2005 to 2011. Each time, Uribe said, he gave Vicente Chaires Yanez, the personal aid whose businesses at one time owned real estate in San Antonio, $2 million in U.S. currency. The money was destined for the governor, Uribe said.

It was done through Mr. Vicente Chaires and (former state attorney general) Jesus Torres Charles, and what they did is, several payments were made in Saltillo, Uribe said. It was some kind of agreement with governor Humberto.

RELATED: Coahuila corruption and drug ties spread influence to San Antonio

Asked to clarify, Uribe said: Humberto Moreira, who was at the time the governor of Coahuila,

Moreiras Houston-based attorney said those allegations are false.

He's lying, said Kent Schaffer, the former governors lawyer. That's what criminals often do. Governor Moreira has no connections to the Zetas. That is pure fantasy.

The allegations were made during the trial of Marciano Millan Vasquez, who prosecutors allege was a Zetas leader in Piedras Negras, Mexico, who was responsible for moving large quantities of drugs to the U.S. and is behind widespread killings south of the border.

RELATED: Trial to shed light on Allende Massacre

In exchange for their bribes, Uribe said, the Zetas were protected as they took over the state of Coahuila, which borders Texas from just west of Laredo to the Big Bend region. He said state police helped gang leaders evade federal authorities, the gang was able to invest in construction and coal mining and the Zetas took control of state jails, where they had freedom to carry out an array of crimes.

Jaime Cavazos, Millan Vasquezs lawyer, told jurors his client was falsely accused of drug trafficking in Mexico and fled to the U.S. Prosecutors wont be able to present physical evidence linking Millan Vasquez to any crime, Cavazos said. They will bring cooperators who will testify in exchange for deals cut in hell, he said.

RELATED: Thousands of families search for the disappeared

Prosecutors have said they will bring evidence the Zetas are behind mass disappearances and killings in northern Mexico.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is investigating allegations that Moreira and other state officials laundered millions in kickbacks in San Antonio. Theyve seized a house on the North Side owned by the former governors mother-in-law and indicted half-a-dozen people as part of the probe. Moreira has not been charged.

jbuch@express-news.net Twitter: @jlbuch

Check back with MySA.com for more updates or read full coverage at expressnews.com or in Thursdays San Antonio Express-News.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 San Antonio Police Department Show More Show Less 2 of 5 San Antonio Police Department Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 San Antonio Police Department Show More Show Less 5 of 5









SAN ANTONIO  Police are searching for a man they say threatened to kill the clerk of a Northeast Side convenience store during a robbery in June.

According to an incident report from the San Antonio Police Department, the suspect waked into a Valero in the 10400 block of Interstate 35 North around 12:30 a.m. on June 8 and asked for a pack of cigarettes.
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George W. Bush celebrated his 70th birthday Wednesday alongside wounded veterans on a mountain biking trip at his Texas ranch.

The 43rd president traveled along some trails at Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, about 22 miles west of Waco, where he led several veterans in a bike ride.

RELATED: Happy 70th birthday, George W. Bush, the most doll-friendly president

His daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, tweeted a photo of her father leading the trip with the following caption on Twitter:

Happy 70th to my old man. Glad you're spending the day with those you admire, doing what you love. We love you.

The president also shared some of the photos taken from the event on Instagram, including one that has the hashtag, #43turns70.

Seventy is the big number this year for the executive branch, as GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump turned 70 last month and former President Bill Clinton turns 70 in August.

While his day was spent celebrating his life, Bushs accomplishments as president of the United States were under scrutiny elsewhere when a British inquiry was released bashing the Iraq War for faulty intelligence and planning.

RELATED: Biographer blasts George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq

The British report includes former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair's letters to Bush assuring him of his support before the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. In one letter, Blair urges Bush to go to the U.N. Security Council to build greater support for the war; in another he asks what provisions have been made for "avoiding civilian casualties." Only Blair's letters to Bush, not Bush's replies, were published.

Spokesman Freddy Ford said Bush had "no stronger ally" than the United Kingdom under Blair, and that he remained grateful for soldiers' sacrifices in Iraq and elsewhere. He also said Bush had not had a chance to read the report.

The former U.S. President said he still believes the world is better off without Saddam Hussein, despite what he acknowledges were "intelligence failures and other mistakes" leading up to the Iraq War.

RELATED: Kanye West gets in bed with former president George W. Bush, other celebs for new 'Famous' video

The war killed nearly 4,500 American personnel, 179 British troops and more than 100,000 Iraqis.

Click through the slideshow to see photos taken by Grant Miller from Bushs bike ride with wounded veterans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

twhite@mysa.com

Twitter: @tylerlwhite
As is the case for many devout Catholics, Anne Louise Bernhard used her faith as a guiding principle throughout her daily life.

She went to daily Mass and prayed every day, her daughter, Annette Nevins said.

Bernhard died on July 1. She was 89.

Bernhards religious roots date back to her upbringing on a farm in Loire. As the fourth of five girls, she often shared stories of her childhood and Czech heritage with her own children.

Her first language was Czech, Nevins said. She didnt actually learn English until right before it was time for her to go to school.

Bernhard and her sisters walked several miles to the one-room schoolhouse they attended. During her younger days, she spent her free time picking cotton, growing vegetables, and caring for the cows, horses, and chickens.

More Information Anne Louise (Chapaty) Bernhard Born: April 21, 1927, Loire Died: July 1, 2016, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Alphonse and Annie Chapaty; husband Eugene A. Bernhard; and sisters Regina Boullt and Clara Koch. Survived by: Daughters Annette Nevins and husband John, and Louise Raab and husband Ron; sons Paul Bernhard and wife Boerne, Thomas Bernhard and wife Theresa, and Donald Bernhard and wife Tracy; sisters Adele Robinson; and Eulalia Harris; 18 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services: Visitation at 6-9 p.m. Thursday, Brookehill Funeral Home, 711 S.E. Military Drive. Funeral Mass 10 a.m. Friday at Mission San Jose Catholic Church. Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. See More Collapse

Farm life was often hard on Bernhards family, who struggled to maintain their land and livelihood during the Great Depression. Through it all, she remained a devout Catholic.

When she was 16, Bernhards father passed away, forcing her to quit school and get a job at a bank in San Antonio.

She later met and fell in love with Eugene Anthony Bernhard at the supper club socials they attended in San Antonio. They married and had five children.

Faith was emphasized in the Bernhard family as a central aspect of life. They often sat in the front row for Mass each week, and all seven family members were in the choir together, Nevins said.

A talented seamstress, Bernhard often made dresses for her two daughters in their younger days, and also made prom dresses in their teen years.

Tragedy stuck Bernhard in 1975 when her husband died. In order to get a job with enough income to support her family, Bernhard checked out books so she could study for her GED.

After receiving her diploma, Bernhard worked as a dressing room attendant at Montgomery Ward, and a bookkeeper for Gruen & Miller Flasher Equipment Co. and Steves & Sons Lumber Yard.

Bernhard served in the Altar Society at Mission San Jose for most of her life, and was honored with a medal from the Archdiocese of San Antonio for her service to the church. She was also one of the ushers selected to serve at an outdoor Mass in 1987 when Pope John Paul II visited San Antonio.

Aside from a few Czech phrases, the biggest thing Bernhards family learned from her is how to be strong in their faith.

Sharing her faith with us is her lifelong legacy, Nevins said.

imcgarrell@express-news.net
If you appreciate clean air and water in San Antonio, then you should celebrate two recent changes in the city of San Antonio.

City Council voted unanimously to prohibit the idling of most vehicles weighing more than 14,000 pounds for longer than five minutes. The anti-idling ordinance follows an identical ordinance Bexar County commissioners approved in May. The aim is to reduce tailpipe emissions, which is a key factor in ground-level smog.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the demise of the worlds greatest and most renowned Spanish author. Born in 1547, in Alcala de Henares, a few miles outside of Madrid, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra showed a keen intelligence and prodigious memory, all necessary for the great novel he would write later in his life.

Plagued by all kinds of difficulties early in life, he participated in the famous battle of Lepanto, losing the use of his left hand, thus earning the name of El Manco de Lepanto (the Cripple of Lepanto), a nickname he carried with great honor.

While serving in the military, Cervantes was captured by Arabs and served five years in prison, an experience he would describe in his great novel Don Quixote de la Mancha, which first appeared in the early 17th century and is now considered among the greatest works of fiction, earning him worldwide acclaim for its character development.

The plot centers on an aging gentleman who spends his time reading novels of chivalry, which feature knights in pursuit of justice, courtesy and respect who righted all wrongs in society. He loses his sense of reality and becomes a knight errant during an era when knights were no longer visible. He converts a rustic maid into the lady of his dreams, Dulcinea del Toboso, and invites a simple man, Sancho Panza, to be his squire, promising to make him governor of an island he intends to conquer.

Thus was Don Quixote born not only in fiction but also in reality, for his ideas of justice, fairness and a desire to transform society have survived throughout the centuries. The main themes are centered on the desire for a better society, with life imitating fiction. As Don Quixote and Sancho Panza pursue their adventures, hoping to bring some justice in a world sometimes devoid of it, others within their circle of action try to imitate them.

Don Quixote views reality from different lenses, attempting to elevate above mere dull existence. Thus, the eternal theme of absolute reality versus relative reality underlines the theme: What is truth and where does one find it? He views life not as it is but as it should be, exhibiting the traits of a true knight, including courage, respect, chivalry, honesty, truth and, above all, a constant fight for justice.

It is believed that the first Spaniards to settle Texas during the early 18th century had read this classic novel, so moved and energized by its content that it propelled them to venture into new lands like Texas, showing the same courage as the knight in the novel. And it was this courage that established many of the positive qualities modern-day Hispanics display to this day in Texas.

Proceed!

Brownsville native Lino Garcia Jr. is professor emeritus of Spanish literature at the University iof Texas Rio Grande Valley-Edinburg and can be reached at lino.garciajr@utrgv.edu
Reckless but not criminal. That is not precisely the kind of recommendation a presidential candidate wants to take to the voters. But it is now what Hillary Clinton is stuck with  deservedly.

The FBI investigation into the presumptive Democratic presidential nominees use of a private email server while she was secretary of state is complete. FBI Director James Comey was correct Tuesday in not recommending criminal prosecution for her. But he was also correct in calling her out for recklessness.

She was, he said, extremely careless in her handling of classified materials. Roughly 110 of the emails sent through her server were classified when they were sent. Even if only a small number were clearly marked classified, this undercuts her argument that aggressive after-the-fact reclassification resulted in much of her emails being classified. And even if they werent marked, a secretary of state and State Department officials should have known the sensitivity of what they were discussing.

Moreover, its clear that her use of more than one server and more than one mobile device meant she had not, as she said, turned over all her work-related emails and that not all could be recovered.

If anything, extremely careless is an understatement. Voters will be justified in weighing this behavior in November, particularly since she is claiming both competence and good judgment as her strong suits. Were it not for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trumps perpetual waltz with recklessness, this turn of events might have sunk her.

But this absence of criminal prosecution is hardly a bouquet of roses. Comey was characteristically blunt. Her judgment was flawed, the investigation contradicted her past statements on the issue, and its possible that foreign governments gained access to her account.

Still, Comey is correct in not recommending criminal prosecution because there is no evidence that Clinton intentionally sent or willfully mishandled classified material.

A spokesman said the Clinton campaign was pleased with the outcome, adding, As the secretary has long said, it was a mistake to use her personal email and would not do it again. We are glad that this matter is now resolved.

Think again. There are courts and then there is the court of public opinion. And the jury is still out there.

As with husband Bills meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on a Phoenix tarmac recently, this email episode constitutes an unforced error on Clintons part, one that goes to judgment. A penchant for privacy after more than two decades of unrelenting and often uncharitable and unfair scrutiny is likely the cause.

And this is no excuse at all. Extremely careless is entirely accurate.
In a joint letter sent to Capitol Hill, more than 160 associations, including NACS, are asking members of Congress to protect meaningful debit reform provided by the Durbin Amendment.

WASHINGTON  This week more than 160 national and state merchant trade associations, including NACS, sent a letter to House leadership to express the merchant communitys strong opposition to H.R. 5465 and the CHOICE Act language that would repeal the debit swipe fee reforms included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is circulating draft legislation that allows price-fixing of debit card swipe fees and includes a full repeal of the Durbin Amendment and debit reform. Although hes recently spoken about his commitment to helping Main Street and ending government bailouts, a repeal of debit swipe fee reform would do the exact opposite.

The debit reforms contained in Dodd-Frank, provided by the Durbin Amendment, brought the first piece of competition and transparency into a market that was historically void of it. The reforms in the law have benefitted American consumers, merchants, small financial institutions and the economy as a whole. Repealing or weakening the law will only benefit fewer than two percent of the countrys largest banks and remove any and all competition from the debit routing market, notes the letter.

NACS released a statement in June opposing the Hensarling proposal. To contact your member of Congress today to voice opposition to repealing debit swipe fee reform, please click here.
NEW YORK  Fortune writes that McDonalds is planning to expand its all-day breakfast to include new menu items beginning in September. The plan is to offer a more expansive menu with the addition of McGriddles, hotcakes, sausage burritos, oatmeal and hash browns.

At a press conference in June, Fortune notes that McDonalds CEO Steve Easterbrook said the QSR considers all-day breakfast a new baseline into the business, applauding how quickly the initiative was brought to market. We have shown how quick we can move when [weve] got a good idea, he said.

While QSRs tout all-day breakfast, many convenience stores have been giving customers the option to dine on breakfast items during all dayparts for quite some time.

Many convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven, Rutters, Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes and Sheetz, have long offered around-the-clock breakfast foods. If we sell it, you can get it 24 hours a day, Ryan Krebs, director of food services for Rutters, told NACS Magazine. You can get chicken wings at 6:00 in the morning and a breakfast sandwich at 4:00 in the afternoon. People arent going to eat breakfast three times a day, but they are going to eat breakfast.

And unlike many QSRs, convenience stores are well-positioned to offer around-the-clock breakfast because they operate 24/7. And according to recent research prepared by the Hudson Institute on behalf of NACS, convenience stores can capitalize on the growing trend of consumers seeking better-for-you, more convenient products. More specifically, the most important meal of the day presents the healthiest opportunity for stores to exploit.

The report, Health & Wellness Trends and Strategies for the Convenience Store Sector, reveals that while taste wins across all eating occasions (breakfast, lunch and dinner), nutrition is the highest attribute consumers are looking for at breakfast time. In fact, a nutritious breakfast trumps both convenience and cost.

Breakfast is a great entry point for convenience retailers to introduce healthier foods, said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. Stocking open-air coolers with high-protein foods such as hard-boiled eggs, Greek yogurt with granola and fresh-cut fruit, or offering hot oatmeal and breakfast sandwiches with egg whites, turkey sausage and whole grains, can increase the better-for-you value proposition of convenience store foodservice.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

TPP/TTIP/TISA

[House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady] said while hes convinced the deal can be approved this year, it all hinges on an awful lot of work being done right now. The financial services issue could be resolved as lawmakers get more explanation of what USTR is proposing, Brady said, adding that a fix there would help build momentum for the pact. He also said while USTR has engaged on the biologics issue, its too early to tell if those proposals meet our members needs [Politico]. In other words, both party establishments are ready to deal, despite vehement rejections of the pacts by most voters, in both parties. Clinton, of course, is simulating a game of playing hard to get, but if she were serious, the DNC platform committee, which she owns, would have accepted the Sanders TPP plank.

Jeff Sessions: Some of us, like I have in the past, supported these trade agreements and an honest evaluation of how they played out produces clear evidence they havent worked well and in fact not come close to the promises made, the Alabama Republican told POLITICO. So I think what we need to do now is slow down. We absolutely dont need an international commission, its like a nascent European Union, and we should focus on bilateral agreements with countries we feel like we can do business with [Politico]. Sessions said Trumps position on trade has contributed to his popularity. I think his opposition to TPP and his questioning of conventional wisdom on trade has been appreciated by average working Americans and their votes reflected that, he said. Another septuagenarian who actually gets it

In an unexpected move, the European Commission has announced that national parliaments will be given the chance to vote on the CETA trade deal with Canada [Ars Technica]. Belated realization of the democratic deficit?

Compliance with [TTIP] would make it impossible to reverse privatization decisions or profit-caps for multinationals. This is because the so-called investor state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS) that would resolve disputes between businesses and states through a private international arbitral tribunal would be activated when companies claim economic compensation for decisions that affect patents, generics or price controls that reduce business and claiming millions in compensation on the basis of loss of profits (money that they stop receiving on several very lucrative deals) [Bilaterals.org].

2016

Clinton Email Hairball

The FBIs harsh criticism of Hillary Clintons use of a private email system as U.S. secretary of state could make it difficult for some of her closest aides to keep or renew government security clearances, but it would not affect Clinton herself if she is elected president, experts said. [ Reuters ].

Five panels to grill FBI on Clinton [ The Hill ]. Just watch the Republicans screw up the biggest political opportunity handed to them in twenty years. This is, after all, the Republican Establishment that Donald Trump sliced through like a hot knife through butter; the Clintons are lucky in their enemies

Clinton stepped down as secretary of state in 2013 to run for president. But newly released emails from 2012 show that she and Clinton Foundation consultant, Sidney Blumenthal, shared classified information about how German leadership viewed the prospects for a Greek bailout. Clinton also shared protected State Department information about Greek bonds with her husband at the same time that her son-in-law [Mezvinsky] aimed his hedge fund at Greece [ Defend Democracy ]. The lawyers who looked through Clintons privatized email server, and separated Clintons putatively private email, which they deleted, from Clintons public email, which they turned over, only looked at email metadata ( said Comey in his statement; see point 3 here ). We dont know the precise sorting procedure Clintons lawyers used. If they determined that all communications between family members were private by definition, then any email to Mezvinsky would have been deleted. Generalizing: Given that corruption is the use of public office for private purpose, any system that throws private communcations into the delete bucket before proceeding further will delete any nexus of corruption. Thats not a bug. Its a feature.

Corruption

[T]he IBTimes, through the work of David Sirota, has been all over an interesting story of crony capitalism involving a massive $54-billion proposed merger negotiated between Cigna and Anthem, two giant healthcare insurance companies, and the involvement in that merger of a good chunk of Connecticuts political elite, including Democratic Governor Dan Malloy [Charles Pierce, Esquire ]. This kind of consolidation needs to be regulated very carefully, and all indications from the IBTimes series are that the merger was being hustled through without even the minimal concerns for obvious conflicts of interest. Its excellent to see Sirota get a shout-out like this. But speaking of obvious conflicts of interest, Pierce somehow neglects to mention that corrupt weasel Malloy is co-chair of the Rules Committee for the Democrat National Convention.

Policy

So its means-tested, not universal. And as we dig deeper, Im sure well find plenty more fine print (and jobs for the credentialed sorting the worthy from the unworthy).

According to her campaign, 80 percent of American families would be able to avoid tuition at public colleges and universities under the plan.

[T]he presumptive Democratic nominee proposed that all public colleges and universities be made tuition-free for students from families with incomes of up to $85,000 initially, rising to $125,000 by 2021.

Clinton Borrows From Bernie [ Inside Higher Ed ]. She should borrow from Sanders on TPP, too. What has she done for him lately? Anyhow:

Ohio

Lambert here: This material is like Rashomon; Ill sum up at the end.

At the Trump rally:

At a rally in Ohio, Donald Trump is listing off the Jewish people he knows: Dan's wife, Jared, Ivanka, his grandkids  Jenna Johnson (@wpjenna) July 6, 2016

After the Trump rally:

The front pages of the Cincinnati Enquirer after Clinton and Trump's big recent rallies there pic.twitter.com/fbP8v4yzjh  Gabriel Debenedetti (@gdebenedetti) July 7, 2016

Lambert again: One obvious reading of those two tweets is that the Clinton campaign has gotten inside Trumps head, and he cant quit responding to the mud theyre slinging. The other is that Trumps discursive speaking style allows the press  which has, in essence, declared for Clinton and is acting as a branch of her campaign  to cherrypick the narrative it wanted, and that Trump hammered on the Clinton Email Hairball and it simply wasnt reported. Manafort and Stone need to figure this out, because thats not Trumps job. Id welcome reader input on this point, especially from attendees or Ohio readers.

The Voters

A fairly compact narrative of the evolution of hate in a particular society might go along these lines, represented in the diagram above. Most individuals have a psychology that is capable of both tolerance and hate. This psychology can be activated in one direction or the other by intentional political actors. Large-scale shift of attitudes requires some external threat that can be exploited by the party of hate. Economic crisis and terrorism can play this role. Hateful messages can be constructed by leaders through a variety of avenues, including public media, covert organizations, and political parties. Skill at framing messages of division and suspicion has the potential of activating latent grievances into active grievances. A few provocative incidents have the potential to create a widening cycle of suspicion, mistrust, and hate [Understanding Society]. It seems clear that these processes could be modeled using an agent-based model if we liked; they have much in common with the mechanisms of pandemic disease. The cognitive and emotional processes influencing social trust and social suspicion could be modeled fairly simply as well. But heres the kicker: So it seems as though a contemporary sociology of hate, nativism, and nationalism remains to be written. And it is urgent that we turn to that task, given the assaults on liberal, inclusive cosmopolitan communities currently underway in Britain, Western Europe, India, and the United States. Come on. Does anybody really believe the liberal, inclusive cosmopolitan political class doesnt hate working people? That said, the concept of strategic hate management is a useful umbrella. Why Hillary Clinton is doomed, even if she wins [Felix Salmon, Fusion]. (I have a soft spot for Salmon because he was outraged on how Cooper Unions board vandalized its free tuition policy.) Clinton is Davos Woman incarnate, the very epitome of the protean competence and sophistication associated with a degree from Yale Law School, eight years as First Lady, eight more as a U.S. Senator, and a term as Secretary of State. She also elicits an astonishing degree of hatred among a vocal minority of the U.S. electorate. That hatred is only going to grow stronger once she becomes the leader of the free world. Its going to be directed not only at Clinton personally, but at the entire neoliberal agenda. And the anti-elite movement will have its day. While Trump is outperforming your run-of-the-mill Republican among whites without a college degree, hes underperforming among white voters with a college degree. In fact, he is on a track to lose white college graduates [FiveThirtyEight]. The credentialed vote for stability. No surprise here! Voters Are Making a Mess of Democracy [Justin Fox, Bloomberg]. What This One Acela Rider Says About Democracy Will Amaze You. More: Im torn about this. I think theres value in one person, one vote beyond its efficacy. That is, there is something at least a little bit sacred about it. Touching. The publics growing conviction that equal treatment is a farce is the heart of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trumps campaigns. From different sides, they are saying the top 1 percent get special deals and insider treatment. Voters know it in their guts [RealClearPolitics]. Which is why Clintons privatized email server and why she used it for will be, as we say, a continuing concern.

The Trail

Thats a process were working on that could lead to an endorsement before the convention, Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs told Bloomberg Politics. Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon declined to comment [Bloomberg]. Seems a little guarded. Whats the matter with Sanders? Every Democrat not fully in thrall to him wants to know. Clinton officials privately seethe at his continued criticism [Bloomberg]. Concern trolling. Even Greg Sargent gets whats going on: But if Sanders is squandering his movement, it is odd that he continues to rack up meaningful victories in the battle to transform the Democratic agenda, if not the country [Greg Sargent, WaPo]. Call me crazy, but if Sanders is driven by issues and the possibility of a political revolution, maybe Clintons campaign tactics arent his number one priority? Why Bernie Sanders Still Isnt Endorsing Clinton [New York Magazine]. This article is reasonably nuanced. The senator will come to the convention with no small number of die-hard delegates ready and willing to provide a hungry media with the stories of intra-party conflict it craves. Beyond that, Sanders still has his grip on one of the most coveted email lists in modern politics. And like Warren, Sanders has recently focused his advocacy around a policy goal that a Democratic president could unilaterally realize: tearing up the Trans-Pacific Partnership. So, excellent. Improvements in the Democratic platform, Clinton at least proposed an overly complex, means-tested, neoliberal-suck version of Sanders free college plan, whereupon Sanders moved the goal posts and said he wants a revised plank in the platform killing TPP . Whats not to like, here? And its all more important than Clintons email which, at the end of the day, tells us nothing about Clinton we dont already know, so would be a poor use of a campaigns most precious resource: The candidates time.) What I say to those people who booed, you can boo me all you want, [Sanders] said. Im going to continue to fight to make sure that we transform this country. Thats what our campaign was about. Thats what 13 million voters wanted to see happen.' [USA Today]. Final California tally [California Slow Bern]. 7% margin for Clinton. Feel the Bern: An Adult Coloring Contest! [Seven Days]. A lamentation that the Gary Johnson/William Weld ticket has failed to seize the libertarian moment [The American Conservative].

Stats Watch

ADP Employment Report, June 2016: June payrolls may indeed pop back to trend, based at least on ADPs private payroll estimate of 172,000 which is well above the Econoday consensus for 150,000. But ADPs sample never did pick up the weakness during May in the government data as the ADP call for the month stands nearly unchanged [Econoday]. The bottom line here is that the ADP report, like other indications on the labor market including jobless claims, is continuing to signal healthy conditions. However: The headline is above expectations, but the rate of growth continues in a downtrend [Econintersect].

Challenger Job-Cut Report, June 2016: Jobless claims are very low and so are layoff announcements [Econoday]. The energy and industrial sectors are usually at the top of sector layoffs but not in June, replaced by an outsized jump in the financial sector.

Jobless Claims, week of July 2, 2016: Layoffs are on the decline, indicated earlier this morning by trends in the Challenger report and confirmed by yet another set of very low readings for jobless claims [Econoday]. A lack of layoffs doesnt necessarily equate to a rise in employment  but it is a strongly favorable signal. The Labor Department is not citing any special factors in todays report though temporary layoffs and related adjustments for auto-retooling is always a background factor this time of year. And: Anyone looking for evidence in the initial unemployment claims data that the labor market has softened is out of luck [Amherst Pierpont Securities, Across the Curve]. I cant think of a single labor market indicator that has been released over the past month that supports the abrupt slowdown in hiring signaled by the May payroll figures. I look for a return to normalcy tomorrow. And: Anyone looking for evidence in the initial unemployment claims data that the labor market has softened is out of luck. And: Rolling averages improve [Econintersect].

Gallup Good Jobs Rate, July 2016: Gallups measure of underemployment in June was 13.6 percent, almost the same as Mays (13.7 percent) yet also the lowest Gallup has recorded since 2010. Junes rate also marks the fourth straight month of declining underemployment [Econoday].

Chain Store Sales, June 2016: [M]ixed results for June with some posting improvement [Econoday]. [U]ncertain indications for the ex-auto ex-gas reading of the June retail sales report, a reading that has been solid this year and has underscored the general strength in consumer spending.

Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, week of July 3, 2016: All the uncertainty and volatility of Brexit have had no substantial effect on the consumer comfort index [Econoday]. Thats a shocker. Honey, I think we ought to buy the cheaper brand of propane for the grill. That Andrea Leadsom is sure a nice lady, but shes no Maggie Thatcher.

Factory Orders (from Tuesday): Core capital goods new orders decreased by -0.4%. The previous month showed a -0.9% decrease. Core capital goods are capital or business investment goods and excludes defense and aircraft. This is indicating slower future economic growth [Economic Populist]. Underlining that.

Shipping: DHL Express opens walking courier facility in Manhattan financial district [DC Velocity]. Great new job category, eh? Reminds me of the bang bang army of porters in Chongqing, who carry packages on bamboo poles over their shoulders. But theyre aging out, because nobody in the third world wants to do that kind of work anymore. Perhaps we could import some on H1B visas to redress global income inequality?

Political Risk: Here are the U.S. funds with significant U.K. real-estate exposure [Francine McKenna, MarketWatch]. According to data provided by Morningstar, Inc., the mutual fund research firm, 280 U.S. open-ended mutual funds hold investments in U.K. REITs, and nine of those funds hold more than 10% of their portfolio market value in U.K. REITs.

Mispricing Drives Value Premium [ETF.com]. The authors noted that acting faster upon the new arrival of information leads to much higher annualized returns. However, the higher rebalancing frequency is detrimental to the returns due to elevated transaction costs. Liquidity constraints that render the strategy feasible also render it unprofitable.'Practically Zen.

Amazon set to rival NYCs bookstores with Hudson Yards spot [New York Post]. Great. Amazon kills off the small, independent brick-and-mortar stores and then opens its own. Oh well. I guess the former booksellers can get jobs in the warehouses. Until the robots take over.

Todays Fear & Greed Index: 69, Greed (previous close: 69, Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 62 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jul 7 at 11:50am. Cruise control.

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Lambert here: Two public executions, just heart-sickening. Its like Ferguson and #BlackLivesMatter never happened (which was, after all, swiftly decapitated by Democrats). My Twitter list has a lot of reactions like Im so tired, and Its hard to go into work today.

Minnesotas governor called on Thursday for a federal investigation into the shooting of [Philando Castile] by a police officer during a traffic stop near St. Paul, after millions of people watched the bloody, dying man in a grisly video recorded by his girlfriend and streamed live moments after the shooting [New York Times].

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appears to show the aftermath of a shooting like that described by Mangseth. It shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man quietly slumped in a seat. The woman describes being pulled over for a busted taillight and her boyfriend being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol for which he was licensed. An armed person who appears to be a police officer stands at the cars window, and sounds distraught as he tells the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swears [Los Angeles Times].

The public execution of No. 558 [Will Bunch, Philadelphia Daily News]. Alton Sterling.

I doubt very much that cop cameras will work as a reform, given that both these shootings were filmed. But:

One of those uses the street finds for technology is smartphones finally showing us all how US cops just straight-up murder black people.  William Gibson (@GreatDismal) July 7, 2016

Facebook has denied intentionally taking down a Facebook Live video that showed the aftermath of a fatal shooting by police in Minnesota [Business Insider].

Will Apples New Patent Push Delete on Ability to Record Police? [ACLU].

The State

Nonprofit hospitals and clinics took it upon themselves to pay for the costs of enrolling more of the states residents in Medicaid. They will pay, in fact, for the state workers who will do this job. Not only will this action prevent a bottleneck that would have harmed newly eligible Medicaid recipients, it will also speed Medicaid reimbursement dollars to the nonprofit healthcare organizations providing services [Nonprofit Quarterly]. Many of these privately-supported state workers are already embedded in the nonprofit sites.

Guillotine Watch

Furious owner says his $20m Hamptons mansion was trashed in wild Wolf of Wall Street-style Sprayathon pool party with bikini babes and gun-toting dwarfs [Daily Mail]. Oh, the humanity!

Class Warfare

Proposal to cut Social Security undermines retirement security [MarketWatch]. Theyre still at it. Im picturing a Grand Bargain in Clintons first 100 days.

Specifically, ownership and control of agronomic and equipment data is understood to have dramatic escalating value. Which seed varieties were the most successful and where? Which plant populations performed best? Whose recommendations (e.g. nitrogen programs) outperformed their peers? [TechCrunch]. Regrettably, those who least understand the true value of the data produced are farmers themselves. Our neighbors around the country give their data away for a pittance, or worse. Yet, data is one of the most valuable things farmers harvest.

News of the Wired

Email, as it turns out, is a harder problem than people tend to assume. Its an unforgiving space  competitors abound, users expect you to be free or nearly free, and from a technical standpoint email protocols are not pleasant to work with. But email is still an unsolved problem [Medium]. A review of email software. It all sucks, at least on the Mac and iOS. Frankly, I liked Pine, back in the stone age. Maybe I should just revert to it. Ive got like 10K unread mails to delete; perhaps I could do that from the command line easily!

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. And heres todays plant (John Beech):

Readers, if you want to send me some videos of plants in whole systems (bees and blossoms, for example, or running streams)  I can use them to practice with FFmpeg and hopefully post them. Because of download times, theyll have to be measured in seconds, rather than minutes. Thank you! Adding, I got another one today! Please keep sending them; they will ultimately appear!

Adding, thank you so much, readers, for last months rapid and successful Water Cooler Mini-Fundraiser. I have finally finished all the email thank you notes so yours should be coming, as will notes to those who send contributions via physical mail. Adding, to me, a readers reality is their handle, and even more their actual comments. I dont mentally connect handle to email, let alone to contribution. So if Ive snarled at you, take comfort that all are snarled at without fear or favor!

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Readers, if you enjoyed what you read today, please use the dropdown to choose your contribution, and then click the hat! Your tip will be welcome today, and indeed any day. Water Cooler will not exist without your regular support.
One noteworthy feature of Brexit coverage is British commentators and even worse, officials, reassuring themselves and their audiences that the EUs firm insistence that the UK will not be able to cherry-pick will melt when they understand that the UK has real bargaining leverage.

Based on the arguments I have seen so far, the Eurocrats arent at any risk of these supposed trump cards working out as envisaged. For instance, over the weekend the Telegraph published, George Osborne is threatening the EU with a giant tax haven right on its doorstep. From the story:

Either way, Mr Osborne had a helpful suggestion today. Britain needs to act fast to signal to international investors that it is going to be a hospitable and profitable place to do business. His statement that Britain should aim for corporation tax rate of 15 per cent is not a bad start. That would be a cut of 5 percentage points and give us the lowest rate in the G7 by some margin. But theres also another, cannier reason why Britain should do everything in its power to appeal to large corporations that employ people across the EU: it improves our negotiating position. As Ive written, I believe getting a good deal from the EU is going to be extremely tough, because there are powerful forces on the continent determined not to grant us full single market access if we want any concessions on free movement. One strategy we should use to loosen their resolve is to give the EU an idea of what an excluded Britain on the edge of the market might look like. And one potential answer to that is obviously: a giant tax haven.. The logic of cutting taxes in response to Brexit is obvious. If the EU decides to make it more expensive and difficult for businesses based here to sell their goods and services into its market, we will need to offset that cost in order to encourage a similar level of investment as we currently enjoy The underlying message it sends to the EU is a harsher one: if you wilfully lock us out of your market, you leave us only one way to compete. And you wont like it.

A top international tax expert dispatched this idea in a terse three sentences. First, the UKs 20% tax rate is already an inducementand how many companies are set up there just for the purpose of the tax rate? There are a lot of other factors, like access to raw materials, markets, and quality of workforce that factor into these decisions.

Second, for the UK to be a tax haven, there would need to be no withholding at EU borders. That in turn depends on EU directives and EU/EEA membership. Thats Ireland can be a corporate tax haven. Its in the EU!

Tax Justice Network addressed variants on this theme in a recent post:

Just before the Brexit vote we quoted Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, about what might happen in a post-Brexit Britain: If youre anti-regulation fantasists to begin with, you start going down the path, Oh we can become an even more offshore center. We can become the Cayman Islands writ large, or Panama writ large. And this frankly is the way I think this also spills over to the rest of the world, is that the UK decides, Hey, regulatory arbitrage, letting AIG financial products run in London, actually destroyed the US financial system, but didnt hurt us  made us a lot of money. Let us continue down this path. Let us be the race to the bottom financial center. And I think this thats where this going, because theyre not going to have any other option. Its not good. And this is already being played out. Take a look, just for example, at this quote from Chris Cummings of the extremely peculiar and powerful TheCityUK (and by extension the City of London Corporation), illustrating Posens point very exactly: It is vital that action is taken to reinforce the global competitiveness of the UK as a place in which and from which to do business. This will help to mitigate the risk of prolonged uncertainty while a new relationship with the EU is negotiated. Or calls from Londons mayor to turn London into a mini-state, which would have appalling race-to-the-bottom effects. And we noted yesterday that this applies to tax, particularly corporate as well as financial regulation. The fools gold of corporate tax cuts The Financial Times this morning is running a headline Brexit: George Osborne to slash corporate tax rate: In his first interview since Britain voted for Brexit, Mr Osborne said he wanted a leading role in shaping Britains new economic destiny, laying out plans to build a super competitive economy with low business taxes and a global focus. Or, in the area of taxing rich individuals, take a look at this Financial Times story: Brexit could lead to the scrapping of tax rises for wealthy foreigners living in the UK . . . some people may benefit from the need to shore up the UKs appeal to mobile investors, as well as greater freedom over the design of tax incentives. As we have pointed out many times in the past: corporate tax cuts, particularly in the current climate, are the worst kind of stimulus. They reduce economic growth  for several reasons, including these: a) Corporate tax cuts dont attract useful investment! This Chancellor, George Osborne, has already cut the corporate tax rate, again and again, over this parliament and the last. As weve identified, his governments own advance assessments, and those of the independent Office of Budget Responsibility, have predicted zero impact on the tax base  that is, no new investment or at least no profit from any new investment that is made. This is consistent with analysis from the US Joint Tax Committee, that profits are only really shifted in response to much more dramatic cuts: you have to get the rate down to 5% or even 1% to compete with the big boys of Luxembourg or Ireland for profits shifted in from elsewhere. Real investment, meanwhile, is driven by fundamentals like infrastructure, labour skills and (yes) market access  tax rates just arent a primary concern. b) Corporations are sitting on cash piles: profits are high but they arent investing, because demand isnt there. Tax away some of those useless cash piles, spend it, and increase demand, thus increasing investment  and growth. Corporate tax cuts are like pushing on a string: if they arent investing their cash piles, why would corporate tax cuts help? c) The lower corporate taxes go relative to income taxes, the more rich people convert their income into corporate forms, to escape relatively higher income taxes. This is a pure, inequality-boosting redistribution  and as the IMF and many others remind us, higher inequality means lower economic growth. d) The incidence of corporate taxes falls largely on capital owners/shareholders: and many of those shareholders are foreigners: over 50 percent in the case of the FTSE 100 firms. The leakage from corporate tax cuts is tremendous. Not only is there this external leakage to other countries: but there is upwards leakage too, from ordinary taxpayers to a relatively much wealthier group: corporate shareholders. e) When they say competitive they mean showering goodies on large players, at the expense of smaller, less mobile local players. This hurts the small and boosts the large: increasing monopoly  with the counter-intuitive result that competitive tax policies reduce competition. With all the market-harming, inequality-boosting results. f) Doing this provokes others to follow suit, in a continuous process of tax wars. The list does not stop here: also read Ten Reasons to Defend the Corporate Income Tax  TJN

Tax haven route wont work for post-Brexit UK, OECD says  Tom Bergin, Reuters. A slightly confused document, but

New research: competing aggressively on tax reduces growth  Fools Gold. It follows from all this that an increase in corporate taxes will boost economic growth. Corporate tax hikes are the one component of austerity that is painless: its corporate tax cuts that deliver the pain. Those who have advocated for tax cuts before  and even KPMG, for goodness sakes, one of the top lobbyists for corporate tax cuts  dont think this is a good idea.

Yves here. The Brits are admittedly just starting to wrap their minds around how a Brexit might work in practice. What is disconcerting is the tendency to try to brush aside rules. As weve stressed, the EU is very by the book in how it interprets its laws and regulations. The UK negotiators will be in for an unpleasant surprise if they fail to come to term with that before they sit down for serious talks.
Just because a crisis is slow moving does not mean it can be successfully arrested.

The political and financial stakes in the ongoing Italian banking crisis rose today as the chairman of Societe General, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, talked up the risk of a pan European banking crisis if the European officialdom didnt relent and permit Italy to use government funds to shore up its bank most at risk of keeling over: number three Monte dei Paschi.

The spectacle of Bini Smaghi warning that an Italian banking implosion could kick off a broader European meltdown, while accurate, comes uncomfortably close to the famous scene in Blazing Saddles, where the sheriff threatens to shoot himself to ward off an angry mob.

So why is a major bank leader stoking fears about the health of Continental banks? And why did Italys prime minister Matteo Renzi throw mud back, saying that the troubles facing Italian banks were minuscule compared to those those of players with big derivatives books, meaning Deutsche and the big French banks? Mind you, Mr. Market took notice of the spat: European bank stocks fell, including SocGens. The fabulously undercapitalized Deustche Banks share price dropped to its lowest level since 1989.

By way of background, Italian banks have been in serious trouble for quite a while. Unlike the systemically important players in London, Paris, and Frankfurt, they werent exposed in a big way to the tightly coupled credit default swaps business, nor had they loaded up on US subprime exposures. As a result, their crisis-related bailouts were modest: a mere 22.0 billion, versus 114.6 each for the UK and Germany, 174.3 for Spain, 39.8 for the Netherlands, and 23.3 for Belgium.

Italian banks got sick the old-fashioned way: on lending to businesses in their markets. As a direct result of the damage of the crisis to the Italian economy, many loans went bad; more got in trouble as austerity pushed more enterprises into distress. Italian lenders are regularly accused of cronyism and there no doubt were plenty of cases where sick borrowers were given more credit to make them look solvent. But thats a common practice. Japans banks did that en masse in their post bubble years (a move the authorities later said was a big mistake) and in the US, home equity lines of credit were put into negative amortization routinely (not only by not restricting access to the credit line when they were clearly having payment problems, but also encouraging borrowers to make token payments, like $5 a month, and declaring the account to be current).

The problem with the Italian banks thus isnt the complexity of the problem; its the scale, and the fact that Italy sits in the Eurozone, which has a Rube Goldberg bank resolution scheme that the authorities are unwilling to admit wont work in practice.

Italian banks have an estimated 360 billion of bad loans, which is roughly 20% of GDP. While the value of these loans is not zero, the losses that need to be taken to clean up the Italian banks are enough to focus the mind. Having Italys banks remain in a zombified state means they arent giving much in the way of credit to businesses that need it. Italy has a high proportion of small to medium-sized businesses. That makes it particularly dependent on bank lending, so the dodgy banks are a drag on the economy.

Normally, the approach for this sort of mess is the one used in the US savings and loan crisis and in Sweden in its early 1990s bank meltdown: spin out the bad loans into a bad bank, where they are worked out to recover as much value as possible. The shareholders of the original bank, now a good bank are wiped out as it is recapitalized by the government, and top management and the board are replaced. The good bank is eventually sold.

The impediment is the new banking rules that came into effect in January 2016. Thomas Fazi described at length in February why they are such a train wreck. His overview of the fundamental flaws of the bank resolution scheme:

.a very strict and inflexible burden-sharing hierarchy aimed at ensuring that (i) the use of public funds in bank resolution would be avoided under all but the most pressing circumstances, and even then kept to a minimum, through a strict bail-in approach; and that (ii) the primary fiscal responsibility for resolution would remain at the national level, with the mutualised fiscal backstop serving as an absolutely last resort.

The danger of a bail-in is it is a one-size-fits-all approach guaranteed to cause bank runs. A bail-in means that rather than using new money to restore bank equity, shareholders are wiped out then junior creditors if needed, and enough of the remaining creditor funds are forcibly turned into shareholders for the bank to have a decent level of equity. As Fazi points out, its a potentially useful tool but a terrible idea as a forced solution. For instance, the first time bail-ins were used was in Cyprus. Those banks had little in the way of borrowed money, so it was depositors who took haircuts. In the case of Spanish banks, many depositors had been persuaded to invest in equity-like instruments that they were falsely told were the same as deposits. That puts them near the head of the line for taking losses in the event of recapitalization. In Italy, some banks have apparently resorted to similar chicanery, but not on the scale that took place in Spain. However, many consumers are investors in bank bonds, so they would be hit in the event of a bail-in. And given the Cyprus precedent, a bail-in of any size should scare depositors, and will lead them to move deposits from weak banks to stronger ones, creating liquidity stress and even bank runs.

Its not as if Italian officials are ignoring this risk; theyve proposed implementing a good bank/bad bank structure, and sought emergency relief so they can exceed Maastrict deficit limits to assist their banks. They were told in effect that their problem was not an emergency and they need to follow the unworkable bail-in regime. Renzi was rebuffed by Merkel when Italy tried again in the wake of the Brexit vote, arguing that the situation had become more dire. Merkel insisted that Italy needed to follow the new rules.

Its not just that the Bini Smagis-Renzi spat had put more pressure on European banks, leading Bloomberg to point out in an editorial that failing to give Italy slack from half-baked rules will prevent it from handling an otherwise manageable banking crisis. It is also that the Italian banking crisis has the potential to break up the Eurozone.

Its bizarre to see European officials taking a hard line with the UK, motivated by the perceived need to beat back threats like Marine Le Pen and Belgian and Spanish separatists, yet ignore the fact that Italy is as big a risk to the EU. That should imply they need to weigh political considerations along with the economic ones. But that isnt happening.

While Marine Le Pen has long said she would have France leave the Eurozone if she were to become Prime Minister, the odds of her winning are low. As I understand it, the final round of French elections are a two-party matchup. So even if her Front National made it to the last stage, the mainstream parties that were on the sidelines would almost certainly urge their voters to support her opponent.

By contrast, as Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has long pointed out, from an economic standpoint, Italy is the country that would both benefit most from departing the Eurozone and has the heft to best go it alone. And the internal politics also make the odds of a fracture look higher than in France. From the Financial Times:

The populist Five Star Movement has emerged as Italys leading political party, overtaking Matteo Renzis ruling Democratic party (PD) in four separate opinion polls that have exposed the growing vulnerability of the countrys centre-left prime minister. The primacy of the Five Star Movement, which is led by the sardonic comedian Beppe Grillo and has called for a referendum on ditching the euro, reflects a shift in public opinion against Mr Renzi that will heighten fears of a return to political instability and uncertainty in the single currencys third largest economy. It will also raise alarm bells about the fate of an autumn referendum on constitutional reform on which Mr Renzi has staked his political career. He has threatened to resign should it be defeated According to polls released on Wednesday by Ipsos, the Five Star Movement is supported by 30.6 per cent of Italians, compared with 29.8 per cent for the PD The polls look even darker for Mr Renzi if the likelihood of a run-off between the two largest parties  which is called for under Italys new electoral law if no party exceeds 40 per cent  is taken into account. In those scenarios, the Five Star Movement would defeat the PD by as much as ten percentage points, as right-wing voters would coalesce around the protest party.

Renzi has already taken a hit thanks to his interior minister having been caught out having a brother recently hired by the postal system. But this pales compared to the damage he would take if bank bail-ins were to start.

Merkel has played king-maker in Italy before. The Economist credits her with helping dispatch Berlusconi. But the famed Teutonic insistence on following the rules, which Merkels peers believe are the best chance to preserve the EU, is self-destructive when those rules are guaranteed to precipitate a financial crisis. Everyone knows Germany would have to relent in the case of Deustche Bank, which as Renzi points out, is likely to list if bank bail-ins commence. But that is tantamount to a full bore financial crisis. The Eurocrats need to stop obsessing about perfidious Albion and recognize that just as imminent a crisis is sitting on their doorstep.
Nanobubbles generated by pulsed laser identify and destroy cancer cells (w/video) (Nanowerk News) Innovative technology developed by NIH-funded researchers has been able to find and facilitate the killing of cancer cells in mice without harming the nearby healthy tissue. A treatment using this technology in humans could reduce the rate of cancer recurrence or metastasis.

Cancer cells that cannot be removed by surgeons often cause tumors to return or metastasize. In a study published in Nature Nanotechnology in February, Dmitri Lapotko, Ph.D., and his team at Rice University (currently with Masimo Corporation, CA) describe a new way to combat these leftover cancer cells. In this new approach, tiny gold particles have cancer-specific antibodies attached to their surface, which enable the particles to be engulfed in high concentrations and cluster only in cancer cells. These gold clusters, when exposed to a short broad laser pulse, heat and evaporate surrounding liquid, producing a plasmonic nanobubble. This nanobubble produces an acoustic pop which reveals the cancer cell and then causes an explosion that destroys it from the inside out.

Researchers have examined gold nanoparticles for treating cancer in the past, but the particles lacked specificity; they were unable to differentiate between healthy cells and cancer cells. Lapotko and his team are combatting this problem by combining the use of antibody-coated gold particles with the generation of nanobubbles created with a short laser pulse.

Gold particles can be injected prior to a surgery so they can travel to and cluster in cancer cells. After a tumor is removed in surgery, the laser (near-infrared) pulse is low energy, which can travel safely through a centimeter of tissue, is applied. The laser pulse only causes the nanobubble-induced damage in the remaining cancer cells with gold particles and are the only ones destroyed. This unique approach might be able to reduce the amount of unintended damage done to the patient, especially if the tumor is located in a sensitive area such as the brain, head and neck, breast, or prostate.

This is a creative and novel approach that combines an understanding of the basic biophysics of heat transfer with the exquisite specificity and chemistry of the targeting antibodies, said Rosemarie Hunziker, Director of the program for Tissue Engineering at NIBIB. It could become a powerful tool in our arsenal to fight cancer.

When surgeons injected these gold particles into mice with cancer before surgery, the initial results were impressive. While 80% of the mice in the operated group that did not receive the gold particle treatment died due to tumors that recurred within 10 days after surgery, none of the mice that received the additional nanobubble treatment regrew tumors in the following two months.
Researchers improve performance of cathode material by controlling oxygen activity (Nanowerk News) Researchers said the treatment improved the energy density -- the amount of energy stored per unit mass -- of the cathode material by up to 30 to 40 percent.

The discovery sheds light on how changing the oxygen composition of lithium-rich cathode materials could improve battery performance, particularly in high-energy applications such as electric vehicles. The findings were published July 1 in Nature Communications ("Gas-solid interfacial modification of oxygen activity in layered oxide cathodes for lithium-ion batteries").

This is a SEM image of lithium-rich cathode particles treated with a carbon dioxide-based gas mixture to introduce oxygen vacancies on the surface. (Image: Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion, UC San Diego)

"We've uncovered a new mechanism at play in this class of lithium-rich cathode materials. With this study, we want to open a new pathway to explore more battery materials in which we can control oxygen activity," said Shirley Meng, nanoengineering professor at the University of California San Diego and one of the principal investigators of the study.

Meng leads the Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion and is the director of the Sustainable Power and Energy Center, both at UC San Diego. A hallmark of her group's research efforts is understanding the science behind battery materials -- at the level of single atoms and molecules, and at the interfaces. Her group is one of the first to focus on the activity of oxygen atoms in battery materials. Typically, the focus has centered on lithium and transition metal atoms. "Now we're showing that oxygen also plays a significant role in battery performance," Meng said.

Left: The surface of a lithium-rich cathode particle is treated with carbon dioxide gas. Right: Carbon dioxide gas molecules extract oxygen atoms from the lattice of the lithium-rich cathode particle to create oxygen vacancies at the surface. (Image: Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion, UC San Diego)

In the new study, Meng's group collaborated with researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop a way to introduce oxygen vacancies in a class of cathode materials known as lithium-rich layered oxides. These materials have been gaining popularity among battery researchers because they can potentially house more energy than other cathode materials. But lithium-rich cathode materials also have their drawbacks, including slow discharge rates and an issue called voltage fade, which is characterized by a drop in cell voltage with each charge-discharge cycle.

"We're presenting a new way to mitigate the issues plaguing lithium-rich cathode materials -- through understanding and controlling how oxygen behaves in these materials," Meng said.

The team found that treating the lithium-rich cathode particles with a carbon dioxide-based gas mixture created oxygen vacancies uniformly throughout the surface of the particles. The treatment only left oxygen vacancies within the first 10 to 20 nanometers without altering the rest of the material's atomic structure.

This is an illustration of a "spiderweb" for evaluating battery performance based on multiple parameters. (Image: UC San Diego)

"This is a mild treatment that allows us to make controlled changes in the material exactly where we want -- near the interface," said Minghao Zhang, co-first author of the paper and a PhD student at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego working in Meng's group.

In electrochemical tests, the treated material exhibited a relatively high discharge capacity (300 milliamp-hours per gram) with minimal voltage loss after 100 charge-discharge cycles.

"This is a significant improvement with regards to the voltage fade problem, but there's still a lot of work left to completely resolve this problem," Meng said.

Through characterization studies in collaboration with groups from Brookhaven National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers provided several reasons why oxygen vacancies improved the cathode material's performance. They explained that the vacancies allow lithium ions to move around more easily throughout the cathode, leading to high discharge capacity and faster discharge rates. The vacancies also increase the material's stability by inhibiting the formation of highly reactive oxygen radicals at the cathode material's surface, which are typically responsible for degrading the electrolyte while the battery is operating. This could mean longer battery lifetime, researchers said.

"We can controllably utilize oxygen activity to improve the performance of the material and better control how it works inside the battery," Zhang said.

As a next step, researchers will work on scaling up the treatment reported in this study. They will also conduct further studies on the oxygen activity in other materials and how it could be leveraged to improve battery performance.
Brent Batten

If you want to know how in the world Donald Trump made it to the top of the Republican presidential heap, a good place to start looking is the 287g program used by the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

It's not that the program, which allows sheriff's deputies to check the immigration status of individuals booked into the county jail, explains Trump's success.

But the fact that it's controversial does.

What 287g does is effectively deputize local law enforcement officers to do the federal background checks required to determine if a person is in the country illegally.

Without those checks, local authorities have no way of knowing if an arrested person is here illegally unless federal authorities have already put a hold on the individual.

Opponents of the program have been successful in cowing dozens of agencies across the country into dropping out of 287g. Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is sticking by it, renewing it in the face of continued criticism.

A main fault cited by the detractors is that local officers shouldn't play a role in enforcing federal law.

That is on its face absurd. Bank robbery is a federal crime too but we wouldn't for a second suggest that local police should ignore the call and let the FBI handle it.

Local police are likely to be on the scene in minutes. They can interview witnesses and collect evidence. If the perpetrator is there, you'd want sheriff's deputies to arrest him and hold him until the feds show up to take over.

Other arguments against 287g _ it discourages victims and witnesses from coming forward, it targets petty criminals when the focus should be on major offenders, it invites profiling _ fall flat as well.

Only people booked into the jail have their legal status checked. Victims and witnesses aren't taken to jail. Neither are jaywalkers or loud neighbors. Once at jail, anyone who can't provide documentation showing they were born in the U.S. is subject to the checks. About 2,400 such checks were performed last year.

A lot of people are tired of being told that common-sense solutions to real problems are racist or stupid or something to be ashamed of.

As ham-handed and inarticulate as he may be, Trump has encapsulated and seized on the sentiment that we ought to enforce our immigration laws. While he's also scored points on trade and by exploiting his opponents' supposed failings, immigration alone accounts for a great deal of his popularity.

When local deputies take the job, they swear to uphold the laws of the nation, the state and the county. We pay some of them to check the backgrounds of people who are arrested. Putting up an artificial wall that prevents one group of police from checking to see if another group of police has information on people that might help in enforcing the law makes no sense. Especially so when the people in question are in jail to begin with.

Since 2009, the Obama administration has been discouraging participation in 287g by local agencies. As many as 77 agencies in 25 states took part in 2009. The number is down to 30 agencies today.

Final say in issuing a deportation order still resides with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

If a person arrested in Collier County is found to be here illegally but ICE isn't interested in deporting them, they move through the legal system on the local charges as if no immigration violation exists.

While law enforcement agencies elsewhere may have backed away from letting their officers identify illegal immigrants at the jail, Collier County deputies are sticking with it. Good for them.

Said Chief of Corrections Chris Roberts, "I don't think we need to apologize for trying to make Collier County a great place and the safe place Sheriff Rambosk talks about."

(Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com, on Twitter@NDN_BrentBatten and at facebook.com/ndnbrentbatten)
Volunteers dress in American Revolutionary Period attire, supplied by historical reenactor Jack Ciotti, during the Estero Historical Society's Independence Day program. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent

SHARE Jack Ciotti, historical reenactor and teacher, leads the March of the Brigade during the Estero Historical Society's annual Independence Day program. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Estero Historical Society President Charles Dauray welcomes guests to the society's annual Reading of the Declaration of Independence. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Joann Luce leads attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance to open the Estero Historical Society's 4th of July program. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent Donald Newberry holds great-granddaughter Melanie Hope Ward, 3, on his lap during the Estero Historical Society's annual Independence Day program. Laura Gates/Banner Correspondent

By Laura Gates, Banner Correspondent

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

These famous words from the Declaration of Independence serve as the foundation for festivity throughout our nation on the Fourth of July. Monday marked America's 240th birthday, and in Southwest Florida, it was celebrated with patriotic parades, picnics and pyrotechnics.

The Estero Historical Society, however, offers something a bit more contemplative each year, an opportunity to honor America's heritage through a participatory reading of the pivotal document declaring America's independence from Britain.

"I never read the Declaration of Independence before in a group, or even on my own," said Florida Gulf Coast University student Brandon Cormier. "Reading through it makes you realize what the country stands for and what it was founded on. It's eye opening."

Cormier was among a handful of students, from elementary age to college, who volunteered to participate in the March of the Brigade, a costumed parade of Revolutionary War attire, provided by historical re-enactor Jack Ciotti, who teaches history at Royal Palm Academy.

Ciotti donned an authentic, wool coat of navy and red, which would have been worn by the American militia. He has portrayed soldiers on both sides of this epic war, most notably as a red-coated member of the British militia in Mel Gibson's "The Patriot."

For the Fourth of July program, 14-year-old Jordan Stelzer modeled Ciotti's British Redcoat uniform.

"A lot of people joined the army just because they thought this looked so good," said Ciotti, noting the poverty of early American settlers.

In Florida, the beautiful, but extremely heavy, wool uniforms took a toll on soldiers, many succumbing to heat stroke. Numerous soldiers also died from mosquito-borne diseases, while others died from antiquated medical procedures like bleeding or infections following surgeries.

"Florida was a death sentence," Ciotti said.

During Monday's program, Ciotti recounted the story of the state's participation in the Revolutionary War. At that time, Florida was divided into two British colonies, West and East Florida. The British army helped Florida's loyalists successfully defend St. Augustine from the Patriots.

"All took an oath of honor to their king," Ciotti said of the loyalists who dominated the British colonies.

When the Declaration of Independence arrived in St. Augustine on Aug. 11, 1776, residents burned dummies of John Hancock and Samuel Adams in the public square, Ciotti noted.

Loyalists also defended Pensacola during the Spanish conquest of West Florida, which resulted in Spanish rule following the Revolutionary War. Florida did not become a territory of the United States until 1822.

JoAnn Luce presented another little known event of the Revolutionary era, a battle not among men but against Mother Nature. The Hurricane of 1775, known as the Independence Hurricane, hit the colony of Newfoundland in September 1775 and traveled up the east coast, delivering devastation on the brink of the war.

"All this havoc was paralleled with high-intensity debate centering on separation from the motherland," Luce explained. "The winds of war were already blowing along with the oncoming gale."

At the time of the hurricane, there was a frenzy of port activity ahead of a congressional ban on trade with England, she said.

"These people had no warning," Luce said, contrasting our modern radar and broadcast media advisories.

In North Carolina, about 200 people died as a result of storm surge. Crops were destroyed, homes washed away and commerce was completely interrupted.

"The people were beginning to think God's hand was in this and providence did not want our country to separate from England," Luce said.

Nevertheless, the patriots pressed on.

"The Americans believed in their cause," Ciotti said.

Estero resident Alex Garibay brought his two small children to the society's program and said he enjoyed the history lessons.

"It's a learning opportunity for my kids and also for myself," he said. "I try to bring them every year if I can."

Estero Fire Commissioner Jim Mendolera said he learned about Martha Washington at last year's program and added to his knowledge this Fourth of July.

"You grow up with American history, but you don't hear all these little tidbits," he said.

The event culminated with attendees taking turns reading sentences from the Declaration of Independence. Program Director Carolyn Fischer leaned over to help Stelzer with some unfamiliar words as he read: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

The event ended with an a cappella singing of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," an American patriotic hymn written by Samuel Francis in 1831.
SHARE A camper takes the heartbeat of her panda bear patient inside the Nichols Pediatric Center at the YMCA Healthy Living Campus during the inaugural Red, Y & Blue event. (Ashley Collins/ Naples Daily News) Gen. Fred Franks read to dozens of preschoolers and YMCA campers during the inaugural Read, Y & Blue event, promoting patriotism and literacy, on June 30 at Nichols Pediatric Center inside the Greater Naples YMCA Healthy Living Campus. (Ashley Collins/ Naples Daily News) Preschoolers and YMCA campers bandage up an injured stuffed giraffe during the inaugural Read, Y & Blue event, promoting patriotism and literacy on June 30 at Nichols Pediatric Center at the Greater Naples YMCA Healthy Living Campus. They also created patriotic arts and crafts and heard from U.S. veterans. (Ashley Collins/ Naples Daily News) Campers create pies out of construction paper during the inaugural Read, Y & Blue event, promoting patriotism and literacy, on June 30 at the Greater Naples YMCA Healthy Living Campus. (Ashley Collins/ Naples Daily News)

By Ashley Collins of the Naples Daily News

Fred Franks, the famed retired four-star Army general, read to dozens of preschoolers and YMCA campers a few days before Independence Day during the inaugural Read, Y & Blue event, promoting patriotism and literacy.

His choice of book was "When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots," written by Lynne Cheney.

"It was November 1776, a time of trouble for our young country. We were fighting for our independence from Britain, and the war was not going well" the veteran read out loud inside the Nichols Pediatric Center at the Greater Naples YMCA Healthy Living Campus on June 30.

Franks, who served about 35 years in the Army and commanded troops in the Vietnam War and Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, makes it his mission to help veterans and active duty soldiers, while educating the younger generation.

"It's all about community service, helping all in the community celebrate our nation's birth," Franks said. Adding that it's important "to talk about what patriots do and the values of our nation with our young people, the future patriots."

He now serves as Southwest Florida honorary director and program advisor for Home Base Veteran and Family Care  an organization that serves post-9/11 service members, veterans and families by providing wellness-based programs, fitness, clinical care and education.

"The general was also the commander of the VII corps back in Desert Storm and performed the famous 'left-hook' maneuver that was the reason why the war went smoothly and as briefly as it did," said Armando Hernandez, Southwest Florida program manager of Home Base.

Hernandez, who also read to the children, served in the Marine Corps, and was promoted to sergeant during his enlistment.

The Home Base program was one of the sponsors that helped put on the inaugural event, which brought out 60 preschoolers and YMCA summer campers, who enjoyed a day of creating patriotic arts and crafts, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, hearing from veterans and examining patients  stuffed pandas and giraffes  in and around the Nichols Pediatric Center, established by the Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida.

Local pediatrician Todd Vedder, who served as the center's clinical director, headed the event.

"The YMCA has been the epicenter of collaboration in Collier County. They have a lot of organizations under one roof that are all doing great things for our community," Vedder said.

It was only natural that the organizations join together to do something for the children of the community.

"We came up with this clever idea, where we want to promote literacy and patriotism. These are two things that we often take for granted or forget. We can never forget those who sacrificed their lives to allow us to enjoy all these wonderful opportunities we have as Americans," Vedder said. As far as literacy goes, "We don't want to lose sight of the importance of books in children's lives. Kids do not learn well from screens, they learn better from being read to by their parents."

Event sponsors included Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida, Home Base Program, Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida, YMCA, K is for Kids Foundation, Germain BMW of Naples and Sherwin-Williams.

Germain BMW presented a check to HealthCare Network in the amount of 2,500 children's books.
J.C. Heithaus The vegetarian platter includes falafel, baba ghannouj, potatoes, a salad with pickled peppers and Lebanese rice.

SHARE Harriet Howard Heithaus/Naples Daily News Shish tawook (chicken kabobs) are served with signature Lebanese rice and two sides. Shish tawook (chicken kabobs) and a vegetarian platter, with the ever-present olive oil and pita for dipping, at Moura Bistro. Harriet Howard Heithaus photo The vegetarian platter came with falafel, salad with pickled peppers, baba ghannouj, Lebanese rice and its garlic potatoes. Heithaus photo

By Harriet Howard Heithaus of the Naples Daily News

Our first 10 minutes at Moura Bistro didn't portend a happy evening. That's how long it took us to get a sign  any sign  that we were standing there. And at that point it was a server shrugging helplessly toward us as she cleared tables so we and several other families behind us might get a seat.

She told us to pick any seat, a bit disingenuous since only two tables were cleared  and one of them was right behind a keyboardist pumping out pop-y tunes like "Volare" and "Al di La."

Then we learned two dishes on the menu we wanted, the chicken shawarma and spinach pies, were gone. It was a hard lesson: Get to this place early if you want signature Lebanese dishes like the shawarma, which must be marinated for hours in a spice blend of paprika, allspice, turmeric and garlic powder before it's cooked.

Moura Bistro was still jammed at 8:30 p.m., and a good number of the crowd seemed to be Middle Eastern, which spoke well to its authenticity. As if to mollify us, we had barely gotten our drinks, which came blessedly fast, when belly dancer Ansuya wriggled up for her performance. The crowd there even knew the tunes in her repertoire, and several of the women jumped up to shake along with her, which she graciously accommodated.

We were enjoying the show when our baba ghannouj ($8) arrived, a rich puree of garlic, tahini, parsley, lemon and eggplant, redolent of its earlier fire-roasting. You could make a wonderful dinner out of this, on the restaurant's flat pita triangles, with another appetizer.

But then you'd miss out on the platters, of which the shish tawook (chicken kabobs) ($23) was our choice. It was the right one. Its generous, fire-grilled, marinated chicken chunks ruled a pair of kabobs with neat squares of sweet onion and tomato in between, all of it on a bed of Lebanese rice.

For those who haven't had the pleasure to enjoy the latter, that's rice rinsed and soaked to eliminate its stickiness, then cooked and tossed into a skillet where finely chopped vermicelli has been toasted in olive oil. Nutty and tender-crunchy, it's much trickier to create than standard rice and oh-so addictive.

Because the platters come with two sides, we chose a Middle Eastern salad and garlic potatoes, tender roasted cubes with just a hint of the herb.

The shish also comes with a healthy dollop of what's called garlic sauce. That's toum, the Lebanese version of what we call aoli, and Moura's is so good I wanted to rub it in my hair. It's a mayonnaise-type spread, nippy with garlic carried to your taste buds via the egg-white olive oil whipped base. It's easy to put it on everything because you don't want to leave a spoonful behind.

Moura Bistro offers a shish kabob with lamb, beef or ground beef ($23) but, alas, also was out of lamb before we arrived.

My dining companion ordered the vegetarian platter ($18), and inhaled its salad, tabbouleh and another helping of baba ghannouj. But its centerpiece falafel, he said, seemed a bit dense and dry  a problem that usually stems from being pre-made  and bland. The perfect falafel, a sort of chick pea fritter ball, is firm, yet light, inside and crunchy-crusted, although taste profiles can differ from country to country.

In fact, owner Nabil Bassil told us the flavors can change from neighborhood to neighborhood in his native Lebanon, and he uses his mother's recipe, which incorporates parsley. But it's a bit mild-mannered for us; we're still pursuing the one we had in a Palestinian hotel  with a peppery bite and onion, hot and ready to be slathered in yogurt or tahini.

During our visit, Bassil was stopping by every table at the end of the evening for diners' thoughts. He told us all his recipes, along with the name on his bistro, came from his mother, whose cooking he revered.

Moura Bistro also offers a mixed grill ($27). For nibblers all the wonderful sides you'd want to swab its flat pita triangles with  lentil soup, tabbouleh, labneh (a slightly salty yogurt cheese) and hummus ($7-$8). At weekday lunch it offers sandwich versions of some of the above. There are beer and wine as well as soft drinks.

Don't think you don't have room for dessert. You can justify eating Moura's honey-drenched $6 baklava by taking belly dance lessons from Ansuya at Fleischmann Community Park.

While the cafe interior is perfectly in keeping with many we've seen in the Middle East, Neapolitans may bristle a little at its austere amenities in the face of its $17-$27 platters. So eat outside in the leafy, shaded patio, which also was doing a good business when we were there.

Once it gets a customer greeting protocol and adds some staff to handling bussing chores quickly, Moura Bistro will do Middle Eastern dining proud in Naples.

If you go

Moura Bistro


An aerial photo shows blue-green algae enveloping an area along the St. Lucie River in Stuart, Fla., Wednesday, June 29, 2016. (Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post via AP)

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By Arek Sarkissian of the Naples Daily News

TALLAHASSEE  Gov. Rick Scott asked President Barack Obama to declare a federal state of emergency Wednesday in response to thick algae blooms that have inundated parts of Florida's Atlantic coast and now threaten Southwest Florida communities along the Caloosahatchee River.

If Obama approves Scott's request, it could free up federal cash and resources the state can use to help address a thick layer algae that has coated coastal areas along Martin and St. Lucie counties on the East Coast. While none of the toxic algae has been identified in Southwest Florida, Scott included the area's Caloosahatchee River in the declaration due to a potential for the algae to spread, spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said.

Scott blamed the algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee water the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pump into the St. Lucie and Caloosahachtee rivers.

"I request that you declare a federal emergency and use the full resources of the federal government to eliminate the public health and safety threats associated with the unnatural discharge of nutrient-laden fresh water from Lake Okeechobee into the canals that flow east into the Indian River Lagoon and west into the Caloosahatchee River."

Lake Okeechobee has long been the target of environmentalists who believe nearby farms and urban runoff have polluted its waters. The Corps of Engineers uses the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers to drain Lake Okeechobee when its banks are too high. Data provided by the corps website show recent rainfall had pushed the lake's level to a point where a dike on its southern shore that has been under renovation since 2007 could be in danger. That threat prompted the releases, and local officials complain that the discharge of polluted freshwater damages the more sensitive delicate estuaries in Southwest Florida and along the East Coast that require a unique balance of salt water to survive.

Scott had already announced a plan earlier Wednesday to ask the Legislature for money to help replace septic tanks with sewer lines. The costs to rid the state of septic tanks, which are believed to promote algae growth through leaked nutrients, would be split with local governments.

Scott's plan will go before a state Senate led next year by incoming President Joe Negron, whose district includes the coastal areas currently impacted by the algae blooms. He laid sole blame on the algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee.

"I appreciate what the governor is doing right now, but let's not lose sight of the issue at hand," said Negron, R-Stuart. "I have seen it with my own eyes that those algae blooms came directly from Lake Okeechobee."

Lake Okeechobee has long been a culprit of ecological problems. The algae blooms have renewed a call for the state to follow through with a plan to purchase 46,800 acres of sugar cane land south of the lake to store its fresh water. The deal with U.S. Sugar was hatched in 2008 by then Gov. Charlie Crist and later scrapped when the Great Recession shrank the state budget. Lawmakers in following years decided the deal, which would cost taxpayers up to $700 million, was too much.

Scott blamed the federal government for failing to provide money to fix the network of dikes that control the lake water.

"That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters," Scott said in a statement. "Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it."

Scott did not include a specific amount in the septic tank replacement plan. Last week, he declared a state of emergency for the state's coasts dealing with the lake water discharges. That declaration called on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation Commission to purchase algae testing kids, establish a hotline and deploy additional staff. The order also called on the South Florida Water Management District to store more Lake Okeechobee water in storage areas north and south of it.

Scott's plan to switch septic tanks for sewer line connections would be voluntary, which gives it more of a chance of passing by both chambers of the Legislature. Lawmakers in 2010 passed a law that required inspections of all septic tanks, but it was later repealed after residents in rural counties complained about costs.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

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By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

Dr. Rebekah Bernard has worked for a nonprofit clinic in Immokalee, a physician group affiliated with a hospital chain, and had her own practice within an urgent care center.

Now she has a solo direct primary care practice south of Fort Myers and not far from Estero.

She wants simple, low overhead and no red tape. That way, patients pay a low monthly fee of $35 to $75, depending on their age, to be a part of her practice, she said.

She opened Gulf Coast Direct Primary Care on July 5 and is enrolling patients.

"It's really, really ideal for people with high deductible (plans) or no insurance," she said.

Bernard, 42, has been thinking about going into this type of practice for several years. She recognizes there is risk with this type of practice but said it is worth it.

"I want to take back control. I want to be my own boss," she said. "I'm really interested in helping working people."

The tipping point for her is a new system of merit-based incentive payments to doctors under Medicare that will start 2019 but the federal government will start using performance scoring in 2017 for determining reimbursement, according to the American Medical Association.

The new payment system will force many solo or small-group doctors into bigger groups, among other things, she said.

"It put into law 900-plus pages (of rules) for physicians to follow," Bernard said.

Direct primary care is a form of retainer-based practices which many physicians are turning to out of frustration with insurance regulations, issues with electronic medical records and high overhead.

There is no uniform model of a direct primary care practice but doctors typically do not accept insurance. Bernard will not be accepting insurance and will not be participating in Medicare.

Still, she recommends her patients have a catastrophic insurance plan or high deductible plan when a hospitalization is necessary.

Dottie Sugarman, of Bonita Springs, first became a patient of Bernard's 10 years ago when she was part of Physicians Regional Medical Group, affiliated with Physicians Regional Healthcare System in Collier County.

She has no qualms about paying the $75 a month to be in the doctor's new practice, the 63-year-old said.

"She's likable, very personal and very computer literate," Sugarman said. "She doesn't make you feel like she's in a hurry to leave the room."

Sugarman is retired and her health care coverage is Florida Blue through the Affordable Care Act. Her deductible is $6,700 a year and she pays roughly $1,000 a month in a premium because she doesn't qualify for a subsidy.

She intends to submit paperwork to her insurer every time she sees Bernard to have it count toward her deductible, even though she figures she will never reach her deductible.

"I'm a healthy woman," she said. "I figured why not spend the money with her?"

She expects to see Bernard twice a year, for wellness checks, blood work and the like.

"She will just make sure I'm in good shape," she said.

Patients are not required to sign a contract to be a part of her practice and instead pay monthly, Bernard said.

A direct primary care physician typically need 600 patients, but she figures her break even is 100 patients due to minimal overhead with rental space and one employee. She's arranged for discount contracts with a laboratory and radiology practice for imaging, plus she's buying supplies through online retailers.

In her previous practice within the Estero Urgent Care Center, she had 3,000 patients.

Eighty percent or more of what patients need to primary care services can be managed in the office, and blood samples can be drawn in the office and sent to the laboratory for the analysis, she said.

For more information about Gulf Coast Direct Primary Care, located at 17595 U.S. 41 South, Suite 227, call 239-322-3860.
In partnership with the Walmart Foundation, Dress for Success SW Florida is pleased to present a free Going Places Network (GPN) orientation event at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13 at the Dress for Success SW Florida Career Center, 12995 Cleveland Ave., Suite 153 in Fort Myers. Women seeking assistance in landing their dream job should register at bit.ly/DFSGPN.

The event is open to women who are actively job searching, unemployed, under-employed or seeking career advancement and those who are job-ready. Participants will learn networking skills and the key components of a successful job search and career. Attendees will connect with resources and meet people that will help them achieve their goals.



Dress for Success SW Florida relies on donations and volunteers from the Southwest Florida community to help continue its life-changing mission of providing wardrobes, employment counseling and career development tools for women in Lee and Collier counties.



For more information about the Going Places Network or Dress for Success SW Florida, please contact Executive Assistant Susanne DeCarle at (239) 689-4992 or visit dfsswflorida.org.



Dress for Success SW Florida is part of a global movement for change, empowering women to obtain safer and better futures. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to more than 141 cities in 19 countries and has helped more than 850,000 women work towards self-sufficiency, while providing career wardrobes, employment counseling and mentoring. The Fort Myers location of Dress for Success SW Florida is 12995 S. Cleveland Ave. Suite 153, Fort Myers in the Pinebrook Plaza. The Naples location is located on the Hodges University Campus in Naples, For information on Dress for Success SW Florida, email swflorida@dressforsuccess.org, call 239-689-4992 or visit dfsswflorida.org.
A poignant community event took place in Annacarty village in commemoration of the War of Independence and Civil War.

The event included the Irish Flag raising at the Annacarty RIC Barracks and a wreath laying commemoration by army Officers at the war memorial and the barracks.

The commemoration began with the children walking down from Annacarty National School, each holding a flower that they would later place at the Village War Memorial, where over two hundred people had gathered.

Local historian and former teacher Kevin OReilly spoke about the four volunteers especially remembered: Brigadier Dinny Lacey, Sean ORiordan, Michael Ryan and Daniel Carew and the history of the Annacarty RIC Barracks.

Family members of Sean ORiordan placed a photograph at the War Memorial and a framed letter to Sean ORiordans mother informing her that her son had been killed and other volunteer family members laid wreaths at the monument.

The crowd followed the children in procession to the Annacarty RIC Barracks where two Officers of the Irish Army made a presentation of the National Flag to the people of Annacarty.

The story of how the flag was raised in 1922 and how the children were involved singing the national anthem for the volunteers as they raised the National Flag for the first time was relayed.

This was followed by Annacarty N.S. student Rebecca Ryan, raising the flag whilst the children sang Amhran Na Bhfiann led by Principal Ms. Olivia Ryan.

Superintendent Pat OConnor laid a wreath at the door of the barracks in memory of all the people who suffered during the War of Independence and the Civil War; the members of the RIC, their families, the members of the Church Of Ireland and the families of the volunteers.

A special mention was given to Sergeant OSullivan, the former Sergeant of Annacarty RIC barracks who disappeared without trace during the War Of Independence and is believed to have been tortured and killed by the Black and Tans.

RTE Presenter John Creedon was also present to address the crowd as RTE were filming for the upcoming TV program, Creedons Epic East.

The Commemoration events continued into the afternoon with a display of RIC volunteer memorabilia in the community Hall and a public talk on the Annacarty RIC barracks and the fight for Irish Freedom.

There has been lots of activity at the Annacarty Barracks with an archeological survey taking place by Wolfhound Archeology initiated by local man Tom Touhy and Cllr. Mary Hanna Hourigan.

Joanne Hughes from Wolfhound Archeology explained that the history of the Annacarty Barracks is really exciting as it is one of the earliest barracks in the country dating back to 1821.

The building is like a time capsule and since it was burnt down in 1922 it hasnt been touched. From an archeological point of view, its like a miniature battlefield and our job is trying to work out archeologically if we can identify what happened in the closing stages in the life of this building.

Weve used a few different techniques and our geophysics survey has presented some very interesting facts including the discovery of another road behind the barracks that runs parallel to the main road and the site is a lot more complex than we originally thought.
The French Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Jean-Pierre Thebault, will lead this years Famine 1848 Walk in Ballingarry.

The Walk takes place on Saturday, 30 July at 3pm from the 1848 and National Flag Monument in the village of The Commons to the Famine Warhouse at Farranrory, the scene of the 1848 Rising.

The Famine Warhouse is a national heritage site, museum and visitor attraction under the Office of Public Works. The Walk covers a mile and a half of gently ascending ground.

The annual Walk remembers the millions who suffered and died during the Famine (1845-1850) and the Famine Rising of 1848 when the Young Irelanders under William Smith OBrien, M.P., attempted to stage a bloodless revolution in Ballingarry.

The French Ambassador will lead the Walk and his visit will mark the many links between Ireland and France in 1848 and 1916, in this centenary year of the Easter Rising and the Battle of the Somme.

Irish and French Flags

The French Revolution of 1848 sparked a year of revolutions across Europe and deeply influenced the Young Irelanders.

William Smith OBrien and Thomas Francis Meagher led a Young Ireland delegation to Paris to congratulate French Republicans on their overthrow of the monarchy.

The Irish tricolour was brought back from France by Thomas Francis Meagher. Tradition states that the flag was flown in Ballingarry during the Rising.

On the monument, in the village of The Commons where the Walk starts, Meaghers words on the symbolism of the flag are inscribed: the white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the Orange and the Green and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood.

The Irish tricolour is a flag of 1848 and it was flown from the roof of the GPO during the 1916 Rising.

To mark the historic connection between Ireland and France in 1848 there will be a presentation and exchange of flags. The Ambassador will present the French tricolour of red, white and blue to the Famine Warhouse, where it will be displayed. He will be presented with an Irish tricolour.

Escape to France

Another direct link between 1848 and 1916 and between Ireland and France is that the founder of the IRB or Fenian movement James Stephens and his colleagues John OMahony and Michael Doheny were all present in Ballingarry.

The IRB was responsible for organizing the 1867 Rising and the 1916 Rising. This fact is also recalled on the monument in The Commons.

James Stephens pulled OBrien out of the line of fire at the Famine Warhouse. After the Rising, Stephens, OMahony and Doheny all found safe political refuge in France.

Irish in Battle of the Somme

The Ambassador will also note how the French people rallied strongly to send financial aid to the starving Irish during the Famine and how in World War One tens of thousands of Irishmen fought for freedom in France alongside French soldiers, particularly at the Battle of the Somme which began one hundred years ago in July 1916.

Thirty men from Ballingarry were killed in the Great War, twenty-five of them in France.

Patrick Delaney from the townsland of Kyle, through which the Walk will pass, was killed on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. William Sullivan of Kyle was killed two days earlier. Philip Purcell from nearby Williamstown was killed on 14 July 1916, Bastille Day.

Tenth Year

This is the tenth year of the Walk and the second time that it has been led by an Ambassador. In 2008 the Walk leader was the Australian Ambassador to Ireland.

The Walk is organised by the Ballingarry 1848 Society, a voluntary body which exists to promote the national heritage site as a tourist and education attraction.

Visitors will be able to view the house museum which was once a family home. The house contains a detailed historical exhibition outlining the context of 1848: famine, death and mass emigration of Irish refugees, revolutions across Europe, and the Rising. The exhibition also displays eyewitness accounts of what took place inside and around the house on the day of the Rising. There is also an Audio-Visual Room and a free visitors guide brochure. There are scenic views at 1,000 feet to be enjoyed from the field in front of the house. At the end of the Walk, after the Ambassadors speech, refreshments will be served from the Tea Room in the courtyard. All are welcome whether walking or visiting the house museum. There is an open invitation to all schools in the area to walk behind their Tricolour flags on the day.

Famine Warhouse 1848 is a developing national heritage site mid-way between Cashel and Kilkenny City which attracts many foreign and national visitors as well as school, history and other tours. The OPW has announced that it is to restore the final un-renovated outbuilding as an Education Room and works are due to take place in the near future.

There will be free guided tours of the Famine Warhouse on the following day, Sunday, 31 July. The Walk takes place, rain or shine (so bring a sun hat and an umbrella). It is an occasion when the people of Ballingarry extend a warm welcome to all visitors.
From 27 to 29 June, the Bulgarian city of Varna was the stage for the fifth annual NATO Clearing House on Defence Education. For three days, the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy of Bulgaria hosted a series of rich debates and productive discussions among the defence educators and NATO experts assembled.

The event was held under the umbrella of NATOs Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP), which connects senior educators from Allied nations with their counterparts from partner countries with the objective of enhancing educational curricula and learning methods. The strategic goal is through military education to develop a common military culture and perception in the neighbouring regions, thus contributing to the regional security and stability. The DEEP combines in a unique way the Alliances multilateral framework with the advantages of the direct bilateral school-to-school cooperation, said Deputy Minister of Defence of Bulgaria Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev.

The exchanges and outcomes focused on how to support NATO and partner countries in their commitment to reach DEEP objectives, to build, modernise and reform defence institutions.

The Clearing House gathered 58 participants from 19 countries and 41 institutions, coming together to reassert their shared coordinated support to the DEEP programmes. From the 11 existing programmes to future endeavours, all wide-ranging participants renewed their commitment to further their efforts in this domain.

The event was organised in conjunction with the PfP Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes as well as several Partnership Training and Education Centres.

It once again proved an invaluable multinational platform for the continued success and gradual progression of the individual DEEP country programmes.
More Europeans will be put at risk

Findings affirm what independent studies have said all along

(NaturalNews) Some 31 European organizations have sent a letter to the European Union in a bid to stop the spread of glyphosate  the primary ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide  across the continent.The open letter, sent by trade unions, consumer protection groups and others including health, environmental and medical organizations, are pressing EU Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and ambassadors of member states to limit the herbicide ingredient's use due to concerns they have about its safety.Calling carcinogenic assessments of glyphosate "grossly flawed," the groups said that "the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have ignored relevant OECD guidelines, falsely interpreted animal carcinogenicity studies, and systematically rejected relevant epidemiological studies by wrongly claiming them to be 'unreliable,' as detailed in the expert statements accompanying this letter."Signatories of the open letter include Pesticide Action Network Europe, Breast Cancer UK, Corporate Europe Observatory, the International Union of Food Workers, and GMWatch."In writing this we join voices with the 96 leading international scientists who, in an open letter published at the end of 2015, expressed their serious reservations about the EFSA and BfR's assessments of carcinogenicity, describing them as 'scientifically unacceptable,' 'fundamentally flawed' and 'misleading.' We therefore call on you to not rely on the erroneous conclusions drawn by BfR and EFSA," the letter states.Also, asreports on its Web site:"We note that the EFSA and BfR evaluations are also unsuitable as a basis for decision-making because they mask the fact that since 2009 the European pesticides regulation specifies 'hazard-based' cut-off criteria for carcinogenic substances," the letter said."In total disregard for this legal basis, the EFSA and BfR continue to argue on a 'risk basis' and on the basis of exposure, when they come to the conclusion that 'when used properly, according to the current data a carcinogenic risk to humans is unlikely.'"The 31-member group also said that authorizing wider use of glyphosate on the continent would put more Europeans' health at risk."Epidemiological studies from Europe, the USA and Canada assessed by the IARC lead us to expect an increased incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for professional and private users of Glyphosate-based pesticides. This is a malignant cancer of the lymph glands for which the outcome is fatal in half of all cases," the letter said."Glyphosate residues in foods could also result in an increased risk of cancer incidence for the European population as a whole, as the IARC classifies Glyphosate as 'genotoxic' (damaging to DNA) and for such substances no safe limits can be suggested," it continued. "Consequently, the fact that a majority of Europeans excrete Glyphosate in their urine and exposure has grown strongly in the past decade gives cause for great concern."Asreported in March 2015, the World Health Organization has concluded that glyphosate "probably" is carcinogenic, after finding that the chemical was present in 75 percent of rain and air samples.Those findings "affirm what many independent scientists and researchers have been discovering in recent years about the world's most popular herbicide," we reported. "But the findings also contradict the official position of the U.S. government, which claims that glyphosate herbicide is 'safe' -- so much so that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2013 actually upped the tolerance level for glyphosate on food crops."Sources:
Radioactive waste legally dumped in ocean!

In the pocket of Big Oil

(NaturalNews) Over the course of his presidency, Barrack Obama transformed from a politician who spoke of the need to wean the country from its dangerous dependence on oil to one who boasted of how much he had done to boost domestic oil drilling.Now documents obtained via a lawsuit reveal how the administration allowed energy companies to dump more than 76 billion gallons of toxic, radioactive fracking wastewater directly into the Gulf of Mexico -- and that's just in 2014.Permission to dump came along with the more than 1,200 offshore fracking permits that the administration granted between 2010 and 2014.RT.com writes, "The Obama administration is essentially letting oil companies frack at will in Gulf ecosystems and dump billions of gallons of oil waste into coastal waters," said Kristen Monsell, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Every offshore frack increases the risk to wildlife and coastal communities, yet federal officials have been just rubber-stamping this toxic practice in the Gulf of Mexico for years."Fracking, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, consists of blasting high-pressure sand, water and a secret mix of toxic chemicals into bedrock in order to "fracture" it, allowing access to the oil and gas trapped within. The water used in the fracturing flows back to the surface, contaminated with fracking chemicals as well as radioactive isotopes, volatile organics and heavy metals that leach into it from the fractured bedrock. But because of trade secrecy laws, no one knows exactly what is in this wastewater."Nobody can say how much of any type of waste is being produced, what it is, and where it's ending up," said Nadia Steinzor of Earthworks, which is suing to try and force the Environmental Protection Agency to start tracking and regulating drilling waste.This toxic brew is now being dumped by the billions of gallons into the Gulf of Mexico, courtesy of an administration that once promised to reign in the oil and gas industry.The Center for Biological Diversity learned of the practice after suing the US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) for failing to reveal them following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.Both agencies were created by the Obama Adminsitraiton following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in US history. Although the agencies were tasked with preventing such disasters in the future, a recent Government Accountability Office audit found that the BSEE has failed to even lay out policies or procedures for investigating violations.The documents also revealed that the Obama administration has issued more than 300 exclusions exempting offshore fracking wells from environmental review, similar to the exemptions given to the Deepwater Horizon rig prior to the spill."The federal government certainly has no right to give the oil industry free rein to frack our oceans  or to keep coastal communities in the dark about this toxic industrial activity," Monsell said.But such policies are unfortunately par for the course from a president who boasted to Congress in 2014 that "more oil [was] produced at home than we buy from the rest of the worldthe first time that's happened in nearly twenty years."In fact, US oil production his its highest point in 31 years in 2013. By the following year, oil reserves were higher than they'd been in 38 years.This surge in domestic oil production and reserves didn't just come from offshore fracking , but also from a massive increase in offshore drilling of all kinds and a huge surge in oil and gas leases on public lands. The Obama Adminstration has also dramatically increased the speed at which drilling permits are approved, in part by lightening environmental scrutiny.As energy companies and government collude to keep poisoning coastal ecosystems and freshwater, now might be a good time to stock up on clean, organic, nonperishable foods.


Medical authorities are warning that the Zika virus may already be spreading through Texas, California, Arizona and other parts of the U.S. where the summer weather fosters an inviting habitat for mosquitoes. Outbreaks may remain hidden until mothers begin giving birth to afflicted babies, reports the Dallas News in its coverage.

Although over 900 people have been diagnosed with Zika in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of them contracted the infection while traveling in South America or the Caribbean. The CDC has also identified 13 cases where Zika was sexually transmitted in the U.S.

So far the CDC has reported no locally acquired mosquito-borne cases in the continental U.S. But a number of health experts are expressing concern over disease-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that could migrate north as summer temperatures provide a more conducive environment for them.

A study in the journal PLOS Current Outbreaks says that this summer, mosquito populations might proliferate in at least 50 U.S. cities, including Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C. "Meteorological conditions are suitable for Aedes aegypti across all fifty cities during peak summer months (July-September)," note the authors.

Peter Hotez, M.D., a professor and dean at the Baylor College of Medicine, writes in Momentum that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes may already be transmitting Zika to people living in the at-risk areas of Arizona, southern California and the Gulf Coast. Infections may not have come to light yet as the symptoms of Zika are mild and may not motivate victims to get a diagnosis.

In an NPR interview, journalist Donald G. McNeil, Jr. warns that the time is ripe for Zika to strike hard in the United States. Author of the book "Zika: The Emerging Epidemic," McNeil says that Americans are particularly vulnerable in 2016 because Zika is still an unfamiliar virus.

"Nobody is immune to it, nobody has antibodies to it," declares McNeil, though he offers a silver lining: "After this year, a fair number of people will be immune, and each year immunity will grow."
Harry Potter fans may be devastated to find out that the laws of physics point to the sheer impossibility of a human invisibility cloak.

Researchers at the University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering in Austin have discovered the fundamental physical limitations of cloaking devices, a technology that makes objects invisible or undetectable to electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, microwaves, visible light and infrared.

While the researchers confirm that it is possible to use an invisibility cloak to hide an object for a specific electromagnetic wavelength, it is highly unlikely that the cloak will hide large objects - such as human bodies - across multiple wavelengths at once.

"The question is, 'Can we make a passive cloak that makes human-scale objects invisible?'" Andrea Alu, electrical and computer engineering professor and a lead researcher in the area of cloaking technology, said in a news release.

"It turns out that there are stringent constraints in coating an object with a passive material and making it look as if the object were not there, for an arbitrary incoming wave and observation point," Alu added.

According to the research, which was published in the journal Optica, cloaks are made of metamaterials, which have special properties that allow for better control of the incoming wave and can make an object invisible or transparent. The limitations established in the research apply to cloaks made of passive metamaterials - those that do not draw energy from an external power source.

The researchers found that the performance of a passive cloak is largely determined by the size of an object to be hidden compared with the wavelength or incoming wave, quantifying how cloaking becomes more difficult for shorter wavelengths.

"We have shown that it will not be possible to drastically suppress the light scattering of a tank or an airplane for visible frequencies with currently available techniques based on passive materials," Francesco Monticone, co-author of the study, said in a statement.

"But for objects comparable in size to the wavelength that excites them (a typical radio-wave antenna, for example, or the tip of some optical microscopy tools), the derived bounds show that you can do something useful, the restrictions become looser, and we can quantify them," Monticone added.

According to the researchers, now that they have figured out the limits of cloaking devices, they would proceed with working to exceed the limits and make improvements on the devices as quickly as possible.

Just recently, another team of scientists from Columbia University has also designed a cloaking device that will be used to hide the Earth from a possible alien invasion.
Experts warn against certain ingredients present in most deodorants and antiperspirants.

While underarm products are not being digested, medical experts said that cosmetic ingredients being applied on the skin may be worse.

"When you eat something, it's broken down by your liver and digestive system," Dr. Heather Patisaul, associate professor of biology at North Carolina University, told Time.

"But when you put something on your skin, there are times when it can enter your bloodstream without being metabolized," Patisaul added.

According to Patisaul, there are such things as "endocrine disruptors" that could mess with the function of the body's reproductive and developmental hormones. Some chemical substances may enter the bloodstream when applied on the skin, she said. But according to blood tests, many of the substances present in deodorants can actually enter through the epidermis and into the body.

Another research conducted by Dr. Philp Harvey, edictor-in-chief of the Journal of Applied Toxicology, showed that compounds used in deodorants are being absorbed and stored in fat cells clustered in the underarm area.

In a more alarming study, author Philippa Darbre, an oncologist at the University of Reading in the UK, found that the aluminum content of most deodorants and antiperspirants may cause "gene instability" in the breast tissue that may lead to breast cancer risks.

However, Dr. Ted S. Gansler of the American Cancer Society said that many of these studies are "flawed," that even though some had detected chemicals from underarm products in breast tissue, they did not prove that these chemicals had any effect on breast cancer risk.

Aside from aluminum, Time reports that these other ingredients present in most underarm products are raising concerns among health experts.

1. Parabens - used as preservatives in deodorants and other cosmetic and personal care products.

2. Triclosan - added by cosmetic manufacturers to their products to prevent bacterial contamination.

3. Phthalates - help deodorant and other cosmetics stick to the skin.

4. Fragrance - scents added to the product which are said to cause some allergies.
Saturn's moons greatly influence their host planet's rings. Pan, one of Saturn's moon also largely affect the ring that surrounds the planet as what has been captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft. It orbits on its own gap within the planet's ring.

Pandemonium: Tiny Pan (center) and moons like it have big effects on #Saturn's rings. https://t.co/6FpvU4E8Cq pic.twitter.com/Sgata0GBTJ  CassiniSaturn (@CassiniSaturn) July 5, 2016

In the photo released by NASA, there was a clear gap on the ring that also serves as Pan's orbit. Experts from the agency said that aside from the gap, ringlets and vertical waves moving up and down could also appear on the ring plane due to gravity and moon activities. The one of Saturn's innermost moon is visible orbiting its gap on the Saturn's ring, according to a report.

The moon Pan is 17 miles across and maintains a gap called Encke Gap where it normally orbits. This also helps create narrow ringlets that appear on the gap. From the image, two ringlets are visible.

"Many moons, Pan included, create waves at distant points in Saturn's rings where ring particles and the moons have orbital resonances. Many such waves are visible here as narrow groupings of brighter and darker bands. Studying these waves can provide information on local ring conditions," a NASA official said in a press release.

The ability to influence and disturb Saturn's ring makes Pan an interesting object for scientists and astronomers. The view is positioned towards the unilluminated side of the ring at 22 degrees below the ring plane. The Cassini spacecraft captured the photo in April this year and was taken in visible light at a distance of approximately 232,000 miles from Saturn.

Some reports say the Pan, Atlas, another Saturn moon and Saturn's ring might have been created at the same time. This is a logical explanation as to how the moons and the rings co-exist this way.

"We think the only way these moons could have reached the sizes they are now, in the ring environment as we now know it to be, was to start off with a massive core to which the smaller, more porous ring particles could easily become bound," Carolyn Porco from ESA said in an interview with Daily Mail. This might explain the orchestrated movement of Pan in its own orbit in a clear gap on Saturn's ring.

The Cassini mission continues to provide information about Saturn and its moons. The mission is a collaborative work between NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency.
A decade-long study revealed that a relative of the modern day ostrich, kiwis and tinamous once roamed North America.

About 10 years ago, a completely intact fossil was found in a former lake bed in the Green River Formation in Wyoming. Because the hollow and soft bird bones are more likely to be crushed during fossilization, the discovery of the fossil in Wyoming was labeled rare and exceptional.

Sterling Nesbitt, an assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech who discovered the fossil, revealed that it belongs to a 50-million-year-old species that have not been discovered before.

"This spectacular specimen could be a 'keystone' that helps interpret much of the sparse fossil of birds that once lived in North America millions of years ago," Nesbitt, said in a news release.

The release describes the former lake where the fossil was unearthed as a location "best known for producing scores of complete fish skeleton fossils as well as other fossils," including other birds, turtles, and mammals from an ecosystem estimated to be 50 million years old.

The species was named Calciavis grandei: calci which translates to "hard/stone," avis which is Latin for bird, and grandei which was inspired by the famed paleontologist Lance Grande.

The species was described by IFL science as a bird about the size of a chicken. The article added that it most dwelled on land and is almost flightless.

Calciavis grandei belongs to the extinct group of early Palaeognathae birds, the Lithornithidae, among one of the earliest well-represented bird species after the age of large dinosaurs.

The researchers believed the species used to live in the then forested environment of Wyoming and reached their extinction status when forests disappeared, leaving the place hot and dry.

Researchers described the new species in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
Chasing a volcanic eruption in the name of science can bring both adrenalin rush and danger to researchers. But safety is not the priority for a group of seismologists who managed to deploy equipment and successfully document Iceland's biggest volcanic event in 200 years.

Instead of running away after noticing tremors, the researchers hastily positioned their gears right in time before an eruption occurred on Aug. 28, 2014. The dramatic story will be told in an exhibit in London at this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

Cambridge research students from the university's Volcano Seismology group were monitoring the Bararbunga volcano for days. They were woken up by tremors believed to have caused by molten rocks that they have been tracking and studying for 10 days. But what makes this study more interesting is that the researchers chose science over safety when an imminent danger of a volcanic eruption was present. They aimed to get as close as they can, according to a press release by the University of Cambridge.

The team successfully installed equipment where the channel was flowing and just hours after they did so, the volcano erupted, in a different spot. This proves means their dedication to science came intro fruition and their obvious disregard for safety was worth it because they were able to document Iceland's biggest volcanic event in 200 years; with magma height that reached 150 meters high.

The importance of fieldwork concerning volcanic eruptions and seismic activities are also being presented in the exhibit.

The molten lava has been moving underground the said volcano since another Icelandic volcano erupted in 2010. The researchers from the University of Cambridge rushed against time in retrieving the equipment before flowing lava destroys them, according to a video released by Press and Journal in the UK.

Their race for science is like those scenes typically sees in the movies. "It was absolutely spectacular," Robert Green, a seismologist at the University of Cambridge said in a statement published by Quartz. "Seeing nature in its absolutely full power was something I will never forget," Green added.

But aside from the life-threatening experience, the study presented a new understanding of how volcanic eruptions occur. The lava from the Bararbunga volcano traveled 46 kilometers underground away from the volcano before it erupted, creating another exit point in an entirely different place. This study will greatly help in the understanding of seismic events all over the world.
Florida authorities have arrested a Tequesta man for stealing more than a hundred sea turtle eggs on Jupiter Island after officials have received reports of egg poaching in the area.

The culprit, Glenn Robert Shaw, 49, was arrested by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Shaw was caught red-handed with 107 turtle eggs he stole from a female loggerhead sea turtle, 92 of which were reburied while 15 were kept as evidence.

Shaw's motive, according to Palm Beach Post, is still being determined.

Protecting Floridas natural resources is something we take seriously," said FWC Captain Jeff Ardelean. "Were thankful that this individual was prevented from doing further harm to this imperiled species."

Shaw is currently facing a third-degree felony charge of five years in prison, $5,000 fine and a $3,000-bond.

According to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, sea turtles are becoming more and more extinct. At present, the seven existing species of sea turtles--including the green, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback and olive ridley--are classified as endangered species.

Sea turtles are mainly becoming extinct due to human activities, where they are being fished and slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shell. Apart from poaching, sea turtles are also at risk of habitat destruction caused by fishing gears.

A study last year published in the journal Endangered Species Research revealed that climate change affects the incubation period of baby marine turtles, resulting in varying developmental rates, hatch and emergence success and embryonic sex.

"They outlived the dinosaurs and are in danger of disappearing from habitat destruction, the cruel pet trade, and live food markets worldwide," Susan Tellem, founder of World Turtle Day, told The CS Monitor.

Scientists say that everyone could help in protecting the endangered species by simply avoiding seafood that are caught by fishermen without Turtle Excluder Devices.
New scanning technology using ultraviolet sources of light offers scientists a better tool for seeing into the dimly-lit regions of the far side of the Moon. A Southwest Research Institute-led team of researchers applied the device in finding two geologically young craters near the lunar south pole, SwRI News reports.

SwRI senior research scientist Kathleen Mandt led the team in finding the lunar craters in what she calls "a really exciting discovery." As Mandt explained, detecting "young" impact craters and determining their age gives scientists a greater understanding of the collision timeline of our solar system - and thus the history of its formation.

The dark side of the Moon has long been a mystery to sky watchers, and to this day it retains a tantalizing air of mystery. Spacecraft have sent us back images of the dark side, but it is still difficult to observe and study what scientists refer to as the permanently shaded regions (PSRs) of the Moon.

The first photographs of the PSRs came from the Soviet Union's Luna 3 mission back in 1959. The grainy pictures provided startling evidence that the Moon's other side has very different features from the side which faces Earth. Since then, there have been many attempts to better observe and analyze the characteristics of the PSRs, but they have been very challenging to study since light from the sun never directly illuminates the dimmer areas, such as deep craters.

Mandt's team made use of the SwRI-developed Lyman-Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) instrument that is installed in the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The LRO-LAMP detector captures imagery using ultraviolet light coming from distant stars and from the Lyman-Alpha skyglow (the fine scattering of hydrogen atoms throughout our solar system).

According to NASA, the main mission of LAMP is to search the depths of cavernous craters at the lunar poles, looking for water in the form of ice. But what Mandt's team has discovered is valuable on its own right - it provides scientists with a new method for making out crucial details of the permanently shaded areas of celestial objects, which can not only be used on the Moon, but on bodies such as Mercury, the asteroid Vesta, and the dwarf planet Ceres.
The completed list of Forbes Americas Top Colleges has been released and Bay Area Universities are ranking high.

Not only was Stanford University ranked the No. 1 top college in the country, but UC Berkeley also made the list at No. 40 followed by Santa Clara University at No. 88 out of 660 schools across the nation.

But that wasnt all; UC Davis was ranked No. 125 and UC Santa Cruz No. 200.

The 660 colleges across the nation were ranked on categories of student satisfaction, postgraduate success, student debt, four-year graduation rate and academic success.

The list was curated alongside the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Department of Education, Payscale and the Americas Leaders list looked for factors concerning students directly, not what is required to be accepted into the college

The full list of the Top Colleges of 2016 is up now, but you can see all the Bay Area schools that ranked below.

Americas Top Colleges 2016

Stanford University #1

University of California, Berkley #40

Santa Clara University #88

University of California, Davis #125

University of California, Santa Cruz #200

University of San Francisco #231

San Jose State University #315

San Francisco State University #374

California State University, Chico #384

California State University, Sacramento #429

California State University, East Bay #465

California State University, Stanislaus #475
If youre searching for a job, you may be in luck.

J. C. Penney is getting ready for the back-to-school shopping rush by hiring 250 associates in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The retail company stated in an announcement that they are searching for "energetic local associates" to fill a number of positions available.

The positions include cashier, commission sales associate, merchandise support associate "and more."

J.C. Penney has over 10 locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including stores in East San Jose, Daly City, San Bruno and Hayward.

The announcement asks that interested individuals apply in-store using their Applicant Kiosk or by visiting JCPcareers.com.
A man was carried off on a stretcher after a nearly four-hour standoff with police in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood Wednesday, and city officials are crediting new police training for the peaceful ending to a volatile situation.

The incident was reported at 2:12 p.m. in the area of Jones and McAllister streets just off of Market Street, Officer Giselle Talkoff said. It involved a man who was armed and in an apparently altered mental state, according to police.

The man was threatening to do harm to himself and made several statements to the effect that he wanted to die and police to take his life, police said.

Officers reportedly fired beanbag rounds at the man, and he fell to the sidewalk. For nearly four hours, the suspect remained face-down, refusing to show officers his hands to prove he wasn't holding a weapon.

Acting police Cheif Toney Chaplin credited new officer training for their ability to resolve the situation.

"The officers did what they've been training to do for the last 18 months, and that is they created a safety pocket," Chaplin said. "They backed up, they created time, they elongated this entire situation to get people to the scene to de-escalate this thing.

"We would have stayed out here until tomorrow if we'd had to," Chaplin added.

Police, who said around 6 p.m. that they recovered the suspect's handgun and ammunition at the scene near Hibernia Bank, added that he was being treated by medical personnel.

San Francisco PD

Market and Seventh streets were closed to both vehicles and pedestrians around 2:45 p.m. as police negotiated with the alleged suspect. People were urged to avoid the area.

Muni officials tweeted that bus service in the area was being rerouted and commuters should expect delays.

An eyewitness who was walking toward Market and Seventh streets around 2:15 p.m. told NBC Bay Area she saw heavy police presence in the area.

"When I got to Market and Seventh streets, I saw a man lying on the intersection of Jones and Market  he didnt have a shirt on and there was a bike lying on the corner," the eyewitness said. "A lot of cops were standing behind a police car with their guns drawn at him.

"He was just lying there, not moving or anything. He just had shorts on. The cops just moved further and further away until you couldnt see him any more."

The eyewitness, who was still at the scene at 4:15 p.m., said a man at the scene of the standoff, who identified himself as the suspects cousin, said the suspect was 36 years old and may have some mental health issues.

The eyewitness said she saw a SWAT team arriving on the scene and a hostage negotiator talking to the suspect.

San Francisco police tweeted at 3:56 p.m. that they had not discharged any firearms during the standoff.

"The handling of the situation today is a reflection of the emphasis that we put on de-escalation training in recent months," Mayor Ed Lee said. "We are making critical investments to rebuild trust with our communities and are changing out our police officers handle conflicts on our city streets."

Bay City News contributed to this report.
Police seized nearly 1,900 marijuana plants during a major sweep Wednesday morning in San Jose.

The pot plants seized have a street value of around $3 million to $5 million. Police arrested a couple who investigators claim ran the operation, including four other people allegedly involved. The couple arrested has been identified by police as Dean Trinh and Kim Le.

Police called the pot-growing operation "elaborate" and was spread across seven homes turned into greenhouses throughout the city.

"This is going to require a lot more follow up investigation as to who the owners were of the properties," San Jose Police Department spokesman Albert Morales said.

The homes, which were newly renovated and turned into greenhouses, featured sophisticated lighting and ventilation systems. Police said the homes were also powered by stolen electricity.

Police said the landlord for one of the properties reported suspicious activity, which led to the sweep.

The Dubanski Drive owner, Susan Ra, said her family lived in the area for 40 years then hired a rental agency two years ago to manage the property.

Ra was stunned Wednesday to hear about the drug operation.

"I'm pretty shocked," she said. "I did not know (about) it."

Neighbors also were in shock to hear of the drug operation.
San Francisco firefighters raced on Thursday morning to rescue a construction worker who fell 50 feet off a cliff in the city's Telegraph Hill neighborhood.

Firefighters reported the fall at 8:15 a.m. at 140 Chestnut St., located just north of Coit Tower.

Officials tweeted parts of the rescue, saying that the worker remained conscious after the fall. He was brought up the cliff about 9:40 a.m.
Pet ownership can be pricey, but don't let the numbers deter you. Read on for tips on how to welcome a four-legged friend into your home without burning a hole in your pockets.

How can I save on food, toys and supplies?

Buying pet food in bulk is a good way to save over time, but you'll want to make sure you're buying quality.

"Food isn't an area you want to skimp on," Scott Giacoppo of the Washington Humane Society said. "I wouldn't recommend buying the cheapest food the same way I wouldn't recommend someone to serve Oreos at their Sunday dinner."

Veterinarians and pet supply stores like Pro Feed, Petco or PetSmart should be able to recommend food and other supplies, Giacoppo said.

Also, remember that you don't need to buy everything for your pet all at once. You might be able to start out with just bowls, food, a collar and a few toys, and then learn more about your pet to determine what else he or she needs. Of course, a dog will need a leash, and a cat will need a litter box, but you don't need to spring for top-of-the-line models.

Websites such as Groupon often have deals on pet supplies and services  just make sure you actually need the item; otherwise, you won't be saving money at all. Many pet retailer websites also offer coupons or special discounts.

Learn how to perform basic pet grooming skills yourself, such as nail clipping, to save on grooming fees. If you're able to, bathe your dog yourself in your bathtub or outside in the yard. If you can't, consider visiting a DIY dog-washing business, where you can use their shampoos and professional-grade tubs for about $20  still cheaper than paying for professional grooming.

What are some preventative tactics I can take to avoid mishaps and large vet bills?

One way to cut costs before you ever see the vet is to adopt from a shelter rather than buy from a pet store or breeder, because "when you adopt, the animals are sterilized, they're up to date on vaccinations and they've been house trained," Giacoppo said.

If you buy a puppy or kitten from a breeder, you'll pay for these costs out of pocket. Sure, they're cute, but they can end up much pricier in the long run than adopting an older dog  and by adopting from a shelter, you'll actually be saving two lives, not one.

Make sure to "pet-proof" your home so any hazards or harmless substances are kept out of your new pet's reach. And remember that what's safe for humans might not be safe for dogs or cats. See the Pet Poison Hotline's list here.

Which breeds tend to be cheaper to care for?

The cost of care for cats and dogs doesn't vary much based on breed (unless you have a breed that requires extensive professional grooming), but smaller animals simply tend to consume less food than larger animals. The same goes for items like toys, treats and beds  larger ones usually cost more.

The best way to reduce costs, however, is to take care of your pet well, both physically and psychologically. The parvo virus, for example, is a life-threatening disease that can cost thousands of dollars to treat, but can be avoided for a small price, Giacoppo said.

"Take a Saturday once a year, wait in line for an hour and pay $10 for a shot that can save your pet's life," he said.

Also, be sure your pet has a social life and gets plenty of exercise. Leaving pets tied up or alone often results in psychological problems and boredom, which can cause behavioral issues, damage to your home or property and ultimately health concerns.

Where can I find affordable pet insurance, and is it worth it?

Pet insurance can be tricky because there are a few different kinds, and it's not necessarily about what injuries or illnesses your pet could endure, as dog owner Sarah Kliff noted in an article published by Vox.

Kliff pays $40 to $50 a month for pet insurance and says the real question is actually "How much are you willing to pay to spend to save your pets life?"

For her, it would be a lot.

"If I got a very large bill, I would likely pay it," Kliff wrote. "I would pay bills big enough to make it difficult for me to put a down payment on a house."

To sum it up, you might pay a premium for pet insurance that you never use to make a claim. But a few $400 trips to the vet or an unfortunate $3,000 surgery to remove your pet's favorite toy from its stomach could eventually surpass the price you paid for the insurance. Kliff also points out that many people pay renters' insurance and never file a claim, but the peace of mind can be worth it.

The website PolicyGenius, an online insurance marketplace, advises pet owners on which types of insurance they should buy, urging some not to invest in insurance at all.

According to the site's co-founder, Jennifer Fitzgerald, the right consumer for pet insurance has "low ability to pay [to save their pet's life] but high willingness," so it's not for everyone, Kliff writes.

Alternative options include pet wellness plans. For instance, PetSmart's Banfield Pet Hospital chain offers a wellness plan focusing on prevention and early diagnosis, with potentially lower costs than traditional pet care services. Plans include a set number of wellness visits per year, may cover the cost of shots and offer discounts on other forms of care.

If I need to travel, should I take my pet, hire a sitter or board at a kennel?

It depends. The cost of a travel crate can range from $30 to $100, and overnight care can be costly, too. Your best bet: Find friends or family member willing to do watch your pets. Or get to know a pet-owning neighbor and offer to trade pet care: You'll watch their dog or cat for a weekend if they'll do the same for you another weekend.

If you're thinking of boarding your pet, check business reviews on a site such as Yelp. If you find several well-reviewed spots, call around to get the best rate. And don't be afraid to ask about any special deals: Will they give you a discount if you pick up your pet before a certain time, for example?

If you hire someone to watch your pet at home, beware of an apparent "bargain." Giacoppo said it's best to use a referral.

"You don't want to hire someone who says they will just come over for five dollars," he said. "You have no idea how they will treat your pet."
The Fourth of July fireworks may be fun for those of us on two legs, but for a lot of four-legged friends out there, it's not the same story.

The loud noise from fireworks shows during the holiday can often cause serious anxiety for pets and can even send some running out of fear.

Cate McManus with Dallas Animal Services said its common to see a rush the day after the yearly Fourth of July display as their already packed shelter takes on even more pets that got away from home.

When animals just freak out from fireworks, they get out of fences or break down doors," she said. "I mean some dogs really go to extremes to get away  theyre so scared."

There are a lot of options available to deal with the anxiety such as wearable options, while others include herbal or over-the-counter pills offered at pet stores.

Last May, when Southlake veterinarian Dr. Tom Holbrook was seeing similar anxiety from dogs during thunderstorms, he showed NBC 5 a new medication being prescribed to dogs during such situations called Sileo.

"You put it in the cheek and gums, said Holbrook. Just put the syringe right in the gum right there and just squirt so many dots, and the dots are on the syringe itself."

The fast acting gel calms the pet and wears off after just a few hours. Holbrooks office warns that it does require a checkup and prescription from your local vet to get the gel.

McManus said her best advice for avoiding problems during the fireworks is to keep your animals indoors and comfortable in a spot where they feel safe.

Keeping them confined, well confined, certainly with a collar and tags on just in case, she said.

If you do come across a stray after the fireworks, local animal services leaders ask that you contact them right away so that they can work to get that pet back home.
A group of Maryland firefighters gave a helping hand to a few four-legged furry friends Saturday morning  saving one from a hot car.

Prince George's County firefighters were called to the Home Depot in the 6000 block of Oxon Hill Road after a man reported having chest pains.

The man was in his vehicle in the store's parking lot with three dogs. He told the firefighters he had been drinking and was intoxicated, fire officials said.

Firefighters offered to take him to the hospital, but he declined. The concerned firefighters then called police who told the man he was in no condition to drive home. They suggested he walk to his house nearby.

The firefighters then noticed a dog left in another parked vehicle in the lot. All of the vehicle's windows were closed.

The crew found a door unlocked and rescued the dog. They tended to the pup until its owners returned to the vehicle, fire officials said.

Firefighters then gave the three other dogs an adventurous ride back home on-board the fire engine.
Donald Trump's son-in-law defended the presumptive Republican presidential nominee amid backlash over a tweet sent from Trump's account that many have found to be anti-Semitic.

"My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite," Jared Kushner wrote in an op-ed on the website of his newspaper, The Observer, on Wednesday. Kushner is Jewish, and said Trump embraced his family and their religion since he began seeing Ivanka Trump, whom he married in 2009.

The tweet that sparked the controversy, sent from Trump's account July 2, depicted Hillary Clinton against a backdrop of money and next to a six-sided star proclaiming she was the "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Later, the tweet was deleted and a similar one was sent out with a circle replacing the six-sided star.

Trump, speaking at a rally in Cincinnati Wednesday, reiterated his earlier stance that the tweet did not feature a Star of David atop a pile of cash. The star was just "a regular star or maybe a sheriff's star," Trump said Wednesday evening, and added he wished his campaign had not deleted the image.

Kushner's op-ed came in response to an open letter from Observer employee Dana Schwartz, who also is Jewish. She wrote to Kushner saying she was the target of anti-Semitic messages after tweeting her disapproval of the initial Trump campaign tweet for "its blatant anti-Semitic imagery."

She called on Kushner to not stand idly by while Trump galvanizes support from racists, though she did not call Trump anti-Semitic.

"Your father-in-law's repeated accidental winks to the white supremacist community is perhaps a savvy political strategy if the neo-Nazis are considered a sizable voting block," Schwartz wrote. "But when you stand silent and smiling in the background, his Jewish son-in-law, you're giving his most hateful supporters tacit approval."

[NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail

In response, Kushner wrote that depicting Trump as someone who "allowed or encouraged intolerance" doesn't reflect the Donald Trump he knows, a man who is pro-Jewish and pro-Israel.

Kushner said he was disgusted to see the anti-Semitic tweets Schwartz received but that his father-in-law was not accountable for the actions of his supporters.

"Blaming Donald Trump for the most outrageous things done by people who claim to support him is no different from blaming Bernie Sanders for the people who stomp and spit on American flags at his rallies," Kushner wrote.

Schwartz told MSNBC on Wednesday she was surprised and impressed Kushner took the time to respond but that his response seemed to have missed her point.

"Knowing Trump personally has nothing to do with the impact he has on his supporters," Schwartz said.

Trump has insisted that the media "was racist" for assuming that the image had Jewish connotations.

He also said he is not anti-Semitic, noting his daughter had converted to Judaism to marry Kushner and is raising her children Jewish.

Some of Kushner's relatives voiced their anger on social media following Kushner's choice to include the story of his grandparents, who survived the Holocaust, in the op-ed in defense of Trump.
A host of Illinois Republicans wont attend this months Republican National Convention, distancing themselves from presumptive party nominee Donald Trump.

According to Crains, the list of lawmakers skipping the convention includes Gov. Bruce Rauner and Sen. Mark Kirk.

Trumps ascension to presumptive nominee has created a wedge in the GOP. His divisive campaign rhetoric has caused some lawmakers to completely disavow the frontrunner.

Last month, Kirk called Trump's inflammatory comments about the heritage of a Hispanic judge presiding over civil fraud lawsuits against his beleaguered Trump University un-American and walked back his tacit endorsement of the billionaire.

Trump reportedly slammed Kirk Thursday for pulling his endorsement during a private meeting with Senate Republicans, according to the Washington Post. He also vowed to win Illinois, a state that is historically blue.

Kirk, who did not attend the meeting, responded to the report in a statement Thursday.

"As I stated last month, I have come to the conclusion that Donald Trump lacks the judgment and termperament to lead our military and our nation," Kirk said in a statement.

Comptroller Leslie Munger and other high-profile statewide Republican officials will also be absent from the convention.

Meanwhile, the list of attendees from Illinois is noticeably thin. Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar both plan to attend, as does Cook County Commissioner Tim Schneider, who serves as the state GOP chair. Schneider will be there alongside former chairs Jack Dorgan and Pat Brady, who was elected as a delegate for Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Cubs part-owner Todd Ricketts is also expected to be in Cleveland for the convention. Trump, who has been the target of ads paid for by family matriarch Marlene Ricketts, has called out the Ricketts family on several occasions.

Additionally, Rep. Peter Roskam confirmed to Crains that he would attend, but not as a delegate or a Trump supporter.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reportedly vowed to win Illinois in November and called Sen. Mark Kirk a loser during a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans Thursday, the Washington Post reports.

During the meeting, Trump reportedly admonished Kirk, who withdrew his endorsement of the divisive billionaire last month, and promised to win in the senator's historically blue state.

Political analysis website FiveThirtyEight currently gives Trump a 3.5 percent chance of winning the state.

Kirk, who did not attend the meeting, responded to questions from the Associated Press about being called a loser by Trump.

"I've run for election six times in Illinois," Kirk said. "Really tough races for the Congress and for the Senate and won every race. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

The senator also called Trump an "eastern, privileged, wealthy bully," noting that Midwesterners "haven't seen a personality like his too much."

"Our bullies are made of better stuff in Illinois," Kirk told AP. "We're much more practical and polite."

Kirk also hit Trump on Twitter, sending the same message to the candidate in both English and Spanish.

"As I said yesterday and reaffirm today, I don't believe you have the judgment or temperament to be our commander-in-chief," Kirk wrote Thursday.

Kirk withdrew his endorsement last month after Trumps statements about the heritage of a Hispanic judge presiding over civil fraud lawsuits against his beleaguered Trump University, calling the comments "un-American."

As the presidential campaign progressed, I was hoping the rhetoric would tone down and reflect a campaign that was inclusive, thoughtful and principled, Kirk said in a statement at the time. While I oppose the Democratic nominee, Donald Trumps latest statements, in context with past attacks on Hispanics, women and the disabled like me, mae it certain that I cannot and will not support my partys nominee for president regardless of the political impact on my candidacy or the Republican party.

Kirk previously told NBC Chicago that he would support Trump if he were the Republican presidential nominee in March. Additionally. Kirk told USA Today that he would be willing to serve as a national security advisor to Trump in May.

Thursday's meeting was reportedly aimed at creating party unity in the lead-up to this month's Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

The campaign for Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is running against Kirk, issued a statement Thursday faulting the senator for not standing with other Republican lawmakers who have been critical of Trump.

"Presumptive Republican nominee and thin-skinned bully Doland Trump reportedly attacked three of his fellow Republicans today: Senators Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, and Mark Kirk, for not supporting him adequately," Duckworth campaign manager Matt McGrath said. "What's interesting is that Flake and Sasse had the courage of their convictions and confronted Trump directly, while Mark Kirk, who calls himself an 'independent leader,' was in hiding."

Kirks cynical dance with Trump, supporting him at first and disavowing him after the polls in Illinois went south, is beyond silly, as is his campaign, McGrath added.

Kirk's campaign rebuffed the claims Thursday.

"It's a pathetic and shallow statement," Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl said in a statement. "Of course Senator Kirk was not going to attend a campaign meeting for a candidate he is not supporting."

"That's simple common sense."
Chicagos West Town neighborhood will be home to a new Shake Shack.

The burger chain plans to open its fourth Chicago location near Lake and Morgan streets in the Fulton Market district.

The New York-based company leased a 3,220-square-foot space at 185 N. Morgan St., Crain's Chicago Business reports, alongside the CTA's elevated Pink and Green Line stations.

Shake Shack's vice president of development, Andrew McCaughan, is a native of Chicago's North Side, telling Crain's, "Having grown up in Chicago, I've really watched Fulton Market come alive over the last few years."

"We're really excited about everything that's going on in the areanot only from a food perspective but more so how it's evolved to add office workers, hotels and other businesses," he said in an interview with Crain's. "With everything that's coming around us, we're just excited to be there."

It's coming to a spot with some pretty heavy burger competition, as famed favorites Au Cheval and Grange Hall Burger Bar are both just blocks away.

The new West Town Shake Shack is expected to open in 2017.
A community is in mourning after the manager of a store on Chicago's South Side was shot and killed by a shoplifter Tuesday evening.

30-year-old Jquinn McCune was working at the Family Dollar in the 7900 block of S Ashland in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood at approximately 5 p.m. Tuesday when he saw someone stealing, police said.

He confronted the man, according to police, who pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest. McCune was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he later died, according to police.

Friends and regulars at the store called him 'Q,' and said he was a nice man who always tried to do the right thing.

"He's a good guy, very good guy," said customer Arbella Roberson, who saw the shooting unfold. "He wanted to save the store's merchandise and he ran out and got shot in the chest."

McCune had moved to Chicago from Flint, Michigan, but a friend told NBC 5 he was concerned about violence, with plans to leave Chicago.

"He literally told me yesterday, he said, 'Man I have to move. The city is getting so bad I have to move to the suburbs,'" said friend Derrick Willingham.

"It's very sad that he had to go through that and lost his life," said customer Dorothy Taylor, telling NBC 5 that McCune has two children. "It was just a very bad situation."

On Wednesday, the Family Dollar store remained closed as employees, customers, friends and neighbors grieved their loss.

No one is in custody, police said, and the investigation is ongoing.
Television ads condemning Republican Congressional candidates, linking them to the party's presumptive nominee Donald Trump, will begin airing nationwide this week. More specifically, the ads will be aired in Illinois' 10th congressional District.

The ads, paid for by the Democratic Congessional Campaign Committee, cost upwards of $1 million, according to Politico.

"As Donald Trump runs a campaign pitting Americans against each other and pushing ideas that threaten our countrys security, Republicans in Congress are just standing by him, an ad titled Sidekicks says.

Republican Rep. Bob Dold faces a tough bid for reelection against Brad Schneider in a battle for his 10th district House seat. The congressman's campaign responded to the DCCC's ads in a statement Thursday.

"Everyone realizes that the DCCC cant actually attack Bob Dold on his record of effective, independent leadership thats been endorsed across the political spectrum and in every corner of the 10th district, so theyre now falsely hoping voters arent smart enough to see through this laughably dishonest ad as they desperately try to prop-up their embarrassingly incompetent and hyper-partisan candidate Brad Schneider," Dold campaign spokesperson Danielle Hagan said.

In May, Dold told Big John Howell that he wouldnt support the divisive Trump.

Whether it be Mr. Trumps comments about women, his comments about Muslims, his comments about latinos, for me, it was very personal, his comments about POWs," Dold told Howell. "As you know my uncle was the second one shot in the Vietnam War, and for me those comments altogether are not about uniting a country."

Dold noted that he wouldnt support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton either, but would rather write someone in.

According to the Atlantic, the congressman first came out against Trump last year, citing inflammatory comments directed toward Hispanics, veterans, women and Muslims.

The DCCC released a memo attacking Dold on March 15, the day of Illinois primary election. The report accuses Dold of voting along party lines and claims "Donald Trump does not belong" in the district.

In 2010, Dold won Sen. Mark Kirks vacated 10th district House seat. The congressman lost the seat to Schneider in 2012, but won it back in a 2014 rematch.
Elgin residents concerned about the taste and smell of their water dont need to worry  the water is safe to drink, according to city officials.

Questions over the citys strange-smelling water have been circulating on social media recently but Elgins Water Director said the water is perfectly safe.

Kyla Jacobsen said the changes in the water are the result of algae biosynthesis, which can create a powerful odorant as a byproduct.

Jacobsen said algae outbreaks are a common occurrence in the area, but its difficult to predict when the odorant could hit area water supplies.

We have algae every year in the summertime but we cannot predict when this taste and odor event is going to happen, she said.

The most recent notable incident occurred in May 2013, but the last time the area saw one this powerful was July 1996, Jacobsen said.

While we do see it to some level every year we dont see it to this proportion every year, she said.

According to the Village of Sleepy Hollow, which gets its water supply from Elgin, additional carbon has been added to the water in an effort to fix the taste and odor problem, which they called an aesthetic issue. The water has also been diluted, but because the event is so strong, it is taking time to clear up.

Its detectable to people at less than 5 parts per million, Jacobsen said, noting that not everyone can smell the odor. Were detecting it at levels like 67, 70 parts per million.

City officials said the issue has been steadily improving over the last week, but its not clear when the water will return to normal.

Still, many have taken to social media to express their concerns.

Jacobsen said part of the extra worry is due to water issues in Flint, Michigan. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you cannot see, taste or smell lead in drinking water.

People have lost faith in public water systems just because of the Flint, Michigan thing, Jacobsen said.

Adding to the confusion, city officials said the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health have released warnings of toxic algae forming on Illinois lakes and rivers.

"The toxicity to which these warnings refer to occur from direct contact with the algae, and not from treated drinking water which has algae present," the city posted on social media. "There is no risk of such toxins in water that is processed in the city's treatment plants."
A fire at a Chicago restaurant in late 2014 resulted in the closing of a famed eatery and sent a customer's deposit for a party up in flames. But a year and a half later the customer's persistence has paid off as the historic Chicago Firehouse plans to reopen this Fall.

The Firehouse Restaurant was built in 1905 as an actual firehouse, which served Chicagos South Side until it was later turned into a restaurant. Celebrities and even a President were known to have dined at the historic eatery.

But the restaurant closed in December 2014, when a fire that investigators said started on the roof sent smoke billowing over Michigan Avenue. It took about 100 firefighters to extinguish the flames.

The building suffered extensive damage. And plans for another companys office party were lost.

Debbie, an office manager who paid a $625 deposit months earlier to book the restaurant for the party, said Firehouse Restaurant management helped her secure another site for the event. She said when she contacted the restaurant about getting back the $625 deposit, she said she was told the insurance would need to be settled.

Eventually, there was no communication, Debbie wrote to NBC 5 Responds. My emails would not be answered or returned. I just chalked it up to a lost cause.

NBC 5 Responds contacted the restaurant, which responded by saying it contacted Debbie as soon as it learned about the incident. According to a restaurant spokesperson, a private dine manager had left the company.

I believe the messages and emails were missed once she left, the spokesperson said.

The restaurant sent a refund check to Debbie for $625.

Within a week I had a refund check in hand for the full amount, Debbie said.

Firehouse Restaurant said it is in the construction phase.
When American college student Beau Solomon was found dead in Rome this week, the news hit close to home for a family in suburban Glen Ellyn. Like Beau Solomon, Theresa Mognis son Andrew traveled to Rome to study at John Cabot University and never returned home.

"I couldn't believe it. I was angry and I felt just sick," Theresa said. "It immediately brought back the events that happened with Andrew."

Shortly after his arrival last year, 20-year old University of Iowa student Andrew Mogni was found near the Tiber River with severe head trauma. The school said he fell after leaving a bar, but police suspected a robbery.

"Andrew had his gold cross that was on him robbed," Theresa said, "as well as his wallet and his cell phone."

Last week, University of Wisconsin-Madison student Beau Solomon went missing under similar circumstances and was later found in the Tiber River.

John Cabot University released a statement Wednesday saying it takes "every possible step to insure the safety and well-being of its students during their stay in Rome through information, prompt communication, and constant vigilance of the neighborhood."

The Mogni family says vigilance may not be enough.

"There were so many similarities that it's hard to imagine the two are not related," Theresa said.

No one was ever charged in Andrew Mogni's death, while on Tuesday, a 40-year old homeless man was charged with the death of Beau Solomon.
Police have released surveillance images of two men wanted for the shooting death of a Family Dollar manager earlier this week and the armed robbery of a store last month on the South Side.

JQuinn McCune, 30, was working at the store in the 7900 block of South Ashland in the Gresham neighborhood when he saw someone inside stealing items about 5 p.m. July 5, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiners office.

When confronted, the shoplifter pulled out a gun and opened fire, hitting him in the chest, police said.

McCune, of the 1400 block of Hickory Hollow Drive in Flint, Michigan, was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he later died, authorities said.

Investigators are looking for two suspects in connection with the shooting. They were described as black men in their 20s between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot-1 and weighing 150 to 175 pounds, police said.

Chicago Police Department

The same men are wanted for an armed robbery about 7:10 p.m. June 15 at a store in the 7300 block of South Ashland in Englewood, police said. In both incidents, the man with the gun had white cloth or gauze over his left eye.

Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to contact Area South detectives at (312) 747-8273.
What to Know A Virginia Republican delegate has filed a federal lawsuit to avoid voting for presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

The delegate, Carroll Beau Correll Jr., says a state law requiring delegates to vote for the primary winner is unconstitutional.

Va. Attorney General Mark Herring has defended the state law and says Correll knew the rules when he became a delegate.

A Virginia delegate to the Republican National Convention says a state law requiring him to vote for presumptive nominee Donald Trump is unconstitutional and he would sooner be arrested than vote against his conscience.

Carroll Beau Correll Jr., of Winchester, filed a federal lawsuit last month against Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and other state officials. Correll argues the state's delegates should not be bound to a law that requires them to vote according to the results of the March 1 primary.

"If you don't vote for Trump, you're committing a misdemeanor. It's so absurd that the state government compels members of a private organization how to vote in that organization," Correll said.

According to Correll, he could face some jail time if he does not vote for Trump.

Herring is fighting Correll's lawsuit and said Correll knew what the rules were for delegates when he applied to be one and shouldnt be allowed to invalidate the results of the primary.

A federal court in Richmond is set to hear Correll's lawsuit Thursday.

Correll supported Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) during the primary. He's now part of the growing "Free the Delegates" movement and believes there is still an alternative to Trump.

"Well, you know, we still got some time. There's been rumors of other individuals who may put their name forward," Correll said. "The Trump train has turned into a train wreck. He's been out-raised 40 to 1 by Hillary Clinton and if we continue with Donald Trump as a party, we're going to have certain defeat in November at the hands of the Hillary Clinton campaign."

Howie Lind, former Republican chairman of Virginia's 10th district, sent a letter to party leaders asking them to remove Correll from the roster of delegates.

"It greatly saddens me that he has gone [down] this road to abandon the Republican Party in this critical year. My contention, of which I hope to prove to you, is that Beau Correll is in violation of the 2016 Statement of Intent by openly advocating for a 3rd party candidate to run for President this year," Lind states in the letter.

John Fredericks, conservative radio host and vice chairman of the Virginia Trump for President campaign, told News4 that Carroll's lawsuit "is baseless and represents the epitome of arrogance. It's a self aggrandizing, ego maniacal publicity stunt with no foundation and no chance of success."

However, some voters said they support Correll's fight.

"[It is] our right to vote for who we feel is right for the job and I don't think that should be dictated by anyone else," said Marianne Tomasic.
A 6-year-old kindergartner from Hartford was in Puerto Rico and visiting her father when they were both shot and killed, police said.

The double homicide happened around 10:36 p.m. on June 30, while 27-year-old Ansel Elpidio Barbosa Artache and his daughter, Janceliz Barbosa Toruella, were driving in the Villa Alegre neighborhood of Gurabo.

The two were heading to the house of Barbosa-Artache's mother when the shooter began following them, according to Gurabo police.

Barbosa-Artache and his daughter were pulled over in front of a store in Villa Alegre with their hazard lights on when they were shot several times, according to police.

Police are looking for two shooters since they found two different kinds of shell casings around the car.

The mother of Barbosa-Artache told Telemundo Puerto Rico that her son "wasn't a saint." The man had pending charges for allegedly robbing a McDonald's and taking $1,280.

Police believe the shooters knew Barbosa-Artache and an investigation is underway.

Janceliz was a kindergartner at Moylan Elementary School in Hartford and had been visiting her father for four days when the shooting happened.

A GoFundMe account was set up to pay for the girl's funeral arrangements, according to the Hartford Public School's website.

"On behalf of my sister and our entire family, I want to thank the outpouring of support and love for us in this time of pain and tragedy. Janselyz was a beautiful, good and innocent princess. It rends our souls see how this happened. Thank you to everyone who has helped and have us in their prayers," said her aunt, Luz Gonzalez, in a statement originally posted on GoFundMe and translated from Spanish by the school system.

Catalina Trivino contributed to this report.
Demonstrators gathered outside All Souls Unitarian Church in New London on Thursday evening behind a Black Lives Matter banner in response to the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.

The videos show Sterling, from Louisiana, and Castile, from Minnesota, during seperate incidents, being shot several times by police officers.

Don Wilson, of the New London NAACP, said what's shown in the videos shouldn't be happening anywhere in America.

"When you look at these videos, you see the actions of police officers and it's almost as if the individuals they're dealing with aren't human, they're not citizens. We're all citizens here," Wilson said.

In a video posted on Wednesday, Sterling is seen being held on the ground by police outside a Louisiana convenience store before being shot several times as he laid face down on the ground with officers kneeling on his back.

On Wednesday, Castile was fatally shot in front of his 4-year-old daughter and girlfriend in a St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop for a broken taillight.

One of the families at the New London demonstration came because a woman wants her kids to grow up in a world where what happened to the men are unacceptable.

"My heart's breaking with everybody else's. And you want to show up, you want to do something so for me, this is my congregation, but it's also, no matter where we were meeting, what we were doing, we would show up to say this is not OK for us," Karen Mangiacotti said.

Mayor Michael Passero, of New London, appeared, saying he wanted to support the community.

He echoed the statement early in the day from the mayor of New Haven, Toni Harp, who said every mayor dreads a comparable incident.

A rally and vigil is planned for the New Haven Green at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
For years drivers have believed higher octane gas is the best way to treat your car, truck or SUV, but AAA said its reserachers have learned about another gas that could be better for a car's engine.

AAA spokeswoman Amy Parmenter said a one third of gas retailers sell Top Tier gasoline.

Top Tier covers all octane grades and has detergents that AAA engineers have tested and concluded is better for the car's engine, gas mileage, and emissions.

"Researchers were surprised to find that there was such a difference between gasolines," Parmenter said.

On average, the gasoline costs about three to four cents more per gallon, Parmenter noted.

But drivers won't have to go hunting for top tier gasoline since multiple retailers offer it and theres a full list at TopTiergas.com.

"If your gasoline is on that list, then you can be assured that whatever gas you buy at that station whether it's regular, mid level, premium, it's all gonna be Top Tier gas," Parmenter said.

Pam Potemri of North Stonington had some idea what Top Tier gas is.

I think that depending that the kind of car you're trying to maintain I do think that it's important because maintenance always pays off in the end," Potemri said.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters spoke with the fuel analysts at Research Laboratories of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

It said Top Tier gasoline does help the vehicle perform better and while retailers charge three or four cents per gallon more for it, the raw cost to add the extra detergents barely approaches one cent per gallon.
Theres a new tavern in town and its putting down roots on the south side of 7th street in Fort Worth. Its not out of the ordinary to see new businesses arrive to the West 7th district and, the new-to-Dallas/Fort Worth Cork & Pig Tavern, has claimed a spot in this trendy area.

Cork & Pigs owners, along with their Chef, Felipe Armenta, focus on providing an atmosphere that encompasses two common comfort foods  pizza and wine. Their menu is tailored to meet the appetite of the locals and has unique items available at its different locations.

Denise Petty

Here, at the West 7th location, menu highlights include delicious brick oven pizza with a variety of toppings, specialized appetizers such as cheddar bacon biscuits and their deviled eggs with pancetta. And, besides offering fine wine, Cork & Pig delivers customers with refreshing cocktails including the So. 7, which is crafted with cucumber & jalapeno tequila and agave-combier syrup  all in the name of Fort Worths West 7th area.

Cork & Pig is located at 2869 Crockett St. (Click here for directions and hours)
A 12-year-old girl died and her mother was injured Thursday morning after a bridge partially collapsed onto their car near Houston. [[385889231,C]]

Police say a tractor trailer crashed into an bridge in Sealy, causing it to collapse.

Investigators told Houston NBC affiliate KPRC that at about 10 a.m., a Texas Disposal Services truck was traveling Highway 36 when the boom attached to the truck hit the overpass on Highway 90.

Rubble from the crash fell on top of a car where a mother and her two children were inside, according to police.

Girl Killed in Bridge Collapse Near Houston

The front part of the vehicle was crushed, and the girl sitting in the front seat died, police said. The other child, a boy, was able to escape from the back seat of the car.

Police say the mother was transported to a hospital. The condition of the mother and the boy is unknown.

Sealy Police Chief Chris Noble said there was a warning system in place to alert trucks of the height of the bridge.

"There is a wire that is suspended across the street with metal tubes or cylinders that hang down," Noble said. "There's a huge sign that says if you hit this, you are going to hit the bridge."

Authorities say the truck driver, who was also taken to the hospital, is not facing any charges at this time.

Stacy Schmitt, Director of Communications for Texas Disposal Systems released the following statement:

We regret a TDS truck was involved in an incident impacting an overpass in Sealy, TX. We have been told there was a fatality and are saddened by the loss resulting from this incident. Our deepest sympathies go to the family members and friends. An investigation is currently underway by local authorities. TDS is cooperating fully and will also be conducting its own investigation. The truck driver, as reported to us, did not sustain major injuries. We will be in communication with the community and public as relevant information becomes available.

NBC 5's Holley Ford contributed to this report.
Complaints to the Federal Aviation Administration over a plane dive bombing boaters on Eagle Mountain Lake has led to an investigation.

FAA Spokesperson Lynn Lunsford confirms the agency received multiple complaints of a low flying aircraft on the Fourth of July, not just from Eagle Mountain Lake, but Lake Arlington, as well.

Several people enjoying the lake captured the pilot flying extremely low, making several passes across parts of Eagle Mountain Lake at about 5:30 p.m. before leaving.

Boater Adam Pick says he called 911 thinking at first the plane, with more than one person on board, was having trouble.

"We were worried for him at first," Pick said. "At first when I was on the phone with 911, I said there's a plane in danger. Then you realize he's not in danger, he's having fun and that's when you go from caring to mad."

Pick said he was worried for his family's safety. His two daughters, ages 12 and 10, were behind the boat on a tube at the time.

"The kids started screaming. We started pulling them in from the tube," Pick said. "He came around for a second time. That time he tipped his wing at us and was above us by 10 to 15 feet."

The family felt as if they were being taunted.

"Absolutely, they were so low we could see the expressions on their faces casually with their arms out the window waving and laughing," said Anne Pick.

"You think he was actually going in between the boat docks and the houses," Pick said. "That's a distance of maybe 500 feet and so there is, like, zero margin for error. So if something went wrong, he's going down. He's going to hurt himself and maybe one of the kids or the families, which was really scary."

Pictures and video posted to social media from others detailed similar encounters.

"I thought I was going to see someone die that day or we were going to die," Anne Pick said. "That was scary."

Searches conducted by NBC 5 reveal the plane is owned by a company in Tulsa.

Owner Bill Christiansen tells NBC 5 he leases the plane to a company that uses it to monitor traffic in Dallas.

The company refused comment citing the ongoing investigation.

Lunsford tells NBC 5 several FAA regulations including one regarding reckless operation of an aircraft could be a factor in this instance. (See below)

 91.13 Careless or reckless operation

(a) Aircraft operations for the purpose of air navigation. No person may operate an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

(b) Aircraft operations other than for the purpose of air navigation. No person may operate an aircraft, other than for the purpose of air navigation, on any part of the surface of an airport used by aircraft for air commerce (including areas used by those aircraft for receiving or discharging persons or cargo), in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

And, regulations requiring minimum altitudes could also apply. (See below)

 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General

Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:

(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.

(b) Over congested areas. Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

(c) Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
The girlfriend of a black man who was fatally shot by a Minnesota police officer said her boyfriend was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions.

Diamond Reynolds told reporters Thursday that Philando Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

Reynolds, who recorded the aftermath on live video, said other officers at the scene didn't check on Castile after the shooting, but that they tried to calm the officer involved as they put her in a police car.

She didn't know the officer's name but described him as Asian.

Castile was killed Wednesday night in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop.

The shooting prompted responses from President Barack Obama, who said Thursday evening "all fair-minded people should be concerned" about shootings disproportionately affecting African-Americans, and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, who said in a statement Thursday morning that he asked the White House to compel the U.S. Department of Justice to begin an independent federal investigation into Castile's shooting.

"He didn't have any last words," Reynolds recalled. "His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he was gone instantly."

Castile, who would have turned 33 on Friday, died at the hospital around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday. An autopsy was pending Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he was "shocked and deeply, deeply offended" that an incident like this took place in Minnesota. He said the officer's response was "way in excess" for a traffic stop.

"Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers had been white?" he asked. "I don't think so."

Dayton said the investigation will be handled by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension  a branch of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The agency will work closely with federal officials who will monitor the investigation, he said.

Mona Dohman, commissioner of Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said officials were in the process of interviewing the officer involved, but would not release his identity until they received his statement.

It's the second police-involved shooting of a black man to gain nationwide attention in as many days. Alton Sterling, was killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Justice said it will investigate that death.

The Justice Department said Thursday that it was aware of the Minnesota shooting and was "assessing the situation."

President Obama was "deeply disturbed" by the two shootings, according to a White House spokesman. He released a Facebook message Thursday, then gave a statement to reporters upon landing in Warsaw, Poland, for a conference.

Unable to comment about the specifics of the cases, given the federal government's involvement in the investigation, Obama called for those who consider protests against police shootings an act of political correctness to reconsider.

"When people say 'black lives matter,' that doesn't mean blue lives don't matter, it just means all lives matter," he said. "It just means that, right now, the data shows black folks are more vulnerable to these incidents."

Obama cited statistics saying African-Americans are more likely to be pulled over, searched, arrested and shot than white people, and that "to be concerned about these issues is not to be against law enforcement," a tough job whose heroism he hailed.

Reynolds told reporters Thursday the couple and her daughter had gone shopping and Castile had just been to the barber for his upcoming birthday when a St. Anthony cop pulled them over.

She said the officer asked them if they knew they had a broken taillight, and they responded no.

Reynolds said the officer asked them to put their hands in the air, and they complied. The officer then asked Castile, who was driving, for his identification.

She said he kept it in a wallet in a right-back pants pocket.

"As he's reaching, he lets the officer know, 'I have a firearm on me,'" Reynolds said, adding that he was licensed to carry and "nothing in his body said intimidation."

That's when the officer, she said, drew his weapon and fired off up to five shots at Castile, ordering, "Don't move, don't move."

Reynolds said the officer appeared to be crying after the shooting. "He was frantic and very, very nervous."

She said she recorded the aftermath on her cellphone and put it on Facebook because "I wanted everyone to know that no matter how much the police tamper with evidence ... I wanted to put it on Facebook and go viral so that the people can see."

Castile's sister, Allysza Castile, told NBC News she learned of what happened from Reynolds' video, and rushed out with her mother.

Valerie Castile said her only thought was to "get over there, be with my son  I don't want him to die alone."

She told NBC News Thursday he had a concealed permit to carry a firearm, and that the two spoke about what to do if he was ever stopped by law enforcement.

"'You tell them you have a weapon on you, and whatever they ask you to do, you do it,'" Valerie Castile said she told her son. But "what's the difference if you comply and you get killed anyway?"

Earlier, she told CNN her son was just "black in the wrong place" and that he was a victim of "a silent war against African-American people."

She said she's angry that officials wouldn't let her identify her son's body and that she will have to wait until after the autopsy to see him.

Dayton said it was "extraordinary" that Reynolds was able to record the video, but the actions of the officer involved should not reflect overall law enforcement.

Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul.

Saint Paul Public Schools said in a Facebook post Castile graduated from Central High School in 2001 and had worked for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) since he was 19 years old, beginning in 2002, in the Nutrition Services Department.

Castile was promoted two years ago and was working in one of the schools during the summer.

"Colleagues describe him as a team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students alike. He had a cheerful disposition and his colleagues enjoyed working with him. He was quick to greet former coworkers with a smile and hug," the statement said.

Reynolds described him as a "very, very sweet man" who cared for his family and wasn't involved with street gangs.

The officer "took a part of my heart," she said. "He took a part of my soul."
A man who told police he was hiding from someone who was chasing him ended up stuck in a chimney at a home in South Los Angeles early Thursday morning.

Firefighters responded to a burglary call in the 6300 block of Rimpau Boulevard just before 4 a.m. and found a man stuck in a chimney on top of the home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Video showed crews using ropes to pull the man, who was covered in soot, out to safety. The man then shook hands with firefighters before climbing down a ladder.

Police said the man was not a burglar and had jumped into the chimney when he was attempting to hide from someone in an earlier incident that started in Inglewood.

No arrests were made.
A former Murrieta high school teacher who carried on a sexual relationship with one of her students was given a two-year prison sentence Wednesday and ordered to register as a sex offender.

Shannon Sears Fosgett, 45, pleaded guilty in May to felony charges stemming from her encounters with the boy, whose identity was not released, beginning in the fall of 2014 at Murrieta Valley High School.

Under her plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Fosgett admitted two counts of oral copulation of a minor, as well as one count each of statutory rape, contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense, witness intimidation, and a misdemeanor charge of annoying a child.

In exchange for her admissions, prosecutors dropped a related statutory rape charge, along with misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and furnishing alcohol to an underage person. Superior Court Judge John Monterosso certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

According to police, Murrieta Valley Unified School District officials reported the youth's encounters with Fosgett in November 2015 -- about a year after the two had their first illicit rendezvous. The boy told authorities that he and the teacher began communicating via text-messaging after class one day and continued to do so in the ensuing weeks.

"As the relationship grew, the minor and teacher engaged in oral sex and ultimately sexual intercourse," said Murrieta police Lt. Ron Driscoll.

Word of the relationship leaked to administrators at the school, who alerted the district, culminating in Fosgett's resignation on Dec. 2, 2015. She has a prior misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence, according to court records.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will no longer share information on whether deputies' force and tactics have been found in or out of policy when shooting suspects, KPCC reports.

In an effort for greater transparency, data on shooting evaluations was available to the public on the LASD's public data sharing page for months. But that all changed in June after union objections, according to NBC4's media partner KPCC.

The change came at the request of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff's, which argued that sharing such information violates California's police officer privacy laws.

While the data did not include individual names, unions argued that the public could figure out if any individual deputy has been disciplined for shooting someone.

Read more from KPCC.
Three women workers and the SEIU California State Council filed a proposed class-action lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles, challenging what they allege is systemic gender discrimination in California's workers' compensation system.

The lawsuit names as defendants numerous government officials and entities, including the state Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers' Compensation, and alleges violations of the state Constitution as well as negligent training.

According to the lawsuit, overt gender bias exists in the state's workers' compensation system, including discrimination against working women injured on the job in which permanent disability benefits are reduced because of the worker's gender.

A representative for the agencies could not be immediately reached.

The suit states that a female worker's award was reduced by 40 percent because her arthritis and related medical problems were attributed to "pre-existent non-industrial factors," including her gender and "post-menopausal status."

In contrast, men's benefits are not reduced on the basis of gender, the suit states. The complaint also alleges that if a woman past child-bearing age undergoes a double mastectomy due to work-induced breast cancer, the system presumes that she is entitled to no permanent disability benefits for the loss of her breasts.

However, prostate cancer is assigned a substantially higher disability rating, according to the complaint. One of the plaintiffs, Janice Page, is a police officer who developed breast cancer. She said she was exposed on the job to numerous carcinogenic toxins, including vehicle fires, ammunition, exhaust fumes, gasoline, diesel fuels, structure fires and narcotics.

She said she underwent five surgeries and the removal of her right breast, and continues to experience numbness on her right side.

"The loss of my breast has been devastating," Page said. "I carry the same weight on my duty belt as my male colleagues, confront the same dangers, work just as hard, and it is not fair for me and my (fellow) female peace officers to be penalized because of our gender."

Plaintiff Leticia Gonzalez spent eight hours a day, five days a week, for 17 years working on a computer as a telecommunications worker. After years of pain and numbness in her hands and wrists that affected her sleep, self-care and work, the workers' compensation system confirmed that her injuries were caused by the physical demands of her occupation, according to the complaint.

However, the state reduced the permanent disability benefits to which she was entitled by 20 percent, finding that she had "multiple risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome, primarily age and gender," the suit says.
A second man convicted in the stabbing death of a 76-year-old woman seven years ago in her Long Beach home was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Freddie James Battle, 27, was convicted along with co-defendant Daniia Lasean Davis, 27, in the Jan. 31, 2009, killing of Leam Sovanasy. Sovanasy, a Cambodian immigrant who survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, was a mother of seven and a grandmother of 20 described by family members as the "center of our universe."

She was meditating Jan. 31, 2009 in her Long Beach home when two men entered the residence through a window and attacked. The men were believed to have been burglarizing homes and pawning stolen merchandise, police said.

The case went cold until July 2013 when investigators received a tip about a white 1990s Chevy Caprice sedan seen near the crime scene. Composite sketches of two men suspected in the killing and a $10,000 reward for information in the case led to more leads, but it was a phone call to police from Davis that eventually led to the arrests.

Davis called investigators, saying that he looked like one of the subjects in the sketches, in an attempt to fish for information, authorities said. Davis and Battle were linked to the Chevy with traffic citations.

DNA was then used to connect the men to the crime, police said. Davis also was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
An off-duty reserve Los Angeles police officer shot and killed a man after the officer thought the man was attempting to rob him at a Covina Carl's Jr. restaurant, Covina police said.

Paramedics responded to a report of gunshots at the restaurant at 573 N. Azusa Ave. just after 3 p.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The unidentified man was found suffering from gunshot wounds to his upper torso on the ground outside of the restaurant. He was pronounced dead at the scene, fire officials said.

Covina police said the man allegedly brandished a gun, and the reserve officer thought he was attempting to rob him.

"When he was waiting for food he was confronted by the subject. The subject brandished a weapon at him. He was fearful of a robbery so he drew his own weapon and fired several times," Sgt. Gregg Peterson of Covina Police said.

Police say witnesses ran outside after the shooting and others hid in a bathroom.

The Los Angeles Police Department was assisting with the Covina Police Department's investigation.

The officer was OK, according to the Covina Police Department. Officers recovered a handgun from the man who died at the scene.

LAPD confirms their reserve officers are licensed to carry concealed weapons.

"They get trained by our department, they go through our academy. They do the same amount of training as a regular officer, just on a part time basis," Lieutenant Chris Ramirez of the LAPD said.

Beverly White contributed to this report.
A minor natural gas leak was detected at the Aliso Canyon storage facility near Porter Ranch over the weekend, but Southern California Gas Co. officials said Wednesday the issue was quickly repaired and never presented a safety risk to the community.

The leak, which was self-reported by SoCalGas to local and state regulators, was detected Saturday during a routine inspection, according to Melissa Bailey of the Gas Co.

"Company personnel performed a thorough assessment of the situation and determined the source of the gas to be a small leak from a nearby buried 3- inch-diameter pipeline not associated with the well's operation," Bailey said.

"Personnel isolated the leak, stopping the flow of gas and repairs were made Sunday. "...This was a very small leak and did not present a safety risk to SoCalGas employees or nearby communities," she said.

A major leak in a well at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility was discovered Oct. 23, prompting hundreds of residents to temporarily move out of the area while efforts were made to contain the flow of natural gas into the air.

The leak was capped on Feb. 18. Following an extensive effort to clean Porter Ranch-area homes, the bulk of displaced residents returned to their homes last month.
A panel of experts from the council that accredits forensic laboratories has sustained allegations that the Broward County Sheriff's DNA lab has been using improper methods to analyze certain DNA evidence.

The lab has been using inappropriate practices to calculate the likelihood that one person - usually a criminal suspect - left his DNA on evidence that has DNA from more than one person, the accrediting council board found.

The sheriff's office appealed that finding by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board, but last week was informed a three-expert panel rejected the sheriff's appeal.

Broward Sheriff's Captain Fernando Gajate told NBC 6 Investigators he was contacted by the accrediting agency last Friday and given a choice: stop producing conclusions about the statistical significance of DNA found in mixed DNA samples, or face suspension of the DNA lab's accreditation.

Without accreditation, the lab's DNA results would not be recognized as valid by the national DNA database run by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

And defense attorneys would likely challenge the competence of DNA evidence coming from a lab that lost its accreditation.

So, Gajate said, the lab agreed to subcontract the statistical analysis portion of its complex DNA mixture work to an approved laboratory, while launching a 90-day corrective action plan that will include obtaining new software.

Gajate stressed the lab's work extracting and identifying DNA is not being questioned; the sustained allegations involve how it uses that DNA to generate statistics estimating the likelihood one person can be included as a contributor to a mixture of DNA from more than one person.

If the board is not satisfied with the lab's corrections, and the lab's further appeals are also denied, it could still revoke or suspend the lab's accreditation.

Meanwhile the state attorney's office Wednesday began informing defense attorneys that the lab has lost its appeal of the two now-sustained allegations: considering the DNA profiles of suspects before determining which portions of DNA from evidence would be used for comparison; and identifying evidence of DNA that is so minuscule, it should be disregarded.

The state attorney's office said it is still discussing whether and, if necessary, how to inform defendants who may have been convicted based on statistical DNA testimony now found lacking.

Defense attorney Monique Brochu, who began questioning the competence of the lab and its consultants last year, said the sustained violations support her argument that DNA evidence against her client, accused murderer Javon Gibson, should be thrown out.

"Its not supposed to work that way," Brochu said. "I think these numbers were being bolstered by statistical experts to try to make them look better."

Gajate said the lab would subcontract with an approved lab to redo statistical calculations of DNA evidence, if so ordered by a court.
Wal-Mart will now let you pay with its phone app at all 4,600 stores nationwide.

The effort is part of Wal-Mart's strategy to make shopping easier and faster, while learning more about consumer behavior.

With Wal-Mart Pay, the cashier scans a QR code on the phone screen to charge a credit, debit or Wal-Mart gift card linked with the account. It differs from Apple, Samsung and Android Pay, which involves tapping your phone next to a payment machine with a wireless technology called NFC.

In December, Wal-Mart said it would develop its own digital wallet rather than honor existing systems from Apple and others, though Wal-Mart said it isn't ruling out third-party wallets in the future.

Retailers have been pushing their own systems in part because they retain control. Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services at Wal-Mart U.S., says data from the app will be used to improve the shopping experience. One way, he said, would be to use past shopping behavior to build a personalized shopping list. The customer could then delete or add items. He said such features would be done only with a customer's permission.

Wal-Mart joined other retailers in backing CurrentC, a system that was also based on scanning codes rather than NFC. But the beta test of the system faltered as Apple Pay became more popular. The consortium last week suspended its launch indefinitely, saying it plans to focus on other aspects of its business.

Apple Pay, in particular, has been credited with boosting interest in mobile payments, though many consumers still use traditional plastic cards because it's not difficult to pull one out. Although the number of stores accepting NFC payments has grown, it's still relatively low, and the stores with the right equipment still need cashiers familiar with it.

Wal-Mart says no payment information is stored on users' phones or at registers. Rather, card information is stored on Wal-Mart servers. By contrast, Apple, Samsung and Android Pay use alternative card numbers for added security, so if hackers break into a merchant's system, they wouldn't be able to go on a buying spree. Wal-Mart uses regular card numbers, but it insists it keeps the information secure.

Wal-Mart Pay is built into Wal-Mart's app, which has 20 million active users. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company finished upgrading stores in 25 states last week to complete the national rollout. Eckert said 88 percent of Walmart Pay transactions are from repeat users.
Miami-Dade County Animal Services is asking for the public's help in obtaining information on an injured two-year-old Labrador Retriever mix.

The dog, named Sam, was found on June 28, 2016 by a good Samaritan in the vicinity of SW 164th Street and 149th Avenue with severe injures consistent with burns.

Sam was brought in to the Miami-Dade Animal Services Pet Adoption and Protection Center where he is currently receiving treatment for his injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.

Sam is available for adoption, anyone interested in adopting him and providing him with a forever home should come visit the center at 3599 NW 79 Ave, Doral, FL 33166.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Animal Services by calling 3-1-1.
Amid a growing outcry _ and national headlines _ about a massive algae bloom fouling Florida's southern beaches and rivers, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday promised to dedicate millions more to battle the problem.

Scott announced that he would ask the Florida Legislature to set aside money that would be used for a grant program to aid homeowners who voluntarily want to switch from septic tanks to central sewer systems. He also pledged to set aside money in 2017 to help communities around the Indian River Lagoon and Caloosahatchee River build new wastewater systems.

Scott's promise won't do anything in the near future to remedy the algae bloom that put a smelly "guacamole-thick" muck on a stretch of beaches promoted as Florida's "Treasure Coast." But it marks a small change of direction for the governor, who has directed most of the blame for the algae bloom on the federal government.

"While the state has continued to step up and invest in important restoration projects to help South Florida waterways, it is clear that more work has to be done," Scott said in a statement distributed by his office. "It is up to all of us - the state, Florida's local communities and the federal government - to work together on long term solutions to improve the quality of our water. That is why I am going to commit state funding and match it with local contributions so we can work together on efforts to clean up our waters. Septic tank runoff is a major contributor to the pollution in these water bodies and I look forward to working with the Legislature to fund efforts to curb it.''

Hours after Scott announced his budget proposal he also formally asked authorities to declare a federal emergency due to the effects of the algae blooms that he said were due primarily to the federal government neglecting needed repairs for the dike that surrounds Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases polluted water from the lake to lower the pressure on a dike to avoid a repeat of a 1928 hurricane breach that killed 2,500 people.

Scott has not yet placed a price tag on the budget request he plans to submit to state legislators. His administration said it planned to work with state environmental officials and South Florida water management district officials on specific details. The governor did say he plans to create a program that would require local communities to put up a 50 percent match in order to be eligible for state funding.

While Scott has had some trouble winning approval for his legislative priorities in the past two years, he will likely find support for his request since incoming Senate President Joe Negron is from Martin County, one of the areas hardest hit by the algae blooms.

Negron, a Stuart Republican who has opposed proposals in the past to require mandatory inspections of septic tank systems, called Scott's proposal a "good long term policy" but he stressed that the current algae bloom affecting the region has been caused by discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

Negron said one solution that is needed is to purchase land south of the lake where water could be stored before it flows south toward the Everglades. While Scott has backed many Everglades-related proposals, he and other Republicans have opposed calls to purchase land near the lake, which is owned by the state's powerful and politically connected sugar producers.

Bradley Marshall, an attorney with Earthjustice, said that Scott's latest proposal "isn't focusing on the right problem." He said that the governor should be targeting the industrial and agricultural uses that are polluting Lake Okeechobee.

"Until those pollutants are addressed, nothing is going to prevent a future algae bloom," Marshall said.
What to Know Former Sweetwater mayor Manny Marono returned to South Florida after serving 29 months in prison for accepting bribes while in office.

After nearly two and a half years behind bars, the former mayor of Sweetwater is back in South Florida with his family.

Manny Marono was greeted at Miami International Airport by his parents, as well as other family members and friends:

Marono was sentenced in 2014 to 40 months in prison after admitting to accepting bribes while mayor of the Miami-Dade city. He served 29 months in a facility in Alabama.

Marono will serve five more months in a halfway house, being able to return home on the weekend, and will spend the next two years on probation.

Marono was arrested as part of an investigation that included taking bribes from undercover FBI agents. The former mayor pled guilty from the start and apologized for his actions during his sentencing phase.

The same investigation also led to the arrest of Miami Lakes mayor Michael Pizzi, who was eventually acquitted of charges and regained his position.
What to Know Two Cuban migrants landed on the shores of Miami Beach Thursday morning, seeking freedom in America.

Two Cuban migrants came ashore on Miami Beach Thursday morning, the latest to make the journey in recent weeks.

The migrants landed on the beach near 41st Street and Collins Avenue after four days at sea. They notified a lifeguard they had just arrived after sailing from Cuba.

They were transferred to Miami Beach police headquarters while Border Patrol officials were called in. Both are reportedly in good condition and will be allowed to stay under the Wet foot, Dry foot policy in the United States for those who arrive from Cuba.

A couple who was visiting from Virginia couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the men come ashore.

"They were kicking the sand saying 'Miami, Miami,'" Tori Ford said.

"As soon as they hit where these waves are breaking they jumped out of their boat, threw their oars and came running straight up to us," Nick Novak said.

Just two days ago, 14 migrants arrived near Tavernier in Monroe County. And on Wednesday, the Coast Guard repatriated 50 migrants that were intercepted at sea.

According to the Coast Guard, the number of Cuban migrants has increased lately. Since October 1, 5,043 Cubans have attempted to illegally come to the country by sea, compared to 4,473 in 2015.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a college student awaiting trial on a charge he tried to rush the stage at a Donald Trump rally violated conditions of his bond and would be placed on electronic home detention.

Judge Sharon Ovington's ruling came just hours after Wright State University student Thomas DiMassimo asked permission to go to Cleveland for the Republican National Convention.

She said he admitted violating conditions she set in March allowing him to be free under his own recognizance. It wasn't clear exactly what those conditions were. She ordered him to be turned over to U.S. marshals pending arrangements for home detention, including installation of a landline phone.

Earlier in the day, the 22-year-old DiMassimo filed a motion asking Ovington to approve his leaving the federal southern district of Ohio to go to Cleveland for the convention featuring Trump as the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee. His motion included a sworn statement that he would abide by federal and local laws while at the July 18-21 convention.

The judge instead further restricted him to a seven-county Dayton region and said he must undergo a mental health evaluation if a court officer determined it was called for. But she declined a government motion to revoke DiMassimo's bond.

She had earlier allowed him to travel to Georgia to visit his family. Bond conditions also included not violating laws and not having any weapons.

DiMassimo's attorney declined to comment, citing the judge's admonition to both sides not to discuss the case publicly.

DiMassimo was arrested March 12 at a Dayton-area rally at an airport hangar, touching the stage while Trump was speaking before Secret Service and other security agents converged.

He has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally entering a restricted area, which carries a potential one-year sentence and fines if convicted. Trial is scheduled for Aug. 29 in Dayton.

DiMassimo has said he wanted to grab the microphone at the event to show people they could stand up to Trump. Trump praised the Secret Service for acting so quickly and called DiMassimo a "maniac" on Twitter after the rally, which was his first after well-organized students succeeded in keeping him from taking the stage for a Chicago event.

Trump was campaigning in the Cincinnati area on Wednesday.

DiMassimo's attorney, Jon Paul Rion, also has a motion pending before the judge to dismiss the case, saying the federal statute is vague and violates DiMassimo's constitutional rights. He said earlier that DiMassimo only wanted to express his political views.

Benjamin C. Glassman, acting U.S. attorney for southern Ohio, said earlier this year in the DiMassimo case that "passions are high in this election" and that it's important to keep everyone safe, regardless of whether people attend political events to support a candidate or to protest.
What to Know Wayne Martin was convicted of the double murder in 2010

A letter to a judge from the Brooklyn DA's office admitted his right to due process was violated, among other prosecutorial infractions

The trial prosecutor blamed in the DA's letter says he's the victim of a smear campaign

A judge tossed out the double murder conviction of a 46-year-old man serving a life sentence without parole for a pair of slayings at a Brownsville, Brooklyn, tire store in 2005 amid allegations of improper prosecutorial conduct made by the district attorney's office itself.



Wayne Martin, who was convicted in 2010, was remanded for at least two weeks as the Brooklyn district attorney's office continues to investigate the case. The judge ordered all parties back in two weeks, and left the door open for Martin to be released on bail if the district attorney doesn't dismiss the indictment entirely.



Martin's attorneys said they were disappointed their client was being held, but said they know he is innocent and believe they will be able to prove it. Martin has always maintained his innocence, telling the NBC New York I-Team in an exclusive interview earlier this week that he had nothing to do with the crime and "they just tailored something to fit me."



The vacated conviction marks a stunning twist in the case of murder, misconduct and missing evidence, which was blasted open when Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson's office sent a letter to the chief administrative judge saying the man's due process rights had been violated and key evidence that could have changed the outcome of the jury's verdict was not given to the defense ahead of the trial.



The exculpatory evidence included documents showing that two witnesses identified different suspects as the gunman.



On Thursday, the district attorney's office said it learned the evidence hadn't been handed over while preparing a response to Martin's motion in January.



"Therefore, in the interest of justice, we asked that the verdict be set aside and will continue to investigate this matter," spokesman Oren Yaniv said.



In an exclusive jailhouse interview at Shawungunk Correctional Facility in Ulster County prior to Thursday's vacated conviction, Martin told the I-Team he felt numb when he saw the district attorney's letter.

"I havent slept for a week, he said.

In jail, Martin said he often felt hopeless, knowing that he had essentially received a death sentence for something he didnt do.

The district attorney's letter unusually questioned the conduct of the trial prosecutor, Marc Fliedner, who left the office in early June in a bitter personal dispute with Thompson.

In an exclusive interview, Fliedner accused Thompson of playing "political gamesmanship with human beings lives."



"What's going on is that Thompson rooted around and found something he could use to try to silence who he believed to be a political adversary," said Fliedner, who has been a vocal critic of Thompson. "Frankly, given the smell about the timing of this and the smear campaign aspect of it, I'm not even comfortable saying that what is being reported to the court by the DA's office at this point in time is accurate."

The district attorney's office said there are no politics involved. Attorneys in the office began reviewing the Martin file in response to a defense motion earlier this year and found two separate versions of a homicide report  one section involving an eyewitness account was missing.

Martins current defense team was notified.

Fliedner said the documents should have been turned over: If I had them, I would have. I turned over every single document I had.

Fliedner could not explain how the documents suddenly ended up in the DAs file during the investigation, and he said if there was a critical piece of evidence he had not turned over, he couldn't have seen it. But he said he does believe Martin has a right to a new trial.

The judge's decision marks the 21st time the Brooklyn district attorney's office has had a conviction vacated since 2014.

Before his exoneration, Derrick Hamilton had served more than 20 years in prison. He is now a paralegal working on cases like Martins, and believes there needs to be a special prosecutor.

"Prosecutors cant say it was the police," Hamilton said. "The prosecutor has the responsibility of looking into the police files before they arrest somebody. It still falls on them."
Police in Connecticut are searching for a local man who has been missing since he left to go to a Phish concert in New York on Friday.

Thirty-nine-year-old Jason Czech of Branford left home to go to a concert in Saratoga Springs, New York on Friday, July 1 and no one heard from him since Saturday, according to police.

Family members reported Czech missing on Monday, July 4 and police have not been able to reach him at his Branford home or at his secondary address in Madison.

Branford Police are not sure if Czech arrived at the concert or whether he decided to go to the band's next show in Maine. The tour schedule on Phish's website says they were in Portland, Maine on July 6.

Czech is 6-foot-2 and weighs about 240 pounds. He has green eyes and a fairly short close-cropped red hair, parted to one side. He also has a close-cropped red goatee.

He drives a gray 2003 Honda Accord with Connecticut license plate 865-SJE.

Anyone with information should call police at 203-481-4241 or Branfords Crime Tip Line at 203-315-3909 if they wish to remain anonymous.
What to Know Eight U.S. airlines will begin a total of 20 round-trip daily flights as early as this fall between the U.S. and the Cuban capital

10 cities, including New York City and Newark, will host flights.

Airlines still need to record  and keep for five years  the official reason why someone travels to Cuba

Scheduled commercial airline service to Havana from 10 American cities -- including Newark and New York City -- won tentative government approval Thursday, advancing President Barack Obama's effort to normalize relations with Cuba.

Eight U.S. airlines will begin a total of 20 round-trip daily flights as early as this fall between the U.S. and the Cuban capital, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. It has been more than 50 years since the last scheduled air service from the U.S. to the communist island nation.

In addition to Newark and New York City, airports in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; and Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa, Florida, will all be all be able to host flights to Cuba.

Airlines included in the agreement include Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United.

Foxx said the decision won't be final until later this summer in order to provide a 30-day public comment period. Last month, the Transportation Department announced the approval of six U.S. airlines to begin service as early as this fall to other Cuban cities.

Most Americans still cannot legally visit Cuba. But the Obama administration has eased rules to the point where travelers are now free to design their own "people-to-people" cultural exchange tours with little oversight.

Airlines still need to record  and keep for five years  the official reason why someone travels to Cuba, so reservation systems have been revamped to allow passengers to select one of the 12 permitted categories. They include family visits, official business, educational or religious activities.

In New Jersey, state police are asking tourist set to visit Cuba to be alert of fugitives wanted by the FBI. Among those wante is Joanne Chesimard, the aunt of rapper Tupac Shakur. She was convicted in the shooting death of a New Jersey state trooper in 1973 but escaped to Cuba, where she was granted asylum by Fidel Castro.

U.S. citizens' interest in visiting Cuba has swelled 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.
What to Know SWAT teams descended on a home in Carlstadt, New Jersey Wednesday after a man allegedly shot and killed his wife, sources say

The suspect, the son of the former fire chief, barricaded himself inside the home with his children, but the kids managed to get out unhurt

Neighbors say the couple in the home separated last year but recently got back together

The son of a former New Jersey fire chief shot and killed his wife on the front lawn of their home, then turned the gun on himself, prosecutors said.

Scott Sabia, 45, shot his wife, Michele, 44, outside their home on Union Street in Carlstadt Wednesday evening, prosecutors said in a news conference. Their three children managed to escape the home unharmed.

Michele Sabia was pronounced dead at the scene. By the time officers responded, Scott Sabia had locked himself in their home, prosecutors said.

The couple's 9-year-old daughter and two sons, ages 11 and 14, had gotten out of the house unharmed.

SWAT teams and police from multiple agencies secured the perimeter around the home and attempted to coax Scott Sabia out, prosecutors said.

A police officer was heard over loudspeaker saying "Scott, this is the Bergen County SWAT team. Come out with your hands up."

Police also used stun grenades and a robot to try to force the man out of the house.

When their repeated attempts to contact Scott Sabia got no response over the course of an hour, the SWAT teams entered the home and found Sabia dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the entryway, prosecutors said.

Authorities said they're investigating what led to the shooting.

Scott and Michele Sabia separated last year but had just gotten back together, according to neighbors.

Scott Sabia was the son of a former fire chief in Carlstadt, according to sources. Sources said he suffered from depression and was off his medication.

But a woman who identified herself outside the home as a cousin of Scott Sabia's father said his depression was under control.

"He was a good boy, he was a friendly boy, he was a loving boy," said Geri Sabia.

As to Scott owning a gun, she said, "They were hunters. My cousins, they hunt. They were avid hunters, and that's it."

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Dozens of people were arrested as hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of New York City Thursday, protesting a pair of fatal police shootings of black men this week.

The protests were mostly peaceful, though there were occasional clashes captured on video and photos posted to social media. At least 40 people were arrested, mostly for disorderly conduct, by Thursday night, police said. There were no immediate reports of injuries to either officers or protesters.

Hundreds began gathering in Union Square in the evening, seeking answers and demanding justice in the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. They began marching in various groups through different parts of Manhattan.

In Times Square, a woman was tackled to the ground by a sea of officers, video shows. Officers also zip-tied several demonstrators when they blocked an intersection and wouldn't follow instructions to leave. The demonstrators were loaded onto an MTA bus to be transported to a local police station.

The impassioned protests, however, were otherwise peaceful. Marchers said they were tired of the injustice and that they don't plan to stop demonstrating.

"It's going to keep on happening until we reform the system," said Jess Florez.

The shocking immediacy and intimacy of the Facebook live-stream video capturing Castile's death inside his car has reverberated with many in New York. Andre T. Mitchell, founder of Man Up Inc., a Brooklyn-based organization that works to building bridges between the community and police, said the video destroys advancements in trust.

"It disrupts and it crumbles all of the progress that's been made, it's unfortunate," said Mitchell. "It just sets us back."

"It is not a good day right now across the nation, especially here in Brooklyn," he said.

But, Mitchell cautioned, those on the front lines of the fight for peace need to "maintain our discpline."

"If you're going to move, move in a very responsible, organized manner, and not overreact," he said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the shootings Thursday, saying, "I'm reeling after watching these videos... this is not what America is supposed to be."

"No parent of color, or a parent of a child of color in this country can watch that and not be afraid. You feel for the life of child when you see a situation like this," he said. "Thats the problem here, I have tremendous respect for law enforcement, but what the age of the cellphone video has done has made this very personal for many Americans."

"Every day we honor and respect everyone who is a part of law enforcement, but when you look at that video it begs the question: what kind of training did these officers receive, what were they told on how to do their job? Because it's not the right way," he said.

NYC bus loaded with #BlackLivesMatter protestors taken from protest in Times Square. pic.twitter.com/QWfKQIuyl4  Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) July 8, 2016

"In this city, we made the decision to retrain all of our officers and put a particular emphasis in the training for our new recruits," de Blasio continued. "We would focus on de-escalation approaches, helping them to communicate with people in the community. This should be a deferral priority, that all of our officers get trained in this."

Castile was killed Wednesday night in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights during a traffic stop. His girlfriend Diamond Reynolds told reporters Thursday the couple and her daughter had gone shopping and Castile had just been to the barber for his upcoming birthday when a St. Anthony cop pulled them over.

She said the officer asked them if they knew they had a broken taillight, and they responded no.

Reynolds said the officer asked them to put their hands in the air, and they complied. The officer then asked Castile, who was driving, for his identification.

She said he kept it in a wallet in a right-back pants pocket.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHkxu74hDYJ https://www.instagram.com/p/BHkwUgmglRY https://www.instagram.com/p/BHkv6QshQDI

"As he's reaching, he lets the officer know, 'I have a firearm on me,'" Reynolds said, adding that he was licensed to carry and "nothing in his body said intimidation."

That's when the officer, she said, drew his weapon and fired off up to five shots at Castile, ordering, "Don't move, don't move."

Reynolds said the officer appeared to be crying after the shooting. "He was frantic and very, very nervous."

"He didn't have any last words," Reynolds recalled. "His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he was gone instantly."

Castile, who would have turned 33 on Friday, died at the hospital around 9 p.m. local time Wednesday. An autopsy was pending Thursday.

Diamonds said she recorded the aftermath on her cellphone and put it on Facebook because "I wanted everyone to know that no matter how much the police tamper with evidence ... I wanted to put it on Facebook and go viral so that the people can see."

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said in a statement Thursday morning that he asked the White House to compel the U.S. Department of Justice to begin an independent federal investigation into Castile's shooting.

Castile was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul.

Saint Paul Public Schools said in a Facebook post Castile graduated from Central High School in 2001 and had worked for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) since he was 19 years old, beginning in 2002, in the Nutrition Services Department.

"Colleagues describe him as a team player who maintained great relationships with staff and students alike. He had a cheerful disposition and his colleagues enjoyed working with him. He was quick to greet former coworkers with a smile and hug," the statement said.

Reynolds described him as a "very, very sweet man" who cared for his family and wasn't involved with street gangs.

The officer "took a part of my heart," she said. "He took a part of my soul."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he was "shocked and deeply, deeply offended" that an incident like this took place in Minnesota. He said the officer's response was "way in excess" for a traffic stop.

"Would this have happened if the driver and the passengers had been white?" he asked. "I don't think so."

It's the second police-involved shooting of a black man to gain nationwide attention in as many days. Alton Sterling was killed by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Justice said it will investigate that death.

President Obama was "deeply disturbed" by the two shootings, according to a White House spokesman.

"We've seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities who've suffered such a painful loss," Obama said in a message on Facebook later.

Obama added that regardless of the outcome of the investigations the shootings are "symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve."
A wiggling mass of live crabs was spotted riding an N train through three boroughs last weekend, according to reports.

The crowd of crustaceans was caught on camera by 24-year-old Brian Slepian, who came across the crabs around 10:45 p.m. at the 45th Street subway station in Sunset Park.

The crabs then took the train through Manhattan to Queens, where they were spotted around midnight at Queensboro Plaza by 24-year-old Shawn Petcaugh.

Petcaugh said that he was headed home from a Mets game when the subway car rolled up emanating a horrid smell, according to Gothamist, which first reported the arthropodal sighting.

Petcaugh estimated that there were around 50 crabs in the car. How? Why? he said.

The MTA had no comment on the story.

The fate of the crabs, as well as how they ended up in the subway in the first place, is unknown, but one man was apparently trying to save the critters by throwing water on them.

He came on the train after I did and, in a psychotic attempt to help the crabs, threw a liter of water on to the floor, Slepian said.

Slepian told Gothamist the man throwing water said it may have been a prank on him because his zodiac sign is Cancer.

Video captured aboard a 7 train shows a rat crawl up an apparently clueless, sleeping man. When the rodent makes his way to the mans neck, he wakes up and shrieks in horror, the video shows.

One things for certain  if the crabs took the N train to the end of the line in Astoria, theyd better skedaddle fast. The Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard station is surrounded by several Greek seafood and Japanese sushi restaurants.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
Family and friends of a man who was fatally shot by an off-duty NYPD officer during an apparent road rage confrontation gathered for a vigil Wednesday evening.

About 200 people gathered at the intersection in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn where 37-year-old Delrawn Dempsey was killed.

Relatives spoke out late Wednesday before joining protesters in blocking traffic. They're demanding answers from police.

"Look in their faces and tell them what you did. Look in our faces and tell us why you pulled that gun out and shot my brother," Dempsey's brother, Victor, said.

Authorities say off-duty officer Wayne Isaacs was driving his personal vehicle early Monday when he got in a traffic dispute with Dempsey. When both cars stopped at a red light, police say Dempsey got out of his vehicle and punched Isaacs repeatedly through an open window. Isaacs pulled out his service weapon and killed Dempsey.

"I don't care if they said he punched him. I don't care if they say he should have stayed in the car. I don't care if they say he shouldn't have been driving, or he shouldn't have been in Brooklyn. At the end of the day, he got shot by a cop for no reason," Victor Dempsey said.

A law enforcement official said Tuesday that security videotape shows Dempsey exiting his car at a stoplight and leaning into Isaacs' vehicle before the officer shot and killed him.

The family said Dempsey was a kind man and the father of a baby boy, who was in his dad's car at the time of the shooting. They're bracing for a long fight.

"We're not gonna break. We're gonna stick together until we get justice," Victor Dempsey said.

The shooting remains under investigation.
Family and friends of 37-year-old Alton Sterling remembered him as a jovial giant who was quick to laugh, NBC News reported.

His aunt said Sterling was full of joy. A female cousin who asked not to be identified said Sterling suffered from asthma and was no threat to police or anyone else.

According to court records and the Baton Rouge Advocate, Sterling was convicted in September 2000 after getting an underage girl pregnant and was sentenced to five years of hard labor. His sentence was suspended and he got five years probation. He also had a previous confrontation with police, although the circumstances were not clear.

Sterling was shot and killed by police officers outside a Baton Rouge, Louisiana convenience store on Tuesday, where he sold CDs for years.
Donald Trump tried to assure skittish GOP lawmakers Thursday that they all share the same Republican Party goals, but his first appearance before the rank-and-file failed to soothe some deep concerns about his undisciplined campaign.

Protesters chanted in sweltering heat outside, while inside a packed room at the Republican National Committee, Trump offered a simple message, according to Rep. Ken Calvert of California: "We all need to stick together. Things will all work out in November."

With GOP lawmakers unanimous in their desire to beat Hillary Clinton this fall, some welcomed the reassurance and applauded Trump's remarks. It wasn't enough for others, as lawmakers who have been wary of Trump's incendiary comments and off-putting campaign style said they remain unconvinced.

"I said before the meeting that Donald Trump has a lot of work to persuade many Americans, including myself, that he is able to lead this great country," said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. "I still need to be persuaded."

Trump's appearance came on a circuslike day on Capitol Hill, with FBI Director James Comey testifying to a House committee about Clinton's email practices, summoned by Republican lawmakers furious about his decision, announced Tuesday, that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

Dozens of protesters awaited Trump, shouting slogans and waving signs that said Trump is "Dangerous, Divisive, Deceitful." Protesters chanted, "Donald Trump, he's a fraud. Sending our jobs far abroad." They held up large photos of GOP lawmakers, including vulnerable senators, wearing Trump campaign hats, as the billionaire arrived with daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Trump defended himself against some of his harshest Senate critics. Addressing Nebraska GOP Sen. Ben Sasse, he said, "Surely, you don't want Clinton." Sasse, in a statement from his office, referred to the two presidential choices as a "Dumpster fire," adding that "nothing has changed."

Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, an outspoken Trump critic, said there was a lack of energy in the room. "You could feel it," he said.

"I'm not a Never Trump guy, I've said I want to get there. I'm a Republican and I want to support the nominee," Kinzinger said after leaving the meeting early. "But things like the Saddam Hussein comment are not helping me get there," Kinzinger added.

He was referring to Trump having praised the late Iraqi dictator's terrorist-killing prowess. Trump defended himself over those comments Thursday, telling lawmakers it was an example of the media twisting his words, according to Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a strong Trump supporter.

Cramer paraphrased what Trump said: "Here I was very critical of Saddam Hussein, saying he's a very, very bad guy, evil guy. And I wake up and I look at the media and they say I love Saddam Hussein."

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Trump sought to put the Saddam comment "into context, so people understood the context in which he was speaking about getting tough on terrorism."

Trump offered some what they wanted to hear. He talked of repealing President Barack Obama's health law, reducing regulatory burdens, overhauling tax laws and getting the Supreme Court to "be one that is more reflective of the values of the country," according to Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.

Trump delivered a "great unifying speech," Price said, and his listeners were "very receptive."

Ryan told reporters later, "We clearly have a presumptive nominee who wants to work with us on moving this agenda forward."

But others sounded unimpressed though resigned to backing the likely GOP nominee.

Republicans pressed Trump on whether he would defend Article 1 of the Constitution on the separation of powers; Trump said he would defend "1, 2, 3 to 12," said South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford. In fact, there are only seven articles.

"I wasn't particularly impressed, I think it was the normal stream of consciousness that's long on hyperbole and short on facts," said South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who dismissed the alternative  Clinton.

The gatherings came less than two weeks before the GOP's national convention, which a number of leading Republicans, including some in Congress, are skipping.

It came on the heels of a fiery Trump speech Wednesday night in which he defended his retweet of the image of a six-pointed star alongside a picture of Clinton on a field of hundred-dollar bills. Many saw the symbol as a Star of David and considered the image to be anti-Semitic, and Ryan and others criticized the retweet. Instead of focusing on Clinton during his remarks Wednesday in Cincinnati, as Republican leaders would have liked, Trump mixed his attacks on the presumptive Democratic nominee with a defense of the tweet as well as earlier remarks complimenting Saddam. Trump argues the star in his tweet was a regular star that a sheriff might use.

Democrats sough to capitalize on Trump's appearance on the Hill. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a pair of ads linking Republican lawmakers to Trump.
Straight off the streets of New York, one of the city's most popular food carts turned global brand will be opening its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Pennsylvania in King of Prussia.

The Manhattan-based The Halal Guys, a concept known for its menu of American Halal food, gyro sandwiches, chicken-and-rice platters and "secret white sauce," will be coming to the Valley Forge Shopping Center, located less than two miles from the King of Prussia Mall.

Franchise development company Fransmart  which worked with Five Guys  secured franchised units across the United States. The Halal Guys restaurants are located in Houston, Chicago, and Northern and Southern California.

To Read Full Article, Click Here.

________________________________________________________________

For More Business News, Visit Philadelphia Business Journal.
A local man is taking to social media to ask for help to get his dog back after someone stole the dog from his Fishtown home during a burglary.

Gabe Hernandez, 39, and his girlfriend were in the process of moving to Mount Laurel over the past week, and Hernandez said one of his dogs, a 1-year-old Argentine Mastiff named Kazador, stayed at the old house in Fishtown as he prepared the new house for the dog's arrival. Hernandez went over each day to visit Kazador and feed him.

But on Wednesday, something was amiss when Hernandez got to the house, on Marlborough Street near Allen along the edge of the neighborhood near Penn Treaty Park. Hernandez said someone had unlatched a window to the house, climbed in, and apparently stolen Kazador right out of the home.

Gabe Hernandez

Now, Hernandez and his girlriend, Angela Weeks, miss Kazador, a gentle giant, terribly, and are hoping posts on social media and a police report will help bring him home.

"He's super sweet, loving. He just loves everyone," Hernandez told NBC10. "He's completely trusting, and he was probably just like, 'Oh, someone's here to play with me.'"

Hernandez said he's worried whoever took Kazador may harm him.

"He's a big dog, so whoever stole him might try to use him for dog fighting," Hernandez explained. "But it's not in his nature. It's not in his breed's nature. He just loves other animals."

Philadelphia Police's East Detective Division confirmed they're investigating the burglary and trying to help find Kazador. Hernandez shared a post with photos of Kazador, asking that anyone who may have seen him in the neighborhood or around the city to call him at 484-769-3335. Kazador is micro-chipped.

In the time Kazador has been gone, he missed the birth of his five puppies to the couple's other dog, Mirra, Hernandez said.

Gabe Hernandez

Hernandez said Kazador can also be dropped off at the dog's vet, Fishtown Animal Hospital, at 233 E. Girard Ave., no questions asked.

He implored whoever took the dog to bring him back, but said he's not planning to offer a reward for his return.

"I almost feel like it's kind of wrong to try to offer some sort of enticement or reward for someone who committed a crime. As much as I'd like to have the dog back, that only encourages criminal activity," he said.

"He's part of a family. He's got puppies here, you know?"

Anyone with information on the burglary should contact East Detectives at 215-686-3243. If you know Kazador's whereabouts, contact Gabe Hernandez at 484-769-3335, or return the dog to Fishtown Animal Hospital, 233 E. Girard Ave.


A federal grand jury has lodged child sex charges against a former high school teacher who authorities say was caught in an online sting.



Joshua Rutherford was charged by state officials in March with sexual solicitation of a child and attempted dealing in child pornography.



Authorities said at the time that Rutherford, a Smyrna High School teacher, began an online chat with an undercover investigator in February, thinking he was communicating with the father of a teenage girl. Officials said Rutherford expressed his interest in meeting the girl for sex and requested nude images.



State officials dropped those charges after a federal grand jury last week indicted Rutherford on two counts each of seeking child pornography and attempted inducement of a minor.



Rutherford was scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday.
Hundreds of activists, clergy members and residents marched through Center City Philadelphia to protest the police shootings this week of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The protesters hit the city streets Thursday evening for the second consecutive night of demonstrations. Among the crowd were organizers of Black Lives Matter and local ministers. Some people were holding handmade signs, singing and chanting slogans.[[385940981, C]]

Video of the Philando Castile's death in Minnesota on Wednesday spread just hours after footage was released showing Tuesday's police killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge.

Castile was killed during a traffic stop. Sterling was shot during an altercation outside of a store where he was selling CDs. Both cases remain under investigation.[[385937891, C]]

Police estimated the crowd of protesters was about 300. They marched from the convention center to the Arch Street United Methodist Church.

No arrests were reported in Thursday's march.

Powerful Images of Protest, Arrests Over Alton Sterling Killing
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, a Catholic, slammed guidance this month from Archbishop Charles Chaput that tells couples viewed as non-traditional by the church they should not have sex or be intimate if they want to receive communion.

"Jesus gave us [the] gift of Holy Communion because he so loved us. All of us. Chaput's actions are not Christian," mayor Kenney tweeted Wednesday night.

Kenney's pronouncement was a response to a tweet by self-described LGBT activist Ben Secka:[[385779971,C]]

Chaput's guidelines are a clarification of the pope's "The Joy of Love," a 256-page document on the church's teachings about family.

Jesus gave us gift of Holy Communion because he so loved us. All of us. Chaput actions are not Christian. https://t.co/FXfC858EP6  Jim Kenney (@JimFKenney) July 6, 2016

The Archbishop's interpretation of the document says divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, unmarried couples living together and same-sex couples are welcome in the church, but should "refrain from sexual intimacy" in order to receive Communion.
A 26-year-old woman is accused of spitting in the face of a volunteer EMS worker who tried to help her with a cut.



New Jersey State Police say Perryville troopers and Pattenburg Volunteer EMS responded to a home in Bloomsbury shortly before 1 a.m. July 4 to help Brittany Berger, who had sustained a laceration.



As a volunteer EMS worker tried to help the 26-year-old Berger, she spit at him and kicked him, police said.



The Greenwich Township woman was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. She's being held at the Hunterdon County Jail in lieu of bail.



It wasn't immediately clear if Berger had an attorney.
Campaign officials confirm Hillary Clinton will visit Philadelphia Friday night.

The Democratic presidential candidate delivers the keynote address at the Bicentennial of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

An estimated 30,000 attendees are expected at the conference, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Clinton travels here after a campaign stop in Scranton with Vice President Joe Biden earlier in the day.

In Atlantic City today, Clinton stood on the famed boardwalk and ripped Donald Trump as a "shameful" businessman who contributed to the decline of the oceanfront resort town and would be just as disastrous for America's workers as president.

"What he did here in Atlantic City is exactly what he'll do if he wins in November," Clinton warned Wednesday, the faded facade of Trump Plaza, a shuttered hotel formerly owned by the presumptive Republican nominee, just over her shoulder.

Clinton's remarks were part of a growing effort by her campaign to undercut Trump's business reputation, which Democrats believe is greatly overhyped and based more on his ability to attract publicity than actual private sector skills. In the coming weeks, she is expected to highlight "victims" of Trump's business ventures, including contractors who went unpaid  echoing a strategy Democrats employed successfully against 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

Clinton made no mention of the FBI's withering criticism Tuesday accompanied its recommendation that she not face actual charges for her email practices as secretary of state. She ignored reporters' shouted questions about the matter later in the day as she greeted striking workers at the Trump Taj Mahal, another property previously owned by her GOP opponent.

In clearing Clinton of breaking the law, FBI Director James Comey was scorching in his criticism of the Democratic nominee, saying she was "extremely careless" in handling classified information on a private email account and personal internet server.
Princeton is better than the University of Pennsylvania and so is Swarthmore, according to a new list of the top colleges.

Forbes released its annual rankings of Americas Top 25 Colleges and revealed that colleges in the northeast -- including a trio of Philadelphia-area schools -- dominate this year's list.

Stanford took the top spot followed by Williams College (No. 2) overall and Princeton University (No. 3).

Swarthmore College beat out UPenn for a spot in the Top 10 while the University of Pennsylvania took the No. 11 spot. Haverford College came in at No. 23 on the list.

The Center for College Affordability & Productivity (CCAP) and Forbes compiled the 2016 list over three years with five general categories. Ranking factor categories include student satisfaction, postgraduate success, student debt, four-year graduation rate and academic success.

Notable Trends throughout this years list include the average cost of tuition and fees for the 20152016 school year was $32,405 at private colleges, $9,410 for state residents at public colleges, and $23,893 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.

Cumulative student loan debt is approximately $1.26 trillion and on average more than half (55 percent) of students at the Top 100 Schools receive institutional grants from the college itself and Ivy League students have among the lowest loan burdens.
Any San Diegan that has traveled to the San Diego International Airport has most likely seen the giant mural of Charles Lindbergh hanging from the side of the commuter terminal.

Recently, however, this mural has been transferred to Ramona where it will now be hanging against a building on 9th Street just off of Main Street.

Transfer of Lindbergh mural complete - The Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project began the transfer of the Lucky Spir... https://t.co/Z2vk1jN4TY  Ramona Sentinel (@RamonaSentinel) July 3, 2016

The mural originally welcomed travelers to Lindbergh Field beginning in 1997. It was removed during a renovation in June 2012.

'Lucky Lindy' Removed from Airport Terminal

According to the Ramona Sentinel, The Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project bought the mural from John and Jeanne Whalen, the original artists, and have refurbished the mural for its display.

The main goal for the Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Mural Project is to create a reason for those passing tourists to stop to enjoy Ramonas beauty, charm, character and heritage, states Ramona H.E.A.R.T. Murals on their website. They are joining Live Well San Diego to encourage locals and visitors to get out of their vehicles, walk down Main Street and appreciate these new mural additions to the Ramona community.

Donations to help pay for this mural project may be made on the Ramona Murals Website (ramonamurals.com). Donations of $100 or more will be listed on the Ramona Murals website as well as a plaque that will be posted on the building.
San Diego's fire marshal is asking the state of California to investigate a brand of fireworks after a catastrophic malfunction at the La Jolla Cove Fourth of July fireworks Monday.

The public was not in danger, but the five people operating the fireworks show narrowly avoided injury and the show was stopped several times.

Fireworks shells flew across the ground and missed a pyro-technican by about a foot or so, San Diego Fire Marshal Doug Perry said.

He felt the wind go by him, Perry said. "We were very fortunate that people didnt get hurt.

A firework, which is linked to several shells that go off in order, malfunctioned in the tube as the second shell shot off several minutes into the show, sending the other shells in the tube horizontal toward the pyrotechnic operators.

We all ran, Perry said. It was very bright, things bouncing all over the place. You knew there was something wrong.

The malfunctioning shells, which were all the same brand, did have the state's approval. However, Perry said he believes the firework is a bad product and needs to be reevaluated.

We had a 50 percent fail rate, Perry said regarding the malfunctioning product. Im sure once the state sees what kind of failure rate we had down here and what the potential was for injury and even loss of life, Im sure theyre going to take a pretty quick move on this one.

A veteran pyrotechnic operator stopped the show as soon as it was clear something had gone wrong.

The operator had a kill switch to immediately stop the show. After about 20 minutes, the fire marshal decided it was safe for the fireworks to continue.

I made the decision to let the show go on. We fired off the rest. We had the finaleEverything went fine, he said. Everything worked out well. It was just that there was a stop in between.

Crews checked, inspected and tested equipment five minutes before the show. Everything was done with permits and by code, Perry said.

The issue San Diego will take to the State Fire Marshal is that the cardboard on the bottom of that particular firework may not be strong enough to take the pressure of the lifting shell, making it go horizontal instead of the intended vertical.

The State Fire Marshals office approves fireworks for use, and they will decide what happens with the product.
The reward to find the suspect accused of shooting and killing a young man in Escondido seven years ago has increased to $10,000, police announced Thursday.

On July 4, 2009, Daniel Alexander was at his girlfriends house in the 500 block of South Vine Street. According to witnesses, there was a party happening next door and, at one point, Alexander was confronted by several men from that gathering.

The Escondido Police Department (EPD) said one of those men was Federico Ramos, 36.

During the confrontation, Alexander was shot to death. To this day, the case remains unsolved, with Ramos wanted in connection with the murder.

The EPDs Crimes of Violence Unit said the victims family is now offering a $9,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Ramos. This reward money is added to the $1,000 being offered by San Diego Crime Stoppers.

Detectives said Thursday that Ramos is described as a 36-year-old man who stands at approximately 5-foot-4 and weighs 150 pounds.

Anyone with information on the suspects whereabouts or this cold case can call the EPDs Crimes of Violence Unit at (760) 839-4719 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.
Some people in San Diego's homeless community are arming themselves as others get off the streets after a fourth man was found beaten and then set on fire Wednesday morning.

The 23-year-old man was attacked while sleeping in a highly populated ares in Downtown San Diego, according to the San Diego Police Department (SDPD).

While investigators are working around the clock to get the suspect off the street, the homeless community is doing what they can to survive until he's caught.

The series of attacks on the homeless community began on Sunday.

Angelo De Nardo, 53, was killed and then set on fire on Morena Boulevard in Bay Park, homicide investigators said.

Shawn Longley, 41, was found by police Monday morning on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach. He had suffered blunt force trauma to his upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Manuel Mason, 61, was attacked about an hour earlier on Monday in San Diego's Midway District. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. San Diego Police identified him along with the other victims in the series during a Wednesday news conference.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined SDPD to urge the public to come forward with any information and said they were offering services to the homeless community to keep them safe.

But Manuel Ruiz says he and many others aren't waiting for police protection and that they're arming themselves.

With pepper spray, rocks in a socks---locks if you can find them but mostly rocks, red lasers and big sticks, Ruiz said.

Enhanced photographs of the suspect in a series of four attacks were hand billed to the homeless near St. Vincent DePaul Shelter.

Shelter residents say more people than ever are trying to find a space to sleep there.

It's dangerous outside. You get beat up or killed. They're scared so they want to get in there, homeless San Diegan Suzy said.

An intake clerk at the San Diego Rescue Mission told NBC 7 that fear on the street doubled the amount of people trying to enroll on Monday.

As of Wednesday, the suspects remains outstanding.

Police said they don't have the suspect's name but the man was recorded on a gas station security camera, buying suplies to light a fire.

I truly believe, and I can't stress this enough, that its just a matter of getting this photograph in front of the right person, SDPD Captain David Nieslit said.

Investigators may have the beginning of a personality profile for the suspect from the store clerk who said he sold him supplies for a fire. The clerk, who wishes only to be identified as Elliott , told NBC 7, the man bought a fuel can, gas, lighter and pack of gum.

He kind of interrupted me---'can I get a lighter too, I said yeah sure then he interrupted me again and asked can I get a gum. So he was kind of nervous and fast talker, Elliott said.

Elliot says the man also constantly tapped his right hand as he shopped the convenience store.

We're getting a lot of investigative leads. We're following up on all those leads, Nisleit said.

Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the capture of the attacker was a top priority and pledge to commit the resources necessary.

He said that also included an increase in the reward for information.

For now, Crime Stoppers is offering $1000 for information leading to the suspect's capture.
San Diego's mayor and police chief are urging the public to help homicide investigators find a man, seen on store surveillance video, who they believe is responsible for terrorizing the city's homeless community with four brutal attacks in four days.

These evil acts of violence are some of the worst Ive seen in my 34 years in law enforcement, San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman said.

SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said the series of violent, deadly attacks on homeless victims that began July 3 are despicable crimes. These evil acts of violence are some of the worst Ive seen in my 34 years in law enforcement, Zimmer said at a news conference.

The most recent attack occurred Wednesday, when a 23-year-old man was attacked while sleeping in a highly populated area of downtown San Diego. SDPD officials said the victim was hospitalized and is in grave condition. They have not identified the man because they are in the process of contacting his family.

No motive has been assigned to the attacks, described as "senseless."

Homicide investigator Capt. David Nisleit said there was nothing connecting Wednesday's victim to three other men who were either beaten or killed.

SDPD Capt. David Nisliet said a man considered a person of interest in a series of violent, deadly attacks on homeless victims is now a suspect in the disturbing case. We are quite confident this is the same person responsible for all of the crimes, Nisliet said at a news conference Wednesday.

SDPD officers have been distributing images taken from a Bay Park store that police believe show the alleged killer.

"The methodology used in these crimes leads us to believe theyre being committed by the same person," Nisleit said.

On Sunday Angelo De Nardo, 53, was found killed and set on fire along Morena Boulevard, east of Interstate 5, homicide investigators said.

Shawn Longley, 41, was found by police Monday morning on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach. He had suffered blunt force trauma to his upper body and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Manuel Mason, 61, was attacked about an hour earlier on Monday in San Diego's Midway District. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. San Diego Police identified him along with the other victims in the series during a Wednesday news conference.

Then, at 5:10 a.m. Wednesday, an SDPD officer found a fourth man suffering "significant injuries" to his upper torso at State and West E Streets, near condos and the federal courthouse.

Police said the suspect was last seen running north from the area.

Homicide investigators want to question a man spotted on store surveillance video near the Morena Boulevard scene. The man purchased a gas can, a gallon of gasoline and a lighter about 15 minutes before De Nardo's body was discovered.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said that SDPD is "working around the clock" to find the suspect and asked the public to contact authorities with any information. He said SDPD was also engaging in extensive outreach to the homeless to keep them safe.

At a news conference on Wednesday, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer joined the San Diego Police Department to discuss a series of violent, deadly attacks on homeless victims that began July 3. Our city has been shaken by these gruesome attacks. The last few days have been harrowing for those who struggle with homelessness, Faulconer said.

NBC 7 tracked down the store clerk who sold a man fire supplies just 15 minutes before a fire was reported to police.

The clerk, who wished only to be identified as Elliott, said he is haunted by the encounter.

If I knew what was going to happen, I would, like, examine him, but he was just another customer, Elliott told NBC 7 in an exclusive interview.

Images: Person Sought for Questioning in Homeless Attacks

Homicide investigators warned the public not to approach the suspect but to call 911.

Anyone with information can call the San Diego Police Department's Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477. A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.

NBC 7s Liberty Zabala reports from State Street and West E Street where a man was found with his clothes on fire. Police have not said if the incident is part of a series of deadly attacks on homeless men in the San Diego area.
A teenage boy and young woman have been charged with murdering a young man in a park in Maryland -- and two men still are being sought by police.

Cristian Antonio Villagran-Morales died last month after he was stabbed more than 40 times in Malcolm King Park in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County Police said. He was 18.

Juan Gutierrez-Vasquez, 16, and Vanesa Alvarado, 19, were arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree murder.

Oscar Ernesto Delgado-Perez, 27, and Jose Coreas Ventura, aka Josue Corea, 20, remain on the loose and should be considered armed and dangerous,police said. They were last seen in the Wheaton area.

"These two individuals are extremely dangerous, and they're on the run," Montgomery County Police Capt. Darren Francke said.

Alvarado lured Villagran-Morales into the park, promising sex, police said. The three male suspects were gang members who wanted to kill him, officials said.

When the victim saw the male suspects in the park, they invited him to go into a wooded area and smoke marijuana. He agreed, and they stabbed him, police said.

"Unfortunately, Cristian made the decision to go into the woods with them," Francke said.

On a phone call from jail, Alvarado told her boyfriend it was a hit, according to court records.

Villagran-Morales was not believed to be in a gang and was a hardworking man who did nothing wrong, police said. He was from New Jersey and had been staying with cousins in the D.C. area for two months while working a landscaping job, they said.

Police called the crime a senseless killing.

Gutierrez-Vasquez and Alvarado are each in custody on $1 million bond.

Anyone with information that can help police is asked to call 240-773-5070.
Police in Alexandria, Virginia, say they believe the recent murder of a 23-year-old man was in retaliation for another killing last month.

Saquan Hall, 23, was gunned down in the 1000 block of First Street early Saturday morning. Three weeks before Saquan was killed, another young man, Pierre Clark, was shot to death in broad daylight.

Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook said police have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect in Hall's murder. Cook said the suspect knew the victim and both Hall and Clark's murders were committed by two feuding groups.

"I'm assuming that he had something that he wanted to do against this person. That's why he committed the act," Cook said of the suspect in Hall's murder.

Hundreds of residents packed a community gym Wednesday night for a public meeting about the recent murders.

Many expressed their anger over the cycle of violence, some saying they felt disconnected from police officers.

"I don't want Saquan's death to be in vain. It means a lot to me to see the violence stop. When is it gonna stop? When are we as a people going to step forward and say what we saw?," said Saquan's mother, Patrice Hall.

Hall previously said police had told her that her son was a suspect in Clark's death. And though Saquan was never charged, she believes that he was targeted for retaliation.
Update: Officials say Leddy Beach reopened a day after being closed after water tests came back with passing results.

Earlier story below:

A popular beach in Burlington, Vermont, was shut down Wednesday after test results showed high levels of E. coli contamination.

Lab samples were taken from several spots in the water of the beach at Leddy Park, Burlington Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront Director Jesse Bridges explained, with one sample showing safe levels and one showing very high levels.

"It's always better safe than sorry," Bridges said of the beach closure.

Bridges said animal waste washing into the lake could be a culprit, adding that the beach will reopen as soon as the department gets a clean reading back from the lab.

"It's especially a bummer when the weather's really hot and nice, and we want people to cool off," Bridges noted. "Lake Champlain is our greatest asset and resource, and the more we can get people engaging with it, on it, in it, the more people that will care about these types of things like lake health."

Red signs and messages on sandwich boards, along with social media postings, alerted beach-goers to Wednesday's closure

"It's supposed to be 90, right?" beach-goer Anne Marie Hanifin asked about Wednesday's hot temperatures. "So this is a bad day for it to happen."

"I think I'll sit this one out," said another beach-goer, Lisa Vanacek. "It's very disappointing. It's my day off--I love to come here, it's a beautiful beach. But I can live with it, I can find another one."

Burlington's other beaches were open Wednesday, after receiving clean E. coli readings, Bridges told necn.

The bacteria can cause cramps or diarrhea, but several swimmers appeared to be braving the water despite Wednesday's closure, careful to not ingest any.

"I was hot and wanted to go in the water," said Anna Thomson, who was wading in the lake at Leddy Park. "I didn't get anywhere close to getting any in my mouth."

A popular summer event, held the first Wednesday of the month in Leddy Park, continued despite the beach closure. Leddy Park Beach Bites features food trucks and a fun atmosphere from 5:00-8:00 pm.

With the beach closed, Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront staff set up kiddie pools and sprinklers to help the young attendees of Beach Bites to stay cool.

Bridges said a new lab reading was expected Thursday morning. Test results and announcements about beach closures will be available at enjoyburlington.com.
An argument between two couples at an East Windsor Wal-Mart escalated and one couple said the other couple pistol whipped them, according to police.

Officers responded to the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 44 Prospect Hill Road at 1:53 a.m. on Thursday and met with a male victim and a female victim who said another male and female attacked them after an argument. Then, the assailants fled the scene in a black Toyota four-door sedan.

The victims said they did not know the other couple. Police have released surveillance photos of the people they are looking for.

Anyone who can identify them should call the East Windsor Police Department at (860) 292-8240 with any information.

Police urge anyone who encounters them to call police, but not confront them.
A young man's body was pulled from a Massachusetts reservoir Wednesday evening.

Crews responded to the Stony Brook Basin Reservoir in Waltham to search for a 20-year-old man who had gone missing.

The call came in just after 5:30 p.m., at which point the man had been missing for five to 10 minutes.

Two hours later, divers found the victim's body in the reservoir. State police say he drowned.

The victim, a Waltham resident, was swimming with two friends when they lost sight of him. His identity has not yet been released.

The reservoir, which spans Waltham and neighboring Weston, is about 32 feet deep at its deepest location. It is filled with about 400 million gallons of drinking water, which it provides for Cambridge.

The reservoir's caretaker says it is illegal to swim there, but that it's a daily occurrence.

State and local police are investigating the case alongside the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office.
If you go down to the playground and there's nobody on the swings then you know something's up.

Scotty Denton, a father from Rhode Island, USA, brought his kids to the local playground, hoping to get in some quality family play time. However when Rhode family arrived at the playground, they noticed that something was amiss with one of the swings.

Spooky right? Particularly when the other swings prove that it's not the wind that's making it move that way.

The video has over five million views at the time of writing and most of those that have commented have offered various excuses as to why the swing might move like that. Some claim there is a kink in the chain which points to it being manipulated by a fishing line or something similar.

While others have claimed that the swing always does that. Rhodes got annoyed with this suggestion so he went back to the scene of the crime to debunk it.

Eagle eyed viewers will spot the ghost during visit number two....

Via Mashable
A Boston firefighter had to be checked out for heat exhaustion after helping battle a house fire in the Roslindale neighborhood early Thursday morning.

Crews were called to a home at 10 Hazelmere Road around 1:30 a.m.

Investigators say an electrical circuit in the second floor ceiling sparked flames.

All three residents evacuated safely.

The fire caused $500,000-worth of damage to the home.
There is a movement afoot to bring happy hour back to Massachusetts.

A petition circulated by Cheers, a Boston based social app, has gained interest in the week since it was launched. Over 8,000 people have signed the online petition.

Cheers founder Sam Davidson said he and a few friends decided to start the petition after other friends who had left Boston and moved to cities where there were happy hours, told him what a great opportunity it was for them to meet other young working professionals and socialize.

Davidson told necn he thought happy hour could, "restore Boston's image as a fun city to be in."

The plan is to present the idea to Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the Boston Late Night Task Force once they reach around 10,000 signatures.

A few organizations including Spark, a council of millennials Mayor Walsh put together to better connect with youth in the city, have shown their support for the petition.

Happy hour has been banned in Massachusetts since 1984.
Police in Hingham, Massachusetts, are searching for a motorcyclist who failed to stop for a traffic violation on Saturday afternoon.

According to the police department, officers attempted to stop the motorcyclist after he drove onto a side road and failed to stop.

The motorcyclist fled onto Route 228 South and then onto Route 53 North.

The motorcycle is described as a 2004-2006 Suzuki GSXR 600/750.

Anyone whit information about the identity of the motorcyclist is asked to contact police.
The new Alchemist brewery and visitors center in Stowe, Vermont, is drawing long lines of enthusiastic beer lovers, just days after its opening. The Alchemist brews Heady Topper, the wildly popular double IPA.

"We came up here for this beer," beamed Jennifer Shaw of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, who waited in line for about an hour Thursday morning for a case of Heady Topper and some of the Alchemist's other creations. "It's a beer that doesn't taste like any beer you can get in the grocery store, so it's worth it."

Glowing internet reviews and critical acclaim have fueled Heady Topper's mystique, along with its reputation for being hard-to-find, even near where it's made. The beer is only available in Vermont.

"It's very important to keep this beer cold," said beer lover Tesh Satram, who came to the Alchemist with a large cooler and ice to keep his Heady Topper cold until he got home. "It's best when it's cold and fresh."

In late 2013, the brewery closed its previous visitors center in Waterbury, citing traffic concerns. A regular crush of customers was clogging a small street, the company explained at the time.

The Alchemists new place has much more room to park and wait, and offers other styles of its beer to try or buy. This summer, in addition to Heady Topper, the Alchemist said it will be selling its Focal Banger, Crusher, and other small-batch specialty beers.

"We're just really excited to be connected with the community again, make as much beer as possible in a responsible way, and get it out to as many people as possible," Jen Kimmich of the Alchemist told necn. "We are humbled and grateful every day we open and see people excited to enjoy our beer."

The Alchemist is one of more than 50 craft brewers in Vermont, a number that's more than doubled in the past five years. The state now produces more craft beer per capita than any place else in the country, according to the Vermont Brewers Association.

The association said in 2015, Vermont brewers churned out the equivalent of 17.4 gallons of craft beer for every adult in the state 21-years-old and older.

"This is the epicenter," said beer lover Meg Valovage of Syracuse, New York, whose beer tour through Vermont included a stop Thursday at the Alchemist. "You guys know how to do it the best, for sure. Everyone's following Vermont's lead right now."

Jasmine Bigelow of the Stowe Area Association said she hopes folks coming for beer will check out the other offerings in the village, which she predicted could boost Stowe's reputation as more than just a place to ski.

"We're incredibly happy with the addition of the Alchemist to town," Bigelow said. "They bring something new for visitors to do, and it's incredible for the rest of the business community."

Kimmich said even though the company has its own retail space again, it will still work hard to service its restaurant accounts and mom-and-pop stores that helped jump-start the Heady Topper craze.

The Alchemist's new Stowe brewery and visitors center is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. through 7 p.m.

For more information, including frequently asked questions, you can visit the company's website here: https://alchemistbeer.com/
A Massachusetts man who was pulled from the Merrimack River after overturning his kayak last week has died.

The family of Kevin S. Cadigan, 50, of Lawrence, says he died the evening of July 5 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston after being pulled from the river when he fell out of his kayak on June 29.

His family says he's survived by his wife Jennifer and their unborn child, his two sons from a previous marriage, four siblings and his nieces and nephews.

Cadigan's wife also thanked the Lawrence firefighters who came to her husbands rescue.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Cadigan's family in this time.
Police say a 5-year-old boy screamed for help after his parents took heroin in a Burlington, Vermont, parking lot and wouldn't wake up.

Police Lt. Shawn Burke tells The Burlington Free Press charges of cruelty to a child under 10 are expected against the Franklin parents.

Police say the child was screaming in the back seat of the car Tuesday night while two people inside were in a semi-conscious state.

Both were taken to a hospital and given the opiate overdose reversal drug, naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan.

A relative is caring for the child.
The Melrose, Massachusetts, Police Department is mourning the death of its retired K-9.

Chief Michael L. Lyle said the flag outside the station was flown at half-mast Wednesday in honor of Jony. He says the 9-year-old German Shephard died over the weekend.

Police say Jony was part of the department's first and only K-9 program. The dog was paired with Patrol Officer Joseph Donovan.

Police say Jony assisted in locating at least nine suspects and located missing persons in Melrose and neighboring communities during eight years with the department.

Jony was born in Gelnica, Slovakia, and arrived in the United States as a 10-month-old puppy.

Members of the Melrose Police Department will wear black mourning bands this week in Jony's honor.
One person is dead and another was injured in a shooting in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood on Thursday morning.

Boston Police said a male victim died at the scene and a female victim was also shot but is expected to survive. She was taken to a local hospital.

Police said they received a call just after 11:30 a.m. for a person shot on Hancock Street.

Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross said the investigation is still very active. Police are looking for witnesses and any video footage.

He said at this time, no description of the suspect is being released.

"These senseless acts of violence should not be tolerated," Gross said. "If anyone saw anything, please come forward and help us out."

The male victim, who is in his late 20s, has not yet been identified, he said.

Gross said the shooting does not appear to have been a random act of violence. He said it appears an argument may have preceeded the shooting.
A Democrat familiar with the plans tells the Associated Press the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are discussing a potential event next week in New Hampshire, during which Sanders would endorse Clinton.

The Democrat says if the two sides continue to make progress in the talks they would hold the joint event Tuesday in New Hampshire. The source was not authorized to discuss the plans and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Clinton campaign confirmed Thursday that she will return to New Hampshire on Tuesday "to discuss her commitment to building an American that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone," but no reference was made to a Sanders endorsement.

Sanders, appearing on Chris Hayes' MSNBC show Wednesday night, did not deny reports that there are talks of a possible endorsement.

"We are now working with the Clinton campaign," he said. "We're going to go forward together and not only defeat Trump, but defeat him badly."

Sanders praised Clinton's announcement of a proposal earlier Wednesday to tackle the rising cost of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt.

Asked when he might endorse Clinton, Sanders told reporters he was working with Clinton on some initiatives and he was hopeful they could reach an agreement "sooner rather than later."

Sanders is pushing for changes to the Democratic platform at a meeting in Florida this weekend.


Norfolk migrant rescue swimmer seeks church invite Norfolk migrant rescue swimmer seeks church invite

A Norfolk Search and Rescue Worker who recently volunteered as a specialist Rescue Swimmer saving migrants from drowning in the Central Mediterranean and Aegean Seas is looking for the opportunity to share his experiences with Christian, church and community groups.
Antivirus vendor Avast Software has agreed to buy rival AVG Technologies for US$1.3 billion in cash.

The deal will give Avast access to over 400 million "endpoints," or devices running its and AVG's software, 160 million of them phones or tablets, the company said Tuesday.

Avast hopes the deal will make the combined company more efficient, as well as allowing it to take advantage of new growth opportunities such as securing the internet of things.

"This combination is great for our users. We will have over 250 million PC/Mac users enabling us to gather even more threat data to improve the protection to our users," Avast CEO Vincent Stickler wrote on the company blog.

The deal will also give Avast access to AVG's Zen mobile technology for controlling the protection of all a family's devices from just one of them, he said.

The combined footprint of the two companies will also mean better technical support for SMBs, he said.

AVG is perhaps best known for its free antivirus software, available for Windows PCs, Macs and Android devices, but it also sells "Pro" versions of the same software with additional features, and a number of Internet security applications for enterprises.

Revenue from all these will be between $104 million and $106 million for the quarter to June 30, it said Tuesday. That's on a par with its results over the previous four quarters. AVG will publish full results for the quarter shortly, it said.

Less than two-thirds of AVG's revenue comes from its traditional desktop security product business, and the proportion is declining. Almost one-sixth of the company's revenue comes from search advertising.

Avast is privately owned and no longer publishes its financial results.

Neither company said what would happen to their respective product ranges after the closing of the deal,which still requires approval from shareholders and regulators, but AVG CEO Gary Kovacs said it will allow the company to invest more in growing markets.

It's shake-up time in the security software market: As Avast prepares to take one company out of play, Intel may be about to put another one back in. It is said to be considering the sale of the security business it build around McAfee, which it acquired in 2011.
Thieves armed with laptops are hacking into electronic ignitions of late-model cars to steal the vehicles. Police and insurers sounded the warning to raise awareness about the latest car-theft trend.

The Houston Police Department pointed at surveillance footage that shows two suspects, one of whom used a laptop, before stealing a 2010 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. The first suspect opened the Jeeps hood to reportedly cut the alarm. The footage below took place about 10 minutes later when a second suspect jimmied the door open, climbed inside and then did something with a laptop before stealing the Jeep.

If you are going to hot-wire a car, you dont bring along a laptop, Houston Police Department Officer James Woods told the Wall Street Journal. We dont know what he is exactly doing with the laptop, but my guess is he is tapping into the cars computer and marrying it with a key he may already have with him so he can start the car.

This goes beyond thieves using a $17 power amplifier to brute force the unique key fob code to break into cars with remote keyless systems. In those cases, thieves were reportedly looking to loot valuables from vehicles, not steal the car. People were told to store their wireless key fobs in a freezer or other Faraday cage so the thieves couldnt pick up the signal.

Now the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) says it has started seeing police reports tying thefts of newer-model cars to mystery electronic devices. NICB Vice President Roger Morris told the WSJ, We think it is becoming the new way of stealing cars. The public, law enforcement and the manufacturers need to be aware.

A Fiat Chrysler spokesperson told the WSJ he believes the Houston thieves are using dealer tools to marry another key fob to the car.

When it comes to thieves using laptops, Morris said laptops would allow a thief to hack, or manipulate, the cars computer so it would recognize a signal sent from an electronic key the thief then uses to turn on the ignition. The computer reads the signal and switches on the engine.

Morris added, We have no idea how many cars have been broken into using this method. We think it is minuscule in the overall car thefts, but it does show these hackers will do anything to stay one step ahead.

When the FBI alerted the public to car hacking, there was no mention of mystery devices being used to break in and steal cars. The agency was mostly focused on how attackers could exploit vulnerabilities to remotely take control of the car.

According to the NICBs Hot Wheels Report, the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Malibu are the top five late-model cars stolen between 2010 and 2015. The last Hot Wheels Report, which tallied the most stolen vehicles during 2014, listed the top five as the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, full-size Ford Pickup, full-size Chevrolet Pickup and the Toyota Camry. As for where vehicles were being stolen during 2015, California claimed eight of 10 spots in the NICBs latest Hot Spots Vehicle Theft Report.
Sprung by firefighters

A MAN was released from a Newbury lift by firefighters after it became stuck last night (Wed).

Two fire engines from Newbury were called at 6.40pm to Audrey Needham House, in Victoria Grove, after a lift became stuck on the third floor.

Firefighters isolated the electrical supply to stop the lift moving and opened the door manually, with a special key, releasing the man.

A man aged approximately in his 50's was unharmed by the ordeal.

Firefighters left the scene at 7.15pm
Despite severe problems with Eritreas human rights record, the EU wants to liaise with the African countrys autocratic regime and cooperate on a border protection project under German leadership. The countrys dismal human rights situation is the result of a multitude of factors ranging from torture, murder, forced labor and religious discrimination to an indefinite military conscription under which recruits are forced to build roads. The government moreover forbids people to move freely, men and women must stay where they are told and their salaries are so meager that they cannot support their families.

A United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea concluded in 2015 that the Eritrean government engages in systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations carried out in a context of a total lack of rule of law. Despite the condemnations by the UN Human Rights Council, the European Union is still seeking to cooperate with the Eritrean regime on the solution to the refugee crisis. As such, the European Commission is to allocate 8 billion in its new Migration Partnership, which will primarily invest development funds in an attempt to put the brakes on migration. As a part of the so-called Khartoum Process, EU-Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative agreed in 2014, Brussels aims at establishing a continuous dialogue for enhanced cooperation on migration and mobility with many African countries, including some dubious ones.

The EU has declared that it aims to identify and implement concrete projects to address trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants and thus giving new impetus to the regional collaboration between countries of origin, transit and destination regarding the route between the Horn of Africa and the European Union. One of the targets of the Khartoum Process is Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, who has been in office since 1993 and has fiercely ruled the country as a dictator. Nevertheless, the EU has at the same time earmarked around 200 million for Eritrea to fight human trafficking, protect the border with Sudan but also help build the countrys renewable energy sector.
Huawei sues Samsung for millions Updated: 2016-07-07 14:45 By Ma Si(chinadaily.com.cn)

A worker adjusts the logo at the stand of Huawei at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover, Mar 15, 2015.[Photo/Agencies]

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has filed lawsuits against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd over alleged patent infringements, demanding compensation as high as 80 million yuan ($11.95 million), local media reports.

The dispute comes as the Chinese tech company emerges as the world's third largest smartphone vendor, and highlights that patent conflicts are intensifying amid slowing global demand for handsets.

The Shenzhen-based company confirmed to China Daily that it had filed patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung in two courts in China.

"Huawei is looking for legal protection for its property rights and for a "reasonable" compensation," the company said in a statement.

qq.com, a news portal owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, reported on Wednesday the Quanzhou intermediate people's court had recently accepted Huawei's case and Samsung was asked to provide 80 million yuan ($11.95 million) as compensation.

Huawei said the second case was filed with the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, but declined to provide details.

According to a local media report, the dispute involves 16 types of handsets from Samsung, which Huawei argues infringe its patents in telecommunication technologies.
Hosted at The Farm Soho

Learn about how New York's medical marijuana system currently works, and what actions you can take to make it better. Attorney Elizabeth Kase, a partner at

will discuss the legalities of medical cannabis under New York and federal law.
What if one blood test could screen for more than 50 types of cancer?
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Anthony Fowler, who is in custody for his alleged connection with the shooting of a star witness set to testify in a murder trial, appears at his arraigned at the Champaign County Courthouse in Urbana on Wednesday, July 6, 2016. Associate Judge Brett Olmstead set Fowler's bond at $500,000.
There is a lot of press coverage about the VA proposed rule to allow advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs), to practice to the full scope of their education, training, and licensure in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The proposed rule is intended to help alleviate dangerously long wait times for veterans to receive needed healthcare in VHA facilities. Unfortunately, there is misinformation in the news as well, which the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) addresses below.

Claim #1: CRNAs are going to "replace" anesthesiologists in the operating room in VHA hospitals.

Truth: Nurse anesthetists are not going to replace anyone. They are full-service anesthesia providers in their own right, and they are already delivering safe, high-quality anesthesia care to veterans. Granting CRNAs full practice authority would enable them to ensure our nation's veterans more access to needed healthcare, with shorter wait times to receive that care. Reducing veterans' wait times for healthcare is a high priority for the VHA.

Claim #2: CRNAs/APRNs are going to "act like doctors."

Truth: CRNAs and other APRNs are highly educated healthcare specialists who will continue practicing within their nursing scope of practice to bring high-quality healthcare to veterans.

Claim #3: CRNAs/APRNs do not have the expertise or education to practice independently in VHA facilities.

Truth: Considering that the Army, Navy, Air Force, Indian Health Services, and Combat Support Hospitals all allow CRNAs to practice to the full scope of their education, training and licensure without physician supervision; and considering that CRNAs are the primary providers of anesthesia care on the front lines of all U.S. military actions, caring for soldiers horribly injured during battle before transferring them to a safe zone for additional treatment; and considering that CRNAs are not required by state or federal law to be supervised by or even work with anesthesiologists in civilian hospitals; and considering that no fewer than nine published research studies since 2000 have confirmed the safety of CRNA-provided anesthesia care, there is no doubt that CRNAs are qualified to practice independently in the VHA.

Claim #4: Allowing CRNAs their full practice authority will lower the standard of care for our veterans.

Truth: Nursing is the most trusted profession in the country for the 14th straight year, according to a Gallup poll. "Nurses are viewed as having 'very high' or 'high' ethical and honesty standards by 85 percent of the public, a full 17 points higher than any other profession." [Emphasis added.] CRNAs pride themselves on providing the highest standard of anesthesia care, with great compassion for their patients, and a great work ethic. They are staunch advocates for their patient's best interests, and see them safely through their surgical and anesthesia experiences.

Claim #5: Allowing APRNs their full practice authority will not decrease long wait times for care because there isn't a shortage of physicians in the VHA.

Truth: Physician groups claim there is no anesthesia provider shortage in the VHA, therefore there is no problem with veterans' access to care requiring anesthesia. This is a smokescreen. The problem isn't a shortage of providers, it is how to use existing anesthesia provider resources more effectively to reduce long wait times for veterans to receive needed healthcare. An independent assessment of the VHA identified delays in cardiovascular surgery for lack of anesthesia support, rapidly increasing demand for procedures requiring anesthesia outside of the operating room, and slow production of colonoscopy services in comparison with the private sector. Allowing Full Practice Authority for CRNAs, and enabling anesthesiologists to actually provide anesthesia rather than needlessly supervising CRNAs providing anesthesia, would help the VHA improve veterans' access to timely, quality anesthesia care.
A groundbreaking device which could revolutionise post surgery care for knee replacement patients is being trialled for the first time in Europe at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

The remote control knee device allows the Arthroplasty team to monitor patients who have had knee replacement surgery, with an aim of improving recovery for thousands of patients across Scotland.

Patients wear a motion tracker which synchronises with a tablet application (app) to monitor the range of motion in their new knee. A key indicator of improvement following surgery, patients should aim to achieve a range of motion of at least 90 degrees flexion at six weeks, with 120 degrees seen as significant progress.

The app runs patients through a daily exercise routine and records the results from the motion tracker. Consultants receive regular updates and can provide up-to-date advice to the patient before their six-week check-up.

Frederic Picard, Orthopaedic Consultant at the Golden Jubilee, said: As one of the largest elective orthopaedic centres in Europe, it is a real honour for the Golden Jubilee to be the first hospital testing this new device.

Sometimes patients can feel frustrated if they are not making as much of a recovery as they would have hoped for, but with this device, they can see for themselves that they are making real progress. It also helps educate patients and show how the exercises will benefit them and their new knee.

The Golden Jubilees concept for this device was scoped out in partnership with academia and further developed by industry.

Mike Higgins, Medical Director at the Golden Jubilee Foundation, said: As the home of innovation for the NHS in Scotland, the Golden Jubilee has a very strong track record of pioneering new treatments for the benefit of its patients.

It is hoped this new device will significantly improve recovery for patients having knee surgery, allowing consultants to check on their progress more regularly, whether they stay 20 or 200 miles away.

This cements our commitment to working with colleagues throughout different sectors to improve services for patients across Scotland.

Wendy Dunnett was one of the first patients at the Golden Jubilee to be treated with the device and found it invaluable as she recovered from a knee replacement.

She said: The remote control knee device was a massive help to me as I carried out exercises to build strength up in my knee.

I could see on a daily basis how I was progressing and it really motivated me to keep doing my physio and encouraged me to do the best I could. It was also really reassuring that I was able to see I was doing the right exercise in the right way.

I would recommend this device to all knee patients and hope in the future that it will benefit lots more patients. It was a huge help in my recovery.

A national institution, independently run by its own NHS Board, the Golden Jubilee Foundation is helping to redefine the concept of the public hospital, with a vision of Leading quality, research and innovation for NHSScotland.

The Golden Jubilee Foundation family includes:
Salt (sodium chloride) is an essential nutrient, but one that is often present in surprising quantities in industrially processed foods. Consuming too much sodium puts strain on the heart, stomach and kidneys. Fraunhofer researchers show how seaweed, which has a naturally salty taste, has the potential to replace salt.

Without salt, many foods seem tasteless and bland. "Salt acts as a natural flavor enhancer, has a conserving effect and is essential for the human organism," explains Dominic Wimmer, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV in Freising. However, these positive effects are lost if we eat too much salt. According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), Europeans consume 8 to 12 grams of salt a day. The recommended amount is 5 grams. "Adding salt at the table isn't the issue," Wimmer says: around 77 percent of our salt intake comes from industrially processed foods. Heading the list are bread, cheese, snacks, ready meals and cold meats and sausage products. The biggest problem is the sodium that salt contains, which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. Other conditions related to excessive sodium are kidney ailments, osteoporosis or even stomach cancer.

Research in aroma, taste and process engineering

In the EU-funded TASTE project, Fraunhofer IVV researchers have been working with partners from Iceland, Ireland, France, Spain, Slovenia and Germany to investigate whether seaweed could be a good substitute for salt. Saltwater algae taste naturally salty and contain minerals such as potassium and magnesium, as well as trace elements. The researchers conclude that brown algae could be used as a salt substitute and help to reduce the salt content of industrially processed foods. As well as studying the aroma and taste of the algae, the scientists from Freising developed essential components of the production chain. The institute also tested the derived seaweed ingredient in bread. TASTE's research focused on three large saltwater algae: Ascophyllum nodosum, Saccharina latissima and Fucus vesiculosus. Native to Europe, these types of brown algae can be cultivated in coastal regions or harvested wild.

The researchers also checked out what salt substitutes are currently available on the market. These range from mineral salts and aromas to flavor enhancers. "We needed a benchmark to help us decide how to process the seaweed," Wimmer says. Part of the preparatory work was to develop a common flavor language that all project partners understood. "Tastes differ from country to country. What we might describe as fishy here in Bavaria might taste completely different to someone from Iceland," Wimmer says. This is why in their "flavor language" the researchers assigned the term "fishy" to a specific substance, namely trimethylamine.

Together with the partners, the IVV researchers determined what substances the seaweed species contain. "We then developed the process engineering based on the data. The goal was to come up with an algae product that can be processed industrially as a salt substitute," Wimmer explains. The challenge was to grind the algae so as to preserve the minerals they contain, while removing odor-intensive substances.

And so the researchers ground, cooked, blanched and dried. The equipment they needed is available in various sizes at the Freising institute's food technology center. Parallel to this, two partners took care of the enzymatic treatment of the algae. The result was a brownish-green seaweed powder that could be used industrially as a salt substitute in the future. "The outcome of our work is two methods for the species Ascophyllum nodosum and Saccharina latissima, which work on a pilot scale up to 400 liters," Wimmer says.

But how salty do bread, cold meats and so on taste when they are made using seaweed? Does it change the consistency and appearance of the products? Can they still be produced to the same quality? These are all things that the researchers are testing in sausage products, snacks, soups and sauces. The experts took a look at white bread - one of the biggest culprits of our excessive salt intake. Their conclusion: the brownish-green color of the seaweed powder is still apparent after baking and the salty taste is not as strong as with salt. But it's easy to process and can help to reduce the salt content. "Salt can't be replaced entirely: as a functional baking ingredient, there's nothing quite like it," Wimmer says.

Source: http://www.fraunhofer.de/
The cholesterol medicine simvastatin, which is one of the most commonly used pharmaceuticals in the world, also has a beneficial effect on the immune defence system with regard to diseases such as type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Danish researchers have now explored why this is so, and their findings may result in improved treatment.

New research from Aarhus University has demonstrated how simvastatin, one of the most commonly used medicines in the world - typically prescribed to reduce cholesterol - also has a direct effect on the immune defence system. This discovery opens up new opportunities for treating chronic inflammatory diseases.

Sought-after explanation of unexpected effect

The immune defence system, which normally protects the body against infections and foreign bodies, sometimes attacks the body's own tissue. This error in the immune system - whose cause is unknown - results in a chronic state of inflammation which breaks down the tissue. This, in turn, triggers diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes.

In the case of multiple sclerosis, the immune defence system destroys the central nervous system, while the inflammation affects the kidneys, eyes and sense of touch in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, leading to a variety of complications. However, simvastatin has been shown to reduce the level of inflammation in these diseases, even though it sometimes has to be administered in high concentrations to have any effect. The reason why it does so has eluded researchers thus far.

"Simvastatin - and statins in general - are not designed to have this effect. We have now identified a new mechanism that forms the basis for the effect, and this opens up new opportunities for developing a better substance to combat these inflammatory diseases. It's an interesting line to pursue because a great many people can take statins without significant side effects," relates Thomas Vorup-Jensen, Professor at the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University.

The reason for the positive effect is that the pharmaceutical acts as a 'plug' in the proteins that retain the immune cells in the inflammation zones. With the plug in place, the immune cells can no longer contribute to the inflammation, which is therefore reduced, leaving the patient feeling better. In the case of diabetes, for example, it can help reduce the risk of patients developing complications.

"We initially observed this mechanism in the laboratory. Of course, we now need to establish whether it works in the same way in vivo, but we think it's likely," says Thomas Vorup-Jensen.
Why do women have lower rates of heart failure than men for most of their lives?

University of Guelph researchers have uncovered a possible clue - an actin binding protein called "CapZ" that also protects against heart attacks.

Now they'll be studying how its levels are affected by gender and aging, backed by a prestigious Catalyst Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Their research may lead to new therapeutic treatments for reducing heart problems and extending lives of both men and women.

"Age continues to be the largest independent risk factor for the development of heart failure," said Glen Pyle, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the Ontario Veterinary College and member of U of G's Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations.

"With people living longer throughout the world, it's expected that the rates of heart failure will rise dramatically."

Pre-menopausal women are relatively protected against heart failure compared to men, Pyle said. But the gap starts to close after menopause; by age 80, women and men are at equal risk. No one knows exactly why.

It's been speculated that estrogen plays a role, "but what are the hormonal changes doing to the cells in the heart? That is where we don't know very much," Pyle said.

"Once we figure it out, we can identify what is happening after menopause to make females more vulnerable to heart failure, and why they are protected earlier in life."

Previously, Pyle found that hearts of aged male mice contain higher levels of CapZ than female mice of the same age. The males show signs of declining heart performance, but the females have normal function.

Pyle's group has discovered that female mice somehow decrease CapZ levels to protect against cardiac dysfunction, while male mice are unable to do so.

Pyle and his research team genetically engineered male mice with decreased CapZ levels, and found it prevented heart failure.

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

"Even a small decrease - 20 per cent - offered protection," he said.

"These results suggest that CapZ may be a viable target to protect hearts against the process of aging."

He now plans to assess the impact of sex and aging on CapZ levels in the heart.

"We'll be looking at how and when protein levels naturally change over time in both female and male mice," said Pyle, who has studied CapZ for nearly 20 years.

They will need to study mice much older than those typically used in research - two and three years of age, the equivalent of 70 and 90 years in humans.

Nurturing lab mice to that age takes time and resources. That is why the $150,000 CIHR Catalyst Grant is critical, Pyle said. The funding comes from CIHR's Institute of Cancer Research, Institute of Genetics, Institute of Infection and Immunity, and Institute of Gender and Health.

"We plan to age the female mice longer, to three years  the equivalent of 90 years in humans  to see when they get to the point where they lose the CapZ protection," he said.

This is important because menopause duration varies in women, and it takes time for the heart to change. "We often do not see an effect in women until they are in their 60s or 70s," Pyle said.

Pyle will work with postdoctoral researcher Ilka Lorenzen-Schmidt on the project, which he called "unique research and in an under-examined field."

"The relative lack of research using female subjects is finally being recognized as a significant issue in medicine, and aging populations worldwide are creating the potential for a heart failure epidemic," he said.

"This work will advance our understanding of the influence of both gender and aging on heart function, and tackle two emerging problems at the same time."
Standard methods for estimating obesity may grossly underestimate the burden of overweight worldwide -- on the scale of hundreds of millions -- according to a paper published in Obesity Reviews. Associate professors Daniel Hruschka of Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change and Craig Hadley of Emory University's Department of Anthropology are developing more accurate tools by taking a closer look at the different ways that people's bodies are built in different places around the world.

Body Mass Index (BMI) -- a simple ratio of weight to height -- is a standard front-line tool for assessing body fat and for identifying people who are at greater risk of fat-linked diseases, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But, since BMI relies only on height and weight, it can mistake people who are naturally stocky and muscular as overweight. On the flip side, naturally slender individuals may be able to pack on a great deal of body fat before standard BMI cutoffs identify these slender individuals as overweight or obese.

Organizations in some countries, such as Japan and China, have begun to propose modified cutoffs for assessing obesity and obesity-linked risk that are more appropriate for more slender body builds often found in East Asia. However, there is still no clear consensus how to adjust BMI cutoffs to deal with these population differences worldwide. Hruschka and Hadley present evidence from a number of studies that these variations in human form are widespread and can be quite dramatic -- and that, by ignoring them, researchers underestimate adult obesity levels (by over 400-500 million). Given that these differences appear to arise early in childhood, they may also misprioritize high-risk areas for child undernutrition.

The researchers' proposed solution to these biases relies on the idea of "basal slenderness." This is the expected BMI in a population before it begins to add excess fat due to urbanization, increasing opportunities for consumption of high-calorie foods and other changes due to modernization. Adjusting BMI for a population's basal slenderness gives each population a cutoff that reflects the amount of a person's BMI that is due to body fat versus other body tissues.

The benefits of using basal measurements are numerous: health researchers could better estimate the number of people who are overweight and underweight, thus allowing them to focus their efforts and resources on the regions most in need; physicians could more reliably evaluate their patients' current and future health needs; and subsequent studies could yield more effective solutions for preventing obesity and undernutrition.
insights from industry Professor Saeed Zahedi OBE FREng RDI FIMechE PhD

Technical Director, Blatchford

What challenges do lower leg prosthetics wearers currently face and why did Blatchford create an intelligent prosthetic limb?

The main challenges for lower limb amputees are safety and pain. Lack of sensory feedback leading to an increased risk of falling, compensatory movements due to instability causing lower back pain and discomfort between the residual limb and prosthesis all contribute to a significant reduction in confidence and an inability to live a full life.

MacRobert Award 2016 Winner: Blatchford Play

For 40 years we have been applying the latest engineering and advances in technology to restore the function of the knee and ankle/foot in a modular prosthesis. This resulted in the first use of composites for a lighter limb, the first application of multi-axial ankles to reduce the physiological cost of walking, and microprocessor-controlled knees to accommodate variations in walking speed. We made rapid progress with the creation of hydraulic ankles that adapt to different terrain and uneven ground, providing feedback to the amputee through the interface of prosthesis and their stump.

We reached the point that the underlying science of locomotion enabled us to mimic the natural ankle/foot relationship with the knee and identify how these joints needed to coordinate and work in synergy. This would provide greater stability, greater comfort through the re-distribution of loads at the interface, while requiring less energy, for example when walking faster, going down ramps, standing still, or standing on slopes. Amputees were able to load both limbs more equally, reduce compensatory movements and subsequent risk to their musculoskeletal system.

It was then a natural step to develop an integrated prosthesis where the knee and ankle/foot operate in a proactively coordinated manner, working in more natural harmony and able to meet almost any situation in which a prosthesis wearer might find themselves. This was the birth of integrated prosthesis.

How does the intelligent prosthetic limb work? How does the system adapt automatically to different conditions?

The new next-generation Intelligent Prosthesis is an integrated system, which combines the ankle, foot and knee in one structure and houses an array of sensors and hydraulic and pneumatic damping actuators linked with composite and pneumatic springs. These harvest natural, human energy and return them at the correct instance under the control of four microprocessors.

For example, the sensors in the foot will detect a slope and instruct the knee damping to increase, or when amputee comes to a stop, the sensors in the knee detect this, re-confirm with the ankle, and increase the resistance settings of the joints to increase to offer a natural and comfortable standing configuration, tailored to the individual.

The intelligence is hidden in the limb to provide a seamless operation, based on the limbs awareness of the external environment, internal loads and motion generated by the amputee. The prosthesis adapts to offer an optimum function and the least compensatory action by the user. Amputees have commented that they do not always need to think about walking, standing, sitting, going down stairs or navigating a ramp. In fact, they are sometimes surprised to find they are not even aware the ground has changed, unless it was something they saw for themselves.

What were the main challenges in developing the Linx Limb system and how long did it take?

The main challenges were to establish a base or a platform that we could experiment on and establish the link between the knee and ankle, then identify the hardware requirements, and finally package them in a space that was practical, visually appealing, and light enough for the wearer to experience the benefits.

Today, the normal expectation is for battery-operated devices to last several days. The battery technology we have needed to be customised, tested and certified, before being packaged so that the mass centre of the limb is nearer to the knee reducing any abnormal pull forces on the stump socket. These are just a few examples: we had to integrate the entire R&D team around Linx which was very exciting to watch, almost like a dance, and see how solutions manifested one by one.

The project took three years from the application for patents, developing a prototype, structural, functional and EMC testing, and trailing on amputees, until freezing the design in 2014 and starting an early adopter programme just before the New Year. Watching user reactions was the next exciting phase.

What feedback have you had so far?

Keeping everything crossed, it has been very positive so far. Immediate feedback included the ability to safely go over an obstacle, or not having to think about them so much, adapting to the ground, compliance of the limb going over the edge of the road, standing and relaxing for the first time.

In one case, doctors decided to delay an amputees treatment of their opposite knee and lower back pain: after a few weeks of using Linx, it was no longer a major issue. Linx is offering extra comfort, the confidence and ability to stand up upright and be balanced in almost all situations and to safely sit down. In the case of a few bilateral amputees, we are now learning how to make the right leg talk to the left leg, as all the hardware and software are already in place.

In another case, we were terrified but thrilled to watch an amputee walking backward down a slope, as Linx did what it was supposed to do.

How long does the Linx take to calibrate to the way its wearer naturally walks? How often is calibration required?

The interaction of the user interface software and internal Linx firmware take care of this - the calibration is mostly automatic and works by measuring the way the individual amputee walks. For able-bodied people, when you look at the biometric data of forces and the motion of joints and segments, walking is like a signature.

With amputees, each residual limb is of a different length, different strength and different design of interface to the prostheses. This means the customisation is even more critical and complex, and needs to be matched to individual ability, power and control.

The programming takes around 10-15 minutes. The amputee is first set with values when standing still, then sitting and then standing up. The limb learns from the natural motion. The Prosthetist can then fine-tune the setting based on feedback. The amputee then walks for about 10 steps and the system learns most of what is needed for calculating the setting required for that individual.

There are further advanced settings where the amputee goes on a ramp, or on the stairs, or walks at different speeds - pre-calculated values are further tuned to match the user in those environments and how they meet the differences in terrain.

Where is the Linx currently available? Is it covered by the NHS in the UK?

The Linx has been available globally for over a year. Most of its uptake has been in the USA and Germany. The UK currently has the 3rd largest uptake, mainly in Scotland as NHS in Scotland has allocated funding.

In England the NHS has not as yet fully addressed the need for the advanced technology and the few fittings of Linx have been through special funding. The private sector in the UK is beginning to use this technology more.

We hope through increasing awareness of the benefits and by making a long-term health-economic case that the lowering of the overall cost of care for amputees in their life time can be calculated, we can convince the authorities of the need for this early investment and accelerate access to the technology. The benefit of technology takes time to be understood and broad-reaching advocacy is needed.

What advances does Blatchford plan to make to the Linx moving forwards?

In 2010 we were finalists for the Royal Academy of Engineerings MacRobert award for development of the first commercial biomimetic hydraulic ankle. Our R&D team was recognised amongst the top ten most innovative in the UK. That recognition, combined with the legacy of the 2012 Paralympics acted as a catalyst for the creation of Linx which is this years MacRobert award winner, competing against a new MRI scanner from Siemens and new engine from Jaguar-Land Rover.

As the award is renowned for spotting the next big thing in technology and having been through its selection process (the most comprehensive in the UK engineering sector), this acknowledgement of our capability has given us the courage to take even greater steps by mapping out Linx for less active users (which are the majority of amputees) to enable them to safely sit and stand.

It is hoped this will reduce the level of care needed for elderly amputees and provide prolonged independent living. After that, external power for prostheses, to help replace the energy generated by the original limb is an ultimate goal.

What do you think the future holds for intelligent prosthetics?

This is the beginning of integration. In the next 20 years I think all limbs will be integrated as already happening in upper limb, while sensors connected to the body will control the limb. In the next 5 years, advances will be in the software that controls the limb.

We have begun to better understand the natural coordination of lower limb joints and segments and that is opening new exciting opportunities for design. The sensors can predict and enable the seamless activity of limbs whether the user is doing weight lifting, taking a shower, or changing to a dress shoe.

Where can readers find more information?

The Linx and Blatchford websites have detailed information: linx.endolite.co.uk and http://www.blatchford.co.uk/endolite/linx/

For more information on the Royal Academy of Engineerings MacRobert award: www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/macrobert

About Professor Saeed Zahedi

Professor Saeed Zahedi OBE FREng RDI FIMechE PhD: with over three decades of leadership in international prosthetic innovation, accolades include: Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Institute of Mechanical Engineers, visiting Professor, Royal Designer for Industry, Vice Chair of ISPO UK, member of ISO, CEN and IEC Working Groups in medical robotics, orthotics and prosthetics, prize winning author of over 125 scientific publications, 35 patents, Special Commendation in the 2011 Prince Philip Designer prize, BHTA Life Time Achievement award in 2013.

He was responsible for the commercialisation of the first Intelligent Prosthesis in the early 90s and in 2012 led the team for the development of the first Integrated Biomimetic lower limb Prosthesis for lower limb amputees utilising microprocessor-controlled ankle/foot and knee joints acting in synergy resulting in increased efficiency and independent living. This commercial product, the Linx, won the BHTA innovation award in 2015 and won the Royal Academy of Engineerings MacRobert award in 2016. His current work with his team is on the development of the next generation of customised prostheses and orthoses aimed at the future integration of products and services, targeting affordability and access using additive manufacturing, aiming at increased efficiency and prolonging independent living.
Of all the things in the world, this has got to be the best worst reason to call off a wedding.According to a ToI story, a couple from Kanpur, all set to get married, faced a speedbump that would prove to be completely fatal to their impeding marriage.During a meet at a temple, while deciding how to split wedding expenses, the discussion digressed to India's present economic condition. The bride-to-be, who is a government employee, held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for India's poor economic condition. The groom-to-be, a businessman turned out to be a Modi supporter and disagreed with her.The argument turned into a heated discussion and subsequently a fight that led both of them to call off the wedding. Say whatever you want, they both seem to have dodged a bullet here.
A police officer and a terrorist have been killed in a blast near Bangladeshs largest Eid congregation in Kishoreganj. Nine police officers have also been injured in the attack.

Bangladesh Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the attack is a political move and has no Islamic agenda. He also confirmed that the attack was aimed at the police convoy which was guarding the Eid congregation.

More than three lakh people were present for Namaz when the attack took place.

The blast comes a week after 28 people were killed in a terror attack on a cafe in Dhaka.

ISIS had recently warned of more attacks in Bangladesh in a video.

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday has ordered a probe against the controversial Muslim Preacher Dr Zakir Naik.



Speaking to CNN-News18, the Chief Minister said, "I have asked the Mumbai Commissioner of Police DD Padsalgikar to inquire against him (Naik) and submit a report at the earliest."



The Mumbai Police was also asked to probe against his (Naik) source of funding/donations, properties and local cable operators telecasting his speech across the state.



On Wednesday, Naik rubbished reports that his speeches promoted terrorism saying he welcomed any investigation against him.



"It is totally illogical to say that I promote terrorism. Not a single investigative agency says Dr Zakir Naik promotes terrorism. The Home Ministry is most welcome to go through all my speeches," Naik told CNN-News18 over the phone.



"I inspire many people because I have a large following. These people might have been inspired by me but I don't know them personally," he had said.



Naik, who is president of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), also denied he ever said that all Muslims should be terrorists saying the video which allegedly showed him doing so was doctored.







The controversial preacher was reacting to reports from Bangladesh that two of the terrorists - Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam - who hacked to death 20 people at Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant were inspired by him.
New Delhi: Central government employees' unions on Wednesday deferred by four months their proposed indefinite strike from July 11 against 7th pay panel's recommendations after government agreed to set up a high-level committee to look into their grievances.



"We have decided to defer our indefinite strike by four months against pay commission's recommendations as government today assured us it would resolve the issues raised by us and refer them to a high-level committee," the convenor of National Joint Council of Action (NJCA) of central government employees' unions Shiv Gopal Mishra said.



The government decided to set up a high-level committee after the representatives of the unions met Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier in the day.



The committee will look into issues raised by various unions of central government employees involving pay scales and other recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission.



The NJCA is an umbrella organisation of various Central Government employees unions, including Railways, post and telegraph and defence.



Mishra said, "We have been assured by the government that it will resolve the issues shortly. In view of the assurance, we have decided to defer the strike for four months."



"A new high-level committee will soon be set up to look into the grievances raised by the employee unions," a top government official said.



Expressing dissatisfaction over various recommendations of the Pay Commission, various central government employees' unions had threatened to go on an indefinite strike from July 11.



Maintaining that the government has "disappointed" the employees, RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), which had announced country-wide district-level protests on July 8 against the pay panel's recommendations, said its agitation will be held as per schedule.



"Our district-level protests will continue as planned. We will also hand over protest memorandums to all MPs during the forthcoming Parliament session and will decide the future course of action at our general body meeting in August," Virjesh Upadhyay, general secretary of BMS told PTI.



The BMS has also warned that implementation of 7th pay commission's recommendations may lead to industrial unrest.



Wednesday's meeting of employees' unions with the Union Home Minister was their second with the government on the issue.



Earlier, they had met the Group of Ministers chaired by Singh on June 30. The GoM also includes Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.



The Unions had asked the government to set up a committee to look into the issues raised by them in relation to the pay scales and other recommendations of the Pay Commission.



"The Ministers assured the Union leaders that the issues raised by them would be considered by a high-level Committee," the Finance ministry said in a statement late in the evening.



The NJCA was upset over the "unilateral" announcement of Central government on implementation of 7th Pay Commission's awards. They said the recommended pay hike was the lowest in the last 70 years.



Meanwhile, Mishra who is also general secretary of the All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF), comprising 13 lakh employees of the public sector behemoth, expressed the hope the proposed high-level committee will address their concerns.



He said the NJCA will review its decision on whether to go on strike after the panel submits its report.
Maputo (Mozambique): Coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, India on Thursday handed over 30 SUVs to Mozambique, completing the delivery of USD 4.5 million grant assistance as part of supporting the institutions of this African country.



The vehicles were handed over by Amar Sinha, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, to an official of Mozambique's Interior Ministry.



"With handing over of 30 Mahindra SUVs, India completes delivery on $ 4.5 million grant assistance to Min(istry) of Interior," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.



Swarup posted on Twitter the photographs of the handing over ceremony along with the caption "supporting Mozambican institutions. In a separate ceremony Secretary ER donates vehicles to Interior Ministry."



Shortly before that, the Prime Minister handed over four buses to Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CIDT) as donation from India. "New engines for innovation. PM @narendramodi donates 4 buses to the CITD," Swarup tweeted.



The Prime Minister went around the campus of the CIDT and interacted with students who have studied in India under ITEC and other programmes. Later, Modi addressed the Indian diaspora and hailed Africa as a place which helped shape the identity of Indian diaspora throughout the world.



"Africa is such a land from where Indians got an international identity. Africa is such a land which shaped the identity of Indians in the world," he said in his brief speech before winding up his day-long visit to Mozambique to move to South Africa in the second leg of his four-nation tour.



Noting that many of those present could be even fourth generation Indians, he appreciated the fact that they had preserved the culture and identity of India even while assimilating with the local societies. He said many of the Indians present here would be those from Kutch, which is in his home state Gujarat.
Software engineer Mezbeen and social activist Farah Usmani were among the scores of women who scripted history on Thursday by stepping inside the prestigious Eidgah of Aishbagh in Lucknow.It was the first time women offered prayers along with men at this 300-year-old Eidgah. The initiative was made possible through the bold efforts of Maulana Khalid Rashid of Firangimahal, who is the chief imam of the mosque and a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).The move is widely seen as a step forward in strengthening the demand for equality by Muslim women in the country.From demanding an entry inside the famous Haji Ali shrine in Mumbai, to opposing triple talaq and asking for parity in interpretation of Sharia law, Muslim women in recent years have been more vocal about their rights.The religious leaders and also the Muslim Personal Law Board have thus been forced to introspect issues raised by Muslim women. Recent efforts by the Board to improvise the Sharia courts can be seen as a result of this mounting pressure.Maulana Khalid Rashid was open about his desire to dispel the perception that women were not treated equally in the religion. "We want to prove that Islam gives both men and women equal rights. In the future we will ensure that more and more such common prayers are organised," he said.Though many women did not venture out of their home to enter a traditionally 'only for men' venue, the ones who reached the Eidgah were upbeat.The excitement of entering the Eidgarh for the first time in over five decades of her life was well evident on Farah's face. "I am thankful to the Eidgah committee for their initiative. Hope it is repeated across all places," she said.A software engineer in her twenties, Mezbeen said it was a rare opportunity for her. "I will be looking forward to come to Eidgah on more such occasions in the future," she said.
It's the time for Africa. 5 days, 4 nations - Heres the PM's itinerary over the coming days pic.twitter.com/xcBie6BWxl  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 6, 2016

My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India & Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit. https://t.co/LaOw7lk2fp  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016

My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban & Pietermaritzburg. Here are details. https://t.co/BTF9fpGRy6  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016

In Tanzania I will hold talks with President Dr. John Magufuli, meet Solar Mamas & interact with Indian community. https://t.co/gUqFNIr0Wz  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2016

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left for a four-nation tour of African countries aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.Modi will begin his five-day tour with Mozambique and then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.Focus of the visit will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food."My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India and Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit," he tweeted ahead of his departure."My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg," he added."In Tanzania I will hold talks with President Dr John Magufuli, meet 'Solar Mamas' and interact with Indian community," Modi added.With regard to his visit to Kenya in the last leg of his visit, he tweeted, "Talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta, deliberations on economic and people-to-people ties will be focus of my Kenya visit."Giving details in Facebook posts, the Prime Minister said the aim of his visit to Mozambique is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages."I will meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him," he said.Other programmes include a meeting with Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana, where he will interact with students. He will also interact with the Indian community briefly.On Thursday evening, Modi will travel to Pretoria in South Africa, a country he described as an "important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted".He said, "History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind.""I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's stay in South Africa."A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba (Nelson Mandela). I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place," he said.During his South Africa visit, he will meet President Jacob Zuma as also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President."In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," he said.On July 10, he will be in Tanzania for a "brief but crucial visit" to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi said.Modi will then visit Kenya on the evening of July 10."India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century," the Prime Minister said.
Maputo (Mozambique): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on arrived in Mozambique as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.



"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.



Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.



The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.



"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
Bengaluru: A Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) MK Ganapathi (51) committed suicide in Mangaluru on Thursday.



He was found hanging in a Lodge - Vinayaka - in Madikeri area. The reason behind the incident is yet to be known, but sources said that he was being harassed by higher officers in the police department and a politician.



He left a suicide note blaming senior minister KJ George, his son Rana George and ADGP Intelligence AM Prasad for his death.



Ganapathi was also depressed with the state government over the issue of transfers in the department, sources said.



DG and IGP Om Prakash told the media that he has ordered an investigation into Ganapathi's suicide.



He began his career in 1991 as a sub-inspector and he served as Inspector in various police stations. He was promoted as DySP and he was unhappy over not getting a suitable posting, police said.



He was suspended when he was the Inspector of Rajagopala Nagar Police station in Bengaluru for allegedly pocketing money recovered from a thief.



He allegedly had registered a case filed by city-based businessman in 2013 last year about the theft of 1 crore rupees from a locker in the godown owned by a relative. However, in the FIR, Ganapathi had allegedly mentioned only 24,000 rupees as stolen.







Police sources informed that he faced a departmental inquiry into an alleged fake encounter in Yashvanthapura police station area.



This is the second such incident in recent past. On July 5, another DySP, Kallappa Handibag committed suicide in Belagavi after he was accused of kidnapping a man and demanding ransom.


Bengaluru: The Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Subhro Kamal Mukherjee on Tuesday made a startling revelation by claiming that he was offered a bribe in connection with a review petition filed by Umrah Developers against the Revenue Department and the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district.



Mukherjee reportedly made this statement as he recused himself from hearing the case. His shocking revelation had stunned advocates in the court hall.



When senior counsel Padmanabha V Mahale appeared to argue the land case, Mukherjee said, This person, who was speaking in Bengali, walked into my house yesterday. He sought a favour, offering a bribe for disposing the case listed as Serial No 34.



My doors are always open. Anybody can come. But not this type. I dont want to hear this case, he added.



The case pertains to a dispute over 1.2 acres of land auctioned by the Revenue Department in 2008 which was bought by Umrah Developers for Rs 2.1 crore. Reports suggest the Chief Justice has made this statement to rescue himself from hearing the case.



The incident comes just a month after another judge Justice KT Shankaran of the Kerala High Court recused himself from a smuggling case after he was also offered a bribe.




Mumbai: Controversial preacher Zakir Naik's Mumbai-based organisation is listed as a resource for religious learning on the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) website, CNN-News18 found out on Thursday.



Naik's Islamic Research Foundation is the only South Asian centre listed on the site, thus showing a link between the preacher and the 26/11 terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed who runs JuD.



This was revealed after accessing the website through a virtual private network (VPN) as it has been banned in India since the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.



CNN-News18 has also learnt that at least two of the accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts had told investigating agencies that they were inspired by Naik.



Sources said one of them, Feroz Ghaswala, was recruited at Naik's sermon in Srinagar in 2003 by Rahil Sheikh, the alleged mastermind of the blasts. Sheikh had spent much of his time at Naik's office in Mumbai.



Another suspect in the attack, Irfan Deshmukh, allegedly worked as a librarian at the IRF.







Earlier in the day, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis directed the Mumbai Police to probe Naik's speeches and the sources of his funds.



"Zakir Naik's public documents, videos and social media posts are being examined, " a Mumbai police official said.



The probe was ordered a day after the Bangladesh government informed the Centre that two of the terrorists involved in last week's Dhaka siege were apparently influenced by Naik.



Naik has refuted all allegations of terror links, and has welcomed a probe into his foundation.
Actor Salman Khan did not appear before the Maharashtra State Women's Commission despite being issued a summons for a second time for his insensitive remark on rape, the panel chairperson said on Thursday.



"Nobody came from Salmans side. A letter has come from his side though. We have summoned Salman for the third time to appear before the Commission on July 14, chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said at a news conference.



The chairperson rejected Khan's letter saying, We will not accept anything till Salman appears in person.



The chairperson also made it clear that the third summons was the last. A few days ago, the panel had turned down the actor's reply and sent him another summons for July 7, which happened to be a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr.



Khan's lawyer has urged the MSWC not to pursue the matter since it is already being with by the National Commission For Women.



Salman Khan, 50, was sent the notice for the remark that he "felt like a raped woman" after shooting an exhausting wrestling sequence for his new film'Sultan'.



"It is like the most difficult thing... when I used to walk out of that ring, it used to be actually like a raped woman," he was reported as saying during a media event.






Chris RenaudLouis CK, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart, Steve Coogan, Ellie Kemper, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell, Hannibal Buress and Albert Brooks.You know you are in for 'knee-slapping' fun when the first thing you see on screen is a minion. After entertaining us with Despicable Me series, Chris Renaud is back with another animation film which is a laugh riot. Secret Life of Pets is a no brainer, fun ride which will make you chuckle throughout.The film depends highly on cuteness of each and every character and in the end you would just want to pick up and cuddle each one of them to death. The story revolves around Max (Louis CK), a happy little dog who loves his owner (read: roommate) Katie but feels threatened when she brings another dog Duke (Eric Stonestreet) into their little paradise. Hilarious and jealous circumstances lead both the canines to have a day out in New York City meeting the good, the bad and the evil.The film also has a dark side, where the cutest animal on the block is running a revolution against humans and domesticated pet. The film deals with cruelty of animal control unit and the agony of 'flushed' pets in the most humorous way possible. The film is a goofy take on what the little beings go through when the owners are not home. There is a touch of goodness all around, but then it's a must have in every children's film.Talking about the cast, the voices fit in perfectly, but the one who shines the most is Kevin Hart as Snowball. The insanely cute and crazy leader of a revolutionary group, this snow furred rabbit is the best part of the film and Kevin's voice just makes him the most fun character too. With a tinge of darkness, Snowball owns Secret Life of Pet, ironically, without being a pet!There's a new trend in Hollywood with animals driving vehicles. Well, maybe the filmmakers want to put up a subtle point about rash driving, but after Finding Dory truck sequence, this Brooklyn truck sequence climax will tickle your funny bones. Director Renaud hasn't gone overboard with the drama and has kept the theme of comedy alive throughout, even in the so called sad sequences.While Disney Pixar makes it a point to deliver a message through their grandness, Illumination depends more on goofy fun and regular, unnoticed circumstances. The film has no other message than establishing the fact that friendship is the strongest bond and animated animals have more fun life than us.Secret Life of Pets is a delightful watch without any heavy laden message for kids. The film plays subtly on the theme adopting pets from shelter home and receive a lot of love in return. A perfect entertainer this monsoon season.PS: Don't miss the Minion short film right at the start of the film.
It is true that I participated in his programme. I spoke about attacking all communal elements. I also appealed for communal harmony. Let the government investigate [name]Digvijaya Singh[/name]

Reports suggest that two of the Dhaka attackers - Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam - who hacked to death 20 people at Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant were inspired by Naik's speeches.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh is facing fire for sharing the stage four years ago with Islamic scholar Zakir Naik who is under scanner over allegations that his speeches have inspired the Dhaka attackers.Digvijaya had in 2012 attended a conference organised by Naik, where he had called the controversial religious leader a "messenger of peace who can help bring communities together in India."Pictures of him hugging the controversial Islamic preacher are now being circulated on social media under the title "friend" of Naik.Reacting to the controversy, the defiant Congress leader said he had spoken against communal elements at the event he attended. He also said that the Centre was free to investigate the charges against Naik.The BJP has hit out at Digvijaya for sharing the dais with Zakir Naik. "Congress partys sympathies are always with terrorist organisations. So this is not surprising for us," BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said.Naik, who is president of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), had on Wednesday denied that he ever said that all Muslims should be terrorists. He claimed that the video which allegedly shows him making the statement was doctored."It is totally illogical to say that I promote terrorism. Not a single investigative agency says Dr Zakir Naik promotes terrorism. The Home Ministry is most welcome to go through all my speeches," Naik told CNN-News18 over the phone."I inspire many people because I have a large following. These people might have been inspired by me but I dont know them personally. I fear media and politicians because they might malign my image. There are people who are using my photographs and misquoting me to defame me. I welcome any investigation against me," he added."I always preach no Muslim should terrorise anybody. Anyone who kills people, whether he is Muslim or non-Muslim, will go to hell. I said every Muslim should be a terrorist to all anti social elements. It is unfortunate that people are alleging that I am promoting terrorism," Naik said.
Mumbai: After being left out in the recent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers, the Bharatiya Janata Party is trying to reach out to its ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.



Sources said the expansion of Maharashtra Cabinet is expected to take place on Friday. While the BJP is expected to get five berths, Shiv Sena will get 2.



The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges in June.



The 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with Fadnavis.



"The Cabinet expansion will be held tomorrow," a senior government official said.



The expansion comes ahead of the Monsoon Session starting July 18 and two days before Fadnavis begins his four-day Russia tour on July 10.



The Fadnavis government, which has 19 Cabinet ministers and 10 Ministers of State, has 14 more berths to fill. It is not known if all berths will be filled on Friday.



BJP allies - Sadabhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha and Mahadev Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha - are likely to be inducted.



(With additional information from PTI)
The Modular Promise

JBL SoundBoost Speaker Moto Mod

Dream to Reality

In technology a decade is an era. And the next year will mark the end of an era since the last big smartphone innovation.

The Roadblock

Is India Ready?

The Moto Z with a Moto Mod

Mobile phones have been around for decades and the fast-evolving consumer tech keeps on making them better, and better.This change, however, has come only as incremental upgrades. Since 2007, when Apple introduced the first iPhone, no other phone or technology has come about to disrupt the phone industry. Until now.The original iPhone had redefined the smartphone and in no time clones flooded the market. The smartphone market of today is what it is now because of that iPhone.The phone innovations, since then, have been building upon the same foundation with seasonal changes on the inside and the outside. The phones may have become more powerful, slimmer, and user-friendly, but thats about it.Enter modular phones.This technology promises next big change. While modular phones are still in their nascent stage, what make them promising are the myriad functionalities and possibilities they have to offer.Modular phones look at reshaping the relationship users have with their phones. The flexibility in design will let users customise their handsets as per their needs. For instance, it would take only a couple of seconds to turn your phone into a portable projector. Or for that matter, you wouldnt have to compromise with the average speaker on your phone. Just snap on a compatible module, and let the sound boom.The modules (or compatible add-ons) make the modular phones what they are. A user can opt for a camera module or a battery module, that can be snapped it on to the phone to extend its functionality.Imagine how endless the possibilities would be once the modular approach in phones takes off and the ecosystem falls into place. And going by recent developments, that day isnt too far.A couple of years ago when Google announced its vision for modular phones, it looked like a far-fetched dream project - more so when it was hit by delays. But after companies like LG and Lenovo have brought their modular phones to fruition, the concept has gained more momentum.While the G5, LGs first modular phone , pops out to let you swap in new hardware, Lenovos Moto Z modular design allows you to attach different modules at the back with the help of a 16-pin magnetic connector.Lenovo currently has three modules for its modular phone, but the company, through its Moto Mods Developer Program, has been aiming to get developers - big or small - to build more mods, and eventually a complete ecosystem, for its modular phones.Googles Project Ara modular phone is even more radical and flexible. As and when it comes, it will let you swap most of the hardware components. This means users would not need to discard their entire phone even after years of use. They could just simply upgrade the components as per their requirements or replace the faulty ones with the new ones - while keeping other things intact. This not only suggests a longer shelf life for your phone, but also could lead to less investment in the phone over the years.This demo video shows how Google is aiming to redefine the smartphone experience for you.Googles modular phone, however, is not going to see the day of light before the next year.Among other benefits, the modular concept can easily keep the phone thin. As the modular phone doesnt need to come with everything built-in, maintaining a slim profile of the phone would be much easier than today - all without compromising on functionalities.As the modular approach will prevent companies from supplying everything in the device, this would not only lead to a better form factor, but could also have an effect on how the phones are priced."Consumers want to do a lot of different things with their phone. And this Swiss Army Knife approach (i.e., putting everything in one device) doesn't function. Because then you end up packing into one device a broad set of features and you burden the cost of the device. And it is a set of features some users may like and some may not need, said Aymar de Lencquesaing, senior vice president and co-president mobile business group, Lenovo during a media roundtable in New Delhi last month.It may all look real and plausible, but many would argue that there are still ways to pair your phone with a plethora of add-ons. So what value the modular phones could be seen adding to it?There are two things. First, the modular approach would make all that pairing and sync easy. Just snap it on, and voila!Second, the portability factor adds a new dimension to it. There may be ways and different accessories to extend functionalities even today, but how often do you turn your phone into a projector or how many times have you attached an extra camera lens to your phone? The right accessories in compact form factors is what would take the experience to a new level.While the approach looks real and promising, a roadblock could make it crash before take off. That is the absence of a standard, which is a must for anything to become a worldwide trend.Companies like LG, Google, Lenovo and Fairphone are focusing on proprietary hardware for modular phones. While it can be excused today given that the concept somewhere is still in an experimentation stage. But once its starts to catch up, a standard would become a necessity. This will also set a base for developers and encourage them to build more modules. After all, the success of the modular concept is direct proportionality to the number of modules produced. Much like the number of apps in the app store is a factor in the success of an operating system.It would actually be too premature to ascertain if India is ready for modular phones. The country, so far, has witnessed the launch of only one modular phone - the LG G5 - which anyway failed to garner interest appeal because of its limited modules and high price.Now its Lenovos turn to woo Indians with its modular Moto Z phone that was unveiled to the world in June. Scheduled to be released in India in the September-October timeframe, the Moto Z is expected to catch attention and set a premise for modular phones in India. It not only outdoes the LG G5 on the design front, but also has a better modular approach than LGs.Given that its a fresh take, this particular phone will be priced on the higher side of the price spectrum. Motorola India head Amit Boni recently told us that the phone wouldnt be a mid-tier product and would be easily up for some about $500". The Mods for the Moto Z won't come bundled with it; they, instead, will be available to buy separately at prices somewhere with prices starting at about $50 upwards. INR prices will be revealed at the time of the India launch.In technology a decade is an era. And the next year will mark the end of an era since the last big smartphone innovation.
Quantum Dot

Quantum Dot vs OLED

Quantum Dot Colour and HDR 1000

The Competition

Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled its 2016 line of smart televisions in India which includes the SUHD TV range. The SUHD TV or Smart Ultra High Definition TV by Samsung comes with two new key innovations  Quantum Dot Colour and HDR 1000  which is claimed to offer better colour contrast and vivid viewing experience. But what is Quantum Dot and how does it affect the picture quality? Here's an explainer:Quantum Dots in television technology are extremely tiny particles  smaller than DNA and millions of times smaller than the diameter of human hair - which when exposed to blue light, emit different colours brightly.The incredible thing about Quantum Displays (QDs) is that they have a longer life span. Unlike the conventional displays, the QDs can maintain their brightness and avoid burn-in for an extended period.The SUHD TVs with Quantum Dot Colour technology are therefore capable of producing colours as real and life-like as possible. Conventional televisions have an 8-bit panel but the SUHD TV has a 10-bit panel. When the 10-bit panel is layered with Quantum Dot Colour technology, it results in 64 times the colour expression of conventional panels, resulting in 1 billion different colours. The blacks appear darker and the whites brighter because there is no colour overlapping or merging of details. This helps produce the true-to-life UHD effect.If one compares the Quantum Dot Colour technology with the OLED technology, the major difference lies in the colour reproduction. In OLED TVs, the spectrum of light is broad resulting in more colour mixing and blurry details, while with Quantum Dot Colour technology, the spectrum is very narrow resulting in lesser colour mixing which reproduces purer colours.HDR or High Dynamic Range  an element borrowed from camera technology  when used in televisions is aimed at delivering content as it was shot. With more and more producers shooting content in HDR, there is a need to make available the required technology that supports the content to its fullest potential. To bridge the gap, the SUHD TVs make use of HDR 1000 along with Quantum Dot Colour technology.HDR, to put simply, means a merger of the darkest and the brightest shot put together to produce an image that brings out the details sharper than conventional imagery. With HDR 1000, the SUHD TVs are able to display a wide range of luminance, making details visible even in the brightest and the darkest areas of an image. With 1000 nit of brightness, the HDR 1000 technology delivers ultra bright output for detailed images.4K is the hottest new thing in television technology and some of the industry leaders like Samsung, LG, and Panasonic are manufacturing televisions which come with four times the number in 'normal' high-definition. However, there are some key differences in the technologies used. LG's 4K panels are capable of offering deepest black tones because of OLEDs, making images look more vivid. The panels by LG also do not have problems with backlight uniformity. Panasonic's 4K UHD panels, on the other hand, feature what is called as Honeycomb local dimming technology that is capable of creating highlights in the image. The company introduced the world's first LED LCD TV at CES 2016 with display capable of hitting 1000 nits brightness across a wider portion as compared to other HDR screens.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. Indian kids from the 90's remember it as the planet from where popular comic character 'Sabu' came from. But scientists at NASA have other queries that they want to be addressed for humans to have a better understanding of the biggest planet in our solar system.



Recently, NASA's Juno successfully landed in the orbit of Jupiter. Juno started its voyage from planet earth in 2011. The spacecraft will now orbit Jupiter 32 times and is in an orbit that's just 4,989 km above the planet's cloud tops.



There are also three passengers on the spacecraft. Well, technically, they are special Lego figures made of aluminium. The Lego passengers on-board are named after the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and the 17th century Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.



Juno has broken the record of deep space exploration by a solar-powered probe. Juno set the record in January 2016, when it was approximately 793 million kilometers away from the sun.



Juno's Primary Mission



Juno will try to understand how Jupiter was formed and how it has changed over the years. This will give scientists a better idea of how giant gas planets are formed. Jupiter is also important because it's mostly made from two gases, hydrogen and helium, which are also present in our Sun. This will also help scientists in understanding how planets are formed.



Jupiter's Atmosphere Mystery



Jupiter is known as a gas planet because of the thick layer of gas and cloud that's present in its atmosphere. With the help of Juno, scientists want to observe these clouds and monitor their temperature and movements. The main thing that they are looking for is how much water and ammonia is in Jupiter's atmosphere.



The Mystery of Jupiter's Core



Being a gas planet there has been a mystery among the science fraternity that whether the planet actually has a solid core at its center. Being covered with a thick layer of cloud and gas it's been difficult to conclude whether a core actually exists. Juno will research for gravitational and magnetic fields of the planet and determine once and for all whether the planet has a core or not.



After finding these main answers and many more Juno will eventually die a dramatic death. In February 2018, Juno will perform a 5-day maneuver that will help it to crash into Jupiter's atmosphere intentionally.


Baghdad: A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least 250 people, officials said, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq.



A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Baghdad's Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, sparking infernos in nearby buildings.



Health Minister Adila Hamoud told AFP that the bombing killed 250 people and wounded 200.



A police colonel and an interior ministry official both gave even higher death tolls for the attack.



Hamoud said that DNA testing would be required to identify more than half of the bodies and that the process was expected to take from 15 to 45 days, meaning that relatives of the missing may have to wait weeks to learn the fates of their loved ones.



The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them.



And it has overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness.



IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant territory from the jihadists.



In response to the battlefield setbacks, the group has hit back against civilians, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground.
Washington: Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on Wednesday slammed presumptive Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for praising former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, saying such comments "demonstrate how dangerous he would be as Commander-in-Chief".



"Donald Trump's praise for brutal strongmen seemingly knows no bounds," Jake Sullivan of the Clinton campaign said in a statement after Trump praised Hussein during an election rally in North Carolina.



Trump, he said, has "applauded the strength China showed in the Tiananmen Square massacre, offered admiration for Kim Jong Un's murderous consolidation of power in North Korea, and consistently lavished praise on Vladimir Putin."



"Tonight, Trump yet again lauded Saddam Hussein as a great killer of terrorists, noting with approval that he never bothered to read anyone their rights," Sullivan said.



"Trump's cavalier compliments for brutal dictators, and the twisted lessons he seems to have learned from their history, again demonstrate how dangerous he would be as Commander-in-Chief and how unworthy he is of the office he seeks," Sullivan said.



Trump praised Hussein's ruthlessness during the rally, saying he killed terrorists "so good."



"Saddam Hussein was a bad guy...really bad guy. But you know what? He did well? He killed terrorists. He did that so good. They didn't read them the rights. They didn't talk. They were terrorists. It was over Over. Today, Iraq is Harvard for terrorism," Trump said.



Trump's own party leaders also did not agree with him.



"Hussein was one of the 20th century's most evil people," the House Speaker Paul Ryan told Fox News in an interview.
Washington: Citing "precarious" security situation and an increasing threat from the Taliban, President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced that the US will station 8,400 troops in Afghanistan when he completes his term, reversing his previous plan to leave behind just 5,500 soldiers in the war-torn country.



The readjustment to original plan came as the US struggles to maintain stability in Afghanistan while fulfilling promises to end the war by the end of Obama presidency in January 2017. "The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said.



"I strongly believe it is in our national security interest... that we give our Afghan partners the best opportunities to succeed," he added. Without naming Pakistan, Obama called on countries in the region to end all terrorist safe havens in the region.



"The decision I'm making today ensures that my successor has a solid foundation for progress in Afghanistan, as well as the flexibility to address the threat of terrorism as it evolves," Obama said.



"I firmly believe the decision I'm announcing is the right thing to do." he said. Obama's announcement in this regard came on the eve of his departure to Europe to attend a crucial NATO summit, wherein Afghanistan and the threat from Islamic State would be major topics of discussion. The current level of troops in Afghanistan is 9,800.
Dhaka: Those who carry out assaults even in Eid congregations are "enemies of Islam and humanity", Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said on Thursday after the Muslim-majority country witnessed a second terror attack in less than a week.



Hasina also appealed to parents to inform authorities of their missing children after it emerged that most of the hostage-takers in the July 1 Dhaka cafe incident had vanished several months ago.



"Those who are carrying out assaults even in Eid congregations, are enemies of Islam and humanity," said Hasina at an Eid reception at her residence. "Terrorism will never be tolerated in Bangladesh. The government will do everything to establish peace," she said.



Hasina said the government would give every support, including the dissemination of information through all forms of media outlets, to help parents to trace their missing children and bring them home.



"We will track them down using modern technology, if required they will be given treatment in specialised facilities," she said. Referring to today's attack before the main Eid prayer, the prime minister said, "They have killed people instead of offering their prayers at time for prayers. How can this be a way to protect Islam?"



"... those who carry out such heinous crimes, dont believe in Islam in reality. They are the enemies of Islam." She also spoke of the suicide bombing outside the Prophet Mohammad's Mosque in Saudi Arabia's Medina. "Some people commit such crimes in the name of Islam, tarnishing Islam's image."



"Steps must be taken against such people who are involved in false preaching and pushing the youths towards death and hell." She said the Middle East-based militant group had 'gone too far' with their fanaticism regarding Islam. "Islam doesn't allow the killing of innocent people." Saying the militants had no faith in Allah, Hasina added,



"They consider themselves to be more powerful than Allah." She said, "The international community is with us in the fight against terror. But if anyone from them is backing these militants, the international community itself will have to take responsibility and preventive measures."



Hasina said the militants claimed to be committed to establishing the Sharia law and oppose all man-made laws. "They won't abide by man-made laws. So why are they using man-made weapons, bombs, clothes and technologies to achieve their goal?"
The Campbell County Department of Social Services is hosting a school supply drive through Aug. 5.

The department is accepting donations of school supplies, including backpacks; one and two-inch binders; binder dividers; crayons; colored pens, pencils and markers; pens and pencils; highlighters; erasers; glue and glue sticks; composition notebooks; notebook paper; hand sanitizer/wipes; tissues; scissors; planners/organizers; calculators; backpacks; flash drives; paper clips; index cards; graph paper; pencil cases and folders.

Supplies still will be accepted after Aug. 5 but staff would like the supplies to get to students before the start of the school year.

Children of parents currently using social services are eligible.

Monetary donations can be dropped off at the Social Services office as well. Checks must be made payable to Campbell County Social Services with Back to School in the memo line.

Supplies can be dropped off at the Social Services Building, 69 Kabler Lane, Rustburg. For more information, call April Clark at (434) 332-9727.

 Ashlie Walter
The Lynchburg Police Department is looking for two suspects involved in an armed robbery on Campbell Avenue in June.

According to a news release Thursday, officers responded to Fast Mart 5 at 1400 Campbell Avenue at 10:59 p.m. June 30 for a report of an armed robbery.

During the robbery, two men wearing masks entered the store armed with handguns. One suspect stepped to the right of the door, pointed a handgun at the clerk and blocked the clerk from leaving, the release said.

The other suspect approached the front of the counter with a handgun held to his right side. Both yelled at the clerk to give them money while the suspect at the front of the counter demanded two packs of cigarettes, the release said.

The suspects fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money and two packs of cigarettes.

The suspects are described as black men between the ages of 24 and 28, between 5 foot 10 and six foot, the release said. One is described as slender built and the second with an average build. Both wore dark clothing.

No one was injured during the incident, the release said.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Detective R.F. Robinson at (434) 455-6116 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-798-5900.

-- Tobi Walsh
Seconds after shooting the man he had just pulled over, the police officer yelled at a woman in the passenger seat: Maam, keep your hands where they are.

Diamond Lavish Reynolds watched blood drench her boyfriends white shirt. She did not scream. She did not cry. Her language remained polite.

I will, sir, she replied, calmly. No worries. I will.

Reynolds recorded the conversation on her phone, live-streaming a routine traffic stop that turned deadly and caught the worlds attention. In the background, as the officer shouted expletives, she continued to narrate the experience with startling composure.

He just shot his arm off, Reynolds explained to viewers, matter-of-factly.

By Thursday morning, the roughly 10-minute Facebook video had garnered more than 2 million views, and many viewers wondered how Reynolds maintained such an exceptionally calm demeanor after witnessing unthinkable violence. Was it psychological shock or the well-practiced behavior of a black woman familiar with the risks of a violent interaction with law enforcement?

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Reynolds said she found strength for her daughter, who also witnessed the shooting from the backseat.

My daughter told me stay strong, and thats what I had to do, she said. My daughter told me, dont cry, and thats what I had to do. My daughter prayed for me.

Trauma experts say her demeanor shouldnt surprise those whove worked with victims of violence. Jim Hopper, a psychology instructor at Harvard Medical School, watched the footage Thursday and said her response was consistent with what he calls a dissociative state.

In the immediate aftermath of horrific violence, he said, victims dont always sob. Reynolds face appeared stoic. Her voice remained steady (You told him to get his ID, sir. His drivers license, she told the police officer). But it doesnt mean she wasnt afraid.

People are literally not feeling in their body whats going on, Hopper said. That circuitry can basically shut down. This is the brain on horror.

In the car, as Castile moaned beside her, Reynolds kept talking, repeating similar phrases:

Please, Jesus, dont tell me that hes gone.

Please dont tell me hes gone.

Please, officer, dont tell me that you just did this to him.

Its easier to appear unfazed, Hopper said, if a victim has something to focus on. Sometimes, its helping others. Sometimes, its calling for help. In Reynolds case, its telling the world what happened to Castille.

Shes grasping for dear life to these phrases, to this phone, he said. You can think of it as a life raft to try to get through this.

Hopper, who studies the impact of trauma on the brain, compared Reynolds reaction to what he has witnessed among victims of sexual assault. When they report attacks to authorities, he said, they often sound like theyre reading from a grocery list. Trauma can trigger pain-regulating hormones, which can make a victim appear to be relaxed, even apathetic.

Academic research has found the physical manifestation of trauma can be subtle. A 2014 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration emphasizes that people dont respond to trauma like actors in Hollywood movies. Survivors immediate reactions in the aftermath of trauma are quite complicated and are affected by their own experiences, the authors wrote. Coping styles vary from action oriented to reflective and from emotionally expressive to reticent.

Another study from the Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma found the bulk of a victims emotional response often spikes in the days after a traumatic event, rather than in real time.

On social media, Twitter users offered another explanation. They lauded Reynolds behavior as a deliberate act of defense.

Lavish Reynolds managed to be calm before her dying boyfriend bc if she panics the officer might kill her too, shows much strength, offered one Tweet.

Another said, Lavish Reynolds calm demeanor (esp in front of daughter) is something I wouldnt been able to do if it were me. That lady is PURE STRENGTH.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus in the Marvel Universe ... and he's a mutant!

No, really. Is starting the holiday season sooner and sooner every year Santa's Marvel mutant power?
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us.
Champions of Business

We have established three categories of award: Entrepreneur of the Year, Internationally KnownT&T Owned and the signature, Business Hall of Fame.

For the second year running, EY will continue its exclusive category corporate investment with the category labelled the EY Entrepreneur of the Year. This category includes the sub-categories of Emerging Entrepreneur and Master Entrepreneur.

The Emerging Entrepreneur award is presented to an individual who has been in business for at least two years. Among other things, the individual must be a game-changer who has made his or her mark, and led the way for others in the industry to follow.

The Master Entrepreneur is awarded to an individual in business for ten or more years and who, among other things, epitomises the entrepreneurial spirit while taking on and managing risks in the face of uncertainty.

The TT Chamber also welcomes the continued and invaluable support of First Citizens. This year they will partner with us as an exclusive category corporate investor with the category labelled First Citizens Internationally Known  TT nominees must be a member company of the TT Chamber, a medium-sized business that is at least 75 percent owned by TT nationals and which has been profitable and growing fast. The company must also have engaged in external business development efforts leaving an established footprint either regionally or internationally.

The Business Hall of Fame category has been retained by the TT Chamber. A maximum of two individuals will be presented with awards with at least one of them being bestowed posthumously.

These awardees must have had a significant impact as business leaders throughout their careers and be widely regarded as role models for emerging leaders. The Adjudication Panel will consider such accomplishments as starting and building a successful business, or leading an established business to significantly greater achievements. They must have also worked to improve the community through Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives which demonstrate a commitment to creating positive change on the national landscape.

The Champions of Business Awards fittingly reflect the foundation upon which the TT Chamber was built.

Established since 1879, the TT Chamber remains steadfast in its commitment to the development of business in Trinidad and Tobago.
Cease licensing corruption

There are so many egregious accusations against the Licensing Office that warrant attention.

There are allegations that citizens are asked to pay a bribe to get their license as well as other services from the licensing office.

Another example is the rumour that quite a high percentage of vehicles on this countrys roads have not had inspections at the Licensing Office yet the owners have paper work showing registration at the licensing office.

Of course these examples have not included the bad treatment and poor service that members of the public must endure at the Licensing Office.

The question to the Minister is, does he think corruption is endemic in our country? One would have thought that the admission of corruption would have been followed by a well laid out plan to address the problem.

What is his plan to tackle the corruption that exist in the Licensing Office? As a country, we often hear our politicians identify a problem which is then followed by silence on the issue.

What Minister are you going to do about the problems at the Licensing Office? Can you legislate good behavior? In the absence of any plan or willingness to engage the public on this issue, perhaps we can suggest some ideas for consideration. Perhaps the Minister should convince the Prime Minister that an Anti- Corruption Agency (ACA) should be established with a budget and enabling legislation to investigate corruption, independent of political interference and more importantly, government policy must include fighting corruption as a top priority. The consequences of corruption have been dealt with in this newspaper on a previous occasion.

A plan to combat corruption in the public sector may consider a three pronged approach focusing on deterrence, prevention and education. At the very onset, it must be emphasized that this cannot be simply a talk shop.

A key element is to convince the public that, as a society, we are serious about reducing the plague of corruption. This means legislation must be promulgated and supported by investigation and successful prosecution of offenders. Anything less and the public will be turned off.

Consideration must be given to an effective deterrence strategy that encourages reporting corruption by the public and proper whistle blower legislation, a 24-hour report centre, commitment to investigate all complaints, and ensure successful prosecutions.

At the centre of any prevention strategy has to be the general principles of transparency, efficiency and accountability; the latter is crucial in this country.

The critical objective has to be to reduce wastage and enhance government revenue, especially at this time, thus ensuring resources for poverty reduction.

There has to be a wide ranging education strategy that includes all stakeholders and has to involve media publicity through press releases, media conferences and interviews. Media education using mass commercials, school education programmes that cover from primary schools to university. All means have to be used to get the public involved.

At the end of the day the political will is needed to tackle corruption, selecting the right strategy will either push us away or motivate us to be a part of the solution
Economist Dr Hosein sees mixed outcome

Dr Hosein was scheduled to be a panelist in a forum organised by the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) on Tuesday (July 5, 2016) at the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies. Chaired by Dr Michelle Scobie, SALISES Fellow, other panelists were: Dr Anthony Gonzales, Former Director, Institute of International Relations, The UWI; Marie-Louise Norton- Murray, President, European Business Chamber in Trinidad and Tobago; Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Founding Dean of the Faculty of Law, UWI, St Augustine; Lead Negotiator in the CARIFORUM College of Negotiators.

Dr Hosein also told Newsday that Britain was an important part of the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which began in 2008. CARIFOUM is comprised of the 15 member countries of the Caribbean Community plus the Dominican Republic. He said Already the preliminary information shows that the static welfare benefits of some CARICOM member states have been improving over time. However, if Britain, via Brexit, were to leave the EU, then this would possibly have to be renegotiated and this would take time and therefore the whole recalibration and chain of processes that the Caribbean economies had put in place to benefit from the dynamics of the EPA would now become questioned and may even become dissolved. That to me is an important avenue through which we will see the UKs leaving the EU affect Trinidad and Tobago.

He said another avenue through which the Brexit outcome would affect this country is tourism because if the British pound is depreciating, it becomes more expensive for British citizens to travel abroad. Then we may see a decline in the numbers of tourists leaving Britain and coming into Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps, more importantly, coming into the Caribbean. In turn, the Caribbean itself is an important market for Trinidad and Tobago exports so that if fewer tourists from the UK come to the Caribbean it would directly affect Trinidad and Tobago in terms of a fall in tourism expenditure here and indirectly affect Trinidad and Tobago in terms of a fall in the demand by those Caricom countries for the goods and services produced in Trinidad and Tobago that may be used in part for their tourism market.

Dr Hosein added that if the British economy is not doing well and British firms are not generating adequate capital surpluses then they may cut back on investment overseas. In 2015, foreign direct investment (FDI) from Britain accounted for 13-14 percent of total FDI flows into Trinidad and Tobago and an adverse hit to the British economy, if it does unfold with Brexit, would also potentially affect the amount of capital flows to the Trinidad and Tobago economy, and this is something we need to watch because Trinidad and Tobago is in a recession and capital injections from the foreign market can help restart the growth process.

He said the most important way Brexit would affect Trinidad and Tobago is the extent to which the external shock would cause oil prices to fall. He said given that Nigeria and Canada have already started to bring more of their oil production back on stream, it means that any adverse stimulus in terms of demand and in terms of the uncertainty that Brexit brings to the market will trigger a decrease in price and it is well known that oil prices and many of the petrochemical prices move together and as a consequence, this can adversely affect the Trinidad and Tobago economys current account balance in the medium term future.

On how Brexit would affect the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) signed between the EU and CARIFORUM in 2008, Dr. Hosein said that the EPA opportunities remain very distant from some manufacturers. However, manufacturers in Guyana and Barbados and service sector producers in Barbados have capitalised on some of the opportunities on offer from the EPA. This, however, would increase the uncertainty associated with CARIFORUM and for those firms in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean which may have been making positive strides, especially as it relates to the UK market may now find that they are back down to square one.

Dr Hosein said the EPA had a complicated array of barriers to entry which the EU had inserted into the agreement which made it challenging at times for local firms, even though they had been trying to meet all of the regulations. He said some of the regulations are unseen until the goods actually reach the EU and then they realise that something else is wrong and they did not meet a particular standard. So it works both ways.

According to Dr Hosein, Right now the main impulses come from the uncertainties involved and you see that uncertainty manifested in the oil prices and in the share prices.

In response to queries from Business Day, the British- Caribbean Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) in Port-of-Spain said it was also monitoring developments in the UK resulting from its recent referendum to leave the EU, and whilst we are aware of some of the concerns being expressed across the Caribbean, it is our view that it is too early to say and there is no point in speculating what the end game of Brexit will look like.

In a statement to Business Day, Tracey Hoford, country manager for the Chamber, said that Until negotiations (which will take some time) between the UK and the EU community are concluded and new trading arrangements are in place, the BCCC anticipates business as usual during this period. It is unlikely that there will be significant changes regarding trade relations between the Caribbean and UK and in fact, there may be some favourable implications such as the positive initiative already introduced during the David Cameron visit to the region last year which may be followed by renewed interest in less traditional markets, as well as, the value of exports to the region may increase if UK exports become cheaper. However, the statement added, until the dust settles, it is business as usual and BCCC will continue to support its members in their bi-lateral business endeavours.

A statement posted on the website of the EU Delegation to Trinidad and Tobago on the outcome of the referendum said, In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it. This is an unprecedented situation but we are united in our response. We will stand strong and uphold the EUs core values of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples. The Union of 27 Member States will continue. The Union is the framework of our common political future. We are bound together by history, geography and common interests and will develop our cooperation on this basis. Together we will address our common challenges to generate growth, increase prosperity and ensure a safe and secure environment for our citizens. The institutions will play their full role in this endeavour.
Good industrial relations practices are a long term investment

I was fascinated more by the fact that as an accountant, he found favour with what has been for many years, a view advanced and well-argued by several contemporary management thinkers. However, after tactfully busting his bubble that the idea was not new, and that such possibilities were far-fetched, I suggested instead, that nothing should however stop a company from determining the true impact on its bottom line, due to bad industrial relations practices.

I am convinced that good faith consultations and adherence to established industrial relations best practice, will, for most part, position any business to achieved sustainable Industrial peace and enhanced bottom-line performance. Good industrial relations practices will also help produce positive outcomes where the interests of employees, their trade union representatives, and management are balanced. Those positive outcomes can usually be commercially measured with direct bottom-line benefits. They are also sustainable, subject of course to the ability and willingness of the parties to maintain stable and efficient workplace relationships.

The objective therefore, is to find that elusive balance between the profit motive and social gain; between authority and industrial democracy; between discipline and freedom; between conflicting objectives and values; between bargaining and cooperation; and between business and community. This will not only help to maximize productive commercial activities - but just as importantly - will facilitate a workplace culture of ownership and stakeholder empowerment.

On the other hand, the failure to adhere to these best practices can put an organization in a vulnerable and potentially volatile position that can leave it - among other things - with a hefty legal bill and a tattered reputation before the courts and in the corporate world.

The Industrial Relations Act is our guiding legislation that regulates workplace conduct and relationships between employers and Trade Unions. It establishes a generalised standard of behaviour for the parties and workplace relationships. In our jurisdiction, that generalised standard of behaviour is embedded in Section 10 of our Act, which mandates our Industrial Court to determine whether or not the conduct of the parties was harsh or oppressive and/or in accordance with good industrial relations practices. It is therefore understandable that it has taken some time for employers (in particular), to come to terms with the vagueness of this requirement. However, over the past 50 years the jurisprudence coming from our Industrial Court has established a healthy reservoir of precedent by which all parties can be  and are - guided.

It is therefore logical that ill-informed decisions relating to the treatment of employees will ultimately have an adverse impact on operating costs, which obviously will go straight to a companys bottom line. Like everything else in business, any strategy adopted should, at the end of the day, be supported by commercial justification. Fortunately, most progressive companies have come to realize, mainly through experience, that the cost associated with poor IR practices, are in the main, self-inflicted and unnecessary. Many have now found it difficult to resist the well-reasoned argument that the right balance of objective advice coupled with an empathetic approach to managing people and performance, will result in smarter business decisions

There are very obvious costs directly associated with bad IR practices, particularly where Trade Disputes are continuously reported by Unions against a particular business undertaking. The cost of Trade Dispute litigation in this Country is steadily increasing because employees are more informed and are demanding protection of their rights. Workers and their Trade Union representatives will settle for nothing less than fair and reasonable treatment by their employers and complete adherence to the provisions of applicable Collective Agreements. Therefore, a good manager will weigh and consider all the costs related to Trade Dispute litigation against the investment expenditure for obtaining specialist advice and industrial relations training.

When disputes are arbitrated upon, any finding of the Court against a Company would normally include the award of damages or the dreaded requirement to reinstate employees. Either award reflects non-recoverable expenditure and unbudgeted costs in bringing these matters to closure. Even if we go beyond the typical Trade Dispute, bad IR practices could include oppressive work systems and work rules or even management practices, which are perceived to be unreasonable, inequitable, or unjust. These invariably result in passive resistance from the workforce, being manifested as deviant workplace behaviours, dysfunctional relationships, and ultimately decreased productivity, all of which indirectly impact the bottom line.

Over the years I have observed that bad industrial relations practices occur as a result of a misunderstanding of the requirements and standards of conduct expected of the employer. A good example of this could be the case where a Company contemplates the retrenchment of a portion of its workforce on the mistaken - but genuine belief - that there are good commercial reasons to do so. This is a particular issue where many employers fall prey to the belief that the employers right to organize his business trumps the workers right not to be unfairly dismissed. So the employer proceeds to retrench in accordance with the provisions RSBA and then suddenly faces a claim by a union that the workers were unfairly dismissed. The employer failed to appreciate that commercial efficacy alone is not sufficient. The decision to retrench, must be justified on the basis that there were no other reasonable alternatives to the termination of the services of the affected employees.

One also cannot ignore the disruption in the workplace and the impact on employees morale as rumours and interpretations of the events spread. Consideration must also be given to the economic impact of internal and external reputational risk. Its a fact that Companies with notorious reputations for bad industrial relations practices are hardly ever considered as employers of choice. The bottom line consequences of this reality are obvious and quantifiable. Good examples of such consequences are the tremendous opportunities lost for strategic retention and recruitment.

And what about the cost of managements time, when the leadership is required to defend or remedy the negative fallout of poor industrial relations practices? These hidden costs go straight to the bottom line. Further, the true worth of this expenditure is really the opportunity cost foregone by not alternatively engaging in strategic endeavours aimed at growing or expanding the business.

I have even found in my experience that on occasions, a weak manager can find himself locked in a cave, reluctant to implement a robust but correct decision. This could sometimes be driven by the perception that the consequences of implementation can have adverse results. Such non-action can however be much more costly in the long-term than implementing a decision that in the circumstances is the right thing to do. It is simply bad industrial relations not to act at all. What must always be borne in mind is that the choice of adopting a principled decision is a more prudent business determination, as it avoids the candle costing more than the funeral in the long run.

In essence, the industrial relations climate of any organization is critical to its financial and cultural health. Essentially, good industrial relations practices involve the adherence to established procedures and the consistent application of policy in a fair and equitable manner and in the wider context of good business sense. Once there is the proactive engagement of the workforce and its representative Trade Union, then the rights and responsibilities of the respective stakeholders will be mutually respected. This in turn will minimise the occurrence of Industrial Relations flashpoints and mitigate any negative impact on the bottom line.
More TT goods for Venezuela

Payment for the goods shipped is being made in US dollars right, so while everyone is making noise for US, we are actually going out there and getting some. Thats what we need in this economy  for people to get up and get what the economy needs. Balgobin was responding to Newsdays questions yesterday about the status of a trade deal signed by the TT and Venezuelan governments on May 23, 2016. Under the deal, Venezuelas largest State enterprise, Corporacion Venezolano de Comercio Exterior SA (Corpovex), will use a US $50 million revolving fund to purchase basic goods manufactured in this country to help offset severe shortages in the South American nation. Corpovex is paying our manufacturers directly, upfront, so the money goes into the individual accounts of whoever is selling the goods. So theres no government interference, no interference by any third party, Balgobin said.

The first shipments were flown to Venezuela on June 23 by Venezuelas military cargo planes which departed Piarco International Airport, Piarco bound for Cumana in Eastern Venezuela. The planes were loaded with chicken, white rice, pasta, powder milk, ketchup, mayonnaise and other food items.

The remaining eight deliveries on June 24 and 25 included shipments of toilet paper, bath and washing soap, margarine and flour.

Now, the first ocean sea shipment of goods is due to take place by early next week. Balgobin told Newsday that having already shipped 106 tonnes of food via air lift, TT manufacturers are preparing to load in excess of 200 tonnes of product via ocean freight. The vessel is due to arrive tomorrow (Friday), departing a few days later, once all the goods destined for Venezuela in this shipment have been loaded onto the vessel.
Rowley glad CSME back on agenda

Trinidad and Tobago has such a great interest in this, we requested it be put back on the agenda and it has been, Rowley told Newsday on Tuesday. Yesterday saw the continuation of a caucus of Caricom Heads of Government as the 37th Regular Meeting drew to a close. Rowley is expected back home today.

The CSME was an initiative that was being addressed for a number of years, Rowley noted, and in 2010, it was put on the back burner and left there on the table until eventually, it fell off the agenda. The issue of the CSME, he said, was dealt with it in caucus on Tuesday night and was due to continue yesterday morning. Decisions on the way forward were to be announced last night.

I think the rest of the Caricom leaders were also satisfied, Rowley said. The CSME, he said, is important to Trinidad and Tobago because we are a trading nation. All member states are traders of one kind of another. He said, If you are going to grow your home market, you need to have a bigger market than your home, whether you are St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago or Jamaica.

Therefore, if we have the single market it gives everybody a bigger market to grow into. The issue of security in the region, for which he is Caricoms lead prime minister, Rowley said, was dealt with in great detail though he did not go into the details. On the issue of Guyanas petroleum find, he noted that TT has a long history in petroleum and significant experience in handling hydro carbon exploration, development, production, and marketing.

We are hoping that as Guyana develops the petroleum sector, we will benefit in all these areas by working alongside Guyana, he said. However, Guyana has border issues with its neighbour Venezuela, which Rowly said, is affecting the development of that resource. We are hoping that peace and security will prevail and that nothing happens to further destabilise the situation , and Guyana would be allowed to exploit its findings. On the border issue, Guyana President David Granger told Newsday he has asked United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to choose a course under the Geneva Agreement that would lead to juridical settlement.

Hopefully, he said, Ban Ki-Moon he can do this before he demits office in another four months.

The border issue, he said, was not invented because of the petroleum find but has been there for over 50 years. Carifta, that preceded Caricom, Caricom and the Commonwealth groups of countries, he said, have supported Guyanas sovereignty.

Meanwhile, he said, that TT under Rowleys administration has indicated that Trinidad and Tobago will be prepared to lend its expertise to this very important new sector of the Guyana economy. Relations between Guyana and TT , he said are very good, and I am sure I can call on Dr Rowley at any time.
Trincity residents upset with EMA

In a public notice published in newspapers on Monday, BHSIL indicated that work will commence on July 11 and is scheduled to be completed in approximately 553 calendar days. The company noted that a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) was granted by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) on June 14. Residents told Newsday they were informed about the construction via a public address system that drove around the area on Saturday last.

At a press conference in Trincity, Robert Benjamin chairman of the Trincity Advocates for a Sustainable Community (TASC) said they were taken by surprise when they heard the announcement.

Two consultations were held between 2014 and 2015 and at those consultations, residents raised several issues over the proposed construction.

They are going to add to the already monstrous traffic we experience every day, the flooding, the very act of putting that building there will exacerbate the flooding issue. The issue of the piling, the noise, the dust, all the emissions coming out from that. All of these issues were raised by TASC on behalf of the people of Trincity.

I thought we had a water tight case as far as this issue was concerned, I didnt believe that any group that is supposed to be a watchdog, that is supposed to be looking after the interest of people would give a CEC under these circumstances, he said.

He added that they also thought they had a chance as their MP was also the Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development with responsibility for the EMA.

Benjamin said it was his personal view that the EMA should be disbanded because they were not doing their job.

I believe that an entirely new process should be developed for granting approvals for development projects, he said.
Thanks to FDA, Women Will

Be Told of Their Breast Density
(Newser)  The US has ramped up economic sanctions on North Korea with the first personal sanctions for Kim Jong Un and 10 other officials in a regime Washington says is guilty of "intolerable cruelty." This is the first time North Korean officials have been personally sanctioned for human rights abuses that the US says includes the holding of 80,000 to 120,000 peopleincluding children and other family members of accused peoplein political prison camps, the AP reports. "Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor, and torture," Treasury official Adam Szubin said in a statement.

The latest sanctions were timed to coincide with the release of a new State Department report on the sickening rights abuses in North Korea, reports the BBC, which notes that dictators including Moammar Gadhafi also had personal sanctions imposed on them. American officials say that while the largely symbolic sanctions probably won't stop Kim, they are still the right thing to do. "These efforts send a clear messagenot just to the senior leaders, but also prison camp managers and guards, censors, secret police, interrogators, and persecutors of defectorsthe world is documenting your abuses, and they will not be forgotten," US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said in a statement. (Spies say Kim has become fat, drunk, and paranoid.)
(Newser)  "My father-in-law is not an anti-Semite," New York Observer owner Jared Kushner writes in an op-ed in which he explains why he is standing by the powerful billionaire whose daughter he is married to. "Accusations like 'racist' and 'anti-Semite' are being thrown around with a carelessness that risks rendering these words meaningless," Kushner writes in the piece, which is a response to an open letter from Observer writer Dana Schwarz asking her boss what he is going to do about Trump's "Star of David" tweet. Trump is "an incredibly loving and tolerant person who has embraced my family and our Judaism since I began dating my wife," writes Kushner, who blames the tweet on a "fast-moving team" that "was careless in choosing an image to retweet."

Kushner, who married Ivanka Trump in 2009 and has three children with her, notes that his own grandparents are Holocaust survivors and describes their horrific wartime experiences. He says the Trump he knows does not encourage intolerance, but is "instinctively pro-Jewish and pro-Israel." Kushner adds that it is absurd to hold Trump "responsible for the views of everyone who supports him." Schwarz, however, thinks the views of some of the more extreme Trump supporters shouldn't be ignored. "While I respect his family's back story immensely, the point that he completely failed to address was that racist people flock to Donald Trumphe's the candidate for them," she tells the New York Times. "If Donald Trump really is as pro-Jew and pro-tolerance as he claims, then why is that the case?" (Read more Jared Kushner stories.)
(Newser)  A black driver pulled over for a broken tail light was fatally shot by police "for no apparent reason, for no reason at all," his distraught girlfriend says in a graphic video showing the aftermath of the shooting. In the video, Diamond Reynolds says Philando Castile, who can be seen slumped in his seat covered in blood, was shot by police during the traffic stop in Falcon Heights in suburban St. Paul, Minn., WCCO reports. She says that as Castile reached for his license, he told a police officer that he had a firearm, which he had a permit for, but the officer shot him four times in the arm anyway. In the video, the officer can be seen still pointing his weapon into the vehicle. "I told him not to reach for it," the officer says. "I told him to get his hand off it." Relatives say Castile, 32, died within minutes of being taken to Hennepin County Medical Center on Wednesday night.

"Please don't tell me my boyfriend's gone," Reynolds pleads in the video, in which she is ordered from the vehicle and ends up in a squad car with her 4-year-old daughter. "He dont deserve this, please. He works for St. Paul Public Schools. He's never been in jail, anything. He's not a gang member, anything." At the hospital, grieving family members described Castile, a cafeteria supervisor at JJ Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, as a "hard-working man" and an "upstanding citizen" who was "very nonconfrontational," the Star Tribune reports. He was "a black individual driving in Falcon Heights who was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight," cousin Antonio Johnson says. Police say the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been called in to investigate. (The shooting came just a day after a police shooting in Baton Rouge was caught on video.)
(Newser)  When Georgia Lt. Daniel Peabody discovered on June 10 that he had left his K-9 police dog, a Belgian Malinois named Inca, in his patrol car for nearly three very hot and fatal hours, "Peabody was very distraught ... even to the point where he was transported to the hospital," said Cherokee County Marshal's Office Chief Ron Hunton at the time. But as officials began looking into Inca's death, they found themselves tugging a string that unraveled what the Washington Post terms a "strange story [that] dates to at least 2012." Peabody resigned just days after Inca's death from heatstroke, and as the investigated proceeded, evidence surface that indicated Peabody had shot and killed Dale, the K-9 yellow lab he worked with for five years through 2012, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

The Post notes that Peabody was so close to his dogs that he adopted them once they reached retirement age. But on June 22 the Cherokee County Marshals Office announced that "Peabody initially claimed Dales death was accidental due to Dale choking on a toy. However, the investigation yielded evidence that Dale was in fact shot and killed." Two days prior, investigators had found remains of a dog believed to be Dale buried in the backyard of Peabody's former homeexcept it wasn't Dale. On Tuesday, the Marshal's Office revealed a forensic veterinarian's findings: The dog likely died as the result of a gunshot, and it wasn't a yellow lab. It's possible the Belgian Malinois' remains belong to Inca's grandmother, reports the Journal-Constitution; the whereabouts of Dale's remains are unknown. Peabody has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and making false statements to law enforcement. CBS46 reports he is out on bond and "no longer talking." (Read more police dog stories.)
(Newser)  Donald Trump didn't completely ignore Hillary Clinton's email issues during a rally in Cincinnati on Wednesday, but he definitely didn't ignore topics like Saddam Hussein, the Star of David, and news networks he dislikes. Trump slammed the likes of CNN and NBC for reporting that he had praised Saddam Hussein. "I don't love Saddam Hussein. I hate Saddam Hussein," Trump said before again praising the dictator's supposed treatment of terrorists, the Los Angeles Times reports. "He was good at one thing: He was really good at killing terrorists," Trump told the crowd. "He didn't wait around. You think they gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years, and then after 18 years, if they had the right lawyer, they erect a statue in honor of the terrorist, right? Not with Trump."

In what the New York Times calls a "rambling and sometimes manic-sounding address," Trump doubled down on the Star of David controversy, saying his youngest son "draws stars all over the place." "I never said, 'That's the Star of David, Barron, don't!'" He said it was a mistake to delete the controversial tweet and said the media had "racist tendencies," CNN reports. He went after the media again in a Wednesday night tweet, which showed images of Disney's Frozen coloring books with a six-pointed star on the cover and the message, "Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the 'Star of David' also? Dishonest media! #Frozen." The coloring book photo had apparently been getting play in a Trump-minded Reddit thread. Politico notes Clinton replied with a Frozen reference of her own, tweeting, "Do you want to build a strawman?" (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
(Newser)  Hidden in the box of heirlooms were four sheets of paper, on which the writer threatened "eternal war" with England, compared the War of 1812 to the American Revolution, and lamented the downfall of Napoleon. Now, the 1815 letter written by Thomas Jefferson to then-US Ambassador to France, William Crawford, could be yours, per Fox News. Crawfords descendantswho found the letter stashed in the attic of their Mississippi homeare selling it for $325,000. The Raab Collection, which is entertaining offers, says such a letter "comes up once in a generation," reports ABC News. (Someone just bought Jefferson's hair.)
(Newser)  Border guards in Switzerland received quite a shock Monday as they watched a full-grown man emerge from inside a normal suitcase. The AP reports the 21-year-old man from Eritrea was trying to smuggle himself into Switzerland aboard a train from Italy. Guards boarded the train to check passenger documents and immediately became suspicious of the suitcase, which was traveling with the man's friend, according to the Telegraph. It was not hard to know there was a person inside, given the weight and the movement of it, the Telegraph quotes a border guard spokesperson as saying.

Guards removed the suitcase from the train, then watched as the man started unzipping himself from inside of it. His attempted smuggling was even more impressive for the fact that he's 6 feet tall. Guards, who had to help the man fully extricate himself from his luggage, say they've never seen anything like it. After deciding not to request asylum in Switzerland, the man was promptly sent back to Italy. More than 3,400 migrants have been arrested attempting to enter the Ticino region of Switzerland from Italy since the end of May. (Read more weird crimes stories.)
(Newser)  German lawmakers passed a bill Thursday that will make it easier for victims of sex crimes to file criminal complaints if they rejected their attacker's advances with a clear "no." German law previously required victims to show that they physically resisted attack before charges for rape and other sexual assaults could be brought, reports the AP. Women's rights campaigners argued that Germany's failure to recognize the principle of "no means no" was one of the main reasons for low reporting and conviction rates for rape in the country. According to figures cited by Heiko Maas, the country's justice minister, only one in 10 rapes in Germany is reported and just 8% of rape trials result in convictions.

Under the new law, prosecutors and courts can take into account that a victim didn't resist assault because they were incapacitated, surprised, or feared greater violence if they objected. In the future, if a member of a group carries out a sexual assault, others in the group can also be prosecuted for failing to intervene. The measure was criticized as unworkable and possibly unconstitutional by legal experts. The new law also allows authorities to more easily deport foreigners who are convicted of sexual assaultsa measure seen as a direct result of a string of attacks in Cologne during New Year's. Authorities said most of the attacks were carried out by asylum-seekers. (Read more rape stories.)
(Newser)  Netflix's Narcos series is about the life of Pablo Escobarbut the Colombian drug kingpin's brother doesn't want the second season to air until he's reviewed it. Roberto Escobar says he registered in California last year for "successor-in-interest rights" to his late brother's name and the Escobar family name in general. In a letter to Netflix, he says that the first season contained "mistakes, lies, and discrepancies," and demands that no future episodes be released without his prior review, TMZ reports. "My brother would not have liked season 1, maybe he will enjoy season 2 if you respond me [sic] and we solve this issue," the letter reads.

Pablo Escobar, who "is considered one of the most powerful drug lords of all time," per the BBC, was the leader of the Medellin drug cartel before he was shot dead by police in 1993. Roberto Escobar says he was his brother's "closest ally," and cites California Civil Code 3344.1 in his letter to Netflix; it notes that "any person who uses a deceased personality's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner, on or in products, merchandise, or goods, ... without prior consent from the person or persons specified in subdivision (c), shall be liable for any damages sustained by the person or persons injured as a result thereof." Netflix, which plans to release the second season of Narcos in September, has not replied to the letter. (Read more Pablo Escobar stories.)
(Newser)  Diann Wells said goodbye to her father and mother in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Now, she's finally able to say goodbye to her brother as wella brother who went missing 41 years ago. On June 23, a Texas lab confirmed Mark Duane Woodard was dead after comparing the DNA of her parents to that taken from bones found in Marion County in 1977. The Ledger reports that a 19-year-old Woodard vanished on April 14, 1975; he had intended to head from their home in Florida to Texas with friends that day, says Wells. The Charley Project, which profiles missing persons cases, says he had as much as $3,000 in cash on him at the time; WFTS reports by way of investigators that the group intended to buy marijuana in Texas.

Though Wells always suspected her brother had been murdered, she tells the paper that when the Polk County Sheriff's Office asked to meet with her to discuss an investigation, it never dawned on the 62-year-old they were referring to her brother. Progress on the case began in 2009, when a bone was sent to the University of North Texas so that DNA could be recovered and added to the Missing Persons Database. The sheriff's office in Polk County, which is about two hours south of Marion County, surfaced Woodard's case in a review last year of missing persons cases. Wells tells WFTS her parents gave their DNA "seven or eight years ago" after some remains were found in the area; so as part of its review PSCO sent that DNA to Texas. Marion County has now shifted the missing persons case to a death investigation, and is working in concert with Polk County. "This opens up an investigation that will make a very cold case very active," a Marion County investigator says. (This woman became a PI to solve her friend's murder.)
(Newser)  A Canadian man claims he has an original painting by Peter Doig, whose works have sold for up to $26 million, per ArtNews. Doig says the painting isn't his. You'd think that would be the end the story, but no. In what the New York Times describes as "one of the stranger art authentication cases in recent history," Doig will have to prove he isn't the artist in a Chicago court next month. Owner Robert Fletcher says a Lakehead University student named "Pete Doige" painted the work in 1975 or 1976 while imprisoned on a drug charge at a Thunder Bay detention facility where Fletcher worked as a corrections officer, and Fletcher bought it for $100. Years later, he planned to sell it for millions. But when Doig was sent a photo of the piece, he denied it was his. In fact, Doig, 57, says he never set foot in Lakehead University or the detention centerand there's no record that he did.

"If I had painted that painting when I was 16, I would admit it," says Doig, who did spend time in Canada in his youth. He adds a man named Peter Doige, who died in 2012, attended Lakehead and the prison and a former art teacher there remembers watching him create the painting. Doige's sister notes the rocky desert scene resembles an area in Arizona that Doige once visited. However, a gallery owner in Chicago says the painting includes a horizontal striped landscape, water, logs, and white lichen on the trees, like other Doig works. A Sotheby's expert who saw a photo of the painting adds it has Doig's "trademark eeriness of the empty landscape." Fletcher is suing Doig for $5 million in damages. But "this has become about much more than Peter's painting," says Doig's art dealer. "It's about authorship. It's about being forced to put your name on another artist's work." (Read more art stories.)
(Newser)  The mother of the driver shot to death by a Minnesota police officer tells CNN that she had given her son simple advice if ever stopped by police: "Comply, comply, comply." But even though 32-year-old Philando Castile was doing just that, says his girlfriend, he ended up being shot fatally. Her son's crime was being "black in the wrong place," says Victoria Castile. The officer who made the traffic stop shot Castile five times, says girlfriend Diamond Reynolds, who was in the car at the time with her 4-year-old daughter. "We had our hands in the air," says Reynolds, who filmed the aftermath of the shooting and posted it on Facebook. (The graphic video can be seen here.) Reynolds spoke to reporters Thursday, report the AP and CNN.

Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration," says Reynolds. In the video, she says Castile had informed the officer he was carrying a licensed weapon and was shot while reaching for his wallet. The shooting took place in the Minneapolis suburb of Falcon Heights, and Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he has asked the Justice Department to take over the investigation. Demonstrators have been gathered outside his residence since news of the Wednesday night shooting broke. (Read more Philando Castile stories.)
(Newser)  The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says one person has died and four others, including a police officer, were injured when a suspect fired shots at a Days Inn and at several vehicles traveling along Volunteer Parkway in East Tennessee. The person killed was a newspaper carrier who was driving to pick up papers for the morning delivery; her vehicle careened over an embankment after she was shot. Bristol Herald-Courier publisher Jim Maxwell confirmed 44-year-old Jennifer Rooney, who had been delivering papers since August, was killed in the overnight shooting. He called it a "senseless act of violence" that has stunned the small city on the Virginia border.

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said the suspect was armed with at least two weapons and shot at responding officers, who returned fire, wounding him. The suspect and the four people who were injured were taken to the Bristol Regional Medical Center. Media reported that TBI agents were processing four separate crime scenes, and WJHL calls the shootings "random." DeVine said police are working "as aggressively, as quickly, and as carefully as possibly" to gather evidence and determine what happened. (Read more shooting stories.)
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 16F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low 4F. Winds light and variable.
Dhaka:

Bangladesh today asked India to examine the speeches of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik after reports that his hate speech inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants, who hacked to death 22 people at an upscale cafe in Dhakas diplomatic enclave last week.



Already there are certain complaints from the Maulanas of Bangladesh that his (Nayek) teachings are not in line with the Quranic teachings and Hadith, information minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.



How much Naiks teachings influenced the terrorists that is to be investigated. We are investigating the whole matter, he said.



Requesting the Indian government to examine the teachings of controversial preacher, Inu said: I also request the Indian government and information minister that they also examine the context of Dr Nayeks teachings.



One of the Bangladeshi attackers, suspected to be Rohan Imtiaz - the son of a politician of Bangladeshs ruling Awami League - ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting 50-year-old Nayek, a Mumbai-based doctor and an Islamic televangelist, Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star reported.



Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly urged all Muslims to be terrorists.



Naikk, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the UK and Canada for his hate speech aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.



He is hugely popular in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.



Islamist gunmen had stormed the upscale Holey Artisan cafe popular with foreigners in Dhakas diplomatic enclave last Friday, killing 22 people.

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New Delhi:

The President, Vice President and the Prime Minister have greeted the people on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr and hoped that it will inspire all to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood and will deepen the spirit of harmony and peace in society.



Let us on this occasion rededicate ourselves to the service of humanity and share our happiness with the poor and needy. May the Eid celebrations reinforce the nations commitment to mutual goodwill and inspire each one of us to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood, President Pranab Mukherjee said.



He said, on the auspicious occasion of Eid, I extend warm greetings and best wishes to my fellow citizens, particularly to all Muslim brothers and sisters in India and abroad.



Vice President Hamid Ansari, in his message, said that Id-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of the holy month of Ramzan and signifies the traditional expression of brotherhood and understanding between people.



I convey my heartiest greetings and good wishes to the citizen of our country on the joyous occasion of Id-ul-Fitr. May the noble ideals that mark Id-ul-Fitr enrich our lives with peace, prosperity and the spirit of humanity.



It reaffirms our abiding faith in the spirit of compassion and charity, he said.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his greetings wished that this special day deepens the spirit of harmony and peace.



Modi also spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and conveyed Eid greetings to him.



My greetings and best wishes on Eid-ul-Fitr. May this special day deepen the spirit of harmony and peace in society, Modi tweeted.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Maputo (Mozambique) on first leg of his four-nation tour of African countries aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.



After Mozambique, he will travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.



Focus of the visit will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.



My Africa tour, aimed at enhancing ties between India & Africa will begin from Mozambique in a brief but key visit, he tweeted ahead of his departure.



My programmes in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban & Pietermaritzburg, he added.



In Tanzania I will hold talks with President Dr. John Magufuli, meet Solar Mamas and interact with Indian community, Modi added.



With regard to his visit to Kenya in the last leg of his visit, he tweeted, Talks with President @UKenyatta, deliberations on economic & people-to-people ties will be focus of my Kenya visit.



Giving details in Facebook posts, the Prime Minister said the aim of his visit to Mozambique is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages.



I will meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him, he said.



Other programmes include a meeting with Veronica Macamo, the President of the National Assembly and a visit to the S&T Park, Maluana, where he will interact with students. He will also interact with the Indian community briefly.



Tomorrow evening, Modi will travel to Pretoria in South Africa, a country he described as an important strategic partner, with whom our ties are historical and deep-rooted.



He said, History is witness to how Mahatma Gandhis stay in South Africa impacted him and the history of the world. He went to South Africa as a lawyer seeking work and returned to India as a strong voice for humanitarian values, who would go on to shape the history of humankind.



I will have the honour to visit Phoenix Settlement and Pietermaritzburg Station, two places very closely associated with Mahatma Gandhis stay in South Africa.



A visit to South Africa is incomplete without remembering the beloved Madiba (Nelson Mandela). I will also be honoured to visit the Constitutional Hill and Nelson Mandela Foundation where I would pay my tributes to an icon of human history, who made his country and the world a much better place, he said.



During his South Africa visit, he will meet President Jacob Zuma as also Cyril Ramaphosa, the Deputy President.



In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet, he said.



On July 10, he will be in Tanzania for a brief but crucial visit to give an impetus to ties with Tanzania, a valued friend in Africa, Modi said.



Modi will then visit Kenya on the evening of July 10.



India-Kenya ties have stood the test of time. Both our nations have had very strong people-to-people ties and both nations have successfully fought colonialism in the previous century, the Prime Minister said.

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New Delhi:

A Delhi man, annoyed over not getting married, has been held by the cops for allegedly sending vulgar messages and obscene video clips to nothing less than 1500 women in the Delhi-NCR area.



Examining the mobile phones used by the 31-year-old accused, police stumbled upon contacts of more than 1,500 women and girls who were put through perpetual trauma and mental agony by him. Altogether, the accused had phone numbers of 2,000 women and girls living in the Delhi national capital region (NCR), they said.



A police team investigating a case registered on May 30 by a woman at Ashok Vihar police station in north-west Delhi, arrested accused Mohammad Khalid from his fathers bag shop in Sadar Bazar area, said Vijay Singh, DCP (north west).



Police found all the obscene messages and video clips sent by the accused to his victims, stored in the mobile phones. It also included his messages to the complainant from Ashok Vihar, he said.



During interrogation, Khalid said he used to make random calls on Delhi NCR mobile numbers. If the call was received by a woman or a girl, he used to save it and then through WhatsApp viewed their profile picture. If he liked the woman or girl, he would start sending vulgar messages and obscene video clips through WhatsApp, said the officer.



Investigating the FIR registered at Ashok Vihar, a police team found that the complainant received the vulgar, abusive messages from two mobile numbers. The names and addresses were found to be fake.



Searching for a clue, the police team reached Sadar Bazar area from where the SIM cards were purchased and he often got his phone recharged.



Further enquiries and investigation led the cops to Khalid, who at first tried to bluff the police but admitted to his offence when confronted with facts, the DCP said.



Most of his victims avoided approaching police perhaps due to his threat to malign their image and out of fear of disclosing their identity, he said.



Khalid used the SIM cards obtained through the fake IDs, exclusively for sending messages and video clips to his victims.



He told police that he was unmarried and was frustrated as his friends had got married and were having children.



Cases were registered against him in Gurgaon (Haryana) and Uttam Nagar, Ashok Vihar and Usmanpur (all in Delhi). Complaints were also found lodged at women helpline numbers at different police stations in and around Delhi, they added.

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New Delhi:

Bomb explosion near the entrance of Bangladeshs largest Eid congregation killed atleast four people including two policemen on Thursday. Besides, seven cops were injured in the blast. The unprecedented attack on a prayer gathering in Bangladesh took place at Kishoreganj, 100 km from capital Dhaka, where seven terrorists attacked a popular cafe last Friday, killing 22 people.



A group of attackers reportedly threw homemade bombs at a police team outside a prayer ground where at least 300,000 people were gathered for Eid. Firing is still on between security forces and the attackers.



One police constable is dead and at least five others were injured, Mahbub, a police officer in the Kishoreganj control room, told AFP. After the Dhaka terror, the Islamic State terror group had issued a chilling video on Wednesday threatening more attacks.



What you witnessed in Bangladesh was a glimpse. This will repeat, repeat and repeat until you lose and we win and the sharia is established throughout the world, said a man identified as Bangladeshi fighter Abu Issa al-Bengali, in the video monitored by SITE intelligence site.

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New Delhi :

Andhra Pradesh Physical Education Common Entrance Test (APPECET 2016) results have been declared on the official website. The entrance examination was successfully conducted by Acharya Nagarjuna University, on behalf of Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) for the academic year 2016-2017 in June.



The APPECET is for candidates seeking admission into B.P.Ed (2 years) and U.G.D.P.Ed. (2 years) courses. The candidates who appeared in the APPECET 2016 examination can now check their results by visiting the official website @appecet.org.in.



Some of the simple steps to check APPECET 2016 Results are: 1) Log on to the official website @appecet.org.in; 2) On the home page, under Application section the candidates should click on the live link Download Rank Card; 3) When the new page opens, the candidate should enter the requisite details such as hall ticket number and date of birth in the space provided; 4) Click on Get Rank Card; 5) The rank will appear on the screen; 6) Candidates are advised to take a print out of APPECET 2016 Results for future reference.



Subsequently, the candidates who have successfully cleared will be called for the PECET counselling.

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Lucknow:

Some residents of Uttar Pradesh's Manpur Nagaria village in Kasganj district have claimed that they have spotted an unidentified flying object (UFO) on Wednesday. According to the youths, the UFO was spotted after it stopped raining in the village. One of them claimed to have captured the UFO on his cellphone.

The pictures were then shared on popular Instant Messaging app WhatsApp. They soon went viral on all social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. This prompted the government to investigate the matter after the alleged sighting of a UFO.

District Magistrate K Vijendra Pandyan sent the pictures to the MeT department for investigation. According to media reports, the person who clicked the pictures is unavailable and his cellphone is switched off.

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* Polls show anti-establishment movement most popular party

* Italian government trying to head off banking crisis

* Spain, Portugal bonds also lag after EU deficits ruling (Adds quote, updates prices for close)

By John Geddie

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Italian bond yields edged up on Thursday as the anti-establishment Five-Star Movement emerged as the country's most popular party and concerns about a banking sector saddled with bad debts rattled investors.

Polls showed this week that the Five-Star Movement (M5S) -- which has called for a referendum on euro zone membership and triumphed in local elections last month -- is now Italy's favourite party, ahead of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's Democrats.

While Italy's next national election is not until 2018, the polls make grim reading for Renzi who is struggling to deal with growing friction inside his coalition and faces a crucial referendum in October on constitutional reform, having promised to resign if he loses.

M5S and all other opposition parties are campaigning against the reform.

On top of this political uncertainty there is mounting concern that Italy, locked in discussion with the EU over how to head off a looming crisis in its banking sector, is going to have to stump up public cash to deal with the problem.

"Italy is perhaps the most likely country to trigger another crisis," said Ben May, lead euro zone economist at Oxford Economics.

"Problems in the banking sector could be exacerbated by the populist eurosceptic Five-Star movement forming a government if October's Senate referendum is lost."

Italy's 10-year yields rose as much as 4 basis points to hit a one-week high of 1.21 percent, before pulling back slightly to 1.19 percent as trading drew to a close.

Italian banking shares have shed 57 percent this year . On Thursday, trading in Banco Popolare's stock was suspended after a 6 percent drop.

For Reuters new Live Markets blog on European and UK stock markets see reuters://realtime/verb=Open/url=http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?pageId=livemarkets

Story continues

EXCESS DEFICIT

The problems in Italy's banking sector has been brought into sharp focus in the aftermath of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, which has the potential to deliver a blow to global growth.

But while Milan has been grabbing the headlines, Lisbon is also quietly struggling to contain a banking crisis.

Portugal's 10-year bonds were the worst performers on Thursday, with yields up some 4 bps at 3.09 percent , while equivalents in neighbouring Spain rose 3 bps to 1.20 percent.

Analysts said that was partly down to a European Commission announcement that it had formally begun disciplinary procedures against Spain and Portugal for their excessive deficits in 2014 and 2015. This may lead to fines for the two countries before the end of the month.

Some 15 billion euros of bonds sold at auction by France and Spain on Thursday were also seen pushing up yields as markets struggled to digest the large amount of new debt.

(Editing by Keith Weir and John Stonestreet)
New Delhi:

Calling the admission system of Delhi University as most bizarre, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the central university does not have quota for city students, normalization of marks or entrance tests.



The Chief Ministers remarks come days after his deputy Manish Sisodia wrote to former Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani suggesting Delhi students should be given preference over those from other states in admission to DU.



Delhi University admission system is most bizarre. They dont have either quota for locals or normalization of marks or entrance tests, Kejriwal tweeted.



In his letter to Irani, Sisodia had said that due to anomalies in admission process of DU which is based on cut-offs, lakhs of Delhi students are suffering as applicants from state boards have more marks than them.



Recently the scams behind Gujarat and Bihar toppers have also come to light and because of such practices students here are suffering, he said in his letter to Irani.



Sisodia, who is also the Delhi Education minister, had also suggested that an entrance test should replace the cut-offs method for enrolment of students in DU.



BJP Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel, who was recently elevated to the Cabinet in the Central government, has also been demanding preference for the city students in the admission process of the Delhi University for a long time.



Last month, Goel had met Sisodia and demanded 85 per cent quota be reserved for Delhi students in 28 colleges, funded by the Delhi government, out of the total 61 colleges in Delhi University.

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Mumbai:

Maharashtra government has asked Mumbai Police to conduct a probe into controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naiks speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.



I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naiks speeches) and submit a report, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.



Everything, including Naiks speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio.



The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar. Naik has denied propagating terrorism in any way.



I totally disagree (with suggestion) that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged anyone to kill another persons - Muslim or non-Muslim, said Naik, who has been banned in a few countries.

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Haridwar/New Delhi:

In its bid to fast-track execution of the ambitious Namami Gange programme, the NDA government today launched 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore.

The projects, aimed at cleaning the holy river and ensuring its unfettered flow, were launched simultaneously at 103 locations in five basin states of the river - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, besides Delhi and Haryana through which Gangas tributary Yamuna passes.



Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharati and Mahesh Sharma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched 43 such projects in Haridwar.



Noting wrong planning resulted in high pollution level in Ganga, Union Water Resources Minister Bharati reiterated commitment of the Modi government to taking corrective steps to cleanse the river which she termed as pride of the world and country.



The Ganga has not been polluted because of untreated water as much as because of wrong planning. Projects being launched under Namami Gange are corrective steps to atone for what has been done over the years to dirty the river, she said at the event. We will achieve what has been resolved, she told the gathering, according to an official statement.



Announcing that the Centre is mulling a legislation, called the Ganga Act, for the success of Namami Gange, Bharati said industries will not just be barred from dumping untreated waste into the holy river, but treated water will also be diverted for irrigation purposes.



The preliminary draft of the Act will be sent to the states for their opinion and the final draft will be prepared based on it, she said.



Bharati also renewed her pledge to begin a Ganga Padayatra (foot march) in October this year to create awareness among the people about advantages of a Clean Ganga and how they could contribute to it.

The minister said those found dumping industrial waste into the Ganga will be sent to jail. She said that Namami Gange will achieve its objective by 2018 but its effects will be visible by the end of this year.



Union Transport Minister Gadkari said the government will install 60 sewage treatment plants and launch 50 other big projects under the mission later this year.



Terming the Ganga as national heritage, Gadkari said the goal of a Clean Ganga cannot be achieved without public participation.



The Union Transport Minister also underscored the need for educating school and college students towards keeping the river clean and urged youths to contribute to the cause voluntarily.



On his part, Sharma announced that the Tourism and Culture Ministry will launch a e-tourism programme along Ganga ghats within three months.



Extending Uttarakhands support to the 43 centrally sponsored projects to be implemented in the northern state, Rawat demanded the Centre approve Rs 10,000 crore water security scheme of the state to make available clean water in areas between Rishikesh and Haridwar, the statement said.



We will do in right earnest whatever task is assigned to us to keep the Ganga clean and its flow uninterrupted, he said, adding Uttarakhand is the first state to give a bonus for tree plantation which is crucial for the success of the programme.



On his governments water conservation efforts, Rawat said clean Ganga water will soon be available in Haridwar and Uttarkashi and laid emphasis on a holistic approach to cleanse the river.



Claiming that the practice of open defecation has been brought to an end at 45 per cent of the places in the state, Rawat said efforts are on to make the rest of the state, especially villages on the banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, open defecation-free.



Meanwhile, the government also launched a song, Namami Gange Anthem, composed by brothers Srikrishna and Ramkumar Mohan. An application which will help monitor level of pollution in the river was also launched during the programme.



National Mission for Clean Ganga Mission Director Rajat Bhargava also attended the event in Haridwar.

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Washington:

US House Speaker Paul Ryan today opposed providing any classified briefing to presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, saying it is necessary to reassure the public that the countrys secrets are secure.

His comments came after FBI Director James Comey said that the agency would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton over her private email use when she was secretary of state.

In a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Ryan requested that the intelligence community refrain from providing any classified information to Clinton. This is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure, he said. In another letter to Comey, Ryan requested that he release all of the unclassified findings from the Bureaus investigation into Clinton mails.

The White House yesterday said that both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees would start receiving classified intelligence briefings from the intelligence community after they are formally nominated during their respective party conventions. In his letter, released to the press, Ryan said as a former vice presidential nominee, he is keenly aware that Clinton is set to begin receiving classified intelligence briefings after the Democratic National Convention.

However, Director Comey stated that this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions, he wrote.

Given the FBIs findings, denying Secretary Clinton access to classified information certainly constitutes appropriate sanctions. This is necessary to reassure the public that our nations secrets are secure, Ryan said.

The American people deserve to know exactly what your investigation uncovered and why the FBI came to the decision to recommend that no criminal charges be brought against secretary Clinton, Ryan said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
SANTIAGO, July 7 (Reuters) - Chile's banking regulator said on Thursday that it could decide within "weeks" on whether to give the green light to Mexican high-end department store chain Liverpool's planned acquisition of retailer Ripley.

Santiago-based Ripley has 69 stores in Chile and Peru, and units in retail, financial services and shopping malls, making approval from the local banking regulator a necessary step.

"If we have all the information we need to make a decision, that will be soon, we're talking a matter of weeks," head of Chile's banking authority Eric Parrado told journalists at a business event.

The companies have not yet formally requested approval from the banking regulator.

Liverpool on Tuesday said it had reached an agreement to acquire Ripley in a deal that values the target at 813 billion Chilean pesos ($1.2 billion).

(Reporting by Felipe Iturrieta, writing by Anthony Esposito)
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OXFORD  Town residents will have to wait a few more months for a new grocery store.

The newly constructed Market 32, a brand of Price Chopper, is now scheduled to open in September, according to Kathy Ekstrom, development manager for the Seymour-based Haynes Group. Months ago, KBE Building Corp., which is serving as general contractor for the market project, had estimated it could be open by June.

Although the buildings facade is nearly complete, Price Chopper will need a few more months to put the finishing touches on the 54,000-square-foot supermarket. As with any construction, things take a little longer, Ekstrom said.

In the meantime, the closest grocery stores are in Southbury and Seymour.

The markets opening will coincide with the debut of several other tenants in the $70 million Towne Center/Quarry Walk development. A Newtown Savings Bank branch, a standalone building that fronts on Oxford Road, will open at the end of August. We had always really wanted to be in Oxford, said John Trentacosta, president and CEO of the bank.

The new branch integrates stones from the former quarry into its design, as will other buildings will in the development.

The largest group of customers of our Southford (Road) branch live in Oxford, added Ken Weinstein, senior vice president of retail banking.

Although the bank building came in ahead of schedule, its opening was delayed in part by the installation of a traffic signal at the projects entrance, Ekstrom said. Although Route 67 is a state road, the light, which was installed this week and should become active by mid-July, was the developers responsibility.

Tenants signing up

Other businesses expected to open in September and October include an Ace Hardware store, Dollar Tree, post office, liquor store and nail salon. These businesses will be located in a building directly beside the market.

Goodwill will also open in the fall, in a standalone building. Vickie Volpano, president and CEO of Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut, said the company is not currently serving the Oxford market.

Future tenants also include Griffin Hospital, based in Derby. Work on the hospitals medical office building will begin by the end of the year and should be completed by early to mid-2017.

Ekstrom said the Quarry Walk project has been a complex one, with many different buildings, a 1.5-mile walking trail and extensive off-site work, including the installation of sewer, gas and water to the site.

Once completed, the new town center will have more than 215,000 square feet of retail space and 150 residential units. Ekstrom said Haynes is hoping to attract a day-care center, medical professionals and an urgent care facility to the development.

The area does need one, she said, of the urgent care center.

She said they also hope to attract a fitness provider for a parcel recently acquired directly adjacent to the original Quarry Walk property, along Oxford Road.

Town center

While Haynes is quickly filling the retail space, the residential units, which could end up being condo-style rentals, are drawing just as much interest.

Im getting calls all the time for the residential, Ekstrom said. The units, she said, will be mostly one- and two-bedroom, to fill the growing demand for those downsizing or young professionals looking for a place to live.

Construction on those apartments could begin by the end of the year.

Ekstrom said she envisions the day when all of the stores, restaurants, commercial spaces and apartments are filled and people begin considering Quarry Walk a destination.

You can spend the day there and get all your needs met, she said. I like to say it has everything you need to do on a Saturday morning.

She noted that a planned half-acre green space between the market and residential units where festivals, concerts and fairs can be held should help create a sense of place for the development.

Ekstrom noted that, over the next few weeks, passers-by will begin seeing crews wrapping up the road work and paving the site. She said town residents have been gracious during the construction phase, which has often tied up traffic along the busy road.

Over the next couple of weeks, thats all coming to a close, Ekstrom said.

ktorres@hearstmediact.com; 203-330-6227
A Hartford-based program will help professionals in Fairfield County transition from corporate to nonprofit management this fall.

In partnership with local nonprofit partners, the University of Connecticut plans to launch Encore!Fairfield County, with the dual goal of reducing unemployment in southwestern Connecticut and increasing the capacity of local nonprofits, according to Linda Friedman, program director of UConns Nonprofit Leadership Program.

The new program is modeled after the successful Encore!Hartford, which has been assisting professionals transition to the nonprofit sector for the last six years. When they launched the program in 2010, according to Friedman, the schools Department of Public Policy was looking to expand its reach from those already in the nonprofit field to those wanting to enter it, such as current corporate executives and marketing directors.

Seasoned professionals in industries ranging from finance to television production were looking for ways to adapt their skill sets and experience to more purposeful work, especially in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

All of sudden came the recession, and we were looking at so many qualified professionals who were out of work or took retirement from major industries, Friedman said. As we thought this through, we felt strongly about looking at this as transition opportunity and to attract high-quality professionals from the business sector to nonprofit sectors.

Like its Hartford counterpart, the four-month-long program will immerse participants in the Fairfield County nonprofit sector with 60-plus hours of education on topics including nonprofit leadership, governance, fund development, strategic management and accounting. Courses will be held at participating nonprofits and will be led by both UConn faculty and nonprofit leaders.

The program, which is accepting applications through Aug. 15, will culminate with a two-month fellowship at one of the area nonprofits. At selected agencies, fellows will work on projects that appeal to them and their interests, from developing a business plan to launching a new program  whatever aligns with the host nonprofits needs.

We designed a program that would (immerse) people interested in the sector and understand how it works, understand the culture, and get a sense of what goes on to run a nonprofit as a business, Friedman said. Its a way to have a paycheck with a purpose  it makes you feel like youre contributing every day.

In total, 150 people have completed Encore!Hartford over the last six years. With the Fairfield County satellite, officials want to add another 25. The new program is in some ways a replication of the Hartford-based one, but with some key differences.

We wanted every class to be held at a local nonprofit, Friedman said. That way, we would be able to showcase what each nonprofit does, have executive directors explain their mission and so on.

Most sessions will take place in the Bridgeport area on weekday mornings since many of their partnering nonprofits are concentrated in that area. Encore!Fairfield County will be led by Robert Francis, executive director of RYASAP, a Bridgeport-based youth and community development coalition, and Scott Wilderman, president of Fairfield Countys Career Resources Inc., a workforce development organization. Additional partners will include Fairfield Countys Community Foundation, AARP Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Labor, The Workplace, and the United Ways of Coastal Fairfield County, Greenwich and Western Connecticut.

With 25 spots, the programs diverse demographic typically includes anyone from lawyers and doctors to accountants and project managers. The average age of a participant is 58 years old, with the oldest participant being 73 so far. Compared with millennials, according to Friedman, older professionals have spent years honing critical skills ideal for the nonprofit sector.

They want to continue to work and can offer nonprofit experience from a good basic business standpoint, she said. Nonprofits really need to run as a business.

Megan.Dalton@scni.com; 203-625-4411
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GREENWICH  Former Fox News Channel anchor Gretchen Carlson, a Greenwich resident, sued network chief executive Roger Ailes on Wednesday, claiming she was fired after she refused his sexual advances.

Carlson, the former host of a daytime show at Fox, alleged Ailes had retaliated against her because of complaints she had made about discrimination and harassment. The 11-year Fox employee was anchoring a 2 p.m. show when she said she was fired on June 23 at the end of her contract.

In a book tour that Carlson initiated in Greenwich last year for her memoir Getting Real, she spoke of the difficulties she had faced as a mother and a news professional. Carlson also wrote an essay last year at the time of her book launch that recounted the instances in which she had faced sexual harassment.

According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Superior Court in New Jerseys Bergen County, Carlson stated her firing came nine months after Ailes told her during a meeting that you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago. Ailes has a residence in northern New Jersey.

Fox News representatives did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit Wednesday.

The broadcaster alleges in the lawsuit that Ailes, who is 76, ogled her, repeatedly commented about her legs, urged her to wear clothes that enhanced her figure and told her she was sexy but too much hard work.

Carlson said she was fired as a host of the morning show Fox & Friends in 2013, and her pay reduced with the transfer to a daytime slot, because she had complained about sexual harassment.

She said that one of her Fox & Friends co-hosts, Steve Doocy, had created a hostile work environment by regularly treating her in a sexist and condescending way. She said that when Ailes heard of her complaints, he called her a man hater who needed to learn to get along with the boys.

Carlson said that Ailes punished her by cutting back on political interviews that she conducted and ending a regular appearance she made on Bill OReillys prime-time program, generally Foxs highest-rated show.

Carlson expressed her thanks for supportive messages she had been receiving. Thank you everyone, for your outpouring of support, she wrote on her social media accounts.

Speaking at the First Presbyterian Church last year, Carlson told the audience about the Bible verses that she keeps in her day book, and she encouraged audience members to pass on the value of giving to their children. She shared the stage with her friend and fellow Greenwich resident, Kathie Lee Gifford.

Carlson regularly takes part in community and charity events in town. She won recognition from the YWCA of Greenwich last year

Carlson, a Minnesota native, won the Miss America Pageant in 1989.

The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of payment for damages.

Staff writer Robert Marchant contributed to this report.
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The Danbury Railway Museum is one of the many local organizations that will be affected by Governor Dannel P. Malloys recent $1.73 million cut to the budget of Connecticut Humanities.

The cuts will also affect museums and historical societies in Brookfield, New Milford and several other towns in greater Danbury.

The loss to the railway museum wont be great  about one-fourth of a two-year, $6,000 grant, said Scott Wands, manager of the grants and programs department of Connecticut Humanities, a nonprofit that advocates statewide for the humanities and partners with organizations with similar goals.

Wade Roese, president of the railway museum, said the grant paid for consultants who taught the staff how to run the museum more effectively, but would not affect programming directly.

When these state budget cuts happen, bigger museums are often more hurt, Roese said. We continue to remain stable because we rely on visitation and membership fees.

Connecticut Humanities itself, despite losing two-thirds of its budget, will continue to operate with donations from the National Endowment for the Humanities, private foundations and individuals.

We try to cut expenses wherever possible, but we are pretty much down to the bone at this point in time, Wands said.

The budget cut will also affect Connecticut Humanities partnerships with the Connecticut League of History Organizations, Connecticut Explored magazine, the Book Voyagers programs, along with museums and historical societies. Several local schools will also be affected, as programs like Teach It, Connecticut History Day, Poetry Out Loud and Book Voyagers are downsized or halted.

The railway museum is one of several organizations that received consultation help from StEPs-CT, a two-year program created by the Connecticut League of History Organizations, the Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut Humanities.

The humanities budget cut is part of the $22.5 million budget cut the governor announced on Thursday, which will also affect local aid and health centers. This cut comes after the House voted down Malloys Second Chance criminal justice reform, which the governor said would have saved the state $15 million.

Roese said that he is not optimistic that the budget cut to Connecticut Humanities can be made up elsewhere.

$1.73 million dollars is a lot of money to be found in other pockets, Roese said. Were going to have to live with it and hope to find money trickle-down from elsewhere.
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Within less than 48 hours, two black men were fatally shot by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana, leaving members of the black community  including those in Danbury  deeply saddened and outraged by these deaths, but not necessarily surprised.

Its clear these types of things happen too often, said Alexander Williams, president of the Danbury nonprofit, Empowering Minority Youth, which mentors young minority students. Police officers should answer to a higher scrutiny and be more careful and more trained and able to obtain more evidence before they act in the ways they do.

That seems to not be happening today, Williams added. Its very dangerous for young people of color to operate, survive in this environment, because they always believe that they can be unfairly judged and accused and ultimately killed . . . basically for no reason.

A Minnesota police officer fatally shot 32-year-old Philando Castile Wednesday while he was in a car with a woman and a child in in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb. While his gun was still drawn and pointed at the man, bleeding from his chest, and shirt soaked with blood, the woman livestreamed her exchange with the officer in a widely shared Facebook video. She says to the camera, police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason.

A day earlier, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed while lying face down on the ground, unarmed, after a confrontation with two police officers outside a Baton Rouge convenience store where he was selling music and movies on discs. Cellphone video of the shooting posted online by a community activist set off angry protests.

Personally, as a mother of an African-American man, I am concerned every day, said Michelle James, executive director of The Community Action Agency of Western Connecticut, an anti-poverty agency in Danbury. It hits home for me.

James said she first talked to her son about the violence that sometimes happens against black men by law enforcement when he was just a boy. She remembered telling him that things like this do happen every day, and to keep a level head if it happens.

I do think its a serious problem possibly with the training of police officers, because there seems to be an excessive use of force now, James said. We need to get to the root of the issues  I think a frank conversation, an honest conversation, needs to start now about whats happening.

Williams, 60, said his organization collaborates with other nonprofits, the schools and local businesses to mentor young minority students.

When interacting with law enforcement, he said, the group teaches clients to keep their hands visible, to keep their car clean, and to be respectful and positive.

If you want to grow up to be a man, you have to take these precautions and actions, he said. The bottom line is that we are trying to teach young people how to be successful, how to be positive, how to know how to act and how not to act  and its for their survival.

Traffic stops

When Redding Police Chief Doug Fuchs watched a video of a University of Cincinnati officer fatally shooting Samuel DuBose during a July 2015 traffic stop, he knew something had to be done.

Fuchs approached the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association with the idea of having officers discuss with the public the expectations of both sides at traffic stops in an effort to make everyone safer. The association liked the idea, and has launched a program called Breaking Barriers.

Under the program, officers will visit drivers education classes and talk to students and parents. Officers will also receive additional training as part of the re-certification process, which happens every three years. By the end of next year, the vast majority of officers will have the new training, Fuchs said.

The ultimate goal is for both law enforcement and motorists to have a greater understanding of each other during traffic stops, he said. Its really about respect and understanding on behalf of everybody.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
DANBURY  The state rested its case against former high school teacher Kayla Mooney Thursday in Superior Court after failing in its bid to enter a potentially key piece of evidence.

Despite several attempts throughout the trial by States Attorney Stephen Sedensky, a text message by Mooney that stated, I dont think were allowed to hang out without my pants on, was not entered into evidence in the trial.
The states bond commission is expected to vote Tuesday to authorize more than $5 million in funding for transportation projects in western Connecticut. Its part of a $198 million package of transportation funding being sought by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Francis Pickering, executive director of the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, said local projects will include improvements to the Four Corners intersection in Brookfield, the New Fairfield Candlewood Corners drainage project, construction of a traffic roundabout on Still River Drive in New Milford, work on Newtowns Toddy Hill Road bridge, and pavement rehabilitation on Taber Road in Sherman.
Its no secret that digital marketing conferences often bring a mix of new ideas, outside-the-box thinking and wild marketing strategies that come to life after listeners have a few drinks along with their networking. For entrepreneurs, these new ideas can be monumental for proactively driving your business forward.

That was my experience at Digital Summit Denver. Below are three marketing takeaways shared by Gary Vaynerchuk, Ann Handley and comedian Al Madrigal, ideas echoed by other speakers throughout the two day summit .

Gary Vaynerchuk: You Have the Power to Change -- But You Dont.

In his typically boisterous style, Gary Vaynerchuk imposed his opinions on todays marketing landscape -- and entrepreneurs should pay close attention.

The summits first keynote speaker suggested that marketers ruin everything, email marketing is waning, banner ads stink and mobile is still the future because desktop activity continues to subside. (He also called social media a buzzword for the current state of digital marketing.)

Vaynerchuk challenged digital marketers to change their stubborn behavior by adapting to trends sooner. As an example, he described a time when many marketers were hesitant to adopt Facebook as an example. By show of hands, how many of you are using Facebook that said you never would? he asked.

Hundreds in the audience reluctantly raised their hands. The industry will evolve whether you want it to or not," Vaynerchuk continued, "and nobody is going to remember the marketer who plays by the rules and fails to adapt to the latest trends. You all see the industry changing, but you dont do anything about it. Banner ads and tv commercials suck, billboards are increasingly ineffective; peoples eyeballs arent there; eyes are on the mobile phone (even while driving).

"Why are you still forcing old marketing tactics on people who arent paying attention?

Vaynerchuk continued to berate marketers who stick to more traditional marketing efforts or the safer path during their careers.

Takeaway: Evolve or die. As entrepreneurs, you're likely in a strong position to experiment with more innovative strategies and influence the marketing industry. So, take full advantage of your agile state and begin breaking the bounds of traditional digital marketing strategies and trends.

Ann Handley: Your Story Needs to Set You Apart (and Focus on Empathy).

While marketing can sometimes be a painful, self-promotional and spammy experience, for those with genuine intentions and empathy for their audience, marketing can bring rewarding relationships and even influence customer action.

Day two keynote speaker Ann Handley shared examples of how organizations can create content wins. And, she said, they can do that even without massive marketing budgets. This was an important point for startups and entrepreneurs alike. Here, Handley used an example of an emotional short film from Mutual Rescue, Eric and Peety:

The Humane Society of Silicon Valley created this film to share the story of how pet adoption not only saves the animal, but the human as well -- an element seldom shared but deeply felt by those passionate about rescuing pets. These animal-loving individials also happen to be the Humane Society's target market, making its short documentary a clever marketing tactic.

While the goal was to create buzz around local shelters and inspire funding, the organization, rather than directly ask for donations, focused its marketing efforts on telling Eric and Peetys story -- and it executed beautifully.

Handley explained that the key to creating powerful, inspirational and ultimately influential content is having emotional empathy for your audience. Good content is not about promoting your brand, imposing your will, creating a high abundance of drabble or spending the most money on advertising and outreach campaigns; its much simpler.

Takeaway: Content should focus on empathetic storytelling. Entrepreneurs should not feel limited based on budget restrictions. These challenges are hidden opportunities to create really special marketing wins and showcase your unique talents. Your brains can overcome your budget -- and that starts by having empathy for your audience.

Al Madrigal: Nobody Cares About Your Social Oversharing (Brands, Take Notice)

In a much-needed respite from the all the networking, buzzwords and monotonous business chatter, Comedian Al Madrigal took the center stage to mock digital marketers and social oversharers.

Madrigal propelled hundreds of marketers into bellowing laughter with a comedic bit that once again proved that there is often a painful truth in satire. His opener? Great, Ive always wanted to do a gig where the entire audience was face-down in their phones.

As marketers who are constantly monitoring social notifications, emails, bleeps, bloops and ring-a-dings, we may be the most susceptible to oversharing, and to an unhealthy addiction to our mobile phones and now watches -- oh, really?

Madrigal continued: Look, nobody cares about your social oversharing, your lengthy three-star Yelp reviews or any other bulls**t that you are posting about yourself online. When did you become the restaurant review expert -- and why should I care about your incessant insight? No . . .seriously, nobody fing cares!

While my writing cannot do Madrigals comedic timing and tone justice, believe me, his words offered harsh lessons to our addiction on both the social and mobile front; however, entrepreneurs and small businesses may have an advantage here.

That is that smaller organizations often struggle with social media. They spread themselves too thin trying to reach as many people on as many channels as possible, thus diluting their overall social marketing effectiveness. This problem may come from following the marketing tactics of larger brands -- but you are small; you're not a larger brand. While you can glean insight from big business, remember that you should scale your social efforts only as you begin finding success and revenue from it.

If you are a small business owner or even a solo-preneur, at what point does all of your social media effort become too much?

Are you trying to be too tapped-into your digital world? Are you failing to listen your audience around you? Are you quick to respond to customers in a brand-approved manner, almost in a robotic, buzzword-filled or automated voice?

Think about the content that you are publishing and promoting. Does it serve purpose other than views, retweets and awareness. Or does it provide real meaning to the people around you? Are you uniquely engaging with, and helping build, a community, or are you copying what other larger brands or marketers are doing because it works?

Takeaway: You shouldn't share for the sake of sharing; you should share to reinforce your purpose. Entrepreneurs and small businesses should not over-concern themselves with how big oganizations manage their digital marketing or social media. Rather, they should focus on telling their story, engaging customers one-on-one and finding clever ways to scale their efforts with their business needs.

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur, my observation at Digital Summit Denver was that that experience was positive, both for myself and my fellow colleagues. I found the many inspired speakers refreshing and would recommend the event to other entrepreneurs and entry-to-mid-level marketing managers interested in learning deeper insights about the quickly evolving digital marketing industry.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
In The Business of Good, serial and social entrepreneur Jason Haber intertwines case studies and anecdotes that show how social entrepreneurship is creating jobs, growing the economy, and ultimately changing the world. In this edited excerpt, Haber tells the story of one entrepreneur who figured out how to help the developing world while creating a profitable business for himself and his partner.

No matter the sector, business opportunities are now ripe in the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) -- the largest and poorest worldwide population. The only question is who will harvest them. D.light cofounder Sam Goldman intends for it to shine on 100 million people by the start of the next decade,

Goldmans imagination was sparked by kerosene. In the developing world, this combustible hydrocarbon is frequently found in the home for everyday uses, including lighting. Goldman was working in the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa, when he witnessed firsthand the hazards of kerosene. Upon returning to the village one day, he saw a boy covered in leaves and herbs who had third-degree burns all over his body. In the darkness of the house, he had accidentally knocked over some kerosene, it became combustible, and the resulting fire caused the burns. It could have been worse -- the neighbors house was made of mud, not straw, so the fire didnt engulf the home and put the village at risk.

Goldman was bothered by the heavy amount of kerosene use in the village. He figured there had to be a better, safer way for villagers to light their homes and saw an opportunity for a business that could provide this alternative. Id been writing companies in the U.S. and Europe that had been producing LED headlamps or other battery-powered LED products to say Hey, there is a massive market here. How can we do business together? Ill be your distributor!  Not one company bothered to respond.

So he started researching alternative lighting sources. He experimented with an LED and stopped using kerosene altogether. It changed his life in Africa. People in the village asked where they could get the light and how much it cost. Goldman knew this was more than a good idea -- this was a business.

Over the years, he had witnessed the huge amount of money thrown into the developing world in the form of aid. While some of it was helpful, it was hardly efficient, and any change it brought was slow moving. What brought powerful and lasting change was capitalism.

When you become much more free market and capitalistic, things change so fast, he says. [I knew] it was going to happen one way or another, and we could do it properly so it would have the most benefit for the poor and vulnerable.

Goldman returned to the U.S. and enrolled in Stanfords Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability class. There he met Ned Tozun, and together they committed themselves to making a solar product that would provide a safe, clean, and affordable solution to those living in the BoP with their new venture, D.light.

This was an enormous undertaking. First, the product didnt exist. D.light would need to create an affordable device that consumers would spend their hard-earned money on. Second, the category didnt exist. There was no such thing as a safe lighting alternative market. Third, the brand didnt exist. But by overdelivering on a great product, D.light felt it could overcome those hurdles. As Goldman explains, What weve done that nobody else had cracked was make a sub $10 product that has unbelievable quality and destroys the current alternative, and do all the things you need to do to get them to people to touch, feel, and use the product.

Kerosene isnt cheap, and it isnt even a great light source but two billion people rely on it as a light source. Where some might see an intractable problem, D.light saw a market. In a marvelous feat of engineering, in 2008, D.light brought to market solar lanterns that were durable, powerful, and beautifully designed.

The market reaction was powerful -- the demand for D.lights array of solar products has been insatiable. The company has more than 51 million customers in over 60 countries. Thirteen million school-aged children now have solar-powered lighting for reading. The net savings to its customers, from using D.light products instead of traditional ones, is more than $1.8 billion. Replacing kerosene with solar has also prevented the release of more than 4 million tons of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

Theres a simple element to D.lights product that helped the company grow so quickly. It was selling light. The first day you take it home, you realize the benefits, and theyre obvious, Goldman says. The life improvement is abundantly clear. It isnt like changing a water system and then telling someone they wont get sick later or bringing a new curriculum into a school so the child will learn a vocation. This product provides instant gratification and validation. This advantage helped the company grow, as did its other, equally important advantage: timing.

Everything came together at precisely the right moment for D.light. LED prices dropped. Solar panel prices dropped. Battery prices dropped. We are in the perfect market, Goldman says. We had this technology convergence happen for totally separate reasons, exactly at the time that the social enterprise space exploded.

Most of D.lights customers arent used to being consumers. Many grow their own food and havent entered the global economy. But thats starting to change. Not only are they now becoming consumers, but theyre also becoming smart consumers with the ability to purchase products that are safe and beneficial for their lives.

While attending the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Kenya during summer 2015, President Obama declared, Africa is on the move. After delivering his remarks, he met with several social entrepreneurs, including Goldman, who gave him a demonstration of the D.light solar lamps. With you right here in Kenya, we are launching a game changer, Goldman said to the president when he approached the D.light demonstration booth outside the summit. He held up a rugged square-shaped product and gave it to President Obama. Its called the A-1. Its small; its tough. You can drive a car over it; you can throw it off the White House roof.

Oh, Im not going to do that, quipped the president, who marveled at the size and strength of the device. And this will last me all through the night? he asked Goldman, who assured him it would.

D.light is already more than halfway to its 2020 goal of transforming 100 million lives in the developing world. Transformative change often involves introducing a new product or service to the developing world. Other times it entails bringing products to the developed world at the hands of highly skilled workers in the developing world. By serving as a global matchmaker of social change and innovation, one nonprofit is taking artisan empowerment to a whole new level.

Related:



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
On your list of reasons for Why anyone should care about Snapchat, you can put the companys latest announcement at the top.

Since its release in fall 2011, Snapchat has served primarily as a way to exchange photos that automatically disappear. Over time, the company has added a slew of other options for sharing ephemeral visuals, including video, text chatting, emoji, filters, geotags, 24-hour stories, a Discover page where brands and publications can post content and livestreams. Yesterday, Snapchat unveiled Memories, which will give users the ability to save old photos and videos theyve shared -- archived within the Snapchat app.

This laundry list is lost on most non-users, and Memories will be no exception to those who catch wind of the news. Social networks add new bells and whistles constantly, and it can be exhausting. But frequent updates serve a purpose: They keep users engaged, get people talking and, as the companies would likely say, make it easier to share lifes precious moments and pressing information.

Related: Snapchat: How Geofilters Can Increase Brand Awareness

But unlike some of Snapchats more trivial features, Memories signifies that the app is positioning itself as a one-stop shop for social networking. Over the course of nearly five years, Snapchat has proven itself as more than a fad, and the rollout of Memories suggests that the company wants to fill in its gaps and compete directly with Facebook and Instagram.

As Snapchat has gained users, usurping Twitter in daily usage, it has attracted advertisers that can now insert their sponsored messages between friends video stories and created lens overlays that users can add to their visages. On its website, Snapchat boasts that on any given day, Snapchat reaches 41 percent of all 18 to 34 year olds in the United States. Thats a huge selling point.

While users could previously preserve their Snapchat photos and videos by exporting them from the Snapchat app to their camera rolls (or screenshotting snaps from friends), there was one problem with that: Users had to leave the app, where the advertisers are, to view them.

With Memories, Snapchat enables users to save individual snaps, or entire strings of them, and later splice them together to create new ones. It allows for an element of nostalgia, just as Facebooks On This Day feature and the third-party Timehop app resurface posts from years past.

It also taps into to the reality that users share photos when theyre physically together, rather than only exchanging virtually. In a promotional video Snapchat created in conjunction with the launch of Memories (embedded below), a young woman is eating dinner with her parents and boyfriend when she hands them the phone to look at a series of photos and videos she saved from a recent Hawaii vacation. She types in Hawaii to conjure the images, but using Memories, she also could have built her own album of sorts.

This is a crucial element Snapchat was missing. Now, people will go to the app not just for present happenings, but to store their memories and relive their pasts.

In reaction to the announcement, Gizmodo published a story with the headline, Snapchat Is Ruined, lamenting that the presence of advertisers has caused Snapchat to expand beyond raw, in-the-moment image sharing and encourage polished curation.

Related: The Quick Guide to Using Snapchat for Business in 2016

Many teens will likely agree with the ruined sentiment when the upgrade pushes itself onto phones over the course of the next month. Not to mention that their parents are increasingly becoming curious about the service. Today, 14 percent of smartphone users over the age of 35 use Snapchat, up from 2 percent in April 2013, according to ComScore.

Snapchats new releases have always been designed to lure users, but Memories is more substantive than the illusion of a rainbow waterfall pouring from a users mouth. Its about the bottom line, and now that Snapchat has attracted the masses, and advertisers along with them, Memories is the apps strategy to keep their attention -- and away from the competition.

Related:

Why Snapchat's 'Memories' Proves It's a Real Competitor to Facebook

Why You Need To Start Taking Snapchat Seriously

Tinder Is Moving In the Right Direction But Parents Need More Safeguards for Kids



Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
VAUGHAN, ON, July 6, 2016 /CNW/ - Cara Operations Limited (TSX: CAO) today announced the timing of its 2016 second quarter earnings release and conference call.

The Company will release its 2016 second quarter earnings results on SEDAR (www.SEDAR.com) after the close of markets on Thursday, August 4, 2016. In conjunction with the news release, Cara has scheduled a conference call to discuss 2016 second quarter results at 9:00 am Eastern Time on Friday, August 5th, 2016. The call will be hosted by Mr. Bill Gregson, Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Ken Grondin, Chief Financial Officer.

To access the call, please dial (647) 427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191, five to ten minutes prior to the start time. Conference ID 45493815. A telephone replay of the call will be available until midnight on September 4, 2016. To access the replay, please dial (416) 849-0833 or 1-855-859-2056 and enter passcode 45493815.

About CARA

Founded in 1883, Cara is Canada's oldest and largest full-service restaurant company. The Company franchises and/or operates some of the most recognized brands in the country including Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, Milestones, Montana's, Kelsey's, East Side Mario's, New York Fries, Prime Pubs, Bier Markt and Landing restaurants. As at March 27, 2016, Cara had 997 restaurants, 959 of which were located in Canada and the remaining 38 locations were located internationally. 88% of Cara's restaurants are operated by franchisees and 66% of Cara's locations are based in Ontario. Cara's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAO. More information about the Company is available at www.cara.com.

SOURCE Cara Operations Limited

For further information: please contact Ken Grondin, Chief Financial Officer, (905) 760-2244 or [email protected]
HALIFAX, July 6, 2016 /CNW/ - SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the launch of an innovative campaign to promote health awareness among guests at the Hampton Inn by Hilton Halifax Downtown. The "Take the Stairs" campaign is designed to encourage guests to use the hotel's stairs rather than its elevators, by offering participating guests the chance to win a Garmin Vivofit activity tracker in a weekly draw. Eight Vivofits will be given away over the two-month long campaign, which runs from July 1 to August 31.

Guests can enter the prize draw through a ballot, by correctly identifying where a special star sticker is placed within the hotel's stairwell, with the star moving daily. The campaign is designed to encourage guests to make exercise a part of their daily routine and to raise awareness of the importance of regular exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.

"The 'Take the Stairs' campaign is an innovative initiative to encourage our guests to lead a more active lifestyle," says Steve Giblin, President and CEO of SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts. "We are committed to our guests' all-round wellness and enjoyment of our hotels, and this campaign is a fun way to encourage regular exercise, while also giving guests the opportunity to win a fantastic prize."

About Hampton Inn by Hilton Halifax Downtown

Hampton Inn by Hilton Halifax-Downtown is an inviting, contemporary 181-room hotel in the heart of downtown Halifax. Located within walking distance of Halifax attractions, the hotel offers guests complimentary Wi-Fi and high-speed Internet service, On the House Hot Breakfast and On the Run Breakfast Bags. The hotel features covered parking, a state-of-the-art fitness facility and indoor pool, and a 24/7 business centre and Suite Shop. It also includes an innovative SilverBirch Conference Centre offering seven meeting rooms with nearly 5,000 sq.ft of flexible meeting space and an additional 2,000 sq.ft Connections Cafe, as well as an outdoor terrace that holds approximately 40 people, so there is plenty of space to accommodate any size group.

About SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts

SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts is one of Canada's leading hotel operations and asset management companies and manages a large portfolio of full-service, focused service and extended stay hotels across Canada. The company manages hotels operating under major franchise brands, such as Marriott, Hilton and Radisson. www.silverbirchhotels.com | @SBHotelsResorts | SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts Facebook

SOURCE SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts

Image with caption: "Hampton Inn by Hilton Halifax Downtown Launches "Take the Stairs" Campaign (CNW Group/SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160706_C4125_PHOTO_EN_728600.jpg

For further information: Stacey Morton, SilverBirch Hotels & Resorts, 604.646.8787, [email protected]; Samantha Kent, NATIONAL Public Relations, 604.691.7391, [email protected]
MONTREAL, July 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Knowlton Capital Inc. ("Knowlton") (TSXV: KWCH.V) has previously announced its proposed reverse take-over ("RTO") with Leni Gas Cuba Limited ("LGC"). Knowlton wishes to advise its shareholders that MEO Australia Ltd. ("MEO Australia"), a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and which is one of LGC's portfolio companies, issued a press release today providing an update on MEO Australia's 2,380 km2 onshore Block 9 Production Sharing Contract (known as "Block 9 PSC"), located on the north coast of Cuba, 140 km east of Havana. Knowlton notes that a copy of MEO Australia's press release is available on its web site at www.meoaustralia.com.au, under "Investor Relations/ASX Releases". LGC has also issued a press release in London with respect to MEO Australia's press release, a copy of which is available on LGC's website at www.lg-cuba.com.

Caution Regarding Press Releases

Neither Knowlton nor, to its knowledge, LGC has made any independent inquiries as to the accuracy or completeness of the press release issued by MEO Australia and Knowlton assumes no responsibility for the contents thereof. Knowlton cautions that the press releases issued by MEO Australia and LGC refer to "Prospective (Recoverable) Resource" in connection with Block 9 PSC. Knowlton assumes that such term and any other similar terms in the press releases were used in accordance with applicable Australia regulations but is not able to so confirm. Further, Knowlton is not able to confirm whether applicable Australian regulations are equivalent to those in the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation (COGE) Handbook and cannot confirm whether the disclosure in the MEO Australia and LGC press releases complies with the COGE Handbook and applicable Canadian regulations. Investors are cautioned to take all of the foregoing into consideration when reading the press releases issued by MEO Australia and LGC, respectively, particularly any references to "prospective resources".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Completion of the RTO between Knowlton and LGC is subject to a number of conditions. There can be no assurance that the RTO will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in Knowlton's management information circular dated June 9, 2016 prepared in connection with the RTO, any information released or received with respect to the RTO may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Knowlton should be considered highly speculative.

SOURCE Knowlton Capital

For further information: Rafi Hazan, Chief Financial Officer, Tel: (514) 839-7234
MONTREAL, July 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - While the threat of a labor dispute hangs over the delivery of mail by Canada Post starting tomorrow, the MEI argues that Ottawa should follow the example of several European countries, which have abandoned the obsolete model of monopoly mail delivery and opened up the market to competition.

Canada Post warned that if negotiations break down, the Crown Corporation will not be able to continue its activities, and that, with minor exceptions, no letter or parcel would be delivered.

"Each time there's a strike or a lockout, it is consumers and companies that pay the price," says Vincent Geloso, Association Researcher at MEI and author of a study on this topic in 2011. "Because it's a monopoly, Canada Post faces less competitive pressure and the union is therefore trying to impose its demands by threatening to strike, since there's no danger of the post office going out of business."

Among other things, Canada Post management wants its new employees to be covered by a defined contribution pension plan rather than by the existing defined benefit plan, in which the annuity amount is fixed in advance regardless of fluctuations of the market. Even though Canada Post's pension plan has a deficit of $4 billion, the union categorically refuses to back down.

Yet it is taxpayers and consumers who risk being stuck with the bill for such a defined benefit plan, which the private sector is increasingly abandoning.

The MEI notes that the monopoly on mail delivery has been abandoned by several countries facing similar challenges to those Canada Post is dealing with. Sweden and New Zealand have opened up their postal services markets to competition. Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands went further, privatizing their Crown Corporations, a move which led to significant rate reductions in the long term (up to 17% in Germany).

"These models stand in sharp contrast with Canada Post which has increased stamp prices by 44% in the last ten years" says Vincent Geloso. "Competition would allow consumers to benefit from more choice and better prices."

Canada Post is facing structural challenges that have been evident for some time: significant reductions in mail volume, out of date infrastructure, low productivity, and a difficult financial situation. Despite major efforts undertaken since 2013 to improve its performance, including a substantial reorganization of its services, the corporation still has difficulty keeping its costs under control.

"The Canada Post model is no longer appropriate for today's world. By allowing new companies to emerge, not only would consumers be better served, but taxpayers would no longer run the risk of having to bail out the Crown Corporation," concludes Mr. Geloso.

* * *

The Montreal Economic Institute is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit research and educational organization. Through its studies and its conferences, the MEI stimulates debate on public policies in Quebec and across Canada by proposing wealth-creating reforms based on market mechanisms.

SOURCE Montreal Economic Institute

For further information: Interview requests: Jasmin Guenette, Tel.: 514-273-0969 ext. 2225, Cell.: 514-592-4056, Email: [email protected]
EDMONTON, July 6, 2016 /CNW/ - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) will announce the estimated totals of insured damage for the devastating northern Alberta wildfires in a media conference call on July 7.

This will be the first public estimate based on data collected by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), which compiles and combines comprehensive insured loss amounts based on surveys with insurers. To provide information about the damages and answer insurance questions, IBC executives in Alberta will hold a media conference call.

Date: Thursday, July 7



Time: 10 a.m. MT



Dial in: Local calls: 403-451-9838, 647-427-7450

Toll-free: 1-888-231-8191

Conference ID # 45494673



Participants: Bill Adams, Vice-President, Western & Pacific, IBC

Carolyn Rennie, Managing Director, CatIQ

Heather Mack, Director, Government Relations, IBC

Steve Kee, Director, Media & Digital Communications, IBC

Following brief opening remarks, the conference will open to questions from the media. Because of the large number of participants expected, please dial in 15 minutes in advance to ensure we have an opportunity to answer your questions.

For more insurance-related information on the wildfires, consumers can call 1-844-2ask-IBC or email [email protected]. Or, they can visit www.ibc.ca or follow IBC on Twitter: @InsuranceBureau and @IBC_West.

About CatIQ

Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance / reinsurance industries, public sector and other stakeholders. To learn more, visit www.catiq.com.

About Insurance Bureau of Canada

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is the national industry association representing Canada's private home, auto and business insurers. Its member companies make up 90% of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance market in Canada. For more than 50 years, IBC has worked with governments across the country to help make affordable home, auto and business insurance available for all Canadians. IBC supports the vision of consumers and governments trusting, valuing and supporting the private P&C insurance industry. It champions key issues and helps educate consumers on how best to protect their homes, cars, businesses and properties.

P&C insurance touches the lives of nearly every Canadian and plays a critical role in keeping businesses safe and the Canadian economy strong. It employs more than 120,000 Canadians, pays $8.2 billion in taxes and has a total premium base of $49 billion.

For media releases and more information, visit IBC's Media Centre at www.ibc.ca. Follow IBC on Twitter @InsuranceBureau and like us on Facebook. If you have a question about home, auto or business insurance, contact IBC's Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC.

If you require more information, IBC spokespeople are available to discuss the details in this media release.

SOURCE Insurance Bureau of Canada

For further information: To schedule an interview, please contact: Steve Kee, Director, Media & Digital Communications, 416-362-2031 ext. 4387, 416-841-5669, [email protected]
Two Organizations Driving Social Change

MISSISSAUGA, ON, July 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Mitsubishi Motors' has embarked on a national partnership with Breakfast Club of Canada with a goal of making a difference in Canadian communities, large and small.

The unique, multi-year partnership involves financial support of Breakfast Club of Canada's programs, but also expanded fundraising and the potential for community participation among Mitsubishi Motors' 90 Canadian dealerships.

Breakfast Club of Canada ushers a new direction for Mitsubishi Motors' corporate social responsibility. Established in 2002 in Canada but a global force in automotive innovation since 1917, Mitsubishi Motors drives change by reducing the environmental impact of driving with highly fuel efficient, gasoline, electric and hybrid-electric vehicles. For its part, Breakfast Club of Canada nurtures young Canadians to further their potential for healthier futures.

"Driving social change has many dimensions. At Mitsubishi Motors we are focused on fuel efficiency and lower emissions in the same Canadian communities where Breakfast Club of Canada feeds children to encourage healthy minds and bodies," said Kenny Yamamoto, president and CEO, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada.

"But it goes beyond that. Our society needs bright, stimulated young minds to nurture the innovation that leads to a greener, more sustainable future. That's at the core of our new partnership with Breakfast Club of Canada, and it complements our respective brands," he added.

For the current fiscal year, the Mitsubishi Motors contribution will be at least $100,000 plus vehicles. The money is expected to feed an estimated 100,000 Canadian children but, more importantly, will help activate new breakfast programs for schools currently on a national waiting list. That, says Breakfast Club of Canada founder Daniel Germain, is a priority for the organization:

"We believe that every student deserves the very best opportunity to succeed. We are proud to be partnering with Mitsubishi Motors and offer students the chance to start their day with the fuel they need to learn," he said.

Most of the 1,400 communities in which Breakfast Club feeds children include a Mitsubishi Motors dealership. From Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to Alma and Saguenay in Quebec, and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Mitsubishi Motors dealerships have an opportunity to join the national company to help make a difference in the lives of children.

With a stated goal to commit 20 per cent of worldwide production to electric or plug-in electric vehicles, Mitsubishi Motors has taken a decidedly green path to its future, and Canada has been an important part of that transformation.

It began with the introduction of one of Canada's first mass-produced all-electric vehicles: The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a technological tour-de-force hatchback that produces zero emissions. None. And for two years i-MiEV was deemed Canada's most fuel efficient subcompact vehicle. That was followed by the 2014 introduction of the Mitsubishi Mirage  a three cylinder hatchback boasting top fuel economy and, with that, reduced emissions.

For 2016, Mitsubishi Motors has launched the Mirage G4 subcompact sedan with class-leading fuel economy. A game-changing plug-in hybrid version of the Mitsubishi Outlander is also set to arrive. Among the world's first twin-motor, 4WD plug-in hybrid SUVs, Outlander PHEV will offer all-electric operation for everyday use and hybrid (electric and gasoline) for longer journeys.

And the Canadian company is not alone in its pursuit of supporting kids. Mitsubishi Motors Thailand funds student agricultural programs wherein kids harvest vegetables and raise poultry for their own consumption. In Japan, Mitsubishi Motors supports environmental studies  including electric vehicle technology  in secondary schools, along with a forest preservation project. In Sweden, Mitsubishi Motors supports children's cancer awareness. Moreover, a group of orphanages are supported by Mitsubishi Motors in Poland and in the Philippines school books and supplies are provided.

Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada (MMSCAN) is the sales, service, parts and marketing arm for Japan's Mitsubishi Motors with 90 dealerships across Canada. With a product range consisting of Lancer sedan and Sportback, Mirage hatchback and G4 sedan, RVR compact crossover, Outlander compact sport utility and the all-electric i-MiEV hatchback, MMSCAN supports its dealerships with a head office team and parts distribution centre -- both located in Mississauga, Ontario. Established in 2002, MMSCAN and its dealerships employ over 1,200 people in communities large and small. In 2015, MMSCAN was named an AON Best Employer, earning "gold" status among Canada's small and medium organizations.

For 20 years, Breakfast Club of Canada has been nourishing children's potential by making sure as many of them as possible have access to a healthy morning meal before school in an environment that allows their self-esteem to grow and flourish. But the Club is much more than a breakfast program: we take a broader approach that promotes the core values of engagement, enrichment and empowerment, and we team up with communities and local partners to develop solutions adapted to their specific needs. Operating from coast to coast, the Breakfast Club of Canada helps feed more than 167,000 students every day in 1,455 schools.

For more information and photos please visit www.mitsubishi-motors-pr.ca and www.breakfastclubcanada.org.

SOURCE Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada

Image with caption: "Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada president & CEO Kenny Yamamoto is flanked by employees Hansa Pandya, left, Laurie Martin and Melody Thomas. (CNW Group/Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160707_C1545_PHOTO_EN_727796.jpg

For further information: Media Contact: John Arnone, Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada, Manager, Public Relations, [email protected]
Estimate of insured losses: $3.58 billion

FORT MCMURRAY, AB, July 7, 2016 /CNW/ - Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) reports that the May 2016 northern Alberta wildfire is by far the costliest insured natural disaster in Canadian history. Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) estimates the insured property damage at $3.58 billion. This is more than twice the amount of the previous costliest natural disaster on record  the 2013 southern Alberta flood, which cost $1.7 billion in insurance claims.

"This wildfire, and the damage it caused, is more alarming evidence that extreme weather events have increased in both frequency and severity in Canada," said Don Forgeron, President and CEO, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC).

"In recent times, wildfires and flooding have turned extreme and at times tragic," said Forgeron. "As a country, we need to take a more disciplined and sustained approach to helping prepare Canadians for fires and floods. We must build a more resilient country to better protect those affected by the very real impacts of our changing climate. By taking action now, we can minimize costs to taxpayers and better equip homeowners for the risks and challenges that lie ahead."

Canada's property and casualty insurance industry was on the ground within a day of the evacuation and has been working tirelessly alongside thousands of dedicated Albertans and people from across Canada and beyond to help residents of Fort McMurray and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo respond, recover and rebuild. Insurers and IBC are fully committed to working with all levels of government, the community and other stakeholders for as long as it takes to rebuild.

In a further breakdown of the insured damage data, CatIQ reports that there are more than 27,000 personal property claims; the average claim is $81,000. There are also more than 12,000 auto insurance claims, averaging $15,000 per claim. In addition, there are more than 5,000 commercial insurance claims that average over $250,000 per claim. On top of this insured damage, IBC acknowledges the community, its residents and businesses have suffered incalculable losses not typically covered by insurers and continues to work to help the community rebuild.

IBC and its members continue to process claim requests as quickly as possible to ensure that policyholders can return to normal life. The $3.58 billion in claims payments from the insurance industry will go a long way toward reaching this goal.

As the insurance claims process continues, local residents will continue to have questions. If you have a general question about your insurance policy, call your insurance representative or IBC's Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC. Canada's insurers are here to help and will continue to be available to help throughout the rebuilding process.

CatIQ compiles and combines comprehensive insured loss amounts and related information to serve the risk management needs of the insurance and reinsurance industries. The estimates in this release are subject to change.

About CatIQ

Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ) delivers detailed analytical and meteorological information on Canadian natural and man-made catastrophes. Through its online subscription-based platform, CatIQ combines comprehensive insured loss indices and other related information to better serve the needs of the insurance and reinsurance industries, public sector and other stakeholders. To learn more, visit www.catiq.com.

About Insurance Bureau of Canada

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) is the national industry association representing Canada's private home, auto and business insurers. Its member companies make up approximately 90% of the property and casualty (P&C) insurance market in Canada. For more than 50 years, IBC has worked with governments across the country to help make affordable home, auto and business insurance available for all Canadians. IBC supports the vision of consumers and governments trusting, valuing and supporting the private P&C insurance industry. It champions key issues and helps educate consumers on how best to protect their homes, cars, businesses and properties.

P&C insurance touches the lives of nearly every Canadian and plays a critical role in keeping businesses safe and the Canadian economy strong. It employs more than 120,000 Canadians, pays $8.2 billion in taxes and has a total premium base of $49 billion.

For media releases and more information, visit IBC's Media Centre at www.ibc.ca. Follow IBC on Twitter @InsuranceBureau and like us on Facebook. If you have a question about home, auto or business insurance, contact IBC's Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC.

If you require more information, IBC spokespeople are available to discuss the details in this media release.

SOURCE Insurance Bureau of Canada

For further information: To schedule an interview, please contact: Steve Kee, Director, Media & Digital Communications, 416-362-2031 ext. 4387, 416-841-5669, [email protected]
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Thursday in Kano donated assorted food items worth millions of Naira to the less privile...

The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, on Thursday in Kano donated assorted food items worth millions of Naira to the less privileged persons in the state.Speaking while presenting the items, Mrs Buhari said the gesture was aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the less privileged persons in the state. She expressed concern over the high rate of divorce in the society and urged the government and traditional institutions to enlighten the people on the dangers associated with the ugly trend.She noted that most of the children roaming the streets and involved in unlawful activities were from broken homes. Mrs. Buhari advised the governments at all levels, parents and religious leaders to collaborate and find ways of stemming the tide of divorce in the society. Also speaking, the wife of the Kano State Governor, Dr. Hafsat Ganduje, thanked the presidents wife for the gesture.Ganduje urged the people of the state to exercise patience with the government as the expected change was a gradual process. NAN reports that Mrs Buhari Aisha had also visited the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II at his Palace and Kano Central Prison, where she also donated drugs worth over N6 million to the inmates.The items donated included 1,000 bags each of rice, semovita, wheat flour, sugar and salt, among others.
The Ekiti state chapter of the All Progressives Congress and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and other anti-Fayose g...

The Ekiti state chapter of the All Progressives Congress and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and other anti-Fayose groups yesterday trooped to the streets of Ado Ekiti in protestagainst alleged looting of the states commonwealth by Governor Ayodele Fayose.The Coalition commended the action of the Economic and Financial Crimes(EFCC) for freezing accounts belonging and operated by Fayose which allegedly contain N1.2 billion slush fund from the office of the National Security Adviser(NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki to fund the governors campaign in 2014.Large retinue of policemen and men of the Department of State Security were deployed to provide cover for the mammoth crowd that attended the rally.The placard-carrying protesters which comprise party leaders, students, youth groups, artisans and other like-minded individuals , marched from Fajuyi park through Okeyinmi and stopped at Ijigbo area where they were addressed by leaders of each group.In what seems like a general consensus, the protesters passed confidence vote in the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and his anti-corruption war, challenging the EFCC to dig deep into thefinances of the State and prosecute whoever was indicted in the looting of the states treasury.They chanted anti-Fayoses songs to deride the way the governor had allegedly be looting the state, especially his alleged indictment in the N1.2 billion arms fund, alleged collection of kickbacks fromcontractors handling various projects in the state to buy multibillion naira property in Lagos , among others.The APC Acting Chairman in the state, Mrs Kemi Olaleye, expressed regret about how the immunity conferred on Governor Fayose in line with section 308 of the constitution, had been impeding his prosecution for alleged embezzlement of funds.We are tired of immunity clause. Immunity has become impunity in Ekiti. We condemn Governor Fayoses corrupt tendencies .Things must change. The EFCC must do its job and ensure that looters of Ekiti are brought to justice,she said.A statement presented by the CNPP Chairman in the state, Mr Tunji Ogunlola , challenged Fayose to waive his immunity and face prosecution over alleged involvement in N4.7 billion arms deal alongside former Minister of State for Defence , Musiliu Obanikoro and PDP Governorship candidate in Osun State in the last poll, Mr Iyiola Omisore.On the issue of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, we ask the 17 members alleged to have falsified their certificates to submit themselves for prosecution. It is very unfortunate that their primary roles have been abandoned for Fayoses defence.We also plead with the federal government not to release bailout for payment of salary to Governor Fayose. The Federal Ministry of Finance should pay into workers accounts directly, because we have lost confidence in the government. The previous N9.6b bailout should be probed.We want to commend the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris and Director General of the DSS, Mr Lawal Daura for probing alleged political thuggery leveled against PDP government in Ekiti.We also want a special force be deployed to Ekiti to maintain peace in Ekiti State because our lives are no longer save .We pass confidence vote in President Buhari for fighting corruption and for all his developmental programmes, he said.A students representative, Com. Samuel Olaoluwa , commended the anti-graft agency for coming up with a comprehensive data of how Fayose allegedly looted Ekiti, saying nothing must be spared to ensure that all the monies are recovered and culprits prosecuted for Ekiti to moveforward.We must join the EFCC in the battle against graft. We should stop politicizing issues of graft because it affects every facet of the country. We must stop this act of impunity and return Ekiti to thepath of honour, glory and sanity, he said.
The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has said President Muhammadu Buharis comment that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable is an old fashio...

The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has said President Muhammadu Buharis comment that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable is an old fashioned approach to the resolution of national problems.The group said it was in the interest of all Nigerians to renegotiate the future unity of the country, as many Nigerians want a nation that reflects a true federal state and allows people to grow at their own pace.President Buhari made the remark on Wednesday while addressing guests who visited the presidential villa for the Sallah celebration.On security, we have made a lot of improvement, he said. On Boko Haram militants, there is improvement. We are now concentrating on the (Niger Delta) militants to know how many of them in terms of groupings and leadership, and plead with them to try and give Nigeria a chance.I assure them (that) the saying by General Gowon that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done. In those days, we never thought of oil, all we were only concerned with was one Nigeria.So please pass this to the militants, that one Nigeria is not negotiable and they had better accept this.The Nigerian Constitution is clear as to what they should get and I assure them there will be justice.Other socio-ethnic groups  including the Afenifere and Ohaneze Ndigbo  have rejected the presidents comments for precluding talks about Nigerias unity.Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was also quoted as saying last Tuesday that the oneness of Nigeria as very negotiable.The Ijaw Youth Council said in a statement by its spokesman, Eric Omare, on Thursday, that President Buhari was toeing an old-fashioned way of resolving national problems by merely quoting former head of state, Yakubu Gowon.According to IYC, the circumstances of the present day Nigeria demands a renegotiation of the future unity and existence of Nigeria.This demand is not peculiar to the Niger Delta region but cut across all parts of the country. For Nigeria to make progress President Buhari should dump his old fashioned approach to the unity of Nigeria and face the reality of the present day situation.Nigeria as presently constituted is suffocating and the federating ethnic nationalities can no longer bear the suffocating effect of the defective structure which hampers the development of the country.Nigerians want a country that is united on mutually agreed terms and not the present defective structure.The IYC calls on President Buhari to wake up and face the reality of the situation and stop relying on outdated notion of Nigerias unity. Nigerians demand for renegotiation, the group said.
A Chinese national, Zhen Zhen, was Wednesday reportedly arrested by the police in Lagos state for allegedly setting a hotel ablaze in the ...

A Chinese national, Zhen Zhen, was Wednesday reportedly arrested by the police in Lagos state for allegedly setting a hotel ablaze in the state.The hotel, Ernest hotel, located at 28, Bamishile Street, off Allen, Ikeja, lost property worth about N24 Million to the inferno.Confirming the incident, the police commands spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, told PM News that the incident happened July 5 at about 8 p.m.Badmos said the suspect lodged with her boyfriend, one Jian Feng, at the hotel.She said, The suspect set ablaze some parts of Ernest hotel while using hard substance in her room.The police arrested her on Wednesday and she is helping with investigation.Property valued at about N24 million were reported to have been destroyed in the fire, the PPRO said.
A Third Republic senator in Cross River State was on Wednesday evening abducted by unknown gunmen. It was learnt that Senator Ani who ...

A Third Republic senator in Cross River State was on Wednesday evening abducted by unknown gunmen.It was learnt that Senator Ani who represented Cross River South under the defunct National Republican Convention between 1991 and 1992 was abducted in his farm in Akpabuyo local government area, on the outskirts of Calabar, the state capital.He was abducted without any resistance.Police Public Relations Office, ASP Irene Ugbo, said she was going to confirm if it is true and get back to our reporter but failed to do so at press time.But a staff in the farm of the confirmed the incident under anonymity.He said the police had come around to the scene of the incident take over the matter.In view of the rising wave of criminal activities, the government of Cross River is to set up a Homeland Security Service a part of measures to address the challenge.Governor Ben Ayade who disclosed this while receiving the French Consul-General, Laurent Polonceaux and his entourage on a courtesy visit in his private residence in Calabar explained that the essence of the Homeland Security Service will be entirely non-arm bearing organizational outfit, and that the state will rely on the support of the government of France for technical and other support logistics for the security organization.Ayade said that the envisaged Homeland Security which is expected to provide 3000 jobs for Cross Riverians will however be a complete departure from the traditional attitude to security operations, and that it will concentrate but not limited to providing intelligence, profiling of visitors coming into the state and out of the state, including carrying services such as neighborhood check and watch and providing intelligent data and services to Police.The governor said with the visit of the Consul-General of France in Nigeria and with the useful deliberation we had, looking the security challenges facing the state and the Niger Delta at this period and looking at how Lafarge can do business much better in a less security tense atmosphere, it became imperative for us to create a security architecture that can protect Lafarge and extend other services to other citizens and visitors to Cross River. Cross River has been the home of tourism, a signature and hallmark of hospitality and good lifestyle for all Africans, hence it is imperative we make it very safe.It is against this background that Cross River State Government with technical partnership from the French government would be looking at the possibility of setting up a Cross River State Security services. The Cross River Homeland Security service is a complete departure from what is the tradition, it will however include but not limited to things like providing intelligence, profiling of visitors coming in andout, providing intelligence services also, doing neigbourhood check, neigbourhood watch and to understand who comes in and out, providing intelligence data and services to Police, but it will be a non-arm bearing, but with vehicles, and personnel parading and inviting people.We have the French government support providing us with the necessary support we need to succeed, but importantly providing human security services will be the first point of call between the Homeland Security and the people. It is technical in nature, it is intellectual, it is packed with a design to focus more on data gathering, intelligence gearing, because in security network, if you have advanced knowledge it will help to abet any action, and that is what we think the homeland security service will have a particular edge.The secret service unit of the Homeland Security service will focus more on intelligence gathering in a digital nature, including satellite gathering which we expect to get some institutional approval from the federal government. It is our hope and strong conviction that this is the way to go in the face of the challenging tension we have in the Niger Delta.Governor Ayade stated that to this end, an executive Bill would be sent to the Cross River House of Assembly for a law to establish the Cross River State Homeland Security Services.
The Federal Government has condemned the stabbing to death of a Nigerian teenager, Fola Orebiyi, in London. Senior Special Assistant to ...

The Federal Government has condemned the stabbing to death of a Nigerian teenager, Fola Orebiyi, in London.Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the killing of Orebiyi was becoming worrisome.The presidential aide called for full investigation of the incident .In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, she said Nigeria would not condone the execution of her nationals abroad.Mrs Dabiri-Erewa urged Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buharis administration in making Nigeria a better place.Orebiyi was stabbed to death in a street clash on Sunday July 3, in Notting Hill, London by a gang of youths. He was chased into a busy road where he was stabbed in the neck in front of shocked passersby and tourists.Following the stabbing, he collapsed and bled to death and all efforts by the police and paramedics to resuscitate him, proved abortive.The deceaseds neighbour, Osman Sahal, told the police: He was a nice boy and very considerate; none of us can understand how this could have happened. As far as I knew, he was never in trouble. I suppose we must now wait for the police to investigate.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sent a message to some restive groups  they should forget about Nigeria breaking up. The Niger D...

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday sent a message to some restive groups  they should forget about Nigeria breaking up.The Niger Delta Avengers (NDA)have been attacking oil facilities. The Indigenous People of Biafra and the Movement for the Emancipation of Biafra (MASSOB) have been pushing for a Biafra State, independent of Nigeria.But, Buhari insists that Nigerias unity is not negotiable.IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, who is also the director of the separatist and illegal Radio Biafra, is on trial for alleged treason, among other chargesThe president was emphatic yesterday that anybody seeking the break-up of the country should perish the thought.He spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja when Federal Capital Territory (FCT) residents paid him an Eid-el-Fitri homage.The President said the slogan in the 1970s, Go On With One Nigeria (GOWON), is very apt now as keeping Nigeria one is a task that must be done.He urged the militants to give peace a chance.Noting that there is a lot of improvement on security in the Northeast, Buhari said the attention has now shifted to the Niger Delta.He said: On security, we have made a lot of improvement. There is improvement in the battle against Boko Haram. We are now concentrating on the militants to know how many of them in terms of groupings, leadership and plead with them to try and give Nigeria a chance.I assure them that the saying by Gen. Yakubu Gowon (a former Head of State) that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done is still relevant. In those days, we never thought of oil, all we were concerned about was one Nigeria. So, please pass this on to the militants  that one Nigeria is not for negotiation and they had better accept it.The Nigerian Constitution is clear as to what they should get and I assure them there will be justice.Buhari urged those with plenty of money which does not belong to them to negotiate and return it in peace.So that both they and us will be in peace; otherwise, we will continue to look for it, the President addedTo solve some of the problems of agriculture, he said Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh was working very hard with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele to ensure that 13 states start rice production..According to him, the programme is good and giving the country confidence while many farmers are already going back to the field.Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the past one year had been tough, adding that the administration was busy clearing the mess it met.He stressed the administrations commitment to placing the country on a sound footing, acknowledging that things were already looking up.Minister of FCT Mohammed Bello, who led the delegation, prayed for Gods wisdom, good health and success for the President.The President was presented with Sallah greeting cards and a mirror.At the ceremony were Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal; Primate of the Church of Nigerian (Anglican Communion) rev. Nicholas Okoh; Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu; Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar; National Security Adviser Babagana Mongunu and Acting Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris.The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), FCT Chapter, Israel Akanji and Dr. Kabir Adam of the National Mosque, Abuja were also part of the delegation.
Former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, who decisively fought corruption in the West African country, has called for a global campaign ...

Former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, who decisively fought corruption in the West African country, has called for a global campaign for the return of Nigerias stolen funds stashed away in developed countries.While requesting the international community to spearhead the initiative in a manner similar to the advocacy for the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls  #BringBackOurGirls, he charged developed countries to pay more than lip-service to the return of the funds to Nigeria and some other countries.Rawlings told The Guardian in Ghana that The high-level London conference on corruption offers an opportunity not only for countries in Africa and the developing world to revise and enhance their strategies for combating corruption, but also for developed countries whose banks have served as a safe haven for stolen wealth from Africa and elsewhere to repatriate those funds.I also implore the international community to join the chorus for the return of the loot, especially to a country like Nigeria while she enjoys the leadership of a proven man of integrity.The anti-corruption crusader went on to slam the developed countries who organise anti-corruption workshops with no concrete action to address issues that concern them.His words, Let us stop this support and mere conference of words and follow up with serious deeds. The commitment to corruption should work both ways. Developed countries cannot continue to harbour illegally-acquired funds from Africa and expect the latter to successfully stem the source of corruption.If we could transmit the integrity from our culture and various languages into the Western language and behaviour weve adopted, we could end up restoring the needed level of integrity to create a more civilised behaviour. In other words, we will be restoring integrity and credibility back to the spoken word.Let me speak about these characters corrupting us and sending our loot into their economies as part and parcel of their capitalist programme. When you begin to speak up, they get nervous. They resent and they dont like nationalists, pan- Africanists. When the time comes, they would sacrifice you and keep your loot.Lets put pressure on those African governments to bring those stolen monies out. Obama and his friends should give them sleepless nights just like the way we handled the Chibok girls issue. Lets go beyond roundtable meetings. The Commonwealth should be made to serve a better purpose. This calls for a loud noise.From London to Switzerland, they are holding on to these stolen monies with impunity. More pressure is needed from all angles. Obama, the whole lot of them should pitch in and not do what they are doing in South America, in Brazil. Some of us can see through it.When they have leaders with socialist inclinations, they would want to rout them out of office the way it is happening over there. No, that is not good enough. We can see through it. It is a pity.
Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, will on Thursday meet with representatives ...

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum, will on Thursday meet with representatives of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN).Samuel Olowookere, deputy director (press) in the ministry of labour, said this in a statement.The statement said a crucial meeting was being convened to find a lasting solution to the lingering problems in the oil and gas sector.It said the meeting had been scheduled for 10am in Abuja.Earlier in the week, PENGASSAN threatened to embark on a nationwide strike beginning from Thursday.The association had listed mass sack of its members by various oil and gas companies as one of the reasons for the proposed industrial action.
Nigerian oil workers are going ahead with their planned strike today( Thursday), despite reports that the government had commenced talks w...

Nigerian oil workers are going ahead with their planned strike today( Thursday), despite reports that the government had commenced talks with their leaders, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said.The acting general secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, disclosed this to reporters on Thursday morning that they were not aware of any negotiations between any arm of the association and the government on any of their demands.It is not true there are on-going negotiations between PENGASSAN and government. Apart from the inconclusive negotiation on June 23, which was rescheduled to June 30, only to be put off indefinitely with no further appointment, we are not aware of any other negotiation with government, Mr. Okugbawa said.
The Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the police to arrest National Chairman A...

The Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the police to arrest National Chairman Ali Modu Sheriff for issuing a Certificate of Return to Matthew Iduoriyekemwen as the governorship candidate for Edo State.It described the action as contempt of court, which should be prosecuted.A statement yesterday by Publicity Secretary of the Makarfi faction, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said: The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to order the arrest and prosecution of the former National Chairman of the Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen for disobeying court judgment and charge them for contempt, which he said, should not be treated with levityWe are shocked at the attitude of the former national chairman of our party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who has become an authority in the country with flagrant disobedience of the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the PDP constitution without being arrested or detained by security agencies. Is he above the law? If we may ask, Prince Adeyeye queried.The party said Justice Abdullah Mohammed Limans Judgment on July 4, 2016, is superior to other court rulings, ex-parte orders or interlocutory injunctions procured by Senator Sheriff and his co-travellers, saying his reliance on Justice Okon Abangs ruling of Thursday, June 30, 2016, is an attempt to confuse the public as he has done in previous times.You will recall that Senator Sheriff, in collaboration with some APC governors and members, invaded our party secretariat on Monday June 13, 2016, laying claims to a non-existing court order; and he has started again after a competent court issued a judgment upholding the decision of our national convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, which constituted the PDP National Caretaker Committee to pilot the affairs of the party for 90 days, and to conduct another convention that will elect new officers of the party. Following this, we are calling on the Police to do the needful by arresting Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, his co-travelers and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen for disobeying court judgment.The party declared that the PDP has kicked off its campaign for the governorship election in Edo State; and that the law as it stands only recognises Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the authentic and only candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 10, 2016, election in the state.
Dr. David Oyedepo, the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church (LFC) worldwide has described Nigeria as a country that is moving forwa...





Dr. David Oyedepo, the Presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church (LFC) worldwide has described Nigeria as a country that is moving forward, in spite of its present economic challenges.In a telecast via satellite monitored in Jos, Plateau, Oyedepo said this when he addressed both local and international assembly of the church workers in a broadcast on Thursday morning.He told the workers that both the nation and the church were in a period of revival and that sacrifices would have to be made.The bishop said that the era of private universities championed by the church came to set standards and right moral codes in our educational system to make it thrive better, devoid of cultism and activism. He noted that academic calendars of private universities had been maintained, even as lecturers and their students in conventional universities go on strike.Private universities are here to restore the glory of the nation; it is clear that something is brewing in Nigeria.Nigerias healing is taking place now, and the health of the nation is being restored now.We are pushing darkness back, he said. He enjoined Christians involved in fostering the present revival of the nation by God through their prayers and work not to relent as they were entitled to rewards from the Lord.
John Mahama, the president of Ghana, says the intermittent power cuts Ghana is experiencing is because of the delays in taking delivery of...

John Mahama, the president of Ghana, says the intermittent power cuts Ghana is experiencing is because of the delays in taking delivery of crude oil from Nigeria to power thermal plants.Mahama said this on Wednesday during eid-el-fitr speech at a ceremony.Ghana has been experiencing a massive short fall in electricity production in recent times causing individuals and companies to complain.With the resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta region and militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, blowing up oil facilities and causing disruption in oil production, Nigerias oil production has been destabilised.According to Mahama, this is the reason Ghanas electricity supply has taken a dip.We have recently suffered some generational problems. I held a stakeholders meeting with all those involved in the power sector. Because of sabotage in Nigeria on the terminals, crude oil that we ordered last month has not arrived; and so, it has created some generational problem for us, said Mahama.He, however, assured Ghanaians that things will be normalised.We are taking steps every day to ensure that Ghana has security when it comes to power, he said.
LUMBERTON TOWNSHIP -- Authorities are investigating the killing of a 45-year-old township woman who was found dead in her home Wednesday morning.

The Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said the body of Shannon O'Rourke was discovered inside her residence on the 100 block of Nassau Road.

Her death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner. Authorities have not released further details, including how O'Rourke died.

No arrests have been made and her death remains under investigation by Lumberton Township police and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the prosecutor's office's major crimes unit at 609-265-5035 and ask to speak to a detective. After business hours, callers can reach the Burlington County Central Communications desk at 609-267-8300.

Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NORTH WILDWOOD -- An American flag that was given to the family of a Philadelphia man killed in the Vietnam War was stolen Monday from the flagpole where it had been displayed every 4th of July for a number of years.

Police are trying to track down the flag, which was used to honor the memory Patrick Corcoran, a Navy sailor who was killed in 1969 when his ship collided with an aircraft carrier, his brother told WPVI 6.

"The front of the boat was struck by the Australian aircraft carrier and the front portion of the ship sunk in 2 minutes and 74 sailors lost their lives," Tom Corcoran said.

The Corcoran family has a home on 11th Avenue. The flag was flown annually from a pole belonging to a neighbor, police said.

That neighbor, Tom Schaffer, a military veteran who offered the use of his flagpole because it was tall enough to support the approximately 10-by-5-foot flag, told WPVI he was devastated when he discovered the flag had gone missing. It was believed to have been taken in the early morning hours, police said.

The Corcoran family is seeking the return of the flag, no questions asked. North Wildwood police are asking anyone with information to contact them at (609) 522-2411 or at info@nwpd.org.

CORRECTION - An earlier version of this story reported that the flag covered Patrick Corcoran's coffin. It was issued to the family in his honor but Patrick Corcoran's body was not recovered.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The column that still hasn't recovered from the Fourth of July

--

Good morning!

--

Are you a member of Bridgeton High School's Class of 1946?

Are you interested in catching up with your classmates?

The Class of 1946's 70th reunion is scheduled on Sept. 24 at the Green Olice on Shiloh Pike.

For more information, call Bill Bowen at 856-447-4913.

--

Millville's Thursday Night Concerts start on July 7 with the Cumberland County Community College Jazz Band and Wind Smyphony.

On July 14, This That and the Others is playing.

On July 21, Polka Pete will be taking the stage.

On July 28, the Bud Cavallo Duo will be entertaining the crowd.

Concerts start at 7 p.m. at Corson Park on East Main Street.

If you want a chair you are going to have to bring your own.

--

"Rev. Dr. Robin Weinstein, President of the M25 Initiative, today announced that the organization is welcoming four new members to the Board of Trustees. The M25 Initiative is the lead facilitator and funding agent for the Cumberland County Code Blue Coalition and the Cumberland County Housing First Collaborative.

"The new trustees are: Hon. Paul Ritter, Charlotte Gould, JoEllyn Jones, and David Moore.

"The Honorable Paul Ritter, JD, is the President and CEO of the Cumberland Insurance Group. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Delaware Law School of Widener University. He is active in the community serving as Deputy Mayor and a member of the Land Use Board in Hopewell Township. He also serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Inspira Hospital and the Cumberland County Historical Society.

"Mrs. Charlotte Gould has been a resident of Bridgeton for 37 years. As an educator she has taught at Bridgeton Christian School, Immaculate Conception Regional School, Vineland Public Charter School and Millville Public Charter Schools. She has also taught English classes at an orphanage in Haiti. Currently, she is the Dean of Students at Bridgeton Public Charter School, where she was the Founding Board President. She has been actively engaged in music, drama, and leadership positions at Bridgeton Assembly of God, worked with the Late Rev. C. Vaughn at Music Art and Drama Camp in Malaga and the music program at John Wesley United Methodist Church. She has served on the Deacon Board of Bridgeton Assembly of God as a Deaconess and Board President. She is a graduate of Glassboro State College/Rowan University and Global University.

"Mrs. JoEllyn Jones, Esq. is a resident of Gouldtown, NJ. She is local defense attorney and works with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender. She is a dedicated mother to one daughter, Arjai. She is a graduate of Rowan University and the Widener School of Law.

"Mr. David Moore, RN MSN BC, a long time Cumberland County resident, was born in Millville, graduated from Millville High School, and received his Registered Nursing degree from Cumberland County College. He has been working at Inspira Health Center Bridgeton for nearly thirty years and currently serves as Inspira Health Network's Executive Director of Behavioral Health Services. He received his Master's degree in Nursing and Healthcare Administration from the University of Delaware in 2007 and has since distinguished himself by responding to the behavioral health needs of our region. In recent years he guided the renovation of Bridgeton's state-of-the-art inpatient behavioral health adult and child units, while leading the expansion of Inspira's inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services across our region."

- M25 Initiative

--

MY KIND OF TOWN: Where you have to know the rules before you can break them.

Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
PRINCETON -- Princeton University trails only two other schools in a new national ranking of America's best colleges, based on return on investment.

The Ivy League university ranked third in America's Top Colleges 2016, a list generated by Forbes magazine.

Only Stanford University and Williams College, a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, are ranked higher than Princeton.

Forbes compiles the list annually with a focus on return on investment. It's designed to give prospective students a snapshot of the best schools to attend if they want to get a good job and graduate on time without incurring substantial debt.

No other New Jersey college or university is ranked in the top 100 nationally, but Rutgers and The College of New Jersey both ranked within the top 200. Browse the photo gallery above to see the top 10 colleges in New Jersey based on the Forbes ranking.

The rankings are based on data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources on post-graduate pay and alumni success, according to Forbes. Learn more about the methodology here.

Princeton, which has a sticker price of $61,160, was ranked as the second-best college in the Northeast and the second-best research university. Most students from middle-class and low-income families receive grants from the university so they are able to graduate without student debt.

Harvard University is ranked fourth in the national rankings, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology earned the final spot in the top five.

Yale University is sixth, followed by Pomona College, Brown University, Wesleyan University and Swarthmore College.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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Bruce Springsteen

"Cover Me," Born In The U.S.A., 1984

Its the closest Springsteens ever been to disco  he originally wrote this silly dance jam for Donna Summer. While Roy Bittans piano melody is plenty catchy, Cover Me is as pandering and commercial as The Boss has even been.

Though another, more obscure Springsteen track was ranked worst in my exhaustive listing last summer, of his entire career. See the in-depth ranking here.

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Bon Jovi

"Social Disease," Slippery When Wet, 1986

I couldnt bring myself to sift through the trash Bon Jovi has released in the last decade, so lets go with this older, embarrassingly dumb album track, off the same LP that birthed Livin On A Prayer. The lead-in cacophony of moans pretty much says it all. Also, dont think we forgot about those insufferable DirecTV ads.

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Frank Sinatra

"Theme From New York, New York" Trilogy: Past Present Future, 1980

The Chairman's last signature tune isn't really his  it's Liza Minnelli's. And it's so brutally overplayed, at every Yankees game, Rangers game and Manhattan tourist trap. And there are endless versions of this song that are more interesting  try Carey Mulligan's version from the 2011 film "Shame."

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Whitney Houston

"My Name Is Not Susan" I'm Your Baby Tonight, 1990

To all the Susans of 1990, we apologize.

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Parliament-Funkadelic

"Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo-Doo Chasers)," One Nation Under A Groove, 1978

I havent ingested enough hallucinogens to deem which P-Funk song is worst  how would you even define bad with a band like this?  but the oddest, most incomprehensible song has to be Enema Squad. The 10 minutes overlapping vocal hodgepodge isnt a very good trip. But for what its worth, the line we are in a state on mental diarrhea probably still rings true today.

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Skid Row

"Quicksand Jesus," Slave To The Grind, 1991

Theres plenty to mock in Skid Rows discography, but Im a firm believer that Sebastian Bach was at his most intolerable on the bands miserable power ballads. His ultra-affected pronunciations are just brutal, plus the closing refrain: Quicksand Jesus I'm so far away without you.

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Kool and The Gang

I Sweat, Sweat, 1989

Sweat is gross. Singing about sweat is gross. And New Jack Swing was pretty gross, too.

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Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes

"Get Your Body On The Job," Trash It Up, 1983

Uh oh, who gave Johnny the synth bass? Oh, it was Chic legend Nile Rodgers, who produced the dance-rock debacle Trash It Up, and this worthless track. The not-so-subtle innuendos  and all that ugly synth  reek of desperation.

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Fugees

"Mista Mista," The Score, 1996

The Fugees are tough  they only released two albums, and neither produced a real lemon. But Mista Mista, an acoustic narrative where Wyclef Jean portrays the life of a beggar and addict, probably gets the most skips on the trios seminal Score. Jeans falsetto can be difficult to stomach.

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The Smithereens

"Top Of The Pops," Blow Up, 1991

Yes, this is one of the bands more popular songs  they even opened with it at Light of Day this year  but man, I cannot stand Top Of The Pops. The pseudo-retro, harmonized chorus, the uninspired guitar riff, the milk-toast tempo, it all makes me irrationally angry.

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Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

"Veronica," Streetfighter, 1985

You can take your pick off the forgotten, synth-and-drum machine catastrophe that is Streetfighter, but Veronica is especially awful. The cliches rain down  your love is my addiction  and Vallis attempt to stay relevant was laughably bad.

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Misfits

"Halloween II," 12 Hits From Hell, 1980/2001

First, a caveat: We stuck to the Glenn Danzig iteration here. While the original Halloween is a classic that all edgy bars make sure to blast every Oct. 31, the droning, monotonous sequel is just as brutal as all the Michale Graves fill-in nonsense years later.

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Naughty By Nature

"Written On Ya Kitten," 19 Naughty III, 1993

You probably thought the Bon Jovi disaster would be the only track here thats prefaced with awkward female moaning. Enter Naughtys Kitten, which has little to do with a baby feline. The East Orange group can really spin a rhyme, but the Oh, wheres my kitty cat chorus is a cringe-worthy.

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Dionne Warwick

"Land Of Make Believe," Make Way For Dionne Warwick, 1964

Okay, Dionne Warwick has released a ridiculous amount of music, so lets all just agree that this lackluster tune, sandwiched between the Burt Bacharach-penned classics A House Is Not A Home and Walk On By, is a dud and we can move on.

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The Bouncing Souls

"Inspection Station," The Good, the Bad and the Argyle, 1994

Its especially odd to name a worst song here, as in punk, the most ridiculous tunes are often the most revered. But even the Souls must chuckle a little at Inspection Station, a goofy track off the bands debut, which little more than a singular riff and robotic, lisping vocal.

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Fetty Wap

"Jugg" Fetty Wap, 2015

Its no secret Patersons overnight rap sensation Fetty Wap used to sell drugs. And to jugg (or more commonly, juug) apparently means to profit from illegal activity. So, while the songs hook Ill teach you how to jugg with me isnt the most positive message for our impressionable youth, the tracks entire strip club-centric design is just moronic.

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The Jonas Brothers

"You Just Don't Know It," It's About Time, 2006

For anyone interested in a career in music journalism, keep in mind you may someday be tasked with analyzing the Jonas Brothers catalog. This was the schmaltziest pop-rock detritus I could find before my ears leapt from my skull.

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My Chemical Romance

"This is the Best Day Ever," I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, 2002

Before My Chem embraced death-obsessive concepts and arena shows, the band was just a loud, petulant outfit from North Jersey, touting a list of messy, flailing post-hardcore tracks. While Bullets had its moments of early, glam-punk genius, This is the Best Day Ever is about as emulative as the emo-culture heroes ever were.

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Redman

"Muh-F***a," Malpractice, 2001

This is not Reginald Nobles finest manuscript. Some variation of muh f***a is screamed 64 times, including the truly virtuosic line Hard shell chicken Taco Bell muh-f***a.

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Blues Traveler

"Free Willis (Ruminations From Behind Uncle Bob's Machine Shop)," North Hollywood Shootout, 2008

Free Willis features a spoken-word segment from Bruce Willis, who spouts tough-guy, John McLainian lines like A man does not like to be held down. Boo!

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Queen Latifah

"Brownsville," Order In The Court, 1998

Even at her most mercurial, Queen Latifah has always managed a certain level of cool class, but on Brownsville, the addition of filthy featured rhymers Le Fem Markita, Scarlet and Nikki D sends this track into all-sizzle-no-steak territory. And the distorted guitar samples do it no favors.

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The Gaslight Anthem

"Sweet Morphine," Get Hurt, 2014

The gritty rockers havent gone far enough in one direction or another to release a true-blue stinker, but Sweet Morphine, a bonus track off the bands most critically condemned album so far, is surely forgettable. The alt-country angle doesnt quite fit, and feels like something Bob Dylan mightve left on a floor somewhere in Minneapolis.

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The Shirelles

"Doin' The Ronde," Tonight's The Night, 1961

It came from Jamaica. Its not like a mambo. You may call it the samba. But its the ronde, some exotic dance the Shirelles sing about, right after the groups iconic, Carole King-penned Will You Love Me Tomorrow. One of the trios earliest and most forgettable tunes.

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Thursday

"Unintended Long Term Effects," Common Existence, 2009

The quickest ride off whats probably the post-hardcore luminaries worst album gets my goat, not for Geoff Ricklys over-tuned vocal, but for the guitar melody, which is far too close to the bands 2001 hit Cross Out The Eyes. Its not an exact ripoff, but cmon guys!

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Patricia "Tan Mom" Krentcil

It's Tan Mom

And finally, we bestow upon you all, this gem from Nutleys favorite punchline. Please, make it stop.
-- City leaders on Wednesday welcomed 135 police recruits as they begin training to become officers in what officials say is Newark's largest class of future officers in more than a decade.

Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose and Mayor Ras Baraka addressed the recruits as part of a ceremony at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, where seven recent police academy graduates were also sworn in as officers.

Ambrose noted that many residents and police brass at the event likely remembered the days when Newark had 1,500 to 1,600 officers. The newest 135 recruits are set to bring the police division's ranks up to 1,127 officers from its current 992 members.

"Today is an extraordinary today," Ambrose said. "This department is the best in the nation, but it was depleted."

The new recruits will undergo 26 weeks of police training at academies in Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties before five weeks of additional training within Newark, according to officials. New officers are initially sent to walk beats around the city before moving to assignments in police precincts. The group will be among the first to use body cameras and Tasers.

After graduation, the new crop of recruits will help boost police response time for the short staffed department, prevent crime and allow for a beefed up criminal investigations unit, Ambrose added.

"The benefactors of this are the citizens," the public safety director said in an interview.

Ambrose and Baraka both spoke of reforming the police department after a Department of Justice review found repeated civil rights violations and the force was placed under a federal monitor.

"There's a transformation that's occurring," said Ambrose, a former chief of investigations at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office who Baraka hired as public safety director. "This is a department that is changing for the better."

Recruits must meet high standards as city police officers, the mayor and public safety director said.

"The citizens can have a bad day. You can't. Remember that," Ambrose told the class.

Officials this year have sworn in 80 police officers and Baraka said his administration has hired more cops in the past two years than over the earlier eight years.

"We are working to build our police department, not decimate it," Baraka added. "We are working to strengthen the department, not destroy it."

The ceremony brought proud family members and top law enforcement officials, including Acting Attorney General Christopher Porrino, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and the special agent in charge of Newark's FBI division.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A protest in downtown Newark on Thursday is causing traffic backups and delaying bus commuters in the area, according to officials and reports.

Buses leaving Newark Penn Station face delays up to 45 minutes, an alert issued by NJ Transit said shortly before 5 p.m.

"Customers of the 1, 25, and 34 bus lines are being accommodated on Raymond Boulevard in both directions until further notice," the transit agency's alert said.

On Twitter, several posts said the demonstration was part of the Black Lives Matter movement and in response to recent killings by police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

Photos shared on social media showed several people holding hands across downtown streets.

Newark protest against police shootings blocks traffic on Route 21. Major traffic jam. pic.twitter.com/R3xFLdRfVg  Anthony Johnson (@AJohnsonwabc7) July 7, 2016

Newark really shut down the street to protest  I support 100%  Mercedes (@im_MERCEDESxo) July 7, 2016

HAPPENING NOW: #BlackLivesMatter protest blocking traffic in Newark pic.twitter.com/H9G4dONZK3  NJTV News (@NJTVNews) July 7, 2016
GLASSBORO -- Firefighters are on the scene of a three alarm fire that broke out around 3 p.m. this afternoon.

Glassboro Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of an abandoned house on East High Street. The property, that sits back off the road, erupted into flames but was under control by 4 p.m. Just after 4:40, most of the fire was knocked down, leaving heavy smoke on the scene.

Responding companies included Glassboro, Williamstown, Pitman, Harrison Township, Whitman Square out of Washington Township, Mantua, Deptford, Ewan, Westville, and Mullica Hill fire companies.

Assistance was also brought in from the Rowan University EMS, Camden County Office of Emergency Management, and the Gloucester County Sheriff's Office and K-9 unit.

One firefighter was reported injured, but officials have not provided details.

New Jersey Transit buses were provided as shelter for responders on the scene who had to deal with sweltering summer temperatures and high humidity.

Glassboro Fire Chief Steve Smith was unavailable for comment as of 5 p.m.

However the Glassboro Police Department posted notice of the fire, alerting residents that the roadway will be closed for an unknown period of time but that residents of Park Crest Village apartments will be allowed to the complex.

Glassboro Police are also encouraging residents to plan alternate routes to avoid the area for the time being.

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
kevin stewart

Kevin Stewart, Deputy Fire Chief of the Jersey City Police Department, died yesterday.

(Journal file photo)

JERSEY CITY -- Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Stewart, a 37-year-veteran with the city's fire department, has died.

Stewart, 61, who first joined the department as a firefighter in 1979, received multiple awards during his tenure with the department. The cause of death was not immediately available today.

Ten years after becoming a firefighter, Stewart was promoted to captain of Rescue One. In 1998, he was named Battalion Chief and promoted to Deputy Chief in 2011. He additionally worked with Engine 8 and Engine 5 during his years of service.

Jersey City Fire Chief Darren Rivers said Stewart's death comes as a "shock" and the department is "just trying to make sense of it."

"Kevin was not only a co-worker, but a true friend and always a consummate professional," Rivers said.

Rivers said Stewart's service extended beyond devoting his life to the department. He also worked with urban search and rescue teams and organized missions to South Africa to train firefighters.

While working for Jersey City, Stewart earned multiple fire and rescue certifications, received unit recognitions, and service awards. He was named officer of the year in 2001.

Stewart was a third generation Jersey City firefighter, having followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He hoped his career would accumulate 100 years of service from his family.

"It's a terrible loss for the family and the entire fire department," Rivers said.

Funeral arrangements are pending.
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Constantine Fine Art & Jewelry, at 2a Stockton Ave., New Hope, Pa., will host a small group show and sale. One of the featured artists is Mike Mann of Stockton. A gala opening reception will be on Saturday, July 23, from 1-10 p.m. Pictured is a piece titled, 'New Hope Library' by featured artist Mike Mann- oil on canvas. (courtesy photo)

Constantine Fine Art & Jewelry, which is located at 2a Stockton Ave., New Hope, Pa., will host a small group show and sale featuring paintings by: Filipina-American/Swiss artist, Madonna Davidoff, Brooklyn-based artist, Richard M. Weiner and Stockton painter, Mike Mann.

A gala opening reception will be on Saturday, July 23 from 1-10 p.m. The boutique gallery is located across Bridge Street from the train station and is between New Hope Center for the Arts and El Taco Loco. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Call 347-557-9846 for more information.

The 3 artists represent very different styles. Davidoff is a contemporary painter, printmaker, and children's book illustrator who has lived in Switzerland, Singapore, Manila and New York where her works are inspired by her multicultural background. The abstract paintings of Weiner are a journey to the daily lives of all. Joy, fun, disappointments, broken hearts, life and music are the integral parts of his artistic expression. Mann mostly creates colorful and lively local scenes in an impressionist/realistic style. His work is done from life and he usually travels by bicycle to paint.

Gallery manager, Emre Icilensu based this exhibition on the concept that, "The 3 artists have totally different distinct voices but they can be bound together within the 4th voice of the art lover. The acceptance of diversity is especially critical in light of the recent night club attack in Orlando!"

This item was submitted by Michael Mann.
Samuel-Vincent-Samier-Vincent.jpg

Samuel Vincent, left, and Samier Vincent were sentenced Wednesday for their role in the 2014 Galilee Baptist Church shooting.

(contributed photo)

TRENTON - Two brothers were sentenced Wednesday for their roles in the 2014 shooting of a funeral service that wounded three people at North Trenton's Galilee Baptist Church.

Samuel Vincent, 20, received a seven-year sentence. His brother, Samier Vincent, 22, received a five-year sentence after they both pled guilty to second-degree aggravated assault.

Prosecutors say those sentences fall under New Jersey's No Early Release Act, ensuring the brothers will not be eligible for parole until 85 percent of their sentences have been severed.

The sentences also come with three years of parole supervision upon release, prosecutors say.

Neither of the men spoke at their sentencing, but prosecutors say one of their attorneys expressed regret on one of the men's behalf.

In total, five men were indicted in connection with the daytime shooting.

Prosecutors say Terrance Maddox, 23, has also pleaded guilty to second-degree aggravated assault for his role. Maddox will return to court for sentencing next week.

Prosecutors say his recommended sentence time is seven years.

Lawrence Sutphin, of Trenton, and Richard Holman, of Chesterfield, were also named in the indictment for their roles in the crime, however neither of their charges are related to the firing of weapons into the church, prosecutors say.

Suphin's charges are related to weapon possession charges, and Holman's case has already been resolved, prosecutors say.

Two men and a woman were wounded during the April 2014 shooting at the church.

Hundreds of people were gathered for the funeral of Cagney Roberts, a 19-year-old who was shot and killed, when gunfire erupted outside.

Greg Wright may be reached at gwright@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregTheWright. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
TRENTON -- A Trenton man was arrested Wednesday evening after police say he jumped in the passenger side of a driver's car and put the driver in a chokehold and snatched his phone.

A file photo of a Trenton police car

Police arrested Tyrus Jones Jr., 28, after the victim flagged down officers after seeing the Jones walking on North Broad Street the next day, police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn said.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old victim called police and told them he was dropping a friend off when Jones entered the passenger side of his car and sat down, Varn said.

Jones demanded the victim hand over money and when the man refused, Jones put him in a chokehold, grabbed the man's phone and fled the area, Varn said.

Jones is charged with strong-arm robbery.

Thomas Regan may be reached at tregan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Thomas_P_Regan. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MLB: Miami Marlins at New York Mets

New York Mets starting pitcher Matt Harvey (33) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Citi Field. (Andy Marlin | USA TODAY Sports)

NEW YORK -- Matt Harvey is heading to the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder discomfort, the Mets announced Wednesday following their 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. Right-hander Seth Lugo has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take Harvey's spot on the roster.

Harvey was examined by Mets doctors and was referred to Dr. Robert Thompson in St. Louis for further examination. Harvey will be evaluated by Thompson Thursday in St. Louis.

Thompson is a vascular surgeon specializing in a condition known as thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), a group of disorders that occur when blood vessels or nerves in the space between the collarbone and the first rib are compressed.

Thompson also treated former Mets right-hander Dillon Gee, who underwent surgery in 2012 to repair a damaged artery in his pitching shoulder.

Harvey, 27, is 4-10 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts this season and gave up six runs over 3.2 innings Monday against the Miami Marlins. He was slated to make his final outing before the All-Star break on Saturday against the Washington Nationals.

With Harvey out, Logan Verrett seems likely to make his sixth spot start of the year, though Lugo can work as a starter or reliever.

Lugo, 26, made his major-league debut against the Chicago Cubs on July 1, tossing two scoreless innings in relief.

Harvey's condition only creates more injury concerns for the Mets' starting rotation. Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz are both pitching through bone spurs in their throwing elbows, while Zack Wheeler isn't expected to return from Tommy John surgery for another month due to setbacks in his rehab.

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEW YORK -- A week ago, manager Terry Collins was struggling to piece together a lineup that could consistently score runs for the Mets. Now Collins is suddenly faced with a different kind of problem: Figuring out how to fit both Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes' bats into the Mets' starting lineup.

"I don't know," Collins said when asked if the duo would start Thursday against the division-leading Washington Nationals. "I haven't looked at it yet. It's going to be hard."

Flores and Reyes both enjoyed productive days Wednesday in the Mets' 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. A red-hot Flores blasted two homers -- his second multi-homer game of the week -- and is now batting .313 with four doubles, six homers, 19 RBI in 31 games since June 3, when he replaced the injured David Wright as the team's primary third baseman.

But Flores will seemingly cede his starting role to Reyes, who doubled twice Wednesday in the leadoff spot, collecting his first hits since returning to the Mets Tuesday after serving a 52-game suspension for domestic violence.

"That was good to get my first base hit," Reyes said. "I felt way better today. I felt like me today. It wasn't as exciting today. So it was like a normal day for me."

With Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker anchoring the middle infield and James Loney filling in capably at first base, Flores is likely to be relegated to his initial role as a super utility player.

Still, Flores has shown that he plays best when he receives consistent at-bats, and he struggled when he received limited playing time in April, batting .107 with one homer.

"I feel pretty good," Flores said Wednesday. "Getting good pitches to hit and seeing the ball well. [It's] definitely the playing time. I understand that when you're not playing, it's a lot tougher to do it. When you are playing you can make the adjustments that you need to make."

While his tear seems to have coincided with Reyes' arrival, Flores brushed off suggestions that his performance has been motivated by a desire to prove that he deserves to keep his starting job.

"No, no, I never think about that," Flores said. "I just go out there and play. Having Jose here is going to make us a better team."

Still, Collins said he believes there could be a connection.

"He came in here and was not playing very well in a backup role, having a tough time adjusting to it," Collins said. "David goes down, now he's playing third. He was doing okay, but all of a sudden, we sign Jose and he got hot. These guys are very proud, and they don't go down without a fight. I'm sure he said to himself, 'Look, if I don't get it going, I'm going to lose some playing time,' and he's swung the bat great in the last five days."

While Reyes' addition gives the Mets much needed speed atop their lineup and quality depth, it also likely means that Collins will sit one of his hottest bats for much of the club's critical four-game series against the Nationals this weekend.

"It's going to be hard to get both guys in there at the same time, but one of them is going to have to sit," Collins said. "But yet, we've got a hot hitter sitting on the bench that we can run up in any big situation during a game. I think it's going to make us a different-looking club."

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NJ Dems hold roundtable in Edison on school funding formula plan.jpg

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney and fellow Senate Democrats gathered at Middlesex County College in Edison on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, as part of their continuing statewide tour to promote their school funding formula proposal.

(Courtesy of New Jersey Senate Democrats)

EDISON -- While some school districts in New Jersey receive as much as 150 percent in school formula aid, others -- like New Brunswick, Woodbridge and Edison -- only receive 85 percent, according to state Senate Democrats.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) doesn't believe the current formula is fair to all school districts and he is pushing for reform.

Sweeney and fellow Senate Democrats gathered at Middlesex County College on Wednesday as part of their continuing statewide tour to promote their school funding formula plan that would seek to bring all school districts statewide to 100 percent funding.

Under the plan, dubbed "Formula4 Success," school districts like New Brunswick, Woodbridge and Edison "would all receive an increase in aid to lift them to full funding, under the reform plan," according to a statement issued by Senate Democrats.

Sweeney, state Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Bergen), state Sen. Patrick Diegnan (D- Middlesex), mayors, local officials and educators throughout the county held a roundtable at the college to "focus on the educational and fiscal value" of the reform plan, authored by Senate Democrats, that "would bring all the state's school districts to full funding."

"There are districts that are overfunded," Sweeney said in a telephone interview with NJ Advance Media on Wednesday. "What we are trying to create is a fair funding formula that in the end would (bring school districts) to 100 percent funding."

Each of Middlesex County's 25 school districts would "gain additional state aid under the proposed School Funding Reform Act, which would provide full funding to the school systems throughout the state," according to a statement from the Senate Democrats.

The plan, according to Senate Democrats, would "remedy a school funding system that has left 80 percent of New Jersey's school district's underfunded, bringing all districts to full funding within five years with a boost of $100 million annually."

New Brunswick would receive an additional $23 million.

State Senate Democrats maintain that the state has failed to adequately fund the current school formula, and has therefore "shortchanged all types of school districts," including those in suburban districts, said Greenstein in the statement.

The plan would amend the 2008 School Funding Reform Act, a weighted formula that allocates state aid to districts based on student enrollment, demographics and other factors, according to a previous report.

Sweeney believes their proposal would bring fairness and common sense to school districts throughout the state.

Sweeney, in the statement, said the state Legislature had originally gotten the formula right back in 2008 but that the state did not live up to its promise.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK -- A second suspect has been arrested in a series of overnight burglaries in the township last month, police announced Thursday.

Police said Christopher Smith, 25, of North Brunswick, was arrested Wednesday evening in New Brunswick. Detectives had arrested Inez Young, 23, of North Brunswick, last week.

Smith and Young are charged with four overnight burglaries last month, police said. In each case, a suspect entered an open garage door or unlocked slider door and stole items while the residents slept.

Capt. James Ryan, spokesman for the department, said Smith and Young, are in the Middlesex County jail.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
20703336-mmmain.jpg

Three firefighters were injured in a fire at a business in Wall Township that took almost three hours to extinguish.

(Wall Township police)

WALL TOWNSHIP -- Three firefighters from the Glendola Fire Department were injured Thursday battling a blaze at Taylor's Towing on Hurley Pond Road, authorities said.

Police said one of the firefighters was treated at the scene and released. The other two were taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune for treatment. All had non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.

It took from 9:35 a.m. when firefighters first responded until about 12:15 p.m. when the fire was extinguished, police said Thursday afternoon.

The Monmouth County Tanker Task Force was called to the scene because there were no fire hydrants near the location of the fire, authorities said.

Firefighters from nine departments fought the blaze.

Police said traffic was diverted from West Hurley Pond Road for about 5 hours.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Wall Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
How Golgi Shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Cajal

by Gunnar Grant*

Camillo Golgi was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine as early as 1901, when the first prize was awarded. After that, his name came up every year until 1906, when he was finally awarded the prize together with Santiago Ramon y Cajal.

There were four proponents for Golgi that year, namely Hertwig, professor of comparative anatomy from Berlin, Kolliker, professor of anatomy from Wurzburg, and two Swedes, Gustaf Retzius, former professor of anatomy from Stockholm, and Carl Magnus Furst, professor of anatomy from Lund. Kolliker, Retzius and Furst proposed Golgi and Cajal. Retzius, however, proposed Cajal alone as an alternative. Cajals nomination was also supported by, in addition, Ziehen, professor of psychiatry and neurology from Berlin, and by Emil Holmgren, from Stockholm.

Kolliker had proposed Golgi in 1901. He nominated him again in 1905 and then, as in 1906, he proposed both Golgi and Cajal. Retzius sent in proposals for Golgi all the five years from 1902. The first three times he proposed Golgi and Cajal, but in 1905 he nominated Cajal, and after him, Golgi. Finally, as mentioned, in 1906 his suggestion was for Golgi and Cajal, or Cajal alone.

It may be of some interest that, in 1902, Emil Holmgren, professor of histology at the Caroline Institute in Stockholm, had been one of the proponents in favor of Golgi. It was Holmgren who was commissioned by the Nobel Committee to carry out the investigation on Golgis and Cajals work and to write the reports for all the five years from 1902, until the time they were awarded the prize in 1906.

The comprehensive report by Holmgren in 1906, corresponding to nearly 50 type-written pages of size A4 paper, was based on a careful and extensive analysis of the merits of the two candidates, who were also weighed against each other. Holmgrens conclusion was the following (translation from Swedish by G.G.): If the achievements by Golgi, on the one hand, and Cajal, on the other, in the research on the nervous system are considered, one can not, in justice, evade the final conclusion that Cajal is far superior to Golgi. It may be noted that this was his conclusion during the later years. In his report, Holmgren made it clear that he would have given Golgi a higher priority if it had been some years earlier. Now, however, according to Holmgren, Cajal had made such important and principally valuable discoveries, and also interpreted his findings in a correct way, as had been confirmed by others. Because of this, Holmgren was predisposed to rank Cajal before Golgi.

Favouring Cajal over Golgi, Holmgren writes (translation from Swedish by G.G.): Cajal has not served science by singular corrections of observations by others, or by adding here and there an important observation to our stock of knowledge, but it is he who has built almost the whole framework of our structure of thinking, in which the less fortunately endowed forces have had to, and will still have to put in their contributions.

Holmgrens evaluation included Cajals more recent contributions based on his neurofibrillar impregnation method, both for a better understanding of the interior of the nerve cell and for studies of regeneration of peripheral nerve fibers  which had also been studied by Perroncito in Pavia, a pupil of Golgi  as well as for studies of outgrowth of axons during the embryonic development, demonstrating end bulbs (growth cones). These formed part of the basis for his support for Cajals scientific superiority.

Regarding Golgi, Holmgren discussed some of the findings which had turned out to be wrong. The most important of these were Golgis adherence to the reticular theory, against which the neuron doctrine had been put forward and gained acceptance by most neuroscientists during this period. Further to this was Golgis view on the dendrites, which he regarded as nutritive elements for the neurons and not involved in the conduction of impulses, as well as his view on his type II cells, which he suggested to be involved in sensory function, sending axons out from the central nervous system to the periphery, on the sensory side.

Carl Sundberg, professor of pathology at the Caroline Institute, who was also Vice President at the Institute at that time, was thereupon asked for another evaluation of the candidates, after Holmgrens conclusions had become known to members of the Nobel Committee. Contrary to Holmgrens conclusions, Sundberg, for his part, put more stress upon Golgis valuable contributions, citing not only the development of the Golgi method but also, for instance, his findings of collaterals both in the gray matter and in the longitudinally running white columns of the spinal cord. He tried to soften the weak points in Golgis contributions and quoted passages from evaluations done by Holmgren during the earlier years that were in support of Golgi.

Before the final decision was taken on October 25th, written opinions were expressed both by Holmgren and Sundberg, and in addition, by Bror Gadelius, professor of psychiatry at the Caroline Institute. Gadelius supported Holmgrens views.

The final voting among the professors at the Institute resulted in a majority for a Nobel Prize shared by Golgi and Cajal. Only two were against  their names were not given, but it should not be difficult to guess who they were.

Of some interest may also be Gustaf Retzius view on the decision that was taken. This is expressed in a passage in his autobiography (1948, p. 246; translation by G.G.  italics also in the Swedish text):  CajalBut it is true that already at his arrival in Stockholm, I thought that he had deserved receiving a full, and undivided Nobel Prize, and asked about this by the Nobel Council of the staff of professors at the Caroline Institute, I expressed this opinion of mine decidedly.

That Retzius was asked for his opinion but did not take part in the decision, is explained by the fact that he was no longer a member of the Medical Faculty at the Caroline Institute. He had resigned from his chair in anatomy in 1890, in protest over the failure to get his candidate appointed to a professorship in ophthalmology. Paradoxically, however, his membership both in the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and in the Swedish Academy, meant that he took part in the election of the Laureates both in Physics and Chemistry, and in Literature.

Going back to the nominations, this was the first time that the Nobel Prize was shared between two Laureates. Cajal writes about this (from the English translation of his autobiography, 1989, p. 546): The other half was very justly adjudicated to the illustrious professor of Pavia, Camillo Golgi, the originator of the method with which I accomplished my most striking discoveries.

Acknowledgements

Material from the Nobel Archives was kindly provided by the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine.

Permission to reproduce the lecture given at the Golgi and Bizzozero symposium was given by the Giornale dellAccademia di Medicina di Torino.

References

Ramon y Cajal S (1989) Recollections of my life; translated by E. Horne Craigie, with the assistance of Juan Cano. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press, 638 pp.

Retzius, G (1948) Biografiska Anteckningar och Minnen, vol. II. Uppsala, Almqvist & Wiksell AB, 285 pp.

This article is based in part on a lecture entitled Camillo Golgi and the Nobel Prize, given at a symposium entitled Golgi and Bizzozero nel centenario della scoperta dellapparato reticulare interno at the Accademia di Medicina di Torino, Italy, November 24, 1998. Original information was achieved from the archives of the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine after a formal request by the author to get access to these archives.

Gunnar Grant, born January 6, 1932. Studied medicine in Stockholm and Uppsala. MD 1959 and PhD 1962, School of Medicine, Uppsala University. Positions at the Anatomy Department, Uppsala University School of Medicine, from 1962 to 1970, Associate Professor (1970) and Professor (1979) of Anatomy at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, Karolinska Institutet in 1971-1977, and in 1984-1992. Publications in Neuroanatomy. Member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.

First published 12 September 1999

To cite this section

MLA style: How Golgi Shared the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Cajal. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Thu. 27 Oct 2022. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1906/article/>
Camillo Golgi Article

by Marina Bentivoglio

Life and discoveries of Camillo Golgi

Biographical sketch and scientific work

Camillo Golgi was born in July 1843 in Corteno, a village in the mountains near Brescia in northern Italy, where his father was working as a district medical officer. He studied medicine at the University of Pavia, where he attended as an intern student the Institute of Psychiatry directed by Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909). Golgi also worked in the laboratory of experimental pathology directed by Giulio Bizzozero (1846-1901), a brilliant young professor of histology and pathology (among his several contributions, Bizzozero discovered the hemopoietic properties of bone marrow). Bizzozero introduced Golgi to experimental research and histological techniques, and established with him a lifelong friendship. Golgi graduated in 1865 and was, therefore, a student during the last years of the fights for the independence of Italy (Italy became united in 1870).

Seated left to right: Perroncito, Kolliker, Fusari

Standing left to right: Bizzozero, Golgi (here in his late fifties).

Golgi started his scientific career in 1869, with an article in which, influenced by Lombrosos theories, he stated that mental diseases could be due to organic lesions of the neural centers. However, convinced that theories had to be supported by facts, Golgi soon abandoned psychiatry and concentrated on the experimental study of the structure of the nervous system. Histological techniques, such as fixation procedures and tissue stainings (hematoxylin or carmine) had been introduced in the middle of the 19th century. However, these procedures were inadequate and unsatisfactory for the investigation of the structure of the nervous system, due to its complexity and peculiar organization in respect to other tissues.

Camillo Golgi

In 1872, due to financial problems, Golgi had to interrupt his academic commitment, and accepted the post of Chief Medical Officer at the Hospital of Chronically Ill (Pio Luogo degli lncurabili) in Abbiategrasso (close to Pavia and Milan). In the seclusion of this hospital, he transformed a little kitchen into a rudimentary laboratory, and continued his search for a new staining technique for the nervous tissue. In 1873 he published a short note (On the structure of the brain grey matter) in the Gazzetta Medica Italiana, in which he described that he could observe the elements of the nervous tissue studying metallic impregnations after a long series of attempts. This was the discovery of the black reaction1 (reazione nera), based on nervous tissue hardening in potassium bichromate and impregnation with silver nitrate. Such revolutionary staining, which is still in use nowadays and is named after him (Golgi staining or Golgi impregnation) impregnates a limited number of neurons at random (for reasons that are still mysterious), and permitted for the first time a clear visualization of a nerve cell body with all its processes in its entirety.

Hippocampus impregnated by the Golgi stain (from an original preparation from Golgis laboratory kept in the Institute of Pathology of the University of Pavia).

Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. The Golgi stain reveals their extensive dendritic branches (from an original preparation from Golgis laboratory kept in the Institute of Pathology of the University of Pavia).

In 1875 Golgi published, in an article on the olfactory bulbs, the first drawings of neural structures as visualized by the technique he had invented. In 1885, Golgi published a monograph on the fine anatomy of the central nervous organs, with beautiful illustrations of the nerve centers he had studied with his method.

Golgis drawing of the hippocampus impregnated by his stain (from Golgis Opera Omnia).

In the same year, Golgi returned to Pavia, where he was appointed in 1876 as Professor of Histology. In 1877 he married Lina Aletti (Bizzozeros niece). They had no children, and adopted Golgis niece Carolina.

Camillo Golgi and his wife Lina by the sea in his late seventies.

In 1881 Golgi was appointed to the chair of General Pathology at the University of Pavia, and he also maintained his teaching in histology.

Golgi at the age of 77 in his laboratory in Pavia.

Golgi established in the Institute of General Pathology a very active laboratory, with international contacts, and was especially gifted in stimulating his students and foreign guests, including the Norwegian histologist and explorer Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930), Nobel Laureate in Peace 1922. In Golgis laboratory, Adelchi Negri (1876-1912) discovered the intraneuronal inclusions (the Negri bodies) which represent specific features of rabies and provided a histopathological diagnostic criterion for such infection. In Golgis laboratory, Emilio Veratti (1872-1967), described for the first time the sarcoplasmic reticulum in skeletal muscle fibers. In 1906 Golgi shared the Nobel Prize with Santiago Ramon y Cajal (1852-1934) for their studies on the structure of the nervous system.

The Nobel diploma Golgi received in 1906.  The Nobel Foundation 1906, Artist: Olle Hjortzberg, Courtesy: Museum of the History of the University of Pavia

Highly respected, Golgi was dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pavia, and rector of this university for several years. Golgi also received honours from several European universities. He took an active part in public life; he was especially concerned with public health, and became a senator in 1900. He retired in 1918 but remained as professor emeritus at the University of Pavia. Golgi died in Pavia in January 1926. His publications are collected in the Opera Omnia (published by Hoepli Editore, Milan). The first three volumes of Opera Omnia appeared in 1903 and the fourth volume was edited by Golgis co-workers (L. Sala, E. Veratti, G. Sala) and appeared in 1929.

Scientific debates and the impact of Golgis discoveries

Golgis discovery of the black reaction and his subsequent investigations provided a substantial contribution to the advancement of the knowledge on the structural organization of the nervous tissue. The theory that tissues are composed of individual cellular elements (the cell theory) had been enunciated in 1838-1839 by Matthias Jacob Schleiden (1804-1881) and Theodor Schwann (1810-1882), but had not been extended to the nervous tissue. However, Golgi believed that his own observations of ramified nerve fibers could support the reticular theory, which postulated that the nervous system was a syncytial system, consisting of nervous fibers forming an intricate network, and that the nervous impulse propagated along such diffuse network. In the meantime, the theory that the nervous system as the other tissues was composed of cells, which were christened as neurons by Wilhelm Waldeyer (1836-1921) in 1891, was receiving wide support, also from studies pursued in other laboratories by means of the Golgis new staining. Cajal was the main supporter of the neuron theory, which correctly interpreted the nervous system as composed of anatomically and functionally distinct cells, not in cytoplasmic continuity.

Human cerebellar cortex as drawn by Golgi (from the Opera Omnia).

Golgi was an exceptionally acute and prolific investigator, who provided a number of outstanding observations. Although he misinterpreted the overall view of the organization of the nervous system, he contributed highly to the modern knowledge of its structure. Among other findings, Golgi described the morphological features of glial cells (that are also impregnated by his staining) and of the relationships between glial cell processes and blood vessels. He also described two fundamental types of nerve cells, still named after him as neurons Golgi type I, extending their axons at a distance from the cell body (the projection neurons of the modern nomenclature), and Golgi type II, with axons ramifying in the vicinity of the cell body (corresponding to the local circuit neurons and interneurons of the modern nomenclature).

Among his other discoveries, in 1878 Golgi described the tendinous sensory corpuscles that bear his name (the Golgi tendon organs). In the years 1886-1892, Golgi provided fundamental contributions to the study of malaria: he elucidated the cycle of the malaria agent, the Plasmodium, in red blood cells, and the temporal coincidence between the recurrent chills and fever with the release of the parasite in the blood. Golgi also studied the efficacy of the administration of quinine during the disease.

Golgis drawing of the tendon organ that now bears his name (from Opera Omnia).

A typical rosette-shape of the malarian parasite on the top, among red blood cells. Photograph of an original Golgi preparation preserved at the Museum for the History of the University of Pavia.

In 1897, studying the nervous system with his black reaction, Golgi noticed in neurons an intracellular structure, whose existence he officially reported in April 1898. This structure was designated by Golgi internal reticular apparatus and was soon named after him as Golgi apparatus (or much later as the Golgi complex and is frequently referred to nowadays only as the Golgi). The discovery of this cell organelle was a real breakthrough in cytology and cell biology. However, the existence of the Golgi apparatus was debated for decades (many scientists believed that it only represented a staining artefact) and was only confirmed in the mid-1950s by the use of the electron microscope. The Golgi apparatus plays a key role in the intracellular sorting, trafficking and targeting of proteins. This organelle makes Golgi the most frequently cited scientist in cell and molecular biology. The year 1998 marks the centenary of this discovery, celebrated in many scientific journals and meetings.

Golgis drawings of the internal reticular apparatus that he observed in spinal ganglia (the different drawings illustrate the variety of features Golgi observed with his metal impregnation, from Opera Omnia). This intracellular structure is universally known nowadays as Golgi apparatus.

Rigorous, determined, highly motivated scientist and stimulating teacher, Golgi left a heritage of passionate studies that exerted a profound influence on biomedical research in the 20th century.

The Golgi Hall in the Museum for the History of the University of Pavia. In the high altar (to the right), exclusively devoted to Golgi, his Nobel diploma can be seen.

The Italian Ufficio Principale Filatelico issued this stamp in 1994 to celebrate the Nobel Laureate Camillo Golgi. Reproduced with the permission of Mrs Maria Ciraci, The Director of Ufficio Principale Filatelico, Rome, Italy.

1. The Black Reaction  La reazione nera

The Purkinje cell of the cerebellum is used as an example to illustrate the revelatory power of the Golgi stain, and why it was and still is important. The extension and orientation of dendrites of the Purkinje cells provided a key for the understanding of how the cerebellar cortex is built up and works (the same could be stated for all other structures of the brain, in which how neuronal processes are arranged is the prerequisite for their functioning). The anatomist Evangelista Purkinje described the large cells in the cerebellum (A) that bear his name. With the methods available at Purkinjes time, he could only observe the cell bodies. No branches can be seen even in the routine histological stains (thionin, cresyl violet) still used nowadays (B). C demonstrates that the Golgi stain fully visualizes the entire extent of ramifications of this particular neuronal cell type and its spatial orientation. This is crucial for the functioning of the cerebellar cortex, since the axons of granule cells (called parallel fibers) coursing tangentially establish several hundred thousands of contacts with the dendrites of each Purkinje cell (D).

A depicts the Purkinje cell as Evangelista Purkinje described and drew in 1837.

B illustrates the cerebellar cortex in a routine histological stain (Nissl stain) still commonly used nowadays: in the upper part of the photo the molecular layer (with very few cells, indicated by their nuclei  the dark dots  ) can be seen, then there is the Purkinje cell layer (with three large cell bodies visible) and then the granule cell layer (with densely packed small cells). With this stain, dendrites of Purkinje cells extending into the molecular layer can hardly be identified.

C illustrates a Golgi-impregnated Purkinje cell with the full extent of its dendritic arborizations. Reproduced with the permission from FUNDAMENTAL NEUROANATOMY by Nauta and Fiertag 1986 by W. H. Freeman and Company. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

D illustrates the general organization of cerebellar cortex and shows the crucial role played by the ramifications of the Purkinje cells and their spatial orientation.

The impact of the knowledge of the cell architecture and the orientation of its dendrites on the clarification of the structure and function of the cerebellar cortex is explained in this drawing of the cerebellar cortex (D). Without knowing how and where the individual cell bodies extend their processes it would have been very hard to have clues on the organization of the cerebellar cortex. The same applies to all the other neural structures.

Credits

Thanks are due to Dr. Paolo Mazzarello for his help and advice.

Photos were kindly provided by Museo di Storia dellUniversita di Pavia  Museum for the History of the University of Pavia, Director: Dr. Alberto Calligaro and from the book by Dr. Paolo Mazzarello La struttura nascosta, Cisalpino, Istituto Editoriale Universitario  Monduzzi Editore S.p.A, 1996.

For iconographic material on Golgis birthplace as well as on Golgis life, the contact person is Antonio Stefanini.

First published 20 April 1998

To cite this section

MLA style: Life and discoveries of Camillo Golgi. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Thu. 27 Oct 2022. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1906/golgi/article/>
Elie Wiesel Biographical

Elie Wiesel was born in 1928 in the town of Sighet, now part of Romania. During World War II, he, with his family and other Jews from the area, were deported to the German concentration and extermination camps, where his parents and little sister perished. Wiesel and his two older sisters survived. Liberated from Buchenwald in 1945 by advancing Allied troops, he was taken to Paris where he studied at the Sorbonne and worked as a journalist.

In 1958, he published his first book, La Nuit, a memoir of his experiences in the concentration camps. He has since authored nearly thirty1 books some of which use these events as their basic material. In his many lectures, Wiesel has concerned himself with the situation of the Jews and other groups who have suffered persecution and death because of their religion, race or national origin. He has been outspoken on the plight of Soviet Jewry, on Ethiopian Jewry and on behalf of the State of Israel today2.

Wiesel has made his home in New York City, and is now a United States citizen. He has been a visiting scholar at Yale University, a Distinguished Professor of Judaic Studies at the City College of New York, and since 1976 has been Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University where he teaches Literature of Memory. Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council from 1980  1986, Wiesel serves on numerous boards of trustees and advisors.

1. forty (updated by Laureate  August 99)

2. and of the victims in Bosnia and Kosovo (updated by Laureate  August 99)

From Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1986, Editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1987

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and later published in the book series Les Prix Nobel/ Nobel Lectures/The Nobel Prizes. The information is sometimes updated with an addendum submitted by the Laureate.

Selected Bibliography By Elie Wiesel Against Silence: The Voice and Vision of Elie Wiesel. Ed., Irving Abrahamson. 3 vols. New York: Schocken, 1984. All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs. New York: Knopf, 1995. From the Kingdom of Silence. New York: Summit, 1984. (Reminiscences, including text of Nobel speeches.) The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, The Accident. New York: Hill & Wang, 1987. (Autobiographical novels.) Other Sources Brown, Robert McAfee, Elie Wiesel: Messenger to all Humanity. South Bend, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984. Fine, Ellen S., Legacy of Night: The Literary University of Elie Wiesel. Albany, NY State University of New York Press, 1982.

From Nobel Lectures, Peace 1981-1990, Editor-in-Charge Tore Frangsmyr, Editor Irwin Abrams, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997

This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.

Elie Wiesel died on 2 July 2016.

Copyright  The Nobel Foundation 1986

To cite this section

MLA style: Elie Wiesel  Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Thu. 27 Oct 2022. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1986/wiesel/biographical/>
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Greyhound racing will be outlawed in Australia's New South Wales from next year after a damning investigation into the sport uncovered reports of systemic animal cruelty, including mass killings and live baiting. State Premier Mike Baird said the findings of a special commission of inquiry had left the government with "no acceptable course of action except to close the industry down". The sport would be outlawed by July 1, 2017, Baird said in a statement. "Greyhound racing has been banned in many countries and many states of the U.S. and is legal in only eight countries around the world. NSW will be the first state in Australia to ban it," Baird wrote in a separate post on his Facebook page. "Over the coming months, we will consult with the industry to help minimise the pain as best we can for the innocent industry participants as we work towards an orderly industry shutdown." The decision caused shares in betting company Tabcorp to fall by around five percent to A$4.34 ($3.26) on Thursday, though it said in a statement that greyhound racing only accounted for about five percent of their wagering turnover. The inquiry, led by Australian lawyer Michael McHugh QC, found that up to 68,000 greyhounds bred in the past 12 years had been destroyed because they were considered uncompetitive. That amounted to about half the greyhound population, the report said. It also said that evidence suggested up to 20 percent of trainers engaged in the practice of 'live baiting', where animals such as rabbits are chased by dogs during training sessions. McHugh's report added that "many trainers" did not seek proper or adequate veterinary treatment for injured dogs, instead preferring "cheap and sometimes painful methods of treating greyhound injuries". It added the industry had turned a blind eye to reports of animal cruelty. The state government will consult with the industry and animal welfare authorities to implement a shutdown plan over the next 12 months. "I feel much empathy for innocent trainers and those who will lose their job or hobby as a result of this," Baird said. "And I understand the disappointment of people who enjoy having a punt on the dogs. But we simply cannot and will not stand by and allow the widespread and systemic mistreatment of animals." ($1 = A$1.3307) (Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by John O'Brien)
Ohio officer says racist cops should 'take the uniform off'
Improvised music alive and well -- and growing -- in New Orleans
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all.
The extent to which Donald Trump is loose with the facts has been well documented throughout his whirlwind presidential campaign. But the tycoon has once again  as hes been prone to doing in 2016  reached a new level in going off the rails in mind-boggling fashion.

In this latest episode, at a Tuesday night rally in North Carolina, Trump publicly stated that Saddam Hussein had the right approach on terrorists  killing them.

You know what he did well? He killed terrorists, Trump said. He did that so good. They didnt read em the rights. They didnt talk. They were a terrorist. It was over.

Words struggle to grasp how completely out of tune his comments were. Well try anyway.

One of the two major-party candidates to become president of the United States managed  in six short, terse sentences  to flout the facts of Husseins reign of terror while simultaneously disregarding the tenets of the American justice system and minimizing the sacrifice of thousands of American soldiers who died fighting to liberate Iraq from his grasp.

The presumptive Republican nominee pivoted a slam against Hillary Clinton into this bizarre segment of praise for the former Iraqi dictator. Trump has long expressed his misplaced love of the brutal version of order meted out by such leaders, but this one has taken the cake  for now.

For those who remember correctly, Iraq was designated a state sponsor of terror by the U.S. In a reality not occupied by Trump, Hussein bankrolled terrorists rather than killing him. The dictator was a major player in terrorism in the Middle East  whether it was by paying the families of suicide bombers or gassing the Kurds  until his capture, trial and execution.

Despite the atrocities Hussein was widely known to have committed, he was still afforded a trial. That fundamental belief is at the core of not only the American justice system but international humanitarian law during all wars and armed conflicts.

Yet Trump feels a doctrine of shoot first, ask questions never is an appropriate way to try suspected terrorists and enemy combatants. He wants to inherit the mantel of judge, jury and executioner from Hussein, apparently.

Regardless of ones opinions on the Iraq War, there can be no doubt that his ouster removed a totalitarian dictator from power.

To accomplish that, thousands of American troops lost their lives trying to wrest a nation away from a dictator who used his position to terrorize and murder his own people. Sympathy for Hussein that approaches admiration is a slap in the face of those who lost limbs or loved ones in Fallujah, Baghdad and elsewhere trying to stop him.

But such insults should come as no surprise: Trump has gleefully used his pulpit to bash anyone who disagrees with him, hiding behind the veil of ending political correctness.

Instead, hes now announced a murderous dictator had it right. Meanwhile, things such as facts, laws and the lives of American soldiers arent as important as projecting his tough guy image.
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CHICAGO - In collaboration with four local institutions, Northwestern University will receive $4.3 million in fiscal year 2016 from the National Institutes of Health to help launch the Cohort Program of President Obamas Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), the NIH announced today.

The PMI Cohort Program is a landmark longitudinal research effort that aims to engage 1 million or more U.S. participants to improve disease prevention and treatment measures based on individual differences in lifestyle, environment and genetics. The Northwestern collaborations goal is to enroll 150,000 Illinois participants in the study.

The big excitement here is the opportunity to improve the way we predict, prevent and eventually treat disease, said Dr. Philip Greenland, the Harry W. Dingman Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a principal investigator of the new award. Just the scope of it -- 1 million people -- is beyond anything that anybody in the U.S. has ever done. This could be a game changer.

Northwestern is one of four regional health care provider organizations to receive an award from the NIH for this study. Over five years and pending progress reviews and availability of funds, the Northwestern collaboration, which includes subgrantees Ann and Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, LLC, will receive $45 million in the consortium grant.

In addition to the funding for participant enrollment, the NIH will also support a data and research support center, of which Northwestern is a sub-awardee, and a participant technologies center to help build the PMI Cohort Program, totaling $55 million in awards in fiscal year 2016.

With these awards, NIH is on course to begin initial enrollment into the PMI Cohort Program later this year, with the aim of meeting its enrollment goal by 2020. Once the program has launched, interested participants can enroll at Lurie Childrens Hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital or any of the Northwestern Medicine-affiliated hospitals.

The PMI Cohort Program, one of the most ambitious research projects in history, will set the foundation for new ways of engaging people in research. PMI volunteers will be asked to contribute a wide range of health, environment and lifestyle information. They will also be invited to answer questions about their health history and status, share their genomic and other biological information through simple blood and urine tests and grant access to their clinical data from electronic health records. In addition, mobile health devices and apps will provide lifestyle data and environmental exposures in real time.

This all will be accomplished using essential privacy and security safeguards. As partners in the research, participants will have ongoing input into study design and implementation, as well as access to a wide range of their individual and aggregated study results.

This range of information at the scale of 1 million people from all walks of life will be an unprecedented resource for researchers working to understand all of the factors that influence health and disease, said NIH director Dr. Francis S. Collins. Over time, data provided by participants will help us answer important health questions, such as why some people with elevated genetic and environmental risk factors for disease still manage to maintain good health, and how people suffering from a chronic illness can maintain the highest possible quality of life. The more we understand about individual differences, the better able we will be to effectively prevent and treat illness.

The NIH will host a Twitter chat on Friday, July 8, from 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET with NIH director Dr. Francis Collins, NIH PMI Cohort Program director Eric Dishman and NIH deputy director for science, outreach and policy Dr. Kathy Hudson.

Visit the NIHs PMI Cohort Program website to learn more about the program and sign up for updates.

Read this story to learn more about how Feinberg School of Medicine is leading the way in precision medicine. For more information on how Northwestern is using data science to improve academic research across the university, read this recent data science package.
Overseas experts and scholars have been impressed by the development of Tibet whilst sightseeing before the opening of the 2016 Forum on the Development of Tibet.

More than 130 scholars and experts from more than 30 countries and regions attended the forum today in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region. It is hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Tibet autonomous region government.

Before the forum's opening, the participants visited Lhasa and nearby areas, including cultural relics such as the Potala Palace.

Ahmed Zarif Alkadi, who teaches Chinese at Egypt's Minia University, said it was his first trip to Tibet, and that he was amazed by its beautiful natural scenery.

He has visited many places, including monasteries in Lhasa and a nearby village, in the past few days, he said.

He also considered Tibet different to what he thought it was back in Egypt.

"In Egypt we had little information about Tibet and I knew Tibet mostly from novels, and Tibet is depicted as a primitive place of isolation," Alkadi said, in Chinese.

"But here I have found a lot of modern elements, and people here are plain and kind."

Jim Stoopman, program coordinator at Brussels' European Institute for Asian Studies said it was his second visit to Lhasa and that he had seen incredible changes in the city compared to his last visit in 2010.

"It starts with the road from the airport to the city," he said, adding that it had been new, but there was mud when he first visited the city.

He also said he saw many new apartment buildings this time and also visited agricultural farms and monasteries in the past few days.

"I think the central government in China is trying its best and putting all efforts to develop the region and livelihood of the people," he said. "We've seen some examples in the past few days. Tibet is really developing and people are moving out of poverty. It's easier for minorities to go to universities, to enjoy good primary education, and to learn their languages."

Nikhil Agarwal, a senior correspondent at the Kolkata Bureau of Press Trust of India, said China had fulfilled its commitment to protect Tibet's fragile ecosystem, which is reflected in the fact that Tibet's forest coverage has increased from less than 1 per cent of the land area in the 1950s to the current level of 11.98 per cent. Protection of rare species, such as red deer and Tibetan antelope, has been successful, Agarwal said.
A worker adjusts European Union and U.S. flags at the start of the 2nd round of EU-US trade negotiations for Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels in this November 11, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers will issue a statement at their meeting next week urging bank regulators to avoid imposing a disproportionate increase of costs on European banks, draft conclusions of the meeting said.

The Basel Committee, a body of banking supervisors from nearly 30 countries, is reviewing global banking rules. The results are expected by the end of the year.

Ministers at their regular monthly meeting in Brussels on Tuesday will say "the reform package would not be expected to result in a significant increase in the overall capital requirements for the European banking sector," according to draft conclusions seen by Reuters.

An EU official said that EU states agreed to take a common line in opposing wide-ranging reform, anticipating it will be too favorable to U.S. banks.

The core of the review is the introduction of models to calculate bank risks based on common standards, rather than on benchmarks developed internally by banks.

The objective is to facilitate the work of supervisors when they assess bank balance sheets. Banks from several European states oppose the plan, saying it would raise their costs.

The French and German banking federations said the new rules "may mean that the capital requirements for banks will rise in some cases by up to a further 50 percent," a joint document released on Wednesday said.

France is in the frontline to oppose the reform, which critics are calling Basel IV, as if it were a new set of regulations. The Basel Committee says it is simply completing the already-agreed Basel III reform of global banking rules.

An initial draft of the EU finance ministers' conclusions included a hard limit on how large an increase in the capital requirements Europe would be ready to accept. The text said that the reform should not increase requirements "by more than 5 percent" compared with existing capital obligations.

The hard limit was later removed, but ministers maintained a critical text which urges the Basel Committee in its reform effort "to ensure regulatory certainty, its coherence and effectiveness, while preserving the risk sensitivity of banking regulation".

Story continues

The draft conclusions will also call on global regulators to "carefully assess the design and calibration of this reform package on the basis of a comprehensive and transparent quantitative impact analysis".

The impact analysis should also take into account "the distribution of its impact on the different banking models and across jurisdictions," the document said.

A meeting of EU envoys is set to confirm the draft text on Thursday. Ministers next week are expected to adopt it with no changes.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio, editing by Larry King)
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, in this file picture taken October 28, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will investigate whether Russia, Brazil and three other countries are flooding the bloc with cheap hot-rolled flat iron and alloy and non-alloy steel products, following a complaint from European rivals.

The EU executive said the probe, opened on Thursday, will focus on the period July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.

In addition to Russian and Brazilian iron and steel exporters, the Commission is also targeting those from Serbia, Ukraine and Iran. The companies have been given 15 days to contact the EC with their details.

The European Steel Association (Eurofer), whose members account for more than a quarter of EU iron and steel products, triggered the case with a May complaint.

"The complainant has provided evidence that imports of the product under investigation from the countries concerned have increased overall in absolute terms and in terms of market share," the Commission said in the Official Journal.

The EU, which can impose duties on imports if there is evidence that these are sold at below fair market prices and are damaging the businesses of European competitors, now has 10 anti-dumping investigations underway into steel products.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek, Greg Mahlich)
For Chuck Williams, there's an excitement in taking an old building, planning out concepts for it and seeing its transformation.

It's very satisfying, the Valparaiso real estate developer said.

Williams, owner of C.L. Williams and Cos., recalled purchasing a building in 1999 at 212 E. Lincolnway in the city's downtown.

Williams renovated that structure, which now is home to multiple businesses. On the main level is a Buffalo Wild Wings. The second floor includes offices for C.L. Williams and Cos. as well as for Elegan Customwear, which formerly was owned by Williams.

The rehabilitation and preservation of the property earned Williams an Indiana Main Street award in 2004, he said.

Williams said he has renovated five buildings so far in Valparaiso's downtown and would like to do more.

In addition to the joys of seeing the completion of a renovation project, Williams also is interested in learning about the history of the buildings he's rehabbing.

He said the Lincolnway building once included an auto repair garage, and vehicles were serviced on all levels of the structure. He said a large elevator was used to lift the cars in the building.

Besides the work to improve properties, it's also necessary to find tenants for his buildings.

Williams said that process involves networking. Sometimes, businesses will reach out to him after hearing he is involved with a development. There also are other occasions in which he's contacting prospective tenants to find out their needs.

It's competitive, but people want good space, he said.

Mike Micka, a vice president of development at Holladay Properties, said Williams has played a large role in revitalizating Valparaiso's downtown.

Micka has known Williams for about 20 years, and formerly served as his banker for projects. He said Williams helped to influence bringing special liquor licenses to the city's downtown, which helped make the area a dining destination.

Williams said Valparaiso officials were involved in other enhancements, such as streetscape improvements and facade grants to revitalize the downtown.

The city's done a great job, Williams said.

Williams, a former Valparaiso city councilman, said the popularity of the city's downtown has left that area with few empty spaces for retailers. That wasn't always the case in Valparaiso. In 2003, the downtown had a vacancy rate of around 40 percent, Williams said.

As Williams looks to the future of that area of the city, he believes more residential opportunities are on their way, too.

Both millennials and baby boomers want to move downtown, he said.

In many cases, buildings in that area of the city have retailers on the main levels, and the second tiers have been devoted to office space.

Williams said Valparaiso has a real livable downtown with many restaurants and other amenities, and there will be efforts to convert the second-level office spaces into residential areas as well.

I think that's what you're going to see, he said.

Williams said residential units on upper levels of buildings in downtowns isn't a new trend. It's going back to what originally took place in those types of areas.

He said he is renovating a property at 206 Lincolnway, which was built in 1895. A blacksmith once operated out of that facility, and a second floor was added to that building for the blacksmith's family to live in, Williams said.

What you're seeing in these little urban centers is people are moving back to them, he said, You're seeing that all over the country.

Williams said three or four current projects are converting office spaces into residential areas in the city's downtown.

It's great to be in a town that people want to invest in, he said of Valparaiso.

Outside of Valparaiso, Williams is involved in the major Dunes Pavilion renovation project.

He is a principal of Pavilion Partners, which has a 35-year lease with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to renovate the pavilion and operate dining and event spaces there.

Williams said existing amenities at the site haven't kept up with the market and demand. Plans for the pavilion include a restaurant and banquet area, which could be used for weddings and other activities.

Williams said private companies operating concessions at parks is a growing trend throughout the country.

The government doesn't run restaurants well, Williams said. He said planning for the pavilion is proceeding well.

We're excited, he said.

Williams said Northwest Indiana has a lot of promise, and the Region needs to take advantage of its opportunities to continue to be a great place to live and for businesses to thrive.

Although many of his projects have been local, Williams is pursuing development work outside the Region. He said he is currently looking at mixed-use development in the Indianapolis area.

Williams said he has experience planning mixed-use properties. He said he was involved with the University Promenade project, which includes 28 residential units, restaurants, a medical office and space used by Valparaiso University.

He said University Promenade was a very successful project that created a nice gateway to the campus.
John Moultrie, founder of Michigan Citys Lighthouse Jazz Festival, knows both newcomers and longtime aficionados of the genre will gain much enjoyment from attending his inaugural musical showcase.

At the end of the day, we want to introduce you to new artists that have great music, he said. And hopefully, you will fall in love with the artist and go out and buy their music. The music is going to be good. The experience is going to be good.

Five ensembles and performers encompassing a wide range of styles are scheduled to perform at Lighthouse Jazz Festival. Geared to music fans of all ages, the festival kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday and is scheduled to run until 10 p.m. at Michigan Citys Guy Foreman Amphitheatre at Washington Park.

Moultrie, who was raised in Evanston, has successfully blended his longtime love of jazz with bringing it to the masses for nearly a quarter century.

In the early '90s, Moultrie, a trained chef, opened Jazz Oasis, a successful jazz restaurant and club in Chicagos River North neighborhood. Jazz Oasis was a hit with fans of the genre for several years before Moultrie sold the operation to work for Disney as an operations director.

While finding success in Chicago, Moultrie was introduced to the Region courtesy of a Windy City friend, the late actor Dennis Farina. Farina owned a home in New Buffalo, Michigan and encouraged Moultrie to visit.

Literally one day I was on my way to Kalamazoo and I needed gas, Moultrie said. I stopped in New Buffalo to get gas. I told Dennis I was in town and he gave me the nickel tour. And Ive been there for 19 years now.

A New Buffalo resident for nearly two decades now, today, Moultrie owns and operates the Region-based Live Music Matters, which produces music events throughout the Region, and also hosts jazz shows on Southwest Michigan radio stations WVPE (88.1 FM) and WRHC (106.7 FM).

Having found success with many festivals throughout Michiana, most notably the Ship and Shore Blues Festival in his hometown in 2014 and 2015, Moultrie set his sights on Michigan City for what would become Lighthouse.

Over the last few years, Moultrie has been impressed by how the city has grown, culturally, over the course of the last several years.

Im quite attracted to the space and its dynamic leadership and what the city is doing with the rebranding, and how its incorporating the residents with the businesses, he said. I really like those type of environments, because its where the whole community comes together and rolls its sleeves up. Theyre inviting people in.

Theyre creating new spaces for new people, he added. Theyre entertaining the current residents and theyre adding so many new attractions to the area. Thats kind of why you want to come (to Michigan City) and stay for a while, and that wasnt that way when I first moved (to the Region).

For his inaugural Lighthouse Jazz festival, Moultrie has curated a lineup that touches upon a myriad of jazz styles.

The Michigan-based Lake Effect Jazz Big Band, who have entertained Michiana audiences for more than a decade and a half, are scheduled to kick off the Lighthouse musical festivities.

Stephen L. Reed has served as the director of the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band for six years now. The bands performance at Lighthouse is only one of 15 he and his two dozen-plus member ensemble will play in this calendar year.

(Festival attendees) will be hearing first class, world class musicians from all over the United States, Reed said of Lighthouse. And jazz is such a historical music that you hope people will come out and support this music.

Following Lake Effect at Lighthouse will be the Big Apple-based composer and vocalist Mimi Jones and her band, with a guest appearance by jazz/gospel vocalist Tammy McCann.

Next up in the Lighthouse lineup is North Carolinas genre-bending cellist and composer Shana Tucker, who released her debut effort, Shine, last year. On tap to follow Tucker is Windy City-based composer and pianist Robert Irving III, who served as musical director for Miles Davis in the '80s and whose performance with his ensemble Generations will serve as a tribute to the jazz trail blazer.

Switzerland-reared composer and bandleader Alex Bugnon, who has backed the varied likes of Keith Sweat, Melba Moore and Freddie Jackson, as well as put out a handful of R&B/jazz flavored sets in his own right, is scheduled to close out Lighthouse.

Moultrie has been friends with many of the acts that make up his Lighthouse Jazz festival for many years.

People will get a chance to see something created in the moment, and thats what live music is, Moultrie said. Its spontaneous. You dont get to see that in any other type of environment. But this is created right in the moment. Youre going to see a once-in-a-lifetime performance and youll never see it again.

Reed agreed.

In jazz, theres this element of improvisation, that when it happens, it never happens again, he added. Its the only serious American music that we have, and festivals such as these are a celebration of this great American music.

In addition to the music, more than a half dozen food and beverage vendors for festivalgoers of all ages will be on hand at Washington Park. Lighthouse will also offer a variety of games and activities courtesy of the likes of Harley Davidson and Discovery Zone for younger attendees.

FYI: Lighthouse Jazz Festival runs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday at Guy Foreman Amphitheatre at Washington Park, 115 Lake Shore Drive., Michigan City. Cost is 10-$30 for adults, $5 for attendees 13-20 years of age, free for attendees 12 and younger. Visit LIGHTHOUSEJAZZFESTIVAL.COM
HAMMOND  The stepdaughter of former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist avoided prison Thursday.

Miranda Brakley, 35, of Lake Station, received six months home detention followed by two years probation Thursday for embezzling Lake Station City Court funds.

Words cannot express my humiliation and remorse, she told U.S. District Court Judge James Moody.

She admitted Jan. 20 she stole more than $16,000 from the city court where she worked as a clerk between 2008 and 2012. Her position gave her access to bond money traffic offenders deposited with the court to get out of jail following their arrest.

Moody ordered her to pay $664 restitution, in addition to the $15,800 she had previously paid the City of Lake Station.

Her lawyer, Thomas Vanes of Merrillville, said home detention was the most appropriate punishment for Brakley who requires high maintenance medical care for a longstanding gastrointestinal disorder that has required recent surgery and for her to maintain a liquid-only diet.

He stated in a memorandum she is restricted to 64 ounces of liquid a day, she has to constantly monitor her blood sugar and blood pressure, go to twice weekly visited to her physicians for check-ups and treatment and has to receive the rest of her nutrients through monthly intravenous treatments at a hospital.

Her stepfather, former Lake Station Mayor Keith Soderquist, awaits sentencing Sept. 28.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to cover up Brakleys theft by borrowing from an unidentified friend enough money to replace the missing funds to bolster a cover-up story that Brakley had only misplaced, not stolen, the amount.

A jury last year also found the former mayor and his wife, Deborah Soderquist, guilty of improperly taking thousands of dollars from Keith Soderquists re-election campaign fund and the citys food pantry account to gamble at nearby casinos.

The former mayor, who had served nearly eight years in office, came under state and federal scrutiny four years ago after former Lake Station City Judge Christopher A. Anderson discovered Brakley stole money that those arrested in Lake Station posted to get out of jail.

Anderson left the bench last year, ran for Lake Station mayor and defeated Soderquist and a Republican opponent.
Editor's note: Charges of minor consumption were dismissed against Breanna Ott, according to the Porter County prosecutor's office.

PORTAGE  Eight adults and two juveniles were arrested Wednesday night when police broke up an alleged underage drinking party.

Police were called to a home in the 6000 block of Lexington Avenue about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday on the report of a large, underage drinking party.

When police arrived, they saw, through a front window, several people playing beer pong in the kitchen area of the home. Police knocked on the front door and while one party-goer opened the door, several others fled through the back of the residence where police also were stationed. Several were caught attempting to hide in the area.

Arrested were: Jose Miranda, 18, of Portage, for possession of marijuana; Breanna Ott, 18, of Portage, for minor consumption; Alexis Watkins, 18, of South Haven, for minor consumption; Ernesto Cardenas, 18, of Portage, for resisting law enforcement and minor consumption; Miranda Wachtor, 18, of Portage, for contributing to the delinquency of a minor; Marko Nestorovski, 19, of South Haven, for resisting law enforcement and fleeing law enforcement; Noah Runk, 19, of Portage, for minor consumption; and Johnathan Harriman, 18, of Portage, for minor consumption. They were all transported to Porter County Jail.

Two juveniles also were arrested. One was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia and minor consuming and the second was charged with resisting law enforcement and minor consumption. Both were transported to Porter County Juvenile Detention Center.
MERRILLVILLE  Police said Thursday that a man killed outside his home late Tuesday was shot several times at close range and likely was targeted.

Charles D. Montgomery, 42, of Merrillville, was a reputed gang member and a convicted felon, police Cmdr. Jeff Rice said. A preliminary investigation has shown the shooting was not random, he said.

Montgomery's family was inside the house in the 5400 block of Fillmore Street when he was shot and was aware he had gone outside, Rice said.

Police responded to the home about 10:40 p.m. for a gunshot victim, according to a news release. Montgomery was pronounced dead at the scene, a Lake County coroner's release said.

A man who answered a knock at the door Wednesday said Montgomery's family did not want to talk.

Rice said Montgomery's family members were interviewed, and police are working on leads.

Neighbors who saw anything, or anyone else with information about the homicide, are urged to call Detective Sgt. George Fields at (219) 769-3722, ext. 349, or Rice at (219) 769-3722, ext. 360. Callers can remain anonymous.
GARY  Two people were wounded in two separate shootings during the holiday weekend, police said.

Gary police were dispatched about 10 p.m. Saturday to the 1900 block of Vermont Street for a possible gunshot victim.

Officers found a 16-year-old boy who had been shot while riding in a vehicle in the area, Cmdr. Del Stout said. Another person in the vehicle with the boy was not wounded.

The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment of a graze wound to his head, Stout said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Michael Barnes at (219) 881-1210.

Police were dispatched about 10:15 p.m. Monday to the area of Seventh Avenue and Tompkins Street and found several people standing in a driveway. A witness told police a man had been shot, and officers found blood but no gunshot victim, Stout said.

Police were called a short time later to a local hospital for a man with gunshot wounds to his upper back and armpit, Stout said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. William Fazekas at (219) 881-1210. To remain anonymous, call (866) CRIME-GP.
HAMMOND  As children rode bicycles up and down Cleveland Avenue, friends and family of John Lee Hennington gathered in his honor Thursday night in front of the slain teenagers home.

They stood in the same spot where the 15-year-old was shot and killed less than 24 hours earlier as Henningtons cousin, Brittnee Buck, of Hammond, bowed her head in prayer on the front steps.

It wasnt right the way he got put down, Buck yelled out to the crowd that spilled from the sidewalks and out into the street.

I want to let you know something. The devil dont care how old none of you are if hes planning to pick you all off. All the stuff they doing out in these streets, it aint worth it. It aint worth losing your life over.

Police say Hennington was shot about 1:31 a.m. Thursday as he talked on the phone outside his home in the 1100 block of Cleveland Street in Hammond. Henningtons sister, who was in the living room, heard what she thought sounded like a speeding vehicle, squealing tires and a gunshot, police said.

The sister told her mother, who called police.

Buck, who recently moved back to the area to minster with a local church, said she believes her cousin was targeted. She last saw him on the Fourth of July when he stopped by to help her work on her motorcycle.

We was going to pick him up for Sunday service, but didnt get a chance to, Buck said, tears in her eyes.

Thursdays brief, but heavy, rains swept away candles that had formed the words Lil John on the sidewalk. Despite the rain, people stayed  many tucked together beneath umbrellas.

Henningtons sister, Taisha Graham, 18, were among those at the vigil who wore red or black  Henningtons favorite colors  to honor his memory.

She said her brother turned 15 just last week. She bought him cupcakes and they had a small gathering for him with his family June 30, she said.

Many offered condolences and hugs to Henningtons mother, Minerva Graham. She briefly spoke after the crowd released red and white balloons into the sky.

Dont make your mama hurt like I am right now, Graham told the young crowd on her front lawn. But Im going to be all right cause my son looking at me right now, telling me Im going to be all right.

School City of Hammond Superintendent Walter Watkins said earlier Thursday Hennington was a freshman at Hammond High School and previously attended Eggers Middle School.

Its my understanding that this was the result of a Facebook beef, Watkins said. It had been ongoing for a while.

Family of the teen said they are working closely with police but have been asked not to discuss what may have led someone to pull the trigger on him.

Shanda McFadden, Henningtons aunt, declined to say whether any disputes on social media may have led to her nephews shooting.

We dont know if he was targeted. Theres chatter but theres also rumors, McFadden, of Hammond, said of her nephews shooting.

She described her 15-year-old nephew as smart and ambitious, who always had a really big smile on his face.

He was always very respectful, and very kind, she added.
GARY  In the wake of a need for more welders in the Region, Ivy Tech Community College Northwest will restart its welding program at the Gary campus this fall after a 10-year hiatus.

The welding program has been flourishing at the East Chicago and Valparaiso campuses.

A welder is a skilled tradesman who uses electrical currents to create heat, and bond metals together. The work that welders do and the equipment they use vary with the industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, welders work in a variety of industries from car racing to manufacturing.

Nick Tokarz, apprenticeship instructor at the Boilermakers Local Union 374 in Hammond, said there is a growing need for welders in the Region because there is so much construction underway and work in heavy industry.

Parnell Jordan, program chairman of Industrial Technology-Welding, said the classes offered at the East Chicago campus are full and attract people from across the Region.

"We've noticed a need for welders, and the classes in East Chicago are full," he said. "We want to get Gary up and running, so students can also attend that campus."

Jordan said the class had been discontinued in Gary because there were no faculty members in place and the need for welders declined.

He said the East Chicago campus has 11 classes this summer with nearly a dozen people in each class. This fall, Jordan said East Chicago will have 19 welding classes with a dozen students in each class.

The East Chicago campus, just like the Valparaiso campus, offers students a certificate and a two-year degree in welding.

Jordan said the Gary campus will begin with a one-year certificate program, then is expected to expand to the associate degree program.

"Many of our people go directly into apprenticeships at the Boilermakers or iron workers union, and they obtain national certification through the American Welding Society," he said.

The Boilermakers' Tokarz, who earned an associate degree in welding from Ivy Tech's Valparaiso campus in 1999, said a welder in a small shop in Northwest Indiana may earn just under $10.

"A steel mill may offer a starting salary of $20 per hour but once a welder finishes the apprenticeship they may earn about $34 per hour plus benefits," he said.

Tokarz said he learned from one of the best, Harry Miller. Miller, who has been a welding instructor in programs across Northwest Indiana, restarted the welding program at the Gary Area Career Center last year, enabling high school students to learn the trade.

Ivy Tech welding instructor Shakir Meux, who teaches in East Chicago, also will be teaching in Gary this fall. He said the college will publicize the program in a variety of ways including email and word-of-mouth.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest accredited statewide community college system. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana.

It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community, and its courses and programs transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.
MUNSTER  Pull the permit for St. Thomas More Fun Days festival next year or find a way to cancel, or at least substantially revamp it, a number of residents told the Town Council on Monday night.

Council members, while not committing to a specific action, told festival representatives who attended the meeting the permit would be under close scrutiny for 2017.

This year's festival ran June 22-26 on church grounds, 8501 Calumet Ave.

There is a permitting process, Town Council President John Reed told the audience. The town cannot deny the church a permit without going through the required steps before making a decision.

I understand the sentiment. I dont want it to reach the point where a little kid gets shot," Reed said.

Reed and residents were referring to an incident that occurred June 27 in which gunfire was exchanged in the Jewel parking lot on Ridge Road, resulting in one injury to a woman in her 20s. Mark Daniel Martinez, 18, of Hammond, has since been arrested with two felony counts of criminal recklessness in connection with the incident.

Councilman David Nellans, council liaison to the towns Board of Safety, said during the meeting that prior to the 2016 festival, the town has given safety recommendations to the St. Thomas More Fun Days committee.

They were rejected, he said, though the festival did provide security, including Munster police officers it hired for the event.

I was there Saturday (at the festival), Nellans said. I felt quite (anxious) on the midway. Im not surprised about what happened on Sunday night."

The several festival committee members in attendance pointed out the shooting happened after the festival had ended, and that the police investigation has not yet specifically tied it to the festival.

However, several residents said the festival, and in particular its carnival, has been attracting an undesirable crowd for quite a few years.

Andi Frenetti, who has attended the festival in the past, said she has seen it deteriorate. We leave earlier and earlier (every year), she said.

Nellans and other council members agreed, with Nellans saying the town didnt want an event to invite that element into our community.

Moreover, St. Thomas More is a private concern and its festival benefits church activities and not the town, residents said. If the church needs to have a fundraiser, it should create an event that attracts a different crowd, like an art show or a more family-oriented festival.

Although the possibility of moving it to another setting, such as Centennial Park, was broached, many in the audience agreed with resident Bob Cushing that the festival instead should be canceled. I dont want to see (the church) get a permit next year, he said.

Festival committee members pointed out that town-sponsored events, such as the Fourth of July fireworks, require heavy security and may attract the kind of element residents are complaining about. Nellans countered the town provides a level of security the church has not. I dont know if St Toms can afford that kind of security level, Nellans said.

The festivals fate was not on the agenda, so council members did not take a vote. However, they put committee members on notice the church will be under a microscope when the permitting process begins.

The permit process will be far more stringent than what the church has experienced in the past, Councilman Andy Koultourides said.

Reed told residents in attendance they were welcome to stay in contact with him and other council members on Facebook to stay abreast of the situation.

Calls seeking comment from St. Thomas More were referred to Rev. Michael Yadron, church pastor. He was not immediately available for comment.

The spokesman for the Diocese of Gary was unavailable for comment.
The public fireworks displays throughout the Region on the Fourth of July were great ways to celebrate our nations Declaration of Independence 240 years ago, in which our forefathers committed themselves to the original Brexit.

A final public display is planned for Saturday in Wanatah, which always holds its Fourth of July celebration on the Saturday after the after holiday.

But the private fireworks displays continue, despite a state law that clearly defines when fireworks are allowed. And public safety is at stake.

As The Times Dan Carden reminded us in Mondays Crossing the Line installment, Indiana allows fireworks to be shot off from 10 a.m. to midnight on the Fourth of July.

On every other day between June 29 and July 9, fireworks legally can be used only from 5 p.m. until two hours after sunset.

Local governments get to decide when fireworks can be launched during the remainder of the year, excluding New Years Eve when state law permits Hoosiers to light off fireworks from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m. on Jan. 1.

Each year, we hear of injuries and fires caused by private fireworks displays.

Dogs and cats, with their sensitive hearing, are often affected by the loud explosions. Veterans who have been under enemy attack can suffer, too.

Were all for good fireworks displays, but theres a limit. And those limits should be explored.

Communities with older housing stock and higher population densities are at a higher risk of fire as a result of explosives. Shooting off fireworks in a small backyard, next to homes with fewer modern and fire-resistant building materials, is risky business. An errant firework can cause a fire that spreads quickly, and perhaps spreads to adjacent homes, too.

City and town councils should consider placing their own limits, in addition to those covered by state law, on when private citizens can use fireworks. In doing so, include the police and fire departments in the discussion to make sure the ordinances that result are both enforceable and in keeping with the legitimate risks involved.

Perhaps theres a park or other open land that can be designated as a safe place to use fireworks with a free or inexpensive permit, for example.

Illinois doesnt allow residents to use fireworks at any time, including the Fourth of July, except for sparklers, snaps and snakes. Indiana communities dont have to be that restrictive.

Neither Illinois nor Indiana officials have proven particularly adept at enforcing existing laws. But do give some consideration to public safety. And remember its Independence Day, not Independence Week or Month.
With Muslims across the city celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, community leaders are speaking out about terrorism carried out in the name of Islam. NY1's Erin Clarke filed the following report.



With a massive outdoor prayer service, Muslims in Harlem celebrated Eid Al-Fitr, the final day of Ramadan, this year against the backdrop of terrorism across the Muslim world.

"The terrorist don't have no face. They don't have no religion, brothers and sisters," said Souleimane Konate, imam at Masjid Aqsa Salam.



In Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, recent bombings killed hundreds. And a gunman in Orlando pledging allegiance to the Islamic State killed 49 people.

With some Americans questioning whether Islam is a peaceful religion, the imam of the city's largest West African mosque said the terrorrists in no way represent Islam.

"So-called Muslims, they hide behind Islam, they hide behind the Quran to kill innocent people just to divide us," Konate said.

Wednesday afternoon, members of Masjid Al-Iman, a mosque in the Bronx, held a news conference echoing those sentiments.



"The world is becoming a very dangerous and cantankerous place, so we as Muslims must step up to the plate and shun those who preach against what the prophet Muhammad use to preach and do actions contrary to the belief of humanity," said one member.



The group said their message of peace and unity is also relevant here in America. Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has proposed banning Muslims from entering the country, and he has criticized Mayor Bill de Blasio for ending police surveillance of mosques.



"Politically, we're looking at a very scary future," said one member. "This is my country. All of my family lives in this country. I love this country, and I do not want to be sectioned out of this country. This is my home as an American and a Muslim."



Back in Harlem, Islamic leaders praised city officials for rebuking Trump's and taking steps to make the Muslim community feel more welcome. For the first time, city schools were closed this past year during the Muslim holy days of Eid Al-Adha and Eid Al-Fitr.


A vigil was held Wednesday for the Brooklyn man killed by an off-duty police officer earlier this week. NY1's Lori Chung filed the following report.



Tensions rose in East New York near the spot where Delrawn Small was killed by an off-duty officer in what police say was a road rage incident that turned deadly.

"Only thing that matters to me is that my brother got shot for no reason," said Victor Dempsey, the victim's brother.

Relatives spoke out shortly before they joined protesters in blocking traffic on Atlantic Avenue Wednesday evening, demanding justice for the 37-year-old and the family he leaves behind.

Police say Small got out of his car and assaulted the officer after the two exchanged words at a red light on Monday. The officer, who sources identify as Wayne Issacs, opened fire after the unarmed Small reached into his car and punched him several times.

"I don't care if they said he punched him. I don't care if they said he should have stayed in the car. I don't care if they said he shouldn't have been driving or he shouldn't have been in Brooklyn. At the end of the day, he got shot by a cop for no reason," Dempsey said.

Relatives of others who've died in confrontations with police offered support to the family.

"It's a shame what happened to this family. I know what they're feeling," said Gwen Carr, Eric Garner's mother.

"You laugh, but it's not funny. It's another human life that was taken," said Hertencia Petersen, Akai Gurley's aunt.

Many here noted that this gathering comes one day after the shooting death of Alton Sterling by police in Louisiana.

"Attacked for selling music, shot while he was on the ground," said Assemblyman Charles Barron of Brooklyn.

Both cases are seen by some here as symptoms of a broken system.

"It could have been my uncle. It could have been my father. It could have been my son. It could have been my brother. These cops kill up people all the time," said one person at the vigil.

NY1 is told Isaacs has been on the force for three years and had just completed a shift before this happened. He's now the subject of an internal investigation as the state attorney general looks into this as well.
Whats on TV

WALL-E (2008) 7:15 p.m. on Disney. The little, lonely robot Wall-E stole our hearts, and his journey  a parable about ecology and the future of mankind  feels as urgent as ever. But the tale is also one of nuanced hope: The films genius, A. O. Scott wrote in The Times, lies in its notion that creativity and self-destruction are sides of the same coin.

ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN (1976) 8 p.m. on TCM. Vincent Canby, in his Times review of this classic adaptation of the 1974 book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, wrote that never before has any film come remotely close to being an accurate picture of American journalism at its best. (You cant help but wonder what Mr. Canby would have had to say about Spotlight, which won the Oscar for best picture earlier this year.) Like Spotlight, much of All the Presidents Men focuses on the day-to-day work behind groundbreaking journalism. Those scenes, Mr. Canby wrote, are just as important as the central mystery of Watergate  maybe even more, he added, since the films real excitement is in watching two comparatively inexperienced reporters stumble onto the story of their lives and develop it triumphantly, against all odds.
But such a bailout may be illegal under relatively new European rules that aim to protect taxpayers and instead force investors in the banks to provide financial support in times of trouble. Investors lend money to banks by buying their debt securities. Under the anti-bailout rules, those securities would be forcibly turned from debt into new equity, which could absorb any new losses taken on the bad loans. Under such a so-called bail-in, the equity would in theory be worth less than the debt securities, leading to losses for investors who held the debt.

It sounds straightforward, but in Italy it is not.

Retail investors hold many of those debt securities. According to Bruegel, a research organization that specializes in European economic issues, families own about a third of Italian banks debt securities. Not only would bail-ins focus the pain on Italian households, the fear of losses might also prompt investors to stop lending to banks and lead depositors to withdraw their money. This would make a bad, but manageable, situation much worse.

Italy could try to focus the losses on institutional investors, but, as Silvia Merler, an affiliate fellow at Bruegel, has noted, picking winners and losers could only add to the confusion among investors in bank debt.

To try and avoid this sort of mess, Italys government is hoping that Europes leaders will let it put money into its banks. But there is considerable tension over the question, as shown by a sharp public exchange between Angela Merkel, Germanys chancellor, and Matteo Renzi, Italys prime minister.

A compromise doesnt look impossible, though.

Europes leaders, seeing the specifics of Italys problems and wary of the stresses caused by Brexit, may decide that it makes sense to give Italy a pass this one time.

And the rules provide ways to do that. There are, for instance, exemptions in Europes state aid rules that aim to force bail-ins. One kicks in if a bail in could have disproportionate results.

Dan Davies, senior research adviser at Frontline Analysts, says the Italian government could argue that forcing losses on retail investors would fall under that exception.
A federal bill that would require labeling of foods made with genetically engineered ingredients passed a major hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday, significantly raising the odds that a national standard for labeling will put an end to a fight that has roiled the food industry for years.

The bill requires food manufacturers to use one of three types of labels to inform consumers when genetically engineered, or G.M.O., ingredients are in their products. The label requirements would also apply to growers of fruits and vegetables that are genetically engineered, like the Arctic Apple and some zucchini.

The approval is a big win for food companies, farm groups and the biotech industry, which began pushing for a national standard last year to head off a Vermont labeling law that went into effect last Friday.

The bill moved forward in a 65-32 procedural vote and is now widely expected to get final approval in the Senate as early as this week. It was approved after moments of unusual theater, including visitors in the gallery throwing cash on the Senate floor to protest contributions made by Monsanto to senators backing the bill.
In a statement on Wednesday about the Pennsylvania crash, Tesla said it had no reason to believe that Autopilot had anything to do with this accident based on the information it had collected so far.

The Pennsylvania crash involved a Model X S.U.V. heading east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. The car scraped a guardrail on the right side of the road, crossed the roadway and hit the concrete median. It then rolled over onto its roof and came to a stop in the middle of the road.

Tesla vehicles have the ability to send data back to the company about their condition and operation. In a statement, the company said it received an automated alert from the Model X in Pennsylvania on July 1 showing that its airbags had deployed. But the company said more detailed information about the cars operation was not received, a situation that could happen if the cars antenna was damaged in the crash.

Details of the Pennsylvania crash were first reported by The Detroit Free Press. The Pennsylvania State Police declined to release additional details because an investigation is in progress.

The Pennsylvania driver, Albert Scaglione, said by phone on Wednesday that he had just been released from the hospital and declined to comment on the accident. My attorneys will be releasing a statement shortly, he said.

A passenger in the car, Tim Yanke, was reportedly not seriously injured.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday that it was collecting information from the Pennsylvania State Police, Tesla and the driver to find out whether automated functions were in use at the time of the crash.
Mr. de Blasio, who has raised money for the Campaign for One New York, has argued that the activities of the nonprofits tied to him are aboveboard because they voluntarily disclose all of their contributions, despite not being required to do so. Its not dark money if its disclosed, he said in February.

But the board said the nonprofits disclosures fell short of being comprehensive and fully accessible to the public.

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the mayor, Eric Phillips, said that Mr. de Blasio had been a lifelong advocate of campaign finance reform, though he did not touch on the specifics of the legislation the Campaign Finance Board and watchdogs have suggested.

He looks forward to continuing the work to help get big money out of politics and to make sure everyone is playing by the same rules, Mr. Phillips said.

The boards actions were far more muted than its words.

Responding to a February complaint from Common Cause New York, a watchdog group, the board determined that because the nonprofits activities on behalf of the mayor had focused on his policy goals and took place more than three years before the election, there was not enough information to conclude that the organization had coordinated with the 2017 campaign.

The board also clarified rules governing nonprofit advocacy groups that are affiliated with politicians. If such groups coordinate with a politicians campaign to promote the politician in the run-up to an election, anything they spend will be treated as a donation to the candidate and subject to normal campaign finance limits.

Run by former advisers to the mayors 2013 campaign, the Campaign for One New York functioned as a policy advocacy group, not a shadow re-election committee. But it checked a few of the other boxes the board outlined on Wednesday: Mr. de Blasio has helped raise funds for the group, and most of its spending has been on political consultants who routinely advise him.
New York City will continue to allow gender-restricted hours at two public pools located near Hasidic enclaves in Brooklyn, but agreed to reduce the pools segregated hours as part of an exemption to gender discrimination laws granted by the citys Human Rights Commission.

The gender-segregated policies at the pools  the Metropolitan Recreation Center in Williamsburg and the St. Johns Recreation Center in Crown Heights  had prompted an anonymous complaint to the commission, and an ensuing discussion with the citys parks department. Concerns were raised that the restrictions might violate gender-discrimination laws regarding public services.

But after the department proposed reducing the female-only swim hours at the Williamsburg pool and eliminating a male-only block at St. Johns as part of a request for an exemption, the commission agreed to issue one, city officials announced on Wednesday.

The female-only hours at the Metropolitan Recreation Center, a two-decade-old accommodation for the areas sizable Hasidic population, will be reduced to four hours a week from six. St. Johns will continue to block out a two-hour swim for women once a week but eliminate its two-hour-a-week male-only swim period. The Metropolitan Recreation Center does not currently offer a male swim block.
ALBANY  Mayor Bill de Blasios political nonprofit group sought to convince a judge here on Wednesday that it should not be compelled to respond to a subpoena from a state ethics panel.

The panel, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, has been investigating the nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, since last year, seeking to determine whether it ran afoul of state regulations by failing to register as a lobbyist in 2015.

The arguments, before a State Supreme Court justice, Denise A. Hartman, provided new details from the investigation, one of at least five inquiries by state and federal authorities into the fund-raising activities of Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, and the nonprofit closely tied to him, which was shuttered this year.

As part of the panels inquiry, state investigators twice interviewed Bill Hyers, Mr. de Blasios former campaign manager who headed the nonprofit, as well as Hayley Prim, described as one of its employees. Both are now at Hilltop Public Solutions, a public relations firm.
OSSINING, N.Y.  As they heard the beginning of the 8:30 p.m. call to prayer on Tuesday, the Muslim men took their first sips of water of the day, breaking the Ramadan fast for the last time this year.

They passed around apples, chips and juice, their bodies aching for food but their minds reminding them that first, they must pray. The men filed into the white-walled mosque, joining more than 100 others facing east, their arms crossed and their heads bowed.

Allahu akbar, the imam called from the front of the two-tiered room.

Some of the men wore knit kufi caps, and almost all were clothed in green uniforms, signifying their status as inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Facility here in Westchester County. Sing Sing, a maximum-security prison, holds more than 1,600 inmates, including many convicted of crimes like murder and manslaughter.

The prisons imam, Jon Young, said that 80 percent of the Muslim inmates in Sing Sing had converted to Islam after entering prison.
1. Minnesotas governor called for a federal investigation into the police shooting of a black man, Philando Castile, during a traffic stop.

Mr. Castiles girlfriend, above, streamed the aftermath live on Facebook, immersing viewers in the grisly scene, below. It has been replayed more than four million times.

With a composure periodically fractured by wailing, she described an officer shooting at least four times after Mr. Castile began complying with a request to produce his registration  and alerted the officer that he had a licensed gun.
The Senate is expected to vote as early as Thursday on a bill that would require businesses to label genetically modified foods. Unfortunately, it would allow companies to use confusing electronic codes for scanning instead of simple, clear labels.

This bill, a bipartisan compromise negotiated by Senator Pat Roberts, Republican of Kansas, and Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan, is being pushed through Congress because some lawmakers from farm states want to pre-empt a Vermont law that requires labeling for some genetically modified foods that went into effect on July 1 (Vermont is giving companies six months to comply) and to prevent other states from enacting similar laws. The Senate bill follows an failed effort in March to block state labeling laws. The House passed a bill last year that would pre-empt states from enforcing such laws.

Image Cereal for sale in Montpelier, Vermont. Credit... Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor, via AP

While most scientists say that genetically modified foods do not pose a risk to human health, consumers should have a right to more information about what they are eating. Polls have found that a vast majority of Americans favor mandatory labels. Dozens of countries, including all 28 members of the European Union and Australia, already require similar disclosures.
Chances are, Hillary Clinton did not grow up dreaming that someday shed be a woman of whom it could be said that no reasonable prosecutor would indict her.

But think positive: Between the F.B.I.s 11-month email investigation and the eight congressional Benghazi inquiries, Clinton has now probably been examined more thoroughly than any candidate not up for canonization in the Catholic Church. How many times have you, as a concerned citizen, witnessed a famous politician felled by a terrible revelation and thought, My God, who knew? Not likely to be a problem with this one.

In his big press appearance Tuesday, F.B.I. Director James Comey took the now-familiar prosecutorial path of smearing the target he couldnt nail. But the bottom line was that Clinton had used less-than-secure private email servers rather than the State Department system, which was the proper procedure, albeit possibly even less less-than-secure. Worse, she did not tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth when she was cornered.

Its a problem for campaign strategists, but not much of a surprise for voters. We already knew that she was paranoid about privacy. Perhaps that was why some people decided, in 2008, that they preferred Barack Obama, who was promising presidential transparency. Whose administration then set new Olympics-level records when it came to rejecting Freedom of Information Act requests and persecuting suspected leakers of information to the media.
The Clintons  both Hillary and Bill  are very smart, but also quite reckless. They play too close to the edge and sometimes go over. They parse words to parry attacks. They possess a sort of preternatural political ability, but also a political paranoia.

Anyone who has followed the Clintons over the years already knows this. So hearing the stinging rebuke by the F.B.I. director, James Comey, of Hillary Clinton over her email usage in some ways made no waves, at least not for me. As obviously qualified as Clinton is  at a Charlotte, N.C., campaign rally, President Obama said, There has never been any man or woman more qualified for this office than Hillary Clinton, ever, and thats the truth  and as clearly superior to the puffed-up presumptive Republican nominee as she is, there is something about Clinton, and indeed the Clintons, that makes me uneasy.

But Comey refused to bring charges against Clinton, which seems to be the right call, and also seems in line with the Clinton history.

I know that Republicans have attacked the Clintons for decades. Many of those attacks were baseless, by opponents driven mad by the Clintons seeming imperviousness, an endless search for a presumed fire beneath a fog they perceive as smoke. But some of those attacks come because of the Clintons own carelessness, as it did in this case. Sometimes there actually is a fire, however large or small, that the Clintons themselves have set.
Bangladesh is still in shock and mourning after the brutal terrorist attack in the countrys capital, Dhaka, last Friday when five or more young jihadists burst into a restaurant and tortured and killed at least 20 people, mostly foreigners. On Thursday, a bombing at a prayer ground where tens of thousands of people gathered for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that concludes the holy month of Ramadan, killed two police officers and a civilian.

These attacks raise urgent questions about the ability of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to deal with a rising terrorist threat at a time when the Islamic State is expanding its reach around the world. The Islamic State said it was responsible for last Fridays attack, and promised more in a video released Tuesday, but the government is clinging to the idea that a local jihadist group is to blame.

Over the last three years, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for several of the hacking deaths of more than 40 people in Bangladesh. Last fall, foreign intelligence agencies warned that terrorists linked to the Islamic State were planning to ramp up activities in Bangladesh, but Ms. Hasina dismissed the warnings, saying the attacks were a conspiracy by the political opposition to harm her government. Ms. Hasinas obsession with obliterating opponents has deeply polarized traditionally tolerant Bangladesh. Last month, she ordered mass arrests that swept up more than 11,000 people. She has also moved to curb free speech and muzzle dissent.

No doubt, toxic local politics have nourished homegrown terrorist groups. But any links between them and the Islamic State or Al Qaeda should be cause for deep concern, as is the evidence that radicalization has spread to the heart of the countrys elite. The attackers on Friday were from well-off families. One was the son of a former city leader in the prime ministers Awami League party.
Surprise: This time, Justice Kennedy explained exactly why, in his view, the status quo on affirmative action should remain the law. Granted, he had never before embraced the precedents he cited. But the strategic miscalculation by justices impatient to undo those precedents hardly turns the Fisher outcome into the incarnation of liberalism.

Similarly, the abortion case has to be seen in context. The Fifth Circuit had upheld onerous new restrictions on abortion clinics in Texas, taking the startling position that when a state says it is regulating abortion for the purpose of protecting womens health, no court should inquire into whether the regulation actually serves that goal. As Justice Stephen G. Breyers majority opinion last week made clear, that stance of complete judicial deference flies in the face of the Supreme Courts rejection 24 years ago of unnecessary health regulations that impose a substantial obstacle to abortion access without conveying a health-related benefit.

Of the justices in last weeks majority, only Justice Kennedy was in the majority when the court decided the earlier case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which announced the undue burden standard that Justice Breyers opinion applied to the Texas law. What we learn from the fact that Justice Kennedy joined Justice Breyers opinion is that he still means now what he said back then  not that he has suddenly turned into a liberal. Whats surprising is not Justice Kennedys vote, but that the three justices who dissented  Chief Justice Roberts along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.  were willing to close their eyes to the weight of precedent and evidence. (These three, along with Justice Scalia, would have permitted the regulations to take effect without Supreme Court review, dissenting in June of last year when the court voted 5 to 4 to grant a stay of the Fifth Circuits ruling to permit the clinics to remain open while they appealed.)

Its worth remembering that todays conservative justices are a good deal more conservative than the liberal justices are liberal. Judicial liberals have been playing defense for decades, while judicial conservatives have grown ever bolder in re-purposing existing doctrine to the service of their agenda. In the Roberts court, the First Amendment is a prime example. Only Justice Scalias death and the resultant 4-to-4 tie in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association kept the court from invoking the First Amendment to cut the financial legs out from under public employee unions. The claim by the anti-union forces was that the First Amendment shielded them from having to pay that portion of union dues that support the unions collective bargaining activities  in other words, that they had a constitutional right to free-ride on the money and work of others.

As with the Fisher case, we have to ask why this case was on the courts calendar. Supreme Court precedent was clear that the required dues payments were constitutional, and no lower court had ruled to the contrary. The answer is that the litigation that became the Friedrichs case was served up in response to the open invitation that Justice Alito had issued in two earlier labor cases, cases that had fallen short of providing the vehicle he needed to reach the First Amendment issue. A 5-to-4 decision against the unions appeared inevitable when the case was argued on Jan. 11, barely a month before Justice Scalias unexpected death. It was the result of fate rather than a turn to the left that the unions emerged from the term unscathed.
NATIONAL

An article on Wednesday about the classifications of Hillary Clintons emails misstated the position Richard Ben-Veniste held on the 9/11 Commission. He was a member of the commission, not its head.



An article on Wednesday about a landslide in southeastern Alaska misstated the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatorys preliminary estimate of the amount of material involved. It is 132 million tons, not 165 million tons.

NEW YORK

An article on Tuesday about the first day of work for newly graduated New York City police officers misstated, in some copies, the age of Officer Athena Soregaroli, who was traveling to work on the Long Island Rail Road. She is 22, not 23.

BUSINESS DAY

An article on Tuesday about growing hostility to white-collar crime in South Korea misstated the dates of some events. A company, Reckitt Benckiser, apologized for the sale of a deadly cleaner in May, the same month that three of its South Korea employees were arrested, not last month. South Korean officials raided the homes and offices of top executives of the Lotte Group in June, not this month. The article also misstated the surname of a South Korean environmental ministry official. He is Hong Dong-gon, not Han Dong-gon.
Irving Gottesman, a pioneer in the field of behavioral genetics whose work on the role of heredity in schizophrenia helped transform the way people thought about the origins of serious mental illness, died on June 29 at his home in Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. He was 85.

His wife, Carol, said he died while taking an afternoon nap. Although Dr. Gottesman had some health problems, she said, his death was unexpected, and several of his colleagues said they received emails from him earlier that day.

Dr. Gottesman was perhaps best known for a study of schizophrenia in British twins he conducted with another researcher, James Shields, at the Maudsley Hospital in London in the 1960s.

The study, which found that identical twins were more likely than fraternal twins to share a diagnosis of schizophrenia, provided strong evidence for a genetic component to the illness and challenged the notion that it was caused by bad mothering, the prevailing view at the time.
But the recommendation that would more likely have the most impact, and that has sparked the most debate, is the creation of the V.H.A. care system, for Veterans Health Administration, which would include a nationwide network of health care providers including doctors from the Department of Veterans Affairs, military hospitals, and the private sector who have been approved by the V.A.

Under the proposal, any veteran could choose to see the Department of Veterans Affairs doctors or private doctors within an approved network. Currently, veterans must get permission from the agency to see an outside doctor, with only certain veterans qualifying.

If implemented, the system would be only the latest effort to send more veterans to private doctors. In 2014, Congress created the $10 billion Choice Plan, which allowed veterans to go to a private doctor if they lived more than 40 miles from a veterans hospital or could not get an appointment within 30 days. It spent another $5 billion to hire and train more health care workers. While the Choice Plan has been used by thousands of veterans, its rollout was plagued by billing delays, with the overall time veterans had to wait for care increasing.

This weeks report predicted that 60 percent of veterans in the system could be using private care by 2034. While that could alleviate crowding at veteran hospitals, the report also cautioned that private care could cost nearly $100 billion more than the current system by 2034 if not carefully managed.

Robert A. McDonald, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, said many of the recommendations were in line with changes already underway, noting that veterans hospitals had seen a record number of patients this year and that efficiency had improved. However, until all veterans say they are satisfied, I wont be satisfied. Nobody at V.A. will be satisfied, he said in a statement released by the department.
WASHINGTON  The disappearance of a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who was transferred to Uruguay is sharpening debate here over the wartime prison, even as a House committee prepares to hold an oversight hearing on Thursday about the Obama administrations policy on releasing detainees to other countries.

The former detainee, Jihad Diyab, is a Syrian who was among six lower-level detainees resettled in Uruguay in December 2014. Early last month, he told several people that he was going on a religious retreat that would last beyond the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and into next week  and that he would be unreachable by telephone or email.

Since then, some Uruguayan officials have said they lost track of him, and suggested that he may have crossed the largely unguarded border into Brazil. Heightening tensions, a Colombia-based airline asked its employees to alert authorities if they came into contact with him.

On Wednesday, Alexandre Moraes, Brazils justice minister, told reporters that there is no sign he was in Brazil. In Uruguay, Fernando Gil, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said Uruguayan authorities were not hunting for him. As far as Uruguay is concerned, the person is here in the country, Mr. Gil said.
SCRIPT: NATS of Comey from Tuesdays presser VO: THE FBI DIRECTOR, JAMES COMEY, ON TUESDAY, LAID OUT THE FINDINGS OF AN INVESTIGATION INTO HILLARY CLINTONS USE OF A PRIVATE EMAIL ACCOUNT WHEN SHE WAS SECRETARY OF STATE. SOT // JAMES B. COMEY // ASSOCIATED PRESS Although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information, our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case. VO: MRS. CLINTON WASNT INDICTED BUT MR. COMEYS STATEMENTS SEVERELY UNDERCUT SOME CLAIMS BY THE PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE ON SEVERAL POINTS. - TEXT ON SCREEN: 1. Classified material in her private email system VO: MRS. CLINTON HAS REPEATEDLY DENIED SENDING OR RECEIVING CLASSIFIED MATERIAL ON HER PERSONAL EMAIL. MR. COMEY REFUTED THAT CLAIM. SOT// MRS. CLINTON // SOURCE (@19:30 mark) I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material. So Im certainly well-aware of the classification requirements and did not send classified material. <<BUTT TOGETHER >> SOT // COMEY // ASSOCIATED PRESS There is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information. For example, seven email chains concern matters that were classified at the Top Secret/Special Access Program level when they were sent and received. These chains involved Secretary Clinton both sending emails about those matters and receiving emails from others about the same matters.  TEXT ON SCREEN: 2. Security while traveling VO: MRS. CLINTONS OFFICE MAINTAINED THAT SHE VIEWED CLASSIFIED INFORMATION IN HARD COPY ONLY. AND WHILE ON TRAVEL, THERE WERE RIGOROUS PROTOCOLS FOR HER TO RECEIVE THE CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. MR. COMEY REJECTED THAT NOTION. SOT // MR. COMEY: ASSOCIATED PRESS She also used her personal email extensively while outside the United States, including sending and receiving work-related emails in the territory of sophisticated adversaries.  TEXT ON SCREEN: 3. Danger from hackers or foreign spies VO: MRS. CLINTON POINTED TO THE FACT THAT THERE WERE MULTIPLE SAFEGUARDS THAT PROTECTED HER EMAILS FROM FOREIGN HACKERS. SOT// MRS. CLINTON // SOURCE (@ 13:45 mark) The system we used was set up for President Clintons office. And it had numerous safeguards. It was on property guarded by the Secret Service. And there were no security breaches. <BUTT TOGETHER>> SOT // MR. COMEY // ASSOCIATED PRESS MR. COMEY: We do assess that hostile actors gained access to the private commercial email accounts of people with whom Secretary Clinton was in regular contact from her personal account.  TEXT ON SCREEN: 4. Failure to turn over all work-related emails VO: CLINTON SAID SHE HANDED OVER ALL HER EMAILS TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT FOR REVIEW, HOWEVER IT WAS REVEALED THAT THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF EMAILS THAT WERE NOT HANDED OVER. SOT// MRS. CLINTON // SOURCE (@ :51 mark) After I left office, the State Department asked former secretaries of state for our assistance in providing copies of work-related emails from our personal accounts. I responded right away and provided all my emails that could possibly be work-related, which totaled roughly 55,000 printed pages, even though I knew that the State Department already had the vast majority of them. <BUTT TOGETHER> SOT // MR. COMEY // SOURCE?? The F.B.I. also discovered several thousand work-related emails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton to State in 2014. - TEXT ON SCREEN: 5. State Department handling of classified information VO: THE INVESTIGATION ALSO REVEALED LARGER LAX SECURITY CONCERNS REGARDING HOW THE STATE DEPARTMENT HANDLED CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. SOT// MRS. CLINTON // SOURCE?? A separate, closed system was used by the Department for the sole purpose of handling classified communications which was designed to prevent such information from being transmitted anywhere other than within that system, including to outside email accounts. SOT // MR. COMEY // SOURCE?? While not the focus of our investigation, we also developed evidence that the security culture of the State Department in general, and with respect to use of unclassified email systems in particular, was generally lacking in the kind of care for classified information found elsewhere in the government. END IT
BECKET, Mass.  Gauthier Dance was a hit last summer with audiences here at the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. On Wednesday, this German group, the resident dance company at Theaterhaus Stuttgart, returned by popular demand.

Once again, the troupes director, Eric Gauthier, a former soloist with Stuttgart Ballet, has assembled a medley of works by contemporary European, Israeli and Taiwanese choreographers, all impeccably danced. And once again, despite that fine execution, a stylistic sameness pervades the program. If you had told me that all four works in the first half were by a single artist, I wouldnt have been surprised.

In reality, those pieces come from four choreographers: Po-Cheng Tsai (Taiwan), Johan Inger (Sweden), Itzik Galili (the Netherlands by way of Israel) and Cayetano Soto (Spain). Each work offers a distinctive premise or overarching concept; its the movement itself that starts to blend together. Certain gaits and gestures arise again and again, tossed off with a similar slick attitude. So many plies in a wide second position, with the pelvis thrust forward. So much flinging of arms and flicking of wrists that aims for expressive depths but too often misses.

That three of these works are male-female duets may contribute to the monotony. Two from last year, Mr. Tsais Floating Flowers (2014) and Mr. Ingers Now and Now (2015), are less evocative on second viewing. Mr. Galilis Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White (2013) is a cute confection, depicting a nervous romance between Anneleen Dedroog and the bespectacled Rosario Guerra. Theres a bit more substance to Mr. Sotos ConrazonCorazon, in which five women and five men, in equestrian uniforms, find a middle ground between militant and sassy.
Intimisms

James Cohan Gallery

533 West 26th Street, Chelsea

Through July 29

The title of Intimisms, an excellent group show of figurative painting, pluralizes Intimism, the early modernist style best exemplified by the small, sometimes fraught domestic interiors of Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard. At a moment when so much art is for public consumption, the works here convey the intimacy of bodies, faces, emotions, touch and love.

Representing 26 artists from several generations, the show is organized by the gallery and the painter Aliza Nisenbaum. From the past, Jane Freilichers Flowers in Armchair (1956) and Fairfield Porters The Bedroom (1949) are exceptional. In an Alice Neel group portrait of the Fugs (1966), the band seems to be singing just for us. Henry Taylors forceful Fawn Rogers (2015) all but picks up Neels mantle.

Image Giordanne Salleys Fire Painting (2016). Credit... Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York

Image Jordan Casteels Mom Hand, a 2014 painting at James Cohan Credit... Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York

Like Porter, numerous younger artists take us into the bedroom, often casting us as intruders, as in Benjamin Degens close up of a flushed woman sleeping. In rich colors and full forms that distantly evoke Leger, GaHee Parks Night Talk features mysterious meldings of bodies, rooms, old-fashioned telephones and paintings within paintings. Ridley Howard portrays tender lovemaking in settings stripped of detail. Nicole Eisenmans 1994 Self-Portrait With Mr. Monopoly conjures a moment of quiet existential terror, while Joan Browns Twenty to Nine (1972) depicts a woman who may be weeping sitting at a restaurant table with wine glasses for two. We see only the hands of two people building a fire in a new work by Giordanne Salley. Jordan Casteel zeros in on a woman resting her left hand on her knees; the title, Mom Hand, speaks volumes.
EVANSTON, Ill.  Passageways lined in stained glass snake through a museum in progress on a quiet side street here, and workers are filling the galleries with iridescent mosaics, opalescent glass vases and ornate clocks that contain tiny mechanical birds and acrobats. The collections on view represent a fraction of the holdings of Cameel Halim, a real estate magnate in the Chicago area, and his Halim Museum of Time and Glass, which is scheduled to open early next year.

Mr. Halim specializes in rescuing American windows from the 19th and 20th centuries; some of them had not only been removed from their original settings but even abandoned outdoors. While giving a preview, he recounted how much damage some panes had suffered. (He has commissioned restoration work by Gilbertsons Stained Glass in Lake Geneva, Wis.) Some purchases arrived as buckets full of shards, he said, and other windows were so dirty that you couldnt see anything.

In 2010 Mr. Halim paid $85,000 for a window by Louis Comfort Tiffanys studio portraying St. John the Divine that was sold off from a Vermont church by a congregation in financial straits. His Tiffany tableau of the Last Supper had belonged to a Japanese museum that closed, and his gridded glass panels designed by the architects Louis Sullivan and George Washington Maher came from buildings that were renovated or razed.

Auction houses and salvage dealers have stocked him with works by Tiffanys archrival, John La Farge, as well as by designers whom Mr. Halim calls the forgotten ones, including Mary Tillinghast, Edward Sperry, Frederick Wilson and the Payne and Armstrong families. Mr. Halim said that he was saving space on his museum walls for a planned purchase of one of the windows that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for a schoolhouse in Riverside, Ill.; the glass panes, in grid and balloon patterns, can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
Amit Khurana, one of the two partners behind the Ando building, whose seven stories will be primarily glass and Mr. Andos signature material, poured concrete, said that several artists had been considered for commissions but that Mr. Andos ideas for a gauzy, light-filled transition between interior and exterior were more in keeping with the spirit of his architecture.

Art and architecture are often seen as very different things, Mr. Khurana said. I think Ando-san manages to consider both and not look at these things as separate pieces. He added: We also wanted to think about how we could create something that could unite the idea of public art and private art.

The first stop on my tour took me to a luxury high rise that opened a year ago and will undoubtedly last a while, given that its 1,175 rental apartments are believed to be the most in a single tower in the country. The building, Sky, on 42nd Street at 11th Avenue, has also distinguished itself by installing the first permanent public artwork here by Yayoi Kusama, 87, an art-world titan whose pieces are in almost every important contemporary art museum in the country, as well as Europe and Asia.

The work, an imposing bronze sculpture of an eerily polka-dotted pumpkin, an alter-ego motif that has become Ms. Kusamas calling card, was unveiled recently in the buildings motor court after workers installed it, along with two lacy white Infinity-Net paintings by Ms. Kusama (versions of which were for sale at Art Basel last year for $450,000 each) flanking the lobby.

Weve always loved Kusama and followed her, said Mitchell Moinian, whose family developed the building. Her work is a part of our own life.

He said he thought of the pieces by Ms. Kusama, who spent formative years in New York in the 1950s and 60s, as a homecoming of sorts. And, he said, as a way to distinguish the building with an artist whose work is not widely known in the United States but who carries significant critical heft.
Andy Warhol famously said, Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.

Now Eric Shiner, director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, is taking that advice.

In September, Mr. Shiner will join Sothebys new fine art division, managed by Amy Cappellazzo and Allan Schwartzman, as a senior vice president, focusing on private sales.

There is probably not a greater Warhol expert on the planet, Ms. Cappellazzo said, adding that, Eric has always had entrepreneurial thinking.

This makes Mr. Shiner among the first major hires of the Cappellazzo group, which Sothebys acquired in January.
A couple of weeks ago the jazz pianist Joey Alexander turned 13. Given the unusual arc of his young career, it shouldnt be a surprise that he celebrated onstage with his trio, at the Freihofers Saratoga Jazz Festival. After the performance, he was presented with a cake in the shape of a grand piano, and thousands in the crowd sang Happy Birthday, basking in a moment that Joey himself seemed to take in stride.

As I grow older I just want to be a better musician, to play more, he said from Vienna, this week, during a brief European concert tour. And even if it was my birthday during that time I was happy that I played onstage. It was a joy.

Joey has hardly stopped moving since May 2015, when I wrote about his rocketlike emergence. He has performed at the White House, and for audiences across several continents. He has been profiled by 60 Minutes and the Today show.

His debut album, My Favorite Things, earned him two Grammy nominations and an invitation to the awards, where he played a trio number (during a pre-telecast) and a solo piano piece (during the network broadcast).
The Commonwealth does not have to present a live witness, he said in a ruling from the bench after a three-hour hearing. I am willing to continue to move it forward.

Judge ONeill said that the two sides would now meet at a pretrial conference in September in the case of Ms. Constand, who said Mr. Cosby sexually assaulted her in his home outside Philadelphia in 2004 after giving her pills and wine.

While Mr. Cosby, who will turn 79 this month, is fighting numerous civil cases involving similar accusations by women who say he drugged or assaulted them, the Constand case is the only one that has resulted in a criminal proceeding. The hearing marked the second challenge that Mr. Cosby has brought in the criminal case.

After Mr. Cosby was charged in December, his lawyers sought to have the charges dismissed. They argued that a district attorney who carried out an investigation in 2005 had made a binding commitment never to pursue charges against Mr. Cosby so as to induce the entertainer to testify in a civil suit filed against him by Ms. Constand.

Judge ONeill dismissed that argument here in February.

Until recently in Pennsylvania, a witness like Ms. Constand would have had to testify at a preliminary hearing. But a state appellate court ruling last year allowed for wider use of hearsay evidence, meaning that a prosecutor could opt in some circumstances to introduce as evidence only a statement by a complainant, like Ms. Constands statement to investigators, at a preliminary hearing. Direct testimony was not necessary.

The appellate court ruling is now being challenged in the states supreme court. Mr. Cosbys lawyers had argued in Thursdays hearing that he had a right to confront Ms. Constand in court before the case went to trial. Afterward they indicated they would fight the courts decision.

Today someone who has given so much to so many had his constitutional rights trampled upon, Brian McMonagle, one of Mr. Cosbys lawyers, said outside the court. We are confident that our states highest court will right this wrong, will reverse this decision and will allow us to begin our hard journey in making sure Mr. Cosby is proven innocent.
In the beginning, there was the procedural. Dragnet, Law & Order and the like set the template for television crime stories that took viewers briskly though the process by which bad guys get caught.

The Night Of, the tense and exquisite limited series on HBO, beginning on Sunday, is also a deeply detailed procedural, but with a difference. It has more in common philosophically with the podcast Serial (whose first subject, Adnan Syed, was just granted a new trial); Netflixs Making a Murderer; and this years two O. J. Simpson series  true-crime stories that suggest that who is locked up, for what, is largely a matter of resources and random fate.

In the fictional The Night Of, as in those stories, someone dies, and someone goes to trial, but the biggest suspect is the notion of egalitarian justice.

The worst night of Nasir Khans life begins with promise. The studious, sexually inexperienced son of Pakistani immigrants, Naz, as he is known, drives his fathers cab from Queens to Manhattan, headed to a party. Hes told there will be girls.
Philando Castile

Philando Castile, a 32-year-old cafeteria worker at a Minnesota school, was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop late Wednesday night.

In the only video evidence of the incident, a live Facebook recording taken by Castile's girlfriend, Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds, she said the two were pulled over for a broken taillight and that Castile told the officer he had a gun and was reaching for his license and registration, as the officer instructed.

Still, the officer opened fire, ultimately leading to Castile's death later that night at a hospital. Police and state officials haven't yet confirmed what caused the traffic stop or whether Castile was licensed to carry a weapon.

Castile's family and others who mourned his death expressed frustration that someone can do what police apparently tell them  yet still face fatal consequences at the hands of an officer. The video, however, shows a bleeding and slumped over Castile in the driver's seat and unfortunately, not the exchange that led up to the incident.

Police will almost always want to separate the person from their weapon, according to Chuck Drago, a former police chief in Florida with more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and government.

"The fact that the person has a gun is always concerning to a police officer. In many cases, the officer is going to feel much more comfortable taking that gun away," Drago told Business Insider.

Since no national standards exist for the use of force, however, the way in which police officers handle these situations  and potentially avoid escalation, like in Castile's case  varies greatly.

"There is no universally appropriate response," Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and a former Tallahassee police officer, told Business Insider. "It depends very much not the context, on the officer, and the person the officer is interacting with."

Story continues

For example, if a person discloses they have a firearm in the glove compartment of their car during a traffic stop, the officer could tell the person not to open the box and step out of the car.

concealed carry gun

Sometimes, however, officers will attempt to secure the weapon themselves.

Police should say: "'Listen, I know you have a gun. Do not reach for the gun. Do not touch the gun. Where is the gun? And hopefully the person will say, 'OK, its my pocket, or, 'Its on my leg.' The officer will then usually retrieve the weapons themselves  and thats something the officer should be communicating to them," Drago said.

In many cases, though, a person's first response will be to reach for the weapon or permit to show the officer. That's natural, Drago said, but it's necessary to wait for police instruction.

"I think we're seeing in this shooting that communication is so important so that the individual or the officer doesn't make a mistake," he added.

In an interview with CNN Thursday morning, Castile's mother, Valerie, wondered why her son was killed  even though he reportedly told the officer about his weapon and complied with his directions.

"I've always told my son: The key thing in order to try to survive being stopped by the police is to comply. Whatever they ask you to do  do it," she said. "Don't say nothing. Just do whatever they want you to do. So what's the difference in complying and you get killed anyway?"

An officer retrieving a weapon is much more common and safer than asking the person to hand it over on their own, according to Gary Cordner, a former police chief in Maryland and commissioner with the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

"Most police would retrieve the weapon themselves, I think," he told Business Insider. "Letting the person put their hand on it themselves is pretty risky."

Stoughton took that sentiment even further.

"As an officer, I can't imagine a circumstance where I would want the person to handle a weapon and then hand it to me," he said.

During the live Facebook recording, the officer can be heard shouting expletives and screaming of Castile, "I told him not to reach for it!"

Reynolds responds: "You told him to get his ID, sir  his driver's license."

The lack of information prior to shots being fired obscures a discussion of reasonable use of force, although Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said that "nobody should be shot and killed while seated in their car." Dayton also suggested the situation would have ended differently if Castile were white.

Ostensibly, police are legally justified using deadly force as long as the officer reasonably fears the person will cause death or serious injury to the officer, other officers, or the public, as determined by the Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Garner.

Officers are also judged in these cases on an objective standard, laid out by another Supreme Court case, Graham v. Connor, according to Stoughton.

"We don't just ask what the officer perceived, but if what the officer perceived was reasonable," he said.

In his view, officers often times truly perceive a threat  but that threat just isn't reasonable, which can lead to incidents like the one involving Castile.

Many critics of police brutality and unreasonable use of force, including those within the Black Lives Matter movement, argue that police are more likely to perceive black men as threats because of ingrained racism within forces and a culture of militarization. For example, prominent activist Shaun King recently wrote that unarmed black men and boys are 700% more likely to be shot and killed by police than their white counterparts.

NOW WATCH: Obama on recent police shootings: 'These are not isolated incidents'





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Danone, the French company that sells Stonyfield yogurt and Evian water, said on Thursday that it had agreed to buy the WhiteWave Foods Company  maker of Horizon Organic dairy products and Earthbound Farm salad greens, among other brands  for about $10 billion in cash.

The deal, aimed at enhancing the American profile of the company that makes Dannon and Activia yogurts, will significantly increase Danones presence in the lucrative organic foods market. Also, through WhiteWaves ownership of the Silk brand of soy and nut milks, the purchase will give Danone a toehold in the flourishing market for plant-based dairy substitutes.

The acquisition underscores Danones determination to do a better job meeting the changing tastes of consumers, including by shifting aggressively toward the use of organic milk, which is more expensive than conventional.

Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of Danone, said in a telephone interview that the companys plans were comprehensive, from farm to table, and were influenced by shifting cultural attitudes and tastes.
Other large banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, revised their policies to reflect a broader pullback from coal mining. Deutsche Bank had said that it would no longer finance so-called mountaintop removal projects, which involve extracting coal from the surface of mountains, often leaving large gashes in the landscape. But its public policy stopped short of the commitment to a broad retreat that many of the other large banks had made.

Banks are leaving coal for economic reasons, too. Just a few years ago, coal was surging, swept up in a global commodity craze, as mining companies sought to satisfy a seemingly insatiable demand from China.

As recently as 2011, the top 10 investment banks in the sector took in more than $1.6 billion in investment banking revenue from metals and mining deals globally, including coal deals. By 2015, that total had fallen to just $820 million, according to Dealogic.

The American coal industry, in particular, is now suffering a plague of bankruptcies. Power utilities are increasingly turning to cheap natural gas and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to replace coal. Demand for coal from China has also cooled as its economy slows and the Chinese government tries to shift to cleaner energy sources.

In the first three months of the year, American coal production plummeted to the lowest levels in 35 years, in large part because the winter was so warm. And the spring brought no respite. Mays production of 50 million tons represented a 28 percent decline from May 2015, according to the Energy Department.

In recent days, Murray Energy, a coal giant based in Ohio, sent notices to its employees that said it could be forced to lay off 80 percent of its work force, or roughly 4,400 employees, across six states because of the widespread depression in the industry.

On Thursday, Alpha Natural Resources  which acquired the former Massey Energy in 2011  received a judges approval to exit bankruptcy. As part of a deal in the bankruptcy with the Sierra Club and other environmental groups in West Virginia, Alpha agreed to give 53 million tons of its coal to a nonprofit group for the purpose of its never being mined or burned  a sign of just how little value this commodity holds at the moment.
Over the last few decades, Wall Street firms have transformed themselves from small private partnerships into the publicly financed behemoths that we know today. Along the way, they lost the old way of doing things, where the operating capital came from the partners, who faced the ultimate liability for anything that went wrong, including losing their entire fortunes.

Instead, the old partnership culture was transformed into a bonus culture where bankers, traders and executives have minimal accountability when things go wrong. Crises will continue to happen; Professor Goodhart predicted the next one would hit in 2025. But it is the creditors and shareholders who will pay, and pay dearly, for Wall Streets mistakes unless something changes. As the mantra of the 2008 financial crisis goes: The risks on Wall Street have been socialized while the profits have been privatized.

It does not seem at all a coincidence that since the mid-1980s, there has been a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of financial crises and their effects as Wall Street banks made the transformation into public companies that award individuals bonuses based on the revenue they bring in. From 1987 to 2009, the flawed Wall Street reward system resulted in the crash of 1987, the credit crunch in the early 1990s, the internet bubble in the late 1990s, the Asian crisis, the Mexican crisis and, of course, the piece de resistance, the Great Recession of 2008.

That needs to change, Professor Goodhart told Europes leading banking regulators and academics. His idea is to return the systemically important financial institutions  the so-called SIFIs  to a partnership model, where the executive decision makers  the partners  have in effect unlimited and much larger liability than is provided by limited liability, he said. So that if a bank has to be bailed out, the partners should pay up all, or at least proportion, of what they have.

Of course, it is unlikely that a place like Goldman Sachs could ever return to a private partnership, as it was for its first 130 years in business. Such a move would require a management buyout in the range of $100 billion and would require debt and financial risk well beyond what any sane prudential regulator would permit.
A fiercely contested battle among United States airlines to be the first to schedule flights to Havana, Cubas capital, in more than 50 years is coming to a close.

Eight carriers  most with flights departing from the Miami and New York metropolitan areas  received tentative approval from the Transportation Department on Thursday to operate direct flights to Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. Twelve airlines had submitted requests for a combination of 60 flights a day, but only 20 daily routes were available under an arrangement between the governments.

The decision was made a year after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations. The United States Department of Transportation announced last month that it had approved routes to nine other Cuban cities, but it delayed authorizing the Havana routes because of competition among the major airlines.

The department awarded the routes to serve markets with substantial Cuban-American populations and crucial aviation hub cities.
Newsday barely had time to get used to a new owner.

Just two weeks after the Dolan family handed over Newsday to Altice as part of the European telecom giants $17.7 billion deal for Cablevision, the Dolans have regained control of the Long Island newspaper.

In a memo sent Thursday morning to Newsday Media Group employees, Patrick Dolan, whose father, Charles Dolan, founded Cablevision in 1973, said that he had agreed to buy 75 percent of Newsday Media Group from Altice, which will still hold 25 percent of the company. Charles Dolan has also agreed to hold a small financial interest in the Newsday Media Group, which also owns the free daily newspaper amNewYork, and will serve on the companys board, according to the memo.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Dolan family has owned Newsday since 2008, when it beat out the owners of The New York Post and The Daily News to purchase the newspaper from Tribune Company. At the time, analysts questioned why Cablevision, which had no experience running newspapers, would want to buy Newsday.

But in Thursdays memo, Patrick Dolan said his family had been thrilled to be associated with this incredible newspaper.
HONG KONG  Six months after it warned that 2016 would be a tough year, Samsung Electronics is showing that new technology and new phones are beginning to pay off.

The South Korean technology conglomerate said on Thursday that its operating profit for the three months that ended in June rose 17 percent over the same period a year ago. The jump in growth beat analysts expectations and led to the companys best quarterly profit figure in two years.

At the heart of the recovery is the sustained popularity of Samsungs flagship S7 phone, which analysts say has sold well despite the competitive pressures from Apple. Bolstering that success are steady sales of the companys lower-end phones.

If Samsungs profit growth in the first half of 2016 comes from weathering difficult conditions in the global smartphone markets, analysts say the rest of the year will be more dependent on its lesser-known products: memory components and screen technology.
It picks up almost exactly when Cold War left off. Now commissioner of the Hong Kong police, Sean Lau (Aaron Kwok), to rescue his kidnapped wife, must free Joe Lee (Eddie Peng), the imprisoned son of Laus former rival for the commissionership (Tony Leung Ka Fai). After the handoff is botched, Chow Yun-Fat, in what the credits call a special appearance, plays a legislator who is on the committee that investigates the incident.

But the machinations are just a pretext for such sequences as an escape in a crowded transit station and pursuits involving multiple teams of cars. The location work may have you pondering a Hong Kong vacation, which could be the goal. The movie refers to the city as the safest in Asia and touts its status as a financial capital, even as the portrait of corruption  with absurd power plays that involve characters predicting moves many steps in advance  makes it seem like a dicey place to park cash. Whatever it does for tourism, Cold War 2 helps affirm Hong Kongs film industry as a sturdy action factory.
Parents raise their kids off the grid in the drama Captain Fantastic, featuring Viggo Mortensen and written and directed by Matt Ross. In this scene, the family members hasve left their home in the woods to take a trip. Their transportation is somewhere between a school bus and a mobile home with the father at the wheel. They are stopped by a police officer for a broken taillight.

In an interview, Mr. Ross (who is perhaps better known as the actor who plays Gavin Belson on the television series Silicon Valley) discussed the scene. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation.

How did you first come to the idea of a film about parents raising their kids in a forest homestead? Did this come from personal experience?

My mother was part of starting some alternative living communities in Northern California and Oregon. They were not hippie communes because it was the 80s and not the late 60s. The people who lived there just wanted to be in harmony with nature. They bought land collectively and some of the homes had plumbing and electricity. Some did not. The only other thing that was clearly autobiographical, and I only recognized it after the fact, was the journey of the son Bodevan, played by George MacKay. I remember feeling the need to leave the forest and be around kids my own age. We were really isolated in this one community I lived in.
Toggling between the breathtaking Peruvian highlands and the busy clamor of Lima, The Debt places three very different lives on a collision course freighted with moral and financial complexity.

Its that very intricacy, however, that helps drain the drama from this first, well-intentioned feature by Barney Elliott, an American who lives in Peru and clearly cares about its people. Connecting corporate greed and rural poverty, he introduces us to Oliver (Stephen Dorff), a cocky American hedge-fund manager. Olivers job is to purchase debt, in the form of bonds, that the Peruvian government owes to struggling landowners  a task being stymied by a hardheaded mountain farmer (Amiel Cayo) and a wily businessman (Carlos Bardem) with plans of his own.

While Oliver is slowly brought face to face with the brutal consequences of his ambition, Maria (the magnificent Elsa Olivero), a weary nurse, desperately tries to secure treatment for her ailing mother. Around her, social services crumble and her options become ever more shady; yet the character, thanks to Ms. Oliveros gentle authenticity, never seems merely the victim of trickle-down economic pain. Softly photographed by Bjorn Stale Bratberg, who brings equal care to the films pristine Andean locations, Marias placid exterior hides a resolve as steely as that of any financier.

Slow and sincere, The Debt bites off more plot than it can dramatically chew, its characters  especially the go-between played by the excellent Argentine actor Alberto Ammann  diluted by political maneuvering. Still, Mr. Elliott remains hopeful, suggesting that good people might be driven to do bad things, but that inherent decency can win out. Sometimes.
BEIJING  Thirty-five years ago, a low-budget film from Britain about two runners who represented the country in the 1924 Olympics became a worldwide hit and went on to win four Academy Awards, including best picture.

Propelled by a throbbing electronic score, the film, Chariots of Fire, stirred audiences with the triumphs of the athletes  the Jewish Englishman Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and the Christian Scotsman Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson)  but struck a sobering note at the end with the information that Liddell later became a missionary in China, like his parents, and died in 1945 during the Japanese occupation.

Now, that story too has been dramatized in a new film, The Last Race, a Hong Kong-Chinese production that opened in more than 50 Chinese cities last Friday. (It does not yet have a North American release date.) Co-directed by the veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Stephen Shin and the Canadian Michael Parker, it focuses on the final years of Liddells life, when he was held in a Japanese labor camp in the coastal province of Shandong.

With its themes of religion and wartime aggression, however, this unofficial sequel wound up requiring some careful negotiations with the Chinese censors.
Mr. Gibney has demonstrated all of these qualities in other documentaries, most pertinently in his takes on WikiLeaks, Steve Jobs, and American torture and interrogation practices in Afghanistan. Zero Days has a similarly balanced outlook along with a critical political viewpoint that avoids hysteria and demagogy. Its strongest protest is against what Mr. Gibney sees as the dangers of excessive American secrecy.

At the same time, the film is an often intimidating slog through jargon and computer code. The most articulate voices helping to bridge the gap between technological vocabulary and everyday speech are two cybersecurity specialists, Eric Chien and Liam OMurchu from Symantec Research Labs.

Zero Days begins with the true story of a cyberattack against a nuclear power plant in Iran in which uranium-processing centrifuges were programmed to explode. But the sophisticated worm wreaking the havoc spread to computers around the world. This malicious computer virus, the film reveals, was jointly built by the United States and Israel although neither will publicly confirm it. Numerous officials in Washington officials are questioned about its existence, but none acknowledge it, and a sequence of high-level stonewalling makes for dark comedy. The film contends that the secret program, Stuxnet, also known as Olympic Games, has since been identified as part of a broader plan, code-named Nitro Zeus, that could disable Irans infrastructure.

One presence on camera is David E. Sanger, a reporter for The New York Times who calmly puts the development of cyberwarfare into a broad perspective. He is not alone in suggesting that this is now the frontier of modern warfare and that nations are competing fiercely to stay ahead. The United States has portrayed itself as a leader in cyberwarfare defense strategies, but Zero Days depicts America as an aggressor, and Israel even more so. An argument is made that Stuxnets secrecy was blown by an Israeli software variant that may have misfired. In any case, after relating the history of Stuxnet, the movie dismisses it as yesterdays news.

In documentary filmmaking, as in news writing, there is a fine line between irresponsible alarmism and dispassionate reportage. And Mr. Gibney has a proven record of tiptoeing to the edge without going too far. The movie makes use of an actress, Joanne Tucker, to repeat testimony by several officials that was deemed too sensitive for these sources to appear on camera. Filmed through a digital filter, she resembles the former C.I.A. officer Valerie Plame, which gives her scenes the look and tone of a creepy spy thriller.
The legal strategy appeared to clarify what had been one of the more puzzling moments of the de Blasio era: the description in May of five outside consultants as agents of the city. The designation of agents appeared months earlier, in a December letter from the nonprofits lawyers to the state ethics panel, and applied to a dozen advisers with close ties to the city.

The de Blasio administration has argued that the nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, and a small group of outside consultants are so close to City Hall that they essentially work for the city. For that reason, the argument goes, their emails with the mayor and his staff are immune from public disclosure under the states Freedom of Information Law.

In court documents unsealed on Wednesday, lawyers for the city and the nonprofit echoed that assertion, saying their closeness to the mayor protects them from the subpoenas.

The court documents, unsealed in State Supreme Court late on Wednesday, were filed in a dispute over an investigation into the Campaign for One New York by the states ethics panel, which has been seeking to determine whether the nonprofit ran afoul of state regulations by failing to register as a lobbyist in 2015.

But beyond the narrow question of lobbying, the documents filed in the case offered the deepest look yet at the nature and frequency of emails from outside consultants, several of whom also represent clients with business before the city, even as City Hall and the nonprofit continue to resist full disclosure.
Peter J. Powers, a high school friend whom Rudolph W. Giuliani recruited to impose order on his chaotic novice mayoral campaign and later installed as his even-tempered alter ego to manage New York Citys government, died on Thursday in the Bronx. He was 72.

The cause was complications of lung cancer, Mr. Giuliani said. Mr. Powers, who lived in Manhattan, died at Calvary Hospital Hospice.

Before being hired to manage Mr. Giulianis 1989 mayoral race, Mr. Powers, a tax lawyer, had last been involved in a campaign in college, when his losing effort for senior class council president was managed by Mr. Giuliani. And before becoming deputy mayor in 1994, his only government job had been in the parks department mail room one summer three decades earlier.

Mr. Giuliani, the most famous prosecutor in America but a neophyte candidate, had squandered $2 million, was being challenged for the Republican nomination and was trailing the Democrat, David N. Dinkins, by about 29 points in public opinion polls when he enlisted Mr. Powers.
Since arriving at Rikers in March 2015, Mr. Delgado says he has spent about 40 days in solitary. At times, he said, life in the box could be a relief from the violence of the regular population.

I was fighting the whole week, he said. So, Im like, damn, finally a break. I used to wake up, and breakfast is like 4, 5 in the morning. So you got to fight for your cereal, so Im like I didnt even brush my teeth. My heart is pumping, and I got to get ready. I dont know whats about to happen but its about to go down. I was exhausted.

That feeling of safety lasted for only a few hours, he said. Other inmates yelled constantly, and he missed privileges like commissary and three daily phone calls.

Mr. Delgado has been in and out of Rikers since he was 16, mostly short stints for drugs and other minor crimes. This time he is potentially facing a decades-long sentence for the murder of a 21-year-old man in Queens.

I think about it  damn this could be the rest of my life, he said. Thats why I got to have a radio or something to keep my mind off that, talk to someone.

He looks forward to his girlfriends visits. She keeps me at peace. She reminds me of what I got in the town.

Because he is constantly in trouble, he and his girlfriend are separated by a glass partition during visits. He has not kissed her since September.
This is a logic you would expect to hear from the Russian, rather than German, foreign minister. Mr. Steinmeier also said that Germany wasnt shirking its responsibility and that no one could regard the envisaged deployment of four additional battalions to Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as a threat to Russia. But even so, his statement was, at best, ambivalent.

Ambivalence can cause major damage to an alliance whose deterrence value rests solely in its credibility. Germany is not the only European country to blur the line between deterrence and warmongering. France, NATO sources tell me, officially didnt want to call Anakonda a NATO exercise, for fear of displeasing the Russian government  as if the Kremlin had not greatly expanded Russias military budget in the past 15 years regardless of outside provocation.

If exercises can create splits in the Atlantic alliance, the Russian president needs little imagination to realize how to give NATO its ultimate test: use hybrid warfare to plunge the United States and Europeans into doubt over what military action is necessary and what diplomacy is possible. President Vladimir V. Putin could, for instance, stir up separatist feelings among ethnic Russians in Lithuania and provide weapons to the hotheads among them. Then all he would have to do is lean back and watch the most powerful military alliance in history disintegrate as it squabbles over how to react.

Its easy to imagine how the scenario would play out: Poland and the Baltic countries would call for a strong response to pre-empt another annexation like that of Crimea. The Germans and French would call for negotiations with Moscow, doubting that Article 5 would be invoked. The Greeks, Italians and Spanish would make clear that their economies had already suffered enough from the sanctions on Russia after the annexation of Crimea. And much of the public across Europe, manipulated by Russian propaganda, would ask if the Russians werent somehow right in trying to support their fellows in the Baltic States. Wasnt it actually the imperial United States who set all this up, some would argue, just like Washingtons agents were behind the coup in Kiev?

The authors of the NATO treaty in 1949 could rightly bank on something one could call Western patriotism. At least this sentiment existed at the government level. But today it has given way to relativism and self-doubt. What used to be rock-solid foreign policy principles are now bargaining chips in election campaigns, of both left and right.
To the Editor:

In An L.G.B.T. Watchdog at the United Nations (editorial, July 2), you rightly point out a critical advance for the recognition of L.G.B.T. human rights, the establishment of an independent expert by the United Nations Human Rights Council to fight discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

You applaud this groundbreaking action begun by six Latin American countries. But we would be remiss not to note human rights defenders worldwide who drove much of this success.

After the Orlando massacre, the Security Council condemned the murders and injuries of more than a hundred people based on homophobic and transphobic discrimination. The condemnation included previously unsupportive countries like Egypt and Russia.

Homosexuality is illegal in more than 70 countries, punishable by prison sentences or the death penalty in several.
SEATTLE  A top Microsoft executive, Kevin Turner, is leaving the company to join Citadel Securities as its new chief executive, continuing a wave of executive departures of technology industry leaders to financial firms.

Mr. Turner, Microsofts chief operating officer, oversaw Microsofts large sales organization, but Microsoft said he would not be replaced. His duties will instead be distributed among several other company executives.

Mr. Turner was widely known to have ambitions of being a chief executive himself, so his departure was little surprise. When Microsofts previous chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, announced his retirement, Mr. Turner was among several internal candidates at the company vying to replace him.

The job eventually went to another internal candidate, Satya Nadella, who became chief executive in early 2014.
Nate Well, obviously Trump is an especially weak general election candidate. But I dont think that a strong but generic Republican  a Kasich or Paul Ryan or Marco Rubio, for instance  would have a clear advantage. I dont think theres someone who could have plausibly won the Republican primary who would be an especially clear favorite to win.

Toni Its worth noting that despite a fair share of dissent among G.O.P. officials (past and present) and some journalists, a recent poll showed that if Republicans had a revote, Trump would still win.

Nate That doesnt strike me as much of a surprise.

Toni Kasich and Rubio wont even speak at the convention, as of now. But Scott Walker has declared that he will participate. About a year ago, Walker was considered one of the favorites to win the nomination, maybe even the favorite. Do you ever think back to those days and think it was maybe just a dream?

Nate Ha, it is amazing how abruptly it all changed. Oddly, I left the United States on June 10 of last year to go to China, where there isnt Gmail, Twitter, Facebook or The New York Times (officially), so I didnt really pay much attention to all that was going on. Donald Trump announced  which I remember seeing on a television through a storefront  on the 16th, and when I came back in July, everything just seemed completely crazy.

Everything up until that point went more or less as expected. After that, nothing really did.

Toni But theres an argument, advanced by the political scientist Alan Abramowitz and others, that one thing that didnt really change was the electoral map. This whole year seemed like a social science experiment to test how strong polarization was. It turns out, its pretty darned strong. Republicans have mostly rallied around Trump. Yes, hes winning more working-class whites, but hes losing wealthier whites, canceling those gains. And were mostly right back to the same states that matter.

Nate Yeah, thats how it looks. If anything, Id say that Trump v. Clinton may prove to be even more polarizing, at least in demographic terms. Its probably less polarizing in a traditional partisan sense, since I suspect a fair number of people who considered themselves Republicans or Democrats four or 12 years ago will be voting the other way. But if youre looking for big education, gender and race gaps  this is the year.

One thing Id note, though, is that I do think theres a case that a national landslide is still in play and could put a few states into play that you wouldnt expect, like Utah.
BATON ROUGE, La.  The protest of the fatal police shooting of a CD vendor here in Louisianas capital had many of the trappings of similar flare-ups around the country: blaring music, young men with faces obscured by bandannas, and obscene and brutal sentiments directed toward the local police department, on angry tongues and homemade placards.

But as Wednesday nights street rally flowed into Thursday morning, it had managed to be as peaceful as it was passionate. Cars and trucks honked, stopped and skidded as they made their way up and down a few blocks of North Foster Drive, past cheering and dancing crowds in front of the Triple S Food Mart where Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot early Tuesday by officers responding to a call about an armed man.

The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation into Mr. Sterlings death after a searing video of the encounter, shown repeatedly on television and social media, reignited contentious issues surrounding police killings of African-Americans.

Officials from Gov. John Bel Edwards to the local police and elected officials vowed a complete and transparent investigation and appealed to the city  after a numbing series of high-profile, racially charged incidents elsewhere  to remain calm.

I have full confidence that this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally, Mr. Edwards said in announcing the federal takeover of the case. I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.

Urging patience while the investigation takes place, the governor said: I know that that may be tough for some, but its essential that we do that. I know that there are protests going on, but its urgent that they remain peaceful.

The video of the shooting propelled the case to national attention, like a string of recorded police shootings before it. The shooting has prompted protests here, including a vigil with prayers and gospel music that drew hundreds of people Wednesday night to the storefront where it happened.

Over the course of 10 hours, from about 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday, when the crowd of hundreds outside the store finally began to thin, there had been almost no visible police presence  no squad cars, no uniformed officers, no helmeted crowd-control troops.

Across the street from the store, scores of young men and women danced, often with hands up, through the stifling heat of a South Louisiana summer night, as Southern rap anthems boomed behind them. Teenagers draped themselves on the hoods of moving cars and poked their bodies out of sunroofs, driving over and over again up and down the block.

James Woods, 22, a worker at a lumber company, was standing in front of a barbershop where a D.J. crew had set up, soaking it all in. Were here for a cause, and were not here to hurt each other, he said.

As he spoke, a scuffle, apparently between two young women, broke out by a Toyota sedan, but it was quickly broken up by others, and proved to be one of the rare such encounters of the night. When calm returned, Mr. Woods continued the conversation. He felt as if he had no choice but to come stand here and make it known that the shooting was not right.
But it is rare that police officers are brought to trial, and even more so to convict them. Lieutenant Rices trial began with doubts that prosecutors had the evidence to secure convictions against any of the six officers charged in Mr. Grays death  especially after the acquittal last month of Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., the driver of the van in which Mr. Gray broke his neck, who had been charged with second-degree murder.

On the morning of April 12, 2015, as he was walking through a downtrodden section of West Baltimore with two friends, Mr. Gray began running after seeing Lieutenant Rice. The officer called for assistance to help chase Mr. Gray, who was arrested and loaded into a transport vehicle as a crowd formed. Mr. Gray was later found with a broken neck inside the van, after it had made several stops throughout the neighborhood.

This defendant is not an inexperienced officer who was ignorant of the rules that governed his conduct, said Mr. Schatzow, the prosecutor, who said Lieutenant Rice was criminally negligent when he helped put a shackled and handcuffed Mr. Gray into the van at its second stop, but did not put a seatbelt on him, as Mr. Schatzow said, duty required. He knew it, and he ignored it.

Lieutenant Rice, 42, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. A second charge of misconduct was dropped by prosecutors on Thursday morning.

Chaz Ball, a defense lawyer for Lieutenant Rice, described his client as an 18-year veteran of the Baltimore police force with an interest in community policing. He cited what he called the three Cs of the case  The crowd, the combativeness of Mr. Gray, and the confined space of the wagon  and said that Lieutenant Rice had acted reasonably.
ST. PAUL  President Obama, reacting with the same horror as many Americans to a grisly video of a bloody, dying man in Minnesota who was shot by the police, begged the nation to confront the racial disparities in law enforcement while acknowledging the dangers that officers face.

When incidents like this occur, theres a big chunk of our citizenry that feels as if, because of the color of their skin, they are not being treated the same, and that hurts, and that should trouble all of us, Mr. Obama said in a statement on Thursday after arriving in Warsaw for a NATO summit. This is not just a black issue, not just a Hispanic issue. This is an American issue that we all should care about.

A few hours earlier, Gov. Mark Dayton of Minnesota, who seemed shaken by the video showing the man, Philando Castile, as he died, also pointed to the role of race. Would this have happened if the driver were white, if the passengers were white? he asked. I dont think it would have.

The statements capped a wrenching day that started with widespread replays of the extraordinary video of Mr. Castiles final moments and the aftermath of the shooting, which his girlfriend had narrated as they occurred live on Facebook. There were demonstrations and a vigil for Mr. Castile, with appearances by members of his family, in St. Paul.

But the shooting reverberated far beyond the state. In Dallas, gunfire broke out Thursday evening at a demonstration, turning a vocal but peaceful rally into chaos as two snipers shot at police officers, killing five of them, the police said.

Mr. Dayton and members of Minnesotas congressional delegation asked for the Justice Department to investigate the death of Mr. Castile, 32, who died hours after the department took over the investigation into the fatal police shooting, also captured on video, in Baton Rouge, La. The governor said he had spoken with White House and Justice Department officials.
After three weeks of private preparations, Senator Bernie Sanders is expected to endorse Hillary Clinton on Tuesday at a campaign event in New Hampshire, according to three Democrats who have been involved in the planning.

The Clinton campaign on Thursday announced the New Hampshire trip but did not provide details, including any mention of Mr. Sanders.

Mr. Sanders, in an interview Thursday with Bloomberg Views Al Hunt, came as close to endorsing Mrs. Clinton as he ever has, saying: We have got to do everything that we can to defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Clinton. I dont honestly know how we would survive four years of a Donald Trump as president.

The three Democrats, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to reveal confidential conversations, said that the endorsement was partly the result of daily talks between Mrs. Clintons campaign manager, Robby Mook, and the Sanders campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, about bringing together the two rivals and advancing the policy priorities of Mr. Sanders. The discussions included a dinner between Mr. Mook and Mr. Weaver in Burlington, Vt., where Mr. Sanders has his campaign headquarters.
Told of Mr. Trumps noncommittal comment, Stuart Stevens, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney in 2012 who has become one of Mr. Trumps most vocal critics, said that Mr. Trump was a con man who is shocked his con hasnt been called and that he was looking for an emergency exit.

He has no sense of how to govern, Mr. Stevens said. He cant even put together a campaign.

Even Mr. Trumps supporters acknowledge that his past campaigns had the air of a vanity tour. That impression lingers. A recent Trump news release promising a speech regarding the election prompted many reporters and political fortunetellers to predict a declaration of his departure. But just the fact that a routine news release prompted paroxysms of conjecture throughout the political universe suggested that, as Mr. Trump might say, theres something going on.

Mr. Trumps campaign and his supporters dismiss the talk as the fantasizing of frightened liberals or frustrated establishment figures.

Hes not going to pull out, said Thomas Barrack Jr., a financier and real estate investor who is a close friend of Mr. Trumps. He compared Mr. Trumps candidacy to an innovative start-up company: You never see disruption when its happening.

How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause. Learn more about our process.

In Mr. Trumps case, the disruption is everywhere. Last fall, he said in television interviews that if his standing collapsed in the Republican primary polls, he could very well return to his business. In mid-June, amid an onslaught of negative news coverage, he joked to a crowd that he would consider leaving the race for $5 billion.

On the off chance he actually is planning to back out, what would happen?

Alexander Keyssar, a historian at Harvard who is working on a book about the Electoral College, said the process of succession would depend on the precise moment at which he said, Nah, never mind.

The party representatives who make up the Electoral College would suddenly have real power rather than a rubber stamp. If Mr. Trump bowed out after winning on Nov. 8 but before the electors met in each state to cast their ballots on Dec. 19, then the electors could have the opportunity to vote for another candidate, Professor Keyssar said.
WASHINGTON  The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey Jr., defended himself Thursday against an onslaught of Republican criticism for ending the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails, but he also provided new details that could prove damaging to her just weeks before she is to be named the Democrats presidential nominee.

At a contentious hearing of the House oversight committee, Mr. Comey acknowledged under questioning that a number of key assertions that Mrs. Clinton made for months in defending her email system were contradicted by the F.B.I.s investigation.

Mr. Comey said that Mrs. Clinton had failed to return thousands of work-related emails to the State Department, despite her public insistence to the contrary, and that her lawyers may have destroyed classified material that the F.B.I. was unable to recover. He also described her handling of classified material as secretary of state as negligent  a legal term he avoided using when he announced on Tuesday that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against her.

The F.B.I. director repeatedly suggested that someone in the federal government who had done what Mrs. Clinton and her aides did would probably be subject to administrative sanctions.
Environmentalists were fiercely critical of Mr. Obama after the Interior Department last year put forth a plan to lease vast, untouched waters in the Arctic Oceans Beaufort and Chukchi Seas to new drilling. Opponents of drilling complained that exploring for oil in frigid, treacherous waters that host pristine ecosystems could produce an environmental disaster far worse than the 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

But factors like falling energy prices and new onshore extraction technologies could prove to be more powerful controls than the government. Last summer, Shell Oil, the first company to exploit the new Arctic leases, ended its plans to drill after initial explorations yielded disappointing results. That cancellation came after years of other accidents and delays by Shell in its efforts to drill in Arctic waters.

A few months later, the Interior Department canceled plans to auction Arctic Ocean drilling leases for the next two years. The announcement of the new safety rules would apply to new areas to be drilled after that time.

The new rules would require companies to have access to  and the ability to promptly deploy  equipment that could cap and contain an underwater oil leak or spill. They would also require companies to have access to a separate rig that could, if an underwater well fails, drill a relief well to lower the pressure of the gushing oil. They would require companies to develop the capability to predict, track, report and respond to ice conditions and adverse weather events and to draft oil spill response plans that account for adverse conditions.

Environmental groups praised the rules but called on the Obama administration to take steps to halt Arctic drilling entirely.
MEDIA, Pa.  There is potential good news for Hillary Clinton in the politically crucial Philadelphia suburbs: A parade of Republicans said in interviews this week they could not vote for Donald J. Trump.

But there was also bad news: If Mrs. Clinton ever had a chance to win these disaffected Republicans, she has come close to forfeiting the opportunity after the F.B.I.s rebuke of her handling of classified government emails.

Nearly two dozen Republican professional men and women disavowed Mr. Trump in interviews on the pedestrian-friendly downtown streets of these middle-class towns, whose educated voters are even more crucial to winning Pennsylvania than blue-collar workers in the Rust Belt, who receive more attention politically. In yoga studios, taco bars and coffee shops, Republican after Republican called Mr. Trump ineligible for their vote.

I read an article that global terror threats would increase if Donald Trump becomes president, and thats scary, said Jessica Devers, 25, a paralegal from Wallingford, who voted for Mr. Trump in the Pennsylvania primary but does not plan to in the fall.
DHAKA, Bangladesh  A bombing at Bangladeshs largest gathering for the Eid al-Fitr holiday killed two police officers and a civilian on Thursday, police officials said, a day after the Islamic State warned that more attacks would follow the militants bloody siege in the capital last week.

The attack on Thursday occurred at Sholakia Eidgah, a prayer ground in the Kishoreganj district, about 60 miles northeast of Dhaka, the capital. More than 100,000 people were estimated to have gathered there for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that concludes the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued a statement deploring the attack and the killers who had carried it out. What kind of Islamic virtues do they hold as they go to kill people instead of offering their prayers at prayers time, carry out a suicidal bomb attack, she said.
The United Nations committee, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, is under the Human Rights Council. The Dui Hua Foundation, a group based in San Francisco that seeks to secure the release of political prisoners in China, said on Tuesday that this was the first time in the 25-year history of the working group that it had judged that an American citizen had been deprived of rights and arbitrarily detained by the Chinese government.

Ms. Phan-Gillis, a Vietnamese-American business consultant from Houston, was secretly detained in March 2015 by officers from the Ministry of State Security, which oversees espionage and counterespionage. She had been traveling in southern China with a group of businesspeople and officials from Houston.

In September 2015, her husband, Jeff Gillis, announced that he had heard that China had formally detained her and that the case was no longer secret. He said he had received the news just two days before President Xi Jinping of China was to arrive in Seattle for the start of a trip that would culminate in a state visit to Washington.

The United Nations working group said that the Chinese government had told it in April that Ms. Phan-Gillis was being accused of trying to steal state secrets and aiding an outside party in gathering national intelligence. She was formally arrested in October 2015, the group said.

The working group came up with its opinion on the detention during a meeting in April and released the findings last week. The written opinion said the group had learned that state security officers had stopped Ms. Phan-Gillis on March 19, 2015, at the border crossing between Zhuhai, in mainland China, and Macau, a Chinese special administrative region. She was held for six months in a secret location, commonly known as a black jail, then transferred to a detention center in Nanning, the provincial capital of Guangxi, once officers had decided to formalize her detention.
BEIJING  Chinese environmental officials are increasingly turning to naming and shaming cities that fail to bring down pollution levels.

The latest effort involves water pollution, which, like that of air and soil, has reached toxic levels across much of China.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has said it plans to release rankings of cities by water quality. It already does this with air quality, which is how ordinary Chinese know that coal-burning cities in Hebei Province, surrounding Beijing, are among the worst offenders when it comes to smog.

Chinese news organizations reported on the plans this week, after the ministry released a draft proposal last month. The ministry said in its announcement that it was seeking feedback on the proposal by Sunday.
LONDON  It is hard, if not impossible, to recall a time when Europes view across the Mediterranean has been so clouded by conflagration in what seems a redrawn crescent of crisis from North Africa to Turkey.

And, some analysts have come to conclude, it is equally difficult to remember a moment when European leaders have seemed more distracted in rising to the challenge beyond their own frontiers.

The powerful seem hamstrung by the ascendancy at home of rightist insurgents whose appeal to disaffected citizens feeds on opposition to migrants in their midst. A decision by British voters to leave the European Union has only deepened the introspection.

The term arc of crisis was coined at the height of the Cold War by Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carters national security adviser, who spoke in 1978 of an area stretching along the shores of the Indian Ocean, with fragile social and political structures in a region of vital importance to us threatened with fragmentation.
Theresa May, the home secretary and a front-runner in the race to be party leader, is not part of that coterie. She is seen as an independent operator who is loath to make boys-club-style closed-door deals. Appearing to be an actual grown-up, in contrast to the squabbling, backstabbing men now in power, has helped position Ms. May as a welcome antidote to the current disarray. Although, to be fair, she also went to Oxford.

Youre seeing a closing of the ranks behind a candidate the Conservatives think they can support, Peter Paul Catterall, who teaches history at the University of Westminster, said of Ms. May. But it has something of the whiff of people desperate to go for whoever has the ability to keep the lifeboat afloat, even though no one knows where its going.

Still, her ascent wasnt part of the plan. Mr. Cameron had long been grooming Mr. Osborne to succeed him, but that idea disintegrated when the Leave side unexpectedly won the referendum. Mr. Cameron decided to step down rather than deal with the aftermath, and Mr. Johnson and Mr. Gove rushed to fill the vacuum as a team, focusing not on how, but on who, would govern (namely, the two of them).

Then that alliance, too, fell apart when Mr. Gove abruptly announced that he would run against Mr. Johnson for the party leadership, and Mr. Johnson dropped out. Again, it all seemed personal, parochial and petty, playing out in the news media as Jacobean revenge tragedy or drawing-room farce, take your pick.

The top players in both the Tory and Labour Parties tend to go to parties and dinners with the journalists who cover them, and do their best to court the influential owners of their newspapers, too. In the London government-journalistic complex, everyone is connected to everyone else. Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Gove were journalists before they became politicians; Mr. Johnson still writes a weekly column for The Daily Telegraph.
Danish Radio recently asked the actor Morten Grunwald a question on the test: When was the premiere of the first movie about the Olsen Gang, a fictional criminal syndicate? Mr. Grunwald, a star of the film, replied, That, I cant even answer myself. His memory was jogged when he was given the choices: 1968, 1970 or 1971. (It was 1968.)

Jakob Nielsen, editor of the online edition of Politiken, an influential left-leaning newspaper, said the proximity of the years given in some of the multiple-choice questions seemed calculated to stump test-takers. For example, one question asks if the life span of the Danish composer Carl Nielsen was 1865 to 1931, 1870 to 1940 or 1892 to 1965? (The first is correct.)

He said that when Politiken posted the test online, many readers failed it. There is no doubt that the test is aimed to discourage immigrants from coming here, he said. Some of the questions are just ridiculous, and many Danes couldnt even answer them.

He added, however, that applicants were provided free preparatory material that covered the tests contents, and that aspiring Danish citizens who were determined enough could persevere.
BERLIN  German lawmakers unanimously approved legislation on Thursday that would make it easier to prosecute suspects of sexual violence and that defines rape as the violation of a womans will under the principle of no means no.

International womens rights groups have long bemoaned the lack of effective legislation to protect women against sexual violence in Germany, and the strict requirements for filing criminal complaints for sexual violence here mean that few cases are reported and even fewer are prosecuted.

The measure, which brings Germany closer to other Western countries in legislation on sexual crimes, makes it possible to prosecute cases in which victims made clear that they had not wanted to engage in sexual activity, even if they did not cry out or otherwise seek help.

It also includes language that considers situations in which men take advantage of crowded situations to initiate inappropriate contact, a provision added after reports of widespread sexual assault in Cologne on New Years Eve.
WARSAW  Polish leaders have waited for years for a NATO summit meeting that would recognize what, to them, is a self-evident reality: that the proper way to respond to an increasingly pugnacious Russia is to plant more alliance troops and weaponry along the eastern front.

But now that this is actually expected to happen during NATOs two-day gathering here this week, the question is whether  with Britains startling exit from the European Union sucking up all the political oxygen  anyone will even notice.

Militarily, this summit will be about strengthening forces along the eastern front, said Michal Baranowski, director of the Warsaw office of the German Marshall Fund. Politically, its a Brexit summit.

The gathering here on Friday and Saturday  drawing every major leader in the trans-Atlantic alliance, including President Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany  will be the largest NATO summit meeting in history, with 28 delegations from European Union countries, 26 from other nations, and representatives from the United Nations and the World Bank.
WARSAW  President Obama arrived here early on Friday morning to attend a NATO summit meeting that is unfolding against a tumultuous backdrop of renewed Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, a migrant crisis and terrorism fears on the Continents southern rim and internal disarray in the wake of Britains vote to leave the European Union.

Mr. Obama will confront all those forces in a hectic two days of meetings during his last appearance at a NATO meeting. But it is the last challenge that may prove the most vexing: Britains Brexit vote utterly changes the landscape, experts said, not just for the European Union but also for the trans-Atlantic alliance that lies at the heart of NATO.

NATO will announce a raft of military initiatives to deal with the threats from Russia and the tide of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. What Mr. Obama and the other leaders may find more elusive are the arguments to convey why alliances like this remain vital, at a time when the citizens of Europes most important military power just voted to go it alone.
LONDON  His voice sometimes close to cracking, his expression strained and grim, former Prime Minister Tony Blair spent much of the past two days responding to the damning judgment of an inquiry into how he led Britain into the Iraq war, engaging in an extraordinary public mix of soul searching, regret and defensiveness.

Judging by much of the media reaction, he would have done better to save his breath.

A Monster of Delusion, read the headline over a picture of Mr. Blair in The Daily Mail on Thursday. The Sun, another British tabloid, described him as a Weapon of Mass Deception, a reference to the incorrect assertions by Mr. Blair and President George W. Bush before the invasion that Iraq had an arsenal of unconventional weapons.

Nine years after stepping down from office, Mr. Blair  the most successful politician of his generation, who led the Labour Party to three consecutive general election victories with a centrist message  is widely loathed in Britain, his legacy defined overwhelmingly by the Iraq war and its bloody aftermath.

He has few defenders, especially within his own party, which was split at the time by his support for the war and has since shifted leftward again, repudiating much of what he stood for.
VATICAN CITY  A Vatican court on Thursday found two former members of a papal oversight commission guilty of having conspired to leak confidential information and documents to the press. But as the trial known as Vatileaks 2 came to a close, the tribunal declared that it did not have the jurisdiction to try two journalists charged with disseminating that information via separate books.

Speaking to a hushed courtroom in the somber building that houses the Holy Sees judicial offices, Judge Giuseppe Dalla Torre gave Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, a public relations specialist, a 10-month sentence, then suspended it. Frequently outspoken during months of trial testimony, Ms. Chaouqui merely smiled as the verdict was read.

Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, the former secretary of the Vaticans now defunct prefecture for economic affairs, was sentenced to 18 months in prison. His secretary, Nicola Maio, who had been accused of being part of a secretive association with Ms. Chaouqui and Monsignor Vallejo Balda that conspired to leak the documents, was found not guilty after the court ruled that this organization did not exist.

The court did not rule on the merit of the charges against the journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, who wrote separate exposes on supposed mismanagement and corruption at the Vatican, declaring that as the two were not Vatican officials it did not have jurisdiction to try them. But the ruling specified that freedom of the press was guaranteed by Vatican law, which the two journalists interpreted positively.
O.K., Peter Doig may have tried LSD a few times when he was growing up in Canada during the 1970s. But he still knows, he said, when a painting is or isnt his.

So when Mr. Doig, whose eerie, magical landscapes have made him one of the worlds most popular artists, was sent a photograph of a canvas he said he didnt recognize, he disavowed it.

I said, Nice painting, he recalled in an interview. Not by me.

The owner, however, disagreed and sued him, setting up one of the stranger art authentication cases in recent history.

The owner, a former corrections officer who said he knew Mr. Doig while working in a Canadian detention facility, said the famous painter indeed created the work as a youthful inmate there. His suit contends that Mr. Doig is either confused or lying and that his denials blew up a plan to sell the work for millions of dollars.
Field tests provide quick answers. But if those answers and confessions cannot be trusted, Charles McClelland, the former Houston police chief, says, officers should not be using them. During an interview in March, McClelland said that if he had known of the false positives Houstons officers were generating, he would have ordered a halt to all field testing departmentwide. Police officers are not chemists, McClelland said. Officers shouldnt collect and test their own evidence, period. I dont care whether thats cocaine, blood, hair.

Judges, too, have the power, and a responsibility, some argue, to slow down the gears of the system. Patricia Lykos, the Harris County district attorney from 2009 to 2013, says that when she served as a criminal-court judge in the 1980s and 1990s, she would ask the defendants questions about their lives and the crimes they were accused of committing. If she wasnt satisfied that the defendant was guilty of the charge, Lykos says, she wouldnt accept the plea. At times the situation is even easier to decipher, says David LaBahn, president of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. The defendant can be heard arguing his or her innocence to the appointed attorney. In such drug-possession cases, when the prosecutor doesnt have a lab report, if Im that judicial officer, this case is continued  adjourned  until everybody can do their job, LaBahn says.

But that means the defendant, depending on his or her custody status, could go back to jail until the case proceeds, presenting a significant dilemma. Last year, Devon Anderson, the current Harris County district attorney, prohibited plea deals in drug-possession cases before the lab has issued a report. The labs issue reports in about two weeks, but defendants typically wait three weeks before they can see a judge  enough time to lose a job, lose an apartment, lose everything. And yet since Anderson implemented the rule, case dismissals have soared 31 percent, primarily because the lab has proved defendants not guilty.

People plead guilty when theyre innocent because they see no alternative. People who have just been arrested usually dont know their options, or even that they have an option. Theres a fail-safe in there, and its called the defense lawyer, says Rick Werstein, the attorney now representing Albritton as she seeks to finalize her exoneration. Defense lawyers can demand a lab analysis, and they exist to help defendants navigate the consequences of the jail time while they wait, even as they explain the even higher costs of a felony conviction. They are fully authorized to pursue alternative deals.

In fact, Richardson, Albritton's original court-appointed lawyer, says the prosecutor offered her a deferred adjudication, in which she may have been able to wait for the results of a lab test outside the walls of a jail cell. Richardson, who first said he had no memory of their conversations, says he told her about the offer but she refused it. Albritton says she has never heard of anything called deferred adjudication. Neither could explain what actually happened. Perhaps they simply accepted that the field test, with its promise of scientific inevitability, would eventually convict her. The entire country works on these field-test kits, right? Richardson asks.

In the past three years, people arrested based on false-positive field tests have filed civil lawsuits in Sullivan County, Tenn.; Lehigh County, Pa.; Atlanta, Ga.; and San Diego, Calif. Three of the four cases also named the manufacturers Safariland Group or Sirchie as defendants. Three of the cases have already been settled. In one of them, the Sullivan County case, Safariland secured a gag order on the plaintiff, explicitly to prevent media coverage, before entering settlement negotiations. The plaintiffs in each of the suits were people who were arrested, refused to plead guilty and were detained for a month or longer. So far, we have been unable find anyone who pleaded guilty based on field-test results and later filed suit, though Werstein said he and Albritton are considering their additional legal options.

The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals overturned Albrittons conviction in late June, but before her record can be cleared, that reversal must be finalized by the trial court in Houston. Felony records are digitally disseminated far and wide, and can haunt the wrongly convicted for years after they are exonerated. Until the court makes its final move, Amy Albritton  for the purposes of employment, for the purposes of housing, for the purposes of her own peace of mind  remains a felon, one among unknown tens of thousands of Americans whose lives have been torn apart by a very flawed test.
Arrowroot works as a pie thickener when it is heated. The starch bonds with water molecules and begins to swell. The process stabilizes and thickens the fruit. Kierin Baldwin, the pastry chef at Locanda Verde and before that the Dutch, where she was heralded for her pies, told me arrowroot needs a fairly high temperature to kick into action. She declared herself a big fan of prethickening.

Baldwin uses cornstarch in her pies because its difficult to buy arrowroot in bulk, but said the technique would hold for arrowroot. She takes a cup of blueberries off the top of the eight or so that she uses to make the filling for a nine-inch pie and combines it with not a lot of sugar and a few tablespoons of starch, then whizzes it up with a blender and cooks it quickly over high heat until it just begins to thicken. The trick is, it burns easily, she said, so you have to whisk it constantly, and then get it off the heat as soon as it turns thick. Its going to seem really thick. But when you mix it back in with the raw blueberries, and they release their juices in the oven, its going to even out.

Still, she cautioned, its blueberries. Sometimes they set up more thickly than others. (There are many, many varieties of the fruit, though they are usually sold simply as blueberries. The aristocrat of soft fruit, the British food writer Jane Grigson once wrote. They do as they like.)
Less is known about the impact of ship traffic on whales in New York than in the Boston area, where there has been a real-time underwater acoustic monitoring system in place since 2008. New York needs to get up to speed now and collect the kind of baseline data that will help government and the shipping industry minimize human impacts on whales, Dr. Rosenbaum, a marine biologist, said.

The fortunes of the New York region were once intimately linked to whales. Small-scale whaling on Long Island dates to the 1640s; the blubber of the right whale was used for lamp oil and to make soap and margarine.

Many species were brought to the brink of local extinction as a result of a whaling boom in the mid-19th century. As coastal whale populations crashed, Long Island whalers ventured farther afield  into the Arctic and to Hawaii  until ultimately the industry moved in the late 19th century to San Francisco.

Demand for whale oil plummeted with the development of kerosene. But the market for whale meat remained strong even into the 1960s. Whale populations were decimated by industrial-scale slaughter fueled by the use of exploding harpoons in the 20th century.

That all began to change after the International Whaling Commission banned hunting in 1986. Critically endangered species, like the North Atlantic right whale, began to see modest increases in population. Still, there are only an estimated 500 right whales in the North Atlantic today, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In fact, all of New Yorks whale species are listed as endangered, and human activity continues to have a lot to do with that status. Kimberly Durham, the rescue program director of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation on Long Island, reports that 2015 was the worst year yet for whale mortality in the area. Nine dead whales, mostly humpbacks, washed up on Long Island beaches, she said, almost double the number in our previous peak year of 1991. Most of the carcasses had wounds consistent with ship strikes.

One unlucky humpback, Ms. Durham said, was found entangled in gillnetting, which is often deployed to catch squid and herring.
In the fall of 2014, when Emma Petkofsky arrived for graduate school at New York University, she heard about two roommates who needed a third in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

She eagerly moved in with them, happy to avoid a dorm room and the difficulty she might otherwise face in finding a home. Her share, in a small walk-up building, was a bit less than $1,100 a month.

Her classmate Michael Maisch had a similar story. He took a spot as a third roommate in a financial district high-rise. His monthly rent was $1,500, which he thought was too expensive.

After two years, with both roommate situations dissolving, the friends  who are pursuing degrees in occupational therapy  decided to hunt for a two-bedroom together.
Palata is a furl of the tongue away from Indian paratha, but closer in texture to Malaysian roti canai. The way Mr. Thway learned to make it  from a trishaw driver in his hometown, Hinthada, on the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar  the dough is swung up and slapped down repeatedly until it cant be stretched any thinner. He abstains from butter, touching the dough with just the oil needed to keep it from clinging to his hands.

If he had time, he would pull it into a long cord, wind it into a ball and punch it flat, to multiply the layers within. (In Burmese, its other name is htut thayar, or hundred layers.) But in Queens the crowds are closing in, so he simply folds the dough from four sides into a rough square before throwing it on the griddle.

It is enough. The palata is light, crispy and chewy at once; I carried one home by subway, and it arrived an hour later still soft and supple, without a hint of stiffening. It may come plain, for dipping into a dusky red chicken curry that leans toward India, Myanmars neighbor across the Bay of Bengal; or stuffed with minced chicken breast cooked in paprika oil and a masala that Mr. Thway imports from Myanmar, with the warmth of cumin pitched against cardamoms faint menthol kiss.

His other specialty is ohno kaukswe, a soup that is distant kin to Thai kao soy. It is subtle and deep, the broth stained sunrise orange, given a nice murk of fish sauce and thickened with coconut milk and chickpea flour that is toasted until it yields a whiff of earth. Noodles curl under a crowd of cilantro, onion, hard-boiled egg, lime for squeezing and, if you permit (Mr. Thway always asks first), red-black chile, ready to swarm.
Im a bit of a geek, he says, pronouncing the word with a soft Italian g.

Depending on the vintage, Mr. Calabretta ages his wines for years before releasing them. His 2006 is just about to enter stores in New York. It is fruity yet lean, with the energy and minerality that Etna seems to confer on the best examples.

Etna is not just a mountain with a fuming crater at the summit. It has at least five different craters that spew ash and lava in myriad directions, and countless smaller vents. At Romeo del Castello, Ms. Vigo pointed out the twisted remains of a railroad track that had been engulfed in 1981 and now dangles in the lava wall like a piece of modern art.

Though the lava scorched and destroyed vines on the edge of the vineyard, Ms. Vigo pointed out a few vines that were now emerging from under the rock. The roots of a few vines had somehow survived the lava and began to grow again.

Ever resilient, like the Sicilians of Etna, they reappeared in 2014, more than 30 years later.
La Paz BOLIVIA Lake Poopo

LLAPALLAPANI, Bolivia  The water receded and the fish died. They surfaced by the tens of thousands, belly-up, and the stench drifted in the air for weeks.

The birds that had fed on the fish had little choice but to abandon Lake Poopo, once Bolivias second-largest but now just a dry, salty expanse. Many of the Uru-Murato people, who had lived off its waters for generations, left as well, joining a new global march of refugees fleeing not war or persecution, but climate change.

The lake was our mother and our father, said Adrian Quispe, one of five brothers who were working as fishermen and raising families here in Llapallapani. Without this lake, where do we go?

After surviving decades of water diversion and cyclical El Nino droughts in the Andes, Lake Poopo basically disappeared in December. The ripple effects go beyond the loss of livelihood for the Quispes and hundreds of other fishing families, beyond the migration of people forced to leave homes that are no longer viable.

The vanishing of Lake Poopo threatens the very identity of the Uru-Murato people, the oldest indigenous group in the area. They adapted over generations to the conquests of the Inca and the Spanish, but seem unable to adjust to the abrupt upheaval climate change has caused.

Only 636 Uru-Murato are estimated to remain in Llapallapani and two nearby villages. Since the fish died off in 2014, scores have left to work in lead mines or salt flats up to 200 miles away; those who stayed behind scrape by as farmers or otherwise survive on what used to be the shore.

Emilio Huanaco, an indigenous judicial official, is down to his last bottles of flamingo fat, used for centuries to alleviate arthritis. He has never used medication for his aching knee.

Eva Choque, 33, sat next to her adobe home drying meat for the first time on a clothesline. She and her four children ate only fish before.

The lake had long been vulnerable. It was perched 12,140 feet above sea level in the dry Bolivian high plains. Decades of water diversion and cyclical El Nino droughts had brought it to the brink many times over the years. But climate change was the finishing blow. On average, the lake warmed 0.23 degrees Celsius, or 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit, each decade since 1985. The slow warming was enough to evaporate what little water was left. In recent years, the lake has almost disappeared.

They and their neighbors were known to nearly everyone in the area as the people of the lake. Some adopted the last name Mauricio after the mauri, which is what they called a fish that used to fill their nets. They worshiped St. Peter because he was a fisherman, ritually offering him fish each September at the waters edge, but that celebration ended when the fish died two years ago.

This is a millenarian culture that has been here since the start, said Carol Rocha Grimaldi, a Bolivian anthropologist whose office shows a satellite picture of a full lake, a scene no longer visible in real life. But can the people of the lake exist without the lake?

We accepted the lake was going to die someday.

It is hard to overstate how central fishing was to Uru life. When a New York Times photographer, Josh Haner, and I asked Mr. Quispe whether he had made his living as a fisherman, he gave us a strange look before answering, essentially, What else is there?

Men spent stretches as long as two weeks without returning to shore, wandering the lake to follow schools of karachi, a gray fish that looked like a sardine, or pejerrey, which had big scales and grew as long as Mr. Quispes arm.

Some wives worked alongside their husbands, to pull the nets and do the cooking, making the boats a kind of home.

Fishing season began on the lakes edge with a ritual called the Remembering. The Quispe brothers were among about 40 Llapallapani men who would pass a long night chewing coca leaf and drinking liquor. Together, the group recited the names of Lake Poopos landmarks and how to find them.

That night, we would ask for a safe journey, that there would be little wind, that there wouldnt be so much rain, Mr. Quispe, 42, told us. We remembered all night, and we chewed our coca.

In the morning, the men would paddle out above the underwater springs known as jansuris. They would toss sweets from the boat as a religious offering. Fishing season had begun.

We were talking on a cloudless morning with a breeze that might have been perfect for a boat ride in another time. Now, the wind only underscored how dry the landscape had become, as tumbleweeds rolled between the boats abandoned on the old lake bed.

Milton Perez, an ecologist at Oruro Technical University, said scientists had known for decades that Lake Poopo, which sits at 12,140 feet with few sources of water, fit the profile of what he called a dying lake. But the prognosis was in centuries, not years.

We accepted the lake was going to die someday, Mr. Perez said. Now wasnt its time.

Lake Poopo is one of several lakes worldwide that are vanishing because of human causes. Californias Mono Lake and Salton Sea were both diminished by water diversions; lakes in Canada and Mongolia are jeopardized by rising temperatures.

Generations of Uru had watched the water recede and return in what had almost become a predictable cycle. In the 1990s, a dry spell hit that evaporated the lake into three small ponds and destroyed the fisheries for several years. But the lake eventually returned to its previous size.

The Uru passed down knowledge about living on and around the lake. Crowds of large black birds on the horizon were an easy sign that fish were congregated below. They counted three distinct winds that could help or hurt: one from the west, another from the east, and a kind of squall from the north called the saucari, which can sink boats.

It awakens from the north and it doesnt calm down, Mr. Quispe explained.  The saucari is coming, wed say. We cant go into the water until it calms! 

The lake offered algae called huirahuira, which seemed to relieve coughs. Flamingos were like a pharmacy: In addition to the pink fat used to relieve rheumatism, the feathers fought fevers when burned and inhaled.

The villagers would catch and kill the flamingos in April, when the birds lost their feathers and were rendered flightless. The Uru used mirrors to cast sunlight in the birds eyes, making them fall asleep temporarily, easy prey.

We took so many of these from the lake, said Mr. Huanaco, the judicial leader, pulling out a bright pink wing from the mud hut behind his home. The day seven years ago that he hunted the bird down, he had no idea it would be his last.

I will figure out how to make money.

Mr. Perez, the researcher, watched with alarm as several threatening trends developed, and began to understand that the lake could evaporate for good.

First, as quinoa became popular abroad, booming production of the grain diverted water upstream, lowering Lake Poopos level. Second, mining sediment was quickly silting the lake from below.

And it was getting hotter. The temperature on the plateau had increased 0.9 degrees Celsius, or about 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, from 1995 to 2005 alone, much faster than Bolivias national average.

We had the possibility that all these factors would hit with a synergy never seen before, Mr. Perez said.

In the summer of 2014, a rotten smell hung in the air. The surface of the lake had fallen so low that when the saucari wind hit from the north, the gusts kicked up too much silt for the fish to survive.

It was enough to make you cry, seeing the fish swimming dizzy or dead, Gabino Cepeda, a 44-year-old fisherman who has turned to farming quinoa, told us. But that was just the start. The flamingos are dead, the ducks are gone, everything else. We threw out our nets, there was nothing for us.

Mr. Quispe and his brothers met one last time on the edge of the dead lake to perform the Remembering. They paddled out as they always had, but returned the same day because there were no fish.

The eldest, Teofilo, turned to his brothers.

There is no work, he said. I will figure out how to make money. And I will tell you how.

The next week, he left Llapallapani to work in a coal mine an hours drive away.

The Uru people arent made for this.

Pablo Flores, another Uru fisherman who left Llapallapani, starts a thankless workday before sunrise inside a mill on the edge of the worlds largest salt flat, Bolivias Salar de Uyuni. He takes blocks of unrefined salt, grinds them down into a pile as high as he is tall, and puts them into tiny bags, earning 25 cents for each full one.

Outside the mill, it is more arduous. In the vast salt flat near the town of Colchani, where two dozen Uru have resettled, day laborers head out with shovels in the backs of trucks. They gather the salt as the heat beats down on them from above and reflects up from the white expanse below.

The Uru people arent made for this, Mr. Flores, 57, said. Im not made for this. We cant do this kind of work.

In his village, Punaka, Mr. Flores was a respected elder. He was once its mayor, and people who knew him from that life still call him by the Spanish honorific don. As a fisherman, he was always his own boss.

But at the salt mine, he feels like just another hired hand to exploit.

This is a feudal system, he said. I can sincerely say this is a bad place.

Looking over the heap of salt, he remembered an old legend, about a flood that destroyed the world  except for the Uru, who escaped on their balsa rafts and hid on a hilltop when the water began to recede. Disasters were meant to take the form of deluge, not drought, he said.

Some Uru men have left alone, sending money back to relatives who remain on the lake. But others, like Mr. Flores, have taken their families into a new world that has already begun transforming life in ways large and small.

Fifteen Uru live in Machacamarca, a dusty town of several thousand that was once a stop along an old railroad line to the lake. Maria Flores Ignacio and her two teenage children moved this spring into a rented apartment, a first for Ms. Flores, whose adobe home in Llapallapani was handed down through generations.

I am living in someone elses house, she said with a long sigh.

To pay the rent, Ms. Flores makes straw handicrafts that she sells to tourists in the state capital, Oruro, at a Saturday market. There are hats, baskets, bracelets, earrings and small boats like the ones the Uru used to navigate Lake Poopo.

We fight each other now.

Back in Llapallapani, Mr. Cepeda, the fisherman-turned-farmer, wants out, too. But he doesnt have the money.

When the fish died, Mr. Cepeda staked his hopes on quinoa, an ancient crop in the Andes that is now in vogue in Western countries.

He had inherited two hectares of land  about five acres  from his father. He did not quite know how to plant quinoa, but he scattered the seeds in the ground and hoped for the best.

Instead of luck, Mr. Cepeda got a devastating frost, which struck in March. Picking up a handful of the quinoa, he showed us his meager harvest, mostly pulverized. It blew away from his palm. Only a few grains remained that werent dust.

The lake had always been what mattered to the Uru, not the ground, Mr. Cepeda told us. But that was changing.

We fight each other now, he said. Here is my land. But someone says, Now you are encroaching. And then someone else says, No, thats mine. 

I want to teach my child to fish. But I cant.

Francisco Flores, now 26, was a child when his grandparents told him about the day the Uru-Murato first tasted meat.

It was the start of the 20th century, and the Uru had decided to leave the lakes floating islands made of reeds and mud and settle on its edge. They wore shoes for the first time and gave up dresses made of feathers or wool for Western clothes. After centuries of eating only fish, they tried lamb, Mr. Flores recalled being told, and it was tough.

A century later, the Uru have hit a crossroads again, but one not of their choosing.

I want to teach my child to fish, Mr. Flores said, stopping on the dirt road that leads to the cemetery filled with his forebears. But I cant.

Another day, Mr. Haner and I followed Felix Condori, Llapallapanis mayor, to a city market to buy vegetables for the first time. He used to barter with the Aymara Indians, whose pastures lie north of the village, trading fish for potatoes and quinoa straight from his boat.

Now, instead, he counted out bills from a wad with his wife and mother, the three looking confused.

The mayor, who carries a cane used to punish village delinquents, reached out with his other hand to buy a bottle of Axe deodorant spray.

This is all new to us, he said.

On the highway back from the salt flat with Adrian Quispe one day, we saw a flamingo perched on the side of the road, by a stream 100 miles from Lake Poopo. It made Mr. Quispe suddenly remember the soup his mother used to make.

We stopped the car, got out and walked into a watery landscape with snowcapped mountains in the distance and birds in front of us.

This is what Lake Poopo once looked like, Mr. Quispe said.

An hour before, I had been in the salt mill with Mr. Flores, the former Punaka mayor who moved to Colchani with his wife and two young children two years ago.

When he last took them back to Llapallapani for a visit, his 6-year-old daughter said something that gave him chills. She was staring at what used to be the lake, having never really known it not to be dry.

Lets go to Colchani, she said. Lets go home.
Summers greatest fashion challenge is pulling off the transformation from urbanite to beachgoer. May we suggest a look somewhere between midcentury rebel without a cause and Cosmo Kramer?

A silky bowling shirt goes nicely with dark swim trunks. And the slim steel dress watch by Uniform Wares is elegant and sporty, with its fine-weave Milanese mesh strap to keep your wrist from sweating.

Stand out from the tote pack with a ditty bag, a carryall traditionally used by sailors and fishermen. This one, from the French brand L/Uniform, made of army khaki canvas, is utilitarian with a Parisian touch.

If youre weary of ball caps and bucket hats, refresh your headgear game with a visor from Paa. Its minimal and clean.

Dont forget skin. Kyoku for Men facial moisturizer works to prevent acne breakouts while also protecting against sun damage. And at the end of a beach day, a hydrating mist containing desert lime, olive leaf and pomegranate extracts is a good way to wash the salt from your face.
NEWPORT BEACH  Ben Carlsons parents gazed at a sea of people gathering around a covered statue of their son, and like the 2,000 or so others who showed up, they had yet to lay eyes on the stainless steel memorial.

Teri and Chris Carlson werent surprised at the turnout for the statues unveiling, which has been in the works for two years, since their son died during a rescue on July 6, 2014, in big surf just a short distance from where his statue now stands.

The statue of Ben, a 2000 graduate of Etiwanda High School in Rancho Cucamonga and a Riverside City College graduate, stands 9 feet tall, weighs nearly a ton and shows a man standing and looking into the distance.

We thought Ben was a treasure. But you just dont expect something like this, Teri said of the community outpouring since his death. It sort of diverts your grieving when you see all the love people are giving you. This community has been kind and caring, and theyve embraced us.

The gathering Wednesday night at McFadden Square brought together lifeguards, family, friends and strangers who wanted to pay homage to the 32-year-old lifeguard and surfer. Carlson was the first Newport Beach lifeguard to die in the line of duty.

After his death, condolences came from around the world and a paddle-out for Carlson drew thousands to the Newport Pier.

The lifeguard building was renamed the Benjamin M. Carlson Lifeguard Headquarters. And a foundation, the Ben Carlson Memorial & Scholarship Foundation, was created by lifeguards, friends and family to raise awareness about ocean safety, to help underserved children and to raise money for college scholarships.

The statue was also part of the foundations mission. His brother-in-law, artist Jake Janz, spearheaded the project.

The unveiling was lighthearted, with speakers sharing stories of Carlson and the work accomplished by the foundation.

Lifeguard Skeeter Leeper spoke about Carlsons travel adventures, and how he was looking out for people wherever he went. He spoke about what community meant.

Leeper said that while Carlson is missed, his death has helped the community grow stronger.

This statue is going to serve as an icon of the bond that this community has, he said.

Lifeguards joked about Carlsons love for pineapple and jalapeno pizza, which the Carlson family brings to Newport lifeguards on the anniversary of his death.

Newport Beach resident Jesse Briggs, wearing a hat that read, Ben Did Go, said the memorial would be a place he could go to remember his friend.

Ill walk by here a lot, every chance I get, and think about him, Briggs said.

After the statue was unveiled, with the American flag above and the sunset reflecting an orange shine on the statue, the packed crowd cheered and held up cameras to capture images of the new fixture.

Its amazing, awesome, Briggs said, choking back tears. Lifelike.

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Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com
SANTA ANA  Yeon Woo Lees hotel business in South Korea had failed and his marriage was troubled when he traveled to Cerritos in 2010 to ask his best friend to help him commit suicide, an attorney told an Orange County Superior Court jury on Wednesday.

In Korea culture, suicide brings great shame to families, so the two men allegedly hatched a plan to make the suicide look like a botched robbery, according to court testimony.

In January 2011, a street-sweeper found Lees body in a remote industrial area of Anaheim, with a single bullet wound to the back of his head.

Trial began Wednesday for Beong Kwun Cho, a 56-year-old Cerritos resident accused of shooting Lee, his longtime friend visiting from South Korea.

Anaheim police found Lees body in the gutter next to a rental car and initially thought he was killed by accident while trying to change a tire, a prosecutor said. The case became a murder investigation after an X-ray showed a bullet in his skull.

Police went to Chos Cerritos home after they found his cell phone number listed under Lees emergency contact in the rental-car papers.

Cho and Lee had attended elementary school in South Korea together and stayed in touch after Cho moved to California with his wife and two children in 2003.

In his opening statement, Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said Cho initially told police he didnt know where his friend was, but after further questioning and a smoke break, he unraveled a strange story.

Cho told police that Lee wanted to commit suicide but didnt want to bring shame upon his friends and family in Korea, Simmons said. He also had a life insurance policy that would be canceled in the event of suicide, the prosecutor said.

Lee initially wanted to hire someone to kill him but was worried that the killer would take his money and not follow through, so he turned to Cho, his trusted friend, Simmons said.

Lee bought a gun and the two men allegedly practiced at a shooting range and drove around looking for a location, Simmons said. In the trial, jurors will see video footage of the two men visiting a Wal-Mart together to buy size 13 shoes, allegedly to make it look like the killer had larger feet, Simmons said.

Cho led police to the gun, in a cabinet in his garage, and told them where to find the size 13 shoes, in a dumpster in Anaheim, Simmons said.

But in an eight-hour interview with police, Cho later admitted that he hated his friend and wanted him to die for allegedly raping Chos wife, Simmons said.

Lee had allegedly lent Cho $2,000 under an agreement that if Cho did not pay Lee back in a few days, Lee could have sex with his wife, Simmons said, and Cho apparently did not pay him back quick enough.

When police questioned her, the wife initially denied any contact with Lee but later said he had raped her three times and she had never told anyone, Simmons said.

The defendant said he wanted to kill him, Simmons said. He told police he hated him, and wanted to get rid of him because it would make his life better.

Sitting in court, Cho wiped away tears and occasionally sobbed as he listened through a Korean interpreter.

His defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Robert Kohler, said Cho confessed to the shooting and led police to most of the evidence. But to understand the sad story, he said, jurors will need to look at the case through the lens of Korean culture.

Kohler said a professor from Pennsylvania State University will testify as an expert witness on Korean social class and the role that shame plays in society.

Suicide is a major shame in Korea, he said. Shame figures in every part of this story.

Kohler said the two men were devoted friends from childhood. Lee, who was from a higher socioeconomic class, was the dominant person in the friendship, he said, adding that Cho would typically go along with his friends demands.

Cho is charged with one count of murder with a sentencing enhancement for use of a firearm. If convicted of that, he faces 50 years to life prison. But the defense said manslaughter, at worse, is more appropriate.

Youll here evidence that Lee had been talking about committing suicide for 10 years, Kohler told the jury. Mr. Lee came here to die.

Contact the writer: 714-834-3773 or kpuente@ocregister.com,
COSTA MESA  The city could be divided into six voting districts for a proposed ballot measure that would let residents decide if they want to switch the way they elect the City Council.

The City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday night to accept a map  one of four drawn up after community meetings last month  with six districts and a city-wide elected mayor who could serve for two years and two consecutive terms.

Council members Sandra Genis and Katrina Foley dissented, saying the council did not need a directly elected mayor.

The council is expected to vote next week to place the city-sponsored measure on the November ballot. The measure would let voters decide whether the city should switch from at-large elections to voting districts to help amplify Latino voices on the council and avoid a lawsuit.

The first two maps would cut the city into five districts and the others into six and seven. The mayor would be elected separately in proposals three and four.

David Ely, of Compass Demographics, the firm hired by the city to create the districts, recommended the five-district system, which garnered the most support from residents during the community meetings.

In general, my recommendation would be to keep it as simple as possible, he told the council.

Councilman Jim Righeimer favored proposal three, the six-district map with a separately elected mayor, because it created compact voting areas.

Mesa del Park and College Park. These people have very common interests, he said. Going to the smaller, more compact district really does suit the needs of the people that are there.

Each district has around 17,500 to 19,000 residents, according to Ely. District four would have the largest Latino voting age population.

The six-district map received overwhelming opposition from the community, particularly because the city-wide mayor provision creates a seven-member council, said Yesenia Arias of Arellano and Associates, a community outreach consultant.

Residents were concerned about having a representative and mayor from the same district, she said.

Righeimer said the mayor would lend balance and provide direction in a council that could become divided.

The concern that I have because once youre elected from your district you dont have to care about the rest of the districts at all unless youre the mayor or thinking about running for mayor, he said. You do want to have someone in the community to have some leeway and some gravitas to help get the vote together to make sure we can move things forward.

Having one representative from each community would be better public policy, Foley said.

If you have to not only represent your district but have to get two other votes then youre going to be more inclined to want to build consensus as opposed to if youre the mayor and you got your buddy to run in one of the districts and then you just have to get one more vote, which is exactly what we have right now, Foley said.

Several speakers at the meeting made it clear they favored the first map, a five-district plan.

Foleys motion to accept that map was voted down 3-2.

The ballot measure was spurred by attorney Kevin Shenkman, who sent the city a letter in December saying the citys at-large election system, in which residents can vote for any candidate, violates the California Voting Rights Act and dilutes participation of the citys Latino population.

In April, the council agreed to divide the city into voting districts and let voters decide if they want to switch election systems.

More than 120 attended the community meetings to give input on how the districts should be combined.

If voters approve the switch, the first elections under the new system would occur in 2018.

The council is expected to put the plan on the ballot at a special meeting next Tuesday.

Contact the writer: 714-796-2478 or lcasiano@ocregister.com
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa will speak at the Republican National Convention, making her among the prominent conservative politicians the Trump campaign has lined up for the event, according to three people with direct knowledge of the convention planning.

Ernst will be given one of the most coveted speaking slots, an address scheduled during a prime-time coverage period planned by the major television networks.

At the same time the Ernst discussions were formalized, the Trump campaign was attempting to resolve a more delicate and difficult situation of what role Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas might play at the convention. A senior Trump aide said Wednesday that the two sides were still a long way from a resolution.

Giving a prime speaking slot to Ernst is fitting in many ways, like in possibly helping the candidate neutralize the criticism that he has been insensitive to women. As a Midwesterner who hails from a battleground state, she offers geographical balance to the brash New York developer.

And as the candidate who famously held up her experience castrating hogs as a selling point when she ran for the Senate in 2014, her view of how to handle Washington politicians seems to square nicely with Trumps.

Trump was expected Wednesday to release a list of his speakers for the July 18-21 convention in Cleveland. But in a Twitter post he said the announcements would come Thursday instead.

In recent days, the names of some speakers from the political world have started to leak out, including that of Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who told a local television station Tuesday that he would address the convention. As for other former rivals of Trumps, the chances of seeing either Gov. John Kasich of Ohio or Cruz appear at the convention are unknown. Trump has said he would not let them speak unless they endorsed him first.

In an interview with The New York Times, Trump said last month that he envisioned a convention with a mix of traditional and nontraditional speakers  a list that could possibly include people like Serena Williams, Don King, Sarah Palin and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

But so far he has revealed little about what his plans are. By comparison, former Gov. Mitt Romneys campaign in 2012 released a list of its convention headliners three weeks before the event.
The Supreme Court term that ended June 27 showed more than ever that it is truly the Anthony Kennedy Court. Justice Kennedy voted in the majority in 98 percent of all decisions.

Where Kennedy voted with the three conservative justices  Roberts, Thomas and Alito  the result was a 4-4 tie. This meant that the lower court decision was affirmed, without opinion from the Supreme Court, by an evenly divided court. This occurred most notably in United States v. Texas, which was a challenge to President Obamas immigration action, Deferred Action of Parents of Americans, and in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, which was about whether non-union members can continue to be required to pay agency fees that support collective bargaining activities. In the former, it meant that a nationwide preliminary injunction against the Obama immigration action remains in effect. In the latter, it means that there is no change in the law, and non-union members must continue to pay their fair share of fees.

But when Kennedy voted with Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan, there was a majority for a liberal result. This is exactly what occurred in the two most high-profile cases of the term, which involved abortion and affirmative action.

In Whole Womens Health Center v. Hellerstedt, the court, 5-3, declared unconstitutional a Texas law that would have closed 75 to 80 percent of all the facilities where abortions are provided in that state. The Texas law required that any doctor performing an abortion have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles and that all places where abortions are performed have surgical quality facilities even if no surgical abortions are performed there.

The federal district court issued a preliminary injunction, finding that the law likely was unconstitutional as creating an impermissible undue burden on a womans right to abortion. The district court found that there was no evidence that the law protected womens health. If a woman experiences complications at an abortion facility, she is taken to the local emergency room, and doctors there provide medical treatment. There is no need for surgical level facilities. The district court found that the Texas law was adopted with the purpose  and would have the effect  of keeping women from having access to abortions.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed and upheld the law. The Fifth Circuit said that it is for the legislature, not the judiciary, to assess whether the law protects womens health. The Fifth Circuit said that deference to the legislature required upholding the law.

With Justice Breyer writing for the majority, the court stressed that in deciding whether a law imposes an undue burden on abortion, it is for the judiciary to balance the justifications for the restrictions against their effect on the ability of women to have access to abortions. The court concluded that the Texas law would greatly limit the ability of women in Texas to have access to abortions, without any evidence that the restrictions were necessary to protect womens health.

In one sense, the courts decision is narrow and is just an analysis of this particular law. But the case sends a much broader message. The court was clear that the judiciary must carefully scrutinize laws restricting abortion that were adopted with the purported justification of protecting womens health. The majority rejected judicial deference to the legislature.

In the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas, Justice Kennedy wrote for the court in a 4-3 decision (Justice Kagan was recused because she had been involved in the case as Solicitor General). The court upheld the University of Texas affirmative action plan which used race as one of many factors in undergraduate admissions decisions. To be sure, the court reaffirmed that the burden is on the educational institution to prove that there is no race-neutral way to achieve diversity. But the court found that the University of Texas had met this burden.

These cases make it clear that because of Anthony Kennedy joining the four liberal justices, there is now a majority on the court to strike down abortion restrictions and to uphold affirmative action programs. Whether this continues, and for how long, is one of the many things to be determined by the November 2016 presidential election.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
TORONTO  A Toronto university student who survived a militant attack in Bangladesh has been detained by authorities in the countrys capital since the weekend siege, his family said Wednesday as they called for the young mans release.

Police have not explained why theyve held Tahmid Hasib Khan, 22, for the past four days and concerns are mounting for his well-being, his family said.

We are concerned that they might put a case against him, his cousin Rasheek Irtisam said from Dhaka. If they put a case against him, it will take years in Bangladesh.

Khan, a permanent resident of Canada, is an undergraduate student studying global health at the University of Toronto. His family said Khan arrived in Dhaka on July 1 to celebrate Eid with his family, and planned to travel to Nepal to begin an internship next week.

They said Khan was meeting friends at a Dhaka cafe when he and others were taken hostage for 10 hours on July 1.

Two police officers and 20 hostages  nine Italians, seven Japanese, an Indian and three students from American universities  were killed in the siege at the upscale restaurant in Dhakas diplomatic zone. Six of the attackers also died.

Authorities held five former hostages for questioning but have released three.

Khans father was able to speak with his son twice since the siege ended, with the last phone call taking place two days ago.

He said he was alive, he was doing fine, said Irtisam, adding that his cousin had epilepsy and sometimes suffers seizures when under extreme stress. We are right now worried about that. We are trying to get some doctors over there.

The family have also reached out to Bangladeshs Home Minister in an attempt to secure their sons release and have a lawyer stationed outside the building where Khan is being held, Irtisam said.
For Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini, this was a somber Eid al-Fitr.

As the sun rose Wednesday, Muslims around the world chanted and prayed with friends and family after an entire month of fasting from sunrise to sundown. But this year was different.

People exchanged gifts and hugged one another, said Al-Qazwini, who founded the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County in Costa Mesa 22 years ago. But the festivities  theyre not real. There is no true happiness. Today, we think about hundreds of people around the world  Muslims and non-Muslims  who are suffering because theyve lost loved ones.

On June 7, at the start of Ramadan, Al-Qazwinis 27-year-old cousin was killed along with 15 others when a car bomb exploded in Karbala, Iraq, the imams birthplace.

What was supposed to have been a holy month of introspection, peace and piety became a time of unprecedented carnage spreading to countries including Turkey, Bangladesh, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

The wave of attacks culminated Monday with triple suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, including one outside the Prophets Mosque in the city of Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried. The bombings sent shock waves across the Muslim world. Even though no one claimed responsibility for those bombings, the nature of the attacks and their apparently coordinated timing suggested that the Islamic State group could be to blame.

In Orange County, thousands from local mosques gathered at the Anaheim Convention Center and at Honda Center early Wednesday morning to break their fast and pray together.

The mood was one of quiet celebration because of recent events, but there was still room for levity, said Ojaala Ahmad of Anaheim, who attended the Honda Center prayer service with her family.

The person giving the sermon saw how quiet everyone was, she said. He turned around to us and said, I want you guys to be so loud that Donald Trump can hear us.

That seemed to cheer up attendees and put them in the mood for loud chanting and community prayer, Ahmad said.

It was wonderful to see Muslims from all over the world dressed in their native dress  Arabs, South Asians, Africans, she said. Everyone was representing their culture and ethnicity, but coming together as one.

Mohammed Faqih, the imam who leads the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, said his children were looking forward to their annual Eid al-Fitr tradition  a trip to the Original Pancake House for omelets, hash browns and pancakes.

Wednesdays turnout of more than 5,000 people at Honda Center was the largest ever there for Eid al-Fitr services, he said. Even so, it was a muted celebration, Faqih said, adding that Muslims all over are hurt by the Medina mosque bombings.

Alia Abou-Masr of Irvine said the terrorist attacks dampened the spirit of the celebration.

But we have to hope that peace will prevail, she said. People will try to use religion to justify anything. Thats why religious literacy is important and we need to talk about peace and tolerance, which are true values of Islam.

Muslims are getting hit on all sides not just by extremism and Islamophobia but also by political rhetoric during the election season, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.

What is unfortunate is that Muslims are facing risks from homegrown bigots and ISIS-inspired lone wolves and extremists, he said. They are also seeing an attempt by politicians to exempt them from participating in civic life.

Levin gave the example of Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson saying a Muslim should not become president of the United States, and the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump, calling for a ban on all Muslims entering the country.

The discourse is just terrible, he said.

Muslims no doubt face tremendous challenges going forward, Al-Qazwini said.

All Americans have to stand up against bigotry and division, especially in the next election, he said. Muslims, in particular, must face this issue of radicalism head-on and cleanse their societies and communities from elements of fanaticism. Thats our call.

Register photographer Bill Alkofer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: dbharath@ocregister.com
A new name, new packages, new pricing.

If youre a Time Warner Cable customer, changes are on the horizon. Charter Communications in May acquired the giant cable and internet service provider, along with Bright House Networks, for roughly $67 billion.

The deal makes Charter the nations second-largest cable operator behind Comcast Corp.

The mega-merger recalls the recent deal between Verizon and Frontier Communications in which thousands of area subscribers went offline during the transition.

The decoupling from Verizon was fraught with technical and hardware issues, many of which remain unresolved.

TWC subscribers might wonder if their fate will echo that of those frustrated Frontier customers. To that end, heres what we know:

New name

Say goodbye to Time Warner Cable. The company name is changing to Spectrum.

While customers may be seeing commercials about the name change, they should see the familiar TWC eyeball logo for a few more months.

Charter did not provide a firm estimate of when the change would be complete.

No disruptions expected

Spectrum will not be a repeat of Frontier.

At least, thats the message from Charter.

Company spokesman Justin Venech said TWC customers should not expect any changes.

We purchased all of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. With this transaction we acquired everything, Venech said. Were able to take more time in the integration process and not rush to make changes.

He added that in the months to come, Charter will convert Time Warners aging infrastructure into a wholly digital system. The process should be complete in 18 months, Venech said.

But keep a close eye on your mail, subscribers. Charter said it will introduce new packaging and pricing options. Perks include no data caps or modem lease fees.

The Spectrum pricing and packaging is a better value than TWC, Venech said.

Venech said a handful of new packages and price options would be offered, but customers can opt to stay with the package and price they currently have.

Spectrum will offer a package for internet service only, not just bundled packages. Charter would not provide specific details on the new pricing.

New customer service model

Perhaps with its eye on other cable service debacles, Charter is ramping up customer service.

Since 2012, the company has added 7,000 U.S. jobs, mostly in customer service, as it downsized its overseas call centers.

The company plans to do the same as Spectrum. Venech estimated that 20,000 jobs, mainly in customer service, would be created as the company shifts call center jobs to the United States.

The employees will be full-time employees, not contractors, he said.

The company has not yet decided where these call centers will be, Venech said.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
In the most significant turnaround for a U.S. presidential archive, the long-embattled Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda has finally found peace in a $15 million remodel.

An exclusive, first-ever walk-through of the museum reveals much that is as modern as it is historic. Interactive displays and mobile app photo ops seem to drop you into world-changing events, such as Richard and Pat Nixons visit to Chinas Great Wall in 1972. Or you can take a shot at presidential decision-making, such as supplying Israel with military equipment during the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

But in some respects, moving the museum into the 21st century isnt the biggest change at the Nixon library. The renovation  expected to culminate with a reopening in October  also marks the end of two decades of infighting between the private Richard Nixon Foundation and historians connected with the federal government. Think of it as a local, museum-centric version of Peace with Honor.

During my visit Wednesday, Mike Ellzey, director of the federal library, and Bill Baribault, president of the foundation, joked amiably with each other. They easily agreed where their respective jurisdictions start and end, and discussed goals they describe as mutual.

Its a good partnership, and a good collaboration, Baribault said.

Its a different period. Its fun.

Such a scene was impossible to imagine when Ellzeys predecessor was in charge. At the same time, the foundations circle-the-wagons approach to certain historical realities has softened.

Significantly, the museums Watergate display remains essentially the same, few-holds-barred exhibit that its been in recent years. Even the photos and previous wording will return once the remodel is complete.

But plans for the rest of the museum are nothing like the staid, static and often boring presentation that existed just a few months ago.

OVAL OFFICE

On Wednesday, construction workers stepped over temporary lighting cords to compare blueprints and cut drywall. But, little by little, the place is morphing into the kind of jewel that suits both Orange County and a presidential museum.

Although the Oval Office is, for now, little more than raw drywall, its famous shape and infamously small size sends the mind backward. As you enter, historical giants such as Lincoln and Kennedy seem to be standing near. Then you look up at the ceiling, see the official seal of the president of the United States, and learn that the room will be decorated in the same California shades of blue and gold favored by Pat Nixon.

Visitors, Baribault notes, will be allowed to sit behind the presidential desk.

You can imagine Nixon at that desk, signing the 26th Amendment (1971) giving 18-year-olds the right to vote, the executive order (1970) to create the Environmental Protection Agency and the Emergency School Aid Act (1970) that helped bring segregation to its knees.

In this tumultuous election year, the Republican presidents accomplishments are a reminder of how much politics have changed.

It should be an educational experience, Baribault said of the new Nixon library. If we do that, then weve fulfilled our mission.

Baribault speaks from a position of authority  and with the foundations wallet.

While the feds and a host of historians and professors have final say over museum content, it is the foundation, through private donations, that is footing the $15 million renovation bill. Much of that money is coming from Orange County residents: George and Julia Argyros funded the Oval Office; James and Esther Cavanaugh financed the Lincoln Sitting Room.

BOTH SIDES

Unlike some presidential museums, the new Nixon library places the appetizer of the kid-who-grew-up-to-be-president at the end of the tour. At the beginning, its all meat.

For example, the first exhibits title: The Vietnam War.

It really sets the stage for what the president walked into, Baribault explained. Other titles: Watts Riots, Social Change, JFK, Cuban Missile Crisis.

Arguments for and against the Vietnam War will get full presentations. If push comes to shove over specific content, the call will be Ellzeys and the governments.

Still, the foundation applauds the diversity.

Its not a single view, Baribault said. Theres merit to having both sides presented.

A series of rooms follow. One allows visitors to view the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, the first to be televised. Another room offers Apollo 11 spacesuits, along with details on the 1969 moon landing.

Another room commemorates Nixons arrival in China, what he sometimes described as the week that changed the world.

The Watergate exhibit is followed by a you-are-there moment in which visitors find themselves inside the helicopter next to Pat and Richard Nixon as Washington, D.C., appears to slip away in the window.

Its so sad, the first lady laments in a tape recording. Its so sad.

But where the old Nixon library ended with Watergate, the new Nixon library gets a third act.

AMERICAN DREAM

Theres Nixon raised in the house his father built in Yorba Linda. Theres Nixon in the Pacific during World War II. And, of course, theres Nixon, then a candidate for vice president, on TV talking aboutthe family dog, Checkers.

One exhibit that is sure to be a fan favorite is a mobile app photo op in which visitors can ride with the Nixons in a white convertible during the 1960 Tournament of Roses Parade.

But theres also what the museum plans to bluntly call the Wilderness Years, a stretch of the mid-1960s when Nixon couldnt get elected governor of California.

Next, visitors jump forward to Nixons post-resignation stay at the Western White House, complete with a replica of the tower at La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente.

The end of the visit includes a montage of Nixon in pop culture. This is especially revealing of a man who is arguably one of our most complicated presidents.

In one corner theres a classic Mad magazine portrait of Alfred E. Neuman as Nixon. Its a chuckle Nixon might have appreciated, just as he would have appreciated the museums final video in which he talks about opportunity.

It remains unclear exactly what Nixon quote will be used, but this one might work: The American dream does not come to those who fall asleep.

Contact the writer: dwhiting@ocregister.com
MOSCOW  Russias President Vladimir Putin discussed Syria, Ukraine and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday.

Putin called Obama to inform him about the results of his talks with Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, which were intended to help stabilize the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the Kremlin said. The White House said Obama expressed his readiness to intensify efforts together with Russia and with France, as co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group, to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.

Talking about Syria, Putin called for encouraging moderate Syrian opposition to disengage quickly from the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, which has been excluded from the U.S.- and Russia-brokered truce in Syria along with Islamic State. The Kremlin said the two leaders also reaffirmed their readiness to build up coordination of Russian and U.S. actions in Syria in the military sphere, and noted the importance of resuming peace talks.

The White House didnt mention stronger military coordination in its readout of the conversation. However, using an alternative acronym for Islamic State, it said that the presidents confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL and the Nusrah Front.

It also noted that Obama emphasized his concerns over the failure of the Syrian regime to comply with the cessation of hostilities.

President Obama stressed the importance of Russia pressing the Syrian regime for a lasting halt to offensive attacks against civilians and parties to the Cessation, noting the importance of fully recommitting to the original terms of the Cessation, the White House said.

It added that Obama stressed the necessity for progress on a genuine political transition to end the conflict in Syria, as well as sustained humanitarian access.

Regarding Ukraine, Putin argued that its government needs to follow the 2015 Minsk peace deal by launching a dialogue with rebels, granting a special status to rebel regions and preparing local elections there.

Obama, meanwhile, urged Putin to take steps to end the significant uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine and stressed the urgent importance of moving forward with full implementation of the Minsk agreements, according to the White House statement.
Anti-oil activists call themselves environmentalists, but if that were actually true, they wouldnt be on their current crusade to replace domestic oil and gas producers with oil imported from foreign countries. The reality is that if these activists were successful in their quest to end all of Californias in-state oil production, it would cause severe harm to our states environment.

Activists start with the premise that if we suddenly stopped all in-state oil production, California consumers would suddenly cut their consumption of oil by an equal amount. But history shows that simply isnt true. In 1985, California produced 1 million barrels of oil a day. Last year, we produced roughly 550,000 barrels a day. Is California now consuming half as much oil as it did three decades ago? Of course not. In fact, Californians use about 2 million barrels of oil each day.

So where does the rest of the oil come from? It is imported from countries like Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Thats the reality. Lower in-state production of oil leads to more imports from foreign countries.

Those countries dont have to follow the same local, state and federal environmental protections as California producers do. Those numerous laws include AB32, which mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; Senate Bill 4, which provides unprecedented disclosure and testing for well-stimulation treatments; state regulations singling out methane emissions from oil and gas production; and state and regional testing on well integrity and fugitive emissions to protect air quality, just to name a few.

Transitioning to electric cars run solely on renewable electricity would take decades and we would still need to replace the fossil fuels used to generate electricity, diesel fuel, jet fuel, plastics, rubber, chemicals and all the other petroleum-based products we use.

Simply put, less high-quality oil from California means a greater reliance on foreign oil produced with fewer  or even no  environmental safeguards.

But wait, theres more. This imported oil has an even greater environmental footprint because it also has to be transported to our state by tanker ship or by rail-car. Those tanker ships are often found in Southern California ports.

It is this reality that has led Gov. Jerry Brown  whose environmental credentials are unparalleled and wants to cut petroleum demand by 50 percent  to advocate for responsible domestic oil production.

Last year, as Gov. Brown embarked on a trip to Paris for the widely acclaimed United Nations Global Climate Summit, he told Politico, I dont think its responsible to let third-world countries do the oil production so that Californians can drive around, even in their hybrids. We have to shoulder our part of the responsibility. And reducing our climate footprint is not snap your fingers, take one issue. To just instantly kill an industry, with all the backlash that entails, with the trivial impact on climate change, does not seem to me the wise way to go.

By maligning energy producers, anti-oil activists are attempting to scare the public into opening their wallets to fund their irrational campaigns to stop all domestic oil production. The sad reality is that this jeopardizes the hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs the oil and gas industry supports, as well as the billions of dollars of tax revenue that producers and their employees pay to government coffers.

Lets be clear on the impacts of what anti-oil activists are advocating: more environmental harm, less tax revenue for vital services and people out of work.

Real environmentalists are more realistic, relying on science and understanding that by producing locally under stringent standards, California can protect its energy independence and continue to be the global leader in responsible oil production.

Rock Zierman is CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Association, a non-profit, non-partisan trade association whose members represent approximately 70 percent of Californias total oil production.
JOHANNESBURG  Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter who rose to worldwide fame for overcoming his disability to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games, was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison for murdering his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, inside his home in 2013.

Pistorius was taken directly from the courtroom to a prison near Pretoria to start serving his sentence. He will have to serve half of his term before being eligible for parole.

Judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa of the High Court in Pretoria cited mitigating factors in handing out a sentence that was significantly shorter than the 15-year minimum requested by prosecutors.

Pistorius, the judge said, had shown genuine remorse in trying, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, to apologize in person to the victims parents.

Pistorius, 29, who looked down in an expressionless stare while the judge read the sentence, showed no emotion when he was asked to rise and listen to the sentencing. Neither did Steenkamps family react in the courtroom.

The sentencing brought to an apparent close a trial that transfixed much of this nation for years, featuring a young, handsome man whose inspiring story once spoke to the youthful hopes of post-apartheid South Africa.

Pistorius fall  as well as the unsettling questions the trial raised about violence against women and the racial fears lurking behind the murder  occurred in a country increasingly disaffected with the post-apartheid order and its architect, the long-governing African National Congress.

In handing out the six-year sentence, Masipa surprised many legal experts who had predicted that a term of at least 10 years would split the difference between guidelines that call for at least 15 years in prison for murder but that also allow for a reduction based on other considerations.

Both sides can appeal the judges sentence, leaving the possibility that the case may not be over. Pistorius lawyers said they would not file an appeal.

Perhaps anticipating a challenge by prosecutors, Masipa said in her ruling Wednesday that she would be available to receive a request for an appeal that same day.

Among other mitigating factors, the judge said she considered the circumstances of the shooting and Pistorius disability.

She also noted that Pistorius was a first-time offender who had shown himself to be a good candidate for rehabilitation. I am of the view that a long-term imprisonment will not serve justice, Masipa said.

In remarks largely sympathetic to Pistorius, the judge added: Hes a fallen hero who has lost his career and is ruined financially. The worst is that having taken the life of a fellow human being in the manner that he did, he cannot be at peace.

Marius du Toit, a criminal defense lawyer, former prosecutor and judge who has closely followed the trial, said the sentence, though erring on the side of leniency, clearly reflected the judges belief that Pistorius was guilty of what amounts to an accidental murder, not one with intent.

Du Toit said that prosecutors could decide to contest the sentence by asking Masipa to grant leave to appeal or, failing that, by petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeals directly.

But is it something that another court will interfere with? I somehow dont think so, he said. I think we may have reached the end of this matter.

Gareth Newham, a criminal justice researcher at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, said that it was not unusual for a judge to consider mitigating factors in deviating from sentencing guidelines. But the six-year sentence, he said, would most likely anger a public that has come to regard Pistorius much less sympathetically.

The general public feeling about this will be that it was an inappropriately light sentence, and that could lead to the NPA to think that they might have a better chance of getting the sentence extended if they took it to a higher court, he said, referring to the National Prosecuting Authority.

In 2014, Masipa convicted Pistorius of the equivalent of manslaughter, sentencing him to five years in prison. Pistorius served one year before being released to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

After prosecutors appealed, the nations highest appeals court found that Masipa had erred in her ruling and convicted Pistorius of murder.

Last month, Pistorius and Steenkamps family appeared in court before Masipa for a new sentencing. Both sides made emotional pleas to the judge who, though working under sentencing guidelines, had the authority to reduce the sentence if she found substantial and compelling reasons.

In the courtroom last month, Pistorius removed his artificial legs and walked on his stumps, resting his hand on a desk for support at one point. His lawyers argued that his disability would make him particularly vulnerable in prison and pleaded for community service instead.

The victims father, Barry Steenkamp, 73, gave tearful testimony and said that Pistorius had to pay for his crime. Barry Steenkamp said his daughters killing had contributed to his having a stroke.

Barry Steenkamp, a diabetic, said that his grief has been so severe that he would take his insulin syringe and shove it into my stomach and my arms to see if I could feel the same type of pain, but no.

(STORY CAN END HERE. OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS.)

Reeva Steenkamps murder occurred only months after the 2012 Games, where Pistorius, a source of inspiration around the world for the disabled, was selected to carry the South African flag at the closing ceremony.

Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated when he was 11 months old, became known as the Blade Runner for his use of curved prosthetics.

Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp  a 29-year-old model and law school graduate  had been dating for only a few months when the killing took place, on Feb. 14, 2013.

That night, Pistorius shot Steenkamp through the locked door of a bathroom in his apartment in a gated community in Pretoria.

Pistorius had said that he had shot his girlfriend in the mistaken belief that somebody had broken into his home, an argument that resonated in a country with high crime  and high walls to shield the comfortable against home invasions.

Prosecutors argued that he had intentionally killed Steenkamp in a jealous rage after an argument.

In her initial verdict in 2014, after a five-month courtroom drama that many compared to the O.J. Simpson trial, Masipa sided with the defendant, saying his account could reasonably be true.

Acquitting him of murder, she ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius had shown intent to kill.

But as is permitted in South Africa, which does not have a jury system, prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

In December, the appeals court sided with prosecutors, concluding that the manslaughter conviction, called culpable homicide in South Africa, had been based on a misinterpretation of laws and an erroneous dismissal of circumstantial evidence.

The court said that, under a legal principle called dolus eventualis, Pistorius was guilty because he should have foreseen that his actions  firing through his locked bathroom door  would kill whoever was inside, and yet he proceeded regardless of the consequences.

In describing the case as a human tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, the appeals court overturned Masipas conviction and found Pistorius guilty of murder.

Pistorius lawyers tried to take the case to the nations highest court, the Constitutional Court. But in March, the body, which usually handles constitutional matters, declined to hear Pistorius appeal.
SANTA ANA  Police identified a man on Thursday who was killed the night before while riding his bike.

Anthony Ramirez, 20, of Santa Ana was shot multiple times in the torso as he rode along the 2100 block of West Washington Avenue at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, authorities said in a statement.

Ramirez was found in the road and pronounced dead at the scene. Police say a vehicle was seen leaving the area but no description was available.

Investigators have not determined if the homicide was gang-related or if the victim knew his killer or killers.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Santa Ana homicide detectives at 714-245-8390.

Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS 855-847-6227.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7802 or jsudock@ocregister.com
If bankers and lawyers can teach us anything at all, its how and where to have a proper two-martini lunch.

Yes, the old-fashioned power lunch is alive and well. Impressions are everything when youre trying to close the deal. So is good food. Most of these places are in the banking and financial corridor between Irvine and Costa Mesa, as thats where much of the countys wheeling and dealing take place.

With that in mind, these are the 10 restaurants that Orange Countys power players would really like to keep to themselves, at least during lunchtime.

1. Bistango

Bistango has been around forever, but theres a new chef in the kitchen, Timothy Doolittle, who spent much of the past decade working with Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck. To be quite honest, the nighttime scene here can get pretty dull, even with live music in the bar (which, incidentally is some of the most appropriate restaurant music in O.C.). But at lunch? You better have a reservation. And you might want to wear a suit, not because its required but because you might otherwise feel out of place among the hedge fund crowd. Where to sit: under an umbrella in the atrium. Power move: rack of lamb and a dirty martini. 19100 Von Karman Ave., Irvine; 949-752-5222, bistango.com

2. Capital Grille

This is the only remaining California branch of the old-school steakhouse that caters to the movers and shakers in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., where professional waiters wear white jackets and trade business cards with their customers. Where to sit: in the back, along the windows. Power move: 14-ounce New York strip steak and a perfect Manhattan. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa; 714-432-1140, thecapitalgrille.com

3. Vaca

The power players of Deloittes executive suites, located directly above Vaca, have to compete with chef Amar Santanas many fangirls, not to mention arts patrons. This is, of course, the celebrity chefs wildly popular Spanish steakhouse. Where to sit: corner banquette in the back. Power move: a bottle of Rioja, bikini sandwiches for everyone, and paella all around. 695 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa; 714-463-6060, vacarestaurant.com

4. Il Barone

It wouldnt be out of the ordinary to see Catholic Church bigwigs in perfectly tailored white cassocks having lunch with generous patrons here. Nor is it unusual to overhear negotiations for the sale of a new yacht, although some folks do come here simply because they like the pizza. Where to sit: first row of tables along the window. Power move: veal Milanese and the ultimate Negroni. 4251 Martingale Way, Newport Beach; 949-955-2755, ilbaroneristorante.com

5. Marche Moderne

Of all the big power lunch spots, Marche is the most subdued. The dealmakers are sometimes outnumbered by the power shoppers and daytime romantics. This extraordinary French bistro is a favorite haunt of big philanthropists. Where to sit: patio. Power move: three-course prix fixe lunch and Champagne. 3333 Bristol St., No. 3001 Costa Mesa; 714-434-7900, marchemoderne.net

6. Prego

Theres always a steady stream of Ubers, Escalades and limos pulling up to the front steps at lunchtime, although most of the daytime crowd just takes the elevator down from the bank towers that rise up directly behind this business-oriented Italian spot. Where to sit: freestanding tables in the center dining room. Power move: grilled freshwater prawns and a bottle of Prosecco. 18420 Von Karman Ave.; Irvine, 949-553-1333, pregoristoranti.com

7. The Cannery

If recent overheard conversations are any indication, this seafood restaurant on the harbor is a popular spot for closing, or at least discussing, big real estate deals. Its also a favorite for event planners and charity organizers. Where to sit: on the patio, in full shade under the awning. Power move: lobster roll and a chardonnay. 3010 Lafayette Road, Newport Beach; 949-566-0060, cannerynewport.com

8. Andreis

Like some of the others on this list, Andreis can often feel sleepy at night. But at the stroke of noon each weekday, this place turns into a high-powered, high-energy lunchroom for lawyers, financial advisers and the like who are artfully shepherded to their regular tables by savvy General Manager Shannon Jones. Where to sit: elevated booths near the bar. Power move: quail ravioli and a glass of malbec. 2607 Main St., Irvine; 949-387-8887, andreisrestaurant.com

9. Golden Truffle

The Golden Truffle is a glorious little time capsule with a split personality. If the chef is not there, which happens a lot at night, the regulars know to stay away. That said, the chef is almost always there at lunchtime, which is when this place really comes alive. Where to sit: the first table inside the door. Power move: The wine list is superb, so first pick the wine you want to drink, then let the chef decide what everyone should eat. 1767 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa; 949-645-9858, goldentruffle.com

10. Spaghettini

While Spaghettini is a popular jazz club at night, its also a very serious restaurant come lunchtime, thanks in no small part to the front-of-house staff  hostesses, servers, busboys, managers  who take ownership of every little moment as if they, too, have a stake in the outcome of your meeting. Thats something that obviously hasnt gone unnoticed by the business folk who routinely dine here. Where to sit: window tables toward the back. Power move: bone-in rib-eye and 18-year-old scotch. 3005 Old Ranch Parkway, Seal Beach; 562-596-2199, spaghettinisb.com

Contact the writer: bajohnson@ocregister.com or Instagram @bradajohnson
On June 22nd, the Westminster City Council voted to place a 1 percent sales tax increase on the November 8 ballot. For years, Orange County has been hearing and reading about dire budget warnings in Westminster. For years, members of the Westminster City Council themselves have stated that there was a fundamental problem that needed to be fixed. So how did we get to the point where government leaders are saying that the only solution is to raise taxes on the residents of Westminster?

In December 2011, the California Supreme Court upheld legislation that closed redevelopment agencies throughout California. Redevelopment allowed cities to collect a larger share of property taxes from property declared blighted and placed into a redevelopment area. Once a section of town was declared a redevelopment area, the property taxes that went to other local agencies, such as schools, were frozen. Any growth in property taxes within a redevelopment area then went directly to the redevelopment agency. As property tax revenue went up in those areas, so did the revenue to the redevelopment agency.

Redevelopment revenues were supposed to be used to fund projects that would help generate economic growth within a redevelopment area. Some of the revenues could also be used to pay for a portion of the salaries of the city employees who worked on redevelopment activities. For the city of Westminster, the problem occurred when the City Council decided in 2000 to enlarge their redevelopment area and, in an unusual move, declared the entire city blighted and a redevelopment area for the purpose of diverting property tax into the RDA.

According to a Los Angeles Times story from 2000, the city was looking to use the increased revenues to improve the citys infrastructure needs. However, with the entire city now a redevelopment area, over time Westminster subsidized a larger share of their employee salaries. Westminster increasingly relied on redevelopment dollars to fund their day-to-day operations. It all came to a screeching halt in 2011 when the state dissolved redevelopment agencies, and their funding, statewide.

At the time, Councilman Tyler Diep told the Register, It was not a good idea to use redevelopment dollars to subsidize a lot of our staffs salaries. In fact, according to the Orange County Register, there was talk at the time of Westminster not passing a state audit because some of its positions were fully funded by money from the RDA.

In response, the city went into lay-off mode in 2012 and was able to drop their projected budget deficit to just over $3 million. Over the next few years, however, while general fund revenues slowly increased, spending rose at a much faster pace. By June 2013, the Voice of OC was reporting that city leaders had yet to articulate a detailed plan for closing the structural deficit, which is projected to deplete reserves within six years if expenditures remained at current levels.

In 2014, the council approved a 6 percent salary increase to their police association to cover mandated contributions to their own retirements. In 2015, payouts for two federal lawsuits made the budget deficit even worse. Westminsters contribution to CalPERS for staff pensions has grown $1.6 million since 2013. The projected budget deficit for 2017-2018 is now at $9 million.

Times of crisis offer us the opportunity to step up and lead. As cities all around them grappled with the loss of RDA funds, Westminster, more than others, needed to restructure how their city was now going to function and how and what services were going to be funded. That didnt happen. While Westminster taxpayers now grapple with the decision of taxing themselves more, they also need to ask themselves whether or not this is a City Council they can trust with more of their hard-earned tax dollars.

Carolyn Cavecche is president and CEO Orange County Taxpayers Association.
ROME (Reuters) - The difficulties facing Italian banks over their bad loans are miniscule by comparison with the problems some European banks face over their derivative exposure, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Wednesday.

Renzi's comments appeared to be directed at Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), which has outstanding derivative positions running into trillions of euros, and marked an escalation in his war of words aimed at securing an EU deal over Italy's troubled lenders.

Italian bank shares have crumpled over the past 10 days, hit by anxiety over the sector's pile of non-performing loans, totalling some 360 billion euros (309 billion), and reviving fears of possible financial disaster in the eurozone's third-largest economy.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, Renzi said other European banks had much bigger headaches than their Italian counterparts.

"If this non-performing loan problem is worth one, the question of derivatives at other banks, at big banks, is worth one hundred. This is the ratio: one to one hundred," Renzi said.

He did not directly name Deutsche Bank, but he has singled it out for criticism in the past, including last December, when he said he would not swap Italian banks for their German peers.

Rome is in talks with Brussels to devise a plan to recapitalise its lenders, including Italy's third-largest lender, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI), whose share price has dropped some 75 percent this year.

Italian officials had argued that volatility caused by Britain's vote to leave the European Union meant it should be given greater flexibility to prop up struggling banks.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel slapped down the suggestion, saying new rules for bank rescues, which reduce governments' room for manoeuvre, had to be respected.

Renzi told reporters that a solution was being found for Italy's non-performing loan woes and said savers had nothing to worry about. But he said Europe had a wider credit problem that needed to be tackled.

"I am certain that the European authorities will think carefully about this in the coming days," he said.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Crispian Balmer and David Evans)
The former chef of the Little Sparrow in Santa Ana has alighted at Michaels on Naples.

Eric Samaniego, who appeared on Bravos Best New Restaurant, has been appointed chef de cuisine at Michaels in Long Beach, replacing David Coleman.

Were very excited to have Chef Samaniego behind the kitchen door at Michaels on Naples, said Massimo Aronne, managing partner and sommelier for Michaels Restaurant Group. We also want to thank Chef Coleman for his contribution and creativity for the past seven years.

The announcement formalized Samaniegos role at the restaurant. He had been working under Coleman since April and now moves up to lead the culinary team. Samaniego, who worked with the late Charlie Trotter in Chicago, and in Los Angeles at Sona and Comme Ca with David Myers, will be creating new menus for the dining room, bar and rooftop.

The restaurant has been undergoing a renovation with changes in the look of the dining room and a new rooftop seating area with a lounge, firepit and retractable roof. The changes will be unveiled this month.

Samaniego was let go from Little Sparrow in July of last year. He and Little Sparrow had earned many accolades from local critics, including restaurant of the year from Orange Coast magazine and best new restaurant from Brad A. Johnson, the Orange County Registers restaurant critic.

Contact the writer: avaldespino@ocregister.com
Often layered with creepy gargoyles and more than a little piety, churches are not typically my first choice when I travel abroad.

Of course, the Sistine Chapel and Notre Dame are iconic and rich with history, but overall, Id rather walk the halls of the Louvre or drink wine on the Spanish Steps than face hordes of stern-looking priests. Churches never inspired me much, until I set foot in Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Designed and inspired by the late Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia feels more like a living being than a stuffy worship hall. Entering its doors is a completely visceral experience.

Unlike many European cathedrals, La Sagrada Familia is bursting with light and color. Much of the architecture mimics nature, with columns twisted like tree trunks and tiles shaped like honeycombs.

Dedicated to the Holy Family, the basilicas construction began in 1882. Famously, Gaudi mentioned that his client  God  was in no hurry for the church to be finished. La Sagrada Familia remains a work in progress, with a completion date estimated for 2026.

Although Gaudi died in 1926, when the basilica was only a quarter finished, modernist architect Domenec Sugranes quickly took charge of the project. During the Spanish Civil War in 1936, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt and original drawing plans, delaying work significantly. After the upheaval, construction continued with Gaudis original concept in mind as other architects stepped in to complete his vision.

To get a grasp on the complicated history of La Sagrada Familia, my husband and I purchased tickets with audio tours for 22 euros each from a stand near the backside of the church. In hindsight, buying tickets online would have saved us time.

As we climbed the stairs out of the La Sagrada Familia Metro stop, I was a bit worried about the enormous crowd gathered around the towering church. The crush surrounding and inside Sacre Coeur in Paris had left me feeling a bit claustrophobic. Thankfully, La Sagrada Familia limits the number of visitors allowed in, so we had room to roam.

Because we bought tickets around 11 a.m., our entrance time was set at 1:30 p.m. To kill a few hours, we decided to walk six minutes to a cafe called Il Forno. We sat on burlap seat cushions and enjoyed lattes and torta frutas. The owner brought over a life-changing salty/sweet ricotta cannelloni for us to try. Since then, I have spent many nights dreaming of that rich Italian treat.

Around 1 p.m., my husband led us back to La Sagrada Familia (I have a terrible sense of direction). On entering through the gates, I was amazed at the modern sculptures of the Holy Family on the exterior of the building. Above, 18 towers stretched into the Spanish sky.

The interior has a magical, cave-like quality. If Pablo Picasso and Walt Disney dreamed up a church together, this would be it. My husband spotted owl-shaped formations and geometric patterns along the edges of the colorful ceiling. Cones and spirals swirl throughout the building.

Along the walls and overhead are enormous mosaics of stained glass in brilliant reds, blues, greens and yellows. The rows of skylights flood La Sagrada Familia with illumination, and eventually lead to the crypt which serves as Gaudis final resting place.

Exiting the church, I felt moved in a way typically reserved for artful experiences like listening to Beethovens Fur Elise or gazing at Van Goghs Starry Night. But then I thought of another famous Gaudi quote, Nothing is art if it does not come from nature. Amazingly, La Sagrada Familia taps into something otherworldly by re-creating the vividness of the natural world.
NEW YORK  With gunshots ringing out just feet away, Eddie Justice hid in a bathroom in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and frantically texted his mother for help.

Call police, he wrote. Im gonna die.

Moments later, he texted again: Call them mommy. Now. Hes coming.

Justice, who would later be confirmed among the 49 people killed in the June 12 attack, was among several victims who texted relatives to call 911, fearing they would draw too much attention by making voice calls.

None of them could text 911 directly because Orlando is among the vast majority of U.S. cities that dont have that capability. Amid a cluster of deadly mass shootings, police departments are exploring technology that would allow dispatchers to receive texts, photos and videos in real time.

Out of more than 6,000 dispatch centers nationwide, a little more than 650 can accept text messages, with more than 150 making the text-to-911 upgrade this year, the Federal Communications Commission said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, of New York, has been pushing for text-to-911 in New York City, which has been studying it for nearly a year. Such a system, he said, can save lives by informing 911 dispatchers of critical details that can guide first responders.

Emergency officials stress, however, that a voice call is preferred because a dispatcher can elicit details more quickly than texting back and forth. The major concern for many cities, including some of the nations largest, is that overuse of texting when its not absolutely necessary could slow response times and cost lives. In Los Angeles, which doesnt have 911 texting, a police dispatch official last year cautioned that response times for text 911 could be triple that for voice calls.

Nearly every municipality with text-to-911 service has sought to address that concern by promoting the slogan: Call if you can, text if you cant.

Officials also warn that, unlike with voice calls, emergency responders cant automatically see someones approximate location with text messages. Instead, they encourage people to give an accurate address or location quickly.

Supporters of such systems say their use would go beyond active-shooter and hostage situations to scenarios in which a battered spouse, for example, could surreptitiously message police without alerting the attacker.

If someone could snap a photo or a quick video showing the perpetrator thatd be enormously helpful to law enforcement, said Joseph Giacalone, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a retired police detective.

San Bernardino rolled out its text-to-911 service in December about two weeks after an attack at a social services center where a man and his wife killed 14 people at a holiday gathering. In New Hampshire, where text-to-911 service is available statewide, Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan said it was a common-sense initiative that will help save lives.

Text-to-911 service also has been used by deaf and hard-of-hearing people to get in touch with police.

A deaf woman in Alpharetta, Ga., texted police to report there were two children locked in a car in a shopping mall parking lot, and police rescued them.

Authorities say 911 texting, like its phone counterpart, has also been abused.

Last year, a teenage girl texted 911 to falsely report there was a shooter at a high school in Marietta, Georgia, said police, who arrested her at her home an hour later.



Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1
Cargill Inc. and a union are fighting over whether the union should represent 45 workers at its cooking oil processing plant in Fullerton. Cargill is one of the largest food processors in the world.

The federal government formally certified UFCW Local 324 after a union election last summer. The company was ordered to negotiate with the union on a contract. Cargill has not done so, according to the union. Instead, the company has appealed the governments decision.

The issue of whether UFCW is the appropriate bargaining representative for workers at our Fullerton location is on appeal in the courts, Cargill said in a statement. Cargill intends to accept the ultimate result of the appeals process and we believe UFCW Local 324 should do the same.

Cargill is using its appeal to the federal courts as part of its long-term strategy to snuff out enough union support to reverse the result of the election. In the interim, Cargill has stepped up its effort to cleanse its payroll of union supporters, the union said in a statement.

An example is the termination of Jesse Vasquez, an employee who declined to operate a forklift he was unfamiliar with, according to the union. An Unfair Labor Practice Charge has been filed against Cargill over the incident.

Out of respect for the privacy of our current and former employees we do not publicly discuss their employment status, Cargill said in a statement. We can state, however, that no Cargill employee has been terminated or disciplined in violation of National Labor Relations Act.

Cargill has argued the union engaged in objectionable conduct, requiring the election to be discounted, according to National Labor Relations Board records. The board rejected the claims.

Around two dozen local religious leaders signed an open letter to the company asking it to recognize the union.

In February, a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps the working poor, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, held an event to kick of its increased involvement in Orange County. The group advocates for affordable housing, fair pay and health care.

Members gathered Wednesday at the plant at 600 N. Gilbert St. to share the letter.

CLUE stands in full support of struggling Cargill workers; we demand that your company respect the decision of the NLRB  and that you immediately comply with the NLRBs order to negotiate with UFCW Local 324 in good faith, the letter said.

Contact the writer: hmadans@ocregister.com or Twitter: @HannahMadans
Our privacy rights are under continual assault from out-of-control government. Whether from the National Security Agency hoovering up our telephone call data and various other electronic communications and documents, the FBI amassing a facial recognition database with hundreds of millions of photos, including those taken from state drivers licenses, local police mounting license plate trackers on patrol cars and using stingray devices to mimic cell towers and intercept data and track hundreds of cellphones at a time or Transportation Security Administration agents needlessly harassing travelers at airport security checkpoints, governments at all levels routinely violate our Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal searches and seizures.

Last month, a U.S. Senate amendment to an appropriations bill came within one vote of expanding the USA PATRIOT Act and granting the FBI access to citizens internet browser histories without a court order. Moreover, this was a procedural vote that required 60 votes for passage, which means a solid majority of the Senate believes the government has the right to perform warrantless searches of every website visited by every person in the country. (Sen. Barbara Boxer voted No on the motion and Sen. Dianne Feinstein was one of four senators who did not vote.) Knowing how things work in Congress, however, we are just some minor arm-twisting away from a re-vote that will successfully swat down those pesky defenders of constitutional rights and civil liberties in short order.

This followed on the heels of the House voting down, 198-222, an amendment to the defense appropriations bill that would have defunded the NSAs warrantless searches of Americans communications and prevented the government from mandating that companies include a back door in their encryption technologies that the government (and unknown numbers of hackers and identity thieves) could access. A similar measure had sailed through the House the previous two years, only to get stripped out of the final budget deals, but fear in the wake of the Orlando nightclub attack weakened lawmakers resolve to protect constitutional liberties, and the measure went down to defeat.

If we let terrorism compel us to ignore the #Constitution, then havent the terrorists won? Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who introduced the measure with Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., contended in a Facebook post shortly before the vote.
University Synagogue will host a special Shabbat service from 8 to 9:30 tonight to highlight the contributions of Elie Wiesel, the Romanian-born American Jewish writer, activist, Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor who died Saturday at age 87.

Rabbi Arnold Rachlis and Chapman Universitys incoming president, Daniele Struppa, will have a dialogue on the topic Elie Wiesel: The Soul of the Jewish People. They also will talk about Wiesels influence on both of their lives.

Wiesel first gained attention in 1960 with the English translation of Night, his autobiographical account of the horrors he witnessed in the concentration camps. He wrote of how he had been plagued by guilt for having survived while millions died and was tormented by doubts about a God who would allow such slaughter.

Rachlis told the Register that he was moved by Night around 1967 as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. Rachlis, who later met Wiesel and exchanged correspondence with him, said Wiesel chose not to become angry, vengeful or bitter about his experiences.

Instead, he really devoted himself to tikkun olam  a very important term in Judaism meaning healing the world or repairing a broken world, the rabbi said.

Wiesel was a distinguished presidential fellow at Chapman University from 2011 to 2015. He spent a week each spring on campus, answering questions and visiting classes across several disciplines.

The synagogue is at 3400 Michelson Drive, Irvine. Information: 949-553-3535.

Staff writer Chris Yee contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@ocregister.com
36-year-old Richard Kimberley, of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, has been running his csmicros computer repair business for the last 20 years, but he plans to close it down on July 22nd, claiming radiation signals from wireless technology have given him a rare condition known as electro-hypersensitivity (EHS).

Ever since he launched his business in 1996, Richard has been working around phones, computers and Wi-Fi signals on a regular basis, and he believes the constant exposure to technology has taken a toll on his health. Due to an over-exposure to the radiation from wireless technology, my health has declined to the point where I cannot continue with the business that I have spent my life building, he says. Id wake up five or six times in a night, my joints were aching, Id have headaches during the day and my memory was awful  I felt atrocious and I had no idea why. Ive had to rely on staff for the past 18 months since becoming EHS. I have persevered, battling with electro-hypersensitivity for as long as I can.

Mr. Kimberley said that his problems began in 2013, when he moved into a dual shop and house premise on Stourport Road, Kidderminster. He started experiencing black outs, headaches and extreme tiredness, yet his condition improved when he removed wireless technology from the house. But wireless technology is everywhere these days, and his electro-hypersensitivity has made it really hard for Richard to live a normal life. Since October last year, he has been living in a van fitted with aluminium lining to block out radiation signals. He says the only way to avoid feeling sick is to park the van in spots he feels are safe, every night.

He hasnt shunned technology completely though. I have satellite broadband and a landline in the van, my computer is wired and people can email me or phone my landline if they want me, he says. I still have technology, but now I use it safely. Its an extremely solitary life. After closing his computer repair business, he plans to make a living as a web designer working from his van, and raise awareness about EHS by writing a blog.

It is a complete life changer and an absolute blow that was totally unexpected, the 36-year-old entrepreneur added. Becoming sensitive has turned my life upside down.

Richard Kimberleys case is a sad and ironic one, but its definitely not the most extreme EHS-related story weve ever published. Back in 2012, we wrote about Anne Cautain and Bernadette Touloumond, two French women suffering from the same condition, who had moved into an isolated cave just to be safe from electromagnetic radiation.

Source: Kidderminster Shuttle
Fraser Seitel

Syllogistically speaking: If you work in Washington, youre political. James Comey works in Washington. Ergo, James Comey is political.

Its as simple as that.

And while the FBI Director never misses an opportunity to hone his image as an apolitical, independent, straight down-the-middle prosecutor, the fact is he's just another political animal, measuring his every utterance as he eyes the next step on the political ladder.

Comey began his political ascension as a member of Rudy Giulianis U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York. In 2003, he was appointed by President George W. Bush as U.S. Deputy Attorney General in John Ashcrofts Justice Department and then named Director of the FBI by President Barack Obama in 2013.

Along the way, Comey has demonstrated superior skill in that most difficult of political challenges: appearing to be forceful while dodging difficult decisions.

His artful kabuki dance decision in the Hillary Clinton email case  laying the wood to Hillary while exonerating her from guilt  is a textbook example of how politicians artfully play both ends against the middle to protect their own credibility.

Exhibit A: Comeys 2,300-word press statement explaining his decision not to recommend that Mrs. Clinton be prosecuted. Heres the political formula he followed:

First, reach the most politically-advantageous decision.

Well, duh, but  as obvious as this sounds, many organizations in crisis speak first and think later, rather than devising strategy and messages after reaching the most politically-apt decision.

Comey, one suspects, decided early on that while Mrs. Clinton may have been reckless with her emails and lied about their contents, there still wasnt enough solid evidence to convict her of a crime. So he decided to let her walk.

With the Democratic Convention looming and Bill Clinton busting his way onto Attorney General Loretta Lynchs plane, Comey knew he had to act quickly. But he also realized that, public relations wise, he couldnt announce the decision without first interviewing the defendant.

So he sped up the Hillary interview process  after meandering through a year-long investigation  and voila, three days later announced his decision.

Second, commend the work ethic and selflessness of the troops.

Before getting into the nitty of any decision, messaging should always cite the Herculean effort that the worker bees have expended in pursuit of the truth.

In this case, while Republicans wondered if the fix was in, Comey began with a heartfelt acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of his tireless troops.

I want to start by thanking the FBI employees who did remarkable work in this case. Once you have a better sense of how much we have done, you will understand why I am so grateful and proud of their efforts.

He went on to explain in glorious detail the complex, jigsaw-puzzle process that his minions were forced to pursue to unravel the Hillary emails. After all, as controversial as the end result would prove to be, who among us could ever doubt the veracity and diligence of the men and women of the FBI?

Third, reinforce your own objectivity by hammering the wrong-doer.

Its also politically essential  especially when your ultimate verdict will eschew any punishment for an unlovable perpetrator  to underscore your fairness by condemning the sins of the accused.

Here, Comey detailed the extent to which Hillary and her inner circle went to evade the State Department email apparatus and their cavalier handling of classified material.

Secretary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department, and used numerous mobile devices to view and send e-mail on that personal domain  Although we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information, there is evidence that they were extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.

Such strong language would provide needed cover for Comey in future Congressional appearances. And although it was likely that Comeys damning data would show up in Republican campaign ads, the more important point  and the only one that really mattered  was that Hillary walked.

Fourth, cite scrupulous adherence to the law to justify your Solomon-like decision.

While Comeys statement acknowledged Secretary Clintons "extreme carelessness" in handling classified information, he said that her negligence didnt rise to the level of violating the law.

In looking back at our investigations into mishandling or removal of classified information, we cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts.

Ergo, the FBI chose not to bring criminal charges against Hillary. That didnt mean, Comey was quick to add, that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. To the contrary, those individuals are often subject to security or administrative sanctions.

But those sanctions, of course, are beyond the authority of the FBI. So it was left to unfortunately-compromised Attorney General Lynch to accept the FBIs verdict, and Republicans and Democrats to debate ad nauseam whether the Hillary verdict was or wasnt a miscarriage of justice.

Perhaps the only sure thing to conclude from the cleverly-choreographed Comey press statement punt was that todays FBI Director could be tomorrows Attorney General, especially in a second Clinton Administration.

* * *

Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He may be reached directly at [email protected] He is the author of the Prentice-Hall text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its 12th edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation and Idea Wise.
The Westhampton Beach board had its inaugural meeting July 5, inflicting nearly two hours of bureaucratic motions and legalese on 30 residents before letting any of them speak.

William Glass

The agenda passed out at the beginning of the meeting listed 47 resolutions that had to be read out in full and passed before discussion of a radio antenna at the new firehouse could begin.

William Glass, lawyer for the WHB fire district, with the help of Dennis Kenter of Relay Communications Corp., held the floor for nearly an hour, covering every possible angle related to firehouse sirens, radio and telephone communications with firefighters.

Only when residents were allowed to speak at nearly the two-hour mark was it brought out by one resident that sirens are not really necessary since firefighters can be contacted by pagers, cellphones and regular phones.

Mike Control Was the Strategy

Mayor Maria Moore sat passively while Glass droned on an on, returning to the mike several times just when residents thought he had exhausted about everything that could be said about sirens.

We have witnessed the same type of mike control at Assemblies of PR Society of America where ten or more leaders and staff will dominate the entire morning session with speeches and reports. Annual delegate pleas to put all such reports in writing and provide them beforehand are ignored.

Any citizen who is in a masochistic mood and wants to see and hear Glass ramble on and on about virtually nothing can do so in about a week when the two-hour video of the meeting is posted on the WHB website.

Thats a key factresidents have to wait a week to see this! How many of them will do that?

The Southampton Council webcasts its meetings live. Theres no reason WHB could not do the same thing except that it would be ashamed to do so.

Citizens would see the lengthy recitation of minor bureaucratic matters that takes place such as Appoint village attorney, Appoint Planning Board member. That stuff belongs in the monthly work session of the board.

Two Residents Speak Including This Writer

Finally, after nearly two hours of legalistic and bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo, residents were allowed to speak. What they had to say should have been first on the agendanot last.

Lawrence Chip Porter felt he had been unfairly treated by WHB officials and discussed it with the board for nearly 15 minutes.

Trustee Ralph Urban had seen him piloting a motor boat in the bay in apparent violation of the rule against causing a wake. Porter said the bay was choppy at the time and he had to maintain a certain rate of speed to avoid taking on water.

Porter had previously lived in WHB but had moved away. WHB officials then determined that Porter was not a resident and his boat was not registered to WHB nor had he paid the required launching fee.

Urban was present the next time Porter showed up and told Porter he had to obey all WHB rules. Heated words were apparently exchanged between the two.

Porter had the right to air his charges of mistreatment.

WHB Ignores Radiation Threat, Violation of Constitution

Having determined that no one else wanted to speak, this writer took the podium for the sixth time since last year. We spoke for ten minutes to two of the meetings in 2015 but were then limited five minutes according to a rule that was cited by the trustees.

Jack O'Dwyer

So we asked WHB clerk Elizabeth Lindtvit for a copy of this rule. There is no such written rule, she said. The board simply made it up to limit our freedom of speech.

What doesnt the board want to hear? That Wi-Fi pulsed radiation levels, as measured by an Acoustimeter that we displayed to the room, were in the danger zone. We have sent copious data and documents to Mayor Moore, the WHB trustees and the Westhampton Library board showing that radiation levels in Vlllage Hall and the library are a threat to the health of patrons and especially staffers who are radiated all day long.

Two such sources are bioinitiative.org and the 54-part essay by Camilla Rees. The ODwyer website has more 300 entries on the subject, almost all of them in the free area.

More than one million members of teachers unions in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Germany have signed petitions to remove industrial-level Wi-Fi routers from their classrooms, reports David Morrison, who operates wirelesswatchblog.

Constitution Breached by Eruvim

Another subject the board does not want to hear is the fact that the eruv Jewish boundary accepted last month by the WHB board is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which Mayor Moore swore to uphold at the July 5 meeting.

This is an opinion by law Prof. Marci Hamilton of Yeshiva University that was expressly written for WHB by her in 2008. Many others share the same opinion.

Court decisions to the effect that the lechi markers are hard or even invisible fly in the face of the depictions of eruvim on hundreds of Synagogue websites including the website of the Hampton Synagogue in WHB.

Despite the high visibility of eruvim on websites, the Southampton Press on July 23, 2015, editorialized, under the heading, Words of Wisdom, that Nobody can see the lechis that reportedly mark the boundaries of an eruv, a symbolic roof in Westhampton Beach Village that allows Orthodox Jews more flexibility for benign activities, such as carrying keys or pushing strollers on the Sabbath."
The Tullamore Show & AIB National Livestock Show, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in style on Sunday, August 14 this year.

Now in his final year as Chairman, Rodney Cox, explains how having become accustomed to flying around the Show-site by quad, tractor, and foot over the years, 2015 was a strange experience for the lifelong cattle farmer after he was confined to a wheelchair following a farm accident.

He explains: I was just guiding a few cows through the cattle crush, something Ive done thousands of times, when one of them kicked my leg. It broke in a few places; meaning a long, frustrating recovery. Im still on crutches so I cant do much around the farm. Thankfully, my son, Craig, has been able to pick up the slack or it wouldve been a lot worse.

A lot of attention has been drawn to the issue of farm safety in recent years, and rightly so. We often hear about the fatal accidents, but there must be hundreds of serious injuries to farmers every year that go unreported. Id just like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to not take your health and well-being for granted. If you work with animals or machinery, one lapse of concentration can cost you very dearly.

I will say that Ive a bit of a personal grievance with the support systems in place for farmers in my situation. While prevention information is very important, I do think the relevant agencies need to do more to help farmers and their families when an accident actually occurs. Being unable to work leads to a lot of complications and worry in a farming household. Ive tried to get support and advice from a number of places, but to no avail. Having spoken to other farmers, Im certainly not the only one.

Asked for his thoughts on the issue of mental health in the farming community, the 52 year-old says: Thats another topic we need to be more aware of and open about. I think a lot of the stigma surrounding mental health has faded in Ireland in recent years, but I think farmers are still a bit reluctant to talk about things like depression and isolation.

Farmers tend to want to be self-reliant, but were only human. It can be a tough, lonely existence at times; especially for those who live alone. Theres absolutely no shame in reaching out for help, whether thats from someone you trust or, if thats not an option, a professional counsellor or one of many free services available, like calling the Samaritans  even if its just to get something off your chest, it can help a lot.
Santosh Nair

A far-fetched reality for most, Japan has legalised the use of cameras in place of rear-view mirrors. Weve all come across quite a few concept cars, at various auto shows that sport cameras instead of mirrors.

Thanks to the UN clearing this tech late last year, companies can now shift to cameras if they meet certain specifications. Such cars that have dumped the exterior mirrors and incorporate cameras have been on car designers wish list for some time now. For one, it added to the sleeker style quotient and secondly, improved safety and aerodynamics considerably.

Cameras have the ability to capture a wider angle of view and can also highlight blind spots. They also weigh lesser than a conventional mirror. Some examples use a 1.3-megapixel camera which offer a 160 degree view with notable clarity. Being the start of things to come, fine tuning of this tech along the way is of utmost priority.

Japans Ichikoh Industries and Germanys Robert Bosch GmbH have shown keen interest to supply this technology. Several countries like the USA and China are slated to indulge in this tech in the next few years. Initially, cost is expected to be seen as a challenge, however going by the benefits, it looks like its here to stay.

For more news,reviews,videos and information about cars, visit CarWale.com.

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No trip to Hastings is complete without an amble down George Street. It links the Old Town to the seafront and is lined with independent coffee bars, sweet shops, vintage emporiums and quirky little restaurants  our favourite being the Thai cafe at Boulevard Books, owned by husband-and-wife team Graham and Natthawan (aka June) Frost.

Looking for the best restaurants in Hastings? We've found the top places to eat in Hastings, a coastal town in East Sussex, for fish and chips, Italian gelato and plenty of artisan food and drink shops...

During the day its a higgledy-piggledy secondhand bookshop, with creaking floorboards and a maze of narrow corridors. But come 6:30pm and those same corridors are crammed with tiny tables (the cosiest of which is in the political books section), laden with Thai food cooked by June. Ingredients are imported from Thailand to create as genuine a menu as possible (13 for a starter and main), and its great for vegetarians  you can substitute the meat for tofu in almost every dish. Plus theyll even provide a cooler for your wine (its bring your own).

thaicafeandbookshop.com

Di Polas

Also on George Street is Hastings favourite ice cream parlour  Di Polas. The Italian owners make all their gelato on site, and regularly changing flavours include passionfruit; honeycomb; apple and ginger; sea salt caramel; and, our favourite, Oreo. Its particularly milky ice cream, distinctively whippy and smooth in texture.

A. G. Hendy & Co.

Step back in time with a visit to food journalist and photographer Alastair Hendys Georgian shop and kitchen. He spent three years restoring the High Street building to its original state, and the result is so utterly convincing  symmetrical window displays, heavy dark wooden-panelled rooms, enamel factory lights and a front desk mahogany counter that hides the electric till  as to leave visitors spellbound.

The dining room and outdoor courtyard is out the back, and to get there you have to walk through an irresistible shop stocked with vintage crockery, Denby teacups, rolling pins, Kilner jars and even enamel buckets. Food is simple sharing plates with a focus on (you guessed it) fresh fish landed by the local fleet  skate wing and capers; fish, crab and shellfish pot; and juicy brown shrimps with kohlrabi and tarragon. A word of warning: you can only eat lunch at the weekend here, with last orders at 4pm.

More like this

aghendy.com

Penbuckles Deli

A charming little deli, with smart golden signage and an old-fashioned bay window piled high with artisan cheeses, wine, Trealy farm cured meats and Monmouth coffee. Its a great place for a picnic lunch  try one of their hickory-smoked sausage rolls, or a Bombay potato bomb. Theres also a tasting room at the back that serves deli platters and craft ales for lunch.

penbuckles.co.uk

The Crown

Another great Hastings Old Town spot, this time set away from the crowds on All Saints Street. Its an independent pub, contemporary in style with local art on the walls and a dog-friendly attitude. Its less cosy fireside pint and more lively dining room, with a sophisticated menu that makes the most of produce from over 20 local suppliers.

thecrownhastings.co.uk

Tush & Pats Fishermens Rolls

The Stade, a shingle beach near the towns funicular railway, captures the essence of Hastings. Its lined with colourful fishing fleets, wooden huts that sell the formers catch every day, and stacks of famous net shops  tall, tarred wooden sheds that were built to provide shelter for fishing equipment.

Just past the net shops is an upturned boat hull, which locals Tush and Pat use as a base to cook and sell their fishermens rolls. They take whatever fish is fresh that day, fillet it, fry it in olive oil, and stick it in between a bap. The pearly white fish is delicate and flaky enough to eat with your fingers.

Rock-a-Nore Fisheries

Another must-visit if youre in The Stade area. Hungry humans and seagulls alike form a queue at this place, their beady eyes on the mounds of fresh cockles at the front of the shop. Its a family business over 30 years old that specialises in smoked fish (especially salmon, kippers, conger eels and prawns)  in fact, the family smokes nearly 300kg of fish a week.

If youve only space for one thing, let it be the hot-smoked salmon  it was invented by accident when, one Christmas, the sawdust that keeps fish cool during smoking caught fire the punters loved it so much that its now made on purpose.

rockanore.co.uk

Jerwood Gallery cafe

Sit in the cafe of the handsome Jerwood Gallery and sip excellent cappuccino while admiring a seascape that includes Hastings unmistakeable black wood fishermens net huts, tall and eerie even in the blazing sunshine. Some are now fishmongers, selling a transfixing selection of fresh fish and seafood, bright of eye and gleaming of fin on their icy beds.

jerwoodgallery.org

Maggies

This fish and chips cafe, set among the net shops, permanently sports a 'fully booked' sign at the bottom of its rickety stairs, and no wonder: the vast, pearly fish in its light batter escapes from the confines of its plate; the chips  crisp and floury, always double-fried  are some of the best weve tried. Cod and haddock comes from the fish market directly underneath it. We exit stuffed, our coats fragranced with frying and vinegar, happy as clams.

(Fishmarket, Rock A Nore Rd, 01424 430205)

Food and drink shops in Hastings

Hastings is lucky enough to have been colonised by people who care about food. The Old Town bristles with intriguing, independent stores: pioneering Judges organic bakery, for instance, or neighbouring cheese and wine specialists, Penbuckles.

Two Bulls Steakhouse

Over at clever Two Bulls Steakhouse gelato from Di Polas is served as part of the unabashedly calorific dessert offering. This former pub has become very close to locals hearts thanks to some very fine Irish steak  mine, a 28-day dry-aged Angus point end (aka butchers secret) is as good a piece of meat as weve had outside the spendy London steak temples at a fraction of the price.

Where to stay in Hastings...

Swan House

It calls itself a guest house, but with its mix of high comfort and the kind of mildly distressed chic, its like staying with a stylish pal. That pal is owner, Brendan McDonagh, whose breakfasts are legendary: kippers from Rock-A-Nore Fisheries, maybe, or green bacon and fat sausages from Archers of Westfield. Its in the heart of Hastings Old Town, which has grown into its beauty, with clapboard houses, tiny twittens (alleyways) and designer shops. But its over in St Leonards that the edgier kids are coming out to play.

The Laindons

Doubles from 165 per night, check availability at booking.com

We knew we were in for a treat when, despite arriving at an unsociable hour, hosts Sara and Jon brought up a tray of posh welcome snacks: homemade pitta chips, hummus, olives and  as long as you quote 'olive magazine' when booking  a mini bottle of ice cold prosecco. Talk about making a good impression.

But its more than nibbles that makes The Laindons a favourite B&B in Hastings. Location-wise, its ideal  right in the heart of the Old Town, with both the First In Last Out pub (which brews its own ales) and the Electric Palace arthouse cinema a stones throw away. The rest of the High Street is a jumble of vintage shops, delis and Georgian Grade II listed buildings, including The Laindons itself, which sits above a coffee bar, No. 23, also owned by Sara and Jon. That means good aromas filling the building every morning.

Rooms are Scandi coastal in design  greys, white and blues, influenced by the time Sara and Jon spent living in Sweden  and the beds are made from recycled wood, crafted by local carpenters. We loved the original fireplace in our room and giant crossword poster in the bathroom, designed around Hastings and its attractions. Extra personal touches include earplugs for those guests bothered by seagulls; a wicker basket full of treats on the landing (just pay for what you eat); and a converted loft that acts as a bar  help yourself to a chilled glass of local sparkling wine.

Breakfast is taken at the back of the house in a sort of suspended conservatory that overlooks the tufty East Hill nature park. The room is cheerily bright, being so flooded with sunlight, and perfectly matched to bedrooms: there are chunky wooden tables and squashy couches for post-breakfast lounging.

Food is elegant and delicious  toasted fruit bread is topped with ricotta, nectarine slithers and almonds; muesli is homemade and packed with coconut, caramelised bananas and lime zest; vibrant jams are made locally by Martha & Eds Kitchen; and pear and apple juice comes from Ringden Farm, less than 20 miles away. Dont miss the coffee  Jon roasts it downstairs and, if youre interested, he can tell you about the origin of that days bean.

Doubles from 165 per night, check availability at booking.com

Cant get enough of Hastings? Here are four places were planning to visit on our next trip

*Old Custom House  oysters, seafood and other small plates on the seafront. stclementsrestaurant.co.uk

*First In Last Out  High Street pub with its own microbrewery. thefilo.co.uk

*Borough Wines, Beers & Books  a local spin-off from a London company, it opened in Hastings in 2015. Look out for evening events, including literary readings. boroughwines.co.uk

Written by Charlotte Morgan and Marina O'Loughlin

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A. G. Hendy & Co. images courtesy of Alastair Hendy
The Nebraska Family Helpline frequently receives calls from parents whose children have been on the receiving end of cyberbullying. While these parents know they need to help their child deal with the situation, they are not always sure how to help or what to do next because bullying through social media is so different than the playground bullying of past generations.

A good plan for combating cyberbullying starts with prevention.

 Do not allow children free reign of the Internet or social media apps. Sure, the tablet or smart phone was a great birthday or Christmas present, but they should be required to earn trust and demonstrate responsibility to access them.

 Set up expectations for time, location and monitoring social media and Internet access.

 If your child breaks your trust, they should lose social media access.

 Finally, a good plan makes sure the child knows they can always talk to their parents about things that make them uncomfortable, especially on the Internet. Because if a parent does not know it is happening, cyberbullying becomes very difficult to stop.

While prevention is critical, sometimes cyberbullying still happens because we are incapable of protecting our children from everything. So, what should a parent do if their child is being cyberbullied?

 The first step is to stop all contact with the cyberbully. Block the perpetrator as much as possible, utilizing social media apps, cell phone company tools, etc. It is typically best to not reply to or attempt to contact the perpetrator, but parents should try to determine the cyberbully's identity. If the cyberbully is a child, contact the parents of the perpetrator and let them know what is going on and see if they will work to stop future cyberbullying behavior.

 Its also good to report to the school, as there is the potential the cyberbullying behavior is being directed at other children as well. Plus, many schools have resources to deal with these situations, which are helpful in the cases when the perpetrators parents are not helpful.

 Unfortunately, sometimes cyberbullying rises to the level of criminal activity, particularly when the perpetrator is an adult. In these situations, retain all evidence but do not share it. Contact law enforcement and explain what you have found. In very serious situations, get legal advice, especially if there will be a criminal investigation. It is important to know your rights and your childs rights. Cyberbullying involving sexting, child pornography and solicitation can be very complicated, so having professional support is critical.

What about the emotional and mental impact on a child? Remember to take time to support the child as well. Talk to them about what happened, how they are feeling and what the child thinks will be the result  especially if the child was publicly cyberbullied via social media. If the child is embarrassed, one conversation probably wont resolve the issue, so have many conversations. Increased family time is a great strategy for dealing with any fallout. The child needs to feel safe, that they have value and their identity is bigger than their cyber world. These messages are most impactful when they come from their family. With that said, sometimes additional help is needed for a child who has experienced cyberbullying, particularly when they have been exploited or sexually victimized.

There are many wonderful resources available, so parents shouldnt be afraid to ask for help. The Nebraska Family Helpline at 1-888-866-8660 or the Boys Town National Hotline at 1-800-448-3000 are both available 24/7 and can help connect parents to additional resources in their area.

* * * * *

Laura Kelley, Crisis Counselor for the Boys Town National Hotline and the Nebraska Family Helpline, wrote this guest blog for momaha.com. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and her Masters in Early Childhood. She is a former preschool teacher in the Omaha Community. She has three boys and lives with her husband of 25 years in Omaha. Learn more about the Boys Town National Hotline by clicking here.
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Since 1991, Project Hunger has been addressing hunger in Grand Island by raising awareness and collecting food donations for those in need. The organizations 35 volunteer board members have worked for the past 25 years to combat hunger happening on a local level.

This year, Project Hunger will observe its 25th anniversary, complete with a celebration and a sweet treat.

When Barbara Jane Bishop, a three-year board member, found out about the anniversary, she immediately stepped in to help. Because she had baking experience, Bishop offered to bake cakes for the celebration, which will take place during the Project Hunger Hall County Fair Canned Food Sculpture Competition.

Bishops passion for creating the desserts was passed down from her aunt, Lorraine (Bishop) Welsh, who designed and decorated cakes for many years. Barbara said celebrating with sweets had become a family tradition.

However, the more she thought about the event, the more she wanted to do to help.

In the back of my mind, I thought, Wouldnt it be incredible to do a cake sculpture out of cans of food, she said.

This is how Bishop and her siblings, Judy, Don, Doug, Ken and Jeff, started crafting a canned-food cake sculpture this past February to be included during the event at the Hall County Fair, which will be from July 13-17.

The familys display is titled Legacy of Giving, and Barbara said she encourages people to use it as a reminder of their own family traditions. In addition to a love for baking, the Bishop family had a legacy of helping those in the community in any way possible.

She said she remembers her grandparents giving a dairy cow to a family on a neighboring farm so they could have access to milk, and an aunt handed out food to the hungry and homeless on the streets.

We grew up with our family being giving, she said. We didnt have a lot, but we reached out in any way we could to help others. When Bishop talked to her siblings about the project, they were eager to help.

The groups sculpture design consists of a base that is 8 feet wide by 8 feet long, with cans stacked 12 inches tall in a 6-foot diameter. Sitting on top of a stand in the middle the cans will be three decorated cake layers. The layers will be Styrofoam, with a decoration similar to a wedding cake designed by Welsh. The cake portion will also include pictures of Project Hunger events through the years. Bishop said she hopes the cake center will even be able to rotate.

When designing the project and deciding on materials, Bishop talked with the kitchen staff at the Grand Island Salvation Army, which will be receiving the donations, to see what type of food was most needed. During their first conversation, Bishop found out the Salvation Army needed fruit, so she settled on large, colorfully decorated cans from a local grocery store. When she called back to solidify the request, Bishop was told that the Salvation Army had recently received a large donation of fruit and now needs canned vegetables.

In doing this canned food sculpture, the cans you use are chosen by the colors you need portrayed in your sculpture, and most choose what is also the most economical, she said. My family said we understand economics, but more important than that is what is the real need.

Bishop said the switch didnt throw the project off. Instead, she was happy to know that the groups donations would be something that was truly needed by the Salvation Army.

Although the sculpture will be a cake to represent the 25th anniversary of Project Hunger, Bishop said there is much more meaning behind the design and the Legacy of Giving title.

We truly feel that other people hopefully have legacies in their own families that we hope they will carry on, she said.

In addition to the sculpture, Bishop will also provide a real cake that will be served during Project Hungers anniversary celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. July 16.

Teams that take part in the sculpture competition are required to provide their own structures and food items to complete their displays. Once the event ends, all goods collected will be donated to the Salvation Army.

Each team is given a 5-by-10-foot area for the display, which can be created with an unlimited number of dried, canned or boxed items.

According to a social media post, last years competition stocked the food pantry with 7,080 cans of food, 27 bags of rice, 24 cases of marshmallows, 20 packs of macaroni and cheese, 13 cases of noodles, four cases of water and two tubs of coffee.

Because the organization has no paid staff, 97 percent of the money raised buys food, and all donations stay in Hall County.

Project Hunger President Doug Winder said the sculpture competition is a unique way for groups to collect donations as well as show off their creativity.

The competition helps the Salvation Army collect food while also promoting teamwork within participating groups, Winder said.

In addition to the sculpture competition, Project Hunger hosts an Easter Basket Extravaganza and the Harvest Festival for Hunger Awareness during the year. During the holiday season, volunteers help put together Thanksgiving baskets for families in need.

Were here to stay, Winder said about the organizations 25th anniversary. We get bigger all the time, and we try to do better and help more people all the time.
Chennai dog torture case: 2 accused granted bail after paying fine of Rs 50

Chennai

oi-Shalini

Chennai, July 7: In a fresh development in the case where two men threw a dog off a terrace, the accused were identified as medical students who were later suspended from their college on Wednesday, July 6.

They were arrested and released on bail on Wednesday, July 6. Moreover, the men accused were charged with offences punishable with fine of Rs 10 and Rs 50 instead of jail term.

The men who threw the dog from the fifth floor terrace of a building and shot a video of the act were identified as Gowtham Sudarshan and Ashish Paul.

The video spread like wild fire, drawing attention of several animal welfare activists and animal lovers from across the country. Chennai Police launched a manhunt to identify and nab the perpetrators.

Shravan Krishnan, animal rights activist said: "The Prevention of Cruelty Act is pretty outdated, it is a 1960 law and we want a change in that because they can just get away with a fine of Rs 50." [Humanity at its worst: Man throws a dog from terrace in Chennai]

Reportedly, the dog suffered fractures on its front and hind legs. It was found alive by an animal welfare activist and was taken to a veterinary hospital. The dog is now said to be out of danger and doctors are said to be tending to the dog.

OneIndia News
Bangladesh terror: Moving beyond secularism-vs-religion debate

Feature

oi-Oneindia

By Sanjal Shastri

Secularism has been the corner stone of Bangladesh's national identity. The secular nationalism, on which Bangladesh was formed, has been under significant threat for quite sometime.

The larger political narrative between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has been built as a battle between the secular Bangladesh and a Bangladesh based on a religious identity. [4 killed in second attack in Bangladesh inside a week]

The execution of war criminals, the targeting of secular thinking bloggers and religious minorities have all been projected as a part of the larger battle between the secular forces and the Islamists. [What ISIS is trying to tell Bangladesh in 5.55 minutes]

Sheikh Hasina was quick to blame the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery on homegrown radical groups, implying that the events of July 1, 2016, were a part of the secularism-vs-religion debate.

July 1 attack goes beyond secularim-vs-religion debate

The recent attack, however, goes far beyond the secularism-versus-religion debate. As much as the Bangladeshi establishment denies it, the attacks bare the hallmarks of the Islamic State (IS). [Dhaka terror attack: The writing was on the wall]

The profiles of the attackers, mainly from well-educated and affluent backgrounds, match those of the perpetrators of IS attacks in Paris, Brussels and Turkey. These similarities are surely not mere coincidents but a symptom of a much more serious problem. This commentary argues that the battle Bangladesh is fighting today is not an internal battle between secularism versus religion.

Difference between restaurant attack and stabbing incidents

As much as the government denies it, Bangladesh finds itself in the larger global battle against extremism and the IS. There are important differences between the attack on Holy Artisan Bakery and the host of stabbing incidents that Bangladesh has seen. The victims of the numerous stabbing incidents were mainly liberal thinkers, bloggers, intellectuals, gay rights activists, atheists, members of the minority community and foreign aid workers.

They were hand picked and targeted for a specific reason. Intellectuals, atheists and minority leaders are an important part of Bangladesh's internal battle between secularism and religion.

Going back to the 1971 the freedom movement based on a secular national identity, it was lead by liberal-minded intellectuals. These groups were also the targets of the large-scale atrocities that took place during the war.

July 1 attack victims were not bloggers, atheists or minorities

Going by the profile of the stabbing victims, it is possible to place the attacks within the secularism-versus-religion debate. The attack on Holy Artisan Bakery is different. The victims were not bloggers, atheists, minority group leaders or activists.

Eighteen of the twenty victims were foreign nationals. The bakery was specifically chosen because it was in the heart of Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and frequented by foreign nationals. The attack targeted a general group of people (foreign nationals in this case) rather than specific individuals.

The profiles of the victims in the recent attack suggests that one is look at in issue much beyond the secularism-versus-religion debate.

The attackers responsible for the stabbing incidents have generally had very low profiles. While the IS claimed responsibility for these attacks, going by the profile of attackers there is reason to believe that the Jammat-ul-Mujahideen was responsible. Not much information about attackers has been publically disclosed.

While claiming responsibility for the attacks, the IS themselves did not mention much about the attackers themselves. The attack witnessed last week was different. Within hours after the attack the IS tweeted images of the attackers.

What is more troubling this time around is that the attackers came form very affluent families. Educated in some of the top schools in Dhaka, the profile of the attackers suggests that there is something very different about this attack.

One of the killers was son of a leader of the secular Awami League

As a matter of fact, one of the attackers was the son of an Awami League leader, a party known for its support for secular forces. Similar to IS recruits from other parts of the globe, these individuals were radicalised through IS propaganda on social media. What motivated these attackers was not the domestic struggle between the secular and religious forces but rather the IS's larger global propaganda.

Tactically, the attacks last week were significantly different from what Bangladesh has witnessed in the past. Past incidents of extremist violence were more hit and run stabbing incidents. The victims were specifically chosen. This time, the scale of the attack was much greater.

Bangladesh was dealing with a hostage crisis for the first time

For the first time in its history, Bangladesh had to deal with a hostage crisis. This was also the worst terrorist attack on Bangladeshi soil. There was striking resemblance to the attacks that took place in Istanbul, Brussels and Paris.

In all the cases, locations frequented by tourists and foreign nationals was targeted. Foreign nationals were specifically pulled aside and killed. Previous extremist attacks on Bangladeshi soil saw none of these tactics. The tactics expose a different motive.

Like in Paris, Brussels and Istanbul, the specific targeting of foreign nationals indicated the aim to get publicity and direct the attack at a larger global audience. This is a significant aberration from the previous incidents in Bangladesh.

The attacks on the Holey Artisan Bakery indicate that Bangladesh is facing a threat that is beyond the secularism-versus-religion debate. The attacks are a marked difference from what the country has witnessed in the past.

Previous incidents of extremist violence specifically targeted bloggers, intellectuals, atheists and minority leaders. The incidents on July first did not target any particular blogger, intellectuals or minority leaders.

Attackers were radicalised through internet content?

The social profile of the attackers indicates that none of them were motivated by the domestic debate between secularism and religion. They came from well to do families, educated in some of the premier schools in Dhaka. Like IS recruits in other parts of the world, these individuals were radicalised through content on the internet.

The tactics suggest that the attacks were aimed at a larger global audience. All these are strong indications that Bangladesh is today dealing with a crisis that goes far beyond the domestic debate on secularism versus religion.

Implication for Bangladesh and rest of South Asia

There are serious implications for Bangladesh and the rest of South Asia. The IS which was trying to get a foothold in South Asia, will try and use Bangladesh as a starting point to expand across the region. This is why the Indian intelligence agencies are closely cooperating with the Bangladeshi investigators. There are also serious implications for Sheikh Hasina and her government.

Till now, extremist attacks were blamed on local terror networks. While the government has come out and blamed the recent attacks on home grown terror groups, there is enough evidence to suggest this attack is the work of the IS. It is time that leaders in India and Bangladesh come out of the denial mode and accept the presence of IS in the region.

Since, coordination is going to be the key to tackle the issue, the cooperation between Indian and Bangladeshi agencies over the past few days is a healthy sign. For Bangladesh, the key to curtailing the IS' activities lies in its ability to keep the secularism versus religion debate separate from its fight against extremists. If the two issues are tackled separately, the chances of success are much greater.

Sanjal Shastri is an Academic Associate at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The views expressed are his own and do not represent the views of the organization he represents
Decoding the cabinet reshuffle with psephologist Dr Sandeep Shastri

Feature

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Political statecraft, assertive and a clear message, "perform of perish." This is what some of India's top experts term the recent Cabinet Reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It is a cleverly planned political strategy which while inducting a large number of ministers has also managed to keep cabinet the core decision making body small inn size.

Dr Sandeep Shastri, one of India's leading psephologists and political commentators took time off to discuss with OneIndia the cabinet reshuffle. He says that the real story is not the induction of the ministers, but the reshuffle. Dr Shastri also goes on to add that it is probably for the first time in two decades that we have witnessed a Prime Minister being assertive.

A cleverly planned political strategy:

This in my view is a cleverly planned political strategy. The new ministers inducted are all in the rank of Minister of State barring one who was promoted to the Cabinet rank. What Modi has managed to do is keep the Cabinet small. In inducting new ministers he has provided political accommodation and on the other he has ensured that the core decision making body which is the Cabinet has remained small says Dr Shastri.

If you look at the reshuffle there has also been a loyalty and credibility test. Modi has taken into account a lot of factors. Are they capable of performing and can they demonstrate total loyalty to the leadership? These are also two factors that have gone into the entire exercise.

I see a complete Modi hand in this entire exercise. I think for the first time in two decades we are seeing a Prime Minister who is extremely assertive. Right from the time of V P Singh there have been Prime Ministers who have had the compulsion of coalition governments. Even in the case of P V Narasimha Rao there were certain compulsions.

The real story is the rejig:

The real story of the exercise is not the induction of the new ministers. It is the reshuffle that is the real story. Clearly emphasis has been placed on performance. The reshuffle according to me is political statecraft says Dr Shastri.

Those ministers who do not believe in team work or those who have worked in isolation have been pushed to minor portfolios. Certain ministers have been given more responsibility and key portfolios because they can deliver.

The exercise aims at refurbishing the image of the government. It is an interesting and judicious exercise and also sends a message to many to either perform or exit. Some have even been given a final opportunity and I feel that down the line he could drop some ministers as well.



The Ananth Kumar factor:

Ananth Kumar being made the Parliamentary affairs minister is also a subject of debate. According to me he has been given the portfolio because of his experience. He has had an uninterrupted run in the Lok Sabha for almost 20 years. Naidu too may have been effective as a Parliamentary Affairs minister. But he is a Rajya Sabha member.

While the Rajya Sabha is important, a Parliamentary Affairs minister has more work in the Lok Sabha and hence Ananth Kumar made more sense. Moreover Kumar has a good track record of being an effective negotiator across political parties

The Smiti Irani factor:

One could always use a mask to defend why she had been changed. If you look at the HRD ministry it has always been among the top six portfolios. One cannot argue that the HRD ministry carries the same weight as a textile ministry. If you look at the Textile ministry it has always been given to a junior cabinet minister or someone who is a minister of state holding independent charge.

Clearly those who have spent more time in the press have been frowned upon. The government has been getting some wrong visibility and hence this was a suave political move to indicate to a colleague that he or she has to either perform of perish.

A message has been sent that the way in which the ministry was managed was not up to expectations. She has been given a second chance in the case of Sadananda Gowda one could say it is a third.

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Interview: Dhaka cafe terror attack is a wake-up call for Bangladesh, India

Feature

oi-Oneindia

By Maitreyee Boruah

The recent terror attack on a cafe in a posh Dhaka locality in neighbouring Bangladesh has raised several questions, especially for countries in the sub-continent.

OneIndia spoke to Subir Bhaumik, senior editor, bdnews24.com (a popular Bangladesh-based news website) to understand what the attack means to Bangladesh and India. Excerpts...

OneIndia: In recent times, Bangladesh has witnessed several killings and attacks on secular bloggers, liberals and minorities. Were these mindless killings a precursor to the horrific terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka on Friday?

Subir Bhaumik: Yes, it has been building up to that. After the huge Shahbag movement in 2013 that reinforced the grip of linguistic secular nationalism on popular imagination, the jihadis as well as the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)- an ally of Jamaat-e-Islami--faced a crisis of existence.

When the Awami League returned to power in January 2014 parliament polls, despite massive street violence, that feeling of survival at stake dawned on the Islamists in Bangladesh. First, such forces tried to discredit Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by serial fire bombings of buses and derailing of trains. It led to the death of 86 innocent people in six months. When (PM Sheikh) Hasina crushed that through some determined police action, the Islamist politicians turned to the jihadis.

[Read: Dhaka attack: Autopsy report reveals Italian victims were tortured ]

While secular bloggers, publishers, writers and artists were killed to demoralise the spirit of 1971 that created Bangladesh, Hindu priests were killed to complicate India-Bangladesh relations. In the recent attack, foreigners were killed to chase away investors and traders to cripple Bangladesh's economy, which has done so well under Hasina. They needed such an attack to shake up Bangladesh and global opinion about the country.

OneIndia: There is still no clarity behind which group/groups is/are behind the terror attack? Can we rule out the involvement of ISIS, as suggested by the Bangladesh government?

Subir Bhaumik: These are homegrown jihadis, who are inspired by ISIS and seek to acquire ISIS trappings (adopting Arab names, using Arab headgear, photographing victims for Internet upload with the ISIS flag in backdrop), but they don't operate under ISIS command and control.

On the other hand, ISIS is happy to upload their pictures and claim them as their own because it needs to project itself as a global terror network by showing they can hit anywhere anytime from Paris to Jakarta and from Istanbul to Dhaka.

The ISIS is not like al-Qaeda-- it believes in adopting local groups across the world who believe in their Caliphate and who can strike at a given signal-- a very decentralised loose coalition but one capable of making a global impact -- and these local Bangladeshi jihadis need an ISIS tag to internationalise the Bangladesh issue, especially the execution of the Jamaat leaders in the 1971 war crimes trials.

[Read: Blast in Kishoregunj, Bangladesh; 12 injured, 2 killed ]

Let us get this clear -- there was no Arab or Afghan in the Dhaka attack, they were all radicalised Bengali Muslim boys, but the fact that they can kill as brutally as the ISIS should give the Hasina government a hard wake-up call.

The government should not remain in any delusion because they are homegrown jihadis. If they can do what they did then they pose a much greater danger than a one-off attack by an Arab or an Afghan or a Pakistani group.

The jihadis are as brutal and kill as frequently for the "cause of Islam" as the Jamaat-sponsored Al Badr or Al Shams in 1971. Look at the continuity of politics of this brutal Islamist fringe in former East Pakistan and now Bangladesh -- while the Al Badr -Al Shams massacred Bengali intellectuals two days before the fall of Dhaka, their 21st century grand-cousins kill secular bloggers, publishers, writers and artists.

They bomb Bengali New Year functions and Udichi cultural programme -- meaning they target the thought leaders of Bengali nationalism whose manifestation are so strongly linguistic and cultural. These jihadis have a political agenda -- bring down Hasina, decimate the secularists and Talibanise Bangladesh. But they will fail as their predecessors. Bangladesh is a Bengali nation and it will not surrender its political or cultural sovereignty and identity to any medieval Caliph-like Al Baghdadi. Yes, most Bengali Muslims are devout and pray, but they don't bring religion into their public life.

OneIndia: Tell us about Bangladesh's current socio-political scenario, especially of Dhaka. How secular and liberal is Bangladesh as a country?

Subir Bhaumik: Bangladesh is a secular and a liberal country, which has undergone phenomenal female empowerment. But there is a dangerous and violent Islamist fringe which is getting more violent because it is facing a crisis of existence. And the global sponsors of this Islamist fringe are putting in resources, financial and otherwise, to boost Islamist schools, mosques and madrassas.

Bangladesh is a threat to hardline Salafist Arabised Islam because it reposes its faith in a secular polity based on Bengali linguistic nationalism-- and so these petro-dollar driven Middle-eastern foundations and those based in Pakistan and backed by the ISI are financing jihadi activities and boosting radicalisation through a host of means.

Bangladesh is also suffering the distortions caused to its constitution by two military regimes of Khaleda Zia and Hussain Muhammad Ershad, when the fifth and eighth amendment undid the country's secular super structure and made Islam a state religion.

Hasina has not been able to change that so far for fear of a backlash -- she does not want to give the BNP-Jamaat a ready issue for fomenting political unrest, but my understanding is that she plans to bring about necessary amendments to restore the 1972 Constitution towards the end of her present regime. The Jammat and its foundations and Islami Bank are well-funded and in a poor country, you do get people to follow you if you throw money.

OneIndia: What does the terror attack mean to India?

Subir Bhaumik: When I met Hasina recently during the launch of my book 'Agartala Doctrine', in Dhaka, she said that she has complained to Delhi against the "shelter and sanctuary" that many Islamist radicals fleeing the crackdown of Bangladesh security forces were finding in West Bengal and Assam.

These states must realise they are in the line of fire. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal must be told by Delhi in no uncertain terms to initiate a proactive crackdown on any Bangladeshi jihadis.

Sonowal must realise demonising Bangladesh serves no purpose because the present government there is a friend of India and determined to crush jihadis and northeastern rebels. In short, India needs to pull up its socks and help Hasina in fighting Islamic radicalism by proactive measures in its own border states.

OneIndia: Reports suggest that northeast India might also witness similar attacks orchestrated by ISIS, as the international terror network has built a strong foothold in Bangladesh. What do you have to say about it?

Subir Bhaumik: I don't think Northeast India figures in ISIS plan of action. If you have a jihadi strike in Assam, it will surely be JMB (Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh) or some Bangladeshi group seeking to reinforce its fallback bases in a contiguous territory. To say this was done by ISIS or that was done by ISIS is to sex-up a drab local story but missing out on ground realities and the local dynamics that spawns homegrown jihadi culture.

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Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 12:31 [IST]
MJ Akbar is Valuable Addition to Ministry of External Affairs

Feature

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

Mobashar Jawad Akbar or MJ Akbar as he is more famously called has been appointed as Minister of State (MoS) External Affairs.

Mr. Akbar as a veteran journalist and writer brings with him lots of experience which will come in handy as MoS External Affairs.

A welcome addition to MEA as@mjakbar takes charge as Minister of State (External Affairs) pic.twitter.com/Zc92qMKLV5  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 6, 2016

The Member of Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand has previously been a Congress MP and he has also been official spokesman for former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Mr. Akbar had served as an advisor in the Ministry of Human Resources in 1991 but he quit politics and resigned from the post in December 1992.

#PresidentMukherjee administered the oath of office & secrecy to Shri M.J. Akbar as Minister of State pic.twitter.com/EjBXyNuZPs  President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) July 5, 2016

Mr. Akbar went back to active journalism from 1992 and started a new media company. He began publishing the first Indian daily with an international edition. His group became a publishing partner of The New York Times in 2004.

Mr. Akbar's expertise:

Such is the kind of experience that Mr. Akbar has that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia had appointed him as a member of the committee to draft a ten-year charter for Muslim nations on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

He had also joined The Brookings Institution, Washington, as a visiting fellow in the Brookings Project on the US Policy towards the Islamic world. He is also Chairman of the trust of the Calcutta Muslim Orphanage.

Articulate Mr. Akbar:

Man of words that Mr. Akbar is, there are numerous stories that do round about his ability to give perfect answers. Mr. Akbar it is said had told Udaipur Royal Family that Akbar had won Haldighati again when the family conferred on him the Haldighati award some years back.

Equation with PM Modi:

It is worth remembering here that Mr. Akbar was a bitter critic of PM Narendra Modi post the 2002 riots. For BJP and Mr. Modi's cabinet he will prove to be an eloquent speaker and for sure a learned Muslim voice.

As BJP spokesperson he has for two years defended Mr. Modi and let the people know about PM's developmental agenda.

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Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 15:45 [IST]
Why the JD(U) leader made an objectionable remark on Smriti Irani? Nitish must answer

Feature

oi-Shubham Ghosh

JD(U) MP Ali Anwar made a below-the-belt attack on Union minister Smriti Irani after she was removed from the HRD Ministry to the Textile Ministry in the latest Cabinet reshuffle by the Narendra Modi government.

Ali said it is good that Irani has been "elected" as the textile minister for it will help her cover body. After realising the blunder, Ali later clarified saying he was referring to the bodies of people in general.

The foolish clarification doesn't help you cause, Mr MP. You should have taken the minimum training of respecting a woman even if she belongs to your rival party and believes in a completely opposite ideology.

JD(U) is now a party which is powered by anti-Modism more than anything else

The JD(U) is powered by a strong anti-Narendra Modi sentiment ever since a miffed Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, withdrew from the NDA in June 2013 ending a decade-and-half-long union. The reason was simple: To show his more minority-friendly face and cement the secular claims while chasing the dream of becoming the leader of the nation.

Ever since then, Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi have become the biggest rivals in India's electoral field, even bigger than the Modi vs Gandhi battle. While Modi had the last laugh in the 2014 general election when the JD(U) fell flat in its own state, Nitish Kumar had his chance in the 2015 Assembly election when the grand alliance against the BJP defeated the Modi-Amit Shah duo handsomely.

Modi-Nitish rivarly will go on at least till 2019

There is very little chance of the rivalry dying down before the 2019 Lok Sabha election, which many are already seeing as a probable Modi-Nitish contest. But the political tussle between the two accomplished administrators notwithstanding, there can be no justification for the JD(U) MP's speaking against a woman leader of Modi's party in such a distasteful manner.

But that doesn't mean making personal attacks on a woman

Smriti Irani certainly had her share of failure as the HRD minister and a lot of people would feel relieved to see her ouster from the high-profile ministry, but the ploy to take her on should be political and not personal. It shows the narrow and misogynist mindset of a leader who belongs to a party based in North India.

Nitish Kumar needs to rein in those motormouths if he aspires to emerge as an all-India leader

If Nitish Kumar's party comprises such people with an unhealthy mindset, then his own image as an administrator who claims to take care of the women's welfare could be badly dented. With the preparation for the next big battle which is less than three years away about to begin in some time, it is very important for Nitish to rein in mouths that could jeopardise his political plans by uttering reckless remarks.
'Phoolka' for you: AAP minister says sorry for 'Golden Temple' pic in manifesto

India

oi-Pallavi Sengupta

Chandigarh, July 7: AAP minister HS Phoolka, apologizing on behalf of the party's "unintentional mistake" of putting up the picture of the olden Temple in its Youth manifesto. As a penance, he would participate in a 'sewa' in the weekend. He also urged the party volunteers to do the same.

Meanwhile, criticizing the Badals to take the issue overboard, party's Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur said, "Since AAP leader Ashish Khetan has already apologized for his 'inadvertent act' and Sikh panth believes in 'forgiveness', opposition parties should be cautious of politicizing it to disturb the communal harmony in the state."

Phoolka said, "The Delhi team of the AAP may not be well versed with the religious sensibilities of the people of the state and inadvertently committed a mistake. It later apologized for the same. I believe penance by performing sewa and apologizing at the Golden Temple should be done. I have put out a message in this regard to the party volunteers. For all of us, the respect of Darbar Sahib is paramount."

Further eulogising the Sikh Panth, he said, "During the campaign for the last Lok Sabha elections, while getting overboard of 'sycophancy' Punjab cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia desecrated the "Gurbani" in praise of Arun Jaitley. He later submitted an apology and the Sikh Panth had pardoned him."

"We all do mistakes. Opposition parties are deliberately politicizing this issue. Instead they should fight us politically. Even CM Parkash Singh Badal had committed a blunder by terming him "Bahadur" in comparison with Baba Banda Singh Bahadur," said Chhotepur. He further adds, "Head of the manifesto committee Kanwar Sandhu and Khetan also submitted an apology for publishing mistakes on the front page of the youth manifesto of AAP."

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 11:39 [IST]
Apna Dal snaps ties with BJP

India

oi-PTI

Lucknow, Jul 7: Apna Dal, led by Union Minister Anupriya Patel's mother Krishna Patel, today snapped ties with BJP accusing the latter of not following the decorum of alliance. "The national executive of Apna Dal has decided to snap ties with BJP as it did not follow the decorum of alliance.

Despite informing about the activities of Anupriya, who was expelled, BJP leaders did not take congnisance of it and did not act," party spokesman RBS Patel said. A meeting of Apna Dal was held here in which party President Krishna Patel announced the decision.

"We will contest 2017 Assembly elections in UP and we are going to hold a rally in Varanasi on August 21," Patel added. Founded in 1995 by Sone Lal Patel, Apna Dal rose to prominence in the 2014 parliamentary elections by aligning with BJP and winning its first two Lok Sabha seats  Mirzapur and Pratapgarh.

After Sone Lal's death in 2009, Krishna was made president of the party, while his younger daughter Anupriya general secretary. Anupriya had won the 2012 assembly election from Rohaniya seat in Varanasi which she vacated this year after getting elected to Lok Sabha.

Due to family feud, Anupriya was expelled by Krishna last year and both of them claimed themselves to be heading Apna Dal, which has two MPs. Anupriya Singh Patel was inducted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet.

PTI
Bengaluru: BBMP ridicules scribe and RTI through 'typical bureaucratic dodging'

India

oi-Shreyas

Bengaluru, July 7: An online magazine scribe moves RTI (Right to Information Act) application to seek data from a controversy ridden Advertisement department in the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). Instead abiding by the law, BBMP forces that journalist into bizarre ordeal and ridicules through typical bureaucratic dodging.

Akshatha M, journalist at Online Magazine, Citizen Matters filed an RTI application on April 25 with the RTI cell of the BBMP to which she has not received right answers even after 73 days . The letter was addressed to Public Information Officer, Advertisement department. However Akshatha has not reveled her journalist identity in the application as to undergo 'rich experience' of lay man RTI applicant.

Akshatha in her application sought specific details of number of legal and illegal advertisement hoardings the IT city bearing. Application also asked for locations of such hoardings. Akshatha told OneIndia that Former Commissioner of BBMP Kumar Naik put out a data that said there are 6,119 hoardings in the city and 2,476 are legal and rest illegal. According to BBMP the data is gathered after conducting a survey by 264 streetlight teams.

"Mere numbers did not impressed me. I wanted to dwell more and decided to file an RTI to get exact details of number of legal and illegal hoardings and its locations. This list will facilitate the public to assist the BBMP in social audit," Akshatha said. However 30 days into filing RTI application, Akshatha did not receive single paper from BBMP pertaining to her queries.

Read what Akshatha tells about this here

Experiencing the ordeal

Then began the 'bizarre ordeal' for Akshatha. "Deadline of 30 days was crossed and I did not receive any reply or letter from the BBMP." Into 45 days of filing application, Akshatha resolved to visit the RTI cell of the corporation. Staff in the cell informed Akshatha that her application has been transferred to Advertisement section on April 27.

In hot pursuit of leg work (which is not at all necessary on part of RTI applicant as per the RTI norm) Akshatha knocked the doors of Advertisement section. Akshatha said "many in the department know me as I frequent the place for stories. However in this case, the staff appeared perplexed on enquiring status of my RTI application. They might have pretended that way also."

One staff asked "have you not received any response?," while another said "we have forwarded it to Zonal Joint Commissioners." It has to be noted that there are as many as eight zonal commissioners. When Akshatha checked the register, she was astonished to see blank space left in the status space. "A clerical staff advised me to wait for two days saying he would ring me up, which I felt bizarre," Akshatha rued.

While Akshatha was mulling to file an appeal to the appellate authority, she received her first response from Assistant Commissioner (Advertisement) who is also the Public Information Officer, Hari Shilpa. She in her letter dated June 15 said, "as the information you have sought for comes under the jurisdiction of eight zonal commissioners, I am forwarding your application to the JCs. They are liable to send you the required information through registered post."

Public Information Officer forwarding the application to concerned authority after 50 days of filing application stands in gross violation of RTI act. According to the RTI provisions application letter must be transferred to the concerned department or authority within five days from the date of receiving the application.

Passing the buck

After this, Akshatha received replies from two Joint Commissioners (JC). JC from Bengaluru West Zone in his reply said they have forwarded the application to 12 Assistant Revenue Officers (ARO), while JC from Dasarahalli said he has forwarded it to 4 AROs. Rest has not replied so far.

On the other hand, an ARO from Gandhi Nagar responded fast to the forward of his higher authority. He has written to Akshatha giving details. But the details divulged in two lines reply said "of the 36 online applications that they have received for hoardings renewal this year, 13 of them have been accepted, 22 have been rejected and 1 application is pending."

However Akshatha had sought for location of legal and illegal hoarding and the numbers. This officer ducked the question blatantly by sending information that was not sought. An act of eye wash too.

Akshatha says when she had brief talk with Special Commissioner (Advertisement), the officer said the information should be available with all the JCs. The officer further added that the list is with the BBMP head office and all JCs have submitted the same to the office. They are the concerned authority to furnish details. In this case, JCs are deliberately shifting the responsibility to AROs but as to why is a question BBMP needs to answer.

99% no delay: Hari Shilpa

When this news portal contacted Public Information Officer, Hari Shilpa to know about the RTI discourse, she said she recently assumed the office as in charge and she does not have much details on how many RTIs have been filed in the department so far. "I can only give the details once I go to office and check for the same."

When asked will there be delay in the processing the RTI application from her section, she said 99% there wont be any delay. But in some cases due to technical problems there could be a delay.

OneIndia News
Digviya-Zakir meet: India's double trouble

India

oi-Pallavi Sengupta

New Delhi, July 7: Zakir Naik's sudden shot to fame after the Dhaka terror attacks is no less surprising than him sharing the stage with Digvijay Singh. Both fearless in their melodrama, the question that remains is whether the video that is going viral showing Singh spplauding Naik for his powerful speech is to be trusted or not.

The politician speaks for himself. "My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown. I spoke against Religious Fundamentalism and appealed for Communal Harmony. If GOI or the Govt of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS they should take action against him," he said.

He further adds, "The conference was for Communal Harmony and against Terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against Innocents being killed."

Naik is a preacher of Islam, but has been known to be a more tolerant one all these years. However, some of his remarks on other religions have brewed up controversy. In fact, it has led to a massive radicalization on the Internet leading to mishaps like the Dhaka terror attack.

[Read: Who is Zakir Naik?]

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 15:50 [IST]
Eid celebrated across India

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Jul 7: Muslims on Thursday flocked to mosques and eidgahs across the country to offer special prayers, exchanged greetings and took part in feasts with family and friends as they celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of Ramzan, the holy month of fasting.

In the national capital, people dressed in their festive best turned up at historic Jama Masjid, Fathepuri Masjid, Hazrat Nizamuddin and other mosques for 'namaz', wished each other 'Eid Mubarak' and exchanged gifts.

Festivities gripped Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk areas where people were busy buying sweets and savouries to welcome friends and relatives.

Ecstatic children, who were gifted 'Eidee' (money) by parents and elders, were at the forefront of the festivities, buying toys and other items from shops around the mosques. People also gave alms to the needy who had gathered around the mosques and eidgahs (prayer grounds).

Markets in various Muslim-dominated areas in the city have been decked up on the occasion. Extensive security arrangements were in place across the country, especially where large congregations took place.

People in Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala celebrated Eid yesterday. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi have greeted people on the occasion and hoped that it will inspire all to follow the path of love and universal brotherhood and will deepen the spirit of harmony and peace in society.

Chief Ministers in several states joined the special prayers and greeted the people. Bollywood stars, too, spread the cheer and took to the social media to extend Eid greetings to their fans and peers.

In Uttar Pradesh, a spirit of bonhomie and festive cheer marked Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations as Muslims from all walks of life made a beeline for eidgahs and mosques for offering the Eid prayers.

In Lucknow, women offered 'namaaz' at Aishbagh Eidgah for the first time. Governor Ram Naik and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav greeted people on the occasion at Eidgah. Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers, the border guarding forces of the two countries, exchanged sweets and greeted each other on the occasion at several places along the international border.

In Malda in West Bengal, festivities were marred by a mishap. A 10-year-old boy died and six others were injured when a sceptic tank on which they had gathered, collapsed during an Eid congregation.

In West Bengal, Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across the state. A large number of Muslims assembled at the state's largest congregation on Red Road in Kolkata to offer special prayers on the occasion.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attended the special prayers. Banerjee and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi greeted the people on Eid-ul-Fitr. Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque Mohd Nurur Rehman Barkati called for harmony and brotherhood while extending wishes and greetings to all.

"Islam never supports killing of people. Such killers have no religion. Those killing people in the name of Islam are basically goondas," Barkati said in the backdrop of terrorist attacks in Bangladesh capital Dhaka and other places around the globe.

Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across Tamil Nadu with fervour as scores of faithful attended special prayers and exchanged greetings. Prayers for peace, prosperity and brotherhood were offered in special congregations across the state, including in Chennai, Tirunelveli, Vellore and Tiruchirappally.

Leaders in Tamil Nadu including Governor K Rosaiah, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi and PMK founder S Ramadoss among others have extended Eid greetings.

In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took part in the festivity at an eidgah in Bhopal. Thousands of Muslims offered prayers at various eidgahs and mosques. Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated with gaiety and religious fervour across Maharashtra.

Celebrations were witnessed in Muslim pockets of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Raigad, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Beed and other areas of the state. Muslims came out early morning dressed in their finery to offer special Eid prayers at mosques in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis greeted the people on the occasion. Eid was celebrated in Hyderabad and other towns across Telangana.

Major congregations were witnessed at the historic Mir Alam Eidgah and other eidgahs at Masab Tank, Military Grounds, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Secunderabad, Santosh Nagar and Malakpet. Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana ESL Narasimhan and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao conveyed their greetings on the occasion.

In Gujarat, Eid was celebrated with gaiety and fervour. Thousands of Muslims gathered at Jama Masjid at Teen Darwaza in the old city area of Ahmedabad for 'namaz'. A large number of people also turned up at Eidgah near Kankaria Lake.

Historic Sarkhej Roza mosque also saw good number of Muslims congregating to offer prayers.

PTI
When is Eid ul Fitr 2022? When Shawwal moon will be sighted in India?

Alvida Jumma Mubarak 2022: Wishes, images, quotes to share on the last Jumma of Ramadan

Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated in Tamil Nadu

India

oi-PTI

Chennai, July 7: Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across Tamil Nadu with fervour as scores of faithful attended special prayers and extended greetings to each other, marking the culmination of the holy fasting month of Ramzan.

Prayers for peace, prosperity and brotherhood were offered in special congregations across the state, including in Chennai, Tirunelveli, Vellore and Tiruchirappally.

Leaders in Tamil Nadu including Governor K Rosaiah, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi and PMK founder S Ramadoss among others have extended Eid greetings.

PTI
HAL must be modernised, if Tejas are to be saved

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, June 7: If the recent induction of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has received a muted welcome from the IAF, there are very good reasons for it. While the nation and the defence-industrial complex may celebrate a milestone in military indigenisation, the service, charged with the defence of our skies, has much more to worry about.

With obsolescence eroding its aircraft strength and the Rafale deal in limbo, there seem to be no inductions from abroad on the horizon; other than a few more Sukhoi SU-30s to attain the target strength of 272 heavy fighters. The IAF, while still seeking a medium fighter, may have to make do with the Tejas (and its future derivatives) -- in terms of numbers as well as capability - till something else turns up.

Since much of the IAF's combat fleet is assembled, overhauled and supported in-country, this would make the service totally dependent on India's monolithic aerospace giant: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). This is a thought that would strike dread in the heart of any air warrior. Having flown many HAL products and been associated with its aircraft and helicopter projects, I can put my fingers on (at least) four good reasons for the IAF's leadership to be apprehensive in this regard. Most of them are attributable to HAL's public-sector work-ethos, nurtured by a protective Department of Defence Production.

10 quotes that captured the Tejas triumph

Firstly, the lackadaisical approach of HAL's unionised employees that engenders low productivity. Secondly, poor production-engineering standards that create maintenance and inter-changeability problems on aircraft. Thirdly, the high failure rate of HAL manufactured components and systems with attendant safety implications. Lastly, sub-optimal product-support that frequently leaves HAL customers high and dry -- without any options.

Given the acceptance of Tejas by the IAF -- whether voluntarily or under duress -- this aircraft now assumes a key role in India's national security matrix. It must, therefore, not only be inducted in sufficient numbers in a compressed time-frame but also be accorded Final Operational Clearance at the earliest, to enable combat exploitation over its full envelope.

Concurrently, improvements, upgrades and modifications have to be wrought in the Tejas to enhance its capabilities. Given low production rates and the other attributes of HAL, mentioned above, all this is unlikely to happen unless the Ministry of Defence (MoD) thinks out of the box, adopts an innovative approach and acts with alacrity.

Going by past precedent, it would be unrealistic to expect the MoD to undergo an overnight transformation in outlook and it would, therefore, have to be the end-users who must provide the initial impetus and sustain momentum of desired changes. At this juncture, a digression is necessary to highlight the Indian Navy's interest in the LCA and to illustrate the critical importance of customer involvement in project management.

Unbeknownst to many, the Indian Navy, in keeping with its commitment to indigenisation, has been a steadfast supporter of the LCA for decades. In its quest for a ship-borne version of the aircraft, the navy commenced discussions with the LCA's designer, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), in the early 1990s.

Initial feasibility of a naval version having been established, an engineering development programme was commissioned to seek thrust-enhancement, fitment of an arrester hook and extensive re-design of the undercarriage and fuselage for carrier operations.

Having drawn up Qualitative Requirements for the aircraft, the navy also contributed Rs 400 crore ($60 million) to the LCA (Navy) project, becoming the only potential customer to have done so. The level of the navy's commitment can be gauged from the fact that a naval test pilot deputed to the National Flight Test Centre rose to become its head, and the current ADA Director is a naval aeronautical engineer who was originally sent to oversee the LCA (Navy) a decade ago.

The prototype LCA (Navy) was rolled out in July 2010, and has been undergoing trials on a specially constructed carrier simulation facility at the naval air station in Goa. With three aircraft-carriers projected in its plans, the navy would need 100-150 ship-borne fighters in the next two decades.

While the LCA (Navy) -- if successful -- would make up some of these numbers, the navy (like the IAF) would also need a medium fighter to equip its carriers, but one which is carrier-compatible for catapult-launch and arrester-hook recovery. Currently there happen to be three such examples in the market -- the US F/A-18 Hornet and F-35C Lightning II and the French Rafale.

Against the backdrop, of the latest dispensation permitting 100 per cent FDI in defence production, coupled with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's passionate advocacy of Make in India and Make for India, the IAF and the navy need to make common cause and capitalise on new windows of opportunity. Given the historical inability of our public sector to reform itself, the two services should urge the government to form multiple public-private joint ventures (JV) involving ADA, divisions of HAL, the Indian private sector and foreign aerospace companies.

These initiatives, which will not only transform India's aerospace industry but also bolster national security, must include joint ventures for: (a) the modernisation and streamlining of HAL's existing production facilities; (b) creation of additional assembly lines to boost LCA production rate; (c) exploring, with ADA, upgradation of the LCA and design of LCA Mark II; and (d) setting up a new aero-engine production plant for the LCA.

Should the IAF and the navy be able to agree upon a common medium fighter, they would have a powerful lever to persuade the government to set up another JV for its collaborative production in India.

Any move to loosen the deadly grip of the PSUs and allow private sector participation in defence will see the dinosaurs of the Left (embedded in all political parties) as well as the status quoist Department of Defence Production up in arms against it. This is where the Service Chiefs and the techno-savvy Defence Minister could take a common stand and pull together -- in the interest of national security.

IANS
In full page ads, AAP accuses Centre of stalling development work

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 7: The Aam Aadmi Party government of Delhi has again launched a full-blast attack on the 'Government of India', accusing it of stalling all its development works, marking an escalation in the row between the two sides.

"The Government of India has suddenly transferred senior officers in-charge of important departments outside Delhi, without consulting the elected Government of Delhi," the full page advertisement on Thursday in mainstream dailies with the picture of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.

AAP leader Ashish Khetan booked for hurting religious sentiments

The ad labelled "Why the people of Delhi should suffer?" said that development work on modernisation of schools, installing CCTV cameras, developing roads, drainage and sewerage in unauthorised colonies, among others, has been stalled because the central government transferred the related officers.

The ad said there are 309 sanctioned posts of DANICS (Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services) officers for Delhi but the Centre has so far provided only 165 officers.

"If they do not provide us officers to work with, we will get experts from amongst you since there is no dearth of experts in Delhi," the ad said.

Also read: Delhi minister seeks FIR against Jung, Meena

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which won a sweeping victory in Delhi assembly elections last year, has been accusing the Centre, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of interfering in the city government's functioning and of using central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for intimidating it.

Sisodia on Tuesday accused the Centre of wanting to run a parallel government in Delhi, and termed it a conspiracy.

He alleged that the Centre wanted to "weaken" the Delhi government, and added: "It is the central government's responsibility to provide officers to Delhi government. But it has failed to do so because it wants to weaken the Delhi government by taking away our officers."

IANS
Defence Ministry Recruitment Drive 2022: Check post, qualification and how to apply

Last date to submit application for NMMSS extended

Delhi-NCR likely to choke in the coming days

'Red light on, gaadi off' postponed as LG hasn't given nod: Delhi Minister

PM Narendra Modi leaves on four-nation African tour

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for a five-day tour of Africa early on Thursday that will take him to Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

"The Prime Minister emplanes for a vital four-nation Africa tour. The first nation he will visit is Mozambique," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

PM Modi's first stop is Mozambique --- A country with an interesting flag

The Prime Minister emplanes for a vital four nation Africa tour. The First Nation he will visit is Mozambique. pic.twitter.com/yyGwjW61N6  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 6, 2016

This is Modi's first official visit to continental Africa. He had earlier visited the island nations of Mauritius and Seychelles.

Modi will arrive in Maputo, Mozambique's capital, on Thursday morning.

This will be the first prime ministerial visit from India to the southeast African nation in 36 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982. After concluding his engagements in Mozambique, he will leave for South Africa on Thursday evening.

His engagements in South Africa will span across Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg on Friday and Saturday.

Following this, he will leave for Dodoma, Tanzania's capital, from Durban on Saturday evening. After completing his engagements in Dodoma, Modi will leave for Nairobi, Kenya, on Sunday evening.

Ahead of his departure, the Prime Minister tweeted on Wednesday that his visit was aimed at enhancing India-Africa ties.

IANS
PM Modi likely to visit Arunachal on Oct 30 to inaugurate greenfield airport

Narendra Modi meets Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi

News

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured in Mozambique and given a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo. Post the meeting PM Modi and President Filipe Nyusi began their restricted talks.

Mozambique honours. PM @narendramodi receives a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office in Maputo pic.twitter.com/WcN05s8piu  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

Reaching out across the Indian Ocean. PM @narendramodi and President Filipe Nyusi begin with restricted talks pic.twitter.com/fRvPPaxfqU  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

A ceremonial welcome and discussions with President Nyusi...the Prime Minister's programmes in Mozambique begin. pic.twitter.com/zSPuoC9aT7  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

And some more pics from the restricted talks pic.twitter.com/IotJsLACY0  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

The welcome at Presidential Office in Maputo was very warm and colourful. Post the meeting with the President, PM will lead delegation level talks and sign agreements with Mozambique. This will be followed by an issue of joint statement.

Doing more with Maputo. PM and President lead delegation level talks between #IndiaMozambique pic.twitter.com/MX0VCNbH0K  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

Before PM left for four nation Africa tour the cabinet had given approval for signing Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations on reduction of drug demand and prevent illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and other such chemicals.

Both the countries aim to increase mutual cooperation in preventing illicit trafficking of narcotics and other such substances through exchange of information, expertise and capability building.

Both the countries will also sign a long term contract where India will import pulses through private or government channel which will be nominated by India and Mozambique.

Before leaving for South Africa, PM will also attend a state banquet that will be hosted by President Nyusi. The Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office is the venue for the state banquet.
No need for VIP treatment: RS member tells SpiceJet

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Jul 7: Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha has complained to SpiceJet for extending VIP treatment to him saying there is no need for extra courtesy.

Tankha is a Congress member recently elected to the Upper House. According to Tankha, after landing at the Delhi airport in a SpiceJet flight from Jabalpur on Wednesday, the airline staff ferried just him and two others in a bus from the de-boarding area to the arrival area.

Following the incident, he has written to the airline saying that he does not want any special treatment because of being a MP. "All of us are equal, everybody is respected and we should all stand in the queue and wait for our turn. I am very happy travelling with my fellow passengers. I felt bad and embarrassed," he told a news channel. The bus that used to take 30 people moved with just three.

"I wonder why the three of us are being taken alone? I protested and I told that it is not acceptable," he said.

When contacted, SpiceJet General Manager (Corporate Affairs) Ajay Jasra said, "We have not received any request from the Member of Parliament. Every passenger is important to us. We will keep giving our best services to all."

PTI
Will raise our climate ambitions but not under pressure: Javadekar

Now Ferraris and Lamborghinis can test in India: India gets Asias longest high speed track

Shouldn't worry about 2024, instead think of 2029 polls: Javadekar's advice to Opposition

Prakash Javadekar takes charge of HRD Ministry

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, July 7: Promising to convert the challenges into opportunities, former Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar took charge of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on Thursday.

Javadekar, who earlier held independent charge as the Minister of State was the only minister promoted to the cabinet rank in the major cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

"All the challenges will be converted into opportunities. and we will cooperate with all the state's," Javadekar said here.

Will dutifully discharge responsibility: Prakash Javadekar



Speaking of the controversy that marred the HRD during Irani's tenure, Javadekar said, "Keep on reporting out good work and there would be no controversy".

Asked about new education policies, he said that he will only comment after holding meeting the ministry officials and understanding the work.

Reacting to JDU's Ali Anwar's crass comment on Smriti Irani, Javadekar said, "This is the worse comment I had ever heard of".

Anwar who represents Bihar in Rajya Sabha said in a crass analogy that the textile ministry has been given to Smriti Irani to cover her body.

IANS
PM Modi likely to visit Arunachal on Oct 30 to inaugurate greenfield airport

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mozambique

News

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for five-day tour of four African nations today. He landed in Mozambique to begin his brief but important visit.

It's the time for Africa. 5 days, 4 nations - Heres the PM's itinerary over the coming days pic.twitter.com/xcBie6BWxl  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 6, 2016

The Prime Minister emplanes for a vital four nation Africa tour. The First Nation he will visit is Mozambique. pic.twitter.com/yyGwjW61N6  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 6, 2016

An early morning arrival in Mozambique. Important talks await the PM in this brief but important visit. pic.twitter.com/alHY9qfgjX  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 7, 2016

A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit pic.twitter.com/3e4QtZMyCP  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) July 7, 2016

As PM began his Mozambique tour he tweeted that this visit will strengthen India's bond with the country.

Iniciando o meu periplo por Africa com uma visita a Mocambique, que vai reforcar os lacos da India com Mocambique.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 7, 2016

PM before beginning the tour had stated that the aim of his visit is to increase cooperation and boost cultural linkages. Today he is to meet President Filipe Nyusi and hold extensive talks with him.

While in Mozambique he is to meet with Ms. Veronica Macamo, the President of National Assembly and he is to visit the S&T Park, Maluana. He is to interact with the students there. He is also going to interact with the Indian community for a brief time.

Post which he is to leave for South Africa and reach Pretoria.
Explained: Why did the ECI freeze the symbol of the Shiv Sena

Not just future of Sena but democracy at stake, says Uddhav

Sena to be part of Fadnavis' cabinet expansion; gets 2 MoS berths

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Jul 7: Two Shiv Sena MLAs will be joining the Devendra Fadnavis Ministry in Maharashtra, which will be expanded tomorrow, putting to rest the speculation whether the Uddhav Thackeray-led party would be part of the exercise in the wake of growing strain between the two ruling partners.

However, Sena's demand for elevation of the existing Ministers of State (MoS) to the Cabinet rank was turned down by the Chief Minister, as these two Sena MLAs will be inducted as MoS.

Five BJP legislators will also take oath as ministers. Uncertainty over whether Sena would be part of the cabinet expansion loomed large throughout the day as there was speculation that Sena will not become part of the exercise, as it was not given a single berth during the recent Union Cabinet expansion.

A close aide of Shiv Sena chief told PTI late tonight, "Uddhav Thackeray tonight said that Sena MLAs Gulabrao Patil and Arjun Khotkar will be inducted into the Fadnavis Council of Ministers."

According to the Sena source, Patil, legislator from Jalgaon rural constituency and Khotkar, five-time MLA from Jalna will take oath as MoS. Several rounds of meetings were held at 'Matoshri' and 'Varsha', the residences of Uddhav Thackeray and Fadnavis respectively, to discuss about the party's stand over the cabinet expansion.

At the meeting of party legislators held at 'Matoshri', Uddhav finally decided to be part of the cabinet expansion. "Several legislators were against joining the cabinet as the party was insulted by the BJP president Amit Shah before expansion of union cabinet. However, their voices were dominated by party ministers.

The ministers succeeded in convincing Uddhav ji to accept the offer from CM," the Sena source added. Senior Shiv Sena ministers Diwakar Raote and Subhash Desai, who attended Sena's meetings later also met the Chief Minister and tried to convince the latter about the party's demand.

"Thackeray's demand was that its existing MoS should be elevated as cabinet ministers. However, Fadnavis was not ready for that," a Sena source added.

Several meetings were also held between the officials after which the central hall of the state legislature was chosen as the venue for oath taking ceremony of new ministers.

The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month. The 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with Fadnavis.

PTI
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan: When and where to watch Asia Cup 2022 Final Match live online?

India to stop providing further financial aid to crisis-hit Sri Lanka? Indian embassy reacts

Sri Lanka arrests 16 Indian fishermen

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Colombo, July 7: The Sri Lankan Navy on Thursday said it arrested 16 Indian fishermen for illegal poaching in the island-country's territorial waters.

Navy spokesman Akram Alavi told Xinhua news agency that the navy assisted the Coast Guard in arresting the fishermen at two separate locations.

He said the fishermen were arrested south of Delft islands and off Mannar.

The navy spokesman said that three boats used by the Indians were also seized.

Akram Alavi said the latest arrests follow the arrest of 17 Indian fishermen two days earlier.

IANS
9 dead in Eid party stampede in Ghana: local official

International

oi-PTI

Accra, July 7: Nine people were killed in a stampede at a party in central Ghana to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a public official told reporters today.

"We so far have nine people who are dead, six females and three males," said Nurudeen Hamidan, the head of the Asokore Mampong municipal assembly, in the city of Kumasi.

PTI
Another attempt in Bangladesh to shut down a liberal voice

International

oi-Vicky

Dhaka, July 7: When Maulana Fariduddin the chief cleric at the main Mosque at Kishoregenj collected 100,000 signatures against the increasing number of extremist attacks, it had become quite clear that he had become a target of those who have misinterpreted Islam.

Today the attack in Bangladesh according to the police may have been aimed at him and his liberal ideology.

The cleric has issued statements galore against the recent wave of attacks in Bangladesh by extremists and this had not gone down too well with a particular section. His description of the extremists as those who followed empty Islam too had been criticised by the extremists.

A message to the liberals:

The police suspect that he may have been the target. Whether or not the attackers were targeting him directly or trying to send out a message is unclear. However what one can draw out of this prima facie is that it was a message to the liberal cleric.

This yet again another sign of the constant tussle within the system in Bangladesh where the radicals are trying to beat down the liberals.

Take the agenda of the ISIS, al-Qaeda, Ansarul Bangla Team or the Jammat-ul-Mujahideen. Each one of them speaks about a radical approach and how the Sharia must be implemented. Every attempt has been made to shut down the liberal voice in Bangladesh.

As former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing puts it, " Bangladesh is fighting a battle against the radicals. They have shown every intent to shut down voices of extremism. India must help Bangladesh in a big way now."

OneIndia News
Thief calls cops for help after being caught by mob

Bangladesh attacked again: Molotov cocktail bomb hurled at police party

International

oi-Vicky

Kishoreganj, July 7: Bangladesh witnessed another attack in less than a week. Incidentally this attack comes just a day after an ISIS video warned of more strikes in Bangladesh.

Today's Kishoreganj attack according to the Information Minister of Bangladesh was a political attack and did not have any Islamic agenda behind it.

Today's blast took place outside one of Bangladesh's largest Eid congregation. It was a molotov cocktail bomb that had been hurled and according to reports it was aimed at the police party and not the public.

The attack comes at a time when the country has been on high alert following the Dhaka attack which left over 20 dead.

In today's attack, one police personnel died while five others have been injured.Those who hurled the bomb at Kishoregenj have taken shelter near the Azimuddin school. There was reportedly a gunfight with the police.

Incidentally the attack comes a day after a video was posted by the ISIS in which more strikes in the country were threatened. The ISIS had claimed responsibility for the Dhaka attack but the government ruled out that possibility.

OneIndia News
Clinton Trump fight reaches Atlantic City

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Jul 6: The political dual between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump today reached the Atlantic City  a casino city on east coast  with the former top American diplomat accusing the real estate tycoon of playing with the lives of innocent workers.

"He calls himself a king of debt. And he earned that title right here in AC," Clinton told her supporters in the casino city in New Jersey where Trump has had several properties including Taj Trump.

Trump from the Republican party and Clinton from the Democratic party face each other in the November presidential elections. Attacking Trump's business legacy, Clinton said that many of these businesses went bankrupt thus putting tremendous strain on innocent workers. Trump, however was quick in denying these allegations.

"I built a tremendously successful business, which has created tens of thousands of jobs. Out of the hundreds of businesses I have owned over the decades, and hundreds of deals and transactions, I have used the chapter laws of our country in four instances, much as many of our country's elite business people do (but nobody cares about)," Trump said.

"It is an effective and commonly used practice in business to use bankruptcy proceedings to restructure a business and ultimately save jobs. Nobody understands the economy like I do and no one, especially not Crooked Clinton, will do more for the economy than I will," Trump said.

Trump's statement came moments after Clinton made a scathing attack on him for his alleged failed businesses. In her speech, Clinton alleged that Trump's record in Atlantic City is a disaster.

She made the case that Trump is unfit to serve as President in the wake of destruction his business dealings have caused in the seaside town and for businesses and families across the country. In her remarks Clinton highlighted Trump's history in Atlantic City of multiple bankruptcies, stiffing contractors and spurring hundreds of job losses while pocketing cash for himself.

She said that Trump's promise that he would "do for the country what I did for my business" is a clear threat, and a major reason why voters cannot allow him to endanger our economy from the White House.

"He doesn't default and go bankrupt as a last resort. He does it over and over again on purpose. Even though he knows he will leave others empty-handed while he keeps the plane, the helicopter, the penthouse," Clinton said.

PTI
Italian arrested for trying to enter country without visa

Dhaka attack: Autopsy report reveals Italian victims were tortured

International

oi-Sandra Marina Fernandes

Rome, July 7: Six days after terrorists carried out a deadly attack in a cafe in Dhaka, it is now being said that the Italian hostages who lost their lives in the attack were tortured.

Nine Italians lost their lives in the attack and according to the autopsy reports, their bodies bore several knife marks and they are said to have suffered slow deaths.

Dhaka attack: Hostages killed within 20 minutes after assault

Reports also suggest that some of them were mutilated.

20 hostages were killed in the attack, which took place on Friday, July 1. The victims were mostly Japanese, Italian, American and one Indian national. Security forces killed six of the seven terrorists.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack however, officials said that all the terrorists belonged to a local terror outfit.

The Islamists, who carried out Bangladesh's terror worst attack at a cafe, had slaughtered all the 20 hostages within 20 minutes of the brazen assault, a top police official said.

Reports suggest that some of the terrorists were also carrying machete that they later used to kill the hostages.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 10:37 [IST]
Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner has been building a cosmetics empire.

Her Lip Kits are wildly popular, and she's even going to be opening a brick and mortar store. Jenner is entering a booming industry as American consumers are spending more money on cosmetics.

But, like many young entrepreneurs, she's plagued with some major issues  namely, consumer complaints.

Recently, there was a wave of stories circulating around the Internet about how her company was rated an F on the Better Business Bureau.

So Jenner took straight to Instagram (and her website) to clap back to her critics. There is now no rating at all on the website.

Here's what she wrote:

facts! No F over here. I'm here and I'm listening to you guys and I hear you on the shipping!! Working on lowering domestic shipping OR doing some special free shipping days! I will keep you updated x A photo posted by Kylie Cosmetics (@kyliecosmetics) on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:22am PDT on Jul 6, 2016 at 10:22am PDT

But the comments next to her Instagram post tell a different story: one of customer dissatisfaction.

"I'm still waiting for customer service to get back to me and it's been well over 48hrs and still no f***ing response I received someone else's order," one person wrote, complete with two angry emoji.

"Yes their customer service is really bad and its obviously the company's responsibility," another wrote.

"I ordered my lip kits on 28 April and did not receive them and now the tracking shows that my order has gone back to kylie cosmetics and I mailed their customer service a week ago I asked for a refund and they are not replying to me they have the worst customer service," another writes.

"I have 10 lipkits and the lip liners are garbage. my 2 metalics [sic] are not even full!" ...and yet another.

"It's not just shipping kylie. The formula hasn't been consistent since you launched the company," another complained. "Why do I have 2 candy k lippies that are different shades? You have too much money and too much make up experience for this to happen. I'm sorry if it isn't your fault but it's your company and your responsibility."

Story continues

And there's more.

"I hope this mean we're all going to be refunded for our S*** AS F*** products and shipping rates. Your products deserve the F grade and your customer service couldn't care less."

Some rushed to her defense and blamed the company that distributes her products.

A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Jun 28, 2016 at 9:53pm PDT

Some fans rushed to defend Jenner.

"Kylie, thank you," one person wrote. Pay no mind to the haters. I love your product. Just received my lipkit today and I am so incredibly happy. And have no issue with paying the customs charge (I live in Sweden) ;) ! Because it's worth it. XOXOX"

In the meantime, it appears that Jenner is listening to her customers' complaints.

"I'm here and I'm listening to you guys and I hear you on the shipping!!" She recently wrote on Facebook. "Working on lowering domestic shipping OR doing some special free shipping days! I will keep you updated x"

NOW WATCH: What those 'sell-by' dates on your groceries really mean





More From Business Insider


Donald Trump campaign raised USD 51 million in June

International

oi-PTI

Washington, July 6: Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, raised USD 51 million in June for his campaign, an improvement over his May collections but still much less than his Democratic party opponent Hillary Clinton's June haul.

Of these USD 51 million, USD 26 million were raised through digital and small donations. Another USD 25 million came through 22 fund-raising events throughout the country. This includes the last week of May, when Trump officially kicked off his fund raising efforts.

Clinton campaign slams Trump for praising Saddam Hussein

Trump, the billionaire from New York, had self-funded his campaign during the primary elections. According to the Trump campaign, the donation of USD 26 million was made possible with over 400,000 supporters.

As many as 94 per cent of the supporters donated under USD 200, the Trump campaign said. "The first email solicitation, which contained an unprecedented USD 2 million match from Donald Trump, exceeded our goal, collecting over USD 3 million in contributions in one day," the campaign said.

In addition, Trump personally contributed USD 3.8 million to the campaign this month. "The results from this month show the enthusiastic movement the campaign has created. People want to invest in a better future for America and make America great again! The campaign very much appreciates the broad support," said the Trump campaign in a statement.

"We just started our fund-raising efforts in the last week of May and we are extremely pleased with the broad-based support in the last five weeks for the Trump Campaign and Trump Victory. We want to thank our many volunteers and contributors that are committed to electing Trump as President in November," said Steven Mnuchin, Trump for President Finance chairman.

The June collections of Trump campaign saw a dramatic uptick over May when the Trump campaign was able to raise a meagre amount of USD 3 million and the Republican National Committee raised about USD 11 million.

In comparison, Clinton raised almost USD 70 million in June for her campaign and Democratic partners, her campaign announced last week.

PTI
Bangladesh: At least 69 dead in fire in apartment used as chemical warehouse in Dhaka

Hindu woman among 4 dead in terror attack in Bangladesh on Eid

International

oi-PTI

Dhaka, Jul 7: Islamist militants carrying bombs and machetes launched a deadly attack on Bangladesh's biggest Eid gathering, killing four persons including two policemen and a Hindu woman, nearly a week after 22 people were slaughtered in the country's worst terror attack.

Bombs exploded near an Eid prayer gathering in Sholakia in northern Kishoreganj district where at least 200,000 people had gathered, police said. Police said one constable was dead and at least 13 others were injured.

A second policeman later succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital in neighbouring Mymensingh. Jharna Rani Bhoumik, a housewife, was also killed as she was hit by a stray bullet that penetrated her hut, officials said.

One suspected attacker was also killed in the exchange of fire with police at the blast site as roads in the area were cordoned off. Police said that two of the attackers have been held while media reported the arrest of three persons.

Machetes were seized from the suspected assailants. Local reports said six to seven people led the attack with sharp weapons on policemen when they were frisking people entering the Eidgah ground.

Kishoreganj ASP Obaidul Hasan said the blasts spread panic among thousands who were beginning to gather near the ground, but the prayers were not disrupted, bdnews24.com reported.

"That was probably a crude bomb. The facts are still unclear," he said. Police did not reveal the identities of the arrested attackers. No group has claimed responsibility for today's attack. The incident comes close on the heels of last week's deadly attacks on a cafe in Dhaka in which 22 people, including a 19-year-old Indian girl, were brutally slaughtered by Islamic State militants.

The Islamic State (IS) terror group yesterday issued a new chilling video warning the Bangladesh government of more attacks in the country and across the world until Shariah law is established globally, saying last week's gruesome attack here was just "a glimpse".

The video message believed to be issued from Raqqa, the stronghold of the terror group in strife-torn Syria was released on YouTube. Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's posh diplomatic enclave late on Friday killing 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

The IS video has gone viral on social media among Bangladeshis still recovering from the shock of the brutal slaughter of 20 hostages and two police officers in Dhaka.

PTI
There is no 'one-size-fits-all' to curb poverty

Thief calls cops for help after being caught by mob

Cyclone Sitrang heading towards Bangladesh; Heavy rains likely to pound West Bengal, Odisha and NE

India to assist Bangladesh in terror probe

International

oi-Vicky

New Delhi/ Dhaka, July 7: India will send a four member team of National Security Guards to Bangladesh to assist with investigations into the terror attack cases.

The team would assist with the investigations and also gather data regarding the attacks, both at Dhaka and Kishoregenj.

Both India and Bangladesh acknowledge the rise of Jihadi activities. Moreover attacks in Bangladesh can spill over into India.

The need to share intelligence and step up security along the border areas have also been discussed by both nations.

In fact the two countries also have a joint mechanism to crack down on cases relating to fake currency.

India would however only play a supportive role in the investigations. Post the Dhaka attack, Intelligence and other details have already been shared with Bangladesh.

Even in the aftermath of the Burdwan blasts the two countries had worked together on the case.

In this case it had been found that bombs were being prepared in West Bengal and an attempt to transport it to Bangladesh was being made. The operatives included both Bangladesh and Indian nationals.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, July 7, 2016, 16:37 [IST]
Trump defends his statement on Saddam Hussein

International

oi-PTI

Washington, July 7: Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, has defended his remarks on Saddam Hussein saying that he hated him but the Iraqi dictator was "good at killing terrorists."

"I was talking about terrorism and I said Saddam Hussein is a bad man," Trump told his supporters in Ohio. "He was really good at killing terrorists, he didn't wait around, you think he gave the terrorists trials that lasted 18 years?" he asked.

"He was good at one thing, he killed terrorists. I don't love Saddam Hussein, I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists," 70-year-old Trump said.

After a similar remark a day earlier, the rival Clinton campaign slammed Trump for praising a dictator. Trump, however denied the allegations.

"I wake up, I turn on the television: Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein. He loves Saddam Hussein," Trump said, impersonating an unidentified television news anchor.

"That's not what I said. So, that's the narrative," he said. Trump used his campaign rally in Ohio to address another controversy by saying that his campaign should not have deleted a tweet containing an image that had been posted weeks earlier on a white supremacist website and featured Hillary Clinton, USD 100 bills and a red six-point star with the text: "Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!" Trump insisted that the six point stars were just a star, even as Jewish activists and many others have denounced the image as being anti-Semitic. "They shouldn't have taken it down.

You know, they took the star down. They should have left it up. I would have rather defended it -- just leave it up. I'd say, No, that's not a Star of David. That's just a star," he said and blamed the media for raking up the controversy.

"We have a crooked system, we have a rigged system, we have a dishonest press. I love talking about how dishonest they are, he said as he called NBC host Chuck Todd "this really stupid guy," declared CNN "dishonest as hell" and labeled the press bad people.

"Media started this dialogue going: It's the Star of David, and because it's the Star of David, Donald Trump has racist tendencies. These people are sick. I'm telling you. They're sick," he said.

PTI
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* Transelec over eight times covered

* Transelec 12-yr bond 40bp tighter vs IPTs

* Moody's assigns B3 to Argentina's Chubut

By Mike Gambale

NEW YORK, July 7 (IFR) - Below is a recap of primary issuance activity in the LatAm market on Thursday:

Number of deals priced: 3

Total issuance so far: US$3.85bn

TRANSELEC S.A.

Transelec S.A., Baa1/BBB/BBB, announced a US$350m (no grow) 144A/RegS long 12-year (1/12/2029) senior unsecured note. The active bookrunners are Citigroup, JPMorgan, Scotiabank and Santander. UOP: repayment of debt and GCP. Settle: T+3.

IPT: T+300bp area

PRICE GUIDANCE: T+270bp area (+/- 10bp)

LAUNCH: US$350m at T+260bp

PRICED: US$350m 3.875% cpn 12yr (1/12/2029). At 98.857, yld 3.992%. T+260bp.

BOOK: US$3bn

PETROBRAS GLOBAL FINANCE

Petrobras Global Finance B.V.. expected ratings B3/B+/BB, announced a US$ benchmark 2-part taps for its 8.375% 5/23/21 and 8.75% 5/23/26 notes via BB SEC/BAML/JPM/SANT. SEC-reg, senior unsecured notes. Settlement date T+4.

IPTs: 5-year 8.125% area, 10-year 9% area.

PRICE GUIDANCE: Tap 2021s 7.875% area (+/-0.125%), Tap 2026s 8.75-8.875%.

LAUNCH: US$3bn 2-part

- US$1.75bn 8.375% 2021s at 7.875% yield.

- US$1.25bn 8.750% 2026s at 8.750% yield.

PRICED: US$3bn 2-part.

- US$1.75bn. Cpn 8.375%. Due 5/23/21. Reoffer price US$101.971. Yld 8.75%. New amount outstanding US$6.75bn

- US$1.25bn. Cpn 8.750%. Due 5/23/26. Reoffer price US$99.982. Yld 8.75%. New amount outstanding US$3bn

BAHIA SUL HOLDINGS GMBH

Bahia Sul Holdings GmbH, rated Nr/BB+/BB+, announced a US$ benchmark 10-year senior unsecured notes via global coordinators JPM/SANT. Joint-bookrunners are BBSEC/BRAD/BTG/ITAU. 144a/RegS. UOP: Financing and refinancing of eligible green projects.

IPT: Low 6.00%

PRICE GUIDANCE: 6.00% area (+/-12.5bp)

PRICED: US$500m. Cpn 5.75%. Due 7/14/26. Ip US$99.065. Yld 5.875%. MWC T+50bp.Settlement date 7/14/16.

PIPELINE:

Mexico's consumer finance lender Credito Real (BB+/BB+) has hired Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to arrange a series of meetings with fixed-income investors in the US, Europe and Latin America ahead of a potential 144A/Reg S US dollar-denominated bond issue. The meetings will take place in London on July 8, Boston, Los Angeles and Lima on July 11, and New York and Santiago on July 12.

Story continues

Proceeds from the sale will help finance a tender on Credito Real's 7.5% 2019s, on which the company has US$425m outstanding, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Argentina's Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires has hired Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan as joint bookrunners and Standard Chartered as lead manager to arrange a series of meetings with fixed-income investors ahead of a potential 144A/Reg S US dollar-denominated Basel III compliant Tier 2 bond issue.

The lender is looking to raise up to US$300m through the 10-year bond sale, according to Moody's.

The meetings will take place in London and the West Coast on July 11, New York and Boston on July 12 and New York on July 13.

Argentina's Province of Chubut is looking to raise US$500m through amortizing notes due 2026, according to Moody's, which has assigned a B3 rating to the issue.

The notes will be secured by a percentage of hydrocarbon royalties to be paid by the Argentine branch of Pan American Energy to the Province, the rating agency said.

The notes, which will be issued under New York law, will start amortizing in 24 quarterly instalments after a grace period of four years. The Province has the legal capacity to increase or reopen the issue size up to US$650m.

Chubut plans to use half of the proceeds from the sale to refinance existing debt and the remainder to fund infrastructure work.

Argentina infrastructure company CLISA is meeting investors ahead of a bond offering and liability management exercise.

The company is scheduled to visit accounts in Chile, Switzerland, London, Boston, New York and Los Angeles between July 1 and July 13. The bond is being done in conjunction with a cash tender for US$87.106m of outstanding 11.50% notes due 2019.

BCP and Santander are acting as dealer managers on the tender and leads on the bond sale.

Chile's Transelec, rated Baa1/BBB/BBB, has wrapped up roadshows this week ahead of a potential 144A/RegS bond.

Transelec is Chile's largest power transmission company by kilometers of lines. Citigroup, JP Morgan, Santander and Scotiabank are acting as leads.

Petrobras Argentina is preparing an up to US$500m bond sale to fund a tender for all of its US$300m of outstanding 5.875% 2017s, according to a filing with local regulators. The borrower is seeking to raise 10-year money and has mandated Citigroup and Deutsche on the deal. The announcement comes after Pampa Energia agreed earlier this year to purchase a 67.2% stake in Petrobras Argentina for US$892m. Petrobras Argentina's is rated B3 by Moody's.

Argentine power company Pampa Energia will also hire four banks to lead a new international bond sale that will refinance debt taken out to fund its acquisition of Petrobras's Argentine assets. The company plans to hire Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, ICBC and Banco Galicia to lead the bond sale, which will refinance a US$700m bridge loan extended by the same lenders, Pampa chairman Marcelo Mindlin told IFR.

Mexican real-estate developer Grupo GICSA has finished investor meetings through JP Morgan and Santander. The company has been marketing a US dollar bond, which is expected to be rated BB/BB-.

Celulosa Argentina is readying a US$200m seven-year seniour unsecured bond sale. Moody's assigned a B3 rating to proposed notes. The pulp and paper company has been in discussions with bankers from Citigroup and Credit Suisse about financing options, the company said.

Bolivia is hoping to sell an up to US$1bn 10-year bond in the coming months, according to Economy Minister Luis Arce Catacora. Proceeds would go mainly towards investment in healthcare, specifically hospitals. Bolivia is rated BB by S&P and Fitch and one notch lower at Ba3 by Moody's.

(Reporting by Mike Gambale; editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan)
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No means no, my wife and I will never get no vaccines our minds are being made up they cannot convince me nor my wife ever.
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PAMPLONA, Spain (AP)  Pamplona is once again a sea of red and white as the frenzied madness of the San Fermin running of the..
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Marc will be responsible for driving the growth of MUFG Investor Services asset servicing solutions across hedge funds, fund of funds and private equity/real estate funds in the EMEA region. These solutions include fund administration, middle-office outsourcing, custody, depository, trustee, fund of hedge fund financing, FX and wider banking services.

Formerly head of asset manager sector solutions for the Nordics and UK at State Street, Marc brings over 15 years experience from business development roles in the investment industry.

He was previously Managing Director in Prime Brokerage and Head of EMEA sales for alternative investment services at J.P. Morgan, joining from BNY Mellon where he held the same role. He will report to John Sergides, Managing Director, Global Head of Business Development & Marketing, in New York.

The announcement follows the recent appointments of Mark Catalano from Atlas Fund Services, Michael McCabe from BNY Mellons Alternative Investment Services business, Daniel Trentacosta from Och-Ziff Capital Management Group and McAllister (Mac) Kirschner from BlackRock.

John Sergides said: With his extensive experience in the alternative investment industry, Marc will play a significant role in extending our best in-class asset servicing solutions for our clients in EMEA. His appointment demonstrates our commitment to the industry and supports our ambition to become the leading player in the market.

Marc Russell-Jones said: MUFG Investor Services ambitious growth strategy and commitment to high quality client service are well known industry-wide. I look forward to working closely with the established team to further develop these qualities and expand our advanced, asset servicing solutions across the EMEA region.
The objective of the plebiscite was to determine whether the population was prepared to accept the bailout terms, which would lead to draconian austerity measures. The short, but very intense and emotional campaign of the government had exhorted the voters to decide against the said conditions, which were termed by Tsipras himself as 'humiliating' and depriving the country of its 'sovereignty.'

A YES outcome would have meant staying within the common currency club, but capitulating to Brussels and to Berlin, the government's rhetoric went on. In reality, this reflected the PM's personal message and charisma only. And it worked a miracle: the people, young and old, employed and unemployed alike, gave him full support. He got the NO!, which, per his plea and arguments, would give him a strong card to negotiate with the Eurozone's heads and to obtain debt reduction and other perks.

The result of the referendum could not have been more explicit. With the NO! in his pocket, Tsipras was supposed to fly to Brussels and deliver to the Eurogroup an ultimatum: you either tone down your austerity demands and trim the debt, or we part. Parting would mean Grexit--that is, departure of the country from the Euro.

Such possibility had been secretly envisaged earlier in the year, when Tsipras and his closest collaborators had realised that Greece had no future in the common currency. A task force, which included American economists, had been set up to prepare the exit plan and the reintroduction of Greece's traditional currency, the Drachma.

But early on the morning of 6th July, Tsipras told his Minister of the Economy and chief negotiator with the Eurogroup, Yanis Varoufakis, that Grexit was out of the question and that the NO! of the referendum needed be interpreted in a more subtle and esoteric manner. Tsipras overnight had made a 180 degrees turn, proclaiming that the NO! meant YES and that his subjects, the Greeks, wanted to keep the Euro and to discuss amicable terms for the acceptance of the bailout.

Varoufakis was livid, and his American advisers were disgusted. He resigned (some say he was asked to, which should have been expected in view of normalisation of the country's relations with the bloc, as the EU officials had developed a strong resentment towards him and his dialectic).

The same day, Varoufakis announced his project for the foundation of the 'Democracy in Europe Movement 2025' (DIEM 25), whose scope is to change the orientation of, and politics in the EU. A year later, it has attracted promising support among socialists and other leftists all around the Union.

"[DIEM 25] is a very simple, but radical idea: to democratise Europe," says Varoufakis who travels extensively on both sides of the Atlantic with missionary zeal in order to spread his message.

Meanwhile, the people of Greece are biting their fingers for having given Tsipras last July their vote of confidence.

The analysis of the Greek situation, a year after the NO!, will continue at this site next week, which marks the first anniversary of the 'heroic' negotiations between Tsipras and the heads of state and government of the EU.

The dramatic events around the Grexit, between the end of June and the middle of August 2015, are detailed in the chronicle click here




by Walter Brasch

Three weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Hillary Rodham Clinton unloaded heavy baggage.

In an extremely rare news conference, FBI director James Comey summarized the conclusions of a seven month FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a personal email rather than more secure governmental servers during her four years as secretary of state.

Clinton's role in the attack upon the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four dead in September 2012, had been a major campaign issue. Conservatives and 16 major Republican candidates for the Republican nomination for president had used what they said was her slow defense of the consulate to attack her. However, several investigations by Congressional committees, chaired by Republicans, found no culpability on Clinton's part. The cost is about $7 million.

Unable to gain significant traction, the conservatives looked for another possible scandal, and found it with her use of personal email to conduct government business. For more than a year, they have hammered on this scandal. Their hope had been to pull votes from Clinton to Bernie Sanders, believing that Sanders, if nominated, was the weaker opposition to the final few Republican candidates. What has resulted is a debt incurred by taxpayers that is at least $20 million for the investigation, according to the Fiscal Times.

Clinton hurt her campaign by delayed response to the allegations she compromised national security and then by dodging and weaving on her public comments, allowing the scandal to fester and explode. The conservatives got additional ammunition when a meeting between Bill Clinton and Attorney General Lynch fell into their laps. Both claim the meeting in Phoenix was accidental, and the main topic was grandchildren. The conservatives pounced on that; even liberals, moderates, and independents thought it was inappropriate for the attorney general who might become the prosecutor to be chatting with the husband of the presumptive nominee for president who was the target of a federal investigation. Both Lynch and the 42nd president, who met on the attorney general's government aircraft, later acknowledged they should not have met, even if the only conversation was social.

In front of news cameras and the press, Comey revealed that from more than 30,000 emails the FBI read, sorted, and analyzed, "110 e-mails in 52 e-mail chains have been determined by the owning agency to contain classified information at the time they were sent or received." Eight chains, said Comey, contained top secret information; 36 contained secret information; and eight contain confidential information. About 2,000 e-mails were later "up-classified." The FBI also interrogated numerous individuals who had knowledge of, and access to, the e-mails. There was no hacking of Clinton's server, no leaks of e-mail content, and no evidence of any deletion of the e-mails by Clinton or anyone else, said Comey. Based upon federal laws, the FBI determined, "our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case [into court]." This past week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that the Department of Justice would not pursue felony charges against Clinton.

However, Clinton didn't skate free. Comey pointed out that Clinton and the Department of State were "extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information," that "there is evidence to support a conclusion that any reasonable person in Secretary Clinton's position, or in the position of those government employees with whom she was corresponding about these matters, should have known that an unclassified system was no place for that conversation," and that "none of these e-mails should have been on any kind of unclassified system, but their presence is especially concerning because all of these e-mails were housed on unclassified personal servers not even supported by full-time security staff, like those found at Departments and Agencies of the U.S. Government--or even with a commercial service like Gmail."

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Fighting for minds of youth in Latvia

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The most disappointing consequence of Brexit for foreigners living in the UK has become the unexpected rise of xenophobia. According to the behavior of locals, the EU open door policy has completely failed. Brits have made it clear that foreigners are not welcome. Not only immigrants from conflict areas, but people from Poland and Baltic States face with insults or even physical violence, hear offensive words and the call to pack their bags and leave.

This situation has become possible mainly due to inconsistency of domestic and foreign policy. Britain's activity in the EU was often contrary to the national interests and population's needs. The government chose to ignore the discontent of the population. Locals became more and more irritated by the arriving of cheap labor force from Eastern Europe and the financial costs associated with the provision of assistance to other countries even in the sphere of security and defence. While helping others, Britain did not pay enough attention to its own troubles. Such policy led to cases of showing hatred towards foreigners that are unacceptable for democratic country. Hidden evils of society got an excellent opportunity to emerge.

Such cases should be a lesson and serve as a prerequisite for review of foreign policy carrying out by other EU countries such as Latvia. Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkevics, a member of the Unity Party, expressed regret with the Great Britain's desire to leave the European Union. The fact is the EU exists because member states obey common rules and obligations. Any exception leads to disruption of the functioning. Rinkevics understands that Latvia as well as the EU itself will face additional problems with financing, immigration, security and defence. In spite of increasing defence spending, today Latvia is less sure in its proper security than earlier.

In the Baltic States there are also certain concerns of possible rise of discontent inside the countries. Latvian nationalism could rear its head even higher. Latvia is often criticized because of manifestations of fascism. According to a study conducted by the National Defence Academy of Latvia's Center for Security and Strategic Research revealed on Monday, about 30 per cent of Latvians agree that fascism is awakening in Latvia. Riga invites foreign troops and make their deployment comfortable. But the government does nothing to stop young Latvians from leaving home country and make their life better.

Latvian ultranationalists will for sure exploit the situation in Britain for attracting new members to join ultra-nationalists' organizations and movements. Youth is their main target. Following the instructions of the EU and NATO without taking into consideration national interests and domestic situation may cause flowering of extremism and ultra-nationalism in Latvia. The illustrative case occurred in Latvia on July 4, 2016 (LINK). Three young men were detained in Riga for desecrating the national flag.

Young men who do not respect their own country are the worst thing government can achieve. It is just the time to think over the situation in the country and draw the right conclusions from Brexit in order not to lose the youth generation. It is time to fight for their minds making right political decisions and not to set common international organizations' priorities ahead of national. British example should be a lesson for all Europe in order to remain united and at the same time not to lose the national identities.
On July 1, Vermont implemented a law requiring disclosure labels on all food products that contain genetically engineered ingredients, also known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs.

Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, hailed the law as "the first law enacted in the U.S. that would provide clear labels identifying food made with genetically engineered ingredients. Indeed, stores across the country are already stocking food with clear on-package labels thanks to the Vermont law, because it's much easier for a company to provide GMO labels on all of the products in its supply chain than just the ones going to one state."

What that means is that the Vermont labeling law is changing the landscape of our grocery stores, and making it easier than ever to know which products contain GMOs. And less than a week later after that law went into effect, that Vermont law is under full-out attack. Monsanto and their bought-and-paid-for toadies in Congress are pushing very legislation to override Vermont's law. Democrats who oppose this effort call the Stabenow/Roberts legislation the "Deny Americans the Right to Know" Act, or DARK Act.

This isn't the first time that a DARK Act has been brought forward in the Senate, and one version of the bill was already shot down earlier this year. The most recent version of the bill was brought forward by Michigan Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow and Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts, both of whom have received substantial contributions from BigAg.

Stabenow has received over $600,000 in campaign contributions since 2011 from the Crop Production and Basic Processing Industry, and Pat Roberts has received over $600,000 from the Agricultural Services and Products industry. When Senator Stabenow unveiled the industry-friendly legislation, she boasted that, "For the first time ever, consumers will have a national, mandatory label for food products that contain genetically modified ingredients."

Which sounds great, and it would be great, if it were true. But the fact is, the DARK Act would set up a system of voluntary labeling that would overturn Vermont's labeling law and replace it with a law that's riddled with so many loopholes and exemptions that it would only apply to a very few products, and there's no enforcement mechanism and no penalties or consequences of any kind for defying the bill. It also allows for labeling GMO-containing foods to be "labeled" with a QR code, those black squares that can only be read by your smartphone or computer. That lets manufacturers say, "We labeled it!" but prevents all but the most tech-savvy consumers from figuring out what the code means.

The Vermont labeling law, by the way, isn't a law that just somehow managed to slip through Vermont's legislature: the state legislature spent two years debating it, held more than 50 committee hearings and heard testimony from more than 130 representatives before passing the bill in 2010. Monsanto is pushing its puppets to pass the DARK Act quickly this week, effectively killing Vermont's labeling law without a single hearing on the issue of labeling foods or seeds.

Despite the fact that nine of out of ten Americans support laws requiring clear GMO labeling, members on both sides of the aisle in Congress would rather pass legislation to help Agricultural giants like Monsanto pad their bottom lines instead of passing a law that nine out of ten Americans actually support. And while conservatives normally profess to hate federal overreach and profess to love state's rights, there are bought-off politicians in both political parties pushing to pass the DARK Act and overturn Vermont's labeling law.

Opponents of GMO labeling have, in the past, said that the costs to clearly label products would require "expensive new packaging", but the DARK Act gives the lie to that, this labeling fight is clearly about Monsanto and other agricultural giants making sure that Americans don't know what's in their food. This law that Monsanto's puppets in Congress are pushing would cost companies roughly the same as the Vermont labeling law, because it would also require new labeling. But instead of having a clear label, the new packaging would allow a QR code to scan or a toll-free number to call to find out whether a certain product contains GMOs.

It won't save the companies any packaging money at all, but it would make it really, really hard for shoppers to find out whether or not a product contains GMOs. If our democracy actually worked, this bill never would have seen the light of day, because people overwhelmingly want to know what's in their food and support GMO labeling. But our democracy doesn't work, because our lawmakers are bought and paid for by special interests, like Monsanto and DuPont.

If we want our lawmakers to pass popular laws that actually work, we need to get money out of politics, we need to overturn Citizen's United, and we need to amend the Constitution to make it clear that political bribes aren't free speech, and corporations aren't persons. Call the offices of Senators Roberts and Stabenow to let them know what you think about actual, clear GMO labeling, and then check out MoveToAmend.org for more about the campaign to get money out of politics.
The Chilcot report's "findings" have virtually all been part of the public record for a decade, and it avoids key pieces of evidence. Its recommendations are essentially to continue using war as a threat and a tool of foreign policy, but to please try not to lie so much, make sure to win over a bit more of the public, and don't promise any positive outcomes given the likelihood of catastrophe.

The report is a confused jumble, given that it records evidence of the supreme crime but tries to excuse it. The closer you get to the beginning of the executive summary, the more the report reads as if written by the very criminals it's reporting on. Yet the report makes clear, as we always knew, that even in 2001-2003 there were honest people working in the British, as also in the U.S., government -- some of whom became whistleblowers, others of whom accurately identified the planned war as a crime that would endanger rather than protect, but stayed in their jobs when the war was launched.

Chilcot makes clear that the attack on Iraq was illegal, against the British public, against the international community and the UN Charter, expected to increase terrorism, based on lies about terrorism and weapons, and -- like every other war ever launched -- not a last resort. Chilcot records, as reality-based reporting always has, that Iraq claimed honestly to have no nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons. Chilcot fails to explain with any clarity that one cannot legally or morally attack another nation even when it does have such things.

Chilcot does make clear the extent to which France was pushing back against war, along with Russia and Germany and Chile and China. The key supporter of U.S. war plans was the UK, and there is some possibility that a UK refusal to join in this crime might really have done some good.

But Chilcot steers away from criminal responsibility, and from the damage done by the crime. It avoids the Downing Street Memo, the White House Memo, Hussein Kamel, the spying and threatening and bribing involved in the failed effort to win UN authorization, Aznar's account of Bush's admission that Saddam Hussein was willing to leave, etc. This is a report that aims for politeness and tranquility.

Not to worry, Chilcot tells us, as nothing like this will happen again even if we just let the criminals walk. Chilcot claims bizarrely that every other war before and since has been defensive and in response to some attack, rather than an act of aggression like this one. Of course, no list of those other wars is provided.

Even more bizarrely, Chilcot claims that Blair and gang literally never considered the possibility that Iraq had no "weapons of mass destruction." How you make all kinds of assertions, contrary to your evidence, that Iraq has weapons without considering the question is beyond me. But Chilcot credits with great significance the supposedly excusing grace of groupthink and the passion with which people like Blair supposedly believed their own lies. Chilcot even feeds into the disgusting lie that Blair pushes to this day that Iraqis chose to destroy their own country while their occupiers nobly attempted "reconstruction."

Despite itself, however, Chilcot may do some good. In the United States, when James Comey describes crimes by Hillary Clinton and assures us they should not be prosecuted, most people can be counted on to lie back and accept that blindly or even fervently. Yet our friends in Britain appear less than eager to accept the attitude with which Chilcot has reported on the supreme international crime.

Tony Blair may now be impeached as he needs to be. Yes -- sigh -- one can and should impeach people no longer in office, as has been usefully done in both British and U.S. history. Removal from office is one penalty that sometimes follows a conviction at a trial following an impeachment; it is not itself the definition of impeachment. Blair should be tried and convicted by Parliament. He should also be put on trial by the International Criminal Court or, better, by a special tribunal established for Iraq as for World War II or Yugoslavia.

The victors in World War II used the Kellogg-Briand Pact to prosecute the losers for the new crime of launching a war. Blair violated both the Kellogg-Briand Pact and the newer, yet never used, United Nations Charter, which also bans war. While Kellogg-Briand allows no exceptions, the exceptions in the UN Charter were famously not met in the case of the war on Iraq or, for that matter, any other recent western wars.

You can sign a petition urging Blair's impeachment and prosecution here. Of course the goal must be to build momentum for holding the chief (U.S.) war criminals accountable, pursuing truth and reconciliation, and making massive reparations to the people of Iraq and their region. What the U.S. needs is action, not a 7-year "investigation." Our own Chilcot report, better in fact, was written long ago.

The Chilcot report could, against its own wishes, move us in that direction.
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Reprinted from Alternet

Officially remembered as a moral giant, Wiesel provided cover to the invasions and occupations that have devastated the Middle East.





The news of Elie Wiesel's death in the early morning of July 2 ushered in veneration and reflections from figures across the political spectrum, from Bill Clinton and Donald Trump to Benjamin Netanyahu and George W. Bush. The outpouring of high-level praise aimed at consolidating Wiesel as the eternal voice of the Holocaust and the central preceptor of its lessons. Those who criticized his legacy or pointed out his moral contradictions, meanwhile, were ferociously attacked by the forces he helped inspire.

Back when I was in junior high school, the rabbi of my family's synagogue urged me to read Wiesel's book Night as part of my Bar Mitzvah preparations. The story offered a look at the existence of Jews deported to Auschwitz and Buchenwald that was as harrowing as it was accessible. Reading Night while studying a Torah portion that chronicled Israelite captivity in ancient Egypt helped cement the Holocaust as a central component of my Jewish identity. Countless other Jews my age experienced Wiesel's work in a similar fashion and many came to idolize him. Like me, few of them knew much about the man beyond the tribulation he endured in Hitler's death camps.

Though my experience was particular to American Jewish life, the general public has been familiarized with Wiesel over the course of several generations through educational curricula and an expansive commercial apparatus. In 2006, after Oprah Winfrey's embarrassing promotion of James Frey's memoir, A Million Little Pieces, which turned out to be a fabrication, her book club made Night its monthly selection. The public relations maneuver drove the book onto the national bestseller list and centered its author in the celebrity limelight. Soon after, Oprah joined Wiesel on a tour of Auschwitz, where he spoke before a camera crew in mystical terms about the souls of those were exterminated and how he communed with them as he stepped across the hallowed ground.

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Hillary Clinton is not going to face criminal charges for deleting an estimated 30,000 emails on a private email server (or possibly, servers), as our Secretary of State.

F.B.I. Director James Comey gave Clinton and her aides a good verbal tongue-lashing the day after Independence Day 'rebuking them for being 'extremely careless' in the handling of classified information and (Comey also added that) the presumptive Democratic nominee should have known an unclassified email system was no place to conduct sensitive government business," according to CNN Politics.

I never would have dreamed Hillary would get off so easy. In fact, I had the F.B.I. hounding Hillary for a long, long time in another op-ed that appeared on this national progressive magazine the day before Independence Day. I take it that Hillary's Independence Day wasn't all that good, but the day after was quite an Independence Day. And this writer has come to the realization that a career in fortune-telling might not be such a good idea.

Richard M. Nixon was forced to resign as President because he erased 18-1/2 minutes of tape during the Watergate Scandal. I presumed that deleting 30,000 emails to be just as criminal and egregious, if not even more so, but boy did I guess wrong! I have the F.B.I. visiting Hillary at the White House like hounds on the hunt in my July 3 piece, if she indeed becomes President next January. What a Fourth of July hotdog!







Bill & Hillary Clinton - The future awakens for these two dysfunctional power trippers and their ever-going mess of 'hillbilly-ized' antics and scandals.

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October Sky, Good Harbor Beach MA

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If our collective future--the one we intend to pass on to our children and for their benefit--still matters, then we have a duty to do what we can to make it a better and brighter one than the future one in which inequality, conflict, knee-jerk dismissal of inconvenient facts, and the many damaging components of intense polarization will create instead.



Shouldn't the outcomes matter more than they seem to?



What message can we convey to those paying too little attention to the consequences of the messages and pseudo-policies being offered by Donald Trump and his cohorts should they actually become our reality? It's all fine and well for his followers to bask in their new-found political power--tweaking and exasperating the Establishment as they are--but the faux assurances Trump is offering them now will soon collide with reality, which remains singularly unimpressed with nonsense.



We're going to have to find ways to cooperate and compromise in order to deal with the realities of our economy, culture, climate, and energy supply. Tough-guy posturing works well in spaghetti westerns, but here on Planet Earth ... not so much. Recognition of that truth sooner rather than later would be best for all of us.



We're all too focused on winning each skirmish, no matter how foolish or irrelevant each tends to be. Ceding ground, or giving respectful consideration to contrasting interests and expectations, are now unacceptable approaches to problem-solving. We waste far too much effort and energy ensuring that ideological standards are constantly met, substantiated, and solidified, ignoring the bigger picture.



The important answers to What Happens Then? are rarely considered. Is that consideration worth at least a moment's pause?



that consideration also worth at least a moment's pause?



The spirit of compromise has been sapped from politics. Each individual section of each state's honeycomb is less aware of the struggles or frustrations felt by communities living just across the highway. Politicians, in turn, represent constituents less interested in negotiation, and more suspicious of those who live in increasingly alien pockets nearby. Leaders willing to strike a compromise are accused of apostasy, rather than lauded as keepers of the peace. In sum, the transformation of American community has robbed each state's politics of a key element of the American community Tocqueville described in the 1830s: an appreciation "of the value of shared sacrifice".

Absent a connection to those living in other segments of the honeycomb, fewer voters are willing to stomach political compromise. And public servants, aware of the vitriol in the electorate, will be more tempted, time and again, to obey the absolute marching orders they receive at the ballot box.



If the uncompromising ground rules are to extend absolutely no compromises under any circumstances, what should anyone expect but more conflict! Should that be the goal in this increasingly complex 21st-century society? How long should we wait before realizing that the other side will not give in if our battles are waged solely about ideological principles rather than what's best for us all today and tomorrow? [Given how easily Trump swings away from standard conservative ideology in favor of his narcissistic demagoguery, I'm not sure we are fighting ideological battles at this point!]



[T]he cultural gulf has rarely been as deep or as wide. My view on this is that our division is not really about politics or even ideology. Ideology is an often ill-fitting misnomer for something much more powerful -- deep cultural alienation between the two parts of America. That alienation, in my view, is at its core the same alienation we are seeing in countries as diverse as Turkey and Egypt and Iran and Israel. It's about the response to modernity -- a choice between fear/rejection and relish/adoption. It's between a red world and a blue world. Or rather an increasingly blue world in deadly conflict between an increasingly red one....

The real question, however, is how societies can retain their coherence and unity when they are caught between the reassuring certainties of fundamentalism and the exhilarating disorientation of modernity. The worldviews are from such different places -- and are now penetrating cultures which, before the globalization of information, were able to keep them at bay.... If you go from the central cities of these countries and venture further and further into the rural heartlands, you will find not only that the blue parts of these countries are getting bluer, but that, in response, many of the red parts are getting redder. Soon, both parties create a different set of facts, as well as beliefs, about their world. Until they are barely able to communicate with each other at all.

Is that acceptable? Can we begin to appreciate where that path will lead us?



Adapted from a blog post of mine





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Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service - CNS

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced new recommendations to speed up diagnosis and improve treatment outcomes for multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) through the use of a novel rapid diagnostic test called MTBDRsl, and a shorter, cheaper 9-12 month treatment regimen. The new treatment regimen can be completed in 9-12 months-- less than half the time required by the current 24-month treatment standard used worldwide.

Costing less than $1,000 per patient, this new regimen is not only much less expensive than the current standard regimen, but it also reduces the duration of treatment by 12 to 15 months. It is expected to dramatically improve the current low cure rate and potentially decrease deaths due to better adherence to treatment and reduced loss to follow-up. MDR-TB is defined as TB that is resistant to at least rifampicin and isoniazid--the two most effective drugs for treating drug sensitive TB. Resistance generally stems from inadequate treatment or improper use of medicines. MDR-TB can also spread directly from one person to another. MDR-TB is difficult and expensive to treat, and can also be fatal. According to WHO's Global TB Report of 2015, 5% of all global TB cases are of MDR-TB. This translates into 480,000 cases every year. Only 25% of these are detected and put on treatment, and only 50% of those treated are cured.

In a recent webinar organised by CNS (Citizen News Service) on this important issue (see recording: www.bit.ly/june16-recording ), Dr Fuad Mirzayev, Medical Officer at the WHO Global TB Programme, clearly spelled out the WHO recommendation-- "A shorter MDR-TB regimen of 9-12 months may be used instead of the conventional regimen in adults, PLHIV and children with rifampicin resistant TB (regardless if isoniazid resistance is confirmed or not), who have not been previously treated with 2nd line drugs and in whom resistance to fluoroquinolone and 2nd line injectable agents has been excluded or is considered highly unlikely, It is NOT recommended for patients with 2nd line drug resistance, or with extra pulmonary TB, or for pregnant women. In such cases individualised conventional MDR-TB regimens should be used."

To rule out resistance to second-line drugs--a critical prerequisite for eligibility of MDR-TB patients for the shorter regimen, WHO recommends the rapid diagnostic test MTBDRsl that gives results in just 24-48 hours. This DNA-based LPA (line probe assay) identifies genetic mutations in MDR-TB strains, that make them resistant to fluoroquinolones and injectable second-line TB drugs. Evidence review for shorter MDR-TB regimen was based on meta-analysis of results of initial programmatic studies conducted by The Union, Damien Foundation, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium, involving 1205 patients with uncomplicated MDR-TB. Data for 515 patients under the Damien Foundation pilot programme, using a 9 month treatment regimen in Bangladesh, shows a cure rate of 82.1% and overall success rate of 84.5%.

This study was followed by the Union coordinated first multi-country MDR-TB patient cohort study of 1000 patients in 9 countries of West Africa (Benin, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Central African Republic, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda), treated with a modified Bangladesh regimen. Dr ID Rusen, Senior Vice President, International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union), shared that, "Interim analysis of 408 patients has demonstrated 82.1% treatment success rate, demonstrating that the 9 month regimen can be successful in other environments than Bangladesh, and also in settings with high HIV prevalence".

Currently on going is the Union-sponsored and USAID supported STREAM study (Standardised Treatment Regimen of Anti-TB Drugs for Patients with MDR-TB) to evaluate other shortened regimens for patients with MDR-TB. STREAM Stage 1 study has been ongoing in Ethiopia, South Africa, Vietnam and Mongolia, and results are expected in 1st quarter of 2018. STREAM has recently expanded to test two additional shortened treatment regimens using bedaquiline, a new medicine produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. This expanded arm will evaluate a 9 month all--oral regimen, that does not require painful injections, and an even shorter simplified 6-month regimen. This STREAM Stage 2 study envisages to enroll 1,155 patients in at least 10 countries by end of 3rd quarter of 2018 and initial end point results expected in 3rd quarter of 2,020, informed Rusen. WHO's recommendation will have profound implications for countries like India that are beset with the epidemic of MDR-TB. The adoption of a shortened regimen will not only reduce the burden on patients and on healthcare systems, but also improve cure rates.

Dr Sunil Khaparde, Deputy Director General of Revised National TB Control Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India, conceded that India has the highest TB burden (2.2 million cases every year) and highest MDR-TB burden also with 72,000 MDR-TB cases every year and only 28,000 of these are treated. He said that the new shortened regimen holds a lot of promise and will be more rational and cost effective for India. "The conventional treatment takes at least 18-24 months to complete and has only 50% cure rate. Patients find it difficult to take the very toxic 2nd line drugs for such a long period. This prolonged treatment period creates adherence problems and often results in treatment interruption and loss to follow up. The new regimen will definitely improve adherence and hence cure rate," he said.

Although formal clinical study for the shorter regimen has not been conducted in India, but Khaparde assured that very soon the proposal for roll out of this new regimen will be put up before the expert committee. Jose Luis Castro, Executive Director at The Union, has rightly remarked that, "Statistics clearly show that MDR-TB is an increasing burden and much of this is due to a failure of basic TB control. The international TB community must advocate for investment in the expansion of quality basic services and preventative care on the frontline where it matters most. The onus is on us all to ensure that access to correct treatments, both for patients and health care providers, increases exponentially." Countries need to move quickly to implement the new regimen by formally incorporating it into their national TB guidelines. Accurate and early diagnosis along with shorter, cheaper and more effective treatment can help countries deliver on their promises to end TB by 2030 or earlier as envisaged in Sustainable Development Goal 3.3.

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Reprinted from Consortium News

MEMORANDUM FOR: Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany

FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS)

SUBJECT: NATO Summit in Warsaw

REFERENCE: Our Memorandum to You, August 30, 2014

We longtime U.S. intelligence officers again wish to convey our concerns and cautions directly to you prior to a critically important NATO summit -- the meeting that begins on July 8 in Warsaw. We were gratified to learn that our referenced memorandum reached you and your advisers before the NATO summit in Wales, and that others too learned of our initiative via the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which published a full report on our memorandum on Sept. 4, the day that summit began.

Wales to Warsaw

The Warsaw summit is likely to be at least as important as the last one in Wales and is likely to have even more far-reaching consequences. We find troubling -- if not surprising -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's statement at a pre-summit press event on July 4 that NATO members will agree to "further enhance NATOs military presence in the eastern part of the alliance," adding that the alliance will see its "biggest reinforcement since the Cold War."

The likelihood of a military clash in the air or at sea -- accidental or intentional -- has grown sharply, the more so since, as we explain below, President Obama's control over top U.S./NATO generals, some of whom like to play cowboy, is tenuous. Accordingly we encourage you, as we did before the last NATO summit, to urge your NATO colleagues to bring a "degree of judicious skepticism" to the table at Warsaw -- especially with regard to the perceived threat from Russia.

Many of us have spent decades studying Moscow's foreign policy. We shake our heads in disbelief when we see Western leaders seemingly oblivious to what it means to the Russians to witness exercises on a scale not seen since Hitler's armies launched "Unternehmen Barbarossa" 75 years ago, leaving 25 million Soviet citizens dead. In our view, it is irresponsibly foolish to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not take countermeasures -- at a time and place of his own choosing.

Putin does not have the option of trying to reassure his generals that what they hear and see from NATO is mere rhetoric and posturing. He is already facing increased pressure to react in an unmistakably forceful way. In sum, Russia is bound to react strongly to what it regards as the unwarranted provocation of large military exercises along its western borders, including in Ukraine.

Before things get still worse, seasoned NATO leaders need to demonstrate a clear preference for statesmanship and give-and-take diplomacy over saber-rattling. Otherwise, some kind of military clash with Russia is likely, with the ever-present danger of escalation to a nuclear exchange.

Extremely worrisome is the fact that many second-generation NATO leaders seem blithely unaware -- or even dismissive -- of that looming possibility. Demagoguery like that coming from former Polish President Lech Walesa, who brags that he would "shoot" at Russian jets that buzz U.S. destroyers assuredly are not at all helpful. Walesa's tone, however, does reflect the macho attitude prevailing today in Poland and some other NATO newcomers.

We believe Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was correct to point out that military posturing on Russia's borders will bring less regional security. We applaud his admonition that, "We are well advised not to create pretexts to renew an old confrontation."

A Need For Candor

Speaking of "pretexts to renew an old confrontation," we believe the time has come to acknowledge that the marked increase in East-West tensions over the past two years originally stemmed from the Western-sponsored coup d'etat in Kiev on Feb. 22, 2014, and Russia's reaction in annexing Crimea.
It's enough to make you believe there is a God up there, pulling the strings. One day apart, Hillary Clinton and Tony Blair are served up to the world as two of the most dangerous people on the planet - and neither of them will have to worry about punishment!



Image taken from page 61 of '[The Pied Piper of Hamelin. [Originally published in .Dramatic Lyrics,. no. 3 in the series .Bells and Pomegranates..]]'

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While Great Britain has rarely deserved its nickname of Perfidious Albion more than in Blair's decision to join Geroge Bush against Iraq, the US is hardly further along in its long journey from gullible believers in 'the shining city upon a hill' to responsible world citizens putting an end to our government's rampage.

Both presemptive presidential candidates are facing embarrassing charges (Donald Trump of business fraud), likening them to the Grimm's character who led an entire village's children to their doom by playing the pipe.

It's a good thing that Bernie Sanders is keeping his campaign alive, knowing that the DNC may have to revise its plans to crown a second Clinton president. In his intrerview yesterday with Chuck Todd he again showed himself to be a consumate politician, adding at the end 'And I will do everything in my power to see that Donald Trump does not become president', foreseeing that after Comey's hearing, his numbers against Trump will go through the roof compared to Hillary's.


Two years ago today, on July 7, 2014, the Israeli government launched a horrific 51-day air, land and sea attack on the people of Gaza. Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired missiles, rockets, artillery and tank shells relentlessly on 1.8 million Palestinians squashed by Israeli land and sea blockades into a narrow strip 25 miles long and five miles wide, one of the most densely populated places in the world. Nearly 500 Palestinians were killed by Israeli assassin drones.

Drone warfare has become the norm for both the United States and Israel. Drones fly above Gaza 24 hours a day watching the movements of every Palestinian and ready to fire rockets at those chosen to die by the IDF.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights documents that, from 2008 until October 2013, out of 2,269 Palestinians killed by Israel, 911 were killed by drones, most during the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead. In the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, 143 out of 171 Palestinians killed by Israel were by drone attack.

In the 2014 Israeli attack on Gaza, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights documents 497 Palestinians killed by drones, 32 percent of Palestinian deaths.

At the end of the 51 days, 2,310 Palestinians had been killed, 10,600 wounded, including 3,300 children; 872 homes were totally destroyed or severely damaged, and the homes of 5,005 families were damaged but still inhabitable; 138 schools were damaged or destroyed, 26 hospitals and health facilities were damaged. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 273,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had been displaced of whom 236,375 (over 11 percent of the Gazan population) were taking shelter in 88 United Nations schools.

Palestinian militias shot homemade rockets killing 66 Israeli soldiers, five Israeli civilians, including one child, and one Thai citizen in Israel.

The 51-day Israeli attack on Gaza should not be characterized as a war between opposing forces but rather as a massive one-sided attack on Palestinians made at the choosing of Israel with its overwhelming military air, sea and land forces backed up with endless military supplies and equipment from the United States, including the missile system called the "Iron Dome."

Now two years after the Israeli attack on Gaza, tensions in the West Bank are exploding. Beginning in October 2015, a few West Bank Palestinian youth have forsaken non-violent confrontation with Israeli military and have taken up knives instead of rocks in the latest intifada against Israeli occupation and oppression, against the continued building of illegal settlements on Palestinian lands and against the imprisonment of hundreds of Palestinian youth. The use of knives against IDF soldiers has expanded to deaths of Israeli civilians as well, including a 13-year-old girl in her home. Thirty-four Israelis, two U.S. citizens, an Eritrean and a Sudanese have been killed in the knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, and 214 Palestinians have been killed by IDF soldiers during this period.

The potential for Israeli response/revenge to these knife attacks is great and would probably not be directed to just the West Bank, but also toward Gaza.

As with other conflicts, the stories of death and of survival of civilians trapped in merciless bombings and fighting should compel leaders to work to end conflicts, but seldom do.
The world hovers on the edge of war, not only in Israel-Palestine, Syria, Ukraine, but in Eurasia's gr



Little Armenia snatched its tribal enclave from Azerbaijan

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Oil-rich Azerbaijan is lavishing its petro-dollars on beefing up its armed forces, assisted by--guess who?--Russia and Israel. It seems only a matter of time till a full scale explosion happens. It almost did in April, 2016, when Armenian forces in Karabakh shelled civilian settlements and attacked Azerbaijani forces in retaliation for an Azerbaijani helicopter firing on Armenian military positions. 18 Armenian and 12 Azerbaijani troops were killed. Given Azerbaijan's growing military teeth, it is unlikely the Armenians started this.

This is yet another intractable dilemma resulting from the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union. Soviet borders were not carved out in the 1920s with western-style sovereignty in mind, and now many make no sense at all within the western legal framework.

To compound its loss of Karabakh (visualize the western corridor through East Germany to West Berlin), Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (the size of Delaware) is orphaned on the other side of Armenia. Like both Armenia and Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan is totally landlocked, and has no link with its motherland for two decades. What is the secret that keeps it going? For that matter, what keeps pesky Armenia, flouting international law, wedged between hostile Turkey, tiny Georgia and Iran, going?

The parallels between Armenia and Israel, Armenians and Jews, are remarkable, and provide answers. They span geopolitics, religion, tribalism, economics, culture and a history of tragic dimensions. They account for both ethnicities' triumphs in the face of determined enmity, but also their failure to find peace among nations.

Illegal occupation

The most stark parallel is the seizure of neighbouring territories with no intention of returning them, and (almost) universal condemnation. The 1988 war resulted in 40,000 deaths, 230,000 Armenians and a million Azeris displaced, and the 1994 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, followed by fruitless 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, stubbornly insisting Karabakh is Armenian land.

Sound familiar? Though Israel's actions are far worse, having occupied all its neighbour's territories, and spent decades adding settlers from Russia and the US, who have no historic bond to the territories and no intention of giving up their free accommodations.

Geopolitics

Both countries achieved 'independence' only in the 20th century, despite their ancient and larger-than-life histories. The reason being their key locations on the map -- both at crossroads which have seen invasions and occupations over the millennia which at various times have tried to stamp these stubborn tribes out or at least make them integrate.

The 19th--20th century version -- for the Armenians, the Ottoman Turks and the Russian communists -- for the Jews in Europe, the Nazis, in Palestine, the British. Both tribes survived their occupiers and overlords, and have maintained their fierce pride and independence.

Armenia claims to be the oldest Christian state (301 AD), and, of course, Judaism claims to be the cradle of all monotheisms. The strong fusion of religion and ethnicity has kept these small tribes united in the face of annihilation.

Being at a crossroads means constant cultural stimulation and the need to keep one step ahead of one's nemeses. Armenia's location is of less strategic importance today than Israel's, and Armenians are not key world players economically, so they don't capture headlines in the West, but their current position is just as perilous as that of Israel.

Russian Communism

Armenia's natural affinity is with fellow Orthodox Christian Russia, which threatened Ottoman hegemony in the region and then Turkish independence in 1920. This is what prompted the expulsion and mass killing of up to a million Armenians and destruction of their millennial architectural treasures by the Turks starting in 1915. A similar mass pogrom of Jews in Europe took place starting a few years later, also prompted by WWI, Jews being seen as a threat to German culture.

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This extreme, unforgiving, unreasonable, excessive posture toward classified information came to an instant halt in Washington today -- just in time to save Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations. FBI Director James Comey, an Obama appointee who served in the Bush DOJ, held a press conference earlier this afternoon in which he condemned Clinton on the ground that she and her colleagues were "extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information," including Top Secret material.

Secrecy is a virtual religion in Washington. Those who violate its dogma have been punished in the harshest and most excessive manner -- at least when they possess little political power or influence. As has been widely noted , the Obama administration has prosecuted more leakers under the 1917 Espionage Act than all prior administrations combined. Secrecy in DC is so revered that even the most banal documents are reflexively marked classified, making their disclosure or mishandling a felony. As former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden said back in 2000 , "Everything's secret. I mean, I got an email saying 'Merry Christmas.' It carried a top secret NSA classification marking."

[Subscribe to Glenn Greenwald] Glenn Greenwald is a journalist,former constitutional lawyer, and author of four New York Times bestselling books on politics and law. His most recent book, "No Place to Hide," is about the U.S. surveillance state and his experiences reporting on the Snowden documents around the world. His forthcoming book, to be published in April, 2021, is about Brazilian history and current politics, with a focus on his experience in reporting a series of expose's in 2019 and 2020 which exposed high-level corruption by powerful officials in the government of President Jair Bolsonaro, which subsequently attempted to prosecute him for that reporting.
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Global Market study on Agricultural Equipment By 2020, PMR New Report

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Agriculture equipment is any type of machinery that is used on farm for farming purpose. Agriculture equipment market is increasing with the introduction of novel technology in the field of agriculture. It helps in making harvest season simpler and more profitable. Increasing global population boost the demand of food grain and rising per capita calorie intake increasing pressure on agriculture sector to become more productive and highly efficient. This leads to drive the demand for agricultural equipment market all across the globe.Browse Full Report:Agricultural equipment contains wide range of machinery and tools, which help in various farming processes in order to improve the output and to enhance the overall quality of crops. Various agricultural equipments include seed driller, transplanters, threshers, sprayer, tillers, balers, rotavators and reaper. Agriculture equipment industry is not only growing at a swift pace, but it also plays an important role in growth of global economy. Increasing sophisticated technology in agriculture equipment leads to reduce the overall cost farming. Growth of such technology and investment on research and development in agriculture equipment plays a key role in the growth of global agriculture equipment market.Asia Pacific region accounted the largest agricultural equipment market around the world. China and India are the two largest growing markets. Growing large population in these two countries increased the overall demand of food. China alone holds one-third market of global agriculture equipment. To get significant gains in terms of efficiency and larger production of food the demand of harvesting machinery is growing in India. Farm tractors are largest product segment in agricultural equipment market. Developing nations across the world get substantial funds and assistance for the betterment of their agricultural productivity through farming process automation. This helps in rise if global agriculture equipment market.View Sample Report@Download and Request Report TOC@Major companies operating in global agricultural equipment market are John Deere, AGCO Corporation, CNH Global NV, CLAAS KGAA MBH, GROUPE EXEL INDUSTRIES SA, MTD PRODUCTS AG., Alamo Group, Bucher Industries, Caterpillar Incorporated, Daedong Industrial Company, Escorts Limited, Fiat SpA, Iseki & Company, Kubota Corporation, Kverneland ASA, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, YTO Group, Tractors and Farm Equipment and Same Deutz-Fahr.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Web Real Time Communication Market: Easily accessible and encrypted commercial telephony system

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Web Real Time Communication Market: OverviewWeb Real Time Communication (Web RTC) is an open source application programming interface (API) originated by World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Web RTC enables end-users with voice calling, video chat and peer to peer file sharing between browsers without the support of any external plugin. World Wide Web Consortium is the international standard organization for the development of standards world wide web. The W3C tries to establish compatibility among industry service providers for adoption of global standards developed by them. The internet protocols required for web RTC are developed, managed and standardized by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).Web RTC comprises of three APIs, GetUserMedia (), PeerConnection () and DataChannels (). The GetUserMedia () request the user for permission to get access to input devices such as microphone and camera. The PeerConnection () establishes a connection between local device and remote device. The DataChannels () represents a bidirectional data channel between both the peers in the connection.Web RTC provides time efficient, easily accessible and encrypted commercial telephony system. Web RTC is an open source API, hence could be easily accessed by the application developers. This has led to heavy adoption of web RTC in developing communication solutions at a lower cost compared to traditional systems. Web RTC does not depend on platform and device on which it is integrated, thus would attract global customers.Furthermore, web RTC provides better video and audio quality at a lower cost with enhanced security level compared to other telecommunication systems, thus could drive the growth of global web RTC market. Web RTC adapts and adjusts itself according to the changing network conditions. It adjusts according to bandwidth availability and avoids network congestion, thus increases efficiency of the network. The organizations enabled with web RTC technology products could improve customer interaction, promotional activities and increase their sales in a cost-effective way.The growth in customer facing industries such as retail, healthcare and hospitality would further boost the growth of web RTC market. However, web RTC is still an emerging technology, therefore has various challenges such as privacy issues with use of public internet and data security. These issues are expected to restrain the growth of global web RTC market. With big players such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation not supporting web RTC technology, the market is expected to face a hurdle in its growth.Get More Information:Web Real Time Communication Market: SegmentationWeb RTC market is broadly segmented on the basis of type, solution and geography. On the basis of type, the web RTC market can be segmented into software and services whereas, on the basis of solution it can be segmented as video calling solutions, voice solutions, messaging solutions and file sharing solutions. The software segment of the market provides software which have web RTC functionality whereas service segment provides the technology and API to integrate web RTC in their existing websites.Moreover, in terms of geographies, the global Web RTC market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America regions. Web RTC technology show its strong presence in North America as technological advancements and heavy investments are made by the players of this region. AsiaPacific and Europe are also adopting web RTC significantly due to tremendous growth seen in usage of web based applications.Web Real Time Communication Market: Key PlayersThe major participants in the web RTC market include companies such as Google Incorporation, Mozilla Corporation, Cisco Systems Inc., Opera Software ASA, TokBox, Twilio, Alcatel-Lucent S.A., Voxeo Corporation, American Telephone & Telegraph Corporation and Avaya Inc.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr.Sudip S90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Digital Signature Market: Drive the growth of digital signature market in financial and legal sector.

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Digital Signature technique is used for authentication and validation of an electronic message, software and digital document. Handwritten signatures are used to certify physical documents. Similarly, digital signatures are used to certify and approve the content of digital documents such as portable document format (pdf), e-mails and word documents. Digital signature depends on encryption and decryption techniques.Encryption is the process of converting the information into a cipher text through encryption techniques such as public key encryption and symmetric or private key encryption. Decryption is the process of converting the cipher text back to the information text through the key issued at the time of encryption. Digital signature contains digital ID which include a public and a private key. The public key is sent with the file and private key acts as digital signature to the digital document. The public key contains encrypted code hash that verifies the identity and tracks changes pertaining to the document.Before the advent of digital signature, the business and legal documents have to be physically signed and were sent through courier.This process was time consuming and risk of loss during transportation was high. With the help of digital signature, the organizations could send legal contracts and business documents with proper authentication and less risk. With certain jurisdiction authorities such as The Federal Court of the U.S. and The Supreme Court of Canada, accepting digitally signed documents as an evidence for any crime, the digital signature market is expected to have a significant growth. Digital signature could help in financial and legal sector in reducing document turnaround time, improve compliances and could speed up invoice process. This would further drive the growth of digital signature market in financial and legal sector.The growth of E-Commerce sector in the global market could also drive the growth of digital signature market. However, the major challenge faced by digital signature market would be expiry of the technology used for formulation of digital signature. Incompatibility among various digital signature generation techniques could further hamper the growth of market. The developing countries such as Philippines and Brazil have weak cyber laws, thus could restraint the growth of market.Get More Information:Digital signature market is broadly segmented on the basis of solution, deployment type and geography. On the basis of solution, the market i s segmented into hardware, software and services. On the basis of deployment type, the digital signature market could be segmented on the basis of on-premise, web based and cloud deployment.Moreover, in terms of geographies the global digital signature market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America regions. Heavy adoption of digital signature technology is seen in North America market due to strong cyber laws and tremendous growth in financial sector in this region. Latin America market has the least adoption of digital signature technology due to weak and unstandardized cyber laws in this market.About Us:TMR is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers90 State Street Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030
MONTERREY, July 7 (Reuters) - Mexican construction firm ICA will bid to build runways and a terminal at Mexico City's new airport, local media reported on Thursday.

Luis Zarate, chief executive of ICA, told the newspaper La Jornada that the firm will present documents to participate in a runway bid with a consortium of domestic and foreign firms on Aug. 8.

"It's a project that interests us ... it is a challenge for Mexican engineering and we have the ability to do it," Zarate was quoted as saying.

ICA was not immediately available for comment.

Last month, ICA got a $215 million credit from investment firm Fintech, which ICA will use to finance new contracts while negotiating with creditors to restructure its heavy debt load.

The new airport, President Enrique Pena Nieto's landmark infrastructure venture, is aimed at turning Mexico City into a major regional hub that handles around 50 million passengers a year from 2020 when it is slated to open.

(Reporting by Gabriela Lopez; Writing by Natalie Schachar; Editing by Chris Reese)
Global Demand for Bromine to Reach 483 KMT In 2016

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Global demand for bromine market will reach 483 kilo metric tons (KMT) in 2016, up from 470 KMT in 2015. Demand will be impeded by growing regulation and legislation, especially in the European Union (EU), where the use of certain brominated flame retardants is banned or restricted.Browse the full Bromine Market report atFlame retardants will continue to remain the largest application segment, accounting for 203 KMT volume in 2016, a y-o-y increase of 2.8% over 2015. Use of bromine in oil and gas drilling will continue its upward momentum in 2016, growing at 4.3% in terms of volume  the fastest among all the application segments.The chemicals industry will remain the largest consumer of bromine, accounting for 292 KMT volume in 2016, representing market value worth 1,284 Mn. Use of bromine in the oil and gas sector will also continue to witness steady growth, as clear brine fluids gain traction for drilling purposes. Demand will be offset by sluggish adoption in the electronics industry, as use of brominated flame retardants continues to face stricter regulations. Demand for bromine from electronics sector will witness a growth rate of 2.1% in 2016 over 2015.Asia Pacific will remain the largest market for bromine, representing annual revenues worth US$ 1,087 Mn in 2016, up from 895 Mn in 2015. This is primarily due to expansion of end-use industries such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and electronic in APAC. Latin America will continue to offer growth opportunities to manufacturers, with global demand witnessing a 2.0% volume growth in 2016 over 2015. Demand will face constraints in the mature markets of North America and Western Europe in 2016 as well.View Sample Report:Request TOC (table of content), Figures and Tables of the Report:Israel Chemicals Limited, Chemtura Corporation, Albemarle Corporation, Gulf Resources Inc., Tosoh Corporation, Tetra Technologies Inc., Tata Chemicals Limited and Hindustan Salts Limited are the key players in the market. Top players are continuously focusing on expanding their product offerings, especially in flame retardants segments. Collaborations and joint ventures are key business strategies to develop green brominated flame retardants.Long-term Outlook: PMR projects the global bromine market to witness moderate growth during the forecast period 2016-2024. APAC will continue to remain the largest market for bromine, growing at 4.1% revenue CAGR during the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA - Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Off-Highway Vehicle Telematics Market Share and Growth, 2014-2020

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Telematics is the technology of sending, receiving and storing information through the use of telecommunication devices.Off-highway vehicle (OHV) telematics is the integrated use of information and communication with telecommunications technology. The technology of sending, receiving, and storing information pertaining to off-highway vehicles through telecommunication devices is generally termed as off-highway telematics.OHV telematics business has been witnessing rapid change over the past few years with advancements in the internet, cell phones, and GPS (global positioning system) receivers. GPS receivers and GSM devices, which communicate with the user and web-based software, are installed in each OHV. Overall awareness of OHV telematics has considerably increased in recent years as the technology is now perceived as a convincing solution for improving total vehicular cost of ownership.Utilisation of off-highway vehicle telematics acts as a readymade solution for enhancing the total cost of ownership, particularly in sectors such as mining, construction, industrial, and agricultural equipment.The global OHV telematics market is projected to double in size from 2014 to 2020 due to expected growth in demand from end user industries such as mining, construction and industrial. Stringent government normsconcerning vehicle safety and navigation are further expected to drive growth in the market. The global off-highway telematics market is expected to grow at an above average rate when compared with global automotive production.North America and Europe are the largest contributors in the global OHV telematics market. Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR, due to high penetration rate of wireless technologies, increasing awareness, and changing government norms.Request Free Report Sample@Globally, among all the above-mentioned segments,the mining industry is expected to provide the maximum potential in the near future as it creates space for technological innovation and advancement. Hence, the demand for OHV telematics solutionswill increase at a promising rate over the next 6 years. Another attractive segment for OHV telematics is agricultural equipment due to implementation of latest technological solutions for improving field productivity, increasing awareness and rising adoption rates in this segment. Reduction in the cost of wireless data and related hardware have also beendriving growth in the market.Consumers view telematics as one of the best ways to reduce vehicle operating cost. The growth in volume of telematics integrated vehicles is expected to grow after 2015. This growth will be fuelled by the entry of rental equipment provider companies into the telematics market.The key players in the OHV telematics market includeCaterpillar Inc., Daimler AG, General Motors Co., Omnitracs, MiX Telematics, Telogis, Verizon, Masternaut, AB Volvo, and TomTom. Participants in this market follow the strategy of acquisitions andmergers to enhance their market share and customer base. Moreover, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)dealing in heavy equipment are going into strategic partnerships with aftermarket vendors to develop advanced solutions. For example, Telogis signed an agreement with Manitowoc Company Inc.in 2013to develop OHV solutions. OEMs do not have sufficient database infrastructure and face difficulty in providing solutions for mixed fleets. Partnering with aftermarket vendors helps OEMs to overcome this shortcoming. OEMs such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo, and John Deere work with aftermarket suppliers such as Navman Wireless and industry bodies to develop standard APIs for taking care of data such as vehicle identification, location, and hours of use. Rental fleet companies are now working towards standardisation of more advanced data feeds such as geo-fencing, immobilisation, safety devices and alerts.Caterpillar and Trimble have developed a brand agnostic fleet management and site productivity solutions platform designed for contractors with mixed equipment fleets. The two companies are working on telematics via a joint venture company.The Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) and Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) have begun to standardise OHV telematics and provide necessary training to the potential OHV telematics customers. The challenge to install telematics for mixed fleets is expected to be addressed as original equipment manufacturers have started partnering with thirdparty vendors.Request For TOC@There have been many initiatives from AEMP and AEM to standardise and educate customers on the benefits of telematics yet the government regulations regarding safety and security are lacking in their intensity. Growth in the global market is further inhibited because heavy equipment fleet owners prefer basic telematics service due to the high cost associated with high end telematics.Currently, OHV telematics is in its nascent stage due to limited awareness of the technology. However, globally, governments have been promoting the use of telematics in OHVs, and consumers have begun slowly to understand the importance of having telematics in their OHVs. Due to this, the global OHV telematics market is expected to expand. Mining, construction and industrial sector segments are expected to play an important role in the overall development of this industry.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Medical Tourism Market Strategies and Forecasts, 2014 to 2020

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Medical tourism is a popular trend that has come about due to advances in the field of medical technology, growing number of patients and high level of expertise in the medical field. Simply explained, people travelling from their home country to another country with the intention to secure medical treatment, which might not be available in their homeland, is known as medical tourism. Segments such as cosmetic surgery, dental care, fertility treatment, cardiology and cardiac surgery are the key promoters of medical tourism. Medical tourism has made it easy for patients to travel to other countries and get much-needed medical treatment and undergo surgeries. On the other hand, this does have some disadvantages such as low quality medical treatment. Also people from developed and advanced economies travel to emerging nations, thus affecting the revenue generation in their respective nation, for instance approximately 1 million Americans travelled outside the US for medical treatment in 2014Medical tourism is rapidly gaining popularity in Asian countries owing to features such as reasonable cost of medical treatments and surgery, advanced medical technology, hospitality services, medical professionals and expertise, qualified doctors and nurses, favourable currency exchange rate etc. Trusted international accreditation and high quality medical services in low prices are the key drivers of medical tourism. Patients traveling abroad for medical tourism can save 30 % to 90%. As a result, the demand for medical tourism is expected to witness exponential growth over the forecast period. However, there could be restrains along with the growth drivers such as unprofessional conduct or false medical practices, inadequate additional medical care etc.The medical tourism market is segmented on the basis of types of medical treatment provided and on the basis of geography. On the basis of types of treatment it is segmented into cosmetic treatment, cardiovascular treatment, fertility treatment, dental treatment, orthopaedic treatment and other general treatments. On the basis of geography, the market has been segmented into Asia pacific, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, and South AmericaRequest Free Report Sample@The major markets having the appreciation for medical tourism consist of Asia pacific, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, and South America. Top destinations for medical tourism are Costa Rica, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and United States. The growing popularity of medical tourism has also proved beneficial for the tourism industry. For instance, Thailand in the Asia region is a very popular country for medical as well as regular tourism.The key players in the medical tourism industry are Prince Court Medical centre Malaysia, Gleneagles Hospital Singapore, Clemenceau Medical centre Lebanon, Bumrungrad International Hospital Thailand, Fortis Hospital India, Wooridul Spine Hospital Korea, Anadolu Medical Centre Turkey and Asklepios Klinik Barmbek Germany.The strategies used by these companies are, provision of exceptional surgical options, optimum comfort level to the patients, clinical information, educational articles, expertise and specialist medical services, best quality and safety services, provision of medical treatments in affordable prices, creation of strong brand equity to gain competitive advantages. These companies also adopt strategies such as collaborations, affiliations and joint ventures to expand their business. For instance, collaboration between Bumrungrad International Hospital, Bangkok, and IBM Watson to improve the quality of cancer care, collaboration of Anadolu Medical Center with John Hopkins Medicine, affiliation of Bangkok Hospital with Amari Residences Bangkok Hotel, joint venture of health berg medical consultancy and health tourism Pvt. Ltd.Request For TOC@These major key players in the medical tourism market offer various medical services such as medical treatment for gastrointestinal diseases, In vitro fertilization, orthopaedics, kidney diseases, cancers, interventional cardiology, bio-compatible artificial joints, plastic surgery, pulmonology, joint replacement and many more. However, dental care, cardiology general surgery, urology, womens health care services, neurology, organ transplants, plastic surgery and orthopaedic surgery are very widely offered services in medical tourism.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global High Pressure Processing Market Driven by Growing Awareness of Benefits of Thermal Degradation

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Transparency Market Research (TMR) has announced a new report in its vast and growing catalog of food and beverage industry intelligence reports. The report studies the global high pressure processing market and presents forecasts for the markets growth from 2016 to 2024. The report is titled High Pressure Processing (HPP) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 and includes detailed market insights generated by experienced market analysts.View exclusive Global strategic Business report :High pressure processing (HPP) is an increasingly popular method of sterilizing processed food. High pressure processing consists of applying high isostatic pressure on a container containing the processed food product. Water is used to apply the isostatic pressure, making high pressure processing a freezing pasteurization technique. The high pressures in the container undergoing HPP treatment are fatal for the microbes still surviving in the food, which enhances the safety of the food. HPP eliminates fungi, bacteria, moulds, parasites, as well as viruses from the processed food, making it a highly effective alternative to thermal degradation.In contrast to thermal degradation, which is the conventional technique used to achieve the removal of the last remaining microbes in processed food, high pressure processing doesnt affect the chemical composition of the food being treated. Whereas thermal degradation can lead to significant loss of both flavor and nutrients due to their reaction to heat, high pressure processing sterilizes the food without adversely affecting its flavor and nutrition content. This is particularly an advantage in the seafood and meat industries, where high pressure processing is increasingly being used to achieve sterilization without affecting even the texture of the meat products. This is a major driver for the global high pressure processing markets trajectory in the forecast period.The higher convenience and efficacy of high pressure processing over thermal degradation is another key driver for the global HPP market. High pressure processing also doesnt involve any chemical additives, which are rendered needless due to the nature of the treatment, and can be completed much faster than thermal degradation.However, the higher costs of high pressure processing have held the global market back in the last few years. Though acceptance of high pressure processing is growing, awareness about its benefits still needs to expand in order to make end users aware of the notable benefits of the process.Regionally, the report covers the performance of the high pressure processing market in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe. Key market players profiled in the report include Avure Technologies Inc., Multivac Sepp Haggenmuller GmbH, Stansted Fluid Power Ltd., Millard Refrigerated Services, and Kobe Steel Ltd.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr.Sudip S90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tobacco Products Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013  2019

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The tobacco is utilized in manufacturing of cigar, cigarettes, smoking and chewing tobacco. It is also used in manufacturing snuff and bidis. The consumption of tobacco products augmented globally during the economic slowdown due to the foreclosures, downfall in the stock market and stress of layoffs that drove many people to seek relief through smoking. However, the economic recovery eased the stress and lessened the smoking undertaken for stress relief. Nonetheless, as per WHO (World Health Organization) the growth in smoking rates particularly in the emerging nations have exceeded the smoking rate declines in developed nations that can be credited to health conscious lifestyles, growing excise taxes and regulations. These factors are expected to drive the global tobacco products market. The growing awareness among the health conscious population and anti-tobacco drives held worldwide coupled with government supportive schemes are hindering the market growthThe tobacco products market has a high level of capital intensity as the manufacturers utilize machinery to automate the processes. The introduction of machines not only automates the process but also improves the production efficiency. Growing automation and mechanization has reduced the dependence on labor. However, the market is labor intensive in the Asia Pacific countries such as Indonesia, China and India.Get Free Sample Report Copy :Some of the Key Manufacturers of this industry includes, BAT (British American Tobacco Plc) and Imperial Tobacco based in the UK while Philip Morris International based in the U.S. Companies that dominate the domestic markets include Vietnam's National Tobacco Corporation, Bulgaria's Bulgartabak, Thailand's Tobacco Monopoly, Egypt's Eastern Tobacco, and Taiwan's Tobacco & Liquor Corp. Altria, Lorillard and Reynolds American dominate the U.S. market.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street,
Global Hemostats Market to reach $2.9 billion by 2021

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According to the research, the global Hemostats Market is expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2021, at a developing CAGR of 6.2 % from 2016 to 2021.Global Hemostats market growth is attributed to the rise in the surgery procedures and increasing the number of insurance providers of the hemostats products in the market. Despite this, high cost of Hemostats devices hindering the market. In 2015, about 62.8 % of this market was dominated by America. Over the years, these products have been used during surgeries to stop bleeding within a short span of time. These products are biodegradable, absorbable, and cost-effective. They have tenure of maximum 2 years with no adverse effects.By type, the global hemostats market is divided into thrombin-based, oxidized regenerated cellulose based hemostats, combination hemostats, gelatin based hemostats, and collagen based hemostats. The Thrombin based hemostats segment accounted for the largest share of 34.2% of the global hemostats market in 2015.The administration and monitoring of hemostats during surgical procedures is a complex task for clinicians, as it depends upon the blood flow from the particular area of surgery. The usage of hemostats has no adverse effects and is an important procedure to prevent blood loss in patients, especially among the aging population. The market for hemostats is rapidly increasing with technological advancements and increasing number of surgeries. Also, hospitals and healthcare facilities are gradually increasing, supported by government which in turn is driving the growth of the hemostats market.Technological advancements in wound closure market and increasing number of Insurance providers for medical equipment like hemostats products are also contributing towards the growth of the market.The major companies in this market include Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (U.S.). C. R. Bard, Inc. (U.S.), Baxter (U.S.), B Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Pfizer Inc. (U.S.), Vascular Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Gelita Medical GmbH (Germany), Equimedical (Netherlands), Integra Lifesciences Holdings Corporation (U.S.), Z-Medica, LLC (U.S.), and Marine Polymer Technologies, Inc. (U.S.). These companies adopted various strategies, such as mergers & acquisitions and partnerships, to achieve growth in the global anesthesia monitoring devices market.The statistics are given by the report Global Hemostats Market, By Type (Thrombin-Based, Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose Based Hemostats, Combination Hemostats, Gelatin Based Hemostats, And Collagen Based Hemostats), - Global Forecast To 2021. Objective of this revenue forecast is to analyze the market trends, share, growth & restraining factors and projection supported by market estimates and forecasts of global market.Know more about this research at -PDF brochure of this research -To know more about this study, discuss with the experts at About Report Publisher:MicroMarket Monitor identifies and attends to various unmet needs of different industrial verticals, which include value chain impact analysis. The company publishes about 12000 Market Research Reports on various Micro Markets across the world. The graphical nature and multidimensional analysis of these reports provide advanced Business Intelligence Tools to the clients in that particular target market.Contact:Mr. Priyank TiwariUNIT no 802, Tower No. 7, SEZMagarpatta City, HadapsarPune, Maharashtra 411013, IndiaTel - +1-888-502-0539
Audiological Devices Market - A well-defined technological growth map with an impact-analysis

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Audiological devices are used for the study of hearing, and are used by audiologists for the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss. The audiology devices market has witnessed impressive growth in the past decade, the prime reason being increased adoption of digital technology in every aspect of product design and development of audiological devices.Complete Report with TOC @Age-related hearing loss is attributed to the normal aging process and other demographic factors such as environmental conditions and occupation. In addition, an individuals genetic predisposition can also be considered as a significant factor contributing to hearing impairment. Growth in population aged 60 years and above is expected to be the major growth driver for the audiology devices market. According to the estimates made by the World Health Organization (WHO), by the year 2015, approximately 1.2 billion people globally will be over the age of 60. The U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) projects that hearing impairment affects 314 per 1000 American population aged 65 years and above.With the advent of virtually invisible and compact hearing aid systems, audiology devices are expected to become ubiquitous consumer electronics in the future. The progress of hearing aids thus depends on industrial innovations either in incremental or radical steps. Incremental advances are easy to identify as these involve progressions and advancements in the existing technologies, whereas radical changes are unpredictable as they involve introduction of a new concept and technology which has not been used earlier. Early and efficient diagnosis of hearing impairment ensures effective treatment measures to enhance the hearing capacity of the patient. Some of the most commonly used diagnostic audiology devices are audiometers, otoscopes and tympanometers. Audiometers are the most popular devices used by audiologists and are used for primary investigation of hearing impairment. Occurrence of severe forms of hearing impairment is usually due to factors such as chronic ear infection and genetic predisposition.Dominance of digital technology facilitates perpetual product modifications in hearing devices resulting in the development of highly compact and efficient hearing aids. Digital hearing aids have taken over their analog counterparts due to their high performance efficiency. The major types of hearing aids include Behind-the-Ear (BTE), Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE), In-the-Canal (ITE) and canal hearing aids such as Invisible-in-the-Canal aids and Completely-in-Canal systems. Behind-the-Ear and In-the-Ear aids are the most popular types of hearing aids due to their ease of use, efficiency in treating a wide extent of hearing loss, comfort level, connectivity and cosmetic preferences of consumers. BTE hearing aids are majorly preferred by elderly patients due to their ease in handling and cleaning compared to ITE devices. Rise in aging population contributes to the high prevalence of hearing impairments.Request a Free Sample Copy of the Report @Geographically, Europe dominates the global audiological devices market. As majority of the prime players in the market are domiciled in Western Europe, many products get first introduced in this region. Technological innovation, growing incidence of hearing impairment and the shift in the preferences of consumers towards use of less visible hearing aids drives the market for audiology devices Europe. Healthcare reforms, technological development, aging population, developing healthcare infrastructure and high prevalence of deafness are the major factors which drive the Asia-Pacific market for audiological devices.About MRRSEMRRSE stands for Market Research Reports Search Engine, the largest online catalog of latest market research reports based on industries, companies, and countries. MRRSE sources thousands of industry reports, market statistics, and company profiles from trusted entities and makes them available at a click. Besides well-known private publishers, the reports featured on MRRSE typically come from national statistics agencies, investment agencies, leading media houses, trade unions, governments, and embassies.ContactCorporate OfficeState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.com
PRESENTATION OF THE UKRAINIAN CINEMA HAS BEEN HELD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY OF THE KARLVOY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

IGOR YANKOVSKYI AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE UKRAINIAN CINEMA HAS BEEN HELD FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY OF THE KARLVOY VARY FEST

On the 6th of July the Head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, Philip Illienko, jointly with philanthropist Igor Iankovskyi, founder of the NGO Initiative for the Future, held a presentation of the contemporary Ukrainian cinema for the first time in festivals history. It reunited Ukrainian and international producers, directors, journalists and members of the international festivals screening committees.The informal setting of the meeting, organized in the HOTEL THERMAL festival center that is hosting the Karlovy Vary International Film Festivals participants for more than 50 years, contributed greatly to the establishment of the mutually beneficial relations between Ukrainian and international cinema makers.The Head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, Philip Illienko, introduced the state of modern cinema 9industry in Ukraine to the quests of the reception and outlined the prospects of the joint cinema projects realization in cooperation with Ukrainian producers and directors. For our cinema, the cooperation with our closest neighbors is crucial. Thats why the participation of Ukraine in the biggest film festival in the Eastern Europe was essential. And we are grateful to Igor Iankovskyi for the support of our initiatives.One notion has been dominating the discussions: that the cooperation of Ukrainian cinema-makers with their European colleagues should considerably boost the development of Ukrainian cinema industry. Furthermore, Ukrainian cinema production will get the opportunities to enter new international markets while the cinema-makers will be able to realize their projects in co-production.Igor Iankovskyi noted that the international cooperation in cinema is the great momentum for the development of the cultural dialogue and dignified representation of Ukraine in Europe. We consistently support Ukrainian cinema and we are planning to enhance these activities. Jointly with the Ukrainian State Film Agency we successfully conducted MEET UKRAINIAN PRODUCERS business-lunch in Cannes, organized the presentation of Ukrainian cinema in Karlovy Vary. Im confident that in some time all these efforts will blossom into new bright movies, - outlined Igor Iankovskyi.After the official part of the presentation, all the interested in the situation in Ukraine could view the documentary Ridni (Blood relations) by Vitaliy Manskyi, that represents Ukraine in the official contest program of the festival. Made in co-production of four European countries (Ukraine, Germany, Estonia and Latvia), this international project has been also supported by the TV-channels of six countries, which brought it to the truly multinational status. And due to the support of philanthropist Igor Iankovskyi the movie premiere in Karlovy Vary could be attended by the camera-crew members, including its leading character, played by the mother of Vitaliy Manskyi from Lviv.The movie tells an unordinary story of Ukrainian family, based on true facts of the directors family himself. His family has been divided into pieces by the conflict around the annexation of the Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine. Through the life of one family the director showed the tragedy of Ukrainian society. Forced into living on different sides of the barricades, the citizens of the country, being the blood relatives, are struggling for the way out of this situation."Initiative for the Future"  is Ukrainian Charitable Foundation, founded by Igor Iankovskyi - a successful Ukrainian businessman, financier and philanthropist.Charities unite like-minded people in a common goal - to develop and implement educational and cultural programs in Ukraine. Activities of the organization based on voluntary initiatives.Igor Iankovskyi Foundation "Initiative for the Future" was founded June 5, 2012, and since its foundation supports talented young people from all over Ukraine, contributing to a highly cultured society in the future. Projects that have already been implemented charitable foundation, got success not only in Ukraine, U.S.A., but also in some European countries - Belgium, France, Germany and Poland.12, Amosova Street, build. 1, 5th floor, Horizont Park Business Center, Kiev, 03680, Ukraine
SMR: Global Natural Refrigerants Market size, Trends in terms of volume and value 2020

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http://www.syndicatemarketresearch.com/market-analysis/natural-refrigerants-market-global-industry-perspective-comprehensive-analysis.html

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Refrigerant is a fluid that acts as a coolant. Natural occurring refrigerant is the best alternative used for fluorocarbon refrigerants. Natural refrigerant includes carbon, ammonia, hydrocarbons. These refrigerants have zero ozone depletion prospective compared to conventional refrigerants. These refrigerants have broad range of applications including cold storage, freezing, commercial and industrial refrigeration etc.The major driving factor for natural refrigerants market is growing awareness about global warming and other environmental issues caused due to the synthetic refrigerants. Adoption of natural refrigerants in various end- industries is expected to fuel the growth of market. However, high cost of installation of refrigeration systems may hinder the limit of the market.Browse free request sample report:In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the natural refrigerants market, we have included a detailed value chain analysis. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the natural refrigerants market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product segments and application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view on the natural refrigerants market by segmenting the market based on product types and applications. All the application segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2014 to 2020. Ammonia, carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and others are the product segment of this market. Key application markets covered under this study includes industrial, commercial, domestic, stationary air conditioning and other refrigeration applications. The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil.Browse the full atOn geographical basis, Europe dominated the global natural refrigerant industry due to the strict government regulation on the use of HCFC (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and HFC (hydrofluorocarbons) refrigerants. Asia Pacific is a fastest growing market for natural refrigerants due to rapid growth in the usage of natural refrigerants.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include The Linde Group, Airgas Inc., Sinochem Group, Tazzetti S.P.A., Shandong Yueon Chemical Industry Ltd., Puyang Zhongwei Fine Chemical Co. Ltd., HA-Gas International, A.S. Trust and Holdings and GTS S.P.A amongst other. The detailed description of players includes parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies and recent developments of the company.The report segments the global natural refrigerants market into:Global Natural Refrigerants Market: Product Segment AnalysisAmmoniaCarbon dioxideHydrocarbonsOthersGlobal Natural Refrigerants Market: Application Segment AnalysisAir ConditioningCommercialDomesticIndustrialStationaryOthersGlobal Natural Refrigerants Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeUKFranceGermanyAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East & AfricaSyndicate Market Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Syndicate Market Research cover more than 30 industries includsing energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact US:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sale@syndicatemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market 2016: Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Analysis, and Forecasts to 2021

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http://www.intenseresearch.com/market-analysis/global-and-china-aluminum-electrolytic-capacitor-market-industry.html

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The Report Titled Global Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market, 2011-2021 Industry Research Report is a efficient and comprehensive study on the Present state of the global Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market with a focus on the Chinese industry. The report provides key census on the market status of the Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturers and is a valuable source of instruction and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Get Free Sample Report of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market:Firstly, the report provides a basic analysis of the market including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report analyse the international major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product blueprint, scope, production cost, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. Through the demographic analysis, the report illustrate the global total market of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor industry including scope, manufacturing, manufacturing cost, value/profit, supply/demand import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country region, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis.The report then estimates 2016-2021 industry growth of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream requirement, and current market gesture is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Industry before figure out its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor market covering all important parameters.Get Full Info Of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market:Table Of Content Of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Market:Chapter One Introduction of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor1.2 Development of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Industry1.3 Status of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor2.1 Development of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor Manufacturing TechnologyChapter Three Analysis of Global Key Manufacturers3.1 Company A3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Product Information3.1.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.1.4 Contact Information3.2 Company B3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Product Information3.2.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.2.4 Contact Information3.3 Company C3.2.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Product Information3.3.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.3.4 Contact Information3.4 Company D3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Product Information3.4.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.4.4 Contact Information3.5 Company E3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Product Information3.5.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.5.4 Contact Information3.6 Company F3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Product Information3.5.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.6.4 Contact Information3.7 Company G3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Product Information3.7.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.7.4 Contact Information3.8 Company H3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Product Information3.8.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.8.4 Contact InformationAbout Intense ResearchIntense Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Intense Research cover more than 30 industries includsing energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@intenseresearch.comWeb:
Official Review CiMi-CON Award 2016

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http://pharma-competitive-intelligence.com

CiMi.CON Evolution 2016: Competitive & Market Intelligence professionals from Ericsson, FrieslandCampina and QIAGEN are the winners of the CiMi.CON Awards 2016June 29, 2016 | BerlinFrom June 27 - 28, 2016, more than 150 competitive & market intelligence professionals from all over globe gathered for the annual CiMi.CON Evolution 2016 conference, organized by we.CONECT Global Leaders in Berlin, to discuss the most pressing challenges and trends in forecasting competitors next moves, disruptive technologies, new tools, CI tactics, methods and strategies to cope with a fast changing competitive environment. This time the conference was co-located with Pharma CiMi.CON 2016, the launch event for competitive intelligence and market research and understanding professionals from the pharmaceutical industry.After a day full of knowledge exchange, discussions and networking attendees from both conferences came together to enjoy the festive award ceremony honoring the most innovative CI projects, innovations, strategies, tools and latest efforts from industry leaders.Congratulations to the three winnersBeforehand, an independent jury composed by Markus Ott (Head of Corporate Market Evaluation at Festo), Joost Driemann (Vice President Head of Intelligence Best Practices at M-Brain), Terence Hsu (Manager Business Intelligence, Strategy Office at Agfa) had examined the shortlist of nominated applications carefully and evaluated the applications.The winner of the CiMi.CON Award 2016 was Ericsson with their Mobility Report, which gives accurate mobile traffic insights. The project  as simple as it might seem or maybe even because of that - is a smashing success and is not only used internally as a basis for strategy decisions, but also for external communication. we.CONECT and the audience had the pleasure to welcome Svante Bergqvist on stage, who received the trophy and 1,000  which were donated to Kiron, an organization that facilitates the access to higher education for refugees around the world.A deserving second place went to FrieslandCampina for the development of an easy-to-apply working process to use wargame methodologies from the military world in business. Through "wargaming for market victories" the team around Erik Elgersma built a solid and globally applied capability to stress-test business plans and the solidity of FrieslandCampinas market position defenses in the light of competitor market moves.The bronze medalist was QIAGEN with the Sales Cockpit, an insight-delivering app store for their sales force to monetize data. Christian Schillingers efforts were not only awarded with the third place, but also with a special honor for handing in the most outstanding application in the category Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Health.CiMi.CON Award 2017Shortly after the conference, we.CONECT is already setting out to prepare for the CiMi.CON Evolution and Pharma CiMi.CON 2017 (June 26-27). Next year, the CiMi.CON Award will once again be given out to outstanding project leaders, who deserve an international recognition for their projects, strategy or tool implementation in front of the competitive and market intelligence community at CiMi.CON Evolution in Berlin.For more information about the conferences delegate or speaker registration, as well as the application procedure for the next years award, please contact visit our websites:For the cross-industry event CiMi.CON Evolution:For professionals from the pharmaceutical industry:The we.CONECT Group is one of the leading business information companies, developing and providing B2B digital media, business information, business events & business communities. Our customers are all Fortune top 100 global market leaders in Europe and the US.we-Conect Global Leaders GmbHReichenbergstr. 12410999 Berlin
European Drug Delivery Technologies Market Set To Be Worth $59.1 Billion By 2017

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http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=1194

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsample.asp?id=1194

The report "European Drug Delivery Technologies Market (Metered Dose Inhalers, Needle-Free injectors, Auto-injectors, Nasal sprays, Transdermal Patches, Nebulizers, Infusion Pumps, Drug Eluting Stents, Sustained Release, Ocular Implants) - Forecasts to 2017", analyzes and studies the major market drivers, restraints and opportunities in the Germany, France, UK, Spain, Italy, Russia and Rest of Europe (RoE).Browse 141 market data tables and 20 figures spread through 300 pages and in-depth TOC on European Drug Delivery Technologies Market.Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.This report studies the Europe and drug delivery market, with forecast to 2017. The European drug delivery market was worth $39.9 billion in the year 2012. This market is expected to grow at a healthy rate over the next five-year period owing to the rising incidences of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer, growing demand for self-administration and home healthcare devices, patent expiries of certain blockbuster drugs and growing focus on pediatric and geriatric patients.Ask For The PDF Brochure Of This Report:The European drug delivery market is categorized into nine segments as Oral, Pulmonary, Transdermal, Injectable, Ocular, Nasal, Topical, Implantable and Transmucosal. Prefilled and fillable syringes, metered dose inhalers, transdermal patches, needle-free injectors, auto and pen injectors are some of the commonly adopted drug delivery technologies in Europe. The use of implantable devices like cardiac stents and brachytherapy seeds for drug delivery is also increasing in adoption rates.Strategic collaborations in the industry, home care drug delivery devices and expanding applications of drug delivery into niche therapeutic areas present tremendous opportunities for the growth of this market. With the increasing geriatric population of Europe, the demand for home care drug delivery devices is also increasing.Get The Sample Copy Of This Report:Germany is the largest market for drug delivery, followed by France and the U.K. These three countries have a well-established pharmaceutical industry, which has stimulated the growth of the drug delivery market in these regions. The Russian and RoE markets are expected to witness double digit growth over the next five years, owing to the growing investments in the pharmaceutical industry and the development of healthcare infrastructure.Key players in the European drug delivery technologies market are Becton, Dickinson & Company (U.S.), Novartis (Switzerland), AstraZeneca (U.K.), SkyePharma PLC (U.K.), Johnson & Johnson (U.S), Ypsomed Holding AG (Switzerland), GlaxoSmithKline (U.K.), 3M Company (U.S.), and Alkermes (Ireland). Some of the emerging companies in this field include Drug Delivery International (U.K.), Foamix (Israel), QLT (Canada), and Bend Research (U.S.).About MarketsandMarkets:MarketsandMarkets is the worlds No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model  GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.M&Ms flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.Contact:Mr. RohanUnit No. 802, 8th Floor,Tower - 7, Magarpatta City SEZ,Hadapsar, Pune  411013,Maharashtra, India.Tel: +1-888-6006-441.
IGOR IANKOVSKYI HAS ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS OF THE IV NATIONAL CHILDRENS DRAWING CONTEST UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!

Igor Iankovskyi' Children drawing contest winners - 2016

The Ukrainian House in Kyiv has accommodated the solemn prize-awarding ceremony of the IV National childrens drawing contest UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!!, conducted by the Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation Initiative for the Future for the fourth year in a row.This year the biggest childrens drawing competition has accepted more than five hundred works from all-over Ukraine. Totally 485 young artists aged from 5 to 17 years took part in the contest. The most active were the habitants of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions. The creative activity of their pupils has been supported by more than 100 art schools.The prize-awarding ceremony of the IV National childrens drawing contest UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!! has been attended by 260 young artists and their parents from all-over Ukraine. It started with extraordinary creative performance by Denys Dytyniuk, the artist virtuoso, finalist of the TV-show Ukraine has talent. With the help of two canvas and paints he made a show, demonstrating both the way to peace and hope for the joyful future for Ukraine.Opening the ceremony, the Foundations patron addressed to the guests and contests participants: Everything that we do the last four years under this contest is dedicated to the young generation of Ukrainians. UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!! is the way to transmit the image of Ukraine through the paintings, through the eyes of the children, the image that we all carry in our hearts. Last years the exhibition of contests winners and finalists has already visited Belgium, Poland, France and the United States of America. We will carry on this mission in order for the whole world to see Ukraine not from the TV image, but from those marvelous drawings!.The professional jury of the contest comprised the artist Olesya Dzhuraeva, artist and book illustrator Kost Lavro, finalist of the II National drawing contest My peaceful Ukraine Janna Dubnikova and Aelita Andre, a young Australian girl recognized as the youngest artist of the world. In her 9 years she already became a laureate of the art contests of London, New York, Hong Kong and Rome. She also counts for nine personal exhibitions. Although she couldnt make to the ceremony in person, but she addressed through the video-message to the organizing committee and contestants: All the drawings were executed so excellently that I couldnt chose the first places because every drawing was original and reflected the emotional state of the artist!.The professional jury has chosen 40 finalists in 13 nominations. In the age group from 5 to 8 years the finalists were: Sofiya Diakevych and Vironika Tkachuk, the first place  Denys Potobenka (the work entitled The patriotic snail). In the age group from 9 to 13 years the finalists were: Ganna Poliakova and Victoria Beidyk, the first place  Anastasiya Mischanova (the work entitled The way from war to peace starts from me). The oldest winners in the age group from 14 to 17 years the finalists were: Vladyslava Hrechkosiy, Olga Solodovych and Nataliya Bogaychuk, the work of the last  The joy of motherhood, took the first place. All the winners and finalists, as it was the previous years, have been awarded with valuable prizes, notably the 10 days long individual courses from Art-center Aurum with master-classes and lessons in order for young artists to perfection their drawing techniques.Due to the childrens drawing contest UKRAINE: THE WAY TO PEACE!! young Ukrainians, as noted Igor Iankovskyi, seized the opportunity to communicate their civic position and views on the further development of Ukraine. All the wishing to get acquainted with this vision could attend the exhibition of the finalists and winners of the contests, opened in the Ukrainian House from the 25th of June till the 9th of July.All the works of young creative artists reflect their hopes and aspirations: for the peaceful sky, for the smiles in the faces of simple people, for the reliable and strong State. And the quantity of the works sent to the contest one more time testifies the enormous creative potential of the young generation of Ukrainians. That is why the Igor Iankovskyi National Charity Foundation Initiative for the Future is dedicated to the supporting of the young talents in their creative developing because they are the future of Ukraine!"Initiative for the Future"  is Ukrainian Charitable Foundation, founded by Igor Iankovskyi - a successful Ukrainian businessman, financier and philanthropist.Charities unite like-minded people in a common goal - to develop and implement educational and cultural programs in Ukraine. Activities of the organization based on voluntary initiatives.Igor Iankovskyi Foundation "Initiative for the Future" was founded June 5, 2012, and since its foundation supports talented young people from all over Ukraine, contributing to a highly cultured society in the future. Projects that have already been implemented charitable foundation, got success not only in Ukraine, U.S.A., but also in some European countries - Belgium, France, Germany and Poland.12, Amosova Street, build. 1, 5th floor, Horizont Park Business Center, Kiev, 03680, Ukraine
eXact learning solutions reveals new content model skins

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1943464143618412801

www.exact-learning.com

The global learning company, eXact learning solutions, has recently updated the HM content model associated with its learning content management system (LCMS).Now in its third version, the content model  known as HM  is intended to help users create engaging learning materials which are delivered online.Fabrizio Giorgini, eXact learning solutions R&D Manager, said, HM3.0 lets users choose and personalize each learning packages skin. Indeed, weve introduced two new skins in addition to the standard - classic - skin.Theres a business skin, for use with content that targets a corporate audience, he added. It includes all the tools present in eXacts classic skin, including navigation, resources, glossary, help section and print.Theres also a kids skin, which is appropriate for those  notably in the education sector  who create content for pupils and younger students. The skin incorporates commands in a control panel and can be used by learners ranging from toddlers to adults, scaling according to awareness and skills.In addition, HM3.0s grid and panel allow users  with one click of a mouse - to modify the colours and any logo displayed on screen. HM operates seamlessly with the other products in eXact learning solutions suite  notably the eXact learning Packager authoring tool and its online counterpart, Online Editor.To help explain this technology  along with other aspects of authoring on the eXact learning solutions platform - to users and potential users, the Italy-based eXact learning solutions is staging a webinar on 27th July. The webinar is another in the companys summer series, called eXactly on Wednesdays.Federico Dondero, of eXact learning solutions, said: While the focus of the session is on HM 3.0, the webinar  eXactly on Wednesdays: HM 3.0 - will also explain some of the contemporary features of eXact learning solutions authoring tools and LCMS.Those wanting to know more about HM3.0 can attend the webinar, being held on Wednesday 27th July at 17.00 to 17.45 CET (16.00  16.45 BST, 11.00  11.45 EDT and 08.00  08.45 PDT). To register for this event, visit:About eXact learning solutionseXact learning solutions is a leading business solution provider in the field of Digital Learning Content Management. Its content lifecycle care solutions include modular and interoperable tools enabling, supporting and optimizing specific processes within a Digital Learning Content ecosystem: collaborative content creation; structured and workflow-based content management, and multiple output delivery of content in any desired format, channel, device and language, with any look & feel.The eXact learning Suite comprises a fully-fledged, enterprise-wide Learning Content Management System (eXact learning LCMS), a professional template-based authoring environment, comprising an advanced, local client application and a 100% web-based tool (eXact learning Packager and Online Editor) as well as an app to manage, deliver and track learning content through iOS and Android-based mobile devices (eXact learning Mobile). The eXact learning solutions end-to-end provisioning is completed by a set of high level professional services including consulting, training and technical support in the field of Digital Learning Content Management.eXact learning solutions is a sister company of LATTANZIO Group, a holding company based in Italy which integrates knowledge-intensive business services blending management consulting, IT services, training and e-learning, market research and communication.eXact learning solutionsPiazza della Vittoria, 11/A (16121) Genoa, ItalyPhone: +39.010.81.77.500; WebContact: Gabriele CeroniPR contact: Bob Little, Bob Little Press & PR, Office +44 (0)1727 860405; email press.pr@exactls.com
Suma Soft

Suma Soft

http://www.sumasoft.com/

Texas (USA), Canada (Toronto) & India (Business Network) Suma Softs BPO for companies in USA, Canada and UK efficiently streamline business processes. Suma Soft has developed an integrated back-office system that assists these companies giving them round the clock support.Credibility & Certification :Suma Soft is an ISO 27001 and 9001 certified company which gives paramount importance to security, accuracy and quality while delivering BPO support services. We have a dedicated 100+ member BPO team that makes it over 100 man years of experience in BPO services .We make use of a workforce management tool that involves capturing data, sorting, data entry, carrying on multi-tier quality checks and compiling documents rapidly with the minimum turn around time. We provide BPO services in various industry verticals such as Logistic, Mortgage, Subscription Order Management, Credit Processing, Accounting etc.Suma Soft's BPO services has been proven to be the best outsourcing service provider as we take care of various industry verticals with an experience of 16+ years.For FREE Consultation, leave a message here...Name: Stuart SmithFor USA: + 1 281 764 1825For Canada: +1 647 524 3808info@sumasoft.comSuma Soft Pvt Ltd7880 San Felipe Street,Ste 120, Houston TX 77063-16477880 San Felipe Street, Ste 120
Workshop on Growth Hacking Twitter for Your Business on a Zero Budget

Growth Hacking Twiiet for Businesses on a Zero Budget

The startup scene in India is booming. The ecosystem has never been more conducive for new businesses. Every single day we come across inspiring stories of entrepreneurs. But, there's a dark side to this story too. For every entrepreneur who secures a hefty funding, there are a hundred others who close down their shops owing to lack of funds. For every funded start-up that emerges as a business, there are a dozen others who fail to make profits and eventually shut down.Of course, there are multiple reasons which lead to this, but the lack of knowledge on Growth Hacking is widely accepted as one of the biggest culprits. Unlike the Silicon Valley start-ups, a lot of Indian start-ups rarely go beyond their staple Digital Marketing. Fortunately, some are waking up to this problem and moving in to bring in a real change. Rishabh Dev, Director of Mapplinks, one of the top Growth Hackers in India has been conducting hands-on workshops and boot camps on Growth Hacking in Bangalore."Contrary to the popular notion, Growth Hacking is not the antithesis of Digital Marketing; It is the evolution of Digital Marketing."- says Rishabh Dev. "One of the biggest insights we have got after working with hundreds of Startups at Mapplinks, is that bootstrapped companies really struggle to figure out cost-effective avenues for rapid expansion. A well-structured knowledge of Growth Hacking goes a long way to solve this problem.", adds Rishabh during the launch of the Growth Hacking United, a community website for Growth Hacking Enthusiasts in India. Rishabh is also shortlisting applicants for the first batch of Certified Growth Hackers in India for his new venture, The Growth Hacking Institute - Indias first Growth Hacking Academy.Early next month Rishabh and his team are organizing a 2-day workshop on "Growth Hacking Twitter for Businesses on a Zero Budget" at GreenBubbles startup services, HSR Layout, Bangalore. "In this workshop, startups and businesses will get hands-on training on how to harness the true potential of Twitter to accelerate business growth", says Rishabh. "Apart from leveraging on Influencer Marketing to tap into the vast pool of early adopters in Twitter, startups will also learn to create a robust and scalable lead generation pipeline using Twitter without spending a huge amount of money", he continues.This definitely is a good step in the right direction. "Startups will have a lot of valuable takeaways from this workshop", believes Debarati Banerjee, Trainer and Digital Strategist at Mapplinks Academy. Bhrigu Mohanty, Growth Marketer at Mapplinks also adds, "No prior knowledge in Growth Hacking or Digital Marketing is a prerequisite to attend this workshop. We have kept the structure entry level and really effective at the same time."If you are interested in learning the tricks of the trade, head on to the Mapplinks Academy website for further details.Mapplinks Academy is a sister organization of Mapplinks which aims at arming Startups and Small Businesses with End to End knowledge on Digital Marketing and to create Full Stack Digital Marketers.Mapplinks#58, 1st Floor, L.V. Complex Building, 7th Block, Koramangala 80ft Road, Bangalore-560095 Landmarks: Airtel Office, HDFC Bank, Sangeetha MobilesBhrigu Mohanty84110255099
Chlorinated Paraffins Market is Expected to Reach US$ 1.98 Bn in 2023

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3970

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/

Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled Chlorinated Paraffins Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023. According to the report, the global chlorinated paraffins market was valued at US$ 1.48 Bn in 2014 and is anticipated to reach US$ 1.98 Bn in 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2015 and 2023.Chlorinated paraffins are a group of synthetic chemicals that consist of different proportions of chlorine, generally ranging from 30% to 70% by weight. Chlorinated paraffins are commercially sold in various product forms based on the carbon chain lengths such as l-grade, m-grade, and h-grade. L-grade signifies short carbon chain of 10 to 13, while m-grade signifies medium carbon chain length of 14 to 17 carbons. H-grade long chain chlorinated paraffins contain carbon length of 18 and above. These product types are used in various applications such as lubricating additives, plastic additives, rubber, paints, and metalworking fluids.Download FREE Exclusive Sample Of This Report :Growth in plastic and metalworking industries is primarily estimated to augment the global chlorinated paraffins market in the next few years. However, availability of application-specific substitutes and potential prohibition on the production and consumption in developed regions are projected to hamper market growth during the forecast period. Expansion in the lubricants market in Asia Pacific is likely to offer growth opportunities to the chlorinated paraffins market from 2015 to 2023.In terms of volume, m-grade was the largest product segment of the global chlorinated paraffins market, accounting for more than 55% share in 2014. Low cost and broad application array of m-grade chlorinated paraffins are the key reasons for its dominance. However, h-grade of chlorinated paraffins is expected to increase its dominance over the next few years, considering the likely ban on consumption in developed regions such North America and Europe.In terms of application, metalworking fluids was the largest segment of the global chlorinated paraffins market, accounting for over 35% share in 2014. Chlorinated paraffins are also used in metalworking applications due to their flame retardant properties. The plastic additives segment is anticipated to be the fastest-growing application segment of the chlorinated paraffins market between 2015 and 2023. Rising demand for PVC compounds in various end-user industries is estimated to propel the demand for chlorinated paraffins in the next eight years in developing regions. Modest expansion in these industries in developed regions and fast-paced growth in developing regions are projected to drive the demand for chlorinated paraffins.The global chlorinated paraffins market is considerably fragmented. Key players in the chlorinated paraffins market include INOVYN, Ajinomoto Fine-Techno Co., Inc., Altair Chimica SpA, NCP Chlorchem, Dover Chemical Corporation, Leuna Tenside GmbH, Quimica del Cinca, Caffaro Industrie S.p.A., JSC Kaustik, KLJ Group, Qualice, LLC, United Group, Makwell Group, and Aditya Birla Chemicals.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr. Sudip. STransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Heightened Demand for Biodegradable Medical Polymers to Positively Influence Global Medical Polymer Market

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1300

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

http://globalresearchanalysis.blogspot.in/

A recent market research report covering the global medical polymers market for projects that the market will exhibit a healthy 8.3% CAGR over the course of 2014-2020. Considering that the prediction holds true, the market will rise to a valuation of US$17.13 bn by 2020, from US$9.80 bn in 2013.The report is titled Medical Polymers Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020.Factors such as the rising consumer awareness regarding the availability of a wide range of medical polymers for a number of applications and rapid development in the field of polymer science will aid the markets growth over the forecast period. The rising use of medical polymers instead of metals and glass in the production of medical devices and rising healthcare expenditure will also boost the overall global demand for medical polymers over the reports forecast period.For the purpose of the study, the market has been segmented on the basis of certain criteria: Type, application, and geography.The major types of medical polymers examined in the report include medical resins and fibers, medical elastomers, and biodegradable plastics. The major application areas of medical polymers analyzed in the report are medical devices and equipment, medical packaging, and other areas such as cardiovascular stents and tissue engineering. Based on geography, the market has been segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW).Download And Get FREE Sample PDF File Of Medical Polymers Market :The product segment of medical resins and fibers held the dominant share in the global medical polymers market in 2013, whilst the segment of biodegradable plastics demonstrated a rapid rise in innovations, investments, and demand on a global front. Over the forecast period, the demand for biodegradable medical polymers will gain momentum owing to their increased applicability in medical implants.North America was the dominant regional market in 2013, accounting for more than 40% of the global medical polymers market, trailed by Europe. However, trends indicate that Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing regional market for medical polymers. Major factors favoring growth of the Asia Pacific medical polymers market are the flourishing healthcare industry and high demand for high quality medical devices in emerging economies such as India and China.The rising demand for biodegradable components in medical devices and medical implants is expected to have major implications on the overall dynamics of the medical polymers market. As this area is expected to exhibit attractive growth opportunities for medical polymer manufacturers in the near future, companies operating in the field should focus more on aligning their investment and expansion strategies towards this specialty segment.The report also provides detailed business profiles of some of the most influential vendors in the global medical devices market, including Evonik Industries AG, Celanese Corporation, Formosa Plastics Corporation USA, Eastman Chemical Company, Victrex plc., and The Dow Chemical Company.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr. Sudip. STransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog :
Online Courses in Telemental Health -- July Special -- Buy One Get One Free (BOGO)

https://telehealth.org/july2016/

http://telehealth.org/ces-cmes/

https://telehealth.org/individual/

http://telehealth.org/contact

06 July 2016, San Diego, CA Enjoy a quick and easy online training program to learn how to practice worry-free telemental health this summer! Be inspired with the many possibilities available online to expand your speciality services, serve more people and do it all from the convenience of your home or office. Join thousands of like-minded colleagues at the TeleMental Health Institute who have opened new professional doors by leveraging technology to work when, where, and with whom they prefer. Fully legal, ethical, and risk management training is available 24/7 for your convenience.Be adventurous this season with a 2-for-1 sale at the TeleMental Health Institute (TMHI). Get started with a new practice within 3 months with a new attitude, using the power of 21st Century technology to make your work life easier, more satisfying and more profitable. Attract new clients and patients while lowering your overhead costs by working from home.Take advantage of this opportunity now:Consider what past TMHI graduates have to say:You consider both the advantages of technology and the important ethical considerationsto help ensure public safety.-- Joann Altiero, Ph.D.Im SO GLAD I took the TMHI certificate course to understand how I can ethically, legally and effectively offer distance counseling to my clients.-- Kathleen Judy, MS, LPCCDr. Maheus webinar was extremely helpful, touched on all the major areas clinicians should be aware of, and the staff were immediately helpful with additional information following the session.-- Matt Keener, MD Blackbird HealthFrom the convenience of your home or office, you can:Efficiently gain a comfortable, working knowledge of the evidence-base supporting the implementation of best practices for telepsychiatry (telepsych), telepsychology, distance counseling or online counseling, e-therapy and online therapyEnjoy an exciting, convenient eLearning environment to access courses anytime, anywhere via the InternetPoke around TMHIs self-paced, well-written and evidence-based trainingMaximize your time with well-considered summaries, checklists and clear to-dosExtend your research with extensive bibliographies and links to relevant resources to keep you organizedRead, watch and listen to rich, multimedia materials to keep you engaged and excitedPurchase today with the confidence that only a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee can bringThis training is for beginning and intermediate-level telepractitioners and telesupervisors wishing to deliver telemental health services. Training programs from the TeleMental Health Institute are Buy 1 Get 1 Free until July 31, 2016. The 2nd course must be of equal or lesser value. Not valid for webinars, certificate programs, consultation, staffing services, or speaking engagements. Not valid on previous purchases or combined with other discounts. Earn up to six CE Hours with each course. Most TMHI training programs qualifies for legal and ethical licensure renewal requirements for CE hours. All training approved by leading national associations for CE hours See this page for full CE hour details:Register today atThe TeleMental Health Institute, Inc. is specialized in behavioral telehealth consultation, training and staffing. It is dedicated to providing support for planning, launching and thriving with telepsychiatry, telepsychology, distance counseling, online therapy, and behavioral telehealth and mhealth. TMHIs team of experienced consultants can help with planning, reimbursement, technology choices, legal and ethical risk management and staff development/placement. TMHI also consults with start-up technology companies seeking to develop new verticals in the behavioral health space. Job opportunities are also being developed for enterprising, star students who want to work with evidence-based models. Complete an online application packet here for such positions.For more information, contact the TMHi staff here:The TeleMental Health Institute, Inc. is specialized in behavioral telehealth consultation, training and staffing. It is dedicated to providing support for planning, launching and thriving with telepsychiatry, telepsychology, distance counseling, online therapy, and behavioral telehealth and mhealth.1876 Horse Creek RoadCheyenne Wyoming 82009
Image Recognition Market : Growth, Development, and Outlook 2020

Image Recognition Market

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/3210

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3210

Image recognition is a technique for acquiring, processing, scrutinize, and sympathizing images. It gathers high-dimensional data from the real world in order to generate numerical or symbolic information. Image recognition uses disentangling of representational information from image data using replica created with the help of geometry, physics, statistics, and learning theory.Request Report TOC:Image recognition (biometric-based recognition) technique has emerged as the most promising alternative of card based recognition for identifying individuals in recent past. Image recognition is used for verification (one to one matching) and identification (one to many matching) of individuals.Image recognition technologies include identification based on physiological distinctiveness of the people such as facial patterns recognition, fingerprints recognition, hand geometry recognition, hand veins pattern recognition, finger geometry recognition, palm recognition, iris recognition, retina recognition, and voice recognition. Image recognition also identify the behavioral uniqueness of the individuals such as gait, signature and keystroke dynamicsThe recognition based on passwords and PINs are trailing in popularity mainly due to the fact that they are hard to remember and cannot be stolen, duplicated by the intruders. Moreover the risk associated with misplacing of cards, tokens, keys and the like is also lend a hand in wide acceptance of image recognition as an alternative of traditional access control systems.On the basis of technology the global image recognition market can be broadly categories in five different market variants namely, optical character recognition (Ocr), pattern and gradient matching, object recognition, barcode/Qr code recognition and facial recognition.On the basis of the different component use in the image recognition equipment the overall market can be broadly categorized in three segments namely, hardware, software, and services.Based on the end user application the image recognition market can be further categories in eight different classes namely, government and defense, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing or industrial, consumer goods and retail, information technology and telecommunications, transport and logistics and others.The growing use of face recognition technology in smart phones, tablets and personal computer owing to the advancement in size and accuracy is propelling the market for face recognition technology. Moreover increasing governmental budget towards homeland security and defense is further driving the market in developing countries such as India, China, and Russia. Increasing use of facial recognition access system over card based access system in industries and residence is providing new market opportunities for the facial recognition technology.North America is the largest market for facial recognition in the world. It is then followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The U.S. is the largest market for facial recognition in the North America. Chinese and Japanese are the major user of image recognition technology in Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is one of the rapid growing markets of image recognition where the market is growing in double digit. High threat prospective from terrorist attack couples with trend towards e-governance is contributing to the high growth rate in this region.Interested in report: Please follow the below links to meet your requirements; Request for the Report Sample:Some of the major companies operating in global image recognition market include, Catchoom, Honeywell, LTU Technologies, Panasonic Corporation, Toshiba, Hitachi Ltd, Itraff Technology, NEC Corporation, Qualcomm Technologies, and Wikitude GmbhAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United StatesUSA - Canada Toll Free: +1 800-961-0353
The mission of you.CONECT is to equip its audiences with the intelligence to understand a world shaped by technology. you.CONECT Events are designed to build and to develop a truly global trendsetting & technology driven community. Our platform specializes in high level business events that are designed to bring you closer to the people you need to meet on critical topics to network, learn and define the future of the 
Prchard Parks Maya Clinard Orchard Parks Maya Clinard, far right, took runner-up in singles at this past weekends Section VI Girls Tennis Championships at...

Boys soccer peaking into sectionals It was not an ideal start to the 2022 season for the Orchard Park boys soccer team, dropping its first...
quiet zones at railroad crosses a growing way for neighborhoods to fight train horn noise

A train crossing in Portland's Pearl District.

(Randy L. Rasmussen/File)

There are implicit crosswalks at most road intersections. How about where train tracks cross a road, such as near a MAX station?

Oregon law provides for crosswalks at all roadway intersections, whether they're marked or unmarked.

Key word: "roadway."

The rule does not apply to places where train tracks cross roads, said Rick Shankle, manager of the Oregon Department of Transportation's rail crossing safety unit.

"Crosswalks are not implied at railroad-highway intersections," he said in an email, "whether it is on the freight railroad system, or on the light-rail system."

In a follow-up message, the reader who asked the question noted an intersection near the Hawthorne Farm MAX station in Hillsboro, where MAX light-rail tracks cross Elam Young Parkway.

A southbound pedestrian would have to walk about a quarter-mile before reaching an unmarked crosswalk.

Shankle said road authorities like the city of Hillsboro can make railway crossings a marked crosswalk, but they have to seek authorization from the Oregon Department of Transportation and the railroad, which in this case is TriMet.

Patrick Preston, a spokesman for the city of Hillsboro, said it had never requested a crossing, but that it would consider it if a citizen asked -- and if there's enough foot traffic to warrant the crosswalk.

***

Have a commuting question? Contact Elliot Njus at enjus@oregonian.com or on Twitter @enjus
You'll be shocked at what a house listed for close to a half million dollars looks like in today's real estate market.

House hunters are disheartened. And they have every reason to feel that way. Just look at two homes in two hot markets - Seattle and Los Angeles - and you're guaranteed to feel worse.

The agent of the West Seattle property at 3243 Belvidere Ave. SW could not have been more clear. Bruce Phares of Windermere Real Estate North West described the forlorn house on the 5,000-square-foot lot as a major fixer upper.

"Dangerous to enter. Portions of framing may or may not still be usable. Listing brokers/representatives unable to access interior due to debris, failing flooring, ceilings, roof."

He cautioned about extreme water damage in the basement. Another account referred to five feet of standing water.

Photos of the interior and exterior document the long-abused dwelling that was built in 1951. Moisture, mold and neglect have eaten away at the 2,100-square-foot house, including metal kitchen appliances.

The real estate agent went on to add that the buyer would not be allowed "pre-inspections" and access would only be granted to licensed, bonded contractors if they first signed a waiver of liability.

Deal-breaker disclosures?

Not at all.

In fact, Phares listed the property in the desirable Belvidere Terrace location for $200,000, based on a comparable nearby vacant lot.

Ten days later, the property sold for $427,000 to Tang Real Estate Investments, a Seattle residential redevelopment firm that finds "lucrative real estate deals that we either fix ourselves or assign to other investors," according to its website.

A flipper paid more than double the asking price.

What happened? A bidding war that brought in 41 offers.

As in other hot markets, Seattle's inventory is low, buyers are anxious and prices are skyrocketing.

In West Seattle, the median list price in the last 90 days was $516,500, with most sales going over the asking price, according to the real estate database Redfin.

Phares isn't bragging about the ratcheted up sale that more than doubled his commission. And he doesn't include the Belvidere Avenue SW listing on his website page of sold properties.

Phares, who has been in the real estate business for 30 years, calls this deteriorated home a "serious and troubling" example of a painful housing crunch.

He wrote a blog in January on his concern about the over-heated market, even evoking the "bubble" word.

He laments the "desperate search for housing by those who are being priced out of living in what used to be an amazingly financially and culturally diverse city."

Seattle is not alone. Here's another odd example of what you could buy for just less than a half million dollars.

In a highly desirable Los Angeles neighborhood, a 264-square-foot cottage is listed at $499,000. The living space is about the size of a one-car garage, making it suitable, says listing agent Steven Aaron of Keller Williams Beverly Hills, as an artist studio, writer's retreat or "secluded and private hideaway in nature."

The pitched-roof dwelling at 10449 Scenario Lane was built in 1924 but renovated a decade later. Public records show it last sold in 1975 for $22,000. Taxes were $887 in 2014.

The lot is 3,698 square feet with a view of adjacent up-sloping properties.

The Beverly Glen Canyon location jacks up the price. Hollywood stars and blingy Beverly Hills denizens fly through on their way to Rodeo Drive and the Playboy Mansion in nearby Holmby Hills.

The tiny house is also near UCLA, leading agent Aaron to say it would work for a college student with deep-pocket parents. Or it could be a coveted rental that, based on its price, might still pencil out.

It's teeny, but even at $1,890 a square foot -- Portland's median sale price per square foot is $227 -- it's still the least expensive property around.

The median list price in Beverly Glen in the last 90 days was $4.75 million, according to Redfin. Most properties sold for their asking price.

The one-room home has skylights and sliding-glass doors that access a deck and backyard. Other perks: There's storage space and a stacked washer and dryer in the carport.

And like so many tiny houses where a pricey material can be installed because so little of it is needed, this cottage is outfitted with copper plumbing.

- Janet Eastman



jeastman@oregonian.com

503-799-8739

@janeteastman




1ryan.JPG

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., flanked by House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., left, and Rep. Lee Zeldin R-N.Y., right, contends that Hillary Clinton got preferential treatment from the FBI in its investigation of the former secretary of state's use of a private email server for government business, during a news conference at Republican National Committee Headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

(The Associated Press)

By Amber Phillips

The Clinton emails saga isn't over on Capitol Hill. House Republicans have options.

They just don't seem to have very many good options.

A day after the FBI recommending Hillary Clinton not be indicted for "carelessly" using a private email server while secretary of state, House Republicans say they're going to take matters into their own hands. But it's not clear what they can do. It's even less clear what they'd get out of it. What is clear is that the risk of political backfire is very, very real.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told reporters Wednesday they're looking at all options, as top House Republicans said they hoped to hold various hearings on the matter. FBI Director James Comey will testify to Congress on Thursday about his decision, and Justice Department head Loretta Lynch could testify next week.

"People have been convicted for far less," Ryan told Megyn Kelly on Fox News's "The Kelly File."

Congress can technically punish an executive official (or in Clinton's case, a former executive official). The Supreme Court upheld their power to hold administration officials in contempt in 1821, noted Cornell Law Professor Joshua Chafetz. In that decision, Justice William Johnson wrote that taking away Congress's power to do so would lead "to the total annihilation of the power of the House of Representatives to guard itself from contempt."

Over the years, Congress has since built up its toolbox to safeguard itself and its powers: holding officials in contempt of Congress, voting to impeach officials -- even arresting them.

In 1998, the House voted to impeach Clinton's husband. In 2008, the House voted to hold Bush administration officials Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten in contempt. In 2012, they voted to hold the former head of the Justice Department, Eric Holder, in contempt of Congress. Twice in its history (most recently a century ago) they even had their sergeant at arms -- Congress's top cop -- arrest an administration official for not complying with a subpoena. Most recently, a key House panel voted along party lines to censure the head of the IRS. (That's a step below contempt, and the full House isn't even likely to vote on that.)

Chafetz is doubtful Congress will try any of that on Clinton. All those options are rife with drama and not necessarily commensurate with the situation at hand, when Republicans don't yet have answers about what law, if any, Clinton broke.

A more practical hurdle is the fact that they also take up a lot of time and energy. An already over-booked Congress has exactly eight days in session for the rest of the summer, and only a handful of weeks in session until Election Day, Nov. 8. Plus, even if they wanted to throw the book at Clinton, Chafetz says there's a debate in legal circles about whether a former administration official can actually be impeached.

Republicans could instead focus their efforts on FBI's Comey, who made the recommendation not to prosecute Clinton. Or on Lynch, who has indicated she'll accept his recommendation. That seems to be their plan for now. But short of the options we just talked about, they don't have much leverage to actually make the Obama administration prosecute Clinton.

Congress could also launch its own investigation into Clinton's email servers, a la its recently finished investigation into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attacks that happened under her watch. But that carries its own political risk. If they don't find a smoking gun that proves Clinton should be indicted, it gets harder for Republicans to argue that the system is rigged (as Donald Trump has tweeted) or at least not impartial (as Ryan has told reporters).

"It's better to just say, 'This is a terrible outcome. Totally unfair.' And just run on that in November," said Matthew Green, a political science professor at Catholic University.

In his press conference Wednesday, Ryan seemed to focus on one final option: Taking away Clinton's access to classified information once she's officially the Democratic presidential nominee. (Presidential and vice presidential candidates get regular classified briefings.) She was "so reckless" with the classified information she had access to while secretary of state, he said -- so how can we trust her now?

This might be a brilliant tactical maneuver -- if it were a maneuver Congress was capable of making. But the legislative branch doesn't actually provide those briefings -- the CIA does. So CNN's Manu Raju asked the logical question -- exactly how Congress could actually restrict Clinton's access to classified information. Ryan's answer was the Hill GOP's Clinton emails challenge writ small.

"I don't know," he said.

As frustrated as Republicans may be with the FBI's findings on Clinton's emails, there's not much they can actually do about it.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post
Sweet Cakes discrimination: Nancy Bernert (Letters to the Editor, July 5) says the lesbian couple, the Bowman-Cryers, could have just gone to another bakery when Aaron and Melissa Klein refused to bake them a wedding cake because of the Kleins' religious beliefs.

This reminds me of the South when it had drinking fountains and bathrooms that were labeled "White Only" and "Colored Only." I guess Bernert would have wondered why people of color complained, since they had another bathroom to use if they couldn't use the "White Only" bathroom.

Raymond Becich

Northwest Portland

*

Sweet Cakes discrimination: Both July 5 letters regarding the Sweet Cakes fiasco miss the point regarding the use of religion as the basis for denying service in a public business. Kathy Luiten would have us depend upon Christian values, and Nancy Bernert would have us apply a test of pragmatism: Is there another place you can get that cake?

Both are incomplete and undependable. This is one of the major reasons we separate church and state -- so as to avoid this kind of dispute.

A business open to the public is licensed through secular laws to serve the interests and needs of the public. Refusing service to a class of people on the basis of religion is illegal, and it is also humiliating when people are told they are "not worthy" or "unclean" and the like due to some religious criterion. Excluding gays is the same as discriminating against African Americans, or people in wheelchairs, or say, women not wearing a head scarf in a shop owned by a Muslim, and so on. If you own a business, you simply serve the public.

Of course there are criteria that a business can apply to everyone equally, such as "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service," and so on, but excluding people for who they are because of religious criteria is outside the law.

Gary Kruger

Southwest Portland
1clintong.JPG

Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally with U.S. president Barack Obama on July 5, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Eli Lake

Conservatives are -- to put it mildly -- disappointed by FBI Director James Comey's decision not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton over her use of a personal server for classified State Department e-mails. The National Review's Jonah Goldberg blogged, "I don't get it." Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch, the nonprofit that helped bring Clinton's e-mails to light, said there was a "disconnect between Comey's devastating findings and his weak recommendation." Right-wing Twitter is a flutter with indignation.

And the disappointment is understandable. Comey said it was quite possible that hostile powers had breached her e-mail server. What's more, he put the lie to Clinton's claim that she never knowingly sent classified information through her private server.

"There is evidence to support a conclusion that Secretary Clinton should have known an unclassified system was no place for that information," Comey said. A lower-level State Department employee would have been disciplined or fired for discussing classified information on unclassified channels, why shouldn't Clinton too pay a price for her recklessness?

If you're looking for consistency and rationality, you won't find it in the government's handling and creation of classified information. Some officials who mishandle state secrets go to prison, while others are not prosecuted at all. The remedy to this inequality of justice is not to throw the book at Clinton, but to reform the way our government creates and protects its secrets.

To start, Clinton's predicament is more common than one might think. J. William Leonard, who served from 2002 to 2008 as the director of the Information Security Oversight Office, told me: "If you looked at any senior government official's unclassified e-mail accounts you will find information that someone can go through and say, 'Hey, that's classified. '" Granted this is not the same as using a private server over the advice of security professionals, but it's a common problem in the government.

Clinton's case here is instructive. While the FBI has not made public the classified information she discussed in her unclassified e-mails, many outlets have reported that some of this dealt with the U.S. targeted killing program. Until recently these drone strikes were considered top secret. At the same time they were widely reported and discussed in Washington, to the point where President Barack Obama himself joked about his drone strikes at a White House Correspondents Association dinner.

"We know that until very recently the administration considered the discussion of specific targeted killing operations to be highly classified, and in fact covert action," said Steven Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists. "Outside of government most people find that ridiculous because it has been reported around the world."

It's not just drone strikes. The details of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority today are classified. That means it's technically illegal for you or me to know how much money the U.S. has withheld in compliance with a 2014 law to cut off payments to Palestinian prisoners and the families of "martyrs." The same is true for the vast majority of documents uncovered in the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden's compound or the details about whether Russia has complied with its arms-control agreements.

In all of these instances, conservatives have an interest in diminishing state secrecy, not empowering it. Even for something like the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, the mishandling of classified information played a crucial role in exposing the White House narrative that the attack was really a demonstration gone awry. Had it not been for timely leaks of classified assessments, the public would not have known until after the 2012 election how many U.S. officials on the ground contradicted the White House line.

None of this is to say that there are not some secrets, like the identity of CIA agents overseas, that must be protected. But modern presidents and the national security bureaucracy have embraced excessive secrecy. As the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, told me in 2014, it was a mistake to keep from the public the NSA program to collect telephone metadata. When it finally did become public, it was a scandal.

It's something to keep in mind in the coming months. If Clinton wins the election in November, she will have to protect the kind of classified information she mishandled as secretary of state. Conservatives in many cases should hope she doesn't do that job too vigilantly. After all, many of those secrets should not have been classified in the first place.

Bloomberg View columnist Eli Lake writes about politics and foreign affairs. For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.

(c) 2016, Bloomberg View
U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown said Wednesday she found it difficult to accept that the Bundy brothers -- the "loud and clear leaders in this case from the beginning" -- wouldn't have time to prepare for trial by Sept. 7 and rejected their motions for any delay.

"It's hard to believe that Ammon Bundy wasn't already fully aware of the factual basis on which the government wishes to proceed,'' Brown said. "This has been a public presentation from the beginning. It's something that isn't a surprise.''

She noted that Ammon and Ryan Bundy have repeatedly asserted their innocence and outlined their defense posture for occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: that they were acting on their First Amendment rights to protest federal land ownership, demonstrating against the mandatory minimum prison sentences of two Harney County ranchers and asserting their Second Amendment rights to carry firearms in self-defense.

The Bundys are among 26 defendants indicted on charges of conspiring to impede federal workers at the refuge through "intimidation, threats or force'' and a weapons charge. They've pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and weapons charges.

Six of the defendants have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge, including Ammon Bundy's personal bodyguard.

The judge said she couldn't grant the Bundy brothers a delay without a showing that the two, who had initially insisted on a trial starting in April and opposed the court's designation of the case as complex, couldn't prepare for trial within the next nine weeks.

Read Judge Brown's written ruling

Ammon Bundy's lawyer Marcus Mumford argued that he's been unable to view hours of video evidence with his client while Bundy remains in custody and has faced obstacles simply trying to communicate by phone with Bundy, who was recently moved to Portland's Inverness Jail from the downtown jail.

The challenges of reviewing videos and other electronic forms of evidence have "inhibited our ability to help in his defense,'' Mumford argued. He signed onto the case in May with fellow Utah lawyer J. Morgan Philpot.

Prosecutors objected to any delay in the Sept. 7 trial for the Bundys and any of the other defendants who also face federal indictments in Nevada in the 2014 standoff with federal officers at the Bundy ranch near Bunkerville.

The trial date in the Oregon case was carefully selected to allow the defendants to have a fair and speedy trial here, while allowing them sufficient time to prepare for a Feb. 7 trial in Nevada, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said.

"Changing the date would create an irreconcilable problem and conflict with the Nevada District Court's schedule,'' Gabriel said.

Mumford dismissed the government's argument, saying, "If they can't coordinate between themselves the different prosecutions they're running here, that's not Mr. Bundy's problem.''

Mumford said he also wanted time to prepare to argue for Ammon Bundy's release pending trial.

The judge said she wasn't considering that as a factor in her decision, and called his client's release before trial unlikely and "speculative at best.''

Brown pointed out that most of the other defendants have a single defense lawyer, and those lawyers have been able to successfully argue for their defendant's pretrial release while researching and submitting substantial legal motions that meet the court's deadlines.

Ryan Bundy, who is representing himself, stood to echo Mumford's argument.

"Basically the same things are going on with me, but more so,'' he said, since he's representing himself. He said he's had trouble communicating with his standby lawyer because of jail restrictions.

Brown said she'd ask U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones to continue to confer with defendants about any jail matters, noting that the court already has made "extraordinary accommodations'' for those in custody.

At the end of arguments, when the judge asked if anyone had anything else to add, co-defendant Jason Patrick said he objected to the judge's characterization of the Bundy brothers as "leaders'' in the case.

Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy followed suit, also challenging the judge's characterization in sometimes tense exchanges with Brown.

Brown told them she didn't mean to offend anybody, but said there were certain people who were particularly vocal and out in front during the 41-day occupation of the wildlife refuge in Harney County.

Ammon Bundy, seated between his two defense lawyers, continued to question the judge, asking if her characterization of him as a leader would affect him at sentencing if he's convicted.

Brown said it might, that a judge is advised to consider a defendant's leadership role in an offense, but she wasn't prejudging what would be decided at trial.

Brown attempted to direct Ammon Bundy to allow his lawyer to speak on his behalf, which drew outbursts from some members in the public gallery of the courtroom. One person was escorted out of the courtroom, and shortly afterward, according to those present, Brown halted the proceedings.

"We're in recess,'' Brown said, ordering the courtroom cleared.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
The Dow Chemical Co. and CH2M are partnering with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to empower 34 teachers from five states, including one elementary school teacher from Midland, to participate in the 2016 Dow-CH2M Smithsonian Teacher Scholar Program.

Mary Jo Griffin teaches at Adams Elementary, and will be part of the six-day program related to Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers, that will be held in Washington, D.C.

The program is designed to heighten STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teachers ability to inspire and enlighten their students. Following the program this summer, the teachers will take their experiences back to their classrooms, while continuing their professional growth through peer networking, mentoring and interaction with Dow and CH2M employee volunteers.

Since 2007, Dow has supported about 240 teachers through this partnership with the Smithsonian Science Education Center of the Smithsonian Institution, the worlds largest museum, education, and research complex.

This year, Dow is partnering with a strategic business partner, CH2M, to support the program, in an effort to reinforce the companies aligned global citizenship strategies of building the future STEM workforce, engaging employees to cultivate positive community impact, and collaborating as a driver for creating sustainable communities.

Dow is committed to building the workforce of tomorrow. We understand the importance of collaborations to empower educators so that they can inspire students in STEM subjects, and then channel that excitement into STEM careers, said Rob Vallentine, director of Global Citizenship at Dow and president of The Dow Chemical Co. Foundation, in a press release. We are extremely proud to expand our collaboration with the Smithsonian Science Education Center to include a key business partner, CH2M, in order to further our support for these educators.

Ellen Sandberg, executive director of the CH2M Foundation, said the organization is excited to be partnering with Dow.

When you consider how many students each of these teachers will reach, you begin to understand the broad impact of this collaboration, Sandberg said in a press release.

Each teacher will participate in one of three professional development sessions in Washington, D.C.: Biodiversity-June 19-24; Energys Innovations and Implications-July 10-15; and Earths History and Global Change-July 17-22.

Selected teachers for 2016 are from strategic Dow and CH2M communities and include six teachers from Michigan, including Griffin; seven teachers from California; eight teachers from Louisiana; four teachers from Pennsylvania; and nine teachers from Texas.

Following the program in Washington, the participating teachers will form close local cohorts that will meet throughout the school year. Dow and CH2M will organize opportunities for the teachers to maintain their connection and receive additional support tailored to each community.

In addition, Dow STEM Ambassadors, one of the companys innovative employee volunteer programs, along with CH2M employee volunteers, will provide ongoing engagement to the teachers in their classrooms by offering continued support on various topics including safety, how to bring technical expertise to life for students, and by offering in person STEM-related classroom demonstrations and career talks.

To learn more about Smithsonian Science Education Academies for Teachers and the Smithsonian Science Education Center, visit https://ssec.si.edu/professional-development.
If you saw some girls walking around with what looked like bleeding wounds on their limbs, dont worry  its just the start of a zombie apocalypse and the continuation of a trend of the undead.

A group of 13 girls were in the Library Story Room at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library on Wednesday to learn about the special effects makeup used by Tish DeLano and Kristina Lakey for events such as the Flint Zombie Walk in September.

Were so excited to see all girls in here ... were usually the only women in the room, DeLano said.

Using Lakey as a model, DeLano showed the girls how to create two versions of a zombie: a recently dead, fresh version and another that has been rotting for quite some time. The difference is base color, either a deathly gray or a green-tinged gray that indicates some amount of decomposition.

Its really hard to screw up zombie makeup, DeLano said, using a sponge to apply yellow and green tinting around Lakeys eyes, lips and cheekbones. Zombies arent pretty, and zombies are kinda messy.

She also went through the various brands of makeup she uses, and shared some of the tricks of her trade like edible fake blood made out of red velvet cake mix. Some of the girls tried the fake blood, using spoons to sample the bright red stuff. Another fake blood was passed around so they could feel its jelly-like consistency.

Part of being a convincing zombie is having a backstory, DeLano said. She has dressed herself as a zombie waitress, a zombie cheerleader, even a zombie girl who was bitten while walking her dog. She showed off some of her personal accessories, like torn-up clothing and a stuffed dog that she sewed handcrafted intestines (tights, stuffing and plenty of fake blood) to, which caused a wave of giggles across the room.

Even if youre just trying to scare the neighbors kid, you really have to immerse yourself into being a zombie, DeLano said. The accessories really make it.

It was then time for the girls to try on the makeup themselves, with DeLano and Lakey making wounds and bite marks on some of the braver participants.

The first one to volunteer was Sophia DeGennaro, 12, who joked she would love to be the start of a zombie apocalypse. DeLano used fake blood and makeup in bruise-like colors to create a zombie bite on DeGennaro, who said she plans to scare her 11-year-old stepbrother with it.

If I can convince my parents, Ill come back for the Zombie Walk, DeGennaro said, who is from Maryland and visiting family in Michigan for the summer. She was checking out books at the library when she heard about the zombie makeup class. Its pretty cool they hosted this.

Lauren Kinney, 12, saw the class in the library newsletter and watched DeLano apply a bite mark to her arm as well. Her mom and brother came in to watch.

Ive been kinda interested in special effects, Kinney said, who said she plans to get some makeup to try it for herself for Halloween. This is gonna freak my dad out.

To learn more about the Flint Zombie Walk, go to http://bit.ly/29osdPT.
Michigan Blood is partnering with Light the Night of Mid-Michigan to host two community blood drives in July.

The drives will honor five children diagnosed with leukemia and will support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Both drives will run from 3-7 p.m., one on Friday at Midland Baptist Church, 5009 Jefferson Ave., and the other on Wednesday, July 13, at St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2565 N. Miller in Saginaw.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 7, 2016) - Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE:PSE)(PNX.F) (the "Company" or "Pasinex") has received the next set of assay results from it's 2015 drill campaign at its 50% - owned Pinargozu zinc mine. Assays are now available for a further 22 (PPU15-009 - PPU15-030) underground diamond drill holes completed between May and September 2015. The 22 drill holes averaged 66 metres in length for a total of 1,448 metres. Amongst the results are 2.8 metres grading 37% zinc as drilling extends the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east. The previous set of drill results (released on June 23rd) had extended the mining area towards the north.

Table 1: Summary Highlights of Drill Assay Results

Drill Hole # Core Length

Interval Metres* Zn Grade %** Core Recovery % From (metres) PPU15-019 2.8 37.6 55 24.4 PPU15-009 4.0 25.2 57 35.5 PPU15-030 1.6 53.8 78 30.2

* True widths have yet to be determined. **Zinc mineral is predominantly Smithsonite (which is zinc carbonate)

Steve Williams, CEO of Pasinex commented "We are very pleased to report that drilling is successfully following the mineralized horizon deeper and to the east of the mine workings. These carbonate replacement systems are connected so we expect to trace this mineralized horizon down and laterally to another thicker and richer part of the system."

A full table of assays from this drilling is available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29lKaun. Maps (Figure 5 & 6) of all drill holes covered in this release are available by following this link: http://bit.ly/29hrOM8 (Figure 5) & http://bit.ly/29r9BhX (Figure 6). Drilling indicates an extension to the east of the main mineralized zone - see Figures 3 & 4 by following these links: http://bit.ly/29oHmPe (Figure 3) & http://bit.ly/29eMsKD (Figure 4). Some 12 of the 22 drill holes (55%) intersected a mineralized horizon ranging in grade and apparent thickness between 56% Zinc over 50 centimetres to 47% zinc over four metres. Another five drill holes intersected significant mineralization varying in apparent thickness between 20 centimetres and two metres with grades between 2.9% and 9.8%Zn. A total of five drill holes did not intersect any significant mineralization. There is a sharp cut-off between high grade mineralization and barren host carbonate rock and thinner lower grade mineralization can abruptly change to thicker higher grade parts of the system. The mineralizing system delineated to date is almost exclusively zinc with local pockets of high grade silver. Lead concentrations in the mineralized zones encountered is generally well below one percent. Drilling was undertaken from drill pads shown in Figure 3. Fan drilling from the underground stations was both lateral and vertical to provide coverage.

Story continues

Figure 4: Pinargozu Long Section (Looking West) is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1061776_Figure_4.pdf

Pinargozu Zinc Mine

Current mining at 60 tonnes per day is predominantly exploiting non-sulphide high grade zinc carbonate mineralization. The grade of the mined material consistently exceeds the 25% zinc threshold for direct shipping to zinc processing plants. Pinargozu is one of several exploration targets along the Horzum Zinc Trend (HZT). The HZT controls a series of Carbonate-Replacement-Deposit (CRD) type mineral occurrences. The HZT extends north of the old Horzum mine, currently operated by our joint venture partner, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS), for at least 8 kilometres - see link to Figure 2: http://bit.ly/28WVEVN. The HZT is completely under-explored. Pasinex is the first to apply advanced exploration technology and CRD exploration concepts and models to the HZT.

Quality Control and Data Verification

Samples were assayed in the SGS laboratory in Ankara. Zinc, lead and silver, assays were obtained by multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/ICP-AES Package (33 Elements) - Zn (lower detection limit: 1 ppm/upper detection limit: 10,000 ppm) code ICP40B. For high grade zinc multi-acid (4-acid) digestion/AAS Package code AAS43B. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the submission of blanks duplicate samples inserted at regular intervals into the sample train by Pasinex personnel. Duplicate pulp samples are sent to the ALS laboratory in Izmir as an umpire ISO-compliant check to confirm analytical accuracy. Drill-core samples were prepared at a standard non-certified facility at the Horzum Mine. External quality control on sample preparation is assured by reference to regular selection of duplicate coarse reject samples which are now sent to SGS. SGS-Ankara's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001: 2000 and ISO 17025: 1999.

Qualified Person

EurGeol, P.Geo. John Barry, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Mr. Barry is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control and data verification and has confirmed all procedures, protocols and methodologies used. Mr. Barry is a director and shareholder of the Company.

About Pasinex

Pasinex Resources Limited (CSE:PSE)(PNX.F) is a metals company which is a 50% owner of the high grade Pinargozu zinc mine which is in production and, under its DSO Program, is shipping directly to zinc smelter / refiners from its mine site in Turkey. The Company has a strong technical management team with many years of experience in mineral exploration and mining project development. The mission of Pasinex is to build a mid-tier zinc company based on building a large land within a productive CRD district in Turkey.

The Pinargozu Mine is included in the 50-50 company, Horzum Arama Isletme AS (Horzum AS), which is a corporate joint venture between Pasinex and Turkish mining house, Akmetal Madencilik San ve Tic. AS (Akmetal AS). Akmetal AS is one of Turkey's largest family-owned conglomerates with the nearby past-producing Horzum zinc mine.

Visit our web site at: www.pasinex.com

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

PASINEX RESOURCES LTD.

"Steve Williams"

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although Pasinex Resources Ltd. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, exploration results, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
BRIDGMAN, Mich. (AP)  A rupture released steam at a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan, forcing a utility to shut down one of the two units.

Indiana Michigan Power says the steam was not radioactive but it damaged a wall at the Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 early Wednesday in Bridgman. There were no injuries.
When Charlie Parsons headed to the National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland he had one goal in mind  doing better than his 11th place for his website on Joseph Stalin last year.

The Midland High 10th grader scored a fifth place in the nation in the Senior Individual Website division for Bypass Odorizer: Stinky Sulfur Smell Saves Lives, which is also a tribute to his grandfather Charles E. Gill, for whom he is named.

Gill, who owned Natural Gas Odorizing Inc. in Bay Town, Texas, invented the Bypass Gas Odorizer, which consistently inserts a gaseous form of Mercaptan into a gas stream giving off an odor, allowing people to detect a natural gas leek.

He also received the Senior Division Outstanding State Entry Award, which designates him best in the state.

I am perfectly happy with it (fifth place), he said. It was way better than last year.

Charlie competed against students from all 50 states as well as Guam, American Samoa and international schools in China, Korea, South Asia and Central America.

Its a huge deal, said Amy Bradfield, editor for Michigan History for Kids magazine and educational services manager for the Historical Society of Michigan. He has the fifth best website in the nation. He competed against thousands of kids to earn this honor. We are a medium size state and we had some 500 kids compete at the state level. He was the highest finishing senior.

It was a sweet moment for parents Scott and Gabrielle Parsons as well.

Centering around my dad, for whom our Charlie is named, it was deeply sweet as opposed to a bitter-sweet year for me, said Gabrielle Parsons. It was truly a tale of two Charlies, born nearly a century apart. My dad may have had mixed feelings about this project, as he was not one to bring much attention to his own accomplishments.

Working with mentor, Valentina Woodcraft, an associate scientist at The Dow Chemical Co., Charlie was able to put together a website that not only honored what his grandfather had done, but is easy to understand, even for those not in the scientific fields.

Being accepted into the nationals, Charlie headed to College Park, Md., and the University of Maryland, to meet with judges  something that made his mom and dad nervous.

We were allowed to sit in the back and observe the interviews, Gabrielle Parsons said. We were a bit nervous, but Charlie wasnt. He said he just planned on going in and enjoying the meeting, which he did. Scott continues to say how proud of Charlie he is.

Contest judges noted it is a historically interesting site, the thesis is clear and concise, sticks to the 2016 theme of Exploration, Encounter and Exchange in History, and noting his website, http://bit.ly/29ALham, is visually engaging and easy to navigate.

They also gave the young man high marks for saving a piece of family history and noted that everyone owes Gill a debt of gratitude for saving lives.

Up until now, there was very little mention of Gill on the internet. Most of the research came from old fashioned digging into company and library files.

But that, says Bradfield, is what makes the site so special.

What was so unique is that it was a personal history, she said. It wasnt a well known topic. When a kid picks a topic like Rosa Parks, theres a ton of information. In Charlies case it was family personal records. Making a connection with his mentor, helped explain it to his audience.

It really highlights the benefits of this program, she added. The research and going deep and looking at primary sources and sharing that information so others can understand it.

During the June 12-16 event, Charlie had the chance to go to the congressional breakfast, hosted by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

It was really cool, he said. There wasnt a congressmen there, but a few stepped in to grab a piece of bacon.

He did, however get the chance to meet with local congressmen, Sen. Gary Peters and Rep. John Moolenaar.

With the fifth place under his belt, Charlie may be heading off in another direction next year.

I might do the Business Professional Association contest, he said. Its less history and more business. I want to see which one has more of a college recognition thing. If I can do both I will do both.
A Midlander with a lengthy rap sheet is again facing a felony charge, this time in connection with pills brought into the Midland County Jail.

Nichole Leigh Stoner, 29, faces one count of jail prisoner in possession of contraband as well as habitual fourth offender enhancement. Court documents state Stoner is charged with possessing clonazepam in the Midland County Jail on May 8.

An affidavit in the case states the pills were found during a nighttime cell check.

Stoner, who has previously been convicted of felony offenses including unlawfully driving away an automobile, forgery, second-degree child abuse, attempted possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance between 2007 and 2014, was arraigned on the charge in May. Midland County District Court Judge Michael D. Carpenter set bond at $100,000 cash.

The case is set for a Cobbs hearing before Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Beale on Aug. 16.

During a Cobbs hearing, which is not open to the public, the judge uses the information at hand to inform the defendant of the likely sentence in a case, and the defendant can then use that information in deciding whether to enter a plea. The defendant can withdraw the plea if the judge does not deliver the expected sentence.

Stoner is being represented by Saginaw attorney James F. Gust.

The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison; the habitual fourth offender status enhances the maximum sentence to up to life in prison.
The Midland County Adult Drug Court is celebrating the graduations of two program participants today.

The program, which began in November 2010, has graduated 28 participants to date, a media release from the Michigan Supreme Court states. The rigorous program, encompassing three overall phases of requirements including regular probation officer appointments, frequent drug court sessions, regular group and individual counseling sessions, rehabilitation program attendance and more, takes between a year to 18 months to complete.

It is overseen by Midland County Circuit Court Judge Michael H. Beale.

It is one of the states problem-solving courts, which are non-traditional courts that focus on nonviolent offenders whose underlying medical and social problems have contributed to recurring contacts with the criminal justice system.

According to the Michigan Supreme Court 2015 report, Solving Problems, Saving Lives, graduates of Michigan drug courts are two times less likely to commit another offense after two years.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department.

Tuesday, July 5

12:24 a.m.  Police were sent to a domestic assault at a Gettysburg Street address.

1:04 a.m.  Property was stolen from the 800 block of East Indian Street.

9:25 a.m.  A deputy investigated a domestic assault that occurred in Lee Township between a woman and man, ages 52 and 55. A report is being sent to the prosecutor.

11:18 a.m.  Deputies were sent to Coleman for a report of a woman going through trash cans in the area of Washington and 7th streets. The woman was gone.

1:20 p.m.  Officers investigated a case of fraud in the 2400 block of Wilmington Drive.

3:47 p.m.  A 33-year-old man was arrested on a contempt of court warrant after it was reported that he was living in a rental unit without being on the lease.

6:26 p.m.  Officers were sent to the 4000 block of Wellness Drive to investigate a case of sexual assault.

6:52 p.m.  Deputies were sent to a Jerome Township home for an assault between two brothers, ages 12 and 14. A report is being sent to the prosecutor.

6:57 p.m.  Police investigated a case of fraud in the 100 block of West Collins Street.

7:46 p.m.  A motorist was arrested for driving without insurance and improper plate at Isabella and Wildes streets.

9:08 p.m.  A 72-year-old Mount Haley Township man called 911 to report his girlfriend, 51, was making suicidal statements, and the woman disconnected the call. The woman was arrested for interfering with a 911 call. She said she was not going to hurt herself.

9:25 p.m.  A deputy was called to a Coleman gas station for a report of a counterfeit $20 bill. It was determined the bill was not fake.
By Melissa Fares and Sruthi Ramakrishnan

(Reuters) - PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) reported a better-than-expected profit for the second quarter on Thursday, buoyed by lower raw material costs and higher demand for Frito-Lay snacks and new beverages in North America, lifting shares to a record in early trading.

The maker of Pepsi and Gatorade also boosted its forecast for adjusted profit for the year.

PepsiCos shares rose to an all-time high of $109, before giving up some gains to trade at $108.61 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Drinks like Propel flavored water and Naked Cold Pressed juice, Smartfood Popcorn and Simply brand snacks helped drive sales, the company said.

PepsiCo and other consumer companies are spending more to develop new products to meet the changing tastes of consumers who are increasingly seeking healthier options.

PepsiCo doubled its research and development spending over the last 5 years and new products now account for 9 percent of PepsiCos revenue, up from 5 percent in past years.

The North American strength is a big driver behind raising guidance for the year because North America really is performing strongly right now, Hugh Johnston, PepsiCos chief financial officer told Reuters.

Consumers are willing to pay for affordable treats that they find are new and interesting and, frankly, a differentiated product.

Argus Research Co analyst John Staszak agreed.

People dont really have any concerns about spending money on minor discretionary products like Frito-lays, Staszak said.

INSULATED

PepsiCo is somewhat insulated from potential trade disruptions relating to the recent "Brexit vote, when Britain voted to leave the European Union, because ingredients like potatoes used in British Walkers chips are grown locally, Johnston said.

Also, the companys products are affordable for consumers in developed countries, so any possible Brexit disruption to the global economy will have less impact on PepsiCo, Johnston said.

Story continues

PepsiCos cost of sales fell 6 percent in the three months ended June 11.

That helped net income attributable to PepsiCo increase 1.3 percent to $2.01 billion, or $1.38 a share.

Excluding items, the company earned $1.35 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.30, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Net revenue fell 3.3 percent to $15.395 billion, but inched past the average analyst estimate of $15.37 billion.

Net revenue in the North America Beverages unit, PepsiCos biggest business, rose 1 percent, the slowest growth since PepsiCo started breaking out beverage sales from the region a year ago.

Revenue from the Frito-Lay business, which includes Doritos, Lays and the Simply line of snacks, grew 3 percent.

The Purchase, New York-based company said it now expects 2016 adjusted earnings of $4.71 per share, up from its previous forecast of $4.66 per share.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru and Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Bernadette Baum)
NEW OPENINGS

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

98 min.; R (crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use, graphic nudity)

Two brothers place an online ad to find dates for a wedding and the ad goes viral.

Our Kind of Traitor

108 min.; R (violence, language throughout, sexuality, nudity, drug use)

A couple find themselves lured into a Russian oligarch's plans to defect.

The Secret Life of Pets

90 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG (action, rude humor)

Two pet dogs unite against a cunning bunny building an army of abandoned pets.

ONGOING

The BFG

117 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG (action/peril, scary moments, brief rude humor)

A girl encounters the Big Friendly Giant, ostracized by his fellow giants because he won't eat children.

Central Intelligence

114 min.; PG-13 (crude/suggestive humor, nudity, action violence, brief strong language)

A mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage after reconnecting with an old buddy.

Finding Dory

103 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG (mild thematic elements)

The forgetful blue tang fish crosses an ocean with Nemo and Martin to find her family.

Free State of Jones

139 min.; R (brutal battle scenes, disturbing graphic images)

A poor Mississippi farmer leads a group of Civil War-era rebels against the Confederate army.

Independence Day: Resurgence

120 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (sci-fi action/destruction, language)

Two decades after the first alien invasion, Earth is faced with a new extraterrestrial threat.

Legend of Tarzan

109 min.; 2-D/3-D; PG-13 (action-violence, sensuality, brief rude dialogue)

Lord Greystoke is called back to his former jungle home to investigate the activities at a mining encampment.

The Purge: Election Year

105 min.; R (disturbing bloody violence, strong language)

The front-runner in the next presidential election vows to eliminate the Purge, leading to security threats.

The Shallows

87 min.; PG-13 (bloody images, intense peril, brief strong language)

A surfer is attacked by a great white shark just 200 yards away from the shore.

Swiss Army Man

95 min.; R (language, sexual material)

A man stranded in the wilderness befriends a dead body; together they embark on a surreal journey home.

AT THE NORMAL

Tale of Tales

133 min.; R (sexuality, nudity, violence, bloody images)

A collection of stories inspired by the fairy tales by Giambattista Basile. (July 7, 9)

April and the Extraordinary World

105 min.; PG (action/peril, gun-play, thematic elements, rude humor)

Animated tale about a teen girl who goes in search of her missing scientist parents. (July 8, 10))

Escape From New York

99 min.; R (language, violence)

A convicted felon is sent to rescue the president after he crashes into Manhattan, now a maximum-security prison. (July 8)

The Adventures of Robin Hood

102 min.; unrated

Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland play Robin and Maid Marian in the classic 1938 version of the story. (July 12)
NORMAL  The creative gears were clearly turning in Devin Crews brain Wednesday as he crawled through a cardboard box tunnel in the gym of Eastview Christian Church in Normal.

I did drilling and worked on the tunnel doors, said the 9-year-old from Normal. My grandpa builds houses so he has taught me some stuff. Im going to tell him about how I used the drill to put together the tubes and boxes.

While attending the YWCA McLean County Summer Camp, Devin and 13 other young campers were able to flex their artistic muscles and see their ideas materialize.

Employees from BLDD Architects teamed up with the campers to design and construct interactive structures from cardboard boxes and tubes.

"Sometimes during the summer it's hard to find fun and educational things for the kids," said Anita Conrad, youth development director at YWCA. "The kids were so excited. This was an experience that you can't get for free and we are so thankful to BLDD."

BLDD is a Midwest architectural firm that works with many education clients, senior living centers and churches. The firm, which has offices in Bloomington, Champaign, Chicago and Decatur in Illinois and Davenport, Iowa, designed Eastview's building.

During midyear meetings, BLDD employees work with the community while touring previous projects.

We like to engage kids in designing while creating something to play with. Our hope is this will open their minds, which will make a lasting contribution to the community, said Paula Pratt, BLDD director of business development.

At the start of the daylong workshop, campers and designers brainstormed together to come up with a structure to build. Adam Stack, BLDD intern architect, used the childrens drawing as a guideline for their peg board/carnival game project.

This brings back the passion and fun, which is why I got into architecture, said Stack.

Claudia Harrison, 9, of Normal teamed with Devin and BLDD designers to create what she described as a castle-tunnel-cave thing.

Large cardboard boxes were connected to tunnels thanks to Devins skill with a drill. The fortress included peepholes, a guard tower and a fringed door made of string and plastic caps.

We came up with ideas like rocket arms and tunnels and a confetti launcher, said Claudia. If an intruder comes too close, we can blast them with confetti.

Jean Underwood, BLDD associate, helped transform the ideas from Devin and Claudia. She said the project will help kids "see how they can make a difference in our environment."

"Theyre learning innovative, creative and collaborative skills they can use their whole life, said Underwood.

On the other side of the Eastview gym, Brinaye Grant, 10, was making cardboard puppets to be used in her teams creation.

The group constructed a truck with a telescope and puppet theater windshield. In the bed of the truck was a working cardboard vending machine complete with snacks.

Brinaye said she enjoys using recyclables at home to create toys and she plans to "continue making creations."

After today, I learned if you have ideas you can turn them into anything," said Brinaye. "Our project took a lot of hard work and patience to get done, but it turned out really good.

BLDD regional interior designer Danielle Youngbrawner said she was shocked and inspired during the brainstorming session with Brinayes group.

For me, the best part is their open-mindedness," said Youngbrawner. "I hope this gives the kids real-world experience of working in a group. Theyre listening and problem-solving and creating something fun.

The completed projects were donated to the YWCA.
BLOOMINGTON  Investigations by state and federal authorities into the potential funding of terrorist activities with money from illegal tobacco and drug sales also is a concern at the local level, according to McLean County's top prosecutor.

"You're talking about hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars being funneled to causes in the Middle East, some of them illegal," said State's Attorney Jason Chambers.

Following the money drug sellers earn from their illegal activities is part of the international effort to stem the flow of drugs and the criminal offshoots those funds produce. The millions made in the synthetic-drug market have been traced by the Drug Enforcement Administration to terrorism strongholds in the Middle East.

Chambers' office recently filed charges in what may have been the largest synthetic-marijuana operation in McLean County since the police shut down illegal drug sales at three tobacco stores owned by Ghissan Qahwaji and his brother Ghiath in 2013.

The Qahwaji brothers, who are U.S. citizens from Syria, are serving four years in prison for wire and tax fraud related to their alleged sales of millions in synthetic marijuana at two stores in Bloomington and a third in Champaign.

More recently, Naiel Asad, owner of the Price Rite Food Mart in Bloomington, was charged with selling synthetic marijuana from his store. Asad is a Jordanian citizen living legally in the United States.

Speaking in general terms about the synthetic-drug cases, Chambers said it is reasonable to consider the potential ties that local drug suspects may have to international terrorism through the channeling of drug proceeds.

"I don't feel it's a stretch or a conspiracy theory," Chambers said of the potential link.

The synthetic-drug market is big business in the global economy.

In 2012, federal authorities collected 4.8 million packets of synthetic marijuana and the material to make more than 13 million more in Operation Log Jam, a nationwide drug enforcement action. More than $36 million in cash also was seized.

Two years later, DEA agents traced money from a global synthetic-drug trade involving 150 U.S. residents to cash headed to four Middle Eastern countries.

According to Chambers, the lifestyle and cash flow of suspects may be key evidence as to where drug proceeds are going. A moderate living arrangement for someone with millions of dollars in cash in a home safe warrants further investigation  particularly in cases where the suspect has ties to foreign countries, said Chambers.

Charting the path of drug proceeds begins with a source-of-bail motion routinely filed in drug cases that requires defendants to prove that the money they use for their release does not come from illegal activities. Such a motion has been filed in the Asad case.
EUREKA  Jamel Santa Cruze Bell is still settling into her office less than a week after becoming interim president of Eureka College, but she is moving forward with plans to emphasize what is uniquely Eureka, revamp the general education curriculum and foster new partnerships.

Bell intends to get out in the community more and acknowledges that she is more extroverted than her predecessor, David Arnold, but the differences in their tenure go beyond personality.

When Arnold became president in 2005, Eureka College was in a precarious financial situation. He turned that around, balancing budgets in nine of 10 years.

A lot of his 11 years were spent trying to right the ship, Bell said in an interview Tuesday. I have the luxury in my time as president to move full speed ahead.

Last November, the board of trustees announced that Arnold would retire as president July 1 and move into the part-time position of chancellor. At that time, Bell, then vice president for strategic and diversity initiatives, was introduced as interim president.

A nationwide search for a permanent president will not begin until 2017. One of the reasons for the wait is to provide continuity as the college undergoes re-accreditation and implements a new strategic plan that Bell played a key role in developing. She intends to be a candidate for the permanent position.

Her goals in the next year include not only succeeding in re-accreditation but also doing so with flying colors, fostering an environment and culture of innovation and risk-taking and ensuring that everyone can say what it means to be 'uniquely Eureka.'

The slogan uniquely Eureka is the focus of a marketing campaign that is part of the strategic plan approved by the board in October.

My very first visit to campus,  I remember thinking, 'There is something special about this place, there is something unique about this place, said Bell, who joined Eureka College in July 2014 as special assistant to the president.

The school is overhauling its general education program to emphasize a mastery of skills, such as communication, scientific inquiry, intercultural understanding, health and wellness and civic responsibility and social justice, she explained.

The idea is to align our liberal arts curriculum to the needs of our students and the needs of employers, said Bell.

The college will emphasize high-impact practices, including internships, undergraduate research with faculty, studying abroad and experiential learning, she said.

My priorities are to create a culture of innovation  and partner with other colleges and universities that some might think of as competitors, said Bell.

At a time when the applicant pool is dwindling and Illinois is exporting more students than nearly every state, she said, it's important for schools in this area to work together.

It's a very important time for this college and higher education, said Bell. I've never been one to back down from a challenge.

Bell is the first member of her family to graduate from college. She received her undergraduate degree from Missouri Western State College and master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Kansas.

She credits a strong support system, including her family, and her faith for enabling her to become a college president at age 42.

I'm a God-fearing woman. I couldn't do any of this without some higher power existing. There have been people intentionally placed in my path to be mentors, said Bell, who counts Arnold among her mentors.

She also credited her mother, Shirley Santa Cruze, for being a good role model and always pushing me to do my best because someone is always watching.

Her advice to other first-generation students is to take risks, enjoy the moment and always be willing to ask for help.

Make sure you have a strong circle of advisers and know that the number of mentors you can have is endless, she said.

Diversity and inclusivity will continue to be a key concern of Bell.

As an African-American and a woman,  I'm very aware of how symbolic that is, Bell said of her presidency.

Founded by abolitionists in 1855, Eureka College was the first college in the state and third in the nation to admit men and women on an equal basis. Almost 700 students attend the four-year institution.

We have to stay true to who we are. We have to stay true to our roots, Bell said.

Inclusivity means making people feel welcome and feel their differences are valued, she explained.

It's not just bringing in more faculty or staff of color or students of color, said Bell.
STREATOR  Fire damaged a room on the second floor of a Streator home Wednesday, but no injuries were reported.

Firefighters were dispatched at 2 p.m. to 402 S. Sterling St., the Streator Fire Department said in a news release. Firefighters arrived to find all residents safely evacuated and moderate smoke coming from the upper corner of the two-story house.

Firefighters forcibly entered the home and found and extinguished the fire in under five minutes. A dozen firefighters helped with the blaze, and the last unit left the scene at 4:41 pm.

A single room of the home sustained light fire damage. The second story of the home sustained moderate smoke damage, and the first floor had only minor water damage.

The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal was called to help with the investigation of the cause of the fire in cooperation with the Streator police and fire departments. The cause remains under investigation.

City police, Advanced Medical Transport, ComEd and Nicor assisted at the scene.
EL PASO  Kurt Allen Sampen, 57, of El Paso, passed away peacefully Monday (July 4, 2016) at Bickford Place, Bloomington. He had been in hospice care for several weeks.

Kurt was born Aug. 31, 1958, in Bloomington. He graduated from El Paso High School as valedictorian and continued his education at the University of Illinois, where he received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration. He was a loyal member of the University Mens Glee Club. He worked for many years at IBM and the Interstate Center, both in Bloomington. He enjoyed music and community celebrations and often played horn in local ensembles and sang in several choirs.

Kurt was actively involved in his churches, the United Church of Christ in El Paso where he was an officer of the congregation, and the Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington. His many acts of kindness to the senior citizen communities both in Bloomington and El Paso will always be fondly remembered. He lovingly cared for his parents throughout their lives and was a frequent worker at the Sampen Hardware business in El Paso.

Kurt is survived by his two brothers, John Sampen, Bowling Green, Ohio, and Don Sampen, Lincolnwood; his nieces and nephews; and the rest of his family and friends.

Kurt was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond J. Sampen and Hazel Thomson Sampen, as well as his sister, Sue Sampen Fernald.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of choice. The family of Kurt Sampen wishes to thank the nurses and staff at Bickford of Bloomington and OSF Home Care Services Hospice who lovingly cared for him.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held at a later date to be announced.
BLOOMINGTON  In the near future, text-to-911 will be widely available in the United States, and while it has not yet arrived in Central Illinois, local police officials say they welcome the new technology.

I think 911 texting is a good idea, said McLean County Sheriff Jon Sandage. It could be beneficial in domestic violence situations when the victim is afraid to make a call. It also would benefit those who are hearing impaired and do not have access to a TTY phone.

TTY is a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking and listening.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, there are about 650 dispatch centers  roughly 10 percent  nationwide that can accept text messages. None are in Central Illinois.

But many 911 centers are starting to consider upgrading to a new Next Generation 911 system to enable the public to transmit text, images, video and data to a 911 center.

Tony Cannon, the director of the McLean County Combined Communications Center (MetCom), agreed the ability to text to 911 will be an important resource for the area.

Its not a priority right now because of the funding issues, he said. We really dont have any money to put into such a system right now. But the good news is that several other places are and by the time we are ready to roll with it, several of the kinks should be worked out.

Illinois State University Police Chief Aaron Woodruff noted that younger generations often are more comfortable sending messages via text, rather than traditional voice calling.

Like most college campuses, we already used text-based messages for emergency notifications to our community, he said. We have found text messages are more robust, and likely to get through during periods of high call volumes, particularly during a major emergency.

Lincoln Police Chief Paul Adams also likes the idea.

I have seen some of the interfaces provided to dispatchers for this type of technology, he said. It seems very intuitive and user-friendly for the dispatchers. I believe there are situations that people are placed in that they can't talk or the cellular circuits are busy and the only way they can communicate is through the text service.

Texting to 911 is different from making a voice call. When you make a voice call to 911, the dispatcher will typically receive your phone number and your approximate location automatically through a system called Enhanced 911. However, in most cases as the technology stands now, the dispatcher will not receive this automated information through a text.

Most law enforcement officials say if you can, always call.

"There is no substitute for a live call with a trained dispatcher to ask specific questions and get the most up-to-date information to deliver police and other emergency services," said Normal Police Chief Rick Bleichner.

Everyone is preparing for it, said CenCom manager Tony Harris, whose agency oversees county-wide emergency communications in DeWitt County that is "looking toward the Next Generation 911 and the motto is Any device. Any time. Anywhere. But the first step in that is going to be receiving texts. Its something we are all going to need. But, of course, funding is going to be the biggest issue.
There is a simple solution to the budget crisis. The state association of school boards needs to strongly recommend that all public schools not open until a real, full budget is passed.

What an outcry this would cause by parents. Three questions would be of concern: How would the children be educated? Who would provide day care for tens of thousands of children? Who would feed some children whose only meals are provided by schools?

Both parties are to blame. Decades worth of inaction by the General Assembly and naive thinking by the governor are causing this stalemate. When the pension system was created, it was to be like a 401(k) for teachers and public employees. They contributed a percentage of their salary that was to be matched by the state. Instead, the General Assembly robbed from Peter to pay Paul. Doesnt our governor realize Chicago is in Illinois? Breaking up unions and ending bargaining rights will never happen in this state.

Parents, I guess its up to you to end this mess!

Mike Kober, Bloomington
So now bathroom Barack is ordering all public schools to open all bathrooms and related facilities to those of either sex if they are supposedly transgender. In other words, there is to be no privacy. Thank goodness for Gov. McCrory of North Carolina and others who are pushing back legally. This is more evidence that Obama is in the pocket of the homosexual lobby. As a result the vast majority of straight Americans must be discriminated against for the sake of a few transgendered people  about .03 percent of the population.

He is also sympathetic to radical Muslim terrorists as evidenced by his systematic emptying of Guantanamos Muslim war criminals, many of whom killed American military and civilians. He will not even call them by name  our mortal enemies  radical Muslim terrorists. A short lesson for Barack: most Muslims are not terrorists but most terrorists are Muslims  a lesson he does not understand or want to understand.

Barack is also sympathetic toward practicing Marxists, as proved by his overtures of Communist Cuba and Vietnam while freedom-loving patriots there still languish in jail as political prisoners. How about his pardoning of convicted cop killers? Where is the sympathy for fallen law enforcement officers and their families?

Mrs. Clinton has promised to continue the disastrous policies of Obama and he has enthusiastically endorsed her  truly the kiss of death. Yes, bathroom Barack promised to fundamentally change America  one promise he has actually kept.

Theodore H. Loy, Normal
Hillary Clinton met with the members of the National Education Association (NEA) in a general assembly Tuesday. America's biggest labor union has confirmed its endorsement of the Democrat's presidential nominee as early as October 2015, and as expected, thousands came to the event.

However, in the middle of her speech, Hillary Clinton supposedly made a comment regarding charter schools, which was booed by an audience full of teachers in the labor rank and file. Specifically, Hillary Clinton said that schools should follow what successful schools are doing and share the formula within the institutions, "whether they're traditional public schools or public charter schools," per The Daily Caller.

According to The 74 Million, teacher unions have been strongly opposed to charter schools from the beginning, specifically because its teachers are not required to become union members. These institutions operate with more flexibility than regular public schools, but some union members also view charter schools as ineffective and detrimental to school districts. Hence, the strong opposition for it.

Politico reports that the Clintons, even before Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton's presidency, have been staunch supporters of charter schools. This fact has not been welcomed by union members. However, some political observers note that since the campaign, Hillary Clinton has been slowly critical of charter schools. Not all teachers are buying this change in stance.

Additionally, even as the NEA and other teachers' union have thrown their support as a group for the Democratic nominee, not all teachers are apparently for Hillary Clinton. This has caused a divide within the rank and file of the teachers groups.

The NEA supports Sec Clinton but many educators do NOT agree with her education policies. @Lily_NEA @HillaryClinton.  Stephen Krashen (@skrashen) July 5, 2016

Not taken aback by being booed, Hillary Clinton instead encouraged the teachers to set aside their differences. "We've got no time for all these education wars, where people from the outside try to foist for-profit schools on our kids," she told the crowd. Watch her full speech to the NEA in the video below.
People who purchased hoverboards during the last two months are in danger of the devices catching fire or may explode. More than 500,000 pieces of the self-balancing two-wheeled board from ten companies are being recalled due to defects in their battery packs.

Incident Reports

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned users that hoverboards affected by the recall have high possibilities of bursting into flames. This is because their poorly-designed lithium battery packs are prone to overheating, USA Today reported.

At least 99 incident reports involved hoverboards bursting into flames or exploding. The incidents gave way to more than $2 million in property damage.

Major hoverboard manufacturers such as Razor, Hype Wireless, Digital Gadgets, and Swagway are now offering refunds, repairs, or replacement based on their product's model. The full list of hoverboard brands being recalled can be viewed on the Commission's website.

News reports about hoverboards catching fire and exploding first surfaced in 2015. The device's lithium batteries are safe when handled accurately. It becomes unsafe when multiple batteries are connected together in haphazard methods, which is sometimes the case with hoverboards.

There are claims that cheap and generic hoverboards sold on eBay and Alibaba are more prone to combustion and explosion. But the commission has decided to inspect hoverboards across all brands to ensure safety and to understand why the incidents keep happening. For the time being, experts advised users to avoid charging hoverboards overnight or when you're not at home.

Buy UL-Certified Hoverboards

If you still wish to buy and ride hoverboards, the commission advised purchasing those certified by UL, or Underwriters Laboratories, which determines plenty of consumer products' safety standards. However, UL only issued those safety standards in February and by that time millions of hoverboards are already bought by consumers.

U.S. airlines, railroads, and college campuses have banned hoverboards due to the device's safety risks, the New York Times noted. Among the 60 airlines that have banned hoverboards are British Airways, Japan Airlines, United Airlines, Virgin Australia, and American Airlines, Fusion listed.

The dangers of hoverboards aren't just present within the device itself. There are reports of people getting struck by vehicles while riding a hoverboard in the street or near traffic, CNET wrote.

Users are advised to wear protective gear while riding hoverboards to lower the chances of sprains, fractures, and bruises if you fall off. All hoverboards don't exceed the maximum speed of 10 mph, so users can avoid severe injuries if they fall while it's moving. Hoverboards also have minimum and maximum weight limits, and majority won't operate when climbing or descending steep hills.
Lucas and Laura, the fraternal twin by Jacqueline Silva de Oliveira from Brazil are having their earliest challenge in life because of Zika virus. Laura is suffering from microcephaly while her brother Lucas seems to be normal. The babies are six months old.

Three kids in the US were born with Zika virus so far, none are twins. The Brazillian twin, with one who suffers from Microcephaly is a case that is very useful for the study of the virus because of the traces that can be found based on the scientific issue on the security of the other twin from Zika. Why is it that only the other twin has a shrunken head? How was the Zika virus contracted in this case? Any findings in this research will be very helpful to stop the spreading of the Virus in the US today.

Doctors proposed to examine the genes to determine the reason behind the partial infection of the Zika virus in the twin's case. Both Lucas and Laura are undergoing regular treatments from neurologists and physiotherapists. NYMag reports that, "Sao Paulo doctors are studying Lucas and Laura alongside four other sets of twins to see if there's a gene that protects some babies or another characteristic that increases infection risk...". Fraternal twins have their individual placentas while identical twins share one.

A person affected by Zika virus can only show symptoms of up to 20%, which seems to be unnoticeable. The connection to microcephaly is nonetheless the most troubling to scientists. Because of this, pregnant women are subjected to intensive research and are proponents of prevention campaigns against the terror of the Zika carrier mosquitoes.

Zika virus is not just a huge concern in the Carribbean and Latin America as its rapid damage has spread throughout the globe already. CDC is active in updating all US citizens and the world to make sure that everyone is warned to get protected. They have a guideline to fight Zika as approved by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Always be updated about Zika virus especially at the present condition of the rampant spread of the virus. To know more about the updates on the Zika Virus, keep up with the latest news and breakthroughs here in Parent Herald.
Premedical school can be either tough or exciting depending on your perceptions and anticipations for Medical School. If it is a mixed emotion on your part, it would be better to balance it by taking the best of the "Gap Year" to prepare yourself for a higher level of challenges and excitement.

UC San Diego School of Medicine (UCSDSM) challenges medical students to "drink from a fire-hose without drowning". It can be really hard to enter medical school immediately after your pre-med school. You need to make sure that you have formulated study strategies before enrolling, thus there is a need to maximize the gap year for this. How to yield to such strategies is the question though. UCSDSM simply answers this by active learning and not passive reading.

USNews featured the pros and cons of the gap year before med school and these were far from the advice mentioned above. It says in the article that during the one year rest before med school, you have to take the opportunity to pursue other interests, reflect on your reasons for taking up med school, and save for your financial needs. On the other hand, the cons mentioned were that you have a shorter medical career (as if one year is so much), a year of a physician's salary (but this surely makes sense), and the ambiguity that you have to face from a year of siesta to a year of drowning from the fire-hose.

A study says that the key to effective learning involves three actions: "Test Yourself, Learn Actively, and Repeat in Intervals". The Gap year is essential for some people while others can always go directly from pre-med school to medical school. It really depends on the person. If you are choosing to take a gap year, you need to attain a great balance by resting your mind, body, and soul along with setting your study strategies. Med school is hard. No dream is too easy.
Will the "Sons of Anarchy" prequel take a back seat for "Mayans MC?" The SOA spin-off series is reportedly coming to the FX Network, spurring rumors that the highly anticipated prequel could be shelved.

Series creator Kurt Sutter recently revealed via his official Twitter account that the spin-off and not the "Sons of Anarchy" prequel is underway. "The return is near. #MayansMC," Sutter teased.

If fans can remember, FX CEO John Landgraf has already teased that a spin-off has been green lit. In a previous "Sons of Anarchy" prequel and spin-off update, Landgraf teased some details about Sutter's new project.

"[Sutter] has been writing and working on an idea for a show, and he's also re-expressed interest in another show in the Sons of Anarchy franchise," Landgraf said, as reported by Variety.

"The network is very hot on the Mayans project, and I won't run that show," he told Deadline. "For me, this is about finding the right writer and the next thing I will be doing is sitting down and interviewing to find a Latino writer, someone who understands the world and culture. I don't want to just throw some white guy at it."

As Vine Report noted, the "Sons of Anarchy" spin-off was helped produced by Latino filmmaker Elgin James. He was reportedly the best choice to help Sutter achieve a "dark and visceral family drama."

"I wanted to find a strong, unique Latino voice," Sutter told Deadline. "Because I didn't think a white guy from Jersey should be writing about Latin culture and traditions. Elgin is that voice."

Do you think a "Sons of Anarchy" prequel will ever make it to TV? Sound off below!

Stay tuned for more "Sons of Anarchy" updates here!
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading a lawsuit involving 13 U.S. states against Barack Obama's transgender bathroom policy. The coalition has asked a federal court in Texas this week to stop the policy's enforcement while the lawsuit is ongoing.

Coalition Bent On Fighting Obama Directive

Paxton asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for an injunction on the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and other federal agencies, Reuters reported. The injunction will prevent the governing bodies from allowing transgender people to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas that correspond with the gender they identify with.

Paxton said schools could lose funding "for simply exercising the authority to implement the policies that best protect their students," according to his statement quoted by Reuters. The Attorney General said the Obama administration is equating the term "sex" with "gender identity" in federal laws even though they're not the same.

Equating these terms could spur a movement that will force schools and businesses in the United States to allow people to use gender-specific facilities that don't correspond with their gender at birth. Other states involved in the lawsuit are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, Breitbart listed.

Last week, Paxton issued a non-binding opinion stating that the new transgender policy violates state law. This is because the policy puts "parents to a subordinate status" in their children's lives, according to Dallas Morning News.

The Justice Department plans to resolve the injunction motion before the 2016-17 school year begins. The Justice Department is required to respond to the injunction request by July 27.

Obama's Defense

President Obama has come under fire after the transgender bathroom directive was issued on May 13. In his defense, Obama said that transgender children in schools are facing discrimination and bullying and accommodating these kids -even through something as simple as bathrooms and changing rooms can greatly help their situation, Fox News reported.

The president's transgender bathroom policy relies on Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities. Schools that don't follow Obama's directive will face federal funding cuts.

Texas Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, meanwhile, said at a recent press conference that he will support schools that refuse to comply with the transgender bathroom policy. Echoing his fellow Republicans' views about the matter, Patrick said allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity would put other students' privacy and safety at risk.
A court has laid down a preliminary injunction against the implementation of an Indiana law that bans the abortion of a fetus due to having a disability such as Down syndrome. The court's decision was in response to a petition of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.

"The United States Supreme Court has stated in categorical terms that a state may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability," according to judge Tanya Walton Pratt, as per Christian Today. Pratt added that the law is in conflict with the rights of women to end her pregnancy before its viability.

BREAKING: Judge Blocks Indiana Law Banning Abortions on Babies With Down Syndrome https://t.co/UELMaWNK9S #tcot pic.twitter.com/im5O7aPQBO  LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) June 30, 2016

Law Also Prevents Abortion For Other Causes

Gov. Mike Pence had earlier signed House Bill 1337 or the Dignity for the Unborn Law and it would have taken effect on July 1 had not Pratt decided to stop its implementation a day before. Christian Today said that besides banning abortion due to disabilities such as Down syndrome, the law has also disallowed abortion due to reasons of sex, race, color, national origin or ancestry.

According to a report from Life News, the law also mandated that aborted or miscarried babies should be cremated or buried. The law also required yearly renewal for abortionists who have hospital admitting privileges. The report said Pratt had earlier laid down decisions siding with the abortion lobby.

"Some of my most precious moments as Governor have been with families of children with disabilities, especially those raising children with Down syndrome," the report quoted Pence as saying when he signed the law. Pence had called the law a "comprehensive pro-life measure."

Abortion In Indiana

Since Pratt only gave a preliminary injunction, the state of Indiana can still defend the law and ask the court to have the law banning abortions of fetuses with Down syndrome upheld, reported ABC News. Anti-abortion group Indiana Right to Life has reportedly asked the state to appeal Pratt's decision while the state attorney's general would be reviewing the court's ruling.

Indiana has reportedly six clinics where mother can seek abortion even as abortions have seen a decline from 10,031 in 2010 to 8,118 in 2014. These clinics are located in Indianapolis, Merrillville, Bloomington and Lafayette.

Do you agree with the court's decision? Share your thoughts below.
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kuznetsov

Russia's state-run TASS news agency recently announced that Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, will deploy to the Mediterranean from October 2016 to January 2017 to fly sorties against the enemies of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

"The General Staff has prepared a plan for involvement of the deck aircraft in delivering strikes on terrorist groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the crews will practice taking off the carrier to deliver strikes on ground targets," the source told TASS.

This deployment will mark only the fifth deployment of the Kuznetsov since it's launch in 1985. All previous deployments only lasted a few months were also in the Mediterranean.

Additionally, the Kuznetsov only displaces about 55,000 tons and can support about 30 aircraft. It's ski-jump platform and lack of catapults mean that planes launched from the Kuznetsov have a reduced maximum takeoff weight, and can therefore carry less fuel and strike within shorter ranges, meaning the carrier will have to float closer to the shore.

The Kuznetsov is further limited by mechanical issues and the fact that it has to be refueled every 45 days or so.

In comparison, US aircraft carriers are nuclear powered and can stay at sea for extended periods. Currently the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is stationed in the Mediterranean in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led mission to destroy ISIS.

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The aircraft carrier will come to the Mediterranean Sea roughly before end of January - early February, after that it will return home and in February-March it will undergo maintenance and modernization in Severodvinsk, supposedly at Sevmash," the source told TASS.

The Russian media outlet reported that "about 15 fighters Su-33 and MiG-29K/KUB and more than ten helicopters Ka-52K, Ka-27 and Ka-31," would carry out strikes from the ship, while regular land-based operations from Hymemim Air Base in Syria continue.

Story continues

NOW WATCH: A Russian orchestra threw a surprise concert in the ancient city of Palmyra





More From Business Insider


Once again Apple's CEO and Eddy Cue are at this week's summer camp for billionaires where media giants gather in Sun Valley. It's also where big corporate deals are secured. The invite-only event is being hosted by investment banking firm Allen & Co. In our cover graphic you're seeing Apple's Tim Cook and Eddie Cue schmoozing with the head of Disney Bob Iger. Despite this gathering, 'Recode' reports, "there isn't a big chance of Apple launching a TV subscription business anytime soon." Though "If it does happen, securing the rights to ESPN, which is controlled by Disney, would be the linchpin to Apple's streaming service." If a deal is made during this event, we're likely to only hear about it during one of Apple's product events scheduled for later this fall. For more on this, read the full Recode report here.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments.
According to a new research report, AMOLED manufacturing equipment market for Apple's use for the 5 years between 2016-2020 is expected to reach US$13 billion. According to 2016 OLED Manufacturing Equipment Annual Report, published on 7 July by UBI Research, the global Gen6 flexible AMOLED manufacturing equipment market is expected to record US$28 billion in 2016-2020. Believe it or not, 47% of this figure is for Apple's use costing US$13 billion. The figure is based on Apple applying flexible panels to some its new iPhone models to be released in 2017, and all new models released in 2018.

Apple occupies approximately 15% of the total smartphone sales with over 200 million units per year. As such, it is expected to have great impact on future flexible panel market expansion.

In 2021, global flexible AMOLED panel shipment is estimated to exceed 1 billion units. UBI Research forecasts Apple iPhone's flexible panel will occupy 20% of the total flexible AMOLED shipment in 2017, and exceed 50% in 2021.

UBI Research explains that in order to meet Apple's flexible AMOLED panel demand, the required panel production capa. is analyzed to be 30K per month in 2017, and total 300K per month in 2021. In context, that's based on Gen.6 size panels as noted below.

Furthermore, panel companies' mass production line is expanding accordingly, and Samsung Display in particular is expected to invest 30K per year directed to Apple.





In 2015 Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple on the Cusp of Signing Deals with LG and Samsung for Next-Gen OLED Flexible iPhone Displays" In that report we noted that "LG Display is currently discussing about first supplying 30,000 flexible OLED panels per month based on size of Gen.6 board to Apple. After securing stable yields, then it is going to supply minimum of 45,000 sheets to maximum of 60,000 sheets per month. LG is expected to be ready to be Apple's second supplier sometime in 201l8.

On Monday Patently Apple posted a report titled "Samsung is spinning off their OLED Display Division Due to Apple's OLED iPhone Business." So today's UBI report would strongly support that development. The report further noted that "Applied Materials is expected to show Q2 display manufacturing equipment sales increased by almost 6 times bolstered by OLED market growth."

In the end, today's trend as noted by Applied Materials and the forecast by UBI Research shows us that the need to meet Apple's demand for OLED displays from 2017 through to 2018 is simply staggering.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments.
According to a new Korean news report, "Google and Apple are resisting the Korean government's legal revision to uninstall preloaded apps on their new mobile devices. According to local news daily Asia Economy, the two US tech giants have recently offered their official opposition to the planned revision through the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea.

The Korea Herald's report further noted that "In April, the Korea Communications Commission, the telecom regulator, announced a revision that will allow consumers to delete apps they don't need.

Following government guidelines announced in 2014, Korean handset manufacturers and telecom carriers are making their preinstalled apps removable but foreign companies such as Google and Apple still resist following the rules that are not legally binding.

Google, the operator of the most widely used operating system Android here, installs 11 preloaded apps in Samsung's Galaxy S7 and 14 in LG's G5. All the apps, categorized as essential, cannot be removed.

The Korean report claimed that "Local companies preinstall some 60 apps on new devices but most of them, except three to four key apps, now can be removed." What the report conveniently omits is the fact that Apple's iOS 10 coming in September will allow users to remove 23 preinstalled apps as noted below. That's a huge omission.

Built-in apps that will be Removable from an iOS Device Home Screen

If you have iOS 10 beta, you can remove these apps from your Home screen:





The only native apps that are still mandatory are the App Store, Camera, Activity, Wallet, Find iPhone, Health, Messages, Phone, Safari and Settings. Contacts can be removed on an iPhone but it has to stay on an iPad, and News will be removable in a later version of iOS 10 beta, according to Apple.

There's a huge difference between demanding annoying bloatware be removed from PC's and mobile devices like smartphones and trying to handicap leading OEM's like Apple that create a world class suit of essential apps that allow the device to be useful to users right out of the box.

Samsung and LG can't deliver software people actually want and so the government is trying to assist these local OEMs by trying to force Apple and Google to dumb down their operating systems and essential apps.

In the end, Apple is going the extra mile in iOS 10 to assist owners of iOS devices to remove 23 apps this fall, but they shouldn't be forced to strip iOS of other apps going forward. To compromise is always good for business. To dictate and impose anti-competitive measures is whole different matter.





About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments.
Pretty funny, when videos of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Comey are placed side by side:

https://reason.com/reasontv/2016/07/05/hillary-clinton-vs-james-comey-email-sca

These items, alas, arent so funny, but they offer insight from an array of lawyers, former federal prosecutors, a former Congressman and Senator, and so forth:

Hillary Clinton Lied About Her Email  The FBI Proved It

Hillarys Banana Republic

If Hillary Had Been a Soldier in the Army, Heres How Shed Be Treated

FBI Rewrites Federal Law to Let Hillary Off the Hook

FBI Director Comey Is Wrong: The Case for Prosecuting Hillary Clinton Is Strong

Getting Elected President: The Only Way Hillary Could Now Get a Security Clearance

Comeys Was an Extremely Careless Decision

I received a mass-email note from Utah Congressman Chris Stewart earlier this afternoon, entitled America Deserves an Honest Leader. Congressman Stewart opens his message by declaring that, Regardless of the FBIs announcement on their investigation into Secretary Clintons carelessness in the handling of very sensitive and highly classified information, the American people still know she is unfit to be president. And he concludes by saying that The American people know Hillary cannot be trusted and that is why I am confident she will be held accountable in November.

Im much less confident. The Republicans, after all, will soon nominate a man who is himself unfit to be president. Given that fact, how can we send Hillary a message?

In some ways, theyre so alike that its actually a bit uncanny: Perhaps were repulsed by Bill Clintons history of womanizing. Is Donald Trump a more attractive option on that score? Have Hillary and Bill used government connections to make millions? So has Donald Trump. And so on and so forth.
I recently came upon an article in The American Thinker, written Steve McCann and titled The Left Has Won. The entire article is surreal. To those actually on the Left, its almost laughableto say that the Left has won, in a country without universal healthcare or equal rights for LGBTQ people, is the ultimate absurdity. But I want to zero in on one specific bit of the articlea piece that points to some serious problems with the ways conservative view our country and its place in history.

[The United States] stands alone in history as: 1) a nation founded in revolution, 2) a country with a 240-year history of individual freedom and free enterprise and, 3) as a political entity with overwhelming ethnic diversity.

Lets take it from the top, shall we?

Lets start by talking about Mexico. Like the territory that is now the United States, the territory that is now Mexico has a long and vibrant history going back many thousands of years. Also like the United States, Mexico was colonized by a European country. The timeframe was similar. Thirty-five years after the Battles of Lexington and Concord sparked the American Revolution, the Grito de Delores sparked Mexicos battle for independence. In 1821, Spain at last recognized Mexicos independence, after a long-fought insurgency carried out by the Mexican people. If thats not founded in revolution, Im not sure what is.

The idea that the United States stands alone in history as a nation founded in revolution is utter nonsense. What of India? Was that country not founded as the result of a popular uprising by the people against their British colonizers? What about the Haitian Revolution of 1791 to 1804, in which the islands black African slave population rose up against their French colonial masters and successfully seized control? In fact, many modern nations were founded through popular uprisings against colonial controlor in other words, revolution may be the most common way our worlds former colonial territories became the modern nation states they are today. One need only recall the name Simon Bolivar to understand how obvious this is.

Whats that? You dont remember hearing the name Simon Bolivar in your high school history textbooks? That may be because history as taught in the U.S. today tends to be very narrowly focused on the U.S. and Europe, at the expense of other regions of the world. And yes, that means you may have missed out on learning about some of our worlds greatest revolutionaries. It is a sad testament to the inadequacy of our nations popular history textbooks that individuals like McCann can, with a straight face, claim that the United states stands alone in history as . . . a nation founded in revolution. The rest of the world can see that for the lie it is.

Perhaps McCann would argue, when faced with these facts, that he means the only nation that was originally founded through a revolution, not the only nation that has ever experienced a revolution. This argument fails on several levels. First, there were governmental systems and bodies in place before the American Revolution. The United States as a nation was of necessity founded on that infrastructure. Second, there are a multitude of other countries that did not exist in their modern form before a founding revolution, often against colonial control. Haiti is an example of this. Third, Oxford English Dictionary defines revolution as a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. In other words, the USSR was founded by means of a revolution, even though the country Russia had already existed.

Now lets look at McCanns second claimthat the United States stands alone in history as a country with a 240-year history of individual freedom and free enterprise. Has McCann forgotten about slavery? Or the fact that women couldnt vote 100 years ago? Or about Jim Crow? Or about how our nations native population was treated? Or about the Japanese internment? The law of coverture, under which women ceased to exist as legal entities upon marriage? I really could go on. I mean for gods sake, remember that when the U.S. was first founded, only white men who owned property could vote. Even universal white male suffrage took time. That our nation as a 240-year history of individual freedom would be news to a lot of groups who certainly did not experience that freedom.

Furthermore, inasmuch as our nation has championed individual freedom, it is not alone. Indeed, the ideas of individual freedom many of our founding fathers embraced (though often in word only) were not developed in what would become the United Statesthey were developed in Europe. Great Britain, the homeland of famous philosopher John Locke, abolished slavery three decades before the U.S. did. Indeed, England passed a Bill of Rights in 1689. Great Britains record on individual rights is no more perfect than that of the United States, but the claim that the United States is unique in the world in its treatment of individual freedom is simplistic and reductionist and suffers from a lack of knowledge of the rest of the world. What about Frances 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen?

As for free enterprise, the United States did not invent capitalismnor has our economic history been without its bumps. What of the early American struggle over the national bank, and the creation and sustaining of currency? Similarly, as anyone who has studied U.S. history knows, the Progressive Era (roughly 1880 to 1920) is replete with stories of economic monopolies and government trust busting. Some industrialists created factory towns and required their workers to live in their housing and buy from their stores, generally at inflated prices. And while were on the topiccan any business model based on slavery truly be described as free enterprise? This is all without getting into questions of tariffs, which were often geared toward protecting specific industriesto me such practices look more like guided enterprise than free enterpriseand the crony capitalism that has existed for much of our history. Our economic system is not as unique (or as free) as McCann would have his readers think.

Now we reach McCanns third claimthat the United States stands alone in history as . . . a political entity with overwhelming ethnic diversity. Now I dont know about you, but when I look up countries to learn more about them, almost the first thing I inevitably read is that the country is made up of multiple different ethnic groups. For example, Iraq is made up of Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. This kind of ethnic and religious diversity is typical of many countries around the world.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is made up of over 200 ethnic groups, of which the four largest constitute 45% of the nations total population of 66 million. The Congolese people speak hundreds of local languages; the nation has one official language (French) and four national languages (Kituba, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba). If thats not diverse, I dont know what is! The truth is that there are a multitude of political entities more ethnically and religiously diverse than the United States, both today and in the past. Think of the Roman Empire, for example. The idea that the United States is somehow unique in its diversity is utter nonsense.

I have become increasingly convinced that history as taught in our nations schools is fundamentally flawed, and for me, McCanns flat-out false claims about the United States history, freedoms, and diversity only drives that home. Our children are taught that the United States is unique and special, but are not taught enough about other countries to determine whether this claim is accurate. We live in an increasingly global world. Earlier this week, a womans memoir of her gap year in Zambia was called into question after Africans took to twitter to point out glaring inaccuracies. We dont live in a bubble anymore, and we need to stop acting like we do.

Its time we stopped thinking about how very special the United States is and took some time to learn about the rest of the world. Are there ways in which the United States does stand alone in history? Almost certainly! But we cant even begin to pinpoint those ways if we dont know enough about the worlds history and present to avoid the sort of mistakes McCann makes.


Actually this is quite the day in the great calendar. Among many other things it is World (or, International) Chocolate Day, as well as, as pretty much any flying saucer enthusiast can tell you the day in 1947 when a flying saucer crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. Tis also in 1954 the day Elvis Presley was first heard on radio, when his freshly minted Thats All Right debuted on WHBQ in Memphis.

Some ugly things happened on this day, as well.

But, I have to go with the fact it is Robert Heinleins birthday. He was born on this day in 1907, in Butler, MO. As an adolescent Heinlein was probably my favorite writer. At least he shared the pantheon for me with Arthur C Clarke & Issac Asimov. His books, starting with his juvenile novels which I devoured, and then particularly Stranger in a Strange Land, were quite important for me.

Heinlein was a complicated character. Still, whatever else might be said of him, he certainly always was interesting. Ted Gioia cited in Wikipedia observed how Heinlein has been accused of many thingsof being a libertine or a libertarian, a fascist or a fetishist, pre-Oedipal or just plain preposterous. Heinleins critics cut across all ends of the political spectrum, as do his fans. His admirers have ranged from Madalyn Murray OHair, the founder of American Atheists, to members of the Church of All Worlds, who hail Heinlein as a prophet. Apparently both true believers and non-believers, and perhaps some agnostics, have found sustenance in Heinleins prodigious output.

What could a teenaged boy looking out from a particularly constrained life hope for more than someone who said sex was okay, racism was wrong, and that above all the individual should be completely autonomous? For a couple of years he was a prophet pointing to something for me. Not quite sure how in any sort of detailed or specific way, but it felt important.

As an adult I would say that last part of his message about the absolute autonomy of the individual misses some serious complications with the real world, where the reality is we must deal with the messy twin truths that the individual is totally unique, never to be repeated, and we are totally woven out of each other and the world, which brings with it some heavy responsibilities that extend out well beyond our skins

But, for today, just a small thank you to someone who was important to me at a difficult phase in my life, and who offered perspectives that I would continue to say were more healthful than not.

Happy birthday, Bob!

And, thank you!
Brandan Robertsons Nomad is one mans compelling account of moving beyond the boundaries of rigid religion, into an expansive true spirituality. Robertsons story is not just his own, but the story of a growing caravan of nomads who are discovering the beauty and complexity of faith and life in fresh ways. This book is a trustworthy companion for anyone who is seeking to discover a new way of being in the world.

Richard Rohr OFM, Founder, Center for Action and Contemplation

The thing about Brandan is hes really intelligent and he has a huge heart, but hes also fearless, and its that alchemy that makes him such a compelling voice for the new thing that Jesus is up to in the world.

Rob Bell, author, How To Be Here

Brandan Robertson is a courageous young man. He has dared to climb fences and explore new territory outside the back yard of his religious background. He has discovered the gift of asking questions, and the joy that comes from seeking understanding with other seekers. In addition, he is a graceful and insightful writer, as Nomad makes clear. I hope this is the first of many!

Dr. Brian D. McLaren, author, We Make The Road By Walking

Nomad unfolds the tale of a fluid soul, of one who has found Living Water and is willing to both ride its spiritual rapids and float on its grace. With honesty and wit, and in fresh and luminous prose, Brandan Robertson invites others to embark on a healing journey toward the love of God.

Diana Butler Bass, author, Grounded: Finding God in the World  A Spiritual Revolution

Rarely have I read a book that has touched me more than Nomad. My friend Brandan has been captivated by Jesus and he yearns to explore and discover more of life and faith. He understands that radical community, authenticity, rhythm and belonging are deeply attractive to younger people and he gently challenges us to create more space for discovery and mystery in our church life. He challenges us to live the Jesus Movement values of grace, love, hope and forgiveness. However this book is not just theology; it is autobiography as Brandan earths this book in a deeply moving telling of his own story. I could hear his heartbeat as he bares his soul with us in a beautiful and vulnerable way. I laughed and I cried with him. This book is a gift to us all and I hope it is the first of many.
Patna: The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is gearing up to demolish the top three floors of the Santosha Apartment Complex located in Bandar Bagicha that were deemed illegal by the PMC and later upheld by the Supreme Court.

A team of 18 PMC officials that includes a Chief Engineer, four Executive Engineers, and three Assistant Engineers, among others, will be present during the demolition process that has been scheduled for Friday, July 8, officials said.

City Commissioner Abhishek Singh is believed to have sought at least 150 policemen and policewomen to deal with any situation that might arise due to the simmering anger among the residents who stand to lose their homes with little chance of being adequately compensated.

"We have given adequate warning to the residents of 21 flats that were built in complete violation of the original plan. The Registrar of the Supreme Court is holding Rs. 25 crore for compensation to those who will lose their homes but these people have not made any attempt to move out to a different location and collect the money and instead, want a full-blown standoff with law enforcement officials. Now we have no choice but to abide by the Supreme Court directives and move ahead with our plan to demolish the 6th, 7th, and 8th floor of the building," Singh said.

Meanwhile, residents of the 21 apartments are vowing to stop their homes from being destroyed.

"We have asked the state government to intervene and save our homes. If the construction was illegal then what was the PMC doing for the last 18 years? Instead of making us homeless, these officials should be prosecuted and jailed," said Subodh Goel in a press conference on Wednesday.
Podcast

About 75% of military recruits arrive at a training base with no bank account and have to be bussed to a local bank to open one, says Jill Castilla, CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond. The bank's team is building a platform that will help service members save and build credit.
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrei Makhovsky MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) - When Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea region, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko began trying to loosen his close ties with Moscow, fearing his country would be the next target. Two years on, an abrupt drop in Russian oil supplies to the small ex-Soviet state may force Lukashenko into rethinking a policy that includes patching up relations with the West. The Kremlin appears to be sending a message that, with the Belarus economy in recession and propped up by subsidized Russian oil and gas, Lukashenko will pay a heavy price if he wants to turn his back on his old friends in Moscow. Ukraine regularly accused Russia of political intimidation by cutting energy supplies in the years leading to the 2014 annexation during disputes that Moscow said were commercial. Now Belarus is experiencing something similar. Since the start of this month, Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has been pumping about 40 percent less oil to Belarus than in the second quarter of this year. Belarus relies on Russian crude for its two oil refineries. The petroleum products they produce are sold abroad, generating about a fifth of total exports, official data show. Minsk has been trying to buy crude from other suppliers, three oil market sources told Reuters. But that will be more expensive than Russian oil which Moscow offers at a discount. Russian energy officials say the cut in deliveries to Belarus is the result of a commercial dispute. But others view Russia's moves as its response to Lukashenko trying to draw closer to Western governments. "This is a way to show the Belarusian leadership that it has to be more 'modest' in its relations with the West," said Denis Melyantsov, a senior analyst with the Belarussian Institute for Strategic Studies think tank, told Reuters. A high-level-Russian energy industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the understanding in the industry was that Lukashenko is being punished for his overtures to the West and critical comments directed at Russia. Lukashenko, a mustachioed former collective farm manager, sounded a defiant note on Wednesday when he met the U.S. embassy's charge d'affaires in Minsk. He told the diplomat he wanted to normalize relations with Washington and, in a veiled reference to Russia, said no country could veto U.S.-Belarussian ties. UKRAINE SCARE Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has never been an easy partner for the Kremlin. He has frequently tried to play Moscow off against the West to extract the best deals for his country. Still, Russia has regarded Belarus as its closest ally. The two countries are officially designated as united in a "union state", though that body has no formal decision-making powers. Lukashenko's stance changed after Russia annexed Crimea and then gave its backing to pro-Moscow rebels fighting a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Like Crimea and eastern Ukraine, Belarus has a large Russian-speaking community who feel affinity with Moscow. "The Belarussian establishment and Lukashenko personally were scared by the situation with Ukraine," said Andrei Yegorov, the director of Minsk-based think tank the Centre For European Transformation. Lukashenko declined to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and put on hold discussions with Moscow about the Russian military establishing an air base on Belarussian soil. "The behavior of our eastern brother cannot fail to worry us," Lukashenko said at a meeting with officials in Minsk in December 2014. "We are not a gigantic state, we do not have nuclear weapons, but our army is sufficiently capable to respond to any threat... Therefore we will protect our patch of land, our statehood, and our independence." Lukashenko launched a diplomatic push to mend ties with the European Union and United States damaged by Western allegations that he rigged elections and persecuted his political opponents. His diplomacy paid off in February this year when the EU ended sanctions that had been in place for five years. Belarus is now in discussions with the International Monetary Fund about a $3 billion loan. BELARUS LOOPHOLE Lukashenko - who often brings his 11-year-old son Nikolai along to official engagements - still makes lavish public displays of Belarussian friendship towards Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Yet some Belarussian actions undermine policies the Kremlin is trying to pursue. In 2014, Moscow banned fresh food imports from the EU in retaliation for sanctions Brussels imposed on Russia over Ukraine. According to people involved in the Russian food trade, Belarus provides a loophole. They say Polish food is delivered to Belarus, where it is repackaged to make it look as though it is Belarussian produce and shipped to Russia. Russia cannot stop this because border controls between the countries have been removed under a customs union agreement. The head of a major Russian food producer said Moscow had at one point offered to help Minsk beef up its customs controls to stop the flow of food. To which Lukashenko replied: 'What? You don't trust us?" said the executive, who did not want to be identified as discussing private exchanges. BATTLE OF NERVES Russia usually supplies Belarus with more than 20 million tonnes of oil per year (400,000 barrels per day). The shipping schedule for the third quarter showed that supplies would be cut to 3.5 million tonnes. Igor Dyomin, a spokesman for Transneft, said oil has been shipped to Belarus in accordance with the scaled-down schedule since the start of July. Russian energy officials say the volumes have been reduced due to a row over Russian gas supplies. Minsk wants the price its pays for this reduced, though the gas is already sold at a discount. A source close to the Belarus government doubted this explanation, saying it "comes as a surprise" to Minsk. Ultimately, Belarus has limited room for maneuver because of its economic dependence. It is vulnerable over gas supplies as well as oil. In theory it could import gas from Poland instead, but would have to pay much more. According to Reuters calculations, subsidies for Russian energy to Belarus amount to approximately $3 billion per year, around a third of the state budget revenues. Belarus can ill afford to lose those subsidies; the economy contracted 4 percent in 2015 and has shrunk 3 percent since the start of this year. Any aid from the West will come with strings attached that are likely to be unpalatable to Lukashenko. The IMF has said the $3 billion loan that Belarus requested is conditional on liberal market reforms that Lukashenko has avoided for years. (Additional reporting by Gleb Gorodyankin and Olga Yagova in Moscow and Dmitry Zhdannikov in LONDON; Editing by Christian Lowe and David Stamp)
U.S. Lawmakers Debating Bills To Prohibit Boeing Sale To Iran 07/07/16 07/07/16 Source: RFE/RL U.S. Republican lawmakers are debating legislation to bar the sale of Boeing passenger jets to Iran as authorized under the nuclear deal.



A U.S. House subcommittee on July 7 will debate legislation aimed at halting Boeing's sale of passenger jets to Iran, in the largest U.S.-Iranian business transaction since 1979.

The hearing "will examine the Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran and how it opened the door for the sale of American-made aircraft to the world's leading state sponsor of terror," said House Financial Services trade subcommittee chairman Bill Huizenga, a Republican from Michigan.

"I am extremely concerned that by relaxing the rules, the Obama administration has allowed U.S. companies to be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian regime," he said.

A House committee aide told Reuters that, with congressional Republicans universally opposed to the nuclear deal, the committee is likely to approve the legislation, though a vote has not yet been scheduled.

Republicans control majorities in both the House and Senate. Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation and President Barack Obama could veto it, if it passes Congress.

Boeing executive Timothy Keating told the subcommittee last month that Congress knew the sale and lease of 110 passenger jets to IranAir, in a deal valued at $17.6 billion, was envisioned in the nuclear accord.

"It was made clear to us in those consultations that the ability to provide Iranian airlines with U.S. and European replacement commercial passenger aircraft for their aging fleets was key and essential to reaching closure on the agreement," Keating said in a letter.

One bill before the subcommittee would prohibit the U.S. Treasury Department from licensing the Boeing sale to IranAir.

The subcommittee also plans to debate legislation to prevent Treasury from authorizing U.S. banks to finance the deal and prohibiting the Export-Import bank from financing projects in Iran

The Boeing deal was not expected to rely on Ex-Im financing, however.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas Republican) and Rep. Peter Roskam (Illinois Republican) wrote a letter to Boeing last month describing Iran as "terrorism's central supplier" and saying "American companies should not be complicit in weaponizing the Iranian regime."

Testimony submitted by witnesses scheduled to appear at the hearing on July 7 shows they plan to voice similar concerns.

"[T]he sale of such aircraft to Iran, and in particular to IranAir, raises serious concerns that such planes will be used to traffic illicit arms and militants to Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to militants in Yemen," Eric Lorber of the Financial Integrity Network wrote in his testimony.

"This fear is warranted, as recent research has shown IranAir -- as well as still-designated entities like Mahan Air -- regularly flies commercial aircraft to Syria and Lebanon that are known to -- or suspected of -- transporting arms, cash from illicit activities, or foreign militants," he wrote.

Deliveries of the Boeing airliners are set to begin in 2017 and run through 2025. Boeing's European rival Airbus also is expected to sell planes to Iran.

With reporting by Reuters and The Hill



Copyright (c) 2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Ailing Iranian Political Prisoner Temporarily Released and Promised Retrial Shortly After Judiciary's Harsh Refusal

07/07/16

Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Imprisoned labor activist Jafar Azimzadeh was temporarily released on extendable furlough on June 30, 2016 and promised a retrial three days after judicial authorities publicly refused to look into his case following a debilitating hunger strike that left him hospitalized.



Jafar Azimzadeh



We will not do anything for Jafar Azimzadeh and whatever the hell happens to him, we will accept the consequences, the Tehran Prosecutors Office told Azimzadehs relatives on June 27, 2016 after they delivered a letter from the Official Medical Examiners office recommending urgent treatment for Azimzadeh.

Azimzadehs wife, Akram Rahimpour, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran on June 27, 2016 that her husband had been on hunger strike for the past two months. My husband is not willing to end his hunger strike. He has been hospitalized [since June 17, 2016] and the IV is the only thing keeping him alive, she said. Hes physically weak and the pain and bleeding in his stomach have worsened. There have also been dangerous fluctuations in his heart beat.

Azimzadehs former cellmate Esmail Abdi, the secretary general of the Teachers Association of Iran-who was conditionally released from prison on May 14, 2016 on bail until his sentence is finalized-told the Campaign that the Official Medical Examiner had recommended medical furlough (temporary leave) for Azimzadeh so he could receive proper medical care for his urgent health problems.

We hope that the prosecutor will pay attention to the medical examiners letter and avoid a human tragedy and do the rational thing by releasing him as soon as possible and reviewing his case, said Abdi on June 27, 2016.

Political prisoners in Iran are singled out for particularly harsh treatment, which often includes denial of medical care.

Rahimpour said that Azimzadeh has been on hunger strike since April 29, 2016 to protest the six-year prison sentence he was handed for his peaceful protest activities in support of workers rights.

Remove the charge of assembly and collusion against national security and other security charges from my case and those of other labor activists and teachers, wrote Azimzadeh from his cell in Evin Prisons Ward 8 in an open letter to Deputy Labor Minister Hassan Hefdahtan on June 17.

In the three-year lifespan of the Rouhani administration, the majority of the most effective independent labor activists and teachers have been prosecuted under national security laws and given long prison sentences, he said. Most of these individuals were arrested by the Intelligence Ministry under the current government and all of them were charged with assembly and collusion against national security and faced maximum penalties in the Revolutionary Court.

On June 27, 2016, the Free Workers Union of Iran reported that Azimzadeh had lost consciousness for an hour this morning and there is a danger that a great tragedy could take his life.

Azimzadeh, a 50-year-old former welder and father of two sons, was arrested on April 30, 2014 in part for his alleged assistance in coordinating the collection of more than 30,000 signatures from workers demanding the formation of the Free Workers Union of Iran and the Union of Expelled and Unemployed Workers. He was also charged for allegedly organizing labor protests and speaking to foreign media outlets.

On March 1, 2015 he was sentenced to six years in prison for assembly and collusion against national security and propaganda against the state by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. He reported to Evin Prison in Tehran on November 8, 2015 after the Appeals Court upheld the sentence.

Independent unions are not allowed to function in Iran, workers are routinely fired and risk arrest for striking, and labor leaders are prosecuted under national security charges and sentenced to long prison terms.
Armed bandits kill four border guards in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province

07/07/16

Source: Press TV

Armed bandits have killed four Iranian border guards during clashes in the country's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan. An informed source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IRNA on Wednesday that the guards were killed in an ambush by terrorists in the border region of Jakigour in the southern Sarbaz district of the province.



file photo showing Iranian guards monitoring the border

file photo showing Iranian guards monitoring the border

Police and military forces are investigating the attack, which was followed by clashes in which a number of terrorists were also killed or injured, the source added.

Reza Abdi, head of the provincial branch of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, confirmed that they had received bodies of four soldiers, saying the names of the victims will be released soon.

Iranian forces have recently engaged in clashes with terror groups, thwarting their terrorist activities on the border and within the country, arresting several of them and confiscating large amounts of explosives and bomb-making materials.

Last month, a police officer and five members of the so-called Jaish ul-Adl terror group were killed in the Khash region in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Police spokesman, General Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi, said the terrorists sought to conduct acts of terror inside the country, noting that a huge amount of ammunition was confiscated from them.

Jaish-ul-Adl has claimed responsibility for a number of criminal activities in Iran and Pakistan in recent years.

In June, Iran's Intelligence Ministry also thwarted a Takfiri-Wahhabi plot to stage attacks in Iran's major cities, including the capital city of Tehran.

The ministry released a video depicting raids by security forces on the hideout of the terrorists in Tehran. Last Monday, it also released another video footage of confessions by two terrorists, who detailed their plot to conduct terrorist attacks in the Iranian capital.

Earlier, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi had briefed reporters on the recent swoop, saying that as many as 10 terrorists had been detained from June 14 to 20 in Tehran and three border and central provinces.
In Support Of The Imprisoned Iranian-American Father And Son, Baquer And Siamak Namazi

07/07/16



Baquer Namazi with his son Siamak



Related Story: U.S. legislators to call for release of Americans held by Iran





Iranian-American organizations NIAC Action and PAAIA have issued press releases in support of a resolution introduced in the U.S. Congress demanding that Iran release two imprisoned Iranian-Americans, father and son Baquer and Siamak Namazi. No charges have been filed against either Siamak, held since October 2015, or his father, held since February 2016.

Press Release by NIAC Action, Washington, DC

NIAC Action Welcomes Resolution Urging Namazis Release

NIAC Action Executive Director Jamal Abdi released the following statement welcoming the introduction of a resolution from Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA), the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Gerry Connolly (D-VA) urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer Namazi:

We are thankful to Representatives Royce and Connolly for leading this important bipartisan resolution urging the swift release of Iranian Americans Siamak and Baquer Namazi, and hope that Congress will swiftly pass the measure. The Iranian government should immediately release Siamak and Baquer and enable them to return home to their families. They are not guilty of any wrongdoing, have not been formally charged with any crime despite their months-long detention, and should not be imprisoned solely on the basis of paranoia or political agendas from hardliners in Iran.

NIAC Action and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) supported the introduction of this resolution and hope that U.S. officials will double down in their efforts to secure the Namazis release.

In addition to moving swiftly to release the Namazis, Iran should immediately release all political prisoners - including other dual nationals who have been targeted in recent weeks - and to follow through on its commitment to assist the U.S. in determining the whereabouts of Robert Levinson. We are hopeful that committed diplomacy can secure the release of the Namazis and encourage Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations.

Press Release by Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), Washington, DC

Take Action: Support House Resolution Calling for the Release of Iranian Americans Siamak and Baquer Namazi

July 6, 2016, Washington, D.C.- Today, Congressman Ed Royce (R-39th/CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congressman Gerald Connolly (D-11th/VA) introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on the Iranian government to immediately release Siamak Namazi and his father, Baquer Namazi, who are dual U.S.- Iranian citizens currently detained in Iran.

Siamak Namazi, head of strategic planning at the Dubai based Crescent Petroleum, traveled to Iran to visit family in July 2015. He was soon denied exit from the country and interrogated for 3 months before being arrested in October 2015 without any charges. Many Iran experts see this arrest as a signal of a possible backlash on the part of regime hardliners against the recent nuclear agreement as well as the increase in foreign investment from the West in Iran.

Known for his passion for building bridges between Iran and the Western world, Siamak Namazi graduated from the London Business School and has earned degrees from Rutgers and Tufts Universities. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2007 and was a former Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.

Namazi's 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, was imprisoned by Iranian security agents in February of 2016 after traveling to Iran in order to secure his son's release. Baquer Namazi is a recognized leader of humanitarian causes, especially poverty eradication, through his work with the United Nations and his post-retirement civil society activities.

The resolution urges the government of Iran to release Siamak and Baquer Namazi immediately as a humanitarian gesture. It calls on President Obama, the allies of the United States, and the United Nations to raise the cases of Siamak and Baquer Namazi with officials of the Government of Iran at every opportunity.

The resolution also encourages the Obama Administration to utilize the appropriate measures against the government of Iran if Siamak and Baquer Namazi are not released, conveys sympathy to the Namazi family for their anguish, and expresses hope that their ordeal can be brought to an end in the near future.

PAAIA commends Chairman Royce and Congressman Connolly for their efforts to bring important public attention to this case. We are working to garner support for the resolution and will continue to urge the United States government to make the repatriation of Siamak and Baquer Namazi a top priority. The resolution is also being supported by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).

Take Action Now!: Urge your Representatives to support the resolution by signing on as a co-sponsor.



Related Stories:

Siamak Namazi Is a Good Man. Iran Should Release Him - My friend, Iranian-American consultant Siamak Namazi, has been in Tehran's Evin prison for five months. His 80-year old father, Baquer Namazi - a former senior UNICEF official - was imprisoned three weeks ago. The motives behind these arrests have been lucidly explained, but news of detained Iranian Americans dies when there are no developments on the ground. -Reza Marashi, Huffington Post 03/17/16





UNICEF Expresses Worry About Health Of Staffer Jailed In Iran- The United Nations Children's Fund on March 3 expressed concern about the health of an elderly former staff member who was jailed in Iran last week. Baquer Namazi was arrested on February 22 and taken to Tehran's Evin Prison, where his son Siamak has been jailed since October. Both Namazis are dual U.S.-Iranian citizens. 03/5/16







After Prisoner Swap, Anxiety Over Jailed Iranian-American Businessman

Iran has eagerly opened its doors to foreign investment now that a nuclear deal has cleared the way. So why is Iran still holding prisoner an Iranian-American businessman? This is one of the contradictions of the moment in Iran, where economic sanctions were lifted weeks ago. -Steve Inskeep, NPR - 2/18/16





Friends fear for U.S. businessman in Iran

Nearly a month after a prisoner deal between Washington and Tehran, the friends and family of business consultant Siamak Namazi -- who holds degrees from Tufts and Rutgers universities and has ties to many Washington foreign policy insiders -- fear he has been forgotten in the warm afterglow of last month's swap and are pressing the Obama administration to step up efforts to free him. -Michael Crowley, Politico - 2/10/16

Siamak Namazi's Friends Thought He'd Be Freed From Iranian Prison, But The Media Had It Wrong

Initial news reports from the official Iranian media outlet Islamic Republic News Agency incorrectly identified Siamak Namazi as one of the four Americans who would be released this past Saturday as part of a prisoner release agreement between Iran and the U.S. By the time IRNA had acknowledged its mistake, several journalists with large Western followings had already tweeted about Namazi's impending release. - Jessica Schulberg, Huffington Post - 1/20/16

Daily Beast Didn't Know American Was Stuck In Iran When It Published Anonymous Story Attacking Him

On Sept. 15, The Daily Beast published an article by "Alex Shirazi" -- a fake name that the news outlet said was a pseudonym for a "a well-known Iranian dissident" -- describing Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi as part of "The Shady Family Behind America's Iran Lobby." -Huffington Post - 12/18/15





The Truth About Siamak Namazi, the Iranian-American Arrested in Iran

"It is only when a mosquito lands on your testicles that you realize there is always a way to solve problems without using violence." Siamak Namazi sent me an Internet meme with this quote only a few weeks ago. It was his clever way of responding to the heated discussions I was having on social media in his defense. The Daily Beast had just published an article attacking Siamak and his family, via a pseudonym, as Siamak was being interrogated in Iran. -Ahmad Kiarostami, Huffington Post - 11/28/15

Setting the Record Straight about Siamak Namazi

Over the past few days, disheartening news has emerged about the arrest of Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based American-Iranian citizen whom the author knows very well. While the family has not confirmed the news, Siamak's friends believe that the situation may be the result of a misunderstanding which they hope will be resolved shortly. - 11/3/15
The best 2-in-1 laptop 2022: our picks of the best convertible laptops

These are the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now
You may love your messaging app, but your messaging app may not love your privacy and security. WhatsApp, arguably the most popular messaging app in the world with a billion users, made a significant step in April by introducing end-to-end encryption built on the Signal protocol, much to the chagrin of governments and police forces.

Some apps are much further ahead in the security game than others. As you wade through the glut of messaging services available, these are the features to look for.

End-to-end encryption

Previously, encrypting messages in transit was considered good practice, but the standards have changed. Look for an app that encrypts messages from user to user, so the app developer itself cant even read the contents of your communications. Thats the biggest line of demarcation between tools that are at least serious about trying to provide good security versus the ones that arent quite there yet, advised Joseph Bonneau, tech fellow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

In 2014 EFF published the first edition of its secure messaging scorecard, which rated dozens of chat apps based on set criteria. EFFs rankings were not designed to push people to any one tool but to clearly set out whats working and what isnt. The digital rights group has now retired that scorecard and is working on a new one.

WhatsApp had originally scored pretty well but like any product, its not perfect. There is one tiny problem with WhatsApp and a couple of others. For example, they dont create the data locally, said Filip Chytry, manager of mobile threat intelligence at Avast. My recommendation is to find the apps that are actually encrypting the messages stored locally on your device.

EFFs Bonneau noted competitors to WhatsApp that are making a strong effort on security. Signal is really popular among the tech crowd for sure. I think ChatSecure is doing a nice job, he said.

Default settings mean a lot

Encryption is a must-have, but its not the absolute standard yet, as we saw with the recent launch of Googles Allo. The app has encryption turned off by default, a feature that has attracted criticism from security pros and even Edward Snowden, who called it dangerous.

Plenty of apps still dont run end-to-end encryption, mostly because implementing the feature is tough to do. Its a mix of engineering costs and complexity. Maybe they havent gotten around to it yet. It does make things harder, said Bonneau. Also I think this wasnt on most peoples radar until relatively recently. A lot of products by legacy are not encrypted. As security standards improve, these apps risk becoming obsolete.

Open-source code is the responsible choice

Whether the app maker has its code open to review says a lot about the app, too. Theres an old mindset in security: If you dont tell anyone how something works, it will be harder for people to break it or take it apart. That attitude has since been debunked, as the security community embraces open-source as a way to spread ideas and collaborate.

Avasts Chytry added that while hes in favor of open-source, developers still need to be wary of people who will reverse-engineer their techthough the benefits outweigh the threats. Ryan Hagemann, technology and civil liberties policy analyst at DC think tank Niskanen Center, agreed. The gold star goes to platforms that rely on open-source code and that arent stored on third-party servers, he said.

Youd also be wise to avoid backing up chat histories to the cloud, Hagemann continued. Storing encrypted data on a third-party server puts it at risk if it involves transmitting private keys to the server operator.

A proactive approach to vetting apps is important too, added Avasts Chytry. This includes being critical of a messaging apps permissions and using a VPN for an additional layer of security.

Never underestimate modesty

No security tool is perfect, and any qualified security engineer will make this clear to the consumer. A lot of tools out there promise everything. Theyll throw around terms like military-grade or unbreakable. Thats a sign of amateurs designing the tool, said Bonneau.

Weve even seen WhatsApp subjected to theoretical attacks and flaws that could undermine its security. It still stores metadata, for example. Tools that arent self-critical at all or dont list the limitations or threats that it doesnt protect you from, its probably a sign that the people who designed it arent really trained security engineers, Bonneau warned.

End-to-end encryption on by default is still by far the strongest measure of an apps security. But theres plenty to consider, from permissions to open-source code. Remember, any app that makes lofty promises should be investigated. Security is hard, and user vigilance is key.
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner is leaving after 11 years in the role. He wont be replaced.

Employees learned of the move Thursday in an email message from CEO Satya Nadella, in which he outlined his plans for reorganizing the companys senior leadership team.

Nadella highlighted the importance of having one feedback loop across the company to reinforce customer value and satisfaction. To achieve this, he said, he will more deeply integrate the sales, marketing and services group with the rest of the company, under a single senior leadership team.

That means the COO role will be divided among five senior executives.

Judson Althoff will head up Microsofts Worldwide Commercial Business, focusing on the Enterprise and Partner Group, Public Sector, Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners, the Developer Experience team, and services.

Jean-Philippe Courtois, after years in charge of Microsofts international business, will now take on responsibility for North American sales and marketing too, as head of Global Sales, Marketing and Operations.

As Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Capossela will take on responsibility for the Worldwide Marketing and Consumer Business, including the consumer channels group he previously ran, along with Microsoft Retail and the companys relationships with OEMs.

Kurt DelBene adds responsibility for IT and Operations to his role, alongside corporate strategy.

Finally, CFO Amy Hood will lead the sales, marketing and services finance team as well as the central finance team she already heads, and take control of worldwide licensing and pricing.

Althoff and Courtois will join the senior leadership team, reporting directly to Nadella. They have yet to figure out how the Worldwide Marketing and Operations team will report, given that they will share responsibility for it in future.

Nadella hinted that Microsofts subsidiaries around the world might be granted more autonomy in the way they do business.

The world wants solutions that are local in nature, and so Microsoft must trust local teams insight into what their customers need while giving those teams world-class, global support, he wrote.

Subsidiaries will remain financially accountable for their objectives, and will be given new capabilities and the flexibility to innovate and optimize locally in search of long-term growth, he said, inviting employees to attend a company-wide Q&A session at 8.30 a.m. Pacific Time.

As for Turner, he has landed a job as CEO of financial trader Citadel Securities, and will leave Microsoft on July 31. Many had expected him to move on after being passed over the CEO role.

Nadella credited Turner with doubling Microsofts revenue as head of the sales team, and with driving customer satisfaction scores to the highest in company history.
A Romanian hackers claim that he broke into Hillary Clintons private email server in 2013 was a lie, according to the FBI.

Marcel Lehel Lazar, also known as Guccifer, has boasted about the breach to various media outlets, saying in May that it had been easy.

But on Thursday, FBI director James Comey said that Lazar, who is now in U.S. custody, has admitted the claim was false.

He admitted that was a lie, Comey said during a congressional hearing on Clintons use of her own private email server.

Lazar, originally from Romania, was extradited to the U.S. and is awaiting sentencing for breaking into the email and social media accounts of various U.S. officials as well as a member of the Bush family.

He has also claimed credit for hacking an email account belonging to an advisor of Clinton named Sidney Blumenthal. Emails from that account were leaked in 2013, providing evidence that Clinton had been using a private email server during her time as U.S. secretary of state.

Only two years later did details of Clintons email server became front page news, leading to an FBI investigation.

Lazar was arrested in Romania in 2014 and claimed he had breached Clintons email server on two occasions. Clinton has always denied there was a breach.

Earlier this week, when the FBI wrapped up its investigation of Clintons email use, Comey said her actions had been extremely careless, but that he had found no grounds to bring charges against her. Comey said it was impossible to rule out that the system might have been hacked, however.

There were unsuccessful attempts to hack Clintons email server, he said Thursday, but he declined to elaborate, citing national security concerns.
The pack horses were injured, weak and covered with bees when Riversides Horse & Animal Rescue Team members approached them in remote Snow Creek Canyon in mid-spring.

The horses, Mo and Spirit, had already fallen down a steep ravine when bees swarmed them on a narrow section of the Pacific Crest Trail April 2 during a trip to deliver trail maintenance equipment to volunteers near Palm Springs.

After completing helicopter training five days earlier, Riversides large animal rescue team, known as HART, attached heavy-duty rigging to Spirit, whod fallen 75 feet and landed on flat terrain. A sheriffs helicopter crew air-lifted the sedated horse out.

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Mos head was badly injured when the animal fell 200 feet onto a cliff ledge. The horse got spooked by the returning helicopter and fell again, breaking the animals neck, before Mo could be rescued. A vet had to put the horse down there.

Spirit was later euthanized after suffering a leg injury and going into renal failure. A delay in seeking help from the team likely impacted the outcome as the horses became dehydrated and lethargic, said Riverside Fire Department Training Capt. Tyler Reynolds, a volunteer mounted patrol member.

Such a highly technical rescue could only have been attempted by Riversides helicopter-certified technical rescue team, launched in July 2015.

With even one rescue in the first year, its completely validated the need for the team, Reynolds said.

On Tuesday, July 5, the team began three days of training during its second-annual training session at Riverside Rancheros, a private covered arena in Arlington Heights. About 25 people rotated between four technical rescue stations where they could practice skills.

The rescue teams members include the Riverside Fire Departments technical rescue team, Riverside Police Mounted Patrol Unit officers and volunteers, Riverside County animal control officers and a vet.

Three firefighters from the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection Districts Technical Rescue Team joined the training Tuesday.

In October, the team also rescued a 350-pound llama that was stuck under stall fencing for five days. The llama was vertically lifted using rescue straps and a tree.

Most animal calls can be handled by animal control officers. The team may be called for fewer accidents, but the incidents where theyre needed require more high-risk, technical rescues, Reynolds said.

HART has a wish list that includes a heavy rubber horse mannequin, a portable winch, heavy-duty lifting straps and a second Anderson sling to speed up rescues of more than one animal, such as the Snow Creek incident, Reynolds said.

During orientation, Los Angeles animal control officer Hugh Briefman urged rescuers to make sure the area where theyre trying to make a rescue is safe enough for them and the horse.

We cant put our lives at risk for the animal. Human life is first, plain & simple, Briefman said.

HORSE AND ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM TRAINING

LIVE HORSE HANDLING

Feisty American quarterhorses Pistol and Junior, half brothers weighing well over half a ton each, returned to guest star at the live horse handling station again this year with their owners, professional horse trainer Kate Briefman and her husband, Los Angeles animal control officer Hugh Briefman.

Watching Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District firefighter Abel Castaneda prepare to walk Pistol around orange cones, district Capt. Pete Magnuson and Engineer Robert Goss said they had limited experience with horses but werent nervous. I know they pick up on nerves and stress, so Im trying to stay calm, Magnuson said.

Goss and Castaneda later said they liked having the chance to work with real horses. Usually we work with horses like those over there, said Goss, pointing to a life-sized horse mannequin and laughing.

VERTICAL LIFTING

Hugh Briefman showed people how to assemble heavy-duty rigging known as an Anderson sling on a mannequin for vertical lift rescues using a helicopter or crane to lift a horse out of a canyon or quicksand.

He told team members their first goal on a rescue is to get control of the injured or trapped animal. A horse that cant run is frightened, unpredictable and willing to use its natural weapons  its legs and hooves.

Horses reactions are fight or flight. Hes either going to take off or hes going to take you out, he said.

Riverside Firefighter Matt Mathis said he appreciated getting to put the sling on an equine mannequin the first time, rather than on an actual horse  just as firefighters practice rescues using human mannequins.

TRAILER EMERGENCIES

Horse trainer and riding instructor Kate Peikert demonstrated horse handling and how to load and unload a horse from a trailer.

If youve got a horse thats real anxious and youre trying to hold them, theyre just going to dance on top of you, she said.

Horse rescues are needed when trailers roll over on roadways, which happens often because people are driving too fast, Reynolds said.

Riverside County animal control officer Abel Buenrostro practiced backing a horse named Valor out of the trailer. The horse was much bigger than the dogs he normally works with.

LOW-ANGLE RESCUES

Riverside Fire Department Training Capt. Tyler Reynolds showed half a dozen Riverside County animal control officers how to safely make a low-angle rescue by using heavy-duty lifting straps and a special hooked tool to put a sling on a horses hind quarters.

Reynolds lifted the fiberglass mannequin they were practicing on a few inches off the dirt. Youre strong. You can lift a whole horse, said animal control officer Tiffany Fuller.

Another animal services officer, Lorena Barron-Lopez, asked what to do if a struggling horse threatened to take rescuers over a cliff with them. If anything happens, were just going to let go of the horse, Reynolds said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9444 or shurt@pressenterprise.com
A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason.

St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. Wednesday in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb that Mangseths department serves. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where the man died and identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN early Thursday, Castiles mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her sons death.

I think he was just black in the wrong place, Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children to that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive. Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but to say he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

I know my son  we know black people have been killed  I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply.

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castiles cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Philando Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight.

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesotas agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governors mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. By daybreak Thursday, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite a light rain.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appears to show the aftermath of a shooting like the one described by Mangseth. It shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man quietly slumped in a seat. The woman describes being pulled over for a busted tail light and her boyfriend being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol and was licensed. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the cars window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The Associated Press couldnt immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Mangseth said he was made aware there was a livestream on Facebook but that he had not yet seen the video and didnt know anything about its contents.

The woman in the video says the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him. Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out.

You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir, the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, Im scared, Mommy.

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason.

Clarence Castile spoke to the Star Tribune from the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said his nephew died minutes after arriving.

He said Philando Castile had worked in the J.J. Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, cooking for the little kids. He said his nephew was a good kid who grew up in St. Paul.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

Mangseth said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation. A spokesman for that agency couldnt immediately be reached.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men, including last years killing of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. Levy-Pounds was a leading voice during the protests outside a police station that followed Clarks death, as well as during a renewed wave of protests after prosecutors decided not to charge the officers involved.

Im tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder, Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney, told the crowd as rain began to fall. This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, Enough is Enough.



Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Chicago contributed to this report.
Nursing home workers have approved a contract with Extended Care Riverside Hospital following eight months of talks, the union representing the workers said.

Service Employees International Union Local 2015 described the contract as favorable to both parties. Sun-Mar Health Care Inc., which operates Extended Care Riverside, did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Union officials said the agreement called for funding of skill-enhancement classes such as CPR training, efforts to increase staffing, and other opportunities for staff growth and development.

Medicares Nursing Home Compare website gives Extended Care an above-average overall rating, and much-above average for quality measures, but places its staffing as average and registered nurse staffing at below average.

The SEIU represents certified nursing assistants at the 99-bed facility, and said about 56 workers are affected by the new contract.

There will be another meeting with management to finalize the contract following the Tuesday vote, the union said.

Contact the writer: rdeatley@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9573
Craft beer and other alcohol beverage manufacturing is humming along in the Inland Empire from Temecula to Redlands, but not creating much of a buzz in Lake Elsinore.

City officials want to change that by loosening up regulations to allow small producers to open up in commercial areas without obtaining conditional-use permits.

We want to create an environment where we are adequately protecting the community, but at the same time creating a business-friendly environment encouraging the expansion of the micro-brewing, wine and distilling industries, Principal Planner Justin Kirk said in an interview Wednesday, July 6.

Lake Elsinore is now home to one microbrewery and one winemaker: Craft Brewing Company and La Rebelde Winery, both located in the same building on Crane Street in an industrial park. They were allowed based on determinations by a previous planning director that they would be appropriate uses within the industrial zone.

The Stadium Pizza chain, which has restaurants in Temecula and Wildomar, plans to open on Main Street in Lake Elsinore and may want to include a microbrewery, Kirk said. Planning Commissioner John Gray believes such businesses could thrive in Lake Elsinore.

I think the few examples that we already have  seem to be doing well and the experience of other cities supports the notion, Gray said. I believe that businesses could do well in Lake Elsinore. The city would also benefit, and the citys citizens would enjoy it.

Technically, city regulations do not allow such businesses, which means entrepreneurs would typically have to go through excessive red tape, possibly including a zone change. As a result, potential operators are discouraged from locating in the city.

Interest completely dissipates due to the inordinate amount of processing time to get approval, Kirk said. Thats what were looking at truncating, and hopefully that will spark some interest.

His original proposal, which he presented Tuesday to the Planning Commission, focused on microbrewing. He recommended allowing breweries, including those with restaurants, that produce less than 15,000 barrels per year to be allowed in commercial districts without the conditional-use permit. Those without restaurants would be allowed in industrial areas.

Microbreweries producing more than 15,000 barrels would need conditional-use permits.

The change is similar to one being considered by neighborhing city Wildomar in an effort to spark such businesses there.

While the Lake Elsinore planning commissioners agreed with the concept, they want it expanded to include micro-winemaking and micro-distilling. Kirk said he plans to research cities including Vista, Pasadena and Paso Robles that have fostered thriving commercial areas that feature tasting rooms, bars and restaurants.

He plans to bring back the expanded proposal to the commission in the fall.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
In most parts of the Inland area, the laws governing fireworks are pretty clear; theyre illegal to have and to use.

But police and fire officials are out on July 4, knowing that law is likely to be ignored by some on the holiday. Officials in San Bernardino and Murrieta said there wasnt a noticeable spike in calls for service related to fireworks from 2015 to 2016, but others say there has been an increase over the years.

Patrol teams from Riverside police and fire departments confiscated more than 700 pounds of fireworks in the city between July 1 and 4, said Fire Investigations Capt. Ray Mendoza. That number isnt unusually high, but officials would prefer people obey the law instead of losing their fireworks. The tricky part is holding violators accountable.

If someone calls police and says his or her neighbor set off a firework, its difficult for police to get to the call right away. By the time they arrive, the whole debacle could be over.

Once somethings in the air it could be over 100 different houses that it comes from, said Lt. Rich Lawhead with the San Bernardino Police Department.

Then, theres deciding who did it. An officer has to be present and see a firework go off for them to cite someone for lighting fireworks, Lawhead said. Even if an officer or firefighter finds the firework still hot from the explosion, and people standing around, a finger has to be pointed and a form has to be signed to get someone cited.

In the city of Riverside, two tree fires started in areas where fireworks were being set off, Mendoza said. Those kind of statistics werent readily available for all of Riverside or San Bernardino counties on Wednesday.

Mendoza said fire officials dont patrol on July 4 hoping to cite folks  they want to educate people who genuinely dont know they cant have fireworks.

Police and fire officials patrolled the city and told offenders to hand over their fireworks. If a person didnt cooperate, theyd get a citation that comes with a $500 fine. Twenty people were cited in Riverside.

For Lynne Pendergrass, thats not enough. Shes grown frustrated with firecrackers she hears at her neighbors house and wants to see harsher punishment for setting them off.

It literally shakes my house, she said. My cats are scared to death (and) the dogs next door they have to lock up.

The Murrieta Fire Departments new fire marshal, Jason Briley, wants to implement an administrative citations program that would require anyone caught with fireworks to pay a $1,000 fine. Hed also like to create a task force-type relationship between the police and fire departments to combat firework use in the city.

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San Bernardino authorities received 97 calls for service about fireworks on July 4. In 2015, they got 119  a negligible difference, Lawhead said.

The same can be said for Murrieta, where Briley says calls about fireworks fluctuated between 40 and 47 between 2014 and 2016.

The number of people injured while setting off illegal fireworks is difficult to quantify because if a person is doing something illegal and gets hurt, they dont always call law enforcement.

But some of the more egregious accidents are released by authorities. A 57-year-old Yucca Valley man was severely injured when a homemade firework exploded July 5, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department.

Though the change isnt dramatic, Briley said he thinks people are getting more brazen about lighting off fireworks, which is why he wants to nip it in the bud.

Everything that goes up has to come down, and our biggest fear comes down in brush zone, he said.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9567 or amillerbernd@pressenterprise.com
Its time for a little rumor control, courtesy of the Hemet Police Department.

During the recent unsuccessful Measure E campaign to approve a Hemet sales tax to bolster police and fire services, age-old rumors were brought up during discussions with residents.

Im so glad the rumors are being officially debunked  and being done so in a police department release.

For a quarter century, I have heard people say that the city of Hemet is paid to accept parolees released from prison. Rob Webb, Hemets deputy police chief, said the incorrect notion often was brought up during Measure E discussions.

Its simply not true, he said. If it was true, we wouldnt be the predicament we are in because we would have more money.

Webb said Measure E supporters also heard residents wonder why Hemet allows so much subsidized Section 8 housing. Dont blame Hemet. Section 8 is portable.

The third misconception was an everlasting doozy. Residents repeatedly said they were certain that there was a billboard in Los Angeles urging the poor to move to Hemet. The version of the billboard rumor I most often hear is that it is in South Central LA.

People are certain this billboard exists, though if it did, it would be pretty faded by now.

To debunk the rumors, Webb issued a statement during the Measure E campaign, although he realizes he never will convince everyone.

First, he disputed receiving funds in exchange for the release of parolees in Hemet. He wrote that it never has happened and that the jobs for release of parolees and supervision of probationers belongs to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and Riverside County probation officers.

Inmates who served sentences are released into the community where they were arrested or lived unless they are transferred where they have a support system, like a family member, he said.

Bottom line is, Hemet has never received a dime from anyone to let a convicted felon move into town, Webb wrote.

Likewise, he wrote, the city has nothing to do with the location of subsidized Section 8 housing recipients, which many people believe is the root of crime problems in Hemet. He noted the majority of the Section 8 recipients are seniors who cause little trouble.

It is a program that is run by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and it is administered locally by the Riverside County Economic Development Department housing office, he wrote.

There is currently a three-year waiting list to qualify for a Section 8 housing voucher in Riverside County, but once a person qualifies they can take their voucher to any state in the nation, since it is a Federal program.

The recipient can use their voucher in Memphis, Honolulu, Miami, or Hemet.

The biggest rumor is about a purported billboard that suggests moving to Hemet for bargain housing. No matter how certain they are the billboard exists, no one has been able to prove it to me. No one has been able to show a photo of the billboard to Webb or his boss, Police Chief Dave Brown.

We have continually offered $100 to anyone who can give us the location of it. Bottom line is, it doesnt exist to our knowledge and over the last decade no one has collected the $100 reward, Webb wrote. With that said, Hemet is known to have a more affordable cost of living that many other areas in Southern California, which is why many of us chose to move to the valley.

I want in on this. I hear so often from readers who are certain the billboard exists, but offer no proof, that Ill throw in $50.

The reward now is $150.

Any takers?

Contact the writer: bpratte@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9078
Superintendent Maureen Latham is retiring from the Beaumont Unified School District  and this time she says she means it.

Latham, who retired four years ago only to come back to work, will be leaving her post Friday, July 8, and Terrence Davis will take over the 9,200-student district.

Latham said Davis is a good choice to succeed her.

His leadership and his personality match the goals and visions of the district, Latham said.

Davis, who was assistant superintendent in charge of personnel, said creating relationships is a strength of Latham  and something he hopes to continue.

She has a genuine care for people, he said.

He also wants to continue Lathams collaborative management style.

Its not about me making a decision, Davis said. Its about the experts in the room. There are way smarter people in the room than me.  Im more about servant leadership and listening. I try to gather ideas to make the best decision.

Davis, 44, began his teaching career 17 years ago in Yucaipa then taught in the Alvord district. He came to Beaumont four years ago from Temecula Unified, where he worked in human resources and special education.

He takes over a district that grew greatly in the past decade, with enrollment expected to increase in coming years. Beaumont is poised to soon top 10,000 students and has 750 employees. There are 10 schools, with plans to open a seventh elementary campus in 2018-19.

Having space for a growing community is definitely a challenge, he said.

Davis said he hopes to finish his career in Beaumont. He lives in Banning and the youngest of his three children will start kindergarten in the fall.

Latham, 65, has been an educator for 44 years. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in St. Louis before moving with her family to California. She is a former principal at Yucaipa High School.

She was as assistant superintendent in 2012 when she retired, with plans to move back to Missouri. But after Barry Kayrell left to take the superintendent job in Hemet, Latham came back a few months later and has spent the past four years leading the district.

Over the past couple years, some campuses and programs have received statewide honors and the district was named a top workplace in the Inland Empire.

Latham wont stop working. She has signed on with Azusa Pacific University as a superintendent-in-residence. There also are plans to spend time with her husband, two children and three grandchildren.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9086 or cshultz@pressenterprise.com
Chalice California, which features music groups such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Cake and Migos as well as showcasing glassware and marijuana, is a cultural festival.

So says San Bernardinos William Cioci, president of the Brownie Mary Democratic Club of San Bernardino County, member of the High Desert Cannabis Association and radio host, about the festival. Its website describes the event as having a high-quality music lineup with live demonstrations from top artists in the worlds of glass, art, paint and performance.

Theres great music, awesome art and a lot of good hash, said Cioci, 47, who has been to the previous two events in San Bernardino before it moved to Victorville for this years edition. Whereas a lot of these festivals are maybe like an industry trade show or a medical seminar type event, Chalice really sets itself apart as being a culture festival. They do have booths talking about the medical values but the real thing is the music, the art, the theatrical festival vibe.

Chalice California, which moved from the National Orange Show in San Bernardino to the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville, is set to take place July 8-10. The event is for ages 18 and older but to access the Proposition 215 areas (where attendees can consume marijuana) one needs a valid California medical marijuana card.

Victorville sheriffs station spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez said her station would have staffing all three days of the festival with a total of nine people from the station there.

They will be patrolling all areas at the concert and enforcing all of the laws, Rodriguez said. Well see what happens.

Artists on July 8 include headlining alternative rock act Cake With Beats Antique, Curren$y, DJ Paul (of Three 6 Mafia) and more. The next day, July 9, features top-billed hip-hop stars Wu-Tang Clan with Machine Gun Kelly, Madlib, Talib Kweli and more. Concluding the event on July 10 will be hip-hop headliner Migos with PRhyme, KCamp, Dizzy Wright and more.

The event starts at noon and tickets range from $50-$70 plus fees for a single day to $120 plus fees for a three-day pass (and $225 plus fees for a VIP pass).

They have the better (musical) lineup at Chalice with the diversity of performers, Cioci said.

He said he was looking forward to seeing the Wu-Tang Clan (a full reunion) as well as Cake (a really awesome rock band) and hip-hop acts like PRhyme and Kweli.

They have some really interesting acts and a blend of styles, Cioci said. A lot of these festivals tend to stick to mainstream rap  while they do have rap acts like Wu-Tang you would not call them todays mainstream rap.

More than just music, the festival also features glass blowing and visual artists painting during the festival, Cioci said. Theres also a separate entrance for people who have their medical marijuana recommendation cards that go into a prop 215 area where vendors have various medical marijuana products available for sampling and purchasing, Cioci said.

A veteran of attending numerous medical marijuana events in San Bernardino County, Cioci described Chalice California as extremely safe for the number of people who attend.

For these cannabis events, the worst things Ive witnessed are heat exhaustion, Cioci said. Being out in the heat and not taking enough fluids. And Chalice is one of the better ones that look out for that type of thing. Theres cooling stations, air conditioned buildings and Chalice is one of the better ones where they ensure water. They hand out water at Chalice.

For a festival like Chalice California, the audience tend to be younger people who come for the music or want to start a glass collection as well as older types who have been involved with glass blowing for a while, Cioci said.

Age-wise, race-wise, demographically, its diverse and has a real good crowd, Cioci said. And its always a friendly crowd. Always.

The change from the National Orange Show in San Bernardino to the fairgrounds in Victorville is a positive one, Cioci said.

As far as being at the Orange Show, its like being out on a tarmac; its hot there, Cioci said. At the fairgrounds its more like a park atmosphere with grass and trees. It just seems like a cooler temperature and a cooler vibe.

For more information, head to www.chalicecalifornia.com.
A former Murrieta Valley High School teacher was sentenced to two years in state prison Wednesday, July 6, for her guilty pleas to unlawful sex and molestation acts and unlawful communication with underage teenage boys.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge John Monterosso also ordered Shannon Sears Fosgett, 45, of Murrieta, to register as a sex offender when she is released from prison.

Fosgett pleaded not guilty in December to five felony and three misdemeanor charges, and resigned from her teaching post that month.

In May she reached a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorneys Office in which she pleaded guilty to two counts of oral copulation, one of sexual intercourse, communicating with a minor with intent to commit a sex act and dissuading a witness, all felonies involving one underage male victim and child molestation, a misdemeanor involving a second male victim.

Fosgett was hired by the school district in 2014, according to the district. Murrieta police said after she was arrested that one student told detectives Fosgett began showing an interest in him in 2014 communicating through text messages, and it subsequently grew into a sexual relationship.

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For Imam Sayed Moustafa Al-Qazwini, this was a somber Eid al-Fitr.

As the sun rose Wednesday, July 6, Muslims in L.A., Orange County, the Inland Empire and around the world chanted and prayed with friends and family after an entire month of fasting. But this year was a little different.

People exchanged gifts and hugged one another, said Al-Qazwini who founded the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County in Costa Mesa 22 years ago. But the festivities  theyre not real. There is no true happiness. Today, we think about hundreds of people around the world  Muslims and non-Muslims  who are suffering because theyve lost loved ones.

On June 7, at the start of Ramadan, Al-Qazwinis 27-year-old cousin was killed with 15 others when a car bomb exploded in Karbala, Iraq  the imams birthplace.

What was supposed to have been a holy month of introspection, peace and piety became a time of unprecedented carnage spreading to countries like Turkey, Bangladesh, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

The wave of attacks culminated Monday, July 4, with triple suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia, including one outside the Prophets Mosque in the city of Medina where the Prophet Muhammad is buried. The bombings sent shock waves across the Muslim world. Even though no one claimed responsibility for those bombings, the nature of the attacks and their apparently coordinated timing suggested ISIS could be to blame.

Hamid Amini, a member of the Islamic Center of Temecula Valleys board of directors, said the violence was mentioned Wednesday morning by the centers new imam during a special Eid prayer service at Murrietas Town Square park, which drew around 700 area Muslims.

He basically called for peace, Amini said. We condemn any kind of violence. It doesnt matter if its here, there or anywhere around the world.

Sociopolitical commentators have said the uptick in violence can be traced to the instability caused by the rise of the Islamic State or an economy in the Middle East that is in the process of becoming less dependent on oil revenues, which has amplified regional tensions.

Amini said he and his fellow Muslims in the Temecula Valley, which includes hundreds of families who live in Murrieta and Temecula, dont have any special insight on the root cause of this recent wave.

People are confused, he said. They really dont know. We know its not coming from our Islamic community, everyone is condemning these things. Theyre not Muslims, I can tell you that.

In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti attended prayers with thousands for the close of Ramadan. In Riverside County, an imam despaired over the violence that had taken place amid the near month-long observance. In Orange County, thousands from local mosques gathered at the Anaheim Convention Center and at the Honda Center in Anaheim early Wednesday morning to break their fast and pray together.

Imam Shamshad A. Nasir of the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino called the attacks that marred this years Ramadan celebration both sad and unbelievable.

I think this was the worst year, he said. Its an act of animals, violent animals. Its not the act of sensible people.

Like many people, Nasir said hes curious as to how the people who are carrying out these attacks are bankrolled and what they hope to accomplish, which, he said, doesnt mesh with any specific call to action or Islamic philosophy.

We dont know what they are trying to do, he said. And those people who are funding them should stop funding them. How are they getting supplies?

It all felt grim for Soraya Deen, too.

There was the attack in Turkey. And before I could recover from that, there was the attack in Bangladesh. And before I could recover from that, there was the attack in Baghdad, Deen said. It has been a very sad Ramadan.

Deen, founder of the Tarzana-based Muslim Women Speakers Movement, said things for Muslims also have been exacerbated amid a presidential election cycle in which the Republican presumptive nominee has called for banning Muslims from entering the country and using heated rhetoric that she says stokes fear among the faith-based.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attended the prayer service with the Islamic Center of Southern California on Wednesday morning at the L.A. Convention Center.

Garcetti said he wanted to make sure the Muslim community in Los Angeles knew that he stood with them as he said hes seen and spoken with leaders and city residents about the difficult Ramadan season  one hes said has stoked outrage.

Brie Loskota, executive director of the Center for Religious and Civic Culture at USC, said seeing elected leaders show up at events helps create a sense of community amid diversity.

It might be more acute this Ramadan with the sheer volume and brutality of the attacks worldwide  coupled with the presidential campaign.

It doesnt have to be that the Muslim community feels real threats in an election year, but it has become instead the rhetoric of this particular campaign that is unfortunate, Loskota said. The idea that our election is targeting people who are minorities in this country  religious, ethnic and sexual orientation  for political gain is a sad commentary on the state of democracy.

But there was a moment of levity in Anaheim.

Ojaala Ahmad who attended a service there with her family said the person who was giving the sermon noticed how quiet it was.

He turned around to us and said, I want you guys to be so loud that Donald Trump can hear us, Ahmad said. That seemed to cheer up everyone and put them in the mood for some loud chanting and community prayer.

Mohammed Faquih, the imam who leads the Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim, said his children are looking forward to their annual tradition  a trip to the Original Pancake House for omelettes, hash browns and pancakes.

He said Wednesdays turnout of about 4,000 people has been the largest ever for Eid services. Even so, it was a muted celebration, Faquih said, adding that Muslims all over the world are hurt over the bombings at the Medina mosque.

Alia Abou-Masr of Irvine said the terror attacks around the world have dampened the spirit of the celebration.

But we have to hope that peace with prevail, she said. People will try to use religion to justify anything. Thats why religious literacy is important and we need to talk about peace and tolerance, which are true values of Islam.

Staff writer Courtney Tompkins and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: david.montero@langnews.com or @DaveMontero on Twitter
For the first time in more than a decade, the odds of getting a coveted spot to attend the University of California rose this spring at every one of the systems campuses, reversing a trend that has stressed out the states high school seniors and prompted a debate over who deserves a UC education.

Admission rates for in-state freshmen shot up at UC Santa Cruz, Davis and Riverside, according to figures released Wednesday, and even inched above 20 percent at UC Berkeley for the first time since 2009.

The good news comes despite another year of record-high applications and was a direct result of a tensely negotiated systemwide expansion plan that added a total of 5,000 new seats this fall for in-state undergraduate students.

Overall, 67.5 percent of California high school seniors applying to UC got an offer from at least one campus, up from 60 percent last year.

UC Riverside had the largest increase in student admissions, by percentage, of any campus, with a 6,658 more freshmen than last year, a 30.8 percent increase. The school had just a 2.7 percent increase from 2014 to 2015.

Campus spokesman James Grant said the school offers admission, knowing that only about one-fourth of the students will actually end up enrolling. But overall enrollment is expected to go up. Of the 5,000 new freshman the UC will add, Grant said 977 are expected to come to UCR.

I actually didnt think I was going to get in at all because the acceptance rate is so low, said Emely Lopez, of Oakland, who received offers from Santa Cruz and Riverside as well as a full-ride scholarship to Merced. I was surprised.

Freshman admission rates for Californians at the most competitive campuses  Berkeley, at 21.3 percent, and Los Angeles, at 17.7 percent  are still less than half of what they were in the 1990s. But both schools made offers this spring to more than 1,000 additional California high school seniors compared to the previous year.

At UC Riverside, California student offers rose 26.9 percent, from 19,237 to 24,405.

Latino, African-American and other underrepresented-minority students made up 37.8 percent of admitted freshmen across all campuses, UC reported, compared with 34.6 percent a year ago. The data released Wednesday do not reveal how many students accepted their admissions offers.

We are happy to welcome to the university so many more Californians, a diverse, high-achieving group of both freshman and transfer students, UC President Janet Napolitano said in a statement.

The admission rates for community college transfer students also rose slightly across the system, from 70.2 percent to 71.9 percent. And students from other states and countries saw their admission rates improve slightly, with offers to 50.9 percent of out-of-state and 63.2 percent of international students.

Although 85 percent of UCs undergraduates are from California, the number of out-of-state students has swelled in recent years, as campuses rely on their much-higher tuition as a source of revenue. Reacting to constituent complaints and a state audit that blasted UCs commitment to Californians, lawmakers this year made proposals that would have required specific caps on out-of-state enrollment in exchange for additional funding.

Ultimately, the state budget provided money for the universitys multiyear expansion  5,000 additional in-state freshman and transfer spots this fall, and 2,500 in each of the following two years  with a requirement that the regents adopt a policy that limits enrollment of nonresident students.

Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, said he was encouraged by the diversity of the admitted class and called the news a good start.

With more students graduating from California high schools with the courses they need to attend a state university, he said, it shows that we need to double down and further expand access.

Once admissions offers are accepted, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego expect to have 750 more students this fall; UC Irvine will have 650; UC Merced is adding 450; UC Davis is adding 350 and UC Santa Barbara and UC Santa Cruz are each adding 300, according to the UC Office of the President.

Staff writer Mark Muckenfuss contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: kmurphy@bayareanewsgroup.com
The bus driver charged in the deaths of eight people after the tour bus he was driving in 2013 lost its brakes and careened down Highway 38 could be released and placed on probation as early as Aug. 1.

Before the case went to trial  on July 1  the attorney for Norberto Perez, 56, of Tijuana and the court came to an agreement. Perez would plead guilty to all eight counts of vehicular manslaughter but instead of being sentenced to the maximum 15 years in state prison he would be placed on three years felony probation and have a suspended six-year prison term, said Simon Umscheid, chief deputy district attorney for the central division of the San Bernardino County District Attorneys Office.

YUCAIPA: Driver charged with eight felonies in deadly 2013 tour bus crash

Its nothing were agreeable to, said Umscheid. Our office has taken the position based on the lives that were lost that state prison was appropriate.  With eight people killed, we dont feel that probation is appropriate.

On Feb. 3, 2013, Perez was driving the tour bus from the Big Bear area back to Tijuana for Scapadas Magicas (Magical Escapes), a company based in National City.

A total of 38 people, many of them doctors and nurses working at a Tijuana hospital, boarded the bus for a day trip to the snowy San Bernardino Mountains.

Investigators determined Perez lost control of the bus near Bryant Street near Yucaipa, sending it into a Saturn before veering off the road and toppling onto its side.

As it slid, the bus struck a boulder on the side of the road, according to investigators, knocking the bus upright again, moments before it crashed into a Ford pickup traveling north in the oncoming lane.

Forty-three people, including at least two children, were hurt and eight people were killed.

Umscheid said his office has notified the victims families of the plea deal, which he is quick to point out has not been confirmed by the judge, to give impact statements at the Aug. 1 sentencing.

They have the right to express if they feel the plea is appropriate, he said.

Perez was arrested November 2015. During his preliminary hearing, California Highway Patrol officials testified that several passengers told authorities they overheard Perez making phone calls on a speakerphone to Scapadas Magicas about a faulty brake valve.

Another CHP official said that after inspecting the mangled remains of the bus, he determined that the brake system had many issues, including two brake drums in the vehicles front axle that were cracked even before the trip began.

Experts testified these issues should have been noticed during Perezs pre-trip inspection. Perez said he had done that inspection the morning of the fatal crash.

A pre-trip inspection is required by the Department of Transportation.

The CHPs report done after the fatal crash, noted that Scapadas Magicas, failed 36 percent of its safety inspections in the two years before the crash. Of its 25 vehicles, only 16 had passed inspection.

The report details the violations between February 2011 and October 2012, which included insufficient brake linings, leaky brake connections, missing wheel fasteners, oil leaks, low tire tread and inoperable headlights, tail lights and turn signals.

The company had also been cited for allowing a driver with a suspended license to drive one of its commercial vehicles.

Five days after the crash, the federal government ordered the owners to shut down the company.

After winning a civil lawsuit against Scapadas Magicas and Perez, Jim Frantz the attorney representing some of the families of those who died as well as those injured, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the DOT in December.

The federal lawsuit alleges federal inspectors repeatedly issued the bus company and its buses passing grades despite serious deficiencies found months, possibly years, before the fatal crash.

Umscheid said the District Attorneys Office most likely will not seek criminal charges against the owners of the tour company because there wasnt enough evidence to try them at that time. He said nothing has changed since.

There is no doubt that the company was negligent, he said. But we have the burden of proof to prove beyond a reasonable doubt and that standard is significantly higher in a criminal case than a civil case.

Perez is expected to be in San Bernardino Superior Court on Aug. 1.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

YUCAIPA: NTSB sets own probe of deadly bus crash (Feb. 6, 2013)

YUCAIPA: Lawsuit filed in fatal tour bus crash (Feb. 23, 2013)

YUCAIPA: Brake failure linked to fatal tour bus crash (Nov. 8, 2013)

YUCAIPA: Tour bus crash prompted safety regulations (Jan. 1, 2014)

Contact the writer: beatriz.valenzuela@langnews.com or @BeatrizVNews
It was time. After more than a month of sleepless nights and tearful prayers. It was time.

The family of Alex Pierce gathered around his hospital bed on Thursday morning to say goodbye to their son and brother, a 13-year-old middle school student who dreamed in blocks, pixels and the vibrant shades of colored pencils.

He loved Legos, Minecraft, Zelda and drawing, said his mother, Sabrina Pierce, on Thursday afternoon. He wanted to design video games.

Alex, who had been on life support since a near-drowning incident at a June 3 pool party at Vista Murrieta High School, was declared brain dead following a final test by doctors at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

A memorial service will be held at The Rock Church on Sky Canyon Road in Murrieta at 2 p.m. July 16, preceded by a viewing from noon to 1:45 p.m. that same day.

In lieu of flowers, the family  which includes his parents, two brothers and a sister  has asked people to contribute to the GoFundMe account that has been set up to help defray medical expenses, which included stays at Loma Linda University Childrens Hospital and the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

Before moving him to the medical center, the family secured a restraining order to prevent doctors at Loma Linda from conducting an apnea test, part of a larger brain death test, because Alex would be taken off the ventilator for several minutes, according to court documents.

His time at the Naval Medical Center allowed doctors to try to stimulate some sort of brain activity but there was no change in his condition.

Sabrina Pierce has said the entire family is in counseling trying to cope with the situation, which has been especially trying due to the circumstances surrounding the drowning incident.

According to witnesses at the party, which was thrown by a booster club as a year-end celebration for middle school band and choir members, Alex was underwater for about a minute and a half before he was pulled from the bottom of the pool by two students.

Lifeguards on the scene did not perform CPR on him, and minutes passed before he was attended to by paramedics.

Lt. Ron Driscoll of the Murrieta Police Department said Wednesday the departments investigation into the incident could be completed as soon as next week and forwarded to the Riverside County District Attorneys Office to review and decide whether to file criminal charges against anyone.

Asked if the department has discovered any evidence of negligence or criminal activity, Driscoll said, We basically submit it and let the DAs Office make that determination.

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District also is conducting an investigation of the incident, according to spokeswoman Karen Parris, who issued a statement Thursday after Alexs death.

From the time Alex entered kindergarten at Lisa J. Mails Elementary through his two years at Dorothy McElhinney Middle School, Alex touched the lives of the students, teachers, administrators and staff members in a very special way and he will be sorely missed, she wrote.

Alexs teachers said he had a positive attitude and he was a pleasure to have in class. He was fun-loving, well-liked and a friend to many. Alex was an honor roll student who was a member of the dance team and choir. Alex had his own distinct style and he loved being the center of attention.

Although there is surveillance video of the party, its unclear what led to Alex slipping under the surface of the water.

Alex knew how to swim, his mother said, noting the video shows him doing laps before he went under.

The plight of the Pierce family has resonated with thousands of people in the Temecula Valley and beyond. More than 17,000 people have liked the #PrayForAlex Facebook page, and the GoFundMe page had raised more than $30,000.

The woman who set up the page for the family, Tara Jensen, posted an update that said continued donations would be used for funeral expenses.

We appreciate all the love and prayers that have been said in Alexs name over this past month. I ask that you please continue to pray for the Pierce family while they attempt to cope with this unimaginable tragedy, she wrote.

Staff writer Alex Groves contributed to this report.



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A big-rig ran off a desert freeway and overturned near Whitewater, killing a woman whod been riding in the trucks sleeper berth, say California Highway Patrol officers.

The unidentified woman died the scene of the 5:40 a.m. crash Wednesday, July 6, along the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 west of Highway 62.

The wreck sent a 42-year-old trucker from Bandon, Oregon, to Desert Regional Medical Center for treatment of what were described as major injuries, CHP Officer Mike Radford said in a written statement.

The 2011 Kenworth tractor was hauling a flatbed trailer loaded with PVC pipes.

The truck ran off the right side of the freeway, hit a light pole and overturned, spilling its load of pipes, according to the preliminary findings.

Twelve hours after the wreck, Riverside County coroners officials had released no information about the woman or the accident.
Moreno Valley resident Christopher Spalding, 16, is a new breed of student who is using e-learning to further his education.

Spalding recently graduated from Moreno Valley Online Academy, a program affiliated with Moreno Valley Public Schools, with a 3.95 grade point average.

According to Philip Peeples, a counselor at Moreno Valley Online Academy, the program was first launched in the 2013-14 school year. Seventy students are projected to graduate from the online academy this school year.

He said online academies are now being offered by many schools which are beginning to realize that not every student fits into a traditional system.

With many school districts having access to more and more computers or chromebooks on campus, you will continue to see a rise in online education, allowing students choices of how that form of education is going to be served, said Peeples.

However, Spalding admits that he fell into becoming a non-traditional student accidentally. He ended up going to an online school because he was hospitalized for a long time and couldnt have caught up in a regular school.

This is the first time I ever attended a non-traditional school, said Spalding. It was a completely new experience.

According to Spalding, taking online classes is not easy. If anything, they are harder than regular classes. Students are required to log into classes everyday and there are lessons to review and assignments to turn in. Spalding said it takes discipline and not all students will do well in this environment.

I wouldnt recommend this setting for every student, he said. It is very strenuous. There is a lot of individual work. Spalding said he found himself doing most of his work at a local Starbucks.

As an academic star, Spalding was heavily recruited by several universities. He applied to 12 schools and decided on Willamette University, a private liberal arts college in Salem, Ore. Spalding said he flew out for a visit and he was impressed by the students, professors and campus, three metrics he uses to judge a college.

The professors were amazing, Spalding said. The students I spoke to were good kids.

Spalding received a full scholarship, worth about $164,000, from Willamette University. He said he plans to pursue a double major in philosophy/film studies or do a bachelors degree tailored to prepare for a masters in culture theory.

Spalding said that he was not concerned about having to move away from his family to further his education. He describes himself as a very independent young person. He said with both parents often working long hours and being in band, he learned how to take care of himself. He is excited about going to school in Oregon.

I like new experiences, Spalding said.

Peeples is confident that Spalding will succeed in his future academic endeavors.

I am very proud of Christopher, he was an exceptional role model for our younger students and displayed this by doing all that was possible with hard work and determination! said Peeples.

Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
President John Dramani Mahama has called on the youth across the country to desist from practices that are likely to pose terrorism threats to the county.



He says Terrorism has entered our sub-region and these people who propagate these terrorist ideologies come under the guise of religion and erroneously try to create an equation between terrorism and Islam.



Terrorism is not Islam but violence, he told a large gathering of Muslims at the Black Star Square in Accra on the occasion of the celebration of Ramadan.



Describing terrorists as "not true Muslims" who bear no direct link with the peaceful religion, the president said some people under the guise of religion who are religious extremist misinterpret the religious doctrines and use it to create harm for ideological reasons."



He reiterated that there is no link between terrorism and Islam and there is no way they can equate Islam with terrorism.



President Mahama said were it the case, the recent bomb attack in Bagdad that saw hundreds of people dead and others injured would not have occurred.



He said the Holy Quran frowned on such acts and charged Muslim youths to desist from any terrorist acts.



The National Chief Imam, Sheik Osman Nuhu Sahrubutu, led in prayers for the nation and people.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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In line with the John Mahama governments commitment to the welfare of Ghanaian Muslims and barring any last minute hitches, pilgrims from the three northern regions who will be embarking on this years holy journey to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj will be airlifted direct from the upgraded Tamale airport.



By this arrangement, pilgrims will no longer be required to travel to be camped at the Hajj Village in Accra before continuing their journey to the Holy Kingdom.



This novel procedure in the history of Hajj organization in Ghana follows completion of expansion works at the Tamale Airport initiated by the Mahama government.



Speaking at a special IFTAR (breaking of fast) program over the weekend, President Mahama disclosed that prospective pilgrims from the three Northern regions will for the first time be airlifted from the upgraded Tamale Airport.

The Tamale Airport, which is due for commissioning this month, the President explained, will among other things, save pilgrims of the inconveniences usually encounter when travelling to Accra to embark on the holy journey.



Throwing more light on the novel arrangement, Chairman of the National Hajj Board, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul Rauf Tanko told The Al-Hajj that, out of the 11 flights scheduled for this years Hajj, three will operate from Tamale.



For the first time we will be airlifting pilgrims from the Tamale airport. We have so far made arrangements for three flights to airlift pilgrims from the Tamale airportbut all will depend on the payment because for the three flights from Tamale airport, the number of pilgrims required is 1350. If by the end of deadline for payment, we are unable to get 1350 people from the North paying then we will reduce the number of flights schedule from the Tamale Airport.



According to Alhaji Tanko all outstanding issues surrounding the airlifting of pilgrims from the Tamale airport have been cleared. We had problem with the flight schedules but we have fix it. The airline had wanted to airlift the pilgrims between 2am and 3am but we opted for day time since the president will be there to commission the upgraded Tamale airport and they have agreed.



Earlier, deputy Communications Director of the National Hajj Board, Alhaji Amin Lamptey told Joy News, We have the signal that by the grace of Allah, we will be flying direct from Tamale.



He explained that President John Dramani Mahama made the promise in 2014 at a time when pilgrims have had to travel to Accra and camp for days before being flown to Mecca.



We have 11 slots this year and the first, second and possibly third flights will fly from Tamale and later we will come down to Accra for the remaining slot, he disclosed.



The first flight from Tamale is scheduled to leave on 20th August, 2016. The fare, according to him, remains unchanged.



According to him some 200 pilgrims who paid but couldnt make the Hajj in 2015 will be given priority this year.



Ghanas quota for the Hajj pilgrimage stands at 5,424 (five thousand four hundred and twenty-four).



Communications Director of the Board, Alhassan Saibu Suhuyini also hinted on his facebook wall, History about to be made again! Insha Allah Hajj Pilgrims from the 3 Northern Regions will be airlifted from the newly constructed Tamale International Airport (Phase 1) 3 flights with average capacity of 500 passengers will fly from Tamale to Madina in Saudi Arabia. The first flight from Tamale is scheduled on 20th August, 2016.

Pay quickly to be part of this epoch Insha Allah.



Fare has remained unchanged since 2013. Congratulations to Hon Rauf Tanko(Chair hajj board), Ghana Airport and Civil Aviation Boards and management, His eminence Chief Imam and H.E Prez Mahama.

Source: Al-Hajj









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The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is calling on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to disclose the names of individuals to whom frequencies are allocated for broadcasting purposes.



As a member of the Coalition for Transparency of the Airwaves (COTA) in Ghana, the MFWA believes that transparency in the allocation of frequencies is critical in the quest for promoting professionalism in the media.



At several forums and media training programmes, journalists and managers have consistently indicated the need to engage directly with owners on issues relating to professional standards.



Unfortunately, the NCA only publishes names of companies assigned the frequencies without including the names of the owners or company directors.



Given the challenges of media professionalism in the country and the need to engage directly with owners, many of whom are active in partisan politics, it has become important for the NCA to disclose the names of those who own media organisations particularly radio stations.



Apart from making it possible to engage directly with owners on questions of professionalism, such disclosure will also help prevent speculations around ownership of media houses.



According to the NCA as at the end of 2015, 412 FM radio broadcasting stations had been authorised out of which 313 stations were operational. Between 2008 and end of 2015, the number of authorised radio stations has increased from 190 to 412. Within the same period the number of stations that are operational has increased from 146 to 313.



Given the fast pace of the growth of the radio broadcast industry which is positive for pluralism, free expression and access to information, it is at the same time crucial to ensure that issuance and management of radio frequencies is done in a transparent manner and in a way that promotes national development.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The 2016 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Wednesday, mounted the political platform at Dome/Kwabena constituency and passionately appealed to Ghanaians to support him to win power in his third attempt.



According to him, the November general polls will only be successful if the electorates give him their total support this time around having twice tasted defeats in 2008 and 2012 in his bid win power to govern the country.



Now I need your support, Ghanaians. I have knocked your doors for the first time but it didnt work; the second knock did not go well either. Now, this is my third time knocking at your doors and I will need your total support, he appealed while addressing thousands of NPP followers who stormed the Atomic Park in Accra to lend their support to the campaign launch of Sarah Adwoa Safo, MP for the area.



Akufo-Addo commenting further said the hardships that Ghanaians are going through as a result of the moribund administration of the Mahama-led NDC government is enough to show the number one gentleman of the land the exit door, come November this year.



He urged the electorates to disregard President Mahamas plea for a second-term in office, stressing that under his (President Mahama) leadership, thievery of State funds coupled with corruption and a weakened economy has been the order of the day.



Mahama has been going round the country telling the people that he is still left with some work to do and so Ghanaians should give him their mandate for another term in office to continue the work that he has started.



What we Ghanaians have to ask Mahama is what at all is he coming to continue? Is it the poverty and sufferings that he has subjected us into or the high unemployment situation that has bedeviled the country? We are going to use our thumbs to vote out President Mahama for Akufo-Addo to come and govern this country with good policies that will put us back on the path to economic growth. We care coming to strengthen our falling Cedi to end the sufferings of our traders. We will also end the thievery and corruption that has characterized President Mahama administration, he noted.

MP for the area, Sarah Adwoa Safo on her part urged the citizenry to be vigilance at the polling station because their vigilance will be key to winning the 2016 polls.



She told the gathering that never will the NPP go to the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict of the people, noting that the protection of the ballot box will be their strategy to winning the general elections.



Such strategy, the legislator cum procurement lawyer noted, will maximize more votes for the NPP and for that matter, Akufo-Addo to win the elections.



Dome/Kwabenya constituency, she added, is targeting 90% votes for the leader of the elephant family and was very confident that Nana Akufo-Addo will be lucky in his third attempt this time around.



We know that this is the third time Nana Addo is aspiring to be president of Ghana and, God-willing, he shall be lucky on his third attempt, she noted.

Source: kasapafmonline.com









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The Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) has warned that it will not hesitate to invoke the powers at its discretion against "media houses, show hosts, panelists and other radio communicators" whose "utterances pose serious security concern" to the country.



According to the national security outfit, " several electronic and print media outlets have become notorious for their intemperate vituperations, personal attacks and outright insults, among others"; but vowed to nib the canker in the bud.



"This is a serious security concern that we will not allow to fester," the BNI said in a statement copied to Peacefmonline on the arrest of two radio panelists.











The statement confirmed the arrest and detention of 41year old Alistair Tairo Nelson and 39 year old Godwin Ako Gunn last Sunday, for verbally "attacking Justices of the Supreme Court" and passing "comments deemed to be provocative, inflammatory, and unacceptable and which also had the potential of creating security challenges" on Accra-based Montie FM.



The BNI pointed out that in as much as it recognises that the "rights of self-expression and media freedom are enshrined in our constitution", it behoves on "several governmental and non-governmental institutions to regulate the communication sector and avoid inflammatory commentary that has the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the country".









Below is a copy of the BNI's statement.





BNI STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF TWO RADIO COMMUNICATORS Below is a copy of the BNI's statement.

The Bureau of National Investigation [BNI] on 3rd July, 2016 questioned two [2] radio communicators, namely Alistair Tairo Nelson, forty-one [41] and Godwin Ako Gunn, thirty-nine [39] on comments they aired on MONTIE FM, an Accra-based radio station, attacking Justices of the Supreme Court.

The arrest was premised on the fact that their comments were considered provocative, inflammatory, and unacceptable and had the potential of creating security challenges. In arresting the two [2], the BNI took into consideration the current volatile security situation in the country as we inch towards the 2016 elections.

At the interrogation, the two [2] suspects admitted making those statements and acknowledged that their remarks were regrettable and unfortunate. Further checks by the BNI have however established that the suspects were incapable of carrying out their pronouncements but did so in a show of needless bravado.

Nevertheless our investigations are ongoing and the suspects are reporting to the BNI three times a week.

The BNI further observes that thus far, several electronic and print media outlets have become notorious for their intemperate vituperations, personal attacks and outright insults, among others.



This is a serious security concern that we will not allow to fester.

As part of our constitutional mandate to safeguard Ghanas political environment for all Ghanaians, we advice all discussants to avoid intemperate and inflammatory language and innuendoes that have the tendency to create fear and panic and that tend to cause breaches of the peace.

The Bureau notes that the rights of self-expression and media freedom are enshrined in our constitution, and several governmental and non-governmental institutions such as the National Media Commission (NMC), the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and other Civil Society Organizations, recognized by statute or otherwise, have a primary responsibility to regulate the communication sector and avoid inflammatory commentary that has the potential to threaten the peace and stability of the country.

The Bureau assures the judiciary, the good people of Ghana and all foreigners within the jurisdiction that we shall continue to work with all the other State Security Agencies to ensure their safety at all times.

We also advice media house owners, show hosts, panelists and other radio communicators to conduct all discussions with decorum, tolerance and respect for the constitutional rights of others. This will ensure peace before, during and after the upcoming elections. We will not hesitate to invoke the full sanctions of the law against any media house which ignores this warning END

Issued From: BNI HQ, ACCRA

07/07/16

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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If youve been following PEDESTRIAN.TV for well, any longer than a day, you may have noticed were fans of youth vernacular. Like, big fans. There is nothing so satisfying as a well-placed yaaas, nor are there many words as rich in utility as munt.

That being said, there is a time and a place. Describing Leonardo DiCaprios inebriation post-Oscars success? Chill. Enticing interns to join the legions of coders at Microsoft? Well, lit isnt exactly the first word that comes to mind.

Still, an email from the megacorp has emerged, showing an incredibly earnest attempt at reaching the younglings. Posted online by a bloke whose mate was heading to San Franciscos annual Internapalooza, the email basically rattles off a checklist of millennial buzzwords:

My roommate received this email from a Microsoft recruiter today. pic.twitter.com/90Qwr78eGO  Patrick Burtchaell (@pburtchaell) July 6, 2016

The aftermath has been understandably brutal, not only due to the fact an established industry behemoth has been spitting off the internets own vocabulary in a particularly transparent and cynical manner, but because theyve doubled-down on that fratty, Bay Area start-up stereotype with the promise of beer pong.

@pburtchaell @jacksonh wow. Thats bad from a bro-gramming startup. Much worse from MS.  Nate Taylor (@taylonr) July 6, 2016

Oh, ICYMI, they also appeared to offer attendees drank, because nobody compiles bulletproof code better than a bunch o 20-somethings getting slizzered on cough syrup. While the precise meaning has been blurred of late (so say us, your meme-speak arbiters), it is a lil awk.

In response, Microsoft have stated the email was poorly worded and not in keeping with our values as a company. We are looking into how this occurred and will take appropriate steps to address it.

Translation, for everyone too young to understand: ayyy lmao, they cooked it, fam.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Patrick Burtchaell / Twitter.
Australias response to the release of Pokemon GO has been largely subdued. After all, the vast majority of Aussies with smartphones have outgrown the childi-LOL JK, the nation has basically exploded at the prospect of nabbing some digital critters during their everyday lives.

Lord knows we have, and the fine constabulary up in the Top End even took the unprecedented step of warning residents as to the dangers of Totodiles / to stay safe while stalking those elusive Pikachus.

Still, being the very best trainer that no-one ever was might seem like a solitary pursuit: after all, yall dont need a posse of Pokebros by your side while you scamper around the joint. It wouldnt bloody hurt though, and a slew of Facebook groups have sprung up so you can bolster your squad.

Over in Sydney, over 700 trainers have already signed up for the fan-lead Pokemon GO Sydney Walk, a sprawling journey that kicks off on Sunday morning. If youre keen, you can join em in front of the Art Gallery of NSW in the Domain (Smeargle, anyone?) before ambling around the tall grass of Darling Harbour.

Chilling in Melbourne? More than 1,500 (!) of you have joined the Pokemon GO Adventure Party, which will see avid punters meet up at Fed Square this Saturday. That rolling paved expanse was obviously built for bulk battle action, but if getting focus blasted is more your speed, theres a Pub Crawl in the works too.

Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Hobart have also copped their own rapidly-growing groups which will surely burst forth into IRL raiding parties at any moment. At the very least, theyre all worth following for the bloody grand screenshots posted therein:

No word just yet on that fabled Nekkoala, though.

Source and photo: Pokemon GO Sydney Walk #1 / Facebook.
Oh, poor Ryan Reynolds. We hope hes okay.

The Deadpool actor attended Taylor Swifts extravagant 4th of July party earlier this week, due to his partner Blake Lively being part of T-Swifts elaborate girl squad.

Swifts childhood best friend Britany posted a photo of Reynolds at the event; he and Blake are sitting right next to Taylor, who is canoodling with highly-reported-on new beau Tom Hiddleston.

And let us tell you, never hath there been a more desperate and overwhelming contemplating-the-choices-that-led-me-here look on someones face. Well, at least not since this guy:

This is the OG photo:

???? A photo posted by Britany LaManna (@britmaack) on Jul 5, 2016 at 12:11pm PDT

Obviously, the internet is an unforgiving place. It took this as a sign that Reynolds clearly needed saving from the clutches of the celebrity girl gang, and decided to do this via the power of online awareness. Well, not awareness. Whats that other thing? Oh yeah, making jokes on Twitter.

My concern at this point is less about the legitimacy of Hiddleswift and more about extracting Ryan Reynolds.  Carleesi Lane (@carlylane) July 5, 2016

I have never seen anyone so second-handedly embarrassed like Ryan Reynolds next to Hiddleswift canoodling.  Kitty Kat (@Wickedlydeeper) July 6, 2016

Reynolds looks like he forgot to say cheese bc he was mentally cataloging the regrettable choices that led to this pic.twitter.com/koFtgdNSrm  beautiful lunatic (@mostlyemotional) July 6, 2016

Ryan Reynolds is all of us trying to understand the phenomenon that is #Hiddleswift pic.twitter.com/jI2OR4A6IL  Abby Feiner (@arfeiner) July 5, 2016

#TomHiddleston: My litejazz album drops on iTunes Friday#RyanReynolds: Kill me

Couple at end: WE KNOW FAMOUS PEOPLE pic.twitter.com/hLyp9yJH1W  Sarah McMullan (@SarahMcMullanNZ) July 6, 2016

I now know what to call the Deadpool sequel: Deadpool: DeadInside.

 Ryan Reynolds internal monologue pic.twitter.com/DaNBlFlz3q  Aaron Green (@coucouaaron) July 6, 2016

i am ryan reynolds

ryan reynolds is me pic.twitter.com/styuxGpoTO  ellie (@sebasschinstan) July 6, 2016

This is my favourite role that Ryan Reynolds has ever played

. pic.twitter.com/LHCbIpQg3H  Gayby Gloomer (@kevinjn) July 5, 2016

tag yourself im ryan reynolds dying inside pic.twitter.com/cNaivGxEtg  28 days (@msharapovas) July 6, 2016

You can tell this wasnt his idea.

You can tell he thinks this was a dick move.

Ryan Reynolds always knows. pic.twitter.com/MSGztXveJz  Ian Woodbyrne (@ian_woodbyrne) July 6, 2016

So, were assuming in the last couple of days after the most photographed 4th of July party of all time (and thats quite a feat), Reynolds has likely been sitting on a old rocking chair, forgetting to eat and failing to bathe, letting his inner monologue overwhelm his senses as he pushes out one singular tear.

The tear represents his deep, resounding regret. He croakily whispers to no one,

Hiddleswift forever.



Source: Instagram.

Photo: Instagram. It is not edited at all. That is a real, un-Photoshopped thought bubble.
ICYM the wild reading of a Vanity Fair writers self-congratulatory wank  a.k.a. his hella thirsty profile on Margot Robbie  its bad. Really, its just very, very bad. Garbage, in fact.

But in addition to this very bad garbage piece, Vanity Fair also asked Margot Robbie to explain Aussie slang to them. Now, this here is a publication that described Australia as like America 50 years ago, sunny and slow, a throwback, which is why you go there for throwback people, so first of all they can get fucked.

Second of all Margot, we love ya, but we dont think fair dinkum means what you think it means.



Fair dinkum, she says in the video, thinking. Kind of like, oh far out.

..

..

*steeples fingers, rests chin*

..That is incorrect.

You can watch the video below, where VF have also inexplicably paired the term bludger with a picture of koala. Koalas have nothing to do but sleep, eat, and occasionally fuck. What, might I ask you, are they bludging from?

Photo: Vanity Fair.
Fort Indiantown Gap training.jpg

Members of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 108th Field Artillery Unit, from the Pennsylvania National Guard's South Mountain, Pa. Armory live fire M777A2 (155mm) Howitzers at Fort Indiantown Gap, on Saturday, 6/11/2011. (Courtesy photo Commonwealth Media Service/Released)

Fort Indiantown Gap will continue to be a busy training site in July, with increased noise expected from live-fire exercises.

Exercises include demolition training July 8-10, July 12, July 18-19 and July 26-28; the use of 120 mm mortars July 16-17 and July 20-21; and 25 mm Bradley tank firing July 21. The exercises will be between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Fort Indiantown Gap is the only live-fire, maneuver military training facility in Pennsylvania, and is headquarters to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Pennsylvania National Guard.

The installation offers more than 17,000 acres and 140 training areas for year-round training. For more information visit the Fort Indiantown Gap web site or follow it on Facebook. There is also an information line, 717-861-2007, that offers information on community activities and training events.
Year-round residents only: Marion Township plans for new type of housing

A housing development is being considered exclusively for people who live in the Charlevoix area all year.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said it would start preliminary talks with India on Friday about an eventual bilateral trade deal after last month's referendum vote to leave the European Union, which has forced London to rethink its trade ties with the rest of the world.

British Business Secretary Sajid Javid also said Britain would have as many as 300 trade specialists in place before the end of the year, up from about 100 now, as the country tries to increase its firepower to operate as a solo trading nation.

Britain has negotiated its trade deals through the EU for decades.

"Following the referendum result, my absolute priority is making sure the UK has the tools it needs to continue to compete on the global stage," Javid said in a statement

"Over the coming months, I will be conducting similar meetings with other key trade partners, outlining the government's vision for what the UK's future trade relationship might look like," he said.

Javid's trip to New Delhi was likely to be followed in the coming months by discussions about trade with the United States, China, Japan and South Korea, the business ministry said.

London also appears to be keen to tighten its trade ties with China. A source close to British finance minister George Osborne said he met senior officials from the world's second-largest economy in London on Thursday to discuss trade, agreeing to work to foster stronger ties between the two countries.

Britain's decision to leave the EU at a referendum on June 23 has raised big questions about its future trading relationship with the rest of the bloc, which buys about 45 percent of British exports, and with other economies.

Brexit supporters have said that Britain will be able to strike a good deal with the EU and also reach agreements with other big economies more quickly on its own than as part of the 28-nation EU.

For its part, the bloc has so far failed to do a deal with India.

Formal negotiations between Britain and countries such as India and the United States will have to wait for London to settle its future ties with the EU, something that is likely to take years.

Story continues

India is by far the most populous nation in the 53-country Commonwealth, whose members are mostly former British colonies and represent a combined 2.2 billion people across the world.

Britain was the biggest foreign investor among the Group of 20 nations in India in 2015, while India represents the third-largest source of foreign direct investment in Britain, the British business ministry said in a statement.

Bilateral trade in goods and services last year was worth 16.55 billion pounds ($21.33 billion), it said.

As one of the world's biggest and fastest-growing developing economies, India has long been a target for rich countries. It has demanded significant visa concessions for its citizens to work abroad, a source of tension with the United States.

The leaders of Britain's "Leave" campaign in the referendum said they wanted to allow more skilled, non-EU workers into the country under a new selective immigration policy.

On its part, Britain is likely to push for more access to India's financial services market.

Javid was due to meet Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday.

($1 = 0.7758 pounds)

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
PokerNews Cup Comes to Borgata September 20, 2016

July 07, 2016 PokerNews Staff

We're thrilled to announce that the PokerNews Cup tournament is making its North American debut at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. The two-day featured event will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 as part of the 14th annual Borgata Poker Open tournament series.

"For years we've dreamed of bringing the PokerNews Cup to the U.S, and to finally be able to see that dream come true is very exciting for all of us at PokerNews," iBus Media Chief Creative Officer, Matthew Parvis said. Coming off our recent success at King's Casino in Rozvadov, it is only fitting to hold this distinctive event at Borgata, which is one of the premier poker destinations in the world. We are thrilled to be affiliated with a property that includes a rich history of live poker events, in addition to a growing presence in the online gaming community.

Players living in or traveling to the great state of New Jersey will have plenty of opportunities to qualify for the event, as PokerNews will be working closely with BorgataPoker.com to provide a full schedule of online satellites and promotions which will be released in the coming weeks. Whether youre a high roller who already has plans to grind out the Borgata Poker Open, or a novice looking to play in your first live tournament, the PokerNews Cup will provide an amazing experience for all.

"By hosting the PokerNews Cup at Borgata during one of our major tournament series, we are able to provide players the opportunity to participate in a prestigious and lucrative event through our successful online satellite program," said Joe Lupo, Senior Vice President of Operations at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. "Borgatas market-leading success has always been based upon a superb gaming product as well as world-class non-gaming amenities; so we couldnt be more pleased to present both casual and professional poker players a unique experience featuring everything under one roof."

To add to the excitement of the inaugural PokerNews Cup Event in America, the PokerNews coverage team will be on site to provide a blow-by-blow rundown of all the action. The PokerNews MyStack app will be available at the event, allowing players to update their own chip counts.

The first-ever PokerNews Cup was held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia in 2007, with Dory Zayner taking down the first title and over $200,000. Since then, the event has taken place in South Africa, Austria, and most recently in the Czech Republic at King's Casino.

And speaking of King's Casino, the venue will play host to a big PokerNews Cup boasting a 200,000 guarantee Aug. 10-15. Qualifiers are still running, so take advantage of them today and get involved in one of poker's best events.

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+!
Sunday Briefing: "Jay-Syl11" Triumphs in the Sunday Million

July 06, 2016 Matthew Pitt Editor

Although it may seem like every poker player in the world is currently in Las Vegas competing for a World Series of Poker gold bracelet, that isn't the case because thousands of grinders chose to stay at home and continue plying their trade online.

One such player was Australia's "Jay-Syl11", who was one of 5,668 entries in this week's Sunday Million at PokerStars. Thirteen hours after the $215 buy-in tournament began, the Aussie was the last player standing, having won all of the 56.68 million chips in play, and collected $177,297.74 for the victory.

This weeks Sunday Million runner-up was "bogurdan" of Russia, who walked away with $132,064.40.

It was a familiar name at the top of the Sunday Supersonic this week, that of Brazilian star Joao Mathias "joaoMathias" Baumgarten. Winning $30,045.17 in less than two-and-a-half hours should significantly up his hourly rate for the foreseeable future.

Other big PokerStars wins on June 3 include:

"CesarMorales"  won the Big $162 for $4,845.12

 won the for $4,845.12 Jonathan "dujo123" Bussieres  won the Sunday Kickoff for $19,958

 won the for $19,958 Son "crppppp" Goku  won the $215 Bounty Builder for $12,963.93

 won the for $12,963.93 "NANIWAR"  won the Sunday Warm-Up for $49,346.24

 won the for $49,346.24 "exitonlyKK"  won the Big $109 for $21,570.63

 won the for $21,570.63 "Perfect1232"  won the Hot $162 for $12,336.79

 won the for $12,336.79 Ryan "newguy89" McEathron  won the Super-Sized Sunday for $28,907.71

 won the for $28,907.71 "YAKOWOZAWR"  won the $109 Bounty Builder for $13,407.09

 won the for $13,407.09 "agsh1n"  won the Hot $109 for $14,325.17

 won the for $14,325.17 "Mr.Nicky86  won the Sunday Grand for $47,644.25

 won the for $47,644.25 "roxy274"  won the Big $215 for $23,231.23

 won the for $23,231.23 Mantas "bagoch" Bagocius  won the Sunday Cooldown for $19,754

 won the for $19,754 Robert "Little Kraut" Deppe  won the Hot $215 for $11,263.35

 won the for $11,263.35 "kid4sero"  won the Sunday Wrap-Up for $7,591.33

"Ejsenhoven1" Crowned 888poker Baby Whale Champion

Sweden's "Ejsenhoven1" was one of the big winners over at 888poker this Sunday thanks to taking down the $50,000 Baby Whale for $16,073.70. But it was the United Kingdom's "roycieboy" who won a larger sum, $21,722.80, by triumphing in the $100,000 Mega Deep.

Another British player found himself in the winner's circle, as "BadModafoka1" added $7,912 to his lifetime winnings by being the last player standing in the $30,000 Turbo Mega Deep. "penfolds6" secured the $15,112 first place prize in the$80,000 Sunday Challenge.

"PitschiPopo78" Secured partypoker Super High Roller Title

On partypoker, 41 entries in the $2,600 Super High Roller meant the $100,000 guaranteed was beaten by a single buy-in, and the top six places were paid. The first-place price was a juicy $37,925, and this princely sum is now in the account of "PitschiPopo78", the tournament's champion.

The $530 High Roller at partypoker was taken down by "limitle55" for a cool $30,750, while the $150,000 guaranteed Main Event was chopped heads-up by "erik-jandeboer" and "Limpopo1707" for scores of $21,703.02 and $21,281.43, respectively.

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+!
Photo courtesy of Richard A. Brooks

I graduated from the Jackson (MS) Police Academy in 1995. The training was 12 weeks of hell during which our instructors did their best to prepare us to work some of the most dangerous streets in the country.

While on patrol in the summer of 1996, I received a call from dispatch that an unarmed man had been shoplifting at a grocery store. The security guard attempted to apprehend the suspect but was unsuccessful. As the security guard placed handcuffs on one of the suspect's wrists, the suspect assaulted the guard and fled on foot. I sped to the scene, blue lights flashing and siren wailing.

Upon arrival, I met an out of breath security guard, bleeding from his nose. He told me he had tried to detain a large African-American man and had been attacked. He added that the suspect was no longer wearing a shirt and had handcuffs on one of his wrists.

The suspect had fled toward North State Street. So I began a search and spoke to people in the area. A pedestrian advised me the suspect had run into the Mississippi Baptist Fitness Center. I parked in the basement of the Fitness Center, notified dispatch I was proceeding into the building, and ran inside. Units were responding to assist.

The Fitness Center

As I entered the building, I passed two of the Center's uniformed security guards calmly exiting the building. I asked about the suspect, and they told me they last observed him getting off of the elevator on the third floor. Although a bit surprised by this, I notified dispatch and I headed to the third floor.

The smart thing to do would have been to wait on my backup. But I was a rookie.

It was after 5 p.m. Most of the employees were gone for the day or they were leaving as I headed upstairs.

Entering the third floor, I noticed that some of the offices were open and some were closed. I made an announcement and began kicking in doors, searching for my suspect. One of those doors I kicked in bounced off of my suspect, Cleveland Clark.

The Third Floor

Clark was sweating profusely. He was much larger than me, standing 6 feet 2 inches and weighing approximately 260 pounds. As I had been advised, he had handcuffs on one wrist.

I ordered Clark to the ground with my weapon drawn. Clark initially complied. But as I holstered my duty pistol and attempted to handcuff him, Clark jumped up, throwing me backward into the wall. He ran and I gave chase, notifying dispatch of the situation.

Clark had no weapon, other than the dangling handcuffs on his wrist. I ran full speed and tackled him. Clark was not fazed.

He grabbed me by the body armor under my shirt, picked me up off the ground, and threw me into the wall. Then he started to walk away.

I drew my pepper spray canister and gave him a dose. The pepper spray had no effect other than filling the air with the substance, which also blanketed me, making it even harder for me to fight.

Clark began to assault me. Although I was no Bruce Lee, I answered Clark's attack with a series of punches and kicks.

We traded blows for several seconds. Then Clark and I went to the ground. The suspect overpowered me, began to choke me, wrapping his arm around my neck, and slamming my head into the concrete floor multiple times. He then attempted to obtain my weapon. We fought for my gun for several minutes. I was able to fight back initially, even throwing in some head butts, but after several blows to my head, things began to get hazy.

What happened next is burned into my brain forever. A small crowd of the few remaining employees began to gather around. I called for help but no one took action.

Gun Grab

Clark continued working to take away my handgun. My handgun was secured in a retention holster. In order to deploy the gun from that holster, the gun had to be pushed down and rocked forward before being released. So in the academy, I had been taught to press down on my duty weapon during a gun grab attack to prevent a suspect from removing it.

So as I was being choked out and my head was being slammed into the concrete floor with the small crowd watching, I pressed down as hard as I could on my firearm. Due to the position I was in, I had to press downward on the holster with my elbow. With the hand on that same arm, I was able to reach for my radio's shoulder microphone. In this position, I could not only hear the radio traffic, but I was able to activate my emergency button. As I yelled to dispatch that I was going out and Clark was attempting to gain control of my weapon, I could hear sirens and my fellow officers, including my academy classmate and best friend Robert Whiteside, screaming over the radio. Robert was frantically trying to learn my exact location.

Robert yelled, "Where is he, headquarters?"

The dispatcher advised, "I think he's in the basement."

I yelled into the mic that I was on the third floor.

As I began to lose consciousness, I could hear dispatch yelling over the radio, "All units, all units.proceed to Officer Brooks' location immediately Officer down!"

Backup On Scene

I could only see the feet of those looking on. I was giving up and I thought it was over.

As I looked at the feet of the crowd, I suddenly saw black police boots running toward me. The first backup officer to arrive began yelling at Clark and attempting to physically get him to release me. Initially, Clark ignored the officer and continued choking me while trying to obtain my weapon. Eventually, Clark released me and began fighting the other officer. As I gained my senses, I realized the backup officer was my friend Jack Usry. Jack then began receiving an onslaught of blows from Clark. Within seconds, Jack was fighting for his life.

But Clark was now facing two officers. And that was more than he could handle. Jack and I were able to subdue him and we took him into custody.

The crowd quickly dispersed as Jack and I escorted Clark downstairs. Jack led the way, as I had been blinded by the pepper spray. My friend Robert met me on the way down and helped wash the pepper spray out of my eyes. My sergeant ordered me to the Baptist Hospital's ER to assess my injuries.

Damages

Hospital personnel advised me that I had a concussion and possibly a torn shoulder. I was placed in a sling.

Still, a massive report had to be completed. Once all the paperwork was completed, I went home and tried to sleep, which was impossible. I lay in bed, into the early morning hours, thinking about what had occurred. I recall thinking that I almost didn't make it home.

Within a few days, Clark was released from jail. I still do not know how he got out so quickly after literally trying to kill a police officer. His blood tested positive for PCP and cocaine prior to his release.

I took no time off and quickly returned to work to fight another day with my fellow Jackson PD officer, and we fought together often. I was asked by many, including my sergeant, why I didn't shoot the suspect when it was clear his intention was to kill me. I said it then and I will say it now; I just didn't feel as though I, an armed Caucasian police officer in Mississippi, could shoot an unarmed African-American man. I simply didn't want to face the consequences.

Nonetheless there were consequences that I couldn't have imagined at the time.

Cleveland Clark killed a young woman in Georgia.

Sparkle Rai

You can read the reports online from a variety of publications. Cleveland Clark killed a 22-year-old woman in Union Springs, GA, named Sparkle Rai in 2000. And it's a very sordid story.

Clark was hired by Rai's father-in-law, Chiman Rai, to kill the young mother. Chiman Rai, 68, a native of India, didn't want his son Rajeeve "Ricky" Rai to be married to an African-American. The elder Rai was convicted of conspiring to kill his son's wife and was sentenced to life without parole. Sparkle had only been married for a month when she was stabbed and strangled by Clark in front of her crying 6-month-old daughter. Rai paid $10,000 to have Sparkle killed.

Sparkle's murder had gone unsolved for six years until witnesses came forward identifying Clark as the killer.

And here's where Cleveland Clark comes back into my life. In 2009, cold case detectives from Georgia contacted me. By this time, I had left the police department and was working as an investigator for a law firm. Clark had been found guilty for the murder and detectives were preparing for the sentencing portion of his trial. They reviewed my report and wanted me to testify as to what occurred when I attempted to arrest Clark in 1996. Detectives flew me to Atlanta where I testified at the sentencing.

In that courtroom I sat amazed as other police officers testified about their encounters with Clark. Resisting arrest and assaulting police officers was a way of life for Cleveland Clark. One officer was held hostage by Clark. During that standoff, Clark broke this officer's hand with the officer's own weapon before being captured.

The prosecutors got what they wanted from our testimony. Clark was sentenced to death on July 2, 2009. He remains on death row in Georgia.

Echoes of Pain

For the next few years after my appearance in that court I felt a great deal of guilt over Clark being released from Jackson. Had he not been able to get away from us, Sparkle Rai might still be alive. And all my fellow officers who suffered injuries at his hands would have never been hurt.

I'm also reminded daily of my encounter with Cleveland Clark because of the physical pain I still feel. Over the years, my shoulder has continued to bother me. I have endured countless cortisone shots, which worked for a time. But in January of this year, with the shots no longer having an effect and the pain becoming unbearable, I finally agreed to an MRI. The exam revealed multiple tears, bone spurs, and severe arthritis. So as you read this I will be recovering from surgery. In a strange twist, the surgery is scheduled to take place in the same building that used to house the Baptist Fitness Center where Cleveland Clark attacked me.

So as I prepare for my surgery 20 years after I was slammed to the ground over and over by Cleveland Clark, my thoughts and gratitude go to my brothers Robert Whiteside and Jack Usry. My thoughts and prayers also go to my fallen law enforcement brothers and sisters and to the family of Sparkle Rai. May my fallen colleagues and Ms. Rai rest in peace.

Richard A. Brooks is the owner and lead Investigator of Richard Brooks Investigations, LLC (www.JacksonPI.com) in the Jackson, MS metro area. He is the Immediate Past President of the Mississippi Professional Investigators Association and the Mississippi Chapter Director of the Association of Christian Investigators.
The 100 Club of Chicago, which provides for the families of first responders killed in the line of duty, has announced a new partnership with Cale America, supplier of payment technology for parking and transportation in the Chicago area and throughout the United States.

"We are excited to welcome Cale America to the 100 Club of Chicago's family," said 100 Club of Chicago CEO Joe Ahern. "Their support will go a long way in helping the 100 Club of Chicago fulfill our mission of supporting the families of first responders who have made the ultimate sacrifice."

Andreas Jansson, President of Cale America Inc., added that the 100 Club of Chicago is a perfect fit to Cale America's strategy of supporting children and families in need. "We are honored to be able to give back the Chicago communities through great organizations like the 100 Club. When we heard about their incredible mission, we didn't hesitate to sign up."

Over the course of its near five decades of service, the 100 Club of Chicago has provided assistance to 260 families, giving away approximately $10 million.

About The 100 Club of Chicago

Founded in 1966, the 100 Club of Chicago is an Illinois not-for-profit (501)(c)(3) charitable organization that provides for the families of first responders who have lost their lives in the line-of-duty. The Club helps families ease the financial burden associated with the tragic event, including immediate financial assistance and the ongoing cost of higher education. All sworn federal, state, county and local first responders stationed in Cook and Lake Counties are included.

About Cale America

Cale Group incorporates over 60 years of experience in the design and development of secure and innovative payment solutions for unattended parking and transit locations with cloud-based management applications. Headquartered in Kista, Sweden, the Cale Group has subsidiaries in ten countries and a network of partners in over 30 countries worldwide. Cale America Inc. was established in 2012 and is Cale's largest subsidiary with systems installed in over 200 municipalities, campuses and privately-managed properties throughout the US, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
Example of Total Response CACH software being used in a PSAP (Photo: PowerPhone)

The Pike County (IN) Sheriff's Office is transitioning to PowerPhone's Total Response solution to streamline 911 call-handling operations. Total Response provides the tools, processes, and trainings for Pike County's Public Safety team to define, achieve, and measure their 911 call-handling standard of care.

At the center of the transition is PowerPhone's CACH software, a computer-aided call-handling software that communicates with Pike County's existing CAD system to seamlessly transfer information from 911 call handlers to emergency responders as it is gathered. The Pike County Sheriff's Office uses Cushing CAD (J2), which had previously built an interface to CACH; CACH's interface can interact with any CAD.

CACH utilizes an integrated protocol system to meet the complete needs of any 911 call regardless of emergency type (law enforcement, fire service or emergency medical dispatch). Protocols guide the call handlers through each call using PowerPhone's patented call-taking formula to rapidly identify each emergency and dispatch the appropriate responder skill set according to Pike County's response plan. Alicia Atkinkson from PowerPhone's Implementation Team worked with Pike County to best apply their call handling processes and response plans with PowerPhone's protocols allowing for a seamless transition to the new Total Response system. Residents will see faster, more consistent call handling processes for 911 emergencies.

Total Response also includes administrative and management tools to help Pike County maintain call-handling consistency and identify areas for operational and training improvements. The "Call Assessment" module enables staff to review past calls and share them in peer-to-peer training sessions. Call assessment also provides actionable data insights that can be used to enhance training, identify trends, refine operations and monitor agency performance. Two Pike County Sheriff's Office staff members have been certified in Call Assessment Management.

PowerPhone provided each Pike County Sheriff's Office call handler with protocol certification training and provided system and administrative training for managers. The implementation process also provided full software installation, around-the-clock support and will handle all future software and protocol updates to keep Pike County current with 911 call-handling best practices.

About PowerPhone

PowerPhone, a 32-year-old privately-held Connecticut corporation, is a leading provider of emergency communications technology, consulting and training. PowerPhone's single-system Total Response approach to emergency communications ensures consistent call handling and the highest standard of care. As the first organization to develop integrated protocols for police, fire and emergency medical dispatch, PowerPhone has helped raise standards for call handling throughout the world. For more information, visit www.PowerPhone.com.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) announced that its underage enforcement actions at last month's Mumford and Sons concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) resulted in the arrest of 16 concertgoers and the seizure of 15 counterfeit identification documents.

The arrests were made just hours after the announcement by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo that DMV, in partnership with the State Liquor Authority (SLA), New York State Park Police, New York State Police, and local law enforcement agencies, would be launching coordinated sweeps during the summer concert season as part of ongoing efforts to deter underage drinking and prevent the use of fake IDs. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul also led a press conference at SPAC the day of the concert emphasizing the importance of keeping New York's youth safe during the summer concert season.

"Governor Cuomo's announcement of coordinated sweeps statewide was meant to send a message to young adults that using fake IDs to obtain alcohol, at concerts and elsewhere, is just not worth it. Unfortunately, some did not get the message and learned the hard way when they tried to use fake IDs to purchase alcohol at SPAC," said DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner Terri Egan. "DMV investigators are going to be out there, unannounced, all summer long and beyond, to reinforce the message that underage drinking will not be tolerated. We want all New Yorkers to have a safe summer. Deterring underage drinking keeps us all safer. Thanks to our partners for helping us carry out this important initiative."

DMV and SLA investigators used portable document verification machines from Advanced ID Detection to check the identity documents of concertgoers seeking to purchase alcohol on the SPAC grounds and charged 16 individuals with a violation of New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 509. Investigators recovered 15 fraudulent driver licenses or identification cards, including five from Connecticut, three from New Jersey, two from Rhode Island, and one each from Maine, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Additionally, State Park Police arrested four people for driving while intoxicated, two on illegal drug possession charges, and one forgery charge, as well as ticketed five individuals for underage drinking, three for traffic violations and one for violating State Park regulations.

"The arrests and citations reflect our commitment to ensure that visitors to State Park concert facilities enjoy a safe experience," said State Park Police Chief David Herrick. "New York State Park Police will continue working with our law enforcement partners to crack down on dangerous and illegal activities at concerts throughout the summer."

"Minors who attempt to buy alcohol with fake IDs are quickly learning that the professionals at DMV won't be fooled," said Chairman Vincent Bradley. "The SLA commends our partners at DMV and law enforcement for launching this proactive summer campaign to deter underage drinking and keep New Yorkers safe."

Those found in possession of a fraudulent ID were arrested and their fake identity documents were confiscated. Patrons under the age of 21 found to be using fake IDs or false documents with the intent of purchasing alcohol can be arrested and have their license revoked for a minimum of 90 days or up to one year.

The summer crackdown is part of Operation Prevent, a DMV initiative conducted all year long that targets not only concerts, but bars and drinking establishments, events, and other underage hot spots Operation Prevent is supported by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. In addition to SPAC, Operation Prevent sweeps have been conducted at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Genesee County and CMAC in Canandaigua. This year, Operation Prevent will expand to additional venues, including Nikon at Jones Beach Theater (Jones Beach State Park) on Long Island.

For more information about the technology being used to detect fake IDs, visit http://www.advancediddetection.com/.

For more information about New York DMV, click here.
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From the John McCain isnt a hero bit to calling women fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals, Donald Trump so easily denies what he has actually said that Politifact made a list of 17 times hes said something and then denied it. This is of course the 17 times they counted. There is no way to fact-check all of his claims.

In PolitiFacts 17 times Donald Trump said one thing and then denied it we run the gamut of denials from nuclear weapons to fight terrorism to mocking a disabled reporter to offering to pay for supporters who beat up protesters.

We have I dont know anything about David Duke and denying using the p word (smear against women) at a rally, even though there is video to prove hes lying.

Theres the legal fees Trump promised to pay for any supporter who attacked a protester. On video. But he denied that and the terrifying time he suggested he would not rule out using nuclear weapons against terrorists.

Theres the time Trump mocked a disabled reporter and then huffily denied it and accused Hillary Clinton of making it up. But video agreed with Clinton.

This is a man so mendacious that Politifact had to make a list of things he denies saying, even when there is evidence to prove him wrong.

The problem is that Donald Trumps base never hears the truth, and if they did, theyve been groomed to ignore it. This is what Republicans epistemic closure has built, after years of blaming the media for their own mistakes.

Republicans have a base that does not care about the truth. They want to be lied to. And while the nation is more divided and plenty of Democrats also only want to hear what they agree with, the Democratic party is not pushing them to become untethered from reality by lying to them daily.

There is a vast difference between spinning something to fit the ideology everyone knows you share based on your party and outright denying reality.

Donald Trump is the result of decades of blaming the media for reporting the truth. A candidate who does not give one fig about the truth and lies easily and without shame  this is who the Republican base most wants to be president.
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Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that Hillary Clinton will face no charges for her use of a private email server.

Attorney General Lynch said in a statement, Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clintons use of a personal email system during her time as Secretary of State. I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation.

The Republican howls of the words conspiracy, Bill Clinton, and airport will again echo through the land, but the reality is that what is being witnessed are the final gasps of the Hillary Clinton email scandal.

As has become the tradition when facts and reality cross paths with Republicans, the nation has already entered the conspiracy theory stage of Republican denial. For the remainder of the presidential campaign, Republicans, with Donald Trump front and center, are going to push the email conspiracy from now until Election Day.

The conspiracy wont resonate anywhere outside of conservative media and Republican circles, but should the GOP get crushed with Trump at the top of the ticket; they already have a built in excuse for their defeat.

In many conservative minds, they will not have lost the election because they nominated a man who is both uniquely unqualified and despised by most of the general electorate. Instead, they will blame their defeat on a conspiracy that allowed Hillary Clinton to avoid criminal charges over her use of a private email server.

Republicans dont do reality, so the fact that an independent investigation determined that Clinton shouldnt be charged with a crime means nothing to reality-denying GOP.

The strongest characteristic of the modern Republican Party is that they never let facts interfere with their fantasies.
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After FBI Director James Comey recommended no charges be brought against Hillary Clinton for her email use  and todays decision by Attorney General Loretta Lynch to accept those recommendations  the Republican Party is fuming.

As a result, theyre getting ready to saddle up for another investigation to nowhere  this time to investigate the investigation. They want to know why the findings in the FBI probe dont align with their blind hatred of the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Were going to have hearings, Speaker Paul Ryan said last night on Fox News. There are a lot of unanswered questions here.

On Thursday, Comey is already scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee led by Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, one of the top exploiters of the Benghazi attack. Lynch is also set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee next Tuesday, which is chaired by Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte

The recent announcement by FBI Director Comey that he does not recommend criminal charges be brought against Hillary Clinton for her mishandling of classified information raises serious concerns, Goodlatte recently said.

The aftermath of the email probe does, indeed, raise some serious concerns, but not about the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The real shame is just how much taxpayer money the Republican Party is willing to spend in its never-ending effort to derail Hillary Clinton.

The last failed effort to sink the former secretary of state came in the form of a $6.8 million dollar investigation  thats about $8,000 per day if youre keeping score  into the terror attacks in Benghazi, which turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by Clinton. Surprise.

The money invested in that political exercise wasnt to improve the well-being of the country or its citizens  it was a blatant attempt to tear down a political opponent who theyve been trying to beat for decades. Even GOP leadership has admitted that much.

Now, after Republican FBI Director and former George W. Bush deputy attorney general found that Clinton is guilty of no criminal activity, Republicans want answers. Why? Because the first set of answers didnt help them achieve their eternal political goal of sinking Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As if Donald Trump being the nominee didnt make the party a caricature already; now they want to convince the American people that the most important task of government is to investigate an investigation  until they find the answers they want.
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Donald Trump announced with great pride that he had asked convicted murderer Don King to speak at the Republican convention.

Video:

Trump said, You know who I just spoke to? Big Don King. Big Don King. Just spoke to him ten minutes ago. I said Don, Id love for you to speak at the convention because you know what? You beat the system, and hes a friend of mine. Big Don. Greatest Boxer promoter of all time and Mike Tyson endorsed me.

If Donald Trump had his way, the Republican convention would feature convicted murderer Don King and convicted rapist Mike Tyson. Trump already had to uninvite Tyson to speak at the convention after the public backlash was swift and intense, but this is the sort of convention that Donald Trump is planning.

The Republican convention isnt going to be about the Republican Party. It will be a four-day festival of Donald Trump and his friends. It doesnt matter if most of the people speaking will know nothing about politics, or that they could care less about the Republican Party.

The convention in Cleveland is going to be all about Trump.

Trumps speech in Cincinnati was an unhinged disaster, and if this is a preview of what will be presented to the American people under the banner of the Republican convention, the GOP will be lucky if they dont lose in a landslide in November.
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Donald Trump showed his support for bigotry by self-destructing during a rally and defending his anti-Semitic Star of David tweet.

Video:

While speaking in Cincinnati, OH, Trump said, So youve got the star, which is fine. I said you shouldnt have taken it down. You know, they took the star down. I said too bad, You should have left it up. I would rather have defended just leave it up. I say no thats not a Star of David. Thats just a star. Its also about corrupt Hillary. Corrupt Hillary. But she sent it out. She said oh, thats a star. Shes the one who started the dialog. You know why? Because she wanted to get off the FBI. And you know who got worse than anybody by the FBI? Bernie Sanders cause he was waiting for the FBI to make him the nominee, and it didnt work.

Everything that Trump said was a lie. The image that Trump tweeted came from neo-Nazis. The six pointed star is a Star of David. Hillary Clinton did not start the dialog about the star. The conversation began with journalists of all stripes pointing out that the presumptive Republican nominee had just tweeted an anti-Semitic tweet.

Make no mistake about it, Trumps defense of his tweet was a big warm hug to the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movements.

Donald Trump knows exactly what he is doing. He is trying to win the White House by appealing bigotry, racism, and white anger.

By choosing to defend the tweet, Trump has self-destructed and turned attention away from what Republicans would rather be talking about, Clintons emails, and back to his own behavior. Any person of morality, no matter what their politics, should find Trump and his campaign indefensible.

Trump is directly appealing to racists and bigots. If Republicans keep Trump, they will be labeled the party of hate by future generations.

Donald Trump is showing America who he is, which is why voters must come together to reject his candidacy at the ballot box.
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In a tweet posted Wednesday night, a perpetually unhinged Donald Trump again tried defending his controversial Star of David Twitter attack on Hillary Clinton. This time, though, Trump is using Disneys Frozen to help make his case.

Trumps tweet:

Where is the outrage for this Disney book? Is this the Star of David also?

Dishonest media! #Frozen pic.twitter.com/4LJBpSm8xa  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2016

The tweet comes as the presumptive GOP nominee continues to fend off criticism of a picture he posted on Twitter that features the Star of David, pictured on top of a pile of money, calling Hillary Clinton the Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!

His campaign has since deleted the post, but Trump hasnt stopped publicly whining about the backlash hes received since posting it. Today he even said that his campaign, which often operates separately from Trump, should have kept the initial tweet posted.

Too bad, you should have left it up, he said. I would have rather defended it and say no thats not a Star of David thats just a star that talks about corrupt Hillary.

Instead of letting it go, to borrow a line from the popular Disney flick, Trump cant help himself and feels compelled to respond to every bit of criticism he ever receives, like a petulant child.

Once again, Trump is proving just how immature and temperamentally unfit he is, especially when it comes to holding the most powerful office in the world. Hes a thin-skinned, spray-tanned man-child who has no business being president. Tweets like the one he posted Wednesday night are further proof of that fact.

This is not a guy who should be making important decisions from the Oval Office.
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Bill OReilly likes to write fake history, much like David Barton, and he has proven himself to be just about as impervious to facts as Barton. His work is so bad it is difficult to believe he is not really pulling a Colbert. He is that over the top.

On Wednesdays edition of Fox News The OReilly Factor, OReilly accused President Obama of having deep emotional ties to Islam. I say accused because for OReilly this is a problem, as it puts our country in danger.

Watch courtesy of Media Matters for America:

Many Americans, including this one, believe Barack Obamas emotional attachment to the Muslim world has hurt the USA. There is no question the Obama administrations greatest failure is allowing the Islamic terror group ISIS to run wild, murdering thousands of innocent people all over the world, including many MuslimsPresident Obama, as we all know, will not even use the words Islamic terrorism



[]



According to his half-sister, Barack Obama attended his half-brothers wedding in the early 1990s. Malik Obama was a Muslim. The Factor has obtained pictures allegedly from that wedding, which we believe was held in Maryland. Details on the ceremony, the exact location, whether the reports that Barack Obama was the best man are very difficult to verify at this point. What we can tell you with certainty is that Barack Obama has deep emotional ties to Islam.

Republicans dont get this kind of scrutiny for palling around with white supremacists, Neo-Confederate secessionists, domestic homegrown terrorists, Neo-Nazis and even the KKK, but President Obama cant go to a Muslim wedding?

OReilly took issue with President Obamas personal religious beliefs with the same reasoning that make his books so reviled by actual historians, bringing on Obama biographer David Mendell to lecture.

Check out OReillys logic if you will, again courtesy of MMFA:

DAVID MENDELL: Just because President Obama attended the wedding of a relative who was a Muslim doesnt necessarily mean he has deep ties to Islam.



BILL OREILLY (HOST): You wouldnt say that if your father and your stepfather, both Islamists, and then your half brother and half sister, both Muslims, you wouldnt call those deep ties?



MENDELL: Well, they are ties. President Obama is a very unique cultural figure. He has ties to various worlds. He has ties in the African-American world. He has ties to Kansas where his mother was born. He himself is a devout Christian. I would follow him around on the campaign trail back here in Illinois 



OREILLY: Whoa, whoa, whoa, devout Christian? He doesnt go to church on a regular basis. How did you arrive at that assessment? Why would he be  hes a Christian. I believe hes a Christian. Im not one of these guys who says hes a Muslim. But I dont think hes a devout Christian.



MENDELL: Well, he would go along the campaign trail here in Illinois, he would have the Holy Bible sitting in the door compartment of his vehicle, and he would refer to it consistently. He and Michelle would attend services of, you can go back to Jeremiah Wright if you want but 



OREILLY: I dont know if thats devout in Jeremiah Wrights church is a little political.



MENDELL: But hes given expensive interviews about his beliefs in Christianity.



OREILLY: Yeah but what you say and what you do are not necessarily the same thing. I base my analysis on the fact that in my opinion  and I could be wrong, but Im not  President Obamas sympathetic treatment of Muslims put the country in danger because he has not elevated the risks that we have to the level it should be. And he allowed ISIS to be created because of his foolish decision to withdraw troops in Iraq and to pretty much run wild for five years. So another president, angry about the jihad, would not have done that. Am I wrong?



MENDELL: Well, I think President Obama is very sympathetic to all cultures, all religions. He grew up in a multiplicity 



OREILLY: Is that good for a commander in chief to be very sympathetic to all cultures and all beliefs when thousands of people are being murdered?



MENDELL: Obviously you think its a bad quality.



OREILLY: You dont?



MENDELL: Well, I think he is a unique figure in that he can see various viewpoints. Im not here necessarily to argue 



OREILLY: Hes the commander in chief of the country  wait, wait, wait, Mr. Mendell. Mr. Mendell, hes the commander in chief of the United States, and his main charge is to protect us. Its not main charge as to be touchy-feely to all different cultures.

Oh the hypocrisy of OReilly accusing Rev. Wrights church of being a little political, when Reince Priebus, Chairman of the RNC, has admitted that the GOP is a religion. Just look at how politicized the Religious Right has made churches and pastors on behalf of Republican candidates. Maybe a little political is bad and a lot political is good?

By following OReillys tortured logic, because all my relatives and friends are Christians, you could accuse me of having deep ties to Christianity. However, that doesnt make me less a Pagan. Muslim friends and family do not make Obama less a Christian.

A bigger problem for OReillys argument is simply this: so what? What difference does it make what religion Obama follows, or what religion friends and family follow? And what business is it of OReillys?

The First Amendment levels the playing field and forbids the establishment of a state religion. Article 6, Clause 3 of the Constitution, the No Religious Test Clause, states in language even OReilly should be able to comprehend that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

If it doesnt matter what religion Obama is, it matters far less what religion his friends and family follow.
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President Obama issued the following comment about the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. The President emphasized that we need to do better as a nation and said he and First Lady Michelle Obama share the feelings of anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling. He emphasized that all Americans should be deeply troubled by the shootings.

All Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. Weve seen such tragedies far too many times, and our hearts go out to the families and communities whove suffered such a painful loss.

Although I am constrained in commenting on the particular facts of these cases, I am encouraged that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation in Baton Rouge, and I have full confidence in their professionalism and their ability to conduct a thoughtful, thorough, and fair inquiry.

But regardless of the outcome of such investigations, whats clear is that these fatal shootings are not isolated incidents. They are symptomatic of the broader challenges within our criminal justice system, the racial disparities that appear across the system year after year, and the resulting lack of trust that exists between law enforcement and too many of the communities they serve.

To admit weve got a serious problem in no way contradicts our respect and appreciation for the vast majority of police officers who put their lives on the line to protect us every single day. It is to say that, as a nation, we can and must do better to institute the best practices that reduce the appearance or reality of racial bias in law enforcement.

Thats why, two years ago, I set up a Task Force on 21st Century Policing that convened police officers, community leaders, and activists. Together, they came up with detailed recommendations on how to improve community policing. So even as officials continue to look into this weeks tragic shootings, we also need communities to address the underlying fissures that lead to these incidents, and to implement those ideas that can make a difference. Thats how well keep our communities safe. And thats how we can start restoring confidence that all people in this great nation are equal before the law.

In the meantime, all Americans should recognize the anger, frustration, and grief that so many Americans are feeling  feelings that are being expressed in peaceful protests and vigils. Michelle and I share those feelings. Rather than fall into a predictable pattern of division and political posturing, lets reflect on what we can do better. Lets come together as a nation, and keep faith with one another, in order to ensure a future where all of our children know that their lives matter.

President Obama did what real leaders do, even though he understands more than many just how deeply the wounds of racial injustice burn, especially when they lead to senseless, tragic killings. Obama urged the nation to come together, and think about how we can be better.

The President is right, all Americans should be dismayed by these tragedies. Black lives should matter the exact same as white lives. The disparity in treatment between white and black people by the police belies the idea of our country as a place of freedom and opportunity. It will rightly tear this country apart if we dont all insist that it changes.

This isnt right, and we must be better.
The Valspar Corporation VAL said that it will be expanding production capacity at its Singapore facility to meet rising demand for its food and beverage packaging products in the Asia-Pacific region.



The expansion places the company to meet rising customer demands and leverage robust growth in that region. The company will also be able to make higher volumes of both existing and new technologies, including non-BPA coating solutions for the food and beverage markets. The expansion is expected to come on stream in 2017.



VALSPAR CORP Price

VALSPAR CORP Price | VALSPAR CORP Quote

Recently, Valspar stated that its shareholders have voted in favor of the company's proposed acquisition by The Sherwin-Williams Co. SHW at the formers Special Meeting of Shareholders. The transaction is expected to conclude by the end of the first quarter of calendar year 2017.



Valspar saw its profits decline roughly 9.2% year over year to 99 cents per share in second-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Apr 29). Adjusted earnings of $1.22 per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.26. Revenues of $1.06 billion also trailed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 billion. However, revenues from the paints segment saw an increase of 1% year over year to $407 million, although currency headwinds hurt sales by 2%.



Valspar, which is one of the prominent paint makers, along with Akzo Nobel AKZOY and PPG Industries PPG, withdrew its guidance for fiscal 2016 in May 2016 in light of the impending merger with Sherwin-Williams.



Valspar is exposed to currency headwinds and volatility in raw material costs which can invariably reduce the company's profit margins. Moreover, the overall demand environment remains uneven.



Valspar currently holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).



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If youre wondering just how deep Republicans are willing to dig their Get Hillary hole as they overplay their hands yet again, you need look no further than the glaring hypocrisy of lead pitch-fork carrier Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) using a Gmail account on his official House card.

After ABC News obtained in 2015 Chaffeetz official House business card that listed his Gmail addy, Chaffetz told ABC News that it was totally cool because he didnt pay for the card with government funds and also, neener-neener, Congress is not subject to the Federal Records Act.

Chaffetz also said that he uses both his Gmail and a government email.

In 2011, Chaffetz was warned by the Department of Homeland Security to stop leaking sensitive information. The Washington Post reported, a clearly miffed Department of Homeland Security Deputy Counsel Joseph B. Maher told Chaffetz that sensitive security information provided to his subcommittee by the Transportation Security Administration was illegally disclosed to the press.

Chaffetz followed up that fail by blowing the CIAs cover during a Congressional Hearing in 2012, endangering lives.

Perhaps Chaffetz should not be trusted with sensitive information.

Before FBI Director Comey (a Republican) put the Republicans conspiracy theories on ice with his news that there was no intention to conceal anything and it wasnt illegal, Chaffetz said Comey was a man of integrity and the definitive person to investigate Clintons emails.

But now Republicans say he is part of a conspiracy to protect Hillary Clinton, so they are holding yet another investigation into their failed investigation that led to the FBI investigation that also failed.

Chaffetz is not only a horrible hypocrite, but he is also an even worse politician. Republicans are just begging to have their dirty laundry aired, and have the press focus on their exceptional waste of taxpayer money in their relentless attacks against Hillary Clinton.

They failed in the Benghazi hearings and they failed with her emails.
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During a meeting with Republicans, presumptive nominee Donald Trump made a fool of himself by not knowing who in his party is up for reelection.

Trying to best Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in retaliation for Flakes refusal to support him yet, Trump sneered that Flake would lose his reelection. To which Flake responded by informing the Republican that he is not up for reelection this year.

Sean Sullivan and Philip Rucker at the Washington Post reported based on two Republican officials with direct knowledge of the exchanges:

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard but threatened to begin doing so. Flake stood up to Trump by urging him to stop attacking Mexicans. Trump predicted that Flake would lose his reelection, at which point Flake informed Trump that he was not on the ballot this year, the sources said.

According to the officials, Trump also called Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) a loser for not supporting him and claimed he would carry the state of Illinois and called out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who has also not supported Trump.

Trump tried to be a blowhard and instead tripped on his own ego and lack of basic knowledge when he revealed that he didnt even know which of his partys Senators would be on the ballot with him this year.

This is some grade A humiliation here. Or, as Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort said in a statement to the Post, it was positive and productive.

Yes indeed.

Donald Trump is managing to make Karl Rove look like a charmer when it comes to bullying his own party members with the finesse of a rather ignorant hit man.

The determined march forward to the Republican convention continues.
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BYRON  While a Bloomington firm recently purchased it, leaders of a 25-year-old Byron business say the only change coming is future growth.

SFM Mutual Insurance Co., a regional workers' compensation insurer, purchased Byron's Barrier Free Access from owners Mark and Cheryl Stinson on June 30. No financial details of the deal were released.

As a subsidiary, Barrier Free will keep its name, its facilities in Byron and New Brighton as well as its seven employees.

"All that's really changing is who owns the stock," explained Mark Stinson. "This provides additional resources for us. Both businesses are on the cusp of additional growth. And we both work in a culture of safety."

Stinson will remain as president and chief executive officer of Barrier Free.

ADVERTISEMENT

Barrier Free, based at 1207 Frontage Road NW, sells safe patient handling equipment and offers design consultation and training to medical facilities. It launched in 1991 as a spinoff of Stinson Construction. It is a distributor of products designed for acute, post-acute and residential health-care facilities, such as patient lift slings.

For SFM, adding Barrier Free brings it into a new, but related, type of business.

"This is definitely a new thing for SFM. It boiled down deciding there was something the two companies had in common  providing a safe workplace for health-care workers and patients," said Andy Gebhard, SFM's vice president of communications.

SFM is a much larger operation than Barrier Free. The Bloomington-based mutual insurance firm has an estimated 250 employees. It works with employers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to provide workers' compensation coverage.

Barrier Free will be under its SFM Risk Solutions division. SFM will work with Barrier Free to help its clients, though the Byron company also will continue to work with its own customer base.

"We'll allow them to continue to do what they do well," Gebhard said.

Barrier Free opened its design and training center in New Brighton last summer. The space is used to collaborate with architects, designers and health-care professionals to create plans for staff and patient safety. The company's staff includes experts in nursing, ergonomics, service and construction management.

"It allows us to work together on the front end of a project," Stinson said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Now with the additional resources of SFM, Stinson sees a bright future for all aspects of Barrier Free's business.

"I'm excited for that ability to grow and take this company to the next level," he stated in the announcement of the sale.
After years of distant diplomats determining trade deals that pester the corner grocer, after years of taxes being bled from local government to bolster chronically mismanaged economies a world away, after years of "democratic deficit" with people ignoring elections unable to bring to heel the centralized power juggernaut of the European Union, Great Britain, with its highest voter turnout since 1992, voted to leave the icon of globalization. Europe has heard the twang of Robin Hood's longbow, only this time he has freed his entire country from absolutism's clutches.

This tradition of decentralizing power stretches back long before Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, donned Lincoln green, his historic enemy, King John, having been dealt the first blow by barons who forced the royal signature of Magna Carta in 1215. By the end of the century, the council of nobles blossomed into an elected parliament of landowners controlling King Edward I through the government's purse-strings.

Britain's Medieval assembly grew in power and expanded in franchise to become one of the world's greatest democracies. But after the efforts of seven centuries, all the Western states that accepted representative government were faced with an ultimatum: check the nationalistic forces corrupting independence, or let the continent implode in world war. Europeans decided to combat nationalistic centralized power by centralizing the power of globalists over all nationalities of the continent, which succeeded at keeping peace, though it secured that peace at the cost of the democratic tradition.

Paragon of democracy Winston Churchill expounded three virtues that would need to be upheld by a "United States of Europe": justice, mercy, and freedom. Justice and mercy were meted out evenhanded to the aggressor, Germany, but little freedom could be found being cultivated by the ensuing unification.

In the attempt to stem ethicless monopoly, the European Parliament injected itself into the market, regulating and fixing prices, particularly in agriculture. But this is the problem of globalism: A distant government, not actively malicious, still cannot control a locality with the practical common sense of an inhabitant. A Brussels bureaucrat can see data about an area, but he cannot know the traditions and inherent prejudices of, say, a Suffolk farmer, so he cannot work a large-scale plan appealing to those small-scale interests. In the pride of assuming to know the best for another, bureaucratic plans go awry and the private farmer becomes a tenant farmer of the state, unable even to control product prices.

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The death of the farmer's independence might be overshadowed by the prevailing peace the European continent has experienced, if not for a better theory. The EU tried to centralize the power of globalists to control nationalists, but it has been long since the powers of both were decentralized.

Another Briton, G.K. Chesterton, offered his socioeconomic theory of Distributism as a reaction against the concentration of economic power in the hands of capitalist monopolies and socialist states. Distributism promotes real private property: small, family farms over large agribusinesses and small shops over large corporations. The idea is that communities will become smaller. Neighbors on a city block will interact again and work, first to put their own houses in order, but also to help their neighbor keep his.

Globalization tries to stand by the Judeo-Christian principle, "Love your neighbor," on an international scale. But how can the Englishman help the Greek if he has not introduced himself to the couple next door? Distributism offers a feasible goal for everyone to attain: "Love your neighbor," the person you can help without relying on large organizations to redistribute other people's means of helping their neighbor.
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.  A woman who watched as a police officer fatally shot her boyfriend during a traffic stop streamed the gruesome aftermath of the slaying live on Facebook, telling a worldwide audience that her companion had been shot "for no apparent reason" while reaching for his wallet.

Within hours, the Minnesota governor was pressing for the Justice Department to open its second investigation of the week into the death of a black man at the hands of police.

The latest shooting happened late Wednesday in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights, a community of 5,000 people that is also home to Minnesota's annual state fair and part of the massive University of Minnesota campus.

In the video, Diamond Reynolds describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and says her boyfriend had told the officer he was carrying a gun for which he was licensed.

As word of the shooting spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene and outside the hospital where he died. They identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a well-liked 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

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Reynolds said Thursday that he was killed even though he complied with the officer's instructions. She told reporters that Castile did "nothing but what the police officer asked of us, which was to put your hands in the air and get your license and registration."

The governor stressed that not all facts are known but nonetheless called it a senseless death that was apparently fueled in some part by racism.

"Nobody should be shot and killed in Minnesota for a tail light being out of function," he said. "Would this have happened if those passengers would have been white? I don't think it would have."

Dayton said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension had opened an investigation. The Justice Department said it planned to monitor the state probe and would provide assistance if needed.

Speaking to CNN, Castile's mother said that she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said Thursday, adding that she had underlined to her children that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive.

"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police did not release any details about the officer who fired except to say he had been placed on paid administrative leave. Reynolds described him as Asian.

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It was the second fatal police shooting this week, coming only days after a black 37-year-old man was killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Alton Sterling's death was caught on video.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation into Sterling's shooting, which took place after he scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that because Castile was a black man driving in a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it."

Relatives were outraged that Castile was not tended to after he was shot. Reynolds said it took about 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

William Moulder, a police consultant and longtime former police chief in Des Moines, Iowa, said all officers carry first-aid supplies in their cars and are instructed to start rendering aid as soon as it's clear there's no threat.

The Facebook footage shows Castile lying motionless in the car for several minutes, his shirt covered in blood, while Reynolds speaks calmly to the camera.

"That's time to start mitigating the damage," Moulder said.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Dayton, a Democrat. About 50 protesters stayed through the night.

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The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man slumped in a seat. A clearly distraught person who appears to be a police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

Because of its small size, Falcon Heights is served primarily by the nearby St. Anthony Police Department. Interim Police Chief Jon Mangseth said he was aware of the Facebook video but did not comment on it.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension did not return multiple requests for comment Thursday from the Associated Press.

Facebook Live is a form of internet broadcasting that can be initiated in seconds from the Facebook app. In a few taps, users can send live video straight from their smartphones to friends or to a wider audience.

On the video, the officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

It was unclear whether other footage exists. Kim Brazil, the St. Anthony Police Department's office manager, confirmed that their squad cars are equipped with dashboard cameras but said officers do not have body cameras.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, police said.

Castile had worked for the St. Paul school district since he was 19. A principal described him as "a warm person and a gentle spirit" who loved his job and never missed work.

Katherine Holmquist-Burks hired Castile three years ago to supervise the cafeteria at J.J. Hill Montessori, a St. Paul magnet school with 530 students and 85 staff members.

"He stood out because he was happy, friendly and related to people well," she said.

After learning of his death, she went to the governor's mansion, in the same neighborhood as the school, to take part in a vigil.

"I want his name respected," she said.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

---

Associated Press writers Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Carla K. Johnson and Sarah Rankin in Chicago and researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
WINONA  A Lanesboro man made his initial court appearance Tuesday after his involvement in an officer-involved shooting over the holiday weekend.

Daryl Scott Jackson, 54, has been charged with second-degree assault with a firearm and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, both felonies. He's been released from custody in lieu of $10,000 conditional bond and is due back in Winona County District Court on July 28.

The case began just after midnight Saturday, when an off-duty police officer spotted a vehicle "all over the road" in Winona, phoned in the description and followed it to a dead-end road.

A Winona police officer responded and attempted a traffic stop; the driver  later identified as Jackson  continued to drive slowly, finally pulling over when the officer sounded his siren.

As the officer approached the vehicle, he reportedly saw a case of beer on the rear passenger seat; Jackson had bloodshot, watery eyes and appeared intoxicated, the complaint says.

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He agreed to provide his drivers license and insurance, then slowly began to move his hand toward his feet. When Jackson's hand reached the floorboard, court documents say, he was holding a black handgun by the hand grip. He "continued looking at the officer with a blank stare" as he held the firearm, the complaint says.

As Jackson returned to an upright position in the seat, he allegedly turned the gun barrel toward the officer's upper body area; the officer drew his own firearm and began shooting as he ran back toward his car for cover.

According to the reports, the officer could see Jackson moving around in his vehicle, leading him to believe he was trying to get out of the car and exchange gunfire. The officer told investigators he never saw Jackson put his hands in the air to indicate he was unarmed.

The officer continued to shoot at Jackson, who sped off in his car. A Winona County Sheriff's deputy put a spike strip near an entrance to Interstate 90; Jackson's vehicle struck the spikes, eventually coming to a stop on the entrance ramp.

The officer from the initial stop ordered Jackson out of his car; Jackson reportedly yelled "no" in response. Another officer at the scene began giving commands over a PA system.

Jackson remained in his car, the complaint says, periodically driving about 50 yards, then stopping. He exited his car about an hour later and was arrested; a gun was recovered from the car.
FALCON HEIGHTS  A Minnesota officer fatally shot a man in a car with a woman and a child, an official said, and authorities are looking into whether the aftermath was livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video, which shows a woman in a vehicle with a man whose shirt appears to be soaked in blood telling the camera "police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

St. Anthony Police interim police chief Jon Mangseth said the incident began when an officer pulled over a vehicle around 9 p.m. Wednesday in Falcon Heights, a St. Paul suburb that Mangseth's department serves. Mangseth said he did not have details about the reason for the traffic stop, but that at some point shots were fired. The man was struck but no one else was injured, he said.

As word of the shooting and video spread, relatives of the man joined scores of people who gathered at the scene of the shooting and outside the hospital where the man died and identified him as Philando Castile of St. Paul, a 32-year-old cafeteria supervisor at a Montessori school.

Speaking to CNN early Thursday, Castile's mother said she suspected she would never learn the whole truth about her son's death.

"I think he was just black in the wrong place," Valerie Castile said, adding that she had underlined to her children to that they must do what authorities tell them to do to survive. Police have not released details on the ethnicity or service record of the police officer involved but to say he has been placed on paid administrative leave.

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"I know my son ... we know black people have been killed ... I always told them, whatever you do when you get stopped by police, comply, comply, comply."

Police use of force, particularly against minorities, has returned to the national spotlight since the video-recorded fatal shooting earlier this week of 37-year-old Alton Sterling by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday launched a civil rights investigation into the shooting, which took place after Sterling, who was black, scuffled with two white police officers outside a convenience store.

Castile's cousin, Antonio Johnson, told the Star Tribune that he believed that because Philando Castile was a black man driving in Falcon Heights, a largely middle-class suburb, he "was immediately criminally profiled and he lost his life over it tonight."

The site of the shooting in Falcon Heights is close to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and not far from a clutch of fields associated with the University of Minnesota's agricultural campus.

Late Wednesday, protesters moved to the governor's mansion in nearby St. Paul, where around 200 people chanted and demanded action from Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton. By daybreak Thursday, around 50 protesters remained outside the mansion despite a light rain.

Dayton's spokesman didn't immediately respond to an inquiry from The Associated Press.

The video posted Wednesday night on Facebook Live appears to show the aftermath of a shooting like the one described by Mangseth. It shows the woman in a car next to a bloodied man quietly slumped in a seat. The woman describes being pulled over for a "busted tail light" and her boyfriend being shot as he told the officer that he was carrying a pistol and was licensed. A clearly distraught person who appears to be an armed police officer stands at the car's window, telling the woman to keep her hands where they are and intermittently swearing.

The Associated Press couldn't immediately verify the authenticity of the video. Mangseth said he was "made aware there was a livestream on Facebook" but that he had not yet seen the video and didn't know anything about its contents.

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The woman in the video says the man she identified as her boyfriend was reaching for his ID and wallet when the officer shot him. Police said in a statement that a handgun was recovered from the scene.

The officer tells her to keep her hands up and says: "I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out."

"You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir," the woman responds.

The video goes on to show the woman exiting the car and being handcuffed. A young girl can be seen and is heard saying at one point, "I'm scared, Mommy."

The woman describes being put in the back seat of the police car and says, "The police just shot my boyfriend for no apparent reason."

Clarence Castile spoke to the Star Tribune from the Hennepin County Medical Center, where he said his nephew died minutes after arriving.

He said Philando Castile had worked in the J.J. Hill school cafeteria for 12 to 15 years, "cooking for the little kids." He said his nephew was "a good kid" who grew up in St. Paul.

Minnesota court records online show Castile had some misdemeanor violations, mainly related to driving.

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Mangseth said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation. A spokesman for that agency couldn't immediately be reached.

The president of the Minneapolis NAACP, Nekima Levy-Pounds, told the crowd she has no faith in the system in the wake of this and other police shootings of black men, including last year's killing of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis. Levy-Pounds was a leading voice during the protests outside a police station that followed Clark's death, as well as during a renewed wave of protests after prosecutors decided not to charge the officers involved.

"I'm tired of the laws and policies on the books being used to justify murder," Levy-Pounds, a civil rights attorney, told the crowd as rain began to fall. "This is completely unacceptable. Somebody say, 'Enough is Enough.'"
An 18-year-old accused of assaulting a juvenile at a birthday party made his initial appearance Tuesday in Olmsted County District Court.

Fawaz Mohamed Abukar, of Rochester, faces one count each of first- and third-degree assault and soliciting a juvenile to commit a criminal act, all felonies, as well as gross misdemeanor third-degree riot and misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

He remains in custody in lieu of $75,000 conditional bail and is due back in court Sept. 9.

The charges stem from an incident June 18, when Rochester police responded to a home in the 300 block of Fourth Avenue Northwest for a report of an assault.

There, they found a 13-year-old boy with a cut on his forehead and above his left eye, and swelling throughout his face, the reports say. The victim said his family was having a birthday party for his brother when Abukar and three others showed up.

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Ahmed Mohamed Mumin, 19, who was with Abukar, allegedly called the victim over to the group; when he approached, the four began hitting and kicking him, the complaint says. The group ran off before police arrived.

Mumin and two juveniles were also charged in the assault.

According to court documents, the victim lost a portion of his eyelid as a result of the attack, and required internal and external stitches to treat the cut above his eye.
Kevin Tyrone Williams, 41, a Level 3 predatory offender, on Wednesday moved to Rochester following his release from prison.

Williams will live in the 2100 block of Campus Drive Southeast; a community notification meeting won't be held now, Rochester Police Lt. Craig Anderson said, but he plans to schedule a meeting when Williams moves into the community.

He is black, 6 feet tall, weighs 208 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

Williams has a history of sexual contact, including penetration, with adult females he knows. He brandished a weapon and used force and threats to gain compliance, his record shows, and has broken into a residence to gain access.

Williams was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to 33 months in prison.

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Another Level 3 offender, Sadik Yasin Hussein, 31, has changed his residency from "homeless" in Albert Lea to "homeless" in the vicinity of First Street and North Broadway. He's required to check in weekly with the Rochester Police Department as long as he is listed as homeless.

Hussein is black, 5 feet 10 inches, weighs 167 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.

He has a history of sexual contact, including penetration, with a known adult female victim. Force was used to gain compliance.

Hussein was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Additional information on these two, or any other Level 3 predatory offender in Minnesota can be found by visiting https://coms.doc.state.mn.us/Level3/Search.asp.
After terminating its deal with a Saudi prince, the long-delayed Broadway at Center project is looking for new investors.

The $145 million hotel, apartments and commercial project, which was announced in March 2014, has been awaiting a $105 million loan to help finance the 23-story complex, planned for the southeast corner of Broadway Avenue and Center Street.

The loan from Minneapolis-based Dougherty Funding LLC was to close May 31, according to a letter sent to the city of Rochester. That date came and went with no deal being done.

The Gus Chafoulias-led investment group that's developing the project said Wednesday that part of the financing has fallen through. The statement, put out by Rochester-based Titan Development and Investments, which is involved in the project, says an investment group led by Saudi Prince Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and Anas Abukhadra, of Minneapolis, has failed "to fulfill its obligations."

"As a result, the project had no alternative but to terminate the investment group's rights to the project and pursue negotiations with potential replacement investors. It is anticipated that closing will take place once those negotiations are concluded," the statement says.

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When asked what this could mean for the timing of the project, Titan spokeswoman Sheila Thoma said the investment group is still "hopeful to start the project this year." She also said that they are in negotiations with investors to replace Prince Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud's financing.

The statement noted that other project "stakeholders" had met their obligations to close the loan. Those stakeholders were identified as the "city, Kraus-Anderson Construction, local unions, lenders, including Dougherty Funding LLC, West Bank, local union pension funds through their advisor, Whitestar Advisors LLC, and Premier Bank, and Mr. Chafoulias."

"With any large-scale project like this, there are a number of parties involved," Chafoulis says in the email statement. "We are deeply appreciative of all of our stakeholders who have stood by our side. Unfortunately, one of them didn't follow through as promised. We are optimistic of our next steps, though, and hope to close on the transaction soon."

This high-profile project was approved by the Destination Medical Center Corp. in 2015 as the first major development to count toward Rochester's DMC commitment. When asked about the delay, the executive director of the DMC Economic Development Agency stressed that "DMC is a private sector, market-driven initiative."

Could the DMC EDA try to help with the funding to get this first project moving yet this year?

"The EDA works with the City and DMC Corp. to manage the public financing of public projects, but the EDA does not assist with private project financing," Clarke said via email. "We are not involved with the financing of the Broadway at Center project and don't have any insights with respect to the views of any of the potential investors."

When asked what this delay could mean for DMC's 2016 goals, Clarke said she expects to show "considerable progress" for the year.

"As a market-driven initiative, some proposed DMC private projects will move to completion and others will not -- no surprise. It is important to understand that there is significant and serious interest by developers and investors in doing projects in Rochester. The market is solidly validating the DMC vision," she said.

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The city has committed $6.5 million for the project, which is to include a public parking ramp. The Rochester City Council approved plans for that ramp Wednesday night.

City Administrator Steve Kvenvold told the Post-Bulletin this morning that the timing of this project is key for the city's future parking plans.

"We have a lot of time and money invested in this particular project. My viewpoint is that we need to let it play it out a little bit longer," he said, but "If we approach fall without any movement, we're going to have to make some changes."
It is a big week for the world's 1.6 billion Muslims, 22 percent of the entire global population, as they conclude the holy month of Ramadan.

In Rochester, Ramadan started on Sunday, June 5, and ended last night.

Ramadan is the ninth month of Islam's lunar calendar, a system which sees each month begin at the sighting of the new moon. The month is said to be the one in which the Qur'an was first revealed, making it the holiest and most sacred month for Muslims.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset. It is one of the five pillars, or duties, of Islam. Not only do Muslims abstain from food and drink, it is also a time of deep contemplation and prayer to Allah, and also charitable generosity.

Eid-al-Fitr, a celebration that represents the end of Ramadan, starts on July 7 after prayer.

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Mae Elkarib, 24, of Rochester, is looking forward to celebrating with her family.

"I enjoy the time with my family and the celebrations that take place," said Elkarib, who was born in Sudan. "The food, music and dancing is fun."

Elkarib stressed that there is a common misconception about fasting only being about food and drink, instead of a lifestyle.

"Many people don't realize that it's more than just fasting the body," said Elkarib. "It's about fasting the mind, too. We try to get rid of all the negative thoughts, the bad things and our wrongdoings so that we can ultimately feel closer to Allah and fuel the hunger of the poor."

While hungry and thirsty throughout the fasting day, Muslims have a constant reminder of the suffering of the poor in less fortunate parts of the world.

Elkarib mentioned that as she gets older, the fasting gets easier and easier because her life is busier.

Mae will be in North Dakota for the Eid celebration, and she can't wait to get dressed up in her finest clothes and soak in "the happy moments."

Siddig Elsheikh, 26, of Rochester, is from Oman, a country in the Middle East. Elsheikh wishes Ramadan could last the whole year to an extent.

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Elsheikh has mixed feelings about Ramadan.

"I absolutely love food, so it's hard," Elsheikh said.

Elsheikh said he goes through three different stages of feelings the duration of Ramadan.

Preparing for Ramadan is the worst, because he loves eating and knows it's going to be difficult.

During Ramadan, Elsheikh gets used to the fasting, loves it and feels very spiritual.

By the end of Ramadan, he wishes the month of fasting could last the whole year. He feels a strong connection with Allah and a love for his religion.

This year, Elsheikh is unable to celebrate with immediate family, so he will celebrate with his best friend's family in Minneapolis. They plan on going to the morning prayer, brunch and then a public gathering and celebration for the Minneapolis Muslim community.

Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr in different ways depending on their cultural background and traditions. It is also an opportunity to connect with loved ones over dinners through breaking the fast together. During Eid-al-Fitr, Muslims celebrate their patience, perseverance and hard work.

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The 2016 Eid al-Fitr Rochester celebration, hosted by the Rochester Muslim Community Circle , began today with prayer at RCTC and will conclude with a celebration on Saturday at Oxbow Park in Byron.
A proposed municipal parking ramp that had been criticized for failing to meet urban design guidelines is moving ahead after receiving the Rochester City Council's approval Wednesday night.

The seven-story ramp is planned to connect with the planned $145 million Broadway at Center project. The decision came just hours after the developer of that mixed-use project revealed a further delay in its financing p lans. That prompted council members and city staff to consider alternatives for the city's parking needs should the Broadway at Center project idle too long.

The parking ramp, with 540 public parking stalls, is to be built on the half-block between East Center Street and First Street Southeast, along First Avenue Southeast. The design includes an option to later allow for multifamily housing to be constructed above the parking structure. The design also includes an arched extension over the railroad spur that runs parallel to First Avenue Southeast.

The city Planning and Zoning Commission last month recommended denial of the parking structure's permit applications, saying it failed to meet standards in the Destination Medical Center Design Guidelines, prepared by the University of Minnesota Metropolitan Design Center, and the city's Downtown Master Plan.

The commission's main criticisms were of the ramp's street-scape design and street-level pedestrian experience. City staff worked with its design architect, Collaborative Design Group, to prepare a new landscaping plan for the project, which it presented for approval at Wednesday's council meeting.

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"Between that hearing in early June and tonight, we requested the architect prepare some alternatives to, particularly, the frontage of that project along First Avenue," Rochester Public Works Director Richard Freese said.

The changes did not go far enough for Council Member Michael Wojcik. He asked for further review of the project by the Metropolitan Design Center staff who helped create the DMC Design Guidelines.

"I think the planning commission gave us some pretty outstanding guidance on where this fell short for an incentive development," Wojcik said. "I think there are still some things that we have to work out, but I am just not going to support this tonight because I really want to hear what these experts, who we are paying all the money so we have great urban design in downtown Rochester, have to say about this project."

Such a review would require an additional contract with the design center staff, said Rochester Redevelopment Director Terry Spaeth. Spaeth also said members of the design center staff were included in a design review of the project and found many positive attributes in the proposed design.

City Council President Randy Staver said the project as designed would accomplish city objectives, including adding density to a site in the downtown.

"One of the things we talk about significantly in the downtown is density and trying to get the best and highest use of the space," Staver said.

"It's an appealing project and obviously needed in terms of parking and housing in the downtown area," Staver said.

The council approved three items: an incentive development final plan for the parking facility; a conditional-use permit; and a preliminary plan for a housing option above the ramp.

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Construction could begin a minimum of 11 months after construction starts on the Broadway at Center project, per an agreement between the city and the Broadway at Center developer, an investment group led by Gus Chafoulias. But if delays continue with that project, the city would be forced to look at moving ahead with the ramp, with minor modifications, Freese said.

"There will be a point in time, probably this fall, if Broadway at Center doesn't move forward by then that we will have to make that decision," Freese said.

Also at the meeting:

 The council approved an incentive development final plan for Ronald McDonald House to construct a three-story, 30-unit addition to its Rochester facility.

 The council also approved a preliminary plat for a housing development by Oronoco Investments, to be known as Hunter Valley Estates.
WINONA  The League of Women Voters Winona will host a pair of candidate forums on July 19 at the city of Winona council chambers, according to the League of Women Voters Winona.

The candidates for mayor of Winona will discuss their positions and answer questions from voters beginning at 6 p.m. They will be followed by candidates for the District 4 seat for the Winona County Board of Commissioners at 7:30 p.m.

Candidates for the county commissioner seat are Greg Olson, the incumbent, and challengers Brian Conner and Norman G. Kostuck. Mayoral candidates in Winona include incumbent Mark F. Peterson, and challengers Alan Masyga, John Anthony Skalitzky and Connie Tropple, according to the Minnesota secretary of state's office.

The primary election will be Aug. 9 with the general election on Nov. 8.

The public is invited to the forums and will be able to ask questions in writing. The forums will be simulcast on HBC Channel 19 and Charter Channel 987. Those watching on TV can call in questions during the forum. A phone number will be provided during the broadcast. the league said.
REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have been friends for twenty-five years, meeting for the first time on July 5, 1991.

In a blog post on Tuesday celebrating their friendship, Gates wrote that his mom asked him to meet Buffett at their vacation home in Washington state.

Gates didnt want to go.

Look, he just buys and sells pieces of paper. Thats not real value added. I dont think wed have much in common, he told her.

The self-described technology nerd finally agreed to stop by, but only planned to spend two hours with this investor from Omaha before going back to work.

Upon meeting, Buffett immediately began asking Gates questions about Microsoft and they hit it off.

These were amazingly good questions that nobody had ever asked, Gates wrote. We were suddenly lost in conversation and hours and hours slipped by. He didnt come across as a big-shot investor. He had this modest way of talking about what he does. He was funny, but what impressed me most was how clearly he thought about the world. It was a deep friendship from our very first conversation.

These days, Gates has two numbers on his speed-dial on his work phone home and Buffett. Those conversations with Buffett are the highlight of his week.

Im constantly learning things from him. Warren and I love to talk about companies, politics, world events, and new innovations. And its really exciting to have somebody whos studying these things with a bit of a different background. Hes got that economic investors eye and I have much more of a technologists eye towards things.

Gates continued: As trustee of our foundation, Warren is an amazing thought partner to Melinda and me. When faced with a challenge, we often ask ourselves, What would Warren do? It usually leads us to the best answer. Warren and I are mostly peers, but sometimes he is so much wiser than I am, hes like a father figure to me.

Above all, Gates writes that Buffett has taught him what it means to be a friend.

Story continues

Warren earned a reputation as the Oracle of Omaha for his shrewd approach to investing in business. But hes equally gifted at investing in people. Im always amazed how he is able to draw people in and make it fun for them to learn from him. Even though he keeps up a hectic schedule, Warren finds time to nurture friendships like few other people I know. He picks up the phone and calls to say hello. He regularly sends articles hes read in the mail that he thinks Melinda or I will find interesting.

He continued: Ive learned many things from Warren over the last 25 years, but maybe the most important thing is what friendship is all about. Its about being the kind of friend you wish you had yourself. Everyone should be lucky enough to have a friend who is as thoughtful and kind as Warren. He goes out of his way to make people feel good about themselves and share his joy about life.

Its the little things too. To this day, when Gates visits Buffett in Omaha, the 85-year-old investor still drives out to the airport to pick him up.



Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.

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A hedge fund manager gave some blunt advice to a bunch of 9th grade boys

Jeffrey Gundlach: Prepare for a Trump presidency
WASHINGTON  Under an onslaught of Republican criticism, FBI Director James Comey vigorously defended the government's decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her private email setup, rejecting angry accusations that the Democratic presidential candidate was given special treatment.

To criminally charge Clinton based on the facts his agency's yearlong probe had found would have been unwarranted and mere "celebrity hunting," Comey told a congressional investigative committee Thursday.

In nearly five hours of testimony, he sought to explain the Justice Department's decision ending an investigation that has dogged Clinton's presidential campaign and raised fresh questions among voters about her trustworthiness.

Republicans' hard, skeptical questioning made it clear that settling the legal issue will not end the matter as a political issue as Clinton campaigns against Republican Donald Trump, who scornfully refers to her as "Crooked Hillary."

Republicans on the panel, voices sometimes raised in apparent frustration and irritation, said they were mystified by the decision not to prosecute because they felt that Comey, in a remarkably detailed and critical public statement on Tuesday, had laid out a sufficient basis for charges.

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"I totally get people's questions," he said, but the FBI was obliged to follow the law.

He said investigators found no evidence that Clinton or her aides intended to break the law, even though they mishandled classified information. A misdemeanor statute requires the mishandling to be willful, Comey said. And a law that permits felony prosecution due to gross negligence has been used only once in the 99 years since it was enacted  and that was in a case involving espionage.

"We don't want to put people in jail unless we prove that they knew they were doing something they shouldn't do," Comey said. "That is the characteristic of all the prosecutions involving mishandling of classified information."

Comey's appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked his first public statements since his announcement that removed the threat of criminal charges against Clinton but also revived public scrutiny of her email behavior as secretary of state in President Barack Obama's first term.

Committee chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Comey that the FBI's decision showed a "double standard" for powerful people. Had the "average Joe" done what she had done, he said, that person would go to prison.

"If your name isn't Clinton, or you're not part of the powerful elite, then Lady Justice will act differently," Chaffetz said, adding that the FBI had set a "dangerous precedent" in letting her off the hook.

Chaffetz said lawmakers would now ask the FBI to investigate whether Clinton lied to the committee.

One by one, Comey rebutted a litany of GOP charges including that the FBI had been biased, ignored the law, applied it unjustly or coordinated the decision with Clinton's campaign. "We try very hard to apply the same standard whether you are rich or poor, white or black, old or young, famous or not known at all," he said.

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The committee's top Democrat, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, accused Republicans of politicizing the investigation. But he suggested that Comey had contributed to that by leaving "a perceived gap" between his public criticism of Clinton and his conclusion not to prosecute.

"I beg you to fill the gap. Because when the gap is not filled by you, it will be filled by others," Cummings said.

As he had on Tuesday, Comey left no doubt about the FBI's contention that Clinton's email practices were careless and left government secrets exposed to hostile nations. He said that three of the emails in question bore classification markings in the body despite Clinton's assertions that nothing she had sent or received was marked classified. And he said that government workers who negligently handled classified information, including FBI agents, could be subject to administrative sanctions.

But he repeated his earlier contention that "no reasonable prosecutor" would have pursued criminal charges against Clinton, saying at one point, "We went at this very hard to see if we could make a case."

Comey, for years a registered Republican who said he's no longer registered with a political party, was deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and was appointed in 2013 to a 10-year term as FBI director by President Obama. He would still be on the job if Clinton were elected president.

He drew distinctions between the Clinton probe and last year's prosecution of former CIA Director David Petraeus, who pleaded guilty to sharing classified information with his biographer. Petraeus, Comey said, retained a "vast quantity" of classified information in his home and then lied to the FBI about it.

"He admitted he knew that was the wrong thing to do," Comey said. "That is a perfect illustration of the kind of cases that get prosecuted. In my mind, it illustrates importantly the distinction to this case."

Despite the no-prosecution decision, Comey had rebuked Clinton and her aides on Tuesday as being "extremely careless" in their handling of classified information and contradicted many of the explanations she's put forward.

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The investigation formally ended Wednesday when Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that no charges would be filed.
I've suffered from muscular dystrophy all my life. The endless and shifting cocktail of pills prescribed to me throughout the years never seemed to bring relief from the severe muscular spasms and peripheral neuropathy caused by my condition.

When I tried medical cannabis, I was finally able to find relief from the muscle spasms that before could get so intense they would burst blood vessels. This treatment has truly made living with my condition more manageable.

In Minnesota, our state legislators recognized in 2014 the enormous treatment potential that could be brought to patients by passing a medical cannabis program. Patients in Minnesota can now access medical marijuana through their primary care providers  an important victory for patients' rights, but two obstacles to full, safe access persist.

Our state's medical cannabis program is only available to patients who suffer from a list of fewer than 10 qualifying medical conditions. This means that many patients, including myself, who suffer from muscle spasms or seizures have been able to find relief.

But other patients who suffer from conditions like PTSD  a condition whose sufferers have been able to find symptomatic relief through medical cannabis  still cannot access this treatment. We as patients hope that legal access can be expanded in Minnesota to all those who suffer.

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The other impediment to completely safe and legal access lies in the discrepancy between state and federal law. Though Minnesota (along with 23 other states and the District of Columbia) has legalized and regulated a medical cannabis program, all forms of cannabis remain illegal federally. This means that Minnesota patients who are in full compliance with their doctor's advice, as well as state law, are still vulnerable to federal prosecution.

We need our federal representatives to act now to combat this legislative loophole. Fortunately, there is an opportunity for them to do so. The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect State Act would protect any patient using medical cannabis legally under state law from federal interference.

The bill is currently in the U.S. Senate and will go before the Judiciary Committee. Both of our senators from Minnesota, Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, hold positions on that committee, and their support would be crucial to its passage. Franken signed on to the bill earlier this month, a great step for patients around the country.

Klobuchar has been uninvolved regarding medical cannabis so far, though she has made battling the opioid epidemic a priority. Her support on the opioid issue is important, especially considering the 500 percent increase in opioid overdoses in Minnesota during the last 15 years.

Many patients, including myself, have been able to find pain relief through medical cannabis, no longer requiring strong opioid medication. Sen. Klobuchar should sponsor the CARERS Act as a way to provide any alternative possible in pain management.

Hopefully we can attribute Klobuchar's ambivalence on this issue thus far to classic Minnesotan indirectness. I hope she can now also show the compassion that has earned us our title of "Minnesota nice." She should follow Franken in taking a stand to protect patients' rights.

Patrick McClellan, of Bloomington, has been using cannabis to treat muscular dystrophy for about five years, legally for the past year.
Ever since Trump won the Indiana primary, thus becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, folks have been speculating about his choice for vice president. Talk has centered mainly around Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie.

The tier just behind Gingrich and Christie has been occupied by Bob Corker and Joni Ernst. However, both now say they dont want to tapped.

Neither Gingrich nor Christie holds much appeal for many conservatives. Speaking for myself, Gingrich is too flaky and Christie too centrist. (Corker didnt appeal to me either.)

With Ernst apparently off the list, whom do conservatives favor?

In my view, Tom Cotton would be a great choice, assuming hes willing. However, many conservatives seem to be rallying around Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.

In fact, when Ernst withdrew, she suggested Pence should get the VP nod. She told Politico:

I will admit that I am a Mike Pence fan. He is so well-rounded, served as a governor and I think hes a great conservative. So I dont think he could go wrong.

Jeff Roe, the manager of Ted Cruzs presidential campaign, also raves about Pence. Roe said of Pence:

I think hed be fabulous. Hed be a rudder on a somewhat erratic campaign and he would have the right balance of being a full-spectrum conservative, having executive experience and legislative experience. Hes one of the best choices Ive heard mentioned.

Trump has said he would like a running mate who knows his way around Capitol Hill. Pence served for ten years in the U.S. House, including a stint as chairman of the House Republican Conference.

The Koch brothers may also be backing Pence. Its no secret that the brothers are Pence fans. According to Stewart Lawrence of the Daily Caller, they have come to admire the former Indiana congressman for his fiscal conservatism, opposition to abortion and Obamacare, and support for energy deregulation.

Moreover, Pence regularly speaks at public and private events sponsored by Americans for Prosperity, the organization founded by the Kochs. Pence openly supports the organizations activities in Indiana and has publicly praised the Kochs for their contribution to this country and to Indiana, in particular.

Pence is also popular with evangelicals. Hes strongly pro-life.

With the support of evangelicals, the Koch brothers, and mainstream conservatives like Joni Ernst, Pence seems like a logical selection, assuming Trump wants to shore up conservative support. If hes looking to win over moderates and/or increase his appeal to women, Pence becomes a far less compelling choice.

Is Pence actually under consideration by the Trump campaign, though? Yes, according to Michael Caputo, a former Trump adviser who left the campaign in late June. Pence has got a lot of support among senior aides, Caputo says.

But what does the candidate himself think of Pence? Who knows? Trump will have observed (1) that Pence was slow to endorse Ted Cruz in the Indiana primary, despite pressure from conservatives to do so, (2) that Pence eventually did endorse Cruz, but weakly, and (3) that the endorsement carried little weight with Indiana Republicans. As noted, it was Trumps rout of Cruz in Pences home state that all but assured Trumps nomination.

What Trump made of all this is anyones guess. Mine is that Trump wasnt overly impressed. However, its probably the impression Pence makes in meetings with the candidate that will count the most. He certainly wont want to come across as low energy, for example.

Would Pence agree to be Trumps running mate? Caputo seems to believe so. I think Mike Pence already voted with his feet by going to visit with Mr. Trump, he says. Indeed, he may have voted with his mouth when he praised Trump even as he endorsed Cruz in April.

Trump-Pence. Ill say this much for that ticket: it beats Trump-Gingrich and Trump-Christie.
A Rasmussen poll finds that most voters disagree with FBI Director James Comeys decision not to seek a criminal indictment of Hillary Clinton. The poll, taken the night Comey announced the decision, finds that 37 percent of likely voters agree with the FBIs decision, but 54 percent disagree and believe the FBI should have sought a criminal indictment.

I confess to being surprised by this result. I expected the split to be closer to 50-50.

Naturally most Democrats agree with the decision. However, fully one-quarter of Dems disagree.

Among Republicans the sentiment is clear enough. 79 percent believe Hillary should have been indicted. They are joined by 63 percent of voters not affiliated with either major political party.

The pro-indictment sentiment may be fueled to some extent by the sense that powerful people get preferential treatment when they break the law. 81 percent of those surveyed believe this to be the case. Only 10 percent disagree.

Given these numbers, Donald Trumps takeaway from Comeys decision  that the system is rigged  should resonate.
Nigerian oil workers are going ahead with their planned strike today( Thursday), despite reports that the government had commenced talks with their leaders, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said.

The acting general secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, told PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday morning that they were not aware of any negotiations between any arm of the association and the government on any of their demands.

It is not true there are on-going negotiations between PENGASSAN and government. Apart from the inconclusive negotiation on June 23, which was rescheduled to June 30, only to be put off indefinitely with no further appointment, we are not aware of any other negotiation with government, Mr. Okugbawa said.

He said reports of negotiations with the oil workers was part of the governments characteristic way of causing confusion whenever a strike notice is issued.

If government was sincere, why would it always wait till after the strike had already started before coming out in the media to talk about non-existing negotiations? he asked.

Mr. Okugbawa said the Federal Ministry of Labour had sent an email to the leadership of PENGASSAN late on Wednesday inviting them to a meeting scheduled for Thursday (today) when the strike was planned to commence.

He said the ministry later sent a text message to reschedule the meeting for Friday, saying the previous schedule was not convenient, in view of the extended public holiday.

But, Mr. Okugbawa said the association had since replied the government that the Friday schedule was equally not convenient, as it could not get all its top executives from across the country where they were deployed to monitor the beginning of the strike.

In any case, the decision to embark on the strike was taken by the National Executive Council of the Association. It is not possible to stop the commencement of the strike now for a meeting with government on Friday. As far as PENGASSAN is concerned, the strike has commenced as planned. The strike can only be suspended or called off by no other arm, but NEC. For now getting all its members to return for a meeting is foing to be difficult, he said.

Although he did not confirm any new date the association would find convenient, Mr. Okugbawa said it would not be earlier than next Tuesday.

On Monday, PENGASSAN had declared its preparedsness for another nationwide strike over unresolved issues affecting the smooth operation of the oil and gas industry.

Mr. Okugbawa said on Tuesday that some of the associations demands bordered on issues that would strenghten the oil and gas industry and the countrys economy.

They include backlog of cash call arrears dating back to 2014, which he said had greatly hampered the ability of the joint venture partners with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to discharge their obligations both to the industry and their workers.

Other issues include the poor state of the countrys refineries and the massive waste of resources on turn around maintenance (TAM); continued importation of petroleum products; on-going industry reforms and NNPC restructuring as well as the politicisation of the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The Cross River State Government is set to establish its security outfit to complement existing federal security agencies in the country.

When formed, the outfit will be known as Cross River State Homeland Security Service.

The state governor, Ben Ayade, made this known while receiving the French Consul-General, Laurent Polonceaux, and his entourage on a courtesy visit in his private residence in Calabar.

The move is coming as the security of Calabar, the state capital and its environs, has come under serious threats by cultists and sundry criminals.

Mr. Ayade said the decision to establish the security body is part of the proactive approach to sustain the peace and security the state is known for.

Although its operatives would not bear arms, the governor said the Homeland Security Service will be a complete departure from the traditional methods of policing.

While the security outfit will create over 3000 jobs for people of the state, he said its functions would include: providing intelligence and profiling of visitors to the state.

Other functions are neighborhood watch and providing data and services to the police.

Mr. Ayade, therefore, appealed for technical and logistics support from the government of France.

With the visit of the Consul-General of France in Nigeria and with the useful deliberation we have had with regards to the security challenges facing the Niger Delta, and looking at how Lafarge can do business better in a less security tensed atmosphere, it becomes imperative for us to create a security architecture that can protect Lafarge and citizens and visitors to Cross River State, the governor said.

Cross River has been the home of tourism, a signature and hallmark of hospitality and good lifestyle for all Africans. It is imperative we make it very safe.

It was against this background that Cross River State Government, with technical partnership from the Frenchovernment would be looking at the possibility of setting up a Cross River State Homeland Security service.

The Homeland Security service is a complete departure from what is the tradition. It will, however, include but not limited to issues like providing intelligence, profiling of visitors coming in and out, providing intelligence services also, doing neigbourhood check, neigbourhood watch.

It will also assist in furnishing the police and other security agencies with information on who comes in and out of the state by providing intelligence and data to the police. It will be a non-arm bearing outfit with assistance from the French government.

To carry out its functions, he said the new outfit would require satellite technology, adding that the state would soon get the relevant approval from the federal government.

Mr. Ayade said he was convinced that the innovation is the best way to tackle challenging security situation in the region.

To provide a legal framework for the new security body, the governor said an executive bill would soon be sent to the state house of assembly for passage into a law.

Speaking earlier, the Consul-General, Laurent Polonceaux, expressed gratitude to the governor for the fruitful meeting held between his team and the state government.

He appealed for robust relationship between his country and Cross River, especially on the area of doing business with Lafarge and water provision which his country is currently providing for Obubra and Okpoma.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday moved to reassure bank customers unsettled by last Mondays decision to take over the management of Skye Bank.

The CBN had forced the resignation of members of the banks board and management team, in what it called proactive and unavoidable regulatory step to forestall the bank from falling into distress.

The CBN said Skye Bank had persistently failed to meet minimum thresholds in critical prudential and adequacy ratios, culminating in its permanent presence at the CBN lending window.

Since the decision, bank customers have been engaging in panic withdrawals from their accounts in various banks across the country apparently in response to speculations that the countrys entire banking system was at the verge of imminent crash.

The speculations were fuelled by reports that the takeover of Skye Bank was the first of 11 banks penciled for similar action by CBN for alleged massive breaches of financial regulations guiding their operations.

Early this year, CBN in a memo signed by Benjamin Olakunle on behalf of its Director of Banking Supervision to managing directors and chief executives of banks expressed its displeasure at the massive abuses by the banks through insider related loans/credits that have driven non-performing loans portfolios to unprecedented levels.

Although the affected banks were given till December to reconcile their credit records, the decision to swoop on Skye Bank has triggered intense panic in the sector.

In a statement on Wednesday by its acting director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, the CBN reassured bank customers that there was no truth in speculations making the rounds that the countrys banks may have gone or may be going into distress.

The CBN described the speculations as malicious rumours and unfounded, saying the countrys banks were financially healthy and strong.

The CBN wishes to reiterate in the strongest terms that these rumours and speculations are untrue and do not reflect the actual health of the individual banks and, indeed, the entire banking industry.

For the avoidance of doubt, the infusion of a new Board and Management for Skye Bank PLC is a proactive regulatory action meant to ensure that the bank does not continue to fail in its relevant prudential ratios.

Neither Skye Bank nor any other bank in the industry is in distress. Therefore, the CBN would like to request the general public to ignore speculations or rumours to the contrary as they could only be the handiwork of mischief makers who do not mean well for the Nigerian banking system and its economy, Mr. Okorafor said.

The CBN said as the regulator of the countrys banking industry, the general public was reassured that their deposits remained safe in any of the banks.

Going by both the CBNs Examination Reports as well as analysis from market watchers, International Credit Rating Agencies, and Development Finance Institutions, the Nigerian banking industry remains strong in spite of the global economic challenges emanating from the collapse of global commodity prices, the CBN said.

Insisting the situation did not demand panic withdrawals from any bank, the CBN urged the banking public to remain calm and go about their normal businesses without panic to avoid creating problems that did not exist.
Members of the APC and the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) as well as other interest groups on Thursday staged a peaceful demonstration in Ado-Ekiti in support of the anti-graft campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the demonstration was the second in two weeks in support of the on-going war against corruption by the president.

The protesters also claimed to be demonstrating against alleged misplacement of the states funds by the Ayo Fayose administration.

They described the recent freezing of the personal accounts of Gov. Fayose in Zenith Bank as proper.

NAN reports that a large retinue of policemen and officers of the Department of State Security were deployed to provide cover for the crowd that took part in the street demonstration.

The placard-carrying protesters comprised of party leaders, students, youth groups, artisans and other residents.

They marched from the popular Adekunle Fajuyi park through Okeyinmi and stopped at Ijigbo Round-About where they were addressed by leaders of each group.

The state acting chairman of APC, Kemi Olaleye, passed a vote of confidence in President Muhammadu Buhari and his anti-corruption war.

She challenged the EFCC to further dig deep into the finances of the state and prosecute whoever was indicted in the mismanagement of the states treasury.

Mrs. Olaleye, however, expressed regrets over the immunity clause protecting governors from prosecution.

We are out on the streets because we are tired of immunity clause, immunity has become impunity in Ekiti, we condemn corrupt practices in whatever form.

Things must change, the EFCC must be allowed to do its job and ensure that looters of states are brought to justice, she said.

Also speaking, CNPP State Chairman, Tunji Ogunlola, asked Mr. Fayose to waive his immunity and face prosecution over alleged involvement in a N4.7 billion arms deal.

On the issue of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, we ask the 17 members alleged to have falsified their certificates to also submit themselves for prosecution.

It is very unfortunate that their primary roles have been abandoned for Fayoses defence.

We also plead with the Federal Government not to release bailout fund for payment of salaries to Gov Fayose again.

We advise that the Federal Ministry of Finance should rather pay directly into workers accounts.

This is because we have lost confidence in the government; we want the previous N9.6billion bailout given the state to be probed.

We want to commend the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and director general of the DSS, Mr Lawal Daura, for probing alleged political thuggery levelled against the PDP government in Ekiti.

We also want a special force to be deployed to Ekiti to maintain peace because our lives are no longer safe.

We pass confidence vote in President Buhari for fighting corruption and for all his developmental programmes, he said.

A students representative, Samuel Olaoluwa, commended the anti-graft agency for coming up with comprehensive data of how some influential persons allegedly looted their states. (NAN)
The Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has said President Muhammadu Buharis comment that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable is an old fashioned approach to the resolution of national problems.

The group said it was in the interest of all Nigerians to renegotiate the future unity of the country, as many Nigerians want a nation that reflects a true federal state and allows people to grow at their own pace.

President Buhari made the remark on Wednesday while addressing guests who visited the presidential villa for the Sallah celebration.

On security, we have made a lot of improvement, he said. On Boko Haram militants, there is improvement. We are now concentrating on the (Niger Delta) militants to know how many of them in terms of groupings and leadership, and plead with them to try and give Nigeria a chance.

I assure them (that) the saying by General Gowon that to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done. In those days, we never thought of oil, all we were only concerned with was one Nigeria.

So please pass this to the militants, that one Nigeria is not negotiable and they had better accept this.

The Nigerian Constitution is clear as to what they should get and I assure them there will be justice.

Other socio-ethnic groups  including the Afenifere and Ohaneze Ndigbo  have rejected the presidents comments for precluding talks about Nigerias unity.

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was also quoted as saying last Tuesday that the oneness of Nigeria as very negotiable.

The Ijaw Youth Council said in a statement by its spokesman, Eric Omare, on Thursday, that President Buhari was toeing an old-fashioned way of resolving national problems by merely quoting former head of state, Yakubu Gowon.

According to IYC, the circumstances of the present day Nigeria demands a renegotiation of the future unity and existence of Nigeria.

This demand is not peculiar to the Niger Delta region but cut across all parts of the country. For Nigeria to make progress President Buhari should dump his old fashioned approach to the unity of Nigeria and face the reality of the present day situation.

Nigeria as presently constituted is suffocating and the federating ethnic nationalities can no longer bear the suffocating effect of the defective structure which hampers the development of the country.

Nigerians want a country that is united on mutually agreed terms and not the present defective structure.

The IYC calls on President Buhari to wake up and face the reality of the situation and stop relying on outdated notion of Nigerias unity. Nigerians demand for renegotiation, the group said.
Multinational battalions on the eastern flank are a clear signal of NATO solidarity, President Andrzej Duda said in an interview granted to PAP.

The NATO summit in Warsaw "is of groundbreaking importance" because there has been no similar presence of NATO troops in Poland before, Andrzej Duda told PAP.

"Poland has been in NATO for a long time, but NATO has not been in Poland. Now NATO will be in Poland", the president said, remarking that the presence of US and other allied troops was extremely important for building the architecture of Poland's security.

The security situation has changed in recent years, and the start of this can be traced back to 2008, to Russia's attack on Georgia, according to the Polish president. He mentioned the scenario outlined at the time by the late President Lech Kaczynski, who had said that unless the world strongly opposed that act of aggression, others could follow, including against Ukraine, the Baltic states and perhaps even Poland.

Unfortunately, that scenario has partly come true, Andrzej Duda pointed out, mentioning the attack on Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in this context.

Asked whether four battalions of 1,000 soldiers each in Poland and the Baltic states would be enough to deter Russia, President Duda said that above all this was a clear sign of NATO's intentions. It would show that NATO was tight-knit, efficient, able to make decisions and showing solidarity.

Though it is hard to predict whether this is enough, the most important thing is "that anyone who commits an act of aggression against a country where NATO troops are deployed will at the same time be committing an act of aggression against all the countries", the president also remarked.

Russia is Poland's great neighbour and Poland wants to have the best possible relations with its neighbours, but the dialogue should be one of partnership, Andrzej Duda said. "We cannot allow a situation in which Russia would talk to us or to other NATO countries from a position of strength", he said.

"Before a serious dialogue is undertaken with Russia, it is necessary to reinforce NATO's presence in our part of Europe", President Duda continued, adding that talks with Russia also had to take into account the problem of Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk accords.

NATO should pursue an open-door policy, according to the Polish president, who expressed satisfaction that the NATO summit in Warsaw would be attended by the prime minister of Montenegro, which is joining NATO. "NATO should support and also leave the door open to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova. Of course, these could be very long-term processes, but closing the door to NATO would be a very bad signal", he also said.

Ukraine can expect the NATO summit to show the alliance's support and to send a signal that NATO considers restoring peace in Ukraine to be one of its goals, President Duda said in reply to a question about his upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. "I trust that a signal will be sent by the alliance that NATO is with Ukraine and supports Ukraine", he said.

In relations with Germany, increasing the volume of trade between the two countries will benefit them both, and the best possible relations are also in both countries' interest, President Duda underlined, but added that contentious issues also existed, for example the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, whose construction Poland opposes on the grounds that it is a political rather than an economic project, and one that is detrimental to the European Union and increases Russian gas company Gazprom's potential for delivering gas to Europe and thus gaining domination.

Britain's withdrawal from the EU will not weaken transatlantic relations, according to Poland's president, who added that the British referendum had created a crisis for the EU. "The EU and NATO are two separate organisations that partially overlap. Maybe Britain will want to play an even greater role in NATO", Andrzej Duda said.

EU armed forces could be a tough project to pursue given how little some countries spend on defence, including NATO members, the president pointed out. If a European army were to be built, it would have to be an element of NATO and not a separate, rival formation, as this would weaken transatlantic cooperation, Andrzej Duda added.

Asked about the future of the euro zone and Poland's adoption of the euro, President Duda said this had to be a decision considered calmly, and one that should ultimately belong to Polish society.

Commenting on Polish troops being sent to Iraq and Kuwait, President Duda said there had been no indication that the terrorist threat in Poland had increased as a result. He pointed out that, as a NATO member, Poland was obliged to show solidarity as an ally; it had to support others when they needed allied support.

Asked about the topics of his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Friday, President Duda said that these would include the NATO summit and Polish-US cooperation. "I will also thank (President Obama) for the United States' stance on the NATO summit and its decisions", he added. (PAP)
President Andrzej Duda

NATO in Defence of Peace

President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Address to the Warsaw Summit Experts Forum

Two years ago, Russias aggression against Ukraine devastated the international order as we knew it. In an effort once again to force upon the world the notions of spheres of influence and concert of Europe, the principle of the inviolability of Europes frontiers was infringed. Armed aggression was applied anew as a foreign policy instrument. The world was expected to accept the thesis that international law did not apply on the territory of the former Soviet Union, rather that the law of the jungle ruled there.

The international community condemned the aggression and it does not recognise its outcome. But as long as the status quo ante is not restored, we have to cope with threats to peace emerging from the efforts to divide the world into buffer zones.

That is precisely why we need collective action for common security so that the past, when democratic states perished one after another at the hands of authoritarian invaders, is never repeated. This is precisely why the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation was foundedto defend peace.

Today, we face a number of new threats: hybrid warfare, rivalry in cyberspace, international terrorism. Each requires a new perspective and even better coordination of efforts. Each requires collective security.

NATO is the most effective defence alliance in history. Over the past quarter of a century, it has expanded to include nations successively connected by the same aspiration: to guarantee peace to their own people and those among their allies by joining the Alliance. This idea has always been close to the hearts of the Poles. Indeed, what could better express NATO values than the banners borne by Polish soldiers in the past that proclaimed: For Your Freedom and Ours.

That this years NATO summit will be held in Warsaw, the capital of my country, symbolises the fact that the Alliance has not given up on the aim for which it was founded. The countries of NATOs Eastern Flank are full-fledged members, partaking in the rights and obligations of collective defence. The deployment of multinational NATO units to the Alliances eastern borders signifies that. Along with the other Allies, Poland will defend peace with determination. A lasting peace in Europe depends today on a permanent NATO presence in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

This presence also represents higher efficiency of NATO as a whole, improved further by joint manoeuvres. This was evident, for example, during the recent Anakonda 16 military exercise. On this occasion, I had the pleasure to meet and talk to generals from several NATO member states. One of them, an American, said: I would have no problem at all putting my boys under the command of a Polish officer. I have complete trust in you.

To me, his words have great value, as they are a sign of true partnership and brotherhood in arms. The kind we could only dream of 30 years ago when were divided by the Iron Curtain. Today, Polish soldiers are ready to defend their Allies. They may have Americans under their command and they may serve under British or German command. It is difficult to imagine a more powerful symbol of the Allied bond.

However, we need to cherish this partnership all of the time. The motto one for all, and all for one must not apply to politicians and commanders only. What we need is not merely brotherhood in arms but also brotherhood in vision, values and principles. We need an alliance of states and peoples, not only an alliance of presidents, prime ministers and ministers.

It is my firm belief that the Warsaw NATO Summit will come as a breakthrough in this respectthat the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will regain its vigour. For there is no better guarantee of peace in Europe than a strong and united NATO.

President of the Republic of Poland

Andrzej Duda
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.




MONTREAL, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Algold Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ALG - "Algold" or the "Corporation" http://www.algold.com) reports, as part of its annual compensation process, the granting of a total of 1,200,000 stock options to insiders, each expiring after 10 years and exercisable at a price of CAD$0.32. Of those options, 700,000 were granted to directors and vest at a rate of 33% per year. The remaining 500,000 were granted to an officer and vest at a rate of 25% per quarter. In both cases, the first tranche of options vests immediately. These options were issued under Algold's stock option plan.

ABOUT ALGOLD

Algold Resources Ltd is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Algold Resources Limited. 1320 Graham Blvd., Suite 132, Town of Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, http://www.algold.com; Francois Auclair M.Sc., PGeo, President & CEO, f.auclair@algold.com, +1-(514)-889-5089; Yves Grou, CPA CA, Executive Vice Chairman, y.grou@algold.com , +1-(514)-237-7757

SOURCE Algold Resources Ltd.
LUANDA, Angola, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Ministry of Energy and Water of the Republic of Angola has signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with Privinvest, the Middle East headquartered industrial group, to introduce hydrokinetic power generation over the next decade.

As a result of the presidential order of June 3rd 2016, the MOU was signed within the context of the Republic of Angola's 2025 Energy Security Plan, under which the Republic of Angola has stated its aim to achieve 9,000 Megawatts of production by 2025, with particular priorities for hydrokinetic power generation.

Privinvest, having entered this industry in 2012, is a leader in hydrokinetic power generation. Its affiliates, CMN and Hydroquest design and manufacture special turbines for use in both rivers and the sea.

Under the terms of the MOU, Empresa Publica de Producao de Electricidade ("Prodel") and Privinvest have committed to the creation of a joint venture company in Angola. It will be initially charged with the manufacture and operation of hydrokinetic farms in Angola. The workload will be split between Angola and France.

Prodel has agreed to purchase all the electrical output of the venture in Angola. Operations are expected to commence with the commissioning of 3 test sites, which will have a combined anticipated production output of at least 12 Megawatts. The first site is expected to be online in 2017.

Palomar Capital Advisers, affiliated to Privinvest, is mandated by the Government of Angola to structure the project financing. This financing will be guaranteed by the Republic of Angola.

Commenting on this new venture His Excellency Joao Baptista Borges, Minister of Energy & Water, said:

"Angola is one of the world's greatest untapped potential sources of hydro power. Its abundant waterways will allow, with the introduction of accessible technologies, the development of low cost energy for the rural and remote areas of this vast country.

This agreement with Privinvest for the construction of hydrokinetic turbines and the establishment of hydro-energy fields, conforms with the Angolan Government's strategy to provide access to energy to more than 14 million people by the year 2025.

We place immense trust in this agreement as well as the capacity and experience of our partners to transform Angola into a global leader in the promotion of clean and affordable energy solutions."

Commenting on this new venture, Chairman of CMN, Pierre Balmer, said:

"We are delighted that CMN's proven manufacturing expertise will be leading on this exciting project. It is a technology that has the potential to revolutionise the energy supply market for Africa and beyond."

Mr Jean-Francois Simon, Chairman of Hydroquest, added:

"The world is crying out for clean energy and with this project the Republic of Angola and Privinvest will be using this ground breaking technology."

Mr Andrew Pearse, Chairman of Palomar Capital Advisors, commented:

"Palomar is pleased that it has been able to bring our proven expertise in structuring complex and innovative financing solutions to this exciting project in West Africa."

About Privinvest

Privinvest, headquartered in the Middle East, has facilities and shipyards in a number of countries including France, Germany and the Middle East.

Its core areas of activities are the design and construction of naval and commercial vessels, the supply of integrated systems, support programs for naval fleets, the support and transfer of technology to countries wishing to develop their shipbuilding industry. Ancillary to its shipbuilding activities Privinvest is increasingly involved in the hydrokinetic and turbine industry.

Privinvest's shipyards have delivered more than 2,000 vessels and its products are present in more than 40 navies around the world. Currently, besides a number of private customers, the Privinvest group is working for 6 major navies. Privinvest's shipbuilding entities have consistently enjoyed export success and a strong order book from the group's customers worldwide.

About CMN

CMN (Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie) is a naval construction company specializing in military and civil ships. The workforce comprises 350 highly qualified staff, enabling the conception and realization of naval craft, metal works and complex parts. CMN has been involved in the hydrokinetic industry since 2012

About Hydroquest

Hydroquest was created in 2010 and is based in the birthplace for the worldwide hydroelectric industry near Grenoble in the heart of the French Alps. Hydroquest has developed a range of new generation machines producing electricity from river currents, estuaries and the ocean. Hydroquest has installed several successful river units in Grenoble and Orleans in France and in Guyana.

SOURCE Privinvest
SANTA CLARA, California, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Bioscience, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience International (TWSE: ticker 6554) and a global drug discovery and development services company providing translational platforms to advance oncology and metabolic disease research, is announcing the launch of the OmniScreen cell panel screening platform, a new versatile cell line screening service for oncology drug discovery programs.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160405/351602LOGO

OmniScreen will be run on a cycled schedule every three months, allowing clients to select from three panels of cell lines that are most suitable for their needs. This approach provides a more cost-effective solution for researchers because it runs multiple compounds simultaneously on a fixed schedule. The service also increases the flexibility of screening and template designs, allowing subpanels of cell lines to meet the needs of a wider range of clients.

"Researchers enrolling their compounds in OmniScreen will be given access to a private, secure online account where they can observe their data in real time to generate reports for further analysis," said Qian Shi, vice president of cancer pharmacology and in vitro cancer biology at CrownBio.

OmniScreen includes three specialty subpanels, including OmniPanelTM, XenoSelect Panel and RNAseq Panel. OmniPanel includes a total of 352 cancer cell lines, supporting expedited screening for drug response across genomically diverse cancer lines. XenoSelect includes 158 cancer cell lines, from which CrownBio has already developed corresponding xenograft models, to move lead compounds from in vitro to in vivo testing. RNAseq Panel includes 139 cancer cell lines that are better aimed to biomarker discovery.

"Given its flexibility and cost-effectiveness, OmniScreen will change the way our clients evaluate their compounds," Shi said. "By accessing detailed genomic data in real time, we can provide a path to convert lead compounds into clinical candidates."

For more information on OmniScreen and CrownBio's commitment to furthering the field of cell panel screening technology, visit www.crownbio.com.

About Crown Bioscience Inc.

Crown Bioscience is a global drug discovery and development solutions company providing translational platforms to advance oncology and metabolic disease research. With an extensive portfolio of relevant models and predictive tools, Crown Bioscience enables clients to deliver superior clinical candidates. For more information, please visit www.crownbio.com.

Related Links

http://www.crownbio.com



SOURCE Crown Bioscience
Frost & Sullivan's Visionary Innovation Team invites CEOs to share their views, opinions and best practices for transformational growth

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CEOs of global organizations and members of Frost & Sullivan's Growth, Innovation and Leadership (GIL) Community reveal that industry disruption is a CEO's biggest challenge to growth.

If transformation, innovation and growth are key areas of interest to you, click the link to join our community of CEOs by adding your perspective on these issues: http://frost.ly/j5

A growing percentage of CEOs are seeing business model disruptions result in the total transformation of their industry's eco-system. In such an environment, internal resistance to change and lack of teamwork necessary for visionary transformation are impeding the ability of businesses to develop and execute powerful innovation and growth strategies. Commonly, mergers and acquisitions are used by CEOs to develop and sustain growth and innovation. This however, conflicts with the reality that M&A are growth strategies with the lowest success rate. Provided these insights, how will CEOs develop and leverage best practices to transform their businesses, and stoke innovation and growth?

To schedule a Growth Strategy Dialog and discuss your strategic growth development and the growth opportunities impacting your business, click here: http://frost.ly/pr

"In today's hyper-dynamic global economy, it is extremely important for CEOs to demonstrate visionary leadership in driving their businesses as their industry eco-system undergoes disruption, collapses and transforms," said Frost & Sullivan Global Vice President Sandeep Kar. "Cognizance of new and emerging industry trends, disruptive forces, transformational growth opportunities and best practices are necessary for CEOs to prepare for business realities and prevent death of their businesses and corresponding eco-systems by thousand cuts."

Frost & Sullivan's 2016 Annual CEOs Voice on Growth, Innovation and Leadership aims to drive clarity in strategic decision making by delivering powerful and actionable insights from our global community of CEOs representing the widest array of industries and regions.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.

provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation. The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact:

Jaylon Brinkley

Corporate Communications  North America

P: 210.247.2481

F: 210.348.1003

E: jaylon.brinkley@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

Related Links

http://www.frost.com



SOURCE Frost & Sullivan
Grandparents Spend Over 1,000* Extra Looking After Grandchildren in the Summer Break
VANCOUVER, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV: KTN) (the "Company" or "Kootenay") is pleased to announce its partner Pan American Silver has updated the Company on exploration activities on the Promontorio-La Negra silver prospect, contained within the Promontorio Mineral Belt in Sonora, Mexico. A 3,400 meter diamond drilling program is underway and will consist of approximately 18 drill holes. The program will further test the La Negra Breccia as well as two additional targets identified to date.

States Kootenay President and CEO James McDonald "We are very pleased with the results to date from Pan American's exploration activities on Promontorio-La Negra. The La Negra silver discovery is a premier exploration target that demonstrates excellent potential to evolve into a low-cost, open-pittable silver resource. We are excited the drill campaign on La Negra is underway and look forward to reporting results as they are received from the program."

Promontorio - La Negra Silver Discovery

The La Negra Breccia prospect is situated approx. 6.5 kms north of Kootenay's Promontorio Silver Resource in Sonora, Mexico and is contained within a 25 x 15 km mineralized corridor, the 'Promontorio Mineral Belt.' Initial exploration on La Negra included a successful trenching and surface sampling program that confirmed extensive silver mineralization over a large 100 to 200 meters by 500 meters area on surface. (See news releases from May 28th and June 5th, 2014 for more details). A follow up Phase I drill program on La Negra returned significant and consistent intervals of high grade, widespread silver mineralization extending from surface to depth, confirming a substantial new silver discovery. (See news releases, 'Drill Results' Oct. 15, 2014, Nov. 26, 2014 and Dec 3, 2014 for more details.)

Results from a Phase II drilling program on La Negra further confirmed the continuity of silver grades and the consistency of silver mineralization to depth within the core of the diatreme breccia. (See news releases from March 31st, April 30th and May 20th, 2015 for more details). The program also further reinforced La Negra's future potential as a low-cost, open pittable silver resource. Development of La Negra is currently under an option agreement with Pan American Silver Corp. (See News Release dated February 16, 2016 for more details.)

Warrant Extension

The Company also announces that it has, subject to regulatory approval, amended the expiry date of an aggregate total of 7,246,833 unexercised share purchase warrants by a further 6 months.

Pursuant to the non-brokered unit private placement that closed in two tranches with an initial tranche closing on July 18, 2014, for a total of 5,443,500 warrants being issued expiring July 18, 2016 and the final tranche closing on August 18, 2014, for a total of 1,803,333 warrants being issued expiring on August 18, 2016, all of which currently remain outstanding. The expiry date will be extended by 6 months to January 18 and February 17, 2017 for the respective tranches. The terms of the warrants will remain unchanged, including exercise price per warrant remaining at $0.55.

Qualified Persons

The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed on behalf Kootenay by James McDonald, P.Geo, President, CEO & Director for Kootenay, a Qualified Person.

About Kootenay Silver Inc.

Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico and in British Columbia, Canada. The Company's top priorities are the advancement of the La Cigarra silver project and the Promontorio Mineral Belt, in Chihuahua, Mexico and Sonora, Mexico, respectively. The La Cigarra property is 26 kilometers from the historic mining city of Parral and boasts nearby power, good road access, gentle topography, and established infrastructure. La Cigarra currently hosts a resource estimate of 18.54 million tonnes containing 51.47 million ounces of silver in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 86.3 g/t silver and 4.45 million tonnes containing 11.46 million ounces of silver in the Inferred category grading 80 g/t silver. The mineralized system at La Cigarra has been traced over 6.5 kilometers and is defined at surface as a silver soil anomaly and by numerous historic mine workings. The La Cigarra silver deposit is open along strike and at depth and is approximately 25 kilometers north, and along strike, of Grupo Mexico's Santa Barbara mine and Minera Frisco's San Francisco del Oro mine. The Promontorio Mineral Belt includes the Company's La Negra high-grade silver discovery and its Promontorio Silver Resource. The Promontorio Mineral Belt is under option to Pan American Silver whereby they can earn a 75% interest in the project with US$16 million of expenditures and payments with Kootenay retaining a 25% carried to production interest (see news release February 16 and March 4, 2016). The Promontorio Silver Resource currently hosts a resource estimate of 44.5 million tonnes containing 92 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Measured & Indicated categories grading 64.3 g/t silver equivalent and 14.6 million tonnes containing 24.3 million ounces of silver equivalent in the Inferred category grading 52 g/t silver equivalent. The Company's core objective is to create value by acquiring silver resources through discovery and acquisition and testing those resources with the ultimate goal of developing them into silver production if they are proven to be economically viable.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

The information in this news release has been prepared as at July 6, 2016. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

This press release uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated", and "Inferred" resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a Mineral Resource is economically or legally mineable.

James McDonald, CEO and President at 403-880-6016; Ken Berry, Chairman at 604-601-5652; 1-888-601-5650 or visit: http://www.kootenaysilver.com

SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.
"We are thrilled to receive the top accolade for a second year running," declared Henry Keville, Senior Vice President and head of London's Asset Management team."We are honoured to receive the top award again and are just delighted to have received such positive testimonials from our clients."

This award recognises hedge fund service providers that have demonstrated exceptional customer service and innovative product development during the past 12 months. The award recognises companies that have outperformed their peers and demonstrated impressive growth.

"This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team," said Keville. "Being firmly established as the leader in this category allows us to stand out in this competitive market."

About Lockton

More than 6,000 professionals at Lockton provide 48,000 clients around the world with risk management, insurance, employee benefits consulting, and retirement services that improve their businesses. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, Lockton has attracted entrepreneurial professionals who have driven its growth to become the largest privately held, independent insurance broker in the world and 10th largest overall. For seven consecutive years, Business Insurance magazine has recognized Lockton as a "Best Place to Work in Insurance." To see the latest insights from Lockton's experts, check Lockton Market Update.

Related Links

http://www.lockton.com



SOURCE Lockton
PARIS, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

A WORLDWIDE PREMIERE, A TRIBUTE TO CRAFTSMANSHIP.

THE WORLD'S FIRST 6L CRYSTAL DECANTER FOR COGNAC.

The LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM edition will make new history for LOUIS XIII, the timeless cognac created in 1874. Rare and exquisite collector's items, the first LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM decanters will be available worldwide as of November 2016, after being launched exclusively in iconic department store Harrods as of September for two months. Made by the legendary crystal manufacturer Baccarat, it requires over 20 master craftsmen to produce.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150115/169603 )



(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386713 )



(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386714 )



"LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM is truly the result of a work of art and genius, a tribute to craftsmanship and time. Harrods in London, a renowned institution whose History goes back as far as Louis XIII's, is the ideal setting in which to launch this monumental edition, " said Ludovic du Plessis, LOUIS XIII Global Executive Director.

FIRST EDITION EXCLUSIVE

A very limited number of LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM will be made, each individually numbered for eternity.

LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM will be available in exclusivity at Harrods, London, through September and October 2016.

"Harrods is extremely proud to have been given the opportunity to showcase this unique release from such a globally recognized brand as LOUIS XIII. It is a true reflection of our mutual determination to present Harrods clients with the finest and most sought-after products from the spirits marketplace," adds Nick Fleming, Spirits Buyer at Harrods.

A CENTURY IN A MATHUSALEM

"As old as Mathusalem," as the saying goes; the legend says that Mathusalem was the oldest man to ever live, making this a most fitting edition for LOUIS XIII. This is the very first time that a cognac will produce a mathusalem edition in crystal: each of these decanters is blown by the craftsmen of La Maison Baccarat in respect of a savoir-faire handed down over generations to generations. A feat of crystal craftsmanship for a monumental cognac, alchemy of up to 1200 eaux-de-vie, the youngest of which is at least 40 years old. LOUIS XIII LE MATHUSALEM is presented in a luxurious display chest featuring 8 crystal glasses housed in a dedicated case, a serving platter and a pipette, in honour of the ancestral tasting and serving rituals of the cellar masters. Its historic blend evokes tasting notes and aromas of myrrh, honey, immortelle, plum, honeysuckle, wood bark, leather and passion fruits.

Strict restrictions apply: content and text not to be distributed or used in France.

PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY

SOURCE LOUIS XIII COGNAC
MALMO, Sweden, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Beepsend AB, a global market leader in Application to Person (A2P) SMS messaging, was ranked as one of the leading Tier 1 A2P SMS Vendors of 2016 worldwide by mobile network operators in the Roaming Consulting Company (ROCCO) report.

The survey measured 260 mobile network operators (MNOs) perceptions of A2P SMS providers in 188 countries covering over 35 KPIs on performance and leadership. Out of 32 vendors only 5 made Tier 1 status.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386715LOGO )

Some important criteria placing Beepsend on top were reliability, trust, global reach, transparency, security, industry expertise and leadership. MNOs said, "Their reliability and performance on A2P SMS is very secure. They are leading the market with their knowledge and are making a big difference" and "Great provider who we can trust".

"Choosing the right vendor is crucial to an MNOs ability to monetise on A2P SMS. ROCCO has been conducting independent research for over 3 years. MNOs like it because often they need the neutrality the research brings because it can be hard to choose the right vendor," says Jason Bryan, CEO of ROCCO. "Beepsend was one of the Tier One providers in this year's A2P SMS Messaging Vendor Performance report. Their knowledge, participation in GSMA and enthusiasm for making the A2P SMS business profitable for MNOs is well regarded by MNOs and we are happy they have been recognised for it."

"We work hard to earn the trust of our enterprise and wholesale customers, bring revenue to the MNOs while contributing to the Operator community by our GSMA participation. Beepsend is humbled and proud of this recognition for our efforts," says Andreas Akesson, COO of Beepsend.

About Beepsend AB

Beepsend is a leading provider of cloud-based communication services to enterprises and mobile operators worldwide. With advanced routing and delivery Beepsend enables companies to communicate with their customers via business-critical messages, Two Way SMS, Two Factor Authentication (2FA), alerts, and more.

About ROCCO

ROCCO is 100% neutral Research, Strategy and Education Company based in the UK. For 3.5 years we have providing research into Roaming and Interconnect Vendors on behalf of Mobile Network Operators interested in making the right Vendor decisions as well as on all kinds of hot topics that interest them. Over 500 MNOs contribute to our research annually.

Contact: Beepsend - Susan Stjernberger +46760005631 susan.stjernberger@beepsend.com

SOURCE Beepsend AB
PUNE, India, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

ReportsnReports.com adds "Global Pharmaceutical Partnering Terms and Agreements 2010-2016: Deal trends, players and financials" market research report providing details of the latest Pharmaceutical agreements announced in the life sciences since 2010 to 2016. This research takes the reader through a comprehensive review Pharmaceutical deal trends, key players, top deal values, as well as deal financials, allowing the understanding of how, why and under what terms, companies are entering Pharmaceutical partnering deals and presents financial deal term values for Pharmaceutical deals, listing by headline value, upfront payments, milestone payments and royalties, enabling readers to analyze and benchmark the financial value of deals.

Complete report on Global Pharmaceutical Market Partnering Terms and Agreements with 7 Chapters and 13 figures, spread across 1000 pages is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/608981-global-pharmaceutical-partnering-terms-and-agreements-2010-2016-deal-trends-players-and-financials.html .

The middle section of the report explores the leading dealmakers in the Pharmaceutical partnering field; both the leading deal values and most active Pharmaceutical dealmaker companies are reported allowing the reader to see who is succeeding in this dynamic dealmaking market.

One of the key highlights of the report is that over 8,000 online deal records of actual Pharmaceutical deals, as disclosed by the deal parties, are included towards the end of the report in a directory format - by company A-Z, stage of development, deal type, therapy focus, and technology type - that is easy t- reference. Each deal record in the report links via Weblink t- an online version of the deal.



In addition, where available, records include contract documents as submitted t- the Securities Exchange Commission by companies and their partners. Whilst many companies will be seeking details of the payment clauses, the devil is in the detail in terms of how payments are triggered - contract documents provide this insight where press releases and databases d- not.

The initial chapters of this report provide an orientation of Pharmaceutical dealmaking. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the report, whilst chapter 2 provides an overview of the trends in Pharmaceutical dealmaking since 2010, including details of headline, upfront, milestone and royalty terms.

Order a copy of this report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/Purchase.aspx?name=608981 .

Chapter 3 provides a review of the leading Pharmaceutical deals since 2010. Deals are listed by headline value. Where the deal has an agreement contract published at the SEC a link provides online access to the contract. Chapter 4 provides a comprehensive listing of the top 50 most active companies in Pharmaceutical dealmaking with a brief summary followed by a comprehensive listing of Pharmaceutical deals announced by that company, as well as contract documents, where available. Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive and detailed review of Pharmaceutical partnering deals signed and announced since Jan 2010, where a contract document is available in the public domain. Each deal title links via Weblink to an online version of the deal record and contract document, providing easy access to each contract document on demand.

Chapter 6 provides a comprehensive and detailed review of Pharmaceutical partnering deals signed and announced since Jan 2010. The chapter is organized by specific technology type. Each deal title links via Weblink to an online version of the deal record and where available, the contract document, providing easy access to each deal on demand. A comprehensive series of appendices is provided organized by Pharmaceutical partnering company A-Z, stage of development, deal type, and therapy focus. Each deal title links via Weblink to an online version of the deal record and where available, the contract document, providing easy access to each deal on demand. The report also includes numerous tables and figures that illustrate the trends and activities in Pharmaceutical partnering and dealmaking since 2010.

Another newly published market research report titled on Global Medical Device Partnering Terms and Agreements 2010-2016: Deal trends, players and financials provides details of the latest Medical Device agreements announced in the life sciences since 2010. The report takes the reader through a comprehensive review Medical Device deal trends, key players, top deal values, as well as deal financials, allowing the understanding of how, why and under what terms, companies are entering Medical Device partnering deals and presents financial deal term values for Medical Device deals, listing by headline value, upfront payments, milestone payments and royalties,. One of the key highlights of the report is that over 3,000 online deal records of actual Medical Device deals, as disclosed by the deal parties, are included towards the end of the report in a directory format - by company A-Z, stage of development, deal type, therapy focus, and technology type - that is easy t- reference. Each deal record in the report links via Weblink t- an online version of the deal. Medical Device Partnering Terms and Agreements research report of 1000 pages is available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/608980-global-medical-device-partnering-terms-and-agreements-2010-2016-deal-trends-players-and-financials.html .

Explore more reports on Pharmaceuticals.

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SOURCE ReportsnReports
NEW YORK, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Daniel A. Pollack, Special Master presiding over settlement negotiations between the Republic of Argentina and its "holdout" Bondholders, issued the following statement today:

"The Republic of Argentina continues to settle claims of bondholders who have come forward with defaulted bonds. This past week the Republic reached settlements with 21 individuals and institutions, for a total of approximately $95 million in payments to the bondholders. The settlements were all within the terms of the February 5 Propuesta. As part of the settlements, those bondholders who held bonds with time-barred interest payments surrendered those bonds without compensation. I will have no further statement on these settlements at this time."

SOURCE Daniel A. Pollack
"Again and again, Sen. Toomey has shown strong leadership and support for Pennsylvania and its job creators. Pennsylvania is the tenth largest chemistry-producing state , and as representatives of one of the nation's largest manufacturing sectors , we want to acknowledge Sen. Toomey's hard work to keep our economy thriving," explained ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley. "He supports practical policies that decrease wasteful spending, keep taxes low and strengthen our economy, which are critical to America's manufacturing sector and small businesses in Pennsylvania and around the country."

These advertisements are part of a seven-figure ad campaign running across three states commending U.S. Senators for their support of pro-business policies. The ads for Sen. Toomey will run for two weeks throughout select markets in Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre, Johnstown and their surrounding areas, and will encourage constituents to contact the office of the Senator to tell him to keep up the good work.

You can view the ad here: http://youtu.be/cvesTXBf5cY.

http://www.americanchemistry.com

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products and services that make people's lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health and safety performance through Responsible Care, common sense advocacy designed to address major public policy issues, and health and environmental research and product testing. The business of chemistry is a $797 billion enterprise and a key element of the nation's economy. It is the nation's largest exporter, accounting for fourteen percent of all U.S. exports. Chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development. Safety and security have always been primary concerns of ACC members, and they have intensified their efforts, working closely with government agencies to improve security and to defend against any threat to the nation's critical infrastructure.

Video - http://youtu.be/cvesTXBf5cY

SOURCE American Chemistry Council

Related Links

http://www.americanchemistry.com


LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) and its subsidiary, Air Products Canada Ltd., today held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to formally dedicate its new world-scale hydrogen production facility in Ft. Saskatchewan, AB located twenty miles northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Air Products facility produces over 150 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen and is connected to Air Products' existing hydrogen pipeline network, which supplies refiners, upgraders, chemical processors and other industries in the Alberta Industrial Heartland region. Air Products employees were joined by customers, elected officials and community stakeholders to commemorate the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility.

"This plant and its connection to our pipeline network are key to meeting the growing hydrogen demands of our customers located in Alberta's Industrial Heartland, which is a very important region to Air Products from a business growth standpoint. We are the leading global hydrogen provider, the number one provider of hydrogen in the region, and are excited to be expanding upon that position," said Marie Ffolkes, president  Industrial Gases, Americas at Air Products.

The new hydrogen facility features the latest technology advancements to maximize energy efficiency. The plant configuration and deployed technologies support Air Products' overall sustainability goals of reducing energy consumption and emissions.

Refineries, upgraders and other customers in Alberta's Industrial Heartland have increasing demands for hydrogen in order to produce cleaner burning transportation fuels. The new plant, as well as Air Products' two existing hydrogen production facilities located near Edmonton, are joined via a 30-mile pipeline network to provide a very reliable source of hydrogen for these industries.

"We have customers in different parts of the world connected to our hydrogen pipeline systems, and they have noted the benefit of being connected to a large hydrogen pipeline network when it comes to enhanced supply reliability. We believe our model will continue to serve the Heartland customers well," said Ffolkes. Ffolkes added that 95 percent of the Heartland pipeline followed the path of existing pipelines to minimize the need for environmental disturbances.

Pipelines offer a safe, robust and reliable supply of hydrogen to the refinery and petrochemical industry around the world. Globally, Air Products' pipeline operational expertise is evidenced by its network of systems. Besides the Heartland Hydrogen Pipeline system, Air Products also has a hydrogen pipeline in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, and operates the world's largest hydrogen pipeline network in the United States Gulf Coast, as well as pipeline systems in California in the U.S. and Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Hydrogen is widely used in petroleum refining processes to remove impurities found in crude oil, such as sulphur, olefins and aromatics, to meet product fuels specifications. Removing these components allows gasoline and diesel to burn cleaner and thus makes hydrogen a critical component in the production of cleaner fuels needed by modern, efficient internal combustion engines.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company celebrating 75 years of operation. The company's core Industrial Gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment. The company's Materials Technologies business serves the semiconductor, polyurethanes, cleaning and coatings, and adhesives industries.

The company had fiscal 2015 sales of $9.9 billion and was ranked number 288 on the Fortune 500 annual list of public companies. Approximately 19,000 employees in 50 countries strive to make Air Products the world's safest and best performing Industrial Gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2015.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

A downloadable photo of Air Products' new hydrogen production facility in Ft. Saskatchewan, AB, is available in the company's online News Center.

SOURCE Air Products

Related Links

http://www.airproducts.com


PASADENA, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) announced today the pricing of its public offering of 6,500,000 shares of common stock at a price of $101.00 per share in connection with the forward sale agreements described below. The Company also granted the underwriters a thirty-day option to purchase up to 975,000 additional shares. The offering is expected to close on or about July 12, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan are the joint book-running managers for the offering. BBVA, TD Securities, Baird, BB&T Capital Markets, BNP PARIBAS, Barclays, Capital One Securities, Evercore ISI, Fifth Third Securities, Goldman, Sachs & Co., JMP Securities, Loop Capital Markets, MUFG, Mizuho Securities, PNC Capital Markets LLC, RBC Capital Markets, Ramirez & Co., Inc., SMBC Nikko, Scotiabank and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as co-managers for the offering.

The Company has entered into forward sale agreements with Bank of America, N.A., Citibank, N.A. and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the "forward purchasers") with respect to 6,500,000 shares of its common stock (or an aggregate of 7,475,000 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). In connection with the forward sale agreements, the forward purchasers or their affiliates are expected to borrow and sell to the underwriters an aggregate of 6,500,000 shares of the common stock that will be delivered in this offering (or an aggregate of 7,475,000 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). Subject to its right to elect cash or net share settlement subject to certain conditions, the Company intends to deliver, upon physical settlement of such forward sale agreements on one or more dates specified by the Company occurring no later than July 12, 2017, an aggregate of 6,500,000 shares of its common stock (or an aggregate of 7,475,000 shares if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full) to the forward purchasers in exchange for cash proceeds per share equal to the applicable forward sale price, which will be the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions, and will be subject to certain adjustments as provided in the forward sale agreements.

The Company will not initially receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of its common stock by the forward purchasers. The Company expects to use the net proceeds, if any, it receives upon the future settlement of the forward sale agreements to fund the pending acquisition of One Kendall Square, a 644,771 rentable square feet, seven-building collaborative science and technology campus in the Company's East Cambridge urban innovation cluster submarket located in Greater Boston (the "One Kendall Square Acquisition"), with any remaining proceeds being used to fund near-term highly leased development projects and being held for general working capital and other corporate purposes, including the reduction of the outstanding balance on the Company's unsecured senior line of credit, if any. Selling common stock through the forward sale agreements enables the Company to set the price of such shares upon pricing the offering (subject to certain adjustments), while delaying the issuance of the shares and the receipt of the net proceeds by the Company until the expected closing of the pending One Kendall Square Acquisition.

The offering is being made pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's common stock, nor shall there be any sale of the common stock in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Copies of the prospectus supplement relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained by contacting: BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte NC 28255-0001, Attn: Prospectus Department, Email: [email protected]; Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 1-800-831-9146; or J.P. Morgan, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, telephone: 1-866-803-9204.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is an urban office REIT uniquely focused on world-class collaborative science and technology campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations. Alexandria pioneered this niche in 1994 and has since established a dominant market presence in key locations, including Greater Boston, San Francisco, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle Park.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's offering of common stock (including an option to purchase additional shares of common stock), its intended use of the proceeds, and the expected closing date of the offering. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update this information. For more discussion relating to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the Company's forward-looking statements, and risks and uncertainties to the Company's business in general, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.are.com


LOS ANGELES, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Cortney Shegerian, of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates, has released comments concerning the recent $1.9 million sexual harassment settlement awarded to a former employee of the City of La Habra.

"The former employee alleged a number of serious sexual harassment claims against her supervisor. The allegations go even further to note that city administrators were aware she was being targeted and harassed in a sexually offensive manner and nothing was done to stop it," said Shegerian.

"Unfortunately, such allegations are typical for sexual harassment cases where harassers in positions of authority seem to have the collective, implied acquiescence of those who could take steps to prevent the harassment," Shegerian went on to say. "Sexual harassment is a pervasive culprit of injustice in the modern-day workplace. That includes municipalities and government entities that sometimes fly under the radar when people think of sexual harassment cases."

"City and government workers must keep in mind their rights, too, are protected by federal and state law, and in most cases, even by city ordinances," Shegerian commented. "They must never be afraid to stand up for their rights and to take matters to court when administrators fail to adequately reprimand those responsible for illegal, demeaning and unfair behavior."

Located in Santa Monica, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specializing in protecting the rights of employees who have been wronged by their employers. Richly experienced in labor and employment law and possessing an unparalleled success record as litigators, Shegerian & Associates is passionately dedicated to serving the needs of its clients. For more information about the firm, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com

Located in Los Angeles County, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specializing in employment law and personal injury litigation. Shegerian & Associates is dedicated to serving the needs of its clients, and has won over 73 jury trials, including over 31 seven and eight figure verdicts. For more information, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com or www.GotFired.com

SOURCE Shegerian & Associates, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.shegerianlaw.com


FORT WORTH, Texas, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ), a global provider of galvanizing services, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services, today announced Paul Fehlman was named as the Fort Worth Business Press' Chief Financial Officer of the Year.

Fort Worth Business recognizes Chief Financial Officers in Fort Worth and Tarrant County who successfully navigate their company's financial future and are stewards for their organization. Mr. Fehlman was among 15 nominees for the CFO of the Year award. All 15 were honored at the luncheon sponsored by the Fort Worth Business Press and the University of Texas at Arlington College of Business.

Mr. Fehlman joined AZZ Inc. in 2014 as senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer. He has a strong track record of accomplishments with more than 20 years of senior level finance experience, including international finance and manufacturing operations. Prior to AZZ, Mr. Fehlman was at Flowserve Corporation in Irving, Texas, serving as Vice President Finance for the Engineered Products Division. Mr. Fehlman holds a BS degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo and an MBA from Cornell University's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Tom Ferguson, president and chief executive officer of AZZ Inc., stated, "All of us at AZZ congratulate Paul on this recognition. We work with him every day and we know first-hand of his competence as a financial officer and his dedication to the success of our business. There are a great many financial professionals based in the Metroplex and I can assure you that Paul is consistently among the best. This is a well-deserved honor."

About Fort Worth Business

Fort Worth Business began publishing in 1988. Since then, the publication has become the guide to local business news, events and trends in Tarrant County. We do more than provide news and insight to our readers. Our business is to inform and help build business in the communities we serve. It is a mission and a commitment we take seriously.

About AZZ Inc.

AZZ Inc. is a global provider of galvanizing services, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the markets of power generation, transmission, distribution and industrial in protecting metal and electrical systems used to build and enhance the world's infrastructure. AZZ Galvanizing is a leading provider of metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot dip galvanizing to the North American steel fabrication industry. AZZ Energy is dedicated to delivering safe and reliable transmission of power from generation sources to end customers, and automated weld overlay solutions for corrosion and erosion mitigation to critical infrastructure in the energy markets worldwide.

Contact: Paul Fehlman, Senior Vice President - Finance and CFO

AZZ Inc. 817-810-0095

Internet: www.azz.com





Lytham Partners 602-889-9700

Joe Dorame, Robert Blum or Joe Diaz

Internet: www.lythampartners.com

SOURCE AZZ Inc.

Related Links

http://www.azz.com


DAVIE, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bankers Healthcare Group, a leading provider of financial solutions for healthcare professionals, will provide international relief and development organization Food For The Poor with enough backpacks and supplies to send 500 children in eight orphanages in Haiti to school this year.

Many times, children in Haiti cannot go to school if they do not have the necessary school supplies. For children struggling for basic human needs like clean water, getting school supplies is a luxury. But through Food For The Poor and its supporters, children are given the resources and support they need to get an education.

"We are proud to work with Food For The Poor again this year to help orphanages in Haiti," said Bankers Healthcare Group President Bob Castro. "Education is life-changing. We hope our gift of 500 backpacks will provide these children with more than just an education, but hope for a better future, as well."

This isn't the first time Bankers Healthcare Group has teamed up with Food For The Poor. When Bankers Healthcare Group moved its corporate headquarters to Davie, Florida, in early 2015, the company donated more than 150 pieces of furniture such as desks, large tables, chairs and white boards valued at $35,000 to Food For The Poor, which shipped them to Jamaican schools and orphanages.

The furniture donation inspired Peter "Tato" Estrada, Castro's brother-in-law, to initiate a backpack and school supplies donation. Tragically, Estrada lost his battle with cancer on April 30, 2015.

Friends and family at Bankers Healthcare Group dedicated themselves to honoring his life by fulfilling his wish. Thanks to their support, last year the company and its employees sent 300 backpacks filled with school supplies to three orphanages in Haiti. Tourissa Joseph, a BHG customer support specialist of Haitian heritage, was even able to visit one of these orphanages in person.

This year, Bankers Healthcare Group will send 500 backpacks to eight orphanages. In the coming weeks, Bankers Healthcare Group employees will fill the backpacks with school supplies at the company's corporate headquarters located at 10234 West State Road 84 in Davie, Florida.

"The gift of an education is priceless, especially for children trying to break the bonds of poverty. In Haiti, Food For The Poor donors support 1,128 children in our Angels Of Hope program in 21 orphanages throughout the country," said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma. "We are extremely thankful for the donation of 500 backpacks and the generous staff from Bankers Healthcare Group. On behalf of the children who will benefit greatly from your kindness, I say thank you."

Bankers Healthcare Group's donation is made through Angels Of Hope, a Food For The Poor child sponsorship program that began in 2002. The first orphanages to participate in the program were located in Haiti, Jamaica and Nicaragua. The program has grown exponentially, supporting nearly 6,000 children in more than 150 orphanages throughout 10 countries.

About Food for the Poor

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

About Bankers Healthcare Group

Since 2001, Bankers Healthcare Group has been committed to providing hassle-free financial solutions to healthcare professionals, including working capital loans, credit cards and insurance services. BHG has provided more than $2 billion in funding to thousands of satisfied customers nationwide. Inc. has recognized the company ten times for growth and job creation. For more information, visit www.bhg-inc.com.

Contact: Pat Harrigan (315) 671-4129

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150323/183766LOGO

SOURCE Bankers Healthcare Group

Related Links

http://www.bhg-inc.com


BeeHex, co-founded by tech celebrity Anjan Contractor, Jordan French, Chintan Kanuga and Benjamin Feltner, builds systems that solve problems in food production and dispensing. Its patent-pending pneumatic 3D printing hardware and app-to-order delivery system are revolutionizing the pizza industry with comparisons to the Star Trek Replicator and the Hydrator from Back to the Future: Part II. The company's developmental prototype prints an oven-ready pizza in practically any shape in under four minutes while its 3D printing kiosks print and bake a pizza every sixty seconds.

Contractor and French both worked on NASA projects, with Contractor being the inventor of NASA's first 3D food printer. Chintan Kanuga, CTO, is a 16-year veteran of Intel.

Using the freshest imported products from Italy, Ribalta holds ingredients to the highest standards, bringing authentic Italian cuisine and recipes from Naples to the United States. Serving traditional Neapolitan pizza, Chef Cozzolino has created a dough that is light and easily digestible as a result of carefully chosen flour, a "mother yeast" aged at 80 years and a maturation process that lasts up to five days. The sauce and cheese will be made from the best imported products from Italy, including tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius and mozzarella made from the milk of Neapolitan cows.

"We are excited to be working with such an inventive and forward-thinking company," says Chef Pasquale Cozzolino. "I am looking forward to using my experience in the culinary industry to create a pizza that can be 3D printed without sacrificing quality ingredients and taste."

"Chef Pasquale Cozzolino is one of the top pizza chefs in the world and has already proven invaluable at one of BeeHex's exhibitions in New York," says Jordan French, Chief Marketing Officer at BeeHex. "His expertise provides us the culinary expertise to make America's favorite food more accessible and customizable than ever before."

Combining Chef Cozzolino's culinary expertise and knowledge of pizza with BeeHex's groundbreaking technology, the team is creating a product that is sustainable, healthy and of the highest quality. Together, they are transforming the way society will look at food.

For more information on BeeHex, please visit www.beehex.com and for additional information on Ribalta please visit www.ribaltapizzarestaurant.com.

BeeHex, Inc. Press Contact

Jordan French

[email protected]

512-905-3003

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386871

SOURCE BeeHex Inc.

Related Links

http://www.beehex.com


BANGKOK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptocurrency has become a phenomenon that will not be going away anytime soon, and YoCoin is leading the charge to take cryptocurrencies mainstream and make them accessible to everyone.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387073LOGO

Unlike most of the alternative cryptocurrencies, YoCoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer digital currency based on the Scrypt mining algorithm, making it far more accessible than Bitcoin is when it comes to mining. Anyone with a decent graphics card in their computer can start mining YoCoin at home with little effort. With wallets available for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, no digital currency enthusiasts are left behind. For those looking to buy YoCoin, there are several exchanges to choose from. YoCoin is actively traded on exchanges such as C-Cex, SafeCex, Alcurex, CoinExchange, Bloombit, and others.

Targeting the younger crowd, especially millennials, is one of the main reasons why YoCoin was created in the first place. YoCoin sees itself as the premier internet currency, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to help revolutionize the business world and payment systems of today.

"We've been working hard on this project for a long time,"

Said Dave Wilson, Chief Operating Officer of YoCoin.

"We look forward to taking YoCoin to the next level and beyond."

With a dedicated development roadmap in place, there is plenty to look forward to when it comes to YoCoin. On the to-do list are the release of a mobile wallet for Android users, as well as the issuance of physical YOC coins. These limited edition coins are great gifts for friends and family, and they make for great collectibles as well.

Any cryptocurrency is only as useful as where it can be actually used, and the YoCoin team is working hard on establishing new use cases every day. Bringing this cryptocurrency to casino platforms and other merchants is planned for the coming weeks.

For more information on YoCoin, visit: http://www.yocoin.org

Media Contact

Name: Dave Wilson

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0066898322801

YoCoin is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE YoCoin

Related Links

http://www.yocoin.org


ATLANTA and LONDON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Blancco Technology Group (LON: BLTG) today announced it has appointed renowned IT security veteran and former Gartner analyst Richard Stiennon as Chief Strategy Officer, effective July 1, 2016. In this newly created role, Stiennon is responsible for leading the company's overall corporate strategy, including long-term strategic planning, product positioning, public affairs, analyst relations, joint ventures and industry partnerships. He reports directly into CEO, Pat Clawson.

"Richard is a powerhouse of security information, knowledge and expertise," said Pat Clawson, CEO, Blancco Technology Group. "As a seasoned IT security expert and former Gartner research analyst, he has this distinctive ability to unravel the 'how' and 'why' behind various types of security threats and the impact they can have on businesses. That is exactly the type of foresight and leadership we need to move Blancco Technology Group forward into the next year to deliver strategic guidance, educational resources and long-term value to the businesses we serve. With Richard guiding our strategy, I envision further innovation, resulting in strong growth for our business."

Most recently, Stiennon served as Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest, where he researched and reported on over 1,400 IT security vendors. Many in the industry recognize him from his days as Vice President of Research at Gartner Inc. from 2000 to 2004, where his forward-thinking insights and questioning of the corporate status quo earned him Gartner's Thought Leadership Award in 2003. His analysis of data security trends also led to an impressive profile in Network World's list of "The 50 Most Powerful People in Networking."

Touted as one of the most prolific and trusted security intellectuals in the world, Richard has also written three thought-provoking books on the alarming state of cyber war and its impact on businesses: Surviving Cyberwar, UP and to the RIGHT: Strategy and Tactics of Analyst Influence and There Will Be Cyberwar: How the Move to Network-Centric Warfighting Set the Stage for Cyberwar. His most recent book, There Will Be Cyberwar, provides a glaring look into the vulnerabilities in the Internet of Military Things and became a Washington Post bestseller in April 2016.

"Over the course of my career, I've learned that there is no single 'scary' threat to data security," said Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer, Blancco Technology Group. "But because many organizations don't fully understand how to properly manage their data and devices across the entire lifecycle, specifically data removal, it's quite common for businesses to relegate data removal lower on their list of overall IT security priorities. But as recent data breaches have shown, this lack of knowledge and prioritization is often the culprit behind a potential security risk becoming a serious data breach. Seeing Blancco Technology Group's unique technology as a critical tool in solving this problem, I felt compelled to join the company in its mission to increase awareness and education about this important, but overlooked security issue."

Over the course of his career, he has never shied away from voicing his opinions on data security and privacy, challenging the corporate status quo and fostering productive dialogues to improve how companies approach and improve data security. He has since become one of the most sought-after speakers at over 28 conferences across three continents, including RSA, CeBIT, AusCERT and National Fintech Cybersecurity Summit. In addition to writing his monthly 'Cyber Domain' column for Forbes, he is frequently quoted in major news publications, including The Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Dark Reading, GigaOm, Re/Code, TechCrunch, and ZDNet.

About Blancco Technology Group

Blancco Technology Group is a leading global provider of mobile device diagnostics and secure data erasure solutions. We help our clients' customers test, diagnose, repair and repurpose IT devices with the most proven and certified software. Our clientele consists of equipment manufacturers, mobile network operators, retailers, financial institutions, healthcare providers and government organizations worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, GA, United States, with a distributed workforce and customer base across the globe.

Blancco, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is the global de facto standard in certified data erasure. We provide thousands of organizations with an absolute line of defense against costly security breaches, as well as verification of regulatory compliance through a 100% tamper-proof audit trail.

SmartChk, a division of Blancco Technology Group, is a global innovator in mobile asset diagnostics and business intelligence. We partner with our customers to improve their customers' experience by providing seamless solutions to test, diagnose and repair mobile assets. SmartChk provides world-class support, pre and post implementation, allowing our customers to derive measurable business results.

Media Contacts:

SHIFT Communications for Blancco Technology Group (US)

David Heffernan, Account Manager

T: (617) 779-1839

E: [email protected]

SAY Communications for Blancco Technology Group (Europe)

Robert Hickling, Senior Account Manager

T: 44 (0) 20 8971 6427

E: [email protected]

Blancco Technology Group

Ragini Bhalla, Senior Director of Global Communications

T: (678) 829-8465

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Blancco Technology Group
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for hearings by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees to address public outrage over two police shootings of African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota in just the past two days and to propose legislation to help prevent such deadly incidents from occurring in the future.

On Wednesday, a Minnesota officer shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile while he was in a car with his girlfriend and her child. The aftermath of the shooting was livestreamed on Facebook.

On Tuesday, 37-year-old Alton Sterling was shot and killed during a confrontation with police officers outside a Baton Rouge, La. Video of the shooting was posted online by a community activist. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will take the lead in the investigation of that shooting.

SEE: A Look at Recent Police Shootings Involving Black Men (AP)

http://tinyurl.com/zzj7g8t

Here's How Many Black People Have Been Killed by Police This Year

http://tinyurl.com/zdrol48

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"We grieve for the loss of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in yet two more police shootings. Institutionalized racism and a consistent lack of accountability are why we continue to see these killings.

"We welcome the U.S. Department of Justice intervention in the Louisiana shooting case and urge similar action to provide for robust and transparent investigations of the Minnesota incident and other recent police shootings of African-American men.

"We call on Congress, in particular the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, to hold hearings designed to address this ongoing issue and to propose legislation to help prevent these tragic incidents from occurring in the future."

CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said: "We call on federal officials to investigate the shooting of Philando Castile and for a thorough review of police policies, hiring and training in the wake of this tragedy."

CAIR sought action following previous police-involved killings of African-American men and boys.

SEE: CAIR-Cleveland 'Disappointed' at Grand Jury Decision to Not Indict Officer Who Fatally Shot 12-year-Old Tamir Rice

http://tinyurl.com/zmjguse

CAIR Joins NAACP 'All Lives Matter' Rally in Maryland

http://tinyurl.com/j2gmqty

CAIR-NY 'Dismayed' at Grand Jury Decision to Not Indict on NYPD Chokehold Death

http://tinyurl.com/zfsj7yr

CAIR Calls for National Action on Racism After Ferguson Grand Jury Decision

http://tinyurl.com/gl383t3



The Washington-based civil rights organization publishes a booklet outlining basic information about Islamic beliefs that are relevant to law enforcement agencies.

SEE: A Law Enforcement Official's Guide to the Muslim Community

http://www.cair.com/images/pdf/law_enforcement_guide.pdf

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational

Subscribe to CAIR's Email List

http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe

Subscribe to CAIR's Twitter Feed

http://twitter.com/cairnational

Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/cairtv

To request legal assistance from CAIR's Civil Rights Department, fill out the intake form at: https://www.cair.com/civil-rights/report-an-incident/view/form.html

CONTACT: CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein, 612-406-0070, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR Communications Coordinator Nabeelah Naeem, 202-341-4171, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Related Links

http://www.cair.com


SAN FRANCISCO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Bail Agents Association filed a motion Wednesday morning to formally join the City and Sheriff of San Francisco and California Attorney General Kamala Harris as a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by Equal Justice Under Law that calls into question the constitutionality of the cash bail system. Buffin v. City and County of San Francisco, 4:15-cv-04959-YGR (N.D.C.A.).

City and Sheriff of San Francisco, and Attorney General of CA Kamala Harris, both filed motions to dismiss Plaintiffs' operative Third Amended Complaint on June 23. The hearing on all motions is scheduled for Aug. 16, before Judge Gonzalez Rodgers in the Oakland Division of the Northern District of California federal court.

CBAA's motion argues that bail is a deeply-rooted practice expressly provided for in both the Eighth Amendment and California Constitution, which serves an essential role in the operation of the criminal justice system.

"Should surety bail be eliminated entirely, as purported social justice advocates EJUL demands, arrestees would be forced to participate in a government run pre-parole type of system, which is the epitome of social injustice," said CBAA President, Gloria Mitchell.

"Reasonable bail is a right of the accused guaranteed in the Bill of Rights  often taken for granted, but a precious right nonetheless," said Harmeet K. Dhillon, attorney for CBAA. "The elimination of this Constitutional protection would both strip away rights from many accused, keeping them incarcerated longer, as well as potentially put our communities in harm's way from flight risks who are released from custody without a sufficient guarantee that they will appear to stand trial."

CBAA is represented by Harmeet K. Dhillon and Krista L. Baughman of Dhillon Law Group Inc.

CBAA is a non-profit association of approximately 3,300 bail agents who facilitate the posting of bail bonds by arrestees in California, and ensure that bailees attend trial.

SOURCE California Bail Agents Association

Related Links

http://www.cbaa.com


HOUSTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CARBO Ceramics Inc. (NYSE: CRR) announced today that it plans to release earnings results for the second quarter of 2016 on July 28, 2016, and will host a conference call at 10:30 a.m. Central Time (11:30 a.m. Eastern) that day. Gary Kolstad, President and CEO, and Ernesto Bautista, III, Vice President and CFO, will host the call.

Due to historical high call volume, the company is offering participants the opportunity to register in advance for the conference through the following link:

http://dpregister.com/10089017

Registered participants will immediately receive an email with a calendar reminder and a dial-in number and PIN that will allow them immediate access to the call on July 28, 2016.

Participants who do not wish to pre-register for the call may dial in using (877) 232-2832 (for U.S. callers), (855) 669-9657 (for Canadian callers) or (412) 542-4138 (for International callers) and ask for the "CARBO Ceramics" call. The conference call also can be accessed through the company's website, www.carboceramics.com.

A telephonic replay of the earnings conference call will be available through August 4, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access the replay from the U.S., please dial (877) 344-7529 and Canada (855) 669-9658; international callers outside North America should dial (412) 317-0088. Please reference conference number 10089017. Interested parties may also access the archived webcast of the earnings teleconference through the company's website approximately two hours after the end of the call.

About CARBO

CARBO focuses on integrating technologies to produce engineered solutions in its Design, Build, and Optimize the Frac technology businesses, delivering important value to E&P operators by increasing well production and EUR.

For more information, please visit www.carboceramics.com.

Investor Contact:

Mark Thomas, Director, Investor Relations

(281) 921-6400

SOURCE CARBO Ceramics Inc.

Related Links

http://www.carboceramics.com


HOUSTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheniere Energy, Inc. ("Cheniere" or the "Company") (NYSE MKT: LNG) announced today that it plans to release second quarter 2016 financial results on Tuesday, August 9, 2016 before the market opens. Cheniere will host a conference call for investors and analysts at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time) to discuss second quarter results.

A listen-only webcast of the call and accompanying slide presentation will be available on the Company's website at www.cheniere.com.

After completion of the webcast, a replay will be available on the Company's website.

About Cheniere

Cheniere Energy, Inc., a Houston-based energy company primarily engaged in LNG-related businesses, owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana. Directly and through its subsidiary, Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., Cheniere is constructing and developing liquefaction projects near Corpus Christi, Texas and at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal, respectively. Train 1 of the liquefaction project at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal has commenced commercial operations. Cheniere is also exploring a limited number of opportunities directly related to its existing LNG business.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements" within the meanings of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are "forward-looking statements." Included among "forward-looking statements" are, among other things, (i) statements regarding Cheniere's business strategy, plans and objectives, including the development, construction and operation of liquefaction facilities, (ii) statements regarding expectations regarding regulatory authorizations and approvals, (iii) statements expressing beliefs and expectations regarding the development of Cheniere's LNG terminal and pipeline businesses, including liquefaction facilities, (iv) statements regarding the business operations and prospects of third parties, (v) statements regarding potential financing arrangements and (vi) statements regarding future discussions and entry into contracts. Although Cheniere believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Cheniere's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in Cheniere's periodic reports that are filed with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Other than as required under the securities laws, Cheniere does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Cheniere Energy, Inc.; Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P.; Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings, LLC

Related Links

http://www.cheniere.com


FORT MYERS, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) issued the statement below in response to a release and "opinion" commissioned and issued by The Barington Group ("Barington"), which indicates that it and its affiliates own approximately 0.92% of the Company's outstanding shares and own derivatives potentially convertible into another approximately 850,000 shares or 0.64% of the Company's outstanding shares. The majority of such derivatives were purchased within the past six months and at least 650,000 of them are out-of-the-money call options.

As we have been clear about all along, neither Hudson's Bay Company nor any of the department stores within its portfolio are competitors in any practical sense to Chico's FAS or any of its brands. The issue of any potential conflict for either of the Company's two new independent director candidates was considered by the Chico's FAS Board of Directors prior to the candidates' nomination.

Independent third party analysis from Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), a leading business analytics firm, has found that Hudson's Bay's stores are not competitively relevant to the Chico's FAS brands in terms of geographic proximity or demographic profile. Chico's FAS brands serve different price points, different geographic areas and different consumer demographics. Contrary to the selective examination published by Barington, APT's analysis shows that Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue stores are generally located in significantly different demographic areas than the Chico's FAS brands stores, with the Hudson's Bay concepts skewing towards higher population density, higher home value and higher incomes, among other differing attributes.

Further, instead of relying on information from 2009, using current data and information, the Company's own customer analyses, customer surveys, shop-along experiences, and visits to customer homes and their closets to better understand the shopping habits of our consumers, show that Chico's FAS customers overwhelmingly do not shop at Hudson's Bay's stores. In fact, these stores represent only 1.3% of our customers' apparel spend. Notably, the "opinion" published by Barington fails to take into account any share of wallet analysis, including that published by the Company, which shows where customers actually shop, not just where they theoretically could. Commissioned academic studies aside, we believe actual knowledge of a customer's buying patterns more effectively informs a value enhancing business strategy.

Barington also ignores the announcement from Hudson's Bay Company yesterday that Bonnie Brooks is retiring from her role as nonexecutive Vice Chairman, which we believe takes Barington's red herring issue completely off the table and permits shareholders to focus on the real issue in this contest: who will best deliver value to Chico's FAS shareholders.

We believe Barington's attempt to replace Bonnie Brooks' superior expertise with less qualified, outdated candidates is as irresponsible as Barington's brick and mortar store growth strategy. Indeed, Barington continues to suggest candidates whose outdated experience is out of touch with how consumers shop today and the current retail environment.

In contrast to Barington's less qualified candidates, Ms. Brooks brings more than 30 years of global executive leadership experience in retail and merchandising, including having led three major international department store turnarounds. Digital marketing and ecommerce have been major elements of Ms. Brooks' formula for success and turnaround work over the past decade, including implementing an entirely new ecommerce site and digital marketing capability while Chief Executive Officer and President of Hudson's Bay department stores.

We believe that with our new Chief Executive Officer and President and refreshed Board, we have world-class leaders  and the right four director nominees  with the skills and expertise to continue executing on our new plan.

Neither of Barington's proposed candidates has expertise equivalent to any of the Board's four nominees. We believe that replacing any of the Board's superior nominees with any one of Barington's less qualified candidates would jeopardize the progress we are making and that Barington's need to focus solely on Ms. Brooks further demonstrates its lack of ideas and vision for Chico's FAS.

ABOUT CHICO'S FAS, INC.

The Company, through its brands  Chico's, White House Black Market, and Soma is a leading omni-channel specialty retailer of women's private branded, sophisticated, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates, complementary accessories, and other non-clothing items.

As of April 30, 2016, the Company operated 1,517 stores in the US and Canada and sold merchandise through franchise locations in Mexico. The Company's merchandise is also available at www.chicos.com, www.whbm.com, and www.soma.com. For more detailed information on Chico's FAS, Inc., please go to our corporate website at www.chicosfas.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

Certain statements contained herein may contain certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect our current views with respect to certain events that could have an effect on our future financial performance, including but without limitation, statements regarding our plans, objectives, and future success of our store concepts, the implementation of our previously announced restructuring program, and implementation of our program to increase the sales volume and profitability of our existing brands through four previously announced focus areas. These statements may address items such as future sales, gross margin expectations, SG&A expectations, operating margin expectations, planned store openings, closings and expansions, future comparable sales, inventory levels, and future cash needs. These statements relate to expectations concerning matters that are not historical fact and may include the words or phrases such as "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "approximately," "our planning assumptions," "future outlook," and similar expressions. Except for historical information, matters discussed in such oral and written statements are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based largely on information currently available to our management and on our current expectations, assumptions, plans, estimates, judgments and projections about our business and our industry, and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those currently anticipated. Although we believe our expectations are based on reasonable estimates and assumptions, they are not guarantees of performance and there are a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors (many of which are outside our control) that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, there is no assurance that our expectations will, in fact, occur or that our estimates or assumptions will be correct, and we caution investors and all others not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, conditions in the specialty retail industry, the availability of quality store sites, the ability to successfully execute our business strategies, the ability to achieve the results of our restructuring program, the ability to achieve the results of our four focus areas, the integration of our new management team, and those described in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" and in the "Forward-Looking Statements" disclosure in Item 7. "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of our Form 10-K. There can be no assurance that the actual future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements will occur. Investors using forward-looking statements are encouraged to review the Company's latest annual report on Form 10-K, its filings on Form 10-Q, management's discussion and analysis in the Company's latest annual report to stockholders, the Company's filings on Form 8-K, and other federal securities law filings for a description of other important factors that may affect the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition. All written or oral forward-looking statements that are made or attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear that projected results expressed or implied in such statements will not be realized.

Additional Information

Chico's FAS, its directors and certain of its executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from Company shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting. The Company has filed a definitive proxy statement and WHITE proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with any such solicitation of proxies from Company shareholders. COMPANY SHAREHOLDERS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Information regarding the identity of the participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the proxy statement and other materials filed with the SEC. Shareholders can obtain any proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC for no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies are also available at no charge at the Company's website at www.chicosfas.com, by writing to Chico's FAS at 11215 Metro Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33966, or by calling the Company's proxy solicitor, Innisfree, toll-free at (877) 825-8971.

Contacts:

Investors:

Jennifer Powers

Vice President - Investor Relations

Chico's FAS, Inc.

(239) 346-4199

Arthur B. Crozier / Jennifer M. Shotwell / Jonathan E. Salzberger

Innisfree M&A Incorporated

(212) 750-5833

Media:

Barrett Golden / Leigh Parrish / Joseph Sala

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

(212) 355-4449

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SOURCE Chico's FAS, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.chicos.com


ROCKVILLE, Md., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Library Systems and Services (LS&S) has signed an agreement to continue providing support to Redding and Shasta County, California libraries until 2021. The company has worked with Shasta Public Libraries since 2007, providing strategic, technical, and operational support. The public-private partnership with LS&S has given Shasta Public Libraries solid footing following a history of closed branches and low ratings for per capita funding.

"Library Systems & Services engineered much of the turnaround because of its expertise in managing collections, technology, staffing, outreach and grant funding," says Peggy O'Lea, executive director of the Shasta Library Foundation. "Results speak for themselves: the Redding branch operates at 60+ hours a week, while the city could only run it at 40 hours and for more budget."

The improved cost structure led the City of Redding and Shasta County to invest more into their libraries, and the partnership with LS&S "leverages the community's investment to provide more and better opportunities for our residents," observes Kim Niemer, director of community services and contract manager for the City of Redding.

Data confirms that library usage and efficiency has skyrocketed with LS&S handling operations. Shasta Public Libraries has 12.19 library visits per capita versus California's average of 5.88 and it's done on a budget of $12.23 per capita vs the state average of $49.89. The cost per visit is just $1, the lowest in the state.

Moreover, LS&S's methodology ensures that these libraries will remain a valuable community resource.

"Like many communities, Shasta County has a strong, committed Friends of the Library group that volunteers time and effort to champion our public library system," says Jan Filomeo, president of the Friends of Shasta County Libraries. "I've seen firsthand how LS&S and our group have come together, made improvements to programs and put the library's interests first. Continuing this relationship will be a positive step for our community."

About Library Systems & Services

With public and special library locations throughout the U.S., Library Systems & Services is the only company that manages public libraries through public-private partnerships. Under this model local governments retain control of and maximize use of their assets, while the libraries benefit from streamlined and often lower-cost operations that lead to improved collections, programs, and technology. The broader communities gain an abundance of advantages as libraries become the mechanism that connects groups on a deeper level and provide valuable gathering places that inspire learning and interaction.

SOURCE Library Systems & Services
HARRISBURG, Pa., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that it has selected Capital BlueCross as one of nearly 200 physician group practices and 17 health insurance companies to participate in a care delivery model that supports and encourages higher quality, more coordinated cancer care. The Medicare arm of the Oncology Care Model includes more than 3,200 oncologists and will cover approximately 155,000 Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.

"This program is a win for all of those involved, especially patients undergoing cancer treatment. This coordinated approach allows a team of physicians and clinicians to work together to coordinate care ensuring that the patient is the center of a holistic treatment plan," said Dr. Jennifer Chambers, Capital BlueCross senior vice president and chief medical officer. "This model enables the team to better communicate, including primary care physicians, so all the patient's health care needs are taken care of during a time when they need it the most."

Central Pennsylvania practices participating in the Oncology Program in collaboration with Capital BlueCross include:

Andrews and Patel Associates in Camp Hill

Hematology and Oncology Consultants of Pennsylvania , PC in Camp Hill

Cancer is one of the most common and devastating diseases in the United States: more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed and cancer will kill an estimated 600,000 Americans in 2016. According to the National Institutes of Health, based on growth and aging of the U.S. population, medical expenditures for cancer in the year 2020 are projected to reach at least $158 billion (in 2010 dollars)  an increase of 27 percent over 2010. A significant proportion of those diagnosed are over 65 years old and Medicare beneficiaries.

"The Oncology Care Model encourages greater collaboration, information sharing, and care coordination, so that patients get the care they need, when they need it," said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. "This patient-centered care model fits within the Administration's dual missions for delivery system reform and the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force  to improve patient access to and the quality of health care while spending dollars more wisely."

The Oncology Care Model encourages practices to improve care and lower costs through episode- and performance-based payments that reward high-quality patient care. The Oncology Care Model is one of the first CMS physician-led specialty care models and builds on lessons learned from other innovative programs and private-sector models.

As part of this model, physician practices may receive performance-based payments for episodes of care surrounding chemotherapy administration to Medicare patients with cancer, as well as a monthly care management payment for each beneficiary. The two-sided risk track of this model would be an Advanced Alternative Payment Model under the newly proposed Quality Payment Program, which would implement provisions from the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.

Practices participating in the five-year Oncology Care Model will provide treatment following nationally recognized clinical guidelines for beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy, with an emphasis on person-centered care. They will provide enhanced services to beneficiaries who are in the Oncology Care Model to help them receive timely, coordinated treatment. These services may include:

Coordinating appointments with providers within and outside the oncology practice to ensure timely delivery of diagnostic and treatment services;

Providing 24/7 access to care when needed;

Arranging for diagnostic scans and follow up with other members of the medical team such as surgeons, radiation oncologists, and other specialists that support the beneficiary through their cancer treatment;

Making sure that data from scans, blood test results, and other tests are received in advance of patient appointments so that patients do not need to schedule additional visits; and

Providing access to additional patient resources such as emotional support groups, pain management services, and clinical trials.

"CMS is thrilled with how many physician groups chose to be a part of the Oncology Care Model," said Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS principal deputy administrator and chief medical officer. "We have nearly doubled the number of participants that we anticipated. It's clear that oncology physicians recognize the importance of this new performance-based, episode-based payment approach to cancer care. As a practicing physician and son of a Medicare beneficiary who died from cancer, I know the importance of well-coordinated care focused on the patient's needs."

The names of all practices and payers participating in the Oncology Care Model, and more information about the model, can be found on the model's website: http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Oncology-Care/. The Oncology Care Model begins on July 1, 2016 and runs through June 30, 2021.

As part of the Administration's "better care, smarter spending, healthier people" approach to improving health delivery, the Oncology Care Model is one of many innovative payment and care delivery models developed by the CMS Innovation Center and advanced by the Affordable Care Act. The Innovation Center is committed to transforming the Medicare, Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs and is expected to help deliver better care for individuals, better health for populations, and lower growth in expenditures for Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries.

About Capital BlueCross

Capital BlueCross, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., is the leading health solutions and insurance company in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. A partner in the community's health for nearly 80 years, Capital BlueCross offers health insurance products, services and technology solutions that provide peace of mind to consumers and promote health and wellness for our customers.

More than a health insurer, the company delivers innovative solutions through a family of diversified businesses that is creating a healthier future and lowering health care costs. Among these solutions are patient-focused care models, leading-edge data analytics, and digital health technologies. Additionally, Capital BlueCross is growing a network of Capital Blue stores that provide in-person service and inspiration to help people reach their health goals. Capital BlueCross is an independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. For more information, visit capbluecross.com.

SOURCE Capital BlueCross

Related Links

https://www.capbluecross.com


PUNE, India, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The report "Coating Pretreatment Market by Type (Phosphate, Chromate, Chromate-Free, and Blast Clean), Metal Substrate (Steel and Aluminum), Application (Automotive & Transportation, Appliances, and Building & Construction), by Region (Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa, and South America) - Global Forecasts to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The global market size is projected to reach USD 3.83 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 5.76% from 2016.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 144 market data Tables and 48 Figures spread through 213 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Coating Pretreatment Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/coating-pretreatment-market-23377511.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The major drivers identified for the global Coating Pretreatment Market are rising demand for powder coatings, high growth in end-use industries, and increasing demand from developing countries. The demand from the construction application is driven by growing urbanization in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa, which resulted into increased demand for residential, commercial, and industrial infrastructure.

Chromate free coating pretreatment growing at the highest rate

Stringent government regulations in the U.S. and Europe, especially to reduce air pollution, will trigger the need for adopting new, low-pollution coating technologies. The chromate free pretreatment coatings are now used as a substitute of chromate-based pretreatment due to its environmental friendly nature. It also adheres to the regulations of REACH and other institutions. It is the fastest-growing market among all types of coating pretreatment in Europe and North America. It is used for the pre-treatment of aluminum and light alloys.

Make an Inquiry @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=23377511

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for coating pretreatment

Asia-Pacific is the largest market for coating pretreatment, both in terms of volume and value, followed by Europe and North America. Countries such as the U.S., China, and Germany are the major markets of coating pretreatment. Due to the increasing demand on domestic front, rising income levels, and easy access to resources, Asia-Pacific has emerged as the leading market of coating pretreatment. South America, especially Brazil, has also emerged as a key market for coating pretreatment manufacturers. Not only is the demand for coating pretreatment expected to be strong in Brazil, but its proximity to the U.S. makes it an emerging market for setting up production facilities.

Key players in the coating pretreatment market

The key players in the coating pretreatment market are Chemetall GmbH (Germany), PPG Industries (U.S.), Henkel AG & Co., KGaA (Germany), Nihon Parkerizing Co., Ltd. (Japan), Nippon Paint Company Limited (Japan), Axalta Coating Systems LLC (U.S.), AkzoNobel N.V. (Netherlands), The Sherwin Williams Company (U.S.), The Valspar Corporation (U.S.), and Kansai Paint Co., Ltd.(Japan).

Browse Related Reports:

Coil Coatings Market by Type (Polyester, Fluropolymer, Siliconized Polyester, Plastisol, and Others), by Application (Steel & Aluminum), and by End User Industry (Building & Construction, Appliances, Automotive, and Others) - Global Forecast to 2019

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/coil-coatings-market-266690883.html

Paints & Coatings Market by Resin Type (Acrylic, Alkyd, Epoxy, Polyurethane, Polyester, & Others), by Technology (Waterborne, Solvent Borne, High Solids, Powder & Others), by Application (Architectural & Paints) - Global Forecasts to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/paint-coating-market-156661838.html

Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firm in terms of annually published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors.

M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

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Markets and Markets

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
NEW YORK, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Collibra, a leader in data governance software solutions for business users, today announced that the company's Chief Technology Officer, Stan Christiaens, will be a featured speaker at the 10th annual MIT Chief Data Officer & Information Quality Symposium, taking place July 12-14 in Cambridge, Mass. The conference will explore the evolving role of the Chief Data Officer as a central player in the business of data across a variety of global industries and issues. Christiaens will address key data governance issues and trends during two sessions:

Panel Session: "CDO Best Practices: Creating Truth, Trust and Traceability of Your Enterprise Data"  Tuesday, July 12, 2016

As with any asset, not all data assets need to be managed the same way. This session will explore best practices and enabling technologies that underpin the Data Management Maturity Model from the CMMI for effective:

Data Governance

Data Quality

Data Architecture

Data Operations

Presentation: "The CDO's Platform for Success"  Wednesday, July 13, 2016

As organizations refine their use and understanding of their data, the role of the Chief Data Officer and their organization continues to evolve. One of the most important tasks for the CDO is getting and sustaining stakeholder adoption across the business, often adding new responsibilities on top of already existing day jobs. To do this successfully requires stepping out of ad-hoc approaches where meetings, spreadsheets and email rule supreme, and leveraging a broad and flexible platform to accommodate the variations and changes that exist in a normal organization, as well as the rapid expansion of use cases, regulatory changes, and increasingly diverse user community. Christiaens will explores the platform approach and how it enables CDOs to empower their organizations.

About Collibra

As the leader in data governance, Collibra helps global organizations gain competitive advantage by maximizing the value of their data across the enterprise. Collibra is the only solution purpose-built to address the gamut of data stewardship, governance, and management needs of the most complex, data-intensive industries. Our flexible and configurable cloud-based or on-premises solution puts people and processes first  automating data governance and management to quickly and securely deliver trusted data to the business users who need it. Learn more at www.collibra.com.

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SOURCE Collibra

Related Links

http://www.collibra.com


WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In response to the release of the Commission on Care's final report on reforming the VA this week, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President J. David Cox, Sr. today issued the following statement:

AFGE members and veterans gathered at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System to rally against the proposed closing of VA medical centers nationwide.

"The American Federation of Government Employees condemns in the strongest possible terms, the horrendous, anti-veteran proposal put forward by the Commission on Care. These recommendations would essentially destroy the veterans' health care system, leaving millions of veterans without the integrated care they rely on. Veterans would suffer from a drastically reduced quality of care, higher costs, less access, and the system as a whole would become unaccountable to veterans and taxpayers. Instead it would place veterans' care in the hands of executives with corporate backgrounds, leaving veterans without a voice.

If the Commission's mission, as they state in their report, was to "provide eligible veterans prompt access to quality health care," they have achieved the opposite. The only result of these recommendations would be to fragment the most integrated health care approach in the nation, lower quality across the board by sending veterans to for-profit private providers, line the pockets of private hospital corporations, and hand over control of veterans' healthcare to an out-of-touch, corporate-style board.

The most egregious recommendation in the report would dismantle veteran-centric care through the vast expansion of costly, for-profit provider care. The VA provides veterans the best health care in the country  something acknowledged even by this biased Commission in their final report  yet they want to push veterans out the door to lower quality, for-profit providers who will inevitably offer inferior care. As it stands now, only 13 percent of mental health providers in the private sector are properly prepared to treat our veterans. Veterans will not be helped by having inferior care at higher costs. It is far better for veterans and taxpayers to invest in the only system tailored to veterans that is already proven to be better and has already made vast improvements.

Today veterans can walk into any VA hospital and receive seamless access to the integrated primary medical, behavioral, and specialty care provided by a system that specializes in their care. This care also includes support systems offered at the VA through financial, educational, housing, and employment support. Destroying this system in favor of fragmented, for-profit private providers creates dangerous gaps in treatment and missed opportunities to heal veterans suffering from many complex, interrelated conditions and problems.

Veterans have overwhelmingly said they want to get their healthcare at the VA. It is the only system equipped to offer the veteran-centric healing they earned through their sacrifice. That's why large and well-respected veterans service organizations like the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans oppose further privatization of the system. We urge President Obama to reject the recommendations in this horrendously anti-veteran document."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including 230,000 employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org


HAZLET, N.J., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comrise Inc., an international staffing and consulting company, is pleased to announce today that it has signed an agreement with RightFit Data Intelligence, Inc. to become the exclusive staffing industry user of RightFit's cutting edge resume database visualization and search product RightView. The deal also includes industry exclusive use of RightFit's JobView career portal visualization technology.

"Comrise has a long history of technical innovation in the staffing industry," said Shelly Carolan, President of Comrise USA. "Our partnership with RightFit continues this tradition by providing our team with the tools needed to find the hidden talent our competitors can't."

Robert Bigini, VP of Product at RightFit Data Intelligence stated, "We look forward to a great partnership with Comrise. Exclusive access to our industry leading search visualization products will give them a tremendous advantage in a competitive sector."

RightView utilizes advanced clustering algorithms to generate a visualization of common terms appearing in search results. Its super-simplified search interface allows recruiters to more efficiently mine their candidate pools and gain valuable insights. JobView applies this technology to career portals, making it easier for job seekers to find and apply for relevant positions.

About Comrise:

Comrise is the bridge to first-rate talent for organizations that recognize the value of human capital. With locations in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong, we help our clients reach far and wide for both local and international resources which yield the highest returns on their investments. Headquartered in New Jersey since 1984, Comrise has been delighting our clients by focusing on customer satisfaction, innovation and cost-effective staffing and human capital management solutions.

About RightFit Data Intelligence:

RightFit's mission is to utilize big data and statistical methodology to radically improve the hiring process at all stages. Our team of data scientists, engineers, and staffing experts have developed products which empower hiring professionals to more effectively search and analyze their resume pools. Our visualization technology and vastly simplified user interface helps both the job seeker and recruiter cut through the bloat to find each other. RightFit's products are bringing hiring success to companies both large and small.

SOURCE Comrise, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.comrise.com


TEL AVIV, Israel, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

CoolaData, the pioneer in behavioral analytics, bringing a new approach to business intelligence, today announced that it has raised a total of $5.6M from Salesforce Ventures, TEEC Angel Fund and the existing investors in CoolaData's Series A, 83North and Carmel Ventures.

The funding will be used to accelerate CoolaData's worldwide growth and extend its reach into IoT and enterprise applications.

CoolaData is a cloud-based behavioral analytics platform offering companies a deep understanding of user behavior across all channels, and providing quick answers to complex business questions. As proven by dozens of CoolaData customers, its time-series analysis of user behavior enables product, marketing and business teams to discover vital information such as user acquisition, churn prediction, retention drivers and customer life-time value optimization, making companies more successful.

CoolaData's behavioral analytics complements Salesforce Wave Analytics, which empowers any business user-from sales reps to service agents to marketing managers-to get smarter about their customers with real-time, actionable insights on any device. This is particularly relevant given the increasing importance of providing more granular and personalized analytics in real-time on big data sets.

"This new funding will fuel CoolaData's growth, and our ability to reach online businesses, providing deep understanding of user behavior," says Tomer Benmoshe, CEO of CoolaData. "Our goal is to enable the product and marketing teams of our customers to obtain instant answers on a vast amount of behavioral data."

About CoolaData

Serving customers in Europe and the US from offices in Tel Aviv, London and New York, CoolaData is a pioneer in Behavioral Analytics solutions for online businesses. Its cloud-based behavioral analytics solution includes all infrastructure components for data tracking, warehousing, ETL and data enrichment through to advanced visualization. The platform empowers data-driven businesses to understand and quantify user behaviors and derive actionable insights for business growth. Visit http://www.cooladata.com to learn more.

About 83North

83North, formerly Greylock IL, is a global venture capital firm with more than $550 million under management. The fund invests in exceptional European and Israeli entrepreneurs, across all stages of consumer and enterprise companies. For more information, visit http://www.83north.com.

About Carmel Ventures

With over $800 million currently under management, several successful exits, and a growing portfolio of promising technology focused companies, Carmel Ventures is among Israel's top-tier venture capital funds. Carmel Ventures is a member of the Viola Group, Israel's premier technology-focused PE group with over $2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit http://www.carmelventures.com.

About Salesforce Ventures

Salesforce Ventures-Salesforce's corporate investment group-invests in the next generation of enterprise technology to help companies connect with their customers in entirely new ways. Portfolio companies receive funding as well as access to the world's largest cloud ecosystem and the guidance of Salesforce's innovators and executives. With Salesforce Ventures, portfolio companies can also leverage Salesforce's expertise in corporate philanthropy by joining Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce has invested in more than 150 enterprise cloud startups since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.salesforce.com/ventures.

About TEEC-Angel Fund

TEEC-Angel Fund stands at the forefront of connecting the U.S. and China. TEEC is a Silicon Valley-based super angel fund led by a team of veteran entrepreneurs and executives with deep investment experience. Within the TEEC ecosystem of a hundred portfolio CEOs, Tsinghua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC) networks, elite accelerators, and top-notch universities, TEEC-Angel Fund supports tomorrow's star companies. For more information, visit http://www.teec-angel.com .

Contact:

Shirley Frid

Director of Marketing, CoolaData

[email protected]

M +972-54-7930633



SOURCE CoolaData
EDINA, Minn., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Creating IT Futures Foundation, the philanthropic arm of information technology (IT) industry association CompTIA, is launching a new free training class to provide career and project management skills for today's tech workers and tech college graduates in the Twin Cities. Project Essentials is part of the Foundation's new CertNext training series for certified IT professionals and will be held at the Foundation's offices in Edina.

Students in the eight-week Project Essentials course will learn how to coordinate IT projects to better harness resources for business success. This classroom-based course will combine curriculum on soft skills, project management and business analysis tailored for the entry-level, certified IT pro. Through real-life scenarios, students will learn communication, collaboration, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, as well as good workplace and career habits. Graduating students will be able to lead IT projects with confidence and complete projects on time and within budget. At the end of the course, they'll sit for the CompTIA Project+ exam.

Graduates will be introduced to local employers during the training. Creating IT Futures works with more than 60 businesses in the Twin Cities to match graduates of its training programs with hiring employers.

"We've seen great success in our IT-Ready program which teaches students without any IT skills the basic tech skills they need for job success. Now we're offering a more advanced course for IT professionals that have the tech skills but would like to enhance their skill set and move forward in their careers," said Sue Wallace, executive director, Minnesota, Creating IT Futures Foundation.

For the course, students must:

Live near the Twin Cities

Be at least 18 years old,

Be a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant,

Be a high school graduate or have a GED,

Have access to a computer with Internet connection, and

Have achieved an associate or bachelor's degree in computer science or information technology or have earned at least one IT certification (a CompTIA certification is preferred but not required) or be enrolled in an IT training class.

The Project Essentials class runs August 1 through September 23. The training is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. Applications for Project Essentials are due by July 18. Those interested may apply at http://www.creatingitfutures.org/developing-programs/certnext/project-essentials.

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SOURCE Creating IT Futures Foundation
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) launched its Broward County Community Outreach Initiative to raise awareness and provide resources and information about stomach cancer to healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers and families. This initiative is generously sponsored by the Salah Foundation, a private foundation offering grants by invitation only, which supports non-profit organizations in the United States to strengthen families and communities and advances individuals to become productive and responsible citizens. There is a special interest in education, medical research, community development, and self-sufficiency programs aimed at the economically disadvantaged, the young, the elderly and the disabled.

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The DDF Broward County Community Outreach Initiative will lead the way to build collaborative community relationships. DDF will work with community hospital systems, oncologists, physicians, and others through face-to-face meetings and webinars to educate healthcare providers about DDF's free programs and services. Additionally, DDF will work with healthcare systems to directly communicate with patients following their diagnosis and during treatment. Debbie's Dream Foundation currently serves patients and their families through its Patient Resource Education Program (PREP). The services include a comprehensive collection of information about issues relevant to stomach cancer patients including recorded lectures and webinars, live webinars and symposia, an online support community, blog, and a peer-to-peer mentoring program. This Initiative will assist in bringing much-needed education and support systems to the local Broward County community.

Stomach cancer is estimated to be the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death. Eighty percent of stomach cancer patients are diagnosed at stage IV, and those who are diagnosed with stage IV only have a four percent chance of being alive in five years. Stomach cancer affects a disproportionate number of minorities including African-Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic populations. Reported data indicate the increased annual incidence rate of stomach cancer in Broward County compared to other Florida counties. Based on data reported between 2008 and 2012, it is estimated that between 125 and 432 individuals in Broward County are diagnosed with stomach cancer each year.

"As the President and Founder of an organization providing services to an international audience, I am thrilled to be launching a local initiative to help serve our local Broward County community where we are headquartered," said Debbie Zelman. "Our innovative program will lead the way to providing more resources and support, resulting in a more patient-centered, humanistic, and collaborative approach to the treatment of stomach cancer," Zelman continued.

To learn more about the Broward County Community Outreach Initiative, schedule an appointment for your office or institution, or register to receive information and services please contact Dr. Mary-Margaret Killmeyer by email at [email protected] or by phone at 954-475-1200.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about stomach cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. Debbie's Dream Foundation seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable stomach cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Zelman immediately began to educate herself about this disease and to seek the best available care. When she responded favorably to her treatment, Debbie founded DDF which now has chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany and a Medical Advisory Board of renowned doctors from across the country and internationally. Eight years later, Debbie is still receiving chemotherapy and is thrilled to be able to watch her three children grow up. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org.

Media Contact:

Adriana Bates

Communications Coordinator

Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

(954) 475-1200

Email

SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation

Related Links

http://www.debbiesdream.org


NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE: DHX) ("DHI" or the "Company"), a leading provider of data, insights and employment connections through our specialized services for professional communities including technology and security clearance, financial services, energy, healthcare and hospitality, today announced Jennifer Deason, Executive Vice President at Bain Capital, has been appointed to the Company's board of directors.

"Jen brings a unique combination of financial acumen and strategic thinking to our already well-rounded board of directors," said Michael Durney, President and CEO of DHI Group, Inc. "Her passion for digital media and consumer-oriented internet companies will mesh well with the other board members and we look forward to her collaboration as we work to build our company."

Jennifer Deason has over two decades of experience in corporate leadership. Most recently in her role as executive vice president at Bain Capital, Ms. Deason has partnered with CEOs and other senior level executives to improve company performance and drive transformations through strategic initiatives and performance management. While at Bain, Ms. Deason served in several interim operating roles such as President, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer and was a Board member of several portfolio companies. Most recently, Ms. Deason served as Interim Chief Financial Officer at the Weather Channel, where she worked to reposition the organization from a more traditional TV media company towards a data-focused, mobile-first advertising platform, prior to the recent sale of the digital and B2B businesses to IBM.

"I have been fortunate to serve in leadership roles in a number of different organizations at Bain Capital and beforehand. I am excited to utilize these experiences to help DHI, an industry leader in the marketplace for talent," said Jennifer Deason, Executive Vice President at Bain Capital.

Prior to joining Bain Capital, Ms. Deason was a consultant at McKinsey & Company where she focused on strategy, marketing, organization and corporate finance engagements for predominantly media, consumer and private equity clients. She also previously served as Director of Marketing and Corporate Development for eBay and has held investment and finance roles at the International Finance Corporation and Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, Inc.

Ms. Deason holds a MBA from Stanford University and a B.A. from Yale University, and is closely involved in both schools. She is also on the Board of Trustees at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

The appointment comes as part of an agreement reached with Barington Capital Group, L.P. ("Barington") in February 2016, in which DHI and Barington agreed to choose a mutually acceptable new Board member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of long-time Board member Peter Ezersky.

With this addition, the board of directors for DHI Group will expand to ten members, eight of whom are independent.

Investor Contact

Courtney Chamberlain

Public Relations/Investor Relations Associate

DHI Group, Inc.

212-448-4181

[email protected]

Media Contact

Rachel Ceccarelli

Director, Corporate Communications

DHI Group, Inc.

212-448-8288

[email protected]

About DHI Group, Inc.

DHI Group, Inc. (NYSE: DHX) is a leading provider of data, insights and connections through our specialized services for professional communities including technology and security clearance, financial services, energy, healthcare and hospitality. Our mission is to empower professionals and organizations to compete and win through expert insights and relevant employment connections. Employers and recruiters use our websites and services to source and hire the most qualified professionals in select and highly-skilled occupations, while professionals use our websites and services to find the best employment opportunities in and the most timely news and information about their respective areas of expertise. For over 25 years, we have built our company on providing employers and recruiters with efficient access to high-quality, unique professional communities, and offering the professionals in those communities access to highly-relevant career opportunities, news, tools and information. Today, we serve multiple markets located throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

About Barington Capital Group, L.P.

Barington Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm that, through its affiliates, manages a value-oriented, activist investment fund that was established by James A. Mitarotonda in January 2000. Barington and its principals are experienced value-added investors who have taken active roles in assisting companies in creating or improving long-term shareholder value.

SOURCE DHI Group, Inc.
BETHESDA, Md., July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DiamondRock Hospitality Company (the "Company") (NYSE: DRH) will report financial results for the second quarter 2016 on Friday, August 5th, 2016 before the market opens. A conference call for investors and other interested parties is scheduled for the same day at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The information to be discussed on the call will be contained in the Company's earnings release, which will be available in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.drhc.com.

The conference call will be accessible by telephone and through the Internet. Interested individuals are invited to listen to the call by telephone at 888-310-1786. International callers may dial 330-863-3357. The conference ID is 44940565. To participate on the webcast, log on to www.drhc.com 15 minutes before the call to download the necessary software.

For those unable to listen to the call live, a taped rebroadcast will be available two hours after completion of the live call through August 12th, 2016. To access the rebroadcast, dial 855-859-2056, or internationally at 404-537-3406, and use conference ID 44940565. A replay of the call will also be available on the Internet at www.drhc.com for one week.

About the Company

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in top gateway markets and destination resort locations. The Company owns 28 premium quality hotels with approximately 10,400 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its hotels to generally be operated under leading global brands such as Hilton, Marriott, and Westin, as well as boutique brands in the lifestyle segment. For further information on the Company and its portfolio, please visit DiamondRock Hospitality Company's website at www.drhc.com.

SOURCE DiamondRock Hospitality Company

Related Links

http://www.drhc.com


DENVER, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- While most people would expect to see an increase in the sales of fireworks, ice cream, and gas grills the Fourth of July holiday, most cannabis retailers saw a rise in sales of marijuana products on one of the biggest "cannabis holidays" of the year. Independence Day rivaled 4/20 sales (April 17-20 sales) for the cannabis industry's highest grossing sales holiday. July 4, and the 3 days leading up to July 4, saw $80.4M in cannabis retail sales, a 25% percent increase over June 2016 daily sales averages. The Fourth of July is widely known for cannabis consumption; however, it also drives cannabis tourism. Retailers often see a spike in store visits, purchases, and most importantly, sales.

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MJ Freeway's retail sales data figures are compiled through analysis of 40% of the cannabis retail market. "With the largest data set in the marijuana industry, we are able to understand the cycle of this fairly new market and help our clients know when and how to prepare for their busiest days," said Jessica Billingsley, MJ Freeway's COO. "By having a comprehensive view of our clients' businesses, from sales trends, to product security, and even employee scheduling, we can assist them in choosing the best, most profitable options for their patients and consumers."

July 4th by the numbers

With July 4, 2016 falling on a Monday, the extended 3-day "weekend" drove a sharp spike in sales starting on July 1 with sales rising by more than 25% and total sales between July 1  July 4 topping $80,419,000 .

with sales rising by more than 25% and total sales between  topping . The highest sales day was July 1 at $29.2M in sales. July 1 benefited from being the Friday start of the extended holiday weekend with Fridays being the highest weekly sales day for cannabis businesses on an average week.

at in sales. benefited from being the Friday start of the extended holiday weekend with Fridays being the highest weekly sales day for cannabis businesses on an average week. The cannabis regulated market has grown with states legalizing both medical and adult use in the last 12 months. A portion of this year's overall July 4 holiday sales increases can be attributed to market expansion, but same-store sales in states with few regulatory changes are also up showing organic growth is contributing to overall industry growth. July 1-4, 2016 same-store cannabis retail sales in CA, CO, VT and WA (states with few implemented regulatory changes over the last 12 months) increased by 22% over July 1-4, 2015 . State laws did not expand who can consume cannabis in these states, yet overall customer traffic was up by 25%.

holiday sales increases can be attributed to market expansion, but same-store sales in states with few regulatory changes are also up showing organic growth is contributing to overall industry growth. same-store cannabis retail sales in CA, CO, VT and WA (states with few implemented regulatory changes over the last 12 months) increased by 22% over . State laws did not expand who can consume cannabis in these states, yet overall customer traffic was up by 25%. The state with the total highest dollar sales for July 1-4, 2016 was California with $43.5M . Colorado came in second with $20.5M .

Key Takeaways for Cannabis Operators

Stores that stay open later and all days of the week (including the holiday) benefit more than those that do not. Shoppers ramped up their holiday purchases up to five days in advance of the holiday.

On July 4 th 2017, be prepared for customer traffic to increase by another 25% or more.

2017, be prepared for customer traffic to increase by another 25% or more. If a cannabis retailer's customer traffic or sales did not increase July 1-4, 2016 versus July 1-4, 2015 , then retailers should assess their overall patient and/or customer traffic and average basket ring data to identify where they have gaps to the market and how to close.

versus , then retailers should assess their overall patient and/or customer traffic and average basket ring data to identify where they have gaps to the market and how to close. Cannabis sales spike around April 20 th, July 4 th, and New Year's Eve . Stores that can accommodate special preparations for those days will benefit the most.

"Sales increases during cannabis holidays like April 20th and July 4th speak to a growing trend in the ubiquity of the cannabis market in the US," says Jeannette Ward, MJ Freeway's Data & Marketing Director. "The benefit to states through tax revenues and increased foot traffic in hotels and local businesses only helps to make local and state economies more vibrant and prosperous."

MJ Freeway Consulting Services

For more information on state-specific retail sales data or for help spotting trends and opportunities using cannabis sales data, please contact MJ Freeway Consulting Services at [email protected] or 888-932-6537 ext 2.

Join MJ Freeway for an important webinar where our experts will discuss setting the foundation for a successful cannabis operation. Learn next steps to consider such as marketing strategies, zoning requirements, employee hiring and development, inspection readiness and more. July 14, 12pm MT, register: bit.ly/29enutG

About MJ Freeway: MJ Freeway is the industry-leading software solution for cannabis businesses, with clients in 23 states the District of Columbia, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Founded in 2010 by a team of career software and IT professionals, the product suite is designed and built from the ground-up specifically for cannabis businesses. MJ Freeway's tracking software includes patent-pending inventory control and grow management applications to streamline workflow and increase efficiency. MJ Freeway's Leaf Data systems software solution enables governments to track cannabis plants from seed-to-sale and ensure patient, public and product safety. MJ Freeway also offers SuccessMap, a complete suite of professional services for cannabis businesses. For more information, call 888-932-6537 or visit mjfreeway.com.

Media Contact:

Jeannette Ward

888.932.6537 x754

Email

SOURCE MJ Freeway
TAMPA, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First Harvest Financial is proud to support Dr. Gregory Smith in the release and promotion of his new medical cannabis textbook. Medical Cannabis, Basic Science & Clinical Applications is one of the first science-based, peer-reviewed textbooks on medical cannabis written for medical professionals. Dr. Smith serves as a strategic advisor to First Harvest Financial as its Director of Medical Affairs.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387106

Dr. Smith, who has been practicing medicine for nearly 30 years, spent about half of his career working in California, where he studied medical cannabis. It was during this time that Dr. Smith realized there were very few, if any, reliable scientific print resources on prescribing medical cannabis. Dr. Smith was inspired to help other physicians and medical professionals develop a strong knowledge about medical cannabis, to better both their patients' lives and the practice of modern medicine.

Published by Aylesbury Press in February 2016, Medical Cannabis, Basic Science & Clinical Applications, answers questions about the different types of medical cannabis available, the differences between them, what conditions each type is best suited to treat, what the possible side effects are, and how best to prescribe medical cannabis. Dr. Smith also discusses the history of cannabis and how the human body processes the plant.

As a physician, Dr. Greg hopes that this textbook will serve as an educational guide for healthcare providers who have little if any, education regarding cannabis, its prescription, or its applications. He wrote his Medical Cannabis, Basic Science & Clinical Applications with primary care physicians, family practice physicians, internists, pain specialists, oncologists, geriatricians, medical students, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other medical professionals in mind.

One area of focus in the textbook is the prescription of safe dosages, monitoring cannabis medication, and how to deal with cannabis dependence and possible adverse affects. According to Dr. Smith, because so few physicians are familiar with medical cannabis and how to prescribe it to their patients, many worry that too high a dosage will put their patients in harm's way. He hopes that the information in his book will encourage healthcare providers to view medical cannabis as a legitimate, effective, and safe medication.

Aylesbury Press, the Boston-based publisher, who printed Medical Cannabis, Basic Science & Clinical Applications, had its reservations about publishing Dr. Smith's textbook, due to the stigma surrounding cannabis in the United States. For Dr. Smith, the stigma surrounding cannabis deters medical professionals from prescribing cannabis to their patients in many areas of the country. As the stigma is debunked among Americans, thanks to success stories, scientific research, and books like Dr. Smith's, more professionals and companies are becoming involved in and showing support for the medical cannabis industry.

First Harvest Financial is one of those companies. The experienced team of economic and business professionals built their company around the idea that visionary entrepreneurs and like-minded advocates can succeed together by bringing innovative medical cannabis therapies to market. Dr. Smith embodies the First Harvest vision, not just in his medical practice, but also in his mission to educate other healthcare professionals about the safest and most effective ways to prescribe medical cannabis.

Nearly every member of First Harvest Financial's leadership team has seen or experienced the powerful effects medical cannabis can have on someone suffering from a chronic illness, like epilepsy, PTSD, or cancer. So, Dr. Smith's work hits home for the company who works to help motivated professionals enter the growing medical cannabis industry in the United States. Not only does First Harvest Financial believe that medical cannabis can improve patients' quality of life, but also can help them live more economically efficient lives, as cannabis renders several expensive over-the-counter drugs obsolete for these patients.

At the heart of Dr. Smith and First Harvest Financial's mission to create greater knowledge about and accessibility to medical cannabis, is compassion. These educated and highly experienced professionals want to help suffering patients in both the medical and economic aspects of their lives, and Dr. Smith's textbookMedical Cannabis, Basic Science & Clinical Applicationshas the power to change the medical cannabis space for the better.

About First Harvest Financial:

First Harvest Financial, Inc. works directly with those professionals looking to strategically enter and capitalize on growing and creating cannabis-based solutions in today's marketplace. The firm manages a private equity fund investing in legal, cannabis-related companies, primarily medical cannabis-based solutions. First Harvest Financial provides accredited investors a diversified portfolio approach to investing in ancillary businesses related to the cannabis sector. For more information, please visit: http://www.firstharvestfinancial.com/

About Dr. Gregory Smith MD, MPH:

Dr. Gregory Smith, MD, MPH earned his medical degree from Rush Medical School in Chicago, and a Masters of Public Health from Harvard University. He completed residency training in Preventive Medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Since leaving the US Army with the rank of Major, Doctor Smith has been in primary care practice in California, Georgia and Florida for the past 25 years. He first trained on use of medical cannabis in California in 2000, and has made medical cannabis and CBD oil part of his practice since that time. Dr. Smith is an avid writer, having published two medical textbooks, a novel entitled, Malpractice, and articles with many magazines and over a dozen peer reviewed medical publications.

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SOURCE First Harvest Financial

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http://firstharvestfinancial.com


DRAPER, Utah, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) a maker of innovative sensors utilizing their patented Bend Sensor technology that creates a sensor that "thinks for itself" is pleased to provide key insight into the preliminary results of the second quarter and expectations for the balance of 2016.

"The Company is excited to announce that it has met its Q2 2016 revenue goals and anticipates transitioning into being cash flow positive during the second half of 2016 as revenues continue to accelerate. The revenues for Q2 are primarily from four sources including interactive gloves, automotive, medical devices and toys," stated Clark Mower, President.

The Company is currently receiving and delivering on purchase orders from multiple interactive glove manufacturers, and expects the size and frequency of the orders to increase during the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2016.

During the 2nd quarter the company completed a significant delivery into the automotive industry and the final phase is expected to be completed before year end. The Company remains confident that the revenue contribution from this relationship will increase dramatically during 2017, as the projects are implemented.

Through the Company's partner, Haemoband, the Company expects to complete the governmental certification process for the colonoscope. The Company continues to support Haemoband in this process and expects to achieve production and commercialization of the product in late 2016.

The Company continues to receive revenue from production orders in the toy industry and expects on going and increasing revenues as the product reaches full commercialization during 2016.

Mower continued, "We are excited that we reached our revenue goals for the quarter and have positioned the company to achieve positive cash flow and many of the key financial metrics that investors expect. As we continue to execute on our business model as we have for this quarter, I believe that revenues will exceed a million dollars for the year. We appreciate our investors' patience and are pleased to begin realizing the larger revenue streams that everyone has anticipated and expect increased sales in each of these industries. The four products mentioned represent only a small portion of the products that have been and are being developed by the Company. We also anticipate significant additional revenues from other products that are currently being developed. Just as we have announced the increase in revenue for this quarter, we expect revenues from these products to continue and increase. We also expect to see significant additional growth as new products become commercialized."

About Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc. (FLXT) is an innovative technology firm specializing in developing products that feature the Company's patented Bend Sensor and related technology. The Bend Sensor is a groundbreaking sensing solution that is revolutionizing applications in many industries. The Bend Sensor's single-layer, thin film construction cuts costs and weight. Flexpoints' technology and expertise is setting a new standard for sensing solutions in the "smart" age of technology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" and involve both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such uncertainties include, among others, certain risks associated with the operation of the company described above. The Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results.

Contact Information:

Flexpoint Sensor Systems

Clark Mower, President

801-568-5111

Brokers and Analysts

Chesapeake Group

410-825-3930

[email protected]

SOURCE Flexpoint Sensor Systems, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.flexpoint.com


GERMANTOWN, Md., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- World Chocolate Day on July 7 marks the anniversary of the creation of chocolate more than 400 years ago. This year, celebrate your health by honoring the source of the goodness the cocoa bean. While there are many myths and misconceptions about the health benefits of chocolate, the fact is the real good stuff is locked inside the cocoa bean.

Below are four facts about the cocoa bean that set the record straight about the real hero of Chocolate Day.

Cocoa Beans Contain the Real Good Stuff

Cocoa beans contain natural compounds called cocoa flavanols, a unique blend of plant-based nutrients unmatched by any other food on earth. These potent bioactives have been shown to support health by helping maintain the body's pool of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide works with your body's miles of blood vessels to help maintain the healthy flow of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to all parts of your body so you can be the best you inside and out.



Processing Cocoa Beans Can Destroy the Health Benefits

Fermenting, drying, and roasting cocoa beans is the traditional process used to make cocoa powder and chocolate. However, this conventional cocoa processing often destroys cocoa flavanols, doing away with the health benefits of these compounds. This is why gentle handling and processing of cocoa beans is critical to ensure preservation of the cocoa flavanols that support healthy blood flow.



Cocoa Beans Must Be Handled with Care

As a leader in cocoa research, the scientists at Mars, Incorporated developed and perfected the patented Cocoapro process, which gently preserves cocoa flavanols in their purest form, from the freshest-quality cocoa beans available. Cocoa extract is the key ingredient in CocoaVia cocoa extract supplement, which thanks to the Cocoapro process, has the highest concentration of cocoa flavanols available in a cocoa extract supplement today.



There is a Way to Enjoy All the Benefits of Chocolate Without the Guilt

CocoaVia daily cocoa extract supplement delivers 375 mg of cocoa flavanols per serving  a level that that promotes healthy blood flow from head-to-toe. To put this level of cocoa flavanols in perspective, it would take approximately four of the average dark chocolate bar (more than 700 calories) to get the same amount of cocoa flavanols found in one serving of a CocoaVia supplement. CocoaVia supplement comes in convenient capsules or in flavored powdered stick packs that can be added to a variety of delicious CocoaVia supplement recipes.

For more information about CocoaVia supplement, visit www.CocoaVia.com

This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About Mars, Incorporated

In 1911, Frank C. Mars made the first Mars candies in his Tacoma, Washington kitchen and established Mars' first roots as a confectionery company. In the 1920s, Forrest E. Mars, Sr. joined his father in business and together they launched the MILKY WAY bar. In 1932, Forrest, Sr. moved to the United Kingdom with a dream of building a business based on the objective of creating a "mutuality of benefits for all stakeholders"  this objective serves as the foundation of Mars, Incorporated today. Based in Mclean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $33 billion, six business segments, including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, Symbioscience, and more than 72,000 Associates worldwide that are putting its Principles into action to make a difference for people and the planet through its performance.

Mars Symbioscience brands: CocoaVia.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160126/326012LOGO

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.mars.com


WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration will visit St. Francisville and New Orleans, Louisiana on Friday, July 8th as part of her five-day Delta Region Main Street Road Tour which will take her to five states and 10 cities. Her final stop on the tour will be New Orleans.

While in St. Francisville, Contreras-Sweet will meet with Mayor Billy D'Aquilla and local officials at the Birdman Coffee Shop. She will then tour the city with the mayor and visit small businesses.

After her visit to St. Francisville, Contreras-Sweet will depart on the final leg of her five-day bus Main Street Road Tour, for New Orleans, to arrive that afternoon where she will meet with city officials to tour parts of the city and meet with small businesses.

WHAT: SBA Administrator visit to St. Francisville and New Orleans, Louisiana

WHEN: July 8, 2016 (9:15 a.m.  4 p.m.)

WHERE: St. Francisville, La.

9:15  9:30 a.m. (5695 Commerce St., St. Francisville, La.)

Meet with Mayor D'Aquilla and local officials at Birdman Coffee Shop.

9:30  10:30 a.m. (Starting point  Magnolia Cafe, 5689 Commerce St, St. Francisville, La.)

Walking tour and small business visits with Mayor D'Aquilla.

WHERE: New Orleans, La.

1:30  2:30 p.m. (High Hat Cafe - 4500 Freret St., New Orleans, La.)

Small Business Walking Tour of Freret Street with city officials.

3-4 p.m. (Roux Carre - 2000 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., New Orleans, La.)

Small Business Walking Tour of Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. with city officials.

MEDIA RSVP: Sophia Kim, [email protected], (202) 427-7841

Friday, July 8 by 8 a.m.

To learn more about the Main Street Road Tour visit -- https://www.sba.gov/mainstreet?hb

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and since January 13, 2012 has served as a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. www.sba.gov

Contact: Terry Sutherland, (202) 205-6919

Release Number: MA16-41

Internet Address: www.sba.gov/news

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Blogs



Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110909/DC65875LOGO

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

Related Links

http://www.sba.gov


LONDON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary

The Future of the US Defence Industry - Market Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2021, published by Strategic Defence Intelligence, provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defence industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.



Key Findings

- Over the historic period, the US defence expenditure registered a growth rate of -2.63%,decreasing from US$646billion in 2012 to US$580 billion in 2016



- The US military expenditure, valued at US$580billion in 2016, is expected to increase to US$599 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 0.71% over the forecast period



- The US military expenditure will be driven by the efforts to retain its military supremacy and initiatives to replace the aged and worn-out weapons that have been used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars



- The Defence Ministry is expected to procure, Networking, IT Software, Hardware, Multi-Role Aircraft MRO and Transport Aircraft MRO



Synopsis

This report offers detailed analysis of the US defence industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. This report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants. In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:



- The US defence industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the US defence industry during 2017-2021, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the country's expenditure and modernization patterns



- Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defence budget with respect to the army, navy, and air force. It also details the key challenges faced by defence market participants within the country



- Porter's Five Force analysis of the US defence industry: analysis of the market characteristics by determining the bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitution, intensity of rivalry, and barriers to entry



- Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the country's imports and exports over the last five years



- Market opportunities: details of the top five defence investment opportunities over the next10 years



- Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the US defence industry. It provides an overview of key players, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysis



Reasons To Buy

- This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the US defence industry market trends for the coming five years



- The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period



- Detailed profiles of the top domestic and foreign defence manufacturers with information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins, and financial analysis wherever available. This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector



- A deep qualitative analysis of the US defence industry covering sections including demand drivers, Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Key Trends and Growth Stimulators, and latest industry contracts

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/1105873/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com

For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


WASHINGTON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Lt. General (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, Executive Vice President of Family Research Council Action PAC, today defended Josh Hawley, a candidate for Missouri Attorney General, who has been the subject of false claims made by opponent Senator Kurt Schaefer.

Gen. Boykin released the following statement refuting Schaefer's claims:

"It is very disappointing to see Senator Kurt Schaefer question the patriotism of Josh Hawley, who I know to be a constitutional conservative who loves his country. As a former commander of the Army's Delta Force as well as the Green Berets, I have spent many years fighting to keep our country safe from our enemies and I know that these claims of Senator Schaefer are not true.



"First he falsely claimed that Josh represented a Muslim prisoner who wanted to grow a beard. That ad was declared false by former Missouri Senator John Danforth, and Springfield television station KY3.



"Now Schaefer is claiming that Josh represented terrorists because he argued that the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, known as the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, should not be listed as a terrorist organization.



"Hawley was joined in that effort by prominent Missourians, including Senator Roy Blunt, former Senators Kit Bond and John Ashcroft, Congressmen Lacy Clay and Cleaver, and countless national security and military leaders. I supported that effort, as did former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, former Ambassador John Bolton, Rudy Giuliani, Wesley Clark, and General Hugh Shelton who served as Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff.



"Are Roy Blunt, John Ashcroft, and Kit Bond terrorist sympathizers? Hardly. They joined with Hawley because the MEK was providing our nation with valuable support and intelligence in the global war against radical Islam and has always opposed the Iranian Mullahs and their repressive government. In other words, these are not just lies about Hawley, these are lies about an American ally and about patriotic leaders who stood with that ally in a time of war.



"I believe this misinformation by Kurt Schaefer is the kind of thing that the American people are tired of. They want leaders who will be up front with them and share the truth, not twist the facts.

"I am confident that the people of Missouri will recognize that Josh Hawley is a great American and a patriot and I hope that Kurt Schaefer will focus on the substantive issues facing our nation," Boykin concluded.

SOURCE Family Research Council Action
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers urges vehicle owners and lessees with defective Takata airbags to seek a remedy as soon as possible. South Carolina drivers can check their vehicles' Takata airbag recall status online via the NHTSA website using their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). If your vehicle is affected and a remedy has been made available, please do not delay in bringing your car into your dealership for a free repair.

As the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, the Takata airbag recall affects millions of drivers. Defective Takata airbag inflators are known to propel shrapnel through the air upon deployment, leading to serious injury or death. So far, ten people in the United States have died from these explosions, and more than 100 others have been injured. The recall may expand to include an additional 85 million vehicles if Takata cannot prove that the inflators in those vehicles are safe.

The recall affects fourteen different automakers, including BMW, Chrysler, Ferrari, Ford, GM, Honda, Jaguar/Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen. A complete listing of affected vehicles can be obtained from Consumer Reports. If you have not yet received notification of the recall and your vehicle is listed online, get in touch with your dealership to find out what to do next. If the defect affects the driver's side airbag, you may be eligible for a rental vehicle or loaner at no cost to you until a fix becomes available. If the defect affects the passenger side, you may be able to have the airbag turned off on that side and can avoid using that seat until a repair is made.

If you, a loved one, or someone you know has sustained an injury caused by a defective airbag, you may be entitled to substantial compensation. An attorney at George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers is prepared to review your case and inform you of your legal options. For more information on your rights as a car accident victim, please contact our firm at (888) 612-7001.

The South Carolina car accident attorneys at George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for those injured in preventable accidents. Serving the community for more than 35 years, George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers has been voted Best Law Firm by readers of The State newspaper in 2014 and 2015. To learn more about the types of cases the firm handles, please visit www.sinklaw.com.

SOURCE George Sink, P.A. Injury Lawyers

Related Links

https://www.sinklaw.com


SOUTHLAKE, Texas, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI) has petitioned the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to require floor covering manufacturers to label their products' traction in accordance with the 2014 ANSI/NFSI B101.5 product label.

NFSI President, Russ Kendzior, states that: "Slips and falls are one of the leading causes injuries, of which 55% are caused by unsafe floors. However, when it comes to buying a floor, most consumers are in the dark and assume all floors are safe only to find out that they are not once they are injured."

Tell me more about the proposed floor safety label ANSI B101.5 Product Safety Label

The CPSC received more than sixty public comments which many were in support. Deborah A.P. Hersman, President and CEO of the National Safety Council, states that: "Requiring flooring products to include slip resistance safety labeling that is clearly defined in line with the ANSI B101 standard will enable consumers to make better, safer choices." William C. Wallace from Consumers Union publisher of Consumer Reports Magazine states that: "We are pleased that the agency voted to approve publication of this notice and solicit comments on how to help consumers make safe decisions based on meaningful information when selecting flooring product."

However, there is fierce opposition from flooring manufacturers. Mohawk Industries, one of the nation's largest flooring manufacturers stated that: "Providing coefficient of friction (COF) information of product packaging misdirects the consumer and can lead to a false sense of safety. Our decades of experience in the floor covering industry indicates that wet and dry traction are generally self evident to consumers simply by walking on the product, or running a hand over it under the expected conditions (i.e.: wet and dry)."

NFSI research has shown that most floor coverings are evenly distributed along the three traction ranges, making it just as easy for the consumer to select a High-Traction floor as that of a Low-Traction floor. "Safety should not be a crap shoot for the consumer," says Kendzior. "Running your fingers across a floor's surface is not an accurate measurement of the product's safety as it will be walked on. The flooring industry is already testing their products' slip resistance and all we are asking is they make that information available to the consumer via an easy to understand product label."

Lobbyists for the flooring industry who oppose the labeling effort believe that "Safe floors are only insured by keeping floors clean and dry," says Eric Astrachan of the Tile Council of North America (TCNA), the trade association representing the ceramic tile industry. Chuck Muehlbauer from the Marble Institute of America (MIA) claims that the proposed label "will not increase safety only confusion."

Kendzior says that "this is like saying that by telling the consumer how many grams of fat or sugar there is via the food nutrition label would somehow confuse them. Regardless if it's food or floors, the consumer has a right to know how safe the products they purchase are. A bad choice could be a matter of life and death."

"I was surprised to learn of the industry's resistance to the product labeling initiative, given that both the TCNA and the MIA participated as members of the NFSI B101 committee, which authored and approved the ANSI B101.5 labeling standard. No one is suggesting that product labeling will prevent all slips and falls, but it's a good first step in creating awareness as to the risks associated with flooring," states Kendzior.

The CPSC staff is currently reviewing the petition and is expected to present their findings to the full commissioners this fall.

Media Contact:

Russell Kendzior

817-368-1909

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NShuNlOYnhw

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386660

SOURCE The National Floor Safety Institute
Ms. James, who is on a fixed income since retiring from nursing, could not afford the critical home repairs on her own. She heard about the SNAP and called the Vicksburg city planning department to find out how to apply. She worked with the city of Vicksburg to obtain the funding she needed for the repairs. In February 2016, she received a SNAP grant totaling $4,935.

According to Ms. James, the turnaround was quick.

"It took no time at all from the time I applied until the work was started," she said. "Now I don't have to worry about rain coming down. I can lay in bed and look at my ceiling and thank God it's not the way it was."

SNAP is a program offered by FHLB Dallas through participating member institutions such as RiverHills Bank to assist income-qualified, special-needs homeowners with necessary home repairs and modifications.

The grant provided Ms. James with a new roof, repaired the ceilings of two bedrooms, and restored the home's foundation, which had been damaged.

RiverHills Bank Senior Vice President David Blackledge acknowledges the important role SNAP grants play in the community.

"SNAP grants help us make this community better and stronger," Mr. Blackledge said. "As a community bank, our goal is to serve this community, and we need programs like SNAP to do that."

Since SNAP's inception in 2009, more than $10.6 million has been awarded in grants through FHLB Dallas member institutions to assist more than 2,000 families across FHLB Dallas' five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. In 2015, FHLB Dallas awarded nearly $1.5 million in SNAP grants that assisted 319 families. The 2016 SNAP funding, made available in January on a first-come, first-served basis, has been exhausted.

FHLB Dallas First Vice President and Director of Community Investment Greg Hettrick says the SNAP is a vital program not just for seniors and in-need residents, but for FHLB Dallas members, as well.

"In offering the SNAP through our member institutions, we are not only impacting the community in a positive way, but also assisting our members to provide top-notch service to their customers," said Mr. Hettrick.

About RiverHills Bank

RiverHills was established in 1890 and serves individuals and businesses through an office in Port Gibson, two offices in Vicksburg, and is opening a facility this month in Madison. The bank offers a variety of consumer and business financial products and has total assets of $300 million as of June 30, 2015. The bank is a CDFI (Certified Development Financial Institution).

About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $49.5 billion as of March 31, 2016, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 850 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. For more information, visit fhlb.com.

Contact:



Corporate Communications

Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

www.fhlb.com

(214) 441-8445

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387296

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150126/171462LOGO

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas

Related Links

http://www.fhlb.com


TSX: GPR

NYSE MKT: GPL

VANCOUVER, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - GREAT PANTHER SILVER LIMITED (TSX: GPR; NYSE MKT: GPL) ("Great Panther"; the "Company") is pleased to announce that due to increased demand, it has entered into an amended and restated underwriting agreement dated July 6, 2016 (the "Amended and Restated Underwriting Agreement") with Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, Rodman & Renshaw a unit of H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, as joint bookrunners, and Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. and Sprott Private Wealth LP, as co-managers (collectively, the "Underwriters") to increase the size of its previously announced bought deal offering of units (the "Units") to US$26 million. The Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 16,250,000 Units at a price of US$1.60 per Unit (the "Issue Price"). As previously announced, each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of Great Panther (a "Share") and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Share at the exercise price of US$2.25 per Share for a period of 18 months after the closing of the Offering.

Under the Amended and Restated Underwriting Agreement, the Company has granted to the Underwriters an over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option") exercisable, in whole or in part, in the sole discretion of the Underwriters to purchase up to an additional 2,437,500 Units at the Issue Price per Unit, for a period of up to 30 days after the closing of the Offering for additional aggregate proceeds to the Company of up to US$3.9 million. In the event the Over-Allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds to the Company will be US$29.9 million.

The Offering will be made by way of a prospectus supplement dated July 6, 2016 (the "Prospectus Supplement") to the Company's existing Canadian short form base shelf prospectus (the "Base Shelf Prospectus"), dated October 14, 2014, and U.S. registration statement on Form F-10 (the "Registration Statement") (File No. 333-199119), effective as of October 20, 2014. The Prospectus Supplement has been filed with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of Canada (other than Quebec) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The Canadian Prospectus Supplement (together with the related Base Shelf Prospectus) is available on the SEDAR website maintained by the Canadian Securities Administrators at www.sedar.com. The U.S. Prospectus Supplement (together with the related Registration Statement) is available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in the Registration Statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the Offering. Alternatively, the Company, any underwriter or any dealer participating in the Offering will arrange to send you the prospectus, as supplemented, if you request it by contacting Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, attention: Equity Capital Markets, 181 University Avenue, Suite 1500, Toronto, ON, M5H 3M7, email: [email protected], or H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, 430 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022, email: [email protected].

Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on July 12, 2016, subject to customary closing conditions. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering, together with the Company's current cash resources, to fund operating, development and exploration expenditures at its mining operations and projects, for possible future acquisitions and for general corporate and working capital purposes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor will there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority, nor has any such authority passed upon by the accuracy or adequacy of the Prospectus Supplement, the Base Shelf Prospectus, or the Registration Statement.

ABOUT GREAT PANTHER

Great Panther Silver Limited is a primary silver mining and exploration company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange trading under the symbol GPR, and on the NYSE MKT trading under the symbol GPL. Great Panther's current activities are focused on the mining of precious metals from its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico: the Guanajuato Mine Complex, which includes the San Ignacio Mine, and the Topia Mine in Durango.

Robert A. Archer

President & CEO

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (together, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, the expected completion of the Offering, the amount of proceeds and the use of proceeds from such sales, the Company's plans for production at its Guanajuato Mine Complex and Topia Mine in Mexico, exploring its other properties in Mexico, the overall economic potential of its properties, the availability of adequate financing, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to be materially different. Such factors include, among others, risks and uncertainties relating to potential political risks involving the Company's operations in a foreign jurisdiction, uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, uncertainty in mineral resource estimation, physical risks inherent in mining operations, currency fluctuations, fluctuations in the price of silver, gold and base metals, completion of economic evaluations, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, permitting risks, the inability or failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis, changes in the financial markets in general and in the market for the Company's securities in particular, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's most recently filed Annual Information Form and Material Change Reports filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators available at www.sedar.com and reports on Form 40-F and Form 6-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.

SOURCE Great Panther Silver Limited

Related Links

http://www.greatpanther.com


Historic Pennsylvania College Cuts Costs with Shift to Inexpensive Local Data Servers Thanks to Sesame Software's Relational Junction Replication and Integration Tools

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- For Grove City College, the cloud was proving to be increasingly costly, so school officials worked with Silicon Valley-based Sesame Software on an inexpensive database solution that not only kept sensitive student recruitment information secure, but also made it easily managed and accessible.

Like many organizations, the private liberal arts college located 50 miles north of Pittsburgh found the price for a cloud-based database kept rising as their data needs grew. "Cloud-based storage was getting expensive and I didn't want to keep going in and asking for more money," explains Alan Roberts, director of enterprise solutions for the school.

Roberts found the answer to those rising costs with Relational Junction. Using the SQL-based replication, integration, and reporting tools from Sesame Software, he moved the school's admission and recruitment information out of the cloud and onto local servers.

"It's been a huge benefit for the college," Roberts says. "Sesame Software and Relational Junction in many ways pays for itself by allowing us to pull that data from the cloud and store it locally in inexpensive disc space."

Relational Junction's replication and integration tools have not only worked seamlessly with the student information service software used by the school, but also provided Roberts with added piece of mind that all that confidential information is secure. "We don't have to worry about it being out in the cloud and wondering what's going on with it," Roberts says.

For a compelling look at how Relational Junction helped Grove City College cut their data storage costs, while also providing better data management, integration, and report generation, please visit www.sesamesoftware.com and download the case study at http://www.sesamesoftware.com/about-sesame-software/case-studies/grove_city_college/.

Call Sesame Software at 408-550-7999 to set up a demonstration of Relational Junction and see firsthand the savings that can found by not following the cloud-based herd.

About Sesame Software

Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, Sesame Software is an Enterprise Application Integration/Data Warehouse solutions company whose Relational Junction products offer superior solutions for data integration and data warehousing.

Media Contact:

Crystal Duarte

Sesame Software Marketing Director

TEL: 408-838-8972

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150210/174488LOGO

SOURCE Sesame Software, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sesamesoftware.com


ATLANTA, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- GT Software, the leader in revolutionizing data, processes, and transactions to optimize business information across all platforms, is pleased to announce that Clarence Waldrop, III has joined the organization as vice president of alliances and professional services. A seasoned sales leader who consistently drives revenue, enhances customer relations, and develops personnel, Waldrop will bring his unique skills and expertise to GT Software's growing team.

Waldrop brings over 20 years' experience in sales, business development, information technology, marketing, and strategic planning to GT Software's robust channel sales and alliance partner network. The organization's strategic partner network currently includes IBM, Red Hat, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Oracle, and Mainline, among others, which are relationships that Waldrop will continue to cultivate and strengthen.

Prior to joining the leadership team at GT Software, Waldrop spent 15 years at Candle and IBM in various sales leadership roles, including leading a team of IBM associates in North American z Software sales. His years of expertise in relation to IBM's services and solutions, will help GT Software continue to grow and strengthen the relationship with IBM in regards to the organization's z Systems solutions, the Ivory Suite.

Waldrop also worked with several other organizations in sales and channel roles, including Synechron, OpenSpan, and TIBCO Software. In addition, he has managed regional consulting groups, data center operations, large scale rollouts of software applications, created personnel training programs, and developed strategic marketing plans.

"A leader of Waldrop's caliber who brings expertise in channel sales, alliances, IT, and marketing, is an asset to any growth organization," said John Pratt, GT Software's President and CEO. "As CEO, it is my job to bring the best talent to GT Software, to support our staff as we continue to grow, and remain a provider of cutting edge solutions in the mainframe space."

"I look forward to joining the team at GT Software," stated Waldrop. "Our solutions are pioneers in mainframe modernization and application development, and I look forward to using my network and expertise to build relationships that bring these solutions to our partners and to customers worldwide."

About GT Software

Founded in 1982, GT Software's heritage of application modernization began with the mainframe and now continues through today's modern technologies. It has always been our mission to help our clients achieve success by extending the value of their IT investments through agile development into the future with an intuitive, robust integration layer that provide standards-based APIs, improved workflow and enhanced operational efficiency. More than 2,500 organizations across the globe trust GT Software's solutions to improve customer experiences, operational efficiency and innovation. For more information, visit www.gtsoftware.com.

GT Software and all other GT Software products and service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of GT Software. All other trademarks or registered trademarks belong to their respective companies.  2016, GT Software. All rights reserved.

Media Contact:

Brandi Kilgore

GT Software

404.303.3227

Email

SOURCE GT Software

Related Links

http://www.gtsoftware.com


NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The leader of the quality virgin hair extension pack, Her Imports, (http://www.herimports.com/), opened their Lagos, Nigeria store less than 30 days ago and has experienced a robust business boom that many others within the beauty industry would envy. The African retail location is the newest addition to the Her Imports chain. It has achieved an accelerated growth pattern with stores currently throughout the United States and in London. Consistently recognized worldwide, the online and in-store retailer's name has become synonymous with the finest quality virgin hair extensions. The Nigerian store launch has garnered major support from key African influencers including Nigerian blogger Linda Ikeji, popular regional media source Instablog9ja, social Instagram influencer '@Patorankingfire', as well as many others.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386898

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"African American women make up the largest percentage of our key demographic. They are who we cater to whenever we strategize on our brand direction, locations, and growth. It was a natural progression for us to continue our retail expansion strategy and take it into Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria," stated Patrick Terry, CEO of Her Imports Africa. Mr. Terry added, "African woman are known for their elegance, unique versatility and style. We are thrilled at our recent successes and attribute this success to the care that we take in sourcing our products."

Since their 2008 launch into the hair extensions scene, Her Imports has been consistently praised and used by a veritable Who's Who celebrity clientele list. They have been used by and received consistent accolades from celebrity hair stylists for Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Kerry Washington. Top celebrity makeup artist Tym Wallace and hairstylist Renny Vasquez recently teamed up with Her Imports to perform makeovers on Remy Ma and Cardi B for a Love & Hip Hop campaign commercial. The campaign flooded the Her Imports Instagram feed, bringing in over 50,000 new Instagram followers in less than 30 seconds. This came immediately after the company set phone lines aflame in early June with a female empowerment graduation contest promoted by both Angela Yee of radio station 105.1, and the hair and beauty transformation icon, Anthony Cuts. The gifting partnership was an immense success where ultimately, Her Imports gifted a whopping combined total of $40,000 in hair and install services to a total of 100 students. The winners were distributed across the United States in locations such as Maryland, Georgia and California. These students planned to attend Howard University and Spelman College, among others.

For more information on Her Imports or executive interviews surrounding the success of the Nigeria based location, please email [email protected] or call 1.877.841.7244.

About Her Imports

Her Imports has been the leading retailer for virgin, human hair extensions in the United States since 2008. Created to provide women with the highest quality and easily accessible hair extensions, Her Imports is an industry favorite for some of the most elite hair stylists. Stylists for Beyonce, Rihanna and Kerry Washington have all used and love the premium quality hair extensions. Visit www.herimports.com to learn more about the brand and their products.

Media Contact:

Monique Tatum

8778417244

SOURCE Her Imports

Related Links

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Hailed as China's most beautiful countryside in China, Huangling's signature spectacle shaiqiu is a symbol of the village's historic and cultural heritage. Throughout the year, villagers sun dry harvests and produce like hot chili peppers, pumpkin slices and chrysanthemum flowers in bamboo baskets on roofs across Huangling to preserve the foods.

"The folk tradition shaiqiu is a very local phenomenon originated when the villagers had to use the roofs and windowsills to dry basketfuls of produces in the sun, the layered view of the vibrant colors is a strong contrast to the Hui-style architecture, and we aim to present the well-preserved shaiqiu to more visitors from around the world through the annual festival," said Wu Xiangyang, CEO of Wuyuan Rural Culture Development Co., Ltd.

On July 9, the villagers in Huangling are taking the folk tradition to another level by arranging the vegetables and fruits creatively in different shapes and patterns. They will also be performing winnowing for visitors, which is an important step of the shaiqiu process. Renowned folk experts and scholars in China will be explaining the cultural meanings of shaiqiu to visitors in Huangling.

The day of the festival marks the 6th day of the 6th month on the Chinese lunar calendar, which is the traditional bathing and basking festival in China. Every family takes out clothes and shoes as well as chili peppers and vegetables to dry in the sun, because the humid weather of the rainy season at this time of the year can easily cause things to go moldy. In Huangling, the local residentsbring out kitchenware and old clothes to clean and dry under the sun as well.

A fashion show featuring traditional and folk costumes will be presented by the village girls on the 300-meter ancient Tianjie Street.

Huangling will also invite local artists to perform traditional Wuyuan folk songs including "Hometown" and "Song of Shaiqiu" to present an authentic countryside style concert.

In addition to inheriting the folk traditions and introducing shaiqiu to all visitors, the festival also marks the beginning of peak season of shaiqiu in Huangling.

About Huangling

Located in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi Province, China, Huangling attracts visitors from all over the world. The quaint and elegant village has preserved and maintained its ancient Hui-style architecture and offers an authentic Chinese countryside travel experience. Praised as the most beautiful countryside in China, the unique view of shaiqiu can only be found in Huangling, where baskets of colorful harvest bask in the sunshine.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386515

SOURCE Wuyuan Rural Culture Development Co., Ltd.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels (HHOW) and Hyundai dealers will award 18 hospitals with a $50,000 Hyundai Impact Grant for pediatric cancer research to help end childhood cancer. The Impact Grant supports the programmatic needs of pediatric oncology. The grant may also be used to support direct patient assistance programs, such as enrichment programs, play room/teen center equipment, family on-site support, educational initiatives, or other efforts to improve care and cure for kids fighting cancer.

In addition to the Impact Grant winner, Hope On Wheels will soon announce the winners of its Hyundai Scholar and Young Investigator Grants. This year alone, HHOW will award more than $13 million in new pediatric cancer grants. Since 1998, the program has funded $115 million in research to Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions nationwide. The program also creates awareness about the importance of the disease, which is the leading cause of death by disease in children in the United States (source).

The Impact Grant will be presented during handprint ceremonies that will take place at each awarded hospital between July  August. During the ceremony, HHOW will commemorate local-area children affected by cancer. The kids will be invited to place their handprints on a white 2016 Hyundai Tucson to commemorate their fight against the disease.

Attendees at the various ceremonies will include HHOW's two national youth ambassadors and pediatric cancer survivors, Hannah Adams and Ryan Darby, who will deliver a message of hope to children's cancer hospitals. Hannah was five years old when she was diagnosed with a Stage 3 Wilms tumor that enveloped her kidney. Since her recovery, she has pursued her love of dancing and singing to help uplift and encourage other children and families through their fight. Twelve-year-old Ryan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia six years ago, and since his recovery, he has shared his story and words of encouragement with children and families across the country. Watch Hannah and Ryan's story at www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org

"Our mission at Hyundai Hope On Wheels is clear: End Childhood Cancer," said Scott Stark, Chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "By funding transformational research through our Impact Grants and celebrating the lives of the brave young cancer fighters at our handprint ceremonies, we move closer to our dream of a day without cancer. This is a fight you can count on us to be in until no child ever has to hear the words: you have cancer."

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. Since it's inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $115 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

To learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org or follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, www.twitter.com/hopeonwheels, and www.youtube.com/hopeonwheels.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 830 dealerships nationwide.

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com and our blog at www.hyundailikesunday.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

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HOPKINTON, Mass., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

News Summary

Proxy advisory firm ISS recommends EMC shareholders vote "FOR" proposed EMC and Dell combination

EMC Special Meeting of Shareholders to be held on July 19, 2016

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an independent proxy advisory firm, has recommended that EMC shareholders vote "FOR" the proposal to approve the merger agreement among Denali Holding Inc., Dell Inc., Universal Acquisition Co., and EMC, and all other proposals described in EMC's proxy statement relating to the company's Special Meeting of Shareholders to be held on July 19, 2016.

ISS is the third independent proxy advisory firm to issue a recommendation to EMC shareholders to vote "FOR" the proposed merger. Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones also issued "FOR" recommendations.

Joe Tucci, Chairman and CEO of EMC commented:

"We are incredibly pleased with ISS' support for our proposed merger with Dell. The favorable recommendation from ISS, along with those from other leading proxy advisory firms, is another very strong indicator that the coming together of EMC and Dell is the best strategic option for all stakeholders."

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset  information  in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.

Important Legal Information

Disclosure Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking information about EMC Corporation and the proposed transaction that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) the failure to obtain the approval of EMC Corporation shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction; (ii) the failure to consummate or delay in consummating the proposed transaction for other reasons; (iii) the risk that a condition to closing of the proposed transaction may not be satisfied or that required financing for the proposed transaction may not be available or may be delayed; (iv) the risk that a regulatory approval that may be required for the proposed transaction is delayed, is not obtained, or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; (v) risk as to the trading price of Class V Common Stock to be issued by Denali Holding Inc. in the proposed transaction relative to the trading price of shares of VMware, Inc.'s common stock; (vi) the effect of the proposed transaction on VMware's business and operating results and impact on the trading price of shares of Class V Common Stock of Denali Holding Inc. and shares of VMware common stock; (vii) the diversion of management time on transaction-related issues; (viii) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ix) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (x) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (xi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (xii) component and product quality and availability; (xiii) fluctuations in VMware's operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware common stock; (xiv) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (xv) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xvi) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xvii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xviii) threats and other disruptions to our secure data centers or networks; (xix) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (xx) war or acts of terrorism; and (xxi) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC Corporation's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Except to the extent otherwise required by federal securities law, EMC Corporation disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this communication.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

This communication is being made in respect of the proposed business combination transaction between EMC Corporation and Denali Holding Inc. The proposed transaction will be submitted to the shareholders of EMC Corporation for their consideration. In connection with the issuance of Class V Common Stock of Denali Holding Inc. in the proposed transaction, Denali Holding Inc. has filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-208524) that includes a proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction. The registration statement has been declared effective by the SEC, and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus was mailed on or about June 10, 2016, to each EMC Corporation shareholder entitled to vote at the special meeting in connection with the proposed transaction. INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE TRANSACTION FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY, BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. Investors may obtain copies of the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and all other documents filed with the SEC regarding the proposed transaction, free of charge, at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). Investors may also obtain these documents, free of charge, from EMC Corporation's website (http://www.EMC.com) under the link "Investor Relations" and then under the tab "Financials" then "SEC Filings", or by directing a request to: EMC Corporation, 176 South Street, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, 01748, Attn: Investor Relations, 866-362-6973.

Participants in the Solicitation

EMC Corporation and certain of its directors, executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed to be "participants" in the solicitation of proxies from EMC Corporation shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may, under the rules of the SEC, be deemed participants in the solicitation of EMC Corporation shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interest, by security holdings or otherwise, is set forth in the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. You can find information about EMC Corporation's executive officers and directors in its definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on April 1, 2016 and in its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 25, 2016, and the amendment thereto on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on March 11, 2016. You can obtain free copies of these documents at the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). You can also obtain free copies of these documents from EMC Corporation using the contact information above.

SOURCE EMC Corporation

Related Links

http://www.emc.com


Reitz has 10 years of experience as a B2B marketing generalist working with organizations of all sizes, ranging from SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. He was also a member of the Marine Infantry and has experience as a semi-professional photographer.

It is with this powerful and diverse background that Reitz will bring a unique capacity to Fathom as he works out of its Chicago office.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Fathom at such an interesting crossroads between marketing technology and the sheer amount of opportunity to do a lot of good in the marketing industry," said Reitz. "I love that Fathom loves to win, and I look forward to contributing to that success in the days ahead!"

As a Nurture Marketing Strategist, Reitz will be responsible for driving client digital marketing strategies, tying client strategies to business goals, facilitating implementation of strategies, and acting as a Marketo Champion within Fathom.

Fathom, the 2016 Marketo Revvie Award Winner for Digital Services Partner of the Year, is proud to be working with a dedicated Marketo advocate.

About Fathom:

Fathom is a full-service digital marketing agency for transformation minded marketers looking to punch above their weight. With experience in connecting business strategy and strategic marketing solutions, Fathom helps modern marketers to navigate change, calibrate increasingly integrated sales and marketing departments, and restructure to better support their businesses. Fathom is headquartered in Cleveland with offices in Columbus and Chicago. Read more about Fathom here: http://fathomdelivers.com/

Contact:

Jon Pogact

Director of Marketing

[email protected]

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SOURCE Fathom

Related Links

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SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Miguel Aranda, et al. v. Terrace View Partners, L.P.

San Diego Superior Court Case No. 37-2013-00057526

Today, a San Diego civil jury awarded 10 households of the Terrace View Mobile Home Park $58,389,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against the Park owners, Tom Tatum & Jeff Kaplan. The case involved charging unreasonable rents and other illegal practices causing residents to lose their homes.

At the time of trial, 100 of the 200 spaces at the Terrace View Mobile Home Park were empty or abandoned due to the park owners' practices.

This is the first phase of 49 homes that are part of the lawsuit.

The case was tried by James Allen and Jessica Taylor of San Diego based firm Allen, Semelsberger & Kaelin. For more information about this case, contact Allen, Semelsberger & Kaelin. Visit their website here: www.asklawgroup.com.

SOURCE Allen, Semelsberger & Kaelin

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NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new Kalorama Information report, The United States is the largest healthcare market in the world and also the world's largest in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market at $25.1 billion or 40-45% of the global IVD market. The healthcare market research firm said that projected growth for the U.S. IVD market  3.2% on average annually through 2020  does not match the growth of developing and emerging markets abroad in Asia and Latin America, but is projected to outpace other IVD markets in the developed world such as Western Europe and Japan. The finding was made in Kalorama's report United States IVD Market.

"It's not the fastest-growing market, but you might say it is nimble for its size," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "Growth in core lab test markets (hematology, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, non-infectious immunoassays) was boosted in recent years by increased routine testing."

Kalorama's report said that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increased the ranks of the U.S. insured population and reduced out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for preventive health services including routine lab testing. Moving forward, the U.S. IVD market can expect moderate growth through the following market factors and trends: continued expansion of the insured population under the ACA and increased healthcare utilization baselines; demographic aging that increases demand for clinical testing paid for through the country's leading vehicle for lab payments (Medicare); relatively optimistic macroeconomic indicators vis-a-vis the domestic outlook five years ago or other developed markets in the world; and continued product innovation and industry responsiveness to clients' needs in the world's largest IVD market.

The report notes that with health insurance enrollment required and enforced under the ACA beginning in 2014, the number of U.S. insured individuals jumped in 2013 and again in 2014 with significant enrollment in individual plans and Medicaid (accompanied by losses in group plan enrollment). Healthcare utilization among U.S. insured jumped in 2014 as measured by average physician encounters per 1,000 persons in NAIC data (Table 1-1). Growth in overall healthcare utilization also jumped in 2014 according to Altarum analysis (from roughly 1.5% in 2013 to over 3% in 2014); preliminary results from the same dataset indicate that healthcare utilization growth rose to roughly 5% in the first three quarters of 2015. The positive effect of coverage expansion on healthcare utilization is expected to subside in 2016 as additional growth of the U.S. insured population will be increasingly marginal.

"Structural growth factors for the IVD market resultant of the ACA have already in part played out through higher reagent demand and labs' anticipatory investment in routine testing capacity," said Kalorama's IVD analyst Emil Salazar, in the most recent report. "Testing volume growth should also trend slightly higher in the coming years with expanded coverage and access to routine care."

Kalorama Information's United States IVD Market contains market estimates and forecasts for 13 segments of in vitro diagnostics, trend tracking and corporate profiles. The report can be found at: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/United-States-Vitro-10133262/.

About Kalorama Information

Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased through Kalorama's website and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog at www.kaloramainformation.com.

Contact:

Bruce Carlson

(212) 807-2622

[email protected]

www.KaloramaInformation.com

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SOURCE Kalorama Information

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DUBLIN, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- When it comes to lead generation and performance marketing specialists in the United States, Astoria Company has certainly won its share of acclaim. Responsible for a proprietary lead exchange platform that processes over 50 million leads per month across multiple verticals in the US, the company recently made the exciting announcement that they will be expanding their operations and their platform's reach into UK and greater Europe. The early response to the news that Astoria Company, a 2015 Inc 500 lead generation company, will be bringing their expertize to European clients has been very enthusiastic.

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"We've built our platform on an award-winning network, and the system utilizes bare metal servers, virtual servers, and some cloud-based infrastructure to achieve speed, reliability and fault tolerance," commented CTO of Astoria Company Anthony Peck. "When European and British clients see the things that set us apart from much of the competition, like our platform using a combination of automated lead scoring which leverages both internal data and third party solutions to provide enhanced verification, we're predicting that many win/win business relationships will be established."

According to Astoria Company, their team has proven themselves quite capable of working effectively and attracting quality new customers for clients in an extremely long list of business verticals. Some highlights where the lead generation platform is currently operative producing consistently remarkable results include verticals like Auto Insurance, Home Insurance, Renters Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Home Improvement, Solar, Payday Cash Advances, Title Loans, Installment Loans, Mortgage/Refinance, Auto Finance, to name just a few. New verticals are added to the list very frequently as the company continues to expand its reach and influence, along with its ability to generate very high quality leads.

Scott Thompson, CEO of Astoria Company, remarked, "Our extensive list of verticals and proprietary lead exchange platform allows us to be a key player in the lead generation market, by giving us both breadth and depth of scope. Of course, this is a positive quality we are bringing with us as our company and platform expands into the UK and Europe. There's a very long list of spaces where Astoria Company can deliver real value and help businesses and brands grow in a way that makes a real difference."

Astoria Company also has a pay per call performance marketing program that has been praised by both publishers and advertisers for its effectiveness and ROI achieved on the American end of their operation. It's expected that the UK and Europe network will offer a similar service.

To learn more about Astoria Company, visit their informative website at www.astoriacompany.com.

About Astoria Company

Astoria Company is a performance based marketing company with expertise in pay per call, search engine optimization, pay per click, e-mail, display, call centers, social media, and offline advertising. They are a 2015 Inc 500 honoree, ranking #119 overall, and #19 of the Top Advertising & Marketing companies. For more information, please visit www.astoriacompany.com.

SOURCE Astoria Company

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NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Legal & Professional, a leading provider of content and technology solutions, will partner closely with media to support coverage of the RNC and DNC conventions. The company was invited to serve as the official research provider at the Republican National Convention, July 18-21 in Cleveland. LexisNexis will offer extensive support to approximately 15,000 credentialed media attending the GOP convention including research assistance and access to the largest and most comprehensive news and public records database in the world.

"In today's fast-paced, 24/7 news cycle, transparency and credibility are more critical than ever. We want to make it easy for the media to quickly and thoroughly vet and confirm the talking points that will be so important to this historical election," explained Tom Ogburn, Managing Director of Business Insight Solutions at LexisNexis. Ogburn oversees the LexisNexis flagship research platform, Nexis, and the company's media monitoring and analytics platform, LexisNexis Newsdesk. He noted the company has been monitoring Election 2016 at LexisNexis.com/Election2016, which offers a near real-time glimpse into the media coverage and issues shaping the campaign.

In addition, LexisNexis has invited the First Year Project to have a presence in its space at the convention. Part of the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, the First Year Project is a multi-year, non-partisan effort to examine the legacy of each U.S. president's first year in office. Appearing in the LexisNexis space will be two noted experts in history and politics from the Miller Center: Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program and Nicole Hemmer, assistant professor of presidential studies.

"We will offer journalists customized, on-demand background, context, historical analysis and quotes for their stories and broadcasts," explained Perry, an author/editor and frequent commentator on the intersection of politics and history in America. "The First Year Project is an ambitious effort that focuses on the key issues the next president must confront, viewed through the clarifying lens of history and amplified with actionable advice from leading scholars, former administration officials and policy experts."

LexisNexis support of media professionals will continue July 25-28 at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, where research specialists will be available to provide virtual support to attending media.

For more information and live updates from the Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention, follow LexisNexis on Twitter at @LexisNexisBiz.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional is a leading global provider of content and technology solutions that enable professionals in legal, corporate, tax, government, academic and non-profit organizations to make informed decisions and achieve better business outcomes. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis and Nexis services. Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional harnesses leading-edge technology and world-class content to help professionals work in faster, easier and more effective ways. Through close collaboration with its customers, the company ensures organizations can leverage its solutions to reduce risk, improve productivity, increase profitability and grow their business. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 175 countries with 10,000 employees worldwide, is part of RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries.

Business Insight Solutions (BIS) is a business unit within LexisNexis Legal & Professional serving companies and organizations of all sizes in the US, Europe and Pacific regions, offering premier news, corporate information and public records through a portfolio of solutions, including the flagship and award-winning Nexis. This unique combination of market-leading content and innovative technology helps business professionals make more insightful decisions by offering them quick and easy access to the latest news, facts and insights regarding their brand, clients, prospects, competitors, suppliers and industry trends.

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SOURCE LexisNexis

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GAITHERSBURG, Md., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded a $344-million contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and deploy the Terminal Flight Data Manager (TFDM) system. This key NextGen system will provide electronic flight strips as well as improved surface management tools that will allow streamlined operations in the air traffic control towers for busy airports. The TFDM contract period of performance has a five-year base with seven one-year options.

Lockheed Martin along with principal subcontractor Saab Sensis will be using proven technology to develop the system. TFDM will work by integrating digital flight plans with surface surveillance data to create accurate, real-time predictive tools for the terminal environment. TFDM will share data among controllers, aircraft operators and airports so they can better stage arrivals and departures, and manage traffic flow within terminal airspace for greater efficiency. Additionally, the surface departure management will improve gate departure efficiency for the airlines and will significantly reduce or eliminate queues of airplanes waiting for departure on a runway.

"More than 23,000 flights take place every day, making it crucial for airports to leverage the most innovative systems and technology to keep airport traffic consistently flowing," said Paul Engola, vice president of Transportation and Financial Solutions for Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS). "The benefits of the Terminal Flight Data Manager tools are far-reaching, not only improving the passenger experience with fewer delays and missed connections, but also lowering greenhouse gas emissions through reduced airplane taxi times."

Lockheed Martin IS&GS currently provides air traffic controller automation to the Air Route Traffic Control Centers for high altitude and oceanic air traffic control. Lockheed Martin IS&GS also provides the automation for Time Based Flow Management, a key decision support tool. This contract will expand its relationship with the FAA into a new area of service, providing surface departure management to the largest and busiest airports in need of process improvement on the ground and in the air.

For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/.

About Lockheed Martin

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 125,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110419/PH85737LOGO-b

SOURCE Lockheed Martin Corporation

Related Links

http://www.lockheedmartin.com


"Our hearts and thoughts are with all of the residents, including Lowe's employees, who've been affected by the widespread flooding," said James Frison, Lowe's director of community relations. "As families begin the difficult recovery process, we'll continue to partner with the Red Cross and do everything we can to help these communities begin to rebuild."

Lowe's has worked closely with the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security to assist flood victims by shipping more than 30 truckloads of critically needed supplies to the affected area. Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers have been helping with relief efforts since the flooding, distributing free cleanup supplies in Clarksburg and Charleston, and teaming with the First Response Team of America to help homeowners clean up in White Sulphur Springs.

Nearly two-dozen people were killed by the flooding, which damaged or destroyed more than 1,200 homes. The Red Cross opened shelters across the state, and 700 Red Cross volunteers are on the ground providing relief. Volunteers have distributed more than 130,000 snacks and meals and 105,000 relief items to people in need.

As a member of the Red Cross' Annual Disaster Giving Program, Lowe's pledges donations on an ongoing basis in advance of disasters to help ensure the Red Cross can take immediate action. In addition to donating online and at Lowe's West Virginia stores, individuals can donate by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Since partnering with the Red Cross in 1999, Lowe's and its customers have contributed more than $26 million for disaster relief.

Donations to Red Cross Disaster Relief are used to help people affected by disasters big and small. Gifts enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters.

About Lowe's in the Community

Lowe's, a FORTUNE 50 home improvement company, has a 50-year legacy of supporting the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. Since 2007, Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation together have contributed more than $250 million to these efforts, and for more than two decades Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers have donated their time to make our communities better places to live. To learn more, visit Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility and LowesInTheCommunity.tumblr.com.

About American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386730

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386731

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386732

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386729

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131007/MM93272LOGO

SOURCE Lowe's

Related Links

http://www.lowes.com


BOSTON, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lois Paul and Partners (LPP), a strategic communications agency for the technology and healthcare industries, celebrated its 30th anniversary on June 30, and with this milestone, announces a change in the agency's leadership team. Lois Paul, president and founder of LPP, will retire and Melissa Zipin, currently executive vice president, will be named the agency's managing director.

In 1986, Lois set out to create a first-in-class technology communications brand that helped companies bring complex subject matter to life through high interest stories  a strategy fortified by her journalistic roots. This foundation proved successful, creating impactful results for marquee clients such as Lotus Development Corp., Nortel Networks and GE over the years. In 2004, LPP expanded into the healthcare sector when Melissa saw an opportunity to diversify the agency and approached Lois on what has become an extremely fruitful initiative over the past decade.

"I've had the privilege to combine my two loves  writing and technology  while working with energetic, creative and dedicated staff members, and a tremendous portfolio of clients. It's very fitting that I mark our 30th anniversary by handing the mantle of leadership for this great agency on to the next generation. Melissa's dedication and drive to grow LPP make her a natural fit as my successor, and I know she'll help the agency continue to thrive," said Lois.

Melissa joined LPP in 1998 and has more than 20 years of experience working with clients across the healthcare sector. While driving the healthcare practice, she's guided clients such as Philips' health technology focused businesses, Optum and Nuance Healthcare. Melissa will lead all areas of the agency upon Lois' official retirement on July 15.

"Lois truly delivered on her vision to create a smart, strategic and fun agency. She's been a tremendous leader, always guided by her integrity," said Melissa. "I'm looking forward to continuing LPP's history of success in navigating the ever-changing technology and healthcare landscapes with the strong expertise and support of LPP's executive leadership team."

Over the years, Lois created a strong reputation through her dedication to client service and her ability to make even the most complicated technology and healthcare stories accessible to the public. In 2000, Lois steered LPP to join FleishmanHillard and the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group. Prior to founding LPP, Lois was an editor at two leading technology publications. She helped launch eWeek (PC Week) and was software editor at Computerworld. Upon retirement, Lois looks forward to spending time with her family, working on personal projects, traveling and writing.

About Lois Paul and Partners

Lois Paul and Partners is a strategic communications agency for the technology and healthcare industries. We are hands-on consultants, creating content and building relationships to shape conversations with influencers through traditional and digital channels. With a deep understanding of our clients and their respective markets, we build and execute communications programs to help companies achieve business objectives and reach their next stage of growth. Part of the DAS Group of Companies, LPP has been driving communications for large, publicly traded companies and emerging brands for more than 30 years.

For more information about LPP, visit our website, read our Beyond The Hype Blog, follow us on Twitter or call +1 617-986-5700.

About FleishmanHillard

FleishmanHillard specializes in public relations, reputation management, public affairs, brand marketing, digital strategy, social engagement and content strategy. FleishmanHillard was named PRWeek's 2014 Global Agency of the Year and 2014 Asia Pacific Network of the Year, "Standout Agency" on Advertising Age's 2013 A-List; NAFE's "Top 50 Companies for Executive Women" for 2010-2016; and among PRWeek's 2013 "Best Places to Work." The firm's award-winning work is widely heralded, including at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity. FleishmanHillard is part of the DAS Group of Companies, and has more than 85 offices in 30 countries, plus affiliates in 43 countries. Visit us at www.fleishmanhillard.com.

About the DAS Group of Companies

The DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) (www.omnicomgroup.com), is a global group of marketing services companies. DAS includes over 200 companies in the following marketing disciplines: specialty, PR, healthcare, CRM, events, promotional marketing, branding and research. Operating through a combination of networks and regional organizations, DAS serves international, regional, national and local clients through more than 700 offices in 71 countries.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160705/386322LOGO

SOURCE Lois Paul and Partners (LPP)
CANTON, Mass., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United (MNA/NNU), the state's largest union and professional association for registered nurses and health care professionals, announces its endorsement and strong support for Paul W. Jacques, Democratic candidate for the 4th Bristol State Representative seat.

"Paul Jacques is a strong voice for public safety, unions and Massachusetts nurses," MNA President Donna Kelly-William said. "As a union firefighter, Jacques has worked closely with MNA nurses. I know Jacques will bring that passion to Beacon Hill, where he has pledged to fight on behalf of front-line nurses and their patients."

Jacques, a Rehoboth resident, is a first-time candidate for public office. He has been an Attleboro firefighter for 20 years and is the legislative agent for the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts (PFFM). Jacques has also served for 21 years in the National Guard, including two tours in Iraq. Paul has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Anna Maria College.

Jacques has promised to support a range of MNA priorities, including safe patient limits, workplace violence protections and improved mental health treatment. He plans to bring decades of experience advocating for labor with him to the State House.

"My entire life I have supported and defended collective bargaining rights for all employees," Jacques said. "As a state representative, I will be a powerful voice on Beacon Hill for unionized nurses and for all front-line workers."

The 4th Bristol district includes all of Seekonk and Rehoboth, along with Precincts 1 and 2 in Norton and Precincts 4 and 5 in Swansea.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United is the largest professional health care organization and the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. The MNA is a founding member of National Nurses United, the largest national nurses' union in the United States with more than 170,000 members from coast to coast.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060525/NETH016LOGO

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association/National Nurses United

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


HAMPTON, Va., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Langley Research Center will host a rare flying visitor July 12, when a newly designed, advanced light jet flies into the Hampton, Virginia, laboratory.

The HondaJet, created by a company better known for cars, motorcycles and lawn mowers, is one of a relatively new class of airplanes called light jets, designed to carry four to seven passengers and be fast, safe, reliable and able to use very small airports.

Light jets were developed in part with the help of research done more than 10 years ago by NASA's Advanced General Aviation Transportation Experiments alliance and its follow-on, the Small Aircraft Transportation System project, both led out of NASA Langley. Those public-private partnerships advanced affordable new technologies, operating capabilities and industry standards, design guidelines, and certification for next-generation single pilot, near all-weather light airplanes.

U.S. media are invited to see the HondaJet and speak with its designer, Honda Aircraft President and CEO Michimasa Fujino at 12 p.m., July 12. They should contact Kathy Barnstorff at (757) 864-9886 or [email protected] for credentials by 5 p.m. EDT Monday, July 11. Media need to arrive at the NASA Langley gate located at 2 Langley Blvd. no later than 11:45 a.m. for the Tuesday, July 12, event.

Fujino is coming to NASA Langley to give an afternoon Colloquium talk. Plus the HondaJet will be the subject of a Sigma series presentation at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia Air and Space Center.

Fujino and the HondaJet are no strangers to the Hampton area. Honda Aircraft Company, which is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, contracted with NASA Langley to use one of its transonic wind tunnels during the jet's research and development phase. Honda used a 1/9th-scale model of the jet for tests in the National Transonic Facility. Honda engineers used the data to assess high-speed flight performance for the HondaJet's new concept configuration, the over-the-wing engine mount.

The light jet has a unique design, which incorporates advanced technologies and concepts that reduce drag and decrease fuel consumption. Those include the engines mounted above the wings, a natural laminar flow wing and a composite fuselage. It also features a NASA Langley innovation  upturned wing tips known as winglets that also help reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency.

For more information about the NASA Langley Colloquium and Sigma lectures, go to:

http://colloqsigma.larc.nasa.gov/

NASA Langley news releases are available automatically by sending an e-mail message to [email protected] with the word "subscribe" in the subject line. You will receive an e-mail asking you to visit a link to confirm the action. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to [email protected] with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


LONDON, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Forecasts For Dismounted Soldiers, Land Vehicles, Naval Vehicles, Aerial Vehicles PLUS Analysis of Helmet Mounted Display Systems (HMD, HMDS, HMSD, HMCS, HWD, HECAD, HDTS), Heads-Up Display (HUD), Driver Vision Enhancement (DVE), Smart Glasses, Goggles & Screens, See Through Waveguide (STWG) Optics, & Computer Generated Data Enhancing the Soldier

Visiongain assesses that the global Military Augmented Reality market will reach $1,311.3m in 2016 with significant prospects for growth. It is therefore critical that your strategic plans are timely and your forecasting plans are in place to take advantage of the business opportunities presented in this brand new study.

Visiongain's report will ensure that you keep informed and ahead of your competitors. Gain that competitive advantage.

The report will answer questions such as:

 What are the prospects for the overall Military Augmented Reality market?

 How profitable is the Military Augmented Reality market?

 Who are the key players within the Military Augmented Reality market?

 What are the drivers and restraints underpinning the Military Augmented Reality market?

5. Reasons why you must order and read this report today:

1) The report provides market share, ranking and profiles of the leading companies operating within the Military Augmented Reality market

- Elbit Systems Ltd.

- Rockwell Collins

- Thales Group

- BAE Systems plc

- BANC3 Inc.

- Applied Research Associates (ARA)

- Osterhout Design Group

- Vuzix Corporation

- Six15 Technologies

2) The study reveals where and how companies are investing in the Military Augmented Reality market. We show you the prospects for the following national markets

- Australia

- Canada

- France

- Israel

- Italy

- Japan

- Russia

- South Korea

- United Kingdom

- United States

- Rest of the World

3) The analysis is also underpinned by 2 exclusive interviews with leading experts

- Jim Donnelly, Vice President of Business Development at Six15 Technologies

- Barry Po, Senior Director Product and Business Development at NGRAIN

4) Our overview also forecasts and analyses these submarkets from 2016-2026

- The Global MAR for Dismounted Soldiers Submarket

- The Global MAR for Land Vehicles Submarket

- The Global MAR for Naval Vehicles Submarket

- The Global MAR for Aerial Vehicles Submarket

5) See details of over 75 contracts relating to military augmented reality systems for each region and for each company

How will you benefit from this report?

 This report you will keep your Military Augmented Reality market knowledge base up to speed. Don't get left behind.

 This report will allow you to reinforce strategic decision decision-making based upon definitive and reliable market data.

 You will learn how to exploit new Military Augmented Reality technological trends.

 You will be able to realise your company's full potential within the Military Augmented Reality market.

 You will better understand the competitive landscape and identify potential new business opportunities & partnerships.

Competitive advantage

This independent 246 page report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competitors. With 211 tables and figures examining the Military Augmented Reality market space, the report gives you an immediate, one-stop breakdown of your market. PLUS national market forecasts, as well as analysis, from 2016-2026 keeping your knowledge that one step ahead of your rivals.

Who should read this report?

 Anyone within the Military Augmented Reality Equipment value chain.

 Augmented Reality Engineer

 Augmented Reality Consultant

 Head of Optic Research.

 Vice President Optic Systems

 Vice President EO/IR Systems

 Project Manager

 R&D Manager

 Chief Technologist

 Solutions Architect

 Technical Support Officer;

 Threat Systems Analyst

 Systems Engineering Consultant

 Security Architect;

 CEO's

 COO's

 CIO's

 Business development managers

 Marketing managers

 Technologists

 Suppliers

 Investors

 Banks

 Government agencies

 Contractors

Don't miss out

This report is essential reading for you or anyone in the Military Augmented Reality sector. Purchasing this report today will help you to recognise those important market opportunities and understand the possibilities there. Order the Military Augmented Reality (MAR) Technologies Market Report 2016-2026: Forecasts For Dismounted Soldiers, Land Vehicles, Naval Vehicles, Aerial Vehicles PLUS Analysis of Helmet Mounted Display Systems (HMD, HMDS, HMSD, HMCS, HWD, HECAD, HDTS), Heads-Up Display (HUD), Driver Vision Enhancement (DVE), Smart Glasses, Goggles & Screens, See Through Waveguide (STWG) Optics, & Computer Generated Data Enhancing the Soldier, Commander & Pilot Experience With Mixed & Augmented Reality (AR) now. We look forward to receiving your order.

Companies Mentioned in this Report

21st Century Fox

ADS Inc.

Air Command Systems International SAS

Airbus Defence & Space

Airbus Helicopters

Airtanker Holdings Ltd

Alenia Aermacchi

Alphabet Inc.

Amper Programas de Electronica Y Comunicaciones SA

Applied Research Associates

APX Labs

ARINC

ASELSAN

Atheer, Inc.

Aviation Communications & Surveillance Systems

BAE Systems (Operations) Limited

BAE Systems Controls Inc.

BAE Systems Flight Training (Australia) Pty Limited

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.

BAE Systems Information Solutions Inc

BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP

BAE Systems Oman

BAE Systems plc

BAE Systems Regional Aircraft (Japan) KK

BAE Systems Saudi Arabia

BAE Systems Surface Ships Limited

BAE Systems Tactical Vehicle Systems LP

BAE Systems Zephyr Corporation

Bell Helicopters

Boeing Company

Cinoptics

Citylink Telecommunications Holding Ltd

Cloudwatt

Cohort Group plc

Commercial Armored Vehicles LLC

Convergent Manufacturing Technologies

Con-Way Freight

Cubic Corporation

DAQRI

DCNS

Detica Services, Inc

Diehl Aerospace GmbH

Digilens

DIOTA

Eclipse Electronic Systems

EFW Inc.

Elbit Security Systems

Elbit Systems - Kinetic

Elbit Systems Cyclone

Elbit Systems Electro-Optics - Elop Ltd

Elbit Systems EW and SIGINT - Elisra ltd

Elbit Systems Land and C4I Ltd

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Elbit Systems of America LLC

Elettronica SpA

Eon Reality Inc.

ESG

ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik GmbH

Excelitas Technologies

Fairchild Imaging Inc

Fidelity Technologies Corporation

Fincantieri

Finmeccanica/Leonardo

Flextronics

FNSS Savuma Sistemleri AS

Fraser-Volpe LLC

Gentex Corporation

Harris Corporation

HSBC

Immy Inc.

Innovega

Intel

International Enterprises Inc.

Intertrade Limited

IQAgent

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)

Israel Military Industries Ltd.

ISTEC ICE Ltd.

ITL Optronics

JSC United Aircraft Corporation

Junghans Microtec GmbH

Kongsberg Gallium

Kopin Corporation

L-3 Communications

L-3 Link

Land Services Arabia Ltd.

LG Electronics

LifeBEAM

LIG Nex1

Liteye Systems Inc.

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lumus Optical

Microsoft Corporation

NGRAIN

Nokia

O'Gara Group, Inc.

OASYS Technology LLC

Opgal Optronics

Optech4D

Optics1 Inc.

Osterhout Design Group

Paravion Technology Inc.

Physical Optics Corporation (POC)

Pitch Technologies AB

Precision Technic Defence A/S

Qioptiq Photonics Ltd.

Qualcomm

Rafael

Rapid Imaging Software Inc.

Raytheon

ReallarR

Rockwell Collins

Rockwell Collins Aerospace & Electronics, Inc.

Rockwell Collins Australia Pty Limited

Rockwell Collins Business Services, Inc.

Rockwell Collins Canada Inc.

Rockwell Collins Denmark ApS

Rockwell Collins Deutschland GmbH

Rockwell Collins do Brasil Ltda.

Rockwell Collins ElectroMechanical Systems, Inc.

Rockwell Collins France S.A.S.

Rockwell Collins Government Systems (Canada), Inc.

Rockwell Collins In-Flight Network Company

Rockwell Collins Optronics, Inc.

Rockwell Collins Simulation & Training Solutions LLC

RPL (Electronics) Limited

Safariland, LLC.

Samsung

Samsung Thales Co. Ltd

Saymar

SEA

SELEX ES

Semi Conductor Devices (Elbit Systems Ltd.)

SEOS

Six15 Technologies

SNECMA

Sofradir SAS

Soltam

Sony Corporation

Sukhoi

Tactical Display Group

TDA Armements SAS

TELDIX GmbH

Teleplan Globe

Telespazio SpA

Thales Air Defence Ltd

Thales Air Systems & Electron Devices GmbH

Thales Air Systems SAS

Thales Alenia Space Italia SpA

Thales Alenia Space SAS

Thales Australia Ltd

Thales Austria GmbH

Thales Avionics Electrical Systems SAS

Thales Avionics Inc.

Thales Avionics Ltd

Thales Avionics SAS

Thales Canada Inc.

Thales Communications & Security SAS

Thales Components Corporation

Thales Defense& Security, Inc. (ex Communications Inc.)

Thales Electron Devices SAS

Thales Electronic Systems GmbH

Thales Espana Grp, S.A.U.

Thales Group

Thales International Saudi Arabia

Thales Italia SpA

Thales Naval Ltd

Thales Nederland B.V.

Thales Norway A.S.

Thales Optronics Ltd

Thales Optronique SA

Thales Rail Signalling Solutions Ltd

Thales Security Solutions & Services Company

Thales Services SAS

Thales Solutions Asia Pte Ltd

Thales Systemes Aeroportes SAS

Thales Training & Simulation Ltd

Thales Training & Simulation SA

Thales Transport & Security Ltd

Thales Transportation Systems GmbH

Thales UK Ltd

Thales Underwater Systems SAS Ltd

Thales-Raytheon Systems Company LLC

Thales-Raytheon Systems Company SAS

Toshiba Corporation

Trixell SAS

Vision Systems International

Visionix

Vuzix (Europe) Limited

Vuzix Corporation

Vuzix Japan

To request an exec summary of this report please email Sara Peerun at [email protected] or call Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 6100

Or click on https://www.visiongain.com/Report/1678/Military-Augmented-Reality-(MAR)-Technologies-Market-Report-2016-2026

SOURCE Visiongain Ltd
GULFPORT, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A total of 111 Stetson University College of Law graduates were selected for inclusion among Florida's Legal Elite in the July 2016 Florida Trend magazine.

Stetson Law alumni Stephen D. Busey, Mark A. Hanley and Rhea F. Law are again included in the Legal Elite Hall of Fame, a distinguished group of attorneys who consistently earn high peer rankings in the annual Legal Elite voting. Busey is chairman of the Smith Hulsey & Busey law firm who received both his bachelor's and law degrees from Stetson University. Hanley is a partner at the Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP law firm. Law is chair of the Buchanan Ingersoll Rooney P.C. firm's Florida offices, a member of the board of directors and co-chair of the firm's Diversity Committee. She is also a member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame.

This year's Florida Trend magazine lists 20 Stetson Law graduates as "up and coming" attorneys and four Stetson Law graduates as outstanding attorneys working in the government and non-profit sectors among Florida's Legal Elite.

Florida's Legal Elite, now in its 13th edition, showcases attorneys chosen by their peers who exemplify a standard of excellence in their profession. Voting for this year's Legal Elite attorneys began in October 2015 when Florida Trend invited all in-state members of the Florida Bar to participate. This year, 1,144 lawyers are listed among the Florida Legal Elite, representing fewer than 2 percent of the active Florida Bar members who practice in Florida.

Read more here: http://www.floridatrend.com/legal-elite.

About Stetson University College of LawStetson University College of Law, Florida's first law school, has prepared lawyers and leaders since 1900. Today, Stetson leads the nation in blending legal doctrine with practical training, evidenced by its top-ranked programs in advocacy and legal writing. Through our academically rigorous curriculum and commitment to social responsibility, Stetson lawyers are ethical advocates ready to succeed in the legal profession.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Stetson University College of Law
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NBHC) expects to report its second quarter financial results after the markets close on Thursday, July 21, 2016. Management will host a conference call to review the results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, July 22, 2016. Interested parties may listen to this call by dialing (877) 272-6762 / (615) 800-6832 (International) using the Conference ID of 92236155 and asking for the NBHC Second Quarter Earnings conference call. A telephonic replay of the call will be available beginning approximately two hours after the call's completion through August 5, 2016, by dialing (855) 859-2056 (United States) / (404) 537-3406 (International) using the Conference ID of 92236155. The earnings release and an on-line replay of the call will also be available on the Company's website at www.nationalbankholdings.com by visiting the investor relations area.

About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to shareholder results. National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of 91 banking centers located in Colorado, the greater Kansas City region and Texas. Through the Company's subsidiary, NBH Bank, it operates under the following brand names: Bank Midwest in Kansas and Missouri, Community Banks of Colorado in Colorado, and Hillcrest Bank in Texas. More information about National Bank Holdings Corporation can be found at www.nationalbankholdings.com.

For more information visit: bankmw.com, cobnks.com, hillcrestbank.com or nbhbank.com. Or, follow us on any of our social media sites:

Bank Midwest: facebook.com/bankmw, twitter.com/bank_mw, instagram.com/bankmw;

Community Banks of Colorado: facebook.com/cobnks, twitter.com/cobnks, instagram.com/cobnks;

Hillcrest Bank: facebook.com/hillcrestbank, twitter.com/hillcrest_bank;

NBH Bank: twitter.com/nbhbank;

or connect with any of our brands on LinkedIn.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141002/149998

SOURCE National Bank Holdings Corporation

Related Links

http://www.nationalbankholdings.com


"My fellow graduates, we have learned a lot over the past 3 years," said Stephen Graham of Round Rock, Texas, Graduate Student Speaker and recipient of a Master of Architecture. "One of the hardest aspects of this program to get used to, was the criticism 3rd year is when we all grew into our own voices. We learned how to apply criticism, rather than combatting the tone or the manner in which it was given."

NewSchool also welcomed commencement speaker Dr. Phillip Alvelda, the founding CEO of MobiTV, the world's leading provider of live TV over mobile networks Program Manager at DARPA's Biological Technologies Office and the founding Chairman of The Westminster Institute for Science Education, a 501C3 organization that helps K-12 schools extend STEM education placing emphasis on creativity and innovation. In addition to Graham and Dr. Alvelda, Harpreet Basi, of Sanger, California, spoke as the undergraduate speaker.

Also, during the ceremony, graduates and staff members were recognized with special awards.

Henry Adams Medal and Certificate

The American Institute of Architects awards the prestigious Henry Adams Medal to the top-ranking graduating student in each National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) accredited Architecture program. A Certificate of Merit is also awarded to the second-ranking graduating student recognizing their excellence in architecture. This year's recipients of the Henry Adams Medal and Certificate of Merit are:

Nick Wilson , of San Diego, California , Undergraduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Medal

, of , Undergraduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Medal Conor Brown , of Green Bay, Wisconsin , Graduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Medal

, of , Graduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Medal Amanda Wynne , of San Diego, California , Undergraduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Certificate of Merit

, of , Undergraduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Certificate of Merit Max Magac , of Shasta, California , Graduate, Architecture, Henry Adams Certificate of Merit

Alpha Rho Chi Medal

Since 1931, the Alpha Rho Chi Medal recognizes graduating architecture students for their leadership and service and for what they have to offer to the future of the profession with the Alpha Rho Chi Medal. This year's recipient is:

Harpreet Basi , of Sanger, California , undergraduate student

Outstanding Design Award

Evolved from the "Designer of the Year" award, the Outstanding Design Award is one of NewSchool's oldest student awards. The award is unique as it focuses on design and is looked at as innovative or very accomplished. Any work associated with the award is looked to be of the highest possible visual and material quality. This year's recipients are:

Anina Varghese , of Kerala, India , Undergraduate, Architecture

, of Kerala, , Undergraduate, Architecture Megan Power , of Victoria, British Columbia , Undergraduate, Interior Architecture and Design (Domus Academy)

, of , Undergraduate, Interior Architecture and Design (Domus Academy) Meghan Golden , of Boston, Massachusetts , Undergraduate, Interior Architecture and Design (Domus Academy)

, of , Undergraduate, Interior Architecture and Design (Domus Academy) Conor Brown , of Green Bay, Wisconsin , Graduate, Architecture

The following student is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Student Award:

Amanda Schilling , of Apple Valley, California , Undergraduate, Construction Management

The following faculty member is this year's recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award:

Daniel Manlongat , Contributing Faculty, Undergraduate and Graduate Architecture

For more information on NewSchool of Architecture and Design's 31st Annual Commencement Ceremony please contact Rachael Lighty at [email protected].

About NewSchool of Architecture & Design:

Located in downtown San Diego, NewSchool prepares students for career success in design fields through an emphasis on interdisciplinary and global design skills, industry collaborations and real-world projects. Programs of study include architecture, construction management, product design, media design, game development, design studies, and interior architecture & design. The school's design environment provides inspiration for the school's students and faculty, recognized for their work regionally and internationally. NewSchool is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission.

NewSchool's Bachelor and Master of Architecture programs are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). NewSchool is a member of the Laureate International Universities network  a global network of more than 80 campus-based and online universities in 28 countries. Through this network, students at NewSchool are prepared to work in a global and diverse work environment through the school's collaborations with sister institutions in the Laureate network, including award-winning schools such as Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. For more information about Laureate International Universities, visit www.laureate.net.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386941

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386942

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386944

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386945

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160111/320919LOGO

SOURCE NewSchool of Architecture & Design

Related Links

http://www.newschoolarch.edu


INDIANAPOLIS, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 1, 2016 the NextRadio app went live in the Google Play store in Canada allowing over a million consumers with FM radio compatible smartphones to download the app. The expansion is the next step in growing handset support for FM radio across North America.

The NextRadio app functionality is the same in Canada as it is in the U.S. Some of the key features consumers love about the app is the ability to:

Listen to radio using significantly less battery or data

Search to find a favorite station

Get emergency updates if cell coverage goes down

Customize home screen "Live Guide" with favorite stations

Rate songs and let stations know if they like it or not

Purchase a song that is playing

"Our initial broadcaster partners in Canada are very excited about the value NextRadio brings to their listeners, as well as, the new radio advertising platform and data NextRadio can provide their advertisers", said Paul Brenner, President, TagStation, LLC, the power behind NextRadio. "This expansion was a natural next step as many handset makers provide the same phones in Canada, making it easier for them to turn on the FM Chip for both countries at the same time."

"With the historically high costs of cell phone and data plans, the FM Chip activation allows Canadians, both urban and rural, access to the content they already listen to. It's essential for market fairness and emergency broadcasting services to have access to radio in the palm of your hand, at any time," said Barry Rooke, Executive Director NCRA/ANREC.

The NextRadio app lets you experience FM radio on your smartphone in a brand new way. Get a real-time view of what's playing on-air and interact live with your favorite local radio stations while using 75% less battery and 20x less data compared to streaming radio apps. Real FM radio is now in your smartphone so you can listen wherever you go.

About NextRadio powered by TagStation, LLC

TagStation, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Emmis Communications Corporation. TagStation, LLC has developed the TagStation service to provide radio stations with artist and title information and unique interactivity with listeners. With partial funding from NAB Labs, TagStation also developed the NextRadio hybrid radio smartphone app which uses TagStation cloud services to provide a rich FM radio listening experience on smartphones and tablets by combining the devices' built-in FM tuner and the internet. NextRadio, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TagStation, LLC and serves as the principle distributor of the NextRadio App. Founded in 2013, TagStation, LLC and NextRadio, LLC are headquartered in Indianapolis, IN with offices in Indianapolis and Chicago, IL. For more information, about TagStation, visit TagStation.com. For more information about NextRadio, visit NextRadioApp.com.

SOURCE NextRadio
EAST HANOVER, N.J., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Novartis today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved an expanded age range for Xolair (omalizumab) to include children six to 11 years of age with moderate to severe persistent asthma, having a positive skin test or in vitro reactivity to an airborne allergen (perennial aeroallergen) and symptoms that are inadequately controlled with inhaled corticosteroids4. The previous age range for the asthma indication of Xolair was 12 years and older. This approval comes three months ahead of the FDA action date.

"Allergic asthma can be challenging for children," said Fabrice Chouraqui, President of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. "For a long time, there has been an unmet need in this young patient population. We're excited to now offer this allergic asthma treatment option, which has been established in patients 12 years of age and older, to doctors and their young patients starting at age six."

Asthma is one of the most common long-term diseases in children1, affecting about 6.3 million younger than 18 years old or one in 12 children in the US2. An estimated 24 million people in the US have asthma2. Of this patient population, approximately 60% have allergic asthma5. In children, at least 80% of asthma is allergic6.

"Uncontrolled allergic asthma can significantly affect the lives of children," said Cary Sennett, MD, PhD, President and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). "This approval helps address an important unmet need for these young patients and their caregivers."

Xolair was first approved in 2003 to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older with moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma not controlled by inhaled steroids. Since its US approval for patients 12 years and older, more than 200,000 patients with allergic asthma have been treated with the medicine3. In 2014, the FDA also approved Xolair to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU)  chronic hives without a known cause  who continue to have hives that are not controlled by H 1 -antihistamine treatment. Xolair is not indicated for the treatment of other allergic conditions, other forms of urticaria (hives), acute bronchospasm (serious and sudden breathing problems) or status asthmaticus (acute, severe, prolonged asthma attack that can be life-threatening).

This new pediatric approval was supported by multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III studies that assessed the efficacy and safety of Xolair in children aged six to 11 years with moderate to severe persistent uncontrolled allergic asthma. The primary study was a 52-week trial, with the primary endpoint measured at 24 weeks4. Supportive safety and efficacy data came from a 28-week study4. Additional safety data came from a five-year non-randomized observational post-marketing study to evaluate the long-term safety of Xolair in patients 12 years and older7.

About Allergic Asthma

Asthma is a chronic condition with inflammation and narrowing of the airways, as well as tightening of the muscles around the airways.

The symptoms of asthma and allergic asthma are the sameit's the triggers that are different. What makes allergic asthma a unique type of asthma is the cause of its symptoms: exposure to year-round allergens in the air (such as pet dander and dust mites). If you have allergic asthma, allergens like these can bring on your allergic asthma symptoms and attacks.

When an allergen enters your body, your immune system identifies it as something harmful

Your immune system responds by releasing a substance called immunoglobulin E (or IgE)

IgE plays a key role in the development of allergic asthma symptoms. It binds to allergens, which causes the release of chemicals that can lead to inflammation (swelling) in and around the lungs. This can trigger an allergic asthma attack

People with allergic asthma may have higher levels of IgE because of the way their immune system reacts to allergens. For some, blocking IgE has been shown to be a helpful part of their allergic asthma treatment plan. If you think you may have allergic asthma, ask your doctor about how much IgE is in your body.

About Xolair

Xolair for subcutaneous use is an injectable prescription medicine used to treat:

moderate to severe persistent asthma in patients six years of age and older whose symptoms are not controlled by asthma medicines called inhaled corticosteroids. A skin or blood test is performed to see if you have allergies to year-round allergens.

chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU; chronic hives without a known cause) in patients 12 years of age and older who continue to have hives that are not controlled by H 1 -antihistamine treatment.

Xolair is not used to treat other allergic conditions, other forms of urticaria, acute bronchospasm or status asthmaticus.

In the US, Genentech, Inc. and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation work together to develop and co-promote Xolair.

Important Safety Information

The most important information patients should know about XOLAIR is that a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis can happen when a patient receives XOLAIR. The reaction can occur after the first dose, or after many doses. It may also occur right after a XOLAIR injection or days later. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition and can lead to death. Patients must go to the nearest emergency room right away if they have any of these symptoms of an allergic reaction:

wheezing, shortness of breath, cough, chest tightness, or trouble breathing

low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, rapid or weak heartbeat, anxiety, or feeling of "impending doom"

flushing, itching, hives, or feeling warm

swelling of the throat or tongue, throat tightness, hoarse voice, or trouble swallowing

The patient's healthcare provider will monitor the patient closely for symptoms of an allergic reaction while they are receiving XOLAIR and for a period of time after the patient's injection. The patient's healthcare provider should talk to the patient about getting medical treatment if they have symptoms of an allergic reaction after leaving the healthcare provider's office or treatment center.

Patients must not receive XOLAIR if they are allergic to omalizumab or any of the ingredients in XOLAIR.

Before receiving XOLAIR, patients must tell their healthcare provider about all of their medical conditions, including if they:

have any other allergies (such as food allergy or seasonal allergies)

have sudden breathing problems (bronchospasm)

have ever had a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis

have or have had a parasitic infection

have or have had cancer

are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if XOLAIR may harm a patient's unborn baby.

are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if XOLAIR passes into breast milk. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby while you receive XOLAIR.

Patients must tell their healthcare provider about all the medicines they take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements.

Receiving XOLAIR

XOLAIR should be given by a healthcare provider, in a healthcare setting.

should be given by a healthcare provider, in a healthcare setting. XOLAIR is given in 1 or more injections under the skin (subcutaneous), 1 time every 2 or 4 weeks.

is given in 1 or more injections under the skin (subcutaneous), 1 time every 2 or 4 weeks. In asthma patients, a blood test for a substance called IgE must be performed prior to starting XOLAIR to determine the appropriate dose and dosing frequency.

to determine the appropriate dose and dosing frequency. In patients with chronic hives, a blood test is not necessary to determine the dose or dosing frequency.

Patients must not decrease or stop taking any of their other asthma or hive medicine unless their healthcare providers tell them to.

Patients may not see improvement in their symptoms right away after XOLAIR treatment.

Possible side effects of XOLAIR

XOLAIR may cause serious side effects, including:

See, " What is the most important information I should know about XOLAIR" in the XOLAIR Medication Guide at http://www.xolair.com regarding the risk of anaphylaxis.

in the XOLAIR Medication Guide at http://www.xolair.com regarding the risk of anaphylaxis. Cancer . Cases of cancer were observed in some people who received XOLAIR.

. Cases of cancer were observed in some people who received XOLAIR. Inflammation of your blood vessels . Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive XOLAIR. This usually, but not always, happens in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by XOLAIR. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have rash; chest pain; shortness of breath; or a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs.

. Rarely, this can happen in people with asthma who receive XOLAIR. This usually, but not always, happens in people who also take a steroid medicine by mouth that is being stopped or the dose is being lowered. It is not known whether this is caused by XOLAIR. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have rash; chest pain; shortness of breath; or a feeling of pins and needles or numbness of your arms or legs. Fever, muscle aches, and rash. Some people who take XOLAIR get these symptoms 1 to 5 days after receiving a XOLAIR injection. If a patient has any of these symptoms, they must tell their healthcare provider.

Some people who take XOLAIR get these symptoms 1 to 5 days after receiving a XOLAIR injection. If a patient has any of these symptoms, they must tell their healthcare provider. Parasitic infection. Some people who are at a high risk for parasite (worm) infections, get a parasite infection after receiving XOLAIR. The patient's healthcare provider can test the patient's stool to check if they have a parasite infection.

Some people who are at a high risk for parasite (worm) infections, get a parasite infection after receiving XOLAIR. The patient's healthcare provider can test the patient's stool to check if they have a parasite infection. Heart and circulation problems. Some people who receive XOLAIR have had chest pain, heart attack, blood clots in the lungs or legs, or temporary symptoms of weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech, or altered vision. It is not known whether this is caused by XOLAIR.

The most common side effects of XOLAIR:

In adults and children 12 years of age and older with asthma : pain especially in the arms and legs, dizziness, feeling tired, skin rash, bone fractures, and pain or discomfort of the ears.

: pain especially in the arms and legs, dizziness, feeling tired, skin rash, bone fractures, and pain or discomfort of the ears. In children 6 to less than 12 years of age with asthma : common cold symptoms, headache, fever, sore throat, pain or discomfort of your ear, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and nose bleeds.

: common cold symptoms, headache, fever, sore throat, pain or discomfort of your ear, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and nose bleeds. In people with chronic idiopathic urticaria: nausea, headaches, swelling of the inside of the nose, throat or sinuses, cough, joint pain, and upper respiratory tract infection.

These are not all the possible side effects of XOLAIR. Patients should call their doctor for medical advice about side effects.

Report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. Report side effects to Genentech at (888) 835-2555 or Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation at 888-669-6682.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including Medication Guide at www.xolair.com for additional Important Safety Information.

Disclaimer

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by words such as "need," "available," "can," "may," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new indications or labeling for Xolair, or regarding potential future revenues from Xolair. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that Xolair will be submitted or approved for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that Xolair will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, management's expectations regarding Xolair could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including unexpected clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the company's ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; general economic and industry conditions; global trends toward health care cost containment, including ongoing pricing pressures; unexpected safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Located in East Hanover, New Jersey, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care and cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals. Novartis is the only global company with leading positions in these areas. In 2015, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.4 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 8.9 billion (USD 8.7 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges). Novartis Group companies employ approximately 118,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are available in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis.

References

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What Is Asthma? http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/faqs.htm. Accessed June 30, 2016 . US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Current Asthma Prevalence. http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/most_recent_data.htm. Accessed June 30, 2016 . Data on file. Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA. Xolair Full Prescribing Information. Genentech. July 2016. Arbes S, Gergen P, Vaughn B, et al. Asthma cases attributable to atopy: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007;120:1139-45. Prevention of Allergy and Allergic Asthma. World Health Organization. Management of Noncommunicable Diseases Department. Chronic Respiratory Diseases and Arthritis. Based on the WHO/WAO Meeting on the Prevention of Allergy and Allergic Asthma. Geneva , 8-9 January 2002 . Long A, Rahmaoui A, Rothman K, et al. Incidence of malignancy in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma treated with or without omalizumab. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014;134:560-7.

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/Novartis.

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact: [email protected].

SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation

Related Links

http://www.novartis.com


ORLANDO, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A Courteous Communications, a leading business answering service, has been honored with the exclusive ATSI Award of Excellence at their 2016 Annual Convention held at Hilton Downtown, Tampa, FL. This is the 4th consecutive year A Courteous has been honored with this award due to their dedication in providing outstanding customer service.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386723LOGO

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386724



About the ATSI

The ATSI was founded in 1942 as a National Trade Association representing live answering service providers. Their annual conference is considered to be the premier event for professionals within the telecommunications industry as it rewards companies based on proven excellence in their services.

This coveted award started 20 years ago as a way to improve the overall quality of the industry by defining measurements and setting expectations to ensure customer satisfaction. Independent judges are chosen by the ATSI to evaluate services over a 6-month period. The scoring criteria for this highly competitive award includes many aspects such as response time and knowledge of the account.

"The ATSI Award of Excellence recognizes that excellence requires a level of service that considers the caller first in every aspect of the call. Companies that earn this award are continuously focusing on delivering first class service to their customers. It is truly an honor!" states ATSI President Jeffrey W. Zindel.

About A Courteous Communications

A Courteous recently celebrated their 30-year anniversary of the opening of their highly reputable corporation. President and Founder Doris Primicerio started the company with just one telephone agent and one client, and since then, she has managed to turn it into one of the largest and most trusted phone answering service providers in the Nation. Doris and her team of skilled virtual receptionists provide a wide variety of specialized and industry specific answering service solutions to businesses nationwide.

Now a four-time winner, A Courteous Communications is ecstatic to once again receive the Silver Plus Award of Excellence. They look forward to keeping this winning streak going by continuing to provide award winning customer service.

Doris spoke with great appreciation in regards to their accomplishment:

"We take great pleasure in receiving our award because it validates our hard work and success. This award separates us from our competitors and showcases our strengths: exceptional customer service. Thank you to my dedicated team and to the ATSI for honoring us for 4 years in a row!"

For more information about this company and their services please contact Jean Pearson at (407) 896-4800 or visit http://courteouscom.com

SOURCE A Courteous Communications

Related Links

http://courteouscom.com


SAN ANTONIO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pioneer Energy Services (NYSE: PES) today announced that it will release its second quarter 2016 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, July 28. In conjunction with the release, Pioneer has scheduled a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet the same day starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Central Time). Investors may participate in the call either by phone or audio webcast.

By Phone: Dial 412-902-0003 approximately 10 minutes before the call and ask for the Pioneer Energy Services call. A telephone replay will be available through August 4 by dialing 201-612-7415 and using the access code 13639986.



By Webcast: Log onto Pioneer's main home page at www.pioneeres.com. The audio webcast can be accessed from the Investor Relations section under "Events & Presentations." A replay will be available shortly after the call.





For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at Dennard-Lascar Associates at [email protected] or 713-529-6600.

About Pioneer

Pioneer Energy Services provides contract land drilling services to oil and gas operators in Texas, the Mid-Continent and Appalachian regions and internationally in Colombia through its Drilling Services Segment. Pioneer also provides well, wireline, and coiled tubing services to producers in the U.S. Gulf Coast, offshore Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions through its Production Services Segment.

Contacts: Daniel Petro, CFA

Director of Corporate Development & IR

Pioneer Energy Services Corp.

(210) 828-7689





Lisa Elliott / [email protected]

Anne Pearson / [email protected]

Dennard-Lascar Associates / (713) 529-6600

SOURCE Pioneer Energy Services

Related Links

http://www.pioneeres.com


SWEET & FRESH  Casal Garcia Sweet will delight consumers of light and fresh Vinho Verdes, who also enjoy the generosity of fruity wines. Balancing perfectly both candied and citrusy aromas, this Vinho Verde with a twist is set to overshadow other sweet whites and will greatly appeal to younger consumers during the summer season.

LOW-ALC & HIGH-FUN  Casal Garcia Sweet is the perfect match for all consumers, both occasional and connoisseurs, and all summer entertaining. Low in alcohol (9%), it can be sipped all day long without fears of headiness. Whether you are on your way to the beach, a rooftop party or a music festival, cool down but sip up with Casal Garcia Sweet wines.



FOODIE PERFECT MATCH  Choose Casal Garcia Sweet as your go-to wine to pair with summer foods such as grilled fish, fresh seafood or Mediterranean quinoa salads. At the end of the meal, count on this sweet Vinho Verde to energize any dessert.

Composition:

Grape Varieties: Trajadura, Loureiro, Arinto and Azal

Alcohol Content: 9% Vol.

Price: $5.99 - $7.99

About Aveleda S.A.

Established in 1870, Aveleda S.A. is a family-owned winery with more than 140 years of winemaking tradition. Created in 1939, Casal Garcia is Aveleda's second brand and has today become the best-selling Vinho Verde in the world. Preserving its familial character, Aveleda has evolved and developed its winemaking by adapting to market demands, and investing in new technologies along every step of the way. A market leader in the Vinho Verde Region, Aveleda is one of the largest wine producers in Portugal and exports over half of its output to more than 70 countries across the globe annually. A short walk through the Quinta da Aveleda estate exhibits that the quest for perfection and the love for winemaking are core values for the Guedes family.

For more information on Aveleda, visit: http://aveledaportugal.pt/



Press contact:

Joanna Sykes-Darmon

Sopexa c/o Aveleda S.A.

[email protected]

+1 (212) 386 7439

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386875

SOURCE Aveleda S.A.

Related Links

http://aveledaportugal.pt


SAN FRANCISCO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Boutiques International (PRBI), a global network of 38 boutique PR firms in 12 countries, has elected its board of directors and officers for 2016-17. http://prboutiques.com/prbi-news/

Serving as president is Lee Weinstein of Weinstein PR in Portland, Oregon, a 15-year Nike veteran and 8-year boutique PR agency owner. Judith Huss of Huss PR Consult in Munich, Germany, will serve as vice president. Debbie Hagen of Hagen and Partners in Leawood, Kansas, is secretary. Joy Scott, of Scott PR in Los Angeles, will continue as treasurer, and Paul Furiga, WordWrite Communications, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is at large.

"PR Boutiques International provides great learnings for owner-operated boutique PR firms," said PRBI President Lee Weinstein. "We are a growing, exciting organization, having added three new members  from Southern California and Tokyo  in just the first half of 2016. This past year, we've also added a monthly members 'jam' session to share best practices and ideas, and for members to ask questions to improve their businesses."

Elected to the board are: Julia Labaton, RED PR, New York, New York; Jessica Nunez, TruePoint Communications, Dallas, Texas; Pawel Osowski, Warsaw Consultants, Warsaw, Poland; David Eichler, Decibel Blue, Phoenix/Denver; Caraline Brown, Midnight Communications, Brighton, United Kingdom; Jeanette Darnauer, Darnauer Group Communications, Aspen, Colorado; and Vivian Li of Geni-Plus PR Consulting Company in Beijing, China.

PRBI held its ninth annual meeting of members in San Francisco in May, focusing on "Delivering Value in 2016 and Beyond." The program focused on what defines value  great work, efficient use of resources, client experiences  and how agencies can best deliver and best present that value.

Digital content marketing was a prominent focus with a visit to Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, and speakers including Jason Miller, Global Content Marketing Leader at LinkedIn; Forbes Top 50 Social Media Influencer Steve Farnsworth; and Michael Pranikoff,

Global Director, Emerging Media, PR Newswire. Former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos also spoke, as did Gail Lopez, Founder/CEO of G1ve a Buck Fund.

PRBI's 10th annual meeting will be held in June 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

PRBI members are headquartered in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

About PR Boutiques International:

PR Boutiques International (PRBI) is an international network of boutique public relations firms. The principals of member firms are experienced practitioners who have held senior positions in large PR agencies and/or corporations and now put service first and work directly with clients. PRBI members excel in meeting a wide range of client needs in a large number of industries. Members' services including corporate public relations, consumer PR, health care PR, crisis management, businessto business PR, economic development PR, notforprofit, academia, government, financial, technology, legal, multicultural and international PR and investor relations. Member practitioners have won the highest levels of professional awards, with qualifications ranging from PhDs to former top journalists. They also represent memberships in the most noteworthy international public relations and business associations.

SOURCE PR Boutiques International

Related Links

http://prboutiques.com


REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Guardant Health announced an agreement with Priority Health, one of Michigan's largest health plans, that will bring its comprehensive liquid biopsy to oncologists treating Priority Health members with advanced cancers. Priority Health is the first U.S. health plan to adopt a medical policy covering Guardant360, a comprehensive liquid biopsy that, with a simple blood draw, looks for cancer-associated alterations in 70 genes.

"As scientific evidence demonstrating the high sensitivity, specificity and clinical utility of Guardant360 mounts, oncologists are increasingly integrating this valuable tool into their practice," said Richard Lanman, MD, Guardant Health's chief medical officer. "We are thrilled that Priority Health is leading the way among insurers to help doctors provide this critical testing without having to put their patients through a repeat invasive tissue biopsy."

Guardant360 is the first and most validated comprehensive liquid biopsy available commercially. It provides comprehensive analysis of all major classes of somatic tumor alterations. The test interrogates 70 cancer genes from a simple blood draw, with near-perfect specificity and high sensitivity. Using Guardant Health's proprietary Digital Sequencing technology, Guardant360 can detect circulating-tumor DNA at mutant allele fractions (MAF) as low as 0.1%.

Evidence of Guardant360's clinical utility is growing. At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, researchers presented results of the first prospective clinical-utility study of Guardant360. The study demonstrated high treatment-response rates among patients with advanced cancer whose therapy was selected based on Guardant360 findings. And in one of the largest cancer genomics studies ever conducted, Guardant360 was used to survey the landscape of somatic genomic alterations in solid tumors in more than 15,000 patients. The findings demonstrated very high similarity among the alterations detected by Guardant360, and those detected in large numbers of tissue samples collected by The Cancer Genome Atlas.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., is focused on developing breakthrough diagnostics that can transform cancer from a silent killer into a manageable disease. Guardant Health was founded in 2012 by a team of serial entrepreneurs with expertise in next-generation sequencing, single-cell genomics, and cancer diagnostics. The company has raised $200 million from leading venture capital firms and its first product, Guardant360, came to market in 2014. The team is committed to positively and significantly impacting patient health through technology that addresses long-standing unmet needs in oncology.

About Priority Health

Priority Health is an award-winning, Michigan-based non-profit health plan nationally recognized for improving the health and lives of the people it serves. It continues to lead the industry in engaging members in their health, delivering effective health and disease management programs and working with physicians to improve health care outcomes and performance. Priority Health is one of only 20 health plans nationwide offering wellness programs accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an organization which also rated it among the best health plans in the nation. The State of Michigan named the Priority Health HMO the benchmark plan for all individual and group HMO plans to model.

Priority Health offers a broad portfolio of health benefit options for employer groups and individuals, including Medicare and Medicaid plans. Its network of health care providers features 95 percent of practicing physicians available in Michigan and more than 900,000 health care providers nationwide.

SOURCE Guardant Health
SEATTLE, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Psychologist Sex Offender Releases New Book on Sex Addiction. Psychologist and author, Dr. David Scratchley, has released his latest book through Slickrock Enterprises, LLC (Slickrockenterprises.com), "It Doesn't Just Happen, Understanding the Psychology of Destructive Sexual Behavior and Sexual Offending," which is available at Amazon ($13.95, Kindle $4.99). Scratchley, who was arrested in 2011 on sex and drug charges Seattle, Washington in an internationally publicized case, was paroled in March from a Washington State Correctional Facility, and now resides in the Puget Sound Area. In "It Doesn't Just Happen" Scratchley examines problem sexual behavior from a personal and professional perspective and assists readers in recognizing if their sexual behavior has become problematic as well as how to get therapeutic assistance if their sexual behavior is destructive or dysfunctional. Scratchley says of his latest work that he considers it "the single most important contribution he could make following his arrest" and that the book can "hopefully assist others in stopping behaviors which cause such tremendous pain."

Scratchley comments that his latest book grew out of the experience of studying problem sexual behavior and sexual offending while in prison as well as living and working with thousands of individuals who had been incarcerated for similar offenses and that, in this text, he has been able to combine his personal experiences with his education in psychology and neuroscience. He notes that recent high profiles cases have helped to shine a light on a problem which, in the past, has been too difficult for most people to discuss in observing that, "it is only through such discussing such difficult issues as sex addiction, that headway in preventing and correcting these problems can be made" and that, "recognition is the first step in healing." With chapters addressing the psychological vulnerabilities which contribute to an individual displaying problem sexual behavior or compulsive sexual behavior (sex addiction), the effect of pornography on the brain and behavior, thinking errors associated with problem sexual behavior and sex addiction, family dynamics in problem sexual behavior, and therapeutic approaches to treating problem sexual behavior, Scratchley believes the book provides groundbreaking insight into the puzzling world of those who engage in destructive sexual behavior. Prior to his arrest, Scratchley was considered a leading expert and nationally recognized speaker on addiction and disorders of control. In 1996 he coauthored a widely read book on alcoholism and drug addiction, "Alcoholism and Other Drug Problems" (Simon and Schuster, reissued in 2007) with the late James Royce, S.J.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com.

SOURCE Slickrock Enterprises
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite being one of the youngest country brands in the continent, Honduras was elected unanimously by 17 Latin American countries as the location to define the working agenda of the IV International Country Brand Forum to be held later this year in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

July 6 through 9, delegates from the participating brands are gathered in the city of Copan Ruinas in western Honduras, to attend the Preliminary Technical Meeting which will serve to prepare for the 2016 IV International Country Brand Forum.

The selection of Honduras as the host of the planning meeting for this important international forum is a recognition of the management and leadership of the Honduras Country Brand, a public-private partnership between the Government of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, through the Office of Communications and Presidential Strategy, along with the National Investment Council, to promote the country across the world.

According to official sources, Honduras was elected to host this important meeting during last year's III International Country Brand Forum held in Lima, Peru, recognizing the capacity that the country brand has demonstrated to host international conferences, after successfully celebrating its first anniversary with major national and international awards.

Participants of last year's forum determined the city of Copan Ruinas would be the ideal place to host the technical meeting, as it is one of the leading tourism destinations in Honduras, where the essence of Mayan culture and traditions, and the regional cuisine of the western region of the country are showcased.

As part of the activities planned for the event, the delegations will tour the Copan Archeological Site, where they will visit the museum, the Rosalila temple, the Bird Park, and also participate in food tastings.

During the second day of the meeting, the delegations will conduct a comparative analysis of the topics addressed in previous forums, to focus the agenda on key issues that have not been widely discussed in previous conferences.

Following this analysis, the country brand representatives will gather in different working groups to discuss the proposed topics, leading to the establishment of the agenda for the IV forum in a plenary session.

Every year an international forum is held in one of the member countries, to provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences, to develop strategies to help address challenges faced by countries in the region.

The first International Country Brand Forum was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, the second in Santiago, Chile, the third in Lima, Peru, and the fourth is scheduled for the end of the year in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where agenda resulting from this technical meeting will be addressed among the representatives of the country brands from Latin America.

For each country, the brand is an important marketing tool, with the main objective of boosting strategic sectors, among them, tourism, exports and investment, as well as the overall country image.

In Honduras the country brand unites the public sector, the private sector, and civil society, and in its first year has helped showcase that the country has first class tourism destinations, high quality products and macroeconomic indicators to attract investment.

Since its inception, the Honduras Country Brand has promoted the country in tourism fairs and expos which add value to the brand, and has also helped spread positive messages on the best Honduras has to offer, including its culture and cuisine.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151014/276980LOGO

SOURCE Honduras Presidency
DUBLIN, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global LVAD Market 2016-2020" report to their offering.

The global LVAD market to grow at a CAGR of 13.19% during the period 2016-2020.



Global Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

A trend that is sure to boost market growth is the increase in M&A. Vendors undergo M&A to extend their product offerings, increase their market share, and expand their operations. They acquire other companies to enhance their R&D capabilities for manufacturing innovative devices that can meet consumer needs. Acquisition of other companies allows vendors access to the product portfolio of the acquired company.



M&A also helps new players enter the market. In 2013, Thoratec acquired the rights to Terumo Heart's DuraHeart II ventricular assist system. In 2014, Thoratec acquired Apica Cardiovascular to expand its LVAD product portfolio. In October 2015, St. Jude Medical acquired Thoratec for about $3.3 billion. In September 2015, HeartWare International entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Valtech Cardio.



According to the report, a key growth driver is the shortage of heart donors. CVDs can sometimes lead to severe heart failure. In such cases, it becomes mandatory for people to undergo heart transplantation. However, it is difficult to obtain heart transplants due to the shortage of heart donors.



The number of people worldwide that require heart transplantations is rising with each passing year, but there has not been a corresponding rise in heart donors, which is leading to an increase in the average waiting time for heart transplantation. The average waiting time for heart transplantation in the US is 9-11 months. However, in most cases, it goes up to two years. In 2013, the Health Resources and Services Administration estimated that about 18 people die every day in the US due to a shortage of donor hearts.



Further, the report states that one challenge that could impact market growth is the availability of alternative treatments. The presence of alternative treatment options, such as heart transplantation, drug therapy, and TAHs to address acute heart failure and improve cardiac output, hinder the sales of LVADs.

Key vendors



- Abiomed

- Berlin Heart

- HeartWare International

- Jarvik Heart

- St. Jude Medical



Other prominent vendors



- Cardiac Assist

- Evaheart

- ReliantHeart

- Sun Medical Technology Research

- Sunshine Heart



Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive summary



Part 02: Scope of the report



Part 03: Market research methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Ventricular assist devices: An overview



Part 06: Market landscape



Part 07: Market segmentation by application



Part 08: Cost analysis of LVAD implantation



Part 09: Geographical segmentation



Part 10: Market drivers



Part 11: Impact of drivers



Part 12: Market challenges



Part 13: Impact of drivers and challenges



Part 14: Market trends



Part 15: Vendor landscape



Part 16: Appendix



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/s6lm9k/global_lvad

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


SAN FRANCISCO, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DoorDash -- the technology company connecting customers with the most local restaurants by offering door to door delivery -- today announced its launch in select regions of the Sacramento Valley. This announcement marks DoorDash's expansion into its 26th major metropolitan market across the US and Canada to date.

Starting today, customers in Sacramento will be able to order from hundreds of restaurants in the area via the DoorDash Android or iOS app or online at doordash.com. At launch, delivery will be available for the special rate of $1 through the end of July, with no order minimums.

Fast and fresh delivery will be available in under one hour from more than 500 Sacramento favorites, including:

Daphne's California Greek

The Old Spaghetti Factory

Koisan Asian Cuisine

My Thai Kitchen

Mylapore

Pressed Juicery

Saffron Grill

Sammy's Restaurant

With today's launch, DoorDash's national delivery partnership with restaurants including California Pizza Kitchen, Chevy's, Buca di Beppo, and Taco Bell will also extend to the Sacramento area.

"As a Bay Area company, we've been looking forward to expanding even further across Northern California, and we're thrilled to help bring Sacramento residents' favorite foods right to their doors," said Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash. "Thanks to our simple, data-driven platform, hundreds of Sacramento restaurants can now reach more customers than ever before."

At launch, delivery will be available in Folsom, Citrus Heights, El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Roseville, Rocklin, Loomis, Fair Oaks, Antelope, and North Highlands, with more neighborhoods to be added later this year.

To search DoorDash for local hotspots or discover your next go-to, visit doordash.com or download DoorDash for Android or iOS.

About DoorDash

DoorDash is a Silicon Valley technology company that brings the very best of the city to your doorstep by connecting customers with local businesses. Founded in the summer of 2013, DoorDash empowers business-owners to grow their businesses by offering on-demand delivery, data-driven insights, and better in-store efficiency. By building the on-demand delivery infrastructure for local cities, DoorDash is bringing communities closer, one doorstep at a time. Read more on the DoorDash blog or at www.DoorDash.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160705/386406LOGO

SOURCE DoorDash

Related Links

https://www.doordash.com


PHILADELPHIA, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Professional and welcoming staff. Close to Wells Fargo Center and The Navy Yard. Quiet, modern rooms. Comfortable and nice-looking common spaces. Good parking.

Guests who have stayed at Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard have spoken, and the world's largest travel site has taken notice of these glowing reviews that make planning a trip to The City of Brotherly Love informative, easy and fun.

Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard has earned a 2016 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence acknowledgement for its convenient location, modern accommodations and state-of-the-art features. For information, visit www.marriott.com/PHLCS or call 1-215-644-9200.

TripAdvisor, with 350 million reviews covering more than 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions in 48 countries, has honored the hotel in South Philadelphia at The Navy Yard with a 2016 Certificate of Excellence award. The prestigious accolade, now in its sixth year, takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of guest opinions submitted over a 12-month period. To receive the award, the hotel near South Street in Philadelphia maintained an overall TripAdvisor rating of at least four out of five, had a required number of reviews and was listed on the site for at least 12 months. Twenty-five percent of all winners this year are accommodations that range from one-room bed and breakfasts to 600-room hotels. The other 75 percent consist of local and national restaurants and popular attractions.

"It gives us great pride to turn the tide on ordinary travel routines with our newer eco-friendly accommodations and modern amenities," said Derek Beckman, general manager of the hotel. "Whether spending 36 hours in Philly for the Democratic National Convention and following The New York Times' recommendations on places to see or taking an extended vacation with the entire family in toe for education and adventure, we're appreciative of the travelers who turn to us for well-appointed rooms with free Wi-Fi, a state-of-the-art lobby with delectable dining and easy access to some of the area's most popular attractions. When we hear that the service our team offers exceeds our guests' expectations, it's a reason to celebrate."

From value and location to cleanliness and service, the South Philadelphia hotel scored well among travelers. TripAdvisor reviewer Joy L. of Melling in the United Kingdom said she "would stay here again thanks to all the staff for making our stay a great experience." Sayhi2tinee of Washington, D.C. echoed that comment: "The hotel is nice and new, the staff is very friendly. Would stay here again if we are in town for a concert." The hotel also is lauded for its close proximity to Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park. Eagles fan and TripAdvisor contributor notes that she and her husband "will definitely stay there again when we're in Philadelphia" thanks to "great access to venues," "immaculate, gorgeous and modern" accommodations and "friendly and informative" staff.

About Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard

Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard at 1001 Intrepid Ave. in Philadelphia, PA is steps from The Navy Yard and offers easy access to the Liberty Bell, Wells Fargo Arena, Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park. The hotel features 5 floors with 164 rooms, 8 suites, 3 meeting rooms with 1,838 square feet of total event space, a bistro and modern fitness center. For information, visit www.marriott.com/PHLCS or call 1-215-644-9200.

Join Marriott Rewards now and earn points that can be redeemed for free hotel stays and room upgrades at 3,800 hotels in over 70 countries.

Learn more about Courtyard and Marriott International Inc.

PRESS CONTACT

Ronie Nonser

1-703-407-2960

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160705/386398

SOURCE Courtyard Philadelphia South at The Navy Yard

Related Links

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/phlcs-courtyard-philadelphia-south-at-the-navy-yard


"Our Countdown to Cuba continues with new enthusiasm, and we're finalizing plans to bring our world famous value and Customer Service to these emerging U.S. travel markets," said Gary Kelly , Southwest Airlines Chairman, President, & CEO. "As the largest carrier of domestic passengers in the United States*, these nonstop flights from two of our Florida focus cities will provide high-quality, low-fare service to our Customers while also offering convenient connections to Cuba for dozens of U.S. cities across the Southwest network."

Southwest filed an application with the DOT requesting governmental approval to serve Cuba with daily nonstop flights from the carrier's three busiest airports in Florida. Following the initial application on March 2, 2016, Southwest received 120+ letters of support from local, regional, and national organizations, including Orlando, Inc., South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Tampa Bay Partnership, United States Black Chamber of Commerce, United States Business Leaders Network, and United States Hispanic Leadership Institute.

At the filing deadline, more than 25,000 individual supporters had endorsed Southwest's DOT application by visiting Southwest.com/Cuba to petition U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. These individuals consist of a diverse voice of tens of thousands of citizens across the country supporting Southwest's low-fare competition and Customer-friendly travel options to Cuba.

Southwest will soon publish its low fares and flight schedules for Cuba service and intends to begin operations to Cuba later this year. Southwest continues to plan for 2016 year-over-year available seat mile (ASM) growth in the 5-6 percent range.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 46th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 50,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually. Southwest operates more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season across a network of 98 destinations in the United States and seven additional countries with service to three airports in Cuba to begin later this year, subject to government approvals.

*Based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent data, Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded. The Company operates the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the world, the majority of which are equipped with satellite-based WiFi providing gate-to-gate connectivity. That connectivity enables Customers to use their personal devices to view video on-demand movies and television shows, as well as more than 20 channels of free, live TV compliments of our valued Partners. Southwest created Transfarency, a philosophy which treats Customers honestly and fairly, and in which low fares actually stay low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some airlines may allow free checked bags on select routes or for qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply. The airline proudly unveiled a bold new look: Heart. A new logo, aircraft livery, interior design featuring a new seat and flight attendant galley, Employee-designed uniforms, and an updated airport experience all showcase the dedication of Southwest Employees who connect Customers with what's important in their lives.

From its first flights on June 18, 1971, Southwest Airlines launched an era of unprecedented affordability in air travel described by the U.S. Department of Transportation as "The Southwest Effect," a lowering of fares and increase in passenger traffic whenever the carrier enters new markets. With 43 consecutive years of profitability, Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and the planet. The 2015 Southwest Airlines One Report can be found at SouthwestOneReport.com.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 30, 2016, national behavioral health service provider Sovereign Health filed a lawsuit against Health Net, Inc. and several of the insurer's affiliates (collectively, "Health Net") for unlawfully refusing to reimburse roughly $55 million in medically necessary services that Sovereign Health rendered to Health Net insureds. According to the complaint, the case is not about an isolated coverage dispute, but rather the insurer's attack against the entire rehabilitation industry. A copy of the complaint is available here.

COMPLAINT AGAINST HEALTH NET

The complaint alleges that Health Net "engaged in a disgraceful scheme to enrich themselves by backtracking on their insurance promises to recovering addicts and the mentally ill at the expense of providers." Sovereign Health was affected when the insurer began denying the provider's claims without regard to governing law, fair business practices, or common decency. While Health Net had always failed to reimburse Sovereign Health in full, it paid only 36 percent of Sovereign Health's claims in 2015 and a mere 3 percent in 2016, resulting in a massive $55 million receivable for the provider.

Sovereign Health is not the only one suffering en masse claim denials at the hands of Health Net. Trade press reports that the insurer has also refused to pay scores of other rehabilitation treatment centers throughout California for rehabilitation services, prompting the DMHC to open a new investigation into Health Net this year. The industry-wide denials reflect Health Net's latest choice in "a sad pattern of prioritizing dollars over decency," which has resulted in the authorities' repeated need to discipline the insurer. Previously, California's Department of Managed Health Care imposed fines on Health Net for two separate instances of misconduct, and the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Health Net's denials were done arbitrarily, discriminatorily, and in bad faith. In addition to monetary damages, Sovereign Health seeks equitable relief that would put an end to Health Net's unlawful, unfair, and deceptive conduct.

The case is currently pending in Los Angeles Superior Court and is brought by members and business partners of the Sovereign Health family.

ABOUT SOVEREIGN HEALTH

Sovereign Health's mission is to provide a broad spectrum of high-quality behavioral health treatment services for adults and adolescents, including support services for family members. One factor that differentiates Sovereign from other treatment providers has been the company's ability to offer separate mental health and addiction or dual diagnosis treatment programs at its facilities. For more information, visit www.sovhealth.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150814/258633LOGO

SOURCE Sovereign Health

Related Links

http://www.sovhealth.com


CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Demand for immersion blenders has steadily improved over the last five years as consumers embrace their convenience. Being able to quickly whip up something light and healthy without the heavy lifting of a larger appliance, appeals to many. Web Browning, director of sales for Swiss Made Brands USA, said, "Swiss Diamond's recent introduction of the Jet Mix Immersion Blender has been well received. Both consumers and retailers are excited about the new product." The Swiss Diamond Jet Mix Immersion Blender features a unique silicon head specifically designed for use with non-stick cookware to protect against scratching.

Healthy Smoothies with the Jet Mix Swiss Diamond Jet Mix Immersion Blender Item Number SDMIX01USA

Swiss Diamond launched the Jet Mix Immersion Blender in early Q2 2016. Web Browning stated "By introducing a product that is tailored to the unique needs of our nonstick cookware retailers and consumers, we are able to create a niche. We are amazed at our success to date and look forward to the continued growth of the Jet Mix immersion blender as well as the introduction of other kitchen electrics in the future. We added several new recipe videos to our YouTube channel to demonstrate just how powerful and versatile the Jet Mix is."

https://www.youtube.com/user/swissdiamondvideo

The Swiss Diamond Jet Mix immersion blender regularly retails for $199.95 and is available in cream and red (item number SDMIX01USA ) as well as black (Item number SDMIX02USA). The Jet Mix features variable speed for superior control, ergonomic grip, super high power - 600W, 14,000/8,000 RPM, a silicon protected base for immersion in nonstick cookware, and five easy change accessories: mincer blade, multi-purpose blade, whisk, beater, and mini chopper. For more information visit:

https://www.swissdiamond.com/products/detail/jt-mix-immersion-blender-cream-red-1

About Swiss Diamond

Swiss Diamond is a high-end cookware and kitchenware brand established in 2001, with a manufacturing facility in Sierre, Switzerland. The brand is committed to meeting consumer needs by using safe, high-quality materials, by emphasizing innovative design with traditional European craftsmanship and by adhering to an eco-friendly production process. The cookware is oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, PFOA-free and protected with a limited lifetime warranty. For more information please visit: https://www.swissdiamond.com/.

About Swiss Made Brands USA Inc.

Swiss Made Brands USA was founded in 2012 to distribute Swiss Diamond brand cookware and kitchenware in the United States, Central, and South America. Swiss Made Brands USA is based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Contact:

Carolyn Kuczynski

Marketing Communications Manager

Swiss Made Brands USA Inc.

Direct: 704-900-6109

Email

Video - http://youtu.be/hGGVN6EjrIE

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386822

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386821LOGO

SOURCE Swiss Made Brands USA Inc.

Related Links

https://www.swissdiamond.com


Mr. Jia comments: "Our financial strength, underwriting expertise and claims commitment will enable us to deliver value and innovative solutions for our clients. Our focus will be on building our reputation for helping Chinese corporations cover risks, especially those associated with climate change, construction, manufacturing and renewable energy."

Since joining Swiss Re in 2003, Mr. Jia has held senior business development and underwriting roles in China, Singapore, UK and the US. Mr. Jia succeeds Andreas Hillebrand, who has successfully led Corporate Solutions China since the acquisition of Sun Alliance, and will return to his post in Zurich as global head of credit and surety.

The appointment is subject to approval from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

"With his multi-cultural perspective and experience as Chief Operations Officer of our China operations, Jingwei will be invaluable in growing the company," says Fred Kleiterp, CEO Asia Pacific, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. "He is the ideal successor to lead our team in China."

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has offices in the following Asia-Pacific locations: Beijing, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Labuan, Melbourne, Nanjing, Osaka, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

About Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions offers innovative, high-quality insurance capacity to mid-sized and large multinational corporations across the globe. Our offerings range from standard risk transfer covers and multi-line programmes, to highly customised solutions tailored to the needs of our clients. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions serves customers from over 50 offices worldwide and is backed by the financial strength of the Swiss Re Group. For more information about Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, please visit www.swissre.com/corporatesolutions or follow us on Twitter @SwissRe_CS.

SOURCE Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Related Links

http://www.swissre.com/corporate_solutions


KATY, Texas, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- When Karen arrived at the Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital Emergency Center throbbing in pain, she thought she had the flu. Little did she know that her body was under attack by flesh-eating bacteria that would threaten her arm and her life. Thanks to the fast-acting emergency medicine team and wound care experts affiliated with Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital, Karen is fully healed and back to playing games with her grandkids.
This summer, a selection of smart fortwo coupes will road trip across the U.S., stopping in a different city every weekend to allow residents to take the fortwo coupe for a spin. Test drives will take place in well-known city shopping malls or other high-traffic urban locations, where drivers who complete the test drive will earn a complimentary $20 gift card.

Home to the smart U.S. headquarters, Atlanta has a special place in the smart fortwo's heartbetter known as a 3-cylinder turbocharged engine. Since smart USA and Mercedes-Benz, USA relocated to Atlanta in 2015, smart has expertly navigated up and down Peachtree and all roads in between, ensuring it is the perfect city car for Atlanta drivers.

The smart fortwo offers an extensive suite of driver assistance systems including forward collision warning to help prevent rear-end collisions, Crosswind Assist to keep the vehicle in its lane in poor weather conditions and Lane Keeping Assist to better navigate traffic jams in city streets.

The all-new smart fortwo coupe was redesigned from the ground up to provide ultimate urban mobility and self-expression. With a length of just 8.8 feet and a turning circle of 22.8 feet, the smart fortwo sets new benchmarks in maneuverabilityperfect for urban driving.

For increased comfort and convenience, the smart fortwo includes the exclusive cross connect app, standard Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling, a multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, automatic climate control and 3.5" color display and alarm.

As an extension of the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio, the smart fortwo offers personalization, convenience, safety, efficiency and affordabilitythe 2016 smart fortwo coupe starts at $14,650.

Take a break from frustrating three-point turns in your SUV and take smart for a 360-degree spin this weekend. Learn more about the smart Roadshow and where it's stopping next by visiting www.smartusa.com/2016-smart-roadshow.

About smart

smart, a part of the Mercedes-Benz, USA portfolio, is headquartered in Atlanta. The smart line consists of fortwo models in coupe, cabrio and electric. All smart models sold in the U.S. are covered by a four-year, 50,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty.

Classified as ultra-low emissions vehicles by the State of California Air Resources Board, smart models are 8.8 feet long and just over 5 feet tall by 5 feet wide. Despite their microcar exterior dimensions, smart vehicles are surprisingly roomy inside and have a full array of technological and safety features including the patented tridion safety cell, and eight airbags in the coupe and six airbags in the cabriolet, which is designed to protect occupants in the event of a collision. All smart vehicles, designed to be 85% recyclable and over 95% reclaimable, are produced in the environmentally oriented "smartville" factory in Hambach, France.

Further information about smart is available online at www.media.mbusa.com and www.smart.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160705/386304

SOURCE Mercedes-Benz USA

Related Links

http://www.mbusa.com


NEW YORK, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barington Group, which beneficially owns approximately 1.6% of the outstanding common stock of Chico's FAS, Inc. (NYSE: CHS) ("Chico's" or the "Company"), released today an opinion by an independent marketing expert concluding that Hudson's Bay Company's Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor department store chains compete with the Company's three brands: Chico's, White House Black Market and Soma. The opinion was prepared by Dr. Kimberly A. Whitler, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. The opinion can be found at http://tinyurl.com/hy389fu.

Dr. Whitler identifies in her opinion a number of important areas where the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor brands have similar and/or overlapping segmentation and product characteristics with Chico's three brands. She also notes that key similarities exist across the different brands in the definition of the target customer and the channels and geography in which they compete, as they are all retailers targeting middle aged to older, more affluent women primarily located in the United States, through e-commerce, store, catalogue and direct mail channels. Dr. Whitler states that these similarities are especially notable given that there is a dearth of apparel retailers targeting middle aged and older women.

Dr. Whitler also notes in her opinion that Chico's has specifically identified Saks Fifth Avenue as a direct competitor in past filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2000 to 2009. For example, on page 8 of the Company's 2009 Form 10-K filing, the Company states:

"The retailers that are believed to most directly compete with the Chico's brand are the mid-to-high end department stores including Nordstrom's, Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue."

While Chico's ended the practice of specifically listing its competitors in its Form 10-K filings after 2009, the Company's Form 10-K filings continue to state that they "compete with local, national, and international department storesoffering similar categories of merchandise."

Dr. Whitler's opinion confirms the view of the Barington Group that if the Company's nominee Bonnie R. Brooks were elected to the Chico's Board at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, her service as a director of Chico's would create a material conflict of interest. Ms. Brooks is the Vice Chairman of Hudson's Bay Company which owns and operates the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor department store chains. The Barington Group believes that it is not in the best interests of the Company or its stockholders for her to serve as a director, and has questioned the judgment of the Board for nominating Ms. Brooks given her conflicted loyalties.

Corporate Governance Expert Concurs That Ms. Brooks'

Service on the Chico's Board Would Create a Conflict of Interest

Professor Charles Elson, the Director of the University of Delaware's Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, believes that it was a poor decision for the Chico's Board to nominate Ms. Brooks and has publicly stated that "if you are involved with a company that competes it puts you in a bad position because you have conflicted loyalties." (TheStreet, June 2, 2016).

The Barington Group Believes that Stockholders Deserve

Better Board Representation and Undivided Loyalty

The Barington Group believes that the loyalty, dedication and independence of the Company's directors matter to stockholders. We are convinced that Chico's does not just need new directors  it needs new dedicated , qualified and experienced independent directors. We therefore strongly recommend that stockholders vote the Barington Group's BLUE proxy card to elect our two nominees  James Mitarotonda and Janet Grove  who have the experience, independence and lack of conflicting loyalties that we believe is necessary to help unlock the Company's long-term value potential and ensure that stockholder interests remain protected in the boardroom.

Stockholders are reminded that even if they have already returned the Company's white proxy card, they can still vote for the Barington Group's nominees by returning the BLUE proxy card today, as only their latest dated proxy card will count toward the election of directors at the 2016 Annual Meeting. Stockholders are encouraged to call the Barington Group's proxy solicitor toll free at (877) 566-1922 if they have any questions or need any assistance voting their shares.

About Barington Capital Group, L.P. :

Barington Capital Group, L.P. is a fundamental, value-oriented activist investment firm that was established by James A. Mitarotonda in January 2000. Barington invests in undervalued publicly traded companies that Barington believes can appreciate significantly in value as a result of a change in corporate strategy or improvements in operations, capital allocation or corporate governance. Barington's investment team, advisors and network of industry experts draw upon their extensive strategic, operating and boardroom experience to assist companies in designing and implementing initiatives to improve long-term shareholder value. Barington has substantial experience investing in retail and other consumer-focused companies, with prior investments in Dillard's, The Children's Place, The Jones Group, Warnaco, Nautica, Steve Madden, Payless ShoeSource, Stride Rite, Collective Brands, Maxwell Shoe, Avon Products, Lone Star Steakhouse, Darden Restaurants and Harry Winston, among others.

Important Information :

The Barington Group has filed a definitive proxy statement and an accompanying BLUE proxy card with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on June 13, 2016 to be used to solicit proxies in connection with the election of its nominees at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Chico's FAS, Inc., a Florida corporation.

THE BARINGTON GROUP STRONGLY ADVISES ALL STOCKHOLDERS OF CHICO'S FAS, INC. TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT BECAUSE IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION, INCLUDING INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROXY SOLICITATION AND THEIR DIRECT OR INDIRECT INTERESTS. THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND OTHER MATERIALS FILED BY THE BARINGTON GROUP IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOLICITATION OF PROXIES ARE AVAILABLE AT NO CHARGE ON THE SEC'S WEB SITE AT HTTP://WWW.SEC.GOV. STOCKHOLDERS MAY ALSO OBTAIN A COPY OF THE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, WITHOUT CHARGE, AT HTTP://WWW.BARINGTON.COM/CHICOS.HTML OR BY CONTACTING BARINGTON'S PROXY SOLICITOR, OKAPI PARTNERS LLC, AT ITS TOLL-FREE NUMBER: (877) 566-1922 OR AT [email protected].

CONTACT:



Jared L. Landaw

Chief Operating Officer

Barington Capital Group, L.P.

(212) 974-5713



Okapai Partners LLC

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (212) 297-0720

(877) 566-1922 (toll-free)



SOURCE Barington Capital Group, L.P.
LOS ANGELES, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Honest Company (www.honest.com), a leading healthy lifestyle brand, today announced that it has been named a member of the Organic Trade Association, the foremost voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 8,500 organic businesses across 50 states.

The Organic Trade Association is the membership-based business association for the organic industry in North America. OTA member companies qualify by offering certified organic products or support services that serve the organic industry business.

"Our mission at Honest is to provide families with effective, safe, and responsibly made products that promote healthy lifestyles and give them an option worthy of their confidence. We're honored to join the Organic Trade Association, an important partner aligned in a mutual goal of bringing greater awareness around the benefits of certified organic products," said Brian Lee, The Honest Company CEO and Co-Founder. "We're dedicated to OTA's mission of promoting and protecting the growing organic sector and look forward to working with them and their incredible network to make our growing portfolio of certified organic products more accessible to consumers."

Founded in 2012, the mission-driven company provides more than 100 products across a wide range of consumer categories, including baby, personal care, home care, and vitamins & supplements. Currently, The Honest Company offers over a dozen organic products that strictly comply with either the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards and are labeled with the USDA Organic Seal in accordance with the National Organic Program or are made with Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) materials. Some of Honest's organic product offerings include:

Organic Infant Formula, carefully modeled after breast milk and made with premium ingredients that abide by the strict criteria of the USDA certified organic program to ensure the highest quality sourcing, purity, and sustainable farming practices.

Organic Healing Balm, made with organic sunflower, olive, and coconut oils to nourish, moisturize, and help soothe sensitive and dry skin.

Organic Baby Powder, talc-free organic powder keeps skin soft, dry, and soothed.

Feminine Care Products, made with GOTS certified organic cotton, providing comfort, performance and purity.

"We are excited that The Honest Company is now a part of the OTA community," said OTA CEO and Executive Director Laura Batcha. "Honest's broad diversity of products show how much organic has become a part of our daily lives  from baby food and vitamins to personal care and home care products. We look forward to working with The Honest Company to further our mission to promote and protect organic."

"The Honest Company is committed to building a healthy and more conscious future to support ethical consumerism," said The Honest Company Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Jessica Alba. "With our OTA membership, we can make an even greater impact within the organic marketplace and continue to set standards for transparency and safety. We are excited to work together to meet new challenges facing the organic industry as we continue to provide a range of organic products for our customers."

In addition to enhancing its profile in the organic industry by joining OTA, Honest has long been an advocate for strengthening the country's chemical safety laws, partnering with organizations like Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) to support the company's advocacy efforts. Honest co-founders Christopher Gavigan and Jessica Alba also met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to reiterate concerns about chemical safety and encourage Members of Congress to pass meaningful Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform, which was passed in early June.

About The Honest Company

The Honest Company is dedicated to helping people live a happy and healthy life. Founded in 2012, the mission-driven company provides 100+ safe, effective, and delightful products across a wide range of consumer categories, including baby, personal care, home care, and vitamins & supplements, to a passionate community of consumers united by values and style. Honest Beauty is a comprehensive skincare and makeup collection created with the same Honest standards of safety, performance, and spirit that are the hallmark of The Honest Company. Honest products are available across the U.S. and Canada via honest.com and honestbeauty.com and at more than 6,000 retail locations across North America. The Honest Company is privately held and headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

About the Organic Trade Association

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 8,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA's Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace. See more at: https://www.ota.com/

SOURCE The Honest Company

Related Links

http://www.honest.com


Martin Tuchman stated: "as a result of our funding, combined with grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Veterans Administration Healthcare System and The Levine Foundation, we were able to conduct this exciting new study. We've worked with Dr. Jeff Bronstein in the past and we are very proud of his work in this area. We look forward to funding his future projects."
TAMPA, Fla., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- TruClarity has helped the founders of newly minted wealth advisor One Seven (www.WeAreOneSeven.com) successfully launch their firm. The foundation of the new business is a four-advisor team, with approximately 500 clients and $600 million in assets, which decided to break away from Morgan Stanley. Ultimately, One Seven is envisioned as a client-centric RIA consisting of a nationwide network of like-minded advisors. The firm is headquartered in Cleveland with its first additional office in Park City, Utah.

One Seven was founded by a group of seven financial professionals with a wide range of experience and backgrounds, much of it gained at some of the most well-known institutions in the industry. The new firm will be led by CEO Ron Gross, who also serves in that position for MGO Investments Advisors, Inc., a leading retirement plan consultant and investment management firm, and Todd Resnick, CFP, President of One Seven. The other firm founders are Michael Mawby, CFP; Stuart Gertman, Bruce Greenwald, Richard Gross and Paul Orchosky, CFP.

"One of the biggest hurdles for advisors who have spent their careers in a wirehouse environment is not knowing the nuances of pulling off a successful transition from an advisor employee to business owner," said Craig Butler, President of TruClarity. "One Seven realized that by partnering with TruClarity to help manage their transition, they could continue to maximize their own value proposition by devoting their energy to what they do besthelping clients reach their long-term financial goals."

Many advisors who recognize the advantages of becoming independent are constrained by insufficient knowledge of the transition process, inadequate resources, and most importantly a lack of time. The experienced professionals at TruClarity aim to remove these obstacles by managing the myriad details that a new or existing RIA enterprise requires. The firm provides technology and support, assistance with marketing and branding efforts, human resources, real estate, legal, compliance, payroll, outsourced CFO, billing and freedom from the hassle and expense of running back-office operations.

Getting the new business up and running is just the first step in the relationship TruClarity builds with its RIA partners. By taking on the non-revenue generating portions of the business, TruClarity remains engaged in a way that allows the advisors to be business owners but not bogged down with the minutiae of being business operators. This approach allows advisory firm principals to sustain and grow their business by focusing on client relationships and converting prospects rather than running the back office.

"Most advisors are financial professionals who got into this business because they enjoy working with people and helping make their lives better," said Pam Stross, President of TruClarity Management Services. "We give them the ability to focus on their clients at a higher level, because TruClarity is taking care of those tasks that are not client-facing."

About TruClarity

TruClarity is an innovative provider in the financial services marketplace offering financial advisors a proven solution to the challenges of becoming an independent advisor and business owner. TruClarity takes the time to understand each advisor's individual circumstances and then provides efficient and highly productive transition and business operations support. Offering a comprehensive transition service encompassing technology and research to compliance and marketing and everything in between, TruClarity equips their advisor clients with a robust, stable platform to support their firm's day-to-day activities.

For more information, please visit www.TruClaritySolution.com.

CONTACT:

Michael Chiong

JConnelly

(646) 922-7764

[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160706/386918LOGO

SOURCE We Are One Seven, LLC

Related Links

http://www.WeAreOneSeven.com


PLAINSBORO, N.J. and NEW YORK, July 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Novo Nordisk, the global diabetes leader and JDRF, the leading research and advocacy organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, announced today the launch of the first book series of its kind designed to guide children and their caregivers through the different ages and stages of life with T1D. The six-part book series, titled, "My Life, My Diabetes, My Way," includes booklets for small children (ages 2-6), tweens (ages 7-11), teens (ages 12-16), and young adults (ages 17-24), as well as a book for caregivers and a general diabetes informational book. Each booklet contains age-appropriate educational information and activities. The series is available to download for free at t1support.cornerstones4care.com and hard copies will be made available in pediatric and adult endocrinologist offices throughout the Unites States beginning July 5.

"Growing up with type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be challenging, and every age brings unique hurdles; it's critical to have education and support to help manage the disease no matter your age or stage of diabetes," said Margo K. Lucero, senior vice president, Corporate and international Development at JDRF. "JDRF is excited to offer education and support to the T1D community through resources like the JDRF Bag of Hope, which will include information about these materials. A T1D diagnosis can be challenging for families, so we welcome the opportunity to partner with Novo Nordisk to create this novel resource and get the books into the hands of people living with this disease."

"Novo Nordisk is committed to the T1D community and to providing educational resources and support that may help young people and their families not only cope with diabetes, but thrive in spite of it," said Camille Lee, senior vice president, Diabetes & Obesity Marketing at Novo Nordisk. "We understand that growing up with T1D comes with various sets of challenges. We're hopeful that this new resource will act as a roadmap to help children, young adults, and their caregivers navigate every stage of their diabetes care."

Novo Nordisk Patient Ambassador and American country music star, RaeLynn, who was diagnosed at age 12 and is now 22, understands the struggles of growing up with T1D. "Growing up is tough for everyone," RaeLynn says, "but a T1D diagnosis on top of that can make things even harder. Young people learning to manage their disease often feel overwhelmed and sometimes discouraged from dreaming big about their futures. As a Patient Ambassador for Novo Nordisk, it's my goal to connect children, teens, and young adults who have T1D with the resources they need to get through these important years. I want to show them that you can still pursue your dreams and achieve big things with diabetes."

JDRF and Novo Nordisk, with the help of RaeLynn, will launch the series today and distribute free books to attendees at the Children With Diabetes "Friends for Life" conference at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

About Diabetes

In the United States, more than 29 million people are affected by diabetes.1 Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases.1 Diabetes is emerging as one of the most serious health problems of our time; the number of Americans with diabetes has almost quadrupled over the past 30 years.2

About Novo Nordisk

Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious chronic conditions: hemophilia, growth disorders and obesity. With U.S. headquarters in Plainsboro, N.J., Novo Nordisk Inc. has more than 5,000 employees in the United States. For more information, visit novonordisk.us or follow us on Twitter: @novonordiskus.

About JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our mission is to accelerate life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications. To accomplish this, JDRF has invested nearly $2 billion in research funding since our inception. We are an organization built on a grassroots model of people connecting in their local communities, collaborating regionally for efficiency and broader fundraising impact, and uniting on a national stage to pool resources, passion, and energy. We collaborate with academic institutions, policymakers, and corporate and industry partners to develop and deliver a pipeline of innovative therapies to people living with T1D. Our staff and volunteers in more than 100 locations throughout the United States and our six international affiliates are dedicated to advocacy, community engagement and our vision of a world without T1D. For more information, please visit jdrf.org or follow us on Twitter.

About "Friends for Life" Children with Diabetes Conference

Friends for Life is an international gathering of world-renowned clinicians, researchers, physicians, adults, children, and families with diabetes to learn the most current information in diabetes care.

References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf. Accessed May 13, 2016 . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Number (in Millions) of Civilian, Noninstitutionalized Adults with Diagnosed Diabetes, United States , 19802014. http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/prev/national/figpersons.htm. Accessed May 13, 2016 .

Novo Nordisk is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S.

All other trademarks, registered or unregistered, are the property of their respective owners.

 2016 Novo Nordisk All rights reserved. USA16NMM02374 June 2016

SOURCE Novo Nordisk
Through this agreement, Knightscope's K5 and K3 robot models are immediately available to customers in Northern California and will become available in Southern California this September. A national rollout is set for 2017. Both models offer a physical presence as a strong crime deterrent, real-time video and audio, and a human interface. The K5 model is designed for outdoor applications such as parking lots and campuses, while the K3 is designed for indoor security at such facilities as office towers, warehouses, distribution centers and data centers.

"We are excited about the continued evolution of integrating various technology applications into uniformed security operations," said Ty Richmond, Universal Services of America President, Systems and Technology. "Customers require situational awareness to make informed decisions and autonomous mobile machines and devices provide another level of intelligence to accomplish that task. The partnership with Knightscope enables Universal to take an industry leading role in this new service arena."

Universal's autonomous robot Machine as a Service offering is all inclusive for customers. In addition, Universal security officers will be trained and certified to ensure seamless integration into existing security programs.

"Autonomous machines are purposely built for security programs seeking to increase threat management through the strategic integration of people, processes and technology," said Mark McCourt, Vice President, Enterprise Services for Universal Protection Service. "Robots are a real force multiplier by adding effectiveness and efficiency to security programs. Knightscope is the perfect partner for this new initiative."

William Santana Li, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knightscope, Inc., said, "The world is going to change more in the next five years than the last 50 years combined. Knightscope has built one of the most important technologies coming out of Silicon Valley and we are proud to be working in concert with Universal by integrating with existing security programs while providing new revolutionary capabilities to clients."

Universal Protection Service is the largest U.S.-owned security company and the nation's primary security provider for commercial office and retail properties. As Universal expands its position in the industry, the company continues to provide clients with total security solutions, personalized customer service and unmatched exceptional value. The company serves a variety of industries in North America, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

About Universal Services of America

Founded in 1965, Universal Services of America is one of the leading facility services companies in North America, combining an innovative mix of tradition with cutting edge systems and technology to keep pace with the ever-evolving needs of today's business environments. Headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., Universal is a $2.5 billion company with more than 80,000 employees on staff. The company is now the second largest manned guarding security company in the U.S. and employs a hands-on, highly experienced management team and continuous training to deliver consistent, high quality security solutions. Universal has four unique divisions: Universal Protection Service, Universal Protection Security Systems, Universal Fire/Life Safety Services and Universal Building Maintenance. To learn more, visit www.universalpro.com.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160707/387163

SOURCE Universal Protection Service

Related Links

http://www.universalpro.com


HAGERSTOWN, Md., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Skin cancer affects over two million people in the United States every year. As summer gets underway, Dr. Henry F. Garazo, a board certified plastic surgeon and Maryland skin cancer surgeon, urges the public to prioritize sun protection and skin cancer self examination in their daily routines.

Take sun protection seriously throughout the year, not just in summer

Repeated sun exposure adds up, increasing the likelihood of developing skin cancer throughout one's lifetime if left uncheckedaccording to the Skin Cancer Foundation, a person's risk of developing melanoma can double after having just five sunburns.

"We associate wearing sunscreen with summer activities, but harmful UV rays affect our skin year-round, even on cloudy days," notes Dr. Garazo. He recommends using broad-spectrum sunscreen daily on exposed skin, and reapplying as needed for continued protection.

He mentions that a board certified plastic surgeon, dermatologist, or physician-supervised skin care professional can help patients find a good-quality sunscreen that feels light on the skin. "Consistency is key," says Dr. Garazo, "so it is worthwhile for patients to invest in a sunscreen they love and are willing to use on a daily basis."

Monthly self-examinations can identify potentially cancerous moles and lesions

In addition to consistent use of sunscreen, Dr. Garazo says that regular, head-to-toe skin self-examinations are a critical step to prevent and treat skin cancer before it develops into a potentially life-threatening situation.

"Early skin cancer detection can save lives," stresses Dr. Garazo. "The most effective way to catch suspicious lesions before they become a serious health problem is to familiarize yourself with what is normal for your skin, so you can detect changes as soon as possible." He adds that patients who are aware of changes in their skin are more likely to seek medical help at early signs of cancerous lesions.

Visual resources can help patients identify potential skin cancers

Dr. Garazo has created a visual guide to moles to provide a convenient resource for patients who may be concerned about their own skin cancer risk. The guide contains information about how to detect cancerous moles and images that individuals can compare to any unusual moles on their own body.

"It is so important to pay attention to any markings on the body," says Dr. Garazo. "Moles that are asymmetrical or change in size, shape, or color can be indicators of skin cancer and should be taken seriously. My goal in creating this visual guide to moles is that more people will become aware of any changes in their skin and seek medical help when needed."

Solutions for treating skin cancer

For patients who receive a skin cancer diagnosis, Dr. Garazo stresses that treatment options such as Modified Mohs surgery offer a good prognosis for curing early-stage tumors.

This procedure has a high success rate because it involves progressively removing layers of cancerous tissue until only healthy tissue remains. Excised tissue is examined incrementally throughout the procedure to remove all cancerous cells and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible. Reconstruction of the area is either performed during the same appointment or in the days following.

"Modified Mohs surgery is an extremely effective way to treat early stages of skin cancer, particularly Basal Cell and Squamous Cell carcinomas," says Dr. Garazo, who performs the procedure at his plastic surgery practice in Hagerstown, Maryland. "I have helped many patients avoid more serious treatment by quickly and thoroughly removing cancerous tissue."

About Dr. Henry F. Garazo: Plastic surgeon. Henry Garazo is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and has been selected as one of America's Top Plastic Surgeons by the Consumers' Research Council of America for five consecutive years. He practices in his hometown of Hagerstown, Maryland, at The Galleria, 1140 Conrad Court, Hagerstown, Md., 21740-5905. Learn more at www.plasticsurgeryservices.net or read Dr. Garazo's reviews.

Media Contact: Dr. Henry F. Garazo, (301) 791-1800 or www.plasticsurgeryservices.net

SOURCE Dr. Henry F. Garazo
CHICAGO, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2016 American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) National Patient and Family Conference, Precision Medicine and Its Impact on Brain Tumors: Low Grade, High Grade and Metastatic, reflects the culmination of advances in science and medicine that for the first time offers brain tumor patients better treatment options and, as a result, better outcomes and improved quality of life.

For more than 100 years, a brain tumor diagnosis has been based entirely on the way the tumor looks under a microscope. In May 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a global reclassification of brain tumors that now includes the tumor's genetic information.

The American Brain Tumor Association's National Patient and Family Conference, being held July 29-30 in Chicago, is the ABTA's first gathering of patients, caregivers, researchers and the medical community since the WHO announcement. "The updated WHO classifications signal the universal arrival of personalized medicine in the brain tumor community," said Elizabeth Wilson, ABTA president and CEO. "This conference is the ideal venue for bringing all of these dynamic and exciting advances to the attention of the very patients and families who stand to benefit from them."

Kenneth Aldape, MD, University of Toronto and past professor of pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center will introduce the new classifications in the opening panel discussion focused on Precision Medicine Driving Advances in Brain Tumors. Dr. Aldape, who is a past president of the Society for Neuro-Oncology will discuss how the WHO reclassifications will improve the lives of brain tumor patients through greater diagnostic accuracy, improved patient management and more accurate determinations of prognosis and treatment response.

Joining Dr. Aldape are panelists David A. Reardon, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and immediate past president of the Society of Neuro-Oncology, who will address the topic of translational genomics and the impact of molecular profiling on the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors as well as in drug development; and Elizabeth B. Claus, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Yale School of Public Health, who will share her efforts to advance the understanding of low grade gliomas (LGG) through the first International Low Grade Glioma Patient Registry. The registry, being funded in part by the ABTA, will be launched at the conference and will enable researchers to identify inherited and non-inherited genetic differences in LGG tumors and assess tumor progression and treatment response over time.

Metastatic brain tumors, or secondary brain tumors, represent another first at this national conference. Brain metastases are on the rise as treatment regimens for other cancers are preventing growth of primary tumors, yet failing to prevent the cancer from disseminating to the brain. The Challenge of Metastatic Brain Tumors panel includes Paul Brown, MD, Mayo Clinic; Manmeet Ahluwalia, MD, FACP, Cleveland Clinic; and Priscilla Brastianos, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Day two opens with a series of short presentations on Understanding Your Brain Tumor, Treatment Options, and Decision-Making:

Genes and Tumor Markers by Daniel J. Brat, MD, Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University

by Daniel J. Brat, MD, Winship Cancer Institute at Understanding Your Imaging by Annette Johnson , MD, MS, Wake Forest School of Medicine

by , MD, MS, Wake Forest School of Medicine Seizure Management by Amy A. Pruitt , MD, University of Pennsylvania Hospital

by , MD, Hospital Reproductive Challenges and Family Planning by Lisa Kolp , MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine

These presentation briefs will be followed by focused breakout sessions on specific tumor types and popular quality of life topics led by industry experts:

Low Grade Tumors & Meningiomas led by Nina Paleologos , MD, Rush University Medical Center and Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD, FRCS(C), FAANS, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network

led by , MD, Medical Center and Gelareh Zadeh, MD, PhD, FRCS(C), FAANS, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network High Grade Tumors led by E. Antonio Chiocca , MD, PhD, FAANS, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School , Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

led by , MD, PhD, FAANS, and Women's Hospital, , Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Metastatic Brain Tumors led by Manmeet Ahluwalia , MD, FACP, Cleveland Clinic and Elizabeth B. Claus , MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Yale School of Public Health

led by , MD, FACP, Cleveland Clinic and , MD, PhD, and Women's Hospital and Yale School of Public Health Securing Your Care Preferences: Guidance on an Advanced Directive led by Randi Belisomo , MSJ, MA and Celeste Gallati, MBA, Life Matters Media

led by , MSJ, MA and Celeste Gallati, MBA, Life Matters Media Getting Back to Work: Tips & Tools led by Monica Bryant, Esq. , Triage Cancer

led by , Triage Cancer Caring for the Caregiver led by Jean Arzbaecher, RN , MSN, APN, CNRN, University of Illinois at Chicago

led by , MSN, APN, CNRN, Keeping a Focus on Function led by Samman ( Sam) Shahpar , MD, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

The concluding panel features presentations on The Science and Technology Driving Innovative Treatment Options and includes presentations on:

Neurosurgery  Brain Mapping by Mitchel S. Berger , MD, FACS, FAANS, University of California San Francisco

by , MD, FACS, FAANS, Proton Therapy for Brain Tumors by Paul Brown , MD, Mayo Clinic

by , MD, Mayo Clinic Immunotherapy by David Reardon , MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

All sessions include a question and answer period, and frequent breaks for attendee networking.

To register for the conference, go to www.braintumorconference.org, call 800-886-ABTA (2282) or email [email protected].

Advance registration is required by July 22. The deadline for discounted hotel rooms is July 14. See the full program online.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN BRAIN TUMOR ASSOCIATION

Founded in 1973, the American Brain Tumor Association was the first and is the only national patient advocacy organization committed to funding brain tumor research and providing support and education programs for all tumor types for all ages.

CONTACT:

Martha Carlos

[email protected]

773-577-8790

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150901/262855LOGO

SOURCE American Brain Tumor Association

Related Links

http://abta.org


Mumbai, July 2 : Actor-director Rahul Bose, who has decided to produce his second directorial venture "Poorna", says he is a very organised as a producer.

"I am a very scary producer because I am very organized. I respect my actors coming on time so my crew has to be there. We were ahead of the schedule....everything was clock work.

"We gave our actors the best time possible and we hired guides for them to see the city. Nobody has done this for me as an actor," Rahul told IANS.

"Poorna" is an inspiring and true story of an adivasi girl from what is now Telengana who created history on May 25, 2014 by becoming the youngest girl in the world to scale the Mount Everest.

Aditi Inamdar, a Telengana girl from another impoverished family was chosen after Rahul auditioned 109 girls, including a few tribals to bring Poorna's superhuman feat to screen.

While Aditi will be seen portraying Poorna's character, Rahul will be essaying the role of Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar.
Agartala/Silchar, July 4 : The governors of Assam and Tripura have told the Border Security Force (BSF) to tighten their vigil on the border with Bangladesh following the terror attack on Dhaka.

Assam Governor P.B. Acharya visited the Sutarkandi border areas in Karimganj district on Sunday and held discussion with BSF officials, said police sources.

The governor has asked the BSF to keep "maximum vigil" along the winding border, a police official told IANS.

Twenty foreigners and Bangladeshis were slaughtered in a Dhaka cafe on Friday evening by Islamists, six of who were killed by security forces. A seventh terrorist was caught.

Acharya also met officials of district administration, and also talked to Border Guards Bangladesh officials, Karimganj Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar Deka said on Monday.

In Tripura, Governor Tathagata Roy met BSF officials on Sunday.

"We have apprised the governor about the steps taken along the India-Bangladesh border," BSF's Tripura Frontier Inspector General J.B. Sangwan told IANS.

He said: "We have alerted our troops to remain extra alert."

Tripura Director General of Police K. Nagaraj said the state government had asked the BSF to maintain a maximum alert along the border.

"Central paramilitary forces, Tripura Police and Tripura State Rifles are also keeping a close watch in the prevailing situation," Nagaraj told reporters on Monday.
Kolkata, July 6 : A young man's battered body was found on Wednesday in West Bengal's Howrah district.

The body was found lying near a park in Bantra police station area by morning walkers.

"The face and head of the body have been badly smashed, the identity of the victim is yet to be established," said a police officer.

The discovery of a blood stained heavy stone near the body has created a panic among the locals who fear the return of the stoneman, an unidentified serial killer who murdered over a dozen people in Kolkata during 1989.

"I have read about the stoneman killings. The killing has been done in the similar fashion," said one of the locals.
Kolkata, July 6 : A West Bengal court on Wednesday remanded a 25-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of having links with the Islamic State (IS), in 14-day police custody. Two of his accomplices have also been arrested.

Mohammad Masiuddin, alias Musa, was detained at Burdwan railway station on Monday and arrested on Tuesday by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after his interrogation allegedly revealed links with "foreign extremists", including the IS.

He was presented before a court in Howrah which remanded him in CID custody for 14 days.

Musa was picked up by sleuths off a train at Burdwan railway station while he was on his way to his home in Labhpur in Birbhum district.

The CID on Monday also arrested two people said to be Musa's accomplices from Labhpur.

"Musa's interrogation revealed about the involvement of two more people in this connection. They have been arrested and brought to the CID headquarters in the city for questioning," said CID Deputy Inspector General Dilip Kumar Adak.

"The duo, Saddam Hussain alias Kalia and Seikh Abbasuddin alias Amin, was arrested from Labhpur," the officer said.

According to the CID, Musa is a native of Labhpur but lived in Tirupur in Tamil Nadu along with his wife and two children and worked in a grocery shop.

Police seized a 13-inch machete and an improvised firearm from his possession.

State and central intelligence agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), have been questioning the man.

The investigators are also studying the data recovered from his mobile phone which has revealed "his terror links", according to officials.

This year so far, four people have been arrested from West Bengal for suspected links with the IS.

The NIA in March arrested Ashik Ahammed alias Raja, a resident of Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district, for being an "IS facilitator".

Musa's arrest comes in the wake of the deadly terror attack in Dhaka in which 20 people were killed. The state has been on high alert with the Border Security Force intensifying vigil across the India-Bangladesh border.

The police has also not ruled out Musa's involvement with the Bangladeshi militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

An accidental blast at a house in Khagragarh in Burdwan district in October 2014 led to the NIA busting a JMB terror module in the state.
New Delhi, July 6 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reviewed the functioning of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in view of BRICS Heads of Anti-Drug Working Group meeting here on July 8.

BRICS comprises five major emerging national economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

NCB chief Rai Bhatnagar informed the minister about the steps taken by the agency to tackle the drug menace in India.

He said the NCB undertook a large number of operations in coordination with other countries leading to the unearthing of as many as 29 international drug syndicates.

An NCB drive was also undertaken to identify the areas where illicit cultivation of opium and cannabis was undertaken and these crops destroyed in coordination with state governments.

Increased surveillance by the Border Security Force and other agencies on the international borders also helped reduce smuggling of heroin and other opiates into India.
Los Angeles, July 7 : Actress Mila Kunis, who is preparing to welcome her second child with actor Ashton Kutcher, says she has discovered that "children are f**king crazy".

In an interview with Glamour magazine, the actress reflected on her first pregnancy with the couple's daughter, Wyatt Isabelle, born in October 2014, and how she got ready to have a baby, reports etonline.com.

"They are also suicidal. Like, at the park, certain jungle gyms have an opening for older kids to jump out of. (Wyatt is) 19 months; she can't jump. She just walks off it as if she is on a pirate ship," Kunis told the magazine.

"Another important thing to learn is that kids have a personality that has nothing to do with you. I have a really sweet daughter. She wants to hug all the other kids. I didn't teach her to be sweet. It has nothing to do with me. I have realised you can control only so much," she added.

The 32-year-old actress has also learned a lot about her husband in their years together, including the look on his face when he is not telling her the truth.

"We can't bulls**t each other. I literally can't lie to him. He can call me out on everything, and I can do the same, because there is nothing about the other person's face that we don't know," Kunis explained.

"We know when they are acting, thus we know when they are lying," she added.

Kunis will next be seen in the comedy film "Bad Moms". Directed and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the film also stars Christina Applegate, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Mumolo and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Mumbai, July 7 : Actor Irrfan Khan, who recently created a stir after making stern remarks on a Muslim tradition of sacrifice, says Eid is a blissful moment.

Irrfan spoke about the essence of fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

"All festivals have some meaning and purpose. We should try to find out that. Eid is a blissful moment like all festivals, where people give out some portion from their entire year's earning to some needy people," he said at the musical reality show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" set, which he visited to promote his forthcoming film "Madaari".

"The purpose is to share. It could be your earning or anything... monetary or maybe your good thoughts so that equality can be spread out in your surroundings," he added.

"After a month of praying and meditating, this is the time of celebration. We hope our prayer is accepted by the almighty and our souls are purified."

The actor recently condemned the fact that animals are being slaughtered in the name of Qurbani. His remarks did not go down well with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Kabul, July 7 : Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has welcomed Washington's decision to extend the presence of American troops' in the country till 2017, the Presidential Palace said in a statement on Thursday.

"Mohammad Ashraf Ghani welcomed decision of President Barak Obama to authorise extension of US troops in Afghanistan," the statement said.

On Wednesday, Obama announced that he will maintain about 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan into 2017 through the end of his administration. His original plan was to draw down US troops in the militancy-hit country to 5,500 by the end of this year, Xinhua news agency reported.

The decision showed continued partnership between US and Afghanistan to pursue common interests and strengthen regional stability, the statement added.

Obama said the new decision was based on recommendation of US military leaders and following extensive consultations with his national security team, as well as the Congress, the Afghan government and international partners.

The NATO and US forces completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces, including some 9,800 US troops, are currently stationed in Afghanistan within the framework of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising and backing Afghan troops in the war on insurgents.
Toronto, July 7 : A 14-year-old Indo-Canadian Sikh student has been selected to take part in the prestigious "Students on Ice Arctic Expedition", media reported.

Beginning July 21, Abhayjeet Singh Sachal will travel along with a team of more than 100 high-school and university students from around the world to the eastern Canadian Arctic and western Greenland, in an expedition which will continue up to August 5.

Sachal was also conferred $11,900 scholarship from the US Embassy for the expedition, voiceonline.com reported this week.

"This expedition will allow me to explore my passion for learning about the dynamics about climate change, delve into my passion for scientific research, and will give me an adventure of a lifetime," Sachal, who is a Grade 10 student at Seaquam Secondary School in British Columbia, was quoted as saying.

"Upon my return, I will share my knowledge with the community in order to implement the changes that we need," Sachal added.

The participants, who will be guided by a team of scientists, artists and educators, will also visit remote Arctic communities, observe wildlife, hike through Auyuittuq National Park.

Students on Ice (SOI), which began nearly 16 years ago, is a foundation that educates the world's youth about the importance of the Polar Regions. Since then more than 2,500 students and educators from 52 countries have participated in SOI's such expeditions.
New Delhi, July 7 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday will inaugurate the second anti-drug working group meeting of heads of Drug Control Agencies of BRICS countries here.

The meeting is being organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India.

Besides the delegates from the member countries, the ambassadors of the respective countries also will attend the inaugural session, said an official statement.

The Directors General of border guarding forces and the aramilitary are also likely to attend the inaugural session along with the heads of the intelligence and investigative agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The BRICS -- an association of five major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- started as a forum for future economic cooperation and for reforming Financial Institutions.

The seventh BRICS summit was held in July 2015 in Russia and India will host the eighth BRICS summit in October 2016 in Goa.

In accordance with the 'Thekwani Declaration' adopted during the BRICS summit in March 2013 at Durban, South Africa, it was decided to explore, besides economic issues, various new areas of cooperation among the member States, including drug-related issues.

It was decided that the heads of anti-drug agencies of the five-member countries may meet regularly under the aegis of the BRICS anti-drug working group meeting. In keeping with the spirit of the 'Thekwani Declaration', the first anti-drug working group meeting of BRICS countries was organised at Moscow, Russia in November, 2015.

The Indian delegation will be headed by Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau, and will comprise officers from the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Health and Family welfare and Narcotics Control Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, said the statement.

"The delegates from the participating countries shall be deliberating over important drug-related issues over the entire day. The agenda items which would come up for discussion would include improving information exchange mechanisms on illicit trafficking of synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances including early detection of new psycho active substances, maritime drug trafficking, diversion of precursors and controlled chemicals for manufacturing of illicit synthetic drugs, etc," the statement said.

The agenda would also focus on capacity building and training of personnel of enforcement agencies as well as rehabilitation and re-socialisation of persons who were addicted to drugs.

The meeting would also evaluate the drug abuse situation in the member countries and analyse the legislations of BRICS member states as well as devise modalities to share the best practices of enforcement and demand reduction being followed in the member countries," the statement said.
Jaipur, July 7 : Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, was celebrated with fervour in Rajasthan on Thursday.

Muslims performed Namaaz or prayers across the state. Thousands gathered here for the prayers held at Idgah on the outskirts of the city.

"About 4-5 lakh people offered Namaaz at Idgah today. We offered prayers for peace and prosperity," Khalid Usmani, President of All India Darul Qazat (AIDQ), told IANS here.

AIDQ claims to represent Qazis - which means judges of the Sharia court who also exercise some extra-judicial functions -- across the country.

Usmani said he also took this opportunity to ask Muslims to stand up against terrorism.

Muslims in the state paid Zakatul Fitrah -- alms given at the end of Ramadan -- of at least Rs 40 per member.

People dressed in new clothes were seen greeting each other and distributing sweets after performing Namaaz in the morning.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot greeted Muslims on the day.
New Delhi, July 7 : Union Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said speeches of Islamic preacher and Salafi ideologue Zakir Naik are objectionable, indicating the government may take action against him.

"The Home Ministry will analyse everything," Naidu said, adding that speeches of Naik "are objectionable".

A controversial preacher, Zakir Naik recently hit the headlines following revelation that two out of five young militants who attacked a popular cafe in Dhakha on July 1 drew their inspiration from his speeches.

Young militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, posted a message on Facebook last year quoting Peace TV's preacher Naik "urging all Muslims to be terrorists".

Condemning the attacks in Bangladesh, Naidu said terrorism has no religion or region and called for the entire world to unite against it.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday indicated that the government was contemplating action against Naik, saying it was a "matter of law" and the agencies concerned will take "appropriate action".

Naik, founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for his alleged hate speeches aimed against other religions.
Mumbai, July 7 : Actress Zareen Khan has started shooting for "Aksar 2", a sequel to the 2006 film "Aksar".

The 29-year-old tweeted on Thursday and posted a photograph of the clapboard from the film's set.

"Could there be a better day than Eid for a new start! Eid Mubarak to all. 'Aksar 2'," Zareen captioned the image.

Ananth Mahadevan, who helmed the 2006 thriller "Aksar", which starred Emraan Hashmi, Udita Goswami and Dino Morea, will be directing the sequel too.

"Aksar" tells the story about Rajveer, who cannot divorce his possessive wife Sheena due to an expensive pre-nuptial agreement. But when he hires Ricky to seduce her and get rid of her, his plan backfires with serious consequences.
Chennai, July 7 : The American audio and video technology company Dolby Laboratories hopes to have its Dolby Atmos system installed in around 100 theatres this year, said a senior official.

He also said the company is studying the Indian market's readiness for its other product Dolby Cinema.

"This calendar year we plan to install Dolby Atmos in 100 screens/theatres. Last year the number was less than 50 screens. Most of our growth comes from multiplexes. There are some stand-alone theatres that are modernising and installing Dolby Atmos systems," Pankaj Kedia, Senior Regional Director-India, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Dolby Singapore Pte Ltd, told reporters here on Thursday.

According to him around 200 Indian movies have Dolby Atmos sound technologies and globally the number is around 465.

Even local versions of Hollywood movies are mixed with Dolby Atmos technology, Kedia added.

Queried about the launch of Dolby Cinema in India, Kedia said the company is studying the Indian market's readiness for it.

"Our business model is different for Dolby Cinema. It involves joint investment in theatres," Kedia said.

On the other hand Dolby is in discussions with direct-to-home (DTH) players in India offering high definition broadcast service for its Dolby Audio solutions.

The company is also working with several content developers, Kedia added.

"The HD market is growing in India. 45 HD channels are in Dolby," he said.

He said globally the company is in talks with several television makers for its Dolby Vision solution that provides better picture clarity and with mobile phone makers for Dolby Atmos.

According to Kedia the company is also into voice conferencing space in India.
Mumbai, July 7 : Actor Aamir Khan, who was seen celebrating the Eid with his mother on Thursday, said that people who spread terrorism or indulge in terror acts have no connection with mazhab (religion).

Asked to comment on the spate of terrorist activities around the world which have been given a religion colour, the actor said: "People who spread terrorism or do it, have no connection with mazhab (religion), that's what I think. Then whether he is of any religion, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Christian..."

He added, "However much they say that they are doing it for religion, they have no relation with religion because if they actually followed it, (they will know) mazhab teaches us love."

To a question whether controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik should be banned, Aamir said: "I won't comment on that. I have said what I want to."

Asked how he celebrated Eid, Aamir said: "On Eid I meet my family, spent time with them. When I was small I was interested in Eidi."

"Kiran and Azaad are not here, they have gone to Europe on a holiday. I give Azaad only Rs 2 Eidi, so that he doesn't get spoiled (Zyada bigaadna nahi hai)," he added.
Washington, July 7 : Former US President George W. Bush, the main promoter of the Iraq war during 2003-2011, has said that he still hasn't read the Chilcot report which raised harsh criticisms against his former ally Tony Blair in Britain and that he was convinced that the world is a better place without Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Bush's spokesperson Freddy Ford explained on Wednesday that the former President hasn't had the chance to read the Chilcot report and that "despite the intelligence failures and other mistakes he has acknowledged previously, President Bush continues to believe the whole world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power."

"He is deeply grateful for the service and sacrifice of the US and coalition forces in the war on terror. And there was no stronger ally than Britain under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair," Efe news quoted Ford as saying.

Blair was harshly criticised in the report on the Iraq war in 2003 for authorising the invasion with flawed intelligence before having exhausted all peaceful options.

Sir John Chilcot, former Privy Counsellor and former civil servant heading the Iraq Inquiry, published an extensive and comprehensive report on the war after spending seven years evaluating thousands of official documents, interrogating witnesses and questioning politicians, although his mission was not aimed to prosecute or recommend charges against anybody.

Chilcot states that his purpose was to "consider the period from the summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, embracing the run-up to the conflict in Iraq, the military action and its aftermath."

In his 12-volume document, Chilcot placed the burden of responsibility on Blair and revealed the extent of his alliance with the then US President George W. Bush, to whom he promised an unconditional support for the invasion of Iraq in 2002.
Maputo, July 7 : India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including a long-term deal on import of pulses by New Delhi.

The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived here earlier in the morning on the first leg of his four-nation African tour, and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Both sides also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in youth affairs and sports.

Another MoU was signed on drug demand reduction, and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor materials and related matters.
Canberra, July 7 : Following the publication of the British Chilcot report which questioned the motives behind the Iraq War of 2003, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Thursday defended her country's participation in the conflict.

Stressing that the decision was taken based on available information, Bishop said: "The Australian government -- both Labour and Liberal -- and the Australian parliament would take responsibility," Efe news reported.

The statement came following the publication of the report by John Chilcot -- a former Privy Counsellor and civil servant -- who was tasked to enquire into the circumstances surrounding the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.

The Chilcot probe found that the invasion of Iraq claiming the existence of mass-destruction weapons was carried out based on faulty intelligence and before having exhausted all peaceful options.

When questioned if former Australian Prime Minister John Howard should apologise to the Australian citizens, Bishop noted that this was his personal decision, although she recalled that the country's involvement then was backed by the Labour party opposition.

"I recall very well at the time Kevin Rudd urging us to continue to support the US. So it was a bipartisan position on Iraq," Bishop told local media.

On March 18, 2003, former US President George W. Bush formally asked Howard for Australia to participate in a future military intervention in Iraq and Australia later contributed at least 2,000 soldiers.

Australian Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, a former intelligence analyst, said Saddam Hussein then posed no imminent threat and asked that both Howard and the former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer should be held accountable for Australia's participation in the Iraq war.

Wilkie, whose support could be decisive for the formation of an eventual minority government in Australia after the elections on Saturday, called for an open investigation in his country akin to the Chilcot report.

"I will take it up with whoever is the next Prime Minister," Wilkie told media in Melbourne.

On Thursday, after the release of the Chilcot report, the New Zealand opposition said they were vindicated over their decision to refuse to join the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The main opposition Labour Party, which was in power under former Prime Minister Helen Clark in 2003, said it stood by its decision not to send troops to help overthrow Saddam Hussein, Xinhua news agency reported.
Maputo, July 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India wants to build on its already flourishing trade and investment ties with Mozambique.

Speaking at a banquet hosted in his honour by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, Modi said India applauded Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades.

"Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years," he said.

"We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities."

Mozambique is the destination of around a quarter of India's investments in Africa totalling around $8 billion.

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Nyusi.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister is scheduled to meet Veronica Mamoco, President of Mozambique's National Assembly.

He is also scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.
Peshawar, July 7 : Afghan refugees, who fled to Pakistan three decades ago carrying few belongings, are now facing an ultimatum from the Islamabad government to return to Afghanistan, a country that is still in the throes of conflict.

The war between Afghanistan and the then Soviet Union (1979-1989) forced three million Afghans to cross the border to seek asylum in neighbouring Pakistan, which last week extended their residency status for six more months, with a warning that after that they must leave, EFE news reported.

Islamabad, home to the second largest refugee population in the world and one of the oldest, blames Afghans for the violence afflicting the country and for flooding the labour market.

"My children and grandchildren were born here. They are more Pakistani than Afghani," says Mohamed Zamir, one of the residents of the Kababian refugee camp in Peshawar, set up in 1981, housing 11,300 Afghan refugees.

Fifty-five years old Zamir, who manages a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) school, crossed the Pakistani border on foot along with his parents and nine siblings in 1981 and may have to retrace his steps and return to Afghanistan shortly, with his wife, four children and eight grandchildren.

The government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has not yet made any statement on the future of the refugees.

Sher Ali, a second generation refugee who was born in Pakistan 33 years ago, says he doesn't want to return to Afghanistan, a country in which he has never lived.

"I was born here, I work here. This is the place I know, in Afghanistan, I am like a foreigner," says Ali, whose family came to Pakistan in 1979.

Like Ali, most of the 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and another million and a half staying in Pakistan illegally, were born in Pakistan, UNHCR spokesperson in the country, Duniya Aslam, told EFE.

But Pakistan does not grant nationality to refugee children born in the country.

Of the total number of registered Afghan refugees, 40 per cent still live in some of the 43 UNHCR camps in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

While Pakistan has been asking the Afghan refugees to leave for years, the calls for their repatriation have grown in recent times following the 2014 Taliban attack against a school in Peshawar in which 125 children were killed.

A week ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said his government, UNHCR and the Afghan government will begin talks in July on the transfer of the camps in Pakistan to the other side of the border.
Maputo, July 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the National Assembly of Mozambique and met its Speaker Veronica Macamo.

"Deepening the democratic connect. PM @narendramodi meets President of Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with photographs of the two leaders..

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.
Maputo, July 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met President of the Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo and invited her to lead a parliamentary delegation to India.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Modi and Macamo exchanged views on the practices and procedures of their respective Parliaments.

"Prime Minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women," Swarup said.

Modi alluded to the visit of a Mozambican Parliamentary delegation to study India's electoral system in general and electronic voting machines in particular.

"He invited Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both countries," the Spokesperson said.

The Prime Minister also signed the visitors book in the National Assembly in which he wrote: "India and Mozambique have shed colonial legacies to chart new democratic courses. The Assembly of the Republic plays a vital role in guiding Mozambique in this journey. I bring with me the best wishes of 1.25 billion Indians who share the democratic spirit with the people of Mozambique."

India and Mozambique on Thursday signed three agreements, including one on purchase of pulses, following delegation level talks led by Modi and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi.

Nyusi also hosted a banquet in honour of the visiting Indian Prime Minister.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour,.

Later in the day, he is scheduled to interact with students at the Science and Technology Park at Maluana, near here, and with members of the Indian community before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, he will also visit Tanzania and Kenya during his African sojourn.
New Delhi, July 7 : BJP on Thursday staged a demonstration against the Aam Aadmi Party, accusing it of "disturbing communal harmony" and "hurting religious sentiments" of people in Punjab.

The BJP also demanded that AAP should expel party leaders Naresh Yadav and Ashish Khetan, and apologise to the people of Punjab for hurting their sentiments.

"AAP leaders are continuously trying to disturb the communal harmony in Punjab. Arvind Kejriwal should immediately expel Ashish Khetan and Naresh Yadav from the party and apologise to the people of Punjab," BJP's National Secretary R.P. Singh said.

AAP legislator Yadav was on Tuesday questioned by Punjab Police for his alleged involvement in the case of desecration of a Quran at Malerkotla (in Punjab) on June 24.

A police complaint was also filed against AAP leader Khetan for allegedly comparing his party's Punjab manifesto with holy Sikh book Guru Granth Sahib.
Mumbai, July 7 : Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is humbled by the words of appreciation from his colleague Aamir Khan. He says Bollywood's three Khans -- Salman Khan, Aamir and Shah Rukh himself -- have fondness for each other, adding that they respect "each other for whatever work" they do.

While praising his colleagues, Aamir had recently said that Salman and Shah Rukh are bigger stars than him.

"Between me, Aamir and Salman, we have a fondness for each other. I feel Aamir and Salman are bigger stars than me. Whatever Aamir has said it is out of respect. We respect each other for whatever work we do," Shah Rukh said here.

The actor expressed his views during Eid celebrations on Thursday at Mannat here.

Shah Rukh also praised Aamir's poster of "Dangal", saying that it is amazing.

On the professional front, the actor will soon start working on Imtiaz Ali's project and Aanand L. Rai's venture.

The "Dilwale" actor said: "I am going to start working on two projects with Imtiaz Ali and Aanand L. Rai. Anushka Sharma will feature in Imtiaz's movie. But casting isn't confirmed for Rai's project."

Talking about his first-time collaboration with "Tamasha" maker, SRK said: "I would like to do happy films. I loved Imtiaz's works especially films like 'Jab we Met' and 'Highway'."

He did not divulge any further details.

The 50-year-old actor also informed that he has completed shooting for Gauri Shinde's film, which also stars Alia Bhatt.

SRK also has Rahul Dholakia's "Raees", which features Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan. It is slated to release in 2017.
Dhaka, July 7 : A three-member team of Dhaka Medical College Hospital's forensic department has dismissed reports that all the 20 hostages killed in the cafe terror attack were slaughtered by slitting their throats.

Dhaka Medical College Hospital forensic department's Assistant Professor Md Sohel Mahmud, led a three-member team to conduct the autopsies at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on Sunday, reported bdnews24.com.

"All the deceased had sharp weapon wounds on their heads and necks. Some were hacked on their throats too," said Mahmud.

"But most of the foreign hostages were hacked to death. Bullets were found on the bodies of seven foreigners, who were also hacked in their head and neck," added Mahmud.

"One of the Italian nationals and one of the Bangladeshi women had died from trauma caused by a blunt force," he said.

On last Friday evening, a group of seven young Islamist terrorists carrying guns and explosives entered the Holey Artisan Bakery and O' Kitchen Restaurant in Gulshan diplomatic enclave and took at least 33 people hostages, of which they brutally killed 20 through the night.

Two police officers, who were members of a team that made an early attempt to end the siege, were killed by explosions set off by the attackers.

The security forces launched a rescue operation codenamed 'Operation Thunderbolt' on Saturday morning and freed 13 hostages.

The 20 killed hostages included nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian and three Bangladeshis, one of whom was also a naturalised US citizen.

The Bangladeshi army and the government had said that six terrorists were killed and another was captured alive.

Police on Monday midnight filed a case naming six dead attackers and several unidentified persons. One of the terrorists has been identified as Holey Artisan Bakery chef Saiful Islam Chowkider.

"Saiful was seen with the group of militants," said police.

Forensic expert Mahmud said that bullets were found in the bodies of the six attackers. Splinters of explosives were also found in the bodies of three of them.

Mahmud added that blood for viscera test and teeth and flesh from the bodies of the slain terrorists were collected and sent for Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) test on Wednesday.

"We've collected the samples to determine whether the young Islamic terrorists had taken something to stimulate excitement before carrying out the attack," he said.
New Delhi, July 7 : Two days after the "censor copy" of Bollywood film "Great Grand Masti"-- the third instalment of the hit "Masti" franchise -- leaked online, nine persons were arrested for allegedly selling the pirated copies of the film here in the capital, Delhi police said on Thursday.

Karan Kumar, Vishal Kumar, Amit Gupta, Vikram Kumar, Devender Basoya, Ghanshyam Kumar, Nafeesh Ahmed, Deepak Kumar, and Rahul Kumar were arrested on Wednesday from different parts of south, north and east Delhi during multiple raids conducted by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said that the arrested persons are shopkeepers at Lajpat Rai Market, Chandni Chowk, Kotla Mubarakpur, Malviya Nagar, Tughlakabad Ext and Old Seema Puri.

"They are in the business of selling pirated copies of unreleased movies for several years."

The officer said that several pirated prints of "Great Grand Masti" were seized during the raid carried out on Wednesday following inputs provided by Balalji Telefilms.

The censor copy of "Great Grand Masti" was reportedly leaked online on Monday following which the production house decided to prepone the film's release to July 15 from July 22.

"We conducted multiple raids across Delhi and filed six cases. A total of 355 DVDs, eight computers and laptops were seized from their possession," the officer said.

The accused sold porn films and obscene MMS videos also for Rs 50 per movie/video.

Apart from more than 500 Bollywood movies, including Raman Raghav, Teen, Junooniat, Udta Punjab, Sarabjit, Houseful-3 and Veerappan, several prints of recently released Hollywood and South Indian movies were also recovered from their possession.

"All the accused have been booked under Section 63 of the Copyright Act, 1957 and section 34 of Indian Penal Code, and investigation is on. Efforts are being made to ascertain the sources through which the unreleased movie was uploaded on the internet," the officer added.

The Mumbai Cyber police recently arrested a youth from Delhi for illegally uploading the controversial movie "Udta Punjab" on his website ( www.allzmovies.in) two days before its release on June 17.
New Delhi, July 7 : American aerospace company Lockheed Martin here on Thursday said that it was looking at expanding its investments in the country under the Make in India initiative.

"Lockheed Martin's commitment to the Indian government's 'Make in India' policy, national 'Skills Initiative' and to working with industrial partners in India to expand its business footprint was a feature of discussions involving the Corporation's Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson during a visit to New Delhi," a statement from the company said.

"Meeting with political leaders, senior government officials and leading Indian industrialists, Hewson highlighted Lockheed Martin's sponsorship of the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) as an example of effective partnership in action," the statement said.

The IIGP allows applicants to file in their innovative ideas across industries ranging from agriculture and textiles to defence and healthcare. The Department of Science and Technology-Lockheed Martin IIGP is in its 10th year.

"I look forward to growing our 25-year story in India and to establishing greater and more meaningful partnerships that will help grow the Indian economy and community," Hewson said.

Every C-130J airlifter sold internationally contains major aerostructure assemblies manufactured in India by Tata and every S-92 medium-lift helicopter built by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has a cabin manufactured by Tata in Hyderabad, it said.
Mumbai, July 7 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday ordered a probe into the speeches, writings and other materials of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, president of Islamic Research Foundation, an official said here.

Mumbai Police Commissioner D. Padsalgikar has been directed to conduct the probe and submit a report to the state government, said the official from the chief minister's office.

The enquiry follows mounting pressures from various quarters after Naik was accused of making inflammatory speeches which allegedly inspired the recent Bangladesh terror attacks.

Several Muslim organizations also have reacted in the matter with the Raza Academy staging a noisy protest outside the IRF's offices in Dongri this afternoon.

"We are protesting against Naik for his fiery speeches, what he promotes.. this is not the way to teach or propagate the spread of Islam. He should be banned," said Raza Academy founder-secretary M. Saeed Noori.

The protestors also condemned the recent spate of terror attacks globally including Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh and said Islam promotes and teaches peace.

"The perpetrators of such terror acts are not Muslims. Islam is a peaceful religion," Noori said.

Born and living in Mumbai, the 50-year old Naik is a qualified doctor who left the medical profession to found the IRF which runs the Islamic International School and NGO United Islamic Aid for poor and destitute.

Considered an authority on "comparative religion", Naik is the founder of Peace Television channel, Peace TV Bangla and Peace TV Urdu, and Dawah which invites people to understand Islam through dialogue.

Earlier on Thursday, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu indicated that Naik could face action if his preachings and teachings were found to be objectionable.

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena MP from Mumbai Arvind Sawant sought a ban on Naik's speeches and movement as well as his television channels, to prevent him from making provocative speeches.
Kiev, July 7 : The United States warned Russia on Thursday that if it wants to ease US-European Union sanctions it must abide by regional ceasefire agreements it has signed.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived in Kiev on Thursday to hold talks with Ukrainian officials, said Russia must comply with the Minsk Protocol it signed in 2014, EFE news reported.

Kerry spoke after a meeting with Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko.

The US official said if Russia failed to commit to reducing tensions in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region, where pro-Russian separatists have been fighting with Ukrainian Armed Forces since March 2014, then the sanctions "will remain in place".

Poroshenko said Ukraine and the US agreed that "Russia and the pro-Russian rebels are responsible for the stagnation of the peace process".

He said Ukrainians had upheld its side of the Minsk agreements.

The Minsk Protocol is a package of agreements signed on Sept 5, 2014, by Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany to implement a ceasefire in the contested regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
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Maputo, July 7 : In a significant bid to boost food security, India on Thursday signed a long term agreement for purchase of pulses from Mozambique as the two sides decided to fast-track cooperation in the agricultural sector.

"Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need," Modi said in a joint press statement with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi following delegation-level talks here.

"And what Mozambique requires is available in India," he said.

Observing that Nyusi had highlighted agricultural development as his top priority, he said experts from both sides have since held discussions on how to work together to improve agricultural infrastructure and productivity in Mozambique.

"Today, we agreed to put this cooperation on the fast track," Modi said.

Stating that the both the countries were strengthening their partnership in food security, he said: "India's commitment to buy pulses from Mozambique would help meet India's requirement. It will also facilitate long-term investments in commercial farming, generate farm employment and raise farmer's incomes in this country."

A long-term agreement was signed following Thursday's talks for purchase of pulses from Mozambique for India.

Two other memorandums of understanding were also signed - one on cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and the other on youth affairs and sports.

The Prime Minister said health care was another area in which India's capacities and Mozambican needs match well.

Modi also stressed on the safety and security of the people of the two countries.

"President Nyusi and I recognise that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today," he said "Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally. The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans-national crimes."

He said the agreement signed between the two sides on prevention of drug trafficking was a testimony to the shared determination to combat the menace of terrorism and its networks.

Modi said he and Nyusi have agreed to strengthen the bilateral defence and security relationship in view of the emerging strategic and security challenges in the maritime domain.

At a banquet hosted in his honour by Nyusi, Modi said that India wanted to build on its already flourishing trade and investment ties with Mozambique.

He said India applauded Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades.

"Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years," he said.

"We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities."

Mozambique is the destination of around a quarter of India's investments in Africa totalling around $8 billion.

Modi also visited the Mozambique National Assembly and met its President Veronica Macamo.

"Prime Minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media.

"He invited Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both countries," he said.

Modi later visited the Centre for Innovation and Technological Development (CITD) at Maluana near here that has been built with Indian aid and interacted with students.

The CITD is situated at the Science and Technology Park, built with an Indian line of credit.

The Prime Minister planted a sapling of African mahogany and donated four buses to the centre.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome after his arrival in Maputo on the first leg of his four-nation Africa tour.

He is scheduled to interact with members of the Indian community in this southeast African nation before leaving for South Africa in the evening.

This is Modi's first official visit to mainland Africa and is also the first prime ministerial visit from India to Mozambique in 34 years since the visit of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, he will also visit Tanzania and Kenya during his African sojourn.
London, July 7 : England Test skipper Alastair Cook has admitted that he came close to resigning from his post on several occasions.

Cook took over from Andrew Strauss as Test skipper in 2012 and has enjoyed plenty of success during his time at the helm.

But there have been tough times, too, not least England's 5-0 whitewash defeat in Australia in 2013-14, and the 31-year-old has revealed he almost quit the post more than once.

"I've lived on the edge for quite a number of years as captain in terms of wanting to jack it in and questions about the job," Cook, who recently became the first England player to pass 10,000 Test runs, was quoted as saying by The Sun on Thursday.

"There were times when I thought I'd go, for sure. I spoke to my wife, Alice, about packing it in. I'd rather not say exactly when but I've got them written down."

Most recently, Cook resolved to step down in 2015, deciding during the series against New Zealand that he would call time on the captaincy following last year's home Ashes series against Australia.

But he changed his mind after winning the opening two Tests on the way to a 3-2 Ashes series triumph.

"I don't like talking about it because you end up doubting yourself. But, yes, I was very close to going at the end of the Ashes last year. But we won two Tests in 10 days at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge and I woke up the next day and thought, this side has so much potential and I still want to be part of it," the opening batsman said.

Looking ahead, Cook would like to lead England to Ashes victory on Australian soil in 2017-18, but is well aware things could change before then.

"If I feel the team is getting a bit stale, bored with me and the next generation is pushing on, then it will be time to go," the England skipper added.
Tirap (Arunachal Pradesh), July 7 : Four cadres of the Naga militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Reformation (NSCN-R) were gunned down in Arunachal Pradesh's Tirap district early on Thursday, the Assam Rifles (AR) said.

Two AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol were recovered from the slain militants.

The gunfight occurred at the remote Kheti village, seven km from Khonsa, the district headquarters of Tirap, Assam Rifles spokesman Lt. Col. Rahul Josan said.

The four were allegedly involved in extortion, arms dealing and drug peddling. They were Captain Jano Tekwa, Sergeant Major Lombho Pangsa, Sergeant Tongbai and Corporal Mankhu Wangsa.

"Assam Rifles troopers cordoned off the area on Wednesday night after a tip-off. One of the three columns came under heavy firing as it approached the militants camp, forcing the troopers to retaliate," the spokesman said.

In the ensuing gun battle, the four militants were killed.

The NSCN-R is a breakaway faction of the banned NSCN-Khaplang, a Myanmar-based rebel outfit.
Maputo, July 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday left the Mozambican capital Maputo for South Africa on the second leg of his four-nation African tour.

"Leaving Mozambique with great happiness over the ground covered in the visit to deepen the bond between India & Mozambique," the Prime Minister's Office quoted Modi as saying on Twitter.

On Friday, Modi will hold talks with South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria and later address an India-South Africa business meeting.

He will visit the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and then the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

In the evening, he will address an Indian diaspora rally in Johannesburg following which he will leave for Durban.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Phoenix Settlement in Durban and undertake a train journey to Pietermaritzburg in memory of the 1893 incident when Gandhi was thrown off a train carriage on account of his skin colour.

He will also attend a reception to be hosted by the Mayor of Durban.

Modi arrived here on Thursday morning on the first leg of his African sojourn.

India and Mozambique signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, Modi will also visit Tanzania and Kenya.
Lucknow, July 7 : Another Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, former legislator Ravindra Nath Tripathi, left the party on Thursday while levelling serious allegations on party chief Mayawati.

Announcing his resignation, the leader from Poorvanchal, said after the death of party founder Kanshi Ram, Mayawati had digressed from th path of Dalit ideology and had been blinded by greed.

The former legislator from Barsathi, Tripathi said Mayawati had turned the party into a sort of 'Chit Fund Company' where in people with moneybags were ruling the roost.

Refusing to open up on his future course of action, he said he will soon sit down with his supporters and decide on whether to join any other party or not. He also claimed that very soon, many party leaders will dump the BSP and exit.

He is the third leader in less that a fortnight to have left the BSP, levelling almost similar charges against Mayawati. Senior party leader Swami Prasad Maurya left the BSP last month and another tall leader R.K. Chowdhary quit recently.
Kolkata, July 7 : The West Bengal government on Friday will launch the "Safe Drive, Save Life", a special initiative aimed at creating road safety awareness, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

"Safe driving is an essential component of road safety. Every day, so many lives are lost due to irresponsible driving and insensible road behaviour.

"To inculcate sense of safe driving and responsible road behaviour, our government is launching the 'Safe Drive, Save Life"," she said.

The initiative is targeted to achieve cohesion among civil society, police, transport, health, roads and other government departments and NGOs to sensitize people about different aspects of safe driving and road safety, Banerjee added.
Bengaluru, July 8 : Another Karnataka police officer committed suicide on Thursday at Madikeri in Kodagu district of the state, police said.

"We found the body of deputy superintendent of police M.K. Ganapathy, 51, hanging by rope to a ceiling fan in a lodge room. He was in uniform with service revolver around the waist," Kodagu district police superintendent Rajendra Prasad told IANS on phone.

This is the second such incident this week two days after Chikkamagaluru rural deputy superintendent of police Kalappa Handibagh, 34, hanged himself at Belagavi, about 500 km from Bengaluru.

On being alerted by the Vinayaka lodge staff in the hill town, police rushed to the spot and lowered Ganapathy's body hanging from ceiling by a rope.

"We have registered a case of unnatural death and informed Ganapathy family. We will investigate what forced him to take his life, as a suicide note has been found in the lodge room," Prasad said.

Ganapathy was transferred to Mangaluru inspector general police office, about 360 km from Bengaluru, in May.

According to sources, Ganapathy went to Madikeri from Mangaluru earlier in the day and checked into the lodge and was seen alive in the room till afternoon.

The incident came to light later when the lodge receptionist when to check for him as some police personnel came to visit him.

Incidentally, in a television interview to a local (Kannada) news channel aired in the afternoon in Kodagu district, Ganapathy had accused his senior officers of harassing him and putting pressure on him in various cases.

"He (Ganapathy) declared that if anything happened to him, former state home minister K.J. George, Lokayuktha (ombudsman) IGP Pranab Mohanty and ADGP (intelligence) A.M. Prasad would be responsible.

A 1991 batch officer of the state cadre, Ganapathy entered the police service under sports quota. He hailed from a hamlet at Siddhappur near Madikeri.
Pretoria, July 8 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in South Africa from Mozambique on the second leg of his four-nation African tour.

"Second leg of PM's Africa tour begins in South Africa. PM lands in Pretoria," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Nkoana Mashabane and Minister for Small Business Lindiwe Zulu welcomed Modi at Air Force Base, Waterkloof, in Pretoria.

On Friday, Modi will hold talks with South African President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria and later address an India-South Africa business meeting.

He will visit the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg and then the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

In the evening, he will address an Indian diaspora rally in Johannesburg following which he will leave for Durban.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister will visit Mahatma Gandhi's Phoenix Settlement in Durban and undertake a train journey to Pietermaritzburg in memory of the 1893 incident when Gandhi was thrown off a train carriage on account of his skin colour.

He will also attend a reception to be hosted by the Mayor of Durban.

Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday morning on the first leg of his African sojourn.

India and Mozambique signed three agreements, including a long-term one on purchase of pulses.

Apart from Mozambique and South Africa, Modi will also visit Tanzania and Kenya.
Supply and Demand Chain Executive Award

Paladin's client, Adisseo, had established a Midwest distribution center to handle shipments to customers located in that geographic region. Products were imported from France and China through several US ports, then railed and trucked to the Distribution Center in Iowa with transit time from ports of 10 days or more. Less Than Truckload (LTL) carriers were used to deliver orders to customers from the warehouse.

When customer locations expanded into the Northeastern, Southern, and Eastern U.S. Adisseo engaged Paladin to review current shipping and distribution costs and determine alternatives for realignment of their distribution network.

As the result of Paladins analysis and recommendations, all incoming product shipments were directed to a single Southeastern US port. The consolidated volume reduced ocean shipping costs and complexities and eliminated delays that had been experienced in Northern Ports because of winter weather. The main US warehouse was moved from Des Moines, IA to Savannah, GA near the selected incoming port.

Outbound transportation volume was consolidated to one LTL transportation carrier plus one full truckload carrier and rates were reduced by 15%. Port selection allowed heavier incoming ocean shipments reducing the number of incoming containers by 10%. Transit time from Port to Warehouse was reduced by 8 days for faster delivery, invoicing, and cash flow with the number of customer stock shortages reduced and improved customer satisfaction.

Actual savings exceeded 25% of the prior total warehousing and transportation costs.

The Paladin project for Adisseo was completed by David DiSanto with analytical support from Peter Key.

Commenting on the transportation savings, Wally Bluhm, Supply Chain Manager said, Paladin provided guidance and support that helped us to negotiate reduced freight rates with our LTL carrier.

Doug Winokur, Finance Director, commented that Paladin was also instrumental in helping us identify the optimal warehouse location based upon cost structure and level of service.

Don Hoeppner, Executive Partner of Paladin Associates added, This was a very successful project for our client that has significantly reduced their US Distribution costs while also reducing the total transit time from the factories to their customers.

Paladin Associates, Inc. is a Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Services company that partners with Clients to reduce the cost of purchased goods and services and increase the effectiveness of Supply Chain organizations.

Supply & Demand Chain Executive is the executive's user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation, utilizing hard-hitting analysis, viewpoints and unbiased case studies to steer executives and supply management professionals through the complicated, yet critical, world of supply and demand chain enablement to gain competitive advantage .For more information: http://www.SDCExec.com.
Best Hire Career Fairs will be hosting a huge live hiring event in Raleigh, North Carolina. Participants will get their chance to meet the hiring decision makers from the areas best employers in Raleigh. They should attend the career fair; there will be hundreds of jobs available. All they need to do is dress professionally and bring lots of resumes to the job fair. Just walk in the event and start interviewing, its that easy. It saves energy, money and time. Participants can just stick to one location where they will get a chance to interview with multiple companies. The companies offer several openings and are anxious to meet applicants. Applicants just need to be at the event and be the one to impress the decision makers.

For those that are in search of a job or tired of sending resumes that go nowhere, dont worry. Dress for success, update your resume then head on down to the Raleigh Career Fair. Here, participants will seek employment from the top employers in the city. These employers are the people who decide who gets hired. Stop wasting time and come down to the career fair and land a dream job. Those who participate will get a chance to market themselves to companies as the best candidate for the job.

Those who ate currently looking for a new job or opportunity, get ready to meet with the areas top hiring employers. Update your resume dress for success.

LOCATION OF EVENT

DoubleTree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone  University,

1707 Hillsborough Street

Raleigh NC, 27605

DATE & TIME OF EVENT

July 14th between the hours of 11am-2pm.

Register Today at the following website. https://www.besthirecareerfairs.com/career-job-fair-calendar/raleigh-career-fairs/
On July 31, Cranbrook Art Museum will kick-off the local tour of the public artwork In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth). The Truth Booth is a portable, inflatable video recording studio in the shape of a giant speech bubble. A Cause Collective project by artists Ryan Alexiev, Jim Ricks, Will Sylvester and Hank Willis Thomas, its interior is equipped to compile video responses by hundreds of people from different cultural backgrounds as they complete the sentence: The Truth Is

The tour will debut on the grounds of Cranbrook Art Museum on July 31 as part of a Family Day Celebration from 11am  5pm, and then immediately travel to 11 locations throughout Metro Detroit, Dearborn and Flint over the course of two weeks. Visit our website at cranbrookartmuseum.org for a full location schedule. At each location, participants will have up to two minutes to record a statement starting with "The Truth Is..." The recorded results of this project will then be used to create an ambitious 60-foot-wide video installation that will open as part of an exhibition about the project at Cranbrook Art Museum in November of 2016.

Cause Collective is currently touring the booth around the country, with the hope of visiting all 50 states by Election Day. Their stop in Michigan is their longest and most in-depth stop on the tour. It will create conversations among residents who inhabit the same geographic region, and expand our collective understanding of how the city defines what is real, authentic, valuable or true.

Cranbrook Art Museum is continuing to build connections with Detroit partners and audiences that started with last years Nick Cave performances, says Laura Mott, Curator of Contemporary Art and Design at Cranbrook Art Museum, and Curator of this project. What is brilliant about the pop-up The Truth Booth is that it allows the recording studio to go deep into our neighborhoods. By expanding the tour beyond metro Detroit to include the Flint area, we are giving individuals a rare opportunity to sincerely speak and be heard amongst the chaos of todays political shouting matches. The truths presented in the exhibition will resonate not only during this historic election year, but will continue to be compelling 100 years from now.

The project is funded in part through a $60,000 matching grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, through their Knight Arts Challenge Detroit initiative, which looks to fund ideas that engage and enrich Detroit through the arts.

The truth is that few things bring people together like the arts, with the potential to foster a mutual understanding that connects us to our neighbors and neighborhoods, said Victoria Rogers, Vice President for the Arts at the Knight Foundation. With The Truth Booth as their platform, were excited to hear whats on Detroiters' minds.

Hank Willis Thomas and Will Sylvester both look forward to the opportunity this tour brings to the region. The Truth Booth tour of Detroit and Flint this summer is going to create a unique opportunity to take the pulse of the country during a historic year. The current level of political and social turmoil hasnt been seen in this country in a long time, says Thomas. The tour will allow us to address deep issues in American society while also inspiring engagement through the cathartic process of recording testimonials. We hope to reach voices and faces that are often suppressed or ignored.

Sylvester adds, While planning this project, I had the privilege to spend time in the neighborhoods and with the residents of Detroit and Flint. I learned so much more from these enriching experiences than the often negative portrayal in the media. Its an honor and a pleasure to facilitate a project that can be a platform for these communities to tell their stories in their own voices, and speak their truth to the world.

The Presenting Sponsor of In Search of the Truth (The Truth Booth) is the Knight Foundation. Leadership sponsors include The Applebaum Family Compass Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Maryanne Mott, who is providing support for The Truth Booth in Flint. Additional support provided by Marc Schwartz, Lynn and Bharat Gandhi and Lila Silverman. Community partners include the Arab-American National Museum, the Clark Park Coalition, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit RiverFront Conservancy, the Heidelberg Project, the Mott-Warsh Collection, the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance, Power House Productions, and the Sidewalk Festival for the Performing Arts.

About Cranbrook Art Museum

Cranbrook Art Museum is located at 39221 Woodward Avenue, on the campus of Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Museum hours are Tuesday  Sunday from 11am to 5pm. It is an integral part of Cranbrook Academy of Art, a community of Artists-in-Residence and graduate-level students of art, design, and architecture. The Art Museum, which was established in 1930 and opened in its current building in 1942, is Eliel Saarinen's final masterwork at Cranbrook. Today, the Art Museum presents original exhibitions and educational programming on modern and contemporary architecture, art, crafts, and design, as well as traveling exhibitions, films, workshops, travel tours, and lectures by renowned artists, designers, artists, and critics throughout the year.
Several CPG members have had positive experiences with Quest Diagnostics in the past, and we look forward to building on this foundation to benefit all of our members. Rick Bryant, Director of CPG.

CommonWealth Purchasing Group (CPG), the nations leading group purchasing organization for community health centers and community based nonprofits, announced that it has selected Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, as its national provider of laboratory testing and related services.

Under the exclusive agreement, Quest Diagnostics will provide CPGs 500 members access to services in several clinical areas, including primary care, womens health, cancer, genetics, health and wellness, infectious disease and prescription drug monitoring. Quest also provides several healthcare information technology solutions, such as the Quest Diagnostics Care360 lab ordering platform and myQuest mobile health app, which CPG members may access through CPG. Additional terms were not disclosed.

The agreement extends a prior relationship under which Quest Diagnostics provided services to select CPG members.

Quest Diagnostics is unique because it combines cutting edge diagnostics expertise, innovation and quality with tremendous national scale. As a result, it possess the flexibility to deliver top-notch, high value services for the differing needs of our members, said Rick Bryant, Director of CPG. Several CPG members have had positive experiences with Quest Diagnostics in the past, and we look forward to building on this foundation to benefit all of our members.

Community health organizations, such as federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), are an increasingly vital source of healthcare for millions of people in the United States who might otherwise face significant barriers to access to care, said Everett Cunningham, Senior Vice President, Commercial for Quest Diagnostics. Our relationship with CPG will enable us to extend our reach in this important area of healthcare and thereby empower more people to access critical diagnostics services.

Quest Diagnostics annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States. The company operates 2,300 patient service centers, dozens of clinical laboratories in the United States, and a logistics operation consisting of 3,500 courier vehicles and more than two dozen aircraft.

About CommonWealth Purchasing Group

CommonWealth Purchasing Group, LLC ("CPG") is the premier group purchasing organization for community health centers and other community-based, not-for-profit organizations. Founded in 1998 by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, the state's Primary Care Association, CPG today negotiates volume purchasing agreements with national vendors on behalf of its 500 members across the country. Beginning with a single contract, CPG currently provides its members with access to over 75 vendors that are willing to offer price discounts and the highest level of customer service. CPG understands and addresses the challenges that rising costs of goods and services present, the overhead involved in selecting vendors, and the time involved in managing contracts with an organization's limited resources. For additional information, visit http://www.cwpurchasing.com.
Heather L. Johnson at Salar de Uyuni, world's largest salt flat in southwest Bolivia 'In Search of the Frightening and Beautiful' has taught me to embrace a nomadic existence, living simply, experiencing as much as possible, and passing what I see, hear, and learn on to others through art.

In the Spring of 2015, artist Heather L. Johnson took to the road on her Yamaha XT250 motorcycle in pursuit of her quest "In Search of the Frightening and Beautiful (ISFB)," and rode through the United States, Mexico, Central and South America for ten months. Embroideries, watercolors, drawings, and photographs created both during and in response to her journey will be on view at Cherryhurst House in Houston from September 24, 2016 to February 19, 2017.

A petite woman, Johnson encounters concern more often than encouragement when she reveals her plans for solo motorcycle travel into territories unknown. But the journey ignites her passion. By increasing her strength and speed, the motorcycle becomes an extension of the artists body. When she stops along the road she sometimes leaves behind hand embroidered art works of motorcycle parts, accompanied by Spanish phrases describing experiences she has had on her travels thus far. She places the embroideries in select locations in the landscape with the hope they will be encountered, taken, and kept. Since the start of ISFB in 2013, Johnson has traveled over 38,000 miles and left 47 artworks in her wake.

While the embroideries, painstakingly made, serve as conversation starters and map markers, her photographs and watercolors unravel stories from the journey itself. Cinematic images depict uncanny subjects ranging from a roadside brush fire to a family battling torrents of rain with a picnic umbrella; from a barbed wire-lined wall of concrete stained with streaks of blood-colored rust to a cemeterys Virgin Mary locked in her own glass house; from a shipping container painted with ecstatic dancing people surrounded by piles of rubble to a scraggly tree whose ultra-long roots cling for dear life to a tall clump of earth. This project is all about embracing spontaneity, random interactions and occurrences that testify to the frightening and beautiful: the coincidences, contradictions, and struggles that reveal the essence of human experience.

As artist-in-residence at Cherryhurst House, Johnson has returned to Houston to distill her experiences into this latest body of work. Heather spent part of her youth in Houston and has a unique independent spirit. Her motorcycle journey and art project challenges prevailing apprehensions about women in the traditionally male arena of solo exploration, explains Barbara Levine, curator of the exhibition. This is by far the most ambitious chapter of Heathers ongoing project. The work in the exhibition, including her hand sewn embroideries and refined watercolors, speak to the nature of her unprecedented experience. Cherryhurst House, the brainchild and private home of Dallas McNamara, is a new art space that cultivates site-specific experiences and exhibitions, and encourages artistic process and exchange. Located at 1603 Cherryhurst Street in Houston's Montrose neighborhood, the house will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5pm and by appointment, and Johnson will be available to conduct tours through November.

By then it will be time to go, Johnson says. I grew up moving frequently, having lived in many places. In Search of the Frightening and Beautiful has taught me to embrace a nomadic existence, living simply, experiencing as much as possible and passing what I see, hear, and learn on to others through art. In this spirit I am committed to continuing this project around the world.

Born in 1969, Johnson has shown her work in galleries, museums, and in the public realm throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Mexico. She has lectured on her work at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo, CA), Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA), and other venues, and has curated several exhibitions and collaborative projects including "Cracks in the Pavement: Gifts in the Urban Landscape," involving artists from around the world, and "Love Letter," a collection of site-specific works presented in New York City and Paris.
Louisiana Hospital Association Trust Funds Logo Since 2012, our Safety Star Award has recognized member facilities that are committed to quality patient care and safety, and we look forward to showcasing these projects with our membership.

The LHATF Safety Star Award program acknowledges members of the LHA Malpractice Trust Fund who have developed innovative ideas that lead to the reduction of general or professional liability exposure.

This years Safety Star Award Winners are Central Louisiana Surgical Hospital, Slidell Memorial Hospital and Thibodaux Regional Medical Center. This years recipients will receive recognition at the LHA Summer Conference on July 18 as well as $10,000 cash award for the hospital.

We are thrilled to recognize these three facilities for their innovative ideas, said Cindy Dolan, CEO and President of LHA Trust Funds. Since 2012, our Safety Star Award has recognized member facilities that are committed to quality patient care and safety, and we look forward to showcasing these projects with our membership.

Since its creation in 2012, the Safety Star Award has been given to the three facilities who have successfully implemented ideas or processes which have improved patient safety and lead to reductions in exposures. To learn more about the Safety Star Award or to learn about this years Awards, please visit LHATrustFunds.com/SafetyStar.
Weve seen potential buyers...becoming more reliant on online search and digital publications to learn about potential solutions for their needs. Were confident a committed approach to inbound marketing will make it easier for customers to discover GFC.

Weidert Group, a B2B inbound marketing agency and Platinum Level HubSpot Partner, has been selected to execute an integrated inbound marketing program for the Gordon Flesch Company (GFC). Weidert Group will create content resources, promote the company and its resources on social media, enhance the effectiveness of its website, and assist with lead nurturing and sales enablement efforts.

Kelly Moran, GFCs senior vice president of sales and marketing, views inbound marketing as a strategic imperative. Weve seen potential buyers of our various managed services becoming more reliant on online search and digital publications to learn about potential solutions for their needs. Were confident a committed approach to inbound marketing will make it easier for customers to learn about whats possible with the Gordon Flesch Company.

Regarding the choice of Weidert Group, Connie Dettman, GFCs director of marketing, added, As we conducted our research on executing an inbound marketing plan, we inevitably turned to HubSpot as the leading solution. We already knew Weidert Group was the leading Midwest HubSpot partner agency for B2B solutions like ours, so the choice was simple.

Greg Linnemanstons, Weidert Groups president, believes inbound marketing is especially effective for business technology providers like GFC. The complexity and variety of managed services available through companies like the Gordon Flesch Company encourage potential customers to research the possibilities before they engage. Inbound marketing is an ideal strategy for GFC because well use the companys depth of knowledge and experience to create highly visible online content that GFCs best prospects will use to inform their purchase decisions.

About Weidert Group

Weidert Group, founded in 1980, is a full-service business-to-business inbound marketing agency that has been a certified HubSpot Agency Partner since 2011, and achieved Platinum status as a top partner in 2015. HubSpot is the global leader in marketing automation software, with more than 19,000 customers in 90 countries. Weidert Group provides all components of an effective inbound marketing and sales effort, including web design, search engine optimization, content strategy, social media strategy and promotion, lead nurturing, marketing and sales training and process design, and overall marketing management. Clients represent primarily business-to-business organizations in equipment & machinery manufacturing, financial services, insurance, A/E/C industrial services, industrial distribution and other industries.

About Gordon Flesch Company

The Gordon Flesch Company is one of the largest independent providers of office technology solutions in the nation. Family-owned since 1956, the Gordon Flesch Company employs more than 600 people throughout 23 offices in the Midwest with their corporate office in Madison, Wisconsin. They deliver unique business process expertise to solve challenging problems and help achieve organizational goals. This includes integrating industry-leading software and hardware to build custom solutions that are supported by technical expertise, customer service, and flexible, in-house financial services.
We are working to make sure we are available for every customer who calls us, care for loved ones in a timely manner, and reach out into the community to get more involved

Death can be a scary unknown; and, as a licensed funeral director I can shed light into the process, Delgadillo said.

Delgadillo has been in the funeral business for over 15 years and joined Trident Society earlier this year. He strives to be active in his community as a member of four Chamber of Commerce Boards. He is also a proud member of the Lightbridge Hospice Foundation, dedicated to funding programs and services for hospice patients and their loved ones in San Diego County.

As he moves forward with Trident Society, Delgadillo has the opportunity to work with many members in his community as they plan cremations services for themselves or a loved one. His experience as a licensed funeral director will be put to use helping people through the toughest times in their lives. The Trident Society San Diego staff stands behind him to usher in a renewed era of care and compassion while servicing local families.

We are working to make sure we are available for every customer who calls us, care for loved ones in a timely manner, and reach out into the community to get more involved, said Delgadillo.

Trident Society has been helping California families plan cremation services for themselves and their loved ones for over 15 years. Under the new leadership of Delgadillo, Trident Society San Diego plans to review its current process to make sure each family continues to receive dignified care throughout the cremation process. With prepaid packages designed to meet all wishes and budgets, Trident Society offers a wide range of options and opportunities for personalization to reflect the unique lives serviced.

Trident Society also offers special cremation packages for veterans as our way of thanking them for their service. San Diego staff can assist veterans and their loved ones in reviewing their options and choosing local veteran cemeteries for interment. Trident Society also helps veterans apply for and receive benefits from the government including a memorial flag, a Presidential Certificate, and a funeral or memorial service with military honors.

More information about cremation with Trident Society San Diego can be found online. Delgadillo and his team of cremation experts are prepared to answer any questions about cremation. Trident Society San Diego (FD #1921) is located at 9242 Miramar Road, Suite 37 in San Diego, CA 92126.
www.NterOne.com This acquisition broadens our reach in markets we have already been doing business in for years, said Anthony Hamilton, CEO of NterOne.

NterOne Corporation announced today the intent to acquire LXE Corp SRL, a privately held company based in the Dominican Republic. LXE is a leading provider of Cisco Learning solutions in the Latin America market with offices in the Dominican Republic, Panama, and Venezuela. This acquisition broadens our reach in markets we have already been doing business in for years, said Anthony Hamilton, CEO of NterOne. We have a deep respect for our customers and partners in this region, and now we will have a local presence to further strengthen and grow our relationships.

LXE has been in business for over five years with a focus on delivering high quality Cisco training solutions. The company offers a variety of technology training areas such as Data Center, Collaboration, Enterprise Networks, and Security.

Moving forward, LXE will become NterOne and launch a Spanish language version of NterOne.com to focus on the Latin America markets while expanding its service offerings in Cisco and VMware. As a direct and specialized learning partner, NterOne will be uniquely positioned as the only direct learning partner in the world to have a local office presence in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

We are very pleased and extremely excited to be joining the NterOne family, said Nestor Barrios, CEO of LXE. We have worked with NterOne as a partner for years, and their commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is unmatched in the industry.

The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.

About NterOne:

NterOne is a global training and consulting company focusing on live online training, self-paced e-learning, and private onsite training. The company is headquartered in Reston, VA, but mainly operates virtually by allowing employees to work remotely, thus reducing the companys overall carbon footprint. NterOne is a Cisco Learning Partner, a VMware Authorized Training Center, and operates its own Data Center in North Carolina. The companys key technology focus areas are Virtualization, Data Center, Routing and Switching, Voice, Collaboration, Optical, Wireless, and Security.

For more information, please visit the corporate web site at http://www.NterOne.com.

NterOne is a registered trademark of NterOne Corporation in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
I've made my plans! Planning and paying for a Colorado cremation service online makes the entire process faster and easier for families who want to get the planning out of the way.

The Neptune Society Colorado ecommerce website walks families through the entire cremation planning process. Planning and paying for a Colorado cremation service online makes the entire process faster and easier for families who want to get the planning out of the way. Cremation counselors will also be available over the phone to assist families with the online process.

Neptune Society takes privacy very seriously and has implemented multiple measures to ensure each familys information is kept safe throughout the online process. The ecommerce system is designed to protect the wishes and the finances of families who desire our cremation services.

Cremation counselors will still be available to meet with families in person. An appointment to talk about a familys options for cremation can take place at the Neptune Society office or at the home of the family. For those who would prefer to take more time assembling all the necessary information or who would like to plan their Denver cremation on their own schedule, choosing the ecommerce cremation planning and payment process may be a better fit.

Neptune Society Denver is not the only location to offer cremation planning online. Neptune Society also offers ecommerce websites for Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana. As technology changes the funeral industry, Neptune Society works to combine technology and quality service to provide families with affordable cremation plans across the nation.

Neptune Society provides cremation services with care and respect. As Americas trusted cremation provider, Neptune Society has been servicing families across the nation for over 40 years. Neptune Society also offers specialized cremation services for veterans that includes assistance with collecting government benefits and organizing interment at a National Cemetery.

For more information about Denver cremation services, please contact Neptune Society Denver or begin planning a Denver cremation service today using the new ecommerce system.
Serving our customers needs in an honest, timely, and expert fashion has set us apart from the competition year after year...Its always been a pleasure to work for and represent ServiceMark

Since 1951, ServiceMark Heating, Cooling & Plumbing has understood the importance of customer satisfaction and promised to deliver outstanding quality and service in heating, cooling and plumbing services. With a 97 percent customer satisfaction rating, an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and the Angies List Superior Service Award for many years, the team at ServiceMark has been serving their customers for 65 years with pride.

ServiceMark Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is celebrating 65 years of service to local communities, all the way from Northern Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to Dover, Delaware. ServiceMark sends only the best HVAC technicians into their customers homes or places of business. All ServiceMark technicians must go through rigorous training and testing, and be certified by NATE (North American Technician Excellence).

Serving our customers needs in an honest, timely, and expert fashion has set us apart from the competition year after year, states George Davis, Senior Marketing Manager. Its always been a pleasure to work for and represent ServiceMark, an upstanding organization that not only serves the public with expert maintenance, repair, and installation of HVAC equipment, but gives back to the many communities they serve, with charitable donations of time, in-kind donations and financial gifting.

In 1951, ServiceMark Heating, Cooling & Plumbing began when a group of small, family owned and operated plumbing, heating, and air conditioning companies in Southern Pennsylvania and Northern Delaware joined forces with the goal of providing exceptional service always delivered with honesty, quality, and reliability. Today, that mission remains the same as ServiceMark Heating, Cooling & Plumbing celebrates 65 years of service.

Now serving communities in three states, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, ServiceMark boasts more than 150 employees and nine offices, promising whole home solutions, including heating and air conditioning, plumbing, energy audits, gas line installation, insulation and weatherization, air products and services. All of these products and services are backed by their 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.

Whether you require emergency service, new or replacement installation, or standard services, call on the ServiceMark team today and discover their expert team, ready to gain your trust and build a lasting relationship with you.

Bio: Over 65 years ago, ServiceMark Heating, Cooling & Plumbing began providing comfort for customers with heating, cooling, and plumbing solutions delivered by a team of well-qualified, trustworthy personnel. That tradition continues as ServiceMarks expert technicians, installers, master plumbers, sales professionals, and support staff promise reliability, quality and satisfaction on every project, regardless of its size. The goal at ServiceMark is to always achieve 100 percent customer satisfaction backed by their 100 percent satisfaction guarantee.
Evans Adhesive Corporation, Ltd., one of Americas leading manufacturers of industrial adhesives, has been granted a renewal for the third straight year certifying that it is a Womens Business Enterprise by the Ohio River Valley Womens Business Council, a regional certifying partner of Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC is currently the largest third-party certifier in the United States of businesses that are at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by women or a woman. The certification by WBENC, carried out by the Ohio River Valley Womens Business Council, entails a site inspection as well as a comprehensive review of the entire business. WBENC works to promote women-owned businesses, thus opening new channels of revenue and creating partnerships and opportunities that fuel the economy.

Our continued re-certification confirms how weve been doing business for several years, and reflects a commitment by our ownership and employees. By doing business with Evans, youre supporting diversity in the marketplace and in your own company, said Tammy Schueler, CFO for Evans Adhesive. She continued, Depending on your status, doing business with Evans as a certified women-owned supplier may provide additional benefits to your company.

To learn more about the benefits of working with a women-owned business, visit http://www.wbenc.org.

About Evans Adhesive

Evans Adhesive Corporation, Ltd. (http://www.evansadhesive.com)  a women-owned business and certified Womens Business Enterprise, was founded in 1900 and incorporated in 1902 as The Commercial Paste Company. It has been in the Evans family since 1920 and is one of Americas leading manufacturers of industrial adhesives. With headquarters centrally located in Columbus, Ohio, and additional manufacturing facilities in Rancho Cucamonga, California, the company provides service on a national basis. Evans has a well-established reputation in the industry, with an emphasis on customer satisfaction, product quality and timely delivery. Its array of capabilities is broad and includes pressure-sensitive hot melts, polyamides, APAO, EVA packaging hot melts, and various water-based, palletizing, and Graphic Arts as well as Outdoor Advertising adhesive applications. Evans is a member of the Adhesive and Sealant Council (ASC), the leading industry member group that includes manufacturers of adhesives and sealants, plus industry suppliers, ranging from privately held companies to multinational corporations. Rusty Thompson, Evans President and CEO, now serves as ASCs Past Board Chairman. Evans is also a member of the Composite Can & Tube Institute  and the Drywall Finishing Council.

About WBENC

The Womens Business Enterprise National Council (http://www.wbenc.com) is the nations largest third party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for more than 1,000 U.S. companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity program.

About The Ohio River Valley Womens Business Council (ORV-WBC)

The ORV-WBC provides a national, premier WBENC certification to women-owned companies in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Major corporations and government agencies utilize the WBENC organization as a clearinghouse for women suppliers seeking procurement opportunities. Currently, over 795 women-owned companies are certified through the Ohio River Valley region.
The Neptune Memorial Reef is a popular dive site both for families visiting their loved ones and those who simply want to see the life in the Reef themselves. As the first new mold in almost nine years, the sea turtle mold will provide families a new way to remember their loved ones.

Paloma de Mazieres passed away May 25, 2014, in a boating accident. The boat she was traveling in ran into a small island by Turtle Rock in Bimini, Bahamas. To memorialize their daughter, her parents wanted to have her ashes in a sea turtle mold placed at the Neptune Memorial Reef. However, the Reef didnt offer a sea turtle mold, and a new mold would require extensive engineering and expenses to create. The family opted for a sea star placement, and Palomas star became a part of the Neptune Memorial Reef, along with two glass turtles placed beside her.

This year, Neptune Memorial Reef created a new sea turtle mold modeled after the Reefs resident sea turtle Crush, and it was only fitting the first turtle would honor Palomas memory. The sea turtle was placed by the Neptune Memorial Reef staff on the island where the collision occurred, as a permanent memorial on May 14, 2016. Palomas friends and family attended the event.

The new sea turtle mold is just one of a plethora of molds that one can choose to be a part of the memorial. To create the molds, ashes from a cremation service are mixed with cement and poured into molds of various structures that, when placed in the reef, will create a reef inspired by the lost city of Atlantis. Approximately 32 sea turtle molds will be available in this limited release.

The Neptune Memorial Reef is an underwater memorial off the coast of Key Biscayne that also serves as one of the largest and most prolific artificial reefs in the Atlantic. The structures created from the ashes of loved ones provide anchors for rare corals to grow and flourish, giving new homes to fish and other sea life and making this memorial site a lively place. Among its more famous residents are roughtail stingrays Desi and Lucy, along with a species of long-spined sea urchin that was previously thought to be extinct in the Caribbean.

The Neptune Memorial Reef is a popular dive site both for families visiting their loved ones and those who simply want to see the life in the Reef themselves. Divers can visit the Reef by heading to the coordinates N25 42.036, W80 05.409. Four buoys mark the dive site. The red buoy, nicknamed Wilson, serves as the ascent line.

A few updates will also be coming to the Neptune Memorial Reef. Expansion plans for the Reef have already been approved, and will be implemented in the near future. There are also design plans for another new mold: the sea biscuit. The sea biscuit, when completed, will be the smallest marine placement in the Neptune Memorial Reef.

For more information, visit the Neptune Memorial Reef website or call (877) 370-7333. Cremation is required to become a part of the Reef, but Neptune Society can provide families with cremation services carried out with care and respect. For more information about Neptune Society cremation services, please contact a nearby office.
Michelle and Sara of National Cremation Society, Fruitland Park, FL delivered a Summer themed basket to Blackston Financial Group to be used in their Annual Honor Flight Celebration Raffle. Its nice to celebrate veterans and what they have done for our country.

Its nice to celebrate veterans and what they have done for our country, said Sara McGovern, service manager for National Cremation Society Fruitland Park.

Clients of the Blackston Financial Advisory Group in The Villages were able to bid on a variety of baskets to support the Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization that transports veterans around the country for free so they can visit the memorials in Washington D.C. that commemorate their service in wars including World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Since 2005, the Honor Flight Network has helped over 150,000 veterans visit the memorials that honor them.

To do their part in raising money to enable more veterans in participating in this program, McGovern and her staff created a large Summer Picnic-themed basket with a retail value of approximately $150 to donate to the charity event. The bright blue basket included everything one would need for a classic summer picnic: cups, plates, chips, salsa, a six-pack of Summerfest beer, beach towels, sunscreen, a mister bottle, a pinwheel lawn ornament, a beach ball and more. Even the gift basket itself was a picnic basket.

We wanted people to use the whole thing, McGovern said.

The charity raised over $9,000 to provide free transportation for veterans via The Villages hub of the Honor Flight Network  the most that Blackston Financial Advisory Group had ever raised in its prior years of hosting this charity. McGovern and her team are honored to be among those who were able to support this cause.

National Cremation Society Fruitland Park also helps veterans in another way. They provide specialized services to help veterans and their families plan for cremation, and assist veterans in completing paperwork to receive all the appropriate benefits the government provides. McGovern and her team help families every day schedule services with military honors, reserve spaces for interment in National Cemeteries, and receive financial reimbursements from the government. With National Cremation Society Fruitland Park, one can also preplan veteran cremation services to ensure everything is taken care of beforehand.

For more information about this event or about cremation services, please contact National Cremation Society Fruitland Park directly or find another location nearby.
Were delighted to offer our customers these new products and upgrades. Link has been significantly improved, and provides faster and more reliable data transfer, with sophisticated messaging for a pleasing customer experience.

WattzOn, which provides a national platform for residential utility data covering 90% of U.S. homes, announced today new products and a platform upgrade that increase access, speed and reliability for the capture of utility. WattzOns software tools are used by connected home providers and solar companies to quickly gather utility data, deepen engagement and create personalized offers and updates.

The announcement includes:



Snapshot  an easy-to-use web and mobile tool that allows consumers to take a photo of their utility bill. WattzOn reads the data, including 12 months of usage, in seconds.

Link -- a web and mobile tool that allows consumers to connect their utility account to WattzOns platform for speedy data transfer and automatic updates

3in1  a web and mobile tool that allows consumers to choose their preferred method of data transfer (photo of bill, link account, or upload utility bill pdf file).

Were delighted to offer our customers these new products and upgrades. Link has been significantly improved, and provides faster and more reliable data transfer, with sophisticated messaging for a pleasing customer experience, said Martha Amram, CEO of WattzOn. Snapshot serves the many consumers who receive paper bills from their utility. Snapshot is similar to a mobile check deposit app, allowing consumers to engage quickly and in a familiar way.

The new products are offered via hosted solution, API or a combination of hosted/API, allowing solar companies and connected home partners to quickly deploy WattzOns utility data solutions.

WattzOn will demo its new offerings at InterSolar in San Francisco, July 12  14. For more information, please visit: http://blog.wattzon.com/meet-wattzon-at-intersolar.

About WattzOn

Wattzon provides a national platform for residential utility data and a suite of targeted software products that leverages utility data for personalized consumer insights. WattzOns software tools cover 90% of U.S. homes. We help solar companies, connected home providers and program partners engage consumers, save energy and increase sales. Customers across the U.S. have used WattzOns software tools with proven engagement and energy savings results. For more information, see http://www.wattzon.com.
Atwood Lake Campground will be awash in teardrops again when the fourth annual Tearstock Rolling Home Tour convenes in Mineral City, Ohio, from July 12-16.

The event, sponsored by Little Guy Worldwide, premier distributor of the popular teardrop campers, is far from a sad affair. Owners of the iconic trailers come from all over the USA and Canada to celebrate their love for camping in their special home away from home.

Tearstock organizers are expecting a record number of attendees for the 2016 edition, with over 100 colorful trailers expected to roll into the main campground and overflow areas.

Janine Pettit, the host of the Girl Camper podcast, will join the Tearstock crowd on July 13-14. Through her podcast and social media connections, Pettit has helped fuel the girl camping movement by showing women (and even some men) what is involved in owning, operating and towing their own travel trailer.

She hopes to educate, encourage and empower women to join the Girl Camper family through her media work, public appearances and Camper College workshops hosted by dealerships. She plans to do a live podcast during her two-day visit.

Little Guy Worldwide and the Teardrop Shop will provide gift bags and a welcoming dinner for campers on Tuesday, July 12. Hamburgers, fries, milkshakes and other goodies will be served from Swensons Food Truck. An outdoor movie on the big screen is scheduled for Wednesday night.

A home wine and craft beer tasting event is set for Thursday. Campers are encouraged to bring a few bottles of wine and beer from their home area for others to sample. Deejay Dave Glenn Alley will play music outdoors for the Tearstock attendees on Thursday and Friday evening.

A potluck dinner is scheduled for Friday along with presentation of Rolling Home Tour Awards for campers who traveled the furthest to attend, for the most creative trailer modifications, and for best-looking campsite. Checkout time is 2 p.m. Saturday.

A large tent store will give visitors a place to shop for trailer accessories, T-shirts, jewelry and mementos of their Tearstock experience. Campers can also sign up for tour at a nearby teardrop manufacturing facility.

The main camping area has been sold out. For information on other camping spots, call Atwood Lake Campground at (330) 343-6780.

For more information, contact Dana Pulis, Steve Prosinski or Erika McLaughlin

at the Kinetic Agency (406) 534-2140
Team Rubicon Global (TRG) "The grants from American Express and the Bob Woodruff Foundation will allow us to continue developing Team Rubicons in coalition countries, said William McNulty, cofounder and CEO of Team Rubicon Global.

Team Rubicon Global (TRG) is excited to announce the receipt of generous grants from American Express and the Bob Woodruff Foundation to advance its mission to provide veterans around the world with opportunities to serve others in the wake of disasters. As founding sponsors, these respected organizations are valued partners in the multinational expansion of the Team Rubicon network.

The grants from American Express and the Bob Woodruff Foundation will allow us to continue developing Team Rubicons in coalition countries, said William McNulty, cofounder and CEO of Team Rubicon Global. We are very proud of the collaboration and commitment of these two remarkable grant-makers, who are building on their previous support of Team Rubicon USA by committing to our mission to bring the Team Rubicon model to new countries.

The American Express grant will help build the foundation for TRGs Disaster Operations Fund, enabling Team Rubicons to deploy on timesensitive disaster response missions. The grant from the Bob Woodruff Foundation will support the expansion of the TRG network into new coalition countries, particularly Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UK.

At American Express, we know service is calling, and that veterans continue to hear the call long after their tours of duty, said Timothy J. McClimon, president, American Express Foundation. We are pleased to provide a founding grant to Team Rubicon Global, furthering our longstanding commitment to enabling meaningful service opportunities for citizens and providing relief to victims of natural disasters around the world.

The rapid growth of Team Rubicon is a remarkable example of how impacted veterans can truly benefit their communities and each other through continued service, said Anne Marie Dougherty, executive director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. Regardless of the flags they fought under, these volunteers fought alongside each other. We look forward to seeing the difference theyll now make by helping people recover from disasters across the globe.

Team Rubicon Global is the global coalition that incubates, launches, and enables Team Rubicon organizations in countries around the world. It coordinates international operations, maintains brand control, sets operating standards, and establishes strategic relationships with foreign governments, multinational institutions, and non-governmental organizations. TRG has coordinated deployments to: Nepal following the 2015 earthquake; the Philippines to continue Typhoon Haiyan reconstruction efforts; Northern Greece for refugee support operations; and most recently, Fort McMurray, Canada to assist evacuees following the wildfires.

###

Team Rubicon Global provides veterans around the world with opportunities to serve others in the wake of disasters. Affiliate countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. For more about Team Rubicon Global, visit http://www.teamrubiconglobal.org.
Tom Davidson and Meegan Peery, DDW Associate Creative Directors "We're building a design team that's a unique blend of deep industry experience and youthful enthusiasm."

Long-time DDW design directors, Tom Davidson and Meegan Peery have been promoted to Associate Creative Director, reporting to Ross Patrick, DDW Executive Creative Director. Weve promoted Tom and Meegan in recognition of their incredible creativity, but also because were growing and theyve proven their ability to lead, says Patrick.

Patrick also announced the addition of three recent graduates from the Academy of Art University to the DDW design team. Zachary Charters and Melissa Genao interned at DDW last year and have now been brought on full-time. Sebastian Fraye, also from the graduating class of 2015, joins DDW via Anthem Design, San Francisco.

We are building a design team here thats an incredible blend of deep industry experience and youthful enthusiasm, says Mike Goefft, DDW Managing Director. Im super excited about the talent we have in this building  from some of the most experienced designers in our industry whove crafted packaging for brands like Budweiser and Campbells, to Millennial designers who really get 21st Century consumers.

About DDW

DDW is a San Francisco based design firm with nearly 20+ years experience helping clients create deep brand stories and fresh brand design. Current clients include Anheuser-Busch, Alcatel, Big Heart Pet Brands, Campbells, Sprint, Seattles Best Coffee, The Mens Wearhouse, and The Non-GMO Project and several other undisclosed assignments.
Isenberg Faucets recently hosted a regional meeting for the NKBA North Texas Plains chapter and shared a presentation on Shower Design for the Modern Bathroom. The company detailed trend information that reveals the popularity of master bathroom remodeling projects and the growing number of households that are eliminating showers in their master baths in favor of larger, open-design showers. Isenberg experts discussed the step-by-step design process needed to create a custom shower, including valve selection, volume controls, components and water outlets. They also shared ideas for luxury add-on items popular with consumers, such as benches with back sprays, hand showers, and directional body jets with adjustable spray patterns.

The National Kitchen and Bath Association is the industrys premier organization for bath and kitchen professionals. Established 50 years ago, the group now has over 60,000 members and is known for its annual production of the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show.

Isenberg creates a full range of quality kitchen and bath plumbing fixtures known for their uncommon quality and engineering. Their dedicated team utilizes a global network of skilled artisans and craftsmen to meticulously assemble and finish each unit using state-of-the-art technology. The valves are cast in solid brass and are manufactured and assembled in Germany and Italy. Final water testing and quality inspections are conducted at Isenbergs facility in Irving, Texas. All Isenberg products are developed with water conservation as a key part of their business model. Their signature Ecomatic System cuts average water use by half while still offering an exceptional bathing experience. Isenberg fixtures are IAPMO / UPC certified and available at select plumbing retailers.

To learn more about bathroom fixtures crafted by artisans visit: isenbergfaucets.com #ResponsibleLuxury

https://www.facebook.com/Isenberg.Bath/?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/IsenbergBath
Mr. Collevecchios mission will be expanding the Alliances presence in the Chester and Delaware counties under his company, Alois Digital.

We are delighted to have an executive of Alex Collevecchios caliber as part of the IBAs advisory network for the Greater Philadelphia Area. His certification is a key step in IBAs initiatives in support of the entrepreneurial community, said Eric Leaman, CEO at IBAs USA headquarters in Smithfield, VA. Alex will be a particularly valuable adviser to the Greater Philadelphia Area business people. For the last 27 years he has been working as a senior executive at some of the countrys most successful companies.

IBAs certification means a lot to my clients, said Mr. Collevecchio. Besides the prestige, my relationship with IBA will provide my clients with a depth of resources that other business advisers simply cannot offer. I now have access to top-level resources that will help me assist my clients with any issue or challenge they may be facing.

About Alois Digital

Alois Digitals Vision is to provide world-class and innovative business and technology expertise to the disruptive worlds of our small business owner, technology entrepreneurs, and mid-market and large enterprise clients by improving their performance and competitive advantage resulting in increased profits and market share. Alois Digitals Mission is to assist our clients while applying our innovative People-Process-Technology-Products approach in the delivery of our Business Owner Adviser, Technology Entrepreneur Adviser, and Digital Strategy & Transformation Solutions. For more information about how Alois Digital can help you and your business, please contact us.
Sokanu logo Helping students to find the careers that are best for them requires more than old-fashioned tests with pen and paper bubble sheets, said Spencer Thompson, CEO, Sokanu.

Sokanu, a career discovery platform designed to help people match their natural traits, interests and abilities to specific careers, today announced that it will participate in an official White House gathering celebrating innovations in Career and Technical Education (CTE). As one of the technical sponsors of the Reach Higher Career App Challenge, a competition launched by First Lady Michelle Obamas Reach Higher Initiative and the U.S. Department of Education, Sokanu has been invited to attend a demonstration by the Challenge finalists. The winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

Launched in October 2015, the Reach Higher Career App Challenge is part of the U.S. Department of Educations Ed Prizes initiative, a series of prize competitions designed to prepare students for a more competitive world. With $465,000 in total prizes, the Reach Higher Career App Challenge calls upon innovators to submit prototype mobile applications to improve access to information about CTE, help students navigate education and career pathways, and increase the capacity of career counselors to serve students.

With a constantly evolving career landscape, it is increasingly challenging for students to identify, assess, and act upon their options as they plan for careers and college. While the current career guidance and counseling infrastructure plays a critical role in assisting students with college and career selection decisions, nationwide, one in five high schools lacks a school counselor. Furthermore, the American Counseling Association reports that in 2013, the national average student-to-school-counselor ratio for K-12 counselors was 482:1 with peaks of 880:1 in Arizona and 826:1 in California. As a result, students receive only minutes of in-person time with their counselor annually, as they prepare to make important postsecondary education and career decisions.

While K-12 education has increased its efforts to build childrens career knowledge and access to career opportunities, gaps still exist in helping students make the best career decisions based off a childs strengths, interests and goals, said Cory Notestine, Counseling and Postsecondary Coordinator, Colorado Springs School District 11 on the Reach Higher Career App Challenge Blog. The Reach Higher Career Challenge will provide access for all students to begin the career exploration at their own pace or through a guided timeline outlined by educational professionals. Having a career tool that a child can access from any mobile device has the potential to close the career knowledge gap and increase a childs ability to enter into education that aligns with their career interest.

As one of the technology sponsors of the Reach Higher Career App Challenge, Sokanu has provided Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for developers to integrate Sokanus sophisticated career-matching solution into their mobile solutions. Incorporating the most recent advancements in organizational psychology and technology, the Sokanu career discovery platform consists of two primary components: 1) The Sokanu Career Test, a unique psychometric test evaluates people based on 186 traits across eight categories including personality, needs, culture, interests, and abilities; and 2) The Sokanu Career Database, the most comprehensive, up-to-date data-driven and informative source of career info in the world, with 750 career profiles, supported by completely original content and videos. More than one hundred schools and universities are already using Sokanu, including NYU, University of Nevada, University of Texas, University of Miami, and many others.

Helping students to find the careers that are best for them requires more than old-fashioned tests with pen and paper bubble sheets, said Spencer Thompson, CEO, Sokanu. Our approach is much more effective because it utilizes sophisticated algorithms to match an individuals strengths and interests to an up-to the minute career database for the best potential options. We are delighted to support the Reach Higher Career App Challenge, so that more counselors can use our technology platform to scale up their capacity and help students plan their career course while they are still in school.

Success starts with dreaming big and believing that anything is possible, said Aarti Dhupelia, VP of Strategic Initiatives, National Louis University and judge for the Reach Higher Career App Challenge on the Reach Higher blog. Early career planning helps young people set their sights high and pushes them to start thinking through the steps they need to take to achieve their dreams.

###

About Sokanu

Launched in 2013, Sokanu offers a career discovery platform to help the next generation of workers match their natural traits, interests and abilities to specific careers. The companys mission is to fundamentally change the way people prepare for the workforce by helping them to find the career that is right for them and the unique path to getting there. Sokanu is already being used in more than one hundred schools and universities, including NYU, University of Nevada, University of Texas, University of Miami, and many others. Sokanu is based in Vancouver, BC and funded by top Silicon Valley, NYC and Vancouver-based angel investors in education technology, social networking and career psychology.
For years, The Gullicksen Group has given back to the community through continuous support of local charities in the San Francisco Bay Area. This summer, they continue their support of these local charities and take pride in it.

Every year, Tim Gullicksen of Zephyr Real Estate gives back to the community, which has given so much to him for some time now.

Its a wonderful opportunity to give back to the world that we take so much from, Gullicksen said.

This year, the recipients of The Gullicksen Groups giving include the following:



The Red Cross

KQED

AIDS Walk San Francisco

Muttville

The San Francisco LGBT Center

The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

New Conservatory Theater

AIDS/Life Cycle

California Historical Society

GLBT Historical Society

Planned Parenthood

Alpha Sigma Phi

As one of the best real estate offices in the industry for the San Francisco Bay Area, The Gullicksen Group continues to thank their local community by giving back to local charities each and every year.

Feel free to reach out to The Gullicksen Groups team, including Tim Gullicksen, for more information about their real estate office, charity involvement, and real estate purposes, including current home listings and any buyer or seller questions regarding the local market.

About the company:

Tim Gullicksen has been a top-producing real estate agent since he first entered into the business and takes great pride in managing every aspect of each transaction. After graduating from high school in the South Bay, Tim earned a bachelors degree in political science and history from the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to earn his teaching credentials from JFK University in Orinda and taught kindergarten in the San Jose Unified School District. He brings an educational approach to real estate developed from that background and sees himself as a facilitator of property transactions. For more information, visit his website at http://www.timgullicksensf.com/.
(L-R): MD State Senator Addie Eckardt, Benchworks CEO Thad Bench, Comptroller Peter Franchot, SCS President Charles Boyd, Dorchester County Council Member Rick Price, MD State Delegate Johnny Mautz. Safe Chain Solutions has continued to grow and thrive in the pharmaceutical distribution industry because of their diligence, attention to detail and outstanding customer service.

Safe Chain Solutions, a Benchworks Company, received a proclamation for excellence in business from Comptroller Peter Franchot on June 16. The company was recognized for its exceptional customer service during a period of rapid growth and for achieving what Franchot described as the highest level of safety, integrity and dependability.

Safe Chain Solutions was founded in 2011 by Charles and Patrick Boyd. The company, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary, is headquartered in Cambridge, Maryland, with sales offices in Miami and Annapolis, Maryland. In April 2016, Safe Chain opened a new warehouse in Louisville, Kentucky. The company currently employs more than 25 people.

Charles Boyd, president of Safe Chain Solutions, explained that one of the keys to the companys success is staying true to their mission. At Safe Chain, we provide customized, flexible solutions and offer the capabilities of a large company with personalized service that our customers deserve and expect. We are honored to be recognized by the State of Maryland and appreciate the hard work of our dedicated employees.

Thad Bench, CEO of Benchworks, said that this proclamation is further evidence of the exceptional work that Safe Chain has been doing over the last 5 years. "Safe Chain Solutions has continued to grow and thrive in the pharmaceutical distribution industry because of their diligence, attention to detail and outstanding customer service. Careful strategic planning has been instrumental in achieving the phenomenal growth rate of over 500% since 2014. I am excited about what the future holds for Safe Chain Solutions.

About Safe Chain

Safe Chain is a rapidly growing distributor serving customers worldwide through its two divisions: Logistics Solutions and Healthcare Solutions. Headquartered in Cambridge, Maryland, the company has sales offices in Miami and Annapolis, Maryland. For more information, visit http://www.safechainsolutions.com or call 855-43PL-SCS (855-437-5727).

About Benchworks

Benchworks, a comprehensive marketing services firm headquartered in Chestertown, Maryland, was founded in 1991. The company specializes in the design, production and launch of complete marketing and branding services. Clients include a wide variety of companies in the pharmaceutical, beverage, manufacturing and education industries in North America and Europe. For additional information, please visit http://www.benchworks.com or call 800-536-4670.
mParticle, the only mobile-first customer data platform, today announced its support for the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project, an open source initiative that makes it easy for publishers to create mobile-friendly content once and have it load instantly everywhere.

Originally championed by Google, Twitter and others, AMP is an open source initiative that takes advantage of various technical approaches to provide a faster experience for mobile users. One of the ways that AMP HTML pages are made faster is that they strip out extraneous elements, including unnecessary third-party tracking tags. With this latest integration, mParticle joins a limited number of selectively-curated technology partners certified to collect data on AMP-enabled content.

At mParticle, were fully aligned with AMPs goal of helping publishers improve mobile experiences for both their audience as well as their advertisers, said Michael Katz, Co-Founder and CEO of mParticle. Speed is critical to mobile success, and were excited that our platform can help publishers deliver on this objective.

Once added to a customers pages with a simple line of code, mParticle is able to send data safely and securely to more than 100 different analytics, email and mobile marketing platforms.

AMP is mParticles sixth integration with the Google ecosystem. mParticle is also integrated with Google Analytics, Google Cloud Messaging, Google Big Query, the DoubleClick Data Platform and DoubleClick Campaign Manager.

ABOUT MPARTICLE

mParticle is the only customer data platform built for mobile and native apps across all devices. To win in mobile requires data infrastructure purpose built to address the complexities core to running an app business. mParticle was built from the ground up to do just that; empowering mobile marketers and developers to accelerate their mobile strategy and keep pace with their customers by providing the most advanced data platform today. mParticle serves large brands such as Spotify, SeatGeek, Starwood, SoulCycle, iHeartRadio, among many others. Each month, mParticle sees over 750 million mobile users on its platform, captures over $2 billion in ecommerce transactions, and processes over 65 billion API calls. mParticle was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in New York City.

RELATED LINKS

http://www.mparticle.com

http://docs.mparticle.com/#amp
As a community of practice, our intention is to share the great work happening within the industry and celebrate healthcare staff impacting patient experience every day.

Reinforcing its commitment to elevating the importance of experience across all care settings, The Beryl Institute joins The DAISY Foundations Supportive Associations. This collaboration provides the opportunity to share messages on the value of enhancing patient care by celebrating compassionate and extraordinary nurses through meaningful recognition.

We are excited that The Beryl Institute is now a DAISY Supportive Association. Patient stories of extraordinary nursing written as DAISY Award nominations reflect the positive patient experience beautifully, said Bonnie Barnes, FAAN, Co-Founder and President of The DAISY Foundation. With the Institutes reach, we look forward to expanding meaningful recognition of nurses as a tool for enhancing the patient experience.

Direct care nurses are often the primary face of the patient experience in healthcare facilities. Patients and families who experience outstanding nursing compassion and skill may share their stories by nominating their nurses for The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in nearly 2,300 healthcare facilities. By celebrating nursing compassion and skill, The DAISY Award showcases role-models for all staff and enhances a patient and family-centered culture that contributes to a positive patient experience.

As a community of practice, our intention is to share the great work happening within the industry and celebrate healthcare staff impacting patient experience every day, said Stacy Palmer, Vice President, Strategy and Member Experience of The Beryl Institute. The DAISY Foundation makes a significant contribution to the field of patient experience by acknowledging and elevating the role of compassionate nurses and their influence on the lives of patients and family members. 

To learn more about The DAISY Foundations Supportive Associations, visit: https://www.daisyfoundation.org/about/supportive-associations.

###

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience through collaboration and shared knowledge. We define patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organizations culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.

About The DAISY Foundation:

The DAISY Foundation was created in 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of an auto-immune disease (hence the name, an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.) Patrick received extraordinary care from his nurses, and his family felt compelled to express their profound gratitude for the compassion and skill nurses bring to patients and families every day. The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses celebrates nurses in over 2,200 healthcare facilities around the world. For more information about The DAISY Award and the Foundations other recognition of nurses, nursing faculty and students, visit http://www.DAISYfoundation.org.
Johns Hospital All Children's Hospital Being named as a Most Wired Hospital solidifies how our organization is taking steps to improve our IT operations and security in order to provide better patient care

Hospitals & Health Networks named Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital to its 2016 Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems list. The list, based on the Most Wired Survey, serves as a benchmark for excellence in IT and health data security, examining how organizations leverage IT to improve performance for value-based health care. Each year, hospitals included on the Most Wired list must meet criteria in four key areas, including infrastructure, business and administrative management, clinical quality and safety and clinical integration. Johns Hopkins All Childrens is the only childrens hospital on Floridas west coast to be named to this years list.

Being named as a Most Wired Hospital solidifies how our organization is taking steps to improve our IT operations and security in order to provide better patient care at the right place, resulting in better health outcomes, says Roberta Alessi, Chief Operating Officer at Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital. Weve already seen innovations in care for our asthma patients after clinicians reviewed and utilized data to create new guidelines in our emergency room, which helped reduce admissions and decrease the length of stay, ultimately improving the overall care for this group of patients.

More than two-thousand hospitals, roughly 34 percent of U.S. hospitals, participated in the survey. Detailed results and more information on the 2016 Most Wired Hospitals will be available in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. The full list of winners can be found at http://www.hhnmag.com.

About Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital

Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital in St. Petersburg is a leader in childrens health care, combining a legacy of compassionate care focused solely on children since 1926 with the innovation and experience of one of the worlds leading health care systems. The 259-bed teaching hospital, ranked as a U.S. News & World Report Best Childrens Hospital, stands at the forefront of discovery, leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases while training the next generation of pediatric experts. With a network of Johns Hopkins All Childrens Outpatient Care centers and collaborative care provided by All Childrens Specialty Physicians at regional hospitals, Johns Hopkins All Childrens brings care closer to home. Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital consistently keeps the patient and family at the center of care while continuing to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy. For more information, visit HopkinsAllChildrens.org.
We will be collaborating with clinicians and business leaders from throughout UPMC to make this one of the richest health care learning experiences available in the country.

UPMC clinicians and business leaders are preparing to host health care practitioners from around the world at the new UPMC International Training Center of Excellence, headquartered at UPMC East. From July 11 to 29, participants from health care organizations in China and Singapore will attend the centers flagship course, the International Health Care Management Program, to further their understanding of operational and clinical topics.

As UPMC has expanded its reach around the globe, our partners have increasingly sought our help in teaching leaders best practices for managing in todays complex and rapidly changing health care environment, said Charles Bogosta, president of UPMC International. With the creation of this unique center, we are responding to that demand and helping participants bring world-class care close to their homes, wherever they are in the world.

The International Health Care Management Program will be offered four times a year, and each new session provides the opportunity to create a highly customizable program, with seminars, workshops and shadowing opportunities designed to meet the needs of those attending. Experts from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business will share their knowledge about several key aspects of health care: quality and safety, leadership, planning and operations, finance and information technology.

The UPMC International Training Center of Excellence is overseen by newly appointed director Anjali Juli Kundu, who has held various strategy and management roles at UPMC over the last six years. Through her involvement on the steering committee for the new center, Kundu was critical in orchestrating a successful launch for the program.

In addition to the International Health Care Management Program, the center offers a Nurse Observership Program, the UPMC International Administrative Fellowship Program and medical student residencies, as well as other customized learning experiences. It also will oversee the planning and coordination for training activities related to existing UPMC International engagements in Kazakhstan and China.

As one of the newest hospitals in the UPMC systemable to incorporate all of our best practices in facility design, patient and staff engagement and clinical developmentUPMC East is pleased to host our new international training center, said Mark Sevco, president of UPMC East. At the same time, we will be collaborating with clinicians and business leaders from throughout UPMC to make this one of the richest health care learning experiences available in the country.

Through the UPMC International Division, UPMC shares its clinical, technological and managerial knowledge and expertise with partners around the world, customizing solutions to benefit patients and regions. The goal is to advance UPMCs mission of transforming the way health care is provided, while revitalizing the economy of western Pennsylvania.

# # #

About UPMC

A world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of patient-centered, cost-effective, accountable care. It provides more than $892 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the regions most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 60,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, more than 500 doctors offices and outpatient sites, and a more than 2.9 million-member Insurance Services Division, the largest medical and behavioral health services insurer in western Pennsylvania. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 13 in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report annual Honor Roll of Americas Best Hospitals. UPMC Enterprises functions as the innovation and commercialization arm of UPMC while UPMC International provides hands-on health care and management services with partners in 12 countries on four continents. For more information, go to UPMC.com.

http://www.upmc.com/media
Today Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes announces the release of Young Stoner Outlaw, the latest mixtape by London based rapper Bate Nate Hussein. The Mixtape is currently available for streaming and download at the Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes website.

The mixtape features 10 tracks, including those below:

1. Slime or Die

2. Buss It (feat. Yung Gmny & Thug Slime A1)

3. Control It

4. Complete

5. Slime Virus

6. All In Their Feelingz

7. RIP (feat. D1 & NattyDred)

8. Flipt Da Skript

9. Slatt Attack

10. Slimes Only

Bate Nate Hussein is currently seeking press opportunities, interviews, features, and more. He can be reached trough his official Twitter page.

About Bate Nate Hussein: A London based rap artist named Bate Nate Hussein, has been in the underground music scene for many years. He's sold over 40,000 units worldwide via online digital stores and the street team whom travel across the Uk and Europe. Also worked with the late Tupac Shakurs' Outlaws and is still currently involved with them alongside YSL (Young Successful Living/ Young Stoner Nation) Counting over one million plays in YouTube and free mixtape downloads, it's now time for this young thug star to rise up! With his distinctive sound, raw lyrics and no nonsense attitude in and outside of music Bate Nate is s character worth watching and listening to.

Nate is an abbreviation of the word Nature. Which his mum named him after a difficult birth where she nearly lost her life. Nate derived from Nate's peers in his hood. They added it into Nate because of his attitude. Bait is slang meaning a way of living and acting with no care. Hussein is from being a Muslim which has now been to changed to the initial H. For all the latest music by Bate Nate Hussein, be sure to visit his official Soundcloud page.

About Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes: Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes are the most widely distributed mixtapes in the world, with over 100 million downloads/plays generated by over 300 volumes officially hosted by major artists. Coast 2 Coast has a solid reach in the new music industry with a digital magazine, DJ coalition, industry tips blog, yearly convention, and more. Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes represents a unique opportunity for artists of all urban genres, from major to indie. For more information, visit http://www.coast2coastmixtapes.com.
Home page of new www.cell-gate.com website. "It was important that our website spoke as much to the benefits of having our products as it did to the technical features available with each of them." Noel Gouldin, President of CellGate

This week, cellular-based access control product company, CellGate, launched a newly redesigned website under their domain, http://www.cell-gate.com. The new website features a more user-friendly Menu bar, landscape images on all website pages, and a more appealing page layout for organizing different, yet relevant, groups of information.

CellGate is a leader in cellular-based access control and remote monitoring products. Until recently, most of their products were almost exclusively for gate access control and monitoring applications where electricity and land lines were not available; places like remote oil and gas sites, ranches, second homes, construction sites and unmanned commercial properties like self-storage facilities. With the release last month of their new Watchman Cellular Streaming Video Telephone Entry System, CellGate now has an access control system that appeals to almost anyone that has a gate and wants to control who enters their property. It was the advent of the Watchman system that motivated CellGate President, Noel Gouldin, to update the CellGate website with a newer version that could appeal to a broader audience.

The cellular access control industry typically has a very technical nomenclature, and our website reflected that to some degree, says Gouldin. However, internally we knew that with our release of the Watchman Streaming Video Telephone Entry System that almost overnight we were going to have a much broader audience of people potentially interested in our products. This broader audience may not be as technically proficient about cellular technology and access control functionality, so it was important that our website spoke as much to the benefits of having our products as it did to the technical features available with each of them. Internally, we love all of the amazing technical features CellGate products have, but we have to keep in mind who our website audience is and make sure we are appealing to what they want to know. Redesigning the website to make it feel more welcoming to technically knowledgeable people like our dealers, but also to less technically savvy people that are simply interested in the benefits CellGate products bring to their lives, has been a key element to our Watchman marketing launch strategy.

Gouldin says that having a website that was easier to update was also critical to his decision-making about the timing of launching the new website now. Our Watchman system has so many potential applications in the marketplace that we have to be able to regularly update our website with information about how and where it can be used, says Gouldin. We already have customers with both residential and commercial applications that are clamoring for Watchman, and we want to be as proactive as possible in communicating how Watchman is being used on our website. With the new website platform, we will be able to make website updates more quickly, and the website can be an even bigger selling tool for us than it already is.

To see CellGates new website and to learn more about their new Watchman Cellular Streaming Video Telephone Entry System, visit http://www.cell-gate.com.

CellGate provides products and services for remote monitoring over cellular networks. They are the only technology company with a complete suite of cellular-based security productsencompassing streaming video, smart keypad entry, voice and camera solutions. With their smart phone applications and proprietary web-based portal built on Microsoft Azures cloud service, CellGate offers flexibility found in no other access control or monitoring solution. Visit their website for more information and to view a live demo.
We anticipate that our retail insurance partners will find Matt to be a tremendous resource when placing cyber risks says Austin.

Prior to joining Worldwide Facilities, Donovan served as National Underwriting and Global Practice Leader in the Technology and Privacy space for Hiscox USA, as well as Vice President and Global Practice Leader for Cyber and Data Risks for the Hiscox Groups operations worldwide.

Donovan has been extensively published in insurance trade journals including Independent Agent, American Agent & Broker, and Insurance Journal.

Were thrilled to have Matt on board, says Ron Austin, President & COO at Worldwide Facilities. Hes bringing extensive expertise and market relationships to our cyber liability practice. We anticipate that our retail insurance partners will find Matt to be a tremendous resource when placing cyber risks.

Im looking forward to being part of the incredible team of professionals at Worldwide Facilities, says Donovan, as well as contributing to the companys continuing growth and success.

Contact: Matt Donovan

Assistant Vice President

Direct: (615) 377-7687

Cell: (404) 402-9488

mdonovan(at)wwfi(dot)com

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC

Worldwide Facilities, LLC is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Our seasoned brokers and underwriters are industry leaders in providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, and offer extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas.
HOSA-Future Health Professionals, the largest international organization for middle school, high school and postsecondary/collegiate students with an interest in the health professions, gathered together last week in Nashville, Tennessee for the 2016 International Leadership Conference. Over 9,200 delegates were in attendance from the United States, American Samoa, Canada and Puerto Rico. Conference highlights included 57 health-related competitive events, 147 educational workshops and a special for HOSAs 40th Anniversary celebration.

HOSA was pleased to unveil its new Hall of Fame. The HOSA Hall of Fame was created to honor and recognize individuals and companies who have rendered outstanding service to HOSA, health and biomedical science education and the health industry. HOSAs former Competitive Events Directors, Honorary Life Members, Past National Presidents, Past HOSA, Inc. Chairmen made up the inaugural class of HOSA Hall of Fame.

In addition, HOSA recognized three outstanding corporate partners, CVS Health, Deloitte and HCA-Hospital Corporation of America, for their significant contributions to HOSA over the last 40 years. Partners inducted at the Opening Session included Ernie DuPont, Senior Director of Workforce Initiatives, CVS Health, represented by Charnita Young; Dr. Bruce Green, Director and Chief Medical Officer, Deloitte and Chair of the HOSA-100 National Advisory Council; Jennifer Berres, Vice President of Talent Management, and Scott Waldrop, Director of Operations, for HCA-Hospital Corporation of America.

HOSA is indebted to these corporate partners for their continued support of HOSA-Future Health Professionals.

For more information about HOSAs International Leadership Conference, visit ilc.hosa.org.

About HOSA

HOSAFuture Health Professionals is the largest international organization operating in schools for students enrolled in health science and biomedical sciences programs and serving those interested in pursuit of careers in health and biomedical professions. HOSA's purpose is to develop leadership and technical competencies through a program of motivation, awareness and recognition, which is an integral part of the instructional program. This student-led organization provides opportunities for students to practice and refine their academic, technical, leadership and teamwork skills to achieve seamless transition from classroom to career.

In 2015-2016, HOSA membership exceeded 202,000 members in 4,200 chapters in 53 state associations, including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Canada, Italy and Mexico, with 48% ethnic diversity. Since 1976, HOSA has served 2.4 million students interested in pursuing health professions. HOSA is the vital pipeline for the health industryan industry that is projected to add 5 million jobs by 2022, growing faster than all other professional sectors.

http://www.hosa.org

For Additional Information Contact:

Bobby Crandall

bobby(dot)crandall(at)hosa(dot)org

972.874.0062
ReadCube Connect enables our publishers to offer a truly interactive reading experience while gaining valuable insights on how their published content is performing downstream.

Stanford Universitys HighWire Press, Inc. and ReadCube are pleased to announce the completion of an agreement to offer ReadCube Connect to publications hosted on the HighWire Open Platform.

The innovative HighWire Open Platform provides technology solutions for the scholarly community. ReadCube Connect is an interactive PDF viewer that integrates seamlessly into a publications article pages, keeping readers on-site and engaged. This new agreement will enable leading publications on the platform to join a collection of prestigious publishers such as Wiley, ASHA and SciELO, in offering ReadCubes Enhanced PDF technology.

Dan Filby, CEO, HighWire said: ReadCube Connect enables our publishers to offer a truly interactive reading experience while gaining valuable insights on how their published content is performing downstream. HighWire and ReadCube have worked together to simplify the implementation process to eliminate cost barriers across the board.

ReadCube Connect is optimized for streaming and uploads faster than a traditional PDF in the browser. It leverages existing investments in metadata with its interactive article enhancements including:



Hyperlinked in-line citations and figures

Annotations

Clickable author names

Instant access to supplemental content

Advanced article analytics

Social sharing

Altmetrics.

With ReadCube Connect, readers can save the enhanced article and any annotations made to the ReadCube Cloud Library, which enables offline access from ReadCubes free desktop and mobile applications. The suite of ReadCube Apps offers additional features to help researchers organize their academic literature, rapidly discover and access articles, discover new research via personalized recommendations, and build manuscripts with the SmartCite citation tool.

Robert McGrath, CEO of ReadCube said: We look forward to working with HighWire to enhance the reading experience for their publishers and readers. Together, we will continue to improve and streamline the way researchers interact with scholarly literature on a global scale.

Dan Filby, HighWire added: Customers in our rapidly maturing market expect their technology partners to develop an ecosystem of products and services that constantly provide value. We are delighted that ReadCube joins our partner network to help us deliver this.

HighWire publishers with an interest in adding ReadCube Connect to their journal articles are encouraged to contact their HighWire Press representative.

About ReadCube

ReadCube develops software to make the world of research more accessible and connected - serving researchers, publishers, academic and commercial organizations.  ReadCube's web, desktop, and mobile reference management apps, including ReadCube and Papers brands, dramatically improve the way research find, organize, read, share, and cite research literature. ReadCubes publisher solutions, adopted by over 70 partners to date, include indexing via Readcube Discover, enhanced PDF viewing and sharing via ReadCube Connect, and article-level ecommerce via ReadCube Checkout.

Harvard researchers Robert McGrath and Sinisa Hrvatin founded ReadCube in 2007, which now has offices in Cambridge, MA and Zagreb, Croatia, and is supported by Digital Science, a technology division operated by global media company, the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. To find out more about ReadCube, visit http://www.readcube.com.

About HighWire

HighWire Press Ltd delivers technology solutions to leading publishers that disseminate scholarly research worldwide. With offices in the US and the UK, HighWire provides strategic consulting, professional services and innovative open platform technologies. Product offerings include digital content development and hosting services; BenchPress, a peer-review manuscript submission system; and Vizors, visual analytics tools for publishing insights. http://www.highwire.org
NTI Corporation is proud to introduce NTI Backup Now EZ 5, the newest version of its popular Home PC Backup Software. Like its predecessor, this 5th edition delivers a comprehensive, easy-to-use solution for protecting PC data. In addition to Cloud Backup, File & Folder Backup, and Complete PC Backup, two new solutions for Social Media Backup and Mobile Device Backup are included, making this new version an integrated 5-in-1 solution. Social Media Backup enables users to back up their contents in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts. Mobile Device Backup supports both iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. A downloadable iOS or Android app works in conjunction with a PC resident agent to deliver this convenient solution, which helps users back up photos and videos on their mobile devices. This feature enables users to free up valuable storage space on their smartphones or tablets, thus allowing them to take more photos and capture more videos. Other enhancements in Version 5 include expanded support of public clouds including Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive in addition to NTI Cloud. The total free space available on these supported clouds currently amounts to 22 GB, which is a free bonus to our users.

Backup Now EZ has always been rated as best-in-class backup software for home PCs; its install base of more than 20 million users attests to its quality and reliability. True to its mantra of Backup Everything, this newest version adds two major backup categories to deliver nothing less than a complete upgrade, its worthy of attention from existing users and new customers alike, says David Yao, NTIs newly appointed CEO.

NTI Backup Now EZ 5 is compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and Vista. Its mobile app supports iOS and Android.

Pricing and Availability

NTI Backup Now EZ 5 is available through the NTI online store (http://www.NTIcorp.com) and at select retail outlets for a $59.99 MSRP. During a launch promotion period that expires on 8/31/2016, NTI offers a special download price of $39.99, which is $20 off the MSRP. Current users with previous versions can upgrade for a discounted price of $19.99.

Custom versions of NTI Backup Now EZ are bundled with select models of storage devices, such as the highly popular Toshiba Canvio external USB hard drives.

Special Promotions

For a limited time until 10/31/2016, users are invited to enter a free sweepstake to win one of ten Grand Prizes (Toshiba Canvio Cast Wireless Adapter). Go to http://www.NTIcorp.com for more details.

About NTI Corporation

An award-winning software developer for 21 years, with an install base of more than 250 million copies worldwide, NTI creates innovative software products that combine ease-of-use, value, and new technologies. In 1998, NTI created Backup Now, the worlds first software that utilized optical discs as backup media. Today, with popular software titles such as Backup Now EZ, Echo, MiST, and Media Maker, NTI continues its innovation in areas of Backup, Cloud Storage, and Digital Media. More information is available at http://www.NTIcorp.com.

NTI Corporation Contact Info

9999 Muirlands Blvd., Irvine, CA 92618, USA. Phone: +1-949-421-0720, Fax: +1-949-421-0750. Website: http://www.NTIcorp.com. Additional offices are located in Guangzhou, China and Taipei, Taiwan.
SkyMD - the telehealth platform that connects dermatologists to their patients - announced the full-scale rollout of its application on Wednesday. SkyMD has shown that its unique business model can be effective and efficient for both patients and doctors, meeting the AMAs recently released telehealth regulations.

Certain telehealth companies have presented themselves as anonymous informational services rather than a health care service in order to circumvent the legal requirements surrounding a physician-patient relationship, said Eric Price, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SkyMD. But when a patient receives information from a physician online, they are more likely to trust the source and act upon that information regardless of the legal disclaimers surrounding it. Any platform connecting doctors and patients online should therefore adhere to a common standard of care. The SkyMD platform was designed by a team of board-certified dermatologists and tested within their own practices with this guiding principle in mind.

Since its soft launch in October 2015, SkyMD has seen tremendous growth in the applications usage and effectiveness.



50+ dermatologists actively using the platform

Licensed providers in 25 states across the country

Thousands of patients registered

40 percent month-over-month growth

This success is despite findings that some telehealth providers are falling short. For example, a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found several pitfalls with existing teledermatology platforms. The SkyMD platform has been designed to avoid these pitfalls and comply with the AMA guidelines on provider responsibility in telemedicine. SkyMD:



Enables and encourages patients to select their preferred provider

Connects patients only with certified healthcare providers licensed in the patients state

Collects all relevant patient information prior to evaluation

Utilizes proprietary treatment templates and patient education for more comprehensive evaluations

Enables patients to automatically share their treatment plan with their primary care physician

Allows patient to follow up with their SkyMD dermatologist in-person if needed

Helps find a local dermatologist if the SkyMD dermatologist is too far

The SkyMD platform was created alongside top dermatologists. As a result, doctors using the platform have been able to treat 90 percent of their SkyMD cases without the need for further in person evaluation and have reduced their treatment time by more than 75 percent. By giving doctors all the information, tools and resources they need to make an evaluation quickly and effectively, SkyMD enhances the patient experience, delivering high-quality, efficient care at a lower cost.

About SkyMD

SkyMD is a telehealth platform designed for dermatology. Eric Price, former Head of Product at Fab.com and Harvard Business School MBA, developed the technology in collaboration with a team of board-certified dermatologists. SkyMD leverages adaptive, specialty-specific online interviews and treatment templates to reduce treatment time while delivering the same quality of care. Doctors and patients can access the web based platform at http://www.skymd.com from any smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Patients can also access SkyMD via its native iOS and Android apps.
M. Kate Bundorf Kate is a highly respected expert on consumers health insurance choices, and on the economics of the healthcare industry.

Cornerstone Research, a leading provider of economic and financial consulting and expert testimony, announced today that M. Kate Bundorf has affiliated with the firm. She is an associate professor of health research and policy at Stanford University and an award-winning researcher.

Kate is a highly respected expert on consumers health insurance choices, and on the economics of the healthcare industry, said Cornerstone Research President and CEO Michael E. Burton. We are enthusiastic about her joining our outstanding and growing network of healthcare experts.

Professor Bundorf has served as an expert witness and testified at deposition. Her academic research focuses on health insurance markets, including the determinants and effects of consumer choices, the effects of regulation, the interaction of public and private systems, incentives for insurers to improve healthcare quality, and the organization of provider markets.

Professor Bundorf is a member of the Panel of Health Advisers of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, and a board member of the Center for Health and Economy. She is a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and a fellow at the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research at Stanford School of Medicines Center for Health Policy.

Her honors include the Annual Health Care Research Award from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, and selection as a Fulbright Scholar. Professor Bundorfs research has been published in leading economics and health policy journals. She is an associate editor of Medical Care Research and Review, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Health Economics, the American Journal of Health Economics, and Health Services Research.

About Cornerstone Research

Cornerstone Research provides economic and financial consulting and expert testimony in all phases of complex litigation and regulatory proceedings. The firm works with an extensive network of prominent faculty and industry practitioners to identify the best-qualified expert for each assignment. Cornerstone Research has earned a reputation for consistent high quality and effectiveness by delivering rigorous, state-of-the-art analysis for over 25 years. The firm has 600 staff and offices in Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington.

Please visit Cornerstone Researchs website for more information about the firms capabilities in economic and financial consulting and expert testimony.

Twitter at @Cornerstone_Res
Mirum Over the past two years, Mirum and Mazda have forged a strong relationship that enabled us to create a site experience that will take Mazda to the next level.

Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), creative partner WPPs Garage Team Mazda, along with global digital agency Mirum, announce the launch of the new, fully-redesigned MazdaUSA.com. Reflecting Mazdas new brand strategy, the website offers an enhanced user experience aimed at engaging premium customers and current owners.

Mirum, as part of Garage Team Mazda, built an intuitive, user-friendly site with enhanced shopping tools and seamless navigation. As a result, Mazda shoppers can more easily build and price a vehicle, while checking on local inventory. Current owners also benefit from the redesign, with an easily-accessible owners section that features helpful reference materials.

The sites engaging video experiences, immersive visuals and animation, and interaction cues help guide the customer along their journey and articulate the true emotion of Mazdas brand.

Mirum has helped us elevate MazdaUSA.com with a customer-first experience design, including a sophisticated new look, ease of navigation and eye-catching visuals, said Russell Wager, vice president of marketing, MNAO. The new site strengthens Mazdas ability to capture consumer attention and connect with our target audience.

Drawing from extensive research into how Mazdas diverse customers shop for cars, Mirum optimized MazdaUSA.com to align with all devices: desktop, tablet and mobile. Optimization presents customer with a fluid shopping experience regardless of the device they are using.

At Mirum, we believe that human insight is at the heart of every great design experience," said Mirum Global and North American CEO Dan Khabie. "Over the past two years, Mirum and Mazda have forged a strong relationship that enabled us to create a site experience that will take Mazda to the next level.

ABOUT MIRUM

Mirum is a global digital agency that creates experiences that people want and businesses need. Named a Visionary in the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant, Mirum helps guide brands in business transformation, experience design, and commerce activation. The agency operates in 20 countries, with more than 46 offices and 2,200 professionals. Mirum is part of the J. Walter Thompson Company and WPP Network. For more information, visit mirumagency.com.

ABOUT MAZDA

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at insidemazda.mazdausa.com.
Momenta Partners, the leading Connected Industry advisory, executive search and ventures firm Jessie brings a breadth of experience in Connected Industry domains, a depth of technology understanding, and strong industry networks, further cementing our leadership position in Connected Industry. - Ken Forster, Managing Director of Momenta Partners

Momenta Partners, the leading Connected Industry advisory, executive search and ventures firm, announced today that Jesse DeMesa, the former CTO - Software of GE Oil and Gas, has joined as a Venture Partner.

Jesse DeMesa is a Connected Industry pioneer, with more than 20 years of experience in Industrial, Automation & Data Acquisition Systems. He has a long string of successes starting with leading the development team on the worlds leading Industrial Automation operator interface at Wonderware in 1993. He co-founded IndX Software in 1997, and sold it to Siemens in 2003, where he went on to lead the integrated business as General Manager and COO in Siemens Oil and Gas. From startups to global industrial giants, Jesse has expanded global business, driving strategic deals with the largest industrial customers in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. He was most-recently the Software CTO for GE Oil & Gas, working out of the GE Digital headquarters in San Ramon and leading the Oil & Gas industrial Internet / IoT strategy spanning platforms, applications and ecosystems.

We are pleased to have Jesse join our Connected Industry team, said Ken Forster, Managing Director of Momenta Partners; He brings a breadth of experience in Connected Industry domains, a depth of technology understanding, and strong industry networks, further cementing our leadership position in Connected Industry.

Jesse DeMesa said, I have had the opportunity to work with several of the Momenta Partners team throughout my career and was impressed enough to join them. I look forward to helping develop our Connected Industry ecosystem, working with portfolio companies, clients and partners."

About Momenta Partners AG

Momenta Partners is a global advisory, executive search and ventures firm founded by an industry veteran team with deep experience developing connected companies, products and teams across Fortune 100 and Venture-backed startups. The firm accelerates time-to-value for industry leaders and early-stage companies in the Connected Industry: Industrial IoT, M2M, big data and RFID.

For more information, see http://momenta.partners, follow us on Twitter at @MomentaPartners or email us at info(at)momenta.partners.
Registration is now open for the Society for Translational Oncology (STO) Chabner Colloquium: Answering the Big Questions in Cancer Research & 2016 STO Annual Meeting. This live symposium is jointly provided by the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and STO, in partnership with The Oncologist, STO's official journal. It will be held November 11-12, 2016 at The Liberty Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 2016 Chabner Colloquium will provide updates on the most promising targets for the development of new cancer treatments. Physician-scientists, industry professionals, and others interested in learning about advances in cancer biology leading to new approaches in clinical practice are invited to view the agenda and confirmed faculty and register online at http://bit.ly/chabner2016.

Offered for the sixth year, the 2016 Chabner Colloquium includes presentations on emerging molecular targets for cancer treatmentswith a focus on potentially productive opportunities for collaboration between academia and industry. Physician-scientists from leading U.S. research centers will address work in progress in a broad variety of topics in cancer therapeutics. Invited speakers hail from renowned institutions such as the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, the Broad Institute of MIT, Harvard, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and companies, Novartis, ADT Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Gurnet Point Capital.

The meeting is named for Dr. Bruce A. Chabner, Allen Distinguished Investigator, Clinical Director, Emeritus at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Founding Editor-in-Chief of The Oncologist. Dr. Chabner designs and leads this annual program. Dr. Chabner states, It's a unique opportunity to share insights and perspectives between investigators and industry professionals working on novel therapeutic targets that will bring exciting changes in oncology practice in the years ahead."

On Friday, November 11th, the session topics include lectures on new insights into cancer drug resistance, targets that defy effective therapy, and hematologic malignancies.

The day concludes with a forum of fellows from Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, the Broad Institute of MIT, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute sharing their recent work.

On Saturday, November 12th, the session topics include lectures on financing start-ups and neo-antigens and the immune response

STO is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. This live activity is non-accredited, and CME credit will not be offered.

For more information contact STO at (919) 433-0489 or CMEadmin(at)sto-online(dot)org.

# # #

About the Society for Translational Oncology

STO is a non-profit, tax exempt association whose mission is to speed the discovery and translation of important new treatments in the field of cancer medicine to the practice of global oncology. STO brings knowledge and strategies for critical new developments in cancer treatment to the practice of the community oncologist. For more information, visit: http://www.sto-online.org.

About The Oncologist

Recognized as a premier peer-reviewed cancer medicine journal, The Oncologist, now in its twenty-first year, is devoted to physicians entrusted with the care of cancer patients. The Oncologist is the official publication of the Society for Translational Oncology. For more information, visit: http://www.theoncologist.com.

About the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center

An integral part of one of the worlds most distinguished academic medical centers, the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center is among the leading cancer care providers in the United States.

U.S. News & World Report consistently ranks the Mass General Cancer Center as one of the top ten cancer centers in the country. Its nurses were the first in Massachusetts to achieve Magnet status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in recognition of the hospital's exceptional nursing care.

Known for providing customized, innovative treatments and compassionate care to both adults and children, the Cancer Center comprises more than 37 treatment programs within 29 fully integrated, multidisciplinary disease centers and a vast array of support and educational services. Its network of affiliations extends throughout New England and the southeastern U.S.

The Cancer Centers commitment to eradicating cancer is fueled by scientific investigation conducted as part of one of the largest hospital-based research programs in the nation. Through a powerful synergy between laboratory scientists and bedside physicians, the Mass General Cancer Center fosters innovation in all phases of cancer research. Physician investigators conduct nearly 400 clinical trials annually.

The Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center is proud to be a founding member of a Harvard Medical School consortium designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center. This prestigious seven-member center forms the largest cancer research collaboration in the country. The promising new treatments developed through this partnership are revolutionizing the future of cancer medicine.

For more information, contact:

Jen Homan, Program Manager, STO

(919) 433-0489

jen.homan(at)sto-online(dot)org
To my associates, each and every day you stand by our core values of concern, creativity, passion and the pursuit of perfection.

Bozzuto has been named to the Washington Post's 2016 Top Workplaces list.

"I am grateful for this honor because it is purely based on our employees perspective of our culture, direction, goal execution and connection to our company," said Toby Bozzuto, President and CEO, Bozzuto. To my associates, each and every day you stand by our core values of concern, creativity, passion and the pursuit of perfection as we work to create extraordinary experiences of home and community. For that I am humbled and thankful.

Bozzuto is constantly evaluating ways to make its workplace the best it can be. In addition to the overall wellbeing of their 2,000 employees, the company focuses heavily on creating a diverse and inclusive environment that encourages innovation and impacts society in a meaningful way.

Most recently, the company launched Bozzuto Voicesa new employee feedback program. This virtual platform encourages employees of all levels to submit concerns, innovations, questions, or compliments about the company or their specific worksite. Bozzuto Voices has already fielded many thoughtful submissions from employees looking to be a part of improving their workplace.

About Bozzuto

Bozzuto is a full-service, nationally recognized real estate company focused on creating extraordinary experiences of home and community. Our expertise in multifamily, mixed-use development, construction, management, and homebuilding allows us to create places that enhance the lives of our residents and the communities in which they live. In 2016, for the second year in a row, Bozzuto was named the Top Property Management Company for Online Reputation by Multifamily Executive and J Turner Research.

Privately held and family run since its founding almost thirty years ago, Bozzuto has acquired, developed, and built more than 42,000 apartments and homes. Currently, Bozzuto manages more than 54,000 apartment residences and approximately two million square feet of retail space. For more information, follow Bozzuto on Facebook, Twitter @Bozzuto, LinkedIn.
MyCloudIT, developed by the cloud-software development company Conexlink, announced today the release of MyCloudIT 2.0  its latest Desktop Hosting Delivery platform in Microsoft Azure, at the 2016 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, July 10th  14th. By providing flexible subscription options and easing the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) deployment process via automation and customization, MyCloudIT 2.0 enables IT professionals to seamlessly deliver hosted remote desktops, remote applications, and infrastructure to SMB and Enterprise end-users around the globe.

MyCloudIT is proud to provide the first Desktop Hosting platform available through Microsofts Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program that allows RDS deployments on any Microsoft Azure subscription. Traditionally, Microsoft Partners were required to use their own Azure subscriptions. With MyCloudIT 2.0, Partners now have the additional option to purchase the Azure subscription directly through the MyCloudIT platform. With the ability to sync Remote Desktop users via their Office 365 Active Directory, partners can drive profitability with Office 365 and Azure solutions in a bundled offering.

Cloud partners have 2x the growth of less-cloudy partners. Thats why MyCloudIT 2.0 is enabling CSPs to immediately and easily take advantage of opportunities in the cloud with Microsoft Azure, said James Riley, CEO at Conexlink. Let MyCloudIT be your Microsoft Azure expert, so you can focus on deepening customer relationships and expanding your business opportunities in the cloud.

MyCloudIT 2.0 continues to be a comprehensive Microsoft-centric Remote Desktop and Remote Application Hosting platform. By utilizing MyCloudIT 2.0, Partners can provide their end-users with the newest Windows 10 experience at no extra cost, which means more security, elegant built-in apps, a beautiful, mobile-responsive interface across all devices, and much more. Leveraging Microsoft Azure data centers around the world, MyCloudIT is committed to helping Partners deliver the most innovative solution for workforce mobility and productivity around the globe.

We see a good opportunity for MSPs, CSPs, and hosting partners to utilize MyCloudIT to more easily and quickly deliver Desktop Hosting services in Microsoft Azure to their end customers, stated Clark Nicholson, Principle Program Manager, Cloud + Enterprise, Microsoft Corp.

With MyCloudIT 2.0, Partners will enjoy further reduction in deployment time and operational costs. They will now be able to deploy remote desktops and remote applications in less than 30 minutes. Auto-scaling and network scheduler features will allow them to optimize the total costs and save up to 30% of overall Azure. With 3 easy steps, Partners can take advantage of the MyCloudIT platform to deliver Desktop Hosting Services in Microsoft Azure to end-users with no additional overhead or extensive Azure training.

For more information about Conexlink and MyCloudIT 2.0  the first CSP-enabled Desktop Hosting Delivery platform in Microsoft Azure, please visit http://mycloudit.com.

MyCloudIT will introduce the new platform in Toronto, July 10th-14th at the 2016 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC). For group or private demo registration, please visit: http://mycloudit.com/wpc.

About Conexlink and MyCloudIT:

Conexlink is a Dallas-based cloud software development company. Conexlink offers solutions and products specifically built for real-time web and mobile applications. For more information, visit http://www.conexlink.com.

MyCloudIT is the Desktop Hosting Delivery platform in Microsoft Azure created by Conexlink. MyCloudIT automates Desktop Hosting deployments, and allows any Microsoft Partner to deliver Remote Desktops and Remote Applications in the Microsoft Azure Cloud, without being an Azure expert. For more information, visit https://mycloudit.com

MyCloudIT is also on Twitter at @MyCloudIT_DaaS.

For more information, press only:

Thao Duong, Conexlink | MyCloudIT,

(972) 218-0734, thao(dot)duong(at)conexlink(dot)com
Capillus 272 in Case [The Capillus 272] has a tremendous amount of portability

Irvine Institute of Medicine & Cosmetic Surgery now offers the Capillus272 Pro laser cap to treat hair loss in men and women. Cleared by the FDA and proven in clinical trials to increase hair count by up to 51%, this physician-managed hair loss treatment is now available to patients in Orange County, California.

"The Capillus cap and laser system is probably the best system that's out there," says Dr. Kenneth Williams in a video interview. "When you look at the technical aspect to it, and compare it to the other major competitors out there, there's just no comparison at all."

With 272 medical grade laser diodes, the Capillus272 Pro has more lasers than any other competitor in its class. According to Dr. Williams, this translates to more stimulation of the hair follicle. "It's advanced technology," explains Dr. Williams. "There's more energy in the total amount of energy that's delivered to the hair follicle. It's much more handsome, it's cosmetically more appealing, and it's a nicer system overall [compared to other laser caps]."

"Patients who have this product are able to receive the laser light therapy that they need for hair growth and hair stimulation," Dr. Williams explains. "[Capillus272 Pro] gives the patient portability, flexibility, to receive the appropriate amount of laser light therapy for hair stimulation [...] Patients can use this at home, they can use it while they're watching TV, watching the news, reading a newspaper, reading a book. They can use the product and the device while they're traveling, whether it's in their car, or the airport, or the bus, or train. They can use it anywhere they go. It has a tremendous amount of portability."

Dr. Kenneth L. Williams is Medical Director and surgeon at the Irvine Institute of Medicine and Cosmetic Surgery. Dr. Williams is a Diplomat of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, a Fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), and is a member of the International Society of Stem Cells.

The Irvine Institute of Medicine & Cosmetic Surgery meets patients with a private and personal atmosphere dedicated to cosmetic surgical and medical care. The state-of-the-art facility focuses all treatments and therapies exclusively on treating hair loss in men and women.

To learn more about laser hair restoration with Capillus272 Pro, readers are invited to visit the Irvine Institute of Medicine & Cosmetic Surgery at http://www.iimcs.org or call directly at 949-333-2999.
Our staff and volunteers are what truly makes our communities so special and allows us to provide the highest level of care to everyone we serve, said Steve Proctor, CEO of Presbyterian Senior Living

LeadingAge PA, an association representing not-for-profit senior care providers, presented two Distinguished Service Awards to a caregiver and volunteer with Presbyterian Senior Living. Christopher A. Florence, a volunteer at Quincy Village, was named Volunteer of the Year and Bonnie Boring, a Certified Nursing Assistant at St. Andrews Village, was named Direct Care Caregiver of the Year.

The designations are awarded to individuals that enhance the field of aging services throughout their involvement, innovation, leadership or advocacy, as well as personal and organizational generosity.

Our staff and volunteers are what truly makes our communities so special and allows us to provide the highest level of care to everyone we serve, said Steve Proctor, CEO of Presbyterian Senior Living. We are all incredibly proud of the dedication and commitment to service that Christopher and Bonnie have brought to Presbyterian Senior Living.

Christopher Florence, of Waynesboro, has volunteered more than 3,200 hours at Quincy Village since 2008 despite having mixed cerebral palsy and being wheelchair bound. Each Thursday and Friday, Florence warmly greets residents of the continuing care retirement community, helps them complete their daily menus and attend community functions. He regularly speaks at events in the greater community about his life and challenges to help foster understanding of handicapped individuals by example. Florence was named Volunteer of the Year in recognition of his work to enhance the quality of life at Quincy Village.

Christopher has made an incredible impact at Quincy Village, and despite any challenges he has, he is ever the optimist, said Hope Lambert, executive director. His presence and attitude in the health center are contagious, and wherever he goes, he leaves behind big laughs and awareness about our own contributions, our own obstacles and the way we live our lives.

Bonnie Boring, of Indiana, has been with St. Andrews Village as a certified nursing assistant for more than 25 years. She was recognized by LeadingAge PA as Direct Care Caregiver of the Year for modeling commitment to compassionate care. As an evening nursing assistant, she works with residents with cognitive impairment in the memory support neighborhood.

At St. Andrews Village, we have been fortunate to see and benefit first hand from Bonnies dedication, perseverance and respect, said Brian Parks, executive director. Bonnie has a special ability to maintain dignity for residents and comfort for families, offering support and a shoulder to lean on. She is very deserving of this honor.

For more information about Presbyterian Senior Living, visit http://www.presbyterianseniorliving.org.
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Attorney Aaron V. Burrell will receive the Barristers Presidents Award from the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association. The Barristers Presidents Award recognizes a young attorney whose early career has exhibited high standards of service to the profession, his clients, and the public.

Mr. Burrell is an Associate in the firms Detroit office. He focuses his practice in the areas of appellate, commercial & business litigation, labor & employment, and minority business enterprises. Mr. Burrell was recently elected to the Oakland County Bar Associations Board of Directors and is the Immediate Past President of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association. He is a member of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, the Wolverine Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Mr. Burrell received his B.A. from the University of Michigan and his J.D. from the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

Mr. Burrell will receive the Barristers Presidents Award at the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Associations 2016 Summer Breeze on July 14, 2016 at Sinbads in Detroit.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 400 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has sixteen offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and nine other domestic offices in Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville, Tenn. (2); Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Reno, Nev.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canada office is located in Toronto.

As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, the firm offers clients a distinctive combination of superb client service and exceptional quality. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.
Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association's community-based doula. Many health benefits for vulnerable women, infants and communities will result from the services that BMBFA provides to the community.

Black Mothers Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) has received a $450,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The funds will be used to support the overall mission of BMBFA to reduce racial inequities in breastfeeding support for African Americans. The 3-year funding period is May 2016 through April 2019.

We are grateful for the support of the Kellogg Foundation, who values our ability to improve conditions for Detroit babies by increasing families access to peer support and improving systems to ensure that babies are breastfed, states Kiddada Green, founding executive director of BMBFA. The grant will help to build organizational capacity and maintain programs like the Black Mothers Breastfeeding Club (BMBFC). BMBFC is BMBFAs signature work and has reached hundreds of families since its inception.

Furthermore, BMBFA will expand upon its efforts to reach healthcare professionals. BMBFA uses its expertise to provide web-based and in-person workshops on the most current practices, studies and models in health that address the specific socio-cultural needs of breastfeeding support for African American families. We are thrilled that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation continues to recognize our work, as we continue to change the health landscape for Detroit families, says Anjanette Davenport Hatter, president of BMBFAs Board of Directors.

Were proud to support BMBFAs important work, shares Ali Webb, director of Michigan programs at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. We know that a mother's breast milk is the optimal first food to give children the best start to good health. Increasing support for breastfeeding will help ensure that families and their children are healthy and thriving. While building on BMBFAs current programmatic work, continued efforts will be focused on building the capacity needed for long-term organizational sustainability. Many health benefits for vulnerable women, infants and communities will result from the services that BMBFA provides to the community.

Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Association (BMBFA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 2007. BMBFAs mission is to reduce racial inequities in breastfeeding support for African Americans by building foundational networks of support, and strengthening systems to overcome historical, societal and social barriers to breastfeeding success. BMBFA's programs include Black Mothers' Breastfeeding Club, community-based doula services and community-based breastfeeding peer counselor services. For more information, visit http://www.bmbfa.org.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life. The Kellogg Foundation works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes, placing special emphasis to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. For more information, visit http://www.wkkf.org.
Voted Best Pilates Studio in Denver, Firehaus Pilates has state of the art equipment that allows them to provide Pilates classes for all fitness levels, plus Pilates for rehabilitation purposes. We are delighted to celebrate our anniversary with our many loyal customers plus have the opportunity to encourage people to try Pilates, said Rachel Algra, owner and instructor at Firehaus Pilates.

Firehaus Pilates is celebrating its 4th anniversary in Denver with a special fitness sale. Starting Monday, July 11th through Sunday, July 17th at noon, customers can choose from a selection of anniversary sale options to extend and enhance their Pilates practice.

We are delighted to celebrate our anniversary with our many loyal customers plus have the opportunity to encourage people to try Pilates, said Rachel Algra, owner and instructor at Firehaus Pilates. The savings are substantial and classes are ideal for anyone looking to reduce pain, improve balance and flexibility, or lower tension and stress.

The main draw of the anniversary sale each year is the 20% off one pre-pay Pilates package at Firehaus Pilates! Available either online or to buy in their Denver based studio, customers can choose from the following range of Pilates packages, including 5 or 10 Private Sessions (both Standard and Senior Instructor packages) packages; and 5, 10, or 20 Equipment Class packages.

Packages open up access to a range of classes to choose from including fitness, rehabilitation, and prenatal Pilates plus sessions targeted for senior citizens. The sale does not include any introductory Pilates packages as clients already benefit from discount pricing on these options to help them get started in Pilates exercise.

Another special deal is that current Firehaus Pilates customers can gift an anniversary sale package to someone that has never been to Firehaus Pilates and receive a free class for themselves, valued at $25. Gifts must be purchased in person at the studio or by phone, as this offer is not available online.

As an added bonus to the anniversary sale, Firehaus Pilates also includes a selection of small Pilates props that are on sale at 20% off, too. Brands and props included are Knot Outs, Therapy Balls, Foam Rollers, Pilates Rings, and Shashi Grip Socks and should be purchased in person at the studio.

Firehaus Pilates is warm and welcoming to everyone interested in Pilates. With a beautiful and open 1600 square foot facility, Firehaus Pilates offers an extensive range of Pilates classes and programs to transform fitness, flexibility, stability, stamina, and weight loss. Firehaus Pilates is located at 3451 West 38th Avenue in Denver, Colorado. Learn more about Firehaus Pilates on their website at http://firehauspilates.com or call (303) 945-6951.

The anniversary sale will end at noon on July 17, 2016, and please note that only one package per person can be purchased, and that packages cannot be shared, exchanged or transferred. All packages expire three months from the date of purchase, and there are no refunds.

Firehaus Pilates is only offering their anniversary sale deals between the dates of July 11 and 17, so customers must ensure the online promo code has been applied correctly before checkout and purchase. All clients are encouraged to call the studio with any questions. Visit http://firehauspilates.com/anniversary-sale/ for further information.
Geoff Craft Geoff will make a difference in many areas of our organization. We are very happy to have Geoff join the NRP family. - Dale Tyler, President of NRP

National Roofing Partners (NRP), Dallas, Texas, the leading network of commercial roofing contractors in North America is proud to announce the addition of Geoff Craft to the NRP team. With over twenty years of roofing industry experience in manufacturing and distribution, Craft will join NRP at an executive level as Vice President of Operations beginning July 5, 2016.

Craft will be responsible for the planning, directing and coordinating of operations for NRP. He will manage daily operations and contractor resources along with planning for financial and human resources. Crafts leadership at both Roofing Supply Group (RSG) and OMG (formerly Olympic Fasteners) offers the perfect complement for running operations for NRPs leading customer service and estimating group along with the national footprint of commercial roofing contractors. With an ongoing focus of providing the highest level of customer service for NRPs national accounts, Crafts experience as the Vice President of Sales at Olympic Fasteners and Senior Vice President at Roofing Supply Group, will provide the leadership and expertise the will propel NRP growth.

Crafts rich history in the industry also includes involvement in the Roofing Alliance for Progress as the first non-contractor President to serve on the board. He has also been very active with NRCA Industry Advisory Board and the Alliance Board of Trustees. With NRPs strong involvement in the Alliance and NRCA, it brings another layer of professional relationships that benefit NRPs contractor footprint and customer base.

Geoff will make a difference in many areas of our organization. We are very happy to have Geoff join the NRP family stated Dale Tyler, president of NRP. We have seen exponential growth and with that, comes the need for ongoing organizational growth and leadership. Geoffs history, knowledge and excellent leadership will be a perfect fit as we grow the NRP business.

About National Roofing Partners

National Roofing Partners (NRP) was founded with the mission of continually improving the facility management capabilities of its customers by analyzing existing roof conditions, recommending and providing high quality single-source roofing replacements and services with dedicated support. Building on the strong expertise of tier one commercial roofing contractors with over 120+ service locations and 8,000 employees nationwide, the network provides exceptional roofing and building envelope service and maintenance for customers. For more information, visit http://www.nationalroofingpartners.com.
The Truck & Jeep Fest is our annual two-day summertime show where local off-roaders can find incredible deals on leading products along with discounted scratch and items and enter for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree.

4 Wheel Parts, the global leader in off-road performance product sales and installation, will hold its next Truck & Jeep Fest this weekend July 9-10 in Denver, Colorado. The Denver Merchandise Mart will be the site of North Americas largest touring off-road show including factory-direct pricing, product giveaways, custom Jeeps, trucks and 4x4s on display and exclusive installation discounts.

The event will take place in the Merchandise Mart Pavilion, the facility's largest convention area with over 65,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Denver Merchandise Mart is located off of the 58th Avenue exit, just 15 minutes north of Denvers downtown civic center and 25 minutes west of Denver International Airport.

The Truck & Jeep Fest is our annual two-day summertime show where local off-roaders can find incredible deals on leading products along with discounted scratch and items, enter for a chance to win a $500 shopping spree and take advantage of free mounting and balancing on select tire purchases, says Jeremy Huskey, Denver 4 Wheel Parts store manager. Were going to have family friendly activities in addition to displays featuring custom trucks and Jeeps and clubs including the Mile-Hi Jeep Club of Colorado will be on-site. Mile-Hi will be promoting its upcoming 50th All-4-Fun mountain Jeep event from July 30  August 6 this year in Empire, Colorado.

4 Wheel Parts will be featuring over $500,000 of on-site inventory with top manufacturer representatives in attendance to provide customers with professional insight and technical support on the latest innovations in the performance off-road aftermarket. Expert advisors from 4 Wheel Parts three nearby retail locations in Denver, Westminster and Colorado Springs will also be present to assist off-road enthusiasts seeking premium aftermarket parts and accessories for their trucks, Jeeps and 4x4s.

With incredible trails and stunning, picturesque scenery, its no surprise that there are so many passionate off-road enthusiasts from the Denver area and surrounding region, says 4 Wheel Parts Events and Advertising Director, Brent Goegebuer. We know that this is the one time of year that local off-roaders are able to see firsthand the latest off-road innovations while being able to visit with industry authorities in a casual environment. They have also discovered Truck & Jeep Fest is a remarkable opportunity to secure some of the best deals of the year on many of our most popular products.

Denver is the seventh stop of the touring show that spotlights custom trucks and Jeeps, manufacturer reps, installation discounts and aftermarket product demonstrations. This years tour also includes a visit to Orlando, Florida with an added show in Columbiana, Ohio. Sites that have hosted events this year are Dallas, Texas, San Mateo, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, Puyallup, Washington, Edmonton, Canada and Ontario, California.

About 4 Wheel Parts 4 Wheel Parts is the global leader in truck, Jeep, SUV and off-road performance products. With 75 locations across the U.S. and Canada and growing, 4 Wheel Parts Service Centers install all the products they sell. Maintaining the nations largest inventory of Nitto tires, wheels and hi lift jacks, 4 Wheel Parts serves customers across the country and around the globe. Life is Better Off-Road. Visit them at 4wheelparts.com or call toll-free 877-474-4821.

What: Denver Truck & Jeep Fest  Free Admission

Where: 451 East 58th

Denver, CO 80216-8470

When: Saturday, July 9, 2016 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sunday, July 10, 2016 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Remtec Automation is excited to support the new FANUC Certification program and will be actively recruiting graduating veterans who have selflessly served our country.

Remtec Automation, LLC, a leader in flexible robotic automation, today announced its support of the new FANUC Robotics Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Certification training offered at the U.S. Armys Soldier for Life Program in Fort Sill, Okla. Remtec CEO, Lisa McMican Ryle will attend the 1st year celebration of the U.S. Armys new Industrial Training Complex (ITC) where active duty military personnel are given the opportunity to receive accelerated training for seamless transition into well-paying civilian careers.

Remtec is always in the market for hiring well-trained, skilled FANUC CNC operators and programmers. The dedicated men and women who have selflessly served our country certainly deserve the opportunity to transition into good, full-time jobs when they return home. Our company is excited to support the new FANUC Certification program and will be actively recruiting graduating veterans, said Ryle.

Remtec Automation is an established, certified robotics system integrator for FANUC America with a 35-year history in providing manufacturers with turn-key robotic automation solutions. The company is on the leading edge of integrating the latest robotic, vision and controls platforms to meet the industrys growing need to automate manufacturing processes.

The FANUC Robotics CNC Certification will be offered to qualified soldiers at no-charge through an agreement between the United States Garrison, Fort Sill, and Choice Career College (CCC), a FANUC Certified Education CNC school. Once the soldiers are certified, CCC partners with select FANUC integrators such as Remtec Automation to place the retiring military veterans in well-paying careers.

With the shortage of skilled workers due to the manufacturing industrys aging workforce, the need to train future technicians is paramount. This is a win-win for all involved. Businesses benefit by easily hiring veterans trained in the skills they require with proven skill sets. Soldiers transition to civilian life in well-paying, challenging careers. The military gains by lowering potential unemployment expenses, enhancing recruitment initiatives, and most importantly, positively impacting the lives of its veterans and their families.

The U.S. Army established Soldier for Life in July 2012 to provide support during and after service. This initiative is designed to enable soldiers, retired soldiers, veterans and their families to leave military service "career ready", and connect to an established network to find employment, education and health resources.

For more information on Soldier for Life, visit: U.S. Armys Soldier for Life Program.

About Remtec Automation, Inc.

Founded in 1981, Remtec Automation has designed, built, and installed hundreds of turnkey custom automation and robotic systems for applications in material handling, machine tending, packaging, palletizing, depalletizing, inspection, assembly, material removal, dispensing and spraying. Remtec Automation serves customers in a wide range of industries including automotive, consumer products, food, beverage, electronics, medical, and pharmaceutical. Remtec Automation is a Fanuc Robotics Level IV Systems Integrator, Certified Vision Systems Integrator and Certified Servicing Integrator. For more information, visit http://www.remtecautomation.com/.
Washington Partners Announces Another Transaction I am truly grateful to George Chaconas and Washington Partners for not only finding a buyer for our company, but also for their incredible kindness and professionalism throughout the process.

Aubrey Organics, an all-natural skin and beauty product manufacturer founded in 1967 sold to Nutraceutical Corporation. This transaction was facilitated by Washington Partners a business brokerage firm based in Tampa, Florida.

Aubrey Organics

Aubrey Organics is an all-natural skin and beauty product manufacturer that was originally founded by Aubrey Hampton, an organic chemist, in 1967. Like many organic skincare companies, Aubrey Organics initially sold only a couple of skin care and beauty products.

From these humble beginnings, Aubrey Organics has grown into a massive skin and beauty company complete with industry recognition and a devoted customer following. With a product line of over 200 items and distribution in over 4,500 retail outlets across the country, Aubrey Organics is now dominating the same industry it pioneered over 50 years ago.

"I am truly grateful to George Chaconas and Washington Partners for not only finding a buyer for our company, but also for their incredible kindness and professionalism throughout the process. George Chaconas was very responsive and always took the time to answer questions that I had even during the evenings and weekends. I felt we were their priority and am truly grateful for their sincere concern and for making the process a very positive experience. I would highly recommend George Chaconas and Washington Partners if you're considering buying or selling your business!" -Priscilla DeFrancesco

Nutraceutical Corporation

Nutraceutical is a family of diverse companies working together from locations around the world to bring you a wide selection of natural health products and nutritional supplements that they proudly stand behind.

Known in the industry as a "vertically integrated" company. This means that for each product, Nutraceutical strives to cover the entire process of manufacturing, marketing, distributing, and selling that product - from beginning to end - from as close to the farm or ocean or plant as they can get, to your kitchen cupboard. http://www.nutraceutical.com

"In our acquisition of the Aubrey Organics business, George Chaconas played a critical role creating an environment for a win-win transaction. George's patience and relationship-focused approach allowed a deliberate process required by the seller. After the seller selected our company as the buyer, George facilitated a successful and rapid closing." -Vern Christensen

WASHINGTON PARTNERS

Founded in 1999, Washington Partners provides intermediary services such as mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, valuations, and transaction consulting for lower-middle market business owners. Their client base has included public and private companies, investor groups, and management buyout groups throughout the world. Washington Partners advised Aubrey Organics, Inc. in connection with this transaction.

If you would like to learn more about Washington Partners, or to discuss a possible strategic partnership or sale of your business, please feel free to contact us directly at 813.254.9274 for a confidential discussion.
Brexit makes a UK-China trade deal more likely, say officials from both countries as the Chinese blast 'frustrating' EU

By Matt Dathan, Political Correspondent For Mailonline 7 July 2016Brexit makes the prospect of Britain striking a trade deal with China more likely, trade officials from both countries have said.Xing Houyuan, an official at the state-backed Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said China was being frustrated by the EU.But now Britain has left, he said the 'situation in Western Europe will push China and the UK to make a trade treaty,' he told the state-owned China Daily newspaper.And British trade minister Lord Price, a former boss of Waitrose, is currently in Hong Kong where he said he is 'optimistic' about future trade deals with 'new trading markets' in the East.China's Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang also gave a positive outlook, telling China Daily that Brexit will 'create more chances in different fields for new investment'.He predicted global currency fluctuations caused by Brexit would not do lasting damage to Chinese investments in the UK, which would not be affected in the long-term.Contrary to claims during the referendum campaign that leaving the EU would leave Britain isolated and cut off from the global economy, the developments suggest Brexit could open up Britain to new opportunities.A treaty with the UK could be fast-tracked after years of China being 'frustrated by the EU,' China Daily reported.As a member of the EU Britain has not been able to negotiate individual trade deals with countries for years, with Brussels responsible for negotiations.It means Britain has been left without trade deals with the likes of Canada, Australia, Japan, China, the US and other countries because the EU has so far failed in attempts to secure deals.There are fears that this left the UK with few trade specialists who have the experience of striking trade deals.Oliver Letwin, the Cabinet Office minister tasked with preparing the Government's Brexit negotiations, said his unit is identifying how many staff it needs and said private sector staff will need to be hired, as well as the prospect of asking experts to 'train high-flying young civil servants'.Lord Price spoke about 'helping create a second Elizabethan Golden Age' by striking new deals with Commonwealth countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Canada and also with economies in the Far East such as China, Japan and South Korea.Speaking to the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, he said: 'I'm optimistic about the future: particularly in helping create a second Elizabethan Golden Age.'The first Golden Age was based on peace, prosperity, new trading markets and a flourishing of the arts.'There's also a prospect for striking new deals with Canada, New Zealand and Australia which could form the beginning of a Commonwealth trading pact.''And to the opportunities in the East, where for centuries British merchants have traded with China for tea, white gold and porcelain as well as with Japan, South Korea and other Asian nations.'He also said the UK is working towards 'a continued close trading relationship with Europe'.Echoing Lord Price's positivity, Mr Shen told China Daily: 'The global investment environment will be more transparent and create more chances in different fields for new investment.'Therefore, Chinese companies' outbound direct investment will remain positive and stable.'
This is such a terrible story it is hard to write about and also the details are sketchy.



On Sunday, this past weekend, the police were called to a home in Saskatoon. They rushed a six-week old boy to Royal University Hospital where he died of his injuries.



As a result of their investigation a 16 year old girl is in custody.



I am not sure about the whole story other than the fact that the subject of the investigation, is not a member of his family.



What animal could do such a revolting act.



Look it up on your own so you get the proper facts.





Father-Mother God

Loving me

Guard me while I sleep

Guide my little feet up to thee.
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A cookie is a small text file that a website saves on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.Website use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google") to help analyse the use of this website. For this purpose, Google Analytics uses"cookies", which are text files placed on your computer.The information generated by the cookies about your use of this website - standard internet log information (including your IP address) and visitor behaviour information in an anonymous form - will be transmitted to and stored by Google including on servers in the United States. Google will anonymize the information sent by removing the last octet of your IP address prior to its storage.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website and compiling reports on website activity.We not use, and not allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any personally identifiable information of visitors to this site. Google may transfer the information collected by Google Analytics to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google`s behalf.According to Google Analytics terms of service, Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.You may refuse the use of Google Analytics cookies by downloading and installing Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.Cookies are also used to record if you have agreed (or not) to our use of cookies on this site, so that you are not asked the question every time you visit the site.You can control and/or delete cookies as you wish. You can delete all cookies that are already on your computer and you can set most browsers to prevent them from being placed.Most browsers allow you to:If you chose to delete cookies, you should be aware that any preferences will be lost. Also, if you block cookies completely many websites (including ours) will not work properly and webcasts will not work at all. For these reasons, we do not recommend turning cookies off when using our webcasting services.
In a move that further expands Audible Inc.s reach beyond the audiobook market, the Amazon subsidiary has unveiled an on-demand, unlimited listening service called Channels. The ad-free service, which is free to Audible subscribers (and was rolled out to some members in beta this spring), features curated short-form audio. Non-subscribers can access the content for $4.95 a month.

Channels listeners will find a consistently updated roster of original programming and exclusive content that includes comedy, episodic programs, lectures, and narrated selections from newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post (owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos).

According to Audible executive v-p and publisher Beth Anderson, the content in Channels is hand-selected" by a staff of editors and read by celebrities, authors, professional actors, and others. "Much like our audiobook and long-form original productions, the performer for each individual piece of content is chosen with tremendous care in order to achieve an outstanding listening experience, she said.

Among the initial episodic offerings on Channels is Presidents Are People Too, which provides warts-and-all profiles of each American president and is hosted by Elliott Kalan, a former head writer for The Daily Show, and American historian Alexis Coe. Authorized is an Audible Original series that showcases authors sharing their most intimate firstsfrom first rejection to first love. Hot Mic with Dan Savage is a no-holds-barred exploration of sex featuring true confessions offered live, on stage.

Eric Nuzum, a former programming v-p at NPR, leads the Channels team. Nuzum, who came to Audible in May 2015 as senior v-p of original content, was instrumental in establishing podcasting at NPR, but has said he came to Audible with different goals.

In an April 2016 interview with Nicholas Quah for Quahs Hot Pod newsletter about podcasts, Nuzum said: Im not at Audible to build podcasts. Im at Audible to start a revolution. In the way audio is produced, and in the way audio is distributed. And, speaking with Current last May, Nuzum likened Channels to HBO in terms of a general model, saying that the new service would have that same sense of quality and level of craft" and be "a place where listeners are willing to pay for both creation and curation.

Anderson also believes that quality will drive subscription. Channels is about creating an amazing ecosystem of quality listening experiences that become available with astounding regularity, she said. She also noted that, because Channels is not supported by advertising, the service "opens a lot of doors for creators and enables us to focus on the content that we want to make, and the content we know our listeners want to hear.

Channels, in Anderson's vision, will build listenership in two ways. It will draw in listeners by providing audiobook subscribers with bonus content to enjoy between audiobooks and in shorter spurts. It will also, she believes, attract consumers who do not currently listen to audiobooks and "may not have considered long-form listening."
A Maine store with a Richard Russo connection preps for a September opening; a beloved North Carolina institution readies a new permanent home; B&N cuts back in IT; and more.

New Bookstore Coming to Portland, Maine: Long-time booksellers Emily Russo and Josh Christie are launching Print: A Bookstore this fall in Portland, Maine. Russos father, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo will be involved in the store by interviewing writers for its authors series.

Officials Call for Longer Lease for Three Lives: Local officials in New York Citys West Village are urging the Levine family, which owns the property where Three Lives & Company is located, to give the bookstore a longer lease. It is currently operating month-to-month, while the Levines look to sell the building. The sad fact is that our community has lost numerous independent bookstores in recent years, the officials wrote.

Quail Ridge Books On the Move: The Raleigh N.C., bookstore will close July 7-17, while it moves inventory and sets up its new permanent location at 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road. Quail Ridge will celebrate a grand reopening the weekend of July 23-24 with visits from Corduroy, the Cat in the Hat, and North Carolina author Sheila Turnage.

Branches Books & Gifts Moving: The three-year-old Oakhurst, Calif., bookstore will double its space to 1,500 sq. ft. in September 1 when it moves to the Vons Shopping Center. Bookstore owner Anne Driscoll said that she has run out of space for popular categories like history, religion, and mystery.

Layoffs at B&N: The nations number one bricks-and-mortar bookseller is eliminating up to 50 jobs from its very large IT department in Westbury, N.Y., which supports stores and financial teams.

Belmont University to Build New Bookstore: The Nashville, Tenn., liberal arts college bought the building that housed The Athletes House, a 42-year-old running store, which closed in August. The property is being renovated to house a campus store, which will be up and running by January 2017.
Another 24 Indiana companies, communities to receive specialized technical assistance

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) and the Purdue Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) are joining forces with the University of Michigan and Ohio State University to expand the tri-state team's Defense Manufacturing Assistance Program (DMAP). Piloted over the past two years, the Purdue DMAP initiative has helped nearly two dozen defense-impacted industries and communities in the state.

Given the success of the DMAP initiative, the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment has awarded Purdue an additional $1.6 million to expand the program.

DMAP was launched in response to critical cutbacks in defense-related contracts awarded to Indiana-based companies. While Indiana firms were awarded about $7.8 billion in Department of Defense related contract activities in 2008, that number slipped to $4.4 billion by 2014, a 44 percent decline over the six-year period. The Purdue team is delivering technical assistance and targeted programs to meet the unique needs of industries and communities that are looking to survive and thrive in this new economic climate.

During the pilot phase (2014-2016), Purdue's MEP team helped Wirth Machine secure special certification, which created new market opportunities for the Evansville, Indiana-based custom-machining company. With assistance from DMAP, Wirth Machine recovered from an unexpected 30 percent loss in revenue and is on pace for a 50 percent growth in the coming year.

"The benefit to companies is enhanced business diversification to offset the losses experienced as a result of the national defense drawdown and sequestration," said MEP director David Snow. "To date, Purdue's MEP (through DMAP) has assessed and made lean manufacturing, quality system and/or market diversification recommendations to 20 Indiana companies, comprising 31 total projects."

PCRD director Bo Beaulieu said, "The Purdue team has helped communities develop plans to stabilize and position the community through in-depth regional industry/occupational cluster analyses, business retention and expansion programs, talent retention/attraction activities and other innovative economic enhancement strategies."

David Augustine, chairman of the Northeast Indiana Defense Industry Association, said that PCRD and MEP have been actively involved in diagnosing issues surrounding the shrinking of the defense industry in northeast Indiana.

"The discussions, dialogue and corresponding research have helped identify transitions to commercial opportunities to offset lost jobs," Augustine said, "while, at the same time, creating a regional marketing campaign 'Why Northeast Indiana for Defense,' which will be launched in the coming weeks to once again bring new defense opportunities to the region."

Alan Tio, senior vice president of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, said, "Purdue has become an important partner in economic development. They initiated a deep understanding of our region's economy and went to great lengths to communicate their findings to regional stakeholders. They remain engaged with us to apply findings from the DMAP research to our efforts to strengthen defense-related manufacturing in northeast Indiana going forward."

The new funds will support another two-and-a-half years of the DMAP project, serving 24 companies and communities across Indiana. The goal is to generate action plans and projects for them to withstand and rebound from economic shockwaves resulting from the downsizing of the nation's military.

Media contact: Bo Beaulieu, 765-494-7273, ljb@purdue.edu
Minn. cop fatally shoots black man during traffic stop

By Michael E. Miller and Wesley Lowery July 7A Minnesota traffic stop turned deadly Wednesday evening as a police officer opened fire on a black driver.The victim, 32-year-old Philando Castile, died at a Minneapolis hospital, a family member told The Washington Post.The St. Anthony Police Department confirmed the drivers death during a brief Thursday morning press conference but did not identify the officer involved in the shooting or the officers race.The bloody aftermath of the confrontation was broadcast live on Facebook by a female passenger in the car.He killed my boyfriend, said the woman, whose Facebook page named her as Lavish Reynolds, as blood soaked through Castiles shirt.In the video, Reynolds says Castile was legally licensed to carry a firearm and was reaching for his identification when the officer opened fire.He let the officer know that he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm, she says.As Castile moans and appears to lose consciousness, the officer can be heard in the background shouting expletives in apparent frustration.Mam, keep your hands where they are, the officer shouts at Reynolds. I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hands up.You told him to get his ID, sir, his drivers license, Reynolds responds. Oh my god. Please dont tell me hes dead. Please dont tell me my boyfriend just went like that.The incident took place in Falcon Heights, Minn., a quiet suburb of St. Paul that is a few miles from St. Anthony.It comes less than 48 hours after the fatal, video-taped police shooting of another black man, Alton Sterling, in Baton Rouge, La.In both cases, cellphone video footage of the incident or its immediate aftermath quickly circulated on social media, fueling anger and protests over the police officers actions.From her video, Reynolds appears to have begun recording seconds after her boyfriend was shot, just after 9 p.m. local time. (The footage appears to have been flipped when it was uploaded to social media sites, mistakenly suggesting Castile was the passenger in the car when, in fact, he was the driver.)More at link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...p-table-low_mm-minnesota-140am:homepage/story
The Queen and senior royals arrive at St Giles' Cathedral for annual Order of the Thistle service for her most senior Scottish knights and ladies





STEEPED IN TRADITION: THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF THE THISTLE - AND THE CURRENT MEMBERS



History of the Order of the Thistle







Insignia of a Knight Companion of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle



The Order of the Thistle represents the highest honour in Scotland and honours men and women who have held have worked in public office or have contributed to the Scottish nation.



The order is the highest honour in Scotland and the second in the UK, preceded only by the Order of the Garter.



It was established by James II in 1687 with a statutory foundation.



In 1688, the Order fell into disuse following James II's abdication until it was revived by Queen Anne in 1703. The number of knights remained at 12.



The patron saint of the Order of the Thistle is St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, who also appears on the Order's badge.



Knights and Ladies of the Order wear a mantle of green velvet bound with taffeta and tied with cords and tassels of green and gold.



The gold collar consists of thistles, suspended from the centre an enamelled representation of St Andrew, surrounded by golden rays.



The motto is 'Nemo me impune lacessit' (No one harms me with impunity).



Current members



Andrew, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine KT JP DL (1981)

David, Earl of Airlie KT GCVO PC JP (1985)

Robert, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres KT GCVO PC DL (1996)

Lady Marion Fraser LT (1996)

Norman, Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden KT DL (1996)

James, Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT PC QC (1997)

David, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn KT GCMG (2000)

Stewart, Lord Sutherland of Houndwood KT (2002)

Sir Eric Anderson KT (2002)

David, Lord Steel of Aikwood KT KBE PC (2004)

George, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen KT GCMG PC (2004)

William, Lord Cullen of Whitekirk KT PC (2007)

David, Lord Hope of Craighead KT PC QC (2009)

Narendra, Lord Patel KT (2009)

David, Earl of Home KT CVO CBE (2014)

Robert, Lord Smith of Kelvin KT CH (2014)





By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline 7 July 2016Draped in ceremonial robes, the Queen and Prince Philip led senior members of the Royal Family as they arrived for the annual Order of the Thistle service.The royal couple were joined by Princess Anne, Prince William and Knights of the Order for the proceedings at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh.The Order of the Thistle recognises men and women who have held public office or who have contributed in a significant way to Scottish life. It is the highest honour in Scotland and the second in the UK, preceded only by the Order of the Garter.Wearing a white embellished dress under her regalia, the Queen looked contemplative as she walked alongside members of her family.Her Majesty's long mantle was so cumbersome that a page boy, dressed in traditional green garments, was enlisted to help hold it up at times.She walked alongside Prince William, who is known as the Earl of Strathearn in Scotland and was installed into the Order of the Thistle in 2012.The Princess Royal, who was herself invested in the Order of the Thistle in June 2001, also joined the group.The Royal Family were accompanied by other members of the Order of the Thistle, including Lord Robertson of Port Ellen and Lord Steel of Aikwood, who wore ceremonial robes.Knights and Ladies of the Order wear a mantle of green velvet bound with taffeta and tied with cords and tassels of green and gold.The gold collar consists of thistles, suspended from the centre an enamelled representation of St Andrew, surrounded by golden rays.Steeped in ancient traditions, today's proceedings feature an impressive service in Parliament Square.There, accompanied by the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, the Queen and the royal party are met by the Chancellor of the Thistle, the Dean of the Thistle and the Secretary of the Thistle and taken to the Signet Library.They then join the rest of the Order in the procession to the chapel. In a private service, the Queen installs any new members.The rest of the service then commences after a second process into the cathedral.The Queen is in Scotland for Holyrood Week, which sees the monarch visiting different regions in the country every year. Earlier this week she hosted a reception at Holyrood Palace to honour Scots for their commitment to public service.Around 140 people were invited to the event to celebrate their contribution to society in areas ranging from physics to sport.The Queen and Prince Philip also attended a Sunday service at Edinburgh's Canongate Kirk.
John and Rita Amundsen, Coal Valley, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at an open house on Sunday, July 17, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Lodge at the Conservancy, 3800 Flora Drive, Milan. No gifts, please.

Rita Landrith and John Amundsen were married July 16, 1966, at Moline Gospel Temple, with the Rev. Chas. Hollis and the Rev. Floyd Frutiger (uncle of bride) officiating.

They have three daughters and spouses, Vicki and Bill Rossow, Bettendorf; Kristi and Curt Rumler, Sherrard; and Angi and Derek Varner, Milan. Their grandchildren are Samantha Rossow, Kelsey Lavery, Karlee Rumler and Tyler and Brady Varner.

Mr. Amundsen retired from John Deere Technical Center as a tool and die maker and currently owns and maintains their apartment buildings.

Rita graduated from Moline Public Hospital School of Nursing in 1966. She retired after 48 years of nursing, working in several departments of Moline Public Hospital and Illini Hospital and various doctors' offices. They are members of Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Moline.

They are planning a trip in the winter to Riviera Maya Mexico with friends.
FUKUROI, Japan (TNS)  Rice farmer Takao Terada isn't following the U.S. presidential election too closely.

But there's one issue that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to agree on  that the U.S. should not ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact  and that's music to his ears.

"We Japanese farmers can't compete with the Americans," he said last week watching one of his eight workers sowing seedlings in a wet paddy here in Shizuoka prefecture, a two-hour train ride southwest of Tokyo.

"It costs us almost three times as much to produce rice," he said. "TPP will drive down prices and allow in more imports, and that will be a big problem."

The Obama administration has said the trade pact  which would bind together the American and Japanese economies with Australia, Mexico and eight other countries  would eliminate more than 18,000 tariffs on made-in-America products and "make sure our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and small businesses can compete  and win  in some of the fastest-growing markets in the world."

But Trump has called the trade pact a "horrible deal" that will "send America's remaining auto jobs to Japan." Clinton, meanwhile, shifted her stance last fall and she said she wasn't sure that TPP as written would create jobs, raise wages or improve national security.

That kind of rhetoric has cast a long shadow over the TPP, which took seven years to negotiate and is the biggest regional trade pact ever attempted, uniting countries accounting for 40 percent of global GDP. Partners including Japan are watching closely to see whether the U.S. will press ahead with the pact despite increasing political head winds.

California vintners, orchard owners and ranchers are among those who stand to benefit, according to the U.S. trade representative, because TPP would eliminate Japan's tariffs on American wines, modestly increase Tokyo's import quota on rice and eliminate taxes on produce including grapes, avocados, strawberries, kiwi fruit, watermelon and pomegranates, as well as nuts including pecans and almonds. Tariffs on beef, pork and dairy products would also drop or be eliminated.

The pact must be ratified by at least six nations that account for 85 percent of the combined GDP of the 12 TPP nations. Given that the U.S. and Japanese economies are the two biggest in the pact, both must be on board for it to come into effect.

But chances seem nil that Congress will ratify the agreement before the November election, and that has slowed momentum for a vote in Japan's parliament as well.

Masatoshi Hirano, a kiwi farmer who lives a few miles from Terada in the town of Kakegawa, is another rural resident with concerns about TPP. Although he believes the trade deal won't have much effect on his business, he worries it could deliver a new blow to rural Japan, whose inhabitants are already being buffeted by powerful forces such as a rapidly aging society, population decline and a lack of interest among younger generations in toiling in the fields.

"Japanese farmers are key to taking care of the national landscape," he said. "If they go away, what will happen?"

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been a proponent of TPP. Around Fukuroi, both anti-TPP and pro-Abe posters can be seen along the roadsides.

Japan has about 2.5 million farm households, however, and if Abe senses that the U.S. is wavering, he may also be unwilling to expend further political capital to bring it to a vote in parliament first, Japanese analysts say.

Tsuyomi Masuda, president of the Yamama Masudaen tea company in Shizuoka prefecture, agreed that the U.S. and Japan need to step up and set standards through mechanisms such as TPP. Masuda said he believed TPP would bring his company, which is increasingly export-oriented, more opportunities to sell its high-end tea leaves.

"Opening up new markets would be beneficial for us," he said. "TPP should be good for anyone who's thinking about exports."
The Mississippi Valley Blood Centers warning about larger than normal drops in blood supply is something to be taken seriously. Sadly, we need only look to places like Orlando to realize that an immediate and large need for blood can happen at any time in the modern world we live in.

Supporting this vital life-giving effort is something we all need to think about. There is always a need and its not possible for donors to react to an emergency or natural disaster because it takes time to process the blood for use.

The Mississippi Valley Blood Center, 5500 Lakeview Parkway, Davenport, collects 3,500 red blood cell donations each week during the spring and fall and 3,000 in the summer, according to Amanda Hess, donor relations manager. In addition to the decline in donations because of summer holidays, two deferrals ordered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have caused an additional decline this summer.

The new deferrals are aimed at preventing the spread of the Zika virus and meeting a new standard for hemoglobin levels in male donors. The center is seeing a loss of 2 percent per week in donations because of the Zika virus deferral which prevents travelers to an area affected by the virus from donating for at least 28 days after leaving. The hemoglobin deferral raising the minimum level for male donors from 12.5 grams to 13.0 grams per deciliter, has caused another 2 to 4 percent per week drop in donations. Hemoglobin is a protein that helps red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and levels can change from day to day.

The Mississippi Valley Blood Center has a service area that includes more than 80 hospitals from southwestern Wisconsin to St. Louis, and from Danville, Ill., to Albia, Iowa. As an incentive, through Sept. 10 Starbucks gift cards will be given to donors at the donor centers. T-shirts will be given to donors at mobile blood drives through July 16. In addition, registered donors will be entered to win a new car if they donate before Sept. 30, and one registered donor per month will win a $300 gas card. The gas card drawing began in June and ends in August.

Its easy to say there are plenty of other people who already donate and that is true. But once you donate, you must wait eight weeks or more before you can give again. So those who have already given this summer cant be counted on to help fill the shortage until fall. Plasma is replaced by our bodies within about 24 hours but red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement which is why at least eight weeks are required between whole blood donations.

Someone involved in a car accident could require as many as 100 pints of blood, while others with certain health conditions have a constant need for blood transfusions, according to Red Cross data.

Donating is safe and simple and usually takes a little over an hour. Half of Red Cross blood donations come from regular donors. Volunteers are eligible to donate every 56 days and must be feeling well, be at least 17 years old and weigh at least 110 pounds. Theres a simple questionnaire to fill out and a brief examination in which your temperature, pulse, blood pressure and hemoglobin are measured. Then youre ready to give.

Theres always a greater need for certain types of blood, with Type O Negative being the most valuable. This type of blood can be given to anyone, regardless of their blood type. The American Red Cross hopes people with types O, AB, B Negative and A Negative will donate. In the U.S., someone needs blood every two seconds, according to the Red Cross. While 38 percent of Americans are eligible to donate, less than 10 percent actually do.

A lot of people think they can wait to give when someone that they know and love needs it. But the reality is that someone that they know and love will be saved by the people that already came in, Ms. Hess said. Those considering donating are encouraged to call 800-747-5401 for more information or visit bloodcenter.org.
The Republican yearning to pin a scandal on Hillary Clinton knows no bounds. Any scandal will do, real or imagined. She must somehow be -- or appear to be -- guilty of something.

They tried Benghazi. Boy, did they try Benghazi. House Republicans even put together a special committee, which House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy praised for hurting Clinton's chances of being elected president. "Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right?" he said last September. "But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping."

To the GOP's consternation, however, those numbers recovered nicely. According to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, she leads Donald Trump by about 5 points; the most recent Washington Post survey showed her ahead by 12. Adding insult to injury, the Benghazi committee came up empty-handed. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the panel's chairman, released a final report last week that found no smoking gun. In fact, it didn't find smoke.

The Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on U.S. diplomatic and intelligence facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans should be blamed on the terrorists who committed the assault -- not on the secretary of state. Even if she happens to be named Clinton.

So if Benghazi isn't the sought-for scandal, what else might be? Trump keeps threatening to relitigate the 1990s by dredging up Bill Clinton's womanizing and even the suicide of Clinton friend and associate Vince Foster. That is a realm peopled mostly by conspiracy theorists wearing tinfoil hats; Trump can go there if he wants, but the rest of the country won't follow.

Let's see, there's the Clinton Foundation and the vast amount of money it has raised, including from foreign governments, potentates and moguls. The problem with this line of attack is that the foundation, by all accounts, does a lot of good around the world. And it generally operates in a way that Republicans should applaud, not simply doling out money but instead boosting the capacity of local governments and organizations to solve their own problems.

What other grist for the scandal mill could there be? I'm being somewhat disingenuous, of course. There are Hillary Clinton's emails.

As I've written, Clinton was wrong to decline a government email account when she was secretary of state and instead use a private account, run from a server in her house.

What was she thinking? I doubt it was "convenience," as she still claims. I've believed all along that Clinton wanted control. I think she wanted to guarantee that no personal or foundation emails would ever become part of the public record and thus potentially subject to release. It is certainly true that the Clintons have legions of political enemies who would love to root through the family's private affairs. This fact does not, however, make Clinton's actions right.

But were they illegal? And were they criminal?

That's what the FBI and Justice Department lawyers are trying to ascertain. From what is publicly known about the emails, I am unimpressed. The salient issue is whether she mishandled classified material. Clinton's critics note that David Petraeus, a former CIA director and one of the most lauded military officers of his time, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was hit with a $100,000 fine for that offense. But it seems to me that routing potentially sensitive emails through a private server is different from handing classified information to one's mistress, which is what Petraeus did.

Obviously, I don't know what else the investigators on the Clinton case might have found out. I do know, however, that Bill Clinton isn't doing his wife's legal prospects any good.

Last week, at the Phoenix airport, the former president learned that Attorney General Loretta Lynch's plane would soon be landing and decided to drop by and say hello. I can't say it's the most inappropriate thing he's ever done, since that's a high bar, but it's up there.

Lynch described the visit as purely social. But to eliminate any hint of impropriety, she pledged to "accept" the recommendation of FBI and Justice investigators on whether Clinton should face any charges.

Prosecutors have enormous discretion. The danger for Hillary Clinton is that if the decision is a close call, Justice Department lawyers might decide that giving her the benefit of the doubt would make it look as if the political fix were in.

Now Clinton has to hope her husband hasn't succeeded, scandal-wise, where Republicans failed.
Cambridge's Ca d'Zan house concert series this Monday welcomes a unique blues artist, Johnny Azari, who is based in New Orleans.

A native of Shiraz, Iran (which Mr. Azari called "a city known for wine, poetry, opium and revolution"), he was raised in New York City and calls his act "delta-blues-punk" mixed with storytelling and comedy. He's been on national tour since 2013 and is recording his fourth LP, "Songs From A Motel Room," only in motels during the 2016 tour.

A 2015 review of his "God Damn Blues" (at nyc.thedelimagazine.com) said he "impressively conveys real-life hurt through his devilishly charming voice, effectively creating a portrait of a luckless man just trying to survive. Its a seemingly classic blues story that Azari tells with obvious charisma and artful songwriting."

Mr. Azari has scored the film trailer for Illusions & Mirrors" (2013), starring Natalie Portman. Monday's concert is at 6:30 p.m., with suggested donation of $10-$20. For reservations and directions, email info@cadzanmusic.com.
A retired Iowa teacher displayed increasingly erratic behavior in the time before she is accused of trying to fatally stab her husband, according to recently filed court documents.

Patricia J. Oster, who turns 64 today, is a former North Scott Community School District teacher charged in Scott County District Court with attempted murder and willful injury resulting in serious injury. Prosecutors allege that, on May 3, Ms. Oster "unlawfully and intentionally" tried to cause the death of her husband, Ardell William Oster Jr., by stabbing him while he slept.

In a June 10 order, Judge John Telleen granted a request by Ms. Oster's attorney, Harold J. DeLange II, for her to be evaluated on whether she was competent to stand trial. Judge Telleen ruled there was probable cause Ms. Oster suffered from a mental disorder that prevented her from "appreciating the charge, understanding the proceedings or assisting effectively in the defense."

The case will be on hold until Ms. Oster is evaluated by the state psychiatrist and Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville, Iowa.

In his motion, Mr. DeLange wrote Ms. Oster had no recollection of the circumstances or events surrounding the May 3 incident. Other information in her case file, he wrote, suggested she had been under mental health care for several years and "displayed increasing erratic and abnormal behavior during the period leading up to the incident."

Her lack of memory about the event, coupled with the possibility she suffers from a mental disorder, made Ms. Oster unable to help her defense, Mr. DeLange wrote. He also expressed doubt she could appreciate the charges she faced or their possible consequences.

His motion said prosecutors did not object to the competency evaluation.

Ms. Oster has pleaded innocent to the charges. If the case proceeds to trial, the defense has indicated it would rely on a defense of diminished responsibility.

According to court records, Mr. Oster called 911 shortly after midnight May 3, saying he woke up to his wife stabbing him. Scott County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the couple's home in the 400 block of Woodlawn Drive, Long Grove, to find Mr. Oster had two stab wounds in his chest. He was hospitalized in critical condition.

Court records said Ms. Oster told police she had stabbed her husband. Deputies found a bloody, 8-inch knife in a garage sink and reported no obvious signs of a struggle or other injuries to either person.
Press release submitted by RaeAnn Tucker-Marshall

"HEALTH DEPARTMENT REMINDS OF JULY SENIOR LIVING SERIES PROGRAM"

The Henry and Stark County Health Department, the Stark County Citizens' Mental Health Task Force, and Petersen Health Care remind area residents they are once again sponsoring a special Senior Living Series. The Senior Living Series is a schedule of informational programs aimed to give the latest, up-to-date information, to our area senior population.

The July program will be "One Room Schools of Henry and Stark County by Steve Morrison, Local Educator/Historian/Author; and "School Days-Stimulating Brain Activity through Memories" by Beth Smith, of the Henry and Stark County Health Department. This informative program will be held Wednesday, July 13th at 2 pm at the Bradford Courtyard Estates.

Steve Morrisons program will focus on One Room Schoolhouses in Henry and Stark County from 1902-1950. In 1902 the rural school numbering system was changed so that each school in the county had a unique number. Stark County one room schools at this time numbered about 69. In 1931/1931 about 56 one room schools were in Stark County. Morrisons program will also cover the qualifications, duties and expectations of the teachers, students and school directors at this time period.

Following Morrisons program, Beth Smith, of the Henry and Stark County Health Department will encourage attendees to share their own School Day Memories. As the Senior Living Series encourages anyone attending the July program to bring photos and mementos and share stories of their own school days. According to Beth Smith Reminiscences and memories are an important activity to encourage; and actually help to stimulate brain activity and function. So please come to share pleasant times, wonderful stories and exercise your mind at the same time.

Remember, refreshments will be served and a door prize will be given out at each Senior Living Series session.

For more information about the upcoming Stark County Senior Living Series you may contact Beth Smith at the Stark County Health Department at (309) 852-0197 or visit our website at www.henrystarkhealth.com or find us on Facebook at Henry and Stark County Health Departments of Follow Us On Twitter.
Mississippi mayor pardons pet pig of deployed military manTHE ASSOCIATED PRESSFirst posted: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 10:53 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 11:02 PM EDTMOSS POINT, Miss. -- A mayor in a Mississippi city has decided not to banish a pet pig while its owner is on military duty in Iraq.The Sun Herald reports that Moss Point Mayor Billy Broomfield has saved the bacon, so to speak, of Patrick the pig.Patrick's owner, Otis Lundy, will be deployed with the Air Force until this fall, and a friend is taking care of his pets. Patrick is 7 years old, and Lundy had him for years before a local ordinance banned pigs in the town.Lundy's home is a few blocks from City Hall, and an animal-control officer saw Patrick while responding to a complaint about a dog.After a social media uproar about the possibility of Patrick being confiscated, the mayor declared the pig could stay.For all of you following the situation on Patrick, my pet pig, I just got off work and happily read that he has been allowed to stay at his home! I'm still floored at the moment for such a speedy and positive outcome, and I have many many thank you's to write and I'll write more in just a bit when it all soaks in. Thank you all very very much!!!(Facebook screengrab)
Press release submitted by Suzy Ven

To compete in the QUAD-CITIES TASTE OF ELEGANCE

Competition featuring Pork as Center of the Plate

(Bettendorf, IA) The Iowa-Illinois Pork Producer Associations announced today that it would with the help of Martin Bros. Distributing Company, Inc., U. S. Foods, Edward Don, the Scott County Pork Producers, Milan Flower Shop, Trophy Shoppe, Scott Community College and the Isle of Capri, sponsor the Quad-Cities Taste of Elegance Competition, to be held on Monday, July 18, 2016 in the ballroom at the Isle of Capri Convention Center. A reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:45 pm and is open to the public.

This competition has been very successful in encouraging chefs to incorporate more pork on their menus in the Iowa-Illinois region. We have had this program for the past twenty years and are excited to see the number of new pork menu items developed in that time. We truly appreciate their creativity. This event is a showcase of exciting new ideas, declared Dave Struthers, Chairman of the Iowa Pork Restaurant and Foodservice Committee.

Tickets for the event are available by calling 441-4246, 349-6205, or at the door the evening of the competition. Donations will be accepted at the door for $15 with proceeds going to benefit the Scott Community College Culinary Club. The Junior Chefs are a group of students from Scott Community College Culinary Arts program who participate in senior chef events and student competitions. The monies collected that evening will help defray some of their expenses. We also plan to use some of the funds for Culinary scholarships, Chef Brad Scott informed the Iowa-Illinois Producers' committees.

Pork entrees will be judged on taste, appearance and originality. The Grand Prizewinner will receive $1,000 and will be able eligible to attend the Pork Summit in the spring of 2017 at Greystone in St. Helena, California. Second place will receive $700. Third place will receive $300. There will also be a People's Choice Award winner in the amount of $250 selected by those who attend and enjoy samples of each chef's entree.

Competitors this year include the following chefs:

Daniel Wilda, Isle of Capri, Bettendorf, IA.; Jason Culbertson, Hotel Julien, Dubuque, IA.; Martha Cleveland Smith, Blue Cat Brew Pub, Rock Island, IL.; Aaron McMahon, Springbrook Country Club, DeWitt, IA.; Matt Finnegan, Front Street Brewery, Davenport, IA.; Justin Burns, The Phoenix, Davenport, IA.; Erik Bjorklund, Lionstone Brewery, Geneseo, Il.; Martin Fleetwood, Augustana College, Rock Island, Il.; Chad Myers, Dubuque County Club, Dubuque, IA.; and Justin Scardina, Luther College, Decorah, IA.
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
The HS2 Sheffield and South Yorkshire Options report examines four options for the routing of HS2 and stations locations in the Sheffield area. These include:

a new high-speed line following the Don Valley and M1 highway with a station at Meadowhall northeast of the city centre (the route previously selected by HS2 Ltd)

a high-speed line through the city centre with a station at Sheffield Midland

a high-speed line through the city centre with a station at Sheffield Victoria, and

a high-speed line following the M18 highway east of the city with a classic-compatible spur serving Sheffield Midland.

Higgins recommends adopting the fourth option, which would involve constructing a link from the high-speed line to the Erewash Valley Line south of Chesterfield, with trains continuing via the existing conventional line into Sheffield. This would enable construction of the high-speed line to Leeds on a more easterly alignment, which would pass through a less densely-populated area than the Meadowhall alignment, which poses a number of technical challenges.

The report also seeks to align HS2 with the joint Northern Transport Strategy published by the government and Transport for the North (TfN) in March 2015, which seeks to improve links between major cities east and west of the Pennines.

The base case Meadowhall option offers a 68-minute journey time from London to Meadowhall and 78 minutes to Sheffield Midland, with an 81-minute London - Leeds journey time (excluding a stop at Meadowhall). The Sheffield Midland (classic) option offers a longer London - Sheffield Midland journey time of 83 minutes, including a stop at Chesterfield, but cuts the London - Leeds journey time to 80 minutes (with no intermediate stop in South Yorkshire for through services) and provides better connections with the conventional network. Furthermore, this option would reduce the cost of Phase 2 by up to 1bn compared with the Meadowhall route, although this excludes the cost of constructing a northern connection from the conventional network to HS2 between Sheffield and Leeds.

The report suggests building a northern connection from Sheffield to HS2 would support TfN's aim to provide a 30-minute journey time between Leeds and Sheffield, and would also allow Birmingham - Leeds high-speed services to be routed through Sheffield city centre.

HS2 Ltd says it will investigate the possibility of building a park-and-ride station on the M18 alignment, which would compensate for the loss of the facility at Meadowhall.
The five-section, low-floor LRVs are based on CAF's Urbos platform but have been specially adapted to St Etienne's metre-gauge network through the use of a 2.15m-wide carbody. Unlike the network's existing vehicles, the CAF LRVs are bidirectional and feature additional doors for greater operational flexibility. Each 35m-long vehicle will accommodate 238 passengers, 34 of them seated.

The trams were styled by Lyon-based design agency Avant Premiere and the vehicles are being assembled by CAF France at Bagneres-de-Bigorre in Hautes-Pyrenees.

One of the vehicles will go on public display at the St Etienne International Fair, which runs from September 23 to October 3, and the fleet will enter commercial service in December.
Tendering for the project began in 2013 and nine consortia were shortlisted to bid in September 2014. Five consortia emerged as lowest-price bidders in October 2015, but the total cost of the offers across the seven construction lots was around 50% higher than the estimate in the detailed project report, which was completed in 2011.

MMRC has therefore held negotiations with the lowest-price bidders to bring costs down with measures including reductions in the number of entries and shorter platforms at some stations and separating the installation of tunnel ventilation and escalators from the main construction contracts.

Construction of the 27-station line is divided into seven lots, which include construction of tunnels and stations:

Lot 1 Cuffe Parade  CST: Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering (Rs 29.9bn)

Lot 2 CST  Mumbai Central: Moscow Metrostroy and Hindustan Construction (Rs 25.2bn)

Lot 3 Mumbai Central  Siddhivinayak: Dogus and Soma Enterprise (Rs 25.6bn)

Lot 4 Siddhivinayak  Dharavi: Continental Engineering Corporation, ITD Cementation India, and Tata Projects (Rs 28.3bn)

Lot 5 Dharavi  Domestic Airport: J Kumar Infraprojects and China Railway No 3 Engineering Group (Rs 28.1bn)

Lot 6 Domestic Airport  Marol Naka: J Kumar Infraprojects and China Railway No 3 Engineering Group (Rs 21.2bn), and

Lot 7 Marol Naka  Seepz: Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Tunnel Engineering (Rs 22.8bn).

Commissioning of the line is scheduled for 2019-20.
Virginias planned Atlantic Gateway Project has been selected for a $165 million federal FASTLANE (Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies) grant.

Combined resources for the project, including the federal grant, private investment and other public funding, total $1.4 billion The FASTLANE grant will leverage $565 million in private investments and $710 million in other transportation funds to restore 14 miles of right-of-way to improve reliability and capacity for freight, regional/commuter and intercity passenger rail service. Phase 1 of the project will relieve congestion at Long Bridge and enable the state to acquire the S Line from CSX. The S Line is an abandoned rail corridor that runs from North Carolina to the Richmond, Va., area; public ownership is key for the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail corridor, as well as other transportation projects involving highways and bridges.

The Atlantic Gateway Project will address the worst bottlenecks on the I-95 corridor in Northern Virginia, transforming travel along the entire East Coast, say project officials. It will enhance passenger and freight rail along the corridor, improving reliability and capacity on the East Coasts rail network and increase bus service. The Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are ready to work with the private industry and the states partners in federal, state and local governments to build improvements.

The program will move to construction in phases and portions will start as early as 2017. Much of the initial environmental and engineering work is complete or under way.

Winning this significant federal grant will allow Virginia to move forward on a project that will transform travel conditions and stimulate economic growth across our commonwealth, said Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Our administration worked with federal, state, local and private sector parties to submit a package of transportation improvements that will have far-reaching benefits for everyone who travels the commonwealth, whether by car, bus or train. Transportation leaders came to the table with one clear goal: improve travel in the most heavily-traveled corridor in the Southeast by investing in road and rail improvements to move people and commerce more efficiently, not only through Virginia, but also from Florida to New York. I thank the USDOT for having the vision to select the Atlantic Gateway Project for the FASTLANE grant. It will create jobs and contribute to our efforts to build a new Virginia economy. We could not have moved forward without this important federal funding.
Barbara Johnson will present a program, Stained Glass Windows of Nebraska, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at First Lutheran Church, 3200 E. Military Ave.

The presentation is made possible by Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and First Lutheran Women as part of the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The program is free and open to the public.

Johnson will speak about the history of stained glass and various stained glass windows in public buildings and the Nebraska State Capitol. She has visited Fremont twice to view and learn about stained glass windows in churches and other buildings and will include these in her presentation.

The program, available to non-profit organizations in Nebraska, will last about one hour and include a question-and-answer period. Johnson has spoken to many Christian Womens groups and is speaking at the Stained Glass Association of America annual meeting in Illinois this month.

Stained Glass Windows of Nebraska is one of approximately 300 programs offered through the Humanities Nebraska Speakers Bureau. The more than 165 available speakers include acclaimed scholars, writers, musicians, storytellers, and folklorists on topics ranging from pioneer heritage to ethics and law to international and multicultural issues, making it the largest humanities speakers bureau in the nation.

First Lutheran Women are hosting an indoor picnic at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall prior to the presentation by Johnson. There will be broasted chicken with salads and desserts. Tickets for the meal are available for $6 until Sunday and can be purchased by calling Beth at 402- 721-3053, Jan at 402-727-0989, or Carol at 402-652-8166.
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With traffic deaths climbing in the state, Californians should be thrilled that policymakers in Sacramento are discussing how to reduce impaired driving. This topic may be of special interest to San Diego County, where DUI arrests over the July Fourth weekend were up nearly 25 percent compared to last year.

In California, many efforts to reduce repeat drunken driving focus on the driving  such as restricting when (and if) offenders can drive, increasing penalties for subsequent DUI convictions and requiring offenders in some counties to install an interlock ignition device that prevents an automobile from starting if the driver has been drinking.

California also requires DUI offenders to attend education programs and its judges can order convicted drunken drivers to undergo drunken diverse treatment. A few counties even have designated court dockets that focus on getting DUI offenders into treatment and monitoring their progress.

What if California targeted the drunk aspect of drunken driving by ordering drunken drivers to abstain from alcohol for a certain period of time?

In other words, what if the state suspended their license to drink?

Sound impractical? Impossible to enforce? Yes, those were my thoughts, too, until I traveled to South Dakota to observe this approach in action.

The program, called 24/7 Sobriety, started in 2005 as a pilot project in five South Dakota counties. As a condition of bond, those arrested for a repeat-DUI offense were ordered to abstain from alcohol and show up at the sheriff's office once in the morning and once at night  every single day  and blow into a breath-testing device.

If there was any alcohol in their system, they immediately went to jail for a brief stay, typically a night or two.

The goal of the program is to hold participants accountable and create a credible deterrent threat that focuses more on the certainty and swiftness of the sanction than the severity of the sanction. Participants can attend self-help groups or engage in treatment if they want or are otherwise directed, but it is not required as part of 24/7.

While some judges were skeptical about whether participants would show up and test twice a day, let alone pass, that's exactly what happened  to date more than 99 percent of the ordered tests are taken and passed. Within a few years 24/7 had expanded throughout the state.

In addition to expanding geographically, the program grew to include other types of alcohol-involved offenses such as assault or a probation violation. Since it was difficult for some participants to travel to the testing site twice a day, the program began incorporating continuous alcohol monitoring bracelets that test participants' sweat for alcohol every 30 minutes. These devices and other alcohol monitoring technologies are being used in San Diego County, but not as part of a 24/7-type program.

In South Dakota, 24/7 has been very successful. From 2005 through 2015, roughly 30,000 South Dakotans participated in the program. They collectively accumulated more than 5 million days without a detected alcohol violation.

RAND research has shown that after the counties adopted 24/7, the total number of repeat-DUI arrests in the county dropped by 12 percent. The adoption of the 24/7 program also is associated with significant reductions in domestic violence arrests and female mortality, according to the research.

The big question is whether 24/7 can yield similar results in more urban areas outside of South Dakota. We'll see. Jacksonville, Florida  the biggest city in terms of land mass in the contiguous 48 states  recently implemented 24/7 and London has piloted a modified version of the program that the city is planning to expand.

When it comes to 24/7 as well as ignition interlocks, DUI courts, new treatments and other approaches to reducing DUI recidivism, we do not know which option  or combination of options  is most effective at improving public health and safety. Even if it was clear, policymakers would also want to know which approach is most cost-effective. Additionally, it is likely that certain approaches work better for certain types of individuals.

There is so much to learn.

As decisionmakers throughout California consider approaches for reducing drunken driving (and other alcohol-involved crimes), they should acknowledge these uncertainties and authorize efforts to conduct scientific research that compares these options. This could lead to researchers working with the DMV, courts and other officials to conduct experimental studies that would randomly assign DUI offenders to different approaches.

California can and should do more to reduce alcohol-related traffic deaths and crime. Taking a closer look at what South Dakota is doing could be one part of a productive next step.

Beau Kilmer is a senior policy researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. He co-authored Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol: Could California Do More to Prevent It?

This commentary originally appeared on San Diego Union-Tribune on July 6, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Putin signs package of antiterrorist bills into law

Context Russian lower house adopts package of antiterrorist bills

MOSCOW, July 7 (RAPSI)  Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a package of antiterrorist bills introducing among others life sentence for terrorism into law, the official spokesperson for the President, Dmitriy Peskov, told journalists on Thursday.

In addition, the President signed a list of documents ordering the government to monitor implementation of this law and if it is necessary to minimize possible risks connected in particular with financial charges and use of home equipment for information storage. The documents signed by Putin along with the bills also authorize the government to draft initiatives on minimization of such risks, according to Peskov.

On June 24, the State Duma adopted the package of antiterrorist bills. On June 29, the bills were approved by the Federation Council despite the objections of the Human Rights Council, business ombudsman, Internet companies and mobile operators.

Mobile operators insisted that the legislation would provoke steep rise in cellular service tariffs.

The bills drafted by Irina Yarovaya, head of the State Duma's Security and Anti-Corruption Committee, and Viktor Ozerov, the Chairperson of the Committee for Security of the Federation Council, propose additional ways of fight against terrorist and extremist threats as well as toughen punishment for terrorism and extremism, according to Yarovaya.

They introduce a new component of crime, international terrorism, which would be punished with prison terms ranging from 10 years to life.

Financing of international terrorist attacks and recruitment would result in imprisonment for up to 10 years.

The legislation would define new elements of crimes including failure to report of a terrorist nature. Offenders would face fines of up to 100,000 rubles ($1,550); compulsory labor or imprisonment for up to one year.

Public calls for terrorism on the Internet and justifying terrorism would result in fines of up to one million rubles or imprisonment for 7 years.

The legislation also touches the issue of keeping online correspondence between Internet users and provision of the respective data on demand of certain state authorities.

While the original amendments to the package of anti-terrorist bills introduced by Yarovaya and Ozerov concerned only mobile operators obliging them to keep users data, now they should include organizers of dissimilation of information in Internet, i.e. practically all Internet services. It is envisaged that the data including both the correspondence between users and files they exchange be kept for six months.

Internet companies would be obliged to provide law enforcement agencies with decryption keys in case the users correspondence or files are encoded. Those failing to provide the authorities with information on decoding of data or using uncertified encryption products should be subject to fines from 3,000 rubles ($46) for individuals to 1 million rubles ($15,500) for legal entities.
As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain.
Sen. Ben Sasse and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump came face to face in Washington on Thursday without incident.

Sasse, the only Republican senator who consistently has said he would oppose Trump even if he was his partys nominee, strode to the front of the room where Trump was about to meet with GOP senators and introduced himself.

The two had a gracious exchange, a Sasse spokesman said.

Later, according to a person familiar with the meeting, as Trump engaged in a lengthy monologue suggesting that he had inside knowledge about Hillary Clintons intention to pack the U.S. Supreme Court with liberal judges, he suggested surely, you dont want Clinton, Sasse or words to that effect.

Other variations of those words spoken in the privacy of the meeting room were reported by Politico and other news outlets.

Senator Sasse went to todays meeting ready to listen, Sasse spokesman James Wegmann said.

Mr. Sasse continues to believe that our country is in a bad place and, with these two candidates, this election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed.

Sasse went to Iowa early this year to campaign against Trump in advance of Iowas Republican presidential caucus, the event that kicked off the 2016 presidential battle, and he has opposed him ever since.

Trump, in return, has taken a few shots at Sasse on his Twitter account.

Republican Sen. Deb Fischer described Trumps meeting with senators as a good meeting that allowed for an interchange with the partys presumptive nominee.

Fischer said she asked a question, which she would not describe, that elicited a very thorough response.

The more times we have conversations with Mr. Trump, the more comfortable everyone becomes, Fischer said during a telephone conference call with Nebraska news media.

It was a pretty relaxing meeting, she said, with a good exchange.
Now that we've had time to let the dust settle after the Brexit vote, it's becoming clear that the early panic was an overreaction. The British public is already showing sellers remorse and leaders who supported the Leave option are seeing their fortunes fall. There's no reason that the United Kingdom can't remain tightly integrated into Europe, and a there is a very good chance that they'll wind up staying in the European Union after all. That is, unless EU leaders push the Brits to take the worst course in a fit of pique.

British Prime Minister David Cameron gambled and lost on the referendum. Faced with a split coalition and significant public angst over the direction the European Union was headed, Cameron promised in January 2013 to hold a referendum on Britains future in the European Union by 2017 if his party were re-elected in 2015. He simultaneously used the prospect of a Brexit as leverage in negotiations for exemptions to EU rules, particularly with respect to immigration, and campaigned hard to convince his public that the United Kingdom was stronger as a member of Europe. He failed.

By announcing his resignation the morning after the June 23 vote, but delaying it until a few months down the line, after the Conservative Party could vote in new leadership, Cameron shrewdly bought time to minimize if not completely undo the damage.

But the leadership in Brussels is foolishly working to undermine that effort.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has been by far the worst offender. He replied to Cameron's move by declaring that "Britons decided that they want to leave the European Union, so it doesn't make any sense to wait until October to try to negotiate the terms of their departure. I would like to get started immediately." He added that this was "not an amicable divorce" and whined "it was not exactly a tight love affair anyway.

Meanwhile, EU Parliamentary Speaker Martin Schulz likewise demanded an immediate exit and sniffed that a delay that only serves the tactical interests of the British conservatives is damaging to everyone."

These reactions, while certainly understandable, are incredibly short-sighted. EU leaders acting like jilted lovers serves neither the interests of the institution nor its members -- of which the United Kingdom incidentally remains.

European leaders -- along with the heads of both of the major UK parties -- desperately wanted to avoid a Leave vote, rightly seeing a European Union with Britain in it as better for all concerned. That reality hasn't changed based on a non-binding referendum. While it may be emotionally satisfying to punish the Brits for the perhaps rash decision of a slight majority of its voting citizens, world leaders ought to instead seek to delay Brexit while they work to turn the tide. Ideally, they would campaign to persuade the British public of the advantages or remaining in the union while simultaneously working to allay real concerns about immigration and other sovereignty issues that are shared by many other EU nations.

As Atlantic Council President Fred Kempe rightly notes, this is far from the first time that a public referendum has gone against the European project: "The Danes voted against the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the Irish voted against the Nice Treaty in 2001 and the Lisbon Treaty in 2008 -- only to reverse their decisions in a second referendum after changes."

Just days after their seeming victory, key Brexit leaders Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage have seen their political careers go down in flames. Drops in the stock market and the pound have already made manifest the dangers of leaving the EU and started to turn back public opinion. Cameron is boldly working to use his last weeks in office to avert the disaster, urging EU leaders to tweak the immigration rules that have so many across Europe uneasy.

Instead, the leadership in Brussels is doubling down.

Juncker issued a so-called presidential ban on informal talks with UK leaders ahead of formal invocation of the Article 50 exit process, declaring, [t]here can be no preliminary discussions" because I would not like the idea that there could be some sort of negotiations behind closed doors in smoke-filled rooms." Given that it's in everyone's interest to stall if not avert Article 50, allowing cooler heads to prevail, this is simply diplomatic malpractice. Behind closed doors is precisely where these talks should be; we've already seen where public posturing has gotten us.

Additionally, Juncker made a bizarre power grab in removing representatives from the 27 member countries from the trade negotiation between the European Union and Canada, instead deciding that negotiations should be handled solely by bureaucrats in Brussels. This reinforces anti-EU sentiment not only in Britain but across the continent.

Perhaps even more foolishly, Schulz called on Monday to replace the relatively weak Commission with a genuine European government and the establishment of a federal system. Given that the Brits are far from alone in questioning the "more Europe" line in the wake of the global financial crisis and the Paris terror attacks, Schulzs call couldn't be more tone-deaf.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is ultimately a more important figure than anyone in Brussels, seems to be more sensible. On the one hand, she rightly sought to avoid incentivizing others who might want to follow the United Kingdom's lead, declaring that [w]e will make sure that negotiations will not be carried out as a cherry-picking exercise. There must be and there will be a palpable difference between those countries who want to be members of the European family and those who dont." She added that [w]hoever wants to leave this family cannot expect to shed all its responsibilities but keep the privileges.

At the same time, the chancellor has been much more responsible in her choice of words than her countrymen in EU leadership, rightly cautioning others not to "draw quick and easy conclusions from the British referendum that could further divide Europe." In contrast to Juncker and Schultz, her cabinet members have issued numerous statements pleading to allow time for reflection. Most notably, Merkel's chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, said [t]he politicians in London should have the possibility to rethink the consequences of a withdrawal.

Merkel's longtime mentor, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, likewise warned against unnecessary severity and haste in reacting to the referendum. He urged EU leaders to take one step back before taking two steps forward to allow all EU member states time to figure out the way ahead. He also cautioned against taking steps toward further centralization in the near term and mistaking a unified Europe with a standardized Europe." Coming from a man who successfully managed the reintegration of the former East Germany into his country and the transition of the European Community to the European Union, that's sage advice.

While the Europeans and Brits will ultimately have to sort this out for themselves, American leadership is also vital here. President Barack Obama has wisely backed off some over-the-top warnings ahead of the vote that the UK would go to "back of the queue" if it left the Union. In the aftermath of the Leave vote, Obama assured the British people that, One thing that will not change is the special relationship between our two countries. He went further, noting that we should "keep in mind that Norway is not a member of the European Union, but Norway is one of our closest allies," adding that if "Great Britain ends up being affiliated to Europe like Norway is, the average person is not going to notice a big change.

Absent a complete reversal on Brexit, a Norway-like status for the UK is what everyone should want. It's not only the best but the most likely outcome if only EU leaders stop behaving like pouting children.
realclearworld Newsletters: Europe Memo

Ivo Daalders reply to my introduction when I called the former NATO ambassador last week aptly sums up the mood among global leaders: You really think so? Daalder said with a laugh when I introduced myself as an editor for RealClearWorld. Real clear? Do you know something I dont?

As the aftermath of the United Kingdoms vote to leave the European Union on June 23 gives way to NATOs summit in Warsaw on July 8, there is indeed very little at the moment that seems clear at all. Daalder, the president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, offered us his take on what to expect from a two-day summit in Poland that is charged with significance. The interview below has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.

RCW: We just had the United Kingdom vote for Brexit. How do you see that affecting NATO?

Daalder: I think theres two factors to consider, all with the caveat that there is uncertainty right now about what will happen with Europe, what will happen in the UK, and what will happen between the UK and the European Union. Theres just too many things we dont know. I think there are two aspects in which this affects NATO. The first, no matter what the outcome of the Brexit process, the United Kingdom is going to be spending all of its energy, all of its focus, and all of its time figuring that out. As a result it will be a less forceful, less outward-looking, less prominent ally in the NATO council. The Warsaw meeting, the decisions that are to be made will be made, including the British decision to be the lead in one of the four NATO battalions that will be deployed (in Eastern Europe). But its going to be delivered by a prime minister that just suffered one of the greatest defeats of any prime minister in the history of Great Britain -- and who has also just said he is a lame duck. British influence is going to go down, at least for the initial phase.

The second impact, and its more something that should be than something that is, is that the United States will try to emphasize the vital importance of maintaining if not strengthening the Transatlantic link. And NATO is the institution that enables one to do that, because its the only institution in which the United States, and, should it leave the EU, Britain, are both part of the European dialogue. Thats why it is vitally important as an institution. So I think youre going to see a reinvigoration of the United States in NATO, even if at this time the British influence within the alliance is inevitably going to be less.

RCW: Does NATO assume a greater political importance now?

Daalder: Well, it wont be able to do politically let alone economically what the EU does, but it will become a more important institution to which the United States, and to some extent the United Kingdom, will pay its attention. Its interesting and important that [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry went to Brussels and immediately went to NATO to emphasize the importance of this institution. It cant be the substitute for the European Union, but it will be an institution on which the Transatlantic relationship will be focused more than it might have been in the past. This was already happening because of Russias actions, but this just reinforces it.



RCW: NATO faces additional challenges to unity and cohesion. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps statements on the alliance cant come as any comfort, while there are diverging views on Russia between a confrontational Eastern Europe and a more accommodating Western Europe. How can leaders patch up any gaps, and how worried are they about the ability to stay unified?

Daalder: I think the events since [June 23] emphasize the fundamental importance of unity and strength. And I think everyone will come to Warsaw with a commitment to leave stronger than they arrived, and more united. I think the incentive to patch up differences and to focus on being stronger together has increased significantly, because a failed summit would be truly a disaster for European security and for Transatlantic relations.

This will manifest in three ways. First, already agreed to in large measure but now (to be) formalized at the summit, is a strong commitment by NATO to bolster the defense of Eastern Europe by having a permanent rotating presence of U.S., German, British, and other NATO troops in the Baltic States, in Poland, and in the Black Sea region -- including air forces, and naval vessels and troops, with a very strong, united message that whatever the Russians might be thinking, the defense of NATO territory is job one for old NATO members. And that should mitigate any differences between Western European allies and Eastern European allies.

[Secondly] I think there is likely to come out of the summit a greater commitment to involve NATO in addressing the threats that are coming from the south. What specifically that could mean, I could guess, but I dont know. It could be things like greater intelligence cooperation and using the NATO civilian and military intelligence infrastructure to share information, including on terrorists; a greater presence of NATO, particularly maritime, capabilities not only in the Aegean, but throughout the Mediterranean to address and assist the European effort to deal with the migrant flow across the Mediterranean now from Libya. It could involve the dedication of NATO air assets to support the counter-ISIS coalition, so that there is in fact a role for NATO as a member of that coalition, not as the leader, but as a member. It might include a closer look at what NATO could do in terms of training and security assistance to Libya. It will likely include an agreement to have the NATO training mission that is currently in Jordan deployed to Iraq. So a whole variety of steps that says we understand that the threat from the south and the Middle East to NATO territory is real, and we are committed to NATO being an actor in that. Not the lead actor but a supporting actor.

Point number three is I think youre going to find a very strong declaration of the strength and essentiality of NATO as a Transatlantic institution. That whatever may be the issues between the North and the South and the East and the West, the EU and some of its current member states, NATO as a Transatlantic institution is vital to the security and prosperity and freedom of all the now 29 member states [including Montenegro].

RCW: What would a failed summit look like? Could it happen?

Daalder: No I dont think its possible. A failed summit would see disagreement about fundamental things, like deploying forces forward to Eastern Europe. I forgot to mention, I think youre not only going to get a reaffirmation of the 2 percent number for defense spending of GDP, but I think youre going to find countries individually making commitments to increase defense spending in a way we havent seen in about 15 years.

RCW: But currently only five NATO members are at 2 percent of GDP.

Daalder: Five countries are at 2 percent, but you also have another seven or eight who are either very close to or are already committed to 2 percent in a number of years, including all the Baltic states. The Poles are at 1.96, the French [close to that], and you need to look to Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, maybe even Italy, to see what it is theyre going to say about their defense spending, which is well below 2 percent -- what theyre going to say in terms of procurement, in terms of investment in R&D. Thats what needs to shift. For example the Norwegians, though theyre not at 2 percent, their investment in terms of buying new equipment and R&D is extraordinary. Its higher than ours. The actual numbers that go into buying new stuff, you know, theyre going to buy 52 F35s, new submarines, and a whole bunch of other things.

What does a failed summit mean? Its that everything I just laid out fails to happen. And thats not going to take place. The need not to fail now is higher than ever, because of the crisis.

RCW: Beyond what Eastern members have asked for from NATO and seem to be receiving, what have they themselves been doing in the last two years in terms of increasing capabilities and increasing their cooperation?

Daalder: The Poles have significantly increased their defense spending. The Estonians are at 2 percent. The Latvians and Lithuanians are on track to reach 2 percent I believe by 2020. So there has been a real commitment to do as much as they can to increase defense spending. Thats number one. Number two, all of these countries have demonstrated to be really good allies. So they have been involved for example in Afghanistan for a very long time. And they do that in order to demonstrate theyre good allies so that then NATO, when it comes to the crunch with their security problems, will be there. The third, particularly in Estonia and Latvia, countries with a significant Russian minority population have started to pay real attention to how the EU makes sure that population looks to their countries as well as to the EU for their future, rather than to Russia. So they have increased Russian-language TV that is not as propagandistic as what comes out of Moscow.

Theyve also taken a number of steps to deal with the threat of hybrid warfare. To be able to respond to either the cyber element of it, or little green men, in a way that tries to cut off the possibility of subversion from within in a more active way. You cant see that in defense numbers, you see that in intelligence, in the kind of cooperation that they have with other countries. So theyre trying, but theyre small countries. Theyre not going to be able to do this themselves, which is why it is important that NATO demonstrate its commitment to their defense, which it is doing by deploying these troops on a rotating basis.

RCW: States like Georgia and Ukraine -- what kind of cooperation might we see unfold?

Daalder: I think there will be a meeting with [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko and the 29 leaders. The cooperation will be twofold: One, encouragement on Poroshenko to undergo the economic reforms and anti-corruption measures that will ultimately determine the success of the Ukrainian economy. And then a real commitment to defense cooperation in terms of assistance in the defense sector: Training, modernization, that sort of thing.

RCW: Ukraine is struggling with their military budget right now -- essentially close to being broke.

Daalder: Ultimately nothing can happen until the economy improves, and that wont happen until theres more investment from the outside, and that wont happen until they clean up their act. They have some serious problems confronting them. That said, there is a commitment from NATO to help; to help on modernizing defense capabilities, to help on rooting out corruption in defense procurement and other areas. Its a hard road, but thats what NATO can do, short of offering membership, which it wont, or a defense guarantee, which it cant without membership. In the case of Georgia, I think you will find continued cooperation, joint exercises, assistance for the Georgian military. But its a tricky fact: The reality is, the Georgians are going to argue, that they have at least as much right to join NATO as the Montenegrins, and that their democracy is at least as strong; their commitment to NATO is at least as strong; their commitment in Afghanistan is much stronger; and theyre more capable; and the only reason why Montenegro is coming in and Georgia is not even offered a membership action plan -- which they wont be offered -- is because the Russians are saying no.

So its a tricky set of issues that are out there. But theyve been out there for a long time, and NATO will presumably deal with them in the same way we have before, which is to say the door is open and the times not yet right.

RCW: Shifting to Montenegro and the debate their membership sparked about how useful their membership really is, feeding into the greater debate about whether NATO enlargement is good or appropriate. Whats your position on NATO enlargement? Has it ceased to be a good idea?

Daalder: I think NATO enlargement was a very important strategy for helping countries to emerge from their dictatorial and in many ways occupied pasts, in the case of all the former Warsaw Pact countries, to become vibrant democracies and prosperous market economies. It was the prospect of providing for security that enabled countries to take the very difficult political and economic steps to transform their societies that enabled them to apply for and in many cases join the EU.

RCW: But that is a political mission. Doesnt that dilute the idea of NATO being a military alliance?

Daalder: But that political mission is not unimportant. You enhance the security of the North Atlantic area by having more democratic and prosperous economies. They're more likely to provide for security in that region if that happens. So yes, its a political strategy, but it has a huge security impact, which is what NATO is all about. I mean, is Montenegro going to be the difference between success and failure in dealing with the Russian threat? No, of course not. Is Montenegro going to be vital to any military mission that NATO takes on? No. Can Montenegro and the prospect of membership for countries like Bosnia and down the road Serbia change the political calculus for these countries to an extent that they enhance security for a region that remember, in the 1990s, was a source of conflict? Perhaps, and thats worth considering.
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As students pour into Athens in preparation for the fall semester, the Commit administration is looking ahead to what it would like to accomplish this year through its executive position in the Student Government Association.
Once a year, Muslims from around the world fast and pray to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. At the Al Huda Islamic Center in Athens, Georgia, the month of Ramadan means much more than nightly prayers. Ramadan means breaking fast with friends, embracing those seen once a month and celebrating peace in the surrounding community. "Peace be upon you, brother [sister]" echoed against the walls in the Mosque as the people of the Al Huda Islamic Center celebrated the month of Ramadan and the growth in their community that comes with it. (Photos by Henry Taylor)

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Since it went into effect on July 1, Michaels Law has aimed to eliminate underage drinking and bring safety to local bars in Georgia.
In this image made from video, writer and humorist Garrison Keillor hosts his final broadcast of the weekly radio variety show "A Prairie Home Companion" Friday, July 1, 2016, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Calif. (AP Photo)

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By MIKE CIDONI LENNOX, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Writer and humorist Garrison Keillor served up a bittersweet farewell for some 18,000 fans at the Hollywood Bowl, as he hosted his final episode of the old-style radio variety show, "A Prairie Home Companion."

Keillor's swan song Friday night wasn't markedly different from most of his nearly 42 years of "Companion" episodes, offering a rich mix of Americana music and often tongue-in-cheek comedy. (Although U.S. President Barack Obama did call in for a special segment recorded earlier Friday, but not even the Bowl audience will hear that until Saturday's broadcast.)

The "last-show" aspect of the doings was so subtle that, at one point, even Keillor's cast mates began to prod their boss, asking, "How do you feel (about leaving)?" Keillor eventually, reluctantly replied, "It feels like something ends and something else is about to happen."

The 73-year-old Keillor delivered one last "Lives of the Cowboys" comedy sketch as well as the show's best-known segment, "News from Lake Wobegon," a folksy report from a fictional town where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average"

Keillor sang a few more songs and closed out the show as if it was any other.

Only during the encore did he truly take time to say goodbye, engaging the crowd with a moving medley of songs running the gamut from classic spirituals to pop ballads.

"Companion" attracts more than three million public-radio listeners in the U.S.; many more counting the show's Armed Forces Radio audiences worldwide.

After Saturday's season finale, it will return with new episodes in October with an updated format and new host, Chris Thile.

Keillor will do concerts and is working on a "Wobegon" screenplay.

___

Online:

http://prairiehome.org
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By Jon Lewis

Jennifer Levens admits she was not a Jane Austen fan and never could make it through the first chapter of Pride and Prejudice, the play shes directing for Riverfront Playhouse that opens Saturday.

That all changed when she saw the film adaptation and then started reading Austens other works. Now shes eager to bring the immensely popular novel of manners to Riverfronts stage.

Chelsea Bailey, who has been cast in her dream role as Elizabeth Bennet, has had the polar opposite experience from that of her director. Ive been a Jane Austen fan all my life and Ive read Pride and Prejudice over 20 times, she said. She called the novel, originally published in 1813, a very timeless book.

More importantly, Elizabeth has proven to be a very relatable character where anybody can put themselves in her shoes  she knows herself well enough that she doesnt have to bend to get along in society and can be true to herself. Lizzy was always very confident. Having a heroine like that was influential to me, Bailey said.

Portraying one of her childhood idols on stage is a challenge. In addition to being one of the most cherished characters in British literature, a number of actresses have taken on the role in film and TV. What makes it so daunting is everybody has an idea of who Lizzy is. Im trying to match expectations without making it a parody. Its fun to explore, but terrifying.

Levens is convinced Bailey, who played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and had the lead in Legally Blonde, is up to the challenge. She will make it. The energy is incredible.

Levens also is encouraged by the strong acting of Chad MacFarlane and Linda Ragan as Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, parents of the five daughters who must, under conventions of the landed gentry during the British Regency, find husbands to secure their economic future. She and Chad have such chemistry on stage its incredible, Levens said.

The 25-member cast includes Kaxia Wilkens as Lizzys sister, Jane; Michael Osa as Lizzys initially reluctant suitor, Mr. Darcy; Reece Resendez as Mr. Bingley; Matthew Carlisle as Mr. Collins; and Anthony Wilder as Mr. Wickham.

go now 

What: Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice

Where: Riverfront Playhouse, 1620 E. Cypress Ave.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and weekends through Aug. 6; 2 p.m. matinees July 17, 24 and 31.

Tickets: $15, matinee; $20, evenings; $25, closing night; call 243-8877 or visit www.cascadetheatre.org
In this June 11, 2016 photo, Hassan Khan shows a picture of her wife Zeenat, who was killed by her mother, in Lahore, Pakistan. Zeenat was the third Pakistani girl reported to have died in the last month in what has widely come to be known as an "honor" killing. They are so named because the victim is accused by family, would-be suitors, and in one case a tribal council, of bringing shame or dishonor to their households. Those who kill for "honor" are almost never punished in Pakistan. A law based on Islamic Shariah allows the family of a victim to forgive a killer, and in these cases the killers are almost always family. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

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By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP)  Parveen Rafiq closed her hands around the neck of her youngest daughter, Zeenat, and squeezed and squeezed until the girl was almost dead.

Then, in the tiny apartment where the family lived, she doused the 18-year-old with kerosene and set her on fire.

Neighbors saw the smoke and rushed to the home. Someone inside, apparently one of Rafiq's daughters-in-law, was screaming, "Help her! Help!"

But the door was bolted from within. Moments later, they heard Rafiq scream from her rooftop: "I have killed my daughter. I have saved my honor. She will never shame me again."

___

Zeenat's crime was marrying a childhood friend she loved, defying her widowed mother's pressure for an arranged marriage and, in the mind of her mother and many of her neighbors, tarnishing her family's honor.

Her macabre death on June 8 in the eastern city of Lahore was the latest in a series of increasingly gruesome "honor killings" in Pakistan, a country with one of the highest rates of such killings in the world.

In one case, a mother slit the throat of her pregnant daughter who had married a man she loved. In yet another a jilted suitor doused a teenage girl with kerosene and set her on fire.

In the city of Abbottabad, a teenage girl was tortured, injected with poison and then strapped to the seat of a vehicle, doused with gasoline and set on fire. Her crime was helping a friend elope.

A jirga, or council of local elders, ordered her killing and dictated the manner of her death. The vehicle was parked in a public place, outside a bus stop as a message to others.

The brutality and rapid succession of killings horrified many Pakistanis. The numbers of such killings have climbed in lockstep with their sometimes-public spectacle. Last year, three people a day were killed in "honor" crimes in Pakistan: a total of 1,096 women and 88 men, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. In 2014, the number was 1,005 women, including 82 children, up from 869 women killed a year earlier. The true numbers are believed to be higher, with many cases going unreported, activists say.

Some human rights and women's rights activists believe honor killings have been inching up and showing greater brutality as the older generation tries to dig in against creeping change. Over the years, more women have been going to school and working outside the home, even among lower and lower middle class, and use of social media has helped women raise their voices.

"The old order of misogyny and extremism is falling apart, is really crumbling," says Marvi Sermid, a political commentator and women's rights activist. Conservative Muslim clerics are furious over the creeping change and are fighting back with regressive changes targeting women, she said.

The changes are a serious challenge to the status quo in Pakistan, where centuries of tradition and culture have tied the idea of a woman as a pristine and untouched commodity to a family's honor. Deeply conservative traditions have been further strengthened by decades of governments and military dictators who have often curried the support of religious hard-liners with legislation enshrining the old ways.

But more than 70 percent of Pakistan's 180 million people are under 30, and among the younger, more tech-savvy generation, some are vocally challenging the traditions of their elders to an unprecedented degree.

Salman Akram Raja, a lawyer, said the young are pushing traditional boundaries even if the state is lagging behind and even if the conservative old guard is lashing back.

"I don't think this archaic order will win," Raja said. "But it is going to go down violently."

___

For months, neighbors said, Zeenat's mother had complained about her two elder daughters, who had married men of their own choice.

Zeenat was her last chance to save her honor. She planned an arranged marriage for Zeenat with a member of their own social caste, the Rajput, which traces its origin to the Indian subcontinent and is said to be descended from kings.

But Zeenat had her heart set on a young motorcycle mechanic named Hassan Khan.

They had met when she was 12 and he was 14 and quickly became playmates. They lived about two blocks apart in Changi Amar Sadhu, a crowded Lahore shantytown where electrical wires and phone lines crisscross overhead in a crazy jumble that obscures the sky. As they grew older, friendship became romance.

"We were in love," Khan said, his voice barely a whisper.

He fumbled through his phone until he found a collection of selfies that Zeenat had put together to the rhythm of their favorite song, an Urdu pop tune called "You Made Me Your Lover."

She loved taking selfies, loved music and poetry, he said. As the music played, Zeenat in the photos struck different poses, sometimes coy, sometimes playful or teasing, but always smiling, her long black hair falling loosely past her shoulders.

She also taught the neighborhood children the Quran, Islam's holy book. She could recite the entire book from memory.

Her mother knew about Khan, and she and Zeenat were constantly fighting. Zeenat told him her mother beat her. Over long hours on the phone, Zeenat pleaded with him to marry her so she wouldn't be forced into an arrangement.

Finally, in May, they sneaked off and registered their marriage at the local courthouse and Zeenat moved into Khan's home.

They had defied her mother. They were together.

___

Those who kill for "honor" are almost never punished in Pakistan. A law based on Islamic Shariah allows the family of a victim to forgive a killer, and in these cases the killers are almost always family. So other relatives, whether they condone the killing or not, give their forgiveness, unwilling to see loved ones jailed.

Successive governments have been reluctant to toughen the laws, fearful of Islamic hard-liners who oppose anything they see as weakening enforcement of Shariah, undermining the family's authority or promoting women's rights seen as "Western."

Sermid, the women's rights activist, has felt their wrath.

During a televised debate in June exploring the phenomenon of honor killings, lawmaker Hafiz Hamdullah, who belongs to a Taliban-affiliated religious party, Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam, threatened Sermid with rape and called her a whore. A burly, bearded man, Hamdullah was escorted out of the TV station by security guards when he tried to take a swing at Sermid, who has since filed charges.

Female politicians have also felt resistance to efforts at raising their voices.

When lawmaker Shireen Mazari last month tried to speak up during a parliament debate, the defense minister insulted her appearance and demanded she use a "more feminine" tone. Mazari, the parliamentary leader of Pakistan's Justice Party, has furiously demanded an apology.

Still, outrage over recent honor killings and other violence against women has fueled a bold outcry against the establishment. One target in particular has been the Council of Islamic Ideology, a body of conservative, elderly Muslim clerics that advises the government on laws to ensure they don't stray from Shariah.

When the government proposed a law aimed at protecting women against violence, the council in May put forward an alternative that would allow men to "lightly beat" their wives.

Young activists fired up a Twitter campaign with the mocking hashtag #TryBeatingMeLightly. On TV talk shows, guests denounced the council, which has opposed laws against child marriage and denounced using DNA evidence in rape cases, as irrelevant, misogynist and out of touch. In Parliament, some lawmakers called for it to be disbanded.

The outcry appears to be having an effect. The council in June decreed that honor killings are un-Islamic.

___

A few days after Zeenat and Khan were married, her mother and uncle showed up. They pleaded with her to come home.

Just for a few days, they said. During that time, they would arrange a proper wedding for her and Khan. That would save their honor, showing neighbors she left "respectably" from her mother's home, instead of eloping.

As is tradition, Khan's elders did the negotiating, and eventually they agreed that Zeenat would go with her mother. Zeenat's uncle gave his promise she would be safe.

Zeenat and Khan spoke every day. The first three days were qood, Khan said. It seemed her mother had accepted their marriage.

But on the fourth day, Zeenat called him and said, "The mood has changed." Her mother was yelling at her threateningly. She was scared.

"I told her to not worry. It was just two more days and she would be back home with me."

The next morning, she was dead. Khan saw his wife for the last time in the morgue. They had been married for less than two weeks.

"When I saw her, 100 thoughts were in my head. But my first thought was that I will kill myself. Then I thought, I will kill her family," he said. "But now I have decided I will fight the legal battle. I will not find peace until I get punishment."

___

Rafiq and one of her sons suspected of helping her in the killing are now in police custody. And they may actually face punishment.

The two are being charged under Pakistan's anti-terrorism law, specifically under a clause making any act that causes general panic an act of terrorism. Under pressure to do something about honor killings, police and prosecutors have started to use the law as a way around the forgiveness loophole.

"It is just cold-blooded murder and it has created panic, so it falls under the anti-terror law," said Lahore's deputy police superintendent, Mohammad Amin.

Sermid and others see hope for change under the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Sharif is closely allied to Islamic hard-liners, but he's under heavy criticism for alleged corruption in his party and the weakness of his government. Under pressure to show results, Sharif is realizing that Pakistan's image of intolerance is bad for business, said Sermid.

"The prime minister has called for a liberal, modern Pakistan," she said.

Sharif has promised to introduce legislation making it harder for family members who kill their daughters to go unpunished. He has yet to do so.

___

The neighborhood women outside Rafiq's home all agreed that she was driven to kill Zeenat, and she should go free.

"Daughters are duty-bound to maintain the honor of the family," said Muneeba Bibi, her head and most of her body hidden under a white shawl. "It's better to have no children than to have a daughter who brings you shame."

Bibi said she has daughters of her own and that, as far as she was concerned, education was ruining girls today.

"The problems are all because the girls go to school. They see boys, they fall in love," she said. "I will not send my girls to school. That is the only answer."

Of Zeenat's killing, she added, "This is a good lesson for all the girls here to protect the family honor, to not bring disrespect."

The little girls playing in the alleys knew all about Zeenat's death. Some had heard her mother's cry from the rooftop that morning.

But they weren't sure why. All they knew was she had done something very bad. When asked if they might fall in love with a boy, they broke out into giggles.

The eldest of them, 11-year-old Sameera, seemed to have some idea but was too shy to say. When asked why Zeenat was killed, she looked down and was silent.

"She was strangled and then they burned her," said Sameera, who wore a white shawl covering her head. "When I think about it I get scared."

___

In the two-story concrete home he shared with Zeenat in their brief, doomed marriage, Khan cradled the few keepsakes of hers that he possessed: her slippers, new clothes, a bright red cup emblazoned with the word "love."

On a white tissue paper, she had written a poem, part in English, part in Urdu.

"I love you. I kiss you

I love you. I miss you

I take your name with every breath

I see you in every dream

I want to see you all the time"

Carefully, Khan refolded the fragile tissue and returned it to his wallet.

Finally, he spoke.

"I want her hanged," he said of Zeenat's mother. "She has to be punished. This is the only way this will stop."
SHARE Gary Due

Four days after Gary Shawn Due said he was going to kill his mother and grandmother then a fired a gun in his Lakehead bedroom before walking away from his home and eluding law enforcement, deputies have arrested him, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.

Due, 51, was found at his family home on Zola Street late Wednesday night, Sheriff's Sgt. Gene Randall said.

Deputies sought Due since Saturday, when they said he fired the gun at about 9 a.m. before leaving the house with two handguns and a rifle.

Deputies, along with the California Highway Patrol, U.S. Forest Service, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens, searched the area for hours but couldn't find Due, whom they described as a survival expert.

After his arrest, deputies booked Due, a felon, into the Shasta County Jail on suspicion of being a felon possessing a gun, negligent discharge of a gun and criminal threats.

He's being held at the jail Thursday in lieu of $40,000 bail, Randall said.
Jim Schultz/Record Searchlight Earl Allen Boek was in Shasta County Superior Court on Wednesday for the setting of his Nov. 1 trial date.

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By Jim Schultz of the Redding Record Searchlight

A Redding neighborhood watch captain is set to begin standing trial Nov. 1 for pepper-spraying a neighbor during an angry Jan. 5 confrontation outside that man's home.

Earl Allen Boek, 65, is charged with one felony count of illegal use of tear gas in connection with the spraying of neighbor Michael Haglan.

Boek said he pepper-sprayed Haglan because he felt as though that man was about to attack him. Boek has pleaded not guilty and faces up to three years in county jail if convicted.

Prosecutors contend it was Boek's overzealous actions as a neighborhood watch captain that caused and provoked the confrontation with Haglan.

Hailed by many for trying to keep his neighborhood safe as a volunteer citizens patrol captain, Boek has said he was patrolling his neighborhood when he believed Haglan ran a stop sign at White River Drive and Redwood Boulevard at about 60 mph in a 25 mph zone.

Redding Police officer Jacob Provencio, who testified at Boek's May preliminary hearing and cited statements made to him by both Boek and Haglan, said Boek reportedly drove onto Haglan's lawn and confronted him about his driving.

The argument escalated and Boek, still in his car, pepper-sprayed Haglan, who was standing about 6 feet away, Provencio testified.

Defense attorney Joseph Tully argued that Haglan was also to blame for the incident. Tully unsuccessfully attempted to have the felony count reduced to a misdemeanor.

"There's something going on with both sides," he said. "It wasn't a one-sided situation."

Flynn, who has encouraged both sides to try to reach a resolution, said Boek had no right to pepper-spray Haglan, saying Haglan had every right to be angry with Boek after he drove onto his private property.

"This was an aggressive move to get someone's attention," Flynn said of Boek's action.
Andreas Fuhrmann/Record Searchlight

A woman runs along the Sacramento River Trail in April where trees were illegally cut down.

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The Shasta County District Attorney's Office filed charges today against a man who it says illegally cut down 29 trees along the Sacramento River Trail.

Glenn Julian Paulk Sr. cut down the trees that were on city of Redding property in April, officials said. He's being charged with three misdemeanors - cutting down trees without a written permit, vandalism in excess of $400, and trespass and destruction of standing timber.

It will cost the city of Redding more than $50,000 in labor and materials to replace the trees.

Paulk lives on Lake Redding Drive in north Redding and the River Trail sits just beyond his backyard, according to internet sources.

The trees were cut down on the north side of the Sacramento River Trail about a quarter mile west of the Diestelhorst Bridge.

Volunteers had cleared some of the nonnative brush and trees from the area, and shortly afterward the city noticed that trees left standing after the cleanup had been cut down, the debris left to rot.

"It shows contempt for what so many people worked to maintain," Linda Masterson, a member of the Friends of the Redding Trail, said in April. "To slash through it and leave the debris to turn brown and ugly, it's insulting and thoughtless."

The case has been assigned to Justin Lee, deputy district attorney for Shasta County and circuit prosecutor with the California District Attorneys Association Circuit Prosecutor Project.
Joe Szydlowski/Record Searchlight

Redding police officer Boun Kongkeoviman (second from right) handcuffs Aaron Streeter, who is suspected in the arson of a car on Market Street in downtown Redding on Wednesday night.

SHARE Aaron Streeter

Updated at 10 p.m.

A man was arrested for investigation of setting a parked vehicle ablaze on Market Street and Eureka Way on Wednesday evening, Redding police said.

Witnesses told police they saw Aaron Mckeehan Streeter, 29, throw something into a Toyota Prius that was parked near Boardmart Snow Surf & Skate, and light it on fire. Witnesses also told officers that Streeter may have been burned, and police found him at Market Street near Riverside Drive.

Streeter, who was out on parole July 1, has a history of criminal activity in the Redding area, police said.

Officers said he was treated at a hospital for burns and booked into Shasta County Jail on suspicion of felony arson and vandalism.

ORIGINAL STORY

Redding police arrested a man Wednesday evening after a parked car was apparently set on fire in the 1200 block of Market Street.

Firefighters and police went to the scene just before 8 p.m. A witness told authorities that someone poured gas on the car and set it afire.

Police took a man into custody as an arson suspect.
3rd seat on Shasta Lake council headed for special election

The Shasta Lake City Council is expected to decide next Tuesday whether to call a special election.
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We have become accustomed over the years to the California High-Speed Rail Authority's bogus numbers, wildly optimistic assumptions, lack of realistic planning and baseless promises of tens of billions of dollars in private-sector or federal funds. Now, another excellent report on the disastrous project by Ralph Vartabedian of the Los Angeles Times finds that the beleaguered rail authority hid evidence provided by a private-sector bidder that supports what critics of the project have been saying from the beginning: There is no way the system will be able to operate without massive ongoing government subsidies.

The latest revelation came from a bid proposal from Spanish multinational infrastructure developer Ferrovial, which earlier this year ended up winning its bid to construct a 22-mile segment of the project south of Fresno for $348 million.

"More than likely, the California high-speed rail will require large government subsidies for years to come," Ferrovial stated in its proposal. However, as the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office pointed out in a 2010 report, "The Proposition 1A bond measure explicitly prohibits any public operating subsidy."

The subsidies would be par for the course for high-speed rail projects. Ferrovial reportedly conducted its own analysis of 111 high-speed rail lines around the world and found that only three generated enough revenue to cover their operating costs, which do not even include the capital costs of building the systems and buying the train cars.

This stands in stark contrast to the Authority's repeated claims that high-speed rail systems around the world are practically universally profitable. When Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, asked Authority Chairman Dan Richards during an April legislative hearing if he knew of any profitable HSR operations, Mr. Richards boasted, "Actually all of them, virtually all of them, make operating profit."

The rail authority compounded its error by scrubbing the company's warning from the version it posted online, which was only discovered after a data disk containing the original version was obtained by the Times and others through a Public Records Act request.

The Authority has a history of suppressing unflattering information. In October, it was revealed that a 2013 report by lead contractor Parsons Brinckerhoff had forecast a $9 billion (31 percent) increase in the cost of the Burbank-Merced segment, and was told by Authority officials to adjust its calculations to the lower official cost estimate. That, too, was only uncovered by a Public Records Act request.

Everything we have seen from the High-Speed Rail Authority since the bond was narrowly passed in 2008 has proved that numbers are just playthings it uses to try to justify an unjustifiable project and keep the money coming in a little bit longer, and that the government cannot be trusted with tens of billions of taxpayer dollars to build and manage the system.

If there truly is a market for such a project, let the government get out of the way and allow it to be built. Otherwise, stop wasting the taxpayers' money on a fanciful and deceptive project that bears little resemblance to what voters approved eight years ago.

The Orange County Register
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If I were ISIS I would first instruct all of my terror cells and "lone wolf" jihadists in the United States to create more gun violence. The reasoning for this would be to further inflame the anti-gun movement and to push for more gun control restrictions on honest citizens and ultimately the passing of laws to ban guns from all Americans.

As ISIS, I would welcome the establishment of more gun-free zones like the Pulse Club in Orlando, military recruiting centers, Fort Hood (yes, the police had to save the Army), shopping malls, theaters and the business in San Bernardino. Signs could be placed in front of these businesses and residences to show my followers which places to attack first and with minimal resistance. This could be accomplished by more gun violence and the knee-jerk response from the politicians who blame guns, and not the perpetrators, for the violence. This would also allow my followers to create more carnage without the fear of being stopped by armed American citizens.

I would encourage more Hollywood actors, who are strong on talent but weak on common sense, to speak out against private gun ownership and demand more government regulations to control them. Then after enough gun attacks I would rely on the philosophy of President Obama and Hillary Clinton calling for a complete destruction of the Second Amendment by banning the private ownership of all guns, thus making it illegal for private, law-abiding citizens to own them.

After all of this, America would become like France, which has one of the strongest gun restrictions in the world, and we could attack them with impunity and without fear of an American citizen inside of a movie theater, a business, shopping center or nightclub attempting to stop us. France is experiencing this now and America would be next.

In the aftermath we could fly our black flag of the Caliphate over the White House and thank all of the elected American politicians who helped us to make it happen, and then we could give them what they deserve to have. But I am not ISIS. I'm simply an American citizen who believes in the Second Amendment and the right to live free.

John Souza lives in Cottonwood.
The textile industry is the second-largest employer in the country, employing about 32 million, and the government is banking on it to absorb millions of youth.

Minister Smriti Iranis shift from the high-profile human resources development (HRD) ministry will come with its own share of challenges.

The textiles ministrys role in fulfiling Prime Minister Narendra Modis promise of providing jobs to the youth is critical.



In Tuesdays Cabinet expansion, Irani lost her ministry to Prakash Javadekar.



Santosh Gangwar, minister of state for textiles (independent charge) was shifted to finance.

Bharatiya Janata Party insiders agree Iranis personality was an obstacle at the HRD ministry.



The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was unhappy with Iranis appointment to a ministry it cares about.

The controversies at the HRD ministry did not help the governments cause. It needed somebody less aggressive. But it is not as if Irani has been given an unimportant portfolio, a BJP insider said.

The textile sector is the largest employer in the country, employing more than 32 million people and the government is banking on it to absorb millions more.



Irani will have to see that a special package declared for the sector last month falls into place.

Irani told the media on Wednesday she was happy to be able to push for greater women employment. Women form a significant share of the labour force in the textile sector.

She was non-committal on the speculation that she could be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

Approved last month by the Cabinet, the slew of measures aim to improve Indias competitiveness in textiles and lead to greater production through a string of labour reforms. These, in turn, are expected to generate 10 million new jobs in the textiles sector in three years.

The package is estimated to cost Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) and the ministry will be hard-pressed to show results soon. Nearly Rs 5,500 crore is for an additional five per cent duty drawback for the garments sub-sector.



The government will also bear the cost of employers contribution under the Employees' Provident Fund scheme for new employees of the garment sector earning less than Rs 15,000 a month for the first three years.

All this has miffed players operating in parts of the textile sector.



They want such benefits be extended to the rest of the textile value chain.

In the works for more than a year, the revamped national textiles policy 2016 will also have to be pushed through Cabinet by Irani.



The draft policy, pushed hard by Gangwar, is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet next month to focus on achieving $300 billion exports and 35 million new jobs by 2024-25.

India exported $36.25 billion worth of textiles and related goods in 2015-16, a 2.4 per cent decline from 2014-15.



Competing nations Bangladesh and China have been blamed for aggressively edging out Indian exporters from traditional markets like Europe.

Irani said she would focus on better engagement with the sector to boost exports.

MARRED WITH CONTROVERSY
In its final order, the environment ministry had concluded that the upfront payment of Rs 200 crore as Environment Restoration Fund for violations and damage done was not permitted under the Environment Protection Act.



Consequent to this order, the penalty that could be imposed on any confirmation of violation in the future is a maximum of Rs 1 lakh.

Image: The United Progressive Alliance government in 2013 had issued a show-cause notice to Adani Port and SEZ. Photograph: Reuters

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has stated that the inference drawn by a report published in Business Standard on July 2 (Govt cancels Rs 200-crore green fine on Adani) is not correct.

In a rejoinder issued last week, the ministry said the National Democratic Alliance government had not cancelled the fine of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion).

The fact, according to the ministry, was that the ministry had in April 2014 noted that its show-cause notice for the creation of the Environment Relief Fund was not backed by any law under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, or EP Act and was not legally correct.

The government under the United Progressive Alliance in 2013 had issued a show-cause notice to Adani Port and SEZ Ltd, based on a report by a Sunita Narain-headed Committee for creation of ERF at the rate of one per cent of the project cost or Rs 200 crore, whichever was higher, for remediation of environment damage in Mundra, for protection of marine ecology, mangroves and restoration of creeks, etc.

However, the ministry has pointed out that the government in April 2014 made a noting declaring the creation of ERF as not supported by any law and, therefore, it noted that the ERF is not legally correct.

The ministry has added that in September 2015, the government under the National Democratic Alliance, after having satisfied with the necessity to undertake restoration of degraded environmental components and further conservation as recommended by the Sunita Narain Committee, directed for more stringent conditions with open-ended financial commitment by APSEZL for financing the study; restoration and integrated conservation for protection of creeks, mangrove areas, conservation of Bocha island.

This decision of the ministry, according to the government, is much more stringent than asking for Rs 200 crore from APSEZL because, in this case, whatever has been recommended by the Sunita Narain Committee for damage restoration and further conservation has to be borne by APSEZL, which otherwise was limited to Rs 200 crore.

It is amply clear that MoEF&CC has not withdrawn its demand for Rs 200-crore restoration fund. This government has passed an order in a legally correct framework and also imposed more serious responsibility upon the project proponent without any cost limit, the clarification said.

In a separate response to the Business Standard report, a spokesperson of the Adani group said it abides by the decisions of the authorities and always upholds the law of the land in every part of the world, including in India.

In this case, the company said the fact is no final decision on the matter was ever conveyed to the company by the ministry concerned under the previous government.

We had already submitted our reply as required under law to the concerned authorities earlier and made our stand clear, the company has clarified. It has further stated, We understand from some other media reports, which quote an official statement from the concerned ministry, that no such decision as reported by you has been taken. Which means the basis of the story is perhaps erroneous.

Business Standard stands by the report, which was based on official documents showing that in its final order, the ministry had withdrawn the demand and concluded that the upfront payment of Rs 200 crore as Environment Restoration Fund for violations and damage done was not permitted under the Environment Protection Act.

Consequent to this order, the penalty that could be imposed on any confirmation of violation in the future is a maximum of Rs 1 lakh.

Also, official file notings show that the ministry under the NDA government reconfirmed the damage to the site area.

But differing from the UPA government, it internally concluded that there was no proof that existing damage had been caused by Adani.

Consequently, it did not impose a condition requiring either an upfront fund of Rs 200 crore or any penalty under the law for any existing damage or proven violations before giving the clearance, and instead asked it to pay only for conservation plans to be drawn up in future after the clearance.

The final orders do not either fix a quantum of sum or a time by which the plans would be put in place.

It must be noted that the recommendation was made by a director-rank officer in April 2014 during the UPA government.

But under the NDA government in December, his senior, the special secretary in-charge, restored the demand for the Rs 200-crore fund.

The special secretary's views were not accepted by the ministry while passing the final order in September 2015.
A panel will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the 'new financial year'.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com.

The Narendra Modi government has announced a committee to examine the feasibility of having a new financial year.



It will be headed by former chief economic advisor Shankar Acharya.

The panel will also have former cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former Tamil Nadu finance secretary P V Rajaraman, and Rajiv Kumar from the Centre for Policy Research.

The current financial year begins on April 1. The panel will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the financial year, including the existing date, the finance ministry said.



The report is to come by December 31, and will examine the suitability from the point of view of correct estimation of receipts, and expenditure of central and state governments, the effect of different agricultural crop periods, relation of the financial year to the working season, impact on businesses, taxation system and procedures, statistics and data collection, and the convenience of legislatures for transacting budget work.

It will also check any previous study in this regard and may consult with outside experts and institutions.

If it recommends a change, it will have to work out the modalities, including the appropriate timing of change, a transition period, change in tax laws during that period, amendments required in various statutes, and changes in coverage of the Finance Commission recommendations.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the government's senior-most bureaucrats to present innovative ideas as part of a 'Transforming India' initiative in January, one suggestion was to advance the date of presentation of the Union Budget to December 31, from the last day of February.

It was neither approved nor rejected. However, no suggestion was made on the change of the financial year.
Despite the Jat agitation and investor scepticism, the state is trying hard to improve ease of doing business by several notches.

The seventh of a 11-part series looks at the state of affairs in Haryana.

Part 1: 'Andhra Pradesh is Gujarat of the East coast'

Part 2: Maharashtra remains India's richest state

Part 3: Madhya Pradesh: Quite a few scores, but many misses, too

Part 4: The real story behind Uttar Pradesh's development

Part 5: Jharkhand has ambitious plans to woo investors

Part 6: Rajasthan scores high on reviving economy, ease of doing biz

IMAGE: The state has put a lot at stake in promoting industrial development. Photograph kind courtesy: Pithwilds/Wikimedia Commons

The glitzy business towers that dot both sides of National Highway-8, just after the Delhi border ends and millennium city Gurgaon begins, are conspicuously missing further down the road into Haryana.

The highway has long jams, right from Rajiv Chowk to Hero Honda, but clears after some time, with names of some known companies in manufacturing and service sectors visible on the left.

There are direction signs to the Industrial Model Town (IMT), Manesar. Further down, the newly-built Manesar-Palwal stretch of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway or the Western Peripheral road to Delhi can be seen on the left.

The 136-km expressway is part of a host of development projects on which the state is banking heavily for spurring investment.

The state has put a lot at stake in promoting industrial development in areas other than those in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt and along National Highway-1.



The idea is to promote balanced regional development through geographic dispersal of industry, says Devender Singh, principal secretary, industries and IT.



This would be strategised through fiscal incentives that assist dispersal of industry to backward areas and infrastructure-led geographical dispersal, driven by mega projects and industrial corridors.

The state has been divided into developed, intermediate, backward and most backward areas under the Haryana Enterprise Promotion Policy, brought out by the current Bharatiya Janata Party government in 2015.



The industrial policy of 2011 under the earlier Congress regime had classified these into three categories.

While Gurgaon district has none of its blocks in the backward category, adjoining Rewari has three of its five blocks - Khol, Jatusana and Nahar - in the most backward category.



Bhiwani, Sirsa and Jind do not have any block that figure in the industrially and economically developed categories.



Altogether, there are 83 blocks in the C & D categories of backward and most backward. In these districts, higher incentives for industry are being proposed.



The investment subsidy is higher in the C & D category blocks than those in the B-category for mega and small and medium enterprises.



In the case of large units, this subsidy is restricted to C & D blocks only.



The enterprise policy envisions gross state domestic product growing at a yearly rate higher than eight per cent, an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore and employment generation for at least 400,000 persons, while positioning Haryana as a pre-eminent investment destination, added Singh.

A district-level industry department official, who has worked in one of the backward districts, however, says the incentives have not worked so far.



Chal raha hai dhakke se (industry is somehow carrying on with the push) in the backward blocks.



On being asked whether results from the Happening Haryana Summit in March this year were visible on the ground, he says: Hawa si nahi ban rahi (the mood has not picked up).

Not being on the highway and the water problem are primary reasons for industry not showing much interest in the backward areas, he says. Besides, villagers have started demanding a higher price for land, forcing Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to rethink on acquisition.



Locals ask for Rs 1 crore an acre against Rs 60 lakh earlier, even in the dark (backward) districts, the official says.

The acquisition law is only one of the reasons that the locals feel entitled to a higher land price.



A high level of industrialisation, rural awareness and better living standards than many other states makes Haryana expensive for industry.



The states per capita income was Rs 1,65,204 in 2015-16 (Advance Estimates), about 68 per cent higher than the national average of Rs 98,565.

The process for acquisition of 3,600 acres for expansion of IMT Bawal and setting up of an Integrated Multi-Modal Logistics Hub in Rewari district was dropped by the government, due to agitation by land owners, says Singh.



The Rewari hub, along the route of the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, was planned by the earlier government. Singh says the project is now being planned elsewhere.

The state has signed 407 memoranda of understanding till date for attracting investment. There are also about 140 leads/proposals, with potential to fructify into investment.



The total investment potential of these nearly 550 proposals is in excess of Rs 6.4 lakh crore. In about 120 cases, land for the projects has already been allotted to or procured by investors, he says.

These projects have potential to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore (Rs 700 billion). Chinas Dalian Wanda Group, which had pledged $10-billion this January in an HSIIDC industrial park at Kharkhoda in Sonipat, is yet to start investing.



Even as discussions on structuring of investment through Wanda are still underway, the state has signed up with another Chinese company for development of a new industrial township in Gurgaon district.



HSIIDC will form a joint venture with China Fortune Land Development Company for the project estimated to cost $5 billion.

Historically, Haryana has seen movement of people and industry, both after Partition in 1947 and later during the Punjab militancy problem in the 1980s.



The reason industry came to Rewari and other areas adjoining Delhi was also the closing of manufacturing units in the national Capital; many had shifted here, says Surendra Kumar Sharma, former assistant director at the District Industries Centre, Rewari.



The district has three industrial centres - Rewari, Bawal and Dharuhera - that house automobile, host of auto ancillary, metal processing and agro-based units.

Some chemical units in the Rewari area had to shut down as pollution control norms rendered these unviable, says Sharma.



The nearby industrial growth centre at Bawal on the national highway to Jaipur looks impressive, with broad internal roads and a neat layout.



Haryana has a good industrial policy and HSIIDC lends a supportive hand, says Anuradha, joint secretary, Rewari Chamber of Commerce.

In a conference room of DE Diamond Electric India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of a Japanese company, Anuradha is distributing cheques and talking to the staff.



Her Japanese managing director banks on her for running their day-to-day operations.



They call me Jhansi Ki Rani, she says, narrating how she handled a strike threat in her company last year. A resident of Rewari, Anuradha belies the image of Haryana as being unfriendly for women, with a low sex ratio of 879 females for every 1,000 males.

She heads the human resource and administration departments in the company that makes ignition coil for Maruti Suzuki and printed circuit boards for home appliance companies such as Daikin and Voltas.

Asked whether her company employs women on the production side, she says, I am planning to employ some and take necessary permissions, so that they can work in shifts.

Good connectivity, single-window clearance and availability of manpower are the three main reasons she lists for investment in Haryana.

However, shes quick to add that the issue of industrial relations and incidence of strikes in the neighbouring Posco and Minda units, besides Maruti, had shaken the confidence of foreign investors in the state. Also, lack of institutions for higher learning in this part of Haryana, right up to Gurgaon, forces residents to move out.

Many who come are not fit for being hired.

Corruption in the state is another major issue but a proactive approach with processes for government clearances and audits being streamlined has helped to a large extent.

In an atmosphere where all states are competing against each other for attracting investment, the role of business facilitation has become crucial.

Despite the Jat agitation and investor scepticism, Singh says they are determined to create an economic system, in which ease of doing business in the state matches and even exceeds the best global standards. We are determined to address and resolve all issues and apprehensions of investors. The overwhelming response received at the Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit is adequate proof that investors are very keen on the state, he adds.

HARYANA IN A NUTSHELL

FACTFILE

Haryana, with an area of 44,212 sq km, has 13 out of 21 districts in the National Capital Region; no area in the state is more than 250 km from Delhi

Total population: 25.35 million; with a population density of 573 per sq km, Haryana is the 16th largest populated state in the country; 65% reside in villages

Sex ratio: 879 females to 1,000 males; among the worst five states

Economy: Of the Rs 4,41,864 crore gross state domestic product (quick estimate for 2014-15), 28% came from industry and 46% from services

Per capita income: At Rs 1,65,204, it is 68% higher than the national average of Rs 98,565

Literacy rate: 75.55%; males 84.06% and females 65.94%

AT A GLANCE

Power: 11,102-Mw installed capacity fed from coal and natural gas brought from outside the state

Rural electrification: Of 2.97 million rural households, 28,500 are un-electrified

Road & railway connectivity: Almost complete connectivity of rural areas with metalled roads; five national highways - 1, 2, 8, 10 and 22 - pass through the state

Industrial clusters: Haryana has eight major diversified industrial clusters, with about 1,000 large and medium-size companies; besides Maruti, Mitsubishi, Honda, Posco and Nestle factories, it has Cairn, Shell, EY, PwC, Lanco, Sapient, IBM and SAP, with operations in the Gurgaon region
The salary hike for government employees is likely to put an additional burden of Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion) on the state exchequer, says Virendra Singh Rawat.

With the Centre deciding to implement the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations, the Uttar Pradesh government is likely to follow the suit in the near future.

The salary hike for government employees is likely to put an additional burden of Rs 24,000 crore (Rs 240 billion) on the state exchequer. The current salary and pension bill of UP is about Rs 100,000 crore.

The move would benefit 1.6 million government employees and over half a million pensioners. With state polls due in early 2017, the ruling Samajwadi Party government is expected to keep its 2.1 million employees/pensioners in good humour by announcing pay hikes similar to that of the Centre.

UP principal secretary, finance, Rahul Bhatnagar told Business Standard that the state government would soon constitute a committee to suggest a road map to match the pay structure of state employees with their central counterparts. The committee, comprising experts as well as serving/retired bureaucrats, would give its report in 5-6 months, he said.

Bhatnagar said the government wants to implement the salary hike as soon as possible. The committee would study the implications of pay hike in the context of UP and submit its report for approval by the Cabinet led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The state would provide additional funds for this purpose through supplementary Budget when the Assembly meets for the monsoon session.

In November 2008, then state government led by Mayawati had approved pay hike for about 1.5 million state employees.

These pay scales came into effect retrospectively from January 1, 2006, entitling all employees to arrears. The beneficiaries started getting salaries as per the revised pay scales from January 1, 2009. The government had then estimated additional burden of Rs 14,000 crore towards arrears and pensions, over and above the Rs 5,000-crore additional expenditure towards salary hike.
Performance is considered a major reason why Ravi Shankar Prasad might have had to leave telecom.

Confrontation with industry, especially with certain telecom companies, did damage to his report card.

With the reshuffle over, day two was about why a certain minister was moved out and another brought in.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, whos lost the high-profile telecom portfolio to Manoj Sinha, was one such.

Sources in the government and the sector point to six big reasons that could have prompted Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move Prasad out, while retaining him for information technology & electronics, additionally giving him heavyweight law & justice.

Caution against any controversy topped the list of reasons. Telecom had under the earlier government's rule been in the headlines for scams, court cases and loss to the exchequer due to mis-steps by policy makers.

This government wants to stay clear of any allegations or even a hint of corruption.

It could have decided against keeping any one minister with a portfolio such as telecom for long.

The second that people in the know cite is some recent policies, such as penalising operators for call drops, which went against the incumbents.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) came up with a call drop penalty regulation which sought to levy a penalty of Rs 1 a dropped call, not exceeding three calls a day, and Prasad backed it.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court snubbed the regulator on the matter, leaving Prasad on a weak footing.

Even the fact that his name came up in news reports related to phone tapping by a business group, though Prasad denied it, might have gone against the minister.

The PM has no patience for even any perceived sense of proximity with any business group, a source said.

Performance is considered a major reason why Prasad might have had to leave telecom.

He was often labelled a 'call drop minister', especially before the recent Bihar elections, for failing to finding a solution to mobile calls dropping in the middle of a conversation.

That put the PM in a spot. Digital India, one of the signature schemes of this government, to offer broadband connectivity to the rural hinterland, also did not deliver in spite of various claims.

In fact, Prasad is believed to have been pulled up by the PM at a recent performance appraisal meeting for not meeting the targets in a sector that had a place internationally.

Confrontation with industry, especially with certain telecom companies, did some damage to his report card as well.

UK-based Vodafone is a case in point.

The minister had refused to meet its India chief executive, Sunil Sood, after the latter had said "the (telecom) minister's and secretary's comments don't count as the view of the entire government".

Sood was reacting to the government move on penalising operators on poor call quality last year. Vodafone global chief Vittorio Colao came down to break the chill.

And, at an industry event, hes believed to have trained guns on Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal, leading to a situation where no industry captain wanted to share stage with him.

There are indications that foreign investors are losing appetite in the Indian telecom sector, something the PM will be worried about at a time when 'Make In India' is a favourite theme.

Finally, Prasad might have been replaced by Sinha because it is increasingly being felt that a high-profile minister is not required when telecom policies are likely to be driven by the PMO as many of the state elections draw closer and the next Lok Sabha polls are also not so far away.

The PMs principal secretary, Nripendra Misra, is a veteran telecom man, having served as both secretary, telecom, and chairman of Trai in the past.

Also, J S Deepak, the DoT secretary, is considered a competent bureaucrat. Deepak, who had demonstrated expertise in the earlier 3G spectrum auctions, is seen as somebody who would work well with Sinha, an IITian and a keen performer.

WHY THE EXIT?
Brexit will likely put brakes on the UKs growth prospects and hamper Londons position as a premier international financial services market, says A V Rajwade.

The UK is currently the fastest growing major economy in the European Union (EU).



After the result of the June 23 referendum, and the uncertainties created by Brexit, it is questionable how long this growth momentum will last.

Most economic analysts, including the International Monetary Fund, had earlier forecast adverse consequences of a divorce from the EU.

After last Friday, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has announced his intention to leave in the next few months, must be ruing the decision to call for a vote.

As recently as February he had negotiated for Britain, an opt out from the commitment to ever closer union incorporated in the Treaty of Rome (1957), the starting point of the European Project.

Cameron then thought that this opt out, along with some other changes on economic/financial issues, was a satisfactory package and he was confident of winning the June referendum.

Many are worried about the repercussions of the divorce; over the weekend, about three million people signed a petition requesting Parliament for a second referendum on the issue.

This is unlikely and it seems England and Wales will have to live with Brexit, negotiating the detailed terms of the separation; Northern Ireland and particularly, Scotland, both part of the United Kingdom, may well separate from the UK to remain in the EU, the former, perhaps, after merging with its southern neighbour, the Republic of Ireland.

The financial services industry, which has made London the worlds premier international financial market, may well migrate some activity to Frankfurt, Hong Kong and Singapore.

No wonder the City voted heavily in favour of remaining in the EU, while much of the traditional heartland of British mining and manufacturing industry supported Brexit.

The last three decades of Anglo-Saxon economic ideology has accorded far greater priority to the prosperity of the financial services industry than to the real economy, which used to create reasonably well-paid jobs for a large number of people.

One result has been that income inequalities have grown rapidly, so the relatively worse off are naturally opposed to the immigration policies of the EU.

Their worry is the outsider will compete for the low-paid jobs; the dislike of the immigrant is even more when she is from a different ethnic group.

Chances are that Brexit will have far greater economic impact on the UK than on the EU.

Not that it will have no effect on the EU: it may well lead many countries in the euro zone to review the cost-benefit of the single currency, which has imposed significant and material restrictions on their sovereignty.

The condition that has perhaps had the biggest impact on growth and employment is the holy cow of fiscal austerity: While Greeces gross domestic product (GDP) has dropped 30 per cent since the crisis of 2010, Spain and Portugal have got just one more year to bring their deficits down to the prescribed limits.

Italy continues to suffer from large unemployment and a major problem of bad debts for its banking industry.

In several countries - from Austria to France and Netherlands - extreme right-wing parties are gaining in strength, also because of immigration policies.

Polls suggest that a majority of the population in Italy and France desire a UK-type referendum on the EU/single currency, though the latterdoes not have an opt out provision.

Perhaps, the biggest immediate impact of the result of the referendum has been on currency markets.



The British pound dropped 12 per cent, which is not much of a surprise, before recovering a little.



The Japanese yen has appreciated significantly and is currently quoted around JPY 102 per USD; the exchange rate was over JPY 110 a month ago.

The appreciation of the yen makes it even more difficult for Japan to come out of the deflationary trap of the last couple of decades.

Brexit may not have much of a direct impact on the Indian economy.



However, one comment of the Bank of England governor, quoted in a Financial Times editorial post the referendum, should be of interest to our policymakers. He said the UK had become dependent on the kindness of strangers to finance its current account deficits.

Obviously, he was referring to the portfolio capital inflows, which have become increasingly important for balancing the books.



The Bank of Englands Financial Stability Report of July 2015 reported that the UKs net international investment position is a negative 20 per cent of GDP; ours is not much different.

The author is chairman, A V Rajwade & Co Pvt Ltd.

Photograph: Reuters
Everything about ISIS had indicated that this would be a violent Ramzan.

A violent, divisive Ramzan sends out exactly the message that ISIS wants to send to religious Muslims outside its fold: It plays on their faith and fears, says writer Tabish Khair.

IMAGE: People gather near the Prophet's Mosque, one of Islam's three holiest sites, soon after the blast on July 5, 2016. Photograph: Twitter

I write this essay two or three days before Eid-ul-Fitr is to be celebrated. Eid marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for practising Muslims, a month that has to be lived simply and peacefully, with an effort to avoid negative thought and action.

Anger, violence, hostility are to be renounced. Some traditions even claim that, if possible, enemies are to be reconciled in this month.

But I need hardly remind the reader that, this year, the month of Ramzan has been ripped apart by Islamist violence, incidentally claiming its victims mostly in Muslim countries.

Over the past week alone, there have been bombings in Saudi Arabia, and far more deadly attacks in Iraq, Turkey and Bangladesh.

I could list all of them, but I prefer not to repeat stories of villainy and violence in the month of Ramzan.

If I have to tell stories from this week, I would prefer to talk about the 20-year-old Bangladeshi (Muslim) man, Faraaz Hossain, who chose to not abandon his Indian and American friends when he was given that option by the terrorists during the atrocity at the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on July 1. He was killed along with them.

That date, July 1, is part of the answer to the question that most people are asking today: Why this spate of violence by Islamists during the peaceful month of Ramzan?

There are actually two complementary answers to it. Both the answers have to do with ISIS and its ilk, but, alas, they also have to do with trends among many peacefully religious Muslims.

July 1 was a Friday. The executioners of ISIS who struck at the Holey Artisan Bakery were probably motivated by the common fundamentalist conviction that a Muslim should not be in a bakery on a Friday during the fasting of Ramzan. This grisly logic is nevertheless rooted in a tendency among other (peaceful) religious Muslims: There has been growing intolerance of differences within the communities of Islam.

IMAGE: Mourners at the funeral of a victim killed in the horrific attack in the Karrada shopping area in Baghdad, July 4, 2016. Photograph: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters

It has become increasingly difficult in many Muslim mohallas to be a Muslim and practise the faith differently. It is possible for most Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and even Jews to practise little or nothing of their faiths and yet to be accepted within large sections of their communities. This is seldom the case among Muslims, if they live with other religious Muslims.

I have Jewish and Christian friends who are confirmed atheists, but can move openly, freely and with mutual respect among religious Jews and religious Christians. This is almost impossible to imagine in most Muslim societies today.

ISIS, in that sense, is a natural outgrowth of peaceful fundamentalist movements like Wahhabism, which have been relentlessly narrowing down the definition of what it is to be a Muslim. That ISIS and its ilk have killed far more Muslims than non-Muslims is a direct consequence of this.

Fundamentalism finally consumes its own children, because it increasingly disowns most of them.

The other answer is the millenarianism of ISIS and its roots elsewhere.

As Graeme Wood pointed out in The Atlantic last year, there is a difference between 'jihadists' -- who can be motivated by many political factors, including nationalist protest in the Middle East -- and the 'jihadists' of ISIS.

Wood noted that much of what ISIS does 'looks nonsensical except in light of a sincere, carefully considered commitment to returning civilisation to a seventh-century legal environment and ultimately to bringing about the apocalypse.' He went on to argue that at least the ideologues of ISIS are, consciously or unconsciously, motivated by a desire for apocalypse.

This is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Almost everyone who has grown up among religious Muslims at least in the subcontinent knows the mythical prophesy of apocalypse, which follows a period of totally anarchy among Muslims, and then the restoration of Muslim glory for a few decades. This is a central myth in Sunni sources.

Consciously or unconsciously, ISIS sees itself as embroiled in the period of anarchy which has to be crossed before Muslim glory is restored and then apocalypse comes.

This period of anarchy is significant: as it is supposed by some Sunni ideologues that it would be distinguished by violence of Muslims against other Muslims, by a total divisiveness of the kingdom of Islam. Hence, violence during the holy and peaceful month of Ramzan fits this picture.

IMAGE: The US-based SITE Intelligence Group published photographs of the Dhaka attackers.

Looking back, and knowing what we know of ISIS, I wonder why religious Muslims did not expect this from ISIS. Everything about ISIS had indicated that this would be a violent month. A violent, divisive Ramzan sends out exactly the message ISIS wants to send to religious Muslims outside its folds: It plays on their faith and fears.

Once again, it is not sufficient for religious Muslims to just disown ISIS. ISIS has not come from outer space; it has grown up among religious Muslims.

While no doubt the many political troubles in Muslim lands, some of them due to external interference and manipulation, continue to provide ISIS and its ilk with their desperate foot-soldiers, the ideology driving such militant organisations is based on tendencies also present among many peacefully religious Muslims. These include intolerance of internal difference and a negative, proto-apocalyptic view of the future.

Sadly, unless religious Muslims face up to these tendencies and do something about them, ISIS -- or something like it -- will always be able to get the odd (vainglorious, frustrated or confused) Muslim to kill many other Muslim (and non-Muslim) men and women during the Ramzans to come.

Eid, I grew up believing, was the festival when you embraced even your enemy. If so, perhaps this Eid, very religious Muslims can try to embrace differences 'within the fold,' including those of gender. Differences 'outside the fold' will prove easier to accept as a natural consequence.

And even apocalypse might start to seem less pressing.

Tabish Khair, an associate professor in the department of English, University of Aarhus in Denmark, is the author of The New Xenophobhia. His latest novel, Jihadi Jane, has just been published by Penguin in India.
The government has told the Supreme Court that it will withdraw its appeal, filed by the erstwhile UPA government, challenging the Allahabad high court verdict holding that the Aligarh Muslim University is not a minority institution.

"We (government) have filed an affidavit stating that we will withdraw the appeal," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, adding that an affidavit in this regard has been filed by the Centre in the apex court.

Besides the Centre, the varsity administration had also filed a separate plea against the high court verdict on the issue.

Rohatgi added that "AMU is not a minority institution" and referred to an apex court verdict of 1967, saying that it was not a minority institution as it was set up the government and not by Muslims.

Earlier too, the top law officer had told the apex court that the AMU was set up by a Central act and moreover, a five-judge Constitution bench in 1967 in the Aziz Basha case had held that it was a "central university" and not a minority institution.

Rohatgi had said that to circumvent the effect of the judgement, an amendment was brought in 1981 in the central act to accord the minority status to the university which has recently been held as unconstitutional by the high court.

"You cannot override the Basha judgement. Union of India's stand is that according minority status to AMU would be contrary to the Aziz Basha judgement and it still holds

good," the top law officer had submitted before the bench in April which had permitted the Centre to file an application and an affidavit within eight weeks to withdraw the appeal filed by it.

Filing an affidavit, Rohtagi said, "We go by the Aziz Basha judgement and therefore we are going to withdraw the appeal" made by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance government.

The Allahabad high court had in January 2006 struck down the provision of the AMU (Amendment) Act, 1981 by which the University was accorded minority status.

The division bench of the high court had upheld the order of its single judge passed in 2005 by which it termed as "unconstitutional" the granting of minority status to AMU and 50 per cent reservation to Muslims in 2004.

The Attorney General had on January 11 also made a statement in the apex court that AMU could not be categorised as a minority institution.

"It is the stand of the Union of India that the AMU is not a minority university. As the executive government at the Centre, we can't be seen as setting up a minority institution in a secular state," he had submitted, adding that "the previous stand (of the UPA government) was wrong."

He had said the law laid down in Aziz Basha case by a five-judge bench of the SC on October 20, 1967 still holds ground.

The AMU Act was enacted in 1920 dissolving and incorporating Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College. AMU (Amendment) Act in 1951 was passed by Parliament to do away with compulsory instruction in Muslim theology. The amendment opened membership of the Court of AMU to non-Muslims.

Changes were introduced by the 1966 amendment to AMU Act, which was challenged before the Supreme Court by Basha. The SC dismissed the petition in 1967 holding that AMU was not a minority institution because it had been established by an Act of Parliament and had not been set up by Muslims.

Another amendment to AMU Act in 1972 made the academic and executive councils more democratic and drastically reduced the nominees of the Visitor.

Photograph: Kind Courtesy Aligarh Muslim University/Facebook
Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has been in the news lately after it was disclosed that one of the five Bangladeshi terrorists who killed 22 people at a restaurant in Dhaka last week was his follower.

Here is what we know about him:

Naik, a medical doctor by education, not only influenced the Dhaka attackers, even the chief of Islamic State's Hyderabad module told the National Investigation Agency that he was deeply influened by his teachings.

Unlike other preachers who like to dress in traditional clothes, Naik usually wears a three-piece suit (with pants fitting above the ankles) and a tie, but teams it up with a skull cap, and speaks English fluently. Arabic is his other preferred language.

Naik is banned in the United Kingdom and Canada for hate speech. He is also among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

Naik once advised Sania Mirza that she should dress up modestly, even when she is playing tennis. He has also said that wife beating is not necessarily a bad thing, has rationalied stoning, and has said that using a condom is like killing a human being.

His TV channel Peace TV is banned in India but is run in many languages -- Bangla, Urdu and Chinese among others -- and has a 200 million-strong viewership in Bangladesh. It is not known how he funds the TV network. He has around 14 million followers on Facebook.

Controversial statements:

On 9/11: It is a blatant, open secret that this attack on the Twin Towers was done by George Bush himself... Even a fool will know that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job.

On Osama bin Laden: If he is fighting enemies of Islam, I am for him. I dont know him personally. If he is terrorising America, the biggest terrorist, I am with him. Every Muslim should be a terrorist. The thing is that if he is terrorising a terrorist, he is following Islam.

On girls' education: Girls shouldn't be sent to schools where they lose their virginity by the time they pass out. Schools should be shut down.

On homosexuals: They should be killed.
A 2012 video showing Congress leader Digvijay Singh sharing dais with controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and praising him surfaced on Thursday, triggering a slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.

Singh, who was seen praising Zakir in the video, defended himself, saying if there was any evidence against the preacher, then the Indian and Bangladeshi governments should take action against him.

"I have appealed for communal harmony and opposed religious fundamentalism and terrorism by either Hindus or Muslims," the Congress leader said.

In a series of tweets, Singh also said, "My speech at conference organised by Zakir Naik is being shown...

"The conference was for Communal Harmony and against Terrorism. Also to explain that Islam is against Innocents being killed."

He further said, "if GOI or the Govt of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik's involvement with ISIS they should take action against him."

Zakir has come under the government's scrutiny after reports emerged that one of the terrorists involved in Dhaka attack followed his preachings.

However, the BJP was quick to target Singh and also demanded action against Zakir, saying he was a "threat" to national security as it was clear from his speeches that he "incited" people.

"Terrorism is enemy of humanity. Anybody who directly or indirectly abets it is guilty. People like him (Zakir) are a threat to our national security. Government agencies should decide on action against him under the existing legal system. It is clear that he incited people," party national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Citing Singh's comments, Sharma said, "It is in Congress' character to politicise and glorify terrorism. Its leaders used terms like Hafiz saab and Osama ji for terrorists.

"They questioned the sacrifice of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in Batla House encounter and claimed their president Sonia Gandhi cried whole night over the killings (of terrorists) in the encounter."

Responding to BJP's attack, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was no place in Indian society for obscurantist and extremist thoughts and the Congress party has always fought the forces of hate and division which have threatened India's integrity. BJP's Sharma also demanded that Gandhi apologise for the "ugly" comments of her party leaders.

However, Surjewala said, "Digvijay Singh has himself stated that he only appealed for peace, harmony and brotherhood."

"The BJP government should take decisive action against Zakir Naik or any other individual or organisation found indulging in anti-India activities," he said.
IMAGE: A man rows a wood basin on a flooded street in Hefei, Anhui province, China. All photographs: Stringer/Reuters.

At least 160 people have been killed and 28 others listed missing in China due to heavy rains and floods as the country on Thursday braced for this year's first typhoon approaching the mainland with authorities issuing an early-warning response for disaster relief preparations.

IMAGE: An employee looks at pigs, which cannot be moved away from a flooded farm due to an environmental protection and epidemic prevention measure, before he leaves for a safer place in Liu'an, Anhui Province, China.

Hail and rainstorm killed 160 people in 11 provincial regions, mainly along the mighty Yangtze River and its distributaries, and have left 28 missing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Floods and landslides have forced the evacuation of 1.84 million people. About 56,000 houses have collapsed and 560,500 hectares of crops destroyed. Authorities estimated economic losses to the tune of nearly $9 billion.

IMAGE: Wood from a factory, brought by floodwater, piles up at a bridge in Huanjiang County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

On Wednesday, China rushed more troops to the southern city of Wuhan as flood waters from the Yangtze entered the city inhabited by more than 10 million people.

Meteorology department officials said Typhoon Nepartak was whirling towards east China's coast and is expected to bring storms on Thursday night.

IMAGE: An aerial view shows that houses are flooded in villages in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China.

The National Commission for Disaster Relief and the ministry of civil affairs issued the response on Thursday afternoon, warning local authorities to make preparations for disaster relief and asking them to do their best to reduce damages.

IMAGE: Paramilitary policemen stand in line to block flood in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

The commission asked Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi to closely monitor the typhoon's movement around the clock and issue warnings in a timely manner.

The ministry asked officials to relocate people, recall ships to harbours and inform residents to buy and store survival necessities for one to three days.
India lacks in innovation in education as children are discouraged to ask questions in schools something which should not be allowed to go on, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Thursday, contending "unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything".

"Innovation is a process of rebellion essentially. Unless you rebel, unless you challenge the status quo, how can you innovate anything," he said, emphasising the Modi government's focus on innovation in education.

"Why do we lack innovation in India? Because, we don't allow questioning. We don't promote inquisitiveness. If a child asks questions in school, he is asked to sit down. This should not go on. We need to promote inquisitiveness, children should ask questions," the newly appointed HRD minister said.

Javadekar said if children are encouraged to be inquisitive, innovation would follow as the status quo would be challenged and there would be transformation.

The minister, who had been given the charge of the HRD ministry after Tuesday's reshuffle, was speaking at an event, 'Infocom 2016', organised by the Ananda Bazar Patrika Group.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mantra is sustainable development which does not impact adversely the nature but ensures progress of all, for which innovation is the key.

He said the development in IT Sector has brought a revolution in the media industry. Transformation is the result of new ideas. There are doomsayers, but one should always be positive and look for innovation, he said.

Javadekar also recalled his interaction in the 1990s with late Steve Jobs of Apple who had then predicted the evolution of smart phone and its varied functions.
The Maharashtra government has asked Mumbai police to conduct a probe into controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik's speeches amid reports that his sermons inspired one of the terrorists involved in the attack on a restaurant in Dhaka.

"I have asked the Mumbai Police Commissioner to conduct a probe (into Naik's speeches) and submit a report," said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Everything, including Naik's speeches, his social media accounts, sources of funding (of a foundation run by him in Mumbai) will be scrutinised, said Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio.

The direction comes amid reports that one of the terrorists who attacked an upmarket restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital a few days ago, killing 22 people, was inspired by sermons of the 50-year-old Mumbai-based Islamic scholar.

Naik has denied propagating terrorism in any way.

"Many of the news channels in India are showing a clipping where I am saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist. Whenever anyone wants to malign me, they show the clipping.

"This clipping, yes it is me saying it but it is out of context. I said a terrorist is a person who terrorises someone. I also gave an example that a policeman terrorises a robber. So, for a robber a policeman is a terrorist. In this context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the anti-social element," Naik said from Mecca.

Rubbishing Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' report that he inspired one of the Dhaka carnage perpetrators to go on a killing spree, Naik sought to put the blame on "other speakers" who misguide Muslims in the name of Islam.

"Regarding me being shocked that a Bangladeshi was inspired by me, I would say no I wasn't shocked... I agree I do inspire people close to Islam but every fan may not follow everything what I say. Once a person comes close to Islam, there are possibilities he starts hearing other speakers," he said.

"Today, as we are aware, there are some people who misguide Muslims and in the name of Islam, they encourage them to kill innocent people, which is totally against the Quran," he added.

"I totally disagree that I inspired this act of killing innocent people. There is not a single talk of mine where I encouraged one to kill another, whether Muslim or non-Muslim," Naik said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived in Mozambique as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.

"A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Mozambique's capital Maputo.

Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.

"Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India's bond with Mozambique," the prime minister said in a tweet.

Prime Minister Modi will be given a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Office at 9.30 am (Mozambique time) or 1pm IST, after which, he will hold a "restricted meeting" with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. This will be followed by delegation-level talks, a signing of agreements and an issue of a joint statement.

The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday given its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Mozambique on drug demand reduction and prevention of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursor chemicals and related matters. The MoU is aimed at enhancing mutual cooperation between the two countries in combating illicit trafficking in narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors through an exchange of information, expertise and capacity building.

The cabinet also approved a long-term contract by signing an MoU with Mozambique for the import of pulses either through the private channels, or, via Government-to-Government sales through state agencies nominated by both nations.

Besides, Mozambique is the third largest exporter of natural gas after Qatar and Australia.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi will attend a state banquet hosted by President Nyusi in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Office.

About 5:40pm IST, the prime minister will visit the National Assembly, where he will receive a ceremonial welcome and will be introduced to the members, followed by a meeting with President of the National Assembly Veronica Macamo and signing of visitor's book. Before departing for South African capital city of Pretoria at 9:50pm IST, the prime minister will interact with Indian Diaspora.
Though the ministerial reshuffle on July 5 has a clear stamp of the Prime Minister's Office, the changes have also increased the coherence between the BJP, the government and the RSS.

Archis Mohan and Nivedita Mookerji report.

Among many political, administrative and ideological messages in the changes in the council of ministers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out, the most important was the unambiguous stamp of his office.

The sweep of influence of the Prime Minister's Office in Tuesday's rejig was rarely witnessed in the past three decades.

In expanding this influence of the central government, the PM was assisted by Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah.

The changes in the Cabinet worked at several levels.

They were definitely done with an eye on electoral compulsions -- Dalits and Other Backward Classes found increased representation.

New ministers were inducted from states that are either electorally crucial for the BJP (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat) or are going to polls in the near future (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh).

Also, alliance building was kept in mind. Allies like the Republican Party of India-A's Ramdas Athawale and the Apna Dal's Anupriya Patel were made ministers.

There was an effort for more efficient political management, not only to reach out to Opposition parties but other stakeholders, like the media, as well as assuage different camps within the BJP.

A straight-talking M Venkaiah Naidu was made in charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, while Arun Jaitley, seen as a liberal voice in the Sangh Parivar and the party, was divested of that portfolio.

Ananth Kumar, known for his access to leaders from across the political platform, was entrusted with the parliamentary affairs ministry, while S S Ahluwalia, a former Congressman, was appointed a minister of state in that portfolio.

"Induction of Vijay Goel and Ahluwalia and greater responsibility to Ananth Kumar is an olive branch to camps within the BJP that had felt slighted in the manner the council of ministers was selected in May 2014," said a party insider.

The exercise also increased the coherence between the party, the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The Sangh was never comfortable with Smriti Irani at the human resource development ministry, although she tried to toe its line.

Prakash Javadekar, a more courteous individual, is more in sync with the RSS worldview on education.

On why Irani was removed from the HRD even as she was seen as loyal to the RSS, an official said, "She could not grow in the role she was given. The PM may have realised this. And, her replacement (Javadekar) would fit the portfolio as well with the RSS agenda unlikely to be sacrificed."

Amit Shah had a say in the change, as he did when Irani was excluded from the BJP National Executive in April 2015.

"But it would be incorrect to conclude that Irani has been punished. She found herself, because of her personality and the media hounding her, in a situation not of her making. Textiles is likely to see much activity in the coming months with the new policy having been announced," a source in the government said.

It is an assessment some party leaders that Business Standard spoke to also corroborated.

Similarly, Anil Madhav Dave at the ministry of environment and forests understands the swadeshi view of development, while Ananth Kumar is considered close to RSS second in command Dattatreya Hosabale.

The appointment of M J Akbar, a moderate liberal Muslim, to external affairs was also a part of the government's image makeover.

Jayant Sinha shifted from finance to civil aviation was for reasons similar for which Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan was hounded, a source said.

His successors, Santosh Gangwar and Arjun Ram Meghwal, are suitably swadeshi.

"But Sinha's shift to civil aviation is an opportunity in work clothes. The sector will see much activity now that a new policy has been announced," said a source.

Another overriding message to the ministers was their performance quotient. According to a person tracking this government closely, the reshuffle again showed that Modi likes to spring surprises.

Ravi Shankar Prasad may have been replaced by Manoj Sinha at the communications ministry because it is increasingly being felt that a high-profile minister is not required when telecom policies are likely to be driven by the PMO.

The PM's principal secretary Nripendra Misra is a veteran telecom man, having served as both the secretary of the department of telecom and the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in the past.

Prasad's change in portfolio (he retains IT and electronics and gets charge of law) is also being linked to the high rate of call drops and failure to achieve last-mile connectivity in the hinterland -- both a touchy issue for the PM.

Another important factor that may have played in the PM's mind is that telecom is a controversial sector with plenty of interface with big businesses.

He may have decided to be cautious, not letting any one person hold the portfolio for long, to rule out any chance of any scam.

At the administrative level, the PM has placed those with previous ministerial experience, at the Centre as well as states, as MoS in key portfolios.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in South Africa as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with the continent, particularly in he economic sphere.

"In the footsteps of history. PM @narendramodi arrives in Pretoria for the second leg of his Africa tour," ministry of external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi's arrival in Pretorio.

"Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations & Cooperation and Lindiwe Zulu, Minister for Small business welcome PM to SA," he said.

During his South Africa visit, Modi will meet President Jacob Zuma and also Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president.

"In an effort to boost our economic ties, I will speak at the India-South Africa business meet," Modi had earlier said.

Modi arrived in Mozambique this morning in the first leg of his five-day tour.

Earlier in Mozambique, Modi held wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and the two countries agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.

The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food. Modi will also travel to Tanzania and Kenya.
Police has been deployed outside the Mumbai office of a foundation run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, whose 'hate speech' is reported to have inspired one of the five Bangladeshi militants involved in the recent Dhaka carnage.

A senior Mumbai Police official said security personnel have been deployed outside Naik's 'Islamic Research Foundation' office at Dongri area in South Mumbai, as a precautionary measure in the wake of the recent developments.

"We have neither received any threat perception nor particular instructions from the state or Central government. We have deployed our forces only as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident," the official told PTI.

He, however, parried question on whether Mumbai Police has received any particular information or instruction to share some inputs on Naik.

"There is nothing as such. This is something which is being handled at the state and Central government level. But as a law enforcing agency, we are keeping a close eye on the situation," the official said.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had on Wednesday told reporters in Delhi that, "Zakir Naik's speech is a matter of concern for us. Our agencies are working on this. But as a minister, I will not comment what action will be taken."

Bangladeshi newspaper 'Daily Star' had reported that militant Rohan Imtiaz, son of an Awami League leader, ran a propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik, in his lecture aired on Peace TV, an international Islamic channel, had reportedly "urged all Muslims to be terrorists".

The controversial Islamic orator and founder of Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation is banned in the UK and Canada for his 'hate speech' aimed at other religions. He is among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

He is known in Bangladesh through his Peace TV, although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects, the report said.

Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant had on Wednesday said he had written to the Union Home Minister, demanding a ban on Naik and Islamic Research Foundation, in the country's interest.

Last week, Islamist gunmen stormed a popular restaurant in Dhaka's diplomatic enclave and killed 22 people, most of them foreigners from Italy, Japan, India and the US in an attack claimed by the Islamic State.

Naik's narrative is similar to that of ISIS, Al Qaeda

Claiming that the Wahabi ideology was becoming a breeding ground for terrorism, Security expert Alok Bansal has said that controversial 'tele-evangelist' Zakir Naik's narrative is similar to that of the Islamic State and the Al Qaeda.

"We must understand that this is an ideological battle and it cannot be won by bombs or bullets; it has to be won by creating an alternative narrative and people like Zakir Naik have created narrative that actually helps organizations like the Al Qaeda or Islamic State to thrive because their narrative is very close to his narrative, though he keeps saying that he talks of peace but his narrative convinces people to go and follow Al Qaeda and the Islamic State."

He stated that global community must ensure that his channel, Peace TV, must be banned to prevent him from accessing the influential minds of the youth.

"Zakir Naik has been propounding an extremist worldview; his ideology and his channel propagate Wahabi ideology. This is dangerous because this is what actually drives terrorists. I think global community should take steps to prevent him from propagating his views and ensure that people like Zakir Naik don't have unbridled access to impressionable minds," he said.

Wahabism is a religious part of Sunni Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, an 18th century scholar, which has been described by many as a 'fundamentalist' ideology.

Naik, a popular but controversial Islamic orator and founder of the Mumbai-based Islamic Research Foundation, is banned in UK and Canada for his hate speeches.

He is also among 16 banned Islamic scholars in Malaysia.

Photograph: Sahil Salvi
Amid a spurt in terror attacks in various countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said terrorism is the "gravest threat" to the world, "equally impacting" India and Mozambique which agreed to strengthen security and defence ties and bolster cooperation in food security.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a press conference in Maputo, Mozambique. Photographs: PIB

After Modi's wide-ranging talks with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, the two countries signed three pacts, including a significant "long-term agreement" under which India will buy pulses from this African nation to meet its recurring shortfall and contain prices of this commodity.

Declaring India as a "trusted friend" and a "reliable partner" of Mozambique, the Prime Minister also announced that essential medicines, including those for treating AIDS, would be donated to this country as part of efforts to strengthen its public health system.

India will also help build capacities of Mozambique's security forces, Modi said with a vow to "walk every step" with this country on its path of development and progress.

He identified agriculture, healthcare, energy security, security, defence and skill development as some of the areas having potential for cooperation.

"We want our development and economic ties to benefit our societies. We also want our partnership to ensure the safety and security of our people," he said at a joint media interaction with Nyusi after their talks during which the two leaders discussed ways to enhance trade and investment and step up cooperation in other fields.

IMAGE: PM Modi presents the book on Doing Business with Mozambique to President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, Mozambique.

While talking about the challenges, Modi said, "President Nyusi and I recognize that terrorism is the gravest security threat facing the world today. Mozambique and India are no exceptions. Terrorism impacts India and Mozambique equally."

His comments assume significance as these came against the backdrop of spurt in terror attacks in various parts of the world. This included the second major terror attack in less than a week in India's neighbour Bangladesh just hours before Modi spoke. Terrorists even struck at the mosque of Prophet in Saudi city of Medina a few days back.

"The networks of terror are inter-linked with other trans -national crimes. Our agreement on prevention of drug trafficking is a testimony to our shared determination to combat this menace and these networks," said Modi who oversaw India and Mozambique sign the pact on the occasion.

India and Mozambique will step up security and defence cooperation to "advance our shared security interests", said Modi, who arrived here this morning on a day-long visit on the first leg of his five-day tour of four African countries.

IMAGE: PM Modi accorded ceremonial welcome at the Mozambique National Assembly.

"We will work together to support the Mozambican defence forces. By building capacities and institutions, training of personnel, supply of equipment, and in responding to their other emerging needs," Modi said.

Noting that India and Mozambique are connected by the Indian Ocean, he talked about the "emerging security challenges", including in the maritime areas.

"It is an ocean of many economic opportunities. But, we are also aware of the emerging strategic and security challenges in the maritime domain," said the prime minister who was later hosted for banquet by the Mozambican President.

Underlining that India and Mozambique "face similar challenges" as the developing countries, Modi told Nyusi, "We will be a trusted friend in your development. And, a reliable partner in ensuring a bright, safe and secure future for our people."

Noting that the partnership between India and Mozambique is "driven by convergence of capacities and interest", he said, "Mozambique's strengths are also the areas of India's need. And, what Mozambique requires, is available in India. We complement each other."

He said Nyusi had highlighted agricultural development as his top priority and the experts of the two countries have since held discussions on "how we can work together to improve agricultural infrastructure and productivity in Mozambique. Today, we agreed to put this cooperation on the fast track."

Referring to the pact signed for purchase of pulses, he said, "We are also strengthening our partnership in food security."

Modi said India's commitment to buy pulses from Mozambique would help meet its requirement and facilitate long-term investments in commercial farming, generate farm employment and raise farmer's incomes in this country.

As per the agreement, officials said India will encourage greater production of Pulses in Mozambique with an assurance that it will be purchased by India at mutually-agreed price.

While India generally has shortfall of pulses leading to price rise, Mozambique grows the commodity without much consumption locally, the officials said, adding the agreement will be a "win-win" for the two countries.

"Health care is another area where India's capacities and Mozambican needs match well. India will be donating essential medicines for the Mozambican public health system, including medicines for treatment of AIDS," Modi said.

IMAGE: PM Modi greets President of Mozambique National Assembly, Veronica Macamo.

Describing Mozambique as the "gateway" to Africa, Modi said one-fourth of India's investment in this continent is in this country.

He said the bilateral trade has continued to grow and there was a need to provide a "nurturing" environment.

Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Mozambique in 34 years, recalled the "struggles" and "sufferings" of the two countries during the colonial days and said India had been the strongest supporter of Mozambique's independence.

"Our shared struggles and suffering under colonial oppression brought our two countries together. India was one of the strongest supporters of Mozambican independence," said the prime minister who also visited the National Assembly in Maputo.

He said the relationship between India and Mozambique should not remain stuck in the past and informed that his talks with Nyusi had covered the aspects like "shared vision" for a stronger partnership in years ahead.

"In fact, Mozambique has already been one of the gateways for Indian investments into Africa. About one fourth of all Indian investments in Africa are in Mozambique. Our ties of commerce and trade have continued to grow over the last decade," he said, expressing confidence that Indian investments will continue to receive a nurturing environment in Mozambique under Nyusi's leadership.

He said he had chosen this country as his first stopover in the four-nation tour that will also include South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya, as Nyusi had also made India his first stopover during his Asian tour last year.

Modi presented to the Mozambique President a booklet in English brought out by the Indian high commission to act as a guide to the Indian businessmen who may like to invest in this country whose national language is Portuguese.

"We applaud Mozambique as one of the fastest growing economies of the world in recent decades. Excellency, as two developing countries we face similar challenges. Our development and economic partnership, therefore, has been an essential part of our relationship," he said later at the banquet.

IMAGE: PM Modi signs the visitor's book at the Mozambique National Assembly.

"Our trade and investment ties have particularly flourished in recent years. We want to build further on it. For this, India remains ready and committed to share its experiences, technology, capacity and concessional credit with Mozambique, in line with your priorities," he said.

Modi said the relationship between the two countries is not new as thousands of Indian-origin people call Mozambique their home.

"I am told that most of the Siddi community that resides in parts of India is known to trace its ancestry to Mozambique. These communities are a living testimony to age old links that have connected our people, their ideas and traditions, and culture and commerce," he said.

Referring to the "gap" in the visit by an Indian prime minister to Mozambique, he said it "should never have been so long. And, I am confident that it will not be so in future."

Modi met President of the Mozambique National Assembly Veronica Macamo.

During the meeting, they exchanged views on the practices and procedures of their respective Parliaments.

The prime minister lauded the fact that 93 out of 250 Mozambican parliamentarians were women.

He alluded to the visit of a Mozambican Parliamentary delegation to study India's electoral system in general and Electronic Voting Machines in particular.

He invited Macamo to lead a delegation to India and also called for the formation of a group of young parliamentarians from both countries.

He also signed the visitors book in which he inscribed "India and Mozambique have shed colonial legacies to chart new democratic courses. The Assembly of the Republic plays a vital role in guiding Mozambique in this journey. I bring with me the best wishes of 1.25 billion Indians who share the democratic spirit with the people of Mozambique."
Two pilgrims and a woman tourist from Delhi died of cardiac arrest enroute the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir, taking the death toll in the ongoing pilgrimage to five, even as nearly 80,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine since July 2.

The two pilgrims -- Sudharshan Biswas, 62, of West Bengal and Vipin Palikar, 57, of Mumbai -- died of cardiac arrest on Wednesday, officials said.

A 50-year-old woman tourist, Kavita Malhotra of Delhi, died at Baltal base camp on Wednesday. She had come from Sonamarg tourist resort to the base camp to know about the process and arrangements of the yatra but was not planning to undertake it this time.

Two pilgrims from Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, died on July 2 and 5.

The officials said the yatra was going on smoothlyalong both the routes -- traditional 42-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and 12-km route in Ganderbal district.

As many as 7,913 pilgrims visited the cave shrine till 2.00 pm on Thursday, the officials said, adding 71,103 yatris have performed darshan of holy 'ice lingum' till Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board has commissioned inquiries about issuing of fake registration permits by "fraudulent persons" to unregistered pilgrims desirous of undertaking the journey.

"The yatris are advised to be extremely careful and not to secure yatra permits from any unauthorised person as certain reports have been received that fraudulent persons were unlawfully issuing fake registration permits, against whom inquiries have already been commissioned," CEO of the Board P K Tripathi said at a meeting chaired by Governor N N Vohra on Wednesday.

Tripathi said 2,47,634 yatris had obtained advance registration through 432 designated branches of Punjab National Bank, J&K Bank and Yes Bank, which are located in 32 states, till July 5.

"The advance registration for the current yatra had marked a significant improvement because of the sustained awareness campaign carried out by the board throughout the past year," he said, adding the largest number of pilgrims who had secured advance registration were from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Image: Amarnath pilgrims en route the holy shrine. Photograph: Umar Ganie
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
China: Free Rights Lawyers Held Secretly for a Year

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 7 July 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, China: Free Rights Lawyers Held Secretly for a Year, 7 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/577e2d7e4.html [accessed 27 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

One year after the Chinese government began a nationwide sweep of more than 300 human rights lawyers, legal assistants, and rights activists on July 9, 2015, 24 still remain in detention, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has blocked lawyers and families from meeting with 18 of these 24 detainees, putting them at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

These lawyers and activists are being held for exercising their fundamental rights and should immediately be released, Human Rights Watch said.

"Mass arrests, forced confessions, and secret detentions are Beijing's answer to rights lawyers who have been working to protect the rights of others in China," said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. "Every day these people languish in detention, Beijing harms ordinary people's access to justice, dissuades other lawyers from taking sensitive cases, and deepens the stain on China's reputation."

The authorities have formally arrested the 24 lawyers and activists, although no credible evidence against them has been made publicly available. Eleven have been charged with the serious crimes of "subversion," which can carry a life sentence, and five have been charged with "inciting subversion," which can result in up to 15 years in prison. Three have been charged with "creating disturbances," three with "gathering crowds to disturb social order," and two with "organizing others to illegally cross national borders." Most of the 24 are held in detention centers in Tianjin municipality in northeastern China.

Eighteen of these 24 detainees have been denied access to lawyers of their own choosing or families, according to the Hong Kong-based Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. Article 37 of the Criminal Procedure Law requires that suspects' lawyers request permission from the investigators of the case before they can meet with the suspects in cases of "major corruption," terrorism, and state secret cases. In all of these 18 cases, the police have repeatedly denied their lawyers' requests to meet them because "there was no such person" in the detention center; the "officers in charge of the case are not there"; or because the detained lawyers have "already appointed their own lawyers" and do not wish to see the lawyers appointed by their families.

The authorities have also harassed and interrogated family members of these lawyers, including children, and prevented them from leaving the country. In one case, Beijing police detained, then on three separate occasions interrogated Bao Mengmeng, the 16-year-old son of detained lawyer Wang Yu and legal advocate Bao Lungjun, who was heading to study in Australia; they also confiscated his passport. When Bao Mengmeng fled to a border town in Burma, unidentified men kidnapped him and brought him back to his relatives' home in Inner Mongolia, where he has been subjected to house arrest since.

Authorities have also refused to divulge information about 18 of the cases to families and their lawyers, or even provide the names of the main officers responsible for the cases, as is required under Chinese law. Shortly after the wave of detentions began, state media outlets published unsubstantiated allegations about lawyers, activists, and the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, the firm with which some of the 24 were affiliated, calling them "a major criminal gang" that "aim[s] to create disturbances and disturb order" in the name of "defending [human] rights." On July 18, 2015, the Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted the alleged confession of the firm's director, Zhou Shifeng, stating that he had said the firm "had broken the law" and "brought great risks to social stability."

"One year after these lawyers were detained, there is no evidence whatsoever that these individuals committed a recognizable criminal offense," Richardson said.

Four lawyers who attempted to seek answers about the cases' progress from the Tianjin Procuratorate and to submit formal complaints about Tianjin police's procedural violations were themselves taken into custody on June 6, 2016. Tianjin police seized them and a separate group of family members of detained lawyers protesting in front of the procuracy, and held them for nearly 24 hours before releasing them.

The Beijing Fengrui Law Firm, which employed four of those detained in addition to director Zhou Shifeng, has effectively been shut down over the past year. Most of the 55 lawyers who had worked there left to work for other firms. The Beijing Bureau of Justice has refused to let two partners of the law firm, rights lawyers Liu Xiaoyuan and Zhou Lixin, transfer to other law firms or let them pass the bureau's annual evaluation of lawyers, without which they cannot practice law as of June 1.

Since the late 1970s, Chinese authorities have enacted thousands of laws and regulations, created a modern court system, established hundreds of law schools to train legal professionals, and publicized through constant propaganda campaigns the concept of the "rule of law." Yet those authorities also treat lawyers  particularly those like Gao Zhisheng and Chen Guangcheng, who worked on politically sensitive cases  with hostility. They have long faced violence inside and outside courtrooms; intimidation; threats, surveillance, harassment, arbitrary detention, prosecution, and suspension or disbarment from practicing law for pursuing their profession.

Harassment of the legal profession has intensified under President Xi Jinping, who assumed power in March 2013. Some prominent rights lawyers targeted by authorities since that time include: Xu Zhiyong, founder of the New Citizens Movement who was sentenced to four years in prison in 2014; Pu Zhiqiang, who was given a three-year suspended sentence for "inciting ethnic hatred" and "creating disturbances" in December 2015; legal advocate Guo Feixiong, who has been on a hunger strike since May 9, 2016, while serving his six-year term; and Guangzhou lawyer Tang Jingling, who was given a five-year prison term in January 2016 for promoting the ideas of non-violent civil disobedience.

Countries and international bodies, including the European Union, Germany, the United States, Canada, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have called for the release of the lawyers, as have major bar associations around the world. In March, a dozen countries issued a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling for their release.

"China's community of human rights lawyers has thrived despite government harassment and detention, assisting countless victims of rights abuses and other injustices," Richardson said. "The Chinese government should recognize that China's lawyers and the rule of law are crucial for China's future, and act now to reverse this clampdown."

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Kyrgyzstan: Support Release of Rights Defender

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 7 July 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Kyrgyzstan: Support Release of Rights Defender, 7 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/577e2dcd4.html [accessed 27 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Kyrgyzstan Supreme Court will hear a petition on July 11, 2016 to release Azimjon Askarov, a long-imprisoned human rights defender, and quash his conviction, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Askarov and his lawyers are bringing the petition to require the government to carry out an April 21 ruling by the UN Human Rights Committee, which found that Askarov had been arbitrarily detained, held in inhumane conditions, and denied a fair trial. The Kyrgyz authorities are obligated to carry out the UN ruling, the organizations said. The Human Rights Committee also found that Askarov, who is serving a life sentence, had been tortured, and otherwise mistreated without redress.

"The authorities should have released Askarov already and are ignoring their obligations by keeping him locked up," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The proceedings before the Supreme Court offer Kyrgyzstan's authorities the opportunity to do the right thing, and they should fully support the request to the court to carry out the UN decision."

Askarov, 65, has been in prison for almost six years following his arrest and subsequent conviction, in September 2010, for "organizing mass disturbances" and "inciting interethnic hatred" leading to the killing of a policeman in Bazar-Kurgan. His sentencing followed a period of interethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.

An investigation by the Committee to Protect Journalists found that Askarov's conviction was retaliation for his years of work reporting and documenting law enforcement corruption and human rights abuses in southern Kyrgyzstan, which had ended careers and embarrassed local officials time and again. The conviction was challenged at the time by Kyrgyzstan's own ombudsman's office.

Askarov's trial was marred by his credible allegations of ill-treatment and torture, as well as attacks on his lawyer and hostility in the courtroom that undermined his right to a fair trial.

In November 2012, Askarov's lawyers filed a complaint with the Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Kyrgyzstan is a party. The Human Rights Committee found that Kyrgyzstan's treatment of Askarov violated multiple rights protected by the ICCPR and called on it to release him immediately and quash his conviction.

Article 41 of Kyrgyzstan's constitution provides that it should carry out decisions of international human rights bodies, including the Human Rights Committee. The Criminal Procedure Code gives the Supreme Court powers to "cancel the [original] verdict and close the case when a new investigation or a new trial is not necessary for a final decision on the case."

In the months since the Human Rights Committee issued its decision, Kyrgyz authorities have not taken their own steps to enforce the decision. They should support Askarov's application to the Supreme Court and not try to prevent the court from quashing the verdict, thus bringing an end to this miscarriage of justice, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

No matter what the Supreme Court rules in its upcoming hearing, the authorities have an obligation to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Human Rights Committee's decision is carried out in full and that Askarov's imprisonment comes to an immediate end, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

"Kyrgyzstan has to abide by the Human Rights Committee's decision to release Askarov without delay," said Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists. "Selective implementation of the decision or further stalling is not acceptable. Now is the time to act."

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Iraq: Fallujah Abuses Inquiry Mired in Secrecy

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 7 July 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Iraq: Fallujah Abuses Inquiry Mired in Secrecy, 7 July 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/577e2e304.html [accessed 27 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

An Iraqi government investigation into alleged abuses against civilians during military operations to retake Fallujah is being kept under wraps. New reports of serious abuses by the Popular Mobilization Forces and Federal Police compound the summary killings, enforced disappearances, and torture reported since the beginning of the operation, which Human Rights Watch documented.

On June 4, 2016, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi opened an investigation into allegations of abuse and three days later announced unspecified arrests and the "transfer of those accused of committing violations to the judiciary to receive their punishment according to the law." Government officials, however, have not provided information in response to Human Rights Watch inquiries since mid-June about the status of the investigation, who is conducting it, or steps taken so far.

"Failing to hold fighters and commanders accountable for grave abuses bodes very badly for the looming battle for Mosul," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. "Serious investigations and prosecutions are essential to provide justice to victims and their families, and to deter atrocities by government forces."

Human Rights Watch directed its questions about the investigation to spokespersons for the prime minister and the judiciary. Human Rights Watch also spoke with members of parliament, the judiciary, a local official in Anbar province, government human rights officials as well as foreign and United Nations diplomats. None could provide any information about the purported investigations, including whether anyone has been arrested and charged.

At the start of the Fallujah operation against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, on May 24, Prime Minister al-Abadi said that his government had taken measures to protect civilians. However, during the two weeks of fighting, there were credible allegations of summary executions, beatings of men in custody, enforced disappearances, and mutilation of corpses by government forces.

Abuses by government security forces in Fallujah have continued since the defeat of ISIS forces, Human Rights Watch said. A witness provided Human Rights Watch with a photo he said he took on June 27 on the northern outskirts of Fallujah of a decapitated corpse with a rope around his left foot. He said he saw fighters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an auxiliary fighting force under the prime minister's command that includes many Shia militias, posing for pictures with the corpse moments before he took the photo. They were saying they were proud of killing a member of ISIS, though the status of the dead man as a combatant or civilian and the cause of death could not be determined.

Mutilation of corpses is a war crime, as is the killing of captured combatants or civilians, Human Rights Watch said.

The same witness said that in the Fallujah city center he saw PMF forces burning houses and shops while shouting slogans of revenge, and some looting. A photograph taken at the time shows burning shops in Fallujah. The media also reported arson and looting after government forces entered the city.

More reports have emerged about serious abuses during the Fallujah military operations. Several people, including two officials from Anbar governorate, told Human Rights Watch that on June 3, members of the Federal Police and the PMF executed more than a dozen civilians from the Jumaila tribe who were fleeing Sajar, a village north of Fallujah. The officials said they were protecting three witnesses.

A resident of Saqlawiya said that on the morning of June 3, men in army fatigues claiming to be Iraqi military came to the area, ordered the women, old men, and children to separate from the men. They then separated the men into various groups. The men in fatigues loaded him and at least 600 others, most from the al-Mahamda tribe, into trucks and eventually took them to Camp Tariq, an army base south of Falluja, 50 kilometers west of Baghdad. As he disembarked, he saw from the uniforms that the guards were from Hezbollah, a prominent Popular Mobilization Force.

He said that for the next 24 hours, the approximately 90 guards brutally beat him and the other prisoners, including with sticks and cables, while yelling anti-Sunni slurs. He said three of the men died in front of him. On the morning of June 5, local police forces freed the men, sending them to Amiriyat Fallujah Hospital.

An Iraqi aid worker at the hospital said that at least 50 men from Karma and Saqlawiya told him that PMF fighters had beaten them after detaining them during military operations and sometimes subjected them to more brutal treatment.

The Anbar governorate official said the men who were released told him that they saw the PMF fighters take away another 600 or more al-Mahamda men. Another Anbar official provided a list of 49 men whom those released had seen die in detention. The official also shared a list of another 643 people still missing from Saqlawiya. The Saqlawiya resident who was detained and beaten told Human Rights Watch he had uncles and cousins who had been missing since June 3.

On June 28, in testimony to the US Senate, Brett McGurk, President Barack Obama's special envoy for the global coalition to counter ISIS, said in response to a question from Senator Ed Markey about the Iraqi government's investigation that "[a]bout 4-5 members of the Iraqi Army have been detained. The investigation hasn't been concluded yet." On June 22, McGurk had described reports of abuse as "isolated atrocities committed by some of the Popular Mobilization Forces" and said the Iraqi government was "doing the right thing to make sure that anyone who commits a human rights violation is held to account."

Iraqi criminal justice authorities should investigate all alleged crimes, including murder, torture and other abuses, committed by any party in the conflict in a prompt, transparent, and effective manner, up to the highest levels responsible. Those found criminally responsible should be appropriately prosecuted.

Iraqi authorities should also fairly prosecute ISIS members and other perpetrators of unlawful attacks on civilians, including those responsible for the horrific July 3 attack on people shopping for the Eid holiday in the Karrada district of Baghdad, which killed at least 165 people and wounded another 225. Such attacks are war crimes and, when part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population, constitute crimes against humanity.

Those conducting such criminal investigations and making decisions about prosecutions should be independent of those being investigated. They should be outside the regular military chain of command and free from political interference. The authorities should ensure the safety of all witnesses. At the same time, a commission of inquiry or equivalent should be created to examine the wider concerns about whether the abuses are being committed in a widespread or systematic manner.

"The US government needs to fully acknowledge and address the widespread, ongoing abuses by Iraqi government forces and the near complete absence of transparent investigations or any investigations at all," Stork said. "The US should not be praising the government's rhetorical commitment to accountability when there is zero information indicating that any such thing is happening."

Critical but unanswered questions remain:

Who is conducting the investigation and who appointed them?

What is the investigation's mandate and powers?

Does the mandate of the investigation include command responsibility for abuses?

Is the investigation under the High Judicial Council or is it an extra-judicial body?

Is the investigation based on Iraqi military or civilian criminal law and does it include violations of the laws of war and crimes against humanity?

How many investigations have been opened so far and what have the results been?

Have there been arrests? If so what are the accused's ranks and units, and what are the charges?

Will the final findings and recommendations be made public?

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